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[Now she stops completely, her face turning tomato-red as That Name was uttered.]

B-Beat?! W- w- Wot're ya goin' sayin' that name for?

[Now she hurries down the last stairs to head right out the door.]

Wot's that cove got to do wiv anytin'? I- I didn't say nuffin' about 'im or any weird gumdrops!

You didn't have t—

[ .....Wow. She's barely managed to absorb what Gina mentions about the gumdrops, and suddenly Susato is several paces behind the pair. She bursts through the door behind Gina. ]

Hold on, you don't have to run! I... I thought we could talk to each other about anything!

[Just imagines aggressive power walking Susato-

That last part does get Gina to slow down! Leaving Toby more confused than ever.]

Blimey... 'Course we can talk about anythin'! I- I ain't sayin' that. But this is just... it ain't even anythin', innit? Wot's there to even talk about?

[ Listen, she's prepared to power-walk-slash-jog for as long as she needs to, but she's pretty glad she got Gina to slow down before she lost too much breath. She seems to reach for Gina's shoulder once she catches up, at the same time kind of catching her breath a bit. ]

Well... [ What's there to talk about? She already knows they kissed, but perhaps it would be best to get her side of the story. ] I don't know. For starters, what's this about a gumdrop?

[She groans in response as she thinks back to the memory.]

You know, those weird things that kept showin' up in the tree at the Harvest the other month? Like weird gumdrop slugs. One of 'em just... got me an' Beat in a little bit of a jam, that's all.

[ Susato bites her lip. She knows all too well what the gumdrops are, of course, having had her own run-in with them; but that is beside the point. ]

...Was it that unpleasant? [ She hopes not. Beat will be heartbroken. ]

I- I didn't say that! [She says, her face turning redder while she crosses her arms.]

...It ain't like 'e was bad at - at wot 'e did, or nuffin'. It's just... rotten it 'ad to 'appen like that.

[ Aw...

Susato allows a moment to pass before she places a hand on Gina's shoulder. She probably could have asked, but to make her say it seems kind of mean. She's... just gonna rip of the bandaid, so to speak. ]

He kissed you, didn't he?

[Her chin starts to sink down as if wanting to recede into her body, while her blush spreads across her face, and her hat sinks.]

...It... it weren't... [She mutters.]

...It was just the two of us snoggin' for a bit is all...

[ Is... Is that not what a kiss is? And what does she mean, "for a bit"?! Susato waits patiently, all things considered, but when Gina doesn't continue, she prompts her: ]

And...?

...A-an' wot?

[She's staring at the ground now. Toby's confused by the lack of movement, but he just sniffs around curiously while seeking out the right spot for his business.]

We did wot we wanted, an'... an' that was the end of it. Ain't nuffin' else to say... It ruined our eatin' contest, it did...

[ Susato glances at Toby, recognising this behavior by now, but she still doesn't believe that that could be the end of the conversation. She watches for Gina's reactions like her own Dance of Deduction. ]

But... But did you enjoy it? Will it... Will it happen again? What were you eating?

[ Another contest? ]

[Her face sinks more, while the blush covers every inch of her face. It's even reflected in a reddish aura around her!]

I... I... It...

[Is there any part of that question that's easy for her to answer.]

...was noodles...

[Okay, there's that.]

[ There's that.

Susato doesn't rush her, so there is a pause where neither seem to say anything, but Toby has other ideas. After a while once, once he's marked his territory, he will quickly become bored and try to keep moving. ]

Noodles...

[ Susato repeats, voice trailing. Naturally, that was the least important of any of the questions she'd just thrown at her, but it's fine. ]

Well, for what it is worth... I, I also fell victim to one of those gumdrops. [ Maybe if Susato shared what happened with her, Gina would feel more inclined to open up. ]

[Toby's reminder is welcome, and Gina starts moving on autopilot. But Susato's response catches her attention - and she glances towards her with surprise.]

You did...? [It's easier to focus on someone else. And be upset on her behalf at whatever shenanigans the gumdrop pulled!]

Wot 'appened... and who'd ya get stuck with? [She narrows her eyes.] Don't tell me it was Beat...! [She can't forget how he already when through the gumdrop with someone else before.]

No—! N, No, of course not! [ GINA SHE ALREADY HAS A MANS she is not coming for yours! Though even if it had been Beat, it wouldn't have been her fault. She still looks a little bit flush... This was a mistake. ] It, It was after work one day when I was cleaning.

Around Christmas time.

[ coughs ]

Mr Naruhodo saw me, and he... he offered to help.

[Of course it wouldn't have been her fault, not when everything is Beat's fault always.

Gina now listens intently, her blush fading as Susato confides in her. After hearing that much, she gasps and jumps to-]

You snogged wiv 'Oddo?!

N—No! [ She looks almost confused at first before she answers, however, despite the certainty with which she does so. DON'T JUMP AHEAD. ] We only hugged... We weren't sure whether the creature would free us or not, but then—

Then Kazuma saw.

[That deflates her surprise, although it replaces it with confusion.]

You - the two o' you just gave each other a hug? ...Could we've done that?? Oi, that Beat...! [She grumbles and shakes her head.]

Wait, wot did 'Soggy make of it?

[ GINA, SHE JUST SAID SHE DIDN'T KNOW— Susato looks like she's about ready to defend Beat, but at the question, she finds herself frowning. ]

Um. Well, he...

[ ......Anyway. ]

The creature managed to trap all three of us after that.

[This just gets stranger and stranger. Gina furrows her brow.]

The... the three of ya...?

[She pauses for a moment in thought.]

I didn't think it could get more than two. How could you get outta that one...?

It was a white one. It kept shouting about... "fluff" and "coo cute!" So...

[ Hm, how does she put this? Luckily the "rules" are the same as they had been for just two people. ]

I merely hugged them both. Er, at the same time. I asked first, of course...

A white one? That one I saw was pink... [She raises an eyebrow.] Wot did it mean by fluff? Yer 'air...?

[She asks genuinely, because that's the first possibility that comes to mind!]

Good on ya to ask the lot of 'em first. [Sometimes she wishes she could be asked before receiving a surprise hug.] So that's it? It worked, just like that?

[ Yeah, she doesn't blame Gina for thinking that. The first time, she took it literally too, as did her father. She gives a light shrug, and Gina seems to move on. ]

It took a while?

[ It would have been nice if they could have just stayed like that, honestly. ]

...I've never seen a pink one. [ Or... well, maybe she has? She's certainly never been trapped by one. ]

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