As Iroha Isshiki's gentle fingers brushed through her hair, Kotomi Izumi felt as if her heart were wrapped in honey and spice.
How long does it take for a piece of candy to melt in your mouth?
There's no definitive answer to that question—everyone has their own. For Kotomi, her answer was thirty seconds.
Thirty seconds for it to melt, thirty seconds for the sweetness to flow into her heart.
Even though she wasn't actually eating candy right now, Iroha felt like the sweetest piece she could imagine—one that melted easily and filled her entire chest with warmth.
"Pretty impressive for a little devil... you actually know how to comfort people," Kotomi murmured, her cheeks slightly pink. She still kept up her habit of acting tough around Iroha, though lately her resistance had been growing softer and softer.
Iroha, her lips curling with mischief, gazed at her Senpai with a teasing smile.
...
Meanwhile—where was Aimi?
Aimi Izumi was still waiting in line. Halfway through, she realized something terrifying—her ticket was gone.
"Where's my ticket?!"
She had been passing the time on her phone, but as the line moved closer to the gate, she decided to put it away and take out her ticket. When she slipped her phone back into her coat pocket, she suddenly noticed—the ticket that had been perfectly fine in her left pocket was now nowhere to be found!
Not in the left pocket, not in the right. But her coat only had two pockets to begin with—and her skirt didn't have any at all.
"Onee-chan! Your ticket's over here~!"
A small, childish voice called out, soft and sweet. Aimi instinctively exhaled in relief, but after glancing around and seeing no one, she wondered if she had imagined it.
"I'm down here, Onee-chan!"
The little voice sounded more urgent now, even a bit annoyed—perhaps because Aimi still hadn't noticed her.
Only then did Aimi realize—the sound was coming from below her.
She looked down, and sure enough, a tiny girl was standing there on tiptoe, waving the missing ticket in her chubby little hand, trying her best to get Aimi's attention.
Her cheeks were adorably round, and for a fleeting moment, Aimi had the irresistible urge to reach out and pinch them.
Squatting down, Aimi took the ticket from the little girl's hand—it really was hers. She smiled and said, "Thank you, little one."
"No need to thank me! Mommy always says we should help people. But Onee-chan, you should be more careful! I saw your ticket fall out when you took out your phone. Good thing I picked it up right away!"
The little girl's childish voice was full of pride. Then, mumbling to herself in a small but cheerful tone, she added:
"Ehehe, I did something good~ Now I can tell Penguin Onee-chan to lift me up high and praise me!"
"Penguin Onee-chan?"
Though the little girl's last words were quiet, Aimi still caught them. The title made her blink in confusion.
The child looked like she was still in kindergarten. Maybe "Penguin Onee-chan" was what she called one of her teachers? After all, it wasn't uncommon for young kids to refer to their teachers as 'big sisters.' Most kindergarten teachers were young, after all.
"Mhm! Penguin Onee-chan is super pretty—she's gentle and beautiful, and she's also really, really... big! Mommy and my sister both like her a lot!"
"Really... big?"
Aimi tilted her head. She understood "gentle and beautiful," but what did "big" mean? Unable to figure it out, she decided to chalk it up to a child's odd phrasing.
Indeed, the little girl in front of her was Yuka.
Pure and innocent, Yuka always said whatever popped into her head. And she had been this close to continuing with: I just don't know whether Penguin Onee-chan will marry my sister and become my sister-in-law, or marry my mom and become my second mom...
"I just don't know whether Penguin Onee-chan will—"
Ah, classic Yuka. Always unfiltered, never holding back a single word.
But before she could finish, she was suddenly interrupted—by Tomoka Yuigahama, who had just caught up to her.
"Yuka, why did you run off on your own just now? Everyone's waiting in line—you can't cut in like that. It causes trouble for others. Come on, let's go back and line up properly," Tomoka Yuigahama said in a gently scolding tone.
She had been holding Yuka's hand the entire time while waiting in line. But when she reached into her bag to take out their tickets, she had to let go for just a moment. In that brief instant, Yuka suddenly darted off—as if she'd spotted a shiny toy ahead—and dashed forward on her short legs.
Don't be fooled by how tiny those legs were; she could run surprisingly fast.
Tomoka was startled. There were a lot of people at the gate, and she couldn't afford to lose sight of Yuka for even a second. She hurried after her, only to find Yuka holding a ticket and chatting animatedly with a teenage girl.
Not wanting to interrupt, Tomoka called out softly, "Yuka, come here."
"I didn't cut in line! I saw this Onee-chan drop her ticket, so I ran to tell her!" Yuka declared proudly.
"Thank you so much," Aimi Izumi said with a smile as she stood up. "I was just panicking, wondering where my ticket went. Are you her mother? That's great—when I saw her alone, I was about to ask if she knew where her parents were."
"Oh, I see. Well done, Yuka. Mommy misunderstood you earlier," Tomoka said warmly, though she added in a more serious tone, "But you still have to remember—next time, tell Mommy before you run off. You can't go somewhere alone, okay?"
"Yes, Mommy~" Yuka replied obediently as Tomoka lifted her up into her arms. Turning to Aimi, she added, "We'll be going now. Have a nice day."
"Bye-bye, Onee-chan! Don't lose your ticket again!"
"I'll keep it safe, don't worry. Bye-bye, little one," Aimi said, waving with a smile as the mother and daughter walked away.
At that moment, Aimi had no idea that the woman and child she'd just met were none other than Yui Yuigahama's mother and little sister.
Nor did Tomoka or Yuka know that the girl with long black hair tied on both sides with violet-red ribbons was Kotomi Izumi's younger sister—Aimi Izumi.
After they left, Aimi continued waiting in line. She was saving a spot for her parents, who were still a bit further back.
Many people in line were doing the same—holding multiple tickets for family and friends who hadn't arrived yet.
"Aimi, thanks for waiting. Here—your peach soda. When did you start liking peach soda? I remember you only ever liked lychee flavor," said Akina Izumi, handing her a chilled bottle taken from the bag her husband, Kaneyoshi Izumi, was carrying.
"I just got tired of lychee soda and wanted to try something new. But Mom, why did you buy so many bottles of ramune? One for you, one for me, one for Dad, one for sister—that's four. Why'd you buy eight?"
"You wouldn't understand, my little girl~ Ramune is divine," Akina said with a dreamy sigh.
Kaneyoshi chuckled and exposed the truth. "Your mother loves collecting the glass marbles from ramune bottles. Have you ever seen that little tin box on the top shelf of her wardrobe? Inside are all the marbles she's collected since kindergarten. Every time she finishes a bottle, she takes the marble out, washes it, dries it, and puts it away."
Even after all these years—married, with two daughters—Akina still had the heart of a little girl who loved collecting treasures.
She'd tried to act like a sophisticated adult for once, but Kaneyoshi had exposed her so fast that she panicked, clamping a hand over his mouth.
"Ugh! Kaneyoshi, stop, stop, stop! Don't say another word! I don't collect marbles—that's childish! Oh, right—Aimi, when you finish your soda, don't throw it away. Give the marble to me."
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