Episode 66 – There’s No Way I’m Holding Hands With My Step sister

[…..Would you like to go shopping with me?]

While putting on my shoes at the entrance, I remembered what my step sister said to me yesterday.

I was just surprised at what my step sister said.

I thought her attitude had softened since the day I cried, but I had never expected her to ask me to go out with her, even though she hated me so much.

There’s still time until my parents come home, so I guess we will be short on some daily necessities, so it can’t be helped?

I was puzzled by the change in my step sister’s attitude, thinking that it was useless to think about it. I just waited for her, who still hadn’t come down from her room.

……She’s late. I wonder what she’s doing. We’re just going to go shopping, but how long are you going to make me wait?

Even I, who’s not short tempered, started to get a little irritated with my step sister who’s about 15 minutes late.

I have read in a book that according to one theory, women take a reasonable amount of time to get out of the house, but even so, it’s late.

As I spent time standing and sitting in the doorway repeatedly, I heard a clattering sound from upstairs.

It seems that my step sister has finally come out of her room, and with light steps, she came down the stairs.

 “….. I-i’m sorry. Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“You’re late. Going shopp…ing.”

I was about to say something when I heard my step sister’s apology for being late, and then when I looked at her, I was speechless.

She came downstairs wearing a long skirt and a thin white shirt with a small shoulder bag on her chest. Her appearance was as if she was going on a date, and she’s given out a different charm from Risa, whom I met yesterday.

She’s one of the four most beautiful girls in school, and I was just stunned to see her in neither her school uniform nor her normal appearance. She looked down, somewhat embarrassed, and murmured […..What do you think?] quietly.

“Well……, I think it’s pretty?”

My mouth overflows with honest thoughts at my step sister’s words who looked embarrassed.

“……Eh, really?”

When my step sister heard my words, her face turned bright red again and she looked at me. When I saw that face, I became somewhat embarrassed and averted my gaze from her.

I am sure there’s no man who wouldn’t look away from her when she stared at them with her cheeks blushed and her face uplifted.

A moment of silence passed between the two of us……

“S-shall we go……. We’re wasting time.”

I can no longer stand the silence, so I urged her to leave in a small voice, and she nodded silently.

After confirming that my step sister had put on her shoes, I opened the front door and let my step sister’s out first, then left the house. And when I closed the front door, I quickly headed for the station with my step sister who was waiting for me.

 “You look cute……, but you didn’t have to put that much effort just to go shopping, did you?”

I was embarrassed to walk side by side with my step sister, and the silence between us was starting to make me feel hopeless, so I couldn’t help but spit out some words to her.

That’s no wonder, me and my step sister are not a couple, as you know. We’re still family, even though we’re step siblings.

Originally, we’re strangers, but now that we have become family, I felt that we have to be faithful to each other as family.

On top of that, the feeling of being hated by my step sister appeared in words.

My step sister rolled her eyes when she heard my words.

She probably felt that I wasn’t the kind of person who would normally say such words, and she probably felt uncomfortable.

“Look…if you’re just going shopping with your sibling, wouldn’t it be difficult if you dressed up like you were on a date?”

I couldn’t hold back the words that came out of my mouth, so I just put my thoughts into words.

The truth is, I know what my step sister’s outfit meant.

I somehow understand her change of heart and I also know how much she likes me. However, even though I know this, the heartless words that came out of my mouth attacked my step sister.

However, my step sister was walking next to me, silently listening to my words. Seeing that, I stopped talking.

……I felt like I’d said something that had no delicacy.

I wonder if I can’t take back what I said, I regret the weakness of my heart.

The two of us were silent again and headed to the subway to go to the shopping mall.

The subway seats are too crowded for us to sit down.

We had no choice but to stand near the door on the side where no one was coming or going.

My step sister is still silent.

What fun is it to go out with your step brother like this?

I don’t know what she’s thinking about with me right now. But still, the subway continues to move.

When we arrive at a station with many transfers on the way, the number of people increases and we are pushed to the back of the train.

Unfortunately, there must be a baseball game at a nearby dome today, and the group of baseball fans had crowded in.

I pushed my step sister toward the wall of the train and made space for her with my arms so that people couldn’t hit her. I desperately put in effort so I don’t crush my step sister.

“…..Hey.”

At my chest, my step sister lets out a small voice. I responded to that voice with a [Hm?] and looked at the girl who was smaller than me. There was my step sister staring at my face.

“A while ago, you said why I put so much effort into being fashionable, right? Why do you think so?”

While I was protecting my step sister from the baseball fans, she started to continue the conversation earlier with serious eyes.

……is this what you’re going to talk about now?

I rudely answered my step sister’s question with [I don’t know.].

Then, my step sister looked down for a while and became silent.

However, just when she suddenly smiled, she raised her head, stretched herself, and pulled her body closer together. And then…she whispered in my ear.

“I…think of this as a date.”

“Hee?”

Surprised by my step sister’s shocking statement, I let out a stupid voice.

“Because, I don’t want anyone to take Riku away from me. Anyone…..”

My whole body trembled at the sound of my step sister’s voice and her breath in my ear. I don’t know if it’s the embarrassment of the words she just said in the middle of the crowd, but a tickling sensation hit me.

The moment she pulled her body away from me, I came back to myself and looked at my step sister’s face, but she was looking down and I couldn’t see her expression.

However, her ears were red.

“And what do you…….”

When I was about to ask her what she really meant, all the baseball fans on the train got off at once.

I didn’t even notice that we had arrived at the station due to my step sister’s outlandish behavior and comments.

The passengers’ movements almost took my body with them, and I wobbled and almost fell…….

But at the last minute, my step sister took my hand, so I managed to hold on.

Most of the passengers got off and the subway started moving again.

We finally found an empty seat and decided to sit there.

“…… Hey, what did you mean by that earlier?”

I took a breath and asked my step sister what she really meant.

If I heard her correctly, she said she didn’t want me to be taken away from her. It was hard not to be flustered by the sudden favor from someone I thought hated me.

My step sister ignored my words for a while, but then turned to me and said, […..I’m thinking of this as a date.].

I was surprised to hear that I wasn’t mistaken after all. Whether it’s my step sister, my childhood friend, Idol sama, or the gyaru, I wonder if it’s my imagination that I’ve somehow become more popular since I had a haircut……

Thinking back on the last few days, I didn’t know what was happening to me.

Then, something touched my hand.

It was my step sister’s hand, a little cold and soft.

Surprised by that feeling, I looked at my step sister again.

There was my step sister, who was holding my left hand gently, just looking down at me silently.

“W-what are…..”

Unable to hide my bewilderment, I shook my head from side to side to see if anyone was there. Luckily, most of the people had gotten off at the station earlier, so the number of people had decreased and no one seemed to care.

My step sister glanced at me, and when our eyes met, she started to grin and said, [I’m kidding, just kidding. I just wanted to see Riku panic.].

But the hand that held me was….never let go.