Episode 8 – The Tale of Enjoying The Sleeping Face of Senpai as My Brother’s Debt Collateral

* Heroine perspective

I stuffed a tissue up my nose and faced my brother again.

He muttered something like, “The beautiful girl image is ruined…“, but I ignored him.

“So, Onii-chan. What should I do?”

“Ah, yeah. So Akari, you should become… a property!”

I froze for a moment at the strong words that were spoken.

I felt like a three-point arrow was pointed at my head. However, my thoughts immediately understood my brother’s words, and…

“Hyaa…!”

As if to protect myself, I hugged my body with my arms and distanced myself from my brother.

“Wait, Akari, I didn’t mean it like that!”

“Onii-chan, you’re the worst!　You’re asking me to sell my body, aren’t you?　It’s disgusting that you would use such a strong word as ” resolve ” to encourage your sister to do such a thing!”

“That’s wrong!　I’m not trying to sell you off!　Do you think I’m the kind of brother who would let my sister do that?”

“I don’t think so… No, I didn’t think so. Until just now.”

“My stock price plummeted!!”

A man who tries to sell his sister’s body should be banned from the brotherhood industry. I don’t know if there is such an industry, though.

“No Akari. I’m talking about becoming the property of Motomu… Ah, no, that isn’t a follow-up at all.”

“Eh, senpai’s property? What are those dangerous-sounding words..?”

“Hello, Akari-san?　Why are your eyes twinkling so brightly?　I know I’m the one who brought it up, but now Onii-chan might back off, okay?”

“Onii-chan, continue. I’ll consider improving my evaluation of you depending on what you say.”

As I sat back down in seiza, my brother coughed to regain his composure, though his cheeks tensed up.

“Look, from Motomu’s point of view, you’re just ‘my sister’ now. He may not even recognize you as an acquaintance.”

“Uh…”

“But then you can go through me. If it’s me… I’d be able to get you to stay in Motomu’s room for the summer vacation.”

“…in Senpai’s room?”

“And here’s the reason why… I will owe money to Motomu.”

“Eh?”

I thought he had suddenly said something I couldn’t comprehend, but he had a very serious expression on his face.

“But I can’t pay it back, and to make up for it… I’m sending you to Motomu’s house as collateral for my debt!”

“This means that… I will become senpai’s property instead of Onii-chan’s debt…?”

“Ah. Honestly, it’s like pawning off my sister, and as a big brother, it hurts my feelings.”

I see, so it seems that there was no talk of selling me.

The idea of being able to stay at senpai’s house is very, very appealing, but I wonder if such a move would actually work.

“As a matter of fact. I think senpai will think that it’s strange though…?”

“It’s a strange excuse, yes, but I don’t think he’d accept it if I asked him to let you stay over. He would tell you to stay at my house if you came to hang out, right?”

“Yeah… sure, that’s natural…”

“Even if I had an excuse to not let you stay, he might lead you to a female friend’s house, saying that it’s not a good idea for a girl to stay over at a guy’s house. I would do the same in the same situation.”

What my brother said was not wrong, and considering senpai’s character, I could easily imagine a future where that happened.

I like that kind of sincerity very much…

“Well, he’s a bit of a pushover, too. If he comes with common sense, we’ll play with lunacy. Just fill in the outer moat beforehand.”

“The outer moat…”

“It doesn’t matter what the trigger is, but the quickest way is to get out of debt. It doesn’t matter what the trigger is, the quickest way is to borrow money and not pay it back!　And you’re gonna take the blame for me, and you’re gonna grab your stuff, and you’re gonna barge in unannounced.”

“Barge in…!?　Doing something so bold…”

“Don’t tell me you can’t.　I’m going to be labeled a lousy guy who doesn’t pay back his debts. If you’re going to do this, you have to be prepared to give up your reputation for the cause.”

“Onii-chan…”

I had my answer. I’m not talking about what kind of relationship I want to have with senpai, or how I want to sleep over at his place, but the premise of it all.

I want to meet senpai. I want to talk to him. If I can do that, then…

“Okay. I’ll do it!”

Thus, we siblings decided to perform a once-in-a-lifetime ruse to defeat senpai.

◆◆◆

And the present.

What a future I’m having, just as my brother described it!

I’m about to spend the night in senpai’s room, in a small space of six tatami mats and one room!

Well, Senpai is on the bed. I’m on a futon on the floor, so we’re not at the same height.

(For what it’s worth, I’d rather be in the same bed as senpai… No, you can’t, Akari. Onii-chan reminded me of this.)

My brother told me that the only way to stay in senpai’s room was to push him around and not give him an opportunity to fight back.

One of them was the futon. My brother thought that if I slept in the same bed with him, he would be worried about me and wouldn’t want to let me stay there.

So, I bought a brand new futon from a mail-order company. The pressure of having already bought a futon and the peace of mind of not sleeping in the same bed (futon). By offering both of these things, I was able to relax senpai’s guard.

“Mufufu…”

I couldn’t help but smile.

Even if we were on separate bedding, there was no change in the fact that I was sleeping in the same space as senpai, whom I had only been able to watch from afar and talk with only a word or two. What a feeling of happiness.

However, I must not be satisfied here. This summer, making use of my position as debt collateral, I’m going to make senpai…

“Unn…”

“Ngg!!!?”

I almost screamed and quickly clamped my own mouth with both hands.

The voice I just heard, a squeezed out defenseless voice… is the voice that leaked out when senpai turned over. Damn… I should have recorded it….!!

“Su~… su~…”

(Eh…?)

It’s a lie. No way.

…No, I’m sure. Senpai is sleeping even more soundly.

(In other words, it means that right…?)

I slowly pulled off the quilt and sat up so as not to disturb senpai.

The lights were off, and even in the pitch-black room, I could faintly see senpai’s face as I had been looking into the darkness for so long.

“~~~u!!!!”

I desperately tried to keep my voice down, but still, I couldn’t help but agonize over it.

Senpai had turned over and was facing this side in his sleep!

The Unguarded sleeping face of senpai… To think that the day would come when I would be able to admire it!

(Photo, photo… I have to take a picture– Oh, no, there’ll be sound and light!)

I immediately plunged my face and phone into the quilt and searched for a way to take a picture without emitting any sound or light.

(App?　There’s an app for that…!　Oh, what a convenient world we live in!)

I immediately download the app. It seems to allow you to take pictures with the screen off and no shutter sound.

I don’t like the idea of using it for voyeurism… No, I’m using it to get my hands on senpai’s sleeping face. I’m trying to use it for the right reasons!

Launch the app, set up the settings… Right. Now I can take pictures with the screen off!

I fearfully got out of the futon, and then set up my phone and… Snap (my mind’s voice). I took a picture of senpai’s sleeping face.

Then I put my head back under the covers, opened my photo folder, and…

(It’s pitch black. ！！！！！)

I looked at the black screen that appeared and despaired. That’s right, there is no light source in this space to take pictures.

But that didn’t mean I couldn’t use a flash or turn on the lights.

Image capture on the phone is… impossible.

(Then I’ll at least capture it with my naked eyes!)

I got out of the futon again, and this time I was able to capture senpai’s sleeping face with my own eyes.

(C-cute…!)

I felt my body heat up at the innocent and vulnerable expression on senpai’s face.

That, senpai’s, such an expression… I’m sure only his family has seen it… Family!?

(Th-that’s too much of a leap!　Calm down, Akari!　Calm down–ah, I’m so happy… I’m going to die of happiness...)

In the end, I kept looking at my senior’s sleeping face, again and again, and again… until the sun came up.

But I can guarantee it.

This day, this time I spent like this, was the most wonderful late-night experience of my life.