The entire train ride home, Kirino didn't speak a single word to me. She had been normal the entire day out with her (our) friends, talking, laughing, and arguing as normal. She even made me buy her some random crap in Akihabara. It was just like any other normal day out.

Except we both knew that it wasn't. Not at all.

See, just as we had gotten to Akiba, I had told her that I'd finally thought of a way to use that "one time wish" I'd earned from acing my exams. Kirino and I had made a bet a while back. If I fail my exams, I would be her slave for life (like I wasn't already). And if I got an A, she'd do any one thing I ask. You remember, right? Back when I lived in that apartment for a month. Just making sure we're on the same page.

Anyways, like I was saying, I told her I'd found a way to use that "wish." I beckoned her over, and gave her a good old kiss before she could react. Well, of course, she was pretty damn flustered. Started shouting at me "What about our promise?" and all that. Told me we were having "life counseling" when we got home.

Now, I'd like to point out that I never actually said how I planned to use that "wish." I figured she'd get all panicked and demand something akin to "life counseling" later.

I swear, sometimes she was just so predictable.

So the rest of our day in Akihabara went pretty smoothly. Kirino gallivanted around with Kuroneko and Saori, forcing me to carry an increasingly substantial amount of baggage as we went. Talkative as usual.

As soon as we bid her two otaku friends farewell, however, she fell silent. As we went through the station and boarded the train, she said not a single word to me. Even since we boarded the train, she just stared out the window, her face turned away from me.

But I could see her reflection. I could see the torrent of emotions running across her face. Anger, joy, worry, despair. They were all there.

And I had a pretty good idea as to why.

After a roughly hour long train ride, we got off at our stop. Again, the entire walk back to our house, nothing but silence. Not a word, not even a glance in my direction. She just walked along, making sure to stay just a little bit in front of me. At this point, I couldn't help feeling a little concerned, especially because I was almost completely certain that the reason for her reticence was my actions.

As we stepped through the door and gave our customary greetings, she snatched the bags full of goodies from my hands and darted up the stairs, the sound of her bedroom door slamming coming a few seconds later. I stared up the stairs for a few seconds, wondering just how big of a mess I'd gotten myself into. I mean, sure, I had a plan, but there was no way of telling if it would work. I just trusted that I knew Kirino well enough to believe that it would.

Snapping out of my reverie, I pushed the living room door open to see my mother, Yoshino Kousaka, fixing dinner.

"Oh, welcome back, Kyousuke!" she said with a smile as I entered the room. "How was your day?"

"Not too bad. Just went out with a few friends, nothing special," I replied in my normal, nonchalant tone.

"And Kirino too, right? You were both gone all day." The look my mother gave me wasn't necessarily suspicious in nature, but still had a bit of an edge to it. She had always had surprisingly acute intuition, and was the main reason I had spent that month in the apartment to study for exams. She had said that it seemed like Kirino and I were growing too close, and that I would be distracted.

I wouldn't say that she knew anything for certain, but ever since then she had seemed to keep a close on eye on me and my sister whenever we interacted with each other in her presence. She appeared to have a gut feeling, however intangible, that something was up between us. Still, she had yet to confront either of us about anything. And I sure as hell wasn't going to bring it up.

Maybe I should elaborate a little bit. See, my mother had a pretty good reason to be suspicious of the two of us. Last Christmas Eve, I had done something completely and utterly preposterous. I had not only confessed my love to Kirino, my little sister, but had even asked her to marry me. Very loudly. In public.

And she had done something even more insanely absurd. She had accepted.

After that, we spent the night in a hotel room, where we…uh, well you don't need to know the details. The important part is that she had come up with an idea.

"Let's be a couple until graduation. After that, we go back to being normal siblings."

I had looked at her for a few moments, and then agreed. We had made a promise. And I'm a person that keeps all of his promises.

All except this one.

See, when Kirino had proposed that idea to me, a plan flashed through my mind. Nothing specific, obviously, not in those few short seconds before I nodded my approval of her idea. Just enough, though. Enough to go on and work out the specifics later. What flashed through my mind, you ask? Well, she still owed me that "one-time wish," you know.

See where I'm going with this?

Anyway, after that we had dated for an interesting three months. We had gone on dates, and done all the things couples normally do. The whole sha-bang. Everyone had given their blessing to our relationship. Well, everyone except one childhood friend of mine. After graduation, I had called in every favor I possibly could to arrange a "marriage" at the church that Kirino had once done a photoshoot in. We had our little ceremony, and at the end she handed back the ring I had given her that Christmas. She had said something along the lines of "Well, that's it. We're not lovers anymore."

I could hear the feigned casualness of her voice that day. It was a thin veil concealing her true disappointment and pain. It was plain as day to me.

You should know by now, Kirino. You can't lie to me anymore.

I looked back up at my mother to answer, who was still staring at me with her keen eyes.

"Yeah, that's right. She dragged me all around town. Same as always." I put a very small amount of emphasis on that last statement, subtly attempting to dissuade any lingering concern she still harbored.

"Mmm," was her only reply as she turned back to preparing dinner.

"Where's Dad?" I asked as I flopped down on the couch, my eyes idly watching the weather forecast on the television.

"He should be home any second." Almost as if on cue, I heard the front door open and close. A few moments later, my father, Daisuke Kousaka, walked through the living room door.

"I'm home," he said in his usual gruff manner of speaking. His eyes moved from my mother to me sitting on the couch.

"Oh, welcome home, dear," Mom said. "Dinner's just about ready."

"Welcome home, Dad," I greeted him from my seat, nodding in his direction. A grunt was his only reply before he turned back to Mom.

"I'll just go change, then," he muttered, pulling at the collar of the suit he normally wore for work. "Will it be done by then?"

"Should be," Mom replied, not looking up from her work. Dad nodded, then turned around and walked out of the living room, trudging off to his room.

"Kyousuke." I looked up from the television when I heard my mother's voice. "Go tell Kirino to come down for dinner."

"Sure, sure," I replied lazily, heaving myself off the sofa and heading out of the room. I climbed the stairs with a twinge of apprehension. No matter how much our relationship had improved, I always felt a certain sense of dread going to my sister's door.

I quietly walked down the hall until I stood in front of her bedroom door, the frilly and flowered nameplate staring back at me. I knocked on the door twice.

"Kirino, dinner's ready. Come on down."

All was still and silent behind the door. Not that I really expected her to answer. Not after how she acted on the way home.

Confident that she had heard me, I made my way back downstairs to our small kitchen table. My father was already at his seat, and my mother was finishing laying the food out on the table. As I knew she would, Kirino entered not even half a minute after I did, sitting down without so much as looking in my general direction. It almost seemed like she was simply pretending I wasn't there. During the meal, though, she conversed with our parents, chipper as ever.

I finished eating, thanked my mother for the food, and went to wash my plates and put them in the sink to dry. As I was rinsing the dishes off, I heard Kirino excuse herself and get up from the table. It was almost like I couldn't help but be conscious of what she was doing.

That said, I wasn't any less surprised when I turned around to her giving me one of the most penetrating stares I'd ever seen.

I stared right back at her, our eyes locking onto one another's. Her face was impossible to read, betraying no emotion. Her eyes were endlessly deep pools of turquoise, searching my own for…something. They were inquisitive, probing. The moment seemed to go on for a long time, but after a few seconds she broke her gaze without a word, pushing past me to the sink. I frowned, unsure, but eventually sighed. I didn't dare say a word around our overly inquisitive mother.

I left the room at a slow, even pace, making my way up the stairs. I could hear Kirino not too far behind me. I reached my own door, and she walked past me. I threw a glance at her, then turned the handle and opened it.

"Hey."

I froze, halfway through the doorway. Staying silent, I looked up to see her standing stock still in the hallway, her back to me. I knew this was coming. I had known since the moment I decided to kiss her in Akihabara.

"After they go to bed. My room."

"For what?" I answered, deciding to play dumb.

"You know what. Idiot," she muttered softly, opening the door to her own room, entering, and closing it after it her. All without looking at me.

I stood there a while longer. Eventually, I couldn't help but smirk a little and mutter to myself.

"Yes, I do know what, Kirino."

Closing my door, I flopped on my bed to wait for my parents to go to sleep.

All according to plan.