"Compared to outside, it's so quiet in the gym…"
Megumi Kato stood at the second-floor railing, glancing down. The entire gymnasium was currently sealed off—well, except for that one small door that hadn't been locked.
The light inside was dimmer than usual, but it was precisely that slightly muted glow and tranquil atmosphere that brought an inexplicable sense of calm.
Right now, Megumi just wanted to hold Kotomi Izumi in her arms, lie down together on that mat placed on the second floor, and take a peaceful nap.
Even though it was still morning and she wasn't really sleepy, as long as she was lying with Kotomi in her arms, Megumi would feel completely healed.
Kotomi held Megumi's small hand and led her to the mat on the second floor. The mat had originally been intended for use as a high jump landing pad, but after Sobu High purchased it, they realized they had miscounted the total number of mats needed. When the missing mats were added to the previous tally, the shortage was instantly solved.
The newly bought mats couldn't be returned, and Sobu High, being relatively well-funded, decided that returning them would be too much of a hassle. So, the extra mats were simply left idle on the gym's second floor.
They weren't stored in the equipment warehouse because there wasn't enough space, and expanding the warehouse just for a few mats was out of the question.
Having mats to lie on, combined with the fact that the small area on the second floor was usually unnoticed by others, meant that this place had become one of Kotomi Izumi's secret "slacking off" hideouts since the first month of school.
Her other secret bases included the school rooftop, the infirmary, the art club room, the sports equipment storeroom, and the kendo dojo.
After sitting down, Kotomi patted the spot beside her.
"Megumi, sit here~"
Megumi smoothed her skirt and sat down next to Kotomi.
Even from the second floor, faint sounds of the lively festival outside could be heard. During the culture festival, Sobu High was at its liveliest, and enjoying a bit of quiet amid all the excitement wasn't a bad choice either.
Kotomi liked both peace and liveliness—it all depended on her mood. She wasn't one to take extremes. Liking quiet didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the bustle; loving cherry blossoms didn't mean she couldn't also love tulips.
She liked drinking Pepsi—oh, right, when it came to cola, Kotomi truly only liked Pepsi.
"Were you feeling upset just now?" Kotomi asked softly, her tone light but straightforward.
"Eh?"
Megumi was startled. She had thought she'd hidden her emotions well. Besides, Kotomi's attention earlier had seemed to be on other girls…
"It's obvious you weren't happy," Kotomi said with a small smile, placing her hand gently over Megumi's. "Actually, when I was introducing you to Iroha earlier, I already knew you'd be unhappy. We're lovers, but I could only introduce you as my friend or my seatmate."
Megumi's lips trembled slightly. "And you kept calling her 'Iroha' so sweetly. What's that about? Isn't she Aimi's friend? Why did it sound like you two were so close?"
The words slipped out before she could stop them, tinged with jealousy.
Her voice carried the soft bitterness of someone hurt—hurt by having to hear her girlfriend call her a "friend" in public, hurt by the closeness in tone between her girlfriend and another girl. Megumi pressed her lips together, her sadness quiet and unspoken.
Kotomi saw it clearly and felt a pang of guilt. It was that guilt that made her slow her steps earlier, grab Megumi's hand, and bring her here before anyone could notice.
"I'm sorry," Kotomi said softly.
"Every time I see you with other girls, I feel awful inside," Megumi whispered. "You're my girlfriend, but I can't let anyone know. So many times, I've wanted to just hold you in front of everyone—to let them all know you're mine."
Megumi Kato's voice, which had started off calm, gradually grew more emotional as she spoke. Compared to her usual quiet and unassuming tone, the difference was like night and day.
Kotomi watched as Megumi—who so rarely let her emotions show—finally allowed herself to vent. A gentle, healing smile curved her lips. She reached out and pulled Megumi into her arms.
"Ah~ I'm really terrible, aren't I? Making my dear Megumi feel so hurt." As Kotomi spoke, her hand gently stroked Megumi's back in a soothing motion.
Since they had started dating, Megumi's personality had slowly begun to change, and Kotomi was well aware of it. Just now, when she had introduced Megumi as merely her friend, Kotomi herself had felt uncomfortable and guilty inside. In front of strangers, she could boldly and openly say: I have a girlfriend.
But right now, Kotomi still felt she wasn't ready to tell her family and friends that she was in a relationship—and that the person she loved was a girl.
A child falling in love was a serious matter in any household. Parents would inevitably worry and think deeply about it. Even if it was something good, it still required time for them to mentally prepare.
To suddenly tell them out of nowhere, I'm in love—and my partner is the same gender as me, would be hard for any parent to accept immediately. No matter how open-minded they might be, they would still need time to process and adjust, not simply understand and bless it right away.
Kotomi understood this truth well—and so did Megumi. But reason often fades when emotions swell. Even when one clearly understands what's right, the moment feelings surge to the surface, confusion and hurt naturally follow.
Rationality and emotion—neither truly has a definitive right or wrong. Too much reason leads to coldness and cruelty; too much emotion makes life complicated and messy.
The world gains nothing from dividing everything into black and white. The true color of the world is neither black nor white—it is gray, a blend of both. Only in that grayness lies the true reflection of reality.
Be rational when the time calls for it; be emotional when the heart demands it. There is no universally correct answer—only the choices you make. If your choice leads to a result you believe is right, then that is your truth. Every person's answer is different.
Leaning close, Kotomi whispered into Megumi's ear, her tone as tender and enchanting as a witch's spell:
"Megumi, tell me—how much do you love me?"
At that moment, both Kotomi Izumi and Megumi Kato chose emotion over reason.
"I feel like I really can't spoil you. The moment I treat you too well, you start taking advantage of it."
Disheveled and out of breath, Kotomi's pink eyes glimmered with a teasing hint as she gave Megumi Kato a coquettish look.
She had intended to stand up, but now, even sitting was a challenge. After trying to move and realizing that her strength hadn't quite returned, Kotomi gave up and simply stayed in Megumi's arms, letting her hold her.
"I'm sorry, my dear wife~ but look, I actually improved this time. At least I didn't tear your pantyhose," Megumi said with a sheepish grin before leaning down to plant a quick kiss on Kotomi's cheek.
"You sound almost proud of yourself. Should I praise you for that too?"
"Hehe, no need for that… I was just thinking, we still have a bit of time left, so maybe we could…"
"No! Don't even think about it!"
Before Megumi could finish her sentence, Kotomi immediately cut her off. If they went another round, she honestly doubted she'd be able to perform properly on stage later.
After resting for a bit, Megumi obediently helped Kotomi fix her clothes.
"Kotomi," Megumi said suddenly.
"Hm?" Kotomi looked up, her cheeks still tinted with a shy blush.
"Um… after school today, are you and Yukino and the others staying behind to rehearse again?"
"Of course not," Kotomi replied without hesitation. "The performance ends today. There's no reason to stay late for more practice. I'm more curious about what Mom's going to cook for dinner tonight."
Though she was disappointed about not being able to play Apex the night before—leaving her hands feeling a little empty—Kotomi was determined to play a few solid rounds once she got home today. She had to win at least one match!
Still, part of her kind of wanted to stay at school another night. After all, once you've tasted something wonderful, it's hard to stop craving it.
After spending one night sharing a bed with two other girls, Kotomi found herself increasingly fond of the feeling. In fact, she was starting to imagine what it might be like to sleep with three girls… or four… or five… or even six.
Exactly how many girls she wanted to sleep with, Kotomi couldn't quite say. The number just seemed to keep growing.
Once, she even dreamed of lying in one giant bed surrounded by 20,000 beautiful girls.
When Megumi heard that Kotomi would be going home after school, her eyes lit up instantly. "Then can we go home together today?" she asked, her voice full of hopeful anticipation.
"Sure," Kotomi replied casually.
When it was just the two of them, Kotomi almost always agreed to Megumi's requests—as long as they were within reason.
"Yay!" Megumi cheered joyfully, her face lighting up like a treasure hunter who had just struck gold. Even though it was just something as simple as walking home together after school, her happiness was pure and radiant.
...
After leaving the gymnasium, Kotomi didn't go back with Megumi right away. If they disappeared together earlier and now returned together again, it would definitely raise suspicion.
So Kotomi came up with a plan: Megumi would go back first to find Yukino Yukinoshita and the others, and Kotomi would return a few minutes later.
At this moment, Megumi was completely satisfied—and naturally, she followed Kotomi's suggestion without question.
After watching Megumi leave, Kotomi took out her phone and walked toward a nearby vending machine, planning to buy a bottle of Pepsi. But when she got there, she realized Pepsi was sold out. The orange juice was gone too. The only options left were hot red bean soup and a few other drinks.
A warm, sweet red bean soup would've been nice—but she didn't want a hot drink right now. She wanted something cold.
"Let's see… what cold drinks are left? Iced chocolate coffee? Ugh… I can handle coffee, but iced chocolate coffee? Cold chocolate—does that even taste good? Just imagining it sounds weird."
Kotomi had never been a fan of chocolate to begin with. Just picturing a cold drink with melted chocolate made her shiver. If regular chocolate was already hard for her to eat, then chocolate-flavored drinks were absolutely out of the question.
Despite her love for sweets, one of Kotomi's most hated foods was chocolate.
To be specific—dark chocolate.
White chocolate and liquor-filled chocolate were still tolerable, but only barely.
If Kotomi had to choose between a bowl of chopped green onions and a piece of chocolate, she would, without hesitation, pick the green onions.
Since the vending machine didn't have the drink she wanted, she had no choice but to walk a bit farther to look for another one.
Kotomi knew exactly where every vending machine in the school building was located. Even with her eyes closed, she could walk straight to any of them. From where she stood now, she could clearly picture which path to take to reach the nearest one.
She couldn't help but find it funny—after all these years of gaming, she had never managed to memorize an in-game map. Yet, in the real world, she somehow had developed that skill. No matter how many times she replayed a single-player game, she could never remember the map's layout. But here? She knew every turn by heart.
I'm actually amazing… Kotomi thought with quiet pride as she made her way to another vending machine.
This next machine wasn't much better stocked either—probably because of the culture festival. The drinks were selling fast today.
Still no Pepsi.
But thankfully, Kotomi spotted something else she liked—peach soda.
"No cola, huh? Then peach soda it is," she said to herself, dropping a coin into the slot and pressing the button beneath the label.
Clunk.
The can of peach soda fell from the shelf inside, landing with a metallic thud. Kotomi opened the small flap and retrieved it.
All the peach sodas at Sobu High were the same brand, identical in both packaging and flavor. As she looked at the can in her hand, Kotomi couldn't help but think back to last night—the sound of a drink bottle rolling across the floor when she was holding Yukino.
That rolling bottle had been peach soda too. It wasn't even that popular of a drink on campus; few people bought it. And although there was no hard evidence, Kotomi couldn't shake the feeling that the bottle that had rolled away last night looked awfully familiar. It looked exactly like the one she'd been drinking, the one she had passed to Yui to share.
!!!
A sudden realization struck her like a bolt of lightning.
Come to think of it—Yui must have finished that bottle. So where did the empty bottle go afterward?
Kotomi hadn't paid much attention at the time, but thinking carefully now, she realized she hadn't seen the empty peach soda bottle anywhere.
Last night, they'd tossed all their empty bottles into the trash bin in the second music room. But as far as Kotomi remembered, there hadn't been a peach soda bottle among them.
As Kotomi stared at the peach soda in her hand, lost in thought, someone quietly approached from behind—each step growing quicker and quicker as the distance between them closed.
—
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