Girl Next Door

Chapter Fifty-Three

After class, Kyosuke and Risa were seen walking home together, as usual. There was an awkward silence between them as they walked side-by-side, which was strange, since they would usually talk to each other about school, among other things.

Two minutes into the walk, Risa took the initiative to speak.

"Um, Kyosuke...?"

"Y-Yeah?" replied Kyosuke, turning to her.

"About the way I acted..." she said in a rather melancholy manner.

"I-It's nothing," said Kyosuke, grinning sheepishly.

"I acted like an idiot, didn't I...?" said Risa softly, looking at the ground.

"No, not at all," said Kyosuke reassuringly. "It was funny actually."

"Really?" said Risa, looking up at him with a half-smile.

"Yeah," said Kyosuke with a chuckle. Risa chuckled too. A brief silence followed before either of them spoke.

"So, um, you've acquainted with that Hikari person?" said Risa.

"Yeah," replied Kyosuke.

"Was she nice?" asked Risa.

"Yeah, very," said Kyosuke. "Not quite what I had expected from a pop idol. She was all cheery and happy when I told her about you guys, Takeru, Ichiro-kun, Tsukisaki-san, Yukie-chan."

"You guys talked about us?" asked Risa.

"I hope that's okay," said Kyosuke.

"No, no, it's fine," said Risa, smiling.

Kyosuke uttered a soft sigh.

"So, what'd you tell her about me?" asked Risa, seemingly curious.

"Oh, um," said Kyosuke, "I told her you were nice and all that."

"Uhuh," said Risa, and Kyosuke sensed sarcasm in her voice.

"Why are you so interested anyways?" Kyosuke dared to ask.

"I'm not," replied Risa sharply. "Why would I be interested?"

"Uh... I don't know," said Kyosuke, quite confused by Risa's behavior. Another silence came between them, and this time it was unbroken until they reached their homes.

Later at his bedroom, Kyosuke was at his computer, browsing the internet. He still can't tell why Risa was acting strange earlier at school and on their way home. He decided to forget about it and to just have some fun surfing the web.

A knock was heard on his door. Then Hinako opened it and peered inside.

"Hi, Onii-san," she said cheerfully.

"Hey, Hinako," said Kyosuke, looking up at her from the computer screen. "What is it?"

"Oh, nothing," replied Hinako. "I just wanted to hang around here is all."

"I see," said Kyosuke. "Hey, guess what?"

"What?" asked Hinako.

"I talked to Hikari-san today," replied Kyosuke with a smile.

"Really?!" exclaimed Hinako, eyes wide in shock. "No fair!"

Kyosuke chuckled. "It's really not a big deal."

"Not a big deal??" said Hinako. "Why, you're talking about the hottest popstar around! It's always a big deal with her!"

"Calm down, Hinako," replied Kyosuke, chuckling.

"So what did you guys talk about? Was she nice to you?" asked Hinako fervently.

"Actually, yes, she was," said Kyosuke. "Not quite what I expected from someone of her level. She was rather curious about my life though. That's the weird thing."

"Curious, huh? Hmm..." said Hinako as she stroked her chin.

"What?" asked Kyosuke, wondering what Hinako was coming up with.

 "She must like you, Onii-san," said Hinako mockingly.

"Oh, stop it," replied Kyosuke with a snort. "We just met. And besides, she's probably dating someone way more handsome and famous than I am."

"Actually," said Hinako as she conveniently pulled out a magazine with Hikari on the cover, "it says in this mag she's currently single. She broke up with celebrity boyfriend Takana Sakurachi a few months ago."

"I-I see," said Kyosuke, whose eyes widened at Hinako's knowledge of Hikari.

"She digs you, Onii-san," said Hinako, nudging her brother gently.

"D-Don't be ridiculous," said Kyosuke, getting a bit unsettled. "She's way out of my league. Besides, I'm into Risa anyways. She's way prettier."

"Mhm," said Hinako, not believing a single word Kyosuke had said. She then proceeded to shove into Kyosuke's face a page of the magazine where Hikari wore a yellow bikini, which exposed her perfectly rounded curves.

"Hikari-chan's bust size is 81J, and that's way bigger than Risa-chan's boobs," said Hinako with a wide grin.

"Dammit, Hinako...!" said Kyosuke, annoyed as he tried to get the magazine out of his face. "That was too much information."

"Tee-hee," giggled Hinako. "Well, I gotta go hit the sack now. Night, Onii-san."

"Yeah," replied Kyosuke softly as he watched Hinako slip out of his room quietly. He looked at his computer once more and resumed surfing the internet before going to sleep. Inside, he hoped that tomorrow, everything will be back to normal, and that he and Risa can talk properly again.

The next morning, Kyosuke was just heading outside the house with Hinako. Both were in their school uniforms.

"Bye, Mom," said Hinako as she waved at her mother in the kitchen.

"Bye, honey," said Matsuko, waving back with a smile. "Have fun at school. You too, Kyosuke."

"Thanks, Mom," said Kyosuke, waving at his mother. "Bye." Then the two exited the house and closed the door.

Outside the gate, Risa was waiting for them. Kyosuke was glad, for it seemed things were back to normal between them.

"Good morning, you guys," Risa greeted them.

"Morning, Onee-chan," replied Hinako as she gave Risa the usual hug. Risa of course hugged back.

"Hey, Risa," Kyosuke greeted her.

"Hi, Kyosuke," said Risa, smiling as Hinako let go of her.

As the three walked to school, they were quiet. Kyosuke piggybacked Hinako while Risa walked beside them. She took the initiative to speak.

"So, what's up?"

"Huh? Nothing much," said Kyosuke. "We'll have to be ready for our baseball game this summer."

"Yeah," replied Risa.

"This is also our last year in high school," said Kyosuke.

"Y-You're right," said Risa with a look of sudden realization. "We have to make it last while we can."

"I'll see to that," said Kyosuke with a smile. Risa smiled back.

"Me too," put in Hinako. "I hope you senpai have a great last year together."

"That's sweet, Hinako-chan," said Risa, smiling gently.

"Thanks, Hinako," said Kyosuke.