—You're Shizuka Hiratsuka's girlfriend, aren't you?
When Saori Funamoto said that, Kotomi Izumi knew perfectly well that, regardless of how Yukino might react, Yui would definitely feel terrible inside.
Given Yui's personality, even if she felt awful, she might not say anything. She would simply bottle it up and suffer alone.
Yui Yuigahama had never truly lost her temper at Kotomi. Even the few times she had gotten sulky before, a simple hug and a bit of coaxing from Kotomi had been enough to soothe her.
Yui was not the kind of girl who was so strong that she never cried. It was simply that she had unconditional trust and tolerance toward Kotomi. So even if Kotomi did something that made her unhappy, Yui would keep telling herself in her heart:
It's not Kotomi's fault. It must be that I didn't do something well enough. Kotomi only did this on purpose to punish me.
Or else:
It's not Kotomi's fault. Kotomi could never be wrong! It must be someone else's fault! Kotomi is too pure. If she meets a bad person, she might be led astray. There's only one way to prevent that… I'll keep Kotomi in a very safe little house that only I know about. That way, she won't see anyone else. She'll only have me in her eyes!
Very few people are truly strong. No matter how strong someone appears, there is always a soft, fragile side within. The difference is simply that some people are better at hiding it.
And Yui had never been strong.
Kotomi's assessment of her had always been accurate. Yui tended to overthink, yet her gentle nature meant she would never take the initiative to voice her feelings.
Kotomi understood Yui's personality clearly. Otherwise, she would not dare to tease her so brazenly every time, deliberately making her jealous.
When Yui felt uncomfortable inside, she would cry to Kotomi.
So back when Saori had said those words, Kotomi had discreetly glanced at Yui and thought to herself:
Yui might cry about this later. I need to prepare an explanation in advance. If it were just the two of us, that would be easy. Yui's a bit silly—I could make up any story and smooth it over, coax her back into happiness without much effort.
But the explanation I come up with now won't be just for Yui. I'll have to say it in front of Yukino as well. If I use my usual way of… ahem… explaining things to Yui, Yukino definitely won't believe it.
Reluctant as I am to admit it, the phrase "keenly intelligent" really does suit that tsundere ice-queen little tigress.
Speech was the truest expression of linguistic art.
Being good with words might sound like an innate talent—either you have it or you don't. But in reality, with practice, it becomes second nature.
After telling lies too many times… ahem, after speaking with high emotional intelligence too many times, Kotomi quickly devised a set of explanations in her mind that would work for both Yukino and Yui.
But what if they didn't believe her?
Whether Yukino would believe her, Kotomi could not guarantee. But she was absolutely confident that Yui would.
When it came to decei—no, comforting Yui, Kotomi had both experience and confidence.
Even if Yui still had doubts after hearing her explanation, Kotomi had a foolproof strategy: strike first.
If Yui still looked unconvinced, Kotomi would immediately scrunch up her face and burst into tears pitifully.
Faced with a tearful Kotomi, Yui's already limited brain capacity would have no room left to question whether Kotomi was telling the truth. Her entire mind would be consumed with one thought—how to make Kotomi happy again.
Back to the present.
Because she understood Yui's personality so well, Kotomi often teased her without fear, deliberately provoking her jealousy.
Ordinarily, no matter how aggrieved or heartbroken Yui felt, she would endure it. She would wait until it was just the two of them before breaking down in tears and asking for Kotomi's embrace.
It was not only because Yui was thin-skinned.
There was another reason—she believed that as Kotomi's girlfriend, she had to preserve Kotomi's dignity.
So when the three of them were together, even if she wanted to cry, Yui would try her best to hold it in. If Yukino saw her crying, she felt Kotomi might lose face.
Until one minute ago, Yui had still been thinking this way.
Even after hearing Saori say that Kotomi was Shizuka Hiratsuka's girlfriend, Yui had felt miserable inside. Yet she bit her lower lip lightly, repeatedly telling herself:
Saori said it, not Kotomi. Maybe it's just a baseless joke.
But just now, hearing Kotomi call her "Shizuka" over and over again, the sorrow that had been building up, the tears she had been holding back—it was like a fuse suddenly lit by a match, exploding with unstoppable force.
Even with Yukino right beside them, Yui could no longer stop the tears from sliding down her cheeks.
She did not understand why Kotomi's way of addressing Shizuka Hiratsuka always carried such intimacy.
At school, everyone else called her Hiratsuka-sensei. Only Kotomi had called her Shizuka-sensei.
If it had only been that, Yui could have comforted herself: It's fine. Kotomi just likes calling her that.
But now it had become "Shizuka."
And when Kotomi said it, it sounded so natural—like she had already said it countless times before, as if it had long since become second nature.
If Kotomi had called her that under different circumstances, Yui might not have reacted so strongly. At most, she would have wondered again why Kotomi's way of addressing her had changed, why it sounded even more intimate than before.
But this was different.
Not long ago, Saori Funamoto—who had just met Kotomi for the first time—had immediately asked with curiosity, "You're Shizuka Hiratsuka's girlfriend, right?"
Both Yui Yuigahama and Yukino Yukinoshita had heard it clearly.
Even though Yui had kept telling herself it might just be an offhand joke, she could not stop her imagination from conjuring scenes of Kotomi being with Shizuka behind her back.
The more Yui Yuigahama let her imagination run wild, the stronger the jealousy and unease inside her became.
While Saori Funamoto kept prying into the relationship between Kotomi and Shizuka Hiratsuka, Yui had been listening closely the entire time. More than anything, she had wished Kotomi would firmly declare:
"I'm not in that kind of relationship with Shizuka Hiratsuka."
She did not need a long explanation. As long as Kotomi said those words, Yui would have instantly felt at ease and stopped doubting altogether.
Because Yui believed her girlfriend, Kotomi Izumi, was pure, gentle, and considerate—absolutely not the type to two-time someone like some fickle, heartless flirt.
But what Yui had not expected—and could not accept—was that when faced with Saori's gossip, Kotomi had never firmly denied it. She had merely laughed it off or skillfully changed the subject.
Was Kotomi Shizuka's girlfriend or not?
From beginning to end, Kotomi had neither admitted nor denied it.
It left everything hanging in an ambiguous haze.
Yui hated that feeling.
The tiny grievances accumulating in her heart finally exploded the moment she heard Kotomi call her "Shizuka."
The echo of Yui's question lingered in the air. Watching Yui cry uncontrollably, Kotomi sighed softly, feeling both a pang of heartache and a trace of helplessness.
She knew she should not expect too much of Yui, but she still wished Yui had waited until Yukino was gone—until they were alone—before breaking down.
What Kotomi did not know was that Yui did not want to wait.
It was simply that the sorrow and insecurity inside her had already surpassed the limits of what she could endure.
"Why are you crying like a little kid again? You're such a crybaby. I remember Tomoka-auntie saying she could barely recall the last time you cried. How about you keep crying for a bit? I'll record it and send it to her as a keepsake."
Kotomi spoke half-jokingly, but her hands moved gently—one arm wrapping around Yui, the other stroking her hair like a mother soothing a distressed child.
Every time Yui grew upset, Kotomi instinctively comforted her this way.
...
She remembered when she had just started dating Yui.
Yui, who was usually so good at baking cakes, had been trying to learn a new recipe. Yet she kept failing—three attempts in a row, none successful.
When she turned to take eggs from the refrigerator, she accidentally bumped her forehead against the door. The sudden pain made her hands tremble.
She had not even properly secured the eggs yet. With that small tremor, one slipped from her grasp and fell.
Smack!
The egg shattered across the floor.
Yui burst into tears.
It was not just because her forehead hurt. Failing several times in a row had already left her feeling frustrated and disheartened.
But most importantly, she had dropped an egg.
Recently, both eggs and cabbage had gone up in price.
To Yui, what lay shattered on the floor was not an egg.
It was money.
Kotomi, who had been sitting nearby to watch her bake, had already lost interest after Yui's second failed attempt and had been chatting with Megumi Kato on LINE instead.
Hearing Yui cry, she hurriedly put down her phone and looked up.
Seeing Yui crying over a broken egg, Kotomi had been momentarily puzzled. It was just an egg—what was there to cry about?
Even so, she pulled Yui into her arms and comforted her.
When Yui explained why she was crying, Kotomi could understand the first two reasons. Bumping her forehead against the refrigerator must have hurt. Repeated failures at baking something new would indeed feel discouraging.
But when she heard that Yui was also crying because eggs had become expensive and she had accidentally wasted one, Kotomi nearly laughed.
Her little wife was truly too thrifty for her own good.
After Kotomi finished comforting her, Yui wiped away her tears and, blushing faintly, murmured:
"Kotomi… the way you comforted me just now felt like a very gentle mother comforting her child. I almost called you 'Mom.'"
"If you really want to call me Mom, I wouldn't mind," Kotomi replied with a smile.
"Huh? I thought you'd get mad."
Yui looked surprised. At the same time, something about Kotomi's words felt slightly strange, though she could not quite put her finger on it.
"In my eyes, you're just a silly kid. Every time I comfort you, it feels like some newly awakened maternal instinct is spreading through me."
"Mm… I just really like acting spoiled with you."
"And I enjoy it too~ From now on, if you want to act spoiled or need comfort, you don't have to say anything. Just throw yourself into my arms."
"Kotomi, that's unfair… The happiness in my heart feels like it's about to overflow, like I'm living in a beautiful fairy tale."
Yui's face flushed red as she spoke, her voice brimming with bliss.
Kotomi, however, pressed her advantage without hesitation.
"I'm the fairy tale that makes you happy. So you have to make me happy too."
"Even if it costs me my life, I'll make you happy!" Yui declared, blushing fiercely yet speaking with utter sincerity.
"I'm looking forward to it~"
Since then, whenever Kotomi comforted Yui, she would reveal that maternal side of herself.
And Yui grew more and more fond of acting spoiled with her.
Now, holding Yui in her arms once again, Kotomi did not rush to coax her.
It was not that she did not care.
It was simply that she was confident—even if Yui cried her eyes out right now, she could cheer her up within half an hour.
There was another reason.
Kotomi's brain had switched back to single-thread mode.
At this very moment, the thought occupying her mind was:
Yui is crying in front of Yukino… Will Yukino figure out that Yui and I are dating? Sigh. Even though I already have two girlfriends, I still hope that in the eyes of other girls, my status remains: [Single].
—
—
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven