After Our Exams, There's the Culture Festival

Kotomi Izumi said this for Aimi's sake. She could see that Aimi had been in a constant state of tension recently, all because of the upcoming high school entrance exams. While other kids were still making their parents worry about how to get them to buckle down and study more, things were different with Aimi.

For Aimi, it had become a situation where the family had to worry about how to get her to study less, to remind her to take breaks and not spend every waking moment focused on studying.

Honestly, Kotomi wasn't actually dumb. Sure, she could be pretty silly sometimes... but she still understood why Aimi was pushing herself so hard.

What else could it be?

Of course, it was because she wanted to get into Sobu High School—to attend the same high school as Kotomi.

Seeing her little sister thinking of her so earnestly made Kotomi feel both happy and complicated. She didn't quite know how to bring it up with Aimi. Because if she got serious about the topic, it would mean laying everything out clearly.

"Why would you say that, Onee-chan?" Aimi asked in return.

"Because you've been paying no attention to balancing work and rest lately. Studying is important, and of course I hope you'll get a great result in the entrance exams and get into your dream high school. But you don't have to push yourself this hard just to get into Sobu High School, do you? Aimi, you're a human being, not a machine. Mom and Dad have always taught us not to treat people or things mechanically."

"But..." Something flickered in Aimi's eyes. She wanted to tell Kotomi why she truly wanted to get into Sobu High School.

Because, Onee-chan, I want to go to the same high school as you. I want to spend every day, going to and from school, together with you. Every time I see you walking to school with Megumi Kato, I get so jealous I could scream! Those spots on either side of you have always belonged to me. What right does Megumi Kato have to take them?!

I'm not just going to get into Sobu High School. I'm going to take you back from Megumi Kato!

Kotomi reached out and pulled Aimi into her arms, gently stroking her hair. Because one was standing and the other sitting, Aimi's face was naturally nestled between two towering snowy peaks. All she could see—and smell—was that intoxicating, uniquely sweet scent drifting into her nose.

At that moment, Aimi finally understood what it meant for even breathing to be fragrant.

What kind of scent was this?

The pudding she had just eaten was milk-flavored.

"I don't expect you to follow every single thing I say. I make mistakes too. But no matter what, you need to learn to think for yourself."

"How should you act? How should you balance studying and rest? These are things only you can figure out. I just don't want you to put too much pressure on yourself. No matter which high school you get into, it'll be fine. No matter how far away it is..."

Kotomi took Aimi's hand and placed it on her own chest, right over her heart. "Our hearts will always be the closest in the world. Not even death can separate us."

"Mm."

Aimi nodded vigorously, her eyes filled with tears, nestled between Kotomi's chest.

"There are a lot of great high schools in Tokyo. If you're aiming for a top university, it might be better to choose a high school with a higher college acceptance rate as your first choice for the entrance exam. For example, there's that private noble girls' school—Royal Sakuraka Girls' Academy. Aimi, are you interested in that school?"

"You mean that private school full of rich noble daughters? Uhh... maybe not. Just imagining having to be classmates with all those super refined girls who greet each other with 'Good day' all the time gives me a headache! We're just a regular family—it's probably better if we don't mess with those kinds of people."

"Haha, well, you could say that kind of environment has its own perks too. But really, it depends on what you want. Whether it's Royal Sakuraka or Sobu High School, I hope you'll choose based on what's best for you—thinking carefully about which school will help you more in the long run. Not just because of one specific reason."

"Got it." Aimi nodded. When Kotomi got serious, she always listened.

Kotomi gave Aimi's head a little massage, then left her room. Just before walking out, she turned back and added, "After you finish that pudding, make sure to get some rest. You have school tomorrow."

"Okay, and you too, Onee-chan. You've got your midterm tomorrow." As she said this, Aimi shifted back into her usual teasing mode: "Just thinking about how I'm already done with exams while you're just about to start yours—it feels so good~"

"I fail to see what exactly feels good about that... Never mind. You probably don't know this yet, but after our midterms, we have both a sports festival and a culture festival coming up. Hmph hmph!"

Kotomi couldn't help but speak with a bit of pride when she brought up those events. She had attended a private middle school in Chiba City, where both the culture festival and the sports festival were rare occurrences.

In her three years of junior high, the only culture festival she ever experienced was back in first year. And even then, it was cut short after less than a day because of a storm, and they had to resume regular classes instead.

Still, even if she didn't participate in any events and just spent the day wandering around and eating snacks, Kotomi had been happy—because she didn't have to attend classes.

Aimi, on the other hand, had never experienced a culture festival at all. Her school hadn't held one during all three years of junior high. And with the entrance exams coming up soon, it was unlikely that a private school in Chiba would suddenly host a culture festival at this stage.

Now that Kotomi was in high school and Sobu High School was about to hold a culture festival, she planned to stick to her junior high policy: not sign up for any events, not perform on any stage, and if the art club planned to hold anything, she'd find an excuse to escape.

Absolutely, definitely not participating in anything!

But the moment Aimi heard the words "culture festival," her eyes lit up. She excitedly asked, "Onee-chan, I want to come see your school's culture festival too!"

"Sure, I just need to get you a ticket. Our festival happens to be on a day when your junior high has a break."

Kotomi hadn't even finished speaking when she noticed how Aimi's eyes were practically sparkling with stars. Poor kid. She'd never experienced a culture festival in her life. When the time came, Kotomi would definitely make sure Aimi got a Sobu High School culture festival ticket, so she could come and fully enjoy herself!

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