Izumi Kotomi wasn't sure whether gumi Kato was joking or being serious with her last statent.
"When you're walking alone at night and suddenly hear soone call your na, even if it's a familiar voice, it's only natural to get startled, right?"
After realizing it was gumi Kato and not so lurking monster ready to gobble her up, Kotomi felt a wave of relief wash over her. Recently, she'd been reading a lot of urban legends online, and while in her previous life, she would have dismissed them as re fiction, her experience of reincarnation had given her a new respect for supernatural occurrences.
Of course, part of the reason was that she'd turned into a girl, and that had made her especially sensitive to ghost stories and creepy topics.
To put it bluntly—she was a little scared.
"Are you nervous walking alone at night?" gumi asked.
"I guess you could say that... I've been reading too many urban legends lately, so now I get a bit spooked when walking at night," Kotomi admitted.
There was nothing embarrassing about admitting sothing like this. After all, everyone had things they were afraid of, right?
So people were afraid of bugs, so feared the ocean, so dreaded heights, and others were terrified of ghosts.
It was completely normal.
In her previous life, Kotomi had been absolutely terrified of insects, especially spiders. Every ti she saw one, it would make her skin crawl.
Thinking about it now, she was incredibly thankful she hadn't reincarnated as a spider, like in that other story. With her extre fear of spiders, she would have probably chosen to restart her life imdiately.
"Oh, so Kotomi is scared of ghosts?" gumi's eyes lit up mischievously, clearly amused by this new discovery.
"Just a little bit," Kotomi replied, trying to downplay it.
"In that case, why don't you co over to my house this weekend? I have a collection of horror movies we could watch," gumi said with a sweet smile, her tone gentle but the suggestion terrifying.
"Please spare !" Kotomi nearly whimpered.
"Haha, I'm just joking. But if walking alone at night makes you so anxious, worrying about sothing like a slit-mouthed woman popping out, why don't I walk you ho from now on?" gumi suggested calmly.
"Eh?"
"If you're going to be tutoring Yui after school, and it gets too late, just give a call. I'll co pick you up, and we can walk together, just like tonight."
gumi gently took Kotomi's hand as she spoke. Whether it was the comfort of gumi's presence or simply the act of holding hands, Kotomi felt the tension she usually associated with walking alone at night lt away in an instant.
"But isn't that too much trouble for you? I'm only a little nervous—it's not like I'm terribly afraid of walking alone," Kotomi said quickly, feeling flustered by how serious gumi seed.
"It's no trouble at all. I usually go for a walk after dinner anyway. So, if you ever feel anxious or scared, just give a call. If not, that's fine too," gumi said, her tone casual but offering a sense of reliability that Kotomi found hard to resist.
Every ti gumi spoke like this, Kotomi felt an almost irresistible urge to lean on her for support.
Shaking her head to rid herself of those thoughts, Kotomi sighed softly and said, "gumi, you sound like you've got a lot of free ti on your hands."
"Well, since I usually finish my howork in the library before you finish tutoring Yui, I do end up with plenty of free ti in the evenings," gumi admitted with a light smile.
"Doesn't your mom nag you about it? I rember you ntioning before that she's really strict about your grades," Kotomi asked.
"Yeah, she nags sotis, but I've learned to let it go in one ear and out the other. She can talk all she wants, but it doesn't bother if I don't take it to heart."
gumi's smile grew playful as she added, "Still, I'll need to do well on next week's exams to keep her off my back for a while. Last ti, my good grades bought a month of peace and quiet. I'm hoping this ti I can make it last until the midterms."
"You seem pretty confident about your grades, gumi."
"And what about you, the teachers' star student, Izumi Kotomi? You aren't worried about your grades?"
"Well, the exams haven't started yet."
"But once they're over, you'll feel confident?"
"I only feel confident in the results after I've actually finished sothing," Kotomi said earnestly.
Saying sothing so grounded made her feel incredibly cool and composed—like she was a pillar of rationality.
However, gumi's lips curled into a sly smile, one Kotomi didn't notice. "Oh~? Is that so? Well, there's one thing I could help you with that would make you feel very confident."
"What is it?"
"Hehe, that's a secret~ I'm not telling you."
"Stop teasing !"
"Guess you'll just have to figure it out," gumi giggled.
The two of them continued talking and laughing as they walked. Soon, they reached Kotomi's house, and after saying their goodbyes at the door, Kotomi stepped inside.
As soon as she opened the door, the first thing she saw was her sister, Aimi Izumi, standing in the entryway, arms crossed over her chest. Dressed in a pair of casual shorts, her slender legs were on full display, and her cute, pale feet were tapping impatiently on the floor, clearly annoyed.
Her expression scread "I'm not happy," and it seed like she'd been waiting for quite a while.
Seeing this, Kotomi tried to act as if she hadn't noticed and greeted her sister as usual. "I'm ho, Aimi."
"Do you know what ti it is?" Aimi asked coldly.
"Um... around 7:30?"
Aimi took a deep breath, then whipped out her phone and pointed at the screen, shouting, "It's almost 8! Were you really tutoring a classmate, or were you out hanging around with another woman?!"
Her loud voice imdiately drew the attention of their mother, Akina Izumi, who poked her head out from the living room and gave Kotomi a thumbs-up.
"Whoa, nice! Already found yourself a girlfriend, huh? I was going to teach you how to date soon, but you've already mastered it! Impressive! And with a girlfriend no less! Now that's what I call genetic talent. It runs in the family—you must've inherited it from your dad and . We started dating in high school too!"
Akina's cheerful praise only made Aimi stomp her foot in frustration.
"Mom! Shouldn't you be scolding her for coming ho late instead?!"
"If she was out on a date with her girlfriend, then there's no problem! Oh, and by the way, watch your language—it's not called 'hanging out,' it's called 'dating.' It's perfectly normal for young couples to go on dates, hold hands, maybe even share a kiss or two. Back in my high school days, your dad and I used to go on dates that lasted all night~" Akina said with a fond, nostalgic smile.
Before Kotomi could escape, Akina wrapped her arm around her daughter, full of excitent at the idea of becoming a future mother-in-law. "Kotomi, tell all about your girlfriend! What's her na? What does she look like? Does she go to your school? Is it gumi Kato? Or maybe Yui Yuigahama? When can you bring her over to et us?"
"Uh... it's not like that..." Kotomi stamred, sweating nervously. She hadn't even started dating anyone yet!
Just as she was about to deny it, Akina's eyes widened in shock. "Wait a second—don't tell you've already won over that ice queen beauty you were talking about, Yukino Yukinoshita?!"
Why are we talking about Yukino now?!
"Mom, you've got it all wrong! None of that is happening. I was just tutoring Yui, and I ca ho a little late, that's all!"
Hearing this, Akina paused for a mont before asking, "Really?"
"Really."
With that, Akina let go of Kotomi and clicked her tongue in disappointnt. "Tch, boring. Here I was, thinking I'd finally reached the age where I'd be planning my daughter's wedding. Guess I got excited for nothing."
After muttering that, Akina disappeared back into the living room.
Why does it have to be getting married off?!
Is this really my own mother?! Even if I had a girlfriend, does she just assu I'm the one being married off? Couldn't I be the one bringing soone else into our family instead? Have so faith in , Mom! Kotomi silently scread in her heart.
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