After the Yuigahama mother and daughters arrived at the Chiba shopping mall, they wandered around the third floor once, deciding what to eat for lunch.
"Yuka, what do you want for lunch?" Tomoka Yuigahama asked the little Yuka, who was still being carried on Yui's back.
"I want Burger King's kids' meal."
Yuka said firmly. Right now she only wanted Burger King, so the food court and restaurants on the third floor held no interest for her at all.
"Why the sudden craving for Burger King?" Tomoka asked curiously. She remembered that Yuka used to prefer KFC.
"Burger King just launched a new kids' meal, and it comes with a Pretty Cure keychain. I've wanted that for a long time." Yui Yuigahama laughed as she explained.
"So it's for the toy in the kids' meal. Alright then, we'll have Burger King for lunch."
"Yay! Can we buy an extra one? I want another keychain to give to Penguin-Oneechan."
"For Kotomi?"
"Yeah. Penguin-Oneechan will definitely be happy when she gets it, because when she lived at our house before, I saw it with my own eyes!" Yuka said confidently.
"Saw what?" Yui Yuigahama asked, her curiosity piqued.
Tomoka also perked her ears up, waiting for Yuka to continue.
"Penguin-Oneechan forgot to lock the door when she went to the bathroom. I happened to walk in, and I saw that her panties had Pretty Cure designs on them!"
"..."
"..."
And just like that, both Tomoka and Yui Yuigahama now knew that Kotomi's panties had Pretty Cure patterns on them.
The first time she stayed at the Yuigahama house, the morning after she woke up, Kotomi had indeed forgotten to lock the bathroom door, and Yuka happened to walk in.
When Yuka saw, Kotomi didn't mind much—she just smiled and told her to wait outside for a bit. After all, Yuka was still a small child. What was there to be embarrassed about if a kid happened to see?
She never expected Yuka to have noticed the pattern on her panties… remembered it… and even recognized that it was Pretty Cure!
If Kotomi knew about this now, she'd definitely look down at the floor to see if there was a crack, and then dive straight into it.
Kotomi's panties becoming a topic—how embarrassing! Yui and Tomoka could only scramble to change the subject:
"Mom, I just saw that the clothing stores are on the 5th floor. Let's take the elevator up."
"R-right! Then let's go to the 5th floor!"
"Megumi, how about this swimsuit?"
Kotomi had picked out a pink and white bikini, with a very bold design. If she wore it to the beach, she would definitely become the most dazzling and breathtaking sight there.
"It looks good, but there's too little fabric. Even if you buy it, you can only wear it for me." Megumi Kato said.
"Hehe, just teasing you. I'm not buying this one. Even if it's only for you, I'd still be too embarrassed to wear it."
Kotomi chuckled, putting the pink bikini back, and instead chose a light-blue two-piece swimsuit. The top was a sailor-style swimsuit, and the bottom, though called swim shorts, looked more like a skirt.
Compared to the bikini earlier, this one looked cuter.
But with Kotomi's stunning figure, even if she wore the standard school swimsuit, it still couldn't hide her allure.
Seeing Kotomi put back the pink bikini, Megumi Kato felt a little disappointed. Right next to the hot spring water park was a five-star hotel, and she had planned to book a king-size room and spend the night with Kotomi.
Just now, when she saw Kotomi pick up that pink bikini, all she could imagine was Kotomi changing into it after they returned from the water park—just for her eyes only.
"Kotomi, how about we buy both? Let's get that pink bikini too."
Megumi said, unwilling to give up. She wanted so badly to see Kotomi wearing that bikini!
Of course, Megumi only wanted Kotomi to wear it for her. If they were going to a pool or water park, then Megumi hoped Kotomi's swimsuit would be as conservative as possible. Otherwise, the vinegar jar in her heart would surely tip over.
"One is enough, why buy two?"
Kotomi was amused by Megumi's persistence. She flipped over the tag inside the swimsuit for Megumi to take a closer look:
"Check the price of this swimsuit first. Swimming gear—just the swimsuit and goggles alone already cost quite a lot."
After seeing the price tag, Megumi shrank her neck. She hadn't expected a swimsuit to be this expensive… The last time she bought one was three years ago, and come to think of it, it had almost been three years since she last went swimming.
"If it's just the hot spring, we don't need to buy a swim cap. As for goggles… we should still get one." Kotomi continued browsing the shelves of swimming gear, until she spotted a special display case.
At first she wondered what kind of swimsuit could be so special that it needed its own display case. But when she looked up and saw inside… no, they weren't swimsuits—they were wetsuits! Faith itself!
Inside the display case were three EVA collaboration wetsuits! One for Unit-01, one for Unit-02, and one for Unit-00!
Kotomi's expression instantly turned serious, as if she had heard the song playing in her ears: Like a cruel angel's thesis… young boy, become a legend!
"Excuse me!" Kotomi called out to the shop assistant.
"Yes, may I help you?"
"How much are these three wetsuits? I want them all! I'll pay right now!"
The same Kotomi who had just told Megumi that swimsuits were too expensive so they should only buy one, now saw three wetsuits she had no use for and immediately declared she would buy them all—already pulling out her bank card.
"I'm sorry, miss, these three EVA wetsuits are not for sale. They're just for display."
"Damn it!" Kotomi gritted her teeth. She couldn't even dive and had no use for wetsuits, yet just because they were EVA collaborations, she wanted them desperately.
"My apologies." The clerk bowed politely. After all, Kotomi wasn't the first customer who had demanded to buy those wetsuits after seeing them.
Kotomi walked away reluctantly, turning her head back three times with longing in her eyes as she looked at the three EVA wetsuits in the display case.
Megumi silently watched her, saying nothing, only picking up the pink bikini Kotomi had put back earlier.
"Megumi, you're buying that?" Kotomi asked curiously when she saw it in Megumi's hands.
"Not for me. I'm buying it for you to wear."
"But I already chose one… and besides, one swimsuit is enough."
"Oh? Didn't you just say you wanted to buy all three wetsuits without even hesitating? We're going to a hot spring water park, not scuba diving in the ocean." Megumi asked with a smile—one that carried a trace of gentle menace.
"S-sorry." Kotomi scratched her head with an awkward laugh.
While continuing to accompany Megumi in picking swimsuits, Kotomi grew bored and glanced at the women's clothing store across the way. The moment she looked… she spotted the Yuigahama mother and daughters walking inside.
What?! They came to the mall too?!
Kotomi was stunned.
Just then, Yuka, as if sensing something, turned her head and looked straight toward the swimsuit store.
Just a second before Yuka turned her head toward the swimsuit store, Kotomi had already reacted. She grabbed Megumi Kato's wrist and rushed toward the stairs, hurriedly running up to the second floor.
Because of that, when Yuka turned her head to look, she didn't see Kotomi anywhere.
After pulling Megumi up to the second floor, Kotomi still felt it wasn't safe enough. She went straight into a fitting room. Dragged along by Kotomi, Megumi was left dumbfounded, still holding the pink bikini in her hand.
Aunt Tomoka, Yui, and Yuka… why are all three of them here?! I just left the Yuigahama house a few hours ago!
Luckily, I reacted quickly. The moment Yuka started to turn her head, I pulled Megumi up to the second floor. If she had spotted me just now, she definitely would have shouted and told her mom and sister: it's Penguin-Oneechan!
Leaning against the door of the fitting room, out of breath, Kotomi thought nervously. Just earlier, she had secretly bought Yui Yuigahama a down jacket of the same design but in a different color. Feeling guilty, she really didn't dare let Megumi and Yui meet today.
Once she calmed down, Kotomi started admiring herself for her quick reflexes: I'm amazing! If I could react that fast in CS:GO, I'd be Global Elite by now!
She wiped the sweat off her forehead and looked up, only to meet Megumi Kato's amused gaze.
"M-Megumi…"
"You suddenly grabbed my hand, dragged me up to the second floor fitting room… I haven't even finished choosing a swimsuit yet." Megumi's lips curved into a mischievous smile as she shook the pink bikini in her hand. "Or is it that you couldn't wait to put this on and show me~?"
Megumi felt like Kotomi was acting a little strange today. It was as if, even while shopping together, her mind would occasionally drift toward another woman.
Even though Megumi didn't believe that her soft and fluffy Kotomi had the guts to two-time, the feeling still left her a little unhappy.
After all, recently, through the micro camera hidden in the owl plushie she had given Kotomi, Megumi had seen Aimi sneak into Kotomi's room while she was asleep and do this and that!
The perfect example of "Older sister strikes, younger sister submits."
Every time she saw it, Megumi wanted to yell at Aimi: Once or twice a week would be one thing, but every single day?!
Aimi might have been a noob, unable to even find the starting line of the race—weak, clumsy, yet playful. But she was Kotomi's sister, after all! That gave her the natural advantage of "a close neighbor gets the moonlight first."
While Megumi and others were fighting tooth and nail on the racetrack, battling over who Kotomi belonged to, Aimi—unable to even find the track—simply plopped herself onto the winner's podium and began enjoying the prize: Kotomi herself.
Being stolen away so often by a noob—who could tolerate that?
Megumi certainly couldn't. But right now she was already fighting on high alert against Arisu Sakayanagi, with no energy to spare to deal with Aimi.
Speaking of Arisu Sakayanagi, ever since her declaration of war at the sports festival, she hadn't made any moves against Kotomi. Everything had remained calm, making Megumi wonder if Arisu had only been bluffing that day.
Even so, Megumi never lowered her guard against her.
Whenever Megumi was beside Kotomi and Arisu showed up, or when Megumi ran into her while Arisu was near Kotomi, the air between them inevitably filled with invisible sparks.
Now, with Kotomi suddenly dragging her into a fitting room on the second floor…
The swimsuit store's first floor hadn't had many people to begin with. The second floor, of course, was completely empty except for the two of them.
Whether or not Kotomi had intended it, Megumi felt she understood her meaning. Reaching out, she flipped the lock on the fitting room door.
Click.
Hearing the clear sound of the lock, Kotomi, who had been about to step back out, froze. She looked at Megumi in shock.
"M-Megumi, what are you trying to do?!"
"I do!" Megumi answered without hesitation, pressing Kotomi's wrist against the fitting room door as she lowered her head and kissed this little lamb that had delivered itself straight to her lips.
"That's not what I meant—mmph!"
Kotomi's eyes flew wide open. She hadn't even had time to resist before the Queen of All Females' natural gift instantly made her knees weaken. Unable to fight back, she could only lean helplessly against the door, surrendering everything Megumi desired.
One hour later—
Megumi finally left the fitting room, hand-in-hand with Kotomi, satisfied, leading her down from the second floor.
For some reason, the swimsuit shop had an unusual number of customers today. The lone shop clerk was so busy that she hadn't noticed the time, nor realized that the two girls had disappeared into the upstairs fitting room for an entire hour.
She simply assumed they had gone to try on swimsuits and had now come back down.
"Have you two decided on which swimsuits to buy?"
"Yes, we've decided. This pink bikini, this light-blue two-piece, and this navy-and-white striped swimsuit. Three swimsuits—please wrap them up together. Thank you." Megumi smiled as she spoke.
"Alright, please wait just a moment."
The clerk took the three swimsuits to the counter for packaging and billing. Though she wondered why two girls needed three swimsuits, she didn't really care. In fact, she hoped to sell more before the shop closed for the season, so that her boss could afford to keep it open next year.
After all, jobs this easy weren't easy to come by.
She didn't notice Kotomi, who had been blushing non-stop since they came back down, hiding weakly behind Megumi with no strength left.
After leaving the swimsuit shop, Kotomi could barely walk without Megumi supporting her. Even now, her legs were still weak and trembling.
Seeing this, Megumi smiled faintly, filled with a sense of accomplishment.
"Shall we find a place for you to rest? Otherwise, you might not even be able to walk later," Megumi said with a teasing smile.
She was rewarded with a resentful glare from Kotomi.
"Megumi, I've decided—I'm going to cold war with you for one minute!"
"Don't be like that, Kotomi~"
"Hmph, coax me." Kotomi huffed, refusing to give in.
"Alright, Kotomi~"
Leaning close to Kotomi's ear, Megumi whispered sweet words over and over, not stopping unless Kotomi told her to.
Kotomi put on a proud, aloof front, pretending to ignore her.
Until one full minute passed.
Then she finally let out a tsundere snort:
"Hmph, since you already know you were wrong, I'll reluctantly forgive you."
"Thank you, Kotomi, you're the best~" Megumi replied warmly. Her words weren't as sugary as candy, but more like a sip of water—subtle, refreshing sweetness that lingered gently afterward.
Candy sweetness, or the subtle aftertaste of water—which one did Kotomi like best?
The answer: she liked both!
"Wife, are you hungry?" Megumi asked.
"I am. Let's go to Burger King! Oh, but when I order a kids' meal, you're not allowed to laugh at me," Kotomi said, emphasizing it.
Megumi didn't quite understand at first. But when they arrived at Burger King and saw the poster on the wall outside, she realized.
A Pretty Cure collaboration keychain came with every kids' meal. No wonder Kotomi wanted one.
Though, with the size of a kids' meal… even ten of them probably wouldn't be enough to fill her up.
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