TGS – Vol 2 Chapter 2 Part 1 – Accidental Interaction

The day after Rina’s stream. It was a holiday morning.

“Hey, Yuu! Want to play shiritori¹? I’ve got some pencils and paper ready.” (Haruto)

“What…? Why all of a sudden? This is kinda random…” (Yuno)

The sound of footsteps rushing down the stairs.

The sound of the door to the living room opening and closing.

In the living room, where the TV was on, the voices of a pair of siblings echoed.

“Don’t think too much about it. It’s just to kill time.” (Haruto)

“But I’m busy relaxing…” (Yuno)

“C-Come on, it’s the holidays! I’ll go back to my room after one or two rounds!” (Haruto)

“…You definitely won’t let it end after one round. Not to mention, shiritori takes a while to finish.” (Yuno)

“If it’s fun, let’s do a second round! Okay?” (Haruto)

“…Haa. Alright, fine. You won’t be satisfied until we play anyways.” (Yuno)

“Yes! Thank you!” (Haruto)

Seeing Haruto’s desperate look, Yuno had no choice but to agree. It doesn’t look like it was just a way to kill time.

Yuno stood up from the sofa and sat at the dining table with a sullen look. Haruto, looking pleased, sat down opposite her.

“Just so you know, I’m only going to play until I get tired of it.” (Yuno)

“Of course. Can I start?” (Haruto)

“Go ahead.” (Yuno)

“Alright, let’s start—” (Haruto)

The difference in enthusiasm between Haruto, who was excited, and Yuno, who was not interested at all, was like night and day.

Still, the younger sister didn’t outright show her displeasure.

Resting her cheek on her hand, she watched intently as her brother moved the pencil across the paper, waiting for him to finish.

“—How about this?” (Haruto)

“Hmm. That’s a pretty good apple (Ringo). With just this, you could probably get a 4.0 in art.” (Yuno)

“Right? Having this skill is also useful for my part-time job sometimes.” (Haruto)

Even though it was an apple that anyone could draw well, praising it without pointing that out was a form of kindness.

Yuno took the paper and pencil and began to draw something starting with “go“.

At that moment, she didn’t notice Haruto looking at her with a gentle expression.

“Come to think of it, isn’t this weird? I don’t have school today, but onii-chan woke up early.” (Yuno)

“Well, sometimes you have days like that… Yeah.” (Haruto)

“…Well, that’s true. Alright, your turn.” (Yuno)

She looked up and passed the paper and pencil back.

“Ah, this is pretty good… A gorilla (Gorira), huh?” (Haruto)

“I can’t draw it realistically, though.” (Yuno)

“Well, it looks really cute. You’re pretty good at drawing it this way.” (Haruto)

Haruto, impressed once again, started drawing something that started with “ra“. (Yuno)

“Hey, Onii-chan.” (Yuno)

“Hmm?” (Haruto)

“Why did you suddenly want to play shiritori so desperately?” (Yuno)

“…Huh?” (Haruto)

“I mean, there must be a reason, right? You wouldn’t do that for no reason. There must have been something that led to this. Since I’m playing along, I think I have the right to know.” (Yuno)

“Ahahaha…” (Haruto)

With a wry smile as if to say “You’ve seen through everything”, Haruto slows down the speed of his pencil and gives a simple explanation.

“Just so you know, it’s not like something bad happened. I just have a sudden desire to draw better!” (Haruto)

“Oh…?” (Yuno)

“Hey, Yuu, what do you think of this?” (Haruto)

He quickly shows what he drew next after finishing the “ra“.

“I think you captured the features well. It’s a rought yet cute camel (rakuda).” (Yuno)

“Y-yeah… So, what do you think would happen if you posted this on my stream?” (Haruto)

“You’d probably get teased or laughed at.” (Yuno)

“Exactly!! That’s why I want to get better!” (Haruto)

Haruto couldn’t contain his excitement after encountering a celebrity who was one of the faces of ABEX. After finishing his part-time job, he decided to peek into Rina’s archived stream for about an hour.

What he saw was her expressing her thoughts on the new Frappuccino, and then, the reaction from viewers upon seeing the illustration on the cup…

Comment: [LOL]

Comment: [What’s with that drawing lol]

Comment: [It’s certainly unique.]

Comments like these were plentiful.

As someone in the streaming business, it was heartwarming to see his own illustrations spark excitement among viewers.

While being laughed at wouldn’t hurt, seeing such reactions made him want to draw something that would make people go, “Wow! You can draw something this good!?”

The likelihood of Rina becoming a regular customer was low, but she had promised to come again next time.

Haruto also felt that if she were to feature his illustration on stream again, it would be easier if the drawing was better.

“In other words, onii-chan, if you’re going to spend more time drawing, might as well play shiritori at the same time, is that right?” (Yuno)

“Of course, there’s also the reason that I wanted to play with Yuu.” (Haruto)

“…You don’t have to say things like that.” (Yuno)

Yuno could tell that Haruto was in a good mood.

“Well, onii-chan, I get why you’re doing this, but you don’t really have to try to get better, right? I’m not saying this because I don’t want to play shiritori.” (Yuno)

“What do you mean…?” (Haruto)

“Well, if you get too good at it, your individuality might just disappear. It wouldn’t be fun if your drawings became ordinary.” (Yuno)

“That’s… true.” (Haruto)

Rather than drawing conventional illustrations that anyone can do, those who do it with unique characteristics tend to be more captivating.

Such things can also make people happy or uplifted.

That was Yuno’s point of view.

“Unless customers complain or feel uncomfortable seeing your illustrations, it should be fine, right? Unless that happens, then I think it’s best to continue doing things with your current style. That’s what I believe, anyways.” (Yuno)

“D-Do you really think so…?” (Haruto)

“Yes. That’s why I say that instead of worrying about such complicated things, just spending more time drawing and enjoying would be the best.” (Yuno)

“I see. If you say so, then I’ll do that.” (Haruto)

Though he initially had doubts, quickly adopting her suggestion blindly was a testament to how much Haruto trusted Yuno’s words.

“Besides, there are other things to worry about because somebody somewhere is clumsy at everything except for games.” (Yuno)

“Huh…?” (Haruto)

At the moment when Haruto let out a bewildered voice, Yuno finished drawing the illustration of a pill bug (Dangomushi), furrowing her brows as she handed him the paper.

“Hey, onii-chan. You haven’t slept yet, have you? You’ve been studying how to draw better all night, right?” (Yuno)

“O-Of course not.” (Haruto)

“You’ve got dark circles under your eyes, don’t deny it.” (Yuno)

“Huh?! That’s a lie! I didn’t have any when I washed my face—” (Haruto)

“—Yeah. I was just kidding. But from that reaction, you can’t hide it anymore.” (Yuno)

“…” (Haruto)

“…” (Yuno)

With words overlapping, they continued to gaze silently at each other.

“I don’t think it’s good to deceive your family.” (Haruto)

“It’s also not good to lie to your family, right?” (Yuno)

“…” (Haruto)

Although Haruto attempted some sort of comeback, this was Yuno’s arena. There was nothing the older brother could do.

“Haa. Well, I’ll keep playing shiritori with you until you get bored, so make sure you go to bed properly after that. You’re streaming tonight, right?” (Yuno)

“I-I’m planning to, but… you know how sometimes after the peak of drowsiness, you suddenly don’t feel sleepy anymore?” (Haruto)

“Then let’s just end it once we reach ‘n‘.” (Yuno)

“O-Okay! I’ll make sure to sleep no matter what!” (Haruto)

“It’s a promise. I’ll go check if there are any strange noises in your room at some point.” (Yuno)

“Got it…” (Haruto)

For Haruto, who still wanted to prolong this time, the better choice was to go with his sister’s suggestion.

And while Yuno is clearly manipulating Haruto, the best course of action, for now, would be to quickly end the shiritori game and usher him back to his room.

Not doing so would imply… well, you know.

“Oh, onii-chan. Later, could you bring the sweet container from the shelf above the kitchen before you go to bed?” (Yuno)

“T-The sweet container?” (Haruto)

“I turned the Frappuccino cup you bought yesterday on your way back from work into a sweet container. I didn’t expect it to be used like this.” (Yuno)

“Ah… haha.” (Haruto)

As Yuno pointed in that direction, Haruto’s gaze fell directly upon the words written on the cup.

—[Take care of yourself!]

—[Make sure to get some rest!]

Now, like a boomerang, it feels as if the words were redirected back at him.

All Haruto could do now was to smile wryly at the situation.