Pretty 71: Bashou x Yuyaki

Yuyaki is no stranger to her crow leading her to different places.

Her best friend, her feathery partner, is a very intelligent creature that always leads her to adventure, great or small.

Today is no exception. Yuyaki had just been resting at home after coming back from a mission the day prior, and all of a sudden, her best friend flew off her forearm and flew off in a seemingly random direction.

"Haaah...where are you...taking me this time...?" Yuyaki utters to herself, her heart racing with trepidation and excitement alike as she runs and leaps across and from rooftop to rooftop, following her crow's lead.

Eventually, the snow-haired girl lands in a perfect, silent landing on a small patch of cobble stone that forms a path, right at the space between the edge of town and the forest beyond it.

"...what...?" Yuyaki tilts her head and blinks twice, then stands back up as she now realizes she stands in front of a slightly run-down pavilion that nature has slightly begun to reclaim, some roots, vines and ivy on the lower edges of the marble that it's made out of.

There's an open door through which Yuyaki's faithful crow friend just flew in and the avian is now nice and snug in the open bird cage that sits on a tall glass table.

And what truly draws Yuyaki's attention as she steps past the threshold of the pavillion's door...is none other than Bashou of Hebijo Academy, standing near the table, eyes closed, a gentle smile on her face...and the side edges of her beautiful Victorian England-inspired white dress held in her index fingers and thumbs as she does a courtsy for Yuyaki...or so Yuyaki thinks.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance. How do you do?" The little greenette gives a slight downward tilt to her head, a polite, elegant and classy bow.

"...t-the pleasure is...all mine...?" Yuyaki finds herself utterly confused yet she does her best to mimic Bashou's gesture, which is made easy by her own lovely casual yet still elegant dress, which is no match for Bashou's own attire, but it's better than nothing."...what?" Bashou's eyes open and violet meets obsidian. The color starts to drain from the petite girl's beautiful face.

Bashou's facial expression of shock is a stark contrast with her magnificent outfit: the shy greenette dons an elegant dress that consists of a white frilly blouse, a green skirt that goes down her knees, short frilly socks and Mary Jane shoes that fit on her feet. She is also wearing a green hat that is slightly at the side of her head for good measure with a little rose at the side.

"Ah! Did I...I'm so sorry..." Yuyaki puts her hands up in defense. "I thought that...you were greeting me..."

"I-I didn't know you were there. I was just practicing." Bashou looks around to see the crow perched in the little bird cage.

"What...is this place?" Yuyaki also takes the time to look around the pavilion.

"Let's just say...I'm sort of doing a restoration project." Bashou explains as she sits on a chair. "Y-you see...this place was barely used. No one ever came to visit it, at least that's what I heard. So...I was taking a walk and found this place."

"Wow. You sure did quite some organizing," Yuyaki takes a look at the bookshelf. "Even the shelf is dusted."

"Ehehe...I try."

"So...what up with the dress? And why are you trying to be so elegant?" Yuyaki inquires.

Bashou fiddles with her fingers. "I-it's because...of Sou-cha-NO! Souji-san! I'm sorry! I call her that because she's my best friend!" She squeaks. "A-anyways, it all started when..umm...Sou-chan caught me..."

Flashback

Bashou didn't really know exactly why she was doing what she was doing in the rather vast wardrobe of her best friend, the rampant narcissist that was Souji, her roommate.

Bashou may perhaps have been influenced by the couple of magazines she read earlier or perhaps that drama she watched a couple of days prior on TV.

But she was looking through the ridiculously vast and very expensive-looking wardrobe of Souji, looking for something that played into the theme of "elegance".

"And how is Sou-chan's wardrobe this big? This is like a maze! Our dorm shouldn't have this much space in a single room! Did Sou-chan demand that our room be modified or something?" Bashou scratched her head as she looked around the walk-in closet.

"Yup! You bet I did, Ba-chan! My closet was made to my~specifications!" Souji's voice made Bashou freeze and the little greenette spun around and her best friend smiled at the precious little "MEEP!" that escaped her when the blonde began to talk.

Souji flipped her hair fabulously and rested a hand on her hip as she further questioned: "And why are you in my closet?" with plain curiosity.

Bashou shut her eyes tightly and squeezed her hands on her chest, wondering how in the world she was going to explain to Souji her sudden, seemingly random interest in elegant clothing...yet the blonde tilted her head and smiled as she marched forward and reached into the clothing hangers next to Bashou's shoulder.

"Well, if you're gonna be in the closet, might as well be mine~" Souji made the bad joke and then, brought out of the racks a dress that made Bashou's beautiful violet eyes go wide and her mouth form a little "o" shape.

"Ba-chan, here, take this as well as...this other one. I don't think they are really... me. I don't see myself wearing these anytime soon. I don't even know why I bought in the first place...perhaps...I had you~on the mind at the time?" Souji gave an honest, sweet smile that contrasted with her usual smile that was filled with ego and pride."...eh?" Bashou tilted her in adorable confusion yet she was quick to cradle the beautiful and oh so very elegant pieces of clothing her blonde best friend just put in her arms.

"I don't know why, but I think these pieces will suit you far better than they could fit me...and don't tell anyone I said that. Ok, Ba-chan? And also, when you and perhaps someone else wear these...show me a picture if I'm not there, Ok? I want to know that I was correct~" Souji explained with a raised index finger and a gentle pat to Bashou's green head of hair, plus a cheeky wink and grin.

Bashou didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so she just smiled a cute little smile and she couldn't deny she had a tear or two stinging her eyes. She was so relieved and happy.

"O-Ok...thank you, Sou-chan! Truly, thank you!"

And as the memory and explanation fades back to the present, Bashou's eyes widen and she immediately reaches for the neatly placed eco-bag that she had sitting on a circular bench next to a restored glass coffee table in the center of the pavilion.

"Ah yes, now that you're here...perhaps you'd like to...um...try it on? T-The second dress Souji let me have? O-Or is that...asking too...much?" Bashou blushes deeply and looks down and to the side, sometimes looking back at the confused yet gently-smiling Yuyaki.

"I...would love to...actually, Bashou...san...this is something...new...an adventure that my...best friend there..." Yuyaki motions with her head to her avian partner perched leisurely in the open bird cage. "Led me to...so, there is a...purpose to this." The snow-haired, tanned girl utters to both Bashou and herself. The petite greenette smiles and nods.

Yuyaki is handed her own dress and the girl begins to strip out of her clothing right then and there, heeding no mind to Bashou's gaze giving her the once-over.

Bashou can see that the shy tanned girl is wearing absolutely lovely white underwear today, making her blush a bit before snapping out of it and getting back to where she is.

They take a look at the single rectangular mirror that's next to the bookshelf to admire themselves. Bashou glances at the tanned girl, admiring the dress she's wearing. To her, she looks absolutely amazing in that. It's like she's ready for a date. Though surely, she can't think of anyone other than Leo that Yuyaki may or could be interested in.

"You look amazing, by the way...Bashou-san~" Yuyaki compliments.

Bashou squeaks and blushes heavily, putting her hands together on her lap. "O-oh! Thank you...! S-s-same goes for you, too."

"Thanks~"

They take a moment to admire each other's dresses. Then, Yuyaki turns and takes Bashou's hand, leaning down and kissing her knuckles...like a perfect gentleman. Bashou cups a hand to her mouth, blushing.

"Y-Yuyaki-san!?" she squeaks.

The shy tanned girl also realizes what she's doing and pulls her hand away. "Ah! S-so...sorry for that! I mean...umm...uhhh...w-well you see...it was...Leo-san's...fault..."

Bashou immediately finds herself missing the warmth of both Yuyaki's hand cradling her own and the brief yet lingering feeling and warmth of the caramel-skinned girl's lips on her knuckles. But then, the mention of the blonde beauty of a woman that lives on the opposite end of the city in her enormous estate makes Bashou quite confused. She idly rubs her forearm and both girls evade each other's gazes.

"L-Leo...sama? What do you mean...Yuyaki-san?" Bashou questions.

The even-more-timid-than-her cutie scratches the bridge of her nose.

"L-Leo-san...has this habit...she's very knight-like...and she loves to greet other...ladies...like that...s-sorry, she must be rubbing off on me...sorry if I...overstepped my boundaries..." Yuyaki explains, fiddling with her fingers on her lap.

"O-Oh my...! I, I see...well...I bet Leo-sama must make...well, she must make lots of ladies' hearts flutter...if she does that like...like you just did..." Bashou can hardly believe what she's even saying.

"Y-Yes...Leo-san is very...gentleman-like...a-are you, by any chance, um...trying to become more elegant...so you can meet Leo-san in...person eventually...?" Yuyaki asks with some mild apprehension, some trepidation, not really sure why her heart has begun to beat slightly faster. She can still feel the velvet-like softness of Bashou's hand in hers and those womanly yet strong knuckles under her lips.

"E-E-Eh?! M-Me and...and Leo-sama?! I, I...n-no, Yuyaki-san! I, I have...no real interest in being...Leo-sama's partner...I admire...someone else...b-but she's not very elegant at all...uuu...I just...feel like I should be...elegant enough to...to, well, earn this dress that Sou-chan, s-sorry, Souji, gave me out of the kindness of her heart..." Bashou stutters and trips over her own words as she hopes to clear the air immediately after Yuyaki's assumption just now.

"Maybe...we can," Yuyaki says.

"Eh?" Bashou says, jolting her head up.

"To earn these dresses," the tanned girl says. "W-we have to...ummm...practice our elegance. Y-you know, try to overcome our...shyness."

"I-I see..." Bashou has never been able to "test" this out with a person before, but since they are both here, might as well. "Alright...I can do this."

Yuyaki nods and both of them clear their throats. Bashou decides to start.

"Good day, ma'am~" Bashou says in a loud, clear voice unlike her soft, stuttering one. "What a lovely day, isn't it?"

"Why yes, Bashou-san~" Yuyaki's voice is not quiet either. Instead, it's a little bit like her split persona, but in a more gentle tone.

They are amazed by how they sound that they decide to keep going.

"Oh, my~" Bashou says, cupping a hand to her mouth. "I may have run into you before with someone."

"I beg your pardon?" Yuyaki says.

"I've seen you with a man. A man that's totally...hot. I mean, why would you even be with a gentleman like that?"

Yuyaki grins a little by the fact that Bashou is referring to Leo as "that man". "That's absurd!"

Bashou gives a haughty laugh that she's never thought she'd be capable of pulling off, but she does, strangely well too. "Ho ho oh ho! You deny my claim, Madame Yu~? I saw you and Sir Leon together, plain and clear as day, my good lady. I saw your fingers intertwined, too! You cannot deny that you and Sir Leon together!" She even points an "accusing" index finger at Yuyaki, who blinks and fights back a chuckle. Instead, she looks scandalized and reels back almost as if Bashou had slapped her.

"No, I, I was not, I assure you, Lady Ba! That maiden had to have been some other wench, some commoner that Sir Leon took pity on. Ladies as high of a station as me and with my luscious locks white as snow are way too busy with more pressing matters to be prancing about attached to Sir Leon's arm~!" Yuyaki does a dramatic spin, index finger raised high and other hand on the middle of her bountiful, white-clad chest.

"Hmph~ Then, you so claim you have no interest in Sir Leon, Lady Yu? In that case..." Bashou steps up and puffs out her chest, which sways and jiggles with the motion, and smiles proudly. "I~shall attend Sir Leon's next ball and while we dance and bedazzle everyone, I shall claim to the world that Sir Leon and I have become bethrothed!" The little greenette fights back a laugh as she reaches up and points her finger to the bright sun outside the slightly green-yet-in-cleaning glass at the top of the pavilion.

Yuyaki can't help but swoon at the sheer confidence and coolness that seems to radiate from the "persona" Bashou is embodying.

"My goodness, Lady Ba! What a delightful plan!" Yuyaki gives a short, soft clap.

"Hahaaa, I know, Lady Yu. Sir Leon won't know what hit him~ I'll have him all wrapped around my little finger...like...!" Bashou then abruptly stops and covers her mouth as she gives a loud, exaggerated gasp that has Yuyaki falter and place her hand on her own chest in worry that...she isn't sure it's in or out of character. "No...no way! No, this cannot be! It's...it's Sir Leon...!" Bashou's bottom lip trembles as she points a finger in a random direction, her hand shaking. "And...and he's kissing...no, it cannot be! Sir Leon is locking lips with that absolute wench, Lady Ruga!" Bashou stumbles and falls to her knees, slamming a fist on the soft carpet with bits of grass in it.

"Whaaa?! No, that's not possible, Lady Ba! My goodness, oh Lady Ba, what will you do?! I supported your plan...and yet that plan has crumbled before it ever came to fruition!" Yuyaki is next to the heartbroken-looking Bashou's in a flash, on her knees, hands on Bashou's shoulders.

"No...nooo! I could have had him...If only...oh Lady Yu, hold me and don't let go! My heart aches! What shall I do?!" In a flash, Yuyaki's arms are wrapped tightly yet gently around Bashou, the greenette letting off a soft gasp that she's sure is out of character, not a gasp from her character, but her own.

Throughout this whole exchange, Yuyaki and Bashou gained not only confidence but also... 'No...no way...Bashou-san...she makes my heart flutter...' Yuyaki's thoughts and heart raced as she held the whimpering greenette in her arms, while Bashou clung to Yuyaki's forearm and back, her own mind racing and heart thumping in her ears.

'Why...am I...this immersed...? I...this is silly...but...Yuyaki-san, why am I calling to her like this...? This persona...am I expressing my true feelings?!' Bashou argues with herself in nigh panic.

The two find themselves staring into each other's eyes as soon as they pull away. Their hearts beat so fast that they can literally feel them thumping in their chests.

In that instant, they finally "break character" just to talk properly.

"Ah! I-I'm so sorry! I didn't know...w-what came over me," she says.

"Bashou-san...d-do you mean what you said...about me?" Yuyaki asks.

"Yes, but I-I wasn't sure how you felt..." Bashou answers with her head turned to the side. "I-I mean, I might sound a bit selfish here a-and a bit jealous. You had your eye on Leo-sama, right?"

"No way...!" Yuyaki says. "That is...I mean, umm...I don't think I...have had feelings for her, yet...?"

"R-really? Then..." Bashou takes both of Yuyaki's hands in hers, kisses her knuckles and smiles softly.

"Bashou-san..." Yuyaki's heart is beating a lot faster now just from what the shy greenette is doing just now.

"I-I'm in love with you...Yuyaki-san. I don't know why, but...b-but...Ahhhhh...I'm so sorry! I've had my eye on YOU for quite some time. We never really spoken to each other much because you're...almost always with Leo-sama."

Bashou lifts her head up, having a serious expression on her face. "But now...b-but now. Now I know...I HAD to reach out to you! To show you how elegant I am! J-just as elegant as Leo-sama!"

"Y-you mean that...? You did that just for me?" Yuyaki cannot believe what she's hearing. All that practicing. All that hard work in this pavilion. It was all for Yuyaki...and to spend time with her alone.

"Y-yes..." Bashou says, blushing and fiddling with her fingers. "S-sorry. You must think I'm a fool trying to take you away from the one you lo-WAH!" Suddenly, she finds herself dipped by Yuyaki in her arms, much to her surprise.

"You're wrong." the tanned girl simply says. "You're wrong, Bashou-san. And...I am here to show you."

She leans in and locks lips with Bashou's. The shy greenette's violet eyes widen at the sudden kiss...however, the feeling of Yuyaki's lips upon hers...so soft, moist, warm...she begins to relax and wrap her arms around her neck to return the favor. The kiss deepens and Bashou allows Yuyaki's tongue to enter her mouth and caress hers beautifully, soft moans being heard. It's bliss. To Bashou and Yuyaki, this is truly bliss and none of them can or will ever forget this feeling.

Once they pull away, they straighten their positions and just hold each other, gazing at one another. Bashou reaches out and cups both hands to Yuyaki's cheeks. She smiles a small, cute smile.

"Thank you...Yu...Yu...chan~" she whispers so sweetly, with so much love in her voice, that it makes Yuyaki blush heavily and whimper at the same time.

"U-uuu...!" the shy tanned girl covers her face and shakes her head roughly. "Y-you calling my name like that...? It's a little embarrassing...!"

"...my goodness...you're so cute..." Bashou breathes and (un)fortunately, Yuyaki hears that and it kind of only makes it worse, or better...for the tanned Senran then returns Bashou's embrace, arms tight and snug around her tiny waist, and in a way, Yuyaki's other persona "tags in", so to speak.

"And you~are the cutest woman I have ever met. To damnation with Sir Leon. His loss. You deserve better, and I~am better. You shall be mine and only mine always, Lady... Ba-chan." Yuyaki, or her other persona, or both working together, coos in Bashou's ear and the precious little greenette gives a soft "E-EEP!" and then, an adorable "Uuuu...!" when Yuyaki kisses her earlobe.

"M-Mou...Yuyuuu-chaaan...not...fair...my goodness...!" Bashou buries her hotly-blushing face in the crook of Yuyaki's neck and the tanned girl gives a soft giggle, feeling proud of this little...collaborative effort.

And while the two gorgeous, timid and precious Senran maidens in elegant love enjoy their sweet, loving embrace, Yuyaki's best friend gives a soft caw and takes off from its perch in the bird cage and takes to the blue skies above to give its best friend and her new beloved some more time alone.

"...thank you~" Yuyaki and Bashou find themselves cooing softly before they lean in for a new kiss.

~The End~

Yuri-chan: So...here we are again. And this time, we are doing another pairing with the shy Senrans!

Major Mikey gives gives off a sigh of satisfaction and leans back in his comfy ol' reliable armchair Haaaah, my goodness~ Mmmhmmm, mmmhmmm~ My goodness, Yuri-chan. So. Much. Overwhelming cuteness! "W"

Yuri-chan: Double the cuteness and...double the elegance~ Yup, you heard me! Elegance~ A new topic for this Pretty~

Major Mikey snickers as he pets Yuri-chan Indeed, indeed. This is definitely something neither of us has ever done, and for a first try at this particular theme...what do you think, fellas? Did we do good? How overwhelmingly cute and beautiful and elegant were Ba-chan and Yuyu-chan? Please, let us know with some niiiice, wonderful reviews, 'k~?

Yuri-chan: Yes, please do! We aren't really good at the whole "classy lady" type of talk, you know? XD We did our very best.

Major Mikey: Exactly, exactly. And...hey, no knock on poor Ikaruga, amirite, Yuri-chan~? XD Twas just a wee little poke of fun, 's all~

Yuri-chan: Oh, yes! That's right! So please, give out long and detailed reviews as always~! We worked hard on this one, especially on the dialogue.

Major Mikey: You bet, Yuri-chan, fellas, we really did~ Thanks for the opportunity too, Yuri-chan. Much obliged. :3

Seeya'll next Pretty~! Semper-Fi! Carry on!

Yuri-chan: Have a nice day~!