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 - 35-36

Chapter 35: Nee-san’s Confession

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“Marriage…? N-Nee-san, calm down!”

It seemed like Nee-san was extremely shaken by the shocking revelation, so I decided to help her calm down first. But Nee-san kept muttering incomprehensible things under her breath.

“Mom wouldn’t write something like this as a lie, so it’s safe to assume that what’s written in this letter is true… Which means the fact that me and Tsumugu are not related by blood is also true. We’re not real siblings, we’re technically step-siblings… If we’re step-siblings, then the feelings I’ve had until now can’t be considered entirely wrong, and all the things I wanted to do but couldn’t until now… At the very least, legally speaking, they’re possible now… I don’t have to keep holding these feelings back anymore…”

As I rubbed Nee-san’s back, trying to soothe her, I spoke.

“Even if we’re not related by blood, Nee-san, we’ve always gotten along well, and I want us to keep getting along… I care about you as my big sister, but more importantly, Nozomi Tsunagi is an important person to me too.”

I blurted that out in the heat of the moment, trying to express my honest feelings about this revelation… I was a little anxious about how Nee-san would take it, but she replied with her usual gentle smile.

“Sorry, Tsumugu, I lost my composure for a bit there, but you don’t have to worry. Whether we’re related by blood or not, whether we’re step-siblings or not, you and I will always be close.”

As she said that, Nee-san gently embraced me. …How many years had it been since Nee-san last hugged me?

“It’s been so long since I’ve hugged you like this, Tsumugu… I’ve been holding back all this time.”

“Holding back…?”

“Because I’m your Onee-chan, I thought it wasn’t right to hug you while having these kinds of feelings but now, I don’t have to hold back anymore, right?”

“What do you mean by that? What feelings?”

“Yeah… I was planning to tell you today anyway, so let me tell you… The thing I’ve been hiding from you all this time.”

She tightened her arms around me, then spoke clearly and firmly.

“I’ve always loved you, Tsumugu… As a boy. In fact, I don’t think those feelings will ever change… Especially now.”

Her confession left me in a state that couldn’t be described as simply shocked or surprised—I didn’t even know how to express what I was feeling.

Nee-san likes me? As a boy? Is that what she was originally planning to tell me today? The secret she’s been keeping?

“I know it’s a lot to spring on you all of a sudden. You’ve always seen me as your Onee-chan, so I don’t expect you to accept it right away but, you know, I love you as my little brother, and I also love you as a boy. Earlier, you said I’m important to you as both your Onee-chan and as Nozomi Tsunagi, right? I feel the same way. But in my case, I love you both as my brother and as a person—as Tsumugu Tsunagi. I love you as a boy.”

Nee-san loves me as a boy. As the opposite sex.

That put a whole new weight on the situation of being hugged by her… Before, I interpreted it as being hugged by my Nee-san, but now it felt like I was being embraced by Nozomi Tsunagi, a girl.

“…Hearing all of that is making me feel embarrassed, so could you let go of me for a second, Nee-san? So much has happened, my head’s about to explode. I need time to sort things out.”

“You’re embarrassed because you’re finally starting to see me as a girl. That reaction is perfectly normal, so don’t worry. But I understand you need to sort your thoughts too… Yeah.”

Nee-san finally let go of me. …I took advantage of her kindness and tried to head back to my room to gather my thoughts alone—but then.

“Where are you going?”

“Huh?”

When I turned back toward her, I saw that Nee-san was sitting in seiza and patting her lap.

…A lap pillow?

“Nee-san, that’s—”

“I want to get even closer to you from now on, Tsumugu… So when you’re thinking about something difficult, or when it’s too hard to think alone, let’s think about it together, okay?”

“…Nee-san.”

Doing as she suggested, I placed my head in her lap and started sorting through my thoughts. Nee-san watched me with a gentle smile, but in that smile wasn’t just the affection of a big sister looking at her little brother—there was also the tenderness of a girl in love with the boy she cherished.

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Chapter 36: Nee-san’s Real Self

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“Tsumugu~, it’s time to wake up, you know?”

“…Nee-san? …Five more minutes…”

“Okay, five more minutes then. In the meantime, maybe I’ll just watch your sleeping face… Who knows, I might even sneak a kiss, and Tsumugu might not even notice.”

“A… kiss…? Kiss, kiss… KISS!?”

I was jolted awake by that incredibly provocative word. Right next to me was Nee-san, looking at me with a gentle expression.

“It was just a joke, but Tsumugu, you really never change.”

“That joke was way too much, Nee-san!”

“Sorry.”

Saying that, Nee-san wrapped her well-proportioned, voluptuous body around me in a hug… For a second, my just-woken-up brain was confused, but yesterday was Nee-san’s birthday, and it was also the same day where we found out we weren’t actually blood-related siblings. Nee-san also confessed to me that she liked me as a guy, not as her little brother. I should’ve been sorting out my thoughts with my head resting on Nee-san’s lap, but…

“Nee-san, when did I fall asleep yesterday?”

“You were sleeping so peacefully on my lap. You looked so cute~”

This is way too embarrassing. Even though I’m a high schooler, I ended up falling asleep on my sister’s lap… Nee-san.

As I found myself being hugged, I felt a feeling I shouldn’t be having toward my big sister starting to rise. So I decided to ask something important for the future of our relationship.

“Nee-san, I… I thought I could keep going like usual even without a blood connection between us, but now that I’m aware we’re not actually related, even being hugged like this makes… Some impure thoughts welling up in my mind, but… Even so, is it still okay for me to call you Nee-san?”

“Of course it is! I wouldn’t mind being called Nozomi either, but if it means forcing you to change how you call me, then sticking with the affectionate way you’ve always called me is definitely better… And also, Tsumugu, like I said yesterday, those impure thoughts you’re having are because you’re starting to see me as a girl, as someone of the opposite sex… There’s nothing strange about that. It’s perfectly normal… As for me, even back when I still thought we were real siblings, I’ve always loved you as a boy, and after finding out yesterday that we weren’t actually related by blood, I lost the chain that had been holding back my feelings. So now I want to love you without holding back, to make up for all the times I couldn’t.”

“Nee-san…”

If I had to put it into words, until now she wanted to love me but couldn’t. Now that there was nothing preventing her from loving me, Nee-san finally unveiled her real self. Which meant, the person Nee-san became from here on out would be Nee-san’s true desire, without any lies or pretense. 

Nee-san, looking somewhat melancholy, said.

“To be honest, I really wish we could stay like this forever…” 

But then, she let go of me, saying we’d be late for school if we didn’t eat. So we decided to have breakfast together. While we were eating…

“Oh right, Tsumugu, there’s something I want to ask.”

“What is it?”

“From your perspective, do you think I look attractive?”

“Attractive…?”

“You’ve always complimented how I look, but that was me as your Onee-chan, right? But… I’ve actually always wanted to know what you thought of me as someone of the opposite sex, not as your Onee-chan.”

Whether or not Nee-san looks attractive to me as a woman…. That’s…

“Of course you do. You’re beautiful, Nee-san.”

“Really!?”

Nee-san stood up and hugged me tightly as she exclaimed.

“I think you’re really handsome too, Tsumugu! I love you~!”

“I get it, now sit down! I can’t eat like this!”

“R-Right! Sorry!”

Realizing she’d gotten a little carried away, Nee-san quickly calmed down and sat back in the chair she had been using.

Good grief. It seems the future is going to be a handful.

Even with all that, we finished breakfast together and headed off to school… Or so I thought.

“Nee-san, why are you holding onto my arm?”

“Because I want to be close to you.”

“…Isn’t it enough just to walk next to me?”

“It’s not enough!”

Rather than just linking arms, Nee-san clung to me so tightly with both hands. It was safe to say she was practically embracing my right arm with all of her body. Despite feeling a bit uncomfortable about that, I headed to school with her.

“…Huh?”

From the opposite side of the street came a girl with bright brown hair, stylish earrings, wearing her school blazer tied around her waist despite the cold weather, and a miniskirt. It was an eccentric take on the uniform given the weather and of course, that girl was none other than… Hasumi.

“Tsumugu, good morni… huh?”

Hasumi froze for a second as she saw Nee-san clinging to my arm.

How am I even supposed to explain this?

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