I managed to escape them, but... it's past 6 PM now.

I stood in the darkness in front of my house.

Haah.

Nico-nii let out a sigh.

Not just one of relief. Hmm...maybe it's 50-50 mixed with exasperation and shame as well?

Oh, if you give all three one half, you end up with 150%... That's kinda exceeded the limit. Oh well.

The good thing about the night is getting all the clearance sales at the supermarket, like the 50% discounts and the 150% bonus-size packs ♡

Now Nico's heart is charged up to infinity ∞♪

... So I thought to myself as I stood outside. I looked up at my house again.

Haaah. Another sigh.

I was 100% shameful today. Perfect score. Sigh.

Nico lives near Akibahara station, but in a back alley coming off of the shop-laden main street.

Compared to the radiance of the main street, the street lights are so scarce it would make you do a double take. And, Nico's house is situated behind a high-rise building. Unlit by the sparse lighting, it's so dark I can hardly see the outline of the door.

The old-fashioned door, made of thin, rattling ground glass faces the door, and a bright yellow light comes out from the only window in the kitchen. Combined with the clanking steel staircase outside, the mortar building looks like something out of Doraemon or Sazae-san. Just like some old lady's countryside home.
"Aaagh, if only Nico lived somewhere just a bit nicer!"

That phrase, one that I would have said at least a few hundred thousand times as a kid, came to my lips once again.

Maybe then, I would be able to invite Honoka-chan, Kotori-chan and Umi-chan over.

Then I wouldn't have to be so desperate to distract them, shake them off, and escape.

It's a bit sad, but I understood. The fact that we can live in Akibahara means that we're not exactly destitute.

Our house may be old, but it's more than enough to live in. And, although it can't fit more than a bed and desk, I technically do have my own room.

I wonder if this is punishment. The vain, pleasure-seeking Nico's punishment.

But, no matter what I do, I just can't help but think the way modern girls do.

Not like I want a bed with a canopy, though. I just wished I had a house that looked a little bit – just a little bit – nicer. One that I wouldn't be ashamed to show my friends.

Ever since I was young, I would hesitate whenever my friends asked me where I lived.

I didn't really know why I did myself, but still, somewhere inside, I thought.

Nico's an idol, right? She's conscious of how she looks, right? So I would at least want a nicer-looking... No, I'll say it straight this time! A more expensive-looking house.

That's how I thought.

Because... well, it doesn't suit Nico's image. This old, broken-down little house. I can't bear to show anyone that I live here.

Aaaagh, if only Nico could be the first daughter of some established store, like Honoka-chan, or the successor of some big dojo, like Umi-chan, or live in a fancy apartment as the chairwoman's daughter, like Kotori-chan, or the princess of some private hospital...

How nice that would be!

Then, I'd be able to use that as my selling point and make my debut as a 2nd-generation idol much sooner.

Wait, what is a 2nd-generation idol!? What am I, some sort of celebrity?

Tee hee... Ah, but that would be so nice. A doctor, schoolmaster, chairwoman, or lawyer... A VIP-class, working, 2nd-generation idol ☆

Making my move as a local, downtown idol might be a good idea ♪

I laughed to myself.

"I'm back!"

As I removed my shoes at the small concrete entrance,

"Welcome back!"

"We missed you, Nico!"

Two cute little voices resonated from the back. Followed by the pitter patter of running feet.

Pow!

Looking down with a strained smile, I saw two cute little creatures burying their faces into my waist.

"We missed you, Nico!"

"I'm hungry, Nico!"

They raised their heads to speak, revealing soft, chubby faces, like that fish-girl from Ponyo.

Just as cute as ever ♪

I laughed as I set my bag down and entered, quickly reaching for the apron on the kitchen wall.
Looks like I don't have time to change out of my uniform today either.

"Sorry, practice took a while today, too. Just wait a moment while I make dinner, okay?"

The two little Ponyos danced and cheered, "Hooray, hooray, dinner, dinner♪"

Giggle.

It made me wonder if I acted like them when I was their age too?

My cute little twin sisters, with faces quite similar to mine.

♡♡♡♡♡♡

"Today's dinner will be whitebait fried rice and egg soup. Be sure to finish your sprout and seaweed salad too, okay?"

While Kokoro responded with an enthusiastic yes, Cocoa made a slightly reluctant expression.

"Sprouts and seaweed again? I wanna eat strawberries!"

S... strawberries!? We can't have something that expensive on a regular dinner! I thought as I made an excuse.

"Oh, really? Maybe next time, okay? I didn't buy any tonight, but instead, I'll make the salad special and add your favorite tuna, okay?" I said while desperately trying to recall a single piece of information. Do they even have clearance sales for strawberries?

While thinking such thoughts of how a housewife would have thought, Cocoa pointed to the salad plate with a smile.

"Oh, you mean the one with mayonaise? I love that! Thanks, Nico-chan ♡"

As Cocoa started bouncing up and down in front of the dining table, I pat her head to calm her down.

There, there... Honestly, you're just so cute and energetic, Cocoa ♡

Watching at the side, Kokoro puffed out her cheeks in anger. "No fair! Pat my head too, Nico!"

Giggle... I inadvertently let out a dry laugh.

That's right, Kokoro's obedient, and always does what I tell her, but that doesn't mean she doesn't want any attention.

Nico loves kids who express their opinions like that! So I thought as I start patting Kokoro's head too ♡

"Nico-nee loves how you're never picky about your food ☆"

My cute little sisters really do resemble me in certain ways.

Now, Mommy's going to be out late tonight too, so let's eat. Oh, and maybe we should bathe together tonight, too ♡"

I roared and struck a pose like the monster from a kaiju1 film, prompting the two to start laughing and frolicking.

Aww, that didn't work. Maybe I went too far.

"Come on, you two! You'd better eat your soup quickly, or else it'll get cold!"

"Okay, Nico!"
"Sure, Nico!"
The two answered with angelic smiles, and digged right in. After a while...

Vzzzzzzzzzz.

My cellphone started vibrating. I always have it in vibration mode to ensure my rambunctious sisters won't answer it for me.

"Oh? Nico-chan, your phone's ringing. Is it Mommy? I hope she comes home early today ♡" said Cocoa with yellow bits of fried rice stuck to her face.

Ack, now they have realized the phone can vibrate, too...

"Really? But you said she'd be busy all week so we'd have to eat dinner by ourselves!"

Caught off guard, I left the spoon in my mouth as I picked up the phone to check the caller number.

"Aaaaaaaaaagh!!"

The jolt of shock makes me drop my phone. What could she want at this hour? Does she have something else to ask?

"What's wrong, Nico? Did a ghost call you? Did he tell you mommy isn't coming home?"

Kokoro and Cocoa looked at me with worried expressions.

For a moment, I considered leaving her hanging, but for some reason, I decided against it.

Slowly, fearfully, I reached for the phone again. Aaah, but I shouldn't have after all.

Because, of all the things for her to say...

"Oh! Nico-chan! Are you alright!? We were worried because you just vanished all of a sudden while we were talking! We thought that maybe you got abducted by a UFO, or spirited away, or something, and we would have witnessed a close encounter of the third kind! Umi-chan was telling us to call the pol-"

I stifled a laugh as I heard Umi-chan interrupting Honoka-chan with a smack on the head.

"Oh, Honoka-chan? Yeah, sorry about that. I was thinking of showing you to my place, but someone I knew called out to me, and then we got separated, so I went home by myself."

That's a bit too far-fetched, even for me! But Honoka-chan's response to this obviously fake excuse floored me. Literally.

"Oh, that's all? Phew! You see, we're actually standing right outside your place, 'cause Kotori-chan said she knows where you live. But, after squeezing in here, we're having a hard time finding your house, right? We're just behind UDX, so how do we go from-"

I jumped up with a crash.

"Stop! Stop stop stop stop stop stop right now!! You can't come over!!! Um, uh, just, er, w-wait right there, and I'll come over right away!"

With that, I hung up.

I took off my apron in a great hurry and rushed to the ent- Oh right, the mascot idol DVD! I ran into my room to grab it.

Give me a break! I can't believe they're making me do this! I'll never talk about mascot idols ever again! They have their strong points, but they're nothing more than idols that bring disaster from within those suits!

"Sorry! Nico's gotta go out for a minute, so just eat your dinner and wait for me to come back!" I shouted to Kokoro and Cocoa as I put on my shoes and dashed out the door.

And then, not even a dozen meters from my house, I saw Honoka-chan and her friends turning the corner. My hopes were dashed.

"Aaaaaaahh!!"

"Oh, Nico-chan! So you were here after all ♡"

Argh, not even hearing Honoka-chan's carefree voice is going to calm me down.

Despite what you would have thought, I'm not all that great at ad-libbing! Honoka has done nothing wrong, but I hate her anyway.

Maybe I looked like I'm troubled, because Kotori-chan asked me with a worried look,

"Sorry for coming around so late. Did you have any plans?"

As if trying to apologize. As if expecting something of me. Crap. Kotori-chan has formidable intuition. Did I look like I'm keeping a secret or something?

"Um, um, no, not really, it's just-"

I was cut of by the sight of Umi-chan... doing... what!?

She's sniffing around me with her eyes closed!

"I smell something nice. Like the pleasant smell of cooked fish. Sorry, were you in the middle of a meal?"

The three of them let out a yell.

"Aaaah! Really!? Sorry for being so thoughtless! You don't have to come out for us! So then, where do you live, Nico-chan?" Which one of th-"

As Honoka-chan started to look up at the buildings around us, I immediately pointed in the opposite direction, towards the shopping district.

"Oh, actually, Nico lives alllll the way down ther-"

And then they called out.

"Nico-nii!"

"Nico-nii, your soup's getting cold!"

The two voices came from behind.

"How cute! Twins!"

Honoka-chan beckoned them over as if she was playing with a puppy.

Ugh, and I did tell them to wait inside...

Paralyzed with shock, I couldn't find anything to say.

Once they realized that the Honoka-chan and her friends were here, they hid themselves behind my skirt.

"Are they your friends, Nico-nii?"

"Um, y-yeah, you see, they're my friends, but..."

My voice is drowned out by a voice 100 times louder. Kotori-chan's voice.

"A-are these really your twin sisters!? Oh my gosh! They're just too cute! And they're wearing matching clothes, too ♡♡♡"

I could see hearts in her eyes.

While taken aback by Kotori-chan's excitement, Umi-chan's face has the same surprised look.

"I never knew you had little sisters. Are they twins?"

Soon, their astonished stares turn to smiles, and they crouched down to eye-level with the twins.

"Hey there. Nice to meet you."

As the twins wriggled nervously, they continued.

"You look just like Nico ♡"

D-do they? That's the first time anyone's said that. After all, I've never let anyone see them before.

My heart skipped a beat. But, I felt a bit of anticipation.

As I let out a breath, the twins jumped with joy.

"We're Kokoro and Cocoa, and we love Nico-nii ♡"

"We've never met Nico-nii's friends before, but you're nice!"

"Come eat dinner with us!"

"We've got tasty whitebait fried rice today! I'll share some of mine with you!"

"Oh, then I'll give you my seaweed and sprouts salad! I don't like eating sprouts all the time anyway!

"There you go again~, being picky with your food! Nico-nii worked hard on that salad, you know!

"Tha-That's not true!"

The two started to talk among themselves.

Umi-chan started laughing. And so did Honoka-chan and Kotori-chan.

Honoka-chan said with a loud voice, "You sure are lucky to have such cute twin sisters, Nico-chan! You shouldn't keep them to yourself ♡! I'm sooooo jealous!"

These little sisters... who would tell anyone that you eat sprouts every day?

Are they really something to be "sooooo jealous" about?

Ehehe ♡

♡♡♡♡♡♡

After I handed over the DVD, the girls declined my little sisters, telling them it was too late and they had to go home.

Of course, they promised that they'd definitely come play another day.

Clearing her throat, Kokoro proudly declared that they'd play othello together next time. The twins looked with amazement at the candy that the girls gave as a goodbye present.

"Nico-nii's friends are all real nice!"

"They gave me a piece of candy! I hope they'll bring two more next time ♡!"

"That's right. They're all nice girls."

As I answered, I thought to myself.

Will I be prepared for all of them to know what kind of house I live in by the time they come back? I'm still not sure.

If it's them...

Although the idea crossed my mind a few times before, still, I felt hesitant.

Nico-nii. The vain, the pleasure-seeking.

If I make it as an idol.

Then maybe one day, I won't have to feel this way anymore.

With a strange swaying sensation filling my heart, the three of us went home.
Comment♡Kotori
Honestly, Nico's little twin sisters, Kokoro-chan and Cocoa-chan are just too cute!♡♡♡♡♡♡
They stole my heart from the moment we met!♡
As an only child, I'm so totally jealous!
Oh, I know! I'll make them some matching outfits!
Oh, but would Nico-chan be fine with that?
Hm, then I'll just make one for Nico-chan, too!
The three of them in matching maid uniforms♪
Let me join the fun too! ♡♡♡