By the ti gumi Kato reached the school gate, the Rolls-Royce Phantom had long driven off with Kotomi Izumi. She didn't even catch a glimpse of the taillights.
gumi had no idea that Arisu Sakayanagi had driven Kotomi ho.
Assuming Kotomi was still upset and had left without saying a word, gumi anxiously looked around, just as she had outside Class 1-A's door—still unable to see the girl she missed so dearly.
"Where did Kotomi go?"
gumi sighed, her expression falling with a trace of bitterness. If only she hadn't treated Kotomi so roughly that morning—would they still be laughing and walking ho together like before?
She didn't know how long she waited at the gate. Students ca and went, but eventually, the crowd thinned out. That was when gumi finally realized Kotomi had already left.
She pulled out her phone, wanting to call her—but couldn't muster the courage to dial the number that once ca so naturally. Her fingers hovered over the screen, as though blocked by an invisible wall.
After a mont of internal struggle, she finally gathered her courage and dialed Kotomi's number. She imdiately raised the phone to her ear, listening intently, unwilling to miss even a single word from the other end.
The ringtone played for what felt like forever. She had no idea what Kotomi might be doing—or why she wasn't picking up. Until at last, an emotionless, automated female voice cut in:
"The number you dialed is powered off. Please try again later…"
Beep.
gumi hung up, her head bowed.
Powered off…
Or maybe… maybe Kotomi was so angry she blocked her number?
gumi pressed her hand firmly against her chest. There was no pain—only an emptiness, like soone had carved a piece out of her heart with a knife, leaving it bleeding.
It felt like Kotomi was drifting further and further away… No, that's not right! Why would I even think that? Kotomi would never leave !
Sniffling, gumi fought to hold back the sourness in her nose and the urge to cry.
It had been a long ti since she cried. She thought she had outgrown that phase—but apparently, she was still just a child. gumi wiped the tears at the corner of her eyes, composed herself slightly, and finally started walking ho.
Inside the Rolls-Royce Phantom.
Just monts ago, before Kotomi got in, Arisu had promised confidently to take her straight ho. But once the doors closed and the car began to move, she imdiately changed her tune:
"Kotomi, want to grab a bite? My treat."
"Eh?"
Kotomi pointed to her cheek in surprise. Wasn't the plan to go straight ho? Why the sudden change?
Not that she minded. In fact, she liked it.
Hearing Arisu invite her to dinner, Kotomi didn't hesitate at all. Looking back later, she'd sotis wonder about it too—why was it that when she was around Arisu, she felt such a natural sense of trust and closeness? And how did Arisu know so many of her little preferences?
Sotis, before Kotomi even said a word, Arisu already knew what she wanted—what she felt like doing.
Almost as if, just like Arisu always claid, the two of them really had known each other since they were very young… and had been inseparable.
Arisu smiled softly, her tone gentle:
"You tried to avoid letting drive you ho just now because you wanted to grab sothing to eat, right? Those eyes of yours were full of longing for at. Let guess what you were craving~ Grilled chicken skewers, braised pork rice, steak wraps, duck leg with mashed potatoes, Burger King..."
Arisu Sakayanagi listed food items like she was reading a nu—and the thing was, every single one happened to be sothing Kotomi loved.
Even though they were still in the car, Kotomi's nose almost seed to catch whiffs of the rich, mouthwatering aroma. Her stomach growled, and she had to restrain herself to avoid actually drooling.
"I want grilled chicken skewers!"
"No problem."
With their order decided, Atsuki imdiately stepped on the gas, heading straight for the skewer shop.
Kotomi called her mom to explain briefly. Since she was with Arisu, Akina Izumi didn't worry and gave her the green light.
After hanging up, Kotomi glanced thoughtfully at gumi Kato's na in her contact list. She was silent for a mont before moving her finger toward gumi's na to make a call.
Beep beep…
Just as she was about to dial, a popup appeared at the bottom of the screen:
[Your phone battery is below 5%. Shutting down soon.]
Uh-oh! She hadn't been paying attention to the battery!
Flustered, Kotomi rummaged through her bag. Even the calst person would get flustered seeing that low-battery warning.
But when she opened her bag, her heart dropped.
She had rushed out that morning—no power bank, no charger.
Beep beep beep~
The last bar drained, and the phone screen went black.
Kotomi quietly returned the phone to her bag. Oh well. No battery is no battery. She'd already called her mom—she could just borrow a phone after dinner to call ho.
"Your phone died?" Arisu, who had been secretly glancing at her, finally asked.
"Yeah, I hadn't been watching the battery. I rember it was pretty full before the afternoon exams," Kotomi said with a helpless shrug.
"What a sha. My charger's a different model than yours," Arisu replied with mock regret in a gentle voice.
"No worries. It's just dinner—won't take long. I don't need it right now anyway. Actually, without my phone, I can focus completely on eating."
Kotomi was nonchalant. She wasn't the type who got anxious without her phone.
If she was busy, she could go an entire day without touching it, fully imrsed in writing or drawing.
Hearing that, Arisu's smile deepened. That was exactly what she wanted—Kotomi's full attention.
Her phone dying? A stroke of divine luck, as far as Arisu was concerned.
Atsuki, overhearing them from the driver's seat, checked through the rearview mirror and noticed that Kotomi actually had the sa phone model as hers. She was about to offer her charger—
Only to receive a pointed glare from Arisu, stopping her mid-sentence.
So many years as head maid hadn't been for nothing.
Startled for a mont, Atsuki quickly understood her lady's intention and said nothing further.
At the skewer shop—
Atsuki saw for the first ti how terrifying Kotomi's appetite could be.
anwhile, Arisu ate very little, spending most of her ti smiling gently, resting her cheek on one hand, and watching Kotomi with eyes as soft and clear as water—eyes filled with years of deep affection.
"Arisu, you must be a very gentle person, huh?" Kotomi blushed, feeling a little shy under the gaze.
"Gentle?" Arisu looked surprised. No one had ever called her that before.
Because of her disability, she knew her own personality had grown intense and obsessive—she was well aware.
"Because every ti you look at , it's always with such a gentle expression…"
Kotomi murmured, face red, not even sure why she said it. The words had already left her mouth before she realized.
"Gentle, huh… Honestly, I'm not a gentle person. I wasn't as a kid, and I'm still not. I'm an awful girl with a terrible personality. But when you're by my side, that extre, obsessive part of calms down. And that's when all the gentleness I can't express in words appears—just for you."
Arisu took Kotomi's hand, eting her eyes without a trace of hesitation—gazing at her as if she were the love of her life:
"My gentleness exists because of you. Naturally, it belongs only to you."
Then, she picked up her chopsticks, grabbed a tender, juicy piece of beef, and popped it into Kotomi's mouth—blocking any words Kotomi might have said.
"Shh. No need to say anything now. I'll patiently wait until the mont you truly want to tell ."
Kotomi wasn't sure how she ended up so full—all she knew was that her face was flushed, and she'd eaten a lot.
After the al, Arisu Sakayanagi faithfully honored her promise and drove Kotomi ho. Given the earlier atmosphere, Kotomi had half-expected to be taken to Arisu's place instead.
"Mom, Dad, I'm ho." Kotomi pushed the door open and softly called out like a little girl. Her voice lacked so of its usual spirit, sounding extra soft and fluffy.
"Welco ho. I heard you had dinner out with a friend? Did you eat well?"
"I did. The skewers were delicious—and the sausage claypot rice too." Just ntioning the food perked Kotomi up a bit, though her voice remained soft.
But she was already soft-spoken, so nothing seed out of the ordinary.
That is, until Aimi, who was in the middle of dinner, had her internal enemy radar suddenly go off. Her guard shot up. Could it be… that Kotomi had dinner with gumi Kato?!
That wretched gumi Kato! Aimi cursed in her heart, fists clenched. Trying to keep her tone neutral and not reveal anything, she asked casually:
"Sis, who did you eat the skewers with?"
"Arisu Sakayanagi. That grilled chicken place is really good. Let's go together during winter break."
Oh, it was Arisu? Here I was thinking she went out with gumi. Whew, what a relief! Good thing it was Arisu—she's a good person. Her friendship with Kotomi is pure. Even if it suddenly rains on a sunny day, Arisu would never try to steal my Kotomi.
Once she realized Kotomi hadn't used dinner as an excuse to go on a date with gumi, Aimi instantly relaxed. She felt pure joy. What a great friend Arisu was—treating her sister to dinner and even bringing her ho on ti. Kotomi had truly made a wonderful friend!
When I marry Kotomi, Arisu will totally be the maid of honor! Aimi thought optimistically, happily helping herself to a second bowl of rice.
After a bath and drying her hair, Kotomi grabbed a bottle of apple vinegar from the fridge and returned to her bedroom.
There were still exams tomorrow, but she had no desire to study. Right now, she just wanted to ga for a bit.
Computer on.
Apex Legends on.
And sure enough, Kiyoko Matsumatsu was online.
[Matsumatsu, you're seriously impressive. There's an exam tomorrow, and you're calmly playing Apex like it's nothing.]
Matsumatsu, who had just been eliminated, replied:
[I actually planned to review for a bit, but my new chanical keyboard arrived just as I got ho. I couldn't not test it out! Just a few rounds, then I'll definitely study.]
[Totally valid! What kind of switch?]
[I always felt like my aim wasn't the issue—maybe my gear was. I saved up and got an ROG mouse, but still got downed first and got roasted by my teammates. So I figured the problem was my old red switch keyboard. I saved again and bought a silver switch one.]
[Makes perfect sense! Has your performance skyrocketed since the switch?]
[Heh, not to brag, but I got three kills last round.]
[So strong!]
[Izumi, want to squad up?]
[Sure! It's only seven anyway. Let's play one serious match, win it, then log off and study. For real.]
That's what Kotomi said, but in truth, she already planned to switch to League of Legends and play so Darius right after.
It's been a while since she used Darius… She really wanted to chop—cough, she ant play a few rounds!
[I'm in!]
Kotomi and Kiyoko Matsumatsu began their first Apex squad match together.
"Izumi, you sure about your skills? Need to carry you? With this new keyboard, I feel like I can flex like a pro without saying a word."
"Pfft, ? Carried? Please, the word 'carry' in my dictionary only refers to carrying others! This might be your first ti playing with , so brace yourself for the world's slickest footwork!"
"Wait—could you be the legend—"
Gunshots erupt.
"Ah! Matsumatsu, help! I'm down!"
Kotomi, who had just been gearing up to brag with hands on her hips, didn't even get to finish her sentence before the sound of gunfire filled her headset. Even though she reacted quickly, her fingers weren't fast enough on the keyboard and mouse—she was downed in seconds.
Totally gave herself away.
"Izumi… is that what you call ghostlike movent, world-class agility? Hah… I'm sprinting toward you at full speed, but we're kinda far apart. I'll try to make it… even if you fall to enemy bullets, I'll avenge you! Argh! Where did that co from?! I checked—there was no one!"
"Did you look up?" Kotomi asked.
"N-no..."
"That explains everything."
The two of them, an Apex duo of chaos, played match after match until they barely eked out a single victory.
"Whew, finally won one! Took forever! See? My movent is still the best in the world!"
"I'm exhausted… by the end there, I felt like I was gonna wear out my mouse clicking. My fingers are dying…"
"Excuse ? What did you just say? Haha, just kidding. One win down—ti to log off and study seriously. Wait… it's midnight?! It was just past seven when we started!"
"Oh no! It really is midnight! What studying?! I'm off to bed! Tomorrow's exam is a dice roll—guess right and I get braised pork; guess wrong and I still get stew."
"Nighty night~"
"Goodnight, Izumi."
After bidding each other goodnight, they both logged off.
Kiyoko Matsumatsu stretched and was just about to dive into bed when her eyes landed on her schoolbag.
"Alright, maybe I'll review for a bit…"
She grabbed the bag, pulled out the textbooks for tomorrow's exams, and studied under her desk lamp until 2 a.m.
anwhile, after turning off her computer, Kotomi finally rembered she hadn't charged her phone.
She rushed to plug it in. Since the battery had fully drained earlier, it needed a manual power-on even after plugging in.
Maybe the Apex matches had gotten her too hyped. Now that she was winding down, a wave of exhaustion crashed over her.
She struggled a bit, but forced herself to power on the phone—just in case she'd missed any important ssages while the phone was dead.
But before the ho screen even fully loaded, Kotomi lost the battle to sleep, curling up in bed and dozing off.
The lock screen lit up.
A missed call notification appeared.
It was from gumi Kato—she'd called Kotomi after school.
The owl plush gumi had gifted still sat on Kotomi's desk.
She had a habit—once she placed a figurine or plush sowhere, she almost never moved it again.
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