The first ray of sunlight in the early morning shone through the gap in the curtains and into Yukinoshita Shizuku's bedroom.
Thanks to her long-established biological clock, Yukinoshita Shizuku began to struggle awake without the need for an alarm. Her long, upturned brows twitched slightly, and her eyes—youthful yet already revealing a hint of charm—slowly opened.
As time had entered June, the weather was gradually becoming hotter. Shizuku had already swapped her usual autumn long-sleeved pajamas for a matching light-blue set of short sleeves and shorts, featuring a white kitten silhouette print and a doll-collar with ruffled edges.
Shizuku tilted her head to look at the window, which was still bright despite being covered by the curtains. After emptying her mind for a few seconds, she exposed her fair, slender arms from the quilt. Under the sliver of sunlight piercing through the gap, her skin glowed pink and tender like warm jade.
She grabbed a corner of the quilt and threw it aside, revealing a pair of pristine, long legs. Her thighs were plump and full, her calves curved beautifully, and her ankles looked dainty and lively. Relying on her perky, rounded buttocks and fleshy thighs, she lazily scooted to the edge of the bed.
Finally, her feet touched the ground, stepping into a pair of pink polka-dot plush slippers. She slowly stood up, rubbing her sleepy eyes while stretching comfortably like a cat.
She scratched her shoulder-length hair, which had become a messy bird's nest during the night. If it were the past, her mother certainly would not have allowed her to walk out of the bedroom like this; she would have been expected to tidy up her appearance before even coming out to wash up.
But it didn't matter anymore. Her mother, far away in Chiba, couldn't control her here. As for Kagami, he was a lazybones; he wouldn't get up unless she went to call him right before school.
And so, looking completely lazy and disheveled, Yukinoshita Shizuku walked out of the bedroom.
She planned to wash up in the bathroom first, then change her clothes, prepare breakfast and bento, and finally wake up that big lazy worm who couldn't be roused by an alarm clock and always complained about the breakfast and bento she worked so hard to make.
"Morning, Shizuku."
Walking into the living room while scratching her messy hair and reaching back to scratch an itch on her back, Yukinoshita Shizuku froze in her tracks.
She turned her head in disbelief toward the kitchen area next to the living room. There, Tsushima Kagami was wearing the beige vertical-striped apron she usually wore when cooking, and he appeared to be making breakfast.
The whirring sound of the range hood made Shizuku feel as if her eyes were hallucinating and her ears were deceiving her.
Tsushima Kagami was holding the handle of a frying pan in one hand. With the other, he skillfully cracked two eggs against the edge of the pan, creating a neat fissure. With a slight application of force from his middle finger and thumb, the shells separated into halves. The egg whites, wrapping the yolks, slid into the pan, which was coated with a layer of oil at just the right temperature.
He quickly stirred them with chopsticks, turning them into fluffy scrambled eggs in moments, the aroma filling the entire living room. Before the eggs could harden, Tsushima Kagami turned off the heat and laid the scrambled eggs from the pan over sandwiches already layered with tomato, lettuce, ham sausage, and cheese slices.
Finally, he picked up another slice of lightly toasted bread to cover it, wrapped it tightly in three layers of plastic wrap, and sliced it down the middle with a sharp knife. He did the same with the other one and placed them on a plate.
Only after finishing everything did Tsushima Kagami smile and look at Yukinoshita Shizuku, who was still standing there in a daze.
"Why haven't you gone to wash up and fix your hair so you can eat breakfast?"
With a sudden "Ah!", Yukinoshita Shizuku fled back to her bedroom in a state of discomposure Tsushima Kagami had never seen before, slamming the door shut. She sat down at her vanity, grabbed a comb, and hurriedly began to tidy herself up in front of the mirror.
*
By the time Yukinoshita Shizuku had finished washing up and returned to the living room dining table, Tsushima Kagami was still waiting for her, having not started eating yet.
Shizuku sat down directly, picked up the sandwich Tsushima Kagami had personally made today, and looked at him with a strange expression.
"Why are you up so early today?"
Tsushima Kagami also picked up a sandwich, took a bite, and said with a smile, "Have you heard of The Crane's Return of a Favor?"
Shizuku, who hadn't stood on ceremony and had already started eating, replied bafflingly, "Isn't that a household fairy tale? Why bring that up all of a sudden?"
"Eh! Well, I'm here to return a favor."
"Return what favor?" Shizuku looked unconvinced.
"The favor of you making breakfast and bento for me every day, of course."
"You make it sound like I'm one of those 'cooking drudges' in morning dramas," Shizuku didn't buy it and instead teased him.
Tsushima Kagami's eyes widened. "What's wrong with 'cooking drudges'? Do you have the culinary skills of a 'cooking drudge'? Do you have the cuteness of a 'cooking drudge'? Do you have the gentleness of a 'cooking drudge'? Apologize to those gentle and lovely 'cooking drudges' in the morning dramas!"
And you have to apologize to my Fuuka Mama too! Tsushima Kagami added silently in his heart.
"I don't understand what you're saying."
Accustomed to Tsushima Kagami sometimes saying baffling things, Yukinoshita Shizuku simply ignored him and continued eating the sandwich in her hand. Then, her eyes suddenly lit up as she looked at him.
Tsushima Kagami paused. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I apologize to the cooking drudges in the morning dramas," Shizuku said sincerely.
"And?"
"And does this mean you're going to keep returning the favor, and you'll be making breakfast and bento from now on?"
"That is indeed the case." Looking at Shizuku's sparkling, expectant eyes, Tsushima Kagami smiled and nodded.
"Ara, well, you don't have to do it all. Actually, we can just take turns, one day each." Shizuku hadn't expected him to agree so readily, so she embarrassedly took a step back.
"That sounds really nice." Tsushima Kagami continued to nod with a smile.
Shizuku also smiled slightly. "Then..."
"What a pity," Tsushima Kagami interrupted before she could finish.
"Pity what?" Shizuku tilted her head in confusion, looking at him.
"It's a pity that once the crane is discovered, it can no longer return the favor. Just now, I was discovered by you too." Tsushima Kagami shook his head with regret and sadness.
"So, very regrettably, Shizuku, I can no longer return the favor for you."
After saying that, Tsushima Kagami finished the last bite of his sandwich, picked up a tissue to wipe his hands and mouth, and stood up with a smile.
"Ah, I'll leave the cleanup and the bento for later to you. I'm going back to sleep."
In reality, the reason Tsushima Kagami was able to wake up early today was that last night, he suddenly wondered what would happen if he used the [Hypnosis APP] on himself. So, before sleeping, he hypnotized himself with the command to wake up earlier than Yukinoshita Shizuku.
He hadn't expected to actually wake up, and without that groggy feeling—though now he was starting to feel a bit sleepy again.
Just like that, Tsushima Kagami strolled leisurely back to his room and fell straight back onto the bed.
Meanwhile, in the living room, Yukinoshita Shizuku was fiercely eating the sandwich Tsushima Kagami had made, looking as if she wanted to swallow Tsushima Kagami whole.
She didn't even notice Yukino circling her, urging her to refill the cat food.
It's revenge, isn't it!
He definitely got up early on purpose just to piss me off in retaliation for me being angry at him yesterday, right?!
I shouldn't have been soft-hearted and forgave that guy so easily yesterday!
____
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