Chapter 7

A few minutes later, Yuki hurried home before the rain started again.

Yuki's house is a two-story corner apartment in a five-story building, located off the road between the school and the station, in a row of residential buildings.

He passed through the entrance hall and, without waiting for the ascending elevator, quickly climbed the stairs to the second floor.

The room is a 3LDK with a balcony. Currently, it is a three-person household consisting of his father and his younger sister.

His father, who goes to work in the city early in the morning, usually returns home late at night.

Furthermore, he is currently on a long-term business trip and is staying in a monthly apartment in Kansai. He comes back once a week to check on things, or sometimes doesn't come back at all.

Therefore, Yuki or his younger sister, Mizuho, who is three years younger, are the ones who open and close the house.

（Is Mizuho just hanging around somewhere?）

The door was locked.

However, as soon as he opened the door and entered the living room, a loud cracker sound echoed.

The room, which he thought was empty, suddenly lit up, and his sister, Mizuho, burst out energetically.

Wearing a T-shirt and shorts, Mizuho pointed to the table with a chair and said,

“Ta-da! Look! Mizuho made a birthday cake for Yuki! Surprise! Surprised?”

“Yeah, I was surprised.”

“Yay, I surprised Yuki! I did it!”

Mizuho jumped up and down, then forcibly took Yuki's arm and led him to the table.

Yuki was made to sit in a chair and face the so-called birthday cake.

In front of him, on a plate, stood a cake that looked like it would cause indigestion: a plain roll cake covered in whipped cream with canned fruits stuck on top.

If Mizuho had made a perfect whole cake by herself, it would have been surprising, but this was very creative in its own way.

“Please, have some.”

“Mizuho, it's not my birthday today.”

“I know, I know. It's a pre-birthday celebration.”

“More like a post-birthday celebration, I guess.”

“Well, you can eat a birthday cake even if it's not your birthday, right?”

“Not a bad idea.”

Today is definitely not Yuki's birthday or anything.

When he calmly countered her enthusiastic momentum, Mizuho put her hand on her chin in a thinking pose.

“If birthdays are out, hmm... How about Brother's Day? Since there's Mother's Day and Milk Day, I think there should be Brother's Day too.”

“Isn't that a different intonation from Father's Day?”

“Since I made the cake, let's make today Brother's Day! Cheers for my brother! Hooray for my brother!!”

She enthusiastically cheered three times. It seemed she was going to push through with the momentum.

But since she looked so happy, Yuki didn't bother with the details.

Besides, she's like this every day, so if he pointed out or was surprised by everything, he wouldn't last long.

Yuki's tendency to react mildly has been cultivated by Mizuho, to say the least.

“But I feel bad eating it all by myself.”

“Don't worry, Yuki. Mizuho has already eaten her share.”

“So it's too late for me. Don't say 'already eaten.' In situations like this, say 'Itadakimasu.'”

“Itadakimasu!”

She saluted sharply.

Mizuho's tone can be polite or rude, depending on the context, as she is still in the process of correcting it.

Even without that, her word choice and use of language are unique and a bit off. One could say she misuses words a lot.

By the way, Yuki's name is actually "Yuki," but Mizuho's pronunciation is a bit slurred, and the intonation is at the beginning, so it sounds like "Yuki-kun."

“By the way, Mizuho, you're full, so you don't need dinner, right?”

“You ate a big one all by yourself.”

Whistling silently, Mizuho sat down on the chair opposite with an innocent face.

She probably concluded that since she would be scolded for making and eating the cake on her own, it would be better to make it a birthday celebration.

Probably.

“How is it? Is it delicious?”

Right next to where Yuki was about to stab the cake with a fork, Mizuho leaned on the table with both elbows and stared at his face.

Her large, round eyes and still somewhat childish mouth made her look very young. She has a very small face and a petite build, and her skin is unusually pale.

Recently, Mizuho has been tying her black hair, which reaches her shoulders, into twin tails above her ears, apparently imitating an anime character.

“It's delicious. A bit sweet, though.”

“Yay, hehe. Hey, can I have a bite?”

“Didn't you already eat a lot, Mizuho?”

“Aaaan.”

She opened her mouth wide and waited, so Yuki scooped up some cake with the fork and threw it in. Mizuho's mouth relaxed into a smile.

From Yuki's perspective, Mizuho's appearance is quite cute, with no particular complaints. Of course, this is just about looks.

Even girls who are considered attractive pale in comparison to Mizuho, so Yuki's standards for beauty are quite high.

While Yuki resembles his father, Mizuho looks like her late mother. When he looks at photos of his mother from when she was a child, she looks almost identical.

According to his father, she was an idol-like figure in her school days, unreachable like a princess.

He often boasts about how he managed to win her over, saying, "They say beauty is short-lived, but I'm great for winning her over."

Mizuho, for her part, is the kind of girl who says things like, "I have a pretty face." While she may look like a princess, her personality is far from it.

“I'll make one for you every three days.”

“No, that's okay.”

She doesn't have any malicious intent or is trying to be silly.

Well, she might be a bit silly, but she has a strong service spirit. Her underlying intention is to surprise and entertain Yuki.

While being watched by Mizuho, Yuki finished the cake, then went to the kitchen to rinse the plate and soak it in water.

Seeing another plate covered in whipped cream, he thought, "Ugh," but ignored it and returned to the living room, sitting on the sofa and turning on the TV.

Mizuho sat down next to him and, after a big yawn, started to doze off.

As he idly watched the news and other programs, it was already past six in the evening.

Mizuho, leaning against the sofa, was breathing softly in her sleep.

Since Mizuho said she didn't need dinner, Yuki decided to quickly eat something on his own.

He took a bag of instant noodles from the cupboard, put water in a pot, and added the noodles.

He threw in some eggs and bean sprouts from the fridge, let it simmer for a while, and brought the pot to the table, digging in with chopsticks.

His father disapproves of this way of eating, saying it looks poor, but Yuki didn't care.

As he slurped the noodles, Mizuho, who had somehow woken up, put her hands on the table and whispered in his ear,

“Can I have a bite?”

“Didn't you say you didn't need dinner?”

“Aaaan.”

Feeling like a reaction comedian, he handed her the chopsticks.

Unable to slurp the noodles properly, Mizuho slowly sucked them in, then, while chewing, spun around and said,

“I'm going to take a bath!”

“I haven't filled the tub yet.”

“I'll fill it!”

She rushed out of the room and came back quickly. She waited, saying, "One more bite, please."

When the bath alarm rang, she hurriedly went out again.

“I'm back from the bath!”

A few minutes later, she returned, wrapped in a towel, and stood in front of Yuki, who was playing with his phone on the sofa.

“Again, in such a state...”

“Hehehe...”

Mizuho, with a strange laugh, suddenly spread her arms wide.

Then, the towel wrapped around her body slipped off and fell to the floor.