I continued crying, clinging to my sister's chest. Eventually, as I started to calm down, she patted my back to signal that it was okay to let go.
"I'm feeling better now, so you can let go."
"Can't we stay like this a little longer?"
"…No, it's okay now."
Once I calmed down and thought about the situation, I realized how chaotic it was. Being comforted by the person I had just confessed to was beyond embarrassing. As soon as I became aware of it, I couldn't handle it anymore and tried to push her away by pressing against her stomach. However, my sister's embrace was stronger, so I gave up resisting and stayed as I was. After a while, when she seemed satisfied, she finally let me go.
"Are you okay now?"
"Yes, like I said, I'm fine."
I replied while wiping my tears with a handkerchief. The embarrassment still lingered, and my face felt hot. I was sure my face was bright red for anyone to see. But my sister's next words quickly blew away those fluttering emotions.
"That's good to hear. Now, about what we were talking about earlier."
My heart skipped a beat. Right, I had been distracted by the atmosphere, but the issue wasn't resolved yet. I hadn't heard how my sister truly felt. I held my breath, waiting for her to continue.
"I don't understand your feelings."
My mind went blank, and I felt something crumble inside me. I tried to speak, but no words came out. I knew this would happen, but just as I started to—"Ouch!"—something hit my forehead. It didn't hurt much, but I yelped in surprise. When I looked up, it seemed my sister had flicked my forehead.
"Don't jump to conclusions. What I don't understand is why you're separating love into categories like familial love or romantic love. For me, the emotion I feel toward you is simply love. There's no other love for me besides the one I have for you, Kaya. So I can't categorize it, nor do I see any reason to."
My sister's words left me speechless for a completely different reason this time. Her words felt like—could I dare to hope?
"So, don't belittle yourself. I could never hate you for something like that. In fact, I'm glad you feel that way."
"S-Sis…"
"Come on now, don't cry. We're not finished talking yet."
I fought back the tears threatening to spill out from sheer relief. I felt such deep comfort knowing that I could stay with my sister. But what did she mean by "we're not finished yet"?
"Kaya, I want everything of you—your heart, your body, your freedom, everything. I want to live with you forever. I don't want to give you to anyone, and I never will."
"Yes. And?"
I thought I had already expressed the same thing, so what was the issue?
"If you accept me, I will never let you go. Even if you fall for someone else or try to leave me. And if you try to leave…"
"If I try to leave, what?"
"Well, I just want you to be sure. I don't want you to regret it."
My sister's voice trembled as she spoke. Now that I wasn't so overwhelmed, I noticed it. Could my sister also have her own anxieties? Realizing this made me feel closer to her, and it made me happy.
"Why are you smiling?"
"Because you seem nervous, Sis. You're always so confident, so seeing you like this is kind of cute."
"…What did you think I was? Yes, maybe this is what anxiety feels like. I don't worry about anything except for you."
"Then it's okay now, don't worry. I want to be with you forever too. I'll give you everything, so will you give me everything too?"
"You won't regret it?"
"Of course not. Actually, make sure you never get tired of me, okay?"
"…Alright."
With that, my sister slowly leaned in, cupped my cheeks with both hands, and kissed me. It was so sudden that it took me by surprise, but I accepted it with joy. When I first confessed my feelings, I never imagined we would be able to kiss like this, so I savored the happiness of sharing this kiss with her.
"Phew, what brought this on so suddenly? But now we're officially a couple, right? But we're also sisters, so what should we call it?"
"It doesn't matter what it's called. As long as we're happy with our relationship."
"That's true."
Is it really okay to be this happy? I found myself thinking such trivial things. I couldn't stop smiling. I was so glad I had the courage to confess. I wanted to praise the me from back then. And so, in this eighth life, we finally entered a completely new kind of relationship.