"O-Oh! Hi, Maho!" Miho greeted with her usual adorable smile, those bright eyes staring at Maho's own, dull and faded. "What do you need to tell me?" The words immediately got caught in Maho's throat, for all the courage and bravery Maho had, why was it now she became weak? Why was it now that she couldn't.. say what was on her mind? No, she wasn't going to let these barbed words stay, she needed to say them, she needed to know what Miho would say, what she would think.
"I.. I love you Miho! Since we were little I've loved you, there's not a day that goes by where I don't wish I could stay with you forever, where I don't wish we could get married! Please Miho, will you be my girlfriend?!" Maho blurted out without taking a breath, leaving herself a panting mess, but she had said it at least. She had just confessed her love to her sister, and it wasn't in a way two sisters should love each other. Maho shouldn't feel like this for her little sister.. but she did. No other girl compared, no other girl could ever light up Maho's world like Miho could.
That's why Maho needed Miho by her side. Forever.
"M-Maho..!" Miho squeaked out after getting over the initial shock, a heated blush on her face. It appeared the words got caught for Miho as well, though she nodded her head before slapping her hands over her face, covering her embarrassment. Miho said yes! Miho said yes!
Maho couldn't help herself, she wrapped her arms around her little sister's waist and pulled her in, waiting for Miho to drop her hands before slowly moving in for a kiss, planting her soft, pink lips on Miho's own. The two stayed connected for a long while before pulling their lips apart, each smiling drunkenly. "I.. love you, Miho." Maho said, closing her eyes and hugging Miho, whose own arms snaked around Maho's back.
"I l-love you too.. Maho."
...
...
MONDAY, JUNE 25TH, FIFTH DAY OF SUMMER
DAY THREE OF VISIT
PART 1/2
Maho's eyes slowly opened, being assaulted almost immediately by the sun shining into her face. Letting out a low noise of annoyance and shielding her eyes, Maho sat up and rubbed her face gently, looking around. That dream ended way too damn early.. sighing softly, Maho sat up and stretched, turning off the TV and going to the guest room, grabbing her towels before moving to the bathroom and locking herself in, undressing, turning the shower to a comfortable hot temperature and stepping in.
She couldn't help but ponder the precarious position she was in. Deep down, she knew how she felt about Miho, and, as wrong as it was, as wrong as that dream had been, Maho had to admit, it was one of the happiest she had in awhile. Not to mention, Miho was a beautiful girl with a bright personality, skilled in academics, motivated and loving. Was Maho really worthy of something like that? Perhaps she gave herself too little credit.
Grabbing the shampoo and taking a good amount in her hand, she began washing her dark brown hair, running her fingers through the medium-length bundles of hair, making sure the shampoo worked its way in. The scent of strawberries hit her shortly after, of course Miho would buy something of such a scent. Not that Maho minded, in fact, those shampoos with the supposedly girly scents were the ones she was most fond of. Typically, though, she just bought shampoos with plain scents, not particularly caring about what her peers thought of her body.
Course, that had only come to pass when Miho left Kuromorimine.
She didn't know if she felt like how she did for her sister back then, but it was only when Miho left when she decided to use the plain brands. Back then she would spend hours debating the best scent or what would make her body stand out more.
Not that Maho particularly cared for fashion to begin with, though. Most days she just threw on whatever was closest and was clean, a hint of laziness to her otherwise efficient schedule. Black on yellow, blue on grey, pink on teal.. a modern art masterpiece, clearly.
Stepping under the stream, Maho rinsed out the shampoo before moving onto the conditioner, once more, taking a good amount in her hand before working it into her hair. She couldn't lie, hot showers were one of few pleasures she was given on this planet, though she didn't like staying in for long. Pruning skin were like nails on a chalkboard to her.
Maho soon rinsed off the shampoo and went onto the body wash, though this one was hers. She didn't want to use all of Miho's since she did take more than normal. Once enough had been rubbed on, Maho stepped back into the water and waited a little bit before coming back out and turning the taps, stopping the water stream and climbing out of the shower, taking a seat on the lid of the toilet before drying her body off.
Exiting the bathroom soon after, now dressed and clean, she dropped her towels on the bed and headed out to the living room to see Miho still sleeping, a little smile coming to Maho's face. Maho decided to just make breakfast and wake Miho up with it. What to make, though..
Looking through the cupboards, Maho decided on some french toast with a bit of cinnamon mixed in with some fake maple syrup to add just a little bitterness to the sweetness. Damned Canadians, why couldn't they make real maple syrup more affordable overseas?! She had to admit, though, real maple syrup was a gift from the gods. Chuckling quietly to herself, Maho began making the french toast, making sure not to make too big of a mess.
After a short while, Maho had made a large stack of french toast, making sure to clean up afterwards before pouring a glass of milk and bringing it all to the coffee table, setting it down and shaking Miho gently. "Mihooo.." She called softly, shaking her sister awake and smiling. "I made you breakfast."
"Ahh.. thank you.." Miho mumbled softly, taking a minute to wake up before digging into the food, not displaying much emotion unlike normal but Maho chalked it up to her needing a few minutes to wake up. Meanwhile, Maho went and got herself a bowl of cereal, not exactly hungry right yet, though she would eat more later to get the proteins and nutrients and such things that she needed to start her day off correctly.
Turning on the TV, Miho flipped through the channels, stopping at a station that broadcasted cartoons, the one they had watched before. Today, it appeared the show was about a yellow sponge and his adventures underwater. It was a relatively old show, but it was still good. Obviously not as good as Boko, but then again, nothing was really as good as Boko was. At least to Miho.
As for what the day had in store.. Maho really had no idea. Perhaps the arcade? She wasn't terribly good at video games, in fact the only one she had ever played was at Erika's house, of all places, but they still interested her a fair bit. Granted, video games, at this point in time, were a bit.. under-developed, so to speak. Just cubes and flashing lights and electronic grumbles and rumbles, but they still got the job done.
Maho had been eager to pick up reading again, so the library was an option as well. Did Miho read much, Maho wondered? "Hey, Miho, do you read often?" Maho asked, turning to her.
"I-I read those Sailor Moon mangas!" She replied cheerfully. Wasn't Sailor Moon some.. anime thing? Admittedly, Maho liked a lot of animes, though had little time to watch them considering her obligation and the amount of paperwork she often had, but mangas weren't too far off.
"Sailor Moon, huh? I've never read that one. I liked Fruits Basket." Replied Maho, though she did also enjoy history books. Mostly the events that happened on the eastern front during Operation Citadel, but they were still interesting nonetheless. Of course, she had dug a little bit into the original owner of her tank, Michael Wittmann. Apparently he had been one of the so-called "Panzer Aces", taking out a group of T-34's with a StuG. She couldn't place her finger on the model, but engaging a group of T-34s alone in a casemate tank was admirable. Stupid, but admirable.
The Tiger he used served as Maho's flag tank, having an uncanny ability to shrug off shells, though whether or not this was just the luck surrounding the tank or the ghost of Wittmann protecting it, Maho had no idea. She couldn't help but chuckle at the thought, getting a concerned look from Miho. "What are you giggling at, Maho?" She asked, finishing her food and setting the dish on the coffee table.
"I was.. just thinking about how strange it would be if my tank's previous owner haunted it and made sure the tank and I didn't get hurt." She explained, thinking back to her beauty. As much as she loved her Tiger, she also hated it to a certain degree, representing her own weakness.
Hmm.. but she had those thoughts before, didn't she..
Leaning back into the couch, Maho crossed her arms and watched the TV idly, listening to the sound coming from it. "Did somebody say BOOM?!" The squirrel yelled, followed by an explosion in the background. If only she had a Karl-Gerat. It would make her life so much easier.. from how the rumors went, the All-Stars University Team had access to one of those though Maho doubted it had ever been fielded given the rules of Sensha-do and the sheer destruction it would cause.
There was an emphasis that had to be placed on safety given the nature of their sport, and the firepower fielded by a Karl-Gerat would hardly be safe. It had enough to roll tanks and given all the metal and explosives on the inside of tanks..
"Say, Miho, do you know if the arcade on this ship has any tank games?" Maho asked, getting a nod from Miho.
"Yeah! There are a lot of tank games at the arcade, we can go there if you want?" Miho asked, receiving a nod herself."Okay! I'll go shower then." Miho hopped up and scampered to her bedroom, then to the bathroom after presumably grabbing a change of clothes and some towels. Now, Maho waited..
Considering how early in the morning it was, and the fact hardly anyone was up right now, the arcade was relatively quiet, save for a few early birds who wanted something to do for the last hour they had before classes started. Armed with a sack full of quarters they had gotten from the front desk, the two sisters went about playing some games. The one Maho had played before with Erika, Pac-Man, called to her, the girl surprised to see that it came in arcade form as well.
"Hm. I've played this with Erika before." Maho said, sliding in a quarter and grabbing ahold of the joystick, going about eating the white spheres while narrowly avoiding the ghosts.
"You play video games Maho?" Miho asked, somewhat surprised Maho even had time.
"Not really, sometimes when I go over to Erika's house to study or what have you and we have a few minutes free." Replied Maho, a small, sadistic smile coming to her face as she ate one of the off-colored spheres, hunting down the ghosts. "That's right, run you swine.." She muttered under her breath, eliciting a giggle from Miho who went and played Mario Bros on an arcade behind Maho.
After a few losses, Maho decided to hang up the towel and moved behind Miho, watching the younger girl play the game with ten times more skill than Maho possessed. "You're good at this." She complimented, crossing her arms and watching the Italian man hop outrageously high, eat mushrooms and stomp everything from turtles to brown colored mushrooms that could walk. "It looks strange, though.."
"The concept behind it is a little strange, but it's actually really fun! Did you want to try?" Miho asked, looking to Maho as she entered another stage.
"I.. suppose. No guarantees I'll be good, though." No less than 5 seconds later, Maho had flung herself off a ledge, and the normally cold girl couldn't help but laugh quietly. "Whoops.."
The thought of an Italian plumber hopping up some brick stacks and then flying off the edge was rather funny to Maho. Why was he climbing up brick stacks in the first place? Why was he chowing down on mushrooms? Why was he stomping turtles?! These questions needed to be answered! The developers of this game sure were strange, no question about it. "So, do you have a favorite game?" Maho asked, stepping away from the controls.
"I like this one racing game, I'll show you!" Miho slid her hand with Maho's, the older girl's heart skipping a beat as she was pulled along. So soft.. delicate. She wanted to hold Miho's hand forever.
When the two arrived at the machine, it appeared to have the controls for a tank. That's when it dawned on Maho, it wasn't supposed to be a car racing game, it was a tank racing game. So.. what were they driving? Panzer IIs? CV-33s?
From the looks of it, when Miho sat down and started the game, it was a bunch of tanks. Panzer IIs, FT-17s, CV-33s, BT-7s, a whole bunch. Weren't FT-17s slower than the other three, though? She wasn't exactly well versed in first world war tanks, save for maybe the A7V but that thing was less of a tank and more of a moving refrigerator on tracks.
Leaning over Miho's shoulder with her arms on the back of the seat, she watched as the tanks zipped past one another a bit too quickly to be realistic, the BT-7 taking the lead as a result of hopping a section of the track with Miho in close pursuit in her Panzer II, collecting a box which appeared to be some sort of powerup that let her use her cannon. After a few shots, the BT-7 slowed to a halt for a few seconds before firing up again, Miho taking the lead. "That BT-7 must have had some weak tracks.." Maho pointed out.
"It's just a game, it's not supposed to be realistic, silly." Miho replied, giggling softly while the Panzer II rolled over the finish line, coming in first after just one lap.
"I can see that." She laughed quietly and retrieved her phone from her pocket, glancing down at the screen. "Crap, it's almost 9 AM.. we should get you to your classes." Maho said, holding onto the bag of quarters for a later date.
"Aww.." Miho pouted but got up nonetheless. "Can we come back later?"
"Of course. While you're at school, I think I'll do some grocery shopping, get us some snacks for later tonight." Maho smiled, offering Miho a hand and walking her out of the arcade and towards the school. "Do you have any preference for what I get?"
Miho thought about it for a long while before deciding on smores. "Can you get some graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate?"
Maho gave a thumbs up, adding onto that some caramel ice cream, though she wasn't entirely sure if it would go well or not. "I can." Stopping at the house to get Miho's school equipment, Maho realized neither of them had made Miho a lunch. How could Maho have been so stupid?! "I'll bring you some lunch whenever your lunch time is, just send me a text and I'll come by." Maho told Miho, getting a hug from her before the two said their goodbyes. "Now.. what to make for lunch.."
Now alone in Miho's apartment, Maho stepped into the kitchen and opened up the fridge and freezer, taking a look inside. Seaweed, fish, rice, soy sauce.. sushi it was.
After washing her hands, Maho set down a cutting board and brandished a knife, making sure it was nice and sharp before getting to work. She would make it extra special to make up for her forgetfulness. Unfortunately, one issue plagued Maho from the beginning.
...
"I have no idea how to make sushi."
