Was she your first listener?
Hearing Yukino Yukinoshita's sudden question, Kotomi didn't panic outwardly—but the small hand holding her teacup trembled several times.
Yui Yuigahama had indeed been the first listener. But Kotomi knew that if she said so directly, even if Yukino didn't show it on her face or in her words, she might still find subtle ways later on to remind Kotomi: Yui heard it before me. She was the first listener. I'm not happy.
So, feigning calm, Kotomi took a sip of green tea, raised her brows, and answered with a light laugh: "Of course not. The first listener was my little sister. Last night, while I was recording the guitar accompaniment at home, she was right there listening."
…That wasn't true at all.
Aimi still thought her sister hadn't even finished writing the lyrics yet. That was why last night she didn't go to Kotomi's room to play, but stayed holed up in her own bedroom, completely absorbed in a gal game.
Of course, after Kotomi pretended to be asleep, Aimi still quietly opened her bedroom door as usual, proving once again what it meant to be a sister-obsessed girl who never takes a day off—365 days a year.
Kotomi had once gotten into the habit of locking her bedroom door at night. But after discovering that Aimi always came sneaking in anyway, she stopped locking it altogether. Now she didn't even fully close the door, leaving it slightly ajar before lying down.
Yet her silly little sister still hadn't noticed these small changes Kotomi made just for her.
Knowing that the first listener was Kotomi's sister eased Yukino's heart somewhat. She wasn't sure why she felt this way.
If Kotomi had said the first listener was Yui, she would've felt uncomfortable—even though she knew perfectly well that since Kotomi and Yui had gone to KTV during the day and she hadn't joined them, it was only natural for Yui to be the first listener.
"Then why did you come to me after singing with her? Just to eat cream puffs together?"
Yukino set down her teacup and asked softly. The gentle tone made Kotomi all the more grateful that she hadn't answered with Yui's name earlier.
"My mom told me to buy a bottle of soy sauce. Since it was on the way, I dropped by." Kotomi replied openly. She knew Yukino wouldn't believe it—there wasn't even a supermarket nearby. But that was exactly what she wanted Yukino to hear: that she was lying.
"There's no supermarket around here…"
Yukino looked at Kotomi, recognizing the untruth. From the KTV near the station to Hiiragi Apartments was at least a twenty-minute walk, ten minutes by bike at best.
Even so, Kotomi had come all this way just to see her… Yukino's expression didn't change, but inside, a quiet joy stirred.
When Yukino was happy, her tone and face rarely shifted, but the number of words she spoke always increased.
"I just got home myself. If I'd stayed at my parents' another night, I'd have had to wake up very early for school tomorrow. Even though I don't exactly like sleeping in, I'd still prefer to stay up late at night reading books I enjoy."
That was a lie. Yukino hadn't gone to her parents' house this weekend at all. Instead, she had shut herself away, practicing piano endlessly. She replayed every piece she had ever studied since childhood, striving to recover her touch and raise her skill before the cultural festival.
Friday, Saturday, and even today, Sunday—she hadn't read a single page. The A Tale of Two Cities she had planned to reread remained untouched.
Every morning, after waking, washing up, and eating breakfast, she would sit at the piano and practice.
Yukino didn't like piano, didn't like the monochrome world of black and white keys. She had only studied it at her mother's insistence.
With her cold, aloof personality, she was never the type to want to stand on stage and perform.
But this time, to stand on stage with Kotomi, to avoid dragging her down—or rather, for Kotomi alone—she played.
Everything was for her—everything was for Kotomi.
Yukino Yukinoshita had personally called her mother to have the family piano delivered.
Once again, she sat before the instrument that had only brought her boredom as a child, playing the very pieces her mother had once forced her to master. The memory of her mother's sharp scolding whenever she made the slightest mistake lingered in the sound of the keys.
"Oh~ is that so?" Kotomi rested her cheeks in her hands, smiling at Yukino. She had already guessed that Yukino hadn't gone to her parents' home at all, but had spent the entire weekend practicing piano.
What Kotomi hadn't realized, however, was that Yukino's reason for skipping the KTV wasn't only to practice. More importantly, she still couldn't shake the feelings stirred by the change: the band that had once been just her and Kotomi now included Yui Yuigahama.
If the band had remained just the two of them, Yukino would never have turned down Kotomi's Sunday invitation to KTV.
Wanting the band to be only Kotomi and me—am I being too selfish? Yukino often asked herself this, quietly scolding her own heart.
Kotomi took out the printed copies of the two songs and placed them on the table. "Yukino, these are the lyrics and scores. Could you check the piano arrangements for me? I'm confident about the guitar parts, but since I only know a little piano, I'm not sure if I did it right."
"Alright." Yukino nodded, picking up the score for the first song, Liblume.
As Yukino studied the score and lyrics, Kotomi sat silently at her side, sipping tea and nibbling snacks as quietly as possible. She looked like a chubby little hamster clutching sunflower seeds, eating in secret.
By the time the green tea had cooled and the plate of cream puffs was down to six, Yukino finally set aside the sheets. Her gaze fell on Kotomi, filled with a hint of surprise—as if seeing a mischievous little witch in disguise.
"Kotomi, are you sure you only know a little piano?"
"Uh… y-yeah." Kotomi nodded, munching on a fruit pastry.
"…If this is what you call knowing just a little, then you must be a natural-born pianist. The scores are flawless. After looking them over once, I can already play both songs. Do you have time now? If you're not in a rush to buy soy sauce, listen to me play them first."
"Of course!" Kotomi agreed happily.
"I'll go wash my hands first." Yukino stood up.
While Yukino was in the bathroom, Kotomi sent a quick text to her mother:
[Mom, I'm at Yukino's house, listening to her play piano.]
The unspoken meaning was clear: she wouldn't be home for a while.
...
When Akina Izumi received Kotomi's text, she understood immediately. Since there was still time before dinner, she set down her phone and turned to Aimi, who had just finished her homework and was about to take snacks upstairs to continue playing her gal game.
"Aimi, are you free now? Go to the supermarket and buy a bottle of soy sauce."
"Eh? Wasn't Onee-chan supposed to buy it?" Aimi froze, dropping a bag of chips she had been holding.
"Kotomi's at a friend's house right now."
The moment Aimi heard that her sister was at someone else's house, she went on high alert, forgetting all about the chips on the floor. "Which friend's house?!"
"She's at Yukino Yukinoshita's."
Aimi's wariness vanished instantly. Knowing her sister was at Yukino's place, she relaxed completely. That icy, aloof girl who always wore a single expression like a snow-capped peak—there was no way she'd ever try to steal her sister.
From the very first meeting, Aimi had already classified Yukino Yukinoshita firmly into the category of "good women who won't steal my sister."
Confident in her judgment, clever Aimi shrugged, pretending to be helpless. "Oh, that's fine then. Honestly, I just can't handle Onee-chan sometimes~ Alright, I'll go buy the soy sauce."
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