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 - 2

Chapter 2: My Adorable Little Brother

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When I arrived at school, I immediately parted ways with Nee-san since we were in different grades… Nee-san seemed reluctant to leave until the very last moment, but there was nothing we could do about the separation caused by the grade-level system.

As always, I went to my classroom and took my seat.

“Good morning, Tsunagi.”

Every day when I arrived, a particular girl always greeted me without fail.

Her name was Sumire Hasumi. She styled her bright brown hair to the left side, wore a fashionable earring in her right ear, tied her school blazer around her waist, and even though it was technically still spring, she was already wearing the summer version of the skirt—making it pretty short for the season.

Hasumi, who went all-out in a stylish fashion even within the confines of school, had the looks to match her style.

“Why are you staring at me like that? Feeling sexually frustrated?”

“Sexu—!? No, I just thought, you’re pushing the school dress code to its absolute limit with that intense fashion sense, just like always.”

As you can tell, she had a blunt personality.

“Is that so? But does it suit me?”

While I was still wrapped up in my thoughts about Hasumi, she suddenly threw that question at me.

If you ask whether it suits her, there’s no hesitation in my answer. …However, there’s one thing I have in mind that I feel I have to say to her.

“It suits you. But…”

“But?”

“You probably shouldn’t walk around late at night dressed like that.”

“…Not like I go out late at night anyway.”

“I just thought I’d say it, that’s all. Sorry.”

“No… Thank you for worrying about me.”

Hasumi looked away from me, but from her tone of voice, I could pretty much imagine what kind of face she was making. Still, I didn’t do something as tactless as trying to peer at her face.

──And then after school, Hasumi had started inviting me to hang out recently, and today was no different. She invited me again, so we finished our assignments together at a café before heading home.

“I’m home.”

“Welcome back~!”

As usual, Nee-san rushed to the entrance to greet me the moment I got home. She was wearing an apron—probably in the middle of cooking.

“You got back late today too. Did something happen?”

“Ah, I was studying with a friend at a café.”

“Studying!? If you were studying, I could’ve helped you! Why didn’t you ask me!?”

She seemed shocked that I hadn’t relied on her, visibly dropping her shoulders in disappointment… To clear up the misunderstanding, I explained.

“It’s not like there was anything I didn’t understand. We just wanted to work on the assignment together… If I ever get stuck, I’ll come straight to you for help.”

“I see… Okay! If there’s anything you don’t get, you can ask your Onee-chan anything! I’m still cooking, so why don’t you go take your bath first today!”

“Got it. Thanks, Nee-san.”

She smiled at me before heading back to the kitchen… Lately, Nee-san seemed more and more intent on fulfilling her role as my older sister. If it were just a matter of her being unable to let go of her attachment to her little brother, that would be one thing… But it felt like there was something more. Like she was trying to convince herself of something—

“…No, I shouldn’t overthink it.”

I almost took her kindness in the wrong way, so I decided to do as she said and take a bath to relax both my body and mind.

“This really takes the edge off…”

I murmured to myself as I soaked in the bath. Since I had finished the assignments earlier today, I was more tired than usual, so it was the right call to get in the bath first.

“A bath, huh.”

I used to take baths with Nee-san all the way up until middle school, but once I entered middle school, we stopped doing that. If I were to take a bath with Nee-san now──

The moment I began to entertain that thought, I plunged my face into the bathwater, then quickly raised it and took a deep breath, murmuring to myself.

“What the hell am I thinking…”

To stop any more strange thoughts from surfacing, I got out of the bath right away.

“Good job with the bath~! Dinner’s ready already!”

When I walked into the living room with the hairdryer, Nee-san had already taken off her apron and changed into her casual clothes.

“Thanks. I’ll eat after I dry my hair.”

I sat down on the couch, reached for the dryer, and just as I was about to switch it on—suddenly, the hair dryer was gone from my hand.

“Huh?”

“I’ll dry your hair for you!”

I was confused, but there she was, standing behind me without me noticing, holding the dryer that had just vanished from my hand. She switched it on and started drying my hair.

“Nee-san!? I can do it myself!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine! You’ll always be my cute little Tsumugu… No matter how much time passes, you’ll always be my little brother after all.”

I couldn’t catch the last part because of the dryer’s noise, but Nee-san’s expression looked somewhat dark, so I decided not to say anything more and let her dry my hair… And when she was done—

“Thanks, Nee-san.”

“No, it’s okay… I just wanted to do it. Sorry for forcing you to entertain my whim.”

“I don’t mind. We’re siblings after all.”

“…Yeah.”

Once again, I enjoyed the delicious meal Nee-san had made, and we had a pleasant dinner together.

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