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“Yukinoo, dry my hair for me!”

Fresh out of the bath, Ibuki’s flushed face and damp hair gave her an innocent charm, but the slight hint of sensuality from her rosy cheeks made my head spin a little. She plopped down near my knees, as carefree as ever.

“Alright, alright. Sit down, and I’ll—”

I started the usual routine to dry her hair, but suddenly stopped myself. Didn’t I just decide to encourage Ibuki to be more independent?

“Yukino?”
“Nope. You’re doing it yourself.”
“…Huh?”

She clearly didn’t expect me to refuse. When I shook my head, her perfectly symmetrical face shifted to an expression of confusion and surprise.

“Why not?”
“Ibuki, you’re 24 this year, right? It’s kind of weird to have your childhood friend drying your hair at this age. You can handle it yourself now.”

I steeled myself and pushed her away, figuratively speaking. Honestly, on the days I wasn’t here, she managed just fine on her own. So even if I pulled back suddenly, she should be able to handle this.

“Mgggh…”
“…Pouting won’t help. Go dry your hair already.”

Ibuki’s sulky little pout was so cute that I almost caved and took back what I’d just said. Years of habit made it hard not to give in and take care of her without thinking.

“…Fine. I’ll do it myself today.”
“Not just today—this is how it’s going to be from now on. I’ve decided you need to learn to be independent.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Ibuki stood up to plug in the hairdryer, tilting her head in confusion, like a little question mark had popped up over her head.

“You’re an adult now, so you’re going to learn how to handle all the household stuff. Cleaning, laundry, cooking—the whole package. And you’re going to do it every day from now on.”
“No waaay…”

I explained everything I’d been thinking about to Ibuki. It was important to put into words all the things I’d been letting slide. This way, she’d understand my resolve. Feeling both a sense of accomplishment and a pang of guilt, I sneaked a glance at her face to gauge her reaction.

What I saw was heartbreaking. Tears were streaming down her face as she stared at me with an utterly devastated expression.

“What? No way! You hate housework so much it’s making you cry?!”

I never imagined that telling Ibuki to handle her own chores would lead to her breaking down in tears. She barely ever cried. In fact, the last time I’d seen her bawling like this was when we were kids—she thought I was going to die because I had a bad cold.

So, seeing Ibuki suddenly burst into tears now, I panicked. Still holding the hairdryer, I rushed to her side as she sobbed uncontrollably.

“Don’t cry… Come on, how would I know you’d hate doing chores to the point you’d cry?”
“…That’s not it.”
“Huh?”
“Why are you saying this all of a sudden? Are you sick of me? Do you not want to be with me anymore? Are you getting married or something? Am I just in the way? Is that why you’re trying to leave me?”

Her words hit me like a thunderbolt. I didn’t even notice the hairdryer slipping out of her hand. Ibuki was crying because she was scared of losing me. She thought I didn’t like her anymore, that I wanted to leave her behind—and that misunderstanding was hurting her deeply.

“No, no! That’s not it at all! How could I ever think of you as a bother? I just… I just thought it’d be good for you to be able to do these things on your own. You’re not a kid anymore, and someday… someday you’ll need to be independent. Besides, it’s kind of weird for me to keep taking care of everything for you forever…”
“Why is it weird? Because we’re just childhood friends? Just regular friends?”

Ibuki was still crying as I gently wrapped my arms around her. I scrambled to come up with a better explanation. If I’d known she’d react like this, I would’ve approached it differently, eased her into the idea. It was no wonder she felt unsettled; I’d dropped this on her out of nowhere after over ten years of routine.

“Yeah. It’s not normal to keep leaning on a friend like this forever. It’s not good for you either.”
“Then I don’t have to be your friend anymore. I’ll stop being your childhood friend, too.”
“…What?”

Her words stopped me in my tracks this time. If we weren’t friends anymore, if she stopped seeing me as her childhood friend… That bond we’d shared all these years—was I about to break it with a careless decision?

I’d thought I was pushing her away for her own good, but the idea that our connection could end so easily made my chest tighten, and I felt tears welling up in my own eyes.

“W-Why…?”

Why would she say something like that? Even if Ibuki started doing housework, I thought we’d still be friends. Being childhood friends wouldn’t change, and even if we couldn’t be lovers, I believed we’d always remain close, like best friends.

“Why…!”
“We won’t be childhood friends anymore—we’ll be married! Yukino, let’s get married! If we’re a married couple, it wouldn’t be weird for me to eat your cooking every day, right? It wouldn’t be strange for us to live together, right?”

I stood there stunned, my mind blank, as if the world had gone dark—until her words lit everything up like the sun breaking through the clouds.

Ibuki, who had been crying just moments ago, wiped the tears from my cheeks with her hands. She looked straight at me, her expression full of determination.

“B-But we’re both girls…”
“So what? That doesn’t matter! Same-sex marriage not being allowed is ancient history. I’ve decided! I’ll make you want to marry me instead—no, I’ll make you fall so hard for me that you’ll be the one asking me to marry you! That way, I can always stay with you, and I won’t have to worry about someone else taking you away.”

As she said this, she flashed me a dazzling smile—a rare, radiant grin that revealed her pearly white teeth. It was breathtaking. Like a rainbow appearing after a storm, her tear-streaked eyes still held a faint trace of rain but sparkled with a brilliance so captivating that I felt like I might be pulled in.

“Yukino, you’d better be ready. I’m absolutely going to make you fall for me.”
“U-Understood…”

I reflexively replied in formal language. How could I not, when her words were so completely off the mark? After all, I had already long fallen—completely and utterly—for Yamagami Ibuki.

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