We boarded the plane and settled into our seats.
Rika-chan and her family ended up sitting pretty far away from us.
And me? I was poking Onii-chan's arm, pushing him for answers.
"Rika-chan is sooo cute," I whispered dramatically, leaning toward him. "So... why don't you just date her, Onii-chan?"
He groaned immediately, dragging a hand down his face.
"Kaede..." he muttered tiredly. "I'm kinda seeing someone."
I froze.
For a whole three seconds.
Then—
"EH?!"
I nearly jumped out of my seat before Mom gave me the look, forcing me to lower my voice.
"Onii-chan, since when?! Who is she?! Is she cute?! Is she cooler than Rika-chan?!"
"You didn't tell me anything! That's illegal! I'm literally your little sister!"
He only sighed.
Yep.
Suspicious.
I crossed my arms and thought about it.
Then...
"...Umm..."
I glanced at him.
"This might sound crazy... but is it Ku-chan? From SIX STAR?"
Onii-chan didn't answer.
He just looked out the window.
And somehow...
That was answer enough.
I went quiet.
I liked Kurumi-san.
She was pretty.
Kind.
Talented.
But...
She also felt very far away.
Like someone everyone looked up at.
Someone who belonged on television screens and concert stages.
Not beside my grumpy, sleep-deprived brother.
My fingers tightened around my sleeve.
"I'm not saying you can't date her, Onii-chan," I said softly.
"Just..."
"Don't let yourself get hurt, okay?"
For a moment, he didn't answer.
Then he laughed quietly.
Not his usual sarcastic laugh.
Something smaller.
More tired.
"...You know me better than I thought, brat."
I grinned.
"Of course I do. I'm your little sister," I said, before a little giggle escaped me. "Someone has to supervise your terrible life choices."
"Yeah, yeah."
He flicked my forehead.
I yelped.
And just like that—
Onii-chan went back to pretending he wasn't thinking about anything at all.
Even though...
I had a feeling he was thinking about a lot more than he let anyone see.
After we landed in Naha, we eventually had to split up with the Yamashitas since they were staying at a different hotel.
Mom and Miss Yamashita ended up talking for a little longer, somehow getting along almost immediately.
"Hana-san, if you don't mind, perhaps we could meet at the shrine tomorrow morning?" Miss Yamashita asked with a warm smile.
Mom nodded.
"Of course. That sounds lovely."
I blinked.
Wow. They really hit it off fast.
Meanwhile, Rika-chan was standing a little ways away, looking like she wanted to say something to Onii-chan but wasn't quite sure how.
Eventually, she gave him a small wave.
"G-Goodbye, Shiba-kun... I suppose I'll see you tomorrow."
Onii-chan raised a hand lazily.
"Yeah. See you, Yamashita."
And that was it.
Mom finally finished her conversation, and the three of us started walking toward our hotel.
I glanced back one last time.
Rika-chan was still standing there with her parents.
Somehow, this trip was already getting way more interesting than I'd expected.
When we finally reached the hotel, Mom turned toward Onii-chan and gave him a small, polite bow.
"I... didn't expect you to come, so I only reserved two rooms," she said gently. "But perhaps sharing a room with Kaede would be alright. You've grown so used to living alone, Takumi. It's... okay to be a kid sometimes."
My eyes lit up.
"Wait, seriously?! Onii-chan and I get a room together?!"
I bounced on my heels.
"This is gonna be so much fun! We can watch movies, eat snacks, stay up late—"
"Kaede," Onii-chan muttered, already exhausted, "it's two nights."
"That's still two nights!"
Mom unlocked her room first. Before going inside, she turned back to him.
"Takumi," she said softly, "thank you for coming."
He blinked, seeming caught off guard.
"Yeah... sure."
Mom gave him a small smile before disappearing inside.
I immediately grabbed Onii-chan by the sleeve.
"Come on! I wanna see our room!"
He groaned, but followed.
Our room was small. Two beds, a little TV, and a window overlooking the street.
I dropped my suitcase and jumped onto the bed closest to the window.
"Dibs!"
Onii-chan sat down on the other bed, and for a moment, neither of us said anything.
He looked tired.
Not his usual tired, either. His shoulders seemed heavier, and even his usual annoyed expression looked a little more distant.
"...Onii-chan?"
He looked over.
"You okay?"
For a second, his expression softened before he gave me that little smile he used whenever he didn't want me to worry.
"Yeah. Just tired."
I wasn't convinced.
But I knew better than to push him.
"...Okay."
I curled up on my bed and grabbed some snacks from my bag.
Onii-chan always acted like nothing could get to him.
But I knew there were things he still carried around.
Sometimes, I wished I knew how to make things easier for him.
Even if all I could do was annoy him enough to make him smile.
After we'd rested for a while, the heaviness in the room finally started to fade.
And, naturally, I was the first one ready to go.
"Onii-chan! Come on! We're wasting our vacation!"
He sighed.
"You're way too energetic."
"And you're way too boring."
I grabbed his sleeve before he could argue.
And just like that, we headed back outside to explore Naha—just the three of us.
It had been… forever since we'd been together like this.
Mom tried not to let her happiness show too much, keeping that quiet, polite composure she always wore.
Onii-chan, on the other hand, hunched his shoulders slightly, hands shoved in his pockets, pretending he didn't care about a thing.
The sun burned hot overhead. I wished it was summer already.
We stumbled across a tiny Okinawan restaurant tucked between souvenir shops, the kind with handwritten menus and a grandma bustling behind the counter.
I practically bounced in excitement. "Ooh! Let's get everything!" I squealed, scanning the menu like it was a treasure map.
Taco rice. Rafute. Okinawa soba. Goya champuru. Purple sweet potato ice cream.
Onii-chan stared at the table like I had personally sabotaged him.
"You're not finishing all that," he muttered, arms crossed.
"Pfft! I will if you help me!" I said, shoving a bowl toward him with all the enthusiasm I could muster.
He sighed, but, of course, he ate it anyway. He always does.
Mom watched us quietly, that faint, gentle smile creeping onto her face—the one she only shows when she thinks no one is paying attention.
It felt… nice. Warm. Normal.
I didn't realize how much I missed this.
After dinner, we wandered down Kokusai-dōri. The street lights bounced off the wet pavement, and the warm smell of street food mingled with the salty breeze from the harbor.
Onii-chan hummed under his breath, singing something in Spanish.
"Dentro
Aquí estoy yo pudriéndome lento
No me queda nada y lo siento
Meeee estoy muriendo pensando en ti en esta celda"
I didn't ask what it meant. Some kids nearby yanked Onii-chan's shirt.
"Mister, that was so cool!" a boy said, eyes wide and shining.
Onii-chan rubbed the back of his neck.
"Thanks," he muttered, as awkward as ever.
And that was my cue. I turned into a pinball, bouncing from shop to shop, my eyes catching everything I could.
"Onii-chan, look! Shisa statues! They're so cute!" I squealed, reaching out to touch one.
Then, I leaned over a stall, inhaling the sweet aroma.
"Onii-chan, look! Pineapple cakes! Smells so good!"
Then, I saw a souvenir shop.
"Onii-chan, look! A hat shaped like a whale shark!" I grabbed it, giggling at the ridiculousness.
He finally snapped. "Kaede, STOP LOOKING AT EVERYTHING!"
I froze for a second, then grinned, clinging to his arm. "But Onii-chan! Everything's so cool! How can I not?"
So I grabbed the whale-shark hat and shoved it onto his head.
He froze.
Mom covered her mouth to hide a laugh.
I took a picture.
He tried to delete it.
He failed.
Then, we found a Blue Seal shop glowing like a beacon of sugar and happiness.
I got salt cookie & beni-imo swirl.
Mom got shikuwasa sherbet.
Onii-chan got vanilla.
"Vanilla?" I said, horrified. "You're so boring."
"It tastes good," he said flatly.
I rolled my eyes so hard I saw my brain.
Onii-chan gave me that look. The one that says, what if I told you I smoke and drink?
I don't doubt he would've said it out loud if Mom wasn't right there.
…That's not what this is about, baka.
We wandered a bit more after that, drifting with the crowd. The street was alive—warm lights strung overhead, bars spilling music and chatter into the night, the salty breeze from the ocean mixing with the smell of grilled food and sugar.
People laughed, couples walked close together, kids ran past us with sparklers.
It felt… alive.
Before I knew it, we ended up near the hotel again, where a small crowd had gathered by the water. No big stage, no huge festival—just people waiting, looking up, counting down together.
Then—
The first firework burst across the sky.
Bright. Loud. Beautiful.
I cheered immediately, clapping like a kid.
Another one followed. Then another—colors blooming over the dark ocean, reflecting in the water like shattered stars.
Mom smiled softly beside me, her eyes following the lights.
Onii-chan stood with his hands in his pockets, watching quietly.
He wasn't sad.
He wasn't moody.
He was just… Onii-chan.
Cool.
Calm.
A little annoying.
I nudged him with my elbow.
"Hey. Happy New Year, Onii-chan."
He flicked my forehead.
"…Happy New Year, Kaede."
It made me grin like an idiot.
"Happy New Year, Mom," he added, glancing over his shoulder.
Mom froze for a second, like she wasn't expecting it. Then her expression softened, warm and gentle.
"Happy New Year, Takumi. Kaede."
Something in my chest tightened.
It felt like—
like we were finally a family again.
We headed back to the hotel after the fireworks faded, Onii-chan ordering an Uber…
A Tesla.
I blinked.
"Onii-chan… since when do you call Teslas like it's normal?"
He rolled his eyes, before opening the door to the passenger's seat.
"Just get in."
…Weird.
By the time we got back, I'd already decided I was interrogating him later.
The second we got inside, I jumped onto my bed.
"Onii-chan! Look! The TV has like a hundred channels!"
He dropped his bag on his bed and sat down with a sigh.
"You're too loud."
"You're too grumpy."
He threw a pillow at me.
I threw it back.
Mom knocked on the wall from her room.
"Keep it down, you two."
We froze.
Then burst out laughing.
"It's okay to be a kid sometimes, huh?," Onii-chan muttered.
I grabbed the controller, flipping through menus until I found a game.
"Come on, one round!"
He gave me that look… then took the other controller anyway.
Five minutes later—
"HOW?!" I stared at the screen in disbelief.
He didn't even react. "You're predictable."
"I am not!"
I lunged for a rematch.
Ten minutes later—
I lost again.
I dropped back onto the bed with a dramatic groan. "This is rigged. You're cheating."
He shrugged. "Skill issue."
I kicked his leg. Not hard.
"Shut up."
I grabbed the snacks to cope.
He immediately stole half of them.
"Hey!"
No response. Of course.
We ended up switching to some random Okinawan variety show, bright colors flickering across the screen, laughter tracks filling the room while the AC hummed softly overhead.
My eyes started getting heavy before I even realized it.
I curled up under my blanket, warm and sleepy, the distant echo of fireworks still popping somewhere outside.
"Onii-chan…" I mumbled, half-asleep. "Don't stay up too late…"
There was a small pause.
"…Yeah. Sleep," he said quietly.
I smiled a little, eyes already closing.
The room felt soft. Warm.
And for the first time in a long time, it felt like we were just siblings again.
Not Forsaken.
Not the guy everyone seemed to want something from.
Not the boy who always looked tired.
Just...
My annoying big brother.
And honestly?
I think I missed him more than I realized.
I fell asleep smiling.