Disclaimer: I don't own Azumanga Daioh or its characters.
Author's Note: Well, it is longer then the previous ones... To those guys who reviewed, thank you. I really appreciate you taking the time to add those few words of encouragement that urge me to keep updating on this story. Thanks again:) I Hope I didn't fail you guys with this chapter...
They had split up at the corner. Yomi heading towards her home and Kagura heading towards hers, yet Kagura didn't have the intension of actually going home. She knew she had to apologize for prying into Yomi's life, but she thought that it would be best to give Yomi some space and to have some time to think about what she was going to say before she ends up saying something stupid again.
She decided to go to the park a few blocks away from her house. When she arrived at the rather tiny area, she trudged over to the swing set and dropped herself on to one of the swings. She held on to the chains with both of her hands and slouched over; looking at her feet as she shuffled the dirt back and forth in front of her.
'Man,' she thought 'I sure did mess things up…' She let out a sigh and shook her head. 'What am I going to say the next time I see her? I can't act as if nothing happened… What am I talking about! Nothing did happen! I'll just tell her that she went a little overboard and that we should just forget that I even asked her that question in the first place…She can't just stop tutoring me; I'll beg her if I have to. There is no way I am going to be taken off of the swim team because I asked her if she was in love with Tomo.' She smiled dryly, 'Ironic isn't it? Tomo being at the base of every one of my mishaps... I shouldn't have been so blunt. Why did I have to know so badly?' As fast as the thought popped in her head, was as soon as it was popped back out. She needed to straighten things out with Yomi and she couldn't waste any more time thinking about things less important. Kagura promptly stood up and set off for Yomi's, determined to keep her as her tutor and, more importantly, the close friend she was rapidly becoming.
Yomi didn't take her time getting home. As soon as she reached her humble abode, she went straight to her room and flopped down on her bed; landing on her back. She stared at the ceiling and thought about what had happened less then a half an hour ago. 'I know I over-reacted and I feel horrible for it, but how could she ask me something like that? I don't even know the answer; I have never thought about Tomo like that before. I must have looked incredibly guilty by the way I acted… she probably thinks I am in love with her… Am I?'
"Damn it!" She growled through her teeth. She covered her face with her hands and proceeded to growl into them. Then she slowly slid them down her face and rested her finger tips on her mouth as she narrowed her eyes; her mind was raking. 'If she asked, that means she is interested. And if she is interested, does that mean she...likes me?' Yomi's heart started to race and she was getting butterflies in her stomach while she continued her train of thought. 'No one has ever been interested in me like that before… Maybe I am jumping to conclusions; she might have just been curious.'
She couldn't just lay there and think about it all night. 'My homework isn't going to get done by itself. Although, that would be pretty cool…' She smiled to herself and got off her bed with a grunt, like it was some sort of strenuous activity. She gladly walked over to her desk, for she desperately wanted to get her mind off of the recent topic that has plagued her.
When she arrived at Yomi's house, she approached it a little hesitantly. She knocked on the front door and waited. She knocked again after a few moments had passed, and continued to wait. Upset that she might not be home, she walked around the house to Yomi's bedroom window. She looked in and saw her writing at her desk and singing along to a song that was playing on the radio.
She quietly slid the window open so she could hear the other girl's voice more clearly. However, Kagura found out the hard way that her tutor was a horrible, but very enthusiastic, singer. She covered her mouth to keep herself from laughing out loud. She wasn't making fun of her; surprisingly, she thought it was quite cute. Remembering what she came there to do, Kagura took in a deep breath, took off her shoes, and hoisted herself up and into Yomi's room.
Immediately aware of a certain someone climbing into her room, Yomi smiled and turned the radio down a few notches. When Kagura looked up from what she was doing, the tone deaf girl had a stern look on her face. Yomi lowered her eyebrows and said flatly, "In Japan, as well as many other countries, it is customary to enter a house through the front door…"
Kagura's face matched that of Yomi's as she smoothly replied, "It is also customary for a guest to be greeted after they had knocked at the front door numerous times…" Yomi chuckled and replied, "Touché…" Kagura smiled, but she quickly put on a straight face and said, "Yomi, I know I shouldn't have asked you something so personal. It is none of my business and I am truly sorry…"
She appeared to be done her apology and Yomi tried to tell her that everything was forgiven and that they should just go right to the forgetting part of the phrase (forgive and forget), but Kagura just took a deep breath and continued. "Even though I think you completely over-reacted, I don't think that we should stop seeing each other after school because of something as silly as what you got upset about…"
Yomi nodded in agreement and opened her mouth to say something, but she was yet again cut off by the determined girl. Yomi sighed, rolled her eyes, and continued to listen to Kagura's unnecessary rambling. "The truth is I totally understand everything when you explain it to me… I really need you to keep tutoring me so that I can continue improving my education and I can stay on the team…" She let out an exasperated sigh, "Can't we just forget that this day ever happened?"
Yomi knew that she could never forget that this day happened. How could she, when one of the most important questions of her life had been asked? So she replied honestly, "I can't just forget what happened-" She was cut off by Kagura's intense groveling. The pathetic athlete got on her knees, clasped her hands together in front of her chest, and whined, "Please, Yomi! I'll do anything you want. You name it…"
Yomi's face grew into an evil smirk; she actually enjoyed seeing Kagura so vulnerable. Yomi, now fully interested, asked, "Anything?" Kagura looked up into the other girl's eyes, which at the moment seemed to be dancing with mischief. The beggar spoke gingerly, "You're not going to make me regret this, are you?"
Yomi put her hand to her chest defensively, and said facetiously, "I would never…" Kagura's eyebrows lifted, "Does that mean you'll continue helping me with my school work?" Yomi, who didn't want to act on her true feelings, just sighed and said reluctantly, "Yeah… I guess so."
Kagura couldn't hide her elation. She jumped up, grabbed Yomi's waist, and spun her around spitting out 'Thank you's one after the other. Yomi's arms were around Kagura's neck as they spun and she was delirious with laughter.
Kagura set Yomi back on her feet after whirling her around a few times. They were both too close for comfort; Kagura's arms around Yomi's waist, Yomi's arms around Kagura's neck, their faces inches away from one another. Each of the girl's faces were unreadable as they looked deeply into each other's eyes.
The moment was brought up short when Kagura looked away and removed her arms from the other girl's waist and rested them at her sides. Yomi immediately did the same. Even though the radio was on (albeit low; still on), the air was thick with silence. Blushing fiercely and incredibly embarrassed, Kagura spoke to cease the imaginary muteness that the past moment seemed to bring, "I should be going. It is getting pretty dark and my mom will raise hell if I am late for dinner…"
Yomi eagerly complied as her 'pupil' was nearing the window, "Yes, of course. Well then… I'll… uh… see you tomorrow?" Kagura paused and rested on the window pane, "Right! See ya at school!" After she had gotten out of the window, she slipped on her shoes and made a bee line for her home.
Yomi was smiling as she held her gaze on Kagura until she was out of her view. She then went over to her desk and continued to work on her unfinished homework. Trying to keep her mind focused on the task at hand but failing miserably, she stopped writing and decided to go to bed. 'I can finish it in the morning.' She turned off the light and the radio, walked over to her bed, and got under the covers. Before falling into a deep sleep, she thought with a little smile, 'This is going to be interesting…'
Author's Note: Please read and review. I will try to update soon, but now that I am playing softball again, my practices and stuff might slow me down... However, I am not very fast on updating anyway, so there might not even be a difference...