Author here~. Okay, the first part here is just a copy/paste from a scene of the last chapter, and you can skip it if you remember it. I added that part here because this chapter is a direct continuation of the scene.
It's the part after Konata and Miyuki had left the anime/manga store after buying multiple 'reference materials' to help Miyuki with Tsukasa.
Well then, this is the next Mio and Naomi chapter.
…
While Miyuki and Konata were on their way, a particular foreign looking girl was still outside the anime store, and it seemed like she was waiting for someone. A few minutes passed, and another girl walked around the corner. The cosplay girl being the textbook example of a foreign beauty, the new girl was the traditional, albeit tall-grown, Japanese counterpart with her height about 170cm (5'2"). Silky, jet-black hair that reached all the way down to her hips, super long legs, and, even though she was wearing a coat, one could easily see that the girl had a slim, but very feminine looking figure. Her face was also a perfect fit for her first impression. She had a small and cute face with dark gray, almost black eyes. Absolutely no one would bat an eye if the girl would claim that she's working as a model for a magazine. They would only ask for a sign.
"Ah, Mio-chan, there you are!" The foreign girl saw her and leaped into her arms out of nowhere once she was close enough.
"Hey there, Naomi." She somehow didn't seem fazed at all by her action and merely hugged her back.
"Ehehe~." The shy and foreign girl suddenly didn't seem so foreign anymore, or shy.
"Did something happen? You seem clingier than normal."
"Do I?"
"Uh… So, did something happen?" Mio couldn't give an honest answer.
"I-It was awful, you know!?" Naomi let go of her and started complaining.
"No, I don't, that's why I'm asking."
"I was looking for cosplay while thinking about nothing bad when suddenly another girl showed up and started talking with me!" It somehow was a huge deal for Naomi.
"Yeah, something like that, people talking to you, does happen from time to time… Multiple times a day that is…"
"Maybe for you, but it's a huge deal for me!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know that you're bad with people, but isn't that a bit too much…?"
"Ehm, no…?" Naomi only looked at her with cold eyes. "You know why I'm like that, don't you…?"
"Yes… Just what should I do with you…" Sighing, Mio gave up on the topic and began rubbing Naomi's head because she felt like doing so.
"Ehehe~, that's a good start~." She enjoyed it being spoilt by Mio.
"So, thanks to that girl, you were unable to buy some cosplay, huh?"
"Yes! It's awful!"
"Is it? I beg to differ… Maybe I should befriend her if she keeps you from buying cosplay."
"No… No, I don't like that idea at all, Mio-chaaan~."
"Then stop buying cosplay for me all the time and making me wear it." Her real intention leaked out.
"Nope~." Naomi playfully twirled around on the spot and then began to run away because she wasn't intending on stopping her behavior.
"You…" Not seeming angry at all, Mio ran after her with a smile on her face.
….
While Mio was playfully chasing after the fleeing Naomi, the two eventually arrived at the sweets store of Mio's grandmother and entered it.
"Welcome back~." Said sweets store owner noticed them and cheerfully greeted the two.
"I'm home~." Compared to how she acted in the anime store, Naomi really was a completely different person now.
"I didn't know you live here…" Mio retorted with a smile.
"Ehehe~. It's my second home for a long time already, Mio-chan~. It's feels homey here with you and grandma… Not to mention all those delicious sweets!" The last one didn't sound so noble.
"W-What should I do?!" The grandma left the counter and hugged Naomi. "Mio-chan, Naomi-chan is just too cute, you know?!"
"Yes, I'm vaguely aware of it…" Mio wasn't sure how to answer. "Actually, you have no idea just how cute she can get. For example, last week when we…"
"M-Mio-chan!" Naomi suddenly stopped her from continuing with a bright red face.
"Hehe, look~, she's the cutest."
"Ah, the perks of being childhood friends who grew up together." Her grandma gave her a knowing look. "I'm sure you know a lot of sides of Naomi-chan that I don't. Oh, and being her girlfriend probably has something to do with it as well." An all too knowing look.
"Well, yeah, that might be the biggest reason for how I know all those cute sides of Naomi~."
"M-Mio-chan!" She became even more embarrassed.
"Let me at least have this, Naomi~. You're always dragging me all over the place and making me wear the weirdest things when I have to cosplay for you, I'm definitely not giving up on the rare chances where I can have a comeback." From the sound of it, Naomi is giving her a hard time on multiple occasions as well. But, even so, Mio didn't sound to be angry or upset at all.
"Uhhh… Fine…" Naomi had no choice but to give up here. "Speaking of which, grandma, I ordered something online and let it get delivered to this place. Has it arrived already?"
"Ah, now that you mention it, yes, a package actually arrived a short while ago." She went behind the counter again and handed over the package over to Naomi.
"Yay! The day is saved!" Something very important seemed to be inside.
"N-Naomi… I don't think I actually want to know, but…" Mio had a bad feeling about it."
"Ehehe~."
"Oh-oh…" The feeling just got worse. "What have you ordered again? Wait, actually, no, you don't have to tell me… After the earlier conversation, it's probably… no, most certainly…"
"Yes, it's new cosplay for you~. I wasn't able to buy anything earlier, so I ordered some instead."
"Oh, so they have 15-minute delivery now?" Mio didn't believe her for obvious reasons. There was just no way that she only ordered it after leaving the anime store earlier.
"Tehe~, I got caught~. I actually bought it on a whim yesterday, but after the disaster in the store earlier, it's more than just welcome."
"And as usual, I have no say in it, right?"
"None~."
"Why did I even ask…" Mio let out a sigh while giving up on it.
"Ehm…" Her grandma, who was silently listening until now, didn't understand much, but still noticed that something happened. "Did something happen when you were shopping, Naomi-chan?"
"Ah, listen to this, grandma…" She began explaining what happened in the anime store when she was shopping for cosplay; how the tiny blue-haired girl suddenly started talking to her, and how it made her unable to buy something because it was too much for her to handle.
"I see…" Because she knew about Naomi's extreme shyness towards strangers, she said nothing about the totally normal situation itself, but something else had caught her interest. "Hmm… a blue-haired, tiny girl, you say…"
"Now that I heard the description, I somehow feel like I heard about the girl somewhere already…" Mio also seemed to remember something.
"It somehow sounds like… Konata-chan!" The grandma finally made the connection. "Mio-chan, it's the girl that visited the store together with her friend on Christmas and back in February for their entrance tests I told you about."
"Oh, you're right, that indeed sounds like her." Mio also connected the dots.
"I actually think that I heard someone calling her 'Konata-san' when I left the store… Wait a moment, you two know her?!" Naomi was shocked by the sudden revelation.
"Heh~, that's great." Mio's grandma ignored her shock completely. "If they're here again, it seems like Konata-chan and Kagami-chan have safely passed their entrance tests."
"Yes, that's good to hear." Mio was also happy for them.
"Ehm… What is going on, you two?" Naomi, on the other hand, couldn't follow their conversation and felt left out.
"Ah, that's right, Naomi-chan doesn't know about them." The grandma started explaining how Konata and Kagami visited the store twice in the past. She also told Naomi how the two wanted to attend the college here together and also plan to live together.
"Ahh… so that's how it is…" Naomi wasn't what to do with this new information.
"In regard to that, I have bad news for you, Naomi."
"H-Huh?! What do you mean, Mio-chan?"
"In front of the store, I joked about wanting to meet the girl because she kept you from buying cosplay, right?"
"Y-Yes… I also wasn't the biggest fan of that joke…"
"I'm sorry, but it seems like you're definitely going to see the girl again after all, because I do want to meet her now."
"W-Why?! I really don't want to, Mio-chan!"
"Well, they're two girls who seem super close to the point where they go to the same college in a different city together and also decided to live together, and actually doing it. Doesn't that sound super envio-… ehm, interesting? I, for one, want to get to know them." Mio's real reason for her interest almost leaked out.
"B-But…" Naomi still wasn't a fan of the idea.
"Mio-chan, from how you worded it, do you think the two are a couple as well?" Her grandma seemed to have guessed one of the reasons why Mio's interested in them.
"That's what I want to find out. I want to get to know them better first to make a guess because I don't have enough info now."
"I see, that's true."
"I-Is that really necessary…?" Naomi didn't like how the conversation was progressing.
"Yes~. Also, instead of being afraid, you should use the chance to befriend them as well."
"E-Eh…? W-Why should I do that?! Or rather… how? You totally know that that's absolutely impossible, Mio-chan!"
"No, I think it's about time to get over your anxiety towards strangers."
"H-Huh…?" Naomi wasn't expecting a sudden attack like that.
"I think this Konata would be perfect for this."
"W-Why…?"
"According to grandma, she, and the other one as well are really nice girls, and it seems like you and she have similar interests, right? I mean, you two met each other in the cosplay section of an anime store after all."
"B-But…" Her fight wasn't over.
"Mio-chan's right, Naomi-chan." The grandma wanted to push her in the right direction as well. "The two, Konata-chan and Kagami-chan, are really sweet and good girls!"
"B-But… But..." Naomi was desperately thinking of a way out of it, but she was getting cornered more and more. "I-Isn't it fine the way it's now? Mio-chan is all I need if you ask me. Oh, and grandma, of course!"
"Be honest, Naomi, you actually would love to talk to someone about anime and cosplay to your heart's content, wouldn't you?"
"T-That's…" Her eyes began to sway.
"Sure, I don't exactly dislike them, but I'm not too invested in them either. Except maybe the cosplay, but that's your fault… Anyway, I'm sure you would enjoy talking about those things with a kindred spirit, right?"
"W-Well…" Naomi didn't want to admit it, but Mio had a point.
"Or did that made that first encounter made you dislike that Konata that much already?"
"N-No, that's not it!" She violently shook her head all of a sudden. "That's not true… I was actually a bit happy that she tried to talk to me without reservation and how she seemed to have an interest in cosplay as well, but…" Naomi had a smile on her lips for a second, but it immediately vanished again afterward. "I-It's not like I can trust her out of the blue… and there were already so many bad experiences because of that.
"The actual bad ones were ages ago, though, Naomi…"
"That doesn't matter at all! For me, it's still as fresh as yesterday!"
"Haa… Well, it's not like I can't understand you after what happened in the past, but… I somehow have a good feeling about this Konata, and I never lied to you, did I?"
"Y-Yes, but… there's also this other girl, right? Kagami-san, was it? That's already two new people then… I'm not so sure…" Naomi seemed to be really afraid.
"Oh, how about this then, Naomi~." Mio's face lit up as she seemed to have an idea.
"Oh-oh… What is it, Mio-chan…?"
"I have a proposal for you~. If you agree to meet those two, I'll spend an entire day of shopping for cosplay for you. I won't say no to anything, and I'll keep my complaining to a minimum. I'll, of course, wear everything afterward as well." Because convincing her with words alone was somewhat tricky, and was becoming bothersome as well, Mio simply decided to bribe her into it.
"W-Whit did you say?!" She took the bait without hesitating. "Wait a moment, does this even include that?" Her eyes began to sparkle.
"T-That?! Uhm…" Mio audibly swallowed. "That's… Well, how about I do that for your birthday instead?"
"But that's three months away…"
"Don't be like that, Naomi~. Oh, how about I include that other thing from last week instead? That thing I refused to wear."
"Last week… Last week, huh? Ah! Y-You'll wear that for me, Mio-chan?!" Once she had remembered, Naomi's excitement went through the roof. "O-Okay, I'll do it…" Because the temptation was too big, she finally gave in.
"R-Really?!" Her stakes were big, but even with that, Mio wasn't sure whether it was enough until the end.
"Y-Yes… I can't promise that we'll become friends, but I'll do my best with meeting those two girls…"
"That's awesome! I'm so happy!" Because she was so proud of her progress, no matter how small it was, Mio ended up tightly embracing Naomi.
"Ehehe~." Thanks to the hug, Naomi instantly loosened up and began to relax.
"That's great~." Mio's grandma, who was still only silently watching over them, was also happy that Naomi finally made a step forward. She knew that it took Naomi a lot of courage to do it.
"A-Anyway…" Naomi desperately wanted to change the topic now that she had lost. "Mio-chan, Mio-chan!"
"Yes, I'm Mio."
"How about we go upstairs and check the contents of the package together?"
"Hmm…? Ah, the cosplay you ordered?" Mio had almost forgotten about the package already.
"Yes~."
"Haa, fine… I think you deserve a little early reward after I pushed you into meeting those girls."
"Yay~, let's go!" Naomi energetically grabbed Mio's hand, and the two quickly disappeared upstairs for the rest of the evening.
"Somehow, I have the feeling that it's going to be even livelier here in the future…" The grandma kept smiling to herself behind the counter of her sweets store for a while.
…
A little over a week passed, and Naomi had some big plans for the weekend.
"Mio-chan~!"
"Yes, yes, I'm coming…"
"Hurry!" On the contrary to Mio, Naomi was incredibly excited and in high-tension mode.
"Just calm down a bit…" The two just came downstairs to the sweets store, and both were carrying a medium sized bag each and seemed to be ready to leave for somewhere.
"Calming down is for the weak!"
"Nonono, that just doesn't make any sense, Naomi…" Mio tried to stay serious.
"I'm sure it does."
"Of course… Anyway, where are we even going? You suddenly barged into my room, stuffed some of my clothes in a bag, and dragged me downstairs while I was at an interesting part in my book I was reading…" With the indifference in her voice, she didn't seem to be overly surprised by her actions, though. "I mean, it's nothing new… You trying to kidnap me out of nowhere and dragging me into of your trips, that is, but knowing the destination would be really appreciated for a change."
"Nope~." Naomi was having fun.
"Ahh, the same as usual, huh…?" Mio gave up with a small sigh. "Another one of Naomi's infamous surprise weekend trip, it is…"
"H-Hey, what's that about infamous?!"
"Nevermind~. Ah, wait a moment, it's not going to be such a pointlessly expensive trip like last time again, right?"
"No, don't worry~. The sermon you gave me there about spending too much money will last another month or so."
"That's good to hear… Oi, what was that just now?!" Mio was relieved for a second, but then realized what Naomi said and how she wasn't reflecting in the slightest.
"Don't mind~. But, be relieved, you won't even need your passport this time, Mio-chan~."
"Well, that's something, at least." She didn't feel overly relieved, but she was happy enough that the two were going to stay in the country this time.
"Believe it or not, we're even just going to take the train."
"H-Huh?!" Mio was quite shocked. "What's up with this reasonable way of traveling that's so totally unlike you?!"
"Well… Daddy is hosting some kind of even this weekend, and because of that, all of our cars and drivers are booked for the guests…"
"I-I see…" There was absolutely nothing she was able to retort here. Hearing Naomi say it like it was the most natural thing to have multiple cars and drivers, simply crushed her will to make a witty comeback.
"Can we go already~?" Completely ignoring her inner turmoil, Naomi was getting impatient again.
"Sure…" She didn't care anymore.
"Yay~! Well then, see you in a few days, grandma." Naomi shortly waved at her behind the counter as she pushed Mio out of the store, who had stopped resisting altogether.
"Have fun~." Mio's grandmother seemed to be used to this kind of scene already and just saw them off with a smile.
….
About a two-hour long train ride later, in the first class, of course, the two finally arrived at their destination. It was a place in the middle of nowhere Mio never visited, nor even heard before.
"Ehm, Naomi… What exactly are we doing here…?" She looked around, but absolutely nothing of interest entered her field of view. "No, before that, where are we?"
"Hmm… There are some nice hot springs around here~."
"That doesn't sound very convincing. In the first place, if you wanted to visit some nice hot springs, we simply could've gone to Hakone… You know, that nice hot spring town basically right next to Yokohama."
"W-Well… I thought it would be a nice change of pace to visit a different place every now and then…"
"Ah, so that's how it is, huh? So, what's the real reason?" Naturally, it was obvious for Mio that she was using the hot spring trip just as a façade to hide her ulterior motive.
"Ahaha… Actually, according to the internet, here's one of the biggest cosplay store in all of Japan." Her real intention for the trip quickly came leaked out.
"I see. Well then, how about we go to the hotel first, though? I'm kind of hungry because a certain someone came to kidnap right before I was about to get something to eat. Also, now that you mentioned hot springs, I really want to take a bath~."
"E-Eh…?" Naomi wasn't expecting this kind of answer. "You aren't angry, Mio-chan?"
"Should I? I can get angry if you want… I never knew you were into that kind of thing, though. Together for our entire life already and I still learn new things about you~."
"H-Hey, that's not what I meant, okay?!"
"Sure~."
"M-Mio-chan!"
"Hehe. Why would I get angry, though? I did promise you to go shopping for cosplay together, didn't I? I'm not really surprised that you went all out for that."
"Yay! Thank you!" Because she was so happy, Naomi jumped at Mio and tightly hugged her.
"Ehehe~." Mio was also happy, mainly about the hug, though. Once they separated again, she grabbed Naomi's hand, and the two walked to the hotel together.
…
The couple arrived at the hotel, and after checking in, they directly went to their room.
"Hoh~, even for a hotel in the middle of nowhere, the rooms aren't that bad." Naomi looked around with interest and seemed relatively pleased with their room. Big wasn't even to begin to describe it, and the furnishings looked modern and very high quality.
"Naomi~." Mio's voice sounded cold.
"Y-Yes?!"
"Even if it's in the middle of nowhere, yes… It's still a frigging 5-Star hotel where you booked a whole suite! What was that about pointlessly expensive trips we talked about before?"
"Hmm…?" Naomi just innocently tilted her head.
"…" Mio looked at her and when she saw her expression that said 'That was expensive?', Mio questioned her own common sense that crumbled a little more. Her and Naomi's value of money didn't seem to match up.
"Is there something wrong, Mio-chan?"
"Nothing a conversation with your father shouldn't fix… probably. Then again, it's not the first time I tried, though…"
"You want to talk with daddy? Why?"
"Don't worry about it. Anyway…" Mio ended the topic. "Now that we're here already, we might as well enjoy it."
"Yay~."
"So, what do you want first? Something to eat, a bath, or…"
"Of course, I want Mio-chan!" Naomi answered without a second of hesitation.
"Ah~, that was my own fault." Mio couldn't blame her for giving such an answer.
"Tehe~." She struck out her tongue. "So, can I?"
"Hmmn…" Mio actually needed to think about it. "Can we save that for last? I'm super hungry by now, and a bath before it… Well, that's pretty self-explanatory, isn't it?"
"Aww, okay. Well, let's quickly order some room service then. There's no time to waste!" Although it wasn't Naomi's favorite order to spend the evening, she was still excited.
After the girls ordered something from the room service and had a delicious dinner together, the two directly went to the huge bath of their suite.
"Oho~, I can work with that." Mio's eyes fell on the massive tub in the bathroom and a smile formed on her lips.
"You sure love your baths, don't you, Mio-chan?"
"Naturally… Oh~." She turned around and that Naomi had already begun undressing behind her. "I can work with that as well~." Her smile began to change its meaning.
"Pervert." Naomi knew perfectly well what that smile meant. It didn't mean she stopped undressing, though.
"Thanks." It was a compliment for her.
"Same as usual, huh? Well, not that I'm going to complain~." This time, it was Naomi who gave up with a sigh, but with a smile.
"Ah, let me help you with that~." Mio approached Naomi, who was already down to her underwear, as she was about to remove her bra.
"How about you start undressing as well instead?" Naomi stopped Mio's hands right in front of her bra. "It's not fair only giving out service, but not getting any in return…" Naomi looked up and down on the still fully dressed Mio.
"Sorry… I was too preoccupied with other things that I totally forgot…" While saying so, Mio was intently staring at the thing she was preoccupied with, Naomi. Her beautiful eyes, the golden hair, and her petite, yet well-developed body had totally entranced her. Once she was able to avert her eyes, Mio finally began undressing as well, much to the delight of Naomi, who was the one watching now instead.
"Mhmn, not bad at all~." She was happy with the view in front of her. While Mio was undressing, she paid attention to every move of her. The perfect face, her black hair, that was darker than the night itself, and her body which easily surpassed that of every model out there. Naomi didn't miss a single thing about her, now naked, body and couldn't help, but gulp at the sight.
"You're drooling again, Naomi." Mio obviously didn't fail to notice her lecherous gaze. She wasn't the only pervert in this relationship.
"A-Ah! Sorry about that…" She quickly wiped her lips with her arm. She didn't even notice that Mio was just messing with her. "You're just so beautiful that it happened unconsciously."
"Woah, when have you reached this level of smooth-talking?"
"I'm serious! You took the image of a traditional Japanese beauty and brought it to perfection."
"And she keeps going~." Mio was having fun teasing her. "Ahaha, no, I know you're actually serious with what you're saying, Naomi. Then again, what should I say then? You're so cute that I have to restrain myself 24/7. Your foreign looks are almost too much for me to bear. It should be illegal to be this beautiful."
"S-Stop it…" Naomi was embarrassed but didn't seem unhappy about it. Everyone would be happy when being complimented like that. Her smile instantly vanished again, though. "Exactly those foreign looks gave me nothing but trouble… I prefer your traditional look much more…"
"I find myself rather boring, though." Mio was unable to agree with Naomi's evaluation. "Anyway, you're beautiful, and that's all there is to say."
"But you're more beautiful."
"No, you."
"No!"
"Yes!"
"You're way more beautiful!" This stupid display of affection continued for a while before they were able to calm down. It was a good thing that the two were alone right now because a third party would've had a lot of trouble with enduring their overly sweet flirting.
Once they ended their conversation and finished the competition with a draw, Mio and Naomi finally started washing each other after having gotten rid of their clothes before entering the tub together. As a matter of course, both of them helped washing each other's back, and various other areas.
….
"Haa~, this is the best~." Mio comfortably stretched herself out in the tub while she was looking like she was in pure bliss.
"Mmh~." Naomi had a similar expression on her face as she made herself comfortable between Mio's legs while resting on her chest. "Yes, this is really comfortable~."
"What exactly is…?" She was questioning the meaning of her words because Naomi was doing her best with burying the back of her head in Mio's breasts.
"Yes~." She dodged the question.
"Well, whatever's fine~." Mio wrapped her arms around Naomi's body and pulled her even closer.
"Hmm~." She enjoyed the gesture very much. "It's still as weird as ever… You liking baths that much, Mio-chan."
"Ehh? I'm Japanese, you know? It's only natural that I love baths."
"Except the little fact that you're not acting like a Japanese person in the slightest. You only got the look going for you. You hate Japanese sweets, and even when it comes to normal food, you prefer western dishes much more. The last time you wore a kimono, not even was that ages ago, it also didn't take five minutes before you started stripping again because it was too stifling, and you questioned yourself how anyone could wear something like that on her own will. You…" Naomi could continue for a while because there were so many examples, but she was stopped.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it…" Mio didn't need to hear any more. "It's funny how you're the complete opposite, though. You look like you took the last plane from Europe, but you're actually the textbook example of a Japanese inside because you love all that stuff."
"Yes, I wonder what went wrong there…"
"It sure is a mystery." Mio also didn't understand why both, their looks, and personalities didn't match up in the slightest.
"Maybe we accidentally swapped bodies when we were little…" Naomi actually looked serious. "If so, please give it back, Mio-chan. No, Naomi-chan~!"
"You sure are having fun, huh?"
"Hehe. Still, it doesn't sound that unlikely, does it?"
"Ehm…" Mio didn't know where to start. "So, which anime influenced you this time?"
"Actually, it was a manga for a change this time."
"Close enough."
"Ah, let me try something." Naomi turned around in the tub, gave Mio a quick kiss on the lips, and waited a few seconds while looking around. "Aww, it didn't work…"
"And what didn't work…?" While not minding the surprise kiss, if anything, she looked a little disappointed that it was just a short kiss, Mio tilted her head in confusedness.
"In the manga, the girls could swap back and forth every time they kissed each other…"
"Ah, I see… Naomi?"
"Yes?"
"I'm not entirely sure anymore, but wasn't our first kiss like about 6 years ago?"
"Could be… I think it was at the start of middle school…? Maybe it was even over six years then…" Naomi also couldn't remember the exact date well."
"Not to mention that I can imagine that we kissed each other when we were really young while we were playing as well."
"That's not even unlikely. So, your point is, Mio-chan?"
"Don't you think we would've noticed by now that we're able to swap bodies while kissing?"
"A-Ah…" Naomi had forgotten about that. "I-I just wanted to make sure, you know…?"
"Is that so~? Then, do you really think such a short kiss was enough to make sure?"
"Hmm…" She pretended to think about it, but Naomi knew what Mio really wanted. Having taken a liking to the idea, she closed her eyes and pressed her lips against Mio's again. This time, the kiss lasted way longer, and many more followed after. Each of them was more intense and exciting than the previous one.
The two continued to have fun in various ways for a good while longer in the tub, but once they began to feel lightheaded from the hot water, Mio and Naomi finally left the bathroom again.
"Ahh~, I feel so refreshed." Mio was practically glowing after she finished bathing. Whether it really was because of the bath or something else, was another question.
"S-Sure… Well, it was nice." She also didn't specify it.
"Ehehe~. Well then, let's head to bed." Mio wasn't done yet for today.
"Someone is in a good mood, huh?" Naomi knew that wasn't talking about sleeping just now.
"Very."
"I can't wait for tomorrow's cosplay shopping. I'm sure I'll be able to top your mood then."
"A-Ah…" Precisely because she was in such a good mood, Mio had already forgotten about that.
"You aren't going to change your mind now, do you?"
"Of course not. A promise is a promise. But, let's save that for tomorrow and have some… traditional fun for the rest of the day."
"Traditional fun, is it? I haven't heard that one before, but sure, I'm all in."
Freshly out of the bath, the two directly went to the bedroom of their hotel suite and threw themselves on the huge bed.
…..
After a long night, and after just having finished breakfast, Mio and Naomi left the hotel to walk a bit around in the area to explore the city.
"I wonder how the cosplay store is~." Naomi's exploring seemed to be rather single-minded.
"You were the one who found the store. I'm sure you looked up the way to it, right?"
"O-Of course I did." She began to sweat.
"So you didn't, huh? Okay then, let's just walk around in the city. It shouldn't be too hard to find, should it?" Mio was expecting something along those lines already.
"Having decided on that plan, the two continued to aimlessly wander around in the city. Unfortunately, it wasn't as fun as they thought. Rather, for Naomi at least, it was no fun at all. While walking around, she was getting a lot of attention in the form of stares from every direction because of her exotic looks. The two were hearing a lot of mumbling from people about how she's a foreigner and similar things, but especially the kids weren't holding back in the slightest.
"Mommy, look at that girl over there!" A young boy that was together with her mother was pointing his finger at Naomi.
"D-Dear, you shouldn't point at people…"
"But… Look at her, she's looking totally different from all the others… Her hair looks all fluffy, and the color looks odd, too… Her eyes seem to be different as well!"
"Dear… That's because she's a foreigner. People from other countries look different from us Japanese."
"What's up with that… So weird!" The kid probably didn't mean any harm because he didn't know it any better yet, but the words hurt nonetheless, and Naomi didn't take it well.
"M-Mio-chan…" With tears in the corners of her eyes, Naomi instinctively hid behind Mio's back to divert the attention.
"Yeah… Let's hide somewhere." Personally, Mio isn't bothered by getting attention in the slightest, but because Naomi isn't good at handling it, she wanted to help her.
While Naomi continued to hide behind her back, Mio quickly guided her into the next best café that seemed to be empty.
"T-Thanks, Mio-chan… That was scary…" Still being somewhat pale, Naomi nervously sipped the tea they had ordered when entering the café.
"That sure was a bratty kid…" Mio let out a sigh. "Maybe I should teach him a lesson. It's been a while since the last time I did that~."
"A-Ah, no… He's just a kid…" For a moment, it seemed like Naomi had remembered something frightening when she heard Naomi's suggestion.
"Fine… If you say so…" Mio looked disappointed.
"Anyway, thanks for saving me, Mio-chan…"
"Sure, anytime." She was used to it already.
"Hehe~." Naomi liked her answer.
"Oh, they also have cake here. Let's order some! Let's see… Oh, I'm so getting the chocolate one~." Mio changed the topic as she started browsing through the menu and quickly found something interesting.
"You get excited as soon as it comes to western sweets, huh?"
"Of course, they're the best after all."
"You'll seriously make grandma cry one day…" Naomi felt sorry for a certain sweets store owner.
"She should just go with the flow of time and sell some sweets that are actually good…" She wasn't showing the slightest hint of mercy.
"Poor grandma."
"I take it you don't want any cake, then, Naomi?"
"E-Eh…? I never said that." Even though she prefers Japanese sweets, cake is still cake. "Of course I will! I wonder if they have something lots of fruits~." It suddenly wasn't a problem anymore.
"Ahaha, well then, let's order something." Both decided on a cake they liked and ate it with great delight afterward. "Ah, this is the best~. Western sweets really are so much better."
"Don't bully grandma so much, Mio-chan!" Naomi felt sorry for her again. "Well… They aren't half bad, I have to admit that."
"Your face is a lot more honest, Naomi… With that smile of pure bliss and all."
"T-That's just your imagination! Japanese sweets will always be my number one!"
"Yes, yes, sure~. Let's finish the cake. We still have something to do, haven't we?"
"Ah, right… The cosplay store…" Naomi should be happy about it, but she looked slightly conflicted.
"Don't worry about it. I kept checking the outside through the window, and there are a lot fewer people outside now." Mio knew why she was looking like that.
"M-Mio-chan…"
"You were worried about it the whole time, right? You got better at hiding it, but it's no use in front of me."
"Haha, of course, you noticed…" Naomi let out a dry laugh. "I'm not sure whether I should be happy about it, or disappointed in myself for not being able to hide it better…"
"Like you'll ever be able to hide something from. Not that I'll be able to, either…"
"The pros and cons of growing up and spending so much time together…" Both knew each other so well that they even noticed the slightest things from each other.
"On the other hand, if you're scared to the point of hiding behind my back with tears in your eyes, it's pretty clear that you're going to be worried for longer than ten minutes. If you want to be able to hide it better, you should start with that."
"Auu…"
Once they finished their cake and emptied the rest of tea, the two paid and left the café again. Just as promised, there were a lot less people outside now. The two probably came at a bad time earlier. Yesterday, when they first arrived in the city, there weren't many people around either.
"Look, it's much better now, right?"
"Y-Yes…" Even so, Naomi was still nervously looking around for people.
"It's kind of funny how that happens in almost every city we visit, in Japan at least, but you still kidnap me for trips on like every other weekend, Naomi."
"No pain, no gain." She wanted to sound cool.
"Is that so? Okay, let's look for a group of people to gain even more."
"No, sorry, I lied! Please don't do that! I just wanted to say that once! It's only because traveling with you is fun and to see interesting places is nice! I would gladly get rid of all those people if I could…" Naomi was panicking.
"I-I see…" Mio was slightly worried about the last part.
"Ah! Look, Mio-chan, I found the cosplay store!" The two had just turned at a corner when a big building came to view.
"What a nice timing."
"Let's go, Mio-chan!" Her nervousness from earlier was completely gone and was replaced by excitement. Naomi went behind her and energetically pushed Mio towards the cosplay store.
"That's going to be one long day…"
The two went inside, and Naomi looked like a child who had just entered a candy store. With sparkling eyes, she looked at literally everything and didn't know where to start.
"M-Mio-chan, that's bad… What should I do? There's just way too much! There's no way I can choose!"
"That certainly is a big problem…" Mio's voice was as monotonous as it could get.
"Hmm… Hmm… Okay, let's start with the corner over there." Because she couldn't decide, she simply pointed in a random direction.
"Sure, why not…" Mio really wasn't enthusiastic about the whole thing. Even so, she followed Naomi, and the two began looking around. "I really hope that this Konata girl will become her friend… If I do all that here for nothing… haa…" She could only sigh, but after seeing Naomi's happy face, she had a tough time with being angry.
"Oh, look at that, Mio-chan! No, wait! That one's even better! No, that!" Naomi was way too excited and picked one cosplay outfit after another while she happily ran around in the store.
"Haa…" Another sigh escaped her lips because she couldn't nearly match Naomi's enthusiasm. "She's way too into it… While I do agree that it's kind of fun to dress up an all, in moderation, that is… But, how can one get so excited about… Hmm?" Mio suddenly stopped in the middle of her monologue when she found something that caught even her interest. "Let's see… Is that a school uniform from some anime as well? I don't think Naomi ever made me watch it, though… It actually looks pretty cute." She was looking at an all red one-piece dress-like school uniform with vertical stripes and a big, black bow on the chest and the back. The uniform had short sleeves, apparently a summer uniform, which had a black and white accent at the end. The same black and white accent was also around the neck towards the bow on the chest. "That super short skirt part of the one-piece is seriously embarrassing, but it's overall really nice. I wonder what it's from…" Mio had taken a liking to this particular cosplay.
"Oho~, nice find, Mio-chan." Naomi popped up next to her out of nowhere and looked at the cosplay as well. "They even have uniforms from Visual Novels here, huh? This store is seriously awesome."
"N-Naomi?! Where did you come from?" She was startled by her sudden appearance. "Wait, that sounds like you know where this uniform's from."
"Of course I do. It's from a rather famous and really long Visual Novel series. I think there are over 20 games in total. I only played the main series, though… Well, that's still, ehm… about 15 or 16 games."
"You sure have a lot of time on your hands, don't you?"
"Tehe~. Anyway, you should play the games as well, Mio-chan. They're really good, and you like reading after all."
"Not so fast, what is the series even about? No, how about starting with the name of it first?"
"Ah, right… It's the 'A kiss for the petals' – series. The plot… The plot, huh? Hmm, the setting is an all-girls school, and it's also R-18, so…"
"Ah, I get the gist of it." Mio knew where it was going from here on out.
"But the characters are also interesting and cute, and it's actually pretty romantic!" Naomi tried her best to sell her on the games.
"Alright, fine, I'll try one on the next day off."
"Yay~. So, you're interested in the uniform, or why were you looking at it so intently?"
"W-Well…"
"That's surprising… For Mio-chan to be interested in cosplay all on her own."
"I just thought the uniform is kind of cute, that's all…" Mio didn't want to admit that she was indeed interested.
"Okay, that settles it. We're getting that cosplay as well. I can't let that chance slip by."
"Eh… Ah, sure…" She tried her best to hide how she was happy for a chance to wear a cosplay she liked for once.
"Hmm… I think I'll get a uniform as well. I wonder if they have one in my size~."
"Huh? You usually only make me dress up. What's up with that now?"
"Well… The series features various different couples, so cosplaying together as one as well should be fun. Also, because Mio-chan's the one who chose the cosplay, I thought we might as well go all out this time.
"Okay." She only gave a short answer because Mio liked the idea.
"Yay! Okay, let's keep looking for more, then!"
"Ehh?! We're still not done?" Mio really hoped they could go home now.
"What kind of joke is that, Mio-chan?" Naomi only looked in pure disbelief at her.
"…"
The two spent about three more hours in the cosplay store before finally leaving again. Aside from the cosplay Mio chose, Naomi easily bought like ten more outfits for Mio, if not even more. It was hard to count because Naomi simply had a big pile of clothes in her arms.
"Ah, this is going to be soo much fun~." On the way back to the hotel, Naomi was in an extraordinarily good mood while carrying a lot of bags from the cosplay store.
"You totally overdid it… Half of it would've been more than enough." Mio was slightly angry that Naomi bought so much, but there was nothing she could do. After all, today was for the sake of Naomi meeting up with Konata and Kagami, and possibly befriending them as well. Because of that, Mio had to bear with it. "You better keep your promise now as well!"
"My promise…?" Naomi had forgotten about it.
"Hey… You're just joking, right? I'm talking about meeting up with the girl you met before and the one that came to grandma's sweets store."
"A-Ah, right… I absolutely haven't forgotten, though! More like… I hoped you had…"
"Sorry, but that's not going to happen. Also, because I went cosplay shopping with you today, there's no way out for you anymore~."
"Y-Yes…" Naomi gave in without a fight.
"Good~."
…
Back at the hotel, the two decided to try out the hotel-own hot spring before getting comfortable in their room.
"Ah, that was a nice hot spring~." Naomi was visibly relaxed looking when they were back in the room after having taken a bath there.
"Seriously… Such a nice hot spring. Relaxing in that is just the best~. Aha~, I want a hot spring all for my own where I can relax in every day…"
"Really? Should I call daddy? It shouldn't be such a big problem to get one dug out for the two of us." There wasn't a single hint that she was joking in her voice.
"You know what's scary? You don't only sound like you would do it… You actually can do it… Your father sure is something else."
"So…?" Naomi grabbed her phone and waited for her answer.
"…" Mio hesitated for a moment. "N-No… I… I don't need one…" She wasn't fooling anyone, though.
"Sure~." With a cheeky smile on her face, Naomi put her phone away again. "Anyway, the cosplay! Let's get started already!" Her excitement about to reach maximum again.
"Sure, sure… Which one do you want me to wear first?" She looked at the vast mountain of cosplay.
"Hmm… How about we start with the Visual Novel one? Let's wear it together."
"Okay. That's at least less embarrassing this way if the two of us wear it together."
"Yay~." Naomi was happy, and the two began dressing up in the red school uniform of the *A kiss for the petals' Visual Novel series. It was easy to put on because the uniform was a one-piece that's only buttoned up at the front. After tying the ribbon on the chest as well, it was done already.
"Haa… Although it really is cute, that uniform, the skirt part is seriously short… Forget bending forwards, even walking is dangerous already… Maybe just standing around and you can see everything…"
"Yes, it's very cute." Naomi completely ignored her complain as she happily twirled around in the room. Coincidentally, while she was twirling around, she easily proved Mio's point without even noticing. "You made a great choice here, Mio-chan."
"Thanks… Now come here already." Because she was getting a little annoyed by how excited she was, Mio grabbed Naomi from behind and trapped her in her arms, effectively stopping her from running around all over the place.
"Ehehe~." Naomi instantly calmed down thanks to the sudden hug and happily returned it by putting her hands on Mio's arms. "We should cosplay together more often. Watching you wear all kinds of clothes is nice and all, but doing it together is actually kind of fun on its own. No, it's super fun!"
"I'm glad to hear that. Doing it together makes it less of a shame play for me…" Mio was always embarrassed doing it alone. "But, even so, do it in moderation, okay? You don't want me to get angry again, do you?"
"O-Of course!" Because she knew that an angry Mio is no joke, Naomi complied. That's at least what she said.
"What now, Naomi? Should I change into another cosplay?" It's not like Mio actually wanted to, but today was Naomi's day.
"Nah, it's fine~."
"E-Eh…?" This wasn't something she had expected.
"It would be too sad to already change out of this cosplay because it's so cute. Also… This is the only one we can wear together, so…" Naomi had taken a real liking to cosplaying together.
"Okay, sure…" Mio wasn't going to complain. "What then? Are we continuing to wear it while simply relaxing in the suite here?"
"Hmm… We could do that, but…" Naomi didn't seem overly excited by the idea. "Oh, how about we replay a scene from the games instead, Mio-chan?"
"H-Huh? I never played the games, you know? Replaying a scene should be kind of complicated without knowing the text or even the plot."
"That's no problem at all, Mio-chan~. The games have a lot of scenes where the text has no importance at all, and the rest of the scene is self-explanatory as well."
"Eh, what are you talking about?" Mio didn't understand what she was trying to imply.
"Remember how I said the games are R-18?"
"I do, but what does that have to do with… Ah!" She finally understood the connection. "Sounds kinky, I'm in~." She didn't hesitate with her answer.
Afterward, even though Naomi said it would be a waste to already change out of the uniform, it soon became at least partially undone, before it ended up on the floor after a while for the rest of the night.
Just like that, their trip for cosplay shopping as a reward for Naomi soon came to an end. Thanks to that, she had agreed to Mio that she's going to meet up with Konata and Kagami in the future.
…
This chapter sure took a while. I'm sorry about that. Something unexpected and unfun happened, and I was unable to write for a long time.
There's a Bonus for this chapter. I made an actual Illustration of Mio and Naomi cosplaying.
www. , imgur. , com/a/xSFXYyG (Remove the ' , ') (Also in my Profile as normal link)
It's not really good, but I don't think it's that bad for my, more or less, first try. Okay, the version with their eyes open looks really odd. That happened because I drew the eyes on its own before adding it to the rest, and this totally didn't work out and I gave up on that version towards the end... I'm, somewhat (a little), confident with the closed-eye version, though. Then again, I'm not overly happy with the art style of this illustration in the first place because I was too fixated on copying the style of the game. Also… Now that I see the illustrations on a different monitor, the colors seem a bit pale/faint… Well, there's always a next time. The next one I'll do will probably look completely different. I'm more of a fan of not so sharp drawings like watercolor and pastel. I'll try my luck on that the next time.
I had a lot of time on my hand, though, and played a lot of games because I wasn't able to do much more than that during the time… That's also how I got the cosplay inspiration for this chapter. Like Naomi in the story, I played every game of the 'SonoHana` / 'A kiss for the petals' main-series. It took me almost 4 weeks to play those 15 or 16 games, but it was totally worth it. I loved almost every couple from the games, but Shizuku and Eris won the ranking~. I even got a bit too invested in it so that I actually was really sad once I played everything. Thanks to that, I'll probably add some things from the Visual Novels in my chapters in the future. I really recommend playing the games (Although it's rather famous, so most of you probably know it already). Too bad my absolute favorite game of the series is still untranslated (actually, place 2, too), so the recommendation on that is a little complicated.
Anyway, enough with my random rambling… This time was a full-on Mio and Naomi chapter because I wanted to introduce more of them. It won't be too long until they meet up with Konata and Kagami, and so I'm laying down the fundamentals of their characters. Some things don't make any sense yet, but those things will clear up once the two couples meet, and getting to know each other. This chapter basically was a scene of Mio and Naomi's everyday life without much explaining.
Okay, even though it feels like I forgot a ton of things I wanted to say because so much time passed since last time, let's get to the end of it.
The next chapter will finally be about the graduation from high school of our third years. I kind of want to do something emotional (with Kuroi-sensei), but I'm not sure how that will play out… After that, I think it's about time for the first years again, and something dedicated to Tsukasa and Miyuki, but I haven't put much thought into that yet.