Disclaimer: I own nothing of this fiction. All Characters belong to their original creators.
So I'm finally back. I know, its been a month and a half in the making. I'm kinda feeling guilty, since I don't think this is very different from the other chapters for so long. However, there is only one Chapter left, so you wont need to suffer long update times for long.
I could go on a big list of reasons for it being so long, but I'll just be quick for those who care. Went out of town, had to start from scratch as opposed to start from well done drafts like last three, had lots of other work to do, deleted whole chapter twice due to dislike, bought a new laptop and got hit across the ribs by a car. Also, I was really sleepy, and I do most writing late at night, so yeah.
Now, there are also two fictions I would like to recommend everyone go off and review. The first is called 'Close Friends' by E.S. Simeon. Its one of the few fics on the site with Ayano and Misao in it, so we need to encourage it. The second is an interesting looking Hiyori/Patty fiction by shanejayell called 'Daydream Believer'. Again Hiyori and Patty get too little work on them, so we should encourage them to make more in the hopes others will too.
Anyways, without further delay, please enjoy this chapter of my fiction. If you haven't gotten the chapter titles by now I'll be surprised.
The film was around an hour in, and in Misao's eyes admittedly it was pretty good, but already she had begun to lose interest. Or more accurately she had found something far more interesting to draw her attention away from the screen. That something was the wholly more appealing show that was taking place beside her.
The orange eyed girl watched out of the corner of her eyes, failing to suppress an amused smile as she watched Tsukasa trying to keep herself awake. The smaller girl sat in her chair, trying to watch the movie even as her head began to nod and her eyes grew heavy. Every few seconds she would shake her head side to side to try and wake herself, but once she had grown comfortable in the seat again the process soon repeated itself. Eventually she lost her fight with her fatigue and slumped slowly to the side, falling fast asleep in the large warm chair.
Once she was sure she was asleep Misao quickly abandoned her pretence of watching the movie and turned her full attention to her friend, not bothering to check if anyone else was watching her. Tsukasa's face was perfectly peaceful under her gaze, a typically innocent expression adorning her features as she dozed.
Misao leaned closer, until their faces were only inches apart, examining every detail with a thoughtful smile on her face. In a way, she really regretted she couldn't get this close with Tsukasa when she was awake. The smaller girl's eyes were definitely her best features, though from what she could see Misao couldn't imagine she had any bad ones. But Tsukasa was far too shy around her to let her get this close without looking away, so she doubted she'd ever get a really good look at them.
Misao moved closer still, this time taking a careful glance around first to be sure no one was paying attention to her. until their noses were practically touching. Slowly she moved forwards even more, hovering just a few millimetres from Tsukasa's soft inviting lips and closing her eyes.
She stopped, and sighed, opening her eyes again.
The petite girl lay sprawled asleep in front of her, completely oblivious as Misao wore her thoughtful expression.
Misao moved away again, and a look approaching melancholia was cast across her features, though her smile didn't completely disappear as she watched her friend sleep. One hand brushed away a stray lock of hair from Tsukasa's otherwise picture perfect look.
"I'd like to Imouto, I really would." She told the sleeping girl earnestly, without anything other than mild exasperation in her voice. "But I've gotta be sure. Otherwise, in the end it'd turn out the same as last time I tried to make the first move, and who really needs that again?" She said as she rolled her eyes. As she expected, she received no answer. Then again, she didn't need one. What had happened last time had been unpleasant enough for all concerned that neither of the two involved would ever truly forget it, even if they could put it out of their minds sometimes and just pretend to be normal friends again. "It'd just turn out as another mess like that, and I don't think either of us are as good at fixing things as she was."
Misao shrugged and went back to watching the movie, or tried at least, since every few seconds she couldn't help but notice the uncomfortable looking position Tsukasa has managed to fall asleep in. Sighing to herself as she did it she pushed the armrest up into the seat and pulled the limp girl towards her, twisting slightly to let Tsukasa's cheek rest on her chest. The petite girl snuggled down into her new position happily, her unconscious form finding it to be a great improvement on slumping over the armrest.
"You're hopeless, you know that Imouto?" Misao told the girl using her breast as a pillow softly, even as she wrapped one hand around her side and held her closer. "No wonder Hiiragi has her hands full all the time."
Misao settled down to enjoy the rest of the movie, feeling better for knowing the warm body across her was comfortable.
When the credits finally came began to go past, and people began to leave around her, Misao looked down to see that Tsukasa hadn't moved from her spot even once. She still looked peaceful, not to mention exhausted, as she lay there, facing upwards towards the ceiling and allowing Misao to see the peaceful face she had while asleep.
"Tsukasa." She called into her ear whilst shaking her. "Time to wake up now, 'kay?"
"Nnn…" Tsukasa closed her eyes even tighter and turned her head into her 'pillow'.
"C'mon. You can't sleep here all day." Misao said, unhappy but adamant about waking her. She shook her again, to no response. "Fine, didn't want to do this, but you've forced me."She leaned down and with one hand parted the hair that covered Tsukasa's ear, before she began to blow into gently, alternating strength to get the best effect.
For a few seconds the sleeping girl did nothing but fidget in increasing amounts, before her eyes shot open and her entire body jumped upwards as she arched her back .
"YAH!!!" Tsukasa squealed in laughter and shook her head violently, holding her hand firmly over her ear and squirming all over from the bizarre feeling she had been given. People from around the room stared at them as they filed out, but neither of the girls noticed.
"Misa-Chan!!" She reprimanded her friend, who was laughing aloud at the way she had reacted. "That's a horrible way to wake someone up!"
"Well, its your fault for having such a sensitive ear." Misao managed to get out through her grin, amused at just how cute Tsukasa was when she was faux angry, waiting for her next remark. However, it never came, as the wide eyed girl was busy trying to understand the awkward position she had been in before correcting herself.
"You looked uncomfortable how you were, so I put you across me instead." Misao told her as she caught the confused look.
"Oh…" The vague memory of snuggling into something soft and warm came back to her memory, and she looked at the two mounds hidden by Misao's thin shirt, before red stained her cheeks and she gulped.
"Something wrong Imouto?" Misao said smirking, not finding it hard to read Tsukasa had been thinking. Stretching her arms above her she feigned a yawn and lifted her arms over her head, giving Tsukasa a perfect view as her shirt was pressed into her figure and two blobs of flesh bounced up and down .
The embarrassed girl pursed her lips and shook her head rapidly, though the rosy red of her cheeks didn't fade in the slightest.
"Um… did I sleep through the whole movie?" Tsukasa asked eventually.
"Yep. You must have been really tired." 'Still are by the looks of it actually. Not surprising since we walked so much.' "Don't worry about it, I didn't mind."
"But the whole point was keeping you company…" She replied sadly.
"I'd call an hour hug pretty good company, wouldn't you Imouto?" Misao returned smiling.
"Was it good?" Tsukasa asked. "T-The movie, I mean. Not the hug."
"I enjoyed it. It was nice and romantic, if a bit long." Misao caught her eye, and Tsukasa found herself wondering which thing the orange eyed girl had been referring to. "Ready to go?"Tsukasa nodded, and stood up, stretching as she did. Misao did the same, making a noise that registered somewhere between a purr and a growl as she arched her back as far back as it could go like a cat might do. The two of them picked up their bags and walked out of the dark room into the bright lobby, the smaller of the two unbalanced slightly by both her fatigue and the sudden change in light.
"Hey, don't fall over Imouto." Misao warned her friend as she tripped over herself, grabbing the girls arm to stop her falling.
"Sorry, I'm still a little tired." Tsukasa apologized as she was lifted back to her feet. "Thank you."
"Wow… its getting dark outside." Misao said, looking out through the door. "We'd better hurry." Tsukasa nodded in agreement, not wanting to be trapped in a dark city at night. The two of them rushed through the door and into the chill of the night, Tsukasa noticing that whilst she herself was trembling Misao wasn't even fazed, despite the fact she had not unwrapped her hooded top from around her waist. It took far less time to get to the dress makers than the smaller girl remembered it taking to walk from there, but she eventually decided that that was probably just her sleepy mind playing tricks on her. At any rate she was glad there was a bench outside, and quickly flopped down with her bags onto the hard wood, longing for the warmth and comfort of the train seats. Behind her Misao ran inside the large fancy looking store, and Tsukasa waited patiently for her to come out.
On the exposed seat, Tsukasa began to shiver as it got colder, rubbing her arms to restore some heat. The breeze went straight through the thin dress, and she hadn't thought of putting a shirt on underneath it. Heck, the only thing she was wearing underneath were her panties, since a bra would have just shown through (and she didn't really need one anyway). For a moment she considered putting something on from the things she had bought today, but as she ran a mental inventory through the three bags of clothes she realised nothing in there was really cold weather worthy. All of it was as thin as what she had on now.
And so the petite girl went back to shivering, trying to ignore the Goosebumps forming on her arms and clamping her mouth closed to stop her teeth chattering.
All of a sudden her world went black as something was dropped over her head and her face was covered. She jumped in shock before calming down, the thing was warm, and soft. It smelled nice. Pulling the material off of her head she realised it was Misao's hooded sweatshirt.
"You look cold Imouto. Put that on." Misao told her, leaning over the back of the bench with a smile. In her hands, along with her three or so bags of shopping was a small but expensive looking wrapped present, which Tsukasa guessed was the dress.
"What about you?""I'm fine, I wasn't using it anyway." She replied, dismissing her concerns with a wave of her hand.
Tsukasa smiled gratefully and pulled it over her head, struggling through it until her head popped out the collar. Misao smirked as she watched, finding the image irresistibly cute. Reaching out she flattened Tsukasa's messed up hair for her, a soft smile on her face that made Tsukasa feel warm inside.
"Ready to go again?" She asked.
"Uh-huh." Tsukasa nodded, the hood flapping behind her as she did so. Quickly she pulled the shirt down as far as it would go over her hips and picked up her bags, wincing at the strain they put on her arms. Clothes weren't heavy, but lots of them together with soda, chocolates, CDs and more definitely was.
"Hey, you want me to carry a few of those?"
"No thanks, I'm okay." Tsukasa declined politely even whilst a bag struck painfully into the side of her leg.
"Suit yourself…" They continued walking, Misao taking worried glances at Tsukasa as they went. She really seemed to be exhausted. Her eyes were drooping and glazed, her legs seemed shaky and her arms looked like they hurt from the way she kept shifting weight around, struggling with her bags. At least now she looked warm though…
Not that she wasn't cold herself, or tired for that matter. But she spared only a fleeting thought for herself, when Tsukasa was around to care for. It took only a few more seconds of watching her smaller companion struggling before she couldn't take it anymore.
"Give me on of those." Misao said rolling her eyes and grabbing at the heaviest looking of the bags. "If you carry on like that you'll fall over or something."
"B-But the stations right there." The blue eyed girl replied sheepishly, not wanting to cause her generous friend more trouble than she already had.
"Don't care, give it or you lose an arm." She told her firmly.
"T-Thanks…" Tsukasa said gratefully.
As they walked Tsukasa could feel the ache in her shoulders recede, and watched surprised as Misao didn't seem to be troubled by the extra weight at all.
"Come on, if we don't get there in the next five minutes we'll have to wait for the next train." The orange eyed girl told her, glancing at her watch.
"C-Coming!"
"Ah…" Misao purred loudly as she slumped on a train seat, dropping her bags beside her. Tsukasa did the same, though far less vocally, and sighed happily. The train seat was still warm from the last person who had sat there, something that normally made her uncomfortable but here was nothing short of heaven.
"There, all done." Misao said out loud, her head not moving from the drooping position she held it in. "That was exhausting."
"Yeah…" Tsukasa agreed lazily.
"Damn." Misao groaned unhappily. "I just remembered, we've still gotta walk home after this."
"I don't wanna." The Hiiragi girl said, as a wide yawn took control of her mouth. "Which stop are you Misa-Chan?"
"It's the one after yours I think. Neither of us need to get off for a while, don't worry." Misao told her, closing her eyes and snuggling into the seat
"We can relax…" Tsukasa agreed, smiling and doing the same.
In the back of Tsukasa's mind, it occurred to her that falling asleep on a train late at night is among the stupidest things you can do. At the same time however, the more influential front of her mind was describing the benefits of sleep in loud clear letters, eclipsing the unimportant mumbling of the brain cells that handled common sense.
As Kagami would have said, Tsukasa had absolutely no willpower. Admittedly this was true, but it is worth noting that even had Kagami been in this situation instead she too would have fallen asleep. This doesn't tell you as much about the minds of the Hiiragi twins as it does about the nature of warm train seats.
In Misao's mind, the single brain cell among millions that handled common sense was out to lunch, and even if it had been around would have seen no problems with its owner sleeping wherever she damn well liked.
People who think like this are often described as carefree, but in fact its not so much they don't care about anything as they do care about an entirely different set of things than normal people do. To this kind of person, a trivial thing like staying awake on a train deserves no attention, whilst something like carefully rearranging the different books in a friend's light novel collection so they don't notice for days that one volume from each set has been hidden under their parents bed deserves every iota of concentration.
In short. One fell asleep because she was tired, the other because she didn't see any reason not to.
Misao grumbled under her breath as someone rushed past her seat, knocking her legs painfully. Against all instinct to fall back asleep she opened her eyes and caught a look at a bright light on the other side of the train. Another look changed the blinding white into something that approached legible writing, and another into a sign displaying the name of the next station. 'Oh, that's Imouto's stop in a few minutes..'
Shaking her head to wake herself quicker she looked to the side at Tsukasa, still asleep in her seat, and quickly woke her as well.
"Huh?" Tsukasa said, after she had finished one particularly long yawn. "Is it time to get off already?" She asked as she opened her eyes.
"Yep. Come on, you don't want to miss it." Misao told her, holding out her arm to help Tsukasa up. The two of them walked to the train's door, waiting for the next stop.
"Oh, Misa-Chan!" Tsukasa span to face her suddenly. "I didn't give this back." She said, pulling on the hooded top she had borrowed.
"Its okay Imouto, keep it. Looks pretty cold out there, you'll probably need it more than I will."
"Thank you…" Tsukasa said shyly, whilst looking out the trains window. The world outside did look fairly chilly. But worse was the dark. The clocks on the told her it was already almost eight, and by now the sun had long finished going down.
"Something wrong?" Misao asked, catching the worried look on her face.
"I-Its dark." Tsukasa mumbled quietly.
"Aww… it that all? Is lil' Imouto afraid of the dark?" Misao teased, her voice sickly sweet on purpose.
"No!" The shorter girl replied hotly. "I just… don't like it." Tsukasa looked to the window with worry. She hadn't thought of it before but now she realised, if she wanted to get home she would have to walk there all by herself in the dark. The worried girl mentally reprimanded herself for not thinking of it earlier. After all, from her house Misao's was in the complete opposite direction that the train station was, so if the brown haired girl was to get off at the same stop she was then she would be forced to walk more than double the distance she normally would just to get home.
"You know the way home, right?" Misao asked.
"Um…" Tsukasa began. "I think so. I've never really walked home in the dark without Oneechan before." She admitted. Misao looked at he small girl, glancing fearfully out of the window every few seconds, and saw that mix of worry and guilt in the way she stood and the way she spoke. It wasn't hard to read her. Tsukasa was terrified of going home in the dark by herself, but she would never ask for help because she didn't want to be a burden. 'Guess this is what happens when you rely on your sister for everything.' Misao thought to herself. 'When you need to know things for yourself, you don't.'
Despite that she still felt jealous of the young Hiiragi. The only child of the Kusakabe union had never had anyone to act as a big sister to her. On the contrary she had spent her entire life being a foster older sister to others, be it to Hiyori or even Ayano. And now she didn't even get to be that. Hiyori had Konata, and Ayano was far more confident and responsible now than she had been all those years ago, experience forcing her to grow up. And even if she wasn't, going back to that role would have been uncomfortable considering everything they'd gone though since.
"Tsukasa?" Misao asked simply, foregoing the usual nickname. "Are you sure you can get home okay? Or do you want me to walk you?" Tsukasa looked at her wide eyed, surprised she had offered.
"You don't mind?" She asked, looking over the taller girl's face carefully for any sign of annoyance. Had this been a member of her family, they would have been more likely to scold her than help, at least at first, but Misao's face showed nothing but a gentle expression.
"Of course I don't Imouto." She said warmly. "Besides, if I let you go and something happened your sister would kill me." Tsukasa smiled at that, even though she still looked a little ashamed at herself. When the train door finally opened, Misao made sure she hadn't left any of her stuff and led them out into the platform, lit only by its electric lights now that the sun had long ago gone down. Tsukasa followed gratefully up the steps and through the station, not saying a word as they passed through the turnstiles but immeasurably happy she didn't have to go home alone, and that she got to spend a little more time with her newest friend.
"Thanks for this Misa-Chan." Tsukasa finally said timidly, as they exited the building and walked out onto the street.
"I said before, I don't mind so stop thanking me." Misao replied with a smile, even as she was plotting her mental map to the Hiiragi household. "Come on, its this way."
"Hope it doesn't rain." Tsukasa said looking up at the sky as she walked alongside Misao, swapping her heavy bags from one arm to the other as each limb fell asleep in turn, knowing she would only get more tired as the night dragged on. The blue eyed girl had tried to boost her stamina, but nothing had ever really worked for her. She hated running, and getting sweaty at all made her feel dirty so she had to get a shower almost immediately. If it was up to her she would have spent her entire life in an air conditioned room.
"Yeah, that'd suck." Misao replied, making sure to slow her pace so the smaller girl didn't fall behind.
For the next few minutes they simply walked together, Tsukasa feeling increasingly thankful as they passed dark alleyways and corners, made twisting turns and heard strange background noises. Of course, none of these (except perhaps the twisting directions) were any more dangerous with or without someone else. But she knew had it been just her she would have jumped in fright at everything she saw. A sheltered life with a surplus of older sisters had made Tsukasa timid, thoughtful and quiet, but it had also made her quick to become lonely and anxious whenever she was. She knew all this, and she also knew that the addition of darkness and the possibility of being lost did nothing to help her.
Here she had Misao, and the taller confident girl made her feel safer than anyone else did. If something happened, she could just reach out and hold her hand. And no matter what she could always just reach other and grab a hold of that tanned hand.
"Why so quiet Imouto?" Misao's gaze flicked to the side to face her friend, looking her in the eyes as she realised how long the smaller girl had been staring at her.
"Huh?" Tsukasa was pulled from her thoughts, "Oh, sorry. I was just thinking."
"Anything interesting about me in there?" Misao asked mischievously, tapping her own head with her forefinger to illustrate herself.
"No." Tsukasa mumbled, turning away in embarrassment as she realised Misao had noticed her absent minded staring.
"Sure~?" The brown haired girl crooned, rubbing her head against Tsukasa's shoulder like a cat as they walked, much to the smaller girl's shock.
"Y-Yes!" She stuttered again, wondering absentmindedly if her left arm had paralysed itself because Misao was touching it or because she didn't want to pull away.
"Suit yourself." She shrugged, and moved her head back up to admire Tsukasa's wide eyed embarrassed face. Cute was an understatement, she just wished the girl didn't look so worried all the time. Well, that and she wished she knew whether or not Tsukasa's reactions to her behaviour were normal for the blue eyed girl, or restricted to when she herself did it. "So… how's you're sister been? I've only gotten to see her once recently, and she was too distracted with all that work."
"She's been okay…" Tsukasa began, hoping her cheeks had faded back to their normal colour. "She'll be home tonight, you could come in and talk to her then if you wanted."
"Nah, its much more fun getting the scoop from you, she'll never tell the absolute truth if it embarrasses her." Misao pointed out. "Which is why you need to look out for clues to who she's got a crush on."
"Huh?" Tsukasa asked, confused at first until she remembered Misao's suspicions from the day before last. "Oh, you said Oneechan's been acting differently didn't you?"
"Uh-huh." Misao said, nodding her head. "I didn't notice until a few days ago, but its there!" The brown haired girl pointed her finger dramatically upwards, trying to emphasize her statement.
"How?" "She's quieter, and she doesn't react as much when I play a trick on her. Plus I saw her looking at a magazine about weddings when we'd finished studying." Misao said as she nodded confidently, as if that was the only evidence anyone would ever need. "Why would she buy that if she isn't interested in someone?"
"Um… sorry. That was mine." Tsukasa told her carefully.
"Damn, really?"
"Uh-huh." The young twin nodded, feeling a little guilty for spoiling Misao's fun.
"Well, it still proves something. She wouldn't be looking through them if she wasn't thinking about that kinda stuff."
"Wouldn't that be a little serious for Oneechan to be doing?"
"What ya mean?"
"Well, if you've only just noticed she wouldn't have had the crush very long. Oneechan wouldn't be thinking of marriage already." Tsukasa explained, thinking hard about if she could remember any strange behaviour on her sister's part. Nothing came to mind specifically, but still… she couldn't help but agree a little that she had been acting slightly different.
"Yeah, guess you're right." Misao agreed. "But I'm sure something's up, only a matter of time before I figure out what it is."
"Oh, um… can we sit down for a second?" Tsukasa asked as they walked past a empty bus shelter and she noticed a bench inside. "My feet hurt a little…" She explained self consciously, fully aware that Misao probably wasn't tired at all, even as she was aching from the combination of fast walking and carrying so much stuff.
"Sure Imouto." Misao agreed, watching as Tsukasa sat down with an audible sigh and following suit. 'Guess I should've kept my pace down.' Misao thought to herself, as she had realised many hours earlier that whilst by no means unattractive or overweight - though perhaps in possession of a little puppy fat - Tsukasa was not an athletic person. She didn't seem to have any stamina at all, surprising considering all they'd done was walk around and already Tsukasa had fallen asleep quite a few times. 'Wonder when she normally goes to bed? Pretty early I guess.'
"Wonder if we could get a bus to your place…" Misao thought aloud.
"Do you have any money?"
"Nope. Spent it all." Misao replied almost cheerfully."You?"
"No.""Ah well, we must be about halfway by now." Misao lied, never losing her cheerful smile. She knew Tsukasa had no idea where they were, and that she would likely just get depressed if she knew they were only a third way there and had already been walking for almost twenty minutes.
"Really?"
"Yep."
"That's good, I bought too much stuff. Its too heavy."
"Want me to take more? I'm fine." Misao offered, though her friend was already shaking her head.
"You can't take more, you're already carrying too much." The brown haired girl was carrying double what she had, as well as the dress package under one arm.
"Suit yourself." Misao shrugged. They lapsed into silence, Tsukasa just enjoying the weight being taken off of her feet and longing for her nice warm bed. "So they were your magazines?" Misao asked after a while, with a puzzled look on her face.
"Uh-huh." The girl answered, before letting loose a small but drawn out yawn.
"Why do you have magazines for brides?" Misao asked confused.
"I think they're cute…" Tsukasa said shyly. "I like the idea of planning my wedding and what kinda boy I'll marry and stuff. Don't you?"
"You're a real girl." Misao said smiling at her. "And nah, I don't really think about that kinda stuff."
"Why not?"Misao shrugged at her.
"Just stopped paying attention to all that romance stuff years ago."
"You can't just stop being interested in romance." Tsukasa protested.
"I did."
"Why??" Tsukasa asked. Someone couldn't just stop caring about going out with people could they? It didn't sound healthy at all.
Misa shrugged again.
"Who knows?" She replied simply, no trace of emotion in her voice. The same feeling overcame Tsukasa as had come when they had been talking about Misao's mysterious present. The overwhelming feeling that it was a subject best not discussed, like there was a shield in their conversation.
"I've always wanted to have a boyfriend. But no one ever asks me out." Tsukasa said sadly, her eyes dropping to the floor. "Have people asked you out?" She perked up quickly, obviously interested.
"A few from my clubs did, I never agreed though." Misao told her, her voice still a little distant.
"Have you ever gone out with anyone before then?" Tsukasa asked, eager to find out. Misao turned to her and looked her in the eyes, a small but mischievous half smile on her face contrasting with what were still melancholic eyes.
"Curious aren't ya?"
"Sorry." Tsukasa blushed her embarrassment, aware of just how intrusive she was being. "I just really want to know."
"I figured that much." Misao said smiling at her. "And yeah, I have."
"Who?"
"None of your business Imouto." The taller girl stuck her tongue out at her. "Besides, I'm not allowed to say."
"Huh? Why not?" Tsukasa asked, feeling a deep desire within her demanding she knew all she could about the other girl's love life. Or maybe it was just another yawn…
"Come on, we've gotta get going." Misao ignored her question and leapt upwards from the seat. "If we hang around here for much longer you'll never get home."
With a small 'oof' Tsukasa got up herself and stretched. 'How could I be so tired?' she thought to herself. 'I spent half the time with Misa-Chan sleeping.' She thought, angry at herself for being unconscious so much throughout their day out, when she could have been having more conversations like this and actually finding out things. Perhaps it had something to do with how little sleep she had gotten last night? For hours she had been unable to doze off, contemplating spending the day with Misao. What she should wear, where they should go, etc. To think the reason she couldn't enjoy it as much was that she'd spent too much time thinking of it. Then they had walked halfway across Tokyo into the different shops each of them liked, and bought bags that couldn't have been heavier with stones in the way.
They began to walk again, Misao going noticeably slower to accommodate Tsukasa, who still had trouble keeping up. The blue eyed girl swayed from side to side and constantly shifted the weight on her arms, making it clear her overflowing bags were far too heavy. Her eyes were heavy lidded, mimicking their attempts in the movies and making their owner fight to keep awake.
After a few minutes of watching Misao stopped and turned towards the smaller girl.
"Misa-Chan?" Tsukasa asked, not understanding why they had stopped but glad they had.
"Put you're stuff down a sec, 'kay Imouto?" Tsukasa obeyed, and watched with guiltily as Misao rearranged the load so that the majority of it all were in a few bags.
"I can't make you carry all that…." Misao didn't reply, instead simply leaving the bags on the floor before approaching her. In an instant, Tsukasa felt herself lifted into the air and realised almost two late to prevent herself unbalancing that Misao was lifting her onto her back, giving her a piggyback ride.
"Misa-Chan!" The blue eyed girl protested as she was pulled upwards, Misao - surprisingly strong for someone who was supposed to be the same age as her - had lifted her upwards in an instant and placed her on her back.
"Don't struggle, you'll fall off." Misao advised firmly, her voice not showing any strain for carrying the deceptively lightweight girl. She bent over slightly, causing Tsukasa to cling on tightly around her, and quickly picked the bags up one by one, eventually rearranging it so she could both support Tsukasa's legs and hold the shopping.
"There, we'll get back faster like this I think." She answered cheerfully, her voice unchanged from before.
"Wh-Wha??" Was all Tsukasa could get out, still surprised by the entire situation.
"If you keep walking like that, it'll be hours before we get back. I'll carry you."
"B-But-" Tsukasa began, blushing beet red from both her proximity to Misao and at thinking how childish she had to look. "I can't make you carry me!" She finally settled on, knowing even Misao couldn't carry her back without any discomfort at all.
"You're not." The taller girl answered simply. "I'm making you get carried by me." With that she began to walk, surprised at finding Tsukasa didn't weight much more than the backpack she had worn for the singular time she had tried hiking. Or was the pack the heavier one?
Tsukasa eventually gave in to her exhausted body and rested her head on Misao's shoulder, feeling the skin beneath the thin green shirt.
"Misa-Chan," She said sleepily, guilty realisation pressing into her voice. "you're freezing cold." Looking down at herself, she tugged absent-mindedly at the thick warm top that Misao had given her because she'd been too stupid to bring a jacket.
"I'm fine," Misao dismissed her concerns without even looking round. "It just seems like I'm colder than I am cause you're warmer." The brown haired girl lied. In reality she was freezing cold, and the warm body of Tsukasa pressing into her back was the only source of heat she had, but she wasn't about to mention that to the girl she was carrying. Tsukasa would almost certainly try to offer her hooded top back, and then she'd just be tired and cold.
"Oh…" She said, sounding a little unsure but eventually deciding to believe her friend. As she grew tired once again, and he head began to droop, the youngest of the Hiiragi twins rested her head on the side of Misao's neck. Her warm breath hit the girls cold skin, and Misao found herself sighing contently at the feeling, a sound that Tsukasa registered only in her subconscious. Somehow, in the midst of the cold and the exhaustion she felt from her efforts, Misao felt better than she had in a long time. Maybe it was the fact that for the first time in a long while, someone actually needed her. Nowadays no one did, not Kagami nor Ayano and even Hiyori had outgrown any need for her, now that she had made other friends. It felt nice to be relied on by someone for a change.
As it became apparent that the girl on her back had fallen asleep against her shoulder, the brown haired teenager made a rare smile innocent of ulterior motives. Now Misao's only thought was a vow to make sure to get that girl to her bed as soon as possible, despite how much she enjoyed feeling her pressed up against her.
"Excuse me." Inori politely excused herself from her family as she heard the doorbell ring, knowing that it was Kagami's turn to answer it, but deciding to do it herself since she didn't want to interrupt her sister's fun upstairs. It had been a long time since Konata had last come over, but Inori always tried to encourage it. Kagami always seemed so much happier with her around.
Walking out of the living room and into the hallway, the oldest sister made her way to the door, hoping it was Tsukasa. As she did, her mother walked from the kitchen where she had been making a drink.
"Oh, are you getting it Inori?" Her daughter nodded but Miki stayed anyway, also anxious to see Tsukasa return safely when it was so late for her to be out. had Kagami gone with her perhaps she wouldn't have been so worried, but she knew well that Tsukasa was not an independent girl and as her eldest daughter had told her, she had not been able to bring her mobile phone in case something went wrong. Inori opened the door quickly, and both women looked with surprise at the unexpected scene in front of them.
The brown haired girl they both recognized as one of Kagami's friends smiled at them as if nothing at all was wrong, but they both noticed how pale she was and how she was shivering, unsurprising considering how unseasonably cold it was outside and how she seemed to have dressed in nothing thinner than a handkerchief. On each of her arms was three to four heavy looking shopping bags, and most surprisingly of all, on her back was an exhausted looking Tsukasa. She lay with her head on Misao's shoulder, fast asleep and clothed in a hooded shirt she hadn't left the house with. But other from the tired look on her face she looked perfectly fine, only her carrier seemed to be in any actual discomfort.
"Um… Good evening." Misao said finally, not sure why the two women were staring at her so strangely. "Something wrong?"
There we go, finished. This would have been out earlier, but FF wouldnt let me upload it for some reason. Anyways, the next chapter will probably take quite a while too, though hopefully not another full month. See, with the previous three chapters I had basically done them, then spent the week in between going through and adjusting them to be better. It actually takes me a lot of time to write just one chapter of something.
As always, thanks for reading and i hope you enjoyed it.
Edit: I found all the lines of dialogue had become screwed up during the move to FF, so i fixed it.