I really don't want to be reborn.

You like durian? Okay, I'll let you eat your fill! Until you die!

You like playing games? That's fine, I'll let you play all day long, and I'll even pay you to play more. If you get tired of it, then you'll naturally stop. If you never get tired of it, then you can consider planning your future career in gaming.

Unlike his parents, Kyosuke has a very open-minded view on this matter.

In the next decade or so, games, whether online games or visual novels, will usher in a great era. If Kirino is truly obsessed with them, then let her devote herself to them wholeheartedly.

Play games, write scripts, create, produce—you'll eventually find a path you enjoy, right?

With good intentions, he knocked on his sister's door.

………………

When you like someone, you bring out all your best qualities, think through the whole story, all the sorrows and joys, and you think you've figured it all out.

You tell yourself—okay, this is the one.

Unfortunately.

Things didn't go as you expected. Love is never a docile white horse, but a wild, out-of-control black horse that even nine oxen couldn't hold back.

Burning heat, breathing.

She caught a cold and developed a high fever.

The older brother stayed by his side constantly, but he never expected to get infected himself.

In the middle of the night, the older brother wrapped himself in a blanket and sneaked into his younger sister's room. He quietly came to her bedside, knowing she was not asleep.

"What...do you like about me?"

The younger sister opened her eyes and silently reached out her hand.

The two embraced and kissed passionately, their tongues intertwining.

And so, they made love.

Then they did it every day, frantically. Their feelings were like a flood bursting its banks, unstoppable. They made love frequently in their home when it was just the two of them. One day, while they were making love on the sofa, their mother, who had just returned home, pushed open the door and walked in…

"Well!"

At this point in the movie, Kirino can no longer hear the sounds from behind. She's lost in thought, having reached her climax, and her eyes are blurry, as if she's caught a cold. Unfortunately, her brother won't be like the male protagonist in the movie.

He doesn't take care of himself all the time, and he won't climb into his own bed in the middle of the night.

For some unknown reason, the spring water in the girl's eyes seemed to turn cold as the winter wind and snow, and the warm spring water turned into tears that flowed down drop by drop.

"Why are you crying..."

She didn't know why she was crying.

I must be weird to cry while watching a pornographic movie.

That feeling is just like when I was a child, running after my older brother.

He seemed like an unattainable goal, something she couldn't figure out or catch up with, so she sat down and started crying.

She cried even harder, as if the tears she had shed earlier from being upset by the Okazaki family were still lingering, stirring her tear ducts, and she cried so hard that her whole body trembled.

She wanted to take a car with her brother to Izu, along the coastal road.

That's how the movie ended, right? Then I thought about how we don't have a car at home, and while I was crying, I also felt like laughing a little.

"Bang bang bang! Kirino?"

"!!"

Fear drove away all of Kirino's emotions, and for a moment her thoughts could still wander—in the movie, when their mother suddenly came in and saw them doing something, were the siblings also filled with the same fear?

……

Tonight, Kirino seemed a little afraid of his knocking. When she came out to open the door, her body was trembling slightly, and her face was strangely flushed. There seemed to be a strange smell in the room.

"What are you doing in the room? There's a strange smell..."

"N-no!"

Kyosuke looked at her flushed face with suspicion, and the first thing he did after entering the room was to look at the computer: "When you play H games, do you have any obvious physical reactions?"

She glared at him, her angry expression like that of a fierce but cowardly cat: "You're the one! Disgusting, pervert! I was clearly watching a movie..."

Kyosuke's eyes seemed to be equipped with radar as he pulled a movie disc from the pile of books on her desk: "Watching this? Cream—"

Before I even saw the movie title, Kirino had already snatched it away.

He didn't care; the focus now was on her gaming issue. Kyosuke's expression turned serious: "Once the strange red on your face fades, we can start a conversation."

"Life is a matter for negotiation!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Someone actually tried to kick my sister off the bed?

The movie featured in the novel is a 04 Japanese film, which is easy to find, but I don't recommend you watch it.

I recommend you try Clannad. It's a game, not an anime, and it's really fun.

Chapter Seventeen: There's no logic to this kind of thing.

If I absolutely must give an explanation, then I would call it telepathy.

The Kousaka siblings were both thinking the same thing.

—I really don't know how to get close to you.

…………

The ending theme song of "Clannad" echoed in the warm-colored girl's bedroom.

It was a slightly melancholic piece.

"Look~ all the little things about you are still with me..."

"No longer alone... always together..."

"..."

(Actually, I prefer the one from Dango Daikazoku, but unfortunately it's an anime original and wasn't released in 2005.)

The brother and sister stared at each other in silence, as if their second life-long conversation was about to end in silence before it even began.

Kyosuke pointed at the computer: "What did you think of that game I recommended to you before?"

Thinking of the game this guy recommended to her, Kirino's expression shifted between light and dark. Unlike the simple and melancholic feeling of "The Witch's House," "Clannad" brought her more of a sense of being moved.

Only true tragedy can truly move people. She still felt a pang of sadness when she thought about the ending, a dull ache in her chest, so her voice was muffled: "It's alright..."

"So, what do you think of Yoshino Yusuke?"

"Who? Yusuke? Akio's secret H-book?"

Can't you be serious for once?

Kirino stared wide-eyed, trying to recall for a long time before finally remembering that there was a handsome electrician in the town in the game, the one who gave the light orb: "I think he was also a singer... By the way, why are you asking about this?"

"what do you think?"

"what?"

Kirino met her brother's calm yet probing gaze, and became slightly embarrassed, waving her little hands haphazardly: "I... um... I don't really like that kind of... that type."

Kyosuke was slightly taken aback: "You don't like it?"

The girl looked around, a little embarrassed and annoyed, her eyes darting around: "Um... I definitely... I definitely won't date that kind of guy..."

She has never dated anyone.

Although some boys at school have confessed their feelings to her, how could she possibly agree to date them?

Kirino's gaze wandered, lost in thought. Why was her brother suddenly asking about something like this? Did he care about this?

Is that so? Do you actually have a strong possessive desire towards your younger sister?

Feeling a sweet warmth in her heart, the girl looked up slightly and suddenly realized that her brother's face was very close to hers, so she hopped back like a rabbit.

"do what……"

"Kirino."

Kyosuke looked at it more and more strangely: "Are you misunderstanding something? I just asked you to analyze this character from the perspective of a normal person, not to ask you about your criteria for choosing a partner."

He smiled knowingly: "You look so flustered, did you think of something good?"

"No……"

Are you in love?

"Absolutely not!"

Suddenly, his sister roared, staring at his face, each word seemingly bursting from within her: "Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely not! I never did!"

The heat of her breath felt like hot water being poured over her face.

Kyosuke was taken aback by her reaction, as well as by the anger and pain in her eyes. He softened his voice to calm himself down: "You still remember that person's story, right? When Yoshino Yusuke was young, he pursued his music, and when he graduated, Ibuki Kimi kept encouraging him."

"But when he entered society with his guitar, a subtle change occurred regarding the definition of music—yes, he achieved great success, but he gradually discovered that everyone regarded his songs as a form of emotional support."

"He gradually realized that his songs no longer belonged to himself, but to more people, and he had to make music for strangers."

Kyosuke smiled wryly: "Until—he was completely unable to make any music."

Kirino nodded haphazardly, unsure of what her brother wanted to say to her.

“You see, he initially did it just to have fun, and music was just to express himself. It wasn’t until one day that he realized that everything he did was to avoid disappointing people who didn’t belong to him, and even to meet the expectations of complete strangers.”

He stared into his sister's eyes: "To change yourself for someone completely unrelated, to have a future that isn't yours—does that hurt?"

Under that gaze, Kirino Kousaka's mind finally recalled some fragments: "I remember that the electrician embarked on the path of music just to sing love songs to her and get her to accept him."

"Ah."

"But what exactly are you trying to tell me?"

Kyosuke stared at her silently, as if he were looking at a cow.

Darling, why don't you understand?