"Sisters-in-Law" Part 3

Azusa received "socks" as a souvenir from Kotaro.

Moreover, they were made from fine wool and felt completely different from regular socks when she touched them.

In fact, Azusa had quite poor circulation and often had cold feet. Even when she slept, wearing socks was a must. She had mentioned this to Kotaro before, and he must have remembered.

(Geez... Onii-chan, you're so crafty.)

Azusa could clearly sense her brother's affection, even for minor things like this.

"Oh? I got slippers, but Azu-nyan got socks?"

And yet, Kotaro would subtly highlight these "differences", another aspect of his irritating charm.

Experiencing this kind of "gentleness", where someone thinks of the other person's feelings, was something Azusa felt more profoundly as an adult than she did as a child.

"...Shiho-san, you're lucky to have caught Onii-chan early."

Suddenly, Azusa voiced such thoughts.

"Huh? Why?"

"Well... I've never seen anyone as considerate and caring toward a woman as Onii-chan."

"Th-That's true!"

"So, if Onii-chan stayed single until he grew up... wouldn't he have married someone else before Shiho-san?"

Right. This was Azusa's small "payback" to Shiho, who was often causing her trouble.

"Onii-chan, you must be pretty popular at work, huh?"

Azusa casually spoke, hitting on what Shiho feared most.

"B-But, but, Daa-chan loves me so much! K-Kotaro-kun loves me, so...!"

Seeing Shiho revert from calling him "Daa-chan" from their student days due to her agitation, Azusa couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Hehehe. Well, it would be nice if that were true, right~?"

"It's definitely true!!"

Earlier, Azusa had been on the receiving end of trouble, but now the roles had completely reversed.

(Maybe it's time to wrap up the payback?)

Thanks to the souvenir from Kotaro, Azusa's heart was lightened.

She had gotten her payback on Shiho, and she thought it was a good time to stop—however...

"Oh, Azu-nyan! W-What should I do... If Kotaro-kun is cheating, what should I do?!?!"

Shiho was much more disturbed than Azusa had imagined.

Seeing her like that, Azusa realized she might have made a mistake.

(Oh, I might have messed up...?)

As she expected... Shiho, still flustered, remained at Azusa's place for a while.

In the end, Azusa had to comfort Shiho—thus, for the entire day, she spent time with Shiho at her house.

"Well, Kotaro-kun loves me the most in the world, right? There's no way he's cheating on me, uhehehe♪"

In the end, Shiho's mood improved, and she audaciously ate dinner before leaving.

Watching Shiho's departing figure, Azusa couldn't help but think once again:

――After all, Azusa doesn't need an Onee-chan!!

(End)

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