Chapter 8 – Sisterly Lovers

Aw, geez. I'm so lost…

My first summer break in the city has begun. And thanks to a unanimous decision, I'm stuck with planning a trip to my hometown of Hakone. Thankfully, Akari and Chinastu had offered to help me out on this. Planning a trip isn't something one can do on their own.

And, in my case, neither is navigating your way through the big city for the first time.

"*whine* I'm so lost! Where do I go?!"

"Um…excuse me."

While I was complaining to myself, someone called out for me. And I turned around to see a young woman, probably in her early twenty's, with long pink hair and a very slim figure.

Although the more I look at her…she looks a lot like Chinastu.

"Sorry to both you. But are you lost?" The woman asked.

"Uh…y-yeah, I am. I'm trying to get to this address right here." I showed the woman the address I had on my phone. She then grew a small smile on her face and giggled a bit.

Aw, geez. Did I mess up?

"Wow. You're heading to the Akaza residence? I'm on my way there myself. I could show you the way, if you want."

"W-Wow, really? Thank you. That would help a lot." I said with a sigh of relief. We then began walking through this big city. With me not too far behind her.

"So. Judging from your size, I bet you're one of Akari's friends, right? You seem like a new face, though."

"Yes. I'm Sachiko Ichiko. I recently moved here from Hakone and I go to…uh, what was it called again?"

"Nanamori Middle School?" The woman asked.

"Yes, that. I go to Nanamori. It's where I met Akari."

"And by any chance, do you know a girl named Chinastu?"

"Yeah. I do actually…"

I guess I should just tell her.

"You know, you look a lot like her."

"*giggle* Why, thank you. I do get that a lot. What with being her sister and all.

"Her sister?" I was a little confused.

"I'm Tomoko Yoshikawa. Chinastu's older sister."

"Her older sister…oh yeah, I remember. She did mention you during my first day. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Sachiko." Tomoko said with a smile.


Tomoko and I continued talking to each other as we both made our way to Akari's house. I swear, running into her was a huge life-saver. I've heard stories of people getting lost in the big city. And most of them don't end well.

Just thinking about it possibly happening makes me shiver…

"Welp. Here we are." Tomoko said as we stood in front of what appears to be Akari's house.

"Thanks again for bringing me here. It really helped a lot."

"Just doing a good deed."

Tomoko went and knocked on the door and not long after it opened to reveal another young and slim woman. Only this one had long red hair and…

…looked a lot like Akari.

Could this be…

"Tomoko, you made it. Who's your friend?" The woman asked.

"This is one of the girl's friends." Tomoko replied.

"H-Hello. I'm Sachiko Ichiko. Akari invited me here." I added.

"Oh? So your Sachiko? Akari has told me so much about you. It's nice to see her getting more friends to hang out with."

"This is Akari's older sister. Akane Akaza." Tomoko said to me.

"Oh. I see now. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Sachiko." Akane said. "Akari should be with Chinastu upstairs. Her room is the third door on the right."

"Thank you. Pardon the intrusion."

As I went inside the Akaza house, I took a quick glance of the structure of the place. It looked pretty normal. And kinda big, too. My house back in Hakone was smaller than this. But then again, the apartment I'm living in now was roughly the same size as that. So maybe that's why I got used to it so quickly.

"Let's see…Akane said third door on the right…here it is!"

This was Akari's room, alright. I mean, it had a sign that said "Akari's Room" hanging on the door. So it was a real no brainer.

I knocked on the door and waited for a response. What I heard was some kind of…squealing.

Huh? That sounded odd. Could they be in trouble?

After waiting a bit longer, I started getting worried. And I began opening the door.

What I saw on the other side was NOT something I was mentally prepared to see.

"Hey, guys. I heard a noise and…"

What I saw was Akari pinned down underneath Chinastu. Her face was bright red and nearly pale as Chinastu's face was near inches from hers.

Both were staring at me with looks of nervousness while I…

"…S-Sorry for interrupting." I said as I tried to close the door.

"W-WAIT! S-SACHIKO! I-IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!" Chinastu shouted as she tried to prevent me from leaving.


*ONE EXPLANATION LATER…*

"Practice kissing?" I asked. Extremely confused on what this girl had told me.

"W-Well…s-someday I'm going to be with Yui as a lover. A-And I want to be good at kissing before then. S-So I do this with Akari every once in a while." Chinastu was blushing really hard from embarrassment that I walked in on one of their…"practice sessions".

"I see…"

"Couldn't you just use a pillow?"

"That's what I said!" Akari added.

"No, I couldn't just "use a pillow"! It wouldn't have the same effect as the real deal!"

"But kissing your best friend, though. It sounds kinda extreme."

"Plus, you took my first kiss, Chinastu. You don't know if I was saving that for someone." Akari said.

"Oh, really now?" Chinastu turned to Akari with a smirk on her face. "So who is it, Akari? Someone we know?"

"I-I said if. I-It doesn't mean it's true." Akari stuttered as her face turned red again.

I wonder…

"Well, my point still stands. Kissing your best friend, who's also a girl, is a bit much for this "practice kissing" thing." I said.

"*groan* You just don't get it, Sachiko." Chinastu complained.

*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*

"Come in." Akari said.

"Hey, Chinastu. Mom wants to talk to you." Tomoko said after opening the door.

"Coming." Chinastu said as she got up and followed her sister out of the room.

And once the door closed…

"*sigh* Jesus ******* Christ."

Aw, geez…

"Back to cursing, I see." I said to Akari, who had laid down on the floor with an exhausted look on her face.

"I can't help it, Sachiko. It's my true self."

"I know."

After the incident happened, something came up in my mind. A question of sorts.

"Hey, Akari. How did you and Chinastu become best friends? You said that you met each other last year, right?"

"Yeah. We did. Chinastu actually wanted to join the Tea Ceremony Club. But once she found out that the club disbanded, she decided to join our unofficial club. Pretty sure it was so that she could get closer to Yui. But then the two of us hung out more. And we became best friends."

"I see. So she comes her a lot?"

"Yeah. Both her and Tomoko. Both she and my sister Akane go to the same college. They quickly became a couple."

"Wait, a couple? You mean they're dating?"

"Well…that's what Chinastu and I think. They keep denying it every time we ask them. But it's getting more and more obvious."

"I see…"

Wow. I think I'm not that far off when believing that everyone here is gay.

"So the two of you are rather close, huh?" I asked.

"Hmm…you could say that. She comes over so much to the point where she could just live here. Not that I don't like it or anything. We usually enjoy our conversations."

Akari then went silent for a bit.

"Although…whenever she starts talking about Yui, I just tune her out. She can just go on and on about her if you let her. And honestly…it's so ******* creepy. It's pretty much like that whenever Chinastu decides to make…well anything, for that matter. Fair warning. If she gives you anything and says it "homemade", accept the gift. And then just throw it in the trash. You'll be better off."

"Th-Thanks. I-I'll keep a mental note." I said unnervingly.

"I'm back." Chinastu said as she came back into the room. "What were you two talking about?"

"Nothing much." Akari said. "Sachiko asked how we became best friends. Ended up bringing up Akane and Tomoko."

"I see. Oh, speaking of them…while I was talking to my mom, I saw those two cuddling up against each other. They're totally dating! I don't know why they keep denying it!"

"They're probably not ready to admit it yet."

"Yeah, I guess."

"So you're sisters are really dating each other, huh? Quite the strong bond here." I said.

"Oh, yeah. I just remembered something. Sorry if this seems personal, Sachiko, but…you're not gay, are you?" Chinastu asked me.

"No, I'm not. I like boys. So it was kind of a letdown at first when I found out that Nanamori is an all-girls school."

"I heard from Nishigaki that there was once a proposition to make the school co-ed. But the uproar from the students at the time caused it to get shot down almost immediately." Akari said.

"Huh. Well, that sucks."

"Don't worry, Sachiko. I'm sure you'll find a boy to love someday." Chinastu said.

"Wh-Who said I was looking for one now?! I'm only 14!" I yelled while blushing heavily.

"Love has no age limit, Sachiko." Chinastu said with a cheeky smile. "Same goes for you, Akari."

"Wh-What?! Wh-Why are you bringing me into this?!" Akari asked. Her face was exactly like mine at this point.

"Oh don't try and hide it, Akari. I've been noticing how you act around Rise. It's SO obvious."

"Wh-What exactly is obvious?!"

Chinastu didn't respond for a bit. Folding her arms while the smile on her face grew even cheekier.

"Oh…it's nothing, you two. *giggle*" She then said.

A-Akari was right. Ch-Chinastu really is creepy.

Final Thought: Day 1 of my first city-based summer vacation and it starts out by being creeped out by Chinastu. That whole "practice kissing" thing sounds totally ridiculous. But…if she thinks it works, then it's not my right to stop her. I guess.

I now have 6 more days until I go back to Hakone for a summer trip. I can't wait to go home and see everyone again. In a way, I'm glad the girls thought of this idea. I need to see home one last time before I could get used to the big city. A closer thing.

Anyway, thank you for reading along. I hope you come back soon. Bye now!


AUTHOR'S NOTE: Just a quick note here. I actually have a question to ask. Are the cast's birthdays actually known? I want to use them as ways to tell certain story plots, but I have no idea what they are. I mean, I placed Akari's birthday in July based on another fic I read. But I don't even know if that's true or not. Just something that's been on my mind a little. If any of you know, just leave it as a review. Thanks in advance.

Also, just want to say that the 3rd entry in the Inner Struggles series is currently in production. And like I said, it's about Ayano. Can't give out an official release date yet. But just know it's coming soon.

And thus, ends the chapter for real this time. Later.