As soon as Kotomi Izumi saw that the class was with Shizuka Hiratsuka, she imdiately relaxed.
Originally, she had planned to make a good impression on her first class after returning from Kyoto, hoping to leave the teachers with a favorable image of her—showing that even though she had spent three days out on a trip, she could quickly get back into studying.
But if it was Shizuka Hiratsuka's class, that was another story.
She was family, no need to worry too much.
Kotomi took off her coat, pulled out her textbook, pretending to study, but in reality, her hands were secretly playing with her phone under the desk.
"Alright, class. Let's all calm down for a mont. You're all aware that the midterm exams are tomorrow, right? I'm sure you're all feeling nervous, excited, anxious—every possible emotion."
"I can honestly tell you that the difficulty of the exam will be extrely high. When you sit down to take it, you'll realize that the questions in the monthly exams were nothing more than a beginner's level."
"Don't bla , though. It wasn't who made the exam paper. And by the way, I'll be taking the national language midterm as well. I can't guarantee I'll get an excellent score myself."
When Shizuka said this, the once lively classroom 1-F suddenly beca dull and lifeless.
Except for Kotomi.
She had her phone tucked in the desk, completely engrossed in playing Azur Lane, occasionally muttering to herself, Island Wind's damage output is insane! It just wiped the boss's health in one go.
The classroom, drained of energy due to the upcoming midterms, felt completely different for Kotomi, who seed unaffected.
"Anyway, I won't be teaching anything new today. I'll take you through so key points that might show up on the exam."
"Co on, perk up! Don't look so lifeless. Think about it: once the midterms are over, we'll have the sports festival and the culture festival coming up. After the culture festival, it won't be long before vacation!"
"Ah, ti really flies. It feels like just yesterday we were starting the sester, and now, here we are in midterms. Once midterms are over, we're halfway through the sester. It's almost over!"
Shizuka said with a smile. Teachers look forward to vacations just as much as students do. Who doesn't want to relax at ho?
Sure enough, after ntioning the upcoming sports and culture festivals following the midterms, the students, who had been downcast just monts ago, suddenly seed to regain so energy. A few even cheered, "Yay!"
As for Kotomi?
She was still focused on how much damage Island Wind could deal.
Shizuka glanced over at Kotomi. After three days without seeing each other, Kotomi had even rembered to buy her a gift and write a letter. Shizuka was touched by this and felt like maybe this little witch had turned a new leaf, no longer so dismissive.
She had planned to privately invite Kotomi to the office today to chat, asking if she would participate in any events for the sports festival or represent class 1-F in the culture festival performance.
The first two were just casual questions, and then she would ntion going for dinner with Yuko Hiratsuka next month.
Yuko had been urging her more and more recently, often calling to ask for photos of her lover.
Shizuka naturally wouldn't send Kotomi's photo beforehand; she had planned to reveal Kotomi as her card only when they actually t.
If her mother found out that Shizuka liked girls, and that she had actually started a relationship with one of her students, it might be disastrous.
With all these factors combined, it wasn't even about shocking her mother, but maybe her mother would be so disappointed that she wouldn't care about her relationship status anymore. From then on, she wouldn't bother asking about her marriage or love life.
For Shizuka Hiratsuka, that would be the ultimate result she had been secretly hoping for.
The brave are fearless, the cautious starve, but in the face of future peace, Shizuka decided to take a gamble.
It's strange, really. Shizuka didn't want to ask anyone else for help. She genuinely wanted Kotomi to help her. By the ti she realized that this thought was sowhat misplaced, she had already invited Kotomi to assist, and Kotomi had agreed.
Now, as they were tied together, Shizuka's attention to Kotomi had been growing day by day. During those three days Kotomi was in Kyoto, Shizuka found herself thinking about Kotomi every night before going to bed.
Tossing and turning in bed, Shizuka wondered if she should call Kotomi. Maybe it was because they hadn't seen each other for three days, but when she thought about Kotomi, she found her image becoming increasingly endearing and adorable.
Until today, when they t again… Damn it, Kotomi was still the sa annoying little brat, daring to play on her phone during the horoom teacher's class. There were probably fewer than five students in all of Soubu High who'd dare to do that.
Shizuka considered reminding Kotomi that the exam was tomorrow and that she should probably start reviewing, but then realized Kotomi was in the middle of an important ga, so she decided not to disturb her.
What could she do?
Kotomi was like a little goddess to Shizuka now! Her future carefree single life depended on Kotomi!
If she took Kotomi to et Yuko and said Kotomi was her girlfriend, then the whole issue of her mom pressuring her to marry would likely be solved imdiately. Shizuka would even be willing to pamper Kotomi at ho, serving her the best tea and water every day.
As for Kotomi, playing with her phone during class, Shizuka decided to turn a blind eye for now and wait about half an hour before reminding her.
anwhile, gumi Kato had planned to subtly hold Kotomi's hand and maybe give her a little hint, as it had been three days since they last saw each other. gumi couldn't help but long for Kotomi's touch.
At this point, gumi couldn't even bear to sll Kotomi's scent during class, fearing that if she did, her already fragile composure would imdiately crumble.
She wasn't sure what she'd do if she lost control.
gumi reached her hand toward Kotomi, trying to grab her hand, but found that Kotomi didn't respond. Normally, Kotomi would at least acknowledge the gesture with a little finger move.
Turning to see what Kotomi was doing, gumi found Kotomi's eyes glued to her phone screen, focused entirely on the artwork for Shimakaze: The Island Wind Rests, not even flinching.
Typical straight girl, gumi thought.
She took a deep breath and then exhaled heavily. Her gaze at Kotomi shifted, becoming more... "friendly."
Kotomi, feeling a little uneasy from being stared at, instinctively shrank her neck and glanced around, thinking she'd been caught by a teacher on patrol for playing on her phone during class.
After looking around and realizing that no teachers had noticed, Kotomi breathed a sigh of relief and lowered her head to continue playing the ga.
She didn't notice gumi's eager, waiting hand.
The smile on gumi's face grew deeper.
After finishing her ga, Izumi Kotomi laid her head on the desk and went to sleep. Among all the students, the one who appeared the most relaxed was the very person who hadn't studied at all in the past three days: Kotomi.
Normally, any student who hadn't reviewed in three days and had an exam the next day would desperately cling to the last-minute chance to cram. But Kotomi?
There wasn't a trace of urgency in her behavior. Watching her during the national language class, you'd think she was just killing ti on a bus ride.
Finally, the class bell rang.
Yui Yuigahama, who had been dying to ask sothing, finally got her chance now that class was over. She leaned in and, right in front of gumi, whispered:
"Kotomi, about yesterday—did you like it?"
Yuigahama tried to keep her voice low enough that only she and Kotomi could hear. But unlike Kazumi, she didn't have the power to control her voice to avoid being overheard. With how close they were, and considering that gumi had been silently eavesdropping the entire ti while pretending to play on her phone, every word was caught by gumi without fail.
Upon hearing Yui's words, gumi didn't react outwardly. Her right arm simply moved slightly downward, as though reaching under the desk for sothing.
anwhile, Kotomi and Yui continued chatting without noticing anything.
"Yesterday's thing?" Kotomi didn't imdiately catch on, but after seeing the expectant look on Yui's face, realization dawned. Yui was asking if she'd eaten the dessert from yesterday and what she thought of it.
Judging from Yui's expression, it was clearly a new recipe she had made herself, one that hadn't been released at the Dango Cake Shop yet. That explained why Kotomi hadn't seen it there before.
It was a special dessert Yui had made just for her.
"It was delicious!" Kotomi nodded firmly, speaking without reservation. She was being completely honest. After finishing the entire box of sweets yesterday, her first thought wasn't that she was full or overwheld by sweetness, but rather—was there more? She wanted another piece.
Normally, no matter how tasty a dessert was, eating too much would leave her feeling sick of it. But Yui's dessert was like it had magic. She couldn't stop eating, and the rich sense of satisfaction it gave her even made her wonder, half-jokingly—if she married Yui... cough, if she married Yui, could she eat this kind of dessert every day?
When Yui heard that Kotomi loved the new dessert, her face lit up. The words she loved hearing most were: "I really liked the dessert you made."
Her joy was impossible to hide. She looked as if she was about to jump up from excitent. If gumi weren't sitting right there, Yui probably would've already jumped over and hugged Kotomi.
"That's great! It was my first ti trying out that new idea. I taste-tested it myself, but I didn't have much confidence that you'd like it. Ever since I gave it to you yesterday, I've been on edge, worried that you wouldn't enjoy the flavor," Yui said, placing her hand on her chest and letting out a deep sigh of relief.
"I feel like our taste in sweets is scarily compatible. As long as it's not so kind of dark cuisine, anything you make, I'll definitely love it," Kotomi said with a smile. She didn't realize just how big of an impact that sentence had on Yui.
And gumi, who had been pretending to look at her phone while eavesdropping on every word, had a smile that deepened to an unsettling degree.
Bam!
A muffled sound.
For so reason, the eraser in gumi's hand... shattered into pieces.
The sound was too quiet, and because gumi had gripped the eraser completely in her palm, neither Kotomi nor Yui noticed.
gumi wore a casual smile, standing up and nonchalantly tossing the eraser crumbs into the trash. She then returned to her seat, no longer playing with her phone. Instead, she picked up her pen and started reviewing for the upcoming physics class.
anwhile, Kotomi and Yui continued chatting.
"Oh, and about that... Yui, I saw the envelope you put in the box. I also read the letter inside." Kotomi's breath beca slightly heavier at the ntion of the envelope, her fingers tightening around her phone, making them turn pale. A faint blush appeared on her face, as if it might completely surface at any mont, evoking all sorts of thoughts.
If soone didn't know better, they might think the letter Yui put in the dessert box contained sothing extraordinary.
Kotomi had given Yui a unique piece of handmade pottery and a letter that made her cheeks flush with warmth. Yui, feeling both shy and touched upon receiving Kotomi's gift, was thinking about what kind of birthday gift she should prepare for Kotomi.
After all, after the midterms, there would be a short vacation. Once school resud, there would be sports festivals and cultural festivals, and everyone would get busy one after another. There would be little vacation ti left, and the next real break would probably be winter vacation.
By winter vacation, Kotomi's birthday would be just around the corner.
After eting again yesterday, Yui, excited after three days apart, had placed the letter in the dessert box.
Originally, she had planned to give it to Kotomi on her birthday, but with the rush of emotions, she decided to give it to her now.
After finishing dinner, Kotomi had, as usual, wanted to have so dessert.
"I was going to tell you there was so in the fridge, but then I realized... sorry, Onee-chan, it seems like all the dessert at ho has already been eaten... hehe, sorry!" Aimi sheepishly scratched her head.
Both sisters loved sweets, and half of the desserts at ho were consud by Kotomi and Yui.
"It's fine. I have so dessert here." Kotomi said while, under the watchful eyes of her parents and younger sister, she picked up the dessert Yui had given her.
Before Kotomi opened the box, her parents had asked if everything was fine, and only after Kotomi reassured them did they let her open the dessert box.
But as soon as she opened it, a letter slowly fell from the top of the box.
Aimi reached out to grab it, but luckily, Akina Izumi acted quickly and snatched it away.
Opening the envelope, Kotomi's parents saw the words written by Yui to Kotomi:
Kotomi, I want to make you desserts for the rest of my life.
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