Final Chapter: Kichijoji Meru's Tier 1 Strategy
[Stream Clip] Kuriki Hisoka Flips Out in Excitement Over Her Little Sister’s Victory
‘You got this!? You got this, you got this, you got this—WHOAHHHHHHH!? (CRASH! THUD!)’
““Ahyahahahaha!!””
“Could you maybe not blast my embarrassing clip at full volume in the living room!?”
By the time the sushi party at the Kichijoji household wrapped up, the sun had long since set.
It’s not like I couldn’t have gone home, but Meru, the star of the night, had other ideas.
“Why don’t you just stay over? Yoshino-san’s room is free, y’know.”
Sure, I’d crashed at the Kichijoji place before. No big deal, maybe, but staying in the homeowner’s room when she’s not around? That felt... off. I tried arguing I’d be fine on the living room sofa, but Meru, in classic Meru fashion, got permission straight from the director herself in no time flat. After that, I didn’t have much left to protest with.
The director’s room was right next to Ranka’s. But man, it didn’t feel like anyone lived there. Barely any trace of life—like she’d just moved in or something. She really doesn’t come back here much, huh? If she went out of her way to bring those four sisters together, you’d think she’d act a little more like a parent.
I was mulling over her irresponsibility when I finished my bath and found myself twiddling my thumbs in the barren room, furnished with just a bed and a side table. That’s when a knock came at the door.
“Shikimi.”
Meru’s the only one in this house who calls me by my first name like it’s nothing.
I opened the door, and there she was in pajamas. Even for a night owl like her, it seemed she was turning in early tonight. Tilting her head slightly, her hair—still a bit damp and glossier than usual—swayed lightly.
“Mind if I come in?”
“Why?”
“Got something I wanna talk about.”
Yeah, figured as much.
“…Fine. It’s not even my room to begin with.”
I didn’t exactly have the authority to say no.
…Plus, I had a hunch about what she wanted to talk about.
When I let her in, Meru took a slow look around the sparse room.
“…Kinda nostalgic.”
“Huh?”
“This used to be my room, y’know. Back when I went pro and started streaming seriously, Yoshino-san gave me the corner room.”
“Makes sense. Corner room’s got better soundproofing.”
So that’s probably why she gave Kikuri the master bedroom, too. That room takes up the whole south side of the house.
…Wait. Does that mean the room that gets the western sunlight—the one that’s Meru’s now—used to be the director’s at some point?
“Shikimi.”
Her voice cut through the thread of unease I was starting to unravel.
Meru stood facing me directly, her gaze fixed upward on my face, just a bit higher than hers.
“I told you, didn’t I? If I won the tournament, I’d tell you everything—about the photo, about my feelings.”
“…Yeah, you did.”
But Meru lost.
Second place is nothing to scoff at, but she cried her eyes out over it. No way she’s counting that as a win.
“You still wanna hear it, Shikimi? Maybe not my feelings, but… about that photo?”
“I do. But a promise is a promise. I won’t ask.”
“…No, I want you to hear it.”
She lowered her eyes briefly, her fingers fidgeting together in front of her stomach.
“I think you should hear it. I can’t deal with this on my own… and besides—”
Lifting her gaze, a playful glint sparkled in her eyes.
“—I said I’d tell you if I won. Never said I wouldn’t tell you if I didn’t.”
“…That’s kinda sneaky, don’t you think?”
“Gotta read the fine print, Shikimi.”
Such a gamer mindset… Next time I make a deal with her, I’m drawing up a proper contract.
Meru flicked her hair and glanced back at the pristine, unused bed behind her.
“Can I sit?”
“Go ahead.”
There’s barely a chair in this room. The bed’s about the only option.
Meru perched on the edge of the bed, and it creaked under her weight. I was planning to stay standing, but she looked up at me and patted the spot next to her.
“Feels weird with you looming over me.”
“Oh, my bad.”
I sat down beside her, and the bed creaked again.
Meru dropped her gaze to her knees and started talking, slow and deliberate.
“So, about that photo… Honestly, I don’t know anything about it.”
“Huh?”
I blinked.
Wasn’t Meru supposed to be Oto?
“It’s definitely in my room, though. Taped to the back of a drawer in my closet.”
“The back!?”
I didn’t check that far…! I was this close to figuring it out!
“Close, but no cigar,” Meru said, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
“But… I don’t know what that photo is. I can tell it’s me as a kid, but when it was taken…?”
“You don’t remember anything from seven years ago?”
“Seven years ago? …Oh, right… So that’s when it was.”
Meru pressed a hand to her forehead, like she was trying to dredge up a memory.
“I vaguely remember… there were kids I was super close with, like family. But to think it was Ranka-nee or you guys…”
“I’ll ask again: you really don’t remember anything from back then? Nothing at all?”
“Yeah. Just… a faint feeling of sadness, that’s all I can pull up.”
Would she lie at this point? I don’t think so, but…
“Here, take a look at this.”
I pulled out my phone and showed her the image of the photo that was sent to me.
“This picture was sent to my phone right around the time I met you all. See how there’s a bit of sunset in the corner of the image?”
“…Yeah.”
“This house only has one room where the sunset comes through the window—your room. So I thought you were the one who sent it, but…”
Meru went quiet, staring at the image on my phone.
Then, hesitantly, she spoke.
“Maybe… this was taken way earlier.”
“What?”
“I told you, didn’t I? This room used to be Mine, but the corner room—my room now—used to be Yoshino-san’s.”
“—!!”
It hit me like a bolt of lightning.
That’s what was nagging at me earlier!
I’d assumed the photo was prepared the day it was sent to me. The table it was placed on was one I set up after cleaning Meru’s room, so I figured it had to have been taken after that.
But.
“What if this was taken back when the corner room was still the director’s!?”
It adds up.
Judging by the state of this room, the corner room probably wasn’t a mess back when it was the director’s. There’d have been plenty of space for a table, and that table was already in the house. It’s entirely possible the photo was taken long before.
If that’s true—
“The one who took this photo—”
“Was probably Yoshino-san, right? I mean, why would anyone sneak into her room just to take it?”
—That career woman!
She told me the photo was something I needed to figure out on my own, but she was hiding something this big!?
The pieces started clicking together in my head.
First, the photo was in Kikuri’s possession. About a year ago—around the time I reconnected with Kikuri as Mitsuba Matsuba—she threw it in the trash.
The director probably noticed and retrieved it. That would explain why she knew Kikuri had the photo.
Then, she took the picture in what was still her corner room at the time…? Meru said she went pro last year, so the room swap must’ve happened then too. That means it was after Kikuri threw out the photo. The timeline checks out.
But why take the photo…?
No… wait. If the director found the photo in the trash, her reason for picking it up would be to preserve it. And if she wanted to preserve it, it’s only natural she’d back it up as a digital file.
The question is what happened next.
“Where was the image data stored…? And when did it end up in Oto’s hands…?”
Oto claims to be one of the four sisters. It’s hard to imagine the director sending that email herself.
So at some point, the image data must’ve passed from the director to Oto. As for the physical photo, it’s possible Yoshino-san hid it in what’s now Meru’s room—her old room—back then…
“Oh, I just remembered something,” Meru said softly, pulling me out of my thoughts.
I looked at her.
“That side table over there has a drawer.”
She reached past me, pointing at the small side table next to the bed. It had a single, modest drawer.
“Yoshino-san told us never to open it. She doesn’t usually make those kinds of rules, so it stuck with me.”
“What’s in it?”
“She said it was an album… But Yoshino-san doesn’t really take photos, so I thought it might be from her time with her ex-husband. But maybe—”
—She hid it there?
I stared at the drawer for a moment, then steeled myself.
“Let’s open it.”
“Why not? She told us not to open it.”
Technically, that’d mean I shouldn’t open it either, but I’ll let Meru’s twisted logic slide for now.
Still sitting on the bed, I reached over, grabbed the drawer’s handle, and pulled.
Inside the drawer—
“—Nothing’s there…”
“…Yeah.”
Completely empty.
I checked the underside, just in case, but nothing was taped there either. I even wondered if it had a false bottom, but it didn’t seem like it. Just empty.
“You wouldn’t tell someone not to open an empty drawer…”
“Maybe there was something in there. But someone—”
“—Took it already.”
It fits.
Let’s say the director had the physical photo and the digital data on an SD card or something. Where would she keep it? Somewhere close, in her own room. The side table by the bed would be perfect—way better than leaving it taped to a drawer in the room she gave to Meru.
“…I think I get it. Why Yoshino-san made such a cryptic rule about the drawer,” Meru murmured.
I turned to her.
“She was saying, ‘Open it.’ Like, ‘If you want to remember what happened seven years ago, if you want to know the truth, open it.’”
—And if she saved the photo Kikuri threw away in the first place, maybe it was to help the other sisters remember those events from seven years ago.
“That sounds right… It’s exactly the kind of convoluted way that director would put it.”
“Shikimi… The one who took the photo was probably the first person to remember what happened seven years ago.”
That’s how it’d work. Assuming they understood the director’s intent, of course…
“Kikuri’s out—she’s the one who threw the photo away. Meru, you haven’t remembered anything, so you’re out too…”
Two down.
That leaves two.
Either Ranka or Chinana is the one who sent me that photo—the self-proclaimed ex-girlfriend.
“And that’s the end of topic one,” Meru said, brushing off what was, to me, the most pressing issue with infuriating nonchalance.
Sure, we can’t dig any deeper right now, but still.
“Can I bring up the second thing?”
Still sitting side by side on the bed’s edge, she fixed me with a pleading stare.
I took a deep breath to steady myself.
“…Go ahead. In for a penny, in for a pound.”
“Alright then.”
It happened in sync with her words.
Before I knew it, she’d pushed my shoulder, and I was flat on my back on the bed.
Meru leaned over me, her body practically draped across Mine, staring down at my face from inches away.
Her long hair spilled over, brushing my cheek.
Her warm, slightly damp breath grazed my lips.
Her glossy eyes seemed to pull me in.
And then, with cherry-blossom lips, she spoke.
“I love you.”
Simple, like it was just her style.
Direct, efficient.
Leaving no room for misunderstanding.
“I love you as a guy. I want you to be my boyfriend.”
“…I already told you, that’s not happening. I explained why, didn’t I?”
I’d told her before—about my dad, about the way I grew up under him.
I don’t do relationships.
The way I’ve chosen to live doesn’t allow it.
“That doesn’t matter. I love you.”
She said it like a kid, pouting her lips in a sulky frown.
“When I’m with you, my heart races. I catch myself staring at your face. Even when you’re not around, you keep popping into my head, and sometimes I can’t even focus on my games.”
“That’s a problem. You should quit that habit ASAP.”
“If I could, I wouldn’t be struggling like this.”
…Yeah, I guess that’s true.
I still don’t get it, though.
“Hey.”
Locking eyes with Meru’s big, intense gaze felt like it was paralyzing me. When I tried to look away, she read me like a book, cupping my face with both hands to hold it in place.
“Can I kiss you?”
“Does it look like you can!?”
“You let me before.”
“That was an accident…!”
“Nope. On purpose.”
She said it without a hint of shame.
“When I saw your face first thing in the morning, I just couldn’t help myself.”
“…Why do you… Why do you love me?”
I had to ask.
Meru doesn’t seem like the type to bother with romance—it’s too much hassle for her. So why is she so hung up on me? Especially if she doesn’t even remember what happened seven years ago…
“Why, huh…?”
Her voice was soft, almost a whisper, laced with her breath.
“Maybe… it’s the way you live.”
“The way I live?”
“Like… if someone’s living like this… working hard like this… I just want to be by their side, watching over them. That’s what I thought, maybe.”
“…”
That’s…
That’s—!
Meru’s lips curved into a radiant smile.
“Happy?”
“…As if.”
My life doesn’t need any “likes.”
It doesn’t.
Meru shifted her hips slightly, the rustle of her clothes sounding almost sinfully sweet in my ears.
“Shikimi… You keep pushing me away like that, but I think I’ve got a shot.”
“Where?”
“When we first met… when I started changing, you were super freaked out, right?”
“Well, yeah, when you do something that reckless—”
“But when you saw Ranka-nee’s panties or Chinana in her underwear, you didn’t react at all. I heard it straight from them.”
“That’s… I’ve got a sister, y’know.”
“Exactly.”
Meru smirked, the corner of her mouth curling upward.
“Your sister doesn’t have what I’ve got, so that’s why you freaked out so much when it was me, right?”
“What your sister doesn’t have…?”
Meru—pressing her soft body against Mine—whispered like it was a secret just for us.
“Boobs.”
“Wha—!?”
Beneath Meru’s face, two large, soft mounds pressed against my chest, yielding gently. I’d been trying my hardest to ignore them, but separated only by her thin pajamas, they were practically broadcasting their marshmallowy, water-balloon-like texture straight to me.
No bra.
Meru had come fully equipped for this, like a hero gearing up to face a demon lord.
“Your sister’s all slender, right? They say people with opposite-sex siblings tend to go for the opposite type—so maybe I’m more your type than you think?”
“You think some cheap seduction’s gonna get me—!”
“But it’s obvious, y’know? You’ve been all flustered from the start.”
Meru smiled, her hand brushing over my chest, right near my pounding heart.
Damn it! So that’s why she pinned me down right out of the gate!
Her pro-gamer tactics had me completely cornered.
“Shikimi…”
Pressing herself even closer, Meru brought her lips to my ear.
And in a damp, breathy whisper, she said:
“I’m down, y’know.”
“…Down for what…?”
“Let’s do it.”
“—!?”
What the hell is she blurting out!?
“If we’re gonna date, we’ll do it eventually, right? So what’s the difference if we do it now?”
“What kind of logic is that!?”
“My personal strategy.”
Her whispers kept pouring into my brain, rattling it like a direct attack.
“If I make it a done deal, you’ll take responsibility, right? So going all-in right now’s the safest play, isn’t it?”
This game-brained lunatic…!
She’s right, and that’s the problem!
“I’m trying really hard to seduce you here, y’know? I’d appreciate it if you’d give me some credit for the effort.”
“You even planned to tug at my heartstrings!? It’s not gonna go your—ngh!?”
I tried to shove her off, but suddenly her face filled my vision, and my lips were sealed by something soft.
A kiss.
She’s kissing me.
The moment I realized it, my whole body froze, paralyzed. The soft sensation of her lips sent sweet, electric shocks coursing through me.
“…Hah…”
Meru pulled back for a split second to catch her breath, then dove back in, her lips claiming Mine hungrily. And then—oh no—she slipped her tongue in, and I instinctively blocked it with my own.
The softness and warmth of her body pressed flush against mine, the blissful sensation of being connected to her through our mouths—it flooded my head with a pleasure I’d never experienced. My body, my thoughts, everything went numb.
I couldn’t think.
I couldn’t even tell how many seconds—tens of seconds—had passed. Slowly, Meru’s face pulled away.
A thin thread of saliva stretched between our lips before snapping.
“…Phew…”
Sitting up, Meru let out a breath like she’d just chugged a glass of water, her lips—glistening with my saliva—curling into a sultry smile.
“Kissing… feels pretty good, huh?”
Her flushed face, those seductive eyes, the glimpse of her curves peeking through her disheveled collar, her voluptuous figure—it was all threatening to hijack my senses.
I was done for.
I’d lost.
I barely had any strength left to resist.
“Alright, one more—”
“—Okay, okay, I get it!”
Even as she locked my face in place with both hands again, I mustered the last of my strength.
Grabbing her shoulders, I held back Meru as she tried to lean in again.
“I get how you feel! I get it, so just hold off for a sec!”
“…If I stop, you’ll just start saying complicated stuff again. So I’m gonna keep kissing you until you agree to date me.”
“Are you a genius or a meathead!? …Fine, I’ll date you, alright?”
“Not, like, shopping buddies, right?”
“I know!”
“You’re not gonna say we’re dating now and then break up with me tomorrow, are you?”
“Guh…! I-I get it.”
“Whoa. You were totally thinking it. Close call.”
She’s way too sharp!
“Let’s set some ground rules!”
“Rules?”
“First—if either of us wants to break up, we do it immediately!”
“…That just means you can dump me tomorrow.”
“Then let’s set a time limit! One month—how’s that? We date for at least one month!”
“One more. Three months.”
“No, two months!”
“…Fine, whatever. Two months it is.”
“Second rule—no controlling each other’s actions!”
“So… I can’t say anything if you’re flirting with other girls?”
“I just meant it’d be a pain if our daily lives got restricted, but sure, let’s include that too! I can’t deal with you calling everything cheating at your whim.”
“No way. I’d be pissed if you kissed another girl. Plus, if I let that slide, it wouldn’t even feel like we’re dating.”
“Fine. Third rule—no kissing or anything beyond that with anyone, including you!”
“…Even me?”
“Obviously.”
“‘Beyond’ includes kissing?”
“Of course!”
“So no sex either, right?”
“What else would it mean!?”
“Hmm…”
Meru let out a suggestive hum, then leaned forward, still straddling me, her hands pressing against my chest.
Her F-cup—or maybe bigger—breasts were squeezed between her arms, flaunting her cleavage.
And with a provocative smile, she said:
“Can you hold out?”
…This might be the first time.
The first time I’ve been forced to acknowledge that I’ve got a sex drive like anyone else.
Still, I flashed a defiant grin.
“I’ll manage.”
“And if you don’t?”
“I’ll marry you or whatever.”
“You said it.”
Meru grinned back, just as defiant.
“I’m gonna wreck your self-control within two months. …I realized recently, I’m kinda a perv, y’know?”
Yeah, I noticed that too.
Meru finally lifted herself off me, exhausted as I was.
Then, with a soft thump, she flopped down beside me.
“Here’s to us, temporary boyfriend.”
“…What’s that supposed to mean?”
I shot her a suspicious look as she rested her head on the same pillow.
“Cuddling’s not ‘beyond’ kissing, right?”
“…Damn it…”
Meru giggled, her shoulders shaking lightly.
“I’m gonna teach you all the fun stuff you can do with a girl. So—”
With a playful glint in her eye, she leaned in close to my ear again and whispered:
“—Let’s have a good match.”
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