Chapter 6

The sun was finally beginning to rise.

As Rin took the last few steps out of the shrine, the sun breached the horizon and began casting its first rays across the town. Rays that fell squarely across a certain brunette, highlighting her every feature. The soft brown hair that fell so perfectly about her cute face, those lithe arms clutching a single, purple flower, that well-proportioned body line covered by her tight-fitting pink tracksuit... It was too much for her to take.

"Kayo-chiiiin!~"

With an energy she didn't know she still had, she leapt at the brunette, who stretched out her arms to receive the hug properly for once instead of shrinking away.

Their bodies collided. Somehow, Hanayo managed to keep the two of them upright despite all the force Rin had put into the hug, standing her ground firmly under the energetic missile that was her best friend.

All the awkwardness of the past week was forgotten in that instant, as the two of them luxuriated in each other's warmth. Rin let herself slump entirely on the brunette, rubbing their cheeks together. "Kayo-chin~" she murmured lovingly.

After the last few weeks of self-doubt, she felt like everything holding her back had finally been removed thanks to Nozomi's advice. And now she was sure that the most fun thing she could possibly do, was to be with the friend she had been wanting to be with all her life. But first she had to set things right.

"Kayo-chin, Rin's sorry. This last week, Rin was... Rin was really confused."

Hanayo didn't respond for a while, only releasing Rin from the hug and setting her down gently.

"Silly Rin-chan. It's okay. It's my fault too for not pushing hard enough to ask what was wrong. But from now on I won't let you run away again." The brunette had a surprising fire in her eyes, a gaze of determination that was even stronger than the ones she had involving idols.

Seeing the new look on her childhood friend's face, Rin could only stare on in wonder. Kayo-chin's starting to change... and for Rin's sake.

Taking a deep breath, Hanayo began speaking once more. "Rin-chan. I... I'm short, not cute, not good at anything in particular but-"

"That's not true nya! Kayo-chin is so much better than Rin and so much cuter!"

"No, Rin-chan is-"

Hanayo broke off as she saw the growing frustration on the orange-haired girl's face. And with that the two of them began to laugh, remembering what had happened just yesterday afternoon. When they finally stopped, the brunette decided to skip to what she really wanted to say.

"Rin-chan, I only know one thing for sure. And that is more than anything else, I want to be by your side for the rest of my life." Raising her hand, the girl held up the lone nadeshiko flower she had been holding all this time, offering it to her beloved.

Framed in the orange rays of the morning sun, it was the most beautiful sight Rin had ever seen. She let out what was possibly the brightest, happiest smile she had ever made in her entire life.

"Rin loves this side of Kayo-chin, too!"

"Ehh? Where's Rin-chan and Hanayo-chan?"

The rest of Muse had gathered at the shrine steps for their daily training, with the second-years arriving late yet again. This time, Honoka had arrived while rubbing at a swelling on her forehead, grumbling about "Umi-chan's love punches". Since it was time for practice and two of the first-years still hadn't arrived, Honoka had been the one to ask the question.

"Oh, they messaged me earlier," Eli explained without meeting anyone's gaze. "They weren't feeling well so I asked them to take it easy and rest for today."

"Eeeeh... I see. Oh well!"

"Those two have always been the most hardworking, so we should let them sleep in once in a while~" Nozomi added while glancing over into the shrine, at a certain stone lion statue.

"Okay, let's get started then!"

And just over at the other end of the shrine grounds, hidden away from sight by the protective stone guardian, a pair of girls cuddled together slept away under the cool shade of the shrine.

"Rin can't believe we missed training nya!"

Hanayo let out a soft giggle as she stretched, easing the pain in her muscles. It had been a terrible week sleep-wise, and though the nap at the shrine had restored her energy it had done little for her muscle aches. Her girlfriend on the other hand looked as energetic as ever, back to the same old Rin she was before all this.

"Hey hey Kayo-chin, what do you wanna do now?"

The brunette pursed her lips as she considered their options. It was still pretty early in the morning, but the rest of Muse had already left to carry out their own plans for the day. "We could... go on a date?"

Rin shook her head disapprovingly. "Try again, Kayo-chin! With more force!"

"Let's go on a date, Rin-chan!"

"That's more like it nya!"

And so the two of them hit the town together after heading home first to change into more suitable outfits. Though it was their first date, it was in many ways no different from their usual trips out.

Lunch at the ramen store...

"Oh, I see you two young ladies have made up."
"Ehehe. We're dating now nya!"
"Ri-Rin-chan! There's no need to tell him that!"
"Ahahaha! Don't be shy there, today's meal is on the house to celebrate!"

Fooling around at the arcade...

"A little more... a little more... Ah! I missed it again..."
"Hehe, let Rin try nya~ Rin's an expert at these UFO catcher games~"
"Ah, you got it... you make it look so easy."
"Here Kayo-chin, for you. If it's for Kayo-chin, Rin can do anything nya!"

Walking about in Akiba...

"Look Kayo-chin, a bowl of white rice!"
"Where?!"
"Hehe... got you again. Rin's just fooling around~"
"..."
"Kayo-chin?.."
"I THINK I JUST SAW TSUBASA-SAMA!"
"Wah! Wait up Kayo-chin!"

It was in the middle of the afternoon when they finally stopped for a rest on a bench in the park, crepes in hand and slowly munching away.

"Rin wonders why they haven't invented ramen in crepes yet... It would probably be interesting."

Hanayo giggled at the thought, though the idea of seeing Rin eating one didn't seem that far-fetched. "Ramen doesn't go with everything, Rin-chan."

"It does, it does! Rin read the other day about this egg-speciality shop in Osaka, that put ramen inside an omelette, inside ramen soup! That's even weirder than ramen in crepes nya!"

The brunette laughed yet again. Her best friend - no, her girlfriend, was always so fun to be around, she never wanted to be apart from her. "Then we'll have definitely have to go try that shop together someday, Rin-chan. And maybe make some ramen crepes too."

"From what Rin saw, that shop serves that as a set alongside gyoza and rice. So... Rin was wrong. It's possible to have ramen and white rice for the same meal after all," Rin declared while scratching at the back of her head.

The earnest but awkward way her girlfriend tried to express her feelings brought a smile to Hanayo's face. Really, this was the girl she had fallen in love with. One who would go ahead with whatever she felt and wanted with no care as to how she would appear.

"I'm sure... it'll taste wonderful, Rin-chan."

Leaning in, Hanayo captured Rin's lips with her own, the faint traces of strawberry and chocolate mixing on their tongues. It was their first kiss, but it was so impossibly blissful to Hanayo that she didn't feel any awkwardness at all. Despite Rin's initial hesitance, Hanayo pressed the advantage until her girlfriend broke away gasping for breath.

It was fifteen minutes later when they finally finished enjoying their crepes and each other's company.

"Kayo-chin, what do you want to do now?"

"Rin-chan... you don't always have to be so considerate."

"Hmm?.." the catlike girl tilted her head in confusion, even though she knew what her girlfriend was saying.

"I know you're afraid of always leading me around. But it's okay. That's the Rin-chan I fell in love with, and I don't want you any other way. If there's something I really want to do, I would ask." Hanayo had said all this in an unwavering voice, but her face was starting to turn red from declaring her love.

"Ah... So that's it nya."

"Mm."

The catlike girl shot up from the bench. "Then let's go! Rin's been dying to try out the new baseball batting centre that opened nearby!"

"Uweehh?! Don't your muscles ache?!"

"Rin's perfectly fine! We're not leaving there till we hit a homerun nya!" Looping her arm around her girlfriend's, Rin began dragging her away towards their destination.

Yes, in many ways, their first date was no different from their usual trips out. But that was perfectly fine too, in its own way.

"SOMEBODY SAVE MEEE!"

Author's Note: Aaaand the pair finally gets together. With much fluff. Yay!

For the record, ramen in omelette in a soup was the weirdest thing I had ever eaten. If you ever pass by a shop with a giant egg decoration in Osaka near the renowned Osaka Aquarium, do stop by.

Also, my heart died today from Nico's siblings orz. And if I'm not wrong, looks like next week's episode is focused on Rin! Isn't that just nice, our poor sidelined characters finally getting the limelight~