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 - 32-33

Chapter 32: Hasumi Is a Friend

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“…Huh, how unusual.”

I arrived at school and made my way to my seat, but today, Hasumi wasn’t there. Maybe she had overslept. As I thought that and reached for my chair with my right hand to sit down, I suddenly felt something soft embracing my left arm.

“Guess who?”

“Don’t do that out of nowhere—it’s bad for my heart.”

When I said that, the person only hugged me tighter and said again.

“Guess who?”

“Hasumi. Sumire Hasumi. I know it’s you, so let go.”

When I said that, Hasumi stopped hugging me and stood in front of my seat with a very satisfied look on her face.

Lately, Hasumi had started hugging me like that whenever she got the chance. Even so, when we talked, her tone hadn’t really changed. Her tone was still calm and composed like before, which caused quite a gap between her actions and her way of speaking. 

“Isn’t that kind of weird?”

“What is?”

“I’ve never seen you hug your female friends like that. So why only me?”

“Don’t you remember? I said it was limited to Tsunagi only.”

“You did say that, but why only me?”

“Because talking with you is the most fun.”

“…Wouldn’t your female friends be sad if they heard that?”

“This is what I’m like, so it’s fine.””

I wasn’t exactly sure what she meant by that, but I’d occasionally seen her hanging out with her female friends, and they always seemed to be having fun. So borrowing Hasumi’s words, I guess it was “fine.”

“…More importantly, how do you feel?”

“Feel about what?”

“I mean, even if we’re friends, getting hugged like that by the opposite sex must make you feel something, right?”

Hasumi asked while looking out the window. Despite her casual demeanor, the question somehow carried weight. Without even realizing it, I ended up answering honestly.

“If someone as good-looking as Hasumi hugs me that closely, of course I’m going to feel something… Don’t make me say something that embarrassing.”

Suddenly realizing what I’d just said, I tried to brush it off. Normally, this would be the part where Hasumi says something like, “Tsunagi, are you that sexually frustrated?”… but this time…

“…”

For some reason, she didn’t say anything. She just turned her gaze from the window to me and froze… Huh?

“H-Hasumi?”

“…Tsunagi, does that mean… You think I’m attractive? Is that what you’re saying?”

“What are you talking about now? I’ve always said I think you are cute and stylish. I’ve told you that plenty of times before, haven’t I?”

When I said that, Hasumi’s cheeks turned red, and a soft smile formed on her lips. Or so I thought, but then, even though she had just let go of me earlier, she hugged me again—this time from the front.

“Hasumi!?”

“Lately, the time I spend hugging you has become my favorite time… I just want to stay like this forever.”

“…”

Even though I knew she was just a friend, I found myself starting to feel a little flustered. I reminded myself that Hasumi was just a friend and suppressed the emotions that were starting to well up, then gently pushed her away.

“S-Speaking of which, last weekend, I happened to run into your older sister. She ran off yelling something, so I was worried I might have caused you some trouble when she got home.”

“The weekend…? Oh yeah, after my big sister came back from shopping, she started asking me all sorts of weird questions. So that’s what it was about.”

Apparently, Hasumi had some idea what I was talking about.

“I see… Then it’s probably my fault. Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. My big sister is always like that anyway.”

“Thanks.”

I thanked Hasumi, and then I thought I felt someone’s gaze from the hallway, so I stepped outside──but there wasn’t anyone there. Or so I thought.

“…Nee-san?”

I thought I saw my big sister’s back as she was going up the stairs, but I decided not to worry about it for now and returned to the classroom.

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Chapter 33: Nee-san’s Misunderstanding

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Lately, my sister’s been acting strange. Not strange like she’s become gloomy or that she’s avoiding me. It’s not like that. However…

Just as I was thinking about it, my big sister came over to where I was, lounging on the living room sofa doing nothing in particular on a day off.

She leaned toward me and said.

“Did you already finish this week’s assignments? If there’s anything that feels difficult or something you don’t understand, you can always ask your Onee-chan, okay?”

“Yeah, thanks, Nee-san.”

When I replied, she smiled and walked off toward the kitchen. …If you just looked at that moment, there’d be nothing strange about it. My big sister was acting like the usual, but I decided to think back on our recent interactions, not just that moment.

“Tsumugu, is there anything you want to eat today? If there is, just tell your Onee-chan, okay?”

“Today, I feel like having fried rice.”

And then, on another occasion…

“I’m home.”

“Welcome back, Tsumugu~! Onee-chan has been waiting for you to come home~!”

For some reason, lately my big sister had been deliberately calling herself ‘onee-chan’ a lot when talking to me, like she was trying to emphasize the fact that she was my big sister. Maybe I was just overthinking it. Maybe from her point of view, she wasn’t doing it to emphasize anything. Maybe she was doing it without any ulterior motives, but for some reason… I felt like something was off. 

“…I don’t want to get stuck in weird speculation by overthinking it on my own. I should just go ask her directly.”

That was the conclusion I came to. So I went to the kitchen, where my big sister was chopping vegetables.

“Nee-san, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“This might just be me overthinking things, but… Lately, I feel like when you talk to me, you’ve been calling yourself onee-chan a lot more than usual. Is there some reason for that?”

When I asked, my big sister stopped cutting the vegetables and said.

“Have I? I feel like I’ve always called myself onee-chan sometimes though?”

“Yeah, you have. But I don’t think it was that often before.”

“That’s because…”

My big sister paused for a moment, then spoke in a quiet voice.

“Tsumugu… I’m your onee-chan, so… is it okay if I hug you?”

“…Yeah, it’s okay.”

Normally, I would’ve reacted with surprise, but I wasn’t so dense that I couldn’t read the atmosphere this time. My big sister smiled gently and hugged me tenderly.

“Tsumugu, you’ve really grown… You used to be so small.”

As she said that, she gently tightened her arms around me and continued.

“I’m your onee-chan, so I want to support you if you have a girlfriend, but… For various reasons I can’t tell you, it seems I still can’t support you yet… Of course, I’m aware that I’m Tsumugu’s onee-chan… I know I will never be anything else to Tsumugu…”

“…Like I said before, you’re someone I’m proud to ca— Wait, huh? A girlfriend!? …Eh? …Eh!? W-Who? Me!? A girlfriend!? W-What are you talking about!?”

It was such a shocking statement that my brain tried to skip over it entirely, but I managed to latch onto the word “girlfriend,” so I brought it up. But in contrast to my flustered reaction, my big sister spoke with a strangely detached tone.

“You don’t have to hide it. You started dating Sumire-chan, didn’t you?”

“Eh, huh? Hasumi and me?”

I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about—but her next words made the misunderstanding clear.

“I saw it… Sumire-chan hugging you and not just once… I saw it a few times even at school.”

Sure, under normal circumstances, my big sister’s assumption wasn’t that weird. It was only natural for her to jump to that conclusion. After all, even though Hasumi was my friend, it was still a bit weird for us to hug each other. No matter what, she was a girl and I was a boy. That kind of skinship between a girl and a boy was definitely crossing the border. I had gotten a bit numb to that, but if I were in my big sister’s shoes… Yeah. I’d definitely assume that Hasumi and I had started dating too. But… 

“That’s not it! That’s just Hasumi being overly affectionate as a friend. We’re not actually dating or anything.”

“…Really?”

My big sister looked surprised at my words.

“Yeah.”

I responded briefly, but with firm conviction. Maybe because she believed me, or to be precise thanks to my words and my tone—she finally let go of me and, after mumbling something to herself, spoke again.

“I see… So that’s how it is… Then I don’t have to give up just yet… Hey, Tsumugu, when it’s my birthday, I want to tell you a secret I’ve been keeping.”

“Huh? A secret…?”

When I asked, she gave a small nod and said.

“Yeah. Something I’ve been hiding for a long time… Thanks to this misunderstanding, I’ve realized again how much I want to tell you this feeling, even if you end up rejecting it.”

…I couldn’t read my big sister’s emotions from her expression, but one thing was clear. She had made up her mind with unshakable resolve.

“…Alright.”

“…Okay then! I’m going to make dinner now, so just relax in the living room and wait for me~!”

With that, she returned to her usual cheerful self and stayed in the kitchen, while I went back to the living room. …Between the important talk from Mom and this secret my big sister had been hiding… I felt a chill at the thought of what might happen on my big sister’s birthday this year, but for now, I let myself focus on the warmth of being able to spend time with her like this.

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