Chiba Private Middle School.
Finally, the bell rang for the last class of the morning. After handing in her English test paper, Iroha Isshiki turned to Aimi Izumi and said, "Aimi, let's go buy lunch together."
In truth, ever since Kumi Motokawa and Tetsunosuke Isshiki had officially gotten together, Kumi had been living at the Isshiki household. Whenever she had time, she took charge of cooking all three meals of the day.
When she learned that Iroha often bought her lunch from the school shop, Kumi immediately decided to make her a beautiful, delicious bento every day, carefully packed.
Every morning after breakfast, Kumi would bring out the bento and remind Iroha to take it to school. Even on nights when she worked late shifts, she would force herself to stay awake after returning home just to prepare the next day's bento before finally going to sleep.
Since Tetsunosuke hadn't yet taken Kumi home to formally meet his parents, even though they'd already decided to get married and even set the date, they still needed to make that visit first.
Kumi, normally the obedient and diligent type in her school days, surprised everyone with her impulsiveness in this matter. She even said, "We don't need my parents' permission—let's just fill out the marriage registration at city hall first."
But Tetsunosuke, being more traditional, thought differently. Although he had been married before and had a daughter, it was Kumi's first time experiencing both romance and marriage.
For a woman, wearing a wedding dress and walking into the ceremony hall was a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Thinking about how Kumi had been waiting for him all these years, Tetsunosuke resolved to give her a proper, beautiful wedding.
The first thing he did was ask Iroha's opinion. As a father, he wanted to prioritize his daughter's feelings.
"Dad wants to give Kumi a complete wedding. I haven't told her yet, because I wanted to ask you first. Iroha, would you like Kumi to marry Dad through a wedding ceremony and officially become your new mom?"
Iroha froze for a moment. She had always assumed that her father marrying Kumi would be a simple matter of filling out paperwork at city hall—she hadn't expected a formal wedding.
After a moment of quiet, a smile bloomed on her face.
"I would! Kumi's amazing at cooking—Dad, you should marry her quickly so we can have delicious meals every day. And when you and Kumi get married, can I invite my senpai and Aimi?"
Tetsunosuke hadn't expected his daughter to agree so readily. Overcome with emotion, tears welled up in his eyes as he nodded firmly.
"Of course! Iroha… Dad didn't give you a happy home before, and I'm sorry… But thank you for supporting me and Kumi having a wedding. When she learns about it, she'll thank you herself."
Men rarely cry—but when they do, it's because their emotions have reached the breaking point and tears are the only outlet.
Iroha watched her father cry with a smile on his face. She handed him a tissue.
"Kumi's a good woman—beautiful and virtuous. I'm sure plenty of people have tried to win her over all these years, but she's stayed single, with only you in her heart. Of course you have to take responsibility for that and give her a perfect wedding. Why wouldn't I agree? I'm already tempted to urge you two to hurry up and marry so I can start calling her 'Mom.'"
With Iroha's blessing, Tetsunosuke immediately shared the wedding decision with Kumi Motokawa.
After hearing Iroha's heartfelt words, Kumi Motokawa—usually calm and composed—threw her arms around her and burst into tears. Her face carried both a happy smile and firm resolve.
"Iroha, thank you—really, thank you! I'll do my best to be a good mom to you! I'll make sure you have a happy home!"
And just like that, the matter of Tetsunosuke Isshiki and Kumi Motokawa's wedding was settled.
That very day, Tetsunosuke took special leave for three days to accompany Kumi back to her family home to meet her parents.
Since they were marrying properly, they would need to visit each other's parents separately first, and then meet together.
Even though Iroha said it wasn't necessary, Kumi insisted on making her a bento for lunch before leaving that morning.
Because she'd been in surgery until very late the night before, Kumi hadn't had time to prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the next three days in advance, pack them, and store them in the fridge for Iroha. When Iroha found out, she was shocked—just the thought of cooking three days' worth of meals all at once sounded exhausting. She quickly told her it wasn't necessary.
But Kumi still looked guilty as she packed the bento.
"Uu, Iroha, I'm sorry I can't make all your meals for the next three days. Here, take this money. Whether you order delivery or eat out, make sure you eat well and eat enough! Don't go for the cheapest deals just to save money. You know those heavily discounted, dirt-cheap delivery meals? Do you know how they're made? If you order in, order from reputable restaurants."
Normally, Iroha's lunch came from the school shop. But now, she'd been eating the bentos Kumi made for her every day. Today was no different.
So now, every noon, Iroha would accompany Aimi Izumi to the school shop. With her own lunch already prepared, she would just buy a drink—or nothing at all.
From tomorrow, though, she'd have to start buying lunch again to cover the three days her dad and Kumi would be away.
"Come on, let's go get drinks," Aimi said, standing up.
"Eh?" Iroha blinked. "Aimi, aren't you eating lunch today?"
"Lunch? Hmph. You might not believe this—"
Drawing out her words for dramatic effect, Aimi reached into her bag and proudly pulled out her treasure: the bento Kotomi had made for her!
"Look! This is the bento my Onee-chan made for me! This morning, she got up super early—before the sun was even up—just to make it for me."
"A bento made by Senpai?!"
At the mention of Kotomi, Iroha's eyes lit up. She leaned in eagerly to look at the bento box.
Aimi took Iroha's look as pure envy, and her heart soared. If the classroom ceiling hadn't been so sturdy, she might have floated straight into outer space.
"You haven't tried my sister's cooking yet, have you? She might look a bit like a slacker, but her cooking is amazing. One bite and you'll understand what it feels like to be embraced by the happiness of the entire world."
"Senpai is not a slacker…" Iroha Isshiki instinctively defended Kotomi.
Even though she knew Aimi was just teasing, hearing her call Kotomi a slacker still made Iroha feel uneasy.
Come on, Senpai is Aimi's sister. With how things are now, I have no right to defend her in front of Aimi, Iroha reminded herself.
Not knowing exactly where she stood in Kotomi's heart, the uncertainty brought a creeping sense of inferiority. That unknown made her feel quietly dejected.
What am I to Senpai, really? Iroha's eyes dimmed slightly. Since the serial murder case had ended, she'd slowly been emerging from the shadows, but every time she thought back on it, it all still felt too abrupt.
She hadn't expected that a casual glance at her biological mother would turn out to be the last. The next time she saw her was when the police informed her that her mother was one of the serial killers. On the cold, steel autopsy table lay a body so mutilated it was unrecognizable. Staring at it, she searched for something—anything—that resembled her mother, but found nothing in that heap of ruined flesh.
She could never forgive her mother for committing such heinous crimes. And yet, seeing that corpse on the autopsy table, her mind still whispered: Her death came too suddenly. There had been no warning. One moment she was alive; the next, just lifeless remains.
Who could have imagined that fleeting final glance would truly be the last?
Her mother had killed so many people, stalked and plotted to murder Kotomi, and even intended to turn the blade on her own daughter and husband in the end. No matter that she was her biological mother— Iroha would never forgive her.
Once the dust settled and life seemed to return to normal, Iroha realized something unsettling: no matter what the present looked like, someday the people around her might leave.
Loneliness is like water poured into a glass—it may be slow, but one day it will fill it to the brim and overflow.
With her father and Kumi Motokawa about to marry, Iroha, as their daughter, always tried to present herself as obedient and mature, never giving them reason to worry.
Without realizing it, she found herself relying more and more on Kotomi. She would still tease her like a mischievous little devil, and still flash a wicked grin when her pranks succeeded.
But from the increasing frequency of her messages and calls, it was obvious—Iroha's dependence on Kotomi was deepening. How deep could it go? Neither of them could answer that.
Or perhaps there was never an answer to begin with. That dependence would only keep growing, like a bottomless pit.
Both Iroha and Kotomi were aware of this. Iroha waited for some sort of response from Kotomi. But she kept waiting… and waiting… until she was disappointed to find that Kotomi's attitude toward her seemed unchanged, as if nothing had shifted between them.
"Iroha, Iroha!" Aimi called after opening her bento.
"Ah—sorry, I just remembered something and spaced out." Iroha quickly snapped back to the present.
Aimi gave her a suspicious look. She'd noticed that lately Iroha not only played on her phone during class but also often drifted off into thought. Sometimes when Aimi called her name, she wouldn't even respond, as if lost in her own world.
Aimi had originally wanted to tell Iroha that if something was on her mind, she could talk to her—about anything. But just as the words reached her lips, she remembered a piece of advice her sister had once given her.
Sometimes, when a person spaces out, it doesn't necessarily mean they're burdened with worries. It might simply be that they enjoy the quiet feeling of zoning out.
In such moments, it's better not to ask what they were thinking about, and certainly not to press with, If something's wrong, you can tell me.
Some thoughts are better kept inside than shared with friends.
Onee-chan, I've learned another one of your lessons, Aimi thought, changing the subject.
"When my sister made my bento this morning, she didn't tell me what was inside. I only found out when I opened it just now—three hamburger steaks! Let's share!"
"Then I won't say no. In return, here—help yourself to the pan-fried beef and grilled chicken wings from my bento," Iroha said, sliding her lunchbox closer.
"Is this Aunt Motokawa's cooking? These grilled chicken wings look amazing. If my sister saw them, she'd probably eat several before we even finished talking. And if she only saw a picture without tasting them, she'd drool like crazy and think: When I have money, I'm buying a phone that can let me smell the food."
"That really does sound like something Senpai would do~ Oh, Aimi—let's put our bento boxes together and take a picture."
"Sure!" Aimi agreed without hesitation.
After taking the photo, Iroha sent it to Kotomi via LINE.
[The hamburger steaks you made look so tempting.]
"Iroha, did you know my sister—when she eats chicken wings—cleans every bit of meat off the bone so well it could be used as a specimen?"
"Eh—Senpai can do that? That's news to me."
"And also—"
In the span of one lunch break, Aimi managed to tell several "funny stories" from her sister's childhood.
Good thing Kotomi wasn't there, or she might have been tempted to escape Earth and head straight for Mars.
...
Sobu High.
Just after finishing lunch and preparing for a nap, Kotomi received Iroha's LINE message.
Opening it, she found a picture of Iroha's bento placed next to Aimi's.
"So Iroha brought a bento today too…" Kotomi muttered, swallowing as she eyed the grilled chicken wings in Iroha's lunch—they looked delicious.
In her mind, she resolved: When I have money, I'm definitely buying a phone that can let me smell food!
"Kotomi, what's wrong? Didn't get enough to eat?"
Yui Yuigahama had noticed Kotomi's subtle swallow and, without a second thought, picked up the largest piece of fried pork cutlet from her own curry pork cutlet self-heating bento and held it out to Kotomi.
Given that these store-bought self-heating bentos had only a few slices of pork to begin with, giving away the largest one meant Yui was left with none.
Kotomi has a big appetite. If she doesn't eat enough, she'll be uncomfortable. I'm dieting anyway—there are still potatoes, carrots, and rice in the curry. That's enough for me, Yui thought to herself.
Out of pure habit, Kotomi ate the piece held to her lips without thinking. Only after swallowing did she realize—oh no, she'd just eaten Yui's only piece of pork cutlet!
She quickly looked down at her own bento to see if she had anything nice to give back, but found she'd already eaten most of the meat and side dishes. All that was left was some green vegetables… She briefly considered making up an excuse to offer them to Mashiro instead.
"Yui, thank you. That pork cutlet was delicious!" Kotomi said with a happy smile, her glistening eyes flashing a silent promise: On Sunday, I'll treat you to a big meal!
But Yui, sometimes as innocent as a puppy, didn't catch the hint at all. She was simply delighted that Kotomi had said the pork cutlet she gave her was tasty.
In fact, she quickly made a mental note of the brand of curry pork cutlet bento so she could buy it more often whenever she and Kotomi had lunch together at school.
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