After I Comforted My Younger Stepsister Who Had Her Boyfriend Taken From Her, She Started Becoming Obsessively Sweet - 5

Chapter 5: We’re Lovers Now, Right?

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“You know..? When I grow up, I will marry you, Onii-chan… Because I love you…”

That was something she once said a long time ago. I remembered Shikino said that to me and I was pretty sure I replied with,”Me too!” without really thinking it through. Back then, my words held no value. I just acquired a new little stepsister, who was always trailing after me. She was unbearably adorable. As an elementary schooler, I only gave her a positive response because as a big brother, I felt the need to take care of her. I was still so innocent. However, I was wrong. I had been under an illusion. 

The gentle dream slowly dissipated as time went on, swept away by Shikino’s changing mannerism, behavior and appearance. Even her way of thinking had changed. Somewhere along the way, Shikino had transformed from my fiancée to just my family. A family with a strained relationship. Hence why this abrupt change felt so unsettling to me. 

I couldn’t believe Shikino would say something like that again. My mind refused to accept this new reality. I felt like I was trapped in some kind of fever dream.

“—Wait, wait, wait! Mamori!? You’re spilling miso soup all over your lap!”

“…Eh..?”

My mom’s voice snapped me back to reality. The moment I came to, I immediately felt an uncomfortable dampness around my thighs. Looking down, I saw that I had spilled the miso soup from the bowl in my hand. The soup was all over my thighs.

“U-Uwah! Da-Darn it!”

I quickly placed the bowl down on the table, but my lap was already dirty from the soup. Across from me, Dad, who had been reading the newspaper, and Mom, who had come over from the kitchen because of the commotion, were both looking at me with exasperated expressions. I couldn’t help but sigh in return. 

What am I doing this early in the morning? And I just changed into my uniform too…

“Oi,oi,oi. Get it together, Mamori. Are you okay?”

“Ye-Yeah…I’m okay. Luckily, I didn’t burn myself.”

I said to Dad as I slowly stood up from my seat. Mom quickly came over to help, telling me to leave pants in the bathroom so she could hand-wash them later.

“Good grief… Spacing out this early in the morning… You have to be more careful, okay?”

“Y-yeah… I just had a lot on my mind…”

“On your mind? You?”

“Well… sort of.”

“What is it, Mamori? Is it something naughty?”

“No!!”

“Impressive, starting the morning with lewd thoughts…”

“I said I wasn’t thinking of naughty stuff!”

I retorted at Dad, who was chuckling as he sipped on his coffee. Then, I sighed. My gaze naturally drifted to Shikino, who was sitting right beside me. She glanced over at me, looking a bit worried at me. She was holding her toast in both hands and nibbled on it bit by bit. Our eyes met, and I immediately looked away. After a moment, I glanced back at Shikino. She averted her gaze in a hurry as she nibbled on her toast a bit faster than before. 

Somehow… It feels so awkward… 

There was no doubt about it. She was the reason why I had been so out of it. 

“…So-Sorry, Mom. I will take my pants to the bathroom.”

“It’s alright. Just leave them in the corner.”

“Alright.”

Leaving the living room, I took a deep breath repeatedly. I tried convincing myself to calm down, but well, I wouldn’t be struggling like this if it were that easy. This morning, Shikino confessed to me. Unable to resist the flow, I ended up agreeing to her confession. I just wanted to comfort her, but somehow our relationship ended up changing to this way. I had no idea what I was supposed to do next and since I didn’t have an answer yet, my hart wouldn’t stop pounding wildly. I had to get to school soon. I couldn’t afford to just stand around and do nothing like this. 

“…”

I lightly touched my cheek with my hand and headed to the bathroom. Once I was inside, I set my uniform pants in the corner. 

I need to put on a new pair of pants…

But then, a voice came from my behind as I was leaning down.

“…Onii-chan.”

“-!!”

Startled, I quickly turned around. There stood Shikino, clad in her school uniform. Her white and navy sailor uniform suited her perfectly, just like always. But for some reason, she looked more adorable than usual today. Maybe it was the gentle look in her eyes or maybe it was the slight blush adorning her cheeks? By the time I realized it, I had been staring daggers at her. I had spaced out again. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. 

“Onii-chan, are you okay…? You spilled a lot of miso soup on you earlier…”

“…! Ye-Yeah! I-I’m fine, I’m fine! I just kinda spaced out… Haha! I really don’t know what I was doing…”

I was aware I was acting a bit strange, but I couldn’t help it. There was no way I could keep my composure in front of her. Flustered, I flailed my hands to try to cover the embarrassment. 

“…It must be hot, right? Did you really not burn yourself?”

“I-I-I didn’t…! Besides, I actually like my bath water pretty hot… Wait?! Wha-?! Shikino, what are you doing?!”

“What do you mean? I’m just checking if you got burned or not. The miso soup was really hot when I had it.”

“W-wait, what!?”

Shikino crouched down and brought her face really close to my thigh out of the blue. Her face was really close to my underwear. She said she just wanted to check for burns, but from an outsider’s perspective, it looked like we were doing something indecent. 

“It’s okay if you let your imagination run wild, Onii-chan. I… I’m just worried about you.”

“N-No! I mean, Shi-Shikino?! A-Ahh! Wha-What?! Whe-Where are you touching?!”

“Where…? Of course I’m touching the affected area… From what I saw, the miso soup should be spilling around here… Are you okay? Are you okay, Onii-chan? Let me blow it for you… Huff, huff…”

“Stop huffing!! Don’t let your breath go rougher! I mean, let go! This kind of thing is something couples do and we—”

But before I could finish speaking, I quickly stopped myself by covering my mouth. Shikino was crouched right beneath me. She was giving me upturned look with her big eyes and then, she slowly smiled. I quickly averted my gaze from her, trying my best to look at somewhere else. However, not one to miss a chance, my little sister stood up and gently placed her hand on my cheek. 

“Onii-chan…? I… Shikino and Onii-chan… What kind of relationship do we have now, Onii-chan…?”

“…! Wha-What do you.. It’s…”

The answer was obvious. I knew it, but with Dad and Mom in the living room, I couldn’t say it out loud. The thought of them overhearing us made me clam my mouth shut. I glanced right and left, struggling to find the words and…

“Mmh..”

“-?!”

Suddenly, my mouth was sealed shut by something. The soft, pleasant sensation washed over me. Shikino’s face was incredibly close to me. It was a kiss. A passionate kiss that turned me into a melting mess. It wasn’t just a light peck on the cheek or something innocent like that. It was a genuine lips on lips kiss. My eyes widened in shock and I froze on the spot. On the other hand, Shikino seemed reluctant to pull her lips away from me. Her cheeks were flushed in red and her eyes seemed to glisten. Her lips were glossy and I saw a glimpse of her tongue. We stared into each other’s eyes. The distance between us was almost nonexistent, making me feel like fainting. But then, Shikino brought her face closer to me again and whispered. 

“Onii-chan… You and I… We’ve become lovers… A boy and a girl who love each other..”

“I..I…”

“So… It’s not strange for us to do something like this and… It’s not strange for us to do all kinds of things… After all… We love each other..”

“…”

“Love… I love you, Onii-chan… I love you a lot… Onii-chan… I won’t ever let you go…”

Shikino leaned to me, whispering into my ears. 

“And I’m going to stop lying to myself… I will become honest with my feelings…”

Shikino’s words seemed to flow like a nectar. My heart was racing and I felt like fainting. Her words resonated within me. A part of me agreed with her. I felt like I could say the same to her too.

Things that I had to cherish… Things that I had to keep hidden in my heart…

“Shikino… I…”

Is it really okay for me to be your boyfriend? Is it okay for me to walk in pride with you? 

I was about to ask her that question when… 

“…What are you two doing…?”

There stood Mom. Both Shikino and I were equally startled, we jumped up in surprise. It went without saying that Mom scolded us and told us to hurry up so we wouldn’t be late to school. 

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