My Little Sister Suddenly Confessed to Me, but What Am I Supposed to Do by Dating My Little Sister?

Chapter 18: Big Brother’s Birthday Present

After over a month of agonizing emotional swings, Shiori finally reached a decision.

“Since a sweater is ‘heavy,’ a cardigan should be a bit lighter and safer, right?” she reasoned—using logic that made absolutely no sense—and began her project.

“Hmm, this color would look so good on Onii-chan! But this one would too! Ahh, Onii-chan wearing a cardigan in this color… noooo, he’d look so wonderfuuuul!”

She was like this from the very beginning, starting with the yarn selection at the craft store.

“White is definitely the choice for someone as pure and wonderful as Onii-chan.”

Activating her usual “maiden-in-love” filter, she finally picked the yarn. Next, she headed to the bookstore.

“Which design would be best? Ah, Onii-chan would look lovely in this! Oh, but this one is good too! Kyahhh, he’d look too cool in this one!”

She was a total nuisance of a browser. Just start knitting already!

And then there were the annual events, which also went as follows:

“Ah, Christmas together with Onii-chan! Cake together with Onii-chan! It’s too wonderful, I’m too happy!” (Note: They were with their family.)

“Ah, the New Year’s shrine visit with Onii-chan! My formal kimono! He told me I was cute! I’m too happy!” (Note: Also with the whole family.)

“I gave Onii-chan Valentine’s chocolates! He said thank you! I’m too happy!” (Note: It was a whole chocolate cake, so the whole family ate it.)

“Ah, Onii-chan gave me a handkerchief for my birthday! I received another treasure from him! I’m too happy!” (Note: Handkerchiefs are sometimes said to symbolize a breakup.)

“Ah, cookies from Onii-chan for White Day! Doesn’t giving cookies mean ‘I return your feelings’? Kyahhhh, I’m too happy!” (Note: Actually, it usually means ‘Let’s just be friends.’)

She spent all her time on these various events with her brother, and every time one ended, she would space out and savor that happiness. Since the entrance exams had nothing to do with her brother, she successfully ignored them entirely.

Furthermore, driven by the belief that anything given to her brother must be perfect:

“Ah, I messed up. I have to restart. Oh, I failed again. Starting over.”

In her terrifying perfectionism, if she made a single mistake halfway through, she’d decide she couldn’t possibly let her brother wear such a thing and would start knitting from scratch.

However, perhaps because she poured too much of her soul into the project, Shiori reached her breaking point during production. Her mind had been “broken” leading up to the confession, so work had come to a complete standstill.

“Ah, Onii-chan is actually going out with me. My boyfriend is Onii-chan. Ah, Onii-chan…”

Having had her confession accepted, Shiori remained in this dazed state even after the entrance ceremony. Then, her eyes fell on a paper bag sitting next to her desk, and she remembered.

“Kyahaaaaaaaaaa! The birthday present isn’t done yet!!”

“What do I do? What do I do? What am I going to doooo!”

“It’s too late for the cardigan now! But Onii-chan is my first—no, my final—boyfriend, so there’s no way I can just give him something I bought at a random store!”

“But there’s no time! If I were to buy something, what would it be? A car? A house? A ship? The Big Island of Hawaii?!” (Like you could afford that!)

“A present for a boyfriend… something to give to him… is it… me?”

And there goes the delusion explosion.

“Kyahaaaaaaa! What should I do?! But, but, we’re already dating, so that means—noooo! Ah, I don’t mean ‘no’ in a bad way!”

“Wait, putting a ribbon on my head and saying ‘Onii-chan, please take me’? Kyahhhhh! But even without doing that, I already belong only to Onii-chan!”

“But still, we’re dating, so it’s fine, right? Onii-chan would be happy too, right?”

In the middle of this explosive delusion, she remembered something her brother had said.

“Let’s date with restraint, as brother and sister.”

To Shiori, her brother’s words were absolute.

“Right… if I did something like that, Onii-chan would hate me.”

“But what should I do? Something Onii-chan likes, something that makes him happy, something he’ll always keep near him…”

Shiori thought back on her brother. She remembered seeing him in middle school, often peeking at him in his classroom.

“That’s it!”

Shiori searched the net.

“This might actually work.”

Her present for her brother was finally decided.

Chapter 19: Big Brother’s Birthday Present

The Book Cover

In middle school, I used to go snoop on Onii-chan’s classroom all the time.

Thinking back, I pictured him exactly as I always saw him.

“Sitting there all alone in his own world, reading a book… my cool Onii-chan. Ah, I love him, he’s so handsome.”

Since he loves books, he’ll definitely use a book cover. There’s always a novel tucked inside his bag whenever I look.

Of course, Shiori felt absolutely zero guilt about the fact that she was a peeping stalker who went through his bag without permission.

“A book cover won’t take that much time to make. But that feels a bit lacking, or like my feelings won’t get across… Naturally, I’ll put it in a beautiful box, wrap it in cute paper, and add a ribbon, but—”

As she was humming and hawing, her middle school uniform caught her eye.

“Ah, I forgot to put this away. Well, it’s not like I’ll ever wear it again.”

“I wonder what Onii-chan is gonna do with his uniform? I want it… the uniform soaked with three years of Onii-chan’s life.”

That’s when it hit her. Or rather, she had an epiphany—one she probably would have been better off without.

“That’s it! This uniform is packed with all my feelings. If I use this fabric, Onii-chan can have the middle school version of me!”

“Yessssss! Onii-chan, just wait, I’m giving you my middle school self too!” And just like that, Shiori casually took a pair of scissors to her uniform.

If it were for her brother’s sake, she probably wouldn’t hesitate to cut up her current uniform, let alone her old one.

“Now I just have to write the letter. What should I do? If I write all my feelings, they won’t fit in an envelope.”

Forget an envelope—it would turn into a dictionary.

“Okay, I’ll stick to just my gratitude. I’ll thank him for going out with me.”

With the birthday present ready, the only question left was when to give it to him……

“Hey, Mom, what are we doing for Onii-chan’s birthday?”

“Ah, about that. I might not be able to get time off work. I’m asking if someone can cover for me right now, but—”

“Ehhhhhhhhh?!”

“So, can you, your brother, and your father go out to eat somewhere when you get back? I’ll make sure the cake and a present are ready.”

“I guess I have no choice then… Oh, but Onii-chan seems to have forgotten. I want to surprise him, so Mom, don’t say anything!”

“All right~. I’ll keep it a secret and have things ready.”

“Thanks!” After talking to her mother, Shiori went back to her room, and as soon as she shut the door—

“YESSSSSSSSSSSSS! Yes, yes, yes! Alone with Onii-chan!”

“A birthday with just the two of us… what should I do? Is it better at home? But I’d hate it if Dad came home right when the mood was getting good.”

“Come to think of it, I heard a night view is nice recently. A night view… a night view… haaa, a night view with Onii-chan.”

“Is there anywhere? A place where we can see the lights and be all alone?”

“That’s it! A Ferris wheel! In a Ferris wheel, it’s just the two of us, our own private space. Alone with Onii-chan, ehehehehe.”

She was going to keep fantasizing like this forever, so we’ll leave it at that.

And so, the preparations for the birthday present that Shiori had started six months ago were finally complete.

Chapter 20: This the Prologue to a Harem Arc?

Lunch break. Since Mom was on the night shift, there was no bento today. I hadn’t eaten breakfast either, so I was starving to death. I stood up, thinking I’d head to the school store or the cafeteria.

“Yuuuuu, this is a day late, but… a birthday present~.”

Speaking in her usual slow, relaxed tempo, Shisui Asami—my classmate from middle school—called out to me from the next seat.

“Oh, thanks! Wait, Asami, you knew it was my birthday?”

“Mm-hm. Before, when Yuu used to explain that you and Shiori-chan were only a year apart… when you said she was March and you were April, sometimes you mentioned the actual date. So I remembered. But I forgot to bring it yesterday. I’m slow with stuff like that, not just my talking, right? Sorry, Yuu.”

Asami rarely talks this much, so I was a bit moved while I looked at the present.

It was wrapped in cute green paper, tied with ribbons on both ends like a piece of candy.

“It’s nothing much. I baked some cookies. If you like, please eat them.”

“Whoa, handmade cookies? That’s amazing. You did say you liked making sweets, Asami.”

“Yeah. A while back, Yuu said he wanted to eat some. When I said okay, you said, ‘We’re taking exams and going to the same high school, right? If we pass, I’m counting on you.’ So I baked them.”

“Right, I did say that. Thanks. Can I try one?”

“Go ahead.”

I opened the wrapping to find several round cookies with chocolate chips and square ones with a checkerboard pattern.

“Whoa, these look professional. And they’re delicious!”

“Ehehe, thank you~.”

I was so hungry I was about to go for a second one when I felt a sharp gaze.

Ah, I thought, looking toward the source. Through the slightly open classroom door, I could see half of my sister’s face—and it was twitching.

From the hallway, I heard a voice call out: “Shiori! If we don’t get to the cafeteria soon, there won’t be any seats! What are you doing?!”

“Coming!” she replied, her eyes still locked on me…

Terrifyinggggg!

I told Asami, “I’ll finish the rest at home. Thanks! I gotta get to the store,” and hurried out of the classroom. Outside, a group of girls, including my sister, was walking toward the cafeteria.

Since they were walking slowly and chatting, I passed them and stole a glance at Shiori. She seemed to be having fun with her friends, so I felt a little relieved as I turned the corner.

But right there, the silver-haired beauty, Michiru, was walking toward me.

When Michiru spotted me, she spoke up.

“Hey. The courtyard again today? Care to eat with me?”

“Ah, no, I was thinking of buying something at the store today.”

“I actually made a bit too much today. If you don’t mind, would you like some?”

She lifted her wrapped bento to show me.

“Ah, well, really?”

I hesitated for a moment, weighing her bento against a dry bun from the store, when I felt another sharp gaze from behind.

I turned around to see half of my sister’s face peeking from the corner of the hallway again, twitching……

“Shiori? What’s been up with you for a while now?”

“Coming!”

She hadn’t looked away from me……

I hurriedly turned back to Michiru.

“Sorry, I’m actually in the mood for the store today. Rain check!”

I scurried away from the spot.

“Man, today’s after-school tea time at home is gonna be a storm,” I muttered to myself as I bought a bun at the store.

Michiru was in the courtyard, and Asami was in the classroom. I wandered around the school, looking for somewhere to eat.

Am I really gonna end up eating in a bathroom stall? Is this the true “loner’s lunch”?

I considered it but ultimately decided against it, settling for a random spot in the shadow of the school building. While I was eating, I heard a voice from above.

“My, my. Eating in a place like this? You look quite lonely.”

From the window above me, the Student Council President, Nakagawa Aoi, called out.

“Something like that.”

“What a cold response. Don’t worry, as long as you keep quiet about that, I won’t do anything to you. Or perhaps…”

Speaking in a low voice, Aoi reached out and stroked my hair.

“Would you like me to do something?”

At that moment, I felt that gaze again. I looked over and saw half a face peeking from the cafeteria window right nearby……

“It’s risky if someone sees us like this.”

“Oh, you’re right. How careless of me.”

She left with a refined “Ohohoho” laugh. When I looked back toward the window, I saw my sister being pulled away by her friends.

“Ugh… it’s gonna be hard going back to class. It’s gonna be even harder going home.”

Why do all these plot threads have to converge all at once?!