[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by omimon

So what actually happened during the novel? I'm not asking for the ending but rather the beginning middle and climax.

Spoiler for Volume 11 (per spoilers posted on the Net):

Most of the story seems to revolve around an extended flashback that tells the story of what happened three years ago that finally caused Kirino to actively dislike Kyousuke. The story is about Kyousuke's interactions with another girl (櫻井秋美 = Akimi Sakurai??? Not sure about the pronunciation). At that time, Kyousuke was a hot-blooded model student who was worried about students who weren't showing up in class. That led to him befriending this girl, and them going on a bunch of adventures and becoming good friends. But one day she was climbing a mountain with Kyousuke, and she ended up getting injured (fractured a bone). As a result, her parents withdrew her from that school. At around the same time, Kyousuke's grandmother had died, so everything was going poorly for him. The entire class blamed Kyousuke for what happened to Sakurai, and Manami got really angry (at Sakurai, at Kyousuke, and at the class). Kyousuke was depressed and went home crying, where Kirino consoled him. But later, Manami came over and gave him some "Life Consultation" -- she said that it couldn't be helped because Kyousuke's nothing special, that he's just a normal guy, and incidentally she liked him that way. Traumatized by what had happened and based on Manami's "advice", Kyousuke stopped being ambitious, and turned into the peace-loving "normal" person that we meet at the start of the show. And that's when Kirino started to hate him. Now, back to the present, they get back in contact with Sakurai, and Kyousuke arranged to meet her, and they apologize for what happened in the past, and Sakurai confesses to Kyousuke (something she couldn't do three years back), but Kyousuke has to turn her down saying that he's already in love with someone.

At the end of he story, Manami declares to Kanako that she'll ensure Kirino and Kyousuke will see each other only as normal siblings. Kirino announces to Kuroneko and Saori that she'll be going overseas for a modeling job after she graduates. Meanwhile, Ayase informs Kuroneko and Kirino that she confessed to Kyousuke. And Kyousuke himself seems ready to be the one to confess next... setting us up for the grand finale.


(So basically, everything Kirino has been trying to do with Kyousuke has been to try to restore him back to the person he used to be (the brother she loved and admired), and snap him out of the boring life he resolved himself to after the fallout with Sakurai and Manami's advice. She blames Manami for making Kyousuke turn out this way and, combined with what she told Kirino in the past about her feelings for Kyousuke not being normal, we can see why she hates her. Manami was literally the wedge that tore the siblings apart, but as was speculated, it may be precisely that wedge that brings them back together even stronger in the end, precisely the way Manami didn't want. We'll see... but I think "I can see the ending"...)