After hearing that, Yui Yuigahama froze for a moment. Then, a little nervously, she touched her cute little face. Her cheeks felt slightly hot as she said softly,
"Maybe I got something in my eyes while I was sleeping..."
Kotomi Izumi could tell at a glance. How could this be from something getting into her eyes while sleeping? It was obviously from crying during a nightmare.
Why could Kotomi see through it so easily? Because when she was little, she had been extremely timid. Although she still wasn't particularly brave now, courage was like playing games—the worse you were, the more addicted you became. And as for courage itself, the more timid someone was, the more they liked watching horror movies.
When she was young, Kotomi loved turning the computer volume down to the lowest setting, covering her eyes with both hands, leaving a tiny gap between her fingers, and peeking through that slit to watch horror films.
Oh, and she especially liked sitting on her bed wrapped tightly in a thick quilt while watching.
Only that way could little Kotomi find the slightest trace of security.
It wasn't much security, but it was better than none.
However, that fragile sense of safety only lasted as long as the bedroom lights were on.
After finishing a horror movie and turning off the lights, little Kotomi would lie in bed. The slightest lapse in concentration would cause scenes from the movie to replay in her mind. If she didn't think about them, it was manageable. But the moment she did, even wrapped in her quilt, she couldn't stop herself from trembling.
Her bedroom would suddenly feel incredibly lively. It was as if there were ghosts under the bed, inside the closet, on the ceiling, beneath the blankets, behind the door, by the headboard... everywhere.
That was the age when children were afraid of ghosts, and little Kotomi was no exception. Especially since her courage had always been a Schrödinger-like phenomenon.
Sometimes Kotomi was very timid. Other times, she was unbelievably bold—reckless to the extreme. It felt as if, as long as you gave her a knife, she could chase ghosts down ten streets and hack at them. And if the ghost happened to be female, then the one who should be afraid would probably be the female ghost instead.
But no matter what, after watching horror movies and turning off the lights, little Kotomi's courage was at its lowest. Lying in bed, she wouldn't even know whether she should close her eyes or keep them open.
If she didn't close them, she would feel sleepy.
If she did close them, then because of the horror movie, it would feel like the entire bedroom was filled with ghosts.
When she finally managed to fall asleep, she would easily have nightmares because of the movie. After dreaming of ghosts and monsters, little Kotomi would naturally be frightened into tears.
The next morning, when she went to the bathroom to wash up and saw herself in the mirror, her face would be covered in tear tracks.
She had cried from fear.
Because of that, Kotomi Izumi could immediately tell that the tear stains on Yui's face were from crying during a nightmare.
As for what kind of nightmare had made her cry, Kotomi didn't know yet.
Seeing that Yui wasn't being honest, Kotomi smacked her lightly on the head and said irritably,
"Not going to tell me? Fine. Then don't. I don't want to hear it anymore!"
After saying that, Kotomi huffed angrily and turned away coldly. Since she was already dressed, she casually grabbed her down jacket from the hanger and—bang!—slammed the door as she left.
Not only Yui Yuigahama, even Yukino Yukinoshita was stunned for a moment. It was the first time she had seen Kotomi lose her temper.
"Yukino, I'll go after Kotomi first!" Yui called out, leaving those words behind before hurriedly pushing the door open and chasing after her.
Yukino Yukinoshita had just been about to stand up to follow Kotomi, but she hadn't expected Yui to rush out before her. She also hadn't expected that Yui—who was always the last to finish warm-up runs in PE class—could move so fast at a time like this.
Normally in PE, they had to run three laps around the track as a warm-up. Yui and Kotomi were always the last two to finish.
Yui genuinely wasn't good at running. Although helping her mother bake cakes improved her stamina to some extent, running was simply something that depended on talent. Some people were just naturally slow and unsuited for it.
Yui was one of those people.
Kotomi, on the other hand, was perfectly suited for running. Otherwise, during the sports festival races, she wouldn't have been able to lap the students from the athletics department several times, leaving those athletic girls completely doubting their life choices. The reason she ran so slowly during regular PE warm-ups and always finished last was purely because she was lazy.
After all, in Class 1-F, among so many students, Kotomi Izumi was the only one who, the moment the warm-up run began, would pretend her shoelaces had come undone, run to the side, squat down, and tie them—for several whole minutes.
At first, she at least wore shoes with laces to match her excuse. But later on, even when she wore sneakers without laces, she would still pretend her shoelaces had come undone at the start of every warm-up run and squat down at the side to "tie" them.
In the beginning, the PE teacher might have reminded her once or twice. But eventually, he stopped bothering—turning a blind eye, as long as Kotomi didn't "tie her laces" until the warm-up run was completely over.
Back to the present.
Watching Kotomi and Yui run out, Yukino, left alone in the room, stood on the tatami, momentarily at a loss.
She wanted to follow Yui and chase after Kotomi. But in her heart, she felt that what had just happened between Kotomi and Yui resembled a lovers' quarrel. What right did she have to follow them?
To put it bluntly, the moment she stepped out of the guest room, she might see Yui holding Kotomi in her arms, coaxing her. Perhaps, if the mood struck, the two of them might even start kissing.
The thought alone made Yukino Yukinoshita feel timid, not daring to go after them.
She had long known that Kotomi and Yui were dating. Yet she was too cowardly to even face it directly. She was running away. Yukino felt that as long as she didn't acknowledge the fact that Kotomi and Yui were in a relationship, she could righteously convince herself that they were merely friends, not lovers.
That way, if she ever snatched Kotomi away from Yui in the future, perhaps the guilt in her heart would be slightly lessened...
In the end, everything I'm doing is nothing more than wanting to steal Kotomi's love from Yui, yet lacking the courage to bear Yui's anger and my own guilt. So I can only foolishly come up with contradictory methods, fantasizing that this will somehow ease my conscience.
Even I don't know how to describe myself. Should I call it planning ahead? Or overconfidence?
I haven't even managed to take Kotomi away from Yui, yet I'm already thinking about how to reduce my guilt after doing so.
Yukino Yukinoshita stood there, her thoughts in turmoil, her gaze falling on the door handle.
In a daze, she hesitated. She didn't know whether she should push the door open and chase after them like Yui had—or sensibly remain as background decoration in a two-person movie, refraining from disturbing Kotomi and Yui.
Kotomi and Yui had no idea that they had already kissed once in front of Yukino before, delivering quite a shock to her mental state.
Should she open the door—or stay inside?
Yukino Yukinoshita hesitated between the two choices. She knew that in the future, she would likely face many decisions that left her feeling lost. And in one of those choices, she might very well end up hurting her best friend—Yui Yuigahama.
Isn't life itself like a galgame that takes an incredibly long time to complete? The story moves forward through constant choices. The only difference is that in a galgame, you can save and load. If you choose wrong, you can look up a walkthrough online. As long as you follow the guide step by step, you are guaranteed to reach the ending you want. But life has no save files, no reloads, and no walkthrough that guarantees a good ending.
"Right now, in front of me, is a choice. One option is to push open the door. The other is to stay in the room. I can only choose one. And this choice might affect the relationship between me, Kotomi, and Yui. The safest option should be the second one—stay in the room. But..."
After muttering that to herself, Yukino Yukinoshita looked at the door, then at her own hand.
She didn't know why she was about to make this choice. She only knew that what she wanted to do was push the door open and chase after Kotomi, just like Yui had—even if, after catching up, she might see Yui holding Kotomi in her arms and kissing her...
Yukino Yukinoshita had read countless books. But if she were asked at this moment to use words to describe why she was making this choice, she would probably be like a child who hadn't yet learned how to speak, completely unable to articulate it.
Sometimes people are just like that. They know very clearly what they are thinking and how they feel. But if they are asked to write it down—even if it is only for themselves—they hesitate endlessly, as if they don't know how to write at all.
On the other side, after Kotomi Izumi stormed out of the room in a huff, she didn't slow down. But in reality, she had been paying attention to what was happening behind her the entire time.
Sure enough, just a few seconds after she ran out, Yui Yuigahama chased after her.
The reason Kotomi had slowed her pace earlier was precisely for Yui. She wanted Yui to be able to see her back once she came out.
Otherwise, if that silly little dumpling ran out of the room and couldn't find her no matter how much she looked around, she would definitely panic and start crying.
That little fool looked strong and rarely cried in front of others. But in truth, she was made of water—tears came easily.
That was only natural. Because of her family's financial situation, Yui had always felt she needed to be sensible and not burden her mother. So she rarely cried casually. From childhood until now, no matter how unhappy or wronged she felt, she wouldn't show it. She would bottle everything up inside, silently enduring it alone instead of venting her negative emotions—even if it was just going somewhere no one could see and shouting at the sky.
But after she started dating Kotomi, every moment they spent together gradually melted the strong facade Yui had built since childhood. And once that strength melted away, how could she continue to keep her grievances and sadness locked inside like before?
So Yui began to cry more easily. Especially when she was alone with Kotomi, she liked to cry out all the grievances in her heart. Even if Kotomi said nothing, just crying in front of her made Yui feel a little lighter inside.
Even Yui herself didn't understand what had happened to her. Why had she become so prone to tears?
"Kotomi, wait for me!"
Chasing from behind, Yui Yuigahama called out breathlessly, hoping Kotomi would stop running. She couldn't keep up.
Although several hours had passed since their intimacy that morning, the "battle" had only barely lasted two minutes. Yui still felt as though her internal organs had been hollowed out, with not a shred of extra strength left.
After only a few steps, her legs began to weaken. Several times, she nearly stumbled and fell.
Kotomi had originally planned to keep this up and lead Yui somewhere a bit farther away before stopping. But after glancing back, she was startled. From the room to the hallway was only a few steps at most, yet Yui was already gasping for air, her legs unsteady as if she were stepping on cotton, ready to collapse at any moment.
Seeing that, Kotomi had no choice but to stop. This place would do. Near the Japanese-style luxury guest rooms, hardly anyone passed by, so there was no need to worry about being disturbed.
Looking at Yui like this, Kotomi felt she might as well walk back and support her.
Kotomi quickly returned and caught Yui just as she was about to fall, saying irritably,
"Am I really that amazing? I drained your stamina to this extent? Anyone who didn't know better would think I'm a succubus..."
Before she could finish, however, her voice gradually grew softer.
Normally she hadn't paid much attention to it. But now that she mentioned it, she suddenly remembered—her Queen of All Females physique did seem somewhat related to succubi.
You could say the Queen of All Females and succubi were half-relatives.
The kind where, if they met during New Year's, they'd probably have to exchange red envelopes.
So calling Kotomi the Queen of All Females worked. Calling her a succubus worked too.
Kotomi couldn't help but shrink her neck slightly, a thought surfacing in her mind.
Yui is this weak right now... could it really have something to do with me being both the Queen of All Females and basically a succubus?!
But that didn't make sense. This was only Yui's few times. When she had been intimate with Megumi Kato so many times, she had never seen Megumi become this weak.
And there was Aimi. Kotomi knew very well that every time she fell asleep, Aimi would secretly slip into her bedroom and... that habit had been maintained for several years without missing a single day.
Because of that, Kotomi's ability to pretend to sleep had improved by leaps and bounds. If any suspense film ever needed her for a cameo, she would absolutely be the best corpse in the entire cast.
Lie down there, and people would probably call her name every few minutes, afraid she had actually stopped breathing.
While pondering why Yui's stamina had become so poor, Kotomi used her small hand to wipe the sweat from Yui's cheeks. It had only been a few steps from the room to the hallway, yet Yui looked as though she had just finished a 1000-meter sprint.
Could it be that I really am a little succubus...?
Kotomi wondered inwardly.
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