Serina, a second-year high school student, has a bit of a weird problem. And that problem is her stepbrother, Kenta. At school, Kenta's a popular and cool art teacher everyone looks up to. But at home? That mask comes right off. He's still super kind most of the time... but sometimes, he gives Serina this really mean look and teases her like crazy. Sometimes in a way that's a little naughty.
At first, it was just heart-pounding fun. But it's been getting more and more intense, and now her heart
Milf cute Mother Obsessed with her step son Alot - On the sunset rooftop, our first promise.
Monday morning. As Serina passed through the gates of Uminosaki High School, she felt that the warmth that had been in her chest since Saturday was still there, intact.
Her stepbrother's palm, resting on her head in the living room.
The fact that she hadn't run away that day. She still hadn't said anything, but she truly felt she had moved forward.
On Saturday evening, after Kenta had stroked her hair, Serina returned to her room and stared at the watercolor painting on her wall for a long time. The painting of a wave breaking. The one he had given her for her thirteenth birthday. As she gazed at it, her tears naturally stopped.
On Sunday, she barely spoke to Kenta. But it wasn't the same as the awkward silence from the week before. It was a quietness that felt like they were both searching for the right words.
*(Today, I want to talk to him properly.)*
Serina changed into her indoor shoes and took a deep breath.
The hallway from the shoe lockers to the classroom. Monday mornings were always a little noisy. Voices talking about weekend events could be heard here and there.
"Oh, Nanami-san."
Suddenly, a voice called out from behind her.
Turning around, she saw Mio Majima standing there. Her soft, wavy brown hair seemed translucent in the morning light streaming through the hallway windows. Her brown eyes behind her large, round glasses were looking straight at Serina.
"...Majima-sensei."
Serina's voice stiffened slightly.
She remembered what had happened in the prep room on Friday. How she had burst out crying and run away. How Mio had seen it. She had been afraid to face her ever since.
But there was no trace of reproach on Mio's face.
Rather—she was smiling, looking a little troubled.
"Do you have a moment? I'd like you to come to the prep room after school."
Serina caught her breath.
*(The prep room—what is she going to say to me there?)*
"...Alright."
"Thank you. I'll be waiting, then."
With that, Mio waved lightly and walked off towards the staff room.
Serina watched her back with complicated feelings.
* * *
Morning classes ended, and it was lunch break.
Serina opened her lunchbox at her desk in the classroom. But her chopsticks didn't move much.
Beside her, Rina was chatting away while eating snacks as usual.
"Seri-chan, what's up? You've been spacing out since this morning."
Rina tilted her head and peered into Serina's face.
"...Huh? Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about something."
Serina hurriedly put on a smile.
*(I can't stop thinking about after school.)*
Rina stared at Serina's face for a moment but didn't press further.
"Well, if you ever wanna talk, just talk. I'm always here to listen."
Saying that, she offered a single potato chip.
Serina gratefully accepted it and put it in her mouth. The salty taste calmed her nerves, just a little.
* * *
After school.
Having finished her cleaning duty, Serina walked alone down the hallway towards the art prep room. The days were short at the end of October, and the sunlight streaming through the windows was already beginning to take on the colors of evening.
*(I'm scared.)*
To be honest, she was terribly scared.
On Friday, she had spilled everything in that room. She had cried, wailed, and run away without being able to say anything. What kind of face would Mio, who had seen all that, have when she spoke to her today?
*(But.)*
She remembered the feeling of Kenta's hand on her head in the living room.
*(I decided not to run away.)*
Serina took two deep breaths and knocked on the door of the art prep room.
"...Excuse me."
"Yes, come in!"
A bouncy voice replied from inside.
When she opened the door, the smell of oil paints and wood gently tickled her nose. The art prep room was a little messy as usual, with art reference materials piled on the old sofa.
Mio was sitting at the desk by the window. She had a red pen in her hand. Apparently, she had been correcting a practical training instruction plan. She had taken off her glasses, so her bare face was visible. She really was a beautiful person.
"Thank you for coming. Please, sit down."
Mio pointed to the folding chair opposite her.
Serina nodded slightly and sat down on the chair. Her back straightened, and her hands on her knees clenched tightly.
Mio put her red pen down on the desk and turned back to face Serina.
"First of all, about the other day—I'm truly sorry."
Mio bowed her head deeply.
"...Huh?"
At the unexpected words, Serina's eyes widened.
"I was completely tactless. Even though you and Minakami-senpai were having an important conversation, I suddenly opened the door and interrupted."
Mio raised her head and smiled awkwardly.
"Ahaha... I'm actually quite clumsy. Back in university, I often broke lab equipment. Senpai would scold me many times, saying, 'Majima, fix that part of yourself'—"
Mio paused there for a moment.
Then, she looked straight into Serina's eyes.
"So, I thought you might be worried about it, so let me say this clearly."
Serina swallowed hard.
Her heart was beating annoyingly loud.
"I truly think of Minakami-senpai as nothing more than a senpai. I respect him, and I think he's a reliable person, but that's all. Romantic feelings are zero. Completely zero."
Holding up her index finger, Mio said it decisively.
Serina forgot to breathe for a moment.
*(...Huh?)*
The words slowly sank into her mind.
*(Nothing more than a senpai.)*
*(Romantic feelings, zero.)*
Deep in her chest, something that had been tangled up tightly—felt like it suddenly loosened.
"...Really?"
Before she knew it, she had spoken aloud.
"I said really! I'm super dense about romance. Even in my university club, people often told me, 'Majima is too insensitive.'"
Ahaha, Mio laughed loudly.
That laugh had no shadow to it, no sense of duplicity at all.
This person—she really isn't thinking anything of it.
The moment she thought that, the tension suddenly left her shoulders.
Until now, she hadn't known how to view Mio. The fear that she might take her stepbrother away, and the feeling that she probably wasn't a bad person, had always been jumbled together.
But seeing this carefree smile—there was no longer any reason to see her as an enemy.
"...I see."
As Serina breathed a sigh of relief, Mio nodded happily and emphatically.
* * *
After that, they chatted for a bit.
Stories about Mio's university days. How she had been the vice-captain of her club. How she was the type that underclassmen liked, and often gave them advice. But how she was only bad at love advice, and even when someone told her "I've found someone I like," she could only reply, "Oh, that's nice!"
As Serina nodded along, she found it somehow funny and laughed.
"Mio-sensei, you're that kind of person, aren't you?"
"That's right! That's why I'm totally unpopular!"
Why did she sound proud of that?
After talking for a while, Mio suddenly hesitated.
"...Hey, Nanami-san."
"Yes?"
"I was a little unsure if I should say this, but..."
Mio opened her desk drawer and took out a single sheet of paper.
Copy paper.
On it—was a printed picture of a familiar drawing.
"...Huh? That's—"
Serina's face instantly turned red.
It was a landscape painting Serina had done before in art class. A picture of Minase Beach. It wasn't very good; the waves were kind of wobbly, and the horizon line was a little crooked.
*(Why does she have that—)*
"Senpai showed this to me before. He said, 'It's my little sister's treasure.'"
Mio said it, looking a little embarrassed.
Serina froze.
"Honestly, I thought it wasn't very good. Sorry!"
"...Eh."
"Ah, but, but! Senpai's face looked so incredibly happy—that Minakami-senpai, you know? Even though he always has that look on his face, when the topic turned to this painting, the look in his eyes suddenly changed—"
Mio added hastily.
Serina stared at the drawing on the copy paper.
The wobbly waves. The crooked horizon. No matter how you looked at it, it was a clumsy drawing. Even when she had shown it to Kenta at home, he had laughed and said, "What's this, the waves look like udon noodles."
But.
"...A treasure, he said."
In front of someone else.
Her stepbrother had said that.
The center of her chest grew warmly, achingly full. The back of her eyes stung sharply.
"Just—wait a moment, please."
Serina pressed the edges of her eyes with a handkerchief.
This is bad. She felt like she was about to cry.
But they weren't unpleasant tears at all.
"Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry!"
"No, it's not that, but—"
Unable to speak properly, Serina hung her head, keeping the handkerchief pressed to her face.
Mio was silent for a moment, then said softly:
"I'm glad for you, Nanami-san."
That voice was so genuinely kind—it almost made the tears spill over again.
* * *
A little while later, Serina left the prep room.
Through the hallway window, she could already see the sunset. The sky was dyed in a gradient of orange and purple.
She took out her smartphone.
She opened the LINE chat room that was just for her and Kenta.
Her thumb trembled slightly.
*(Today, I'll say it.)*
Serina took a deep breath and slowly typed out the words.
*Come to the rooftop. The place you showed me before.*
Sent.
It didn't show as "Read" right away.
Serina put her smartphone back in her pocket and headed towards the emergency stairs.
* * *
The rooftop door wasn't locked.
A secret passage only Kenta knew about—from the landing of the emergency stairs, through a small gap, and over a low railing, you could get out onto a secret rooftop where no one else came.
Serina learned about this place in the summer of her third year of middle school. On the day of the fireworks festival, Kenta had brought her here, saying, "There's a good spot." She had come here alone a few times since then.
"...It's beautiful."
Standing at the edge of the rooftop, she could see the entire Minase sea.
The sea surface, dyed in the sunset, glittered far away. The area around the horizon was a deep crimson, turning more purple the higher it went in the sky, truly looking like a painting. The tetrapods of the breakwater were lined up as small silhouettes.
The sea breeze gently swayed Serina's waist-length black hair. The wind at the end of October was a little cold, but now it felt pleasant.
*(Will he come?)*
She checked her smartphone. It still wasn't marked as "Read."
Maybe he wouldn't come.
But—even so, she thought it was okay.
What she had heard from Mio today still glowed warmly in her heart.
*(He called it a treasure.)*
That clumsy drawing.
The wobbly waves and the crooked horizon.
Now, somehow, she felt proud of it.
Just then.
"...It's cold up here."
Turning around, Kenta appeared from the shadow of the emergency stairs.
He had a slightly quizzical look on his face, but he wasn't angry. With his usual languid expression, he was staring intently at Serina.
"Onii-chan... you came."
"You're the one who called me."
Saying that, Kenta came and stood next to Serina.
He leaned his elbows on the railing and faced the sea. His profile was illuminated by the orange light of the sunset. His narrow, single-lidded eyes looked just a little gentler than usual.
For a moment, they were both silent.
Only the sound of the wind and the distant crashing of waves could be heard.
Serina turned towards Kenta.
Her heart was loud. Her fingertips trembled faintly.
But—she wouldn't run away anymore.
"Onii-chan."
"...What."
Kenta kept looking at the sea.
Serina clenched both hands tightly. Then, she took a deep breath—
"I—I love you, Onii-chan. Not as a sister. As a person, I love you."
Her voice was trembling.
But this time, she could say it clearly. Without stumbling over her words, properly, to the end.
Kenta slowly turned towards Serina.
A long silence.
The wind swayed Serina's bangs.
Kenta said nothing, just staring intently into Serina's eyes.
His face—wasn't his usual teasing expr
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