June Story - Dagashi Kashi: Sugar-Free Love (Chapter 4) (Patreon)

Kokonotsu met up with Hotaru at a small local ramen house, not too far away from his house. He waited outside and kept checking his phone. His palms sweated and his stomach was in knots. He got there early because why wouldn’t he? He wanted her to know that he wasn’t lazy in one bit. He changed into clothes that he hardly wore – a nice pair of jeans with a button-down shirt. He combed his hair. There was nothing much he could do about his haggard eyes. His habits of staying up late to work on his manga always took a toll on him.

“Heya!”

He jumped and turned around to see Hotaru. She always snuck up on him like that. Sometimes, Kokonotsu wondered if she was even real, as she always appeared and reappeared as if by magic.

“Shall we?” she said.

The ramen house was relatively quiet, as they went inside during an off-hour. Anywhere from 16:00 to 17:00 was a weird time. People were either having a late lunch or early dinner.

As they found a place to sit at the counter, Hotaru ranted about driving on the way there. Something about a slow older driver. Kokonotsu didn’t pay attention at all. He was keenly aware of their surroundings and how she looked compared to him. She always wore the nicest clothing out of everyone, a big fan of skirts. This time she had on a black and white polka dotted blouse with a black skirt. The stockings always killed him. He somehow found them more appealing than if she were to bare her naked legs.

“You look good by the way,” she said.

Kokonotsu blanked. He didn’t know how to take the compliment. Before he could even utter a thank you, Hotaru turned to order her food. Meanwhile, he didn’t even remember what he said. He uttered something coherent, but it escaped his mind the second after the waiter left.

They both asked for tea. After Hotaru stopped ranting, they shared a moment of silence sipping. Hotaru sighed and said, “So…a lot has changed here in the past few years. Right?”

“Yeah.”

“Is my brother still causing trouble for you?”

Her brother Beni ran the convenience store across from his dagashi shop. After a brief rivalry, Beni saw how good Kokonotsu was at running his own business that he actually begged him to come work for him. Beni wasn’t the type to keep begging though. Once it became clear that Kokonotsu decided to uphold Pops’ wishes and also try to be a manga artist, he backed down and fell silent. Despite being right across the street, the two had not exchanged words in a long time. Kokonotsu didn’t even know if Beni was still there.

“Oh, he still is,” Hotaru said. “He still tries to one-up me too.”

Eventually, the elephant in the room came up.

She asked, “What happened between you and Saya?”

Kokonotsu stared into the kitchen as he thought about how to respond. The first thing he wanted to say, the first thing that he was dying to scream out, was, “WE BROKE UP BECAUSE DEEP DOWN I LOVE YOU! I NEVER STOPPED THINKING ABOUT YOU!”

Instead, what he said was, “Uh. It didn’t work out.”

“How so?” she said, giving a lopsided look.

“Well. Heh. I mean look at me. I’m…nobody. I’m still here doing what I’ve been doing for the past five years. I still haven’t published a manga. I still haven’t made a name for myself.” He rubbed his arm, feeling really small right about then. He nearly wanted to die of embarrassment. He had never felt so vulnerable in front of anybody before.

“That’s NOT true,” Hotaru said. “You revitalized your dad’s dagashi shop!”

“Eh. I guess.”

“You DID do something. You DID!”

“I’ve been here for too long. Almost every customer knows my name and my habits.”

“I wish I had a close relationship to a place like that.”

Kokonotsu huffed, a little upset. It was actually weird that he felt annoyed about how Hotaru kept putting a positive spin on something he thought was a negative. That should have been a good thing! Was he always like this? Always shutting ideas down? Never taking pride in himself?

“How is that manga of yours going?” she asked.

Kokonotsu nearly spit out his tea. He coughed a little. “Eh. Heh.”

“You need to show me one day. All these years and you never let me take a peek. Not even once. Why is that?”

Kokonotsu perspired. He loosened his collar. “Er. Uh. I’m just one of those shy writers. You know.” He kept his eyes low, afraid she would somehow know about the secret behind his manga.

As the waiter arrived with their orders, Hotaru made them both jump by shouting, “IT’S COMING! ANOTHER ONE! RIGHT UP!”

She leaned her butt to one side, in Kokonotsu’s direction to be exact, and let fly a terrific fart. Her skirt fluttered during the explosion. Kokonotsu gazed at her bum with a dumb look of bliss on his face. The blast was so strong that he could feel, even though momentarily, the hot air hitting him. A deep stench hit his nose. It reached out to the waiter, and he gagged and nearly dropped the plates in front of them. He made a mad dash back into the kitchen.

Hotaru took notes on her phone.

“Sixteen…no seventeen seconds. Seems to get worse as the day goes by. Whoo! This one stunk really bad. If only there was a way to measure smells. Isn’t it weird that we haven’t figured that out yet? We can measure all the other senses – pressure, sound, light – but not taste or smell. Hmmm. Kokonotsu?”

He was still busy basking in a glorious fantasy of her farting in his face.

“Oh gosh! I should have pointed the other way!” She cackled so hard she nearly fell over her stool.

“I-I-It’s okay! Really.”

Hotaru wafted away the stench. “You’re not like most guys, you know, Coconuts? A lesser man would have run away at the sight of a girl farting.”

Kokonotsu grinned sheepishly.

He tried to keep it together as they ate together talking about his breakup. Every so often, Hotaru would casually rip a fart. He would know beforehand by how she leaned over to the side. She would keep talking in between farts, and that told him just how used to farting she became.

She’s fucking amazing, he thought to himself.

When he talked about Saya, he left out the obvious parts like about his fetishes and the final straw that broke the camel’s back – his manga inspired by Hotaru. Hotaru for once wasn’t freaking him out with an overactive reaction in telling him what he should do or if he was right or if he was wrong.

“I had a boyfriend for a couple years back in the city,” she said casually.

Kokonotsu’s heart dropped. For some reason that hurt, even though she just implied he was an ex. The thought of someone having had Hotaru already pained him. He should have gotten to her first. But then again, maybe that was a good thing. Maybe…he wasn’t ready back then.

“It was great and all…and everyone said we looked great together. That’s just the thing, you know? Everyone always says stuff like that. They see any couple kissing and say ‘Oh they look great together!’ without really stopping to think if anything is going on behind the scenes. But not every breakup means that something really bad happened. Sometimes it’s just…”

She looked down at her tea and stirred it aimlessly.

“Sometimes things are good but they’re not the BEST you know? And why bother settling for something that’s ‘just good enough’? We only live here once. I mean, some people believe in reincarnation but I’m not willing to take up on that bet.”

Hotaru trailed off and zoned out. She then shook her head and said, “I’m rambling. Never mind. This is about you! I’m sorry to hear what happened. But the whole sticking to the person you first fell in love with might oftentimes be a bad idea. You know?”

Kokonotsu was smitten. This time he heard every word, because the way she spoke when she wasn’t gushing about dagashi history or how to run a store was quite eloquent and mesmerizing. She could actually speak at a normal pace and be serious for a moment.

Hotaru finished her bowl. They continued talking about life and decided to have mochi for dessert. Towards the end, her stomach gurgled audibly. Kokonotsu glanced down and saw that her belly was pushing out over her skirt a bit. The button strained.

“Oooohhhhh,” she moaned, rubbing her belly. “I think this was a bad idea to mix spicy ramen with those sugar-free gummies.”

The growling became louder. Hotaru hugged her stomach. Bracing through the pain, she whipped out her phone again to make notes.

Once they paid and left the restaurant, she said, “Can we go to your place? Please? Uggghhh.” She was still very much in pain and could barely walk. Kokonotsu nearly yelped when she leaned on him without warning.

“Hrrnnnggg. Help me walk, please.”

A very jittery Kokonotsu did so. It was like helping a drunk walk (he remembered Saya again). He eventually calmed down, wanting to be dependable for her.

They were close to the house already, so it made sense to head there. Hajime was probably still manning the register, if not at least closing (if she ever got out of the bathroom that is).

When they entered, Hajime was at the register, face planted on the counter. When she heard them walk in, she sat up and looked pale and deathly. She moaned, “I don’t think there’s anything left in me. Nothing at all. I have seen and heard things no human being should. I feel dead.”

Then, she became animated upon seeing Hotaru. “Oh! Is this your girlfriend?”

Kokonotsu stammered. “W-what? No! I already told you she’s--”

“Ohhhh, hey Shidare-san! It’s been so long! How are you?”

Hotaru ignored Hajime and ordered to be put down on a bed. He hesitated, looking up the stairs to his bedroom. Hotaru persisted, and so he dragged her upstairs and placed her on his bed.

“Ohhhhh. Coconuts. I need your help.”

Kokonotsu stammered again. “W-w-what? Me? Wh-what do you need me to do?”

“Come here…”

“I am…here.”

“No. Closer.”

He gulped and bent down on his knees to her. “Y-yeah?”

Hotaru turned on her back. Her belly bulged out. The button on the skirt had popped open. He was quite amazed at how bloated it had become in the time between the end of their meal and now.

“You know how it’s impossible to tickle yourself?” she grunted.

“Yeaaaah?” he said, not knowing where this is going.

“I need you to rub my belly. It needs a little push. Me trying it on myself won’t work.”

Kokonotsu blanked. He rethought his entire life up until this point. This would be the most intimate moment yet that he would have with Hotaru Shidare, the hottest and most interesting girl he ever knew. A part of him still clung to indecision though.

“A-ah. Okay. Are you sure? What if you…have some Tums or something?”

“Won’t…work fast enough. I know the right massage. Just come here and do it.”

Kokonotsu got a hold of himself before crouching down to her. She smelled so sweet. He got lost in her eyes before she said, “Put your hand right here.”

She took his right hand and moved it in a circle from her belly button around her belly and back to her belly button.

“Yeah! Just like that. Press hard. Ohhhhh.”

Her belly was taut. It bubbled with gas the more he moved it. It was like his dislodged something, because now her stomach kept gurgling very loudly. He was tempted, oh so tempted, to give her belly a nice pat and caress it, maybe grope it…

Hotaru’s eyes widened. “Here it comes!”

After another sickening gurgle, Hotaru brought her knee up to her chest, lifting her leg, and the fart that ripped was so loud that even Hajime heard it from downstairs. Kokonotsu fell backwards, amazed. The fart sounded so deep and bubbly. The reeking organic scent filled the room, making Kokonotsu cough. Hotaru had her phone whipped out with a timer already. The fart kept dragging and dragging. Whenever Kokonotsu thought it would finally whine down, it instead continued to whistle onward.

PPPPPPFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!

He lost track of how much time must have passed. When the fart ended, Hotaru let out a sigh that sounded much like an orgasmic cry. Kokonotsu had his mind completely in the gutter – imagining all sorts of lewd things.

“A new record!” Hotaru shouted. She showed him the timer on her phone. “Forty-three seconds! So close to a minute! But then again, that would be a bad thing. Oh wait. One more!” She grunted as she ripped a short but loud PRAP. “Noting that an extra one came out a couple seconds after the long one. We have a lot more work to figure out this sorbitol thing.”

She patted her belly, which now looked a little less bloated. “Whew. That felt good though. I feel like a new person!”

Everything about what had just happened gave Kokonotsu a raging boner. It was becoming impossible to hide it unless he was obvious about hiding it.

He shot to his feet and faced the door. In a rather loud, awkward voice, he said, “I have to go to the bathroom!” Fast as lightning, he bolted from the room and rushed downstairs for the bathroom.

Hajime’s previous explosions in there still filled the bathroom. He cursed to himself and turned on the fan.

He gripped the edges of the sink and stared down at his boner poking through his pants. It was amazing that he left in time. He couldn’t imagine what would have happened otherwise. The rush of panic made his heart throb uncontrollably, the blood rushing through his veins. His head felt foggy. He couldn’t think straight – he could only think about Hotaru ripping ass and her satisfied, almost sexual satisfaction that followed. She produced the most wonderful farts. They were so bold and brassy, deep and sonorous.

Kokonotsu couldn’t take it anymore. He had to take the edge off. He couldn’t just walk out like this again. Even trying to think of gross things wasn’t helping – his mind kept changing the channel to Hotaru farting. So…he unzipped his pants.

It didn’t take him very long to finish. That was actually the first time he masturbated standing up. He gasped aloud as he sprayed the bathroom mirror.

Her name came out from his lips, so natural and fluid.

“Hotaru!” he let out. “Ohhh, Hotaru! Yes! Hotaru!”

He had shouted his deepest, darkest desire.

He gazed up at the ceiling and got lost in wild fantasies of being with her, inside her, holding her. Gradually, his panic subsided as a dumb grin formed across his face. His nerves dulled, and it felt good.

“Whew…” he said.

After about two minutes, he calmed down fully. He became suddenly aware of the situation, of what he did in the bathroom while Hajime was still out there at the register and Hotaru was right above him through the floorboards. Something about it felt sad. Something about it felt guilty. He didn’t know or understand what it was exactly. Disgust maybe? At his own perverse nature?

He cleaned himself up, took a deep sigh, and went back out.

Hotaru was napping when Kokonotsu returned to his room. She snored aloud lying sprawled on the floor with her skirt unbuttoned. He blushed thinking about how the scene could be taken out of context. He figured he should try to wake her so she could go back to Beni’s. When he whispered to try to get her attention, she turned in her sleep and moaned, “Foood cooooma. Hrrrnnnggg.”

“Dammit,” Kokonotsu hissed. He sighed and put a blanket over her.

He went downstairs to work on his manga in the office, but when he turned around to leave Pops was there wide-eyed.

Kokonotsu yelped and closed the door behind him.

Pops gasped. He embraced his son so tightly he could have broken his back.

“HAS MY BOY FINALLY GOT A GIRL OVER?”

“STOP IT!”

“OH YOU’RE SO GROWN UP NOW! I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT. I KNEW YOU WOULD ONE DAY STOP MOPING AROUND WITH YOUR MANGA!”

“I’M STILL DOING THE MANGA, NOW STOP IT!”

“OH HAPPY DAY!”

Kokonotsu finally managed to get him off. Pops giggled and whispered, “It’s okay, kid. I’ll spend the night out with my own woman. I was just about to see her. I’ll let her know what’s up.”

“Please, don’t.”

Pops gave him fingerguns as he descended the stairs. “Go get ‘er, kiddo!”

“DAD!”

“Leaving.”