Chapter Text
I always thought I had a decent grasp of my brother’s emotional range.
Rage. Annoyed rage. Irritated rage. Occasional murderous rage.
And… a softer rage, usually reserved for one (1) person: Nakajima Atsushi.
Yes. The weretiger. The sunshine incarnate. The awkward little disaster with anxiety in his eyes and guilt in his shoulders.
For months—no, for years—I have watched my brother orbit that boy like an angry moon. He insults him, challenges him, threatens him, and then spends the next three days staring at his phone like it personally offended him by not ringing.
So, naturally, I came to a conclusion.
My older brother is in love.
And because he is a stubborn, spiteful, emotionally constipated menace, he is never going to do anything about it.
Which means the universe requires intervention.
My intervention.
And if that means I have to personally drag Nakajima Atsushi on a date to show him how to properly court my idiot brother—
Well.
I’ve done worse.
Step One: Corner the Weretiger
I find him by complete accident… or fate… or maybe Kunikida shouting “WHY ARE YOU HIDING IN THE SUPPLY CLOSET AGAIN, ATSUSHI?!” which leads to a very stumbling, apologetic Atsushi trying to bow his way through a crowd of moving chairs.
He sees me.
He freezes.
I can practically smell the fear.
“G-Gin-san? Um. Hi. I—I didn’t know Port Mafia was allowed to— I mean, welcome— I mean—”
“I’m not here to kill you,” I assure him.
He looks only marginally relieved.
“Are you sure?”
“…Yes.”
“That’s new.”
Fair enough.
Step Two: The Explanation (or the closest thing to one)
“Walk with me,” I tell him.
He stiffens. “Do I get a choice?”
“No.”
“Oh.”
To his credit, he follows without trying to run. He wrings his hands, glancing at me every few seconds with that nervous, puppy-like confusion he always wears.
The funny part is—he still hasn’t realised who I am.
Of course he hasn’t. My brother never told him.
Akutagawa Ryuunosuke, the dramatic cryptid he is, likely assumed Atsushi would simply know through osmosis.
“So,” I say once we’re outside. “I need you to go on a date.”
He chokes on absolutely nothing.
“A—A date?! With— with who? Why? Is this a threat? Am I being threatened?”
“No.”
“You sure?”
“…Mostly.”
He visibly wilts.
“W-wait,” he says slowly, as if he’s trying to process all available variables. “Why me?”
“Because you’re the only one my brother likes.”
He stares.
Then blinks.
Then stares more.
“…Your brother?”
Ah.
Right.
He doesn’t know.
Step Three: The Revelation
“My brother,” I repeat, because the confusion on his face is bordering on painful. “Ryuunosuke.”
Atsushi’s soul briefly leaves his body.
“Akutagawa has a sister?!”
“Yes.”
“You’re related?!”
“Yes.”
“Like—actual siblings?!”
“Yes.”
He sways.
I catch him by the collar.
“Breathe, weretiger.”
He wheezes. “He—he never— he never told me—”
“He doesn’t tell anyone anything useful,” I reply. “I’m surprised he even told you his name.”
Atsushi rubs his face, clearly rewiring his understanding of reality. “So you—you want me to—to date him?”
“No. I want you to stop being oblivious and to acknowledge that he’s in love with you.”
“A–Akutagawa—what—no—he hates me!”
“Does he?”
“Yes! He’s always yelling at me!”
I sigh.
“Some people flirt by smiling. Some by joking. My brother flirts by threatening homicide.”
Atsushi makes a miserable, questioning noise, like a dying milk steamer.
Step Four: Gin’s Perfectly Reasonable Ultimatum
“Look,” I say, crossing my arms. “He’s been acting like a kicked dog for months. He paces. He broods. He pretends he doesn’t care, then nearly decapitates someone if they mention your name.”
Atsushi stares at the ground.
His cheeks are pink.
Interesting.
“You,” I continue, “are the only person who makes him less… sharp.”
“But… he’s… him,” Atsushi whispers, wringing his hands together. “And I don’t want to bother him. Or bother anyone. And I’m— I’m not— I don’t know if he’d even want—”
I stop walking.
Turn.
Face him fully.
“Ryuu wants exactly one thing,” I say. “And it’s you.”
His blush now qualifies as a medical emergency.
“But— but— he’d kill me—”
“No,” I answer calmly. “If he wanted you dead, you’d be dead.”
This somehow does not comfort him.
“Besides, whether you know it or not… you make him better.”
He goes quiet at that.
Too quiet.
So I keep going.
“He watches you like you’re something he’s trying to understand. You confuse him. Infuriate him. But you also… soften him.”
Atsushi blinks rapidly, like he’s trying not to cry.
Oh.
That’s why my brother likes him.
He’s earnest. Honest. And his heart is right there, visible in every expression.
Cute.
“I’m—I’m scared,” he admits quietly.
“I know.”
“And I don’t know what he feels.”
“I do.”
He looks up at me.
Those golden eyes of his are so vulnerable it hurts.
“So,” I say. “You’re going on a date with me.”
He recoils. “W—WHAT?! Why you?!”
“Because if I take you out myself, you’ll stop panicking about messing up. I’ll tell you what not to do. What he likes. What he hates. And then—when you’re ready—”
I tap his forehead.
“You’ll ask him.”
Atsushi looks like someone just told him the moon is edible.
“…You’d do that for me?” he whispers.
“No,” I say honestly. “I’m doing it for him.”
Then, after a beat:
“But you’re not that bad either.”
Step Five: The Practice Date
We go to a small café. Neutral territory. No Port Mafia spies. No ADA coworkers. No chance of violence unless Atsushi spills hot tea on someone.
He spends the first ten minutes panicking.
The next ten minutes apologising.
The next ten minutes trying to understand the menu.
Then, gradually… he relaxes.
He laughs.
He fidgets less.
He even asks me about my interests (which—bless him—nobody ever does).
And the entire time, I can practically hear my brother screaming internally across Yokohama, sensing his beloved weretiger is on a date with someone else.
Good.
Maybe it’ll push him to act.
Step Six: The Push
As we walk back toward the city center, Atsushi hesitates.
“Gin-san… do you really think… he likes me?”
“I know he does.”
“And you think I can be… good for him?”
“I think you already are.”
He lets out a shaky breath.
“…Then I’ll do it.”
I stop.
Blink.
“Do what?”
He swallows.
Straightens.
Looks me dead in the eyes with more resolve than I’ve ever seen:
“I’ll ask Akutagawa out.”
Well.
It took my interference, a fake date, emotional hand-holding, and mild threats—
But finally.
Finally.
“Good,” I say. “Just don’t let him pick the venue. He has terrible taste.”
Atsushi laughs.
And for the first time, I understand why my brother fell for him.
Step Seven: Mission Complete
I watch as Atsushi jogs off, determination in his step, panic in his posture, hope in his eyes.
He’s going to do it.
He’s actually going to ask out my idiot brother.
And when he does?
Akutagawa might actually smile for once in his life.
I turn toward the Port Mafia district, satisfaction blooming in my chest.
If Ryuunosuke doesn’t fall to his knees in shock tonight, I’ll eat my mask.
But one thing is certain…
If my brother wants something impossible, then I’ll make it possible.
Even if that something is
a nervous weretiger
with too much heart
and no sense of self-worth.
After all—
I’m his sister.
And someone has to make him happy.