After giving the cheeky little devil a good scolding, Kotomi Izumi let out a proud hmph, her strange sense of competitiveness once again satisfied.
But to say she "gave her a good scolding" was an exaggeration. In reality, all Kotomi did was pinch Iroha Isshiki's little ear. Her tone sounded fierce, but she didn't actually have the heart to use any real force.
To call it "real force" would be too much. Even that pinch of hers was more for show than anything else—though Kotomi would never admit she was only pretending.
Iroha, who barely felt any pain, quickly noticed that Kotomi's harsh words didn't match her soft actions. Seeing through her, Iroha's lips curved into a faint smile. Then, to match Kotomi's fierce-sounding words, she deliberately acted like her ear hurt a lot, even squeezing out a few tears from the corners of her eyes.
Except… Kotomi Izumi actually believed those tears were real.
A few seconds after releasing Iroha's ear, she asked worriedly, "Was I too rough? I thought I was being careful with my strength."
As she spoke, Kotomi gently rubbed Iroha's small ear with her palm, her earlier anger from being teased already long gone.
If someone were to ask her later whether she'd been angry, Kotomi would probably look genuinely puzzled and say, "Huh? Angry? Was I?"
"Hehe, it hurt a little just now, but now that Senpai's rubbing it, it doesn't hurt at all anymore~," Iroha said with a smile. In truth, it hadn't hurt at all—but she said it did, just to feed Kotomi's strange sense of victory. After all, Kotomi now thought her stern scolding had been effective, that the pain in Iroha's ear was proof she'd disciplined her properly.
If Iroha said it didn't hurt, wouldn't that mean Kotomi's "punishment" had been totally useless?
Long ago, Iroha had already noticed that Kotomi Izumi had a strong sense of competitiveness—but it always appeared in the most unexpected places.
"If you behave next time and stop pranking people, I won't bully you anymore," Kotomi said quietly but seriously, still gently rubbing Iroha's ear.
Hearing that, Iroha smiled sweetly and nodded like an obedient child. "Senpai's scary when you're mad… To keep you from getting angry again, I'll definitely be good and never tease you anymore."
Her tone was pitiful enough to melt anyone's heart.
Kotomi felt both pity and satisfaction at the same time, cheering inwardly: I finally managed to tame this little devil!
Just imagining having a cute, obedient Iroha by her side from now on made Kotomi's whole body feel flushed with excitement!
She was fired up!
Just moments ago, Kotomi had looked fierce while scolding Iroha. But now, not even three minutes later, she was rubbing Iroha's ear with tender care.
The change was so drastic that Megumi Kato, who had been watching from the start, couldn't help but twitch the corner of her mouth. Inside her heart, emotions began bubbling up—like water in a kettle slowly coming to a boil.
Even though she knew Iroha was Aimi's friend, and that her relationship with Kotomi was probably just that—a friend's little sister—Megumi couldn't help but feel a strange sense of irritation as she watched the two of them stand so close together. Even knowing it was likely unintentional didn't stop that faint sting of jealousy.
Just as Megumi was about to speak, Aimi Izumi returned, holding Yuka's hand.
One hand held Yuka, the other several bags of takoyaki.
"Onee-chan, you're finally back! I thought you got lost somewhere!"
Seeing Kotomi again after she'd been gone for a while, Aimi let out a small sigh of relief and handed her one of the bags. "This one's yours, Onee-chan. The girl at the takoyaki stall found out I'm your little sister, and she almost stuffed an entire octopus into the batter! You're really popular at school, huh?"
After hearing Aimi's words, Megumi suddenly chuckled and said lightly, "Kotomi's popularity at school isn't ordinary at all. Not only boys—lots of girls have written her love letters, too. If we count from the first day of school until now, the number of people who've confessed to Kotomi could already line up from the north gate all the way to the south gate. Maybe even beyond it."
When Aimi Izumi heard this, she froze for a moment, then grew visibly anxious.
It hadn't even been one semester since the start of school, and there were already that many people who liked Kotomi and had actually confessed to her? Were high school students nowadays really that bold when it came to love?!
Aimi felt a huge shock hit her. Having never dated anyone before, all her understanding of romance came from the gal games she'd been playing recently. She had always thought that even high schoolers would at least wait a semester before confessing!
Megumi Kato continued, "That girl at the takoyaki stall—the one with long golden twin-tails, right?"
"Yeah," Aimi replied with a blank nod, slightly confused as to how Megumi knew.
"So it really was her..." Megumi sighed softly. "Kotomi probably never told you, but that girl has confessed to her twelve times over the past two months. Twelve. Although Kotomi didn't accept her even once."
"Twelve times!?"
Aimi nearly fainted on the spot. Just moments ago, she'd thought that twin-tailed girl was such a kind person—she'd put so many octopus legs in each portion, after all! But now she realized the truth—she was another bad woman trying to steal her Kotomi away!
Tch! One confession was already too much, but twelve?! Just how thirsty was that blonde twin-tailed woman for my Kotomi?!
Fortunately, after hearing that Kotomi had rejected all twelve confessions, Aimi's mood improved slightly.
However, knowing that the girl making the takoyaki had confessed to Kotomi twelve times made Aimi suddenly lose all desire to let Kotomi eat the food.
What if that twin-tailed girl had added something strange to Kotomi's portion? If Kotomi accidentally ate it, that would be terrible!
Thinking that, Aimi immediately changed the direction of her outstretched hand, passing the takoyaki to Megumi Kato instead.
Not only Kotomi's share, but also Yukino, Yui, and Mashiro's portions—all handed to Megumi.
Let the bad woman eat the takoyaki made by another bad woman. Perfect!
The reason she gave Yukino, Yui, and Mashiro's portions as well was simple—in Aimi's eyes, those three were still in the category of "good women," the kind who wouldn't try to steal Kotomi from her.
"I wasn't planning to buy your portion originally," Aimi said honestly. "But now that I know the takoyaki girl likes Kotomi, there's no way I'm letting her eat it."
Megumi Kato let out a sharp laugh, half out of amusement and half from exasperation. "You don't want Kotomi to eat them, so you're just going to make me eat all these takoyaki instead?"
"Well, what else can we do? Wasting food is shameful," Aimi Izumi replied matter-of-factly.
"Oh? You want to pick a fight again?"
"Ha, you think I'm afraid of you?"
"So now I have to eat not only Kotomi's takoyaki, but also Yukino's, Yui's, and Mashiro's? Do you think I have the appetite of a sumo wrestler?"
"Bad women should eat food made by bad women. It's only fitting. Yukinoshita-senpai and the others are good women," Aimi said righteously.
"Heh."
Megumi gave a cold laugh. She had long since figured out Aimi's ridiculous "good woman" and "bad woman" logic—it all boiled down to this: anyone who tried to steal Kotomi from her was a bad woman, and anyone who didn't was a good woman.
Because she understood this warped sense of morality so well, Megumi couldn't help laughing—half out of anger, half disbelief. The kind of laugh that came when you were too irritated to even argue.
She was increasingly convinced that her future sister-in-law was a bit of an airhead. By Aimi's logic—"anyone who tries to steal Kotomi is a bad woman"—then, to be blunt, everyone present was a bad woman.
"They're arguing again…" Yui Yuigahama said helplessly.
"Kotomi, aren't you going to stop them?" Yukino Yukinoshita asked.
"No need," Kotomi replied with a resigned sigh. "Those two argue every time they see each other. Every single time. Honestly, they act like sworn enemies. Wait, Yukino, Yui—you two sound like you've seen this happen already. Did they start fighting while I was gone?"
"Yeah," Yui nodded. "It got so bad we thought they might start throwing punches. It took me and Yukino ages to calm them down."
"And it hasn't even been an hour, and now they're at it again," Yukino added, shaking her head in disbelief.
Both girls were exasperated. It was their first time seeing Megumi and Aimi argue—and it had left them speechless. The two people who looked least likely to fight turned out to be the most explosive combination.
"What did they even argue about?"
Kotomi's mouth twitched. She'd already suspected that Megumi and Aimi couldn't possibly get along in her absence. The fact that neither of them was bleeding yet almost counted as an achievement.
"When you left earlier, Megumi also went with you," Yui explained. "After she came back, Aimi asked, 'Where's my sister?' And Megumi—she did it on purpose—said, 'Your sister doesn't want you anymore.' Then Aimi went off like a cat whose tail got stepped on."
Kotomi sighed helplessly. It always came down to something childish like that.
It was exactly like when older siblings teased their younger ones. The kid would ask, Where did Mom and Dad go? And the sibling would reply, They don't want you anymore.
The next second, the little one would blow up, waving tiny fists in outrage, sometimes even crying while flailing in anger.
And honestly, those tiny fists did hurt a bit when they landed—a fact Kotomi knew all too well.
Whenever Kotomi went back to her hometown and met her relatives' kids, she'd always find some way to make each one cry in turn. The more short-tempered ones would burst into tears and start hitting her with their pudgy little hands, bawling as they attacked.
Among her relatives' children, Kotomi Izumi was nothing short of a terrifying "evil witch" capable of silencing any crying child.
The kids both loved and feared her. Some had learned the "cruelty of the world" at her hands before they'd even finished weaning off pacifiers.
Every New Year, the more timid ones would spot Kotomi from afar and immediately dart behind their parents to hide.
And yet, Kotomi was surprisingly generous. Whenever she took the kids out to play, they'd start off pouting or crying—but always came back smiling, arms full of treats or the toys their parents had refused to buy them. All gifts from Kotomi herself.
Whenever they went out to eat at McDonald's, KFC, or Burger King, parents would always lecture their kids about "junk food" and "unhealthy meals," refusing to let them eat too much or order the kids' set meals that came with toys. But Kotomi Izumi? She let them order whatever they wanted—and even bought them the toy meal sets herself.
Because of that, Kotomi's reputation among her relatives' children had always swung wildly between two extremes.
When she bullied them, she was the terrifying witch whose name alone could make children cry at night. But when she bought them toys and snacks, she became the kindest, most beautiful big sister in their childhood memories.
Still, there was one clear upside to this.
Not a single child dared to act out in front of Kotomi. No matter how naughty they were, as long as they were around her, they behaved like angels. Because, quite simply—Kotomi was even naughtier than them.
"I'm back with the apple vinegar… huh? What's going on here?"
Tomoka Yuigahama had gone out to buy apple vinegar. When she returned, she found Megumi Kato and Aimi Izumi in the middle of yet another heated argument. She blinked in confusion. Before she'd left, everything had been perfectly fine—how had things gone downhill so fast in less than ten minutes?
Kotomi watched the two argue for a while, then sighed, stepped forward, and—without saying a word—rose slightly on tiptoe and gave each of them a light bonk on the head.
"Alright, that's enough. Both of you, quiet down."
Sometimes, the simplest way was the most effective.
And sure enough, after receiving Kotomi's "disciplinary" tap, both girls immediately went quiet. The tense atmosphere that had filled the air a moment ago instantly eased.
"Honestly, what's with you two? Why do you have to fight every time you see each other? Ugh… I swear, one of these days I'll drag you both inside and give you a proper beating," Kotomi said, her tone clearly unhappy.
Sensing Kotomi's irritation, both Aimi and Megumi straightened up instantly. They knew all too well what Kotomi was like when she was angry. Especially Megumi—she'd managed to upset Kotomi quite a few times recently, and the guilt was already creeping in.
Then, she suddenly realized something: Kotomi's period was due in a few days.
That realization made her break out in a cold sweat. Her thoughts immediately jumped to an urgent internal question—which would hurt less to kneel on, the keyboard or the washboard?
"Onee-chan, I'm sorry! It's all Megumi's fault! You don't know how mean she was when you weren't here—she said you didn't want me anymore!" Aimi blurted out quickly.
Kotomi flicked her little sister's forehead. "And you believed that? Even if I went to the moon on a rocket, I'd never go without you." Her voice was mock-serious, but playful enough to defuse the tension in an instant.
After finishing with Aimi, Kotomi turned to Megumi. By now, Megumi had already chosen between the keyboard and the washboard. She decided—keyboard it was! Thankfully, hers had flat keys.
"Megumi."
"Yes!" she answered quickly.
Kotomi took the bags of takoyaki from Aimi's hands and handed them to Megumi. "Aimi was just carrying too many. She wanted you to help her out."
"Ah… is that so? I thought you were really going to make me eat all of these. You know I don't even like takoyaki." Megumi sighed, counting the bags as she accepted them. But then she paused, puzzled.
Aimi had said she didn't buy her a portion—so why were there seven bags?
Kotomi Izumi, Yui Yuigahama, Yukino Yukinoshita, Tomoka Yuigahama, Iroha Isshiki, and Mashiro Shiina—that should've been six.
Yet there were seven.
Megumi blinked, then smiled helplessly. "You said you didn't buy me one, so why are there seven, huh?"
Aimi looked at her like she was an idiot. "Huh? Are you stupid? The seventh one's mine! Well, kind of Yuka's too. I thought one portion might not be enough for her, so I bought an extra. If she's still hungry, she can have it. If she's full, I'll eat it myself."
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