When Hibiki Naegi returned from wandering outside for a bit, she noticed that Mashiro was still snuggled up against Kotomi. She didn't say anything to disturb them.
Watching Mashiro cling to Kotomi like that, Hibiki couldn't help but wonder silently: could Kotomi and Mashiro actually be in a relationship? The way they interacted sometimes...
After thinking it over, Hibiki quietly shook her head, brushing away the idea. Maybe they were just very close friends. Even geniuses competing in the same field could form a deep mutual respect. That might explain why the two were so close.
At least, that's what Hibiki told herself.
"Welcome back, Hibiki-senpai."
"Yeah. My stomach was acting up a bit, so I stayed in the bathroom a while longer. It's kind of embarrassing to admit, but every time I travel, I tend to get a nervous stomach."
Hibiki forced a smile.
"That sounds like something a grade schooler would say."
"You can't tease your senpai like that!" Hibiki laughed, tapping Kotomi on the forehead in mock annoyance.
As they were joking around, a broadcast suddenly echoed through the waiting hall:
"Dear passengers, the shinkansen bound for Kyoto is now entering the station. Please prepare your tickets and belongings and proceed to boarding."
"Almost an hour's wait... Looks like the train's actually a bit early," Kotomi said with a light smile.
"Thank goodness. If we had to wait two full hours, that would've been pure torture," Hibiki replied, grabbing her suitcase.
Just then, a female staff member approached them.
"Hello, passengers. The shinkansen bound for Kyoto is about to arrive. Please bring your belongings and proceed through the VIP lane for early boarding. We wish you a pleasant journey."
Since they had purchased Green Car tickets, they were entitled to certain privileges. One of the most direct perks was being able to bypass the regular boarding line and use the VIP lane to board early.
Frequent Green Car passengers knew this already. First-timers might not.
Even staff working in the Green Car lounge might not always be able to tell at a glance who's a regular and who's not.
So, when passengers showed their tickets upon entering the lounge, the staff quietly made note of their destinations. When the corresponding train was due to arrive, they would approach and remind them personally.
Since there weren't many Green Car passengers, maybe only a few a day, it wasn't hard for the staff to remember destinations and give a quick, polite heads-up. It left a good impression.
"Thanks for the reminder," Kotomi said with a smile. The three of them followed the signs and proceeded through the VIP lane, boarding ahead of the crowd.
Hibiki sat alone in the front row, while Kotomi and Mashiro were seated a few rows back. Kotomi happily took the window seat.
In reality, even if Kotomi hadn't gotten the window seat, just asking Mashiro to switch would've been enough. Mashiro would probably stand up and switch seats the moment Kotomi opened her mouth.
"Is this your first time riding Green Car, Kotomi?"
Mashiro noticed Kotomi fidgeting in her seat, glancing around curiously, snapping the occasional photo with her phone, and couldn't help but ask.
"Yup! Is this something you do often, Mashiro?" Kotomi replied honestly, nodding her head without hesitation.
Mashiro thought for a moment, then slowly explained, "Ever since I can remember, whenever I took a plane, train, or ferry, it was always in first class. For a while when I was little, I honestly thought all seats on planes and trains were that luxurious."
In that instant, Kotomi understood what "the gap" truly meant. She recalled how excited she had been the first time she flew in an economy seat as a child...
Mashiro suddenly worried she had said something wrong. Her cheeks flushed as she anxiously added, "From now on, wherever you sit, I'll sit too! If you're in economy, I'll sit in economy with you!"
It sounded like something a naive, sheltered rich girl would say in a clumsy but genuine love confession.
Maybe she had lived a life of luxury since birth, but for Kotomi, she was willing to go from riches to rags without a second thought.
Kotomi felt a warm flutter in her heart, but she also knew she couldn't actually let Mashiro ride economy class with her in the future. She gave a gentle, silent smile.
Though Kotomi didn't say a word, it was as if she had said everything. Seeing that smile, Mashiro felt all her worries melt away.
Was Kotomi insecure about their different backgrounds?
Maybe a little. Social status had never been an irrelevant factor in love. But Kotomi wasn't the type to go into a spiral of self-doubt like the protagonists of some angsty romance novels.
For one, she had her system. With her skills, she could probably make even more money by dropping out of school. She only stayed because she saw education as a useful key—not always necessary, but good to have.
And two... her family wasn't exactly poor, either.
Her paternal grandparents back in Yamanashi were doing well.
The Hishinaga family, her maternal grandparents, had survived the collapse of Japan's bubble economy by relying on family-owned food businesses. While the profits weren't stellar, they were steady. Even during the worst of times, the Hishinaga household rarely ran into red numbers.
With her grandparents on both sides acting as strong financial pillars, it would be hard for her parents to not be well off.
On top of that, her dad was a section chief at his company, with considerable status and influence...
If she were still in grade school, she might have written an essay titled, "My Section-Chief Father."
Kotomi took a silent breath. Turns out, she was pretty well-off herself!
So, no—there was no reason for her to feel inferior. With that kind of background, why act like some hesitant romantic comedy protagonist drowning in insecurity?
Even without the system, after graduating university and getting her seed money from her parents, she'd be set to start something solid. Maybe not a meteoric success, but definitely a bright future.
With that thought, Kotomi realized she'd just finished the entire bag of jujube cake that Aimi had bought for her. She didn't even remember when she had taken it out.
Only after finishing did she remember—she hadn't asked Mashiro if she wanted any.
The bag was empty—not even a crumb left. Asking now would definitely earn her a smack.
She decided: once they arrived in Kyoto, she'd treat Mashiro to a proper meal.
The shinkansen sped along.
Dawn light had begun to creep into the sky.
Kotomi and Hibiki seemed fine, but Mashiro clearly wasn't used to waking up early. Less than ten minutes into the ride, she was already nodding off in her seat, trying to stay awake but failing.
She didn't want to fall asleep. She finally had this rare opportunity to be alone with Kotomi—she didn't want to waste it by dozing off.
In the end, it was Kotomi who gently reached out and guided Mashiro's head onto her shoulder. With a soft voice, she whispered, "Get some rest. I'll wake you up when we arrive."
"But..."
Thinking Mashiro was worried about oversleeping, Kotomi patted her chest confidently. Her hand bounced off with a soft slap.
"Don't worry. While you sleep, I won't take my eyes off your face for even a second!"
That's what Kotomi meant. But, as expected, Mashiro misunderstood.
Blushing, she shyly nodded and leaned against Kotomi's shoulder, slowly drifting off like a sleepy kitten.
Once Mashiro was asleep—
Kotomi quietly took out her phone and opened Line to start chatting with Megumi Kato.
[Megumi-chan, are you there? Are you there?]
[On the train already?]
Even though it was just past six in the morning, Megumi Kato replied instantly to Kotomi's message.
[That was way too fast!]
[You don't like it?]
[No, I love it. I'm just surprised you're already awake. Hmm~ makes me wonder if you even slept at all.]
Kotomi suddenly remembered how Megumi used to wait for her at her front door every morning, always arriving early. It made her wonder when Megumi even had time to eat breakfast. So, getting a reply this early didn't feel so strange after all.
A moment later, Megumi sent another message:
[I didn't sleep at all last night.]
What?!
Megumi didn't sleep the whole night?!
Kotomi was genuinely startled by that message. She couldn't understand why Megumi would pull an all-nighter. Having experienced a brush with death herself, Kotomi had become extra mindful of her sleep schedule—and naturally cared about the health of those close to her, too.
[Why on earth didn't you sleep all night?!]
[Whatever the reason is, put down your phone right now and go to sleep!]
[If possible, ask your teacher for the day off. Staying up all night means you'll be a zombie in class. You're better off staying home and resting.]
[Do you hear me!!!]
[If you don't listen to me, Megumi, I'm going to be mad!]
Ding ding ding ding...
Megumi's phone buzzed nonstop as Kotomi rapid-fired messages at her. Just from the flood of texts, it was easy to imagine Kotomi frantically hammering away at her phone screen on the shinkansen, panic written all over her face.
Like if she didn't say it right now, someone was going to drop dead...
Oddly enough, that thought made Megumi feel a bit better. The gloom she'd been feeling about Kotomi spending three days in Kyoto with Mashiro—and the fact that their tickets had them seated together—eased ever so slightly.
Though her spirits had lifted, Megumi still pretended to sulk, crafting a melodramatic message like a heroine on the verge of a breakdown:
[My beloved is off on a three-day trip with another girl. They're even seated together. Meanwhile, I'm left all alone at home, yearning for your return, my heart aching in solitude, unable to sleep, staring into the endless night...]
[Ah, finally, after that long and painful darkness, the sun has risen. I can breathe a little easier. But tonight, when I think of you still in Kyoto, I'll be lying awake again, staring at the ceiling in lonely silence.]
As she sent that message, Megumi couldn't help but smile sweetly. In truth, she hadn't lost any sleep at all. She'd gone to bed early and even set an alarm to wake up at the crack of dawn—just so she could message Kotomi right after the train left.
She wanted to keep Kotomi's attention focused on their conversation—and not the girl sitting beside her.
Just one of Megumi Kato's many subtle, layered strategies.
At this rate, she wasn't just a master of layered plans—she was working her way up to ten-thousand-layer tactics.
What she hadn't expected was that Kotomi would message her first, before she could even make a move. Thinking of that made her smile even wider.
—Kotomi still has me in her heart.
[After reading your message, I suddenly have the urge to carry the shinkansen back to Chiba myself... Alright, cut the act. The real Megumi would never play the victim like this. And even if you did, your phrasing's totally off. I saw right through it!]
Kotomi boldly called out the bluff, thinking she'd seen through everything and was ready to smugly tease Megumi—until another message popped up:
[Phew~ you finally noticed. I wanted to act pitiful, but I was afraid you'd take it seriously and not enjoy your trip to Kyoto. So I came up with this method—a mix of playing the victim and acting spoiled, but in a way obvious enough for you to see through. (Though I was worried you wouldn't get it~ Your little brain still has plenty of room to grow.)]
Kotomi stared at the message, stunned. Then her cheeks puffed up in a pout. Megumi was so mean!
If she were in front of her right now, Kotomi would crawl into her arms and start pounding her chest with her tiny fists.
[Hmph! I don't believe you!!! You're just being stubborn! Don't think I won't get mad just because I'm usually nice. If you keep this up, for the next month, forget about "meat"—you won't even get to hold my hand!]
A few seconds later, Kotomi retracted the message. She kept the first half, but revised the second:
[...For a whole day, forget about "meat" — you won't even get to hold my hand!]
She said Megumi was being stubborn, but really, Kotomi was the one being tsundere.
But it didn't matter. Because to Megumi, Kotomi's lips could be stubborn all they wanted—they were still soft when kissed.
Megumi sent back a sly grin:
[So who's really the stubborn one? Hehe, I'll let you figure it out.]
Flustered and blushing from being called out, Kotomi stomped her foot—unable to think of a comeback.
Thankfully, Megumi wasn't right in front of her. If she had been, Kotomi the little penguin might've really gotten angry and started biting.
Megumi seemed to sense that too and decided not to push further. Teasing Kotomi was fun, but making her genuinely upset could be dangerous—especially since, when Megumi wanted to "eat meat," Kotomi might just shut her out completely.
For someone constantly craving Kotomi and scheming for a taste, that would be hell on earth.
So Megumi sent a voice message.
Kotomi didn't play it immediately. She first glanced at Mashiro, still sleeping soundly next to her, then quietly took out her earbuds.
She tapped play.
"Wifey, have lots of fun in Kyoto, okay? When you come back, let me know in advance. I'll be at home, freshly showered and waiting with sliced pineapple~"
She had just boarded the train to Kyoto, and Kotomi already wanted to skip ahead three days.
Good thing she wore her earbuds. Forget Mashiro hearing it—if anyone else around heard that, she'd have died of embarrassment.
...Again. Why did she think "again"?
Kotomi couldn't figure out a good answer. In the end, she just sent a one-word reply:
[Okay.]
After sending it, she set down her phone with a flushed face. She quickly asked the train attendant for a bottle of ice water and gulped it down, trying to cool herself off. She couldn't wash her face, so cold water had to do.
She didn't want Mashiro to wake up and see her sitting there blushing like an idiot.
Anyone might get the wrong idea and think she'd done something shady while Mashiro slept.
Once she calmed down a bit, Kotomi quietly pulled out her brand new 510,000-yen laptop—supposedly bought for writing (definitely not for gaming).
There was still time before arriving in Kyoto. Mashiro was fast asleep beside her and probably wouldn't wake up anytime soon. Hibiki was sitting way up front, so chatting wasn't an option.
Even though the Green Car was mostly empty, Kotomi didn't feel right about moving seats just to sit wherever. Out of courtesy—and not wanting to cause trouble—she stayed put.
She lowered the tray table, set her laptop and Bluetooth mouse on it, and opened Word to begin working on the manuscript for Redo of Healer, Volume 1.
What Kotomi didn't know was that Mashiro, who looked like she was sound asleep beside her...
Had actually been pretending to sleep since the moment she closed her eyes.
Every few seconds, she'd secretly peek open one eye to sneak glances at Kotomi.
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