All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me

In Kotomi’s memory, there was one girl in her class who was especially kind to her.

Every time that girl answered a question and received a little bear biscuit, she wouldn’t eat it. Instead, she would give it to Kotomi.

From the very first day Kotomi entered Chiba Kindergarten and joined the Sunflower Junior Class, that girl had consistently given her the biscuits she earned.

Kotomi never asked why. If it was given to her, she simply ate it.

Until the day the junior class was about to end, that girl—who had always given her bear biscuits—blushed and asked:

”K-Kotomi, will you be my girlfriend?! From now on, my yogurt and my little bear biscuits will all be yours!”

Little Kotomi didn’t know what ”girlfriend” meant. She only thought that getting little bear biscuits every day—plus yogurt—sounded like an incredible deal.

So without hesitation, she nodded.

”Yay! Th-Then call me Onee-chan!”

”But aren’t we the same age?”

”’Aren’t’? It’s ’aren’t we?’ What are you, a little lamb? Anyway, forget that. Call me Onee-chan, and next class I’ll answer a question and give you the bear biscuit I earn.”

”Onee-shan!”

”You… we’re almost in middle class, and you still talk like a toddler. Can’t you be more mature like me? Well, since you’re my girlfriend now, I’ll protect you from now on!”

That girl had held her hand and bounced around happily the entire day.

From then on, she eagerly looked forward to going to kindergarten every day just to see Kotomi. The moment she spotted her, she would run over, hook her arm around Kotomi’s, and loudly shout:

”Darling!”

Kotomi would simply let herself be held while quietly eating the little bear biscuit she’d been given.

Even when the teachers found out, they would only smile in amusement, treating it as innocent child’s play. If they weren’t busy, they would even joke:

”Little Kotomi, when are you two getting married? Don’t forget to invite us for the wedding feast!”

The girl would hug Kotomi’s arm happily and declare at the top of her lungs:

”When we grow up, I’m going to marry Kotomi!”

Meanwhile, little Kotomi would continue eating her bear biscuit silently.

She didn’t understand what marriage was. Nor did she understand what a wedding feast meant.

She only knew that little bear biscuits were delicious—and the one in her hand was almost gone.

That daily routine continued into middle class.

After little Kotomi and the girl who always gave her bear biscuits advanced together to Sunflower Middle Class, a transfer student arrived at Chiba Kindergarten.

When choosing a class, she selected the very same one Kotomi was in—Sunflower Middle Class.

As for that transfer student… Kotomi could barely remember her name or appearance.

It was as though the memory had once been written clearly on white paper, only to later be heavily scribbled over with thick crayon—blurred and obscured without her knowing when or how.

All she vaguely remembered was that the girl carried herself with elegance and grace, like a noble princess stepping out of a castle.

At the same time, she gave off an unmistakable sense of distance.

If she had to recall any distinctive feature about that transfer girl, it would be this—because of a congenital illness, her legs couldn’t move like a normal person’s. She relied on a cane, and every time she walked, it looked a little unusual.

Because of that, other children often mocked her, saying she walked like a slow, three-legged turtle.

Whenever that happened, little Kotomi would rush forward. Even though she still couldn’t speak clearly, she would shout ”Ah-wu-wu!” in her garbled baby voice, angrily scolding the children who were teasing the girl with the cane.

Once, a tall girl from the senior class deliberately blocked the cane girl’s path and refused to let her pass.

When little Kotomi saw this, she charged over in a fury and slapped the tall girl across the face—hard enough to knock her to the ground. Still not satisfied, she climbed on top of her and used every ounce of strength she had, punching the girl’s face again and again.

The cane girl froze for a few seconds at the sight.

Then she calmly sat down beside Kotomi, raised her cane high, and brought it down without mercy on the tall girl’s face—so hard that it made her nose bleed.

Afterward, already panting from the exertion, the cane girl still managed a faint smile and said:

”Now… we’re accomplices.”

Although Kotomi’s memory of that cane girl had grown blurry over time, she still remembered certain things they had experienced together—and certain words she had said.