Chapter 2

Rum Raisin for Two

Rise organizes some papers after the meeting is over and everyone has already left. She doesn't mind cleaning up on her own, but there are times when the members of the student council help her clean up or they'll do the cleaning themselves while Rise is spending time with Nana. Lucky for her, there' s only a few things to clean up, such as some garbage probably Sakurako had left on the floor. She picks up a few papers and throws them in the trash can. All of a sudden, the door slides open.

"OKAY~!" Kyouko says happily. "TIME TO—" She stops and looks around. "Huh? Did the others leave early?" Her eyes dart over towards the raven-haired girl, who is staring at her. "Oh, you're still here?"

Rise nods.

"Oh! I need to ask you something!" The energetic blonde goes over and clasps her hands together while hanging her head down. "Please hand me the pudding that Ayano has in the fridge!"

Rise sweat drops at this as she glances over at the fridge. Then, she shakes her head.

"What!? Why not!? Isn't it in there!?"

The quiet girl points toward the door. Kyouko groans as she slumps down on her knees.

"Ayano probably left with it," she mumbles. "And I wanted some desert to pump myself up!"

Rise gives a weak smile, walks over and pats the blonde on the shoulder. Kyouko looks up at her with teary eyes as the quiet girl whispers. Just then, she pops up with fists pumped.

"I know! I'll buy rum raisin! Wanna come with me?"

Rise gasps softly.

"You're not doing anything with Nishigaki-sensei, right? So, let's kill time and buy some rum raisin!"

She quickly takes the quiet girl's hand and both of them run out of the club room towards the convenience store. Kyouko happily goes over to the freezer section and picks out two small cups of Rum Raisin. Rise tilts her head in confusion as the blonde shows her the two cups and heads out towards the check out line. After paying for those two items, Kyouko beckons Rise outside and sits on nearby bench. Rise sits next to her and looks at her awkwardly, wondering how the blonde will be able to eat just two cups of Rum Raisin. However, her thoughts are proven wrong when Kyouko hands one cup to the quiet girl.

"Here~!" she says as she gives her trademark smile. "My treat~!"

Rise slowly takes the cup and whispers.

"That's a 'Thank you' for helping me the other day," Kyouko says. "I'm very happy you had that cough drop because I thought I was going to die!" She laughs. "Anyways, I hope you enjoy my favorite ice cream."

The quiet girl smiles as she nods and opens the lid. She takes the spoon that came with it and scoops a little of it to have a taste. After taking a bite of it, her eyes widen from the wonderful taste of the ice cream spreading around her mouth. She never had Rum Raisin before and can't believe Kyouko would have her try one of her favorites in return for helping her feel better from having a sore throat.

"Is it good?" Kyouko asks.

Rise nods with a smile, letting the blonde know that she's enjoying it. The two of them continue eating the small cup of Rum Raisin for at least 20 minutes. Rise is almost finished with hers when she looks over towards the blonde, who had already thrown hers away and kicking her feet back and forth while staring up at the sky. The quiet girl rarely talks with the energetic blonde at all, except when she hands out with the Amusement club and all. But her helping her out with her sore throat is an exception, too. After she finishes the last bit of ice cream, she throws hers away and sits next to Kyouko. She whispers a "Thank you" to her.

"Oh, no problem~!" The blonde says as she wraps an arm around the quiet girl. "I'm glad I'm able to share one of my favorite treats with you, Matsumoto-san! It was super fun!"

Rise giggles a little, but when she looks up at the blonde, she notices her smile faded.

"Say…are you…used to being alone?"

Rise shakes her head and whispers.

"Oh, that's right. You've got Nishigaki-sensei. But…do you have any real friends?"

Now that Rise thinks about it, she did become friends with Akari about two days ago. She gives the blonde a nod and whispers.

"You made friends with Akari?" Kyouko turns her head and smiles. "That's a good thing. That means you're improving your presence skills." She gives her a thumbs up.

Rise smiles back as Kyouko pets her on the head. "You're such a cute girl. How can anyone other than us, the Amusement Club and the Student Council ignore you?"

Rise shakes her head and whispers. She herself knows better than anyone that she lacks presence because of her quiet whispers.

"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I'll be your friend," Kyouko offers.

Rise jolts her head up and whispers.

"Yes," the blonde says as she puts her hands on her shoulders. "It really doesn't matter if you lack presence or not. I see you as a very kind girl who loves to help others. I notice you very well, actually. So, don't worry about it. I'll be right here whenever you need me." She leans in and kisses her forehead. "And that's a promise," she says, softly.

Rise blushes at Kyouko's sudden kiss. There is yet another girl who didn't really mind her lack of presence, thus offering her friendship towards her. It makes her twice as happy as she did when she became friends with Akari. She gives the blonde a gentle hug and whispers "Thank You" again.

"No problem~!" Kyouko says as she strokes her hair. "Having friends is very important. They always have your back and comfort you when your sad. I will do the same for you, and so does everyone else that know you."

Rise nods in agreement and rests her head on Kyouko's chest. She wanted to rest for a bit since she ate all of the ice cream and digest her food a little. Kyouko didn't mind at all and wraps her arms around her.

"I guess you want to stay here for a bit longer?" she asks.

Rise nods.

"Alright. We can stay here as long as you like."

With that, Rise sighs happily as she remains rested on the blonde's chest while Kyouko gives her a kiss on the forehead again.

"I'm glad we're friends…Rise…" the blonde whispers in her ear.

A/N: Sorry for the super late update. It's been a month since I did this, but I'm not leaving this fic alone. From now on, at the end of every chapter, I'll announce the pairings for the next chapter. Please continue to enjoy the story~!

Next Pairing: Rise x Ayano