Beautiful Barking Tsundere

Chapter 20

Original Author: ひのはら (Hinohara)
Date Submitted to Kakuyomu: 2021/09/25

Aira goes to the living room since she's feeling hungry and hears the sound of something being fried.
She peeks into the kitchen to find Ema making stir-fry.

Aira usually handles the cooking, so it's rare for Ema to be in the kitchen.

The sink has a knife, a cutting board, and bowls left in it.

"Aira..."

She looks extremely guilty after noticing Aira's presence.

Ema's finger has a bandage that wasn't there earlier.

"I'm sorry..."
"Are you still worried about that...?"
"Because I'm the worst. Even though a decent adult would never put their hands on a child..."
"So you consider yourself a decent adult."

She loves drinking and smoking. In pursuit of sexual pleasure, she formed physical relationships with a large number of people.

Even though she's so far removed from the norm, she's strangely sensible when it comes to certain things.

"After all, we're cousins... only the worst kind of person would put their hands on a high school girl after getting drunk. No matter how unaware I was of my..."
"...Just forget about it already."
"But..."
"...You're making me dinner to apologize, aren't you? That makes us even."

Having served the rice into the bowls, they take the stir-fried vegetables Ema made and sit down at the dining table.

They sit across each other like usual and after putting their hands together, they begin to eat.

The vegetables are all cut into different sizes and the flavor is a little thick, but they are delicious.

The miso soup contains nameko mushrooms, which Aira loves, and the dashi turned out well.

Even though Aira has already started eating, Ema still seems to be feeling guilty and hasn't moved her chopsticks.

"...I didn't think you would be this worried."
"...But... I know it might sound cliche, but I think it's better for your first time to be with someone you love."
"I... it's not like I have no experience..."

Seeing Aira pretending to be tough after what just happened causes Ema to smile slightly.

It's not the smile that she usually has when she teases Aira. Her eyes seem to be looking off into the distance with a forlorn expression.

"However, you must not allow yourself to be taken advantage of by anyone. Make sure you properly take care of yourself."

Is that really something Ema should be saying?
The words are just about to leave Aira's throat.

However, she doesn't point that out because the atmosphere around Ema feels different from the usual.

Sometimes, Ema stares off into the distance with vacant eyes.

If Aira were to rephrase, it's like Ema doesn't care for herself at all.

Aira prepares breakfast in the living room while stifling a yawn when Ema leaves her streaming studio.

Ema wasn't next to her when Aira went to sleep last night and was still not there even when she woke up in the morning.

She started her stream at midnight and probably kept streaming throughout the whole night.

"...Good morning."
"Good morning...I'm going to bed now...I've been streaming till morning..."

With her eyelids practically glued together, Ema staggers out of the living room.

She says she's having fun, but Aira worries about such an irregular lifestyle impacting her health.

"...Sleep well, Ema."

Naturally, her voice won't reach Ema since she's no longer in the room.

After making all the dishes for her bento, she waits for them to cool down.
With nothing to do, she heads out to the balcony.

The weather is nice and the cool air feels pleasant.

Leaning against the fence, Aira looks down on the city illuminated by the morning sun.

"...This view is amazing."

A spot with a sweeping view of the city.
She can only see this sight thanks to the popularity Ema earned as a result of her streams.

After taking a deep breath, she heads back inside.

"Ah..."

Unlike usual, the door to the streaming studio has been left half open.

Ema must have forgotten to close it in her drowsiness.

When Aira gets closer to shut the door, she hears the sound of something falling inside the room.

Slowly peeking inside, she notices a pile of manga on the floor.　

"How many volumes is that...?"

Aira goes inside and separates the dozens of volumes into separate stacks.

There are also several video games, figurines, and other things Ema likes covering the bookshelf.

Looking around the room, framed pictures on the top shelf enter Aira's field of view.

There are two white frames placed side by side.

"...Who's this?"

Both pictures show Ema and a woman Aira doesn't know standing together.

One of them is from Ema's school days, with Ema wearing her school uniform. The unknown woman seems to be in her twenties.

The other picture shows the two of them again, but older.

For some reason, Aira's heart begins to stir.
Even though she's curious about who this woman is, she doesn't really want to know.

Ema probably wouldn't tell her even if she asked.

Did the two of them even have the right to pry into each other's past?

Aira didn't want to find out that they don't.
Her heart hurts imagining Ema refusing to tell her.

That's why Aira will pretend she didn't see anything.