Mid-winter meant shopping for spring-summer seasons, and it also meant the all beloved and well despised Winter Clearances, consisting of all the unsold clothes of last summer plus some the unsold winter clothes of that year. Of course, it also meant fighting with teeth and nails against everyone who had the same idea as it was common sense that under all the terrible clothes no one had bought, something beautiful and untouched could just be waiting for them. So, the six fiendish friends group, like every single year, had planned their shopping trip as if it were a campaign made by the same Sun Tzu, locating a place to raid and forming a new attack formation so they wouldn't get thrown away while sending other people to fly from the items they wanted to see and get. And some days later over that brainstorming and full-on military preparations and training; one cold, freshly snowed Saturday morning, dressed with their best winter coats and hats but using their comfiest slacks and pants, the girls reunited in Ikebukuro City's metro station.

"Ok girls we are here, finally! I wouldn't be able to stand another ride on the train with a morning this cold! It was so steamy inside I'm still nauseated… So, where is this new shopping mall again?" – Todoko asked, fixing her cute pastel pink fuzzy hat in place over her red ears while shuddering a bit, since the train station they all were standing on was definitely colder than the wagon they had left just moments ago.

"Hmm…" – Karako thought, gloved hand in her cheek- "Wasn't it near the… uh… something… something radio?" – She answered after a while, fidgeting a bit and looking in all directions, she had a horrible sense of direction when going into places she hadn't been before at least thrice and it tended to numb her brain terribly.

"Kaikan Radio, Karachun" – Choroko said, fortunately, who couldn't help but feel very proud of her vast knowledge of Ikebukuro as THE quintessential fujoshi. "Don't worry gals! It's just a few streets from where we are, you just hafta follow my lead!" – She exclaimed, doing a small cutesy pirouette to then make the rest of the girls follow her bouncy steps. And so they followed her, who was delighted on the fact that her friends were willing to go into her territory for once.

On the lead were Choroko and Osoko, chatting excitedly – even if, to be fair, it was more of Choroko explaining all about the good stores chunked full of good 2D BL porn to her shorthaired friend, with Osoko, looking unimpressed but still listening all what she had to say, told her friend that she would prefer more 3D porn herself. In the middle of them, Todoko terrorized Karako while leaning on her left side with her cutest face and a hand that, clasped well into the others right forearm, filled the athlete's head with promises of making her follow the girl's lead to perfumeries and other stores she would definitely hate until she cried for mercy.

And in the tail end of the group, Jyushiko and Ichiko watched their friends from their behind. Or, to be exact, it was them giving that impression if you looked at them from the sideways. The moodiest of the pair looked even of worse humor than the rest of the days people who knew her could see, face looking sour and coloured corpse white with all the snow surrounding her, very burrowed on her long and dark fur coat. Jyushiko was looking at her friends who were before her, but from time to time she gave glimpses to her companion, nervous.

"Hehe, Choroko-chan gets all active when we are on her territory, don't you think so Ichiko?" – The gyaru chirped suddenly, trying to break the ice that seemed to meld with her friend blank expression. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. She only had eyes for Karako, and the tanned blonde knew why. Jyushiko scowled. – "God, don't go acting like it when she's near, she will suspect. "

Ichiko twitched a bit, to then scowl, too. "Tch, she wouldn't notice if even if our words were a seagull looking at her eyes two centimeters afar"

Oh boy. Jyushiko couldn't help but to sputter a bit until a full blown laugh was dragged from her very insides. Ichiko looked at her, disgusted.

"What kinda phrasing was that!? You sound so much like an old woman ahahahah!" Jyushiko laughed "Be glad I'm not Choroko, she would've called you a tsundere!" – To this words, the moody girl looked even more disgusted, her face a pure demonstration of it. "But, being serious, you being like this is not gonna solve anything, all we gotta do is to keep watching if the omamori works out, and well, if they don't… cheer for her, I guess?"

"… Jyushiko. I fear that my rash actions as a child could affect our future, and make them do something they don't want to." – Ichiko deadpanned, in a sudden second of honesty in which the gyaru yelped in her insides.

"But what if they want it? Who are you to tell if it's something that they want or not?"

"I'm the one who cursed her, and if the spell is as powerful as I remember maybe that's why we are unable to get a stable companion, either"

Jyushiko sighed, then inhaled some chilly air and exhaled, to see the condensed air that came from her pearled red lips. Then, she touched her friend's cheeks with both hands, taking solace on the shameful red that warmed instantly her hands, and then brushed Ichiko's unruly strand of hair, the only curly cowlick that appeared from her white hat that she had never been able to tame, to then pull it, making the girl yelp loudly.

"Ack! Oww, Jyushiko, what came into you!"

The mentioned girl brushed her white dress coat a bit, to then show her tongue to her moody friend.

"You are giving yourself too much credit! Just, don't worry so much, whatever it happens we will manage!"

"Huh!? Jyushiko, what-"

But she had already run to the rest of her friends, unable to answer her question. The girls stopped their bickering for some seconds after Ichiko's loud squeal and asked their blonde friend what had happened, oblivious to their words.

And Ichiko could only look at all her friends all together without her, at what she had said, and what to what the future could do at them. She didn't answer, and kept walking.

"... Manage, huh? Maybe I am giving myself too much credit after all… but I have to see through this, I'm still worried, after all." Ichiko said, getting the look out her friends, who were roughhousing each other with snow, and focused on her shaking hand. Yes, she was nervous, and scared of her friends leaving her because her simple - not so very simple mistake of when her younger self decided curses were good ideas. So, she would try all what she could before they even knew of what she suspected was at stake.

-o-o-o-

The new Ikebukuro shopping mall was enormous, having merged two smaller game centers and becoming a full meld of both Otaku World with stores for normal people, who could watch in awe how both colourful worlds functioned together.

The six girls weren't out of the feeling, marveled of how enormous the place was, how much it shone from the white tones on that new and polished floor to the creamy and bright colours on all the stores on the floors, calling the newest inhabitants with a siren song to buy all until the clock ran out to twelve. And it was four floors of songs, all of them eager for people to come to them, waiting.

"Damn, it's real big…" Karako said in awe, adjusting her blue parka and opening a bit to reveal her white and blue shirt as the aircon kicked in. "Todoko, you got the list?"

"Yeah, let me get it, it's in the back of this baaag aaahh…" From her pale chiffon pink bag, she difficultly and with a lot of time used in revolving items there, was able to get a piece of paper with lots of notes written in from the inside of some cutesy note book, peppered with small prints of flowers and birds. "Here it is! The stores doing discounts are on the third floor, and the one who uses limited time will start in… one hour and half, so we still can check the rest of stores for a while. What do you think?"

"That's fair enough with me" Osoko said, yawning.

"There's no problem with me, also" Ichiko seconded, not moving a muscle from her bored stance.

The gyaru of the group grabbed her stomach, trying to appeal to the rest of girls as defeated and hungry. "Heeh? Can we go eat something first? Its 11 am already…"

"No Jyushiko, we know you eat very fast but here Choroko and Ichiko eat like they were ruminating their food-" Karako's words got interrupted with a sudden "Don't go treating us as cows as you please!" But she didn't mind their words and looks, keeping herself steady - "-and we need all the time if we want to get the sweet stuff, ok?"

"Uh-huuh, too bad" – She sighed. It seemed that she would do so many times during the day.

"Hey, can I go watch these stores here? I wanna see if Mangacenter has received some of the BL doujins I wanna buy…"

A general NO resounded loudly enough for the people outside if their circle and beyond to watch them attack the fujoshi, curious.

"Awh. Todoko, please, can I?" – She begged to her friends, trying to look desperate and defenseless.

"No Choroko, even if I wanted it I know how slow you are to pick something you like"

"Mngh, you are a poopyhead, Todoko-chu."

Todoko got red in the face, and her true identity started to appear. "Oh, come on, Choroko, don't try that cutesy act with me now!"

"You want me to do a tantrum then? Waah waah?"

"Of course not, that's my thing to do!"

Choroko pouted, face scrunched in mocking disgust - "Tch. Boring. Osoko, wanna come with me?"

"Forget it dude, first we go to steal all from the other hyenas and then we can go watch whatever we gotta see." Osoko denied vehemently, even crossing her arms, as she, and all of them, knew how slow the BL lover was while doing everything she liked, indecision running through her veins as always happened when she had to choose her food or porn.

"So! Do you wanna start watching B&S Workshop? I heard there's a special sale on bath salts and creams there!" – Jyushiko cheerily interrupted the conversation, knowing they would follow her anyways. Nobody could resist to their delicious creams and luscious perfume. Even Karako looked half interested at her sudden words, even when she kind of hated… most definitely HATED smelling like fruits and what could be called girly stuff. Then again, maybe her interest didn't stem from things for herself, that coming from how she stealthy dropped small looks to Osoko, who had her eyes shining at the very thought of that shop and didn't notice anything at all, but that was another completely different matter she wouldn't like to touch, not now at least. Whatever to not get Choroko near Mangacenter worked, anyways.

Peh, everything would be easier if they all weren't that protective of their friendship... but that's what got them all together, so there was nothing to say about that too. It was exasperating; to say the least, but such happy feels should be cherished, too.

Jyushiko smiled. Things would get better on their own time.

And with a cheery exclaim of "Let's go!" all of them went directly to the mentioned shop, already drooling to find those good prices.

The cosmetic store still had some good discounts glowing on the very entrance of itself, but at that time of the year everything important and really attractive was already gone to never ever come back. Most of the discounts were on the big candles, some out of season creams and foam soap. But beggars can't be choosers, the girls decided with tears on their eyes, and so they roamed the store for a while taking all the free tries they could use. Karako, bless her simple soul, was already uninterested after her very first look. There were too much smelly scents, too much artificial musk to cover what they should never be ashamed of. She never liked the scents nor the feeling of those creams and milks on her skin. They just made her feel more in need of a bath, baths being something that was already on the first places of detested formalities people usually liked to have.

And to be fair, it a thought that was very easy to remove from her mind, considering the situation she was. She just needed a small moment to remove those images from her mind like if they were shooed outside with a broom, and all was thanks to the girl who was suddenly touching her ungloved hands, feeling the cranks and creaks on them. Those, silky, small, nice hands...

"God, Karako, you feel like a damn crocodile, are you sure you don't need one of those?" – The businesswoman sounded surprised, and Karako, still kind of floating on a pink cloud, thought she was on her right to be, judging on how much soap she had applied on them last night after the deed was done.

Osoko had all but dragged her friend to a small table near a small water faucet, ready to apply some free testing product on her hands after discovering how alike her hands were with sandpaper. And the physical trainer couldn't even wiggle out her strong grab even if she wanted to (she didn't), as she knew how dedicated to body image she was, at least regarding the most visible parts the most visible parts of her body.

"Hey, Osoko, can you at least find some smell that's not terribly disgusting? I know how much you enjoy those - eugh - citric and - yuck - sugary scents but I don't need them" - Every word centering on the types of smells the girl hated were enhanced with a mock of a disgusted face that made the eldest of them both laugh.

"Oh shut up you prick, I know you dislike them. If there was a sweat and socks scented cologne you'd buy the entire set, that's for sure" - Osoko said, taking some light brown coloured cream from the shelf behind her. Of course this meant some wiggles coming from the grabbed hands, at least to give them enough space to show the one grabbing them a middle finger. "Heh, fuck you too. Now, try this one."

"What is that shit?"

"It's not shit, dumbass, it's mocha coffee scented hand cream."

"Wait, that exists?" – And mocha scented? Humanity had come too far, definitely.

"Welcome to the new times, old man. Huhuhu!" – Osoko laughed, excited to show Karako something she could maybe like, as it was a different thing of all she had always mentioned to not give to her in birthdays. And if she didn't like it, too bad for her, it wasn't something she'd had to deal with.

And god, what a smile, Karako thought. Months ago she only saw the smile of her friend as something to make fun of. But watching that smile that near herself at that moment she just felt like melting on it.

Aaah, what a beautiful smile given just to her, while rubbing her mistreated hands with some unknown cream that frankly didn't smell terribly wrong.

Aaah, she must be in heaven now...

"So, did you like it?"

And as always, her mouth opened before her brain acted. "… I believe like you most"

Shit.

SHIIIIIIT.

So this is what they meant with Falling from Heaven, with that phrase being said on the tone of his painful gym friend.

She was ruined. Completely d.

And when she was going to retort, take the confession back to where it belonged, the little heart shaped pizza box insider herself, her idiot friend chirped, laughing.

"Yeah, I also like myself lots. How couldn't I? I'm the super sexy Mighty Osoko, and I look even better with all this creams on me!" - The Mighty Idiot Osoko said, unable to even comprehend the words that came from her friends mouth, nor even take in account the very obvious significance that everyone – not just her friends but even the clerks and other people in the room could understand and gossip, judging their blank eyes directed at them both. Karako couldn't help feeling like a clown, dressed in red shame and anger.

So, lowering her face in a very deep shame and grimacing like it wasn't like that, she was only able to ruffle Osoko's hair with a bit more strength than needed, her smile looking more like a sticker badly put over her mouth. "... People don't look at your smell, you dumbass!"

"What, feeling nasty? Try to smell your hands, maybe that can take your anger out!" - The girl, still oblivious to all, laughed, excited at the flattery given by the person who seemed to always drag her thru the ground, and Karako just gave her a look to then go sit outside the store, choosing a small plastic bench near it.

After a while of trying to calm down, counting to 100.000 and back and failing many times in the process, she smelled her hands, still following Osoko's advice. They really smelt like mocha coffee.

"Huh. She was right..." - She supposed it was destiny, after all.

The anger had disappeared, being replaced only with confusion.

Now, what should I do?

-o-o-o-

Paris (™) Stores had an special way of ordering their stashes of clothes mingling the delicate with the rough fabrics in a way that still seemed pleasing to the eye. But when Clearance Time came, nothing of that was found. All was bare or plain, all shiny and desired stuff concentrated on a very specific open room on the back of the store so people could center on that special square instead of taking everything they could and calling it "just getting their own spoils of war". It was a way to protect the rest of their items, plus protecting the people who weren't interested on the war that was going to happen there, as it was just related to clothing and nothing else.

And when the time came, the girls were already there, prepared on a defensive formation. Osoko on the first line, three and two on the sides, so they had more attack range and a center who could save everything, that one being Choroko with her (very illegal) handy green roller bag. Amongst the rest of middle aged mothers and other people waiting on place, they looked menacing with their smiles and clenched hands, enough to get a stake nearing a certain corner of the room, near the announcer.

The announcer was scared shitless of them.

"Ok, so, in less than one minute all of you have everything on this room with a 50%-70% discount for you to take and get all what you want and wear it forever!" - He said, voice with a slight tremble on it but ready to accuse it on the mic and the interferences on the air. He knew that when the seconds were down, he would have to run away from the hyenas grasps, they were able to take even his clothes and pass them like yet another cloth in clearance. And thirty seconds later, he could swear the air had become red and the people looked directly out of a zombie movie.

The poor announcer would never watch zombie movies anymore without having very, very vivid nightmares.

"And counting, five! Four! Three! Two! ... One...!"

Time stopped.

"GO!"

And while he ran as fast as possible from the horde, and saw the almost humans attacking and biting and and growling to whoever it was near their grasp, he could also see one girl, one simple girl who seemed toned enough to be a female Samson - compared to him who was puny and weak, who donned a natural tone of brown on her skin, who seemed to be on though, more concentrated on something else, just idly looking at what it was on discount.

"Ah" - He thought. "Maybe she was in legal trouble… or just in love"

Whatever the reason, he was just glad to have found another human in this wretched world.

-o-o-o-

3 PM they had some time to eat, and it was a good time as most of the people on the food gardens had already gone to spend all their cash again, while they needed lots of tables and chairs to leave all their bags and tired feet and bodies.

It had been a rampage, and no one had went away unscathed. From blisters on their feet to actual bites on their arms and hands, it was just the proof that the plan had been successful this year, too.

The girls took four empty tables and pushed them all together, making something that looked like a bag fort with all the things they had raided from Ikebukuro in that few hours. Then, they took other two free tables, ignoring olimpically the disgust faces on of the food garden staff, and all but threw their tired bodies over them, being too tired to even go and buy some piece of french fries or pizza to make their stomachs happy.

But even in their tired, awfully exhausted bliss, there was one strange point they couldn't resolve.

Karako, who had a very detailed plan to raid all the sport clothing for herself, had ended up with two or three pairs of jackets. One of them wasn't even on her size, and everyone who saw it could look at how scathingly careless she had been all day.

Or well.

Almost all day.

Her listless eyes denotated uninterest, and when the six fiends group bitched about being hungry and claimed for the personal trainer to go buy all what the wanted, she just… stood up and accepted her fate. Where the real Karako would've preferred to piss on their french fries first, this fake copy went and bought all the food she hated, eventually not even buying anything for herself.

"Karako, is everything alright there?" - Ichiko consulted, waving a hand over the other's eyes. She didn't receive a response, it was clear her mind was somewhere else.

In one moment, like a zombie, she stood up and exclaimed "Bath", in what she tried to make look like a "small voice" - something she was absolutely impossible, and unwilling, to do.

"Man, it has to be something bad if she hasn't attacked me verbally" - Osoko exclaimed, already worried for her friend's health.

"Osoko... leave her alone for a while" - Choroko said, eyes trailing the bee line made by the blue clad girl to the toilet.

"Huh?"

"I'm sure your idiot head hasn't noticed it but I'm sure she has things to ponder right now" - With no more words, Choroko went back to her fries, only to swap the elder's hand who got pissed after being chided like that.

"Ichiko, why are you grabbing your head that way?" - Todoko asked, worried about the pale girl sudden burst of negative emotion.

"I never thought this would come to end like this…"

"Is she talking about her new soap opera?"

"Mm yea, something like that I guess..."

-o-o-o-

It's my time to act.

-o-o-o-

After some mindless window shopping, the air was incredibly cold outside the building, so much it felt like little scalpels rushing over the skin, and it wasn't even near the start of the night. The sun was still out, paying its goodbyes and yet it felt just like a giant light balloon on the sky. Figures, it just dimmed the mood of everyone to go and have a drink in the closest izakaya from there, something that not even the corporal pain couldn't stop. But their legs only left them just so far, and Ichiko and Osoko wanted to go for a smoke while Karako was on the bathroom, so the rest just followed the smoking girls, with the exception of Todoko who decided to wait for her friend there.

"What then? Should we leave our things in our homes and the no out?"

"Today I don't feel like it, Jyushiko-chan, it's just too cold. I can feel my dakimakuras serenading me already..." - The bespectacled friend exclaimed, already drooling while imagining her bed.

"Boo, and I was all ready under this…" - In a sudden span of seconds in which the gyaru forgot completely of the extremely cold weather they were walking into, she unbuttoned her long coat to reveal a gorgeous form-fitting, strapless, gold sequin dress. "I really wanted to go watch my favourite drag club with you, girls" - The shine of her teary eyes did wonders with her amazing dress.

"What, Jyushiko, why- how- when did you change your clothes!?" - There were little to no words Choroko could muster at her friend's sudden revelation. She had always been like that, and Choroko know better to be that distressed, but it never failed. And the answer never failed to be rational, even if her actions weren't so.

"Oh coooourse it was on the mall's bathroom, while we were waiting for Ichiko and you to finish eating, silly"

The fujoshi facepalmed. "I'll never understand you"

Osoko then decided to interrupt their boke-tsukkomi show, the snippy air only aggravated her humor. "Jyu-chan, next week we can go there, ok? Right now I'm unable even to-to think…" - She finished, already shivering, which rescinded to a single tremor when something posed itself over her black beanie, ruffling it.

"Not that you had the ability to think at all, you fool" - A gloved hand messed with the girl's hat, moving it on top on her eyes. Osoko grinned a bit behind some expletives thrown at the cause of it, it looked like Karako had arrived into this world again, alongside Todoko, who eyed both girls with something that she couldn't pinpoint. But, to be fair, the youngest girl always seemed sour for some reason this days anyways, so, mentally shrugging, the businesswoman discarded the thought, focusing only on Karako, who had come to her senses.

"Cheh. If the kettle says so..."

"Hey, just telling the truth here, I wasn't the one who confused smells with looks!"

"And you are the one who takes jokes as reality!"

While they bickered with jokes that evolved exponentially from their innocence, the rest of the group watched them a bit afar of them both with interest.

"Did Osoko-chan's mood improve that fast with that half-baked joke?" - Choroko asked to the air, hoping for a response.

"Hmm. Looks like it" - Jyushiko answered with a sing song voice.

"Gosh, they disgust me so much" - Todoko said, face sourer than a lemon.

"Oh, don't be like that, Todoko-chan, it's better to have them happy than weary of each other"

"That's not even the problem!"

"Then what's it?"

It was just a single moment, but in fleeting seconds, Todoko's face showed a enormous pain instead of the rage she had always shown unless it was with other males or strangers, that scrunched face and hurt on her eyes appeared like it came from the inside. And then it was gone, and no one could react. Choroko felt especially livid, like it was an opportunity she had already lost. Ichiko clenched her fist, but by completely different reasons.

"... I won't say, you wouldn't understand it, Choroko"

"Huh?"

"I guess it's better that you don't understand it anyways" - And looking at the other side, there was suddenly no place for more words anymore.

Ichiko, who had been as silent as a tomb all the while, took a decision.

"I'm leaving" - She stated, loud enough that even the bickering girls stopped their play catfight after listening those words.

"Ichiko? Where are you going?" - Osoko asked.

The mentioned woman looked at her friend seriously, eyes lock on the others. "To a store I haven't visited in a very long time. See you next week, everyone. I'll ask an Uber, don't worry for me" - And with a wave of her delicate hand she was gone, waiting for no words from her friends.

"... Did something happen?"

"I'm not sure"

"I guess so?"

"I won't say"

"Uh… ok. I won't ask, then." - Whatever they meant or wanted to imply, the businesswoman decided that she didn't want to deal with the consequences of their answers. Maybe for the best.

Choroko moved to face her gyaru friend, as a question surged in her mind. "Jyushiko, aren't you gonna follow her? You've been awfully chummy with each other this days, so thats why I'm asking"

"Nope, not today." - She said, with a wink on her golden eyes- "Today, I'll dance and fuck and have the nicest of times! You don't want to follow me and I came with this gorgeous dress, I'll go use it in the best way I can!"

"Then, we separate here?"

The girls looked at each other. They definitely were too tired for more action, but it was so little the time they had to get together - even with Ichiko gone, it was very difficult to separate from each other every time.

"I guess we gotta go home, it's almost 6 PM and it's already getting dark, girls"

"Osoko?"

"Hm? Something the matter Kara-chu?"

"I need you to follow me for a bit, I-I wanted something from a store and I need your help getting it"

"Huh? But can't it be other day? This bag is too big and my arms hurt already…"

"No worries, I'll carry it if you can help me sweet talk those clerks"

"Oooh, sounds nasty, I love it. Wanna come girls?"

"No no, we'll not, isn't that true gals?"

"Uh, yeah! Sure, take your time!"

"Yea, go and smooch!"

"Ch! Jyushiko!"

"God, aren't cha strange today. Ok, we will go, see ya next week!" - Osoko said, puzzled by her friends actions but not as much as she expected. She knew what kind of people they were, after all, living with them almost all her school life until now. She closed her eyes, waved her hand off and, with the grace of a mule, placed the very heavy bag over the shoulders of her tanned friend, who couldn't keep with the momentum and almost fell down. Closing her eyes, the short haired woman changed expressions, smile developing malice. - "Yeah, you asked for it. Now let's go, I'm freezing"

"You'll never stop being a little fiend, right?"

"Hey, you offered your help, and you are awfully light for someone who came to buy to a clearance so… move?"

-o-o-o-

I guess I'll have to drill her some words in her head.

-o-o-o-

"No no, Choroko-chan, I'll not repeat myself!"

"Yeah, sure thing" –The mentioned voice was listened from somewhere somewhat far away from where Osoko was – "Lemme do the dishes and then I'll roast you into charcoal"

Listening at the sing-song voice that came over the small kitchen, Osoko could only snivel loudly enough for the other party to listen, burying her face on the living room sofa's pillow, desiring she could have reset time itself and appear on Choroko's porch already drunk as fuck. Half an hour before these events, the businesswoman had appeared completely wrapped up to protect herself from the cold, only her eyes showing her serious expression, without any word to mutter more than 'let me enter' and with a six pack in a 7-11 bag, something that her her fujoshi friend watched with a bored look in her eyes, as expecting the outcome of whatever had happened to her friend and then push her inside. Choroko's apartment was small and very much lacking in ornamental items, making it look plain and unused. It looked even a bit dusty, judging by the faded white on the walls. But what made Choroko's apartment hers was her room and the hall that lead to it. Like a virus infection, the hall walls started with few and scarce posters that started to meld with each other the nearer to the bedroom they were, full on BL imagery of every type. From simple hand holding to grotesque sex images, the hall lead to a wholly exuberant, completely out of this world place. Choroko called it her Shrine, and it really was (and is!) the right name for it. A whole room dedicated solely for 2D gay sex, and god, it terrified whoever was not onto that genre or had a bit of a normie side on them, so Osoko maintained her butt on the plain black sofa and didn't move from there until Choroko appeared on her nightgown with two glasses filled to the brim with golden beer.

The short haired brunette gave her an annoyed look, then swing her beer glass in one strong movement, drinking all the content inside in a way so undignified her friend could only snort.

"Ok, so, you come here near midnight, armed with a six pack – thanks by the way, I plan to use them in tomorrow's pasta" – The fujoshi says, drinking a long swing of her beer after that, laughing inside at the silent it's for drinking you prick that came from the other's lips - "You even tell me that it's about what Karako said to you and then you fucking deny it on my face!?"

"M' not denying it, don't put words on m' mouth! It's just, I thought that you don't know what happened today so I needed some time to reorganize my thoughts and—"

"I, no wait, that's wrong, all of us saw everything that happened between you two, yanno." - And no, she wasn't referring to just the confession, she tried to make it notorious enough for her stupid friend to notice it.

"…What" –It wasn't even a question. For the girl, it was like the world had disappeared from her feet, and Osoko could only see black even when the lights on that small room were alight.

"It's not like you aren't both dumbasses, Karako chose to declare her undying love-" – To this words Osoko was red as a tomato yet again "-for you near enough the ramen stand I usually go while buying BL, Jyushiko told us to go near you both so we could give ya a surprise and Todoko-chan agreed so we we went chasing your tails. We couldn't listen what you said as we were somewhat far away from you both, you see. But, it turns out Karako decided to scream wo take your attention and your face got so red it could've been confused with an ambulance light. It was kind of difficult for us to not notice what was happening"

Holy shit, was all Osoko could think. Holy shit! And it was also what she wanted to scream, too, but the shock she received from the realization that everyone knew about what happened was so big Choroko could only wait patiently for her friend to recover some air on her lungs first.

"Y-you were there a-and you didn't say anything?"

"Oh, we were planning to do something like a "Congrats on the Lesbian Sex" party or whatever later, but the one who was gettin' confessed was you, not us. I was - no, AM ready to use your confession for my next dj books though. Jyushiko looked kind of restless though…?" – Choroko pondered, focusing her attention as the drink was fuzzying her memories a bit. "Todoko too, I guess…"

Every word felt like a rock in Osoko's back, pushing her down and down in her space on the sofa. And she could only cover her face with her hands and arms if possible, completely embarrassed. "Tch, never thought you, over all people, would be the silent ones here…" And here she clearly meant comparing them with Karako, who practically screamed her feelings to her and the world, no matter who saw her.

"But you came here and told me, so don't come like you didn't expect this to happen. So, here we enter the spicy part, the one where you are included, Osoko-chan" – Choroko said with a sly smile on her face, to then get up to the kitchen again. "But I know how you get with this kind of things, so I'll need ya drunk over this. Don't move from here, we are gonna get smashed."

And the poor eldest could only think In what hole should I bury myself after this…

Moments later, the brunette elder was drunk enough to remove her gorgeous latte coat and light jacket to reveal the curvy body of a tired, drunk, confused middle age woman who, contrary to her usual restrained image when at work, preferred to sprawl over her friend's old black sofa as if she was some kind of blobfish. Choroko sat in the floor left to Osoko, legs open, with a dribble of beer going down her chin to hide itself in between her lightly covered breasts, staining her worn out nightgown. Both of them looked terrible, and they kind of felt like shit too, but it was the best way of communication they had, leaving all their prejudices and easily hurt prides behind.

"… So you saw how I looked when t-that happened, right? I mean, how else could I look. She, to me?" Osoko mentioned, getting up from her burrow on the sofa and explaining herself all hands and arm up and moving, like if she had latin blood which resurged thanks to alcohol.

"Fucking Karako, who likes to call me expletives and piss me off to then buy some cheap shit little gift to me so I don't get super mad at her, likes me? ME!? I-I believed it impossible, but her face…"

"Her face…?"

"You say I was an ambulance, but I swear SHE was redder than me!" - She exclaimed, alcohol clearly making an instant effect on her mood, making it boisterous.

"Couldn't see it, I was only able to see her hair" - And her ears, and hand, which were up as ready to embrace her dearest friend, only retained by the confusion on the other's face. But she wasn't going to tell Osoko that, she would let her notice after her newest doujinshi came to existence.

"Buh- but I did, and that's why I… it was a real feeling…" - Osoko said, tongue tied by alcohol and brain tired with all the overthinking she had done in that small time, the last words could only came in pants.

"Yep, it sounded like it was real" - Choroko could only agree to that fact.

"I… I'm sure you must understand how that actually feels huh, with all that BL you are always reading, and—and…"

The air suddenly got more serious, and Osoko stopped gesticulating to sit down properly on her place, eyes on the floor and unable to watch her friend's face. The BL fan took the cue fast, and, without looking at the other's face, gulped her beer completely, to then answer back.

"Yeah, I know. The main reason you are here instead of, I'unno, wherever else."

"I mean, you never told me who she was but man, you are the only person who had actually dated a girl that I know."

Choroko hummed a bit, to then move her dominant hand as if shooing that train of thought. "Well, I'm not the only one, but…"

The tired businesswoman interrupted her, clearly not listening the meaning behind those words. "I just- I just wanted to ask you because I really need a third opinion over all. Maybe the fact that you were there just makes it all easier, but I also, also…"

"Are scared?" Choroko asked to the air, still not looking at her friend, even if her friend's own eyes were drilling on her hair.

"… I guess so, it's something new for me, after all" At this point, Osoko looked more like a bundle of worries instead of a person, hand on her knees and head between her legs. The girl on bedroom clothing looked at her friend, face like a stone, but something on her eyes melted enough to make her look at her, smile and hug the other troubles out.

"Osoko, have you ever thought that if you are this nervous but still fidget over her feelings is maybe because you are interested?"

Osoko scowled, thinking very well on the response she was going to give, as her friends words had hit the nail repeated times but she still felt it was something else. "… Instead of interested, I'd call myself confused. It has been a nit more than a month since you-know what happened, and now one of my best friends confesses something I'd never thought and would've laughed at the very idea of it!"

"S' alright, doesn't mean you aren't interested though. The fact that you came to me to ask me because I'm the one with knowledge of GL—that being Girls Love you ignorant fuck" - The anime fan exclaimed, shoving her index finger into the left chubby thigh of her friend - "It means you actually want to know about those kinda relationships." Choroko pushed her glasses to her nose, clearly back on fujoshi mode, all happy to be needed, and maybe expectant over the future of them both after all. "But I'm not a guide, nor a psychologist. All I can tell you is about my experiences both in the 2D BL world and the meager ones I had with… this girl I had the luck of take on, hold her, kiss everywhere, lick her pussy like an ice c—"

"God, Choroko, don't say it that way!" - Osoko exclaimed, face as red as ambulance lights.

Choroko scoffed. "Fuck it, Osoko, get accustomed. You started with this and I broke the dam. You will be probably happy to eat her asshole if you keep being "confused" over this so, uh…"

"Uh, what" She saw Choroko going green in the face, to then shake her head like scaring bad spirits.

"Excuse me, I got nauseated over thinking about eating Karako's asshole. I mean, she must smell like dirty gym most of the times, right? Try to bath her first"

"… Uh."

"Remember to pinch her tits, too. They look perky." - Choroko mentioned, mimicking the act of pinching with her nimble hands.

"…"

"… So, are you thinking on it or…"

"… Y-you were the one being overly descriptive here, you know!"

"...Pfft, that's very true!" - They both laughed, as loudly as all the Sapporo Beer they had already drank let them. And after a while, when the laughs had become sparse giggles and both became self conscious again, Choroko took Osoko's hand, grabbing her strongly as to give her the strength she needed, or maybe wishing to the other the strength she lacked. "Look, I'm not telling you to be nauseated, or to accept her feelings. You are the one who should analyze your own feelings over it. And yet, also you must remember that Karako was the one who declared her feelings for you first. She already discarded the just-friends card first, so you can't advocate for that, as it isn't something she is looking for right now. But as I told you, if you are interested, means you are willing to try something that maybe, just maybe, will come to be something you will not regret in the future. And, well, if you don't I can help you manage whatever it happens. Trust me, I got experience on it."

That was a lot more of what Choroko tended to talk when the conversation theme wasn't BL. And Osoko had to admit she was grateful for it. She had really asked the right person. "That's... fair and all, but I fear of damaging out our friendship. Not just ours, but of all of us."

"Hey, things sometimes happen. You aren't our glue, and we are meant to be attacked by things who will try - and maybe succeed - on dividing us. And such is life. But time will tell us what will happen to all of us, and if we get away from each other time can make us reunite again. I'm sure of it, if it happens, it won't be because of you, and we will get over fast. All we need its less miscommunication and more honesty, after all."

Osoko 'hmphed' over those words, pouting in a way Todoko would get jealous of. "How did you become so intelligent Choroko-chin?"

"Hheh, thank BL tropes! I know all about them. Also, you know, the other thing too…"

The other thing, that's true...

"Hey, will there be a day when you tell me who was the girl you were dating, though?" -Osoko asked, back again on stretching over the sofa, this time putting her head next to Choroko's one.

The bespectacled girl hummed, even though Osoko could see on her eyes that she didn't want to answer that, really. "I wonder."

"Oh, come one, here I come to tell you about my own problems and you tease me like this? You poopyhead"

"Don't call me like that, you came on your own volition! Plus, it's not me who has the problem with telling the rest, it's she who told me she'd kill everyone who dares to tell her something about what happened between us, and I know how big is your mouth, you Mick Jagger imitator"

"W-wh- Mick who!?" - Who the hell was that guy anyways!? Osoko was dumbfounded- "Also, she you said? Are you still in contact with her!?"

Gasp. "Ayaya, me and my big mouth!" - Now that was something the bespectacled girl didn't want to imply, really. But damn, alcohol always could open her mouth more than what she wanted to...

"I knew it! Now, pray tell me or else…"

"… Else?"

"I'll make Aoba-chan drink a whole gulp on beer" – Osoko said, revealing the dakimakura hostage she had under her long latte coat.

"Noo, Aoba-chan no, he was so expensive! Nitro+ merchandising are very expensive, you monster!"

"Then you must tell me"

"Well… it was…"

"Was…"

"It is Todoko"

"…What"

"…"

"Nooo, I don't believe you! I-It can't be!?"

"Well, yea, it was a bit before she joined our group completely so I believe that's why you didn't notice at all"

"But she never, ever did all anything to show she was-" - And she know it was kind of untrue, as she saw how snippy she could get over Choroko's words when fawning on a hottie, even though that attention somehow shifted to Karako this last years. And from Choroko… nothing but soft words and looks, she guessed.

"Remember the day where we were doing a group schoolwork with Todoko and Ichiko in the later's house? There was a time in which Ichiko was into voodoo and those witch thingies, and I don't remember what you did to piss her off but she decided to curse you in your face and then you cried and hit her? Well we were sleeping on the next room, right beside the guest room you were staying. Listening to both of you fight about boys finding you icky and stupid and you cursing Ichiko as if she had cursed you for real we decided to chat for a bit and…"

"And…?"

"She told me about her finding boys icky on her own, that they smelled bad and couldn't understand why you both would fight that much over them. I, entering the world of bl those days, told her that I'd prefer males if I was a male myself, to which she told me that she couldn't imagine me as a male while grabbing my breasts and then told me something like "a male Choroko would be probably a nerdy neet, disgusting". I got kinda angered and pinched her tits, too. So, that way, we started a fight on our own that instead of making us angered just made us uh… horny I guess. We ended up eating each other and boy, I'm damn glad you were so loud on the other room, you didn't notice anything."

"Holy shit, I don't remember that"

"How would you, you always had the mind of a fly"

"And you ate each other and we were like 14? 15?" - That was a big revelation, and Osoko couldn't help but feel pissed about it. Dammn, she had sex from that young!? So that's why she never wanted to go see the guys from the next all male school while they were that age!"

"I guess so? All female schools are good at making girls all horny, dude"

"Maan…"

"We stayed doing things for some time. Like, three months. Pure bliss and nice sex, those months were happy for us. But she was noticed more by our group, and she really didn't want our relationship to be noticed and even then she got jealous of other girls – mostly the anime club girls - and had real problems on not being pushy with me when we were sexing each other. I didn't want to push her to anything, and I believe I was kind of wrong with that… I was more focused on studies and BL and I thought her like granted. But one day she told me she disliked being on the middle of being a friend and a lover, and her parents were being pretty insistent on her not having female lovers – I believe they were very into christianism. I couldn't say anything, as I hadn't really noticed all the problems she had, and I was too much of a child to give her a good answer on how to solve her problems. So, after some talks and fights and tears we broke up. Didn't talk each other in a month I guess. But then she joined our group and told me that no word of our last relationship should be known by the rest, and I accepted. A long time passed between all of that, and now we can talk as friends normally or something like that."

"Wow, that's… That's a real interesting story, but was it that way? I do remember the times where you didn't talk each other but I always thought it was more related to studies and all of that"

"Osoko, it's easy to lie about schools and choosing universities. But I guess it was more about me being just too much of a stupid child and her being in between a sword and a wall.

Sometimes, when no one is near, she still talks with me about girls and how much she dislikes make believe the rest of the world on how interested in males she is, while all she wants it's to get cash fast and love whoever she wants when she destroys her company"

"That's unsurprising, coming from her"

"But it still means having a lover who isn't quite male"

"Is she going to tell us someday?"

"M' not sure, she gets embarrassed easily and her pride its out charts"

"Hmmm… B-but you and Todoko still see each other. Are you telling me there is nothing, really nothing in between you anymore!?"

"… Well…"

"… Oh shit…"

"… Last time was like, six months ago, we were drunker than we are now"

"Oh my fucking god, you both are terrible"

"I know, I know. So, what are you going to do, Oso-chan?"

"... I… "

-o-o-o-

Instead of what she expected, Karako could sleep like a log all night. There was no time to even think on the moment of her confession like she did all the way home, in the train and in the walk to her apartment.

-o-o-o-

"Seriously Karako, we've walked so much, I swear you deserve to buy me ramen after this" - Osoko, always the unobservant one, ranted and whined her misfortune while light trashing her dearest friend, whomst she was sure he would make her pay over it soon but it was as all their games were. Nothing that worrying, considering their nature.

But still…

The lack of response coming from the other girl distressed her more than what she would've wanted.

It was the reason of all those jabs, after all.

Moments passed, and Osoko grew restless, one degree more every single second.

"H-hey, I just remembered you have terrible memory… are you sure you know where you are guiding us?" - She couldn't help it after all, nights in Ikebukuro were very dark for them both, unknown on all sides, surrounding them.

The scared girl took Karako's arm with her own, holding onto it like a lifeline.

It was enough to break her.

"Let's stop here"

"Oh, ramen then?" - They were on the front of a ramen shop, truly. It was an unknown little cart near a narrow dark street, nothing too outstanding about itself, and nothing attractive, too. But whatever, at least it was a place to ask directions, the short haired brunette thought. A pull on her linked arm made her thought otherwise, though.

"No, no there, just- follow me."

"I already said, I'm bad at this, Osoko" - In the darkness, it was difficult to see Karako's face. Her clear eyes signaled distress, but after what had happened that day the eldest was in no position to be condescendent.

"Then explain yourself better! I have followed you for-" -She says, signaling her handwatch - "Almost an hour! Without direction! I hope you got a good explanation for this, though"

"Hnng! I got one, just give me a while, my thoughts are all jumbled still…"

Osoko crossed her arms, negating whatever she was going to say instantly. "Nuh uh, do it fast! I'm freezing and on a bad m-"

She couldn't continue. A loud 'THUD' resonated in the silence on Ikebukuro, and the beast Karako had inside was freed from the bag that contained her. She got out the grasp of Osoko, and grabbed her by the shoulders. Face by face, the tanned woman seemed fierce, shining tears on her eyes and noses almost touching with each other.

Harako's firm grasp was palpable even when they both were under the covers of all their winter clothes, and its strength and sheer warmth hurt.

"Aah! Shut up, you shitty friend! SHUT THE FUCK UP! I'll tell! I'm here to say… to say… that I like you."

"U-uh?"

"Yes, YES! That's what you wanted to listen! I want you, I need you! I believe I'm in love, and its damaging my heart, I can't control it anymore."

The dark sky got darker, and the streetlights got brighter. There was nothing else in the world but the lights and them, firmly united by that painful clasp that had the brunette on the hurting woman's almost hug.

Almost kiss.

Almost everything.

"I-I like you so much, I can't stand it. You are so cute, I need you to be with me, Osoko. Even when you are kind of a manipulative stupid shit bitch, but so I am too. Would you like to… go out with me?"

"Wh-wha…"

The world revolved around that exact moment, and when Karako put her head over the woman she loved's shoulder, they both didn't remembered no more.

The surprises just wouldn't end, it seemed.

And the moon was full over them.

-o-o-o-

Her words resounded in her brain all the while, her Spotify songs couldn't even reach her ears. But in the moment she touched her bed - not even removing her shoes, removing the bought clothes and the packs of mocha creamd out their bags or even washing her teeth, it was like her mind shutted down completely. When she touched the bed, instead, inside her head were all the scenes that had happened that day, summing all the times she had masturbated to her friend – shameful at first, yet so very good, and all the times she had spent there, worried, sending Karamatsu messages via LINE for tips until the day of reckoning was decided. Yet, still she was able to sleep. Her dreams were warm and happy, even if the anxiety held her inside her cage.

And so she woke up, all full of knots on her body due to her terrible sleeping pose, with a red mark on her left cheek, just where the zipper of her parka nestled in. And in the right hand she had her phone, whomst had been playing music all night and had a 4% of battery, along with some messages and other news.

One of the messages was from Osoko, and she couldn't stop her heart from racing like it was on the F1.

"Oh god, what can- should I open it…?"

And she did open it, half an hour later.

Amongst a message from Karamatsu which had photos about red roses and a poem, and some strange "Best of luck you lucky dog" from Choroko which she couldn't understand, the words written by her friend and crush hand almost melted her heart and self completely.

"Wanna meet me in Akatsuka Coffee on Saturday? Let's try this out"

"I-I will" She wrote with trembling fingers. And if it came out like "O woll" she could always say it was the fault of some bug that attacked her and blurred her eyes.

She finally could be free.

Ehehe. I promised a intermission but I wrote it, rewrote it, didnt feel satisfied with it and then just added a small space in the last part.

I noticed you didn't like this fanfic. That's ok, yet I still will keep on publishing it. It will make me grow, in the very least.

Again, please go visit jallematsus account for more images, since I can't post them here. They are beautiful.

Please send reviews!