Pairing: KotoUmi, (mention of Nicomaki, Nozoeli, Rinpana)
Summary: Falling in love with Sonoda Umi is easy. But conveying that emotion to her is another matter. Kotori can't believe her heart chose the smartest fool in Otonokizaka.
Alternative Summary: "Umi pls"
How To Love A Fool
Sonoda Umi has to be the smartest, most attentive and yet dumbest, most clueless person she has ever met, and she has met quite a set of different personalities in her life-time as a popular charismatic maid and famous school idol. She is sure that there is no type of human she hasn't seen before; and yet, her best friend Umi never fails to astound her with her contradictory characteristics.
There is no doubt that Umi is intelligent. Not only book intelligent, but also intelligent in everyday life matters. She is perceptive, able to empathize with others, she knows how to behave sensibly in every situation – her trains of thoughts are always logical and cohesive, her decisions are based on knowledge and experience.
But it is exactly this kind of logical thinking that makes her inflexible. If she has her variables, then she will put them together in a way that makes sense to her and she will act accordingly to it. If her variables are Kotori and a pink letter with a heart stamp, she will conclude from past experience that Kotori is handing her a love letter that someone else asked her to give to Umi, knowing the two of them are close friends. There is no other solution.
And most of the time, her logical and fact-based deductions aren't wrong. In fact, she is right more often than not. But her highly factual intelligence has failed to grasp some major changes in the behaviors of the people around her.
So when Kotori hands her a pink letter, Umi thanks her and apologizes for the trouble, and places the letter into her school bag without gazing at it further. The disappointment on Kotori's face isn't lost on Umi; she manages to read this emotion as something negative and naturally inquires about Kotori's well-being. When Kotori asks her pointedly whether she isn't going to read the letter right now, Umi doesn't draw the connection between Kotori's hopeful tone and the pink letter in her school bag.
Full score student Sonoda Umi blinks at Kotori in confusion, unable to understand the simple notion that the pink letter might be Kotori's end-product of hours of procrastination and panic.
"You know I don't read them at school, it's too embarrassing if I'm seen doing that," Umi says, wondering if Kotori is just curious about the content of the letter.
"Oh," Kotori mumbles, picking at non-existent dust particles on her skirt to hide her nervousness, "I just thought that you might want to know who the sender is."
Umi furrows her brows. "Even if I know their name now, it might not tell me much as I don't know everyone in this school. No, I'm doing that at home where I can do some proper research before I can reply."
Kotori lightly scratches behind her ear. "I'm fairly certain that this won't be necessary..."
"Eh? Why? Do I know them well?"
Kotori smiles weakly. "I hope so."
Umi seems to consider to take the letter out and read it, but a loud voice yelling her name steals her attention. "Umi!"
They turn around and see a group of girls waving at them. Or more specifically, at Umi, because despite not knowing their names, Kotori recognizes them as Umi's fellow members in the archery club.
Umi gives them a small smile and a subtle hand wave that isn't more than a flick of a wrist, and this simple gesture reminds Kotori why the whole school believes that Umi is a cool person.
The Sonoda Umi that Otonokizaka knows is a calm and dignified girl with an aura as enchanting as a prince on a white horse. And Kotori admits that she too belongs to the group of girls who would rather marry Umi than a Prince Charming because Umi has proven to possess not only beauty but also brains and a morally impeccable character.
Does Prince Charming master archery and kendo, does he master the koto and the nagauta, can he reply to letters in beautiful calligraphy? No, he can't. Because he's fictional. But Sonoda Umi is real. And she can do all these things.
"I need to go now."
Lips already forming the word 'don't', Kotori stops herself from uttering her selfish wish in the last second. Instead, the corners of her mouth curve into a smile. "Go, Umi. Have fun!"
"Thank you."
Kotori watches Umi catch up with her archery members. They playfully nudge her and bump into her side as a way of greeting her.
Tilting her head, Kotori wonders if she should be more direct with Umi too.
Honoka's mouth is full with bread but that doesn't stop her from speaking up. "Oh look, Kotori, Umi's about to get a confession again."
They are sitting at their usual place beneath the large tree in the school yard when they watch Umi awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck as a girl bows lowly in front of her and offers her a letter with two hands.
The juice pouch in Kotori's right hand gets dented.
Honoka swallows her bite. "Umi's amazing. I think it's already the third one this month." And she bites into her bread again, chewing happily. "I don't envy her though."
Kotori averts her eyes from Umi, looking at Honoka instead. "Why?"
This time, Honoka actually waits until she finishes chewing to talk to Kotori. "I don't know, I just think it's really troublesome if I don't even know the people who say they like me. I mean, I guess it's nice to get confessed to, but unless it's from someone you actually like back, it puts you in a difficult situation, don't you think?"
"But you get fan letters all the time," Kotori replies.
"Fan letters are different," Honoka wipes at her mouth before she continues talking. "They don't need an answer. Our relationship is pretty clear; we make them smile and they admire us for it. But love letters are way heavier."
Umi is standing alone now, looking at the letter in her hands with almost a wistful expression.
"Umi is a good person," Honoka says suddenly.
Kotori sighs. "I know."
"No, I mean like - Umi is a truly good person. She would always act in a way that hurts no one. And that makes it hard for her to disappoint people." Honoka nibbles on her bread. "She doesn't want to give anyone false hope. But she also doesn't want to crush anyone's hope. She will choose a solution that makes most people happy except for herself."
Kotori looks down on her lap. "Umi..."
"This is why you need to show her," Honoka says, nudging Kotori.
"Eh?"
Honoka smiles. "You need to show her that it's sometimes okay to be selfish. When you almost went abroad to study, she didn't protest because she didn't want to be selfish. But look at us now – we wouldn't be where we are now without you."
"Honoka?"
"So you need to show her that placing her own happiness as her first priority isn't always selfish, it's sometimes the healthy thing to do. You don't owe happiness to anyone who can't give you happiness back."
Honoka winks at her. "And if it's Umi you want, you need to go after her. Be a little more selfish too, Kotori."
It is a freeing sensation of happiness that runs through Kotori's body, and she tightly hugs Honoka. "Thank you."
Honoka just grins and says in a hopeful tone, "Buy me bread next time?"
Kotori laughs quietly. "Umi will get mad at me."
"No, she won't," Honoka pouts, "she never gets mad at you. That energy is all saved up for me."
"You know it's because she cares about you," Kotori chuckles.
"Meh," Honoka shrugs, "I wish she had a different way of showing." Her eyes widen and she tugs at Kotori's arms. "Eh, Kotori? You might want to let go of me now."
"Why?"
"So I can run away from Umi who's coming closer. I forgot I was supposed to be on a diet."
Kotori lets go and Honoka actually runs off.
"That girl is only fast on her feet whenever she's running away from me," Umi mumbles, having just arrived at the tree where Kotori is sitting beneath. "I thought we agreed to keep a watch on Honoka's diet together?"
Kotori innocently tilts her head. "Oops."
"Honestly," Umi sighs, sitting down next to Kotori. "You spoil her too much."
Kotori hides a giggle behind her hand.
"Kotori?"
"Somehow, when you say it like that, it sounds like Honoka is our daughter."
Umi instantly gets flustered at the implication of Kotori's words. "I'm – I'm just..." Realizing that she doesn't have anything coherent to defend herself with, she just crosses her arms and looks the other way.
Giggling to herself, Kotori decides to take Honoka's advice to heart. She leans against Umi side and blows gently against her ear. "What do you say to another child, my dear?"
Umi's cheeks redden and she rubs her ticklish ear. "We are still in high school."
"So you wouldn't be against the idea if we were older?"
Umi's eyes widen. "Ah...eh...I..." She stands up in an abrupt motion. "Anyway, lunch break is over in a minute. I'm heading back." She stiffly walks off.
Whistling to herself, Kotori follows her with an amused smile. She knows she can't do anything too sudden right now. But from today on, she will start working on getting what she wants, and that goal might not be as far as she initially thought.
Sometimes, Nico hates arriving to the club room early because even when she pretends to be busy surfing the internet on the computer, she can still follow every single thing that is happening behind her back.
"Uh...K-Kotori?"
"Yes, Umi?"
"Is...is there a reason you are not sitting in your own chair?"
"Hm, no. Not really."
"Oh...okay..."
Nico types aggressively into a search engine, 'How to evaporate – human edition' but the website doesn't come up with any helpful results.
"Uhm...Kotori?"
"Yes?"
"I – I can't work on the lyrics if you're sitting on me like that..."
"Okay, wait a moment – how about now?"
"K-Kotori!"
Nico hates how the screen of the computer reflects the sight behind her. She grits her teeth and almost breaks the keyboard as she punches the words into the search bar 'How hard do I need to hit myself to erase the memory of seeing Kotori straddling Umi and grinding into her'. What she gets, of course, are zero results.
"I – I can't see anything now!"
"It's because your eyes are closed, Umi. You can open them, you know."
"No! If I open them, my eyes are at the same level as your – as your..."
"I don't mind if it's Umi. You can look all you want."
Nico wonders if they even remember that she is there too. Maybe if she starts playing porn very loudly they will notice. No, better not, who knows in what kind of mood it would get them.
"No, Kotori, I can't..."
"You can't what?"
Why is Kotori's voice becoming a seductive whisper? Why is Nico even still here? She's sweating, frozen stiff, wide eyes glued to the screen, wondering if she's going to see free live porn without going onto any adult sites.
"I can't...reach my notebook on the table."
"Eh?"
"Would you mind handing it to me?"
It's become even more bizarre than porn, Nico thinks, watching through the reflective computer screen when Kotori slowly hands Umi her notebook, a bit dazed herself that Umi's reaction was quite different than from what she's expected.
"Thank you."
And a minute later, when the rest of the µ's members walk into the room, they find Kotori still sitting on Umi's lap and resting her head on her shoulder, pouting, while Umi holds her notebook to the side, scanning the words she's written down with a critical look.
They don't really understand what's going on, but judging from Nico's pale face, they believe they are better off not knowing.
It is only through accident and coincidence that Hanayo is the first one to find out what happened when she uses the computer in the club room days later and sees the search history that Nico left behind.
Maki's favorite part of creating a new song is merging the melody with the lyrics. It feels like the birth of something great, a fusion of two completely different but equally important components. For that process, she and Umi work hours to make that miracle happen, sometimes even days before they feel satisfied with their work.
And working with Umi is a challenging, sometimes frustrating, but always fun and rewarding experience. She feels like she learns a lot every time they come together for a new song, and once their contrasting personalities come to an agreement regarding the song, nothing feels more satisfying than hearing the end product of their hard work.
This is why Maki usually enjoys the time she spends with Umi in the piano room. Usually.
Today is not one of the usual days.
It is not uncommon for other µ's members to drop by and check up on their process only to get banned from the room immediately because the two song writers don't like distractions. Umi is quite merciless when it comes to throwing someone out. She has done that plenty of times before when Rin or Honoka came by because they were bored, not hesitating to drag them out of the music room by their ears.
But for some reason, Umi is not doing that with Kotori. Well, aside from the obvious fact that Umi would never treat Kotori harshly or that Kotori would never behave in a way that warranted a harsh treatment in the first place, Maki deems it as strange that Umi has made no remark about Kotori's presence at all.
It's not like the girl is disturbing them with any annoying sounds or reckless movements like some other cat-like µ's member, but Maki just can't feel at ease with her around. Maybe it's got something to do with the fact that she feels like she is being judged. Or maybe it has got something to do with the way Kotori is sitting on Umi's lap, snuggled up against her. The piano bench they are sitting on is creaking under the overweight, and Maki is very uncomfortable about the fact that she is sitting so close to them when they are being like this.
Umi seems to have gotten used to Kotori's preference for her lap as a primary seating choice. She doesn't even question it anymore, figuring it is something that best friends do. She has seen other girls sitting on each others' laps before, and since Kotori's affectionate nature likes to manifest itself in touches and hugs, Umi doesn't think anything of it. It took her some time at first to get used to it, and her heart still pounds in fast, irregular patterns, but she enjoys feeling Kotori's weight and warmth on her. She wonders if that is strange.
"Umi. Are you listening?"
"Yes, of course. Please continue."
"I was talking about how I don't like this part," Maki points to a section on the note sheet. "The syllables don't match the notes. Can you shorten this line to fit the melody?"
"Hm," Umi hums in thought, absently hugging Kotori closer to her. "Could you play that part for me?"
"Sure."
Maki tries her best to play the melody but because she is still sharing the bench with two others sitting to her right, she can't quite reach the high notes. Kotori's thighs are in her way.
"Uh," Maki clears her throat. "Kotori, would you mind..."
Kotori doesn't budge from her position. "Yes?"
Maki knows that Kotori knows what she is getting at. She feels like she is being challenged. "Would you mind getting off Umi for a while? I can't play like this."
Kotori pouts, but stands up anyway, and Maki can't believe that it was this easy. But seconds later, she regrets feeling triumphant for a moment, because Kotori goes around Umi and hugs her from behind, putting her head on her shoulder. Now her head is also extremely close to Maki's because she has chosen to rest her chin on Umi's left shoulder that sometimes bumps into Maki's right shoulder.
Maki is quite sure that this is her punishment. For what, she doesn't know, but she already regrets whatever she has done wrong and swears to be a better person.
She can't concentrate at all, and when she scoots further away from Umi, she gets even worse at playing the song.
They decide to call it a day because Maki is getting nowhere like this. As she scuffs out of the music room in defeat, she can catch a few words between Umi and Kotori still inside the room.
"- distraction. I think it's more productive if Maki and I work alone."
Maki can only agree.
"So you prefer to be alone with Maki?"
Somehow, the tone Kotori is using sounds very unsettling to Maki.
"Yes. This way, we can focus on each other more."
"Umi...do you like Maki?"
Maki is usually the worst mood reader among all the members of µ's and she hasn't gotten into few fights because of it. But right now, her forehead is damp with sweat as she realizes what she is listening in on. Her mind is racing. 'Umi, don't say the wrong thing now.'
"I do. Very much so."
Maki almost slaps herself when she covers her face with her hands.
"Like everyone in µ's, what kind of rhetorical question is that? Don't you think it would be difficult for us to keep up our idol activities if our feelings aren't genuine?"
And Maki lets out a long breath of relief. She thanks Umi's inability to give cryptic answer because if there is something that can annoy Umi instantly, it is lacking precision.
"Oh. Of course. I love everyone in µ's too."
Maki decides this is her cue to leave. She has intruded on her friends' privacy enough and if she stays longer, it would be unforgivable.
She just hopes that whatever is going on between Kotori and Umi, they better figure it out soon. Because her piano bench is definitely not designed for three.
Sometimes, Eli arrives at school earlier than usual, and in that case she prefers to wait in the student council room to avoid other people. She knows that her presence is always welcome there despite her no longer being the student council president; it is no coincidence that she has appointed a fellow µ's member as her successor. It is all about connections.
She is about to open the door to the student council room when she hears voices inside. Arguing voices. It is not that unusual to walk into the room and find Umi scolding Honoka for her lack of discipline, but Eli doesn't barge in because the other voice arguing with Umi is not Honoka's.
"It's not a joke, Umi. And why did it take you so long to read that letter?"
"I forgot about it. But that doesn't matter, I just don't think it's funny for you to -"
"Umi! It's not a joke! Did you even read what I wrote?"
"Well, I saw your name and recognized your handwriting, so I spared myself of reading something specifically designed to tease me."
"Oh god, Umi, how many times do I need to say it -"
Eli accidentally stumbles into the room after leaning too heavy against the door and unknowingly pressing down the door handle. She blinks in embarrassment and offers the two second years a sheepish smile. "Good morning."
"Good morning," Umi says slowly with a frown, wondering why Eli is standing in such a weird crouching position.
"Morning." Kotori is smiling but Eli can see it in her eyes. She has been caught.
It is tense, awkward, stifling - but only Eli seems to feel that way because Umi carries on like usual, sorting some files and preparing some paper work for Honoka to fill out later.
"Why are you here so early?"
"Um," Eli doesn't really know herself. "Felt like it, I guess."
It is not a real answer, but Eli doesn't think that Umi cares because there is no second inquiry. Instead, Kotori speaks up, "Eli, would you mind lending a hand? We need to hand these out to the teachers."
She points to a stack of paper that can be easily carried by one person, but Eli doesn't question her. "Sure."
"We'll be right back, Umi."
Umi doesn't look up from the files in her hands and just nods.
So Eli finds herself walking besides Kotori, inexplicably nervous about being alone with the other girl.
"I guess you heard enough to understand what happened," Kotori says quietly.
Eli clears her throat. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."
"It's okay." Kotori sighs. "Stupid Umi."
Not really knowing why, Eli immediately nods. "Yes, stupid Umi."
"She's hardheaded, stubborn, insensitive -"
Eli wonders if she should stop her. This isn't like Kotori to point out all the flaws in someone's character.
"-and she can't read the mood." Kotori blows up her cheeks. "She is so tactless sometimes!"
"I know, right?" Eli decides to play along, figuring that this is what Kotori could need right now.
"Yesterday, she fed the strawberry of her cake to another girl right in front of me!"
"No, not the strawberry," Eli gasps indignantly.
"Yes! And then she lent her sports clothing to someone else who obviously lied about having forgotten theirs."
"Foolishly gallant!" Eli shakes her head vigorously.
"All the time! She keeps giving away her umbrellas and pens, and this is why she always has to buy new ones because the borrowers never return her stuff."
"Where are the manners!"
"And it's not because they forget or lose it – they purposely ask for Umi's stuff so they can keep it!"
"Shameless!" Eli wonders how long she has to do that.
"And one time, she even lent a pen I gave to her. It was my present for her, and she just gave it away!"
Eli throws up her hands. "Lock this idiot up!"
Kotori sniffles. "Maybe she just doesn't like me much."
That is where Eli drops her indignant play and turns serious. She wraps an arm around Kotori's shoulder and squeezes her. "Even if I don't understand Umi's mind sometimes, I'm fairly certain I know one thing about her heart." Eli smiles. "It's yours."
Kotori wipes at her eyes and looks up with a smile again. "Thank you for listening. And playing the indignant middle-aged suburban housewife in a gossip round."
Eli chuckles. "Anytime."
Hanayo still has difficulties learning new dance moves, especially quick and complicated sequences. Usually, Rin is there to help her out, but her best friend needs to study for her English test to pass it or otherwise the idol activities would need to stop.
She has been dancing alone on the rooftop all afternoon. Today is an off day for µ's, with exams drawing closer and such. Eli is tutoring Nico, Kotori is tutoring Honoka, and Maki is tutoring Rin. While that leaves Hanayo with the time to practice alone, Nozomi is working at the shrine and Umi still has her archery club.
Despite spending hours on perfecting her dance, the only thing she accomplishes is getting sore muscles everywhere, especially in her legs. She is hungry and her clothes are clinging to her sweaty skin, but she doesn't allow herself to rest because she still feels like she can't measure up to the rest of the µ's members, and she doesn't want to drag them down.
So the only breaks she grants herself are water breaks before she presses play on the CD-player again. She is twisting and turning, jumping and sliding, she kicks her legs as high as she can because she remembers Umi pointing out her inflexibility as her biggest weak point.
She is so focused on her dance practice, she doesn't see the door opening and Umi smiling approvingly at her. But when she does a full turn on her heels, she catches something moving out of the corner of her eyes and startles so much that she stumbles over her next step and falls on her butt. It stings in the first second but doesn't really hurt after that, but before Hanayo can get up again, she suddenly finds herself weightless.
"Eh?"
She squeaks in panic because she is up in the air without standing on her feet, and she grabs the closest thing to her which is very hard yet soft. Hanayo's eyes widen when she is grabbing someone's upper arms. Arms that are holding her up bridal style.
"Everything will be okay, I'm bringing you to the infirmary right now!" Umi mutters, running off with Hanayo in her arms.
"W-wait," Hanayo stutters, "I'm – I'm okay, I just fell-"
"You overexerted yourself," Umi says without looking at her, gazing wildly around when she silently debates which way is the shortest to the infirmary.
Hanayo can't speak because it is the most bizarre yet comforting thing she has ever experienced. She probably will never admit it, but she has always wanted to know what it feels like to be carried bridal style.
She is still sometimes self-conscious about her weight, but Umi carrying her like she doesn't weigh a thing makes her feel warm and giddy inside, and she can't deny that there is also a very satisfying feeling about having someone worry over her. Even if as exaggerated as Umi. But it is Umi. Hanayo knows that half of the school would kill to be in her position right now and it almost makes her feel smug to have something that others can only dream about.
But Hanayo doesn't want to keep Umi worrying over nothing. "Umi, I'm really okay," she speaks up quietly.
"You don't know that. We need to check to be sure."
Hanayo frowns. Umi's hardheadedness is getting counterproductive now.
"I'm not hu-eeeh!" Hanayo's second attempt to clear things up ends in a scream when Umi jumps down the last three steps of a stairs to be faster.
"Almost there! Hold on!" Umi says, dashing down another flight of stairs and skipping the last three with a jump again.
"Hyaaa!" Hanayo's eyes are tightly shut because she doesn't want to see how she is going to die. "S-somebody save me!"
The incident becomes known to everyone the next day. The main plot is that Umi carried Hanayo to the infirmary. But as the story is told verbally from one to another, details are left out or added, and the version that Rin gets to hear is the one where Umi and Hanayo have been passionately dancing tango together until it became too much for Hanayo and she passed out from being too close to Umi for too long.
This is the reason why Rin is uncharacteristically quiet around Umi. Umi herself is not aware of anything, neither of the stories containing varying degrees of truthfulness nor of Rin's disgruntled mood.
They are alone in the club room; Umi is going through her newly written lyrics and Rin is, well, doing nothing but sitting in her chair and glaring at Umi.
"Unfair," she grumbles.
"Life sure is," Umi agrees absently, flipping to the next page of her notebook.
"Huh?" Rin scratches her neck in confusion. Why did Umi say that? To mock her? Rin growls at her. "Stupid."
"No, you're not," Umi mutters distractedly, scribbling in her book. "You matter."
"Are you listening?"
Umi doesn't look up, deep in her own world. "Yes, of course. Please continue."
Rin wonders if Umi's answers are preprogrammed default reactions to certain keywords.
"Alpaca."
"Not now, Kotori."
Rin tilts her head.
"Mitochondria."
"Is the powerhouse of the cell."
A curious gleam sparkles in Rin's eyes.
"Honoka."
"Eating bread again?"
Rin stifles a laugh. She clears her throat. "Rin."
"Nya."
She doesn't know what she expected. Now, the ultimate test.
"Hanayo."
"Believe in yourself more."
"You like Hanayo."
"As much as the rest of µ's."
"You like Hanayo...in a romantic way."
"No."
"Hanayo likes you in a romantic way?"
"No."
And Rin lets out a long breath in relief. She is grinning now. Might as well keep playing.
"Nozomi."
"The size of your chest is not a valid excuse for a shift in your body's center of gravity, Nozomi. Your poor balance results from your slacking off in training and nothing else."
Rin almost bursts into laughter.
"Eli."
"Harasho."
"Nico."
"Maki."
Rin frowns.
"Maki."
"Nico."
Rin raises an eyebrow.
"Kotori."
"..."
Thinking that Umi hasn't heard her, Rin repeats, "Kotori."
"What about her?" Umi asks, looking up with a confused gaze at Rin.
"Oh, you're awake," Rin says in realization.
"What do you mean, I've been awake the whole time," Umi frowns. She glances at the clock in the club room. "Do you know about anyone canceling practice?"
And just when she finishes her question, the door slides open and the rest of µ's enters the room.
Rin decides to keep what she has learned to herself and stands up from her seat to bounce towards Hanayo, leaping at her with opened arms. "Kayochin!"
Hanayo catches her and hugs her back with a happy smile. "Rin. What happened?"
"Nothing," Rin smiles, and she snuggles up against the other girl.
"Did you wait for long?" Kotori asks Umi and sits down next to her.
Umi shakes her head. "Not at all. Time flies by when I am engrossed in working on the lyrics and I think Rin has kept me good company."
And Rin nods with a big smile, a gleam in her eyes that lets everyone know that she must have been up to no good.
"You look so pretty, Nozomi!"
"Thank you, Kotori," Nozomi chuckles, flattered. "But I'm sure you didn't come to the shrine just to tell me that?"
Kotori shakes her head. "I wanted to ask for advice."
Nozomi folds her hands together. "About Umi?"
Looking up with wide eyes, Kotori whispers, "How do you know?"
"Elichi has been worrying about you two." Nozomi smiles. "I need to constantly remind her that it's not her business to interfere with."
Kotori looks down on her feet and drags the tip of her shoe across the ground. "I wouldn't mind if you interfered."
"Hm?"
"Umi, she..." Kotori sighs. "She just doesn't notice me in the way I'd like her to. I've been trying to get closer to her but I feel like she is not really responding."
Nozomi suppresses a chuckle. "Oh, she is responding, trust me."
"Maybe," Kotori huffs in frustration. "But she never makes the first step. I feel like I'm forcing this."
Smiling in sympathy, Nozomi hugs Kotori and pats her on her head. "There, there. You know Umi needs more than just hints."
"But I've been very direct!" Kotori allows herself to whine against Nozomi's shoulder. "I wrote her a love letter and told her it's not a joke, but she won't believe me! I sit on her lap, I steal her food and clothes, I complain about her fashion choices – I'm basically already her girlfriend!"
Nozomi snorts in amusement. "You sure have it tough with her."
Kotori sniffles. "Yes."
"Okay, then," Nozomi sighs. "I'll see what I can do."
"Really?" Kotori's eyes lighten up as she looks at Nozomi.
And Nozomi has to smile at the adorable creature in her arms. "I brought µ's together, didn't I? Nine diverse individuals in one harmonic group. Now bringing you two together shouldn't be that difficult."
"N-Nozomi, are you okay?" Eli asks carefully, lightly touching her best friend's trembling shoulder.
"The cards...have failed me," Nozomi whispers like she has seen a ghost. She buries her face in her hands. "How..."
"Um, Nozomi?" Eli is beginning to really worry.
"...nothing worked..." Nozomi mumbles to herself, pulling at her hair. "Nothing...how can someone be this dense..."
Suddenly, she sits up. "Elichi!"
Eli stiffens. "Yes!"
Nozomi stares deep into her eyes. "Will you do anything I ask you to, Elichi?"
Hypnotized, Eli's wide eyes unblinkingly stare back. She nods numbly. "Yes."
"Good. Then please listen carefully now."
"Good morning, Kotori," Umi greets her friend in the classroom. "What do you have there?"
Kotori lowers the note in her hands. "It's from Eli. She's asking to meet me alone after school."
"Oh?" Umi furrows her brows. "Something µ's related?"
"Didn't say."
"Do you want me to wait for you after school?" Umi asks, referring to their habit of going home together.
"No, it's okay, I don't know how long it will take." Kotori shakes her head, having a bad feeling about this. Surely Nozomi doesn't plan to resort to those desperate measures? It has the possibility of backfiring very badly. And how did she manage to rope Eli into this?
The class begins and she doesn't think about the cryptic note again until all classes are over.
Umi stays after school anyway, and she decides to wait in the club room that is strangely full for an off day. Almost all members of µ's are present except for Kotori and Eli.
"Why are you here?" Umi asks, her wary glance sweeping over them.
"We could ask you the same," Nico shrugs. "You surely can't be that clueless, right, Umi?"
"Clueless?" Umi repeats.
Maki crosses her arms. "I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but you're really dumb sometimes."
Umi scrunches up her face. "How can I not take this the wrong way?"
Rin grins mischievously. "Don't you think it's strange that Eli is seeking out Kotori alone?"
"No?" Umi replies in confusion. "They are good friends and they certainly have the right to act independently outside of µ's."
Everyone except for Umi groans.
"Come on, Umi," Honoka says, "you know what usually happens in these kind of scenarios."
Umi genuinely tries to think about it in another perspective. "They deepen their friendship after an enlightening conversation?"
Nozomi massages her forehead. "You are truly a very special case."
"I just feel like I've been insulted."
"U-Umi," Hanayo speaks up, still a bit timid after the incident with the dramatic transport to the infirmary, "it's not what you think it is."
Frustrated because she is getting nowhere with her members' strange behavior, Umi decides to take advantage of the weakest link among them.
"Hanayo."
"Y-yes?"
Umi's gaze softens. "I hope I didn't cause you too much trouble that day. I sincerely apologize for the misunderstanding."
Hanayo's cheeks flush and she stutters, "N-no, it's okay, nothing happened..."
"Really? Thank goodness. You would let me know if something happened, right?"
Hanayo fidgets in her seat and slowly opens her mouth, "Well, we -"
"Stop!" Rin shouts, cutting between them with frantic arm waving. "Leave Kayochin out of this!"
"I can't believe Hanayo almost fell for that lame method," Nico snickers.
"True, this method is not ideal," Umi agrees, locking her eyes with Nico's. "But you are. I admire the undistorted honesty in your words. You speak what is on your mind and you don't let anyone censor you. Why don't you show me more of that side?"
Maki scoffs. "Nico wouldn't possibly be charmed by tha-"
"Ehehe," Nico looks pleased, "well, if you ask so nicely..."
"Bueh?" Maki stares between them two. "I don't get this, I don't get this at all!"
"Whoa, Umi is amazing," Honoka says, astonished. "I didn't know you had it in you! I always thought you were too embarrassed for that."
"For what?" Umi questions, lowering her voice. "Honoka, I thought at least you would be honest with me. Doesn't our long friendship mean anything to you?"
Honoka swallows. "That won't work on me, Umi. Give me more credit."
"I do. I believed in you since the very beginning or do you doubt my faith in you?"
"Ah, this is bad," Honoka mumbles nervously, looking away.
"Umi!" Nozomi decides to stand up, knowing she has to stop this before one of them breaks. "Why don't you go find out for yourself what Kotori and Eli are doing right now?"
Umi frowns. "Because I respect their privacy. If Eli wants to meet Kotori alone, then it surely means that she has something to say that only concerns them two."
"This girl," Nozomi whispers in disbelief, "this pure..."
"What are you saying," Umi asks in confusion. "Aren't you the pure one? You always give but don't expect anything in return. I wish I had the same selflessness as you. You are truly remarkable, not only for bringing µ's together but also for supporting us in every way."
"Oh..." Nozomi's cheeks turn pink. "If you say so -"
"STOP!"
The door flies open and Eli and Kotori burst into the room. "Stop! This needs to stop!" Eli frantically waves with her arms in a cutting motion.
"What?" Shocked, Umi gapes at Eli. "What needs to stop? And why are you here?"
"You weren't at the rooftop!" Eli pants accusingly.
"Why would I be?"
Eli opens and closes her mouth, then helplessly turns to Nozomi. "Nozomi! You said it would work!"
Still a bit dazed, Nozomi smiles sheepishly. "Umi is very special."
"Yeah," Nico and Hanayo echo in agreement. "She's the actual devil."
"What!" Umi glances between everyone in confusion and disbelief. "I don't understand anything anymore. Kotori?"
Kotori has tears in her eyes, which Umi only realizes now. "Kotori?"
"Umi...you idiot!"
And she runs out of the room.
Umi stares at the door with an open mouth. "I just feel like I've entered a love comedy situation."
"Because you are in one right now, you dumb fishhead!" Eli exclaims in frustration. "I've tried to make you jealous but instead you go steal other people's girlfriends -"
"Wait, hold on a moment," Nico interjects, "no one's dating anyone right now."
"Well, we could be," Maki mutters as she plays with her hair.
Nico stares at her. "Maki?"
"Nico..."
"What are we...?"
"Gay. All of you losers," Eli cuts in. "Rin, Hanayo likes you too. Hanayo, open your eyes. Honoka, give the poor girl Tsubasa a call back, yeah? And Nozomi...don't do this to me anymore. I love you so much."
Nozomi smiles, eyes watering. "Elichi..."
"Nozomi..."
"A maze of dreams, a maze of lilies..." Nico stops singing when everyone stares at her. "What? I thought I'd provide the soundtrack to their romance."
"That's fantastic progress for today and I'm very proud of you all," Umi interrupts, "but can someone finally tell me what's going on?"
"What are you still doing here?" Maki hisses. "Go run after Kotori already!"
"This isn't a love drama, she needs her space -"
"Umi, I swear to god, if you don't move your ass right now, I will send you off into space myself!"
"I'm fairly certain that there are physical boundaries-"
"UMI!"
And Umi runs off after Kotori.
Honoka blinks. "I don't think any of what just happened was real."
Thanks to her athleticism, Umi manages to catch up to Kotori in time before the other can leave the school grounds.
"Kotori! Wait!" she yells, and Kotori actually stops running.
Umi comes to a stop before her. "Kotori, I'm sorry, I – Kotori? Are you okay?"
Kotori is holding her sides and panting heavily, her back slightly bent. "Yes, I'm fine...I'm just a little bit out of shape after pausing our practices for the exam preparations..."
"Oh." Umi awkwardly crosses and uncrosses her arms. "Do you want to sit down somewhere so we can talk?"
Kotori just nods.
"Okay then," Umi starts turning the other way, "we can sit there-" She stops when she feels Kotori touching her arm. "Kotori?"
Kotori sticks out her bottom lip and blinks innocently. "Carry me?"
Umi furrows her brows. "Is it that bad?"
Pouting now, Kotori says accusingly, "So you can carry Hanayo but not me?"
"Ah, that was...Fine then," Umi mutters, "excuse me." And she lifts up Kotori bridal style.
Grinning in contentment now, Kotori lets herself be carried to a nearby bench, but when Umi tries to put her on the ground again, she keeps her arms wrapped around Umi's neck. "No, I don't want to sit on the hard bench."
"I'm not sure what to make of this spoiled act of yours," Umi mutters but doesn't protest, and she sits down on the bench first before placing Kotori on her lap. "Happy now?"
"Not quite."
Kotori leans her forehead against Umi's.
"Kotori?" Umi blinks rapidly, her throat drying up. "Too close..."
"But not close enough," Kotori mumbles. "Umi, why won't you let me in?"
Too nervous to think with Kotori's face so close to hers, Umi's raspy voice mutters, "Let in where?"
"Here." And Kotori presses a finger against her chest.
Umi blinks. "My ribcage?"
"No," Kotori whines in frustration, "your heart, Umi!"
She can see the realization dawning in Umi's wide eyes, and she holds her breath, waiting for Umi to finally come to her senses and react.
"Kotori..." Umi takes Kotori's hand that is still on her chest. "My heart is on the left side."
Kotori wants to cry. Aside from the embarrassing fact that she has gotten the basic human anatomy wrong, she also has chosen the worst person to fall in love with. Why can't Umi just read the mood and understand what she is trying to say without taking everything too literal?
"Forget it," she chokes out, wanting to stand up and leave, but Umi doesn't let go of her hand.
"You would know how I feel," Umi places Kotori's hand on the left side of her chest, "if you had put your hand on the right spot."
Kotori freezes, feeling something incredible going on beneath her palm. Umi's heart, it's pounding, it's beating wildly, and she can feel it even through the shirt. "Umi..."
The tips of Umi's ears are burning, but she can suppress her embarrassment to keep talking without stuttering like a mess. "I know I'm not the most perceptive person in the...romance department, and I'm sorry if I missed several messages you wanted to convey. But truth is, half of the time I was afraid of reading too much into something you didn't want to convey."
"Umi," Kotori sighs, "I literally told you that my love letter for you was real. How can you be so stubborn?"
Umi lowers her gaze. "I'm really sorry. I suppose I was suspicious because you and Honoka have pulled these pranks on me before."
And Kotori wants to slap her own forehead. How could she forget? She and Honoka have always teased Umi for her popularity among girls, and they sometimes have pretended to have fallen under her charm too, exaggeratedly acting like they were in love with Umi at most random times, knowing it would get the other girl to blush cutely.
"Umi, I'm so sorry," Kotori begins, feeling stressed that some silly pranks in the past might ruin something great in the future, "but I really mean it now. I like you, and not just in a friend way, but in a way where you allow me to steal your clothes and accept it because I'm your girlfriend."
"Kotori," Umi breathes, a smile forming on her lips. "This really is not an elaborate prank? Honoka is not going to jump out from behind me?"
"If she does, I will allow you to punch her," Kotori laughs quietly. She touches Umi's cheeks with her fingertips, her gaze softening. "I really like you, Umi. I wish you could see that too."
"I do now," Umi whispers, turning her head to the side to kiss Kotori's fingers. They both blush.
"And do you like me too?" Kotori asks quietly, leaning in, her gaze falling on Umi's lips.
"Yes," Umi's eyes flutter shut, "I like you too. Very much so."
And their lips finally meet in a slow and shy kiss; it is a first for them both, but surely not their last together. They have their second, third, fourth and tenth on the same day with some interruption in between in form of overexcited µ's members suddenly appearing next to them and dropping unconscious to the ground after a hard chop against the back of their necks.
Kotori still believes that Umi is the smartest, most attentive yet dumbest, most clueless person she's ever met. But she doesn't think she could love her any other way.