The Case Where I Found Out My Big Sister with a Brother Complex Was Actually My Stepsister, Tried to Hide It, but She Found Out Immediately and Became Uncontrollable - 16-17

Chapter 16: Going Shopping With Hasumi

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“What else do we need… Black noren curtains, black drapes, and black vinyl sheets?”

“Props like fabric and dolls. The rest, we can mostly get from school.”

“Thanks.”

With the school festival coming up this weekend, our class had decided to do a haunted house, and since Hasumi and I were assigned to shopping duty, we had come to a large shopping mall together to get supplies.

I had chosen the shopping role because I wanted to focus on enjoying the festival as much as possible on the actual day. Our roles had been decided before I knew I’d be going around the festival with Hasumi and my sister, but in the end, I got to go with both of them, so I guess it all worked out for the best in the end.

As I examined a few creepy-looking dolls, I spoke to Hasumi.

“Come to think of it, why did you decide to be on shopping duty, Hasumi?”

“Eh? Oh, that’s because I wanted to be free during the festival, same as you… Like I said, I got invited by some friends too, so I was hoping I’d have as much free time to enjoy it as possible.”

“So that really is the biggest perk of shopping duty, huh?”

“…Yeah.”

I found a scary-looking doll that fit the haunted house theme and placed it in the cart… Just looking at the contents of the cart alone was already unsettling enough.

“Are you bad with ghosts, Tsunagi?”

“It’s not like I’m terrified of ghost or anything, but I’m not good with them either… I’m not really afraid of ghosts themselves, but in a haunted house, you have to walk in the dark not knowing what’ll pop out, and I guess that part gets to me… What about you, Hasumi?”

“I’m pretty okay. I watch horror movies a lot.”

“I–I see.”

I wouldn’t say I’m scared of horror movies, but I’ve never felt like watching a horror movie on my own. I really should learn that kind of boldness from Hasumi.

“…Since the haunted house is our class’s project, I was thinking I’d check it out at least once, but if everything’s this dark and creepy, it might be tough for me.”

“Since we’re going around the festival together anyway, want to go in with me? I want to see the end result of our class’s project too.”

“Eh, really? Is that okay with you?”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks! If you’re with me, Hasumi, I’m going to feel really glad. Ah, but… If I end up screaming or something, just pretend you didn’t see it, alright?”

“I’ll make sure to always remind you about it, ‘Do you remember when you scream…’ Like that, you know?”

“Please don’t!!”

When I said that, Hasumi let out a small laugh.

But honestly, I will feel so reassured if I have Hasumi with me. Just having someone calm next to me would probably ease a lot of my fear… I’m really starting to look forward to the festival now.

After buying everything we needed and bringing it to school, Hasumi and I decided to walk home together.

“It’s almost 6 PM already…”

The sky had the warm glow of early evening.

“Time flies, huh?”

“It’s going to get dark soon… Hasumi, if you want, I can walk you home?”

“It’s summer, so I think it’ll still be light for a while longer.”

“I see… But you should button up your second button.”

“Whether my second button’s open or not, no one’s really looking at me.”

Hasumi said that while looking at me with a slightly lonely expression. But I reached out and buttoned her second button as if to reject that idea.

“I’m looking and right now, I’m worried about you.”

“…!”

When I said that, Hasumi looked genuinely surprised. Then she spoke with a somewhat apologetic tone.

“…Sorry for making you worry. Thanks. I’ll be more careful when it looks like it’ll get dark.”

“You don’t have to apologize.”

“Tsunagi… Is watching me.”

Hasumi murmured something, looking a little happy.

“Hasumi?”

“Nothing… I was just thinking, you were watching me before, too.”

“…Before?”

When I asked her back, she lifted the corners of her mouth and spoke.

“When I switched to summer clothes and started leaving that second button open, you were staring around there, weren’t you?”

“Eh!? I told you that was a misunderstanding! And even if I was looking, that’s not what I meant by—”

“I know, I’m just teasing… Thank you, Tsunagi.”

Hasumi said that with a gentle smile on her face. Being thanked like that didn’t feel bad at all, but somehow I felt like she’d drained a bit of my energy at the end. After walking part of the way home together, Hasumi and I went our separate ways and headed back to our homes.

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Chapter 17: My Big Sister’s Burden

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“Tsumugu? The cultural festival lasts two days starting tomorrow, so you need to make sure you don’t stay up late and wake up on time, okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I don’t usually stay up late anyway.”

On the night before the cultural festival, my big sister and I were eating dinner together and chatting lightly about the two-day event starting tomorrow.

“What’s your class doing for the festival?”

“We’re putting on a play on the gymnasium stage!”

“A play!?”

Come to think of it, I hadn’t really asked what her class was doing until now, so I asked just out of curiosity, but I didn’t expect it to be a play—on the gym stage, no less.

“It’s actually a really nice story. If you’d like, want to go see it together on the second day?”

“Yeah, I want to go se─wait, if I go see it, does that mean you’re not in the play?”

“That’s right.”

“But you’re so pretty, Nee-san. That’s such a waste…”

If I was the only one who thought my big sister was beautiful, people might think I was being biased, but even Hasumi said that my big sister was beautiful. So I was certain my big sister was objectively beautiful. Sure, I was aware taking a role in a play wasn’t just about how someone looks, but I was confident Nee-san could act pretty well too. 

“Pretty…! Uh, no, I mean, that’s not the only reason.”

“Huh?”

“I was actually asked to be in the play, but I turned it down because I wanted to spend one of the festival days walking around freely with you, Tsumugu. If I only acted on one of the two days, then we’d have to get someone else to be my stand-in on the other day, and that would cause a lot of extra hassle.”

“So that’s why, huh…”

It seemed her decision was made with kindness in mind too.

“That’s why I was told to hand out flyers to promote the play on both days. I’ll try to finish most of it on the first day, but I might need to pass out a few on the second day too, so… Will you forgive me for that?”

“It’s not about forgiving you or not. If there’s anything I can help with, I want to help too.”

“Thanks! You’re so sweet, Tsumugu!”

She said that with a gentle smile. Of course I was looking forward to walking around with Hasumi on the first day, but I was really excited about spending the second day with Nee-san too.

“…Tsumugu, you’re going around the festival with Sumire-chan on the first day, right?”

Just as I was thinking about the plans for both days, Nee-san asked the very same thing I’d been thinking about.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“You and Sumire-chan… Are really close, huh?”

“I think so. We’re usually together at school, we’ve gone out on our days off before, and recently we got assigned to the same shopping group… We’re also going to spend the first day of the festival together too. So yeah, I’d say we’re pretty close friends.”

“I see… That makes sense. Actually, it’s kind of strange that someone as kind as you hasn’t had any girl friends until now.”

My big sister said that with a somewhat lonely look on her face.

“Nee-san…?”

“No, don’t worry about it… Tsumugu and Sumire-chan are both such good kids, so… Why can’t I just be happy for you like I should…?”

She lowered her head and muttered something, but I couldn’t make out the words. Still, I could tell for sure that something had made her feel down. Nee-san usually tried not to show any weakness around me. She was always acting like a dependable older sister and in truth, she really could do anything. She didn’t seem to have any weaknesses. But maybe that was why… All the pressure she’d been carrying as “big sister” sometimes hit her all at once like a crushing weight.

And when that happened… That was the moment where I needed to step in.  I stopped eating, stood up, and went over to her.

“I don’t know why you’re feeling down, but at the very least, I want you to know that I’ll always be on your side, no matter what… If you’re carrying something heavy, I want to carry it with you. That’s what siblings are─”

“Siblings… That’s precisely why, Tsumugu… I can’t let you carry it. If I make you carry this with me, it’ll only end up hurting you when you have to face reality.”

…What I just said completely ignored the fact that Nee-san was kind. Knowing her, there was no way she’d want me to carry her burdens. In fact, her kindness—the good and the bad of it—was exactly why she insisted on carrying them alone… So the only thing I could do was ignore that kindness and insisted on shouldering her burden with her anyway.

I gently hugged Nee-san from behind and spoke.

“The only thing I can say is this. No matter what kind of person you are, I’ll always accept you as you are, Nee-san… That will never change, so please don’t ever forget it.”

“Tsumugu…”

On the night before the cultural festival, Nee-san and I shared a quiet, but undeniably meaningful moment together.

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