Hanayui

When Izumi Kotomi returned home and was changing shoes at the entrance, she noticed Izumi Aimi's shoes, indicating that Aimi had returned home earlier than her.

The thought of last night's events left Kotomi unsure of how to face Aimi. Even the idea of a casual greeting made Kotomi feel uneasy.

The words "complicated feelings" were probably the best way to describe how she felt at that moment.

With her head down, Kotomi walked into the living room, where she saw Izumi Aimi, dressed in pajamas, sitting on the sofa and watching TV, her small feet swinging in the air.

As usual, her black hair was tied with purplish-red ribbons on both sides.

"Welcome home, Onee-chan!" Izumi Aimi said, squinting her eyes slightly and smiling at Kotomi as she heard her enter.

"Mm, mm…" Kotomi nodded, placing her school bag on a chair before sitting down next to Aimi. After a long pause, she finally spoke, "Aimi, I think we need to have a proper talk about what happened last night."

Even though she felt shy about it, Kotomi knew it was necessary to clear things up.

Izumi Aimi, as if already knowing what Kotomi was about to say, smiled slightly and calmly replied, "I know. I'm fully aware of what you want to say, sister. I was a bit impulsive last night, and I'm sorry for making you worry."

Hearing Aimi say this, Kotomi breathed a sigh of relief and was about to respond when Aimi continued, "But every word I said was sincere. The reason I apologized is because I revealed that we aren't related by blood. When I said that, I was only thinking about my own feelings and didn't consider yours at all. I'm sorry... do you think I'm just a silly little girl?"

No matter how mature a younger sister is, she will occasionally show her childish side in front of her older sister.

Kotomi couldn't help but smile, reaching out to gently pat Aimi's head.

"I'm not mad at you. Actually, I've known for a long time that I was adopted. I overheard it by accident. At that moment, my mind went blank, and I didn't know how to describe my feelings. No, I should say that I was so shocked I almost forgot how to speak."

"You've known all along, sister?!"

"Yes, I've known for a long time. But what difference does it make if I was adopted? Even though they are my adoptive parents, they've raised me as their own for so many years. They are my real parents. They gave me life and raised me; no bond could be stronger. Even without blood ties, the years of affection we share cannot be forgotten. I am a member of the Izumi family."

After hearing Kotomi's words, Izumi Aimi let out a long breath, her eyes welling up with tears. "After I left your room last night, I was really scared. I worried that after finding out the truth, you might overthink things. If my impulsiveness made you unhappy, I would have regretted it deeply."

"It's okay. I didn't overthink it, and I'm not mad at you. I was just surprised you knew about it and by what you said to me last night."

Kotomi blushed slightly, embarrassed, and touched her neck.

Suddenly, she froze.

The band-aid she had on her neck was gone?!

After checking again, she confirmed that the band-aid was indeed missing.

Did it accidentally fall off?

When did it come off?

She clearly remembered that it was still on her neck before she left the Dango Cake Shop…

Although she didn't know when it fell off, at least it hadn't fallen off at school. If her classmates or teachers had seen it, she wouldn't have known how to explain it.

Until the mark on her neck faded, she would need to keep using band-aids to cover it up, just in case. Tomorrow morning, she'd bring a couple of extra band-aids to school as a backup.

"Sister, yesterday I told you what was on my mind. Can you… give me an answer?" Aimi asked softly. Despite her assertiveness last night, she had been anxious all day, so much so that she had been distracted during class, startling Iroha Isshiki.

"Aimi, I don't know how to give you an answer right now because I don't even know how to respond myself," Kotomi said.

Aimi's face showed a hint of disappointment, but after a moment, she smiled. "I see. I'm sorry for putting you in a difficult position…"

With that, Aimi stood up and was about to head back to her room. Just as she was about to leave the living room, Kotomi hesitated, biting her lip, before finally standing up quickly.

"Aimi! Although I don't know when I'll be able to give you an answer, I have a feeling that it won't be long before I can tell you how I feel, word by word. And I promise you, you won't be disappointed with my answer."

Aimi stopped in her tracks, surprised, and turned to look at Kotomi, her face breaking into a teary smile.

"See? You've known in your heart how to answer me all along, sister."

"Yes, I knew it the moment you left my room last night. I just don't know how to express that answer yet. It's like I know it in my heart, but when it comes to saying it, I just don't know how to put it into words…"

"I'm willing to wait," Aimi said, gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she looked at Kotomi with utmost seriousness. "I'm willing to leave it to time. I'll wait eagerly for the day when you tell me your answer, sister."

"Let's go for yakiniku tomorrow night," Kotomi suggested with a smile.

"Mm!" Aimi nodded vigorously. "Since you've earned so much from your writing, I'm going to make sure you treat me to a big feast!"

Even though the answer hadn't been spoken yet, they both started to understand each other's feelings more clearly.

Now they just had to wait for it to be said out loud.

Kotomi's answer was simple—just four words.

As for when she would say them?

Very soon.

The day Kotomi would say the words she had in her heart would come soon.

And that day would surely be a happy one.

"Phew, now that I've had that talk with Aimi, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my heart," Kotomi said, stretching lazily as she headed back to her bedroom.

Today's homework was just some preparation assignments.

As everyone knows, preparation homework doesn't really need to be done, which means tonight she had no homework.

"Let's just say the teacher didn't assign any homework today."

Kotomi casually tossed her school bag aside and opened her laptop. Since it was rare to have "no" homework today, she wasn't about to waste the opportunity—it was the perfect time to do some writing.

After writing over a thousand words, just as Kotomi was about to take a break and play some games, her phone rang.

When she picked up her phone and saw who was calling, it was Yukinoshita Haruno.

"Why does my phone always seem to ring at the most critical moments?" Kotomi couldn't help but complain as she answered the call.

"Editor Yukinoshita, is there something you need?"

"Kotomi-sensei, we've narrowed down the candidates for the illustrator of Sword Art Online. If you're available, I can send you the materials for you to review."

Kotomi's heart leaped with joy—had they finally chosen the illustrator for Sword Art Online?

Awesome!

"Mm, yes, please send it over for me to take a look."

"This time, the illustrators were personally selected by Chief Editor Hiratsuka and me. We've narrowed it down to five suitable candidates. The one I recommend the most is Hanayui-sensei."

"Hanayui?" Kotomi asked, unfamiliar with the name.

"Mm-hmm, Hanayui-sensei only became a new illustrator for Dengeki Bunko at the beginning of this year. She used to upload her work on Twitter. Although she's new and works as a part-time illustrator, both her color and black-and-white illustrations are of very high quality. I meet with her often—she's an interesting person and always cheerful, a real madam in every sense."