It has been a long time.
Honoka checked herself in the mirror. "Too boring." She muttered to herself, dissatisfied with how she looked. Clothes lay strewn about on the floor of her bedroom from her attempts to pick a proper outfit to impress Maki. "No, I'm not trying to impress her! I'm just showing her around the city because I want to be a good friend to her! That's it!"
"Oi, Honoka, what are you yelling about so early in the morning?"
Honoka turned around sharply to face her older sister. "It's nothing, Eri-nee! And knock before you come in, please!"
"Why, so I don't see the mess you've made?" Eri asked, casting a glance about the messy room. "Also, if you're up, head down to the kitchen. Mom and Dad could use a hand."
"I'm going out with a friend soon! I already told them that!" Honoka retorted, checking herself in the mirror again. "Do I look lame wearing this?"
"I'm sure neither Umi nor Kotori will care what you're wearing." Eri said, yawning a bit. "Unless…" A sly smile made it onto the blonde's face. "Are you going out with that transfer student? What was her name again…Maki-chan?"
"It's not a date!" Honoka shouted, hurrying over to Eri to defend herself, her face beet-red.
"I never said it was!" Eri said with a laugh as she blocked her younger sister's pathetic attempts to attack her. "And you look fine. Don't freak about the date so much; I'm sure you'll impress her with your stunning personality." Eri gave Honoka a light shove, pushing her back into her own bedroom. "If she gets here before you're ready, I'll distract her with sweets until you decide your outfit impresses her, okay?"
"Eri-nee!" Honoka could hear her older sister laughing as Eri retreated back downstairs to the store. "It's not a date!"
Eri brought a small sampling of manjuu from the store into the living room, where she had asked Maki to stay. "Here. Some snacks while you wait."
"Thank you." Maki muttered. The redhead took one and started nibbling on it.
Eri sat down as well, pouring herself a cup of tea. She turned on the television and started watching the news. She kept an eye on the redhead, noting that the girl's gaze was just as empty as before. It didn't work, Nozomi… Not that Eri particularly minded. She did like Maki to a certain degree. It would have been painful to be hated by one who once possessed a brilliant soul. "So you left that nekomata at home?" Eri asked, trying to strike up a conversation.
"Rin."
"What?" Eri stared blankly at the redhead.
"Her name is Rin. Not 'nekomata'." Maki said matter-of-factly, staring straight at Eri.
"Fine, Rin." Eri conceded the point, not wanting to start an argument with Honoka so close by. "You left her, right?"
"Who knows? She can do whatever she wants." The redhead said. "She's a free spirit, not like us."
"You mean me and you?" Eri asked.
"Me. You. Kousaka-san. That goddess."
"Nozomi."
"Hah?" Now it was Maki's turn to stare blankly, though her gaze had been pretty void of emotion the entire time.
"The 'goddess' has a name. Nozomi."
Maki sighed. "Fine, Nozomi. Anyway, none of us are free from the vicious cycle she put us in. There's only a year of time left before it'll start over again-mmph!"
"Oh, quit your whining." Eri scolded after she stuffed Maki's mouth with another manjuu. There was a glimmer of irritation in the other girl's gaze as she tried to speak around the manjuu. "Here's an idea: you lightening up and hanging out with Honoka like you used to."
Maki chewed and swallowed the manjuu before speaking again. "And do what? If you don't remember, the last time we did anything together was centuries ago! There's nothing left of that time and there's nothing left of our relationship!"
Eri lowered her gaze into the spiritual realm again, wanting to see Maki's emotional state. She wasn't as good at reading human emotions as Nozomi was, but even she could see emotions when they were felt to such a high intensity. Maki radiated despair, and Eri almost wanted to give in to her desires to provide comfort to the redhead. But she held herself back. The one Maki needed was Honoka. They needed each other to break the cycle.
Speaking of Honoka…she was taking way too long to pick out an outfit.
"Excuse me." Eri said, getting to her feet. "I'm going to get Honoka for you."
"So our talk's over then?" Maki asked.
Eri could feel Maki's stare on her still, even without turning to confirm it. "Yes, for now. I'd be happy if you wanted to talk again, some other time." She left the living room, sliding the door shut behind her. She took a deep breath to calm down and to get herself back into playing the role of Honoka's older sister.
Honoka glanced at Maki as they walked down the sidewalks of Akihabara. She could only hoped that she didn't look too lame in comparison; Eri had practically kicked her out of the house before she could settle on an outfit.
"What is it, Kousaka-san?" Maki must have noticed her glances.
"I-It's nothing!" Honoka said automatically. She could already feel her body temperature sky-rocketing just from having her name called.
"Is that so?" Maki said.
The two walked in silence for a few minutes. Honoka didn't know what else to say, and was honestly just trying to calm her beating heart. She snuck another glance at Maki. The other girl was still stunningly beautiful and Honoka's sneaking glance turned into blatant staring pretty quickly. This time, though, Maki turned to meet Honoka's gaze. For a brief second, Honoka thought Maki looked depressed, though the minute expression faded so quickly she wasn't sure if she was just seeing things. "S-Say…" She stammered, trying to get herself out of the awkward situation she had just put them into. "Want to get something to eat? I-I heard there's a good café nearby…"
"…yeah, that sounds good." Maki said, slowing down and letting Honoka pass her. "Lead the way."
"Ah, okay…" Honoka could feel Maki's gaze on her as they continued walking.
Maki flipped through the menu. She didn't really need to eat to survive, but she might as well order something since she was in a café. It had been a while since she'd eaten anywhere outside of her home. Plus – she shot a glance at Honoka, who was absorbed in reading the menu and no longer paying attention to her – she probably could give more of an effort. Even if she didn't agree with that shinigami that the cycle could ever be broken, it had been many centuries since they had been together. I may as well enjoy this year before the cycle begins again. Maki thought as she set her menu down.
"Oh. Have you decided on something already, Nishikino-san?" Honoka asked. Her voice was comforting to hear, even though Honoka kept her eyes firmly fixed on the menu.
"There's too much to pick from. I want to hear what you recommend." Maki said. Though, to be completely honest, she had no idea what most of the menu items were. She'd spent most of her extremely long life staying away from other people, avoiding society as much as she could. At least, until she met Rin. Perhaps that was why she let the nekomata stick around for as long as she had. She mentally smacked herself, returning her attention to Honoka.
" – or the parfait, though…" Honoka trailed off as Maki met her gaze. The other girl was blushing, Maki could tell that much. "…it might be too sweet…"
"I'll try that then." Maki decided to take a chance. Smiling slightly, though she had no idea if she was even capable of smiling anymore, she said, "Honoka."
The effect was immediate, and almost too much for her to tolerate. Honoka had nearly fallen out of her chair. As it was, the orange-haired girl's face had gone completely red and she seemed to have stopped breathing.
"…" Was it worth calling her name a second time?
Will Maki call Honoka by name a second time?
Find out next chapter!
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