The Ideal “Onii-chan”?
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It seemed that Azusa had an older brother who was two years older than her.?
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He was not a stepbrother like me, but a real brother by blood.?
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This was before we became step-siblings.?
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I heard from her father that Azusa loved him very much and was always with him no matter what.?
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“I’m going to be your wife in the future!”?
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That’s all she said, and it seemed to annoy her family.?
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But those days came to an abrupt end.?
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When Azusa was in the sixth grade, her brother died in an accident.?
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Azusa, who lost her beloved brother, was of course sad ……, but rather, she was very confused.?
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It’s not like she could understand that she would never be able to see her beloved brother again.?
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“Onii-chan is just going somewhere far away, isn’t he? I’m sure we’ll meet again someday, if …… Azusa is a good girl.”?
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Somewhere in her heart, she must have understood that her brother was dead.?
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But she refused to acknowledge it. She stubbornly continued to wait for her brother’s return.?
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Even as a high school student, she still wore her hair in twin tails, as she did in elementary school, probably to make her brother recognize her.?
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Then one day, …… Azusa’s father decided to remarry. The other person had a stepson, a boy.?
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That’s me.?
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“…… Are you my Onii-chan?”?
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I still vividly remember the first time I met her.?
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I was in the first year of junior high school at the time, and I too was confused by the sudden arrival of a family member my age.?
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So, I couldn’t really think about her question.?
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I asked her when her birthday was, because I thought it would determine if she was my older or younger sibling …….?
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And she shook her head, because mine was slightly earlier.?
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“Yeah, I guess you could say I’m your Onii-chan.”?
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When I told her that, Azusa instantly started to cry.?
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“Gusuu … I’ve been waiting for you all this time. Welcome back, Onii-chan! “?
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I didn’t know what to do with my stepsister who hugged me while saying that.?
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It was right after that that I heard everything from her father.?
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“Azusa has been waiting for her brother’s return.”?
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I thought I knew that.?
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She knew that she would never see him again, but she pretended not to notice and put her brother’s image on mine.?
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But I couldn’t stand to see Azusa like that, so …… I pretended to be her brother.?
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At the time, I didn’t think of myself as a mob character, so I was proud that I could save Azusa.?
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Thus, even though we were the same age, we started to spend time together as brother and sister.?
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When we first became brother and sister, Azusa seemed to be very happy every day. She walked behind me all the time and crawled into my bed at night.?
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To be honest, I was happy.?
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I couldn’t help but think how cute my little sister was, how much she missed me.?
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If she wanted, I could be her “Onii-chan” forever.?
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I loved Azusa so much that I even thought about it.?
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But it seems that I was the only one who thought so.?
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“…………?”?
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If I think back, I think Azusa had a puzzled look on her face even then.?
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She suddenly looked at me and tilted her head, “Huh?”?
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It was as if she had realized that I was not the “Onii-chan” who she was waiting for to come home.?
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The feeling of discomfort must have been getting stronger day by day.?
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And finally, on the day of the entrance ceremony, …… she met that guy.?
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Ryoma Ryuzaki.?
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At first glance, Azusa seems to have realized that I am a fake.?
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Because Ryuzaki looks a lot like Azusa’s own brother.?
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I was surprised when I saw the album. I wondered if there was anyone in the world who looked so much like him.?
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In other words, she had finally found her “ideal Onii-chan”.?
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Ryuzaki, who resembled her own brother, had instantly stolen her heart.?
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And I, who was a failure, was cut down.?
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“Azusa’s real Onii-chan might be Ryoma Onii-chan.”?
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The parting words were abrupt.?
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I lost my precious sister before I had a chance to sort out my feelings.?
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Because she wanted Ryuzaki to look back at her, she only talked to me inside the house and called me “Nakayama-kun” outside. I was only her brother in the family register, and I could only act as her brother in the limited situation of inside the house, and I became distant from Azusa.?
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Throwing everything away, Azusa single-mindedly pursued Ryuzaki.?
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Eventually, her thoughts turned to love as a member of the opposite sex instead of love for her brother …… and this completed her as a harem member.?
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She really is the epitome of a subheroine.?
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As a subheroine, she loved Ryuzaki, as a subheroine, she devoted herself to Ryuzaki, as a subheroine, she encouraged Ryuzaki, and as a subheroine, she fell in vain.?
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It was an utterly …… disgusting romantic comedy.?
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In the end, what did she get out of it??
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Did you get the “ideal Onii-chan” you’ve been seeking with all your heart??
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Azusa…… you didn’t get any reward.?
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You just fell down hurt, crying, and in pain.?
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It really was painful to watch—?
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“Higu, Ugu … Ua”?
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She is still crying after being rejected by Ryuzaki.?
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Azusa’s sobbing voice was echoing in the forest at night.?
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I can’t hug her like that.?
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I’ve been disqualified from being her big brother, and I’m now just her older brother in the family register.?
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I’m not even related to her by blood, and I’m almost a stranger to her out there.?
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It’s impossible for me to comfort her or heal her.?
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Azusa has gone beyond my reach.?
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But ……, family is still family.?
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There is an inseparable bond with this girl.?
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That’s why I tend to be lenient with her.?
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“……I know it’s very, very painful right now.”?
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I send words to the sobbing girl.?
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It was a shout out from me, as much as I could.?
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“Azusa will be able to get over this pain. You’ll be able to think about things from a different perspective when you do……. It’s not over yet.”?
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–You’re not done yet.?
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–Get up.?
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–Use the pain and sorrow as sustenance and take a leap forward.?
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That is the only way for Azusa to be happy.?
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The only way for a subheroine who loves a harem protagonist to be rewarded is to overcome a lot of pain, compromise, and accept.?
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If you don’t like it, give up.?
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I want you to be a normal girl, fall in love with a normal boy, and be satisfied with normal happiness.?
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However, Azusa is a girl who is not satisfied with such “normal”.?
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I’m sure she’ll get over this pain.?
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“Good luck. I’m rooting for you……. Onii-chan will always be watching over you.”?
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“――――”?
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I don’t know what Azusa is feeling as she is still crying.?
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Now there’s nothing more I can do.?
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“Well, I’m going to go now. When you stop crying, come back.”?
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I gave her a final gentle pat on the shoulder and turned my back on Azusa.?
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This is the end of the story of the subheroine.?
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Whether or not Azusa will be able to come back to the table in the future is up to …… her.?
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If she does, she will probably have matured and become a stronger subheroine.?
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Maybe she’ll become so attractive that she’ll take the main heroine’s place.?
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Let’s hope so.?
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“…… Now, what should I do?”?
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Finally, I’m going to have to face it.?
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What should I do about the awakened protagonist??
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At last, the story comes to a climax–