Little Sister (2)

"...So you're saying you're my older brother?"

"Yes! Yes!"

"Haa... Good grief."

Sea let out a sigh so deep it seemed the ground itself might give way, then stole a glance at the woman in front of her.

The woman was beaming, grinning from ear to ear as if nothing in the world could make her happier than being acknowledged. She looked just like a hamster.

"How on earth did you even end up like this?"

"That's... watashi doesn't know either."

"And why do you keep mixing in Japanese?"

The more Sea pressed her, the more that bright expression wilted into dejection.

"I-it just comes out on its own... I mean, I did turn into a Japanese girl..."

"A Japanese girl? We're in Korea right now."

"That's what I'm trying to... Ah! Look at this!"

As if a brilliant idea had just struck her, she sprang to her feet, snatched something up, and came scurrying over. Then she held it out with complete, unshakable confidence. Sea tilted her head, but checked it anyway.

"...A passport?"

"I have an ID card too! Watashi is a Japanese woman!"

"Good grief..."

No matter how many times she heard it, she still couldn't believe that someone who talked in that bizarre way was her older brother. Sea examined the passport and the ID card with painstaking care.

Yukino Hana.

That was the name of the woman standing in front of her.

"Doesn't look like a forgery."

"Of course not! I really am a Japanese woman!"

"Then that means you're not my brother, doesn't it?"

"...Eh? Nani?"

When the conversation suddenly looped all the way back to the beginning, Yukino Hana asked again, looking utterly bewildered.

"I mean, my brother would have no reason to have ID like this. Isn't it way more reasonable to think some crazy Japanese woman is just pretending to be him?"

"...S-Sea-chan! You still ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠don't believe watashi?!"

"That way of talking makes it hard to believe you in the first place. There's no way my brother would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ever speak like that."

"But you believed me earlier!"

"That's..."

Sea sighed again.

True enough. Among the evidence she'd heard a moment ago, there had definitely been things only he himself could have known.

But think about it. What if your perfectly ordinary older brother suddenly showed up with his gender, his face, and his nationality all completely changed? On top of that, his speech was totally different, and even his personality seemed to have shifted quite a bit. Could you really still call that the brother you used to know?

When he'd become a completely different person?

"Alright then. Um... Miss Yukino?"

"Eh... Miss Yukino...?"

At least, Sea found it difficult. So she deliberately put distance between them, calling her by her surname instead of Oppa.

Hana realized it too, and her spirits sank. More than anything, it hurt to see that look of distance in the eyes of the little sister who had always adored her.

"If you really are my brother, Miss Yukino... is there no way you can go back?"

She could go back. At least, Hana knew that much. If she simply let the Transformation Duration run out without completing any quests, she would return to the way she was.

But that...

For Yukino Hana, it was as good as being told to die.

She had already decided to live a new life.

Sea's polite question became a spear honed to a razor's edge, and it went straight through her chest. No words, no violence, could have hurt more than that.

Yukino Hana hung her head.

Sea watched her in silence, and then she saw the tears sliding down the woman's cheeks. Flustered, not knowing what to do, she said,

"A-are you crying? Why all of a sudden..."

"......"

"Don't cry. I'm the one who wants to cry right now..."

Even with Sea trying to stop her, the tears would not cease. If anything, those last words were like a detonator—the crying only grew worse.

Shaking as she sobbed, Hana mumbled in a choked voice.

"......you said..."

"What?"

"...You said you'd believe me. Sea-chan. You said even if I changed completely, you'd still believe me..."

Her mind went blank.

Only then did Sea realize why she had come to her brother's house in the first place. She had seen that message and come over, anxious that something might have happened.

Her fears had been justified. Something unimaginably huge had happened to her brother.

How ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠selfish could she be? Sea had only thought about how hard this situation was for her. She hadn't given a single thought to how the person actually going through it must feel.

If anyone was having the hardest time, it was her brother. Waking up one morning with everything changed—how shocked and panicked must he have been? It wouldn't have been strange at all if he'd fallen into a panic, as lost as someone stranded on a deserted island.

That one line he'd sent her in that situation had been a distress signal. Please acknowledge me even if I've become like this. Because family was all he had.

"Sea-chan is...! Sea-chan is a liar! I hate you! Get out of my house!"

She had cried so hard her eyes were swollen and her voice was completely gone, but Yukino Hana still screamed it. Seeing her in that pitiful state, Sea found tears welling up of her own accord.

And she threw her arms around the woman who was still her precious family, and said,

"I'm sorry. I was wrong. No matter what you become, I'll still love you and believe you. So please don't cry."

"Hic... waaah... waaaah..."

Unfortunately, even her little sister's plea couldn't stop the tears. If anything, Yukino Hana only sobbed harder, pouring out every last tear and sniffle.

She was nothing like the older brother Sea ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had known. But Sea was okay with that. No matter how completely her brother changed, she would believe in him and love him just like always.

That was what family meant.

Once I finally calmed down, embarrassment came flooding in.

I just bawled my eyes out in my little sister's arms, didn't I.

"Feeling a little better now?"

"...Yeah."

Sniffle.

When I sniffled without meaning to, Sea looked at me with a quiet smile.

What's with that weird look. It was overflowing with maternal affection, all warm and tender.

"So should I call you Oppa, or Unnie?"

"Call me whatever Sea-chan wants."

"Hmm."

Sea seriously rested her chin in her hand and thought it over.

"In front of other people I'll call you Unnie, and when it's just the two of us I'll still call you Oppa. How's that?"

"Okay!"

Joy spilled out of me in a laugh. Sea had accepted me after all. Even though I'd changed, I was still her precious family.

My feelings had gotten through!

"...Um, Sea-chan?"

"Hm? What's up, Oppa?"

"C-could you maybe stop stroking my hair?"

And though I couldn't say it out loud, I also wanted to get out of Sea's arms already. Not that I disliked Sea or anything. It was just... really embarrassing.

I'd only just realized it, but Sea was taller than me now. It wasn't a huge difference, but it was noticeable enough—Sea was a little taller.

An older brother shorter than his little sister. No, wait—being called Oppa when I wasn't even a man anymore was weird enough on its own.

"A-alright."

Thankfully, Sea stopped stroking my hair at my request, and I was able to slip out of her arms. For some reason her expression looked a little disappointed in that moment, but I was probably imagining it.

"So what are you planning to do now, Oppa?"

"Huh? What do you mean, planning?"

"Well... you TS'd, right?"

TS. Translated, it meant gender swap. But the word itself had originated in Japan, wasn't commonly used in real life, and was said to appear frequently in fiction.

"How does Sea-chan even know that word?"

In other words, it wasn't a word you'd use unless you were pretty into subculture.

"Uh... I just ran into it while browsing the internet."

"Aha. Sounanda."

"Cows are crying?"

"It means 'I see.'"

Sea looked at me with a peculiar expression at my explanation, then asked,

"So... you're not mixing in Japanese as a bit, right?"

"I'm not! It just comes pouring out on its own..."

"I see. That's fine. With the way you look now, it's actually pretty cute."

Am I supposed to be happy about that...?

It kind of sounded like she meant it would have been awful if I'd talked like this as my old self. Probably just my persecution complex talking. I decided to pretend I hadn't heard it.

"Anyway! So what are you going to do? You're going to tell Mom and Dad, right?"

"......"

I checked the Status Window. I'd successfully told Sea, but the two of them were still left. Just as Sea said, I had to tell my parents as well.

"Your face just got really dark, Oppa. Looks like you're about to cry again."

"I-I'm not going to cry!"

"...Oppa. If it's too hard, want me to tell Mom for you?"

Sea had a rough idea of my situation. She knew that my relationship with Mom wasn't a normal one. Because I'd told her myself. Not everything, of course.

When I'd said I wanted to live on my own after coming back from the military, my parents had given permission without much objection. Sea, on the other hand, had stubbornly opposed it and tried to stop me. Her reason was that family should stay together. So I'd had no choice but to tell Sea about the uncomfortable relationship I had with Mom, and only then had she stopped objecting.

"No. This is something watashi has to say myself."

No matter how hard it was, I couldn't leave a matter this important to someone else. I had to resolve it myself.

If being accepted by Sea had been the inner factor that planted the will to live in this form, then being accepted by Mom was the final gate of the outer factor—the last hurdle to being accepted by everyone else.

Sea seemed to sense that resolve, because she just nodded without another word.

"Alright. So when are you planning to tell them?"

"...That. I haven't decided yet."

"I'm not trying to rush you, but the longer you put it off, the harder it's going to get."

"...Okay."

Then a ringtone chimed. Not mine—Sea's. After checking the caller, Sea glanced at me with a complicated expression.

"Hello?"

The voice coming through the speaker was all too familiar.

"Yeah, Mom. I'll be there soon. I was with a friend."

Sea didn't mention that she was with me. If she had, Mom would have asked to speak to me, and then the truth would have had to come out on the spot. I realized she'd lied out of consideration for me.

"Mom, you worry way too much! It's not even six yet. Okay, okay. I'll come right now. Yeah."

Just from Sea's reactions, I could easily guess how the conversation had gone. It was past the time she was supposed to be home, and her daughter hadn't shown up, so Mom must have been really worried. That just meant she cherished and loved Sea that much.

After hanging up, Sea hesitated a moment, then said with an awkward laugh,

"Want me to stay a little longer, then?"

"No. She's worried about you. You should go."

"It's just a little nagging, I can take it. ...Will you be okay by yourself, Oppa?"

My little sister really was kind. She was worried I'd have a hard time if I was left alone. But I was fine. I'd already been fully accepted by Sea.

"Then I'll come again tomorrow."

"Tomorrow's the weekend. Don't you have plans?"

"Family's more important than friends, you know? ...Ah!"

Sea suddenly let out a gasp, then exclaimed with sparkling eyes.

"Tomorrow's the weekend, so we can go shopping together!"

"Huh?"

"You became an unnie, so you'll need all sorts of things. Underwear and stuff."

"...Eh?"

"What? You're a girl now, Oppa. Of course you have to wear women's underwear."

"...Dame!!"