In the morning, Shichen opened his eyes and immediately saw the small red figure sleeping beside him, her childish face glowing with a happy smile.
Looking at her, warmth rose in his chest. He reached out and gently brushed a hand through her flame-red hair.
"Mm…" The girl sleepily blinked her eyes open.
"Onii-chan?"
"Sorry, did I wake you?"
"It's fine… Are you getting up now?" Kotori mumbled lazily, closing her eyes again.
She was still a little sleepy; she hadn't slept much last night.
"Yeah, time to make breakfast," Shichen said with a smile.
"Then I'm gonna sleep a bit more~"
"Alright, I'll come wake you when it's ready."
"Mm~ My tummy still feels all swollen…" Kotori pouted under her breath.
"…"
Shichen fell silent.
There was nothing to be done—Kotori was that tiny, it didn't take much to make her little belly round and taut.
The visual impact really was something; it had almost gone to his head.
Not that last night had been his idea, at least not at the start.
Forget it. They were family, after all—no point quibbling over who started what. Building feelings was what mattered.
Seeing Kotori fall back asleep so quickly, Shichen didn't tease her this time. He slipped off the bed with a space jump, pulled on a simple T-shirt and cropped pants, and left the room.
The living room was empty.
It was still early; everyone was at the age where they needed plenty of sleep.
Shichen headed into the kitchen and started on breakfast. Today he planned to make steamed buns. With the convenient abilities he had, it wouldn't take long.
Halfway through, a purple silhouette stepped into the kitchen.
"Shichen~ good morning."
"Morning, Tohka. Up this early?" Shichen looked over at her with a smile.
"Hehe~ I got a bit hungry."
Tohka grinned as she bounced closer.
"What are you making?"
"Steamed buns," he replied, hands still working.
"Steamed buns?" Tohka tilted her head, confused.
"You'll know when they're done—they're really good."
"Really? I'm looking forward to it!"
"I won't let you down."
"What filling is it?"
"There's beef, king crab, and Boston lobster."
"Just hearing it sounds delicious!"
"Hehe~ go brush your teeth first. I'll let you have a taste when they're ready."
"Okay~"
Tohka skipped out of the kitchen to wash up.
A few minutes later, she hopped back in and parked herself beside Shichen, watching him wrap buns.
After finishing one, Shichen glanced at her and asked, "Did you forget something?"
"Eh?" Tohka froze, a flicker of panic in her eyes.
"W-What?"
"Idiot, let me check. How do I know you didn't slack off and not brush?"
"Oh, that's all…" Tohka sighed in relief.
"How could I ever slack off with Shichen~"
As she spoke, she opened her mouth wide for him to inspect.
The smell of toothpaste washed over him, mixed with a faint sweet scent—but it was different from usual.
Shichen chuckled. "Close your eyes."
"Oh…" Tohka blinked, confused, but obediently shut her eyes.
She'd just started wondering what he was going to do when she suddenly felt something press against her lips.
That feeling—
Her eyes flew open, and—just as expected—Shichen's face was right in front of hers.
He was kissing her.
That electric jolt shot through her, dyeing her cheeks a furious red. In the next instant, cartoon-like "smoke" seemed to explode off her body.
As the smoke cleared, Tohka's build and appearance changed.
Her frame shrank, her silky purple hair became messy green, and her outfit turned into a half-exposed witch costume. Her little face was bright red.
She wasn't Tohka—she was Kyouno Natsumi.
"Y-You! H-How could you…!" Natsumi squeaked, hands clapped over her mouth, staring at him in disbelief, face burning.
"So it was you, Natsumi. I knew something felt off," Shichen said with a laugh.
"What? You… you pervert!"
"What pervert? This is how Tohka and I say good morning," Shichen countered, still smiling.
"No way!" Natsumi refused to believe it.
"If you don't believe me, go ask her."
"You… I…"
"Hehe~ Since I've caught you, doesn't that mean I win?" Shichen reached out and ruffled her messy green hair.
"N-No it doesn't! How was I supposed to know you two had that kind of relationship! I want a rematch!" Natsumi protested stubbornly.
This was the "game" Natsumi had proposed.
She would disguise herself as someone else; if Shichen could recognize and "find" her, he won—and she would officially join the family.
Shichen had readily agreed. This was her last bit of pride; if he didn't indulge this, she'd never fully let go of her inferiority.
And a "honest defeat" really would make it easier for her to accept everything.
Of course, he had plenty of ways to identify her; he had nothing to worry about.
And given how intimate his relationship with everyone was, there was no way Natsumi could accurately mimic their daily interactions.
Finding her would be easy.
And he could cop a feel while he was at it.
He hadn't expected to reap benefits this quickly on the second day. Not his fault—it was the truth.
Her small lips hadn't been bad at all.
"Rematch, huh? Someone likes to cheat~"
"I am not cheating! You're cheating! Using that kind of move—my kiss…" Just remembering the feeling sent Natsumi's heart racing again.
"Alright, alright. Since you say so, I'll play along one more time. I did get compensated, after all."
"Compensated… You! Pervert!" Seeing him lick his lips, Natsumi was so angry she almost pounced on him.
"Don't blame me; that really is my and Tohka's morning routine," Shichen said innocently.
"Mm…" Natsumi didn't know how to refute that.
If that really was what he and Tohka did every morning, then she had truly dug her own pit and jumped into it.
She'd been taken advantage of, had her first kiss stolen, and couldn't even complain.
Though… she didn't exactly hate it when Shichen did those things to her.
All this time, he was the only one who'd treated her with genuine sincerity and accepted her unconditionally. Even if he was maybe a lolicon… she was a loli, after all.
No point overthinking it.
It's like a man liking women—you can't complain that "if I weren't a woman he wouldn't like me," right?
That'd be nonsense.
If you happen to match someone's tastes, that's still you.
Still, Natsumi couldn't help minding how suddenly that kiss had happened. There was nothing romantic about it.
Even with all her self-loathing and lack of confidence, she had imagined a fairy-tale-like encounter at least once.
Her meeting with Shichen had been magical enough, but because she'd been disguised as someone else, it all felt awkwardly wrong.
Even broken people have their standards—that's just being human.
People who are completely hopeless wouldn't still be here.
"Natsumi, do you hate me?" Shichen squatted down so he was eye-level with her.
"Not… really," Natsumi muttered, turning her head away. She didn't dare look at him; she'd just end up staring at his lips.
"So you do care that the kiss was too sudden, right?" Shichen hit the nail on the head.
"I… I do not care about some stupid kiss!" Natsumi snapped, tsundere as ever.
"Hehe~ your thoughts are written all over your face… I'm sorry."
"Eh?" Natsumi blinked, confused.
"I kissed you without asking first. But I really do like you; otherwise, why would I want to kiss you?"
"Mm…" The sudden confession left Natsumi completely at a loss.
"I'll make it up to you properly next time," Shichen said, resting his hand on her head and gently rubbing.
"Make… what up?" Natsumi asked, puzzled.
"The kiss, of course. When I win, I'll compensate you with a proper one."
"Wh– I don't want compensation! And it's not like you'll necessarily win!" Natsumi's face went scarlet, like a little apple.
"Is that so? I don't plan on losing," Shichen smiled.
"Mmm…" Natsumi's heart started pounding again.
What he was really saying was that he absolutely intended to pull her into this family.
How could she not be happy?
But her lack of self-confidence tied her into knots again.
"I-I won't let you win that easily. Just you wait…"
"Hold up—where are you going?" Shichen grabbed her as she turned to leave.
"Obviously I'm going to get ready again! This time I definitely won't let you figure it out so easily," Natsumi huffed.
"No rush. Stay here with me for a bit first."
"Mm?"
"It's kinda boring cooking breakfast alone. Keep me company, yeah? I might even cook you something special~"
"I don't need anything special… but I guess keeping you company for a while isn't impossible," Natsumi said, still putting up a tsundere front.
"Hehe~"