Kay, I'm making good progress with this fic =D. My course starts next Monday so I'm working towards completing most of it before then and releasing chapters every few days or so. After next Monday my updating/new stories will probably drop quite a bit as I'm back into real life work but will do my best to keep rolling out new stories/chapters when I can. I'm getting pretty excited about this fanfic though :)
Sony Ninja: Woop! I'm honoured :) - and I'm glad I managed to keep them in character.
setchan-1995: Of course! I have a pretty intense lemon epilogue planned ;). In fact, although I haven't written the concluding two chapters yet this pairing has the scope for some of the best fluff and lemon of the stories I've written so far (althougth as a pairing KonoxSetsu is still the flagship one ;) ).
Chapter 2: Troubled Hearts
There were still several days of the summer vacation left before 3A would sit again under Negi as 4A. Both Akira and Yuna were busy the following day sorting respective club stuff out but they were both in their room the day after, eating their bentos under the gaze of a warm early-afternoon sun.
They rarely ate together as they were both dedicated to their sports, which meant a lot of time training outside, and when they did eat together it was often in near silence or friendly, shallow conversation before both went their separate ways. Today Yuna decided to try something different.
"Have you got any plans for the rest of the day?" She asked. Akira glanced up.
"Not until the evening when I was going to train. Why?"
"I was thinking we should do something or go somewhere!" Yuna declared brightly. "It's coming towards the end of the holidays after all." Akira raised an eyebrow and asked,
"Where?" The question stumped Yuna for a second.
Ohmygosh, where? Think Yuna, think! What does Akira like? Oh yeah! Cute animals, but I can hardly suggest a veterinary or the pound. That's it! A zoo!
"How about the zoo?" Akira's eyebrow remained raised but she seemed to like the idea.
"That's fine with me. Who else is coming?" Yuna paused again. Who else? Well Makie and Ako I suppose. I guess just the two of us would be a bit like...
She found herself blushing, the blush remaining as she typed in Makie's number because she suspected a part of her would be quite happy if Makie and Ako couldn't make it.
"Well Makie and Ako I guess," Yuna said as the phone rang. A few seconds later Makie picked up,
"Hi Yuna!"
"Hey Makie!"
"What's up?"
"Nothing much. Akira and I were wondering if you and Ako wanted to go out to the zoo this afternoon?" She heard Makie give a disappointed sigh.
"Sorry Yuna we can't. We're heading into Nagoya to shop this afternoon. We should definitely do something tomorrow though!" Yuna nodded and wondered why her heart had skipped a beat. "Kay, Yeah! Let's meet up and go out tomorrow then! Bye Makie!"
"See ya!"
Akira sighed softly and finished off her bento. "So we're all doing something tomorrow instead?" Yuna nodded and so Akira rose and went over to her draws where she began to look for some work to do. Yuna watched her with catlike eyes as Akira pulled out some work and sat down. Scowling Yuna said,
"And what do you think you're doing?" Akira froze with her pencil hovering above the page.
"My homework? I mean if we're going somewhere tomorrow…" Now she definitely sounded surprised.
"It doesn't mean we can't go somewhere today, right?" Yuna pressed.
"So you still want to go to the zoo?" Akira asked, turning round and for a second Yuna thought she saw a trace of happiness in Akira's eyes.
"Of course, silly! Its ages since I've been to the zoo. Now are you in or are you in?" Akira had to smile at Yuna's enthusiasm. She really does have so much energy and love for life, Akira thought as she put down the pencil. I really do envy and admire that.
"Cool. I guess I'm in then," she said and went to get changed whilst Yuna, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed about being in the same room as Akira whilst she changed, went to the toilet.
What's wrong with me? Yuna thought as she sat down. I don't even really need the loo and my face has turned bright red. Deep breathes Yuna, deep breathes. It's just a passing crush or whatever. You just want to help her that's all, like dad. But then why does this feel different? Why can't I stop myself from starting to think about her like this? Blast Konoka and Setsuna for bringing these sort of thoughts to public prominence!
She emerged to find Akira had changed into a sea blue top and denim jacket with denim jeans. Wow! How cool does she look? Whispered her treacherous mind. Oh shut up! She told it. She's my roommate and friend and besides I could never betray papa!
Sometime later Akira found she was licking an orange ice lolly as she and Yuna strolled past a pen of ostriches, heading towards the penguin arena. The sky was blue and scattered with wispy white clouds. The day was perfect, a cooling wind stirring her long black hair and soothing her hot skin. Beside her Yuna walked with a happy smile, occasionally pointing out some animal or rushing over to an enclosure with Akira following in her wake.
Suddenly Yuna veered right, towards an iron grilled cage where a majestic lion prowled. Akira glided behind her and watched on as Yuna put her hands on her hips and gave the beast a piercing stare.
"So you're the king of the jungle, huh! Well you don't scare me! Roooarrhhhhhh!" Yuna's roar took some of the passing visitors by surprise but it was nothing compared to the effect on Yuna when the lion sprang towards her with a loud,
"ROAHHHHHRRRHHH!"
Yuna gave a small 'eep' and leaped backwards into Akira's chuckling form before hastily disentangling herself, her face bright red. She seemed to recover though when she looked round at Akira and saw her chuckling. Scratching the back of her head she started laughing too.
"I guess I asked for that." Yuna turned to the lion and gave it another long hard stare. The lion stood its ground growling softly at her. Then Yuna took a huge breath and unleashed a monster roar causing a number of people, including Akira, to jump.
"ROOOOAAAAARRRRHHHHH!"
The lion blinked and took a few cautious steps back before seemingly shrugging its shoulders and losing interest, meandering over to the far corner of the cage where it lay down to sleep.
"HA!" Yuna said with contented satisfaction, "I win!" She turned to find Akira holding her sides with laughter.
"What?" She sasked innocently.
"Nuh...Nothing," Akira managed to say and Yuna smiled.
"Then lets go to the Penguins!" Akira nodded and followed with her head spinning.
When was the last time I had so much fun? When was the last time I found someone so captivating and exciting as Yuna? She's so bouncy it seems like she's everywhere at once and yet all the time she makes time for me, filling me in, talking and asking my opinion. I wonder what's brought this about?
Yuna suddenly took her hand and pointed ahead and to the right where several icy ridges ran about a lump of large rock and small black and white figures were waddling about like tenpins on legs.
"Lookie! There they are!" Akira couldn't contain her smile again at Yuna's infectious attitude, allowing the smaller girl to lead her on. Increasingly as the afternoon flew by Akira was finding a new problem developing. It wasn't just that Yuna's infectious personality was rubbing off on her but as a result of that she was starting to see Yuna in a new light.
I'm not sure when I started looking at her and thinking 'not only do I admire her personality but her figure as well'. I guess the thought that triggered it was remembering Makie and Ako complaining how Yuna's breasts had grown so much recently and how milk must be the answer. But I must have been looking at them before that to trigger that thought. This is problematic...and just when I've finally found a person whose company I'm really, truly, genuinely enjoying.
They were at the edge of the penguin enclosure now and could see all of them strolling about and diving into the water, shooting along as fast as any fish. Akira couldn't help but let out a gasp of genuine delight at seeing them up close. They're so cute! She gazed on enraptured, again missing the fact that Yuna's attention had briefly fixed itself solely on her.
So this is what Akira's like when she's genuinely happy. I'm so glad! It seems going to the zoo was the right choice after all. Not even I thought she'd enjoy it this much though. At least I hope I've read her right and that it's not an act.
Having seen Akira today and running back through her mind her few hazy recollections of Akira's smiles and words on other nights that the four of them had been out, Yuna strongly suspected that quite often in the past Akira hadn't been enjoying herself but merely pretending to.
And I didn't notice. What a berk! Although admittedly it would have been hard to notice without some clue or indication. She acts the part so well.
She turned her attention back to the penguins and finished off her strawberry milk lolly, finding endless amusement in the clumsy antics of the penguins.
They remained there a while watching the penguins being fed. Then Akira, seeing the sun was getting low, glanced at her watch and looked a trifle disappointed as she said.
"Looks like I need to be getting back to the campus. I have to do my scheduled two hours swimming practice. Yuna nodded, having figured as much.
Somehow though I don't want my time with Akira to end yet. It's been such fun! And it's a long time since I've seen her swim. Before she'd managed to work out the full implications she blurted out.
"Would you mind me coming to watch a while?" Akira cast her a swift glance that made her flinch at first before she was able to look back into Akira's eyes, they were unnervingly unreadable.
Oh shoot! What have I done? How weird did that sound?
Akira wasn't used to being surprised so many times in one day. Swimming practice was her time alone where she could think clearest but it wasn't like she didn't have enough time for thinking and besides, Yuna would only be watching.
But why? Why would she want to watch me? For a second she dared to hope Yuna might actually enjoy spending time around her specifically but as that was improbable she quickly dismissed it.
After all I'm not like Makie or even Ako. I'm too quiet. I guess she's just curious to see how a swimmer trains, definitely nothing more.
She almost asked Yuna why she wanted to come but bottled out and with an indifferent shrug said,
"Yeah, sure."
Inside Yuna breathed a huge sigh of relief. Although Akira hadn't seemed overwhelmed by the prospect at least she hadn't asked her why she wanted to go.
I'd have said to see her train but that would have been but one small part of the whole. She'd probably have seen I was telling something of a white lie. Part of me just wants to spend time around her and understand her better and another part of me finds the image of her in that tight swimsuit she wears... No!No!No! I'm supposed to end up with a cute guy right? But since when did I do something for the sake of conforming to the norm? If the person I fall in love with is a girl why should I hold myself back?
She was just behind Akira now as they walked out of the zoo so mercifully this blush passed unnoticed.
It was late in the evening when they reached the swimming pool and being the holidays there was no-one else there. Akira was a member of the swimming committee so had her own key and let herself and Yuna inside. Yuna left Akira to change and wandered into the huge main hall of the newly built pool, enjoying the sharp smell of chlorine. There were rows of seats along both sides to the right and left and the wall opposite was made entirely of glass, looking out over a hedged garden bright with flowers and interspersed with low twisting trees. The last of the sunlight lit up the garden and pool causing Yuna to gasp at its beauty. She walked around the pool to the glass and remained lost for a while staring out into the garden until she heard Akira enter.
Turning round she had to stifle a second gasp. Lit up in the golden light Akira's long slender form strode elegantly to the side of the pool. There Akira straightened up and arched cleanly into the water with hardly a splash.
How beautiful! Yuna thought as she sank to the ground and watched Akira's swift fast strokes carry her up to her end and back as fast as any fish. For the first ten minutes or so Yuna watched in awe but there was only so much excitement to watching someone else swim and soon she began to nod off.
She wasn't really sure how long she lay there dreaming but suddenly she woke to find Akira's face a few feet from hers.
Oh! She's been tapping me on the shoulder to wake me! Beautiful face and body in a tight fitting swimsuit. What's wrong with me! She scrambled backwards against the wall blushing bright red to Akira's consternation.
"Are you all right Yuna?"
"Um," she gasped before regaining her composure. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Well I usually take a ten minute break around now so I was wondering if you wanted to go put on a swimsuit and join me afterwards. After all, just watching isn't much fun right?" Yuna's eyes widened slightly. She really is considerate, but...
"Well I'd love too except that I haven't got a swimsuit and I can't swim all that well."
Akira smiled. Given Yuna hadn't already volunteered to swim she'd guessed as much. So why did I ask? Because I want to teach her. Why do I want to teach her rather than just train? Because she's been looking out for me today so I should do the same for her. Is that really all? She knew it wasn't. That a part of her wanted to see Yuna in a tight fitting swimsuit and wanted to help Yuna regardless of whether Yuna had helped her. But she hid those thoughts behind the justification to ensure they didn't make her falter.
"That's fine. I have the key to the spares cupboard and I'll teach you how." Yuna blinked, then smiled enthusiastically.
"Okay!" Whilst she changed Akira went to the vending machine and got them both a chocolate bar and a drink. Then they went and sat on a bench by the main pool. The swimsuit Akira picked was comfortable but couldn't have been much more of a close fit. Yuna was becoming increasingly aware of the power of these swimsuits and thought she caught Akira glancing downwards a couple of times. But surely not! Not Akira! It's just my deluded libido playing more tricks on me! They sat in silence for a few minutes until Akira said, a touch flatly.
"Thanks for today Yuna, I really enjoyed it." Yuna choked on her Dr Popper and gave Akira a sideways glance. Akira was sipping orange juice through a straw and looking straight ahead but sensing Yuna's glance looked at her and added more warmly,
"I mean it. I'm just not very good at showing it." Inside Yuna's mind more pieces began to click and fall into place. Ah! Because she's so used to pretending to be happy she struggles to show that she's genuinely happy. A wave of empathy washed through her and she said instinctively and with feeling,
"Then we'll just have to give you plenty of opportunities to practice!"
Akira said nothing in response, sucking up the last of her juice. Yuna too fell silent, unsure what Akira was thinking. Then the taller girl rose and said in a more lively tone,
"Okay. Then shall we swim?" Yuna grinned and punched the air.
"Yeah!"
For the next hour Akira patiently taught Yuna how to swim smoothly through the water, which was some task given Yuna usually moved through the water like a hot-wired pneumatic drill with concrete fins. By the end of the second hour Yuna could swim a length of the pool quite fast without drenching the sides. Noticing how late it had got, with the sky darkening outside to a black sea flecked with stars, they finished up, changed and headed home. Neither spoke much save for a brief debate about what to do with Makie and Ako the next day. Both had too much to think about. As Yuna went to sleep, calling out,
"Night Akira," and hearing Akira's warm,
"Night Yuna," she was wrestling with her mind. The whole 'I'm only doing this to help her' argument was starting to feel rather weak when she'd just volunteered to go watch Akira swim and ended up having Akira train her. Not to mention she was finding it increasingly hard to look at Akira without a warm tingling running through her.
She's just a friend, right? After all you still have your dad to look after. You can't just abandon him for someone else, can you? Is that really right? I'll have to someday, after all. But anyway I'm just being silly. It's not like Akira could feel that way about me so it's purely academic. Besides it's way too soon to be over-analysing things. See if the feelings still there in a few weeks or months. By then I'll probably be all lovey dovey over some cute guy.
Yuna heard no sobs or shifting movements beneath her and went to sleep content that tonight Akira wasn't feeling troubled. She was wrong. Akira lay awake long after Yuna had fallen asleep. It wasn't the loneliness that bothered her now though but the solution. Since Yuna had brightly declared her intention to make sure Akira would stay happy Akira had had those words playing round her mind on a loop.
Dare I allow myself to hope that she can? No one else ever has but then no-one has ever made me feel so alive. That was the further problem…Even so, how long can I go without her discovering that I may not actually be straight? Or at least that I might be bi? I can't explain why else I found it hard to tear my eyes away from her figure. No, never mind that for now. All I can do is see how things unfold. At least I can finally see the sun through the clouds and I must cling on to the hope that it will clear the clouds away because if I'm left in the dark again I'm not sure I'll have the strength to go on.
So she eventually drifted off to sleep with her heart holding onto the fresh hope Yuna had stirred within her.
