It took me a while to write this chapter because I wasn't sure I was happy with it, but here it is! :D
Mei had fallen asleep before Yuzu got back to the bedroom. 'How can she sleep so easily after what just happened?' the blonde thought to herself.
Yuzu walked to the opposite side of where Mei slept and sat down on the floor, leaning against the bed. She could hear soft breathing coming from the other girl.
Sighing, Yuzu placed her head into the palms of her hands. 'I wish I could be as calm as her. Nothing seems to phase her. Was I the only one who felt something when we kissed?'
Thoughts kept replaying in her mind, until she became too exhausted to think anymore. Before she knew it, morning had arrived. She'd fallen asleep on the floor but had been covered up with a blanket.
"Huh? I don't remember having a blanket," Yuzu said as she stretched. "My back is killing me. I can't believe I fell asleep here."
Getting up, she noticed the bed was empty and Mei was nowhere to be seen. 'That's no surprise. She got up early last time too.'
Yuzu walked out to the dining area, seeing her mother passed out on the couch with beer cans scattered onto the coffee table. She shook her head, as she headed over to the kitchen to make breakfast.
'I guess Mei already left. Even after last night's incident and the awkwardness...I was hoping to see her,' she thought to herself, feeling the pain return to her chest.
Looking at the clock it was nearly noon. "At least I get a break from studying today," the girl said out loud.
Being startled by noise, Ume's head popped up from over the couch. "Morning sweetie..." the woman spoke through a tired voice.
"Mama it's almost noon," Yuzu responded with a small chuckle.
Ume groggily walked into the kitchen to make some tea. "Oh, Did Mei leave already then?" she asked.
"Probably hours ago, I wasn't awake when she left," the younger girl stated while rubbing lower back.
"Are you okay Yuzu?" Ume gave her daughter a worried look.
Yuzu grunted as she continued to try and relieve the pain. "Yeah, I accidentally fell asleep on the floor last night."
Suddenly, a dinging sound was heard coming from Yuzu's bedroom. "Be right back mama!" She said as she dashed to her room.
Yuzu saw half a dozen notifications, all texts from Matsuri.
Matsuri: yuuuzuuu :3
Matsuri:hello? R u awake?
Matsuri:lets hang out
Matsuri:Im almost 2 ur house
Matsuri:so u better b ready
Matsuri: -_-
Yuzu: sry, I just woke up so give me a sec
Once again, her phone dinged, this time it was a message from Harumi.
Harumin: Yo Yuzzuchi! Let's go shopping. I'm so bored :(((
Yuzu sighed, realizing today was going to be hectic. She wanted to see both, but she was sure the other two girls weren't going to get along. Especially with Matsuri's immature attitude. Despite this, she quickly responded to Harumi's text.
Yuzu: Is it cool if Matsuri tags along?
A few moments pass by and a response from Harumi popped up.
Harumin:idc, I'll be at ur place soon
Yuzu: kk see ya in a bit!
Ten minutes passed by as Yuzu was deciding what to wear for the day before a knock was heard at the front door.
"That must be Matsuri," Yuzu said to herself as she began getting dressed into a white and blue stripped crop top, black skinny jeans, and a black leather jacket.
"Mama, can you answer that!" the blonde yelled out her bedroom door.
After tying her hair up into a side ponytail, she headed out into the living room to see that Matsuri and Harumi were both there.
"Hey, didn't expect you guys to be here so soon!" Yuzu said.
"I told you I was almost here Onee-Chan, but you didn't tell me she would be here too," Matsuri squinted her eyes playfully as she pointed towards Harumi.
The taller girl flicked Matsuri's forehead while rolling her eyes. "I barely know you; you don't have to be so rude!"
Matsuri pouted, then stuck her tongue out at Harumi. "It's just a joke, geez..."
"C'mon you two, you're gonna have to get along," Yuzu said as she shook her head and smiled. "It's already past noon, so let's get going."
The three girls headed off to the mall. It wasn't entirely Matsuri's scene to be out shopping for clothes, but she had nothing better to do.
"Yuzu-Chan, can we do something fun after this?" the pink-hair girl whined.
"Matsuri, we've only been here for five minutes..." Yuzu chuckled at her younger friend. She could be a handful most times, but the blonde girl wouldn't have it any other way. The middle schooler pouted, then glanced over to a different rack of clothing.
As Yuzu was looking through clothing racks, Harumi looked over to Matsuri who was sneakily putting a shirt into her bag.
"Uh, Yuzzuchi..." Harumi whispered.
Yuzu looked over to Harumi, confused on why she was whispering. "What?" The blonde questioned in a louder voice.
The taller girl rolled her eyes and put a finger up to her mouth, hushing the blonde. She then inconspicuously pointed towards the mischievous girl behind her.
Yuzu darted her eyes over to Matsuri and gasped quietly. "Jesus Christ, I can't take her anywhere," she said while putting her hand over her face and shaking her head.
Looking around to make sure nobody was in hearings distance of the three, Yuzu walked towards the thieving girl. "What are you doing? Put that back Matsuri," the blonde whispered in an angry tone.
Matsuri chuckled slightly, not seeming worried at all. "Nobody can see me, it's fine."
Yuzu furrowed her eyebrows at her friend's stupidity. "Keep your voice down dammit. Also, that isn't the point," she continued to whisper.
"Look, I do this all the time," Matsuri spoke as she then stuffed another shirt into her bag.
Suddenly, a tall man with an intimidating look began walking towards the girls. Yuzu began to panic, and Matsuri's demeanor changed from childish to serious. Harumi was tugging at Yuzu's arm.
"What are you girls doing?! I saw you put that shirt in your bag. I'm calling security!" He harshly spoke, raising his voice only slightly so costumers around wouldn't be bothered.
"Uh oh, what do we do?" Harumi said in a worried tone.
"Run, run, run!" Matsuri shouted.
"Are you crazy?!" Yuzu shouted back.
"Let's just go Yuzu, hurry!" Harumi was actually agreeing with the troublemaker.
Matsuri took a hold of Yuzu's hand and the three stumbled through mannequins and racks, while accidentally knocking clothes off of them. Tripping over the wheel of one of the racks, Yuzu fell to the ground. Harumi and Matsuri's eyes widened as the man was closely catching up behind them.
"Go on without me!" the fallen girl said while sticking her hand out in front of her.
"Oh, for fucks sake Yuzu, just get up!" Matsuri rolled her eyes while yanking Yuzu's arm forward to pick her up.
Finally, they made their way out of the store and continued trying to run breathlessly out of the entire mall but didn't make it out before bumping into someone they wish they hadn't.
"Watch where you're going!" The high-pitched voice spoke out.
"Sorry Himeko!" Harumi apologized while bowing quickly. Suddenly her eyes went wide. "Wait Himeko? What are you doing here by yourself?" The hazel-eyed girl asked.
Himeko furrowed her brows, before speaking. "I'm allowed to shop for one and two, I'm not here alone. I'm here with- "
"Why were you all running?" A certain raven-haired girl interrupted.
The blonde began to blush noticeably. "Uhh, you see..."
"There they are!" A deep voice from afar shouted.
"Yuzu, we have to get out of here," Harumi said.
"What did you guys do?!" Himeko asked in a confused and angry tone.
Mei's eyebrow arched, realizing the three had caused trouble.
"I think they're with those other two as well!" He shouted once again.
Himeko's mouth went agape, "Wait, wait. We don't even know them!"
"I suggest you guys run too, before we all get in trouble," Matsuri said with a grin.
Mei sighed, as the five began to run out of the mall and towards an alley, completely out of sight. They were all desperately gasping for air, as they couldn't stop running for a good three to five minutes.
"I... think...I think we...need to work out...more," the pink-haired girl attempted to say in between breaths.
The four girls glared at Matsuri before telling her to shut up in unison.
"I'm wearing my expensive self-designed outfit today. This isn't made for running! Now tell me what you guys did!" Himeko was fuming with anger, while Mei stayed silent beside her.
'She's even calm in a situation like this. I don't understand this girl,' Yuzu thought to herself while slowly catching her breath still.
Harumi used her elbow to lean on Matsuri's shoulder. "This little troublemaker was stuffing clothes into her bag and got caught, so we had to run."
The shorter girl huffed and crossed her arms, "If you two hadn't come up to me, no one would've suspected anything."
"Are you serious?" Himeko put her hands on her hips while she gave a death stare towards Matsuri.
"Okogi-San, why would you want to be around this thing?" the Vice President asked.
Yuzu put her hands up in defense, "Hey, it's not like I can control what she does! All I know is I didn't want to get in trouble."
"Maybe you should stay away from bad influences then," Mei finally spoke.
Yuzu's eyes narrowed as she walked closer to Mei, "She just gets into trouble sometimes, okay? She does stupid things, but at least we didn't get caught."
"Yeah!" Matsuri added in.
Harumi shook her head at the middle schooler but was relieved that they managed to get away. She'd be dead if her sister found out about this.
"Can we just keep this between us?" Harumi asked. "I really can't be getting into trouble."
Mei rolled her eyes, "Consider this you're only free pass, Taniguchi-San," she spoke firmly. Harumi gave Mei a huge smile and nodded in return.
"Thanks, so much prez! I guess we can't really go back to the mall, so do you guys want to get some crepes?" Harumi asked.
Yuzu could slightly see a glimmer in Mei's eyes once the word 'crepe' was spoken.
"Why would we want to hang out with you delinquents?" Himeko huffed.
"I want a crepe," Mei silently said.
Himeko grunted, "Fine! But only because Mei-Mei wants to!"
The five began heading to a sweet shop nearby. Surprisingly, Matsuri and Harumi were having an actual conversation while Yuzu and the other two girls remained quiet. It wasn't awkward, except for the fact that Yuzu and Mei were walking side by side and Yuzu couldn't help but blush as she stole a few glances at the black-haired girl.
'Despite what happened, it's nice being close to her. I wonder what she's thinking right now.'
As Yuzu stole another glance, it seems Mei was doing the same thing. Once the blonde noticed that, she perked up and looked forward again quickly.
Her cheeks began to redden from being caught. The two girls' hands were seemingly centimeters apart. Yuzu's hand brushed against Mei's by accident, but this didn't seem to bother the younger girl at all.
'Shit,' Yuzu thought to herself. She could feel her heartbeat rapidly speeding up. 'I have to stay calm.'
Yuzu shut her eyes for a moment and let out a quiet breath to slow her heartbeat.
"Did you hear me Yuzucchi?" Harumi spoke up. Yuzu hadn't been paying attention to any of the conversation going on around her. The blonde grinned as she placed her hand on the back of her neck.
"Eh, sorry Harumin I wasn't paying attention, what did you say?"
Harumi gave her friend a teasingly annoyed look, "Of course you weren't. It wasn't anything important anyway."
The five eventually made it to the shop and each bought a crepe.
"Taniguchi-San let me try yours. It looks tastier!" Matsuri whined.
"Get your own, kid!" The chestnut-haired girl spat back. "Ask Yuzzuchi instead, she has the same thing anyway."
Himeko looked at the three disgusted. "That's basically an indirect kiss!"
'An indirect kiss?' Yuzu thought as she looked over to Mei.
"Geez, if I wanted to kiss Yuzu, I'd just do it," Matsuri said loudly as she got up from her seat. Without a warning she grabbed Yuzu's face and firmly planted a kiss right on her lips. People around began to stare and whisper to each other.
"See?" the middle schooler continued, "It's not that big a deal!"
Matsuri then took a quick side glance over to Mei and smirked. It looked as if Mei, for only a moment showed a much different facial expression, rather than her typical lifeless stare.
Yuzu was filled with disbelief as to what just happened, her face turning a dark shade of red. "What the hell Matsuri? You could've at least warned me!" Yuzu then quickly turned to look at Mei once again. 'It didn't feel anything like the kiss with Mei...' she thought.
Harumi was laughing in the background and Himeko continued to freak out. "You guys are so weird!" she shouted out.
After calming down, the five continued to chat for a while before deciding to head back to their own homes.
Matsuri, Harumi, and Himeko were headed in the opposite direction as Yuzu and Mei, so they decided to walk together. That left Mei and Yuzu to walk to their homes together.
"Are you sure you're going to be okay walking home with her?" The Vice President asked aggressively.
"It won't be a problem, Himeko," Mei responded back calmly.
"Okay, if you say so! Bye Mei-Mei. I'll see you on Monday," Himeko said while waving at her best friend.
Matsuri leaned close to Yuzu and began to whisper, "Let me know how the sex is Yuzu-Chan," she said while smirking.
The blondes face turned from smiling to shock in a matter of seconds, "shut up Matsuri..." Yuzu responded as she shoved the childish girl away and shook her head.
The thought of doing something like that with Mei sent tingles up Yuzu's spine.
The sun was setting as Mei and Yuzu walked home, leaving a orange and red tint upon their faces. 'She looks so beautiful...' Yuzu took a moment to take in the other girls features. 'Her skin is so perfect, her body is thin, yet fit, and her eyes...'
"Okogi," Mei said.
"Huh?! What is it?" Yuzu asked startled.
Mei sighed, "Do you like Mizusawa-San?"
The older girl was surprised that Mei had asked such a question out of nowhere or why she even cared. The thought of her being with Matsuri made her laugh on the inside, considering she saw her as a sister more than anything.
"What? Of course not! I've known her for so long and we grew up together, but I've never had any feelings for her," the blonde answered as she nervously looked over at Mei.
"I didn't feel anything when she kissed me..."
Mei stayed silent for a moment before responding with just, "I see."
Yuzu scratched the back of her head, slightly disappointed in Mei's short response. "Why'd you ask me that?"
The black-haired girl continued walking instead of saying anything else. The silence remained, until they made their way to her grandfather's mansion.
"Stay out of trouble, Okogi." Mei warned the other girl.
Yuzu frowned and before Mei could walk away the blonde grabbed onto her hand.
"Why don't you call me by my first name? We see each other all the time, wouldn't it make it easier?"
The younger girls' eyes widened as she looked down at the hand grasping her own. Yuzu wondered if this contact between the two was inappropriate considering what had happened between them, but she didn't care to let go.
Mei lightly freed her hand, "We aren't on a first name basis because I am only your tutor and I am here to guide you, not be your friend, or anything more"
'Of course, she'd say something like that,' Yuzu thought to herself as she gave a disappointed nod and began to walk away and head in the direction of her home but stopped abruptly.
"Aihara-San?" Yuzu so faintly said as her emerald eyes looked into Mei's violets.
"Hmm, wha- "Mei was suddenly cut off.
Yuzu rushed forward, pushing Mei against the brick wall of the mansions entrance. The ravened-haired girls' arms were held on both sides of her head. Unable to stop herself, Yuzu's lips latched onto Mei's. The younger girl seemed resistant at first, trying to break her arms free from Yuzu's grip, but soon the blonde found Mei was leaning into the kiss. Releasing the restrained girls' arms, Yuzu was surprised to see Mei quickly grab her face, deepening the contact between the two.
Both desperately in need of air, pulled back for only a moment before leaning in to connect their lips once more. Tongues collided, slight whimpers and moans began escaping. There was no going back now.
Pulling back once more, Yuzu's eyes begin to fill with tears. "You never show any emotion and it makes me wonder why," she said while placing her forehead against Mei's.
"But when we kiss, for a moment it feels like you show something."
Mei's eyes widened, seemingly in disbelief to what the girl in front of her was saying.
"I'm not sure what it means, these feelings. I don't know why I have these desires or why I can't get you out of my head," Yuzu continued as tears damped her rosy cheeks. "You kissed me back. You can't say it doesn't mean anything..."
"I-I don't know what came over me," Mei said out of character. Yuzu only saw her to be in control of things, but right now she wasn't. "I'm meant to take over the academy someday, getting involved in these matters is inappropriate, especially with another girl."
"What are you afraid of?" Yuzu quickly asked.
Mei shook her head while backing away from the blonde. "I'm not afraid. I have responsibilities. So, consider that our final kiss," she finished with as she walked into the gates of her grandfather's mansion.
Yuzu wanted to say something, anything, but words refused to escape from her mouth. What was she supposed to say? The love-struck girl leaned her back against the brick wall, putting her face into the palms of her hands, attempting to hold back anymore tears.
'I should just forget about her and this whole thing. She's right anyway, she's supposed to only be my tutor,' the blonde thought as she pushed herself off the wall and began walking home.