Author's Note: It's been too long guys, it really has. I'd rather not write any long explanations right now but instead, I want to let you get straight into the story.This short follows couple, Chikaru and Shion, on their ride to the airport and a brief little comedy dialogue between the two, that takes a turn for the worst.
Extra:
Decode it Detective!
Shortly after visiting the Aoi household and witnessing the touching reunion between Nagisa and Shizuma, Chikaru and Shion were forced to leave, otherwise they'd be late for their flight. They had a few pick ups to make along the way, so they really needed as much time as they can get. Shion, being an organizational genius, had no problems setting up a perfect schedule that even allowed a few extra minutes for Chikaru's inevitable detours. Of course, she didn't tell her girlfriend about this extra time, mostly to avoid the gross misuse of it.
"Hmm, I wonder if Hex-san is still at his hideout. I wouldn't mind stopping by to play a little bit." Chikaru giggled.
"We don't have time for that." Shion sighed. "First we have to pick up Yaya and then Amane; then we have to meet Shino and Miyuki halfway to the airport at the place where they're staying, and then we'll all drive to the airport together." the blonde counted off everything from her fingers.
"Yaya and Amane I can understand, but with Miyuki and Shino as well? Where are they all going to sit? This car just doesn't have the room." Chikaru placed a finger on her chin. "Everyone might need to lap up. Shino's so shy but I don't think he and Miyuki will be a problem, but Yaya and Amane… No matter how you imagine it, it seems wrong."
Seriously contemplating the thought, Shion cupped her chin thoughtfully. "That's true, I'm getting a headache just thinking about it." She hummed to herself meditatively. "Wait…" as if her mind finally processed something. Trying to avoid yelling, Shion gritted her teeth, allowing her words to be forced through hushed but growling. "You already know they rented a chauffer."
"Ah, now that you say it, I do remember you mentioning that." Chikaru mused. "I'm surprised you actually got swept into that one." the raven-haired girl giggled.
The blonde leaned back in her seat, rubbing her temples to combat an oncoming migraine; a gesture she grew all too familiar with. "My capacity for dealing with these things is wearing thin. That maddening gift of yours to sweep any and everybody into your pace will cost me my sanity."
"But I've heard insanity can be very exciting!" Chikaru reasoned as their car pulled up to a red light. "Besides, trying so hard to keep everything together is so boring. You're stressing yourself out by being too calculating. Sometimes you just have to make room and let the unexpected happen!"
Shion sighed. "You make it sound so simple, but it feels like astrophysics to me. I'm not even sure if I'm capable of that kind of thinking.", releasing yet another sigh, this time in self-disappointment.
"But you did it just now, and you didn't even realize it at first. Don't think about it and just let your mind drift." adding emphasis with her hands.
"Easier said than done." Shion mumbled.
"Oh come on…" Chikaru pouted childishly.
"Oh by the way," the blonde stretched, looking up at the car roof, "I've been meaning to ask this but it slipped my mind 'til now."
"I wonder what it could be." Chikaru giggled, changing gears as the traffic light shone green.
"That message you got from Kaname a while back, the coded one. It's been bothering me for awhile, I still don't get it."
"Wow, have you been thinking about it all this time?" Chikaru gasped with marvel. "And you haven't gotten it yet? You're usually so good with puzzles, and this one was so simple."
"Do- Don't rub it in!" Shion stuttered. "I'm just off my game… is all." she muterred.
Taking in yet another exaggerated gasp of air, the raven haired trickster continued to tease her girlfriend. "Could it be that the answer is so simple that your overly-complex mind ignored such an obvious solution?"
Becoming irritated Shion flared, "Like I said, it's not tha-"
"Quickly!"
"Huh-"
"What is one plus one?"
Shion sank in her chair, eyebrow twitching ever so slightly as she felt her temperature rising dangerously. Restraining herself from yelling, she forced her voice, lined with a slight growl. "You… What exactly are you implying about me?"
Feigning innocence, the raven-haired girl spoke with an overly sweet tone. "Whatever do you mean? I had the best intentions in the world."
The two sat silently, Shion rubbing her temples and Chikaru watching the road. Suddenly, Chikaru broke the silence with an uncharacteristic seriousness donning her face. "Hey…" she called for her lover's attention.
"What?" Shion spoke quietly, just recovering from sky-high temperatures.
"Does this mean…"
Looking over at the dark-haired driver, Shion immediately caught the solemn expression on her lover's face. She swallowed before responding. "Does this mean what?" she asked curiously.
"Does this mean… you won't answer the question?"
In an instant Shion felt her blood reach the boiling point and she couldn't stop herself from yelling, "It's two!"
"Omedetou!" Chikaru clapped, removing her hands from the wheel for a few moments only to catch the wheel as the car began to swerve slightly. "Now about that text."
"No forget it, I regret mentioning it now." the blonde grumbled.
"Aww, don't say that! We'll take it on together." Chikaru winked, handing her significant other her cell-phone. It was already displaying the message in question.
"The most important piece in our game seems to
be misplaced thanks to some outside interference.
I can't be bothered with such a pick-up, but a certain
strawberry requested some help on the matter. So will
the crow, along with its golden retriever, swipe up
that silver-spoon; or will our playtime end with
this little foul?"
"Well, I already established that the silver-spoon was Shizuma, and you already identified yourself as the crow when you narrated that introduction upon our meeting with Kaname's older brother. 'A strawberry' is obviously Nagisa, given Kaname's nickname for her. And the rest of the message seems pretty straight-forward. There's just this one part…"
"Hmm," Chikaru whistled. "You've figured out most of it, what could possibly be giving you trouble?"
"Golden retriever…" she drawled hesitantly. Shion looked at the message almost cross-eyed with a slightly childish frustration.
Chikaru couldn't stifle her laughter. In fact, she broke out in fits of it.
"What's so funny about it?" Shion spat in defense.
"It's you." Chikaru managed between laughter.
"What about me?"
Chikaru pulled the car to the side and parked, aware that she couldn't drive in her condition. She placed a finger on the phone screen, winking at her girlfriend as she pointed out, "You're the golden retriever."
"Me!? Compared to a dog! The nerve of that Kaname." The former Spica president growled.
"You can't look at it like that." Chikaru hiccupped, still trying to recover from her torrent of laughter. Wiping an invisible tear from her eye she explained, "Golden retrievers aren't just any breed of dog. They are super intelligent and are capable of effectively playing a variety of roles. And their confidence is nearly unmatched in the canine family."
Feeling the sudden inflation to her ego, Shion tried to feign modesty though utterly failing. "Well, I guess it can't be helped that such impeccable traits come to mind when thinking of me." she gave a slight chuckle under her breath, unable to hide the smirk that she wore.
"Not only that…" Chikaru removed her seatbelt, thankful that the vacant lot she pulled in seemed unused and abandoned. In a swift and gentle movement, she placed herself on her lover's lap, nestling her face into the sea of blonde tresses. Her voice muffled by the golden locks, she continued, "They are famed for their loyalty, trust-worthiness, and gentleness. Their standard is described as kindly, friendly, and confident. And…" Chikaru paused for a moment, pulling Shion's face towards her own and staring deeply into her eyes.
Shion felt herself go breathless. She was left stunned by the gaze of those golden orbs that seemed to steal the breath right out of her. She got lost trying to explore those deep, mysterious eyes. It was something that almost scared her, rocking her down to her very core, and sent shivers down her spine. She swallowed dryly. "And?" she urged.
Chikaru smirked slyly. "And those are all the traits that made me fall in love with you." she whispered seductively. Within seconds she locked onto the lips just shivering below her, merging their two forms into one.
"We really don't have the time for this." Shion thought, her plan coming to mind as she continued to lock lips with the raven-haired beauty above her. But all ability to think clearly left her when she felt the firm, commanding tongue snake its way into her mouth and began to dominate. "Well… whatever…" was the last thought that entered her head as she lost herself to the pleasure.
"You two took so long, the rest of us decided to head out without you." Miyuki explained over the phone.
"Is that so?" Shion laughed nervously, mentally kicking herself for allowing herself to be swept up in the moment again.
"Well, you two better get here quickly, they'll be calling for passengers any second now."
"Of course, we'll be there in no time. I'll be sure of it."
Miyuki sighed on the other end. "It's not you I'm worried about you."
The phone clicked and that was that. Shion turned on her heels to face her lover angrily while said girl only looked up at the sky humming, feigning ignorance and innocence.
The two stood outside the hotel Yaya and Tsubomi were staying in. They were supposed to meet Yaya and Amane out front who decided they would leave together rather than call two separate taxis. It was difficult for both older girls seeing as they would have to leave their little kouhai who were still in school. Double so for Yaya who was especially close with both girls, Hikari, her best friend, and Tsubomi, her girlfriend (though if you asked her she wouldn't admit it).
After the two finished their moment of intimacy and Shion finally came to her senses she realized they were more than just a little late to meet the girls at said location. She even took the keys and drove like mad, hoping the girls would still be there. Much to her distraught, the meeting spot was empty and a guard on duty said he saw the two leave almost half an hour earlier.
Now, after contacting the others and explaining the situation, obviously leaving out some information, she was left to deal with one more thing. Chikaru's childish irresponsibility; the thing that got them in this mess to begin with.
"If we were the ones that had to pick them up, things would be far more problematic than they are now! Do you realize that?" Shion scolded fiercely.
"But we weren't." Chikaru pointed out.
"That's not the point Chikaru. You have to take on some responsibility some time."
"I do!" Chikaru defended, genuinely hurt by the accusation.
"Do you?" she challenged raising a blonde brow. "It's always been this way, since school. You're brilliant but you waste your time with these silly childish games and I'm starting to get sick of it!"
Shion immediately felt a pang of regret, her stomach turning to knots as what she said really sank into her conscience. But, her pride wouldn't let her scowl falter and her anger wouldn't let her stop her tirade.
"Is that all?" Chikaru asked, not making eye-contact with the other girl.
"Yea." Shion started to calm herself down.
Before anyone could do anything about it, Chikaru jumped in her car and left the her former passenger dumbstruck. Shion immediately started calling Chikaru's phone, futilely running down the street towards the car she couldn't hope in a million years to catch up to.
Each time the phone rang, the call was immediately dropped until finally, it just stopped ringing. Despite getting the same recorded message each time she tried, Shion kept calling and calling for about twenty minutes until she finally got an answer. By this time, the blonde had returned to the hotel they were supposed to meet Yaya and Amane at. The security allowed her to sit in the lobby for the time being.
"Chikaru! Oh thank God you answered, where are you!?" Shion tried to keep calm.
"…I went to the most comfortable place I could think of." Chikaru spoke nearly emotionlessly.
Shion shivered slightly at the sound of Chikaru's voice. It was the first time she spoke so lifelessly, there was no hint of her usual melody at all. It was frightening, disheartening even. And Shion couldn't help but feel responsible. "Where's that? I'll take a taxi there as soon as possi-"
"That's all I'm going to tell you. You figure it out."
"Enough of these silly games I'm genuinely worried about-"
"If you still think it's a silly game then don't bother looking."
"Chi-" She was cut off by the sound of the click. "The most comfortable place she could think of?" Shion probed her mind.
She called Kaname, who didn't bother picking up. She called Hex, who said he hadn't seen her since the two left. She didn't bother calling Shizuma, it was obvious Chikaru wasn't there. She picked her mind for hours, calling different places and checking nearby parks and game parlors. And finally, she mentally slapped herself for not realizing it sooner.
The most comfortable place Chikaru could think of, it's so obvious Shion was shocked it wasn't her first choice. Maybe Chikaru was right about what she said earlier… But now wasn't the time for that, she had to go see her raven-haired love right away.
Immediately the blonde hopped up and hailed a taxi, to whom she gave an all-too-familiar set of directions to. She arrived in less than half an hour since departing to have her suspicions confirmed. Indeed, the small, black, antiquated Benz sat misplaced among the forest trail.
Shion got out of the taxi and trotted toward the car only to find the driver missing. After exploring further down the path she had walked so many times before, she finally saw a beautiful figure laying against a large, iron gate. She approached and plopped herself right next to the resting figure, wrapped up in a blanket.
"I found you." Shion whispered, holding onto the woman next to her as if she would slip away any second.
Chikaru smiled. "Omedetou.", speaking just as hushed as her lover though still not looking at her.
"I'm sorry I got so mad at you and ended up making you mad at me." Shion smiled.
Chikaru laughed at the girl's amusing way of putting things. "I'm not mad at you."
"You were."
"I wasn't. I was just a little… shocked. That's all." For the first time in a long while, Chikaru finally looked up a Shion finally making eye-contact. "I'm sorry I made you so mad, I took it too far this time. I swear it won't happen again." She took the blonde girl's hand and locked her fingers between hers.
Shion chuckled slightly. "I know it'll happen again, in fact I hope it does."
Chikaru was slightly confused though could only give a gentle smile and a relieved sigh while nestling herself into the girl's nape. "Why do you hope that?" she spoke into the soft, white skin she rested against.
"Because… I think that moments like these are worth it."
Both shared a brief kiss before breaking it and resting their foreheads together.
"I think we'll have to buy new plane tickets though."
"That's alright." The raven-haired girl breathed. "I rescheduled our flight the other day. Our plane doesn't leave for another few days." she spoke as she replaced her head back on the other girl's shoulder.
Though shocked for a quick second, the blonde quickly regained composure and couldn't help but laugh at herself silently. "Yea, I should've seen that coming. Someone like you doesn't know the meaning of irresponsible."
Author's Note: This ended up being longer than expected. I worked straight through Christmas Eve, plan on doing the same thing tomorrow, and for the whole week until New Year's, which I'm hoping will be the final release and ending of this story. I've dragged my feet for too long and I have to take advantage of this break, seeing that if I don't, you guys would have to wait until June to get another update. I can't have that! So if all goes well, you'll be seeing another update tomorrow. If not, I'll say Merry Christmas now!