AU Yeah! August 9: Summer Camp

"Four days, three nights. NozoEli."

Nishikino Maki wants to help her girlfriend, the hardest working senior at Kyoto's

summer performing arts camp. But they only have four days and three nights _

to make Nico's best friends realize their feelings. She'll need all the help she can get.

AN:

This one is mostly Nozomi and Eli's story, but Nico and Maki get plenty of the back-story.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

"Rin thinks Maki-chan is so mature, nyan!"

The shortest of the three girls said to the one leading the way. She was an excitable first-year who colored her hair an orangish chestnut color. Next to her was a busty fellow first year with glasses, and going ahead was an elegant-looking girl with auburn-colored hair who definitely did look mature and in control.

"Rin ..." Hanayo said, putting her hand on Rin's shoulder.

"Kayo-chin, Maki is like a grown woman, meeting her girlfriend for lovey-dovey stuff. They're even sleeping in Nico-sempai's tent!"

Maki blushed, but responded, "We've been through this, Rin. For the record, Nico and I have been together since I was in middle school, and, yes we sleep together, we like sleeping together. It's no big deal by now."

Both Hanayo and Rin blushed even more than Maki had. "Maki-chan, so bold!"

"I suppose ..." Maki said, twirling one strand of hair in another sign of embarrassment.

"Ummm … Maki-chan?" Hanayo began, " How exactly do you get away with sleeping in the personal tent of a senior, anyway?"

"The camp director ...

"Kotori's mom, nyah!"

"Yes, her. She turns a blind eye, basically. You two know about the first day when the seniors take care of the basics for the middle schoolers, right?" They both nodded.

"Well, Nico does virtually all the work. She's used to taking care of three other kids, so she just does five or ten times the size of everything. I suppose it helps that if anyone unfamiliar with us saw us together, they would never guess Nico was even older than me. We've been relying on that the whole way."

"Wow!" Rin and Hanayo said.

"Also, she knows me. She knows I'm mature and discreet. I've even helped out on the first day when they needed an extra hand."

She turned to them with a serious look. "Do you two really want to know how this works?"

Taking their silence as assent, she added, " Well for one thing you can't make any noise at all, really. Even if you have to, like, bite on some cloth at first. We don't often get a chance to make any sounds at all, but then again, having to be quiet, not getting caught is also very sexy."

Rin was very quiet. Come to think of it, she was somewhat pale, too.

But Maki remembered another thing. "And you can't make the bed or the cot creak or squeak or anything. That's just as bad. You're usually better off moving to a sleeping bag on the floor. Then when you're both finished you move back to the cot."

"Ummm, Maki-chan, you're a very good friend to tell us such things, but I am not sure we're ready to hear about it, after all," Hanayo said, quietly.

Maki looked at Hanayo, then back again at Rin. She turned beet red. She continued playing with her hair and said, " Ahh, I don't get it! What about the part where I lose myself in her eyes and we tell each other how much we love each other, over and over?"

That made Hanayo tear up, and Rin look embarrassed for being embarrassed.

Then, impatiently, she said, " Anyway, this camp isn't going to be fun and games at ALL."

Rin and Hanayo were obviously puzzled.

"Nico's really worried about Eli and Nozomi ," she explained.

"What's wrong with Nozomi-sempai and Eli-sempai?" Rin wondered.

They had reached the tent the three would share. This had been their routine last summer, as it meant a three-person tent for Hanayo and Rin, once Maki relocated to Nico's cot.

This time, since Maki was in high school, she was going to openly move her stuff immediately to Nico's tent. In compensation for that, she'd brought the bare minimum, so it wouldn't be obvious two people were staying there. " I'll be back in about fifteen minutes!" she told them.

When Maki got back she looked troubled.

"It's probably worse than I thought. Nozomi and Eli are still avoiding each other, and Nico's going to be too busy to help."

"Avoiding completely?" Hanayo squealed.

"Ah, no. But avoiding any romantic developments. Even though they spend a lot of time gawking at each other…"

"Maki-chan, you know what this means!"

"Rin ..."

"No, Hanayo. I know I normally shoot down Rin's wild plans pretty much non-stop. It's just what I do." She twirled her hair again. " But this time, she's right."

"She … she is?" Hanayo said, uncertainly.

"I am! Nyah!"

Maki bowed formally. " Hoshizora Rin, Koizumi Hanayo, I implore you to give me all possible aid in bringing Toujou Nozomi and Ayase Eli together. Please take care of me."

Rin's fist pump and Hanayo's blush was all the answer she needed.

Maki returned to her and Nico's tent. She made coffee using Nico's mountain climbing stove, and brought it to the hard-working girl. At first she couldn't find her, as she was too short to be seen over the large steel pot she was cleaning, but when she did locate her and give her her coffee, the smile she got in return made her feel very happy.

Maki looked around for the two targets. After Nico, Eli was the hardest working, so it was no surprise she was testing the audio and lighting on the main stage. "Okay if I make some for Eli, pumpkin?" she asked Nico.

Nico considered for a second. It didn't feel like she was running out any time soon. "Good idea, thanks!" she responded. Anything that got Maki on Eli's good side couldn't hurt. "Maki-chan, put a little — not overpowering — cocoa powder in it once it's brewed."

That, Maki reflected, would give it a chocolate finish without turning it into a mocha. If their wildest ideas ever came true and she and Nico stayed together long enough to get married, she was at least assured of a phenomenal cook as a housewife. Given Eli's taste for chocolate, it would put a smile on her face for sure. And so it turned out. She gave Eli's coffee half the cream she'd put in Nico's, and no sugar at all. Eli was beaming at Maki after she tasted it. "Nico-chan is so very lucky to have you. She must have been very, very good in a previous life," she said, lifting an eyebrow a little.

"Eli-sempai, you know what? There really hasn't been a downside so far for either of us, being in a committed relationship. We get so much more done, we're not lonely all the time. I can bitch about things for an hour and she'll just listen and hold me. She is lucky to have me, but I am just as lucky to have her. Perhaps I am just partial here, but look at her. Isn't she cute?" Maki pointed over at Nico, who was small enough that she had actually climbed inside the big pot to finish scrubbing it. She looked like an elf or a small child. Eli laughed and agreed.

Maki might as well go full speed ahead. "What's Nozomi-sempai up to?"

"Orienting the kids. I had to warn her not to even joke about topics that are too mature for them."

"Yes, we wouldn't want that," Maki said, nervously, thinking of Rin and Hanayo.

"The middle-schoolers usually sample everything and take a lot of simple classes, you know. If they ask Nozomi for advice, she has a pretty good track record of steering individual kids to things they'd like," Eli observed.

"She definitely gives off an intuitive, supportive aura, sempai."

"Yeah," Eli said, not realizing how dreamily she spoke.

"We're going to be here four days and three nights, sempai."

"True, but what about it?"

"I just think instead of taking each other for granted, you should make a point of doing at least one fun thing with Nozomi every day. It isn't just the classes and your first-day duty, you know. It's the memories you can make or not. If you don't, you can't get them back."

"I would ask if this is speaking from personal experience, but I know you and Nico plan your time exactly that way, already."

"We sure do, and for good reasons." Maki looked at Eli significantly.

"But you two are a couple. Nozomi and I aren't … dating, after all," Eli said, though she was a little tentative where she probably wished to be more firm.

"Bzzzzt! Nico and I did that kind of planning even when we were just hanging out, our first summer. We didn't want one of us to not be having fun and being polite about it. And we each thought the other was too young to date, to boot."

"I think the logistics are trickier than you imagine them to be, but if you can talk Nozomi into it, I could be up for that. But 'fun things' is pretty vague, right?"

This is where the meticulous Hanayo came in. Not only did she have schedules, but she'd highlighted the likeliest activities that Nozomi and Eli would probably both enjoy. Looking at it, Maki decided on the best one.

"My friend Hanayo highlighted the most interesting things. This one is good. It's the big music thing. You and Nozomi will be done with your first-day duties, you'll have time to freshen up and change quickly, and if you get there a half-hour before it starts or so, you can sit up front by the taiko drums and they give the audience there a chance to play a set of them during the performance."

She could see Eli's eyes light up.

"You know," Maki said, "my girlfriend is busy most of the day, my friends are still settling in. Why don't I go find Nozomi and ask her?"

Eli obviously wanted to object purely out of embarrassment, but couldn't come up with a good reason, so she saluted her and went back to prepping the stage.

Over her shoulder, Maki heard Eli ask her why she and Nico weren't doing what she was suggesting for Nozomi and Eli. "We did it last year," she replied.

When Maki got to Nozomi-sempai, she had to wait, because that girl was surrounded by eager middle-schoolers. They clearly all put a lot of faith in her advice, and her reputation preceded her.

She looked them over. Eli's little sister, and Honoka's, waved at her. They would both be high-schoolers next year, but they were already restricting themselves to dance classes. As such, they already knew what they were taking. They were just waiting around to talk to Nozomi, just as Maki was, so she waved them over. They were both sweet girls, so they hugged Maki from either side. "Guess who's here, sempai?" Alisa said. When Maki attempted to scan the small mob of middle-schoolers, Yukiho put her hands over Maki's eyes. "Iiiyeh, you gotta guess, sempai." Who could possibly be here for the first time that Maki would recognize … "Cocoro?"

She heard a loud cry of "MAKI-NEEEE!" and felt herself being hugged from the front. When you considered that Yukiho and Alisa were both still hugging her …

"Ara, we have a womanizer preying on my lambs! Someone do something!" she heard.

"Who's just standing here being hugged, again, Nozomi-sempai?" Maki said, flustered. She'd opened her eyes and looked down. Yazawas were so tiny. She always forgot. "Cocoro, it's so good to see you here! I had forgotten this would be the year. Have you seen Nico?"

"Maki-nee! Maki-nee!" Cocoro exulted. "And yeah I have 'seen' Onee-chan. She said two words to me then had me help her move a bench, even though we were the two tiniest people there!" She took her hands off Maki's waist to put them on her hips.

"Did you at least get a hug?" Maki wondered.

"Well, of course. It is Nee-chan, after all," Cocoro replied. "But I can tell she's going to be boring all day. Can I hang out with you, Maki-nee?"

"Not this time, I'm afraid. I am on a secret mission. And I am not lying, I swear. Plus, this is your first time. You need to be taking as many classes as you can fit in, little girl! Didn't Nico make you a plan?"

Cocoro looked embarrassed.

"And are you, in fact, late for a class?"

"Maybe," the girl said, looking down.

"It's the first class of the first day, so if you run now you can say you got lost or something," Maki said, giving her a hug. "Nico and I both want you to make the most of this, no excuses. You need to do well in your classes, and network. And networking means you get to know other kids your age, and the other kids in the middle school sessions, not always hang out with the older kids. And before you say I'm not doing that? The only reason I think my secret mission will succeed is that I have Rin and Hanayo on my side. If you have any problems or questions today, by the way, you're better off talking to these two little villains than any of the seniors, including Nico. Alisa and Yukiho know the ropes."

She heard Alisa cutely asking Yukiho what ropes the classes were using today, but for the most part, her desire to imitate her older sister made the quarter-Russian a very reliable sempai.

All three middle schoolers gave Maki a last squeeze, then they went off to the side to look at the schedule Nico had made for Cocoro. Before that girl could run off to catch half of her first class, Nozomi had a break from students asking her questions, so Maki seized her chance.

Nozomi looked Maki over. "She's hiding her wings, but did she forget her bow and arrow, I wonder?" Then she smiled at Maki. "Hello, Cupid-chan."

Maki probably looked stunned, so she continued, "Nicocchi has tried not to be obvious about it, but she's clearly decided this is going to be her last stand. I am not shocked she drafted her little girlfriend into the conflict. It's going to be a tougher thing than you both are thinking."

"And why is that, sempai?"

"Well, you know the problem on Eli's side already. But on my side - don't I have my pride as a woman? I am scarcely going to come crawling, and even if I did, she'd just dismiss it. She's not even comfortable with the idea yet, after years of it sort of floating over us. If I want someone who will just stare at me all the time without saying anything, I can simply walk down the street in Akihabara, after all."

"Then, can Nozomi-sempai put aside a little of her pride if Eli-sempai puts aside a little of her discomfort, and go from there?"

"Nozomi-sempai has already done a lot of that. Maybe a little more is okay, but no more than that."

"Fine. I mainly came here to say that Eli said if you were up for going to the big music event a half hour early, and waiting in the prime seats where you get to play the taiko during the performance - I have no doubt when they have you try it out you'll both be able to get a good sound out — she was, too. That gives you two at least twenty minutes almost alone with nothing to do but talk. And you get to watch each other play taiko, which has to be stimulating. Poor Nico last year could barely reach the children's taiko they have for the smallest middle-schoolers. And of course, unlike you two, her breasts were scarcely heaving as she leaned forward on the drums."

"So, you got Elicchi to agree to a first-day date? Impressive. Okay, I'll go along."

"Well, me and Nico together, I suppose. But mainly me, yeah. I mean, she's got such a complex she forgot that, in addition to being a potential lover, you're still her best friend, and she needed to enjoy camp with you and make happy memories. I think she was a little embarrassed about forgetting that. It might seem unromantic, but I told her you two should plan a schedule for all four days and three nights, and include at least one thing every day you do together to have fun. Are you up for that?"

"As long as it's fun, why not? It is good to see Eli doing a little of the work, I have to say. In fact, the more she does, the less she resists. That's why me doing everything is not just unfair, it's ineffective. However …" and she looked at Maki very seriously, "you will at some point run into the same wall I did. That's when you'll find out what a difficult project you've taken on."

"What she doesn't know, sempai, is that I am not in this alone. I have help," Maki said, confidently.

"Poor Elicchi," Nozomi smirked. "Her little world is going to be invaded by the barbarians, isn't it?"

Maki lifted both fists over her head and said, "RAAAAARRRRR!"

Nozomi probably teased Eli too much, she reflected. When she had a real break, therefore, she surprised Eli by visiting her and being all business.

"Elicchi, did you bring a tank-top this time?" were her first words. When Eli shook her head, she brought out one of hers, freshly washed, and handed it to her. "You'll thank me later. We won't have much time to get ready after we're done, so let's agree now to meet up there?"

Eli nodded. Unluckily, this year they'd been put in personal tents on either side of a line of tents. Nozomi was on the outside, and only Nico had a tent further out than Eli. So they were about 12 tents away from each other. Nozomi was a little bigger than her, but the tank top was stretchy and would do fine.

"My break," Nozomi said. She gave Eli a quick hug, which made her blush, then waved and ran off. Eli approved of her responsible attitude, actually. She'd been a bit worried about her taking first-day duties seriously, but she had behaved like she did in the student council office, not like her teasing and flirty off-duty persona. Come to think of it, she'd been all business this time. Probably because she knew time was limited. Still, it was a more mature persona than Eli was used to, and she approved. She reflected that without Maki and Nico, she wouldn't see as much of this side of Nozomi. The two girls would have a lot of time before the performance to talk. Eli decided to bring a pocket notepad and pen and do as Maki had suggested: schedule something fun for her and Nozomi to do every day. This was, after all, their very last camp. It would be tragic if all they had to remember it by was getting their tasks and coursework done.

Maki didn't take Rin and Hanayo's help for granted. She reported to them, faithfully, everything that had been accomplished so far, and they discussed what to do next as equal participants.

"Nyah, we can't mess any of those up, Rin knows."

"Yes, Rin-chan, we have to work around them. That means that we ask Nozomi-sempai what their plans are, and we make sure we don't upset them. This isn't some comedy manga, after all, these are our friends. And we also have to tell Nozomi-sempai what we're up to as often as possible."

"Unless we have a surprise for her that won't impact one of their friend-dates, yeah," Maki agreed. "So, what is the big wall we're supposed to hit with Eli? She's already wistful when she talks about Nozomi, and Nozomi says she's been staring at her a lot lately."

"Rin thinks it's denial, Maki-chan."

"Mmmmm yeah," Hanayo agreed.

"Okay, I don't want to offend you two, but … I have a question that's involved in all this."

"You're our friend, Maki-chan. We know you wouldn't deliberately insult or offend us. If it's too mature, I'll let you know."

"Okay, umm." Maki looked down. Then she looked up, with her hands somewhat clenched to her sides. "You two are a bit like Eli and Nozomi. So why aren't you dating? Or why aren't you calling it dating?"

They both blushed. Maki hoped she hadn't offended them, after all. It was pretty personal.

"Umm. Ummm … Rin-chan thinks we just weren't ready."

Maki could accidentally swoop into student/detective mode and forget herself, and that started to occur.

"But Rin … Hanayo … How would either of you feel if someone stole the other girl from you while you're waiting to be ready?" Maki asked, then realized how personal that was and blushed.

"I would hate it!" Hanayo said, earnestly. "Rin-chan, I don't want anyone else to be your girlfriend, ever."

Rin looked thoughtful. "Kayo-chin, Rin doesn't want us confessing just because we felt under pressure … I don't want that."

Hanayo nodded.

"But maybe, maybe Rin doesn't see what we're waiting for anymore. We're already in high school, and Rin has liked Hanayo the most for ten years now. So …"

She got down on one knee and took Hanayo's hands in her own.

"Kayo-chin, Rin really, really likes you. Please go out with me!"

Hanayo started crying, but she gave Rin her hand and pulled her to her. Their first kiss turned out to be long and passionate. "Ohh … Rin! I love you so much!" she cried.

"Mmmmm I love you too, Kayo-chin! Mmmmm"

Eventually they broke their kiss. They looked into each other's eyes and smiled, then gave each other a very tight hug. Suddenly, Rin laughed.

"Kayo-chin, we have our revenge on Maki-chan, nyan!"

That girl had fled their tent at some point during their kiss.

"Not ready," Maki said to herself. Could it be as simple as that?

She had deliberately not scheduled a morning class. All of her classes but one vocal training were dance-oriented. She really had nothing to learn on the piano a summer camp could help her with. She hoped Rin and Hanayo wouldn't forget their class in the whirlwind of being an official couple, but if they did, it was a small loss, really.

She went over to Nico after her first, jazz-oriented class. After talking it over, they decided not to go to the big music event. Instead, they would have tea inside their tent, talk about their day, discuss their strategy going forward, and make love. No one else would be around, and it would let them get to sleep early. Tomorrow, Nico would have a little free time, so they could plot and act together to a degree, so they might as well get an early start. As a potential doctor in training, Maki approved of the way Nico took getting enough sleep seriously. It was one of the things they agreed on that wasn't very common in girls their age. Almost half of the first day was used up, but Maki thought she'd made more than adequate progress.

Four days.

Three nights.

NozoEli.

Rin and Hanayo agreed their first step had to be involving their second-year friends, who didn't know Maki very well. If it had just been Honoka-sempai, Hanayo wouldn't have agreed. The potential for a farcical episode would just be too high. But Kotori-sempai was the most persuasive girl she knew, and Umi-sempai was a perfect foil to Honoka. She controlled the girl when she was most prone to causing problems, and Honoka got her to get out of her … her … Eli-like shell!

"Rin-chan, we're going to have to push Umi-sempai's limits. There's no help for it."

"Nyah. Like Maki-chan used us as an example of what could be going on with Nozomi-sempai and Eli-sempai?"

"Yeah. Umi and Eli are so much alike, it can't be helped."

"Nnnnn. Maybe we should ask Kotori-sempai to help us convince Umi-sempai?"

"No, Rin-chan. That won't get her full cooperation. Only total honesty will. We're going to be asking her embarrassing things and putting her on the spot, after all."

At any rate, they saw the three together and headed for them. Rin and Hanayo bowed before their sempais, and, in unison, said, "Onegaishimasu!"

Maki touched base with Rin and Hanayo after her second class of the day, and their third. She immediately praised them for involving their second-year sempais, and agreed that Sonoda Umi was as close a fit to Ayase Eli as they would find anywhere. They passed on a surprising observation from Umi-sempai.

"It needs to be said," she'd told them, "that Russia, especially after its communist period ended, and a reaction set in, is very far behind Japan on same-sex relationships. Eli and Alisa were both raised there to begin with, but Eli spent three more years there. Quite possibly their beloved grandmother didn't approve of such things. That would be a big burden for Eli-sempai, right there."

Apparently the five of them had discussed it, and noted that Alisa had no visible objection to girls dating, and was possibly even going to eventually date Honoka's sister Yukiho, from whom she was currently inseparable. They couldn't enlist her in a campaign against her sister, of course, but they could ask her about it. This summer camp was going to be an affair where honesty trumped social embarrassment already. Honoka had volunteered to talk to Yukiho and Alisa, but she'd pointed out that it wouldn't be enlisting Alisa to say why they wanted to talk about it. If Alisa told Eli, it was fine. It might backfire, but they would simply tell Alisa the facts and let her make up her own mind about what she told her sister. It helped that she was very fond of Nozomi, already calling her Nozomi-nee. Honoka had told them that, via Yukiho, she'd learned that Alisa had called Nozomi her "drugaya syestra" once in Russian, which meant her "other sister." All of that was hopeful, especially as they just needed information about their family and upbringing, which could apply to either of them.

It turned out Hanayo and Rin, while embarrassed, were waiting to put Maki herself on the spot. They'd suddenly become interested in topics that were previously very far into "too mature" territory.

"Maki-chan, while thinking about Nozomi and Eli-sempais, and us, we realized that Eli is like us, she probably doesn't even think about mature things involving two girls. We're pretty sure Nozomi does."

"Rin is sure, too, Maki-chan. Kayo-chin and I have even talked about such mature things as masturbation, even. It's been an embarrassing day. It feels like we've both gotten older today, but Rin doesn't think it's too soon anymore."

"What Rin means is, we talked about it, and we even think Nozomi-sempai thinks about Eli-sempai and masturbates. That would make sense of a couple of teasing things she's said to make us blush when talking about Eli-sempai. She won't have any problems with physical love between girls. And it seems Maki-chan is helping so Nozomi-sempai's woman's pride won't be attacked."

"When Rin had to think about all these mature topics … well, Nozomi sempai has pretty eyes and her breasts are the biggest Rin knows about. She is very sexy, and if Eli-sempai doesn't want her for a girlfriend, there are lots and lots of girls who will. Maybe even at this camp."

That was an idea, Maki reflected. But very much a last-ditch idea, and she didn't know how they'd go about it.

"Anyway, Maki-chan, we now know how you felt earlier today. We don't want to intrude on your privacy, or Nico-sempai's. We don't want to offend you …"

Maki pondered that. "Ummm are you wanting to know how far we've gone? I might not have made it completely explicit, but whatever either one of us wants, the other one does. We've had a lot of sex over the years, so I think the answer is, very far?"

Hanayo looked embarrassed still. "Ummm, no no no …. Not that … Ummm … more like, when did Maki-chan and Nico-sempai …"

"Ah," Maki said. Well, it was a little embarrassing, but having had a lover for three years now made it less than her two fellow first-years probably felt it was.

"Okay, when we first got together and I was a first-year in middle school … "

"Twelve years old?" Rin couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, twelve years old, Rin. Anyway, I met Nico at a resort area. My family was vacationing there, and I was so bored. Nico was working helping out a cousin of the Yazawas to earn summer money. She knew how old I was, roughly, and I thought she was a grade-schooler. So, though we hung out, and we each thought the other was pretty and cute, we just planned a bunch of ways to hang out together when Nico wasn't working. She was staying with her cousin, but her time was her own, and my parents didn't care as long as I stayed in touch by text."

"Anyway, eventually I found out how old she was. I'd been feeling guilty about how much I wanted to kiss her, and shocked, too, because I hadn't really had such feelings before. She resisted, a little, but I did kiss her."

"We started kissing lots, and before I left, we'd gone to touching each other's chests over our clothing, and … fondling each other's rear ends as we kissed, I think. We had traded numbers, of course, that first day, and on weekends when middle school had started, we went to the shops, and we made a habit of finding out-of-the-way places to make out."

"If we found a very private place, we eventually started touching each other on the breasts directly while kissing, I remember, and then also outside our panties. Finally, one time we graduated to touching each other inside our panties, and we both had our finish. After that, we became addicted, but it was very rarely we could get together."

"One time I asked if Nico could stay over, I remember, and my parents were both called to the hospital, so we got under the covers without any clothes at all and touched each other and kissed, and that was when I first made, like, moans and noises and she did too. I set an alarm so we could clean up and dress up in pajamas before my parents would come back. The whole thing felt so mature, and I wasn't even a teenager yet. I was very proud of myself. Nico looked at me with such tenderness it made me cry a lot, though. She held me so tight, I can still remember it like it was yesterday."

Rin and Hanayo, by this point, were hanging on her every word.

"Anyway … for my thirteenth birthday, I was still a first-year, it was already well established that Nico and I were best friends, and we'd never, ever gotten into any trouble together. On the contrary, we studied a lot together and it helped Nico's grades a lot, and mine a little. Anyway … anyway, we went camping together, just she and I, after I had a party early in the day. We weren't really that far from Tokyo but far enough that no one was around at all. Nico-chan used her mouth on me for the first time, and … and I discovered what all the fuss was about. I screamed, and I fainted. Really fainted. Nico was really worried, but …"

Maki looked at them. "Believe it or not, this is the embarrassing part." She could tell they did find that hard to swallow.

"When I was aware again, it really was after less than a minute, I … I grabbed Nico-chan and pulled her down and then grabbed her head and pulled it back into me. And I said, 'more, please!' I wasn't in control of myself at that point. Anyway, Nico did as I demanded, and when I had my moment again, she started laughing. I mean, she'd been worried because my eyes rolled up and I fainted, and now she had this little sex maniac on her hands. Pretty soon, I joined her. I think laughing is a big part of a healthy physical relationship, you know. Tickling, and laughing when the other one is absurd."

"Well," Hanayo began.

"Un … we did ask," Rin finished.

After everyone's last class of the day, but before the third-years would be done helping the middle schoolers, the first-years and second-years met up. Honoka had met up with Alisa and Yukiho. Alisa had complained that it felt like everyone was ganging up on her beloved big sister, but she also appreciated the fact that the lack of progress was making Nozomi-sempai, who she liked a great deal, sad. Unfortunately, she'd confirmed that their upbringing had definitely involved same-sex relationships being completely unmentionable and unthinkable. She didn't think their grandmother had ever mentioned them, though, so she probably hadn't been bigoted against them. She pointed out that she and Yukiho, being only barely fifteen, were still a little young to be dating (hearing that made Maki blush for both her and Nico) but said if they were, she wouldn't be a bit ashamed. Honoka said that if she knew her sister, they would be a couple before they left camp. "She just had this look on her face when Alisa said that."

"Ooh, and how would Honoka-chan know that look?" Kotori asked, mischievously. Surprisingly, Umi joined in, "Well, I think Tsubasa-san is kind of an expert on what Honoka knows about things like that, lately, should we ask her? Hmmm, I wonder." She had a very Kotori-like smirk on her face.

"Mou! You two!" Honoka yelled. She was bright red, so Maki could tell they knew what they were talking about. "Just for that, I won't ask Tsubasa-chan for help, so there!"

At that, Umi and Kotori bowed almost to the ground and asked Honoka-sama to forgive their unworthy selves for their unspeakable and inexcusable rudeness. For the first-years, it was like watching a hilarious period comedy. "Okay then," Honoka huffed.

Maki spoke up. "If it turns out this is an intractable situation, Honoka-sempai, I might have a request, but it's a big imposition, not just on you and Tsubasa, but also her friends."

Honoka had apparently at least considered something like what Maki was alluding to, so she just nodded for Maki to go on.

"If it turns out Eli-sempai is simply too stubborn and in denial, no matter what, after tomorrow, there will be only two days and one night left. Can Anju and Erena both help us make her jealous? If it was just one of them, it might backfire, but if it's both then there won't be any real jealousy, right?"

Honoka said of course she'd have to ask the two directly, but that it was certainly possible they'd say yes.

After that, Umi was surprisingly forthcoming about the psychological processes a shy and easily embarrassed girl like her or Eli would go through. She shocked the first years by confessing that she and Kotori had started dating that summer, though "nothing too mature" was going on yet, and they weren't making it public knowledge, either. She told them that Eli could never feel like she was being put on the spot, or her feelings were being mocked or disregarded.

The others took all of her advice to heart. They thanked her sincerely, and Umi told them they were all good girls and their concern for their sempais was praiseworthy, and nothing to be ashamed of.

No one interfered at all with Eli and Nozomi's music date. Everyone but Nico and Maki went to the big first-day music performance, and both Nozomi and Eli did a professional-level job playing taiko. The crowd had been amazed and applauded them both, and they'd exchanged a sweaty hug after the second player, Nozomi, was done.

Tsubasa, Anju and Erena told the others that, from an outside perspective, their performance had, indeed, been extremely sexy, as neither were wearing a bra under their tank tops. "Poor Eli-san!" Anju said. "At least Nozomi-san can help herself, but Eli will probably have a hard time sleeping after that." They all laughed. It was all too likely to be true.

Nico and Maki's evening went as nicely as they'd wanted it to. Where they were they could hear all the music clearly. They didn't know which taiko was their two friends, but they were impressed that the quality never wavered.

"Maki-chan, this hasn't cut into your classes?" Nico asked. It was one of their firmest rules, after all.

"Not at all. When I am in class, I am in class, and when I am out of it, I switch modes."

"You are … amazing, Maki-chan," Nico said. Maki knew that being with her made Nico tear up easily, and this was no exception.

"My amazingness instructor was herself well-versed in it," Maki responded, earning her a gentle kiss.

"Well," Nico said, "My day was about as I thought it would be. I was very proud of Cocoro, after the morning, she was independent all day, and she even made a few friends. Plus, I think she did well in her classes. It helps if you know where you're going and why you're doing it. She wants to follow in my footsteps, you know. I told her just not to over-commit too early, but in general, I'm encouraging it. The performing life is very cruel, but it gets much nicer the earlier you start. That's just a fact of life."

"Oh," she continued, "and also, when she came to get me, instead of just waiting around, she pitched in and helped. Meaning she was helping me take care of campers older than she is. She impressed everyone in the camp. I think she'll find, like I did, that that pays huge dividends."

"Did anything interesting not involving Cocoro happen?"

"Not that you wouldn't know about. Rin and Hanayo's second-years, and Alisa and Yukiho, checked in with me. Poor Eli-chan won't know what hit her, will she?"

"Let's hope not, until the arrow is lodged in her heart, pumpkin."

"May your wish be fulfilled, princess!"

The rest of their dialog that night was all pillow talk.

The next morning was already time for Nozomi and Eli's designated activity. They got up three hours early to go rowing on the lake, catching a beautiful sunrise in the process. To their surprise, especially Eli's, Yukiho and Alisa showed up at the boat dock with two Valentines red-colored mochas, courtesy of Nico's stove-top espresso maker. Eli shook her head, but her little sister's sweet, earnest expression made her laugh and pat her head. Nozomi's eyes were shining, and Eli didn't miss that detail. She was starting to get a sense that everyone at the camp was plugging for Nozomi to win her over, but she felt, stubbornly, that she still wasn't ready. As usual, when she thought that, her thoughts skirted away from asking when she would be, and how she'd know, and if that would ever even happen. In the past, she'd dismissed it as jeopardizing their friendship, but she'd come to the uneasy realization this year that it was her unwillingness to consider being Nozomi's girlfriend — like she wasn't good enough, perhaps — that was now endangering it.

As the two young, yawning girls waved to them, and their boat pulled slowly away from the dock, she realized she had been pampering herself, and it wasn't fair. Like it or not, Eli was going to have to do some soul-searching during this camp session.

Although she felt so distressed, she turned to Nozomi and gave her a faint smile, anyway. That girl didn't say anything, but kept rowing. The plan was for Eli to row on the way back, so she unpacked their breakfast. She admitted to Nozomi that she really was grateful to Nico, Maki, and the middle-schoolers for the drinks, and that they would make the breakfast very special. And that the sunrise was, indeed, breathtaking.

All the girls, even the third-years, had classes all day. They were all goal-oriented, so they worked very hard to excel at them. Between classes, they compared notes. When Nico talked to Nozomi, however, she told her, in between yawns, that Eli had simply enjoyed their outing that day, They had held hands briefly - Nozomi instigating, of course — to look at the sun starting to rise before getting in the boat, true. And Eli had taken Nozomi's hand to let her out of the boat. But she'd only held it long enough to be polite. The chances that they'd make significant girlfriend progress in the next two days, Nozomi said, weren't very great. Of course, they certainly hadn't regressed, either.

The only good news was reported to Nico and Maki in their tent that night by Honoka. It was an unspoken rule that people could visit them before 7 pm if they announced themselves outside first. She said Tsubasa and her friends had heard about Eli and Nozomi's romantic row boat trip, and observed them during the day, and they agreed Nozomi should be making more progress.

"Anju and Erena are both up for it," Honoka summarized.

Eli had to admit that Maki's suggestion had been a good one. She had never enjoyed camp as much as she was this final trip. And making specific, scheduled time to do fun things with Nozomi was the reason. She did feel a little anxious, and was having some self-doubt, certainly.

Today's stage activity was going to involve a lot more work, she decided. Most of the girls in her loose network were taking performance-only classes, but she had an ongoing learning position as a stage manager. When the camp's stage managers had time, they'd critique her performance or offer suggestions, but a lot of the time, she was on her own. She knew she had a reputation, much like Nico's, as a reliable camp mainstay. She'd even been told directly that the camp would be diminished when her generation stopped going to it.

It wasn't a very expensive camp at all, the instructors were very warm and helpful, and the Kyoto area was superbly beautiful, so it was no surprise all of them had been going to it steadily. In fact, if she recalled correctly, Nico had been earning money for her first trip to the camp as a middle-school third-year when she met Maki.

Those two made her really question herself. Maki had had a lover since she was literally a child. She and Nico spoke about each other the way Eli's parents talked about each other, or at least the way she thought they'd talked about each other when they were first married. Eli couldn't deny how happy they were, or how matter-of-fact they were about it. Like "We love each other! So what? Take it or leave it!"

It was definitely a bit romantic.

She knew Nozomi would have more fun here without her than she would without Nozomi. The other girl was far, far more social. For instance, she was so close to one of the first years, Sakamaki Chizuko, who was sort of a mini-Nozomi, with large breasts, hair tinted purple, and a flirty manner, that outsiders thought they were sisters. Chizuko had embarrassed Eli greatly by promising she wasn't trying to "steal Nozomi-nee" from Eli.

At the time Eli had been a bit offended. Thinking back on it now, was it 100% unnecessary? How would she feel if … no, when … Nozomi gave up on her — let's stop lying to ourselves that Nozomi wasn't interested, at least — and finally got a girlfriend for real? Wish her well, of course. Didn't she, like Chizuko, consider Nozomi almost like a sister? She supposed she was selfish enough that she'd be sad she couldn't monopolize Nozomi's time like she could now. Yeah, that really was selfish, though it couldn't be helped.

But what about her and Nozomi? She tried to imagine them doing some of the things she'd heard via Nozomi that Maki and Nico had done. Even having sex, not to facilitate a marriage, not to have a family, but just for its own sake? For fun? Eli had vague ideas how two girls would have sex, but didn't like imagining it in too much detail. Would Nozomi want Eli to focus on her breasts? Were they sensitive? Would Eli want that? Unconsciously, she caressed one of her nipples through her t-shirt, which shocked her out of her reverie. Well, whether hers were sensitive or not, this whole line of thinking was making Eli so anxious she couldn't stand it. Sorry, Nozomi, she thought. This camping session, too, wasn't going to resolve anything.

Today's event with Nozomi wasn't, technically, at the camp site. They both had a long lunch break scheduled, and Eli wasn't required to do any stage work then. They were going to borrow two camp bicycles and bike to a ramen shop a few miles away from the camp for lunch.

When she went to get Nozomi, she was with Yuuki Anju. That girl was very touchy anyway, but Eli thought the way she kept her arm around Nozomi, and her head close to hers as they talked, really was a bit much. She was approaching Nozomi from behind, so she heard Anju mention that they'd had breakfast together. She realized Nozomi was, as she said, very social, but had they been together all morning? Apparently so. It turned out Nozomi and Anju had the same classes in the morning, so they'd gone from breakfast to their first class, and Anju had walked Nozomi to their second class. If the way she was standing now was any sign, in fact, they'd probably been arm in arm.

Anju looked Eli in the eye, and then she even leaned in to Nozomi for a second. Then she said, "Oh, Ayase-san!" in a friendly voice Eli couldn't help feel was a little false.

Eli, of course, preserved decorum. Much as Nozomi had done when she talked about their music date — no, not a date, why would she call it that in her head? - Eli simply said she'd rented the bikes and it was time they got them and started out. Nozomi gave Anju a little hug and told her she had to take her leave. Anju made a cute pout about that that Eli couldn't help but find extremely annoying, but none of that showed on her face. She turned around to head for the bikes, and she heard Nozomi catch up to her. For reasons she wasn't thinking about, she took Nozomi's hand, and that's how they walked to the bike area.

"Ah ha ha ha!" Anju said. And she wasn't laughing theatrically, either. "Honoka-chan, if I do this again, I want you to pay for health insurance! No, maybe I mean life insurance!"

"Did she give you a death stare, Anju?" Erena asked, amused and curious.

"Well, for anyone but Eli-san, I would say no. But her face lost all expression, her body stiffened, and she couldn't wait to get out of there. Better yet, she grabbed Nozomi's hand as she walked away, and showed no signs of relinquishing it."

"We didn't want to resort to this, but we had no choice, Anju and Erena. You two are doing Cupid's work for him," Nico said. She and Maki bowed to them, and Maki said that they couldn't properly repay them, but what did they like to drink? It turned out both girls liked mochas with caramel, and after Maki went away and brought them both back one, everyone settled back to talk about their plans in the highest of spirits.

"Not fast enough, though," Erena observed. "Time for a real villain to arrive." She and Anju looked at each other and smirked, and Tsubasa laughed as hard as Erena had.

The next, and last day, Eli was moody and thoughtful enough that she didn't even notice that it was in a somewhat contrived way that Hoshizora Rin and Koizumi Hanayo, Kousaka Honoka and Kira Tsubasa, and even Minami Kotori and Sonoda Umi "let slip" that they were dating over the morning. The last pair confused her and disturbed her a bit. She thought of Sonoda as being quite similar to herself, including being similarly unlikely to actually start dating another girl. She was also quite disturbed by what she thought her sister was hinting about herself and Kousaka's little sister. She had known they were close friends, but any more than that was unthinkable, wasn't it? Could she even interfere if things had gone too far? If her little sister was being preyed on by a schoolgirl lesbian, well!

She struggled a bit, but didn't let it interfere with her last classes or her stage preparation. In fact, she buckled down and made an extra effort not to overlook anything. A couple of the stage managers even teased her about her earnestness, but let her know it was with affection and admiration.

Her and Nozomi's last appointment was, actually, dancing together at the final musical event. It wouldn't be the first or second time they'd done ballroom-style dancing, and Eli was quite fond of it. Unlike with a boy, she never had to worry about her partner reading too much into it or taking advantage, and they were both graceful dancers with a good sense of rhythm, poised and well-balanced. That let them take chances that would leverage their dance training and skills, and they would often be the talk of the dance floor.

When she found Nozomi, Todo Erena had a death grip on her hand.

When she saw her, just like Anju, Erena made a fake-friendly point of greeting her effusively. But she also asked to talk to her in private, which puzzled Eli. Nozomi just smiled and nodded, signifying it was okay with her. Erena dragged Eli around the corner of the nearest tent.

"Please don't worry about anything tonight, Eli-san. I understand that you and Nozomi are just humoring each other with dancing. Anju and I will cheerfully cut in, and you won't even have to dance one dance with each other."

Eli, of course, didn't understand any of it.

"What? Why would you say that? We like dancing together!"

"Oh, I didn't mean anything negative ," Erena assured her, "though I had no idea it was just Nozomi who was going through the motions waiting for a real partner, of course. What a sweet girl she is. A lot of girls as sexy as her wouldn't be so modest and pure. Well, of course, I can help fix that part." With that, Erena laughed and rested her hand on Eli's arm. When Eli couldn't help but look a little unhappy, Erena slapped her forehead theatrically.

"Oopsie! I forgot … you Russians really hate gay people, right?" She, again theatrically, removed her hand from Eli's arm as if it were a hot stove. "But you're just a 'hafu,' right? Do you only have to kind of half-hate them? I'm glad you're at least so tolerant of Nozomi - that shows character. She's said you're really accommodating, too. That's probably why she'll still dance with you, if at least you'll enjoy it. It kind of makes a social point at the same time, right?"

"Oh wait," said Erena, making another phony expression. Was there anything this girl did that wasn't theatrical to the point of exasperation? "Nozomi said you were very loyal, too. I better reassure you: none of us are trying to end your friendship or anything. And if you're worried about this coming between Anju and I, we've already agreed to let the better woman win. No take-backs allowed! Anyway," and she almost rested her hand on Eli's arm again, but yanked it back at the last second, "I know you aren't comfortable discussing such things, but we feel it's criminal she's in her last year of high school and still a virgin ." She looked at Eli with syrupy sympathy. "I was right, you can't understand, can you? Well, just take it on faith, then. It's a real shame."

In addition to her rising anger, Eli was feeling increasingly insecure. Had Nozomi really said she didn't like dancing with her? That she was just playing along because Eli liked it? And that's when, for reasons she couldn't place at all, her thoughts went to her dancing shoes fund. She had enough in it right now to not only get Alisa the finest dancing shoes she knew of in Japan, but herself a pair as well. She planned to show them to Alisa and promise to take joint dance lessons. But … but … a little voice in her head was saying, If you just buy Alisa her shoes and tell her you're working towards your own pair and you'll use your shoes from Russia until then?

Near the ramen shop they'd biked to they'd seen a little jewelry and curio shop, and one of the rings had obviously really charmed Nozomi. It was a jade ring with small diamonds embedded in it, and for some reason, it was for sale at less than a third its normal price. It would leave enough to still buy Alisa her shoes, you know? the strange voice said.

When they got back to Nozomi, Erena rushed to her side and took her arm. She even pushed into her and looked at Eli in a self-satisfied way.

Nozomi, of course, would have to have been blind and deaf not to know what was going on. While she felt sorry for Eli, she reflected that she'd done a great deal of suffering over the years for the other girl's sake. Perhaps that only made things more precious once they worked out. So she played along.

Meanwhile, the feeling that Nozomi didn't want to dance with her, that she was getting at least one girlfriend, right now, that she was losing her in every way, that she was inadequate as a girl in her eyes … all of it had built up to the point that Eli couldn't take it any more.

"I … " Eli almost couldn't finish a sentence "I have something I have to do!" she said, a little loudly. And with that, she ran off to the bike area.

When the time for dancing came around, Nozomi found herself reassuring a very upset Eli.

"Ah, no, those girls got the wrong idea, I think. They just think it's weird if two girls dance together a lot but don't date, is all," she found herself saying to Eli's shoulder as she gave her a firm hug.

Eli had come to her, clearly fighting tears, and told her if she didn't want to dance with her, she understood completely, and she'd be just fine doing something else. Since that didn't fit at all with Nozomi's plans, she'd demanded Eli explain what was going on. Once she understood her, she set the distraught girl straight.

"Elicchi, look at me," she ordered. After a pause, Eli did. The tears were actually in the corner of her eyes by now. It was lucky she hadn't noticed. "Could I dance with you like I do and not enjoy it? Who's better than you here? Those girls aren't bad, but you and I are by far the top dancers here. Please, please, I'm begging here, Elicchi. Don't make me dance with someone not at your level. I'm spoiled, and it just wouldn't be fun at all. As for accommodating someone? I will let them cut in one time, each, and that's it. Any further entreaties will be met with a smile and a head-shake. Is that all right with you?" Eli nodded. "Then let's show them what we're made of until the music ends! This is our last dance here, Eli! Ever ! I have no idea what you've been telling yourself, but stop doing it!"

That's exactly how it went. Not only were all eyes on the two as they danced until the very last song, not really pausing for a break and being supplied with water by their friends, but their dancing was the best it had ever been. They were both determined to reassure each other, and themselves, and show the world how well-matched they were on the dance floor. None of the first years had ever seen Nozomi and Eli dance before, so they were emitting a chorus of oohs and ahhs. The camp musicians, fellow high-schoolers, made sure the last song was a slow dance.

As Nozomi looked into Eli's eyes, she felt hope she'd been suppressing welling up in her. She still held it in check, but she chose to also enjoy the feeling. Eli insisted on dragging her to her tent, saying she had something there for her.

When they got to Eli's tent, there was a little square jewelry box. The wild thought that only passed through Nozomi's head for a second or two - turned out to be correct. Eli got down on one knee and opened the box.

"Ummmm I know … this is sudden … and I haven't been … I mean … I know … I don't … I don't want Nozomi to be anyone else's … and … I don't want that at all … and I don't … I don't know when that would ever be good, so … it doesn't have to be right away … and it'll be so hard telling my family but don't worry I will do all that so you don't have to deal with anything weird … did I say it doesn't have to be right away I did right … I'm so sorry about everything! Please say you'll marry me and wear this so no one steals you from me because I couldn't bear it, ever, please? I'll do anything you want, because I can't live without you Nozomi, please, please don't leave me, please? Please don't leave me! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I hope it's not too late, I hope you still love me. If you want to get married soon, it's fine, too. I'll do whatever Nozomi wants!"

She was really crying without any restraint at this point. Nozomi wanted to simply agree — after all this was probably her most cherished lifelong fantasy — and hold Eli and tell her everything was okay.

Instead, she took the ring, but she pulled Eli to her feet and made her sit on her cot. Then she sat next to her, and slid over so she was pressed into her best friend. She still had the ring in her hand, but with her free hand she took both of Eli's.

"Eli," she said, as lovingly as she could. "If you'll really do whatever I want?"

Eli nodded, though with fear clouding her features. The dam had definitely burst, and she was feeling a lot of the emotions Nozomi had had to deal with over the course of months and years, all at once.

"Then what I want is for you to listen to me. Listen fully to what my answer is. And I think that will be very, very, very, very hard, Elicchi. The easy way is to just hear a few words and then lose your composure and stop listening. But I have a lot to say, and this is the only time for it. So, humbly, that's my sole request. That Eli listens, and doesn't just fly off the handle. Will you do that for me, my dearest Elicchi?" She looked a little bewildered, but nodded.

"Okay." With that, Nozomi squared her shoulders. "First, I like this ring," she said, and with that she put it back in Eli's hand and closed her fingers over it, making that girl start to weep in earnest again.

"Ah, ah ah!" Nozomi said. "That's just exactly what Elicchi promised not to do. Are you breaking your promise, or are you listening to me?"

"Li-listening," Eli said, tearfully.

"What I was saying is, I think even if we had been looking all over Akihabara or beyond, all weekend, we wouldn't have found such a nice ring, and that you found it on sale next to our ramen shop is in my opinion a very good omen. I am not ashamed that I believe in them, it's part and parcel of who I am."

"So, Elicchi, the first thing I want to say is, please put the ring back in its box and please take care of it and don't lose it, because it's already very precious to me. Is that fine with you?"

Eli nodded, and Nozomi thought she was starting to recover herself, if only a bit.

"The second thing is, a panicky marriage proposal from a girl who isn't even sure in her heart if it's okay for two girls to be a couple? I don't want that at all. So my answer to your question, it's a firm no."

"But what's much, much worse, Elicchi, is that you want to cheat me out of my due as a girl."

She stood up and grabbed Eli's hand and pulled on it. Not wanting to have her arm pulled, Eli stood up, too.

"You know, Eli, having you on one knee? That's a good look for you."

Eli was too exhausted and emotionally drained to argue or resist. She went back on one knee.

"I also liked the part where you apologized. You'll never know how many nights I was crying over you. Oh, wait. Yes, you will."

She went over to her suitcase, saying, "Stay there!" to Eli. She got what looked like an old-fashioned diary out and handed it down to her.

"Open it up, I think it's filled out past the middle, so that's a good place to start."

Eli did as she was told. She noticed it was usually a couple of days' entries per page.

"Why don't you look for your name, Elicchi? I think that will show you something." It did.

Virtually not a single day went by without Nozomi mentioning her. Many, many entries were solely about her. On the whole, it might as well be called Nozomi's Eli Diary. It was all very sobering.

The number of sad, hopeless entries lately tore at Eli's heart strings. She realized she probably could guess how many nights Nozomi had cried over her, she just didn't want to.

"While you're down there, and it's still a good look for Elicchi, why don't you give me something to write about tonight?"

"Nozomi …" Eli said.

"Yes, Elicchi?"

"I … I like you!"

"You do? Ah, that's very nice."

"Please … go out with me."

"Ah, what should I say?" Nozomi asked. "Well, who could turn down such a nice confession? Heart-pounding, it is, even."

She lifted Eli to her feet. "I want everything I've been denied for so long, I'll have you know, Elicchi!" She looked at her friend sternly. "When we go for parfaits, I want a soda with a couple's straw. When we have to be apart, I want postcards from you showing where you are, and I want to send cards from me showing where I am. I want more sunrises, and more sunsets. I want to meet your family — you can just tell them I'm your closest friend, for starters. I want you to meet my family too. I don't get along with them all that well, but they won't make a fuss because you're a girl, I told them I was like that years ago. If you can avoid it, I don't want you acting like I'm some shameful secret. I also want us to not lose what we've built up over the years. I want us to be the same, but girlfriends. We can go pretty slow with the sexual part of our relationship, but we had better actually be going somewhere, or your fears will come true, because I'm only human. And you can ask that question again when you feel like we're both truly ready for you to ask it. Deal?"

Eli, who never stuttered, did so. "D-deal." She was finally smiling through her tears.

And then, finally — finally - Toujou Nozomi and Ayase Eli kissed. And the world stopped holding its breath.

That afternoon, when the tents were put away and the campers had had a short farewell ceremony, and most of them were gathered by a big tent with snacks where they would be waiting for their transportation, Nico and Maki were sitting on the floor next to their gear. They saw, relieved but surprised, the sight of Nozomi and Eli arriving hand in hand.

"Oh, thank …' Maki began, grinning broadly, if tiredly.

"Thank Heaven!" Nico finished.

And with that, they both collapsed.

"Geez, you two," Eli said, mock-petulantly. You should leave the theatrics to Anju and Erena!"

"Heyyy!" those two said, theatrically.

However, Cocoro was poking her sister while they were joking around. "Ummm, I think they're really passed out, for real."

When the bus came for them, a couple of hours later, Nozomi and Eli helped Cocoro, Hanayo and Rin get the two sleeping girls on board and seated in the back. As Nozomi said, with her trademark grin, it was "the least we can do for our fallen heroes."

After Eli and Nozomi had found a seat together, Eli came back and bent over the two sleeping forms cuddled together.

Thank you so, so much, she whispered.

AN:

Coincidentally, when I was writing this I took a break and met a really charming artist couple from Nagasaki. The husband was a batik artist and his wife did very artistic embroidery, and they were only in town for one day.

Talking with them in Japanese reminded me of all the family concepts I wanted to think about. Their son was with them, doing shodou and he was a very sweet, well-behaved boy. He even corrected a mistake I made politely. The encounter only made me more determined to get caught up on this challenge.

Future installments will go back to being much shorter. I'm starting to figure out how long it will take me to tell what story, so that will limit my choices going forward. Nonetheless, I am extremely pleased with how this one turned out. Maki is probably far too sexually frank, but I assigned her and Nico that part of the romance picture this time. Nozomi and Eri got to do the painful dance before they get together part, and the other girls - well, they got to be helpful side-couples. Side-couples were on sale, this time, so I bought a few extra.