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Well… at least Odd-Eye looks like he’s having fun, Rimi muses with a sigh. The rabbit seems quite content to try and inch his way closer towards their shared pile of chocolate cornets, only to bound away by a threatening shift of Tae’s leg. Given how dangerous the other girl had explained bread and chocolate to be for rabbits, Rimi is surprised she had been the one to nonchalantly bring up to the possibility of stopping by the bakery on their way back to Tae’s. Not that she’s complaining by any means, because snatching one after the other up to busy herself with eating them is about the only thing keeping her from getting so dejected she catches Tae’s attention.Or so she thinks.“Y’know… I’m pretty sure that’s the thirteenth time you’ve sighed since we got here… or maybe the fourteenth… hm which was it…” The strumming to Tae’s guitar stops as she raises her gaze up from the strings. “Eh, either way, you okay? You haven’t really touched your bass strings since we got here, and I’m pretty sure you’ve gone through half of the cornets.”Had she really? Rimi’s face flushes with embarrassment, and she quickly sets down the one she had picked up.“Yeah, I’m okay, just…” She pauses; how best to describe that her mood stems from the Christmas show everybody is so excited for. Not that she isn’t excited for it, because Rimi’s really looking forward to it as well, she’s just… having a fair bit of trouble with her part.Tae watches her from her place on the floor, tilting her head. Idly, her foot swats out again to discourage Odd-Eye, and the bunny goes bounding off again toward the far wall. Rimi fidgets with the hem of her skirt as the silence grows longer and more awkward, Tae leveling an expectant look her way.“...Just thinking about the upcoming show, and the songs we’re going to play, you know? The newer one, and all.”Tae hums aloud and for a moment, Rimi thinks maybe the implication has gone over her head as the guitarist looks back down to her guitar. She doesn’t expect her to loosen the strap, bring it over her head so she can set the guitar off to the side. Tae gathers up the remaining cornets into the bag they were resting over and walks over to where Rimi sits against the side of her bed, careful to avoid hitting the headstock as she sits down again.“Our Christmas song? Are you having trouble with it?” There’s a tinge of worry mixed in with the usual lazy tone that makes Rimi shake her head quickly.“N-Not enough to be too worried about! Just… I’m just having some trouble transitioning into the chorus, and a lot of the slower parts…” Red eyes fall back to her lap, fingers curling into the fabric. She’s gotten much better in the past few months playing alongside the rest of Poppin’ Party, but her confidence has been… less affected. “I just need to keep working at it though.”Tae’s arm winds its way around her shoulders and Rimi lets out a sigh, leaning into her side. Affection is far from a viable long-term solution for this problem, but at least in the moment it does work to raise her spirits a little.“Well, y’know working at the same thing over and over again, you’re bound to tire yourself out from it eventually. It’s better to have diversity in practice.” Rimi tilts her head, furrowing her brow in confusion as she looks up to Tae. “Lucky for you, I have juuust the thing in mind.”Confusion deepens, and Rimi sits up to get a better look at Tae. The other girl’s free hand digs into the pocket of her jeans and pulls out her phone, tapping away to unlock it. “Um… O-Tae..? What are you doing?”“Well, I know Arisa and Kasumi worked on the song together, and Kasumi wanted it extra Christmas-y, soooo…” She trails off for a moment before letting out a quiet ‘a-ha’ and tapping triumphantly on the screen. Seconds later, after skipping an obnoxiously long commercial, the intro keys of a piano begin to play. It’s easy to tell from the introduction alone that the song is a slow one, yet Rimi’s unanswered question remains.And then the vocals begin, and Rimi knows what song it is from what little English she’s retained from class.“I know Kasumi in particular listened to, like, a looooot of American Christmas music for really quick inspiration. Take the lyrics for example. I’m like ninety-eight percent sure she’s using lyrics from a couple different songs.” The volume button is pressed down until it’s at its loudest setting, and Tae nods. “So if we practice the individual songs, and there’s a couple different ones so it isn’t the same one every time, you’ll eventually get better at Our Christmas Song.”Rimi blinks at that conclusion, glancing down toward her bass as ‘Silent Night’ builds into the second half of the song. “I don’t think that’s… quite how it works, O-Tae…”“Well, Christmas songs aren’t really any specific tempo, so if you practice to a lot of them, you’ll improve and get used to different ones, wouldn’t you?”Her thumb’s sliding upwards, likely looking through many of the recommended videos gently pulling Rimi a little closer to her side.“Won’t know until you try, huh?”Admittedly it’s a fair point. And it’s not like listening to a bunch of Christmas songs is going to hurt anyone. At best, it will be just as Tae says and she will have had some good practice with different songs, a couple of which are used in their own song, and at worst? Well… at least she’ll have spent a good amount of time with Tae, and there’s no way listening to a couple Christmas songs won’t boost her mood and get her into the holiday spirit. With a brief nod, Rimi responds.“Alright, sure… we can listen to a couple…” And then Tae gives her a smile as she stands, squeezing her shoulder before quickly going over to her own guitar. Placed back over her shoulder, she does a couple test strums. ‘Silent Night’ fades out, so Rimi glances towards Tae expectantly. A quick tap to her phone screen before pocketing again and her hands hesitantly hover over the bass strings.What comes on next is most definitely not Silent Night though, no it’s something quicker, and while it’s a surprise, Rimi can’t help the relief she feels. It’s not a slower song, and a rough idea for the bass begins to form in her head. It’s a shaky start given she doesn’t know the song, but she grips her pick with a newfound determination and starts to lay a basic baseline. It’s upbeat, and while there are a couple changes in tempo, Tae joins in a few moments after Rimi gets comfortable, and it’s actually quite enjoyable. She cracks a smile, giggling softly as Tae begins to get more into it, bouncing in time to the song, and stepping around the room to chase Odd-Eye.Tae’s gaze flicks over toward Rimi and gives her a goofy smile, hair swinging in time as she steps from side to side. The lines aren’t too out of the world, and Rimi feels a surge of pride that she can understand it. Lots of food imagery, which reminds her that, yes, they still have some of the cornets on the bed. A fact which draws her gaze for a second as her fingers quicken with the upcoming chorus. Probably the second or third time it’s repeated the words.Her attention quickly snaps back towards Tae as she steps up from humming along to singing. It would be more impressive of her to sing in English if the words weren’t repeated at least three times every chorus, but it’s still fairly strong English.
”It’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you~”
It’s clear the pronunciation is more out knowing the sounds rather than the actual words, which gets another giggle out of Rimi. The chorus repeats it’s second time and on the third:
”...it’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you…”
As Tae gives her a nod, Rimi glances down toward the ground to make sure she doesn’t run the risk of stepping on Odd-Eye. When the coast is clear, she takes a couple steps away from the bed, approaching opposite of Tae while she plays a little more confidently, bouncing gently to the beat.There’s several different songs that play, as Tae had promised, and while most of them are upbeat she occasionally slides through her video history to go back to Silent Night to make sure they actually practice, as they had set out to do. Though well over an hour into this session of theirs, they’ve forgotten it in favor of some of the new English songs they’ve found. They don’t understand but a couple verses of them, but after listening to them enough times, they have a decent beat set to them, and Rimi is smiling brightly, experimenting a little bit with her basslines far more confidently than she was when they began. The two dance around one another, around Odd-Eye as he bounds around the room, and all around the room, blurting out what little English parts of songs they’ve learned the sounds to.By the end of the night, they’ve gone Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree a couple times, gone on several Sleigh Rides together and individually learned that All I Want for Christmas is You among many other songs.And they show no sign of stopping.
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“Sayo… you know how much I love spending time like this, just the two of us cuddled together right?”Tsugumi can feel more than hear the affirmative hum, nuzzling that much closer into the crook of her neck with her eyes trained on the TV across the room. She shifts for the umpteenth time that afternoon to relieve the mounting pins-and-needles numbness that’s begun to build up in her side, leaving wrinkles in the bed’s blankets. As she leans further back into Sayo’s chest, she can feel the older girl shift in turn, accommodating to ensure her comfort. Long, teal hair falls over her shoulder, and Tsugumi smiles softly, twirling it ‘round her fingers.“And you know that this episode of the show is almost over, right?”It takes a second for Sayo to respond to that, but then arms slide around her midsection, embracing her firmly and pulling her in. Ah, man. And here she thought Sayo would have had mercy and let them go out early. Or perhaps that she’d lost track of time, maybe mistook the fact that they started the usually half-an-hour show in the middle. She really did know better after being with Sayo for so long, but could she be blamed? A brief glance toward the window at their side, fluttering from the fan’s breeze, shows the snow outside. And shows that it’s still snowing! That was good! She was so worried by the time Sayo finally conceded and went out there it would have stopped.“We agreed on thirty minutes Tsugumi. It hasn’t been but maybe fifteen.”Tsugumi’s cheeks puff out in a pout, and she looks longingly toward the window once more. Winter has been her favorite season to be honest.The snow alone was enough to warrant her eagerness for the season, but it was also so much more fun in the cafe around this time of year. More people to stop by the cafe, and her family busted out the plethora of seasonal stuff, decorations and menu selections alike. And of course, in more recent times, she’s been looking forward to having Sayo try those aforementioned selections given that they’re all basically sweets in one way or the other.But the snow has always had a special place in her heart. So many winters spent with the rest of Afterglow as they grew up together, countless snowball fights and legions of snowmen. Laughing brightly as year after year, Moca stood with her face skyward trying to catch all the snowflakes she could on her tongue. It’s just is so much fun, and she was really looking forward to going out there with Sayo. Not that she could truthfully be mad at Sayo for her reasoning; it was only out of worry for Tsugumi’s safety but it was…. Kind of a stretch.She wiggles around in Sayo’s grip, awkwardly shifting onto her side and driving her shoulder unintentionally into Sayo’s chest as she does so. The other girl responds with a grunt, arms loosening enough so that Tsugumi can turn the rest of the way smoothly, even green gaze meeting Tsugumi’s determined one. She can see Sayo’s eyebrow loft in amusement, even as her lips don’t go beyond a quick twitch upwards before returning to a thin line.“Sayo.”“Tsugumi.”“Sayoooooo.”Tsugumi’s pout grows, and she forces a larger frown.“No.”“Come onnnn, I’m perfectly fine. You know I didn’t even eat that much.”“It makes no difference. You’re supposed to wait half an hour after eating before doing any sort of activity requiring lots of moving around.”“Ehhhh, I’m pretty sure that’s only swimming Sayo. Besides, we’re not gonna do anything that tiring out there! Honestly, the most tiring thing will probably be getting all the warm clothes on…”Still, Sayo remains unwavering, and her head shakes. As if to reinforce her decision, her arms return, both forearms coming to rest over the small of Tsugumi’s back.“I told you I wouldn’t budge on this.”Defeated, Tsugumi drops her head to Sayo’s chest and lets out a muffled ‘Sayoooooooo’ to which she only chuckles in response. They remain in this position, only briefly shifting so Tsugumi can wrap her arms around Sayo’s shoulders to return the embrace, for a good few minutes before Tsugumi raises again. Again, she meets Sayo’s steely gaze with newfound vigor.“What if I make you something when we get back inside from the snow?”“No.”“Oh come on Sayo, pleeeeaaase! I can make you a latte, a special peppermint one because I saw the prepackaged ones in the cabinet downstairs!”Only then does she the brief weakness over Sayo’s face, considering the opportunity for a second before she schools herself back into refusal. Tsugumi’s got her, she already knows. Sayo’s sweet tooth surely couldn’t say no if she poked and prodded enough. With a Cheshire smile, she tilts her head.“Awww… well if not peppermint… what about one with cinnamon! I know that was one of your favorite tops from the fall menu…”Sayo’s head raises in indignation, and she can see her lips purse, eyes narrow her direction. “Or something like hot chocolate with whipped cream… not fake powder and water cocoa, but real melted chocolate and milk! I bet I could throw something together for you…”Sayo’s gaze falls away from her, down toward the bedspread as she clears her throat. Tsugumi’s still smiling something bright, leaning forward so she can nuzzle into her girlfriend’s soft hair“Come on Sayoooooo, I’m sure we’ll only be out there for half an hour anyway, an hour tops! And then you’ll get your driiink~!”With a heavy sigh, Sayo finally concedes with a grumble, curtly nodding her head.“...Fine. But if you start to feel sick, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”But she barely gets through half the sentence before Tsugumi is breaking Sayo’s weakened grip all but launching herself from the bed and falling to the floor in her excitement. In spite of her concession, Sayo still manages a fond smile at her excitement and can do little but roll her eyes as she too climbs off the bed. Before Tsugumi can run for the door, Sayo grabs her wrist to turn her around.“But! We’re getting well bundled before we even get near the back door, okay?”Tsugumi nods enthusiastically before leaning in so she can give Sayo a quick kiss.“Thank youuu! My bag of stuff is downstairs in that front closet, I’ll be right back, okay?”Sayo gives her a nod and watches her dash off, leaving the door ajar behind her. She’s glad that Hina is out with her band, because all the excitement would probably draw her attention as well. As she turns away to open her closet she can hear the telltale tinkling of Tsuki’s collar as the dog comes trotting inside. His nose brushes up against her calf as she ponders which jacket would be best suited for the cold, and she takes a second to crouch down so the shiba can eagerly nuzzle up against her face.“What do you think Tsuki? Blue or White?”The dog peers up at her with inquisitive eyes, but gives no such response, only tilting his head to the side. Chuckling softly, she rubs her hand over the top of his head and stands.“Blue it is.”The corresponding winter jacket is pulled from its place, and she slides her hands into the sleeves, zipping it up when all is said and done. Now then… just some gloves, a scarf, a hat… her heavy boots are downstairs.Tsugumi comes in as she’s rifling through her drawers, and she glances to the side briefly to acknowledge her entrance. She’s got one arm securing the opened bag, and the free one if halfway through her brown and white diamond patterned coat. She’s already got her scarf haphazardly thrown around her neck and she looks to have a glove on the hand that comes through the sleeve.When they’re both properly dressed, well, at least Sayo is, they both head for the front door to grab their boots. Sayo turns to Tsugumi after dropping her boots to the tile, adjusting her scarf to, you know, actually cover the rest of her neck.“I told you, we aren’t going out there until you’re well protected.” And then she tugs down her winter hat just a little more so it covers her ears, and only then nods for them to go out.“Alright.”Tsugumi hastily throws her boots on, lacing them up tightly and knotting it twice before standing. She doesn’t even bother waiting for Sayo, which is amusing in its own way, and rushes out onto the patio outside. Sayo takes a bit more time herself, lacing the boots together standing only to pause once more. She takes a glance outside, then back toward the interior before calling out.“Tsuki-Tsuki, we’re going out.” And just like that, the skitter of paws down the stairs accompanied with wild jingling precedes the dog charging forward. He barks several times in excitement, tail wagging to and fro as she opens the door for them, and closes it behind her.Suffice to say, Tsuki is quite enraptured by the feeling of the snow. Tsugumi laughs bright as the dog all but charged toward the far end of the yard, leaving a flurry in his wake that half buries the pawprints. She tries chasing after him, but that only seems to instigate him to bolt off again, and he’s a blur of cream and white as he circles the yard with Tsugumi… not so hot on his heels but she’s trying. Her breath comes out in visible puffs as she initiates her third round of the backyard, and only then does Sayo take a step off the stone of the patio and fall into the inch or so of snow. As she does, Tsuki seems to catch sight of her, and he slows into a trot with his gaze firmly planted on her. He’s moving enough that Tsugumi isn’t quite catching up, but not for lack of trying. As soon as she breaks out into a run though, he’s off again.And when he starts getting closer to Sayo, she moves abruptly to try and help Tsugumi catch him only to watch as the shiba skids on the hidden layer of ice beneath the snow. Even so, he manages to regain his footing, and hastily charges toward the middle. Tsugumi however, is not so lucky and she doesn’t quite get full-stop before she collides with Sayo and sends the both of them tumbling over.Sayo loses her breath on impact and she remains shaken for a second before she registers the bright laughter bubbling from Tsugumi, face buried into the front of Sayo’s coat. It’s a breathy sort of laugh from how much she’s been running, but it full on devolves into a laugh-coughing fit when Tsuki comes out of literally nowhere and begins licking at Sayo’s face. With Tsugumi all but laying on top of her, she can’t do much but thrash her head around to try and get him away.“Tsuki no! No! Get- get away!”It only eggs him on further, and he starts barking in her ear, tensing up as she tries to sit up. He looks ready to bolt at any second and kick up more snow, and when she turns toward him to try and reach out, he’s off. Tsugumi’s only beginning to recover from her fit, sucking in heavy breaths as Sayo sits up properly. She looks, not entirely amused by the turn of events, but there’s a softness in her eyes that betrays her stoic expression and Tsugumi leans forward to press another kiss to Sayo’s cheek.“Ehehe, Tsugu-Tsuki: 1. Sayo: 0.”To this, the guitarist squints in confusion. Before she can question it, Tsugumi is up and off of her, steadying herself as she gets to her feet. When Sayo makes to try and get up though, she’s met with a sudden flurry of snow in her face as Tsuki races in between them and she sputters.“Make that 2 to 0!” And then the keyboardist is off dashing with the dog again.Sayo blinks in surprise, watching them go off. 2-0? Since when did this suddenly become a contest. And one she was losing at that. Sayo narrows her eyes in thought, gaze flitting between the running forms of Tsuki and Tsugumi. Until, that is, she gets a bright idea, and beneath the scarf, her lips quirk upwards in a smirk. Sayo 3:- Tsugu-Tsuki: 2, here she comes…She remains prone in the snow for a couple minutes despite the snow beginning to soak the bottoms of her jeans, watching as the two run around the yard. ( tiring themselves out… all according to plan ). When she begins to notice them slowing… or rather Tsugumi slowing, she gets to her feet and starts making her way over to them. The minute Tsugumi sees this, she grins brightly and points a finger toward her.“Quick, distract her Tsuki!” And then she’s running toward one of the corners of the yard. Whatever, that will work. Looking toward the shiba, Sayo purses her lips. She’s just gotta catch the little guy… or perhaps just surprise him enough to get proof of a point out. With her attention focused solely on the dog, she starts running towards him and as expected, he immediately takes off in the other direction. Hm… a snowball will be the only thing that works, it seems…Bending over, Sayo takes a decent handful of snow and begins balling it up into a rather lumpy snowball. Tsuki has slowed back down to a trot, and takes a breath to steady her aim. Just like archery right?Wrong. The first snowball misses its mark by a lot. Damnit, she quickly drops down to her knees to gather up another one. She needs this point before Tsugumi is done amassing her arsenal over in the corner for her plan to work. The second is balled up and missed as well, and Sayo’s teeth grit as she hisses out a curse. Tsuki’s almost taunting her now, getting dangerously close… perfect! So suddenly, she procures a hidden snowball and launches it towards the dog. Tsuki barely has much time to react before the snow explodes over his snout and he lets out a bark of surprise before tearing off in the other direction, kicking up a trail as he went.2-1.It looks as though Tsugumi is almost done though, so Sayo snatches a handful of snow and hauls herself up to sprint for Tsugumi’s crouched form. So close- so close! Just as she closes in, Tsugumi starts to rise. Well, that will make things somewhat easier. Sayo raises her hand over her head, a few bits of snow falling from the clump she has, and then brings it down suddenly over Tsugumi’s head. White mixes with her dark brown hair, and she lets out a yelp of surprise.2-2.She’s not done yet though, she needs the advantage. With a hidden grin, she throws one of her gloves off and wraps her arms around Tsugumi’s waist. Squeezing her tightly, Sayo leans back so she can lift the other girl off her feet, hearing an audible gasp of even more surprise. Her legs kick out to try and free herself, but Sayo takes one glance back, looks to the mostly-undisturbed section of snow and throws herself down against it with Tsugumi in tow.She’s dazed but she didn’t come this far to be bested by her girlfriend and her dog, so Sayo shakes her head and gathers her bearings. Both her legs quickly move to lock Tsugumi’s in place against the ground.and while one arm remains firmly around her waist to keep her against Sayo’s chest, her un-gloved hand disappears beneath Tsugumi’s coat and shirt to run chilly fingers along her stomach.The squeal she gets in response is, frankly, adorable and Tsugumi starts thrashing wildly to try and get away.“S-Sayooooo, s-stop that it tickles!”“That’s the point, Tsugumi~”Her head rests over Tsugumi’s shoulder, teal hair that spills out from beneath her snow hat falls over both of their shoulders as she struggles. Tsugumi tries in vain to bring on her hands against Sayo’s arm to push it away, but Sayo’s is far stronger.“Come on, tell me the score is 3-2 and I win, and I’ll stop.”“No-o-ho-ho-ooo stop Sayooooo!” She manages out in between giggles, but her thrashing is starting to weaken. Probably from using her energy to chase the dog instead of keep an eye on Sayo, the older girl thinks. Whatever it is, it’s getting clearer and clearer that Sayo’s going to outlast her.And finally, with a weak kick sending a small wave of snow, Tsugumi huffs out what breath she has before slumping against Sayo’s chest and mumbling into her scarf.“Mmph… s-so unfair Sayooo…”Her hands still beneath both layers of clothing, but the cold fingers remain.“Do I win?”“Mmm… fine… Sayo: 3, Tsugu-Tsuki:2..” Her voice sound a bit dejected, but she immediately brightens into a laugh when Tsuki suddenly charges into them, eagerly licking at any skin he can get to on both of their faces, and even onto the coats they wear, barking loudly. Sayo can’t help the smile the spreads over her face, a genuine one in place of the smirk she wore earlier, and she fondly leans against the side of Tsugumi’s head as she chuckles softly. When she’s calmed herself down, Tsugumi turns to the side, just enough so she can catch Sayo’s gaze with one eye and offers a smile.“So… I promised you a drink, didn’t I?”Tsuki has left their side now, shaking the snow from his fur as best he can as he trots onto the patio and barks once again. A paw comes up to scratch at the door and he looks at the other two expectantly.“...I do believe you did.”
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Oh, she’d recognize that voice anytime, anywhere. Persistent call of her name, loud enough that it catches the attention of the people all around the food court outside of CiRCLE, to Yukina’s disdain. Disdain for the extra, unwanted attention that is; not for the girl herself. At the far end of the courtyard, sitting on the edge of one of the tables she catches sight of soft brown hair and a hand waving frantically in her direction.“Yukinaaaaa!”Softly scoffing to herself, Yukina strides in the direction Lisa is waving her down from, stopping only as she sees the other girl rise from her place and begin approaching as well. She wears a bright grin on her face in spite of the weather, peeking out just over a fold of the dark orange scarf secured around her neck. As expected of Lisa ( Yukina’s even taken to bracing for it before it happens ) she throws herself against Yukina, wrapping arms around her and giving her a tight squeeze before stepping back.“Lisa.”“Yukina~ you finally finished with your practice?”The vocalist gives an affirmative nod, glancing back in the direction of the live house. It had been a good practice, managing to secure one of the rooms for good two or so hours. She’d managed to get her timing pretty solid, listening to the recording of their songs in the earbuds now wrapped around her neck and singing in time. The only problem had been accidentally going over the time; with earbuds in and all but blaring their songs, Marina had needed to enter and give her a tap to the shoulder. In retrospect, she kind of regrets listening to the music as loudly as she was since her ears are still ringing with the memory of -HEROIC ADVENT-.“I am. What are you doing here? I don’t remember you telling me about a session you had booked.”“Ehehe… that’s because I don’t! I was actually, y’know, just waiting for you! Want to come pick up some stuff with me?”Yukina blinks in surprise before her eyes narrow in thought. It was sudden, and Yukina had been kind of intending to return home and help her father cook dinner. Lisa tilted her head, an expectant smile on her face as she awaited Yukina’s answer. The way her grin goes lopsided rather than solidly upturned kind of tells Yukina she isn’t expecting her to say yes, and she hesitated before nodding her head. She’ll indulge in a little bit of free time. After all, the two of them hadn’t done something together in awhile, and she knows all too well Lisa tends to get dejected when she doesn’t get to spend a lot of time with her girlfriend.“Fine, I have some time. Where did you have in mind?”Lisa perks up noticeably at that, and her eyes go a little wider.“Wait, really?” And then her grin is back in full force, and she eagerly takes one of Yukina’s hands before turning on heel to set off. “Wellll, I wanted to stop by Edogawa and pick up some more strings… and maybe another couple of picks. I kinda broke a couple of them yesterday.”“Eh- on accident, honest!” Is quickly tacked on when she sees Yukina level her a stare. “In my defense I may have… accidentally grabbed the wrong set of picks last time I was out…”“You got soft picks.”“Eheheh……”That’s all the answer Yukina needs, and she heaves out a sigh.“You ought to be more attentive to that Lisa. I don’t want you spending more money than you need to for the sake of the band. If you really needed new picks, you could have told me. I would have grabbed you some when I next stopped by.”Lisa gives her hand a squeeze, swinging it softly in between them as they cross the street. Edogawa Music isn’t too far from CiRCLE which she’s glad for. It was a poor oversight on her own part, not realizing that the Winter chill was setting in much sooner than it usually did. Had she realized, she would have grabbed the wool jacket she has expressly for the colder time of year.“Well, I wasn’t just planning to stop at Edogawa. I also need to stop by the bakery and I want to check something out at the mall.”Yukina huffs at that. That’s quite a few more places than she had expected to be going to. Had she realized… maybe she would have invited Lisa out somewhere another day. Another day that was, perhaps, a little more forgiving temperature-wise. Not that she’s really, really cold at the moment or anything of the sort, no never. It’s just… Lisa’s scarf alone looks inviting, and for the brief time the front of her neck had been covered by it, it was much nicer. Out of instinct on a particularly annoying breeze, she shrinks down to try and cover her neck with the collar of her shirt.From the corner of her eye, she can see she’s caught Lisa’s attention, and she pauses off to the edge of the sidewalk.“Yukina, now that I think about it, you have to be cold in just that, aren’t you?”Pride quickly makes her refute it, shaking her head. “No, I’m not. It’s just my neck. You know I prefer to keep it… covered and all.”Lisa nods enthusiastically, and despite Yukina’s words, she quickly begins to unravel it. It’s a much longer scarf than she had initially thought, having been wrapped and then some, hidden beneath the coat Lisa’s wearing. Yukina weakly voices her protests, but Lisa adamantly continues, giving her a positive smile as she begins wrapping the scarf around Yukina’s neck. She’s nothing if not meticulous, wrapping it a couple times at the base, and then bringing it up and resting on the lower folds to cover the column of her neck. She’s careful not to brush her fingers against Yukina’s neck, given how cold she can feel they are, and when she’s finished, she gives the loose tail end a tug to secure it.“There! Much better, huh?”Yukina huffs out a visible breath before lowering her nose down into the folds of the scarf. Only as Lisa giggles and leans forward to peck the part of her cheek that’s above the scarf does she give a nod as her answer.“Awesome! In that case, let’s go. Edogawa isn’t too far from here! And I bet there’ll be heating in there!”And true to her word, Yukina lets out a sigh of relief into the fabric of the scarf as the two step inside. There’s an initial rush of warm air and it’s quite a pleasant surprise. Yukina’s rather content to take her time striding through the music store as Lisa goes about picking up what she needs. Of course, this only makes it ten times worse when Lisa pays and they’re back out in the cold, heading in the direction of the mall. With the sudden shift back into the cold, Yukina does her best to try and suppress a shiver.The longer they stay out, the colder it’s going to get to her displeasure. Still, it’s just as unpleasant an idea to just quit on Lisa even if she had dropped the offer on her so suddenly after practice. Steeling resolve, Yukina breaths in a lung-full of the air--and promptly starts coughing. Lisa suddenly turns to her with worry in her wide eyes, and she can just barely make out the other girl beginning to unbutton her own coat. Yukina shakes her head quickly, raising one of her against Lisa’s hand to try and stop her.“Yukina, really? You’re going to get sick like that, you can use this.”“No, I don’t need it. It was just the air giving me trouble. I’m fine; let’s go.”She shakily tries to steady her breathing as the coughs die down, and she meets Lisa’s stare with one of her own. They remain in their standoff for several seconds more before Lisa sighs audibly and turns, giving Yukina’s hand a squeeze.“Sheesh… hard headed as always, huh? That’s my Yukina.”Yukina, wisely, elects to ignore the comment and instead focus on getting to their next stop.The bakery is technically closer to them than the mall is, and Yukina makes to try and break away from the main street to head there, but Lisa gives her arm a tug.“Nah, we’re going to the mall first. That way when we get the bread, it’ll still be warm when we actually eat it, yeah?”“...I suppose that makes sense.”As they arrive and begin browsing together, it becomes quite apparent to Yukina that when Lisa had said there was something she wanted to check out, she had understated it. By a lot. This has to be the fourth shop they’ve stopped in, and as they walk into the brightly lit store, Yukina only hopes that this has what she’s look for. As Lisa weaves in between rows of clothes, expression morphed into one of determination, she looks over each individual price tag, giving head shakes at just about every one of them. Yukina’s never really disliked shopping when it’s efficient, but at this point she’s starting to lose a bit of hope.They’re making their way back towards the front of this particular store when Lisa suddenly lets out a gasp and all but dashes over to one of the corners. It… is she looking at the bargain bins? Isn’t that usually the stuff that’s broken or just downright unpopular. Yukina’s brow raises in disbelief as she watches Lisa rifle around through the contents, placing random odds and ends to the side and finally raising her prize out toward Yukina.It’s a large set of cat earrings. Yukina feels her breath catch in her throat at the sight of them, and again at the sheer number. There’s probably at least eight matching pairs featuring several different colored cats. There’s a pair of calico ones near the top, a pure white one, pale grey of a Russian blue… and near the bottom there’s even a well striped tabby. Yukina draws closer still, raising a hand to further inspect each one as Lisa looks on with glee.“Found what I was looking for! When I came in last time, I ended up forgetting my wallet, but I saw them and had to get them. Ehehe… kinda wasn’t expecting them to get thrown into the sale bucket though… glad I caught ‘em. C’mon, let’s go check out!”Yukina is quick on her heels, eyes never leaving the set of earrings until she’s positively forced to. The set is placed safely into a plastic bag, and Lisa waves the cashier goodbye as she leads Yukina out the store, and out of the mall.The final stop is the bakery, but the sun has begun to set and it’s getting more chilly out. Enough that Yukina can feel her free hand’s fingers twitching slightly against the hem of her thin long-sleeves. It’s taking all she has not to start shivering enough that Lisa can feel it in their joined hands, and they’re almost to the bakery when Lisa glances her direction, intending to make a remark about the earrings presumably when she notices.“Y-Yukina, sheesh you’ve got to be cold. Come on here just take this and-”“No. I don’t need it. We’re almost there anyway.”Lisa groans aloud and shakes her head. “Just take it Yukina! Here I’ll give it to you when we get there and-”“No. I don’t need it.”Lisa’s lips press together in annoyance, but she only lets out a defeated sigh as she quickens her pace, tugging Yukina along until they are safely inside the bakery. It’s a pleasant change of scene, immediately welcomed by the warmth of the ovens, and the pleasant aroma of breads and other baked goods. There’s not many people around, and Yukina hazards a guess that it mustn’t be too long until closing. Lisa strolls up to the counter, conversing with the girl there. Hm, was that Saaya? That drummer from Poppin’ Party. So she did work on the side of her drumming. She watches the two of them interact quietly from her place near the cornets and cookies on display, quirking a brow when Lisa nods and Saaya gives her a smile before turning to head toward one of the doors.It’s all the more confusing when she returns with a glass of milk, offering it to Lisa before ringing up whatever it is Lisa has requested. The call of her name gets her attention quickly, and she walks over, giving the drummer a curt nod in greeting before she eyes the receipt.“All good Yukina! We can head out now. Thanks again Saaya! I appreciate it!”The girl gives a dismissive wave as she begin to tug the white-stained smock loose. Just give the glass a firm knock when you’re all done and I’ll stop by. Actually, if you wouldn’t mind flipping the sign on your way out too…”“Consider it done! Thanks again~!”Lisa gives the other girl a wave before tugging Yukina along with a bit more urgency than earlier.“Come on, come on, you gotta see this.”Yukina tries to question it as Lisa flips the sign and drags her out the store. Almost immediately, she whirls around and tugs Yukina towards the alleyway. She’s about to demand an answer when she hears it: a gentle meow.She can only watch as Lisa slowly approaches a stack of boxes and kneels down. There’s some kind of tray against the bricks, and she pours the milk Saaya had given her earlier into it. It takes a few seconds, and some quiet coaxing sounds from Lisa, but one by one, two small white kittens and a black-and-white tom slowly emerge from the shadows.Yukina is absolutely awestruck, and it’s only from Lisa’s motion that she slowly kneels down beside her. They look healthy in spite of their living condition, well-fed enough that Yukina doubts she’d feel their ribs if she ran a finger along their sides. While the fur is admittedly a little matted in some place, they all still have fairly clean pelts. It’s not a good idea at all, but Yukina dearly wants to try running her hand through the fur to brush out the shedding causing that matting.Still… it’s an endearing sight and all, but sitting here in the shade on an already darkening evening with the wind blowing, Yukina’s shivering comes back in full force, and this time Lisa places a hand on her shoulder. There’s faux-fur that lines her arm up to the elbow, and while it’s very warm and very soft, Yukina would rather not take the jacket away from Lisa.“Come on. Just take it.”“No.”“Yukinaaaaa, you really shouldn’t be fighting about this, you could get sick.”“I won’t.”“Mmm, Yukina….”
”No.”
Lisa pauses, and for a second Yukina thinks the subject will be dropped, but then the bassist is suddenly shedding her coat.“Y’know what? Fine. If you aren’t going to take my coat, than I would rather not have one and be warmer than you.”Yukina wants to retort and remind her of how stupid a plan of revenge that is, but Lisa’s having none of it. Instead she tugs her arms free of the sleeves and gently folds the jacket into a relatively rectangular shape. And then she just sets it down on the ground near the boxes.“I’m sure the cats will be thankful for it then.”“I- that’s not good for you though…”“Yeah sure, like you should be telling me that after all of this.”Yukina huffs in indignation, but Lisa can be just as hard-headed as she herself is when she wants to be. And it’s very clear how much she intends to stick with going coat-less beside Yukina. It takes not even a few moments for Yukina to notice the way Lisa begins to shiver too, and she hesitantly raises to her feet.“...Come on. We should get back.”“Hmph… if you say so Yukina.”The annoyance in her voice is a poor cover up for the eagerness in her actions as she takes Yukina’s hand in hers again. As Lisa tugs her along insistent for both Yukina’s and her own health, the vocalist quickly takes out her phone to begin drafting a text.
[SENT -> Father ( If it is not too much to ask, could you section enough for a third person? Lisa is coming back with me… and if we could also have some hot chocolate, I think we’ll both need it after walking in the cold for over an hour. Thank you. )]
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It takes a couple tries to get the bells in the right place, hanging over the top of the entryway so that they give off a pleasant chime on entry or exit. It’s not the last thing they need to do, but it’s one of the more noticeable things, and Saaya been working at it for quite a while. There are a couple dented bells that litter the ground near the front that can attest to that. Hit the floor a little too hard so the chiming is less a pleasant one and more dulled, and that certainly wouldn’t do for Christmastime.Okay. Maybe a little more than a couple.Yet another bell slips from her fingers and her shout and ensuing attempt to catch it comes too short. Saaya can already tell from the bounce and lack of roll that bell number five has met its end. With a grumble, she makes her way down the ladder and over toward the main counter. There’s a beaten up white box that was once filled with bells, but now the bottom can be seen in between the bells that remain, and now very clearly in the spot where she plucks the next one. Before she returns to the ladder, she casts a worried glance in the direction of the door that leads to the Yamabuki home. Kasumi’s been gone for a little while now… at least a good ten or fifteen minutes. Surely it didn’t take that long to locate the box of ornaments they had in the stairs closet, did it? Admittedly yes, Kasumi had her… more airheaded moments but Saaya had faith. Shaking her head, she turns back towards the doorway and steels her resolve.This one for sure!It’s almost through, the bell dangling from it’s ribbon and giving encouraging rings as it swings from side to side The ribbon has been particularly strong and Saaya thinks herself lucky as the ribbon gets caught on the hook. Just out of reach but it’s almost there, and when she gets up to the last step on the ladder and arches herself up onto her toes, so close to getting it finally done when there’s suddenly the slam of the door and a following raucous mix of several different jingles and a bang as something heavy lands on the counter. It’s shocking enough that Saaya’s eyes widen in surprise, and she flinches. And, unfortunately, the bell in her hands falls with the ribbon just missing the hook.Oh, the way that it hits the ground all but shatters her hope, and she watches with despair as it lands and doesn’t even bother bouncing, just stays, unmoving. Distantly, she can hear the call of Kasumi’s voice as she complains about one thing or another, but right now, all she can focus on is the fallen bell.That is, until the girl herself approaches, bending over far enough so she can stare up at Saaya’s crushed gaze.“Ehhhhh, what happened Saaya? You look suuuuper distraught.” Without even receiving an answer, the girl suddenly gasps and raises her hands to her mouth. “Uh-oh, did you get some really bad news while I was gone? Is everybody okay, it’s not like that is it? It wasn’t Jun or Sana was it-”With a slow shake of her head, and the audible sound of her beginning to step down the ladder, she makes to clear things up.“No, no it wasn’t anything like that Kasumi, don’t worry.” She gives a dry chuckle, leaning back to sit on one of the lower rungs of the ladder. “I’ve just been having poor luck with the door bell and all. As you can no doubt see.” She makes a motion toward and Kasumi’s gaze follows quickly, and then she jumps in surprise, hastily stepping away as though she’s in the midst of a minefield.“Oh geez, I’m so sorry! I totally didn’t realize! Gosh I’m the worst huh?” She gives a nervous chuckle, glancing back up toward the hook in question. “Ehhh, how about I give it a try! I’m sure it’ll be good for you to get a breather from this! And hey! You can grab the tree so we can start on that, right!?”Aha, trust Kasumi to try diverting her toward the tree. It’s been the thing she’s been looking forward to since Mr. and Ms. Yamabuki entrusted the decorating to the two of them, and Saaya thinks she knows her enough to know exactly what it is that’s got her so excited about it. Still… it might be a good idea to take a break from trying to get the bell, if only so she doesn’t get so annoyed she starts losing her cool and gods forbid, maybe snaps at Kasumi.“Yeah, y’know what… that sounds like a good idea.” Kasumi brightens up noticeably at this, and she grins brightly, eagerly extending a hand to yank Saaya up.“Okay okay! Great! You go get it, leave the bell hanging to me!” She’s all but pushing Saaya towards the counter now, and Saaya can’t help but chuckle. She’s not unlike the way Jun and Sana get when it gets to be this time of year, though perhaps more like Sana in actions. She’s definitely got the glint in her eye that Jun tends to get though. As she’s crossing over into the house she can hear Kasumi start pep-talking herself, and the tell-tale jingling of one of the bells from the box.The box with the tree doesn’t take near as long to find as she assumes it took Kasumi to find the ornaments. It’s more of a hassle to get it back to the bakery section of the building though, with how heavy it is. Several times she has to pause and take a breather because while she isn’t weak by any means, she’s basically dragging a tree by herself ( admittedly fake because having a real tree in a place with food is kind of a big no-no ). She finally does manages to get to the door, and with an audible grunt, she drags it all the way in, stopping as she hears the door close.Miraculously, it seems Kasumi has managed to get the bell onto the hook, and she’s staring back towards Saaya with pride.“I did it!” As if she cannot see herself, Kasumi points to the door enthusiastically. However, as Saaya begins to skirt around the counter, she notices first the distinct lack of bells in the box, and then soon after the abundance of half flattened bells around the base of the ladder. And then, very quickly after, the shift of Kasumi’s face from pride to bashfulness, with a light blush of embarrassment on her face.“It um… took a couple tries?” Is what she offers semi-weakly, though Saaya only gives a breathy chuckle as she approaches to begin picking up the fallen bells.“You did a good job Kasumi.” She speaks evenly, glancing up toward the other girl and offering a sweet smile. “I appreciate it. And, like you said, since I got the tree, we can start the last part.”The bashfulness is gone in an instant, and she all but jumps off the rung she on to run for the counter, cheering brightly. Behind her, Saaya gathers the bells in her arms and dumps them into the box. Well, it could be a trash bin now.“Get that box of ornaments out here, and I’ll drag the tree around and set it up.”Kasumi nods eagerly beside her and quickly goes over to that part of the counter, huffing out as she hefts the box up and stumbles her way over toward the center of the bakery. It’s near the product, which Saaya would normally be opposed to, but it’s a covered display case, so perhaps some corners could be cut. Saaya follows suit, sucking in a breath as she drags the three piece tree over towards the spot, and drops it with a thud, collapsing down onto the floor into a sitting position. The box cutter on her belt is unfastened and she makes quick work of the tape that has, frankly, gotten filthy in the year it’s been in storage.She can feel Kasumi’s presence behind her, undoubtedly watching with bated breath as he unfolds the box and reveals the tree. It’s not anything particularly remarkable, three piece with branches that are up turned now, but will unfold as the tree is set into place. She begins by pulling the foundation piece with one hand, and taking the bottom third of the tree by the stump. Kasumi follows behind like an expectant puppy, watching with maybe a little too much awe for a high schooler witnessing a fake tree, but hey: her excitement fed her positivity, and Saaya certainly needed to feed off that energy.With the base in place, the middle and largest section comes next, and Kasumi eagerly bounces on foot as it’s slotted into place and the branches unfold out, revealing plenty of spots to hang the plethore of ornaments in the next box over. Finally, the top section comes out, and Saaya chuckles to herself as she catches Kasumi’s gaze trained on the top of the tree. Wasn’t there some kind of saying that went with situations like this? Eyes on the prize or something? Either way, the top takes a little bit of finessing to get correctly into place, and she calls on Kasumi to hold it in place so she can move around the wiring so they don’t bust the lights, but it’s finally in place. With a firm nod, she takes a step back with hands on her hips to marvel at the tree.“Looks good, huh?” She jokingly calls out to the other side of the tree, and she sees Kasumi’s head poke around the other side, cheeks puffed in a pout.“Whaaaat? No, we aren’t done yet Saaya! We still gotta decorate it with all the tinsel and the ornaments!” And the brightness in her eyes returns full force. “And of course the star!”Saya strides over in amusement, raising a hand to ruffle into Kasumi’s hair. Careful to avoid the star points-turned cat ear shapes. “Aha, you’re right. Better crack that box open so we can get started then, huh?”She hadn’t understated earlier when she told Kasumi just how wide a variety of ornaments they had. Most of them were the Yamabuki’s own, but there was still a decent fraction of which were donations from several different patrons built over the years. They began with the larger ornaments, a couple ones that were glorified picture frames sliding over higher branches that had more strength. Kasumi had begun leaning more toward the traditional, multi-colored spherical ornaments, hooking them onto branches with a determined look. It was kind of cute, Saaya noted, as Kasumi narrowed her eyes in concentration. She was considering each ornament carefully, keeping similar colors far from one another, and making sure there was plenty of space in between each of the basic ornaments for the more unique ones they still had in the box. There were, of course, the occasional ones that were damaged in some way, maybe smudged or just unhooked, and they went into the same box as the broken bells.When the traditional ones are out of the way, they start working a lot slower as Kasumi starts questioning the origins of each one, if there was any meaning behind them. She finds more than a couple that Saaya recognizes as Moca’s gifted ornaments, an assortment of various bread products as to be expected, but they’re cute in their own way. Most look pretty well made, which goes to show the thought behind them, and Saaya takes extra precautions to place them in easily spottable places.Kasumi finds a couple of the dog-wreath ones and squeals at how cute they are. Saaya just smiles along and giggles once more at the enthusiasm. They are kind of cute, and they’ve got an assortment of dogs hanging from wreathes in the box. Speaking of, as she takes another good look toward it, they’ve gone through quite a bit of the box huh? A glance to the clock on the far wall confirms it- it’s been at least half an hour of them decorating the tree alone. It’s starting to get difficult to find the place for some of them, and when they’ve whittled it down a little more, Saaya reaches for the box cover.“Alright Kasumi, that’s enough of that. We’re not going to be able to add them all but we made a pretty good effort.”Across the way, Kasumi nods without looking, carefully hooking on the final ornament. As she does though, realization dawns on her face with such slowness, that Saaya grins widely as it finally hits her. She bounces over to Saaya, all but clinging to her arms as she beams up at her.“That means..! That means we can do the..!”And Saaya nods in confirmation.“That’s right. We can tack on the star, and be done with it. You go get it from the white and gold box on the counter, and I’ll go grab the ladder.”Kasumi gives her a wild nod and dashes over to the counter as Saaya turns away. When she folds the ladder and turns with it against her shoulder, she sees Kasumi already back at the star holding up as high as she can to match it with the top of the tree. She’s taking this quite seriously, and Saaya simply shakes her head in amusement as she stops beside the other girl.“Got the right angle there?”Kasumi gives an affirmative him, but keeps her gaze trained on the star as she experimentally shifts from side to side. Saaya unfolds the ladder again, firmly locking the bars into place before waving over at Kasumi.“Alright then, let’s get that star into place.”Kasumi is over in no time, fastening the star to its own base and holding the wire in her other hand as she steps onto the rungs. Instinctively, Saaya’s hands raise to brace for if she falls given that she’s climbing without holding onto the side rails. In fact, she climbs up all the way to the second to last run, shakily balancing as she begins to place the star. It locks into place with a resounding click, and Kasumi leans in to find the corresponding plug so it can light up. When she does, she leans back with a hand grabbing at the top run to marvel at her work, looking back over her shoulder with an impossibly wider grin than earlier.“Alright! It’s done!!!”“Looks great. Now get down here so we can take a picture and get you something to eat for your hard work.”She’s about to turn away in favor of the counter as Kasumi starts to climb down when she hears the ladder shake a little bit. Almost instantly she whirls around, sees Kasumi around halfway down when the back of her foot slides down from one of the rungs rather than catch onto it, and she lets out a surprised yelp as she stumbles backwards. Saaya hands come up quickly, and she allows for Kasumi to fall back into her chest, arms locking up immediately beneath her arms so she doesn’t slide down and collide with the floor. The impact sends her stumbling back with a worried grunt, but once Kasumi’s momentum finishes, Saaya heaves out a sigh of relief.“Sheesh Knew I shoulda’ told you to be careful.”Kasumi’s bashfulness is back once again, and she chuckles quietly before standing up properly. She turns on heel when Saaya arms let her free and flings her own around Saaya neck.“Saayaaaaaa, you saved me!!! Now we definitely gotta take a picture!”The response has Saaya blinking, but she rolls her eyes and motions for Kasumi to turn with her as she digs out her phone from her pocket.“Come on then, on three.”Kasumi leans in close to Saaya, nuzzling up against her cheek as she presses down on the button. Kasumi giggles brightly as the flash goes off, and Saaya can’t help as she chuckles in turn, and they’re both turning to get a better look at the tree. Saaya quickly digs for the switch in the branches and turns all the lights on, blues and green and reds that make the ornaments look even brighter. And then, of course, the star at the top that shines a vibrant yellow and captures both she and Kasumi’s attention. She sidles up next to Kasumi, wrapping a hand around her shoulders and tugging her closer to press a quick peck to her cheek.“You did a good job, huh? Let’s go see what you want to pick out, yeah?”“Yeah!!! But we gotta share and eat beneath the tree!”“Ahaha, well if that’s what you want~”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Maya’s always been the first one to show up to rehearsals by a large margin compared to even the next earliest person. It’s something of a habit grown from both her time as a stagehand with the school’s drama club as well as just helping out around the agency whenever she was done with standing in for the Pastels. Sorta ended up a permanent fixture in her life which wasn’t too bad, all things considered. It wasn’t like there was much she could do at home that she couldn’t just sit around and do at the agency. And besides, there was usually some kind of new equipment or something that the agency brought in and she would get the privilege of toying around with first.Usually, around holidays and special events, the agency takes to decorating shortly before it happens, and it was usually a staple part of Maya’s schedule when it started getting close to pitch in. Whether it was just the heavy lifting of decorations or cleaning, it was busy work she was glad to indulge herself in if only to kill the time until she had something that actually needed to be done.But of course, as the day would have it, when she arrives a little over an hour early to help set up the agency’s Christmas decorations, she finds it all pretty much done on the exterior. Interior is pretty much the same, with a couple of the professional technicians setting things up in between power cords and wires. She offers nonetheless, but the supervisor on duty gives her a practiced smile and shakes her head, stating that it’s already pretty much done, though she appreciates the offer. Well so much for that plan. With a disgruntled grumble once she’s out of earshot, she glances to the screen of her phone. How best to go about killing an hour and then some?That’s precisely how she got here. With her placement already honed in from years of playing, it didn’t take but maybe seven minutes of that hour-plus to set up her kit, and she wastes away a couple of the minutes thereafter to warm up ahead of schedule. Still over fifty minutes to go, and she’s got the entire rehearsal room to herself for at least another half an hour before other people start showing up. Logically, with a couple chairs up against the wall towards the back, there’s only one thing to do.Drag one of the amps over and, while she would never advocate for this, use it as a footrest while she reclines on the back legs of the chair. It’s one of the older amps, and it’s unused in rehearsal due to occasions where the sound fades in and out, so it’s not going to do much more damage to brace her balance against it.A quick tap on her phone and the app in question opens. Nothing like a good game to kill time, especially since she’s kind on been on a kick from a recent update. New monsters and whatnot to summon, and with it being Christmas time there are literally sales out the ass. While Maya doesn’t feel particularly proud about how much money she’s spent on the game, she’s got a decent gig with the agency here that pays well, and she doesn’t really go through money the way Aya says she does with makeup and clothes and other stuff. She certainly doesn’t go flaunting that around though; Chisato would probably actually kill her if she ever found out about the once-in-a-blue-moon transcendence pack that may or may not cost twelve-thousand yen. The people in live matches already curse her enough, to her amusement.She’s idly auto-ing her way through the daily elemental dungeon with no less than three of the five-star water dragon units when the door to the studio opens and she almost falls backwards in surprise.“Ehhh Maya? So this is how early you get in, huh? I don’t get it! Don’t you have, like, better things to do than sit around for half an hour until we start?”Once she’s stable, and her feet are back on the ground instead of the amp, Maya quickly looks over in Hina’s direction. Wait… Hina? Hina who usually shows up the very minute they’re supposed to start, if not a little later than everyone else? Hina, who does not, under any circumstances, ever show up early, let alone half an hour early ( half an hour- had she really been playing the game for twenty minutes and lost track of time? )“Huhehe…. Well actually I tend to get in earlier than this but…” She pauses, watching as the other girl skips over to the wall adjacent to the door and inspect a large tower of stacked chairs intently. “Uhhh, you usually… don’t show up on time. Why are you this early?”“Wellllll, see I had this idea at home and it was just so baaaaaam inside my head, so I just had to do it, y’know? ‘Specially with Christmas right around the corner, it was just too bangin’ a thought. Just a little bit of holiday decoration to spice up rehearsals.”Maya perks up at that, immediately locking her phone, pocketing it and making her way over toward Hina, she tilts her head curiously. “Decorations? Do you, uh, need any help? I’d be glad to help you out, you know.”Hina flashes her a bright smile that would have sent butterflies up in her chest if she hadn’t gotten so used to them anytime she was around the other girl. Nonetheless, she gives a firm nod to reinforce the point, and the guitarist motions toward the stack of chairs.“Here! I need you to drag these over to the door, get it? Try not to make tooooo much of a screeeeee so we don’t get anyone checking in on us and telling us to stop it!” And then she promptly sets her guitar case off to the side and drops her backpack to start digging through its contents.Maya hesitates, if only because the way Hina warned her sounded ominous, and that she was trying to do something that’d get them in trouble and she’d rather stay out of that. It’s Hina though and on one half Maya’d be willing to do a lot for her, and one half is just curious as to what she has planned. It’s a bit of struggle to move the stack of chairs even larger than her silently, but she’s got them more or less in the right place, if Hina’s enthusiastic thumbs up is anything to base it off. Then she eagerly points to another, smaller stack of chairs on the other end of the room, and Maya groans aloud.But still does it anyway, and certainly not because she’s totally whipped for Hina.By the time she’s dragged the stack over, Hina’s finally procured the decorations from her bag. Green, which doesn’t surprise her all that much, it’s sort of a big color for Christmas. Unusually realistic looking too with a decorative red ribbon... No wait, that’s an actual plant.“Mistletoe?”“Mistletoe!” Comes Hina’s confirmation as she nabs a roll of tape from her backpack and promptly starts to climb the smaller stack of chairs.Maya’s eyes go wide and she quickly runs over raising her hands. The stack is wobbly as it was, but adding Hina into the mix as she climbs up to the top with little regard bodes even worse. And then, from the top of the smaller stack she starts for the bigger one and Maya stares unblinkingly for fear that the other girl will end up falling. Once she stop the stack of chairs, she gets to her knees on the seat and starts unraveling strips of tape. The mistletoe is placed over the door, just out of sight of anyone who didn’t know it was there, and Hina places a gratuitous number of strips over the stem, and then some tape over the edge of that tape for good measure.“Heheh~ with any luck we can catch Chisato and Aya under this and make ‘em share a bangin’ kiss!”Ah, so that’s what this was about. It’s not entirely surprising given Hina’s extreme lack of social barriers and foresight as to what is and is not her business, but it’s well intended, she thinks. The two have been kind of on eggshells around one another, more so Aya than Chisato, and it doesn’t take a genius, literally, to tell that there are some deeper feelings there. Even so, Maya can’t help but think there’s going to be more bad coming from this than good, especially with it being in so busy a spot. Gods help if any of the staff try walking in around anyone else… but… now that she things about it, she may be able to use this.She’s not done there though, as she quickly looks down to Maya with a grin and calls out a quick ‘Heads up!’ before she jumps from there. She jumps, actually jumps and Maya’s scrambling to get out of the way as Hina lands. It’s rough and loud and surely it hurts, but Hina doesn’t show it as she runs back over to her bag and takes a hand back out of her pocket to place the rest of the mistletoe out of sight.“Hmmmm…”The other girl hums quietly as she saunters over to the door, eyeing the top of it through narrowed eyes. Then she’s gesturing for Maya to come closer and pointing up at it.“Hey Maya~ I need your opinion. How does it look from here. Outta sight?”“Uhhhh…” From here it doesn’t look as though it could be seen from the other side, but she wouldn’t be able to tell unless she stood on the other side of the door. “I don’t think so… but maybe you should go to that side and check?”Hina remains thoughtful for a moment before nodding in agreement and flashing her a smile. “So smart Maya! Lemme go see!”And then she’s quickly over at the door, throwing it open toward the outside and stepping out into the hall a couple feet. Maya takes a couple steps forward, standing just before the doorway as she watches Hina curiously. The other girl stares up towards the place the mistletoe would have been and nods.“Bangin’! Not in sight.” She crosses back over into the studio and stands beside Maya to look back up at it. “So totally gonna’ get ‘em, huh?”Maya remains unresponsive, eyes also trained on the mistletoe overhead. Almost directly overhead. With the two of them beneath it together. And Hina doesn’t seem to realize it, too focused on the prospect of catching the other two members beneath it. Those butterflies she ignored earlier are back and far more noticeably as she quickly glances between Hina and the mistletoe again. It’d be so easy, especially with the mistletoe there to act as a scapegoat in place of her feelings…“Hey, Hina.”The other girl hums in response, though when she doesn’t receive an immediate response she quickly turns to Maya. Taking a shaky step forward, she leans down to press a kiss to Hina’s lips. She’s bold in the moment, but every second she feels Hina lack any sort of response slowly dwindles it away until she hastily steps back turns away.“I- sorry… the uh, the mistletoe and all…” It’s a weak response and she knows, so she quickly makes for her drum kit to distract herself, maybe forget the whole thing. She can hear Hina begin to walk a few moments after and she can feel a hand tug insistently at her shoulder.“Mayaaaaaa.” It’s not a disgusted tone that she hears, so she hesitantly turns back to face Hina because she at least deserves that.She’s got a pout on her face with one hand in her pocket and one pointing in an accusatory manner towards her.“I hope Chisato and Aya don’t disappoint me that much! That kiss was barely bangin’ at all. Sheesh.” Maya is, frankly, shocked because wow, she’s being chided for kissing Hina, probably even a little teasing thrown in there. “Haven’t you ever kissed anyone before?”Maya wants to retort and say no, but Hina steps further into her personal space and curls an arm around her waist to draw her nearer. Much like Maya had, Hina leans up and presses a kiss to Maya’s lips, a firmer, much more certain one than her own by far. It makes sense, whether she’s in the wrong, the right or some gray area in between she’s always been very sure of herself, and why not? She excelled at anything she did, and this was shaping up to be no different as she tilted her head to the side. Both their eyes are still open, and Maya awkward stares into Hina’s until she makes some kind of eyebrow motion that she guesses is supposed to be suggestive and Maya quickly shuts her eyes in embarrassment.When Hina eventually pulls back and Maya dares open her eyes, she’s met with a shit-eating grin on the other girl’s face.“Heck, I haven’t even kissed anybody before and I did better than you! Heheh~ that’s what I’m expected from them!” The drummer blinks because that can’t be the reason she just went out of her way to do so, but when she stutters out a prompt to get a reply, Hina only lowers her other hand a cheekily waves around a loose bunch of mistletoe, slightly folded from being stuffed somewhere. She gets her answer when Hina shoves the decoration back into her pocket and winks slyly at Maya.“Never know when you’re gonna need it huh?”She gets the feeling Hina is teasing her because she knows a bit more about the series of events than she lets on, but before she can reply, the door to the studio opens. Chisato stands there with her own guitar case on her back, eyeing the two warily as Hina whips around to look. It’s only magnified as she takes a few steps forward and maintains the grin. She points to Chisato and lets out a triumphant ‘A-ha!’ as the sound of footsteps get closer.But it’s not Aya that turns the corner and almost bumps into Chisato, it’s Eve, and even though she can’t see her expression, Maya can tell from the slump of her shoulders and groan that Hina is disappointed. Not for very long though, because as if the proverbial light goes off in her head, she brightens up at the sound of more oncoming footsteps that have to be Aya’s. Maybe she can make her jealous… or buy some time.“Ohoh, Idea! Hey Eve!” Uh-oh… “I bet your bushido or whatever definitely won’t let you skip out on this!”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Everyone in Afterglow knew what the twenty-fifth of December meant. Christmas mornings were spent with family, as it was meant to be, and each of the girls went about their family business and did whatever it was that their families did. Tsugumi for example, tended to help her parents go about preparing the cafe for the next day’s rush before retreating to the kitchen to toy with seasonal recipes. Tomoe often went out as soon as breakfast and morning-time traditions were finished to help the older folk around the neighborhood clear out snow. Everyone had their own thing to do, but it wasn’t for their busy days that Christmas day was the one day of the year nobody in the Afterglow group chat said a thing.December twenty-fifth was the first day of break, and as a result, the first day of the war. It started as something of a little fun for a couple days into the break when they were younger that involved snowball fights and building little forts and other cute things. As things usually do with the group, it escalated as the years went by. Amusing snowball fights turned into all out war, forts were made less to huddle in and share hot cocoa while the five were awkwardly clumped up together trying not to take the whole thing down around them and more to protect. Even snowmen were made for the war effort to be used as cover. One year Ran had learned that, with enough outside help, they could also be used as a disguise. She’d damn near had a heart-attack when the snowman she’d been hiding up against suddenly imploded on itself and fallen apart to reveal a pleased looking Moca. She didn’t quite trust snowmen after that.Christmas day was technically the official start of the war, but most of the girls tended to stay indoors unless they were feeling just as bold as Tomoe was usually. It was a time for planning, speculating, because there was an unofficial sort of prize that went to whoever lasted. That was: whoever it was that didn’t get taken down by another girl. That was very literal. The assailant had to physically get the other girl down onto the ground before she was forced to send the message to the group message saying that they were out. If they were unlucky enough, as Himari was a few years back, they get taken down again on their way back home to send the text.December twenty-sixth was when it began. It was an unspoken law that you spent more of each day outside than you did holed away indoors to avoid people. Whether you actually had something going on, like Tsugumi running around doing errands for her parents, or Tomoe with the folks around town, or you were just out and about on the hunt for the others, you had to be out most of the day.Ran had been paranoid about leaving her house all morning. Not because she was afraid mind you; she was very determined to win the war this year around and she’s learned a thing or two about the habits of the others. She could swear she saw a flicker of yellow outside when she was passing by the window of her room, enough of an assurance that she’d spent five minutes staring as unblinkingly as she could through the window for any trace of movement. When there was none, she had moved slowly to get adequately dressed, a scarf ‘round her shoulders, a puffy black coat and a beanie. Thick gloves too, because she had a feeling she might need to snag some snow to blind someone if she wanted to get away. When she finally got out the door with a weird-yet-amused stare from her father, she did so on her toes, eyes darting here, there, everywhere. She looked to the pillars holding the overhead up, trying to crane her neck enough to see around them before she moved forward, to the bars of the guard rail at the end of the porch for any sign of her.She all but dashes off the porch, sprinting to the side of her house she swears she saw her, but there’s nothing. There’s a thick set of bushes against their property line, and she had in the past easily walked by them before, she eyes them warily. Moca could be hiding in anything, and she half expects the usually lazy girl to dash out and beeline for her. She inches with her back against the wall toward the bushes, firmly training her eyes on them until she gets near the other end of the wall. She huffs out and quickly goes to turn the corner and all but stumbles backwards with a shout.Built literally right up against the corner of the house is a snowman, built to look impeccably like the offending one from two years back. She breathes heavily out of a mix of fear and surprise but deduces right away that it’s just that: a snowman. Not a hiding place for Moca. The other girl would have charged her in the moment of surprise to get her down, Ran know her well enough. Even so, she grits her teeth in silent fury for what the snowman stands for, and throws a punch to its head, sending pieces flying apart. Yep, she can confirm it wasn’t Moca now.After that ordeal was said and done ( and she had stomped the snowman out of existence with the image of a tiny Moca devil cackling on her shoulder ) she spent the next few hours stalking around town trying to find the other girls. To no avail though, the day passes by with no surprises barring the second snowman related almost-heart-attack. She’s eager to get back home and without so much as a hello to her father she charges up the stairs and quickly runs for her phone.
[RECEIVED] -> (group: afterYOOOO - MocaMocaMooo) @ 1:42] ( 123056agy.mov )
[RECEIVED] -> (group: afterYOOOO - MocaMocaMooo) @ 1:43] ( :^) )
[SENT] -> (group: afterYOOOO) @ 5:56] ( You’re actually terrible. )
She’d been that close, and Ran didn’t realize. She grumbles quietly to herself and throws her phone to the opposite end of the bed. Moca wasn’t taking her seriously, especially after losing to the snowman trick. She endeavors to send the other girl a direct message once she’s done and goes back downstairs to have whatever remained of dinner.-The next few days go by with little incident, and there is some talk going on between Afterglow in the message, mostly comments about the video Moca sent. Aside from that, she hasn’t seen heads or tails of any of the other members. She’s gone well out of her way to try not to be recognized, tucking her hair away into the beanie, thick clothes that wouldn’t give away her figure. She even wore shades one day so her eyes wouldn’t be given away. Still, she doesn’t see anything for the couple days after.That is, until that Saturday. It’s toward the end of the day, and there hasn’t been much going on. Out of curiosity, Ran stops by the playground the group frequented when they were younger, and nearly freezes in her tracks when she hears a loud shout. A familiar one. Himari’s shout. Quietly, she creeps forward on her hands and knees up hill until she can just peek her head over the top and sure enough, there’s Himari. The bassist is darting back and forth on the playground set’s upper level shouting down toward the lower levels. She almost thinks to go forward and try and take her on but her heart stills when she sees exactly what Himari is shouting at.A flash of red in between slides of the playground and she can hear Tomoe’s tomboyish voice sound out against her shouts calling for her to come down. Tomoe circles around the set, and Ran almost thinks she gets seen before Tomoe doubles back around as Himari runs for the opposite end of the catwalk between larger slides. Tomoe dashes to the other end, toward a straight down slide, and Himari bolts for the end, shaking down snow to the lower level as she goes. This time though, Ran watches as Tomoe doesn’t run back that way, instead hiding down out of sight against the slide. She can’t hear her voice anymore, and neither can Himari which makes her, at least from here, look uncertain. She creeps forward along the catwalk, peering over the edge and when she catches sight of Tomoe slinking down against the slide, the drummer bolts up and shakily tries climbing up the slide with heavy thuds to the plastic. Almost immediately, Himari retreats the way she came and with Tomoe coming up the slide, she quickly throws herself feet first down the opposite, curly slide.Except Tomoe isn’t climbing the slide, she took three steps up and then vaulted over the side. She stumbled a bit in the snow, but sprints to the other end of the playground. Ran wants to call out and warn Himari, but she also doesn’t want to give away her position and potentially catch Tomoe’s attention so all she can do is watch. In an unironic way it kind of goes in slow motion, a large clump of snow preceding Himari’s arrival at the base of the slide. She takes one, two steps out and turns to look up at where she thinks Tomoe is, and gets out only a yelp as Tomoe runs right into her and sends the both of them down into the snow with her arms wrapped firmly around the other girl. They're laughing brightly into one another, which makes Ran worry a little less that there might be hard feelings.Himari - out. She winces back at it and slowly stands to try and retreat back the way she came when suddenly, from the other end of the playground she can hear a slow voice.“Ehhh, so you were here after all Ran~ You were makin’ ol’ Moca wait for a while...”Her eyes go wide, and suddenly there are three pairs of eyes on her. Moca’s pale blue ones she can only just now see in between rungs of the bench on the other end, Tomoe’s sea blue-green ones and Himari’s similar ones. Shakily she takes a step back and almost stumbles when Tomoe’s smile breaks out into a wide grin. She can just see the two still in the game rise up to their feet before she turns tail and promptly fucking sprints out of there.There’s a set of trees that separate the playground from the neighborhood directly next to Ran’s and she’s tearing her way through with wild abandon. The place is notorious for having bumps in the ground and protruding roots that tripped her up in the past but she’s running on straight adrenaline right now, and she hitting all the right places, stumbling at some points, but she ultimately gets through the break in the trees. Behind her, she can hear Tomoe’s shouting, and even further back Moca’s taunting, but she keeps on. They always say in the movies to never look back, and Ran has learned well. Eyes straight ahead, keep running,and soon enough, her neighborhood is in sight.
Just a little more!
Her blood is pumping in her ears, and her heart’s beating so rapidly it actually hurts to breath ( doubly so with the cold air ) but she soldiers on. Just past that old couples house on the right… past the lady who always decorates a little too much for Christmas.When she finally gets to her house, she fumbles in her pocket and is sure she cuts her finger on the teeth of the keys as she wrenched them out. She runs right into the door, hastily shoving the key in and slamming it closed behind her with a firm lock. For a second she laments over the loss of her scarf at some point in the run, but almost immediately, she slides down against the door, head falling to her knees with labored breaths. At some point, her father comes to the room at the end of the hall, peering out of it with a stern gaze.“If I didn’t know any better about you guys, I’d have thought you were being chased by a mass murderer Ran.”She doesn’t even have the air to respond to it, just weakly shaking her head. The older man comes by a slides her a bottled water that she takes and nods her head again. Even in spite of her behavior, he chuckles and shakes his head. They really do go hard for this silly game of theirs, don’t they?When she gets back up stairs to check her phone, she finds a couple messages waiting for her.
[RECEIVED] -> (group: afterYOOOO - fearless leader!) @ 2:04] ( Out :( )
There are a couple well wishes for her on Tsugumi’s part, but nothing yet from Moca and Tomoe which she worries about. At least she won’t have to worry about Moca’s damned snowmen. She quickly sends a text with her condolences, and tosses the phone off to the side....Needless to say, an hour or so later when she receives a text from the group, she stares at the screen and goes pale.
[RECEIVED] -> (group: afterYOOOO - Tomoe) @ 3:10] ( out )
[RECEIVED] -> (group: afterYOOOO - MocaMocaMooo) @ 3:11] ( :^) )
[RECEIVED] -> (group: afterYOOOO - MocaMocaMooo has changed their name to C-C-C-COMBOBREAKER
-
[RECEIVED] -> (group: afterYOOOO - C-C-C-COMBOBREAKER has changed their name to Snowoman
Ran has never been more god-damned careful in her life. After having gotten lucky the other day with catching Tsugumi off-guard with no fear of disrupting her work, she’s been on high alert. Moca could be literally anywhere, and it’s just her and Ran now. And Ran is going to win. She stalks down the streets drawing a gaze from the passerby but she doesn’t care. She will find Moca.It should only make sense that she comes back to that playground again, jogging through the trees that separate it and heading for the hill. Yet when she gets to the top, she almost trips over her feet.There, all around the playground, are no less than what has to be at least ten of the haunting snowmen. They all face the same directions, and it seems like one of those scenes out of horror movies, because Moca knows Ran well enough to know where Ran would come from and has them all staring at the treeline. She just wants to turn around and run back the way she came, but at the same time, why give Moca the satisfaction? Her first few steps are with purpose, and she puts on her strongest glare as she walks right up to the first one and glares right in its non-descriptive black button-eyes.“This all you got Moca!? You think you’ll get me with this!?”And her first punch is thrown with purpose too. The snowman’s head crumbles, and she immediately whirls around to the next closest one. She takes a running start at it and rams her shoulder into the middle ball of the snowman, sending it too crumbling. This goes on for some time, until she’s left with one more snowman.One that wears a red and black plaid scarf.The courage Ran had in the beginning has slowly been whittling down, and she approached the snowman with none of it left, eyes wide and hands held out in front of her, as though to try and block if Moca suddenly springs from it. She can feel her legs shaking, and not from the cold, as she gets closer to it. Her shoulders rise and fall with each breath until she finally heaves a heavy one. With a meek battle cry, she runs forward and even turns her head away from the snowman as she runs straight through it. Completely and utterly decimated, it falls to the ground in pieces with her scarf half covered by snow.It’s as she’s starting to bend down to pick it up that she can hear the oncoming crunch of footsteps. Quick ones.Her eyes widen once more and adrenaline spikes in her heart but she doesn’t react fast enough, too tired out from decimating the small legion of snowmen. She doesn’t even get to turn around and see as Moca barrels into her sending the two to the ground in a similar way that Tomoe got Himari out. The wind is knocked from her chest, and she’s dazed, face down against the snow for a couple seconds before Moca leans down over her on her hands and knees and lowers her head down next to Ran’s. Ivory blonde tickles her nose as she refocuses in on Moca’s eyes with a couple blinks. Her lips break out into a lazy grin and she brushes away some of the snow from Ran’s bangs.“Gotchaaaaa’. Moca wins~” The realization has Ran grumbling and dropping her face back down into the snow, but Moca prods her with one hand.“Now now, come on Rannnn, I gotta’ get my prize as the winner~ firstly…” Ran’s already crying internally for her wallet from the sheer amount of bread and baked goods she’s going to have to pay for; probably at least two times as many as when they usually go out on their dates. “I’ll take a kiss~ and not one of your baby weak ones, a real kiss for your dear ol’ Moca.”Ran’s head raises, nearly knocks against Moca’s and she stares at her. Moca stares back, lazy grin still on her face as she tilts her head.“Welllll?” She experimentally puckers her lips and Ran rolls her eyes. “I’m waitiiiiing~”Ran rolls the two of them over and gives her a kiss as her prize… and then another and another. And when Moca’s satisfied by it, her grin returns and she clears her throat.“Now then… my second prize~”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Somehow, the kitchen managed to be even more of a mess than it usually was when Ako tried to cook. Admittedly yes, she was getting much better at it ever since Tomoe had gotten sick and it was left up to her to prepare food, but she was still no genius by any margin. Soup was easy to make, you just poured the can of stuff into the pot and waited for it to boil. Gingerbread houses that required frosting and jelly beans and a host of other sweets she has impulse bought at the corner store on the way home from practice on the other hand, was not easy to make. There were pieces of gingerbread for each of the buildings, but as she learned, they were surprisingly uh… brittle.The bar of gingerbread that was supposed to be for the roof could attest to that quite well. Ako still wasn’t quite sure how to employ the forces of old to actually put it back together because it certainly wouldn’t do to have a house with only half a roof!She’d spread out some old newspapers over the counter so that nothing got super dirty ( and so that when it inevitably did, she wouldn’t have to clean anything, just throw away the newspapers ) but even then, she could already see some of the purple icing against the marble countertops. Better clean that up before Tomoe, or worse Mom, got home.Earlier, she’d taken one good look at the instructions and promptly trashed them becauseha! She was a genius dark summoner of the eightieth level in NFO and the one-and-only drummer of Roselia. She could figure it out easily!She’s in the middle of trying to piece together the roof when the front door opens and there’s a loud shout of greeting accompanied by the jingle of keys and she damn near drops the larger of the two pieces.“Oiiii Ako! I’m home.”It’s her sister, and her red eyes widen in fear, looking to the clock. Aw hell, did Afterglow get out early or something? She wasn’t supposed to be back for at least another hour, and in that time Ako was supposed to have finished and cleaned up the gingerbread house. She has a half iced roof, and undecorated solid pieces of gingerbread. And some purple, red, green and blue frosting… and some gum drops, jelly beans, a couple red hots she found and a large container of sprinkles. Of which may or may not have been missing a spoonful.“Uhhhh… uh hey big sis’! What’cha doing’ home early..? I wasn’t expecting you to be back so soon… n-not that I’m not happy to see you because I totally am!..” Oh god she’s coming toward the living room and the kitchen counter. “I guess those dark forces I sent really did get you back quickly… huh?”Tomoe’s giving her a look, the kind she only gets when she’s suspected of having gotten in trouble. Which, in all honesty, is not totally incorrect, but it’s not helping her stay any more cool under the pressure. Ako gives her sister a bright smile, probably a little too wide or something else that makes it look fake, because Tomoe starts walking toward the counter.“Everythin’ all good Ako? You seem kinda’...” And then she trails off once she can see the scene playing out in the kitchen. The counter’s less of a mess than it could have been, but there’s still frosting smeared over some of it, and Ako has neglected wearing an apron of any sort and her clothes are similarly messy from a mixture of frosting and dough. And sugar by the looks of it.“...So uh. What’cha got going on over here Ako.”“...Gingerbread House..?” She replies meekly. “I saw a kit while I was passing by the store and the dark forces that be just couldn’t say no! It’s going to be the perfect house to summon a… uh, class five demon to wreak havoc on this world!”Tomoe gives her the sort of nod she always does whenever she starts referencing stuff from her game and Ako fidgets on the spot. Well, so much for that plan. She’s gonna just clean the mess, and what’s left is gonna be tossed because it’s not worth salvaging, huh?“...Kinda’ looks like you need help with that. Y’know, making a summoning… house? Or whatever it is you’re doing. Mind if I pitch in?”Okay, not the response she was expecting. Ako’s lips morph into an excited grin and she quickly nods her head. Oh this was so much better, getting to work on it together with big sis’! And she’d be super good with all the designs because she was pretty good with her hands!“Yeah yeah!!! Absolutely! Come on come on, we can get it done super soon… I may need your help with uh… piecing something back together though.”And so began their endeavor of building the house. Tomoe stood beside her and showed her the proper way to use the frosting as a pseudo-glue substance beginning with the actual base of the house. There were four walls so to speak, with two being the front and back as a sort-of pentagon-esque shape and the side walls being rectangular. Tomoe elects to reach for the purple frosting first, faux-aiming it at Ako and getting a squeal of delight as she threatens to get her cheek. The edge of one of the rectangular pieces is taken and given to Ako with the instruction of keep it still on the counter. She takes it rather seriously, eyes trained on the piece with both hands on it.Carefully, Tomoe applies the frosting a thick line of lilac that covers the edge. Once it’s in place, Tomoe quickly reaches for the front piece and makes sure Ako is watching carefully as she squishes the corresponding edge into the frosting. Hesitantly, she moves her hands away and motions for Ako to do the same. To the younger girl’s surprise, it remained intact, and Tomoe smiled at her.“Here, you give it a try this time.”And Ako is eager to. She reaches for the red frosting this time, threatening waving it around as Tomoe had, although she accidentally does scrape the tip against her sister’s shirt, to which she apologizes profusely. Her line of frosting is nowhere near as smooth as Tomoe’s and she has to go back and reapply the red frosting a couple of times, but Tomoe is enthusiastic at her side, nodding as she brings the frosting all the way down to the base of the wall. When that’s finished, she sets the frosting off to the side and reaches for the next rectangular slab of gingerbread. Under Tomoe’s guidance, she aligns the piece to the wall and presses it into the frosting, a little too much with the way the it begins to expand out under the pressure. Even so, Tomoe gives her hair a ruffle when her hand moves away and the wall remains intact. She’s quick to try and turn the house, and she almost sends the thing down with her eagerness.“Whoah whoah whoah there Dark necromancer-”“Dark Summoner!”“...Summoner then. Can’t just throw it around willy-nilly like that y’know. Might destroy it. We gotta take our time.”With puffed out cheeks, Ako endeavors to try again, slowly shifting the three walls degree by degree. It’s a little slow for Tomoe’s tastes, but nonetheless, it eventually gets to the unfinished side. When she reaches for one of the frosting containers though, Ako quickly slaps away her hand.“No! Let me, I can do it for sure this time!”Heh, it’s kinda endearing how she closes one eye to focus on his she lines up the frosting. Keeping in time with the alternating colors, the purple frosting is picked and she bites her bottom lip as she leans in close to make sure the frosting is being applied correctly. The same goes for the red frosting when it gets to be applied once more, carefully down the edge of the gingerbread wall. The final wall gets applied in a similar fashion to the first, with red and purple getting squeezed slightly out of the sides, but ultimately being kept snug in place when her hands move away.Ako’s fists raise up in a pump and she cheers. Walls are done! Now all she needs to do is attach the roof. The twin roof pieces. Including the one that’s partially broken now that she takes another look at it.“...Uh…”“Eh, we can work with it. Let’s get that solid piece first.”And so they do. The top edges of the gingerbread walls get iced first, and Tomoe guides her through adding a slightly thicker layer of frosting so that the roof can press down into it and have a safer margin before it ends up scratching against the gingerbread walls. Then comes the damaged section.Tomoe’s lips purse as she inspects it, and Ako reaches for one of the piece, eyeing it carefully before tentatively reaching for the blue frosting this time around. Tomoe elects to remain quiet as she watches her sister begin frosting-gluing the roof together. The problem is going to be the roof staying together when it’s suspended and frosted against the other pieces at an angle, but it’s a notable effort.Alas, it’s just as she thought, and when the repaired roof slab is placed against the edge of the other roof piece and the three walls, it remains strong for a good few minutes as Ako is beginning to plan aloud how to decorate the walls of the house. Yet when she turns around and actually tries to start decorating, the two sections of the left roof piece begin to fall in on themselves, and before Ako’s eyes, they fall into the interior, taking part of the frosting lining with it.Tomoe holds her breath as she watches for her sister’s reaction. There’s nothing for a couple moments before Ako’s shoulders fall, and her head goes back so she can stare at the ceiling and groan aloud.“Awwwwwwwww… I really wanted it to work.”The older of the two ponders for a second, before raising a hand to tap at Ako’s forehead. Red gaze flicks up towards her with a mix of disappointment and curiosity, but her cheeks are still puffed out in a pout.“Hey, can’t get everything right on the first time right?.. What say you and me go out over the weekend and get one of those kits again? We can get it right that time yeah? And then decorate it to look all spooky and dark for you.”She takes a second to consider that before breaking out into another smile and nodding her head enthusiastically. She turns on heel and looks at Tomoe properly, flinging her arms around her in a hug.“You’re the best sister ever! We’re gonna make it look so cool even Rin-Rin is gonna’ be jealous!” She pauses for a second, looking back to the failed attempt. “...uh… don’t tell her about this one?”Tomoe gives her a sly wink and ruffles her hair. “My lips are sealed for now, but I dunno if I can promise that for this weekend you don’t make it look super awesome.”“Ehhhhhh!? You bet it’ll look super cool! The coolest, most dark and awesome one you’ve ever seen!”“Haha, I’m sure it will… but y’know, we still got a couple days before then.” She makes a sideways glance to the mess of the counter and crosses her arms. “You’re gonna have to get this cleaned up before mom gets home, you know. I’ll start working on the frosting and candy that you bought.”“Gotchaaaaaa’! You’re the best!”
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The first time, it was alright. An honest, unintentional mistake on the carolers outside. Something that, given enough time to stew in her thoughts totally not huddled up against Kasumi, she would forgive them.Kasumi had chosen to invite herself over to Arisa’s after Poppin’ Party’s practice ended, much to Arisa’s annoyance. More so at the fact that she wholeheartedly expected that she could just throw herself into Arisa’s plans like a wrench and expect to be welcomed. Or perhaps she had suddenly grown less clueless in the span of the ten minutes it took to get back to Arisa’s home, and knew that no matter what the occasion was, Arisa practically couldn’t say no to having her over. For her own sake and pride, she hopes the latter is wild speculation but you could never be certain with Kasumi.The afternoon was spent idly listening in as Kasumi stayed in the basement to practice a little more, not that she could fault the other girl for that. Arisa was a little less inclined to play even more on her keyboard after nearly getting a cramp in the middle of rehearsal, so she elected to sit on the side, flicking her thumb through various social media apps. At least, for the first forty-five minutes. When there was no foreseeable end in the immediate future, she quickly pocketed her phone and said she was going to go care for the bonsai plants, and if Kasumi finished, she could leave her guitar down there next to the case for her own keyboard and meet her in her room upstairs.The day progressed to evening, and they remained in a relative peace, Kasumi occasionally bringing up something or another from school that Arisa wasn’t really interested in, but listened anyway. Something about how she hadn’t managed to understand quite what was going on in English, or how she had arrived early and got assigned to the first shift of morning cleaning and got to relax before morning classes started. They had been sitting side by side on the bed, propped up against the wall the bed was aligned to, quietly talking to one another, and Arisa had only just begun to allow herself to lean against Kasumi’s shoulders when they ( or well, mostly she was ) shocked by the doorbell.Kasumi had questioned whether she was expecting any company, which of course made Arisa snap a snide remark back. Tch, implying she really knew anyone else outside of Poppin’ Party that she would actually invite over. Suffice to say, Arisa almost wanted to slam the door shut when she had opened it with Kasumi looking over her shoulder and saw.. Some random people? A group she’d never seen in her life. She was about to do just that when Kasumi eagerly started prodding against her back.“Carolers Arisa!!! Come on! We gotta listen to them, I bet they’re super good!”...God damn Kasumi and her big mouth. She spoke just loud enough that the group clad in all sorts of festive garb and Santa hats stare expectantly at the two, and Arisa is forced to clench her fist in her pocket as she opens the door wider for Kasumi. The group begins with some light jingle Arisa doesn’t care to listen to, but a glance in Kasumi’s direction yields the sight of the girl staring with veritable stars in her eyes. Gods, Arisa doesn’t even get it! This group doesn’t sing nearly as good as Kasumi does, so what’s the big deal.She nearly blushes from the embarrassing thought alone but distracts herself with the lackluster performance. They look like they’re genuinely having fun with it and are spurred on by Kasumi’s excitement, but Arisa remains really unconvinced. So much so that when they finish singing Kasumi begins applauding eagerly with a less enthused Arisa and give the two an expectant look, Arisa quickly takes the other girl by the arm before she can say something, and yanks her back through the threshold, calling out an unconvincing ‘Merry Christmas and other holidays, thanks. as she promptly shuts the door and makes sure she audibly locks it.The second time makes her skeptical, and a fair bit annoyed.She had managed to get Kasumi back up the stairs with minimal complaints, although she was lamenting the inability to give the carolers any sort of compensation for their ‘super amazing work!’ as she put it. Many of her complaints died down when Arisa all but pushed her on the bed and unceremoniously dumped herself down onto the other girl to wrap arms around her waist. Kasumi was, understandably more than a little surprised by the development, shaky hands going to Arisa’s shoulders as she frantically asked if she was feeling unwell or if something was wrong. Naturally, she received a bitter worded response, yet it lacked its usual bite and was quickly followed by Arisa tightening her hug and burying her face in the lower half of Kasumi’s shirt.Beneath blonde hair, her ears burn a bright red blush onto her skin that she’s certain extends to the back of her neck, and even to her face. It’s wildly uncharacteristic of her to seek out this sort of contact but maybe once in a blue moon, and when it does, it’s usually under drastic circumstances. The rare fear for a grade or a really, really long period of time in between seeing one another, things of that sort.Of course, in Arisa’s mind it’s quite justified. Anything that’d get Kasumi’s one-track mind distracted from those damn carolers. Even if it meant preoccupying it with her own presence. Which, after a little bit of getting used to, wasn’t bad at all. Kasumi’s energy was contagious within herself and managed to bleed into other aspects of her life, whether that was practicing the guitar or singing, or something as simple as walking to school. And when it couldn’t relocate itself into physical actions? Arisa swore up and down it just sort of did some supernatural, alchemy nonsense and converted itself into body heat, because Kasumi was almost always a naturally warm person. Personality wise of course but physically too, which made it perfect for occasions where the two are cuddled together.Like now.Especially after having been subjected to the torment of standing in the doorway to listen to sub-par caroling while it’s sort of windy outside? Absolutely horrible, and Arisa would gladly go through the self-imposed embarrassment to get warmer. And relish in the physical contact with Kasumi but she didn’t need to hear that. Well, any more than she already said aloud and convinced herself.But then, as most things in Arisa’s life, it was interrupted....by the sound of her doorbell. She can already feel disdain well up in her chest, and it only grows exponentially when she feels Kasumi start to shift beneath her. She starts saying something about how ‘Oh hey, we should go check that out!’ and Arisa tightens her hug around Kasumi in vain.She’s being prodded, and Kasumi’s previous lull was all but chucked out the window, energy beginning to return full force with questions and long, drawn out whines of her name until she finally relents. With More than a couple audible grunts, she sits herself back up and is forcibly dragged to the front door, which Kasumi opens this time. There’s a new set of carolers this time, and they look just as cheerful, if not more so than the last group. Arisa cries in her head.They spend almost as much time as the previous group, and it’s only a little bit better this time around because this group also has an acoustic guitar with them to make the vocals sound a little less horrible. She manages to get halfway through their stupid little performance, fist balled up in her pocket as she thinks back on when the two were comfortable set up on her bed and she finally sighs aloud. She whirls on heel without so much as a tap to Kasumi’s shoulder,.“...Tch, I’m going to go take care of my bonsai. Come back upstairs whenever you’re done here or whatever, Kasumi.”Perhaps she should give Kasumi a little more credit then, because it isn’t but maybe a couple minutes later the vocalist re-enters her room, eyes quickly falling on Arisa, laid down against the bed with her hands behind her head.“Ehhh, what about your bonsai?” ...Or you know, maybe not.“I finished.” Her response is flat and she narrowly looks at the other girl. “What, did the stupid carolers leave or something?”“...Uhm, I told them I had to go, but that I appreciated their music! You know… you just seemed kinda’.... I dunno, off put?”Kasumi walks over to the side of the bed, looking down at her. Purple eyes are narrowed in thought for a second before she breaks out into a grin and all but throws herself down against Arisa. In spite of Arisa’s shock and coughing fit from an elbow directly to the stomach, Kasumi laughs bright and adjusts so she can rest her chin over the other girl’s chest to watch her.“Y-you idiot. What the hell was that f-for.” She stumbles over her words in an attempt to get back the air roughly taken from her, and Kasumi just gives her a lopsided grin.“You were looking really down, I had to get your heart pounding again somehow!”“”Tch! There are better ways to do that forcing all the air out of me and making it work double time!”...and then the third time.The doorbell rings again, and Arisa can already feel Kasumi tense up. Before she tries to get up against, she quickly tries to do some damage control.“H-hey wait!” She tightens arms around the other girls shoulder to get her attention. “Y’know… uh I’ve been kinda’ impatient with them and all. How about you let me uh… go listen to this group and enjoy it the way you did before. On my own.”Kasumi looks like she wants to complain, and she still tries to get herself up but Arisa levels her a narrow stare. As she tries nudging her off to the side so she can roll to the edge of the bed and stand she follows up.“I mean it. I’ll be back in a little while.”Really, to the other girl’s credit, she doesn’t hear footsteps as she heads for the door, briefly stopping to snag something from her desk before quickly setting off for the door. Suffice to say when she opens the door and is met with yet another group of carolers she hardly managed to contain her groan. They look ready to present her with some plethora of songs she really couldn't care less about when she raises a hand.“Okay look. I-I’m really not interested. I’ve been visited by so many other groups, so please just… move along or something.” She hastily digs for the crumpled yen note to extend out to them. “Here, for whatever charity I’m sure you’re playing for. Don’t bother singing and wasting your breath on me when I’m sure there’s other people who will actually appreciate your music.”With that, she looks down to the ground and doesn’t dare meet the eyes of any of the carolers as she shuts the door behind her and locks it. However before she heads back upstairs she pauses at the switches, and hastily flicks all the outdoor lights off. If any other carolers don’t get the message now, she doesn’t know what to do. With a semi-victorious clench of her fists she quickly makes her way back upstairs, and to her room where she finds Kasumi lying idly on the bed. Her gaze quickly flickers toward Arisa as she walks in and she tilts her head.“Huuuuh? Not carolers?”Arisa makes her way over, sitting down at the other girls side and looking down at her.“Tch, who else would it be you idiot.” Kasumi gives her another goofy grin and shrugs. “They were just a lot quicker than the past groups. Surprise, surprise, not everyone takes a million decades to perform some songs.”“I guess not… that’s good though! Now we can spend plenty of time together before the next group comes by!”And suddenly, Arisa feels arms around her midsection, and she yelps as Kasumi pulls her down and rolls the two of them over so they lay on their sides. Here, the furious blush on her face isn’t hidden by her hair and she begins to stutter out a quick witted retort when Kasumi gives her a sloppy kiss to the lips and giggles again.There is no next time, and certainly no fourth group of carolers to disturb them.
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It was funny how different American Christmases were from Japanese ones, even in movie representation alone.The potential of a movie night amongst the band was brought up at one of their last few rehearsals before school went on break for the winter and the band followed suit. It was a solid plan in the beginning, but as the days started counting down to Christmas day and the actual date of their movie night, most people started flaking out. Rimi had done so first, albeit begrudgingly, if her crestfallen look all throughout her explanation was any hint. Something about how her older sister’s band was going to be doing some decoration help over at SPACE after it closed to help out the owner. Kasumi’s family then decided they would be doing something so she had all but cried when she explained to them. That in turn lead to Arisa awkwardly bringing up that her grandparents would be needing some help with rearranging wares and whatnot, though Saaya has a sneaking suspicion it was more out of the desire to do away with some of Kasumi’s feeling of guilt than an actual desire to do the work.And thus with only Tae and Saaya remaining, it was made into something a bit more private. With Christmas day having been only the day before, the implications of having someone over for the holiday was still technically in effect. Usually, if the two wanted to do have some time to themselves, they would go over to Saaya house, given that her parents were usually busy with business in the bakery. With the holidays resulting in the bakery closing for a couple days, Tae had offered for Saaya to come over instead. Her parents usually stayed downstairs, rarely calling upon Tae unless there was some kind of rabbit related emergency. They sort of assumed she was always busy with the guitar and improving for the sake of the band, so unless it was food or rabbits, they tended not to bother her with minor things. That would give them the opportunity to spend the night alone and do the planned movie night.The bakery was a surprisingly popular place for foreigners, eager to be able to say they tried some ‘real, authentic Japanese baked goods’ or whatever it was they went out. Foreigners, you know. Since it was that popular, especially around the holidays, her parents had taken to finding American films or at least ones in English to play on the little screens they had in the store. She had packed them in with the rest of her overnight stuff, if only for a variety from the usual movies they watched. Tae seemed open to it, though Saaya had a feeling that anything she brought, barring some horrible documentary about wiping all rabbits from the face of the Earth, would have been welcomed by the other girl.When she first arrived and Tae had greeted her at the door with a rabbit cradled against her chest, her parents had greeted her and asked the usual questions ‘how are you doing’, ‘how’s the family’, ‘the business’ that sort of thing. They conversed for a short while before the microwave across the kitchen buzzed and Tae’s mother brought out a large pack of popcorn. It was unceremoniously dumped into a bowl they had prepared and it was extended to the girls as well as the offer of whatever they had in the kitchen, should the need or desire arise. ‘Our kitchen is your kitchen, we’ll be in the office if you need us.’It was a sort of detachedness that was a breath of fresh air for Saaya. Not that she didn’t love her parents or her younger siblings, but it was just… maybe it was bad to say, but it was kind of suffocating to have someone always around and always asking something of her every second she was around. It was something she really loved about Tae too, something the other girl didn’t even intentionally do most of the time. Whenever they were in the company of one another alone, it usually remained pretty quiet. Tae was pretty content to focus on what she was doing even with Saaya around, usually tuning or homework or other day-to-day practices. She always made a point to be around Saaya though, always trying to remain against her back or sitting beside her if she could help it. It was a pleasant change of pace whenever she spent time with Tae.After fetching a couple more snacks at Tae’s command since she herself was too preoccupied carrying the rabbit around, the two retreated up the stairs to Tae’s room. It was, as Saaya expected, about as messy as usual. Her guitar was kept on a rack near the foot of her unmade bed, and there were a couple shirts strewn about on the floor and in the immediate vicinity of the hamper. And of course, Tae’s room would not be complete without at least five rabbits somewhere, including Odd-Eye, who comes bounding up to her with her inherent scent of baked goods.She follows Tae over to her bed where she dumps the chocolate brown bunny down and helps Saaya set down the snacks on it as well. When her hands are free, she crouches down to give the curious rabbit a gentle scratch to the base of his ears, and is pleasantly surprised when he begins to thump one of his legs in response.“Ehhhh, gonna take my place as Odd-Eye’s favorite?” Tae hums quietly while watching them and sits back on the bed. “My boyfriend being stolen by my girlfriend on movie night. How cruel.” Her voice says otherwise, nonchalant as she lays back on the bed, allowing for the dark brown rabbit to climb onto her stomach.Tae always says things like that, and it always manages to make Saaya ears go red. They never did actually sit down and have a proper talk about their relationship, whatever it was. It started as bandmates, and arguably stayed that way until one day while the two were spending an afternoon together at the mall, Tae had idly referred to the two of them as girlfriends without batting an eye.“Well then, should we get started on those movies? I’ll have to ignore him then.”Tae hums her answer, using her hand to bat the bunny off her chest before sitting up and reaching for Saaya bag. In the past, the older girl had been uncomfortable with the prospect of Tae trying to go through her things uninvited. She didn’t so much as get used to it as she had eventually mentioned it one time to Tae, and the two ended up having a conversation about it. Tae wasn’t near as absentminded as she came off. She had explained that Saaya, at least to her, always seemed a little more tense whenever people asked her things or always came to her about things, so she wanted to avoid that. What she admitted she could see as coming off as nosy or presumptuous was mostly just her trying to take initiative so she wouldn’t have to add any more onto Saaya shoulders, any more than usual at least. The conversation didn’t fully keep her from instinctively watching as Tae would get near her bag, or her kit or anything, but it did at least help her to avoid feeling uncomfortable, as it did now.“You said you brought some American movies? I don’t think I’ve seen any foreign Christmas movies… are they any good?”Saaya hums in thought as she still her hand against Odd-Eye’s fur.“Can’t say for sure. I don’t think I’ve ever really sat down and watched them in their entirety. I see bits and pieces in between parts of my shift, but it’s mostly just background noise.”“Hm. Guess we’ll find out then, huh… I think I’ve got Until the Lights Come Back somewhere on my shelves if we run out of your American ones.”They end up starting with one of the American ones, A Christmas Carol, resting on the futon as opposed to her bed with the snacks resting over the table in the center. Since Saaya had been the first one to sit down with her back against the armrest ( under the assumption she’d be laying on the futon and Tae on her bed ), Tae was now resting against her, head more or less against the top of her chest with her hair swept over the shoulder she usually has the strip of hair over. It took a bit of getting used to, more position than actual action because Tae does wildly unexpected things like this all the time. Tends to go hand in hand with the whole girlfriend thing.Partway through the movie, as Saaya is reaching for the bowl of popcorn, Tae speaks up and Saaya, in her attempt to stifle her laughter, buries her face against the back of Tae’s head, arms shakily around the other girls chest to ground her as she laughed.“That’s so mean, Tae! You shouldn’t say something like that!”“What? You’re trying to tell me this guy, Scrooge or what’s-his-name, doesn’t remind you even remotely of Arisa?”“Well no!” Saaya giggles again, shaking her head against her hair. “For one, Arisa actually did end up doing the Christmas thing with us, didn’t she? And she doesn’t mean pretty much all the mean stuff she says.”“But she does say it. And I mean, we haven’t seen the end of the movie. Maybe he actually does end up getting into the Christmas spirit.”Needless to say, when the end of the movie comes Tae turns in her arms and gives her a very, very pointed look. One to which Saaya gives a quick, inconspicuous whistle and a shrug of her shoulders. It’s certainly a different take on Christmas compared to the movies they’ve watched in the past, and the resolution is certainly an unusual one.The next movie is The Polar Express and Saaya at least has the foresight to let Tae sit back down on the futon first so she can lay back against her, and it’ll be more comfortable for both of them. The first thing they notice is that this movie is far more geared toward children, the animation, the storyline, and when the namesake actually appears on the screen, the music too. In spite of herself, Saaya can feel Tae’s leg begin to bounce in time with the beat, an upbeat thing very different to the previous movie. It’s got a catchy tune that blends well into the beat of the train’s wheels, and Saaya soon finds herself idly tapping her fingers to the beat as well. The words are a little harder to understand because it’s a faster paced movie, but they get a general understanding through the scenes on screen.The other songs in the movie are similarly upbeat, and where Tae particularly takes to the one about hot chocolate, Saaya likes the slower one where the boy and the girl take turns singing before they do so together. They also differ on favorite characters, where Saaya likes the two kids, Tae has an unconventional choice in the conductor being her favorite. At least she’s enjoying the movies, Saaya muses quietly as she rests her head back against Tae’s chest with a hum as the song dies down. The end of the movie is a little more bittersweet than the previous, but certainly not anything like their last movie.As they set up the last one, it becomes clear from the time it’ll be their last one, and so the snacks are placed on Tae’s desk where the rabbits for sure won’t be able to get them. As Saaya starts putting in the last movie, Tae clears up the wrappers and any pieces of popcorn that had dropped onto the futon. When she’s done, she goes over to the bed to dig around in the blankets and find her pajamas. When Saaya finishes she goes to follow the example and digs through her bag to find them. When she turns to ask Tae a question though, she squeaks in surprise. The other girl has begun changing, baggy pants hanging down against her hips and shirt already half off.“Uhm! The bathroom is uh, down the hall right? I’m gonna go change…”“Eh… you can just do that here if you want. I don’t mind.”She pauses once her shirt is off, glancing back towards Saaya with a quirked brow. On the other side of the table, Saaya idly picks at a loose thread on her shirt and shifts her weight from foot to foot.“...Or uh, I mean yeah, the bathroom is down there. Second on the right.”Saaya quickly skirts out of the room, carefully avoiding any rabbits. She takes her time in getting dressed for sleep, and when she returns to find Tae laying on her side on her bed she instinctively goes for the other, unused bedspace on the futon after turning out the lights. She casts a shadow on the other wall of the room from the lamp on her desk as she throws her clothes back into her bag.Tae gives a loud clear of her throat, and when she has Saaya attention, she pats the section of the bed in front of her expectantly. Saaya blinks for a moment before processing the quiet request and hesitated, glancing back toward the futon. Again, Tae pats the bed, but for good measure, she also does so against her chest as she stares Saaya down.With a sigh, the older girl pads over to the bed, sitting on the edge before scooting back enough that she could lie down with a little bit of space between the two of them. Tae starts the movie and reaches back to shut off the lamp, leaving only the lighting from the screen.It’s around the time Saeki and his father are introduced that she feels Tae begin to shift more, sliding herself forward until Saaya can feel her pressed up against her back. It’s not unpleasant, and the feeling of warmth is welcome, but then Tae winds an arm around her stomach and tugs Saaya back against herself. She has to feel the way Saaya stiffens at that, but doesn’t seem to act on it above a quiet him as she rests her head on the section of the pillow over Saaya’s head. It takes a little while for Saaya to get used to the feeling, but Tae seems rather insistent on it and with enough time, she finally does lean back against Tae’s body as she watches the movie. There’s an added feeling of intimacy in that, being a Japanese movie about Christmastime, it’s more geared toward love stories and the like, although this particular movie does lean toward broken stories. Behind her, she feels Tae’s lack of movement barring the feeling of the rise and fall of her chest for breathing and assumes she’s falling asleep when she suddenly speaks up.“Y’know…” Her voice is a little hoarse, a little deeper? Quieter? Something, likely from fatigue. She can’t see a clock but she assumes it’s some hour past midnight. “I think I like those American movies better... ““Oh?” Is all Saaya responds with because for all her thoughts, it’s hard not to let the feeling of warmth and relative comfort get to her and make her fall asleep.“I don’t like the ambiguity of the endings… especially in this movie.”It’s ironic, Saaya muses, given their current relationship status… whatever it was. She thinks she mumbled that out, or at least that first part because behind her Tae shifts forward, the arm around her tightens and she tries finding Saaya’s hand to entwine their fingers.“ ‘S not. We’re together. I wouldn’t do this with anyone else, at least.” She thinks that Tae tries to solidify that comment with a kiss, but she can’t entirely feel it on the top of her head with her hair. If it’s the case, it’s definitely a charming attempt. She chuckles softly in response, and as Tae’s hand it still looking, her own hand finds Tae’s elbow, slowly sliding her hand down until she feels the top of Tae’s hand in her palm and gently intertwines their fingers before pulling them up against her chest.The movie is still playing when Saaya eventually closes her eyes to fall asleep, and when she wakes up inevitably before Tae, the screen is still on, showing the menu to the movie.
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Were it not for the frost tinted windows and the occasional howl of the winds bringing some ice against the glass, you’d never even guess that there was a snowstorm outside. The inside of Lisa’s home is bright with the overhead lights and interior decorations, and it’s very pleasantly warm. Her father had thrown a couple logs on the living room fire before he had left to go pick up her mother, stuck at the studio downtown with a broken down car. He’d given both Lisa and Sayo a fond word of luck as they had gathered the ingredients before closing the door and locking it behind him. The warmth of the fire in the next room mingled in with that of the preheating ovens, and Sayo’s scarf is left forgotten beside Lisa’s jacket on an unused section of the counters even in the wake of the sudden rush of cold air from the door.The two stand side by side at the counter across the way from the oven looking over the list of cookie types they’d be trying to make throughout the evening.In time with ‘brand’ of Christmas so-to-speak, the first type of cookies up are sugar cookies. Though after seeing Sayo’s expression deflate at the sight of the recipe, Lisa lets out a giggle and leans over to give her a kiss on the cheek ( rather pleased by the sight of a vaguely kiss shaped red stain that’s left )“Sayo, you know I know you too well when it comes to sweets~ at least cookies that is! You put these in order of which one you wanted to save for last, didn’t you?”Judging by the way the rest of Sayo’s cheeks light up in a more natural shade of red as she averts her gaze from Lisa’s and back toward the list, she’s hit it on the nose. Even so, she only laughs again and makes her way over to the fridge. She sees Sayo watching her intently when she turns back, holding in her hands a sheet with dough patted down into a disc shaped. No need to bother making the batter just to wait an hour for it to chill if she did that ahead of time, she’d said as much aloud when she returned to Sayo’s side and began peeling the dough from the sheet.“...Very prepared of you, Lisa.”“Mm~ I said I knew you, didn’t I? I had a feeling you wouldn’t be too pleased by sitting around for an hour waiting for it to chill.” Still, it’s nice to get praised by the other girl, especially when such kind words were few and far in between. She gives the other girl a sly wink as she digs through the papers on the counter for the right recipe.“Anywhooooo, what do we have to do next…”She’s just managed to find the corner she recognizes as the sugar cookie recipe when Sayo speaks up. She’s reached for the bag of flour off to the side, as well the two rolling pins, both of which she sets down before making to roll up her sleeves.“We are to roll the dough out until it’s quite thin, and from there, cut out the shapes to freeze.”Aha, trust Sayo to have gone through the trouble of remembering each step to the cookie recipes. With a nod of understanding, Lisa goes to roll up her own sleeves too before reaching for the bag of flour. She takes a couple pinches and dusts the counter before she drags the dough disc over it and pats it down. For good measure, she also takes a couple pinches of flour to the dough and pats it down in before she takes the pin Sayo has extended to her.“Mmm… hold on… hand me that knife over there.”With it in hand, Lisa cuts an even line down through the approximated middle of the dough and then sets it off to the side, separating the halves and pushing one half over toward Sayo.“Here, that way both of us can cut at the same time. And smaller portions should thin out quicker.”With a nod of acknowledgement Sayo goes to work in rolling the dough and Lisa follows suit. Idly, Lisa begins to hum to the tune of the song playing on the speaker near the side of the fridge, eventually graduating into a sway of her hips in time. It’s something of a habit from dance class, and she can see out the corner of her eye the tap of Sayo’s foot in time, to which she smiles at.Sayo herself was charming to an extent with her no-nonsense attitude and strive to improve for the sake of Roselia in an admirable sort of way but Lisa wouldn’t lie: this side of her was what she really ended up falling for. The part of her that still had that intense drive ( she was eyeing that dough a little closely, wasn’t she? The cookies weren’t going to explode if they weren’t exactly a centimeter thick… ) but was far more open. Lisa could see it first and foremost in her body language, the way that she tapped her foot shortly after Lisa began to sway from side to side, and in the more discrete ways, like how she had slowed her rolling to match back and forth with the beat of the song. She noticed too in the way she was more open with how she expressed her affection, not waiting for when she thinks Lisa’s looking away to glance over and smile fondly. She’s at least confident enough to be able to meet Lisa’s gaze and offer a soft quirk of her lips before returning back to her dough.Before she knows it, Sayo has finished flattening out her dough. Lisa blinks in surprise when she abruptly turns toward her and lofts a brow in amusement.“Perhaps if you spent less time gawking at me, and more time rolling at a pace of more than one cycle every minute, you’d be done.”Lisa recoils in surprise, before puffing out her cheeks in a pout. Ah, just another thing she loved Sayo for: the gentle teasing and banter she would more often than not initiate when she was in a particularly good mood. It was much like her normal way of speaking, and most people wouldn’t be able to distinguish it, but there was a certain change in her demeanor. The softness in her eyes and distinct lack of bite on the end of her remark, and perhaps most of all the way she always did so with some manner of smirk on her lips.“Alright miss high-and-mighty, since you’re so far ahead of me, go ahead and cut the shapes out. I’m sure I’ll catch up in no time.”It takes Sayo a couple moment of digging through the cupboards to find the box of shaped cookie cutters before she returns. In that time, Lisa doubles back on her rolling and isn’t but a few rolls out from Sayo’s point by the time she returns. There are the usual Christmas themed cutters in the box, candy canes, trees, the like, and Sayo first goes for the candy cane and snowman shaped ones. Lisa, when she sets her rolling pin aside, quickly plucks the stocking and bell shaped ones and goes to work on cutting the shapes out. Each shaped piece of dough gets placed over a parchment-covered cookie sheet, and when it’s completely filled Sayo takes it up quickly and heads back for the fridge. While she’s setting the sheet into the freezer section, Lisa starts gathering the frosting ingredients, setting them beside the bowl they had up against the wall. Butter and a jar of frosted sugar are pulled over, and Sayo returns with the almond extract and cream from the fridge as Lisa begins cutting the butter into more manageable chunks.Lisa takes over out of muscle memory, the wooden spoon in the bowl taken up so she can begin beating the butter. She can hear Sayo shift around to her side, sliding ingredients closer to the bowl for her, and then feels her step behind her to press up against her back. Her chin rests over her shoulder as Lisa works and her arms rest at the counter in front of her, a silent offer. With enough time, the butter starts to smooth out and Lisa leans her head to the side to get a better look at Sayo out the corner of her eyes.“Sugar please~”The hands near her waist shift around, blindly looking for the jar. It’s popped open, and rather than looking for a spoon for precise measurements, it’s tipped toward the rim of the bowl.“Tch… you and your sweet tooth. You’re lucky I love you enough to let you deviate from the recipe.”She feels Sayo hum against her shoulder and then tilt her head to press a kiss to the side of her head, near the back of her ear.“Guess I am. You can go back to stirring now.”Lisa shakes her head quickly and does so, glancing down to the almost worrisome amount of clumps in the sugar and sighs. No doubt Sayo strategically forgot to shake up the jar to break them up in hopes of adding even more. Just like she forgets to do precise measurements for the cream and extract, as if she’s cooked enough to be able to make an eyeball-judgement on the ingredients. Lisa doesn’t really mind though, the sugar will come out much sweeter than it should be, but Sayo will like them, and they still have the gingerbread and chocolate chip-peppermint cookies to make.By the time they finish the frosting, Lisa shoos Sayo off her so she can go get the cookies. With the cookies frozen for enough time that their shapes will stick, she sets them into the preheated oven and sets the timer on for eight minutes. When she returns to give the frosting a few more moments of stirring for good measure, she almost misses the unusually clean section of the bowl. It’s not a huge part and she almost completely recovered it in frosting before she had noticed it: an unnatural swipe a little too small for the wooden spoon to have made. And then she notices that Sayo is a suspiciously far distance away with the next recipe, staring at it with a clearly forced intensity.She wants to call the other girl out on it because she’s so, so notorious for this but she doesn’t, and she’ll let it slide for now. It’s not anything major, just a little bit of the uncolored frosting missing, nothing as major as an entire cube of cookie dough or anything like the past. Perhaps it’s the wrong choice, but she clears her throat and calls for her.“Hey, Sayo. Next up is going to be those chocolate chip ones, since you wanted to save the gingerbreads for last, right?”The process for preparing the dough of the chocolate chip cookies goes much better, much quicker since Sayo’s had much more experience with this. In fact she adds in most of the chocolate chips towards the end, stopping only when Lisa abruptly reaches for them, saying there needs to be some left for the gingerbread cookies to be little buttons. Sayo seems less than pleased by this, if the noncommittal grunt is anything to go off of, but she does so anyway. She’s almost done stirring when the oven for the sugar cookies beeps and Lisa hands over the stirring spoon to Sayo to go get them out. Once they’re set over a safe cover on the counter, she takes a second to waft them before looking to Sayo and taking off her apron.“I’ll be right back, I gotta go to the bathroom. In the meantime, if the cookies cool fast enough, you can start frosting them!”Sayo gives her a nod before turning back to the cookie dough as she leaves. Lisa isn’t gone maybe four or five minutes, taking a little extra time to wipe away at the flour that’s managed to get onto her face before returning. Ah, so the sugar cookies hadn’t cooled off yet? Weird, she thought they might’ve been ready, but Sayo seems to be reading over the recipe next to them so maybe she’s just taking extra precautions? She’s passing by the chocolate chip cookie dough, well and thoroughly mixed, when she notices the distinct lack of the chocolate chip bag. A quick glance around the entire kitchen reveals it’s not anywhere on the counters, and when she quickly walks over to the trash can, she confirms her worries.“Sayo! Did you dump the rest of the chocolate chips in anyway?”Sayo looks up at her with a bewildered expression for a second, and takes a little while to answer. When she does, she clears her throat and awkwardly scratches the back of her neck.“I did. I found a few packs of M&Ms in one of your cabinets so I figured we could use those instead, since some were green and red anyway…”It’s… not an entirely bad idea, and while she is still a little annoyed Sayo did so anyway, she can’t exactly be mad with the outcome. She strides over to where Sayo stands next to the sugar cookies and glances down at them, nodding.“They look pretty good! Now we just gotta make ‘em look good with the frosting!”“Yes, I agree.”Lisa’s walking over to get that bowl when Sayo sneezes suddenly behind her and makes her jump. With all the flour in the air, it was bound to happen eventually but it still managed to spook her with how out of nowhere it was.“Bless you, Sayo. Be careful with all that flour.”She glances back over her shoulder to flash her a smile but falters. Sayo’s brushing at her nose while she sniffles and gives her a nasally him of acknowledgement. When her hand moves away there’s… a smear of something over her lip. And you know, now that she takes a better look at her, there’s a similar smear at the corner of her lips. Something brown, and definitely not from her sneeze.As Lisa turns back to the frosting, her eye is caught by a similar color from the chocolate cookie dough bowl.…chocolate cookie dough. With chocolate chip that were conveniently missing, and M&Ms that were claimed, but nowhere on the kitchen counters. Lisa’s eyes narrow with her sudden understanding.
That sneaky little devil!
And she’d almost gotten away with it too! Well… if Sayo wanted to try that, Lisa could be equally devious. She’d get justice yet. A plan quickly takes form in her head, and she saunters her way back to Sayo with the bowl of frosting in her arms. When she’s over to that section of the kitchen though, she sets it off to the side and stands behind Sayo.“Hey Sayo~” When all she gets is a quiet hum, she clears her throat audibly and tries again. “Sayo.”Sayo takes the hint and straightens up to turn and face her. There’s curiosity on her face as she takes note of Lisa’s stern expression before it suddenly turns to a sly grin as she steps forward and presses up against Sayo’s chest. Her chin rests just beneath the collar of her shirt, and both hands take a place at either end of Sayo’s sides, firmly taking hold of the counter. She leans forward onto the tips of her toes so she can press a firm kiss to her lips, and is pleased by the way the other girl stiffens in surprise before she makes to respond.It’s an understandable reaction. In the relationship, Sayo is usually the one who initiates, if only so that Lisa can respect what she is and is not comfortable with. She thinks though, maybe when they’re alone like this, she ought to do it more ( and perhaps under better circumstances ), because the way Sayo’s eyes widen as Lisa tilts her head and deepens the kiss before her own pale green eyes fall shut, it's almost too good to pass up. She can’t imagine what Sayo looks like, perhaps she’s still staring almost dumbly while Lisa takes charge, or perhaps she’s closed her eyes as well and is relishing in the kiss.And while Lisa really does enjoy this sudden role reversal, she has what she needs. With a weak sound in the back of Sayo’s throat, she pulls away and levels a stare at Sayo once she’s flat down on her feet. Sayo’s eyes are dazed, unfocused as she blinks and looks toward Lisa for explanation. She takes but a second to admire the heavy blush on the guitarist’s face before raising one of her hands and jabbing a pointer finger in her face.“You lying little fox.”“...eh?”“You ate those chocolate chips, didn’t you?”“...uh, no, I-”Lisa’s glare strengthens enough for Sayo to taper off and lean backwards. Her expression is telling enough though, not unlike a child that’s being scolded. She’s looking down toward her feet, or at least trying with Lisa still up close to her.“Ah-!” Lisa’s frown quirks upwards into another grin and she tilts her head, tongue flicking out over her own lips. “You taste like chocolate. Don’t lie to me~!”If she wasn’t red with embarrassment before, she was absolutely scarlet now, all the way up to her ears and no doubt down her neck. Lisa giggles at the sight, and waggles her finger in Sayo’s face.“Now you listen to me good, Sayo. You had better be on your best behavior for the rest of the night.”Needless to say, after that encounter Sayo is very well behaved and quiet the rest of the night. And she personally sees to the M&M buttons on each of the gingerbread cookies when they’re done.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The halls of the apartment complex are unfamiliar to Ran, a part of town she’s passed through enough times, but the building? She’s only been here once or twice for the sake of a group project, and those few times, her teammate’s home is on the bottom floor. The second floor and above is new territory, and certainly the fourth level is completely unknown as she’s dragged forward. More than once on this trip she’s had to pull back on the hand to slow Kasumi just so she can properly adjust the carry bag slung over her backpack. Look, she really thinks Kasumi is cute when she gets excited about the stars and astronomy in general, but she’ really gotta take it down a step or few if she wants to give Ran any hope of catching up.She was going on about how today was apparently the perfect night for stargazing, whatever that meant. If you asked Ran about the perfect night for it, she would’ve shrugged and simply said something along the lines of ‘eh so long as nothing is falling from the sky, it should be fine’. And you know, that’s why people didn’t ask Ran about astronomy, they asked Kasumi. Apparently, according to the other vocalist, the perfect weather was clear skies, not a whole lot of wind, but enough to catch your hair every now and again so you didn’t end up losing track of time watching the stars. She’s about to launch off into something stemming from the speculation of ’Oh, maybe we’ll even see a planet! Oh man that’d make my heart sparkle and pound and- when Ran gives her another sudden tug.Her voice tapers off, and she stops as suddenly as Ran does, turning to give her a look and a tilt of the head.“Hey look, you know I really like how you get with the stars and whatnot, but remember: we’re technically not supposed to be here.” Now, Ran isn’t exactly the best example of what to do and what not to do with her slowly growing rebellious streak, but if the owner of the complex was in a bad enough mood it technically could be trespassing? She didn’t even know if people were allowed up on the roof. “We need to be kind of quiet if we’re gonna do this. The quieter the better.”Kasumi gives her a stiff thumbs up and she nods, making an invisible zipper with her fingers and ‘zipping’ her lips so to speak. Ran simply rolls her eyes, and they proceed toward the staircase at the end of the hallway. It’s the final one, the one that leads up to the roof, Kasumi’s end goal, and she can feel how antsy Kasumi is through the way she’s squeezing Ran’s own hand in intervals, likely unintentional. Yet another cute habit of hers.The roof is… kind of underwhelming giving all of Kasumi’s hyping up. They can see the sky sure, and whatever Kasumi said about it being the perfect stargazing night hadn’t really changed, but it isn’t some grand height they’re at. There are some other buildings around that are well over the height of the roof, but it doesn’t seem to deter Kasumi’s eagerness. Instead, she quickly runs off from Ran’s grip, looking around for a place that’ll give the best view while simultaneously keeping in mind that they’re probably going to be sitting down for awhile. She eventually finds a place back the way they came, on the other end of the outcropping where the door to the roof was. It was a decent distance from the edge so there was no need to worry about that, and the wall was wide enough for at least Ran to sit, given that Kasumi is going to be doing most of the stargazing.Ran gets to work, sliding the telescope bag gently to the ground for Kasumi to start setting up while she digs through both her and Kasumi’s bags. Just from kneeling down on it, Ran can confirm that the stone is chilled from the temperature, and she doesn’t bother suppressing her shiver as she pulls from her bag a small blanket.The foundation, so to speak.The blanket is set down in the space against the wall, and Ran eagerly shifts herself so she’s instead resting on the blanket. Already much better, even if it’s only a thin blanket. The next blanket is pulled from Kasumi’s bag, and with how big of one she packed, Kasumi is surprised the zippers on her back didn’t give out and split back open. But you know, she’s not going to complain, because the blanket seems more like a cross between blanket and comforter, and it’s infinitely warmer and more comfortable to sit on. It’s even long enough that she can sort of curl the ends over her legs as she stretches them out. There are some scarves and hats remaining in her own bag, and a coat in Kasumi’s because for whatever unholy reason, Kasumi has neglected to put hers on yet, even in spite of Ran’s chastising.“You know, I’m not going to take care of you if you get sick after I specifically told you to wear that coat.”“Waaaaaaa! So mean! I told you I’d put it on once I was finished setting up! I just didn’t want, y’know, the sleeves to get in the way.”“Uh-huh.”Ran sounds unconvinced, and when she glances up to Kasumi, she’s given a sheepish grin in response. To the other girl’s credit, she remembers to keep her voice down, even if it’s naturally loud, and she’s almost finished setting up the tripod for the telescope to rest on. The only thing left is the mount proper, and once it’s screwed solidly into place, the telescope is pulled out.It always gives Ran a sense of awe to watch her, because the way she treats a certain few things is so wildly different to her wild personality. Things like her guitar and her telescope, she watches as the grin vanishes from Kasumi’s face, and her brow furrows in a different look as she kneels down to eye the mount. There’s a sort of uncharacteristic seriousness as she takes her time placing the telescope, and when she hears a resounding click, the girl takes a step back with the same intense look on her face. But when she confirms it’s in place, she turns to Ran with a smile on her face. Not one of those huge grins she wears almost every second of the day, but still a bright smile. Ran is one of those things that makes Kasumi act so different, and in its own unique way, it makes Ran feel really, truly appreciated.The other girl is always so over-the-top in school, or so she’s heard from the other members, but when it comes down the wire, her bandmates have only great things to say about her. Ran’s been to a select few Poppin’ Party shows, and while the other girl’s enthusiasm is clear, it’s a more… precise sort of excitement? Kind of an awkward way of putting it, but it isn’t the superficial sort of energy Ran one day commented on, it’s a genuine feeling. How did Kasumi put it..? ‘Sparkling-Heart-Pounding’? It’s not at all something she familiar with, and she doesn’t quite grasp the premise properly even after these weeks with her, but the fact that Kasumi acts around Ran the same way she does in those moments, it’s confusing, but also incredibly heartwarming. The way she doesn’t necessarily drop her excitement but expresses it in different ways, like now.Ordinarily, she would have been shouting to the high heavens and more about how she would finally be able to watch those ‘super-cool awesome stars at last!’ Now though, she was simply leveling Ran with a wide-eyed gaze of eagerness, and Ran can’t help chuckling as she gets to her feet and approaches with her jacket in hand.The quieter the better right? To Kasumi, that seemed to mean that if she didn’t talk at all, that would be the absolute best outcome. Not exactly what Ran had intended, but the other girl seemed pleased enough that she would let it run its course for now. She silently approaches, regarding the other girl evenly while extending her coat out. Kasumi takes it with an exaggerated nod and smiles brightly as she puts it on, clutching the opposing folds of the jacket and bringing them further over one another as she snuggles down into the fake-fur of the collar. Ran rolls her eyes in response and looks up towards the sky expectantly.It certainly is a clear night, several stars in sight with how far out they are from downtown. She can hear shuffling as Kasumi moves to the telescope, bending over it so she can look properly, and Ran wisely steps to her side so she isn’t in her way or blocking some view or whatever.It has to be only about fifteen or so minutes later when it’s Ran’s turn to start getting antsy. It’s not that she’s not having fun per se, because being around Kasumi was a pleasant thing in itself usually, it’s just that standing around has never really been her thing. It’s why she didn’t want to settle for just singing when Afterglow first formed, why she felt so awkward in the classroom by herself, with no friends around to try and grab her attention with various shenanigans. Here and now, she can only derive so much from standing on place and looking up to the sky at the same few stars, at the same distance. She knew only a few constellations, all from Kasumi’s excited stories about the meanings behind them. She figures that the line of particularly close together stars is supposed to be the belt of Orion, but she isn’t well versed enough to know for sure, and she’s not about to interrupt their silence with a question. Not when Kasumi seems to be right at home, having been staring nonstop into the telescope.Instead, Ran branches off from her place at Kasumi’s side to idly walk around the rooftop. There’s a guard railing that allows her to lean against it every now and again, lets her lean forward just enough to feel the lift of air as she looks up towards the sky. Not exactly different angles to look at these stars, but at least she’s getting to stretch her legs and keep herself occupied. After a couple rounds, she returns to their little section of the roof, and sits back against their nest of blankets and the wall.Kasumi notices her return, taking a moment to stand upright, lean backwards to pop her back and give her a wave and a smile before looking back to her telescope, choosing to kneel down instead of bending over, and she changes the angle the telescope is looking at.Ran’s taken to looking at her phone after turning the brightness down, idly sending a few texts out to the Afterglow crew in hopes of killing some time that way. She’s in the midst of sending out a reply to Moca about when practice was going to be on Monday when out of nowhere ( not nowhere, from right in front of her where she would have seen clearly if she had been paying attention ) Kasumi all but flings herself back into Ran’s lap and makes her the first one to break their thus-far-silent night with a yelp of surprise. She’d probably been expecting Ran to be watching, thus why she did it. Now that she gets a good look, Kasumi must have preparing to sit back down against her, because the telescope’s tripod has been lowered very near to the ground, enough so that while she’s sat again Ran’s body, she can drag it closer for her to look comfortably from where she is. Of course, her sudden sound was apparently the sign for Kasumi to start giggling brightly, shaking gently in her lap with a hand pressed to her lips more for show than to actually try and stifle her laughs.Ran grunts quietly, tossing her phone back toward her open backpack raises that same hand to flick at the back of her head, earning a yelp of Kasumi’s own. Ran leans forward and gives her a quick shhhhhhhh before pulling her back and gesturing to the telescope.“Go find that planet of yours, I don’t know how much longer we’ll be able to be up here.”It’s spoken in a gentle whisper to Kasumi’s ear, and she can feel the other girl take a deep breath to calm her laughing before nodding enthusiastically and tugging the tripod a little closer before looking into the telescope. It’s silent for a few moments more as Ran leans further into Kasumi’s back because hey, it’s a lot warmer than before and after walking around for awhile earlier, even with her jacket she was a bit cold. They don’t have too much time left before the two eventually will need to return home, but for now, Ran is content enough to sit in the quiet of night and tug Kasumi a little closer to nuzzle into the back of her neck.That text back can wait another half hour or so anyway.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Ordinarily, Wednesdays are a free day for Chisato. Being that it’s the dead center of the week and classes usually tend to pick up lectures, schedule quizzes and the like, so the talent agency so kindly gives the Palettes a moment’s reprieve from their usual rehearsals. Especially after solidifying her decision to remain with the Palettes, it was getting to be exhausting working around her already tight schedule and finding time to balance everything. With that in mind, she eventually had approached her current director during a one-on-one and all but demanded for her schedule to be shifted around so it was not Mondays that she had away from the set and whatever other business they pulled out of their asses, but Wednesday. That gave her a for-sure day of the week that she would have to dedicate her entire day to school work. That was, of course, the entire week’s worth of classwork in an unconventional way that many students likely wouldn’t expect.She was Chisato Shirasagi with impeccable grades and the perfect attendance record with a position of power on the student council to boot, nothing was ever done at the last second! Well, clearly whoever decided to spread that rumor around had clearly decided that while poking their nose into her business was completely acceptable, taking so much as a look in the direction of the library after school on Wednesdays was just too much. Because if they’d bothered, they may have noticed her sitting at a table in the back near the section with the atlas’ that nobody ever used, nose deep in a textbook.Without a doubt, advanced calculus and English II had to be done before she returned home, or she’d never get it done because both classes were hell. Usually by the time she finished the assignments from both classes, she’d be on her way home and end up running into Kanon or Eve near the gate leaving from their own after-school activities.Today is different though. A few weeks back, Kaoru had mentioned off-handedly that she’d gotten her a gift of some sort. She’d not paid much mind to it in the moment, brushing off the claim with some sort of dismissive shrug. She’d brought it up again when they had met by chance at Edogawa both on the hunt for strings. The guitarist had droned on and on about just how ‘fleeting’ a gift it would be, and something about how O’ the high heavens themselves would sing about this gift. With a little bit of bite to her voice she had finally cracked and inquired about it, if only to get her to shut up about it. Naturally, Kaoru being Kaoru, had done everything except inform her whatever the damn thing was and she’d only been able to get out of there with the date that this supposed gift would set to arrive. Something the other girl found online no doubt, and Chisato dreaded whatever it was because knowing her, it very well could have been some kind of skull prop to commemorate their Romeo and Juliet performance from a couple months back.Still, Chisato cannot help the sense of morbid curiosity. Today is the supposed day, and perhaps at last she will get to find out just what it is that Kaoru has decided to send her. Isn’t it natural for somebody informed of an incoming gift to feel some measure of eagerness, especially during December, the veritable month of giving?She passes through the gate later in the evening than she would have liked, given that English II would be having a quiz the following week and if any day were going to be a good study day, it was today. For a moment she feels guilty, because Kanon stands there leaned up against the gate as though she’s waiting ( perhaps she’s been waiting a little while now ) and perks up suddenly at the sound of feet.“Chisato!”She doesn’t slow as she approaches, offering the other girl a reserved smile.“I have to apologize Kanon, I’ve made you wait for awhile… I won’t be able to walk you home though.” Surprisingly, the other girl doesn’t seem too perturbed by the announcement, and she even gives her a small smile and a nod of the head. “I need to get home as soon as I can.”“Ah… it’s okay. I sort of had a feeling…” With that, she stands upright and gives Chisato a quick wave of the hand before turning on heel. “Try to take it easy today! I’ll… I’ll see you tomorrow.”And with that, she begins walking the other way. Chisato finds it a little odd how quickly the other girl is in dropping the subject, and how she pauses in step to glance behind her to Chisato and give her an awkward half-wave before hastily returning to her phone. Oh well.She won’t be able to see it, but Chisato gives her a wave of goodbye before quickly turning on heel to get to her own home. The neighborhood isn’t too terribly far away from the school, which is another thing she’s always glad about. Usually it’s for a few more precious minutes in the morning to finish assignments before she gets there early, but today, it’s for the fact that she’ll be able to get there sooner rather than later....What if the gift has already arrived? Chisato knows well enough that it isn’t wise to start keying herself up over whatever the gift is, but she can’t help but entertain a couple small thoughts. Has it been sitting in the sun for awhile? If it has, what if it’s something damageable, or perhaps something that might melt? It’s not terribly warm out, but even in this weather it’d be possible for something in an enclosed space to melt after sitting in the sun for an hour or so. Or perhaps she’ll arrive just as the delivery folk do and she’ll be able to sign off on whatever it is.Her answer comes just as soon as she enters the neighborhood and her home comes into sight. As far as she can see, there’s no package at the door. Admittedly, there’s a little bit of disappointment that drags in her step, but she continues on; there’s still the whole evening for its arrival.When she enters and begins toeing off her shoes, she’s met with the distant bark of Leon somewhere in the house, and figures it out quickly as there are uneven thumps against the staircase. She smiles fondly as the golden retriever dashes over to her, eagerly licking at anything that he can. His tail wags to and fro in the air as she runs a hand through his golden fur. Hm, could use a little brushing to get some of the loose ones out.Leon trots eagerly behind her as she walks into the room proper. A call out confirms that mom is out, probably at the store or something, and her younger sister still at school. She’s probably taken after Chisato’s later days in the library, and that’s not necessarily a good thing, but she’d be a hypocrite to call her out on it. With a quiet shrug to herself, she seats herself on one of the counter stools and pulls the dog brush from the basket they’ve got. It goes through Leon’s fur pretty easily, and the dog himself is ambivalent to the brushing, if only because it means he gets attention, and when she’s done, there’s a fair bit of dog hair on the ground that she’ll need to sweep up. With a groan, she waves her hands in a way to shoo him away as she goes to fetch the broom. She’s managed to get it all into a neat-ish pile when the doorbell rings, and Leon all but goes into a frenzy.He is, quite literally, barking mad as he charges over to the door and starts jumping up against it. What’s a couple more scratches on that beat up wood anyway? They’ll get a new door in time, once the wear and tear starts getting a little more evident anyway. With a call to the dog to cut it out, to no avail of course, she pushes him to the side so she can open the door and peek out. Almost immediately, she’s met with bright purple against the dreary cream of the walls outside.“Chisato~ my dearest princess! How lovely it is to see you!”For a brief second, she wants to entertain the idea of simply shutting the door without a word, because Kaoru herself isn’t too difficult to deal with, it’s just her infuriating theatrics, and she’s made a poor first impression of this conversation already.“Kaoru. Hm, I was expecting the mailman.”“Aha! Eagerly awaiting my gift, no doubt! You are in luck then!” Chisato’s brow quirks up in response. “For it is me: I am your present this holiday! Rejoice!”The grin she wears is so self-satisfied with the exclamation Chisato wants to wipe it away with a dry erase marker… or perhaps something a little more uncomfortable on the end. Maybe scrape it away with sandpaper? So high maintenance, even when she knows damn well there’s no ‘kittens’ or whatever around, and it’s just the two of them, and she’s known Kaoru before she decided to knight and crown herself prince.“I see. Don’t suppose you some with the receipt?”Kaoru’s ensuing laugh is a little forced, and she sees the way her lips threaten to tug downwards at her response. Good, perhaps she’ll take a hint and take it down several notches. The two remain in place, watching one another in an awkward silence before Kaoru shuffles her feet.“Uh… may I come in?”Chisato mulls it over, but with Leon prodding insistently at her leg with his snout and whining up a storm, she eventually caves and nods, stepping to the side to allow the other girl in. Leon is all too eager to force whatever part of his face he can in between Chisato’s legs to try and sniff at Kaoru as she’s taking her shoes off, and the other girl laughs a little quieter as she runs a hand over his head.“You can take a seat at the counter if you wish, I’ll just let him out so he isn’t all over you. I’d hate for him to be the reason you have to drone on to some unsuspecting girls outside.” Kaoru quietly does just that, finding the second seat from the left and sitting up onto it. When Chisato locks the door behind Leon, she goes around the counter to get herself a drink and glances to the side at Kaoru. She’s toned it down a little, Chisato thinks, so she decides to reward that.“Do you want anything? I’m getting a water.”“Ah how delightful~” And, back to square one. “If it so pleases you, I would love one!”The bottle is extended to her sharply, but Kaoru takes it with a smile nonetheless, uncapping it to take a sip. Chisato sits back in her chair first from the left, and angles the seat a little more so she can regard Kaoru carefully. She seems… a little off? Something like that. Kaoru’s definitely a little quieter than usual, more withdrawn which strikes Chisato as odd. It’s actually kind of worrying, because Kaoru doesn’t usually have a lot that knocks her off her game, and while Chisato is more than thankful that the ghost of Shakespeare past has momentarily vacated her body, it hasn’t seemed to leave too much in its wake. For a second, she wonders if something has happened, or if something she said earlier had been taken more so to heart than usual.“...So, why did you come Kaoru? You don’t usually come over unannounced… did I miss something?” It’s very possible, she had her phone muted from the library so she goes to fetch the cell from her pocket. As she is, she can see Kaoru quickly shake her head, but she does so anyway for the sake of any other texts.“Ah no- I fear I’ve done something unkind in showing up out of nowhere but-”“What then?” She’s got no time to be skirting around eggshells if something is bothering Kaoru to be entertaining her theatrics. Her bluntness may very well be a vice in the eyes of others, but at the very least it usually gets people talking to the point and she values her time greatly.“Aha… uh well you see…”And there she goes again, wringing her wrists as though she’s a child that’s being scolded for wrongdoing, but as far as Chisato knows, Kaoru’s done nothing of the sort. Why then does she have her head hung low enough that she’s staring at the countertop, and wring the wrists of arms drawn uncomfortably close to her body. It’s body language she’s seen a couple times in Aya, definitely in Kanon and perhaps a few times in Maya, but what reason does Kaoru have to be insecure?“I… well you see my dear, I wasn’t… exactly lying when I said to you what my gift was.” Chisato’s confusion becomes evident on her face, as Kaoru bites her lip and visibly tries to think of a better way to phrase it. “Ah that is: I came here with the intention of seriously being the gift, you see… Or at least, the bearer of one at least…”Hm. Chisato’s head tilts to the side and her lips purse into a thin line, trying to piece out what exactly it is she means by that. Kaoru’s evidently waiting for some kind of response or cue or something, so Chisato gives her a curt nod to go on.“Well I come bearing uh…” Were it another occasion, the kind Chisato sees happen regularly when mindless schoolgirls come trying to profess their affection for her, she may have found it amusing. She’s acting not unlike those girls, shyly approaching as though they already know the answer they’re going to receive.Hopelessly hopeful in their confession of love.“I come to you in this hour… in the hopes of giving to you my heart’s most deepest…”Oh.Perhaps she was a little too on the nail.“I… Chisato, I’ve had the grandest pleasure of knowing you for much of my life… you’ve been so very large a catalyst in shaping who I’ve become… And I admit many a time my decision were made to try and be like you.” Kaoru’s hand goes to the back of her own neck, nails raking down it’s back in an effort to alleviate her growing anxieties. “Always so fearless of what others thought… always someone people approached with respect and awe… I so dearly wanted to be that. And look at the me of today: I have people who approach me with the very same stars in their eyes I once had whenever I stood beside you.”Admittedly, her words are very flattering and Chisato feels a small smile come along. It’s perhaps the most genuine she’s seen Kaoru in a long time ( maybe ever, she muses ). This side of Kaoru, the one that isn’t a front is very endearing. It’s so sad in a different way that she’s known Kaoru so long, and she’s never gotten to know this side of her before. It’s a far cry from her over-the-top persona that she cultivated, apparently, in the hopes of being like Chisato. She actually finds it kind of endearing.“...but I am not… it’s not what I want. There are people that come to me with the desire to grow closer and I… I just can’t. It’s not what I want, it’s not what makes me feel truly right, and I don’t… well perhaps that’s a lie. I know what it is that I do want, but perhaps it’s just the fact I know the answer. Chisato I… I wish I could ask you to consider the feelings I have for you, but I don’t think that’s best… I only ask that you might acknowledge that I have them and that you… Gods, please don’t resent me for them.”The gaze leveled her way speaks volumes of the conflict Kaoru must be feeling right now. The way she only dares look at her for a second before scarlet eyes fall away and she hunches forward in a way far unbecoming of her.“...Kaoru, you’re very kind… I don’t think you’ve spoken to me like this before which is… well I suppose you might say it’s eye-opening.” She pauses to take a sip from her water; since when had her mouth gone dry. Across the way, Kaoru seems to realize she’s also got hers, and Chisato shouldn’t find it surprising that she’s downed almost half the bottle in one raise. “You’re words mean a lot to me, and I sincerely mean that, but I don’t-”“Ah-- aha! That’s perfectly fine!” Chisato’s eyes widen as Kaoru abruptly cuts her off, and she thinks for a moment she sees the beginning of tears in her eyes before she looks away, off to the side. She’s digging for something in her pocket and Chisato knows it’s rude but she leans to the side to try and get a better look. Kaoru procures from her pocket a long, white box, a small one with a semi-destroyed red bow over the top.“Perfectly, absolutely, positively fine! Why I-I think I should be grateful by just how fine that is! So great that a bard once said that in the wake of this, I shall at least be in your mind!”Chisato recognizes the quotations, however incorrectly recited, but she doesn’t agree with them at all. Not necessarily for their theatrical nature, but it doesn’t help that Kaoru’s begun lapsing back into her dramatics. The words themselves come from a quote she’s seen thrown around every now and again, and the particular part… She wants to refute the statement but Kaoru hastily shoves the box toward Chisato, eyes wide and she can confirm that yes: there are a few unshed tears threatening to fall.“I- Aha, I had a feeling I myself wouldn’t be accepted, so I at least didn’t want to disappoint such a fair lady as you! That is, I made sure to get a gift that would better fit you…”Hesitantly, Chisato takes the box and dares to slide the top off. Inside, there’s a thin layer of cotton that covers the bottom from sight, and resting on it is a necklace. It’s chain is of silver, or something remarkably close and in the light that shine in from the windows, it bears its well polished craftsmanship. The centerpiece is a teardrop-shaped citrine that all but snatched away her attention from the chain. It’s smoothed, and she doesn’t want to try touching it lest she leave a fingerprint or a smudge. It’s so well crafted, and clearly had been well cared for up to the moment. And it surely must have cost more than the usual high school student would have any need to have.Chisato takes a few seconds to admire to the piece of jewelry, already envisioning no small amount of outfits from her wardrobe it would go nicely with. A sparingly glance toward Kaoru reveals she’s staring intently for any reaction. With a heavy sigh, she sets the necklace back into the case and gently sets the top over, placing it onto the counter in front of her before turning back to Kaoru.“I want you to listen to me, and actually listen this time. That means you have to let me finish. Can you do that?”Kaoru hesitated visibly before nodding, and beneath the counter Chisato thinks she hears the sound of her pants bunching beneath her clenched fists.“You’re words… your confession was very sweet, and the necklace… I.. I don’t know what to say about it. It’s one of… no, it’s the nicest thing anyone has ever gotten me, but it is not going to change my answer: I will admit right now, I… I don’t share the feelings of affection you dearly hold for me.” She pauses to take a minute and gather herself, and she swallows down a lump in her throat as Kaoru’s tears begin to fall. “I’ve known you for a while, or at least, I thought I did. What you showed me today in that confession though… I’ve never seen you like that. I’ve only ever really seen you in that persona of yours, and you know well how much I despise that you. But… the one you showed me today, the you that I saw that I think was the real you.” She hesitates again before reaching out with one hand to trace down Kaoru’s arm, down to where she can feel her hands, and doesn’t need to see to confirm that her knuckles must be white with how hard she’s clutching herself. She softly runs her fingers over the other girl’s hand.“And I think that, given enough time and a chance, I could return your feelings. Not every single relationship begins with both parties madly in love with one another, no matter how many movies or plays or whatever tries to tell us. Love isn’t that simple, and you know that. What I’m trying to say is that no: I don’t share your feelings, but seeing what I saw today, I really do think I could.” She glances to the side, to the necklace that rests in the box, and then back to Kaoru. “But… I don’t want to give it a try if all that’s going to happen is I’m going to go on dates with the you that you front for the sake of those girls that chase you around. I don’t care what you try to tell me, that’s not the real, true you, and it’s not ever going to be the you I fall in love with.”Kaoru has all but frozen in her place across the way, and Chisato raises her and to return to her own lap. She lets the silence reign in for a few seconds before idly, fumbling with her own hands.“...So… you..?” Kaoru’s voice is weak, but her gaze has regained some of its life, and she leans in a little bit. “So… you will?”“I will. You deserve, at the very least, that. But like I said. The real you.”Her confirmation is all it takes. Before her, Kaoru falls apart, and the hands that were at her legs suddenly lurch forward with the rest of her to clutch tightly at either of Chisato’s arms. The other girl hunches over, head thrust against her chest as she starts sobbing. Chisato’s too paralyzed with shock to react immediately, eyes widening as Kaoru unabashedly cries into her, mumbling innumerable ‘thank yous’ and ‘I promises’ into her dampening shirt. When her bearings finally stumble back to her, she raises one of her hands to gently run through Kaoru’s hair, through the ponytail, the fine layer of hair against her nape. It seems to work in helping Kaoru as slowly but surely, her sobbing begins to lessen into a gentler cry, and her hand then slides down to rub at her back comfortingly. Chisato looks down to her, and in spite of the mood, she smiles gently.“Come now, Kao-chan~ you can’t be crying all evening… we’ve got to find something specific in my wardrobe to match that lovely necklace you got me, right? I’ll have to find a present so I can return the favor.”She’s thinking the least she can do is offer to find a suitable location for the first date.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
December is for Christmas, that much is clear the moment she steps out from her house. Leave it to some people to have their Christmas lights and decorations up the second the clock rings midnight after the thirtieth. It’s kind of scary how quick some people are, because she’s pretty sure dad hasn’t even bothered digging through the attic to find the Christmas tree, let alone any of their sparse decorations. Downtown is no better she finds, because the closer she gets to the the live house, the more she sees decorations up, people working to get lights strung. There’s already some holiday discount signs up in stores to which Ran shakes her head distastefully. The holiday didn’t start until at the earliest the twentieth, but you know. ‘Tis the season, or whatever.Even CiRCLE is not spared the holiday fever, when she walks to find Marina at the desk with a cheapish looking Santa hat on her head. With a sigh, she tugs on her guitar case strap and quietly walks up.“...you too, huh?”The woman glances up to her with a tired smile and gives her a quick nod.“Afraid so. Big guy upstairs wanted to do it right when December started.” She gives a shrug. “Whatever he wants to do, I guess. But anyway… yeah go right ahead.”“...I’m uh, I’m here to pick up the keys for the studio room. Afterglow’s booked for it.”“Yeah, your friends came by earlier, or well, more trickled in. What was her name.... Moca? She was the first one here, sat around in the lobby for awhile until that other friend of yours, the tall one, showed up. Then the other two came by probably fifteen minutes later, and now here you are. So yeah, go on ahead. Just don’t trash the place.”Ran gives her a slow nod, hesitating for a second before heading down the hall. Testing knob at the end of the hall reveals that it is indeed unlocked, and she quietly goes to open it in case she might be interrupting some kind of practice. Or even worse… what if it was a secret meeting for the break? Her curiosity gets the better of her, and Ran musters all the finesse she has to twist the knob without a sound.No immediate sound of music which can cross at least one thing off the list. Not even a stray strum of a guitar or a crash of cymbals. But there are voices, and as Ran cracks the door open further they’re a little clearer. The rest of Afterglow are in the midst of… something. They’re definitely singing something, but Ran’s never heard the song before which strikes her as odd, because they all grew up together, there couldn’t have been something she missed out on, right? Nonetheless, she watches silently to try and get a grasp of the situation and just as she’s getting settled against the wall, Moca suddenly starts some kind of verse in an abnormally loud voice.
Suki daze!
Halloween!
Akakuro!
Nebaneba!
Moca’s first line has her confused from the start, but when Tomoe chips in directly after with ‘Halloween’, she’s well and truly gone. Moca follows it up again in a much lazier voice, and then Tsugumi even pipes in, leaning in between the two to say the last verse.Then Tomoe stomps down and roughly points in Moca’s direction, earning a grin from the other shorter girl.
Kowaidaro!?
Himari saunters up to Tsugumi’s side, quickly taking a step forward to come between both Moca and Tomoe. Tsugumi quickly follows in, smiling something bright in her amusement, and both Moca and Tomoe take a step back to allow them space. If Ran didn’t know it any better, she would have thought they had coordinated out, but there was literally no way. They couldn’t keep a secret away from the others long enough to coordinate an entire performance that excluded one person. She watches on with narrowed eyes as both Himari and Tsugumi begin singing, some kind of response to Tomoe’s last line.
Ara~ zenzen yo!
Noroi no kotoba- tonaeru dake de
Yamiyo no tsuki ni noru wa~
Tomoe suddenly steps in, one arm tightly around Moca’s shoulders, and the other doing it’s best to pull the other two girls in as she leans in close.
Kyoufu no koe, hibiku no himeiiiii~!
And then the other three, lean in as well, singing in a surprising harmony for something so informal.
suteki na Halloween!
Alright you know what. That’s where she draws the line. Sure, she’s not overly pleased with how head over heels the town has gotten over Christmas, but at least that’s is relatively in season. With a sharp clear of her throat, Ran lets the door fall shut beside her, arms crossing over her chest.“So, I would understand Christmas carols to a degree, but Halloween songs? You guys know that that ended… well over a month ago, right?”The other girls suddenly look up to her in surprise, to her amusement. So engrossed in their little song they hadn’t realized she was watching. And then they all brighten up, standing a little taller after being hunched over for that verse. Moca breaks away, approaching her with arms raised upwards.“Raaaaaaan, Moca was wonderin’ when you’d get here. Come one, we’re trying to stay sane by singing the Nightmare Before Chrsitmas, you gotta join us.”Ran’s eyes narrow in confusion, and when she looks to her other friends for some kind of answer, she only gets varied sounds of confirmation, and a couple eager words from Tomoe before she tries motioning her and Moca back over.“...what the fuck? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”That gets even Moca to stiffen suddenly, and if it were not over a comical subject, Ran might’ve thought she’d broken some large taboo. Hell, even Tsugu is looking at her with wide eyes, looking to the side and Himari sharing a glance with Himari. Moca suddenly raises her hands up away from Ran and takes a large step to the side.“Aaaaaaaah, Moca doesn’t know if she can do this today.”“You mean you’ve never seen the movie? It’s like, the Christmas movie to see.”“Tch, can’t be that good if I haven’t heard of it.”Oh now she’s definitely crossed some kind of line. All of them have an affronted look on their face of varying degrees, but perhaps the most stunned of all is Tomoe. She’s not got her mouth open like Moca does, but Ran can see the disbelief in her eyes, and it almost makes her feel bad about what she said. Perhaps some damage control is in order, but before she can even open her mouth to begin. Moca suddenly moves to shove her forward, careful of avoid her bag of course, but the shove is still strong enough to get her to stumble.“Tomoeeeeee, there’s only one way to fix this. You gotta show it to her.”Beside the drummer, both Tsugumi and Himari nod enthusiastically and pin Tomoe with an expectant gaze. Tomoe falters for a moment, glancing between the other three with an uneasy chuckle.“Aha, why me? You live close to her too don’t you? And I’m not the only one with the movie disc!”“Well, you two are basically dating already, you could make it into a suuuuuper hot movie date.” Moca rolls her eyes and speaks as though it’s the most obvious thing in the world. She then leans in, elbowing Ran and winking slyly at her, ti which she gets an attempted elbow to her face. Snickering brightly she retreats over to Tomoe’s form, attempting to use her as a shield from Ran’s wrath. And of course, not so subtly trying to push her forward.“Come oooooon Tomoe, if Tsugu can be so Tsugurific to get Sayo to watch it, you can at least get Ran to watch it…” And then she leans in a little more, but still speaks at the same voice level. “And get her to love it so she can jam with us.”Ran is about to refute the statement, even pointedly making to tug her guitar strap over her shoulder when Tomoe nods and begins to approach Ran.
“Ah… I mean, you got a point…”“Wh- Tomoe no. We’ve got rehearsal to do and-”“Moca’s not doing’ anything until you watch that movie Rannnn~ Tsugu and Himari aren’t either.”That claim makes the other two go a little quieter, and she can see that they’re deliberating whether or not they’d actually go through with it, despite Moca’s pleading looks. Ran frowns and shoots a glare towards Moca, but she’s far from affected by it, raising her hands and giving an exaggerated shrug. Ran’s hands clench in annoyance, but Tomoe quickly gets to her side, resting a hand over her shoulder and giving it a light squeeze.“...Look if it really bothers you that much, we can stay and practice… but I’d be happy to watch the movie with you, and then we can come back here afterwards. We’ll definitely still have the studio by the time it ends.”Ran considers it for a moment, still very well set on practicing when Moca suddenly chimes in again.“D’awwwww, how sweet. Ran soooooo lucky to have someone considerate like Tomoeeee in her life~ Moca’s sooooo jealous!”That’s enough teasing to spur her into action, and with another sardonic glare sent Moca’s direction she quickly takes Tomoe’s hand and all but drags her out of the building.And thus, they end up at Tomoe’s house, awkwardly saying hi to Ako in passing before they get to her room.Ran’s been over a couple times, mostly after rehearsals end and by now there’s a small place in the corner of Tomoe’s room cleared out for her to set her guitar bag down. And she does, gently leveraging it against the walls as Tomoe moves behind her, presumably setting up the movie if the click of plastic is anything to base it off of. Ran’s still not entirely sold on the idea of skipping practice for the sake of a Halloween movie in December but if anything is to be the silver lining, it is that she gets to spend a little quality time with Tomoe. She idly leans against Tomoe’s desk, watching as the dvd player hums to life, and soon enough, the movie’s on it’s main menu.While Tomoe nabs the remote and goes to find a comfortable place on her bed against the wall, Ran quickly goes to turn the lights off, getting a curious look from Tomoe in the process.“Movies are better in the dark right? Especially since this is some kind of Halloween movie, right?”“Ehhhh, kinda’. It’s called the Nightmare before Christmas for a reason. Here, sit down.” She pats her lap and Ran doesn’t deliberate this time; there’s nobody else around after all. She finds a comfortable spot just in between her legs, and exhales, leaning back against Tomoe as the other girl starts the movie.“Basically, there are these towns based around holidays right, and so the people in charge of the Halloween Town eventually get bored of doing the same thing and they try doing Christmas.”“Uh-huh…”“It’s easier if you just watch. See look, it’s starting.”And so Ran turns her attention to the screen. It’s got a very interesting art style, not the sort of animation that usually comes with the company that produced it. It’s got that going for it, and it holds Ran’s interest as the announcer begins talking, something about ‘a place you’ve seen in your dreams’ and wondering ‘where holidays come from’. And as the screen zooms in on the tree with the pumpkin door opening, it begins into a song almost immediately.First and foremost the music catches her attention. It’s got a fairly easy to match beat, and Ran can easily fall into the same air foot-tapping that Tomoe has already begun to do. There are subtitles at the bottom Tomoe put on for her sake, but it’s not like she needs them with Tomoe leaning into her and, likely unintentionally, mumbling the words against the back of her neck. A testament, at least, to how much she knows the words. At least, unintentional is what she thinks until the ghosts on screen fly through a broken window and the next verses start.
Bed ni kakureru ore wo miro
Surudoi kiba ni makka na me
Tomoe is leaning over her shoulder to sing quietly into her ear. She chuckles quietly, attempting to nudge the other girl away, but she remains, a breathy chuckle of her own before she continues singing in time. One of Tomoe’s hands raises against Ran’s arm, wiggling her fingers like the snakes the next monster sings about, while the other hand presses her fingertips to the top of Ran’s head, attempting to emulate the skittering of the spiders the same monster sings of.
Kaidan ni kakureru ore wo miro
Hebi no yubi ni kaminoke gumo
And then they go into the chorus singing about Halloween. Ran quickly shakes away both of Tomoe’s hands, and they rest lazily around her waist once more. It moves on to some vampires singing, and then it bridges into a particular verse…
Suki daze!
Halloween!
Akakuro!
Nebaneba!
And Ran turns back to look at Tomoe.“So that’s the part you were all singing.”“Exactly right, The opening is one of the best songs, but I personally am a fan of the villain’s big song, ahaha…”Huh, not something she’d have expected. The rest of the song progresses with little other incident from Tomoe until a particular scene right after a female ragdoll-looking monster has her hair in the wind.Tomoe leans in again and Ran readies herself for whatever trick she’ll try to bring out from the movie. Instead, Ran stiffens as she hears Tomoe begin to sing again, her voice reaching a much deeper tone in an attempt, she assumes, to copy the monster singing.
Ore-same tsukiyo ni utsuru kage
Kyoufu no yume nara omakaseda
And then right back into the chorus. After the song ends and the rest of the movie progresses, Tomoe quiets back down even when some of the other songs kick in. Ran is particularly interested in the songs so she appreciates it, if only because she wants to really listen to them, learn what it is about them that has the rest of her band so enraptured.There’s one when the main guy, Jack she thinks, actually goes to Christmas Town that’s a pretty good song. It’s much more cheerful than the first song or the lament that he sang in the graveyard. And then there was the one the girl, Sally, sang. You know, now that she thinks about it, this movie has a lot of songs… it’s more musical than movie she’s tending to think. This song with the three troublemakers has only just ended, and it seems like they’re already bridging into another one.For this one in particular, Ran leans in to listen closely, if only because this has to be the villain one Tomoe was talking about earlier. And if it’s her favorite, it has to be for a reason. Must be a pretty good song.As it’s beginning though, Tomoe prods at her, attempting to get her to shift off. She’s confused of course, but Ran scoots off of her and onto the mattress, reaching for the remote so she can pause it for Tomoe, but the drummer instead reaches for her hand. It’s given willingly, and then Tomoe suddenly stands from the bed and pulls Ran up with her.Ran’s brow furrows and she immediately goes to ask what was up, but the song begins and with impeccable timing ( seriously; how many times did Tomoe watch this movie to get that on time with it ), Tomoe looks down to her to begin singing.
Oi, oi, oi
Ittai dare da?
Mitake Ran kai?
Oooo, kowai na mou!
That gets her to pause briefly, and Tomoe takes it as an opportunity to guide her along the floor of her room, pulling her further from the bed and toward the center of the room. Those are definitely not the words, no she definitely heard ‘Sandy Clawz’ from the screen, but Tomoe is improvising? It’s about as flattering as it is embarrassing and a light blush makes its way up her neck.“Tch… you’re being stupid…”Tomoe only chuckles as the song continues. She’s slowly walking the two of them in a circle, hands always over Ran’s own, eyes always on her as she sings in that same tone from earlier. Really going all in for the ‘spook’ factor or whatever it was. Well, it worked, and Ran was fully invested in her little show. She’s singing moment for moment with the lyrics which is pretty astounding from her own perspective as a vocalist. She herself would have no problem after learning the lines, but Tomoe isn’t a singer, she’s a drummer, and she doesn’t know all the little intricacies and breathing and all that other crap that goes into being a singer ( hell she didn’t even know at first ) but she’s got a good grasp on the lyrics for the movie.The song changes tempo halfway through to something different, but Tomoe doesn’t bat an eye to it. In fact, her demeanor seems to change with it, something with a little more swagger in her step. Ran’s still willingly playing along, keeping her eyes on Tomoe rather than the movie because there’s no doubt in her mind she’s doing about the same thing that’s happening on screen.Then as the song begins to close, Tomoe twirls her around a little shakily, and pulls Ran back against her chest, leaning in over her shoulder. Her arms come up to trap her in some kind of bear hug from behind.
Datte oira wa Udagawa
Omae wa nigasanai zo!
That improvising again! Ran hastily shakes her head and tries pulling away from her, but Tomoe’s hug only grows tighter.“Ahhh, didn’t you hear? The song said ‘you aren’t going anywhere’ not ‘I’m gonna let you go now’.“Tomoe!”They’re distracted for a good little while after the song ends, Ran attempting to break free, and Tomoe only trying even harder to keep her in place. They finally take their places back on her bed around when the confrontation between Jack and the villain Tomoe liked, leading into the last big scene where they’re rescuing all the kids from the Halloween-Christmas toys. It’s when they’re all packed up afterwards, talking about the movie afterwards that they pass Ako on their way to the door.“Hey sis! Where are you guys goin’?”“Oh Ako, we’re just heading back to meet up with Afterglow and resume rehearsal y’know. We just had something important to get out of the way beforehand?”That makes Ako confused, tilting her head.“Rehearsal? Yukina said we have rehearsal from five to eight today though… isn’t it like four-forty-five-ish?”“Well… that can’t be right, they said that-”“I’m gonna kill Moca.”Ran’s staring at her phone, at the glaring message on it from their group message that says the three remaining made an executive decision to simply schedule this practice for tomorrow at the same time. Himari had negotiated it with Marina and they’d simply transferred the bookings, even free of charge.“Whatever, I gotta get home. Dad’ll probably be wondering where I am if he’s heard anything from the other parents. I suppose I’ll see you tomorrow at rehearsals then.”“Guess so. Have a good night Ran.” She pauses, leaning in to meet Ran’s goodbye kiss quickly. “Heh, just don’t spend all night lookin’ at the movie’s score, yeah?”Ran gives her an unamused roll of her eyes and waves her away. “Yeah yeah, good night Tomoe. Uh… good luck at rehearsal Ako.”“Byyyyyye Ran!”-Well, when next Ran bothers sending a tired glance to her phone and sees in bright blue text [ 3:06 AM ], and looks around to the several printouts of music sheets… perhaps Tomoe’s warning was a little more founded than she thought.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Some months, those usually with a live show, the agency goes crazy with scheduling. The Palettes don’t really have a set-in-stone schedule, more they’re expected to submit their schedules a month prior, and rehearsal schedule is pieced together from there. Most times, the agency is pretty accepting of the schedule, taking note of days where exams are scheduled and allowing for ample study time in the week prior. Naturally, since many of the other Palettes work with other branches of the agency, Maya gets to use days off for work to get back to the drama department and keep up with the progress they make. Most weeks are pretty manageable though. Sure, there’s the occasional week where she has to lose plenty of sleep in order to prepare for exams because she absolutely refuses to have her grades suffer because of the band, but overall, it’s manageable.And then there are weeks like this one, where the stars, the planets and every single damn comet in the galaxy aligns. There’s barely any rehearsals since both Aya and Chisato have busy schedules, Eve’s got a couple things, and frankly, Hina was probably going to blow it off anyway.And Maya?Well, the fact that she’s laying on her bed watching anime upside down should speak pretty well for itself. No rehearsals, no exams coming up, the big play of the semester off with a bang last week? She’s got nothing on her schedule but blissful relaxation after last month’s hellscape, and she intends to make the absolute best of it. As she reaches blindly for the bag of carrot sticks somewhere else on her bed, she hears the crash of a cymbal to signify she’s got a message and furrows her brows.With a grunt, she rolls over to her side and oh- there’s they are. Tugging the ziploc bag out from under her stomach, she looks around for her phone. It takes a little bit of digging around in between the folds of her comforter to find it, but she eventually pulls it out and allows the fingerprint scan to unlock her phone. Only half paying attention, more looking to the screen at a particularly intriguing fight scene she only gives her full attention when she glances down to the screen and sees it’s a message from Eve. Her shift in demeanor is almost immediate, and she pauses only to giggle softly at the name on her screen ( one she would actually sooner die than show anyone; even her girlfriend ) before she quickly opens the text.
[ RECEIVED -> (Yamato Eve) @ 16:32 ] ( Hello Maya-san! I finished with the photographers quicker than expected. Do you want to go out somewhere since we’re both free? )
[ SENT -> (Yamato Eve) @ 13:33 ] ( Ah, I’d love to! Where did you have in mind? (smile_face) )
Ah well… Maya’s already sent it, in the process of sitting up to go get changed into something more suited to the chilly winter temperature than her well-heated room when she stops to consider actually leaving the house. Aw shit she forgot to actually, you know, ask to make sure Dad wasn’t cooking anything tonight. She’s wrapping the scarf around her shoulders when she peeks her head into the study and clears her throat.“Hey Dad… uh, are we doing anything tonight? Because I was kind of thinking of… going out with a friend.”“I didn’t have anything in particular… I think we have some leftover stir fry from last night.” The older man pauses, glancing up at the other girl. He takes one look to her, the fact she’s already started preparing to go, even before asking ( she’s usually pretty adamant about ensuring she’s alright even when he insists she’s trustworthy enough not to need permission for everything ) and gives her a knowing smile. “Ah, it was Eve-san huh?”If the girl’s embarrassed blush is any indicator, he’s hit the head on the nail and chuckled brightly.“You could’a just gone ahead you know. Not like I need to know where you are every single second.” Hell, she probably could have left without telling him, and he would’ve thought she was still just sitting around up in her room. Sure it’s… an unconventional sort of relationship they have and he’s not entirely used to the idea, but that Eve girl is helping Maya get a little more sociable, and the fact that she was so willing to go out and meet her instead of stay indoors was good. Just need to give it enough time to warm up, she’s a nice enough girl. “Just make sure you wear a coat, I know how much you don’t like it when it’s cold.”Maya breaks out into a bright smile and nods quickly, already turning to rush back up the stairs.“Thanks Dad!”And up the stairs she goes, taking them two at a time as she rushes back to her room. If they were going out for dinner as she presumed, they’d probably be out for a little while and it’d get dark by the time they start heading home. Better to change out of the t-shirt and get a proper sweater for an added layer!It’s quickly tugged over her head, and a longer wool jacket buttoned and buckled into place. After that she’s just gotta get those screen-friendly gloves and the hat and she’s good! She’s back down at the front door, working on her boots when the cymbal crashes again and she quickly digs into her coat pocket to get her phone.
[ RECEIVED -> (Yamato Eve) @ 16:33 ] ( Well there was this very cute tea house I found out opened up downtown, would that be okay?)
[ RECEIVED -> (Yamato Eve) @ 16:40 ] ( Ah, if it isn’t that’s fine! We could just go to Hazawa Coffee if you would like (◠﹏◠✿) )
She almost drops her phone in her rush to reply. Uh-oh uh-oh uh-oh, Maya wasn’t sure how she missed the first text but she’s fumbling to try and get the response back quickly. And then just before she starts typing, the three wave-motion dots appear to show Eve is drafting up another text and Maya starts shaking her head to her phone.
[ SENT -> (Yamato Eve) @ 16:42 ] ( Nononono that first place sounds nice Eve-san! Where should I meet you? )
The dots disappear from her screen, much to Maya’s relief, and then come up a second later. Likely her response, not whatever sh was typing up earlier. When she gets the reply, Maya heaves out a sigh and stands after lacing up her boots.
[ RECEIVED -> (Yamato Eve) @ 16:42 ] ( It’s a couple blocks down from entrance two of the mall! We could meet there and walk together? )
[ SENT -> (Yamato Eve) @ 16:43 ] ( Sounds good! I’ll see you there Eve-san. )
Patting down her pockets to make sure she isn’t forgetting her wallet or house keys, Maya steps out to lock the door behind her.Ugh, it’s just as cold as she thought. An experimental huff shows that she can see her breath, which just reaffirms her worries. Shaking her head, she shivers beneath the layers she wears and quickly sets off to meet Eve.For all the disdain for the cold, at least it hasn’t started snowing. It’s not in the forecast yet, but those clouds look suspiciously overcast, and Maya has a feeling it’ll start around next week. For now, she just has to deal with the overall temperature, and the wind, which is the worst part. To punctuate that thought, a particularly bad gust makes her nuzzle her lower face down into the cloth of the scarf and she grumbles quietly.She’s not too far from the mall now, just barely seeing it in the distance. The way she had chosen to come, she would be right up at the entrance they’d agreed to meet. Sure enough, when she gets closer in, the large doors are overshadowed by a blinking white ‘2’ sign.
[ RECEIVED -> ( Yamato Eve) @ 16:51 ] ( I just got here. How close are you? )
No sooner does she send out the text does she hear nearing footsteps. She’s sort of out of the way, leaned back up against so it has to be someone approaching her intentionally. As she’s turning, she gets her answer.“Maya-san!”Sure enough, Eve is there to go with her voice, Maya offering a light wave as she gets closer. Predictably, Eve’s arms go wide for an incoming hug, and Maya is quick to meet her with none of the deliberation she had when they first met. Perhaps Dad was right, and Eve was changing her for the better.“I’m happy to see you Eve-san, and happier to hear you got out of work early.” She smiles bright, offering her hand to the other girl who eagerly takes it. Maya lets herself fall into step beside Eve as she begins leading them in the direction of this tea house.“Mm, I’m glad we were able to go out like this! It’s been a little while, huh?” “Ehehe… yeah sorry about last week. It was the busy week with the play and all.”Beside her, Eve begins to lightly swing their hands back and forth, giggling softly. “It’s okay, I understand how important it is to you and your team! You’d be a poor samurai if you just abandoned them for me, so you made the right choice!”As Even guides them, they make idle conversation of Eve’s earlier work. Apparently the photographers had been giving the go-ahead to start early because the other model had flaked out due to some indeterminate reason. As a result, she’d needed to take over those outfits but in the end it worked out. Conversely, Eve had inquired as to how the play had went, and Maya was all too eager to go into that. Kaoru had naturally been the focal point of the play, a stunning protagonist to follow as always, although her improvisation had kept Maya on her toes in the catwalk. Though in the end, it had been a wide success, garnering even more popularity than last years play.Before she knows it, Eve is gently tugging on her hand to get her attention and gesturing ahead.“There it is, Maya-san! Isn’t it a nice looking place?”One look and Maya sees very clearly why Eve had taken an interest in the place. It’s very much stylized to a traditional tea garden, and Maya is genuinely surprised by the find. She gives a quiet nod under the assumption that Eve was looking to her expectantly. Kissaten like this one were going out of style, or she’d heard from Eve at some point, so it makes even more sense why she was so eager to try this one out. It was good that it was a smaller establishment too, there wouldn’t be anything too pricey or high-class.As they approach, Maya begins to take her gloves off out of respect for the staff, also choosing to take off the beanie she had worn and shove it along with the gloves into her pockets. Sheesh, not even a second without them and she’s already feeling a shudder on her shoulders. Really is far too cold. At least the shop will be nice. As Eve quickly makes to go ahead of her, Maya gets her first proper look at the other girl in full and she’s… kind of surprised.It’s one of the outfits she remembers seeing the other girl wear during the autumn, immaculate white jeans and a similar long-sleeve undershirt. Coupled with the light blue turtleneck, she certainly looks pretty, and comfortable too but there’s no way she can actually be warm in that, right? Maya’s still cold and she’s got a thick sweater and similar coat. Perhaps she was simply dressing under the impression that the interior would be really warm. When she follows Eve inside and she speaks to the front end worker though, she sees the error in that thought process.Eve and Maya walk beside each other as they follow the lady, and Maya notices with mounting worry that they pass by a couple spare tables. She confirms her worries for sure when they are guided toward the doorway leading to the back garden area. As expected with the weather, the tables there are all empty but Eve seems incredibly pleased by this. She eagerly takes a seat at the table the lady offers to them and sets out two small menus, promising to return once she has the means of recording their orders.She almost wants to get her gloves out again.Hesitantly, she takes a seat on the opposite of Eve, managing out a smile to her in spite of the cold.“Isn’t it so lovely Maya-san? It’s perfect!”Her enthusiasm is appreciated, but Maya can’t share it too much. Her one saving grace is that the outdoor seating is well protected from the win; it’s just the standing chill she needs to deal with.“A-aha… it is certainly nice but…” Across the way, Eve blinks and tilts her head, a frown coming to her lips. “Maybe next time we should come here when it’s uh… y’know, warmer?”Confusion writes its way onto Eve’s face, glancing up towards the sky for a second as her brows furrow. Then as soon as it comes, realization dawns on her features, and Eve laughs brightly.“Ohhhhh I see! I suppose I didn’t realize it was very cold out.”…what.“You mean you’re not cold in- in that?” Maya gestures toward the other girl’s simple attire and she receives a bemused shake of her head.“No, no it’s quite nice actually!.. But you… you must be really cold, if you’re using that coat. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear it before.”“Yeah, it’s my uh, winter coat. Usually I break it out when it starts snowing and all. How though… how are you not cold? It’s gotta be near freezing at least.”Eve laughs even more at that, gently making to reach out to take Maya’s hands in her own.“I don’t think so Maya-san. Probably somewhere closer to five degrees if I had to guess…”With a grumble Maya rolls her eyes and meets Eve’s hands over the table. Eve clearly makes to interlock their fingers, but the second Eve’s palm slides over her own Maya’s eyes widen and she yelps in surprise. Eve’s gaze shoots up to her in similar surprise, and Maya quickly snatches her own hand back against the front of her coat.“Waaaaa, Eve-san, your hands are super cold. Like-- super cold.”The other girl blinks as she processes it, glancing down to her hands with a curious look. Maya’s overreacting a little bit, but she’s genuinely surprised by how cold Eve is, and still claims to be completely comfortable.“Are you sure, Maya-san? They don’t feel all that cold… but you do seem very warm.”“No, it’s definitely you being cold.”Before they can continue, the lady returns to kindly ask them if they had an idea of what they wanted. On the spot, Maya quickly nods and asks for a coffee and the first thing on the sweets section of the menu she read. Across the way, Eve asks for a cup of tea, bowing her head in thanks as the lady walks off. Idly resting her hands on the table, Maya watches the woman go off, but is jolted back to attention when Eve reaches for her hands again.Both are on hers, and they’re just as cold as before, though this time Eve is pointedly trying to keep a hold of them, to Maya’s dismay. She’s even kind of amused by Maya as she tries tugging her hands back.“See? It’s not that cold! You’re just really, really warm in comparison! This is nothing compared to my home in Finland!” She speaks matter of factly, as though it’s a good thing that she lived in such a cold place. “It could get to the early negatives if it was cold enough! And when we went up north it got even worse. Apparently some places got to negative twenty, but we never did stay for too long in the winter.”Oh god, those are negative numbers. That’s just horrible. People actually live like that? That’s basically being a human popsicle, kind of like how Eve is going to be shaping up to be if she’s as cold everywhere else as her hands are.“Eeeeeve-san, that’s not something to be proud of!”Eve simply giggles and makes a very valiant attempt to keep Maya’s hands from withdrawing into her pockets for the rest of the evening until the coffee gets here. She’s finding it amusing now, and her smile is more playful as she goes well out of her way to tug back on Maya’s hands, keeping them out in the ‘cold’.She’s doing it on purpose now, Maya muses in disdain, and she eventually twists her wrists in such a way that Eve lets go and she quickly shoves them down into her pockets. A small victory, if only because Eve huffs out in a disappointed manner at being done so soon.The lady returns with their orders and Maya kindly thanks her before turning her attention to Eve. Maya keeps a very good eye on the keyboardist as her hands come to take hold of her own drink. It’s very, very warm, probably scalding fresh but Maya doesn’t mind at all. It’s a veritable sanctuary compared to their prior place and she lets out a sigh of relief. Eve seems to enjoy her tea, probably a lot less hot than Maya’s coffee and capable of being sipped at sooner. She’s glancing toward Maya’s small plate of anpan, and Maya gives her the go ahead to take on. Maya herself takes one soon after and hums pleasantly as she bites into it. Very well made, she’d definitely have to take Eve back here after the weather warmed up.Once she’s able to actively drink from it, Maya is pleasantly surprised by the coffee too. She’d needed to add a bit of sugar to it to make it bearable because black coffee was far and away to bitter, but it was still a very good blend.Soon enough they’re finished and the two rise from their place to head back to the front to pay. Maya enjoys the brief warmth of the interior before they pay and head back out into the cold. Eve offers to walk Maya home, and after some back and forth, they’re heading back towards her home.Maya catches Eve attempting to be stealthy and worm her hand toward Maya’s but she quickly takes the initiative to link their arms instead, pocketing her own hand soon after and looking to the other girl with a self-satisfied expression. Eve’s lip comes out in a pout, and she pauses for a moment before another smile comes to her lips. Her hands slides down along the sleeve of Maya’s coat and Maya realizes too late that Eve intends to shove her hand into the pocket and takes hold of Maya’s own. The only good thing is that she’s only keeping it there, not trying to take it back out into the cold.“Eeeeeh, Eve-san! So mean…”“No, no Maya-san! I’m only trying to be kind to my fellow samurai! If we boost up your cold tolerance you won’t need to worry!” There’s is poorly contained amusement in her voice and Maya scoffs at the claim. Nonetheless, she doesn’t bother trying to wrest her hand from Eve’s. At least her opposing hand is still safe in the pocket that has her hat and gloves.They draw nearer and nearer to Maya’s home, and once on the porch Eve takes a step back and returns her hand to her own side. Maya fumbles with the cold metal of the keys until she’s able to unlock the door. Before entering though, she pockets them and turns back to Eve.“Huheh… y’know, notwithstanding the weather and all, I really enjoyed it Eve-san. Thank you for inviting me.”“Haaa? Of course Maya-san! Nobody would be better to share that with than you!”And then she’s coming in for a big hug, one Maya foolishly indulges in. She realizes it in the way Eve steps extra close, tries and succeeds in distracting her with a fond kiss as arms curl in around her shoulders. And then hands that have no business being as cold as they were are suddenly on her neck, attempting to delve down beneath the collar of her coat and Maya all but squeals in surprise as she tries to wrench herself away to no avail“Eve-saaaaan!”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Tomoe’s only just beginning to dig through the cabinets in preparation for the evening when the doorbell sounds. Hm, she’s surprisingly early, earlier than she’d expected at least. Maybe there were less lines at those convenience stores on the way out than she’d thought. Finding the cocoa powder could wait a second longer, it’s not like Himari will want to charge straight into making the drinks anyway. Tomoe’s got a feeling she’s going to hear a little bit about her way here before they even breach the subject of making the cocoa.Predictably, the moment she opens the door wide enough there’s a flurry of dusty pink rushing forward into her chest. Even now after months of dating and years of simply knowing her, Tomoe still stumbles back in surprise from the impact, chuckling lowly.“Hey-heyyyyyy! Nice to see you Tomoeeee!”“You too Himari, glad you got here safe. Got here kinda early didn’t you? Did’ja skip out on a store or somethin’ like that?” She turns on heel, gesturing for Himari to come in, and she complies just as soon as her shoes are off and hat are set into the side closet.“Nah, if anything I actually found one a little out of the way from my usual path… I guess I was kinda excited to get here though, so I ran in between stops!”Did she now? Glancing back over her shoulder as they get to the kitchen, Tomoe gets a better look at her and sure enough, there’s light sheen of sweat visible on her forehead.“Didn’t get too out of breath did ya’?”Himari’s gaze turns sharp, and she lightly stomps one of her feet down, jostling the plastic bag at her side with the motion.“Eh!? You trying to say something about me! You know I’m on the tennis team, I’m not that out of shape!” She punctuates the accusation with a jab of her index finger to Tomoe.Tomoe’s responds with a humored chuckle shake of her head. “Aw, you know I didn’t mean anything by it, just playin’.” She starts digging through the cabinets again, squinting as she tries moving around some of the contents. She knows for a fact they do have cocoa powder because she went out and bought some herself. Glancing back towards the other girl to fill up the quiet, she prompts her.“So, what’cha got in the bag? You said you stopped somewhere new?”Himari noticeably brightens up at the question, eagerly stepping over the kitchen island and turning over the bag. Almost all the contents dump out unceremoniously, a couple off brands of totally-not-pocky, some bag of sweets and chips and the like. More sugar to go with their hot chocolate. Classy.A-ha, there’s the damn tub of powder. The cabinet is shut after she gets it, and Tomoe promptly drops the powder down next to Himari’s veritable pile of sweets. Blue eyes quickly scan over the stash, bright eye catching wrapping colors clashing together.“I’m seeing lots of potato and taro chips but no shrimp chips. So not cool.” She glances to Himari again, offering a soft smile in spite of her words and turning to go find some mugs for the two of them.“That’s because shrimp chips are horrible, and waaaaay too salty to be any good.”“Hey, don’t you diss shrimp chips in front of me, I’ll boot you out onto the porch and steal all your snacks.” Teasing empty threats between one another, it’s one thing Tomoe’s come to love between the two of them. That is, among several other things.As she’s turning, bright red and yellow catches her eye, and she narrowly dodges the bag of whatever it was sailing towards her. Himari giggles as Tomoe shoots her a wild look before turning back to the bag. There’s some matter of cartoon shrimp on the front, an overly animated style pair of eyes on it that look a little too happy given the bag contains chips of its own kind. Both mugs are taken in one hand, and Tomoe pumps a fist in the air before snatching the bag up.“Score!”“You better be thankful, that was a hundred and fifty yen that could have been another box of pocky.”“You better believe I am.” The mugs are set down beside the tub of cocoa powder, and Tomoe leans over to give the other girl a quick peck to the cheek.“Now then, whatever you’re gonna open first better go well with hot chocolate, because I’m gonna get the water. Should be warm enough by now.”Behind her, she can hear Himari’s deliberation, picking at several different packs of the sweets she has. The tea kettle begins to cry something shrill right on time, and Tomoe quickly pulls it off to one of the other stovetops. She lets it cool a moment longer before turning with it in hand again, setting it over a small plate she’d set out earlier.The mugs are pulled over to her side, and Tomoe begins with the forest green mug, scooping in a couple more spoonfuls of powder than is probably necessary. She knows well how much Himari likes her chocolate, and what kind of girlfriend would she be if she didn’t allow her to indulge in it even more than she already did? The hot water comes next, poured with around an inch of space left for toppings.Himari’s decided on what she’s eating first it seems, and a pocky stick is extended Tomoe’s way. She takes it with a murmured thank you, but rather than eat it, she elects to use it to stir Himari’s hot chocolate, pulling it back with a fair bit of the chocolate melted and the biscuit crumbling. Still tastes good, if her hum and subsequent bite is anything to base off before she starts preparing her own mug. Once that’s down, and Himari offers her another one for the same use, Tomoe quickly procures the whipped cream from the fridge, shaking it up a little before sliding it across the island to the bassist.“Go wild.”Himari rolls her eyes in response, but the pack of pocky is quickly placed down in favor of her hot chocolate. It’s pleasantly warm, but she knows better than to try drinking it yet. Instead, the whipped cream is put to use, and the mound she adds to the cup jiggles precariously with every shift.“Sheesh, want some hot cocoa with that whipped cream.”“Oh quiet you, it’s not even that much.”Tomoe chuckles in response, taking another one of the pocky from Himari’s box, and using it to further dip into her cocoa. Melted chocolate mixed with even more chocolate tasted pretty good you know. She watches as Himari attempts to take a sip from her cocoa, garnering a small moustache-esque stain of whipped cream over her lip. And, of course, a bright laugh from Tomoe as she yelps in surprise. It was still very much hot cocoa, and not warm cocoa yet.Grumbling quietly, Himari sets the mug down and all but snatches the bag of pocky out from Tomoe’s hands. It opened so she can grab two out, lining them up parallel to one another and taking a bite from both at once. They remain in relative quiet as they wait for the cocoa to cool off, Himari offering a pocky to her every now and again until, seemingly, the last one is pulled from the box and it’s tosses haphazardly over into the sorting box for recycling. It’s placed between her lips and she rests both elbows onto the island, holding her head up as she expectantly turns her gaze on Tomoe. Bemused, Tomoe quirks a brow upwards, taking a good look at the smear of whipped cream still over her lips. She can hear a grunt as Himari wiggles the pocky between her lips and then clears her throat expectantly.Tomoe takes a couple steps over, leaning down as though she intends to bite down on the other segment of the pocky and she can all but see the sparkle in Himari’s eyes. And her subsequent surprise when Tomoe reaches out, silently thanking that Himari elected to give her the chocolate covered end, and promptly snaps it at the section that rests close to Himari’s lips. She can’t hold back a smile as Himari processes exactly what happened, brows furrowing into a glare as Tomoe chomps down on the chocolate section before she leans forward.She presses a firm kiss to Himari’s lips, reveling in the stillness that is her continued surprise. Himari can surely feel the smile on Tomoe’s lips and she remains for a few seconds more before pulling back and eating the rest of her stick. Some of the cream from Himari’s lips is gone, so Tomoe can only assume she’s taken it. This is confirmed when she swipes her tongue over her upper lip and tastes the overly sweet topping.Himari blinks in rapid succession before it catches up to her and her face flushes in a bright blush.“W-what was that!?”“Y’know you don’t need to use a pocky to get me to kiss you.” Tomoe winks slyly as she begins to reach for her mug of hot chocolate. “Sure does sweeten the deal though.”Himari groans aloud at the play on words, snatching up her own mug to drink now that it’s cooled off a little bit. “That is horrible and you should feel bad.”They both laugh brightly at that, and Tomoe sets down her drained mug with a pleased look on her face. Himari’s got that stain of whipped cream on her lips again when she lowers it, a satisfied look on her face. When Tomoe starts reaching for the bag of shrimp chips though, Himari is quickly spurred into action and she all but lunges to yank on Tomoe’s arm.“Oh no you don’t! You gotta let me kiss you back while it’s still hot chocolate taste on your lips, and not those nasty chips.”Tomoe grins in response, tearing the bag open before Himari’s eyes, but mercifully leaning down to allow Himari her request. This time, when she pulls back, she can definitely feel the whipped cream on her lips but rather than clean it away immediately, she first reaches for the bag, pulling out on of the chips and tentatively wiping away the cream with it. The horror in Himari’s eyes as they widen comically is amusing if only because of the subject, but when she bites down onto the chip-cream combo, she pauses, clearing her throat. Her nose scrunches up a little bit at the taste, definitely not the best, and she can already see Himari starting to laugh at her reaction. Tomoe’s eyes narrow in response, and she ponders how to get her to cut it out.The drummer grabs a handful of the chips and messily shoves several into her mouth. The taste is much better, and she can feel her mouth tingle from the amount of salt she’s taking in all at once, but it’ll be well worth it. When she finishes eating them, she flashes a sly grin at Himari.“Hey, come give me a kiss Himari~”“E-ehhh? Wait a sec-”“Aw come on, you were so eager for one earlier!” As Tomoe starts striding toward her intent on getting one, Himari quickly squeaks in surprise and quickly runs to the other end of the island, prompting Tomoe to start chasing her.Suffice to say, when they finally tire each other out in the chase, it’s about time to pour the second mug of hot cocoa, to take the place of Himari’s cooled cocoa.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Bleary brown eyes seek out the digits of the alarm clock imploringly. It’s still incredibly dark in her room, and while the shades are drawn, there’s no light that tries filtering in from the outdoors. The clock reads [ 3:52 ] and she sighs quietly.It’s been something of a habit of Hagumi’s, no matter what hour she goes to bed. When she was younger, there was always a curfew enforced strictly and even young as she was, she learned very quickly not to be up and about after eight at night. One two many occasions where her bored footfalls garnered the attention of her mother, and she’d not get to bed until at nine or ten with how long those lectures lasted. It at least helped her make sure she woke up on time for school. Even when she bridged the gap into high school and nights were later, kept up by something whether it be homework, the angry shouting of parents downstairs or more recently, practice for Hello Happy, her waking hours remained the same.Always on the cusp of that four a.m. mark. Sometimes a little before, sometimes a little after, but always near four.It had been troubling the first few nights in high school, but she quickly got used to it. Always quick to find the silver lining, it allowed her ample time to truly wake up before she headed out for softball practice in the mornings. That and her mother tended to remain asleep until at least eight, at which point Hagumi was long gone.The biggest problem with waking up at the hours of the morning when nobody in the right mind would be awake is when it comes to the weekend. And coincidentally, today is Sunday and there’s no real reason for her to leave the house early. The fact that it’s Christmas morning, technically, doesn’t help her all that much. Not that her family has been particularly big on the holiday ever since her older brother left and Dad started walking out every other night, but the bassist has a feeling the implications would piss her mother off.With great deliberation, Hagumi sits up and shoves the blankets down towards her knees. After years and years of practice, she’s gotten quite good at being silent in her own home, knowing what parts of the bed are creaky, what parts of the floor are directly overhead the master bathroom downstairs, things like that. Rubbing at her eyes, she quietly trudges her way through clothes on the floor toward her closet, ensuring the door is closed behind her and the small rug she has in there is shoved up to the crack under the door before daring to turn on the lights. It was still winter, so she’d need something warm if she was going out…Ah, maybe the softball sweatshirt! It was super fuzzy on the inside even after all the two years she’d had it, and would certainly keep the wind out. It’s plucked off its hanger quickly, followed by a super long orange turtleneck that’d be great beneath it. Once those and a hand-me-down pair of cotton-stretch pants from her brother’s closet were on, secured with a belt, the light goes off and she silently shuts the closet behind her.The clock reads four AM on the dot when she silently pulls on some socks and makes her way downstairs silently. Her phone is in her pocket alongside her wallet, just in case, and she wastes no time hurriedly getting her shoes on and snatching her hat from the rack before sneaking her way out the front door. She takes a second to look back to the keypad and ensure she remembers the code before quickly setting off.Aha… now that she’s out here though, she looks up to the dark sky and huffs out. She can see her breath barely in one of the streetlights and shakes her head, resolving to distract herself with her phone. Maybe someone else was awake! Oh that’d be super good, someone awake she could talk to all morning!She shouldn’t be as disappointed as she is when she looks through the instant messenger app and finds not green symbols near any of the top names. It is a Sunday, and four in the morning, who would be awake? None of Hello Happy are, that’s for sure. She almost wants to send a message to Mii-Mii or maybe Kokoron, but what if they were up late last night, given how excited Kokoro got whenever Christmas was brought up in conversation, it wasn’t too far fetched. With a sigh, she continues to scroll down. She gives a sparing glance up towards the sky again. Still very dark, but the sky has almost started to take on a navy color instead of black, which means the sun will be coming up within the hour. There are several stars still out since this neighborhood is well away from downtown, but surely they won’t be around too much longer…Wait, that’s it! Stars! Excitement wells up in Hagumi again, and she exits out of the messenger app to go to the proper texting one. She jams her thumbs down, eagerness making her bounce from foot to foot as she drafts up the message to Kasumi. Ever since she found out the other girl was, in fact, her friend from when she was younger, she’s gone well out of her way to try and spend time with her again. When they were young, Kasumi was, without a doubt, Hagumi’s closest friend, and someone she always felt happy around, even after days when Mom and Dad shouted for hours and hours in their bedroom before Dad stormed out of the house without so much as a goodbye for the night. And most certainly she’d been a veritable anchor for her on days when Mom would yell at her, at her brother ( but mostly her ) and throw around cups and plates until something broke and she inevitably slammed the door to the master bedroom shut behind her.
[ SENT -> (~★Kasuuuuu★~) @ 04:06 ] ( kasuuuuu are you busy??? )
[ SENT -> (~★Kasuuuuu★~) @ 04:06 ] ( i wanna watch the morning stars with you!!!! )
[ SENT -> (~★Kasuuuuu★~) @ 04:07 ] ( pleeeeaaaaaase! )
Even without an answer, Hagumi already starts heading for the other girl’s neighborhood. They haven’t moved since their time as kids, and while the surroundings have changed, Hagumi would never forget how to get to her friend’s house. She’s just about there, seeing up ahead the corresponding mailbox, and she’s still not received a message back. It’s not entirely unexpected, because Kasumi doesn’t seem like the type to wake up super early, especially on the weekend, but Hagumi is almost desperate… she’ll shamelessly knock on the door… maybe throw pebbles at Kasumi’s window like in those cheesy romance movies!She’s leaned up against the stone mailbox awkwardly shifting from foot to foot when the chime of her phone all but makes her jump.
[ RECEIVED -> (~★Kasuuuuu★~) @ 04:14 ] ( waaaaa its so early haguuuu ;~; )
[ RECEIVED -> (~★Kasuuuuu★~) @ 04:14 ] ( and its christmas!!!! Uuuu but if if its to watch the stars with Hagu i’ll do it! )
[ SENT -> (~★Kasuuuuu★~) @ 04:15 ] ( yaaaay! Whenever youre ready im outside!!! )
She doesn’t get an immediate response back, but she’s far too excited to worry about it. Kasumi said yes! She said yes! That’s great! They’re gonna go morning stargazing and watch the sunrise and everything! Oh she’s gotta think of somewhere great to watch from… oh maybe CiRCLE! It was a bit of a walk, but they could sit down there. Ooh, maybe the playground not too far from here. A lot quicker to get to and less likely to run into people… yeah that sounded nice!The door to Kasumi’s house opens, and it’s quietly shut behind the girl before she quickly makes her way over to Hagumi, eagerly opening her arms for a hug. Hagumi is all too quick to dash up and meet her for it, cheering in her excitement.“Kasuuu! I’m so glad to see you! Come on!!! We gotta go look at the stars!”Kasumi’s hand is taken in Hagumi’s own, and she quickly takes off in a run toward the playground. Kasumi’s hand squeezes her own, and she can hear the other girl’s laughter as they run along.“It’s super awesome seeing you too Hagu! I so wasn’t expecting it though-- did something happen?”“Ehhhh? No, Dad isn’t home and Mom won’t be awake for awhile so I figured I could enjoy the stars with a friend!” Her explanation isn’t entirely truthful, but Kasumi seems to catch on and she nods in understanding.It doesn’t take them too long to arrive at the playground, given how fast Hagumi was pulling the other girl along, though as soon as they get nearer to the border of grass into woodchips, Kasumi starts lagging behind and huff-puffing. Too fast? Uh-oh, she hopes Kasumi is okay… it’d be really bad if she had just tired her out getting all the way here… too fast... too fast, just like mom said. Too energetic.Kasumi takes notice, sucking in a deep breath and squeezing Hagumi’s hand.“Come on-- phew… look, were here! We can… we can go up to the top of the playground and get a super good look at them, yeah?”Hagumi hesitates for a moment, but nods in agreement, and this time it’s Kasumi dragging the other girl along, eagerly throwing a bright smile over her shoulder to Hagumi as she lets go of her hand to climb up the rope ladder section to get onto the playset proper. Hagumi follows after her, scaling it far quicker than the other girl did, and they set off over the narrow bridge that leads into a staircase. It winds up towards the tallest slide on the playset, and it’s there that they finally come to rest. Kasumi crosses her arms over the top of the slider and rests her chin down against them, back rising and falling with each breath. Hagumi is in much better condition, carefully climbing her way onto the safety rails of the playset, dangling her legs over the edge.“They look super nice, don’t they Hagu? So bright, especially against that blue!”Hagumi hums her agreement, looking between the aforementioned sky and Kasumi’s face, bright and excited in spite of her fatigue. Eyes veritably sparkling with an energy that seems infectious as she stares up towards the sky. Hagumi follows her gaze again, craning her head back to look straight upwards. It’s starting to get a shade of brighter blue, and just off into the horizon, the first cracks of orange are beginning to bleed in over the navy. Dawn, it seems. She makes to try and reach for her phone to check the time, and sure enough, it’s a little to five AM. Time always seems to pass quickly with Kasumi, and for that, the girl is thankful. It’s times like these, ironically, when she’s away from her parents and in the company of her closest friends, her found-family Kaoru had once called Hello Happy, that she’s the happiest. Spending time with them is great, and Hagumi treasures every second of it. Every time Kaoru goes off on one of those super cool, super theological side tracks, or when Kokoro charges against Michelle and tries to give her a hug that’ll lift her, only to be lifted in turn. And the times when that leads into Kanon nearing Michelle to join in, and Kasumi inevitably wants to feel that affection, and Michelle is so kind to let her in, and even Kaoru shifts closer so they’re all together. Even when Misaki subs in for Michelle, there’s still a sense of that togetherness, and Kokoro gives her the hugs in Michelle’s place, and the same thing happens over again!But… but with Kasumi it’s different. There’s a deep sense of affection in her heart for Kasumi, a lot like the kind she has for everyone in Hello Happy, her found-family… but that just doesn’t sound quite right. Found-family… Hello-Happy is more like a tight knit band of sisters to her than anything ( although Misaki reminds her far more of her brother than anything else ). Kasumi though? Kasumi doesn’t feel like a sister, and she doesn’t want her to feel like one! The way they share hugs and send texts super late at night, and the way that they hold hands and one of the two of them always seems to blush in the midst of cheerful laughter?She feels a warmth at her back, and for a second, Hagumi is so surprised from her thoughts that she wobbles on the safety bars. Then arms quickly come around her stomach in one of the bear hugs that Kokoro really loves to do, but it’s firmer, and not just for the sake of keeping her safely on the bars. Kasumi’s face buries into her back and she nuzzles against the back of her sweatshirt.“Y’know I’m really, really happy that you invited me out here!.. It was a big surprise in the moment but I really loved being out here with you!”She enjoyed it! Loved it even! That sets her heart alight, and a goofy grin comes on Hagumi’s face. Hands that really should be covered by mittens with how cold they are come over Kasumi’s, but she doesn’t seem to mind. Only nuzzles into her further once she sees it’s okay, and Hagumi looks back up to the sky, a little more orange now, and the stars have begun vanishing from sight.What was is Kokoro went on about the other day at practice? She was super eager about Misaki staying the night when she was standing in for Michelle… something about how important it was for people to spend Christmas with another person, not just family.Kokoro really did like Misaki, didn’t she? Kind of in the way Hagumi thinks she likes Kasumi, right? Then if it was super important for Kokoro and Misaki to spend Christmas together, surely it meant the same for Hagumi and Kasumi to do so as well!“We gotta stay here until all the stars are away… and then maybe we can go get something to eat before I go back! Huuuuuh Kasuuuu, please?”“Waaaa, stargazing and breakfast with Hagu? I’m super-super happy now!!! It’s almost like a date!”A date huh. A Christmas date. That was what Kokoro had called it, and from the way she now remembers Misaki blushing at the idea, the way Kaoru had immediately broken off into another monologue, it had to be something really heart-poundingly good, as Kasumi would say.Well if that was the case, Hagumi would absolutely make sure it was the best Christmas-heart-pounding date ever!
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
When they had begun this little thing of theirs, Sayo will admit she had been apprehensive. Her mother and father had always emphasized that she shouldn’t feel rushed in the slightest about finding a relationship. If anything, they highly advocated for her focus to be away from it, focus on her studies so that she could get far in life, farther than they had at any rate. And for a good deal of her life, Sayo had stayed fairly true to that. She wasn’t really the one to bring other people home, no that was something Hina did. More times than she can even begin to count, especially in middle school, she would bring people home after supposed dates. A couple boys at first, but that dropped off very quickly, something about them being far too boring, not boppin’ enough. Even the girls she brought home never seemed to keep her attention they’d always end up breaking up.Perhaps part of her attempts to stay away from relationships stemmed from her younger twin’s frequent guests, never there for more than a week or so before they were gone. She worried not that she would have a similar problem, but that she would be the one who got so invested, but ultimately was dropped within the month. Although her sister was certainly a large part of why she didn’t try even before that fact.Where Sayo spent days and nights studying to keep her grades up to her high standards, Hina effortlessly maintained them. She’d heard tell from several classmates that she often slept in class and turned around to ace all her exams. That alone was an easy selling point in Sayo’s mind: why try to date the girl who would study day in and out for her grades when you could date the one who had plenty of free time to go to the movies or the cafe, and achieved the very same end result? And then there was a matter of interests. Sayo focused on very few things and was very good at them, studies, archery music. Hina’s interests were about as sporadic as the types of people she brought back, and it was so effortless to tailor her interests. Did the person she was dating like chess? You bet she would come back the next day and give them the best match of their life. Birdwatching? Give her a minimal amount of time and she could probably name every single one of the things that flew over the park.Next to that, how could Sayo feel confident in trying to find someone to like her back?Her sigh is heavy as she refocuses in from spacing out, looking to the dying fire. There’s plenty of ash beneath the log currently smoldering out, pulsing lines of red indicating they’ll still be active for a little while. She has to shift between the other two girls carefully, slowly so they won’t wake up as she moves away, forward so she can add another log or two to the fire, turn up the gas so they’ll catch some fire. It’s pleasantly warm once she gets in close to add them, and she hums a pleasant and soft thing as she turns, sits her back to the fire and feels warmth meld into her sweater. Here now, she’s got a good view of the other two, previously asleep on either side of her now leaned up against one another. Sayo smiles softly, if not a tad bittersweet at the sight.For all her adversity to relationships up to and including her first year of High School, she should downright be ashamed how quickly she grew attracted to Yukina. It wasn’t even love-at-first-sight like some idiots in middle school had gone on about. It hadn’t been her looks she’s been enraptured by, it had been her voice, her drive, so very like Sayo’s own. Within that first day, that first pseudo-practice to test how they sounded together, she’d been in the deep end. It was just so refreshing after being in so many bands that were lax, never wanted to really go anywhere to find someone who felt exactly as she did. Of course, her looks did come into play soon after that, and why not? Yukina was physically attractive too, immaculate in appearance, never a hair out of place, confident in herself that came out in the way she held herself. Even now, as Sayo silently watches on as the vocalist shifts in her rest to find some way more comfortable, she manages to look so well put together in bland turtleneck and a black skirt with stockings. Offhandedly, her thoughts drift to more inappropriate ones than simple admiration, the desire to lean in and run a hand through straight, lilac hair, to shift her once again so that she is up against Sayo’s side, perhaps even clinging to her arm as she tended to do when she was in a deeper sleep. Even, perchance, to press a gentle kiss on her forehead while she’s unawares.Idly, she shifts so her hands support her as she leans back towards the fireplace, kept safe by the chain-link ‘curtain’ that stopped any embers from jumping out. It had been Lisa’s idea to all gather at one of their houses, sit by the fire and warm up as the snow fell. She’d even thrown around the word sleepover, and that’s what it seemed to be shaping up to be. The fire was, at least holding up to expectation, and the comfort had been enough to get all of them sufficiently drowsy. Sayo had only woken up shortly before adding to the fire.Lisa… with that, she shifts her glance, watching as the other girl leans in against Yukina’s head with a small smile. Her hair, much wilder than either Sayo’s or Yukina’s, was held in a makeshift ponytail, slung over the shoulder that hadn’t been against either of them.Lisa had taken much longer to grow attracted to, and Sayo feels just a little bit of shame in admitting that it was in no small part because of jealousy. Her first introduction to the girl had been less than satisfactory, admittedly, with her refusal to take part in the band until when they had met Ako. It had only heightened as she grew to watch how close she and Yukina were ( Yukina, her real and true first crush ). Sayo had considered herself and Yukina so very similar, and in many ways they were. For that reason, Sayo had only stared in well-hidden surprise as Yukina allowed Lisa to, essentially, get away with murder around her. Sure, she was stiff and cold on the outside impression, but the way Lisa could sling an arm around Yukina’s shoulders, the way she would offer out cookie for Yukina to take a bite from… Sayo couldn't understand it. At the time, Sayo would rather have been caught dead than to allow someone to do that with her in front of people.Naturally, as the band had progressed, she had grown to accept the other girl, though jealousy had still had a firm place in her heart. It had become clear that Lisa had a drive that Sayo hadn’t seen at first. She so quickly got rid of her nails, willingly put in hours to improve her playing because she didn’t feel herself up to par with Yukina’s standards… Sayo had genuinely admired her that, and the way she even went out of her way to make everyone feel welcome.When they first started, beyond Yukina, Sayo hadn’t truly felt a sort of camaraderie with any of the other girls, only seen them as a means of finding her own sound. Lisa was the one who ultimately contributed to that change. She would always be the one to initiate some kind of gathering, as she did now, she would be the one who brought small snacks so that they all would come together as more than a band, try to find some common ground with everyone. And as Sayo looks back on it, she shakes her head at her own actions; of course she’d gone out of her way to try and brush Lisa off. She’d been adamant about it to Sayo’s annoyance, and it paid off after many months of wear and tear. The Sayo of then would have turned up her nose if someone claimed that she even began to enjoy the other girl’s company, claimed it was only for the sake of mooching free cookies, but here and now? She’d admit that yes, she enjoyed it, she enjoyed having someone she could talk to that wasn’t as incessantly prying as her sister. Yukina wasn’t really an option because she had always been of a like-mind, and it never truly gave her insight to things.It had been Lisa who had really opened her eyes to try and mend the battered bridge between she and her sister. And it had been because of this slowly building relationship between the two that Sayo hadn’t all but lost it when she came in one day to find Lisa and Yukina in an embrace early before practice. Yukina, her first crush, and Lisa, the first person she truly talked to about her problems and received meaningful help.Even now, so many months after the fact, Sayo’s gaze still drops from the sleeping forms of the two down to the carpet of the living room. She can feel her hands begin to clench into fists from the phantom memory of the heartbreak she had felt even though she knows well enough how foolish it is. The fire suddenly feels a little uncomfortable at her back, sweater a marginal few degrees hotter, but she doesn’t both trying to move it. It’s a good distraction from her thoughts however brief, and she shakes her head to try and clear them away.She stills when in front of her, she can hear soft mumbling, can see as she raises her gaze Lisa’s feet begin to twitch with her wakening. Soon enough, dull brown eyes open, and they slowly rise to look at Sayo properly. The bassist’s brow furrows in confusion, and Sayo watches as she shifts to get a good look at her side, noticing the softening of her gaze at Yukina before she looks again to Sayo. Her voice cracks slightly from lingering fatigue and lack of recent use, still seemingly getting used to being awake. Surely the fire isn’t helping that desire to go back to sleep, warm and inviting from over there.“...Sayo? What are you doing over there..?”Sayo hesitates, brows creasing and lips twitching into a frown. It’s enough of a sign for Lisa to blink, trying to leave behind the tiredness.“Just… thinking Lisa. Lost in thought, I suppose.”“Hmmm, you don’t have me convinced. You don’t have the Sayo-is-thinking face on.”“Oh?” Sayo exhales sharply in amusement, though she maintains a neutral countenance. “Then what kind of face do I have?”“A mix of the Sayo-is-self-loathing and Sayo-is-having-a-depresso kind.”A rather crass way of putting it, and Sayo snorts in response, but she does not make any indication that Lisa is off her mark. Something she seems to take notice of very quickly, if the way she gently takes Yukina’s weight in her hands, softly letting her down so she can rest lying down. Lisa crawls forward so she can sit beside Sayo, gently leaning into her side and turning so her attention is fully on the other girl.“You know you can talk to me about it, right?”Sayo rolls her eyes in response but nods any way. Of course she can talk to Lisa about it, she’s the only one who she can talk to about it and not receive a response that’s absolute shit at helping, or a response that’s blunt as Yukina’s usually are.“Mmm, not helping your case Sayo. Tell you what~ if I can guess what it is you were thinking about, will you talk to me about it?” Lisa sighs in exasperation as Sayo scoots around the other way, pointedly avoiding her gaze as she now faces the fire, and Lisa quickly follows the action, facing the fire and resting her legs out so her feet can get a bit warmer ( perhaps taking off socks had been a poor decision with how cold it was ). She quickly adds on: “No lying about it either!”“Fine. I won’t entertain you all night about it though.”“Mhmm~ you won’t have to. You were thinking about Yukina and I, weren’t you.”If the way Sayo stiffens minutely at the mention is any indicator, Lisa’s hit bullseye. It’s a problem the three have come to deal with many times, what with the grandiose complex Sayo has about herself. Even so, Lisa gently feels around to rest her hand in Sayo’s gently squeezing it.It hadn’t gone unnoticed between the two of them when they had first gotten together the way that Sayo’s gaze had always managed to find them. Always on them when she thought one or both of them weren’t looking, and the way her gaze wasn’t quite… angry as Lisa had first thought, or even jealous… it had looked more defeated, empty than anything, and it didn’t help that she’d always jerk away the moment one of them looked her way. Her sound had suffered greatly because of her feelings, they had noticed. Not that it was bad playing, because Sayo was a truly astounding guitarist… it was just lifeless. Nothing behind it.“I know you Sayo… you’ve talked to me about so many of your problems, you’ve trusted me enough to talk about them…” Her thumb gently finds the other girl’s knuckles and runs over them with he pad. “Trust me when I say that we didn’t approach you about sharing our relationship because of pity. You have to know that right? If not for me… at least for Yukina. You and her are so much alike it’s uncanny… you would never try and date someone out of pity would you? Do you think she would?”Sayo takes a breath in, a shaky one Lisa can feel and her shoulders slump as Lisa leans into her, gently nuzzling her head into the join of her shoulder and neck. Between the two of them, Sayo’s hands squeeze weakly over her own.“Of course not… I just… you two looked so happy together, I didn’t understand why you bothered…”Lisa shakes her head quickly, glancing up towards Sayo’s face, admiring the way the firelight flickers against her, draws emphasis to certain parts of her face, noticeably to her eyes that Lisa thinks shine with a couple tears but she doesn’t dare point them out.“Sayo… you…”Suddenly, she can feel an arm slide over her other shoulder, a hand running through her hair as it slides down toward her chest. Out the corner of her eye, she can see another over Sayo’s shoulder, and Sayo makes a sound as soon as she feels it.“Because you aren’t a bother Sayo. Do not think for a second that I brought up to Lisa the possibility of including you because I felt sorry for you.” Lisa can feel more than see the way Sayo’s jaw sets at the statement, though the sharpness of it is lost in Yukina’s fatigue, more a duller murmur against the back of Sayo’s neck. “That’s a disservice to you, and one I won’t stand for. Like Lisa said… you’re so much like me.”The vocalist hums softly as she tries her best to get comfortable, legs folded beneath her as she leans into Sayo’s back. It’s pleasantly warm from when she was facing the other two, and Yukina is very tempted to end it there, nuzzle back into the warmth so she can fall asleep again.“Did you think I didn’t share for you the same admiration you had for me? Finally finding someone who wanted to be better, to prove themselves and willing to devote themselves to something greater? If you really think I don’t feel strongly for you, let me let you in on something:There were many nights I would have better spent rehearsing in my own time, writing my own music, something that I instead spent deliberating. I wasted away so, so many hours thinking about you… it only grew when I got together with Lisa. I could see it was affecting you as well- you’re not very subtle when you’re troubled to that level. I was so worried that you would eventually leave… and not for the sake of losing your sound I thought I should have been…”“Yeah, you know, I think for once in her life, Yukina is the one who sought me out to talk about her troubles. By that time at least, you and I had been talking for awhile.”In the midst of this, Sayo’s gaze falls down toward the ground again an unreadable expression on her face that Lisa can only barely see from this angle.“Now look where we are: we’re here. Sitting in front of your fireplace together. Not as friends, not as bandmates, but as three partners in a relationship..” Lisa’s voice has taken on that insistent rise to it, the kind where she has a point she’s trying desperately to make.“And not because we pitied you, not because we felt oh-so-sorry that us being together troubled you.” Yukina pauses, shifting around so she can sit on Sayo’s other side, curling one arm around Sayo’s as she leans into the other girl’s side. “Because we love you. Not because I love you and Lisa didn’t want to leave me. Not because Lisa grew so fond of talking to you and I didn’t want to break up with her. Because we love you. Both of us.”Lisa hums her agreement to Sayo’s right, and interlocks their fingers together so she can pick up Sayo’s hand and kiss whichever finger she gets to first.Sayo remains still for a second more before she sucks in a breath and glances from side to side between the other two. Lisa smiles sweetly to her, tilting her head while Yukina stares up at her with hazy but focused eyes.“...I- I know…” She sucks in another breath, choking up on her words. It’s nice, the feeling of being reassured that it’s all in her head. It’s not the first time they’ve breached this subject, and Sayo knows well it won’t be the last, but it’s the deepest they’ve gone on the subject, and it increases the affection she has in her heart for both of them. “I love you both as well.”The fire ahead flickers, the log pops something resounding and prepares for its crumbling descent into ash for the remainder of the night.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Hinaaaaa, it’s really cold out… I don’t think spending time just before rehearsal like this is a good idea…”The other girl doesn’t seem to pay her words any heed though. The ground is covered in a good bit of snow, little under an inch thick but still managing to stick around. Aya had worried that it may have caused rehearsal to be cancelled, but the supervisor on shift today had called for everyone to come in today. Aya was pleased, considering there was nothing much else that she could feasibly do. Most places closed early when the weather got to be like this, and her family was quite content to remain indoors, especially her younger sister. Apparently few of her bandmates shared the sentiment, and even Eve whom she’d assumed would be ecstatic about going out in this weather had sent some frowning emoji into their group message.The only one who seemed to share her enthusiasm had been Hina, going on and on about how boppin’ it was going to be carrying her guitar around out in the snow. After meeting up with Aya on the train, she’d even made mention of how she wanted to go play a song or two while out in the snow, to which Aya had hastily tried persuading her out of. Who know what kind of damage could be incurred by playing it while snow was still falling, and Aya just knew that the higher ups would be far from enthused about needing to replace a guitar. Not that Hina ever worried about those kinds of consequences, perfectly content to whatever it was that pleased her.Like now, as she frolics toward the undisturbed expanse of snow just outside the agency building. At the very least, Aya can take some relief in the fact that the guitarist chose to leave her guitar case behind at the bench she’s currently sat on.Hina’s laughter is enough to keep her from her thoughts for too long though, and gentle pink eyes follow the other girl as she runs to and fro, leaving her footprints anywhere she can manage that hasn’t already been disturbed. It looks fun for sure, if her laughter didn’t already confirm that fact, but Aya knows better than to go out and try to join her. She’s far and away not dressed up enough to go romping through the snow with winds picking up every now and again. She learned as much last year when she and her sister tried having some fun in the front yard and both promptly woke up with colds the next morning. In truth, she really should be trying to get Hina out of the snow because it’s not like she’s dressed any better.A sweater and a coat might be good enough to keep her upper half warm, but that combination of shorts and tights on her lower half is all but begging to get her sick before the day is over. It gets even more worrisome when Hina suddenly drops down to her knees, hunched over something Aya can’t see, but she hasn’t heard any shouts to indicate it’s because Hina’s hurt herself in some way. In fact it seems quite the opposite: she’s giggling brightly, though the way it sporadically stops and the starts again makes Aya think she’s trying to stifle herself, for whatever reason.“Hina, we really ought to head inside… it’ll be much warmer, and we can get the studio ready for the others…”Unsurprisingly, Hina makes no motion to indicate she heard Aya and for all she knows, she hasn’t. That or she’s just intentionally ignoring her to get a rise out of her. Honestly, Aya adores her from the bottom of her heart, but some things she does are just downright troublesome, and she knows very well it does.With a grumble, Aya gets up from the bench, warily eyeing the guitar case off to the side and her surroundings ( surely nobody would steal it, but she couldn’t help but worry ) before she heads off into the snow. She does her best to match Hina’s wild footsteps left behind, if only so that the snow doesn’t melt into her shoes and soak her socks underneath because that would be the actual worst. As she gets closer, she tries once again, a little louder.“Hey! Hina, we really need to go in.”That gets the girls attention, and she suddenly whips her gaze over her shoulder, staring at Aya with a blank expression. It’s actually kind of unnerving given seconds ago she was laughing brightly, and in general, Hina is incredibly expressive. Aya’s voice dies off rather quickly beneath that gaze, and for a second, it reminds her of the resting face of the other girl’s older sister, but nowhere near as intimidating. And then it’s gone in an instant as Hina breaks out into a wicked grin and jumps to her feet, revealing what it was she’d been covering.A large pile of snowballs. Decently sized ones.Aya eyes them for a moment with confusion, glancing between them and Hina’s expression. Two and two only get put together when Hina suddenly reaches down and snatches one of the top snowballs, turning fully to Aya and pointing out toward her.“I’m so gonna stay out here! And I’ll keep you with me, that way it’ll be extra boppin’ out here!”Aya scoffs quietly and shakes her head, turning away from Hina. If she wants to stay out here, fine. Aya intends to go back indoors though, somewhere she can start getting rid of the chill that’s begun to set in on her fingers and toes. Behind her, she can hear a negative sound from Hina, and then what sounds like an attempt at a threatening countdown. The vocalist is undeterred though, striding on until she reaches the sidewalk, only a few feet away from the steps that lead up to the building proper.And then the first snowball lands with deadly accuracy, not but a few centimeters ahead of where she was going to step down, all but painting the face of the first step in powdery white. The second nails her square between the shoulderblades, and she yelps in surprise from the impact, whirling around to stare at Hina in disbelief. But of course, the other girl has a cheshire grin, and already has another snowball in one of her hands, menacingly being thrown up and down.“Hina what the-”“I told you already! It’s super boring in there, not bangin’ at all. ‘Sides, we got time until everyone else gets here.”Aya shoots her a weak glare and whirls around only to feel the impact of a snowball to the back of her leg, making her stumble for a second. When she turns her gaze back on Hina again with intent to speak out against her, she sees the other girl snagging up two more snowballs as she begins trotting over to where Aya stands.For a second, she thinks to turn and dash indoors with all the speed she can muster, but the more rational part of her thoughts take over. There’s absolutely no question that Hina would follow her in and throw snowballs inside with little regard to the mess she might make. That’d inevitably anger the people working, and part of that blame would get shifted to her for getting caught up in another one of Hina’s shenanigans. Hesitantly, she risks a glance to the other part of the lawn, more undisturbed snow lay waiting, but more importantly was one of the trees. She could, in theory, run over there and trip Hina up, enough for her to get back to the front doors and disappear inside.It’s a risky plan, but it’s the only thing she’s got because there’s not a single chance she can beat Hina in a snowball fight, especially with her pile over there ready for her to take from. With a deep breath Aya bites her lip and turns tail, immediately booking it for the tree. Behind her, she can hear Hina react, laughing aloud as she, presumably, chases Aya down.The plan was a good one, and seemed to be working for all of about ten seconds. The span that it took Aya to reach the tree.She didn’t take into consideration that Hina would be much quicker than she was, given that sports were among her expansive list of interests. Nor did she at all expect that when she reached the tree and made to run around it, glancing over her shoulder, that Hina would be quite literally right behind her. So behind her in fact, that the other girl’s foot accidentally steps down against the back of her heel and Aya’s eyes widen as she stumbles down face first into the snow. And Hina, being Hina, immediately started cackling her ass off, doubling over and holding her stomach as if that’d somehow make her hard laughter hurt a little less. Hina is far less amused by the turn of events, and even less so by the fact that when she tries to get back to her feet, Hina suddenly decides to fall into the snow beside her, still giggling brightly as she attempts to hug her in their prone forms.In her attempts, Hina’s hand briefly rides up against Aya’s shirt, and when her hand rubs against her belly, Aya yelps in surprise.“Hina what the heck!? You’re even colder than the snow!”“Ehehe… yeah I kinda started to lose feeling around the eleventh snowball I made back there… made it suuuuper easy to make them when I stopped needing to worry about the sting!”“Eehhhh!? That’s- that’s really not good Hina!” Aya sits up suddenly, locking a worried gaze onto Hina and immediately making to stand. “Come on, we need to get you inside! Maybe run some water over your hands!.. Oh wait! H-How are you gonna be able to play the guitar during rehearsal like this? Ohhhh no…” While Aya begins to worry about that as she offers a hand down to Hina, the girl brightens up considerably.“You’re a genius Aya! If we have to spend all that time getting my feeling back, then we just won’t have rehearsal! Isn’t that so great! Oh this was a boppin’ idea Aya!”That has the idol’s eyes widening again as Hina begins to drag her towards the doors to the agency building. Wait, that was so, so not where she was going with that train of thought, but leave it to Hina to misconstrue her words. But this brings up a whole new set of problems, particularly ones that she’ll have to deal with the people in charge for because Hina’s going to use it as a scapegoat to avoid practice.“E-eh! Wait Hina that- that’s not..! I didn’t come up with this! Hina, this is all you! Hina are you listening!” Ahead of her, Hina giggles and shakes her head, which is already answer enough.“Not at all~!”“H-Hina! Come on!..” She whines, glancing over her shoulder and groans aloud. Problem after problem it seemed. “Hina! Get your guitar at least! It’s gonna get damaged if it stays out here, or maybe taken! H-Hina… Hina!”
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When the suits had first approached her about their plan, Misaki had a few reservations about it. Probably at the forefront of her thought process was just how they had managed to keep Kokoro’s belief in ‘Santa’ intact for so many years. They were fixing to go into their second year of high school, and by this point almost everyone knew Santa was more an icon than actual person. And flying reindeer? Really? Perhaps it was just Misaki’s family, but they had put that idea to rest surprisingly early, where even her younger sister knew gifts were from family. Besides, by this point in life, she was bound to get the truth spoiled by classmates sooner rather than later.Of course, a very tight second worry had been the fact that their plan required Misaki to spend the night at Kokoro’s on Christmas Eve. Staying the night itself wasn’t a huge problem, Kokoro all but forced her into it on numerous occasions and honestly, Misaki wouldn’t be surprised if some of her clothes were just a permanent fixture in Kokoro’s room, ready for whenever she was over. The problem wasn’t even the implications of her staying the night with Kokoro for the holiday, her mother trusted her well enough. It was more… she was worried how long she’d be staying with Kokoro, given her track record from the past few sleepovers. Misaki’s family didn’t really celebrate the holiday conventionally, gift exchanging didn’t really happen until around noon, so it was just a matter of if Misaki was going to be able to get home before then. It had taken some lofty promises from the suits on the subject before her mom allowed her to do so.When she had finally agreed to go along with their plan, it was described in better detail on the ride to Kokoro’s mansion. She was, essentially, going to be Kokoro’s Santa for the night and that entailed about what she’d expected.It would be just like any other sleepover, remaining up as long as Kokoro was and eventually falling asleep beside her. Only, she was to remain awake and wait until she could confirm that Kokoro was asleep before silently exiting the room and rendezvousing with the suits to begin moving however many presents there were to the tree. After that, she would return to Kokoro’s room and without disturbing her so she wouldn’t suspect anything, get back into bed and sleep as though everything was the same. In theory, a very good plan, perhaps one of the more reasonable ones on the part of the suits and she voiced as much. When they arrived though, she hadn’t thought to consider just how much more hyper and excited Kokoro would get on Christmas eve.Sure, she’s been marginally more perky and excitable during Hello Happy rehearsals and all, but now it seemed as though the excitement would never die out. They’d spent a good deal of the evening in Kokoro’s room, with Misaki’s ear being talked off by all of Kokoro’s wild wishes. It was nothing like the conventional wishes one would hear from a high schooler, no wishes for the latest phone or game system ( Gods knew Kokoro probably already had them to be honest ), but it was things that were surprisingly deep for Kokoro to mention. Among those wishes was, of course, the continued desire to make everybody in the world forget how to frown, but she had also expressed her desire to do something together as a band though when Misaki has offhandedly prompted her about Michelle, she’d gone quiet.“Mm… of course I’d love to have Michelle around for the holidays, I love her just as much as the rest of the band!” She began, though her head tilted to the side and she stared off towards the wall blankly. Even her smile had wavered for a second. “But I mean… she’s got a family to return too as well. Maybe she could bring her family out here and we could meet them all!”Misaki had only given a tired out chuckle at that point. At least she wasn’t demanding that they go search for the bear suit right this very moment. After that conversation had ended, Misaki had prompted her about anything she wanted to, any letters to Santa or the like she wanted to have prepared for tonight.“Mmm, I already wrote my letter! It’s sitting on the table near the tree right now! No peeking!” She jabs a finger to Misaki’s side playfully and her grin returns in full force. “Ah, but I’m sure Santa won’t want to come all the way out here with nothing to welcome him! We should make him cookies!”Misaki paused at the idea, and then an uncharacteristically soft smile comes to her lips. The action only prompts Kokoro to grow even more dead-set on the idea, and she launches herself off the bed and grabs Misaki’s hand.“Yeah yeah! Come on Misaki, we’ll make him so many different kinds of cookies, it’ll be great!”What could she do but follow through the winding halls, down to the main foyer and then to the kitchen. They had run into Kokoro’s mother on the way down, and she had sent Misaki a subtle wink and a mouthed thank you before she had waved them away.Cookie making went… surprisingly well all things considered. Misaki had made sure to emphasize how Santa would no doubt just be happy to receive some from her, but Kokoro was very intent on making the most perfect ones. That’s how they ended up wasting away a good deal of the evening, well into the night. By the time the two were done, there were sugar cookies, gingerbread ones, chocolate chip ones, and no small mess left on the counters. Kokoro was eager to drag Misaki and the small mountain of cookies along with her to the expansive living room where the tree stood. Once the cookies were set out, Kokoro had turned to Misaki and eagerly tugged on her arm.“...I’m getting kinda’ tired! We should go back to my room to sleep!”She certainly didn’t seem that way, but Misaki had nodded quietly in agreement.“Go on ahead… I’m going to go uh... .... ... get some milk. For Santa I mean. It goes great with cookies, right?”Kokoro had nodded eagerly, throwing herself onto Misaki in a large hug before turning to dash up the steps to the wing that had her room. Meanwhile, Misaki did indeed return to the kitchen, intent on starting to clean the mess only to find the suits hard at work.“Ms. Okusawa, please leave this to us. You can go rest before we meet back in a couple hours.”“Ah… sure, just getting some milk to set out, for Kokoro’s sake, y’know…”“Mm, excellent idea. We shall have it poured and placed for you. Do enjoy your rest. We will see you then.”With a hesitant nod, Misaki returned to Kokoro’s room. It didn’t quite sit right with her to leave the mess for someone else to clean, but she supposed Kokoro did it enough that they must be used to it by now… and surely her offer to help had at least kept her in good standing.Kokoro had changed by the time she’d gotten up, a pastel yellow nightgown that reached her knees. Misaki got changed quickly as well, a baggy pair of sweatpants a couple sizes too big that were woolen and a ratty tank top that was no doubt from some middle school tennis event ( the perks of ordering clothes in sizes several too large ).As she’d expected, it took quite a bit of persuasion to get Kokoro to actually fall asleep, even after the lights had gone out. For awhile, they simply laid on their sides facing one another while Kokoro fidgeted restlessly.“When do you think Santa will get here? Maybe we should stay up to greet him!” It was a barely-whisper, and even in the faint light from the overhead fairy lights in her room Misaki could see the sparkle in Kokoro’s eyes.“I think he won’t get here until he knows you’re asleep…” This sort of thing wasn’t her forte… especially considering she’d never needed to talk to her sister about it like this. “..Uh, you know, for the magic.”Hm… how best to convince Kokoro that it would be better to go to sleep than to wake up.“That is… maybe part of the reason everyone smiles so much is from the surprise, y’know? If you stayed up all night, you’d know exactly when he came by, and you’d even see what sort of presents he had on him. Don’t you think it’d be more exciting to have that unknown?”Kokoro had hummed quietly as she thought it over, even rolling a bit back and forth in the comforter before eventually facing Misaki again. She scooted herself forward and snuggled up against Misaki as she nodded.“Hmmm I guess that makes sense… I’ll have to stay up at some point so I can thank him for everything… But I guess for now, if that’s what keeps him smiling, it’ll be a secret!”Crisis averted. Kokoro had given her a quick peck on the lips before closing her eyes and leaning her head back down against the pillow. She didn’t fall asleep immediately, and there were several times where MIsaki had tried shifting where Kokoro had suddenly opened her eyes. Eventually though, Misaki’s movements were met by nothing, and even her soft calls of Kokoro’s name weren’t receiving a response.Show time.It was surprisingly easy to detangle herself from Kokoro’s hug in such a way that there was a thick clump of comforter that took her place. She silently padded her way to the door, momentarily thanking the suits for always keeping everything in top condition as she opened it. No creaks to wake Kokoro up as she silently shut it behind her.Traversing Kokoro’s home at first had been troubling, if only from the fact that it was a much larger home than she was used to, and many halls looked similar. By now though, she’d gotten quite used to it, and in no time was able to peek her head into the kitchen. Sure enough, in the faint light she could make out the suits, idly leaning against the counters as, she assumed, they waited for her. Without a sound, she enters the kitchen and manages to get the attention of the closest one. Surprisingly they are without their shades, but perhaps that isn’t a bad idea with how dark it is.“Ms. Okusawa. Young Miss Tsurumaki is asleep then?”“Yeah, she fell asleep awhile back… just wanted to make sure and all.”“We appreciate your thoroughness. Everything is prepared, if it pleases you we shall begin.”With a nod, Misaki follows them into one of the further rooms. It seems like some kind of guest bedroom that’s been cleared out, and there are… not as many presents as she’d have expected from someone of Kokoro’s stature. Sure, Kokoro never outright said that she wanted anything physical per se, but she supposed given how wealthy the family was, anything would be attainable. Not that she could exactly tell what was in the gifts, labelled in fine cursive with a sender of ‘Santa Claus’. They began moving them silently, a small trail of night lights set out for her so she could guide herself to the tree.Soon enough there’s only a couple smaller ones for Misaki to grab and she had politely requested to leave the rest to her. There had been some hesitance, if only from the worry that Misaki would be gone too long, but she assured them it would be fine.Once she returns to the tree with the last few presents, she gets down to her knees to slot them somewhere they’d be in sight. As soon as that’s done, she turns to leave and catches sight of the table they’d set out the cookies out on. Sure enough, the milk is there in a tall green cup, and Misaki sidles up next to the table.It’s all about the realism, right? Then surely it wouldn’t be too bad to maybe take a few of them… drink the milk too. The cookies go one at a time, and she’ll admit they’re very, very good. Her personal favorites would definitely be the sugar cookies, but the gingerbread ones are surprisingly good given the complexity. She and Kokoro had done a good job, she muses with a soft smile as begins on the milk. It’s not cold, more room temperature but Misaki sort of preferred that, especially given it was somewhere around midnight. She quickly eats one of the cookies down to around a three-fourths margin, and then quickly crumbles the rest of the cookie in her hand. A good amount of the cookie is spread around the tabletop as though ‘Santa’ had eaten most of them there. From there, a small trail of crumbs leading towards the fireplace with the rest of the cookie crumbled up into the fireplace, and she returns to the table.Kokoro’s letter still remains, and Misaki quietly pulls it out from under the plate, unfolding it to read. Surprisingly, she’s not used highlighter or glitter pen or something to write it, instead just plain old black ink. It’s a short little letter, mostly talking about how she still wants to make people smile, and she thanks him for being someone that can always manage to get people to smile. The last part of her letter though, she asks if there’s anything that Santa can do or give her that would keep all of them together, the band that is, anything that help keep Misaki with her all the time.It’s heartwarming and Misaki’s gaze softens as she reads it. After some deliberation, Misaki tucks the letter into her sweatpants pocket and quickly makes her way back to the bedroom. Instead of tucking herself into bed, she goes instead for her backpack. The letter is hastily thrown in, and she pulls out her own gift for Kokoro. Nothing as awesome as some of Kokoro’s gifts she assumes, but it’s a heartfelt gift and she hopes Kokoro likes it. She returned to the tree to stow it away near the back of the tree, and then quickly returns to the bedroom.Getting back into bed is the biggest problem, because as soon as she starts shifting back to her original place, Kokoro starts to mumble softly, shifting in place, and then one of her eyes opens, blearily looking at her with a half-lidded curiosity.“Mm…… Misaki? Where…”“Ah… you know how bad I am in here.” She mumbles softly, making to distract her by wrapping an arm around her waist and tugging her closer. “...I uh… got lost on the way to the bathroom.”Kokoro’s giggle is breath, and she nuzzles into Misaki’s chest eagerly. “So silly…” And then she mumbles out what she thinks is another good night or an I love you, and she begins to fall asleep with Misaki quickly behind her in that regard.-The next morning, she wakens to Kokoro’s excited speaking, firm shakes against her shoulder.“Misaki! Misaki!! Santa came by yesterday night!!! It’s so great, you have to see it!”She’s only half awake when Kokoro pulls her out of the bed, stumbling toward the door. She’s perfectly content to have the consciousness of a zombie as Kokoro guides her through the halls, speaking at several miles a minute.“He even ate the cookies! He’s so messy it’s funny but I think he liked them! He ate so many and even walked to the fireplace! And the milk you set out, he drank it all! And-”Misaki feels maybe a bit guilty for tuning her out, but she needs to get her bearings and wake up properly before she can fully process what Kokoro’s going on about. When they enter the living room, they’re greeted by Kokoro’s parents, both smiling brightly and waving to Kokoro as she runs over with Misaki in tow.As Kokoro begins to open the presents with sparkling excitement in her eyes, Misaki feels a pleasant pang in her chest. It’s a cute, innocent excitement and while Misaki doesn’t agree with keeping her in the dark about the truth for as long as they have, she can’t argue that the result is incredibly endearing. They’ve gone through pretty much all of the gifts by now, and Misaki is starting to prepare to leave with the help of Kokoro’s parents when Kokoro suddenly lets out a comically loud gasp.“Wait, this one is different!”Misaki turns slowly, watching as from the back, Kokoro pulls out the small wrapped box that she had snuck under there. Her parents are confused for a moment at the sudden appearance before Kokoro suddenly calls out: “Misaki? You had one to give?”Chuckling awkwardly, she returns to sit beside Kokoro amidst the mess of wrapping paper and nods.“Uh, yeah, ahah… it’s not really all that much, but y’know, I tried.”Kokoro giggles brightly and claims that anything she’d made would certainly be good before tearing the paper away. It’s a small discount box she’d found at the place she worked, and once Kokoro works it open the first thing she pulls out is a doll. A doll of Michelle to be specific, made by Misaki herself. Kokoro squeals in her excitement, holding it high above her as she marvels at it.“She’s super cute!!! You made this?”“Yeah, haha… I remember you once said something about how it was cute that I’d make dolls for my sister so I figured I’d try my hand at it for you and all… That’s uh… that’s not the only thing though.”Kokoro gives her a funny look of curiosity, gently setting the Michelle doll to her side and then pulls out the last gift.“You got me a book?”“...something like that.”Kokoro’s brow furrows in curiosity and she looks first to the spine, seeking out a title. When no such thing shows itself, she returns it to its front. She opens it and is immediately met with a large photo of all of Hello, Happy World, one from their first month. Kokoro’s curiosity heightens from there, and she flips the page. The next is filled with smaller photos of school functions, band practices, just occasions where they’d met up. The next page has fewer images, but they are accompanied by small notes written and laminated onto the page from Misaki. As it goes on, more recent photos are seen, and the last part of the scrapbook is filled exclusively of photos of the two of them from various dates, sleepovers anything else Misaki could think of, and then some.The suits had been instrumental in creating this, given how close to Kokoro they always were. They were surprisingly good photographers while remaining incognito.When the book closes, Kokoro is left speechless for awhile, and Misaki begins to worry. She remains silent, unmoving, staring down at the back of the scrapbook. Misaki can feel the gazes of Kokoro’s parents on her back and she worries for a second that maybe she’s disappointed them and Kokoro too when she sets the book down with a gentle reverence the likes of which she hadn’t seen in the other girl before. Then as soon as it’s safe on the ground, Misaki has no time to react before Kokoro bowls her over, embracing her tightly with her face buried into Misaki’s chest. She thinks for a second that she feels tears, and that’s confirmed as soon as Kokoro looks up to her with glimmering eyes and sniffles.“This--... this the best thing I’ve ever gotten..!”“A-ah… I’m glad… I kinda worried it wasn’t going to be good enough… I’m glad you like it-”“I love it! I love it, I love it! I love you! I love you so much!” And then her face is back against her chest, and her hug tightens that much more again....Aha… guess mom will have to wait a little while before Misaki gets back, there’s no chance of leaving here any time soon. Not that she would want to even if Kokoro let her go.
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What was a relationship without a healthy bit of rivalry?Well perhaps it worked out well for most other people, but these people are a far cry from Yukina and Ran. The foundation of the very relationship was based around this rivalry of theirs, built and strengthened over months and months of challenging the other. It hadn’t started off smooth, what with Roselia suddenly stomping onto the music scene and taking the rug out from under Afterglow. Yukina’s attitude hadn’t done much to help that fact, and Ran often found herself butting heads with Yukian during dual lives, or events where both bands played. Overtime it grew from a feeling of outright challenge to respect. Yukina could admit that Afterglow had a sound that in some ways, Yukina envied. The fact that the other singer was so certain of her band whereas Yukina still believed they were looking for their place had played into it greatly. Ran on the other hand, respected Roselia for their professionalism, and the quality of the music they produced, particularly the vocals. There were times after they graduated to a mutual ‘rivalry’ where the two vocalists would meet up and talk, debate and collaborate over lyrics.From there, it had taken some prodding from both sides’ bandmates to eventually point them in the direction of entering a relationship. And what a relationship it was. They were incredibly supportive of one another, of the endeavors and challenges both took on because they were in the same boat and knew what kind of bravery it took to step into something new. But even in this, that sense of rivalry had never left. And perhaps that was for the better. They strove even further to challenge one another, to be a goal for the other to try and reach out to so that when it was inevitably attained, they could share in the glory and the feeling of victory. Yukina was unrelenting in her challenges, but Ran had an unshakable conviction, a headstrong mindset that allowed her to claw her way up to the top when things got difficult.Of course, it only made sense for this rivalry to find its way into their passion. Kisses were an ordeal in itself, and there were never soft and gentle pecks to the cheek, the forehead- it just wasn’t either of their styles. Their kisses were sessions of their own and both had the desire to one-up the other. Dates were another thing, and it surprised many of their bandmates that the two went out quite frequently. It wasn’t uncommon for the two to spend some manner of time with one another every day, whether that be quiet walks through the city, or true dates to cafes or restaurants. They always felt the need to reaffirm, to prove just how much they loved the other.They always felt this mutual rivalry in anything they did, even the small things.Like when the last hour of the Roselia rehearsal ended, and the band began to pack up. Yukina listed out the things she observed that needed some tuning, Ako’s excitable drumming getting a little ahead of the tune, drawing out Lisa’s need to keep up, which contrasted to Sayo and Rinko’s staying on target. Sayo had also come forward to point out a couple more things, and then the clean up began.As had grown to become custom, when all was said and done and the instruments were safely tucked away in their respective cases, Roselia left together. Rather than turn the key in, the band left with a wave to the front desk, out to the courtyard where an expectant Afterglow waited.“O-hoh wow, that’s a pretty good one Ran!”Lisa suddenly speaks up at her side in the midst of she and Yukina’s conversation, looking ahead to the other girl. It took a few seconds to put the pieces together, realizing that her friend was referring to the sweater Ran was wearing. Apparently today was stupid-sweater-practice for Afterglow, as the other members also had their own ones. Ran’s was admittedly humorous in a satirical way. Black wool with the usual Christmas patterns of trees and triangular shapes. The bottom pattern was similar in the triangular shapes, but there were also snowflakes. Yet the focal point of the sweater was the pure white dinosaur knitted on the front, appearing to have just taken a bite out of the distressed figure of Santa in its claws. The sight of it made Yukina snort in amusement, though her arms crossed over her chest.“Yeah I thought it was. The rest of them,” A quick motion back towards the rest of Afterglow. “Thought so too. Do you have the keys?”Yukina steps forward, the keys jingling in her hand as she extends them out toward Ran. Between the two of them, Yukina’s brow quirks up and her she gives a small smirk.“Here they are… the sweater is alright. Nothing astounding though.” She can see as the younger takes quick offense, furrowing her brows as she makes to retort. “Don’t let us stop you. I’m sure you’ve got rehearsal to attend to.”The two share a tense gaze bronze meeting scarlet unblinkingly until eventually Ran is forced to be the one to step down from the challenge. Her eyes narrow as the keys are snatched away, and she roughly pockets them and tugs on her guitar case, giving them a curt nod.“So we do.”Needless to say, the text she receives later that night from Ran inquiring as to what that comment had been about is expected. And her response only troubles Ran more, simply a foreboding ‘You’ll see.’ before her icon goes from green to grey, signifying her logging off the chat.-Today it’s Roselia who kicks off rehearsals again, though to Yukina’s annoyance they have to start a couple minutes late. The moment she walks in a prepared to address all of the band, Lisa suddenly squeals aloud.“You’re actually wearing it!”The it in question is the sweater she’s currently wearing, alternating red and white stripes that ring all the way around the shirt, and alternate into rings around her arms on the sleeves. It’s altogether a plain sweater by itself, but it was a gift from Lisa a couple years back, and she had of course added her own little touch to it. Just over the center of her chest, the front half of a reindeer plushie is sewn against it. Still not quite crazy, but the humor lied on the back, a fact that Yukina was all too eager to prove later that afternoon when they were informed from the front desk that Afterglow was on their way to take over the room for their hours. Borrowing one of the hair ties from Lisa’s wrist, Yukina had pulled her hair over the shoulder in a loose ponytail so that the back would be the first thing they see.As expected, the door opens to a raucous blend of conversations as Ran and her bandmates enter. The conversations begin to die down as they look to Roselia, and then suddenly Tomoe is the first to let out a laugh.“Oh wow, that’s a pretty damn good one Yukina.”Yukina glances over her shoulder, regarding the group as a whole, then zeroing in on Ran’s reaction in particular. The back of the sweater had the lower half of reindeer plush sewed to it, and in surprisingly well ironed on letters the phrase ‘We ran out of ham’ was spelled out. Himari is the next to react, lamenting in no small part about the fallen plushie, and going on about how ‘was it really worth it’ but, Yukina decides, seeing the way Ran’s fist clearly clenches in her pocket, it was so definitely worth it.Moca chimes in, all but draping an arm lazily over Ran’s shoulder as she stares at Yukina’s sweater in amusement.“Woooooo, Yukina so got you beat Ran. That’s one of the best sweaters Moca has ever seen.” Her amusement only grows as Yukina turns to face them, showing off the front half of the reindeer. Himari’s despair only grows at the sight. Ran however only scoffs, and turns away her head.“It’s nothing special, not the best I’ve seen by far. I’ve definitely got a better one at home.”Oh? Yukina’s eyes narrow in response, and Ran maintains a smirk for all of about a second before Yukina raises her head and clears her throat.“How ironic. I also have one that could rival this...Or rather, one everyone would find more humorous.” A quick stare is sent in Himari’s direction as Tomoe tries persuading her to drop the whole bisected plushie thing.“Hm. I doubt it. I haven’t seen a single sweater in your closet since I started staying over some days.”“I guess we’ll just have to see then.” Their tense standoff remains for seconds more before Lisa approaches Yukina from behind, taking her arm and trying to tug her off in the direction of the door. It is, after all, Afterglow’s time they’re encroaching on and Yukina would not stand for it if it was the other way around. Ran gives Yukina a pointed look before she turns away to prepare her guitar, and Yukina turns her attention properly to leaving.-It’s a couple days after that that Roselia and Afterglow share a practice day one after the other. Of course, Ran and Yukina have been meeting up outside of it, there is no mention of the sweater incident. Even when Ran stops by Yukina’s home and the to go up to her bedroom ro work on some homework and squeeze in a bit of lyrics, there’s not so much as a sideways glance to Yukina’s closet. Not an inch let up on either side.And then it’s Friday, and Yukian feels some kind of apprehension on her. Completely unwarranted because there’s absolutely no way that Ran has a sweater that can top this one. Perhaps it’s better to try calling it excitement then, to see what it is Ran has in store for her. Roselia is the one who has to come in second, and Yukina stands the minute the clock hits five o’clock. That’s their queue to pick up the key from the desk, but Marina informs them that Himari has yet to stop by and drop it off, so they’re welcome to go ahead, that she’d manually unlock it from here.As soon as they reach the door, Lisa almost bumps into Yukina as she pauses at the door, staring down toward the doorknob. Showtime- it’s time to show who’s got the better sweater. All eyes are on her the moment the door opens, and Afterglow stares intensely at her, getting a good look at the sweater. Surprisingly, it’s Rinko who starts giggling first, a gentle thing behind her as she raises a hand to try and stifle it. Ako quickly laughs as well, and across the way, Moca starts chuckling.Yukina’s eyes quickly settle on Ran and her sweater. It’s definitely processed wool, but it’s fluffed up in such a way that it almost looks like Ran’s quite literally wearing a sheep. The cuffs of her sleeves are dyed black to further bring out of the image of a sheep, and the pun ties it together well. Well enough that even Yukina stifles a chuckle of amusement at the sight of ‘Fleece Navidad’ printed over Ran’s chest.Across the way, Ran seems to be having a difficult time keeping her laughing to herself as well, a fact Yukina is pleased about. She’d had a feeling this particular sweater would work like a charm towards Ran’s sense of humor. She’s quite literally strung up like a Christmas tree, colorful lights embedded in to the sweater and winding around her torso, her arms, anywhere they can manage. In the center, bold black letter read ‘IT’S LIT’ and Yukina smirks as a couple of the other members of Afterglow snicker.Yukina approaches Ran standing tall, expression schooled back into her resting lack of amusement.“Hm.” Before she can even begin Ran crosses her arms, keys clutched tightly in her fist.“Mine is better. It got more reactions out of your bandmates.”“I don’t think so. A valiant attempt, but mine is better.”She thinks she can hear Sayo sigh aloud behind her and can see out the corner of her eye as the others begin to start setting their equipment up. Yukina’s hand extends expectantly for the keys, but Ran withholds them as the rest of Afterglow begin to exit.“Mine’s better.”“No.”“Admit it.”“Hardly. I didn’t even wear my best one.”“Oh yeah? The keys are all but jammed down into Yukina’s hand and Ran scoffs. “I just went easy on you anyway because I didn’t want to prove you wrong in front of your band.”Yukina rolls her eyes at the response, but quickly closes her hand over the keys. As Ran skirts around her with head held high in pride, she pauses at the door to call out.“See you tomorrow?”“Mhm. Now leave us, we have rehearsal.”And that should have been the end of it. But when Yukina retires for the night and checks up on her phone before going to sleep, she sees a text from Ran sent shortly before she’d come back up. Reading over it, Yukina allows herself to smile in amusement, shaking her head and looking up toward her closet. There were a couple sweaters left in the box she had off to the side, but it wouldn’t be enough to rival Ran’s, if her determined gaze while they had left had been any indicator. Perhaps she’d subtly ask Lisa where she had gotten the base sweater for that reindeer one.With one more glance toward the text, a quick reply sent to affirm it, she locks her phone and rolls over onto her side.It was so on, indeed.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
You know, in hindsight it shouldn’t have been so surprising to the Drama Club that the supervisor decided on an indoor rink to celebrate their successful opening night to their play. Given that it is ordinarily a show performed on ice adapted to suit their high school stage, it only made sense to visit one. Being the day before Christmas, it wasn’t anywhere near as busy as it was normally, so it was an added bonus for the entire club.Plenty of the actors and actresses had eagerly rented out pairs of skates to get on the ice and try to take a stab at performing their lines on the original medium. Wisely, Maya had chosen to remain on the sidelines, perfectly content to watch as the others all slipped over the ice. Of course, there were a couple students who could skate passably and even one or two among them who were proficient at it, but overall? There were several club members falling flat on their faces or asses in good spirit.Even a couple of the people from her section had expressed their interest in trying it. They were mingling with some of the acting students, which Maya was pleased at. As if she was really one to talk, her tech mates didn’t really talk much outside of their little department, enough that it’d become quite the running gag among the other students. Even so, Maya has remained secluded in her own little area, leaning over the top of the waist-height wall with the jacket tied around her midsection keeping her from the chilly tiles. She’s deliberating over a good few things when there’s a sudden presence at her side, and she quickly turns her head to find none other than the very star of the show.“Aha, my dearest kitten~” Even knowing how many people a day Kaoru probably refers to like that, she can’t help how pleasant it is to hear. “You seem oh so lonely over here, I simply could not leave you to your thoughts alone.”Maya chuckles softly, raising a hand to adjust her glasses and turn back towards the rink. Ahead, someone seems to be having a decent run in the middle of the rink when another student loses control beside him and sends them both to the ground.“Ehehe, no need to worry about me. I’m sure someone else would be much better company for you anyway, I’m all over the place right now.”To her side, she can hear Kaoru scoff with an over-theatrical hand raised above her, and then to her own chest. “Oh come now, there is no other person to whom I would rather share this time with~” And then Maya has to look to her when Kaoru suddenly extends something out to her. “I do believe this is how the saying goes.”It takes a couple seconds to figure out her vague referencing ( for once, not Shakespeare ), eyeing the penny that remains flat in the other girl’s hand. Ah- penny for her thoughts. Maya snickers when it’s put together; an oddly smooth move, if only Maya had realized the meaning immediately. Nonetheless, she hesitantly takes the penny, shoving somewhere into her pocket and leaning onto both arms over the wall.“Eh, it’s really nothing important you know. Just about the play, and about tomorrow… I’ll definitely have to take a look at the lights again, one of the ones on the catwalk flickered in one of the scenes…” Maya shakes her head, a frown on her lips. Of course something of hers had to go wrong during the opening showing of the play, and during one of Kaoru’s scenes of all people. She’s lucky there were no microphones or anything in the upper levels of the scene or the crowd would have been privy to a colorful string of curses as she’d rushed to fix it.“Uh, nice save by the way… really kinda screwed up, huh?”“Nonsense!” Comes Kaoru’s quick reply, and she’s got a hand firmly over Maya’s shoulder in an instant. “Technology can be so fickle a thing! Even in the utmost of skilled hands, as yours are, it can refuse us. So cruel a thing…”Maya doesn’t… exactly get it, but there are a few parts of her little exclamation she agrees with wholeheartedly. Kaoru’s preaching to the choir on just how troublesome equipment could be.“Oh you have no idea!” It starts before she realizes. “We got there ahead of time, and you already know how scrapped for time we were by the time we had to start! One of the main speakers was malfunctioning because apparently someone decided not to tell anyone about accidentally dropping it last night. The sound system had to have some adjustments made because of static, and then the sound effects panel had to be re-calibrated and then that stunt in the play had to go and happen…” She trails off to take a breath and realizes quickly that she’s gone off on a tangent.Sheepishly, a hand comes up to rub at her neck and she gives and awkward chuckle.“Heh… uh sorry about that… I agree, technology can be troublesome sometimes.”Kaoru only gives her a warm smile and shifts her weight to one leg to turn properly toward Maya. “You need not apologize my dear, to get lost in your own passions is but a blessing, a true showing of how devoted you are to what you do. Why! You sound almost like me!”Aha, Maya doesn’t quite think so, given she knows well what she’s talking about, but she chooses to let that point go unmentioned. Instead, she returns the smile softly and turns back toward the rink.“Ah, enough about me… what about you? Don’t want to go out and show everyone just how good that soliloquy of yours can be on ice?”Beside her, Kaoru chuckles a little awkwardly, and Maya cocks her head to the side.“Ahaha, you are far too kind… I- well… perhaps it is a little unbecoming of me, but I fear I cannot say I am proficient enough on blades to do the scene justice. Woe to me! A sham playing a role so important!”“Eh-! A-Ah there’s no need to feel so down!” Maya quickly speaks up, shaking her head wildly. “A-aha, I have no chance on skates, so you’re not alone! I’d be the laughingstock of the club if I tried stepping out there, huhehe…”Kaoru seems to relax at her side, and Maya idly returns her gaze to the rink, following one of the more skilled skaters around the center pillar. It’s a nice image in her head, seeing Kaoru gliding around the ice with one hand extended out to an imaginary crowd and one pressed to her chest as she belts out the most complex monologue she can imagine. Nicer still to imagine herself far above the other girl, being the one to keep the spotlight on Kaoru as she effortlessly skates about the ice, setting the frost alight in a sparkle with every sudden change of direction. But it’s a funny image to see Kaoru taking one step on the ice with all the confidence of a professional figure skater, only to fall in a flurry of waving hands. The thought alone is enough to get her to raise a hand as she tries stifling a giggle, clearly failing as Kaoru turns an amused gaze on her.“Do share what’s got you so chipper.”“Uhh... “ uh-oh, definitely can’t say she’s imagining Kaoru at any less than the best she’s always at. Or that she’s just daydreaming about Kaoru in general. “J-just… thinking about tomorrow.”Ah yes, tomorrow. That she has absolutely no plans for aside from Christmas morning with her family.“Plans for the holiday?”“Uh… something like that?” She offers weakly, but at Kaoru’s curious hum she simply shrugs her shoulders. “…Not sure what I’ll be doing after a morning with the family…”“I see.” Kaoru nods in understanding, turning back towards the rink just in time to see the person she had performed an entire scene with stumble into several steps and eventually end up on his stomach. Classy. “I fear I’ve no such plans. I’ll be spending most of my holiday alone, eagerly awaiting the dress rehearsal shortly before the play proper.”“Ah-- if that’s the case, I don’t have plans going on either! I- we could…” And then she trails off with an embarrassed blush rising rapidly on her neck. Stupid stupid! “Er, well that’s…”“Truly?” Kaoru perks up beside her, and Maya blinks in surprise at the sudden interest. “Why I would like nothing more! I would hate to trouble such a lovely kitten as you all day though…” “A-ah it’d be no problem, really! I’d like it!” Stupid, stupid Just digging herself a bigger hole!“Really? Then please, allow me to so graciously accept!” Oh god she said yes! If Kaoru notices the way her blush rises to her cheeks, she makes no mention of it, keeping up a charming smile. “If it pleases you, I know of a lovely cafe we could meet up at…”Going out somewhere like that? With the Kaoru? O-oh god… that sounds like a date! Apparently she voices as much to her horror, because Kaoru looks taken aback for a second. Only for that second though, then she has a brighter smile on and she takes up Maya’s hand in her own.“A date then~”It’s almost comical how wide Maya’s eyes go, but before she can sputter out some kind of response, there’s a loud slam. Apparently, a couple of the actors and even one or two of the tech crew decided to have a race around the rink. It went about as well as expected, and one of the actresses had been going so fast she had to run right into the wall to stop herself. Out the corner of her eye, Maya can see the owner come out to the counter with a very cross look on his face.Kaoru tugs on her hand to gain her attention and she snaps back to look at the other girl.“That doesn’t bode well… perhaps that is our cue to leave, before the dogs of war are loosed upon us.” Maya quickly and nods, and while the owner seems to begin heading toward the rink, Kaoru quickly squeezes Maya’s hand as the two set off. Maya’s in somewhat of a daze while she still processes because holy shit. She’s got a date ( a date! She said so herself ) with Kaoru tomorrow. On Christmas Day.Oh if any of the other girls at school find out, Maya’s going to be so, so dead...
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
For the third time this hour, the introductory keys to This Game become the sole sound in Rinko’s room. There are precious few moments where Rinko gets the opportunity to play her piano any more, if only because the sound Roselia produces is a far better fit for the keyboard, and the easy access in getting it on and off the stage is another positive thing. Every moment her fingers touch ivory and ebony keys she treasures, and she can feel the way the tension in her body leaves. Out of habit, her eyes drift shut and she allows herself to get lost in the gentle sound of the music, muscle memory and just plain practice guiding her hands where they needed to be. It sounds immaculate, not a key off tempo, and she can imagine vividly in her head the scenes from the opening proper play out. As the song drifts out in favor of the part she knows Yukina would begin singing her hands lift away, and soft purple eyes open once again.She pauses for a moment, running through the next few seconds in her head before she cuts it there and raises her hands to prepare for the opening once again. Before she does though, she hesitates, glancing towards her desk, the black screen and headset that lay idle, and then further to the digital clock that rests on the far edge. [ 4:27 PM ] it reads, and Rinko heaves out a quiet sigh.She’s been at this for a good few hours now, taking advantage of the first day of break to ensure she wouldn’t be holding the others back when they went in for rehearsal this weekend. With midterm exams having been spread throughout the prior week, Yukina had made the executive decision to hold off on rehearsals in favor of academics, but Rinko had a feeling most, if not all the others had practiced in their own time to some capacity. Her mother, bless her heart, could no doubt only handle so much of the same song being played over and over again, so perhaps it was in her best interests to step away for the night.Like clockwork, Rinko lifts her foot from the pedals and stands, stepping to the side of the seat. As though the piano were some sentient being, Rinko nods to it and mentally thanks it for helping her rehearse before beelining for her desk. A few random keys pressed down on her keyboard and the screen brightens to the password entry. Quickly keying in the correct one, she double clicks on the launcher for NFO. She idly taps against the top of the keyboard as waits for it to come up and when it does, revealing an update bar slowly making its way to the right, Rinko turns on heel toward the door.It’ll take a little while to update with the most recent hotfixes, which would give her enough time to steal away into the kitchen and find something to bring up to her room and pick away at. Predictably, most of the stuff in the fridge has been sealed away for tomorrow’s dinner. Oh well, it’s not too much trouble to get to the storage room and quickly snag the large, unopened bag of rice crackers on one of the shelves. She returns back up the stairs only after she’s warmed up a large glass of milk to go with the crackers, setting both items on the far side of her desk, well away from the mouse and the keyboard.Sure enough, the launcher has finished updating, and the earlier greyed out button [LAUNCH] is now accessible. Having seen this expansions opening cinematic a couple times over, she barely pays attention in favor of opening the cracker bag and picking one out to eat. Her finger hovers over the enter button and as soon as the character select screen loads in, she immediately presses it down. The default character, the highest on the list that was, she knows is her Mage and she sees the character show up as soon as the loading screen vanishes.For a moment, she goes through the interface boredly, not at all having gone into the game with a plan in mind. It was more just like second nature: as soon as her interest in piano waned or something came up, the immediate second default was to get onto NFO. She was distracted for at least a couple minutes as green text fills up the textbox she’s aligned to the left of the screen.Several guildmates send a greeting their treasury officer with varying usage of keyboard emoticons, bringing a soft smile to her face. It was so much easier to interact with people she didn’t see, especially through text. There was no worry of stuttering or blanking on her thoughts since the message was all sent as one. Admittedly, getting onto the voice chat can still be a little nerve-wracking, but with the guildmaster designating her as assistant raid leader she’s gotten a little more comfortable. It helps that the core raid team hasn’t changed in well over a year, and she knows them all well enough.As soon as that excitement dies down though, she’s left to her own devices once again. Idly, she brings up her character overview and begins mousing over her equipment. Nothing really that needs to be changed there, enchanted and gemmed as well as it’ll get. Then she clicks over her professions tab and the sight makes her sigh, all at once going pale from the memory. There’s a particular item she’s been trying to craft, but it’s locked behind a timegate; that is, she’s got almost all the required items, except for ten ingots, of which can only be crafted once every twenty-four hours. And it’s still on cooldown for a good three hours more. At least she breached the halfway point at the beginning of last week and she’s at thirty-of-forty ingots. By this time in a couple weeks, that mount will be as good as hers. But it’s still locked and unfortunately not something she can work towards either. Maybe just material farming then ( not like she’s low on currency, but more money is always good ), seeing as the Christmas event was going on. Cooking materials would be high in demand… especially those low level eggs winged enemies dropped.As she begins casting the teleport spell, she opens up the social menu to get a good understanding of who’s online. The default is the guild menu, and she surprised to find that she’s the only officer online. Weird, she’d expected that at least Maly would be on by now, but perhaps he was busy with that job of his. He’d mentioned something about overtime as the last officer meeting, now that she thought about it. Reaching for another chip with one hand, the other clicks over the friend’s list tab and is disappointed to find most names greyed out.
Elsharion (Warrior 70) - Online
Veladriel (Rogue 70) - Online
Malygar (Mage 70) - Offline
Tesarion (Mage 70) - Offline
Vivachel (Priest 59) - Offline
Darkangel (Summoner 70) - Offline
Sayokawa (Paladin 70) - Offline
Huh… even Ako isn’t online, not on her main nor her alt. Maybe her family is doing something special for Christmas Eve? Either way, she quickly right clicks over her main and opens up an NFOID chat, teal colored text compared to the in-game whisper violet.
To [xXDarkSummonerXx]: Ako, I hope your day is going well ( ´∀｀)b If I don’t see you before tomorrow, I hope you have a good Christmas!!!
With that done, she effectively back to square one. Huffing in boredom, she quickly throws out an offer to help for any of the guildmates. That too receives no responses, and she resigns herself to aimlessly flying around the max level zone to start gathering materials. A couple rounds of the map and handfuls of chips later, Rinko stands to go quickly take a bathroom break, and when she returns she finds a couple new notifications in the text box.
Sayokawa (Paladin 70) has come Online.
[Sayokawa] whispers: Good evening, Rinko.
[Sayokawa] whispers: I hope your day has been well.
[Sayokawa] whispers: I just finished practicing for the day and noticed you were online and Ako was not.
Oh dear, and she had missed her initial login. Usually Rinko was the one to greet any bandmates quickly the moment she say any of them come online. Not that Yukina really ever came on much, nor did Lisa.
To [Sayokawa]: Ah Sayo! I’m sorry I was afk for a little bit and missed you-
To [Sayokawa]: You didn’t have to log on just for me…
[Sayokawa] whispers: Nonsense. Why shouldn’t I wish to accompany a friend of mine if they are alone?
[Sayokawa] whispers: Besides. I usually have the launcher open but minimized in case I get a message from you or Ako needing something.
Rinko giggles to herself at the mention of being around in case her or Ako have a request. Request, of course, translates directly to ‘in case you need a tank to make queues more bearable’ or ‘in case you need a meat shield for one of your quests’. It was much easier to unload all your cooldowns onto a group of enemies with reckless abandon if it wasn’t you who had to worry about taking the entire room’s worth of mobs’ attacks. Not that she thinks that’s all that Sayo’s good for, because she’s gotten quite good at the game for the time she’s played. Just spending time playing with Sayo is in and of itself a request Rinko had sheepishly admitted to the guitarist.
To [Sayokawa]: Ah- well it makes me happy that you logged on to talk with me…
[Sayokawa] whispers: Of course Rinko, you know I enjoy playing with you on occasion.
[Sayokawa] whispers: Although I’m quite surprised to see you playing for awhile… do you not do anything for Christmas Eve?
To [Sayokawa]: I’m afraid not. My family is very lax regarding the holiday… especially because I don’t really ask for much… we mostly just celebrate the day of with a large dinner... boring huh?
[Sayokawa] whispers: Not at all. If I’m honest, I wish it was the same with my family, but Hina is very dead-set on getting us to do something new every year. I lucked out this year.
To [Sayokawa] Uhm… if it’s not too much, what /did/ she try to get everyone to do this year?
[Sayokawa] whispered: She wanted to try her hand at baking a bunch of different cookies… given that I had experience and she wanted it to be totally new, she said I would just get to try out her cookies once she’s finished. I expect they’ll be perfect, as things always are with her…
Setting down the cup of milk after she’d taken a sizable sip, Rinko bites her lip. Ah… she can see why Sayo would have readily agreed to avoiding making cookies with Hina. Sayo had taken a couple classes hadn’t she? Meanwhile Hina was going to be making them from scratch, and probably just as Sayo expected: they’d be flawless. Rinko could understand very easily the inferiority… she felt inadequate every day with Roselia.
To [Sayokawa]: But..! I… I really like your cookies… I think you make them wonderfully…
To [Sayokawa]: I’m sure I wouldn’t like Hina’s as much as I love yours!
She’s taking a little while longer than expected to respond, and for a second Rinko thinks she may have overstepped some kind of boundary. In spite of all the time she’s spent with Sayo, she still knows well enough that her strenuous relationship with her sister is a line better uncrossed until Sayo explicitly comes to her for an opinion about it. Then the next purple notification comes up to signify her whisper, and Rinko sighs aloud in relief. Time to stress eat a couple of those crackers first!
[Sayokawa] whispers: You’re too kind Rinko. I’m glad that you like them- I do try my best to make them as good as they can be for you.
[Sayokawa] whispers: I digress though… I didn’t just come online to say hello.
[Sayokawa] whispers: You mentioned that there was an event going on for the holiday?
Ah so that’s what she was interested in. It made sense, there were a host of achievements and collectibles associated with every event, and this one was no different. She had learned from the free week where all of Roselia had indulged in the game that Sayo wasn’t particularly drawn to any specific part of the game. She was indifferent toward dungeons and raids, only really doing them when a friend wanted to do some, and PvP was like pulling teeth. It turned out she was more of a jack-of-all master-of-none in that she took to the collecting aspect of the game: achievements, the mount journal and the transmog list. So of course she’d want to complete the Christmas event line. Perfect time to as well, given that there were a couple timegated rewards including the reindeer mount.
To [Sayokawa]: Oh I see! Yes, it started during the update this morning! There are a couple quests in the capital city.
To [Sayokawa]: Um… if you’d like we could go at them together? I’m sure we’ll get them done quickly that way!
[Sayokawa] whispers: That sounds like a lovely idea Rinko.
[Sayokawa] whispers: Meet me in front of the main auction house?
Rinko quickly keys in her assent and finishes fighting the thing that was attacking her. Once she’s out of combat, she starts casting the teleport to the capital. She leans back in her seat, reaching for the headset that hangs from its hook. It’s set in place over her ears and she pauses as the screen loads into the mage quarter of the city to lower the microphone.
To [Sayokawa]: Would you like to enter voice chat?
[Sayokawa] whispers: I would rather not put you through that.[Sayokawa] whispers: Hina is making a ruckus downstairs with the dog, and you can hear his barking upstairs. Perhaps when he settles down a bit.
Ah, Rinko huffs in disappointment, resting her left hand over the movement hotkeys and begins heading off in the direction of the auction house. She’d really have liked to talk with Sayo, and she’d gotten much better at speaking confidently when it was just her and the other girl. With any luck, Tsuki would quiet down soon and she’d get to talk with Sayo over their questing.She arrives quickly on her mount, expelling a sigh at the sight of so many people. Mousing over a couple people within the mess of characters and NPCs, she briefly catches sight of the target box lighting up with Sayo’s character before it comes up as some random’s name. Aha! Near the mailbox huh? Maybe she’d made a really great buy? Her mouse rests over a character heavily armored in blue and gold plate armor and from this angle, looking at her back, Rinko can also see matching weapons.
To [Sayokawa]: Ah! You finished the main questline and got your artifact weapons then?
To [Sayokawa]: Your transmog looks very good!
Almost immediately from her place on the auction house steps, she can see Sayo’s character start running around, presumably in search for her. She almost wants to get up and sneakily start running around after her to stay out of sight but knowing Sayo, she probably plays on max distance to remain aware of her surroundings. Eventually she can see [Rinrin - Mage 70] show up in the target-of-target box beneath Sayo’s character, and Sayo quickly approaches her. From here she’s got a clearer view of Sayo’s character, transmogged so that the helmet is hidden and Sayo’s character’s head is in view, a female Elf with long blue hair.Down in the textbox, tan text shows up in the wake of Rinko’s emote.
Rinrin greets Sayokawa with a hearty hello!.
She’s happy to see another one show up right below that.
Sayokawa waves at Rinrin.
[Sayokawa] whispers: Thank you. You look as impressive as always. You said the questline began here?
To [Sayokawa]: That’s right! Here, follow me.
And with that, Rinko casts her mount up again, and Sayo quickly does the same. As they’re heading off in the direction of the city’s front gates, she takes the opportunity to type up something again on one of the longer straightaway roads.
To [Sayokawa]: There are a couple items locked behind some of the event currency… you’ll have to do several dailies in order to get them.
[Sayokawa] whispers: How troublesome. I’ll probably be finishing them close to the daily reset like today… they won’t take too long, will they?
To [Sayokawa]: Not at all! And once we finish the main event questline, we’ll get immediate access to the dailies for today as well!
To [Sayokawa]: That should be enough to get the cosmetic tabard available! You must be kind of close to that achievement right?
[Sayokawa] whispers: Yes. I just need two more… this event one and then a reputation one. I’m almost exalted with the last ally faction.
As soon as they arrive at the temporary event camp, their whisper conversations go further apart. In place, there are occasional mentions of directions and confirmations of quest completions before they turn them in. It’s not a particularly long questline, made much easier by their mounts, and soon enough they’re about to begin the dailies.All of a sudden her textbox lights up in a separate tab, the notifications one.
[Sayokawa] has entered party voice chat.
Almost immediately Rinko lowers the microphone on her headset, quickly munching down on a couple crackers before following suit.
[Rinrin] has entered party voice chat.
“Rinko.” Sayo’s voice is nice to hear after the relative silence in her room, made better by the uncharacteristic softness in her tone. “It’s nice to finally be able to talk to you.”Her speaking isn’t completely clear, and Rinko assumes she’s on voice activated instead of push to talk due to a lack headset. Perhaps that’s why she was talking so softly? Or maybe that was just because Rinko always responded better when they were face to face and she spoke like that. Either way, Rinko takes a second to gather her bearings before responding.“Sayo… yes it is nice. I take it Hina has calmed down with… with Tsuki?”“That’s correct. I’m glad, I wanted to be able to talk to you before the night was over anyway.” She can almost hear the small smile she knows to be on Sayo’s face as she says this, and quickly taking her finger off the control key, she giggles. Only when she’s composed herself does she click down on the push-to-talk key again.“Well it… means a lot. Should we start on the dailies?”“That would be best… I uh- I kind of need to go soon. Before 10, at least.”Huh, that’s unusual. Sayo’s usually free late at night, with it being too late to practice her instrument lest she wake someone. She wants to ask, but maybe that’s not really her business… it might be something with the Christmas Eve things Hina has planned. She mumbles her understanding into the mic and they set off for the place on the map designated for their first daily quest.Rinko makes idle conversation about her day, her time practicing on the piano and Sayo responds in kind about her practice with the guitar, though most of that time had been taken when she decided to join Hina to see some school festival before break got out for real for their school. They talk for awhile about that, what sort of events had gone on and Rinko is pleasantly surprised to find that soon enough, most of the dailies have been completed. All that’s really left is the Wanted quest for the Yule Cat elite mob up in the mountain zone.It’s in the midst of the fight, while Sayo’s character is maintaining the large cat’s enmity that she notices it. Of course, she hadn’t recognized Sayo right away due to her new transmog, but it’s an armor set she doesn’t see on plate wearers often. In fact, it’s only ever Paladins that have and even then, still very rare. As soon as the enemy goes down and they both go to loot the gargantuan fang they need, she inspects Sayo’s character and is very pleased to find her suspicions confirmed.“Aha! I knew it Sayo!” She speaks with an unusual high amount of excitement, the kind usually reserved for NFO sessions with Ako. “You got the challenge mode Paladin armor?”“Ah- yes. A couple of your guildmates had me friended when I subbed in for your usual uh off-tank or something? They asked me if I wanted to tag along, and I like the colors.”“Lucky! The protection Paladin color of that set is really good on you… the fire Mage set is… way too bright for me.”As they begin talking more on that subject, Rinko begins the spell for a portal back to the city instead of her personal teleport, and soon enough they’re both back in mage quarter. They mount up to head back to the front when Sayo speaks up.“Oh, that reminds me… If I recall, there was something rare you really wanted to get, right? Wasn’t it an armor set or something like that?”“Ah… the armored mount…” Sayo can probably hear the way Rinko’s tone falls off as she corrects. She knows the one Sayo’s referring to, the really rare drop off of an equally rare mob that spawns in one of the higher level regions of the game. It’s such a lovely mount, a dark violet phoenix that’s the rare mob’s mount so to speak. It’s a super coveted item, and while it isn’t bound to the person who loots it, it goes for a ridiculous amount of money. She knows Sayo’s been looking for it as well, though she’s had nowhere near as many attempts as Rinko has, and hasn’t grown as disheartened by its lack of appearance.“That’s the one… still haven’t gotten it?”“Unfortunately no… I- I suppose I’ve been slacking on the attempts for it this week… I just haven’t really had the drive to do it…”“You’re never going to get it if you don’t get out there… but I suppose I’m not one to talk. I haven’t been back in that zone for awhile- ah… it really got late didn’t it?”Rinko blinks, looking towards the in game clock: [ 10:58 ] Server Time. That meant it was almost ten in real life... A sideways glance toward the clock half obscured by the bag of crackers confirms it.“...You did say you needed to go… Don’t let me be the reason you’re late…” She can hear Sayo sigh before she responds. “You know it’s not like you’re troublesome. I mean it when I say that I enjoy spending time with you. I really do have to go. If I can, I’ll try to be on tomorrow and maybe we can do our dailies again.”“Ah…. yeah that sounds good. I’ll see you then.”“Indeed. Goodnight Rinko.”
[Sayokawa] has left group voice chat.
Sayokawa (Paladin 70) has gone Offline
Ah… back to her own devices, though now she’s definitely not got the Christmas event as a fallback plan. Perhaps she should just go back to piano for a little while before going to sleep. A glance to the left at the instrument in question, and then one to her slowly dwindling friends online ( Elsha’s logged off and Veladriel can’t be too far behind ) all but confirms her decision.Although… with Sayo offline it’s now safe to run to the mailbox. Prematurely, she opens her bags, mouse hovering over an item in her bag. Bought from the in-game store, a legendary quality cosmetic item sits. There’s no real boost to having the item, no stat bonuses, no experience gains, nothing for it do besides look cool. In this case if it was equipped, the wearer would have a large, blue guitar with similarly colored frost frothing from the neck. It wasn’t the exact color of Sayo’s guitar, but it was close. And seeing as Sayo had firmly sworn off spending any real money on the game, she would never have gotten it.Rinko finds herself smiling as she opens up the mailbox and proceeds to drag the item into one of the mail slots. Typing in Sayo’s character in the receiver box, she quickly drafts up a letter detailing her thankfulness followed by a quick ‘Merry Christmas’ before sending it off. Oh, she hoped that Sayo liked it… she’d debated about whether or not to buy it or another item from the shop, but ultimately settled on the guitar.As she’s opening up the menu to logout the notifications tab lights up again, much to her surprise and when she clicks into it, she finds she’s received mail. There are a couple guildmates online, so no doubt someone is trying to get something out of the bank. When she gets to the nearest mailbox, there are indeed several new letters requesting her to withdraw something for them, but none of them are the latest. The latest letter is from Sayo, complete with an attached item, wrapped in ‘Blue Wrapping Paper’. How festive, she didn’t think Sayo would be one for those little trivialities in the game.The letter isn’t unlike the one she sent to Sayo, although it goes into better detail about how much she really does enjoy spending time with Rinko, whether it be during practice, at school, or in game, much to Rinko’s embarrassment. She really didn’t need to… although she knew Sayo knew well how much her words meant. The present is also a kind gesture, and for a moment, she thinks maybe Sayo had broken her little rule and also bought something for her. When she right clicks on the ‘Wrapped Present Box’ item though, what she receives is not a cosmetic equipable item.
You have received Wartorn Reins of the Armored Eclipse Phoenix
For several seconds, Rinko only stares at the screen, even as the notification disappears in the veritable flood of all the people in general chat. There was no way… Sayo said she hadn’t been by the zone in a long time, and Rinko had logged on several times and not seen her. It has to be sad how the hand over her mouse actually starts to shake a little bit as she brings her mouse to her inventory to confirm it and sure enough: there they are. The name in deep purple to signify it being an epic item, as all mounts were. No, there was definitely a mistake. Sayo didn’t have this mount yet and she was the collector. Rinko was just the the one who really liked it for the model and the colors. Hastily, she clicks back into the mailbox to reaffirm.Received at eleven PM Server Time exactly. Ten PM in real time. Rinko’s eyes widen in realization. Sayo had said she needed to leave at ten for something. A clever cover up then. She just left at ten because she knew that was when the mail request would go through and arrive to Rinko. It had most certainly been intentional.With stunning speed, Rinko opens up the social tab again, hastily looking through her NFOID friends and opening up the chatbox for her and Sayo.
To [HardChord]: Sayo. Sayo I can’t accept this.
To [HardChord]: I don’t even
To [HardChord]: Sayo you’re the one who really wanted this mount
Rinko waits several moments, and as Sayo’s username remains bright white on the list, indicating her launcher remaining open, she continues her attempts.
To [HardChord]: Sayo really!
[HardChord] is in Do-Not-Disturb mode. They will see this message as soon as they lift Do-Not-Disturb.
...unbelievable. She knew exactly what she was doing. Rinko sits there staring at the screen until three dots suddenly come up beside Sayo’s username.
[HardChord] says: You will have to show me what the mount looks like tomorrow when I log on. Good night Rinko.
To [HardChord]: Sayo wait!
[HardChord] is offline. They will see this message when they next log on.
...truly unbelievable. Rinko doesn't know whether to cry in frustration, or in genuine thanks because even though it's just a game, this is one of the nicest things she's ever gotten. Either, way, she's still crying.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Moca had her moments for sure, the times where she showed the depth behind that bread crazy exterior. The times where she silently listened to her bandmates as they talked in worried tones about family or school. The times where she would notice Lisa’s shift getting particularly busy in the wake of her end, and she would suddenly remember she had promised the boss an extra hour today. The times where she was not dragging insistently on Lisa’s arm to try and pull her back to the bakery instead of the mall where she had promised she would help Lisa pick out some gifts for the rest of Roselia.This was most definitely not one of those moments.“Lisaaaaaa, come on, you’ve got like… a super long time before Christmas… Moca’s feeling hungry and the bakery is warm.”“Nope.”“Lisaaaaaa.”“I said no Moca! Come on, you promised me we’d get this knocked out today… don’t you have to pick up some stuff for Afterglow too?”“Ehhhhh, I can always take a raincheck and get some gifts after the holiday crowds die down…”“You mean after Christmas?”“Eee-yup.”In response, Lisa only gives Moca’s arm a firm tug of her own and Moca silently resigns herself to a horrible fate in the recesses of the mall. At the very least, Lisa is very good company and had a great eye for things. She’d probably pick out some gifts in no time, and frankly Moca had not the slightest idea why she needed her to tag along. It was a good excuse to get out more, as Ran had been pushing for, and plus it allowed to her spend a lot more time with Lisa. Always a strong argument against her stay-at-home mindset.The first shop they approach is a gyaru-esque aesthetic one, and Moca chuckles knowingly as Lisa diverts towards it.“So much for gift shopping huh?”“Oh hush you, I can take a look can’t I?”Moca responds with another chuckle as Lisa finally lets go of her hand to go wander the aisles. One of the employees passes by, and looks as though she wants to offer some assistance but takes a good look at Moca’s clothes and decides otherwise. It’s clearly not sort of thing, and Moca silently sends a thanks up above as she wanders over to the side wall. There are a couple odds and ends here and there, keychains and the like, nothing that really catches her eye as something any one of her friends would like. She’d hoped maybe a darker pin or one of those aforementioned keychains for Ran, but to no avail. Lisa rounds the aisle on the far end of the store, approaching the counter to seemingly speak with the cashier; someone she’s familiar with? Though as she’s looking that way, something else catches her eye.With newfound purpose, the guitarist strides for the face of one of the aisles, confirming as she walks past the register that Lisa and that other lady are talking fashion. What had first caught her eyes was the bright colors of the sale sign, but seeing what it was for had drawn her closer. A light grey hat with a style not unlike the one she used to wear for the band, with a pale pink band wound around the base of the hat. It looked kinda cute, and wasn’t too expensive… and it was certainly something Moca could see Himari wear on occasion. With that thought, she plucks the hat from it’s stand, taking one last look at the sale sign before approaching Lisa and the cashier.“Heyyyy Lisa, hate to interrupt you guys ‘n all, but Moca kinda wants to buy this.”Lisa whips around to look at her in surprise, eyes quickly locking onto the hat in her hands. It’s not an unwarranted reaction, given Moca’s never really had an interest in fashion beyond the oversized sweaters she wears like a second skin, but it’s still enough that she stops and tilts her head.“Uh… oh sure! Change of heart about it?” The other girl winks slyly, and Moca rolls her eyes as she approaches the cashier.“Tch, you wish. I’m just considering what you said earlier.”It takes a couple seconds for Lisa to consider the words, eyeing the hat with narrowed eyes. In the time, Moca quietly pays for the hat, pocketing her wallet and taking the bag with a quiet mutter of thanks. When she takes Lisa’s hand to start pulling her towards the storefront she suddenly snaps her fingers.“Ah! For Himari?”Moca nods in affirmation and Lisa hums pleasantly. As they begin to walk further into the mall, she swings their hands back and forth and Moca begins to follow Lisa’s gaze, eyeing several of the small stores they pass by. Most of the stores don’t really catch her eye as something that shows promise, but a couple they do stop in so that Lisa can get a look at some of the wares. They finally come across a store where Lisa isn’t leaving empty-handed, a white plastic bag hanging at her side containing a pair of earrings for Yukina, or so she said.When Moca sees a darker exterior up ahead she brightens up considerably. Perfect. H.Naoto had those cute animal toys that were good desk space things, and Ran definitely would like the red haired stitch cat better than the other one. Moca tugs Lisa behind her as she suddenly veers off in the direction of the store and once they’re inside, she assumes Lisa goes off on her own direction because she lets go of Moca’s hand. They meet back up at the cash register, Lisa falling into line behind Moca as she’s paying for the plush. Lisa leans over her shoulder, looking curiously to the toy.“Ran?”“Mhm, Lisa’s sooo smart.”She can almost feel Lisa roll her eyes as she stands upright again, and Moca gets a good look at the item Lisa’s buying. It’s a cute-ish looking skirt, she supposes. Definitely not her style, with the gothic designs along the waistline.“Ako?” She hazards a guess; it definitely looks like something Tomoe’s sister would wear, but it could potentially be Rinko’s gift, with the pianist’s wardrobe.“Yep, right on the nose!” Lisa gives her a cheerful smile as she pays for the skirt and adds it to the bag carrying Yukina’s gift.“Moca thought it may’ve been Rinko’s for a second…”Lisa giggles softly, taking Moca’s hand with her free one and begins guiding them towards the door. On to the next shop.“Nah, I think it’s a little short for Rinko’s tastes… definitely something I could see Ako wearing to practice. I’m sending Rinko some money actually; there’s this game she plays and apparently you can get some cosmetic items or something? I’m not sure, but it’s a ‘non-in-game shop’ and you gotta use real money so I figured she’d like that since she plays it a lot with Ako. Ah, that reminds me! What ideas do you have for something for Tomoe?”Moca remains predictably silent, even as Lisa turns her expectant gaze on her. Lisa huffs after a few moments, sticking her lip out in a pout.“Seriously, no ideas? How’d you come up with gifts for half of your bandmates, and then not the rest?”“Well in Moca’s defense, I did not come here with intent to buy gifts… just kinda makin’ it up on the spot as we go!” Is her lazy response, and Lisa groans aloud again.“You’re winging it. You’re hopeless.”“Naw, I’m Moca.” She sends a sly wink in Lisa’s direction,and in spite of her exasperation, Lisa laughs brightly at the comment.“Moca the Hopeless. Come on, you are coming with me, and we are going to find something for the rest of your bandmates if it takes all night, I promise you!”“Wha-... no wait, Moca suddenly remembers! There is indeed a plan for gifts… a very super… secret plan, and-”“Uh-uh, not this time. You’re gonna be stuck here with me until we have something for everyone!”“Lisaaaaaaaaa."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It has to be around eleven at night when Sayo hears the door across the hallway shut, followed quickly by the scrape of something against the carpet. Hesitantly, her guitar is set off to the side ( it’s starting to get a little late for practice anyway, Mom and Dad will be going to sleep soon ) and stands to go investigate. Her door opens just a crack in case it’s one of Hina’s schemes to try and drag her away from her things to do, but it becomes apparent it is not. At the far end of the hall a telescope being dragged through the door housing the staircase to the roof answers her question.Stargazing at a time like this? Sayo didn’t know the ins and outs of stuff like that, but surely doing so a little earlier would have been better right? Quickly returning to her room, she brushes aside the curtains of her window to look and indeed, it’s pretty overcast tonight, overcast and just plain dark with the moon hidden behind a thick layer of clouds. But then again, Hina is the more well versed of the two in that regard, so she’ll let her be. It’s not as though she’s troubling anyone, but she’ll keep an ear out for whenever Hina decides to return to her room to help bring the telescope in. She’d rather not risk Mom and Dad waking up to the sound.As time passes on though, it becomes clear Hina intends on remaining up on the roof for a good while. There’s been not so much as a single peep from the hallway and a quick glance to the clock on her bedside table reveals it’s just hit midnight. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad to check on her, just to make sure she hasn’t broken anything of course. Nothing beyond that, or so she rationalizes. She quietly rises from her char, gently stepping over Tsuki’s prone form on the floor and closes the bedroom door behind her. She makes her way down to the stairwell entrance, quickly stepping up the stairs. She notices immediately that it’s actually kind of cold, which makes sense given that it’s midnight in the middle of winter. If Hina really wanted to spend her night looking at stars in the single-digit degrees, that was on her and who was Sayo to say no?She gently cracks the roof access door open, peering through it for any sign of Hina. Of course, she’s not immediately in sight to Sayo’s annoyance, and she steps further through the threshold, immediately able to see her breath in the cool air. Ugh, even more reason not to stay out here too long. She quickly looks around for Hina, and is drawn to the sound of shifting feet on the other side of the wall. Peeking around it’s corner, she finds Hina sidled up at the base of her telescope, blissfully unaware of Sayo’s presence. Sayo follows the telescopes gaze, squinting to try and see what it is Hina is so enraptured at. There’s a break in the clouds, enough space to reveal a couple of stars, but she can’t imagine those three-odd stars are enough to sate Hina’s curiosity for the better part of an hour, but then again:What does she know?After she’s made certain that everything is alright up here, Sayo quietly retreats back into the warmth of the home’s interior, shutting the door softly behind her to avoid drawing Hina’s attention. She returns to her room to find Tsuki making himself comfortable on her bed. Her stern glare does little to the shiba aside from drawing a large yawn from the dogs maw. With a scoff she crawls onto the bed to flick the dog’s nose for good measure before returning back to her desk.The weekend will be over soon, and Sayo absolutely refuses to fall behind in her studies. To do so would be a poor example set as the treasurer of the disciplinary committee. Sleep hours be damned, she would ace that chemistry exam on Tuesday if it was the last thing she did.She gets through a vast majority of the study guide, comfortably getting the correct answers to most prompts and questions when Tsuki’s snoring draws her attention. In spite of herself, Sayo manages a small smile at the sight when she turns to find the dog curled up in a small, cream colored ball against one of her pillows. Cute.She says as much aloud as she stands to grab her phone and take a picture, to which Tsuki’s ear twitches. As she snaps the photo and pockets her phone, her attention is caught by two things. First, she looks to the clock once more, noting it’s a quarter to one. Definitely should start getting ready to sleep. Then, she notices the curtains she drew back earlier, and when she goes to fix them, she is presented with a light layer of frost over the window. Huffing her breath against the window fogs it, and when she wipes it away, she’s greeted with a semi-blurry sight of snow. Not the neighborhood blanketed in the stuff mind you, but it’s clearly begun coming down with intent to continue for some time.Now that she thinks about it, she never did hear the door to signify Hina had returned inside. That’s worrisome, because now she runs the risk of getting sick, or worst case scenario, the telescope is damaged in some way from the snow.That’s precisely how she rationalizes the way she quickly leaps into action, snatching up one of her woolen coats from the closet and securing it around her shoulders. She considers going straight up to the roof to demand Hina return, but she’s come to know Hina a lot better than she used to. She’s stubborn on a daily basis sure, but when it came to the few things she was passionate about, she would not be moved under any circumstances. She’s definitely going to need some coercing in order to convince her to come back inside. And that’s going to take a little bit of finessing.That’s why rather than immediately heading up the stairs, she instead chooses to let herself into Hina’s room. She frowns at the messy state, several articles of clothing strewn about the floor near the laundry bin she has, likely from half-assed attempts to throw it in. Then there’s her desk, several papers askew ranging from sheet music that Sayo already knows she won’t take a second look at, some homework, and some personal writings. If Hina’s spent this long willingly in the cold, Sayo reasons she can take a couple minutes more to tidy up a little bit. The clothes are dumped into the bin, and the papers stacked neatly before she goes to the closet.She doesn’t spend more than a couple seconds scoping out the warmest looking coat before tugging it from it’s rack and swiftly exiting her room. Not that Hina will be angry about it, because Gods know she invites herself into Sayo’s room whenever she feels like it, there are just more important things to do.Even with the coat folded over her arm, Sayo turns and goes the opposite way down the hall, only returning back up the stairs when she’s prepared two mugs of the cheap hot cocoa in one of the cabinets from the kitchen. She stops off at her room briefly, peeking in to check is Tsuki is still asleep before heading towards the roof access.It’s somehow even colder than earlier and Sayo’s suddenly glad she grabbed a woolen jacket. It had to be easily sub-zero Celsius since it was snowing, and she wishes she grabbed gloves. Although when she rounds the corner, those thoughts fall away because even trying to keep a distance, Sayo worries greatly at the sight of Hina. She never bothered to grab a jacket between the last time she checked up on her and now, and the younger twin is curled in on herself as she looks through the telescope. A different angle now, probably to accommodate for the shift in clouds, so that her back is completely to Sayo.Well that works, it gives her a couple moments to steel herself before she quietly walks forward. Hina must be more distracted from the stars now because as Sayo approaches, the other guitarist’s back stiffens, and soon enough green eyes are staring over her shoulder.“...big sis’?”Sayo hums in affirmation, soldiering on until she stands beside Hina. She first bends down to place both mugs of hot chocolate on the cool cement before unfolding Hina’s coat and draping it over the girl’s shoulders. Hina gazes at her with wide eyes, wide as she can manage because it’s clear the cold temperature and late hours have worn her down.“You’ve been out here for a while Hina. It’s around one.”The other girl blinks slowly, tilting her head as she tries processing Sayo’s claim. Confusion knits her brow, and Hina looks up towards the sky as though it might give her a different answer.“One? That’s… weird. I thought it was only around midnight.”“No it’s not, I came up here around midnight to check on you…” Her voice dies out quickly as she admits that much, and she quickly looks away, busying herself with one of the cups of cocoa.“...really? I didn’t notice…” Hina slowly tugs the coat closer around her shoulders, and her mind seems to catch up with her body because only then does she realize she’s shivering. Actually, as Sayo watches, Hina starts looking around in the air with wide eyes once more.“It… it’s snowing?”Sayo nods beside her, taking another sip of the hot drink and setting it off to her side.“I can’t say for how long, but it wasn’t snowing when I came up at midnight. It was cold though… why didn’t you bring a jacket with you? You’re going to get sick like that.”Hina’s smile is goofy as Sayo gently scolds her and she seemingly ignores the question, reaching her hand out to try and catch some of the snowflakes. Sayo only rolls her eyes in response, watching her carefully.“It’s so nice… I’m surprised I didn’t notice…”“You were pretty enraptured by those same few stars… why did you decide to come out here anyway?”“...Kokoro told me that we were supposed to be able to see a bunch of the constellations tonight, and I was really excited…” She pauses for a moment, eyeing the untouched hot chocolate before grabbing it and taking a small sip. “But… I guess I should have looked at the forecast huh?”“Perhaps you should have because it will be overcast all week. Come inside and get some sleep.”“Eh..? But what if it clears up for a moment? I don’t want to miss those constellations. And the snow is super pretty too…”Here’s what Sayo expected, and she sighs out in exasperation. There would be little Sayo could use as leverage that would get Hina to come back inside, and she’d admit she’s rather not see her sister get a cold. In the long run, that would just affect her ability to come out and see the constellations she was so eager to see. Notwithstanding, of course, the effect it might have on the Pastel*Palettes rehearsals and shows. Colds were unpredictable with how long they lasted and while the agency let her get away with many things, performing around the other idols while sick would definitely be a huge no-no.“Next week is supposed to be clearer… and marginally warmer than this weather.” But still, Hina remains undisturbed, downing another gulp of hot chocolate and making to look back through the telescope. With a deep breath, she recalls the promise she made during that festival several months back. Wishing for a repaired relationship between she and her sister wasn’t going to do much, she could wish up and down to be able to talk and connect with her like they did when they were younger but it wasn’t going to do much. If she wanted the change, she would have to act on it herself.“Next week I have some time off… we can look at your stars together, does that sound okay?”Hina whips around suddenly at that mention, and Sayo can see the surprise hidden down beneath the haze of fatigue in Hina’s eyes. She looks unsure of the offer, but the turn of her body shows her she’s considering it.“...you mean it?”“I do. You can tell me all about your constellations and your stars when the skies are clear, okay? But for now, you have to come inside before you get sick.”Suddenly Hina throws herself forward against Sayo’s chest, and it’s all she can do to manage not to fall over. With Hina to close, her arms brush against Sayo’s hands and she gets a good feel of just how cold the other girl really is. Without the jacket, which is still not being worn properly, she’s only in a t-shirt. In sub zero weather. She quite literally feels like ice, and Sayo awkwardly shifts around in the hug, more to spur Hina into action that to push her away from the contact.“If you really mean it… then yes! I’d love to go stargazing with you, big sis’! I’ll have to talk to Kokoro to figure out what we might be able to see next week and-... oh maybe she’ll want to tag along… that’d be super bangin’ but-”Sayo abruptly clears her throat as she stands, taking with her the two drained mugs of hot cocoa. “Later. For now, get inside. And take these, I’ll handle your telescope. Just remember that Mom and Dad are asleep right now.”Hina purses her lips before quietly nodding, She quickly steps forward to give Sayo one last hug before taking the offered mugs and rounding the corner to head down the stairs. It takes a couple moments of fiddling with the stand the telescope is on to figure how it works, but she manages to fold it up and carefully lower the telescope to make it easier to maneuver back indoors. Once inside, she huffs a sigh of relief at how much warmer it is, and approaches Hina’s door to softly knock on it.“I’m leaving it out against this wall. Goodnight Hina.”From inside she can hear a muffled Good night big sis’! And thank you! that makes her chuckle softly as she returns to her own room. The clock reads one-thirty on her table, and Sayo grumbles quietly as she sheds her coat and drops it off onto the foot of her bed before falling down onto the comforter and pillows. Tsuki suddenly stirs from her impact and stands, circling himself a couple times before laying back down and leaning his back against Sayo’s shoulder.Oh gods, she’s going to need to explain to Yukina why she’s going to miss next week… ugh, sounds like a problem for 8 AM Sunday morning Sayo, not 1:32 AM Sunday morning Sayo.