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Kotone flits around her room, grabbing every single hair tie she can scrounge up. She only has about fifteen minutes left, subtracting the hour and a half she’ll need to wrangle her hair, so every second counts.
She could skip all the hassle and just leave it as-is, Akihiko’s too much of a sweetheart to care about the way she presents herself, but it’s the principle of the thing. To Kotone, if she can stare down Death and live to tell the tale, then a few knots should be light work.
“Should” is the operative word here. Kotone’s done this more times than she can count, but today, the universe is conspiring against her. It’s the only possible explanation for why she can’t get her act together (ignore that she keeps getting giddy and kicking her feet whenever she thinks of her boyfriend.)
After a good twenty-one tries, things start to look pretty hopeless— literally, with the absolute mess that’s staring Kotone back in the mirror. This is usually the part where she bucks up and keeps going, no matter how stacked against her the odds are, but her date tonight is too important to screw up.
Time to bring in the big guns.
“Mako-chaaaaaan! I need your help!” Kotone calls. She worries for a moment he might not have heard, but on the off chance he didn’t, Koromaru’s barking must’ve done the trick. Plodding footsteps trail behind the pitter-patter of paws, and Koro leads Makoto into the room.
“Aw, thanks for getting him for me, boy!” Kotone praises, making sure to give Koromaru some pets when he runs over to greet her. She’s so glad some strings were pulled so they could take Koromaru with them to their new dorm.
“Got me for what?” Makoto questions, though his expression changes a bit when he gets closer. “...Oh.”
Kotone balks. “Whaddya mean, ‘Oh’!?” she bursts out in mock anger, wishing she had a pillow to throw at him to complete the bit. “It’s not that bad, is it?”
Koromaru whines sympathetically.
“OK, it’s pretty bad,” Kotone confesses, her tone returning to normal. A ghost of a smirk appears on her brother’s face, and she puts her hairbrush down for the express purpose of flipping him off twice. “Yeah, yeah, very funny. Now could ya get over here and help me with my hair, please?”
They send Koromaru away, not wanting to get hairspray on his fur, and Makoto starts working his magic. Magic really is the best way Kotone can describe his handiwork; even when they were little, he always had a knack for getting her hair exactly how she wanted it.
That takes her back to when they still had Mom and Dad around. “Hey, Mako-chan?”
“...Yeah?”
Not a good idea to distract Makoto while he’s doing something so technical, but he’ll manage. Probably. “Do you remember that time I scraped my knee, and you made my hair look like yours to make me laugh?”
Makoto pauses. “Kind of. That was when we were… six, right?”
“I think so,” Kotone agrees, knowing it happened a little while before that day. “I wouldn’t stop crying ‘cuz my knee hurt, so you offered to fix my hair. Turned it into the exact same mop you had.”
Kotone chuckles at the way Makoto’s eyes narrow in annoyance. “Should’ve gotten you an ice pack instead,” he grumbles, which just makes her laugh even harder.
“I’m glad you didn’t. That wouldn’t have been a very funny memory.”
“Wanna try out that style again? We have scissors around here somewhere…”
“DON’T YOU DARE!”
That’s enough to get them both in a laughing fit, and Kotone realizes how long it’s been since she’s seen her brother this honest-to-God happy. Hell, she’s been smiling more herself, without having to fake it ‘til she makes it.
As tough as 2009 and the winter of 2010 were, they made it out the other side OK, Kotone thinks.
Once they’re calmed down, Makoto gets back on task, chatting with Kotone at the same time. “Why’d you bring that up, anyway?”
“I dunno. I guess I was just feeling nostalgic.” Kotone folds her arms in contemplation. “Everything’s changed so much lately, y’know? We moved again, we’re in our third year of high school, and I’m going on my first date with the love of my life soon.”
Makoto doesn’t stop or respond, giving Kotone his trademark I’m listening stare in the mirror.
“I’m not upset or anything, I’m over the mo—” Kotone quickly corrects herself, never wanting to talk about that eldritch hunk of space rock in a positive context again, “er, happy that we’re here now, and I’m super stoked that Akihiko-senpai’s taking me on our first date.”
Makoto hmmms in understanding. “Are you looking back at the past because of how much change is on the horizon?”
Right on the money, like usual. One benefit of their super special twin connection is that Makoto’s good at helping her sort her feelings out. “Pretty much, yeah.”
“I get it. I’ve been thinking about the past lately, too.” Makoto then asks Kotone to close her eyes, and she feels hairspray coating her head. Yukari found her a brand that works well, though the smell is a bit strong for Kotone’s liking.
The bright side is that she catches Makoto’s cringing face when she opens her eyes again, which is priceless. He must not like it very much, either.
“What were you thinking about?” Kotone asks, circling back to what Makoto said earlier.
“...Mom and Dad,” he answers quietly, though not sadly. “I wanna say they’d be proud of us for getting this far.”
“Makoto…” Kotone soothes. “Of course they’re proud. You’ve made so many friends, and you’re living life to the fullest. Plus,” she adds, taking a breath so she doesn’t get choked up, “we took good care of each other. I know that’d make them really happy.”
Then, to Kotone’s surprise, Makoto hugs her. She’s usually the one doing the hugging, but she doesn’t mind at all, regardless.
“Sorry. I figured we could both use that,” he apologizes after letting go.
“Don’t be sorry. I feel better now,” Kotone replies, giving him a sincere grin. “Do you?”
Makoto smiles back at her. It’s faint, but it’s there. “Yeah.”
They keep talking, the conversation moving into much lighter territory. Kotone tells Makoto all about the fancy restaurant Akihiko’s taking her to (reservations courtesy of Mitsuru-senpai) and the delicious food they’ll have there.
Time flies by, and before Kotone knows it, Makoto’s putting the finishing touches on. “There,” he says, backing off to leave her reflection unimpeded.
Her hair looks phenomenal, no knots or loose strands anywhere to be found. Kotone’s impressed and grateful, as always.
“I’m not a miracle worker, but that should do the trick.”
He’s selling himself short and poking fun at her in one breath. Classic Makoto. Kotone thanks him for his help (and elbows him for being a smartass.)
“Was that really necessary?” Makoto complains, rubbing at his shoulder.
“Nope!”
“Fair enough.”
As much fun as she’s having, Kotone doesn’t spend any more time riling him up, knowing she still needs to leave in half an hour. “Okay, that’s my hair done. Now I’ve gotta get changed and brush my teeth,” she rattles off to nobody in particular.
“I’ll leave ya to it, then. Just let me know if you need anything else,” Makoto says, starting to walk away. Kotone stops him before he can get very far, though, since there’s one last item on her to-do list. “Huh?”
“Thanks for being such a good brother, Makoto.” Kotone hugs Makoto tightly, making up for earlier, before running off to her room.