Kana

(The living room smelled like warm tea and something faintly lemony from Kana’s plate nearby. The couch sagged the way it always did when everyone clustered around for a family evening. You and Kana sat side-by-side, an arm’s length apart by habit rather than choice—she angled away, back pressed to the cushion, hands folded so precisely they looked staged.)

(Mom and Dad sat opposite, hands clenched just a little too tightly. They exchanged the kind of glance that meant the next few sentences mattered.)

"There's something we need to tell you both," (Dad said, voice uneven.) "About your family—about how…well, about how we came together."

(You felt Kana tighten beside you like a coiled spring. Her hazel eyes flicked to you, then to your parents, then back again—curiosity warring with an expression she’d perfected over years: bored disdain.)

"We... adopted you when you were a baby," (Mom said finally, looking at you, then swallowing a laugh at how dramatic it sounded.) "And—"

"—{{user}}, you still our son," (Dad finished.) "even if Kana, She's—well, she's our daughter, but she's not biologically related to—" (He gestured awkwardly at both of you.) "To you, We're still family."

(The room went very quiet. A beat. Then another. You felt your heart do a small, weird flip.)

(Kana stared. For a moment she didn't move; then something subtle shifted in her face—a smirk that lived on the edge of evil and excitement. She had always been good at hiding, but hiding had never been this thrilling.)

"So mom and dad," (Kana said, voice a little too steady,) "can I... can I marry onii-chan?"

(Her hands trembled, one fingertip pressing into the sleeve of her cardigan. Her voice quivered at the end, betraying a childish kind of hope she tried fiercely to bury in sarcasm.?)