Chapter 891 - 891: Akina Izumi's Lesson for Aimi

With light, cheerful steps, Aimi Izumi arrived at the living room, took a deep breath, then suddenly leaped beside the sofa and shouted:

"Onee-chan, welcome home!"

Only after shouting did Aimi Izumi look toward the sofa with eager anticipation. But... there was no one there.

Did Onee-chan go to the bathroom?

Aimi Izumi thought so, but the moment she saw the unopened bag of Original Lay's potato chips on the coffee table, she immediately realized that Onee-chan had not come home yet.

After all, Onee-chan's favorite potato chips were Original Lay's.

If Onee-chan had already come home, there was no way she would have spared that bag of Original Lay's. Since the bag was still unopened, it meant Onee-chan had not returned home yet.

At that thought, Aimi Izumi immediately sighed in disappointment. At the same time, she was also a little confused. It was almost five in the evening, so why had Kotomi still not come home?

Even if she had stayed at school for club activities, she should have arrived home by now.

Besides, today was Friday, and according to Sobu High School's usual practice, there were no club activities on Fridays.

"Huh...? Why isn't Onee-chan home yet? Sobu High School isn't even far from home. Even if she walked as slowly as possible, she should've arrived by now. Could something have happened to her on the way home?!"

The moment that possibility occurred to her, Aimi Izumi's heart jolted. Images of Kotomi encountering danger instantly surfaced in her mind, making it impossible for her to stay calm. All she wanted now was to hurry outside and find Kotomi.

No, I need to hurry out and find Onee-chan.

Once that thought took root, Aimi did not even bother changing clothes. Still dressed in her pajamas, she tried to head straight out of the house to search for Onee-chan.

A cold wind was howling outside. If Aimi went out wearing nothing but pajamas, she would definitely catch a cold, and probably a severe one at that!

Fortunately, just as Aimi was about to leave the living room and head to the entryway to put on her shoes...

Akina Izumi, who had been cooking in the kitchen, heard the commotion and came into the living room. Seeing Aimi looking as though she were about to rush outside, she asked in confusion and slight alarm:

"Aimi, what happened? Why are you in such a hurry to go out? And even if you're going outside, shouldn't you put on some warm clothes first? You're only wearing pajamas right now, and you were planning to go straight outside like that? Are you trying to make your cold even worse?"

As Akina Izumi spoke, she grabbed Aimi by the back of her pajama collar, as casually as though she were picking up a tiny kitten by the scruff.

"Mom! It's almost five in the evening and Onee-chan still hasn't come home. I'm worried about her, so I'm going to look for her! What if something dangerous happened to Onee-chan on her way home from school..."

After saying that, Aimi's face could not help turning pale.

The person Aimi treasured most in her heart was Kotomi. If Kotomi truly encountered danger, Aimi could not imagine just how completely she herself might mentally collapse.

Knock!

Before Aimi Izumi could finish speaking, her mother lightly knocked her on the head. Akina Izumi said helplessly:

"I think you've slept so much that you've started imagining nonsense. Kotomi called me earlier and said she's at Yui's house. She'll be home a little later."

"Eh... So she's at Yui Onee-chan's house." Only after learning that did Aimi Izumi finally relax a little.

In Aimi's mind, Yui Yuigahama was a good woman who would never try to steal Onee-chan away from her. So after learning that Onee-chan was currently at Yui Yuigahama's house, the tension in Aimi's heart faded away. Nor did she become angry or jealous because Onee-chan had gone to a friend's house instead of coming straight home after school.

Aimi also understood perfectly well that Onee-chan needed a normal social life.

Of course, if Kotomi had gone to Megumi Kato's house, Aimi's reaction would have been an entirely different matter.

If she learned that Kotomi had gone to Megumi Kato's house instead of coming home after school, Aimi would definitely still go outside, march straight to the Kato residence, and forcibly drag Kotomi home!

Having long since regarded Megumi Kato as her "mortal enemy," how could Aimi possibly feel comfortable leaving Kotomi alone with Megumi Kato? There was even less chance she would feel comfortable letting Kotomi stay inside Megumi Kato's house!

Seeing Aimi visibly relax, Akina Izumi asked in confusion:

"But even if Kotomi hadn't gone to Yui's house, you didn't need to worry this much, did you? You should worry about yourself first. Even though your cold is better now, if you'd really gone outside just now wearing nothing but pajamas, you'd definitely catch another cold! Still, judging by how energetic you look, it seems you've basically recovered."

Asked that by her mother, Aimi smiled sheepishly:

"Hehehe, it's just that Onee-chan still wasn't home this late, so I got a little worried about her. She didn't call or message me, so how was I supposed to know she was at Yui Onee-chan's house?"

"I wouldn't call that a little worried. You're extremely worried about your Onee-chan. You're practically like a husband worrying about his wife."

Akina Izumi made that meaningful remark, then smoothly continued without dwelling on it for long:

"Actually, you don't need to worry so much about your Onee-chan's safety. After school every day, Kotomi basically always walks home with Megumi. The two of them can look out for each other along the way."

It's exactly because Onee-chan walks home with Megumi Kato every day that I'm so worried!!!!! Aimi Izumi screamed inwardly.

Whenever she thought about Kotomi walking home with Megumi Kato every day after school, Aimi felt ten thousand kinds of discomfort in her heart.

That was also why Aimi wanted so desperately to get into Sobu High School. Once she was admitted, she could go back to the way things had been in middle school, going to school with Onee-chan every morning and coming home together every afternoon. She absolutely would not allow Megumi Kato to find opportunities to be alone with Kotomi!

If Megumi Kato keeps getting to be alone with Kotomi, then maybe one day in the future she'll confess to her. Kotomi is so gentle that she might actually accept Megumi Kato's confession. No, absolutely not. I can never let Megumi Kato steal my Kotomi away! Aimi often thought to herself.

"It's exactly because Onee-chan walks home with Megumi Kato every day that I can't stop worrying. You can know a person's face without knowing their heart. What if Megumi Kato's true personality is actually that of a homicidal maniac? Wouldn't Onee-chan be in terrible danger staying with her?!"

Aimi muttered several complaints under her breath, sounding extremely dissatisfied. At the same time, she awkwardly stretched one little foot forward, trying to wriggle free of her mother's grip on her collar.

Knock!

Before Aimi could finish speaking, her mother knocked her little head again.

"Megumi Kato is your Onee-chan's... friend. You can't talk about her that way. It's very rude," Akina Izumi lectured.

"Yes..."

After being knocked on the head twice in a row by her mother, Aimi Izumi still felt extremely unconvinced inside, but she could only obediently close her mouth for now.

At the Kato residence.

It had already been a little over an hour since Megumi Kato carried Kotomi to the bedroom in a princess carry...

Kotomi Izumi lay panting on the bed, contentedly stroking the bruises that seemed almost branded into her skin.

While they had been intimate earlier, Kotomi Izumi had, as usual, kept whispering into Megumi Kato's ear in that seemingly magical voice of hers, softly saying things that provoked Megumi's self-control.

Once again, she successfully made Megumi Kato lose control.

When Megumi Kato lost control, she became extremely irritable, and Kotomi Izumi took advantage of that, encouraging Megumi to keep "hurting" her while the two of them were intimate.

By the time Megumi Kato regained her senses, she had already left several obvious bruises across Kotomi's snow-white skin.

Over the course of that hour or more, Kotomi Izumi had felt pain, yet at the same time, some desire deep within her seemed to resonate intensely with it. Kotomi even found herself wishing that Megumi Kato would treat her even more violently.

"I... What did I... just do...? K-Kotomi... I..."

Having only just regained her senses, Megumi Kato saw the bruises on Kotomi Izumi's snow-white skin and immediately felt as though countless steel needles were piercing straight through her heart and eyes. She sat kneeling blankly on the bed, staring at her own hands with trembling eyes, while her hands themselves had long since begun shaking uncontrollably. She could not believe that the wounds and bruises marking Kotomi's body had been inflicted by her own hands!

The moment Megumi Kato realized that she had personally hurt Kotomi, an overwhelming sense of guilt surged through her. Megumi had no idea how she could possibly atone to Kotomi for the "sin" she had just committed.

"It's all right~"

Just as Megumi Kato's emotions hovered on the verge of collapse, Kotomi Izumi sat up and spoke in a gentle voice, wrapping Megumi in a warm embrace. Everything Kotomi did seemed like a ray of sacred light, soothing Megumi Kato's trembling heart and emotions.

At that moment, to Megumi Kato, Kotomi Izumi was like a sacred and pure angel spreading white wings wide enough to embrace everything. Every lost lamb would be immersed in the salvation she bestowed upon them.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Kotomi. I don't even know what happened to me. It was like I suddenly lost consciousness, and when I came back to my senses, I realized I'd already hurt you all over... Is there something wrong with me mentally?"

Megumi Kato spoke in Kotomi's embrace, her voice trembling slightly. She wanted to cherish Kotomi. She wanted to spend her entire life protecting Kotomi. Yet reality was exactly the opposite. She had actually hurt Kotomi again and again. How many times had she already left wounds on Kotomi's body?

Kotomi Izumi was like a nun in a church, listening to everyone's confessions and bestowing salvation and blessings upon them. Stroking Megumi Kato's hair, she spoke gently:

"Yes, it hurt a lot. I even cried several times earlier. Look... Blood came out of the wounds and dripped onto the bedsheets. Remember to change them later.

"But this isn't your fault, Megumi. I think it must be because Aunt Kato kept forcing you to study during the holidays, so you've been under too much pressure lately, right?

"When people get worked up, they always want to vent their pressure in the most direct way possible.

"Maybe you were only releasing all that pressure just now. It wasn't because you truly wanted to hurt me."

"But no matter what, the wounds and bruises on your body were all caused by my own hands... I... I..."

While remaining in Kotomi Izumi's embrace, Megumi Kato anxiously spoke as she continued craving Kotomi's warmth. She still could not accept the fact that she had just hurt Kotomi.

"Didn't I already tell you? It's all right~"

Kotomi Izumi gently stroked one of the bruises on her arm with her right hand. Her face flushed crimson as she spoke in an intoxicated voice:

"Megumi, every wound and every bruise you've left on my body contains incredibly powerful emotions. Every one of those emotions is like a rope wrapped around my limbs, forceful and profound, as though they've already entwined themselves around my soul, allowing my soul to feel your love for me every second of every minute.

"So these aren't scars at all. They're your love for me!

"During the hour or more we just spent together, happiness was born in my heart alongside the pain.

"Being loved this fiercely by the person I love... isn't that the happiest thing in the world?"

Having said that, Kotomi Izumi leaned gently toward Megumi Kato's ear. Her tone was as hazy as an unfocused gaze as she murmured:

"Megumi, from now on, you have to make me even happier~ This alone is nowhere near enough~"

"I... I'll definitely make you happy, but I don't want to hurt you anymore..."

"Ahahaha~"

Hearing Megumi Kato's answer, Kotomi Izumi laughed softly and said:

"Megumi, you're so gentle. I'm definitely going to be very happy~"

After saying that, Kotomi Izumi tried to get out of bed and go to the bathroom for a shower, but before she could even rise, Megumi Kato hugged her tightly.

"Kotomi..."

At that moment, Megumi Kato was still haunted by the guilt of having hurt Kotomi. Her voice had lost its usual gentleness and assertiveness, making her sound more like a child in need of comfort:

"Can I keep holding you for a little longer?"

A smile curled across Kotomi Izumi's lips as she tightly returned Megumi Kato's embrace:

"Of course you can, my dear Megumi. I'm your girlfriend. Whenever you want to hold me, you can hold me."

For the next half hour, Megumi Kato continued tightly embracing Kotomi Izumi. What exactly was she thinking? Even Megumi herself did not know. She simply wanted to hold Kotomi tightly.

Only after she had calmed down a little did she lift Kotomi into a princess carry and whisper:

"I'll take you to the bathroom. After you've showered, I'll put some medicine on your wounds."

"Okay~"

Kotomi Izumi wrapped her arms around Megumi Kato's neck and allowed Megumi to pick her up.

In the bathroom, Megumi Kato carefully helped Kotomi bathe. Kotomi did not stand on ceremony either, simply closing her eyes and quietly enjoying it.

The main reason was that the several wounds and bruises across her body had left Kotomi Izumi with little strength for the time being. Kotomi felt like a hina doll that could simply be posed however someone pleased.

After the bath, Megumi Kato carried Kotomi back to the bedroom, placed her on the bed first, then covered her with a blanket.

"Kotomi, lie down for a while. I'll go get the first-aid kit from the living room."

"Okay~ But you really don't have to go to all this trouble. They're only a few wounds, and they've already stopped bleeding. I can just put medicine on them myself after I get home."

"No. If you apply the medicine yourself, it'll definitely hurt when it touches the wounds, so you'll just halfheartedly slap some on and call it good. Even the smallest wound needs to be treated carefully," Megumi Kato said seriously.

"All right, then. You're so considerate, Megumi. I'll leave it to you~ I'll take a little nap."

Kotomi Izumi smiled faintly. After saying that, she gave Megumi Kato a kiss on the cheek.

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