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 - 43-44

Chapter 43: Sleeping Together With Nee-san

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“Hmm…? What is this…?”

When I woke up in my usual bed that morning, something felt different. It wasn’t just the usual warmth of the blanket. It felt like something was holding me, enveloping me in a solid embrace rather than just being softly wrapped in mere bedding.

“Good morning, Tsumugu. You’re up earlier than usual today… Could it be that I woke you by sleeping next to you?”

“Good morning, Nee-san… Sleeping next to me? What do you mean by that?”

I turned to the side, trying to confirm the phrase that caught my attention and there was Nee-san, lying in bed beside me. Not just that, she was holding me in her arms.

“Huh? Why is Nee-san—wait, what!? Why is Nee-san sleeping in the same bed as me!?”

I shot upright and said that aloud reflexively and when I did, the arms that were hugging me let go, and Nee-san looked slightly disappointed as she murmured, “Ah…”

But I had bigger things to worry about.

Sleeping together in the same bed…?

I definitely went to sleep alone last night.

As I sat there, confused and unable to make sense of the situation, Nee-san, looking amused at my bewilderment, sat up beside me and explained.

“I finished making breakfast early today, and there was still time before school, so I came to your room and saw you were asleep. Since it’s already December, I thought you might be cold, and I felt like sleeping next to you too.”

“I don’t see how that leads to sleeping next to me.”

“Isn’t it normal to cuddle with your little brother?”

“Not when your little brother is already in high school.”

“Then… How about with a boy you like?”

Nee-san said that as she clung to my arm. I couldn’t come up with a good response to that question.

“There’s no rule saying I can’t do it unless Tsumugu hates it… And it didn’t seem like you disliked it that much, did it? When I hugged you, you looked just a little bit comforted even, you know~? You’re already cute and cool when you’re awake, but being that cute while sleeping too? That’s just cheating.”

At any rate, I decided the most important thing right now was to break out of this situation. I gently removed Nee-san’s arms from mine and got out of bed.

“More importantly, if you already made breakfast, then let’s eat together.”

“Okay! I’ll feed you, aah~n!”

“You don’t have to!”

“Then you feed me!”

“I’m not doing that either!”

I kept insisting I wouldn’t, but in the end, I ended up letting Nee-san feed me and I did the same for her in return.

…Having been my big sister for sixteen years, she knew me too well. I was reminded again of how troublesome that could be, as we headed off to school together.

“Morning, Tsunagi.”

“Morning, Hasumi.”

Even though it was December, Hasumi’s outfit hadn’t changed since the start of the second semester. She still didn’t wear her uniform blazer, choosing instead to tie it around her waist. But her skirt had at least changed from the summer to the winter version.

Even Hasumi must have realized that wearing the summer skirt in December was starting to push it.

“Why are you looking at my legs? Did your Onee-san do something to make you all pent-up this morning?”

“I’m not pent-up, and Nee-san didn’t do anythi-… I mean, she…”

Even though she did sleep next to me and hug me, so I couldn’t really say she did nothing.

“So she did something.”

“Th-That’s not it! It was still within the bounds of normal sibling skinship!”

“Hmm~”

Hasumi clearly didn’t believe me, but straightened her posture as if to move on and spoke.

“Hey… Can I stay over at your place during winter break?”

“Huh? …Wait, stay over!?”

I was taken aback by the sudden request. But first, I needed to know why she would suddenly bring that up.

“Why all of a sudden?”

“Why…? Isn’t it obvious…?”

Hasumi blushed as she fiddled with her earring and answered.

“Because I want to be with you, Tsunagi.”

“I… I see.”

Her response made me feel a little embarrassed this time. Still, even though Hasumi had been to my place once before to eat the food I cooked, saying she wanted to stay over was another matter entirely. Nee-san would definitely be surprised and probably wouldn’t allow it… Was what I thought as I told her about it when I got home after school.

But contrary to my expectation…

“Sumire-chan!? Of course she can!”

… She said yes way too easily. And so, with the chaotic winter break ahead likely to be filled with surprises, I decided to savor every last moment of peace and quiet I had left.

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Chapter 44: Nee-san’s Change

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“Winter break is the best~! Just like summer break, I get to be with Tsumugu every day! I’m so happy!”

Nee-san said in an extremely cheerful tone. Just as she said, winter break had arrived and during the winter break, I would be spending most of my time each day with her. 

“Though a lot has changed since summer break.”

“That’s true~! The fact that I can now fully express how much I love Tsumugu is a huge change! Tsumugu~!”

As she said that and tried to hug me, I lightly dodged her.

“Why did you dodge!?”

“Because lately, I feel like you’ve been getting physically affectionate with me in some way or another every single day, and it’s kind of embarrassing.”

“But tomorrow’s the day Sumire-chan is coming over, you know?”

“I remember that, but…What does that have to do with your physical affection?”

At that, Nee-san finally managed to hug me, and as she stroked my head, she tightened her embrace even more and said.

“Once Sumire-chan comes, I won’t be able to flirt with Tsumugu however I want like this, right~? That’s why I thought I had to get in as much cuddling as I can now! Ahh, I never thought a day would come where I could hug Tsumugu like this without holding back…”

“Nnh..! Nee-san…!”

Seeing that Nee-san was clearly struggling to contain her emotions, I tried to come up with a topic that might help calm her down and..

That’s it.

“Nee-san, come to think of it… What are we doing for Christmas this year?”

When I asked that, Nee-san stopped stroking my head and loosened her embrace, allowing me to escape from her arms. Then, in her usual voice, she said.

“For Christmas, I’d like to go out somewhere with you, like we did for my birthday.”

“Then let’s do tha─”

“But, Sumire-chan might be thinking the same thing, so even though I want to go out with Tsumugu, I think the one who should decide is you, Tsumugu.”

“I have to choose… Whether to go out with you or with Hasumi…”

Hasumi hadn’t actually asked me to spend Christmas with her yet, but since she had confessed to me, it wouldn’t be surprising if she invited me. In other words… I was being forced to make a decision: to spend Christmas with either Nee-san or Hasumi.

“There’s still about a week until Christmas, so I don’t think you need to rush to decide… Besides, I get to be with Tsumugu every day during winter break, so even if you spend Christmas with Sumire-chan, I…”

The Nee-san from before her birthday might’ve smiled and said, “Since I get to be with Tsumugu every day during winter break, it’s totally fine if you spend Christmas with Sumire-chan!” But… now that she knew we weren’t related by blood, and that it was okay to embrace the feelings she had long hidden saying that was clearly much harder for her.

After a brief silence, Nee-san gestured expressively as she spoke.

“Sorry for making things awkward… Anyway! Since Sumire-chan is coming tomorrow, I want to express my feelings for Tsumugu in as many ways as I can before then! So, let’s take a bath together tonight?”

“A b-bath…!? No way!”

“Why not!? You took one with me before!”

“That was just a spur-of-the-moment thing! Even with you—or any girl for that matter—I don’t think it’s something we should do repeatedly.”

“Ehh~! Then let’s sleep together tonight, okay?”

“Also no!”

Or at least, that was what I thought as I firmly rejected Nee-san’s advances. But later that night, right before I fell asleep, Nee-san came to my bed and tried to sleep beside me. I resisted at first, but sleepiness quickly sapped my will, and I ended up falling asleep beside her.

And so, the day of Hasumi coming over finally arrived… I felt a sense of dread from the moment I woke up, wondering just what kind of day it would turn out to be.

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