After seeing that Yukino Yukinoshita and Yui Yuigahama had no objections, Kotomi Izumi finalized the plan:
"Tomorrow morning, we'll use the first half of the day to sleep in, then pack our luggage. Let's meet at 6 p.m. in front of the Chiba Urban Monorail Station. As for the route, I've already planned it out. We'll first take the Chiba Urban Monorail to the JR Sobu Main Line, then transfer to the JR Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen. By the next day, we should arrive in Kyoto by morning. Once we get there, we'll have breakfast, then take the JR Nara Line, and finally transfer to the Keihan Main Line for about three minutes. After walking for about a kilometer, we'll reach the Haridori Inn."
This was the fastest route Kotomi Izumi could come up with. The whole trip would take about eight hours—not too long. Moreover, if they paid a bit extra to upgrade their seats on the Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen to the Green Car, they could comfortably spend the seven-hour journey.
After explaining the plan, Kotomi suddenly remembered that the train fare might be a little expensive, so she quickly added:
"I'll buy all the tickets myself, to make sure no one buys the wrong ones."
"Then I'll give you the money first, Kotomi," Yui Yuigahama said.
Silly dumpling... I said that so you wouldn't have to spend money… Kotomi thought to herself, feeling a little exasperated. She knew that if she refused to let Yui pay, the girl would definitely feel uneasy about it.
Fortunately, Kotomi came up with a good idea.
"Don't rush to give me the money just yet. It's just two extra tickets. When I ask you two for the fare later, you can pay me then."
Perhaps just as her name suggested, Yukino Yukinoshita was as sharp as snow—quickly understanding Kotomi's true intention: she simply didn't want Yui to spend too much.
Kotomi, you really do spoil Yui... Yukino thought silently, her gaze lingering on Kotomi. The scene she had witnessed by the fountain that night—the one of Kotomi and Yui kissing—flashed once again before her eyes.
And with it came that suffocating feeling. Every time she thought of that kiss, Yukino felt as though her heart and throat were being tightly squeezed—overwhelmed by the flood of envy and jealousy that threatened to drive her insane.
Why? Why wasn't I the one Kotomi kissed that night by the fountain?!
At that moment, when she saw Yui kissing Kotomi, Yukino had felt nothing but jealousy—an unbearable, consuming jealousy—and one single thought filled her heart: I want to replace Yui!
But how could she?
Thinking of this, Yukino's lips curved into a bitter smile.
"That's a good idea. Considering we'll need to transfer multiple times, even if we take notes, it's easy to mix up the times. It's better to leave everything to Kotomi. Don't you agree, Yui?" Yukino said calmly, taking a quiet breath as if to steady her emotions.
Had she spoken a moment earlier, her tone likely wouldn't have been so composed—it might have been hysterical instead.
"Yeah, that makes sense. Everything's online now, but I still can't get used to buying tickets that way."
"Not good with online payments, huh? Are you really a high school girl?" Kotomi teased lightly.
"Ugh~ Kotomi, you're teasing me again."
"Hahaha!"
As Kotomi Izumi and Yui Yuigahama playfully bantered, Yukino quietly averted her gaze.
So dazzling... Yukino thought silently. To her, the sight of Kotomi and Yui together was blinding—painfully so. She felt that the triangle formed by the three of them was beginning to crack, fissures spreading across its fragile balance, threatening to shatter at any moment.
"A hot spring trip, huh? Sounds nice. I'm so jealous," Megumi Kato said, her voice filled with envy. Of course, what she envied wasn't the trip itself—but the fact that Yui and Yukino would be spending several days in Kyoto with Kotomi.
"Do you want to come too, Megumi?" Kotomi asked with a smile.
When Megumi heard Kotomi's invitation, she immediately felt relieved. She had been a little worried about Kotomi going to Kyoto with two girls for several days, even if they were just close friends. But with the invitation, that anxiety began to ease.
Kotomi Izumi's question made it clear—she really was just going on a simple hot spring trip, not sneaking off with Yui or Yukino... If Kotomi truly had ulterior motives, she wouldn't have invited Megumi along so openly, would she?
Realizing this, Megumi Kato felt both happy and relieved—but also a little disappointed. She really wanted to go to the hot springs with Kotomi, but she knew her mother would never allow her to travel to Kyoto with them.
Megumi could only sigh quietly in her heart, shrug her shoulders, and smile helplessly.
"I'd really love to go with you, but my mom would never agree."
"That's true," Kotomi nodded, fully aware of Kumi Motokawa's strictness toward her daughter. There was no way she'd approve of Megumi going to Kyoto for a hot spring trip.
Kotomi could only plan to take Megumi to a local hot spring some other time—somewhere within Chiba City or nearby, where they could go and return within a day.
And with that, the plan to depart for Kyoto at 6 p.m. tomorrow was officially set.
Poke poke~
Just then, Kotomi felt a gentle poke on her stomach.
Looking down, she saw Mashiro Shiina—still clinging to her—poking her stomach again and again with her finger.
When Mashiro noticed Kotomi looking down, she lifted her cute, blank little face and said seriously in her soft voice:
"Kotomi, you haven't asked me yet if I want to come along."
"No, no, I was just about to ask when you started poking my stomach. If you hadn't poked me, I would've already finished asking by now."
In truth, she had completely forgotten to ask.
Kotomi laughed as she spoke and gently patted Mashiro's hair. She hadn't meant to sound like she was coaxing a child—but both her tone and her gesture made it seem exactly like that.
"Then ask me now if I want to go to the hot springs," Mashiro said, puffing her cheeks as she poked Kotomi's stomach a few more times.
"Mashiro, do you want to go to the hot springs with us?"
"Yes—"
"No."
The sudden voice interrupted Mashiro's answer. It belonged to Chihiro Sengoku, who had appeared out of nowhere, directly overriding Mashiro's reply—despite how clearly it went against what Mashiro wanted.
"Huh? Chihiro, when did you get here?" Kotomi asked in surprise.
"That way of addressing me... well, whatever. If you want to call me that, go ahead. It makes me sound young anyway. If only my age could match how young that nickname sounds~
I heard there's a great sausage stall nearby, so I was planning to buy a few to go with some sesame noodles. The sesame noodles from that stall over there are delicious too. Honestly, sesame sauce makes everything taste better.
Anyway, I happened to see you guys, so I came over to say hi—and that's when I saw Mashiro throwing a little tantrum at you.
You really have your hands full, Kotomi," Chihiro said with a teasing smile.
Kotomi laughed out loud. Taking care of—ahem, rather, getting along with Mashiro—wasn't really that tiring for her at all.
Before Kotomi Izumi could even respond, Mashiro Shiina spoke up in a slightly irritated tone, addressing Chihiro Sengoku:
"Cousin, why can't I go to Kyoto with Kotomi to the hot springs? Are you jealous? After all, no one's ever invited you to a hot spring trip, have they?"
"Pfft—this brat, your sharp tongue's getting worse and worse," Chihiro said, twitching her lips.
"I want to go to the hot springs with Kotomi."
"The bathtub at home's plenty big. If you want a soak, I'll let you soak all you want tonight."
"No, I want to go to the hot springs with Kotomi."
"If you'd said that last month, I might've agreed. But not this month."
"Why not?"
"Because your mom and dad are coming to see you. They're probably already on the plane from England to Japan by now."
Mashiro froze when she heard that, her eyes blinking in disbelief.
"Mom and Dad are coming to Japan?"
"Of course. Their daughter came all the way to Japan from the UK—it's only natural they'd be worried, even with me keeping an eye on you. So they found some time to fly here, just to see you, have a meal together, and chat a bit. That's why I'm not letting you go to Kyoto with Kotomi this time. Besides, didn't you just go to Kyoto with her not long ago?"
"But we didn't even go to the hot springs that time..." Mashiro muttered under her breath, pouting like a kid denied her favorite treat.
Then, she buried her small head into Kotomi Izumi's chest, sulking adorably.
So cute... Kotomi thought to herself, watching her.
Seeing Mashiro start to sulk, Chihiro Sengoku sighed and gave Kotomi a helpless look, silently asking her to help coax Mashiro.
Kotomi returned an 'I'll do my best' look and then said gently:
"Mashiro, how about next time, we go to the hot springs together, just the two of us, okay?"
"But I want to go this time..." Mashiro puffed her cheeks, looking so adorable that Kotomi couldn't help but want to bite them.
Right now, Mashiro practically had I'm jealous written all over her face.
Kotomi already had two girlfriends—if she couldn't tell when a girl was jealous, she'd be a total airhead. (Well, okay, sometimes she really was.)
Kotomi smiled softly and leaned down, whispering in Mashiro's ear:
"Mashiro, do you want to know why I didn't invite you right away to come to the hot springs?"
Her question might've sounded like she was rubbing salt in the wound, but that wasn't her intention at all.
"Why?" Mashiro asked curiously.
"Because I wanted to have a private hot spring trip with you—just the two of us. We'd go somewhere you like, without anyone else knowing, and enjoy a few peaceful days together. Mashiro, wouldn't you like that?" Kotomi whispered softly, just loud enough for only the two of them to hear.
Mashiro's eyes lit up instantly. The thought of a trip alone with Kotomi thrilled her beyond words.
"Th-Then when do we leave?!!" she asked eagerly, her excitement overflowing—as if she might grab Kotomi and drag her straight to the station or the airport right that moment.
Never mind that she had no idea where the shinkansen station or airport even was.
"If you want, we can go anytime—after I come back from Kyoto," Kotomi said with a gentle smile.
Then she added softly:
"Honestly, when I first heard we could visit the Haridori Inn, you were the first person I thought of taking. But when I learned your parents were coming, I decided against it. You've been in Japan for a while now, and your parents must really miss you—that's why they're coming all this way to see you.
"Parents' love is something precious. Now that we're older, we should learn to understand their feelings. If your mom and dad arrive and find you missing—off on a hot spring trip with me—they'd be so worried and sad. And who knows, they might even end up getting the wrong impression of me."
"Kotomi, do you really want your mom and dad to dislike me?"
That final line was a killer move for Mashiro Shiina.
Even though Kotomi hadn't yet accepted Mashiro's confession, that didn't stop Mashiro from already imagining marrying Kotomi Izumi—having Kotomi take her surname after marriage and becoming Mashiro Kotomi.
Mashiro might lack common sense, but even she knew that before marriage, both sets of parents needed to meet. Because of that, she sincerely wanted her parents to like Kotomi.
If she wanted that to happen, she couldn't let them form a bad impression of her beloved Kotomi.
Mashiro silently thought about it and realized Kotomi made perfect sense. Her mood lifted almost instantly.
Kotomi didn't invite me to Kyoto right away because she was worried that my parents might think badly of her if I left without telling them. She's so thoughtful—it must be because she wants to earn my parents' approval... so we can get married smoothly! Mashiro thought, her mind now racing happily.
The more she thought about it, the happier she became—her imagination even drifting to what Kotomi might look like once she was pregnant after their marriage.
A few moments later, Mashiro obediently nodded, her small head pressed gently against Kotomi's chest as she murmured softly:
"Kotomi, I'll listen to you."
"Good girl."
Kotomi Izumi smiled warmly and patted Mashiro's soft hair again.
Although Chihiro Sengoku had no idea what Kotomi had just said to Mashiro—or what kind of exchange had taken place between them—seeing Mashiro calm down so quickly left her genuinely impressed.
To be able to make a world-class artistic genius like Mashiro Shiina behave so obediently... Kotomi Izumi was probably the only person in the world capable of that.
Afterward, Chihiro came up with an excuse to leave, saying she had spotted the sausage stand she mentioned earlier.
Kotomi also glanced over and noticed the stall Chihiro had pointed out. It turned out to be run by Class 1-B. There was no shop sign—just a large board with writing on it:
"May every sausage you buy be because you genuinely enjoy the taste—not just because it's cheap. Love is the same way. May the person you marry be someone you truly love—not just someone you settle for because you think it's time to get married."
Below that message was another line:
"Available flavors: cumin, chili sauce, salad dressing, ketchup, plum, curry, sweet chili sauce."
For some reason, though, the signboard for Class 1-B's sausage stand looked strangely... like a smartphone.
"Kotomi, do you want a sausage?" Chihiro asked before leaving.
"I'm not hungry yet, so I'll pass. Thanks," Kotomi replied with a light laugh.
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