Credit: Lots of thanks to my beta readers, ZuanTheGreat, Artiikii, and PunkIrish002.
Summer in Wondrous Land
CHAPTER 1
Gou
Dating a girl had never been on Matsuoka Gou's to-do list.
At eight years old, she had imagined the prospect of her brother walking her down the aisle, dressed and veiled in white, to Yamazaki Sousuke's side. By the time she was sixteen, however, she realized that those viridian green eyes only looked at her brother, whose heart had already belonged to another since his elementary school years.
Then, there was also her boundless adoration for muscles. While the Mikoshiba brothers, who had been fawning over her since high school, were blessed in the sinewy department, their personalities left much to be desired. That was why Gou had assumed Yoshida Masato, with his gentlemanly attitude and superb biceps from years of rugby training, whom she met in one of her university lectures, would be the perfect boyfriend for her…
…until she saw him tongue-kissing a girl with an alluring hourglass figure—curvy and voluptuous with silky hair cascading down her off-the-shoulder dress.
Having arrived early for their dinner date when it happened, Gou had been too stunned to move or speak until the pretty girl disentangled herself from Yoshida's embrace and bade him goodnight. As soon as senses returned to Gou, she stomped her way toward the parting couple and crushed the cheating bastard's toes with the heel of her shoe. Their breakup passed uneventfully just like that. So much for the exciting university life shown in TV dramas!
Blinking back the tears that prickled at her eyes, she made her way toward the bullet train station. Anger roiled in her heart, but desolation clung to the rest of her. The streets of Tokyo taunted her with their garish lights, luxuriant as the jewels in a crown, and were just as cold. What do you expect? Isn't Love a mischievous rouge that is bound to betray you when you trust in him?
With each miserable stride she took, she debated calling her mother. To tattle about a petty breakup? she mentally chided herself. Her high school days had ended three-and-a-half months before; she couldn't be mommy's little girl forever. Besides, she hadn't been accustomed to seeking help from others; she had built her life on the foundation of self-reliance developed during the long years of her brother's absence.
A girl about Gou's age in a coffee shop uniform handed her a brochure as she passed. It advertised a seventy-minute cake buffet for ¥1,980 per head. Why not? she mused as she recalled that nutritional facts stated phenylethylamine in cocoa produced a euphoric effect—a perfect cure for those in low spirits.
The air tantalized Gou with a sweet vanilla scent as soon as a waiter opened the door for her. In contrast to the hustle and bustle of the metropolitan street outside, the café was adorned with hand-crafted wooden wall paneling complemented by rustic cherry wood floor, furniture of antipodean colors comprising teak and mahogany, alongside a moderate range of wooden homeware gifts. Visitors could opt for a laidback meal or caffeine-fueled chat with their companions at the café, and Gou promptly banished any thought of Yoshida from her head.
Gou made a beeline for the cashier since the all-you-can-eat customers were required to pay in advance. Of the two remaining vacant seats, she was ushered to the one closest to the border between smoking and non-smoking sections. The waiter explained that the other table had been booked when she asked for a change in her current seating arrangement. Just her rotten luck to eat desserts while inhaling the noxious stench of smoke!
On her way back from the buffet table with a plate full of gateaux, mousses, cakes, and puddings, she noticed the couple at a nearby table taking turns feeding each other. The boy complained in embarrassment when the girl asked him to open his mouth, but his body language when it became his turn to hold a slice of cake in front of his girlfriend's mouth appeared eager enough to initiate the action had the girl not suggested it in the first place.
Gou had done something similar with Yoshida some three weeks prior. Heck, that man had even given her the first romantic kiss in her life. Afterwards, he made sure to kiss her with every date. While the kiss itself felt good, his fingers then grew bolder, roaming across her body until everything turned too revolting for her liking and she had to swat his hands away. Still, she had planned to make up for her hesitation by accepting Yoshida's invitation for a three-day excursion to Okinawa with his club mates and their girlfriends. The semester's final exam had been over a couple of hours prior and tonight's date was supposed to mark the beginning of her first summer break as a university student. The birth control pills she had purchased as a preparation for the trip the next day was proof of her resolution for Yoshida to be her first. Nonetheless, just as easily as a spoiled kid tossing away his old toys out of boredom, that rake didn't show the tiniest shred of reluctance to let her go.
Disallowing herself to sink deeper into sorrow, Gou stabbed her fork at the nearest slice of guiltless cakes at the unwanted memory. She shoved a particularly large chunk into her mouth.
"Kou-chan!"
Gou nearly choked at the sound of the familiar mezzo-soprano. Her mouth stuffed with gooey fudge cake with lava-like chocolate sauce dripping down her chin mustn't be the prettiest sight. Looking up from the plate, she couldn't address "Isuzu-chan" in return until she finished a big gulp of water.
"So, you love cakes, too!" the approaching Isuzu beamed at her, a plate full of raspberry-themed pudding, mousse, and cake slices in her hand. Had it not been for her voice, Gou would have mistaken her to be a high-school boy, with that baseball cap, T-shirt, denim trousers, and sneakers.
The warmth of Isuzu's smile loosened the tension on Gou's shoulders and drew an answering curve to her own mouth. "Yeah, though I didn't color-coordinate my food. Rei-kun would surely be impressed by your selection."
"Speaking of, how's he? And the rest of the team?"
"They're doing great. Rei-kun and Nagisa-kun have become housemates once they were admitted to the Juntendo University. Ayumu-chan is thrilled to have more swimming club members than twice the number of we had last year under Romio-kun and Shizuru-kun's captain and vice-captaincy."
"The Jundai? Wow, their passing grades must have been stellar!" A puff of smoke drifted past them and Isuzu's nose crinkled. "Wanna move to my table? It's right over there."
There was something soothing about the crunching noises that Isuzu made as she dug into her butterscotch panna cotta, munching on a large piece of caramel. She ate without a care in the world of how some other customers viewed her with a disapproving look at her lack of modesty.
It wasn't until Isuzu offered "Wanna try a bite?" that Gou realized she had been staring.
"Nah, I've just been thinking that you make everything you eat look way more scrumptious than it really is."
"Is that a euphemism for my gluttony?" Isuzu wiggled her eyebrows, no bite in her tone, and then she resumed shoveling a large spoonful of crème caramel into her mouth.
For a girl with a supermodel's slimness, Isuzu sure ate a lot and exceedingly fast to boot. Gou, who had given up on her third dish, could only watch in astonishment as Isuzu cleared her fifth dish mere seconds before the time limit.
"Did you skip dinner just to enjoy this buffet?" Gou asked as they stepped outside.
"Nah, I had ramen from the shop around the corner over an hour ago. What about you?"
Admitting the truth would be too much. Gou felt blood rapidly draining from her insides, to be replaced by a wave of nausea that prompted her to throw up the desserts in her stomach, but forced herself to smile and answered, "I had a change of heart from my dinner plan, and then I saw the buffet brochure."
For a moment, Isuzu's eyes narrowed, and Gou had the urge to gulp. Did her tone give away her distress?
Luckily, Isuzu didn't press on. "I bought a new game." The taller girl patted her shopping bag. "Let's try it out!"
"Eh? But I'm no good at games. I rarely play them."
Isuzu wouldn't take "no" for an answer and soon Gou found herself being dragged into Isuzu's apartment.
###
Despite her consecutive K.O.s against a horde of zombies, cave-dwelling monsters, man-made traps, and whatever other oppositions the game challenged her with, Gou found a three-and-a-half-hour reprieve in taking her mind off the reality. I was a shame though that her gaming ineptitude dragged down Isuzu who teamed up with her.
"How's university life treating you?" Isuzu inquired as she put back the controllers into the TV cabinet once they'd finished playing.
At once, Gou stopped massaging the bridge of her nose at that question. Her eyes snapped open, only to find Isuzu putting down two mugs of hot chocolate on the low table.
"Fine, I guess," Gou replied with a shrug.
"Fine as in 'the studying doesn't bother me but I'm having a different crisis in my life right now', or actually fine?"
Steeling herself at the sensation of her stomach plummeting to her feet, Gou growled, "Is that why you brought me here? For an interrogation?"
Isuzu sipped her drink. "Believe it or not, I meant it when I said I wanted to have a go with this new game."
"Which could be played solo."
"True enough." Isuzu fixed her gaze on the foams on the cup cradled between her palms.
In the silence that followed, Gou was grateful that Isuzu wasn't as tactless as her little brother could be. They weren't best buddies. Her university, Nishogakusha, was located more than a dozen stations away from Hidaka. The last time she had met Isuzu in person had been the day she first moved to Tokyo, since Isuzu had been helping her with the shopping and unpacking. They chatted through messengers on their phones from time to time, but their conversations usually centered around the discussion about the latest edition of bodybuilding magazines.
"What made you think I was in the middle of a crisis anyway?" The miffed tone hadn't disappeared from Gou's voice, but she managed to prevent her volume from rising.
The signature Mikoshiba chattiness returned to Isuzu at once. She practically chirped the moment she opened her mouth, "For a start, you looked angry when you stuffed your mouth with that chocolate cake. Then you didn't spare a glance at this." She pointed at the low table, where a magazine lay bearing the picture of a beefy guy flexing his muscles on its cover. "It's just been out only today and, even if you've already gotten yourself a copy, you'd at least comment about some of its contents under normal circumstances." Isuzu paused for a sharp intake of breath. "I can't help but suspect that you've got a guy problem."
Gou quirked her brow. "Just because I didn't talk about muscles for once, you concluded that I was having problems with some guy?"
"Not just some guy." Isuzu paused, stalling for all the seconds she could get to calm herself and breathe deeply. Then she continued, "Your boyfriend—tall, a couple of years older than us, and broad-shouldered with excellent biceps. Earlier this month, I caught a glimpse of you two rushing into the cinema as I came out, but the movie was about to start, so I figured it wasn't the right time to make small talk."
"Oh," was all Gou could manage. She rose to her feet, collected her handbag, and headed to the door. "It's getting late. I should go—"
"Stay?"
Isuzu did not touch Gou. She didn't even make any excuse about how late it was and how dangerous for a girl to be on her own or the last bullet train might have departed, blah blah blah. If this were a cheesy romance novel or shoujo manga, the protagonist's male romantic interest would likely hold her hand, hug or kiss her, or at the very least block the exit with his body. Instead, Isuzu pleaded through her expression, and Gou could not help but think how mesmerizing those amber eyes were, which she blamed for the lapse of rationality when she gave Isuzu an okay without realizing it.
"Yippee!" The lines of worry between Isuzu's eyebrow melded into delight, not unlike Momotarou's expression whenever he talked about beetles. She bounded toward the cupboard on the other side of the room and pulled out a small plastic package stamped with a hotel logo. "Here, I've got a new toothbrush. Feel free to use the toiletries in the bathroom." Next, Isuzu marched toward a nearby dresser to open its top drawer. "My nightwear's over here. Take your pick. Mi casa es su casa."
A warm, fuzzy feeling spread inside Gou as she watched Isuzu taking out an extra blanket while humming a happy tune. Rather than whining, bursting into tears, or coercing Gou into staying, Gou suspected Isuzu would have respected her wish even if she had chosen otherwise.
It wasn't until the hostess laid the blanket on the sofa that a notion sprouted in the guest's mind: Why did I compare Isuzu-chan to a chick-lit heroine's potential boyfriend?
Remembering from her sleepover with Ayumu the previous year that the range of Isuzu's entire toiletries comprised of toothpaste, mouthwash, facial wash, and moisturizer only, Gou knew she'd have to skip the night cream tonight. She was not, however, aware that Isuzu preferred harder bristles until she opened the package of the new toothbrush she had been given.
When Gou emerged from the bathroom, Isuzu had already changed into boxers and a tank top. She asked what Gou would like for breakfast and promised to drop by the convenience store after her morning jog.
Although Gou made a mental note to leave the apartment simultaneously with Isuzu's departure, she ended up opening her eyes after Isuzu had returned from jogging with a grocery bag in hand.
CHAPTER 2
Isuzu
When Isuzu saw Gou rubbing her eyes, still draped in a blanket on the sofa, she considered how useful it would be to have the skill to open a door without the rustles of keys and plastic bag. Nevertheless, since Gou had already been awake, Isuzu chimed in a good morning greeting.
Gou immediately reprimanded herself for waking up late even though Isuzu assured her it was still a quarter past seven.
"What's the rush? Do you have somewhere to be?"
"Nope, I just thought I'd better make an early start for my job search." Gou got up, folded the blanket, and tidied up the sofa in rapid succession.
No matter how much Isuzu regretted how restless Gou had been around her ever since she had brought up the subject of Gou's boyfriend problem the previous night, she could not undo those words. It would appear that a lack of tact was in the Mikoshiba genes. As the spoiled youngest child, Momotarou was the most hopeless case, while an eldest child's maturity demanded Seijuurou to fare best among the three siblings.
The least Isuzu could do was making up for it by doing Gou a different favor. "I know a theme park that's looking for a bunch of temps during summer. Interested?"
As soon as she received Gou's agreement, Isuzu called her cousin, who worked as the HRD manager at said theme park. Gou blushed a little when Isuzu described her as "not only cute but also a hard-working girl with excellent organizational skills as a swimming club manager for three years." However, not even gratitude could make Gou drop her guard around Isuzu. Hesitation flickered in Gou's eyes when Isuzu promised the manager, "I'll bring her along for a job interview this afternoon."
"There'll be lots of job types to choose from," Isuzu assured Gou with a heavy hint that they would not necessarily be stationed together. To her relief, Gou nodded.
After Gou had left for her apartment to prepare her résumé, Isuzu took a deep breath and exhaled. She had never experienced saying anything touchy to people outside her family and needed to work out how to prevent them from reacting so defensively upon an invasion of personal space. Having two chatterbox brothers who'd share their joyful experiences as well as complaints, she received no less than half a dozen weekly phone calls in addition to daily app chats from her family even after she had moved to Tokyo.
Isuzu spent the rest of the morning practicing the crawl and breaststrokes. Since the majority of students were on vacation, the university pool was considerably less crowded. She raced with the few swimmers that turned up and came in third after her elder brother and Nanase Haruka. It wasn't until her teammate pointed it out that Isuzu realized she was the only female swimmer in the vicinity that morning.
During the two-hour-journey from the university swimming pool to the theme park, she cleared seven more levels and unlocked a new magic weapon from the new game installed on her phone.
A burst of sunlight greeted her the moment she resurfaced from the underground train station. She grabbed a quick lunch of sandwiches, onigiri, and croquettes from a convenience store on the way to the theme park. In front of the park's main entrance, under one of the trees, Gou was standing with a book in hand and a furrow between her brows. As Isuzu came closer, she was able to make out the book's title: Getting Your First Job.
"You'll breeze through the interview, Kou-chan. This theme park is seriously in need of manpower right now, so unless you're a drug-dealing serial killer or an asylum runaway, there's no need to worry about not getting hired."
Looking up from her reading material, Gou grinned at Isuzu's joke. Her stiffened body relaxed as she put the book in her bag, and then followed Isuzu toward the employees-only entrance.
"You can do it," Isuzu encouraged Gou before leaving her in front of the door of the HRD manager's office.
Isuzu went straight to the locker room and donned the costume of Tomo the Squirrel—Wondrous Land Theme Park's mascot—and then started patrolling without further delay. In the sweltering heat of August, trudging across over twenty hectares of park ground in the muggy costume proved to be a far more challenging task than the handshakes and various poses the children requested while having their photograph taken with the park mascot. While Isuzu had been offered a range of options, she opted for the most challenging one. The endurance training would undoubtedly be good for stamina improvements. Hopefully, she would be able to swim a thousand meters without a break one day. As a bonus, the full-body animal disguise kept skirt-chasers away.
Later, while passing the Tilt-A-Whirl near the front gate during her rounds, Isuzu spotted Gou behind a popcorn cart. She was listening intently as the senior staff instructed her on how to operate the machine.
Gou's expression when she saw Isuzu taking off the costume in the locker room at the end of their work shift was priceless. However, before they could discuss the matter at length, Isuzu's stomach growled loud enough to make several other employees in that locker room turn toward her.
"Hahaha… I'm starving." Isuzu laughed aloud without a trace of embarrassment and cocked her head at Gou. "The café here has some pretty good burritos. Wanna grab a bite?"
To Isuzu's relief, Gou didn't seem reluctant when she followed Isuzu toward Chez Brian. They talked about Gou's job interview along the way and the moment they stepped their feet at the café, Gou took out her smartphone and snapped multiple pictures of the décor. Each dining table was made to imitate a giant dinner plate, while each chair resembled a piece of giant cutlery sticking out from a folded napkin. Despite its French name, the café menu consisted of international cuisines.
As a nutritional science major, Gou frowned after Isuzu ordered four dishes. "Isuzu-chan, it's better for your health to eat larger meals during the day and a lighter one for dinner."
"I get that human bodies don't need a lot of calories to burn before going to bed, but if I eat less than my usual portion, I'll crave midnight snacks … which is worse, right?" Isuzu chirped, secretly feeling relieved that Gou had started to relax around her; that girl had been putting her guard up after Isuzu brought up the boyfriend topic the other night.
"Hmm, I'll help you with the healthier diet alternatives." Then Gou asked about Isuzu's likes and dislikes in great detail while scribbling the answer on a piece of paper. At the end of the interrogation, she handed Isuzu her notes—each course contained none of the ingredients Isuzu loathed while keeping a balance of carbohydrates, proteins, and vitamins. "There are lots of food types that I haven't written down here, but as a rule of thumb, try to keep half of your diet vitamins; a quarter, proteins; and the rest, carbs."
Isuzu groaned. "With that amount of veggies, I'll turn into a rabbit…"
"If you do, I'll be sure to feed you more veggies," Gou joked before continuing, "Eat less and less gradually, no more than ten percent reduction per week. After you're comfortable with your new portion, cut down for up to another ten percent. The less drastic the changes, the more permanent the result will be. If the meal decreases too much in one go, your body will go on autopilot for snacks."
The arrival of their ordered dishes punctuated the discussion. As always, Isuzu ate with gusto despite noticing the guys from the neighboring tables cringe at her not-so-girly appetite.
###
If Gou had the same working hours as her, they could go to work together. However, per her own request, Isuzu worked from morning to evening, while Gou, only from the afternoon onward. Still, Isuzu was glad to see Gou settling in. She sometimes even joined Isuzu experimenting with the various park rides during breaks. As days shifted into the next, Gou kept spending her break time with Isuzu despite the arrival of new employees.
One afternoon, as they passed the Screamin' Swing, a guy called out, "Matsuoka? Matsuoka Gou-san?"
As always, one corner of Gou's mouth twitched whenever people referred to her as Gou instead of Kou, but she forced herself to smile as she replied, "What can I do for you?"
"It's me, Hagino Takibi. We were classmates during our second and third years of junior high, remember?"
"Oh, of course," Gou answered cordially. "You live in Tokyo now?"
"Yup! I got admitted to Gakugei. You?"
A tug at the hem of her uniform pulled Isuzu's attention away from their conversation. She looked down, only to find a teary-eyed little boy mumbling, "I can't find mom and dad. Help me, onee-chan."
When Isuzu returned several minutes later after depositing the boy at the nearest lost and found the desk, Gou was alone. "Where's your former classmate?"
"He's resuming his date with his girlfriend, who was in the toilet earlier."
It wasn't until Isuzu exhaled that she questioned herself: what was this relief that seeped through her bones?
###
Since Gou and Isuzu's shifts ended when Wondrous Land closed, they could go home together. From the park, they took the same train ride partway. At the third station, a punk carrying a guitar case, probably three or four years above them, boarded the shinkansen. He made a beeline for their direction as soon as his eyes fell upon Gou with a suggestive gleam that drifted from her face to her body with a gaze too lecherous for Isuzu's liking.
Running his free hand across his blond and magenta two-toned dyed hair, the guitarist wiggled his eyebrow at Gou and began flirting, "Hey, beautiful! I'm not from around here. Could I have directions to your place?"
With every word the punk spoke, Isuzu's discomfort grew thicker. His vain tone reminded her of high school boys when they treated girls like they were objects to conquer and possess.
"I'm no good with directions," Gou said coyly. "But you should be able to find it if you look up for '2-1-1 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda 100-0013.'"
Isuzu kept her face as straight as possible; that address belonged to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Headquarters.
The guy fished his pocket, and then pulled out to show her his empty hand. "Too bad, I left my phone at home. I'll just follow you."
The problem started there. Instead of putting his hand back where it belonged, the punk rested his wrist around Gou's shoulder with his palm hovering too obnoxiously close to Gou's breast. A look of panic painted Gou's face, but the other passengers were preoccupied with their smartphones and magazines.
"Get your hand off her!" Isuzu warned.
"Or what?" He taunted.
Isuzu struck his throat with her palm and swept behind his calf with her foot, tackling him down as she replied, "I'll do the removal."
A murderous glare in his eyes, the punk swore aloud, and he rose to his feet. By that time, Isuzu had been standing in a boxing stance with feet at a shoulder-width distance from each other and forearms in front of her chin in precaution to guard her torso as well as to strike further attack. Due to the noises, the other passengers tore their gazes from the magazines and phones to look in their direction. With more curses—bitch being the mildest of them—the punk trudged to the next car and got off at the next station.
Isuzu exhaled in relief. The movements she had tried a moment before looked so fluid while effortlessly achievable with the push of a button in video games, but they nearly destabilized Isuzu's balance. The odds for her to win if the prick had retaliated weren't high. But right now, Gou's well-being became Isuzu's priority.
Gou nodded, too ashen-faced to form a word, when Isuzu asked if she was okay. She was still shaking when Isuzu held her hand on the way home. When Isuzu bade her goodnight in front of the apartment door, Gou instinctively grasped Isuzu's sleeve. Although she let go the next second, mumbling "sorry," Isuzu perceived that Gou was more restless than she had assumed her to be.
"Shall I stay over tonight?" Isuzu offered even though she had intended to drop a visit at the game arcade.
###
That night, they put plenty of marshmallows on top of their steaming hot chocolate and Gou didn't even complain about all those extra carbs. She lent Isuzu her pajama and a blanket to crash on the couch before she drifted into slumber.
Looking at Gou's sleeping figure, Isuzu promised herself that she would protect the peaceful look on Gou's face for as long as she was able.
Back in the sixth-grade, on her way home just a couple of days before the exam period started, she had seen a sobbing Momo being pushed around by three boys from a neighboring class. With the pent-up stress from the impending exams, bullying wasn't a rarity among students, but Momo's black eye and bleeding nose still made Isuzu see red. She didn't care if she had three boys to fight. Nobody messed up with her baby brother!
Their parents were called to school the next day. It turned out that Momo had been so focused on chasing a stag beetle that he hadn't paid enough attention to his surroundings and bumped into one of the three bullies. He apologized and immediately resumed his beetle pursuit, but apparently, the sixth-grader regarded his apology to be nowhere near sincere enough and used that as an excuse for beating him.
In junior high, Isuzu found it more comfortable to hang out with boys than girls. For one, she couldn't comprehend why girls who wore skirts at mid-thigh height or even shorter complained about how the wind-exposed their panties, when they opted not to wear shorts under their skirts and school rules stated that the skirts' length should be closer to knee-high. Then there were also differences in interests. At least the boys imitated the heroes' lines and actions from anime, games, and tokusatsu; all the girls talked about was how good looking certain drama actors' faces were despite not having much to offer when it came to the muscle department. Isuzu's reputation as a troublemaker who fought three boys on her own back in elementary school raised the hurdle for friendship opportunity.
Isuzu thought that a high school out of town would be the perfect chance to start anew since nobody knew who she was. Her swimming accolades made it possible for her to be admitted to the prestigious Hidaka High School in Tokyo. Anime, games, and tokusatsu were no longer the common topic of interest for high school boys, though. Isuzu could still discuss them with fellow gamers in the arcade, but as for school, she didn't see how she could talk about something other than academic studies and sports with boys. The majority of students found themselves romantic interests, so, out of curiosity, Isuzu agreed to go out with a game arcade frequenter. Their dates mostly consisted of gaming, movies, and fast-food restaurants and things went smoothly for almost two months. Then he learned that Isuzu was the girls' team captain of the swim club, while he was not even selected as a competing member representing his school. Things went shaky from there. Arguments grew in frequency until they eventually broke up.
Isuzu shook her head, dispelling the bad memory from her head. She glanced at the sleeping Gou once again. It must be sisterly love, Isuzu thought. She had only brothers, so it was only natural that she wondered what it felt like to have a sister.
Isuzu went home in the morning, visiting the game arcade en-route, but not before she had devoured the nutritionally-balanced full breakfast that Gou cooked.
CHAPTER 3
Isuzu
A traffic accident that morning had prevented two amusement park employees from performing the children tokusatsu show that afternoon. Isuzu took the villain's role, usually played by the guy whose torn ligaments compelled him to switch to a desk job, while Gou, despite her initial reluctance, acquiesced to play the damsel-in-distress role usually played by the girl who was presently icing her sprained ankle.
"We use audio recording throughout the show, so you won't have to worry about dialogues," the supervisor assured them.
To Isuzu, the play wasn't a big deal. Although lighter than her usual mascot costume, the villain costume did well to hide her feminine curvatures. Moreover, the best part was she'd only need to don it for half an hour as opposed to three hours of parading around the park while handing out balloons to children and posing for photo sessions. Gou, on the other hand, needn't wear a special costume, but she had to show the appropriate expressions when the villain captured her and when the heroes rescued her. For a club manager who was used to plan, organize, instruct, and work behind the scene, this proved to be a challenge. Still, they pulled it through.
Perhaps because Isuzu lacked acting experiences—she had only been assigned with the minor roles like villager C or even a tree in her class' stage plays during Cultural Festivals—she felt an affinity with the major antagonist she was currently playing. In her heart, she truly wanted to abduct Gou and make that girl hers. The scene in which the victim struggled and the villain folded her in his cape, bringing her to unconsciousness, planted Isuzu's mind with the desire to drag Gou into the dark side where no interfering hand could reach them for eternity. Toward the end of the show, when the masked heroes got Gou back, it felt like shrapnel pierced through Isuzu's heart.
After the show, Matsushita Yuya, who played one of the five heroes, Black Kamen, asked for a little of Gou's time. As Isuzu saw them climb onto a Ferris wheel for more privacy, she thought that it wouldn't be strange if he wanted to ask Gou out. That girl was cute and dedicated, and hopefully, he'd prove to be a better boyfriend to her than the brawny one Isuzu saw the other day. Then Isuzu's stomach lurched. A strange fury roiled inside her, filling her with an urge to punch Matsushita in the guts.
Sisterly love? A voice prodded Isuzu's mind. That must be it.
It'd have been nice to have Kou-chan as a future sister-in-law. Aah, if only nii-chan made his move faster! Now Matsushita has beaten him to it. Isuzu mentally sighed. Momo might be too childish to Gou's liking; on the other hand, not only was Seijuurou better than the average men, but the muscles in his body surely also to Gou's liking. Plus, there was a time she saw Gou's blown-up photos on the walls of her elder brother's bedroom.
###
The next day, during the break, Gou asked Isuzu to take the Carousel ride. Isuzu actually wanted to ride a griffin or chimera, but both were too far from Gou's pegasus, so she settled for the nearest cockatrice.
"Isuzu-chan, what do you think of Matsushita Yuya-kun?"
"Hmm, I don't know him well enough to judge his character. Based on what I catch glimpses of him now and then, he's polite to customers. That's about it. Why?"
Then Isuzu remembered how uncomfortable Gou had been when Isuzu tried to console her about the other guy, and hastily added, "But it's fine if you don't want to tell me." If Gou was willing to tell her about having a new boyfriend, she'd do so when she was ready.
"He's interested in you," Gou answered instead, her timbre earnest.
Isuzu nearly missed her footing as she dismounted from the cockatrice. "Come again?"
"He said he wanted to take you for a date and asked me to give you his contact details." Gou handed her a piece of paper with the handwritten name of Matsushita Yuya, along with a phone number, an email address, and a LINE ID.
A seemingly decent young man was interested in a tomboy like her? Unbelievable! More than that, though, there was an unpleasant feeling swirling inside her head. Was it just her, or did Gou look jealous for some reason? Could Gou like him or maybe…
Seeing Isuzu deep in thoughts as they left the Carousel, Gou asked, "He isn't a beefcake, but won't you give him a chance?"
Isuzu blinked; she didn't think of Matsushita as any more special than the other guys. Instead, a strange suspicion brewed in her mind: she'd likely to feel less irked if the statement had come out of someone else's mouth instead of Gou's. As to why, she couldn't quite put her finger on it. "Oh. Having large muscles isn't a requirement to become my boyfriend, though."
"It isn't?" Gou asked in undisguised doubt.
"I'm happy seeing bodybuilders on media, but when it comes to getting to know them in person, I'd rather spend my time with those I find compatible."
"You're so mature…" Gou mumbled. The hanging end of her sentence sounded as though she wanted to say, "…unlike me."
"But why didn't Matsushita-kun ask me himself?" Isuzu scratched her chin.
"Wondrous Land employees consider you off-limits—being their manager's cousin and all. Oh, and, he also said that if you'd rather not go on a date alone with him, it'd fine if you bring as many friends as you want."
"Thanks, Kou-chan."
Gou went back to her popcorn cart afterward. Putting the matter aside, Isuzu resumed giving out balloons while making her rounds in her mascot costume. She promised herself to thank Matsushita for his feelings and reject him as kindly as she could through an email after work.
###
While stepping into the boat ride the next afternoon, Isuzu spotted Gou. The teal water of the artificial pond with lotus groove glimmered in the sun. "Kou-chan!" she waved her hand. "Wanna join me?"
Gou cast a nervous glance left and right before nodding, and Isuzu wondered why. Although not fast enough to compete at a professional level, Gou could swim and bring herself to the dock in the event their boat capsized. Not that she would sink in the first place, since the pond water couldn't even reach her neck if she were to stand up in it. Isuzu shrugged and offered her hand to help Gou into the boat.
"I'll take one," Gou offered the moment Isuzu grabbed both oars.
"Okay." Isuzu handed Gou an oar. Gou didn't seem to be the sporty type, but Isuzu wasn't going to object without letting her friend try the activity first.
The next minute, Gou struggled to get the boat moving. "This is heavier than I thought. And more tiring, too."
"Here, let me," Isuzu offered to take over Gou's oar.
"I'm sorry, Isuzu-chan."
"Hey, don't sweat it. I used to practice canoeing every summer whenever I visit my cousins in Shiga. I want to try doing a summer job, though, this year."
"Papa, look at that!" a little boy from a neighboring boat point at them. "They're both girls. Isn't that weird?"
"Hush!" The boy's father glared at him before quickly bowing his head and apologized to Gou and Isuzu.
Oh, so this is the reason behind Kou-chan's hesitation, Isuzu finally Japan, boat rides were commonly chosen by lovers than friends or relatives, unless the passengers comprised of parents with small children.
"Do you want me to tell them we're cousins or something?" Isuzu offered.
Gou shook her head. "Let them think what they want. We've done nothing wrong."
"Still, I think it'd be nice if we become a real family." Isuzu chuckled.
Gou replied, "Unfortunately, we can pick our school, we can pick our friends, but we can't pick our sister."
"We can still have our say when it comes to sister-in-law." Isuzu laughed aloud. Then something akin to nausea invaded her gullet. Had any of her lunch items gone past its expiration date?
A bell-like notification sound chimed from Gou's pocket. Gou fished for her phone and tapped the screen. Her face lit up once she scrolled it down. "Onii-chan's coming to Tokyo the day after tomorrow!"
"That's great! You can take a day off and have some quality time with him."
"Ah, he may not have enough time for a full-day excursion. We'll probably just grab dinner or something. He has to participate in a local swimming tournament, after all."
"Hmm…" Isuzu scratched her chin. "As far as I know the only swimming tournament in Japan held on that day will be a small event, unlike the All-Japan Invitational. The prize may not even cover Sydney‒Tokyo return ticket and accommodation. Rin-san must be a real enthusiast to have searched for such an event all the way from Australia."
"That or he's just looking for a reason to visit Haruka-sempai." Gou giggled. "I have a feeling it's just a matter of time before I call him Haruka-onii-san."
Isuzu recalled the only time she had ever met Rin in person: the previous year's All-Japan Invitational. Rin had always tried to find opportunities for skin contact with Haru, even though Haru would either flinch or frown when touched by other people. Whenever Rin hadn't been looking at him, Haru had gazed at Rin so avidly that he could have drilled a hole through his head. Truth be told, Isuzu'd had her eyes on Haru before, with his excellent triceps, swimming skills, and impassive personality. However, she knew better than to chase the empty shadow of someone who wouldn't love her back. Her mouth curved upward in a fond smile for the happy couple.
###
Evening had dyed the velvet sky with deeper indigo before Isuzu's shift ended. As she opened the door to the locker room, her ears caught a pleading voice, "Please, Matsuoka-san, just this once. My friend patched things up with her ex-boyfriend so she won't be available for tomorrow's goukon. We just need one more girl."
In the theme park's mascot squirrel costume, Isuzu trudged through the rows of lockers, only to find a troubled-looking Gou facing her female colleague whose name Isuzu couldn't remember. The other girl bowed shallowly and clapped her hands once in front of the face in a gesture of supplication.
"Kou-chan, I checked out the photo. Yes, that dress should be perfect for tomorrow's dinner. Mom always has a soft spot for white. You chose well. As expected from my future sister-in-law."
Isuzu noticed Gou's eyes going wild with shock, so she winked her signal. Gou caught on and replied in a feigned bashful tone, "Gosh, Sei-kun already told you about his proposal?"
"You're engaged?" The girl covered her gasp with both hands. "Never mind I asked. Congrats!"
###
"Thanks," Gou remarked as she and Isuzu emerged from Wondrous Land's exit. "To whip up a quick excuse like that … you're brilliant, Isuzu-chan!"
"Hey, no problem. I'd squeal with joy if you become my sister-in-law for real. We can go shopping for the newest issue of the monthly muscle magazine and watch body-building contests together."
Gou took a longer time to reply than what Isuzu had expected. When she opened her mouth, at last, her voice came out in a subdued tone. "Can't we do that without becoming in-laws?"
Isuzu gulped. "That's not what I mean… Of course, we can! I just—anyway, I shouldn't have said that. My bad."
However, Isuzu's discomfort didn't end there. At her own words, a pang bloomed in her heart. A shock shook the core of her being with a dreadful realization. You want to kick out Kou-chan's potential bridegroom, but do you want to do the same tonii-san and Momo's brides?
The answer was painfully clear. She could easily imagine herself congratulating her brothers with a smile from the bottom of her heart at Seijuurou and Momotarou' weddings, but she'd rather be the one walking down the aisle next to Gou herself. She began to understand why her stomach hurt whenever she thought of Gou being someone else's romantic partner. The real deal was: would Gou feel the same?
Awkwardness hung in the air on the way to the station. To change the subject, Isuzu offered Gou breakfast. In addition to the cafe's convenient location—within a stone's throw of her apartment—its range of viennoiseriewould pair well with its freshly brewed coffee.
Isuzu's body grew all tingly just thinking about her next outing with Gou. Being with that girl made her feel cozy and happy. Without her, a void started to form in Isuzu's heart. It was no good at this rate; what would she do once university started again and they had to return to their usual routines?
"Isuzu-chan, can we go there?" Gou pointed at a little shop dedicated to girls' hair accessories.
"Sure."
Although she had passed the street several times, Isuzu never paid any attention to that particular shop. It was, admittedly, one of the places she felt pointless to visit. The last time her hair got in the way, she had grabbed whatever pins available in the convenience store around the corner. Those pins had not broken yet, so she felt no necessity in purchasing the new ones.
Gou scrutinized from one scrunchy to another, adoring them one by one, and did likewise with the pins and the hairbands. Although the shop's contents disinterested Isuzu and the flowery pink wallpapers made her dizzy, her companion's expression was worth it.
Gou held up a teddy bear pin. "Isn't this cute?"
"Uh-huh." But aren't all accessories in this shop cute? Not as cute as you, though.
Gou picked another pin with a kitty ornament. "This one's also cute. Which one do you like better?"
"Either is fine." It's the function that counts and they have the same size and style anyway.
One look at Isuzu's expression, and Gou returned both accessories onto their shelf. "Let's go."
"Eh? You aren't buying anything?"
Gou shook her head. "It's insensitive of me to drag you to a place that bores you. Sorry."
Flushed with guilt, Isuzu appended, "Uh, it's true that I'm not used to accessory shops, but a change of scenery isn't bad from time to time. It's okay if you wanna go back inside."
"Nah, I don't actually need new trinkets. I just think they're cute and I've had my fill looking at them today."
###
Gou sent Isuzu a chat message two days later. "Onii-chan and Haruka-sempai aren't talking to each other. I want to set them up on a date so that they can make up. Will you help me?"
"Count me in," Isuzu replied.
"Thanks. I plan to bring onii-chan to Wondrous Land tomorrow. Would you do the same to Haruka-sempai?"
"Not that I mind, but he and I don't know each other well enough to have an outing together. I can't think of a reason he'll say yes."
"Easy-peasy. Bait him with mackerel."
###
That night, Isuzu had a bizarre dream, in which both Rin and Haru found out about Gou's scheme. The two girls were thrown into a Roman-style court that felt too authentic to be a movie prop, with everything made of stone and the absence of electronics. It wasn't until a wig-less judge garbed in pristine toga candida announced that the trial began that Isuzu realized both Gou and herself were wearing the coarse tunics meant for slaves.
"In the name of holy mackerels, I castigate you both!" Haru stated in his usual droning monotone. He was draped in a long, semi-circular priestly laena cloak and a sacerdotal rounded apex cap topped with a spike of olive-wood.
A muscle cuirass-clad Rin stepped forward, his crimson paludamentum military cloak billowing. "I concur, although I couldn't care less about those blasted mackerels."
The guards hauled Isuzu and Gou up. Kicking and screaming, the two slave girls were dragged to a gladiatorial amphitheater where the spectators jeered from the tiered auditorium seats. In the arena, ten men emerged from the side access, their armors glinting as predatorily as the snarls in their faces. Some drew their swords, some raised their clubs, some aimed their spear tips at the two weaponless girls. Thankfully, the wake-up call from Isuzu's alarm clock spared her from their impending slaughter.
CHAPTER 4
Gou
The next morning, Haru was staring up at the sign in front of the main gate of Wondrous Land with a troubled look.
Isuzu had appeared in front of Haru a couple of minutes earlier to hand him two entrance tickets and said, "Sorry, something came up, so I have to be somewhere else. But please feel free to use these tickets. Bye!"
With that, she dashed away, leaving Haru alone before he could utter a word of protest, tickets in hand.
Gou, who had arranged the timing, arrived seconds later with Rin in tow. "Haruka-sempai, fancy meeting you here!" she greeted him cheerfully. "Isn't it great now I can go without worrying about onii-chan? You two, enjoy your time together."
Rin began, "Wait a minute—"
"Sorry, I've received a notification just now that a colleague of mine needs me to cover her part-time shift. She's injured, you see." Gou waved her hand and hurried off toward the staff entrance.
"Tch! I suppose I have no choice but to go home." Rin grumbled, both hands inside his jeans pockets.
"Here." Haru handed one of the tickets to Rin. "It'd be a waste of ticket otherwise. We can enter the park separately."
The pout on Rin's mouth didn't disappear, nor did he attempt to let his hands out of his pockets, so Haru slid the ticket into Rin's shirt pocket before leaving him behind.
"Uh-oh, this doesn't look good," Isuzu commented into her employee walkie-talkie from behind a pillar, her eyes never leaving Rin and Haru.
From behind the neighboring shrubberies, Gou replied, "Wait and see. Onii-chan's stubbornness won't last long when it comes to Haruka-sempai."
"You sound so sure, Kou-chan. Has this happened before?"
"Too many times to count."
As if on cue, Rin complained, "Seriously? You're going into a theme park alone?"
"It doesn't bother me," Haru bantered nonchalantly.
Perhaps years of dealing with Haru gave Rin the wisdom of knowing when he was fighting a losing battle. With an exasperated tone and both hands skyward, he groaned, "Urgh! What makes you want to go to the theme park so badly?"
"A huge sale on mackerels."
"In that park? You sure you didn't mistake it for some supermarket ads instead?" Despite his blatant doubt, Rin followed Haru to pass the entrance barrier, where he showed his ticket to a member of staff.
"Mikoshiba-sempai's sister confirmed the info," Haru said as a staffer stamped the back of his hand.
"Mikoshiba, huh?"
The way Rin squinted his eyes while articulating that surname made Gou wonder what Isuzu's brothers had done to him at Samezuka to deserve such suspicion.
Instead of an adventurous ride or a souvenir stall carrying animal-shaped hats, the first thing that grabbed Haru's attention was the nearest information desk. He wasted no time in seeking the details about the nonexistent mackerel sale, only to meet the staffer's confusion.
Gou hid behind a nearby tree. The sight of Haru heading toward the exit gave her a rush of fresh panic. She was about to discuss the next possible course of action with Isuzu when Rin clawed Haru's shoulder.
"Wait," Rin demanded.
"No mackerel, no visit."
"Look!" Rin pointed at the top of water slides over the barrier that separated the water park division from the amusement park. "It's been years since I hopped onto a water slider."
The pools had a separate entry, but their tickets covered both the wet and dry parts of the park. However, Gou was thankful that if her ever-the-romanticist brother realized this was a setup, he chose to go along with her plan.
Haru paused, possibly pondering over the benefit of recreational pools once as an interlude to his daily training. It took a mere three seconds before he turned his heels toward the Wondrous Splash entry, and the very next second Rin tried to overtake him. Haru sped up, refusing to give way. With Rin also accelerating his strides, they bumped shoulders, attempting to reach the entry with synchronized gaits.
As always, those two tend to turn every single event into a competition, Gou mused.
"Aww, here I was, hoping they'd get a romantic cable car or Ferris Wheel ride. There's the Tunnel of Love, too." Isuzu commented as she scuttled toward the Wondrous Splash entry. From the other side of the park, Gou was approaching the same destination.
When Isuzu flashed her employee card to the staffer, Gou who was five meters behind, replied, "I wouldn't say there's zero possibility, but it's more likely they'll spot the go-kart ride along the way and get sidetracked. Even if they ride of those romantic rides eventually, they'll probably argue about who'll sit on the left or right, just for the hell of it."
"I must say, they fit the description of bickering schoolboys better than lovers." Isuzu switched off the walkie-talkie and asked Gou directly.
They were walking together toward the swimsuit rental store when Gou commented, "I think so, too, but onii-chan's mind has been preoccupied with Haruka-sempai before he was even twelve. He then transferred to Haruka-sempai's school and swim club in the final year of elementary school. The topic of Haruka-sempai tends to enter his conversations whether he's in or outside Japan to this very day."
"That deep, huh?" Isuzu wolf-whistled, but stopped midway as soon as she noticed Haru stripping. "What's Nanase-san's doing?!"
"More often than not, Haruka-sempai wears jammers underneath his clothes," Gou explained with a dreamy tone while ogling Haru's muscles that outshone hundreds of other vacationists' unappetizing muscles.
Isuzu looked like she wanted to chastise him, but was spared the effort by a scowling Rin, who dragged Haru into a nearby changing room.
The two girls didn't continue their conversation until after they had changed into swimsuits. With a skirt and ruffles, the one of Gou's choosing was passable as a mini dress. Isuzu chose a tank top with matching swim trunks instead.
"Um, do I look weird, Isuzu-chan?"
At Gou's question, Isuzu's eyes widened and her cheeks turned scarlet. She hastily answered, "Of course not! You look adorable."
Gou swallowed. For Isuzu to blush furiously when Gou caught her staring at her bathing suit… She could have been interpreting this wrong, but Isuzu looked at her swimsuit-clad body the way men did.
Then Gou's breath hitched in her throat. Had she herself not enjoyed the view of Isuzu's abdominal muscles? She felt heat creep up her cheeks. Hoping to distract themselves, Gou remarked, "I wonder where onii-chan and Haruka-sempai are."
The flame of desire extinguished from Isuzu's eyes, and in dull wonder, she started to scour from pool to pool with her eyes, since the boys must have finished changing a few minutes before. "There!" she pointed at the Flow Rider.
Once Gou's gaze was also zeroed in the same place as Isuzu's, she saw Haru and Rin standing on individual surfing boards, riding the five-meter pool's artificial waves. They're competing already?
Next, Rin and Haru competed on the Mat Racing Slides. Their tie resulted in another attempt, then another. Eventually, they moved on to the Aqua Loop Slide. Mysteriously enough, when they came out of the tubular slide, Rin's face was beet-red and Haru kept his eyes averted from him.
She couldn't hear their conversation from this distance. Technically, the water jets that sent passengers racing upside down shouldn't make kissing or any other intimate contact possible, but… "I think onii-chan and Haruka-sempai have made up somehow," Gou concluded as she watched them from the comfort of her raft on the Lazy River. "We no longer need to spy on them."
###
"Come to think of it, what makes you take such long shifts at the park, Isuzu-chan?" Gou asked. Most other employees worked no more than half of hers.
Gou was grateful that Isuzu offered her to stay overnight at her apartment. She had fallen asleep during most of the bullet train journey and felt too sleepy to continue five more stations alone to her own place.
Isuzu pulled a magazine from the stacks in the rack next to her coffee table before answering, "See, I'd like to visit this place after next January's exams." She stabbed her index finger at one of the pages. "Wanna tag along?"
The image depicted a water garden transformed into a lantern-lit wintry playground, where guests huddled up together with chocolate and Aomori apple-based hot cocktails while playing a locally inspired card game in igloo-like kamakura snow huts. It seemed to be an up-and-coming destination with plenty of natural beauty and local charm to spare.
Gou read the reviewed location: KAI Tsugaru, a hot-spring resort in Honshu's Aomori Prefecture. Unbidden, the visualization of her own bare body sitting so close next to Isuzu's in an open-air rotenburo hot-spring bath manifested itself in her mind and she felt her cheeks on fire. What if Isuzu found her too fat or her curves displeasing or her muscles lacking or…
Gou shook her head to dispel the thought. It was a norm for people of the same sex to see one another naked in Japanese public baths, so why must she feel embarrassed at the thought of being seen by Isuzu?
"Oh, you don't want to?" Isuzu replied upon noticing Gou shaking her head. "Too bad. In addition to the kamakura and the onsen, we could try hot-air ballooning and ice fishing, also observe how penguins walk up-close."
"No, no, I want to go there with you. Looking forward to it," Gou assured Isuzu. Only this time, she couldn't help imagining herself and Isuzu trudging through the thick snow hand-in-hand while a single scarf connected their necks.
The thought of a vacation alone with Isuzu refused to leave Gou's mind even after she changed into sleepwear. Still absent-minded while washing her face and brushing her teeth, she unknowingly splashed some water onto the floor. Gou slipped, but Isuzu had caught her before she hit the floor.
Gou slumped against her rescuer with a relieved sigh. In this position, she became aware of Isuzu's racing heartbeat. She stole a glance at the taller girl and saw the desire in her amber eyes.
Her heart pounding against her ribcage, Gou stared wide-eyed past the shadow of Isuzu leaning over her. Not that Isuzu was anything less than lovely at any other time, but right now, she felt like a great magnet that drew her irresistibly back. Gou traced Isuzu's jawline with trembling fingers, asking the non-verbal permission before closing her eyes. Feeling Isuzu take in a shivering breath, Gou angled her head until the very last inch of distance between them closed.
Even though Gou knew she shouldn't be surprised when she joined her mouth with Isuzu's, there was something startlingly earnest about Isuzu's tentative movements … almost like worship. Her heart felt tight like it was squeezing from all the yearning to cherish the entity known as Mikoshiba Isuzu. The space around them evaporated, and for a weird moment, she felt as though she were the most beautiful person in the universe. Isuzu's kiss made her feel that way.
After a moment, Isuzu pulled back far enough to look into Gou's eyes. Although it had been no more than a chaste press of lips to lips, Gou felt her mouth burn with the print of Isuzu's warmth.
"Kou-chan, I've fallen for you. At first, I thought I wanted you as a sister-in-law, but then I've realized I want you for myself."
"Gweurh…" Gou murmured as intelligently as her dizzy mind was capable of answering at the moment.
"Go out with me. Be my girlfriend," Isuzu pleaded.
Gou's entire body shuddered. The kiss was pleasant—even spectacular, but… "You see, I've only had one romantic experience and my ex-boyfriend turned out to be a skirt-chaser."
Isuzu quirked her brow. "Isn't it a common knowledge that to women, men mean the world, but to men, women are as expendable as passers-by on the streets?"
Then, noticing the hurt expression in Gou's face, she appended, "But there are exceptions to everything."
"Yeah, I was just foolish enough to assume that one of those exceptions was meant for me." Gou suppressed a sigh.
"I don't think hoping to be loved sincerely is foolish … just that maybe there are times we shouldn't set our options too specifically."
"You mean … I should say yes to anyone who asks?"
Isuzu shook her head. "No, I mean the requirements for a potential suitor shouldn't be limited to certain types only. Without age, social status, gender, ability, or character as filters, there will be plenty of more options available." She inhaled sharply. "If the person is able and willing to make both of you happy as a couple and you feel comfortable hanging out with them, I don't see why not."
Gou perceived the honesty poured straight from Isuzu's heart from her eyes that glimmered in the soft light of the living room. It clicked. Rather than compelling herself to put up with a boy her type who turned out to be a world-class jerk, shouldn't she find someone who was truly able and willing to build their dreams together?
The realization made Gou feel better than she had ever felt in ages. A smile upon her lips, she cooed, "You're right."
Gou reached for Isuzu's nape and applied just enough pressure to bring their two heads together. Isuzu's lips were trembling when Gou's own touched them, but she returned the affection just as readily. When they engaged in a kiss like this, her fears were forgotten, her hesitations vanished, and her insecurities gone. She found a best friend. A sister. A soulmate.
Isuzu was beaming when their lips parted. "Was it okay? The kiss…" she wheezed. "I mean … did I botch it?"
"Of course it was more than okay! Why wouldn't it be?" Gou reassured Isuzu, heart filled with affection she had never realized she could harbor for someone of the same sex.
Technique-wise, Isuzu's kiss was nowhere near as sophisticated as her philanderer of an ex-boyfriend. Even so, Gou found incomparable things in the way Isuzu kissed her. She adored the gentle caress of Isuzu's fingertips against her jawline. She relished the playful bite Isuzu's teeth nipping at his lower lip. Most of all, she found a home in Isuzu's embrace—it felt like a non-verbal vow that Isuzu wouldn't allow anyone and anything else to hold Gou. Isuzu wrapped around her, arms encircling her waist, securing her in place as though she had Gou in her possession.
Isuzu twiddled her thumbs, her voice carrying trepidation. "I lacked practice. The only time I took the plunge to kiss my first boyfriend, I … well, flubbed it."
"You bit him?" Gou blurted, only to realize a second too late that she shouldn't have asked such a personal question. She opened her mouth to say, "Sorry, please forget I ever mentioned that!" but stopped dead in her track at Isuzu's melancholic smile.
"It never came to that. He was just … well, the sort of old-fashioned guy who'd prefer doing the wooing rather than being wooed. I thought he was different from the guys who tried to ask me out based on my looks only. He even mistook me for a boy when we first met at the game arcade, you see."
"But he broke up with you just because you kissed him? That's…"
"That kiss was just the final straw. He had started to show hesitation about having a relationship with me when he learned that I was the captain of the swim team. As luck would have it, he wasn't selected to represent his school at the nationals."
Gou's fists clenched. "He feels threatened by accomplished girls? Is he a specimen from the seventeenth-century or something?"
"He only hates it when said girls are better than him. It was me kicking many players' asses at games that caught his attention in the first place." Isuzu chuckled. "Anyway, no use crying over split milk. I'd better start training to make you happy."
"Uh … I'm afraid I don't follow." Gou's eyebrows furrowed.
"Well, your ex looked like the type who could carry you bridal-style with ease. I thought you'd prefer if I developed some more muscles…" Isuzu scratched her nose, gaze averted from Gou's.
Gou recalled the muscles in Seijuurou's upper back as well as the ones in Momotarou's thighs. Both of them adored her for her looks; Isuzu loved her for the person she was.
"Muscles or not, I want only you. No one else will do," Gou confirmed. She saw the full measure of bliss soaring in Isuzu's amber eyes. She focused on being just there, just now, on taking one breath after another, slow and deep.
It wasn't until Isuzu's lips returned to hers that Gou began to understand what it meant to be complete. It felt as though her limbs turned into jelly and everything in her brain ground to a slow halt. She closed her eyes and didn't ever want to stop, just wanted to keep feeling Isuzu's breath ghosting against her cheeks.
They kissed ten—maybe a dozen—more times, and it wasn't anything mind-blowing really, except that it was. In Isuzu's arms, Gou became certain this was the best moment in the eighteen years of her life.
THE END
OMAKE
The next time Gou and Isuzu saw Rin and Haru was when they sent Rin off. Rin said something about a warrior should travel alone, but Gou knew better that Haru would slip from their company to follow Rin to the airport. Judging from their expressions, the previous night's make-up sex couldn't have been any less than fan-fucking-tastic. Even Haru's poker face didn't fool her. He'd steal glances at Rin when he thought no one was looking, and those clear blue eyes weren't the most discreet when it came to holding secret pining for a certain pointy-toothed butterfly swimmer.
"Have a safe trip, onii-chan!" Gou waved her hand, while her other hand entwined her fingers with Isuzu's.
OWARI