You Ate My Lipstick

Kotomi gave Megumi a serious look, then sighed and reminded her with a solemn tone, "Don't bully my little sister, okay? Aimi is my sister, and if you dare mess with her, I won't let you off easy."

With that, Kotomi reached into the shopping cart and took out the sea turtle hat, putting it back on the shelf. Did Megumi think she couldn't tell what her real intentions were with that gift?

This wasn't just a verbal jab; it was like rubbing salt into the wound after going for the heart with a knife—salt-baked, if you will.

Megumi, unsurprised by Kotomi's move, chuckled and said, "See? You're really a great big sister, Kotomi. I finally got you to be my girlfriend, but I still envy Aimi for having such a good sister."

"Now that's a bit greedy…"

"Oh, you know, I'm very 'greedy' when it comes to you," Megumi replied playfully. Then, as if a thought had just struck her, she asked, "You know, I never asked—when is your birthday, Kotomi?"

"My birthday? It's March 3rd."

"March 3rd? That's perfect—your birthday's on Girls' Day!" Megumi's smile grew as she heard this, and suddenly, she snuggled up to Kotomi, wrapping her arms around her and, in a sweet voice, called out, "Nee-chan~"

"Eh?! W-Why are you calling me that all of a sudden?"

Being held by Megumi and hearing her call her "big sister (Nee-chan)" threw Kotomi off, leaving her standing there awkwardly, unsure of what to do.

"Well, we're born the same year, but my birthday's on September 23rd, which makes you six months older than me," Megumi said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"September 23rd? But that's the day after tomorrow!"

Realizing the date, Kotomi was hit by a sense of urgency. Megumi's birthday was just two days away, and she had only just found out. She hadn't even thought about a gift, much less prepared one!

"Oh no, what should I do? I haven't even started on your birthday present. This is awful—your girlfriend, and I didn't even know your birthday!" Kotomi was flustered, wracking her brain to come up with a good gift idea.

Should she get her a high-end graphics card?

No, Megumi wasn't really interested in computers. To her, the tablet she had was good enough and would last her for years if it didn't break down.

What should she do? If they were just friends, she could give a small token gift, and it'd still feel meaningful. But now that they were girlfriends, she wanted to give Megumi a big present for her birthday—something unforgettable that would leave a lasting impression.

As Kotomi's mind whirred with thoughts, Megumi reached out and stroked her head with a gentle smile. "I know it's early, but you've already given me the most precious birthday gift I'll ever receive."

"The most precious birthday gift? What is it? Did your parents already give you something really special? It sounds so intriguing and enviable," Kotomi tilted her head curiously.

Megumi couldn't help but laugh, and after a hearty chuckle, she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, still smiling.

"Of course not. You agreed to be my girlfriend today, and that, for me, is the most precious birthday gift. So you don't need to stress about what to give me—I already have the gift I love most right here."

Kotomi felt her head spin and her hands go weak as her face turned a deep shade of pink. She reflexively pursed her lips, realizing then that her lipstick had all but disappeared, "eaten" away by their previous kisses.

Thinking of it only made her blush more, and after some hesitation, she managed to murmur shyly, "You… you ate all my lipstick…"

She looked down shyly as she said it, embarrassed.

Megumi smiled, leaned close, and kissed her deeply once again.

They were still in the souvenir shop, but luckily no one was nearby, and the tall shelves provided some cover—though not enough for a prolonged kiss. If they got too carried away, someone might notice.

When their lips parted, Megumi held her finger to Kotomi's lips, softly promising, "I'll make sure your lips never need lipstick again."

Kotomi protested, blushing, "But my lipstick was expensive!"

With her reddened cheeks, she didn't even need lipstick to look stunning.

They quickly finished their shopping, and Kotomi picked out a mermaid body pillow. This wasn't just any body pillow; it was based on an original Aqua Park design—a character so popular online that her release had caused quite a stir, amassing a dedicated fanbase.

Aqua Park's Twitter account had only 120,000 followers at the time, but after posting their design—big and bold as it was—the account gained 30,000 new followers overnight. Now at 560,000 followers, the park was expecting to break 600,000 soon with a few more posts.

For the mermaid that had boosted their follower count by over 440,000, Aqua Park spared no effort in merchandise. The body pillow was the first item they released, and to call it "suggestive" was an understatement.

The fact that Kotomi had bought it without hesitation at first glance spoke volumes about its appeal.

Rumor had it they'd even commissioned a manga artist to do a comic for them and were planning a full visual novel game too.

The art style seemed oddly familiar… the more she looked at it, the more familiar it seemed…

A suspicion suddenly flashed through Kotomi's mind. She pulled out her phone, opened Twitter, and found Aqua Park's tweet about the mermaid pillow.

Just as she thought—the listed artist was none other than Yui Hanayui.

"It was Aunt Tomoka after all! No wonder it looked so familiar. It's so… bold and eye-catching. Too bad they only sell a family-friendly version of this pillow. I'll have to ask her for a special limited edition after her first volume releases. Hehehe…"

Lost in her thoughts of a special version, Kotomi couldn't help but giggle to herself.

"Kotomi, you're drooling," Megumi gently reminded her.

"Oh, sorry!"

Kotomi quickly wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, then noticed the large shopping bag Megumi was holding, now full of items.

"What did you get, Megumi? What's in that big bag?"

"It's for your little sister—her present~"

"For Aimi? You didn't buy something strange again, did you? Let me check it first," Kotomi said, slightly suspicious.

"What if you spoil the surprise by telling Aimi? I want it to be a surprise."

"You're not letting me check? Fine, I'll just look on the way home—after all, I'll be the one bringing it back for her anyway," Kotomi retorted.

"Not a problem! I already thought of that, so I'm coming home with you tonight to deliver it to her myself," Megumi said.

Her words sounded genuine, though somehow they seemed to hold a deeper meaning.

"Why does it sound like you're hinting at something?"

"No, not at all. Really, believe me," Megumi said, smiling. "Even though Aimi and I clash every time we meet and can't seem to get along, deep down, I do want us to get along better. Who knows? Maybe years down the road, when we get married, we can even ask Aimi to be our ring bearer~"

Kotomi blushed and turned her head away with a huff. "Isn't it a bit too soon to be thinking about marriage? I haven't even decided if I'll say yes. What if I end up liking someone else?"

"That's fine, I'm patient. Take your time."

After checking out at the counter, they left Aqua Park with their shopping bags. They'd made sure to only buy small, portable items that weren't heavy, knowing they still had plans to explore Togoshi Ginza Shopping Street, which didn't have any lockers nearby to store bags. There was no way they wanted to carry large shopping bags around.

Even with all the gifts Megumi bought for Aimi, her bag was light and easy to carry with one hand.

"Togoshi Ginza is a bit of a walk from here. Should we catch a cab or walk? I'm fine with either," Megumi asked as they stood at the corner.

Kotomi opened her map app and checked the route from Aqua Park to the shopping street. The distance wasn't bad—not so far that they'd feel exhausted walking but not so close that paying for a cab felt wasteful.

She was about to opt for a cab when a thought flashed through her mind—what if cab fares in Shinagawa were higher than in Chiba?

Different cities had different cab rates, so checking prices beforehand might be a good idea.

A quick search revealed that fares here were much higher than in Chiba. Kotomi immediately closed her phone and, putting on a serious expression, said, "We had a big lunch, so a walk to help digest it sounds perfect."

"Oh, so you do actually get full sometimes?" Megumi laughed, having watched Kotomi's little search antics from start to finish.

"Of course! I'm not some bottomless pit or Godzilla! Just because I can eat a lot doesn't mean my stomach's unlimited."

Kotomi's cheeks flushed with slight embarrassment. She didn't want to admit her appetite in front of Megumi, though it was already obvious.

But there was one thing Kotomi was too shy to mention out loud. By the time they had started browsing in the souvenir shop, she had already digested her lunch entirely.

No way she could admit something so embarrassing! Absolutely not! Kotomi's cheeks reddened as she steeled herself not to let this slip.

Megumi, of course, saw through everything but kept quiet out of consideration for Kotomi's pride.

When they finally arrived at Togoshi Ginza, they looked down the long, bustling row of shops and food stalls. Even in the afternoon, there were plenty of shoppers.

"There's a shortcut through a side alley that leads right to the street. I thought we'd have to walk a few more minutes," Megumi said with a smile.

"My feet are a little sore. Time to start snacking!" Kotomi said, rolling her ankles and looking eagerly at a crepe stand just up ahead. Her pink eyes gleamed as she zeroed in on it.

"There's lots to try here, but maybe don't get too focused on food right away. It's a shopping street, not a food fair, after all," Megumi said, amused at Kotomi, whose gaze flitted hungrily from one snack stall to the next.

Just how much could Kotomi eat? Megumi still hadn't figured that out.

"Kotomi, let's go get some crepes!" she suggested.

"Alright!"

Faced with Kotomi's excited invitation, Megumi, though still full, could only shrug and agree.

"Welcome! What flavor would you like?"

"I'll have the sugar and cream crepe! What about you, Megumi?"

"Let me see… I'll have the orange zest flavor, please."

Once they chose, the vendor began preparing the crepes right away, not wanting to lose any time with so many customers waiting.

"Orange zest again, Megumi? I remember you ordered that last time too."

Kotomi had quickly paid for both of them before Megumi could, and now asked her about her choice.

"Orange zest, huh?"

Hearing her question, Megumi glanced at Kotomi's profile and nodded, answering simply, "Yep, it's my favorite flavor."

As she spoke, her eyes stayed on Kotomi.

The vendor making the crepes shivered a little. Why did he suddenly feel like he was being shown off? It reminded him of his single life—thirty-five years without a partner… Oh well, love isn't everything, is it?

That lemony jealousy seemed to be making its way into the crepe batter.

Back at the Izumi household.

Aimi had just finished her homework.

Her teacher's advice before the weekend—"Review even after you're done with your assignments"—was long forgotten.

Review? Yeah, right.

After finishing her work, Aimi wandered into Kotomi's room and casually sprawled across the bed, opening up Kotomi's laptop.

She planned to watch a movie or two, to get her mind off Kotomi. Otherwise, she'd end up anxiously pacing around, unable to sit still until her sister returned.

"I'm almost a high schooler. I'm mature enough to handle it if Kotomi isn't home right now," Aimi told herself confidently, nodding. But as soon as she booted up the computer, her gaze fell on the wallpaper she'd secretly set as a photo of Kotomi, and all her defenses crumbled.

"Ugh, Kotomi, my precious Kotomi! Why aren't you home yet? You said you'd be back by sunset!"

Face-down on the bed, Aimi sighed helplessly. She felt like her whole body had gone limp, utterly drained in Kotomi's absence. Hugging Kotomi's pillow, she kicked her feet idly, accidentally nudging the laptop's touchpad.

By sheer chance, a folder opened. Aimi almost turned away to close it when she noticed the file name.

It wasn't just any folder—this was a game folder.

Specifically, FLOWERS.

"So this is one of those games Kotomi always plays? She has a whole D drive full of these, but she keeps this one right on her desktop. She must really like it… I wonder what kind of story it has that she enjoys so much?"

Curiosity getting the better of her, Aimi clicked on FLOWERS to find out.