Yamato Nadeshiko, Koibana no Gotoku Chapter 1

Yamato Nades.h.i.+ko.

That is my lovely little sister, like a beautiful flower.

An appearance that makes everyone think is amiable.

She gives off he impression like that of a pure lady worthy of that name.

I and my little sister, Nades.h.i.+ko went to the cafeteria together.

It’s inevitable for the cafeteria to be crowded during this time of the day.

After finding an empty seat, Nades.h.i.+ko joined me at the table.

«You want the Lady’s Lunch Set today as well?»

«Yes, thanks»

«Alright, then keep a watch on my seat for a bit»

I and my sister tended to come to the cafeteria a lot.

She would always order the daily menu set aimed for the ladies, her favorite it seems.

Today’s lunch set was Carbonara with a salad.

I looked over the menus before deciding for the B lunch set. The one with the largest amount of food.

«Sorry for making you wait Nades.h.i.+ko»

«Thank you very much. So it’s Carbonara today? It looks delicious. What about you?»

«I went for the B lunch set. The Chinese food one with pepper steak and ramen»

«You are always ordering the big ones. Those are definitely impossible for me»

She said admirably.

She is a person with a rather small appet.i.te based on her figure.

«Itadakimasu!»

After joining our hands, we started eating.

«Which pasta type to you like Nades.h.i.+ko?»

«For you it is the meat sauce ones right? I always knew you liked them since we were children»

«Don’t skip through the conversation please! You are correct though»

Nades.h.i.+ko has completely grasped what I like eating.

It isn’t far off saying that she knows me more than I know myself.

«For me, it’s either Vongole or the Pasta Genovese one. I love how light they are»

«Pasta Genovese is the greenish one right? I’m not really fond of it»

«The taste of the basil is very good I think. But it’s perhaps an acquired taste?»

I rather prefer the ones with rich flavors unlike her.

Is this one of the difference between boys and girls?

Nades.h.i.+ko grabbed the fork and began eating.

«You make Carbonara at home sometimes right? Are those homemade? Or frozen?»

«Homemade. Carbonara is among the simplest of the pastas»

Nades.h.i.+ko’s cooking is without doubt delicious.

I can’t call myself a person who’s good at cooking. If I did, it would be limited to breakfast.

«The ready-to-eat ones you can get today are rather good but prefer the cooking the old way. That is the result of the amount of free time I have though…»

«But you are a really good cook Nades.h.i.+ko»

«That’s because of Nii-san who loves eating my cooking. As long as there are people who enjoy your food, your cooking improves itself. Would you like for me to make a Bento for you»

«No that’s okay. I don’t want to push you too much since you are bad at waking up. Eating outside during lunch may be good as well. Oh by the way, have you deciding on today’s dinner?»

«Not yet. What do you like?»

I suddenly got an idea.

«How about curry? I want to eat it once in a while»

«That sounds good. I also have a recipe I want to try. I saw it on a TV show recently and I would really like to try it»

«What kind of curry is it?»

«It’s called b.u.t.ter Chicken Curry. Since it uses b.u.t.ter and yoghurt, it’s not very spice, a mild curry. I’m going to have a go at it once I’m home!»

Since we loved cooking she frequently tried out recipes she found in books or on the net.

As long as she is in charge of the cooking, I’ll always have some good dinner to look forward to.

«I’m looking forward to it!»

«Yes. Oh by the way, can you join me for shopping on the way home?»

«Of course. I can’t let you handle the heavy bags all by yourself after all»

«You are so kind Nii-san, Fufu»

It will probably stop raining when school is over I think.

As I thought about various things, I finished my ramen.

«…Nii-san»

Nades.h.i.+ko was looking reprimanding at me.

«That’s no good! You are leaving the green peppers again. Don’t be such a picky eater!»

«… I’m not fond of them. You know that I’m bad with bitter melons and this»

I’m not very fond of bitter vegetables.

That is something I became aware of when I was little.

It’s not that I cannot eat it, but I cannot do anything about my distaste for them.

«I could have eaten them if they were paprikas though»

«Don’t make any excuses! You will have an unbalanced diet if you don’t eat them. Besides, green peppers are super vegetables. Did you know that it has about the same amount of Vitamin C as the lemon?»

«In that case I would rather eat the lemon»

I was discovered leaving the green peppers due to only eating the meat of the pepper steak.

Nades.h.i.+ko tended to be quite annoying regarding these kind of things.

She’s usually a gentle and docile girl, but once she has made up her mind, she will say it as it is.

«Please look the other way this time, okay?»

«No way. Here, let me help you»

She s.n.a.t.c.hed the chopsticks from my hand and grabbed a pepper.

Ugh, the green devils are coming straight at me.

«Nii-san, please open your mouth»

«I dislike what I dislike»

«Here, Aaa—»

Being forcefully urged by her, I opened my mouth in the end.

The bitterness of the pepper spread inside my mouth. I’m bad with them as expected.

«So bitter!… and eating them one by one is even tougher!»

«…chuckle* You did great Nii-san!»

«Am I a kid or what?»

«I’m glad you are eating it properly, that’s all»

When cooking at home, she usually won’t use green peppers against my will.

She fully understood why tastes after all.

However, when eating outside, she shows no mercy.

«…Ugh, leaving them aside was a big mistake»

«Eat them together with the rest of the food from now on, okay?»

I was fed the green pepper from the now satisfied Nades.h.i.+ko.

Though I won’t go down without going for a counter attack.

«So Nades.h.i.+ko, since you are telling others to eat them, you should be prepared to follow them too right?»

«Eh? Ah, t-that’s…»

Nades.h.i.+ko, like me, has something she is poor at eating.

For some reason, she dislikes all sorts of ham. See, the bacon are still on her Carbonara plate.

«Even though you dislike ham and sausages somehow, other types of meat seems to be okay»

«… I’m not fond of the unique saltiness and the smell. Dry-cured ham is therefore out of the question»

No matter what kind of food, there will be people who are bad at them, each with their own reasonings. But, this is revenge for the green peppers!

«Well then, I will feed them to you, like them or not!

«U-uu… at the very least not that, Nii-san»

«Saying people shouldn’t be picky, but excluding yourself?»

«I know but… don’t tease me Nii-san»

Nades.h.i.+ko pleaded my with moist eyes.

I’m feeling powerless upon my sister gazing at me like that.

The craving for revenge faded away and I ended up muttering «very well».

In the end, I’m a brother who spoils my little sister.

«You eat them instead, Nii-san!»

«Can’t be helped, but only this time okay!»

«I really love how Nii-san says it! Here, Aa—»

The bacon was fed to me by Nades.h.i.+ko after all.

Our conversation was heard by the cla.s.smates behind us, seemingly making them annoyed.

«You guys! Stop with flirting in the public! Are you a couple or what?!»

Complaining looks were directed at us as always.

Whenever I lose my awareness of the surroundings, such this happens.

Sorry for troubling you guys every time!

«Before his sister entered the school, I always thought Yamato-kun was cool and good-looking. Now he’s just a shadow of his past self. No matter how cute his sister is, there is a limit to the flirting!»

«Yeah. Even though he’s like this now, even I had a time when I admired him»

… Hah, the ratings from the girls are dropping right in front of my eyes!?

Even though I’m like this, I was pretty popular one year ago I believe.

The result of all this is needless to say, when Nades.h.i.+ko entered the school.

«Nii-san, you have some food left on your face»

Completely ignoring my worries, my sister wiped my mouth with a tissue.

This act raised the annoyance level of everyone around.

«W-what in the world, that girl… Aren’t they just like a couple?»

«Even though I said they should stop with the flirting already! So jealous! d.a.m.n it!»

«… Even though they are siblings, aren’t they going too far? I’m getting embarra.s.sed just from watching them»

Protests from the boys and the girls in side the cafeteria…

«Hey Nades.h.i.+ko. Hold back a bit in public alright? Their eyes are scary!»
«I can see why you are bothered by other people’s glances. I however can only see Nii-san»

She laughed with a great smile while casually saying what she wanted to say.

«Yamato Nades.h.i.+ko, a force to be reckoned with…»

Nades.h.i.+ko continued to smile disregarding everyone’s reproachful eyes. I think that’s somewhat amazing.