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

Chapter 24: Little Sister’s Resolve

“Onii-chan, it’s morning! You have to wake up!”

I wasn’t being woken up by a certain sister of a former vampire or anything like that. As usual, my alarm was supposed to—

“Onii-chan, wake up! It’s morning!”

That voice sounded just like my sister. Did I buy a voice alarm like that? I fumbled around my pillow, but the alarm clock wasn’t there .

“Onii-chan, get up! It’s morning!”

I opened my eyes to find my sister standing right there, alarm clock in one hand, wearing her school uniform topped with an apron .

“Hyohe-hifuuuu!”

I let out a weird cry and jumped out of bed, which made her burst into giggles.

“What was that? So funny! Onii-chan, I made breakfast, so make sure you eat before we go to school, okay?”

“Huh?”

She handed me the alarm clock and headed downstairs. It had been a few days since our talk, and after a weekend of things settling down, she suddenly shows up to wake me? We rarely had mornings like this, so I was completely caught off guard. And she made breakfast?

I hurriedly changed and went down. Shiori was doing dishes in the kitchen. On the table were two servings of toast, ham and eggs, salad, and coffee—a beautifully colorful breakfast.

“What’s all this?”

“I made it!” she said, wiping her hands on her apron as she came over. “Let’s eat, Onii-chan. Itadakimasu!”

“Where’s Mom?”

“She had a semi-night shift, so she’s sleeping.” (My mom is a nurse, by the way.)

I nibbled on my toast and asked the obvious question. “So, why are you making food?”

“I told Mom that since I’m a high schooler now and she’s always busy with work, I’ll handle breakfast and bento from now on. I mean, I did it occasionally before, but she said it would be a huge help.”

She beamed while stuffing her face with bread. I felt a slight twinge of guilt, wondering if I should be doing something too.

“Wow, that’s impressive… but don’t overdo it.”

“Mm, I’ll be fine.”

After finishing, I tried to head out first as usual, but—

“Wait, Onii-chan. Your bento.”

“Eh? You made one for me too?”

“Of course! Making for two isn’t much different from making for one.” She handed me the wrapped lunch. I was genuinely impressed. “Thanks. Well, I’m off then.”

“Wait, Onii-chan! I’m coming too.” She pulled off her apron and stopped me .

“Are we going together?”

“Why not? We go to the same school.”

She said it with such a bright smile that I couldn’t really argue. We stepped outside and walked side-by-side.

“Uh, Shiori-san, what exactly is going on…?”

Before I could get an answer, the first member of the “Shiori Army” arrived.

“Shio-ri! Good morning!”

It was like they were lying in wait. I tried to step ahead to give them space, but Shiori grabbed my shirt sleeve.

“Onii-chan, let’s go together today. Sumire, you don’t mind, right?”

Sumire, who I assume is a classmate, looked as puzzled as I was by this uncharacteristically pushy Shiori, but she couldn’t really say no .

The three of us walked together. It was awkward for a bit, but they soon started chatting like usual. I tried to vanish into the background like a stone, but Shiori kept dragging me in: “Right, Onii-chan? You think so too, don’t you?”

How am I supposed to know what the current skirt trends are…?

More and more of her friends joined in, each giving me a look that said, Why is this guy here? Was Shiori mad? Was this some form of bullying against a loner like me? I endured ten minutes of high-pitched chatter until we finally reached school .

“I, uh, need the restroom. You go ahead.”

“Okay~!” Shiori led her army into the classroom.

I didn’t actually need the restroom, but I lingered near the entrance to avoid an immediate return.

“Hey, Yuu. Good morning.” It was Michiru, the silver-haired “bokukko” beauty.

“Standing around here… do you have business with me?”

“Ah, no.”

“If it’s a date, I’m free next Sunday.”

“It’s not.”

“No need to be so cold. Even if it’s not a date, I’d like to talk about old times with you.”

“Yeah, I’d like to hear your stories too. If we get a chance.” (I probably should check with Shiori first, even if we aren’t ‘officially’ dating like that anymore.)

Michiru headed to class, and I followed shortly after. Shiori was surrounded by friends, but the moment she saw me, she started waving. The entire Shiori Army turned their eyes toward me. I gave a weak wave and scurried to my seat.

What is going on? I couldn’t focus on class at all. Then, as soon as the bell for lunch rang, Shiori moved again. She stood up with her bento as if she’d been waiting for the exact second.

She stood by my desk and said:

“Let’s eat together, Onii-chan.”

A sudden silence fell over the room. Seriously, Shiori-san, what are you doing?

Chapter 25: Little Sister’s Resolve

“Umm…”

Without waiting for my answer, Shiori pulled up a chair from an empty desk, sat down in front of me, and began opening her bento box, completely disregarding everyone around us.

“Umm… Shiori-san, what exactly is this…?”

She looked at me, then followed my gaze to the side. Sitting next to me was Asami, staring at us with her mouth wide open .

“Asami-chan, want to join us?”

“Fuah?” Asami let out a weird noise before responding, “Is it okay… Shiori…-san?”

My sister gave her a beaming smile. “Of course, Asami-chan! Let’s eat together. And you can drop the ‘san’.”

“Shiori…-chan?”

“Yup! You have a bento too, right, Asami-chan? Let’s eat together.”

Asami started noisily trying to push her desk closer, so I stood up to help her.

“Thank yooou, Yuu.”

The moment Asami smiled and thanked me, I flinched and looked at my sister. Shiori was watching us with a smile. Usually, I’d see a dark aura emanating from her, but today I didn’t feel a trace of it.

“Come on, let’s eat! I’ve been wanting to talk to you for a while, Asami-chan!” Shiori said cheerfully as she opened her lunch .

I sat down and looked around. Shiori’s friends (which is basically most of the girls in class) were watching from a distance with baffled expressions. But the atmosphere was more like, Well, I guess today is just one of those days? as they drifted off to the cafeteria or started eating at their own desks.

“Shiori, what about the friends you usually eat with?”

“Eh? I don’t really have a specific group I eat with every day. It’s usually just whoever happens to be around—cafeteria group, store group, bento group. Today, you and Asami-chan are the bento group, and I wanted to eat with you, so I came over. I didn’t promise anyone else, so it’s fine.”

As expected of someone who’s friends with nearly every girl in class. But is this really okay?

“Asami-chan, your bento looks delicious! Did you make it yourself?”

“Eh, yeah… I always… make it myself…”

“Wow, that’s amazing! Ours is half frozen food.”

“Yuu… you made his too?” Perhaps trying not to sound too familiar in front of my sister, Asami called me by my name without an honorific but hesitated slightly. Shiori didn’t seem to mind.

“Yup! Starting today, I’m making it every day. I need to get better at homemade cooking too. Teach me sometime, Asami-chan!”

“Mm, okay…” Asami replied, blushing shyly.

Still… something is definitely off with my sister today. What is it? I sank into thought…

“…chan… -i-chan! Onii-chan!”

“Ah, sorry, sorry! What?”

“Geez, are you listening? You’re acting weird, Onii-chan.”

No, YOU’RE the weird one! I wanted to scream, but instead said, “Ah, sorry. I was just thinking. So, what?”

“Geez! I was saying that we’re going to Asami-chan’s house sometime to learn cooking and baking, and you’re coming with us!”

“Eh? Ah, yeah, sure. I’ll tag along. wait, am I cooking too?”

“Ehh~, Onii-chan is fine just watching. You’re on tasting duty! Right, Asami-chan?”

“Mm-hm.”

The two of them chatted happily. I felt a chill watching my sister’s special ability—[Instant Friends with Anyone]—break through Asami’s loner shell so easily. But seriously, what is happening?

Then, after school.

I was nervous about whether she’d come for the walk home too, but Shiori was busy chatting in a circle of friends. I breathed a sigh of relief—Surely not on the way home too—and left the classroom.

“Sorry everyone, I’m heading home!” I heard her voice behind me.

“Onii-chan, wait! Don’t leave me behind!”

EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!

She caught up and grabbed my sleeve. I turned around to see Shiori, and behind her, several puzzled faces peeking out from the classroom door.

Isn’t this bad? Like, really bad?

Noticing my gaze, Shiori turned around too. “See you all tomorrow!” She waved with a smile. Her friends’ puzzled expressions instantly turned into smiles as they waved back.

“Okay, let’s go home, Onii-chan.” She started walking, still holding my sleeve .

What is this? Bullying? Is this bullying? Where should we go—the staff room? The Board of Education? The PTA?

I don’t know, but if I don’t get an explanation once we get home, my heart isn’t going to survive this .

Chapter 26: Little Sister’s Resolve

“Uh, Shiori-san?”

We were walking home together side-by-side. My sister was chatting away happily, but I couldn’t help but be bothered by everything that had happened today.

I mean, the trigger was probably that incident, but…

“Oh, Onii-chan, Mom is on the night shift today, so it’s just us at home.”

“Right. Then no tea party today—wait, are we continuing that?”

“Hm? Why wouldn’t we?”

Glancing around nervously, I lowered my voice. “Because, well, that was categorized as a ‘home date’…”

Just as I said it, one of her friends called out from behind us, as if on cue.

“Shio-chan, heading home? Um, is that your brother?”

“Yep! Heading home with Onii-chan!”

“I see. Well, I shouldn’t intrude then. Byeee!”

Ignoring the slightly teasing tone, she waved back. “Yep, byeee!”

“So, Onii-chan, what about the date?”

She was still waving as she asked. I figured I shouldn’t say anything careless since we could run into another one of her friends at any moment. “No, it’s nothing.” I brushed it off.

When we got home, the house was filled with the smell of curry.

“Curry today!”
Shiori giggled at the instantly recognizable dinner menu and headed for the kitchen.

“Onii-chan, Mom said she’s leaving early today.”

I followed her to the kitchen and saw Mom’s note on the table.
…Just use email, Mom…

“Okay, I’m gonna go change!”
Shiori patted up the stairs in her slippers.

“I’ll change too.”

I went upstairs as well. I really needed to ask her what on earth today was all about…
When I entered the living room for our “after-school tea time”—

…Shiori was preparing the tea in her pajamas.

“Uhhh… Shiori-san, what’s with that outfit?”

“Eh? This? Isn’t it cute?”

She spun around to show off her frilly pink pajamas. Her chest—probably braless—bounced…

I mean, we live together. I’ve run into her in her pajamas at night in the kitchen or hallway before, so it’s not like I’ve never seen them. But changing into pajamas while it’s still light out in the late afternoon? She hasn’t done that since elementary school.

Seriously, what has been going on since this morning…?

I sat on the sofa, and Shiori sat next to me with the tea.
I took a sip of my usual coffee, let out a long breath, and finally calmed down enough to ask.

“So, what was with today?”

“Eh? With what?”
…She’s playing dumb.

“No, I mean—going to school together, lunch together, going home together… and, for that matter, those pajamas.”

“Ehhh? Aren’t they cute?”

“I mean, yeah, they’re cute, but—”

“Right? Ehehehe.”

“No, not ‘ehehehe’!”

“What does it mean?!”

“Onii-chan, you’re kinda scary right now.”

“No, you’re the scary one…”

Shiori was smiling, but she wouldn’t give me a reason… I was getting a headache.

“Hmm… am I doing something that strange?”
She tilted her head, pressing a finger to her lip.