All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me

As expected, Kotomi Izumi’s words had the intended effect. After hearing them, Yukino Yukinoshita’s already flushed cheeks grew even redder with embarrassment.

For a moment, Kotomi even forgot to take out her phone and capture this beautiful scene on camera... then set it as her LINE profile picture! Wait—on second thought, better not.

After all, her LINE account had plenty of girls in her contacts.

Using one girl’s photo as a profile picture while flirting with another—that was a major taboo in the ”benevolent girl”... ahem... affectionate flirt’s code of conduct. What if the other party saw the girl in the profile picture and assumed she already had a girlfriend?

The safest profile pictures were things like landscapes or cute animals.

A well-timed goofy one worked too.

Just a few days ago, Kotomi had changed her LINE profile picture to a silly, chubby Samoyed.

Her favorite kind of dog had always been Samoyeds. The sense of comfort and warmth when holding one in her arms was something no other dog could replace. Whether by coincidence or not, ever since she started dating Yui Yuigahama, whenever she deliberately teased Yui, Kotomi would always feel like Yui resembled a silly, fluffy Samoyed.

Back to the point. Right now, Kotomi was thinking to herself:

If only I had reacted faster just now... I could’ve already snapped a photo of Yukino’s shy expression. Forget just admiring it in private—when we argue in the future, that photo would be my ultimate trump card!

Maybe I could even use it to threaten this cold, tsundere little tigress...

For example:

”Yukino, you wouldn’t want your sister to see this photo, would you? If you don’t, then you’d better listen to me obediently, pretty girl~ Come on, call me ’Master.’” Hehe...

The more Kotomi imagined it, the more delighted she felt, and she couldn’t help letting out a soft giggle.

Yukino, who had been immersed in Kotomi’s earlier words, snapped back to reality when she heard the laugh. She looked at Kotomi with a puzzled expression.

Noticing Yukino’s gaze, Kotomi felt a slight hint of dissatisfaction. Puffing out her cheeks in a mix of tsundere annoyance and playful complaint, she said:

”Yukino, the way you’re looking at me right now—it’s like a normal person looking at someone with something wrong with their head. Are you thinking something rude about me? Hmph!”

She even gave a small huff at the end.

Hearing this, Yukino quickly came back to her senses and shook her head, feeling her cheeks grow warm again.

She had only meant to look at Kotomi curiously at first. But after less than half a minute, she had found herself completely absorbed in Kotomi’s overwhelmingly unreasonable beauty.

Perhaps it was because they had just come out of the hot spring, but Yukino felt that Kotomi seemed even more... supple... than usual. She had already been captivating—now she was even more so.

Combined with the enchanting charm Kotomi constantly exuded, she was practically a bewitching little enchantress capable of toppling nations.

If Kotomi had been born in ancient times, perhaps the phrase ”a beauty that brings disaster” would have been coined just for her.

Looking at Kotomi, Yukino’s inconsistent vocabulary seemed to recover at that very moment. A line of poetry she had once read surfaced in her mind:

A beauty, flushed with intoxication, her crimson face enchanting.

Her playful glance—her eyes ripple like water.

If only I had a little more courage... I would say this line to Kotomi right now... Yukino thought.

Seeing that Yukino had remained silent for quite a while, Kotomi first studied her with a puzzled expression. Then her lips curved into a mischievous grin, letting out a soft, charming laugh that made one want to pull her into an embrace.

Carried by a faint fragrance, Kotomi once again closed the distance between them. But this time, her intention wasn’t to ”quench her thirst.” She simply wanted to seize the opportunity to tease Yukino a little.

Though she wasn’t entirely sure whether continuing like this would push Yukino into embarrassed anger...

After all, even a rabbit would bite when cornered.

And Yukino Yukinoshita was no rabbit—she was a cold, tsundere little tigress.

Even so, Kotomi decided to follow her instincts and tease her.

If she could make Yukino blush even more, she might be able to snap that photo after all.

”Yukino, were you just thinking about me?”

After closing the distance, that was the first thing Kotomi said.

”Eh?”

Yukino, who had been momentarily stunned by Kotomi’s sudden closeness, snapped back to her senses at the sound of her voice.

The face of the girl she loved was right before her—so close she could almost touch it.

This should have been an incredibly blissful moment.

Perhaps if she leaned forward just a little more, their lips would meet.

But when she remembered that the girl she loved—Kotomi Izumi—was also the girlfriend of her best friend, Yui Yuigahama, Yukino felt at a loss.

She didn’t know how to face Kotomi.

Kotomi, meanwhile, had no idea that Yukino’s heart was being torn between two irreconcilable thoughts:

I like Kotomi, but she’s Yui’s girlfriend.

Yui is my best friend.

Instead, she continued speaking with a playful smile:

”I asked you just now if you were thinking something rude. It’s been a whole minute, and you still haven’t answered me. Hehe~ I thought maybe you didn’t know how to answer, or didn’t want to. But after seeing your expression and your eyes... I understand now~”

At this point, Kotomi deliberately stopped, as if teasingly withholding the rest.

”Y-What do you understand?”

Yukino asked anxiously. When Kotomi had stopped mid-sentence, she had momentarily thought that her feelings had somehow been conveyed.

That Kotomi—who was already in a relationship with Yui—was about to respond to her feelings while Yui was still in the bathroom.

Just imagining it filled Yukino with joy, nervousness, excitement... and guilt toward Yui.

Then, rising from deep within her heart, was a restless impulse. Yukino urged herself not to hesitate—to be selfish—and to convey her feelings to Kotomi without holding anything back.

Perhaps due to overwhelming shyness, when she spoke, her voice was as soft as a mosquito’s buzz.

Yet no matter what, at this very moment, Yukino Yukinoshita still mustered her courage in front of Kotomi Izumi. Slowly, she opened her mouth, wanting to tell Kotomi—word by word—the intense feelings that had long existed in her heart.

Kotomi, I have to let you know. I—I like you!

”K-Kotomi, actually I...”

”Just from your expression and your eyes, I can tell—you were completely immersed in my beauty!” Kotomi declared with absolute certainty. After saying that, she even let out a smug little hum, clearly pleased with her own conclusion.

Kotomi’s sudden interruption cut off Yukino’s confession before it could fully leave her lips. It also shattered the courage Yukino had painstakingly gathered.

If love was like war, then confession was like a siege. It might sound the trumpet of victory—or it might end in discarded armor and crushing defeat. Just like a siege in battle, where momentum mattered—strike with full force at first, weaken on the second charge, and be utterly spent by the third.

Confession was the same.

If the first attempt failed or was interrupted, the courage that had been built up would fade. Regaining it might take only a short while—perhaps by the next day. Or it might take a very, very long time... so long that even after ages had passed, one still wouldn’t find the strength to confess to the one they loved.

Yukino looked at Kotomi with hollow eyes.

She knew Kotomi hadn’t done it on purpose. After all, her voice had been so soft just now. Even at such close distance, Kotomi probably hadn’t heard what she was saying.

It could only be said that the timing had been cruelly perfect. Just as Yukino gathered her courage to confess in a tiny voice, Kotomi had cheerfully resumed what she hadn’t finished saying.

The courage she had finally mustered vanished without a trace.

When will I ever be able to summon that courage again...? Yukino asked herself in her heart. It was as though she was asking herself—or perhaps asking Kotomi.

She knew Kotomi hadn’t meant it. But that didn’t make the bitterness in her heart disappear.

If only she had been just a little braver...

If only she had been a little faster...

Kotomi, after speaking, suddenly remembered that Yukino had seemed about to say something earlier. Curious, she asked, ”Yukino, did you want to say something just now?”

Yukino bit her lower lip slightly harder than necessary. Her fingers trembled uncontrollably.

For a fleeting moment, she felt an overwhelming urge to cry out hysterically. If she couldn’t convey her feelings right now, then she wanted to vent her anger at Kotomi—to let her know just how furious she felt.

Why? Why? Why?

Why did you have to speak at that exact moment? If you had just waited one more minute, I might have been able to tell you how I feel. Why wouldn’t you even give me that chance?

Yukino roared silently in her heart.

The calmer she appeared on the surface, the more hysterical her heart truly was.

For a brief instant, a dark impulse flashed through her mind—an urge to grab the fruit knife on the table and carve her name, bloodily, into Kotomi’s snow-white skin.

”Kotomi...”

Yukino’s voice suddenly grew weak. A sense of exhaustion washed over her, making her feel lightheaded, as though she might not even be able to sit upright.

Hearing this, Kotomi immediately abandoned any intention of teasing her and asked in concern, ”Yukino, are you feeling unwell?”

”...I just suddenly feel very tired. My heart is tired. My head is tired.”

After saying that, Yukino’s body swayed, and she collapsed onto the tatami. Her eyes were slightly blurred, as though moistened by tears.

”Are you sleepy? Then I’ll carry you over to the futon,” Kotomi said quickly.

She lifted Yukino up in a princess carry.

As she picked Yukino up from the tatami, Kotomi subtly assessed her physical condition.

To a certain extent, she could sense the health of the person she touched. It was one of the abilities of the Queen of All Females constitution that she had only recently discovered. Of course, that ”certain extent” was quite limited—but for now, it was sufficient.

If she mastered this ability and chose to study medicine, it would surely be easy for her.

But... Kotomi had no intention of studying medicine. It was too exhausting.

Back to the matter at hand.

After sensing Yukino’s physical condition through her Queen of All Females ability and confirming that she was perfectly healthy—no major or minor illnesses—Kotomi finally let out a quiet sigh of relief.

When Yukino had suddenly swayed and fallen just now, it had startled her. She had thought something was seriously wrong.

Cradled in Kotomi’s arms, Yukino was startled for a moment. She made a token attempt to struggle before ultimately allowing Kotomi to hold her like that.

The disappointment in her heart gradually began to heal within that embrace.

If only time could stop at this moment... Yukino thought silently. How she wished she could say those words to Kotomi as well.

”Phew... all done. Taking a hot bath when the weather’s cold really is the best. Huh... Kotomi, Yuki—what are you two doing?”

At that very moment, Yui Yuigahama stepped out of the bathroom, wearing a bathrobe.

The first thing she saw was her girlfriend, Kotomi Izumi, carrying her best friend, Yukino Yukinoshita, in a princess carry.

Held in Kotomi’s arms, Yukino couldn’t help but feel a surge of nervousness—but she was unwilling to leave Kotomi’s embrace.

Kotomi, on the other hand, showed no sign of anxiety. With a light smile, she explained calmly, ”I was chatting with Yukino just now. Somehow, while we were talking, she fell asleep. I tried calling her a few times but couldn’t wake her. Since she’s already finished bathing, I thought I’d just carry her over to the futon.”

At this point, to make Yui believe her even more, Kotomi deliberately lowered her voice and whispered,

”Yui, keep your voice down too. Yukino just fell asleep.”

Yui nodded obediently, trusting Kotomi’s explanation without question.

”Mhm!”

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