"Sora, are you settling in? Have you been eating well lately?"
Fresh from a shower, Ren sat on the sofa, on a video call with Sora Kasugano. He was still very attentive to this sister he had picked up.
If you take someone in, you have to take care of them properly.
To bring Sora Kasugano home and then dump the responsibility entirely on his parents would be an irresponsible act. It would be irresponsible to Sora, irresponsible to his parents, and irresponsible to himself.
"Onii-chan, Sora has been eating properly lately~ Look! Sora has gained weight!"
Lying on her stomach on Ren's big bed at the main house, Sora happily kicked her slender legs up and down during the video call. As she spoke, she pinched her own cheek to show Ren she was being obedient.
Ren's parents, prepared to treat Sora like their second child, had arranged a room for her right next to Ren's bedroom.
Once Sora learned that Ren's room was next door, she would often run over to play in his room. His parents had no objections.
For someone who had suffered so much trauma, becoming attached to the first person who showed her kindness was a normal reaction.
"Ren-kun, it's dry."
Ichinose, who had been sitting behind him blow-drying his hair, popped her head out from behind Ren's shoulder at this moment.
"Eh… Onii-chan, who is?"
Ichinose's sudden appearance in the video startled Sora.
"This is Honami Ichinose. She is your future sister-in-law."
"Honami, this is my sister, Sora Kasugano."
Ren introduced the two girls to each other.
When Ren introduced Ichinose as Sora's future sister-in-law, Sora's legs, which had been kicking up and down, dropped completely to the bed.
"Sister-in-law?"
"Sister?"
"The bastard has a sister?"
Hearing the keyword "sister," the other three girls also crowded their heads around.
They really didn't know Ren had a sister. They had to greet this future imouto-in-law properly.
And so,
Honami Ichinose, Chie Hoshinomiya, Airi Sakura, and Kikyo Kushida—the four girls appeared one by one in the video call, greeting Sora.
"Hello, may I call you Sora? I'm Honami Ichinose, your brother's girlfriend~"
Ichinose greeted Sora politely with a smile. Regarding this sister of Ren who had suddenly appeared, Ichinose felt no need to be on guard.
If Ren said she was his sister, then she truly was his sister. Ren wouldn't use that title lightly.
"Sora, you're so cute! This is Chie Hoshinomiya—your brother's girlfriend~"
Seeing Ichinose finish her introduction, Chie impatiently pushed her aside. She absolutely had to chat with her new little sister-in-law.
"H… Hello… S… Little Sister… I'm… Airi… S… Sakura… I'm… Ren's girlfriend."
Airi's face turned bright red as she stammered.
"Hello, Sora-chan. Can I call you that? I'm Kikyo Kushida, also your brother's girlfriend~"
Kushida jumped right in, greeting Sora with a familiar warmth.
None of the four girls received a response from Sora.
In the video, Sora hugged the black rabbit doll she had brought home tightly. Her eyes were filled with helplessness and panic. "O… Onii-chan?"
"I'm here, Sora."
Pushing Kushida away from the phone, Ren appeared in the video frame again.
Hearing Ren's voice, Sora felt a little better.
"Onii-chan… are they all brother's girlfriends?"
Sora asked cautiously. She really hadn't expected Ren to have so many girlfriends.
This was too much for her to accept all at once.
"Yes, Sora. Do you want to say hi to your sisters-in-law now?"
Ren lifted the phone so the camera could capture everyone in the frame.
"Ugh… Hello, sisters-in-law."
Like a frightened bunny, Sora buried her face into her rabbit doll and spoke in a muffled voice.
"Alright, faces have been seen. Go do whatever you need to do."
Seeing that Sora had finished greeting them, Ren signaled the girls to busy themselves with their own affairs.
Sora had just come home, and she was still timid. Hopefully, she would return to her old self in time.
"Sora, have you been to the hospital for a checkup? What did the doctor say?"
"I went. No major problems. The doctor said I'm a little malnourished…"
Seeing Ren care about her so much, Sora told him every detail about the situation when she went for the checkup.
Ren listened quietly as Sora tirelessly recounted the interesting things that had happened at home during this time, nodding occasionally to express his own opinions.
As she spoke, Sora stopped and looked at Ren seriously. "Onii-chan, does our promise from back then still count?"
A dwelling is just a dwelling; a home is where the heart rests.
For Sora, Ren was her home.
"Of course it counts."
Ren understood which promise Sora was talking about and affirmed it immediately.
"Onii-chan, Sora can go to university next year. Sora's grades are very good. I will definitely get into the university where Onii-chan is."
"Onii-chan, wait for Sora!"
Sora said confidently. When it came to grades, Sora was always sure of herself.
"Mhm, I will wait for Sora. It's getting late, Sora should go to sleep now."
Glancing at the clock on the wall and seeing it was already 11 PM, Ren reminded her.
"Mhm, Onii-chan. Goodnight!"
"Sora, goodnight."
After turning off the video call with Ren, Sora lay on her back on his large bed. She held her black rabbit doll high and gazed into its eyes.
"Onii-chan has girlfriends. And there are four of them."
"Does this mean Sora has a chance too?"
"Onii-chan belongs to Sora."
Ren was the light in Sora's eyes that dispelled the darkness. He was her salvation.
Sora wouldn't let her salvation go to other women just like that.
Ren's parents had also asked Sora if she wanted to change her name to Katsuragi Sora. Sora refused. The two of them thought Sora didn't want to forget her grandfather, so she didn't want to change the surname Kasugano to Katsuragi.
They had no idea...
Sora's thoughts were completely different.
If she changed her surname to Katsuragi now, she would truly only be Ren's sister. Later, when she became his wife, she could change her surname from Kasugano to Katsuragi.
At that time, she wouldn't have to address Ren only as "Onii-chan."
"Onii-chan, goodnight~"
Hugging the black rabbit doll into her arms, Sora fell asleep in Ren's room.
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