This is NOT Happening! – A Chuunibyo Demo Koi Ga Shita Story
Pairings – Dekotani
Chapter One: An Unknown Dream
Ne minna-san! Another story here, this one (obviously) is for Dekotani. I was in the mood to write something a little pensive, and although at first glance, this couple doesn't bare much thinking, I respectfully disagree.
Please note that I have taken some minor liberties with the situation of the plot, and that this story takes place towards the end of the high school life of Nibutani.
Usual Disclaimers: I do not own Chuunibyo Demo Koi Ga Shita. I just own my own style of writing and whatever original ideas I employ in this story.
Now that she was about to graduate from high school, Nibutani Shinka knew that she absolutely had to get that little twerp to destroy that awful book that was proof that she, the school's idol, had once been a chuunibyo herself. However, this was proving to be far more challenging then she had EVER though possible, as the little girl with the ridiculous pigtails was far too obsessed with the embarrassment that had been, and apparently still was, Mori-Summer. Things had changed between the two of them, but mostly they maintained their typical give and take, where in she tried to take the book, and the mischievous kohai gave Shinka a hard time.
This was not without its moments, and those watching would often comment that the two of them running around together looked like a couple in the throes of a passionate romance. The two of them vehemently denied this, usually at the same time, and the act of synchronized rebuttal almost always resulted in even more apparently-playful tussles; ones that usually only ended when one of the two of them wound up trapped in the younger girl's ever-increasingly long hair.
Occasionally looking back on it, the senior realized that the good moments outweighed the bad ones; especially the time when the shorter girl had almost chosen to believe in a false Mori-Summer, but had eventually chosen Shinka. The more she mused about it, the more she realized that the fact that she was going to be leaving high school shortly meant that the possibilities of being embarrassed by that infernal mistake of hers was decreasing every second. As she wandered slowly towards the clubroom, she thought that maybe, just maybe, it was time to make peace with the little firebrand.
Now that the false Mori-Summer was on the verge of graduating as the valedictorian of her class, Dekomori Sanae knew that she absolutely had to find some way to prove once and for all if the taller girl was indeed false, or if her claims to being the original Mori-Summer were true. Sanae had been trying for almost three years now to break down the walls between her and her senpai in order to find a way to get the girl admit to her false claims, but the older girl never cracked, and often after one of their engagements, it was the junior who was left wondering about her own course. But every time she went back and reviewed the works of her ultimate master, she renewed her resolve and continued to confront the false Mori-Summer.
Of course the events of previous years had made an impact on the then-younger chuuni, and now she found herself wondering again if she really wanted to know the truth of her senpai, or if she was better off embracing the ideal, rather than the reality, of the legacy left behind by Mori-Summer. An image flashed before her eyes, one of a mistake that had once been cause for much chagrin, but was now secretly and shamefully a treasured memory of hers; a snowy day aboard a ferry, a quick tumble, and the feel of another's soft lips upon her own. She also recalled that confusing period of time where she had almost fallen to the sway of a different false Mori-Summer, and had chosen the one who went by the name Nibutani Shinka.
Reviewing those moments brought bittersweet tears to the eyes of the young girl, and she wiped at them ferociously, trying to avoid the very image of weakness, if only for her current master, the Wicked Lord Shingen. However, the more she pondered it, the more she realized that she did not want the false Mori-Summer to leave her life on bad terms. As she wandered slowly towards the clubroom, she thought that maybe, just maybe, it was time to make peace with the beautiful impostor (?).
Shinka had been sitting in the clubroom petulantly awaiting the door slamming open that was the usual announcement that Sanae had arrived. While waiting, she allowed herself to feel self-satisfied at seeing the intertwined hands of Togashi Yuuta, and Takanashi Rikka, who had only just barely become comfortable with holding hands and the occasional quick kiss in public places. Most of the time the snail pace that their romance was taking made Shinka roll her eyes, but lately, she thought that even the two of them were infinitely ahead of her and her lack of a relationship. Even that dweeb Isshiki and Kumin had gotten together. During the past two and most of a third year, she had hardly ever felt sad about not having a high school romance, indeed, had always shrugged off those feelings, telling herself that she didn't need one.
Apparently this had been a lie that she had allowed herself to buy into.
It's not like she was unhappy at the moment, she had more than a few high school achievement and laurels to hang her hat upon, if she so chose, but lately that big one kept coming back to haunt her.
As if to mock her quiet musings, the door opened and in walked Dekomori Sanae. For a moment, it didn't register to Shinka that the shorter girl had entered, as the door hadn't slammed open, and her vulnerability hadn't been taken advantage of, by way of a flying "Mjolnir" to the face. As a matter of fact, her junior looked to be at least in deep of thought as Shinka was, and when she looked closer, she could see a slight redness to the other girl's eyes, and noticed what looked to be smeared tear trails down her cheeks.
Without stopping to think for even a split second, Shinka was across the room and had taken a hold of Sanae's hand. She threw a quick "The two of us need to talk," over her shoulder and proceeded to drag the shorter girl, sputtering, over to the stairs and up to the roof. Only after she had made sure that the two of them were alone on the roof did she release her junior's hand, and when she did, she realized that she had done so regretfully. She turned a judgmental eye on the younger girl and merely said, "Speak."
At first it looked like Sanae would be rebellious, as she had taken a hold of her pigtails threateningly, but then she sighed and let her hair fall back to her side. "I'm…" Her face grimaced with distaste. "Frightened," she exhaled the word with a rushed breath.
These words hit the older girl like a freight train. In all of the time that the two had known each other, Shinka had only seen Sanae frightened of two things; losing Rikka to normalcy, and when Rikka had had a bit of competition going for Yuuta's affections with Shichimiya Satone. An idea formed in the senior's mind and she nodded thoughtfully. "So you are afraid that you and Rikka won't be as good of friends anymore?" Though Dekomori and Nibutani were still of opposite opinions when it came to chuunibyo, Shinka realized that through the years, for other serious matters, the two had entered into a competitive friendship that did not preclude offering the other aid when one of them seemed in low spirits. When that had happened neither of them knew, but as they stood on the roof, they knew it to be true.
At Shinka's words, the blonde looked up into the brunette's eyes and couldn't help but laugh a little bit, which seemed to put the older girl back on her toes. "Master and I are bound by threads which cannot be severed by mere distance." She looked down. "The only way that the bonds can be weakened is if stronger bonds are formed…" The brunette knew that her junior had to be referring to the amount of time that Rikka was now spending with Yuuta, and how that cut into time that the two friends spent together.
"Then what are you frightened of?" The senior pressed, determined to get to the bottom of her tentative friend's problem.
When Sanae responded by biting her lip and looking deeply into the taller girl's eyes, Shinka had a sudden inspiration: one awful and beautiful, terrifying and graceful. She knew, KNEW, what was plaguing the shorter girl.
"You," the blonde responded at the same time that the brunette asked, "Me?"
The two stood on the roof, and the world was still; no wind was blowing, and they both would swear later that even their hearts had stopped. They continued to drown in each other's eyes for what could have only been no more than ten seconds, but what felt to be much longer. As they did, a blush crept up both of their faces at the same time until they turned away from each other at the same instant.
Shinka's mind was racing faster than the freight train of a statement that had hit her earlier. When she had awoken this morning, she had only wanted to get the other girl to finally surrender the dreaded Mabinogion, and now here they were on the verge of something else. The unwanted thought "this is NOT happening" drifted quickly through her mind and she squashed it quickly. For she realized it WAS an unwanted thought. It had certainly crept up on her and she was most definitely surprised, but she couldn't deny it, not now that the seed had been planted: she was in love with the girl who had made her life miserable for almost three years. Only, looking back on it, it hadn't been miserable at all, indeed, there had been many moments where the two of them had laughed at each and with one another. Maybe she could even allow the other girl to keep the record that proved that even she, Nibutani Shinka, was a flawed human. Gathering her will, Shinka turned back to Sanae, words waiting on her lips.
Sanae couldn't believe that she had said that. She hadn't even consciously considered the notion, but when she searched her feelings, she knew that she had not said anything wrong. The idea of exposing the other girl once and for all as a false Mori-Summer no longer mattered to her. Actually, upon considering it, she realized that it hadn't mattered to her the moment that she had chosen to stay with the taller girl over the other false Mori-Summer, what seemed like forever ago. When she had made that decision, she had admitted to herself the time that she spent with her senpai was even more precious than finding the real Mori-Summer; it was even more precious than spending time with Rikka. The idea of being permanently separated from Shinka made the blonde literally shiver with dread and solidified the idea that had been bouncing around in her mind for far longer than she had imagined. Drawing upon the strength of her spirit, Sanae turned to face Shinka again, words waiting to be freed from her lips.
"I love you!" The two of them said at once. (Notice: in Japanese, they would be using the phrase 'Aishterou' rather than 'Daisuki')
Another silence filled the space between the two girls, once an empty void, now bridged by the simple act of speaking feelings long ignored. At the same time, again, the blonde's eyes welled up with tears of happiness, while the brunette felt an (almost! -.-) foolishly happy smile lift the edges of her lips. Upon seeing the tears of her old friend, and newly discovered beloved, Shinka crossed that bridge that the silence had once barred, and took the shorter girl in her arms. She lifted her hands, one to caress the other girl's hair comfortingly, while the other wrapped around her waist, holding her possessively.
"Why are you crying, silly?" The senior asked softly, laying her cheek across the top of her junior's head.
"Because…" The shorter girl struggled. "Because… Now I know that you really are Mori-Summer." She sniffed. "Even if you aren't really, it doesn't matter. You are to me."
The simple words set off a fiercely protective surge in the brunette, and she pulled back to wipe off the blonde's tears. However, Sanae had no intention of letting Shinka see her face yet, and as soon as the taller girl began to pull back, the younger girl filled the gap quickly, bringing her face up to have their lips meet, pressing her body tightly to the other girl. She didn't mean to make the kiss heavy, but her haste made her lips press to the other girl's hard.
For the first time today, the older girl wasn't surprised by the younger girl, and she kissed her back gently, pulling back ever-so-slightly to make the kiss a kind and comforting wonder. As the kiss came to a close, the realization that she was now in a relationship with the person who had 'stolen' her first kiss appealed to the romantic in Shinka.
Sanae pressed her face into the cradle of Shinka's shoulder and the two held each other for a few moments, allowing the chaos of the past few minutes to settle in their minds. Eventually, the two, again eerily in sync, let out a sigh and fell back from each other, but staying close enough to intertwine their fingers.
"Should we tell the others?" The taller girl asked eventually, allowing her pragmatic self to show. However the real reason was she just wanted to show off her new girlfriend, even if it was to people who already knew the both of them.
Seeing through her façade, the shorter girl simply rolled her eyes. "Even if I didn't want you to, you'd still do it, wouldn't you?"
Shinka considered it for a moment and then shook her head. "No, but I'd pester you until you let me."
Sanae let out a giggle at the idea that it could be the brunette pestering her, but stilled herself quickly and rolled her eyes again. "Then I guess I have no choice." Letting one of her hands drop away from Shinka's she tugged on the other hand and the two of them returned to clubroom, hand in hand.
I know that my ideas tend to be a little clichéd, but at the same time, isn't cliché kinda one of the best things ever? Anyway, please enjoy the chapters to come!
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