I Promised to Make the Class Honor Student My 'Little Sister'. It Seems She Wants to Be Spoiled a Lot - Volume 1 Chapter 6.2

My “Sister,” Not Knowing How to Be Spoiled

Ao and I left the house and──took the train to high school.

“…Hey, Ao.”

“What is it, Ryu-kun?”

Sitting next to me, Ao tilted her head slightly, her bag resting on her knees.

Despite her extreme spoiling antics at home,

The Ao next to me now embodies the calm and dependable aura I’ve known her for at school.

…It’s so surreal I think my brain might crash.

“What’s with you? Calling out and then just staring silently. Is there something weird with my face?”

Then──suddenly.

Ao brought her face so close that our noses almost touched, causing me to hurriedly turn away.

“It’s nothing!! Uh, that… that pass case! I just thought it looked pretty worn out, that’s all!!”

Attempting to divert the conversation,

I pointed at the train pass case tied to Ao’s bag on impulse.

The brown leather pass case Ao uses has a somewhat mature design for a high school girl and looks quite worn out from years of use.

“Ah, this? Yeah… it might be quite old.”

Ao said cheerfully, pinching the pass case,

And then she looked a bit distant for a moment.

“I gave this to my dad as a Father’s Day gift when I was little.”

“…Huh?”

I blurted out unexpectedly upon her revelation, knowing that Ao’s father had passed away when she was in middle school.

“──After my mom died in an accident when I was in elementary school, my dad raised me and Kizuna by himself. I wanted to make him happy with a surprise gift, so I bought this.”

“…Your dad must have been happy, right?”

“Yeah! He cherished it and used it until it was all worn out. And after dad passed away, I started using it. It feels like… my mom and dad are always with me when I have this.”

Then, Ao took out a photo from the pass case.

──It was a family photo from when Ao was little.

A young Ao was easily recognizable with her eyes and mouth looking exactly the same. The doll-like face next to her must be her sister.

And the two people standing behind Ao and her sister, smiling gently, must be──her father and mother.

“…They look like kind parents.”

I genuinely felt that way.

Even though I ran away from home due to issues with my parents, I might not be convincing, but…

This photo of the Kakogawa family, laughing together, felt truly warm.

A beautiful family, I thought from the bottom of my heart.

“Hehe, thank you, Ryu-kun! I believe my mom and dad are always watching over me… that’s why I can always do my best!!”

After saying that with a gentle smile,

Ao slowly brought her face closer to my ear.

Then, covering my ear with her hand,

──She whispered softly.

“…Let’s make our days as a family of four fun too, okay? Ryu-kun.”

▲　◇　▼　◆

In the middle seat at the back of the classroom,

I was preparing for class when someone tapped me on the shoulder from behind.

Turning around, there was──Ayumura Chitose.

“Hey. Good morning, Chitose.”

“…Hah. Good morning is good morning, but… how can you keep such a normal face, Ryuuki?”

“…Having an abnormal face would be worse, right? If people get suspicious and find out I’m living away from home, I’d hate that even more.”

“…Well, yeah, that’s true. Anyway, I’ve sent off the stuff I was keeping for you by courier. It should arrive today.”

“…Thanks for everything.”

As Chitose and I quietly spoke,

Lively voices of girls could be heard from the front of the classroom.

“Good morning, Ao-mama! I have a favor to ask… Can I copy just the last part of the math homework, pleeease?”

“No way, copying straight up isn’t good. You have to think for yourself.”

“I did think! I pondered for two or three minutes at home! But absolutely nothing came to mind!”

“That’s only two or three minutes! Ao, don’t spoil her. She’ll get too used to it.”

“Muu～… But she did try her best. Okay… I’ll teach you up to a certain point. Why don’t you try thinking it through one more time?”

“Ao-mama, I love you! Ao-mama is unbeatable, seriously!!”

──Gently smiling Ao Kakogawa,

Her popularity makes her the center of girls’ talks even today.

But… I know.

The bright, caring, and dependable Ao Kakogawa everyone sees at school has another side…

An innocently spoiled “sister.”

“…Um… Ryuuki? Why are you suddenly face-down on the desk?”

“……It’s nothing. Just let me hide my face for a while, Chitose…”

As I agonized over the gap between Ao’s behavior at school and at home,

The bell for the start of the day rang at just the right time.

Chitose and the girls around Ao all returned to their seats.

“…Ah. I guess I need to apologize to the teacher.”

Muttering to myself, face-down on the desk.

The unauthorized submission of career aspiration forms by my father was the final trigger for my running away.

Our homeroom teacher, who’s about to go on maternity leave in the second semester, looked utterly pale when she found out.

I should apologize later for causing stress to her during such an important time…

Just as I was thinking this──.

“Hey, good morning! Second Year Class 2!!”

──A teacher with an entirely different vibe from our homeroom teacher entered the classroom.

“Let’s start homeroom… huh, why’s everyone so restless? Hmm. Could it be… you’re all dazzled by my beauty?”

No, you’re full of it.

And why is this person here during homeroom? She’s not our class teacher.

…After almost being late this morning.

“Hm? Why are you raising your hand, Kakogawa? I haven’t finished talking yet.”

“It hasn’t even started, you keep sidetracking! Why is Yukari-nee… I mean, Kakogawa-sensei, doing homeroom…?”

Probably as surprised as I am, Ao stood up and asked, barely correcting herself from slipping into informal speech.

But Kakogawa-sensei──my “twin,” Yukari,

Flipping her side ponytail,

Answered with an overly confident look.

“Yagiho-sensei, our homeroom teacher, was diagnosed with threatened premature labor the day before yesterday… In simple terms, the baby might be born too early. She’s been told to take it easy for a while.”

Eh…?

Caught off-guard by the unexpected turn of events, both I and everyone else were stunned.

“Don’t worry too much, okay? Both Yagiho-sensei and the baby are fine. However, she’s decided to take an early leave.”

Ah, I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

The suddenly absent homeroom teacher. The biology teacher appearing out of nowhere. Could it be…?

Just as I suspected──Yukari declared confidently.

“──So! Taking over for Yagiho-sensei, I’ll be acting as the homeroom teacher for Second Year Class 2 from today, Kakogawa Yukari! Everyone… I’m counting on you☆”

──Who could have imagined it would turn out like this?

Not only living under the same roof with Ao and Yukari but now spending time in the same class too.