"And what happened after that?"

Throughout the course of the recounting of events, Kurumi had grown more and more interested in what was happening. Takina, for her part, had turned redder and redder the further she went. By this point, she was stammering so much that she was barely coherent.

"W-well, when I w-woke up…"

Takina flushed and squeezed her eyes tight before looking away from Kurumi.

"Yes? When you woke up?"

"Her arms were wrapped around my waist! I think I almost died trying to get out from there. Thank goodness she didn't wake up, though."

Takina took a deep breath, her face as red as ever as she struggled to continue.

"I think it's getting worse. Even if we so much as brush hands or use the same spoon, my heart beats so fast that I think that I'll die."

Kurumi leaned in, interested being piqued in her expression. This seemed like an entertaining puzzle for her to solve and she thought that the 2 of them looked like they would make a cute couple, so maybe she should try her best to help.

"Now do you see how I'm allergic to Chisato?"

Then again, maybe they should solve their own problems for themselves.

"Look, just tell that girl that you love her already."

Takina's mouth went wide with shock as she looked to the ground.

"L-love? There's no way…"

"Geez, how stupid- I mean sheltered are you Lycoris? I swear, you need to-"

"What's going on back here?"

Both Takina and Kurumi turned to face the entrance only to find…

"A-ah, it's you, Chisato."

Takina stumbled over her words, avoiding eye contact and hiding her face before dashing off, muttering something about helping close the shop. Kurumi merely gave a sigh and looked to face Chisato.

"So why are you here?"

"Well you see…"

Chisato's cheeks went pink as she sat on the seat that Takina had set up before.

"I think that Takina's avoiding me."

Kurumi felt very tired all of a sudden. She rubbed the side of her head before popping an ibuprofen tablet.

"Yeah? Why do you think that?"

"Well, she runs away whenever I try to talk to her and I think that she hates me!"

Kurumi facepalmed.

"Hey! I'm being serious!"

Kurumi merely sighed, taking a sip of the chamomile tea that perpetually sat in a thermos on her desk.

"So, you think that Takina hates you, correct?"

Chisato gave an uncertain nod.

"In that case, please listen to what I am about to say. Remember that everything that comes out of my mouth is for your good."

Chisato gave another nod, prompting Kurumi to continue.

"Listen, you could not be more wrong. Like, you'd have to say that Mizuki has a boyfriend at least 5 times to be more wrong than you are right now."

Chisato went pale.

"That's a lot of times…"

"You know how you woke up in the hospital room by yourself?"

Chisato gave a nod.

"Well, that was some of the unluckiest timing you ever could've had."

"What's that supposed to mean? Did you guys visit me every day or something?"

Kurumi gave a sarcastic chuckle before continuing.

"Well, someone did. I swear, it's like that girl can't run out of patience. We had to drag her out of there for about 3 hours a day so that she could get proper sleep."

There was a moment of silence. Chisato looked absolutely stunned while Kurumi still had a look of vindication. After feeling as though she had let this fact sink in for long enough, she continued.

"And that was on the days we actually managed to get her ass out of there. Some days, no, wait, most days, she just slept there with a sleeping bag. It's a miracle we didn't get kicked out of the hospital. Actually, I think I've got a pie chart somewhere, and I think she was there 95% of the time you were there…"

After a few moments where no one said anything, Chisato was the first to speak.

"She did that much for me?"

Kurumi rolled her eyes again.

"She said something about repaying everything you've done for her."

They remained silent, all of this new information resonating in Chisato's mind before she tentatively asked:

"So what should I do now?"

Kurumi took another sip of tea before turning back to face Chisato.

"Isn't it obvious? Tell that girl that you love her."

Chisato stared blankly at Kurumi before her face flushed fire-engine red.

"Hah? What do you-"

"Jesus Christ, you Lycoris are stupid! You guys already are way closer than any couple, so just get a move on and get together already. And don't even think about worrying about the feeling not being mutual because I can assure you, it is."

With that, Kurumi booted Chisato out of the room, landing her face to face with Takina whose face immediately went flush.

"O-oh, hello there, C-Chisato."

Takina turned and began to walk away before…

"Wait! Takina, I have something I want to tell you!"

Takina stopped in her tracks, slowly turning around with a face that was completely covered in a blush

"A-alright then. Let's hear it."

###

The 2 of them were now outside on a park bench, sitting side by side.

"S-so, what did you want to say to me?"

Chisato gulped, her face going red before she shook her head, replacing her nervous expression with a determined one as she looked up to face Takina.

"What I said earlier! About us getting married!"

Takina's blush intensified as she looked Chisato in the eye. Chisato took a deep breath in and out, seeming to debate opening her mouth before steeling her resolve, her expression growing even more determined.

"It… it wasn't hypothetical."

There was silence for a few moments before Chisato began to clarify in a half-playful, half-panicked tone

"A-ah! I mean, I don't think we should actually get married, at least not yet, but uh…"

Chisato paused as time seemed to slow down and the rest of the world appeared to just fall into the background as the 2 of them found one another to be the only one they could focus on. Again, she wondered whether or not she should speak before tossing her shame aside, managing to get out:

"Why don't we live a normal life as lovers?"

Takina's eyes went wide, her mouth opened in surprise and before she knew it, she found her body moving on its own until-

"Because I really want to- mmph!"

She cut Chisato off mid sentence, planting a kiss directly into her lips. With a shocked expression, Chisato froze before managing to close her eyes and wrap one arm around Takina's neck. After what seemed like an hour (it was really just a few moments), they broke apart and tears started to well in Takina's eyes.

"Sorry…"

"Eh? What are you apologizing for?"

Takina sniffled, not saying anything. Chisato thought for a moment before a cheerful grin adorned her face.

"I've got an idea!"

Takina looked up to find that Chisato had already started running off.

"Wha- where are you going?!"

Chisato stopped, turning back to face Takina.

"To get us matching necklaces. After all, we should commemorate this occasion, right?"

Takina stared at the sight in front of her, a warm summer breeze causing Chisato's hair to sway in the wind as the red light of the sun bathed them in a warm glow. Chisato seemed to turn back and realize that Takina hadn't gotten up before leaning towards her with a cheeky grin.

"So what do you think? Or are you too busy staring to reply?"

Takina's eyes went wide for a moment before she muttered out another apology.

"I-I apologize, that was rude-"

"Ah, don't be sorry! So what do you think?"

Takina watched as Chisato gestured to a small shop up ahead before giving a gentle grin.

"Yeah. I like that idea."