"Onee-chan, where did you just go?"
When Kotomi Izumi came home, Aimi had just come downstairs. Seeing her sister return, she couldn't help but ask.
"I went to a classmate's house," Kotomi replied casually.
"A boy or a girl?"
"Of course a girl's house. I told Mom before I went out. If it were a boy's place, do you really think Mom would've let me go? It's already evening, after all," Kotomi said with a half-playful tone.
"You going to a girl's house makes me even more worried…" Aimi muttered softly under her breath.
Kotomi pretended not to hear and asked, "Huh? What did you just say?"
"Nothing!"
Yep, Aimi was sulking again.
Kotomi sighed helplessly. "Looks like it's going to rain tonight."
"So what?" Aimi puffed her cheeks, her expression practically shouting I'm not happy.
"There'll be thunder when it rains."
"Hmph…"
"I'm scared of thunder~"
"Seriously, you're still scared of thunder at your age? What are you going to do when you have to sleep alone someday? You won't even dare turn off the lights if it rains at night!"
Then I'll make sure there's always a cute girl sleeping beside me… Kotomi thought mischievously, though she kept that part to herself. Saying it out loud would only make her adorable little sister mad again.
"Yeah~ You have no idea. I'm super scared of thunder, boohoo… What if it rains and thunders tonight? What am I going to do?"
Kotomi said in a fake crying tone, pitiful enough to stir a strong wave of protectiveness in anyone's heart—enough to make them want to shield this fragile, beautiful flower growing amid ruins.
Unbeknownst to Aimi, this was Kotomi's art of emotional manipulation at work.
Aimi fell for it instantly. Hearing Kotomi's pitiful voice, a powerful urge welled up inside her to protect her sister, to keep her safe forever. Still, she put on a proud face and said awkwardly, "Just—just go to bed early, then. Sleep before it starts raining."
"Who knows when it'll start raining? What if it starts thundering before I fall asleep? What will I do then, Aimi~?"
Kotomi finally unleashed her ultimate weapon—a soft, syrupy tone that melted straight into Aimi's ears. Her knees went weak, and she almost collapsed to the floor.
No—scratch that—she did collapse.
Kotomi barely managed to hold back her laughter. She knew her tone could be dangerous, but she hadn't expected it to have that much effect.
Quickly, she reached out and helped Aimi up from the floor.
Once she stood, Aimi brushed off her pajama pants and tried to sound calm, pretending nothing had happened. "Ugh… seriously, I can't with you. Fine, I'll sleep with you tonight. You're such a baby—afraid of a little thunder. Are you really a high schooler?"
"I'm forever three years old~" Kotomi said lightly, only to pause in surprise right after.
Why did she say three years old of all ages?
And then, she realized.
Three years old… Kazumi.
"Why three?" Aimi asked suspiciously.
"Who knows?" Kotomi chuckled softly, speaking half-teasingly, half-absentmindedly.
Aimi's bad mood had completely vanished.
It seemed Kotomi's tactic worked perfectly—she'd managed to cheer her up.
Ever since they were little, if Kotomi had one special skill, it was cheering her sister up. No matter what else she wasn't good at, she was absolutely an expert in that.
After all, when she was younger, she'd been clumsy and awkward—always somehow managing to make Aimi cry. Seeing her little sister's scrunched-up, tearful face, Kotomi had to use every trick she knew to coax her into smiling again. At first, it took forever. But before long, Aimi would stop crying on her own, long before Kotomi's coaxing even worked.
Later on, whether it was because little Kotomi had made little Aimi cry too many times, or simply because she'd become used to it, one thing became certain—Kotomi eventually grew so skilled that whenever she saw Aimi's face start to scrunch up, she could always cheer her up before a single tear fell.
There was one time, though, when she almost failed. Aimi was about to cry for real. But Kotomi, being reckless even as a child, could never just stand by and watch her sister cry. If words didn't work, she'd resort to action.
Smack!
She pushed Aimi down onto the floor and covered her mouth with both hands to stop her from crying out.
And somehow… it actually worked. Aimi didn't cry. From that day forward, Kotomi earned the legendary title of "the sister who could always stop her little sister from crying before she even started."
During dinner, Kotomi and their mom chatted about the upcoming school cultural festival that would begin on Friday.
"Your dad remembered that Friday is your school's festival, so he wrapped up his business trip early. He'll be flying back tomorrow," Akina Izumi said.
"Yay! I want to go pick him up at the airport!"
"Can't. His flight lands at one in the afternoon, and you'll still be at school then, during lunch break. Besides, didn't you already get permission from your teacher to stay at school for rehearsal tomorrow?"
"Ugh, fine."
"Rehearsing at school means you won't be coming home tomorrow, right?" Aimi quickly caught the key detail and asked.
"That's right," Akina confirmed.
"Tch… grr!"
Aimi bit into a piece of grilled lamb as if to vent her frustration. She was clearly unhappy that her sister would be staying at school overnight. Especially after hearing that Kotomi would be staying with Yui and Yukino, her puffed-up cheeks looked so adorably angry that it was hard not to reach out and pinch them.
Still, Aimi didn't throw a tantrum. She knew that even though she was jealous her sister would be spending the night with two other girls, it was all for the sake of the cultural festival rehearsals.
She didn't know exactly how much effort Kotomi, Yui, and Yukino had poured into preparing for the performance, but from the little things she'd seen, she could tell that all three of them wanted this to become a precious high school memory they'd share together.
For the cultural festival, they'd already practiced so hard. Now that the final stage was near, Aimi knew she couldn't cause her sister any trouble.
Still… she couldn't help feeling both envious and jealous. She wanted to stand on that stage too—side by side with Kotomi—and make their own beautiful high school memory.
Yes! She decided then and there—she would study hard and get into Sobu High School! Then, when the next cultural festival came around, she'd invite her sister to perform again—just the two of them!
Unaware that students from different grades weren't allowed to perform together at the festival, Aimi was already picturing it vividly in her mind.
Anyway, despite feeling a bit grumpy about her sister staying over at school, Aimi was still supportive. She even offered, "Since you're staying for rehearsal, even if it's just one night, you'll need a change of clothes, right? After dinner, I'll help you pack your suitcase."
"Huh? You'll help me pack?" Kotomi blinked in surprise. For a moment, she wanted to hug Aimi and shout, Aimi is the best little sister in the world!
"Of course. You're hopeless when it comes to packing. Every time you have to use a suitcase, it's me who ends up doing it. I'm already used to it. I'll help you after dinner. You don't need to bring too much anyway—just a change of clothes, your bedding and pillow… oh, and one extra set of underwear, just in case you drink too much water before bed and wet yourself."
"Do you seriously think I'm three years old?!"
Hearing that last part, Kotomi almost choked on her food. She immediately protested, "What kind of image do you have of me? I can get up to use the bathroom, you know!"
Thinking about it, Kotomi couldn't help letting out a proud little hum. "You probably won't believe it, but I already packed my suitcase this afternoon before coming home!"
"What?! So strong!"
Both her mother and her sister gasped in shock at the same time, as if Kotomi's simple act of packing her own suitcase was equivalent to taking a spaceship to the moon.
Kotomi's adorable face twitched with dark lines.
Just how useless did her mom and sister think she was!?
...
"I'm sorry. I'm not very familiar with the roads here, and I got caught in some traffic. It took longer than expected to get you home. Honestly, if I'd known, it might've been faster to just walk you back—it could've counted as an evening stroll," said Eiren Kanagawa, resting her hand on the steering wheel after parking in front of the Naegi residence.
"It's fine. I should be the one thanking you—for driving me home so late," Hibiki Naegi replied softly.
"How could I let you walk back alone? No matter what, I had to see you home safely. And besides, it's not even that late! You really are such a proper, obedient girl. When I was in high school, I used to get home around ten every night," Eiren said with a laugh.
Then she added with a grin, "Of course, back in my high school days, public safety was a lot better. I'm not saying people didn't lock their doors at night, but things were certainly less chaotic. Nowadays? Society might look peaceful on the surface, but underneath… heh. I'm rambling. Anyway, what I mean is—your habit of going straight home after school is a really good one. As your teacher, I'm proud of you! Keep it up, alright? Go straight home after class every night. Don't be like me, coming home at ten!"
"I understand. But, Professor Kanagawa, when you were in high school, didn't your parents ever scold you for coming home so late?"
"They couldn't care less~ My parents… well, it's not that they disliked me. Sometimes we'd laugh and talk, and they always tried to meet my needs. Without their support, I wouldn't have been able to study art since childhood—or go abroad for my studies. They paid for all of that. But the atmosphere at home was like… three strangers living together—two adults taking care of one younger one."
As she said this, Eiren let out a self-deprecating laugh. She hadn't meant to talk about her family, especially not to a high school student. Even one of her few close friends, Chihiro Sengoku, didn't know about her complicated relationship with her parents.
If she could, Eiren would never talk about her family at all. But before she realized it, the words had slipped out—along with that bitter smile.
Should she take it back?
The moment she asked herself that question, she already knew the answer.
Of course not.
She wanted Hibiki to know more about her—to tell her everything, even if Hibiki didn't want to hear it. Almost possessively, she wanted Hibiki to understand her completely.
At the same time, Eiren also wanted to know everything about Hibiki.
Why?
Because she wanted to build a family with her.
Eiren had kept that thought buried deep inside. She was afraid that saying it aloud would scare Hibiki away. After all, a university professor suddenly declaring she wanted to build a family with a high school girl—while it might sound romantic in fiction, in reality it was something entirely different. Maybe if their feelings were mutual, it could work. But thinking rationally, they weren't even a couple yet. How could she talk about being family?
For now, she'd just have to keep closing the distance between them—bit by bit.
When she'd studied abroad and later joined Kyoto University as an art professor, Eiren had dated women before—more than once. Each relationship had ended in a breakup.
But this time, Eiren didn't want things to end that way. That was why she'd changed her usual approach—taking things slow, carefully building a foundation before confessing.
If this were the old her, she'd probably already be in a relationship by now—instead of just sharing dinner and then politely driving Hibiki home, doing absolutely nothing else.
Still, back when she'd started the car outside the café, there had been a brief moment when she'd almost given in to temptation—almost turned the wheel toward the five-star hotel nearby. Thankfully, she'd come to her senses in time and changed course before it was too late.
"I… I don't really know what to say," Hibiki murmured. "Should I try to comfort you, Professor Kanagawa? Or pretend I didn't hear anything?"
Eiren let out a faint, wistful laugh. "At times like this, the best thing to do is just listen. But enough about me pouring out my heart—you're the one sitting in the passenger seat, and it's getting late. I bet your family has a curfew for good girls like you, huh?"
Hibiki nodded slightly.
"I had a great time today," Eiren said gently. "Thank you for coming with me—for the coffee, or rather, the dinner. Honestly, when I invited you out, I was worried you'd say no since it's a school day. I'm really glad you didn't."
As she spoke, she unlocked the car doors.
"I had a good time too," Hibiki replied.
"No, not really," Eiren said with a knowing smile. "You're still upset—you had a fight with your sister, didn't you? Well, I won't keep you any longer. Go home, and make up with her soon, alright? Next time I see you, I want you to be truly happy. To be honest, I've always envied people who have siblings."
"I… I will, Professor Kanagawa. Goodbye."
"Goodbye."
When Hibiki stepped out of the car, neither of them made plans for when—or where—they'd meet again.
The word "goodbye" leaving their lips felt less like see you later… and more like farewell.
—
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