--Saturday, September 5, 2172
"Are you feeling better, dear?"
Once everyone had separated to go get ready for the launch in the evening, Keiko asked in a soft, warm voice as she looked at Momo in her arms. Momo squeezed Keiko's waist tightly one last time before pulling away, at which point she replied with a smile.
"Yes, I'm feeling better now."
"Are you sure?" Keiko asked back with a hint of worry. Momo nodded her head before responding with a calm expression.
"Yes, I'm fine; I just have a lot on my mind."
"Why don't you tell me about it?" Keiko asked with a warm, maternal tone, but Momo shook her head and replied calmly.
"I feel like this is something I need to figure out for myself... When I have a clearer idea, I'll talk to you and Kai."
"… I understand."
After a moment of silence, Keiko spoke with an uncertain tone as she looked worriedly at Momo, who nodded calmly before checking her watch and commenting.
"Look at the time; we're going to be late leaving. I'm going to go get ready."
"…"
Immediately after, Momo walked away quickly, leaving Keiko alone in the dining room with a worried expression. But after a few minutes, Keiko let out a soft sigh before standing up and walking towards her own room.
…
…
…
Upon arriving at her room, Momo closed the door and leaned against it, then looked up at the ceiling and let out a long, heavy sigh. As regret, uncertainty, and melancholy enveloped her, Momo walked slowly to one of the huge windows in her room and opened it.
Leaning against the window frame, Momo looked out at the distant forest with a lost gaze, and as the wind stirred her silky black hair, she murmured softly.
"Is that really the only way…? Do I have to show them my body for this to work…?"
As a strong gust of wind forced her to cover her face, Momo looked into the distance at a smaller, newly built mansion. There she could see a pair of beautiful cats, one black and one white, grooming each other with delicate care. An image that brought a bitter smile to her beautiful face.
That feline romance inevitably led her to think about her relationship with Kai and, inevitably, a hint of envy crept into her heart. All she wanted was to be happy and share her life with the fool, stubborn, and proud man she fell in love with. To grow old together and tell their grandchildren many stories about how foolish and loving their grandfather really was.
But suddenly, that dream she thought was secure, that it was her destiny and the natural end of her life, was abruptly disrupted, and the one responsible wasn't Nemuri as the others believed; it was actually Nejire.
Suddenly, when she least expected it, her lifelong friend, her sister from another mother, secretly confessed her feelings for Kai and proposed the madness of sharing him.
According to Nejire, since they were both in love with Kai and they had always been together, the two of them could be his girlfriends, and the three of them could be happy. That way no one would have to step aside or be rejected—a perfect ending for everyone. A twisted logic that her young self didn't quite understand but accepted out of fear of causing problems for the people she loved.
"You've always been a sly manipulator, Nejire…"
As she recalled the panic she felt at that moment and the innocent smile with which Nejire told her that madness, Momo couldn't help but murmur with a bitter voice as she looked in the direction of Nejire's room. But soon Momo shook her head and looked away.
Although Nejire truly is a cunning manipulator with incredibly strange ideas, she also knew that Nejire sincerely loved Kai and her. In the end, Nejire did it for the exact same reason she accepted: fear of losing the beautiful relationship the three of them had.
In the same way, she knew it was foolish to blame Nemuri, Shino, and the others for what they did. Including Tomoko, even with everything she said. After all, although everything in that relationship was wrong and everyone was a villain in their own way, they all acted out of love and fear, and time could not be turned back.
In the end, it was a fact that her attitude of not getting intimately involved with the others was starting to isolate her, and things could only get worse, even to the point of fracturing the relationship completely. But even so, she couldn't see herself being intimate with anyone other than her Kai.
Just imagining that moment made her skin crawl and filled her with revulsion. Even that time in the car with Nejire, when her lust got the better of her, the truth is she didn't enjoy it at all. It was like eating unsalted food to satisfy hunger. Although it served its purpose of calming her desires, she regretted giving in to her impulses, and her skin crawled just thinking about repeating it.
…
As another gust of wind stirred her hair, Momo let out a long, heavy sigh, then shook her head and closed the window. With her mind in a mess, Momo took a bath and put on comfortable sportswear, then went downstairs. There Nejire and Shino were waiting for her calmly, also in sportswear.
"Come on, Momo! We're going to be late!"
Upon seeing Momo, Nejire jumped up and took her arm while commenting cheerfully. Shino crossed her arms under her chest and added with a calm smile.
"The car is waiting for us; we're the last ones."
"Did everyone already leave?" Momo asked with a slightly muted tone. Nejire nodded cheerfully and replied.
"Yes! They went to check the runway, the clothes, and everything!"
"Thank you for waiting for me." Momo spoke with a warm smile. Shino smiled back before stepping forward and hugging Momo tightly.
"We are a family, Momo. No matter what happens, no matter the fights and misunderstandings, that will never change." Looking at the surprised Momo, Shino murmured with a warm smile. Nejire also hugged Momo tightly before commenting with a smile.
"Don't worry so much. We'll find a way to solve all these problems. When love is true, there's always a way."
"Girls…" Momo murmured with her eyes clouded with tears and her voice on the verge of breaking. Shino used her finger to wipe Momo's tears before murmuring with a smile.
"It's too early to cry; today we have a very important event, so we have to look beautiful and confident."
"Yes, today we're going to look divine and make Kai drool!" Nejire added with a huge smile on her face.
Feeling the sincerity and warmth of the girls' words, Momo forcefully swallowed the lump forming in her throat and finished wiping her tears, then commented with a firm smile.
"Yes, today is a very important day for Oba-sama; we have to look gorgeous."
"That's the spirit." Shino commented with a proud smile as she released Momo from her embrace. Nejire took one of Momo's hands and raised it in the air while announcing loudly.
"Let's go!"
…
…
…
After a while, the car finally stopped in an underground parking lot, and with Shino's guidance, Momo finally found herself in a huge model dressing room. In the place, full of racks overflowing with clothes, renowned stylists and makeup artists were fixing up the beautiful models, while assistants of different ages and levels of nervousness rushed around hurriedly.
Amidst all the frenzy and nervousness stood Yumiko, giving instructions with a firm and clear voice, looking like a general in the heat of battle. Seeing the chaotic place, Momo couldn't help but look at Shino and murmur, somewhat shocked, while Nemuri, who was being made up, wiggled her fingers at them in greeting.
"I didn't imagine it would be like this…"
"Really? How did you imagine it?" Shino asked back curiously, returning the gesture to Nemuri. Momo also returned the gesture to Nemuri before looking around and murmuring.
"I don't know… I imagined there would be more 'feminine energy'…"
"Well, I think there's plenty of that here…"
Shino commented with a playful tone as she looked at the people in the place, which consisted of almost 90% women, with men even more feminine than the models themselves. Nejire, who was watching Yumiko with sparkling and proud eyes, commented with an equally cheerful tone.
"Let's go present ourselves to the general!"
"General?" Momo turned to look at Nejire and asked back with a confused expression. Nejire nodded her head before announcing with pride.
"Yep! The general of fashion!"
Immediately after speaking, Nejire took Shino's and Momo's hands and then ran to the center of the dressing room, dragging them along. Upon arriving in front of Yumiko, Nejire stood at attention and, making a perfect military salute, announced loudly.
"Cadet Nejire-chan reporting, general!"
Seeing Nejire's antics, Yumiko smiled sweetly, and, as all her commanding aura disappeared, commented with a cheerful and affectionate voice.
"Fufu, what an adorable cadet."
"Hehe." Nejire laughed innocently before throwing herself into her mother's chest, who caught her tenderly before looking at Momo and Shino and commenting warmly.
"Hello, girls, you can go try on the clothes in the room on the left before coming to get your hair and makeup done."
"Don't you need any help with anything?"
Shino asked as she looked around, where everyone was moving around like headless chickens. While stroking Nejire's head, Yumiko shook her head and explained calmly.
"No, not for now. We're going to do a rehearsal with garments soon, so if you take advantage now to try on the dresses, the tailors and seamstresses can make the necessary adjustments."
"See you in a bit, then." Shino nodded calmly before going to the next room with Nejire and Momo, who was unusually silent.
Upon opening the door, the girls found themselves in a spacious room with several individual fitting rooms covered by curtains, as well as several racks with beautiful dresses.
With sparkling eyes, Nejire jumped to one of the racks and took two beautiful dresses, one black and one blue, then looked at Momo and commented excitedly.
"Look, Momo, they're gorgeous!"
"They certainly are beautiful… Let's get changed." Momo commented with a smile, to which Nejire nodded along with Shino, who took a beautiful red dress and headed to one of the fitting rooms.
After changing, Momo came out of her fitting room to look at herself in the huge mirrors in the place while Nejire and Shino also came out of their fitting rooms. Quickly, Nejire posed in front of a mirror before commenting with a huge smile on her face.
"This dress is amazing! Kai-chan is going to go crazy when he sees me, fufu."
"Yes, they're absolutely gorgeous, but I think I'll ask them to adjust the neckline a bit to wear it in public…"
Shino commented with a smile as she squeezed her huge, juicy breasts, making her already pronounced and sensual neckline even more pronounced. Momo looked at Shino and commented with a pleasantly surprised smile as she tried to pull up her dress to make the neckline less revealing.
"It's a bit too low, isn't it?"
"Enough to make me uncomfortable wearing it in public."
Shino replied with a knowing smile, which brought a beautiful smile to Momo's face. On the other hand, Nejire made a pout as she squeezed her breasts with her forearms, causing them to look like they were about to escape the neckline—creating an incredibly sensual scene—at which point she asked with an adorably confused voice.
"Why cover it up? It looks so cute like this; Kai-chan will love it."
"It's simply a matter of taste." Shino explained calmly as she began to adjust her neckline similarly to Momo, who nodded and commented with an adorably happy smile.
"Yep, just a matter of taste…"
"Well, it looks cute like this…" Nejire murmured with a pout, which caused Shino and Momo to look at each other with knowing smiles, then laugh cheerfully.
Quickly, the trio of beauties began to review the dresses more seriously, taking note of the slightest imperfections that prevented the dresses from fitting their stunning figures perfectly. But just at that moment, the door opened.
Instinctively, Momo covered her low-cut chest with one of her arms and turned to look, only to find Tomoko at the door. Upon seeing Momo, Tomoko stopped dead for a few moments, visibly uncomfortable, but before she could do anything, Momo's voice echoed in the room.
"Tomoko... Can we talk for a moment?"
***
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