Buying Sweets for a Lover?

"Of course. But, how did you know my last name?" Kotomi asked curiously.

While she knew the names of Sakura Adachi and Hougetsu Shimamura, she hadn't told them hers.

"Oh, when you were here at lunch with your senpai, she kept calling you 'Izumi-chan.' I overheard it then," Hazuki explained with a smile. "To be honest, we remembered you right away because of your striking hair color."

"I see. I'm Izumi Kotomi . Nice to officially introduce myself."

"Got it, Izumi Kotomi," Hazuki repeated thoughtfully, "I'm Hougetsu Shimamura, and she's Sakura Adachi. Want to sign up for a membership card? You can put your full name on it."

"Ah, well… maybe next time. It looks like the computer's already turned off," Kotomi replied, pointing to the dark monitor at the front desk.

"Oh, right. Hazuki, you really don't pay attention to things around you, huh? The computer's been off for a while," Sakura chided gently.

"Hehe, caught me there." Hazuki laughed and then turned to Kotomi, "So, Miss Izumi, what brings you here? If it's for grilled meat, I'm sorry to say we're closing early today. The kitchen is all cleaned out, and we're shutting down in about ten minutes. Tomorrow, we're closed for our day off."

Kotomi smiled. "I'm not here for grilled meat this time—I actually wanted to get some dessert to go. Do you still have any? I'd love a matcha cake."

"Oh, matcha cake? You're in luck!" Hazuki replied, delighted. "We've got a few sweets left in the fridge, including matcha cake. I was planning to take them home, but since you're here, I'll sell it to you. So… buying sweets for a lover?"

"W-what?" Kotomi stammered, a blush rising to her cheeks.

"Aw, embarrassed, are we? So, is it for a boyfriend or a girlfriend?" Hazuki teased.

"N-no, you've got it wrong! It's for my little sister. She's been wanting to try your desserts for a while now. She texted me earlier asking for a matcha cake."

"Oh, I see—a little sister, huh?" Hazuki's tone was clearly amused as she turned back toward the kitchen. "Take a seat; I'll be just a moment."

After a few minutes, Hazuki returned with the dessert, neatly packed in a bag.

"You're such a good big sister. Here's the matcha cake she wanted. I threw in a couple of taro pies as well; they're still warm. Since we're about to close, we might as well share. If she likes it, maybe she can tell her friends about us!"

"Thank you so much! How much do I owe you?"

"Just the price of the matcha cake—758 yen. Cash or scan?"

Kotomi thought to herself that Ando and Shimamura definitely knew how to build loyal customers and happily held out her phone. "I'll scan."

After she paid, Kotomi left Adshima Yakiniku and headed home, dessert bag in hand.

"I'm back," she called, just as the door opened and Aimi bounded down the hallway toward her.

"Did you get the dessert?"

"Yes! A matcha cake and some extra taro pies."

"Wait, they gave us taro pies too? How nice!"

"Maybe they think your big sister's too pretty not to get extras," Kotomi teased with a grin.

"Ugh, you're so full of yourself!" Aimi rolled her eyes, but there was a laugh behind it.

Excitedly clutching the dessert box, Aimi seemed ready to open it up right then and there. But as she did, Akina stepped in and held out her hand, stopping her.

"Not yet, you two. Dinner's about ready, so no sweets until afterward," she said, confiscating the box. "And ease up on the sweets—it's bad for your teeth," she added with a knowing smile, helping herself to one of the pies and savoring it.

"This taro pie is delicious!" Akina beamed.

"Mom, you're making it hard to take you seriously!" Aimi muttered.

Kotomi couldn't help but agree, "True enough."

After dinner, they retrieved the dessert box, along with some snacks and a few bottles of cola from their stash, ready to head upstairs for a movie.

While picking out the snacks, Aimi shot Kotomi a glance. "Why'd you get so many Pepsi? We both know Coke tastes way better."

"Well, if you like Coke, feel free to go buy some. I'll stick with Pepsi, thanks!"

"Ugh…" Aimi pouted.

Hearing them squabble, Akina chimed in from the kitchen, "Cola, huh? My favorite's cherry flavor. Want me to pick some up tomorrow?"

Kotomi and Aimi both shuddered at the memory of cherry cola's unique taste and replied in unison, "Absolutely not!"

"Cherry cola's great! The real crime here is your dad's zero-sugar cola."

"If I had to choose between cherry and Pepsi, I'd rather drink Pepsi!" Aimi declared dramatically.

"Oh, don't make it sound like some huge sacrifice! Though, I kind of like zero-sugar cola," Kotomi admitted.

With snacks and drinks in hand, they settled upstairs, arranged the treats on the table, and Kotomi set up her laptop.

"A lot of new movies have come out recently. Any preference?" she asked.

"Let's go with Tesla vs. Kong."

"What the—? Wait, there's really a movie where Tesla, on Mars, comes back to fight King Kong?"

"Oh, wait. I read it wrong—it's Godzilla vs. Kong."

"Right, that makes more sense."

After deciding on the movie, they each grabbed some snacks, found comfortable spots, and settled in for Godzilla vs. Kong.

"Hey, Kotomi," Aimi said suddenly, "how about getting a projector? Imagine if we could project the movie onto the ceiling and just lie on the bed to watch. That'd be perfect, right?"

Kotomi looked at her sister's excited face, realizing that Aimi's enthusiasm was about more than just convenience.

Watching a movie in bed with Aimi...

When Kotomi heard Aimi's proposal, her mind wandered. She imagined turning off all the lights, setting the projector to display on the ceiling, and lying down together to watch. While lying down to watch movies was certainly cozy, Kotomi couldn't shake the feeling that Aimi wouldn't stay entirely focused on the film. In fact, she'd likely get sidetracked and...well, let's just say some situations wouldn't be appropriate to describe in full detail.

With that thought, Kotomi firmly declined, "Let's just skip the projector."

"Huh? Why?" Aimi's face fell. She had planned this moment carefully; once they had a projector, they could lie together on Kotomi's bed, enjoying movies, and then...

She had been so sure Kotomi was on board that the sudden refusal threw her off.

"Because I remembered that the projector itself costs more than 40,000 yen. That's just too expensive! I may have some money saved, but I can't justify spending it all on this," Kotomi replied, sounding rational and firm.

Kotomi had seen a decent projector on Amazon for 43,750 yen. It wasn't that she minded the cost—she was just more worried that once it was set up, she'd find Aimi using it as an excuse to get a little too close.

The specifics of how exactly Aimi might try that... well, let's just say it'd take far too many pages to explain in full.

Not giving up, Aimi countered, "I've saved nearly 60,000 yen from my allowance. How about I buy it?"

"What? You managed to save that much?!" Kotomi was genuinely surprised.

Aimi didn't get a large monthly allowance, but she'd been putting money aside for a while now. And the reason for saving up? Kotomi had a lot to do with it. Aimi had started saving in case Kotomi, who sometimes seemed a bit ditzy, might struggle to find work someday. She had resolved to save enough to support her if it ever came to that.

In Aimi's mind, even if Kotomi turned out to be a total scatterbrain who couldn't hold a job, she would happily take care of her forever!

Ever since that decision, Aimi's concerns shifted to excitement. She began hoping Kotomi would rely on her more, perhaps even become so dependent on her that she couldn't live without her—a true "hopeless big sister."

Whenever Aimi thought about Kotomi being that dependent on her, she couldn't help but smile. However, before she could get Kotomi entirely under her care, Kotomi had surprised everyone by secretly earning her first paycheck from writing novels and quickly racked up more from her manga work. Her bank account now even held over a million yen!

Aimi had been downhearted for a long time when she realized that her dream of financially supporting Kotomi was slipping away.

"My sister got all talented on me; what am I supposed to do now?"

Seeing that Aimi was willing to use her savings to buy the projector, Kotomi tapped her on the head playfully and said, "Why not use your allowance to buy yourself some new clothes or tasty snacks? Do you really want this projector that badly?"

"Definitely. The projector isn't the goal; I just want to lie in bed and watch movies with you!" Aimi was done pretending—she laid her intentions bare.

No more disguises. She was, in Kotomi's words, just after Kotomi herself!

"I mean, I'd already guessed that, but at least try to hide it a little!" Kotomi groaned, taken aback by her sister's frankness.

Who came right out and said it like that?!

Realizing Aimi was serious, Kotomi sighed, noticing they'd spent more time talking about the projector than watching the movie, and King Kong was already grappling with Godzilla in the ocean.

After some thought, Kotomi finally spoke up, "Okay... what if I promise to buy you the projector after you finish your exams?"

"Really?"

"Definitely."

"So… that's a promise?"

"Let's call it a deal."

They might be talking about a projector, but the meaning behind the words was layered.

The movie reached its climax. Having been too engrossed in their projector conversation, they'd missed much of the plot, though the visuals and sound effects alone were thrilling. Watching in IMAX would have been even more so!

Of course, it was already seven in the evening. Plus, no theaters in Chiba City had IMAX screens. For that, they'd have to take the train to Tokyo's Roppongi district.

Heading out to Tokyo at night was out of the question for a high schooler like Kotomi. Her parents would never approve. By the time the movie ended, they'd be well past the last train back.

And after reading about the "Kisaragi Station" urban legend, Kotomi had sworn off late-night trains.

Being a high schooler was both freeing and restrictive... but that wasn't just because of her "short serotonin transporter activation sequence"!

Kotomi sighed, caught in that thought.

The nearly two-hour movie soon came to an end, and Kotomi and Aimi had nearly finished off the snacks.

"Whew—what a movie! Kotomi, we've got to go see it on the big screen!"

"Sounds good! But you'll need to behave yourself if you want Mom to let us go to Roppongi to watch it."

"Deal! And, um… tonight, can we…"

"Go sleep in your own room! Haven't you finished your holiday homework yet? Don't even think about staying here—get to bed and finish your work in the morning. And here, take these empty snack bags with you."

Kotomi cut her off, collecting the empty chip bags and cans to hand over to Aimi, then shooed her toward her room.

If she let her stay a little longer, Aimi would undoubtedly plant herself in Kotomi's bed.

Aimi had barely opened her mouth to say, "But Kotomi, I want to—" when Kotomi's sharp words ended that plan immediately.

"Mmph… I'm only one math problem away from finishing. You're so stingy, Kotomi! We've spent so many nights together; what's one more?" Aimi pouted, feigning an exaggeratedly wounded look, before shuffling to her room.

Once Aimi was settled, Kotomi opened her laptop instead of heading straight to bed. Stretching her wrists, she began typing on her mechanical keyboard.

Line after line appeared on the screen, but she wasn't working on Sword Art Online.

Sword Art Online was meant as a start—a boost to her popularity—but she had no intention of stopping there. She wanted to establish a clear concept for her next story. She didn't want to be the kind of author who leaned on one successful story alone; she needed to explore new projects while continuing Sword Art Online.

After all, once she outlined her concept, actually writing it would be that much easier.

Before long, Kotomi had drafted an idea for a new story:

"I Want to Eat Your Pancreas"—a single-volume light novel.

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