Phases -部面-
Ayase Eri x Toujou Nozomi
Basically Eri being gay over Nozomi.
This story is set a few weeks before the third years' graduation and two months after "A Hunt for Nozomi's Secret Admirer."
However, it can still be read as a standalone. You do not have to read the one before it to fully enjoy and understand this work.
It is also implied that Nozomi and Eri are together.
Eri leaned her arms on the railings of the rooftop, the wind blowing her hair. She looked at the sky that reflected the same colors as her eyes. She heard the door open from behind her and turned around.
"Nozomi."
The violet haired female walked towards her. "What are you doing here? Lunch is almost ending."
The blonde female smiled and turned back to look at the sky. "I just wanted to get some fresh air. It's always refreshing to be here, since it's going to be summer soon."
"Going to miss the scenery?" Nozomi leaned her back onto the railings beside Eri.
"I'm going to miss everything," the blonde female answered, facing sideways, her elbow resting on the rails. "I'm going to miss you."
Nozomi sighed and shook her head. "You say it like we won't be seeing each other in college."
"What are your plans for summer?" Eri asked with a smile.
"I'm probably going to be—"
"They're here, nya~!" The door to the rooftop suddenly opened and the rest of the club members rushed in.
"Hm? What's up?" Eri wondered.
"Geez. You two suddenly disappeared when it was time for our meeting. Lunch is almost ending now," Maki answered with a sigh.
"We were going to have a meeting?" Eri looked at Nozomi.
"I came here to tell you that, but I guess I forgot." The green eyed female laughed. "Let's do it after class then?"
Everyone agreed to do it after class, right as the bell rang for fifth period. Eri looked at Nozomi, who continued to interact with everyone.
"What is it? What changed?"
Nozomi sat on her chair inside the clubroom, a book in hand while Eri sat to her right side, facing the door to the clubroom.
It was just the two of them, not considering Nico, who was busy typing away on the computer behind Eri. It was going to be graduation soon, and this rendered them with too much free time as the other members had their hands and brains tied with exams.
"Erichi?" Nozomi looked at her blonde companion who only stared at her face blankly. "Erichi?"
She closed her book and softly laid it on the table.
"Eri," she spoke sternly. Blue eyes met with her own green ones.
"Ah, huh?"
"What's wrong? You've been touching my hair for a while now." She smiled at her.
Red immediately tainted Eri's cheeks and she looked around. "I, uh, um." She moved her fingers and combed the soft violet hair in her fingers. "Uh, did you get a haircut?"
Nozomi tilted her head to one side. "No, I didn't." She took the hair Eri was holding, softly brushing their fingertips together. "Does it look different?"
Eri hung her mouth open. "Uh, I guess." She smiled wryly and pulled back her hands to her lap. "Everything looks different."
Your hair. Your eyes. Your smile.
The way you walk. The way you talk.
It's all different.
Eri tied the obi inward then pulled it outward. She neatly formed a ribbon then everything was complete. She stood up, took a few steps backward, and looked at her perfect obi sash tying technique on her litter sister Arisa's kimono.
"Xорошо, Oneechan!" Arisa turned around, looking at herself in the full body mirror, before turning around to face her sister. "How do I look?"
Eri smiled at her. "Xорошо!" Her phone suddenly vibrated. She turned around and answered the call. "Hello?"
"Erichi? Are you guys done? Everyone's here already."
Eri looked at the wall clock then nodded. They still had a lot of time. "Oh, I had some troubles with the obi, but it's all good now. Please grade my work when we get there."
"… You aren't going to wear a kimono?" Eri looked at her own jeans, hoodie, and sneakers outfit and sighed as she covered her phone's receiver.
"Alisa, finish your preparations. Let's go soon!" She heard a positive reply and went back to her phone. "Yeah. Alisa doesn't know how to tie an obi yet, and it would take too much time for me to do it myself. Maybe next time."
"I told you, I could help you," Nozomi answered on the phone with a shrug. Eri smiled as Alisa showed her full outfit to her with the matching cherry blossom motif of her kimono and her hand bag.
"And I know you're busy with the shrine. I'll wear one next time, I promise. Okay?" Eri said into the phone as she and her sister went outside their apartment premises to go to the summer festival.
"I really wanted to—"
A speeding motor passed by the gates with its angry engine revving.
"Huh? Did you say something?" Nozomi looked at her phone.
"Get here safely," she spoke. Upon getting affirmations of safety precautions to Kanda Myojin, she cut the phone call and walked towards the shrine.
Eri and Arisa arrived at the Kanda Myojin in time for the evening musical events and dances of the festival to start. They met up with everyone at the stairs going up to the shrine.
"Where's Nozomi-chan?" Honoka asked excitedly. Everyone save for Eri, Nico, and Rin wore kimono. Eri looked confused at her. "You don't know?"
"She called me earlier. I thought she was here with you guys already," she answered, while everyone looked behind her with gasps.
"Nozomi-chan!" Rin bolted past Eri and seemingly glomped the violet haired female. Nozomi walked towards them, a violet handbag dangling around her right arm, clad in a beautiful violet and lily themed kimono. Her hair was tied in a half ponytail with the ends spread around her shoulders, like a goddess.
Everyone walked towards her and showered her with praises as Eri stood stunned at her spot. Nico suddenly punched her in the back, snapping her out of her reverie.
"Aren't you gonna greet her? Or you need another punch?" Nico looked at her, annoyed. Eri stared at her, mouth open, then nodded as she walked towards Nozomi.
"H- Hi," she greeted awkwardly.
"Are you alright?" Nozomi frowned. "You look… lost?"
"Err, I'm fine! Thanks for asking!" Eri looked everywhere but not her. "Now you look like an idiot."
"Shall we head for the shrine?" Umi invited as everyone agreed in unison. Eri looked at Nozomi, who only smiled at her.
Soon the exciting festival drew to a close as the night deepened. The fireworks display was scheduled at ten in the evening but was pushed through to twelve midnight due to complications.
"So! While waiting for the fireworks, let's do the thing!" Nico put both her fists around her waist as the gang with Yukiho and Arisa sat right outside the forest right behind the shrine.
"What thing?" Umi asked.
"That thing! A test of courage, of course!" Nico said, her head held high.
"That's stupid," Maki commented immediately as they glared at each other, eventually sparking an argument.
"Now, now." Hanayo broke off the two. "It's not very dark, and if we're with someone it's not too scary, is it?"
"No, I'll pass," Eri answered before anyone could ask her. "We're odd numbered anyway. One's gonna have to go with a trio or behind."
Nozomi frowned at her, as she just smiled wryly at her.
"With Eri's issues aside—"
"Hey!"
Nico coughed and gave her a smug grin. "With Eri's issues aside, let's start the test of courage! Just follow the path lit by the lamps hanging on the trees. You have to take a paper by the statue in the middle of the forest and bring it back."
"You actually had time to prepare this?" Maki scoffed at her, but Nico ignored her.
"The girls from other clubs created this test of courage apparently. So let's do it seriously, alright?" Nico said with a grin and everyone agreed.
They drew lots on who would be going with whom.
"Are you going to be fine here?" Nozomi asked Eri who smiled and nodded at her.
The blonde female walked towards a rock bench right at the entrance of the forest, properly illuminated with a couple of people and families hanging around it as well. "Yes. Don't let me hold you back."
"Alright. I'll make sure to give all of them a good dose of Nozomi power then." Nozomi smiled at her, and Eri looked at her, stunned. "Erichi?"
"Err, I, yeah." Eri raised a fist. "Do your best."
She looked at the deep dark sky, the stars twinkling, the wind blowing calmly. The melodious music of the drums played in the background as everything was illuminated in different shades of orange. Some came from a homemade lamp, some came from neatly placed candles.
Children ran around with their mother and father, friends gathered around in circles as they wrote their wishes and tied them to a tree, and groups of people went for the different food stalls and games. Everyone is full of smiles and laughter.
"I came back." Nozomi stood beside Eri. "Can I sit down beside you?"
"Of course." Eri moved to the side. She continued looking at the sky, the deep dark sky, the twinkling stars, and the moon shining brightly. "But if you left, who is Honoka with now?"
"I texted Tsubasa-chan and she came here in a flash!" Nozomi smiled smugly, moving her hand in front of her like a car dashing through a race course.
"I see…" Eri looked puzzled. "I don't even want to ask how she got her number…"
They were engulfed in a comforting silence. Neither needed to talk, and there were no words needed. Nozomi moved her fingers near Eri's hand and intertwined them together.
Nozomi stared at the sky as well. "Do you know anything about a moon's phases?"
"It changes shape every day, doesn't it?" Eri answered.
"That's right." Nozomi smiled. She pointed at the sky. "The shape of the moon varies on its position in its orbit."
She traced a few constellations in the sky as she and Eri looked at it. "First it starts from the new moon, when the moon isn't very visible to the human eyes. Then next is the crescent, where you see it in a perfect C shape,"
Eri stopped looking at the moon, then she looked at Nozomi.
"Then it turns into a half-moon." Nozomi smiled. "Then today, it's the full moon, where the moon is the most exposed, the most shining, the most beautiful."
"Like you," Eri spoke without hesitation.
"Eh?" Nozomi looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?"
"Lately, I feel like you've changed," Eri answered. "I don't know how to react to the changes."
Nozomi looked at her wryly. "I hope they're positive change—"
"Don't look like that. They're very positive changes," Eri explained with a smile. "They leave me speechless."
"You're embarrassing me." Nozomi shrugged it off and laughed. Eri intertwined their fingers together into a lock.
"But it's true," Eri told her, forcing her to look into her eyes. "Ever since I don't know when, I feel like you change every day. And today, you're in your most beautiful form."
Eri brought up her hand and tucked a stray hair behind Nozomi's ears. Nozomi looked away from intense blue eyes.
"Just like the moon," Eri told her and smiled.
"You're so silly," Nozomi answered and pushed Eri's shoulder playfully. Eri tilted her head to one side as Nozomi grabbed both her cheeks with both hands. "The moon wouldn't be shining so brightly if the sun wasn't showering her with love."
"Huh?"
"Oh, for someone so wise, she can be so clueless." Nozomi smiled. "If I'm the moon." She looked up at the sky. "You. You are my sun."
Eri removed Nozomi's hand from her cheeks and put a hand on her chin, as if thinking deeply. Suddenly, she lay her palm up, and then she smacked the bottom part of her balled fist onto her palm, as if she was going 'Eureka'!
The blonde 'wise' female blushed profusely and looked at Nozomi, who smiled at her with equally red cheeks.
"I shine so brightly because of you," Nozomi told her with a warm smile. Eri grabbed her cheeks and they pressed their foreheads together as they laughed.
It's because of your love for me that I can go through different phases.
You think I change every day, you think you see me differently. But the truth is, it's just your sunlight, shining on me.
As your brightness reaches me, I turn it into something that I can give you in return.
It's called…
"My love for you."
Blue met green, as their lips sealed each other's under the bright light of the full moon, and the music soothed the beautiful fireworks.
As summer ended.
Together with their high school phases.
Soon, a new door will open, and the next phase will continue.
(Phases/END)
A/N: Alohomura, el bitchachos. I hope you enjoyed this mellow work of mine for a summer themed story. I tried to incorporate that new SR Nozomi because it was too goddess for me to pass! Help *u*
The idea behind this is that they say that "When you're in love, you look a lot more beautiful." I believe that this is true, and maybe that is also the case for NozoEri, who knows.
Anyhow, this was supposed to be the scheduled doujinshi with naneco, but things go awry and we couldn't. I hope you enjoyed this work as much as I enjoyed writing it. Happy Birthday, Nozomi!