Kotomi Eating Dango

"Megumi, over here!" Kotomi , who had stepped into the train car first, quickly spotted a quiet seat. When she took the train alone, she preferred seats toward the back of the car.

They tended to be more peaceful since most people preferred the middle seats, closer to the doors, for easier boarding and alighting. Missing a stop could mean an enormous hassle for busy commuters, who'd rather not risk being late and having to explain things to their supervisors.

But when she wasn't in a hurry, Kotomi preferred the tranquility of the seats further back.

"Looks like we picked the perfect time to leave. Not only did we arrive just as the train came, but there are so many empty seats," Megumi said as she sat down next to Kotomi. She intentionally leaned closer than usual, and since Kotomi didn't seem to notice, she stayed right there, enjoying the soft tulip scent that was uniquely Kotomi's.

"Let's hope the monorail we switch to has this many open seats too," Kotomi said.

While Megumi felt lucky to find a spacious train, Kotomi was already thinking ahead to the monorail they'd need to transfer to.

If there weren't any seats on the monorail, they'd have to stand. Normally, standing wouldn't be a big deal for Kotomi, who had plenty of stamina.

But this time was different—she'd just started her period the day before, and for the next few days, she'd be feeling that lovely, relentless "warmth" and "enthusiasm."

In other words, Kotomi was running on "low HP" during these days.

Not that she'd actually faint or anything, but her stamina wasn't at its usual level. Though Kotomi had a robust constitution, she wasn't a superhuman.

If she were, though, she'd love to transform into Kamen Rider and have a genuine Bandai belt to go with it.

Given her "low HP," Kotomi knew she'd tire faster than usual. And since she was already naturally a bit of a slacker—someone who preferred lying down to sitting and sitting to standing—she was already wondering if there'd be empty seats on the next train…

Perfectly reasonable.

Lazy much? Kazumi, within her mind, caught on to Kotomi's thoughts and grumbled silently. She didn't dare say it aloud, though—she worried Kotomi would remember this and later bite her on the rear when they slept together.

It was an odd habit that had made Kazumi suspicious. Kotomi seemed to sleep so politely with everyone else, yet every time she shared a bed with Kazumi, Kotomi would, seemingly out of nowhere, bite her on the rear and hold on all night.

When she woke up in the morning, Kazumi would inevitably find a set of teeth marks on her backside, which baffled her the first time it happened. Only after she had Kotomi open her mouth did she realize…

The size and shape of Kotomi's teeth matched the bite marks on her rear perfectly—so much so that it felt like the very definition of "ridiculous."

After exiting the train, they switched to the Chiba Urban Monorail. Fortunately, it wasn't too crowded, so finding seats wouldn't be a problem.

But, oddly enough, Kotomi, who had been worried about finding a seat, didn't sit down once she got on. She stood by the window, her eyes wide with curiosity, peering out as if she were a kid on a kindergarten field trip.

It was her first time riding the Chiba Urban Monorail, after all.

"Maybe you should sit down and rest a bit, Kotomi. We'll need to run for a bit later," Megumi said.

"Huh? Why?" Kotomi asked in surprise, sitting obediently next to Megumi.

"Take a look," Megumi said, showing her a message on her phone. "According to this announcement, the Keiyo Line has some maintenance scheduled, and today it'll be departing sixteen minutes early. If we miss it, we'll have to wait a while, and that'll make us miss our train on the Rinkai Line."

Checking the schedule on Megumi's phone, Kotomi instantly understood the urgency. She'd planned their time so well that even a "Time Management Master" would've approved.

But, as fate would have it, unexpected delays and surprise maintenance had shown up.

Today, the Keiyo Line would be leaving early due to maintenance, and it wasn't just a minute or two early either.

They'd need to run to catch it!

With that in mind, Kotomi leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes for a quick rest and saving her energy for the sprint ahead.

Seeing Kotomi looking so serious, as if preparing to go all out, Megumi couldn't help but laugh softly.

Seven minutes later.

The Chiba Urban Monorail slowed to a stop, and as they exited the station, the two hurried toward the Keiyo Line.

Kotomi took a deep breath to steel herself, determined to keep a good pace despite her "low HP" status.

Would it help?

Well… maybe not.

But it didn't matter! At least they managed to board the Keiyo Line with three minutes to spare.

Relieved, Kotomi finally sat down and opened a small box of skewered dango she had bought in a quick stop at a snack stall while sprinting toward the train.

The box contained three skewers, each with three differently colored dango: pink, white, and green.

She bit into the first pink dango, feeling the slight fatigue from their dash catch up to her. She must have already burned through the red bean bun from earlier.

The dango was a nice pick-me-up.

Seated next to her, Megumi teased, "Wow, Kotomi's eating Yui."

Kotomi had often referred to Yui Yuigahama as "Dango," so much so that Yukino, Megumi, and Mashiro had taken to calling Yui "Dango" as a joke.

While Yui had initially been puzzled by her new nickname, she eventually grew used to it and even grew to like it. She'd even started joking about it herself whenever she ate dango or other round treats.

"Want one, Megumi?"

"No thanks, they're all yours. I'm still full from the ramen," Megumi said with a smile, waving her hand.

At this, Kotomi, who had just reached for her second skewer, felt her cheeks go pink.

How embarrassing! We haven't even been together that long, and I've already eaten a whole bunch in front of her—and I'm still not full! Oh no, does she think I'm a glutton?

Blushing deeply, Kotomi shyly avoided taking another bite, nervously fidgeting her feet inside her shoes.

If they were at the beach right now, Kotomi would probably be cringing so hard she'd dig a hole in the sand with her toes, deep enough to reach Los Santos.

Finally, with a flushed face, Kotomi finished eating all three sticks of dango.

Sitting beside her, Megumi propped her chin on her hand, gazing at Kotomi with a warm, gentle smile. Watching her, Kotomi seemed both embarrassed and hungry, her cheeks red as she took shy bites of each piece of dango.

Usually, Kotomi ate enthusiastically, taking big bites. But under Megumi's watchful gaze, she suddenly became self-conscious, taking smaller, more timid bites of her dango.

Even if she understood this, Megumi made no move to look away, fully intending to savor the sight of Kotomi's bashfulness.

"I… I'm full now… really full!" Kotomi, cheeks still pink, insisted again, as if trying to prove her appetite wasn't that big after all.

"Yes, yes, I believe you're full~ Hehe~"

"Then why do you keep staring at me?" Kotomi's face flushed deeper, her head dipping down, her delicate, white face now tinged with a rosy glow that anyone would want to kiss.

"Was I? I wasn't staring, was I? I was just admiring the scenery~"

"Really?" Kotomi sounded a bit surprised and, somehow, a little disappointed.

So, she wasn't actually watching me eat after all…

"Yep. Although we haven't reached the Rinkai Line yet, you can already see glimpses of the ocean. Once we're on the Rinkai Line, you'll get a long stretch of ocean view." Megumi chuckled, pointing to the scenery outside the window.

Kotomi followed her gaze, her attention drawn by the view of the ocean peeking out from between buildings and industrial facilities, and she easily believed Megumi's explanation that she had just been looking at the landscape outside.

Forty minutes later, they transferred from the Keiyo Line to the Rinkai Line.

Although Kotomi had mapped out the general route and distance, she hadn't realized just how far Chiba City was from Shinagawa until she experienced it herself.

Best case, by the time they arrived in Shinagawa, they would have been traveling for at least an hour and forty-two minutes.

Though she had planned the timing well, waiting for trains and transferring between lines added extra time. If they reached Shinagawa in under two hours, it would be a lucky outcome.

Despite studying the train schedule, there was still time spent waiting, so Kotomi made a mental note to keep a close eye on the return time. Otherwise, they could miss the last train back due to delays or connections. Actually, maybe they should leave earlier in the afternoon rather than risk it.

Kotomi thought this was probably the best way to handle it.

However, unbeknownst to her, Megumi, sitting beside her, was already browsing hotels in Shinagawa on her travel app when Kotomi wasn't looking…

Once they reached the destination on the Rinkai Line, Kotomi perked up, feeling her energy return a bit, knowing they were only one transfer away from Shinagawa.

While waiting for the Tokyo Monorail at the station, Kotomi, after buying her ticket, dashed over to a small shop nearby and bought two lychee-flavored lollipops.

"Megumi, here, this is for you."

With a cheerful smile, Kotomi tore open one of the wrappers and popped the lollipop into her mouth, offering the second one to Megumi.

Honestly, Kotomi could have easily eaten three herself, especially in lychee, orange, or grape flavor. But, trying to be polite, she decided to share one with Megumi.

"Thanks~" Megumi smiled as she took it, but instead of eating it, she pretended to look at her phone, sneaking glances at Kotomi as she enjoyed her lollipop.

Lost in the sweetness, Kotomi didn't realize that her small gestures and mouth movements were practically entrancing Megumi.

The sight made Megumi's resolve weaken, feeling like her composure was about to snap as if some cord of restraint would break, urging her to do something… something very tempting.

Honestly, what I really want is the lollipop that's already in Kotomi's mouth.

Megumi thought to herself, her lips curling up slightly. Normally she had no particular fondness for lollipops, yet here she was, nearly salivating over one.

But what exactly she was craving, well… that was a story for another time.

The Tokyo Monorail arrived as scheduled, and once inside, there was no need to rush. With only one stop to go until Shinagawa, Kotomi returned to her childlike curiosity, leaning against the window to take in the scenery outside. Whatever she had missed on the Chiba City Monorail, she was making up for it now.

Megumi had to frequently remind her to be careful, warning her to take it slow and not to trip.

Her caution wasn't unnecessary; in a moving monorail car, a slight misstep could easily lead to a stumble.

Thud—

"Ouch…"

With a small yelp, Kotomi found herself on the floor after a rather clumsy fall.

"Oh dear…" Megumi sighed, caught between amusement and worry.

She had been about to help Kotomi up, but to her surprise, in the next instant, Kotomi was on her feet again and darting back to her seat beside Megumi, moving so quickly it was almost like the fall hadn't happened at all.

"Guess you didn't really need me to help you up there. You seem to have some self-healing superpowers," Megumi teased lightly.

But Kotomi wasn't joking. She replied in all seriousness, "There's this beautiful girl up front, see? The one who looks about twenty-four, wavy hair, maybe a B-cup? I couldn't let her see me fall flat on my face. She looks so cool—maybe I should go up and ask for her numb… Ah!"

Kotomi yelped again, interrupted by a sudden pinch to her lower back, her exclamation a little louder than intended, her voice catching a note of surprise.

The sharpness in her voice turned heads, and suddenly, people around her were glancing over with bemused expressions.

A few middle-aged women seated nearby exchanged whispers:

"Young people nowadays… such daring antics."

"The train's so quiet. Wonder why we didn't hear any buzzing. Could it be they make those things silent now?"

"Looks pretty exciting. I might give it a try myself sometime."

"Are you crazy!"

At that, Kotomi's cheeks flushed as her eyes watered, glancing toward Megumi in embarrassment. She lowered her voice and whispered, "Why did you pinch me?"

"Oh, just helping massage you a bit. You know, just in case you actually did go ask that pretty girl for her 'numb…er,' I wouldn't want your back to ache," Megumi replied, her face a picture of innocence.

But somehow, the air around them was thick with the scent of jealousy…