Heretics
Nagisa felt herself nearly batter down the door in haste. "Tamao-chan!" she shouted purposefully, before realising that the crying girl was close even to hear her normal voice. She silenced herself and nervously grinned to herself. "T-amao...chan?" Her last note turned up as she felt her own tears influence her tone. She quickly shifted them back into her eyes, unsure why she was feeling like this or even if she had a right to feel that way.
Hastily, she ran over to Tamao's bed, which was incidentally only a few paces away, causing her to fall down in her haste. The crying ceased, and when Nagisa lifted her head, she was met with Tamao's confused and ever-so-slightly bemused eyes. "N-Nagisa...chan." She looked down as if pondering something, then suddenly attacked Nagisa with a tight squeeze. "Nagisa-chan! You came to see me! You were so cute there when you fell!"
Nagisa sighed. Was she ever really upset, or did she just want to attract her attention? "W-What's wrong, Tamao-chan?" Nagisa asked, endeavouring to pull the smitten girl's arms away from her vital organs. When that question hit, Tamao let them drop without a moment of resistance. Her eyes looked empty, like Nagisa had never seen them in the time they had known each other. They looked...complicated. Nagisa had always viewed Tamao as a silly little girl who didn't know how she felt, but now it hit her that Tamao could have mature emotions as well. Why had that been such a foreign concept for her before?
"I...I just..." Those two words seemed so vague and void of emotion, yet they were the most sorrow-stricken words that had ever come out of Tamao's mouth. Nagisa had little time to ponder this, though, before Tamao collapsed on her lap and the whailing started again.
"I don't know what I'm doing!" she whailed. "My family raised me up Catholic and we always do prayers but I never mean it! I try not to sin but for what? For a stupid god that I don't even believe in?"
"T-Tamao-chan..." Nagisa murmured, lifting the crying girl to eye level. "I..." She had no words. How on earth are you supposed to tell somebody that something has changed? How the hell was she supposed to tell Tamao that in that moment, her whole opinion of her had changed? She had her all wrong...how on earth was she to make up for it?
And so she decided that the only way to truly show everything, was exactly what she was told could mean everything in the world all at once. She lifted the petite girl's head up, leaned in...her scent was intoxicating, it drove her to not just lightly peck her on the lips, but let their mouths collide in passion. Tamao took in every little moment, every quirk of that kiss, but it wasn't without uneasiness. "Nagisa-chan..." she muttered, just loud enough for the other girl to hear.
"I...I came to the exact realisation a month ago," she sighed, something unpleasant swallowing most of her voice. What was it? Hurt? No...shame. But why? "I was saying grace at the table...and I hated saying what I did, it was like...I wondered why on earth they made us do that." She locked eyes with the other girl. "You know, how do they know if we mean it? They always tell us that...religion is not something to take lightly...but they make us say things...without understand what they mean."
"Nagisa..." Tamao uttered, the unease in her eyes leaving and being replaced by pity. Then, they seemed to focus, become more sure of what their intents were. "We have to leave."
"Wh-What?" Nagisa stuttered, mouth falling as far as it could go. How could she make it sound so vague? 'We have to leave'. What kind of proposition was that? Was she asking her if she wanted to leave, or was she telling her?
"Come on, why are we going to a school that teaches us things we don't believe in?" Tamao asked. She seemed so assertive, miles away from the Tamao that Nagisa knew before. Like a leader, not just a silly little girl with a crush. "Please. Run away with me."
"I..." She looked down as Tamao grabbed both of her hands in hers. The feel of her soft skin set a fire in her heart. And if only that was enough to make her feel that way, then surely... "Okay." She looked up to Tamao, sharing the same lights in her eyes and expression as Tamao. She was one hundred percent certain...or maybe, just maybe, these things didn't require certainty. "I'll run away with you, Tamao-chan!"
Tamao straightened her back and the most euphoric grin came across her. The assertiveness in her eyes dimmed down, as if that was just a show put on to convince her. Nagisa didn't care either way. They didn't need a leader, anyways. They were just two stray cats, lost girls. And something about that seemed so appealing to her.