Ten
Friday had come and went, and she knew it was just a matter of time for her to think of a place where she'd take Chikaru on their first date. In truth, the current Rosa Gigantea didn't want to take the Lulim's Student Council President on a date. She wouldn't even want to call it a date. If anything, she'd like to call it as a friendly outing. She had been thinking all night last night while Youko was taking her bath. She had thought about her own feelings, analyzing them before she came to a conclusion that she needed the other girl's help for the answer she been trying to get. It might not be fair for the other girl, not when she would be using her anyway. There was no other person for her to talk about when it came to her feelings. Well, she could talk to herself but that would get her nowhere. Plus, she wasn't sure what the other girl would be feeling about her too. If she was to ask for help, she feared that it might backfire and would hurt her friend. So with a sigh, she continued to stare out the window in her room. Youko wasn't back yet from the talk with Miyuki. Even though she wondered why Miyuki turned up and grabbed Youko, she could of care less about it. Or maybe she was feeling just a tad bit jealous that Youko was giving her attention to Miyuki but not her. That sort of feeling she tried not to acknowledge it, though it was getting a little hard not to.
A light knock the door brought her out of her thoughts as she turned towards it. She let out her confirmation for the other person behind the door to come in, and she was surprise to see that it was Chikaru. However, as quick as her surprise would have been, Sei turned back to her old self as she let a smirk formed on her lips.
"Well, what do I owe you for this pleasant surprise, Chikaru?" The blonde asked as she fully turned her body towards the other girl.
Chikaru giggled before she let her eyes scanned her surroundings. It was the first time that she had been in Sei's room. Or rather, Sei's and Youko's room. She felt like she was intruding into their privacy when Youko wasn't even around. She had spotted Youko talking with Miyuki so she thought that she could give Sei a visit. She knew that Sei didn't want to go on to this date as she had first suggested it. Something had changed in her blonde friend and she was curious to find the reason behind it. She didn't want to go on this date if her friend wouldn't be able to enjoy herself. Besides, she didn't think of it as much of a date. She thought of it as a way to get to know the other girl better. And, if possible, she'd love to invite the Yumayurikai along. Well, maybe this was why she was in Sei's room at the moment.
"I was thinking about the date tomorrow." Chikaru said thoughtfully. "Where would you like to go?"
Sei stood up from her seat and went over to Chikaru. She placed a hand atop the girl's shoulder with a soft smile. "I'm in a completely different town so I am unfamiliar with its surrounding. I hope that you might surprise me?"
"Hmm," Chikaru let out softly as she raised her fingers to rest her chin against them. She had a thoughtful look upon her face while she raked her brain of where they might go. Well, since it was the weekend and she always wanted to head into town to do a little shopping, she thought that it might just be a good idea to shop with the taller girl. Also, she began to wonder if Sei would have any objection towards her suggestion of bringing the Yumayurikai along for the experience. Well, the answer would always be a no if she didn't ask. So she looked up at Sei with a hopeful spark in her eyes. "Can we bring your friends along? I would absolutely love to get to know all of them!"
Sei was taken aback by Chikaru's sudden request. She never thought that the shorter girl would even ask such a question. Wasn't it just a date between the two of them? How could Chikaru be so carefree about it? A part of her was a little bit hurt that Chikaru would ask such a thing, while the other part of her was glad that Chikaru had voiced her question out. Besides, it wouldn't hurt her pride at all since she would have her friends with her, and Chikaru showing them the town. So without much further thinking into the question, the blonde let out a huge grin as she nodded her head. "You don't mind?"
Chikaru smiled and shook her head. "Of course not! Although it might be fun to be with you as I drag you from store to store, but I want to use this opportunity to get the Yumayurikai together so we can have a big shopping spree!"
Sei tilted her head as she began to think about the idea. "A shopping spree huh? That sounds nice." She then nodded to herself. "Alright, I'll go and ask them now." When she was about to move pass Chikaru, she felt the other girl's soft hand on her arm, halting her movement. When she turned to look at the other girl, all she saw was a cheerful smile on the girl's beautiful face.
"Shall we go together, Rosa Gigantea?" Chikaru said softly before a giggle escaped her lips. "Wow, it does feel a little different calling you by your Lilian's title."
Sei chuckled as she patted the hand that was on her arm gently. "Does it? A good kind of different or a bad kind?"
As they exited the room, Chikaru had already hooked her arm around the taller girl's in a friendly manner. She wasn't looking for anything from the blonde other than friendship. She wasn't looking for anything from anyone other than friendship. She was perfectly content with the friends that she got, and the friends that she would soon to have. She couldn't have it any other way even if she was offered a chance to fall in love with one of her friends. She treasured friendship more than anything, and she didn't want to lose one of her friends over some silly relationships.
"I'm not quite sure." Chikaru answered rather playfully. "It sounds like you're a delicate white rose but when I look at you, you are more than that. The title Rosa Gigantea seems to not fit you all that well."
Sei let out another chuckle which earned her a giggle from her companion. She could tell that she was going to like Chikaru and value her as a friend. However, she wasn't sure if she could go to Chikaru to talk about her feelings or not. Chikaru seemed to be nice enough to help with whatever it was that her friends were concerning about. And from what she had been seeing in both the Strawberry Dorm's lounging area and St Lulim Girls' High, she could tell that Chikaru was like the Astrea Hill's student counselor. Not only that, the girl seemed to dig up a lot of dirt around the school whether she was present at the scene or not. That could only lead to her knowing about absolutely everything without having to ask for it. It was quite impressive if Sei had to say so herself.
"Oh look! There's Youko!" Chikaru exclaimed as she pointed her finger towards the short dark haired beauty that was making her way towards them. She then let go off of Sei's arm before she clasped her hands behind her back, a smile upon her face when Youko came up to them with her own smile. "Good evening, Youko. I hope that your night is going splendidly!"
-x-
She didn't know why Miyuki had asked her to come with her. It sounded almost urgent and she couldn't pass that up if her friend was personally asking her for help. When she left her room that moment, she had stolen a glance over at the blonde that was sitting at her own study desk looking out at the window. The blonde had looked as if she was deep in thought and she could see there was a small smile upon her face. She had started to think that it was because of the date tomorrow that had gotten her friend so happy about it. So after she had told the blonde that she was going out to talk with Miyuki, and receiving no kind of response, she had silently slipped out of the room and followed Miyuki down the hallway.
It turned out that Miyuki's concern was on Yumi, which had surprised her. Miyuki had looked a little nervous as if she was fighting within herself whether she should tell her the whole story or not. It was then that Miyuki settled with just warning her about Yumi's sanity if she was to hang around Shizuma. Youko did notice that Yumi had spent a lot of time with Shizuma ever since Sachiko had taken up the liberty to prove Sei wrong. So the younger girl had been trying to fill in her space when Shimako was busy with her own club, Yoshino and Rei had taken up a liking to horseback riding and she didn't know Rosa Foetida that well to mingle with her. However, she didn't know why she was the one to be hearing this. Shouldn't Sachiko be the first one to hear it, not her?
"So, what you are saying Miyuki, is that Yumi is spending too much time with Shizuma and that it might not be healthy for her?" Youko asked as she tried to grasp what the other girl was saying.
Miyuki sighed as she nodded. "I'm not quite sure why Shizuma would be interested in Yumi when she already has her eyes on Nagisa. However, I can't just sit and watch whatever game that Shizuma might be playing with these girls." She turned her gaze away from the other girl as she looked out from the window. "I know what my best friend is like when she is intrigued by a pretty girl. I just don't want either of them to get hurt if they were to get too attached from her."
Youko let out a small giggle as Miyuki quickly turned her head to her with a confused look. "I'm sorry, I know that you are concern about Yumi-chan but I can promise you that Yumi-chan won't be too attached from Shizuma. The only person on that girl's mind is my petite soeur, Sachiko, and I'm sure that no one could ever change that."
Miyuki heaved out a sigh in relief upon hearing the other girl's response. "I guess I can rest just a little bit easy tonight. I apologize for dragging you out here for such a small matter."
Youko shook her head as the corner off her lips curled up in a playful smile. "It's okay, I figured that you just wanted to spend a little time alone with me." She watched in amusement as the other girl's cheeks flushed in a cute shade of pink. She couldn't hide the little chuckle that wanted to escape her lips.
Miyuki cleared her throat to regain her composure before she smiled at the other girl. "Well, that is all that I wanted to talk about. Since there is nothing more, I will return to my room. Have a good night, Youko."
Youko smiled in return and replied gently. "Thank you, Miyuki. And you, too, have a good night."
The two girls parted as they went on their own different ways. When Youko had rounded to the path that led to her room, she almost stopped on her track when she saw Chikaru and Sei happily talking to one another. She could also saw that their arms were hooked with each other, and she couldn't help but felt jealous by the act. Chikaru had just known Sei for less than a week and yet, there she was, being so friendly with her Sei when she couldn't even be that friendly with her! 'Wait, my Sei?' Youko thought before she shook the thought out of her head. She couldn't be thinking of Sei like that when she knew that the two of them could never be. So instead of just looking a little hurt, she gathered up her courage and put on that mask that she had grown accustomed to before resuming her pace towards the two.
Chikaru was the first to notice them and she saw that the girl had withdrawn her arm from Sei's, while Sei was looking at the current Rosa Chinensis with a puzzle expression. Youko inwardly shrugged as she was greeted by Chikaru, and she had to force a smile on her face as she responded back politely.
"Good evening, Chikaru. And yes, my night is going splendidly, thank you for asking." She said with a hidden tint of sarcasm behind her word. She hoped that the other two wouldn't be able to detect it. "Where are the two of you going at this time?"
Chikaru grinned as she pulled her hands up to the front then clasping them once more. "We were going to find the rest of the Yumayurikai members to ask them to come with us tomorrow on a shopping spree! Of course, you are definitely invited as well!" Chikaru practically said with so much enthusiasm that Youko couldn't find any ill meaning behind her words. "I want to get to know every single one of you! I know that you all have sparked an interest within our Student Councils' members, and even though I know Toumori-san wouldn't admit it but she is very interested in getting to know all of you." The girl then took a pause, letting out a soft sigh before she shook her head. "That is all that she talks about in the meetings these days."
Youko let out a smile before she nodded her head. "Yes, I would like to attend to this shopping spree tomorrow." Then she turned to Sei as her smile slowly began to falter. "If that is, indeed, alright with you Sei."
The taller girl blinked as if to try and register what Youko was saying to her, before she put up her hands with a nervous smile. "Of course it is alright with me! It'd be fun and we get to know about this part of the city!"
Youko nodded her head before she turned to face Chikaru once more. "I'll leave it to the two of you to ask the rest of the other Roses. They are probably still hanging around the lounging area."
"Alright, have a good night, Youko." Chikaru said softly with a smile adorning her face.
Youko nodded, returning the smile. "Have a good night as well, Chikaru." Then without further words other than a short glance at Sei, the current Rosa Chinensis proceed to walk back to her room. She didn't know what was going to happen tomorrow, but she knew that at least the Roses would be having a good time.