Yandere? Menhera? Bring It On, If You're Confident That I'll love You For Who You Are - Chapter 15

Memories of the Past

As a child, I hated Nii-san.

I wonder how many people who know me now—Kurogane Rio—would believe that?

It’s the memory I least want to be touched upon, the one I don’t even want to look back on myself.

Perhaps it all started because of the Nee-san I once admired—Kurogane Sumire?

Unlike my rough and foul-mouthed Nii-san, Nee-san was always quiet. So much so that she was sometimes described as unemotional because of her unchanging expression.

Yet, she had an overwhelming “power” that dominated others.

She was consistently at the top of her class academically, and the extraordinary physical abilities she acquired from practicing swordsmanship since childhood allowed her to hold her own against adults even in her early years of elementary school. Some said she was in a realm unattainable by ordinary people.

Nii-san, being her younger sibling, was constantly compared to her.

It wasn’t that he was bad at anything.

In fact, if he tried something new, he was expected to achieve results just above those of an amateur.

But that was as far as it went. The criticism Nii-san faced from the world was because he fell short of the “genius” that was Nee-san.

There were a few people who recognized Nii-san’s modest talents and tried to nurture them, but he himself seemed utterly uninterested.

His attitude, which never changed no matter who he was dealing with, attracted some, but others saw him as insensitive or rude.

—A degraded copy.

Who coined it, I don’t recall, but soon enough—Nii-san came to be known by that name.

Time passed, and when I just started elementary school, naturally a year behind Nii-san, I joined the same school.

There, I would soon be treated as someone unnecessary.

“Is she the little sister of the Kurogane family? I have high hopes for you.”

“Ah, unlike your Nii-san, you’re so polite. I’m sure you’ll be able to do things he couldn’t.”

I’ve always been bad at interacting with people. Afraid of being disliked by others, I constantly compared myself to them, never knowing what to talk about.

Of course, Nii-san could produce results just above those of an amateur even on his first attempt.

So, what about me?

If I’m the Nee-san of the renowned genius Kurogane Sumire… the expectations and trust from the teachers were high from the start of my enrollment. Naturally, I intended to surpass my Nee-san.

I was different from Nii-san. I was fearless and didn’t care about others’ evaluations.

Perhaps, without realizing it, I had come to despise Nii-san, who was the very opposite of me.

But the reality was thrust upon me shortly after I started school.

“I was wondering, teacher. The Kurogane siblings’ little sister joined us this year, right? How is she doing?”

“Ah, she’s a good kid. A bit shy, but very honest… However, in terms of abilities, she’s not what I’d hoped for compared to her Nii-san. There’s a difference between boys and girls in terms of physical activity, but academically, she’s also… somewhat below Minato-kun’s average.”

“Really? I was curious because other teachers were paying attention to her… Well, she’s still in the lower grades, so maybe we’ll see improvement.”

I happened to overhear the teachers’ conversation.

My evaluation was such that I didn’t even reach the level of Nii-san, who was always compared to Nee-san.

I felt my vision go dark.

Of course, I tried. I studied hard, sacrificing sleep, and I actively engaged in running and sports, which I was not good at.

But whenever I succeeded in something, I was praised as “typical of Kurogane’s sister,” and every time I failed, the adults around me looked at me with disappointment.

—Why? Why is this happening…!?

I don’t understand. Despite receiving the same education as Nee-san and sharing the same blood as Nii-san— I could never reach the realm of Nii-san, let alone Nee-san.

Jealousy and complexes towards my real siblings dominated my heart.

Sadness, frustration, envy. The sadness of being compared, the feeling of inferiority.

At that time, I might have first understood the feelings of Nii-san, who was always compared to Nee-san.

That’s why I finally stopped my futile efforts.

I didn’t want to lose anything else, nor did I want to be a disappointment anymore.

Because I couldn’t ignore the gaze of others like Nii-san…

“Minato, you have sauce on your face.”

“Hm? Oh, sorry, Nee-san.”

“No, it’s fine. You’re my cute little brother, after all.”

That night, with the twin siblings gathered around the dinner table.

Originally, these siblings were close. Almost as if they were keeping others at bay.

Watching Nee-san and Nii-san eating together, I couldn’t help but feel as if I had no place in our home.

After dinner, when Nee-san had gone back to her room, Nii-san finally noticed my existence, albeit too late.

“I bought a lunch box with Nee-san earlier, do you want some?”

Thinking back, I hadn’t really spoken to him much recently. Rather, I had been avoiding Nii-san myself.

Because of my own petty jealousy and complexes.

So, this would be the last time. At least for the last time…

“Nii-san, how can you be so indifferent to others?”

I questioned Nii-san, who possessed the one thing I lacked the most.

I’m sure there was a better way to phrase it, but Nii-san, unfazed by my resentful words, simply turned his gaze towards me.

As always, he never lost his own pace.

Nii-san, like me, had been compared to our genius Nee-san.

Yet, he had no pride or obsession, and continued to interact with our Nee-san.

Third parties thought it was Nee-san who was emotionless, but to me, it was the fearlessness in his spirit that I found terrifying.

Until this day, when I truly spoke with Nii-san.