The shorter of the two girls gently tugged on the raven haired girl's hand, blue-ribbon fluttering unabashedly behind her lustrous blonde tresses, urging her across to the kindly looking man standing behind buckets and crates of surely fresh fruits, of all varieties and sizes and colors. There were the typical produce choices one might find at any respectable Japanese vendor, and a few other fruits that Chikane would not quite have been able to place, had their boxes not been labeled as such. She was surprised to see a few exotic looking fruits that she did not recognize, and wondered in passing if the elderly man had some sort of secret garden storage where he grew these few unusual types. Of course though, the primary attraction for customers were the particularly high quality melons of many varieties that old man Yamanomoto cultivated every year with great success. No one she knew had a real clue as to what the elder's secret might be, but she supposed it was just another mystery of the old town. The two young women approached the stall, the slighter of them still grinning ear to ear at the vendor, and the taller one nodding her head in acknowledgement as she scanned judiciously and approvingly over his wares.

"Weeell if it isn't my best customer! And Himemiya-san as well, my word Kurusugawa-san! What a fortunate day for me, to be patronized by such beauties." he said, chuckling in a high-pitched voice, touched by his age. "I haven't seen you shopping around here too much lately; my sales have plummeted! Ah ha-ha-ha!" he exclaimed jokingly.

Himeko did blush a bit at his playful accusation, but nodded quickly in apology. "Yes, I'm so sorry Melon-san hee-hee, but it's okay. I'll make up for it today! Do you have some good sweet-melons or watermelons?" she inquired brightly. And then in a stage whisper, obviously loud enough for the dark haired beauty beside her to hear: "Chikane-chan always enjoys them very much, and you wouldn't want to disappoint the daughter of Himemiya-san, would you?" trying to suppress her giggles as she looked over to her friend, who was shooting her a disproving mock-angry glance.

"Oh my, certainly not" he replied, catching in on the joke. He knew very well that the young Himemiya daughter would never hold her family's reputation over anyone in such a way, and was among the most gracious young women he had ever had the pleasure of watching grow up in this old town, including Chikane's mother, Kazue.

"Please, take as much time as you'd like, I have some wonderful dark-melons over here as well. New just this season! I'm pleased at how well they turned out." The old man said, turning on his innate salesman-charm and charisma. Chikane simply chuckled to herself and shook her head lightly.

"Himeko!" she said smiling—"how can you stand there with a straight face and try to strong arm this man using my family name? How do you sleep at night?" she asked playfully, rolling her eyes to the old man.

"Tee-hee-hee, just fine thank you very much!" a sunny smile. "Chikane-chan does love melons though, right?" she asked, with a wink. An almost…flirtatious wink. Chikane could practically feel the blonde's gesture float the distance from her long, gorgeous eyelashes, and smack her right in her soul. She felt her face flush hot, which she knew would look shameful coming from someone of her expected manners, and this only made her blush some more. She even stammered out her response a little.

"I—aherm…" She cleared her throat, glancing sideways away from the two conspirators. "Well I like them as much as anyone might…" Chikane explained. "Perhaps it is simply that yours are of the highest caliber, Yamanomoto-san. I am never disappointed when Himeko brings some home for me…" her voice getting almost un-noticeably softer as she finished off the sentence—she couldn't help but regret how much that made it sound like Himeko was something like her…her…wife. She tried to cool the temper of her cheeks, not realizing that at her words the blonde had thought the exact same thing in the fantasy of her mind's eye. All the while the girl in question simply grinned at her, and turned again to the fruit vendor before she too was caught blushing at those thoughts like…well like a school girl! He gave a large smile and nodded in appreciation. Then the blonde turned to her friend again after mentally slapping herself into control.

"Hehe, sorry for teasing Chikane-chan" she giggled. "Ne, why don't you go ahead and look around for any other interesting shops! I'd like to talk with Melon-san and catch up a little, and I'll be sure to get a good deal on some to bring back with us! If that's alright."

"Yes, alright, that's a good idea Himeko. I'll leave the both of you to it then. Just walk down this way whenever you're finished, take your time." She said, turning and making a graceful nod and wave to the elderly man and smiling at the adorable blonde. Said blonde blushed a little as she barely raised her and to wave back, watching the lithe girl walk away from her, eyes glancing at a suspiciously downward angle…

Himeko didn't even realize she was zoning out watching Chikane's…back…until a hearty weathered chuckle escaped her olden companion.

"Hmmmm heh-heh-heh, quite the beauty miss Himemiya-san, isn't she Kurusugawa?" he said with an overtly suggestive tone in his voice.

"Yes…she really is…" The blonde said dreamily, absentmindedly stroking the ribbon along her hair. The gesture and obviousness behind the young woman's tone was impossible to miss, and was not lost on Mr. Yamanomoto, who had long had his suspicions concerning the girl's…inclinations. Yet he was almost surprised at how easily he got that agreement out of her.

"You really know how to pick 'em, eh Kurusugawa-san? Heh-heh-heh!" His eyes squinting with childlike mischief.

"Yes I suppose I —Wait! What?! W-w-what is that supposed to mean? I—I'm n-not—with Chikane-chan…that is…I wasn't um…we're just!" The young woman's face had blushed beet red, and she wheeled around to put the girl walking away behind her back, now too embarrassed to appear as if she had been staring at her butt…which she had been. She held her hands close in to her chest, and looked as if she were trying to bore a hole into a watermelon, anything to avert her gaze from the old man's knowing look and endless chuckles.

"Ah, to be young again! Well, I'm sure you'll be fine Kurusugawa-san, you've got a head on your shoulders! Although, if you're trying to sell me that you don't have an eye for young miss Himemiya-san, well then this is a pumpkin squash! Heh-heh-heh!" he exclaimed, holding up a bright red apple that was obviously not a pumpkin squash. His observation and ability to see right through her (which admittedly wasn't very hard, as Himeko evidently wore her heart on her sleeve every day of her life) only caused her to blush all the deeper, seeming as if she wanted the ground to open beneath her feet and swallow her whole.

"Mouu—Melon-san! Stop teasing me!" she exclaimed, terribly embarrassed at his postulation. And self-conscious even more so by the fact that when he had said it, Himeko's mind had immediately jumped gears into an image of her holding Chikane's hand again, staring into her beautiful sapphire eyes, as her girlfriend…leaning in…to ki—

"Just let me see some of the sweet-melons already, gee…" she said quietly, trying to keep herself from fainting from the combination of the blood rushing to her head, and thoughts of her and Chikane…her and Chikane as…but she shook her head, trying to erase the train of thought

"It really isn't right! I shouldn't be thinking of Chikane-chan that way! Get a grip Himeko!"

The old man simply nodded to himself, satisfied with his jokes, and held up his hands in mock surrender.

"Hai, terribly sorry Kurusugawa-san heh-heh. Please, over here. I saved some excellent ones right over here in the shade! I was hoping a friendly face might stop by today! Looks like the gods smiled on this old geezer today, heh-heh-heh!"


Chikane took graceful steps through the shopping district, still trying to rid her mind of inappropriate thoughts and images of her unrequited love. She glanced around at different shops and stores and vendors, looking for anything interesting that might distract her attention for a little while as she waited for the aforementioned blonde. The raven haired girl tried to garner her self-control, but couldn't help but fall into a depressed state just as before…

"Himeko truly is my sun…I don't know how I got so lucky to meet her. There's no way I can keep my promise to her! To be best friends, forever…not when I'm…like this. I wish I didn't feel this, knowing that she's outside of that dream…and who am I kidding? She's never considered me more than friends, and the gods know that she never once showed any inclination toward being…liking…girls…" she thought dejectedly.

"Is that what I am now? Am I taking advantage of our friendship just to be close to her to fulfill my…unnatural desires? What if I am? What if our promise has been a sham for a long time, and I'm just lusting after her—my best friend—and expecting to be able to act normal for the rest of my life? No…it's not just that; we are best friends, and Himeko means everything in this world to me. My feelings are real…but they're just…wrong. In every way wrong, wrong, WRONG!" she mentally screamed at herself, feeling heaviness clutch at her heart in sadness.

"Himeko…why must I be so in love with you? I don't think I can keep our promise…If you knew how ugly and selfish and unnatural I am, I'm sure you wouldn't want to be friends anymore. But I don't know how I can keep up this façade for much longer without being as cold as I have been…either way I'm hurting you and breaking our promise…"

The girl's chest felt like a hurricane was raging inside, tearing up her insides and making her feel numb, even as she walked down the road under the light of an indomitable sun…

But then, after a few more minutes of silent wandering Chikane's eye caught a glimpse of something bright out off to the side of her vision. It was something gleaming on a table in the front of one of the stores. As Chikane approached, somehow drawn to the source of the sparkle, she looked to see the sign of the establishment denoting that it was a jewelry and accessory store. She wasn't too fond of too much adornment herself, however at the moment she felt compelled to take a look inside at the item she saw from outside, so she stepped into the cool building. There were plenty of things that might catch the attention of many other girls, but presently Chikane Himemiya was only concerned with sating her curiosity over one particular piece. She walked over to the table she had seen from the sidewalk, and scanned over its small assortment of items. However, she did not need to look for more than a moment before she recognized that gleam.

It wasn't actually anything terribly intricate or ornate, but a simple hairpin. A small jeweled-silver clip that was adorned with a brilliant visage of the sun set in tiny gemstones. Other customers may have easily overlooked the small piece, but to Chikane, it stood out more than anything in the store. Simply looking at it made her feel a familiar warmth inside, and as she reached and picked it up, feeling cool in her hand, she immediately began to think about her…

"This…this is it. I understand now—Himeko is my sun, my one and only star…I was a fool to believe that I could go on without telling her how I feel. She is the light that my world revolves around, and I don't care that she doesn't feel the same way! I need to tell her the truth…she deserves that much…and no matter what, I'll protect her and look after her. As long as she can just…as long as I can just…be by her side…Himeko…"

The dark haired girl stood with the small accessory in her hand for a moment, feeling an influx of both anxiety, but also resolve fill her body. She didn't want to be running away from Himeko anymore, or from herself. Even if it hurt her, she wouldn't burden Himeko with deception and discomfort that would surely plague her should she continue to shelter her feelings from the beautiful blonde…no, she would take responsibility once and for all.

Chikane left the shop, with a small parcel wrapped in paper, that she tucked away…her heart felt less stormy than it had before, and perhaps even a little brighter…