Chapter 5
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"Umi-chan! Are you ready?" She watched grey haired girl approach her desk with a smile on her face. Umi returned it, nodding and picking up her bag. It was Monday after school, Umi promised Honoka and Kotori to treat them cake.
They walked together through the halls, heading to lockers. Umi turned her head to Kotori "Where is Honoka by the way? Shouldn't she be with you?"
Kotori showed a thoughtful expression "She ran off somewhere just a moment ago. She told me to wait for her near school entrance" Umi hummed in response.
They waited in silence, watching the cars drive by. Umi glanced at Kotori I should probably try and start a conversation. She tightened her lips But how? What should we talk about? The weather? How am I supposed to-
"Honoka-chan sure is late…" Dark haired girl sighed in relief, glad that Kotori was the one who talked first.
"She probably got herself in trouble again" She said with small frown. Kotori giggled, Umi's heart fluttered at the sound.
"That sounds exactly like her" Grey haired girl crossed her arms behind her back, looking at Umi.
"You two are childhood friends, right? Was she always like that?" Her friend leaned her back on the wall, thinking.
"I guess so? She's always been a troublemaker, one time she decided we should climb a huge tree, I almost fell and hurt myself" She chuckled at the memory.
Umi smiled "When we were kids, me and my sisters were like a team, going on adventures and other such things." She closed her eyes "I was very shy at that time, they were pulling me along them, even though I didn't want to go"
Her hand toyed with her skirt "But without them I probably wouldn't be the person I am today" She heard Kotori giggle.
"It's the same with me. Honoka-chan is like a sister I never had" Umi watched her eyes close with a sigh. For some reason, she looked a little nervous. She took a deep breath "N-Now I have you too, everything is even more interesting"
Umi blushed, immediately looking away. She coughed to regain her posture and get rid of sudden nervousness "I-I'm very glad I met you too. And Honoka, of course" They fell back in silence, blushing.
Where the hell is Honoka?! Umi looked around. Her eyes fell on ahead of her; she caught a glimpse of orange hair quickly hiding behind a tree. She waited for a light to change and went to that spot with an angry expression on her face. Kotori was just watching her. She approached the tree and grabbed Honoka's arm.
She watched the color drain from ginger's face "U-Umi-chan! How nice seeing you there! I-Isn't the weather great?" The hold on her arm tightened. Honoka whimpered "I-I can explain! Really Umi-chan! I was just-" She was cut off by a chop on her head.
"Jeez, I can't believe her!" Umi said after letting go off Honoka, who was holding her head and whimpering. Kotori just laughed awkwardly.
"Come on Umi-chan! Don't be mad!" Honoka pouted while waiting for their ordered cakes.
"I can't believe you, Honoka. Why were you even spying on us?" Umi sat straight, arms crossed and tapping her foot on the ground. Kotori sat quietly, watching Honoka and waiting for an answer.
Honoka laughed awkwardly "W-Well, even though we're all friends, I've noticed that you two are still awkward around each other, so I wanted to give you the chance to get to know each other better!" She frowned "It's not my fault you're always blushing when you're alone together" Umi felt her cheeks becoming hot. She opened her mouth to say something back but nothing came out.
She glanced at Kotori and found her flushing and looking down. Honoka was staring at them confused "Huh?" The long silence was cut off by a waitress bringing them their orders.
"A-Ah! I'm so hungry! Let's eat!" Honoka tried to break the awkward atmosphere. Umi and Kotori merely nodded and started eating.
The mood lightened up with time, mostly with the help of Honoka's jokes. Girls were drinking their tea and Honoka was eating her third slice of cake. Umi sighed, watching her "Honoka, you're going to get fat"
Honoka just waved her hand in response, shoving more cake in her mouth. She quickly swallowed it and looked at Umi with weird smile, bending towards her. Dark haired girl leaned away from her "Um, is there something-"
"Umi-chan!" Honoka startled her with sudden shout "I want to know more about your childhood!" Umi looked at Kotori and found her staring at her with expecting eyes.
She sighed and smiled "First of all Honoka, calm down" Honoka leaned back in her seat with a grin on her face "And, I-I also want to know more about your past" She blushed slightly. Other girls looked at her and chuckled, nodding.
"So, Kotori and I met when we were 6 or so. I don't really remember, but we just started playing together I guess." Honoka started, playing with her spoon "After that, we were inseparable" Childhood friends laughed. Umi smiled, seeing them like this.
"Ah, I remember one time we found a puppy! He was so cuuute~" Honoka started gushing over the dog.
Kotori giggled "Your family took him in, right?" Ginger's head shot up, nodding excitedly.
"He's all grown up now~ But he's as cute now as he was as a puppy." She put her head on her hands, thinking about the animal.
"Do you have any animals, Umi-chan?" Kotori asked, looking curiously at Umi.
Dark haired girl thought for a moment, trying to remember "We don't have any right now, but we used to have a cat"
Her friends' eyes lightened "Really? What did it look like?"
"It was actually an old cat, I think it was white with black and orange parts on its fur" Honoka and Kotori squealed, imagining it. "It was a really gentle cat; we had it when I was 6 or 7 years old. It never bit or scratched me or my sisters. Though it was also very lazy" Umi chuckled, feeling nostalgic when talking about her pet. Other girls smiled, watching Umi's expression changing.
They talked about their pasts for a quite long time and before they knew it, the sun was already setting. Honoka excused herself, talking about getting something for her sister (though she winked and held thumbs up at Umi before going, making Umi blush). They were now alone, walking slowly to their homes in silence.
They didn't felt like talking. They just enjoyed each other's presence. After a while they reached the place where they usually part. The girls stood there uncomfortably, not sure what to say. Umi saw Kotori's head getting close to her. She froze, unable to move, just closed her eyes and waited. She felt something soft pressing to her cheek.
Her eyes shot open in surprise looking at Kotori and holding a hand to where Kotori's lips touched. She blushed, seeing the other girl flushing as well. She saw her taking a deep breath "T-Thanks for today, Umi-chan, I really enjoyed it" Dark haired girl was unable to say anything, so she just nodded shyly. "S-See you tomorrow, Umi-chan!" She watched Kotori running off.
After few minutes of dumbly staring into space, Umi walked to her home with silly grin on her face. She ignored Nozomi's callings and went straight to her room. She collapsed on her bed and gazed at the ceiling. Incapable of holding back, she grabbed the pillow and squealed into it. After that, she dumbly giggled, hugging the pillow.
Nozomi watched her in the doorway. She was going to call her for dinner, but after seeing her like this, she decided to wait till she comes down herself. Nozomi quietly closed the door and went downstairs, smiling to herself.
A sigh escaped her lips as the bell ringed, announcing the end of school day. Since she doesn't have anything to do, she might as well go to the Idol Research club. Nozomi saw Nico already waiting for her in the doorway. She grabbed her bag and went over to her, gently waving to Eli when passing her. She waved back with a shy smile on her face.
Nozomi ignored the sly look on Nico's face and went to the club. The walk to the clubroom was silent, but uncomfortable for Nozomi. Nico kept looking at her with that knowing smirk. She put her bag next to the desk and watched Nico do the same. They sat across each other, Nozomi looked everywhere but at Nico.
She saw Nico put her hands behind her head "Hmm~ who would've known our dear little Nozomi would be so close with the cool and handsome Student Council President?" Nozomi frowned, ignoring the small blush forming on her face. Nico loved teasing her about Eli.
"So, when did the two of you become so close?" Nico asked, leaning on the desk. Purple haired girl looked away. Should she tell Nico about this? She could gather some information about what to do from her… But on the other hand, smaller girl could also tease her more often.
She sighed "You know that our parents visited us this weekend, right?" Nico nodded, focused on what Nozomi was saying "We went out on Saturday and met Eli and her sister. We talked for a little bit and, uh, something kind of happened between us?"
Nico frowned "'Something'? What the hell did you two do?"
Purple haired girl blushed and looked at her lap "She… grabbed my hand. I know it's not something that should be considered as special, but I felt like we've become so much closer at that time" She smiled shyly "We held hands for a short time, but it felt like forever"
The lack of response worried Nozomi. She looked up and found Nico staring at her with wide eyes. She panicked a little. Has she said something wrong? Nico coughed a little "Sorry. It's just, it's really hard to get close to Eli. Many girls have tried to be friends with her and she just treated them so coldly they gave up after few days"
Nozomi furrowed her eyebrows. Eli has never acted coldly towards her. Nozomi saw that she was very awkward, but she was never mean to her. "You must be really special to Eli if she let you get so close to her in such short time" Nozomi blushed slightly, surprised by that. Nico blinked slowly "Oh yeah, Eli's gonna come by our club today after she's done with the paperwork"
She smirked mischievously "I'm so gonna tease her about this. Maybe you'll hear some embarrassing stories" She laughed. Nozomi just smiled nervously.
After 20 minutes Eli came into the room. She was confused, seeing Nico smirk at her like this and Nozomi looking at her hopelessly. She cautiously sat down next to Nozomi, placing her bag aside and observing both girls, mostly Nico. Smaller girl had a smug look on her face "So, Elicchi" She started. Eli gulped at how the girl called her. She had a bad feeling about this "When did you become so attached to Nozomi?" The smirk on black haired girl's face increased.
Blonde blushed, looking over at Nozomi. Seeing her smiling helplessly, she sighed. Predicting even more teasing later, she carefully formed her answer in her head. "Um" she started, trying to look Nico in the eye, but seeing her smirk she moved her eyes to the side "I just… felt like we would be great friends? I felt connected to her somehow, I guess" she said slowly.
Small girl hummed in response. Eli gulped, did she say that wrong? She glanced at Nico, who leaned back in her seat, hands behind her head and had a mocking expression on her face "Oh?~ So basically you're saying you feel like you're soulmates?"
"W-What?! No!" Eli blushed. Of course she said something wrong.
Nico laughed loudly, making Eli even madder "Nico! S-Stop laughing!" She only laughed more, holding her stomach. Blonde was now blushing madly. She wanted to see how Nozomi reacted, but she was too embarrassed.
"Nicocchi" She heard a small voice.
"What Nozomi, you want to add more details about your love life?" She snickered again. Eli pushed herself to look at Nozomi. The girl was now smiling innocently at Nico, which made blonde flinch. She stood behind small girl now with her hands raised and moved her fingers in… a weird manner.
"Nicocchi, if you won't stop, I'll have to punish you" Nozomi said mischievously
Nico shrugged "Punish me? What're you gonna do-" She didn't get to finish as Nozomi's hands grabbed her breasts from behind. Hard. She shrieked "E-Eli! Stop that monster!"
"Oh?~ Do you want even more?" Nico screamed in horror, shaking her head.
"H-Harasho…" Eli mumbled, watching her friends. Seeing Nozomi touch Nico like this made her feel somewhat… irritated. She still was amazed at her method.
Nico panted heavily "What the hell, Nozomi"
Older girl smiled innocently and sat back down, changing the subject "I've been very curious for a while now, how long do you know each other?"
Nico and Eli looked at each other "Since early elementary school, I think? We didn't see each other for like two years after we met and became friends though" Eli explained, trying to remember.
Nozomi felt a little surprised "You didn't see each other for two years when you became friends? Why?"
Nico leaned on one hand "Eli was really into ballet when we were young"
"My grandmother influenced me" Eli cut in.
"Yeah, she was pretty good so her grandma teached her and supported in this" Nico said nonchalantly.
"So… Why were you separated for two years?" Nozomi asked, still confused.
Eli sighed "Nico, you suck at explaining things" Ignoring the annoyed grumbling from her childhood friend, she continued "I moved to Russia for two years to train ballet, since my grandmother is Russian. But I failed in ballet competitions, so I went back here, giving up dancing." She ended with am unreadable expression on her face. Nozomi noticed the sadness in her eyes, but it quickly vanished.
"By the way, Nozomi, didn't you say you had to go home a little early?" Nico stated. Nozomi jumped, looking at the clock. Thankfully, it was still early.
She got up and picked up her bag "Yeah, I'll go now. See you tomorrow"
She was about to leave when she heard a chair rattle "Wait Nozomi, I'll walk you home" Deep voice said confidently.
"Hmm?~ Is that how you want to win Nozomi's heart, Eli?"She blushed, looking angrily at the small girl.
Nozomi giggled "You'll need to try harder, Elicchi~. Oh, and" Eli turned to her "you're cute when you're embarrassed~" She blushed once again, this time harder.
Nico was trying to hold her laughter "Eli, you're so oblivious it hurts"
"Nico!" Blonde hit her on the head, successfully quieting the girl, who was now whimpering from pain.
Purple haired girl chuckled "Then, let's go Elicchi" Her friend nodded and they walked out together.
Rin was excited, very excited. She was going to Hanayo's house for the first time. They usually hanged around in her or Maki's house, but never at Hanayo's. All three of them were walking from school. Maki was Hanayo's long time friend so she has been there a few times before.
Hanayo noticed that Rin's practically jumping and smiled shyly "My home isn't something special. It's just a normal house"
Rin put her arm around Hanayo "But it's your house! I just can't help but feel excited!" Hanayo giggled, bashfully scratching her cheek. Rin held their hands and smiled. Maki closely watched her friends.
"You two became really close in a very short time" She stated. Rin nodded, tightening her grip on Hanayo's hand, who just blushed.
"Yeah! Hanayo's really important to me! And of course you too, Maki-chan!" When hearing this Maki turned her head away to hide her blush, muttering 'idiot'. Rin giggled, she was glad to have such amazing friends.
Hanayo reached for doorknob and twisted it, opening the door. She muttered 'I'm home' and took off her shoes. Rin and Maki followed her, saying 'pardon the intrusion'. Her mom came out and welcomed them. She promised to bring them some snacks and juice. Hanayo nodded and motioned her friends to follow her.
Right after coming into brown haired girl's room, Rin carefully looked through everything, letting out 'ah' and 'wow' every now and then. Maki just sighed at Rin's antics and sat down on the floor next to a table, while Hanayo blushed and did the same.
"Wow, Kayo-chin, you have a Gameboy?!" Rin practically screamed, startling other girls.
"Y-Yeah, my aunt gave me it a few years ago. She really likes those" She said bashfully, staring at her legs.
Rin let out a sound of awe "I never thought you'd have something like that! Can I play?" She said excitedly. Hanayo nodded and Rin threw herself at the bed and began playing.
Maki sighed "Your first time in Hanayo's house and you're already acting like it's your own" Orange haired girl just shrugged, focused on her game, which really annoyed Maki. She was about to get up and smack Rin, but Hanayo stopped her, saying that it's fine. Maki crossed her arms, mumbling angrily "I don't get it"
Few moments later they heard a knock on a door. Hanayo quickly got up and opened the door for her mom to get in and place the snacks on the table. Rin put the console away ad sat down with other girls, thanking for the food. Hanayo's mom just smiled and told the girls to enjoy themselves.
Maki looked at Rin after Hanayo's mom got out "You finally let go of that game, huh"
Orange haired girl pouted at her words "I just wanted to test it out. I wouldn't play it the whole time I'm over at Kayo-chin's house" Maki just waved her hand, saying 'yeah, yeah'. Hanayo nervously looked at them, wanting them to stop arguing.
"So, what're we gonna do?" Rin turned to Hanayo with a big grin on her face.
Hanayo fidgeted under her gaze "We can watch some movies first" Rin's grin grew even bigger as she cheered. "Wait here, I'll go get that film" Hanayo got up and walked out of her room.
The room was silent. Maki was intensively watching Rin, which made the other girl very nervous. Her hands were sweaty already. "Hey" Maki finally said.
She jumped "Y-Yes?" They locked eyes for a moment.
"You like Hanayo, right?" Maki asked calmly.
Rin nodded "Of course I do, she's my best friend" Maki blinked slowly, humming in response.
"Just remember this" She leaned to Rin, who did the same, feeling even more nervous "Hanayo likes you too, she trusts you, so" Maki's calm expression turned into a frown "If you ever hurt her in any way, I'll find you and make sure you pay for this"
Rin looked at Maki with a serious face "I promise I won't ever hurt her" She smiled "She's important to me, she's my first friend outside my family, you know?"
"I know" Maki smiled warmly. They stayed in comfortable silence until Hanayo returned, apologizing of taking so long. She chose an animated film. They put in DVD drive and settled down comfortably.
After the movie, girls decided to go and play hide and seek around the house. Maki lost in rock, paper, scissors, so she was "it" first. Rin already found a place to hide; the space between the closet and the wall in Hanayo's room. Seeing that Hanayo still haven't found a place to hide and that the time was running out, she let her hide with her.
Seconds later, they heard that Maki began searching. After a few minutes she went in Hanayo's room. Both girls sunk themselves to hide better. Rin, seeing that Maki is getting closer to the place they hide, pushed herself up in the front, so Maki would find her first and then leave that spot alone. Hanayo watched her, feeling confused.
"Ha! Found you, Rin!" Maki said proudly, tapping Rin's shoulder "Do you have any idea where Hanayo hid?" They got further from that place, Rin exhaled.
She shrugged "It's your job to find her, I won't help you~" Maki grumbled something in response and searched through the room.
After ten minutes and no sign of Hanayo, Maki announced that she gives up. She was surprised to find that Hanayo was hiding in the same spot as Rin. Other girls just laughed at her reaction.
They played for some more time. It was already getting late, so Maki and Rin had to go back. They were getting ready, putting on their shoes. Rin got up first and found Hanayo looking at them kind of sadly. She smiled and pulled her in for a hug. It surprised the girl but she returned it.
"I had fun! We should hang out at your place more often!" She said as she let go. Maki nodded at her words. Hanayo's face brightened up.
"Then, we'll be off. See you tomorrow, Hanayo" Maki said calmly.
Rin grinned "Yeah, See you, Kayo-chin!" Hanayo waved at them, watching them getting further away.
When reaching Rin's house, girls exchanged goodbyes. Before parting, Maki put a hand on Rin's shoulder and smiled. Rin returned it and they finally separated.
"I'm home!" She yelled at the door, taking off her shoes and throwing her backpack aside. She went into the kitchen and saw Nozomi, who was smiling and humming to herself "Nozomi-chan?"
Her sister jumped slightly and turned to Rin "Ah, you're back. The dinner is ready; I'm just waiting for water to boil to make some tea" Rin nodded and sat down, watching Nozomi put the plate before orange haired girl.
She began eating "Nozomi-chan? Why are you smiling to yourself like that?"
Nozomi's smile grew bigger "Umi-chan came back not so long ago. She went straight to her room and laid there, smiling and giggling to herself" She poured the hot water into three cups "From what I know, she was with her friends this afternoon"
Her smirk grew bigger "Aah, Umi-chan is growing up~" She waited for tea to be ready and put it on the table.
Rin looked confused, before the realization hit her "Does Umi-chan has someone she likes?!" She yelled, standing up and nearly spilling the liquid. Nozomi nodded, giggling.
Rin beamed "We need to celebrate! Who is it that she likes?" She gasped slightly "Is it that kind lady who helped me that one day?"
Nozomi shrugged "Who knows~"
"Eeh? Tell me, Nozomi-chaan!" Her sister shook her head.
"The tea is ready, go to Umi-chan and call her down, okay?" Rin nodded, still feeling curious about this.
She gently knocked. Seeing that there is no reaction, she slowly opened the doors "Umi-chan, the dinner is ready" Rin peaked inside.
She saw Umi sit up and beam at her "I'll be down in a minute" She said with the voice that sounded so out of her usual character, or so Rin thought. She nodded and closed the door. She went back and chuckled Umi-chan is cute when she's like that!
She sat back at the table "Umi-chan will come down in a minute" Nozomi hummed in response and drank her tea.
"So, Umi-chan" Nozomi started as they washed the dishes. Umi looked at her "You were pretty excited a while ago, huh? Did something happen?" Umi blushed, looking down at the plate she was holding, a smile appeared on her face.
Nozomi watched her closely. Umi sighed dreamily, shrugging "Maybe"
Her older sister smirked "You're so cute when you're in love~"
Umi flushed. She wanted to say something to deny it, but nothing came out of her mouth. She looked away "So what if I am" She mumbled. Nozomi's eyes widened. Umi was never that honest with herself. She would always say something back.
Purple haired girl smiled "If you ever need to talk, I'm always there for you" She said softly, wiping her wet hand and putting it on younger girl's shoulder.
Umi closed her eyes "I know"