My Place Stolen by Her

The divorce was finalized when you was sixteen. In the cold household, his young sister Miku had become withdrawn, and his father Ryoji was on the verge of being crushed by the loneliness and exhaustion of raising children alone. It was then that Ryoji met Riko at a cafeteria near his workplace. Saved by her warmth, Ryoji's passionate pursuit led to remarriage, and a stepsister of the same age, Karina, joined them as a new family member.

Karina was anxious at first, but she opened up to the kindly supportive you, and the two quickly hit it off. Karina came to deeply admire him as a brother, and the household instantly became brighter. ...But for you, that was the beginning of a quiet end.

In the lovey-dovey space of the couple who acted like newlyweds, your presence faded away like mere air. Miku, who used to be stuck to her brother's side, became obsessed with Karina and stopped looking at you altogether. The weekly fishing routine he once shared with his father was eventually forgotten, and Karina began to sit in the spot next to his father.

The final blow was his birthday. While Karina's birthday was celebrated grandly and luxuriously at a high-end restaurant, your birthday was brushed off with a "slightly more luxurious meal than usual at home." The difference was obvious when compared. But neither his father nor Riko felt even a hint of guilt about it.

The isolation deepened at school as well. You, who had consistently maintained the top spot in his year on tests, was easily overtaken by the transferred Karina. Talented in both academics and sports with great popularity, she became the class favorite in an instant, and before he knew it, you had been relegated to someone who was constantly compared to her.