This first bit is based off a few scenes in Corpse Party: Book of Shadows at the very beginning where Naomi and Seiko have a sleepover. While the scene was obviously meant to be filler, I really liked it a lot and waned to write more about it-Especially taking the 'I'd marry you if I could' line from the confession scene, I really wanted to expand on that. Hope you enjoy, and drop a review if you liked it!

Seiko, just like most little girls, started planning her wedding at age seven.

She had it all planned out, too. The food would definitely be the most
Important part. The sweets couldn't be too sweet and the meat couldn't be too cooked and the noodles wouldn't be too long. Her mother would sew the kimono herself, just like she'd always talked about doing, the sort of garb that looked breathtaking but was, above all else, functional and accommodating for a rambunctious young woman who was probably going to spend most of her time running up and down the halls of the reception area. The tea would be Seiko's favorite-green-and her little brother Yuu would be helping with the decorations.

By the time Seiko was eight, one part of this dream was shattered when her mother disappeared, and took her promises of the kimono away with her. The second part was more complicated, and took a long while to slip away-but slip it did.

You see, by the time Seiko was eleven, the faceless man in her daydreams turned into a faceless woman. The change wasn't anything too dramatic-in fact, it was hardly a change. Every time Seiko played make-believe wedding, the idea of marrying a tall, faceless man was foreign and strange. She didn't like the idea of tough, strong features or stuff muscles.

When she was fifteen, Seiko realized that she didn't want to marry a man at all. She wanted to marry a girl, someone just like her. Someone with hair that could he brushed out and a nice laugh. She still liked the idea of having the mystery girl be a little taller than her, because that way she could stand on her toes to kiss them. She also, however, realized that she couldn't marry a girl at all, according to the rules and regulations made by other people. So, in time, the dream-wedding turned into just that:a dream.

She was sixteen when she gave the faceless lady a face-her best friends face, to be exact. It had started off as a mere curiosity, nothing more-a matter of finding a kindred spirit and for a brief moment mistaking it as something else. She liked Naomi, liked talking with her and laughing with her. The other girl and her could understand each other, she felt, and that was as good as a place to start as any.

But of course, just like the wedding, it wasn't ever anything more than a dream. Just an experiment to pass the time. Not anything serious.

So when Naomi started talking about a boy, Seiko had no idea why she was so jealous.

Luckily she was a master at hiding her feelings, trained from years of practice from hiding whenever she was weak in front of Yuu. So, she played it off, made several suggestive comments to make Naomi feel better about everything. Seiko wasn't much of a listener, too eager to run her mouth instead, but she shut up when Naomi asked for advice. Seiko's advice was almost always the same.

"Just be yourself, you cute little thing! If Mochida-kun can't see that, them he doesn't deserve you, y'know?"

Naomi would laugh, and it would prompt her to go into another sigh-filled little ramble about Satoshi. Seiko would always listen to those with uncharacteristic focus. She would watch the way Naomi's mouth would curl up faintly at the edges whenever she said his name, how her face would light up whenever she talked about the way he wore his hair.

Seiko would sometimes change his name to hers and switch the pronouns around in her head.

And inside she would just /die./

Eventually, the young girl swore herself into silence and resigned to an endless cycle of make-beleive love, like rehearsals to a canceled play. Make-beleive was easy with Naomi, and sometimes it felt too breath-takingly close to reality for Seiko to bear.

The sleepover before the festival, she recalled. That had been one of the easiest times to pretend that Naomi's laughter stemmed from something deep, and that their joking around was a bit closer to the truth. It almost hurt to consider the fact that Naomi felt none of the same senseless loyalty that Seiko did, that she was wonderfully blind to the pain of unrequition.

Sometimes Seiko liked to pretend Naomi loved her, too.

It got easy, after a while, to mishear promises of friendship and fun to vows of unwavering attachment. Seiko had made the mistake of demanding that they share a bed that night, and was merely suffocated by the sheer warmth Naomi radiated, the kind of comfort that emanated when two people felt truly safe with one another, the kind of bliss that Seiko wanted to wrap herself up in forever.

She had a dream that night that almost made her want to tell.

She still was certain she must have been half asleep, fading in and out of consciousness just enough to mix up reality and nighttime fantasies-but the thing was, it just seemed so real. So real that, for a moment she wondered-

Half considered-

Must have imagined-

That Naomi had touched her.

But not just a friendly pat or a shove, no. The same sweet caress Seiko had always dreamed of receiving. In the dream, Naomi's fingertips were solid against her hair, just like the owner, with the same determination and focus that Seiko admired so. Yet, there was a gentleness that went along with it. She had the same soft hesitance as someone touching a loved one they didn't want to wake.

Still half-drowsy, Seiko decided to let herself gorge on the minute of joy and shifted close, reaching out a small hand in the dark to grip gently at the familiar texture of her friend's pajamas. Naomi even smelled the same way, like a mixture of hand-soap and whispered reassurances that Seiko had come to know and love so well.

And, in the dream, Naomi had embraced her.

Held her just the way Seiko liked, a tad too soft to be considered a friendly hug, close enough to melt down any awkwardness or regret that could stem from the action. There wasn't any thought of obligation or anything uncomfortable. There was just them, together.

Smiling, Seiko slept.

And for the first time since she was a little girl, she dreamed about her wedding.