Stealing Spree

Looking at my cousin's grin that pretty much showcased her certainty about what she said, denying it would just make her more eager to pry it out of me.

But then again, there's no way she could be 100% certain that she's right with her assumption.

I weighed my choices and after a moment of deliberation, a smirk formed on my lips.

Since she's trying to dip into the quagmire that is my complex relationship, I'll use this chance to make fun of her reactions.

With that, I turned my head to her and readily nodded. Then with a meaningful gaze, I whispered back.

"I do love all of them. Is Chisato-nee-san a psychic?"

As I expected, the woman's eyes widened with disbelief.

"For real? I'm only trying to bluff you to get you flustered. Why are you admitting to it?"

She let go of my ear and clutched her head as her gaze wandered to my girls.

The three inside the booth waved at her. Even if they didn't know what we were talking about here, they could probably pick up something that it's related to us.

"You're full of surprises. And here I thought all these years that you'll only be devoted to your little sweetheart Akane." Chisato-nee-san said as she pressed on the middle of her chest, calming her surging emotion down.

From her expression alone, I had already achieved my goal of making fun of her.

Trying to bluff me, huh? If she failed to win against me all those years ago, why did she think she could do it this time?

Ah. That was probably why I never left her mind. A few months of playing together back then made me someone she could never forget.

She must have waited for me to return to every gathering. Too bad, my parents didn't bring me there again because of work, probably. Or maybe it's because of the awakening of my desire.

In any case, I believe reuniting with her here is totally a coincidence. As for whether she's merely an ordinary staff or much more than that, she'll surely tell me about it.

For now, I'll let her indulge in my inherent trait of 'honesty'.

"Mhm. That's what I thought too. Things happened and something changed within me on a fundamental level. I can claim I'm still devoted to her but so am I to the others..." I trailed my voice there and pointed at the girl whose head was still resting on my shoulder. "And Chisato-nee, this girl here is also like them."

"Huh?"

Amidst my frivolous cousin's renewed shock, Yua gently opened her eyes and raised her head before shyly waving at Chisato-nee-san.

Of course, even if she didn't hear Chisato-nee-san's whispers clearly, she could hear my voice just fine.

"Onee-san, hi again. I'm also Ruki's girlfriend."

At this, Chisato-nee-san's emotion once again surged as her eyes seemed to spiral into a deeper confusion. Due to that, her head wobbled for a bit before eventually landing her forehead on my open shoulder.

"Tell me this is a joke, Ruki. Three is already absurd. But four? You're not pulling my leg, are you?"

If I told you it's a lot more than that, you'd surely faint. I thought inwardly.

I'll keep that suspense for next time.

"You know me like your favorite tamarind candy, Chisato-nee-san. I'm not a liar. And even if I wanted to get back at you for all of your attempts to take Akane from me years ago, I have more interesting methods to tease you."

Like now, I guess?

I smirked as I placed my hand on top of her head and playfully combed her wavy, brown hair as though I was dealing with someone younger than me.

Chisato-nee-san had no rebuttal to that but from the way she tried to stop me from stroking her head, she really wanted to uphold her status between us.

I mean, what did she say earlier? She's my older sister? Anzu-

nee got herself a rival.

"That aside, I'm more surprised that you picked that detail up when Kaoru-san and the Director failed to do so. We aren't being obvious as far as I know."

"Yes, you're not. But I can sense it a little when looking at their faces. Dear cousin, I haven't told you yet. I'm here as Iwanami-

sensei's understudy."

Chisato-nee-san raised her head and showed a proud grin before continuing.

"I'm training to be a director like her. Whether it be for music or acting, bringing out the talent's emotions in every scene is essential for a director."

I see. It's the ability of a director, huh? Not bad.

"Wow. You are already locked in your career path. But Chisato-

nee-san, if what you say is true, doesn't that mean the Director also knows?"

"No... I'm more sensitive to it than the other aspiring and established directors."

Alright. That sounds a little convincing. But one thing still bugs me. Why does it feel like she's not just a mere understudy?

I nodded a few times and started arranging the thoughts in my head.

At the moment, the Director was still praising the girls for their performance. The song that was recorded was playing back and they were listening to it for a second time. Most likely, even if they already deemed it perfect, they're still checking for its quality.

Well, I don't really know the full process of producing it so I'll leave it to the experts.

I'm only here to cheer for my girls, after all.

"Why did you fall silent? You don't believe me?"

"No. I believe you. Just that, I feel like you're still keeping things from me, Chisato-nee-san."

"... What else can I keep from you?"

"You know there's no use playing dumb when you're dressed like an executive." I shook my head and then pointed at her.

Yes. She's wearing the absurd disguise earlier. And I already saw her in this attire. But when she entered this room, Director Iwanami who was still dazed didn't really treat her like the other two staff in that room. Furthermore, she went to me right away.

So what does that mean? Even if it's true that she's studying under her, she's performing another role here.

Chisato-nee-san's lips twitched a bit as her frail mask seemingly got lodged off her face. A moment later, she raised her head again and her demeanor became more confident.

Although she's still acting a little silly from my admission, the air around her was seemingly overhauled.

With a straight back, she pulled out a card from her suit's pocket and handed it to me.

Kirishima Chisato

Producer

"Now. It's my turn to be surprised, Chisato-nee-san."

"Hehe. What do you think? Are you proud of your big sis?" With her confident look being wiped away from her face again, the woman rubbed her nose and popped another candy in her mouth. "Let me tell you a secret. I left that place to find you. What a coincidence that out of all the guys Asahi can be associated with, it turns out to be you. Isn't this a work of fate, dear cousin?"

Fate or not, I'm still trying to process how she became a producer if her dream was to become a director.

Did she leave that place with a suitcase filled with her inheritance? And why is she searching for me?

If I recall correctly, someone from that place is coming to visit us. And it's probably not Chisato-nee-san.