Sweet Dorayaki

"Mizuto, is that you?" 

Suddenly, a voice from inside the bookstore was heard. 

"I am here." 

Mizuto looked at the far right side of the bookstore's aisle, where the voice came, and a girl came out holding several books that were stacked upward in her hands. 

"I have been waiting for you! Where have you been?" 

The voice of the girl was full of grief, as if he had wronged her.

"Sorry, sorry. I have something to do earlier. You can take this as my apology." 

He showed the girl a bag of dorayaki that he bought earlier. 

"What is it?"

The girl put the book down on the counter table before she approached him as she smelled a sweet aroma from the bag.

"It's dorayaki." 

"Is it from Sokyudo?" 

The voice of the girl seemed filled with excitement. 

"That's right." He nodded, causing the girl to smile happily. "Thank you very much!" Nevertheless, watching how happy this girl was after he gave her a dorayaki, he felt that this friend of his was cheap. However, he also knew that he was at fault as he came to this store when the bookstore was about to close.

Or rather, at this time, the bookstore would be closed, but he knew she was waiting for him, so he apologized. 

Still, Yume, who had always stood behind Mizuto, scrutinized this girl. 

This girl is short. 

Much shorter than her. 

She was petite and cute. 

This was her impression of this girl. 

Her eyes were brown, and her hair was paradise peach in color. She tied her shoulder-length hair in pigtails above her neck and had a stubborn cowlick that stuck out from her head. Her clothes were rather homey and comfortable, with an apron that showed the logo of the bookstore. 

Yume thought that this girl's appearance was quite similar to hers in the past. If there was a difference, while she was gloomy and a nerd, she could tell that this girl was pretty outgoing and vibrant. 

Even though Yume had become more beautiful and her body had also grown, she was still worried, especially when they had been separated from him for a year. While some of Mizuto's habits and some of his personality were the same, he also had changed a lot, so she was worried and wondered what their relationship was. 

Moreover, wasn't their relationship so close?

They called each other's given names so casually!

When they dated, they only started to call each other's given names after six months, so when she saw how casually this girl called Mizuto's given name, her mood was turbulent. 

"Mizuto, is it me, or is the girl behind you glaring at me?" The girl asked nervously. 

"She is short-sighted. She needs to squint her eyes to see." 

"I wore contact lenses! I can see well!" 

"....." 

Mizuto rolled his eyes, then said, "This is Yuu Koito. She is my friend. I happened to find her family's bookstore during the third of the middle school, and she will enter the same high school as us." 

"Hello. My name is Koito Yuu. Nice to meet you." Yuu wondered whether this was Mizuto's girlfriend, but she had to say Yume was so beautiful, and... those boobs. She looked at the towering peaks on Yume's chest. While they might not be Tokyo Tower, Yume's peaks were as tall as the Kyoto Tower. Nevertheless, it didn't stop her from introducing herself. 

"Ah, um, my name is Irido Yume. I am..." 

Yume lost her calm and became flustered when Yuu introduced herself politely. It made her feel like she was slapped on the cheek, and she also knew that she was wrong for glaring at Yuu due to her jealousy. Nevertheless, when she introduced herself, she couldn't help but glance at Mizuto, waiting for him to explain the shape of their relationship. 

Still, she also understood why she had never seen Yuu in middle school before, causing her to look at Mizuto in a complex mood. 

Was his charm so high now that he could even charm a girl from a different school?

Looking at his profile from the side, she thought it was possible. 

"She is my stepsister. Or, step-oldersister?" 

Nevertheless, Mizuto explained his relationship with Yume calmly. 

But... while Yume knew that this was their current relationship, she sighed inwardly. Yet, she knew that it was better to say it now since, sooner or later, their relationship would be known. 

"Oh, it's you. I often hear you from Mizuto." Yuu was surprised, but at the same time, she wondered what Mizuto would do when 

"Huh? Mizuto often talked about me?" Yume asked curiously. 

"Um, he told me that his father was going to remarry and he was going to have a stepsibling, but..." 

Yuu didn't expect his stepsibling would be such a beauty. Moreover, was it her imagination that his stepsister seemed to have an interest in him? She glanced at Mizuto and wondered what he thought when he lived at the same house as Yume. After all, before they were siblings, they were strangers. 

"Yuu, are my books ready?" 

Yuu sighed helplessly and said, "Wait a moment; I will pick them up. You bought too many books, you know?" 

"Isn't it good for your bookstore?" 

"Thank you very much!" 

Still, her face was insincere when she said those words, but with how close their relationship was, he knew that she was just joking. 

"Do you often buy books here?" 

When Yuu left, Yume couldn't help but ask casually as if she didn't show much interest, but her eyes tried to gauge, testing, waiting to see his reaction. 

Mizuto didn't care much and said, "You remembered that I had a lot of books in my room before, right?" 

"Um." 

Yume nodded in confusion, and Mizuto said, "I sold them here. If you want to clear up your books, you can sell them here. They sell and buy secondhand books here." It was cheaper to buy a secondhand book than a new book, so he often went to this place. He might have money now, but before?

If he could get more books, it would be better.

Before his endeavor to write a thesis for others, he needed knowledge of the law and economic theory in this country. However, the price of a law and an economic book weren't cheap, so he got them secondhand as they were cheaper. 

Searching for the secondhand, Mizuto found this shop and then got to know Yuu. 

"Hmm... I will visit this shop then." 

To learn more about Yuu and the missing year they were separated, Yume thought it was better to go to this bookstore so she could know more about him, especially his relationship with Yuu. 

Soon, Yuu came out with a lot of books and put them on the counter table, then said, "Here you go." 

"You got all of them?" 

Mizuto asked curiously as he checked the titles of the books one by one. 

"Um, but not all of them are secondhand; there is also the new one." 

"It's okay." 

"Then, are you going to buy all of them?" 

All of those books definitely weren't cheap. 

"I will take all of them." 

Yuu sighed helplessly. "I am really jealous of your brain." If she was as smart as Mizuto, then she could make a lot of money from those lazy university students. 

"What are you talking about?" Yume felt like she was being left out. 

"Ah, um..." Yuu wasn't sure whether she could talk about this matter as Mizuto's job was rather sensitive. 

"It's about my other job. I will explain it later." 

"Okay." 

Yume nodded and didn't doubt it since his mysterious image was already imprinted on her mind. 

"The total is 9820 yen." 

"Here you go." 

Taking out the 10,000 yen from his wallet, Yuu saw the picture of Fukuzawa Yukichi and sighed again at Mizuto's monetary power. They had just graduated from middle school, but there was a vast difference between them. But at the same time, she glanced at Yume and saw that Yume didn't show much of a change in her expression, which surprised her. 

Yuu wasn't sure, but she knew it was rude to ask such questions as it was their first meeting. 

"Thank you very much." 

After getting his books, Mizuto didn't intend to stay any longer and left with Yume.

"See you at the school later, Yuu." 

"Um, see you, Mizuto." Yuu nodded, then looked at Yume. "You too, Irido-san." 

"Yes, Koito-san." 

The two exchanged had some talks before Yuu watched the two stepsiblings leave. Still, she hesitated, and in the end, she sighed and felt helpless. She returned to the bookstore and took the dorayaki that he bought before. Even though some time passed, it still retained some of its warmth. 

She opened her small lips, then bit the dorayaki with her white teeth, chewing it slowly as the gentle sweetness unfurled before her tongue, making her mood better. She smiled when she thought of the figure who bought this dorayaki.