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 - 55-56

Chapter 55: Hasumi’s Onee-san’s Is an Adult

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“…Why are you asking me something like that?”

When Hasumi’s Onee-san directly asked me if Hasumi had confessed to me, I froze up a little. After a moment, I finally opened my mouth and asked that question in return.

“Sumire’s been acting a little different lately. I was hoping it was something like, ‘She changed so much all of a sudden because she loves her amazing big sister!’—that would’ve been nice. But realistically, there’s no way that’s the reason why. So the only thing left that could’ve caused such a big change in Sumire is probably that she confessed to you, Tsunagi-kun. There’s no way it was you confessing to her—that much is obvious.”

“…Even if it wasn’t a confession, maybe something happened between us as friends—”

“The way you act when you’re with Sumire has changed too… Yeah, it’s not totally obvious, but you’ve started seeing her as a girl, haven’t you?”

“A-a girl…!? That’s not—”

Just as I was about to object, Hasumi’s Onee-san pressed her index finger gently against my lips and spoke.

“Sorry, Tsunagi-kun. I actually figured that part out a little while ago, so we don’t need to dwell on it… But, even though I got a little hyped just now, Tsunagi-kun… You were confessed to by your own Onee-chan too, right?”

As she said that, she slowly lifted her finger away from my lips, giving me space to respond.

“…Yeah.”

“Then, as Sumire’s Onee-san, I have an important favor to ask.”

“…What is it?”

Hasumi’s older sister usually acted cheerful and a bit goofy, but considering everything I’d learned about her, it was clear she truly cared about Hasumi deeply. And now, she had an important request to make of me. As I braced myself a little, she said.

“If you’re going to do it, then please, don’t do it with the three of us from the get go. If you do, there’s a chance you’re going to awaken something twisted deep inside Sumire’s heart…!”

“…Huh?”

“I mean, if you and Sumire were to—”

“Wait, no! That was a joke, right…?”

“It’s not a joke! The first time really matters, you know!”

“I… I’m afraid I don’t really know anything about that…”

I’d thought this was going to be a serious talk, so now I just felt like I’d wasted energy bracing myself.

“Besides… Before we even get into that stage, I mean, I’m not only talking about doing that. I mean even if we’re talking about wholesome stuff like eating together or hanging out together… I genuinely enjoy their company, but if I start catching romantic feelings toward either of them, I want to go all out. I absolutely do not want to do anything half-hearted with either of them. “

“So you’re saying… You don’t want to cheat?”

“Of course I don’t!”

“Even if things are going to end in a half-hearted way anyway?”

Half-heartedly… End? What does that even mean…?

“Like I said, I’m not going to cheat or two-time them because I don’t want to date them half-heartedly—”

“So then, would you half-heartedly reject either your older sister or Sumire, just because you don’t want to cheat and want to stay true to your feelings?”

“…!”

Those words hit me hard—especially because, even though it had already been several months since the confessions, I still hadn’t given either of them an answer.

“Sumire fell for you, and I’ve seen you a few times too—not many, but enough to know you’re a kind person, Tsunagi-kun. That’s exactly why… I wanted to share a bit of how us college students—who have one foot in the adult world—see things. I said something harsh, but I do like you, Tsunagi-kun.”

“Wait… You like me!?”

“Oh, come on, Tsunagi-kun~! You’re in a situation where you’ve been confessed to by two girls, and we were just talking about stuff like that, so I guess I can’t blame you… But my ‘like’ isn’t that kind of ‘like’~!”

“R-right, of course. Sorry.”

“Ah, youth! I think that’s about all I wanted to say. Oh! But if you do start dating Sumire and she dumps you, I can—”

“That won’t be necessary.”

“I didn’t even finish saying it!”

“…By the way, where were those cardboard boxes you said you wanted help moving?”

“That was a lie to get a chance to talk with you~!”

“What!?”

After that, Hasumi’s Onee-san returned to her usual self. We picked up chopsticks and plates for four people. We brought them back to the living room and the four of us had a great time chatting while we ate hot pot together.

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Chapter 56: Nee-san’s Love

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“I’m home.”

“Welcome back, Tsumugu!”

Today was the first day of six-period classes in the third term, and the contrast with winter break and the usual four-period schedule left me completely exhausted. So, I didn’t go out with Hasumi or anyone else—I just came straight home.

It felt like it had been a long time since I’d come home after school and been greeted by my big sister like this.

“Tsumugu, you must be tired from your six-period classes today, right?”

“So tired…”

“I thought so! That’s why, just for today, you don’t have to see me as someone of the opposite sex. You can rely on me as your big sister! And I’ll love you today not as a boy, but as my little brother!”

“…Huh?”

…Because I was exhausted from six periods, she wanted to help me recover. But ever since we found out we were step-siblings, while Nee-san might have been fine, I’d been holding back in a lot of ways.

Of course, even though we were step-siblings, our bond as brother and sister hadn’t changed. Still, maybe she thought I might be hesitant about certain things because we were not actually blood-related, and that was why she wanted me to treat her like a real sister and just lean on her.

“Didn’t you once say that the whole brother-sister relationship had always felt like a kind of shackle to you? So why go back to that now?”

“I think I told you this before, but… I really do love both sides of you. The side of Tsumugu as a boy and the side of Tsumugu as my little brother. So today, I just wanted to love the little brother side of you again, for the first time in a while!”

I see… So in other words, she made this suggestion both out of concern for me being tired from school and because she wanted to love me as her little brother again. …But still.

“When you say ‘lean on you,’ if you mean relying on you for things like everyday life or schoolwork, I already do that. But if you mean leaning on you like a typical little brother might on his big sister… I don’t think I ever really did that in the first place, so I’m not sure what I should do…”

“Geez~! You haven’t changed one bit, Tsumugu~! Then how about we try this. Give your big sister a hug first, and then figure it out from there!”

“Hug…? Siblings don’t usually do that—”

“I think siblings who are close probably do that much, don’t you?”

“When you put it that way… I guess you’re right?”

So I made the conscious choice to treat her as my real sister and gave her a hug.

“Tsumugu, ever since you became a middle schooler, you’ve totally—totally—stopped leaning on me at all! But don’t you think it’s nice to rely on your big sister like this once in a while?”

“I don’t know if I’d call this ‘relying,’ but… If I look at you as my big sister, then yeah, maybe it’s nice to feel something like sibling love every once in a while.”

“I think so too~!”

As she said that, Nee-san hugged me back. In that moment, my heartbeat suddenly started racing. …This wasn’t the kind of feeling I should be having from being hugged by my big sister. When I immediately pulled away from her, Nee-san seemed puzzled and hugged me again as she spoke.

“What’s wrong? Tsumugu, did I maybe squeeze you too tight? I’m sorry~! But that just means I love you that much!”

“That’s not it, Nee-san… Just now, I realized something.”

“Realized what~?”

What I realized was… That right now, I couldn’t truly see Nee-san as my big sister anymore, but instead, I was already seeing her as someone of the opposite sex. I couldn’t shake off this feelings anymore. 

“That I’m seeing you right now as a girl.”

“…!”

Her eyes widened at my words, but I continued.

“I… I guess I didn’t even realize it myself, but I’ve been seeing you as a girl all this time… That’s why, right now, I can’t see you as my Nee-san in the truest sense.”

When I said that, Nee-san began to cry.

“…Huh? Nee-san, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. Of course I still think of you as my big sister too—”

“No, that’s not it… I’m happy… I’ve always… Always wanted you to say that… Before I even knew about the whole ‘siblings can’t be in love’ rule, I was already in love with you, Tsumugu… And as I grew older, I naturally came to understand that siblings can’t be romantically involved with each other… But even so, I always wanted you to see me that way… That’s why… I’m happy.”

“Nee-san…”

Her words, spoken through tears, were filled with deep affection—both as a big sister and as someone in love with me. After that, I stayed quietly by her side as she continued to cry for a little while… We didn’t speak, but that didn’t matter to us at all. And then… Thanks to Nee-san, I finally began to see a clear path through the darkness I’d been struggling with for so long.

My reply to the confession… Just one more thing… If I can just confirm one last thing, I’ll be able to give my answer to both Nee-san and Hasumi… And I’m sure that day isn’t that far off in the future.

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