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“Your face looks pale—are you okay?”
“Ah, yeah. I’m fine, really. Just a bit tired, so I think I’ll rest in my room. You two take your time…”

Yukino staggered off toward her room, her face deathly pale. She looked more drained than I had ever seen her before, and I couldn’t help but worry.

“Yuki…”
“Hey, Ibu-chan. Who was that?”

Just as I was about to go after Yukino, Kae clung to me again, stopping me in my tracks.

“I told you before, didn’t I? That was Yukino, my childhood friend. The one I always call my bestie.”
“Ohh, that one.”
“Anyway, can you let go now?”
“Nope~”

I had no idea why Kae was even here, but I honestly didn’t have time to deal with her right now. Yukino was clearly upset, though I didn’t know why. I needed to be by her side—now.

“Let go. I need to talk to Yukino.”
“Ugh, who cares about that girl? More importantly, have you thought about it?”
“…Huh?”
“It’s been a while, but I did confess to you, remember? I’m here to hear your answer.”

She was talking right in my ear, annoyingly loud. But all it did was make me realize just how far my feelings for Kae had sunk.

Yukino, who was always cheerful, kind, and strong no matter what—had shut herself in her room, looking like she was about to collapse. And this girl just dismissed it like it was nothing. She called my precious childhood friend, the person I care about more than anyone, that girl?

“I really wanna hear your answer, Ibu-chan. Oh, and if we do start dating, you’ll have to stop living with her, okay? I mean, no way am I letting my girlfriend live with some random chick. And honestly, I always thought that whole ‘bestie’ thing was shady. She’s probably just a leech clinging to your income or whatever. Me, on the other hand—I make just as much as you do, so it wouldn’t be a burden on either of us.”

She was still clinging to me, still flapping her mouth like it meant something, but all I could feel was irritation. When Yukino whispered in my ear, my legs almost gave out. But with Kae—no, with Onda—it didn’t even register.

That’s when I realized it. Yukino was special.

“Shut up. And let go of me already.”
“Man, Ibu-chan, you’ve really got it rough, huh? Stuck with a girl like that. You’ve been dealing with her since you were kids, right? Over ten years or something? I mean, sure, childhood friends and all, but even that’s got limits. She just happened to be born in the same neighborhood and now she’s squatting in your house like she owns the place. Who does she even think she is?”

Onda kept hugging me from behind. She was taller than me and had a bigger build, so trying to physically shake her off wasn’t exactly an option. That’s why I jumped slightly on the spot and bent my knees in the air.

“I said let go!”
“Huh—?”

I’ve always been on the lighter side—Yukino keeps telling me I should eat more—but even so, dropping over 40 kilos of weight into her arms all at once was enough to throw her off. Onda lost her balance from the sudden load and couldn’t hold me anymore. She started falling forward, and as she did, I leaned forward too, as if bowing. With that extra push, she went tumbling over onto the couch.

“Me, date you? Yeah, no chance. You insulted someone I care about. I seriously can’t stand you.”
“W-What even was that?!”

Watching her flail upside down on the couch helped clear out a bit of the anger I’d been bottling up ever since she ran her mouth about Yukino.

“Doesn’t matter. Just get out. And stay away from my Yukino.”

What I just used to throw her like that was something Yukino and I learned together back in our aikido days. Since I was always the weaker one, Yukino found a dojo where the training wouldn’t be too hard on me. Even though she was super busy with student council stuff back then, she still went out of her way to take classes with me after school.

According to her, “Ibuki, you’re cute, so you need to know some self-defense! It’s not just for now—it’ll save you one day!” She even convinced my parents and kind of forced me into it. I only agreed because she said she’d do it with me… Never thought it’d actually come in handy like this.

“I-Ibu-chan… You’re joking, right?”
“I’m not dating anyone but Yukino. So get out of this house. Now.”

Onda looked at me like she was staring at something totally unreal, her eyes trembling. But I didn’t care. I just wanted her out of this house—out of our house, the one Yukino and I shared.

“N-No way…”
“What was that sound just now? It was really loud.”

Just as I was about to seriously consider dragging Onda out myself, Yukino peeked out from her room, her face half-hidden behind the door.

“It’s nothing. More importantly, she’s leaving now. Go on—don’t forget to say ‘thanks for having me.’”
“Ibu-chan… please tell me you didn’t mean that.”
“Go home already. Want me to call your manager?”
“Ugh… I’ll come back later then.”
“Don’t ever come back.”

Once I made sure Onda had finally left through the front door, I locked it and slid the chain into place.

“Wasn’t she your friend?”

Yukino’s voice came from behind me, a little uncertain. Sure, up until now, Onda had been a pretty decent colleague I got along with, but after what she said about someone so important to me, there was no way I could keep acting like nothing happened.

She’d always been overly touchy whenever we ran into each other, and I’d just given up on trying to stop her. But if I’d known she could say stuff like that about Yukino, I never would’ve even told her where I lived.

“She’s just a coworker, nothing more. Anyway, are you okay, Yukino?”

I didn’t want anything to do with Onda anymore. I’d have to talk to the agency and make sure we were never cast together again.

Right now, all that mattered was Yukino. I needed to know what had upset her—what had made her look so down. If I didn’t understand that, I wouldn’t be able to be there for her the way I wanted to.

“What do you mean, okay?”
“You just seemed really upset earlier. I thought maybe something happened.”
“Ah… that was more of a me problem, you know? Like, I was just being kind of petty.”

She gave a sheepish laugh and scratched her cheek, and the heavy cloud that had been hanging over her seemed to have cleared a little.

“There’s no way you’re petty, Yukino.”
“Oh, come on. You give me way too much credit. I’m super jealous, honestly. I get hung up on the smallest things and can’t let go. I’m not a big person at all.”
“There you go again, putting yourself down. That’s such a bad habit of yours.”
“But it’s true.”

How could someone with a heart as kind as Yukino’s ever call herself petty? She treated everyone with such warmth and fairness. If she was petty, then what did that make me? I was the one who got so jealous I almost cried just thinking about her having dinner with someone I didn’t know.

“I just… no matter the reason, if you’re ever feeling down or hurting, I want to be there for you. So don’t bottle it up, okay? Talk to me. It’s amazing that you can handle everything on your own, but at least lean on me a little, will you?”
“…Jeez, Ibuki, you’re way too cool sometimes.”
“What’s with that all of a sudden?”
“No, it’s nothing. Really, I’m fine now. I’ve totally cleared my head. Thanks, Ibuki.”

Yukino had always been the one to help me. She’d been my rock for so long. And now that I’d grown stronger compared to when we were little, I wanted to be the one supporting her, even if just a little. But in the end, I hadn’t really done anything. I couldn’t help feeling kind of useless.

“As long as you’re okay… But seriously, if there’s ever anything I can do, just say the word, alright?”
“A-anything…?”
“Yup.”

If nothing else, I at least wanted to grant her wishes, whatever they were. Not to brag, but I’m actually doing pretty well financially. I could buy her fancy brand-name stuff that was probably out of reach when she was working as an office lady.

Of course, I know money could never truly repay all the love and kindness she’s given me. But I still wanted to do something—anything—for her. So when I told her I’d do anything, she turned red and started breathing kinda hard.

“Anything… anything, huh…?”

I could even hear her gulp from where I was standing.

…What on earth is she planning to ask for?

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