Unique highschool life

***

words counted-- 1200 only--(-_-)

****

Aki left the hospital. He had hoped to see Yuki one last time before her discharge. Wandering aimlessly through the city, his feet eventually carried him to a familiar café where Misaki worked.

"Welcome back, onii~tan!" Misaki greeted cheerfully as Aki entered, dressed in an elementary school uniform.

Aki froze mid-step. '-What- Is-This.' His part time maid was wearing a elementary uniform complete with a ribbon and pleated skirt. For a moment, he wondered if he'd walked into the wrong place.

'…Ah, should I be saying, 'I'm back, my dear sister?' he muttered to himself.

'Is Misaki roleplaying!' seeing her in this getup was both unusual and… cute. Against his better judgment, he decided to roll with it.

Without a word, Aki walked to an empty table and sat down.

"What's wrong, oniitan?" Misaki asked, trying to keep her composure. 'Why does he have to come in today of all days?' She cursed internally. Today was a special "Imouto Café Day," and the rules dictated that employees act like little sisters. Misaki bit her lip, trying to maintain her smile.

"That's what I'm about to ask," Aki replied casually.

"Huh?" Misaki blinked.

"You've never called me onii~tan before," Aki said, narrowing his eyes. "Pulling that out of nowhere makes me uneasy. What do you want from me?"

Misaki's smile twitched, the effort of staying in character becoming harder by the second.

"Or…" Aki leaned back, resting his chin on his hand. "Did you do something behind my back and now you feel guilty?"

'This guy!' Misaki's temple throbbed. She was about to snap when—

"Oh!" Aki's expression lit up with mock surprise. "Is this about the time you farted in front of me the other day?"

Misaki froze, her cheeks instantly flaming red.

"I-Misa didn't do that!" she spluttered.

"Hmm, denial, huh?" Aki smirked. "That's exactly what a guilty person would say."

From behind the counter, Misaki's co-workers watched the exchange with growing amusement.

"Hold it in, Misaki-chan," whispered a black-haired girl, trying to stifle her laughter. "You can't lose to him."

"Playing right into the joke of the customer," another chimed in.

"Well it was am unpleasant one thought," muttered a third, snickering.

Finally, Misaki slammed a glass of water onto Aki's table, veins bulging on her forehead. "Here's your water, onii~tan."

"Where'd you get this from, the tap?" Aki teased, inspecting the glass. "Your Onii~tan only drinks water from the Alps. Bring me that instead."

Misaki clenched her fists, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "Onii~tan," she said through gritted teeth, "please stop teasing Misa. What would you like to eat? misa recommend today's special: omelet rice."

"Your Onii~tan would like roasted lobster with foie gras, fries with red wine sauce, and a side of truffles." Aki leaned forward, grinning devilishly.

Misaki's eyebrow twitched. "You're asking for the impossible again," she hissed. "Didn't I tell you not to piss Misa off?"

"You too, Misa! You can't do that, you can't do this—don't you think it's hard for the customer if you can't fulfill their request? And on top of that, you even lied about not farting—"

Misaki's patience finally snapped. "Like I said, I didn't fart, you stupid perverted big brother!" she shouted, slamming her hands on the table.

The entire room went silent.

Aki blinked, stunned. He hadn't expected her to explode like that. 'Ah… I guess I went too far,' he muttered, scratching the back of his head. With a sigh, he stood up. "I'm not really in the mood anymore. Guess I'll head home."

He turned and began walking away.

Misaki stood frozen in place, watching his back. Her grip tightened on the hem of her skirt. 'I really do have a bad temper, don't I?' she thought bitterly. 'Even though I knew he was just teasing, even though he's helped my family so much… I still snapped at him.'

As Aki reached the door, Misaki took a deep breath. She couldn't let things end like this.

"Onii~tan~" she called softly, her voice trembling. "It's… okay to come here again. Misaki will be waiting for onii~tan."

Aki stopped in his tracks, turning to look at her. Misaki was covering her flushed face with her hands, peeking at him through her fingers. Her shy, earnest expression sent a ripple through the room.

Several male customers clutched their chests as if struck by Cupid's arrow.

"This is…"

"It can't be…"

"The other sister archetype!"

"Not the loli or the serious one… but the natural tsundere imouto!"

Aki felt his chest tighten as a strange warmth spread through him.

Badam....

Badam. Badam. His heartbeat pounded in his ears. Misaki's words and shy expression had hit him harder than he expected. 'This is dangerous.... Really dangerous.'

A small smile tugged at Aki's lips, but he quickly shook it off. With a determined stride, he walked past everyone, grabbed Misaki's wrist, and started dragging her toward the back door.

"H-Hey! What are you doing?" Misaki stammered, trying to resist. "Let go of me!"

"Stop complaining and follow me," Aki replied curtly, his grip firm but not painful.

The café staff and customers watched in stunned silence as the pair disappeared into the back.

"""Bang!"""

Aki slammed his hand against the wall, pinning Misaki in a classic kabedon.

Misaki's mind short-circuited. 'Isn't this… kabedon? What's going on? Where am I? Who am I?' Smoke practically rose from her head.

"Misaki," Aki said softly, leaning in closer.

"Y-Yes?" she squeaked, her voice barely audible.

"Don't do that again," Aki murmured in her ear.

"D-Do what?" Misaki asked, confused.

"Don't act that way with other people," Aki said, pulling back slightly to look her in the eyes. "You can call me whatever you want—onii~tan, perverted big brother, whatever—but don't do that with strangers."

"Why not?" Misaki asked, tilting her head.

"Because…" Aki hesitated, then leaned closer, his lips brushing her ear. "It makes me jealous."

Misaki's eyes widened as she felt a light nibble on her ear. Her entire face turned red as she stammered incoherently.

"It's a promise, okay?" Aki said, stepping back. "If you break it, I'll bite you again."

With that, he turned and walked out of the back room, leaving Misaki leaning against the wall, her hands covering her burning face.

Outside, Aki ran a hand through his hair, letting out a long sigh. "That was way too dangerous," he muttered, his heartbeat still racing.

Back in the café, Misaki slid down to the floor, clutching her knees as she tried to process what had just happened.

'What is wrong with him? What is wrong with me? Why did that feel… nice?'

Her co-workers peeked around the corner, their expressions a mix of curiosity and amusement.

"Did Misaki-chan just unlock a new character route?"

"Tsundere imouto with bonus kabedon scene? That's going in the archives."

"I think I'm rooting for this ship now."

Misaki groaned, burying her face in her hands. "Shut up…"