Yukino Yukinoshita also remembered that Yui Yuigahama was still asleep and quickly lowered her voice.
"Sorry… I got a little emotional."
"I'm actually curious why you got so emotional," Kotomi Izumi said. "All I said was that I wanted to wear a strapless backless evening gown to the competition venue to cheer you on. Concert halls usually have dress codes, don't they? I can't exactly show up in casual clothes."
As she spoke, Kotomi let out a small, helpless sigh, deliberately putting on a slightly displeased expression.
In truth, she wasn't upset at all.
At first, she hadn't quite understood. But after replaying Yukino's expression and tone in her mind—and then picturing the design of that strapless backless gown—Kotomi wasn't stupid. How could she not realize why Yukino had reacted so strongly with a sharp "No!" the moment she mentioned it?
Once she understood, she could actually sympathize with Yukino's reaction. But even so, she couldn't stop herself from laughing inwardly.
I, Kotomi Izumi, have received professional training. I will absolutely not laugh unless absolutely necessary.
Unless it's really, really funny!
Hahahahaha…
She hadn't expected that simply wanting to wear a strapless backless gown would make Yukino jealous.
Good thing she mentioned it in advance. If she had just shown up at the competition wearing it without warning, would Yukino have been too distracted to even compete properly?
Kotomi laughed recklessly in her heart while biting down on her teeth to keep from making any obvious sound.
She knew Yukino had thin skin. If she actually laughed out loud in front of her, Yukino would probably be so embarrassed she'd want to bury her head in the ground like an ostrich.
She might even evolve from shy to flustered anger on the spot—transforming into Yukino-nyan and swiping at her with imaginary cat claws.
As for getting scratched in the face by a girl—Kotomi had personal experience with that.
That story dated all the way back to when she attended Chiba Kindergarten.
...
Little Kotomi had been a bit airheaded, but that didn't affect her popularity among the other children in the slightest. In fact, some of the more precocious and protective kids adored soft, sweet-smelling, adorably clueless little Kotomi.
As a result, Kotomi never had to worry about running out of snacks at kindergarten. She didn't even need to ask. All she had to do was blink her big, soft, pretty eyes at the other children.
Before long, her tiny hands would be filled with snacks. Whatever didn't fit would be piled onto her little desk. If she wasn't careful, the snacks on the desk would stack into a small mountain.
It wasn't just kids from her own class—boys and girls from other classes brought her snacks too. Calling her the kindergarten's "group darling" wouldn't have been an exaggeration.
Whenever a child answered a question correctly—or even just fairly well—the teacher would reward them with one little bear biscuit.
Perhaps it was because rare things felt more precious, but Kotomi had always felt that the little bear biscuits from the teacher tasted especially good. When she received one, she could never bring herself to eat it all in one bite.
Yet whenever she bought the exact same brand at the supermarket, it never tasted quite as good.
As mentioned earlier, only by answering questions correctly—or at least decently—could one earn a little bear biscuit.
If a child behaved well throughout the day, the teacher would give them two fruit candies before dismissal. Sometimes hard candy, sometimes soft candy, sometimes fruit-filled candy—but always fruit-flavored.
After all, candies like chocolate or milk caramel had very distinct tastes and textures. One child might love them, another might not.
For example, Kotomi particularly disliked chocolate candy.
Fruit candy was different. Even if it wasn't her favorite flavor, she could still accept it.
Kotomi loved the little bear biscuits from kindergarten—but she rarely answered questions. She only raised her hand when she specifically wanted a biscuit. Even then, she rarely answered correctly.
However, because she was cute—and because kindergarten focused more on encouraging participation rather than demanding accuracy—the teacher would find a way to give little Kotomi a bear biscuit once she had answered three questions, even if all of them were wrong.
That way, Kotomi's enthusiasm wouldn't be dampened, and the other children wouldn't think she was being unfairly favored.
In Kotomi's memory, there was one girl in her class who was especially kind to her.
Every time that girl answered a question and received a little bear biscuit, she wouldn't eat it. Instead, she would give it to Kotomi.
From the very first day Kotomi entered Chiba Kindergarten and joined the Sunflower Junior Class, that girl had consistently given her the biscuits she earned.
Kotomi never asked why. If it was given to her, she simply ate it.
Until the day the junior class was about to end, that girl—who had always given her bear biscuits—blushed and asked:
"K-Kotomi, will you be my girlfriend?! From now on, my yogurt and my little bear biscuits will all be yours!"
Little Kotomi didn't know what "girlfriend" meant. She only thought that getting little bear biscuits every day—plus yogurt—sounded like an incredible deal.
So without hesitation, she nodded.
"Yay! Th-Then call me Onee-chan!"
"But aren't we the same age?"
"'Aren't'? It's 'aren't we?' What are you, a little lamb? Anyway, forget that. Call me Onee-chan, and next class I'll answer a question and give you the bear biscuit I earn."
"Onee-shan!"
"You… we're almost in middle class, and you still talk like a toddler. Can't you be more mature like me? Well, since you're my girlfriend now, I'll protect you from now on!"
That girl had held her hand and bounced around happily the entire day.
From then on, she eagerly looked forward to going to kindergarten every day just to see Kotomi. The moment she spotted her, she would run over, hook her arm around Kotomi's, and loudly shout:
"Darling!"
Kotomi would simply let herself be held while quietly eating the little bear biscuit she'd been given.
Even when the teachers found out, they would only smile in amusement, treating it as innocent child's play. If they weren't busy, they would even joke:
"Little Kotomi, when are you two getting married? Don't forget to invite us for the wedding feast!"
The girl would hug Kotomi's arm happily and declare at the top of her lungs:
"When we grow up, I'm going to marry Kotomi!"
Meanwhile, little Kotomi would continue eating her bear biscuit silently.
She didn't understand what marriage was. Nor did she understand what a wedding feast meant.
She only knew that little bear biscuits were delicious—and the one in her hand was almost gone.
That daily routine continued into middle class.
After little Kotomi and the girl who always gave her bear biscuits advanced together to Sunflower Middle Class, a transfer student arrived at Chiba Kindergarten.
When choosing a class, she selected the very same one Kotomi was in—Sunflower Middle Class.
As for that transfer student… Kotomi could barely remember her name or appearance.
It was as though the memory had once been written clearly on white paper, only to later be heavily scribbled over with thick crayon—blurred and obscured without her knowing when or how.
All she vaguely remembered was that the girl carried herself with elegance and grace, like a noble princess stepping out of a castle.
At the same time, she gave off an unmistakable sense of distance.
If she had to recall any distinctive feature about that transfer girl, it would be this—because of a congenital illness, her legs couldn't move like a normal person's. She relied on a cane, and every time she walked, it looked a little unusual.
Because of that, other children often mocked her, saying she walked like a slow, three-legged turtle.
Whenever that happened, little Kotomi would rush forward. Even though she still couldn't speak clearly, she would shout "Ah-wu-wu!" in her garbled baby voice, angrily scolding the children who were teasing the girl with the cane.
Once, a tall girl from the senior class deliberately blocked the cane girl's path and refused to let her pass.
When little Kotomi saw this, she charged over in a fury and slapped the tall girl across the face—hard enough to knock her to the ground. Still not satisfied, she climbed on top of her and used every ounce of strength she had, punching the girl's face again and again.
The cane girl froze for a few seconds at the sight.
Then she calmly sat down beside Kotomi, raised her cane high, and brought it down without mercy on the tall girl's face—so hard that it made her nose bleed.
Afterward, already panting from the exertion, the cane girl still managed a faint smile and said:
"Now… we're accomplices."
Although Kotomi's memory of that cane girl had grown blurry over time, she still remembered certain things they had experienced together—and certain words she had said.
From that day on, fewer and fewer children dared to mock the cane girl. Little Kotomi might not have spoken clearly, but she had very capable hands.
However, because of that fight, both Kotomi and the cane girl were gradually distanced by some of the other children.
Little Kotomi didn't mind.
After all, the cane girl stayed by her side every day.
Kotomi loved leaning against her, half-asleep, listening to her tell fairy tales about the ocean. Even though she hadn't fully learned to read yet and could barely understand more than a handful of sentences from the whole story, she still loved the feeling of resting against her.
The girl who often gave Kotomi little bear biscuits—and who had once asked Kotomi to be her girlfriend—did not distance herself either.
Whenever she heard other children gossiping about Kotomi hitting someone, she would angrily scold them:
"When that senior girl bullied people before, none of you dared to say a word! Now that little Kotomi fought back, you're all badmouthing her? Aren't you ashamed? A bunch of cowards who only pick on the weak!
"So good people deserve to get guns pointed at them, is that it?!
"Even the teacher said Kotomi wasn't wrong! If I hear any of you talking behind her back again, I've been growing my nails lately—I'll scratch your faces every single time I hear it! If you don't want your faces ruined, then shut your mouths!
"I never realized you girls were so nasty. Ugh. Disgusting!"
One day, because the cane girl had performed well, she received two fruit candies after school.
Instead of eating them, she walked over to Kotomi and asked:
"Do you want some?"
"Yes!"
Little Kotomi had been staring at them for a long time. Now that the cane girl had asked, she nodded vigorously without hesitation, nearly drooling. Though her speech was usually unclear, the words "want some" came out astonishingly crisp.
The cane girl smiled faintly. Just as Kotomi reached out her small hand, she suddenly pulled her own hand back, not giving her the candy immediately.
Kotomi's hand grabbed at empty air. She looked down at her tiny palm, her cute face puffing up in frustration.
"Alright, alright. I'm not refusing to give it to you. Wait a second—I need to wipe the drool from the corner of your mouth first. No wonder you're almost in senior class and still wearing a drool bib around your neck. Aren't you embarrassed?"
The cane girl spoke fondly, lifting the bib from around Kotomi's neck and gently wiping the saliva from her lips.
After cleaning her up, she placed the fruit candy back into Kotomi's hand and even peeled off the wrapper for her.
"Thanksh!"
Little Kotomi, who still couldn't pronounce words properly, always made "thanks" sound like something else entirely.
After expressing her gratitude, she eagerly popped the candy into her mouth. Her little face glowed with happiness.
Watching her eat, the cane girl fell silent for a moment before quietly asking:
"Kotomi… would you marry me?"
"Hm?"
"If you marry me, I'll buy you any toy you want. I'll buy you whatever delicious food you like and let you eat to your heart's content. And if you love fruit candy, then every time I get some, I'll give it all to you."
Little Kotomi didn't understand what "marry me" meant.
But hearing all those benefits, she didn't hesitate for even a second. Nodding enthusiastically, she shouted in her still-uncertain speech:
"O-kay!"
"Great!"
And just like that, little Kotomi became the cane girl's wife.
She didn't understand what dating meant, nor what being someone's girlfriend truly implied. She only knew that the girl who called her "darling" would hug her and give her little bear biscuits.
She didn't understand marriage either. She only knew that after agreeing to the cane girl's proposal, she would get fruit candy more often—and any toy or tasty food she wanted.
Because she didn't understand, she never rejected the girl who gave her bear biscuits and called her "darling." Nor did she reject the cane girl who asked her to marry her.
All little Kotomi knew was this:
In the morning, she could eat little bear biscuits.
In the afternoon, she could eat fruit candy.
And so the seasons passed, until the day they graduated from senior kindergarten.
After taking their graduation photos, little Kotomi slowly made her way toward the gate. Her parents were there to pick her up.
"Kotomi!!!"
The girl ran toward her in a hurry, breathless. In her palm was a single little bear biscuit.
"I—I just asked the teacher for one more little bear biscuit. This should be the last one I'll ever give you from kindergarten.
"These three years at kindergarten, getting to spend every day with you—I was so happy! Being able to meet you… I must be the luckiest girl in the world!
"Can we exchange contact information? Every time I asked you to walk home together after school, you just shook your head.
"We've been together for three years, but I don't even know your home phone number or where you live. Whenever I asked, you just mumbled and couldn't explain…
"But no matter what, Kotomi, I really—really like you!
"I don't know if we'll go to the same elementary school, but I hope that every day from now on, I can keep giving you little bear biscuits—just like these three years we spent together!"
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