Love Advice From A Childhood Friend

Chapter 3: Hinagata Residence (Part 2)

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As I was waiting in the hallway for her to finish changing, I heard the sound of light footsteps.

“Ah.
Ryu-kun’s here!”

When I thought that a little child had appeared, it was Hinagata’s younger sister, Suzuka-chan
She was still wearing her little yellow shoulder bag, probably on her way home from preschool.

“Oh, Su-chan.
Long time no see.”

When I greeted her, she ran and hugged my legs tightly.

“These are daddy’s clothes.”

“Yeah.
I got a little wet in the rain, so I’m borrowing these clothes.”

By the way, she has grown up.
The last time I saw her was last year or so, and she didn’t know how to walk.
As I squatted down and patted her head, I wondered what she was thinking, and suddenly Su-chan opened Hinagata’s room.

“Shi-tan! Shi-tan! Ryu-kun, he’s here!”

She pointed at me, and over there was Hinagata wearing only a bra on her upper body.

“Uyaaaaan!?”

I turned away from Hinagata, who was half-crying at the same time with a strange scream, and I closed the door forcefully.

“Why? Why are you closing the door?”

“Su-chan, Shi-tan is changing now…”

Hinagata, your face was totally red.

I never thought I’d see my childhood friend’s top and panties in a single day.

“Shi-tan,  Ryu-kun’s here—!”

Su-chan said again as she headed for the door.

“Su-chan, Shi-tan already knows, you don’t have to say again.”

“Ohh?” Su-chan tilted her head.

“Ryuu-kun’s face is red.
Cold?”

“That’s not what it is.
It’s just that I saw your… sister’s clothes.”

“Do you want to see Su’s clothes?”

“Don’t want to.”

“Look—!”

Why are you showing that?

“Mouu~ Okay.”

Hinagata emerged from her room.
Her complexion had already returned to normal.

When our eyes met, I couldn’t help but look away.

The scene from earlier wouldn’t leave the back of my eye lids.

She was white and slim, with a beautifully curved neckline that wouldn’t be apparent if she was wearing clothes.

“Come on in, Ryu-kun, come on in.”

Grabbing my fingers, Su-chan forcibly pulled me into Hinagata’s room.

Hinagata had changed out of her school uniform and was wearing a one-piece with a cardigan.

The atmosphere of the room changed; she seemed to be standing out a bit.

I sat down crossed legs and Su-chan sat on my lap.

“Suzuka.
It’ll be troublesome for Ryunosuke.”

“It’s okay, right~?”

She puffed up and clung to my sweatshirt.

“It’s okay.
Su-chan is light.”

This time, Hinagata puffed up.
What’s with these sisters? They’re so cute.

Su-chan, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, gave me a status report.
She told me about what happened at the nursery school, how her mother, her sister, and so on were.

By the way, Hinagata’s father is working alone.
He comes home once a month or so, and seems to be quite busy.

“I’m sorry, Ryunosuke.”

Anyway, Su-chan was all over me.

“Maybe she was lonely because father wasn’t around.”

“Shi-tan, that’s not it.
Suzuka is going to marry Ryu-kun.
That’s why it’s okay to do this!”

“Are you and I going to be married?

“Yes, married.”

Su-chan hugged my neck with a happy smile on her face
I squinted at her like a good old man and gave her a pat on the back.

She’s so cute and pure…

“No, it won’t happen.”
Hinagata’s eyes lifted up, and she put her hands around Su-chan’s sides, lifting her up and trying to pull her away.

Even so, Su-chan didn’t seem to want to release her arm around my neck and held on tightly.

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“I’ll do it! Ryu-kun, help me!”

“Hey, Hinagata… don’t pull so hard.”

“Which Hinagata? We’re both Hinagata.”

Eyes Fixed.

“Umm…  Shi-tan.”

“It’s Shiori.”

“Shiori.”

I got scared and just repeated the name.

“Shi-tan said she won’t marry Ryu-kun, so Suzuka will.”

Hinagata is correct but is that the way the system works? Su-chan loves me too much, doesn’t she?

“I-I didn’t say that.”

“You said that!”

The battle between Hinagata and Su-chan continued for a while, with Hinagata trying to pull away and Su-chan trying to stay close, until finally Su-chan was peeled off.

“UUUU… UUUUU… UUUAAAAAAAAN—”

It was a big cry.

“MUUMMMYYYY! Shi-tan will take Ryu-kun!　I’ll be left alone!”

She left the room crying and went downstairs to ask her mother for help.

“Take him? He’s not mine or Suzuka’s.
Mouu, I don’t know.” Hinagata sighed in frustration.

“Aren’t you the older one? You didn’t have to go that far.”

“Ryunosuke, are you a lolicon?”

“What? Why would you say that?”

“Because you’re sweet to Suzuka.”

I’m sweet… Well, I can’t help but be sweet if the little one from someone’s house is so friendly.

“Well… what kind of person do you like Ryunosuke?”

“What do you mean…”

When suddenly asked, it was hard to answer…

“Like…  Someone kind.” I said.

“Vague, like an idol’s answer.”

“No matter what you say, it’s…”

I pondered and came up with one.

“Big b*****s.”

“That’s a no go.”

“What do you mean, no go? It’s a matter of taste.
Taste.”

“Whom do you prefer, thin or thick?”

“Well, you know, the thin one.”

“O… Ohh.
Okay.”

Her eyes, which had been lifted, gradually returned to normal.

“Big b*****s and being thin are contradictory.
It’s almost impossible to have them both.”

That isn’t the case.
There are a lot of them on the other side of the screen. …I didn’t say it even though I thought it was true.

“How about height?”

“Height?”

“Small like Suzuka or a little over 160cms like …me?”

“It’s the latter.”

The latter is very specific.

“Fuun~.
Okay.”

Her expression loosened a little again.
I mean, those questions are extreme, aren’t they? Give me one that’s somewhere in between for height and body type.

“Ahmm.” She clears her throat. 

“I am also as light as Suzuka.”

Impossible.
A girl in the second year and a preschooler weighing about the same.

But when asked about her weight, I didn’t receive a direct answer.

“Wanna try it?”

“Ahh, yeah.”

But how? When I was about to ask, she came towards me, turned the other way and sat on my lap.
She leaned back slowly, as if she was embarrassed.

….What is this?

Unsure of the situation, Hinagata’s ears gradually turned red.

If you’re embarrassed, don’t do it!

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Hinagata was much lighter than I expected.
The parts that touched my legs, chest, and other parts of my body were all so soft.

Girls are so different.

“Well…?”

“Heavier than Su-chan, of course.”
She slapped me on the knee.

“But you’re lighter than I thought.”

“Glad to hear that.”

Kiii…. When I heard the door creak, I saw Su-chan looking at us through the gap.

“Shi-tan will….take….Ryu-kun…”

Her eyes were already teary.

Hinagata stood up silently, slammed the door tightly and returned to the same position.

Is my cross-legged position so comfortable to sit on?

“What type does Hinagata like?”

“A gentleman.
Someone who is kind and will seriously warn me if I’m about to do something wrong.”

Kind and gentle.

I thought such people only existed in manga.

But she was very specific, so I knew she was talking about someone she liked rather than her type.

Hinagata leaned her back against my chest with all her might, and blurted out, “It’s warm.”

“OPEN UP! I’ve come to tell you something important!”
Outside was Su-chan, shouting.

“I can hear you, so say it from there.”

And here Hinagata was with no intention of opening the door.

“You want to eat my mother’s cooking right, Ryu-kun~? Right? Right?”

“What are you going to do?”

I looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was already 18:00.
It was already time? My uniform must have dried by now, and I could go home if I wanted to.

“It’s been a while, so I guess I will eat.”

“Suzuka, Ryunosuke will eat.”

“All right!”

The sound of footsteps faded.

“Don’t worry about Suzuka’s marriage.
She just says that.”
When Hinagata finally stood up from my lap, she said as if to remind me.

“I know.
I don’t take the words of a little girl seriously.”

If I tell Su-chan directly, she might create a river of tears… So, I won’t…

“We also did that, right?”

“…Did we?”

Hinagata turned back towards me, her looks saying, ‘Are you seriously asking that?’

“Yes, but, Ryunosuke, the next day said he was going to marry his preschool teacher.”

“……”

“What a cheating b*****d.”

“Wait, wait, wait.
I don’t remember any of this! I mean, when were we talking about this? Forgive me….”

She chuckled at my weakness.

“It’s okay.
I’m not mad at you now.”

That’s fine.
I knew that Su-chan is just saying marriage as a sign of her good feeling.

I heard a voice calling us from below.
It was Hinagata’s mother’s voice.

It seemed that food was ready, so we went down to the first floor.

When we came to the dining room, Su-chan was tapping on the seat next to her.

“Here’s Ryu-kun.
Shi-tan is over there.”

—Su-chan pointed to the farthest seat.

“It’s fine.
I can go anywhere.”

I smiled a little at her mature response, which was different from before.

“It’s been a long time, Ryunosuke,” Hinagata’s mother said to me.
I gave her a small bow and replied “It’s been a long time.” She’s in her early 40s, about the same age as my mother.
She’s a kind mother.

Hinagata has probably inherited her mother’s genes strongly.

Oh, by the way, I should tell my mom that I won’t be having dinner.

I sent her a message on her cell phone, and she just replied with “Ryo.”

“Tonomura-san, are you working today?”

“I’m working at night, so I might be here for a while.”

“Ara, I should have invited you then.”

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I don’t do anything special though, or so it would be a joke… 

“Fufufu~ Ah, don’t mind me.”

She said as she looked the other way.

Okay?

“Ryu-kun, here are your chopsticks.”

Su-chan took the trouble to hand me the chopsticks for the guests.

“Thank you.”

I thanked her and patted her on the head, and she snorted with pride.

As I sat down and surrounded the table, I noticed that one person was missing.

“Where’s Ayahi?”

The middle of three sisters.
She’s a junior who will be in her third year of middle school this April.

“She’s at the dojo today so she’ll be a little late.”

“I see.”

Shiori, the eldest daughter, is said to be the quiet, cool beauty.
Suzuka, the innocent and pure bomb.
And then there’s the gymnast and open-minded karate girl, Ayahi.

These are the three beautiful sisters of the Hinagata family.

Hinagata’s mother took her seat and we all clapped our hands together.

She asked me about the latest situation on the variety show BGM, and I answered it.

“Mom, you ask too much just because it’s been a while.”

Hinagata said as if to admonish her, and she rolled her eyes.

“Shiori… where are you going with those clothes on?”

That’s what I thought.
For loungewear, it’s really amazing.

Ahh, does she have any plans for the future?

Even so, this is a rural town with nothing around.

Most stores close at 7pm, and the only place open is a convenience store.

“….Nowhere.
Just sort of.”

“Oh.
I see.
Fufuun~”

When Hinagata’s mother smiled as she knew what was going on, Hinagata interrupted her gaze with her bowl.

“It’s true! Shi-tan, you always wear baggy clothes!”

“I don’t wear those!  Don’t be silly.”

“Ryu-kun, Shi-tan is going to get angry.
…It’s true…”

“Don’t bring Ryunosuke into this.”
After she told her in a whisper, Su-chan started sulking towards me.

“Come on.
Don’t fight in front of Ryunosuke.”

I wondered if this was a usual thing, but aunt seemed to be smiling.

It’s been so long since I’ve eaten at Hinagata’s house that I’ve forgotten about it, but I remembered that when I was in elementary school, Ayahi, not Su-chan, used to do something similar and have skirmishes with Hinagata.
I feel a little nostalgic for this homey atmosphere that hasn’t changed.

“Have you found someone you like, Ryunosuke? Do you have a girlfriend?”

Hinagata reacted with a twitch and stopped her hand as she tilted the bowl up to her mouth.

“I don’t have one.”

“You seem like a popular guy.”

“Saying something like I’m popular, there’s no way that’s true.”
It makes me a little sad to hear myself say it.

“Mom, stop asking weird stuff.”

“It’s not weird, is it?”

“Nn—Mouu, okay.”

At school, Hinagata doesn’t say much, yet she gives the impression of being ladylike and neat, but in front of her parents, she becomes childish.

I wonder if that’s the case, but the gap is a little strange.

“Oh, yeah,” Hinagata’s mother said, remembering something, and told me that my uniform was dry.

I am glad that I’ll be able to go to school tomorrow.

After finishing dinner, I went to the living room to talk with Su-chan, and before I knew it, she fell asleep.

Hinagata came over to me after she finished helping in cleaning up.

“I think she was happy that Ryunosuke came.
She was very excited.”

“Isn’t it always like this?”

“No.
She’s always a little quiet.”

I left Su-chan in Hinagata’s care and got ready to leave.

The sneakers I put on at the door were still soaking wet, but I’d have to be patient for a while.

“I’ll walk you home.”

Normally, I think the roles should be reversed in this kind of thing.

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As I was about to say no, the door opened with a bang.

“Oh, Nii-chan’s here!”

“Yoo.”

I was confronted by a noisy one.

Ayahi was wearing her familiar junior high uniform, but today her short hair was pulled back in a bun.

“What, did you have dinner at our place?”

“You’re always so annoying, you know that?”

“Don’t say that.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him, so it’s to be expected that I’ll be excited.
Nee-chan, you should have  told me that Nii-chan’s coming! I would have skipped practice.”

The expression on Ayahi’s face, with her lips pouting in frustration, is very similar to Hinagata.

“I wasn’t planning to do that originally.”

She glanced at me and Hinagata in turn, and made a curious face.

“Now I get it… Nii-chan, are you here to do something erotic to Nee-chan?

“You don’t get anything at all.
It’s just a shelter from rain.”

“Ehh—? That’s suspicious—!”

“Shut up.”

She pointed a finger at me, and when I brushed it off, Ayahi laughed.

I said goodbye to Hinagata and Ayahi and walked out the door.
Ayahi started following me from behind.

“What are you following me for, like it’s natural?”

“I’ll walk you home!”

“No, it’s fine.
My home’s right there.”

Ayahi stretched out and brought her face closer to my neck.
Sniff Sniff

“Nii-chan smells like Nee-chan.”

What are you? A dog?

“Do you really mean that?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t live up to your expectations.
There’s nothing.”

“Liar—!”

“I’m not lying”, I said, waving my hand and walking away.

But I guessed Ayahi really intended to walk me home, so she followed me on the road.

“You took shelter from the rain and warmed each other up, right?”

“Hinagata has a boyfriend.
She’s not going to do that with me.”

“Fuhaha! That’s funny!”

“That’s not funny.”

“Because that’s…”

It must have been very funny, because when the laughter subsided, Ayahi scooped up the tears with her fingertips.

“Have you, by any chance, listened to anything? About the one Hinagata likes?”

“I haven’t heard, but I know.
It’s been a long time.”

“It’s been that long……”

“Ehhhh, really? Isn’t that idiotic? It’s not Tsukkomi or anything right? Right?”

Ehh? Seeing my sluggish reaction, Ayahi seemed to be convinced of something.

“Arya, it seems that it’s going tough for you too, Nee-chan” she muttered.

Ayahi has been hearing about this for a long time──?

“What if it was me, or ….?”

Its obviously not like that…

—Or so I thought it to be..
or rather was something like that, that I was expecting.

“Ne~ fufufu, who is it indeed ~”

“Who is… what?”

Why don’t you deny it? What’s with the smirk?

“Well, come to my house again, Nii-chan.
Su-chan, me, and of course, Nee-chan will welcome you too.”

“See ya.” She waved her hand and walked away happily.

“What do you mean, what is it…..”

What’s with that grin?

“No, nopee.
Nii-chan, you’re being too self-conscious, buhahaha.”

Nothing, it’s meant for Ayahi. She’ll probably say something like that?

The thing is …

“Hmm—”

If I synthesize all the information I’ve heard about the people she likes, it could be… me?