Looking at the thick stack of money her father was holding out to her, Kotomi Izumi could not help twitching the corners of her mouth.
Dad is giving me way too much, isn't he? This counts as carrying "a little" cash around? The adult world's definition of "a little" really isn't something a high school student like me can understand.
After thinking for a moment, Kotomi casually took five or six bills from the stack and said with a grin:
"I know, Dad, but I really don't need that much money. I'll just take a few bills and keep them in my pocket."
"All right."
Since his daughter had already said as much, Kaneyoshi Izumi did not insist.
Kotomi glanced at the time on her phone and figured Yui Yuigahama should be arriving soon, so she said:
"Dad, I'm heading out now. Remember to tell Mom that I'll be eating lunch outside."
"No problem. Be careful on the way."
Kotomi put the sixty thousand yen in cash into her pocket, turned around, left the living room, and went to the entryway to put on her shoes.
After putting them on, she opened the front door.
Normally, whenever Kotomi left for school, the first person she saw beneath the streetlamp was usually Megumi Kato. Today, however, she saw Yui Yuigahama standing beside the entrance to her house, waiting for her.
Kotomi had originally planned to lighten her footsteps, sneak up behind Yui, and suddenly shout Boo! to scare the silly dumpling. Unexpectedly, the instant she opened the door, Yui heard it and turned around.
Upon seeing Kotomi, Yui's face immediately lit up with delight.
"Good morning, Kotomi!"
Kotomi had still been a little sleepy. She was used to sleeping until she naturally woke up during holidays, and there were still more than ten minutes left before seven in the morning.
Getting up this early inevitably left a lingering trace of drowsiness in her mind. But when she saw the energetic and cheerful Yui, much of that sleepiness suddenly faded.
Kotomi became considerably more alert, which made her feel a little embarrassed. She had been the one who proposed going to the hospital for their physical examinations this early, yet somehow she had less energy than Yui, whom she had woken up so early.
"Good morning. But aren't you sleepy?"
Kotomi stretched, then walked over to Yui's side.
"Not really. I often get up early to make breakfast for Mom and Yuka. To make sure I have enough time, whenever it's my turn to make breakfast, I get up at six in the morning."
"That's impressive. If I had to get up at six, I'd probably have no energy for the entire day," Kotomi said.
Although Kotomi had only said it casually, being praised by her still made Yui reveal a shy smile without realizing it. Even the sound of her footsteps seemed to express the happiness in her heart.
"Actually, as long as you go to bed early at night, you won't feel very sleepy when you get up at six the next morning."
"That's true. Looks like I should adjust my sleeping schedule too..."
Kotomi paused, then shook her head.
"Forget it. I'll adjust it whenever I feel like it. Our school's earliest arrival time is eight in the morning anyway. That's when the students assigned to classroom cleaning arrive. Most students get there around eight-thirty, and first period starts at eight-fifty.
"Even if I sleep until eight, I can still take my time and make it to school on schedule."
Arrival times at Japanese middle and high schools were fairly relaxed, generally falling between eight and eight-thirty in the morning. That was precisely why Kotomi could leisurely go back to sleep for a while after waking up each morning.
Kotomi and Yui walked side by side along the road toward Chiba Municipal Hospital. There were not many people on the streets early in the morning.
Occasionally, they saw workers riding bicycles to deliver newspapers or milk, as well as elderly men and women out for their morning walks.
Just as Kotomi rubbed her sleepy eyes and another wave of drowsiness was about to wash over her, she suddenly heard a sweet voice and running footsteps coming from behind.
"One-two! One-two! Keep it up! Only eight hundred meters left!"
Before the sweet voice had even faded, several youthful and beautiful women in gym uniforms ran past Kotomi.
Their blue-and-white gym clothes, high ponytails, white athletic shoes, white ankle socks, and especially their healthy, firmly toned thighs made it impossible for Kotomi to tear her eyes away.
Japanese school gym uniforms were one of Kotomi's fetishes.
White short-sleeved shirts paired with short blue or red gym shorts did not feel particularly special when Kotomi wore them herself. However, whenever she saw other women dressed that way, she simply could not look away.
More precisely, what Kotomi liked most was pairing a gym uniform with thigh-high stockings.
However, the combination of gym uniforms and thigh-high stockings was something one usually only saw in erotic illustrations. In real life, women wearing gym uniforms generally paired them with short socks.
Still, even without stockings, Kotomi loved beautiful women in gym uniforms, especially beautiful women drenched in sweat after running.
Whenever she saw a beautiful woman in a gym uniform, her body dripping with sweat, Kotomi really wanted to kiss her neck and inner thighs...
Slurp.
If I'd known, I would've joined the track and field club when I was choosing a club. Then I could've seen women in gym uniforms every single day...
Lost in her fantasies, Kotomi hurriedly wiped the drool trickling from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand.
At the same time, she grew slightly worried. All her attention had been stolen by those track and field club women in gym uniforms, and she had even drooled hungrily at the sight of them.
If Yui had seen her like that...
"Uh..."
There was no need to worry anymore, because Yui had already seen everything.
Yui stared at Kotomi with her cheeks puffed up in irritation. The jealousy filling her adorable expression was so intense that Kotomi could practically smell the sharp tang of vinegar in the air.
Looking at Yui, whose puffed-up cheeks made her resemble an angry dumpling, Kotomi twitched the corners of her mouth and smiled awkwardly.
She tried to make excuses for what she had just done.
No, she tried to explain herself.
"Yui, um... I really wasn't attracted to those track and field club girls just now! I swear to heaven! I was only a little curious!
"I was wondering why they still insist on morning practice on a Saturday. Don't they get tired?"
If Megumi, Iroha, Aimi, or Yukino had been beside Kotomi, she probably would have had to make her brain race at full speed to figure out how to explain herself.
Especially if she were explaining it to Megumi. Kotomi would have been terrified that Megumi might notice some logical flaw in her excuse, turn dark, and pull out a cleaver.
Fortunately, the person beside her right now was Yui.
Kotomi breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Yui was easy to coax. Kotomi only needed to make up a few excuses, and the sulking dumpling would become happy again instead of obsessing over it.
Sure enough, the innocent Yui believed Kotomi's ridiculous explanation without the slightest suspicion.
Once Yui believed that Kotomi had not been staring at the women in gym uniforms, but had merely been curious about why they were training on their day off, the sulkiness on her face vanished.
It was replaced by a relieved smile.
"So that's what it was. Seeing how dazed you looked just now, Kotomi, I thought they'd completely stolen your soul away."
After saying that, Yui instinctively breathed a sigh of relief.
They did steal it for a little while. After all, gym uniforms are one of my fetishes...
Kotomi naturally had no intention of saying that aloud. Instead, she spoke with righteous conviction, her expression tranquil, as though she had transcended all worldly desires:
"I don't even know them. How could they possibly steal my soul?"
Kotomi smiled and wrapped an arm around Yui's shoulders before continuing with utmost seriousness:
"From the moment I became your girlfriend, you've been the only one in my eyes."
"Kotomi..."
Faced with such a bold declaration of love, Yui felt her cheeks grow hot. They had to be completely red by now!
Kotomi pressed her advantage and continued:
"Not a single part of what I just said was false. If even one word of it was insincere, then I'll..."
Before Kotomi could finish, Yui suddenly cried out anxiously:
"Kotomi, watch out! There's a utility pole in front of you!"
Kotomi, however, had become so engrossed in whispering sweet nothings that she completely failed to register Yui's warning.
She simply kept talking.
But before she could continue...
Bang!
With a loud impact, Kotomi walked straight into the utility pole beside the road.
"Ow..."
Kotomi crouched down while clutching her aching nose. She had been so focused on saying romantic things to Yui that she had completely failed to notice the utility pole in front of her.
"Kotomi, are you okay?" Yui hurriedly asked with concern.
The instant Yui noticed the utility pole in Kotomi's path, she had warned her. Kotomi, however, had not heard a word.
Before Yui could reach out and pull her back, Kotomi had already walked straight into it.
"I... I'm fine."
Kotomi reached up and rubbed her nose, then raised her head and gave an awkward, sheepish smile.
At the same time, she thought guiltily:
When did they put a utility pole here?! Could it be because what I just said was so obviously fake that even heaven couldn't stand listening to me, so it suddenly made a utility pole appear out of nowhere right in front of me?
After crouching on the ground for a while to recover, Kotomi slowly stood up with Yui's support.
Concerned with saving face, she pretended nothing had happened and calmly said:
"All right, let's keep going."
"Okay."
Yui obediently nodded.
...
After arriving at Chiba Municipal Hospital, Kotomi paid the examination fees for herself and Yui. She then received the checklist containing all the required tests.
"Keep this safe. Just go through each examination listed on it one by one. There aren't many people here for physicals today, though, so we don't have to worry about lines."
As Kotomi handed the checklist to Yui, she reminded her what to do.
If someone was coming to the hospital for a physical examination, it was best to check in advance whether any companies had scheduled group examinations for their employees that day.
If a company had arranged group physicals, many of the counters in the examination hall would have long lines. In that case, even a single test could require a long wait.
Kotomi and Yui were fairly lucky. When they arrived, there were not many people in the hospital's physical examination hall.
If there had been a lot of people being examined, they might have had to wait as long as half a month for their physical examination reports.
With fewer people, however, the results might be ready in only a few days. At the latest, it would not take more than a week.
Since the examination hall was not crowded, Kotomi decided they could simply go through the tests one by one in the order listed on the form.
One hour later...
Kotomi sat on a bench in the waiting area and breathed a sigh of relief:
"Physical examinations really go fast when you don't have to stand in line. We finished every single test in just over an hour. Now all we need to do is hand our examination checklists to the doctor in charge."
The moment she finished speaking, Kotomi's stomach let out several loud growls. She had not eaten anything that morning, and hunger was already starting to set in.
"I'm so hungry... Once Yui gets back with the water, let's find a restaurant and eat."
The instant hunger struck, Kotomi lost all her energy. She sat lazily on the bench, waiting for Yui, who had gone to the vending machines to buy mineral water because Kotomi was thirsty.
"Kotomi, I brought food back!"
Just as Kotomi's stomach was growling with hunger, Yui came jogging back with three bags of food and a bottle of mineral water.
"Huh? Where did all this food come from?"
The instant Kotomi heard there was food, some life immediately returned to her.
"When I went to the vending machine to buy water just now, I happened to see a nurse pushing a cart around and handing out breakfast to people who had finished their physical examinations.
"You didn't eat anything this morning, Kotomi, so you must be really hungry, right? That's why I asked for two bags of breakfast!
"If that isn't enough, you can have mine too. I'm not that hungry yet."
As Yui spoke, she handed all three bags of breakfast to Kotomi.
"Ah, thank you, Yui! You saved me!"
Kotomi cheered happily. She took two breakfasts from Yui, along with the mineral water she had asked Yui to buy, leaving one breakfast for her.
Then she smiled and said:
"Two portions are enough for me. Hurry up and eat yours too. You didn't eat breakfast this morning either, so you must've been hungry for a while already."
"Hehehe..."
Yui smiled bashfully. She really was hungry, but she had worried that two breakfasts would not be enough to fill Kotomi's stomach.
That was why she had claimed she was not hungry, hoping Kotomi would eat hers too.
Kotomi twisted open the cap of the mineral water bottle and took a sip before opening the plastic bag containing breakfast.
The breakfast prepared by Chiba Municipal Hospital was not exactly lavish, but it looked pretty good.
There was milk, a boiled egg, a seaweed rice ball, and a jam-filled bun.
It was not much food. Forget three portions; even ten would not be enough to fill Kotomi.
Still, it was enough to put something in her stomach. At the very least, after eating it, Kotomi would have enough energy to make it to a restaurant.
She would not become so hungry from skipping breakfast that she could not even move.
Kotomi polished off both breakfasts in just a few bites. Meanwhile, Yui had only just finished eating a single boiled egg.
Once Yui finished breakfast, Kotomi took her along to submit their physical examination forms.
They had just walked out of the waiting area when they ran into Kumi Motokawa, who had arrived for work.
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