The Hentai Protagonist System

“Wow, it’s so pretty” said Rina.

 

“It really is. How can you be so talented Yurika?” asked Anna-nee.

 

“I-It’s not special. I just had a few classes on it” said Yurika shyly.

 

“Just a few classes don’t make justice to this. Even I can tell that you are incredible in this” I said, genuinely impressed.

 

“...thank you” said Yurika, with her face turning red from embarrassment.

 

We are currently in the living, admiring what Yurika had just done.

 

...it was nothing that outstanding, just a sample of her calligraphy.

 

My conversation with my cousins lasted for about half an hour, and once finished I went directly back to my sisters and Yurika.

 

I was a little worried that they might take offense by the fact that I just left without warning them and might make a poor impression on Yurika, but that end up being an unnecessary concern.

 

They were still immersed in their discussion about Two Piece when I returned. Rina and Yurika were so immersed in their argument that they didn’t notice that I had slipped away, or that Anna-nee was in the kitchen calmly looking for snacks to bring for the rest of us.

 

At that point, I decided that it was time to end that particular discussion. I wanted to know Yurika a little more as well, and with her and Rina so immersed in their little world that was not going to happen.

 

I interrupted their little conversation, causing both of them to feel awkward about unintentionally excluding me and Anna-nee from the conversation.

 

We started to talk about things unrelated to manga and anime, to try to avoid the situation from before. Things like how was her life before coming here, other hobbies she might have, why they moved here in the first place, and so on.

 

Some of the things she said I already knew from Anna-nee and Rina telling me yesterday, but it’s always a good idea to ask directly from the person. When Yurika told us about how her parents had hired a calligraphy teacher for her, in a change of the norm, Anna-nee insisted that she give us a demonstration.

 

Of my two sisters, Rina was the more energetic and fashion-driven one while Anna-nee was more responsible and culture oriented. She had a few hobbies, such as those stories and books and that didn’t require much thinking, but she was especially interested in reading about art history, not as an obligation but as a form of pass time.

 

So when Yurika told us she had been taught calligraphy, a form of art in itself, Anna-nee showed an out-of-norm insistence in seeing it for herself being done in front of her.

 

Which led to the current situation.

 

‘I’m really surprised that she is this good’

 

I’m no expert in art and such things, but even I have to recognize how beautiful is her handwriting. If someone told me that phrase on the paper was written on a computer I would believe it, considering how flawless it looked.

 

‘Seriously, how can a twelve-year-old girl have such talent?!’

 

I wasn’t the only one admiring her ‘creation’. Both Anna-nee and Rina were looking intensely at her words, admiring the words in their own different way.

 

Rina had the look that anyone would have when looking at something beautiful, such as the sunset over the ocean or a meadow in the middle of a gentle breeze of wind.

 

Anna-nee on the other hand was admiring it like it was an object incredibly fragile, afraid that any movement or action from her would destroy it. I could see the pupils in her eyes following the lines of each letter, reading repeatedly as if afraid that the moment her eyes would shift direction the words would disappear and she wouldn’t be able to see anything like that again.

 

...she should be a little more mindful of her surroundings as well. Yurika’s face was boiling from embarrassment right at her side. Although she could barely suppress a smile to form on her face as well.

 

‘She doesn’t mind much the attention doesn’t she?’

 

At some point, Anna-nee finally remembered that there were more people in the living room.

 

“...still, why did you have a calligraphy teacher Yurika?” asked Anna-nee, trying to get us back on the conversation.

 

She had a faint shade of red on her cheeks. She was obviously embarrassed of having shown a side of her that she generally didn’t like to expose, especially to someone that she met just recently.

 

Rina on the other hand didn’t look to be much self-conscious about her reaction. Maybe because she already felt comfortable with Yurika, enough to display her behavior more freely than with a stranger.

 

“It’s just something that my parents thought that I should know. Our family has a long history of mastering certain skills, calligraphy among them. At least that’s what they have told me” said Yurika.

 

Thankfully Yurika didn’t seem to mind either of their reactions, promptly giving an answer to her inquiry.

 

“A history? So, you are rich or something” asked Rina.

 

“Well, we used to” said Yurika, with a slightly troubled look on her face.

 

“...did something happen?” I asked, curious about her situation.

 

“I... I’m not sure. Whenever I asked them, Mom and Dad never gave me a really good answer. They just said that some troubles came and that we would change our lives a little bit” said Yurika.

 

As she talked about this, a shadow started to appear on her expression. That subject clearly was something that she didn’t feel comfortable talking about.

 

I couldn’t really blame her.

 

From our interactions, until now and from what Rina and Anna-nee had told me yesterday Yurika was a gentle, sheltered, and shy girl, with a little obsession with Two Piece, that had her life suddenly turned upside down.

 

Our neighborhood wasn’t exactly poor, being considered an area of the high middle class, but I had the impression that couldn’t really be compared to what she used to live in.

 

She didn’t really put into words that her family was loaded with money, but it didn’t take a genius to reach that conclusion with the things she let slip by.

 

Rina and Anna-nee also seemed to have noticed her reluctance in talking about her circumstances, causing them to be quiet.

 

An awkward silence enveloped all of us. If things didn’t change quickly then it might cause problems for us in the future.

 

I was worried about our situation, so it was best to try anything to change the mood for us. I have an idea of what to do and I could only hope that it wouldn’t backfire on me.

 

‘...let’s see if this will work’

 

“...well, I’m actually a little glad that things worked out that way” I said.

 

“...!” it took a second but Yurika looked at me with a shocked expression.

 

“Hey Taka-chan!” whispered Anna-nee.

 

“What are you saying onii-chan!” whispered Rina.

 

“That way we get to have a really cute girl as neighbor” I said.

 

There was silence after what I just said, with the three of them still looking at me like I had just said something outrageous, and then...

 

“C-c-c-c-cute?!” said Yurika, in a voice so high pitched that might have caused some dogs nearby to go mad.

 

“Well yeah. There is no guy that won’t be happy to have a girl as beautiful and cute as you as his neighbor” I said.

 

“!”

 

At this point, the previous shock had transformed completely into pure shyness. Her entire face turned red so fast that I could practically hear a ‘puff’ coming out of her head.

 

“H-hey onii-chan, stop flirting with Yurika!” said Rina.

 

“Flirting?” I asked, pretending to be confused.

 

“Yes, flirting!” said Rina.

 

“How am I flirting? I’m just saying the truth. She’s cute and that’s it” I said, perfectly aware that I was just through gasoline at the fire.

 

Yurika at this point was practically releasing stem from her head. She was just looking at the ground, unable to look at any of us directly.

 

“That flirting! Stop that already” said a very indignant Rina.

 

“Oh, I get it. Rina is jealous Taka-chan” said Anna-nee.

 

“WHA?! I-I-I-I-I’M NOT JEALOUS!” exclaimed Rina.

 

“You saying it that loud really is convincing” said Anna-nee sarcastically, with a little playful glint in her eyes.

 

“Stop teasing me nee-chan!!” pleaded Rina.

 

“I-I”m cute” whispered Yurika, so low that I almost didn’t hear it.

 

And just like that the previous gloomy atmosphere was gone, with us turning back to casually talk with each other, sometimes teasing and provoking each other as well, especially Rina.

 

It had its ups and downs, but all in all, it was a pretty good day.