23 - The third ANOMALY

While Natsu waited in my room, busy eating the donuts I had prepared for her, I headed to Nagi’s room to wake him up. I then took the spare key hidden under the flower pot and unlocked his door.

"Hey. N-A-G-I!"

I saw Nagi sleeping while he's hugging his pillow tightly, with a bit of drool trickling down his chin onto the pillow.

"... Cute..." I murmured softly.

I then stepped further into Nagi’s room.

Since Natsu’s still enjoying her food, maybe I’ll take a quick look around Nagi’s room. After all, ever since I caught him "enjoying" a certain corn site some time ago, I've been curious about what else might be in his room.

On the day I caught him watching that, for some reason, I felt a strange sensation in my chest.

I know that Nagi is at an age where he’s naturally curious about these things. But seeing him look at other girls besides me... It kind of hurts my heart.

Maybe if I search further into his room, I might find some adult comics or magazines hidden somewhere. If I do, I’m definitely burning all of them.

"..."

What am I doing? Why am I acting on my emotions like this? Wasn’t my only reason for coming here is just to wake him up?

Even if he has adult magazines or comics stashed away, that’s Nagi’s personal business... I don’t have the right to destroy his things. Besides, I’m not anyone so special to Nagi anyway.

I sighed.

Maybe... I’m jealous..?

I slapped both of my cheeks really hard. "Is that really it...?" I couldn’t deny it any longer; the reason my heart hurts is definitely because of jealousy— this feeling cannot just start to appears out of nowhere.

But why...? Do I really like Nagi?

I decided to sit for a moment on Nagi’s bed, right next to him. I stared at his face for a while. For some reason, my hand started to gently stroke his hair repeatedly.

"GAH!" Nagi’s sudden scream made me instinctively pull my hand back.

"Yuichi...?" he called out softly, looking at me with half-closed eyes.

...

That was close—! I almost got caught by him!

"What are you doing in my room?" Nagi asked, confused.

I began to fan myself in a panic, trying to cover up the fact that I’d just been stroking his hair. My face felt hot.

"A-ah! So, uh... There’s... someone here to see you. Nagi."

"Someone...?"

"Mhm."

Nagi stared at me blankly for a few moments. He stretched his arms up with a yawn, then hugged his pillow again.

"HEY! Don’t go back to sleep!"

***

After practically dragging Nagi out of bed, I finally managed to bring him to my room. When we arrived, I saw my younger sister enjoying the three donuts I’d set out, munching on all three at once.

"..."

Even though Natsu has grown a lot since the last time I saw her, it seems she still can’t act mature, huh?

"Natsu. Look, I brought the guy named Nagi Nagi. You remember him, right?" I said, lifting Nagi’s hand up.

"Nagi...?" She looked closely at Nagi’s face, then scanned his body, just like she did with me earlier. "Ah! Nagi-san! You're my brother’s best friend, right?"

"Natsu-san...? Yuichi’s little sister right?" In just a few seconds, Nagi immediately recognized her face.

Natsu nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, Nagi-san. Long time no see. Do you remember when we all played together with my brother and Shita-chan to go ghost hunting?"

"Uh... yeah?"

"Back then, we all went into an abandoned house together. Do you have any idea how scared I was? I clung to my brother’s back the whole time with my eyes shut until we finally left."

I remember that too... My little sister could be considered a member of the Spiritual Group, though she’s not an official member. Her naughty behavior always got on Akane’s nerves, so Akane never wanted to officially include her. Even so, we still brought her along for adventures sometimes.

For some reason, Akane and my sister are like water and oil; they just can’t get along. I can’t even count how many times Akane has scolded Natsu for sticking close to me during our outings. But what puzzles me is that I still don’t understand why Akane would get so mad to her...

After a brief reunion between Nagi and my sister, I gave Natsu a subtle signal to ask Nagi about what we discussed earlier.

Natsu nodded slightly.

She seemed to swallow nervously before speaking. "Nagi-san."

"Yes?"

"Is it true... that the girl beside you is my brother?" Natsu asked, pointing at me.

"Huh?" Nagi’s expression immediately changed. He went from looking tired and lazy to a look of shock upon hearing her question. "Natsu-san. Before that, I need you to answer my question."

"Hmm.. Yeah?"

"Natsu-san. Just how... How did you realize it?"

"Huh?" Natsu scratched her head in confusion. "How did I realize? Realize what? I just looked at that girl, then knew, that’s all."

"That’s it?" Nagi asked, once more.

"Yep!"

Nagi's face looks a bit nervous for a split second. "Listen, you shouldn’t be able to realize. So far, excluding Yuichi, only two people have noticed. One of them is me. With you, that makes three."

Huh...?

Did I mishear? Didn’t Nagi just say there were three people? Wait a minute... If I’m not included in it, then it’s just Nagi and Natsu, which means... The question is, who’s the other person?

Ugh... Looks like Nagi is still hiding something from me. I’ll need to discuss this with him later.

"So... this cutie—..! Uh... I mean, my brother— turned into a girl?" Natsu asked nervously.

Nagi nodded slowly. "In short, YES. This girl is your brother whose gender changed."

"WHAAAAT?!" Natsu’s mouth dropped open wide, as I watched her, satisfied. How many times do I have to say it repeatedly to her— that I really am Yuichi? "Hold on, hold on, hold on! Nagi-san, are you serious?"

"Am I."

Natsu shifted her gaze back to me.

She observed me again, but this time more intently. Her pupils dilated, her both eyes are open wide just like her mouth. She examined my body carefully. But oddly enough, her gaze only focused on my chest.

"W-what are you staring at?!" I instinctively took a few steps back.

"I’m jealous."

"JEALOUS OF WHAT?!"

I clenched my teeth in frustration. I’d only just reunited with my little sister after months, but this kid...! She still has the power to make my blood boil...!

I exhaled, stomping my feet in irritation. "Natsu." I called her name firmly.

"Forgive me, Yuichi-sama!"

I looked down at Natsu, who immediately got on her knees, while I sat in a chair with my legs crossed. Seeing her act like this reminded me of Nagi. Both of them had a similar talent to annoys me. The difference is; Natsu has a better sense of timing and is skilled at picking the right moment to apologize.

But it’s this very "timing" that annoys me.

"AAH—! Big sis! Why are you still pulling my ear even though I've already apologized?!"

***

In no time, I managed to create a piece of art out of my little sister’s ear, which now looked as red as an apple.

Natsu sat cross-legged with her head down, while Nagi joined in too, even though I hadn’t told him to.

"Uuu... Big sis... But... I already apologized, have'nt I?"

"It's my right."

"..."

Natsu raised her hand. "Big brother—uh, I mean, big sister..."

"Yes, what is it, my sweet little sister?" I replied sharply, signaling that she’d better not try to play around with me again.

"Please don’t pull my ear again! I swear, I only asked about this out of curiosity."

Natsu swallowed hard. The room fell silent for a few moments before she finally gathered the courage to ask. "If you don’t mind... what’s your relationship with Nagi-san?"

"Are you two... Perhaps dating...?"

...

"Huh...?"

TO BE CONTINUED.