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 - 18-19

Chapter 18: Hasumi and the School Festival

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“Good morning, Hasumi. The cultural festival finally starts today, huh?”

“Y-Yeah… Good morning, Tsunagi. I’m looking forward to it.”

What’s this…?

Hasumi seemed more nervous than usual… Well, I guess it was natural to feel a bit different with the cultural festival going on.

…Hm?

“……”

This might sound like a creepy thing to say, but Hasumi’s scent seemed different than usual… Maybe she was trying to make it feel special for the festival? Her scent had a more mature vibe than usual.

“Is something wrong?”

“It’s nothing.”

Still, there was no point in pointing it out, so I decided not to dwell on it.

“I heard the school gates just opened, so the school is probably going to be packed with locals soon.”

“Yeah… Since we’re free to move around, want to head somewhere now?”

“Sure.”

So, Hasumi and I started walking side by side and decided to check out the cultural festival together. When we stepped into the hallway and walked a little, we saw it was already getting crowded, showing just how lively the festival was.

“When do you want to go to our class’s haunted house?”

“If we go now, we’ll just be in the way of customers. How about around lunchtime, when the line dies down?”

“Sounds good… Have you eaten breakfast yet?”

“Nope. I thought I’d eat with you at the festival.”

“Same here… Look, there’s a crepe stand over there.”

“Let’s check it out.”

Then Hasumi and I bought simple crepes topped with whipped cream from the stand and ate them as we walked.

“I haven’t had a crepe in a while, but this is really good.”

“Crepes are delicious, right? I eat them a lot. Want me to recommend a good shop sometime?”

“I’d appreciate that.”

When I replied, Hasumi gave a small smile as she ate her crepe. Then she looked at my face and, for some reason, smiled even more.

“What is it? Do I have something on me?”

“Yeah, cream.”

Hasumi took out a handkerchief and wiped the cream off my face.

“Ah, thanks.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

She said with a gentle smile, her cheeks slightly red. After that, we shared both Japanese and Western sweets—things like dango and cookies—then decided to take a break from eating and head to the area with the festival-style booths.

“They’ve got everything from shooting games to bottle bowling.”

“Bottle bowling sounds fun.”

“Yeah, want to give it a try?”

“Sure… I’m really having fun today!”

“Me too.”

With that exchange, we casually made our way to the bottle bowling booth. Just as we arrived, a woman with long, light brown hair was tossing a bottle—apparently being used as a bowling ball—and knocked down all the upright bottles. She had her hair tucked behind her left ear, showing off a stylish earring, and on closer inspection, she also had an earring on her right ear. Even from behind, she looked beautiful.

“Some fashionable people come to our school festival too, huh.”

While I was thinking that, Hasumi—who just moments ago said she was having fun—suddenly looked more pale than I’d ever seen her.

“…Hasumi? What’s wrong?”

“T-Tsunagi, how about we skip the bowling and go to the shooting game instead?”

“Huh? That’s kind of sudden—”

“Huh? Sumire?”

“…!”

“Sumire~!”

At the sound of someone calling “Sumire,” Hasumi’s face grew even paler… No, she was practically aghast. All colour was drained from her face. Sumire. Sumire was Hasumi’s first name, right? I looked toward the voice calling her, and it turned out to be the fashionable light-brown-haired woman who had just been playing the bottle bowling.

She had looked beautiful from behind, but now that I saw her face and outfit, it was clear she was stunning in every way—from her looks to her fashion sense. She jogged toward us and made eye contact with me.

“Hello.”

I didn’t know who she was, but I figured greeting her first wouldn’t hurt, so I greeted her.

“…Wait, a guy?”

The light-brown-haired woman looked at me and exclaimed in surprise.

“A guy!? Ehhhh!? Sumire is with a guy!! She’s hanging out with a guy at the cultural festival!!”

“Don’t say it like that, Onee-chan! And keep your voice down!”

Hasumi raised her voice to match the loud exclamation of the woman… 

Wait, Onee-chan?

“Are you… Hasumi’s Onee-san?”

“…Yeah.”

Hasumi answered with a clearly reluctant look and voice, confirming that this woman was indeed her big sister.

So this woman is Hasumi’s older sister.

Just as I thought that, Hasumi’s older sister began speaking loudly again, so I turned my attention to her words.

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Chapter 19: Memories with Hasumi

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“Sumire! You should’ve told me if you have a boyfriend now! I’ve been thinking it’s about time I introduced you to someone decent!”

“If I told you, you’d definitely say something weird, so I didn’t and besides, you’re jumping to the wrong conclusion. Tsunagi isn’t my boyfriend.”

“Oh, come on~! Sumire, who’s never gone out with a guy even when invited—not even to hang out—coming to the school festival with a guy, that can only mean…”

Just as her older sister was about to say something, Hasumi quickly covered her big sister’s mouth and glared at her with a menacing look.

“Be quiet. Seriously, be quiet.”

“Mmmph! Mmmmmm… Mmmh!”

…Her personality seemed completely different from Hasumi’s, but her hair color, face, and fashion sense were similar. Maybe because she was older, she had a more mature, stylish vibe compared to Hasumi. From my point of view, Hasumi was already incredibly stylish, but as expected of her older sister, she was on another level.

Eventually, her big sister gave in and raised both hands in surrender. When she stopped talking, Hasumi slowly removed her hand from her sister’s mouth. Then the older sister turned to me and spoke.

“Uh, Tsunagi-kun, was it?”

“Y-Yes.”

“I’m Akari Hasumi. Second-year in college, twenty years old. You can call me by my first name if you’d like.”

“No, you can’t.”

Hasumi shot her sister a sharp glare as she said that.

…So she’s a college student.

She gave off a vibe even more mature than a typical college student, but based on her looks and demeanor, I could believe she was twenty. Still…

“I-I’ll just call you Hasumi-san’s Onee-san for now.”

“Really? That’s too bad… So, since you’re the same age as Sumire, that makes you sixteen or seventeen?”

“I’m sixteen.”

“Sixteen, huh… You’re still underage, so it’d be a problem now, but in two years, when you turn eighteen, feel free to contact me anytime. I’ll teach you all sorts of grown-up things, as Sumire’s friend, of course.”

With a wink, Hasumi’s older sister handed me a slip of paper with her contact information.

“‘All sorts’…? What do you mean by that—”

Just as I tried to pursue the meaning, Hasumi, who was beside me, ripped the paper into pieces and said,

“Tsunagi, it’s totally fine to ignore anything my big  sister says.”

“What~! So mean!”

“Just go already.”

“Cold~! Sumire, you’re so cold~!”

“…Tsunagi, it’s about lunchtime, so is it okay if we head to the haunted house now?”

“Ah, sure.”

We’d already talked about going to the haunted house around lunch, so I had no objections. Hasumi managed to convince her sister not to follow us, and the two of us headed toward the haunted house together.

“Sorry, Tsunagi, for getting you caught up in that weird mess…”

“You don’t need to apologize. But… She’s totally different from you, so I was surprised.”

“Haa… I was having such a nice time with you at the school festival, and now it’s ruined because of my big sister.”

“Ruined…? What are you talking about? There’s still half a day left of the first day of the festival. We can still make even better memories from now on.”

“Tsunagi… Yeah, let’s make more memories together.”

Hasumi smiled gently as she said that. Soon after, we arrived at our classroom. As expected, since it was around lunchtime, everyone was over at the food stalls, and no one was lined up. So Hasumi and I entered the haunted house together.

“This place actually feels more like a real haunted house than I expected. Since I helped buy the props, I recognize a lot of them, so knowing what’s being used kind of takes the edge off the fear.”

“Yeah, but it’s still dark, so we should make sure we don’t get separated… Is it okay if I hold onto your sleeve?”

“Yeah, do whatever you want.”

As I said that, Hasumi immediately grabbed the sleeve of my shirt. As we walked forward, we saw things like creepy dolls lit up on desks and ghost-faced cloth suddenly popping out.

“It’s scary, but since I know what’s going to come out—even if I don’t know the exact order—it’s not that scary. It feels more like a fun attraction instead.”

….Just as I said that, a creepy voice went “Uuuuuaaaa” and footsteps started approaching.

“Huh? What is that…?”

I had only gone shopping for supplies for the haunted house and had no idea how any of it was set up, so I was genuinely confused. But beside me, Hasumi pointed at a certain spot and said.

“Look over there.”

I followed the direction of her finger.

“That’s… A locker?”

“Yeah. I think it means we’re supposed to hide in there and wait it out.”

“I see. That’s pretty immersive. I like it.”

So Hasumi and I climbed into the locker together. We could hear footsteps from outside. It seemed like we should stay inside for a while, but… It was a tight fit for two people in a single locker, and our bodies were pressed close together. Because of that, I could distinctly smell Hasumi’s mature scent. Her scent today smelled different from her usual scent.

“W-We ended up in the same locker, but now that I think about it, there must be other lockers, right? We don’t have to stay this close… I’ll go hide in another one.”

Just as I tried to leave this locker, Hasumi grabbed my arm to stop me.

“If you go out now, they’ll spot you… So don’t. We have to stay like this a bit longer.”

“But…”

“Tsunagi, do you hate being like this with me?”

Maybe because we were hiding or maybe it was because of the topic itself, but Hasumi asked me that in a quiet voice. While I was flustered by the situation, I calmly assessed things and responded.

“It’s not about hating it or not. I mean… A lot of stuff is pressing against me, and I can really smell your scent… When I think about that… I thought you’d be the one uncomfortable.”

Even as I said that, Hasumi leaned her whole body into me and gently placed both hands on my chest, as if she didn’t hear me.

“Hasumi…?”

“I-It’s cramped, so I thought maybe this way we’d have a bit more space behind our backs…”

“In that case… Well, I guess it can’t be helped.”

Eventually, once the footsteps faded, Hasumi and I stepped out of the locker. No matter what else popped out after that, the memory of being in the locker together was too strong, so nothing else really startled us. We made it through the haunted house without being startled too much by the haunted house.

“Well then… Shall we continue exploring the rest of the school festival?”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

After that, Hasumi and I played shooting games, ate food, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves until the end of the first day of the festival. Then, right after the end of day one of the festival… Hasumi and I were chatting a little before heading home.

“Tsunagi, thanks for today. I had a lot of fun.”

“I should be the one thanking you. I had a great time too… I think this will be a really special memory.”

“Me too… I got so many precious memories today.”

“Let’s keep getting along from now on too, not just during the festival.”

“Yeah. Let’s.”

With blushing cheeks and a smile, Hasumi gave me that reply and that brought the first day of my school festival to a close… Today was truly a great day indeed.

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