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“I’m so glad that you were born, Arisa!”
Arisa stares up at the ceiling, hugging a pillow to her chest as Kasumi’s voice echoes in her head. It’s even more obnoxious than if she were in person, rattling off massive tangents and distracting everyone from rehearsal again, because this time it’s just the one line, repeating and making Arisa go red.Not that she embarrassed! It’s just that idiot Kasumi doesn’t ever know what she’s saying! You can’t just say things like that without expecting someone to react at least a little!Still, it’s been three days since Arisa’s birthday. She should’ve just shoved this in the folder of weird things Kasumi says. So why hasn’t she..? Why does she keep letting herself be worked up over eight words that Kasumi probably didn’t consider even while actually saying them?Arisa sighs, pushing the pillow to the side and rolling onto her back. It’s late at night, so she should be sleeping, not thinking about Kasumi.That is, until her phone starts ringing, the sound of Kasumi’s singing announcing who the caller is. Arisa pounces on her phone, picking it up before it plays too long despite being totally alone in her bedroom.“What do you want?” she demands, glancing around her room for the time. 11:09… “Seriously! Do you think this is an appropriate time to be ringing people?”“But you’re awake, aren’t you?” Kasumi asks cheerfully, her voice alone far too awake. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have answered so quickly! Maybe you were waiting for me to call. You can always call me first, Arisa~.”Arisa groans, long and loud. Dealing with Kasumi is always an effort even when she’s not about to go to sleep. Kasumi laughs. It’s infuriatingly warm.“Go outside!”“Hah?! Not a chance!”“Arisa!” Kasumi whines. “Please!!”“Why should I? If you’re waiting outside for me then I’m locking the door,” Arisa threatens. She’s not ready to find that moron on her doorstep.“I’m at my house, I promise! Just go outside, it’ll be worth it,” Kasumi says.Arisa swings her legs off her bed. “No way.”“Ehh? But I thought I just heard up get up!”What?! Does she have superhuman hearing??“Ugh!! Kasumi Toyama!” Arisa barks, standing up abruptly.“Eep!”“Now I’m wide awake and it’s all your fault.”“Ehehe, sorry!”She doesn’t sound sorry.Arisa opens the door to her room, stepping outside timidly. The weather has still been fairly warm recently, but that doesn’t mean it’s still not freezing out there.“What now?” she asks, holding her arm with a shiver. She should’ve put on a jacket first…“Look up!”She does. The stars above her twinkle brightly as if knowing there’s an audience, making the dark night feel just a little lighter. “Yeah..?”“Now we’re both looking at the same stars! Isn’t that magical?” Kasumi cheers, and Arisa’s thumb immediately hovers over the end call button.“What?! You dragged me outside just to see the stars? We looked at them the other night!”“And now we’re looking at them again!”What is this, some sappy long distance relationship? They live in the same town! And they’re definitely not in a relationship!!“Are you serious?!” Arisa yells into the mic, shaking her head quickly. This… idiot!!“Fufu, are you getting flustered, Arisa~? I can sense your every emotion~,” Kasumi teases.Arisa hangs up without hesitation.“Ughh…” she groans, ducking down immediately and covers her head with her hands. In some other dimension she would be sound asleep by now, not outside in the freezing cold because of Kasumi’s dumb ideas. Maybe in some other dimension she wouldn’t even know Kasumi!…That would be really lonely though. Without Kasumi, Arisa wouldn’t have become friends with any of the members of Poppin’ Party and without them, she would’ve missed out on so many fun things. And… Kasumi is someone that she’s especially glad she’s close with, even if it’s just friends…The same ringtone blares out again and Arisa panics, almost dropping her phone on the ground. What was with those sappy thoughts! Geez, are Kasumi’s stars really rubbing off on her that easily?“What do you want?” Arisa answers.Kasumi cheers. “You took so long to answer! I thought you were asleep!”“What if I was? Then you would’ve just woken me up!”“No way! I knew you were waiting for me again~.”“You just said-! Ugh…” Arisa groans, covering her face with her left hand. “…I’m still outside.”“Really?! That means you’re still looking at the stars, right?” Kasumi exclaims.Technically right now she’s not looking at anything. Arisa lowers her hand and raises her head. “I guess so.”“Yay! Thank you, Arisa!”“Why’s this matter to you so much? We can just look at them next time we sleepover,” Arisa says.Kasumi gasps. “Arisa! Does that mean you want to have a sleepover?”“Not now, obviously!”“And you want to look at the stars with me again?”“No!! This is stupid!”She giggles, the happiness annoyingly infectious. Arisa has to fight to keep herself from smiling, but it’s not like Kasumi can see her. She slowly relaxes. “We should have another sleepover soon, then! Maybe even next weekend.”“You won’t have time for sleepovers if you don’t catch up on your homework,” Arisa says dryly.“Arisaaa,” Kasumi whines. “Why’d you have to bring that up? I’m never going to be able to sleep now, I’m too sad!”“Good.”“So mean…”“…If you get enough of your work done before next week then I’ll help you fi-”“Really?! Thank you! You’re a lifesaver!” Kasumi exclaims. Arisa rolls her eyes. If they were together right now then Kasumi would be hugging her way too tightly and it’d be way too nice and warm and…“Anyway! That’s only if you get enough done. Don’t you dare come over with a whole pile of it and expect me to do it for you! I’ll just help you finish off the rest,” Arisa says sternly.“Okay~!”“…Geez. You’re hopeless on your own, you know? How do you expect to get into university like this?” Arisa asks.“If Poppin’ Party is popular enough, maybe we won’t need to!” Kasumi says.“Seriously? We can’t all be as hopelessly optimistic as you,” Arisa says.“Why not? It’s more fun that way!”“You better not be calling me boring!”“No way! I love spending time with you! You’re the reason I can hear the stars beat so clearly!” Kasumi says, and Arisa’s own heartbeat speeds up. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you!”“Eh?”“Yeah, because I love you!”“What?!”“Oh! It’s getting late, sorry! I didn’t mean to keep you up so late-!”“Kasumi Toyama, don’t you dar-”“Good night, Arisa!”Kasumi hangs up. Arisa stares at her blank phone, her slack expression looking back. Eh?! Love?! She quickly unlocks her phone, fuming both with frustration and embarrassment. Her finger hovers over the call button on Kasumi’s contact, her face practically on fire. How is she supposed to take that?! Why won’t Kasumi ever consider her own words! Before she gets the chance, her phone buzzes with a new message.dumbass... ♡:> remember you can call me first !!!! ;DSeriously?!As if I’d call you!! <dumbass... ♡:> <3 <3 <3 <3 Stop texting me and go to sleep! <dumbass... ♡: > okayyyyyy> see you tomorrow! Whatever < See you then. <She’s just given Kasumi permission to come over tomorrow, she realises late. Not like Kasumi needs permission, she would’ve come over anyway. Arisa looks up at the stars again, sighing softly. It’s not so bad though. Arisa’s… pretty happy with where her life is right now. Even if one little confession could make it better. Hah… She’ll deal with that tomorrow. Right now, she needs to go to sleep before Kasumi tries to call her again.Arisa stands up, almost reluctant to take her eyes off the stars, despite how stupid that is. “Good night, Kasumi.”
I love you…
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Arisa makes it through the entire day without Kasumi slamming open her door, announcing her presence afterwards like anyone could miss that. Arisa has to stuff down her disappointment, grinding her teeth so she doesn't cut her bonsai too harshly. If you're going to say "see you tomorrow" then you shouldn't just forget the next day! What if someone else had asked Arisa to hang out today and she had turned them down to wait for someone who wasn't even coming! Not like anyone did… but it's the principle of the matter!It's starting to get dark… Arisa stands up, packing up her tools, and sighs. That'll teach her to expect anything of Kasumi, huh. Maybe she shouldn't have taken what Kasumi said so seriously, both the promise to come over and the compliments. Whatever…She looks up at the sky. No stars yet. Ah, wait, there's one-"The first star of the night! Make a wish, Arisa!"Kasumi leaps from behind, wrapping her arms around Arisa's shoulders and nuzzling her face close. Arisa cheeks flare up with heat, almost dropping everything she's holding. "Kasumi! You're late!""Eh? I am?" Kasumi backs off slightly, walking around so Arisa is facing her. "But I made it here just in time for the first star!""You didn't tell me this is when you were coming! You shouldn't leave someone waiting for so long!" Arisa scolds, her full hands awkwardly hovering near her hips. She really should put this stuff down but..!"Gasp!" Don't say gasp out loud, idiot!! "Arisa… could it be that you were waiting for me all day?" she asks, badly hiding her smirk behind her hand."N-No! Absolutely not!""Fufufu… Was that a stutter I heard? You don't have to lie to me, Arisa! Remember, I said you can always call me first~.""Ugh!! Not a chance!" Arisa exclaims, stomping away."Wait for meee!"Kasumi is back by her side immediately, taking Arisa's hand in hers the second Arisa puts down her tools. "Don't swing our arms," Arisa grumbles, and Kasumi's hand stops moving just as she was above to start."Eheh, caught me~," she says sheepishly. "Isn't it more fun to walk like that?""No." Arisa's hands are far too sweaty for Kasumi to not notice. She hasn't said anything.Why are they even holding hands? They're just going to Arisa's room. She thinks this, just a few steps from the door, when suddenly Kasumi stops walking."Aren't we going to stay outside?" she asks."Eh? Why would we?" Arisa asks, stepping back so she's next to Kasumi again.Kasumi glances up. "So we can see the stars! They're coming out just for us, so the least we can do is watch.""Hahh?" That's not how stars work. "If you want to freeze be my guest, but I'm going inside," she says, tugging on her hand, but Kasumi doesn't budge. Arisa frowns."I just think it's really special how no matter what, there will always be stars in the sky. You can't always see the moon, but stars can always shine through," Kasumi says, her voice softer than Arisa's heart was ready for; feeling the beating echo through her body. Where was this coming from..?"What about in the day?""The sun's a star, isn't it?""And when it's cloudy?""…We'll just move the clouds ourselves."That's impossible, idiot… "Why are you saying this all of a sudden?"Kasumi smiles, even a small smile shining brighter than the stars she admires so much. "I'm just happy that no matter how far apart we are, we can always look up at the same stars and be together.""You really don't live that far away," Arisa mutters."I know! I just love spending time with you," Kasumi says."There it is again…""Hm?"Arisa looks up at Kasumi, pulling her hand back with little resistance. "Why do you keep saying you love things about me? What's that supposed to mean?""I just-! I… I just want you to know how much you mean to me," Kasumi says, and why does that frustrate Arisa so much?"But I don't. I don't understand. How can you just-" What point is she even trying to make..?"Arisa." Kasumi looks… nervous. It doesn't fit her, but even so, she still manages to smile. "It's true. When I say I love you, I mean it. Ever since we started playing together I wanted to be even closer to you and… there's not much left after best friend.""…Who said we were best friends?""Me! And you can say it too if you want, I know it's in there somewhere~," Kasumi teases, before letting out a happy sigh. "But I think it'd be incredible if… maybe we could be girlfriends too. Like my own star, all to myself.""If you get too close to a star you'll burn up.""I do already! Whenever I'm with you I feel..-! Really warm and bright, just like a star!"…She can't think of an argument to this.Why is she even trying to?Kasumi confessing to her… Her Kasumi. Kasumi Toyama confessing to Arisa… it's like a dream. It is a dream Arisa's had many times, waking up flushed and embarrassed, unable to face Kasumi the next day without blowing up at her."…Aren't I always saying mean things to you?" Arisa asks. "Doesn't that make you uncomfortable?""You never really mean it, though. Whenever you're with us you smile lots and that's what really matters!"Is it?"Kasumi…""Yes?""I love you."Shit. She's definitely tearing up. Arisa takes a step back, already turning her face away so Kasumi can't see, but Kasumi just follows dutifully."I love you too!""You already said that, idiot!" She sniffs, and Kasumi's definitely now aware how close Arisa is to crying."But we're dating now, right? That means I get to say it as much as I want now!" Kasumi insists, reaching out for Arisa's hands. Arisa stares, sniffling pathetically, before hesitantly reaching out too. "So, I love you!""I'm only saying it once.""That's okay!""I- I love you…""Now that's twice!"Kasumi giggles, pulling Arisa in for a hug. Arisa resists slightly, but it's way weaker than normal and both of them can undoubtedly tell. Kasumi's hugs have always been stupidly comforting, making Arisa feel safe in her arms despite how much she complains. She leans her head on Kasumi's shoulder, breathing deeply. …They ended up staying outside after all."The stars all came out really quickly," Kasumi says, staring up at the sky. Arisa hums against her shoulder instead of replying. "Now I have plenty of stars to name after you!""Don't name a star after me," Arisa mutters. They all already have names anyway."Too late!" Kasumi announces, pointing upwards.Arisa has to lean back slightly to look. It's not hard to spot, it's easily the brightest in the sky. "…That's not me.""Huhh? Why not?"Could Arisa even shine that brightly..? "That one's you. I'm the one next to it.""Hmmm," Kasumi hums thoughtfully, staring up at them with a careful expression. "Fine! Our stars are together then, just like us."Just like us… Arisa smiles.
I love you, Kasumi.