Summary
Embittered, Mana has her friend read over the paper about her family that she recently got graded. She doesn't think the teacher was fair to give her such a low score just because she was being honest about her hatred towards Ikumi, her older brother. Not only does he make fun of her, but he's inconsiderate and treats her terribly. Her friend wonders why they have such a poor relationship and compares it to her own, causing Mana to worry she's the only one with this problem.
But it's fine, because she came up with a plan and reveals the charm book she found within their school library. One of the charms is to make a Dream Person. The user must draw their dream person within the sands of the temple ground, and include every key detail, ranging from their personality to looks. The dream person will then come to life!
As Mana gets to work drawing a dream brother, she includes various details such as how he would resemble a popular guy named Matsui, is cool and kind, and doesn't get mad at her and will do whatever she says. Upon finishing she offers the shrine money and prays -with her friend expressing disbelief the entire time- until Ikumi shows up to inform her of the time and how upset their mother would get. Before he leaves he spots the drawing and book and mocks her, leaving her in a worse mood.
Her terrible mood remains the next day, with her exasperated mother attempting to make peace while her dad minds his own business. They are joined by Ikumi, who warns Mana that she's running late for school and he mocks her further before taking off. Hurriedly Mana gets ready and rushes out of their home to find him leaving on his bike, but rather than offer her assistance he claims to hate having someone like her for a sister and threatens not to save any snacks for her later. Mana chases after him angrily, but at her wits end, she stops and loudly asks for her wish to be granted.
The next day a young man with light-colored hair approaches the bewildered Mana. He's confused by her behavior and reminds her that they need to get to school, leading her outside while their mother questions the sudden change. Their father doesn't appear to notice though.
Outside, Mana remains perplexed while Ikumi hands over a bike helmet to give her a ride to school. He apologizes for his behavior the other day and promises to give her both snacks for today to reconcile. Instantly when they arrive to school, Mana is surrounded by her excited girl classmates, who remark upon his resemblance to Matsui from Johnny's, and how cool he seems to be. She's so lucky to have such a considerate brother!
Is it possible her wish was granted?
After school, Mana remains concerned until Ikumi offers to play a video game with her. She assumes she's only dreaming, but for now she'll enjoy herself- at least until the game falls out of its case and she prepares herself to be scolded. Before Ikumi would tell her off and get really mad for such accidents, which was why he stopped playing games with her to begin with. However, he simply laughs it off and wonders why she seems so upset, remarking on her clumsiness before offering to help her play. She accepts seeing that it works perfectly fine, and she realizes just how much fun they are having like this. She loses the game but she's so happy, she doesn't even care.
Some days pass when Mana is forcibly awoken by their irritated mother. She chastises Mana for having become so dependent on Ikumi as of late and how she needs to grow up, and how this is her own fault for staying up so late to play with him. Mana changes and leaves for school in tears as Ikumi rides up next to her to try to cheer her up. He doesn't mind playing with her though, and he likes to dote on her- however, she ignores him, saying that she would like a kinder mother. She then chews out their father for being such a weak man who doesn't even try to speak out against her.
As Mana storms off, Ikumi stops to observe her.
After school Mana prepares for an argument as she arrives home, but to her shock, she finds a couple she doesn't recognize!
The couple are delighted to see her, and she asks who they are, but she's kidding right?
As Ikumi returns Mana demands an explanation, only to see he has the charm book. He explains that he found it in her room recently, and because of her bad mood this morning he thought she would like Dream Parents instead. Mana is horrified by this reveal, and she panics as they begin to get closer to her and shower her with affection; saying that she can do whatever she wants, and how they will solve all of her problems if she gets into trouble. Ikumi remarks on how she now has the family of her dreams, causing Mana to angrily snatch the book from him and run to her bedroom.
Exhausted and at a loss for words, Mana cries while trying to determine how to return things to normal. She begs for help after hearing them on the other side of the door, and in her hurry to come up with a plan she accidentally causes a picture to fall to the floor. Curious, Mana picks it up to see that it has her entire family on it, and in this instance she begins to remember the various things Ikumi has done for her.
Despite being such a jerk- he also took care of her...
He helped her whenever she got hurt, he even stood outside in the freezing cold just to get a video game she wanted. She had even been told by their mother days ago that he lied to her that day when he said she was upset that she wasn't home yet; it was him who worried over Mana, so he went out to find her. Continuing to cry, Mana realizes that in her moments of weakness, she forgot how much they care about each other as siblings.
With no time to lose, Mana rushes out of her home and towards the shrine. As the sun begins to set, she looks to find two parental figures drawn in the sand surrounding her original drawing and angrily brushes her shoe against it. But when the drawings don't smear, she demands to have her family back and begins scratching at the surface in desperation as the Dream Ikumi and parents show up. He asks Mana why she isn't happy having the family she wished for, but she angrily tells him off and demands to know where her real family went. She shoves him backwards and he crashes to the ground, alarming her when she sees that he is beginning to disintegrate into sand and fall apart: quick sand that begins to pull her in!
However, he passively agrees to let Mana see her family, because as her dream brother he would do anything to make her happy. As the sand starts shifting, Mana looks to see her family in a deep slumber. She weeps again and begs for everything to return to normal, blaming herself for what happened. As the Dream Ikumi begins fading away, he asks her why she is so sad as his sand particles are carried away within the air. Unable to respond, Mana loses consciousness.
Later, Mana reawakens in the hospital with her family. She explains through narration that the medical staff was very surprised that they lived, given their experience with the quick sand, and the second they were released, she ran back to the Shrine to find the drawings no longer there. She truly believes it was only a dream, and since then she has gone on to appreciate Ikumi for his occasional kindness. He's still a jerk sometimes, but she loves her family!
Some time passes when one day Mana is on the swing set near the shrine again and observes her rewritten report. She gets distracted by a new drawing she happens to spot and rises to see it is a Dream Sister, drawn by Ikumi...
As this is going on, Ikumi is walking through school with his friend while complaining about Mana. She isn't cute or interested in doing anything he'd be interested in, and he claims his friend has a better little sister. But it's fine, because he's discovered the charm book- the very same one Mana had. His friend expresses curiosity and mentions how only girls seem to use it, but Ikumi didn't see any harm in trying it out.
Within Mana's shadow stands a cutesy, creepy-looking girl. Without missing a beat, she proceeds to push Mana into the sand.
Tropes:
- Aloof Big Brother: Ikumi is either that or a Big Brother Bully in Mana's opinion. To him, she's an Annoying Younger Sibling.
- Creepy Child: Ikumi had a cute Gothic Lolita in mind, but there is something quite unsettling about his new sister...
- Here We Go Again!: How the chapter ends.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Ikumi, essentially. He doesn't take Mana's feelings into consideration and treats her poorly, but deep down he cares about her. Not only did he worry about her coming home late, but he also stood outside in the cold to get her a game she really wanted (explaining why he was upset when Mana accidentally scratched it), and will take care of her when sick or hurt.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Not that any of this stopped him from actually going through the charm to get rid on Mana...
- Tomboy: Her appearance and behavior implies Mana is one. This most-likely plays a part in why Ikumi wanted a cute little sister he could play dress-up with.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: After things return to normal and Mana is shown to have a better bond with her family, she is shoved into the sand by Ikumi's Dream Sister.
