Chapter 1: Broken Promise

"It's here!" yelled Kirino excitedly as she ran down the stairs. The new eroge that she'd ordered It's Okay Onii-san had arrived! When she picked up the box, she was about to run back up to play it as soon as possible when she remembered something.

Her brother was home. It would be more fun to play it with him and get his reaction than just playing by herself. She opened the door to the living room and saw that he was reading on the couch. "Hey, I got a new eroge! Come and play it with me!" she ordered.

"What?" Kyousuke saw the box in her hands and had an idea of what was in it. "No! Why don't you just play it by yourself?"

"N-no reason," answered Kirino, flustered. "Just come on, and play it with me."

"No," he said firmly and continued reading.

Kirino frowned and decided to play the cute sister card. She walked up to him and pulled his arm away from his book.

He was starting to get really annoyed and stood up to confront her. "What are you-

"Hey," she said while pouting as adorably as she could. Which she saw made him blush and look away. "Come on, it'll be fun. I haven't seen you in a while, I just want to spend some time with my brother." She pulled him up from the couch.

"No," repeated Kyousuke angrily. "I don't want to play those weird games anymore. Especially not with you."

Weird? Kirino was stunned for a moment. "Fine then!" she yelled. "Get away from me, you pervert!" She let go of his arm and pushed him away.

He nearly lost his balance but managed to stay on his feet after taking a few steps back. "What the hell?!" he shouted. "You're the one who walked up to me, why should I be the one who leaves? And you're a way bigger pervert than I am!"

"Shut up!" Kirino held her box close to her chest and sprinted up to her room. All she'd wanted was to spend some time with him. Whatever! she thought. I'll play it by myself, I don't need him anyway!

She turned on her computer and opened up the box. "There you are," she smiled as she saw the cover. It showed a young, dark-haired girl laying on her back on a bed with her arms wide open. The title It's Okay Onii-san was in big letters inside of a speech bubble above her. "Heh heh, you're so cute," Kirino practically drooled over the image.

She put the disc in, but while she waited for it to load, she couldn't but feel upset over what Kyousuke had said. Yes, she knew her hobby was weird. After all, she had hidden it from everybody for a long time. Still, it had hurt when he'd called it weird. He'd always been considerate of her hobby and had gone out of his way to help her if she ever felt guilty about it.

And he'd promised that he wouldn't think any less of her for it too. How could he just break it like that?

Kirino shook her head violently. Why am I thinking about that? Besides, I shouldn't be so upset. Hmph, as if I care about what he thinks.

After a few moments, she sighed sadly, she couldn't lie to herself. Kyousuke's opinion did matter to her. She still loved him, even if they'd promised to have a normal brother/sister relationship, she wished that she could get closer to him. But she'd had no opportunities for the past month, ever since he'd gone off to college. The only reason he was here right now was that he was just visiting for a few days.

No, even before that, he'd been avoiding me she realized. Why? Right after they'd ended their relationship, he'd acted like the kind, caring brother that he'd always been. He'd come with her to Akihabara as often as she wanted him to and she'd always been able to depend on him. But then he'd started to spend less and less time with her, saying that he had other things to do. He had never seemed to be around, and when he was it had seemed like he couldn't stay long. Any conversation she'd try to start up with him would just result in him giving one word answers.

In fact, that was the situation right now. Even though he'd arrived last night, he hadn't spoken with her at all. If she didn't count the conversation they'd just had.

"Finally! God, why does it take so long?" asked Kirino as it finished loading. This was just what I need, a cute little sister eroge to get my mind off of that . . . that idiot.

The main character woke up in his bed to see a young girl next to him. She started to speak. "Good morning, onii-san. I'm here to wake you up, I-I hope you don't mind." She blushed and fidgeted nervously.

"Ohhhh, of course it's okay," answered Kirino. She read the options.

Thank her for waking you up.

Ask her what time it is.

Tell her to leave and that you could have woken up on your own.

"Well, that's an obvious choice." Kirino clicked on option number one.

"Thanks Saiko," said the main character. "I'm so lucky to have a caring sister like you."

The young girl smiled and blushed even harder. "It's nothing."

Kirino giggled at her cuteness, she could already tell that this game would be great! But after a few minutes, she started thinking of her brother again.

Why did he start avoiding me? she wondered. It's not like I did anything wrong, right? And . . . what did he mean when he said that he especially didn't want to play this with me? That had been especially hurtful. Did he hate her now?

"I'm, I'm so sorry! I won't bother you anymore!" Saiko started running away with tears in her eyes.

"Crap!" Kirino had no idea what she'd just clicked. She was too worried about what Kyousuke thought of her. She couldn't play this right now. Hah. she thought Me, unable to play such a wonderful eroge. He's the only one that could ever do that to me.

She couldn't bear the thought of him hating her. Sure, she hadn't treated him well for the past couple of years, but they'd gotten past that, hadn't they? It wasn't like she'd started treating him like that again. She'd tried to repay him for all the kindness that he'd shown her and apologize for all those times she'd been cruel to him.

She opened her drawer and grabbed one of the heart shaped photos she and Kyousuke had taken on their very first date. Well, she supposed it hadn't been a real date, it had just been to fool someone else into thinking that she had a boyfriend. Still, she'd been so happy and nervous about it that she'd banged her head on the wall the night before.

She looked at it fondly. She was the only one smiling in it, his expression just showed that she'd dragged him into it. Still . . . she didn't regret it at all. She just wished she could have been more open with her feelings, even though at that point he probably hadn't felt the same way she did. Although, considering the way she'd acted she was a bit surprised that he hadn't realized how badly she wanted him to be her boyfriend. And she was so glad that he'd fallen in love with her.

But now, he might not even love her as a sister anymore.

Kyousuke put on his shoes and left the house. Seriously, why was Kirino so upset? He'd just said that he didn't want to play eroge with her. Didn't she want to have a normal sibling relationship? If so, he was sure that little sisters didn't ask their brothers to play erotic little sister themed video games.

Still, maybe I was a bit too harsh he wondered. She might have misunderstood what I meant when I said that I "especially" didn't want to play with her. He thought he'd imagined it, but after he'd said that Kirino's face had shown a hurt expression, although only for a moment.

I should probably go apologize to her. Then he remembered how angry she'd gotten. On second thought, I'll do so after she's calmed down he amended. He didn't want to deal with any more injuries from her.

He continued walking down the street. He had no idea where he was going, he just needed to get out of the house for a bit. Away from Kirino. Her presence was just a bit too much for him, he hadn't seen her in weeks. Although he'd been avoiding her even before then, during the weeks leading up to him moving out for college.

He wished that he had the courage to just treat her like a normal sister again. But he couldn't, he didn't love her the way a brother should. He didn't want to treat her like a sister, he wanted to be her boyfriend again. And if he got too close to her he'd mess up and break their promise. Still, he couldn't avoid her forever. He'd just have to find a way to-

"Kyou-chan?" asked a girl in front of him.

Oh no. He'd been so lost in thought that he hadn't been paying attention to where he was going. If she hadn't said something, he'd probably have bumped into her while looking off in the distance. Wait, how did she know his name?

He looked over to her. "Manami-san?" Kyousuke took several steps back in surprise. He hadn't seen her since, well, since she and Kirino had fought each other in the park.

Manami wasn't sure how to react to Kyousuke. "Kyou-chan, I-I haven't seen you in a while. How come you're back?"

"Oh, I'm just visiting for a while," answered Kyousuke nervously. "So, um, do you still live at your house? Since the university you're going to is nearby."

"Yeah."

They both stood there awkwardly, both unsure of what to say to each other.

Manami started up the conversation again. "Kyou-chan, do you still feel the same way for Kirino-chan?" she asked, hoping that he'd say no.

"I-I do," he answered uncomfortably.

"I see," she said sadly. "Kyou-chan, let me just tell you, I still think it's wrong."

Kyousuke nodded knowingly. "Well, I didn't really expect any different."

"But . . . but even so, I'll support you," continued Manami. "I've had some time to think, and I realized that the important thing is that being in a relationship with her makes you happy. And I won't get in the way of your happiness, no matter what I think about it."

"Manami . . ." He hadn't expected this, but he was incredibly grateful, he couldn't imagine how she was ignoring her sense of morals to say that.

"I've missed you Kyou-chan!" Manami's voice became more passionate, very different from her usual soft, polite tone. "I love you! Even so, losing you completely is a lot worse than losing you to your sister. So, I'll endure you and Kirino being happy together. Just be friends with me again! At least."

He hugged her tightly and unknowingly made her blush. "Thank you Manami-san, you don't know how much that means to me." He released her. "But you won't have to endure anything, Kirino and I . . . we ended our relationship. A-a lot of what you said at the park was right. She and I can't have a relationship like that even though we love each other. Our parents, friends that are less forgiving or understanding, even people who didn't know us would object."

"Oh . . . I had no idea," said Manami. She did her best to hide her joy, she could tell that it was still a painful subject for him. "So, does that mean we'll be friends again?" she asked hopefully.

"Of course!" he said with a smile. To be honest, he'd missed Manami too. She'd always been by his side for the past ten years and she'd been a truly reliable friend.

"Um, feel free to decline, but, would you like to come to dinner at my house tonight?" asked Manami.

"Well, sure," agreed Kyousuke. "I have to leave in two days anyway, it'll be nice to eat at your house again. Let me just tell my parents." He got out his phone and called his parents, reminding them that they'd get to see him for two more days when his mother was reluctant to the idea.

"Alright, let's go," announced Kyousuke after hanging up.

"Um, well, we still have an hour before it's dinnertime," said Manami. "So, you can just come by then."

"Okay," he replied, he turned to walk back home. But before taking his first step he changed his mind, "Actually, Manami-san, do you mind if I go with you now? We might not see each other again for a while, and you're a really important friend to me. I can help you cook if you want," he suggested.

"I don't mind at all." answered Manami.

As the two walked to her house they talked. Kyousuke revealed that he didn't really have a specific career in mind, but he was studying business in order to make sure his father wouldn't complain about him wasting his higher education. Manami didn't have any specific plans for the future either, although she was interested in art.

When they reached Manami's house, he was greeted by her brother and grandparents. Manami's brother, Iwao, had somehow managed to mess up another visit to the barber, this time he had a Mohawk. Yet he believed he looked like a cool rock star, while Kyousuke wasn't willing to disillusion him again.

Her grandparents still teased them both about their relationship, constantly hinting and at one point outright asking when they were going to get together. Kyousuke deflected them off as jokes, but he realized that for Manami they weren't. It was really awkward, since he knew how she really felt about him. Even so, it was an enjoyable evening, certainly preferable to whatever treatment Kirino would probably have given him.

"Kirino! Dinnertime!" called Kirino's mother from the kitchen.

"Coming!" Kirino yelled down. She ran down the stairs, Kyousuke certainly wouldn't be able to avoid her when they ate. Their parents usually insisted that they eat together as a family, and they'd be even more insistent since he'd would be leaving soon.

She sat down at the dinner table at her usual spot. Ready to stomp on her brother's foot as soon as he arrived. That wasn't all though, she'd insult him as harshly as her parents would let her. That's the only reason why I'm excited she reasoned. Not because of him.

But after her parents sat down, they didn't say a word about Kyousuke and started eating their food. Kirino decided to ask, "Hey, where's Kyousuke?"

"He didn't tell you?" asked her mother. "He's eating at a friend's house for dinner tonight."

"Oh," answered Kirino disappointedly.

Her mother continued. "Can you believe it? He returns from college after a month for a few days, and just leaves our family during dinnertime."

"It's not that big of a deal Yoshino," said Kirino's father. "He'll still be here for a couple of days."

His wife sighed, "Well, I suppose so. And I guess it's good that he visits his friends too."

"Hmph, well I think it's a lot better without him," added Kirino. "Honestly, I was worried about how he'd ruin our meal. They've been a lot better off without him."

"You miss him, don't you?" teased Yoshino.

"N-no! Of course not!" replied Kirino immediately with a mortified blush. "Who'd miss an idiot like him anyway?" she murmured.

"Okay, I understand." Her mother said as she winked. Hopefully her daughter would eventually understand that there was no need to hide her feelings about her brother. But even though she suspected that Kirino and Kyousuke's relationship wasn't normal for siblings, she had no idea how they truly felt for each other.

They ate the rest of the meal without any trouble. Yoshino moved the subject of the conversation by asking about how their day was. Although Kirino was still more subdued than usual. This was another reason Yoshino had wanted Kyousuke to eat with them again, ever since he'd left, Kirino had become less cheerful. It pained Yoshino to watch her passionate, hard-working little girl be like that, especially when she tried to hide it.

Still, she hoped that situation would change in the next couple of days. Kyousuke had better get his act together.

"Man, I really messed up." Kyousuke scolded himself as he walked back home. He'd stayed over at Manami's house for too long. He'd probably get a scolding from his father about being responsible when he got home, he certainly wasn't looking forward to that.

It's not like it was my fault though. He'd practically had to fight off Manami's family. They'd pretty much abandoned any subtlety in their attempts to get him and Manami together, although it wasn't like they'd had much before. Seriously, had Manami's grandfather really found it necessary to try and spill soup on him to get him to stay longer? He'd claimed it had been an accident, but Kyousuke had heard him curse "young people's quick reflexes" under his breath when he'd dodged it by a few centimeters.

Although that had been much better than listening to her younger brother play as many songs as possible on his makeshift guitar in order to delay him. Kyousuke had resorted to pointing out how ridiculous his new hairstyle was in order to stop his playing.

Kyousuke had to admit though, it had still been fun. The definition of a fun night for many of his college friends was going out and drinking. It was a nice change of pace. "I'm such an idiot though." He sighed, amazed by how just making one comment could make him feel so guilty. Just before leaving the door, he'd complimented Manami's cooking and told her that she'd make a good housewife someday.

It had been an offhand comment. In fact, it was something he'd said it plenty of times before during their friendship. Before, she would just blush and say that he shouldn't joke like that. Yet when he'd said it only a few minutes ago, her entire face had turned red and she'd smiled happily before wishing him a good night.

It made him even more guilty thinking about it. Damn it, I don't want to get her hopes up only to have to reject her again. I just want to be friends with her, just friends. A possibility hit him. Does she think that I might love her now because Kirino is out of the picture? Oh no. Manami was nice, and he did like her, but only as a friend. The analogy of a grandmother stuck in a teenager's body still held true. That was how he felt about her, regardless of any other girl.

As Kyousuke approached his house, he started to worry less about how to make sure he wouldn't hurt Manami's feelings and more on what he'd say to his dad. He didn't have any good excuses, and lying wasn't an option. His father was very strict about honesty.

He still hadn't found anything that would really lessen his father's wrath when he reached the door. Well, here goes nothing. Kyousuke opened it and entered the living room.

His father, Kousaka Daisuke was sitting on an armchair reading a newspaper. "You're an hour later than you said you'd be," he noted calmly.

"Yes, I'm very sorry." Kyousuke bowed his head.

"Why are you late?" asked his father, although he really didn't seem to mind.

"I-I was enjoying being with Manami-san again and didn't keep track of time. Her family also asked me to stay for a bit longer, which I'd agreed to even though I had promised to return earlier," explained Kyousuke. "I'll accept whatever punishment you give me for it."

His father put down his paper and didn't speak for a few seconds. "Just don't do it again," he said sternly before reading again.

"Huh?" asked Kyousuke. "That's it? No punishment?"

"Do you want a punishment?" asked Daisuke.

"No! Not at all! It was just . . . I was expecting worse."

"You're an adult now," his dad replied. "You should be able to learn from your mistakes by now. Besides, you've mostly behaved yourself for the past few years, punishments are no longer necessary."

"Oh, okay then." Kyousuke starting walking to the kitchen.

However, before he reached it his mother opened the door to the living room, revealing that she'd been listening the whole time. "Manami-san, huh?" she asked. "You've always been close with her, haven't you?"

Kyousuke shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

"You've developed feelings for her, haven't you? No wonder you stayed so late with her! Oh, I think she'd be a perfect wife for you!"

"No!" argued Kyousuke, mortified at the thought. "I don't think of her that way at all!"

"Really? Then why are you blushing?" asked his mother skeptically.

"Because it's embarrassing, not because I actually do!"

She sighed. "Fine." Seriously, was Kyousuke starting to try and hide his emotions too? "Well, at least my little boy is back. Let me call down your sister so the family is all together again."

Great, thought Kyousuke sarcastically. He hoped that Kirino wouldn't still be upset over what their argument from earlier. Insulting her hobby hadn't been a good move, even if it had it let him keep his distance from her.

"Kirino! Can you come down for a bit?" called their mother.

After a few moments Kirino answered. "Coming!" When she opened the door, she paused, seeing her brother was there.

"Oh, you're back," she said blankly.

Good, it looks like she's calmed down, Kyousuke thought with relief. "Yeah," he answered.

"So, do you need something mom?" asked Kirino. She didn't want to stay with that hurtful idiot for any longer than she had to. Although . . . although she was glad that he'd come back.

"The whole family's going to be together tonight!" announced their mother happily. "This is Kyousuke's first visit since he left for college! Come on, haven't you missed your brother?"

"Not really," mumbled Kirino while looking off to the side.

"Sure sure, sit down anyway," ordered their mother. "The both of you. So Kyousuke, tell us how is college life?"

Kyousuke sat as far off from Kirino as he could, just in case she got upset again and decided to take her rage out on him. He told them about the new friends that he'd made, although he did leave out the more irresponsible ones who went drinking and took drugs. Since he knew how his parents would start tirelessly reminding him about avoiding people who were bad influences.

College life was enjoyable. Kyousuke liked most of his classes, and he could act a lot more independently as a college student. It was a lot of fun, although he assured his father that he wasn't just fooling around. He still strove to do well academically and find a career for himself.

It got very awkward when Kyousuke's mom asked him if there were any girls he was interested in. He mentioned a couple of names just to get her off the topic, and made up plans on how he planned to attract them. Luckily, his mom was satisfied with his response and started asking about other aspects of his life. Kyousuke's relief at changing the subject of the conversation had been short-lived though, he couldn't help but notice that Kirino had been troubled when he'd talked about his love life.

After talking about his own life, Kyousuke asked how things were going in theirs. Especially Kirino's. He felt guilty for being relieved when she revealed that she wasn't dating anyone either, or found any guys she liked. She was still very active in her modeling, which was no surprise considering her growing beauty. Kirino was also excelling academically as she had in middle school, and she was one of the fastest in the track team.

Kyousuke whistled after hearing about all of it. "Guess I really can't compare to my amazing little sister."

Kirino ignored his compliment. "Well, it's getting late, I'm going to sleep."

As she left, Kyousuke's parents decided to turn in for the night as well. Kyousuke, however, wanted to stay up for a bit longer. Although he was on a visit to his family, he still had work to catch up on. He decided to go up to his room.

It was mostly bare, since he'd taken most his belongings to college. He took his laptop out of his bag, deciding that he could probably get a good start on his essay for his literature class. After spending a couple of hours on it, he went to bed.

"Hey, hey, wake up," said a girl's voice impatiently.

What the? Kyousuke opened his eyes slightly, why was the light in his room on? And who was?

After a moment for his eyes to adjust, he saw who it was on top of him. Kirino. Who else? he wondered.

"What are you doing in my room?" he asked, annoyed. What time is it? He wondered, it was still dark outside.

"I-I need to ask you a few things," answered Kirino in embarrassment.

Well, at least she didn't slap me awake this time. "Can't this wait until morning?"

"It can't," replied Kirino seriously.

He sighed. "Alright, get off of me first."

"No!" she yelled, then blushed. "I mean . . . no, not until you answer."

"Fine then," replied Kyousuke, assuming this was more life counseling. "Hurry up and ask me."

Kirino shifted uncomfortably. "Do-do you-" she hesitated in embarrassment. Why can't I just say it?! It hadn't been this hard to do so in her head, why was it was so much harder in real life? But she still had to get it out. "Do you still . . . love me?"

Kyousuke hoped she didn't mean what he was thought. He went for the safe answer. "Of course, we're family, and-

"Not like that!" interrupted Kirino and looked him in the eyes. "Forget about our promise! Do you still love me?"

Kyousuke saw how nervous and desperate she was. Kirino, why are you asking me this? he wondered. "I love you," he said.

"Really?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes Kirino," he promised. "Even though we promised to be normal siblings again, I . . ."

Kirino didn't let him finish speaking, instead she kissed him happily.

Kyousuke panicked. What in the world is she doing?! Their promise! Even if she wouldn't enforce it, he had to at least. He moved his arms up, but instead of pushing her off as he'd first intended to, he pulled her closer. Damn it, he cursed himself. It had been so long since he'd touched a girl this way, and this was Kirino. His sister, the one he was in love with. Her body was so soft, and she smelled so wonderful. Her lips were on his own, begging for more. It was impossible to deny her.

Finally, they separated to regain their breath.

"K-Kirino!" Kyousuke was horrified by what they'd just done.

"Don't act like you didn't like it," said Kirino with a smile. She hugged his chest. "I'm so happy."

He didn't know what to say. What were they going to do? He wasn't sure if a normal sibling relationship was possible anymore. As if it wasn't hard enough to keep it that way before thought Kyousuke.

"Is-is that all you needed to know?" Kyousuke hoped. The way she was lying on top of him was so nice, it was hard to stop himself from doing anything he would regret.

"What? Trying to get rid of me?" she asked in an irritated voice.

"No, of course not," he lied. That was the sister he knew: the proud, bossy, condescending sibling. Not the vulnerable, emotional girl she'd been just a second ago.

"Hmph. Actually, since that's settled, I have a few more questions," added Kirino. She pointed at him. "First, why the hell have you been avoiding me?!"

"A-avoiding you? I have no idea what you're talking about," answered Kyousuke nervously.

Kirino wasn't in the mood for this. "Don't play dumb. When you came back yesterday, you hardly even spoke to me. And today . . . today you said that my eroge were weird and that you especially didn't want to play them with me," she added hurtfully.

"Look, I'm sorry about saying your hobby was weird," answered Kyousuke apologetically. "I didn't mean it. And even if I had, I had no right to make fun of it."

"That better be true," said Kirino angrily. Hiding how touched she was by his apology. "Don't think that's enough. Explain the rest. Now." she ordered threateningly.

"Okay, okay." Kyousuke wasn't sure how to begin. "I've been avoid you because . . . because . . . I don't want to break our promise." Although they'd already broken it only moments ago.

"Huh? What kind of excuse is that?!"

"It's just . . . it's hard to pretend that you're just my little sister, that I don't feel the way I do," replied Kyousuke. "Whenever I'm with you, I want to show how much I love you and I have to hold myself back from- He stopped himself, embarrassed to go on further.

"From what?" asked Kirino softly.

"Look, it doesn't matter," Kyousuke said, regretting saying anything at all. "Just forget it, everything. In the morning, we'll be normal siblings again, okay? I won't avoid you anymore, I'll stop being a coward and get over my feelings. So please, go back to your room."

Kirino didn't move an inch. "Kyousuke, if it really is that hard for you. Do want to try again?"

For a moment, Kyousuke was about to say yes. Being truthful and loving with her again, he wanted to so badly. But . . . it wouldn't work out. Their relationship was taboo; society would condemn them if anybody else knew. I should have just tried to be happy with the time I already had with her he thought, angry with himself for complicating everything. "No."

"Why?" asked Kirino, unexpectedly devastated by his answer.

"We were right to decide to end our relationship when we did," he said. "You knew it wouldn't work, how would we explain this to our parents? Or people like Manami-san?"

"Since when did that ever matter to you? What happened to my stupid brother who said that what they thought wasn't important? That he'd fight the rules because he had something more important?"

"Kirino . . . our promise-

"Forget about our promise!" Kirino cried out. "Look, we can try again. I don't want to pretend I don't love you either!" She hugged him tightly, refusing to let go until he agreed. "Hey, we can keep it a secret this time. Just between the two of us, please," she begged.

"Is that really what you want? To have to hide our relationship from everyone?"

"It won't matter as long as I can be with you," answered Kirino.

"Even if we won't get to see each other often?" Kyousuke did have to go back to college in a couple of days after all. At most, he could visit once or twice a month.

"I'll wait."

Kyousuke was about to come up with another reason why they shouldn't do it but stopped after seeing her expression. "You really are determined to do this, huh?"

She nodded in response.

He smiled happily. "Makes me wonder what I did to deserve this."

"You didn't do anything, you idiot," lied Kirino. She was extremely grateful for everything he'd done, for all those times he'd helped her. "You should be glad that I'm the one with the courage to try again," she said. "So?"

After a few seconds, Kyousuke decided. "Alright, we'll try again."

"Really?" asked Kirino excitedly.

"Really." He patted her head again. "Now go back to your room, you have school tomorrow don't you?"

"Okay." Kirino kissed him on the cheek and got off his bed. "Good night." She walked back to her room and collapsed on the bed. I can't believe I actually did that! she thought to herself. She'd been so nervous confronting him again. She hadn't planned to start their relationship again, but after hearing Kyousuke she realized that was what she really wanted.

After a few moments, Kirino realized she couldn't sleep. She giggled, It's no good, I'm too happy. They'd be in a relationship again! He wouldn't avoid her anymore to try to keep that annoying promise!

As she lay in bed, she thought of things they could do now that they were a couple again. They'd have to be careful on any dates they went on, but who cared? It would be worth it.

Kyousuke, on the other hand, had trouble sleeping for a different reason. He did want that relationship with her again, and he would fight for it. But the consequences of doing so would be severe, they'd be shunned by their loved ones who wouldn't accept their relationship. He wouldn't mind all that as long as he was with her, but he knew Kirino would take it more harshly. Her career as a model would be in jeopardy, not to mention her relationships with her friends. Especially Ayase, he shuddered as he imagined what she'd do to him if she found out he'd rejected her for his sister.

He sighed. Sorry Kirino, but your stupid older brother might not be able to make this work.