The following fanfiction is a compilation of small fanfictions that I have written for UmiMaki week; an event that took place over on Tumblr. I would love to share it on here and hope that you all visit my tumblr where smaller fanfictions are posted. The following days are all individual universes and do not connect to one another.
Day 1: Childhood Friends
"I wonder if she remembers me?" Maki always asked herself this question when she sat alone in the music room.
It was so long ago that it was probably for the best that Umi didn't remember the memories they created together when they were young.
She could vividly remember the first day that the two of them met. It was at a very formal gathering and she was dragged along by her well known parents.
There were barely any kids at the gathering, but the instant that she laid eyes on another girl as small as her, she pointed at her for her parents to see.
"Papa! Look, there's another girl here," the young redhead said.
Her father fixated his glasses and followed his daughter's point. He spotted the small blue haired girl and smiled, "Would you like to meet her, Maki?"
"Yes! Yes! I wanna play!" the girl cheered.
Her parents giggled at the little girl's excitement and guided her over to the table across the room. The man sitting beside her stood up when the family reached their table and reached his hand out, "Nice to see you again, Dr. Nishikino."
Maki looked up at the tall, muscular man in awe and saw her parents bow before him. She panicked and quickly bowed along with them, "It's good to see you again, Master Sonoda. How did the tournament go?"
"Little Umi has much to learn, she placed 3rd," he replied.
"Ah, that is a shame. But with you teaching her, she'll be on top of the world in no time," Maki watched her father shake hands with the taller man and tugged on her father's pant leg.
"Papa, who is this?" she asked curiously.
Her father smiled and the man in front of her knelt down, "Well, if it isn't little Maki. You might not remember me, but I held you when you were just a baby."
"Really? Then does that make you my uncle?" she asked.
The man let out a hearthy laugh, "I guess you can call me that, Uncle Sonoda."
Maki's mother knelt down, "Uncle Sonoda is a very strong man, the strongest Mama and Papa have ever seen!"
Maki gasped in awe, "So he can lift cars and break through walls like the super heroes on TV?"
The group laughed and another woman joined in on the conversation, "It's a pleasure to see the Nishikino family after so long," the woman had short navy colored hair and wore a fine kimono.
"She's so pretty, Mama," Maki commented.
The woman giggled and knelt down, "One day, you'll be just as pretty as me."
Maki's eyes lit up and she smiled, "Do you mean it?!"
The woman smiled back and nodded, "Yep, maybe even prettier."
Maki couldn't help but smile until she could feel her cheeks start to cramp, "Mama, Papa, where's the girl?"
The family almost forgot the reason they walked over and shared glances. Umi's father stepped to the side and presented Umi who was still sitting on her chair. Her legs dangled but they stayed in a very formal position, "Umi, go ahead and say hi to Maki."
The blue haired girl looked away anxiously before reluctantly sliding off her chair and facing the redhead. She wore a small kimono and her hair was pinned to the side, "Good evening…" she managed to say with a bow.
Maki's mouth gaped and she managed to bow back, "Your kimono is really pretty!"
"Thank you…" Umi looked up at her father, "Can I sit down now?"
Umi's mother pet the small girl's head, "Why don't you play with Maki while the adults catch up?"
"I would really like to play with you," Maki added.
Umi blushed and turned away shyly, "Do I have to, mother?"
Umi's mother nodded and pinched her cheek lightly, "If you don't make an effort, then you'll get nowhere. Just like father always says."
Umi felt a heavy hand pet her head, "Just like your martial arts, making friends is its own kind of art."
Umi, now empowered by the words of her parents approached Maki slowly, "M-My name is Umi, we can play just a little bit."
The redhead smiled, "I'm Maki, let's go over by the stairs and talk!"
After the introductions were done, the two of them spent the night walking around and getting to know each other. Although Umi wasn't as smart as Maki was at the time, she made up for it with numerous talents.
Maki listened tentatively when Umi spoke about practicing kendo, archery and her own martial arts. It was impressive for a girl her age and the best part was that they were close in age.
Maki was also impressed by Umi's other talents such as floral arrangements, calligraphy and nagauta.
Compared to her, Umi lived a more interesting life. But Maki didn't want to seem boring, so she talked about a bunch of medical things that could help Umi.
She mentioned not where to get hit, how to prevent injury and pretty much a crash course on personal safety.
Maki sighed and stared at her piano keys, "Maybe I should bring it up the next time I see her?"
Her fingers moved on their own and she began playing a song. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath,
"Aishiteru banzai…"
Day 2: Body Swap
Maki fluttered her eyes open, the morning sun beamed from the window into her pupils and temporarily blinded her. It was early in the morning and unlike most people, she found it easy to wake up without an alarm clock.
She yawned and stretched in her bed, making sure to let loose every muscle in her body to get ready for the day ahead.
However, now that her vision is clearing up, something was off. She looked at the ceiling and noticed that it was of a different color. She would have chocked it up to her eyes playing tricks on her in the morning, but the more she looked around, the more she realized that this wasn't her room at all.
She sat up straight and looked at her bed, it wasn't the deluxe bed that she was used to sleeping in. It was a single sized bed with a few pillows and a solid colored blanket.
She looked around and saw a very simple and undecorated room, save for a few trophies that were lined up on a nearby desk and on top of drawers.
"Umi? Are you awake yet?" a voice called out.
It was an unfamiliar voice and why would they call for Umi? Maki looked down at herself and saw that she wasn't in her usual sleepwear. They were light blue pajamas that picked at Maki's nerves. She could have sworn she had seem them somewhere before.
Her eyes widened and she gasped when she hit the spot. These were Umi's pajamas that she wore during the first training camp with the other girls. She quickly swung her legs to the side of the bed and broke into a hysterical sprint for the bathroom, "Just be a dream. Just be a dream!" she yelled in her head.
She stumbled through the bathroom door after finally finding it and looked at herself in the mirror. Her lavender eyes were replaced by amber and her short, wavy red hair was gone. All that remained was long, straight blue hair.
"This… this is a joke, right?" Maki asked. Her eyes widened again, her voice was deeper than it usually was. In fact, it was Umi's voice.
"Oh my god… okay what do I do… um pinch?" Maki broke into a small hysteria and pinched herself multiple times in attempts to wake herself up from a dream. But every pinch was accompanied by pain.
All logic flew out the window and she was brought back to reality when there was a soft knocking on the door, "Umi? Are you in there? Once you're done, breakfast will be on the table."
"U-Umm… Thanks, Mama," she replied.
"Mama?" the voice asked.
"I-I mean Mother! Sorry, I'm still sleepy," Maki quickly covered up.
"Okay then…" the voice replied.
Maki listened intently as the footsteps grew quieter and quieter as they walked away from the door. She took a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror once again, "What is happening?" she touched her face and looked around.
"If I'm here, where is me?" she asked herself.
Maki unlocked the door to the bathroom and made her way back into Umi's room where she spotted a cell phone. She picked it up and swiped the screen to reveal a passcode system. She fiddled around with it and unconsciously entered the correct passcode as if she knew it all along.
She avoided prying too much into Umi's privacy and went straight to composing a new text message. For whatever reason, she felt as if messaging herself would help in some way.
After sending the text, she set down the phone and looked around anxiously, "What am I supposed to do?"
Maki curled into a little ball of anxiety and heard a knock on her door, "Umi? Maki is here to visit before school. She said that she needed to talk to you about something."
Maki quickly stood up and approached the door, "C-Coming!" She swung the door open to see herself standing behind Umi's mother, "H-Hey Maki…" she said awkwardly.
Umi's mother smiled cheerfully, "I'll leave you two girls alone now."
Maki watched herself bow at Umi's mother and step into the room without another word. She closed the door and focused her attention on herself, "Umm…"
"Maki?" the redhead spoke.
Maki's curiosity instantly spiked upon hearing her name instead of Umi's, "Y-yes?"
"It's me… Umi…" she replied.
Shock overcame Maki as the surprise of Umi being in her body was revealed. At the same time she felt relief that it was someone she knew, "Is it really you?"
The redhead nodded, "It's really weird looking at myself…"
Maki took a deep breath and released a sigh of relief, "I'm glad that you're the one who ended up in my body instead of some stranger."
Umi replied with a small smile, "I guess I'm happy about that too."
"What should we do now?" Maki asked.
"We should go to school and try to act as normal as possible," Umi suggested.
Maki shrugged and noticed that Umi was already dressed for school, "Wait, Umi…"
"What is it?" she replied.
"How did you go about changing into my school uniform?" Maki asked.
She watched her own face blush for the first time, "W-Well…"
Maki blushed herself, "What did you see?"
"N-Nothing! I promise!" Umi replied haphazardly.
Maki crossed her arms in suspicion, "Umi, it's okay, I won't get mad."
Maki watched her own body fidget around shyly, "Well… I used one of your sleeping masks to keep myself from seeing your body but I wasn't used to putting on a b-bigger b-b-bra…"
Maki's face flushed from a light red to an intense shade of it. Umi had seen her naked body before anyone else, "This is unbelievable…"
"It should be okay right? I mean, we are kind of dating aren't we?" Umi asked.
Maki sighed, "Yeah, but we never made it official…"
"I'm so sorry, Maki…" Umi replied.
Maki watched herself take a seat on the bed and hang her head. She sighed and walked over to pet herself, "It's okay, Umi… I'm glad it was you and not someone else."
Umi looked up and smiled at herself, "It's only fair that you get to see mine as well."
Maki blushed, "W-What are you saying, Umi?"
Umi blushed and looked away, "Don't make me repeat myself…"
Maki gulped and looked away to avoid the awkwardness of the situation. She was just offered a chance to see Umi's body and she had no idea how to respond to it.
"G-Go and get changed before we're late for school," Umi commanded.
Maki jumped and quickly picked up the nearly folded uniform that Umi had prepared before the body switch happened, "Umm… Umi?"
"M-My underwear is over in that drawer…" she replied while blushing.
Maki nodded and slid the drawer open to reveal numerous cute matching sets of underwears and bras. They weren't anywhere near childish nor sexy. She chose the simple white ones and looked over at herself, "I'll uhh… be right back…"
Umi nodded and waited in her room until Maki returned. She wore a blush on her face and the two remained silent. They both understood that now they have gone a step further in their relationship than most of the girls at their school.
"L-Let's get to school," Umi blurted.
Maki nodded and the two were off on their way to Otonokizaka. It seemed as if no one paid them any more attention than they normally get. They got stares but it was because of the fact that they were considered to be famous.
"It looks like no one suspects that we changed bodies…" Umi whispered.
"This is such a freaky friday…" Maki replied. She felt a punch on her arm and winced in pain, "Ow! What was that for?"
"Don't say that with my mouth ever again," Umi ordered.
Maki rubbed where Umi hit her to diminish the pain, "Have you ever thought how weird it would be to kiss yourself?" she asked.
Umi sighed, "Please be quiet."
Day 3: Genderbend
The dismissal bell rang throughout Otonokizaka and the first person to rush through the hallways was a slender redheaded girl. She quickly switched into her own shoes at the lockers and rushed out to the school grounds.
She ran past the gates of the school and down the street. Unlike her usual end of the school day, there wasn't a car there to pick her up. It was a special day today so she requested that no one pick her up.
She could have been driven home to get a change of clothes, but the excitement on her face showed that she didn't care if she was in her school uniform or not.
After a 30 minute walk, she arrived in the middle of Akihabara where she took stance just a couple of shops from a maid cafe. She could see on the sign standing outside, the reason why she was here.
It was butler day. A day where instead of the usual maids, butlers take their place and cater to girls rather than boys.
She took a deep breath and shuffled her way into the cafe nervously. It was the first time she had ever been to a place like this and she was instantly taken aback by the greeting she received.
"Welcome home, Ojou-sama."
A number of men in butler garments lined up and bowed as Maki walked by them. They were all attractive and she ended up catching amber colored eyes looking at her.
They mesmerized her until her hip bumped against a table, causing her to lose her balance and sending her to the ground.
"Are you okay, Ojou-sama?"
A deep voice pierced her ear drums. His voice was deep like her father's but it held a gentle and soothing tone that would make anyone melt. She felt a tightness around her slender body and slowly opened her eyes to see the same amber eyes that she saw just seconds before.
Upon closer look, he was very handsome and had short blue hair styled in a very traditional way unlike most of the other butlers in the cafe, "I-I'm fine, thank you," she managed to say.
The butler helped Maki up to her feet and dusted off any dirt from the fall, "Please follow me to a table, Ojou-sama," he said.
Maki blushed and followed him like a small child. He was a few inches taller than her and from what she could feel from being in his arms, had a nice build, "Please take a seat, Ojou-sama."
He pulled out the fancy chair from underneath the table and Maki firmly placed herself on top of it. In a few seconds, she was gently pushed in and was handed a menu, "Please take a look at the menu and hold your hand up when you are ready to order."
Maki took the menu and used it as a way to cover up her awkwardness. The butler walked away to attend to more customers, leaving the shy redhead alone.
She looked around and saw that a majority of the customers today were women, and all the butlers had their own charm to them. However the blue haired one with amber eyes was what kept Maki's attention.
After several minutes of watching him do his work, Maki raised her hand at just the right moment to get his attention rather than the others. He caught her hand waving and he quickly made his way over to her, "Are you ready to be served, Ojou-sama?"
Maki nodded and couldn't help but sound like a nervous mess, "I-I would like to have the o-omurice, please."
"One omurice… and would you like to have a drink, Ojou-sama?" he asked after writing down her order.
Maki wasn't the type of girl to swoon over the whole "Ojou-sama" craze, but every time he said it, it made her heart flutter, "A strawberry soda then," she replied.
"Excellent choice, Ojou-sama, I shall return with your food shortly," he bowed and took the menu out of Maki's hands.
"W-Wait!" she managed to blurt out.
He turned around to face her, "What is it, Ojou-sama?"
"C-Can you call me, Maki?" she asked shyly.
"If that is what you wish for, Maki-sama," he said with a smile. His smile sent a shot through Maki's heart that lit it ablaze, and she became short of breath even if it only lasted a few seconds.
She watched him work while the food cooked, he seemed to have this entire gig down, at least thats what it looked like in Maki's eyes. She was sure that everyone in this cafe must have their favorites and are saying the same things she is saying about amber eyes.
It was almost like love at first sight, she thought. But she knew that he probably doesn't think the same thing about her. All she can do is admire him from a distance and that was probably for the best.
"Maybe he has a girlfriend already, I wouldn't be surprised," she mumbled.
"Your omurice has arrived Maki-sama, as well as your strawberry soda," he set the plate and glass down in front of Maki and pulled out a container of ketchup, "Do you request any ketchup for your omurice?"
Maki's eyes lit up, "Yes please, I love ketchup."
The butler giggled, "How cute of you, Maki-sama."
Maki's cheeks flared up and she looked away quickly to hide her face, "Do you have a request as to how I should draw with the ketchup?"
Maki peeked back at the butler who smiled at her. His smile made her weak and her usual composure was easily torn down, "C-Can you make a heart with your name on it?"
The butler tilted his head in question for a quick second before shaking the container, "As you wish, Maki-sama."
Just like she requested, he traced a heart on the omurice with the ketchup and craftfully put his name in the middle, "Sonoda… Umi…" Maki muttered.
"Yes, that is my name. Are you pleased, Maki-sama?" he asked. Maki nodded childishly and he smiled back at her once again, "Please enjoy your food."
She waited until he was busy with other customers before grabbing her cellphone and taking a quick picture to commemorate the day she received omurice from Umi. It's a strange thing to do, she had to admit, but she was happy with it.
After she set down her phone, she picked up her fork and poked at the dish nervously. She really didn't want to eat such a well crafted meal so quickly. She took small bites out of it and watched Umi do his work.
Before she knew it, an hour had passed by and her plate was now empty. It was a delicious meal and the sweetness of the ketchup had to be the best part about the dish in Maki's opinion.
Umi stepped up to Maki and bowed, "Are you finished with your meal, Maki-sama?"
"Umm yes," she replied.
"Please allow me to clean up for you," he requested.
Maki looked around anxiously to see a few girls staring at her, probably because they had their eyes on Umi rather than her, "G-Go ahead," she muttered.
On her command, Umi began clearing the table swiftly as if he had been doing this his entire life. Once the dishes were put away, he glanced at Maki and smiled before pulling out a handkerchief from his chest pocket.
"You have some leftover ketchup on your cheek, Maki-sama," he pointed out.
Maki panicked, "W-What? Where?"
He inched closer to her and rubbed his handkerchief against Maki's cheek. The fabric was soft and smelled nice and clean. After a few more swipes, he removed the handkerchief from Maki's cheek and smiled, "There you go, all nice and pretty."
Maki blushed and cupped her cheeks in reaction to his words, did he just call her pretty? Maki freaked out internally and tried her best to cover it up with a calm facade, "Would you like your bill now, Maki-sama?"
Maki cleared her throat, "I-I suppose so."
"I will return shortly," he said with a bow.
After a few minutes, he returned with a checkbook and Maki handed him her debit card to pay, "Nishikino Maki…" he read, "You have a very pretty name, Maki-sama."
Maki's body heated up, no matter what she tried to do to keep herself tamed, he would knock down her defenses with a single blow, "W-Wait, Umi."
He turned back to face her, "Hmm? What is it, Maki-sama?"
"C-Can I give you my number?" she said quietly.
He frowned for the first time, "I'm sorry, Maki-sama. I can't do that while I'm working."
"Oh…" Maki hung her head and felt a pat, "Huh?"
"I said… I can't do that WHILE I'm WORKING," he said with subtle emphasis.
It took Maki a few moments to catch on, "O-Oh! Okay, what time does the cafe close?"
"Today we close at 8pm," he replied.
"Okay…" Maki cursed to herself in her mind. She would have to come up with some excuse as to why she is coming home late tonight.
Umi took the checkbook over to the front desk and returned with it, "Here you go, Maki-sama."
"Thank you, Umi…" she opened up the checkbook to pull out her card and another piece of paper appeared behind it, "Hmm?"
She pulled on it and unfolded it to reveal a number and looked up at Umi who winked back at her. She smiled and clutched the piece of paper tightly.
This could be the start of something great.
Day 4: Adults
Maki strained her eyes when she looked into the rear view mirror of her car. The sun was strategically placed just behind it as if it were the world's way of messing with the tired redhead.
Her long white doctor's coat laid folded in the passenger's seat and on top of it sat her bag she carried around to and from home.
When she checked the time on her dashboard, it read 5pm. It wasn't that late in most people's eyes, but Maki works the night shift as well to help pay for her expenses.
Luckily, she didn't live too far from the hospital she worked at and she could save more on gas. Her drive home was a short 10 to 20 minutes and they were usually quiet. Aside from the classical radio station she kept on a low volume, there wasn't much else to her drives home.
Her car slowly came to a stop in front of a normal sized home in the middle of a suburb. It had the same basic structure as the other homes surrounding it but differed slightly in color. Maki's home was a light shade of blue as opposed to her neighbors who were either beige or brown.
The small gate rolled open just enough for Maki to drive her car through. Once her car was set into park, the gate rolled back and locked into place.
Maki pulled the keys out of the ignition and took a deep breath. It was a long day at work and all she could look forward to was lazing around in her home until she had to work again.
After grabbing her bag and coat, she exited the car and entered her home, "I'm home!" she shouted.
Maki waited for a response that never came. She sighed and pulled off her shoes before tossing her bag onto a nearby counter. She walked forward a few more steps and was suddenly grabbed from the shadows, "Boo!"
Maki leapt in fear but instantly wore an unamused face, "Ha ha, very funny, Umi…"
The blue haired girl stepped out from the shadows and giggled to herself, "Hehe, sorry. I couldn't help myself."
Maki pouted, "Geez…"
The cheery blue haired girl frowned, "I'm sorry Maki, I thought that it could cheer you up a little." Maki turned away stubbornly, "Do you forgive me?"
The red head remained silent and Umi approached her slowly, giving her a kiss on the cheek, "Come on, that's no way to treat your wife, you know?"
Maki kept her act up for as long as she could but ultimately failed, "Fine…"
Umi smiled and hugged Maki tightly, "I have dinner ready for us."
Maki's face lit up and she smiled, "What did you make?"
"I made some katsudon with a salad, extra tomatoes," Umi replied.
"I love you," Maki blurted.
Umi smirked, "I know you do, come on let's eat before the food gets cold."
Maki nodded and followed her wife into the living room where the dinner was already set, "I bet it tastes just as great as it looks," she commented.
"Well, I do take pride in cooking for the woman I love," Umi replied.
Maki blushed and took a seat. Umi sat next to her and leaned against the redhead, "Shall I feed you?"
"I-I can feed myself, you know," Maki objected.
Umi smirked and reached for a fork. She stabbed into the salad and made sure to get a tomato slice before holding it up to Maki's mouth, "Say ahh."
Maki refused to open her mouth, "Come on, open up~" Umi teased.
The redhead reluctantly opened her mouth and allowed the salad into her mouth. She munched down on the mix after Umi pulled the fork away and enjoyed the juiciness and ripeness of the tomato.
Umi smiled at Maki whose face showed pleasure from the food and used the fork to offer the main dish, "Now for the katsudon."
Maki swallowed the food in her mouth and bit on the food Umi offered next, the crunch was nice, the meat was savory and had just the right amount of salt and seasoning.
She considered herself lucky to be able to eat such wonderful cooking everyday with a loving wife as Umi, "What about you?"she managed to say.
"I have to take care of you first," Umi replied.
Maki frowned and stopped Umi from feeding her, "Don't neglect yourself for my sake."
Umi sighed and set the fork down, "How about you feed me then?"
"E-Ehhh?!" Maki blurted.
"I'll eat if you feed me, or else I'll just keep feeding you," Umi responded.
Maki bit her tongue and picked up a fork to start feeding Umi, "S-Say ahh…"
Umi happily accepted the food and ate it with much vigor, "That wasn't so hard, was it?"
"Yeah, whatever, now can we eat like a normal couple?" Maki asked. Umi nodded and picked up her own fork to eat.
The couple finished their meal and sat together on their couch. Usually after meals they would do this and watch a few shows before taking a bath and sleeping in bed together.
"How was work today?" Umi asked.
Maki shrugged, "More of the same old stuff. They don't assign me to do the heavy work yet."
"That would be pretty rough on you," Umi replied.
"Yeah…" Maki yawned and stretched out.
"Do you want to do the thing that makes you happy?" Umi asked.
"The thing?" Maki questioned.
Umi leaned back against the armrest of the couch and swung her feet over, "When you rest in my arms like a little cat."
Maki blushed, "I-It doesn't make me happy, i-it just feels nice, okay?"
"Yeah yeah, hurry over here you tomato," Umi insisted.
Maki awkwardly crawled herself into Umi's proximity and was immediately brought down into a loving hug, "H-Hey!"
Umi giggled to herself and pet Maki's head gently until she stopped resisting. It was admittedly something that Maki looked forward to everyday, but she would never admit it.
Being in Umi's motherly grasp made Maki forget all the stress and anxiety she felt over the day. It was such a nice and simple act that only Umi could do for her.
A wave a exhaustion crashed onto Maki's body and she slowly began drifting off to sleep. She didn't care though, she was enveloped by Umi's tenderness and the sweet scent of her perfume made it easy for Maki to fall asleep without a problem.
"Maki? Maki?! Wake up!" a voice called out.
Maki opened her eyes slowly to see nothing but darkness around her, or rather, there was a dim light floating just above her.
"Move out of the way! We have to get her into the emergency room quickly before she bleeds out!"
Maki looked around in confusion, all she could move was her eyes. Everything else felt paralyzed.
"Maki?! Maki! Please, please just open your eyes!"
That voice was familiar, was it Umi's?
"Maki, please, please don't leave me! Please wake up!"
Maki looked around hysterically, what was happening?
"Excuse me miss, we need to operate on her immediately, please wait outside!"
"No, I can't leave her side, please!"
"We can't allow you into the operating room!"
"Maki! Maki!"
Maki managed to open her mouth, but nothing came out. She wanted to yell back to Umi, to tell her that she was here and that she was awake.
"Her heart rate is dropping, we need to stabilize her, quickly!"
Maki felt a heavy force against her chest, it become harder and harder to breathe with each passing second.
"Come on! We're losing her!"
Maki could feel herself growing colder and colder as her breaths became shorter and heavier.
"No pulse! Bring the defibrillators… Clear!"
She felt a jolt against her chest and felt the heaviness of her chest lift away, even if it was for a few seconds.
"Still no pulse, using another charge, clear!"
Maki felt another jolt against her chest and this time the heaviness was gone for a longer amount of time.
"We've got a slight pulse, just one more, clear!"
A final jolt surged through her body and the difficulty she had with breathing was gone. The dim lighting slowly became clearer and she could finally see that a bright light was shining above her.
A figure appeared from the side and blocked the light from her eyes.
"She's conscious, putting her under anesthesia."
Maki felt something wrap around her mouth and nose and felt a gas dispersing from the other end of it. She breathed it in with no restraint and was hit by a sudden need to fall asleep again.
She didn't want to, she wanted to see Umi, hear her voice again. She fought against the gas for as long as she could until she couldn't fight against it any longer. She let the wave of exhaustion overcome her once again.
Maki slowly opened her eyes again and saw Umi standing next to her. It appeared that she was talking to someone.
"What do you mean she's in a coma? For how long?!"
"Please remain calm, Miss Nishikino sustained significant head trauma from the crash, we don't know how long it will take for her to wake up."
Coma? Crash? What was going on?
"She'll be okay, right?"
"We did our best to stabilize her condition, there's no way of knowing what effects will take place until she awakens from her coma."
Maki tried desperately to move any part of her body, but there was no response at all. All she could do was move her eyes around just enough to see what was happening around her.
"I understand…"
"We'll leave you alone with her for now. Until she wakes up, there's nothing more we can do."
Maki watched the doctor make his way out of the room and saw Umi lean over closer to her.
"Maki…"
She felt a warm tingling sensation on her forehead where Umi kissed her. She took a seat next to her and pet her head gently.
"Don't worry Maki, I'll never leave your side… Even if you never wake up again…"
Day 5: UR Set
"Hey Maki, did you hear that we're getting a new girl today?" a member asked.
"Really? What can she do?" the redhead asked.
The member shrugged, "We don't know yet, maybe you'll get a new acrobat partner."
"Hah, no thank you. I like my solo performances," Maki scoffed.
"Oh come on. No offense but your performances are starting to dull out," the member replied.
Maki frowned, "Are you trying to pick a fight?"
"Look, I'm just trying to tell you that you need to spice up your performances or else people will stop coming to see you," the member explained.
Maki turned her back to face the member, "Whatever, it's my performance. I should be the one to say what I can and can't do."
"You know that the boss wouldn't appreciate that," the member replied.
Maki's expression became worrisome for a quick second before she recomposed herself, "The boss can go bite a fake tomato for all I care."
The member slumped her shoulders as a sign of giving up, "The Red Princess, as stubborn as always," she mumbled.
Maki turned around quickly, "What did you say?!"
"The new girl will be here soon, don't be rough with her," the member said while leaving the room.
Maki sighed and slumped into her chair to take a break. She really disliked having to work with someone else, especially when it's a risky performance as acrobatics.
Of course there were nets to catch them, but there was always a sense of danger such as getting caught in the net during the bounce back up. Maki almost broke her leg the first time that happened to her.
"Excuse me?"
Maki had a partner once, but after a falling out, the two went their separate ways. Maki was told that she was too risky for the business and if she kept it up, she could die before she reached 40. Her partner quit, but she stayed by herself.
"Excuse me?"
Maki snapped out of her memories to see a girl with blue hair and a ponytail standing in front of her anxiously, "Hmm?"
"M-My name is Sonoda Umi, I was told to come back here to find someone named Maki?" she replied.
"Well you found me, what do you need?" the redhead asked.
"I'm supposed to be working with you starting today according to ," she replied.
Maki hopped off her seat and inspected the girl in question. She had a slender body and was just a few centimeters shorter than her.
"Umm… Is something wrong?" the girl asked.
Maki took note of what she saw and turned her back to face the girl, "Do you really want to be an acrobat?"
"Oh, heavens no! I'm afraid of heights," Umi replied.
Maki raised her brow in confusion, "Then why would the boss send you over to me?"
Umi shrugged and looked around nervously, "Does this mean I'm going to have to be an acrobat? I thought I was going to get something less dangerous."
"What can you do? Any talents?" Maki asked.
Umi seemed to shrink a little, "Well… I'm good at archery."
Maki stepped forward, "Anything else? You know, circus related?"
"Umm… Well…" Umi struggled to find a talent she had that would benefit the occupation.
"You signed onto a job and you don't even have any of the skills needed?" Maki asked critically.
"I-I'm sorry, I needed to find a job and this was the only one that hired. I thought I could maybe do some kind of archery gimmick," Umi replied hysterically.
Maki sighed and reached for a walkie-talkie, "Boss, get over here. We need to talk."
"Can't. Too busy. Teach the new girl some tricks, will ya?" the woman replied.
Maki clicked her tongue and tossed the walkie-talkie onto a nearby counter, "Alright, how about we make you juggle or something. You have a gentle face so the kids would love you."
Umi touched her face and blushed a little, "H-How do I juggle?"
Maki facepalmed, "You can't even do something that basic?"
Umi frowned and looked down, she looked like she was on the verge of tears, "I'm sorry for being such a burden…"
Now she went and did it. Maki sighed and approached the girl slowly, patting her head in hopes to calm her down, "S-Sorry… I'm not used to dealing with newbies…"
Umi seemed to recover just a little, but she still wore an expression of guilt and sadness, "Here, just watch how I juggle and try to replicate it," Maki suggested.
Umi sniffled and nodded. She watched Maki walk over to a trunk and pull out three balls. She handed them to Umi and turned around to grab another three from the trunk, "Okay watch closely."
Maki held one ball in one hand and two in the other. She tossed one ball up, "You want to toss one of the two in your other hand first," she instructed. Then she tossed another one from her other hand and tossed the last one into the air as she caught the first ball she tossed, "You have to get into a rhythm, you should never be holding two at a time."
Umi nodded, "Okay, I'll try."
Maki caught her balls and watched over Umi. The blue haired girl had a great start, but she ultimately failed and dropped all of them within a second, "Ah!"
"Take it easy, find a rhythm," Maki said.
Umi picked up the balls and tried again but failed once more, "Juggling is harder than it looks…"
"At this rate, you'll never be performing…" Maki muttered.
Umi overheard Maki's words and dropped her arms, "I guess I should just quit while I'm ahead, huh…"
There she goes again. Maki sighed and approached Umi, "Don't give up so easily, you'll never make it in life if you just stop trying once things look tough."
"But I can't do anything. You said yourself that juggling was one of the basics…" Umi replied.
Maki thought to herself for a few moments before speaking to Umi once again, "You said you could do archery, correct?"
Umi nodded, "Have you ever tried doing foot archery? I've seen some circuses have archery shows like that," Maki asked.
Umi tilted her head, "Foot archery? That's crazy!"
"Look, you're afraid of heights, so working with me is a no-go. You can't juggle, it's worth a shot," Maki pointed out.
Umi held her chest, "There goes my self confidence…"
"Come on, just try it. You can even start off as a beginner without having to do a handstand," Maki reasoned.
"Handstands? What?!" Umi panicked.
"Relax, that isn't until you're a pro, just practice by sitting down…" Maki replied. She stepped into the back room and came out with a large target, "This should be good enough, right?"
"Yes, but I don't have my archery gear with me," Umi replied.
Maki stepped into the backroom again in search of a bow and arrow. Luckily there was one lying around that was up for grabs, "Here."
Umi looked at it suspiciously, "This bow is rotted, there's no way I can practice with something like this."
"Well it's all we have," Maki replied.
Umi grabbed it reluctantly, "Okay then… how do I do this foot archery?"
"Take off your shoes and socks first," Maki ordered.
"Ehh? But the floor is dirty," Umi questioned.
"Trust me, we're the cleanest circus around," Maki replied.
Umi took off her shoes and socks unwillingly and felt the coldness of the floor seep into her feet, "O-Okay, what now?"
"Hold the bow with one foot, then just pull the string back with the other," she instructed.
Umi leaned back to lift the bow up with her foot and attempted to pull the string back. She kept falling over and messing up the set up. Maki sighed and held Umi from behind, "Is this better?"
Umi blushed and nodded, "T-Thank you…"
"Now just pull back and let go," Maki ordered.
Umi did as Maki said and the arrow flew. It didn't hit the bullseye, but at least it hit somewhere on the target, "I did it!" she said happily.
Maki smiled, "Good job, let's keep practicing."
Umi nodded happily, "C-Can you hold me from behind again? Until I get used to it?"
Maki blushed, "Y-Yeah, sure…"
After a month of practice, Umi was finally able to show the fruits of her labor at her first show.
"Alright Umi, just like we practiced," Maki instructed.
The girl was shaking, "I'm nervous…"
Maki pat the girl's head and cupped her cheeks, "Just look at me whenever you feel like you can't do it, okay?"
Umi smiled and blushed, "Okay…"
"Go out there and show em what you got!" Maki cheered.
Umi cheered along and prepared herself for her solo show, "Oh, Maki?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm glad that I ended up with you."
Maki blushed, "W-What're you saying right before a show?!"
Umi giggled and skipped her way onto her stage. She was greeted with a spotlight and numerous people seated in a dome looking down at her.
It was an overwhelming feeling and every passing second increased her heart rate. She took a deep breath and just like she as instructed, she looked over at Maki to help calm herself down.
Music started playing and Umi began her choreography. Aside from learning how to do foot archery, Maki trained her in flexibility and abstract dancing that was both elegant and strange.
After a few minutes into her choreography, a woman stepped out with a dartboard and balloon attached to it and set it down. The woman then presented a bow and arrow.
Just like her choreography, she stepped over to the woman elegantly and accepted the items before dancing back to a small balance beam. She climbed on top of it and placed the arrow into the bow before using her foot to hold it.
She glided the bow and arrow behind her body and took a deep breath. She glanced over at Maki who seemed to be wearing the same expression as hers.
After calming her heart rate, Umi placed her hands on the balance beam and lifted her legs up into a handstand. She took deep breaths and controlled her breathing, this was still new and the two of them were still practicing this technique.
"Okay, Umi. Take it easy, Maki's watching… Just do it like you did during practice," she muttered to herself.
The foot holding the bow extended forward just enough so that it aimed at the balloon. Umi could feel her arms starting to shake from the strain of her body weight on them.
She slid her free foot up her leg until she could feel the drawstring and took a deep breath. With her toes, she pulled the string back and let go.
A moment of silence was suddenly broken when the pop of a balloon rung out. The crowd cheered wildly and applauded.
Umi smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly got down and bowed to the crowd before leaving to backstage.
Once she was in the clear, she was instantly latched onto by Maki, "You did it! I knew you could!"
Umi was enveloped by Maki's hug and she smiled, "I couldn't have done it without your training."
Maki hugged the girl tighter, "You did great for your first show, I'm proud of you."
Umi blushed upon hearing Maki's words and smiled.
"Why don't you two get a room?" a member said.
Maki quickly unlatched herself from Umi, "W-What are you saying?!"
"Come on Maki, just admit it," another member called out.
"Admit what?!"
"We see how you two look at each other," another member said.
"What?!"
"Just admit that you two have a thing for each other!" the member shouted.
"Bwuehhh?!" Maki blushed profusely and looked at Umi who also blushed, "W-We're just partners! There's nothing going on between us!"
"Umi and Maki sitting in a tree," one of the members started chanting.
"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" the others joined.
"Geez! You're all jerks, you know that!" Maki yelled.
The other members burst into laughter and then they suddenly went silent when a woman walked into the room. It was their boss.
" ! What are you doing here?" a member asked.
"I heard a commotion and I came to see what was happening," she answered.
Maki stepped up, "Yeah, there was! They were teasing Umi and I, saying that we should k-kiss and stuff!"
Nozomi smirked and approached the two, bringing them into her arms and giving them a hug, "Good job tonight, rookie."
"T-Thank you, ," Umi blushed.
Nozomi looked over at Maki who struggled to get out and smiled mischievously, "Hey Maki, how about giving Umi a reward for her hard work?"
Maki tried to pry herself out of Nozomi's grasp, "A reward? Like what?"
"Hmm, how about," Nozomi let go for a second and placed her hands behind each girl's head, pushing them close to one another until their lips met, "A kiss!"
The other members roared in celebration as the two were forced into a kiss.
Nozomi let go of the two and was immediately met with Maki's rage, "What the heck was that?! You can't just force people into their first k-"
"Ooooh? Was that Maki's first kiss~? Do you hear that, Umi?" Nozomi teased.
Maki went speechless and looked at Umi who smiled and blushed profusely.
"You two take good care of each other, okay?" Nozomi left the room with those words of advice.
"I can't believe this…" Maki muttered, "Hey Umi, that kiss back there didn-" she turned to face Umi who was holding her cheeks and giggling like a schoolgirl.
"I got to kiss Maki, yay~"
Day 6: Complete AU
"Umi! We need you to restock the perfumes by the front," a manager called out.
"I got it!" Umi yelled back.
She rushed to the front of the store and began fixing the mess that customers had made with the stack she perfectly put together before the store opened. After neatly placing them back, she moved to the back room to grab a large box of the perfumes and brought it up to fill in the missing ones.
"Okay, that should be enough," Umi muttered to herself.
She packed the box up and lifted it until it was firmly in her grasp. The second she turned, she felt a bump against the left side of her body, causing her to drop the box, "Oh no no no no!"
Umi reached out helplessly as the box toppled to the ground and smaller boxes of perfume scattered across the floor. Seconds later, she could start to smell the perfume and dread overran her mind, "Oh no, some of them broke!"
Umi knelt down quickly and began haphazardly picking up the perfume boxes, placing them into the larger box, "I'm going to get fired, I just know it!"
"Umm, excuse me?" a voice called out.
Umi kept her attention focused on picking up the perfume as quickly as she could and ignored the voice.
"Excuse me?" the voice said again.
"What?!" Umi unconsciously turned around and yelled at the person.
The person in question stepped away in fear, "I-I was just going to offer some help."
Umi sighed, "I'm sorry for yelling. But I can do this on my own, you don't have to worry about it."
"But I was the reason that you dropped them, at least let me help you pick these up," the person knelt down and began picking up the boxes of perfume without further notice.
Umi focused herself on picking up the boxes and sighed, "Thanks, but it won't help anyways…"
"Why? What's wrong?" the person asked.
Umi glanced over at the person in question and her eyes widened a little in surprise. Now that she got a good look at the girl talking to her, she could pick out the waviness of her red hair and the lavender tint in her eyes.
Umi cleared her throat, "Some of the bottles ended up breaking, so that is money off my paycheck. Also, a girl was fired for the exact same reason last week."
The redhead backed away in surprise, "Isn't that extreme? It was an honest mistake."
"You obviously haven't seen our boss behind the scenes…" Umi muttered.
The two gathered up the last batch of boxes and Umi lifted the large box in her arms, "Anyways, thanks for helping me out."
The redhead smiled, "No problem! I hope things go over smoothly for you…" she raised on the tip of her toes to get a glimpse of the nametag, "Umi."
Umi smiled awkwardly, "Have a nice day."
The redhead waved goodbye and began looking around the store for what she needed. Whether or not she found what she was looking for was out of the question. By the time that Umi finished putting away the large box in the back room, the redhead was gone when she walked out.
Umi took a deep breath and sighed, "Maybe I should just stay quiet about the perfu-"
"Who did this to the perfume?!" a voice yelled.
"Nevermind," Umi braced herself for the verbal assault she was about to receive. She carried on as normally as she could until a hand rested onto her shoulder, sending chills down her spine.
"Umi, I was told you were the one who broke some perfume bottles…" the boss said menacingly.
Umi gulped, "W-Well, maybe just two or three…" she replied.
"I threw away all the broken ones, over half of them were broken!" he suddenly yelled.
Umi winced in pain from both the grip on her shoulder and the loud voice in her ear.
"Do you have any idea how much this will cost us?! This damage is worse than Rin's last week!" he kept shouting.
Umi shut her eyes to endure the shame and guilt that was being put on her. She opened one eye and peeked around to see all eyes on her. It seemed like the boss didn't care if this was private or not.
"You have two options here, either you take the amount of damage off of your paycheck, or you get fired!" he kept shouting.
"H-How much d-damage was done?" she whimpered.
"More than your paycheck," he replied.
Umi's eyes widened in shock, "What?! There's no way I can pay for those! I'm already late on my rent!"
The boss crossed his arms, "Then you know what happens next."
"Oh please don't fire me. It's hard enough as it is trying to get a job!" Umi begged.
"Then you shouldn't have broken all those bottles," he replied coldly.
"B-But it wasn't even my fault," Umi replied hysterically.
"Listen to my words carefully, Umi. You're. Fired." he said with conviction.
Umi's jaw dropped as she began filling up with emotions of sadness and anger, "Fine!" she unwrapped her apron uniform and chucked it at the boss's face, "This was a trashy job to begin with because of your arrogant and self centered way of thinking!"
"What did you say?" he replied.
"You heard me! You're nothing but a bully to your workers, and you want to know what the best thing is? The rest of us could quit and your store would crash and burn after we spread the word about your crappy work policies!" Umi shouted.
The boss looked around to see other workers looking away intentionally and customers shaking their head disapprovingly, "T-That is not true at all, please don't listen to her words ladies and gentlemen."
"Not true?! You tossed out Rin last week for accidentally breaking 5 bottles of perfume! 5! Do you know what financial trouble she goes through?! You don't care about your workers, all you care about is making money!" Umi yelled back.
"S-she didn't have any financial troubles, she never even came to me for a raise," he replied.
"She was 2 months behind on rent! Who wants to admit that to the public?! And there would have been no use going to you because you refuse to raise anyone's wages above the minimum! You're scum, and everyone else agrees with me. So good luck on your store, because there will be hell to pay once I walk through that door!" Umi screamed and stormed off towards the front door.
The customers and a few workers clapped for Umi's bravery before they were silenced, "You lot get back to work!"
Umi stepped out of the shop and sighed, "Screw this place, I can find a new job… maybe…"
A voice came from behind, "You surprised me back there."
Umi jumped and turned around to see the redhead from earlier, "Y-You saw all of that?"
She nodded, "I didn't expect such a strong voice from your gentle face."
Umi looked away awkwardly, "I was going to get fired anyways, so why not?"
"I'm sorry, I got you fired," the redhead apologized.
Umi waved her hand to deny it, "No, it's not your fault. It was my own clumsiness."
"It still doesn't change the fact that you bumped into me. Let me help you in return," she insisted.
Umi scoffed, "How are you going to help me? Just give me money and a job on the spot?"
"Well… actually…" she replied.
Umi held up her hand, "Shut up."
"What?" the redhead asked with a confused look on her face.
"If this is some joke then I don't find it funny," Umi stated.
"I'm not joking, here…" the redhead brought out her wallet and pulled out a hefty amount of money, "This should cover for your paycheck, I presume?"
Umi stared at the money in disbelief, "I-I'm not that type of girl, if that's what you're trying to get at."
"No, that's not it at all. Just take this money, I overheard that you're behind on your rent," she insisted.
Umi took the money carefully, "T-Thank you… I… I don't know what to say…"
"My parent's own a clinic, I can ask them if they can hire you as a receptionist," the redhead continued.
Umi sighed and stuffed the money into her pocket, "No offense, but why are you being so kind to me?"
"It's the least I can do for getting you fired," she replied.
Umi laughed, "I don't even know your name."
"It's Maki. Nishikino Maki." she replied.
"Nishikino?! As in Nishikino Pharmaceutical?!" Umi asked in disbelief.
Maki nodded, "Yup."
"What are you doing at a place like this then? Shouldn't you be spending time near Tokyo?" Umi asked.
"Well, I came to visit an old friend. You know her actually, her name is Rin," Maki replied.
"You knew Rin? The world is a small place…" Umi commented.
Maki nodded, "She reached out to me after she got fired and I came down here to help her out. She told me to check the shop afterwards so I did."
"Well, you came and you saw. Why did you stay out here?" Umi kept asking.
"I saw a cute store clerk and wanted to talk to her some more," Maki replied.
Umi looked around, "What cute store clerk?"
Maki giggled and pointed at Umi, "You of course."
Umi blushed and stumbled over her own words, "M-Me? Cute?!"
Maki nodded and smiled, "I know it's a bad time, but would you like to go on a date with me?"
Umi blushed profusely and played with her hair nervously, "U-Umm, I'm not exactly presentable for a date. I'd have to go home first."
"Oh? Would you like for me to drive you there?" Maki offered.
"I-It's not that far away, I can walk," Umi objected.
"Please let me drive you," Maki insisted.
Umi couldn't help but blush, "I-I can't, you've already given me enough."
Maki shrugged, "This isn't much, I'll just take you to your home. This way you don't have to sweat or anything," she said with a smile.
Umi stepped closer to Maki sheepishly, "O-okay then…"
Maki smiled and offered her hand for guidance. Umi grabbed it hesitantly and was guided over to a nearby parking lot where Maki's car was. It was a very luxurious car that Umi had always dreamed of riding in, "Wow…" she gawked.
Maki giggled and put the car into reverse to back out of the parking spot, "Alright, lead the way."
Maki's car came to a stop in front of a rundown apartment complex and Umi stepped out from the passenger side, "Thank you for the ride. It was really nice of you."
Maki smiled, "It's no problem."
Umi blushed and twisted her body back and forth like a shy schoolgirl, "If you're willing to wait a couple minutes, I'll be out and ready for our d-date."
Maki smirked on response and threw up her hand, "I'd rather wait inside your apartment, but I guess I can stay out here."
"E-Ehhh?!" Umi blurted.
Maki burst into laughter, "I'm just kidding, go ahead and take your time."
Umi puffed her cheeks, "You meanie. I'll be right back."
Maki watched the perky blue haired girl rush up the stairs to the second floor and into what was presumably her apartment. Maki leaned back into her seat and closed her eyes to take a deep breath.
After about 30 minutes, Maki heard a knock on her window and opened her eyes to see the cute blue haired girl from before become a beautiful young woman.
Maki gawked and unlocked the door which allowed Umi to step in, "H-Hello, I'm sorry it took a little longer than I said."
"N-No, it's okay. You look… amazing," Maki glanced down at Umi's dress. It was a fine black dress that looked like it rarely saw the light of day. Her makeup was well done and the scent coming off of her was both overwhelming and pleasant.
Umi blushed and brushed her hair to the side, "T-Thank you… I don't usually wear makeup so I'm a bit out of practice."
"No, you look even prettier than before! I'm shocked," Maki complimented.
Umi smiled, "So um… where are we going for the date?"
Maki turned the keys in the ignition and put the car into drive, "We're going to the Toujou Steakhouse."
"Toujou Steakhouse?! Isn't that place like legendary and expensive?" Umi asked.
Maki shrugged, "It's no big deal, it's worth it for our date after all."
Umi couldn't get any redder than she already was and remained silent. She had never been treated like this before and she had to admit that it felt nice after all the hardship she went through.
Maki drove off and in about 25 minutes the couple arrived in front of a large building with a sign that read, "Toujou Steakhouse."
Maki took the keys out of the ignition and stepped out of the car. Umi followed the same gesture and watched as Maki handed her keys to a man in uniform. He stepped into Maki's car and drove off in an instant.
"Hey, isn't he taking your car?" Umi asked with concern.
"It's valet parking, Umi," Maki laughed.
"O-oh…" Umi turned away to hide her embarrassment.
Maki couldn't help but laugh some more, causing Umi to punch her arm lightly, "Let's go already…"
Maki calmed down and held her arm out for Umi to wrap around before making their way into the restaurant.
"Ah, Maki! Oh Umi too?!" a preppy orange haired girl rushed up to them. She wore a uniform and held out a menu.
"Rin?! What are you doing here?" Umi asked in surprise.
"Maki helped me get a job here, apparently she's good friends with the owner's granddaughter," Rin explained.
"Do you know everyone?" Umi asked.
Maki shrugged, "Kind of."
"Follow me, you two. By the way, Umi, you look fantastic. You should really go out more instead of working in that dump," Rin said.
Umi grinned, "I got fired today."
Rin responded with an exaggerated body movement, "What? Really?"
Umi nodded, "Yeah, for the same reason as you did."
"Oh geez, that's rough. Maybe Maki can help you find a new job?" Rin asked.
"I'm already on that," Maki replied.
Rin smiled and led the two to a table, "Go ahead and take your seats. I'll be your waitress for the night, so make sure you leave the best review for me and say I was the best waitress ever."
The couple laughed, "Sure thing, Rin."
After placing their orders, they watched the energetic waitress return to work and focused on each other, "This is all too strange to be real," Umi commented.
"What's so strange about it?" Maki asked.
Umi shrugged, "I don't know, it just feels like everything is moving so smoothly for the first time in years."
"Why do you say that?" Maki asked.
"Well, money had always been a problem for me. I ended up working more than 40 hours a week in that dump just to scrape by for my rent and groceries," Umi explained, "And now it just seems like everything I've done has paid off. The store now has a bad reputation. Rin is working again, and you came along."
Maki smiled, "That's good."
"If it wasn't for you, I don't know where I would be tonight. Probably back at my apartment drowning in sorrow while looking for a job," she said with a dry laugh.
"You're amazing, you know that?" Maki replied.
Umi tilted her head, "Huh? Me?"
"Rin told me stories about the place you worked at, and I got to see it first hand. It takes a lot of willpower to endure such mistreatment for so long," Maki answered.
Umi blushed and looked away, "I was just trying to keep myself above water."
"Most people would have given up long before you did, you're incredible," Maki replied.
Umi blushed more, "Do you always have a way with words?"
Maki smirked, "I try to, is it working?"
Umi blushed and smiled, "Maybe just a little."
Rin returned with their dishes and the two of them enjoyed the delicious food and each other's company. After an hour of eating and getting to know each other, the couple was walking out of the restaurant locked to each other's arms.
Maki's car was prepped and ready for them and they were off in just a few minutes. After 25 minutes, they arrived in front of Umi's apartment and Umi stepped out.
Maki rolled down the window so the two of them could talk, "Thanks for everything today, Maki."
"Thank you for accepting," Maki replied.
Umi blushed and smiled, "I had a lot of fun getting to know you, I can't remember the last time I had such a nice date."
"It's been awhile for me too," Maki replied.
Umi laughed shyly and glanced around, "Umm… I should probably go now."
Maki nodded, "Good night, Umi."
"G-Good night…" Umi replied.
Maki went to roll up her window until it was interrupted by Umi's hand, "Umm… Can I show you my thanks?"
"Sure, I guess?" Maki replied with concern.
Umi leaned over and gave Maki a quick kiss, "I'll see you later."
Maki blushed and watched Umi walk away slowly, "H-Hey Umi?"
The blue haired girl turned around almost impatiently, "Yes?"
Maki's face tinted with a brighter red, "Do you want to um… spend the night over at my place?"
Umi's cheeks flushed and she smiled,
"Sure."
Day 7: Valentine's Day
Umi slowly opened her weary eyes to an empty bed. She girl that slept in her arms the night before had neatly placed the blanket back into place as if no had laid there the night before.
She rolled onto her back and was greeted by a glaring light coming from the crack between the curtains. It was Sunday and she had the day off. She had no intentions of waking up early so her sense of time was completely thrown away.
Umi relaxed on her bed and took a deep breath to enjoy the comfort and silence that enveloped her. She had been working so hard lately that she almost forgot to take time off for herself. She was glad that she was able to request a day off on Valentine's Day.
"Umi? Are you awake?" a voice called out.
Umi raised her head to glance at the doorway where a young woman stood, "Hey… good morning tomato."
The woman puffed her cheeks, "Hey! That's not funny!"
Umi laughed dryly and glanced down at what she was holding, it was a tray lined up with numerous plates and drinks, "What do you have there?"
The girl walked over and set the tray over Umi's lap, "I thought that I should prepare some breakfast in bed for the two of us."
Umi smiled and brought the woman in for a quick kiss, "I love you, Maki."
The unusually cheerful redhead smiled back and circled around to climb onto her side of the bed. She slid in and cuddled closely to Umi, "Hey, try the omelette I made."
Umi picked up a fork and cut off a piece of the omelette to taste, "It's sweet," she commented.
Maki nodded and grabbed a fork of her own to pick off the omelette, "Since it's Valentine's Day, I thought about making sweet eggs instead of salty ones. Do you not like it?"
"I love everything that you make," Umi said while taking another bite.
Maki giggled and pushed Umi playfully, "That's what you always say."
Umi laughed and held up some more of the omelette for Maki to eat, "It's the truth, that's why."
Maki bit down on the food presented to her and smiled, "Here, try the pancakes. I put chocolate chips in them."
Umi graciously accepted the food into her mouth and ate it happily, "It's so good."
Maki smiled and continued feeding the blue haired girl, "I also made some belgian waffles and some chocolate covered strawberries."
Umi accepted each item of food as it was presented to her with no restraint, "This is a lot of food for a breakfast, aren't you going to eat some too?"
"Yeah, of course!" Maki replied.
"Here, open wide," Umi instructed.
Maki did as Umi said and was greeted by the sweetness of chocolate and strawberry when she bit down, "Oh! I've always wanted to try something with these."
"Hmm?" Umi watched Maki pick up another chocolate covered strawberry and place it in between her lips. She inched closer and beckoned Umi to bite onto the other end.
The blue haired girl blushed and carefully bit the other end of the strawberry. Their lips met for only a second before they tore away from each other, "W-What was that? Some improvised Pocky game?"
Maki shook her head, "Of course not, I was just trying to see if I could convince you to do something like that."
Umi's jaw dropped and she pushed Maki, "What are you trying to do to me?!" she yelled with a profuse blush.
Maki laughed, "S-Stop, I'm going to fall off!"
Umi stopped immediately and apologized, "I'm sorry, are you okay?"
"My arm hurts a little, will you kiss it?" Maki teased.
Umi clenched her fist, "Why you little…"
"Oh! Hold on, I forgot one more thing downstairs, I'll be right back," Maki hopped off the bed, almost knocking over the tray if it wasn't for Umi's quick reflexes.
After several seconds, Umi could hear footsteps rushing up the stairs and the redhead appeared by the doorway again, "I made red candy apples for us."
Maki walked over and handed one over to Umi before climbing back into bed with her own, "Cheers to my Valentine!" Maki shouted.
"Cheers!" Umi played along.
The two bit happily into their candy apples and Umi was the first to make a disgusted face. Underneath the candy shell, she was met with a very juicy and pulpy mess. She regrettably swallowed the first bite and looked into the candy apple.
That was when she noticed the woman next to her trying her hardest not to laugh, "Maki? What the heck is this?!"
Maki burst out into laughter and fell off the bed. Upon close inspection, the candy apple wasn't even an apple to begin with. It was a tomato that was made to look like a candy apple.
Umi leaned over to see the redhead holding her stomach from laughing too hard and set down the candy tomato on the tray before reaching for the candy apple that Maki had dropped on the bed on her way down.
Umi looked at it to see that Maki's candy apple was the real thing and angrily bit into it, "W-Wait, that's mine!"
Umi turned away and ignored the laughing girl's pleading. She finished the candy apple quickly and tossed the stick at Maki, "Thanks for the candy apple, tomato."
Maki wiped away her tears and climbed onto the bed, "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist."
Umi puffed her cheeks and looked away, "I thought this was Valentine's Day, not April Fools…"
Maki's face slowly softened and she caressed Umi's cheek gently, "Aww, come on. Don't be like that."
She leaned in closer and wrapped her arms around Umi. She kissed her neck and then her cheek before turning her back around and kissing her on the lips, "I love you, Umi."
The two smiled at each other and intertwined their hands together. Umi lifted the tray away and placed it on the floor before resting back onto the bed and hugging Maki closer to her.
Maki giggled and got comfortable in Umi's arms. She traced her hand over Umi's, playfully touching both her's and Umi's wedding rings,
"Happy Valentine's Day."