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 - 41-42

Chapter 41: Hasumi’s Attack

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

“Morning, Tsunagi.”

“Morn─ing!?”

The next day, when I arrived at school in the morning, Hasumi was—as usual—sitting at my desk and greeted me. Just as I was about to return the greeting, she hugged me out of nowhere.

…Lately, I thought I’d gotten pretty used to Hasumi hugging me, but because she had confessed to me just yesterday, the very act of being hugged by her now carried a whole new meaning—and it completely caught me off guard.

“What’s wrong, Tsunagi? Don’t tell me… You’re getting conscious of me as a woman now?”

“Yesterday you confessed to me, and now you’re hugging me. How could I not be conscious of you?”

“I’m so happy to hear that!”

Hasumi said with a smile directed at me… Somehow, her smile felt brighter than before. A brighter smile was definitely a good thing, but I still hadn’t sorted out my feelings yet. This left me feeling complicated…

“Tsunagi, are you free after school today?”

“I am, but… Is there anywhere you want to go or something?”

When I asked that, Hasumi tightened her hug on me slightly and replied.

“No, I just… I just want to be with you.”

“I-I see.”

“Aww~? Tsunagi, are you blushing~?”

“If you already know that, there’s no need to say it out loud.”

When I said that, Hasumi, still hugging me, looked a bit more serious as she opened her mouth.

“I’m really glad to know that you’re even a little conscious of me as someone of the opposite sex.”

“…Huh?”

“I was always afraid that if I confessed, you’d say, ‘I only see you as a friend,’ and it’d ruin everything we had. That fear kept me from confessing for so long… But now, I’m truly glad I did, because you’re seeing me as the opposite sex like this… That makes me really happy.”

Hasumi said this with a blush on her cheeks. I had no words in response to that and just like that, the morning passed with her holding me in her arms. Then, after school ended, I went out together with Hasumi. Since Hasumi said that she didn’t really care where we went and all she cared about was being with me, we decided on a café that was perfect for a relaxed atmosphere. It was the same café that I always went to with Hasumi whenever we came to a café together.

“…”

It was our usual café, but something was different today. …Usually, we would sit across from each other, but today, Hasumi sat right beside me.

“Yeah, sitting closer does make it easier to talk.”

“Maybe so… Oh, by the way, you ordered tea today? That’s unusual.”

Trying to divert my attention away from how close we were sitting, I quickly shifted the topic from how close we were sitting to our drinks.

“Yeah, I figured if we always order the same thing, it’d get boring. So today, I thought we could do a little taste comparison.”

“Taste comparison…?”

“Yes. Comparison between your slightly sweet coffee and my tea. Sounds fun, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, it does.”

Even though she confessed to me, it still felt like we could enjoy things just like always.

Hasumi took a sip of her tea, then brought my coffee to her lips and drank that as well.

“Even though it’s sweet, coffee is still more bitter than tea… But if it had been black coffee, the contrast in flavor would’ve been too much, and they wouldn’t mix well. Since we drank them almost at the same time this time, the flavors blended nicely and tasted good. So maybe focusing on that rather than just a taste comparison is more interesting.”

“Is that so? Then I’ll try it that way too.”

I followed her lead and drank the tea and coffee in succession. First the sweet tea, then the slightly bitter coffee. It really did strike a good balance—the aftertaste was excellent.

“This is good.”

“Right? …I’ll do it again too.”

Hasumi repeated the same action, then said.

“…It’s sweet.”

“Huh? Even though you drank coffee last, you think it’s sweet?”

“It reminded me of the day we first went out together on a weekend. I said the coffee was sweet, and you said it was bitter… Hey, Tsunagi, when I say ‘sweet,’ I mean… This.”

Saying that, Hasumi placed her fingers to her own lips, then touched mine.

…My lips? …Lips!?

“Wait, was that an indirect ki─”

“If you say it out loud, you will kill the flavor. It’s better to just keep quiet.”

“…”

After she pointed it out, I was able to feel this strange sensation. I could taste this mysterious sweetness and richness blending together.

Damn it, thinking about it that way is making my heart race all of a sudden.

As if she could see right through me, Hasumi reached out and took my hand under the table, where no one else could see.

“Hasumi…!?”

“We haven’t touched our lips together yet, but… Holding hands should be okay, right?”

And after that, Hasumi and I stayed in the café together until night came.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

Chapter 42: Love Rivals ~ Sumire Hasumi’s POV ~

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

Sumire Hasumi always looked for Tsumugu Tsunagi first thing after school. She looked for Tsumugu because, if he was free, she wanted to spend time with him, and even if he wasn’t, she still hoped she could walk home together with him. 

Today, her routine—which had become something of a habit—hadn’t changed, but she’d been told he had something to take care of and wouldn’t be able to walk home with her. So, she decided to go home alone and use the time to think about a few things… She headed from the classroom toward the school gate on her own. Normally, she would’ve gone straight home, but something unexpected happened near the gate.

“Huh… Sumire-chan?”

“Tsunagi’s… Onee-san?”

She had run into Nozomi Tsunagi, the woman known as Tsumugu’s older sister, who, in truth, wasn’t related to him by blood—and had even confessed her feelings to him. The next to speak was Nozomi.

“Today… Ah, right. Tsumugu might be busy today.”

“Is that so?”

“This morning he said, ‘I always make you cook, so today I’ll head home early and cook dinner myself.’ So I think he was rushing around because of that.”

“I see…”

“This kind of thing happened before too, didn’t it…? If you’d like, would you want to walk home together again, just like last time?”

“Yes, I actually wanted to talk with you about a few things too, Onee-san.”

Thanks to this second chance encounter, the two of them decided to walk home together. They matched each other’s pace as they began the journey.

“Last time we walked together like this, I thought of you as a love rival without even realizing the truth. But now… We’ve really become love rivals, aren’t we?”

“Yeah… I guess you never know what life will throw at you.”

“I don’t know if you already heard, but I actually confessed my feelings to Tsunagi too.”

“Oh, really?”

Nozomi didn’t seem to know that and showed a mildly surprised expression, but it wasn’t as if she were completely caught off guard either. She already knew Sumire liked Tsumugu, and since Sumire now knew that Nozomi had confessed to him, she must have assumed it was only a matter of time before Sumire acted on her feelings as well.

“Onee-san. Back when we walked home together, you said, ‘I like Tsumugu as a little brother, but I don’t have feelings for him as a guy.’ I guess that was…”

“A lie. I had to keep telling myself that. Because otherwise, I’d be betraying him as his big sister, and I’d end up interfering with his relationship with you. I’d be hindering his future with this wonderful girl who had come to like him—just because of my own feelings.”

After saying that, Nozomi looked Sumire in the eyes and continued.

“You know… I was always so jealous of you, Sumire-chan. You’re his classmate, his friend, you’re close to him in a way I’m not, and there’s no issue whatsoever with you falling in love with him. I really envied that.”

Hearing that, Sumire looked into Nozomi’s eyes and began to speak as well.

“I was always jealous of you too, Onee-san… Actually, I still am. You’re beautiful, stylish, you’ve been with Tsunagi since forever, you live in the same house, and you’re so close to him… Honestly, I really envy you.”

Then, the two of them locked eyes and simultaneously added.

““But…”” 

And followed it up, also in unison.

“I’m the one who’s going to be happy with Tsumugu!”

“I’m the one who’s going to be happy with Tsunagi!”

The fact that they had said the same thing at the same time struck them both as funny, and they burst into laughter together and then, with a smile still on her face, Sumire spoke.

“Onee-san, if you’d like… Would you want to go to a café for a bit? There’s one I always go to with Tsunagi.”

To that, Nozomi responded with a smile.

“I’ve always been curious about the places you and Tsumugu go to and he’ll probably take some time cooking dinner, so your invitation couldn’t be more perfect.”

“Right? Knowing Tsunagi, he might mix up the salt and sugar, you know?”

“That’d be a disaster. I wonder if his cooking will still be edible?”

“If it’s made by Tsumugu, I’ll eat it!”

“If you put it that way, then I will too! Sumire-chan, want to come over later to eat with us?”

“Are you sure…!?”

“Of course!”

“I’ll come! Oh, and there’s this drink I recommend at the café…”

After that, Sumire and Nozomi went to the café together. They enjoyed some drinks while chatting happily, and then went to the house that Nozomi and Tsumugu shared. The three of them had dinner together and throughout the meal, both Nozomi and Sumire showered Tsumugu with praise, saying his cooking was absolutely delicious.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー