5 – ties
The sky was a colourful gradient, hues ranging from red to blue. The sun set early tonight, though not so early that it would deter Ayaka and Gou from enjoying their evening.
Besides, it was a Friday – the shops would be open until late. It had been a while since the two of them had hung out, even longer since Ayaka had the chance to go shopping. She missed the sensation, the promise and potential of inviting new clothes into her life. She also had no problem acknowledging that this love would likely become an obsession later in life. If not for her lack of money, Ayaka would have a wardrobe full of shoes right now.
"Is there anywhere else you want to go?" Gou asked suddenly, breaking the peaceful silence.
"Not really. You wanna just go straight to Satsuki's?"
"Sure. Maybe she can sneak us some free bread."
Ayaka laughed fleetingly, throwing her friend a playful wink. "That's the way to think; no wonder I like you so much, Kou."
"And thank you for respecting what I want to be called."
"No problem."
Gou nodded happily, pace picking up just a little bit. Ayaka wasn't sure if it was the promise of Satsuki's bakery, or Satsuki herself, but she went along with it anyway. Perhaps if things went along promisingly, she and Gou might end up staying the night at Satsuki's house, which was just next door to their family bakery. It had been a while since the three had hung out together outside of school.
The thought provided an excellent conversation starter. "So, how's the swim club going?" Ayaka asked.
"Alright," Gou decided after a moment, "They need some serious work, though. We're trying to organise a training camp at the moment."
"Hm, yeah, I think Makoto mentioned something like that to me in class."
"We don't have the money, but I'm sure they'll figure something out."
"Well you and your supervising teacher might want to be careful if you don't want to get roped into camping." Ayaka remarked.
"Like I would ever," Gou replied playfully, "That'd wreck my hair."
"I do love your hair." agreed Ayaka, nodding with a theatrical sense of profoundness.
Gou flashed her a grin, tossing her hair about at the same time. It caught the light, the warm glow of sunset reflecting beautifully.
"Has Matsuoka been home again?" Ayaka wondered suddenly.
"Once more," Gou confirmed, "You miss him?"
Laughter echoed around the street. "Miss Matsuoka? Kou, that's the entire point! I would lose the bet if I didn't miss him!"
"That's an excuse, and you know it."
"I hardly know him." Ayaka objected.
"What's his favourite food?"
"He likes spicy foods a lot," the blonde retorted quickly, "But that doesn't mean anything. You only asked that because I've been at your house enough and your mum mentions it at, like, every meal time."
Gou huffed irritably, thoroughly and undisputedly proven wrong. "You like him." She insisted anyway.
"I like anyone who's cute enough," dismissed Ayaka, "Besides, what are you trying to do? Set me up with your own brother?"
The younger girl remained silent, lips sealed indefinitely. She smiled, eyes crinkling at the corners, but there was nothing more than innocence in her expression. Ayaka resigned herself to the mystery, however perplexing the concept was.
"Oh," announced Ayaka suddenly, "The bakery."
"Well, come on then!" enthused Gou.
Ayaka opened her mouth, but that was as far as she got. A hand around her wrist prevented her from speaking any further, as Gou dragged her forward recklessly.
Using her persistence to her advantage, the younger girl ensured they reached the bakery door in no time at all. Ayaka glanced up at the sign above the door, to brief to read the writing, before the doors opened automatically and a swell of warm air rushed out to greet them.
Gou tugged Ayaka inside, who stumbled across the threshold but quickly regained her balance. She glanced around, completely unruffled by the affair.
Satsuki sat behind the register, looking down at what was, presumably, a magazine.
While Gou pressed a finger to her lips, Ayaka carelessly announced, "Satsuki, you have customers in need."
The brunette glanced up quickly, hazel eyes flashing ominously. "Doesn't look like you need any help."
"Well, Kou needs help."
Satsuki's thin eyebrow remained poised, sceptical of anything coming out Ayaka's mouth.
It was Gou who replied, unhelpfully, with a brief, "I don't understand her either."
"She seems to think that it's okay to set her big brother up with girls." elaborated Ayaka, surprisingly serious. It was true she wouldn't do the same for her older brother – who had never needed any help anyway – and that experience was certainly a reason that could be partially attributed to her confusion.
"Why are you asking me? I'm an only child." Satsuki pointed out, eyes returning to her magazine disinterestedly.
"But you must have some opinion!"
"My opinion is that you two are both idiots."
"How mean." Gou rebuked the statement immediately, crossing her arms defensively.
Ayaka, who was not so easily defeated, began to march towards the counter. Once there, she leant her elbows on the surface and slid across to her friend conspiringly. "If anything," she whispered loudly, "I think we need to set Kou up. That Samezuka swimming guy, Mikoshiba, was interested, if I recall correctly."
"Hm?" Satsuki finally looked up, attention on Gou, "You like someone?"
"No," the red-haired girl objected, perhaps a little too quickly, "Mikoshiba just called me cute."
"Mikoshiba is an honest guy." Ayaka added.
"And honesty is an admirable trait." Satsuki's addition was welcomed warmly, as it wasn't often she joined in on teasing someone.
Gou shuffled her feet sideways. "Well…"
A snort of laughter ended the mischief, with Satsuki quickly clamping a hand over her mouth. She blushed as little as she could, embarrassed under the weight of two, scrutinizing stares and the sound she hadn't known she could make.
"How attractive," Ayaka smirked, "I can really see how Haruka is so charmed by you now."
"I know that was sarcasm, but it'd be nice if you actually had proof he was." sighed Satsuki.
Gou paused her inspection of the baked goods briefly to offer a question. "I thought everything was good between you two?"
"Maybe. It's hard to tell with Haruka."
"Just ask him straight up, if you're not sure about it or you want to know something." Gou advised wisely, hands on her hips.
Ayaka agreed wholeheartedly. "Haruka is definitely not the type to let you know how he feels explicitly. I'm sure, though, if you talk to him about how you feel, he'll listen to you, Satsuki."
Satsuki merely sighed, her chin falling against palm in an exhausted motion. Her shoulders slumped with the weight of her worries, and in turn, Ayaka felt responsible for sharing the burden. As the older of the two, if only by a few months, she had always felt something sibling-like between them. Perhaps knowing each other for as long and closely as they did had influenced that, but Ayaka had also always wanted to make up for the sibling Satsuki lacked.
"Okay, now that's cleared up," Gou announced happily, "I wanna buy some food!"
Ayaka, hip leaning against the register's counter, smiled. "Get going then, Satsuki, show us how much fun it is working here."
"Get a job and find out yourself."
"A job?" Ayaka laughed, "No way. The stress would ruin my complexion."
Gou's interest perked at the topic, and she spun to face her two older friends. "You don't have a job, Ayaka?"
The blonde shook her head. "Used to, but then I quit to focus on exams. Turns out I'm above you poor-people."
"You're very lucky that you have rich parents." The girl stated, not realising that herself was one of these lucky people. Even with just their mother around, they lived comfortably enough.
"God knows how you and your brother would survive without them." Clued in Satsuki, "Now, Gou, what do you want today?"
"The scroll and what's that chocolate one? Let's try it as well."
Ayaka shifted her weight, her hips swivelling once more. She leant back, elbows on the counter, and watched her friends with tired eyes. She had spent the nights lying awake for too long. It came as a result of a combination of things, a universe carefully structured and in perfect balance. For one, she stayed awake waiting for her brother to come, and for another, the internet was a promising allure. There were a plethora of weird phenomena for her to discover and consequentially send as links to Rin – not that he was ever too happy about being woken up in the middle of the night.
From within the depths of the store, the back of the shop, a voice called out suddenly and sharply. "Satsuki!"
The girl in question turned, abandoning Gou, but made it no further than a few steps. The woman that emerged was short, hair-greying, with a plump figure and face. There was not a doubt about who she was, particularly given that it was not the first time Ayaka had met Satsuki's mother.
Saki Moriyama had the same hazel eyes as her daughter, however different they might seem when wide with wonder. "Oh, girls, you're here as well!" she exclaimed suddenly.
"Of course." Ayaka replied.
"We love your bakery!" Gou added.
"Personally," Satsuki argued, contradicting in her good-nature tone, "I think they just wanted to pester me."
"Nonsense," Saki dismissed, "Satsuki and Gou are too sweet for that."
"Mum, be serious."
"I am."
"You really aren't."
Ayaka pushed herself upright, skin immediately warming after leaving the cool countertop. "You shouldn't talk to your mum like that, Satsuki."
"Like you would know so much about talking to mums." The other retorted quickly, before stopping short. She hadn't thought before saying those words, only afterwards realizing what she may have caused. Satsuki kicked herself for not being more sensitive about Ayaka's mother's own absence, despite it merely being her work that caused her to travel so much.
"Don't worry," Ayaka dismissed, before her friend could even so much as open her mouth to apologise, "It's fair enough anyway, seeing as I didn't come here to see you. I actually just missed your mum."
Saki beamed and Satsuki glowered.
"You really are a sweet girl." Saki declared happily.
"Um," Gou interrupted, "I'm kinda more interested in these pastries."
Her refreshing voice, devoid of any second meaning, recovered all their senses. It brought a smile to Satsuki's lips, a soft curve that proved infectious. Ayaka's own grin was fleeting, a ghost that drifted to and from in seconds.
It was entirely in her nature to become sentimental – less so that her thoughts wandered to Rin. That was a habit she needed to bring to an end, and for fear of that end being brought to her, sooner was surely better than later.
You remember that oneshot I was writing? For Haruka and Satsuki? It's finally posted. You can find it under the title 'Hardest Of Hearts', if you're interested.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter!