My Childhood Friend, Who Is Like an Older Sister to Me, Clearly Has a Crush on Me - Chapter 1-2

Translator: KR
Editor: Animu

 

TLN: I’ll shortened ‘all girls/boys school’ to ‘girls’/boys’ school’

 

Chapter 1-2

 

   It was a large detached room, located on the house’s premises.

   This is “that place” which Kana-neechan had mentioned before.

   It’s often used by big bro’s band members as a place to practice.

   As proof, the place is equipped with lots of equipment used for making music.

   I showed the girls around and immediately turned on the lights.

 

“This is the perfect place because we can play our instrument here without minding the noise.”

“So this is “that place” Kana-chan was talking about?”

“Yup. It’s an ideal place for us to hold our meetings and practice.”

 

   The room is located a short distance away from the neighboring houses, so noise complaints are unlikely to occur.

 

“Are you sure we can use this room?”

“If it’s about the noise, then I don’t think we’ll have any problem. Even big bro used to bring his band members here to practice.”

“That’s not what I meant….”

“What is it?”

 

   I asked Nao with a pondering look.

   And she was looking around the room with a meek look on her face.

 

“Is there really no problem? Won’t your brother use this room as well?”

“It’s fine. Big bro is practicing elsewhere and he hasn’t been using this room recently.”

“I see. I guess that’s fine then.”

“Yeah. That’s why big bro even recommended this room.”

“Alright, then, I’m sorry to start this off so quickly, but could you please show me your bass skills?”

 

   The girl with twin-tails, who had been with Kana-neechan since we grouped up in front of the girls’ school, requested so.

   It was so sudden that,

 

“Eh?”

 

   I became frozen in place.

   Kana-neechan, too, was startled by her request, and opened her mouth instinctively.

 

“Hey, Misa-chan….suddenly askingーー”

“I mean, I want to see how skilled he is. Since we won’t have any noise problems here, it’s perfect.”

“But, you can’t just-….”

“I don’t mind.”

 

   I interjected Kana-neechan.

 

“Otouto-kun?”

“It’s true that it was Kana-neechan who invited me to become a member, but for the others who just met me for the first time, it’s natural that they will think ‘can this person really do it?’.”

 

   I picked up my bass guitar, strummed it once, and adjusted the tuners.

 

“Alright, I’ll try playing it, so listen carefully.”

 

   With that, I began to play.

 

   I wonder how the tuned bass-only performance sounded to everyone.

   Even though I’m playing it at the top of my game, their quietness makes me rather nervous.

   With that worry lingering in my mind, I managed to finish playing.

 

“…Well, how was it?”

 

   The four girls who were listening looked at each other in unison.

 

“…I think it’s fine.”

“I’ll entrust it to Kana.”

“I’ll also leave it to the leader.”

 

   Apparently, they had no complaints about my performance.

   But I wonder what Kana-neechan will do.

 

   I decided to wait for a while to see how she would react.

   And immediately, without any thoughts, Kana-neechan smiled and hugged me.

   In that instance, her plump chest absorbed my face.

 

“…Good for you, Otouto-kun. From today on, you’ll be one of us.”

“I understand. I’ll try to give my all if you’re fine with someone like me. Once again, nice to meet you, everyone.”

 

   I showed a cramped smile while still being in her embrace.

   As usual, I can’t do anything when Kana-neechan hugs me.

   I can’t even pull away from her….

   Because…. I don’t want to do anything that will make her hate me.

   Soon after, Kana-neechan quickly separated from me.

 

“Alright, that’s that, so let’s try performing together.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“Now that a newcomer has joined us, I guess th at’s what we’ll do today.”

“Why don’t we let him start from where we left off? Though, I don’t really care either way.”

 

   The girls began to prepare their own instruments.

   ーーNow, what should I do?

 

“Come on, Otouto-kun, follow along with us.”

“O-Okay.”

 

   Ah…. I’m going to join in as expected, huh?

   Seems like they want to practice right away.

   When the three of them began to play, I picked up my bass guitar and started to follow along with the song.

   Kana-neechan’s clear voice then echoed through the room as she sang along.

   I wonder if my performance was dragging them down.

   That was my only concern, but the music surprisingly flowed on without a hitch.

 

   There were three songs, and we performed them in a sort of flowing order.

   Everyone played their parts without a single complaint.

   Nevertheless, the group was strangely always in sync while they played their peculiar songs.

   All of the songs were new to me, and I tried my best to keep up with them.

   Everyone then exhaled in unison when the performance ended.

 

“Phew…. Well, I guess that’s about it.”

“It went well so it’s fine, right?”

“Kana seemed to be in good shape too, so everything’s all good, I guess?”

“We have a newcomer, yet we still got it together. I’m sure we’ll be ready for the real thing.”

“What do you mean by the real thing?”

 

   The twin-tailed girlーーMisa, said something that intrigued me, so I tilted my head in wonder.

   She then looked at me and answered.

 

“Our band is going to have a gig soon.”

“A gig!? I didn’t hear anything about that, though!?”

“Ah…. Kana-chan, you didn’t tell him?”

“Yeah, I forgot to tell you…sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. You can just explain it to me now.”

“We had been practicing for the show, but we didn’t have enough members before…. Now that you have joined us, we can practice for it without any problems.”

“So where are we going to play?”

“At our school. We are having a festival soon so we’ll do a live concert there.”

“Hold on! Kana-neechan and the others go to the girls’ school, right?”

 

   I was completely in a state of confusion and asked in a shrill voice.

   Kana-neechan’s school is a girls’ school, and when there’s an event like a cultural festival, a ticket is required for men to enter.

 

“That’s right. I recall Otouto-kun’s school will be off that day, right?”

“Yeah, it will be a holiday for us.”

 

   It’s true that the boys’ school will be closed on the day of their festival, but it’s not specifically because of that.

   In fact, on the day of the girls’ school festival, the boys’ school students will probably not participate and instead enjoy their own time off.

 

“Then there’s no problem, right? Let’s do it together.”

“No…. I don’t really mind, but don’t I need a ticket to enter the girls’ school?”

“Ah…. Now that you mention it…. Was it required again…?”

 

   Apparently, Kana-neechan had completely forgotten about the admission ticket.

   She scratched her cheeks with a surprised look.

 

“Come to think of it, he does need a ticket. He…umm….”

“…It’s Suou Kaede.”

“Yes, Kaede-kun. Kaede-kun needs an admission ticket in order to enter.”

“That’s not surprising. He won’t be able to get in without it and if that happens, he also won’t be able to participate in the concert.”

“How can I get a ticket? I don’t have any acquaintances from the girls’ school.”

(TLN: Bro.)

 

   In fact, I don’t really know that many girls.

   And it’s no exaggeration to say that Kana-neechan is the only girl I know.
  (TLN: Bro….) (EDN: Bruh)

   If I recall correctly, only one ticket is given to each student, and if Kana-neechan and the other three girls here are going to perform live, they will definitely want their friends or family to see them.

 

“I’ll give Otouto-kun my ticket then. No problem with that, right?”

“Eh…. But isn’t that the ticket you are supposed to give to big bro…?”

“It’s fine. I already gave my answer when I turned down Ryuuichi-san’s invitation….That’s why, I will give it to Otouto-kun instead.”

“But….”

“Aah, Geez! You’re a boy, right!? You should just be happy here.”

 

   Even if you say that, I might not be able to be honestly glad….

   I remember something about a certain superstition at the girls’ schools.

   Though, I’m not sure about the details.

 

“Thanks. I’m very happy.”

“You’re welcome.”

 

   Kana-neechan smiled.

 

“ーーNow that that’s been decided, there are about three weeks left until the festival. During that time, we’ll probably be busy with part-time jobs and preparations.”

“Your point is, when should we practice while preparing for the festivalーー, right?”

“Yes! I will also practice as much as I can, but I don’t think we will have much time to do it together.”

“That’s true.”

“With that, how about we practice individually for a while?”

 

   Kana-neechan made a sudden suggestion.

 

“Individual practice, huh~? That’s not a bad idea….”

“Well, it can’t be helped if we’re preparing for the festival.”

“Everyone will be busy in their own ways.”

 

   And the other three girls had a meek expression.

   Well, there’s nothing we can do if they have to prepare for the school festival. Even I have a part-time job as well.

 

“Then, it’s decided. For the time being, let’s set our band activities to individual practice and play together on weekends.”

“Alright. Then we’ll meet here on the weekends, right?”

“Yeah, that’s the plan.”

“Okay, now that we’ve agreed on that, let’s go over the songs one more time and then split up, shall we?”

“Agreed!”

“Eh….  Wait a minute, I still haven’t finished tunーー”

 

   Before they could even hear what I had to say, the girls were already ready to go.

 

“Come on, hurry up!”

“Even if you say that….”

“If you want, I’ll take the lead.”

 

   Saying so, Kana-neechan snuggled up to me.

 

“It’s fine! I’ll be done in a minute so please just wait a bit.”

 

   I became embarrassed and quickly moved away from Kana-neechan.

   ーーGood grief.

   There’s no room for caution or error for me.

   How long is she going to treat me like a child?

   Even though I’m already a first year high school student….

   It’s not that easy to be treated like this just because I’m one year younger than Kana-neechan.