A/N: This is Nozomi's part. I breifly posted a version of this as part 2, before I replaced part 2 with Kotori's part. This has been revised to be more inline with the previous two chapters. I hope you continue to enjoy it. ^^
The cards indicated that something wonderful and amazing would happen to Toujou Nozomi today. So when she opened her shoe locker to change into her indoor shoes and found a letter inside, she was much more interested in it than she would normally be. Nozomi didn't normally put much faith in the declarations of love and companionship that she got on occasion from other students, but since the cards had foretold a fortunate change in her life that day, she was willing to at least read the letter and give consideration to the person who had sent it.
Nozomi spent the morning feeling thoroughly distracted by the idea that someone might actually have a crush on her. She couldn't read the letter until lunch, and the thought of what it might contain distracted her from an otherwise boring series of classes. She couldn't recall what she was supposed to be learning, but she wasn't too worried about that. She would just call her friend and classmate, Yazawa Nico, in the evening and ask her about it, so that she knew what to study later.
When lunch time finally rolled around, Nozomi quickly packed her things and headed up to the music room. She has eaten lunch there with her childhood friend, Nishikino Maki, ever since the beginning of term, when Maki took a liking to playing the piano that was situated near the window whenever she had free time. Nozomi has two childhood friends who both attended school with her, but her other friend, Kotori, often ate lunch with her other friends.
Nozomi sat down next to her friend, who greeted her with a reserved 'Hey,' and pulled the letter and her food out of her bag. Nozomi contemplated the letter in her hand while she ate her lunch, uncertain whether she wanted to open it or wait until later. She thought that maybe if she opened it now, she might be disappointed in its contents, but if she didn't open it, she might miss her chance at whatever good fortune was supposed to be coming her way.
"What's that?" Her hesitation drew Maki's attention and as her eyes flickered to Maki's disinterested expression, that was most assuredly feigned, and back to the letter, she let a mischievous smile cross her face. She can't ever resist teasing her junior when she leaves herself so open.
"Hmm? Oh, this is just a love letter from my beautiful and kind future girlfriend. Why? Does Maki-chan want to go out on a date with me instead?" Nozomi doesn't know for certain that the person who wrote the letter is beautiful or kind, but she liked to think that the person she was going to end up with would be both of those things. Nozomi would give anything to receive a confession from the student council president, who she believes is the most beautiful and kind person she has ever seen, but she can't bring herself to hope that the letter would be from her. Maki's face had turned red now, and she looked like she is having a really hard time speaking over her indignation. Nozomi could feel her lips twitch as she held back her laughter at Maki's expression.
Maki merely huffed and turned back to her food, choosing to pretend that she wasn't the slightest bit interested in what Nozomi was doing. Now that she was done teasing Maki for the moment, Nozomi decided that it would be too much of a waste to not read the letter now. She had to make sure that she didn't miss out on her opportunity.
'Dear Toujou-san, I have sort of liked you ever since we shared a class in our first year. I think you are a wonderful person and I would be grateful for the chance to get to know you better. I know that you have probably never even considered me before, but if there is even a possibility that I could win your heart, then please go out with me. I will be waiting for you under the tree near the alpacas after clubs let out this evening. Meet me there if your answer is yes.'
The letter wasn't signed, so there was very little indication of who had written it. Nozomi was sort of curious to know who the letter was from, but she also was a little wary of going to meet someone she might not even know. Now she had a dilemma, she could go and see who had written the letter and maybe give them a chance, or she could forget about the whole thing. She decided to think about it awhile longer before making her choice.
The afternoon classes flew by in a flash, as far as Nozomi was concerned. Her mind was lost in thoughts of whether or not she should meet her mysterious suitor. She had a few ideas about who it could be, but some of those would put her into a situation that she wanted to avoid, and the one person that she wanted, she couldn't allow herself to get excited about. She was still undecided by the time her club activities were drawing to a close.
"You can't go. I won't let you accept her confession!" Just as Nozomi was finishing with a cursory clean up of the club room, a delay tactic to give herself more time to think, Maki barged into the club room, looking more distraught than Nozomi had ever seen her. Nozomi had a moment of confusion, not understanding why Maki was there, seemingly about to physically restrain her from leaving the room. After a second of complete stillness, while the two girls just looked at each other, Nozomi had an epiphany and realized that Maki must have known something about the writer of the letter.
"What's wrong, Maki? Is it about this?" Nozomi frowned thoughtfully as she pulled the letter out of her bag. Maki nodded, with that determined look on her face, still blocking the exit.
"I overheard some of my classmates talking this afternoon. They seem to think that Nico wrote that letter of confession to you. Nozomi…I…" Maki clenched her fist and looked away from Nozomi, gritting her teeth, and seemingly unable to say anything else. Nozomi gave her an understanding look and put the letter down on the club room table.
"I understand. I was really undecided about whether I should go just now. But you know, it might not even be her. Your classmates could have been mistaken. So…how about we both go together to see? If Nicochi really is there waiting for me, then I will properly reject her, because there is already someone else that I like, okay?" Nozomi spoke in a soft, gentle voice, hoping that if she sounded unthreatening enough, Maki would be able to calm down a bit. Maki looked back at her with an embarrassed yet grateful look and nodded shyly.
"Alright, I was just about finished here. Let's go." Nozomi was already really late, and she was afraid that if they delayed anymore, the girl would have already left; believing that she was turned down, and then Maki wouldn't be able to be reassured properly. Together, the two of them make their way outside and across the schoolyard toward the place where the alpaca's are taken care of.
Nozomi's heart nearly explodes with wonder when she sees Ayase-san waiting for her at the designated location, looking very anxious. She never thought for a second that the girl she has liked ever since Kotori had shown her a picture in elementary school would seriously be confessing to her. As she looked at the girl pacing around, she momentarily forgot that Maki was standing beside her, checking that her own crush wasn't anywhere in sight.
"It's not her…" Nozomi can hear the relief in Maki's voice as she said this, and she is overcome with her own sense of relief, knowing that her friend didn't just have her heart broken. She turns and gives Maki a victory sign and a huge grin.
"I told you before, Maki-chan. I have a wonderful future girlfriend waiting for me right over there, so if you wanted a date, you missed your chance. See you later!" Nozomi waited for Maki to return her grin before giving her a wink and a cheery wave. Now that Maki's crisis had been averted, Nozomi was overcome with happiness. She was ready to rush over to Ayase-san and reassure the nervous looking girl that she really did like her and was more than willing to go out with her. Nozomi was extremely grateful to Maki and Nico for being the reason she actually came to find out who the letter writer was. She would have to do something later to help the two of them with their 'relationship'.
Nozomi found it adorable how Ayase-san was so nervous about whether she would show up that she didn't actually notice her approach. Watching her looking worried and anxious made Nozomi want to take her hand and reassure her that everything will work out for the two of them. Giving in to her first impulse, Nozomi gently took Ayase-san's hand in hers and laced their fingers together.
Nozomi had always believed that Ayase-san would be a terribly shy girl when it came to relationships, and she was proven right. Immediately after Nozomi took her hand, Ayase-san turned bright red all the way to her ears and started stuttering. It is the most adorable thing that Nozomi had ever witnessed and the fact that it was because of her filled her with warmth and happiness.
"What's your name?" Nozomi realized earlier that she had never really asked Kotori what Ayase-san's given name was, and she didn't want to start off their relationship with the formal distance that comes with only calling each other by their family names. Kotori had only ever referred to her other friends by their family names when talking about them, because the two groups had never been formally introduced. Nozomi thought that maybe she should have Kotori introduce her and Maki to her other friends properly later, so that they could all be closer.
"umm…I'm Ayase Eri…" Eri used a hesitant tone that is almost a whisper, and Nozomi had to lean close to her in order to hear what she was saying. The blush that Eri had earlier was fading and Nozomi smiled brightly as she considered ways to make it return. It seemed like it would be easy to tease her cute girlfriend and Nozomi was looking forward to making Eri blush more often.
"Ayase Eri…Eri…Erichi! I'll call you that from now on. It's cute right? Just like you." There it was, the blush spread across Eri's face again, and Nozomi could tell that she was trying to hide it this time, but it was useless. Nozomi smiled happily, pleased with herself for being able to get a reaction out of Eri so easily. She was quickly becoming addicted to how adorable Eri looks when she is flustered.
"E-Erichi…?" Nozomi guessed that Eri was a little startled by her wanting to be informal right away, but she thought that it would be better for their relationship if they start with at least some level of intimacy beyond mere friendship. She wanted to show Eri that she is serious about this and doesn't consider their relationship as just giving Eri 'a chance'.
"Yep! And I don't mind if you start calling me Nozomi right away. I don't want our relationship to start off too formally. In fact, I hope we can get more intimate really quickly." Even though she said that last part in a teasing manner, Nozomi was completely serious. She could tell by Eri's reaction though, that the idea of getting intimate so early in their relationship was making her nervous, so she decided that it would be fine to leave it as a joke for now. She was willing to go slowly in order to make Eri feel more comfortable with her before they do anything more than hold hands.
"hmm…its getting a bit late, so we can't really go out today after all…let's exchange contact information and then I will walk you home, okay Erichi?" Nozomi was really disappointed that she couldn't immediately take Eri out on a date. She had been crushing on the girl for so long that she felt like everything might turn out to be just a dream if she didn't take advantage of the situation as soon as possible.
"Alright, let's go Nozomi…" Nozomi was pleasantly surprised to hear her name spoken so shyly by her girlfriend. She was overcome with happiness and her smile only got wider when she saw that Eri smiling back at her. Nozomi thought that Eri had a beautiful smile.
Nozomi had no intention of letting go of Eri's hand until she absolutely had to. The two of them didn't really say anything as they walked home, but Nozomi figured that Eri was still really nervous about being together with her. She tried her best to lighten the mood between them by humming a pleasant song that she'd heard Maki play on the piano a few times and for the most part, it seemed to be working.
They had been walking for a while when a sound in a nearby alley startled Eri and before Nozomi was even aware of it; her girlfriend was clutching her arm and had buried her face in her neck. Nozomi could feel Eri shaking violently, and it took her a moment to realize that Eri was scared. Nozomi had never been in this type of situation before, but she did her best to comfort the girl in her arms, running a hand soothingly down her back and continuing to hum.
After a minute or two, Eri calmed down, but they stayed like that for a little longer, just to enjoy the sensation of being close. Nozomi looked at Eri affectionately, feeling glad that Eri was already relying her to take care of her. Eventually, they continued on their way to Eri's home, and Nozomi was concentrating on the feeling of Eri holding onto her arm, her head partially resting on her shoulder. It was a really pleasant experience.
When they reached Eri's house, Nozomi took a moment to memorize its location, so that she could find her way back on her own, in case Eri ever called her to invite her over. Nozomi walked Eri all the way to her door and hesitated a moment. She really wanted to give her girlfriend a good night kiss, but she knew that Eri probably wasn't ready for that. Nozomi had to find out if Eri wanted their first kiss to be super special before she messed things up by being too eager. Instead, she opted to lean over and give Eri a sweet kiss on the cheek. It was a good compromise and it had the added bonus of allowing her to see Eri blush again.
"Good night Erichi! I'll text you later about going out." Nozomi turned to look at Eri one last time as she started heading toward her own home. She could see Eri watching her with her hand to her cheek. Eri was blushing and covering the place where Nozomi kissed her, and it made Nozomi smile as she walked away. The whole way home, Nozomi thought about where to take Eri for their first date.