My Little Sister Suddenly Confessed to Me, but What Am I Supposed to Do by Dating My Little Sister? - Chapter 72 & 73 & 74

Chapter 72: A Night in Ishigaki

“I’m sorry!”

It was finally dinner time, and a fully recovered Michiru apologized to everyone.

“It’s because I suggested going to Hateruma Island without thinking properlyrr. Michiru-chan isn’t to blamerr. I’m the one who’s sorryrr.”

“No one is at fault. Are you really okay now, Michiru? Don’t push yourself.”

“It was just seasickness. No need to worry! Now, food, food! I’m starving!”

With that, she energetically led the way. Well, I’m glad she’s back to her usual self.

Since it was our final dinner in Ishigaki, we splurged a bit on a garden barbecue.

Sets of meat and vegetables were lined up to be grilled right in front of us. Aside from the grill, it was buffet-style, allowing us to pick out desserts, fruits, and other dishes as we pleased.

There was a fire pit nearby and, as long as you didn’t mind the bugs, the atmosphere was perfect.

“Alright, I’ll do the grilling, so come and get it.”

“Ehh, I’ll do itrr.”

“Don’t burn it, Onii-chan!”

“Hey, hey! This cake is incredibly delicious!”

“Ehhh, Michiru-chan, are you eating cake first?”

“Cake goes in a separate stomach!”

“That’s something you say afterrr the mealrr.”

“Whoa, hot! An ember flew at me!”

“Don’t get burned, Onii-channn!”

“The fruit is so goooood!”

It was a fun—truly fun—meal. And the thought of it being the last night made me feel quite lonely.

“That was delicious.”

“It’s over already? I’m kind of sad.”

“It would be nice if the four of us could come here againrr.”

“We still have all of tomorrow, after all.”

We talked while drinking coffee after the meal.

“What shall we do tomorrowww? Go to Kabira Bay—the most beautiful spot in Ishigakirr? Or go shoppingrr? Or swim at the hotelrr? Since we have a flight to catchrr, we can only pick one rr.”

As usual, Asami took the lead. Her suggestions were precise and impressive.

“Hmm. There’s no sea more beautiful than Hateruma’s. We can do shopping at the airport. Come to think of it, we haven’t really gone for a proper swim. We haven’t even been to the hotel beach yet.”

“The beach at Hateruma was a no-swimming zone, after all.”

“Then let’s all swim for the final day!!”

Having decided that, we each returned to our rooms.

Back in the room, I stood on the balcony with a drink in hand, looking out to cool down my body, which was flushed from the barbecue.

My sister, who had said she would prepare for tomorrow and was dutifully packing both her luggage and mine, came over to stand beside me.

“Onii-chan, I put your swimsuit and a change of clothes on top of your bag.”

“Thanks.”

With that, she took a sip of my juice. I’d grown used to the indirect kisses. She’s my sister, after all; it would be weirder to be embarrassed…

As we watched the distant fire pit together for a while, she began to speak in a solemn tone.

“Asami-chan is such a good girl. And Michiru-chan is so energetic, bright, and cute.”

“Yeah. They’re both completely different from how they are at school.”

“Onii-chan… were you happy to be confessed to by them?”

No one had mentioned the confessions from last night until now, but Shiori finally brought it up.

“Well, it’s not like I’m unhappy about it, but the confusion is bigger. I keep wondering: why me?”

I truly felt that way. Why…?

“Fufufu. As I thought, you really haven’t noticed, Onii-chan. You’re amazing.”

“Amazing? Me?”

“Yes. It’s amazing to make people fall for you without even realizing it.”

“Is it because I’m handsome or something?”

I mean, if you make people fall for you unconsciously, it has to be looks, right? Am I more handsome than I thought?

“Ehhh… I’d say your looks are ‘ordinary,’ Onii-chan.”

“Ordinary, huh…”

Well, it’s better than being called ugly…

“Yeah. But, you’re incredibly cool…”

“Hey, Shiori. I’ve asked before, but why did you fall for me?”

“Ehhh, I don’t know.”

“Back to that again…”

I’d asked her why before, and the answer was always “I don’t know.” What does that even mean?

“I don’t know why, but I love you, love you, love you, love you. Ever since I was little, I’ve always, always struggled with it. I wondered why I loved you this much.”

“So, I spent all my time watching you, trying to find things I hated about you.”

“You were looking for things you hated…?”

“In the end, it just made me love you even more!”

She smiled and leaned her arms on the balcony railing, looking out.

“Hmm. I’ve just been treating you as a normal brother, though.”

“That’s the amazing part about you.”

“That is?”

“You do the obvious things as if they’re obvious, but you’re saving everyone by doing them.”

“The reason I have so many friends is just because I’m imitating you.”

“Then why do I have so few friends?!”

If that were true, then why? I mean, I don’t have zero friends, but I have few!

“Ahaha! I’m not telling you thatrr—because if you get more friends, I’ll have less time with you.”

“You’re so mean, Shiori.”

“…Yeah. I guess I am…”

“Ah, wait, I didn’t mean it that way.”

“No… I have a bad personality.”

“…………”

“You know, Onii-chan… both Michiru-chan and Asami-chan are incredibly good girls. And they cherish you so much. I think they are worthy of you.”

“I think that, if it were one of them… I could probably congratulate you even if you were taken away.”

Saying that, she looked at me and began to cry.

“Oh, I hate this. Lately, I’m always crying in front of you.”

“Shiori…”

With the fire pit as a backdrop, her crying face captivated me. I thought her tears, her face, and her heart were all beautiful.

I wiped her tears with my finger. The warm tropical breeze heightened the mood between us.

As I placed both hands on her cheeks, she slowly closed her eyes.

Our faces naturally drew closer, as if being pulled together…

I felt like I could hear her heartbeat through my hands. The scent of her shampoo, her cute face with closed eyes, the sound of the waves from afar—four of my five senses were being stimulated.

And then, the final sense: taste…

I closed my eyes as well, my consciousness concentrating on my lips.

It was a first-time experience. I didn’t know the exact distance, but I could estimate it by the angle of my arms.

When our noses lightly touched, I tilted my head slightly.

Ah, finally…

Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong!

“Gyah!”

We both snapped our eyes open to see each other’s faces just centimeters away.

The chime rang out again.

Hurriedly pulling away from her, I opened the door to see what was going on.

“Hey! I had a bad feeling—no, wait, the night is still young! Let’s all play together!”

With a deck of cards in hand, Michiru was there, with Asami smiling awkwardly behind her.

I ignored the aura of intense rage radiating from behind me and let the two of them into the room.

That was too close… I felt a great deal of gratitude toward Michiru in my heart, while a tiny bit of regret lingered.

Chapter 73: A Night in Ishigaki

My sister, fueled by rage, crawled into bed, wrapped herself in the sheets, and started sobbing quietly.

“Ah—I knew something was happening. I just had a hunch about it.”

Michiru said this with a smug, knowing look.

Is Michiru some kind of psychic? First my sister, now Michiru—it feels like they both have some kind of special intuition.

“Shiori-channn… I’m sorryrr. I tried to stop herrr.”

Asami spoke toward the bed, but she didn’t actually move closer. Asami can be quite the character too, I suppose…

“See, I told you so.”

“Yeahhh. Good jobrr, Michiru-channn.”

The two of them were whispering to each other, but I couldn’t hear—no, I chose not to hear them.

“And that’s the game!”

Michiru slammed two cards onto the floor and declared her victory.

By the way, while having this conversation, we were already in the middle of a game of Old Maid… Sorry, Shiori…

“Shiori-channn~ aren’t you going to play cardsss?”

“Zzzzzzzzzz.”

That snoring is a bit too cliché, sister…

After the three of us played Old Maid and Concentration for a while, Shiori’s steady breathing started to fill the room.

Apparently, she had been monitoring the three of us late into the night yesterday and was suffering from sleep deprivation. It seemed she had truly fallen fast asleep.

As if waiting for this moment, Michiru suddenly brought up our secret.

“So, I heard you used to date Shiori, Yuu.”

“Wh-wh-why do you know that…?”

The suddenness of it made me stutter, making it impossible to play it off.

“Shiori-channn told usrr. On the first nighttt, when we went to the bathrr, she told us therrre.”

“Seriously? Shiori did…? Well, she did say she’d answer if asked.”

So that’s why things felt a bit strange…

“Yuuu, did you feel any resistancerrr… about dating Shiori-channn?”

“Hmm… I think I probably did. But more than that, I was mostly just confused. Like, why me…?”

“So, I thought that if we tried dating, the illusion would be shattered. But my left hand couldn’t shatter it.”

“Left hand?”

“Ah, no, never mind. Anyway, a lot happened and now we have this delicate relationship.”

“Yeah, I heard that too. When you told her to break up, she shot back that the two of you could never part. She was practically bragging. And the one who shatters illusions uses his right hand.”

“She told you that much? What a chatterbox… and Michiru, you should go to Akihabara with Shiori sometime…”

“Yuuu… do you love Shiori-channn?”

“I love her.”

“Is thattt… as a loverrr?”

“I don’t know… There was one person I liked when I was a kid, but looking back, I think that was just admiration. Because of that, I don’t have a clear sense of what ‘loving someone’ feels like. I don’t know if this feeling I have for my sister is family love, sibling love, or romantic love.”

“Is it different from the feeling you have for your ‘Mama,’ Yuu?”

Come to think of it, Michiru still says “Mama.” I want to poke fun at that, but this isn’t the right atmosphere…

“Hmm… I think there are similar sensations. But there are also completely different ones. I really don’t understand it myself…”

“But I can say this much: to me, Shiori is more irreplaceable than our parents, more than anyone. She’s precious, and I never want to make her cry…”

“Uuugh… I’m jealous of how much you treasure her! Is there any room for the two of us to squeeze in there?”

“Even if you ask about ‘room’… I don’t even understand my relationship with Shiori, so I can’t really say. More importantly, why do you two like someone like me?”

I really wondered why. Why would these three cute and charming girls feel this way about me?

“Yuuu… you shouldn’t say thatrr. It’s rude to the three of usrr.”

“Eh?”

“Exactly. Don’t say ‘someone like me’! It’s because it’s you. I won’t forgive anyone who denies the Yuu we love, even if that person is you yourself…”

“…”

“Yuuu… you are more wonderful than anyone elserrr. Our eyes aren’t lyingrr. So please… don’t ever say ‘someone like me’ againrr…”

Tears threatened to well up. Knowing there are people who truly accept you for who you are is such a wonderful thing. But I held them back. I couldn’t cry here; I couldn’t show them such a pathetic side of myself. My final shred of pride stopped the tears. I had to say something to these two who had gone so far for me.

“All of you are truly charming. It makes me so happy that such charming people could say they love me…”

I said this with a smile to the two of them, and to the one who was sleeping.

The two headed back to their room, realizing we wouldn’t be able to wake up tomorrow if we didn’t sleep soon.

I saw them off, then sat on my bed and stared at Shiori in the opposite bed.

I watched my sister, wrapped in the sheets with only her face peeking out.

I just watched her, without thinking about anything at all…

Chapter 74: The Final Swimsuit

“Last chance! We’re swimming until the plane takes offffff!”

On the beach in front of the hotel, Michiru raised her pale arms, full of spirit…

“No, if we swim until it takes off, we won’t be able to go home. More importantly, Michiru, what is with that swimsuit?”

“This? This is my ultimate weapon to captivate you. Well? Is it cute!”

Michiru stood with her hands on her hips, puffing out her chest.

“No, as expected, that’s just… look, the other two are totally weirded out.”

“W-why? Shiori told me for sure that Yuu absolutely loves these.”

“Shiori!”

My sister was looking away, desperately trying to stifle her laughter…

“Listen, I think you should reconsider. You should probably go change.”

“Why! Do you hate this swimsuit!”

“It’s not about whether I like it or hate it. I mean, I don’t hate it, but… admitting that I clearly ‘like’ it involves my personal dignity, so to speak.”

“Ugh! You’re so indecisive. You like it, don’t you? If you do, just say it!”

“H-H-How could I say that?! Why a school swimsuit! And a white one at that! You even went and wrote ‘Michiru’ on it! Think about the time and place!! Just go change alreadyyyyyy!!!”

“Eh? Is it no good? I heard you liked them, so I went out of my way to find and buy one… Is it… is it really no good…?”

Tears began to well up in Michiru’s eyes.

“No, no, no, no, don’t cry. It’s cute and it suits you, but it’s no good. Look around.”

The male guests’ gazes were inevitably fixed on Michiru.

“Hii!”

Michiru was startled by the attention, but she immediately turned back to me with a look that said, “And?” …Her mental fortitude is incredible…

Fine. If it’s come to this, I’ll use her affection to my advantage! I whispered into Michiru’s ear…

“Look, everyone is staring. I don’t want to show my cute Michiru to all these other guys too much. So go change, okay?”

“Eh? I-I see. Honestly, you’re quite a guy… You’re right. I’ll go change then. Wait just a moment!”

With a bright red face, she hurried off toward the changing rooms.

Man, she’s a pushover…

The moment I confirmed Michiru was heading for the changing rooms, I marched toward Shiori.

“Shiiiii-oooooo-riiiiiii!”

“Ky-aaaaah!”

My sister panicked and tried to run from my menacing aura.

“Don’t runnnnnn! Who said I like school swimsuits?!”

“Buttt! In that manga magazine hidden behind the bottom drawer of your desk, the story on page 45 with the girl in the white school swimsuit—”

“Don’t say ittttt! I haven’t set an R-18 rating on this, so don’t say another word! I mean, why?! Why do you always know my hiding spotsssss?!”

“I know everything about you, Onii-chan.”

“I’m. Asking. How! When are you even coming in? Shiori, are you a teleporter or something?”

“I’m not Shirai-sensei~ Ah, but Onii-chan, there were a lot of girls with twin-tails in that magazine, too. I’ll do twin-tails next time.”

“No, no, no, no.”

“Hey, hey, Shiori-channn… does Yuuu… like that sort of thingrr?”

Asami, who had been blending into the background like air, suddenly asked Shiori with great curiosity. What are you asking?!

“Yeah. Onii-chan also likes…”

“Hmm, eh? Tell me more in detailrr. Eh! He even likes thatrr? I wonder if I can do thatrr.”

“No, no, no, no! You’re not doing it! Shiori, stop it alreadyyyyy!”

What happened to the serious atmosphere from last night?! I’m going to cry. I’m seriously going to cry.

“Yuu, I’m back and changed!”

Michiru jumped onto my back.

“That was fast! Hey, don’t cling to me— My chest, my chest… Hm? Is something hitting me?”

“H-How rude!! Look, I have some!! Look!!!!”

“Don’t press them against me, it hurts! Your ribs are hitting me, it hurts!”

“Wh-Wh-What did you sayyyyy?!”

“Aaaah! Onii-chan! That’s unfair! Me toooooo!”

“Aaah, don’t cling to me! Stop coming at me from the front!”

“Then me tooo, eiii!”

“I’m sandwiched! My arms, my arms are stuck!”

“Look!!!! I have them!”

“Kyaaaa! Onii-channn!”

“From the other side tooo, eiii!”

“What is this? Is it okay for the story to end like this? I mean, the stares from the people around us are dangerous! I’m basically dying of embarrassment here!”

I shook off Asami, tossed Michiru into the sea, and as for Shiori… well, I just scooped her up and ran.

“W-Why?! Why am I the only one in the sea?!”

“Ah, Shiori-chan, that’s unfairrrr!”

“Ehehehehehehehehe.”

(By the way, the three girls’ swimsuits were the same as the ones they wore at Hateruma, so I’ll omit the descriptions. If you’re curious, please go back and read those chapters… though there’s no benefit to me even if the access count goes up…)

And so, the Ishigaki Island trip came to an end… well, almost.

We swam until past noon, left the hotel, and bought souvenirs at Ishigaki Airport before boarding. Since they unfortunately didn’t sell live habu snakes, I bought a toy one for my mother. For my father, well… Shiori probably bought something.

And, as expected, planes are scary. Takeoff is scary. Call me pathetic if you want, but what’s scary is scary. The reason I scooped Shiori up at the end was because I knew this was coming…

“Ehehehehehehehehe, Onii-chan~~~”

Keeping it a secret from the other two, I had Shiori hold my hand again as we left Ishigaki Island… I can only show my pathetic side to my sister…

They told me not to say it, but really—what do they see in someone like me?! Seriously!!