Hey, buddy.
Hmm?

　As we left Mother and Child Minami and were driving to our apartment, our home, we were unexpectedly called out by the black sound in the back seat.
　When I asked her to continue, she looked out the window and spun out her next words without making eye contact with me.

'I'll bring my stuff when I get to my apartment, can you give me a ride to my parents' house?
''Well for someone who came here after a fight with my dad, you ended up running away a lot quicker than you did before, didn't you?
That's right, but... seeing that father and daughter together, it's not cool to see them holding on so tight, you know... that's how it is...
"...ha ha ha ha...

　I couldn't help but chuckle at the shio-like attitude of the acclaimed rebel, Kurone.

'Did I say something so funny?　We had a fight, we're just trying to make up for it.
'You're on top of it. No, it's just that I'm about to go home to my parents.
Hmmm....

　Seeing those two happy people and being inspired together makes me realize that they are brother and sister after all.
　I know they're doing well because we've been in touch with each other from time to time, but it's been a long time since we've seen each other in person.

'Are you going to stay over?'
No, I'll just... I'm working again tomorrow, so another time.
Okay.

　I'd really like to buy a bottle of booze and have a drink with my dad, but I can't have a DUI or a hangover.
　I'm going to keep it to just a quick face to face meeting and small talk.
　Mom or someone around her might ask you some questions that are hard to return, like whether you found a marriage partner, but.......well, you'll have to wait and see.

'Ah, that's right, Kurone. As for Amari and Amana-chan...
I know, I know. I know that I'm not gonna tell everybody that he's a pedophile or that he's a married man.
Before you start blabbing about it, would you please change your mind about that?

　I call out to the black sound of waiting, which is a ridiculously wordy way of putting it.
　I don't remember having such opposing s*xual habits sulking at the same time.

''But actually, who do you think is better, Aniki, Amanashi-san or Sakai-san?
That kind of question again...

　From the point of view of the current JK, Black Sound, it's no wonder he's interested in it, but for me, I can't help but be disgusted.

I'm not saying that I don't want a girlfriend, but I don't intend to get into a relationship with those two. Amanashi is a married man, and he's a husband...
Shit!　I'm asking you how it's going to be without any of those circumstances!
Huh...?

　I know what Kurone means.
　I'm not talking about Amana-chan's mother or a married woman, I'm talking about whether or not I'd want to be in a relationship with her if I thought of her as a life-size woman.

　She's beautiful and has a serious personality, and yet she has no problems with her housekeeping skills, which is a perfect score.
　But..........

''What do you mean, without Amana in between, me and Amanashi might not be much different from the people we pass on the street.
Yeah.....

　You don't have to be so blatantly disappointed that I was honest with you....
　On the contrary, I'm wondering what kind of answer you were expecting.

'Isn't that simply because Aniki doesn't know too much about anything other than the mother aspect of Amari-san?
Maybe...

　I understood after being told.
　From the first time we met, I still recognize Amana as Amana's mother.
　It's possible that we wouldn't even know about each other's existence if we hadn't been involved with that girl in the first place.

　If she and I were to get together, we would have no contact with each other to the point where Amana would be considered a cupid.

I've promised Amari that I won't interfere too much in the affairs of the Minami family, so if we started going out, I'd break that.
What?　What's that promise?
It's a bit like when we first met. You're a mother and a child and you've got a lot going on.
'Ahhhh....'

　The black sound listened to the promise and the reason for it, which didn't feel like a half-natural extinction, with an expression of satisfaction.
　Amari herself is thinking about her late husband and she said she has no interest in a new relationship for her daughter's sake, so even if I could fall in love with her, the reverse would not be possible.

'Then what about Sakai-san?'
Matsuo?　Hmmm........we're close enough that there have been rumors that we've been dating at work, but not really.
"What?

　If I had to say anything, I would say that I only accompanied my junior's wedding... but that thing is like a number match, so there's no need to say it.
　However, Kuroone-speaking still puckered her lips in frustration.
　So what do you expect, you.

'Wasn't there something like, "Let's go out with that rumor?"?
I tried to joke about it and got a glare on my face.
Oh....

　When I revealed that it was there as it was, Kurone gave me a look that said, 'Are you okay?' at a loss.
　Is it just my imagination that I seem to be looking at someone who isn't me in a dumbfounded way?

But if you've started calling each other by name, you've made some progress, haven't you?
'Progress you know I'm friends and colleagues with that guy. It's not what you think it is.
You're the only one who thinks that, I swear.

　Why are you so sure?

First of all, why are you trying to connect the two of them to me?
Because it's up to me to decide which one of us is going to be my sister-in-law!
Hey.

　You were worried about your future, not your brother's future.
　Give me back the small amount of happiness I had in having a sister who cared for her brother.

　I stared at the black sound through the rearview mirror with that kind of gut feeling, but I was looking out the window and didn't notice it at all.
　d*mn.

　After that, I took Kuroone-sensei back to her parents' house, exchanging idle chatter.
　My father and mother, who I hadn't seen in a while, seemed fine, but when I told them I couldn't stay the night, they sent me off with a sad look on their faces, so I'm glad I came for that alone.

　So when I returned to my apartment, the room I was supposed to be used to felt large and quiet.
　It's only three days, but the time spent with Amana and Kuroone-the three of us-is proof that the time we spent together was impressive.

　Maybe that's why.
　It was the thought that if he went out with either of the two people who had been teased about their relationship so much by the black sound, he wouldn't have to feel this way.
　He couldn't dismiss it as a temporary lapse of mind, and before he knew it, he was resting in bed and silently thinking about it, and before he knew it, he was asleep.