Review Responses:
Masane: Thanks! I am anticipating those movies, but we have to wait for so long. Makes me sad :(
SixRay: Easily called it, if it wasn't obvious enough. I don't know if it's an arc or not, but it definitely not a sub-plot. It's most likely a main plot.
Deliberatee: I agree with basically everything you said.
The day was perfect. Sun was out, but a strong breeze kept it cool.
The perfect day for moving your stuff.
"Mom! What's in all the boxes?" Kumiko yelled out. Thankfully, Kumiko's dad wasn't home. Thus, the four women had some time to move Kumiko's things. It wasn't a lot because Kumiko didn't have too much things in her room. It was annoying her that none of the boxes were lab-
"Kumiko, the boxes say what's in it on the other side." Asuka told her, in a monotone voice.
Kumiko walked around. "Oh."
Asuka sighed then laughed. "Always so lazy, Kumiko." Kumiko blushed, embarrassed when her mother came and started to laugh as well.
There were three boxes, all medium sized. The three labels on the boxes were: "Clothes", "School", and "Other."
Despite not having too many boxes to bring, all of them were pretty heavy. It took at least two of them to move it.
"Jeez, how heavy could a box with clothes could be?" Kumiko grunted as she and mother were moving it.
"Well, having shopping days help. Especially when they go on sale, you go crazy." Akiko laughed. "To be honest, I don't know if any of these fit you." They placed the box in the trunk. "You'll have to check with Asuka later."
Kumiko nodded as the two took a small break.
"Hey! My mom didn't park her car so you two could ride in it. Let's get to work ladies!" Asuka playfully commanded. She was stopped by a hand going on her shoulder.
"Now, now. All of the things are done. A whole three boxes are accounted for." Asumi told her daughter. "Let's head to your place. We need to do some more lifting after."
The Oumae girls groaned. So did Asuka.
…
The four girls rested in the living room. The boxes were all finished moving. All that was left was to unpack them.
That was left to Asuka and Kumiko. Right now, Kumiko was being comforted by the two mothers. She just told them about her "falling out" with Reina. She didn't want to lose her as her best friend. She was shuddering as she cried.
"Honey, it's okay. You two will make up. I know it." Akiko was comforting her daughter.
Asumi was hesitant to touch the crying brunette. However, Asuka was beside her and encouraging her to try. "Kumiko, don't worry." She patted Kumiko's shoulder.
Kumiko wiped her eyes. "Yeah. I hope so. Asuka said the same thing, but…I'm still scared. I've known her for so long…and for things to end like this…"
Asuka took her turn to comfort her girlfriend. She rested her boobs on her head as she embraced the girl's head. "It's not going to end, babe. You and Reina will make up. I know it."
Kumiko felt so loved. The four of them…a big, happy family. "Get your boobs off me!" Kumiko laughed along with everyone. "Thanks everyone."
They all smiled at each other.
"So, any plans tonight?" Asumi asked the couple specifically. "Akiko and I were going to go out and look around. How about you two?"
"We knew that already. Mom told us." Kumiko said to Asumi. "We were planning to go to this community thing. We were given a business card from an older person and his boyfriend." Kumiko ran to her room to get the card.
"Sora and Kaito were the name of them. They owned an "Acceptance Center." Or something like that." Asuka told the mothers as Kumiko came back. "Apparently, they're bigger than I thought. About a hundred and fifty people. All are part of the LGBT community or supporters of them. So, we were going to go to one of their meetings."
Kumiko continued for her girlfriend. "Luckily, they meet on Sundays. So hopefully…you could drive us there?"
"Is it far from here?" Asumi asked.
"Umm…no. But you're already going out and have a car! Please!" Both Kumiko and Asuka put on their best pouts.
The two mothers looked at each other and sighed. "Of course we will, what do you take us as?" Asumi asked teasingly.
Akiko was curious. "When do they start, anyways?"
The two girls looked at the time. "Uh oh. We need to leave. Like right now."
Thankfully, the four were all ready. So, they rushed to Asumi's car and drove to the center.
…
"You won't need us to pick you up?" Akiko asked as Kumiko and Asuka left the car.
"No, mom. We can walk back. It was us being lazy." Kumiko confessed. "You two enjoy yourselves!"
The girls waved at their mothers as they left. "So, shall we go in?"
Kumiko nodded at her girlfriend's question. It was 5:45, fifteen minutes before the start.
As they entered, they were surprised with how simple the place was. A small table that was housing a secretary. The middle of the room was filled with chairs. There were an influx of people coming in, forming a line in front of the secretary. They were happy that the LGBT community was growing in their area.
They saw two familiar faces, and the two faces lit up as well.
"Mizore! Nozomi!" Asuka took the two into a hug, which they gladly accepted. "It's been so long!"
"Hi Asuka-senpai!" Nozomi said to her senior. She also acknowledged their junior. "Hi Kumiko! I'm so glad you two are here."
"Me too." Mizore said in her shy voice, although her voice had a great deal of excitement in it.
"So, I assume that you two are a couple." Asuka said. "Just kidding. I knew you two would get together eventually."
Nozomi nervously chuckled. "Yeah, just over the break. It's been so great being together. And we heard from Reina-chan!"
It was Kumiko's turn to be nervous. Just mentioning Reina's name made her feel down. Asuka sensed this, so she responded.
"Yeah! It's been a short time, but it's been amazing. Right, Kumiko?"
Kumiko perked up after hearing her name and nodded. "Yeah! Being with Asuka is the best…thing…"
"Umm, Kumiko-chan?" Nozomi was confused as to why Kumiko wasn't as focused on the four.
"Look." Kumiko pointed at a place. Where was unknown to the other three, but as they looked further…they saw something interesting.
A yellow ribbon that stuck out.
The four looked at each other and had devilish grins, including Mizore.
…
Natsuki and Yuuko were walking hand in hand into the Acceptance Center. They got together over the break, and have only got closer because of band. They kept it confidential, however. Everyone teased them for not being together, despite that they were. However, they felt embarrassed to tell anyone.
"I wonder what this meeting is going to be today." Natsuki said.
"Maybe it's a trip! We haven't had one of these in a while." Yuuko said enthusiastically to her girlfriend. "We can afford it, right?"
Natsuki nodded. "Yeah, thanks to you." She smiled while Yuuko blushed at the praise. "I've been managing my money better. And it's all thanks to you, Yuuko." Natsuki placed her head on Yuuko's, much to the delight of the blonde girl. Yuuko was always glad to make her girlfriend happy.
"Silly." She playfully pushed Natsuki's head off of hers, and smiled at Natsuki's feigned hurt expression.
"Well, well. Look at what we have here."
They shrieked and jumped when a hand landed on their outer shoulders. They stood in fear as they heard their senior's voice.
They looked to each other, but their view was blocked by Asuka's smirk. She whispered in their ears. "So, you going out or what?"
The two girls quickly released their hands and stood as far away as they could.
However, the four girls were tired of these two idiots not being all lovey-dovey.
Mizore (of all people) and Kumiko pushed Yuuko and Natsuki together. Nozomi and Asuka stood beside each other with stern looks and their arms crossed.
"Don't resist, you two. We've already taken pictures," Asuka declared, much to the embarrassment of the other girls.
"WHAT?!" The two girls panicked. The four others sighed.
"Asuka, show them." Nozomi told her senior who obliged.
Much to Yuuko and Natsuki's horror, the pictures were unmistakably them two. Holding hands, heads on shoulders, all the works.
"D-Delete those!" Yuuko demanded. It was a pathetic plea, since she barely said her command quietly. "I-It's embarrassing!"
"Yeah!" Natsuki added. "I don't want everyone to see us like that!"
The four girls were in disbelief.
"Are you kidding me." Kumiko said to the struggling girls. "Everyone sees you like that already."
"R-Really?" Yuuko questioned. "I thought it wasn't that obvious."
"It was too obvious." Mizore told her friend. "If you argue a lot with one specific person, people start to say things."
"Now, can you idiots start being yourselves?" Nozomi asked the two girls.
Natsuki was the first to cave in. "Alright. Is it fine, Yuuko?" She sighed.
Yuuko was trying to resist, but it was inevitable. "Yes, I guess we can."
The two weren't together, at least physically. So, Mizore and Kumiko pushed them to be basically hugging. The two wore extremely red blushes, but had smiles on their faces.
"Thank god," Nozomi sighed. "It's better seeing you two be close than to be bickering all the time." This didn't help their blushes go away.
It took a while for the six girls to calm down, since Yuuko and Natsuki had to get over their high of being "officially" together.
"From what I heard," Asuka started to say. "You two seem like you've been going here for a while."
"Yeah, we learned about this place when it was pretty small." Natsuki responded. "Sora is one of my cousins, so he told our family about his new organization."
"So, are you the first person he tells when something happens?" Nozomi asked.
"Sometimes. I usually hear it after Kaito does, but sometimes he doesn't tell me anything."
Yuuko nodded. "It's true, Natsuki usually tells me after. So, I guess nothing is happening?"
Natsuki shrugged. "You never know."
…
The six of them found a seat close to the front. Sora and Kaito quickly got to the podium.
"Sorry for the delay, had some paperwork to take care of. Welcome to the Acceptance Center! We don't have too much to talk about today, so this meeting will be quick. We're planning to have a new trip over summer, just for a week." The audience was murmuring, so Sora guessed that there was some interest. "If you are interested, we have a lot of information on these sheets." Kaito was holding up a sheet so everyone could see. "They will be at the secretary's desk, so please take a copy. That is all. As always, new people should go to the secretary so your email is in our data. Please be safe while going home and enjoy the rest of your day."
Some were annoyed that the meeting was so short when they could have been emailed this information. However, the meetings always had something exciting.
"Food!" Kumiko said, having a bit too much eagerness.
Asuka laughed at her girlfriend's antics. "Just like always, Kumiko and food go hand in hand." The others laughed at Kumiko's embarrassment.
"A-Asuka!"
So, the six of them helped themselves to the buffet. The food choices were vast, and the way Kumiko indulged into it was unsurprising.
The six of them found seats and ate. It was peaceful with some light conversations sprinkled in. As they were close to finished, Sora and Kaito walked up to them.
"Natsuki! And Yuuko-chan, I see you are here again. And you brought some friends!" Sora said with enthusiasm. "I remember you four girls. Are you enjoying it here?"
They all nodded in unison. "Yeah, I'm excited about that trip! Where is it to?' Asuka asked.
"We'll be headed to Gunma, I hear that it's more advanced than a lot of other places. And, they have a lot of places that are accepting of LGBT people." Kaito informed them.
"Sweet! That sounds awesome!" Asuka said in excitement. "How about it, Kumiko?"
"Well, I think we'll all be on break by then. It's just the price…is it expensive?" Kumiko asked. She found it reasonable to ask, they are still young after all.
Sora laughed. "You girls can't look at a piece of paper?" He joked.
"I was afraid you were going to be stupid, Sora." Natsuki told her cousin.
He continued. "It's about 33000 yen, hopefully it's a bit reasonable for you guys."
Mizore, Nozomi, and Kumiko were all frozen.
"T-that's a lot…a lot of money." Nozomi was the first to respond.
Sora pouted. "I was afraid that you would say that. You are still in school, I assume." Sora saw the four of them nod. "Damn, I wish I could do something. All I can do is help Natsuki."
The four of them whipped their heads toward the couple. Yuuko was blushing, as was Natsuki. "Idiot! Why would you tell them that?!" Natsuki demanded.
Kaito stepped in, but wasn't angry. "I assume you told them you two are cousins?" Natsuki, who was clearly annoyed, nodded. "Well, it's a family thing. I hope you understand."
The four girls nodded. "Makes sense. Does Yuuko-senpai get the same benefit?" Kumiko asked.
"No," Yuuko grumbled. "Natsuki is lucky."
Natsuki stole a kiss from Yuuko's cheek. "Sorry, Yuuko. It's family stuff."
"Oh, now you grow arrogance." Sora deadpanned. "If you can't make it, I understand. I'll try to make arrangements next time. But if you can, I hope you'll enjoy!" The two waved to the six girls and walked away.
This left them to think.
"How are we going to get that much money?" Mizore, Yuuko, Nozomi, and Kumiko all sighed.
Asuka laughed. "We're going to get some jobs!"
Four girls sat, confused about Asuka's proposal. Kumiko sat there, wondering.
"A-A job? We have so much to deal with, how can we handle a job?" Yuuko asked worried.
"Yeah, Asuka-senpai! School, band, and now a job? How can you be so sure that you can get us jobs?" Nozomi questioned. Mizore nodded to her girlfriend's question.
"It would help, but…What?" Natsuki tried to say, but the five other girls stared at her angrily.
"Don't you talk about money for this trip." Yuuko told her girlfriend with harsh venom.
"Eheh, s-sorry…" Natsuki said, intimidated by her girlfriend and the rest of the girls. She looked down. "I would want to get a job too." Natsuki said quietly before she stopped talking about paying for the trip.
Yuuko sighed. "Anyways, where would we find a job? There aren't too many places."
"Well, lucky enough," Asuka declared proudly. "The place where I work at is not really employed, since it's not extremely busy. I can probably get you guys a job there. I've been a loyal employee, so I should get some advantages."
"Where DO you work, Asuka?" Kumiko asked. She knew that Asuka had a job, but she didn't know where.
"It's a local coffee shop. It's not too far from your school and the time is manageable. I can probably get you a time after band. It does get busier after that time."
"Well, that's convenient." Nozomi said, getting a nod out of Mizore and Asuka.
"Exactly! It's perfect! How about it?" Asuka asked with enthusiasm.
They looked at each other.
"Well, you did promise me." Kumiko said, while Asuka nervously laughed.
"Ehh, what the hell. Sure." Yuuko said. "We should head there at the earliest time we can." The girls nodded in agreement.
"Then, it's settled!" Asuka said as the girls all smiled.
