Chapter 15: Whims and Arrows (Patreon)

Watching the Matou siblings walk away, one in front of the other with barely any interaction until their figures faded from sight, Taiga finally turned to Shirou.

"Shirou, why did you stop me before dinner? You’re not actually interested in your friend’s little sister, are you...?"

"I told you, it’s not that," Shirou sighed, his gaze still fixed on the direction they had left. "If I had to explain, it’s more like a little sister trying to find a way to get closer to her brother, which is why she made that request."

"Huh? Sakura-chan wants to get closer to Matou-kun?"

"Right. You noticed it too, didn’t you, Fuji-nee? How cold Shinji acts towards Sakura."

Taiga nodded. "Now that you mention it, yeah. They’re siblings, after all."

"So, Sakura asked me before if I could teach her how to cook and do housework when I had the chance. She probably wants to improve her relationship with her brother."

"I see!" Taiga’s face lit up with understanding. "So it’s like the saying, ‘The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach’!"

"That’s... not quite it, but I guess that’s the general idea."

"Still, isn’t that a bit roundabout?" Taiga frowned. "Wouldn’t it be simpler if I just had a proper talk with Matou-kun?"

"Probably not. I’ve tried talking to him countless times, but as you saw, it’s completely useless. Shinji seems to really dislike discussing this topic. I think it might be related to his family situation."

"I see," Taiga nodded again, her expression turning thoughtful. "Now that you mention it, I did find it strange. When I called his father before about his absences, the man was incredibly impatient, always hanging up before I could finish. Looking at it now, there really might be some issues in Matou-kun’s family."

"It’s probably better if we don’t pry into sensitive matters like that."

"You're right. I just hope Matou-kun realizes his sister’s good intentions soon."

"I’m sure Shinji will understand one day," Shirou said hopefully, his thoughts drifting back to that morning nearly three years ago.

An elementary school-aged Sakura, head bowed, had asked him if he would teach her how to cook and manage a household when he had time. Her reason was that her brother seemed to really like the food he made.

Pulling himself back to the present, Shirou shook his head and smiled faintly. "That guy Shinji... he’s really lucky, you know."

...

A week passed in the blink of an eye. During that time, Sakura went to Shirou’s house every morning before school and every afternoon after, learning how to handle chores under his guidance. She didn’t even skip the weekends.

Although she was clumsy and flustered at first, as time went on, her skill with housework and cooking visibly improved day by day.

On the other hand, after joining the archery club, Shinji threw himself into an intense, four-day training marathon. He then participated in the rookie tournament alongside Ayako, effortlessly securing the championship.

As Ayako put it, Shinji during training was like a monster who never seemed to tire. And his focus was downright terrifying.

Over those four days, he trained for an average of twelve hours daily, seemingly without rest. With his natural talent combined with that insane level of training, even Ayako, watching from the sidelines, found herself sharing the same doubts Issei had.

The person drawing the bow in front of her seemed genuinely interested in kyudo. After all, his eyes, filled with nothing but focus, were locked solely on the target. There was no other reason she could think of for someone to push themselves so hard for something.

But...

"Look, it’s just..."

Shinji, standing in the middle of the school corridor, looked flatly at Ayako, who was blocking his path and informing him of the after-school club activity.

"Didn’t we agree it was only until the tournament was over? Besides, I’m not interested in kyudo anymore."

Sigh— Ayako let out a long breath, massaging her temples. "It’s exactly like the student vice president said."

"Issei? What did he say?"

"Nothing important," she replied, then lifted her head to look directly at Shinji, her expression serious. "Let me ask you, were you ever truly interested in kyudo at all?"

"Why ask that?"

"Because it’s strange!" Ayako explained, her face full of exasperation. "If you weren’t interested, what was the point of all that effort? But if you were interested, why would you give it up so easily right after achieving results? It’s such a waste."

"Is that so?" Shinji pinched his chin, frowning in thought. "But I don’t feel it’s a waste. I don’t really buy into that whole ‘if you don’t stick with something to the end, it’s meaningless’ theory. For me, maybe just having participated in many things is meaningful in itself."

"You are a seriously weird guy, you know that?"

"Am I?" Shinji looked unconcerned, then shrugged. "Anyway, my trial period with the kyudo club is over. You can handle explaining it to the club president and Taiga-sensei."

"No way! And if you’re quitting, at least properly submit a withdrawal form!"

"Too much trouble. Besides, you’re the ones who asked me to join, right? You handle the cleanup."

Ayako sighed softly, spreading her hands. "Look, even if the club president agreed to this—which she won’t—do you really think Fujimura-sensei will let you get away with it?"

"Who knows? Anyway, that’s your karma to bear. You should carry it properly."

Seeing the completely unbothered look on Shinji’s face, Ayako could only shake her head in resignation. "You really are something else..."

"Wait, hold on," Shinji suddenly leaned in close to Ayako’s face, a mischievous grin spreading across his lips. "Could it be that Ayase-san can’t bear to see me go and wants me to stay in the club? If that’s the case, I might actually reconsider."

"Before we talk about any of that, please try to remember people’s actual names. My name is Mi·dzu·ri· A·ya·ko," she corrected with a strained smile, before sighing again. "Besides, with a personality like yours, you’re probably the worst kind of guy for a girl. Even if a girl did date you, you’d probably lose interest and dump her the moment your latest whim faded, right?"

Hearing this, Shinji looked genuinely offended. "Where did you even get that impression of me?"

"Everywhere."

"Ouch, that hurts," Shinji clicked his tongue, then crossed his arms, a hint of irritation in his voice. "It’s not like that. My attitude towards that kind of thing is completely different from how I treat everything else."

"Really?" Ayako raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Of course... uh..." Shinji’s words abruptly cut off as a thought seemed to strike him. He brought a hand to his forehead, his head drooping as he let out a quiet, utterly defeated sigh.

It finally hit him. With all the time he’d spent busy on various “system tasks,” he’d never actually gotten around to dating or even going out with a single girl in this lifetime.