"Thanks… mm—so good."
Satoshi leaned in and bit down on the spoon, chewing as a glow of happiness flickered at the corners of his eyes.
"I'm glad you like it~ Oh—Satoshi, you've got rice on your face."
Soyo's gaze burned, soft and adoring. She noticed the grain still clinging to the corner of his mouth.
Her fingers reached out, gently plucked the rice from his lips—and placed it into her own mouth.
"Mm. Delicious. The rice here is wonderful."
"Haa… haa…"
A faint blush spread across Soyo's cheeks as she greedily drew in the intoxicating scent from Satoshi, savoring the tiny grain on her tongue with almost reverent care.
Her fingers lingered, deliberately brushing against his fingertips, a whisper of desire passing between them.
"Yeah, I think so too."
Satoshi nodded emphatically. He'd already finished two full bowls. Part of that was because he hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch—but even so, Alolan cuisine had a distinct, almost blessed flavor to it. Maybe it was the guardian deities' protection at work.
Only…
She's down tremendous!!!
The girls all stared at Nagasaki Soyo in shock.
They'd thought her earlier behavior was already down bad enough.
They hadn't expected… this level.
This was outrageous!
Among otherwise normal girls, having a super down bad love-heavy girl suddenly charge in like this was a massive impact.
Put simply—
It caused a power spike.
For example…
Tomori was already considering copying Soyo.
Anon, meanwhile, fixed her gaze on her grilled rice ball, shame prickling under her skin.
As a normal person, she wouldn't usually do something like an indirect kiss… But seeing that smug look on Soyo's face, she found her courage swelling. And the fact that she was dating Satoshi only strengthened that resolve.
Cradling the steaming grilled rice ball in both hands, Anon took a small bite—then lifted it to his lips.
"Try mine too… Satoshi."
Shameful. Utterly shameful!
"Mm." Satoshi smiled faintly and took a bite.
"It's good. Really good."
Seeing the satisfied look on his face filled Anon with joy. She took a bite herself.
The pressure from the island trial seemed to melt away entirely. Being with her boyfriend just felt that good—especially after he'd soothed her heart earlier.
And when she caught Soyo's darkened expression, her mood lifted even more.
Ironically, Soyo's extraordinary down-badness was strengthening the team's bonds instead.
"Soyo, don't keep doing that."
After finally settling Raana down, Taki at last found the time to lecture Soyo, slipping smoothly into scolding mode.
If this outrageous behavior kept escalating, Soyo might just turn raw rice into cooked rice for real.
And that would mean not just romance falling apart—the entire team would fracture.
Maybe Soyo didn't care much about MYGO. But Taki did. For example, she wanted to stay with the person she admired (Tomori) and the person she liked (Satoshi).
Hearing this, Soyo offered a gentle smile, softening her voice as she switched into "mom mode."
"Oh~ All right. Since it's Taki-chan's request, I'll restrain myself a bit."
Meanwhile, in her heart...
She was already plotting to dismantle MYGO and monopolize time alone with her beloved.
MYGO. I'll be the one to end it.
Two-faced Soyo would never give up so easily—especially after seeing Anon feed Satoshi. The jealousy was already burning.
"Soyo-mama and Satoshi-papa"
Raana had noticed Soyo's maternal aura and blurted it out without thinking.
At the same time, her eyes drifted to the matcha pudding sitting in front of Soyo.
"Don't call her Soyo-mama either!" Taki snapped, clearly unhappy as she disciplined her wild cat.
Raana-chan… how sweet~ I should treat her better from now on.
For Soyo, though, this was excellent.
Beaming, she picked up the matcha pudding and offered it over.
"Wow~ what a lovely title. Here, Raana-chan—have some matcha pudding."
In front of free-spirited Raana, Taki had no chance to stop it. The pudding was claimed instantly.
"So good~"
Kaname Raana's eyes sparkled as she grabbed a spoon and began eating, happiness shining brightly in her gaze.
I've raised you all this time… can't you at least give me an assist?!
For the first time, Taki felt keenly the unreliability of cats.
During a lull in the meal, Satoshi pulled out his phone and began chatting happily with Sakiko.
From their messages, he learned she wanted to head to Ula'ula Island for the Ghost trial. That immediately made him want to go too.
As for tomorrow's plan—if he went to Poni Island in the morning for his own trial, he could probably make it back by noon.
The key point was that Ula'ula's trial was second in difficulty only to Poni's—and the Trial Captain was… Acerola of the Elite Four.
At present, she should be serving as the Trial Captain at the abandoned Thrifty Megamart site on Ula'ula Island. The Alola League hadn't been established yet.
In terms of strength, she was definitely not to be underestimated.
He really wanted to battle her.
[She's a loli! And maybe even a legal loli! A super cute Ghost-type girl~ Satocchi, go win her over!]
Ignoring Furiko's sudden meltdown, Satoshi began typing.
[Satoshi]:After I'm done tomorrow, I can go with you to Ula'ula Island. Once your trial's over, we can explore a bit too. Alola's really great—I fully enjoyed it today.
Acerola mattered, sure.
But more importantly, he hadn't spent time with Sakiko these past few days. He wanted to travel with an important friend and deepen their bond. Sakiko's customer-service life had been miserable lately—he wanted her to be happy.
With her pride, she'd never accept charity outright.
So as a friend, he would make her happy instead.
...
"Satoshi…"
Seeing the message, warmth flooded Sakiko's heart. Even her anger at Uika's betrayal faded.
If her boyfriend would stay by her side, what was a mere backstab from Uika?
Uika was still in the bathroom showering.
Sneaking closer to the one she loved behind Uika's back—
It was a perfect plan.
Sakiko's lips curved slightly as she stared at her phone screen.
At the same time, one hand slid slowly down to her foot, her movements gentle and alluring. Her foot was pale as jade, skin smooth and delicate. She pressed into the sole, fingertips kneading softly.
Poni Island had been exhausting. Just the walking alone had taken ages. When she'd removed her knee-high socks earlier, they'd been damp with sweat.
Even obtaining the Poisonium Z hadn't quite satisfied her after such fatigue.
Her hand brushed her ankle, then slowly traveled upward along her calf.
If I can be with Satoshi… I'll definitely be satisfied.
Sorry, Uika. I'm not giving up the person I love.
Her smile never faded. Her eyes shone with contentment, brimming with happiness as she began to type.
[Sakiko]:You have to keep this a secret from everyone. Absolutely no telling anyone… secret, okay?~ <3
...
What was with that heart?
Satoshi tilted his head, puzzled.
[It probably means you should treat this like a date~ Put a little more heart into it~!]
Ohhh. So that's what it means. Furiko, sometimes your emotional intelligence is actually pretty high~
Satoshi nodded in agreement.
At least when she wasn't losing it, she was reliable.
[My EQ is always high… wuh…]
Heh. I don't buy it.
With that thought, his attention returned to reality.
Soyo was still praising Raana. Taki was still lecturing Raana. Tomori was feeding Piplup.
Poke, poke~
"Satoshi…"
Anon's cheeks flushed pink as she extended her slender, porcelain finger and gently poked his shoulder.
"Hm? Anon, what's up?"
He turned, curious.
No one seemed to notice their interaction—making this the perfect chance to secretly share a moment with the person she liked. That only made Anon hesitate more.
A shy girl couldn't naturally bring things up the way Soyo did.
"Ah…"
Anon lowered her head bashfully. A strand of soft pink hair slipped down, veiling her flushed face.
After a moment, she gathered her courage and slowly looked up, cherry lips parting.
"Satoshi… would you go on a date with me?"
---
T/N: SATOSHI IS WINNING SO HARD