Actually, gumi wasn't particularly craving cake; she simply wanted Kotomi to "make it up" to her sohow. Using the missed opportunity to buy cake as an excuse was just her way of bringing it up.
As the saying goes, "The wine-lover's heart is not in the cup." What gumi truly wanted wasn't a cake from Dango Bakery, nor one handmade by Kotomi. The "cake" gumi was eyeing was Kotomi herself.
Seeing that Kotomi was seriously about to head over to her place to bake a cake, gumi's lips curled into a loving smile. She turned slightly, leaning her cheek toward Kotomi.
"The 'compensation' I want is... a kiss from you."
gumi's words ca with a soft smile, her deanor calm and unhurried—even though they were standing right outside Kotomi's house.
Kotomi felt a surge of shyness well up inside her.
Her gaze fell on gumi, taking in her delicate, beautiful features, her lips that always seed irresistibly soft no matter how many kisses they'd shared. The way her lashes cast tiny shadows on her lower eyelids under the glow of the sunset...
A faint smile ford on Kotomi's lips. Taking a step closer, she gently grasped gumi's arm, rose on tiptoe, and quickly planted a kiss on gumi's cheek.
"There, happy now, you mischievous little gumi?"
Kotomi's voice wavered slightly, her cheeks flushing an enticing shade of pink. The kiss was fleeting—quick and light.
Yet, both Kotomi and gumi couldn't help but feel a little unsatisfied.
After all, they were standing at Kotomi's doorstep. If her sister or parents happened to see them, no excuse about being "just good friends" would be convincing enough.
"I'm heading in. Be careful on your way ho, okay? Text when you get back." Kotomi's voice softened with a trace of reluctance.
Even though she knew they'd see each other again the next morning, there was still a twinge of unwillingness to part.
Maybe this is just how it feels to be in love.
"My house is literally within walking distance of yours. You can see it from here. Are you really that worried about over such a short distance? Oh no, I'm so touched! You're already so attentive—what will happen when we're married? Co on, one more kiss for your caring and adorable future wife!"
gumi's teasing tone carried a playful excitent, and she made a move as if to pounce on Kotomi for a more thorough "kiss study session."
"Hold it right there! Calm down!"
Kotomi quickly planted her hands on gumi's face, firmly stopping her advance. Seizing the opportunity, she mischievously kneaded gumi's soft cheeks.
The perfect balance of softness made the act of squishing her face irresistibly satisfying—borderline addictive.
After indulging for a bit, Kotomi let out a triumphant hum before finally releasing gumi's cheeks. Anticipating gumi's inevitable retaliation, Kotomi imdiately dashed into her house the mont her hands were free, as if she'd used a teleportation spell.
"Bye-bye!"
She left gumi with a parting shot, disappearing inside her ho.
For a mont, gumi stood in place, stunned. Then, realizing what had just happened, she burst into laughter.
This was unexpected.
It's like a docile little kitten that usually lets do whatever I want suddenly pawed at in defiance. Of course, it wasn't threatening at all—if anything, it just made want to bite her little paw gently. Still, it was surprising.
"She's too cute. How can anyone be this cute?"
gumi's heart was practically bursting with joy as she headed ho, her steps unusually light.
Back at ho, Kotomi greeted her mom, who was busy cooking in the kitchen. After setting her completely emptied lunchbox on the table, she headed straight to her room.
Stripping off her school uniform and white stockings, Kotomi changed into her beloved penguin pajamas.
It wasn't that she wore the sa one every day without washing—she was diligent about changing them. She simply owned several identical sets of penguin pajamas because she adored the design.
Yesterday, while Asuka Chizuru had asked her for the outline of Chainsaw Man, Kotomi had used the excuse that her main computer was broken, extending her deadline to deliver the outline.
Unlike novels, manga didn't strictly require the creator to prepare a detailed outline.
But Kotomi had bragged a bit too much the previous day, claiming she'd finished the outline ages ago. She'd even pretended to be so ahead of the curve that she'd already plotted out the ending of Chainsaw Man, despite currently only being in the early chapters.
If only I'd kept a lower profile! I could've just said, 'What outline? Never wrote one.'
Now, Kotomi had no choice but to actually write it. She sighed deeply at the prospect of sacrificing her gaming ti.
Ugh, I was really looking forward to taking tonight off to play gas.
With a heavy sigh, Kotomi booted up her computer, stifling the urge to open Steam. Instead, she opened Word, rested her hands on the keyboard, and began typing.
After dinner, she wrote for two more hours, finally finishing the complete outline for Chainsaw Man by 10:30 PM. The plot structure was airtight, the foreshadowing masterful—so polished it was hard to believe she'd cranked it out in just a few hours.
Flexing her sore wrists, Kotomi saved the file, attached it to an email, and sent it to Asuka Chizuru.
"She's probably off work by now, but she should see it first thing in the morning."
Kotomi debated whether to continue working on Sword Art Online, but she couldn't muster the will. All she wanted to do was turn off her computer, lie in bed, and either read a novel, browse manga, or play gas.
If I don't feel like working, I won't work.
She shut down her computer, rolled her chair to her bed, and flopped onto it in one fluid motion—a maneuver that spoke to years of honed laziness.
Just as she was about to sleep, she suddenly rembered sothing.
Earlier, gumi had ntioned how much she liked Kotomi's penguin pajamas and asked her to send over a few photos.
"Almost forgot about that!"
Kotomi quickly sat up, opened her phone's cara app, and took a flurry of selfies in her penguin pajamas—sixteen shots in total.
"Perfect! More than enough to satisfy her."
Giggling, Kotomi sent all sixteen photos to gumi via text.
An hour later, just as Kotomi was settling into bed, she received a ssage.
All sixteen photos had been marked as "read." gumi's reply was brief, consisting of just one emoji: a thumbs-up.
Right after, gumi sent a photo.
Curious, Kotomi opened it—and her face turned crimson in an instant. She buried herself under the blanket, mortified.
—
Just as she was about to drift off to sleep, Kotomi suddenly rembered sothing.
Today was Monday!
The newest issue of Weekly Shonen Jump had hit bookstore shelves today, featuring the second chapter of Chainsaw Man!
"Darn it! I was so busy all day that I completely forgot. On the way ho, I was too caught up being all lovey-dovey with gumi, and then I spent the entire evening writing the outline. I didn't even think about going to the bookstore to grab the new issue of Jump!"
Kotomi sighed helplessly. Still, her cozy bed was far too comfortable to leave. Having already bathed and nestled under the warm blankets, the thought of stepping out, even just to go downstairs, felt like an insurmountable challenge unless it was absolutely necessary.
"The bookstores are definitely closed by now anyway. Guess I'll just have to do it tomorrow."
Adjusting her position to find an even cozier spot in bed, Kotomi closed her eyes and prepared to sleep.
But the thought lingered. If she waited until after school tomorrow to go to the bookstore, she'd be itching to get her hands on the magazine all day, unable to concentrate—even during art club.
Guess I'll just have to wake up early tomorrow.
In her mind, Kotomi began planning her morning.
In Chiba, bookstores opened as early as 6:00 a.m. If she left ho a little earlier than usual, she could pick up the latest issue of Jump before heading to school.
The round trip to the nearest bookstore from her house was about 12 minutes on foot. Thankfully, a pedestrian overpass bridged the busy street along the way, saving her the ti of waiting at a crosswalk. Otherwise, the trip might have taken even longer.
"So, I'll head straight to the bookstore in the morning. No ti for breakfast at ho—guess I'll grab sothing from the convenience store instead."
Having finalized her plan, Kotomi decided to inform her mother, Akina, so she wouldn't worry in the morning.
Too cozy in her bed to go downstairs, Kotomi grabbed her phone and called.
"Hello? Kotomi? What's up?" Her mother sounded surprised to receive a call from her eldest daughter so late at night.
"Mom, I won't be eating breakfast at ho tomorrow morning. I'm leaving early to go to the bookstore."
"The bookstore?"
Kotomi quickly explained the situation. Akina agreed without much fuss. Just as they were about to hang up, Akina teased her.
"You know, I'm just downstairs. You could've told this in person instead of calling."
"Because my bed's way too cozy, and I don't feel like moving~" Kotomi replied playfully, her voice soft and sweet.
Akina couldn't help but laugh. "Be careful, or you'll grow roots in that bed of yours!"
"Wow, that sounds amazing!"
"...I think I'll grab a rolling pin and co upstairs to teach you a lesson!"
"Wait, no! I was kidding! You're the best, Mom! Love you~"
"Alright, alright. Go to sleep. You have to wake up early tomorrow to get your magazine."
"Okay, goodnight! Love you lots!"
Hanging up the phone, Kotomi settled back onto her pillow.
Within seconds, she was sound asleep.
The next morning.
The sun had yet to rise.
With sumr's lingering warmth fading away, the days were growing shorter. By autumn, mornings like this—dark and chilly—would beco the norm. Pulling open her curtains, Kotomi was t not with dawn's first light, but the deep shadows of night.
"Wow, I slept so well. But seeing how dark it is outside makes want to crawl back into bed and steal a few more minutes of sleep."
Stretching in front of the window, Kotomi felt tempted to dive back into her warm blankets. She pinched her cheeks hard to shake off the drowsiness.
"I can't fall asleep again! Kotomi, if you lie down now, you'll never wake up again!"
"Hey! Don't start quoting snow-disaster survival movies first thing in the morning!"
Startled, Kazumi, the system within Kotomi, woke up crankily.
"Wait, you can hear ?"
"Of course I can! Why do you think I always respond when you call out to ? Your voice is so loud, I can hear it even when I'm asleep..."
With that, Kazumi yawned and promptly went back to sleep.
"Oops, sorry about that."
Feeling guilty, Kotomi decided to go about her morning routine as quietly as possible to avoid disturbing anyone further.
After washing up and changing into her school uniform, Kotomi grabbed her bag and tiptoed down the hall, careful not to wake her sister, Aimi. Slipping on her shoes at the door, she quietly opened and closed it behind her before heading out.
The trip to the bookstore was a brisk 12-minute jog.
When Kotomi arrived, the shopkeeper—a woman who rarely saw custors this early—was startled.
For a mont, the shopkeeper thought she was seeing a ghost at the crack of dawn.
A cute, white-haired, pink-eyed ghost.
"If only I weren't a woman... I'd propose to this adorable ghost girl on the spot!" the shopkeeper thought dramatically, clenching her fists in bittersweet admiration.
Unfazed, Kotomi breezed past the shopkeeper, heading straight for the elevator to the third floor, where the manga section was located.
As soone who had spent her middle school years frequenting this bookstore, Kotomi knew her way around well. Back then, limited pocket money often ant she couldn't afford to buy every manga she wanted. Instead, she'd read a little after school, saving up to buy her favorites later.
Sotis, though, by the ti she returned, the book she wanted would already be sold out.
Today, she wasn't taking any chances.
She found the newest issue of Weekly Shonen Jump in no ti. Being particular about her purchases, Kotomi ticulously selected the copy with the crispest corners.
Once satisfied, she headed back to the first floor, paid at the register, and made her way to a nearby convenience store.
"Good morning! I'd like 20 at buns and a cup of hot soy milk, please. Sweetened."
"20 buns? Um... stead dumplings?" The store clerk asked hesitantly.
Kotomi shook her head firmly and pointed to the largest stear.
"20 big ones! Ten pork-and-scallion, ten pork-and-celery!"
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