The alarm on Izumi Kotomi's phone rang.
Kotomi skillfully turned off the alarm with one hand and slowly got out of bed. She had stayed up late last night, too excited to sleep after consecutively drawing both Formidable and Le Malin in her ga. Her dreams were filled with thoughts of Formidable's chest and Le Malin's white stockings.
Kotomi wiped the drool that had unconsciously gathered at the corner of her mouth.
As she prepared to take off her blue and white penguin pajamas and change into her school uniform, she paused, noticing sothing odd about the buttons on her pajamas.
The second button was fastened in the position of the first.
"That's strange. I thought I buttoned it correctly last night," Kotomi muttered in confusion as she examined the misplaced button. She was sure she had buttoned it correctly when she put it on, so how did it end up like this?
Could she have made a mistake last night and not noticed?
Rubbing her head, Kotomi brushed the thought aside. She rembered that she always locked her door before bed, a habit she had carried over from her previous life. With that in mind, she didn't dwell on it further. She proceeded with brushing her teeth, washing her face, and changing into her Sobu High School uniform before heading downstairs for breakfast.
Kotomi didn't notice the single strand of black hair in an inconspicuous corner of her bed. If she had seen it, she would have instantly known who it belonged to...
—Izumi Aimi.
When Kotomi ca downstairs, Aimi had already finished most of her breakfast and was sipping the milk tea that their mother, Izumi Akina, had just made for her.
"Good morning, Onee-chan~," Aimi greeted with a smile, her eyes half-closed in contentnt.
"Morning. Mom, good morning. Can I have so milk tea too?"
"Sure, but finish your breakfast first. You shouldn't drink milk tea on an empty stomach," Akina replied as she poured the milk tea into Kotomi's cup, reminding her gently.
"Where's Dad?" Kotomi asked, noticing that her father, Izumi Kaneyoshi, wasn't having breakfast with them this morning.
"Your dad has an important eting at his company this morning. Since he's the section chief, he had to leave early, about an hour ago."
"Oh, okay," Kotomi nodded and then focused on her breakfast.
As Aimi continued to sip her milk tea, her eyes occasionally darted toward Kotomi. Since Sobu High School's opening ceremony had ended yesterday, both sisters were scheduled to go to school at the sa ti today.
Aimi hesitantly spoke up, "Onee-chan, can we go to school together this morning?"
"Hm?" Kotomi looked up at her sister, considering. "We can, but I'm on duty today, so I need to get to school a bit earlier."
She glanced at the clock on the wall. As a duty student today, she needed to be in the classroom by 7:40 AM. As long as she left twenty minutes earlier, she'd make it in ti.
"Huh?" Aimi was slightly disheartened. She had hoped to walk to school hand-in-hand with her sister, but with Kotomi on duty, she'd have to leave earlier than usual. While Aimi could accompany her sister and wait outside the middle school gates until they opened, she knew Kotomi wouldn't allow her to wait alone outside.
"So, Aimi, if you co with , it'll be a bit too early for you," Kotomi said, just as Aimi had expected.
"But, I need so ti to get to middle school, too. If I leave early with you, I'll arrive just on ti," Aimi insisted, unwilling to give up.
"I went to the sa middle school as you, so I know exactly how long it takes to get there. The gates open at 8 AM, and classes start at 8:30. You'll be fine leaving at 8," Kotomi reasoned.
"But even if the gates aren't open yet, I can just wait outside for a bit..." Aimi protested weakly.
"No, it's not safe," Kotomi said firmly.
"Okay..." Aimi sighed in disappointnt.
As expected, her sister refused to walk with her to school. She knew Kotomi was only concerned for her safety, but she had so desperately wanted to walk to school hand-in-hand with her sister.
"Would you like another slice of bread?" Akina offered.
Kotomi shook her head, her cute face frad by her silky hair. She quickly finished the last bite of bread, drank her cooled milk tea in one gulp, and grabbed her school bag.
"No, thanks. I made plans to et a classmate on the way to school, so I can't keep them waiting. Mom, Aimi, take your ti with breakfast. I'm off."
With that, Kotomi quickly moved to the entrance, put on her shoes, and opened the front door.
As soon as she stepped outside, she noticed gumi Kato standing under the streetlamp across the road.
gumi was gazing down at her feet, her short black hair gently framing her face. Her lips held a subtle smile, making it impossible to guess how long she had been standing there.
Kotomi hurried over to her, calling out, "Kato-san!"
gumi looked up, her eyes brimming with warmth as she smiled at Kotomi. When Kotomi was close enough, gumi greeted her softly, "Good morning, Izumi-san."
"Have you been waiting long?"
"Not really. I ca over after breakfast, thinking you might be ready soon. I only waited about ten minutes," gumi replied.
"Next ti, if I'm not out within five minutes, just co inside and wait," Kotomi offered.
"Really? Won't I run into your parents then?"
"Well, you'll definitely et my mom. If my dad hasn't left for work early, you might see him too."
"Hehe, does that count as eting the parents?" gumi teased, catching Kotomi off guard.
"Why does 'eting the parents' sound so weird?" Kotomi asked, a bit flustered.
Before Kotomi could recover, gumi continued, "It's just eting the parents of a friend~ We're friends, right?"
"Of course," Kotomi nodded.
"So if we're friends, and I et your parents, that counts as eting the parents! Simple," gumi said with a matter-of-fact tone, as if her logic was unassailable.
Kotomi thought it over and realized gumi's reasoning actually made sense. So she nodded, "Well, if you co over tomorrow morning, you can join us for breakfast. My mom's cooking is really good."
gumi's smile widened, "Really? Then I definitely want to try Izumi-san's mom's cooking."
As they walked toward school, chatting along the way, gumi suddenly turned to look back.
"What's wrong?" Kotomi asked, concerned.
"It's nothing. I just thought I felt a small bug fly past my ear," gumi said with a light laugh as she brushed back her short hair.
The two of them walked side by side toward Sobu High School, their figures growing smaller as they went.
anwhile, in Kotomi's bedroom, Izumi Aimi stood by the window. When she heard Kotomi ntion she was eting a classmate, she lost her appetite. After Kotomi left, Aimi quickly ran upstairs and opened the door to Kotomi's room.
The only place in the house where she could see the street from was Kotomi's bedroom.
But to her surprise, as soon as she looked out the window, she saw her sister walking away with an unfamiliar short-haired girl, both of them chatting and laughing together.
They looked so close...
Aimi stood by the window, watching until they were completely out of sight.
"Who is that short-haired girl? Is she the classmate Onee-chan ntioned? And did she notice just now when she looked back...?"
With a sigh, Aimi lay down on Kotomi's bed, hugging the blanket that still held her sister's scent, and took a deep breath.
"So fragrant..." Aimi murmured, burying her face deeper into the blanket, savoring the lingering scent.
As she rolled over, she noticed a stray strand of her own hair in a small corner of the bed.
"In my rush to leave last night, I didn't notice this. I hope Onee-chan doesn't find out. It took so long to find the spare key to her room," Aimi whispered to herself as she carefully picked up the hair.
She then skillfully tidied up the bed, restoring everything to its original state as if she had never been there.
After completing her task, Aimi reluctantly left Kotomi's room.
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