~Konoka's POV~
"Isn't the snow beautiful, Setsuna?" Konoka asked, staring at the scene around her in wonder. Trees were turned pure white from the snow that piled heavily onto them, and the sunlight bounced off random icicles that clung desperately onto their thick branches. A steady flow of delicate snowflakes danced around her in the crisp, winter air that stung her lungs with every breath she took. Rabbits hopped from place to place, doing their best to avoid the constant drifts that laid along the snowy paths. Mahora Academy had literally become a winter-wonder-snow land.
Setsuna mumbled something intelligible as a reply to the question. Konoka glanced at her friend worriedly, unsure whether she should be feeling happy, confused, or sad. 'Well, at least she's talking to me . . . some. I can be happy about that, but I'm just plain confused to see her acting so weird. Sometimes, I catch her looking over at me in class, but, then, she just looks away, blushing. But, I'm also sad that she's not talk too much. She's only spoken a few times to me since yesterday . . . Did the kiss really hurt her that much?'
Konoka sighed, turning her attention to the snowy ground. Her boots crunched with every step she took, making it sound like she was walking on bunch of 'Fruit Loops'. She bit her bottom lip, stifling a giggle that threatened to escape at the thought of her silly comparison. Step, crunch, step, crunch, step, crunch. 'I feel like a kid!' she thought excitedly.
"Hey, Setsuna!" Konoka giggled, pausing to look over at her friend. "The ground sounds like cereal!"
The swordsman stopped and looked over at Konoka, her hazel eyes both questionable and curious. Her bangs just slightly hung over her face, creating few shadows that danced from place to place every time she moved. Her black skinny jeans seemed to shape around her just right, and a long-sleeved purple shirt just barely peeked under the sleeve of her new jacket. The jacket itself was the same color of her jeans, and it was thick enough to keep her warm from all this harsh weather.
Snowflakes decorated the swordsman's hair freely, giving her an innocent, yet playful look. Her face was a bit red from the cold, and her breath fogged in the air every time she exhaled. Now, Konoka would be lying to herself if she didn't accepted one very obvious fact. Setsuna looked pretty damn cute.
The swordsman cleared her throat as she shuffled her boots awkwardly. Konoka's face flushed slightly as she turned her attention to the ground. She hadn't meant to stare. "I- I'm sorry!" she stammered. Setsuna waved off the apology, turning her attention back to the road as well.
Konoka continued to 'crunch' the snow, and she was soon back to giggling. Step, crunch, step, crunch, step, crunch. 'This is almost like home . . .'
step, crunch, step, crunch, step, crunch, step, PLOP! Konoka gave a small squeak of terror as she was caught off-guard by a snow drift. She blinked for a moment, confused. 'What the . . .?'
A snowflake drifted down from the cloudy sky and landed onto Konoka's nose, making her sneeze. "S- s- set- set- su- su- suna, I- I- I've g- got s- sn- snow i- in m- my c- cl- clothes!" She stammered, sneezing again. It was true; she could feel the small ice crystals rubbing against her skin as they slowly started melting. She heard a few rushed footsteps, and before she knew it, Setsuna was kneeling on the ground beside her. "Are you okay?" the swordsman asked worriedly.
Konoka nodded, sneezing again. "Y- yeah. I'm j- just r- really c- c- cold!"
Konoka squeaked in surprise as Setsuna's arms wrapped around her waist and under her knees. "Ups-a-daisy." the swordsman mumbled, pulling Konoka up into her arms with ease. This resulted in an obvious blush from Konoka. "S- Setsuna . . ." She trailed off, staring up into the swordsman's hazel eyes. They held a mixture of emotions: confusion . . . worry . . . shock . . . and even love. Setsuna looked away, averting her gaze the ground as a scarlet blush of her own spread across her face.
More than anything, Konoka wanted to hug the swordsman right now, but she knew better than to try. For, that action might result in more than just silence from the swordsman. Instead, she bit her bottom lip, as she averted her gaze away as well. "Setsuna . . ." She mumbled softly, trailing off. "You can put me down now."
Setsuna's face blazed even redder as she realized she still held the girl in her arms. The swordsman quickly, yet gently, set Konoka onto her feet as she mumbled something that sounded like an apology. Konoka could feel her own face heating up even more as well. "Oh, no. It wasn't your fault, Setsuna. I should have been watching were I stepped . . ."
Konoka heard the shuffling of feet, and she looked up worriedly. Setsuna had her hands over her ears as she shook her head in a 'No' as she backed away from her. "I'm sorry Ms. Konoka, it's just- well, I- I can't do this! I can't have these kind of thoughts!"
With that being said, Setsuna turned to run away. But, before she could, Konoka grabbed a hold of Setsuna's arm, causing the swordsman to hesitate slightly. "Setsuna . . ." she trailed off, staring up at the swordsman. "What were you thinking about . . . ?"
"P- pl- please. Please, Ms. Konoka. Don't make me tell you." Setsuna turned a pair of pleading, hazel eyes towards her. "It is shameful for me to think such things about you . . ."
Konoka tightened her grip on the Swordsman's arm as she frowned. "Setsuna."
Setsuna's gaze quickly moved to the ground at the sound of her name. She was silent for a moment, but then she whispered, "You. I was thinking about you, Konoka. I was thinking about how cute you looked when you blushed and with snowflakes in your hair. I was thinking about how cute You looked, no matter what . . ."
Konoka blinked open her eyes sleepily as she resisted the urge to yawn. Everything around her was dark;Not a light shone anywhere in the room. She could instantly tell it was still too early in the morning for school. 'Why did it have to end? I was having such a wonderful dream . . .'
Konoka closed her eyes again as she tried to catch any trace her fleeting dream before it left her mind for good. She might as well have tried to get Haruna to stop being such a pervert. With a small sigh, Konoka gave up, and she let her mind drift off to other thoughts peacefully. 'I really wish I could dream of Setsuna more often . . .'
***Setsuna's POV***
Setsuna yawned as she laced up both worn her training boots without paying the slightest attention to what she was doing. One word- habit. "I can't believe Eva's having me come over this early in the morning . . ." Setsuna grumbled under her breath. "It's not even the crack of dawn, yet."
She sighed, shaking her head. "Quite complaining and finish getting ready, Setsuna. You're the one who asked Eva to train you, so you could protect the one you love . . ."
Setsuna eyes widened with shock as she realized what she had just said. 'Th- th- the one I- I love . . .?'
Her mind instantly flew to the memory of kiss that had happened between her and Konoka so recently . . .
She could still feel the warmth of Konoka's body when the girl had held her so close. She could remember the soft, silky feeling of her hair from when she had ran her fingers through it. But, the most memorable part was the kiss itself. When Setsuna had felt Konoka's lips pressed against hers, she had never felt any joy greater than this in her life. She had never felt love so strongly before . . .
That's why she had thought it to be a dream. And, because of her mistake, she had consciously kissed Konoka back. In dreams, there are no real consequences;She knew this. But, in life, there were consequences;Plenty of them. 'All is fair in love and war', as the old saying went . . . but . . . it was wrong. War may be fair, but Love isn't.
Setsuna knew this deep down in her soul, heart, and mind, yet she still yearned for Konoka. She wanted to stay at the girl's side, as more than just a friend. She wanted to be the one who held her at night, protecting her from the darkness that lurked in this world. She wanted to be the one who held her hand each and every day, guiding her through her life with joyous steps and loving words. But, most of all, she wished she could share another kiss with her.
If only . . . If only she had the chance . . . If only she could . . .
Setsuna shook her head from side-to-side, harshly, to snap herself out of the daze she had fallen into. 'No!' She thought desperately. 'I can't be thinking about Ms. Konoka like this! It is unlawful for me to think such things about her. Besides, I am her Swordsman, and that's all I'll ever be to her . . .'
Setsuna sighed as she went to push herself to her feet. Her hand brush against something soft, and she heard the crinkling of paper. She blinked in surprise and looked down at where her hand was now resting. A clean, white envelope – sealed shut – bared the name, 'Ms Konoka.' written upon the back of it. "What the . . . ?"
Setsuna flipped the envelope to the front, and she nearly face-palmed when she saw the words, 'From- Setsuna' written neatly upon it in black ink. "I completely forgot!" She groaned. "I wrote a note to Ms. Konoka, telling her I won't be able to walk her to school . . ."
'Well, I guess it's good luck that I found it before I left.' Setsuna thought. 'Konoka would be worried if I didn't show up without notice . . . I wonder why Eva is keeping me until the lunch period begins. . .'
Setsuna shrugged, pushing herself to her feet, stretching as she did. "Well, I don't want to be late. Eva might drink every last drop of my blood if I am." She sighed. Setsuna finished stretching, and walked towards the entrance of her room, strapping her sword to her waist on the way. She pushed her door open silently, peering out into the hallway. The only sound she heard was the continuous humming of electricity.
Setsuna sighed happily, glad to be able to avoid all the usual morning drama. That was usually a pain to always go through. The streets would be crowded for at least an hour; vendors were constantly ranting on and on about their 'low priced items' and so on; there was a lot of shouting, hugging, and – yes – even kissing.
'All this trouble, just to avoid a little drama . . . damn, Eva . . . now that I think about it . . . I get why you always skip school.'
Setsuna gave a small huff of laughter as she closed the door shut behind her. Sometimes, she wished she could just skip school like that, but the thought of Konoka waiting for her had always pulled her away from the silly thought. She shook her head slightly to clear her it of whatever random thoughts lay in it. "You don't need anymore distractions, Setsuna." She scowled herself, starting to walk down the hall. "You already have enough . . ."
"Like what, Konoka's butt? You stare at it enough." a voice snicked suddenly, making her jump. "D- do not!" Setsuna defended, reaching for her sword as she glanced around warily. Surprisingly, she didn't see anyone . . .
"Yo, down here lover girl!"
Setsuna blinked, confused, but she glanced downward. She nearly face-palmed . . . again. An ermine smiled up at the swordsman, his tail twitching slightly. "Wassup?"
Setsuna sighed, letting the hilt of her sword go. "Chamo, what do you want now . . . ? And what's with the weird nickname?"
Chamo shrugged – if that was even possible– as he lit a random cigar. Where he got it from, Setsuna didn't have the slightest clue. "Well, I'll answer you're first question. Asuna kicked me out for the time being." he sighed, blowing out some smoke. "She gave me a half-hour long lecture before tossing me out the door. She literally picked me up and tossed me outside. The she slammed the freaking door in my face . . . my nose still hurts . . . "
Chamo rubbed his nose with his free hand, er, paw with another sigh. Setsuna knew she might regret this, but she asked anyway. "So, why did Asuna kick you out?"
Chamo blew out another puff of smoke as he looked up at her calmly. "I think she said it was something about me making Konoka uncomfortable or whatever. I didn't really pay much attention."
Setsuna ground her teeth as she resisted the urge to cut this ermine into two. "What did you do to make Ms. Konoka uncomfortable?" She asked, closing her eyes and rubbing her forehead. For some reason, she could feel a slight headache . . .
"I said something about her underwear, probably. But, I think it was because I was teasing her about you." Chamo replied with a laugh.
Setsuna's head snapped up suddenly. "You . . . what?"
Chamo's broad grin instantly made her regret the question. "I was teasing her about you. She just kept getting redder and redder and redder! Which brings us to your second question." his grin widened, causing her to grip her sword's handle again. "Do you remember anything from when the darkness caught you yesterday?"
Setsuna's grip relaxed, but she didn't let go of the sword. "N- no . . . why?"
"First off, you said some hurtful stuff to Konoka. You should really apologize." He replied, breathing out some more smoke. "Second, I called you lover girl because you said-"
He was cut off by a fast-paced, high-pitched ringing. He pulled out a small cell-phone from some random, hidden place. Again, Setsuna had no clue. "Well, that's my cue! See you later, Setsuna . . . I'm going to where no ermine has ever dared to venture before – Haruna's panties drawer!"
With that, the ermine scrambled away quickly and quietly. "Pervert!" Setsuna called after the rodent. "Hey, what can I say? An ermine's gotta live!" He shouted back, before disappearing from her sight. "He's a dead ermine walking." She shook her head as she glanced at her surroundings. Konoka's room was only a few more doors down the hall. The swordsman slowly made her way to the door, swallowing nervously.
She raised her hand to knock, but she stopped herself short. What if Konoka was sleeping at the moment? It would be rude of her to wake her up. Plus, Asuna did have a job, so she needed her rest. Also, Negi was still a child, so he did need to rest up. He would need all his strength to run away from the students of class 3-A.
Setsuna smiled slightly as she took a hold of the door's knob. 'Please be unlocked . . .'
The swordsman took a deep breath, and she tried the door . . .
It opened with no problem. The swordsman gave a sigh of relief before stepping into the room. Setsuna hesitated for a moment as she got used to the sudden darkness. When she did, the swordsman ventured further into the room. 'Jeez, trespassing. What have I come to?' She thought, rolling her eyes.
She searched around for a table to set the letter upon, and she wasn't disappointed. There was one right in the middle of the room.
She quietly made her way over to it, glancing up at the bunk-bed Konoka and Asuna shared. Negi, yet again, had crawled into the bed with Asuna, and the girl was hugging him like a teddy bear. Both seemed completely at peace – for now. Later on, Setsuna was sure there would be plenty of screaming. 'I wish you the best of luck, Negi . . .' She thought, shaking her head.
Turning her attention to the bottom bunk, she noticed Konoka had managed to fall halfway out of bed. She must have kicked the blanket off first, because it was sitting on the floor, and her head was resting upon it. She murmured something that sounded a bit like 'big, scary dog' before shifting slightly.
Setsuna shook her head sadly. "I really do have to protect you, don't I Ms. Konoka?" She laughed. "You can't even manage to stay in bed."
Setting the letter on the table, Setsuna made her way over to the sleeping Konoka. She gently lifted the girl into her arms, smiling as she did. 'Ms. Konoka really is cute . . .'
She sighed, staring up at the ceiling. "You're going to catch a cold if you sleep on the floor, Ms. Konoka. You should really stay in bed."
She frowned, realizing she had spoken her thoughts aloud.'I really need to think before I say something.'
She sighed, once again, before squeaking in surprise as a pair of arms wrapped around her neck. She quickly looked down, shocked to see a pair of chocolate brown eyes staring up at her sleepily. "I'm sorry, Se-chan . . ." Konoka murmured, snuggling up against the swordsman. "It won't happen again. Promise."
Setsuna felt her face grow warm, and she knew she was blushing. She hadn't been called by that name since she was a child. "K- Konoka . . .?" She stuttered, feeling her face grow warmer with every passing second. The girl only responded by tightening her grip on the swordsman. Setsuna bit her lower lip, unsure what to do.
'What do I do? I have to be at Evangeline's really, really soon . . . and Ms. Konoka's hanging onto me . . .'
"Ms. Konoka, I need you to let go, okay?" Setsuna mumbled. "I have to go."
"Don't go." Konoka protested softly. Despite what she just said, her grip on the swordsman loosened. Gently, Setsuna laid the girl back onto the bed. "I'm sorry. I have to, if I want to get stronger. If I'm stronger, I can protect you better." She whispered. Picking the blanket off of the floor, she pulled it over Konoka and tucked the edges around the girl.
"I'll take my leave now." Setsuna stated, brushing a strand of hair out of Konoka's face. "Very well . . . Good night Se-chan." She replied, now snuggling into the pillow.
Setsuna smiled. "Good Night, Konoka."
**Chamo POV**
Chamo quietly made his way across the carpeted floor of Haruna's room. "They said it could never be done . . ." He snickered. "But I made it."
He quickly spotted the destination of his intentions, resisting the urge to jump with glee. Finally, he would make legends, for no ermine has ever dared to do this before! He would venture to where no man, woman, or child has ever gone!
"Finally, I've finished my quest! I claim this territory for us ermines!" Chamo yelled, forgetting he was in a room of sleeping girls. Launching himself onto the top drawer of the chosen dresser, he chuckled. "Now, I just need to open you . . ."
He tugged on the handle, and . . . it wouldn't budge.
"W- what?!" He tugged on it again, as he began to feel really nervous. No matter how much he pushed or pulled on the drawer, it just wouldn't budge. "Maybe it's locked . . ." He muttered, looking around. "Where are you . . . here key, come to papa!"
He jumped down from the dresser before poking his head under it. "Where are you . . .?"
A low chuckle mad him freeze, and his blood ran cold. Slowly, he turned around. Haruna was standing there, her eyes narrowed with suspicion, but she smiled like a mad man. Her grin widened as she held up a single key. "Looking for something?"
'God help me!'
**Konoka POV**
"Jeez, First Asuna leaves for overtime at work, and now Setsuna's left me for extra training. Plus, Negi had to leave at the same time as Asuna. Why am I getting left behind?" Konoka sighed. She stared at the ground sadly as she pushed open the dorm's door. She instantly shivered from the sudden cold. "I just wanted to walk with Setsuna." She mumbled. Pulled her coat around her tighter, she closed the door behind her.
"Ma'am."
Konoka squeaked in surprise at the sound of a voice. She quickly looked over her shoulder to see a man with blonde hair and blue eyes hold out his hand to her. He smiled warmly at her before continuing. "May I walk you to school, Miss?"
*** And, the end. I know my chapters can be a bit rushed, so I tried to slow this one down a bit. Tell me what you think. If it's really negative, then um . . . don't say anything, okay? 'cause I'm really easy to bring down, guys. Anyway, thanks to those who reviewed. If you have any questions/ideas, PM me. Well, buy then. ~Angel981 ***
