All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me

Looking down at her own T-shirt, dampened to a faintly see-through light blue, Kotomi found herself in a bind.

Leaving home that morning, she hadn’t felt rushed at all, but in one of those rare moments of lapse, she’d left with only a T-shirt, forgetting to grab her jacket. Thankfully, Sobu High School was lenient about uniform regulations; as long as students wore the designated school clothes, they didn’t enforce the layering rules too strictly. So long as you didn’t push the limits, no one would bat an eye.

And in Kotomi’s case, a forgotten jacket was the last thing anyone would fret about. With her exam scores placing her at the very top in Tokyo, they probably wouldn’t care if she skipped the whole uniform altogether.

The school’s flexibility, plus the mild weather today, meant Kotomi hadn’t noticed anything amiss without her jacket. She even found herself thinking the single-layer T-shirt was so refreshingly comfortable that maybe she’d skip the jacket tomorrow as well.

But now…she had a problem. How was she supposed to get home like this? With her shirt soaked and clinging to her in a particularly inconvenient spot...

Kotomi stifled a curse, giving herself an inward thumbs-down.

There was no way she was walking down a busy street like this! The thought alone, paired with the attention it might attract, was enough to make her want to disappear.

Seeing Kotomi’s face growing redder by the second, Megumi stepped forward and calmly removed her own jacket, draping it over Kotomi’s shoulders with a gentle touch. She smiled and said, ”Button it up. Or there’s no way you’re getting home like this unless you enjoy walking around with a see-through shirt.”

”Of course, I don’t! I haven’t awakened to any weird hobbies.”

Blushing, Kotomi quickly fastened the buttons, her mind now even more self-conscious as she imagined Megumi’s teasing words coming to life. Watching her friend buttoning up the jacket with a few struggled tugs around her chest, Megumi observed with a satisfied smile, clearly charmed by her flustered friend.

Once the jacket was buttoned up, Kotomi found that while the size fit, it was slightly tight at the chest. She took a deep breath and, with a bit of effort, fastened the top buttons. However, as soon as she took a step, it felt precariously taut, like the buttons at any moment might burst open.

Seeing this, Megumi couldn’t resist teasing her, ”Watching you put on my jacket must be a blow to all of us with…lesser figures.”

”Oh, come on. That’s an exaggeration. I feel like most girls around me have great figures,” Kotomi replied with an awkward laugh.

Though it was a casual remark, Megumi caught onto a particular word, and her curiosity sparked as she asked, ”Girls around you? There are that many?”

”Not really, no,” Kotomi replied, then added gratefully, ”But thanks, Megumi. Without your jacket, I’d have no idea how to get home like this. It’s just that…well, with my sweat, I probably got your jacket dirty. If it’s okay with you, I could wash it for you and return it tomorrow.”

”No need, honestly. I was planning to wash it once I got home anyway,” Megumi said easily.

”Alright then, thank you, Megumi.”

”If you keep saying thank you, you’re going to make it seem like we’re strangers. Do you thank Arisu like that too?”

The sudden mention of Arisu Sakayanagi caught Kotomi by surprise, but she replied, ”Of course! Besides, Arisu and I just met—barely a week ago. More specifically, we only met on the last day of the midterm exams.”

”So you’ve only known her for a few days? And yet you’re already comfortable calling her by her first name? Plus, she acts around you like an old friend. It doesn’t feel like you two only met days ago.”

Is that…jealousy I smell?

Kotomi sniffed the air, smiling to herself before saying, ”Megumi…are you jealous?”

”I won’t deny it.”

So she is jealous!

Kotomi felt a burst of happiness from within. Is there really someone who would get jealous because of me?

After an inner cheer, Kotomi continued, ”Technically speaking, Tuesday was the first time I met Arisu, in the afternoon after the last exam. But…”

”But what?” Megumi prodded, curious.

”The way she spoke made it feel as if she’d known me for a long time, like we were old friends.”

”Could it be that you two were childhood friends~?”

”But I’ve thought about it again and again and can’t recall meeting her before high school. And I definitely don’t remember getting along so well with her. Unless I’ve somehow lost my memory, there’s no way I’d forget a beauty like her.” Kotomi replied matter-of-factly.

Pfft—

Hearing Kotomi’s words, Megumi couldn’t help but stifle a laugh. ”As long as they’re a pretty girl, they’re unforgettable to you? You sound like a total womanizer!”

Bullseye, thought Kotomi, hiding her surprise.

”So you’re saying that Arisu seems very familiar with you, like you two go way back, while, to you, this Tuesday was your first time meeting her? Did I get that right?” Megumi summarized.

Kotomi nodded seriously, her face sincere and unbothered. Seeing this, Megumi sighed, then reached over and placed a hand on Kotomi’s head, as if trying to sense something.

After a few moments, Kotomi couldn’t help but ask, ”Um, Megumi…what are you doing?”

”Hmm, just trying to see if you have amnesia,” Megumi replied.

”Did you figure anything out? I mean, can you even detect amnesia by doing this?”

”Clearly not. This technique is from some terrible movie, so no, it doesn’t work. I just wanted an excuse to touch your hair. It’s so soft and smooth, I can’t resist.”

Megumi stated her intention with an air of total honesty.

Kotomi chuckled wryly. ”You’re not the only one—Aimi loves playing with my hair too. Since she was little, she’s always enjoyed tugging on it. I remember back when she was still a baby, whenever she started crying, Mom would place her near me, and as soon as she grabbed a handful of my hair, she’d calm right down. It was like my hair had some magical power.”

No, I think your little sister was just…a bit too quick to understand things. Megumi thought, silently chuckling to herself.

Little Sister-in-Law Aimi, already a natural born sis-con? Back then, she was addicted to Kotomi’s hair. Now, she’s eyeing her entire being!

”I think I’ll end up with much more time petting your head than Aimi ever has,” Megumi said confidently, almost as if it were inevitable.

”Why’s that?”

”You’ll understand when we go to the aquarium this Saturday.”

Leaving her words laced with hints of deeper meaning, Megumi reached over to gently ruffle Kotomi’s snowy hair once again.

So I’ll know when we go to the aquarium on Saturday?

Was Megumi planning some kind of surprise for her?

What kind of surprise could it be?

It’s not even my birthday.

Letting Megumi continue to tousle her hair, Kotomi pondered with a slight confusion. Megumi caught her puzzled gaze, smiled faintly, and ruffled her hair with a bit more enthusiasm.

The snow-white strands were silky smooth and addictively soft to the touch. If she ever shared a bed with Kotomi, whether that was to ”extend the line of life” or just to roll over, she’d have to be extra careful not to accidentally tug on those delicate locks.

After they reached Kotomi’s house, she shrugged off Megumi’s jacket and handed it back.

”Your jacket really saved me,” Kotomi said gratefully.

”No problem, see you tomorrow!” Megumi waved with a gentle smile.

Watching Kotomi step inside, Megumi hugged the jacket to her chest and quickened her pace on her way home.

As she unlocked the door, Ikemi Kato heard her enter and called from the other room, ”Welcome back, Megumi! Did you get your test scores today?”

Expecting this question, Megumi had already taken her report card out and folded it into her skirt pocket before leaving school. Not wanting to waste even a second, she handed the report card to Ikemi with a quick summary:

”I scored 797 points this time.”

Ikemi’s face lit up as she saw the score, her pride evident. ”797?! That’s wonderful! You’d been hovering between 580 and 630 throughout middle school, and now, you’ve not only broken 700, but you’re just three points away from 800. Keep that up, and you’ll have no problem getting into a top university!”

”It’s just that the students in my class are smart, so I’ve been a little motivated to study more,” Megumi said casually.

”I heard Sobu High School lets students apply to switch classes based on their scores, right? Why don’t you talk to your homeroom teacher about moving up to Class A tomorrow?”

At this, Megumi’s eyes narrowed slightly, and her voice grew firm. ”I actually like being in Class F. I’ve made some good friends there. And didn’t you and Dad always say that academic success comes from individual effort? I think if I study hard, it shouldn’t matter which class I’m in.”

”I don’t mean anything by it,” Ikemi replied, a bit taken aback, ”But you know high school is a crucial period. Having a good study environment can make all the difference. Class 1-A is supposed to be excellent. If you can, try talking to your homeroom teacher about it tomorrow.”

Megumi sighed. Her mother always insisted on pushing her to achieve the best. She remembered the start of summer vacation when she’d received her acceptance letter to Sobu High School, and Ikemi had grumbled for days over her being placed in Class F, rather than one of the advanced classes.

If it weren’t for Kotomi’s presence in Class F, Ikemi would likely have started nagging about transferring her weeks ago. Megumi had thought her mother was finally over it. But it seemed that the mere completion of the midterms was enough to rekindle her interest in switching classes.

As long as Kotomi doesn’t transfer, neither will I, Megumi resolved silently.

”Mom, do you think just anyone can get into Class A? A score of 797 might look good, but it’s nothing special for them. To even try for Class A, I’d have to be someone like Kotomi! My homeroom teacher wouldn’t even agree, and even if she did, I still wouldn’t pass the review. So while I’ll keep studying hard, you can drop the class transfer idea.”

Megumi’s reply was thorough and intentionally dramatic, intending to squash her mom’s hopes of a transfer. She’d also hoped to discreetly compliment Kotomi, slipping in a good word for her ”dear wife,” all with the ultimate goal of boosting Kotomi’s image in her mother’s eyes.

If she could set things up just right, her mom might even be more accepting of her and Kotomi’s relationship later. That was Megumi’s plan.

Either her words worked, or her mom sensed her irritation because Ikemi quickly dropped the subject. Smiling as she held the report card, Ikemi said, ”Let’s consider this a promising start. I hope your scores will only improve from here, Megumi.”

”I’ll try my best.”

Ikemi paused, her curiosity piqued as she thought of the name that came up often in their conversations. ”So how did Kotomi do this time?”

Since Kotomi’s name came up so often, Ikemi had grown increasingly curious and admiring of this Izumi Kotomi, the friend her daughter kept mentioning.

”1,047 points. She got first in the entire grade and topped Tokyo’s rankings too. Today, teachers from other classes kept approaching her, trying to get her to transfer. Even the Class A teacher came over to talk to her.”

Mentioning Kotomi’s achievements, Megumi’s tone softened with pride, as if Kotomi’s accomplishments made her happier than anyone else’s, including her own. Ikemi couldn’t help but find it curious—her daughter seemed almost…too proud, almost as though she were talking about her girlfriend. But she brushed the thought off as an indication of their close friendship.

Knowing her daughter had a strong connection with such an outstanding friend, Ikemi felt pleased. After all, she had always wanted her daughter to have high-quality friends. And Kotomi’s achievements topped the Tokyo rankings, a feat that left Ikemi completely awestruck.

”First in Tokyo?! Megumi, are you serious?”

Megumi pulled out her phone, showing her mom the saved list of the top 50 scores from this exam.

Kotomi Izumi, 1,047 points.

In bold red font beside her name, the school had proudly marked her ranking as ”Tokyo’s No. 1.”

The title itself had an almost imposing presence. For a student from any school to top Tokyo’s rankings would be an unparalleled honor worthy of great acclaim.

”Oh my! She’s incredible! Over a thousand points—is that even possible? And look, the second place also broke a thousand. Sobu High School must be filled with exceptional students! I wonder what her mother did to raise such a remarkable daughter? So did Kotomi end up accepting Class A’s invitation?”

”Nope, she turned down all the transfer offers. She said Class F has the best learning environment for her,” Megumi replied.

”That’s a pity,” Ikemi said with a slight frown.

”Maybe Kotomi also believes that personal effort matters more than what class you’re in. Anyway, I’m heading up to my room,” Megumi replied, holding her jacket close, anxious to retreat to her room.

”Oh, but since you’ve improved so much, we should definitely celebrate! Your father’s coming home from work on Friday. How about we all go out for dinner Friday night? I heard a bunch of new restaurants have opened in Chiba City with some grand opening deals.”

”Dinner out on Friday? Sure,” Megumi nodded.

”Anything you’d like to eat?”

”Anything’s fine, as long as there’s meat.”

With that, Megumi headed upstairs.

”Oh, Megumi, wait!” Ikemi called just as she reached the staircase, ”Can you give me your jacket? I’ll throw it in the wash.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:

Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven