While Kotomi Izumi's ringtone was practically on mute, Megumi Kato's call volume was turned up to the max.
Megumi hadn't heard Kotomi's voice for almost 24 hours. It felt like ants were crawling all over her—she was desperate enough to wish she could teleport straight into Kotomi's hotel room in Kyoto.
If it weren't for having school tomorrow and no good excuse for taking time off, Megumi would have already bought a train ticket to Kyoto that afternoon. She couldn't wait any longer—she needed to find Kotomi!
After calming down a bit, though not entirely, Megumi still longed to hear Kotomi's voice, to see her face.
So, she called Kotomi via video.
Normally, Kotomi would pick up instantly. But today—half a minute passed, the call automatically ended, and Kotomi hadn't answered.
Megumi glanced at the clock—still only 7 PM—and frowned slightly, muttering to herself, "Kotomi would never ignore my call. She wouldn't dare! Could she have gone to sleep early tonight?"
She and Kotomi had shared a bed several times before. Whenever they did, Megumi would pretend to sleep first, waiting until Kotomi's breathing grew steady—then she'd prop herself up, admiring Kotomi's adorable sleeping face. Before long, Megumi's hands and feet would get a little too restless...
In the mornings, she'd always wake earlier, just to watch Kotomi's sleepy-eyed expressions as she stirred awake. And when Kotomi was still groggy and defenseless, Megumi would sneak a kiss onto her soft cheeks, savoring the sight of Kotomi's bashful red face and playful protests.
Because of all that, Megumi knew Kotomi's sleep habits like the back of her hand. No way would Kotomi be asleep by 7 PM. If she wasn't playing on her phone until 9 PM, then next time, Megumi swore she'd—well, she'd make sure Kotomi was the one pinned underneath!
"No way she's sleeping already. That's not Kotomi. If anything, she's probably eating dinner and forgot to bring her phone..."
Sitting on the edge of her bed, Megumi grew increasingly irritated. Her mind conjured up an image of Kotomi and Mashiro together, and a wave of irritation hit her. Her face turned cold, and she gripped her phone so tightly it felt like she might crush it.
Megumi took a deep breath, but the thought of Kotomi being with Mashiro only made her internal flames burn hotter.
Was this a sign of her wariness toward Mashiro Shiina?
She'd never felt this cautious toward Mashiro before.
Sure, she'd always known Mashiro liked Kotomi—just like she knew Aimi liked Kotomi—but she never worried. She didn't bother acknowledging weak rivals.
But now, if she was reacting this strongly...
That meant Mashiro wasn't weak at all. In fact, Mashiro was a formidable opponent—no less threatening than Arisu Sakayanagi.
"Kotomi really is a little witch, charming girls everywhere she goes... Being pretty and charismatic is fine, but if this keeps up—"
Megumi's voice was light, almost sing-song, but it sent chills down the spine.
"I'm going to get a little upset."
She smiled coldly, glancing at the two opened delivery boxes on the floor—then shifted her gaze to the chibi owl figurine sitting on the low table, laughing softly to herself.
Beneath her beauty, there was a flicker of madness.
The gift Megumi had sent to celebrate Kotomi's painting being selected...
Had arrived.
Meanwhile, Kotomi and Mashiro hadn't actually gone out for a walk. After Kotomi collapsed to the floor, overwhelmed by Mashiro's kiss, the two somehow ended up kissing their way onto the bed.
Only after a long time did Mashiro reluctantly pull away, supporting herself as she gazed down at Kotomi's flushed cheeks, streaked with tears, and her misty, dazed eyes.
Their newly changed clothes had long since become rumpled.
"Mashiro, do you even know what you've just done to me?" Kotomi panted heavily, looking at Mashiro with a complex expression.
It wasn't blame, nor praise—it was a swirling mix of emotions too complicated to explain.
Kotomi had expected Mashiro to show some nervousness or guilt after such impulsiveness. But Mashiro, far from it, looked completely unashamed as she openly and brightly declared:
"Of course I know. I kissed you, Kotomi. Hehe, I'm so happy. I've wanted to do that for so long."
Then she mischievously added, "So? Was kissing me better than kissing Megumi Kato?"
Faced with such a question, Kotomi had no answer. Her face turned even redder as she turned her head to the side, trying to escape Mashiro's gaze. Being stared at like that made her feel like she was melting.
Mashiro wasn't surprised. In fact, seeing Kotomi's shy reaction only deepened her smile. She gently leaned against Kotomi, wrapping her arms around her neck and whispering:
"Kotomi, marry me. I want to have lots of children with you—enough to form two full soccer teams! I've even picked out all their names."
It was Mashiro's second marriage proposal of the day, leaving Kotomi's mind spinning.
"I-I-Idiot... What are you even saying?!"
Kotomi's face burned scarlet as she babbled protests, still stubbornly clinging to her older-sister act to lecture Mashiro.
Mashiro simply lay quietly atop her, arms draped around her like a proud swan, smiling and listening contentedly.
To Mashiro, it didn't matter what Kotomi said right now. The fact she was this flustered meant only one thing: Kotomi's heart was already wavering.
And Mashiro was confident—
that within one hundred days, Kotomi would be completely, hopelessly in love with her.
The evening stroll originally planned for 7 PM got delayed to 8 PM, thanks largely to Mashiro—though Kotomi herself shared some responsibility...
After their "kissing session," for some reason, Kotomi had changed both her skirt and her "underthings."
She planned to wash the discarded clothes when they returned to the hotel for their evening showers, then hang them out to dry on the suite's balcony. If left for a day, they should be dry by tomorrow night.
It hadn't rained these past few days in Kyoto, but the autumn breeze was steadily growing colder. Without Aimi's carefully prepared clothing for the weather, Kotomi would probably have caught a cold by now.
Aimi was truly the most caring little sister—Kotomi felt a rush of warmth just thinking about it.
One of the greatest blessings in her life was having Aimi as her sister.
The nighttime scenery of Kyoto, compared to the daytime, carried an added sense of timeless charm.
In spring, one could stand beside a small creek, watching cherry blossom petals float along the illuminated waters, and sigh at the poetic beauty of it all.
Even though it wasn't spring now and there were no cherry blossoms, Kyoto still had no shortage of beautiful sights.
In Kyoto, if there was anything you didn't have to worry about, it was the lack of picturesque scenery.
"Now I finally understand why you insisted on going for a walk at night," Mashiro said, walking beside Kotomi and lightly tugging at the corner of her jacket with her finger, smiling as if she had discovered a great secret.
"Oh? Then tell me, why did I insist on a night stroll?"
Because of what had happened back at the hotel, Kotomi's face was no longer red, but her heart remained in a state of nervous fluttering. Unlike before, now walking beside Mashiro, Kotomi resembled a shy little girl in love—mostly keeping her head down or deliberately looking elsewhere.
Unable to calm her racing mind, she struggled to come up with any suitable conversation topics, resulting in the two of them mostly walking in silence.
Or occasionally, Mashiro would say something, and Kotomi would respond dryly with a "Mm," "Oh," or "Ah."
It was understandable—after what had just happened, anyone would be flustered.
The fact that Kotomi hadn't simply curled up under the covers and refused to leave was already proof of her strong mental fortitude.
Meanwhile, the "main culprit," Mashiro Shiina, seemed unusually talkative—chattering away beside Kotomi, a stark contrast to her usual quiet self.
Getting back to the question—
Originally, Kotomi thought Mashiro would say something poetic, like how nighttime draped Kyoto in a special, dreamlike beauty, giving familiar sights a completely different flavor.
Instead, Mashiro answered with total certainty:
"Because at night, all the food stalls come out! You must have insisted on walking now because you wanted to eat!"
"...Good answer. Next time, don't answer." Kotomi twitched at the corner of her mouth, looking speechless.
Yet—
No sooner had Kotomi denied Mashiro's words verbally than she turned around and proved them true with her actions.
"Boss, how much for a skewer of grilled squid? I'll take ten! Hold the green onions, and no spicy seasoning."
Before long, Kotomi returned with a bunch of freshly grilled squid tentacles. She handed one skewer to Mashiro and asked, "Want some?"
"Yes! Kotomi, will you feed me?"
"We're almost at Okazaki Park. Let's pick up the pace," Kotomi said, quickly looking away.
"Kotomi's embarrassed. Otherwise, why would she suddenly change the topic and avoid looking at me?" Mashiro teased, her orange-red eyes twinkling mischievously.
"Speaking of Okazaki Park, it's impossible not to think of the castle tower," Kotomi replied in a tour guide-like tone, seamlessly steering the conversation away.
Okazaki Park—
In spring, 1,700 cherry trees bloom in full splendor, making it one of Kyoto's most famous spots for cherry blossom viewing.
Mashiro glanced at the distant castle tower and asked curiously, "Did Tokugawa Ieyasu live there?"
When foreigners think of famous Japanese historical figures, Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Edo period and one of Japan's three great unifiers, often comes to mind.
Mashiro was no exception.
After all, the first Japanese historical figure she'd ever heard about from her parents was Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Kotomi couldn't help but chuckle at Mashiro's innocent question—just a few giggles, though. After all, she herself had once been confused about it as a child, and mixing up castle addresses was common enough. So after laughing lightly, she stopped.
There was nothing wrong with it.
Kotomi had been taught since childhood that mocking others without reason was rude.
"Even back then, Ieyasu wouldn't have lived there," Kotomi explained kindly. "If I didn't drive my history teacher crazy, I think he lived in Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture, not here."
Upon hearing the explanation, Mashiro finally understood. She had known about Tokugawa Ieyasu living at Okazaki Castle but hadn't realized where it was located.
Given Mashiro's notoriously low history grades, it would've been surprising if she had gotten it right.
Anyway, though this wasn't where Tokugawa Ieyasu had lived, under the night sky, with the dark heavens like ink and Kyoto's many lights gathered together, even a single beam of light shone vividly—and Kyoto had no shortage of such brilliance.
Both Kotomi and Mashiro had the same thought—coming out this late had definitely been worth it.
Even just the food stalls made it worthwhile.
"Kotomi, why did you bring me here specifically? Kyoto has so many famous spots, but you chose Okazaki Park," Mashiro asked curiously.
Facing Mashiro's question, Kotomi looked supremely confident, winking playfully at her and asking:
"Wanna hear the truth?"
"Of course I do!"
Kotomi cleared her throat seriously, then leaned close to Mashiro's ear and whispered:
"No special reason—not even a little. I'm terrible at history too. I picked Okazaki Park just because it's the closest sightseeing spot to our hotel."
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