"What are you even looking at?"
Hikigaya Komachi glared at her older brother unhappily, then hurried behind Hikigaya Hachiman and narrowed her eyes as she followed his line of sight.
"Huh? A pretty big sis!"
Her eyes immediately lit up. Then she turned toward Hikigaya Hachiman in disbelief.
"Bro, have you finally awakened to romance? But this won't work! That big sis is way too pretty, there's absolutely no way she'd ever fall for you!"
"And look at the boyfriend next to her. He's taller and more handsome than you. Bro, you seriously have no chance!"
Hikigaya Komachi declared confidently.
"That's not it!"
Hikigaya Hachiman looked at his sister speechlessly.
So even you're just another shallow romance-brain?
"Then what is it?"
"Well, this…"
Hikigaya Hachiman scratched his head with a headache.
"Tell me! Tell me!"
Hikigaya Komachi stubbornly shook his arm while looking at him eagerly.
"Fine. Actually, that guy is my…"
At this point, Hikigaya Hachiman's expression became awkward, and with a subtle look, he slowly uttered two words.
"Friend, I guess."
Hikigaya Hachiman looked at the sky in a daze as he spoke those words somewhat absentmindedly.
Although that Nohara guy could be pretty sharp-tongued and annoying sometimes, they should count as that kind of relationship, right?
"F-Friend?!"
Meanwhile, Hikigaya Komachi looked as if she had just heard something unbelievable. Her beautiful gray eyes widened enormously as she trembled while staring at Hikigaya Hachiman.
"Bro, you actually have friends?!"
"Shh! Don't say it so loudly!"
Seeing the people nearby turning to look, Hikigaya Hachiman instantly felt his scalp go numb.
He quickly pulled Hikigaya Komachi behind the crowd, and the two siblings peeked forward together.
That girl was still there, but…
Smack!
A hand suddenly landed on Hikigaya Hachiman's shoulder.
The carefully peeking Hikigaya siblings both jumped in fright. Goosebumps spread from his shoulder all the way across his face before covering his entire body.
His whole body trembled!
"Ah!"
Hikigaya Komachi let out a startled cry. After quickly turning around, she discovered that Sato, whom they had just been secretly observing, had somehow appeared behind them and was now looking at them with an amused smile.
"Haha… um, hello Onii-chan! I'm Hikigaya Komachi!"
Hikigaya Komachi fully understood both the effectiveness of acting cute and the destructive power of calling someone Onii-chan. She immediately showed Sato a sweet smile and her adorable little tiger teeth, not looking embarrassed in the slightest despite being caught spying.
Hikigaya Hachiman remained silent, but inside he was bleeding.
Komachi actually called someone else Onii-chan. This wave was a complete loss!
Hikigaya Komachi?
So she was this guy Hikigaya Hachiman's little sister?!
Sato glanced at the silent Hikigaya Hachiman, who radiated a rotten aura, then looked at the lively and cheerful Hikigaya Komachi.
"Hikigaya…"
"Hm?"
Hikigaya Hachiman lazily raised his eyelids.
"You were adopted, right?"
Sato spoke seriously to Hikigaya Hachiman.
Anyway, he absolutely refused to believe these two were siblings.
"That's too much!"
Hikigaya Hachiman's mouth twitched.
This was exactly why he thought this guy was so sharp-tongued.
"No, no!"
Hikigaya Komachi corrected him seriously from the side.
"Dad said this is what happened after the high-level account failed, so they made a new low-level account instead!"
"I see."
Sato nodded thoughtfully.
"When did Dad ever say something like that? And I'm only two years older than you. Did he already know I was hopeless when I was two years old?!"
"Huh? As expected of you, Bro. You actually know you're hopeless already! You really understand that a salted fish is born a salted fish and can never turn things around!"
"But it's okay! Komachi will never dislike you!"
"That line just now scored really high points with Komachi, by the way!"
Hikigaya Komachi patted Hikigaya Hachiman's shoulder in an old-fashioned, worldly manner, looking like she was saying she would protect him from now on.
Although Hikigaya Hachiman curled his lips, Sato could tell from the upturned corners of his mouth that he was actually very happy.
These siblings really were completely different from each other.
After thinking that over, Sato suddenly extended a hand toward Hikigaya Komachi.
"Hello, I'm your brother's friend, Nohara Sato."
"Hello, Senpai!"
Hikigaya Komachi giggled and reached out to shake his hand.
As soon as Sato touched the girl's soft and delicate palm, he looked toward Hikigaya Hachiman.
Hikigaya Hachiman stared at him darkly. Even those rotten fish eyes of his emitted a gaze that looked ready to devour someone alive.
His lips moved slightly.
If you dare hit on my sister, I'll kill you!
Sato suddenly chuckled, his mood instantly improving.
Hikigaya Komachi also noticed this scene. After giggling, she suddenly asked Sato curiously,
"Is that big sis your girlfriend?"
"This… no."
Sato's smile immediately turned troubled again.
"Heh, did your confession get rejected? That's honestly kind of hard to imagine."
Hikigaya Hachiman mocked him gleefully from the side, his mood instantly brightening again.
"No."
Sato glanced at him and said calmly,
"She confessed to me. I rejected her."
Huh?
Hikigaya Hachiman's cheerful expression froze instantly. His mood changed from sunny to cloudy on the spot.
"But why?! That big sis is really pretty and cute!"
Hikigaya Komachi, who was currently in the phase of longing for romance, found this completely incomprehensible. In her eyes, the two looked perfectly matched together.
"Well… the reasons are complicated. I do have some feelings for her, but it still hasn't reached the point of being lovers. Maybe… what's missing is that single moment of heart-fluttering excitement."
Sato sighed slowly.
"If you already have feelings for her, then you should try! Girls' hearts are very fragile, you know. Onii-chan, don't make girls sad!"
Hikigaya Komachi patted Sato's shoulder with a serious expression that said "I totally understand this, so listen to me."
"You're still too young. You don't understand these things."
Sato smiled and rubbed Hikigaya Komachi's head.
Hiss!!!
Hikigaya Hachiman sucked in a cold breath. His eyes widened furiously as he glared at Sato.
This guy actually dared to use the headpat attack on my little sister?!
"Then why exactly?"
Hikigaya Komachi puffed her cheeks unhappily while staring at Sato.
"Because…"
Suddenly, Hikigaya Hachiman's gloomy voice drifted over.
"He's a scumbag."
He stared coldly at Sato, like a warrior already prepared to die in battle!
Draw your sword, Nohara!
For the sake of little sisters!
At this moment, Hikigaya Hachiman feared nothing. Fierce flames burned within the eyes he fixed upon Sato!
(A/N: Although the protagonist doesn't have a little sister, he can still obsess over other people's little sisters.)