[OOC] Trivial-Neutral - Liking Shiki no matter her gender

[niceties]

When an hour or so had passed after the end of the conversation, the office had regained its usual tranquility.

It was getting to be about three in the afternoon, so as a break from work I brewed some coffee for everyone in the room. After getting some Japanese tea for Azaka, I sat back down at my desk.

As for my work, the overall schedule was set, and my paycheck for the month looked to be safe. The thought relaxed me as I drank the coffee.

The sound of people sipping tea could be heard echoing through the quiet office.

Suddenly, as if she was trying to break the peaceful silence permeating the room, Azaka aimed a preposterous question at Shiki.

"--- Excuse me. Shiki-san is a guy, isn't he?"

... Enough to almost make me drop my cup, that was truly a hellish question.

"---."

That was true for Shiki, too. Taking her lips off the cup of coffee in her hands, she makes a face which suggests she is offended, but at a loss for words at the same time. In her current state, she has no rebuttal for my idiotic little sister.

Seeing that as a sign of victory, Azaka continues.

"Since you aren't denying it, you must be acknowledging the fact. You are definitely a guy, Shiki-san."

"Azaka!"

Dear lord. Unable to contain myself, I ended up jumping in.

These kind of questions need to be ignored, but in this particular case I wasn't in my right mind.

I got up confidently enough, but no suitable words come to mind. Without another word, I sat down again. ... I felt like a soldier from some defeated army.

"Don't fuss over unimportant details, you."

In a very angry voice, Shiki gives Azaka a reply. Seeing as how she's rubbing her temple with one hand, it could be that she's trying contain her temper.

"Really? But this is a very important matter."

Like Shiki, who is always outwardly cool, Azaka responds coolly as well. With her elbows upon the desk and her fingers laced, Azaka's appearance is that of a chairman conducting a meeting.

"An important matter, you say. There's not much difference whether I'm a boy or a girl. It doesn't have anything to do with you, Azaka. Or are you trying to pick a fight with me?"

"Something like that would have been decided from our very first meeting."

It feels like the two are glaring at each other, even though neither is looking at the other person.

... As for me, I would like to know what had been decided, but this isn't the sort of mood in which I should ask that question.

"... Azaka. I don't know why you feel you must bring this up again after all this time, but in the hopes that it will be the last time I will say it again. Shiki is a girl, definitely."

First, I just said that.

That one statement, which could be wrapped around Azaka's rudeness while restraining Shiki's displeasure - for some reason, it felt like it scraped their nerves even rawer than before.

"I know something like that. Keep quiet for a second, Nii-san."

If you know, then why are you asking, you?!

"What I want to ask isn't her physical sex. All I want to confirm is what side her psychological sex leans towards. Although, superficially at least, Shiki-san seems like a man."

Stressing the word 'seems', Azaka looks at Shiki out of the corner of her eyes.

Shiki gets more and more disgruntled.

"If my body's a girl's, it doesn't matter what side my personality is. What will you do if I am a guy, brat?"

"I wonder, do you want me to introduce you to a girl from Reien?"

--- Ah.

Hearing Azaka's words that are no longer dancing around the issue and have become a straight-out challenge, I finally understood.

That Azaka, is she still not letting go of what happened on that night two years ago?

The Chinese New Year during my first year of high school. There was a time when I invited Shiki over to my house as we went home after visiting the temple together. Azaka had been at home for once for the winter holidays, and being confronted with Shiki, she fell into a mildly shocked state. That wasn't unexpected, either. At the time, Shiki still had another personality called SHIKI. Coming face to face with Shiki's voice and way of acting, which had been even closer to the picture of a healthy young man, Azaka had fallen ill for a whole day.

Even so, she had gone too far just now. I can't help her even if she gets beaten up by Shiki.

"You know, Azaka..."

At exactly the same time as I stood up again to glare at Azaka, Shiki got up from the sofa.

"I'll pass. Those Reien bitches, there's not a proper one among them."

Hn, Shiki snorted, and then she just left the office.

The navy kimono swishes as it disappears from my field of vision.

I thought about running after her, but that could all too easily have the effect of pouring oil upon the fire of Shiki's displeasure instead.

Thanking the gods for the miracle that nothing had happened, I sat down and drained the now-cool coffee in one shot.

"Pity. In the end, I may have taken a blow instead."

Tch. Clicking her tongue, Azaka loosens her posture, stretching her arms as she leans her body on the backrest of her chair, as if she had been in a ready-to-fight state until now as well.

... I've always thought this, but why does Azaka's personality take a turn for the worse whenever she talks with Shiki?

This time, though, I feel that I can't let things pass without saying something to her.

"Azaka. What was that just now?"

"What do you mean, what? It's all because the relationship between Nii-san and Shiki-san isn't clear. Haven't you ever had any thoughts like that? Whether Ryougi Shiki is befriending Nii-san as a girl, or as a guy?"

While her manner of speech is stern, Azaka's blushing as she talks. Because of that imbalance, I realised the point my little sister was trying to make.

"Azaka, we call that an idiot's conjecture. Whether Shiki is a girl or a boy, it's not something for us to use as a conversation topic. And furthermore, Shiki is originally a girl, so even if her way of thinking is that of a guy, it doesn't make much difference, does it?"

Azaka narrows her eyes and glares at me.

"--- Okay then. So what Nii-san is saying is that as long as she's a girl there aren't any real problems. In other words, you think that relationships between the same sex are wrong. In that case, answer me this.

Let's say that here we have a man who has become a woman through a sex change and a woman who has become a man by the same method. In the event that both these people truly love Nii-san, who would you choose? The one whose appearance is that of a woman but is really a man inside, or the one whose body is that of a man but whose mind is a woman's? Now, give me an answer."

...Azaka's question is... difficult.

The more you think about it, the more it becomes evident that it is a situation in which you cannot choose either side.

If you just think about it casually, of course you would choose the person whose sex is female over the one who was originally a woman but now has the body of a man. But that person's mind is still that of a man, so it leads on to mean that she likes Kokutou Mikiya as a man.

I couldn't trivialize the matter to the point where I was able to think that a person's sex didn't matter in love. In that case, however, it means that I recognize men and women only by their outward appearance, so I start to feel that I'm an ugly person inside. On top of that, relationships between the same sex are prohibited from the beginning, so a situation in which a man loves Kokutou Mikiya as a man isn't acceptable either. Then the one I choose would be the one who likes me as a woman, but that person's sex is male --- Ahah, why do I have to hurt my head over a question like this?!

... Wait a second. This, isn't there something paradoxical about it from the start? Although you don't accept a relationship between people of the same sex, either choice has the trap of being a same-sex relationship.

When I realized that and lifted my head, Touko-san was holding in a laugh as if she found the whole matter amusing.

"--- That's unfair, Azaka. This is the famous question in which「Truth and Lies co-exist」!"

"Yes, you are right. It's the famous Euphemenide's Paradox."

"True, to Kokutou it's a source of a devastating paradox. You guys really don't let things get boring for me. Is the Kokutou family all like this, Azaka?"

In stark contrast to the still laughing Touko-san, Azaka is looking this way with an earnest expression on her face. ... So that was it. This girl was worrying about me in her own fashion. In that case, since Shiki herself wasn't clear on the subject, I at least have to clearly state my opinion on the subject.

"... Yeah, I think I understand what you're trying to say, Azaka. It's just that I don't particularly mind which way Shiki leans. Even if you were to say that Shiki was SHIKI, I don't think I would feel any different."

When I said that while scratching my cheek to hide my embarrassment, Azaka got angry and jumped up from her seat.

"--- So are you saying it's okay even if you are going out with SHIKI?"

"... Uhm. Well, yeah."

Suddenly, something bulky slammed into my face.

"That's too filthy --- !"

Dadadada, the sound of someone running out.

By the time I thought, 'Ah, that book Azaka was reading until just now was what came flying', I was alone in the office with Touko-san.

Shiki had left after getting angry with Azaka, and Azaka had just run out.

As for me, I was glaring at Touko-san, who was still laughing as I gingerly felt my aching face.

What this means
- Man I really don't care about gender
- But I like Shiki
- even if she is a he... hmmm.... split personalities are confusing...
- Also I have a sister! ...Who gets angry a lot.
- And a red-head person who keeps laughing at me!! Oh hello Touko-san.