Lesson Learned

To Mitsuko's surprise, Gakushuu had made an effort to actually spend some quality time with her outside of studying or some club.

She happily slurped down some noodles while she sat across from him in a nice upscale restaurant. "Hmm, this is pretty good!"

He raised an eyebrow. "I can tell." Then he reached into his pocket. "Anyway, I wanted to discuss something with you."

Mitsuko swallowed, giving him a curious look. "Such as...?"

Gakushuu took out a small notebook and cleared his throat. "I've compiled a list of lesbians—"

Mitsuko choked on some noodles, going into a full coughing fit where she was retching loudly.

A waiter hurried over in concern but she waved him off, spitting the chewed up chicken and scrap of noodles into a napkin. "I-I'm fine," she wheezed, coughing again.

The waiter looked worried still but Gakushuu waved him off. "She's fine." Her brother sighed, watching her with disinterest. "Are you quite done?"

She glared at him as the waiter left. "How else am I supposed to react?!"

"Keep your voice down," he whispered, shaking his head as he slid the notepad over. "Listen, I just thought it would be helpful."

Mitsuko gave him a confused look before taking the list. "Why? Do you expect me to start a club?"

"Not exactly," he replied lightly.

She narrowed her gaze and looked through the names, and then frowned. "Tsuda's a lesbian?"

Her brother shrugged. "I saw her making out with a girl on the school roof once."

Mitsuko's eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

He shrugged again, eating some of his food. "I was just passing by when I saw it." Gakushuu sighed. "The other side has a list of boys, I believe one of them is Bi, but I can't be sure."

Mitsuko stared at him for a long while before looking down at her food. "Did someone drug my food, or you actually being serious right now?"

His brow furrowed, sipping his water. "I'm just trying to provide alternative options for you." He smiled politely. "For instant, Tsuda is much more accommodating and a much better influence than Nakamura."

Her stomach twisted, tensing. "I thought you said it didn't matter?" Her voice was quieter than intended.

Gakushuu rolled his eyes. "I clearly don't have an issue with you liking or dating girls, Mitsuko." He sighed impatiently. "However, I do think Nakamura is a poor choice on your part."

Mitsuko narrowed eyes at him. "Are you actually being serious right now?"

Her brother gave her a pointed look. "I just think you could do better."

She felt a rise of indignation curl in her stomach and fester.  "And I think you're being a total asshole right now." She slid the notebook back to him. "You can't just arrange my relationships, Gakushuu."

He drummed his fingers on the table impatiently. "I'm not arranging anything—"

"Oh, yes, clearly."

His gaze narrowed. "But as your brother, I'm entitled to voice my concerns—"

"Please, just stop." Mitsuko groaned, running a hand over her face. "Just shut up for once." She sighed and then fixed him with a stern look. "Listen, I understand that you're just trying to protect me and all that big brother, whatever, but..." She smiled apologetically. "I really like Rio, and I need you to respect my decision, Gaku-nii."