Unconscious Unconditional Love

[Kotaro Nakayama's Point of View]

Azusa returned while I was doing the dishes.

"I'm home."

"Welcome back."

I continued working without looking back while scrubbing the dishes with a sponge.

It's not like we're being distant. Neither Azusa nor I eagerly await each other's return to the point of greeting.

The usual distance between siblings is just like this.

It's not uncommon for Azusa not to even say "welcome back" when she's busy with her phone on the sofa.

"If there's any laundry, take it out first. Once I finish washing the dishes, I'll wash everything together."

--That's what I said, as usual.

".........."

No response from Azusa.

Normally, she would at least give a casual reply like "okay”, but being ignored is quite unusual.

Curious, I turned around.

She was closer than I thought.

She stood right behind me, silently peering into the sink.

I didn't think there was anything unusual.

"Oh, Azusa? Is there something on your mind?"

"...Onii-chan, do you like doing household chores?"

Instead of answering my question, she counter-questioned.

"Well, not really. I just do it because if I don't, no one else will. If you want to do it, I'd gladly let you."

"No, Azusa finds it bothersome, so I don't want to."

"I see. Well, if I don't like it but have to do it, then I will."

I've never felt dissatisfied with doing household chores. I've been taking care of myself since I was young, and I also take care of Azusa, so it's not a big deal.

However, I wonder why she asked such a thing.

Azusa seemed a bit off.

"Did something happen at Shiho's house? You seem a bit down... Did you get fed up with Shiho? She can be a bit troublesome, but she's a good girl at heart. Can't you forgive her with your gentle and generous heart? She seems to really adore you."

I initially thought it might be related to Shiho being annoying, but it seemed not.

"No, Shimotsuki-san hasn't done anything... I've talked to her, and I've never felt uncomfortable. I know she's not a bad person."

It didn't seem to be about Shiho.

Then, what could be the reason for her low spirits?

Should I ask her directly? But it feels like Azusa doesn't want to talk about it.

I somehow sensed that.

She doesn't seem to want to share deeply, but at the same time, she doesn't want to be alone right now.

So, the only thing I can do is... just be with her.

"Well then, can you help me dry the dishes? It's good to lend a hand with housework once in a while, right?"

"...Yeah, sure."

If it were the usual Azusa, she would have found it troublesome and quickly escaped to her room.

However, my guess was correct, and she was unusually compliant today.

Taking the dishes from me, she quietly dried them with a cloth.

It took only a few minutes of silent work. Thanks to Azusa, we finished much faster.

"Thank you. As a thank you for helping me, please eat some of my snacks from the fridge. I couldn't eat all of them during the day, so I had some left over."

I had prepared cake in case Shiho visited.

However, since she didn't eat the leftovers from lunch due to her pickiness, I couldn't finish it during the usual snack time.

I had planned to eat it later at night, but since Azusa was here, I decided to offer it to her. However, even now, she seemed a bit strange.

"......"

She stared at me in silence, looking absent-minded.

Did I do something weird, even though everything seemed normal as usual?

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