After Yui Yuigahama adjusted her state and joined the ensemble again, her improvement compared to before was obvious.
Kotomi Izumi spared no effort in showering her with praise. Every time Yui made progress, Kotomi would praise her until her mouth was dry, wholeheartedly complimenting her.
Of course, it was the same for Yukino as well.
Kotomi considered her greatest strength to be knowing when to treat everyone equally and when to show favoritism.
Yukino Yukinoshita, with her always cool and aloof personality, would only lightly nod and respond with humble words when Kotomi praised her, showing little outward joy.
At first, Kotomi thought Yukino was simply very modest, that even when praised she wouldn't let her emotions get the better of her.
Until last time at Yukino's home, when Kotomi praised her piano accompaniment for two songs as truly wonderful. Yukino's face had still remained calm, only nodding slightly in acknowledgment.
But Kotomi happened to notice then that Yukino's fingers lightly tapped the air, as if playing invisible keys. At the same time, her delicate face occasionally puffed up just a little before relaxing again.
Noticing this tiny gesture, Kotomi remembered it. Thinking back, she realized that every time she praised Yukino, Yukino seemed to make this same little motion.
Could it be…? Kotomi had an idea.
"Yukino, your piano playing just now—the melody in the final line was simply a stroke of genius. I really wish I could record every piece you play and listen to them with the best headphones." Kotomi praised her again.
"Thank you. It's nothing really, just a simple ending. Once you're familiar with the score, and combine it with your own understanding of the song, it's easy to find a place to add a touch of melody. If it's done well, it can surprise people. If not, it can feel unnecessary.
"If you like having a little extra melody at the end, I'll keep playing it that way for rehearsals and the performance. If you don't, I can change it back."
Yukino Yukinoshita's voice remained calm and steady, her tone almost unchanged from before. But her hands, which had left the piano keys and rested on her lap, began tapping the air again. After her humble words, her cheeks puffed slightly before smoothing out naturally.
There it was again. Every time Kotomi praised Yukino, she would make this little gesture!
Kotomi immediately confirmed it in her heart—every time she praised Yukino, Yukino was secretly happy. She just didn't show it outwardly due to her pride or her habit of being aloof. Instead, she expressed her joy with these small subconscious movements.
Yukino Yukinoshita had no idea. What to her was just a habitual little gesture had been caught by Kotomi's sharp eyes and interpreted correctly as her way of showing happiness.
If Yukino knew that whenever she received Kotomi's praise, even though she outwardly maintained her cold and proud demeanor, only offering thanks and modest words, inside she was very happy—and unconsciously revealed it with this tiny habit—if she knew Kotomi had figured that out…
Her lovely face would probably turn even redder than before.
Thinking of this, Kotomi suddenly wanted to lean close to Yukino's ear and whisper it to her.
That way, she could see Yukino Yukinoshita, the ice queen, blushing shyly, embarrassed, her beautiful face stained pink with emotions. Maybe she'd even stammer out a few flustered words.
Kotomi really wanted to see it!
Just imagining it made her long to witness it for real.
But for now, she decided to keep it to herself. She couldn't just blurt out, "I already know what your little gesture means." Yukino wasn't as thick-skinned as she was. If she said it now, Yukino would definitely run out of the second music room from sheer embarrassment.
Kotomi could only silently keep Yukino Yukinoshita's little gestures after being praised firmly in her heart. At the same time, she decided that in the future, she would increase the number of times she praised Yukino, just so she could see more of those adorable little reactions.
The ice queen Yukino Yukinoshita, deep down, longed for praise. Kotomi thought to herself with growing fondness: Yukino is so cute!
After two more ensemble runs, the three felt satisfied. Seeing the sky grow darker outside the window, they decided to end rehearsal for the day.
After tidying up the second music room, they went downstairs together.
"A few days from now, the cultural festival will officially begin. Although we've pretty much mastered the lyrics and rhythm, just thinking about standing on stage and facing the entire audience makes me feel nervous… Lately, before bed, I've had to stand in front of the mirror and tell myself: I'm not nervous, I, Yui Yuigahama, am strong!"
Yui Yuigahama stretched with a yawn as she spoke.
As the lead vocalist, her position on stage would undoubtedly be the center. Naturally, most of the audience's attention would fall on her during the two songs.
Yui wasn't exactly introverted—she was quite cheerful—but it was still her first time performing on stage. Feeling nervous was only natural.
"I'll teach you a trick. When you're on stage, don't keep looking at the audience. Just focus all your attention on singing. After all, this isn't a concert—you don't need to interact much with the crowd."
Kotomi patted Yui's shoulder, giving her encouragement.
If Yukino hadn't been there, Kotomi would have already pulled Yui into her arms. She truly hoped that one day she could hold Yui openly in front of Yukino.
Or perhaps one day she could hold Yukino openly in front of Yui.
But ideally, what Kotomi really hoped for was the day she could openly embrace both of them—Yui Yuigahama in her left arm, Yukino Yukinoshita in her right.
At that moment, standing between them, Kotomi glanced at Yui on her left and Yukino on her right—
Her little hands began itching to move!
If she framed it as just putting her arms around their shoulders, holding both at once shouldn't be a problem, right? Kotomi thought eagerly.
Just as she was about to act, her eyes suddenly fell on someone standing at the entrance of the school building—Megumi Kato, who had apparently been waiting there for quite a while.
Kotomi's hands, itching with anticipation just a second ago, instantly froze. Memories of certain "unforgettable incidents" resurfaced, and she immediately calmed down, even slowing her steps slightly so she lagged a little behind the other two.
I didn't expect Megumi to be waiting for me at the school entrance. She hadn't said anything about waiting when we left the classroom… Kotomi thought nervously.
She couldn't help but sigh in relief. Thank goodness she hadn't actually pulled Yui and Yukino into her arms just now. If Megumi had seen that, the situation would've been more than a little disastrous.
Kotomi was increasingly convinced that the blackened girl she had once dreamed of chasing her might very well have been Megumi Kato!
"Megumi!"
Kotomi waved her little hand toward her not-far-away girlfriend. Her sweet, sunny voice was enough to lift anyone's mood for the whole day.
Megumi Kato turned her head, waved back, and smiled gently.
"Megumi, have you been waiting here this whole time?" Kotomi ran over to Megumi Kato with quick little steps.
"No, no, I was just finishing some homework in the library, and thought I'd wait for you while you finished rehearsal. Did it go smoothly?" Megumi Kato said with a gentle laugh, softly taking Kotomi's hand.
It felt just like the old days, when Kotomi would stay late in the art club after school, and Megumi would wait for her in the library.
"It went well."
Kotomi nodded. She had noticed that whenever there were other girls around her, Megumi especially liked to hold her hand, or lightly link arms with her.
In short, whenever Kotomi had other girls by her side, Megumi would always find some way to make intimate gestures, clinging to her as though they had been apart for three lifetimes.
Yukino Yukinoshita watched as Kotomi ran over to Megumi and saw Megumi slip her arm around Kotomi's. She couldn't help but feel that sometimes the two of them seemed a little too close.
Though Yukino didn't like prying into others' affairs, there had been moments when she unintentionally caught glimpses of Kotomi and Megumi's exchanged looks, their expressions, their words, or their unthinking gestures—and each time she couldn't shake the impression: Could they be secretly dating?
And now that Yukino had just learned that Kotomi, like herself, liked girls…
Knowing this, every time she saw Kotomi and Megumi act intimately or exchange ambiguous words, her mind couldn't help but wander.
Last time, she had failed to find out from Kotomi who that girl was in the couple photo with her, or what the real relationship was between Kotomi and that ash-brown-haired girl.
Yukino wasn't the gossiping type. She only felt herself caring more and more about Kotomi, which naturally made her want to know more about her. Especially after learning Kotomi liked girls, every time she saw Kotomi being close with another girl, she would feel waves of discomfort.
Before, even when she saw Kotomi clinging to other girls, Yukino already felt a twinge of jealousy. But back then, she assumed Kotomi's behavior was just the intimacy of close friends, so she buried those feelings deep inside.
Now that she knew Kotomi liked girls, those previously hidden jealous feelings surfaced openly in her heart.
Without a doubt, when Yukino Yukinoshita saw Kotomi being close with other girls, she was jealous.
But how could an aloof ice princess possibly realize she was jealous?
Even if she did—rare as that would be—she would never admit it.
A true tsundere.
Kotomi had already noticed that both Yukinoshita sisters—whether the elder Haruno, or the younger Yukino—each had a streak of tsundere in their personality.
When dealing with Haruno Yukinoshita, though, Haruno had never acted tsundere toward Kotomi. On the contrary, if Kotomi had to describe her after all this time, the first words would definitely be: a scheming, devilish big sister.
Kotomi often thought: If I could completely conquer her, wouldn't that be such an achievement…
The reason she thought Haruno also had a bit of tsundere in her was because she had more or less figured out why the sisters' relationship was strained.
Clearly, if the two would just sit down and have an honest talk, their relationship could improve a lot. But instead, they stayed awkwardly distant.
Even though Kotomi had never been to the Yukinoshita home, she could already imagine the two sisters returning there and, at most, exchanging a few polite greetings—before one sat at the far left of the sofa, and the other at the far right.
That was fine—Kotomi could just sit in the middle.
Yukino would definitely ignore Haruno. Even without a book in her hands, Yukino would probably prefer daydreaming to chatting with her sister.
As for Haruno, eager to mend their relationship, she still treated Yukino as a little girl who hadn't grown up. She would tease her with her scheming humor or toss out a few jokes at her expense. And all she would get in return was Yukino's exasperated look, as though saying: You're so annoying, sister.
How could she restore the Yukinoshita sisters' relationship?
For now, Kotomi hadn't thought of a foolproof method.
Rather than saying she hadn't thought about it, it was more accurate to say Kotomi had never put much effort into it—her approach had always been half-hearted.
Of course, if Haruno Yukinoshita ever said to her: "If you can fix my relationship with Yukino, then I'll marry you together with her."
Kotomi would probably come up with hundreds of solutions in less than a day. Then she'd drag both Yukino and Haruno to city hall to fill out the marriage registration.
After signing their names on the marriage papers, Kotomi would help the sisters mend their relationship.
Marrying both Yukinoshita sisters at once… Kotomi's mind began to wander into wild fantasies, and just as she was about to imagine the crucial scenes—
Hiss—!
A sudden chill brushed across her neck.
Kotomi instinctively drew in a sharp breath.
Turning her head, she saw Megumi Kato standing beside her. For some reason, she had pressed an ice-cold bottle of Sprite to her neck. The icy shock made Kotomi shiver.
When she was little, Aimi used to touch ice cubes with her tiny hands and then mischievously shove them down Kotomi's shirt, making her curl up like a little ball. Pitiful yet adorable, like a small penguin huddled in the snow waiting for its companions.
"While you were still rehearsing, I went to the shop. They were out of Pepsi, and you don't like Coke, so I bought you Sprite instead. Is that okay?"
Seeing Kotomi shrink into a little penguin from the cold, Megumi laughed happily before handing her the Sprite.
"Thanks, Sprite is fine."
Kotomi accepted it, keeping her face calm, but inside she let out a sigh of relief.
That icy touch just now had nearly made her cry. For a second, she thought Megumi had somehow read her mind about the Yukinoshita sisters and pressed a blade to her neck in warning.
Thankfully, it was just a bottle of Sprite.
Was this Sprite kept in the freezer? It was so cold to the touch it felt like holding a block of ice wrapped in a Sprite label.
On a hot summer day, drinking one of these would be as refreshing as beer with edamame.
Tsk… now she was craving alcohol.
Other than strong liquor, Kotomi could drink almost anything. Too bad Japan's laws on tobacco and alcohol were so strict—until adulthood, you couldn't buy them even at a corner shop. She would have to wait until she was of age.
At least she had no interest in cigarettes. Alcohol, though—especially sweet ones—she liked. But if she didn't drink for a long while, she didn't miss it much either.
"Yukino, Yui, I didn't know what drinks you liked, so I bought the same ones for you."
Megumi hadn't only bought for herself and Kotomi—she also handed Sprites to Yukino Yukinoshita and Yui Yuigahama.
"Thanks, Megumi! I was just thinking of rushing home for water, my throat feels like it's on fire."
After singing for so long, Yui was parched. She gratefully thanked Megumi, twisted off the cap, and drank a big gulp.
Plain water was the most thirst-quenching.
But when you were really thirsty, a sudden gulp of ice-cold soda brought a pleasure and satisfaction that water could never match.
That was why soda was called "happy water."
"Thank you."
Yukino Yukinoshita accepted the Sprite, thanked her softly, and took a small sip. She wasn't very thirsty, and in general, she wasn't used to drinking soda. She didn't dislike it—she could taste its sweetness—but she would never buy it on her own.
After parting ways with Yukino and Yui at the school gate, Kotomi walked home alongside Megumi Kato.
She had thought the four of them might go hang out somewhere together, especially since they didn't have to wake up early for school tomorrow. But Megumi said she was hungry and wanted to go home for dinner.
Kotomi had no choice but to give up on the group outing and go home with Megumi.
Halfway there, Kotomi leaned her little body against Megumi's.
Don't misunderstand—it wasn't that Megumi had slipped something into her Sprite. Kotomi was just being clingy on purpose.
"Megumi~ this guitar is really heavy, will you carry it for me, please~?"
"Sure."
"Megumi, I just finished playing, I'm out of energy. You have to hold me tight, okay?"
"Sure."
"Megumi, my hands are so tired from playing… kiss them for me, won't you?"
"Sure."
"Hehe~ now kneel down on one knee and kiss my hand, woman! Eh? Ah! M-Megumi! Where are you kissing?! I-I only told you to kiss my hand! Let go! I-I'm not messing around anymore!"
At that moment, Kotomi suddenly understood…
Why Megumi had said at the school gate earlier that she was hungry.
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