Authors notes: OK, so this WAS intended to be a simple one shot, nothing more, but something inside me (and a certain friend who shall go unnamed) told me that I should keep going. The ParuSame pairing is one that's not exactly got the biggest fandom in the world, but please give it a chance. Onegai
Chapter 2 : Rivalry and Confessions
Haruna grinned widely as she walked through the corridor of the huge dorm building. She had indeed stayed with Chisame until she woke, however, she was woken up not through her own recovery, but by the duty nurse, who had damn near had a fit when she saw the two girls in the same bed. Chisame began to protest, but Haruna had managed to talk the girl calm again, and she had gone back to trying to sleep, her head still spinning from the impact some few hours earlier. The nurse had taken Haruna aside and given her a rather spiteful warning about not doing again. She had also taken Harunas class number, with the intent to inform her teacher, which didn't worry her at all. If she herself wasn't good enough to lead Negi a merry dance, then all she'd have to do is ask Nodoka to ask him something, and he'd turn to jelly.
Of course, I'd NEVER exploit a friend like that...too often. She mused, giggling to herself as she passed by Chisames door. Haruna paused for a few moments, before touching her fingers to her lips. She shuddered at the memories of a few hours earlier, of both of the girls who use the Hasegawa body. Haruna found her heart bating a little faster when she thought about it all, but dismissed this as simply being happy it had been her who had finally gotten through to the Net Idol, the recluse of 3-A.
"Haruna, what are you doing?" A dull voice said behind her, making her yelp with surprise. She span to see Yue standing behind her, looking at her with a perplexed expression.
"AH! Yuetchi! Didn't hear you come up on me, have you been taking pointers from Kaede?" She said, jokingly. Yue shook her head, and continued onwards to the next door down. Haruna joined her in her short walk.
"We were worried. You didn't come back after taking Hasegawa-san to the nurses office." The purple haired girl said as she unlocked the door to the room. Haruna shrugged, and smiled a little.
"She needed me to stay."
"What, Chisame? Since when did she ever need someone from 3-A?" Yue said, a little shocked by this revelation. Haruna silently prayed that Chisame would forgive her for the comment she was about to make.
"Well, she had banged her head pretty hard, she was probably completely out of it, and not feeling like her normal surly self." Haruna said, dismissively. She sighed, and slumped down on her bed. She regarded the dorm room with some embarrassment The area looked like some sort of amalgamation of library, hobby store and explosion. Books were everywhere, some large piles reaching nearly as tall as Haruna herself, there were pens and paper on just about every flat surface, and the materials of her manga creation dumped haphazardly into corners and draws. Clothing was stored in a single communal wardrobe, the premise behind getting ready was try things on until you found something that fit, but thanks to the three girls drastically different builds, this was easily done. Haruna was brought back to the real world by Yue dumping a few sheets of paper onto her lap.
"My notes. So you won't miss the work." She said blandly, before slipping out of her shoes, and climbing up to her bed, the top bunk, and grabbing a book, which she promptly opened Haruna tossed the papers aside, her mind too full of fantasy to do something so boring as school work She had been given a taste of that wondrous magical world, and she wanted more.
"Yueeee... You're my friend, right? You'd be willing to do me a favour." She said, emerging up from the bottom bunk to look at the girl, a dangerous glint in her eyes.
This is huge...this...this...I have no idea what to do about this. Chisame thought to herself as she turned over in the uncomfortable sick bed. She was still in her uniform, which didn't help, and her mind was reeling.
I think she's really pretty. I wanna kiss her again, she tasted nice! Chiu pipped in, and Chisame growled at her mentally.
You, shut up. I need to think. This is too much, too soon. I mean, I kissed her. Like, REALLY kissed her. Like I could've gone further I...I wanted to.
Because you like her. We both like her, Chi-chan.
But...aaagh, this is too much! I can't deal with all this right now. She clutched at her head, and turned over again. She tried to get comfy, but couldn't, so, after waiting for her opportunity, when the nurse had her back turned, she slipped from the bed, and, still woozy, snuck out of the healing area. Right now, she wanted that one thing that mean the same to everyone, be they magical overlord of realm XYZ, or Kenji Nobody, salaryman blah from blah corporation. She wanted the warm, reassuring feeling of snuggling up in her own bed, and going to sleep. But that was much easier said than done, for when she looked along the corridor, all she could see were blurs. Nothing but smudged of colour, no defined edge to anything or anyone. She began to edge her way through the school, using the wall as a support resting her hand on it whenever she felt herself getting dizzy. Chiu at one point volunteered to take over, but Chisame, who had found out that the inner mind had already gotten her headaches once today, refused.
Demo...
I'm not arguing this. You're not taking control again, you could be in danger.
...Chi-chan cares about me!
W..What!?
You care about me! You're worried!
No I'm not!
Yu-huh! You are!
SH...SHUT UP!
But it's a good thing. You're accepting me! Kya I'd hug you if I could right now.
Shut up already! Please.
Ok, ok The net idol went silent, and Chisame walked onwards a little. After a few minutes, she had finally plucked up the courage to say something to the girl.
Hey...Chiu?
Mmh?
Thank you. You had a hand in Haruna sticking around, and...well...thanks.
Teehee! You're very welcome, Chi-chan.
It took her a good hour or so to reach her dorm room, but when she did, she felt completely elated. Not only had she gotten away from the nurse, and not been caught, but in her condition she had managed complex navigation through several buildings. She began searching for her room key, checking in the little pouches she had sewn into her blazer to hold her things. She checked again, reaching in as far as she could. She checked again, taking her jacket off, and shaking it upside down. She let out a cry of complete and total failure.
I've lost my keys she thought forlornly, falling to her hands and knees. She was about to admit total defeat then and there, and begin to make her way back to the sick bay, when an idea struck her. Groggily, she stood, and walked to the next door down, the Library trios door. She knocked on the door gently, resting her body against the wall, unable to support herself just yet. A few moments passed, and Haruna opened the door, and gasped.
"Chisame! What're you doing here, you should be in bed." Chisame looked at her, and, completely innocently, fell forwards, resting on her chest. Haruna rolled her eyes, and with gently strength, pulled her into the room, closing the door behind her with the tap of a heel. She moved the girl to the sofa, where she lay her.
"Why did you come here? You need rest." She asked, kneeling by her side. Yue regarded the pair with slight interest. She wouldn't have liked to admit it, but she was protective of Haruna, almost overly so, and, more importantly, she didn't like Chisame. The girl reminded her of herself when she had first joined Mahora, back when she too was spiteful, and distant. Of course, there had been a reason, she had lost her Grandfather, the man she loved so much, and it had been Haruna who had broken through to her in the end, but with Chisame, from what the class knew, she was surly purely because it was her personality. She had no reason to be so hurtful.
"Sick room bed was horrible. Couldn't sleep" Chisame mumbled. Haruna couldn't help but smile at that comment, and she giggled to herself.
"You Baka. So why are you here, your dorm is right next door, you know." She asked. Chisame hung her head a little.
"Lost keys." She muttered. Haruna exploded into a fit of giggles.
"Teeheehee! You really are silly, you know that." she said, standing up, and walking across the room to the bunk bed.
"No." Yue said, before Haruna even said a word. Haruna huffed, and put her hands on her hips.
"Whadda ya mean, no? You don't even know what I'm going to ask yet."
"Regardless."
"Aww, Yuetchi, you're being mean. All you'd have to do is pop down to the sick bay and get her keys. Or, you know, you could stay here and look after Chisame while I go get them." Haruna said, her eyes glinting a little. She was aware of Yues disliking of the girl, but, armed with the knowledge of WHY Chisame was so mean, she knew that the philosopher would soon change her mind when she found out. Of course, it wasn't her place to tell, despite the sheer pressure building up of knowing something someone else didn't. She was not the best person in the world at keeping secrets, but for Chisame, for the sake of her classmate, she was trying her best. Yue pouted, her mouth forming a shape that reminded the manga-ka of an x, and shuffled towards the edge of the bed.
"I'll go get them" She said, slipping her shoes on, and padding towards the door, with Haruna grinning softly all the while. She opened the door, and closed it behind her, slightly harder than was needed. Chisame winced, and moaned. Haruna walked back to her, kneeling beside her again, and began to stroke the girls forehead softly.
"You're really something, Chisame, you know that." She muttered to herself, looking down at the girls slightly contorted face. She was hot, her brow especially so, and so the writer stood once more, and retrieved a flannel from the 'wardrobe of doom'. She dampened it in their sink, and wrung it out a little. She walked back over to Chisame, slipping out of her own shoes as she did so, her reasoning behind this that if she was going to be kneeling and sitting, she could at least be comfy while she did so. She applied the sodden flannel piece to the girls forehead, and grinned when the computer whiz let out a satisfied groan. Haruna knelt again, and resumed the stroking of Chisames hair. The two girls sat like that for nearly fifteen minutes, the bespectacled girl occasionally refreshing the flannel, and Chisame drifting in and out of sleep like a ghost drifts through buildings.
"Hey, Chisame..." Haruna said, after a while. The girl mumbled in the positive, which Haruna assumed to be a cue to ask what was on her mind.
"Do you ever...you know...think about her? Julia." She said, and she could feel herself beginning to blush, for she knew already what this was leading up to. it had been playing on her mind since she first kissed the girl, but her attitude in taking care of her had proved it to her.
"Not as much as I used to." the brown haired girl said in reply, her features somewhat calm, considering the subject matter.
"Ah...You...still...uh...do you still..." Haruna said, trying to think of a tactful way to say what she wanted to ask, but Chisame answered before she had the chance.
"I don't love her any more, no." She stated. Haruna said nothing, but couldn't contain the huge grin that was on her face. Chisame noticed, but chose to remain silent on the subject, hoping that Haruna would too.
"Then...is there...a chance...of you loving someone else?" Haruna continued, oblivious to Chisames hopes. The girl moaned, and tried to turn over.
"Mnnh...Haruna, I'm not in the best of conditions to be thinking about things like that..." She whispered, her eyes closed, mostly out of not being able to look the girl in the eye. Haruna remained silent, save for the soft shhhh that escaped from her lips. The girl continued to caress her cheeks and hair, lulling her into a gentle slumber that enveloped her with a darkness similar to the night sky. Mostly black, and unforgiving, but with a few tiny points of light to give her hope. The last thing she felt before being claimed completely by slumber was the soft warmness of Harunas lips on her cheek.
A few days passed with relatively little happening. Chisame returned to her room, and stayed there, leaving only to wash and eat, gaining back her senses and strength from the impact which, as it turned out, was worse than it appeared, but very, very slightly away from being catastrophic. Had she hit a mere three millimetres higher up her neck, she could've shut down her entire spinal column, giving her potentially permanent paralysis. Haruna saw little of the girl, and when she did, Chisame seemed to be back to her usual distant, uncaring self, which upset her a little. The girl played on her mind more and more, which eventually gave forth to the revelation that Haruna did actually have some special feelings for the intriguing female. This wasn't quite the surprise it might have been, since the Manga creator was happy enough with her own sexuality, and found both the male and female forms equally pleasing. It was the speed that it had happened that shocked the girl more, over less than a week she had fallen for someone she barely knew. She sighed as she watched the girl walking across the cafeteria to a vending machine, her hair done up into the boring ponytail, her glasses reflecting the light from the high window in the hall. She wanted so much to go over to her, to talk to her, to do something more than just watch as she got back into the same destructive pattern she was in before. As Chisame stood up from retrieving her snack, her eye line passed across Haruna, who took the opportunity to wave at her, smiling brightly. Then it happened. very slightly, the edge of the girls mouth pointed upwards for a few seconds, before titling back to her usual sullen look. Harunas eyes lit up, and her grin grew wide.
She was happy to see me waving. There's still a chance! I've gotta do something, and I gotta do it tonight! She thought to herself as she began making some notes in the margin of her book.
Seven thirteen pm. A whole two minutes after you last looked at the clock. Get a grip, Chisame... She mused to herself, as she sat in the large, leather backed chair that she used when she was doing anything computer related. However, tonight, the PC was off, the hulking behemoth silent, and eerie. She could almost hear some of the things she had placed into the overclocked nightmare click, as if they were expecting to be activated, and were complaining about not being used.
A knock came to the door, causing Chisame to jump in her seat. She stood, and smoothed down the silky purple pyjamas that she was wearing. She padded softly over to the door, and opened it a fraction.
"It's you. What do you want?" She said, snappishly. The person on the other side of the door giggled to herself.
"Ah, you won't get me with that act tonight, Chisame. Lemme come in, I wanna talk with you." Haruna said, wedging her foot in the gap between the door and the frame, just in case Chisame tried to close it on her. The girl sighed, and opened the door, inviting her in with a vague wave of her arm. Haruna walked into the room, and whistled with appreciation. The place was spotless, with a slight air of compulsiveness about the way things were arranged. She was also impressed by the huge great machine that called itself Chisames PC. Mostly, though, she was admiring the attire the girl had chosen to wear. While it wasn't the least bit flattering, being a long sleeved button up shirt, and baggy trousers, the dark purple and silky material, combined with the way the girl had her hair, which was bundled up like she had just had a bath, which she had made her look like she was about nine, which was just completely adorable.
"Wow...you look so cute right now." Haruna said, smiling at the girl, who shrugged, and sat back in her chair, muttering "I'm not"
"Oh, you completely are, you know." Haruna laughed, setting herself and the large plastic bag that she had brought with her down on the girls bed. She also slipped her shoes off, sitting cross legged on the soft and bouncy piece of furniture.
"Well?" Chisame said, looking at her sceptically.
"Well what?" Haruna asked, innocently.
"Well what did you want to talk about" Chisame retorted, crossing her arms.
"Oh that? Right. I love you." The Mangaka said, her tone betraying nothing, nor her expression. Chisame yelped in surprise at the sheer bluntness of the statement, and her eyes bugled.
"WHAT!? You...You...You can't be!" She screamed, standing up sharply.
"Uh, excuse me, but you're the one who leapt on me and kissed me, remember." Haruna said, grinning as she also stood, much less aggressively than the other girl.
"ONLY AFTER YOU KISSED ME!!" She shouted, and then blushed darkly, falling back down into her seat. Haruna tilted her head, and giggled.
"Kya, you're so cute when you blush." She said, causing Chisame to blush further
"u..urusai...I'm not cute." She whispered. Harunas eyes widened a little.
"Ah, now, You are, because I say so. I'm not arguing about this, it's the fact, ok. You're cute. Really cute." She said, as she lent down towards the girls face. Chisame could say nothing, as she felt tears welling inside her again.
"N..no...I'm...not..." She breathed, but was unable to say more, because Haruna chose that moment to press her lips against the girls cheek. Chisame remained motionless, aside for her heart, which seemingly had decided to take up all the kinetic energy the girl had to beat as fast as it possibly could. The kiss broke quickly, and Haruna looked down at the girl, stroking her hair softly with the back of her hand.
"H...Haruna..." Chisame whispered, fighting back sobs.
"I love you, Chisame." the girl whispered, resting her forehead against the net idols gently. Chisame gripped hold of the armrest of the chair tightly, her breath coming in sharp gasps, her heart still pounding at her chest speedily.
"I...I...I..." She tried, but her words failed her completely.
"Take your time, Princess." Haruna whispered softly, gazing into the girls eyes, which were now streaming tears.
"I'm scared." the girl managed to whisper, sobbing noiselessly. Haruna pulled her up to a standing position gently, and, with a softness to her movements that came more from instinct than her own input, she looped her arms underneath Chisames shoulders, one stretching across her back, the other taking hold of the back of her head, directing it into her own shoulder, letting the girl rest her head on her. Chisame clung onto the girl tightly, both her arms wrapped around Harunas waist.
"I'm sorry...I'm so scared...I'm sorry." Chisame whispered, and Haruna kissed the top of her head, rubbing her back with her other arm.
"It's ok. It's ok." She kept repeating, mostly to reassure Chisame, partly to keep herself confident and in control. It was anguishing to see the girl crying again, mostly because she knew that, this time, it had been her that had caused it. Her confession had thrown the girl completely.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Chisame kept repeating, and finally, Haruna broke.
"You don't have anything to be sorry for, Chisame. I should apologise to you, I didn't mean for this to happen. I should've taken more time to consider you, but no, I barrelled ahead anyway, like the idiot I am..." Haruna said, her own tears edging closer.
"You're...not...an idiot." Chisame whispered. Haruna went to speak, but Chisame placed her finger across the girls lips.
"I...I'm...the idiot. You're...you've...taken the effort...to come out...with how you feel...and I...and I...I'm...so afraid...of the past...that...that...that I can't...even..." She continued, before breaking down again. Haruna pulled her in tightly, hugging the girl strongly. Then her eyes lit up.
"The past? You mean...with Julia...Who...you...loved?" Haruna said, her words slow, and purposeful. Chisame nodded into the girl.
"Then...does that mean..." Again, a nod, this time, with a sob. Haruna gasped, her tears falling now, sparked not by her annoyance at her actions, but by the elation of Chisames actions. Then Chisame did something that made the girl scream with joy.
"Ha...ru...na... Ai...Aishiteru." She whispered, directly into the girls ear. The scream was loud enough to be heard outside the building, and attracted the attention of several people nearby, Yue included. Haruna didn't care, though, she was on a high that completely blew the previous happiest moment of her life, her first publication, out of the water. It wasn't even fair to compare the two, this was on a completely different scale altogether. She was in love with a beautiful girl who was in love with her. She grabbed Chisames face somewhat roughly, and pulled the girl in for a tight kiss, one which was returned gratefully. She pulled back, and regarded the girl, who was still sobbing, but also smiling widely.
"Chisame! Chisame!" She said, her grin now so wide it was actually hurting her cheeks. She kissed the girl again, and wrapped her arms around the girl tightly, lifting her up into the air with her squeeze. Chisame gasped, and began to struggle in the girls arms, which made her set her down quite quickly.
"I love you so much, Princess." She said, kissing the girl on her cheek again, and Chisame smiled slightly.
"I...I love you, too...my Knight in Shining Armour." She said, which made Haruna blush.
"Why am I a knight?" She asked, and then it was Chisames turn to blush.
"Well...because...because you rescued me...from my own darkness..." She mumbled making Haruna squeal with delight.
"That's SO cute!" She squeaked, making the girl blush a little more. Chisame shook her head a little, but waved her hand when Haruna went to rebuke her protests. Chisame indicated the bag Haruna had brought with her.
"What's all that?" She asked, and Haruna grinned widely again.
"Well, just in case I needed to put some work into this, I brought some seduction materials along with me." She said, her glasses glinting in the light from the rooms lamp. Chisames eyes widened with fear, causing Haruna to giggle sweetly.
"Oh, nothing as bad as that, you Perv. There're some snacks, a few soppy movies, some candles, generic romance stuff. Oh, and a few sketches. I've, eh, not been able to get you out of my mind the last few days, so I made some drawings." She said, rubbing the back of her head gently. Chisame rifled through the items in the bag, searching for these, which she drew out, and regarded with dropped jaw.
"Haruna...these are...these are amazing. No wonder Paru sells well, your art is spectacular." Haruna blushed.
"Ah, you don't need to flatter me, I'm already besotted with you, remember." She said, chuckling. Chisame shook her head, and walked over to the girl, sitting next to her.
"I'm not kidding, these are really good. Can I keep them?" She asked, flipping through them. One showed her wearing the 'evil villain' costume from Mahou Shoujo Bibblion, and in another, a simple headshot, she had her hair down, and was looking quite forlorn.
"Eh...that one was done from life...You were staring out at something, and I just wanted to preserve that image..." The girl said, slightly embarrassed Then a thought occurred to her. "Hey, did you want me to sign em? Might make the worth something some day." She said, with a grin. She signed each of them with a flourish, and added a little chibi drawing of herself, in her pactio costume, with a heart above her head, on the from life one.
"Haruna...thank you." Chisame said softly, linking her arm around the girls, and snuggling up to her.
"Why, it's just a signature." Haruna said, before flinching at the pinch the girl gave her. She giggled to herself, and stroked the girls cheek.
"You're welcome, Chisame. You're welcome."
