They returned to their classes. Hong Shuangyu awoke to the school bell signaling the end of lunch break. Opening his eyes, he found Kinugita Taoko asleep beside him. The sudden appearance of a girl's face before his eyes and her scent caught by his nose made him leap from the floor. Despite his weak body, he moved with astonishing speed, surprising even himself.
Checking himself, he adjusted his slipped glasses. His clothes were fine, no wrinkles, his body didn't ache, no fatigue or discomfort, no marks on his skin, no stickiness or odd sensations. The taste of lunch lingered in his mouth. The tension that had gripped him vanished, and his legs buckled. He sat on the floor, feeling relief as if he'd escaped something dreadful.
Glancing at the sleeping Kinugita, Hong Shuangyu realized he didn't know what had happened. Fortunately, nothing he feared had occurred. Why she slept beside him remained a mystery. He then woke her, and they parted ways.
In class, Hong Shuangyu didn't dwell on it. Perhaps due to trust in Xuan, his faith in Kinugita was also growing. But Kinugita was bewildered. She remembered only fragments of events. Though the headache was gone, her mind remained foggy.
What happened? Like… I crawled to little bro… then… what did I do?
Kinugita sat at her desk, staring at the board. From the outside, she looked like a diligent student, but her thoughts were on recent events.
What did I do… then… passed out?!
Her gaze slid past the teacher, engrossed in the lesson, and landed on his glasses.
Glasses?
"Exactly! Glasses!" Kinugita jumped up, slapping her desk.
The class fell silent. She awkwardly scratched her head.
"Um… sorry… Teacher, please continue… Ha-ha…" she mumbled.
In the empty classroom, Kinugita packed her backpack. After class, the teacher scolded her and made her clean up.
"What a nightmare… U-uu… All the tasty bentos are surely gone… All because of little bro…" she whined, wiping nonexistent tears.
Leaving the classroom last, she exited the school. Most students had already gone, and club activities had ended. Walking in the autumn dusk, Kinugita thought about her dinner. Usually, she rushed to the store to buy her favorite bentos. Hoping for a miracle, she entered the shop but nearly burst into tears on the spot. Shelves, normally overflowing with fresh bentos, were nearly empty, left with only unappetizing and suspiciously old boxes.
With a heavy heart, Kinugita took what was available and grabbed more instant noodles than usual. She didn't like noodles, though she wasn't picky. She craved hot, freshly cooked rice—what could be tastier?
"Thank you for your purchase," the store clerk said.
With a large bag, Kinugita sadly stepped out.
"I should… hm… learn… hm… to cook myself…" she muttered, dragging the bag with one hand while eating a meat pie from the store with the other.
"Mmm… pies are tasty! Too bad they're expensive and small," she sighed.
With her appetite, despite part-time jobs and decent earnings, she had to carefully plan purchases to afford food. Spending too much on pricey items meant the next meal might be meager, which was unbearable for Kinugita.
Self-service? you might ask.
"Why do all the self-service café staff know me by face?!" she raged.
Once, Kinugita discovered the magical world of buffets. Initially, she didn't understand how such restaurants didn't go bankrupt. A classmate explained it was impossible, as no one could eat enough to ruin the place. Full of enthusiasm, Kinugita visited a nearby buffet. But after eating only seven-tenths of her appetite, she was politely escorted out by the owner, who even slipped her money.
"I'm sorry, our establishment can't handle your appetite. Please don't come back," he said, bowing courteously.
"How dare you! I'll complain!" she fumed.
Disbelieving, she tried every local self-service restaurant. And everywhere, she was politely asked to leave. Some even posted her photo at the entrance with a "no entry" sign.
"Aaa, I want to eat my fill at a buffet!" she cried, collapsing on her bed at home.
The food bag lay nearby.
"And still, what happened today?!" Kinugita clutched her head.
"After the glasses… after taking off the glasses! What next? Aaa, so curious!"
She leapt up.
"I need to recreate that situation to remember!" she clenched her fist.
First… sat nearby… then… took out my phone…
Kinugita grabbed her phone and started scrolling.
"Ha-ha-ha, what's Suzumiya doing, hilarious!" she laughed.
"No, no! Not then I was playing! Start over!"
She began again: took out her phone, played, lay down…
Lay down… crawled to Hong Shuangyu…
Thud!
She hit her head.
Crawled, looked at his face, noticed he slept with glasses… Took them off… Nothing special, just plain lens-less glasses… And Xuan's a glasses fetishist… Heh-heh…
Ahem.
Then started putting them back…
Exactly! After that… what?
Her head hurt again. Kinugita, enduring the pain, mimed putting on glasses in the air.
Then…
Like an explosion at the epicenter, but without physical damage. A sensation of being overwhelmed by a wave. Indescribable stickiness, complex, contradictory, intertwined feelings…
She remembered…
"A… a… a…" Kinugita felt her head splitting.
Her eyes and mouth gaped wide, drool dripping. Suddenly, her mind exploded, filled with the same aura.
What is this?!
"Aaaa…" she rasped.
So painful!
After thirty minutes of agony, Kinugita collapsed to her knees, then to the floor. But this time, she didn't lose consciousness.
Her uniform was soaked, as if pulled from water, her white lace bra visible through it. A puddle of sweat formed on the floor. Drool dripped from her mouth, hair clung to her face. She looked as if she'd endured an exhausting workout.
"What happened… why… what was that…" she muttered.
Lying on the floor for another half hour, she pondered the event. Finally, she concluded: Hong Shuangyu had an unusual nature. After all, she herself possessed a similar trait.
Struggling to sit, she felt her strength drain. But the next sensation shocked her. An unprecedented hunger gripped her, like claws tearing at her stomach. Even as a child, starving, she'd never felt anything like it.
Overcoming weakness, Kinugita crawled to her food bag. Struggling to open a package, she couldn't chew, but instinct forced her to swallow. This ignited her appetite, and she began eating at an incredible speed, devouring everything that required no cooking.
Regaining some strength, she couldn't handle the noodles—lacking energy. Ordering delivery in a quantity the courier mistook for a party order, she continued. The hunger was endless, insatiable. She ate and ate until the delivery, noodles, and home supplies ran out.
Sitting on the floor, Kinugita, with oily lips, stared at the scattered wrappers. The hunger remained. Her body itched as if ants crawled over it, her stomach felt torn out. Unaware, her eyes had turned feral, with a frightening red glint.
Hong Shuangyu waited for Xuan after school. Even if she were late, he'd wait—they were brother and sister, and he knew her well. Xuan returned with an unusual expression but, seeing Hong Shuangyu, immediately brightened, hugging him without restraint.
"Little Yu, did you miss your sister? Sister missed you so much~ Ah~ Little Yu, little Yu~" she nuzzled him.
"Sister, you're all sweaty," Hong Shuangyu said.
"Ouch!" Xuan pulled back. "Sorry, little Yu, I got you dirty… I'll wipe it off now!"
She reached for a handkerchief, but Hong Shuangyu stopped her hand.
"It's fine," he shook his head. "Let's go home."
"Okay," Xuan smiled.