AN

So, this kind of got away from me, and it's a bit out of character, but I hope it's still enjoyable.

/AN

【〔一三一〕】

The train ride to school seemed uncomfortably warm.

That isn't to say that the day was particularly hot, or that the air circulation needed improvement, but rather, a certain something had Kumiko feeling a little more stuffy than usual. As she observed the slight smile on the one sitting next to her, she was reminded again exactly why that was.

Now, Kumiko wasn't a gambling girl. She was proud to say that the number of bets she had taken in her life was next to none. However, having others out of the house and a sleepover with an unusually excitable case of Reina could lead a perfectly good girl to some perhaps questionable decisions. In fact, as she was sure she wouldn't be allowed to forget, she had taken said friend up on, and subsequently lost miserably, a "Don't Sing Along" challenge, winner takes all.

That particular 'all' was in fact, what brought the smile to Reina's face, and that peculiar, embarrassing heat to Kumiko's cheeks that fine morning.

"E-everyone's looking Reina…" she mumbled, looking down at her lap.

Reina simply giggled. "Oh shush, it looks great on you. And you can't argue anyway, those were the rules."

"Why did you even have this on you anyway?" Kumiko protested, gesturing to the offending item, "It's weird."

"A girl has her secrets, Kumiko." Reina responded, tapping her nose cheekily.

"Ugh. Remind me to never trust you again."

"I love you too." she laughed, adding a very pointed wink.

Kumiko sighed again. While she was happy to see Reina further out of her little shell of indifference, she still cursed whatever she had done to deserve this particular version.

She felt the root of her discomfort under her fingers again nervously, as they left the train, and began the walk from the station to school, keeping an eye out for any fellow students who might see it.

The walk carried on in this fashion, Reina laughing quietly the whole time, and sometimes not so quietly when Kumiko jumped at someone walking the other way. Unfortunately for her, they did happen to run into a certain senpai.

"Oumae-san, good morning!" Asuka laughed a little at her state before drawing in a little closer to the two of them. "Now, tell me," she said, giving a pointed glance to Reina, "it's cute and all, but what exactly is that collar for?"

As Kumiko all but imploded from sheer embarrassment, Reina burst out into laughter once again, nearly dropping her trumpet case.

"I like the engraving of your name," she continued, lifting the little metal tag on it to read, "but here on the other side, what does it mean by "If found, please return to Kousaka Reina"? Is there something you two need to tell me?"

Reina continued dying of laughter as Kumiko collapsed into a little ball in the corner, bright red. "Stupid, stupid Reina." she mumbled repeatedly, rocking back and forth slightly.

"Well, it's been nice seeing you both. You play safe now!"

Asuka continued on her way, and as Reina slowly came down from her laughing fit, one thought was stuck in her head.

Today was going to be an interesting day.

【〔一三一〕】

Once Kumiko had recovered somewhat, and they managed to make it to the rehearsal room, practice went on much the same as always, with the added, forceful warning "not even a word" given to anyone who came too close to her. Taki gave Reina a curious glance when he arrived, but even he didn't explicitly comment on it.

As they packed up, she did notice Mizore gesture at her to Nozomi, and touch her own neck, but she felt thoroughly unqualified to guess at what they were really talking about, deciding that it was their business.

"Hey, um, Kumiko? Can I talk to you about something?" Kumiko turned to face her tormentor, and slowly nodded. "Come outside then." She followed Reina out of the music room, feeling that head creep back above the low level it had settled to.

Once they were a fair distance from everyone else, Reina stopped and faced her. Though Kumiko couldn't quite meet her eyes, she seemed to be almost as nervous as she herself was. "So, what was it you wa-" but before she could finish, she was silenced by lips against her own, and she froze.

After a few moments, they drew back. "Sorry, th-that's all, thank you for your time." Kumiko raised a hand to her own mouth, gaze fixed on the distance, and used the other to stop Reina as she tried to walk past her, holding her by the arm. "Reina…"

A few more moments passed.

"But, Taki-sen-"

"He said no."

"When-"

"After nationals, he didn't really say anything, so I went and told him again the other day."

"Then what-"

"He told me that I liked you. I hadn't really noticed, but he had, and he was right." Reina turned her head back to look at Kumiko again. "He said he'd seen how I look at you, and that I should do something about it, and I didn't really know what, but just seeing you wearing that today I couldn't stop myself and-" Kumiko pulled her back, and it was her turn to be silenced.

When she drew back, she placed a finger over Reina's lips to keep her from talking. "I've liked you for a long time, Reina. And you've just gotten rid of every reason for me not to." A dangerous smirk reached her face. "I still need to pay you back for this," she said, pointing at her own neck, "so you're in for it now." She ran her finger down from Reina's mouth to her neck, and across her shoulder, but gave her no more. "It's time for lessons now, but I get the feeling I'll be seeing you again later." With that, she walked away, leaving a statue-like Reina with a racing mind and red cheeks.

Reina couldn't think straight for the rest of the day.