Hello! It's Sleygal here! I'm formerly known as Kamilia07329. Why formerly? The reason behind that name is... let's say, went on their separate ways. If you know the significance of my name then woohooo! Good job for you!
AAAAAANYWAY. Moving on. I noticed that I haven't wrote anything for my other pairing in this fandom, which is KotoUmi! Yes, the anemone gay lovers. I love Umi! She was my first grill until I saw Maki and her piano. So here's my attempt on the anemone gay lovers. It's an on-going thing and I'll update as soon as I'm done with the next chapters. I'm gonna be busy soon but I'll be updating this... hopefully.
I don't own LoveLive! Sunrise does.
"Hello!"
A little girl with blue hair hid behind the tree. After a few moments, the girl peeked out again, only to be greeted by a pair of curious amber-coloured eyes.
"I'm not gonna bite you, you know." The ashen-haired girl giggled as she watched the other girl hide again. Seeing that she won't come out anytime soon, Kotori decided to take the situation into her little hands. She walked way behind the shy girl without her noticing. After sensing that it's too quiet, the blue-haired girl peeked out again, in hopes that the other girl would leave her alone. Once she sensed that the girl has let her guard down, Kotori spoke.
"Hello!"
"Aaaah!" The girl gave a startled yelp and fell to the ground.
"Oh no! I didn't mean to scare you!" Kotori said while extending a helping hand to the fallen girl. "I just want to know your name, that's all!"
The girl regarded her before shyly taking the offered hand.
"I'm Kotori. Minami Kotori." The ashen-haired firl chipped in. "What's yours?"
"U-U-Umi... S-Sonoda Umi..." The blue-haired girl replied.
"Okay, Umi-chan! Let's go and play!" Kotori pulled on Umi's hand and ran towards their house.
"Mama! Mama!"
An older ashen-haired woman appeared outside the cottage and smiled at her daughter.
"My, my. It seems you made a new friend, Kotori."
"Yes! All by myself!" Kotori smiled at her mother while Umi hides behind Kotori.
"Hello there. Don't be shy." Kotori's mother knelt down to level her gaze with the children. "I'm Kotori's mother. I hope you get along well."
"S-Sonoda Umi..."
"Well, aren't you cute." This embarrassed Umi and hid behind Kotori once more. "Well, go play nice now. I'm going to make dinner."
"Okay!" With that, the two ran off.
"Don't go too far now!" Kotori's mother called out before going back inside the cottage.
The scene suddenly shifted.
"What..."
"No, Kotori!"
"But Umi-chan..."
"Stay back!" Umi pushed Kotori away from her hard that the other girl fell to the ground. Realizing her mistake, she averted her gaze form Kotori while hiding her arm underneath her long sleeves.
"Umi-chan, I just wanna help..."
"I don't need your help!"
Both girls were silent after Umi raised her voice. She never yelled at Kotori before but this time, it's different.
"Maybe we should just say goodbye." Umi said while turning her back away from the other girl. "I might hurt you..." She muttered under her breath.
"So, goodbye!" With that, Umi ran off; away from Kotori before the ashen-haired girl could react. All Kotori can do is stretch out her hand towards the direction of her friend.
Sunlight shone through the curtains of the ashen-haired girl. This woke up the girl, who gave out a yawn as she stretched her arms up in the air. Her sleepy eyes scanned her room before giving up on the idea of sleeping in. A knock on the door made the girl rise from her bed to open it.
"Goodmorning Kotori dear. Breakfast is ready."
"Thanks, mom!" Kotori mumbled sleepily.
"Go wash up." Her mother told her before she went downstairs to the kitchen.
Kotori washed her face and dressed before heading down to the dining area where her breakfast is served. Her mother is busy washing the dishes in the kitchen.
"After this, I'm going to the town square."
"Okay!" Kotori replied while munching on some bread.
"Make sure you feed all the alpacas, dear." Kotori's mother called out before leaving the house.
"Alright!"
"Well, I'm off now!" Her mother called out before closing the door.
Kotori finished her meals and decided to do her errands. She went out at the back of their house, where a pen of alpacas is. Sensing the ashen-haired girl is approaching, the alpacas immediately crowded the entrance of their pen, eager for their treats or just a pat on the head from the girl.
Kotori has her way with the animals. After all, she's an animal whisperer, one that can understand the animals. There are two animal whisperers in their village: she and another one named Koizumi Hanayo. Hanayo tends to shy away from all the attention of her gift and prefers to spend most of the time in their farm or in their garden. She's also still inexperience that she occasionally ran into problems every now and then, seeking out Kotori for help.
Being an animal whisperer doesn't mean that you can read their thoughts and understand what they are saying. Only advanced leveled whisperers are able to do that or if the animal fully trusts the whisperer can one hear their voice. In Kotori's case, she can only sense their emotional state of the animals. She can sense when one is happy, when one is sad, and when one is angry. It takes a lot of trusts to be able to get to that level. Seeing that the girl has a bubbly personality, it's no wonder that the animals are comfortable around her.
"Hmmm... Hmmm..." Kotori cooed as she deposited the food in the food container. "Play nice, okay?"
The alpacas gave the girl a gentle cuddle before eating. With her chore done, the girl decided to think of something to do.
"Maybe I should go and buy some materials..." She mumbled to herself. Aside from being an animal whisperer, she's also a good seamstress. Whenever she has the time, Kotori would knit or sew clothes for the animals to keep them warm at night. All of their alpacas have a nice coat of wool from their own to keep them warm during winter. The people from the village often ask Kotori to make one for them, which the bubbly girl would agree to.
"Maybe I'll ask Hanayo-chan if she would like to join me." Kotori decided. After cleaning up in their house, she sets off towards the Koizumi residence. Knowing the shy girl, Kotori would find her in the barn, playing with all the sheep in there.
"Ah. Kotori-chan!" An energetic orange-haired girl greeted Kotori as soon as she entered the Koizumi's backyard.
"Rin-chan!" Kotori smiled. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to help Kayo-chin haul up all the rice sacks she bought nya!" Rin gestured to the sacks of rice piled up near the door of their house. The door opened suddenly, revealing a short-haired girl in a white dress with glasses.
"Ah, Kayo-chin!" Rin immediately ran up to the short-haired girl and hugged her.
"Goodmorning, Hanayo-chan!
"Goodmorning, Kotori-chan!" Hanayo greeted. "What can I do for you today?"
"I was thinking of asking you to go with me to town to buy some materials."
"Well, I was planning to do some shopping today."
"Ehhh?!" Rin cut in. "Is this not enough nya?"
"Hehehehe... I'm gonna need more than that, Rin-chan." Hanayo giggled while Rin whined at how heavy those sacks are. Kotori could only smile at the antics of the other girls.
"This is heavy nya..." Rin complained as she carries boxes of supplied while Hanayo carries some of them. Kotori has some fabrics and other sewing materials with her so she can't help the two. They're heading back to their village slowly.
"Why didn't you get a cart nya?"
"Our cart was busted yesterday after running on a small pebble while carrying those sacks of rice." Hanayo replied.
"Ehh… So heavy. My arm's gonna fall off nya." Rin whined as she struggled with the weight of the box she's carrying. She tried shifting it on her other hand but it's so heavy that it made shifting its weight difficult.
"I'll make you something good later, Rin-chan." Hanayo said as she shifted the weight of her things with her other hand. Immediately, the orange-haired girl's mood improved.
"Rin wants those noodle things she ate at the town!" Rin piped up. The other girls giggled.
"Well, I hope I have enough things to cook it then." Hanayo assured which earned a delightful cheer from the energetic girl. As the two of them walked ahead and talked about a lot of things, Kotori can't help but reminisce the time when she had someone like Rin to accompany her. Although she is not like the energetic girl but Kotori misses those strict remarks when she buys things from town, or the shameless expressions she says when Kotori makes her wear outfits that doesn't suit her taste.
Unknown to her, her two friends were calling out to her for quite some time now.
"...tori-chan... Kotori-chan?" Hanayo asked.
"H-Huh?"
"Are you okay nya?"
"A-Ah... Yes, yes. I'm fine." The ashen-haired firl assured back.
"Rin was just telling Kayo-chin about a beast in the forest!"
"A beast?"
"Rin heard it from someone earlier at the town!" Rin said. "It's so big that it could crush down an entire house nya!"
"Aren't you scared, Rin-chan?"
"Nope!" Rin puffed out her chest. "Rin can take care of herself!"
The two girls giggled and continued talking until they have to go on their separate ways.
"Are you sure you're not coming, Kotori-chan nya?" Rin asked.
"I have a lot of things to do." Kotori apologized. "The cold nights are coming and I have to finish making scarves for the alpacas."
"Have a great day nya!" The two girls bid their goodbyes to Kotori while they walked off another path. Kotori can still hear Rin complaining at how heavy those boxes are. The ashen-haired girl walked towards the direction of her house. The sun is starting to disappear, leaving orange streaks in a purple-tinted sky. Cold wind blew, making the girl shiver at the lack of warmth from her clothes.
"I better hurry then." She mumbled as she continued her journey back home in a quickened pace.
Once she arrived, she saw her mother preparing their dinner in the kitchen. She placed her things in her room and took a shower. As soon as she stepped out of the bathroom, her mother called her for dinner. Kotori helped set-up the table while her mom serves the food.
"I heard that there's a strange beast in the forest lately." Kotori's mother said as she took a bite from her food.
"A beast?"
"I don't know the details but lately, more and more dangerous beasts are lurking in the forest." Kotori took a moment to glance at the tall trees outside the window. "Rumors say that a large beast was trapped deep in the forest."
"Hmm..." Kotori took one last look at the forest before looking away.
"Is it injured?"
"No… I haven't heard anything like that…"
"But it might be injured!"
"Kotori. I want you to stay away from there, okay? No buts."
"But…"
"No. Buts." Kotori looked crest-fallen as she looked down, avoiding her mother's sharp gaze.
"Yes, mom."
Kotori can't sleep.
She tossed and turned on her bed, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep. It doesn't help that there's an occasional howl of a wolf can be heard. After all, their house is a little close to the forest. She looked up at her ceiling, thinking of the conversation with her mother. The forest shouldn't be dangerous if she left some sort of trail right?
But something about that beast seems enticing to Kotori. As an animal whisperer, she can't leave it alone and slowly dying of its injuries. She put on her cloak and sneaked out at the back of their house, bringing with her a ball of yarn. The alpacas woke to the shuffling sounds near their pen. They watched Kotori curiously.
"Ssssh..." She put up a finger on her mouth, signaling them to stay quiet. She tied a piece of the yarn to a nearby tree and started walking towards the forest. The forest is quiet, except for the occasional sounds of owls hooting from their trees. Not long after, she heard a cry that resonated from within the forest. It seemed to be in pain, whatever that is. The ashen-haired girl tried to locate the sound but a tug from her guide stopped her. She looked down and saw that she had reach the limit of her guide.
"I wonder what it is..." Kotori mumbled as she rolled up the yarn while walking back.
"Thank you!"
Bundles of cloths are being carried by Kotori, following a deal with one of the merchants in town. Winter is coming real soon and Kotori has to start knitting scarves as gifts to the people and animal she loves. She's already out of the town and slowly walking back to her village when she spotted a white rabbit blocking her path. Upon sensing movement, the rabbit met the ashen-haired girl's amber eyes before running off.
"Hey, wait!"
Kotori chased after the rabbit, unaware that she's following it into the forest. The rabbit would occasional stop to let Kotori catch up, only to run again when she does. Kotori only realized her surroundings when she managed to trip on one of the tree roots. Bundles of cloth scattered in front of the fallen girl as the rabbit watched a few feet away from her.
"O...Ow..." Kotori whimpered. Ignoring the pain on her knee, she dusted her clothes off before picking up her things. Once she dows, Kotori tried to look for the rabbit. She finally found it a few meters in front of her, as if waiting for her to follow again. It bolted when Kotori took a step towards it.
"Wait!" Her plea had fallen to deaf ears as she followed the rabbit into a small clearing. The trees are tall enough to conceal it from view. The sunlight hardly pierced the clearing but it illuminates it bright enough that Kotori can still see.
What she saw next was something she wasn't expecting.
At the centre of the clearing lies a blue dragon. It's almost as big as Kotori's house. Blue scales glinted underneath the sunlight that's peeking through the roof of leaves. Kotori could only gape at the majestic creature, which appears to be sleeping. Her amazement caused her to let go of her hold to her things. The sudden sound woke the slumbering dragon. It looked towards the direction of the sound and saw a girl in front of it. It flailed from its restraints while trying to beat its wings in an attempt to get away. The dragon's movement caused Kotori to snap out of her reverie and realized that something is wrong. One of its wings is limp on its side and one of its legs got caught in a trap that bound it to a tree.
Kotori shook her head and cautiously made her way towards the dragon. The dragon growled, warning the girl to stay away while trying to scramble away.
"Ssssh..." Kotori said. "I-It's okay... It's okay." The girl tried to reassure the creature using her animal whispers. She doesn't even know if it'll work on the dragon but she tried anyway.
The dragon tried to move away but the trap on its leg prevented it. It tried to beat its wings but failed because of the injured one.
"It's okay... It's okay."
After the failed attempts to scare the girl, the dragon snapped its jaws towards the girl, hoping that at least it'll scare the girl. Kotori stopped in her tracks when it snapped its mouth. The sight of sharp teeth frightened her but it didn't show on her face. If you're going to calm down an animal, it's best that you, yourself is relatively calm. Gathering her bearings, Kotori moved again, this time slowly, undeterred by the sharp teeth.
Kotori doesn't know but there's something compelling about the injured dragon. Its blue scales remind her of someone who used to have something similar. Its eyes, albeit full of anger and fear, reminded her of the amber ones of her old friend. It's been years since she last saw her friend but the memories she shared were still fresh in her mind.
"Umi-chan..."
Upon hearing the name, the dragon immediately stopped struggling and looked at the girl. She didn't think Kotori would know. She didn't think Kotori would remember her. Fate has a cruel way to reunite her with the ashen-haired girl.
'Kotori...'
Consider this as a little birthday present to Muse's lyricist, Sonoda Umi. Tanjoubi Omedesu!
'Til next time!