When Taki-sensei announced that he would need some people to spend the night over at the school to help preparing for the Winter Festival, most of the students weren't that excited. It was cold and windy, and sleeping in the freezing music room didn't appeal to anyone. Only about seven people would be necessary, he assured; most things were already finished. He'd only need volunteers to sew the rest of the uniforms, clean the sheet holders and organize some important papers.
"I'll stay, sensei." Haruka, as the club's president, obviously volunteered immediately. She needed to be responsible and was sure that their maestro was counting on her to convince more people to join.
"I'm also willing to help," Kaori raised her hand and looked over at her friend with a smile. Haruka nodded back in return, her eyes taking on a thankful gleam.
"Leave the papers to me, then." For both girls' surprise, Asuka Tanaka also decided to help. For the most part, the shock came from the fact that the vice-president was the one who'd done most of the work for the Festival; it was like something was driving her to give 110% of what she had. Haruka and Kaori still had no idea what it was, though, but they were extremely happy to hear those words coming from Asuka's mouth.
"I'm staying too." Reina's decision wasn't so surprising to the rest of the band; she was always hardworking and wanted to make sure nothing got in the way of a good presentation.
"C-count me in as well!" To her own surprise, Kumiko raised her hand. If it'd been any other period of her life, she would never willingly stay over at school, much less sleep over. But ever since meeting Reina she'd been acting a little more against her will and for the sake of her dreams and future. Reina looked back at her and gave a knowing smile, making Kumiko's cheeks redden a little.
There were two people left to fill the spots, and no one else seemed to be up for it. That's when Kumiko turned around and gave an almost silent plea for her friends Hazuki and Midori, with full-on puppy eyes. Both girls flinched and tried to pretend not to see, but Kumiko slowly slid towards them, staring persistently. With a sigh, they slowly raised their hands as well.
"We'll stay…" They said in unison, sounding defeated. Kumiko tackled them in a hug, and Taki-sensei smiled.
"Well, it's settled then. Go home and pack your things for the night, I will settle the futons."
The seven band members were actually excited once they got to the music room at night. The school in the dark had such a different feel to it; it was almost like an adventure. They knew they had a job to do though; so exploring the school grounds was off question. Also, no one but Asuka seemed to be excited to walk alone in the corridors at that time.
"You're no fun," She said with a sly grin, while grabbing the papers to organize.
"There's no time for a courage test, we need to sew all of these onto our uniforms yet." Haruka refuted, pleased with herself for having an excuse. Kaori agreed with her and both girls sat down on the mattresses with a ton of clothes on their laps. All they had to do was to sew a last-minute brochure made by the second-years students on the uniforms' sleeves. It was a simple task, but with over fifty of them to fix in place it was going to take a while. "How are you guys holding up?"
"It's easy!" Hazuki answered with a piece of wet cloth in hand. The other four girls were left with the arduous task of cleaning the sheet holders. They weren't big, but sometimes they opened on accident causing someone's hand to get stuck on a painful pinch. So far Kumiko suffered four injuries on both hands, and she was beginning to want to throw them back in the warehouse.
"Stupid metal… umbrellas of pain…" Kumiko mumbled as she finished cleaning her sixth one. She caught a giggle by her side and looked over at Reina, who seemed to be doing just fine with those little monsters.
"It's better if you clean it from top to bottom," Reina said, placing one on the floor. "Here, let me show you." With both hands, she grabbed Kumiko's wrists and guided them slowly to match her movements. For a moment the brunette was hypnotized by the touch; Reina's hands flowed so incredibly well, like Taki-sensei's when he was conducting the orchestra. "Got it?"
Kumiko blinked. "Y-yeah, I'll try. Thanks, Reina." And with that, she resumed her task, a little too focused on the metal sheet at hand. Reina stood there frozen for a moment, then dropped her shoulders and grabbed another one to clean as well.
Midori raised and eyebrow and scooted close to Hazuki. "Nee, nee, Hazuki-chan. Doesn't Kumiko look a little out of it lately?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I mean, she even volunteered to come here in the first place."
"And dragged us with her," Hazuki puffed her cheeks, still a little annoyed with it, but also in a jokingly matter.
"Still, she's been awfully distracted tonight, too." Midori turned back to Kumiko and Reina, who were now cleaning in silence. "She's not even talking with Kousaka-san either, I thought they were best friends."
Hazuki made a gasping sound and brought a hand up to her chest, offended. "I thought we were her best friends! I feel betrayed!"
"Keep it down!" Midori's hand flew to Hazuki's mouth and both girls accidentally fell together on the mattress.
The rest of the night went by with nothing much happening. Asuka had tied her hair up in a ponytail, and this usually meant 'do not disturb', so her random comments also stopped coming. Haruka and Kaori sometimes muttered something amongst each other as they sewed, but nothing apparently worth sharing with the others. Hazuki, Midori, Reina and Kumiko were almost finished with the sheet holders as well, but the four of them were in complete silence for some awkward reason. Haruka and Kaori noticed that, but decided to leave it alone.
A few hours passed and they were all done. Kumiko stretched her backs on the floor, apparently returning to normal for a moment. "Aaah, I'm done! No more pain, no more distress!"
Hazuki and Midori also seemed dead tired, lying down on top of each other and pretending to sleep. Haruka and Kaori giggled at the scene, both also finished with the uniforms.
"They turned out quite nice." Kaori said, proud of their job.
"Thank you for your hard work, senpai." Reina smiled at her and received another smile in return. Ever since their little rivalry with the trumpet solo, Reina and Kaori seemed to have gotten closer, which made the third-year quite happy. She never wanted to hold a grudge against anyone, especially not someone as talented as Kousaka was.
"Since we're all done, you know what time it is?" Asuka got up and walked towards the group since she'd been sitting quite far apart from the others. Her hair was back to normal and she was rubbing one hand against another.
"I really hope you're going to say it's time to sleep." Haruka sighed, knowing very well it was far from it.
"Horror story time!" And seemingly out of nowhere, Asuka grabbed a candle and lit it, placing it in the middle of the circle that was formed. She also turned off the lights, and the room became really dark. All the other girls scooted closer to each other (except for Hazuki and Midori who were still passed out on the corner).
"Where did you even get that?" Haruka shrieked, the flames casting shadows on her.
"Irrelevant. Let's each tell a story and light up one candle for each story okay? Once we reach a hundred candles, we'll be able to safely evoke a friendly spirit!" Asuka was way too cheerful for someone who'd been working nonstop for weeks, and Kaori was beginning to worry their friend wasn't exactly sane anymore.
"…I'm pretty sure you're supposed to light up a hundred candles and blow them off with each story, not the other way around." Haruka said, a drop of sweat on her forehead.
"Wasn't there something about a mirror, as well?" Reina offered. Asuka blinked, confused, and stared at the candle with an intense focus.
"Modern times, modern measures." She said finally after a delay. Everyone just groaned, too tired to argue with their eccentric companion. "Since you all seem uninspired, I will begin! This is a real story that happened in this school eight years ago…"
"Asuka, it's two in the morning—" Kaori tried to put some sense into her head.
"One night!" It was useless. "A teacher by the name of Oowada-san had stayed over to grade her students' exams, since she was suffering from personal issues at home. The school was the only place quiet enough for her to work, and she was the only one left in the building. The sun was setting and it was getting dark, but Oowada-san didn't mind; the lights were turned on, so the teacher's office felt normal and safe, even if it was empty."
Reina felt something touch her shoulders and noticed it was Kumiko, trembling already. She chuckled softly, slowly grabbing the girl's hand to assure her it was okay. With a jump, Kumiko looked at her, as if realizing their proximity and straightened up, slowly sliding her hand away from Reina's grasp. The trumpeter frowned; it was already the second time Kumiko avoided Reina's touch and she was worried something was wrong.
"For a while everything was indeed okay," Asuka continued, her voice getting lower. "Until it started to rain. Oowada-san cursed, remembering she'd forgotten to bring her umbrella that day. Once the papers were graded, she would have to get back home probably soaked. Right then, it happened…"
Asuka got on her feet too quickly for anyone to process it. "A HUGE THUNDER CRASHED AND THE LIGHTS WENT OFF!"
Everyone yelped and huddled even closer together. Kaori and Haruka were basically forming one entity from their closeness, and Kumiko and Reina also hugged from the sudden yell. Asuka smirked, sitting back down.
"Of course Oowada-san got scared. Her heart was beating fast and she could hear the blood pumping in her ears. Tump-tump. Tump-tump."
"Mou, Asuka! That's enough already!" Kaori tried again, shaking as she grasped Haruka's shirt.
"But then, the teacher noticed something… The noise on her ears wasn't simply from her heart going crazy. There was something else, something getting louder and louder, a noise that matched with her heartbeat getting closer from behind. Oowada-san turned around, but it was too dark to see anything…" Asuka started crawling towards the girls. "Not wanting to die from panic in the dark, she grabbed a flashlight from under her desk, and hesitated before turning it on…"
Kumiko once again grabbed Reina's arm, this time completely ignoring any embarrassments from touching her. "D-d-don't turn it on!"
"Oh, but she did. And what she saw…" Asuka's eyes moved from Haruka, to Kaori, to Reina and Kumiko, gleaming with anticipation. "Was nothing. Just the other teachers' desks, empty."
All of them calmed down for a moment, dropping their shoulders. "That's it?" Kumiko asked, a little disappointed, but at the same time relieved.
"No. There was nothing where the flashlight was pointing, but…" Asuka once again got on her feet. "OOWADA-SAN FELT DROOL DRIPPING OVER HER SHOULDER AND A TONGUE MAKING ITS WAY DOWN HER NECK!"
The girls screamed again, the candlelight flickering in the dark. Haruka put a hand on her chest. "I can't take more of this…"
"Oowada-san disappeared that night. No one knows what happened to her until this day, and if you ask any of the teachers about it, they will avoid the subject. Just try it with Taki-sensei, you'll see." Sitting back down, Asuka bowed as she finished the story. It wasn't like she was expecting a round of applause but the utter silence made her feel somehow uncomfortable. "Come on, guys, it was just a stor—"
Suddenly a thunder exploded in the sky, making all of the girls, including Hazuki and Midori jump. There was stillness in the air, and then the sound of soft raindrops on the window. Kumiko was the first one to snap out of it.
"We're going to disappear!"
"No one is going to disappear, calm down." Reina sighed, getting up. Kumiko whined, having a hard time letting go of her; she keeping both arms hanging in the air as the trumpeter moved to the window. "It's just a normal rain."
"What happened? I fell asleep for a while." Hazuki yawned and rubbed her eye.
Haruka's heart was beating fast, but she had to get a grip as the club's president. "It's okay, we were about to go to sleep anyway. The sound of the rain can help us sleep better now," She tried sound confident, but her whole frame was shaking.
"T-that's right! Come one, everyone, let's put our pajamas and get some sleep." Kaori helped her out, grabbing her bag. Slowly, everyone started to move, taking off their uniform. Reina took a peak at Kumiko, a little disappointed by the fact that the brunette was with her backs turned. Now she was sure something was wrong, and it was probably her fault.
It didn't take long for the girls to get comfy under their futons, the candlelight still flickering dimly in the middle of the room. Asuka had decided to leave it until it burned itself out since no one particularly wanted to sleep in the dark after the story and the rain.
"Well, goodnight everyone. Good work today." Haruka managed, her voice raspy from the fear that was still settled in her. The others just mumbled a 'goodnight', except for Asuka, Kaori noticed. She wondered if the bespectacled girl was all right; she'd barely said anything after the thunder struck. A few moments passed and most of them were asleep.
Except for three of them, who had too much on their minds.
Kumiko just couldn't get to sleep, and the horror story wasn't the only reason for it. She'd been feeling light-headed since they arrived at the school to work for the Festival, and Reina was the entire reason for her doubts.
When she'd seen her volunteer, Kumiko's hand automatically went up and she still felt weird about that. It was such a reflex, she hadn't even thought about it to be honest. Wherever Reina went, she wanted to go too. This was her life now, following, chasing after Reina until she ran out of breath and god, she never wanted to get tired. She didn't know what she was looking for, but somehow she expected Reina to lead her to it.
And now she was cursing herself for acting stupid the whole night. Kumiko knew Reina, they were an essential part of each other's lives, so why was she so out of it? Was it because there were other people in the room with them? She never felt nervous around the trumpeter when it was just the two of them. But then again, she had only herself to blame for it, she even begged for Hazuki and Midori to come along. This was just dumb.
Her thoughts were interrupted by someone shifting in her futon and getting up. Gentle steps made their way to the room's door, sliding it silently to the side and then closing it again. Kumiko's eyes had already gotten used to the dark, so she could try to see who left. It didn't surprise her to noticed Reina's futon empty.
"Reina…" She whispered. Kumiko turned her body around and stared at the ceiling, one arm resting across her forehead. The rain hadn't stopped, but there were no more thunders around either. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then opened them again and got up. Kumiko walked slowly towards the door, but stopped before opening it. The corridor was going to be dark, she assumed, and the thoughts of having a drooling monster right behind her made the hairs on her neck stand up. Her hand was frozen on the handle and she was extremely frustrated with that stupid fear.
"Go after her."
Kumiko flinched and turned around, searching for the source of the voice. She was surprised to see Asuka sitting up and smiling – it was a sad smile, she realized. "Don't let my dumb story stop you. Oowada-san never existed."
With these words of encouragement, Kumiko simply nodded and finally opened the door, leaving the room. Asuka followed her with a gaze and then looked over at Haruka and Kaori, who somehow had ended up in the same futon. Her smile vanished. "Don't make the same mistakes I did."
The corridor wasn't as dark as she expected, maybe because of the full moon. There were clouds in the sky covering it, but it still shone strong enough for Kumiko to see a silhouette at the end of the hall. She really hoped the person was Reina.
"Can't sleep, Monster-san?" She tried approaching the shadow, who looked at her.
"I just like the sound of the rain," Oh, good, it was Reina's voice. She was sitting in a gap near the window, her features shining through the moonlight. Kumiko's heart skipped a beat – how did she manage to be so beautiful all the time?
"Aren't you scared after the story?" Kumiko carefully sat down next to her, afraid of being too invasive. Then she mentally slapped herself for thinking Reina wouldn't want her near.
"Stories don't affect me. I won't let a fake fear get in the way of a beautiful melody." Reina turned her attention back at the drops on the window, scooting a bit closer to the brunette.
"That sounds like something you'd say," Kumiko giggled, relief washing over her. All of her anxieties regarding that night vanished, and she felt alive again just by being together with Reina. The two kept quiet for a bit, listening to the sounds of nature and watching as it poured.
"Nee," Then Reina broke the silence. "Are you angry at me?"
"Huh? N-no, of course not!" Of course she'd noticed Kumiko's odd behavior.
"Then… Did I do something wrong? You seemed to be avoiding me back there." Reina's voice was heartbreaking, as if she wanted to cry – but Reina never cried, only tears of victory.
"I wasn't… I…" Kumiko sighed, knowing that she had to explain herself. It was a hard task, though, since she wasn't even sure what was going on. "I don't know why I was acting that way. I'm really sorry, Reina."
"It's alright. I was just worried I'd done something to upset you."
"You could never," Kumiko breathed in a chuckle. To make sure Reina understood that there was nothing wrong with her particularly, Kumiko grabbed her hand. "I think I just feel… Awkward when it's you and me around other people. That doesn't even make sense, does it?"
Reina immediately intertwined their fingers and smiled a little. "Not really."
Kumiko grinned, glad to be able to be straightforward with Reina and receive an honest response back. "But there is something more to it, isn't there?" Reina pressed on with a knowing glare. Kumiko wouldn't be surprised if she were able to understand her problems better than herself.
"Um," She nodded, looking down. "I've been thinking, I guess. About my reaction when I volunteered to come here with you. I m-mean with everyone. The old me would never willingly spend the night at school, she would just think it wasn't worth it and that it didn't make a difference. That there were people better suited for it than her. But now I think I've changed a lot, and I think I realized it's all because of you."
"Is this a bad thing?" Reina asked.
"Not at all! It's very good, to change because of someone. But…" Kumiko fidgeted, not knowing how to express herself. She squeezed Reina's hand, a bit frustrated.
"But you want to change for yourself." The trumpeter concluded.
"Y-yes…" Kumiko raised her head, looking straight at Reina. "You are so strong-willed, Reina, and amazing and talented. You inspire me and try to make me a better person, and I am thankful for that. I just think I've been chasing you to try to become like you, when I should've been trying to become, well… a better me."
The raindrops started to subdue and the clouds made way for the moonlight to shine strongly over the school. Both girls stared at each other and could finally clearly see their features. Reina kept quiet for a while and then smiled, overjoyed. "I'm glad you're feeling this way."
"E-eh? I thought you'd be mad for some reason…" Kumiko sweat a little nervously.
"Why would I be? I just want you to be the best person you can be, Kumiko. And if I helped you realize that, then it makes me the happiest." Reina grabbed Kumiko's other hand, closing her eyes as she grinned. The brunette felt herself blush and dove into Reina's arms for a hug. It was just what felt right at that moment.
"Mou, you're shameless."
Reina wrapped her arms around her. "That's my line."
They stood there for a while until Kumiko could listen to Reina's heartbeat and realized it was beating quite fast. She got up, still holding onto the girl in front of her. "Reina? Are you okay?"
"I am. Why do you ask?" She answered, neutrally.
"W-well, your heart…"
This time it was Reina's turn to blush. "…I was just nervous, thinking I'd done something wrong." She then averted her eyes. "And I was happy when you came after me when I got up."
"Oh~?" Kumiko's sly smile was met with a poke on her ribs and a 'be quiet' from the trumpeter. They were pretty sure it was almost going to be morning soon, and if it weren't raining, Kumiko would ask Reina if she wanted to watch the sunrise together. Alas, nature didn't allow them this moment.
"It's getting cold here. Want to go back and try to catch some sleep?" Kumiko asked, not making much effort to get up. Reina was staring intently at her, she noticed. "Reina…?"
"Kumiko," She said with a different tone on her voice, one Kumiko didn't recognize.
"Huh?"
"Do you ever feel like changing your routine makes you want to do crazy things?"
Kumiko had no idea what Reina was talking about, but she felt herself being pulled towards her – like that time on the mountain, where Reina had first told her about her wish to become special. "…I suppose, yes."
"Would you do something crazy with me, just for tonight?" When Reina asked her like that, how could she possibly refuse? The mood had changed so quickly, but at the same time it felt natural.
"…Anything." Kumiko answered, somehow aware of what was going to happen next. Their faces had become too close suddenly, Reina's breath mixing with hers and eyes moving down at her lips. Time seemed to stop; a far away thunder boomed and echoed through the city, a few birds started to chirp as they woke up, one car drove down the school's street making a splashing noise with its tires, and the girls' mouths touched. Kumiko's eyes fluttered shut, just like Reina's, and their lips moved awkwardly, but in sync.
Bringing an arm up to Kumiko's neck, Reina took the lead on that very klutzy first kiss and gently bit the girl's bottom lip, urging her to open her mouth. Kumiko's face was catching fire, but she noticed Reina's desperate request and was happy to oblige. The trumpeter felt like her heart could burst out of her ribs at any time, but she'd wanted this for so long, there was no way she'd stop now. When their tongues touched, Reina felt herself melting. Neither of them had any experience with it, but dammit it felt good, and not because it was a kiss, but because they were kissing each other. Their tongues moved slowly, trying to grasp that first sensation, but were soon touching more often – somewhat this resembled how their own relationship worked, Kumiko thought.
They had to part for air, but after catching Reina's lustful gaze, Kumiko just brought her mouth back to kiss her more. They kissed two, three, four times that night, and she didn't know if kissing Reina was considered crazy at that point, but if it was, then she wanted to lose herself on that insanity.
Hello friends, I'm back with another Hibigay story! This one got so much longer than I intended, but I think it was necessary. Sometimes we forget the worth of delayed gratification.
Also, I felt like this story left too much in the open so I miiiiiight do another chapter? Maybe? Should I? I really don't know. If I did though, it would focus on Asuka, I suppose. What do you think?
I hope you enjoy it!
- niigoki
