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“Kiui.”“What?”“If this goes on, I swear I’ll lose my mind.”Mahiru Kouzuki, 18 years old, currently in her third year of high school and, unfortunately for her, trapped in an ambiguous and homoromantic relationship with her friend Kano Yamanouchi.‘Confusing’ would be a good word to describe their relationship.When they first met, Mahiru had never felt such a connection with someone so quickly. Call her corny or cliché, but that’s how it felt at the time. From then on, they just grew closer and closer. As the months went by, their trust grew more and more, leading them to have long talks in the middle of the night, to go out alone, and to basically talk to each other all day by texting or even calling each other. And that’s exactly what leads us to what they are now.More than friends, but less than lovers.If an outsider saw them interacting, it wouldn’t take two seconds to know that they were a little too close at times. Her high school friends even thought they were a couple the first time they saw them together. That wasn’t unusual with Kano anyway, that girl was as affectionate as a cuddly teddy bear with all the JELEE members. But with Mahiru, oh, with her it was different.From the very beginning, even though the expressions of affection with the others were mostly similar, her way of dealing with her felt different. As if the tone or the intentions changed just because it was her .Time eventually gave them opportunities on a silver platter to build their relationship more and more, to the point where they had already crossed the boundaries of a mere friendship. A conventional one, at least.And Mahiru was not having a good time about it. All those months of suppressed and confused feelings were slowly leading her to the edge of a cliff.A little crush on her? Something completely manageable. Expected, even. Who wouldn’t be at least a little nervous about hanging out every day with a girl as beautiful and talented as she was? But what she hadn’t planned was to fall so deeply for her in less than a year.But the affection and exclusivity Kano gave her drove her crazy. She simply did not make things easy for her, as if she only wanted to torment her nights and fantasy dreams. Mahiru tried to keep her cool, but sometimes, Kano’s inattention to the implications of her words and actions got on her nerves, for better or worse.Maybe it was just her own conclusions on the subject, but if asked, she could bet on a 65% chance that if she ever confessed, her feelings would be reciprocated. Mahiru had gathered enough information from her high school friends to come to this conclusion, and they were more and more speechless with every detail she told them, surprised that they weren’t dating after all they had been through.The way she reacted every time she teased her, the sweet words of encouragement and affirmation Kano would say to her when she commented that she didn’t feel enough, and the increase in her little acts of nervousness when they were alone... It might simply have been her own desire to be reciprocated talking for her, but deep down she felt that maybe, just maybe, there was something more delicate and meaningful behind it all.And that’s why she was now on the phone with her best friend, trying to come up with a plan of action once and for all, so that she could end her eternal misery of uncertainty. “If what continues?” the pink haired girl asked.“This strange limbo with Kano! If she keeps on acting like this, and it’s not to ask me out, I’m going to start drawing the Virgin Mary out of stress.”“Virgin Mar–?” she heard on the other end of the line as Kiui’s typing stopped, followed by a sigh. Mahiru after so many years of knowing her could tell exactly what expression she was making. “Still no progress?”“Nothing at all.” and now it was her turn to let out a sigh.Kiui had been aware of all this for about three months, when she had noticed that there was something about the two of them that was not what was usual in a mere friendship. Little did she know that as soon as she asked Mahiru about it, the brunette would let all her worries about the group’s singer flow out in detail. At first, she tried to deny it a bit, but it didn’t help much, it wasn’t as if Mahiru could hide anything from Kiui anyway.From then on, Mahiru told her about her worries from time to time, mostly when her fears consumed her and she needed to talk to someone to put her thoughts in order. That wasn’t very often though, she tried not to overburden her friend with the subject. It must have been awkward to be you so involved in the romantic affairs of two friends and colleagues.“Don’t you think it’s time to do something? You’ve been like this for over half a year, get your head straight.”“I’ve never confessed! Besides, what if I’ve been misunderstanding everything all this time?”“And here we go again…” Mahiru was about to respond with the same arguments that Kiui must have been tired of hearing, but before she could even start, her friend had started talking again.“Listen to me, Kouzuki. I can tell you as someone who isn’t involved in this, that girl would do anything for you. There’s no harm in giving it a shot. I bet her response will always be positive if it’s about you.”“I’m still not sure if it’s romantic or not. Let’s face it, Kano is an idiot. The chances of it all being a simple misunderstanding are higher than you think!”“So what you’re saying is you need her to say it directly to clear the air?“ She asks, sounding tired already from dealing with Mahiru’s stubbornness.“Yeah… is there any way that could happen?”“Well, if you were to be more direct, I think so. But honestly, I don’t see the point. If you were to confess, there’s no way she’d say no. And if she does, I’ll give her a good kick in the–”But Mahiru had stopped listening when the word ‘hint’ reached her ears. She had thrown a few at her, but they were so subtle that they were nothing more than games, really.Would that really work? What could she do or say to make Kano take a first step, so she could be completely sure?Oh, being in love with a girl wasn’t easy at all. If she had to compare it to anything, it would be a high-risk sport.“Mahiru? Are you still there?” she heard through her headphones, bringing her back to reality.“I am... Hey, Kiui,” a small sound was heard, confirming that she was listening. If you had to give a hint... what would it be?”“Oh, please leave me out of this. It’s not like I have any good ideas, either”“Kiui!” she complained.“You know you have my support, but you have to work on this on your own, Mahiru.”The girl sighed. It’s not as if she could argue with her.She looked up from her graphic tablet. Her gaze fell on the bright moon of that night. Thousands of thoughts were running through her head, but none of them were coming together in a way that would be useful in this very stressful situation.“I guess you’re right. I’m going to hang up, good night, Kiui.”“Good night. Don’t stay up too late thinking about it, you have classes tomorrow.”“Fine…” was the last thing she said before pressing the red button to hang up the phone.Mahiru placed her graphic tablet at the side of her bed and lay down on it, now looking at the ceiling instead of the window.Kiui had actually made a good suggestion.Maybe a little persistence on her part was what was really needed to put an end to this terrible, stressful limbo. It was about time for her to stop acting like a scaredy-cat. Mahiru wanted someone, and she was fully prepared to do her best to be worthy of that girl. Her little experience wasn’t much help, and just thinking about all the possibilities, both negative and positive, did nothing but make her heart rate rise second by second.From that June night on, Mahiru would begin to think about how to subtly change her ways around Kano, with the sole purpose of ending their ambiguous and painful relationship once and for all.At best, they would end up together, just as her mind had imagined in many of her dreams. At worst, Kano wouldn’t respond to any of her signals and she would end up with a completely red forehead from all the times she banged her own head against the wall. But still with her annoying situation intact, just like in the beginning. As long as nothing weird happened between them, it was more than enough, even if it hurt a little.“I don’t lose much by trying, do I?”Besides her patience, of course. Mahiru looks at the time on the glowing screen of her phone.10:24 am.Her forearm had small red marks from the weight of the bag with various ingredients and vegetables. And right in front of her was the door to the Yamanouchi residence.She began to slide her fingers across the screen to unlock it and call a certain blonde girl, juggling so nothing would fall off.In Mahiru’s ear, the characteristic beep of a ringing call waiting to be answered rang out. The sound is repeated once, twice, five times, until she finally manages to delight herself with the voice she longed to hear on the other end of the line.“Yoru?” answered a sleepy Kano.“Good morning! Were you awake?”Mahiru only heard a rather ambiguous grunt. She decided to interpret it as a no.“Do you need anything? It’s weird that you call so early.”Her voice was soft, the words were not spoken so exuberantly as usual due to the lack of energy in her body. Mahiru smiled at this.“I need you to open the door to your house for me. My arm is getting tired, you know?”“Doo–?” And at that moment, Mahiru could have sworn that she heard a crash. Not through the line, but from the house itself.“Kano–?”But there was silence, she didn’t even have to wait a minute to come face to face with Kano Yamanouchi. Mahiru hung up the call, smiling and putting her phone back in her pocket.The sight in front of her could only be described as cute. Although that was only her opinion, anyway.Only Kano Yamanouchi could look good in a black baggy shirt, completely disheveled hair and wrinkled pajamas. ‘Of course, a beautiful girl like her could look good in anything’ , Mahiru thinks.“Yoru! You should have called earlier” she began as she stepped aside to let the newcomer in “Do you need anything?”“Not really. I just wanted to see you” she said, looking at her and lifting the corners of her lips.And with that, Mahiru finally put her plan into action.“How unusual!” her voice began to sound more animated “It makes me happy to hear that, tho!”A smile appeared on her face. Oh, Mahiru definitely wanted to get noticed once and for all.Be more direct, flirt a little and pray that Kano wouldn’t come back at her twice as hard to avoid dying of embarrassment and regret. Nothing she couldn’t handle! If Kiui had been watching her, she would have given her a thumbs up in support.She continues to smile slightly as she bends down to take off her shoes, leaving the bag she was carrying on the floor for a few seconds. As soon as it touched the wooden floor, Kano decided to take care of it and picked it up again.“Can I see inside?” she asks and gets an affirmative sound from the brunette. Her blue eyes inspect the bag superficially and see onions, a bottle of ketchup, a small egg carton and other things that were a little more hidden. At this discovery, she turns to her friend, who has already finished her previous task “What’s all this for?”Kano starts going up stairs with Mahiru, finally reaching the living room of the house.“To be honest, I’m worried about your diet, Kano. Whenever we go out, you always choose sweet things to eat and I know that cooking is not good. Are you really having any decent food?”Even though she asked that question, Mahiru already knew the answer. Ever since Mion talked a bit about how Kano behaved before they met, and how poor her eating habits were, that became a topic that wouldn’t leave her alone from that point on.At least she could assume that she ate well enough to be full of energy every day. But when they talked and the subject of food came up, it was not uncommon for her to say that she had just eaten something preheated or similar.That’s why Mahiru saw a perfect opportunity. She could cook for the girl she liked, watch her finally having a proper meal, and spend some time alone with her. It was all plus points.“Well…” and she laughed a little to shake off the guilt of knowing that she would get a scolding from her. With that, she left the bag of ingredients on the kitchen counter.Mahiru just sighed.“I brought some things to make omurice. Or would you like something else?”Kano’s blue eyes widened at the mention of her favorite food. If this were a cartoon, her eyes would have sparkled and had little stars in them.“Omurice... from my favorite artist...!” the excitement overflowed in her tone. All traces of sleepiness that made her maintain a different state from her usual persona disappeared in an instant, leaving no trace of it except for her current disheveled appearance.“When you say it like that, you remind me of Mei. Stop that.”“But it’s true! You are my favorite artist and you cook delicious food, I can’t ask for anything more!”That comment made her a little happy, just a little.“So how can I help?” she asked excitedly. Mahiru could swear she could almost see an imaginary tail wagging from side to side behind her.Ready for her next move, Mahiru attacks.She moves so that their faces are only inches apart, and Kano can’t help but be stunned by the sudden move. Mahiru directs her hands to the golden hair of the other, combing through all the rebellious strands that fluttered in different directions. Finally, she twisted one of the strands close to her ear between her fingers and passed it behind it.Kano didn’t move an inch, but Mahiru continued with a smile.“You can start by just fully waking up, I’ll wait for you while I get all the stuff out.”With that and a hardly decipherable look, Kano just nodded and after a short goodbye, she excused herself.When she returns, her hair combed and her face washed, all the ingredients are placed on the counter. Mahiru waited patiently for her return, although the time she had to wait was really short.“All done! Where shall we start?” Kano says as she approaches. Her voice bounces off the walls of the place, alerting Mahiru of her return.“Ah, I just finished setting out the rice. Do you know how to cut it into squares?”And then there was silence, accompanied by a slightly awkward smile.She didn’t need her to vocalize her answer, the brunette already knew what that expression meant.“Come here, I’ll teach you.Once that was said, she took one of the onions on the table between her hands. One a little smaller than the average size.“It’s not difficult. Look, first vertically. We remove the top, the skin. Vertical, horizontal right in the middle…” she began to recite slowly so that her companion would understand each of her very poor instructions. Each cut could be heard clashing with the board she had pulled out earlier.Kano had slipped in behind her, taking advantage of her height to look over Mahiru’s shoulder, resting her chin on it as she watched her hands and the knife move. She tried to ignore the proximity, or else she would end up with a finger less in one of her hands because of the distraction.“And, then cubes.”
Cut, cut, cut.
Finally, she ended up with some nice cubes, finishing her demonstration.“Easy, right?”“I think I got it! Let me try.”The blonde girl grabbed another onion and started to follow the steps that Mahiru had demonstrated to her just a few moments ago.Mahiru was on the lookout for a disaster, just in case. With the first cut, Kano did not get a good grip on the bulb, making the knife slip. Both of them held their breath, waiting for some kind of red liquid to come out of her hand, but luckily, it didn’t, ending in nothing more than a scare.Still with her eyes watering from the pungent smell of the onion, Kano successfully announces her accomplishment by putting the knife aside and turning to look at the girl next to her, who smiles warmly at her in response.“Good! Now,” she says and goes back to the list of ingredients displayed in the kitchen. She finally picks up a small tray with a chicken breast. “I’ll cut this up, then we have to wait for the rice to be ready.”To all this information, Kano just nods. Cutting sounds can be heard again. Next to her, Kano takes the opportunity to wash her hands, not knowing how else to help.“Yoru, were you always good at cooking?” the older girl asks, moving her hands vigorously with the soap so there’s no traces of the strong smell of the onions left on them.“Oh, definitely not. You could say I learned out of necessity, really.”“Necessity?” she begins to dry her hands on one of the towels in the kitchen, turning to look at Mahiru.“When my sister was born, my parents were just as busy at work as they are now. I ended up taking care of Kaho when my mom couldn’t, along with myself, of course.”“Were you always good at it?” she asked with a palpable interest in any word she had to say, that made Mahiru’s heart warm.“Ugh, you can ask Kaho and you’ll know that it was barely edible in the beginning” Mahiru laughs a little at the memories of that time and her little sister’s complaints, her cooking then was a hundred light years away from what it is now.“Really? But that stew you made last year was so good!”“Well, practice makes perfect. And you really should start cooking for yourself. You need to eat right!” she said as she stopped what she was doing to point at her accusingly.The brunette’s scolding was by no means malicious or in a mean tone. Quite the opposite, Kano could almost physically feel the genuine concern in her words.But that noticing that didn’t stop her from pouting.“But I’m serious, I’m not good at it! I eat mostly reheated food, but I eat much better than before, so it should be okay…!”“Nuh-uh! You should start making some basic meals yourself! You can’t always rely on reheatables.”“But where do I start, then?”“Well, you just learned how to dice, don’t you? Now you know one of the most repetitive tasks in cooking.” she smiles.She smiled back. And in that moment, Mahiru confirmed that teaching her something so basic had not been a mistake.The younger of the two had already finished cutting the chicken into medium-sized pieces. She began to wash her hands.There were still a few minutes left until the rice was ready. So they used those minutes to talk while sitting on the nearby sofa. Mahiru didn’t miss the opportunity to sit next to her, despite the obvious availability of other seats. Every moment counts , her own logic told her.Small touches between their hands were frequent during this time. Too many to be mere accident or coincidence, actually. But Mahiru sighed to herself in relive when she saw that none of this bothered her companion. Some of them were even started by her, even. Her hopes rose a bit.Just when Kano was about to switch to a new topic of conversation, before she could start her sentence a beeping sound repeated itself several times, ringing loud and clear in the room.Without wasting any time, the girl in charge of breakfast rose from her seat, followed by her assistant for the day.With excited eyes, Kano listened to every explanation Mahiru gave her about the preparation of the meal. The frying of onions and chicken to flavor the rice in the same pan, and of course the preparation of the same egg omelet that would be placed on top.The first one came out perfectly, ready to be opened and slowly fall onto the rice dish. Kano’s mouth hung open in amazement and respect for her friend and her cooking skills.“Can I try?” she asked enthusiastically, clenching her fists as she tried not to be impulsive.“Are you sure? This part can be a bit complicated…” she started, but when she saw her grimace turn into a slightly disappointed one, she couldn’t help but sigh and give in. “Well. There’s one way to make it a little easier.”“How?” she began to close the distance again, positioning herself next to Mahiru and much closer to the frying pan.“Repeat what I did with the butter.”As she gave instructions, Kano followed them attentively. First, she placed a considerable amount of butter into the pan, moving it around to make sure the entire surface was properly greased. After that, she poured in the egg mixture in an even layer just as Mahiru had instructed, and let it cook until it was almost completely done.“Now.” she began, bringing in the bowl where the rest of the rice had been. “Put this in the corner of the pan and wrap the omelet around the rice.”During all this time Kano was concentrating, the brunette could swear she was biting her tongue, as if that would keep her mind on the task at hand. “And…” this time she brought her an empty plate, the girl understood that only the last part was missing; the plating. Helping herself with the spatula in her hand, she finally managed to place her preparation on the plate. The smile on both of their faces widened “All done!”“Ahhh, finally! I'm starving!”“Me too…”They both carried their plates to the small table in the middle of the room, along with the bottle of ketchup and a small knife, as well as their respective cutlery. Mahiru would eat the one Kano made, and vice versa.“Time to eat!” the older of the two exclaimed happily, using the knife she had brought to open the omelet on the appetizing pile of rice. She quickly grabbed the bottle of that red sauce and poured a considerable amount of it over her food.“Time to ea–”“Ah, wait!”She was interrupted.In the blink of an eye, the brunette had already witnessed Kano confiscating her plate. With the same bottle she was still holding, she began to write something on the omurice.“Alright!” and with that, she continued to eat as if nothing had happened, handed the plate back to the other girl and finally took her first bite.Mahiru still hadn’t looked down to see what the vocalist had written. She was too busy watching Kano fill her cheeks with food, making her look like a squirrel.And she couldn’t be happier and more satisfied that she had made that effort just for her.As soon as she looked down at her plate, she read a ‘ Thanks for this, love you∼! ’, with a star, a heart and a smiley face next to the message.This girl had an impressive ability to make her embarrassed with her sincerity. But that message made her day, if she had to be honest.Finally, Mahiru took a bite of her food.Maybe it was because she was eating with her, but she could say for sure that this was perhaps one of the best omurices she had made so far. After spending the rest of the morning and afternoon at the Yamanouchi residence, Mahiru returns home defeated.She goes up the stairs and collapses on her bed. Reflexively, she pulls her phone out of her pocket and quickly writes a text message to Kano, informing her that she has already arrived at her house, as they agreed.After pressing send, she quickly switches to their shared JELEE account, intending to post an update about her whole day with Kano.Much to her surprise, a certain girl with golden hair and blue strands had already beaten her to it. But when she finished reading a certain part of the whole text, her stomach completely turned.
‘I’m falling in love∼’
And those four words were enough to make her kick her feet up on her bed.This girl was going to kill her one day.Later that day, her phone rings from a notification.She opens her chat with Kiui, who sent the message.‘ “I’m falling in loveeeee” huh?? ’ she reads on the screen, next to a screenshot of the group leader’s post from hours earlier.She wrote it in a notoriously teasing and friendly tone, and the words ‘ I told you so ’ could be clearly felt despite its absence in the message.Later that night, after her late night call with Mahiru, Kiui had fully confirmed that Kano was not the only idiot between the two of them. Just date already, for God's sake, she can’t stop thinking.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
One look.
23:57.
Two looks.
23:58.
And by the third look, 23:59, she was already beginning to analyze her message again.
One of her elbows rested on her desk, making it easier to cradle one of her cheeks between her hands. Her free hand held her cell phone. The screen had been flickering on and off for the last half hour, only showing Mahiru the time.
But now it was time.
Seconds before midnight, Mahiru opened the notes app, cut and pasted the message into their chat.
00:00.
And sent.
“Kano, happy birthday! I hope I was the first to say it. Let’s make today a good day!”
Simple and short, but she hoped that her genuine affection could be properly conveyed through the letters on her phone.
That’s how Mahiru started her 4th of July. Kano’s birthday.
As soon as she sent the message, she left the device on her desk and went straight to her bed, seeking comfort in her sheets.
As soon as her face touched her pillow, a rather familiar melody sounded.
Her phone’s ringtone.
Once the sound began to bounce between her ears, she stood up to prevent anyone in her house from waking up.
Kano Yamanouchi is calling.
She had never pressed the button to accept a call as quickly as she did at that moment.
Too fast, in fact. By the time she was able to hear the sound of the phone call, her mind was entirely blank.
But a voice brought her back.
“Yoru? Yoru, thanks for the message!” Kano says on the other end of the line, animatedly, just as Mahiru expected.
“Nineteen, huh? How does that age feel?”
“Agh, I just get older and older, I want to stop time!”
Mahiru sighed.
“I can relate to that. Youth flies by so quickly, doesn’t it?”
“But we’re still young, we have to make every second count!”
“That’s true. You sound like someone who really means it.”
“Of course I mean it! After all these years I’ve never felt so happy. I have to treasure every moment now that I have people to share it with!”
Her heart tightened for a second. The way she talked about JELEE as the only thing she had was something she thought about often.
On one hand, her selfishness made her feel good. There was no way that Mahiru would stand out in a sea of people. It meant a lot to her to be so important in her life.
But on the other, it was inhuman to her that she spent almost the entirety of her life alone. How could someone like her be so marginalized? Not everyone had an understanding of how fantastic she was, and this fact was a clear demonstration of it. Whenever she thought about how she could have felt for so many years, her chest would crumple like a used sheet of paper.
When her mind returned to the conversation, Mahiru answered.
“Are the plans for today still on?”
“You bet they are! We’ll meet first, won’t we? The two of us?”
“Yeah. There was something I wanted your opinion on.”
An excuse she made up a few days ago, of course. She just wanted to spend some time alone with her.
“So you should rest, we’ll meet where we said as soon as I get out of class today.”
“I’d like to talk more, but you should really go to sleep then” Kano said, Mahiru made an affirmative sound that was followed by a few seconds of silence.
But soon, her voice could be heard again on the other end of the line.
“Ahhh, my birthday is already off to a great start. I could hear your voice, so it’s already a happy one!”
It was amazing how this girl could say things like that out of the blue and not feel embarrassed.
But she didn’t know if it was worse that she still wasn’t used to it at this point, that she was caught with her guard down and her cheeks flushed every time.
Although she didn’t want to admit it, she would like to see more of these gestures in person too. But at the same time she was grateful that it mostly happened during their calls. It wouldn’t be very convenient for Mahiru if the singer saw what a few words could do to her.
“Geez, I'm hanging up” Mahiru said, sounding defeated. “Happy birthday again! Sleep.”
“I will! Good night, Mahiru.”
“Good night, Kano.”
And then the call ended.
She didn’t notice it right away because of the exhaustion that had already taken over.
But after a long time, Kano had used her name and not her nickname.
Had she been more aware at that moment, she would have used the opportunity to play with her a little. Another time, it would be.
The bell rang and Mahiru had gathered each of her belongings as quickly as humanly possible.
Her friends asked why she was in such a hurry, but Mahiru just said goodbye and went on her way.
To her surprise, she would be living a deja vu as soon as she faced the entrance of her high school.
Kano, just like one afternoon in May, was before her eyes, riding a motorcycle, with two helmets between her hands and a bright smile.
Even without words, Mahiru already knew what that look meant.
And without hesitation, she walked up to her, her smile as wide as her counterpart’s was.
Once they were face to face, she got on. After putting on their helmets, they took off without a second thought.
“I told you I would see you there, birthday girl! What is all this?” Her voice was loud when she spoke, the noise of the air and the streets being a major obstacle to hearing each other clearly.
“It’s more fun this way! Besides, the license is to use it” She exclaims. Even without seeing her, Mahiru could bet with great confidence that her expression was a proud one.
Mahiru tightened her grip on Kano’s waist. A large part of her body leaned against her back. Therefore, when her companion tensed during the act, she noticed it clearly.
“Don’t distract me” She grumbled despite the lack of any real threat in her voice.
“Distract you? I'm not doing anything.”
Her words were accompanied with false innocence.
She certainly knew what she was doing. She would have even rested her chin on her shoulder, if she knew if it was safe or not.
The closeness of their faces usually made her dizzy, but if that was what it took to see Kano embarrassed, she would even gently press their noses together if necessary.
She’d also do it just for the pleasure of it, though.
Minutes passed in silence, their music being the noise of each street they passed. When they spoke, it was Mahiru only giving directions on where to go. Kano had no idea what their destination would be.
They ended up stopping the moment they were face to face with a large music store.
The slightest excuse was necessary. Kano had lost her guitar pick and she would give her a new one. Easy, and she would gain at least forty minutes alone with her.
All lined up.
“A music store? Gonna get me a new guitar?”
A small bell rang, alerting the employees of their arrival.
“Someday I will. For now, I want you to choose a pick”
“Yoruuu!” Was the last thing she said before she hugged her. “I didn’t expect you to remember that.”
Of course I do, idiot. I like you.
But it’s not like she can say that. At least not now.
She pats her on the head and replies.
“Of course I do, it wasn’t that long ago. Besides, your birthday was coming up, it was a good opportunity for a gift”
Kano puts her hands to her chin and makes exaggerated sounds of understanding.
“I see, I see.”
She was so dumb.
She loved her.
“What’s taking us so long? We have other places to go, you know!”
With that, Mahiru grabbed her hand and dragged her through the various aisles, appreciating each of the items displayed in the store.
With no intention of letting their hands go, they wandered through until they finally came to a place where sets of picks were available. Several designs to choose from that kept them thinking for a while.
Minutes passed and after Kano had decided, Mahiru stopped at the cashier to pay for the birthday girl’s present. After a cordial goodbye, they left as quickly as they had arrived.
The doorbell rings again for their leaving, and as soon as Kano sees the contents of the bag she was holding, she lets go of her companion’s hand and wraps her arms around the short haired girl’s waist.
Mahiru can feel her breath on her shoulder, stiffening her as she feels a shiver run down her back. Her face was completely submerged in her, squeezing tightly for a few brief seconds.
As if she was a toy whose battery had just been completely recharged, the girl bounced back in a matter of seconds as if nothing had happened.
“Thanks!” She says cheerfully. Mahiru smiles.
Without wasting any more time, they got back on the rented motorcycle and rode as fast as they could to meet the two missing JELEE members. The wind ruffled their clothes, the streets were full of life and noise as always, and Mahiru clung to Kano’s waist as if her life depended on it.
That’s how they finally reached their destination.
To their surprise, even though it was still quite some time before the appointed time, they found the faces of Kiui and Mei right in front of them.
Kiui had a sly smile on her lips when she saw them arrive together. For Mahiru, the meaning of her expression was more than clear.
Mei, however, seemed to have seen a ghost.
Kano parks the bike, both of them get off and approach their other friends.
When Mahiru was close enough to the duo that Mei could be heard without having to shout, the taller girl began to speak.
“Mahiru! Not only did you steal my place as the first to congratulate Nono-tan, but have you also kidnapped her?!”
This was a greeting she had not expected.
But it was Mei after all. She was used to it by now.
“Kidnapped?” Was all she could say before the long-haired one continued.
“When I sent the message to Nono-tan asking if I was the first she said you beat me this time! You must have sent it a few milliseconds before me... I won’t lose next time... I won’t give you Nono-tan's fan place!"
Each word overlapped with the previous one. Kiui looked unsurprised by her reaction, Mahiru assumed it was because they had to listen to her chatter since before they arrived on the scene.
Kano blinked as if she could only analyze what had happened after a few seconds passed. Without taking long to understand, she approached Mei with a calm face and a gentle smile.
“It’s okay! After all, you were my first fan to wish me a happy birthday. No one can take that position away from you.”
To complete her speech, she brought one of her hands close to her head. One, two, three pats and they could all see how Mei’s mood had quickly changed. Her eyes turning into hearts.
Mei clasped her hands together, whispering a
‘Thank you God for this moment.’
Mei being Mei
, that thought floated through Mahiru’s mind.
It didn’t take them long to arrange everything and finally enter the place they had agreed upon.
An arcade.
For Kiui’s comfort, they had decided to go to one that was completely new to everyone, so it was a bit further away from the ones Kiui and Mahiru used to go to.
But they all agreed on the idea. Nothing like a fun place to spend a birthday.
“Wow, isn’t this even bigger than the one we used to go to, Mahiru?” Kiui says as soon as the automatic glass doors open.
“It is. And more modern, too.”
“I’ve never been to an arcade before... Where should we start?” Mei asks, her tone showing a clear curiosity about her surroundings.
“Well, birthday girl, any ideas?” Said the shorter one, but there was no answer from Kano.
When they went to see her, she was looking excitedly at the arcade. Her eyes were shining like stars as she looked at every nook and corner with her gaze.
“Kano?” Mahiru broke out her brief trance.
“Any of them is fine! Yoru, which one do you wanna try?”
“It’s
your
birthday, I don’t think I should choose.”
The singer took Mahiru by the shoulders and shook her slightly. She was so excited that she couldn’t help but move to let it all out.
“I’ll go pay for the tickets, you decide” And with that, Kiui left to pay for the group’s stay in the place.
That’s how the eyes of the three remaining girls roamed through the aisles watching games of all kinds. Shooting, driving, dancing ones and everything you could imagine.
Mahiru’s eyes went to Kano’s face from time to time.
It should be a crime how beautiful she was, it just wasn’t fair.
“Why is that boy hitting that circle so hard” Mei asked, watching one of the visitors of the same arcade from a distance.
“Oh, it’s a rhythm game.” Mei made a confused face even after Mahiru's short answer. “You pick a song, and you have to press the buttons to the beat of the song.”
“I want to try it!”
Finally, Kano had chosen one. And it didn’t take long until Kiui showed up with the tokens to play.
The next hours were full of noise.
Thanks to Kano, the first attraction to be tried out was a rhythm game.
Everyone tried the game with different songs, modes and difficulties.
To everyone, and yet, no one’s surprise, Mei was the one who excelled the most in that game. Her first game was clumsy, as you might expect from someone who doesn’t play games at all. But just seeing the mechanics of the game once was enough for her to quickly get better at it, raising the level of the songs with each game she started.
They tried almost every game in the place, if not all of them.
Kano really stood out when it came to trying the dance machines. This is a retired idol, ladies and gentlemen.
Laughter and joy when they won, complaints and anger when they lost. Sure enough, this 4th of July was as lively as Mahiru planned it to be.
But when the sun began to turn orange, it was a silent reminder to pack up and leave.
Not without first checking the gift cabinets to see if there was anything interesting to trade their points for, of course.
As wonderful as their time together had been, the time had come to say goodbye. They said their last birthday wishes and Kiui and Mei went on their way. But just as Mahiru was about to do the same, a voice stopped her mid-act.
“Yoru? Won’t you come with me?”
Simple but effective. When her face almost resembled a pleading puppy, there was no way she could not say no.
“Will you join me on the train later?” She says, a certain playful tone in her voice. The nature of the proposal made it obvious that she would.
“You don’t even have to ask. Hop on!”
Extending her hand to give her the remaining helmet, she accelerates without hesitation once everything is ready to depart.
The wind that blew against their bare skin was much colder now, the sun wasn’t shining as brightly, and the streetlights and shops were beginning to light up.
Compared to earlier in the day, it was a completely different landscape.
The silence between them was filled by the crowd around them. And in what felt like seconds, they had arrived at the motorcycle rental place.
Once delivered and all sorted out, they started heading for the nearest train station, which was no more than a few blocks away.
“You’ve improved since last time, do you go and drive every now and then?”
“I do! I try to go out every two or three weeks so I don’t forget anything. Have I really improved?” Kano asks, her voice making it clear that she is looking for some kind of validation.
“Yeah, and it shows! The first time, I was a bit worried that we might have a fall at some point.”
And of course she wouldn’t miss a situation where she could have a little bit of fun playing with her.
“Don’t be mean!”
“Just kidding, just kidding!” She laughs a little.
When Mahiru turned to look at Kano, she already had her eyes on her. That made her feel very self-conscious.
Shit.
“Anyway, how was your birthday?” She turned her eyes to the street.
“It was amazing! Thank you so much for today, really!”
“Ah, I’m glad. I was afraid it would be too simple because it was a weekday…”
“Not at all! It was the best I’ve ever had.”
Something in her voice made it sound gentle despite the excitement. Genuine.
If Mahiru hadn’t looked away, she would have seen her companion’s eyes soften as she said it.
“It’s the first of many we’ll spend together! So let’s make each year a better one.” She says, clenching her fist to her chest, giving each of her words great assurance.
Kano’s words kept repeating in her head.
‘The first of many we’ll spend together.’
She knew that she meant the group as a whole. She knew it. But still, her heart clenched at the thought of knowing that Kano was imagining them still together as the years passed.
Step by step they were getting closer to the station. They talked about anything related to today or in general. Nothing out of the ordinary.
So it came as a surprise when just as they arrived and began to wait for their respective line, a boy landed in front of them without warning.
He was a boy with a rather simple haircut, black hair, and at least 3 inches taller than Kano.
He seemed to fiddle with his hands a lot, too.
Mahiru had seen this scene many times when she was with her class friends.
Even before the stranger spoke, she knew what would happen.
“S-Sorry to bother you,” The boy started and turned to face Kano. The stutter was all Mahiru needed to confirm her suspicion. “I thought you were cute, may I have your phone number?”
And there it was.
She was actually surprised that it had never happened with Kano before, especially considering how beautiful she was.
Kano had remained frozen at the question, showing no reaction at all.
Without much thought, the artist activated her muscle memory for such cases.
“Sorry, buddy” Mahiru approached her friend’s body and grabbed Kano’s hand, intertwining and lifting them up so the boy could see them. “She’s with me, if you get what I’m trying to say.”
No hesitation.
Subtle and direct. The tone you use and recognize that the boy who approached you would not insist further once he was told ‘no’ correctly was key to this method’s success. Under no circumstances would it be good to do this to an aggressive or insistent looking boy.
But in this case, just as she figured, it worked. The boy apologized and went back to his group of friends.
It wasn’t until he was completely out of her sight that she felt the warmth of her cheeks.
She had done this many times with her friends, especially since many of them weren’t interested in a relationship yet or just didn’t want to give out their contacts. It was just to get out of the way with a fake excuse.
But doing it with Kano felt different. It was very obvious why.
It was fictional, to get out of the way. And yet, saying that they were together, even as an excuse, stirred something in her.
When this happened the irritation she felt wasn’t like the irritation she felt with her friends. It wasn’t a ‘Ugh, this again’, but a ‘I don’t want random people to get close to the girl I like’.
A possessiveness that had been sleeping in her until that moment.
She came to her senses as the embarrassment washed over her.
She turned to Kano and found her staring at her. An expression she couldn’t quite decipher, but all in all, confused.
Mahiru thanked the universe for being on her side, for making the train arrive just when she was about to justify herself, giving her some extra time to organize her thoughts better.
As she walked towards it, she felt an extra weight in her hand.
All this time, she had not let go of her hand.
To say she was too disconnected to notice until this moment was an understatement.
But she did not let her go either, obviously. She wouldn’t lose the opportunity.
As soon as they sat next to each other on the train, Kano broke the silence.
“What was that all about? I didn’t even have time to react!” Unlike what she expected, her voice was far from reproachful. It was light. Mahiru appreciated that.
“Sorry! I acted on instinct” She began to explain, embarrassed. She wanted to disappear. “You didn’t want to exchange contacts with him, did you?”
She asked carefully, her sanity depending on the answer.
“What? No. I would have rejected him even if you hadn’t joined the conversation.”
She almost felt a sigh of relief escape from her lips.
“But you did it too quickly. Does this happen to you often?”
“Not to me, but to my friends. It got to the point where I was always the one claiming to be in a relationship with them.”
“So you’ve done this for others?”
“It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, I end up being the one who defends them. They’re better at saying no, so it’s not necessary anymore.”
Kano’s face looked the same as always. Or at least that’s what someone who didn’t know her well would think.
But in reality, there was something she couldn’t identify that made her expression not quite real. As if it was a blurry mask that hid her true expression from being discovered.
“I see…” Was her last comment to put the subject behind.
Kano being Kano, ended up talking about everything, Mahiru joining her as usual.
And when they least expected it, it was time to say goodbye.
Step by step, she came closer and closer to her home.
Hugs, holding hands and a fun day. She started to rewind every good thing that happened this day.
But that also meant that she had to remember how she subtly claimed Kano as her own in front of an unknown boy. Risky, but in a way, it was useful for her to test the waters, to try to look on the bright side. At least she hadn’t reacted weirdly.
The rest of the night, she couldn’t stop thinking about what Kano’s expression after the encounter had meant, and if her blush had reached her bluish eyes, giving her a clue of what was going on in her head every time they were together.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It's been a while huh? This update it's just to inform that will continue the fanfic, I'll definitely finish it even though i might have only one reader by now lol (and that one reader is my friend and beta reader)I need some time to rewatch the anime so I can refresh my memory. I have all the scenarios I want to write since I thought of the story, so it's just so I can write the characters as canon as I can again!!Sorry for not updating! The updates might be slow, but this will definitely have an end!! Thanks for reading!