As the pair parted and looked into each other's eyes, the snow fluttered slowly to the ground, latching itself to the pair on its descent. Darkness surrounded the flurry as they stared longingly through the gateways into one another's soul's. A small flame burned within both girl's hearts as time grinded to a halt. The pink haired girl was a foot or so shorter than her upperclassman, who looked down at her with a smile.
"I feel sorry for you Matsuri." Harumin said, breaking the silence. A small look of confusion made its way upon the shorter girl's face. "Why is that?" she'd answer back, a little curious and nervous at the same time. "Well, I don't think this date will be easy to top." Harumin chuckled as a sigh of relief came from Matsuri, along with a giggle to join her date's.
The pair began to walk back to the entrance of the park, silence their companion as they enjoyed the atmosphere and rode on the feelings they both had experienced from the kiss. Both girls were essentially on cloud nine, one more joyous than the other that things had worked out. 'Wait, if she said this date won't be easy to top, does that mean she definitely wants more?' the pink haired girl pondered to herself, choosing to ask as they reached the gate. "So, I take it we will do this again sometime?" a small chuckle came from Harumin as the question was posed to her. "I suppose we will. Maybe quite a few more times if you ask me, that is if that's what you want." a large smile grew on Matsuri's face as her cheeks reddened. "Of course! Yes!" She said, rather flustered and excitedly.
"Well then, this is where we go our separate ways." Matsuri nodded, a little bummed that it was over already, the time had flown for her. While it had only felt like a mere twenty minutes, it was about an hour and a half. Harumin took hold of the girl and brought her in for a hug, smiling and running her hand against the back of her Kohai's hair. "Don't be sad that we have to say goodbye, it's only till next time, 'k?" Matsuri hugged her tight, nodding, slightly embarrassed. She often tried not to expose her feelings to people, but as for Harumin... she had become an exception to this rule. Without Matsuri's input, It was just natural.
Soon the pair parted, heading their respective ways down the bustling city streets that were peppered with flakes of snow, Matsuri's heart still beating heavily. The sharp, cool air ran against the girl's cheek as she strolled leisurely past various stores and buildings. It was then that something dawned on her. 'Oh, Shit… I didn't buy Harumin anything!'. So off the girl scurried, hoping to find a shopshe could browse before it closed. Soon she'd find one such place, slipping in and escaping the night's chill, for now.
Finally the weekend had ended and the girl's were back in school. Matsuri was both excited and nervous. She would be seeing Harumin for the first time since their date, as well as this, would Harumin have said something to say to Yuzu or the others? It wasn't something Matsuri had thought about until she approached the school gates, her hands in her pockets as she gazed upon the large building, before slowly walking in and past the student council representatives, who stood at the access, guarding the integrity of the school.
The day for the most part went by as all others before it had, the teachers going over some last-minute material for the winter exams that were due to start. Throughout it all, the pink haired girl was anxious, waiting for the clock to signal her break for lunch, so she could get this all over with. But, then again, who said anything would happen or change? Maybe it was all just inside Matsuri's head, but the possibility that it wasn't ate away at her.
Stumbling to the cafeteria, the girl meandered through the busy hall with waves of students brushing past, the smaller-figured girl having to pull herself through the hordes of students that rushed to club rooms, the cafeteria, or other places among the school to enjoy their break from their tiring work. As she stepped into the bustling cafeteria, the buzz of dialogue radiated through the air, vibrating from dozens of simultaneous conversations. After obtaining her meal, Matsuri walked to the group's usual table, finding Harumin and Yuzu sitting together alone.
"Hey." She said while taking a seat, gently placing her food on the table. The pair of girls who sat there stopped their conversation to greet their friend before continuing. 'Strange.' Matsuri thought as she began to dig into her sandwich. 'It's almost as if the other day never happened.' she analyzed Harumin, half expecting her to say something that would never be said. The pair were talking about how much they enjoyed the shopping trip.
"Matsuri, hellooooo? Are you here?" Soon the girl focused back to the present situation to see Yuzu waving her hand in front of her face. "What is it?" she snapped, in her bratty tone. "Did you enjoy the movie the other day? Wasn't it just romantic how he left his job in the big city to be with her." Yuzu said as she was aflutter, imagining such romantic gestures, likely between her and Mei. Toying with her food slightly, the girl took a moment to respond, debating on if she should ridicule the movie or just play along with Yuzu.
Yup, it was a totally normal day back in the Aihara academy. Nothing had changed. Harumin barely even acknowledged the girl. Which was fine for Matsuri. After all, nothing much more had come of it quite yet, and it was only one date.
As she prepared to leave, the girl stood upon the top step, gazing out towards the school's courtyard that was being mercilessly pelted by rain. A sigh escaped from her lips as her purple hoodie covered her pink hair. Just as she was about to take the first step, she heard footsteps behind as her arm was tugged on. "And where do you think you're going without an umbrella?" the girl was asked, a slight smirk on her face.
"I wasn't going anywhere, who said I wasn't waiting for my knight in shining armor." Matsuri joked as she faced Harumin, who wore her navy coat, tightly fastened around her body as a black umbrella loomed over both girls, being held by the taller one. "Is that so? Well, I'm not a knight, so I suppose I will walk ahead and leave you to wait." the girl retorted before a small chuckle parted her lips. "Come on, we'll walk together." Harumin spoke somewhat cheerily, in contrast to the gloomy weather that surrounded the girls as they stepped out into the dark miserable day.
"So was something the matter at lunch earlier? You sort of zoned out." Harumin's happy voice changed to one of slight concern for her friend. Shaking her head, Matsuri kept her eyes forward as they strolled through the city streets, which was polluted by the heavy noise of speeding cars, whizzing by. "If you were worried I would have said something to Yuzucchi, I didn't." Harumin continued, seeming to try to get to the bottom of Matsuri's mood earlier that day. "That's good." was all she replied, followed by a relieved sigh as they continued down the dreary lane.
"Did it really make you nervous that much?" the older girl's spirit had lifted slightly, figuring out what her younger counterpart's issue was. "I didn't think there was anything that needed to be said to Yuzucchi today anyways. After all, I think we need another date or two to decide." nodding along, Matsuri smiled. The mere presence of Harumin and her concern lifting her spirits. "Speaking of which, what should the next one be and when?" Matsuri asked, opting for this one to be a joint plan, as opposed to the first they had just a day or so ago.
As the pair walked though the wind and rain towards home, an unlikely candidate watched from afar, stepping over blotches of puddles so as to not soak their shoes. The potential couple that strolled and toyed with various ideas for their next date, being observed, without the slightest idea.