I've been watching this anime recently and the idea for a DekoSummer one shot popped into my head! I hope you enjoy it!
"...the mighty Mjolnir Hammer"
Nibutani Shinka almost immediately regretted opening the door to the club room. She contemplated turning around and eating lunch elsewhere. An expectant look from the room's sole male occupant made her sigh and walked over to the table, sitting down on the zabuton with a slight thump. She placed her lunch on the table while scowling at the two figures jumping around at the other end of the room.
"Have they been at it long?" She groaned, second hand embarrassment creeping into her voice.
"Since we got here." He replied, becoming acutely interested in a piece of seaweed stuck to his chopstick.
"I'll never understand how you put up with it, Togashi."
Yuuta continued to look at his chopsticks, seemingly ignoring the statement Shinka had thrown his way. A loud crash diverted their attention to the two girls currently 'fighting' with each other, shouting fantastic incantations. One of the sandbags attached to Dekomori Sanae's hair had knocked several items off the bookshelf, which both of them ignored. A head popped up from the other side of the table, before laying back down to sleep.
"I could ask you the same thing, Nibutani." A coy smile crept across his lips. She turned her head towards him, eye twitching.
"What's that supposed to mean?" The anger she was feeling was more muted than usual, she wasn't entirely interested in fighting this battle. Yuuta merely stared at her, offered a shrug and returned to eating his lunch.
She sat there and mulled over what he said. She had ended up leaving the drama club, mostly to spend more time in the very clubroom she was in right now. As much as she tried to tell herself otherwise, the four of them were her closest friends and wouldn't trade them for the world. Not like she'd ever tell them that, though.
"Rikka!" Yuuta shouted, snapping Shinka out of her thoughts. She looked at the chuuni in question, her umbrella fully open and in a battle stance against Sanae, "You need to eat, the lunch period is going to be over soon if you keep fighting like that."
"No! It is important that my servant and I practice our skills, so that we may never be caught off guar- ow!" Rikka's statement was cut off by a light karate chop to her head. Yuuta was now standing beside her, sighing.
"Yuuuutaa" Rikka protested, rubbing her head.
"You know you need to eat." He sternly told her, as she took a seat next to him with a hurt scowl on her face. Yuuta grabbed her box out of a bag, opening it for her, "Here."
Rikka sighed and picked up her chopsticks, picking at the meal that was placed in front of her. Shinka could see how Rikka shifted slightly towards Yuuta, just enough so that they were barely touching. Shinka noticed out of the corner of her eye that Dekomori had yet to sit down with them, instead she was looking out the window.
"That goes for you too, Dekomori." Shinka surprised even herself by telling the other chuuni to come and sit down. Sanae did turn around looking as if she was going to say something, before thinking better of it and sliding down on the empty side of the table. Shinka noticed Yuuta giving her a curious stare, a smirk across his face.
She looked at Sanae timidly pecking at a piece of cheese with her chopsticks, her face contorted into a grimace. She looked as if she was faced with eating the most disgusting thing to ever get past her lips. Shinka could almost hear her internal monologue, something about overcoming the daunting challenges faced by a warrior as mighty as her, a true test of her strength.
She was suddenly alerted to Yuuta and Rikka's eyes on her, and she snapped back to looking at her own lunch. She felt a redness creep into her cheeks. How long had she been staring at her? By now Sanae had looked up as well, a puzzled look now across her face.
"Are you challenging me during my moment of weakness, Fake Mori Summer?" Sanae looked ready to rise for combat once more.
"No, and don't call me that!" Shinka snapped at her, now fully occupied with trying to finish her lunch.
"Hah! I knew a fake like you couldn't dream of taking on the Mjolnir Hammer and expecting to win!" The girl buried herself in the rest of her food, while Shinka let out a groan. Still, something inside of her enjoyed these interactions.
She chanced a glance at both Yuuta and Rikka, who seemed to be looking back and forth at Shink and Sanae. At that moment, Tsuyuri Kumin chose to wake up from her nap, groggily sitting back up at the table.
"What did I miss?" She yawned, looking at her four friends.
"Shinka was just admiring Sanae over here while she was eat-" Yuuta began to speak before being cut off.
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! NO NO NO!" Shinka protested, nearly rolling on the floor as her face burned red. Rikka looked surprised, her eye widening while looking at Dekomori and Nibutani with a small gasp. Dekomori tilted her head inquisitively at Yuuta, confusion on her face.
Not wanting to deal with her sudden onset of embarrassment around her friends anymore, she quickly grabbed her now empty lunch box and shoved it in her bag. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a blush come across Dekomori's face. Without saying a word to the four of them, she put her shoes back on and slid the door shut.
She shook her head to try and ignore what had just happened, and made her way to her next classroom, just as the bell rang, signalling the end of the lunch period.
Shinka had spent the rest of the day ignoring Yuuta's glares, as well as the curious side eye that Rikka shot her. She remained buried in her notes, pretending that she was taking in every word the teacher was saying. Why had what happened at lunch bothered her so much? She was only thinking of what stupid thoughts were racing through that chuuni's head as she struggled to bring herself to eat some cheese.
Yuuta's words stung in her head. She wasn't admiring the little brat, she was just thinking about her. Two entirely different things. She only noticed Sanae's annoying 'battle' moves and her annoying, cute smile. A ping of unease turned over in her stomach. Cute smile? What am I thinking? The feeling of redness crept back into her cheeks, which didn't go unnoticed by Rikka.
Shinka groaned internally as she saw Rikka's eye get wider while looking at her. She gave a huff and turned her head to gaze out the window, not wanting to see whatever silent communication Rikka was trying to send to Yuuta behind them.
The rest of the day continued rather normally, her classes seeming to not offer any stimulating lecture or assignment to latch her mind on to. Despite protests from her churning stomach, she forced herself to walk towards the clubroom. She didn't hear anyone inside, a welcome relief. If she had been able to get her work out and start studying before anyone showed up no one could comment on what happened at Lunch…
She slid open the door.
Shit.
Standing alone in the room was none other than Sanae, the one person Shinka didn't want to share a room with right now.
Sanae barely acknowledged her entrance, moving her head back from the window just enough to see who it was. Her gaze seemed transfixed in the far distance, focused on where the sky met the earth, as if trying to divinate its exact location. The only sound in the room was the wind rattling the window panes, giving it an eerie atmosphere.
"Erm, hi" Shinka could have slapped herself. Erm, hi? What the hell are you talking about? Just sit down and take out your work. Don't even acknowledge she's here.
"Have you ever watched the sun sinking lower and lower in the sky, the daily battle between the forces of light and dark, Shinka?"
Sanae's usage of her real name shot a shiver up her spine. Her tone of voice was completely different, serious and collected. In a way it was deeply unsettling, but equal parts surprising. She didn't even turn to face her, instead keeping her gaze out of the window.
"N-no" She managed to say, stumbling over even the most simple of words. The butterflies in her stomach spread throughout the rest of her body, everything from her legs to her fingertips feeling numb. Where the hell were Rikka and Yuuta? Kumin? Anyone?!
Sanae turned around, and she caught a look of her dark blue eyes. It was clear that the look she was giving her was an invitation to sit next to her and look out the window. Without even thinking about it, she realised her body had stood up and walked over to the window, taking a seat next to her.
If her face hadn't gotten red before, it was red by now. The chunni didn't notice, her gaze focused back outside. Shinka understood why she was now. The fiery, deep red of the waning hour of light was painted across the sky. Reds, oranges, purples, blues, yellows all mixed and merged with each other, forming a brilliant tapestry of light and dark.
She started to look at the clouds, they seemed to be glowing as the light glanced off them. Each one had its own orange-yellow ring around it, giving them a new sense of depth and emotion she never noticed in clouds before. Straining to see if she could get a better view of this cloud that almost looked like it was forming some type of recogniseable object, Shinka shifted her position.
As her left hand came down, it fell on top of Dekomori's. Shinka froze, her breath caught in her throat. She noticed. She totally noticed. It's still there. I haven't moved it. Move it, Shinka. MOVE IT! Despite the internal screaming, a rush of energy, and daresay bliss, surged through her body. She simultaneously wanted to move her hand and jump away and keep it there forever.
For what seemed like an eternity they sat there like that. Shinka cursed herself the entire time and refused to look anywhere else than directly ahead at both everything and nothing outside. Just as she began to accept the fact her hand was on top of Sanae's, the most annoying, attention hungry brat she'd ever known, she felt her hand start to move under hers.
Shinka drew a deep breath, ready to hear whatever rant that was coming her way. It would probably be something about "Oh Fake Mori Summer, I knew you'd try and take my power away somehow!"
Her breathing stopped again when she felt Sanae's fingers intertwine with her own. She moved her hand to hold my hand. Her brain screamed at her, but even that was drowned out by the sound of her own heartbeat. It felt like she had tunnel vision, seeing nothing but hearing everything around her.
Even when she felt Sanae's eyes looking at her, she didn't dare even move her eyes to see what her face looked like. She knew it had to be as red as hers, a silent understanding between the two of them.
Sanae moved slightly closer to her, gripping her hand tighter to let her know she wasn't going anywhere. Shinka let out the breath she was holding as the space between them became razor thin, their hands coming to rest on both of their knees.
She heard a sigh come from the small figure next to her. This time she dared to look at her. Her eyes were closed, her face a deep red, but a look of contentment on her face. For the first time in this whole encounter, she felt herself smile as well.
She resumed her gaze out the window. The sun was so close to touching the horizon line, the scene playing out in front of the two of them like a masterful epic, being drawn to its natural conclusion.
Shinka felt herself jump as she felt a pressure on her left shoulder. Turning her head slightly, she saw Sanae's head resting on her shoulder. She saw her body heave a large sigh that escaped her lips with a rush of air.
She smiled again, and gave Sanae's hand a small squeeze. As the sun sank low enough to kiss the horizon line, Shinka leaned in, resting her head on Sanae's. She wasn't sure what the feeling was, or what would come of it.
She just knew she never wanted it to end.