After walking Kotomi Izumi to her doorstep, gumi Kato smiled and waved. "See you tomorrow. If you're too scared to sleep tonight, feel free to video call ."
"I already told you, I'm not scared of school ghost stories!" Kotomi blushed, trying to sound firm. She left a quick, "Call when you get ho," before rushing inside.
Watching her little penguin scurry off, gumi couldn't help but laugh cheerfully. Suddenly, she imagined a life where nothing dramatic ever happened. Just the two of them going to and from school together every day for years, then getting into the sa university.
Maybe they'd rent a place together and start living under one roof during college.
And after graduation, they'd co out to their families. If things went well, perhaps within a few more years, they'd even get married.
That kind of calm and steady life was deeply appealing.
Who needed grand adventures? A cozy life full of everyday routines—cooking, cleaning, sharing monts—was more than enough.
Back in her bedroom, Kotomi was changing into her pajamas when gumi called.
"I'm ho now, eating dinner," gumi said casually.
"I'm—"
"You're changing into pajamas~" gumi said, beating her to the punch.
Kotomi froze, then looked at the owl plushie on her desk. Awkwardly, she asked, "Aren't you supposed to be eating? How are you eating while watching your tablet?"
"I also installed an app on my phone that connects to the miniature cara inside the owl plushie. Kotomi's cute little undergarnts are adorable~ Although at this size… I guess 'big' undergarnts might be more accurate."
"Shut up!" Kotomi shouted, face beet red. She stomped her foot, grabbed the pillow cover, and threw it over the owl plushie.
When gumi saw the screen go dark, she quickly pleaded for rcy:
"I'm sorry, Kotomi! Please take the cover off!"
"I promise I won't say anything weird again!"
"Kotomi? Kotomi?! Say sothing!"
"Onee-chan~ dearest sister~ your little sis wants to see you, won't you please take the cover off?"
Kotomi took a deep breath, completely unmoved. She shouted, "No!"
Click!
She hung up the call.
gumi hadn't done too well on the midterms this ti. While it wasn't a complete stall, her progress was much smaller than usual.
Her mother, Ikemi Kato, wasn't exactly thrilled with the results—just passable.
So gumi used that as an excuse to eat dinner in her room, saying she wanted to watch online lectures while she ate. Ikemi agreed. After dinner was ready, gumi took her al upstairs.
Except, she wasn't watching any lectures. She opened the app connected to the cara and began spying on Kotomi. But since Kotomi already knew about the cara, it technically wasn't spying… right?
Feeling bolder, gumi had called her. And now? The cara inside the owl plushie was covered.
"The cara's blocked… what a waste. Still, Kotomi really is… big. No matter how many tis I see it, it's always impressive," gumi muttered, leaning back from her small table and resting her head on the bed.
Even though Kotomi was her girlfriend, gumi couldn't help but be curious—what did Kotomi eat to get that big?
Dinner at the Izumi household—
To celebrate Kotomi scoring first place in the grade again, Izumi Kan also brought ho five 15-pound Boston lobsters.
After all, Kotomi could polish off three of them all by herself, down to the shell, without leaving a single scrap of at. If no one stopped her, even the shells might vanish.
By the ti Kotomi finished her fifth bowl of rice and her second lobster, she finally rembered to ask:
"Oh right, Mom, where are my old running shoes from middle school? You know, the little white ones."
"The running shoes you wore in middle school? I don't really rember. They should be in one of the boxes in the deepest part of the shoe cabinet. Why do you ask?" Akina Izumi tried to recall. It had been almost a year since she'd washed those running shoes and stored them away—her mory had started to fade.
After all, Kotomi had plenty of shoes she wore regularly, including a few pairs of sneakers. So that specific pair of little white shoes from middle school had long since slipped from Akina's mind.
"The sports festival is coming up. I signed up for the girls' 800-ter race. If I run in regular shoes, my feet will hurt afterward. Better to wear proper sneakers."
No sooner had Kotomi spoken than Aimi shot up from her chair in shock, her voice trembling:
"Pfft—Are you really my sister? Tell ! Where have you hidden my real sister? There's no way she would voluntarily sign up for a sports festival event, much less an 800-ter run!"
"What kind of image do you even have of ?!" Kotomi said, near tears. She snatched a shrimp from Aimi's bowl, dipped it in garlic sauce, and fed it to her. "It's a waste to eat such a big piece of shrimp without garlic. Here, try it."
"Mmm—Onee-chan, it's so good!"
"It'd be even better if you could add the words 'lobster' before 'so good.'"
"The last ti Kotomi voluntarily joined a sports event was… hmm, let think… I think it was back in kindergarten," said Kan Izumi, trying hard to rember.
"If not kindergarten, then first grade," Akina added.
Kotomi fell silent, burying herself in her food.
"That pair of little white shoes might be hard to find. Don't you have a few other pairs of sneakers? Just wear one of those," Akina suggested. Hunting down a specific pair could be a hassle.
Sotis when you go looking for sothing specific, you can't find it no matter what. But if you stop trying and just casually open a cabinet, it turns up out of nowhere.
"But I want to wear that pair~" Kotomi said, hugging her mom from behind and whining softly.
But any mom who's raised a daughter knows all about these tricks. Kotomi's routine was nothing new—Akina had perfected it years ago. It didn't work in the slightest.
Akina tapped Kotomi lightly on the head. Kotomi instinctively stuck out her tongue.
"If you want to wear them, look for them yourself after dinner. There's no guarantee they'll still fit."
"Hmm~ I don't think my feet have grown that much. I should still be able to wear them."
As she spoke, Kotomi habitually slipped off one of her slippers, revealing a soft, fair foot like carved jade. She glanced down and wiggled her rosy little toes.
Aimi, who was pretending to bend down to pick up chopsticks, had a clear view—and couldn't help but swallow. Suddenly, she felt like she could eat ten bowls of rice even without any lobster.
After dinner, Kotomi dragged a small stool to the shoe cabinet and began the long process of searching.
"Onee-chan, want so help?" Aimi offered with thinly veiled ulterior motives.
Kotomi didn't think much of it. But the idea of needing her little sister to help her find one pair of sneakers made her feel like a failure as an older sibling. Anyone watching might think she was the kind of hopeless big sister who couldn't function without Aimi.
"No need. I'm the older sister, I can do it myself!"
"But every ti you pack your suitcase, you still need to help…"
Oof!
Kotomi felt like Aimi had stabbed her right in the heart.
This kid really knew how to twist the knife. She'd get her back for that later.
Having rejected Aimi's help, Kotomi resud her serious search for the little white shoes. She couldn't help but wonder—was the shoe cabinet really that big, or had her mom stored that shoebox way too deep?
She'd been searching for over ten minutes and still hadn't found the shoes she so dearly missed.
"Weird… is my little white shoe playing hide and seek with ?"
Kotomi searched for another five minutes and still couldn't find her little white sneakers. She'd nearly turned the entire shoe cabinet inside out. Rolling her neck to relieve the stiffness, she was glad she'd brought a small stool to sit on. If she'd been crouching the whole ti, her legs would've gone numb. It was as if her sneakers had turned into a little ghost—nowhere to be found.
Feeling a bit thirsty, she returned to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and drank a can of Pepsi. After a short rest, she returned to the shoe cabinet and finally found the shoebox containing her little white shoes on the second shelf.
"Phew… finally found you. My little white shoes, you're finally willing to show yourself."
Kotomi stood up with the shoes in hand.
Unlike other white sneakers that had colorful accents, Kotomi's little white shoes were pure white—an embodint of simplicity.
She took the shoes back to her bedroom, put on so socks, and tried them on. They still fit perfectly—not too tight, not too loose.
"Alright, I'll wear you to the sports festival."
She had quite a few sneakers to choose from, and until now, she hadn't been sure which pair to wear. Seeing these middle school-era white sneakers helped her decide instantly.
Glancing at the ti, it was already 8:00 PM. Kotomi looked at her computer, then at her cozy bed.
Ti to make the ultimate decision between typing out so chapters or watching ani in bed.
"So comfy~"
Kotomi threw the covers over herself and started watching the ani she'd been following—Tawawa on Monday.
No hidden aning here—she just liked the art style and enjoyed the plot. Absolutely no other reason!
"Let the good tis roll~" she said, snuggling under the blanket, planning to watch until she fell asleep.
Ring ring!
She hadn't even clicked on an episode before her phone rang.
"Damn it!" she muttered, annoyed, wondering who was calling so late.
—rii Hizuki.
The chief agent from the Nichirushi (Heavenly Spider) Talent Agency. She'd been busy lately. Since sending the final paynt, Miriri hadn't contacted her much.
Kotomi hadn't minded. After all, she'd already received the full paynt for Fly to the Star, and the royalties were still being deposited monthly into her bank account.
As soon as she answered, she heard Miriri's enthusiastic voice:
"Kotomi! Fly to the Star is out on the music platforms—have you listened to it yet?!"
The song had gone live on all major music platforms and was absolutely dominating the charts.
To outsiders, looking at the leaderboard, it'd be hard to believe that the singer—Rin Hoshizaki—was a rookie who had just debuted this year!
Kotomi had listened to Rin's version of Fly to the Star after its release. Her vocals were solid, and her emotion matched the song's mood perfectly. Still, Kotomi stood by what she told Miriri after writing the song: it was ant to be sung as a duet.
That's how you get a real love ballad. When sung solo… it turns into a song for the lonely.
"Yeah, I listened. Miss Hoshizaki sang it well. Clean vocals, strong emotion—she did justice to the song," Kotomi said with a smile.
"She did justice to the song." Only a true composer—soone worthy of being called a "music papa"—could say that with such pride. No matter how confident a new artist might be, in front of soone like that, all they could do was humbly nod.
Even if you're arrogant, you'd better rein it in in front of a songmaster! If you don't understand that, you've got no place in the music industry—go do sothing else.
To get a songmaster to collaborate with you takes trendous effort, even for Japan's top three entertainnt companies. Once they manage it, they treat the songmaster like royalty.
Though Kotomi wasn't quite a full-fledged songmaster yet, rii Hizuki already regarded her as a future one. Naturally, the artists under her managent saw Kotomi the sa way. With the massive success of Ririn Hoshizaki's debut track "Fly to the Star," they beca even more convinced.
rii had the call on speakerphone, and sitting across from her was Ririn Hoshizaki. Upon hearing Kotomi's praise, Ririn lit up like a student finally receiving long-overdue approval from a teacher. She jumped to her feet, barely containing her joy.
rii shot her a look, silently signaling her to calm down. Ririn quickly sat back down, hands on her knees, rigid as a statue.
When she first heard that the composer of "Fly to the Star" was a young-sounding girl, Ririn had felt so relief. But after that look from rii, she realized—even if the voice sounded young, this was soone so talented that even rii Hizuki called her a songmaster.
The relaxed feeling vanished in an instant. Nervous tension surged back, and Ririn sat straight, barely daring to breathe, worried she might annoy the person on the other end of the line.
"Izumi-sensei, here's the thing—Ririn's with right now. As soon as she heard I was calling you, she begged to listen in. Is now a good ti? Do you have any feedback for her regarding 'Fly to the Star'?"
As expected of soone with rii's experience, she used the chance to subtly introduce Ririn and hint at hopes for future collaborations.
Kotomi picked up on the implication instantly. rii wanted her to get familiar with Ririn for potential ongoing work.
"Of course. I'd love to hear the voice of the girl who perford my song so beautifully."
She didn't reject the idea—in fact, she hinted that she was open to future collaborations. Kotomi wasn't the type to act aloof, especially not when a single song could be so profitable. She was more than willing to continue working with Nichirushi's agency.
After all, once she started developing gas and ani, she'd need help from Nichirushi's talent pool. It was a mutually beneficial relationship. If both sides could gain, why not keep things friendly?
rii and Ririn were overjoyed to hear Kotomi's response.
"Keep your composure and know when to speak and when not to," rii whispered to Ririn as she handed over the phone.
Ririn nodded quickly, her hands trembling slightly as she took it. She hadn't even been this nervous during her debut concert.
"Hello, Izumi-sensei. My na is Ririn Hoshizaki. Thank you so much for composing this song for . Your work has truly changed my life. I don't even know how to properly thank you."
By the end, Ririn's voice was breaking. Seeing her na at the top of music charts across every platform had stunned her—it felt surreal.
Even though Nichirushi was pushing her hard as a new talent, Ririn knew that without real results by year's end, they'd shift focus to soone else.
Every year, new stars are born. If you don't shine quickly, the spotlight moves on. Agencies don't waste ti—unless you're a top-tier artist.
But if you are a top-tier artist, that ti isn't a waste—it's an investnt.
"I'm the composer, yes. But you're the one who brought the song to life. I'm not just being modest—without , you wouldn't have had this opportunity. But without you, 'Fly to the Star' wouldn't have reached so many people. Instead of just thanking , we should thank each other."
Kotomi spoke sincerely—not with arrogance, but also not pretending to be humble. There was no need to.
Ririn had all the makings of a breakout star. It was best to build rapport with her now. Later, when Kotomi launched her Type-Moon Realm company, she could ask Ririn to sing for her gas. With the goodwill built, Ririn would likely agree without hesitation—and Kotomi might even ride the wave of her popularity when the ga launched.
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