"Rosokuzawa, you remind me of my big brother you know that?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
It is currently after school on a day that is strangely cold unbefitting of the current summer season.
I am at the backside of my school talking with a girl.
A girl that is famous among all of the girls her age.
Actually that would be an understatement.
She is not only famous among girls her age but also people among this neighborhood.
She is a girl that have caused chaos in the name of justice.
I am of course talking about Araragi Tsukihi.
She is one half of the duo, Fire Sisters of Tsuga no Ki 2nd Junior High.
This duo have caused a lot of ruckus in our town for quite a while now.
They say that everything they do is because they are allies of justice but in all honesty the way they do things is very troublesome.
An answer that is more troublesome than the question. That is the definition of the Fire Sisters of Tsuga no Ki 2nd Junior High.
The girl I am currently talking with is the younger half of the duo that I just mentioned.
The older half, Araragi Karen, is Araragi Tsukihi's older sister and a girl that is the same age as me.
While Araragi Tsukihi is the brains of the duo, Araragi Karen is the muscle.
She is the one that plans the execution while Araragi Karen is the one that carries it out.
These two would go around town trying to solve the problems of others.
They say that it is because it's in their blood.
They say that it is their sole purpose in life.
I say that they are in way over their heads.
"I said you remind me of my big brother."
"Oh...ah...thanks?"
Whenever someone tells you that you remind them of someone it is always an awkward situation. Because if you don't know the person then you can't tell whether or not you are being complimented or not.
"I wouldn't exactly thank me. My big brother is an emo high-schooler who doesn't have any friends."
"....So you see me as an emo middle-schooler who doesn't have any friends?"
"No no, I wouldn't be as rude as calling someone that right at their face."
So you would call someone that behind their back?
Well you just did call your own big brother that behind his back so I guess there's your evidence right there.
"If I remember correctly your big brother is a student at Naoetsu High. Isn't that a prep school of the highest level? I actually wouldn't mind being compared to a person that studies in that school."
"He got lucky two years ago and passed the entrance exam just barely. Actually his grade weren't bad back then, but nowadays he has just given up on his studies. He's an idiot through and through now."
"Araragi-san, I never thought of you as a person who would speak ill of her family before."
"I don't. I simply wanted to give you a pretext before I explain why you reminded me of him first."
"Oh, please continue then."
Currently I still feel like I'm being insulted. But I think I'll hear her out.
"The reason why I say you remind me of my big brother is because the both of you tend speak logically and is the voice of reason.
"I don't think that I am that logical. I merely present what I believe in."
"I agree, and what you believe in is usually correct."
"I think you are giving me too much credit here."
"No, I can tell that you are different from a lot of people. You see things differently compared to the general public."
"How so?"
"Well, let me ask you this. What do you think of the work of the Fire Sisters?"
"....Do you seriously want me to answer that?"
"Yes, I do."
"Fine. I think that both you and your sister are crazy and have no idea what you are getting yourself into."
I answered her question as truthfully as I can.
My answer is my honest belief.
Justice isn't something anyone can uphold. Just because you believe in it doesn't mean you have to right to uphold it.
Even if you can defend your words with action, that doesn't make your words or your actions any stronger.
Araragi is currently staring me right into my eyes.
It's as if she is staring me right into my soul.
It feels as if she is about to shoot beams out of her eyes.
However even with that in mind I'm not going to back down from what I said.
She was the one who requested me to answer and also I'm not the type to back down from my beliefs.
"Rosokuzawa, you sure are brave for denying the work of the Fire Sisters."
"I think you are misunderstanding something Araragi-san. I'm not denying your work. I believe that your work is very honorable. What I am denying is the Fire Sisters themselves."
"Huh?"
"What I'm trying to say is that your work should be carried out by someone else. Someone that isn't a part of the Fire Sisters."
"What's wrong with Karen-chan and I upholding justice?"
"Because your justice is empty. When you uphold justice you are always doing it for others and not for yourselves. There is no will in your justice.
Once again Araragi is staring me right in the eyes.
There is an air of awkwardness between the two of us right now and it's making me feel really uncomfortable.
Just when I was about to break the silence, Araragi broke it first in a way I didn't expect.
"Hahahahahahahaha!!"
She burst out in laughter.
I'm pretty sure I just denied her existence and yet she is currently laughing.
I really wish we were in that awkward silence again. I am feeling even more uncomfortable right now.
Araragi seems to be choking on her own laughter. After a couple of seconds she finally was able to control herself and started speaking again.
"Rosokuzawa, this is exactly what I'm talking about. What you just said is something I know my big brother would say."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Of course I can. He is my big brother of 13 years. I know everything about him."
"Ah yes, I have heard that the Fire Sisters respected their big brother a lot."
"Where did you hear such information? Well, I guess it doesn't matter since it's true. Karen-chan and I respect our big brother a lot."
"I know, I've heard that you two are extreme brocons."
".....!!"
Araragi's face right now is as red as an apple.
"I...I....I..."
She is also extremely flustered.
Despite being obviously embarrassed about being confronted as a brocon, she continued to speak.
"I won't ask you to tell me where you heard of such information, but can you at least tell me for how long have you known of such information?"
"I've known for a long time, in fact it isn't just me. I'm sure the whole entire school knows about it."
"The entire school!?"
"I believe it had something to do with the fact that whenever someone confessed to you, you rejected them by saying you are in love with your big brother."
"Ah, that....."
It seems she realizes that she was the one who dug her own grave.
"Well, in my defense I believe that everyone secretly have some sort of complex!"
"That doesn't sound like something an ally of justice would say."
"...I know."
Araragi is clearly depressed about this. I guess it's my job to cheer her up since technically I was the one who brought it up.
"However I do agree with you. You see I have a complex myself."
After I said that Araragi took a few steps backward and started looking at me with obvious disgust.
I have an idea of what she is thinking but it's nothing like that.
"I am a Tsukihicon."
"You're a what?"
"A Tsukihicon, I have a complex for Araragi Tsukihi."
If this isn't obvious enough then I'll clearly state that what I just said was a confession of love.
I'm sure that Araragi understood what I meant.
This time it was me who was staring her in the eyes.
I was expecting her to get nervous or surprised but she showed none the usual signs that you see in manga or anime.
She looked back at me with a straight face.
Was my confession too sudden?
I guess it wasn't exactly a good follow-up for telling her everyone knows she is a brocon.
When she finally broke her poker face she once again did something I didn't expect.
"Ha."
She chuckled.
"Ahhhhhhh, finally!! I've waited for you to confess for such a long time!"
Huh?
Huh?
Huhhhhhhhhhhhhh?
"Did you just say you've waited for me to confess for a long time?"
"Of course, it was very obvious. Besides, I'm Araragi Tsukihi of the Fire Sisters of Tsuga no Ki 2nd Junior High so there is nothing that can get pass me."
"How....how long have you known?"
This time it was my turn to become flustered.
"A long time, long enough to make me question your manhood."
"What does my manhood have to do with this?"
"A man should never force a girl into a position where she has to take the lead and confess herself."
Wait, what is she implying?
"Are you saying that had I not confessed you would have confessed yourself?
"Of course not. I am Araragi Tsukihi, there are boys everywhere wanting to be with me. There is no need for me to confess myself."
"I see."
"Well, it doesn't matter now since in the end you found some guts and confessed yourself. However I must say that you found a pretty interesting way of confessing. Did you prepare 'Tsukihicon' a long time ago?"
"No, I came up with that on the spot."
Truthfully, before I said Tsukihicon I thought about saying Araragicon instead since I usually call her Araragi-san. However I realized that Araragicon would have included Araragi Karen as well and I didn't want Araragi-san to think I was in love with her sister as well.
"You know Rosokuzawa, the word Tsukihicon is pretty close to lolicon, are you sure you don't want to change it?"
I see, so she was thinking that.
"Actually now that I think about it, since I am only 13, being in love with me technically makes you a lolicon."
"With your logic every boy in elementary school that has a crush on a classmate is a lolicon."
"Haha, that's it, you are definitely exactly like my big brother. You even rebuke like him. Actually this reminds me, are you sure you are fine with being in love with a girl that is a brocon?"
"I have no problem with you being in love with your brother. However, towards someone you call "onii-chan", even if you say you are in love with him on a sexual level, realistically it is completely unconvincing."
"I see, so that is your answer. I must say that you really set yourself apart from all the other boys that have confessed to me. When I tell them I'm in love with my big brother they usually go speechless."
I can understand their feelings.
"Okay Rosokuzawa, since you made the effort of confessing to me I should give you my response as well. I love you, please take good care of me from now on."
Araragi said that while blushing. She is even redder than when I called her out as a brocon.
"Ah...yeah, please take good care of me as well from now on."
Right now I'm in an awkward situation where two people have just finished confessing to each other and don't know what to do next.
I believe the proper thing to do next is kiss right?
Just when I was about to take a step forward Araragi asked me a question.
"Rosokuzawa do you want to meet my family?"
"Ah.....no thanks, I think we should take things slow."
I didn't expect her to try to bring me to meet her family so soon.
We haven't even started dating for more than ten seconds and she is already leaping forward.
Actually, I'm not really that against meeting her family or rather her parents. Who I'm really trying to avoid is her big brother. Although I'm already dating Araragi-san I still see him as a love rival. Besides, the whole reason why this conversation between me and Araragi-san started was because I reminded her of him. I don't think I would be able to handle meeting someone whose existence overlaps with mine.
After awhile Araragi and I left school together. We were holding hands.
We didn't say anything to each other while we were walking.
However, Araragi decided to break this silence.
"Actually now that I think about it, I think there is another person who reminds me of onii-chan a lot too, what was his name again? Oh that's right, Mizudori-kun was his name."