"Kotomi, let's get married."
"Sure, my dear wife."
Kotomi smiled softly and raised her left hand, letting the girl in front of her slip the engagement ring onto her ring finger.
"Kotomi, if we're talking about who's going to be the mom, it should be you, since you're the one giving birth."
"No problem. The kid can call you 'Mama' and call me 'Mommie.'"
"You devil~ I can already imagine how awkward our future child will feel saying that."
"Hehehe. Let's put titles aside for now. Since you proposed to me, the next step won't stop there—marriage and kids are what's next."
"Don't worry, I've got great stamina! By tonight, I'll make you a mom!" the girl declared proudly, patting her chest.
Thud.
"Wah!"
Just as the dream was getting good, Kotomi rolled over in her sleep and fell straight off the bed, landing face-down on the floor with a yelp of pain.
She woke up.
Kotomi slowly pushed herself up with her arms, grimacing. That fall seriously hurt.
And this was a double bed!
She liked sleeping in a big bed because she tended to roll around a lot in her sleep. Even with a double bed, she occasionally fell off. If she had been sleeping in a single bed, she'd probably fall off every night. And wake up sore every single day.
Thinking about it, Kotomi realized that insisting on a double bed had been one of the wisest decisions of the Reiwa era.
She grabbed her blanket that had fallen with her and climbed back into bed, mumbling to herself:
"Once I have money, I'm gonna buy a massive bed—one of those where even ten or fifteen people wouldn't feel crowded. Then no matter how much I roll around, I won't fall off. But... do they even sell beds that big? Probably need to custom order one."
But if she had a bed that size, she'd need a huge bedroom. And to get a bedroom that big, she'd need a house with a ton of space...
And a house that big? Forget about it. Not just in the city, where land costs a fortune—even building something like that in the countryside would be outrageously expensive.
First thing in the morning and she was already thinking about depressing housing prices. Kotomi's motivation for the day immediately drained away. She lay face-down on the bed like a dried-up salted fish.
Truth be told, she just didn't want to get up.
After about twenty minutes of lazing around, Kotomi suddenly sat up wide-eyed. She'd almost forgotten—today was her Kyoto departure day!
She looked out the window. The sky was still dark. It was 4:30 AM. Not exactly a comfortable time, but she didn't have much time left!
She had set her alarm for 4:00 AM precisely so she could get up early and not stress about getting to Tokyo Station on time for her shinkansen.
After all, she, Mashiro, and Hibiki Naegi had all received green car tickets for a very early train. Departure time: 6:45 AM sharp.
Kotomi suspected the organizers of the art exhibition did this on purpose.
Why book such an early train?
Did they want the students to watch the sunrise?
Despite all her mental complaints, Kotomi resigned herself to fate and left the warmth of her bed. It was already getting chilly in October, and the temperature drop in her bedroom was quite noticeable.
In another month or two, she figured, the feeling of peeling back the blanket in the morning and having cold air brush against her skin would be enough to physically jolt her awake.
One of the most torturous things in the world is waking up early in the winter and having to get dressed. You wish you could bring your clothes into bed—or even better, wrap yourself in the blanket while you change.
As Kotomi stood in front of the bathroom mirror brushing her teeth, she recalled the dream she had just woken from.
In the dream, she had apparently been in a long-term relationship with another girl. One day, that girl proposed to her, offering a ring, and Kotomi happily accepted. Her ring finger was no longer bare—it now held a ring woven from love.
And that girl was...
Splash—
Kotomi splashed cold water on her face. The jolt immediately woke her up. She shook her head.
"That girl from the dream... I never saw her face, not even once. But I think I could recognize her voice in the dream."
"It was because I knew who she was that I accepted her proposal."
"But now that I'm awake, I can't remember her face or even what her voice sounded like..."
Kotomi scratched her head in frustration. If she could just hear that voice one more time—even a simple sound—she was sure she'd recognize who the girl was.
But upon waking, she had forgotten it all.
Just like when you first open your eyes and think, God! I had the best dream ever!
Brain: What was it about?
You: ...No idea.
How many people have dreamed of a girl they'd love for a lifetime, only to wake up just as things were finally going well—never to see her again in dreams, no matter how hard they try? The regret lingers... until the next time they dream of an even better girl.
After wiping her face with a towel, Kotomi chuckled to herself. Maybe that girl never even existed. Maybe the sense of familiarity came only from her subconscious mind during sleep.
After washing up and getting dressed, Kotomi casually grabbed her suitcase and made her way downstairs.
Akina Izumi, knowing Kotomi needed to get up at 4 a.m. for her Kyoto trip, had woken up early as well to prepare breakfast.
"Morning, Mom."
"Good morning, Kotomi. For breakfast, how about bacon and eggs, a vegetable salad, and toast?"
"Sounds great! And pile on the bacon for my share. Oh—where's the apple cider vinegar?"
"I already took it out of the fridge. And stop drinking cold stuff first thing in the morning! You really think your stomach's made of iron?"
"Or maybe it's made of superalloy," Kotomi joked, only to get a gentle bop on the head from her mom.
She had cheekily leaned her head in advance, knowing the bop was coming.
"Good morning, Onee-chan."
Knowing Kotomi had to leave for Tokyo Station at dawn, Aimi had gotten up extra early to share breakfast with her before she left for Kyoto.
"Wow, Aimi, you're up so early! Don't you want to go back to sleep for a bit?"
After all, Aimi was still in her third year of middle school. Wouldn't waking up this early affect her school day? Especially with high school entrance exams just a few months away in February.
"I'm not sleepy anymore," Aimi said, shaking her head. Then she noticed Kotomi's suitcase near the entrance and asked suspiciously, "Onee-chan, did you really finish packing? Did you bring everything you need?"
"Eh?"
Kotomi blinked in confusion. She honestly wasn't sure.
Seeing that expression, Aimi's confidence crumbled. She walked over and opened Kotomi's suitcase.
Despite Kotomi claiming for over a week now that she'd pack soon... the inside of her suitcase was still completely—empty.
Aimi took one glance at the completely empty suitcase and immediately understood—Kotomi hadn't packed at all. All she'd done was take out the suitcase. And even that had been done by Aimi herself.
When Kotomi looked over and saw her sister's unimpressed expression, she finally remembered what she'd forgotten last night before falling asleep. She had promised since last weekend that she'd get her suitcase ready... and now, moments before leaving, it was still empty!
As the older sister, this was seriously embarrassing. Even with her thick skin, Kotomi found it hard to save face in front of her little sister.
Kotomi walked up to Aimi, shrinking under her sister's unimpressed gaze. She looked at the suitcase and said with a dramatic tone:
"Ah... ahahaha. So strange! Every time I try to pack, I just... forget. Is it really my fault?"
"No way—it must be the suitcase's fault! I strongly suspect that whenever I think about packing, the suitcase slyly hides in some corner where I can't see it, making me forget about it entirely. Then, when I finally remember again, it's already too late, and the cycle repeats."
"Tsk tsk, such a harmless-looking suitcase... who knew it had such a devious mind. Little Case, I'm very disappointed in you. You've let me down. I hope you reflect on your actions and learn to pack yourself."
She rambled on and on, though it wasn't clear if she was talking to the suitcase or trying to appease Aimi.
Aimi crossed her arms and tapped her left foot on the floor rhythmically. After watching her sister's little performance, she let out a long sigh, rolled her eyes, and picked up the empty suitcase, heading upstairs.
"There's just no helping you, Onee-chan. I helped you find this suitcase last weekend, and you swore up and down that you'd pack it all by yourself this time. And in the end, I still have to do it. Hurry up and eat your breakfast. I'll go upstairs and pack for you."
"Aimi, you're my angel!"
Kotomi was genuinely touched. Her little sister was truly her warm, dependable little ray of sunshine.
Hearing Kotomi call her an angel, Aimi's cheeks flushed red as she quickened her pace up the stairs. No way was she going to admit that she liked being praised by her sister and wanted more compliments! Hmph!
While the sisters were talking, their mom had quietly finished preparing breakfast and listened with a smile on her face. After Aimi headed upstairs, Akina finally spoke:
"Kotomi, come eat. Do you want your dad to drive you to Tokyo Station later?"
Kotomi sat down and took a bite of the crispy, fluffy toast, shaking her head.
"No need to trouble Dad. Tokyo Station isn't that far. I'll just go by myself."
"I wonder if the trains are even running this early," Akina mused. She didn't take the train often, so she wasn't sure about the early morning schedule in Chiba.
"By the time I get to the station, they should be running," Kotomi said, shrugging and sipping her coffee. "Besides, I already agreed to meet up with Naegi-senpai and ride the train together."
"That's the senpai who's the president of your art club, right?"
"Yup."
"What about Mashiro? Isn't she going to Tokyo Station with you two?" Akina asked. Last time Mashiro and the others had come to visit when Kotomi had a cold, Akina had remembered all the girls quite clearly.
Megumi Kato, of course, had left a strong impression.
Kotomi had previously stayed over at Yui Yuigahama's house. Just looking at the two of them, anyone could tell they had a great relationship. Plus, Mrs. Yuigahama's voice sounded oddly familiar—very much like one of Akina Izumi's old classmates from her school days.
But since they hadn't actually met, Akina couldn't confirm if Mrs. Yuigahama was truly the long-lost friend she hadn't seen in years.
As for Yukino Yukinoshita, though her appearance seemed icy and aloof, Akina's perceptive eyes picked up on the subtle gestures Yukino made toward Kotomi. Combined with how Kotomi had described her before, Akina immediately recognized Yukino as a girl who was cold on the outside but warm on the inside.
Mashiro Shiina—Akina hadn't learned her name at the time, but the girl's striking golden hair and feline-like grace left a vivid impression. Later, when she found out the girl's name, she immediately recalled: Mashiro was none other than the world-renowned painting prodigy. Akina could only marvel at her eldest daughter's impressive connections.
What Akina didn't realize was that all these thoughts reflected a typical mother-in-law evaluating potential daughters-in-law.
"Mashiro lives in Tokyo with her cousin. We agreed yesterday after school to meet this morning near Tokyo Station," Kotomi said.
They had checked their green-car Shinkansen tickets yesterday after school. Hibiki Naegi's seat was by herself in the front row. Coincidentally, Kotomi and Mashiro's seats were right next to each other.
Kotomi had the window seat, Mashiro the aisle. Ever since she was little—whether on planes or trains—Kotomi always loved sitting by the window. Especially on flights, she enjoyed watching the landscape speed away and shrink as the plane took off.
There was something addictive about that momentary sense of weightlessness during takeoff—a thrill she couldn't get enough of.
Technically, drop towers at amusement parks delivered the same feeling. But... Kotomi couldn't bring herself to ride those.
Whenever she went to an amusement park and saw extreme rides like roller coasters, pendulum swings, or drop towers, she would immediately channel her inner Oscar-winning actress and pretend she felt sick. Her performance was so over-the-top, people often mistook it not for fear—but for morning sickness.
Back on topic—when Mashiro saw that her seat was next to Kotomi's, her delicate face lit up with joy.
Although... Yukino, Yui, and Megumi all looked a little displeased when they found out. Kotomi didn't look too closely—it might have been her imagination.
"As the older sister, you really need to be more reliable," Akina said with a laugh as she sat down for breakfast with Kotomi. "You were just about to leave for the Shinkansen and your suitcase was still empty! Poor Aimi had to step in again."
Just earlier, Aimi had scolded Kotomi for her terrible procrastination habits while hauling the empty suitcase upstairs to pack it herself.
Watching her, Akina had been reminded of a time when she and Kaneya were first married. Once, Kaneya had nearly left for a trip without packing, and Akina had scolded him for being careless—while helping him pack anyway.
In that moment, she saw a bit of her younger self in Aimi. Without much thought, she casually joked:
"Aimi takes such good care of you, sometimes I wonder who the real older sister is. Haha, even if you married Aimi one day, your father and I would have nothing to worry about."
Kotomi immediately choked on her coffee.
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