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Catcher in the Family
Kukuku~♡
Daada! Daaadaaaa~! After being satisfied with Youtarou, who had obediently swallowed his carrot, Haruka reluctantly departed for the kitchen to make breakfast for the other girls. Somehow regaining his composure, Youtarou opened the door to go outside. As he took a step outside, he felt a light impact somewhere around his legs. “O-ni-i-channn!” Having run up to him with light footsteps, the one hugging his legs was the 2 year old Nijiko. “Are you going to come back today?” Holding onto his uniform pants, she raised her head and asked. “Yes. Of course I’ll come back.” Her thin, soft, fluffy looking hair was tied up and arranged with a rose shaped hair ornament. Did Haruka do that for her? Thinking that, he unconsciously bent down and patted her head. “Are you going to come back soon?” Nijiko had a bright, honest smile. Her cheeks were so soft. You unconsciously wanted to start rubbing them. “Well, I’m leaving just now, so I don’t think I can return so soon…” He replied, smiling. “Then, will you come a little after that?” She asked seriously. “Umm…” He thought of a way to explain that even a 2 year old would understand. “After Nijiko has eaten her lunch, and has had her nap, then, around the time she is eating her snacks, I’ll come back.” He squatted down and studied her face. Did she get it? Or not? Nijiko had a mysterious look on her face. Then she suddenly smiled. “Then, Niji doesn’t need her lunch or nap. Niji will be eating her snacks soon!” She said. “No, that’s not what I meant…” Youtarou smiled wryly. I guess I still have a long way to go before I can interact properly with the smaller girls.He thought. He had been a single child without any siblings, so it was hard for him to have any meaningful interactions with the older sisters, let alone the younger ones. Nijiko was now making a fuss around his legs. “Waaiii! Waaiii! I can play with Onii-chan after I finish eating my snacks. I can play with Onii-chan after I finish eating my snacks~♪” She was singing along without a care in the world. “Ah, no, I mean…what should I say…” And then suddenly: “Nijiko, don’t go around troubling Anija2 so much!” “Ara, Niji-chan. Monopolizing Onii-chan so early in the morning? You’re good! Ufufu~!” The 15th daughter Mizuki and the 14th daughter Mari had arrived. Mizuki was supposed to have highly sensitive powers of a Shrine-maiden, and was said to be able to see the aura’s of people. She spoke in an old fas.h.i.+oned way, and together with Mari’s haughty queen-like att.i.tude, both of them were quite mysterious to Youtarou. Both of them were wearing uniforms, and were ready to go to kindergarten. Even though they were still in kindergarten, compared to Nijiko, both of them seemed much more levelheaded. I guess growing up in a big family is different after all. To Youtarou, who was struggling to keep up with just one of Nijiko’s demands, both of them somehow seemed dependable. “Good girls who don’t eat their lunch and take a nap don’t get to play with Onii-chan.” “If you are a good girl all day long, I’m sure Anija will also rush back to your side. But if you are a bad girl, instead of a kind Onii-chan, a red demon might come for you.” Nijiko immediately stopped her dancing, and became read in the face. “N-Niji doesn’t want that. Niji will be a good girl.” Before Youtarou knew it, Nijiko was holding his hand and standing stock-still halfway behind him, her lips trembling. “That’s right. Nijiko is a good girl after all. That’s why she will be okay!” Mari and Mizuki looked at each other and laughed. “Well then, hurry up and say your goodbyes to Anija and return to your room.” “At times like, you have to put on your best princess smile and make a request of Onii-chan to come back as soon as possible.” Mari whispered in Nijiko’s ear. “Onii-chan, come back soon, okay? Niji will be waiting like a good girl, so come back as soon as Niji finishes eating her snacks.” Nijiko tried her best to smile even while there were tears in her eyes. How lovably gallant…She was so cute one just wanted hug her. Youtarou gently stroked Nijiko’s cheeks. “Un. I’ll come back as soon as I can. In fact, I’ll return on the super-express.” “Yes!” “Ah, then we too…!” Mari and Mizuki also raised their voices. “Waaiii! When that time comes, we too will play together with you! I’ll be waiting for you, my beloved Fersen!” “Umu. We will think of what to play till then. Don’t forget about it. It’s a promise!” Nijiko joined in with the two cheering girls, not really understanding had suddenly happened to the two to make them so excited. Her tears dried up without a trace. “It’s a promise, if you break it you have to swallow a thousand needles~! Pinky promise~♪” He was forcefully made to promise. Youtarou left the house after a kiss on the cheek from Nijiko and was seen off by the three waving girls. “I’m off~!” He said his goodbye properly. This was also a rule of the family. When Youtarou glanced at the clock, it was almost 4 PM, even though he had planned to return really early today. Nijiko’s words had stuck with him the whole day, and so he was hurrying back. I’ve got to get back soon. Even though winter solstice had long since pa.s.sed, the winter days were still very short. In a hurry, he almost ran all the way back from the train station. As soon as he opened the door, he saw Nijiko. She had been pacing here and there in the entrance hallway pulling a pink stuffed animal behind her. Her face lit up. “Onii-chan, you’re back!” She immediately ran over to hug him. Youtarou also crouched down to accept her hug. There was nothing left to be said. Rather than siblings, these two felt more like father and daughter. A sweet, candy like smell was coming from Nijiko. Like milk and b.u.t.ter and… “Today’s snack was a hot cake!” Nijiko told him. Ahh…Is this how being a father feels like? This new feeling of happiness that he had never experienced before was making his head spin around. He heard loud, flamboyant footsteps from the direction of the corridor. “Yahoo~! It’s Onii-chan! Rikka’s cla.s.ses finished early today!” “Welcome back, Onii-chan! After this, you have to come with Seika and—” “Don’t leave Yuuna out of it! Let’s play with magic!” It was the miniskirt wearing 7th daughter Rikka, followed closely by the 10thdaughter Seika who had hair-dumplings, and the 11th daughter Yuuna bearing a magic stick. “This is so exciting! With this many of us, we can also play Karuta!” “Fersen, how good of you to keep your promise. As expected of Mari’s Fersen!” Mizuki and Mari were also present of course. Why are there so many…? Youtarou was surprised by the number of the people present. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5…6 people. But if he really thought about it, this was a small number, even just among the younger sisters. These were probably the ones that just happened to be there when he came back home. Now that it had come to it, he had no choice. “Okay then, I guess I’ll play with everyone today!” Everyone’s faces began s.h.i.+ning. “Then let’s…playyyyy~!” Joining in with the sisters who were shouting in unison, Youtarou pumped his fist in the air. For some reason, whenever he was with these girls, everything became bright and sparkly. Enveloped by this strange sensation, Youtarou barely convinced Yuuna and Mari to go on ahead to the hall with the others while he returned to his own room to change first. “Like I said! That precious family vase is definitely hidden in the closet of this hall!” Teaming up in pairs, they had played 3 rounds of “My Neighbor Totoro” Karuta. Rikka, who had become a little bored and had sprawled down on the floor, suddenly extended her arms and legs out straight and going “Gorogorogoro~” rolled across the tatami mat and with a “Das.h.i.+n~!” collided with the knee of Youtarou who had been sitting cross-legged on the floor. “Cras.h.!.+” Because her movements were so sudden, Youtarou dropped all the cards he was holding beside a laughing Rikka. “Oh no!” The earnest Seika hastily began collecting all the cards, and the cool Mizuki also began helping her silently. “S-Sorry…” Watching all this, Rikka made a ‘not-my-fault’ kind of face and going “Gorogorogoro~” rewound back about 3 times, and attacked again. Really, now. Are you a kid!? Rikka didn’t seem at all concerned about this secret retort, and was absorbed in her gorogorogoro game. Oi! I can see your panties…But it seemed like Rikka cared even less about that. “Here, Onii-chan. I think these are all of them.” Seika handed him all the cards after arranging them. “Ah, thanks.” He smiled kindly. Seika is a really good girl, with her earnest and honest att.i.tude…Youtarou thought. The girl was in 3rd grade, and the fact that she was a huge fan of ‘The Three Kingdoms’ was a little bit weird, but that fact made her a bit easy to talk to. Instead of really feminine girl, talking to a girl that was a bit more approachable was easier for Youtarou. Before they knew it, the ‘Battle of the Magic Princess’ had started between the reincarnation of Marie Antoinette: Mari and the descendant of the Great Mages: Yuuna. Youtarou was helped by Seika as he gathered up the cards and put them back in the box as everyone else watched from the sidelines. Everyone was really gung ho about it at first, but I guess when you are playing with kids, the game can only go up to 3 rounds, yep. He made a note to himself. “So, that family vase that you were talking about, what exactly is it?” He asked, suddenly remembering the conversation from before. It seemed like that vase was a very precious family vase that was handed down in the Amatsuka family. In this huge Amatsuka house, this was one of the biggest multipurpose halls of the house, so maybe there was some truth to the words that the vase was housed here somewhere. The Family Vase. You were drawn in just by hearing about. “Ah, that is...Um, I think, it really is here somewhere. Even though I have only seen it a few times. It seems like it is an expensive vase that our great-grandmother cherished. But, um, I think, it is not something as mysterious as Rikka-chan is making it out to be…The number of children on in it is wrong too…” Seika said with a troubled face. It was something like the Amatsuka family heirloom, and was originally in the belonging of the grandmother of Mama, that is, their great-grandmother. It seemed like the vase was white and had a red or green handle, was of a Chinese make, and had a serene painting on it. The painting was of a couple on a backdrop of a calm rural town, and with various children playing here and there. Apparently, in that painting, the current Amatsuka family members were painted. What the h.e.l.l is that supposed to mean!? That part seemed very fishy to Youtarou, but in this family, something like an heirloom-cla.s.s vase seemed like it might just exist. “Hmm…” “The vase had been decorated on this room’s alcove until few years ago, but now it is stored in the upper part of the closet in this room, because it would be bad if it broke.” “You know, the family vase is really huge! It’s so big, I think Niji-chan can be put inside it.” Rikka suddenly jumped into the conversation. “So whenever a baby is born in our home, it’s a tradition to put them at least once inside the vase. On the 100th day after the baby is born, we have that ‘weaning ceremony’ right? Ah, Onii-chan, do you know about it?” No, well, I’m a little ignorant about such matters… Still lying down on her side and propping herself up on her elbow, Rikka continued. “I see. I should guess it’s only natural. Our last baby had her ceremony long ago. A ‘weaning ceremony’ is held on the 100th day after the baby is born. At the time, the baby can only still drink milk, and can’t even eat baby food. “So that the baby won’t have any trouble with food in her entire life”, we make a special meal for the baby and the baby is made to do a little imitation of eating. That is the ‘weaning ceremony’ but…” Rikka suddenly stopped and spreading her arms tried to indicate the size of the vase. Just about big enough to be unable to contain within her arms? “At that ceremony, our family takes out the family vase and we put the baby inside.” “You put them inside?” “Yes. Erm, how do I say this? The baby finally becomes a part of our family. It’s that kind of ceremony I guess.” Rikka tilted her head a little. “And well, on that vase, many children are painted. And their number is…” Listening to the conversation closely, Mizuki suddenly said thoughtfully. “About that, I think I once heard from our grandmother that the vase had only one child on it at first.” “Eh? But Seika is pretty sure that when she saw vase during Aa-chan’s ceremony, there were many children drawn on it. That’s why she asked Yuuna to help her with counting them…” Seika suddenly realized. “Now that I think about it, I remember hearing a lot that Mizuki-chan was the only who inherited the talent of our great-grandmother.” At Seika’s words, Mizuki got a faraway look in her eyes, and began to narrate. “That vase is a mysterious vase that originally belonged to the grandmother of our grandmother. Whenever a baby is born in our family, the number of children painted on it mysteriously increases. The bigger the family gets, the more the vase rejoices. And when there are enough children that the surface of the vase is filled with them, the greatest happiness will come to the family…” “Increasing one by one…greatest happiness…? Ahh~!” Rikka suddenly cried out. “Wh-what!?” “Rikka-chan, what happened?” Seika was surprised by Rikka’s sudden cry, and the other children also became attentive. “I remember, whenever Rikka tried to count the number of children on that vase, she became confused and had to count again, but it was definitely 21, 22, or 23…” “I know right, that’s a few extra!” Yuuna said with a triumphant face. “Ahh!” “Ahhhh~!!” Mari and Seika realized simultaneously. “What if there were 20!” and pointed at Youtarou’s face. “Ah…” Rikka and Yuuna’s mouths also fell open. “If you add in Onii-chan, it becomes prefect!” “Hmm. A little bit to this side, I guess?” Rikka’s thighs touched Youtarou’s cheeks. The thighs that were positioned on both side of his face suddenly closed tightly, sandwiching his head. Half of Rikka’s body was inside the upper part of the closet. “Ahh, a little more and I’ll get it. Un, it’s got to be in this box, for sure…” Man, riding on my shoulders while wearing a miniskirt, this girl…Does the fact that I’m a guy even register with her? She’s completely let her guard down. First of all…she’s heavy. Isn’t she a little bit over the age to be giving shoulder rides to? As soon as he thought that, Rikka’s backside slipped from Youtarou’s shoulder. Ah, she’s gonna fall. “Kyaaaaaa~!” Rikka let out a loud scream and fell down. Dust flew everywhere. “Ahh, I was this close to getting it too~!” Rikka said with a vexed look on her face. She was holding a piece of string of an old looking tea box. “Uwaah! Did you break something?” “It’s fine, look, it’s just a piece of string of a tea-bowl box.” The small wooden box that Rikka presented smiling ear to ear had small unreadable signature on it, and the string that was holding it together had snapped. And then, with a small sound, the side of the old looking box cracked into four pieces from the joint. “Ah!” Rikka opened her mouth and her movements ceased, as she began to panic. “Awawawawa~. It’s alright, it’s alright. We didn’t see this!” She somehow gathered and arranged all the wooden pieces together in their original shape, and tried to cram it back into the closet. “Uwaan~ I can’t reach it! Onii-chan, one more shoulder ride, please!” Rikka said, shaking her hips. “Okay.” This is bad, my shoulders could get used to this sensation…
Tsurara became still as if her body was paralyzed.
“I-I can’t believe it…for something like this to happen…” She wasn’t even paying any attention to Youtarou. She just stood there, muttering in a small voice at this horrible sight. The other sisters became unable to say anything. Even if they had been living together for all these years, they rarely saw Tsurara get this angry. “Wh-What the h.e.l.l were you thinking!? Are you saying that knowing how precious this is? I can’t believe this!” She looked up at the heavens. “This is a vase that tells the history of our family. It is a vase that has been pa.s.sed to us from great-grandmother and to her from her grandmother, unbroken. It is a vase that has a great history. It is supposed to bring our family great prosperity and happiness.” Tsurara walked up to Youtarou saying that, and without breaking eye contact suddenly pulled back her hand. The sound of a slap echoed around the big room as Tsurara slapped him. “Don’t just easily say “My hand slipped” while lowering that stupid face!” Ouch! Pain ran across Youtarou’s cheeks. Tsurara’s hand that was still in the air was trembling. The surrounding sisters all gasped. “If you don’t know then I will tell you. Listen well. When anyone in this house is born, they are put into this vase to pray for their future good health and happiness. Asahi, Sora, Nijiko, all of them. Of course, that includes me too. We even have pictures of it. That’s what it means to be a family. We share all kinds of memories as we grow up. We can never get back the past afterwards, so we carve the priceless history of our family into our memories. One year after we are born, a signature with red ink and our picture of us being inserted into the vase is put into an alb.u.m.” She pointed to the pieces of the vase that were scattered over the tatami. “Asahi went to sleep like a log when she was put in there, making everyone laugh. We still tease Watayuki that she has a weak body because she was afraid at the time when she was put in and came out immediately. That’s a joke of course, but to us, they are important memories that become the proof of our bond as a family! But of course you don’t know that. Yes, by entering into the vase, we are recognized as a member of the family by the vase, and that proof is engraved onto the vase…No wait, telling something like this sincerely to someone like you who has only appeared in front of us recently won’t change anything. You, who we don’t even know if he was really born in our family and received the blessing of the vase, you suspicious ‘brother’!!” Tsurara’s voice grew gradually more and more intense, and her eyes slanted upwards.
“Listen here. I don’t know with what intentions you came to this house –Well, you’re probably aiming to get a share in the inheritance, or some stupid curiosity probably brought you here.”
The air in the room grew as cold as ice. “Well, I don’t really care what you are thinking inside that worthless head of yours. Just don’t forget this. I don’t care what the others think. I…” Tsurara made a gesture with her finger as if she was thinking “impossible”. “No matter what Mama says, no matter what Miharu Ane-sama says…” She said while raising her voice gradually, like a screw being unscrewed. “My heart knows. It’s screaming…” Youtarou gently pressed on his cheek where he had been slapped. “That you are our brother…” She gazed at him with a gaze like she was challenging him seriously. His cheek was hot and painful. “I don’t believe that in the slightest!!” Tsurara’s eyes didn’t allow any reb.u.t.tal. She took a step forward, aligned herself next to Youtarou, and brought her mouth near his ear.
“It’s impossible for an eldest son to exist. For starters, the fact that you are the same age as Hikaru Ane-sama is the strange, no matter how you think about it. You must have been thinking that all these sisters are pretty laid back, softhearted, stupid and easy to deceive. But I am different from my elder sisters. I won’t be deceived by likes of you. Do you understand? If you have something like a conscience, you might want to get out of this house, fast. However, if you really intend to stay like this in this house, you would do well to remember that there is someone who doesn’t believe in you, right here!” She said, lowering her voice so that no one could hear. It seemed like waves of anger were cras.h.i.+ng against Youtarou’s ears.
A moment later, they heard the hurried footsteps of someone wearing room shoes approaching.
“Everyone, where are you? I heard the loud voice of Tsurara-chan all the way here.” Haruka opened the sliding door casually. As the sight of the room came into her view, she let out a scream while covering her mouth. “Ahh!” Hotaru was just behind her. “Is that the family vase?” Haruka asked in a voice that was like a scream. “The vase great-grandmother treasured…” Hotaru also came close to crying, but somehow held back. “Everyone, playing around like that is dangerous. I’ll clean it up now.” They both dashed back to the living room to get tools to clean up the pieces. As if that was some kind of signal, Tsurara began picking up the pieces of the vase. As Youtarou moved to help her, “Don’t you dare touch them! I don’t want help from the guy who trampled over the history of our family. The guy who doesn’t even know the worth of family should hurry up and get out of here!!” Her voice wavered. Nijiko started crying again, so Seika and Yuuna took Nijiko and Mizuki to the living room. “Onii-chan…” Rikka said with face that looked like she was about to start crying. It’s alight. But if you don’t want the commotion to get any bigger than this, don’t give in and confess halfway, alright? Youtarou somehow signaled with his eyes. Rikka had a troubled expression on her face, but under the circ.u.mstances, she just nodded reluctantly, and saying “I’ll bring something to cool that down.” dashed off in the direction of the kitchen. Hearing that, Youtarou remembered that he had been slapped, and gently touched his cheek again. It was still slightly warm. But it didn’t feel like it was too bad. His skin might be a little red, if at all. Yep, girls really do have less physical power…He thought. In reality, because hadn’t been the one to break the vase, it wouldn’t be weird to say that he didn’t mind it too much. But, the things Tsurara had said, especially the things she had whispered in his ear, really stabbed at his heart. And on top of it was the fact that they were very true words… After that, Tsurara somehow dispelled her anger by continuously ignoring Youtarou. Hotaru and Haruka looked like they were in shock, but nonetheless cleaned up the pieces of the vase. They did not blame Youtarou even once, who was continuously apologizing.
In Seafood, they had: Lemon marinade of onion. Kenchinjiru4. Fired noodles.
…Wait, fired noodles? Why does this menu have fried noodles?
“Kyaaa!”
The piece of chicken flew into the Kenchinjiru bowl of the 9th daughter Urara, sitting next to Tsurara, quietly eating her food.
“Ah, sorry about that.”
“Tsurara-chan, that’s why I’m always telling you its bad manners to pierce food with your chopsticks…” Both Tsurara and Haruka spoke at once. “That’s because this fried chicken is slippery. Ever since the New Year started, we changed our chopsticks to lacquered chopsticks didn’t we? It’s probably because of that. I wasn’t that good at using chopsticks from the start.” Saying that, Tsurara tried to recover her piece of chicken from Urara’s bowl. The piece of chicken that had become immersed in the soup inside Urara’s bowl, slipped and slid from the clumsy Tsurara’s grasp, floating on top of the brown oil. “This stupid, piece of…chicken! So irritating! Perish this instant! Eeii!” As Tsurara became desperate and began thrusting blindly at the piece of chicken, suddenly Urara stood up with a loud noise. “Ah, sorry. Did I make you mad?” Tsurara glanced at Urara. Her eyes were closed, and her eyebrows were knit together. Ma.s.saging her temples desperately, she muttered: “I can’t stand this anymore.” This is bad! Tsurara thought, holding a hand over her mouth. Urara is about to erupt.
Everyone there, except Miharu who had still yet to come home, and Asahi, who had finished her dinner and was now playing in the playpen,
Around a month and a half had pa.s.sed since Youtarou had arrived at the Amatsuka household. He was finally getting used to the presence of the 19 sisters. In such a big household, every day was as bright and busy as a party. Little by little, he was gaining back the peace of everyday life. Youtarou had avoided the fate of dropping out in the middle of his school term, and was going back to school as soon as the new semester started.
Give me back my solemn resolution that I made when I thought it was the last of my school days on that December day! Is what Youtarou sometimes thought. Of course, getting to graduate was a lot better than dropping out in the last semester of the last year in Middle-school, and Youtarou had no complaints. In the end, he didn’t find any trace of Grandma’s bankbook or last will from among his belongings, so his tuition was of course being covered by the Amatsuka family. Of course, he had tried to decline, but it was ‘a situation where he couldn’t decline the kindness being offered to him’ is what Miharu had told him as a ‘message from Mama’.
“‘Its fine, its fine, since you are already my own cute son!’”
No, no, that feels wrong no matter how you look at it. Miharu winked at him and continued with the message: “‘When you grow up, join up with our company, and pay me back with your body by becoming part of a star squadron of handsome guys. Of course, the color of the protagonist is red! Always!’”
No matter how much I grow up, I kinda don’t have the confidence to become part of a star squadron of handsome guys…
But Youtarou had become so used to his new environment that he could now laugh while nodding at the jokes of this ‘Mama’ that reminded him of his own Grandma.
Then I guess I’ll let myself be spoiled on the basis of my future success…That he had become able to think like this was probably not just because this family was rich. No. What was the best way to describe it? He had was supposed to have been penniless, without any family. But this family had such bottomless brightness that it did not let him feel any guilt.
The big and loud welcome party with all 19 sisters.
The New Year’s Eve.
The New Year’s Day.
In this family, there was nary a dark day. Youtarou, who had not before lived with sisters or anyone else except Grandma, had no idea. He had no idea that the creatures known as girls could be so bright, so cute, so kind and graceful, so…dazzling that it became hard for him to look away. Looking at them, and being called “Onii-chan” by them, Youtarou could feel from the bottom of his heart: Ahh, It really is okay for me to be here. He didn’t know the reason why. Probably because it wasn’t related to logic. Youtarou found out for the first time that the existence of girls couldn’t be explained with logic.
Then his school started, and Youtarou’s lifestyle became calmer. Because he had to take a 30 minute train to his school all alone, he was the first one up and out of the house, excluding Miharu, who had to leave even earlier because of her weather news job. By the time he returned, it was almost 5 in the evening.
He was then pestered by Yuuna or Seika to help them with their homework, or held on to by Sakura and Mari as they asked him to play with them, or surrounded by Nijiko and Sora as he read a book to Watayuki, and in no time at all it was time for dinner. It was a surprisingly calm and regular lifestyle.
But for some reason, that particular morning was very noisy.
Youtarou had just finished eating breakfast, and was getting ready to leave for school. He could sense the buzz of activity in the dining room even from the corridor. Glancing at his hairstyle in the full-sized mirror on the wall, he began to search for his shoes at the entrance. He heard the sound of small slippers behind him. It was Haruka. “Ahh, wait a bit.” What could it be? “Here you go!” In her hand was a fork, and on its end was a boiled carrot cut in a heart shape. “I’m very sorry. I forgot to put just Ouji-sama’s share in his salad today.” Even though her words were apologetic, she seemed awfully happy. Youtarou recalled the breakfast’s menu: Bacon and sliced tomatoes, omelet with lots of b.u.t.ter and chopped onions, salad comprised of potato and watercress, and sausages marked with browning. Delicious smelling freshly baked bread, lots of milk coffee, and chilled sweet strawberries to top it all off. Come to think of it, he had thought that it was rather colorless salad. “Here, say aahn!” Haruka raised the fork with the boiled carrot. We are doing this so early in the morning? Youtarou had become too used to it to think like that anymore. He knew that even if he resisted instinctively it would be useless, so he obediently put it in his mouth. “Un! Good, good. The child that eats all vegetables without being picky grows into a great adult, you know?” His head was being patted. “Ah, thanks Haruka…Onee-chan.” “Iyan~, you don’t have to be so formal, Haruka is happy doing this!” She made an embarra.s.sed face, and suddenly came closer. “But, I told you didn’t I? Calling me Onee-chan— I don’t like you calling me something so distant. Even if I’m older, it’s just a difference of one year, and as far as Haruka is concerned, you can just call me Haruka, without the need for any honorifics.” Uwaah! Her face is too close! Even though I finally remembered to put “Onee-chan” on the end…this was a failure. He remembered. The day after the party where he met all the sisters, Youtarou had been called to Miharu’s room. There, he had made seven promises with Miharu, Mizore, Haruka and Hikaru so that they could live together as a family. 1: That he wouldn’t be reserved. 2: That he wouldn’t attach “san” with any of the sister’s names. 3: That he would eat all his meals without being picky. 4: That he wouldn’t lie. 5: But keeping secrets was apparently OK. 6: That he would partic.i.p.ate in all family events. 7: That, as a general rule, he wouldn’t let any of the sisters alone into his room. If it was absolutely necessary to let them enter, then only if two or more of them were together.“Even though we are calling it a ‘Promise’, it’s nothing too hard, right? And these rules are generally followed by everyone in our household, so don’t let it bother you too much. I’ll let everyone else know later too. Ah, and the rule about the room entry does not mean that we don’t trust you, it’s just that we have lots of full grown girls in our household too.” As Miharu said this and laughed, Haruka was pouting a little for some reason. “But the fact that I’m a part of this family—” isn’t that a lie too? Is what he wanted to say, but Mizore cut him off. “Don’t worry about something that is more trivial than the dust of the Universe.” “That’s right, and besides, there’s always the chance that you really are our brother—” As Haruka was about to complete her sentence with a pink blush, Hikaru interrupted her by poking her in the back. “Iyan~! Hikaru-chan is being mean!” Haruka started to make a fuss over nothing, and Miharu blocked her out and finalized things. “In – any – case. As Mama has decided, in front of all five of us, you are from this instant our real brother.” Hearing this, Haruka winced and became silent. “You should start believing in this too. You really were separated from us at birth, and are our real brother. The fact that we could not live in the same house until now is a shame, but if we keep looking to the past, nothing will start. That’s why from now on, let’s really become a real family.” As she was speaking, Miharu didn’t break eye contact with Youtarou even once. Her eyes were filled with conviction, and hearing her made Youtarou feel like it was okay to believe her. This person surely has a natural talent for hypnotism. “Since we are going to be living together for a while anyways, isn’t a happy and fun live style better for everyone involved? Since we are living under the same roof, it doesn’t matter if we are related by blood or not, doesn’t matter what anyone says, we are a real family.” She stated it with a sense of finality. As he looked at Hikaru unconsciously, he saw her behind Miharu with her eyes closed, silently thinking about something as she listened to the conversation. “But it really is a relief that you are such an honest and nice boy.” Miharu said and laughed. “Yeah, you are a speck of dust that one feels close to naturally.” Ah, so the dust part doesn’t change, huh? “He is not dust! He is a spectacular prince of Haruka that exceeded her expectations!” Saying that, Haruka attached her to Youtarou’s arm with a “Kyun~!” And then suddenly: “But are you fine with that?” Hikaru asked in a serious tone. Youtarou thought it over for a moment, while Miharu smiled gently, Mizore nodded silently, and Haruka sent him a “Of course you are, right?” look while hanging onto him arm. It was a stifling silence. This was probably his final chance to reverse this whole situation. Youtarou realized with a start that this was the first time he had been clearly asked for his opinion. Without really knowing what she was thinking, he had come this far by just following Hikaru. But was he really fine with this? Of course, a homeless life would not exactly be the most pleasant, but he couldn’t say that the situation in this house was normal either. Just because of the reason that he had lost any place to return to, should he be allowed into such a happy family? Or should he find out his own path even if meant facing untold hards.h.i.+ps? His head should have been hard at work thinking seriously about these matters. And yet, his body reacted faster. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Hikaru’s hand clenched into a fist, trembling slightly. “Y-Yes.” Before he knew it, he was speaking with a light voice. Hikaru drew a breath of relief. “I’m glad. It’s decided? Then here we go.” Miharu interjected with such speed that Youtarou wouldn’t even have time to change his reply even if he wanted to. She took out a note book. “Suddenly having to add a member to your family is tough business.” It was thick firm looking leather bound notebook. “Let’s begin a family dairy from today!” “Family dairy?” Mizore asked quizzically. “Yep. Even if we say that we are ‘family’ now, we sisters add up to 19, and among them the little ones are numerous. I think it’ll be a little difficult for him to talk to everybody, yes? That’s why, one of us will write in this diary one day, and the next day another, and so on. The subject matter will be directed to Youtarou-kun, so that he can understand and get accustomed to us as soon as possible. If you want to term it, I guess it would be a family interchange diary, I guess?” “Kya~! That’s wonderful!” Haruka exclaimed, her voice rising in excitement. “So, will we all be writing in it?” Hikaru asked in a confused voice. “Of course! Even if Hikaru-chan is the great person who brought Youtarou-kun to our home, from now on, I’ll have you sharing him with us all equally from now on, okay? Or wait, maybe you’re jealous because you have to write in the diary along with everyone else? Ufufu~! But even for you Hikaru-chan, getting ahead - is - not - allowed, okay?” “G-Getting ahead? What idiotic things are you—?” “Well, Hikaru writing in a diary is more difficult than finding a Supernova in this vast, infinitely boundless universe.” Mizore said while snorting happily. “We all know how hard it is for Hikaru to write anything in formal style, so I guess this will be good practice. She can think of it is as writing a light hearted letter to him, no?” Miharu said while smiling wryly. “Um, so, what should I be doing...?” “Ahh, all you have to do is, generally, read the dairy every day. If you felt like it, it would also make us all happy if you wrote down some comments too, but just reading the diary and slowly getting to understand us is good enough. We have some shy girls too, so there might be some things that they cannot directly say to you. However it would be easy for them to write their thoughts down in the diary. Isn’t it a clever method?” Miharu pointed to her head and smiled widely. Diary entry: 26th December. Plans for winter vacation. [Yuuna, the 10th daughter] It’s going to be a real fun winter vacation. ♡ I’m a little sad that Christmas has ended, but, Yuuna has loooots of things she has to do this winter vacation, so she’s like, super excited! What is it that Yuuna wants to do in the winter vacation? Ehehe~♡ That is, to make a magic potion! Winter vacation is smaller than summer vacation, and that’s pretty lame. But did you know? In winter vacation, there are lots of pretty red and golden dead leaves around the house garden or the park, and mysterious green jagged leaves too! There are also small red fruits fallen everywhere! Yuuna feels that the forces of magic will be in abundance everywhere! That’s why, if she can gather lots of strange things this winter, she feels like she will be able to make a great magic potion. Yuuna is doing her best with research right now! ♡ Hmm? What will the magic potion be for? Even Yuuna doesn’t know that! Ehehe~♡ Yuuna will let her precious brother test the very first batch of potion she completes! I’m sure it will have a really, really mysterious effect. ♡ It would be great if the potion can make sparkling powder snow fall on Onii-chan and Yuuna after they take just one sip!
Diary entry: 1st January. Happy New Year. [Haruka, the 3rd daughter] Happy New Year. Flipping our new calendars to the first month, it’s the start of a new year today. This New Years, for the first time, we welcomed a male to our family. ♡ Cool and kind, our one and only Ouji-sama! ♡ In our family, on the morning of New Years, we usually make a j.a.panese style room by connecting the inner room and the drawing room together, and all 19 sisters gather there in brand new clothes, and drink New Year’s sake. This year, our prince was also present there. Ufufu~ Just remembering it now makes me happy. ♡ The seat of the guest of honor in front of the alcove, which is usually occupied by Mama, was this time occupied by Mama carrying Asahi and our Ouji-sama! You two looked like a long married couple. ♡ As the eldest son of our house, of course you were the one who gets the first cup of sake, and the Kimono with the Crest of the family suited you really well. You looked really dignified and reliable. And all of the 19 sisters sat in a circle around you, with their small tables before them, staring at your great figure. Ouji-sama was a little bit nervous, and your hands were shaking just a bit, but when it came to it, you confidently and elegantly drained the first cup. Kyun♡ At that time, I thought: Ahh, finally, a prince that we all can depend on has appeared. From now on, we sisters are going to live our lives centered on this person. That’s what I really thought. Haruka’s heart felt really full to the brim with emotion. This person is the one that we can depend on, more than anyone else in this world. Our prince that will stay with us forever and ever. Our precious prince, who will be a part of our family no matter what happens. Haruka will probably never forget this year’s New Year’s all her life.
Diary entry: 8th January. Cold Hands [Fubuki, the 12th daughter] I like the cold weather. When I’m in the cold air, somehow, I feel better. That’s why I’m a little bad with summers, and I try not to go to places with strong sunlight. It seems that I’m p.r.o.ne to fainting if my body temperature rises too much. Urara-nee often calls me a poikilothermic1 and laughs, and I too sometimes think that I am. And no, I don’t mean that in a biological sense. I’m also a bit weak in the presence of people. Especially, if I come into contact with people with high temperatures, my head gets all hazy. And sometimes, if my body over-reacts, I faint. That’s why I’m a bit bad with children, because they usually have high temperatures. Fortunately, all of my sisters understand my problem. I don’t have to have more contact with others than necessary, so this house is a really easy place for me to live in. Even if one of my little sisters suddenly rushes towards me unthinkingly, someone usually picks them up in the way. But sometimes I think: if the weather is this cold, then I can probably interact with other people physically a bit more. At such times, can I try to come closer to you?
Diary entry: 15th January. Unt.i.tled [Urara, the 9th daughter] I hate men. I really hate them! I don’t have any words to speak to a man. I”m going to go ride on the Denentos.h.i.+ Line today, so stay away from me!
Diary entry: 22nd January. Babuuu! [Asahi, the 19th daughter] Babuuu! Babuabu. Babuabuabuuuu~!
Kukuku~♡
Daada! Daaadaaaa~! After being satisfied with Youtarou, who had obediently swallowed his carrot, Haruka reluctantly departed for the kitchen to make breakfast for the other girls. Somehow regaining his composure, Youtarou opened the door to go outside. As he took a step outside, he felt a light impact somewhere around his legs. “O-ni-i-channn!” Having run up to him with light footsteps, the one hugging his legs was the 2 year old Nijiko. “Are you going to come back today?” Holding onto his uniform pants, she raised her head and asked. “Yes. Of course I’ll come back.” Her thin, soft, fluffy looking hair was tied up and arranged with a rose shaped hair ornament. Did Haruka do that for her? Thinking that, he unconsciously bent down and patted her head. “Are you going to come back soon?” Nijiko had a bright, honest smile. Her cheeks were so soft. You unconsciously wanted to start rubbing them. “Well, I’m leaving just now, so I don’t think I can return so soon…” He replied, smiling. “Then, will you come a little after that?” She asked seriously. “Umm…” He thought of a way to explain that even a 2 year old would understand. “After Nijiko has eaten her lunch, and has had her nap, then, around the time she is eating her snacks, I’ll come back.” He squatted down and studied her face. Did she get it? Or not? Nijiko had a mysterious look on her face. Then she suddenly smiled. “Then, Niji doesn’t need her lunch or nap. Niji will be eating her snacks soon!” She said. “No, that’s not what I meant…” Youtarou smiled wryly. I guess I still have a long way to go before I can interact properly with the smaller girls.He thought. He had been a single child without any siblings, so it was hard for him to have any meaningful interactions with the older sisters, let alone the younger ones. Nijiko was now making a fuss around his legs. “Waaiii! Waaiii! I can play with Onii-chan after I finish eating my snacks. I can play with Onii-chan after I finish eating my snacks~♪” She was singing along without a care in the world. “Ah, no, I mean…what should I say…” And then suddenly: “Nijiko, don’t go around troubling Anija2 so much!” “Ara, Niji-chan. Monopolizing Onii-chan so early in the morning? You’re good! Ufufu~!” The 15th daughter Mizuki and the 14th daughter Mari had arrived. Mizuki was supposed to have highly sensitive powers of a Shrine-maiden, and was said to be able to see the aura’s of people. She spoke in an old fas.h.i.+oned way, and together with Mari’s haughty queen-like att.i.tude, both of them were quite mysterious to Youtarou. Both of them were wearing uniforms, and were ready to go to kindergarten. Even though they were still in kindergarten, compared to Nijiko, both of them seemed much more levelheaded. I guess growing up in a big family is different after all. To Youtarou, who was struggling to keep up with just one of Nijiko’s demands, both of them somehow seemed dependable. “Good girls who don’t eat their lunch and take a nap don’t get to play with Onii-chan.” “If you are a good girl all day long, I’m sure Anija will also rush back to your side. But if you are a bad girl, instead of a kind Onii-chan, a red demon might come for you.” Nijiko immediately stopped her dancing, and became read in the face. “N-Niji doesn’t want that. Niji will be a good girl.” Before Youtarou knew it, Nijiko was holding his hand and standing stock-still halfway behind him, her lips trembling. “That’s right. Nijiko is a good girl after all. That’s why she will be okay!” Mari and Mizuki looked at each other and laughed. “Well then, hurry up and say your goodbyes to Anija and return to your room.” “At times like, you have to put on your best princess smile and make a request of Onii-chan to come back as soon as possible.” Mari whispered in Nijiko’s ear. “Onii-chan, come back soon, okay? Niji will be waiting like a good girl, so come back as soon as Niji finishes eating her snacks.” Nijiko tried her best to smile even while there were tears in her eyes. How lovably gallant…She was so cute one just wanted hug her. Youtarou gently stroked Nijiko’s cheeks. “Un. I’ll come back as soon as I can. In fact, I’ll return on the super-express.” “Yes!” “Ah, then we too…!” Mari and Mizuki also raised their voices. “Waaiii! When that time comes, we too will play together with you! I’ll be waiting for you, my beloved Fersen!” “Umu. We will think of what to play till then. Don’t forget about it. It’s a promise!” Nijiko joined in with the two cheering girls, not really understanding had suddenly happened to the two to make them so excited. Her tears dried up without a trace. “It’s a promise, if you break it you have to swallow a thousand needles~! Pinky promise~♪” He was forcefully made to promise. Youtarou left the house after a kiss on the cheek from Nijiko and was seen off by the three waving girls. “I’m off~!” He said his goodbye properly. This was also a rule of the family. When Youtarou glanced at the clock, it was almost 4 PM, even though he had planned to return really early today. Nijiko’s words had stuck with him the whole day, and so he was hurrying back. I’ve got to get back soon. Even though winter solstice had long since pa.s.sed, the winter days were still very short. In a hurry, he almost ran all the way back from the train station. As soon as he opened the door, he saw Nijiko. She had been pacing here and there in the entrance hallway pulling a pink stuffed animal behind her. Her face lit up. “Onii-chan, you’re back!” She immediately ran over to hug him. Youtarou also crouched down to accept her hug. There was nothing left to be said. Rather than siblings, these two felt more like father and daughter. A sweet, candy like smell was coming from Nijiko. Like milk and b.u.t.ter and… “Today’s snack was a hot cake!” Nijiko told him. Ahh…Is this how being a father feels like? This new feeling of happiness that he had never experienced before was making his head spin around. He heard loud, flamboyant footsteps from the direction of the corridor. “Yahoo~! It’s Onii-chan! Rikka’s cla.s.ses finished early today!” “Welcome back, Onii-chan! After this, you have to come with Seika and—” “Don’t leave Yuuna out of it! Let’s play with magic!” It was the miniskirt wearing 7th daughter Rikka, followed closely by the 10thdaughter Seika who had hair-dumplings, and the 11th daughter Yuuna bearing a magic stick. “This is so exciting! With this many of us, we can also play Karuta!” “Fersen, how good of you to keep your promise. As expected of Mari’s Fersen!” Mizuki and Mari were also present of course. Why are there so many…? Youtarou was surprised by the number of the people present. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5…6 people. But if he really thought about it, this was a small number, even just among the younger sisters. These were probably the ones that just happened to be there when he came back home. Now that it had come to it, he had no choice. “Okay then, I guess I’ll play with everyone today!” Everyone’s faces began s.h.i.+ning. “Then let’s…playyyyy~!” Joining in with the sisters who were shouting in unison, Youtarou pumped his fist in the air. For some reason, whenever he was with these girls, everything became bright and sparkly. Enveloped by this strange sensation, Youtarou barely convinced Yuuna and Mari to go on ahead to the hall with the others while he returned to his own room to change first. “Like I said! That precious family vase is definitely hidden in the closet of this hall!” Teaming up in pairs, they had played 3 rounds of “My Neighbor Totoro” Karuta. Rikka, who had become a little bored and had sprawled down on the floor, suddenly extended her arms and legs out straight and going “Gorogorogoro~” rolled across the tatami mat and with a “Das.h.i.+n~!” collided with the knee of Youtarou who had been sitting cross-legged on the floor. “Cras.h.!.+” Because her movements were so sudden, Youtarou dropped all the cards he was holding beside a laughing Rikka. “Oh no!” The earnest Seika hastily began collecting all the cards, and the cool Mizuki also began helping her silently. “S-Sorry…” Watching all this, Rikka made a ‘not-my-fault’ kind of face and going “Gorogorogoro~” rewound back about 3 times, and attacked again. Really, now. Are you a kid!? Rikka didn’t seem at all concerned about this secret retort, and was absorbed in her gorogorogoro game. Oi! I can see your panties…But it seemed like Rikka cared even less about that. “Here, Onii-chan. I think these are all of them.” Seika handed him all the cards after arranging them. “Ah, thanks.” He smiled kindly. Seika is a really good girl, with her earnest and honest att.i.tude…Youtarou thought. The girl was in 3rd grade, and the fact that she was a huge fan of ‘The Three Kingdoms’ was a little bit weird, but that fact made her a bit easy to talk to. Instead of really feminine girl, talking to a girl that was a bit more approachable was easier for Youtarou. Before they knew it, the ‘Battle of the Magic Princess’ had started between the reincarnation of Marie Antoinette: Mari and the descendant of the Great Mages: Yuuna. Youtarou was helped by Seika as he gathered up the cards and put them back in the box as everyone else watched from the sidelines. Everyone was really gung ho about it at first, but I guess when you are playing with kids, the game can only go up to 3 rounds, yep. He made a note to himself. “So, that family vase that you were talking about, what exactly is it?” He asked, suddenly remembering the conversation from before. It seemed like that vase was a very precious family vase that was handed down in the Amatsuka family. In this huge Amatsuka house, this was one of the biggest multipurpose halls of the house, so maybe there was some truth to the words that the vase was housed here somewhere. The Family Vase. You were drawn in just by hearing about. “Ah, that is...Um, I think, it really is here somewhere. Even though I have only seen it a few times. It seems like it is an expensive vase that our great-grandmother cherished. But, um, I think, it is not something as mysterious as Rikka-chan is making it out to be…The number of children on in it is wrong too…” Seika said with a troubled face. It was something like the Amatsuka family heirloom, and was originally in the belonging of the grandmother of Mama, that is, their great-grandmother. It seemed like the vase was white and had a red or green handle, was of a Chinese make, and had a serene painting on it. The painting was of a couple on a backdrop of a calm rural town, and with various children playing here and there. Apparently, in that painting, the current Amatsuka family members were painted. What the h.e.l.l is that supposed to mean!? That part seemed very fishy to Youtarou, but in this family, something like an heirloom-cla.s.s vase seemed like it might just exist. “Hmm…” “The vase had been decorated on this room’s alcove until few years ago, but now it is stored in the upper part of the closet in this room, because it would be bad if it broke.” “You know, the family vase is really huge! It’s so big, I think Niji-chan can be put inside it.” Rikka suddenly jumped into the conversation. “So whenever a baby is born in our home, it’s a tradition to put them at least once inside the vase. On the 100th day after the baby is born, we have that ‘weaning ceremony’ right? Ah, Onii-chan, do you know about it?” No, well, I’m a little ignorant about such matters… Still lying down on her side and propping herself up on her elbow, Rikka continued. “I see. I should guess it’s only natural. Our last baby had her ceremony long ago. A ‘weaning ceremony’ is held on the 100th day after the baby is born. At the time, the baby can only still drink milk, and can’t even eat baby food. “So that the baby won’t have any trouble with food in her entire life”, we make a special meal for the baby and the baby is made to do a little imitation of eating. That is the ‘weaning ceremony’ but…” Rikka suddenly stopped and spreading her arms tried to indicate the size of the vase. Just about big enough to be unable to contain within her arms? “At that ceremony, our family takes out the family vase and we put the baby inside.” “You put them inside?” “Yes. Erm, how do I say this? The baby finally becomes a part of our family. It’s that kind of ceremony I guess.” Rikka tilted her head a little. “And well, on that vase, many children are painted. And their number is…” Listening to the conversation closely, Mizuki suddenly said thoughtfully. “About that, I think I once heard from our grandmother that the vase had only one child on it at first.” “Eh? But Seika is pretty sure that when she saw vase during Aa-chan’s ceremony, there were many children drawn on it. That’s why she asked Yuuna to help her with counting them…” Seika suddenly realized. “Now that I think about it, I remember hearing a lot that Mizuki-chan was the only who inherited the talent of our great-grandmother.” At Seika’s words, Mizuki got a faraway look in her eyes, and began to narrate. “That vase is a mysterious vase that originally belonged to the grandmother of our grandmother. Whenever a baby is born in our family, the number of children painted on it mysteriously increases. The bigger the family gets, the more the vase rejoices. And when there are enough children that the surface of the vase is filled with them, the greatest happiness will come to the family…” “Increasing one by one…greatest happiness…? Ahh~!” Rikka suddenly cried out. “Wh-what!?” “Rikka-chan, what happened?” Seika was surprised by Rikka’s sudden cry, and the other children also became attentive. “I remember, whenever Rikka tried to count the number of children on that vase, she became confused and had to count again, but it was definitely 21, 22, or 23…” “I know right, that’s a few extra!” Yuuna said with a triumphant face. “Ahh!” “Ahhhh~!!” Mari and Seika realized simultaneously. “What if there were 20!” and pointed at Youtarou’s face. “Ah…” Rikka and Yuuna’s mouths also fell open. “If you add in Onii-chan, it becomes prefect!” “Hmm. A little bit to this side, I guess?” Rikka’s thighs touched Youtarou’s cheeks. The thighs that were positioned on both side of his face suddenly closed tightly, sandwiching his head. Half of Rikka’s body was inside the upper part of the closet. “Ahh, a little more and I’ll get it. Un, it’s got to be in this box, for sure…” Man, riding on my shoulders while wearing a miniskirt, this girl…Does the fact that I’m a guy even register with her? She’s completely let her guard down. First of all…she’s heavy. Isn’t she a little bit over the age to be giving shoulder rides to? As soon as he thought that, Rikka’s backside slipped from Youtarou’s shoulder. Ah, she’s gonna fall. “Kyaaaaaa~!” Rikka let out a loud scream and fell down. Dust flew everywhere. “Ahh, I was this close to getting it too~!” Rikka said with a vexed look on her face. She was holding a piece of string of an old looking tea box. “Uwaah! Did you break something?” “It’s fine, look, it’s just a piece of string of a tea-bowl box.” The small wooden box that Rikka presented smiling ear to ear had small unreadable signature on it, and the string that was holding it together had snapped. And then, with a small sound, the side of the old looking box cracked into four pieces from the joint. “Ah!” Rikka opened her mouth and her movements ceased, as she began to panic. “Awawawawa~. It’s alright, it’s alright. We didn’t see this!” She somehow gathered and arranged all the wooden pieces together in their original shape, and tried to cram it back into the closet. “Uwaan~ I can’t reach it! Onii-chan, one more shoulder ride, please!” Rikka said, shaking her hips. “Okay.” This is bad, my shoulders could get used to this sensation…
In the end, it was decided by the ‘Weighting-by-being-carried-by-Onii-chan champions.h.i.+p’ that Mizuki, who was far lighter that Rikka, and in addition had a knack for finding things, would climb up to the closet compartment. Mizuki had the size to just about fit inside it. On top of everything else, she also had her mysterious Shrine-maiden powers, which made her sensitive to strange presences.
“Un. Is it really in here? I don’t really feel grandma’s presence in here…” After Youtarou pushed Mizuki into the closet’s upper compartment, she started searching around inside it, helped by the light of the flashlight Youtarou was holding, dragging behind the long tails of the Hakama she was wearing. Among the old boxes of various sizes, the air was stale with the smell of insecticide. The light from the flashlight produced eerie shadows. But Mizuki was almost swimming in it gleefully. It didn’t really fit her image, considering her age. “Mizuki, aren’t you scared?” When Youtarou tried asking that, Mizuki replied: “What’s there to be scared about? There is nothing here but old things. They can’t do me any harm, and I like old things anyways. And the things inside the boxes have aged well. There might some things with cute Tsukomogami3 attached to them. If I find one, won’t it be interesting?” “H-Hmm.” Is that how it is? Once again, Youtarou was reminded about the strange powers of the girls in this household. The one who is said to be able to see the spirits and the auras of people, Mizuki. Fubuki, who is weak to heat and has bad eyesight, and yet has the brains of a genius. Mari, who is said to be the reincarnation of Marie Antoinette, and Yuuna, who adamantly claims that she is the descendant of a great line of mages— Hm? Those last two seem a little different. “Mumu~!” He heard Mizuki voice. “I found it! I can feel grandma’s presence from it.” Hearing her voice, Youtarou looked through the entrance of the compartment. It’s width was about 50 centimeters. It was and old discolored wooden box that was sitting in a corner of the compartment. “If you are my blood brother, maybe you can see them? The small, pea-sized imps dancing around the box?” Imps? Wait, you mean…spirits?! Panicking, he rubbed his eyes. Oh, thank goodness, I can’t see anything like that. “By the way, where is this ‘grandma’ person you keep talking about?” “Oh, right now, she is over there.” Over where!? Wait, I’m too scared to ask anything more than that. “Okay then, Anija, pull this with me will you?” “Okay.” Following the order of the 4 year old Mizuki felt somehow good. Wait…Does this mean that I lean towards M!? “What happened? Did you find anything?” Rikka called out from behind after noticing the two talking. Youtarou called out to the sisters who were playing around the room while waiting for them to find the vase. “We found it. But it seems to be pretty far inside, so I’m going to pull it together with Mizuki…” “Roger!” “Roger that!” “…and help her get it down…” Everyone answered in unison before Youtarou had a chance to finish his sentence, and began lining up behind him in order to pull out the box. The vase that came out of the box was exactly as Rikka had described. “See? Exactly like I told you. ☆” “Yeah, amazing. It is similar to a fault.” Rikka and Seika nodded in unison. Youtarou looked at the vase closely. He wasn’t very keen on collecting old things. He didn’t even watch the ‘Appraise Anything!’ show on TV. But even he felt that this particular vase was really expensive. In this house in which everything was over the top, the vase was put away in an even more over the top old looking box. It was big enough that you couldn’t even think of using it for everyday things, and had a delicate design. There were even some gold leaves attached here and there. “So, what are we going to do now?” Yuuna asked with a smile. “Eh? What are we going…to do?” Rikka replied with some surprise, blinking her wide eyes. “What are we…What were we going to do again?” “Rikka-chan~” Seika drooped her shoulders. “We’re gonna count the number of children on it!” Mari said, thrusting her index finger at the vase vigorously.
Everybody began counting all at once. “One…Two...Three…” “Ichi…Ni…San…” “Eight…Nine…Ten…” You could call it lively, but there was a more appropriate word: chaos. “20! Amazing! It really is 20!” “Huh? Isn’t it 21?” “That can’t be! Yuuna counted up to 27…” “Hey wait! Don’t start spinning it on your own!” “But Mari started counting it from here!” “I felt like there was another one in the shade of this tree drawn here...” It was a total mess. “Like I said, don’t spin it around!” “Ahh, I lost count in the middle again!” “Hey! Don’t pull on it!” Before they knew it, it became a struggle over the vase. And then—. Someone pulled on it strongly, and the vase fell on its side… “Ahh! This is bad—!” …and started rolling. The big vase gained speed surprisingly quickly. In front of it was the sliding door that lead to the veranda, and a pillar! “This is bad!” Rikka and Yuuna quickly jumped out of the vase’s way. It was now just question of whether Rikka’s outstretched hand would reach it first, or the pillar. The vase… Gashan! The vase cracked and split apart with a loud noise. It was like a balloon bursting, reduced to small pieces. An unimaginable silence descended on the sisters that had been earlier the very definition of noisy. “……” “U…U…Uwaan!” Rikka’s face distorted as she began to cry. “Uwaan!” Yuuna followed suit. And then Mari, Mizuki, and even Nijiko, affected by the atmosphere, began to cry.
Youtarou’s chest was hurting. These small, noisy sisters. So yeah, they were a little weird. No well, maybe more than a little, and it was sometimes quite troubling. And he still felt that the number of family members was too much. But… Why were these girls so likeable? Even if they were convinced that he was their older brother, they were still so kind to him, a shady person they had met only recently. Youtarou was deeply moved. So there are families like this too…
“You can say that I was the one who broke it.” Youtarou suddenly spoke up. “Eh?” Yep. This is probably for the best. This was the extent of what Youtarou could do. If it was just getting yelled at, he would swap anytime for the sake of these kind little sisters of his. “But in return, you have to absolutely keep this a secret, okay?” Everyone was staring at Youtarou with wide, round eyes. Nijiko, too tired to cry anymore, quietly appealed Youtarou for a hug. “Quiet down!!! What are you guys all worked up about!? It’s almost evening, so—” As if things weren’t bad enough, the one who opened the sliding door of the hall was the sixth daughter, Tsurara. Among the sisters, she had the most uptight and strict personality, and was often feared by her younger sisters. Sure enough, Yuuna immediately started trembling. “You made such a mess again…” Tsurara looked around the room, with an air of resignation. In the hall which was usually empty, the six sisters Rikka, Seika, Yuuna, Mari, Mizuki and Nijiko, and the so called “eldest son” that had arrived recently –in Tsurara’s mind he was just servant– were sitting in a circle. The sliding doors of the closet in north part of the hall and its upper compartment were open, and its contents were spread here and there all around the room. The marbles Nijiko was playing with, the beanbags that belonged to Mizuki, the Karuta cards that still hadn’t been gathered up, in addition to the pieces of something were all spread around the seven of them. Tsurara almost got dizzy from all the clutter. “It’s almost time for dinner. You guys are playing with the things in the closet again? Aren’t you guys always being told to not to open the closet in the hall because there are important things in there? And you guys got over-excited and broke something again, didn’t you? Even though you have been taught not to handle things roughly… Now, let’s hurry up and clean this place. Afterwards, Mari, Mizuki, Nijiko, you guys hurry up and get in the bath. Rikka, Seika, Yuuna, you guys need to hurry up with your homework or else the time…” While speaking bluntly like that, she suddenly stopped and her eyes went wide. “W-Wait, what’s this?” She had thought it was a toy or something so she hadn’t paid much attention to it, but now that she looked closely at the pieces… Wait, don’t tell me this is… Her gaze fell to the open amber box. “Don’t tell me, it this…the family vase?” Tsurara face went from red to blue with agitation, and she became unable to say anything. “Sorry, I said that I wanted to see it and had it taken out. And then my hand slipped and…”
Tsurara became still as if her body was paralyzed.
“I-I can’t believe it…for something like this to happen…” She wasn’t even paying any attention to Youtarou. She just stood there, muttering in a small voice at this horrible sight. The other sisters became unable to say anything. Even if they had been living together for all these years, they rarely saw Tsurara get this angry. “Wh-What the h.e.l.l were you thinking!? Are you saying that knowing how precious this is? I can’t believe this!” She looked up at the heavens. “This is a vase that tells the history of our family. It is a vase that has been pa.s.sed to us from great-grandmother and to her from her grandmother, unbroken. It is a vase that has a great history. It is supposed to bring our family great prosperity and happiness.” Tsurara walked up to Youtarou saying that, and without breaking eye contact suddenly pulled back her hand. The sound of a slap echoed around the big room as Tsurara slapped him. “Don’t just easily say “My hand slipped” while lowering that stupid face!” Ouch! Pain ran across Youtarou’s cheeks. Tsurara’s hand that was still in the air was trembling. The surrounding sisters all gasped. “If you don’t know then I will tell you. Listen well. When anyone in this house is born, they are put into this vase to pray for their future good health and happiness. Asahi, Sora, Nijiko, all of them. Of course, that includes me too. We even have pictures of it. That’s what it means to be a family. We share all kinds of memories as we grow up. We can never get back the past afterwards, so we carve the priceless history of our family into our memories. One year after we are born, a signature with red ink and our picture of us being inserted into the vase is put into an alb.u.m.” She pointed to the pieces of the vase that were scattered over the tatami. “Asahi went to sleep like a log when she was put in there, making everyone laugh. We still tease Watayuki that she has a weak body because she was afraid at the time when she was put in and came out immediately. That’s a joke of course, but to us, they are important memories that become the proof of our bond as a family! But of course you don’t know that. Yes, by entering into the vase, we are recognized as a member of the family by the vase, and that proof is engraved onto the vase…No wait, telling something like this sincerely to someone like you who has only appeared in front of us recently won’t change anything. You, who we don’t even know if he was really born in our family and received the blessing of the vase, you suspicious ‘brother’!!” Tsurara’s voice grew gradually more and more intense, and her eyes slanted upwards.
“Listen here. I don’t know with what intentions you came to this house –Well, you’re probably aiming to get a share in the inheritance, or some stupid curiosity probably brought you here.”
The air in the room grew as cold as ice. “Well, I don’t really care what you are thinking inside that worthless head of yours. Just don’t forget this. I don’t care what the others think. I…” Tsurara made a gesture with her finger as if she was thinking “impossible”. “No matter what Mama says, no matter what Miharu Ane-sama says…” She said while raising her voice gradually, like a screw being unscrewed. “My heart knows. It’s screaming…” Youtarou gently pressed on his cheek where he had been slapped. “That you are our brother…” She gazed at him with a gaze like she was challenging him seriously. His cheek was hot and painful. “I don’t believe that in the slightest!!” Tsurara’s eyes didn’t allow any reb.u.t.tal. She took a step forward, aligned herself next to Youtarou, and brought her mouth near his ear.
“It’s impossible for an eldest son to exist. For starters, the fact that you are the same age as Hikaru Ane-sama is the strange, no matter how you think about it. You must have been thinking that all these sisters are pretty laid back, softhearted, stupid and easy to deceive. But I am different from my elder sisters. I won’t be deceived by likes of you. Do you understand? If you have something like a conscience, you might want to get out of this house, fast. However, if you really intend to stay like this in this house, you would do well to remember that there is someone who doesn’t believe in you, right here!” She said, lowering her voice so that no one could hear. It seemed like waves of anger were cras.h.i.+ng against Youtarou’s ears.
A moment later, they heard the hurried footsteps of someone wearing room shoes approaching.
“Everyone, where are you? I heard the loud voice of Tsurara-chan all the way here.” Haruka opened the sliding door casually. As the sight of the room came into her view, she let out a scream while covering her mouth. “Ahh!” Hotaru was just behind her. “Is that the family vase?” Haruka asked in a voice that was like a scream. “The vase great-grandmother treasured…” Hotaru also came close to crying, but somehow held back. “Everyone, playing around like that is dangerous. I’ll clean it up now.” They both dashed back to the living room to get tools to clean up the pieces. As if that was some kind of signal, Tsurara began picking up the pieces of the vase. As Youtarou moved to help her, “Don’t you dare touch them! I don’t want help from the guy who trampled over the history of our family. The guy who doesn’t even know the worth of family should hurry up and get out of here!!” Her voice wavered. Nijiko started crying again, so Seika and Yuuna took Nijiko and Mizuki to the living room. “Onii-chan…” Rikka said with face that looked like she was about to start crying. It’s alight. But if you don’t want the commotion to get any bigger than this, don’t give in and confess halfway, alright? Youtarou somehow signaled with his eyes. Rikka had a troubled expression on her face, but under the circ.u.mstances, she just nodded reluctantly, and saying “I’ll bring something to cool that down.” dashed off in the direction of the kitchen. Hearing that, Youtarou remembered that he had been slapped, and gently touched his cheek again. It was still slightly warm. But it didn’t feel like it was too bad. His skin might be a little red, if at all. Yep, girls really do have less physical power…He thought. In reality, because hadn’t been the one to break the vase, it wouldn’t be weird to say that he didn’t mind it too much. But, the things Tsurara had said, especially the things she had whispered in his ear, really stabbed at his heart. And on top of it was the fact that they were very true words… After that, Tsurara somehow dispelled her anger by continuously ignoring Youtarou. Hotaru and Haruka looked like they were in shock, but nonetheless cleaned up the pieces of the vase. They did not blame Youtarou even once, who was continuously apologizing.
The incident seemed more or less settled, at least temporarily. Probably because it was such a big family, even though there were some effects of the incident still lingering about, the conversation at the dinner table didn’t really stop. Dinner that day began somewhat peacefully. “Really, I can’t believe it! Even though he’s just a servant, he dare lay hand on our family vase.” Tsurara said, piercing a piece of fried chicken with her chopsticks. She was still a little irritated. “What’s broken is broken. We can’t help it. It’s a pity that the family vase broke…But it’s not like everyone did it on purpose.” Haruka said, pa.s.sing Tsurara the grated radish with citrus sauce.
Today’s menu was: Fired chicken, accompanied by grated radish with citrus sauce. Tomato Salad. Asparagus, bacon and egg cocotte. Parmesan and Aioli.
In Seafood, they had: Lemon marinade of onion. Kenchinjiru4. Fired noodles.
…Wait, fired noodles? Why does this menu have fried noodles?
“Oh, Haruka Ane-sama, saying something so soft again. That’s unfortunate. And it wasn’t everyone who broke the family vase, it was the servant that has recently arrived at our house. He confessed himself, so there is no doubt about it. Really now. Such a clumsy servant is useless. If he knows even a little bit of shame, he should hurry up and get out of this house.” As Tsurara flourished and gestured with her hands to make a point, the piece of fried chicken that was still pierced on her chopsticks flew off.
“Kyaaa!”
The piece of chicken flew into the Kenchinjiru bowl of the 9th daughter Urara, sitting next to Tsurara, quietly eating her food.
“Ah, sorry about that.”
“Tsurara-chan, that’s why I’m always telling you its bad manners to pierce food with your chopsticks…” Both Tsurara and Haruka spoke at once. “That’s because this fried chicken is slippery. Ever since the New Year started, we changed our chopsticks to lacquered chopsticks didn’t we? It’s probably because of that. I wasn’t that good at using chopsticks from the start.” Saying that, Tsurara tried to recover her piece of chicken from Urara’s bowl. The piece of chicken that had become immersed in the soup inside Urara’s bowl, slipped and slid from the clumsy Tsurara’s grasp, floating on top of the brown oil. “This stupid, piece of…chicken! So irritating! Perish this instant! Eeii!” As Tsurara became desperate and began thrusting blindly at the piece of chicken, suddenly Urara stood up with a loud noise. “Ah, sorry. Did I make you mad?” Tsurara glanced at Urara. Her eyes were closed, and her eyebrows were knit together. Ma.s.saging her temples desperately, she muttered: “I can’t stand this anymore.” This is bad! Tsurara thought, holding a hand over her mouth. Urara is about to erupt.
Everyone there, except Miharu who had still yet to come home, and Asahi, who had finished her dinner and was now playing in the playpen,
