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The worst part about being the older brother of a magic practitioner while not being a practitioner of magic himself was cleaning up said practitioner’s mess. From small hiccups such as why pigs were flying to the latest fiasco with sweets folk, Amane always found himself trying to sweep everything under the rug and (guiltily) tricking witnesses and victims alike into thinking nothing ever happened. It’d be easier if he could use magic to wipe or alter their memories but Amane adamantly insisted he’d stay out of magic’s way. He was usually good at it.

Not this time though.

He hated it. He hated how he’d been careless and let Tsukasa out of his sight for too long. He hated being made into a sweet and being eaten and falling in love with a classmate other than the one he liked. He had a feeling Akane would hate it too, if he remembered anything about it at all. But most importantly, he hated how, even now, his heart raced for the wrong person. 

“It’ll wear off soon. Not to mention it’s already worn off more than the others! Hey, did you hear about how Mitsuba sometimes grows a horn at night and—“

“Not now, Tsukasa.”

Amane knew, too, about how and why the sweets banquet even came to be. He narrowed his eyes on his brother. Tsukasa returned his gaze innocently. What guts…

“So I—“

“Busy.”

“—saw Nene was trying to make her ankles thinner—“

“Don’t tell me…”

“Yep! I said I’d help her!” A drone suddenly collided with Tsukasa’s head but he remained nonplussed. Amane smiled thinly.

“What did she say back?”

“She said okay!”

That naive witch-in-training! Did he have to start teaching her about shady people and not giving others a second chance if they were too dangerous?!

Amane’s narrowed eyes grew smaller as he squinted at his brother. Tsukasa’s innocent smile morphed into playfulness, then, outright deviousness.

“You’re not going to teach her how to slim her ankles.”

“I dunno, am I?”

Not if Amane could help it.

Amane was dull. It wasn’t an issue around others who were ignorant to the mystical cases around them, but Yashiro Nene was not one of those people. When someone was a witch, everyday things were too inconvenient and boring to bother with. That was what Amane believed, at least. Nene wouldn’t want to hang out with him outside of class if it meant being around a boy who only had robotics and astronomy going for him. Not to mention she was practicing magic with Tsukasa again…

Amane peeked from around the pillar to watch the two practice and what a sight! He chewed his lip nervously as Tsukasa stood behind Nene and helped her practice her wand form, holding her waist and guiding her arm. Nene herself was too focused to notice the close proximity. But Amane noticed. Tsukasa did too. He caught sight of his older brother spying on them and, in the worst betrayal yet, smirked and leaned in to whisper something into Nene’s ear. She startled and turned towards where Amane was hiding. Said boy had quickly stopped peeking to take cover behind the column.

“I need to get going now!” Nene exclaimed with a gasp. An exaggerated gasp, almost as if…

Amane bolted back to the clubroom, diving into the shadows as soundlessly as he could. If Nene noticed his flushed face and short moment of breathlessness when she entered soon after, she didn’t mention it.

Tsukasa was no idiot. Aoi wasn’t one, Sakura definitely knew more than she should, and Kou was surprisingly intuitive. Natsuhiko had his moments too, of course, but everyone on Earth could see the way Amane and Nene looked at each other. One need not be a genius to understand what their gazes meant. Nobody at school was blind to this. Nobody but the two in question!

Nene liked Amane! She obviously did, but when it came to confessing, she was always an excuse away from doing so. Though to be fair to his brother, she would also swoon at any pretty boy she came across… And she’d even start feeling something when any boy shows her kindness… Not to mention she separated boys into those like a prince and those like a wolf, and she had mentioned to Amane once that he seemed like the latter… Okay, so she was sending mixed signals. Amane was only a little bit of an idiot.

But! Tsukasa was never without a plan. His original plan failed spectacularly (though hearing Mitsuba’s stories of his panic and suffering was admittedly amusing), and there might have been a swap with the apprentice witches and their target sweets, but Tsukasa was already scheming. The goal was to get his brother and Nene together. How could he speed the process? When Nene approached him for advice once more (really now, she should know better), the gears in his mind spun and clicked in a matter of seconds.

He was such a nice brother. Honestly, Amane should be grateful. And he was being such a nice mentor too! Nene was always grateful, Amane could learn a thing or two from her. Though, that didn’t mean Tsukasa couldn’t have his own share of fun in this situation.

“No, no. Here, your wrist shouldn’t flick.” Tsukasa pulled Nene closer by the waist and took her wand hand. Nene unsuccessfully bit back a squeak. He whispered, “Let’s hang out after practice.”

“W-where do you have in mind?” Nene stammered as he let go of her hand, fingers trailing down her arm before he pulled away. Tsukasa took in her reddening face with a smile. 

“How about that burger joint that sells those cream burgers? Or do you prefer the raspberry one?”

“Oh…” Without any hesitation, she shook her head. Tsukasa tilted his head curiously. Could it be… “I’m, uh… I’m good.”

“That handsome cashier is there today.” A flicker of conflict appeared in her eyes before she stamped it down with another shake of her head. Could it be! Could it—

“I’ve gained weight and don’t want to show him.”

Oh.

Wait, which him?

Before Tsukasa could ask for clarification, Nene tossed her wand in her bag and hastily bid him farewell. He watched her beeline towards the door to a certain building where a certain someone would be waiting in a certain room. Honestly, could she be any more obvious? With a lopsided grin, Tsukasa stuffed his hands in his pockets and shrugged. She probably could be more direct. It’d do everyone a favor.

Nene would not fall for Tsukasa’s tricks! And by tricks she meant his noticeable attempts to make her swoon! It definitely wasn’t because she knew she was gullible enough to be caught in another one of his schemes, nope! B-but…! Nene was a maiden in love with love! Her mind could insist on one thing but her heart would yearn for the other. Such was her fate as Tsukasa continued to teach her magic. 

Her heart would race and stutter whenever he so much as held her hand, and it made her feel stupider when she knew it was to (mostly) to correct her form. He had Sakura! Maybe she should bring this up to her mentor… 

“Nene~ Earth to Nene!” 

“What?” She blinked.

“Are you really up for today’s lesson? You’ve been spacing out more than usual.”

“I’m fine!” As if to prove her otherwise, her hand waved her wand with enough force to slip out of her grip and bounce several meters from where they stood. Nene bit her lip to hold back a grimace as Tsukasa snickered behind her. 

“You’re not.”

“I’m… Well! Maybe if you were seriously teaching me magic to alter my body, we wouldn’t be here.” He blinked once, twice, then kept staring at her until she squirmed. “I know you aren’t teaching me how to make my ankles thinner. Magic like that doesn’t require such precise posture or movement. What are you scheming?”

“…Nothing really?” Tsukasa shook his head. “If you really weren’t up for this, you could have told it to me straight.”

“That’s not—! Argh!” And now he was laughing! Nene stomped her foot petulantly until the anger fizzled out. “You’re definitely up to something and I won’t be tricked!”

“You’ve already been tricked—“

“Again! I won’t be tricked again!” She stalked off, grabbing her bag and refusing to look back. Too bad her ears worked just fine and she could hear him snort before she could slam the door shut behind her.

“I like you just the way you are.”

“Huh?” She paused from scribbling in her notebook, closing it slowly before setting her pen down. “Do you mean it?”

“Of course.” He set his tools down to give her his full attention. “I love you.”

If only Amane had the courage to tell her so. Maybe this would have happened.

Well, Nene was smarter than he thought, Tsukasa could give her that much. He sighed as he flipped through the worn and almost torn pages of the spell book in front of him. For Amane’s sake, he supposed he could hold off on actually teaching her how to alter her body. But for his own sake, Tsukasa decided to continue messing with the girl. Time to find a spell to occupy her in the meantime.

Nene was starting to think asking for Tsukasa’s help again was a big waste of time. There were other things she could be doing, like spending time with Amane! Oh, but that would mean sitting close by to watch him tinker away, wouldn’t it? And that would mean subjecting Amane to look at her dumb thick ankles whenever he looked up to excitedly show her the latest improvements. There was no way she could show him her ugly side! So if she had to suck it up, the she supposed she’d have to suck it up. It was for Amane’s sake! Once she managed to get the ideal body type, maybe she’d feel confident enough to confess. After all, Amane liked  those skinny-legged models, right? At least, that was what it seemed to be if the magazines Tsukasa mentioned his brother owning were true. They were a far cry from Nene’s own body type…

So, onward! Nene wasn’t going to give up until Amane liked her!

Somehow, after school activities went from tinkering with the latest robotics project to spying on his crush and brother. Past Amane definitely would have slapped Present Amane before joining him. There was only so much he could do to hold off his curiosity and envy.

Nene seemed a little upset today. She didn’t seem too engaged with Tsukasa’s lessons until half an hour in, and despite not practicing magic himself, Amane could tell today’s practice resembled an actual magic class. Had Tsukasa been fooling around before?

Tsukasa, for his part, seemed the same as ever. Still grinning, still doing things at his own pace, and still being too close to Nene for comfort. Amane squeezed his arm to hold back on pulling his hair. Just what was Tsukasa up to?!

“Nene~ Let’s ditch practice.”

“No. You’ve been wasting enough of my time as it is.”

“Don’t be like that! It’s been a month already, you’ve lost some we—'' Amane couldn’t help but startle at the sharp sound of a hand slapping over Tsukasa’s big mouth. We…? Weight? Was that what Tsukasa was going to say? Lord, he should know better than to mention a girl’s weight, especially out loud! Was this something Amane needed to subtly bring up and add to the growing list of do’s and don'ts on how to treat a girl? “C’mon, I promise it’ll be something worthwhile.”

“Like?” Nene prompted suspiciously. Good! Yes! Amane would have preferred if she’d shot down his brother’s suggestion immediately but the wariness was an improvement!

“Something to help you make your ankles skinnier— naturally, of course.”

Nene looked conflicted, a bad sign for Amane. “Why can’t I just permanently make it skinny with magic?”

“It’s just to speed up the process. Less magic and time to make it skinny if it’s already slimmer to begin with.” Nene nodded slowly. 

No! Amane pulled out his phone without a thought.

“Oka—“ From where he hid, Amane could hear the telltale sound of a text message being received and Nene shuffling to her bag to retrieve her phone.

“What’s up?”

“Amane-kun… he wants to show me his latest car model and is wondering where I am right now.”

“Hmm…” Amane could feel himself sweating bullets. “Latest car model, you say…” 

That was a lie. Amane had nothing to share, but if it meant getting Nene away from Tsukasa…!

“Aren’t you lucky? Amane usually shares his latest projects with me first!”

“Jealous?” Nene managed to quip.

“I’m not the one who’s seething in jealousy right now.”

“Huh?” 

“Nothing,” Tsukasa waved her off. “Can’t keep Amane waiting, now, can you?”

“You’re right!”

And that was Amane’s cue to leave— and to find something to support his thoughtless lie!

“Sakura, how do I get Amane and Nene together quickly?” Sakura’s expression went from focused to unamused as she halted her pen to frown disapprovingly at Tsukasa. 

“You’re not going to mess with your brother and my apprentice.”

“Eh~” Tsukasa pushed his chair back dangerously, nearly falling over backwards as he complained. “At this rate, they’ll graduate and go their separate ways before they can confess.”

“You’re not Cupid, Tsukasa. Don’t interfere.”

“Hm… Are you saying that because you want them to confess when the time calls for it naturally, or are you just upset that I'm spending more time with Nene?” 

“You know your antics always do more harm than good.”

“Sakuraaaa, you didn’t answer the question.” Sakura didn’t respond this time, opting to go back to work. Tsukasa didn’t miss the way her grip on her pen tightened considerably.

“You know, the quicker you help me get Amane and Nene together, the quicker you can have me all to yourself.”

“No.”

“Tch. Your loss.”

Honestly, her self-restraint could be such a pain sometimes. It was a part of her he admired all the same.

“Maybe we should change things up a bit.” 

Suspicion was all Nene could feel towards Tsukasa these days. A glimmer of hope always accompanied it. 

“What do you have in mind?”

“Well… why not try charming him?”

“W-what!?” The witch spluttered. “Why are we dragging Amane-kun into this?” 

Tsukasa said nothing yet his stare felt piercing as he seemed to see through her. “What does Amane have to do with this?” His tone was smug and Nene honestly couldn’t blame him after she realized too late that she’d revealed herself.

“What do you have in mind?” She asked quietly. Tsukasa beckoned her closer until she stood right in front of him. Tapping her forehead, he muttered something under his breath. Despite their proximity, Nene couldn’t make out what he’d said. When he pulled back with a grin, she immediately grew wary.

“So? Notice anything different?”

“Different…?” No, not particularly. What did he want her to see?

“No? He took a step forward. She instinctively took a step back. This continued until her back hit the wall and he propped an arm above her head and leaned in. “How about now?”

“Still feeling highly suspicious of you, if that’s what you mean.” Nene rolled her eyes but stopped short when she realized the position they were in. Ah—

“Feeling different now?” Her heart rate was already picking up speed and her cheeks were starting to burn. Nene cupped her face and looked away in a fluster.

“What did you do to me?”

“A love spell.”

“What?!”

“Just kidding.”

“Then why—“

“Or am I—“ Tsukasa’s sentence ended choppily as he was hauled away from the witch. Amane twisted his body until he stood protectively in front of Nene. 

With an annoyed frown, he said, “No playing mind games on her. Let’s go, Yashiro-san.”

And though Amane simply pulled her away and walked her to their usual clubroom, Nene couldn’t help but notice the distinct flutter of her heart his actions caused compared to the thundering pulse that resulted from Tsukasa’s stunt. Amane really was something special.

Today was another typical day of spying on Nene and Tsukasa. Amane was a person of habit. He woke up at 7am to prepare for school. He left the house in half an hour later to take his time on his way to school, being tackled soon after for leaving his brother behind. Classes went on depending on their schedule and he’d hang out in the classroom with Nene during lunch. Classes would resume, Amane would go straight to the clubroom afterwards and make himself comfortable in his favorite corner of the room, and prepare a spot for Nene when she came to visit. They’d leave together when the bell chimed and told them to go home. He’d return home and finish what work he needed to before going to bed. Rinse and repeat and that’d been his schedule until recently.

Nowadays, Amane beelined for the duo’s practice spot and hid himself behind the pillar that’d create the best shadows to cover him regardless of the setting sun. He seldom asked when Nene would come over now, and if she found it off, she never mentioned anything to him. Amane would bite his lip and fingernails whenever he watched them do whatever magic practice was. He’d watch Tsukasa fool around with Nene almost none the wiser. He’d watch them part ways when it was time to go home before racing to the school gate to meet with Nene and walk home together. It was the only time they’d hang out together now.

Today was a little different. Amane was sitting with his back against the pillar in the dark, listening to Nene grow frustrated whenever she failed while Tsukasa sang his encouragement, when he saw someone approach him from the corner of his eyes. Looking up from his smartphone, he squinted at the person looking at him disapprovingly.

“You’re going to ruin your eyes if you keep that up.”

“Do you need anything, Akane-san?”

“Not particularly.”

“Then why—“ Amane was yanked up onto his feet and into the blinding light with a yelp. He could distantly hear the hubbub quiet yet his eyes were focused on the girl who had rudely exposed him. Aoi was still frowning when she tugged him towards the school entrance.

“Come with me.”

“So… care to explain why you took me to this burger joint in particular?” Amane poked at his raspberry burger in disgust. Just imagining the stomachache that’d come from eating this thing made him sick.

“Nene-chan.”

“What?”

“Why are you spying on her?”

“…What’s it to you?” Aoi pushed her cream fries towards him as she squinted at him. Amane took the fries and swapped the burger with it. Aoi left it untouched.

“I just need to… confirm a few things.” The way she paused made him feel iffy. She made it seem as if he was a creepy stalker! Which… well… he couldn’t deny it could seem like that but he wasn’t at that stage yet! He wasn’t at that stage! Not yet, never yet. He wouldn’t be a creepy stalker ever!

Amane had a shameful feeling that this small moment of conflict had played out on his face for all to see, if Aoi’s disdain was anything to say.

“I’d rather you direct that creepy behavior towards me than Nene-chan,” she muttered into her drink. Amane scowled. Aoi raised an eyebrow. “Well, it’s relieving to see the effects of the sweets banquet have faded. For you, at least.”

“You sure? Your #1 Fan seems to be back to his usual self.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure…” Oh no. No no no. Don’t tell him he was going to be a relationship counselor for people he didn’t care about and while his own relationships were growing harder to define.

“You better believe it—“ Amane tossed the burger into the trash and packed the fries for Tsukasa later. “I don’t know how you can think otherwise when he’s so obvious.”

“I can say the same for you.”

Well, that was uncalled for.

Akane Aoi had thrown a wrench into Tsukasa’s plans. She’d stolen Amane! She’d taken his brother away from her best friend despite having a fanboy of her own, one that she liked back, mind you! For some god forsaken reason, Amane would join her after school and head for the infamous burger joint a few blocks away every day now without so much as a goodbye to his dearest brother and crush!

This was a disaster!

Nene waved her wand unenthusiastically, watching it fall out of her hands and onto the dirt before slowly crouching to pick it up. Tsukasa couldn’t tell if she was upset or distracted after she accidentally flung her wand across the field and tripped over her own feet as she ran to retrieve it.

“Nene~ Don’t be upset! Amane still likes you, don’t worry!” Her glare was absolutely withering.

“I’m not upset. Or worried.” Nene grabbed a stick and started scratching a line into the dirt. Tsukasa peered over her shoulder. Aw, it was Amane… or him. Tsukasa wouldn’t mind if it was him. In fact, he’d be quite flattered.

“Nene, why not just take a break? Just the two of us, no magic, no Amane.” Last time, he’d been joking and she’d refused. This time, though…

“Okay.” Without any hesitation, she dropped the stick and looked at him almost hopefully. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

A slight change of plans, but everything would work out eventually. Tsukasa helped her scribble out the drawing before leaving school without another glance back.

Nene felt guilty for using Sakura’s study so freely, especially since it wasn’t her mentor’s express permission that she got to peruse the materials presented to her. Tsukasa’s idea of hanging out was using his girlfriend’s house as a plausible location and Nene could only whisper apologies into the air as she was shoved inside.

Being left alone while Tsukasa went to prepare tea didn’t help her get her mind off of things either. Nene felt gross. Her heart twisted and her gut dropped whenever she saw Aoi drag Amane away before she could even say goodbye. She knew it was jealousy. She knew it wasn’t good. But she didn’t know whether it was the sight of those two together, the fear that Amane still liked Aoi due to their magic, or if Tsukasa’s spell had been real.

At least she could busy herself with an important mission.

Nene scourged Sakura’s collection of books with a goal: to figure out what the heck Tsukasa was teaching her and to teach herself how to make her ankles thinner. Okay, two goals. And while she was at it, she might as well get Sakura’s advice on how to handle that trickster. So, three goals. She could also figure out if her jealousy was a part of the spell or not, because it was starting to eat away at her.  Nene was starting to think she had too many things on her checklist.

“Watcha looking for?” A whisper tickled her ear. Nene shrieked.

“Don’t scare me like that!” Tsukasa laughed as he gestured to the tea he’d already poured for her. Nene put a hand to her heart and grimaced at it’s still quickening rate. “Do you know where I can find guides to body manipulation magic? Or charms?”

“Hm… Nope!” Tsukasa playfully tapped his chin. “To tell you the truth, Sakura took all those books away!”

“Why?” Nene tapped a finger against the teacup, testing its temperature, before picking it up by the handle and taking a sip. “Is it forbidden magic or something?” After the disaster that was the sweets banquet, Nene was hesitant to try anything beyond her level. If Sakura took those books away, it was probably for a good reason.

“I might have told her about trying to help you get together with Amane.” Nene spat her tea and immediately went to check the vicinity for any damage. She sighed when she saw nothing she couldn’t fix before whirling to look at Tsukasa in disbelief.

“That’s not what you’re helping me with!”

“You’re trying to make an ideal body to impress Amane, so I see no difference.”

“That’s a very big difference.”

“Two birds, one stone?”

“I mean— I guess?” Nene grumbled.

“Love sure is complicated~ People get tongue-tied all the time and make things difficult for those around them.” Rude. But also kind of true, she supposed.

“Not everyone can be as honest and straightforward as you. If I were in love with you, I probably wouldn’t have any trouble telling you how I feel.”

“Pity. I happen to like those who aren’t so forthcoming.”

“So like me?” Nene smiled, sly and bold. “Well, you should have just said so.”

“Oh, Nene. You know I’m Sakura’s.” Tsukasa wagged his finger. “Despite how she presents herself in public, she’s quite the possessive one when we’re alone. Do you want to hear more?”

Obviously not, if her beet-red face was any indication. Nene was stuck deciding between fanning her face and hiding it in her hands. Either way, she was trying to calm her raging imagination of something she had no reason or right to think of whatsoever.

“I take back what I said. Please don’t say anything more.” Ohh, Sakura was going to kill her. Or kill Tsukasa, really, and give Nene some harsh and admittedly well deserved punishment.

“But going back on topic: your new goal is to confess to Amane by the end of the month— no, by Christmas!”

“Pardon!?” There went another sip of tea. “There’s no way I can do that!“

“I’m gonna be real with you and tell you I haven’t been teaching you anything—“

“—I had a feeling that was the case—“

“—but make this your mission before the new year!”

Okay— sure. Nene could do that, maybe. Christmas was a few weeks away, how hard could it be? She liked Amane, knew what she liked about him, has thought of ways to confess to him, and had people to ask for advice for just in case. No need to worry, no fears to be had. She took a deep breath and brought the cup to her lips.

“By the way, I recruited your friend while making tea.”

Rest In Peace Tea and Sakura’s Effects.

If Aoi knew about her love life, Nene had one big fear. Aoi was going to meddle much more than she was possibly already doing. That would throw a wrench into Nene’s already fragile plans and confidence. She could imagine it now. Aoi was going to act as a judge to see whether or not Amane was worthy. Aoi was going to smile and give tips that would only embarrass Amane. Aoi would now constantly give her more sly looks at not just mentions of Amane, but even hearing or seeing him. Amane would get grossed out. Amane would stay away from Nene to avoid getting weird looks. Nene would be left in her lonesome with two people cheering her own and encouraging her to make bad decisions. 

Nene had the scariest and most unpredictable Cupids!

“Is there a way to extend my deadline? Or back out of it?”

“Nope!”

“What happens if I don’t tell him how I feel?”

“I’ll cast a love spell for real and make Amane want to stay by my side forever!”

Terrifying. Absolutely terrifying.

She had much to fear about now.

Amane knew something was up the moment his and Aoi’s meetings went from trials deeming his worthiness to lectures and tests on why Nene was the best and most lovable person one could ever meet.

It smelled of trouble and reeked of Tsukasa’s doing. 

“What’s something that’s both a strength and weakness of Nene-chan’s that you wish she would at least recognize?” They were in the robotics clubroom that he and Nene used to frequent after class and Aoi was using the blackboard for a ‘very important review session.’ Amane wanted to call BS but it honestly made him very excited and proud to talk to someone who could appreciate Nene with as much fervor as he did. For a while, at least.

“Her selflessness?” And her naivety, but that was more of an endearing trait and not exactly a strength. 

“Exactly. Do you know what this means?”

“She won’t take care of herself?”

“And what does that mean?”

“Someone has to be there to remind her to take care of herself?”

“And who is that someone?”

Me, is what he obviously wanted to say. Instead, Amane whimpered, “Someone who really cares for her?” Ohhh, that frown and impatient look could break hearts.

“Yes, but who in particular?”

“You?”

“You’re not wrong—“ 

“Something is obviously up!” Amane slammed his hands onto the table and pointed at Aoi accusingly. “What did he bribe you with?”

“Excuse me?”

“Tsukasa! He’s up to something and roped you into it, I just know it!” Amane glared at her. “So I want to know what he wanted and what he’d give back.”

“…ve ad…”

“What was that?”

“Love…ce…”

“Sorry?”

“Love advice!”  Aoi shouted before slapping her hands over her mouth and looking around. She whispered, “He promised to give me some advice if I managed to get you and Nene-chan together by the end of the year.”

Amane could only look at her in mild disgust. “You do know that my brother is probably the worst person to turn to in that department, right?”

“Pray tell, which of us has confessed and are going out with someone?”

“Your point taken but my point still stands.”

“Well, what do you think I should do instead?” Aoi propped her elbows on the table and smiled testily at Amane. He gulped.

“Definitely don’t turn to me for help either.”

“Oh, I wasn’t planning on it.”

“Good… Yeah, that’s good.”

“I’ll go to Natsuhiko-senpai instead.”

“He’s the worst person to go to in another sense!”

“Kou-kun, then?”

“You’re not going to get much advice from him outside of his weird fetishes…”

“Fetishes?”

“Never mind.” Amane shook his head in a fluster. I’m so sorry, Kou.

Aoi rolled her eyes. “I know the chances of getting what I want is low to begin with. I just want Nene-chan to be happy. If she's happy with you, fine. If I find out you’ve hurt her, less fine.”

Amane trembled as he nodded. “So I just have to confess, right?”

“Wait!” Aoi waved her arms. “Don’t!”

“…Why?”

“I might have been roped into betting with our classmates that Nene would be the one to confess first.”

Okay, wow. First of all, he never pegged Aoi as the type to bet on anything. Second of all, it was kind of low to bet with a relationship as the subject of it. Third, did people really think he didn’t have what it took to ask Nene out first? And lastly— “It was Yamabuki, wasn’t it?”

“Who else?”

“Okay, but who voted for me?” Silence. No, don’t tell him. “Nobody did?” Did people seriously have such little faith in him!?

“So would you do us a favor and keep your mouth shut when the time comes?” Aoi beamed. 

Screw you, he would have flipped her the bird had he not been a little more disciplined. Instead, Amane smiled and flatly told her, “No.”

“I’m asking the gods to make you fail.”

“You’re so petty, you know that?” A piece of chalk hit him squarely on the forehead. How Nene could hang out with a girl like Aoi was beyond him, but Amane wisely kept that to himself this time as Aoi continued to glower at him, mind racing to think of new punishments should he slip up.

“Perfect!” Tsukasa nodded as he finished helping Nene tie her hair. Nene rolled her eyes. 

“It looks exactly the same as usual.”

“No, it’s even better. The hair is more evenly divided and looks puffier.”

“My hair isn’t cotton candy.”

“Then, ice cream?”

“My hair isn’t food!”

“Amane would say you look ravishing.”

“At least call any other part of my body other than the hair delicious— Ah.”

“You think you’re tasty? Ya~shiro-san, you dirty radish.”

“Stop that.” Nene whimpered, tugging her hair over her face. 

“Ahhhh! You’ll ruin my hard work!” Tsukasa pulled her hands away from her hair and pulled the hair ties out, grabbing a nearby brush and combing it again. Nene grumbled, cut short when Tsukasa tutted, “You can’t act like that when you confess! Amane’s gonna get confused.”

“He’s not that dumb.”

“Not dumb, just dense. There’s a difference and it matters this time.” Nene opened her mouth to retort, but closed it when she couldn’t think of anything.

“I’m sure he wouldn’t like what you said just now.” She said instead.

“He can’t handle the truth is all.” Tsukasa started to tie her hair when he added, “And I need to win a bet so you can’t fail on me now.”

“Excuse me!?”

“Yamabuki, you see~ I heard he made a bet with your class and with it involving my dearest, densest, dumbest brother, I have the right to join in, right? I heard this specific bet is actually extended to the entire school though. Oh! From what I’ve heard, Tsuchigomori is also in on it! He won’t tell your teacher about it though. Dunno if it’s selfless or selfish but maybe it’s for the best! Your teacher’s an honest guy so he might spill and get everyone in trouble—“

“Wait wait wait. How much money is being bet?”

“Uhhhh, it probably totals a thousand dollars total by now? Nobody is cheering for Amane though.”

“I get to receive some of that money. It’s only fair!”

“I don’t know if joining when we’re betting on you is allowed…”

“Maybe I’ll let Amane confess first then.” Nene pouted.

“But the love spell…”

“I’ll tell Nanamine-senpai on you.”

“That’s cheap!”

“But effective.”

“Maybe if I get her to bet too—“

“You’re a bad influence!” Nene laughed. Tsukasa shrugged with a lopsided smile.

“You’re only realizing this now?” With a final snap of a hair tie and pat on the head, Tsukasa pushed Nene out the door. “Toodle-oo! Break a leg!”

Her conflicted expression was cute as she squared her shoulders and awkwardly waddled away. Tsukasa sniffled before pulling out a handkerchief. “They grow up so fast.”

Nene… didn’t quite remember how they got to where they were. To be honest, it was a little exhilarating and the Amane in front of her was so flustered, she wanted to see more. Maybe Tsukasa was rubbing off of her. 

The wall her arm was resting on was scratchy as she leaned in. Amane may be a whole head taller than her, but with his back against the wall like a cornered animal, Nene couldn’t help but feel an urge to tease him until he was weak in the knees. He was already beginning to sink to the floor and she was forced to accommodate this development by looking down to follow him. 

“Amane-kun,” she said lowly.

“Y-yes?” He stuttered, voice cracking. How cute.

“Come with me.” Pulling him by the tie, she tugged him into the robotics clubroom before sliding the door shut. Covering the windows and barricading them inside, she dusted her skirt and gave herself a once-over. 

“Y-Yashiro-san, I have something to tell you.” Amane gulped. “I—“

She pulled him by the necktie until their lips crashed into each other. Ouch. Minus ten confidence. Pulling away in a rush, she followed with, “I lub you! Pwease go out with me!”

Minus a thousand confidence. The silence that followed didn’t do anything to help. Nene opened an eye to get a look at Amane’s reaction. He looked devastated. Oh… what did that mean, exactly?

“NOOOOOoooooo—“ Amane fell to his knees and slammed his fists on the ground. “I was supposed to confess first!”

Huh?

“I was going to prove everyone wrong! And then try to get all that money for myself!”

Unbelievable.

“This wasn’t according to plan! It’s not fair! You can’t be sexy one second and then cute the next, what was I supposed to do?! How was I supposed to react!?”

How was she supposed to respond to that!?

“Damn you, Tsukasa! Curse you, Akane-san!!!”

“H-how about I give you half the money I earn from the bet? Would that make you happy?”

He hiccuped. Wait— he was actually crying!? “You’d do that for me?”

“Of course! We should start a bet of our own to get back at them, like when Aoi or Akane-kun will get together, or who’ll confess first!”

“Waaahhh!!!” Amane hugged Nene to his chest and stroked her head until it was mussed. “I love you, Yashiro-san! You’re the best!!”

“Thank you, I love you too…” This oddly reminded her of Tsukasa too much. They were brothers for sure. Pulling out her handkerchief, she wiped Amane’s tears as he calmed down. “All better?”

“Yeah,” he said sheepishly. They pulled the covers off the windows and put everything back in order before leaving the room with their fingers intertwined. Nene hummed and swung their arms back and forth.

“I wonder how much we can get out of them.”

“I’m sure I can find a way to get all the money they bet, one way or another.” 

“Really?” She wondered what he would do. Considering he was able to cover up any magical shenanigans Tsukasa got himself into, she had a feeling talking his way into their classmates’ wallets wouldn’t be too difficult. Nene was about to pull her phone out to organize a meeting place when Amane tugged her arm slightly.

“Yashiro-san, I really like you, ankles and all.”

“Thank you,” she beamed. “I like you too!”

Flustered, stuttering, sheepish, and all. But maybe that admission was for another day. Who could be sure? Certainly not them.