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''Kokomi! Breakfast is ready!''
Teruhashi Kokomi, by many believed to be an angel who's stepped down from heaven… looked like a total disaster. A male voice was calling for her from the kitchen downstairs while she was still brushing her teeth. Half-asleep girl's strands of blue, long hair were all over her face. Who would suspect Kokomi, out of all people, to wake up with such a bedhead? But it was no challenge for her, she was The Perfect Girl, right? She could spend hours in front of the bathroom mirror, paying attention to every detail of her looks. The hair, the almost non-existent use of make-up, and her adorable school uniform - all of it had to meet her incredibly high expectations. Kokomi would never walk out of her house without feeling confident of her image.
The girl, who during the day had hundreds of people admire her daily, now looked like roadkill. Nobody could ever see her like this. She had a reputation to keep and hundreds of ''offu'' to hear.
''Coming! Give me a moment!'' Kokomi's daily struggles of getting ready to school from looking like a garbage can into a walking goddess were paying off. Although she found it very time-consuming, it was worth it in the end.
After a few minutes of desperate hair styling and getting into her school clothes in a rush, she finally ran out of the bathroom and went downstairs.
''There you are, the toasts are almost cold.'' Kokomi was greeted with the sight she has been welcomed to almost every morning. It was the person she never had to pretend around. He was the only one who knew her real side - Makoto, her older brother. Makoto gave her a light-hearted annoyed look, standing in the middle of the kitchen with an apron tied around his waist.
''Why didn't you wake me up earlier?'' Kokomi sat at the table in front of her plate of food prepared by the other sibling.
''I tried, but you threw a pillow at me.'' Makoto smiled. ''I didn't want to disturb your sleep, sis.''
''You know how long it takes for me to get ready for school.'' The girl pouted, looking away from him as she suddenly heard her brother's chuckle.
''I know, you tell me the same thing every day. Do you know how much time I spend perfecting my look before an interview? You're lucky, Kokomi.''
Neither of the Teruhashi siblings could be considered ordinary. Since they were born, both of them were considered to be the living, walking definition of perfection. It wasn't a surprise to anyone who knew their family personally when the older sibling became a national sensation as soon as he was discovered by the media.
Teruhashi Makoto, known to the public as Mugami Tooru, was one of the most popular celebrities in the country, rapidly surpassing in popularity even the most well-known idol groups like SPLEEN and Suppleen. Since his debut, Makoto has gathered a quite large fan base consisting of mainly teenage girls. On top of that, he was still only seventeen, soon turning eighteen in a few months.
What were his sister's thoughts about her brother's sudden success? Makoto's fame has brought so much unnecessary attention to both of them every time they went for a walk, or grocery shopping in the town. After those incidents, Makoto began wearing a disguise, which to Kokomi's surprise, worked well most of the time. Although he looked hilarious wearing a beanie, sunglasses, and a facemask outside all at once, his fans recognized him much less. Makoto made sure Kokomi could get through her life without the fuss he had to go through as a celebrity, even if the difference between their daily life experiences wasn't big.
Kokomi took a bite of the toast which had already lost all of its warmth. Makoto wasn't the best cook, but he's improved since the last time when he almost burned the entire kitchen down. Even if it's just toast he's made this time, he was capable of ruining even the simplest recipes before. The number of victims: zero, as it should be.
Makoto took off the green apron, which complemented his sky blue shirt he often wore in the house, and hid it in a drawer. ''How do you like them? I was scared I was about to burn them.''
Kokomi's cheeks blushed before nodding. ''They're good, don't worry.''
The boy sighed with relief and walked up to her. He stood behind her and placed his hands on his little sister's shoulders. She looked behind, surprised by Makoto's sudden appearance.
''Hey, Kokomi. Can I do your hair today?'' Makoto suggested and gave his sister a gentle rub on the head. ''You're going to school in the same hair every day. How about you let me be your stylist for today, hm?''
''Makoto, don't touch…!'' She grabbed his hand and slowly moved it away from her hair, making sure he didn't ruin her look. ''I styled it already and I don't think I have time for-''
''You do, sis. There's plenty of time, please~,'' Makoto insisted.
Kokomi wasn't sure if letting her brother have control over what hairstyle she'd be wearing to school that day was the best idea. She rolled her eyes before a quiet ''fine'' left her mouth.
Makoto's eyes shined in excitement.
''Leave it to me!'' He stepped away from her and ran upstairs to get the things he needed: a mirror, a hairbrush or two, and a tiny box. Kokomi got up from her seat and put away her empty plate in the sink and not even a moment later, Makoto was back, fully equipped and ready to start. He dropped everything on the table and placed the small mirror at Kokomi's seat. She smiled, seeing how happy Makoto was, even if she found him annoying and hard to handle.
Kokomi returned to her seat and dragged her chair to move it closer to the table. While adjusting the mirror to the desired angle, she looked at Makoto, who was observing her from a small distance.
''So, what are you planning to do to me now?'' Kokomi chuckled and took a peek at the things her brother stole from her bathroom.
Makoto stared at her in silence, imagining a variety of possible hairstyles Kokomi could choose from. It took him a moment before he closed his eyes and lightly nodded. That was it, he found an ideal one for her.
Kokomi felt his hands on her shoulders once again and looked at Makoto in the mirror, watching the reflection of the young man standing behind her.
''I've got an idea. I think you would look adorable in a braid hanging on the side. What do you think?'' Makoto leaned in with a wide smile.
''Hmm, I don't know. What if people don't like the change?''
''Who cares what they think. It's just for a day. Besides, you'd look stunning in everything. My adorable little sister can make anything look nice on her anyway.'' Makoto squished her soft cheeks with his hands, gently holding her head in place.
''Stop it, it's embarrassing...!'' Kokomi was used to hearing hundreds of compliments daily, but the only ones that were able to truly embarrass her were the ones her brother gave her. His mind was unaffected by her charm, so no one else's compliments felt more genuine than his. ''Okay, but only this time,'' Kokomi replied after a quick pause.
Makoto was ready to work. He let go of her and took a step back and grabbed the brush. He started to carefully brush through Kokomi's soft, blue hair. The sweet, fruity smell of her shampoo and perfume went in pairs with her charm. Her beauty wouldn't have worked the way it did nor be fully complete without the amazing scent surrounding her. Makoto remembered when he gave the perfume to her, his awkward struggles to find the best ones for her made him cringe. He knew how bad his taste in buying presents was and he tried his best not to screw that up. Luckily, despite all of the embarrassing internal panic the idol had to go through on that day, he miraculously managed to pick the right ones. With some assistance, of course.
Kokomi closed her eyes and smiled, leaning back her head a little. After carefully brushing her head, Makoto put the hairbrush back on the table and began to braid her hair. They used to do this often when they were younger, back when Kokomi didn't know how to do this on her own. Makoto had to learn a lot to help his little sister since their parents weren't around when they were growing up. He used to help her with her hair whenever she asked him to. Ponytails, braids, even some of the harder styles to pull off, he could do it all. This time was no different. Makoto quickly, but gently, turned his sister's hair into an adorable braid, occassionally adding small colorful beads in between. He tied the braid up with a little rubber and let it rest down Kokomi's shoulder.
''It's done, what do you think?'' Makoto tickled her chin, catching her attention immediately. She took a look into the mirror and laughed quietly.
''It's cute, but were the beads necessary?'' Kokomi touched the braid gently with her hand, switching her attention to her brother's head peeking out behind her left shoulder. Makoto cleared his throat and put his hand against his chest.
''Perhaps they're the planets and the stars, scattered across the sky?''
Kokomi smiled at her brother's performance.
''Pfft…~ What cheap TV drama did you steal this quote from?''
''Hmph, I thought you like my acting…'' The actor rolled his eyes and laughed. ''I'm gonna be starring in a new romantic drama, so I need to practice lines like that.''
''Another one?''
''Yeah, my fans love seeing me in those dramas, that's why producers won't let me star in anything else.'' Makoto scratched his head, stretching his arms out with a tired grunt. ''They're gonna drive me crazy one day!''
His little sister got up from her chair and grabbed his cheek, pinching it gently.
''If I catch you staying up to practice in the middle of the night again, I'm going to force them to give you some days off and burn the scripts in front of you.'' Kokomi's innocent smile and blush contrasted with her merciless and brutal pulling of the idol's face to the side.
''Noo..! Not my precious face…! I promise I won't do that, please spare me and I'll do anything you want!''
The siblings burst out laughing at the fake dramatic tone of the actor's begging, only for Kokomi to let go of his now slightly red cheek. The clock hanging on the wall was about to show the time Kokomi usually leaves the house in the morning.
''Hey, Kokomi, you should probably go now if you don't want to be late.''
The girl looked at the clock and instantly returned to her senses after forgetting about the most important part of her morning - school. Their house wasn't far from the PK Academy, but the girl always took a few minutes of walking to get there. Perfect girls are punctual, or at least they should be.
''Oh god, right! Thanks for the food!'' Kokomi said and grabbed her bag from the floor. As she was about to run out of the house, Makoto suddenly pulled her by the arm to stop her.
''Wait, one more thing.'' His sudden serious tone caught Kokomi off guard and Makoto's expression turned into a mix of concern and uneasiness. He slightly hung his head and sighed. ''If anyone does something to you, you'll tell me about it, right?'' He asked, looking her in the eyes.
It was the question that she's heard from her brother countless times. It has always reminded her of how hard her life could be - being the Perfect Girl was never easy. Kokomi became an easy target for stalkers and people of all sorts, she never knew what their intentions were. She's never been hurt before, nor did anyone attempt to, due to her charm that could heal even the darkest of souls. The chances of bad things happening to her were as low as they could be… but it didn't matter for Makoto.
For him, even the thought of Kokomi being in danger was the worst nightmare, he knew what people were capable of. This resulted in him becoming overprotective of her from a young age. He always wanted to be by her side to keep her away from danger as well as those who could break his sister's heart.
Makoto's wave of unpleasant thoughts was suddenly interrupted by Kokomi, playfully hitting him on the top of his cobalt blue-haired head with her hand.
''I'll be fine, Makoto.'' Her bright smile calmed down his internal panic in an instant. She wasn't going to let her brother freak out much longer. ''Don't worry about me, okay?''
After a short pause, Makoto nodded. ''Fine, I won't.'' He crossed his arms. ''But your teacher will if you don't get there before the bell.''
Makoto watched as Kokomi quickly put on her shoes and almost ran out of the front door. After waving her brother goodbye, she carefully closed the door. Before she got the chance to leave their front yard, she noticed a familiar red-haired man in a purple and green shirt with a cross necklace hanging on his neck. Kokomi recognized him from her brother's work, often seeing him during her visits on various movie shoots. Ruchi, was it?
Gentle rays of morning sunshine reflected on her soft skin as she passed him by with grace. Kokomi waved at the idol that appeared at their house when she heard him whisper ''offu'' under his breath. Feeling proud of her first "offu" for the day, Kokomi rushed to the school, clutching onto her bag hanging off of her shoulder.
'Thanks, big brother, I owe you one for that braid.' she chuckled.