Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/822139844261747978/episodes/822139844599071114
“──Can I just give you a hug for now?”
Saying that, Mitsuki spread her arms and stepped toward me.
The way she did it—her peerless beauty, her stunning figure, and that mysterious, bewitching aura she possessed—made it feel like a devilish temptation, drawing Yui in with an irresistible charm…
…Well, that aside.
Yui’s answer was clear.
“I’m terribly sorry, but I’ll have to decline…”
“…”
Mitsuki stopped.
Then, she tilted her head cutely.
“…………Why?”
“That’s what I should be asking you!”
I really had no choice but to interject.
“Sorry, I’m just a high schooler with typical Japanese sensibilities, so I’m pretty resistant to casually touching unfamiliar members of the opposite sex!”
“But it’s okay if it’s someone you know?”
“Even then, I think it depends on the time, the situation, and above all, how close you are!”
While Yui spoke earnestly, Mitsuki remained unhurried.
“Well, I’m not an unfamiliar member of the opposite sex, right? You seem pretty close with Tomoka”
“So what!?”
“I’m her twin sister. Identical twins. Essentially the same person as her.”
“You’re from a world with jujutsu magic!?”
Amidst this baffling exchange, Mitsuki slowly inched closer, hands spread out in front of her. Yui stepped back the same distance. It was a masterful battle of distance.
“…Aren’t you gonna hug me?”
“No way!”
Yui kept his distance, wondering what the hell this was… but then.
“…I’m just as cute as her, you know?”
──
Seeing those words—and the emotion reflected in Mitsuki’s pale violet eyes as she said them—
Yui somehow grasped the general gist of things.
So he voiced it.
“…Um, listen.”
“Hm?”
“Could it be… you’re trying something?”
Mitsuki’s eyes widened. She seemed to have been caught red-handed.
Her gaze wandered for a moment… then she slumped her shoulders as if resigned.
“You caught me… I didn’t see you coming, Mr. Detective.”
“I’m just a regular high schooler.”
“So you’re some kind of high school detective…”
“Kozora Yui. Nothing matches except the initial of my last name.”
Surprisingly, Mitsuki seemed to enjoy playing dumb.
Using the pick-up skills honed through streaming, he went along with the story.
“Anyway, can I sit down over there and hear the details?”
“Got it, Detective-san.”
“I said I’m just a regular high schooler.”
For now, they sat side by side on the steps of a nearby staircase.
“…I wanted to make sure the person she suddenly became friends with wasn’t weird.”
Mitsuki confessed right away.
“I see…?”
“Of course, I trust her judgment, okay? But… well, you know, Tomoka is the cutest girl in the entire Three Thousand Worlds.”
“Isn’t that a bit too grand a scale to just act like you already know?”
And considering what she just said, wasn’t that actually a bit of bragging?
…But no. That alone wasn’t enough to fully convince me.
“So… why did wanting to check if I was weird lead to your actions just now?”
“Well… I thought if you were after her body, maybe you’d fall for my seduction. Or rather…”
After stuttering a little, Mitsuki answered.
“…Actually, I had someone like that in middle school.”
“Huh?”
“The person who confessed to Tomoka came to me on the same day. They confessed to me too, saying ‘because Tomoka rejected me.’ I thought, if he was that kind of person, I’d hate it.”
“That’s way too extreme an outlier, let’s forget it right now! …Anyway, more importantly—”
I understood she tried to gauge me because she was so worried about her sister. But…
“I get your motive, and caring about your sister is really admirable… but wasn’t your method way too dangerous? Doing something like that in such a deserted place—what if I really was dangerous and bad? What were you going to do then?”
“W-well… that… was a little scary, but…”
In response to his question, Mitsuki looked down… and answered like this.
“…But. This is… about all I can do to be with her.”
Mitsuki’s expression was somber as she spoke.
…Probably, she has her own worries. Something that surely involves Tomoka too.
Understanding the full picture was difficult for Yui, who had only just met Mitsuki.
But even so. Yui voiced what she thought.
“…I don’t think that’s true.”
Mitsuki lifts her face.
“…Huh?”
“Ah, no! Of course I’m not saying I understand Tomoka-san better than you do! But…”
Emphasizing that point to her, Yui chose her words carefully.
“The Tomoka I know from class… she knew Minasumi-san… no, Tomoka-san is Minasumi-san too, but um…”
“It’s fine to call me Mitsuki. I forgive you.”
“Thanks! She trusted Mitsuki-san a lot. Mitsuki-san is really worried about Tomoka-san too, right?”
“Yeah. I’m the second most worried person in the world after my big sister.”
An unhesitating affirmation. Thinking how truly sisterly she was, Yui continued.
“Then… even if it’s not something this dangerous, I think there are plenty of other things you could do for Tomoka-san…”
“…Like what?”
“Like—first, simply tell Tomoka-san that you’re worried about her? Then ask if there’s anything you can do. Even if you can’t do anything right now, tell her you’d want her to let you know anytime if there is something.”
“!”
“Just knowing someone would say that to her would be a support, I think. At least, the Tomoka I know is the kind of person who would appreciate that thoughtfulness…”
Yui asked, sounding a little unsure, wondering if he’d been too presumptuous.
Mitsuki’s eyes widened… her voice filled with surprise.
“…………I never thought of that.”
“Didn’t you? If possible, it should be the very first thing.”
He almost went limp.
…I see. Before coming here, Tomoka had described Mitsuki’s traits.
Tomoka had used just one phrase: ‘a unique girl’. Now, Yui understood what she meant.
“Then, maybe we should start by talking to Tomoka about that. …Oh, sorry. I shouldn’t have just started consulting you like this without being asked.”
“No, it was really helpful.”
In response to Yui’s apology, Mitsuki shook her head vigorously.
“And so. I’ve come to a conclusion myself.”
Turning back to face Yui, she declared.
“Kozora-kun. You’re a really great person! Thanks for becoming friends with me too!”
…Apparently, she’d accepted him.
Relieved, Yui nodded.
“…Yeah, thanks.”
“Mm. So—finally, I can say it too.”
But it didn’t end there.
In front of a bewildered Yui, Mitsuki took out her smartphone… and for some reason, opened a familiar channel.
Smiling, she declared.
“──‘Hiyui san’. You’re my favorite! I absolutely love the songs you make.”
“…………Huh?”
Frozen by the unexpected words, Mitsuki looked at Yui with delight.
“Your song, you know, it’s a bit like mine but different… It’s refreshing yet somehow calming, like the image of a crystal-clear night. Listening to it settles my heart, clears my mind, and sparks ideas… I love it so much I listen to it a lot while working.”
She kept praising Yui’s song… Around that point, Yui recovered from his stiffness. …At the same time.
That… Minasumi Mitsuki.
The new star singer-songwriter who’d become the talk of the entire school despite just enrolling. The one who’d joined the light music club as a casual helper and utterly dominated the scene—possessing extraordinary skill and talent beyond measure. That very person was praising Yui’s song… Yui recognized that fact.
“And then, and then…”
“No, wait…!”
He cut her off abruptly.
Mitsuki tilted her head in surprise, and Yui continued.
“Could you please stop praising me all of a sudden!”
“Huh!? Why!?”
“Why, you ask…”
Mitsuki lifted her face to look at Yui.
Hiding her mouth with his arm… but probably unable to hide everything, Yui said.
“…I just… don’t know what kind of face to make anymore…”
That was all he said.
Probably just those words alone conveyed how incredibly embarrassed he was, and a whole lot more.
You might think he was overreacting…
But here, let me mention a common trait shared by probably over ninety percent of creators.
People who make things—praise for their creations is their weakest point.
With that in mind.
Mitsuki, who had been watching Yui’s words, expression, and gestures for a moment… blushed slightly and murmured.
“…Cute.”
She murmured it in a voice barely audible to Yui, then looked at him again.
“Hmm, got it. I’ll stop praising you suddenly. I’ll get permission later and praise you all I want.”
“That… well, I’m happy about that!”
“So, instead, I have one favor to ask.”
She cut herself off there.
…For some reason, she reached out both hands toward Yui once more.
Exuding an even more tempting aura than before… she declared this.
“──Can I hug you after all?”
“Why!?”
◆
A minute or two later.
(Dammit, I lost Mitsuki…! But thankfully, there were eyewitness accounts from nearby students. Mitsuki is probably ahead!)
Himekami Ryota, who had secretly followed Mitsuki after leaving the classroom.
Though he lost sight of her once, through persistent questioning he pinpointed her location and was now about to step into that very spot.
(Behind the school building? That’s the most deserted spot imaginable. Way too suspicious! She must be doing something bad…)
His reasoning led him to another realization.
(──! Don’t tell me some weirdo is confessing to her or something! If that’s the case, I won’t stand for it! As her childhood friend, I have to help Mitsuki !)
He declared that deduction a fact, his righteous indignation burning.
(Mitsuki ‘s quiet and doesn’t overthink things. She could easily be fooled by some weirdo! I know Mitsuki and Tomoka better than anyone. So──!)
Driven by that momentum, he lunged forward, ready to charge toward the spot behind the school building where she was…
“………………….Huh?”
──I saw it.
Mitsuki embracing a boy from her grade.
From Ryota’s angle, he could only see his back, so he couldn’t make out the boy’s face.
But it didn’t matter who it was. What mattered was… the situation itself: Mitsuki embracing a boy other than him.
(What the hell?)
And then, for a split second, he caught a glimpse.
Mitsuki’s face as she clung to the mysterious guy… It looked utterly genuine, not like she was being deceived at all, but genuinely happy.
“!!”
The moment he saw that, a violent, dark emotion surged within Ryota.
Why. Why is this happening?
Why—why is there another man there?
He wanted to burst out right now. But doing so would surely shatter something.
Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate that enough reason remained for him to make that judgment was unclear.
He couldn’t tell now.
He could only stand there, stunned, before a sight he absolutely could not accept.
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