Famima! Vol 1 Chapter 1

It was a warm Sunday morning in late April, and the sunlight was s.h.i.+ning down. The quiet neighborhood and scent of the morning dew were refres.h.i.+ng.

 

Kazuki’s house was an average residential house in a corner of the neighborhood.

 

「Last night, one of the greatest G.o.dfathers of the largest mafia in Italy pa.s.sed away. The whole of Italy is in fear, predicting a fight for power between the mafia gangs. We would like to warn those who were planning to go to Italy to be very careful.」

 

While watching the morning news, Kazuki Ootaki took a bite of his toast.

 

"Looks like the world is in turmoil—"

 

While saying that, he continued to consume his toast with indifference. Kazuki was just an average second year middle school student, who looked at the TV monitor thinking It had nothing to do with him at all.

 

But that wasn’t all.

 

「And now, here is the weather for today.」

 

"It’s going to pour today! Lightning when the sky is this clear? If you think about it logically, that can’t happen. I just hope that the weather doesn’t change until this evening, I’ve got a ton of laundry to do."

 

He was even more worried about the weather.

 

"Thanks for the food."

 

Finished with his breakfast, Kazuki gathered his hands with a ‘Clap!’ sound in thanks.

 

Because of his parents' jobs, Kazuki had been living by himself for nearly a year. However, he didn’t really mind because he has been living like this ever since he was young.

 

「It’s time for Today’s Horoscopes Ranking~」

 

"Ah, it’s starting."

 

While Kazuki was was.h.i.+ng the plates and mug he used for breakfast, a cheerful voice rang out from the TV in the lounge.

 

Patting his hands dry, he rushed towards the lounge.

 

「Today’s Horoscopes Ranking」, as its name suggested, was a segment on the show that ranked the horoscopes by their amount of luck for that day.

 

"Yes, it’s 6th place! That’s the best!"

 

Of course, 6th place wasn’t on top of the ranks, there was a 1st place. However, Kazuki had his own reasons for being happy with 6th place.

 

Actually, Kazuki was just an average second year middle school student who had a motto of not causing any troubles. In other words, the 6th place that wasn’t great or bad was the best spot for a guy like him.

 

"Your lucky item is a ‘little sister’? That’s not good, I don’t have a little sister. Maybe I should give out candies and use one of the neighborhood kids as a subst.i.tute.… Wait, is a little sister even an item?"

 

 

Ding dong.

 

While Kazuki was on the second floor veranda hanging up the laundry, the doorbell suddenly rang.

 

"Hmm? Who would it be on a morning like this? Yes yes~."

 

Ding dong. The doorbell rang again while he was headed downstairs.

 

"Yesss~."

 

Ding dong, ding dong.

 

"Is it something important? Yes, I’m coming. Please wait for a bit~."

 

Ding dong. Ding dong. Diiiiiing dong.

 

The doorbell started to ring even more. Kazuki hurried towards the front door.

 

"Wait– I’m opening the door!"

 

When Kazuki touched the door handle, the doorbell stopped ringing. He heard the sound of footsteps and someone running away, followed by the sound of a car engine as it drove away.

 

"Huh? No-one’s here, I guess they drove off?"

 

Kazuki looked around after opening the door, but no one was there.

 

"And I thought that someone was visi– hah?"

 

There was a giant cardboard box laying at his feet.

 

Next to it was a Boston bag and a briefcase.

 

"Ehh? What’s this?"

 

Thinking that the person who rang the bell left it behind, Kazuki walked out to the road to check again.

 

Since no one was there, he crossed his arms and tilted his head in thought.

 

"So the person just before left it behind… I guess."

 

Even though he didn’t quite get what was going on, he couldn’t leave the stuff outside. So Kazuki decided to bring the stuff in first.

 

 

The cardboard box was quite heavy.

 

"Hm–mp"

 

He sighed after carrying all of the stuff inside. Glancing at the cardboard box, he noticed the postal tag on it.

 

"Oh, so it was just a delivery. The senders are Hideki and Marina… dad and mom?"

 

The receiver was recorded as Kazuki.

 

"And the content is—‘a doll’."

 

A doll?

 

He was puzzled.

 

Why would they send a doll to their middle school son, even if they were his parents?

 

It wasn’t his birthday or anything…

 

He wasn’t even aware that he was receiving a parcel from them in the first place. More than that, he hasn’t been in contact with his parents for a while.

 

"Well, I can’t even begin to understand their behavior though."

 

Kazuki decided to stop thinking about it and just open the box.

 

He dug through the packaging in the box.

 

"This is…"

 

Kazuki widened his eyes.

 

In the box was a bubble wrapped doll about the size of a girl.

 

"Life sized!? Could this doll be… a doll for adults!? What do they want me to do with it!?"

 

– Do your best.

 

"What the h.e.l.l!?"

 

Kazuki imagined his parents and retorted them. His parents would certainly say that to him and it was quite a bother.

 

More importantly, the doll had sparkling blond twin tails and had its eyes closed as if it was asleep. It was hugging its knees in the box and its almost transparent white shoulders and knees were blinding when seen through the bubble wrap.

 

"Uuu... even if it’s a doll, I don’t know where to look…. They should’ve wrapped it up in some cloth or something."

 

The doll was wonderfully made.

 

It could be mistaken for a real girl.

 

"It looks like it’s actually alive."

 

Kazuki tried not to stare too much at the doll and touched one of the twin tails with his hand. It was as smooth as silk and felt great on his hand. He let the golden hair flow through his fingers.

 

"Huh?"

 

For a moment, it felt like the atmosphere just changed.

 

He looked towards the doll to check, but there was no difference.

 

"… I guess it’s just my imagination."

 

Slap slap.

 

Since he couldn’t touch the doll below its neck, he touched the cheeks this time. They were as soft as marshmallows.

 

Squish squish.

 

"…. Hmm."

 

–!?

 

This time, it looked like the doll just squinted.

 

And he heard a voice as well…

 

"Ha ha, no way."

 

Kazuki thought that he was seeing things, so he pinched himself and looked again.

 

And he saw–

 

No changes.

 

"A doll is just a doll after all. Think about it, a doll won’t be able to move–"

 

But that wasn’t the case.

 

Blink.

 

The doll opened its eyes.

 

It opened them.

 

Those eyes were a beautiful blue that matched the doll's blond hair and pale skin perfectly.

 

"…. (Stare)."

 

It was looking at him.

 

"…. (Stare)."

 

It’s looking, it’s looking. It was almost drilling a hole just by staring.

 

Kazuki who nearly lost his mind for a moment came back to his senses and jumped back in surprise.

 

"W- wha, what the h.e.l.l…!?"

 

Really!?

 

I- I’m glad that I didn’t touch its b.r.e.a.s.t.s…. Wait, that’s not it!

 

It’s probably… a doll… right?

 

Kazuki was in a state of panic during the unexpected event, but the doll looked very calm. It looked at Kazuki in a curious manner and tilted her head.

 

Ah, it was pretty.

 

No no! That’s not it!

 

"…. Onii… chan?"

 

At that moment, the doll talked with a bell like cute voice.

 

"Onii-chan!"

 

"Wai–."

 

The doll, still wrapped in bubble wrap, leapt out from the box and put its arms around Kazuki’s head in a hug.

 

 

Kazuki, who was still slow because of what was happening to him, couldn’t resist her and fell backwards.

 

"Ouch."

 

His head slammed into the floor. A wave of pain hit him and hurt so much that he thought he had broken his skull.

 

The small, but existent b.r.e.a.s.t.s were pressed onto Kazuki’s body.

 

Her back was an elegant arc, her b.u.t.t was like a ripened white peach, her slim and slender thighs, and from there… well, let’s just say that there was a lot to look at.

 

The pain from his head would’ve been enough to send him flying to the other side of the universe.

 

Wwaaiit! Hold on!

 

What is this, what the h.e.l.l’s going on!?

 

Cccaalm down! Calm down! This is just a dream! It’s only a fantasy!

 

One of the common symptoms of p.u.b.erty is wild delusions. What am I thinking so early in the morning?

 

Disappear wild delusions! You are banished from my head!

 

"I wanted to meet you, Onii-chan."

 

Squeeze.

 

"Gyaa!"

 

The doll pressed on to his arm and because of that, the body parts that he was seeing were twisting and turning before his eyes.

 

 

It was certainly reality.

 

"Eh? Huh? Onii-chan!? Before that, you’re not a doll!? You're a real person!?"

 

"Si[1]."

 

The girl nodded her head.

 

"You’re a person!? But why were you inside a box!?"

 

The girl looked away to try to think of something and gathered her hands with a ‘Pon’ sound.

 

"Si, I am a real boxed girl[2]!"

 

"No, no. Don’t joke around like that!"

 

2

 

They were now in the kitchen.

 

「The number that you’ve tried to call is currently turned off or un–」

 

"Oh, man!"

 

Kazuki hung up the phone grumbling. He has tried to call his parents’ mobile a few times, but the call wouldn’t connect.

 

Really, just what where they doing, those parents of mine.

 

He has been ticked off about his parents’ absence before, but it was never as bad as it was today.

 

Kazuki’s parents called themselves treasure hunters and made a living out of travelling around the world to dig up hidden treasures. But whenever they came back, they would bring back enormous troubles and irritate Kazuki all the time.

 

Last year, they brought back a beautiful sapphire as a present but it turned out to be a cursed star sapphire that was hidden deep inside the jungles that would kill its owners. Moreover, Kazuki came down with a mysterious flu that actually killed him (his fever went down afterwards, but the sapphire was nowhere to be found).

 

That wasn’t the only time his parents brought back trouble into the house. It was just the tip of the iceberg.

 

Anyway, it was impossible to know what his parents would do next.

 

Kazuki’s parents had a large influence over Kazuki’s life and inspired his motto of living a ‘normal’ life was inspired by them.

 

Putting that aside, just who was this girl?

 

Even so, his father and mother wouldn’t just say 'We found a cute girl while travelling so we’ve packed her into a box and sent it to you!' ...probably.

 

…

 

……

 

……. Right?

 

I don’t think they did… but it’s no good. His parents may have actually done that.

 

Anyway, should I listen to her story first?

 

If my parents did kidnap her, then I should tell them how harsh the consequences will be.

 

No, I should gladly report them to the police!

 

Click.

 

As Kazuki was thinking that, the door to the lounge opened. In the doorway was the doll, no, the girl from just now.

 

This time, she wasn’t naked. She was wearing a black one piece with a cardigan that was laced around the edges. The clothes were probably in that Boston bag that came with the box.

 

In her hands, she was holding the brief case. It didn’t suit a cute girl like her.

 

Since the girl looked emotionless, she really looked like a well made doll.

 

"I’m sorry about before… I forgot that I was naked… I was just happy…"

 

It didn’t show on her face, but she must’ve been embarra.s.sed because her voice trailed off.

 

"Because I met you, Onii-chan."

 

"Onii-chan? Are you talking about me? I’m not too sure about it though."

 

"Si. Now then."

 

"Heh, I see. Well then let’s get an explana—"

 

Squeeze. The girl hugged him again.

 

"No no, that’s not it! Why are you hugging me!?"

 

Kazuki pushed the girl away. When he did, she looked at him with an expression that said that she didn’t understand.

 

"Who are you? And why are you calling me your Onii-chan?"

 

"Si."

 

The girl stood up straight.

 

 

"Buon giorno[3], Onii-chan. My name is Sabrina. I’m your little sister starting today."

 

And she bowed her head.

 

Kazuki wasn’t able to understand what the girl, who identified herself as Sabrina, just said.

Sabrina spoke in j.a.panese, so it wasn’t that he didn’t understand the language.

 

Kazuki tried to slowly gather his thoughts.

 

Little sister… Onii-chan …

 

The girl whose name was Sabrina, a little sister.

 

Me, an Onii-chan.

 

A younger sister: a female younger sibling born from the same parents, little brother’s wife’s sister, or ayounger sister of the husband or the wife (defined from the Fujita j.a.panese Dictionary).

 

This girl called me an Onii-chan.

 

But if my memory serves me correctly, I’m an only child.

 

But a little sister and me, an Onii-chan?

 

So that means…

 

"Well?"

 

He didn’t understand at all.

 

"Well then."

 

Squeeze. Sabrina hugged him as if she’s done what she needed to do. She probably wanted to hug Kazuki to death.

 

"Please wait for a moment, Sabrina-san."

 

"No[4], it’s Sabrina. Since Onii-chan is my Onii-chan, please call me ‘Sabrina’."

 

She looked up while she said that. Kazuki thought, 'what kind of a situation was this?' But if he gave up now, then he wouldn’t be able to hear the full story. He decided to call  her 'Sabrina,' like she wanted him to.

 

"Uh, so… Sabrina."

 

"Si."

 

Sabrina must’ve been happy because she buried her head into Kazuki’s chest. It looked like ‘Si’ was yes and ‘No’ meant no.

 

"Hey Sabrina, I haven’t got a clue as to what’s going on. Have you heard anything from my parents?"

 

"No. Haven’t you seen them Onii-chan? It was Hideki and Marina who dropped me off here."

 

"No, I haven’t seen them… Ah."

 

The doorbell that continued to ring. The sound of the car engine as they drove off. The box that had the girl inside.

 

And the parents that couldn’t be contacted.

 

From that, Kazuki was able to come to the only logical conclusion.

 

"The two of them… they ran off after dumping it all on me."

 

That was right, Kazuki’s parents had come back, and after leaving Sabrina behind in a box, they decided to flee.

 

After inspecting the sticker on the box, he noticed that the address wasn’t written on it. If it was the s.h.i.+pping service, they wouldn’t have been able to deliver it.

 

"Without any explanations…. This is something that shouldn’t occur in real life. What should I do."

 

"Actually, there was something that they wanted me to give to you, Onii-chan."

 

"Huh? There was!? Thank G.o.d."

 

It would’ve been better if his parents gave it to him in person. No, it would’ve been better if they actually sat down and talked to him. But Kazuki hasn’t realized yet, that was why he was always fooled by his parents.

 

"This must be a Blu-ray disk. Now that I mention it, I think there's a Blu-ray player here…"

 

Kazuki sat down and played the disk immediately. Meanwhile, Sabrina was using Kazuki’s shoulder as a pillow and was resting there with her eyes closed.

 

「Ahh, can you hear this?」

 

「Hi Kazuki~」

 

Even though his parents recorded this on Blu-ray, there were no visuals. Only their voices came out from the pitch black TV. Those laid back voices were his parents for sure.

 

「You mentioned that you wanted to have a younger sister before didn’t you? It looks like G.o.d made a mistake and took his time. It’s quite late, but he sent it via the post.」

 

The contents were a headache straight from the start.

 

Kazuki did remember that he wanted a little sister when he was younger. He also remembered his parents lying to him, saying that babies were delivered via the post. He was slightly traumatized because he was made fun of in his morals cla.s.s when he told them about it.

 

「How is it~? Wasn’t that funny~. We name it the ‘Boxed Girl’. Also, your father worked very hard~.」

 

「Kazuki, you can look up to me!」

 

"As if I would!"

 

He shouted at the TV, even though he knew that it was useless to do so.

 

It really felt like the 'Boxed Girl' thing was planned by his parents. He was worried about what they were going to say next, but he couldn’t stop it because they haven’t mentioned Sabrina.

 

「So anyway, she’s your little sister from now on.」

 

Said his father.

 

「She’s your little sister from now on~.」

 

Followed by his mother. The two of them continue in unison,

 

「「That’s all!」」

 

He was clearly trolled.

 

"That's it!?"

 

Kazuki yelled again. There were no explanations.

 

「Well, you don’t need to treat her like a little sister. You could always take her as your wife. Regardless, she’s a girl so it doesn’t really matter.」

 

「No~, really now Kazuki’s dad~. However, they’re by themselves~. Kazuki, we’ll be expecting a grandchild soon~.」

 

"… Wife."

 

Sabrina abruptly stood up.

 

"Don’t react to that! No, no! Don’t take it seriously!"

 

Sabrina didn’t even blink but was blus.h.i.+ng and Kazuki tried to justify himself furiously. From the TV, the devilish laughter from his parents continued to pour out.

 

"Kuh, those people…"

 

Veins popped out from his temple and his eyebrows twitched.

 

Kazuki was reaching the heights of his patience. He was trying with all his strength not to snap the disk in half.

 

「We should get to the point since Kazuki might be reaching his limits~. Our son is probably trying his best not to snap the disk in half with his veins popping out from his temples.」

 

「Yes, I suppose we should. I wanted to tease him a bit more, but I guess it can’t be helped…. To tell the truth, Kazuki.」

 

His father changed his speech so quickly he was almost able to hear a skidding sound.

 

He wished his father spoke that way from the beginning.

 

「Actually, someone who we've been indebted to for a long time has pa.s.sed away.」

 

"Ehh?"

 

Kazuki was taken aback by the unexpected seriousness.

 

「Sabrina is that person’s daughter.」

 

「That person wrote in his will, 'If something should happen to me, please adopt Sabrina as your child~.'」

 

「Sabrina’s mother is no longer here, so we thought that it would be best if we take her into our household.」

 

「We’re sorry we just dumped it all on you Kazuki~. But we didn’t have enough time to explain~.」

 

"That’s…"

 

As Kazuki put on a troubled face, there was an explosion noise from the TV speakers. The noise continued to ring out.

 

"Eh–."

 

As he reacted to the noise, Kazuki’s view suddenly flipped to face the ceiling.

It was Sabrina who had pushed him down.

 

"Uu—pp"

 

Her small b.r.e.a.s.t.s pressed down on Kazuki’s face. 

 

Without him noticing, Sabrina took an object out and aimed it at the TV.

 

Bang bang bang.

 

A similar noise was heard ringing out from the TV.

 

This time, from the top of Kazuki’s head.

 

"W-What!? What’s going on!?"

 

"No Onii-chan, it’s ticklish."

 

Kazuki crawled out from Sabrina’s protection and looked around him.

 

He felt a sense of danger.

 

And it was crystal clear where the feeling came from.

 

"The TV…"

 

There were mysterious smoking holes in the TV monitor. Enough to match the number of times he heard the noise above his head.

 

And there was Sabrina, s.h.i.+vering. Kazuki pointed at the object she was holding in her hands.

 

"S-Sabrina, that’s…"

 

Although he's never seen one in real life, he recognized it from movies and animes.

 

It was s.h.i.+ny and black in color, its body shaped like an L and had a small hole at the tip.

 

"So, it’s an average pistol."

 

From that point on, understood the situation. With that, all color drained from Kazuki’s face.

 

"Ah!"

 

Sabrina let out a short gasp.

 

"I shot back by reflex. I’m sorry, Onii-chan."

 

"Shot back!? Moreover, what’s that!"

 

"This is a Beretta Px4, a pistol."

 

"No, I didn’t ask for the gun name! I’m asking why you have something like that."

 

Kazuki’s sight fell on the brief case that Sabrina had and saw that it was opened. Inside, there was a  gun magazine and a silencer in its slots.

 

"Si, this is the portable 'toolbox'."

 

"Toolbox!? W-What the h.e.l.l are you!?"

 

As he yelled out, the TV sounded broken.

 

「... anyway… didn’t expect them to find us…」

 

「They attacked us so suddenly… got sweaty… right~.」

 

It sounded like they were fine. Well they dropped Sabrina off, so his parents had to be fine.

 

When Kazuki’s mother mentioned that there was no time, she was probably referring to this. As the disk’s content was about to finish, his mother spoke with a voice that sounded like she just remembered to say something.

 

Her voice sounded like it was about to cut off, but Kazuki was able to hear it quite clearly.

 

「Ah, that’s right. Sabrina is the estranged daughter of a mafia boss, so she’s an amateur a.s.sa.s.sin you see~. That~ is~ why~, you need to treat her well, got it?」

 

Boom.

 

With a large puff of smoke, the TV turned off.

 

The lounge became dead silent.

 

Kazuki stiffly turned his head to the broken TV and then to Sabrina.

 

"You’re the hidden child of a mafia boss?"

 

"Si."

 

"And an amateur a.s.sa.s.sin?"

 

"Si."

 

Squeeze. Sabrina clung to him.

 

"And I'm your little sister."

 

Kazuki was too surprised to talk. He could only open and close his mouth like a fish.

 

The lucky item today was a 'little sister.'

 

Kazuki would never believe that horoscope show again.

 

3

 

While Kazuki was cleaning a room out for Sabrina, it was already getting dark outside.

 

–Those parents of mine.

 

Kazuki thought to himself as he was doing the dishes after having dinner.

 

What do they mean little sister?

 

We’re around the same age and moreover, she’s a girl. There’s no way I would be able to accept that so quickly.

 

I don’t know if they were lying or not, but a mafia boss’s hidden child and an amateur a.s.sa.s.sin…

 

Well, accepting her as my little sister isn’t the problem right now. It would be cruel of me to throw her out, so I guess I'll have to judge the situation for a few days.

 

"What should I do…"

 

Kazuki sighed quite loudly.

 

When he finished the dishes and walked into the lounge, Sabrina walked in the front door.

 

"Oh, did you go outside?"

 

"Si. I wondered what I could do to help, so I finished it since you didn’t seem to have it set up."

 

"Finish what up?"

 

"The traps for intruders."

 

"Eh?"

 

At Sabrina’s words, he froze.

 

"When you say traps for intruders, you mean like traps to prevent break-ins…?"

 

"Si. Even a rat needs to be eliminated if it sneaks in."

 

"T-that’s not good!"

 

Kazuki reached out to the front door.

 

"No. You can’t."

 

"Eh–."

 

Sabrina tried to stop him. But it was too late and Kazuki touched the front door.

 

At that moment, a strong current of electricity ran through his body.

 

"Wwwoooaaahhh! Why did you set it up inside as wellll!"

 

Kazuki who just got electrified opened the door as he fell down.

 

Stumbling through the door, he took a step outside when his leg was caught by a piano string and he was pulled upwards.

 

"Woahahahahah–ah!"

 

The force threw him straight into the yard in an arc and he slammed down on his back.

 

"It hurts. Ugh… how did I get caught up in this…!?"

 

"Onii-chan, it’s dangerous to stay there."

 

"Huh?"

 

He turned his face upwards.

 

Whoos.h.!.+

 

An arrow landed right in the spot where his head was before.

 

The second and the third arrows followed, aimed at Kazuki who jumped backwards in shock.

 

"Give it a rest alre–."

 

Click.

 

Kazuki’s hand touched something behind him.

 

"Don’t tell me…"

 

Kazuki remembered a movie that had a detective that never died.

 

He got up and swiftly dived forward like he was performing a header[5]. Simultaneously, something behind him exploded.

 

"So I was right– ack."

 

With a movie-like explosion as his backdrop, Kazuki flew off and landed, no, fell in front of  his home's front door.

 

"Urrrp."

 

Sabrina squatted down and looked at the sprawled out Kazuki.

 

"You shouldn’t worry too much about it, Onii-chan. There are no holes in the traps, so you don’t need to try them out for yourself. Well then, I’ll set up the traps again."

 

Urrrp

 

Mustering all of his strength, Kazuki grabbed onto Sabrina’s one piece as she stood up.

 

4

 

The clock was already pointing to 12 when they came back inside. Kazuki had told Sabrina, who had a surprised look on her face, to remove all the traps. Meanwhile, he cleaned up the yard and went around the neighborhood apologizing for the ruckus the two caused.

 

And today was a Sunday as well…

 

Kazuki collapsed out onto his desk.

 

I-I’m… tired.

 

Maybe it was too much of a stretch to say that I was playing around with some fireworks.

 

The way that our next door neighbors, the Inoues, looked at me… the relations.h.i.+ps with my neighbors that I worked so hard on…

 

Leaving that aside, that girl.

 

She shot (death by a bullet), set up traps (death by explosion, death by piercing) and came inside a box (death by eroticness?) how many times did she nearly kill me today?

 

If I don’t do something about it, I'll die soon.

 

I should try my best to not get involved with her!

 

Knock knock

 

"Whoa!"

 

Kazuki who was thinking to himself jumped in surprise at the sudden knocking.

 

He looked towards the door to see if someone knocked, but it didn’t seem like it.

 

"Huh?"

 

The knocking sounds actually turned out to be the rain drops. .h.i.tting his window.

 

"Rain? That’s right; the weather mentioned that today."

 

The sound of the raindrops grew louder. And with a sound that was like a beast’s howl, the rainy sky flashed for a moment.

 

"So there’s lighting and thunder as well…"

 

Since Kazuki wasn’t scared of bad weather, he wasn’t greatly concerned by it.

 

But then the sky lit up again.

 

A thundering sound ran out shortly afterwards.

 

"Wow that was quite loud. It must’ve hit nearby."

 

While he was still dazed by the loud shockwave, he heard a knock on the door.

 

"Eh!?"

 

He felt almost as shocked as if he had been struck by the lightning outside.

 

Right now, there were only two people in the house. If it wasn’t him who knocked then it was obviously Sabrina.

 

What did she want so late at night?

 

Kazuki fell deep into thought while he reached out for the handle.

 

He thought of all the things that happened to him that day and imagined what would happen in the future.

 

Gulp.

 

He didn’t want to open the door at all.

 

He wanted to pretend that he was asleep.

 

But since the light leaked out between the door’s hinges, he wouldn’t be able to pull that off.

 

Kazuki could only respond.

 

"Ah, yeah. Come in."

 

At his door was obviously Sabrina. She was in some simple patterned pajamas.

 

"I’m glad that you weren’t asleep Onii-chan."

 

"No, I was just about to go to sleep."

 

He lightly brushed her off.

 

"I see…."

 

Sabrina looked down. Kazuki felt a sense of guilt in his heart.

 

He didn’t want to be involved with her for any longer. He didn’t want any more trouble.

 

"Umm… Onii-chan, could you do me a favor…"

 

She asked him to do something for her!

 

While Sabrina was trailing her words, Kazuki had a bad feeling.

 

"Well~ I really want to help you out, but it’s late. So why don’t you ask me tomorrow? I’m a bit tired, so I want to sleep soon."

 

Feeling guilty about it, Kazuki gently turned her down.

 

But what he said worsened the situation.

 

"Si. If you’re going to sleep now, then it’s great for me. Actually… please let me sleep in your room as well Onii-chan."

 

Is that how you’re going to play!

 

Kazuki’s mind ascended to the heavens. He dug his own grave with the excuse that he told her, thinking he would get away it.

 

Looking at Sabrina carefully, she was holding her pillow behind her back.

 

Do you really want to sleep with me!?

 

How much more are you going to bother me?

 

While Kazuki was racking his brain trying to think of a good excuse, Sabrina softly spoke.

 

"Actually, I’m still scared of thunder…"

 

The sound of thunder still rang out outside.

 

Each time there was a crack of thunder, Sabrina flinched.

 

"Sabrina…"

 

"… And I had a scary dream just now."

 

Sabrina who had a bold face before now looked uneasy.

 

But that was to be expected.

 

Sabrina had just lost her father.

 

She didn’t have a mother, so she had no-one to rely on.

 

Even under those circ.u.mstances, she left her motherland and came to this foreign country.

 

She would obviously be scared.

 

Before he even noticed it, Kazuki no longer felt like avoiding Sabrina.

 

If she could be relaxed just by being near a guy like me…

 

Now, all that remained in Kazuki’s heart was an answer.

 

"… Ok. Let’s sleep together."

 
  

...Or so he said.

 

But isn't this dangerous on many different levels…?

 

They were only sleeping in the same bed with the lights off, but Kazuki realized how embarra.s.sing the situation was.

 

Sabrina seemed like a neat girl. But that same girl was in her pajamas next to Kazuki.

 

Trying his hardest to keep his mind off the situation, he kept his back turned against her.

 

Squeeze.

 

However, Sabrina was tightly hugging Kazuki’s arm, so his movements were limited.

 

The feeling of the girl’s soft skin could be felt on his arm.

 

The sweet scent tickled his nose.

 

Because of his embarra.s.sment and a slight sense of selfishness, Kazuki was regretting letting her sleep with him.

 

"Isn't a single bed too small for two people? I’ve got quilts, so I can sleep on the floor instead."

 

Kazuki tried to persuade Sabrina till the end, however...

 

"No, I like it. I feel rea.s.sured when we're sleeping together like this."

 

He was shot down instantly.

 

It can’t be helped. I’ll try to clear my head.

 

That’s right, there isn't anyone next to me.

 

So, I can’t feel anything.

 

All I have to do is to close my eyes and go to sleep, like I always do.

 

It’s not hard at all…

 

As Kazuki was purifying his mind, the sky flashed and the light came through the curtains.

 

"– Eeep."

 

"Kyaa."

 

Sabrina shrank down and hugged even tighter.

 

She wasn’t just hugging his arm, but his back as well- increasing the surface of contact. Her "that part" was rubbing against Kazuki’s leg.

 

Emergency!! Emergency!!

 

Inside Kazuki’s head, the sirens went off to warn him of the emergency.

 

"S-Sabrina! This is dangerous! Stay back a little!"

 

"N, no…!!"

 

Whaaaaaa.

 

Save me father, mother.

 

Please give me wisdom to escape this situation!

 

「Well, you don’t need to treat her like a little sister. You could always take her as your wife. Regardless, she’s a girl so it doesn’t really matter.」

 

「No~, really now Kazuki’s dad~. However, they’re by themselves~. Kazuki, we’ll be expecting a grandchild soon~.」

 

In his head, his parents’ words and their devilish laugher resounded.

 

I was an idiot for relying on my parents!

 

Wait! T-this is no joke! It’s dangerous, dangerous, dangerous, dangerous!

 

If I don’t do something about this situation, I might actually do something really bad!

 

While he was partially in a state of panic, the sky lit up once more, as if it was delivering the final blow.

 

"– Eeep."

 

"Waaa."

 

Spin spin spin spin.

 

His eyes began to spin, he wasn’t able to focus his eyesight.

 

It was pointless to empty his head.

 

For a while now, it’s become almost a bother to resist that voice in his head, whispering "Haven’t you resisted for long enough?" (The voice sounded like his parents for some reason).

 

As Kazuki was about to let go of his morals,

 

 

"Onii-chan…"

 

 

Hearing Sabrina’s voice, Kazuki came back to his senses.

 

She was curled up in a ball.

 

She was probably really scared of the stormy weather.

 

Scary, scary, scary, she repeated to herself.

 

What was I about to do to a scared girl like her?

 

He no longer felt the same way as before.

 

Instead, he felt that he should protect her.

 

The sky lit up.

 

"– Eeep."

 

Kazuki gently hugged Sabrina who was scared stiff.

 

"… One, two, three."

 

And he started to count so that he could help Sabrina feel at ease.

 

"… Onii-chan?"

 

"It’s something that I learned from my father. He said that if you count to three after lightning strikes and hear no thunder, it means that it’s gone somewhere far away."

 

He smiled to Sabrina who was still trembling.

 

"Just now, there was a lightning strike but no sounds. So it’s ok, just think that the thunder has gone somewhere far away. It’s not that scary."

 

"… Onii-chan."

 

Sabrina dug into Kazuki’s chest as if she was rubbing her nose on him.

 

"Onii-chan is really like the brother that I imagined you would be."

 

Great, she looked better than before.

 

Now that I've changed the topic, will she be able to fall asleep?

 

"That’s that, but Sabrina, I was wondering when I met you earlier today, did you know about me before?"

 

"… Si. I met you once when we were younger."

 

"Really!? I-I’m sorry, umm, I can’t really remember…"

 

"Si. It’s understandable if you don’t remember me. We only briefly met after all, and I only found out afterwards that it was you, Onii-chan."

 

The thunderstorm pa.s.sed and the sound of the falling rain surrounded them.

 

"… But it was one of my most valuable memories."

 

Kazuki silently looked at Sabrina’s face..

 

And Sabrina started to talk about herself.

 

"I am the daughter of the G.o.dfather of a powerful Italian mafia, the 'Jevini Family'. However, my mother pa.s.sed away when I was very young.

 

"Why?"

 

"I don’t know. No-one ever told me before…. So I was moved to a cottage and started living there. My father visited the cottage a few times a year, but he always wore a stern face so I didn’t know how he was feeling. So when I heard that my father had pa.s.sed away, I didn’t know if I honestly felt saddened or not."

 

Sabrina looked unconcerned. Her face was expressionless.

 

"So that's why I had been living inside a cottage while being trained to become an a.s.sa.s.sin."

 

"… But that’s too harsh."

 

"Harsh, is it?"

 

Sabrina blinked her eyes to show that she found it strange. For Sabrina who had no-one to compare her life to, she didn’t think of it as abnormal.

 

"I don’t know about it being harsh, but they were the boring days. However, Hideki and Marina visited me sometimes and talked about you Onii-chan. I liked hearing about you. So whenever I had the time, I would always imagine you and hope that I would meet you one day. And after all this time, I was finally able to meet you."

 

She had no memories of her mother.

 

She had no memories of her father either.

 

Kazuki was the only person Sabrina was able to relate to.

 

Someone that she thought of from a place far away.

 

So that must've been why she was so friendly to Kazuki when she met him properly for the first time.

 

Sabrina’s cheeks became slightly pink.

 

"I-I’m sorry for only talking about myself. I studied j.a.panese so that I could meet Onii-chan, but is my j.a.panese strange?"

 

"Ah, I see. So that’s why you were able to speak so fluently. Its fine, it’s not strange at all."

 

After listening to Sabrina, Kazuki started to think.

 

I misunderstood...

 

Sabrina really was the daughter of a mafia boss and a trained a.s.sa.s.sin.

 

However, the Sabrina before him was just a girl afraid of thunderstorms, a girl who was unable to sleep alone because of a nightmare. She was slightly unusual, but she was just a normal girl.

 

It wouldn’t be bad to let Sabrina stay in our house for a while.

 

Kazuki gently stroked Sabrina’s hair.

 

"Well, the storm has already pa.s.sed and it’s a bit late now, so shall we sleep? You are also tired from your long trip, right?"

 

"Si. Then let’s sleep."

 

After saying that, Sabrina slowly took something out from the pillow that she’d brought.

 

Thunk.

 

With a heavy sound, an L shaped black object was laid under her pillow.

 

"… What’s that?"

 

"This? It’s the Beretta Px4 that I explained befo–"

 

"I’m not asking for the gun name! Why are you placing such a dangerous object like that under your pillow!?"

 

"If I don't, I can’t fall asleep. Isn’t it normal to put a gun within your reach to sleep peacefully?"

 

"Not at all!!!!"

 

I take back what I said before, she definitely isn’t a normal girl.

 

Once again, Kazuki had regained his old views on Sabrina.

 

And so, Kazuki’s long day finally came to an end.

 

Obviously, Kazuki wasn’t able to sleep a wink that night.