Chapter 6: Sleep and Sleeplessness
Fingers intertwined, eyes sparkling, the two blushing girls gazed at each other. Time seemed to stand still. Akari couldn't even think anymore. She was overwhelmed by emotions, the impact of what she had just done. Her limbs felt paralyzed, while her heart thundered in her chest.
Chinatsu was stunned too. Akari's warm hands and shining eyes transmitted her feelings. Her heart fluttered from surprise and the sheer niceness of it all. For a while, she could only stare back.
She eventually broke the silence by answering. "That was the first confession I've ever received... it's so beautiful... I'm happy..." she managed to whisper.
The warm, nice feelings in Akari reached new heights.
"But..."
Only to be brought to a sinking freefall.
"...you know I like Yui-senpai, right?"
"...yes..." Akari managed.
"Yet you confessed to me... that must have taken a lot of courage..."
Silence lingered between them again. Akari was filled with anxiety. Chinatsu was in a state of confusion. What do I do? Akari-chan likes me? But I like Yui-senpai? But that confession was so nice? But Yui-senpai is my true love? But Akari-chan is the kindest girl in the world?
"...I'm not going to say no," Chinatsu began.
Hope sprung up within Akari's heart again.
"But I'm not saying yes either. I'm not sure. This surprised me so much. I'll have to think about it. I'll give you an answer when I understand better. I hope my heart can give me an answer." Chinatsu rambled on.
"I... see..." Akari managed. Is this good or bad?
"And no matter what, I promise I'll be your dearest friend, Akari-chan." Chinatsu smiled warmly.
Relief filled Akari. The worst case scenario had always been Chinatsu hating her. But now that worry was dissolving. They had honestly opened their hearts to each other, and it had only made them closer. The future was uncertain, but one thing remained certain: their bond of friendship.
Akari squeezed Chinatsu's hands and gave her a wide smile. "Yeah!"
Holding hands until the starry sky soon got too embarrassing, so the girls got back inside, and walked into the living room.
"I feel like I need to go to bed now," said Chinatsu to everyone. Not to sleep, but to think. I've got lots on my mind right now. "Might as well take my own bed while it's still available."
"Alright. Good night, Yoshikawa-san! Thanks for hosting the party!" Ayano replied.
"Good night, Chinatsu-chan," Akari said with a smile.
"Goodnight."
Akari sat on the sofa, yawning.
"Are you alright, Akari?" Yui asked. "Should you go to bed, too?"
"N-no, I can still keep going," Akari replied. Can't go falling asleep now, I have to keep observing Yui-chan. "Besides, even if I do fall asleep I can stay right here."
"True that," Yui chuckled.
"That's the spirit, Akari! Party until you drop where you stand!" Kyouko shouted.
"She's sitting, or even lounging," Yui fired back.
Akari kept watching the game, snacking on some lightly salted potato chips. Kyouko was the most active, always loudly cheering when she knocked someone off the stage. Ayano was also heard often, but usually it was in reaction to losing. Every now and then, she scored a knockout and whooped. Yui and Chizuru, by contrast, were quiet. And Rise, yes, but that was to be expected. Yui seemed to care about little else than the game. At most, she was targeting Kyouko to keep her quiet.
The dance of characters on the screen, the symphony of smashes, blocks and shots, had a hypnotic effect on Akari. Her eyes began to close. No, no. Not yet. I have to...
Akari was jolted awake by a plastic object landing on her stomach.
"Careful with the throws, Kyouko!" Yui scolded.
"Don't underestimate me! Akari, you'll stay awake better if you're actually playing." She'd thrown a controller. "And I think Ayano and I should go to bed now."
Akari looked at the scoreboard of the game that had just ended. They had both gotten trashed. Seems like they were getting too tired to play.
"Oh... thanks, Kyouko-chan. Sweet dreams!"
Yui already had a pillow ready to throw. But Kyouko and Ayano just quietly left the room. That was a perfect chance for an 'I didn't say we were going to sleep' joke. What happened between them?
Akari joined the game. This is the critical moment, she thought. In addition to her and Yui, only Chizuru and Rise were awake. Yui's crush was most likely one of those two. And everyone in the room was demure enough to not raise a fuss if Yui suddenly started getting closer to another one of them. If she's going to make a move, it's going to be soon.
Yet as the girls kept gaming, the only thing moving was Akari's tiredness, which was reaching critical levels. Why isn't Yui-chan doing anything? Is it because I'm still awake? Does she think I'd do something stupid? Come on, Yui-chan, I'm not a child anymore! I can sit back and let you enjoy flirting with your crush in peace. I just want to know who it is!
Maybe if I pretend to be asleep, she'll make her move? Akari relaxed her posture further and closed her eyes, giving them some much needed rest. She still moved her character around, punching and kicking randomly, but with less sensory input, she was free to think deep once more.
I haven't seen her pay special attention to either of them. Not even something small, let alone anything overt. There hasn't been a shortage of opportunities for some chatting or trying to get a little bit closer.
Hmm, now that I think about it, Yui hasn't felt too excited about anything today. I mean, she's always the calmest of our group, but she's been especially calm tonight. Like she's saving her energy...
That's it... She wanted to stay up as long as possible, so she would have the opportunity to be alone with her crush... This confirms it's either Chizuru-senpai or the president... She hooked them into the game to keep them up late with her... This is it... I'll just have to stay awake a little bit longer, and soon enough I'll figure it out...
Akari's movements had been getting sloppy, but now her character was completely still. Yui looked at the sofa. She had indeed fallen asleep, controller in hand.
Rise draped a blanket over Akari, who was basically lying down at this point, softly breathing in her sleep. The president gave Yui a warm smile.
"In the end, she did party until she fell asleep," Chizuru remarked.
"She usually goes to bed early. I'm surprised she managed to stay up this late," Yui replied. "I guess she was really enjoying her time." Alright. Playing with Akari, Kyouko and everyone else is fun, but now that they've gone to bed, it's time for the main event.
The eyes of Rise and Chizuru glinted in mutual understanding. It was time to settle tonight's smash champion.
Yui had come into the party expecting to be by far the most skilled player present. But she had been surprised. Rise had turned out to be a master with the deer-masked witch girl, having slammed Yui off the stage with her hockey stick countless times. Chizuru hadn't been as good at first, but had taken a liking to the guitar-playing soldier dog and was getting better frighteningly fast. Both of the two were now good enough to match her, especially when they could work together if she started getting too far ahead.
Yui hadn't wanted to put in too much effort tonight, but her competitive spirit wouldn't allow her to lose to worthy opponents. An intense match unfolded.
Yui had to do her everything to win. Rise and Chizuru managed victories too, but ultimately Yui won more games. And eventually Rise stopped being able to keep up. Was she getting tired?
She was. Like with Akari before, the witch-girl ended up stopping altogether. Yui and Chizuru rose up to check on her. She was curled up on the sofa next to Akari, eyes closed, silent. The sheer adorableness of the scene was enough to warm Yui's heart. She covered Rise with a blanket and grabbed the controllers so neither girl would roll over them. Sweet dreams, Akari, president. And now...
"So, it's just the two of us left," Yui said, looking at Chizuru. "What shall we do? How about some one-on-one action?"
"Hmm, no. I think we've played enough for tonight. I concede defeat. You're really skilled, Funami-san."
"I'm glad to be appreciated. You're right, it's really late. Should we... head to bed?"
"Certainly. Just two futons left, if I recall correctly. I'll take this one," Chizuru said, crouching by the one in the far corner of the room.
"In that case, I'll sleep in..."
"Hmm?"
"This one," Yui said as she found the futon closer to the door.
"Alright. Good night, Funami-san."
"Good night. I'll just go grab a drink before I go to sleep."
Yui headed to the kitchen, flipping lightswitches along the way, and poured herself a glass of orange soda. She leaned on the table and gazed out of the window into the darkness. It had been a nice party. Hanging out with the student council and everyone, playing games, getting challenged, enjoying Kyouko's antics...
"Oh, is the party over?"
A voice came behind Yui. It was Chinatsu's older sister, Tomoko.
"Yeah. Ev-everyone else has gone to sleep," Yui answered, gaze still fixed on the window.
"I see. Oh, leftover snacks! Don't mind if I do!" Tomoko said, grabbing one of Chinatsu's cookies and taking a bite.
Even though she had just been drinking, Yui's mouth felt dry. Her fingers were tightly gripping the edge of the table. Her heart thundered in her chest. This was why she had made sure to sleep well last night. Why she had conserved her energy, trying to be the last one awake. And now, against all odds, her dream scenario had actually come true.
And the answer is finally revealed! This is central idea of the whole plot. Truth to be told, I don't currently have a clear plan where the story's going to go from here. I do have some ideas, but I'm not sure which ones will work out. I've written out a complicated situation, how will it be solved? Do tell if you're interested in seeing more.