Kotomi Izumi returned home holding her waist.
When her younger sister Aimi Izumi opened the door and saw her like that, she put on a look of disdain and said:
"Onee-chan, did you get bitten by a dog on your way home from school?"
At the same time, she took Kotomi's schoolbag and guitar case from her. As the guitar case came close to her nose, Aimi instinctively sniffed. What should have carried only her sister's familiar scent instead carried a faint trace of an unfamiliar fragrance.
Her sister's guitar case had been touched by someone else—and it was a woman! Aimi immediately deduced this, feeling a sudden twinge of displeasure. But quickly she calmed herself.
After all, she reasoned, Kotomi always carried her guitar case to class. She had told Aimi that Class 1-F had many girls, and Kotomi had good relations with her classmates. Surely a few close friends would be curious enough to take a look at her guitar case.
Thinking that way, it felt perfectly normal that there was a girl's perfume lingering on the case.
Even though Kotomi's messy necktie caught Aimi's attention, she dismissed it when she remembered her sister never tied her neckties or ribbons properly anyway.
Instead, she thought to herself: If possible, from now on, before she leaves for school every day, I'll help her tie it properly.
Of course, Kotomi would never say it was because Megumi Kato had kissed her. If she did, Aimi would definitely explode on the spot, maybe even storm into the kitchen, grab a knife, and go "compare knife skills" with Megumi.
Lately, every time Kotomi thought about knives, she felt a weary dread. To protect her ordinary daily happiness, she naturally told a small lie:
"When I was leaving school and walking down the stairs, I missed the last step and had a close encounter with the floor."
"What?! Onee-chan, really—you're that careless walking down stairs? I don't know what to do with you! Come on, I'll help you to the sofa in the living room. Then I'll take off your socks and check your ankle.
"If you got even a minor injury now, and couldn't stand on stage, all the time and effort you've put in these past two weeks would be wasted."
Hearing her sister had fallen on the stairs, Aimi didn't doubt Kotomi's story for a moment. She said she'd support Kotomi to the living room, but instead immediately scooped her up in her arms.
Carrying her sister toward the living room, she kept talking non-stop—scolding her clumsiness while worrying over whether she was hurt.
Every time this happened, Aimi would become especially talkative, nagging endlessly.
Normally, sisters would be the other way around: the elder nagging while the younger found it annoying. But for Kotomi and Aimi, it was reversed.
The younger sister nagged, and the elder sister found it annoying.
Back in middle school, whenever Aimi nagged, Kotomi often thought her little sister was truly irritating. On cold days, Aimi could remind her at least ten times a day just to wear thicker clothes.
It got to the point that Kotomi wanted to silence her little sister with a kiss—just to make her quiet for a while.
But now, when she heard Aimi nag, Kotomi no longer felt annoyed.
Instead, she would listen with a smile tugging at her lips as her sister rambled on, nagging endlessly but always out of genuine care for her troublesome big sister.
The reason she had found it irritating in middle school was probably just because she had just entered puberty—when one had so many self-centered thoughts. Naturally, she didn't like being constantly reminded about things, especially when it came from her younger sister.
That must have been her strong adolescent pride as an elder sister.
Technically speaking, Kotomi was still in her adolescence. But while it had come on time, it had passed quickly. By her third year of middle school, she was already maturing faster than her peers, her personality becoming steadier and more composed.
Now, Kotomi was content to just play the role of the troublesome older sister who let her younger sister fuss over her.
Letting Aimi carry her into the living room and place her gently on the sofa, Kotomi watched as Aimi half-kneeled and carefully pulled off her short socks.
Once Kotomi's socks were off, her little feet were revealed—her toes pointed slightly upward, her slender, round ankles delicate, and her snowy-white feet as if they were the most adorable little fairies in the world.
Faced with such feet, which looked like exquisite works of art, Aimi Izumi's hands moved with extreme care as she checked for injuries. The room wasn't hot at all, yet she was soon covered in sweat.
Only after confirming that Kotomi hadn't broken any bones from her fall did Aimi finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Still uneasy, she brought out medicated wine and massaged Kotomi's feet with it. Kotomi leaned back on the sofa, eyes half-closed in comfort, though she pretended to speak with restraint:
"Aimi, I told you I'm fine. You're making such a big deal out of nothing."
"How is this making a big deal? This time you were lucky you didn't break a bone. Even a fall from just one step is dangerous if you miss it. Next time you go down stairs, you must always watch your step!
"And another thing—your careless personality doesn't suit high-top shoes. Sure, they're warm in winter, but if you fall, high-tops could easily cause extra injury."
Aimi massaged her sister's ankle while lecturing her carefully.
"It's not that serious. Besides, I don't really like wearing high-top shoes anyway."
Kotomi always tied her shoelaces tightly so she wouldn't have to bend down to tie them each time—she could just slip her shoes on and go. She preferred looser shoes and never liked high-tops.
They looked nice, but after wearing them once, she never wanted to wear them again. To put them on, she had to sit down, and the pair she had was exactly her size. That meant every time she had to unlace and retie them, or else her feet wouldn't fit.
And tying shoelaces was one of the things Kotomi was worst at.
She had taken forever just to learn the simplest way to tie laces.
Her shoe cabinet was full, but she only had one pair of high-tops. Even before buying them, she thought they'd be troublesome to wear.
So why did she buy them anyway?
Because they were an EVA collaboration in Unit-02 colors…
Kotomi bought them purely because she wanted the shoebox printed with Asuka.
"Onee-chan, you've been rehearsing until this late every day. Are you sure you'll be fine for the cultural festival in a few days?"
"No problem. Don't worry. When the time comes, just sit in the audience and watch your sister's amazing performance. After we finish, make sure your cheers are louder, okay? I've got a whole crowd of fangirls at school~ If your voice isn't louder, their cheering might drown yours out."
"Hmph, what a cheap, childish attempt to provoke me. That kind of trick only worked on me back in second year of middle school."
Aimi huffed proudly, showing disdain for her sister's little provocation. Yet in her heart, she was already wondering if she should eat a few throat lozenges before her sister's performance.
I-it's not because she didn't want her cheer to be outdone by her sister's fangirls!
No, impossible!
As if her sister could have fangirls. Who else would like this silly older sister besides me?!
Hmph, she must be imagining things! Aimi thought stubbornly to herself.
After dinner, Kotomi returned to her room. She had already finished all her homework during the last period that afternoon.
She never brought home any homework she could finish at school. If not for appearances' sake, Kotomi would have preferred to just leave her bag in the classroom all week and only take it home on Friday.
Switching her phone to "Do Not Disturb" mode, Kotomi sent a Line message to Kiyoko Matsumatsu.
Kotomi Izumi: [Log in.]
Kiyoko Matsumatsu: [Coming.]
This time, instead of their usual Apex matches, they opened up Rainbow Six: Extraction—a game they had both bought earlier but had left untouched in their library.
Both Kotomi and Kiyoko were long-time Rainbow Six: Siege players. Their skills weren't exactly pro level, but they were certainly enough to make teammates sigh and joke: "Such a tiny Chicago mansion, yet it holds two hidden dragons and young phoenixes."
Kotomi was better at PVE than PVP. In fact, she had originally gotten into Rainbow Six: Siege because she was fascinated by the Chimera event at the time.
So when Rainbow Six: Extraction came out, even though the price felt a bit steep, she bought it full price out of love for the Chimera operation.
Sure, waiting would have meant a discount, but Kotomi couldn't wait. She wanted to relive the thrill of that event right away.
Then she pestered Kiyoko into buying it too, so they could play together.
Kiyoko hadn't wanted to at first. She was the kind of player who still got spooked playing Left 4 Dead 2 on easy, while everyone else had already mastered speedruns. When she saw the Rainbow Six: Extraction trailer, she thought: No way I'm buying that full price. Only if it hits historical low.
Her determination was firm—until Kotomi said: "If you buy Extraction and play with me, I'll call you 'Good Sister' over voice chat while we game."
By the time Kiyoko came to her senses, she had already purchased and downloaded Rainbow Six: Extraction.
"In the blink of an eye, two-thirds of my allowance this month is gone. Looks like I'll have to find a part-time job again. Kotomi, if you don't call me 'Good Sister' multiple times in game later, I'll never let you off!"
"Fine, fine~ But hey, have you really worked part-time before? Every time I see you buy peripherals, it's always the flagship models. I was starting to wonder what kind of family gives that much allowance."
"Do I look like a greenhouse flower to you? I've done plenty of part-time jobs, okay? Convenience stores, maid cafés, even boosting game accounts. Eh-heh, actually, my mom doesn't give me that much allowance. In fact, compared to before, my allowance now has gone down by five thousand yen."
"Why's that?"
"My computer. During vacation this year, I asked my mom to advance me three years' worth of allowance to buy this PC with a RTX 3070. Naturally, the cost is being deducted from my allowance."
Kiyoko sighed helplessly. She had wanted a new PC, but at the time, GPU prices were absurd—still ridiculously so even now.
But Kotomi had just learned for the first time that Kiyoko had worked at a maid café.
Instantly, her mind filled with images of Kiyoko in a maid outfit.
"Kiyoko." Kotomi swallowed, her voice low.
"Mm? What is it?" Kiyoko, already in-game, nervously but eagerly pushed her operator forward, preparing to face her first enemy in Rainbow Six: Extraction.
"If you wear a white-stocking maid outfit for me, I'll cover your Steam game purchases for the next year."
Knowing Kiyoko would never agree, Kotomi had been overly generous with the offer.
Just as she entered the game, Kotomi felt a little tense about the PVE zombie-shooting gameplay and cracked the joke to lighten the mood.
When Kotomi had first seen the trailers and test footage of Rainbow Six: Extraction, the battlefields all seemed dark and indoors, with grotesque creatures flooding in like waves.
For this type of PVE game set mostly in enclosed areas, Kotomi always felt nervous—even if she had skilled teammates to carry her. And this time, she didn't; Kiyoko Matsumatsu's gaming skills were sometimes even worse than hers.
Was PVE fun?
Yes.
But throw in nighttime or dark interiors, and Kotomi became especially timid.
So in-game, she crept forward cautiously, always hiding behind Kiyoko.
"Really? Fine! I actually still have a maid outfit from when I worked at a maid café for a month. Aside from my pay, they gave me one as a keepsake," Kiyoko replied cheerfully.
Kotomi was dumbfounded. She hadn't expected her to agree so readily.
Even if Kiyoko had only agreed reluctantly because Kotomi's offer was too generous, that would've been fine. But to accept without hesitation—what was that supposed to mean?
"Forget it, I don't want to see it anymore," Kotomi muttered, pretending to have lost interest.
"Tch, stingy~ If you'd just nodded, I would've gone to change right now and started a video chat with you."
"Then I'd refuse even more! Video chatting while gaming would totally mess with my gameplay. Ah—! I'm surrounded! Where did all these zombies come from? Help me!"
"Tut, tut, Kotomi, you really don't know how to talk. Careful, or you'll never get a girlfriend," Kiyoko teased.
The little back-and-forth eased both of their nerves about the new game. Laughing and joking, they played for two hours.
At first, the enemies rushing them felt overwhelming, but once they picked up some tricks, they realized it was quite fun. For someone like Kotomi, who had been playing Left 4 Dead 2 for years, halfway through she was already thinking: Can I install mods for this?
They had planned to play longer—both of them were getting into the groove, and they even managed to clear the mission smoothly.
But then Kotomi's phone rang on her desk. She pulled off her headset, expecting it to be either Megumi Kato or Iroha Isshiki.
If it were Haruno Yukinoshita, she would usually send a Line message first before calling.
But the name on the screen was someone she hadn't spoken to in a while—Officer Hidari-me.
"Sorry, Kiyoko, something's come up. I'll stop here."
"Oh? Alright then, I'll play another round myself."
"Bye-bye." After saying that, Kotomi logged out of the game and left the voice chat.
She picked up the phone and answered.
"Good evening, Officer Hidari-me."
"Good evening. Do you have some time now? Just a minor matter, but I'd like to meet and talk."
"Mm, I guess I do. Where are you?"
"Step out onto your balcony and look to the left. You'll see a car parked under a streetlamp near your building."
Kotomi walked to the balcony and looked. Sure enough, a car was there—and she recognized it well. It was Officer Hidari-me's car.
"You're already downstairs at my place, huh," Kotomi remarked.
"I was out driving to clear my head tonight and happened to pass by your neighborhood. I thought I'd ask you out for a chat. Besides, it's already nighttime. If I asked you to walk somewhere else, it wouldn't be safe. Parking downstairs seemed more reliable. So? Do you have time? Or will your parents let you out?"
"It's night, yes, but it's only seven. If I tell my parents I'm taking the cats for a walk, it'll be fine. Give me a moment."
"Oh, you have cats? I've read detective novels where the great detective always has an uncannily clever cat."
"Well, I guess I've found the reason I can't be a great detective and savior of the Japanese police. My two cats at home are more like hidden dragons and young phoenixes among cats—always managing to amaze me with their sheer, foolish antics."
Kotomi complained lightly about her two round little "gas tank" cats, feeling they'd grown even plumper lately.
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