flstandardbreds Ch. 83.2 - Anticipation and Longing Pt2
Ch. 83.2 - Anticipation and Longing Pt2
The sweet-and-sour taste spread across her tongue, mingling with soft cream and silky crepe layers. Ayaka absentmindedly poked at the fruit mille crêpe with her fork, the slice on her plate already half gone.It was HARBS’ signature dessert, a famous, highly praised shop.
It was also a souvenir her brother, Harutaki, had gone out of his way to bring back for her.
And yet…
As she thought that, she speared a piece of fruit that had slid to the edge of the plate and popped it into her mouth.
“Guh…”
So sour!
She’d probably just hit the kiwi.
Even though the fruits in a fruit mille crêpe were candied, after several bites of sweetness, even the faintest trace of tartness from a kiwi would be amplified infinitely at a moment like this,
Just like her feelings toward her brother, Harutaki.
A handsome face and a tall, sturdy build.
A witty, clever mind with a great sense of humor.
Excellent habits born of strict self-discipline.
Remarkable self-control.
Gentle, considerate to a fault.
And on top of all that, a masterful cook…
That seemingly omnipotent brother of hers already had a girl he liked.
To Ayaka, that senior, Shihou Chouko, was without a doubt a girl who suited her brother perfectly.
Gentle and quiet, poised and graceful, radiating elegance and nobility from head to toe. A young lady from a prestigious family like that, no matter how outstanding her brother Harutaki was, calling it “marrying up” wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
Of course, she wanted, no, she was genuinely happy, to see her idiot big brother find happiness.
But… still… she, Hoshikawa Ayaka, couldn’t help harboring just a little bit of selfishness.
A brother who was that amazing and that attentive to her, pushing him straight into someone else’s arms felt like such a waste, no matter how she looked at it.
No matter how gentle and generous a girl was, she’d want more time and space alone with her boyfriend, right?
And when they eventually got married… no, even once he went to college, Harutaki would probably move out to live with his girlfriend, leaving them three sisters behind at home,
Ahhh… after she’d finally clawed her way into a brighter, more hopeful life, was she really going to be dragged back into those lonely, exhausting days again?!
Chiaki would keep shutting herself in her room.
Fuyuno would keep causing trouble after trouble.
And for all these years, Ayaka had barely had any real leisure of her own.
Even when friends and classmates invited her out during breaks, to shop together, to check out trendy spots on Instagram, she always ended up apologizing and declining.
With three “useless” family members at home who couldn’t take care of themselves, how could she just abandon her brother and sisters to go out and have fun on her own?
Cooking. Cleaning. Laundry. Housework.
Checking Fuyuno and Chiaki’s homework and tutoring them.
Regularly picking up the money their parents sent and paying all the bills…
On top of all that, Ayaka still had to maintain top-tier grades in her year.
St. Lilium Girls’ Academy wasn’t some third-rate high school you could just pay your way through and graduate.
Even though all four Hoshikawa siblings were gifted beyond the norm, St. Lilium was filled with daughters of elite families and corporate conglomerates, as well as geniuses on full scholarships…
Facing people like that felt like running a marathon, utterly exhausting. One careless step and she’d trip, only to be trampled by countless others charging up from behind.
If there was anything she truly looked forward to during holidays, it was calling her parents, who were working overseas.
In those moments, she could cast off all her responsibilities and burdens, complain to them like a child, and seek comfort. She’d grumble about whatever trouble Fuyuno had caused at school or at home, mention that Chiaki had been eating properly under supervision, and, just as a bonus, criticize whatever mistake her brother Harutaki had made this time.
Maybe, in the end, there was only one thing she really wanted to tell them,
That she, Hoshikawa Ayaka, had truly lived up to their expectations and hopes.
That she was taking good care of her brother and sisters.
Scrape.
The plastic fork scraped against the smooth porcelain plate, letting out a faintly shrill sound.
Before she realized it, she’d finished the fruit mille crêpe entirely. Then, with a trace of lingering desire, her gaze drifted toward the table, where three more slices of cake sat neatly packaged in elegant boxes.
No, wait…
Even though that idiot brother had said she could eat his slice if she wasn’t full,
She’d actually just had the thought of taking an extra piece.
Remembering Harutaki’s words, she felt embarrassed by her own greed.
But her greed wasn’t limited to that slice of cake.
It extended to her brother, Harutaki himself.
What guilt? What apology?
That guy didn’t understand a thing and still acted so self-righteous…
They shared the same memories.
The same bonds.
The same emotions.
He wasn’t some urban-legend ghost or anything weird like that. He wasn’t anything else at all.
He was her brother.
Hoshikawa Harutaki.
He had been, he was, and he always would be.
The hero who’d pulled her brother out of a rotting mire.
The hero who’d pulled her, Hoshikawa Ayaka, out of a bleak, suffocating, exhausting life.
Click.
Suddenly, the lock turned. The front door opened, and a familiar voice sounded from the entryway.
“I’m home.”
After changing into slippers, that guy headed straight for the dining area and stopped beside her.
“Finished already? You don’t want another piece, Ayaka?”
He opened one of the three boxes and slid the cake toward her.
“I, I’ve had enough. Those three are for that baka aniki, and for Chiaki, and Fuyuno…”
“What, worried you’ll gain weight if you eat more? It’s fine. I think all your weight goes exactly where it should, ow, okay, I surrender.”
Only after seeing Harutaki put on a pained expression did she pull back her left foot from where she’d stomped on his instep and slip it back into her slipper.
“Idiot sis-con scumbag! My weight’s been going down lately! What’s one more slice of cake?!”
Staring at her chest, cracking dirty jokes, teasing her about her weight, this bastard big brother didn’t deserve to eat his share of cake at all!
Fuming, she imagined the fruit mille crêpe as Harutaki himself and viciously stabbed down with her fork, slicing it apart.
“Only two slices? I went on a date with four beauties today, you know. After dessert, I even had a big dinner~”
Scrape.
She put even more force into it this time, the fork once again scraping the porcelain plate with an ear-piercing sound.
“I worked up a sweat on my night run, so I’m gonna shower first… Oh, by the way, Ayaka, have you bathed yet? Did you leave the bathwater for me?”
“Perverted, filthy, idiot Harutaki, may you drown in the bathwater you’re dreaming about!”
She glared him out of the room with her water-blue eyes. Turning back to the table, she let out a soft sigh.
With a brother this idiotic, how could she just casually hand him over to another girl?
Even if it was that senior Shihou, the kind of girl even lotuses would bow before, Ayaka couldn’t bear to give up this tenderness she’d only been enjoying for a single month.
And yet, as a child of the Hoshikawa family, as Harutaki’s sister, how could she monopolize her idiot big brother and keep all his warmth and affection for herself?
That was obviously an impossible dream, a mirage forever out of reach…
But she didn’t want to surrender so easily. She wasn’t the type of coward who’d shrink back in fear when faced with an abyss or a sheer cliff.
If she didn’t even try, how could she be sure she truly couldn’t do it?
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