The Moon Doesn't Sleep

"How's the tutoring with Yui going?" asked Kato Megumi.

"It's going pretty well. Despite Yui's past grades, she's actually quite smart. As long as I explain something a few times, she picks it up quickly," replied Izumi Kotomi.

Kotomi had thought it would take more time to explain things, but to her surprise, Yui Yuigahama was quick to grasp the material when she focused.

This pleasantly surprised Kotomi.

"Maybe it's because you're a good teacher~ Ahh, I wish I could have Teacher Izumi's personal guidance too," Megumi teased, drawing out her words on purpose.

She deliberately emphasized the words "Teacher Izumi."

"Your grades don't need my help, Megumi," Kotomi said with a sheepish smile.

Megumi's grades were consistently above average in the class. With a little extra effort, she could easily make it to the top ranks.

Upon hearing Kotomi's casual comment, Megumi's expression shifted briefly, but she quickly recovered and said, "You never know~"

Soon, they arrived at Kotomi's house.

"Megumi, make sure to text me when you get home safely," Kotomi said, standing at her door.

"Of course. See you tomorrow."

When Kotomi got home, her mother, Akina, greeted her with a playful remark, "If you'd come back any later, I would've thought you were staying over at your friend's house."

"Hehe, I just stayed for dinner."

"What's the name of the girl you're tutoring?" Akina asked curiously.

When Kotomi first mentioned that she was tutoring a friend, Akina had been taken aback. Though her daughter was stunning, she had always struggled a bit with schoolwork.

Tutoring someone else? Wasn't that backwards?

"Yui Yuigahama ."

"Yui? That name sounds familiar..."

"I've mentioned her before, haven't I?"

"No, I feel like I heard that name long before you started high school. Oh, I remember! Back when I was in middle school, my desk mate was a beautiful girl. Once, during a random conversation, she said that if she ever had a daughter, she'd want to name her Yui."

"What did your middle school desk mate look like?"

"What did she look like? Hmm... it's been nearly twenty years since we graduated. We were really close in middle school, but after all this time, I can barely recall her face," Akina said, tapping her cheek as she tried to remember.

She thought for a while, but eventually gave up.

Seeing her mother lost in thought, Kotomi didn't press further. After drinking a glass of water, she headed upstairs to her room.

As she reached her bedroom door, her phone buzzed. It was a message from Megumi, letting her know she had gotten home safely.

After replying to the message, Kotomi opened her bedroom door and saw her younger sister, Aimi, sitting on her bed, watching the recently released drama Unnatural on Kotomi's old laptop.

Since Kotomi had gotten a new computer, she had gifted the old laptop to Aimi.

Though Aimi had initially refused it, she still regularly came to Kotomi's room to use it.

"Did you finish your homework?" Kotomi asked with a smile as she entered the room.

"Yes, I finished it a while ago. But what about you, Onee-chan? Why were you out so late at another girl's house?" Aimi huffed, clearly annoyed.

Her puffed-up expression practically had "I'm not happy" written all over it.

"I couldn't help it~ I promised I'd tutor her."

"Why don't you tutor me too? I have plenty of questions I don't understand!" Aimi, who was ranked in the top five of her class, pouted.

You're in the top five… Yui, on the other hand, is at risk of failing her exams! Kotomi thought to herself.

"Alright, alright. From now on, I'll tutor you too. If you don't understand something, feel free to ask me anytime," Kotomi said, patting Aimi on the head to comfort her.

Normally, Aimi would dodge away and shyly protest, "Onee-chan, stop treating me like a child!"

But today, Aimi very much needed her Onee-chan's head pats.

If it weren't for her maintaining some pride, she might have already snuggled up to Kotomi's hand like a kitten, maybe even meowing.

Kotomi, feeling like she was soothing a little kid, successfully comforted Aimi.

Aimi continued lounging on the bed, watching Unnatural on the laptop.

Kotomi, meanwhile, opened her computer and worked on drawing Chainsaw Man for the next half hour.

By the time she finished and saved her progress, it was already 11 PM. She turned to Aimi, who was still sprawled on her bed watching the drama, and said, "Aimi, it's 11 o'clock. Time to go to bed."

"Huh…? Onee-chan, you've been going to bed so early lately. You used to be like, 'The moon doesn't sleep, and neither do I!'"

"Early to bed, early to rise, keeps you healthy. You'll understand once you're in high school," Kotomi said, pretending to be wise.

"Pfft, acting like an adult~" Aimi snarked.

But she still obediently listened to her sister, shutting down the laptop and putting it back on the bookshelf before heading off to bed.

"Aimi, why don't you just take this laptop to your own room? That way, you can use it whenever you want. The charger's in the bottom drawer."

"No!" Aimi rejected the idea again, without hesitation. "I'll just leave it here in your room. When I want to use it, I'll come to your room."

"Alright, whatever makes you happy."

After exchanging goodnights, Kotomi started tidying up her desk, feeling puzzled.

It's strange... Aimi uses the laptop so often, and I've already given it to her. Why won't she just take it to her room? Her room has Wi-Fi, too.

Kotomi thought about it for a while but couldn't figure it out.

"Time for bed~" Kotomi stretched, then took off her pajamas.

After experiencing sleeping without clothes for the first time, Kotomi had grown to love it. Every night, she made sure to strip down completely before getting into bed.

After turning off the main light, she left the small bedside lamp on and lay down, closing her eyes to sleep.

Just as she was about to drift off—

Her eyes snapped open!

She bolted upright!

"Oh no! I haven't logged into Azur Lane today, and I haven't done the event missions!"

Kotomi quickly grabbed her phone and began her nightly gaming session on Azur Lane.

Just moments ago, she had been preaching about the virtues of early to bed and early to rise, but now...

When the sun comes out, I'll bask in the sunlight. When the moon comes out, I'll bask in its glow too!