Had there ever been a time Ruri and I hadn’t attended the same school?

We’d both attended elementary together while our mother worked, and then together we moved onto junior high, only to transfer halfway through to another junior high closer to the central city when our mother had to move for work.

So... no, this was the first time we’d been separated in such a sense. It wasn’t like we hung out together at school though.

“What are you thinking about?” said Ruri, sitting opposite me. I’d zoned out and forgotten we were eating dinner.

I stared at her for a few seconds, blankly, until I came to my senses.

“You.”

Ruri stopped her fork, spaghetti twirled around its tip.

“What about me?”

If this was the old Ruri, the tormenting bitch I used to think of her as, I’d have expected her to throw on a scowl and whip me with words. But she didn’t. All it took was a single night for her to change, and so far it was like I was looking at a completely different person.

Thinking about it as I drunk some water, I realised that was wrong. She’d always been this way, I’d simply forgotten how she was over the last few years.

We really have drifted apart.

“Nothing,” I said, not really answering her question.

How much has she changed?

“Um...”

I looked up to find Ruri’s eyes on me.

“Are you going to eat?” said Ruri.

I looked down at my plate, where my food was effectively untouched. Ruri had made it, like yesterday. Was this how homes were meant to work?

“Sorry,” I said.

“What are you thinking about?” said Ruri, for the second time tonight.

I took a sip of water from my cup, a typical strategy of mine that gave me time to think.

“You.”

I smiled when I realised how silly this was sounding. Next thing I knew she’d be asking “what about me?” and I’d find out we were stuck in some infinite time loop that only I was aware of.

Ruri was smiling as well.

“What about me?”

This can’t be a coincidence.

I was faced with two options: time loop or Ruri joking around.

I abolished the first option. She was obviously joking around which helped lift some of the weight off my shoulders. We were quickly moving towards being able to talk to each other normally, but, of course, it would still take some time.

Now I had to figure out how to actually answer her question…

Really backed myself into a corner here didn’t I?

***

The rest of the week passed by in a flash. But not the blindingly fast flash. This was the blindingly blinding flash. The kind of flash that would leave me blind and blinking when someone took a photo too close.

Wednesday started with Livia greeted me with her own idea of coursework. She couldn’t get rid of my regular work, so everything she’d given me was in addition to what I was already being tasked with. My coursework was normally two or three files a day with a few sheets each and questions to answer, but what she had in mind and had supposedly done in the span of one night was, in her own words, “restructure your curriculum so that you can become a proper mage”.

What a load of crap. No way in hell could anyone write three whole ring binders full of content in one night.

Thursday and Friday were much the same, though I was starting to get odd looks from people on my way to and from school, what with me having to carry two ring binders in my hands since my bag could only fit one. That isn’t to say that my bag was small. It was large enough to carry what any normal student would need, a laptop and lunch, but then again I wasn’t a normal student.

I was Livia’s student, and to Livia I wasn’t even her student! So in a nutshell my whole school life was stuffed from the very core.

She didn’t even teach me any new spells over the last two days, only agreeing to help me practice. But she had taught me something very valuable. I was learning to be a loser and take what I could. After all, no one could win against Livia.

***

The weekend couldn’t have possibly come soon enough, so when I finally woke up on Saturday morning my response was to immediately wrap myself in my blanket and go back to bed.

***

Waking up a little after 12 pm isn’t an unusual occurrence for me. It’s rather common actually, seeing as I usually would be up through the night and into the next day playing on my computer, but I hadn’t done that lately. Mostly because I was too tired to think about anything but sleeping on most nights.

So today, waking up a little after 12 pm was in fact unusual for me.

How did I do this everyday?

I yawned and blinked my eyes a few times, trying to wake my brain up. Naturally, I attempted to rub my eyes to help get the sleep out of me, but instead I found my arm restrained by… something… soft?

I pulled on my arm a couple more times but got the same result.

“What the hell?” I muttered.

It took a couple more seconds for my eyes to clear up, after which I focused them forward to find none other than... a head of black hair?

That couldn’t be mine. It was too long, like-

Why is she in my bed?!

I pulled on my arm again, but even in her sleep Ruri was stronger than me. She was keeping my arm close, holding it against her chest right above her-

Breasts.

“Mmm.” Ruri mumbled in her sleep, and I instantly relaxed the muscles in my arm, not wanting to wake her up.

I’d felt them before, but now that I knew what my hand was so tightly being held against it elevated the feeling. Whether or not I was her brother, I was still a man, well, more accurately, I was a teenage boy.

I could already tell I had a boner. Morning wood according to urban dictionary. It was such a natural thing in the morning that sometimes it could go unnoticed, but now it was pulsing and pressing up against something soft, exactly the kind of encouragement my body needed to start circulating more blood there.

I was only wearing loose briefs and a shirt at the moment, normal sleep clothes for me, but it was a nightmare now that I was awake. Unlike the form fitting briefs I would normally make sure to wear, these ones wouldn’t do anything to stop me from poking her.

Part of me, an increasingly larger and larger part of me that is, wanted to do it. I knew what my boner was pressing up against now. It was an easy guess judging how we were spooning each other at the moment.

So I shifted back, and so did she, pressing her bottom into my groin.

Jeez.

What was I meant to do?

Boom

My head whipped to the side as I heard the sky rumble, roaring in such a way that could only mean one thing.

“Nghhh...” Ruri shifted again, snuggling into me and pulling my arm closer.

The sound of pattering against my window indicated to me I was correct. It was hailing, hard from the sounds of it.

Guess I’m not going out today.

The sky rumbled again, and I reached out as far as I could with my other arm to pull my blinds towards me and peek outside. Dark gray clouds blanketed the sky, blotting out the sun. If it weren’t for the clock in my room I’d have never even considered it was already past lunch time.

Not that I was going to go out anyway.

But there were more important matters for me to concern myself with. Ruri’s bottom was still pressed up against my groin, and I could only shift back so far until I would hit the wall. Not to mention her hand still held onto mine, wrapping it around one of her breasts. What was with her and doing that?

Thinking about the situation I was in was enough to make the blood rushing to my groin increase. I was only a teenager after all, so what little control I had over my member didn’t last long. I started to swell rapidly, and with nowhere else for my growing member to go, it pressed forward, raising the pressure against none other than my sisters ass.

I let out an inward groan from the pleasure that ran through me. My member had reached full mast and pulsed in excitement. I could faintly feel Ruri’s heart beating, feel how it was speeding up with each passing moment. Could she be dreaming?

“Ruri,” I said, into her ear.

There was no point trying to sneak out of bed without waking her. She had my arm and there was no way I could get that back.

She didn’t wake up, only shuffling around to push herself into me more.

Fuck that feels good.

My lust took control for a second, but that was long enough. I moved my hips forward, pressing my rigid member into her while squeezing her breast.

She’s so soft-

White light seeped through my blinds and painted the walls of my room for a split second.

Crack

The sizzling roar of lightning made my head snap towards my window. That one had sounded close, felt close.

My attention switched back to the soft body of my sister pressed against me. She shifted again and I heard a yawn.

“Good morning, why are you in my bad?” I said, the instant I was sure she was awake.

Ruri froze. Minutes passed in which she laid there still, until I finally decided to speak up.

“Ruri?”

“I’m sorry!”

That was it. She threw my arm off of her and bolted out my bed and out my room at such speed she would’ve put a cheetah to shame.

Did I say something wrong?

There was a sense of guilt building in me. Guilt that she was the one apologizing when I’d taken advantage of her. Even though it may have only been a little in some people’s eyes, the very fact I’d done anything other than try to wake her up and escape was bad enough.

But she did cause this…

I shook my head.

I’m not going to blame my sister for this.

I knew I was being hard on myself, but I didn’t want to blame her. I didn’t want to tell myself it was her who’d snuck into my bed and pressed herself up against me. I didn’t want to consider what that could mean.

But I already was.

***

Ruri had hopped in the shower before me, so I started on brunch. I’m not a good cook like Ruri, but I can manage if there’s a recipe to follow, and with the internet there’s always a recipe to follow. The main issue was finding something we actually had the ingredients for.

I wanted to make something nice, something that could settle our emotions, but that seemed like a hopeless case. The only food in our fridge was what was leftover from the last day.

Maybe we could go out?

I walked towards the window in our lounge and peeked out. The storm of wind and hail had calmed down to a gentle spit, but the gray clouds still lingered. I spotted a few umbrellas moving along the paths, mostly on their own but a few were together. There weren’t many cars, but that was normal in the time I’d been here. Cars seemed to be more of a priority thing rather than a convenience thing seeing as public transport was both free and effective.

I took one last look at the clouds as I made up my decision. It’d already rained pretty hard, and it did seem to be calming down.

Guess we’ll go out.

I turned towards my room, but the sound of sirens in the distance made me stop. I hadn’t realised how I’d missed that sound. The sound of emergency vehicles which should’ve been so natural in a city as large as this sounded so… abnormal. I guess it was because I hadn’t heard it yet in the time I’d been here.

Wonder what’s wrong?

I left the thought behind as I headed to my room to find some clothes to wear. My usual choice of shorts and a shirt could work, but I didn’t feel like enduring the cold.

I’ll have to ask Ruri if she’s alright with going out.

Thinking about it, when was the last time the two of us had hung out? This would be a good chance for us to finally sit down and talk.

A few minutes later I heard the bathroom door open, so I jumped out of my room to ask if she was alright with my plan.

“Hey, I’m thinking we could go out for lunch since there isn’t anything here?”

Ruri held onto the towel covering her body, but her expression did nothing to hide how she was feeling. Once I finished speaking there was a delay before her face brightened and she nodded her head enthusiastically.

“Yes!” said Ruri, her voice full of energy. “I’ll get ready right now!”

In the time it took me to blink she was already gone from my sight.

How does she do that?

***

The two of us left just before 1 pm and headed to a nearby cafe curiously named, “The In & Out”. I didn’t want to travel far and Ruri seemed too excited that we were going out to care. The only area of the city I really knew was what was around our apartment and what was around my school anyway.

The cafe we choose looked like every other building in the area: modern, but it had its own way of standing out. Behind its clear glass pane front the walls inside used a mix of red and brown bricks, the ground plain concrete and some of the tables most interestingly were picnic benches.

This must be where the hip kids hang out.

Before I’d even stepped inside people were stealing a glance, and for good reason. Most, well, in actuality, all of the people at the cafe except me were of the female variety. I wasn’t very surprised. I’d figured out pretty quickly that this part of the city contained a primarily female population, so no matter where we’d gone, so long as it was in this area the result would’ve been the same.

A waitress wearing a black shirt and gray apron dragged us around as she tried to find us somewhere to sit, however in the end all that was available was a single seat at the very front of the cafe. It had a small square table, and the view was nice as well since it looked straight out the glass, but it wouldn’t fit the two of us.

“I see… well thanks, I guess we can go somewhere else,” I said.

“This is fine,” said Ruri, to the waitress. Her head turned to me. “Sit down.”

I raised an eyebrow.

What is she thinking?

“If you really want to stay here then you can take the seat, I don’t mind standing.”

“Sit down.”

The waitress just smiled, waiting for us to sort this out.

“Alright then…” I took the seat.

Ruri pulled the seat back and I looked at her, puzzled.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m taking a seat,” said Ruri, hopping on my lap.

“Eh?” said the waitress, covering her mouth.

“Don’t worry he’s my Nii-chan,” said Ruri.

“Maybe we should find another seat…” I said to no one since I was clearly being ignored.

“Ohh.” The waitress let out a breath. “Well that’s alright then. My brother won’t even leave his room...”

It’s amazing how something as simple as being siblings allows people to completely change their perspective. The only thing that had changed was her mindset, otherwise the situation was exactly the same. People are weird.

The waitress put down a menu but then stood there, extending out the second menu she’d brought with her. I took the hint.

“One should be enough.”

The waitress nodded before running off to deal with another group of customers that had just entered.

“I really don’t mind standing you know.”

“I want to sit on your lap.”

I opened my mouth but no words came out. None of this made any sense. Less than an hour ago she’d apologized and ran away for sneaking into my bed, and yet now here she was, proudly sitting on my lap in a room full of people?

Maybe I’m overthinking this. She’s just sitting on my lap after all. Like the waitress said, there’s nothing wrong with this.

Was I the one at fault for thinking of her actions in such a way?

Ruri leaned back, laying herself against me so that her head was beside mine. “Nii-chan we need to order.”

She’s completely different to at home!

In the glass I could see the reflection of people looking our way and whispering between one another. I did my best to ignore them.

“Yeah let’s see what they got.”

I opened up the menu and tried to find something that would be easy to eat with Ruri on my lap. Unfortunately, that eliminated the majority of the menu. However, it wouldn’t be right if the waitress didn’t also decide now would be a good time to check up on us.

“Hey, ready to order?” The waitress wore a very welcoming smile as she looked at the two of us.

Ruri choose to adjust herself in my lap now of all times as well, fixing up the skirt she had on and then taking a seat on my lap again.

Fuck me.

I could feel a boner coming, but I couldn’t do much to stop it other than pray it would go down. It’s not my fault my dick is so sensitive.

Ruri took charge and made the order. I didn’t pay much attention but did overhear the word “sharing” be mentioned at some point. The waitress left, taking the menus with her.

“So how’s school?” I said.

At this point, thinking about my boner would only make it worse.

“It’s nice,” said Ruri, her voice lacking in enthusiasm. “But the people are really competitive.”

“Well the first test is pretty early.”

Ruri turned her head to the side and looked me in the eye. “How are you so calm?”

“Hmm?’

“Aren’t you worried about the first test?”

“I mean, yeah, but it should be alright. Livia’s taught me well. I think.”

Ruri faced her head forward and leaned it back, resting her head on my shoulder.

“You better get in.”

“I’m sure I will.”

I’d already made a promise I wasn’t sure I could keep, so the last thing I’d want to do was lose my confidence.

“Why do you want me to get in by the way?”

Ruri wiggled around a bit, which was a delight to my hormones but a goddamn nightmare for me.

“So I can sit on your lap all day.”

“Ruri…”

She wiggled around again, but it went on a few seconds too long to be something as simple as adjusting her seating. I placed my hands on her hips to hold her still.

“Can you not do that?” I said quickly, almost whispering.

Ruri stopped shifting and looked at me from the corner of her eye.

“I know I’m your brother but I’m also a guy,” I added, whispering.

Ruri snapped back, whispering like me. “Then enjoy it.”

What? Why is she acting like this?”

Ruri pushed my hands from her hips, leaned towards the table and propped her chin up on her palms. There was only one time I could recall her acting so vastly different all of a sudden. The day we’d both arrived here and I stepped into our apartment...

I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around her stomach.

“I’m not gonna leave you, okay?” I whispered into her ear.

Ruri shuffled around in my arms but didn’t break free. She obviously wasn’t trying then, since if she was I’d have stood little chance.

“You’re making a scene,” said Ruri.

I unwrapped my arms from her waist and leaned back on my seat, before taking a look at the reflection in the glass. A few people were staring, oblivious or uncaring of the fact I could see them.

This food better hurry up and arrive.

In the end, it took another ten or so minutes for the waitress to deliver us our food, but once it was on the table it barely even lasted five. We were both far more hungry than we’d realised.

As if knowing we were ready to leave, drops of water started to strike and streak down the glass panel before us, gradually accumulating until it was pouring down. People outside ran for shelter and deployed their umbrellas, that is, if they were smart enough to bring one.

From within those dark gray clouds the sky roared, veins of hissing blue light flashing inside. For a moment the cafe became dead silent, but as quick as it’d gone quiet conversation picked up again. Thunder wasn’t exactly an unusual occurrence once you knew what it was.

Ruri and I got up, determined to go home. Neither of us wanted to be stuck here if the weather turned bad.

I handed Ruri my umbrella, a plain black thing with a wooden handle and metal spine.

“Use that,” I said, as we exited the cafe.

I didn’t need it. After all, I couldn’t ask for a better use of the magic I’d learnt so far.

The sky roared again, this time one after the other until it became a cacophony of rain, thunder and the sound of sirens far off in the distance.

I looked up at the sky, still rumbling every now and again. “We really need to get home.”