Besotted
The kiss occurs mid-afternoon.
School has ended thirty minutes ago and clubs are in full swing. Even in the Student Council room Ayano can hear the shouts of the sports teams practicing. The day has been slow, with most of the budget plans finished the day before, so there is little for the Student Council to do except sign off on the papers (which Rise is doing), daydream (which Chitose is doing), and bicker (which Himawari and Sakurako are doing). Ayano doesn't remember what prompted her to go to the Amusement Club house; another missing assignment from Kyouko, no doubt, or perhaps the Student Council required assistance with some minor task, or perhaps her heart has guided her, as it has countless times before, to the place where she is most happy. She bids a hasty farewell to Chitose (who smiles knowingly) and to Himawari and Sakurako, who do not notice. Before Ayano is out the door her heart is fluttering. She wonders what Kyouko is doing, how Kyouko will react to her arrival, if the other Amusement Club members have not arrived yet and there occurs the thousand-to-one chance the two of them will be alone.
Outside the air is hot and dry. The term is nearing its end, and the last few days of spring are giving way to the first few days of summer. The clubhouse sits beside a small pond ringed with stones. Through the pond's waters three large koi fish swim lazily with sunlight glinting off their scales. A young oak stands in front, guarding the series of stepping stones laid on the path to the clubhouse, and as Ayano dances from stone to stone she marvels at how beautiful the clubhouse is and how wasted it is on a club that does nothing but play games and eat snacks (though she is certainly hungry, and even the busiest of student council vice-presidents can use a break every now and then).
The clubhouse is silent when Ayano approaches – as rare an event as finding a lily on a frozen lake. Nobody else must have arrived yet. Perhaps it really is only Kyouko who has arrived, idling on the floor with one leg splayed out against a cushion and a Mirakurun manga open on the table. Ayano's heart speeds up. She feels the same heat rising up her cheeks, that same prelude to the play where the actress has forgotten all her lines and can't walk a dozen feet without tripping over herself – but this time, she declares, she will act natural around Kyouko, and there will be no half-hearted stutters or sentences that trail off to nothing.
Toshino Kyouko, she opens her mouth to say, preparing to slide open the door – but to her surprise the door is already open.
She peeks inside.
The room is empty – no, not quite. The table in the center is deserted, but in the corner are Kyouko and Yui, sitting below the window just out of sight of stray passersby. Yui is pressed back against the wall by Kyouko, who advances towards her on all fours. From her vantage point Ayano can't see Kyouko's face, but Yui's is flushed crimson, desperately trying to avoid eye contact. Yui murmurs something. Kyouko giggles but does not stop her advance until they are nose-to-nose, so close as to be embracing, and Yui has stopped her struggle now, gazing at Kyouko with acceptance in her eyes – more than acceptance: desire. Kyouko places a hand against Yui's cheek and draws her closer. Ayano feels sick. Something inside her yells at her to say something, to stop what will inevitably happen in the next few seconds. She is as frozen as before a scene of murder – the knife is raised, the knife bears down, the knife pierces Ayano's heart and twists.
The kiss lasts six beats of Ayano's gutted heart. When they part the space between them is alive with sunlight motes. Yui stares blankly forward with a smile on her face. Kyouko laughs, startlingly free yet underscored with a stutter of embarrassment that is anathema to the blonde, and she throws her arms over Yui's shoulder, burying her face into Yui's neck, and gently, so as to not disturb their happiness, Ayano closes the door.
She realizes she is crying.