"This is the charm of no-makeup lipstick." Haruno Yukinoshita handed the lipstick to Yui Yuigahama. "It really should be in the hands of the right person."
"No, no, no..." Yui Yuigahama reached out to push it away. "I can't accept this."
"Take it." Haruno Yukinoshita handed another one to Komachi Hikigaya. "This one is yours."
"This is so nice?" Komachi Hikigaya happily accepted it. "If I'd known, I would've come earlier!"
"If you'd come too early, I wouldn't have been here either." Haruno Yukinoshita sighed softly. "After starting high school, Yukino began living alone. I'd always worried about whether she'd made any friends. I'm really happy that you could come. Consider this a thank-you gift from her older sister—I can only do this much for her."
"Thank you, Sister." With things put that way, Yui Yuigahama could no longer refuse.
"I really understand how that feels..." Komachi Hikigaya said sympathetically. "You want to help, but you don't dare interfere too much. You can't manage everything, but you also can't bring yourself to ignore everything."
"Exactly." Haruno Yukinoshita tilted her head. "Are you an older sister too, Komachi?"
"Mm-hm, I have a younger brother." At the mention of him, a complicated expression flashed through Komachi Hikigaya's eyes.
"What is it?" Haruno Yukinoshita pressed. "You look like something's troubling you."
"It's not really troubling. It's more like... confusing." Komachi Hikigaya glanced at the backpack she had brought with her. "My brother has been... kind of strange lately."
"Komachi told me about it once already." Yui Yuigahama looked toward Dong Yunshan and Yukino Yukinoshita in the kitchen. "I couldn't figure out what was going on either, so I wanted to discuss it with you two."
As they spoke, Dong Yunshan finished making the tempura and sat down beside the coffee table with Yukino