After I Comforted My Younger Stepsister Who Had Her Boyfriend Taken From Her, She Started Becoming Obsessively Sweet - 4

Chapter 4: I Like Onii-chan

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I’ll heal Shikino’s wounded heart.

The next morning after making that promise. Usually, I would be woken up by the blaring of my alarm clock. But today, the irritating buzz didn’t wake me. I was woken up by something else entirely. 

“…Onii-…-chan…”

I jolted awake. I snapped my eyes open and there was Shikino, sleeping peacefully right beside me. She looked relaxed and content. Seeing this sight so early in the morning, I couldn’t hide my surprise. I remembered I went to bed alone last night. I fell asleep without anyone beside me. So… I assumed Shikino must’ve snuck into my bed while I was sleeping. Unbelievable. Yes, I was the one who offered to comfort her, but until yesterday, our relationship was still as strained as ever. And yet… Just after that one conversation in the evening, the distance stretched between us seemed to vanish all of a sudden. Since Shikino was my stepsister, I couldn’t help but feel a bit worried about her. Maybe Shikino was craving for the warmth of a guy after her break up? So much so that she didn’t even care who it was as long as she could get the warmth she desired? In that case, this was a serious problem. I didn’t want to say it, but at this rate… Shikino was only one step away from being a bitch. I had to help her so she wouldn’t become someone promiscuous like that…

“Mmh… Onii-chan… Ehehehe… Onii-chan….”

“Ugh… Wai-… Sh-Shikino…. Yo-You’re hugging me a bit too tight…?!”

Shikino was clinging to my arm affectionately while mumbling in her sleep. However, I caught the sight of something absolutely shocking. This caused me to inadvertently raise my voice a little louder than I intended. Startled, Shikino woke up as well. She opened her eyes a bit and rubbed them groggily before she greeted me. 

“Good morning… Onii-chan…”

“Shi-Shikino-san?? I mean, yeah, good morning, but… Uh… Yo-Yo-Yo-Yo-Your…!”

“Your? Ehehe…. What’s the matter, Onii-chan?”

Smiling widely, Shikino snuggled closer to me, completely unfazed by the state of her dress. Or to be precise, the state of her UNDRESS. 

“No! Ca-Can you please not hug me right now?! I-It’s your clothes!! Your outfit! Why are you only in your underwear?!”

“Hm?~ Oh..?~ You’re right~ How weird~”

“It’s not ‘How weird~’!!! Don’t grin like that! You look like you’ve planned this all! Act more embarrassed! You know, like the female lead of a light novel!”

“Hyaaahn…! Onii-chan… You pervert…! But… It’s okay if you do me some more, you know?”

“Too late! Also! Don’t ask for ‘some more’!! Don’t take your clothes off even more! I mean, if you do, we’re going to look like someone from lewd doujinshi!”

“That’s not true, Onii-chan. Lewd doujinshi has way more erotic scenes than this. In those kind of doujinshi, they will say things like ,’That person’s thing is bigger than xx-kun’ or ‘That person will give me the things I want.'”

“THAT SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF NTR DOUJINSHI! Don’t say something so nasty at me right now! Besides, we’re not even that’s not the main point here! We’re talking about you! Why are you crawling into my bed clad only in your underwear?! Seriously, why?!?!”

“…Because… Onii-chan… Yesterday, you said that you would comfort me…”

Shikino said, looking a bit bashful. Her demeanor took a complete change. She looked so adorable when she was acting all shy and bashful like this. I couldn’t stop myself from feeling flustered, so I tried to cover it up by getting out of the bed and wrapped her in my blanket. It was autumn now, so she must be feeling cold since she was only in her underwear. Good grief… This little sister of mine… 

“I-I definitely said that. You’re my little sister after all. As your older brother, it’s my duty to help you out when you’re going through a rough time.”

“…Thank you…”

“…!!”

Shikino said thank you with her cheeks slightly flushed and a soft smile appearing on her face. She was sitting on the bed, wrapped in the blanket with her legs in W position. She looked absolutely picturesque. I was left speechless by the sight, but after a moment, I shook my head to regain my composure. I quickly cleared my throat and continued.

“A-Anyway, comforting you is one thing, but like, don’t you think your personality is changing too much? Up until yesterday, you looked like… You hated me. You always put your guard up, giving off ‘stay away from me’ aura.”

“Th-That’s not true!”

She exclaimed, which surprised me a little. I stared at Shikino in return. 

“That’s not true… I never hated you, Onii-chan…”

“Hm? Then why were you avoiding me…?”

“Tha-That’s…”

She fidgeted in place while glancing at me. Her cheeks turned crimson, she looked really embarrassed. This made me feel a bit shy too.

“We-Well.. It’s..”

“Ye-Yeah…? What is it…?”

“It’s because… I… I like you, Onii-chan…”

“Huh…?!”

“When Dad remarried Mom.. No. When I first met you, I’ve always liked you… I’ve liked you for so,so,so,so,so long… I really liked you and then… Aas we got older… To the age where we could marry… I started feeling overly conscious of you, but since we’re siblings, I tried my best to avoid you…”

“Huh…??? Wha-What…?!”

“We made a promise, right? That we would get married when we’re older. But… Even though we’re not related by blood, we’re still siblings. Our relationship wouldn’t get accepted. I thought I should give up and try to open my heart to another boy… Hence why I did my best to get a boyfriend…”

“…I-I see…”

“But then, the boy I dated ended up with another girl…  I really did like him, even if my love for him wasn’t as deep as my love for Onii-chan, but he said my love was too heavy for him…”

“Shi-Shikino…”

Her voice started to tremble. It was clear to see she genuinely liked her ex-boyfriend. There was no hint of a lie in her words. The words came from her heart, so much so that it brought her to tears. 

“When you’re in love… Isn’t it normal to want to get close and cherish that person? Why did he say my love was too heavy…? What’s wrong with me? I don’t understand… I really don’t understand…”

“…”

“Onii-chan, can you tell me…? How to be a girl whose love is not heavy…? I… I don’t know… I don’t know what to do…”

Shikino shouldn’t cry, especially this early in the morning. I walked over to her and placed my hand gently on her hand like I used to. This was something I couldn’t have done if I hadn’t heard her true feelings. Finally, I could do the things I used to do so often. I gently ran my fingers through her silk black hair and said to her. 

“I can’t really tell for sure since everyone has different standards for ‘heavy’. What I deem as ‘heavy’ might not be ‘heavy’ to some and vice versa.”

“Then… I…”

“That’s why, you’re not at fault, Shikino. Maybe to your ex-boyfriend, your love is too heavy, but to someone else, your love might not be heavy at all. You might even become the best girlfriend possible for them.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah! I’m sure of it! That’s why, don’t worry about it too much. I know you must be having a rough time right now, but you two just weren’t a good match. There are plenty of people out there. Who knows, maybe your next boyfriend will be compatible with you.”

“…”

Yeah. I nodded to myself and Shikino finally said. 

“But…”

Her cheeks became a little redder than before. 

“I think there’s only one person who is compatible with me…”

“One?”

“Yeah, just one.”

Nodding, Shikino continued. 

“Onii-chan, come a little closer.”

Wondering what she was trying to say, I leaned down to my little sister. There was no ounce of doubt in my mind. I moved closer to my little sister and…

“—!?”

But suddenly, Shikino pulled my hand, bringing me down onto the bed beside her. The abruptness of it made me lose balance, and I fell forward onto the bed—

“Ah!”

Only to end up on top of Shikino, practically pinning her down beneath me. The blanket wrapped around Shikino had slipped away, leaving her clad in nothing but her underwear. From an outsider’s point of view, this scene would definitely make them jump to the wrong conclusion. My face grew hot in an instant. Flustered, I tried to pull away but Shikino was quick to wrap her arms around my neck, pulling me close to cut off any escape attempts I had. 

I was completely trapped. With no way out, I found myself staring directly at my enchanting little sister at an impossible close distance. My heartbeat was thundering louder than I’d ever thought possible. 

What… What in the world is happening here…?

“There’s only one guy who’s perfect for me… And that guy is…”

“Shi-Shikino…”

“It’s you, Onii-chan… It’s Onii-chan..”

At first, I was thinking of comforting my little sister, who had her heart broken by her ex-boyfriend’s betrayal. But… Somehow something incredulous just happened. I was thinking of fixing our strained relationship, but this… This had become something much more than that. 

“I love you… Onii-chan, I love you a lot… Please… Will you go out with me…?”

I never imagined that this would be the start of something deeper between us, something like… Being a pair of lovers.

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