Author's Notes
Hello hello it is i!! While this chapter (and the next) was originally for the Sonoda's knowing about Kotori's pregnancy, i thought it would be fun to show kotori's emotions a bit more. about our (or maybe her?) beloved umi-chan, mainly. so i'll write about the sonoda's finding out in the next chapter instead.
Responses for Reviews:
Hiei's Curry: kotori's reason(s) for being slightly unsure and nervous will be revealed in this chapter thanks to your review ;) i hope that it suits your (and the other readers') expectations as to why kotori felt that way. and in response for your review in my two-shot, dw, kotoumi won't have angsty parts in this story. they'll be happy :D
tzumisa9: while i wanted them to, i don't think kotori would grow up and turn into a positive person if her parents weren't the same. in ways, the minami's will always go and look for positivity in everything~
Guest: you don't know how much it means to me to hear that from readers omgg thank you for enjoying the plot! and yes, i usually look for umi's sister in other stories, but there's either none or just a few years age gap even though it's stated they have quite a huge one :(( but anyway, thank you! stay safe tooo!!
With all that said, lez go!
Disclaimer: The Love Live franchise and its characters are not mine.
Chapter Fourteen - Love
Kotori was the first to wake up between the two, as usual on every Sunday morning. The only day of the week where Umi doesn't usually go out, not even for jogs. The only day where the both of them tend to sleep in a bit later than usual. It was a day of relaxation, and Umi often relished the fact that she finally had someone to spend that day with.
At first, Kotori was confused as to why Umi wrapped her arms around her, she soon remembered what she requested the night before. While a slight blush formed across her cheeks, a smile did, too. She moved away a bit, noticing how Umi was still in deep sleep, then tried to get off the bed.
Only for Umi's arms to tighten around her.
"No.. can't let.. go. Mine."
"Umi-chan, you're sleep talking." Kotori giggled, slightly blushing "I have to cook us breakfast, Umi-chan."
"Kotori.. is leaving.. me..again?"
"..." Kotori smiled sadly, realizing their breakup left an impact on Umi "I'll come back, Umi-chan. I promise."
She saw how Umi's eyebrows furrowed, as if she was thinking, and eventually her grip on Kotori's waist loosened. Quickly, but gently, Kotori left their bed and put her yellow pillow in replacement of herself around Umi's arms. Satisfied, Umi smiled in her sleep, burying her face into the fluffy pillow that had Kotori's scent.
"My..Kotori.."
Kotori let out a chuckle as she silently left the room to take a quick shower. After that, she turned to their room, where Umi was still asleep while hugging her pillow.
She sat in front of her desk that also worked as her vanity mirror, and began checking the years of each diary she brought home. From the bright pink ones that had stickers all over, to the light green and white ones. When she read the first few ones, she let out a little giggle sometimes, especially during the parts where she wrote about having a tantrum, or how she played with her friends that day.
Soon, she read the diary she wrote four years ago. Most of the first few pages were about her dates with Umi, to which she smiled to, but she frowned when she flipped to the last page that had her writings on.
April 5, 2014
I broke up with Umi-chan. I couldn't bear to see her cry, so I said I would be off first.
But when I looked back, I could still see her crying on the dimly lit sidewalk. Was my decision wrong? I don't know. I did this so neither of us would suffer, but why does it feel like the opposite instead?
Why does it feel like we're suffering more because of what I did?
This morning, I went to their house to apologize, and possibly fix things, but Auntie Sonoda said Umi-chan has been locking herself in her room and didn't open to anyone. When I was supposed to knock on the door, I could hear Umi-chan crying slightly. Like it was held back. Like she didn't want to cry, but her heart was in too much pain to stop.
So I left. Even though I wanted to fix things again, I was too scared I'd hurt her again. So I left.
But why does it hurt me so much?
I have to go now, I'll be late for the flight going to France. For some reason.. I'm less excited now.
Umi-chan, if you read this.. and I know you won't.. I love you. I'm sorry.
- Kotori
Of course. One of the main reasons why Kotori was afraid to love Umi again, was because she was so scared of messing up and hurting the bluenette again.
But, even if she denies it, even if she ignores it, the signs of her being in love again is showing. The way her heart would beat fast whenever Umi's too close to her face, the way she'd get jealous with Yuuki still calling Umi,
the way she yearned for Umi's warmth.
Kotori took a deep breath in, then she flipped the page and began writing song lyrics again. Unlike the time she wrote Wonderzone, where she had troubles, she smoothly began writing lyrics that conveyed her feelings right now.
"Mm.." Kotori furrowed her eyebrows as she shut the notebook moments after, frustrated about her feelings "Am I in love with Umi-chan again..?"
Her gaze travelled from her desk, to the sleeping Umi, and to the clock on their bedside desk.
10:02 AM
"Ah, I need to cook us breakfast for now. I'll.." Kotori muttered, hiding the diary in one of her drawers "I'll think of that later."
"..tori.." Umi muttered in her sleep, slowly waking up. She stared at the yellow pillow weirdly, then pouted "..not Kotori."
Wait. Why is she on the bed and not the futon? It dawned on her that last night, and Kotori's request, wasn't a dream at all.
She really did hold Kotori in her sleep..! And not only that, but Kotori also left her the yellow pillow!
Umi was about to scream from euphoria, but instead, she was startled as the door opened.
"Umi-chan~! Good morning!" Kotori grinned, wearing an apron "Breakfast is ready."
"K-Kotori! We slept on the same bed last night..?" Umi asked instantly, then shook her head "A-Ah, right, good morning..!"
"Ehh, Umi-chan forgot? W-We slept on the same bed together, yeah.." Kotori nodded, a faint blush forming across her cheeks "M-Mou, just hurry up and get ready so we can have breakfast and start packing!"
Umi looked confused as Kotori left the room flustered. Soon, she just let out a giggle, and buried her face in Kotori's pillow again to let out a muffled scream.
After all, it wasn't everyday that she could get Kotori to be flustered and embarrassed.
Breakfast seemed quicker than the usual ones, since they had to spend the rest of the day packing for their three days and two nights trip to Hokkaido, Umi's hometown.
After breakfast, they began packing for the trip, with Umi packing lighter since she has some stuff at their main house anyway.
"Umi-chan, other than your parents and sister, who else will be there?" Kotori asked, lifting her head to look at Umi. At first, Umi didn't respond and continued packing some folded shirts, then paused to let out a smile.
"My grandmother. Grandfather.. well.." Umi's smile soon turned into a frown as she bit her lower lip "We'll visit him, of course."
"Mm.. Umi-chan, did your grandfather pass..?"
"Yes, only a few months after you left. I suppose the girls didn't tell you?"
"The girls barely told me anything about you and what you've been doing the past four years.. so I'm clueless about you. It feels like I know you..but like I also don't.."
"Well.." Umi zipped up her luggage, putting it down to the floor and sat on the bed "What else do you want to know about me? It's best for you to know everything."
"Yay~!" Kotori grinned, running from her desk to sit beside Umi on, well, their bed "Then.. ehm.. what happened after I left?"
"I received the letter saying I got accepted into university. While my parents didn't agree on the course I chose, they let me stay in the house only for a year, until I found a nice place to settle in. Eventually, I moved out and they..well, moved back to Hokkaido."
"Was it hard adjusting to living alone?"
"Hm..no, not really. While I did stay at our old house for a year with them, I was mostly alone since Grandpa often got sick. A few months later, he died, and.. that was also the time I moved out."
"Ehh..? Then, let's see.. did you date anyone else?" Kotori was really curious about that, and felt a hint of jealousy when she saw Umi's lips curl up into a smile "Hey.. you did?"
"No. Eli, Nozomi, and even Honoka tried to set me up for blinddates." Umi chuckled, moving her head to face Kotori "But none of them matched up to you, so I didn't date anyone."
"You were looking for me..?" Kotori cocked her head slightly "Why, though? Didn't I.. hurt you?"
"Of course, you did." Umi nodded, her smile turning into a frown as she avoided Kotori's gaze "I.. only cried once, the day after that night. After that, I stopped, and the girls thought I was already okay, even I did. In reality, well.. it all came crashing down to me in realization three months later. But still, in every person I tried to date, I realized I was only looking for you. So I stopped myself because I couldn't bring myself to use another just to replace you. It's wrong for me to do that to another person."
"..so all this time..?"
"You could say that I loved you all this time." Umi nodded again, then looked at Kotori "H-Hey, what about you though? I wanna know everything, too! Especially about D-Dad's remarks about French boys wanting you!"
"Oh, that?" Kotori giggled "Firstly.. Dad would be glad to know you're calling him Dad like what he wanted. A-Anyway! I moved in a little apartment near the university, and had to spend the extra time learning French. I had a few friends, but most of them were Japanese or knew Japanese.. the guys that flirted with me wanted me because, like what Dad said, they thought I was some 'exotic Japanese beauty' and rare to find. They weren't.. my type though. Eventually, I felt homesick and that lead to my determination to graduate a year earlier..!"
"Well, you are beautiful, but.." Umi pouted, visibly irritated (and slightly jealous, too) "I don't like the words they used to compliment you. It's like they're objectifying you."
"Mm.. well, again, I turned them down. Because.. I prefer those who are more traditional and kind, like us Japanese." Kotori started, then, unconsciously began staring at Umi's eyes "I like amber eyes, and not blue ones or green ones.. and I prefer calloused hands instead of those that are smooth and soft."
"K-Kotori, you're staring." Umi turned her head, covering her mouth with her hand as she began blushing "A-Anyways, I'll go ahead and s-shower..!"
"..did I stare too much..?" Kotori muttered to herself as she watched Umi walk to the bathroom, oblivious that she actually described Umi as her type (which made Umi blush.) Once she heard Umi lock the door, she went ahead and began writing other lyrics on her diary, a smile written on her face as well as a slight blush.
By the time nighttime came, they were back in their room, preparing themselves to sleep earlier since their flight to Hokkaido was quite early in the morning.
"Umi-chan?" Kotori pouted as Umi began to prepare the futon again "I said sleep beside me from now on, right?"
"Huh? Why?"
"I like your warmth.. that's all. You..don't want to?" Kotori muttered, slightly embarrassed for requesting such. She was a little surprised when Umi suddenly got in the bed and hugged her from behind, too.
"I like hugging you like this the most." Umi smiled, closing her eyes as her hands made their way to rest on top of Kotori's stomach "Goodnight, Kotori."
"..I like this, too." Kotori giggled, and soon felt sleepy. Still, she knew Umi was in deep sleep by then, even if she wasn't facing Umi directly. This gave her the courage to silently, but honestly, tell her one thing.
"Umi-chan, I love you."
"This nice, warm feeling..without a doubt, is love. Only love can make me feel this way, and only you can make me feel this way again."
Sleep soon took over the both of them, with the bluenette oblivious that she had successfully made Kotori hers again.
Minami Kotori has fallen for Sonoda Umi once again, and she accepts that. There's no point of denying, or ignoring it. The main question is, how will she tell Umi?
side-note:
thank you for reading this!! writer's blocc is being a dick and hit me recently. i was about to postpone this and just post it next week, but i decided i should write even if it's a bit shorter since there is a quarantine going on, especially since i wanted to give you guys a sense of entertainment.
as usual, reviews are highly appreciated! i'd love to know what you think, especially with kotori accepting the fact that she has fallen for umi again. it may be too early, but then again, once the sonodas find out, we're back to doing monthly or bimonthly skips per chapter :')
thank you again, and stay safe and wash your hands everyone!
- zumi
