Chapter 5: Process of elimination
The movie ended without much happening. There were some scary arachnid monsters made by a mad scientist, and those had shook Yui and Chinatsu a bit. And even though the short girl in the film was devastatingly dense, there had been some romantic moments. Kyouko had nuzzled up Ayano a little bit during those, eliciting some noise. But Yui hadn't really reacted.
"And now for today's episode of Mirakurun!" Kyouko proclaimed. Apparently she had planned everything for this timing.
Himawari yawned. She had moved her chair closer to Sakurako some time earlier, and the rooster's head was now resting on her shoulder, dozing off. "Umm, I think the two of us should call it a night."
"Just 50 more minutes..." Sakurako mumbled as the girl in bunny pajamas started walking her out. Himawari gave the rest of the girls an apologetic smile. "Sakurako has actually been working hard in the student council all week. It's no wonder she's tired."
"You've both worked really hard to make the 'recreational division' a possibility," Chitose smiled back. "Thank you, and enjoy your rest."
"Goodnight," Himawari said as she led Sakurako upstairs.
As Kyouko grabbed the remote control to channel surf her way to Mirakurun, the other girls stood up and went to grab food and drinks, or visit the bathroom. Akari stood up from the armchair and stretched. Yui also stretched her arms.
"Thanks for sharing the chair, Yui-chan!"
"No problem, Akari. That was kind of nice."
Akari went to grab a glass of cola, then sat back on Himawari's old seat. Truth to be told, it was past her usual bedtime. But she had to persevere.
The Mirakurun episode wasn't too exciting. Same old Ganbo antics. By the mid-episode break, Yui was completely bored. She stood up and headed to the bathroom.
Akari finished her cola, and quietly slipped out of the room, going to the kitchen. She had to be quick here. A small plate, two of those, and from her pocket... it had melted. Perfect, actually. Her poor luck was paying dividends tonight. She set it up in the house's entryway, just before she heard Yui emerging from the bathroom.
"Oh, Akari? Did you get tired of Mirakurun too?"
"Ehehe, kinda. Wanna go upstairs for a bit?"
"Huh? Why?" Yui was just plain confused.
"Hmm, well, if we don't want to go back to Mirakurun, why not take a bit of a break? And I kinda want to see if Sakurako-chan and Himawari-chan made it to bed alright."
"Okay, I guess," Yui replied with a bit of a smile.
Yui and Akari climbed the stairs and tiptoed to the door to Chinatsu's room. They peeked inside.
The two girls were fast asleep. Sakurako was hugging Himawari, head buried in her chest. Himawari was gently holding Sakurako's head in her arms.
"Aww, that's adorable. At least they're getting along while sleeping," Akari said.
"One can't lie while asleep. At least now, they're being honest to each other," Yui commented.
"No kidding. Why can't they always be like this?"
"They really should realize - or admit - their feelings already. The bickering is getting tiresome."
Akari's brows raised at Yui's statement. "...yes, they should. But would it necessarily solve the situation? Just look at how Ayano is faring."
"Indeed. What a headache."
"Should we take a picture?" Akari said, taking out her phone and pressing a few buttons.
"Why? To show to whom?"
"This feels like prime blackmail material. 'Relationship scandal in the student council' or something like that."
"Hah, indeed. But we are part of the student council now. The fallout would also land on us."
"Oh, right. I was only joking anyways." Akari put away her phone.
"Wouldn't want to hurt their relationship, right?"
"Right," Akari smiled.
Yui and Akari left their spying position by the door and sat down at the top of the stairs. The friends spent some time there, enjoying the calm and idle chatter.
Chitose's phone vibrated in her pocket. She quietly took it out. A text message from Akaza-san?
Surprise horror snack eating game! The one who finds and eats the most of Chinatsu's cookies will win a special prize! First come, first served!
Another surprise contest? Chitose looked around. Nobody else had their phone out. She was probably the first one to notice the message, which gave her a clear advantage. Chitose snuck out of the living room and started looking. Soon enough, she spotted a small plate in the entryway. Some kind of cookie sandwich was upon it. It was tough to say, with how horrible Yoshikawa-san's cookies looked.
Chinatsu picked up the abomination. It certainly looked horrible. But could it really taste so bad? It couldn't be worse than getting a centipede dropped inside your pajamas. Chitose took a deep breath, then a bite.
It didn't taste that bad. If she had to describe it, it would be 'slightly burnt drywall'. And in the center, there was a delicious sweet taste. Surprisingly delicious. Wait, isn't this-
Just as Akari and Yui had come down the stairs, they saw the monster running toward them.
Yui reflexively lifted her hands to block Chitose. Akari ducked, and blocked the monster's hips with both forearms. This extra point of leverage meant that Chitose couldn't knock Yui down on the ground. Still, they were left in a precarious position, barely maintaining their balance. Akari glanced upwards.
Yui looked scared. "No, stop, Chitose! Someone, help!"
"Funami-saannn~" Chitose sang as her hands tried to find purchase, her lips pursed, trying to reach Yui's face.
Kyouko and Ayano came from the living room, the noise having alerted them. Yui spotted them over Chitose's shoulder.
"Help! Kyouko! Please!" she yelled.
Kyouko blinked a few times. No choice but to act. "Chitose, over here!"
Chitose turned her head around to look towards the sound. Kyouko placed her hands on Ayano's cheeks, and stared deep into her eyes.
"W-wait, Toshino Kyouko-"
Kyouko kissed Ayano on the lips.
Chitose's nose exploded. The force of the geyser sent her flying, taking Yui and Akari with her. In the end, Chitose landed on Akari, while Yui was sent further back. A line of blood stretched from Chitose's nose across her pajamas, widening until it reached the epicenter of the explosion on the floor.
Kyouko concluded her kiss with Ayano. "That's right!" she declared triumphantly. "I love Ayano and Ayano loves me! We're the happiest couple in the world!" Ayano was dazed.
"Yui-senpaiii!" Chinatsu cried out as she rushed to Yui's side. "Are you alright?"
Chizuru helped lift her sister off of Akari, and Rise gave the redhead a hand in standing up.
"What on Earth have you done?" yelled Tomoko, coming down the stairs. "I specifically said not to make a big mess! Wait, is she alright?"
"Sorry for the trouble. My sister's out cold, but she'll survive. All she needs is a good night's sleep and lots of iron tomorrow," Chizuru replied.
"Okay, get her to bed then. And clean this up! I don't want my parents to return home to this!"
"Yes, ma'am!" everyone replied. The scolding even broke Ayano out of her daze. She angrily dragged Kyouko to the kitchen.
Tomoko climbed back upstairs. Chinatsu started gathering cleaning supplies from the bathroom and closets.
Chizuru used tissues to carefully clean her sister's pajamas. "I don't think it's going to stain the sheets anymore, but this outfit will need a powerwash tomorrow."
"Let's get her to the bedroom," Yui said, lifting up Chitose's legs. "In the end, Kyouko was pretty smart to have us all in sleepwear and the beds ready. Makes this part much easier".
Chizuru picked up her sister's shoulders, and together they carried Chitose upstairs.
With Chinatsu's lead, Akari and Rise started cleaning up the bloodstain from the floor. In the end, it wasn't too difficult. They finished soon after Yui and Chizuru had returned. Ayano and Kyouko were still discussing fiercely in the kitchen as the rest of the girls returned to the dark living room.
The TV was broadcasting nonsense, so they booted up Yui's console again. The Namostation 5 had support for 5 simultaneous players. It was a weird arrangement, but worked for party games. As it turned out, every girl got a controller.
As the game was starting, Akari leaned close to Yui. "Did you get Ikeda-senpai to bed okay?"
"Yeah," Yui whispered back. "It was a bit of a drag, but we managed it. The other two were still fast asleep as well."
"Okay, that's good. I guess it all worked out in the end."
"Chinatsu's sister was pretty mad at us, though."
"Oh, her? Don't worry. She's kind. She'll forgive us now that we fixed the mess."
"I sure hope so."
The match began and Yui started focusing on the game. Akari was thinking about what she had done. I just knocked out Ikeda-senpai, gave Yui a scare, embarrassed Sugiura-senpai, and interrupted the party. Was I right to try that? Do the ends justify the means? I guess at least Ikeda-senpai was happy to see that kiss.
Eventually, the fun of the game returned the life back to the party. As Chinatsu whooped after smashing Chizuru into the pit, Akari's worries started melting down too. I guess it really did work out in the end. She immersed herself in the game.
Kyouko and Ayano eventually returned to the living room.
"Fancy some gaming, Ayano?" Kyouko asked.
"...actually, yes. It's a good time for some mindless fun."
"Bring it on! Who's willing to give up their controller?
"Go ahead, Kyouko-senpai," said Chinatsu, rising up from the sofa. "I could use some fresh air anyways."
"Same here," Akari said. She tossed her controller to Ayano. "Mind if I join you, Chinatsu-chan?"
"Not at all."
Akari and Chinatsu walked out to the porch. It was a clear night. The sky was lit up by stars and a half moon. The rest of the neighborhood seemed to be sleeping quietly.
"Whewww", stretched Chinatsu. "The party's fun, but the fresh air and silence is a good change of pace."
"You're the one to thank for the party being so fun", remarked Akari as she joined Chinatsu by the railing. "You did a great job organizing everything".
"Aww, no need to thank me, Akari-chan", smiled Chinatsu. "I should be thanking you for saving Yui-senpai from Ikeda-senpai's kissing rampage!"
"You know, had she reacted differently, I might actually have allowed it to happen."
"What do you mean?" asked Chinatsu, her brow furrowing.
"Ever since Yui-chan revealed that she has a crush, I've been trying to figure out who it could be. Ikeda-senpai was one possibility. I was gauging Yui-chan's reaction as she was attacked. If it had looked like she actually wanted to be kissed by Ikeda-senpai, that would have solved the mystery. And maybe, at that point, it would have been better to let it happen? I'm not sure myself. But she looked pretty horrified, so I did my best to stop it."
"Woah... I'm not sure what to say to that. You've been doing all this work to figure out who her crush is? For what reason?" Chinatsu's serious expression suddenly brightened. "For my sake?!"
"Partially for your sake, yes", said Akari, a bit annoyed that Chinatsu was again thinking her crush on Yui was the most important thing in the world. "Also to find out how I could help her. How to make everyone's life better. And a part of it is plain curiosity."
"Good thing you're not the one wearing these cat pajamas then", quipped Chinatsu. "So, what have you figured out so far?"
"It's not Ikeda-senpai, and by that I mean Chitose, I'm not sure about Chizuru. Based on her reactions when we checked on Himawari-chan and Sakurako-chan, it's also neither of them."
"Wait, what were those two doing? Did they finally-"
"No, as far as I can tell, they were just sleeping, but in a cute way. Anyway, when it was just the two of us upstairs, and when we shared the armchair in the living room, I was trying to read her reactions to my presence. And I'm pretty sure it's not me either."
"So that's why you chose to sit there. That's a relief. I don't know what I would have done if Yui-senpai had actually had a crush on you!"
"You're right, it would have been a complete mess. With you liking Yui-chan, Yui-chan liking me, and..."
"And?"
Akari hesitated. Her heart was pounding rapidly. It was such a nice night. And they'd just had a nice talk, with Akari already revealing many secrets to Chinatsu. A new feeling of nervous excitement, like butterflies in her stomach but different, was spreading through Akari's body. It's now or never.
Akari turned towards Chinatsu and grabbed both of her hands in hers. She locked eyes with her. Chinatsu was blushing lightly, and her beautiful blue eyes were gazing at Akari, mesmerized.
"Akari-chan...?"
It's happening.
"Chinatsu-chan, I like you! Please go out with me!"