ODL – Chapter 67 – Honna Keisuke and Honna Miyabi

In a certain place in Tokyo.

A pair of brother and sister lives in a 13-story apartment building painted in dull orange. On the nameplate, there were two characters: “本名” (Honna). The older brother is a third-year university student, and the younger sister has just graduated from high school. Despite being in their early twenties, they had a reason for choosing to live together.

Initially, the older brother, Keisuke, moved away from his parent’s home in order to attend a university in Tokyo. However, after the younger sister graduated from high school, she began to express her desire to live in Tokyo as well.

Keisuke heard about this from their parents over the phone, but to be honest, he couldn’t care less. Keisuke’s mind was occupied with university life, part-time jobs, and, most importantly, blind dates. He hadn’t seen his sister in over two years, and to him, she held about the same level of importance as occasional news about “the melting of ice in Antarctica” – if he were to put it into words, it would be something like “someone else’s problem.”

It seemed like their mother wanted him to convince his sister otherwise, but Keisuke couldn’t help but think, “Why not let her do as she pleases?” He felt sorry for his mother, but he also believed that his sister had the right to live on her own since he himself was already living independently. However, he didn’t voice these thoughts and gave a half-hearted response instead.

The next day, Miyabi, his sister, arrived with a large suitcase.

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[Keisuke PoV]

“I’ll pay the rent, so let me stay here for a while. I’ll move to a bigger place later.” (Miyabi)

My sister, whom I hadn’t seen in two years, said this as soon as she entered the room. Two years of adolescence¹ should bring about significant changes in a person, but I couldn’t see much difference in her. The only noticeable change was that her hair was dyed orange in some places. 

“What do you mean?” (Keisuke)

Unable to understand the situation, Keisuke raised his voice with some irritation. Dealing with unexpected visitors early in the morning was enough to sour his mood.

“I was allowed to move up to Tokyo under the condition that I live with my big brother (aniki). For now, Aniki has no right to refuse.” (Miyabi)

“Why don’t I have the right to refuse?” (Keisuke)

Listening to her story, after that phone call, it seems that Miyabi went through quite a bit of negotiation and managed to somehow get approval from our parents, who were adamantly against their daughter moving to Tokyo. The consensus was that they would allow her to move if she lived with her older brother. Upon hearing this, Miyabi happily packed her bags that same evening and took the first express train to her brother’s apartment. The end.

Miyabi’s story was brief. Keisuke let out a deep sigh. He could only marvel at his sister’s recklessness, which hadn’t changed a bit.

“So, you’re going to pay the rent? How exactly are you going to do that?” (Keisuke)

Keisuke knew that his sister hadn’t enrolled in university, so she likely had some free time on her hands. In Tokyo, it was relatively easy for young women to earn decent money, as long as they chose their means carefully.

…However, Miyabi’s response was something completely unexpected for Keisuke.

“I’m actually already pretty rich, you know. I’ve been doing various things online and earning quite a bit, so I can easily cover the rent.” (Miyabi)

“Huh, seriously?” (Keisuke)

And that’s how Keisuke and Miyabi ended up living together.

◆

“Ughhh! Why won’t you watch it, you stupid brother (baka Aniki)!” (Miyabi)

Miyabi thrust her smartphone toward Keisuke, her canine tooth visible as she scowled. On the screen was a live stream of a male VTuber named “Otona Kodomo”, who had recently debuted on [Virtual Real]. Miyabi also had another persona as a popular VTuber named “Zeria” under [Virtual Real], and she was desperately trying to convert her brother into a fan of “Otona Kodomo”, whom she had helped debut.

“Huh? Why?… Because I asked someone who knows a lot about VTubers at university, and they said I didn’t have to watch it. They said it wasn’t interesting.” (Keisuke)

At this point, Keisuke had no idea that the “VTuber expert” his sister mentioned was actually the very “Otona Kodomo” she was eager to introduce him to. If he had just listened to his sister and watched one of the streams even once, he would have realized that the person behind “Otona Kodomo” was none other than Tendou Souma, someone he was close to.

“Who is that person? I can’t forgive them!” (Miyabi)

“Why are you so worked up about it…” (Keisuke)

Keisuke still has no knowledge that his sister was a VTuber. While they lived in the same house, they generally respected each other’s privacy. He had a vague understanding that his sister seemed to be earning money in an industry he wasn’t familiar with.

“Enough already! I can’t live with such a baka Aniki! I’m running away from home!” (Miyabi)

“Sure, go ahead and run away.” (Keisuke)

Keisuke waved his hand dismissively, paying no attention to Miyabi, who was furious like a raging fire. Miyabi staying overnight away home were not uncommon, and this was already her third runaway this month. It should be noted that Zeria’s off-collab often occurred after fights with her brother.

Miyabi left the apartment with her smartphone in hand. In her mind, she was headed to a luxurious apartment where “Henrietta,” “Otona Kodomo,” and the voice actress “Yasumi Hiyori” lived.

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Thanks for reading!

Why is MIyabi trying to convert her brother into a Kodomo fan? Is she trying to start the onii-chan fanbase for MC lol.

Hmm Miyabi can’t live in Shizuka’s house for obvious reasons and I don’t think she is close enough to Hiyorin to ask her. I wonder whose place is she gonna stay over at.

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1. Adolescence is the period following the onset of puberty during which a young person develops from a child into an adult. Also for some reason only this paragraph was not in third person.