บท 27: Kotomi Is Too Good at This!
"I'm home, Mom!"
Izumi Kotomi called out as she pushed open the door, her excitement barely contained as she anticipated sharing the news of her first manuscript payment with her family.
As she slipped off her shoes in the entrance, her white pantyhose-clad feet emerging from her brown loafers like a playful, adorable little bunny, she couldn't help but feel a rush of pride and happiness.
"Welcome home! How was your first day of high school? Did you talk to any classmates? How's the class atmosphere? No one bullied you, right?"
Izumi Akina, who was in the middle of preparing dinner, immediately put down what she was doing when she heard Kotomi return. She fired off a series of questions in one breath, clearly having spent the day at home worrying about these very things.
It was evident from her questions that Akina's primary concern wasn't Kotomi's academic performance but whether she could adapt to the high school environment, make friends, and avoid any potential bullying.
To Akina, the most important thing was her child's well-being—both physical and mental.
The atmosphere in a classroom could greatly influence a student's mental health, and Akina understood that well.
Feeling warmed by her mother's concern, Kotomi replied with a smile, "It was great! I got placed in Class 1-F, and everyone there is really nice. I even made three friends today, one of whom is my seatmate, Megumi Kato. She was the first friend I made at Sobu High School, and we even walked home together after school."
"Oh?" Akina's face lit up with delight. "That's wonderful! Making three friends on your first day and walking home with one of them? As expected of our precious daughter—your social skills are just like your father's!"
"Yukinoshita Yukino, Yui Yuigahama, and Megumi Kato are all really nice people. Although, Yukinoshita-san is a bit on the cool side."
"They're all girls, right?" Akina asked, her focus slightly misplaced.
"Yes, they're all girls. Yukinoshita-san and Yuigahama-san sit in front of me, and Kato-san is my seatmate. We're close in proximity, so it was easy to start talking."
"I see. That Yukinoshita-san must be an ice queen with a warm heart!"
Akina nodded sagely, almost as if she were declaring herself an expert on identifying the "ice queen" archetype.
"Mom, are you some kind of psychic?" Kotomi laughed as she grabbed a can of cold soda from the fridge and took a big gulp.
"Ahh, that's refreshing!"
"Don't just toss your jacket off and start chugging soda like that! You're a girl, and you should drink like one. Also, remember to let the soda sit for a bit after taking it out of the fridge, or you might end up with a stomachache," Akina reminded her.
"But… Mom, you used to drink soda like this too, remember? Back when I was in kindergarten, I saw you drinking it the same way. If anything, I learned it from you," Kotomi retorted, refusing to back down.
"Tch—"
Akina clicked her tongue in annoyance, realizing she'd been called out by her daughter.
"When is Aimi coming back?"
Kotomi asked as she noticed that her sister Aimi's shoes weren't in the entrance. Normally, middle schoolers finished school earlier than high schoolers.
"She called me earlier. She's taking a detour with her friends to a cake shop to buy some desserts—she's bringing back your favorite baumkuchen. But when I asked if she was buying it specifically for you, that little tsundere just huffed and said, 'It's not like I'm buying it for my sister; I just wanted some myself!'"
Akina couldn't help but imitate Aimi's tone from the phone call, painting a vivid picture of the scene for Kotomi.
[Even though there's no blood relation between the sisters, both of you share a little bit of that tsundere streak. It's perfect,] the system commented slyly.
"I'm not tsundere…" Kotomi muttered under her breath, quietly rebutting the system's teasing.
Feeling touched by her sister's thoughtfulness, Kotomi remarked, "It's nice to know that Aimi still remembers that I love baumkuchen."
This must be one of the joys of being an older sister—being cared for by her younger sibling.
"She remembers because of what happened when you were younger. You'd been looking forward to eating baumkuchen all day, but when you finally got home from school, you found that Aimi, who had been let out of kindergarten early, had eaten it all. I still remember the look on your face—you stood there, completely stunned, with your mouth open for the longest time. And then, when you finally realized what had happened, you started bawling your eyes out. That was probably the second time you cried the hardest."
"Was there a time when I cried even harder?" Kotomi asked, feeling a bit embarrassed as her mother recounted her childhood stories.
"The time you cried the hardest was when Aimi was sick and had to be hospitalized. You ran to her hospital bed, and the two of you just hugged each other and cried until both of your voices were hoarse."
Kotomi remembered that moment vividly—it was Aimi's first time being hospitalized, and neither of them really understood what was happening. They thought they might never see each other again.
So, they hugged each other and cried all night, their voices completely gone by the next day.
When the doctor finally arrived, they found out that Aimi was just there for a simple cold and fever.
Thinking back on how she had mistaken her sister's condition for something far more serious, Kotomi couldn't help but cover her face with her hands in embarrassment. She had been such a silly child back then!
"I'm home~"
Aimi's voice echoed from the entrance as she returned, accompanied by the sound of her shoes sliding off against her socks.
"Welcome back," Kotomi greeted her sister with a smile as she walked over to the entrance.
"Here, Sister, I got you some baumkuchen," Aimi said, her cheeks tinged with a light blush as she handed over the box containing the dessert.
"Wow! My favorite baumkuchen!" Kotomi exclaimed with exaggerated delight.
"Honestly, you're a high schooler now, Sister, yet you still get excited like a little kid over baumkuchen," Aimi huffed, though she couldn't hide the satisfaction she felt seeing her sister so happy.
"Did you go out of your way to buy it for me?" Kotomi teased, knowing full well that Aimi would get flustered, but she couldn't resist poking fun at her little sister.
Aimi's adorable face instantly turned a shade of pink as she stammered, "I… I just wanted some baumkuchen for myself, that's all…"
"Is that so? Well, do you mind if I have some too?"
"If you want some… we can share, dummy."
"Yes, yes, I'm a dummy, and my smart little sister has to take care of her silly, clumsy big sister~"
Kotomi's sweet smile was radiant and charming, an expression that was utterly irresistible to Aimi.
For Aimi, it was a critical hit!
Her face flushed red in an instant, and steam practically seemed to rise from her head as she bashfully lowered her gaze.
[Wow, Kotomi, you're too good at this!] The system cheered excitedly, almost as if it had become a fan of Kotomi's sisterly antics.
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