Summary: Years after the series has ended, Tsuwabuki continues to dutifully assist Nanami as best he can, but the inevitable passage leads him to breaking her first and most important command without even realizing it.

This is the Last Straw Tsuwabuki!

“...and then you have physics for your final class today, I've already marked down everything your teacher will be covering today and the most likely questions he is going to ask.”  Tsuwabuki looked up from his planner at Nanami and saw her frowning with her eyes closed.  “Miss Nanami?  Is something the matter?”

“...Tsuwabuki, did I ever give you permission to do that?”

“Eh?”  Tsuwabuki looked about himself.  “Do what?  I don't understand.”

“A likely story, when you're directly contradicting what I've always told you and are flaunting your indiscretion right in front of me.”

“Miss Nanami?”  Had he really forgotten something that important?  He couldn't have, and yet he must have, Nanami wouldn't be this upset with him if he hadn't done something.

Nanami brought her hand up to her forehead, then brought it up to his... Oh.  “You're taller than me now.”  Tsuwabuki gulped; the difference was slight, but in contrast to how they'd been years ago, him barely measuring up to her waist, the difference was quite substantial.  “I told you that I liked you the way you were, so why on Earth did you do this!?”  She shouted in his face, and even though he was taller now, he still felt dwarfed by her presence and voice.

“But, Miss Nanami, it's not like I did it on purpose, it just happened!”  Though, at first he did fastidiously chronicle every milimeter of growth, but somewhere along the way he'd...well, he'd grown out of that.

“A likely story; I bet you've been drinking cartons of milk everyday when I wasn't looking to try and make yourself grow, and I'll bet you've also been having that Mari girl pull on your legs while holding on a pole, haven't you Tsuwabuki?!?”  She was right in his face the whole time, so close he could feel her breath and...the pink on her cheeks?

“Miss Nanami, are you embarrassed?”  He'd seen her be embarrassed on his account plenty of times of course, but this wasn't that, this was different from that.

“Eh?”  She pulled back, pulled down and away from him.  “Of course not!”  The pink turned into a full-blown red.  “I am simply disappointed that my most loyal and capable follower has so rudely disregarded my wishes for them without any consideration for my feelings on the matter.”  She looked away from him now.

Tsuwabuki felt his cheeks heat up a bit.  “Well, if it makes any difference Miss Nanami, even if I got ten feet tall I'd still be looking up to you.”  He looked away from her too.  “After all, I know I'm me, and not your brother.”

“You certainly have that right.”  Nanami kept looking away.  “Why on Earth should you limit yourself to my brother's level?”  Nanami turned her head to face him, Tsuwabuki turned his head to face her, they both stood frozen.

“Miss Nanami, did you just...?”  She turned and walked away, marched away.

“You have your orders Tsuwabuki, you go and fulfill them!”  She went around the corner, and after a time Tsuwabuki left to do what he had to do; no matter what changed, the important things would stay the same, because he was who he was and that was enough.