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Normally when Shizuku had something ‘very important’ to tell her sister, it tended to be fairly trivial. Something like her and Airi seeing a cat, or her finding a weird looking leaf. Not that she was complaining about these little stories, it was nice to hear about her day. That said… it didn’t quite prepare her for today.
“Shii-chan, I have something super duper important to tell you!!!”
The two of them were relaxing on the couch in the living room. Shiho was reading a book just to pass the time. “Mhm? What is it?”
“Well… this is something that’s been building for a while but, now that it’s been a few months, I wanted to share it with you!”
Share it? “Uhh… sure? What’s up?”
“Well, I’m in a polyamorous relationship! I’m dating girls too!!!”
“Oh… I see. S-same for me, with my band.”
“WOAH REALLY?” Shizuku’s face lit up, “SO YOU GET IT??? That’s amazing! I really never thought I’d have seven girlfriends though, it’s still so-”
“SEVEN?!?!?” Shiho leapt from the couch, “What do you mean SEVEN? That’s so many… onee-chan are you getting scammed.”
“No, of course not!”
Her sister was a pretty good judge of character… though she was also very naive. “Then I want to meet them. All… seven of them. They better be good for you.”
Shizuku clapped her hands together, “Oh yes, they’re all lovely, you’ll see! I’ll arrange for this weekend! How does that sound, Shii-chan?”
“Sure… they better be.”
It was Saturday morning, and Shiho was ready for a long day. She got the sense she’d know at least ONE of Shizuku’s girlfriends, the chances of Airi showing up today were high, beyond that she wasn’t sure.
She had a schedule in her hand, one Shizuku had crudely drawn up the previous night. Rather than meet all seven girlfriends at once (even thinking about it now, it was still baffling to Shiho how her airheaded sister had managed to find herself in this situation), she’d be meeting each for a one on one… interview of sorts.
The doorbell rang, and according to the schedule, it must be her first partner. Shizuku ran off to answer the door, and Shiho took her seat. She’d rearranged some of the chairs in the living room so she could have a clearer one on one discussion. Plus, it made her look more intimidating… maybe. If any of these girls had bad intentions with Shizuku, she’d make sure to scare it out of them for good.
“Uh… hey Shiho.” A familiar girl was standing by the entryway to the living room. Airi Momoi, a girl Shizuku had known for years… and talked about constantly… who stayed over a lot.
“Wow, Airi, I’m incredibly surprised that you’re here. Never in a million years could I have guessed there was something beyond platonic brewing between you and my sister.”
“You joke, but I didn’t either until… around when we formed More More Jump.” She took a seat across from Shiho. “So you’re here to judge me, right? I feel like you know me well enough.”
“I felt the same about my sister, then I found out she’s dating SEVEN people, so excuse me if I take a step back to… evaluate.”
“I mean sure… is it really all that surprising though? She’s really nice, easy on the eyes…”
“And stupid…”
Airi sighed a dreamy sigh, “so… so stupid.” Her smile agitated Shiho.
“But this is about you, not her. Give me one good reason why you think you’d be good for Onee-chan.”
The girl flashed a toothy grin, singular fang bared for the world to see, “I’ll give you five. Number one: We’re supporting one another in our careers, and I’m helping make her dreams come true.”
“She can do that on her own.”
Airi raised an eyebrow, “Really? You think Shizuku could market herself as an indie idol? You think she could figure out streaming without breaking anything?”
She didn’t want to admit it but… “Ok fair. What are your other four reasons?”
“Two, I’d say I’m pretty reliable. You know well enough Shizuku can be a bit ah… you know, so I’ve been there by her side for years to watch out for her.”
“Which you can do as a friend.”
Airi tapped her head, “Ah, but that leads to number three. When I kiss her, she’s happy, and a happy Shizuku is always good. Also, number four: I’ve got good practical life skills. That means, looking into the future, I’m a quality partner to have around. In particular, organization skills is an area I excel.”
“God knows she needs that… you’re oddly prepared, I didn’t really need that much convincing.”
“Yeah, I figured… I’m just worried about her.”
Airi stood up, taking a seat on the couch next to Shiho, “I know, and yeah… I can imagine it’s a shock to hear she’s in an eight person polycule.”
That got Shiho’s attention… “Wait, eight??? I thought it was seven…”
Airi just stared at her, looking a bit… disappointed. “Oh right um… Onee-chan is the eighth.”
The girl applauded her, “Congrats for noticing. Anyways, I’m with the other six as well, and trust me, you have nothing to fear. Believe me or not, but they’re all good for her in their own ways.”
With that, she stood up and grabbed her bag to leave. “H-Hold on, didn’t you have a fifth reason?”
“Well… reason five is then I’d get to be your big sister too, and I think I’d like that.”
Then she was gone… leaving Shiho with a lot to think about, and half an hour until her next appointment.
Her sister had left with Airi, and the plan was for her to stay out of the house until the final appointment. As such, there was no one left to answer the knocking at the door except Shiho herself. She honestly wasn’t sure what the expect, would it be someone else she knew? That felt unlikely, the only ones that popped into her mind were the other two members of MMJ, and she was FAIRLY certain they’d been a couple for a while. It was hard to tell, Minori was… a bit stupid.
She opened the door to… a face she’d never seen before. “Ah, hello there! You’re Shiho, right?” A fashionable looking girl was standing in the doorway. Not just fashionable… she seemed normal.
“Uh… yes, that’s me.” She should be getting on her game face, her ‘treat my sister right or I’ll break you’ face, but nothing about the girl looked… intimidating.
“Wonderful! Ah, I’m Ena Shinonome, please just call me Ena if that’s alright.”
“Shinonome… that name sounds familiar.” she tried racking her brain, there was definitely… someone with that name she ought to know in some capacity. A sibling of this girl?
The girl in question’s face turned sour, “Oh… maybe my brother? He’s in your year, but he obviously doesn’t go to Miya, neither of us do. Do you know Akito?”
Ah, that was it. “Oh right, that guy in Kohane’s group. He showed up to our cultural festival. Was he the blue haired one? Or the guy who got all scared at the haunted house.”
“Pfft, the second one for sure. The other guy’s named Toya, he’s way nicer.”
Right, so Shizuku was dating… the older sister of one of Kohane’s groupmates? “Come in, by the way.”
“Right right, so Airi told me this was like… you making sure we’re good for your sister, right? I’ll do my best to try to convince you.”
Shiho brought them both into the living room, and they took their respective seats. “So… how did you meet Onee-chan?”
“Me and Airi were friends throughout middle school, and she’d had sort of an… on and off thing with Shizuku the whole time. We didn’t meet properly until earlier this year though.”
“So…” Shiho leaned forward in an attempt to build a menacing aura, “Tell me about yourself, and why you’re good enough for my sister.”
“Eh? Well… I don’t know what you’re specifically looking for, but I’m an artist? I’m part of a music group with… well you’ll meet the other three today, but I do the art for our videos. I’ve also done a few portraits of Shizuku she seemed happy with, if you want to see those?”
Thank god her sister wasn’t here but… “Yes, I very much do.” She could never know how fast she asked to see that. Ena pulled out her phone, and scrolled through one of the galleries. “I don’t have the canvas itself, but here’s some pictures.”
She showed Shiho images of a few beautiful paintings of her older sister, with extra flourishes, and added colours that suited Shizuku perfectly. All painted too. “Damn… actual canvas? I didn’t think people did painting anymore.”
“True, most do digital now, I do as well, but I wanna have a broad skill set, you know?”
“Onee-chan is well suited for this sort of thing…” plus they were really good. They looked like something she’d spent a VERY long time on, perhaps Shizuku’s experience as a model in the past helped make her a good subject?
“Like I said, I’m not sure what you’re looking for in a partner for your sister, but doing stuff like this has made her happy, so I’m going to keep trying for that.”
Shiho let out a sigh and slumped back into the couch, “I’m not quite sure myself. I was all hyped up to… do something, but you seem so normal. I’m sure the rest will be too.”
“Eh… not sure about that, but they’re all good people.”
“Heh, but you’re dating them, right? A bit biased. Still… you said you had a brother, what would you do if he started dating seven fucking people.”
Her face darkened, “I’d track them down and let them know how dead they’d be if they did any shit to him.”
“So I don’t have to say it, glad you understand. I think that’s all I need.”
Leading Ena back to the entrance, she noticed a little bowl of apple slices in the kitchen. Did Shizuku leave those out? Probably for…
She handed one to Ena, and saw her to the door. So far it had been going… too well. That either meant she had expected far worse than reality, or things were about to go south fast. Maybe a bit of both was true.
Another twenty minutes later, there was a ring at the doorbell, a few minutes ahead of the scheduled time. She thinks… Shizuku didn’t exactly draw up the schedule in the neatest way possible. Whatever.
She opened the door to… “Minori? It’s a weekend, what are you doing here?”
“Eh?” her classmate looked confused, “Didn’t Shizuku-chan tell you I was coming?”
No… a dark feeling was forming in the pit of Shiho’s stomach. “Not… you specifically. I’m supposed to be meeting… someone soon.”
“Ehe, that’s me! It’s for Shizuku-chan’s girlfriends, right?”
She couldn’t believe it. Shiho grabbed the girl’s wrist and dragged her inside.
“Alright, question one: Minori why the fuck are you dating my sister???”
She didn’t seem to register the anger in Shiho’s voice, responding as peppy as ever, “Well she’s super pretty and nice, and when we talk and she laughs it just makes my heart go crazy and and…” she slapped her hands together, almost in prayer, “RIGHT I’M HERE FOR SOMETHING ELSE!!! Shiho-chan, please give me your blessing to date your super mega pretty sister, I promise I’ll treat her as wonderfully as I can, and and… I’ll support her in whatever she does, and-”
She rambled on and on… and on and on. Shiho gave her about ten minutes before cutting her off. “Minori… please stop. Now I say this as a friend-”
“R-REALLY??? We’re friends!!! I was worried you didn’t like me or something…”
Shiho massaged her temples a bit, her brain was starting to hurt, “Yes… we are friends. And as a friend, I mean this as nice as possible, you’re being annoying about my sister, please leave.”
“WH-WHAT?” She shot to her feet, “B-BUT I NEED YOUR BLESSING FIRST.”
“You’re blessed, now leave.” She shoved a confused Minori through the otherwise empty Hinomori house. Her mind still felt stun locked by… god damn MINORI of all people dating her sister.
“See you tomorrow Shiho-chan!!!” The girl was giddy, nearly tripping over nothing as she dashed out of the house. Shiho was already exhausted. Four more still, she wasn’t even halfway (though now she felt there was a pretty solid chance Haruka would be showing up later, so at least she was prepared).
Another knock at the door, and Shiho was regretting this whole… one on one thing. She wasn’t used to meeting this many new people (even though this would only really be the second new person so far).
Opening the door was… a familiar face, though not one she was very well acquainted with. Mafuyu Asahina, a second year she’d heard a lot of gossip about. A cheerful honour student, a good role model, someone willing to help out those in need. She was a member of the archery club alongside Shizuku as well, so the connection was clear.
What was less clear was… the girl in front of her. Shiho wasn’t met with the helpful smile of a reliable upperclassman, instead all she saw was a dead stare. Empty eyes, not a trace of emotion on her face.
“Hello, I’m Mafuyu Asahina. I hope you can come to accept me as your sister’s girlfriend.” She bowed… but that speech was so flat.
“You seem different from what I’ve heard of you…”
“Mm? Yes, well Shizuku requested I be more… natural with you, for a fair assessment.”
This girl was a whole different problem than Minori. She was so quiet, and it was hard to gauge… anything from her. She needed a good first question for her. After they took their seats, she figured one out.
“You… what drew you towards my sister as a romantic partner.”
She thought for a moment, “I think it’s more accurate to say Shizuku drew herself towards me. She’s quite… friendly. In terms of my own feelings, it’s hard to put into words, but she felt… safe. Her enthusiasm feels a bit foreign, but it’s nice.”
For the first time since entering the house, the girl emoted. A small smile creeped across her face… but it was gone as fast as it arrived. “Alright, is there anything you can tell me about yourself? I’ve heard what people say about you at school, but…”
“I don’t do much, though I do write lyrics for an online music group.”
“Oh… right, Ena mentioned that. She said it was her and three others, presumably you?” Mafuyu nodded, “So with you four, Airi, Minori… the last one is Haruka, right?”
Mafuyu opened her mouth to answer, then shut it again, stopping herself from answering.
“I know it’s Haruka.”
“It’s a secret.”
It was definitely Haruka… but there was no point asking further. Though as she continued to talk to Mafuyu, it became clear there wasn’t much point asking her most things. Questions as simple as ‘what’s your favourite food’ or ‘what’s your favourite music artist’ were met with confusion and an ‘I don’t know’.
It wasn’t so much of if she was trustworthy or not, Shiho genuinely wasn’t sure what her sister saw in this girl. “Alright… I think I’m done. Just don’t hurt my sister, ok?”
“I don’t plan to. She… means a lot to me. My feelings are often a bit confusing to decipher, but she’s a very precious person in my life, and I intend to treat her as such.”
It wasn’t much, but Shiho felt at least a bit more passion behind that reply. Even if she didn’t understand why, she could at least hope Shizuku was happy with this girl.
On their way out, Shiho handed her an apple slice. Mafuyu stared at it for an uncomfortable amount of time, before saying “This one. I think this is my favourite food.”
She popped it in her mouth, and left the house.
Just three left to meet, and one was likely someone she knew. Luckily, she didn’t have to wait much longer, and according to the doorbell this next girl had arrived ten minutes ahead of schedule. Fashionably early? That kind of sounded like…
“Haruka, I’m not surprised. Come on in, but this is… probably going to be short.”
“Thank you for having me.” she stepped in with a bit of trepidation, was she really nervous? Her legs were shaking a bit as she took off her shoes.
“Haruka… you don’t need to freak out or whatever, it’s fine, I know you’re all good.”
“R-Really.” She kept her head turned away, “I heard you gave Airi um… a thorough questioning, so I just wanted to… prepare myself.”
“Well relax, I don’t bite.”
Haruka chuckled, “Really? That’s a relief, because from what Tenma-san tells me…” she slapped a hand over her mouth, realizing what she was about to say.
“I’m sorry… what the fuck is Saki telling people?” It was probably true but… that was worse. Private life should stay private.
“I-I’m sorry…. I’m sorry.” Haruka half sobbed to herself. Whatever bit she’d been able to calm herself down was gone.
“No, this is Saki’s fault. Just go home, you’ve uh… got my blessing.”
Suddenly her hand was being held from either side, Haruka clasping around it with a determined look on her face. “I promise, I won’t let you down.”
With that, she was off. Five minutes before she was set to arrive. Shiho had a lot of time, and a Saki to call.
“I’m super duper sorry Shiho-chan… some girls were just talking about relationship stuff and…”
“I doubt Haruka was.”
“NO BUT HARUKA-CHAN’S THE ONLY GAY GIRL IN THE CLASS OTHER THAN ICCHAN, YOU THINK I WANT TO TALK TO STRAIGHT GIRLS???”
“...fair. Alright, I forgive you.”
“Shiho-chan you’re the best, I love you so much!” she made kissing sounds through the phone… until the doorbell started ringing on Shiho’s end. More than once…
“Gotta go, see you tomorrow at practice.” She hung up and ran to the door before whoever it was could ring it… what, a fourth time now?
On the other side was a pink haired girl, primed to hit the doorbell again. “Aww geez, I almost finished the jingle too.”
“Why are you using a doorbell to play a jingle?”
“Eh, cause it’s fun.” They stuck out their tongue… trying to be cheeky perhaps? Shiho already didn’t like them. Then, out of their bag, they pulled a small party popper and…
*bang*
“Hello! I’m Mizuki Akiyama, your future older sister, ehe~. I hope we can get along, Shii-chan.”
She glared at the annoyance standing in her doorway. “Never call me that again.”
“Eh?” They tilted their head in confusion, “Sorry uhh… Is Shii not your name?”
“No, it’s Shiho. Please call me that.”
“Got it, then let’s-” she was already walking away from them, begrudgingly inviting them inside.
“Hey hey, are these apple slices?”
They picked one up to examine it. “Yes, but they’re for when you’re leaving.” Shiho grabbed the one meant for Haruka and ate it herself. Only two were left.
Mizuki skipped over to their seat excited… the obnoxious sort of excitement. Still, she needed to keep an open mind. Her sister really loved all of these girls, and so far there hasn’t been an issue…
“So… Mizuki-“
“I gotta pitch myself to you, yeah? Cause I’ve got it all planned out.”
“Then the floor is yours.” She leaned back, ready to listen with an open mind… hopefully.
“Well first of all, the most important thing, Shizuku is happy when she’s with me. That’s the key thing you gotta know.”
That was the key thing? Her sister was happy around most people… hardly an accomplishment.
“Now I bet you’re thinking, well damn but what do they do! I can assure you, I’m a very well rounded individual. I know you met Ena this morning, but I’m the one who takes her art and turns it into a proper video!”
Oh… that actually was a bit interesting, “So you… edit videos?”
“Yup! Rigging, Animation, FX… then boom,video! Though it uh… takes longer than that. And that’s just my side hobby!”
They brought out their phone, and started searching through it for… something.
“I also do fashion design. See this dress I’m wearing?“ they gestured to their outfit, “I made it!”
“Made it… how?”
“Mm? You know, draw up a design, get some fabric… then make it! I’ve only made Shizuku a single top, but I swear I’ll make more. Work’s just been busy.”
Finally, they turned their phone around. It was a photo folder of various articles of clothing, one of which was a shirt she recognized, one she’d seen Shizuku wear around sometimes. “Damn… you made all this? Nice… uh, you said work, what sort of job?”
“Two jobs! I work part time at a clothing boutique, and freelance as a costume designer for a theatre troupe at PxL. You know Wonderland x Showtime?”
“Yes, my girlfriend’s brother is their leader or something.”
Their face lit up, “No way, you’re dating Tsukasa-senpai’s sister? Awesome! Anyways, I make most of their costumes.”
Two jobs, making entire outfits in their spare time, video production? Maybe she didn’t gel with them at first but… they were a hard worker, that was something Shiho respected a lot.
“Balancing your music group, two jobs, school, and making your own outfits… that’s a lot. I’m impressed”
A guilty look spread across their face, “Well… Ahaha, I don’t uh… do school that much. Just enough for attendance records. That’s how I get the time.”
“So… my sister’s dating a delinquent?” Her respect was fading rapidly.
“L-listen, I’m still top three in my class for grades. I study, honestly I do! Plus I’m getting references for my future career, really I’m actually doing life the best way. Yeah… yeah!” They seemed to have convinced themselves… unfortunately that was not who they were here to convince.
“I’m not so sure about that. But seriously, outside of your hobbies, how are you a good partner for my sister? One chance to explain…”
They froze in fear for a second, then began giving it some thought. Would they finally take this meeting seriously?
“I dunno… guess decent enough people skills? I’d like to think of myself as emotionally intelligent enough to tell when someone’s feeling down, and what the best way to handle it is. Like… Airi would rather vent her frustrations, but Shizuku’s more of a hug it out type.”
“I’m… aware.”
They snickered, “Yeah, not the most genius observation. Still, I think I’m doing a fairly good job looking out for her, for all seven of them. Most of them need that… hell I do too, hence Shizuku.”
Shiho did her best to process it all. Her brain was returning… conflicting results.
“Hey uh… I’m not really a delinquent y’know. People at school just kinda… well they make it harder, so I just don’t go. Nothing deeper than that. Not trying to bring your sister down some dark path of drugs lmao.”
“Did you just say lmao? Like… with your mouth? That’s fuckin obnoxious.”
“Aww you sound just like Enanan, but she warmed up to me, and so will you!”
She doubted that but… Shiho couldn’t deny this person fit her sister well. They’d definitely get along… “Doubt it, but you pass. Don’t fuck with my sister.”
They grinned, “Well when the time’s right and all, though that’s a line to cross in the future… but seriously I won’t hurt her, she’s too precious.”
Mizuki dashed out of the room, “I’m takin my apple slice now, bye bye Shihooooo.”
The door clicked closed, and Shiho was left in the living room… annoyed. But there was only one left. One more…
The final girl arrived right on time, which was good… Shiho needed a nap. Now. She’d finish this up quick, then go collapse until dinner. A flawless plan. Shiho opened the door to a girl around her size, with long silver hair that stretched down to her waist.
“U-Umm… Kanade Yoisaki, it’s a pleasure to meet you… Hinomori-san.” The girl looked on the verge of breaking, every protective instinct in her body was SCREAMING at her to get this girl in safe, and make sure nothing bad ever happened to her. Ever.
As she led Kanade through the kitchen, she heard the girl’s stomach rumble. Instinctively she offered her the last apple slice. “Thank you… I haven’t eaten yet today so…”
“Isn’t it… 4 in the afternoon…” This girl needed more than an apple slice, she needed an entire buffet. Her name was familiar too, this girl was one of Honami’s clients through her job at the cleaning service. At least someone was looking out for her…
Sat down, Kanade looked on the verge of melting from stress, her body simultaneously rigid from the fear and slowly liquifying into a puddle on the ground.
“Ok uh… don’t stress yourself out. I know from Honami you’re a good person, just… tell me about yourself for a bit.”
She seemed to ignore the ‘don’t stress’ part of Shiho’s statement, visibly shaking from the nerves. “Um… well I compose music… I work with Mafuyu, Ena, and Mizuki a-and… make music videos and stuff.”
She’d heard a few of said songs, Honami and Ichika had been listening to them a lot. “Well, I hope my sister can make you happy.”
“Don’t you mean… you hope I can make her happy.”
Shiho took a deep breath, “No. Of course you make her happy.”
“I hope I can be… good for her though. I was able to teach her how to text, but it’s still-”
“Holy shit, that was you???” About two months ago Shizuku had come home magically proficient with technology. She could make calls, text, search the internet… her web literacy was poor, but she could finally OPERATE a technological device. It had seemed like magic. “Kanade, please marry my sister. You’re a miracle worker.”
The girl looked like she wanted to shrink down and disappear. “It… it wasn’t a big deal. I had the same issue when I was young, the vibrations of computers and stuff messed with me.”
That… wait, what? “Can’t you just… turn off the vibration?”
Kanade shook her head, “No like… the smaller vibration, like the little whir of the machine. It made my brain all… confused, but then I learned to vibrate my brain the opposite way and that helped cancel it out. I just taught her how to do that.”
That didn’t make any sense… but neither did Shizuku. Clearly whatever she’d done had worked, and results were what mattered.
“Well… thanks. Please marry my sister.”
“It’s… too soon I think.”
Walking this girl out… Shiho realized she wasn’t REALLY going to be able to nap after this. She’d met all seven, they were all good for her sister. Stamp of approval, it should be done… right? But… she had one more interview to conduct.
The door opened once more, Shizuku returning from her date with Airi. “Shii-chan, I’m home!!! You met them all, right? What did you think, isn’t it all so perfect?!?! They’re amazing, right?”
“Yes yes, I approve of them… but can you take a seat?”
Her sister was confused, but did as she was told. Shiho leaned forward to try to look a bit intimidating, even though her sister could never really see her that way.
“So… Onee-chan, I have just one question for you. Can you give me one reason why you’re a good match for Kanade? I swear if you hurt that girl I’ll…”