The thing was, not much changed after that.
At the end of the day, even after I finally managed to vocalize this feeling of Love to the one who'd saved me so long ago, there really was no need for that. Even before we officially became girlfriends, our lives were already so entangled together that there was barely any distinction.
It made me feel somewhat foolish, actually. The more I thought about it, the more I questioned how I could've acted so comfortably with Oguri and not have this feeling crystalize until now. The fact that it took this long for me to say that probably spoke more about who I was as a person.
It was a little funny in retrospect. Oguri was the Grey Monster, while I clothed myself with the persona of a Hero. By all rights we should've been exact opposites, but I suppose that whole saying about how opposites attract had some truth to it.
So of course, once I got that little confession out of the way, we decided to head out and get some food. Mostly because Oguri was a little hungry.
"So good…!" Oguri said as she wolfed down an entire platter of sushi, before immediately turning her attention to the other platters I'd ordered. The sushi chef watched in both awe and terror as Oguri ate through the food he'd spent nearly an hour preparing in literal seconds.
Unfortunately, I could barely care about the chef's feelings right now, as I was more preoccupied with watching Oguri being herself with a fond smile. My own platter of sushi had gone entirely untouched from the moment it arrived. My tail playfully swayed beyond my control, but I didn't really care.
"Isn't it~?" My smile grew as I leaned my cheek on my hand. "Kitahara recommended it after Musaka brought him here once."
"Ooh!" She said in wonder, before she immediately resumed eating. My eyes softened as I saw the clear joy Oguri had.
[The Hero's Soul resonates!]
I glanced at the remaining sushi platters she had, and seeing that she was about to run out, I decided to push my own uneaten platter towards her. "Here. You can have it." I said, smiling fondly. "I ain't that hungry."
Oguri's eyes sparkled as she saw my offer, but she then stopped. She tilted her head for a moment, before she shook her head. "No, this is yours, Star." She gently pushed it back towards me. "You need to eat too."
[The Hero's Soul resonates!]
My tail wagged. "Why don't we share then?"
She shook her head, before she paused for a moment. Her ears then perked up as an idea flashed in her mind, and using her chopsticks, she picked up one of the sushi and raised it towards me. "Here." She smiled softly. "You should eat too, Star."
[The Hero's Soul resonates!]
For a moment, I glanced at the chopsticks she was holding the sushi with. It was the same chopsticks she'd been using the devour the previous platters of sushi, which meant that-
My cheeks grew red.
[The Hero's Soul resonates!]
With my tail swaying, I opened my mouth and ate the sushi she offered. The act itself wasn't anything special, nor was this the first time I'd eaten something Oguri directly offered, but I couldn't help but feel a pleasant tingling all across my body as I slowly chewed on my sushi.
Seeing my happiness, Oguri too felt happy, and her tail began wagging slightly too. She still wasn't sure why I looked so happy all of a sudden, but whenever Star felt happy, she did too.
We descended into our own world in that little corner of the sushi restaurant, uncaring of any prying eyes. And there certainly were a lot of eyes.
See, despite this sushi restaurant being fairly high-class and the time being somewhat awkward, there were still a few other customers in the restaurant. And since neither of us were really using a disguise to hide ourselves, our little open display was visible to everyone.
Naturally, it didn't take long for people to realize what was happening. Some immediately turned away, feeling awkward due to the amorous atmosphere around us. Others continued discreetly watching us, though if one looked closely, they'd notice the way their breathing had become somewhat rapid, as if excited by some forbidden fruit.
And there behind the counter was the sushi chef, who could only slump in defeat after realizing that he himself hadn't found a girlfriend and was now forced to watch.
[The Hero's Soul resonates with overwhelming Love and Joy!]
[The Unique Skill [Starlit Crown] levels up!]
Shush, you.
Oguri kept slowly feeding me, her movement remarkably gentle despite her incredible strength. And through it all, I'd unconsciously inched closer towards her, until I realized that both our hips were touching.
I blushed at the realization, but I quickly opened my mouth as Oguri fed me another sushi.
Neither of us noticed the way the chef clutched his chest in pain.
Then, I blinked when I remembered something.
"Oh, by the way, do you wanna go on a vacation?"
Oguri blinked in slight surprise, before she tilted her head. "Why?"
I smiled wryly as I wiggled my bandaged legs. "I mean, it's not like we're going to be racing any time soon—might as well do something in the meantime, right?" I hummed. "And the [Osaka Hai]'s happening in late March anyway, so we have the time to spare."
"Ooh." She smiled slightly. "Where do you want to go?"
I smirked. "Well~, Secretariat offered to tour me around America for a lil' bit, just to get me acquainted with a few people." I winked. "Might as well make it a little road trip while we're there, right?" I then frowned slightly. "Oh, and get a checkup there too, I guess. Heard that their facilities are a little more advanced compared to here."
"America…" She furrowed her brows as she turned to me. "Will you be okay?"
I smiled at her concern. "It'll be fine~! Secretariat's only going after New Year's, so we still have time until then." My smile turned a little wry. "And besides, worse comes to worst, I can just use a wheelchair to get around."
She was quiet for a moment, before she nodded. "If you want to go, then I'll go too." She smiled. "Wherever you go, I go too."
[The Hero's Soul resonates with-]
Shush.
"Well, it won't just be the two of us, of course." I smiled. "We can have all of Team Kitahara and our parents to join in as well. Secretariat's paying anyway, so we can go as wild as we want." I paused for a moment. "Though I don't know if March will want to join. She's still waiting for her trainer, after all."
Oguri hummed. "March loves Shibasaki-san, doesn't she?"
I nodded repeatedly. "That's been pretty clear from the start. Girl has it pretty bad." I smirked. "Can't let those two lovebirds be torn apart, y'know?"
Oguri nodded solemnly. "That's true."
Meanwhile, the chef, having heard a few tidbits of our conversation at the end, felt another stab into his chest. He wasn't sure who this March was, but from the sounds of it, she too was pining for a man she liked.
In desperation, his eyes quickly swept across the rest of his restaurant, and his despair grew when he realized that most of his customers were mostly couples who'd come into his high-end sushi restaurant as a date spot.
He staggered, and he slumped onto his chair in defeat.
I chuckled, before I shook my head. "Anyway, let's finish our sushi. We better return before Kitahara starts panicking."
Oguri nodded, and she immediately picked up another sushi and raised it towards me. With a smile, I bit down on the sushi, humming as I tasted both the delicate taste of the sushi and the warmth in my chest.
My tail had somehow wrapped itself around Oguri's waist, but I wouldn't notice until we finally left the restaurant.