Yukinoshita Yukino
Yukinoshita Yukino sat at her desk, quietly reading along with her morning lessons while her phone screen lit up again and again with incoming notifications.
At first, the messages trickled in sporadically—several minutes apart. But after forty or fifty minutes, the rhythm changed. They began arriving in rapid bursts, one after another.
Yukino did the math. By now, it must be after school on the other side.
Her own morning session was ending too. She picked up her phone and skimmed through the stream of texts from Sawamura Spencer Eriri. After reading enough, she understood what had her childhood friend so flustered.
Senya… had started dating someone?
Yukino's first reaction was a small, uncontrollable laugh.
Her features were already delicate, and when she smiled, they grew even more beautiful. Yet she was alone in her room—there was no one to appreciate the clear, blossoming elegance of a girl on the cusp of adulthood.
Once her laughter subsided, she shook her head helplessly.
That sort of thing was… unlikely.
After all, from kindergarten through six years of elementary school, plenty of girls had shown affection toward Minamoto Senya.
But that arrogant boy had never once displayed the slightest spark of interest in anyone.
Either he ignored them outright or turned them down without hesitation.
Well, not entirely without exception. Occasionally, when they were out somewhere, Yukino had noticed his eyes wander—toward older, attractive women.
She'd once tried to analyze that behavior. Eventually, she found an explanation that made sense in a child psychology book.
According to it, children raised in single-parent households—especially by their father alone—might unconsciously search for the maternal warmth and stability they lacked.
Since peers their own age couldn't provide that feeling, they were more likely to gravitate toward older women, forming attachments or admiration.
It was a theory that fit Senya perfectly: his excellence, his coldness toward most of his peers, and his subtle interest in "older sister" types.
This discovery she had kept to herself. She hadn't even told Eriri.
There was no need. The book stressed that this was a perfectly normal psychological phenomenon—and besides, Senya had a new mother now.
Looking at the long blocks of Eriri's panicked text, Yukino decided typing would be too much of a hassle. Instead, she tapped the call button.
The moment Eriri picked up, her voice burst out, frantic and panicked:
"What do I do, Yukino!?"
Yukino remained completely calm, a faint smile still tugging at her lips. She even had the energy to tease.
"What do you mean, what do you do, Eriri?"
"I mean—it's just—just—!"
But then, mid-sentence, Eriri realized something. As Senya's childhood friend, did she even have the right to be so worked up over who he might be dating?
She faltered, struggling for words.
Yukino, mercifully, stopped teasing her. She didn't want to expose that girlish crush Eriri thought she was still hiding so well.
"Don't worry. Things aren't the way you imagine."
Eriri's voice immediately rose in pitch, panicked again. "But I already found ironclad evidence!"
Before Yukino could reply, Eriri began spilling everything she'd noticed—the so-called "proof," rattling off every observation like beans spilling from a jar.
Listening, Yukino found herself torn between laughter and exasperation.
Evidence? That word didn't mean what Eriri thought it did. At best, these were shaky speculations. At worst—they were completely wrong.
After all, when Senya once said he liked Ai-chan, that hadn't been his true feelings. He'd only said it to help Eriri.
At first, Yukino had simply doubted. But now, after hearing everything, she could conclude with certainty: this was nothing more than Eriri's overactive imagination.
It took some effort, but Yukino finally calmed her down. Eriri, reassured, decided Senya wasn't the kind of person to confuse fantasy with reality.
And she wasn't wrong—Senya was proud to a fault. If he really were dating someone, he wouldn't bother to hide it. He'd say so outright.
Once again, Yukino had solved her friend's worries with a few simple words.
It really is just like her, Eriri thought. Every time we talk, my problems melt away…
If only Yukino were still here.
"…Yukino, I miss you. When will you come back?"
"Don't worry. Soon. Once the third term ends and summer vacation begins—late July, most likely—I'll be back. We'll meet up then."
"It's a promise! We'll get Senya and Rikka too, and watch the summer fireworks together. It'll be amazing!"
"Mm…" Yukino gave her gentle, noncommittal hum.
Early June — A Sunday Afternoon
"Senya! Sis! I won again!"
Rikka burst into the living room, a whirlwind of energy.
Toka, who had been leaning over to massage Minamoto Senya's stiff neck with her elbow, paused and turned.
Senya straightened too, rolling his sore neck and glancing at his younger sister. "Won what this time?"
"Ta-da!" Rikka held up a long prize slip, her face beaming with pride. "A three-day, two-night Okinawa beach resort package!"
Senya reached out and took it. "Oh, not bad. Double occupancy, meals included. Where'd you snag this?"
"The convenience store's running a promotion. Buy something, keep the receipt, and you get a chance to draw. I only had to try once before I hit the jackpot! Some guy even offered me twenty thousand yen for it on the spot, but I didn't sell!"
Toka raised an eyebrow. "Really? You didn't take the money?"
Rikka pouted. "Don't make me sound like such a miser! Even I have things I value more than money!"
Toka softened. "For once, you're actually thinking about your sister. In that case, I'll happily accept the prize."
But Rikka snatched it back instantly. "No way! You don't even have the time to go, and besides, you'll have plenty of chances to travel later.
Actually… Father's Day is coming up. I'm going to give this to Mom and Uncle. They never had a wedding trip, never went anywhere together. This will be my gift to them—I hope they have a wonderful time."
Senya and Toka exchanged a glance, their eyes warm as they looked back at Rikka's shy little smile.
Toka stepped forward and ruffled her sister's hair. "That's really thoughtful of you. Tell you what—let's order pizza and fried chicken for lunch today. My treat."
Rikka's eyes sparkled. "Really!?"
Toka smirked, half turning away. "Unless you don't want it…"
Rikka immediately threw her arms around her. "Want, want, want! You're the best sister ever!"
Senya raised an eyebrow. "Funny, didn't you tell me yesterday that I was your favorite?"
Rikka peeked out from behind Toka. "That was yesterday."
The room filled with cheerful laughter.
Twenty minutes later, the doorbell rang.
Rikka skipped over to open it, expecting the delivery man.
Instead, standing there was—
"Alola~! It's been so long, and you're still as cute as ever, little Rikka."
Yukinoshita Haruno lowered her sunglasses, her dazzling smile lighting up the entryway.