Chapter 261: Where Are My Pants?!

“Um… Doctor, there’s something I’d like to ask of you.”

Himekoji spoke politely after careful thought.

“Mm, please go ahead. If I can help, I certainly will.”

No one could bring themselves to refuse such a “disabled but strong-willed” boy. Besides, he was an admirable Hero.

“Please keep this hidden from my family and frien… classmates.”

“No problem.”

The old doctor agreed immediately.

“Thank you.”

…

When he wasn’t being a Pervert, Himekoji was actually pretty cool.

Good-looking and not much of a talker.

After thanking the doctors, he stood up to leave. His turn was neat and clean, cool and stylish.

“PONG!”

If Himekoji hadn’t been blind though, leading him to accidentally crash into the door frame while leaving, he might have stayed cool until the end.

Too bad.

Still ended up handsome for only three seconds.

…

“Onii-chan, well? How did it go?”

The moment Himekoji stepped out, Akiko, who’d been staring intently at the door, flung herself at him. “Shoom!” She asked immediately, voice tight with worry.

“What did the doctors say?”

Her small hands were twisted together nervously as she anxiously awaited Himekoji’s answer.

“Pfft! No need to worry over nothing! I told you I’m fine. I just need a few days of rest and my eyesight will come back naturally.”

So, this is what it feels like to be worried about, to be fretted over, to be cared for…

It was like being bathed in soft sunlight—warm but not hot, so comfortable it made him want to lazily close his eyes.

Himekoji reached out intending to pat his Imouto’s head, but—

“Huh? Onii-chan, where are you touching?!”

Akiko suddenly shrieked loudly.

Huh? Wrong spot?

To confirm, Himekoji instinctively gave it a firm squeeze.

Yeah, definitely didn’t feel like a head.

No hair. Big, round, soft. Pretty bouncy…

Wait!

This…

This is a breast?!

And a big one, at that!

What was wrong with him? Did he just grab a chest first out of habit?!

The aftermath of being a Pervert for too long was terrifying!

“Sorry! Sorry!”

Himekoji quickly yanked his hand back, apologizing.

Meanwhile, he couldn’t help muttering softly to himself—

“Strange… it’s gotten so much bigger?”

Alas, the hospital hallway was way too quiet, and the girls were all less than half a meter away. So, his mutter was clearly heard by everyone.

“Onii-chan! That was Yuigahama’s chest you grabbed!”

“Huh?”

He’d groped Yuigahama? Seems his “identifying location by sound” skill still needed work.

Well, that made sense. The size matched after all.

“‘So much bigger’? This much bigger…?”

Yukinoshita glanced at Akiko’s chest, then at her own, then back at Yuigahama’s.

Yuigahama was “this much” bigger than Akiko… and Akiko was “this much” bigger than her… so that meant…

A whole row of black lines suddenly appeared on Yukinoshita’s smooth, cute forehead.

“Eh? ‘Gotten so much bigger’? Akito, have you… measured your Imouto’s chest before?!”

Yuigahama looked at Himekoji with disbelief in her eyes, as if saying—

“Didn’t expect you to be that kind of person!”

Nope, wrong interpretation. Correction—

“You are totally that kind of person!”

“Ah! The doctor told me to rest well these next few days, so um… I’m gonna head back to lie down for a bit!”

Himekoji was mortified. Thinking it best to just bail, he mumbled an excuse and turned to flee.

In his blind rush to escape, his sightless state doomed him again. After just a few steps, he smashed his forehead hard into a wall…

BANG!

Seeing stars again, Himekoji felt incredibly bummed.

This was already the second time in such a short while…

Sigh.

Being blind? Seriously troublesome!

…

Consultation Room.

“Doctor, please, is my brother’s eyesight really okay?”

Not trusting Himekoji’s word, Akiko and the others wanted to hear it from the doctor himself.

“No.”

The doctor shook his head, his expression somber.

“You are his Imouto, correct? From now on, I advise you to mentally prepare yourself and plan ahead for the need to care for him often.”

“Doctor, wha… what do you mean?”

Hearing her heart “thud” heavily, Yukinoshita spoke up, her voice trembling slightly.

“I’m afraid… with the medical technology available to us right now… the patient has only a slim chance of his eyes ever being cured.”

It was as if all strength suddenly left his body, his two hands reaching for the doctor fell away limply.

He dropped heavily, grazing his skirt, making a dull thudding sound.

……

How could this happen?

She’d stepped forward, becoming a hostage alongside him, facing death together. But in the end, she was the only one who remained unharmed.

“Yukinoshita, we’ll definitely be okay, believe me!”

“Yukinoshita, jump!”

At this moment, it felt like a bomb had blown open a big hole in his chest, cold wind whistled inside.

Like drowning, suffocating.

……

After seeing off the girls who had cried their hearts out,

another doctor, puzzled, couldn’t help but ask,

“Didn’t you just promise to keep it a secret for him?”

“I changed my mind. I thought doing that would be too cruel.”

“Isn’t telling the truth more cruel? Look at how those girls just cried!”

“The cruelty I mean is for that patient.”

“Eh?”

“Because… he deserves sympathy.”

The old doctor sighed as he spoke.

“Officer Nakamura mentioned just now, that kid become blinded by the bomb blast while protecting everyone. He was a Hero, very brave, and very unfortunate.”

“Ah.”

The other doctor nodded, seeming to accept the old doctor’s words.

“Let’s hope for a miracle.”

……

Lying alone on the hospital bed, he was incredibly bored.

He wanted to do something.

Himekoji wanted to read manga, catch up on new anime, play games…

But after blinking hard twice only to find total darkness ahead, he reluctantly gave up.

Dan it, how to pass the time for these three days where he couldn’t do anything!

“H-Himekoji-kun!”

Just as Himekoji was agonizing over these things, a sudden cry came from beside him.

“Huh, wait! Where… where am I? Am I dead? Reuniting with Himekoji-kun in hell?”

Awakening from unconsciousness, Tobe clearly hadn’t grasped the situation.

“What dying? Please, you’re alive and well, now lie down quietly! In a little while, your classmates will probably bring fruit baskets or something to visit you.”

“Alive and well?”

Hearing this, Tobe instinctively patted his body a couple of times.

The sensation was vibrant…

Yes, he wasn’t dead!

That meant Himekoji was also safe and sound!

Wonderful!

Confirming this fact, he instantly felt overwhelmed with emotion, tears welling up in his eyes.

“Eh? Hold on… Where are my pants?!”