Ayase Aragaki was unaware that her best friend was profoundly shaken by discovering a completely new side of her.
However, with Kosaka Kirino present, she naturally couldn't focus too much on her phone. She could only quickly glance at the screen during their conversation to confirm that it was a message from Asakura.
Kosaka Kirino was still chattering about school matters, while Ayase's fingertips unconsciously caressed the duvet embroidery, her gaze occasionally drifting towards her phone, which hadn't shown any other reactions since earlier.
"Ayase, are your eyes bothering you? Do you want to try this?" Probably sensing Ayase's lack of interest in her topic, Kosaka Kirino suddenly pulled out a steam eye mask from her canvas bag, startling Ayase. "It's a secret treasure for relieving fatigue after modeling shoots~ I just discovered it recently."
She shook a packaging bag printed with a subtly revealing pattern (with "True Sister Annihilation" written in hard-to-read artistic font on the side), her nail polish gleaming with a mother-of-pearl luster in the light.
Ayase pinched the edge of the warm eye mask, looking at the panty-exposing little girl's pattern on it, her face clearly showing she didn't want to wear it: "Um… Kirino, don't you have work at the magazine today?"
"I shot a lot last week, so I don't need to report there for now—" Kirino replied casually. Seeing that Ayase Aragaki seemed quite resistant to putting the blue-and-white striped eye mask on her face, she regretfully put it back. "Besides, this week's theme isn't suitable for me; it requires a more gyaru-like feel."
"Isn't that very suitable for Kirino?"
"No, I'm not enough for that. They seem to want a Shibuya-style look."
Kosaka Kirino grumbled, "My current makeup is the most my dad can accept. If I really wore that kind of makeup, my family would definitely nag me."
Just then, her phone rang again with a special notification.
Ayase, who had been about to say something, suddenly curled up her knees but immediately tried to control her impulse.
Kirino, who was peeling an apple for her, also paused. The Mirror on the nightstand, used for touch-ups, reflected her slightly narrowed eyes.
"Shibuya style really doesn't suit Kirino..." Ayase said casually, pressing down on the flickering screen under her pillow with her palm. "A clean look is the best."
"Since Ayase, you said so, then it must be so."
Kosaka Kirino gazed for a moment at her somewhat restless best friend, watching her subconsciously glance at her phone for the seventh time in just a few minutes, only to forcefully avert her gaze. She couldn't help but sigh, "Compared to that, Ayase, are you hungry?"
"What?" Ayase Aragaki was stunned for a moment.
"I'll make you something to eat... How about a mixed porridge?" Kosaka Kirino said with a charming smile, looking as if she intended to stay there for a while longer.
Cold sweat began to seep from Ayase's nape.
As someone who valued her friends greatly, she couldn't bring herself to tell the other person to leave quickly. But if Kirino continued to stay, it would be inconvenient for her to contact Asakura-kun...
"No need to trouble yourself, I don't have much appetite..." she said softly.
"You should eat precisely because you don't have an appetite! If you don't get nutrients, won't your body have an even harder time recovering to a normal state?" Kosaka Kirino said earnestly.
"But I really can't eat..."
"Then I'll eat two bowls."
"..."
So you're determined to stay here, aren't you?
Ayase Aragaki felt a bit helpless.
However, Kosaka Kirino then couldn't help but smile, "Just kidding, I also have other things to do, so I can't stay here for too long. Ayase, you should rest well. If you need anything, just call me."
"Thank you, Kirino."
"Hehe..."
After Kosaka Kirino left, Ayase Aragaki finally opened her phone and carefully browsed the messages Asakura had just sent.
It wasn't anything complicated. The first message told her that contacting via phone might carry monitoring risks, so he planned to switch to a better communication method. The second message told the girl to look out the window.
The girl obediently turned her head to look out the window and saw a small Snake, about the thickness of a pinky finger, hanging on the balcony outside.
Ayase Aragaki opened the window. After thinking about it, she still didn't dare to reach out and pull the small Snake into the room. She just let the small Snake outside crawl in by itself.
"How does your body feel?" The small Snake opened its mouth, and Asakura's voice came out.
The girl paused, "I'm not sick..."
If anything, her current body was healthier than ninety-nine percent of people.
"It has nothing to do with being sick. I'm asking if you've gotten used to your current physical condition, which is significantly better than before..." the small Snake asked.
"Hmm, I feel much more used to it. At least I haven't almost broken my chopsticks while eating or anything like that..." Ayase Aragaki replied.
Though what she almost broke was Kirino's wrist.
"That's good. It seems the most difficult hurdle has been overcome..." the small Snake nodded in satisfaction, its body curling into a coil. "After a while longer, everything will be fine."
After all, modern people are very forgetful. As long as a new hot topic emerges, the Chiba Port Tower explosion, which didn't cause large-scale damage or even casualties, and was only a topic for casual conversation after meals, would probably soon be forgotten.
"Um..." Ayase Aragaki looked at the small Snake, hesitating to speak.
"Is something wrong?" The small Snake wagged the tip of its tail, acting very accommodating. "Don't worry, just say whatever you want to say. As long as it's not a matter of principle, I can try to help solve it."
"Then, in that case..." Encouraged by the small Snake, the girl mustered her courage and asked, "Can I call you Asakura-nii?"
"Gah?" The small Snake made a sound like its jaw had dislocated.
"Well, because I'm an only child... How should I put it, I'm a bit envious of people who have older brothers or sisters at home..." Ayase Aragaki said softly, looking embarrassed as she fiddled with her fingertips.
This wasn't a lie. She was indeed a bit envious of Kirino, who had an older brother at home. Although she hadn't met his brother, and Kirino always spoke ill of him, the undeniable sense of closeness she had for her brother, evident in her words, still made Ayase Aragaki yearn for such a presence.
"Well, I don't really care, but is that really okay?" The small Snake flicked its tongue, its Snake face showing no expression. "We've only met once, you know."
"The connections between people are very strange. Sometimes, after a long time together, people remain strangers, but sometimes, even if it's just the first meeting, there's a certain feeling..." Ayase Aragaki said, staring earnestly at the small Snake. "When Asakura-nii carried me out of the ruins, I felt that if I had an older brother, he would definitely be like Asakura-nii. What they call 'one chance, one meeting' is probably this feeling."