A/N: I can't believe it's taken me a whole month to update this. It's not even that I haven't had time, I've just been so tired after my shifts. I'm sorry that all of my author's notes at this point involve me bitching about work, but I just wanna make it clear that I don't want to abandon any of my stories or leave the platform. Anyways, this chapter's been a long time coming, so I hope you enjoy!

POV: Chitose

The moon had fully risen soon after Tamura-san had arrived, so the pitch-darkness of night naturally made it difficult to find my way around the neighborhood. I was able to figure out where I was a few times after being saved by the occasional street lamp, but for the most part I had to rely on the meager amount of moonlight, often blocked out by the clouds. Finally, after getting my bearings and making a sharp left just beyond a wooden fence, I heard the sound that I was searching for: the infrequent creaking of rusty chains. I knew she would be here.

Approaching my best friend calmly and quietly, I crossed into the playground and took a seat on the swing directly next to her.

"Hi, Chitose..."

"How did you know it was me?", I asked with a slight edge of incredulity.

"Well, Toshino Kyoko would have ran up to me while screaming my name before glomping me, and I assume Tamura-san would have picked up where she left off with her apology, if her face was any indication."

"You really are perceptive, aren't you?", I giggled. The next few minutes were spent in silence, Ayano sitting motionless as I was swinging back and forth. I couldn't help it, I knew it would take Ayano a few more minutes to be ready to talk, so I needed to do something to pass the time. The steady, louder creaking of my swing's chains also filled the awkward silence very well.

"Um, Chitose?" That was my cue to stop swinging.

"What's on your mind, Ayano-chan?", I asked after bringing my feet down, my heels scraping the dirt beneath me and stopping abruptly, nearly throwing myself off the swing in the process. I could have taken my time with it, but I knew Ayano needed to get something off her chest.

"I... I think I want to confess to Toshino Kyoko."

The second Ayano uttered the word "confess", all I could feel was the warm wetness of blood emanating from my nose before I fell backwards off the swing, my head bumping the ground below. I don't know how long I was out for, but I know I had a smile on my face the whole time.

POV: Hiyori

"T-Toshino-san, this is embarrassing!"

"Hey, you're the one who said I could use you as a model!"

"Yeah, but I didn't expect to be modeling in your Rivalrun cosplay!"

"I told you most of my work is based on Mirakurun, didn't I? This was the logical conclusion!"

"B-But I don't even cosplay when I go to Comiket! I've never done this before!"

"There's a first time for everything, Tamura-san! Now please stay still so I can finish this sketch."

After that little back-and-forth, the next twenty minutes or so passed by in total silence. I did my best to stand perfectly still, which was quite difficult for a few reasons. First and foremost, the fact that I was shaking out of pure embarrassment. How could I NOT be embarrassed? I had just met Toshino-san for the first time that night and here I was in the middle of Ikeda-san's room, wearing the Rivalrun cosplay that she had originally intended for Sugiura-san to wear tonight.

The outfit included a very tight-fitting black bra. Because Sugiura-san was the one the cosplay was made for, it was a cup size too small for me. For Toshino-san's sake, however, I elected to just grin and bear it for as long as possible. The night was off to a rocky start, and I had certainly been a primary cause of this. Until Ikeda-san came back with Sugiura-san in tow, I wanted to do everything in my power to keep Toshino-san in high spirits and hope it would absolve some of the guilt I was feeling.

Of course that doesn't mean I wasn't going to ask her to reconsider the outfit she'd picked out for me. The way she was positioning me and feeling me up throughout the sketching process felt like she and I were already at second base, and I hadn't even gotten there with Patty yet. Breaking the silence, I asked Toshino-san a particular question, partly to distract her attention away from ogling me in the Rivalrun outfit, but also because I was genuinely curious.

"Hey, Toshino-san, don't you think you should be the one to confess to Sugiura-san?"

"Well...", she began, pressing the eraser end of her pencil into her cheek as she began to mentally shift gears. "I've definitely entertained the thought before, but the possibility that she doesn't think of me the same way really scares me. I've always been terrible at reading people, and I think that's why some people get really annoyed with me." I can definitely think of a few other reasons, but go on. "If she really is just being a tsundere then I have to play the waiting game, sure. But wouldn't that be better than pressing her and potentially damaging our friendship? No matter what she really thinks of me, I still have a lot of fun spending time with her."

"Huh. That's... actually a mature way to look at it. I guess Ikeda-san was right, you really do have a thoughtful side."

"Hehe, don't praise me too much! So embarrassing!" Wow, one compliment and we're already back to the default settings.

"Just don't play the waiting game for too long, Toshino-san. You only live once. I had the same thoughts before I confessed to my crush, but pretty soon I found out I didn't have anything to worry about. I'm sure the same will apply to you."

"I really hope you're right, Hiyori-chan. Thank you!" Wait, Hiyori-chan?

"Wait, how'd you figure that one out?! Ikeda-san hasn't even started calling me that yet."

"Well, I'm using your sketchbook! Your name's right on the inside cover. We're close enough that I can drop the formalities, right?"

It's... it's only been one night. "Whatever floats your boat, I suppose. Uh..."

"Kyoko. Toshino Kyoko."

"Oh right, Sugiura-san screamed that a few times earlier. Well, I'm glad I could help, Kyoko-chan."

A dopey smile formed across the blonde's face, but I couldn't help but be delighted at the sight of it. The guilt was beginning to subside, and now I just had to wait for Ikeda-san and Sugiura-san to come back. But while I was alone with Kyoko-chan, I was determined to keep that smile painted across her face, and NOTHING was going to stop me from -

"Hmm, I think it's missing something. Tamura-san, maybe try taking one of the bra straps off your shoulder and bending over more? Really show off that cute butt of yours?"

Ikeda-san, PLEASE bring her back soon...

POV: Chitose

"What brought this on, Ayano-chan?", I asked after pulling myself back up onto the swing. I couldn't blame Ayano-chan for not being worried about the state that I was in, this happens all the time and I'm sure she was completely desensitized to it at that point. I was much more concerned with the uncertainty visible on Ayano's face, plain as day even in the darkness of the night. She was considering making the biggest admission of her life, and of course I wanted to listen and be helpful to her so she could accomplish this.

"Chitose... do you know why this playground is so important to me?"

I met her question with silence, as I had no idea what she was getting at.

"This is the playground where Toshino Kyoko and I were alone together for the first time. I've seen her every day at school since then, and we talk just as normally as we did before that day. But I've always held onto the memory of that evening. How happy I was when she complimented my outfit, when she bought me a drink, when she made some puns like I always do. I felt like I was finally beginning to connect with her, and all it took was being the only one she was looking at. She has her thoughtful side, but when it comes out she thinks of everybody around her. That's something I really admire about her, but at the same time I want her to look only at me, and think only of me."

"That's beautiful, Ayano-chan! But I gotta ask, what made you think that way tonight?"

"Well... you saw the way she was feeling me up earlier, and... you saw that I was enjoying it. When you two were in the bath and she found that sketchbook, she started behaving the exact same way. And that's when I realized something. It doesn't matter to her whether people are around or we're all alone. The way she acts all touchy-feely, it seems like it's just a little game to her. I want it to be something more than a game, and I only want her to play it with me. But I know if I want her to stop playing her game, I need to stop playing the waiting game."

"So when you slapped Tamura-san across the face, you weren't actually mad at her."

"Not really... okay, well maybe a little bit, you saw those sketches! They were so embarrassing. But Toshino Kyoko definitely made it so I had bigger things on my mind. I was frustrated, and I took that frustration out on her."

"I'm sure she'll understand, Ayano-chan. What do you say we go back to the house and clear this up?"

"S-Sure. Um, Chitose?"

"Hm?"

"After I apologize to Tamura-san, could you take her out of the house with you for a bit? I... I need to have a private conversation with Toshino Kyoko."

The bright smile that adorned my face was soon accented by a thin trail of blood coating my upper lip. With a firm nod, I reached out for Ayano's hand, and we simultaneously hopped off of our swings. I could feel her nervousness as she stood up, so I kept our hands interlocked as we made our way back home, flashing her a look of confidence each time we passed under a street light.

A/N: I really hope I'll have more chapters out soon. I'm not going to talk about work in the next Author's Note, if it doesn't come out for a while just assume that's the reason why unless I say otherwise. Again, I don't plan on abandoning this story! I really hope you've enjoyed it so far.