Yukino Yukinoshita set her schoolbag on the marble counter, the metal school badge striking the stone with a crisp sound.
Girl froze as she reached for the barley tea in the refrigerator—Yukino Yukinoshita had somehow circled behind her, lazily resting her chin atop her head.
Silky hair draped over both their shoulders as Yukino Yukinoshita spoke in a honeyed, cloying voice. "Has little Yukino Yukinoshita recently become interested in romance?"
Yukino Yukinoshita abruptly turned around and looked at her retreating older sister, her gaze falling on the copy of Love Beat in her hand.
She had casually left it beside her schoolbag.
"Shizuka Hiratsuka gave that to me..."
Instinctively, Yukino Yukinoshita explained where the book had come from.
At the mention of Hiratsuka, a look of understanding flashed through Yukino Yukinoshita's eyes.
She had indeed asked Shizuka Hiratsuka to look after her younger sister. Though that woman had agreed reluctantly, Yukino Yukinoshita knew her well enough to know that once she agreed to something, she would see it through.
Yukino Yukinoshita, who was equally troubled by her younger sister's personality, found it rather amusing. Could it be that Shizuka Hiratsuka intended to use this method to make little Yukino Yukinoshita more like a normal girl her age?
That was far too much of an underestimate of the Yukinoshita family's child-rearing principles—and of Yukino Yukinoshita herself...
With that thought, Yukino Yukinoshita walked over to the sofa and sat down, casually opening the obviously already-read second volume in her hand.
After putting away her schoolbag, Yukino Yukinoshita noticed that her older sister had remained quiet for quite a while. Though they did not get along particularly well, they were still sisters, so the girl returned to the living room out of curiosity. Just in time, she saw Yukino Yukinoshita take out her phone and quickly dial a number.
Beep—beep—
The call connected.
"Shiyu Kasumigaoka! How dare you fold me up! Don't run! This time, I'm drawing a turtle on your forehead!"
An almost shrieking female voice came through the receiver, stabbing into the Yukinoshita sisters' eardrums.
Yukino Yukinoshita froze.
That voice... it sounded like Sawamura from her class!?
What did she mean by "fold me up"? She had even called out Kasumigaoka Senior's name. Were the two of them fighting?