"I'm still awake," Izumi Kotomi replied, her cheeks slightly flushed.
She wanted to retrieve her phone, but Izumi Aimi showed no intention of handing it back.
"Do you want to have cake again tomorrow, Izumi?" Megumi Kato asked from the other end of the call.
"Cake? I do love sweets, but eating them every day might make me gain weight, so maybe I'll skip tomorrow," Kotomi answered.
"Alright, then I won't go to Yui's place to get cake after school. I'll wait for you at the library, and we can walk home together after your club activities. How does that sound?" Megumi said, and then, with a light chuckle, added, "Besides, you don't need to worry about your figure, Izumi. You're perfectly slim, and everything is in the right place."
Everything is in the right place?
Kotomi was initially confused by Megumi's words until she glanced down at her chest.
Then she understood.
Aimi, listening to their conversation, scoffed softly. She leaned closer, her lips dangerously close to Kotomi's neck, intentionally bringing the phone near as well. In this position, any sound could easily be heard by Megumi on the other end of the line.
What is she planning?
A sense of foreboding rose in Kotomi's mind, but before she could react, Aimi gently pressed her soft lips against Kotomi's delicate neck and then bit down, not too hard, but firmly enough to leave a mark.
Kotomi felt a peculiar mix of pain and something else—something she couldn't quite describe. The resistance she had been ready to offer melted away as if Aimi's bite drained all the strength from her body. She found herself too weak to move, let alone resist, allowing Aimi to do as she pleased.
"Izumi, is everything okay? I thought I heard something strange just now," Megumi asked, concerned.
"It's… nothing. Just the sound from a horror movie. I'm watching one right now," Kotomi managed to say, trying to keep her voice steady.
"A horror movie at night? That's quite an unusual hobby, Izumi. I'm curious—what kind of horror movie are you watching?" Megumi's voice was laced with mild amusement.
"I was having trouble sleeping, so I just picked one at random," Kotomi replied, doing her best to sound calm. Yet, she couldn't help but wonder why Megumi had called at such a time. Was it really just to chat?
Kotomi desperately wanted to end the call, not because she didn't enjoy talking to Megumi—she could chat with her all night under normal circumstances—but right now, with Aimi still on top of her, there was no telling what her sister might do next. Aimi might deliberately do something to make Kotomi produce a sound that Megumi would definitely misinterpret.
"Is there something you wanted to talk to me about, Kato?" Kotomi asked, hoping to steer the conversation to a quick conclusion.
"Oh, now that you mention it, there was something I wanted to tell you, but I seem to have forgotten what it was. I guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow morning at school," Megumi said with a soft, almost teasing laugh.
"Good night, Izumi. Rest well," Megumi said as she bid farewell.
"Good… good night…" Kotomi stammered before Megumi hung up. With the call finally over, Kotomi breathed a sigh of relief.
Aimi finally released her bite, leaving a small, strawberry-like mark on Kotomi's neck.
"Aimi… do you realize what you just did?" Kotomi panted, her breath ragged.
"But you looked like you were enjoying it, sis," Aimi teased.
"She almost heard it…"
"So what? Isn't this what you like?"
"I do not!" Kotomi denied, her face burning red.
Aimi smirked, gently stroking Kotomi's cheek. "What I said and did just now was my way of expressing my feelings, sister. Even if you don't accept them now, I'll keep showing you until you do."
With that, Aimi pointed to the mark she had left on Kotomi's neck. "Get ready, sister. This is just a taste. Next time, I'll be going for the main course."
Aimi climbed off the bed, tucking the exhausted Kotomi under the covers and brushing her messy hair behind her ear. "Good night, sister," she whispered before leaving the room, closing the door quietly behind her.
Kotomi lay in bed, panting heavily. When Aimi had pinned her down, it was as if all her strength had been sapped away.
"This girl… she's really…" Kotomi sighed deeply, her hand reaching for the spot on her neck where Aimi had left her mark.
Did she really just give me a hickey?
"Wooow, the first battle for Izumi has begun between Aimi and Megumi! This plot twist is wild!" The voice of the God-Level Heroine System suddenly chimed in, filled with excitement.
"Wait, you saw what just happened between me and Aimi?! You useless system! I'm your host! Why didn't you help me?" Kotomi cried out in frustration.
"I wanted to help, but I got too caught up watching!" the system replied, giggling.
"You…" Kotomi could only sigh at her sometimes-reliable, sometimes-not system. But then, something struck her as odd.
Usually, when she communicated with the system, its voice echoed in her mind, with a unique, ethereal quality. But now, it sounded more like a real voice, spoken aloud in the room.
Could it be…?
Kotomi turned her head toward the chair by her desk, where she saw a girl with long pink hair, sitting with her slender legs crossed, gazing back at Kotomi. As Kotomi's eyes met hers, the girl stood up slowly.
The pink-haired girl pressed her lips together, smiling slightly. "It gets a bit stuffy staying inside your body all the time, so I decided to come out and stretch my legs."
As she spoke, a beam of moonlight slipped through the window, illuminating her form.
She stood in the cool glow of the moon, her body half in light, half in shadow.
Though youthful in appearance, her beauty was undeniable, her snow-white complexion untouched by makeup yet still perfect, her long pink hair flowing gracefully around her.
Looking at her was like gazing at a delicate pink flower, blooming in a serene lake beneath a clear sky, making everything else lose its luster, leaving only the soft hues of pink and red.
"You're… the system?" Kotomi asked in disbelief.
The pink-haired girl nodded with a smile and then lay down beside Kotomi on the bed. "This is my true form. It's pretty comfy staying inside you, but I've been in there for so long that I just had to come out for a bit. I came out just in time to see Aimi giving you that hickey, so I thought it was best to stay quiet and not interrupt," she said, giggling mischievously.