Disclaimer: I do not own Kyo Kara Ore Wa, Kanazuki no Miko or any of the characters from either series. This is a work of fanfiction. No profit is being made from it.
Author's Note: Akane, Rei and Yumi are Kyoko's friends that appear in episode 4 of the OVA series. In the episode none of them are named so I've decided to give them names. For the purpose of this fanfic, Rei is the blond girl, Yumi is the short-haired girl and Akane is the girl with a bow in her hair.
This quote here;
"It's going to be seven fun days starting August 1st"
Is lifted right from the Kyo Kara Ore Wa! Manga.
In a classroom at Seiran High Girls School Hayagawa Kyoko was trying hard to pay attention to the teacher's voice as she jotted down notes. It was difficult to focus though, with the knowledge that in just a few moments the class would end and then summer holiday would begin.
A quick glance around the room told her that her classmates shared her anticipation. All of the girls in the room seemed to be struggling to contain their excitement. A few were even fidgeting in their seats.
The teacher seemed to realize this and quickly brought her lecture to a close. She smiled fondly at them. "All right girls I know you're eager for this lesson to end" she said understandingly. "I hope that you all have a very good time over the summer."
"Thank you sensei" they replied.
Just then the bell rang. "I'll see you all after the holiday" she said. "Try not to trample over each other while leaving."
The girls laughed cheerily as they rose from their seats and started packing away their schoolbooks. As they were leaving the classroom many of them started talking about what plans they had for the holiday. Kyoko smiled as she thought about what she would be doing.
In the school corridor she met up with her friends Akane, Rei and Yumi. All of them had happy, eager looks on their faces.
"All right, summer holiday is here at last" Rei crowed eagerly as they walked through the front entrance and out of the school.
Kyoko chuckled softly, pleased by her friend's excitement. "Do you have any plans Rei?" she asked.
"My parents are home from work so we'll be hanging out a lot together" she replied. "We're going to an amusement park this weekend."
"I'm thinking of getting a part-time job" said Yumi.
"Haruka invited me to come to her parents' summer house" said Akane happily. Her friends all grinned at her. Ever since Akane had come out to them and told them about her feelings for the other girl they had supported her completely. They had all shared her happiness when Haruka had asked her out and the relationship had only deepened since then.
"What about you Kyoko?" Akane asked. "Do you have any plans?"
A happy gleam filled her eyes as she replied, "Ito-san and I are going on a trip to Mahoroba to pay a visit to his cousin Himemiya-san and her girlfriend Kurusugawa-san."
Her friends all stared at her in awe. "Wow, that's so cool" exclaimed Rei.
"Definitely" Akane agreed. "Make sure to bring us back plenty of pictures."
"I will" she assured them.
Kyoko and her friends parted at the front gate, promising to call each other later. She met Ito at a café soon afterwards.
He smiled brightly as he saw her. "Hello Kyo-chan."
"Ito-san" she replied warmly.
"I've double-checked the time our train leaves and made sure our seats are reserved" he said enthusiastically. "By this time tomorrow we'll be enjoying ourselves in Mahoroba"
"It's going to be seven fun days starting August 1st" she agreed with a pleased smile.
She got up early the next morning to make a final check of her luggage. It did not take long since she intended to travel light and so had only packed one bag.
Her parents hugged her warmly as she was about to leave. "I hope that you have a lovely time Kyoko" said her mother.
"Thank you mother" she replied as she hugged them back.
"Don't forget to call us" said her father.
"I won't" she promised. She let go of her parents and picked up her bag. "I have to go and meet Ito-san at the station. I'll call you when we get there."
"Goodbye Kyoko. We'll see you soon" said her mother.
"Bye" she said, waving to them as she opened the door and walked off.
At the train station Ito stood waiting patiently. He grinned broadly as he saw her coming. "Kyo-chan" he called happily as he waved to her.
"Ito-san" she called back as she returned the wave.
"I got an e-mail back from Chikane-san" he said as she walked up to him. "She says that she and Kurusugawa-san will meet us when we arrive."
"Oh I'm so glad" she replied happily.
"Me too" he agreed.
Ito was tense while checking in their tickets but fortunately it all went without incident. A short time later they had found their seats and the train was on its way.
"I hope that Himemiya-san will like the gift I've gotten for her" said Kyoko.
"I'm sure she will" Ito replied.
The two of them passed the journey contentedly making casual talk about whatever came to mind. After a while she looked out of the window. "Oh Ito-san look, the ocean" she said excitedly.
He looked and smiled as he saw the endless expanse of deep blue water. "This will be great."
Soon afterwards the train slowed and came to a halt. The doors opened and they stepped off. Ito waved and said "Chikane-san, Kurusugawa-san hello" she said with a pleased smile.
"Hello Ito-san, Hayagawa-san" replied Chikane as she also smiled. Next to her Himeko giggled and waved back.
"Thank you for coming to meet us here" said Kyoko.
"You are welcome" Chikane replied. "I hope that we will make your experience here an enjoyable one."
"I am sure that you will" said Ito.
"Oh, by the way Himemiya-san I brought this for you" said Kyoko. She reached into her bag and took out a wrapped parcel that she handed over.
Curious, Chikane opened it to reveal a beautiful white statue of two young women embracing each other. Both were dressed in flowing robes that were falling away from their shoulders.
Chikane gave the other girl a delighted smile. "It's beautiful. Thank you very much Hayagawa-san."
"Yes thank you" Himeko agreed. "It's lovely."
"I'm glad you like it" she replied.
"Oh I know" Himeko exclaimed suddenly. "Chikane-chan and I were going to go down to the beach later today. I know you've only just got here but would you both like to come with us?"
"I'd love that" said Kyoko excitedly.
"So would I" Ito agreed. "Can you meet us outside our hotel in say, thirty minutes?"
"Certainly. We'll see you then" said Chikane.
Before long a limousine was driving to Mahoroba Beach. Chikane normally preferred to travel on horseback (not least because it meant she could feel Himeko's arms around her) but given that there were four of them a vehicle seemed more practical.
"We are here Ojou-sama" said the chauffer, a young woman named Nagisa as she parked the car.
"Thank you Nagisa-san" said Chikane.
They got out of the car and made their way to the white sandy shore. It was a gorgeous day, warm but with a cool sea breeze keeping it from being too hot. The ocean sparkled brightly in the sunlight, looking as though its surface was made of diamonds.
"This was such a good idea Himeko-san" said Kyoko happily, the four of them having decided to call each other by their given names on the drive down. "Thank you very much for inviting us."
"You're welcome" Himeko replied cheerfully.
They spread blankets over the sand and sat down upon it. Kyoko wore a modest navy blue one-piece swimsuit, Chikane wore a turquoise one and Himeko wore white. Ito had on a pair of red shorts.
Chikane reached into a bag and took out a bottle of sunblock. "Keep still Himeko. I don't want to miss a spot and have you getting burned" she said.
"Okay Chikane-chan" she replied.
Chikane handed another bottle to Ito and began smoothing the lotion over Himeko's shoulders. Her girlfriend murmured happily, enjoying the feeling of her lover's strong, skilful hands on her.
Ito stared at the bottle in his hand, glanced at his girlfriend and then looked back at the bottle.
I, I have to spread this over Kyo-chan's skin? He felt blood suffuse his face at the thought of touching her bare skin in such a way.
But, but it's all right isn't it? I'm just putting on sunblock so she won't get burned. I'm not doing anything bad he told himself while getting increasingly flustered.
"Are you all right Ito-san?" Kyoko asked, startling him out of his reverie. She peered at him curiously. "Your face is red. Are you feeling hot?"
"What? Oh no, I'm fine" he babbled. "I was just, um…"
She laughed lightly, the gentle sound cutting him off mid-stream. "It's okay Ito-san" she said. "You don't need to get embarrassed about putting sunblock on. I trust you completely."
He sighed heavily. "Thanks Kyo-chan"
A few minutes later Ito had managed to overcome his nervousness enough to apply the lotion to his girlfriend and soon they all had their sun protection in place. They then enjoyed a relaxing few hours playing volleyball, tossing a Frisbee to one another or just sitting and talking. A few times Ito caught some guys ogling Kyoko and immediately sent them fleeing with a fierce glare. She giggled quietly at this but said nothing.
Kyoko told Himeko and Chikane about Akane's relationship with Haruka. Chikane had been mildly amused to learn that Akane's girlfriend was also the captain of her school's kyudo club as Chikane was captain of hers. She also congratulated her on being such a supportive friend. Himeko commented on how it reminded her of how supportive Makoto had been of her relationship with Chikane.
Remembering her friend's request Kyoko took plenty of photographs, some she took herself, others she asked Himeko to take for her as she was impressed by the other girl's skill at photography.
"These pictures are amazing Himeko-san" she said. "You have such a remarkable attention to detail."
"Thank you" she replied with a faint blush, not used to getting compliments from people besides Chikane and her friends.
After a while Chikane stood up and stretched her arms over her head. "I feel like taking a swim" she said. "Would anyone like to join me?"
"Oh I would" replied Himeko. "Chikane-chan has been teaching me to swim" she added.
"I'll go too" said Kyoko.
"Thanks but I'll pass" said Ito.
"It's just us three then" said Chikane with a small smile. "Let's go."
The three girls waded into the sea and within just a few moments they were treading water. Himeko was a little nervous at first but she soon relaxed as Chikane took her hands and led her as she used her legs to propel herself. Kyoko glided along next to them and gave Himeko extra encouragement.
"You're doing very well Himeko-san" she said.
"That's right" Chikane agreed. She leaned closer and whispered into Himeko's ear "and your bottom looks cute when you kick."
"Chikane-chan!" Himeko squeaked as her face turned red.
Seeing this, Kyoko chuckled. "Your girlfriend is very cute Chikane-san."
"I know" she replied with a smile.
When they eventually swam back to shore Ito was waiting with towels in hand.
"Thank you Ito-san" said Kyoko as she accepted one from him and wrapped it around herself.
"Yes, thank you very much" Himeko agreed as she also took one.
"You're welcome" he replied.
Finally it was time to go. As they packed up to leave Himeko asked what they would like to do tomorrow.
"Could we go sightseeing?" Kyoko asked. "This is a beautiful town and I'd really like to see more of it."
"Of course, we'd be glad to" replied Himeko. "Why don't we meet you outside your hotel tomorrow at say, eleven?"
Ito glanced at his girlfriend and she nodded. "That will do nicely" he said. "We'll look forwards to it."
"So shall we" said Chikane. "In the meantime we'd be happy to give you a ride back"
"Thank you Chikane-san."
The next morning Ito was woken by Kyoko knocking at his room's door to tell him it was ten in the morning. He hurriedly got out of bed, calling to her to go down to have breakfast without him, he'd catch up as soon as he'd washed and dressed.
A little while later she was sitting at a table in the reception area sipping a cup of tea. She looked up as Ito came down the stairs.
"Good morning Ito-san" she said brightly. "Did you sleep well?"
"Very well thank you Kyo-chan" he replied. "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
"It's all right" she replied warmly.
They enjoyed a light but delicious breakfast together and then went outside to wait for Chikane and Himeko. Sure enough they arrived at the time they'd agreed to meet.
"Hello Ito-san, Kyoko-san" said Himeko as she waved to them happily.
"Hello Himeko-san" she replied cheerily.
"Let's get started on the tour" said Himeko.
She and Chikane proceeded to lead them around the town and show off some of its memorable sites, including an ancient stone bridge and the school's flower garden where the two of them had held their secret meetings. Along the way Himeko told them about how she and Chikane had met, even leading them along the path they had taken when trying to find the owner of the puppy that had first brought them together. Again, many photographs were taken.
Finally they decided to visit the Ogami shrine. As they were approaching the ancient building Chikane stopped and frowned.
"What's wrong Chikane-chan?" Himeko asked.
"Something's not right here" she replied.
Before any of them could ask further the sound of breaking wood and stone reached their ears, together with cries of pain and loud hollers of excitement. Looking at each other in alarm, the four of them ran to the shrine. When they arrived they stopped and stared at the sight before them in dismay.
A gang of rough-looking young men, armed with various weapons and all wearing looks of cruel glee were vandalizing the shrine, smashing whatever they could lay a hand on while yelling encouragement to each other.
Worse still, Soma and Yukihito were lying on the ground badly bruised and bleeding as several of the thugs surrounded them and mercilessly beat them. Yukihito was crying and begging them to stop while Soma just glared up at them bitterly. Their assailants' response was to laugh and hit them harder while spewing out vile insults at their victims.
"Soma-kun!" Himeko screamed.
The thugs stopped what they were doing and turned around. They grinned maliciously as they saw the group.
"Look at this, we got some new arrivals to the party" said one. "Let's get em'."
"Run Kyo-chan" said Ito as he ran forwards to attack.
"Ito-san!" she called.
"There's too many of them" said Chikane grimly. "He'll need help."
Two of the punks slipped past Ito as he battled their comrades and rushed towards the three girls, apparently thinking they'd be an easy target.
Chikane stepped in front of one of the men and drove her open palm forwards, striking a glancing blow to his chin and stunning him. Before he could recover she moved closer and put one arm around his back while seizing his wrist with her other hand. She twisted her hips and dropped under his centre of gravity to lever him over her hip and throw him to the ground.
Kyoko confronted the other thug and kicked him squarely in the shin. He yelled in pain and lifted his foot off the ground. While he was off-balance she stepped forwards and shoved him hard. He fell to the ground and hit his head, taking him out of the fight.
Seeing his comrades go down another man charged Chikane with a baseball bat. She ducked under a wild swing and then swept his legs out. He fell to the ground and she finished him with a punch to the solar plexus.
Kyoko crouched and picked up the dropped bat. As she stood she looked over at Ito. At first he seemed to have everything under control but then one of his foes got behind him and smashed him in the back of the head with an iron bar. He cried out in pain and fell to the ground. Two of them immediately pinned his arms down while the others began pummeling him.
"Ito-san!" she cried.
As the thug was raising the iron bar to bring down on Ito she ran forwards and swung the bat, striking him across the jaw. He dropped, out cold, as the rest hurriedly backed away.
One of them started whirling a chain over his head but before he could swing it she hit him in the stomach with the bat. He doubled over, air exploding from his lungs and she finished him with a hit to the side of the head.
"You're going to pay for hurting Ito-san" said Kyoko angrily. She sprang at another one, her eyes blazing, and slammed her weapon into his chin. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.
The last remaining thug panicked and turned to flee only to find Chikane in front of him. Before he could stop himself she had seized his arm and used his momentum to throw him over her shoulder. He landed hard and was knocked out, ending the fight.
Worried, Kyoko crouched next to Ito. He was unconscious but still breathing. Chikane glanced at her and she nodded before turning to Himeko and saying "we had better call an ambulance."
"Yes Chikane-chan."
Just a few moments later the thugs had been rounded up by the police while Soma, Yukihito and Ito had been brought to the hospital. Fortunately none of them had been hurt too badly.
"I apologize for this Kyoko-san" said Chikane as they were leaving at the end of visiting hours. "This was meant to be an enjoyable holiday for both of you."
"Don't apologize, Chikane-san" she replied. "It wasn't your fault. I'm just glad that Ito-san and your friends are all right."
Himeko glanced at her girlfriend and the two exchanged a nod. "Would you like to stay with Himeko and me tonight?" Chikane asked.
"Oh I'm flattered Chikane-san but I don't want to be a bother."
"It's no bother at all" she said reassuringly. "We'd be happy to have you visit."
She smiled. "Thank you very much. Alright, I'll come over."
The three girls returned to the Himemiya mansion. Kyoko couldn't help but stare at the army of maids that greeted them in the entrance hall.
"I felt the same way the first time I came here" Himeko whispered into her ear.
"Welcome home Ojou-sama" the maids chorused.
She smiled fondly at them. "This is Hayagawa Kyoko, a friend of Himeko and I" she said. "She'll be staying with us for tonight."
"Yes Ojou-sama" replied Otoha. "I will instruct the chef to prepare dinner for three tonight."
"Thank you Otoha" said Chikane.
I can't wait to tell my friends about this Kyoko thought as Himeko and Chikane showed her around. The mansion was as impressively decorated as she would have expected from such a wealthy family but in a tasteful subdued manner that didn't seem gaudy or extravagant at all.
Finally they came to a door. "Chikane-chan and I have a surprise for you" said Himeko. "Can you please close your eyes until I say so?"
She was a little bemused but replied, "Okay."
Himeko guided her to a comfortable chair and she sat down at it. Himeko also took a chair and said "okay you can open your eyes now."
Kyoko did so and her eyes widened as she saw Chikane was sitting at a gleaming black piano. She smiled fondly.
"Normally I only give these private concerts to Himeko" she said giving her girlfriend an affectionate look. "However I'll make an exception for you."
For a long moment Kyoko couldn't say anything. She had been to Chikane's concerts before, but the thought that she and Himeko were willing to extend something so personal to include her was overwhelming. "Thank you Chikane-san, Himeko-san" she managed to say after a moment.
Chikane laughed softly. "You are most welcome" she replied.
She waited a moment for the other two girls to settle back into their chairs and then she began to play. They sat and listened intently to the beautiful music as her fingers flitted over the keys, the different notes perfectly blending into each other. When the music finally ended both of them clapped enthusiastically.
"That was amazing Chikane-san" said Kyoko. "I could listen to your music for hours."
"I know exactly what you mean" Himeko agreed.
The remainder of the holiday passed without incident and they enjoyed a relaxing week hanging out with their friends. Himeko introduced them to Makoto and they attended one of her races, cheering alongside Himeko and Chikane as she came in first place.
Finally it was time to go home. Himeko, Chikane, Makoto and Soma came to the station to see them off.
"Bye Ito-san, Kyoko-san" said Himeko. "Come visit us again."
"We will" she replied. "And be sure to e-mail us."
"Absolutely" she said brightly.
When the train arrived at Chiba they were met by Akane, Rei and Yumi who greeted them warmly. "We know you've just got back so we won't ask for the whole story" said Akane. "But we're coming around later and then we want details!"
"Okay" she replied with a light giggle.
When she returned home, her parents welcomed her back lovingly. "We're so glad you're back, Kyoko" said her mother with a joyful smile. "Did you have a good time on your trip?"
"It was wonderful mother" she said as she returned her smile. "I'll tell you all about it."
She did just that and later, when her friends visited she told them too.
"Wow, that sounds like some holiday" said Yumi when she had finished.
"Yes it was" Kyoko agreed. "Even with the incident with those thugs I had an amazing time. Himeko-san and Chikane-san told me that they'll come here next week. They're looking forwards to meeting all of you."
"Seriously!" they exclaimed.
"Seriously" she repeated, smiling at them. "Now who'd like to see the pictures I brought back?"
She laughed as her friends almost fell over each other in their eagerness to see.