Is Kotomi on Her Period?

The next morning, upon arriving at school, some students were nervously and excitedly discussing the results of the previous day's monthly exam. Others, already knowing they had done poorly, wore expressions that reflected a sense of acceptance, ready to face the inevitable.

This is typical for the day after exams.

Some students anxiously awaited their results, wondering how well they did. Those with confidence were curious about how high their scores might be, while those without it prayed that their grades would at least be passable.

Then there were those who had already come to terms with the inevitable, completely unafraid of their parents' reactions when the results came in—the inevitable scolding from their mothers or the dreaded belt from their fathers.

As for Kotomi, she lay face down on her desk, looking as if she had been completely worn out. She mumbled like someone who had lost their mind:

"Ugh... Why is this limited construction pool so hard to pull from? Ten pulls in, and no gold ship, not even a purple one. The one time I did pull a gold ship, it was Warspite."

"And then the next ten-pull? Not even a purple ship!"

"Did I pick the wrong pool? Damn it, why won't it come out?"

"Am I playing a broken game or something..."

Kotomi slumped over her desk, thinking about the seemingly endless string of bad luck she had experienced during her gacha pulls the previous night. Despite spending tons of resources, she hadn't managed to get Vittorio Veneto, the shipgirl she wanted.

She'd been so frustrated that she almost threw her phone onto the floor.

At the moment when her hand was raised, poised to smash the phone, she suddenly remembered the 20,000... ahem... very important pictures she had saved in her gallery.

In a flash of realization, she changed her mind and instead gently placed her phone on her desk.

It was a satisfying enough action to vent her frustration, and thankfully, her precious images were safe.

Still, thinking about the previous night's horrific gacha session made Kotomi want to scream. She felt her blood pressure rising the more she thought about it.

Meanwhile, Yui Yuigahama, who sat in the seat in front of her, turned to grab a notebook from her bag and noticed Kotomi behind her. Kotomi looked like she had been thoroughly exhausted by someone the night before, as if she had been completely used up and discarded.

As soon as that thought popped into Yui's mind, she found herself feeling an odd pang of... envy? No, no... jealousy!

Who had messed with Kotomi?!

After a moment of cooling down and calming herself, Yui realized how ridiculous her train of thought had been and leaned toward Yukino Yukinoshita, who sat next to her. In a low voice, she asked:

"Kotomi looks kind of out of it... Do you think she's feeling unwell?"

Yukino showed a hint of surprise. Normally, Kotomi looked healthy and full of energy, always giving off the appearance of someone in good physical condition. She didn't seem like the type to suddenly fall ill.

Yukino turned her head toward Kotomi, planning to give her a gentle poke to ask what was wrong.

Was she feeling sick, or was she just in a bad mood?

But just as Yukino was about to touch Kotomi, she suddenly had a realization and pulled her hand back, raising a finger to her lips as she signaled Yui to keep her voice down.

Seeing Yui's confused expression, Yukino sighed softly and said:

"It might be that time of the month for Kotomi."

"That time... of the month...?" Yui blinked, then suddenly realized what Yukino meant.

Every girl had those few days each month.

Typically, there were signs beforehand—feeling irritable or unwell, for instance.

Looking at Kotomi's current state, it all made sense... Yui thought to herself that Kotomi was most likely on her period.

Yui instantly shut her mouth and began to move with extra care, being as quiet as possible to avoid disturbing Kotomi during her time of need.

After all, as girls themselves, they both knew how uncomfortable it could be during that time. Your entire body could feel off, but it was hard to pinpoint exactly what was wrong. All you wanted was to rest peacefully.

Yui made a mental note of the day, marking Kotomi's menstrual cycle, and then compared it to her own. To her surprise, Yui realized their cycles were pretty close to each other!

Though she wasn't sure why having synchronized periods felt like something to celebrate, Yui couldn't help but feel oddly happy about it.

Kotomi stayed in that slumped position until the end of the morning's last class.

It was one of the perks of being a top student.

If it were anyone else lying like that on their desk, they would've been called out by the teacher. And after a second time, they would have been asked to stand up.

But Kotomi slouched on her desk for all four periods, barely speaking and not answering any questions in class. The teachers mostly turned a blind eye to her behavior, allowing her to be lazy.

Some of the female teachers even approached her after class, bending down to ask if she wasn't feeling well and suggesting she take a rest in the nurse's office.

Kotomi simply lifted her head slightly, insisting she was fine.

As for the real reason behind her lethargy, Kotomi would never tell the teachers.

In fact, she had already recovered from her bad mood after the first period. But why continue slumping at her desk for the next three periods?

Because it was the perfect opportunity to slack off, of course!

When the bell rang to signal the end of the last period, Kotomi suddenly sprang back to life, jumping out of her seat, ready to dash to the school store for lunch.

But before she could even take a step, Yui pressed her back down into her chair.

"Kotomi, you just sit here and rest. I'll go buy lunch for you today, okay?"

"Alright! I want fries, a fried chicken leg, three sausage-and-egg sandwiches, and an ice-cold Pepsi," Kotomi responded instinctively, listing off her order with ease, as if Yui had done this for her many times.

It wasn't until after Yui had run out of the classroom, already on her way, that Kotomi began to wonder why Yui had offered to buy lunch for her today. By then, it was too late to ask.

"That's strange... Why did Yui suddenly offer to get my lunch? Could she be trying to ask me for more tutoring help?" Kotomi mumbled to herself.

Though Yui's grades had been pretty dismal before, similar to Kotomi's from her own past, Kotomi had noticed that Yui wasn't actually dumb. She just hadn't had much time to study, what with helping her mother at the cake shop and taking care of her younger sister.

It was understandable, really.

Recently, since Yui's mother, Tomoka, had been busy working on illustrations, the cake shop had temporarily closed, giving Yui more time for tutoring sessions with Kotomi.

But once Tomoka finished her work and reopened the shop, Yui might no longer have the time to study again.

In fact, if Yui told Tomoka about the situation, her mother, who adored her, would surely have Yui stop helping at the shop after school so she could focus on her studies and care for her sister.

But Yui hadn't mentioned her lack of time for studying to her mother, always claiming she was doing just fine in school. She just wanted to help ease her mother's burden.

"That's a bit of a dilemma... Trying to balance everything like this seems nearly impossible," Kotomi muttered, feeling slightly worried for Yui.

"Kotomi, open wide. Aaah~"

Sitting next to her and eating lunch, Megumi Kato suddenly spoke up.

"Huh? Aaah..."

Without fully understanding what was going on, Kotomi instinctively turned her head toward Megumi and opened her mouth with an "Aaah~."

Megumi smiled gently and leaned forward.

Before Kotomi realized it, something soft had been placed in her mouth.

It was fragrant, soft.

Kotomi chewed a few times before realizing that she was eating scrambled eggs.

"I didn't make tamagoyaki today, just scrambled eggs. Do you like them?" Megumi Kato asked with a soft smile.

"They're delicious!" Kotomi nodded enthusiastically.

Seeing Kotomi's genuine approval, Megumi's smile deepened. Although she didn't like eggs or dishes made with eggs, ever since she learned that Kotomi liked them, she had been asking her mother to prepare a dish with eggs for her lunch almost every day. Then, during lunch at school, she would "feed" Kotomi, almost like feeding a small animal.

Over time, Megumi realized that she had become a bit addicted to the feeling of feeding Kotomi. It was hard to explain, but whenever she saw Kotomi eating the food she offered with such a happy expression, Megumi felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction and possessiveness.

However, this feeling only temporarily soothed the emotions in her heart, and soon, the urge to do more would return with double the intensity.

She wanted to get even closer... to go even further...

As she looked at Kotomi's moist, rosy lips, the memory of Yui hugging Kotomi the previous day flashed in Megumi's mind, causing the fragile barrier of restraint in her heart to waver.

Megumi subtly leaned closer to Kotomi, taking a deep breath without making it obvious. The fragrance helped calm the restlessness inside her, at least for the moment.

But it wasn't enough.

"Do you want to eat something else?" Megumi asked with a gentle smile.

Although Kotomi was tempted to eat more of the scrambled eggs from Megumi's bento, she felt shy about eating too much, so she quietly replied, "I'd like just a little more scrambled egg."

"If you like it, you can eat as much as you want," Megumi smiled warmly and gave Kotomi a big portion of scrambled eggs. As she watched Kotomi happily munching on the food, Megumi thought to herself, Asking Mom to make scrambled eggs was definitely the right choice. Still, I hope Kotomi only likes the food I make.

With that thought, Megumi decided that she would start learning how to cook, starting today.

"By the way, Kotomi, were you in a bad mood this morning? You were slumped over your desk for four periods and didn't talk much," Megumi asked while using the chopsticks that Kotomi had just eaten from to finish her own meal, as if that had been her plan all along.

Kotomi nodded and, still feeling a bit disgruntled, recounted, "Yesterday, I was super excited about the new update for Azur Lane, and I went all out on the limited construction pool, but the results were absolutely terrible..."

As soon as Kotomi brought it up, she couldn't stop herself from complaining. Megumi listened with a calm smile, letting Kotomi vent her frustrations.

"I've never played Azur Lane before, but from what you're saying, not pulling the shipgirl you wanted must feel awful," Megumi responded gently after Kotomi finished.

"I'm not mad anymore, but I'm still pretty annoyed," Kotomi muttered as she pulled out her phone and opened Azur Lane.

After several rounds of ten-pulls last night and not getting the results she wanted, Kotomi had been so frustrated that she couldn't even sleep properly. That was why she'd come to school today looking so miserable, making people like Yukino and Yui think she might have gotten her period.

Megumi thought for a moment, then asked, "Kotomi, would you like me to try pulling from the limited pool for you?"

"You want to try?" Kotomi looked at her in surprise.

"Mhm, I'm a little curious after hearing you talk about it," Megumi smiled.

Kotomi thought for a second. She still had 20 cubes left, along with enough resources for one more ten-pull. Since the chances were slim anyway, she figured she might as well let Megumi give it a try if she was interested.

With that in mind, Kotomi handed Megumi her phone.

"Sure, you just tap this button, then tap the 'complete all' option," Kotomi explained.

"Oh, so that's how you do a ten-pull," Megumi nodded, understanding.

After receiving the phone, Megumi tapped the button and then the 'complete all' option.

The first shipgirl that appeared was a blue rarity.

Seeing that, Kotomi's hopes sank. She figured this pull would be another bust.

Then—

The phone vibrated, and a flash of gold appeared.

Eagle?!

As the rest of the results rolled in, the ships were:

Scirocco.

Duca degli Abruzzi.

Vittorio Veneto?!

Everything came out—all of them came out!!!

Kotomi stared at Megumi in shock, feeling like her entire world had been shaken.

In one ten-pull, she had gotten all the ships she wanted. Including the ships she had pulled earlier, she had effectively finished the event!

Now all that was left was to max out the affection for her manta ray, and she would have collected every new shipgirl in the event.

Looking at the screen, Kotomi felt a rush of emotion well up inside her, as if she was about to cry. Finally!

"Yay!"

"Um... I'm not really sure what the different colors mean, but did you get the ships you wanted this time?" Megumi asked, handing the phone back to Kotomi, a bit confused.

Before Megumi could even finish speaking, Kotomi was nodding vigorously, her excitement clear.

"They're all the ones I wanted! Thank you, Megumi!"

"You're welcome, it was no big deal."

Seeing how happy Kotomi was, Megumi's smile took on a faintly mischievous edge.

At that moment, Yui returned with a large bag full of lunch.

"Kotomi, I'm back! Here's your food," Yui said, pulling out Kotomi's order from the plastic bag, along with the soda she had bought.

"Thanks," Kotomi said, handing Yui the money she had prepared in return.

Whenever Yui helped buy her lunch, Kotomi would always make sure to repay her, either with cash or a quick transfer via phone.

Kotomi didn't like owing anyone anything, especially money. Besides, after spending time with Yui, she knew that Yui's family wasn't particularly well off. They relied heavily on the income Yui's mother earned from running their cake shop and working as an illustrator.

Even though it was just a small amount for lunch, Kotomi made sure to give what was owed. It was a matter of principle.

After giving Yui the money, Kotomi sat down, ready to eat.

Though she always had a good breakfast, by lunchtime, Kotomi's stomach would inevitably start growling, like clockwork.

Before diving into her burger, she decided to take a sip of her Pepsi. Grabbing the bottle, she was about to drink when she paused, then asked Yui:

"Yui, why isn't my Pepsi cold?"

"Aren't you on your period today, Kotomi? Girls aren't supposed to drink cold things when they're on their period, so I didn't buy you an iced one," Yui replied matter-of-factly.

"She's right," Yukino, who was sitting nearby, nodded in agreement. "It's your special time of the month. Drinking something cold will only make you feel worse. Actually, you shouldn't even be drinking soda; you should have some warm water instead."

"Huh?"

Kotomi made a confused sound. Period? What period? How come I didn't know about it?