Chapter 83

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**A New Everyday**

A few weeks after returning to streaming.

I’d been visiting her in the hospital regularly, but I never imagined Koyuki would end up coming to our house.

No, not just visiting—she literally moved into the apartment next door.

…She said it was because she wanted to live closer to me, but seriously, wasn’t that a little _too_ efficient? Honestly.

“Hi, Natsu.”

“Hi, Koyuki.”

Still, putting that aside, seeing Koyuki’s face made me really happy.

Her complexion was so much better than before the surgery, and her voice was full of life.

She might even be healthier than I am now…!

If it were the old me, I wouldn’t have thought being in similar condition as me was a good thing, but now I was in pretty good shape too.

The doctor said it was an increase in immunity due to emotional stability from the twins interacting with each other or something—but to be honest, I didn’t understand half of what that meant.

“Here. Wanna touch me?”

“…Why all of a sudden?”

“You were thinking, ‘This can’t be real, right—maybe I’m imagining it,’ weren’t you?”

“…”

That’s terrifying, hey.

We weren’t exactly at the level of reading each other’s minds, but by watching each other’s expressions carefully, we could get a decent idea of what the other was thinking.

This time, it was Koyuki’s turn. Figuring it was mine next, I stared at her—only for her to cheekily hide her face behind her hand.

That’s so unfair.

But you know, Koyuki—just because I can’t see your face doesn’t mean I can’t tell what’s going on, okay?

“You just want to be petted, don’t you? And you’re only hiding your face ‘cause you’re embarrassed, right?”

“I-I want to be petted?! Isn’t that a weird way to put it?”

“Okay, okay, I’ll give you lots of pats~ Koyuki-chan~”

“Ugh…”

As I ruffled her hair, Koyuki’s cheeks turned bright red.

And then there were Toya and Ragu-sensei, watching us with warm smiles.

…Ah. Right. We’re not alone here.

The moment I realized that, everything I’d just done flashed before my eyes like a film reel.

Yeah, maybe I should stop now.

I lowered my hand, which had been stroking her soft head, and hid it behind my back. Koyuki blinked wordlessly.

She seemed to be asking why I stopped, and I couldn’t help but sigh.

“Most people would call this kind of thing embarrassing, you know.”

“No way! It’s just cute! I’d love for you to keep going!”

“Toya, quiet. Can’t you see I’m trying to educate a kid here?”

“…You know we’re twins, right?”

Koyuki muttered something, but what I needed right now wasn’t that—it was proper education.

We already looked really young, and if we started acting like little kids too? That’s basically telling the world, “It’s okay to treat us like children!”

Adults should act like adults! That’s rule number one!

I raised my index finger and gave a very mature lecture. Koyuki clapped.

And not just Koyuki—Toya and Ragu-sensei clapped too.

“Yoruma, just now you really sounded like a grown-up. Like a big sister lecturing her younger sibling~”

“Hey, you _do_ remember we’re the same age, right? Right?”

Of course she remembers. I say this like every other day!

Toya just enjoys watching my reactions—she’s such a dork.

And yeah, maybe I’m a dork too for reacting the same way every time!

Anyway, just for today, don’t treat me like a kid, okay? Especially with Koyuki right here. And stop laughing already!

“You two really get along.”

“Right? Hehe~ we’re basically family at this point!”

“Ugh…”

As Koyuki mumbled to herself, Toya picked me up.

I didn’t mind the feeling of being lifted, but the tight hug? Yeah, I couldn’t take the pressure.

I let out a deflating noise and grimaced, and Koyuki giggled into her hand.

…So Koyuki’s also the kind of person who enjoys watching others suffer, huh.

I trusted her because we’re twins, but I guess I’ve been betrayed.

“Anyway, we came to have dinner together.”

“Oh, then is it soba for dinner?”

“Yep. Since we just moved in and all.”

“…Soba?”

I tilted my head at the mention of soba out of nowhere.

I didn’t really dislike any type of noodles, but since I started living with Toya, we’d been eating more rice, so it caught me off guard.

Toya was a rice-over-noodles kind of person, right?

Though honestly, as long as it’s tasty, I don’t mind either way!

“Natsu, in Japan, when someone moves in, they give soba to the neighbors.”

“Like, moving-in soba or something?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Oh, by the way—do you have anything like that in Korea?”

“In Korea? Hmm… We usually give rice cakes. There’s one called _sirutteok_—it’s flat and filled with red beans.”

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d handed one out…

When I started living with Toya, it wasn’t quite a move-in situation, but I remembered we shared some white rice cakes to celebrate living together.

They were really good. The filling wasn’t too sweet, more mild and clean-tasting. I loved them.

Remembering that flavor made me smack my lips, and Ragu-sensei gently nudged me and Koyuki toward the kitchen.

“Oh, sorry!”

“No need to apologize. I just thought you looked really hungry, Ichinose-san, and wanted to start cooking right away.”

“Uhm… thank you.”

I wasn’t licking my lips because I was hungry, but…

Anyway, Ragu-sensei followed Toya into the kitchen, and Koyuki came with me into my room.

I wanted to help with dinner, but with this tiny body, I’d only be in the way.

So maybe staying quietly in my room was actually the most helpful thing I could do.

“This is your room?”

“Hmm… technically, it’s Toya’s room?”

“Then where’s your room? I want to see where you stay.”

“Uuuhhh…”

Koyuki asked with such an innocent look that I instinctively looked away.

Technically, it _was_ my room too, but…

I didn’t really want to say it. But I couldn’t come up with a good excuse either, so I just confessed.

That I was staying in Toya’s room too.

“Oh, I live with Minori too. I’m pretty weak and get sick often, so she said she didn’t want to leave me alone.”

“…Makes sense.”

“But I’m going to get better now, right? Right, Natsu?”

“Of course.”

Now that Koyuki’s surgery had gone well, my health had started to improve too.

According to the doctor, my condition should keep getting better over time.

I wasn’t hoping to become as healthy as a normal person or anything. Honestly, I’d be happy just getting to a point where Toya wouldn’t worry so much.

I wasn’t even thinking about growing taller anymore. I just wanted to be healthy.

“Ahh, I really want to play a game again.”

“Then let’s play. Come on.”

She probably hadn’t been able to play much since she got discharged.

That’s okay. This is when a twin steps in to help.

I gently grabbed her fidgeting hand and pulled her along.

My body was still weak, but Koyuki’s was even weaker, so I had to be careful how much force I used.

Thankfully, she didn’t seem to be in pain, so I was relieved.

“Is it really okay for me to go in here?”

“? Of course.”

“But isn’t this your streaming space?”

“It is—but wait, how do you know I stream?!”

“Well, um…”

Honestly, it would be weirder if she didn’t know.

She lived with Ragu-sensei, after all, so she must’ve heard something, right?

Koyuki scratched her cheek, and I took a breath and nodded, saying it made sense.

It wasn’t like it was a big deal if Koyuki found out, anyway.

“I’m a Totomo. I even sent a donation once, you know? From the hospital. You replied so kindly—it made me really happy~”

“…Totomo?”

Totomo meant Toya’s fan.

Which meant she’d watched Toya’s streams a lot. Which also meant she must’ve seen me pop in now and then.

And since our voices were nearly identical…

…Wait, does that mean she knew for a while now?

“Well, back then, I just thought, ‘Whoa, there’s someone with the exact same voice as me!’ I didn’t start suspecting you were my twin until Minori showed me a photo.”

“A photo?”

“Yeah, one where you had your hair tied up like this. In twin tails.”

“She showed you _that_ photo?!”

T-that was a black mark on my record! I only agreed because Toya said she was sending it to Ragu-sensei!

No, wait. Technically, Ichinose Natsu’s design was based on Koyuki, so me mimicking that look was kind of like… mimicking her?

So in the end, Koyuki was just looking at her own reflection, right? Right!

“Anyway, since we’re twins, my face is your face and your face is my face.”

“Ugh… I don’t think I’m _quite_ used to that idea yet…”

I heard that in Japan, twins are often treated as the same person—but that idea didn’t really sit right with me.

Even if we looked and sounded the same, Koyuki and I were still different people!