Iroha Isshiki pursed her lips in a soft laugh. She was dressed casually in a mocha-brown trench coat over an ivory pleated skirt, with short black socks wrapped around her petite feet and a pair of white sneakers.
The outfit made Iroha Isshiki look full of energy. Of course, the most eye-catching part was still her alluring pair of fair, gleaming legs. Framed by the triple combination of her skirt, short black socks, and white sneakers, they revealed nothing excessive, yet constantly drew Kotomi Izumi's gaze.
Kotomi Izumi had always considered herself a staunch devotee of pantyhose and thigh-high stockings. Short socks had never belonged anywhere in her catalog of preferences. Yet after seeing Iroha Isshiki now, Kotomi finally realized she had been wrong. Short socks could be this alluring too!
Even so, fascination was one thing, preference was another.
Kotomi glanced down at herself almost instinctively. Beneath the hem of her short skirt, a pair of sheer pantyhose hugged every curve of her legs, the fine fabric following the shape of her thighs so closely that the healthy tone of her skin remained plainly visible beneath it. The delicate tension along the material accentuated the elegant lines she had always taken pride in, giving her legs the refined allure that had long made sheer stockings her unwavering favorite.
Short socks might have earned a place in her appreciation today.
But when it came to what she loved wearing herself...
Pantyhose and stockings still stood at the very top without the slightest competition.
"Senpai, just a reminder. It's noon right now, not evening. There isn't any sunset."
"If I say there's a sunset, then there's a sunset," Kotomi Izumi insisted stubbornly.
"Hehehe. All right, then. If you say there's a sunset, Senpai, then there's a sunset."
Faced with Kotomi Izumi's stubbornness, Iroha Isshiki smiled faintly and glanced at the cloudless blue sky, speaking as though she were indulging a willful child.
"Hmph." Kotomi Izumi even gave an adorably haughty snort.
Most people couldn't see the forest for the trees because they were standing among them. For example, Kotomi Izumi often accused Yukino Yukinoshita of being a tsundere, yet when it was her own turn, she still instinctively became haughty and stubborn.
"Senpai, we should pass a convenience store soon, right? Let's stop for a moment. I want to buy some canned lychees," Iroha Isshiki said.
"Sure. I remember you saying you didn't like canned food. Why do you suddenly like it now?"
"Senpai, I'm going to feel hurt if you say that because you clearly didn't remember what I told you. I did say I didn't like canned food, but I also specifically said I disliked canned fish and canned meat. I still really like canned fruit." Iroha Isshiki cast Kotomi a plaintive look, appearing thoroughly aggrieved.
"Ah, ahahaha... Sorry, sorry. I really didn't remember that part clearly."
"A mere apology isn't enough to heal my wounded little heart~"
Iroha Isshiki had no intention of letting Kotomi off so easily. The corners of her lips curved into a wicked smile that Kotomi knew all too well.
Whenever Iroha Isshiki revealed that mischievous smile, Kotomi Izumi could not help shivering because every time Iroha smiled like that, it meant she was about to start teasing her.
More importantly, little Iroha succeeded every single time.
Kotomi Izumi was also fiercely competitive, so whenever she saw Iroha Isshiki's wicked smile, she felt both anticipation and nervousness. She anticipated finally turning the tables and defeating the little devil this time. She was nervous because although she felt confident, she still had very little certainty and feared that one moment of carelessness would send her tumbling into the little devil's trap yet again.
"Th-Then what do I have to do to heal your wounded little heart?"
Kotomi Izumi asked tentatively. She knew perfectly well that her minor mistake just now could not possibly have genuinely hurt Iroha.
Had a girl truly been upset, Kotomi Izumi would have noticed immediately.
Rule Two of The Little Heartbreaker's Guide to Self-Cultivation: Always notice changes in your lover's mood promptly. Upon realizing that something you did caused your lover to experience negative emotions, apologize immediately and promise never to do it again. Then, within a short period, use the most effective method possible to eliminate those negative feelings completely.
As the author of The Little Heartbreaker's Guide to Self-Cultivation, Kotomi Izumi had no idea how many rules there would be if she ever compiled the entire guide, but she believed she had mastered every single one.
Therefore, under normal circumstances, Kotomi Izumi would never make such a basic mistake as accidentally hurting the other person's feelings without even noticing.
She was only saying this now because she knew little Iroha was joking with her, so she merely played along and continued the conversation.
"Hmm—Even if you ask me right now, Senpai, I can't think of anything immediately. How about this? I'll store the promise you owe me in my inventory for now. Once I've decided how I want you to fulfill it, I'll use it."
Iroha Isshiki clapped her hands together as though she had thought of a brilliant idea.
Before Iroha Isshiki had even finished speaking, however, Kotomi Izumi reached out and lightly knocked her on the head, saying irritably:
"An inventory? Do you think this is some kind of game item? You store it in your inventory when you obtain it, then take it out whenever you need to use it?"
"Can't I, Senpai~?" Iroha Isshiki gazed at Kotomi Izumi with pitiful eyes.
"Don't look at me like that. I won't fall for it! I really won't! Tsk... Fine. I'll agree."
Although Kotomi Izumi sincerely wanted to resist Iroha Isshiki's pitiful-gaze offensive, its power was simply too overwhelming. Kotomi Izumi could not withstand it at all.
"Yay! Senpai is the best!" Iroha Isshiki cheered happily and wrapped both arms around Kotomi Izumi's arm.
When Iroha Isshiki suddenly hugged her arm, Kotomi Izumi's heart first skipped a beat, then her brain rapidly ordered itself to enter calm mode...
All right, calm mode had failed to activate. She could not calm down at all.
"D-Don't act spoiled. When girls act spoiled with me, I don't feel happy at all. I only find it troublesome!"
Kotomi, who was probably more dominant than submissive, spoke contrary to her true feelings with a flushed face.
"Hehehe."
A smile lingered on Iroha Isshiki's lips as she listened to Kotomi's stubborn denial.
When they arrived at the convenience store, Iroha Isshiki took two cans of lychees from the canned-food shelf, then went to the register to pay.
After they finished paying and left the convenience store together, Iroha Isshiki said:
"Actually, I didn't buy these two cans of lychees for myself. They're for Aimi."
"Aimi? Did she ask you to buy them for her?"
Upon hearing that, Kotomi Izumi assumed Aimi wanted canned fruit but was too absorbed in playing gal games to leave the house, so she had lazily asked Iroha to buy it for her.
If that were truly the case, then once Kotomi returned home, she would close Aimi's bedroom door and give her a proper lecture!
Seeing that Kotomi had misunderstood, Iroha Isshiki hurriedly shook her head and said:
"Aimi did ask me to buy them, but it wasn't because she was too lazy to leave the house. She can't go out right now. Aimi has a fever. When I visited her yesterday, her temperature had dropped slightly, but only from thirty-nine degrees to thirty-eight."
"Huh?"
Kotomi Izumi stared at Iroha Isshiki in shock and asked incredulously:
"You're saying Aimi has a fever?"
"Yes. Her fever left her little face completely listless," Iroha Isshiki said with a nod.
"That's strange. When I messaged her yesterday, she replied quite promptly and even asked me to chat with her for a while. But from beginning to end, she never mentioned having a cold. She only talked about the gal games she'd been playing lately.
"She couldn't possibly be pretending to be sick either. Mom has always had sharp eyes. When my sister and I were little, we tried pretending to be sick a few times so we could skip school, but Mom exposed us immediately every single time."
Kotomi Izumi felt puzzled and somewhat guilty. Her younger sister had caught a cold and developed a fever, yet she, the older sister, had known nothing about it until now.
Rather, had Iroha Isshiki not told her, she might not have learned that Aimi was sick until after she arrived home.
"I asked Aimi about it yesterday too. She said that with your personality, if she told you, you'd definitely throw the entire hot-spring trip out of your mind and take a plane home overnight. She didn't want you to worry. She wanted you to enjoy your trip in Kyoto, so she deliberately kept it from you and even asked your parents to help her hide it."
At that point, Iroha Isshiki sighed softly:
"After Aimi told me yesterday, she repeatedly warned me not to tell you about her fever. Unfortunately, I still betrayed her trust and told you. Still, I suppose it doesn't make much difference now that you're already back from Kyoto."
"Thank you for telling me. Had you not told me now, I would've had to wait until I got home to learn that my foolish little sister had a fever. Sigh... That silly girl. It isn't as though this was my first time visiting Kyoto. Why would I become so absorbed in the trip that I wouldn't want to come home early? Once I get back, I'll definitely give her a proper talking-to. But..."
Kotomi Izumi scratched her hair somewhat sheepishly and said helplessly:
"When all is said and done, I ought to reflect on myself too. My sister was sick, yet I didn't find out until now. Had I sent her a voice message or called her last night instead of texting, I might have heard from her tone that she wasn't feeling well."
"Senpai, once you get home and feed Aimi one can, I feel like she'll already be halfway recovered from her cold." Iroha Isshiki swung the plastic bag containing the two cans of lychees.
"Let's hope so..."
"Still, this is my first time learning that Aimi likes canned lychees. Does she like eating lychees?"
Iroha Isshiki asked curiously. Despite being Aimi's best friend, this was the first time she had learned that Aimi liked canned lychees.
"Aimi doesn't like eating lychees. She simply likes drinking the syrup from the can, especially after it's been chilled. Whenever we ate canned fruit as children, she particularly loved drinking the syrup inside, just like how I always enjoy eating the nata de coco whenever I have canned fruit cocktail."
Kotomi Izumi spoke with a soft laugh. She might have been a rather useless older sister, but that did not mean she did not know what her younger sister liked.
On the contrary, Kotomi remembered perfectly clearly what Aimi liked to eat and drink, what snacks she preferred while watching television, and what fruit she enjoyed when she was sick.
"I'll remember that." Iroha Isshiki nodded solemnly.
"Huh? What are you remembering?"
Kotomi Izumi was puzzled. Had she just said something worth firmly committing to memory?
Surely not...
"You really like eating the nata de coco in canned fruit cocktail, Senpai. I'll remember that!"
"So that's what you meant. It isn't anything worth remembering..." Kotomi Izumi smiled helplessly after understanding.
"How could you say it isn't worth remembering?" Iroha Isshiki disagreed. "I decided long ago that I would firmly engrave every one of your preferences into my heart, Senpai!"
Iroha Isshiki's straightforward declaration caused the lingering blush on Kotomi Izumi's cheeks to deepen instantly. She became so embarrassed that she stammered:
"Wh-Why are you memorizing what I like?!"
"Take a guess~" Iroha Isshiki replied with a wicked smile and a meaningful tone.
"I... Let's go, let's go. The weather is too cold. We need to hurry home!"
Running away might have been shameful, but it was useful. Kotomi Izumi quickened her pace with a flushed face.
"Senpai, are you walking so quickly because you're afraid I'll see the blush that the 'sunset' brought to your face?"
"Shut up!"
"Hehehe. Still, Senpai, if you like nata de coco, aren't there cans filled entirely with nata de coco? They must contain far more than canned fruit cocktail does, right?"
"You don't understand. If it isn't nata de coco from canned fruit cocktail, then it doesn't taste as good."
"Then the next time you eat some, can you feed me a bite?"
"Sure... Wait, you little devil. Don't tell me that was your goal from the very beginning?!"
"Hehe~"
Kotomi Izumi and Iroha Isshiki chatted, laughed, and playfully bickered the entire way.
Kotomi did not say it aloud, but she understood perfectly well that she loved being with Iroha Isshiki. Every minute and every second they spent together felt so relaxed and joyful.
Chiba Municipal Hospital.
The parking lot.
After Kumi Motokawa parked the car, she did not immediately get out. Instead, she remained in the driver's seat and glanced toward the hospital entrance in the distance.
Kotomi and Iroha had already left.
"I wonder what those two will talk about on the way home..."
Kumi Motokawa murmured to herself with a hint of emotion. In truth, even if she had not received the hospital's message about the operation, she had planned to invent an excuse to drive to the hospital and make Kotomi and Iroha walk home from there.
After all, whether one traveled from Chiba Municipal Hospital to the Isshiki residence or the Izumi residence, the distance was neither particularly long nor particularly short.
For two girls who shared feelings for each other, that moderate distance might give them an opportunity to unintentionally say something that drew them closer together. If matters progressed quickly enough, perhaps they might even realize each other's feelings.
That was right.
Kumi Motokawa had long since noticed that Iroha Isshiki liked Kotomi Izumi and that Kotomi Izumi liked Iroha Isshiki in return.
Since that was the case, why shouldn't she, as Iroha Isshiki's mother, give her daughter a little assistance?
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