A/N: Chapter 4's up! I'm getting really excited for some reason after i finished this chapter. :D :D :D :3 and thanks for the reviews~!

Yay.

4 – Nozomi

Truth to be told, Nozomi didn't sleep well the previous night. Her mind was too preoccupied by Eri that she couldn't fall asleep. The image of Eri's expression when she saw her groping her junior kept her awake half of the time.

She'd finally fallen asleep at 3am in the morning. So when her alarm rang, she woke up like the living dead, as she dazedly got ready for school. When she reached the student council room, she found Eri already there, sitting at her usual sit going through some documents.

"Mornin' Eri-chi," Nozomi greeted her best friend when Eri looked up, putting the documents aside.

"Good Morning…Nozomi."

"So what was the reason you had me come here so early?"

"I-I wanted to talk to you," the blonde started.

Nozomi raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. She had a bad feeling about this. Last night, she tried her cards when she couldn't fall asleep and ended up with "The Moon" and "The Hanged Man".

The blonde took a deep breath and continued as she stood up, "Nozomi. Please tell me what's wrong. You seemed a little out of sorts these days and it felt like you were avoiding me. To be more exact, you were avoiding looking at me."

Nozomi stood still, stunned. She didn't expect Eri to confront her about it. Not Eri who's sometimes indecisive in doing what she really wants. Nozomi figured that Eri wouldn't ask her anything till she herself brought it up. Just the fact that Eri had confronted her made the purple head feel a little happy but she was reluctant to tell the blonde what's wrong.

When Nozomi didn't say anything, Eri stared into Nozomi's green eyes as she implored genuinely, "Please, Nozomi. I'm worried about you. I may not be able to help you with whatever is bothering you but even so, I still want to help you. You're my best friend."

For a second there, Nozomi had selfishly wanted to confess to her friend right away. But when Eri called her her best friend, she immediately aborted that selfish thought.

She couldn't burden Eri with her feelings. She couldn't let it break their friendship.

"It's nothing," Nozomi said firmly.

Eri's blue eyes seemed to glisten as she grabbed her best friend's shoulders and yelled her voice packed with genuine emotion, "Why? Why can't you tell me? You looked like you're suffering. You looked in pain. I hate not being able to help you in any way! You'd always be there when I had troubles. You'd always give me advice and support me through everything."

"I-I'm sorry." Nozomi couldn't bear to see the blonde hurting. She knew Eri wanted to help her in anyways she could but Nozomi was too afraid. A confession had seemed like a good idea but she didn't know how Eri would take it.

"Nozomi…Am I not good enough of a friend for you?" her voice broke.

Those words pierced through the Student Council Vice-President's heart.

"No, that's not it!" Nozomi denied loudly, gritting her teeth.

"Then why?" Eri persisted earnestly, tears gathering at the side of her beautiful eyes.

Something caught inside the purple head's throat. Just seeing the tears in the blonde's eyes broke her heart. She didn't want to see Eri cry. She'd rather see her angry.

"I-It's too embarrassing and wrong. That's why I can't say it…" Nozomi finally relented.

"Embarrassing? You've seen all my emotional and embarrassing moments. It's fine for you to tell me."

"But…"

"You want to tell me but you're afraid of telling me," Eri deduced. Noticing Nozomi's shoulders slumping down in defeat, she knew she'd hit the nail.

"Say, Nozomi. You used to ask me this, 'What do you really want to do?' Now, I'm going to ask you the same question, "What do you really want to do, Nozomi?"

Nozomi was at loss as she looked down. Just like the 'Hanged Man' card she picked, she's at a crossroad now. It's either she confess to Eri that she liked her or she doesn't at all. Either way would be painful to both parties. If she doesn't tell, Eri might be hurt by the lack of trust. If she told, Eri might not be able to accept such blasphemy. And to think that she's a shrine maiden…

What do I want to do?

What do I really want to do?

Do I want to let her know of my feelings?

Nozomi finally looked up to meet her best friend's azure eyes, her own tears streaming down her face.

"N-Nozomi?!" Eri let go of her best friend in alarm, "What's wrong?! Nozomi!" Eri was worried about Nozomi; it was the first time she'd seen her best friend cry.

"Eri-chi," Nozomi's voice trembled.

Concerned for her purple haired friend, Eri grasped Nozomi's hands reassuringly, silently encouraging her.

Forgive me, Eri-chi.

"Eri-chi, I'm in love with you."

Eri's eyes widened in shock, her mouth gaped open. She was stunned speechless.

"L-Love?" Eri echoed, her mind spinning in circles. "You mean…that kind of l-love?"

The purple haired third year nodded quietly as another drop of streaked down her cheeks.

"I've been in love with Eri-chi since we joined the Student Council."

Eri

Eri stumbled back, not too sure what she should do. She was positive that she was blushing furiously at her best friend's sudden confession. She didn't know how to respond, much less say to her.

Nozomi…loves me? But…how? Why? Crap. My heart's beating faster and faster. What's this feeling? Nozomi's confession should've put me off but for some reason I'm excited.

"B-but how can you fall in l-love with me? We're both g-girls…" Eri muttered.

Nozomi shrugged helplessly, wiping her tears away as she whispered, "I just did."

"Nozomi…"

"It's okay, Eri-chi. You don't have to worry about rejecting me. It was expected though. It felt like I had to get it off my chest and I had to let you know that."

Rejecting…her? That thought hadn't crossed my mind yet…so why did she…?

"Nozomi! I –"

Nozomi interrupted Eri as she leaned forward and hugged her best friend tightly, nuzzling her head against her best friend's neck.

"You always work hard for other people's sake. You never thought about yourself at all. So for this, at the very least, please don't force yourself to like me or anything. Just stay the way –"

Before the purple head could finish speaking, Eri pushed Nozomi off her and pinned her against the wall, "Did I ever say that I would reject you?"

Nozomi hissed in pain before stammering, "B-But I thought…"

Eri didn't really know what she's doing. All she knew that she didn't want to reject her friend's confession. She didn't know if she loved her back but she did know that she didn't want to see Nozomi sad. Her heart was pounding hard against her chest and she leaned in closer towards the older girl, her arms pinned to the side of Nozomi's head, and her other arm stationed beside Nozomi's side.

"Eri-chi…" Nozomi's voice stopped Eri's movements.

What the hell am I doing? Eri asked herself. I'm leaning in closer to Nozomi…as if…I was going to…k–

Eri immediately let go of her arm and took a step back, utterly confused. What had she been about to do? Her heart was still racing, refusing to slow down and her body felt hot.

"I…I'm confused," the blonde admitted.

"Confused…?" the purple haired girl echoed.

Eri nodded, embarrassed, "I-I don't know why, but my heart's beating very fast now. I…I don't want to reject you. I'm not sure…if…I l-love you are not…but…all I know is that I don't want to reject you."

Nozomi froze. She…wasn't rejected? Then…

"Uwah. This…is so embarrassing…" Eri flushed a scarlet red as she cleared her throat, "Well…I...I'm sorry Nozomi. I don't know what I should–"

"Shhh…" the purple haired girl silenced the blonde by placing a finger on her lips. "Don't say anything. Just hearing you say that you don't want to reject makes me feel really happy. As for…your own feelings…" Nozomi paused and look into her best friend's clear eyes, "You gotta understand them yourself. Till then, I'll be waiting."

With that, Nozomi stepped out of Eri's reach and headed to the door.

"And oh, Eri-chi? You're really cute when you're blushing." Nozomi flashed Eri a huge grin and winked before she left the room.

Eri was left speechless as blood rushed up her face, her heart pounding wildly and she slumped down onto the floor, covering her hot face with her hand.

A/N: Major Mike Powell III: Now you know Eri wanted to tell her :D And i'm slightly biased towards Maki here since she's my fav character :3 -hehe-

Bad one: Oops. Haha, sorry, my bad xD Yep, it should be "though no one knew why". Thanks! ;)

And thus, Eri's voyage of discovering her hidden feelings begin... -drum rolls- :3