[Kotomi, are you taking a bath?]
Seeing gumi's text ssage, Kotomi froze. The timing was... suspiciously precise.
[Just about to. I just finished undressing...]
Kotomi replied, tapping the screen before sending it.
[ too~ Want to video call?]
[Absolutely not!]
Kotomi rejected the idea imdiately, her cheeks turning red. She then rembered the matter at hand and hurriedly began typing a ssage to ask.
[So, uh, gumi, about the underwear you're wearing...]
She hadn't even finished typing or added punctuation when her hand slipped, and the ssage was sent prematurely.
The mont it was sent, Kotomi tried to recall it—only to see the dreaded "Read" status pop up imdiately.
"Ahhhhhh! This is terrible! That ssage could easily be misinterpreted! No, it will be misinterpreted! Even if this were a reading comprehension test, no one would co up with a normal interpretation!"
Her face heated up as she muttered in frustration, "Why does gumi have to be so quick at checking ssages? Is she glued to her phone waiting for to reply?"
Kotomi frantically typed another ssage:
[gumi, that last ssage wasn't ant to imply anything weird. I was just trying to—]
Before she could finish, gumi's reply popped up.
[Ah~ That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. When I was getting ready to bathe and changed clothes, I noticed the underwear wasn't mine. But it felt super familiar, so I imdiately realized—it's yours, Kotomi.]
Attached to the ssage was a picture.
From the background, it was clear gumi was also in the bathroom. And the "star" of the picture? Kotomi's unmistakable blue-and-white panties with the silly little penguin printed on the back.
"Yep, no doubt about it—gumi and I swapped by mistake," Kotomi thought, her emotions a mix of helplessness and relief.
She began typing a reply:
[Ah! That's definitely mine. How embarrassing! I can't believe we accidentally switched underwear. I'll bring yours—]
She stopped mid-sentence, hesitating.
Though they had only just realized the mix-up, it ant they'd been wearing each other's underwear the entire day. Bringing it to gumi now would... probably be too awkward.
"Better to wash it first and return it tomorrow before school," Kotomi decided. She deleted her unfinished sentence and started over.
Before she could send the revised reply, another ssage from gumi arrived:
[Sniff sniff~]
"Sniff sniff? What the hell does that an?! She better not be doing sothing weird!"
Those two simple words made Kotomi's face instantly flush crimson.
Sotis, it didn't take a long ssage to deal devastating psychological damage. With just the right words, the effect could be explosive.
[Don't do anything weird!] Kotomi fired back in alarm.
[Relax~ I'm just teasing. I wouldn't actually do anything strange. Ah, by the way, it's probably not ideal to bring it over tonight. I'll wash it and return it to you tomorrow at school. Does that work?]
[That's exactly what I was thinking.]
[Looks like we're in sync, huh? Sniff sniff~]
[I said no weird stuff!]
[Got it. Sniff sniff~]
Even though she knew gumi was joking, Kotomi couldn't help but feel uneasy.
"Whatever. Bath ti cos first," she muttered, heading to wash both herself and the underwear.
After finishing her bath and drying her hair, Kotomi slipped on her pajamas and returned to her room. In her private bathroom, she carefully hand-washed gumi's panties before hanging them up to dry.
Worried they might blow away if left outside—thanks to the windy autumn weather—she opted to hang them in her bathroom instead.
"Better safe than sorry. It'll dry fine here overnight," she thought as she adjusted the hanger.
Just then, Kotomi realized she wasn't wearing anything underneath her pajamas. She quickly rummaged through her wardrobe for a fresh pair.
"Let's go with plain white tomorrow," she decided, pulling out a matching set.
Rather than putting them on now, Kotomi placed them aside. Since she would be going to bed soon, there wasn't much point in putting them on just yet.
Her habit of sleeping without undergarnts started because her pajama buttons would always end up misaligned by morning. After trying it once, she found the freedom addicting and decided to forgo both pajamas and underwear entirely while sleeping.
"Alright, I'll put these on tomorrow morning," she murmured, setting her alarm before settling into bed to play a mobile ga.
"Azur Lane's fourth-anniversary event is almost over, and I've got almost everything from the limited construction pool. I even bought all the new and re-released skins. But still..."
Kotomi frowned at her screen.
"I still don't have Haruna!"
After two more ten-pulls, she was left with neither the character nor enough resources to keep trying.
Her stash of cubes, coins, and speed-up tools was dangerously low, but she couldn't bring herself to spend any of her hard-earned gems just yet.
"I'll think of sothing tomorrow," Kotomi decided.
For now, it was ti to sleep.
The next morning, Kotomi finished the last bite of her oatal bread before getting ready to leave for school.
"Mom, Aimi, I'm heading out!"
"Take care, Onee-chan!" Aimi called out.
"Wait, Kotomi, don't forget this."
Akina handed her a neatly packed bento box.
Kotomi blinked in surprise. "Mom—wait, is this...?"
"What's with that face? You look like you're about to cry from happiness. It's just a bento. I've been aning to start making them for you two again. Since there was so fresh lamb leftover from yesterday, I decided to whip up a lamb stir-fry bento with tuna-flake olets and seaweed rice."
After stretching her neck, Akina sighed, "It's been a while since I last got up early to make bentos. I forgot how tiring it is. Props to those housewives who do it daily!"
"Buying lunch from the school store is convenient, but I do miss ho-cooked als. Thanks, Mom! I'm off!"
Kotomi carefully placed the bento in her bag before stepping outside.
As expected, gumi was already waiting under the streetlamp.
Crouched low, she was feeding little stray kittens with a handful of fish snacks.
"Is it just ," Kotomi wondered as she walked closer, "or are there more stray cats around here lately?"
In cities and villages alike, stray cats and dogs are common sights.
Around the Izumi household, stray dogs were rare, but stray cats? They were everywhere.
At first, Kotomi was frequently startled awake at night by the eerie cries of cats—an unsettling sound, much like a child's wail. Later, when she'd grown used to it, the cries rely disturbed her sleep. However, one sleepless night, she decided enough was enough.
Not wanting to resort to asures that might harm the cats, Kotomi ca up with a compromise. She started feeding the strays in her area, mumbling her complaints as she opened cans of fish:
"Dear feline overlords, your nocturnal raves are understandable. But, please, I need my sleep. Can you tone it down a little for the sake of this generous fish?"
Whether they understood her or simply liked her offerings, the local cats started warming up to her. Not only did they stop their nightti howling near her house, but they also began approaching Kotomi whenever they saw her, allowing her to pet them freely.
From that point on, Kotomi gradually beca acquainted with the strays in her area, familiarizing herself with their appearances and habits. Initially, there were only ten.
But after she began feeding them fish, the population mysteriously doubled.
From ten, it grew to twenty. And this morning, after spotting gumi feeding the strays, Kotomi noticed another five had joined the mix.
Now there were twenty-five stray cats in the area!
Luckily, the cats respected Kotomi enough not to disturb her ho at night anymore. Instead, their nocturnal concerts were now held at her neighbors' houses.
"gumi, feeding the cats again?"
Kotomi walked over, watching gumi surrounded by cats. For a brief mont, Kotomi even considered trying the fish snacks herself.
The mont she approached, the cats seed to sense her presence. Like a flock responding to an unseen signal, they abandoned gumi and rushed over to Kotomi's feet.
Even the few who were still munching on fish snacks soon finished up and joined the others.
"When I first started coming here, these little guys wouldn't even let touch them. It's like I'm their natural enemy," gumi said with a resigned smile.
"How's that going for you? After two packs of fish snacks, have you won them over yet?" Kotomi asked apologetically.
"Well, this is how it's going. When you're not here, I can at least hold their attention with snacks. But the mont you show up, they ignore completely. They don't even eat anymore; they just flock to you. Kotomi, you're basically the queen of cats. If they could talk, I'm sure they'd all be saying, 'I want to be Miss Izumi's cat!'"
"I've always been good with cats," Kotomi admitted, crouching to stroke an orange tabby. "I'd love to adopt one soday, but it depends on whether Mom and Dad would allow it. If they agree, I'd definitely consider it. But if they say no, then there's nothing I can do."
After putting the orange tabby back on the ground, Kotomi and gumi headed to school together.
On the way, Kotomi rummaged through her bag and pulled out a pink laundry net, handing it to gumi. Inside was gumi's gray underwear.
"I-I washed it for you," Kotomi mumbled, her face turning bright red.
gumi took the net with a dramatic sigh.
"Sigh..."
"Huh? What's wrong? Are you not satisfied? Why the long face?"
Shaking her head, gumi replied in a serious tone, "It's not dissatisfaction. It's just... now that it's all cleaned, my plan has completely fallen apart."
"What kind of weird plan are you cooking up?! Don't make punch you!"
Kotomi raised her small fists in mock anger.
"Hehe, just kidding. Thanks, Kotomi. Oh, right! I washed yours too. Here you go."
gumi pulled out another laundry net from her bag and handed it to Kotomi. Inside was Kotomi's penguin-print underwear.
"Honestly, it's hilarious how we managed to mix up sothing as personal as that yesterday morning," Kotomi said with an embarrassed smile.
"Well, I do love you, Kotomi."
"And what does that have to do with your confession?!"
"Nothing at all."
"Unbelievable..." Kotomi sighed, her face still flushed. Then, as if rembering sothing important, she suddenly brightened.
"Oh, gumi! Help with a pull on the limited construction pool!"
She handed gumi her phone, which displayed the build screen in Azur Lane.
"Another failed pull?"
"Yep, still no Haruna. gumi, please~"
"Alright, alright. Let try. But you don't seem to have enough resources for a ten-pull. I'll just do a single build and see how it goes."
"Can a single pull even work?" Kotomi asked skeptically.
Although she'd done several ten-pulls already, she wasn't at the pity threshold yet. Kotomi had little faith in gumi's strategy.
"Let's find out."
gumi pressed the build button, initiating a single construction.
"Use a quick finish tool?" gumi asked.
"Of course!"
Kotomi nodded eagerly.
As the construction completed, Kotomi braced herself for another disappointnt, expecting to see the white glow of a common ship.
But instead...
Super Rare!
Haruna!
"Wow, I was just testing my luck before committing to a ten-pull, but I actually got her!" gumi said, handing the phone back to Kotomi with a bashful smile.
"gumi, are you so kind of goddess of luck?!" Kotomi shouted in disbelief, her expression brimming with joy.
"Is she really that good?" gumi asked, puzzled by Kotomi's reaction.
Having already purchased Haruna's new skin, Kotomi looked up from her phone and declared, "I don't know about her stats yet. But the mont I saw her design, I knew I had to have her!"
"Huh. Yesterday, I pulled a ten-pull on Azur Lane too. I got ten Harunas. Is that good?"
"Wait... Ten Harunas?! In one ten-pull?!"
"Yep," gumi replied, showing her phone as proof.
The evidence was clear: ten identical Harunas filled gumi's dock.
Kotomi felt a pang of envy so intense she could almost taste it.
"gumi, from now on, all my gacha pulls are in your hands!"
"With pleasure," gumi said with a grin.
At school, Kotomi and gumi switched to their indoor shoes. Just as they were about to head to class, the rhythmic tap of a cane echoed behind them.
"Kotomi, good morning!"
A familiar voice called out. Turning around, Kotomi saw Arisu Sakayanagi approaching, her cane clicking against the floor as she walked.
"Had fun over the weekend?" Arisu asked, flashing a knowing smile.
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