When We Found Out We're Not Blood-Related, My Little Sister Became Seriously Love-Brained ~When a Little Sister Stops Being a Little Sister, the Ultimate Heroine Emerges!~ - Chapter 20 & 21

Chapter 20: Little Sister Wants to Say Good Morning

Something soft touched my hand.

“Mm.”

It was a sweet, sweet girl’s voice.

Huh?!

“Good morning~”

When I opened my eyes, Suzune was there. So close our noses almost touched.

Her eyes lowered, gazing at me lovingly.

(Whaaaaat!?)

What is this situation?

W-wait a sec. Yesterday, I definitely ate the chocolate I received.

I closed my eyes and thought carefully.

Yeah. I’m fine. I’m not drunk.

Yesterday, we suddenly got a call from Dad and the others saying they couldn’t come home. At night I normally played games and we disbanded.

I should have slept alone. But Suzune is in front of me.

(What’s going on!?)

I put my hand inside the comforter.

I touched my own waist. Then there was definitely the sensation of cloth.

Phew.

It’s okay, I’m wearing them.

I see. I get it now.

Right now, I’m being teased by my little sister.

While I was sleeping, she apparently snuck into the futon.

This girl does whatever she wants. Somehow frustrating.

I won’t lose. I’ll make her regret it!

I stared back into Suzune’s eyes.

Then I put strength in my stomach and produced the huskiest voice I could.

“Suzune, you’re so cute.”

(Je t’aime.)

“Uh.”

Suzune let out a short sound and her eyes faintly wavered.

“Hey, Suzune. Do you want to feel good?”

Her pupils slowly opened and Suzune trembled slightly. Our exhaled breaths collided and mixed.

“Wh-what are you saying?”

Suzune’s voice cracked.

“Well?”

I layered on the words.

Suzune lightly made a fist and put it against her chest.

“I want to feel good.”

Huh. Suzune was supposed to get angry in reverse.

Unexpected reaction. She accepted it.

But it’s still not enough. I need to restore my dignity as a brother.

“But you know, Suzune.”

“What?”

“Have you thought about what comes after?”

Suzune closed and opened her eyes repeatedly.

“Huh. You mean the baby’s name?”

(What is this girl saying?)

When Suzune’s eyes met mine, she looked a little happy. She smiled bashfully and continued speaking.

“Yeah. I have candidates. I wonder if you’ll like them, Yuuma.”

Suzune swept up the bangs on her face.

Her eyelashes are sparkling.

“Huh” is my line. To think she’s really thought about it.

Suzune always has interesting reactions.

I deliberately don’t answer anything. I distanced myself slightly and gazed at Suzune.

“Huh?”

Suzune made a faint sound.

“Listen. Stop night crawling in an apron, okay?”

Suzune averted her gaze. Bangs fell over her temple.

“Uu. I was teased.”

“So, what’s the kid’s name?”

Suzune’s face becomes increasingly red.

Suzune sat up, grabbed the pillow that was lying sideways with both hands, and pressed it against my face.

“Yuuma, you idiot!! That’s terrible.”

Hey hey. No matter how you think about it, I’m the victim here.

“So, what’s this situation?”

“When I came to wake you this morning, your sleeping face was so cute. I just wanted to tease you.”

Hmm.

“I see. Thanks. Then, for now, could you get out of the futon?”

Suzune averted her gaze slightly and put her hand to her mouth.

“…Love and leave?”

(We didn’t do it!)

“By the way, have you been thinking about kids’ names from before?”

“I-it’s not. It’s not like I was thinking about it for you.”

(What kind of tsundere little sister is this?)

“What kind? Tell me.”

“I-if it’s a boy. Yuuri.”

Suzune’s gaze wandered as she answered in a small voice.

Hmm.

It blatantly has my kanji in it. Really, so easy to understand.

“That’s a good name.”

Then Suzune smiled.

“Right? Um, um, if it’s a girl. Suzu…”

She’s straightforward and fun from morning. This feeling I have toward Suzune.

It’s surely directed at Suzune’s inside.

Because Suzune looks cute on the outside, her inside gets hidden. So this is Suzune’s charm that other guys don’t know.

Being able to monopolize it is the privilege of being a big brother.

※

Suzune bent down and looked up at me.

Suzune apparently opened the curtain. The morning sun is reflected in her eyes.

Suzune said:

“Let’s hurry and have breakfast. It’ll get cold.”

Chapter 21: Little Sister Wants to Jump at the Shelf

When I went downstairs, the good smell of miso soup wafted over.

Rice and miso soup are lined up on the table. At the stove, Suzune was cooking an omelet.

Suzune is wearing a white, longish T-shirt with an apron.

“Sorry it’s kind of the same as yesterday.”

Suzune brought me a freshly made omelet. On a pure white plate, a yellow omelet and salad sit.

I see. The omelet is an application of omelet rice.

“No. Looks delicious. Thanks.”

Growl.

My stomach rumbled. The bug in my stomach apparently approves of Suzune’s omelet.

“Ehehe.”

Suzune leaned against me. Apparently she wants to be petted.

When I placed my hand on her head, she rubbed her cheek against me.

“Come to think of it, did you change shampoo?”

“Huh? You can tell?”

Suzune pinched a bundle of hair with her right hand. Today’s Suzune has a peach scent.

Suzune brought the bundle to my nose.

“Tickle tickle.”

That’s so basic. So I.

Chomp.

I bit it.

“Wh-what are you doing!”

“No, I was wondering if it tasted like peach.”

“There’s no way it would!!”

“Yeah. I liked that New Summer Orange-ish scent from before too though.”

New Summer Orange is another name for Hyuganatsu. Apparently the name changes depending on the region where it’s produced.

Then Suzune laughed.

“Somehow, that’s really pinpoint specific.”

“Because, isn’t it nostalgic?”

“I remember it well too. When we were kids, we often went on family trips to Izu. So nostalgic.”

“We picked New Summer Oranges then, right?”

“Onii-chan picked so much you couldn’t hold it all. After that, we all ate them every day for a while.”

Suzune held the omelet plate as if hugging it with both hands.

“Right, right. The orchard people were really kind. They were really affectionate to us.”

“I want to go again.”

I thought the same thing.

※

Suzune placed the omelet on the table.

“Ah, I want ketchup.”

I’m team ketchup, not sauce or soy sauce.

“I’ll get it.”

Suzune pattered toward the kitchen. Then around the overhead cupboard above the sink, she’s doing something like standing on tiptoe.

“Isn’t the ketchup in the refrigerator?”

“We ran out, there’s a stock in that cupboard.”

Suzune pointed at the top of the cupboard. When the door opened, there was definitely ketchup.

In the overhead cupboard, pots and pans that aren’t usually used are stacked, but on top of them sits a lone ketchup bottle.

(Mom also stocks things in places that make no sense.)

“Hey, I can’t reach.”

Suzune is hopping up and down.

Suzune’s height is 152 centimeters. She only comes up to about my shoulders.

Looking at her side by side like this, she’s small.

If she strains to stretch and the pots collapse, that would be terrible.

“Yup.”

I stood on tiptoe and got the ketchup.

“I can always get stuff like this for you, so rely on me.”

Then Suzune turned her back to me. She’s holding her lightly clenched fist to her mouth.

“…Fnyu.”

Huh?

Her ears are somehow red. Does she have a fever?

“Suzune, you okay?”

Then Suzune trembled without turning around.

“Cool…”

“Huh?”

“Having a boy get something from a high place for you makes my heart race.”

“Oh, I see.”

Suzune puffed up her cheeks.

“What’s with that reaction? Don’t you have something more?”

“The hopping Suzune was cute too.”

“Not that much~”

Suzune apparently honestly accepts it when I praise her.

When I picked up the ketchup, Suzune snatched it. Suzune squeezed the ketchup and wrote letters on top of the omelet.

Is it “I love you” this time for sure?

When Suzune pulled back her body, the omelet had this written:

“Shoes”

Huh? I seriously don’t understand.

Last time was hard to understand too, but this time has reached the realm of code.

“Shoes? What does this—”

Then Suzune raised her eyebrows.

“You promised.”

“Shoes? Promise? Tell me the answer.”

Suzune closed her eyes and raised her chin.

“Then, kiss me. Then I’ll tell you.”

“Hmm. Then I’m fine not knowing.”

Suzune is narrowing her eyes. This is bad, she’s really about to cry.

“You said we’d go out today, right? Let’s go buy shoes. You know, I want to try going to Mount Takao next time.”

So why does that become shoes?

“I don’t have shoes I can walk in mountains with.”

“I don’t either.”

“So. I want to have matching ones.”

“OK. Then when we’re ready, let’s go buy them.”

“And. I have a request.”

“What?”

“Let’s buy each other’s shoes and exchange them.”

“Hmm.”

We could each just buy our own, why go to such trouble?

“You know, I thought I’d be happy if the shoes I bought could support you, Yuuma. …Do you not want to?”

“If that’s what it is, I want to exchange too.”

“Yay!”

Suzune put both fists against her chest and laughed.

※

“Oh, Suzune didn’t put ketchup on hers either.”

I wrote letters on Suzune’s omelet with ketchup.

“Huh? Mom will see that.”

Suzune is fidgeting behind me.

“Okay, you can look.”

Suzune read the letters aloud.

“What size?”

“Huh? What’s this?”

Suzune gave me half-lidded eyes.

“Huh, it’s about your shoe size.”

“I can’t believe you’d use cooking for something like that!”

Ehhh. You were the one who first used it as a message board.

That’s so unreasonable.

Can’t be helped. I need to humor her.

I whispered in Suzune’s ear.

“What’s your finger size? I want to give you a ring for your birthday.”

Then Suzune touched around her left ring finger.

“…I don’t know.”

“Then after we finish choosing shoes, come with me to the accessory shop too. Let’s have them measure your size.”

“Yeah. What should I do? I’m so happy.”

“Ah, I’m not buying it today though, okay?”

“Yeah. I’m still happy.”

Suzune’s shoulders trembled as she touched her ring finger.

“What should I do? I’m too happy. You know, Yuuma. I love you so much!!”

Suzune hugged me from behind.

The white T-shirt looked like a skirt. I imagined Suzune in a wedding dress.

※

“I’m home.”

Mom came back.

“Oh my, you two are such good friends.”

“Where’s Dad?”

“He went straight to work.”

“It was a memorial service, right? Good work.”

“Mm. Even though it’s called a memorial service, we only visited the grave. It was like a drive with your father.”

Mom smiled looking at me.

“Mom. Do you remember New Summer Oranges?”

Suzune said.

“Of course I remember.”

“It’s nostalgic, right?”

“We were just talking about that with your father. Let’s all go together soon.”

“Yeah!”

When Suzune answered, Mom tilted her head.

“Writing letters on omelets is fine, but you’re writing strange things like shoes and size.”

“Um. This is—”

Suzune fluttered.

“Normally you’d write ‘I’ ‘love’ ‘you’ or something. Are you two really getting along well?”

Before I could answer, Mom found the outer ketchup wrapper on the table.

“Oh, Suzune. Was the ketchup gone? I put the stock ketchup in the under-floor storage, but you knew that well.”

We just took it out from the overhead cupboard though.

“Not the floor but the overhead cupboard, right?”

I asked back.

“The floor. You took it out, right? Right, Suzune?”

Suzune blew a soundless whistle.

“Mm. I wonder? I don’t remember.”

…Suzune. You schemed. My little sister is sometimes cunningly cute.