"Alright," Zenjiro asked quietly. "What do you want this time?"
Liora stepped back. She raised both of her arms in the dim orange light. "My feet are tired. I cannot walk anymore. Carry me."
Ridiculous, Zenjiro thought.
"Come on, Liora," Zenjiro said. "The bedroom is too near from here. You are a big girl now. You are not a little girl anymore. Let's go."
He turned around. He took a single step toward the dark hallway.
Liora lunged forward. She threw her arms around him from behind. She clamped both of her hands tightly over his shoulders. Her chest pushed hard against his back.
The sudden impact knocked the breath completely out of his lungs. A few hours ago, he wouldn't have noticed the heavy friction at all. He would have just felt the annoying weight of his younger sister.
But his perspective was entirely shattered now. The alcohol and the raw shock of his previous mistake changed everything. His body reacted instantly. The dark, chaotic mess in his brain magnified the soft pressure of her curves pressing against his spine. She was a lady.
"No," Liora demanded. "I want you to carry me. You carried Mom. You carry me too. And besides, it is your fault that my feet are tired. I can't walk anymore. Take responsibility."
Zenjiro swallowed the dry lump in his throat. He gently peeled her arms off his shoulders and turned around to face her.
"Come on, Liora. I will hold your hand while walking."
Liora let go of the hug entirely. She leaned her face incredibly close to his. Her bright blue eyes widened in pure, frantic panic. She raised her hands fast. She grabbed both of his fat cheeks with her palms. She shook his face violently from side to side.
"Onii-chan!" Liora said rapidly. "Are you declining my demand? You never did this to me. What is going on? You are supposed to give me everything I ask for."
Zenjiro looked at her worried face. Her fingers dug hard into his soft flesh. She violently shook his cheeks again. She was genuinely terrified by the simple rejection. The absolute promise she made in the living room suddenly felt like a heavy, iron chain around his neck.
"I will help you whenever you need my help, Liora," Zenjiro said. His words came out slightly muffled because she was squeezing his face. "But come on. Let's just walk. The door is near."
Liora let go of his cheeks. She immediately stepped forward and clamped her two arms tightly around his neck. She locked her wrists behind his head.
"NO," she yelled right beside his ear. "Carry me, Onii-chan. I will not move here if you won't carry me."
Zenjiro lifted his left hand. He slowly brushed her messy blonde hair down her back.
"Come on, Liora. Let's just walk," he reasoned. "I will hold your hand. I am not going anywhere. I won't leave the room until morning. You will see me right there on my bed."
"Carry me."
Her voice vibrated heavily against his collarbone.
"Liora—" Zenjiro started.
She threw a complete physical tantrum. She shook her entire body up and down against him. She groaned loudly like an angry toddler. She kicked her bare feet against the wooden floorboards. Every single second that passed, her sharp groans grew louder.
The constant, aggressive friction of her chest rubbing against his shirt sent a fresh spike of heat straight down his spine. She clamped him so tight he couldn't take a single step backward. She trapped him perfectly.
His chaotic mind couldn't handle the intense physical contact anymore.
"Alright," Zenjiro sighed heavily.
Liora stopped shaking instantly. A triumphant, breathless sound escaped her lips.
And then...
She moved fast.
She pressed her entire body weight hard against his shoulders. She jumped slightly off the floorboards.
Then...
She slowly lifted her knees and clamped both of her legs firmly around Zenjiro's hips.
His brain completely flatlined. Total chaos rushed into his skull.
Three specific, agonizing sensations hit his nervous system all at exactly the same time.
First, the intense, burning body warmth radiating off her skin. It soaked right through his clothes.
Second, the heavy, undeniable weight of her chest pressing completely flat against his own. There was absolutely zero space left between them.
Third, the terrifying physical reality of her school uniform. The front hem of her thick pleated skirt lifted high up over her thighs to accommodate his wide waist.
At the back, gravity immediately pulled the back side of the heavy fabric straight down toward the floorboards. That could only mean one thing. That left only one single barrier between Liora's body and his lower stomach.
A very thin layer of cotton underneath the skirt directly pressed against the front of his sweatpants. He felt the impossible heat right in the exact middle of his body.
Liora locked her ankles together securely behind his back.
"Let's go," she commanded happily. "Full speed ahead, Onii-chan."
Zenjiro forced his heavy, leaden legs to move. His mind was a complete wreck. He took a blind step forward toward the dark hallway.
The sudden movement shifted her center of gravity. Liora's body started to slip backward down his hips. She lost her tight grip. She was falling.
Zenjiro reacted purely on raw instinct. He didn't think. He shot his left hand down to catch her dropping weight. He pushed upward hard from below to stop her from hitting the floor.
He froze completely. He stopped walking.
It was incredibly warm.
His left palm felt it. He couldn't see what he was touching in the dark hallway, but his mind instantly visualized the exact physics of the pleated skirt. The back side of the fabric hung straight down. It completely missed her body. His hand had bypassed the cloth entirely.
He was directly touching her bare skin.
His flat left palm pressed firmly against the soft, warm curve of her bare bottom. Only a tiny fraction of his fingers caught the edge of the thin cotton fabric below. The rest was pure, exposed flesh.
A massive, violent shockwave tore through his entire body. His breath caught sharply in his throat. The phantom sensation of Clara's chest merged instantly with the very real, burning softness filling his left hand right now. He was holding his sister's bare skin. His palm was completely flat against her.
Liora let out a sharp, high-pitched squeak.
Her body jerked.
"Onii-chan!" Liora yelled.
Her voice was completely startled. The playful tone vanished into the dark air.
Pure panic flooded Zenjiro's brain. He scrambled to fix the big mistake. He quickly used his right hand to search wildly for the back side of her thick skirt. He found the heavy pleated edge. He dragged the fabric down fast. He glided the rough cloth firmly over her lower body.
He moved his left hand immediately. He shifted his palm high up onto Liora's middle back. He pressed her upper body hard against his chest to keep her from falling backward again.
He brought his right hand back down to support her weight from the bottom. He touched her again. But this time, the thick, heavy fabric of the uniform skirt completely covered the flesh. There was no more bare skin. The dangerous physical contact was entirely broken.
The dark hallway fell dead silent. Only the sound of their frantic breathing echoed off the narrow walls.
Liora breathed heavily against his neck. The sudden shock slowly faded from her rigid posture. She didn't let go. She didn't push him away. Instead, she tightened her grip violently. She squeezed her arms even tighter around his neck.
"Let's go," Liora whispered.