Chapter 8
“Listen to me you perverted sisters!”
That day after school ended──In other words,
the after school on the day when Hikaru proposed in the morning on the way to
the school. Sakura had come to the Oogami house without delay.
“Blah blah blah... and so, me and Hikaru are
now dating!”
In the Living room, Kako, Ima, Mirai, and
Hikaru as well were sitting around the dining table.
Five of them, with Sakura included. And right
now, they were about to begin their little family council.
“That’s right, we are dating! Officially! As
lovers! That means, I’m no longer in the childhood friend position I was until
now, but instead I have become what is commonly referred to as the girlfriend!
That’s right, now bow, bow before me, all of you are too haughty!”
The point Sakura was trying to make in high
spirits was quite simple.
That is, no matter what kind of bonds they
shared or how much they got along, at the end of the day, Hikaru and Sakura
were still not directly related in any way.
And there were limits to her influence with
just her status as his childhood friend and a neighbour.
But what if she became his lover?
And not just a normal lover, but instead it
was a relationship based on a proposal, so in a way, you could say they were
engaged now.
In other words, they were now related.
You could even say she was part of his family.
Which meant that from now on her opinions held
a strong authority towards the shameless acts the sisters did!
Now THIS
is the moment I waited for so long!
Sakura snickered in her mind; finally the wind
had changed its direction for her.
Despite how long they had known each other and
how close they were, she was still resigned to a position where she was treated
like air, however, she was unexpectedly promoted by three ranks. And now, this
was the moment where she had to correct the disordered public morals of the
Oogami family.
Men and women bathing together would be
banned.
Needless exposure of the skin would also be
banned.
Excessive skinship would be banned, too.
With that, even Hikaru who ogled at the three
sisters all the time would probably get back into a proper shape.
Now, today was the day she would say it all.
She would speak without holding anything back
(from her standpoint as his relative) and finally end the licentious lifestyle
of the three sisters──
“““WE
WELCOME YOU WARMLY!”””
When Sakura was about to speak her mind, the
three sisters spoke in perfect unison.
“So great, so wonderful! You finally did it,
Sakura-chan!”
“As expected from you too, Hikaru-sama! You
sure know how to hold your own when it counts!”
“I was wondering when would you two finally
start dating, but it seems the time has finally come! Congrats, Sakura-chan!”
“Eeh? Ah, yea. Thanks?”
“Hey hey, tell us your thoughts! How do you
feel today? Come on, tell us!”
“Ah, errr. I’m happy, yeah.”
“How exactly did he propose to you, please
tell us all about it!”
“Errr, it was pretty simple. He just said
“please marry me”.”
“Sakura-oneechan, when exactly will you two
get married for real?!”
“Eh, no way, that’s still too early~ We just
started dating, you know~”
Bit by bit, Sakura’s expression broke into a
big smile.
The three sisters were good at dragging people
into their flow, and Sakura happened to be particularly susceptible.
“Still, this is wonderful news. This calls for
an immediate feast.”
“Of course. Let’s put our all into it and make
a delicious meal for tonight.”
“Aside from that, things will be getting
hectic for us too. I feel so motivated all of a sudden. How about you,
Sakura-oneechan?”
“Ah, yea. Errr. What do you mean by hectic
again? Like, the cooking?”
“No no, isn’t it quite obvious!”
“It’s exactly as Kako-neesama says. Something
like that is obvious!”
“Yaay! Bride training, bride training it is~!”
“Eh, wai-, how did it come to that? Didn’t you
just hear when I said we just started dating?”
“Indeed, we heard it loud and clear when you
said you two started officially dating.”
“And after getting proposed to, on top of
that.”
“That basically means, it is based on
marriage.”
“Wait a-”
Sakura fell into panic, but this situation was
already taken over by the three sisters.
“No no, wait a minute here, you are going too
fast there! We started dating only today, you know?! Why are you talking about
things like bride training and marriage premises all of a──”
“But you two had a marriage promise ever since
you were kids, right? That being the case, starting to date would be quite
similar to marriage, wouldn’t you agree? Then isn’t it natural to call it a
marriage premise and talk about bride training?”
“No, this and that are different things… I
mean, everyone makes such promises when they are kids, and it’s not strange for
people to forget about them too──”
“But Hikaru-san still remembered it, right?”
“And Hikaru-sama took responsibility and
proposed to you like a man, right? Moreover, he was mindful of your hesitation,
Sakura-san, and he settled for being lovers for now, didn't he? And wasn’t it
you who brought up that old topic, Sakura-san?”
“And now you are saying such things,
Sakura-oneechan? You are the worst~”
“Wiat, hold on! I said that was a
misunderstanding!”
“You are horrible, Sakura-chan. So dating
Hikaru-san is just a way to kill time for you, huh.”
“You even toyed with Hikaru-sama’s pure heart…
You are really tempting god there. You wouldn’t have any complaints if we use
our goddess’ authority to bestow a punishment on you, would you?”
“I seem to have misjudged you,
Sakura-oneechan… I didn’t think you were that kinda person.”
“Wait wait! How did it come to this?! Isn’t
this just weird?!”
While they were at it, Hikaru quietly sipped
his Bancha, a lower grade tea, and waited for the outcome.
As someone who didn’t talk much but was quite
wise, he knew very well that discretion was the better part of valor here.
Yup, you guessed it. He found it amusing,
hence he just waited and watched.
“If you say you weren’t playing with him, then
prove it with your actions.”
“Dating Hikaru-sama, the reincarnation of
Odin-sama, without a goal is like a waste of divinity. You have to give a
proper shape to your dating.”
“And the best way to do that would be bride
training! If you do it, we will be convinced that you aren’t just playing
around with him~”
“Yes, bride training.”
“Bride training it is.”
“Bride training, bride training!”
“Aaah, just shut up shut up shut up!”
Sakura who was fighting a losing battle had
finally snapped.
She couldn’t endure it when they called the
love she harbored for over ten years as mere playing.
If it’s proof they wanted, then it’s proof
they would get.
“Fine, I’ll do that bride training! While it’s
not my forte, I can still cook, clean and do laundry!”
“Hey, did you hear her?”
“I heard it loud and clear, Kako-neesama.”
“Me too~ With this, we got her promise.”
“──Actually, I ended up agreeing on it, but
isn’t this all strange, after all?! I said it many times already, but we just
started dating, so we are still at the stage of a platonic love, okay?! How did
the bride training come up here!”
“But you already promised.”
“Let me warn you that if you fail to keep your
promise before the goddesses, you will be in for some big trouble.”
“Then let’s get on with bride training
starting from this moment!”
“...Agh, I don’t care anymore. Fine, fine, I
got it.”
Sakura finally resigned herself to her fate.
It was three versus one from the start, and to
make matters worse, the goddesses who were skilled at speech were her
opponents. Now that it had come to this, she had no choice but to abide to it.
“As I said, I’ll do everything whether it’s
cooking, cleaning or laundry. They are fields I’m not really skilled at, but I
never dedicated my time to learn them...so this might actually be a good
opportunity. Okaay! Now that’s decided, I suddenly feel motivated! I’ll give my
all with this bride training of yours! Just watch me, you perverted sisters,
I’ll show you that even I can do it if I get serious! Now, whatever kind of
spartan education it is, just come at me!”
Evening of the same day, Hikaru’s room on the
second floor.
...How
did it come to this?
While staring at the ceiling that had the
lights turned off, Sakura asked herself in a daze.
She was going to do bride training, and she
was fine with it.
She expected that it would be a road full of
hardships. If it was something that could be solved in one day, the housewives
all over the country wouldn’t be having such hardships. I will accept all the challenges head on, she made such resolution.
But how did it come to this?
She believed she had resolved herself, but
this was something beyond what she had in mind.
“It’s been a while since we’ve done this,
huh.”
Hikaru, also looking at the ceiling from
beside her, said in a nostalgic manner.
“I wonder how many years has it been since
we’ve slept together like this.”
“Errr, I think ever since the outdoors school
from our second year of the grade school… No no, wait, rather than that...”
“Hm? Was there some other time when we had a
chance to sleep together?”
“Ah, no, I’m sure that was the last time we
got to sleep together… I mean, this is no time for that. Isn’t there something
else we should be commenting on with our current situation?”
“Ah, is your pillow uncomfortable by chance?
Wanna switch it with mine?”
“Ah, yea, please do. I’m having a hard time
sleeping with the pillow I’m not used to… I MEAN, THAT’S
NOT IT! WHY ARE WE SLEEPING IN THE SAME BED IS WHAT I’M ASKING!”
Sakura went with the flow without thinking
before finally snapping.
But that was quite a natural reaction.
After all, just as she had pointed out, they
were now sleeping together.
It was one thing for the early grade
schoolers, but these were pubescent youngsters we were talking about.
“...And again, just how did it come to this…”
“Isn’t this because of bride training?”
“No, I get that part! I’m saying that the
training itself is weird!”
“From what I remember, it started as fairly
normal bride training at first.”
“Right, it was normal at first… We started off
with cooking practice…”
“That you did, but you were just that terrible
at it, Sakura.”
“I can’t help it. I’m not skilled at using my
fingers, and I’m not cooking at home either.”
“So, since that couldn’t be helped, you moved
on to the cleaning. But once again, you were hopeless at cleaning…”
“I can’t help that either. I’m clumsy, and I’m
not doing any cleaning at home either.”
“At that point, the mood had already turned
grim, but then everyone thought you’d at least be able to do the laundry. After
all, all you had to do was to throw the laundry into the washing machine and
hit the button.”
“Yea, I also thought that was the case...at
first! But you know, when I hit that button, the washing machine started
smoking and it broke! I bet it was at the end of its lifespan!”
“Sorry to disappoint you, but we just recently
bought that one, and it’s still the warranty period. Though this wasn’t wear
and tear, so the guarantee doesn’t cover it.”
“...It’s a conspiracy!”
Sakura shouted with a cornered expression.
“There’s something really wrong with it! Don’t
you find it strange, if you think about it normally?! Even if it’s me we are
talking about, I still can’t accept that I’d fail this much! I’m certain this
was a conspiracy devised by some people!”
“Do you really think so?”
“No, sorry, I don’t. It’s all because I’m so
hopeless. I’m sorry for being such a useless girl…”
“I was aware of it though. That you are a
genius when it comes to the lack of ability with housework in general.”
“I thought I could finally do it! I’m already
in high school, I thought I might be able to do the things I wasn’t able to in
the past! I get that it was just a wishful thinking!”
“Isn’t it fine, though? Having things you are
bad at. I think it’s smarter to improve what you are good at and leave what you
are bad at to others.”
“Ugh… Sometimes you pull out a sound argument
that I can’t even retort to…”
“Don’t worry, don’t worry. There were
characters who did cliche things like you in the popularity contest top
rankings of the weekly shonen jump I read some time ago.”
“Are you saying that my lack of talent is on
the same level as manga? Ugaaah!”
Sakura screamed teary eyed, while Hikaru
laughed nonchalantly.
“──No, wait a minute. Let’s get back to the
main point.”
“What was it again?”
“It was as to why are we sleeping in the same
bed now! After talking so nonchalantly, I totally forgot the most important
part!”
“Isn’t it fine though? Your old man and mom
gave us their permission too.”
“Don’t use my papa and mama as a reference!
They are the types that would just say, ‘Yeah, you can go and mate with
Hikaru-kun if you want, wa-ha-ha!’!”
“Ah. Yeah, they totally would.”
“Right, my papa and mama are really so──agh,
the conversation is getting derailed again!”
“In the end, isn’t the reason quite apparent?
It’s because Sakura is so hopeless at housework that it has come to this, isn’t
it?”
“Ugh.”
“You suck at cooking, cleaning and laundry, so
your only choice is to become skilled in bed, so get into his bed right
now──when the sisters suggested that, you weren’t thinking clearly and
carelessly agreed. Isn’t that what happened I wonder.”
“Yes, that’s how it was. Thank you very much
for pointing it out so calmly.”
“Then, should we stop it, after all? This
practice, I mean.”
“...That would piss me off in its own way. I
don’t wanna flee while being treated as a useless girl. If I turned tail now, I
can’t even imagine what the sisters would tell me later.”
“Now that’s quite the dilemma. By the way, I
am personally quite happy to be sharing a bed with you.”
“...Can you not summarize the situation so
easily… If you tell me that with a smile, how do you expect me to object…”
“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna do anything
against your will.”
“I-It’s not like I’m against…”
“I’m am a guy who can wait. I will wait for as
long as you want me to. Be it days, months or even years.”
“...If you put it that way, it feels like you
are just leaving the decision to me alone.”
“Well, let’s do it now then. Let’s start with
the kiss and then──”
“You just had to start with something extreme!
Are you a native digital guy with nothing but 1s and 0s in your head?! If you
aren’t, then set a better mood for this or──aagh, I’m such a bothersome girl,
even if I say so myself! Just be quiet for a bit! Give me time to think! I’m
trying to collect my thoughts!”
“Okay okay, I’ll wait.”
Hikaru laughed in amusement, while Sakura
turned over and covered her face.
Aah,
come on! What’s up with this situation, gimme a break!
I feel
like screaming my lungs out.
Really,
just why did it come to this. Is it my fault? I’m sorry.
But...but...──Sakura felt conflicted.
She wasn’t trying to find an excuse, but this
situation was kinda inevitable. She knew that the goddesses weren’t the bad
ones here, but she sometimes had trouble following their ideas, given that they
were gods, and those calamitous beings were leading her around as they pleased.
Thinking back, the past was quite peaceful.
Past──In this case, it referred to just a few
months prior. Back when the goddesses weren’t around, she had a calm
relationship with Hikaru, and she didn’t used to barge in while yelling about
shamelessness, and it was out of question for her to sleep with him in order to
become better in bed.
Peace. Indeed, it was peaceful.
There was no incidents. Her relationship with
Hikaru was concluded, and they spend their days without any acton, being the
“close–albeit slightly unusual–childhood friends who stayed good friends even
now that they had become high school students”.
…
……
………
Yeah,
that’s no good.
Sakuwa was self-aware of it.
That would be a waste of their life. If the
sisters weren’t here, her relationship with Hikaru would never change, and
nothing would ever happen, and they would stay as just childhood friends, she
had a strong premonition of that. Sakura was well aware that she was a
late-bloomer. This time, Hikaru “just happened to” confess and it ended well,
but the luck wasn’t always on her side. Perhaps there was a future where they
stayed as childhood friends and Hikaru instead dated with someone else. And
thinking calmly about it, she realised that there was a high chance that she
was heading exactly towards that future.
I
wouldn’t ever want that, Sakura strongly believed so.
After
all, I really love Hikaru.
She would never give up on that.
Reincarnation of Odin?
He might’ve been a good at one point?
As if that mattered. Hikaru was Hikaru. He was
someone she always loved, and while he had some weird parts, he was kind and
reliable deep down. He was someone she wanted to have by her side forever and
ever.
And if she wanted him to be by her side, to
always snuggle up to her, then she couldn’t continue as she did until now. If
she wanted everything to remain the same, she had to make a change. It was
quite a contradiction but a truth nonetheless.
And if so, now was the time.
Now, when some mysterious circumstances had
led them into sleeping together.
Surely, this was the best chance she would
get, to change things in order for everything to stay the same, would she not?
“Hey, Hikaru──”
Making up her mind, she called out to him.
“Shall we do it...today?”
That was the best invitation she could muster,
she was a girl that could hardly be called assertive.
And Hikaru’s answer to her invitation was the
following.
“Zzz.”
…
……
………
...This
bastard actually dared to sleep!
Smack!
She instinctively slapped Hikaru in the head.
“Ouch...Zzz.”
He reacted to it, but went back to sleep just
as quickly.
This
guy! This guy is just…!
I can’t
believe it! I can’t believe it!
Why is
he sleeping so soundly?! Well, that sounds like him, but still!
“Soiya! (Smack!)”
“Ouch…Zzz.”
She ended up hitting him one more time. But
Hikaru went back to sleep again.
Haah… I
get it, I don’t care anymore.
Sakura gave up.
Though she knew that he was this kind of a
guy.
He was off with his weird timings, that was
who Oogami Hikaru was, and at times, it was also one of his charms. Her
weakness of falling in love with him had finally ran out of luck, and like
this, she had no other choice but to keep dating him for her entire life.
Agh, I
look like an idiot! Let’s just sleep, sleep!
She lied down and covered her face with the
blanket.
But
still… Was this really fine?
Thinking calmly about it, this was their first
day after they started dating. There was no need to force herself to do the
unreasonable. She fell for the smooth talk, got swept up by the mood, and
depending on the circumstances, there was a chance that she would cross that
one line too. It was a close call.
Right,
right. It’s fine to just take this slowly.
It’d been over ten years ever since they met;
a little too late for them to finally start dating.
But it was not necessarily a bad thing to take
time with it. The fast paced relationships were mainstream in the world,
however there was no need for everyone to follow the same route.
So I’ll
just sleep for now. Goodnight.
Saying that to herself, Sakura closed her
eyes.
A lot had happened today, however it was still
a good day, in the end.
Let us pray that tomorrow brings yet another
good day.
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