As Kotomi stood with one hand on her hip, drinking water, Megumi Kato happened to return from buying juice. Seeing that Kotomi had come back, she smiled gently.
She was just about to step forward and tightly hug Kotomi from behind when she saw Kotomi place the bottle of mineral water she had just drunk from back onto Yui's desk and casually thank her.
Megumi took in the entire scene—there was no doubt whose water Kotomi had just drunk.
Her face darkened slightly, and she quickly walked over. Though her tone still carried a smile, there was an unmistakable chill in her voice.
"Kotomi, you're back. Did something happen?"
"Nothing much."
Kotomi turned to look at Megumi, about to thank her for helping excuse her absence in the morning. But before she could speak, Megumi's gaze became slightly hollow, and she softly said:
"If there's nothing, then hurry up and sit back in your seat."
After saying that, Megumi's lovely face bloomed into a bright, sunny smile—except that "sunshine" carried no warmth at all, only a bone-chilling coldness.
It definitely wasn't because Kotomi was scared—her legs were just feeling a little weak. Yes, weak legs! So she obediently listened to Megumi and sat back down, looking as docile as a small, well-behaved penguin.
However, Yui had yet to realize something was off and continued asking, "Kotomi, why did you take a leave of absence this morning anyway?"
Only then did Kotomi remember—she had promised Yui that she would explain after drinking water. But after being startled by Megumi just now, she had completely forgotten.
"It wasn't anything major. My little sister got into a conflict with another girl at school this morning. When she filled out her emergency contact information, she was afraid of getting in trouble, so she wrote my name and number instead. So the homeroom teacher contacted me. After sorting it out, I just had lunch outside before coming back."
Since the matter didn't really concern Yukino and the others, and to protect Iroha Isshiki's privacy, Kotomi only gave a brief explanation without going into detail. She also didn't mention that Aimi got into the fight because of Iroha.
A little discretion never hurt anyone. People who always tell the whole truth may be honest, but sometimes, honesty only makes things unnecessarily complicated.
"I see… But this is the first time I've heard of students using their siblings as emergency contacts. Now I'm kind of jealous of my little bean sprout at home. When she goes to middle school, she'll probably write my name and number too," Yui said with a chuckle.
As the second period approached, Kotomi glanced out of the corner of her eye at Megumi, who was sitting beside her.
Megumi was idly twirling her pen, looking completely indifferent to everything around her.
To an outsider, it might seem like she was simply spacing out.
But after knowing each other for so long and becoming more familiar with each other's habits, Kotomi understood—whenever Megumi acted like this, it was a 100% sign that she was mad at her.
Kotomi shrank her neck slightly.
Megumi had been fine when she left earlier that morning, so the only time she could have angered her was just now.
But… ever since she returned to the classroom, she had mostly been chatting with Yui. She hadn't done anything that should have upset Megumi, right?
Their "cold war" lasted less than a few minutes.
Perhaps it was because Megumi saw Kotomi's confused and pitiful expression, completely unaware of what she had done wrong, that she softened.
Or perhaps she simply couldn't hold back anymore after going this long without speaking to Kotomi.
Whatever the reason, Megumi was the first to break the silence.
Without saying a word, she took the juice she had just bought and slammed it onto Kotomi's desk.
Kotomi tilted her head slightly, her watery pink eyes brimming with unshed tears as she gazed at Megumi. Her small nose twitched as if silently pleading:
"What did I do to make you mad? Why are you giving me the cold shoulder? Do you not love your little penguin anymore? Wuwuwu, I feel so wronged and sad, I'm about to cry! I'll go on a hunger strike—tonight, I'll only eat nine bowls of rice!"
Megumi's mind went blank for a moment, and the pen twirling in her fingers slipped and fell. She instinctively wanted to comfort Kotomi like she always did but quickly remembered that this happened every time.
As a result, she felt like she had no "authority" as a girlfriend in Kotomi's eyes.
So, this time, she forced herself to endure the pang of guilt in her heart, looked at Kotomi, and coldly muttered:
"Scumbag."
Then, she pointed at the juice she had just placed on Kotomi's desk.
"Take a sip of this, and I'll stop being mad at you."
Before Megumi even finished speaking, Kotomi had already unscrewed the cap and started chugging the juice.
In one go, she drank it all.
Megumi was left dumbfounded, staring at Kotomi in disbelief.
She only asked her to take a sip—who told her to drink the whole thing?!
Now what was she supposed to drink?!
After gulping down all the juice, Kotomi wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand and let out a satisfied burp.
"Hic~"
Shaking the now-empty bottle in her hand, Kotomi looked at Megumi with a slight pout and whispered,
"Megumi-chan, I drank it all… Are you still mad?"
Megumi glanced at the completely empty bottle, then back at Kotomi's slightly pitiful face.
She opened her mouth, but even she didn't know what to say.
Sometimes, her little penguin was scarily sharp… but most of the time, she was such a goofball that Megumi wanted to marry her on the spot—afraid that if she didn't, some other woman might come along and steal her away.
In the end, Megumi could only sigh helplessly. She reached out to rub Kotomi's soft cheeks, then lightly patted her lap.
This was the same motion she had used before, whenever she let Kotomi lay down for an ear-cleaning session.
The moment Kotomi saw it, she instinctively leaned over and rested her head on Megumi's black-stocking-covered lap.
She thought Megumi was going to clean her ears again, so she quietly waited—only to find that there was no ear pick.
Instead, Megumi gently took off her jacket and draped it over their right side as a makeshift shield. Then, she slowly lowered her head, cupped Kotomi's face, and softly pressed her lips against hers.
Kotomi loved sweets.
She liked drinking sweet beverages—fruit juices, sodas—and even when drinking milk, she would ask Aimi to add a bit of sugar while warming it up.
She always thought her tongue and taste buds were naturally wired to love sweet things…
Kotomi unconsciously wrapped her arms around Megumi's neck.
The moment stretched until—
The class bell rang.
Megumi finally let go of her little penguin, helping her sit up and slipping her jacket back on.
Kotomi, her cheeks flushed red, shot Megumi a half-angry, half-embarrassed glare.
She puffed up like a little penguin about to peck someone in frustration.
"I seriously suspect that you pretended to be mad just to trick me into falling into your trap step by step!"
Megumi reached out, patted Kotomi's head, and smirked.
"Not bad, not bad. My Kotomi is getting smarter."
Kotomi's pout deepened.
"I've always been smart, okay?! And—when did I become yours…"
Halfway through her sentence, she stopped herself.
She was afraid that if she kept going, Megumi would get upset again.
Fine, fine. Yours it is.
Then, she glanced at Megumi with her beautiful pink eyes and whispered softly,
"Are you still mad?"
Megumi didn't respond.
Instead, she smiled subtly and turned to Mashiro.
"Mashiro, you bought so many bottles of water. How about selling me one?"
"I didn't buy them," Mashiro replied. "I took them from my cousin's office. If you want one, just take it."
"Thanks."
Megumi took a bottle, unscrewed the cap—
But instead of drinking it directly, she poured it into the empty juice bottle that Kotomi had just drunk from.
She poured every last drop of water into it.
Then, only after refilling the bottle completely, did Megumi finally lift it to her lips and start drinking.
She drank slowly, savoring it, as if it weren't just mineral water—but the sweetest juice in the world.
At first, Kotomi didn't understand.
Then, realization hit her like a freight train.
Her face flushed red, a deep, alluring shade of pink.
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