Chinatsu placed a single finger onto her lower lip and murmured, "Hey, Akari-chan…"
"What…?"
Chinatsu turned to look at Akari with a starry-eyed gaze that was all-too-familiar to the redhead. Akari swallowed the lump in her throat. When Chinatsu's voice came again, it was barely a whisper.
"Let's kiss."
"Not this again!"
-Several Hours Earlier-
The afternoon sun blazed brightly as Chinatsu and Akari walked along the stone path to the Tea Preparation Club's old room. It was the last day before summer vacation and surely Kyouko had something crazy planned for the members of the Amusement Club. Akari opened the door to the Amusement Club only to be met by Kyouko's embrace.
Kyouko nuzzled her cheek onto that of her victim's, amorously declaring, "China-chu! …Oh, it's just you, Akari."
Chinatsu turned to her beloved senpai and, with but the briefest of pauses, leapt into her senpai's arms (or more precisely, gave her senpai a bone-crushing hug).
"Kyaa~ Yui-senpai, Kyouko-senpai is so scary! Save me~~~!"
Yui struggled to breathe as she replied, "Yes… T-terrifying…" The amount of force in this hug is truly terrifying.
"Geez! That's so mean, Kyouko-chan!" Akari said while pouting. It was to no avail, however, as Akari's lack of presence had already caused Kyouko to forget about her. Kyouko turned towards Chinatsu.
"Tch. I was so close, too. Why can't you just be honest with your feelings for me, China-chu~?"
Kyouko's affections were met with a stony glare as Chinatsu rebutted, "Please, Kyouko-senpai. You know the only one for me is Yui-senpai. And don't call me that." Chinatsu returned to giving Yui a bone-crushing hug. "Isn't that right, Yui-senpai?"
Yui grimaced, "There, there…" It hurts! "Why don't we all just…calm down?"
Chinatsu only continued to hug Yui even more tightly.
"I would be calmer if a certain someone didn't try to jump me every time I walk into this room."
Kyouko quickly jumped to her own defense, "That's so unfair! It has nothing to do with this room. I'd try to jump you no matter where you are!" Kyouko gave Chinatsu a thumbs-up. Chinatsu ignored this and simply hugged Yui even harder.
"You'd save me, right, Yui-senpai?"
Yui's face was extremely pale at this point. How is it humanly possible to hug someone this tightly… I think one of my ribs cracked… I need…air! "Ch-chinatsu-chan… I… can't breathe…"
Chinatsu immediately released Yui, who in turn slumped onto the floor. Akari went over to Yui and bent down while pulling out a handkerchief.
Akari began to dab at the sweat beads that had formed on Yui's brow. Her voice laden with concern, she asked, "Are you okay, Yui-chan? You're sweating so much!"
The room stayed silent as Yui, Chinatsu, and Kyouko all stared at Akari. After a few moments, they all spoke in unison.
"You were here?"
Akari cried, "I've been here the whole time! We came here together, Chinatsu-chan!"
The rest of the afternoon was whiled away sipping tea, eating cake, and chatting. Kyouko had the crazy idea to build a laser so that they could engrave Chinatsu's, scratch that, Mirakurun's face on the moon, but after two swift hits to the head, from Yui and Chinatsu respectively, that idea was put to rest.
As the members of the Amusement Club made their way home, Chinatsu was deep in thought.
I feel sort of bad for Akari-chan… Her presence is so weak… I didn't even realize she was with us until she started taking care of my Yui-senpai. As Chinatsu recalled Akari tending to her dearest senpai, Chinatsu's face darkened. She cracked her knuckles while thinking, I'll have to make sure that she doesn't have any impure intentions… Ah, wait, no! Akari isn't like that… Akari is a good girl. She is really kind and patient. She always listens to me when I talk about Yui-senpai. No, she doesn't just listen. She gives advice and does her best to help me! As her friend, I should do something for her in return… That's it!
"Hey, Akari-chan," Chinatsu called out to her friend, "would you like to sleep over tonight?"
Akari tilted her head and looked at Chinatsu with a slightly surprised face. "Um, is that okay? Wouldn't Akari be intruding?"
Chinatsu shook her head, "No, not at all! I want you to come over! What do you say?"
Akari smiled as she chirped, "Akari would love to!"
Chinatsu's parents were out of town on business and as fate would have it Chinatsu's older sister, Tomoko, was sleeping over at Akari's house.
Perhaps she and Onee-chan have another report for university? Akari thought to herself when she heard the news. She was currently sitting in Chinatsu's room. They had taken a bath together, but Chinatsu put a lot of work into her hair, so she was still in the bathroom.
"It's a shame my sister isn't home tonight." Chinatsu said, walking into her room while patting her hair down with a towel. "She's such a great cook, I was hoping you'd get to try her cooking."
Akari smiled as she mused, Akari's friends are so thoughtful!
"Chinatsu-chan's onee-san might be a really skilled cook, but Akari thinks that the dinner Chinatsu-chan made was absolutely wonderful!"
Chinatsu's face immediately lit up. She grabbed Akari's hands and asked, "Really? Do you think Yui-senpai would like my cooking!? What do you think, Akari-chan!?"
Akari squeezed Chinatsu's hands in return and happily replied, "Yes! Akari thinks that Yui-chan would love your cooking. You're really good at cooking, Chinatsu-chan!"
Score, Chinatsu thought to herself. We are on vacation now, too. The timing couldn't be more perfect! I'll invite Yui-senpai over, she'll try my food, immediately fall for me, and then, and then… [Unfortunately, we cannot show you this image for various reasons.]
Akari looked over at Chinatsu and saw a dreamy expression on the pinkette's face. Chinatsu-chan must really like Yui-senpai! I wonder if Akari will ever find someone she likes… Everyone else seems to have someone special to them… Is something the matter with Akari? Sigh…
Chinatsu was brought back to reality by Akari's sigh and immediately felt guilty when she saw the bun-donning girl's worried expression. Ah, geez. What am I doing? I asked Akari to come over so that I could help her! But here we are, doing the same thing as usual. Instead of thinking about Yui-senpai, I should brainstorm with Akari so we can figure out how to make her stand out more!
"I'm sorry, Akari-chan."
"Eh, why are you apologizing, Chinatsu-chan?"
Chinatsu scratched the back of her head and blushed a little, "Well, the truth is I asked you to come over so that we could think of ways to make you stand out more… But then I started thinking about Yui-senpai and got, um, carried away…" Chinatsu looked away and thought to herself, There's no way I can tell Akari-chan exactly what I was thinking about doing with Yui-senpai… I mean, Akari-chan is so innocent…but it's not like I really lied to her, so I guess it's fine.
Akari couldn't help but smile as she looked at her friend. Tears welled up in her eyes as she wondered just how lucky she must be to have been blessed with such an amazing friend.
Chinatsu, on the other hand, paled when she saw the tears escape those violet eyes.
"I didn't mean to say that you don't stand out! I mean, you've been standing out lately? I mean, you're the protagonist! I mean…" As Chinatsu rambled on, Akari began to laugh, which only served to further Chinatsu's worry and confusion.
Akari used a finger to wipe the tears from her eyes. She turned towards Chinatsu and said, "I'm sorry, Chinatsu-chan. Akari didn't mean to worry you… But these aren't tears of sadness! It's just… Akari is so happy to have a friend who cares for her so much… Even if Akari doesn't stand out much, knowing she has friends who care for her this much is more than enough!"
Chinatsu smiled and then threw her hands up, sighing. "Geez, Akari-chan. You really had me worried there! But… you really are a good girl. It's such a waste that you don't have someone you like… I'm sure that you could get anyone you wanted!"
Akari's face reddened ever so slightly and she put her hands in front of herself, protesting, "A-akari doesn't think so… Akari is really childish… and she doesn't stand out much…"
Chinatsu walked over to Akari and stopped when she was but a few centimeters in front of Akari's face. "Geez, Akari-chan," Chinatsu began, "you need to have more confidence in yourself! You're super cute! And I think some self-esteem would probably help you stand out, too!" Chinatsu scolded. Gah, Chinatsu thought to herself, I was supposed to make her feel better! All I'm doing now is chastising her for her lack of presence! I suppose the lack of presence thing isn't really her fault… But she really should have more confidence! Akari's so cute! I can't help but feel like it's a waste somehow… I mean, she needs to put her cuteness to good use!
"Um… Chinatsu-chan?"
Chinatsu broke out of her daze, "What is it, Akari-chan?"
"Um… Akari was just wondering whether…do you really think Akari is cute…?"
Chinatsu sighed despite herself and then smiled. "Of course, Akari-chan! You're super cute! That's why you should have more self-confidence! You may not have someone you like now, but I bet one day you will. And I know for sure that if you just had a little more faith in yourself, they'd totally be yours! I mean, anyone would be lucky to have you!"
Akari blushed magnificently. She would have blended into Kyouko's tomato pajamas quite nicely. "Thank you, Chinatsu-chan. Akari will try her best! There are a lot of things Akari doesn't really get yet, but Akari will definitely do her best!"
Chinatsu smiled. Now that's more like it. But… there really are things we don't know yet. I always fantasize about doing this and that with Yui-senpai, but if the moment were really to come, I'd have no idea what I'm doing…
Chinatsu placed a single finger onto her lower lip and murmured, "Hey, Akari-chan…"
"What…?"
Chinatsu turned to look at Akari with a starry-eyed gaze that was all-too-familiar to the redhead. Akari swallowed the lump in her throat. When Chinatsu's voice came again, it was barely a whisper.
"Let's kiss."
"Not this again!"
Akari shot straight up and made for the door, but Chinatsu grabbed Akari's wrist before she could make her escape.
"Hold on a second! I know last time things got a little intense, but just hear me out! Please…"
Akari looked back to Chinatsu and saw the pleading look being given by the pinkette. Akari nodded to signal that she'd listen and Chinatsu let go of Akari's wrist. Akari walked back to the center of Chinatsu's room and sat down, Chinatsu following behind her. Chinatsu cleared her throat and then explained herself.
"Last time this happened we didn't really know each other… But now we've been friends for a long time. In fact, I think of you as my best friend, Akari-chan! I don't want to embarrass myself if the time ever comes with Yui-senpai, and I think that if you find someone you like you'll want things to be perfect with them too, right? They say practice makes perfect… And if you ever don't want to do it anymore we'll stop right away!"
Akari shifted slightly. Her face was that of uncertainty. Chinatsu went on, "But… if you don't want to do it at all, I understand too... I thought it might be a good idea but… It's up to you. Really."
Akari looked at Chinatsu. Over the time they'd been friends, she really had gotten to know Chinatsu better. Akari also considered Chinatsu to be her best friend. Even if Akari doesn't have someone she likes now… it would be sort of nice to know… Not to mention, when Akari sees Chinatsu-chan's worried expression…
"That… that doesn't sound too bad…"
Chinatsu looked up, stunned. "Akari-chan… you mean…"
Akari smiled and spoke up, "You do make some really good points, Chinatsu-chan. Not to mention… you've already done so much for Akari. Now Akari wants to do something for you! So um… what Akari's trying to say is… yoroshiku onegaishimasu!"
Akari shut her eyes tightly as she bowed awkwardly. Ah, geez. What is Akari doing? Bowing is so lame…
As Akari scolded herself, Chinatsu was beaming! By the time she and Yui-senpai went out, she'd have perfected everything! In a fit of bliss, Chinatsu tackled Akari in an attempt to hug. If Akari hadn't been lost in thought, she would have promptly returned the hug, but as her mental reprimanding had yet to end, Akari was caught off guard and the pair fell to the ground.
Legs entangled, bodies pressed against each other, pink hair fell over violet eyes. Both girls had a charming rosy hue over their cheeks. Chinatsu was the one who broke the silence, "A-akari-chan…"
"Yes, Chinatsu-chan…?"
"Would it... be alright if I kiss you now?"
Akari looked up into azure eyes and released a breath she did not realize she had been holding. Her reply passed softly over her lips, almost as if it wasn't meant to be heard, "Yes…"
And now for a few Author's Notes!
"Yoroshiku onegaishimasu" is a Japanese phrase said when you'll be working with someone or doing something with them. It can translate to "I look forward to working together" or "Please treat me kindly". I felt like it's something Akari would say, so I put it in, but I thought the original Japanese would work best. If it doesn't make sense or you'd like to yell at me about it, feel free to PM me~
I know this set up is sort of cliche, but this story has been whirling around in my head for a while and I just can't get it to go away so I figured I'd throw it out into the world! This is probably going to be a 2 or 3 shot, but we'll see. One thing I can say for sure is that this story will be completed. I dislike leaving things unfinished.
I hope you enjoyed Chapter 1 of "Practice Makes Perfect"! Reviews are never required but always welcomed~
Until next time,
RuriLali