The ‘Life-Size Body Pillow’ Is Me!

After dinner, Yuka had been sneakily trying to slip into Yui's room. Even though Kotomi was still asleep, Yuka was excited—it was Kotomi's first time staying overnight!

Just as Yuka was about to enter the room, Yui caught her in the act.

"You little rascal! So this is why you were so quiet after dinner? Sneaking upstairs like a little cat!" Yui said with a playful scolding tone. Kids being quiet either meant they were up to mischief or brewing something big!

"I'm sleepy! I want to go to bed!" Yuka boldly declared.

"If you're tired, go sleep in your own room. Why are you trying to sneak into my room?" Yui retorted as she picked Yuka up and carried her back to her own bedroom.

Yuka had originally been sleeping with their mother, but since starting kindergarten, they had decided to help her become more independent by giving her a room of her own.

Of course, while Yuka was relatively independent, there were still times when she got scared and didn't want to sleep alone.

At least twice a month, Yuka would have a nightmare and end up knocking on Yui's door in the middle of the night, asking to sleep with her.

Since Yui's room was right next to Yuka's—just separated by a wall—Yui had eventually gotten used to keeping her door open at night, just in case Yuka needed her.

"Onee-chan, you're so stingy! You get to sleep with Kotomi-nee, but I can't? I want to sleep in the same bed as her too!" Yuka pouted, her little face practically screaming, "I'm not happy!"

"W-who said I was going to sleep in the same bed as Kotomi?! I'm sleeping on the floor!" Yui replied, her voice flustered and defensive.

Hearing Yui's explanation, Yuka's innocent eyes narrowed in suspicion as she asked, "Really?"

"Of course, I'm telling the truth!" Yui blushed, shouting her response. This little one is getting too clever for her age!

Suddenly, Yui felt nostalgic for when Yuka was younger—back then, it was much easier to fool her.

Yuka's only just started kindergarten, and she's already this sharp. What's she going to be like when she gets older? Yui thought to herself, feeling both proud and worried.

"Are you really sleepy?" Yui asked.

Yuka nodded. After dinner, it was only natural for a child her age to feel tired and want to sleep.

"Alright then, I'll turn off the light. Make sure you go to sleep early, okay? And if you don't, I'll send you off to kindergarten tomorrow!" Yui teased as she tucked Yuka in.

"Tomorrow's a holiday, so there's no kindergarten!" Yuka countered, completely undeterred.

Darn it… she really can't be tricked anymore.

After making sure Yuka drank her usual bedtime glass of milk, Yui picked up the empty cup and was about to leave the room when—

"Onee-chan!" Yuka called out from behind.

"Hm? What is it?" Yui turned around, thinking Yuka might be feeling scared to sleep alone.

"I know you're really excited about sleeping with Kotomi-neechan, but make sure you get some rest too! Oh, and when's my niece going to be born?" Yuka asked innocently, her big eyes full of curiosity.

THUD!

Yui stumbled and fell flat on the floor, shocked by the seriousness of Yuka's question.

"Ouch…" Yui groaned, rubbing her sore backside as she clumsily got up. She flicked Yuka on the forehead lightly.

"You little rascal… I already explained, didn't I? Kotomi and I aren't in that kind of relationship!"

"I know that, but I'm just predicting the future! Are you going to marry Kotomi-neechan? Will she become part of our family one day?" Yuka asked, her eyes gleaming with innocent excitement.

Yui's heart started racing, and her face quickly turned bright red. "M-marry Kotomi?! What kind of prediction is that? We're just friends, not what you think we are…"

"Then…" Yuka began again, but Yui quickly cut her off.

"And no, we're not going to become what you're predicting either! Where do you get these ideas, anyway? You're not some kind of fortune teller, are you?"

Yui sighed, realizing that Yuka had likely picked up this idea from the fairy tale book on her desk.

The book Yuka had been reading was about a Ashen Witch who could predict the future, meeting different people during her travels.

So that's where she got the idea. My sister really loves becoming whatever she's currently reading about. Yui thought, smiling to herself.

When Yuka read a new story, she always imagined herself as one of the characters. Sometimes she was a dark knight, other times a beautiful grim reaper or a wandering minstrel.

Back in her own bedroom, Yui found Kotomi still fast asleep in bed. It seemed like Kotomi would be out until morning.

"Thank you, Kotomi… You've been working so hard to help me study, and now you're this tired. I really don't know how to thank you enough…" Yui whispered, sitting at the bedside, gazing at Kotomi's peaceful and beautiful sleeping face.

Without even realizing it, Yui became lost in her admiration.

When she finally snapped out of it, she found that her face was dangerously close to Kotomi's—so close that just a tiny movement forward would make their lips touch.

Yui's face flushed a deep red as she quickly pulled away, her heart racing. She glanced around the room nervously, hoping neither her mom nor Yuka had witnessed what just happened.

Luckily, no one had seen. Yui let out a sigh of relief.

"Ugh, what am I even thinking about? I really need to stop binge-reading 90 doujinshi in a row!" Yui scolded herself, lightly slapping her cheeks to regain focus. But no matter how hard she tried, images from those 90 books kept flooding her mind.

Ugh! Why can't I remember English vocabulary this well?!

In an attempt to distract herself, Yui decided—

Time to study!

"There's no way I can sleep with all these yuri manga scenes in my head… Especially not with Kotomi sleeping right next to me," Yui muttered, her face still red as she opened her workbook and began scribbling away.

…

As the morning sunlight filtered through the window, Izumi Kotomi slowly opened her sleepy eyes. The first thing she saw was—

"What the…?"

Yuka was sitting right on her face—well, to be exact, Yuka was sprawled out across her, sleeping soundly.

"The first thing I see in the morning is… a bit unusual, to say the least…"

Kotomi was about to move Yuka off her face when she realized something else—her entire body was being hugged tightly.

She turned her head to the side and saw Yui clinging to her like an octopus, a content smile on her face. Yui seemed to be enjoying her "Kotomi life-size body pillow" very much.

Kotomi spent quite some time carefully moving Yuka off her face without waking up the Yuigahama sisters. However, since Yui's bed was quite small, fitting three people was nearly impossible.

Kotomi thought about getting up and placing Yuka in her spot, but Yui was clinging to her like an octopus, making getting out of bed impossible. With no better solution, she sighed and let Yuka sleep comfortably in her arms.

In her sleep, Yuka seemed to sense the soft warmth of Kotomi's body. She let out a happy little laugh, snuggled deeper into Kotomi's embrace, and found a comfortable position to keep sleeping soundly. One couldn't help but wonder what kind of dream Yuka was having.

Kotomi could only smile wryly at the situation and resigned herself to lying in bed until Yui woke up.

That said, it was odd that she had fallen asleep so deeply last night. She had thought she could hold out at least until she got home, but instead, she passed out almost immediately after sitting down.

"Strange… I thought wearing my school uniform all night would be uncomfortable, but I feel just fine, as if I slept normally…" Kotomi muttered to herself, still half-asleep, until something clicked in her mind.

She paused and lifted the blanket slightly.

Wait… hold on a second. Does that mean I slept completely naked with Yui all night? And she was hugging me the whole time?! Kotomi's face turned red as the realization hit her.

And what about Yui…? Kotomi's imagination started wandering down a path she didn't want to go. She could almost picture it—vivid and detailed scenarios filled her mind. Quickly, she glanced discreetly at Yui under the covers, trying not to make a scene.

Fortunately, Yui was still wearing a thin nightshirt. Compared to Kotomi's complete lack of clothing, Yui had kept some modesty intact, which meant they hadn't gone straight to "total exposure" on their first night sharing a bed.

Though… Yui seemed to prefer only wearing a top to bed, leaving her bottom half with just some underclothes.

Looking at the way Yui was clinging to her…

Good thing I fell asleep early, Kotomi thought, feeling a mix of relief and maybe just a twinge of disappointment.

"Oh, right! I need to call my mom."

Kotomi rolled over to find her phone. She hadn't had a chance to tell her mom she was staying over at the Yuigahama household, having fallen asleep so quickly. She figured her family must have been worried all night—especially her parents and her sister.

Seeing her phone on the nightstand, Kotomi grabbed it, relieved to find that Yui had kindly noticed they shared the same model and had plugged it in for charging. Her phone was now fully charged.

Thank you, Yui!

As Kotomi grabbed her phone, she saw that there had been a call from her mom the previous night. Strangely, the call had connected.

Who answered it?

"Mmgh…"

At that moment, Yui, who had been sleeping soundly and clinging to Kotomi, finally stirred awake. Rubbing her eyes and still half-asleep, she mumbled, "Good morning, Kotomi…"

"Good morning. Sorry for all the trouble last night."

"No trouble at all! Mom and I were happy to have you over, and Yuka was thrilled. She kept insisting on sleeping with you, but it was too cramped, so I sent her back to her room."

"Well, it's a bit cramped now, but Yuka still managed to sneak in." Kotomi smiled and pulled back the blanket a bit, revealing Yuka snuggled up in her arms, fast asleep.

"Ah… she still snuck in? Maybe she had a nightmare and didn't want to sleep alone."

Yui was already used to finding Yuka in her bed in the mornings.

A nightmare? Judging by that smile, it doesn't look like it… Kotomi thought to herself, amused.

"Oh, by the way," Yui continued, "I was worried you'd be uncomfortable sleeping, so I helped you take off your clothes. But the last two 'clothes' you were wearing? You took those off yourself while you were asleep."

Yui quickly explained, concerned Kotomi might misunderstand the situation.

Hearing that she had undressed herself, Kotomi blushed even more. What was I doing while I was asleep?!

Her clothes, tights, and the rest of her underwear were neatly folded on the chair.

Seeing Kotomi with her phone in hand, Yui understood she was planning to call her family. "Oh, don't worry about that," Yui said. "Last night, your mom called. My mom picked up and explained everything to her, so they know you're here."

Hearing that made Kotomi let out a sigh of relief. She had mentally prepared herself for a lecture from her mom.

"Phew… glad to hear that. I thought I was in for a scolding from Mom."

Kotomi chuckled, knowing how terrifying her mom could be when angry—not because of her shouting, but the eerie calmness with which she delivered her words.

The intimidation factor? MAX!

"So Kotomi is the type to be scared of her mom, huh?" Yui teased, sounding delighted to learn more about Kotomi.

"No, no! My mom's just scary when she's mad." Kotomi clarified, shuddering a little at the thought.

Still, Kotomi decided to call her mom, just in case. As Yui quietly got up and started changing her clothes, Kotomi dialed.

The phone rang, and soon, her mother's sleepy voice answered from the other side:

"Hello, Kotomi? You finally woke up?"

Relieved that her mom didn't sound upset, Kotomi relaxed and replied, "Yeah, I just woke up. I don't think I've ever fallen asleep so early in my life."

"You sure slept well. But do you know what time it is now?" her mom yawned, sounding groggy.

"It's already 8 AM… Mom, are you still in bed?"

"Even housewives like to sleep in sometimes. Oh, by the way, I don't feel like cooking this morning or for lunch. When you come home, pick up some breakfast, okay? I'm craving pork buns."

"Sure, I can get breakfast. But I won't be home for lunch. Utaha-senpai from second year invited me out today, so I'll be with her."

The mention of Utaha's name seemed to immediately wake her mom up.

Now fully alert, her mother teased, "Wow! So right after spending the night with Yui, you're off to a sweet, romantic date with your senpai? Tsk, tsk, Kotomi, you can't be too reckless. Two-timing isn't good, you know!"

"Huh?! Mom, what are you talking about? Utaha-senpai is just a friend! We were supposed to go out tomorrow, but since her class has to come back for lessons tomorrow, we moved it to today."

"Sacrificing her only day off just to spend time with you? I smell something sweet—what do you think of her? Is she pretty? Got any pictures? Who do you like more, Kato or Utaha?" her mom pressed on, fully in teasing mode.

"Mom, why does it sound like you're misunderstanding something?"

"Oh? Am I? Or are you planning to go for both?"

"Why are you making this worse?!"

"Aww, feeling shy?"

"If you keep this up, Mom…" Kotomi paused for dramatic effect, "I'll swap your precious pork buns for walnut buns when I get breakfast."

"You wouldn't dare! Walnut buns are inedible! How could you do that to your own mother?!"

"Walnut buns are perfectly edible, and you're so picky, Mom! You're a grown woman with two daughters!"

"Walnuts aren't the issue, Kotomi. Back when I was young, your grandma made me eat walnuts every day. She said they were good for the brain, but ugh, I can't stand them anymore."

"Mom, I'm pretty sure it was because Grandpa's walnut business had a bad year, and they couldn't sell all the walnuts."

In fact, Kotomi's mother, Akina, had grown up in a walnut-farming family. One year, when the walnut harvest didn't sell well, they had tons left over, and to avoid waste, her parents gave them away to neighbors and family, keeping the rest to eat themselves.

For a while, every meal featured walnuts in some form. As someone who already disliked walnuts, Akina's childhood was filled with walnut-related misery.

"Alright, alright, I'll buy the pork buns. You don't have to worry," Kotomi reassured her mother, who had clearly been traumatized by walnut overload.

"Oh, and one more thing. When you're getting breakfast, pick up some pudding for Aimi. You know, her favorite caramel-orange flavor."

"Is Aimi in a bad mood?"

"What do you think? You didn't come home last night—of course she's upset."

Kotomi felt a sudden pang of guilt. Aimi, her sister, always got upset if she stayed out too long.

Wiping a bead of sweat from her brow, Kotomi vowed, I'll buy all the caramel-orange pudding I can find. Not just pudding—this is life-saving ammunition!