*During the little sister confrontation*
(Elaria POV)
I glared at this little sister wannabe in front of me, "Stop pestering Onii-sama with your stupid 'Aniue, Aniue, Aniue'! Can't you see Onii-sama is bothered by you?!"
"Tsk, like you're any better with your consistent 'Onii-sama, Onii-sama'. You're just trying to act all cute to appeal to Aniue."
"Please, I don't act cute, I AM cute. Even Onii-sama has called me cute!"
"Aniue has called me cute too, probably way more times than you. You're not special."
"Those times must have been before Onii-sama came to this world right? The current Onii-sama has not called you cute at all," I growled.
The two of us glared at each other silently for a few tense moments, both of us preparing to come to blows.
"Onii-sama likes strawberries."
"Aniue would punish our misbehaviours with forehead flicks."
"Onii-sama likes to stroke towards the back when patting heads."
"Aniue sleeps on his back more often."
"Onii-sama likes his tea black."
"Aniue tends to get sleepy after tea time."
"Onii-sama does not like mushrooms."
"Aniue is ticklish on his sides."
"Onii-sama can spend hours reading if no one disturbs him."
"Aniue wears his watch on his right hand."
"Onii-sama looks to his right when he is thinking about something."
"Aniue always takes the spot closer to the road when walking with his little sister."
The both of us paused to catch our breath.
I admit, she definitely knows Onii-sama like a little sister would. Her claim about being Onii-sama's little sister in another world was not a lie.
"Gunununu… I admit that you're good, but the current Onii-sama is now a denizen of this world. He is different from the one you know in the other world and therefore no longer your elder brother."
"That is where you are wrong. The bond between an older brother and his little sister is eternal and nothing can break it. I am the very proof of that concept."
Guhk… I have to concede that point to her.
She crossed her arms, "And since I've been Aniue's imouto longer than you have, the rightful place of being his imouto belongs to me!"
I couldn't help but smile at her proclamation, she fell right into my trap!
"Kuku… Kukuku! Kuhahahaha! It is as you say! You are the older one and was transmigrated here instead of reincarnating like Onii-sama has… You are now older than Onii-sama! You are no longer his imouto, instead, Onii-sama is now your otouto! The position of imouto still belongs to meeeee!"
Tsuki took a step back as though physically struck, "N… No… Impossible…"
I raised my arms in victory, "Hahahaha! It's my win! I am Onii-sama's one and only imouto!"
"To… To think I lost the imouto position… Is that what you think I'd say, huh?!" She snarled, glaring at me.
I gritted my teeth, "Your spirit should have been broken! How are you still standing?!"
"The bonds between Aniue and I transcends time and space! He still remains as my Aniuie even in another world so I will always be younger than Aniue!"
Tch, she was prepared for such an attack it seems.
In that case…
"I've built an entire city for Onii-sama to live comfortably in!"
She glared at me, "So you've resorted to doing this huh? I've protected Aniue's legacy that even in his death, his name will still remain unforgotten in the other world!"
"I made Onii-sama's dream of having giant ships and robots a reality!"
"I helped Aniue establish his company and get rid of the competition back in the other world!"
"Kukukuku, does it even count if Onii-sama no longer remembers it?"
"Tsk! That argument only stands if Aniue is not interested in regaining his memories!"
"Hahaha! But it's true that you've been nothing but a bother to Onii-sama ever since you came to this world!"
"Ugh… That… Hmph! Aniue's dream of giant ships and robots was from before he lost his memories! It's obvious the current Aniue have no desire for those now so you're also a bother for him!"
Gahk! I have no counter for that since she saw Onii-sama flicking my forehead after taking care of all those monsters back then… What she said about Onii-sama's memories was true as well and both of us do want Onii-sama to regain his memories…
Both of us looked at each other before speaking at the same time.
""It's the imouto's privilege to bother their Onii-sama/Aniue!""
Those words were so true that both of us had to shake hands for it.
"Let's just call it a draw for now," I suggested.
"I'm fine with that. It is, after all, Aniue's decision on who should be his imouto."
"Kukuku, I will definitely not lose to you on that."
Thus a temporary truce was called on our little sister competition for now.
"So what has Aniue done in this world?"
"I'll tell you if you tell me what Onii-sama was like in the other world."
"Deal."
Make no mistake though, the position of Onii-sama's imouto is still mine! I won't hand it over to anyone that easily!
But for now, just for now, I want to know what Onii-sama was like in the other world...
*
(??? POV)
Whiteness as far as the eye could see.
A pedestal was standing in the middle of that whiteness with a black, egg-shaped object floating above it.
I've been to this place more than I can count, all of them getting disappointed time and time again.
I walked up to the egg, looking into it to see galaxies floating within its darkness that seemed to stretch infinitely within.
"How long has it been?" I mused, not really paying attention to anything in particular. "No… How many times has it been? Even though I've chosen to play an even more active role, there are still so many failures. Would this one be a failure too?"
The stars within the egg seemed to blink a little more brightly before dimming down again.
"Now… How should I proceed on with this? Should I visit personally? Or would that be too much once again? Is the time right yet? Or is it not? Even after so long and so many tries, everything is still so uncertain. How I hate and love it. Does that make me bad?"
Of course, no one was there to answer my question.
"I suppose it's still not time yet… Just a little bit longer… Just a little bit…"
I said those words multiple times to convince myself before stepping away from the egg, turning back to return from where I came from.
Just a little bit longer…
And I can finally drop this farce...