A bowling ball plowed through ten pins. It was a strike, Satsuki's second in a row.
Nonon clapped. She was sitting on a couch in the seating area behind the bowling lane she and Satsuki were using. Bowling was activity one of their first date.
"I never realized how satisfying bowling is." Satsuki sat down next to Nonon, one leg crossed over the other and her hands in her lap. "I tried bowling once before by myself, and I didn't care much for it."
"I think bowling's more fun in a group. By yourself the only appeal's the anticipation you feel after you roll your ball and before you hit any pins. You can't really get that appeal since you're so good you just always get strikes." Nonon got up from her seat and picked up her bowling ball from the ball return. It was an extra-light ball meant for kids given Nonon wasn't very strong, at least not anymore. When she was at Honnōji she was surprisingly athletic, but those days were long gone.
"You may be right, though I don't think I'm that good a bowler."
"Says the girl who immediately got two strikes." Nonon looked back at Satsuki as she stepped up to the lane. Nonon reared her ball back and then tossed it forward. The ball rolled right into the lane's right gutter. "Shit!"
"Don't worry, it's just one gutter ball."
"I always get gutter balls. I suck at bowling. The only way I can ever hit the pins is if I do that thing little kids do where you just place the ball on the ground and lightly push it so it slowly rolls to the pins." Nonon grabbed her ball from the return machine.
"Do you want me to show you how I bowl?"
"It can't hurt."
Satsuki got up and walked over to Nonon. The two stood before the lane.
"When you start you should keep your body mostly straight. Your legs should be bent slightly. Hold your ball sitting on your palm." Satsuki began repositioning Nonon's body from behind. The pink haired girl felt a heat building inside herself. Having her crush touch her body all over was very intense. "Good. Hold this pose. Next you decide where to aim. Since the ball naturally curves, you shouldn't aim straight down the middle."
"'Kay." Nonon whimpered as Satsuki continued to guide her on the optimal bowling form, even moving Nonon's body to show her how she should roll the ball.
"Okay, now try that out." Satsuki stepped back, leaving Nonon a little hot and bothered, as well as disappointed that Satsuki stopped.
After a slow breath, Nonon did as Satsuki instructed her, rolling her ball while keeping in mind how it would hook. Nonon was like a statue as she watched her ball swerve away from one of the gutters and towards the pins.
The ball missed the frontmost pin, but rolled through some of the ones behind it. All but three pins were knocked over.
"Yeah!" Nonon jumped. "I actually hit the pins!"
"Good work." Satsuki clapped.
"It's thanks to you that I did it. Thank you."
"I just gave you some advice." Satsuki walked up to the lane, and as she passed Nonon she spoke into the small woman's ear. "Do you want more advice like that?"
As Satsuki spoke, her breath touched Nonon's ear. The smile on Satsuki's face said she knew what she was doing to Nonon, and that made Nonon especially excited. Satsuki was taking this date seriously.
"I'd maybe like some more help." Nonon stood stiff as a flagpole as she looked back over her shoulder at Satsuki. "Come on, Nonon, be sexy! Push your butt out! Seductive, Nonon! Seductive!"
"I'm happy to show you more, but first…" Satsuki readied herself to bowl, her butt sticking out as if she had psychically heard Nonon's advice to herself.
Satsuki got another strike. The game continued with Satsuki bowling a perfect game and Nonon gradually bowling better over time. Every time Nonon stepped up to the lane, Satsuki gave her more tips and guidance, that guidance including Satsuki groping Nonon's body and whispering into her ear. Each touch had a gentle pressure. It was so meticulous. The movements of Nonon's body were guided by Satsuki, as if the tiny woman were a puppet on strings. Nonon was entranced by Satsuki and she liked it. She was getting worried they'd get kicked out of the bowling alley for public indecency at the rate they were going.
By the time the game was done, Nonon was ready to pass out as if she had just run a marathon. Satsuki considered Nonon's current state as good justification to make the next stop of their date a café.
As for Satsuki's choice of café, well it certainly signaled that she was in a cheeky mood.
Nonon and Satsuki entered the snake themed café. There were white walls with images of snakes on them along with hanging plants. The most noteworthy part of the eatery was the multiple glass boxes filled with live snakes. Upon being seated, Nonon and Satsuki were given one of the boxes which was placed between them on the table so they could admire the reddish-orange serpent inside. Both women quickly placed their orders and relaxed.
"Inumuta will have a laugh when he finds out we came here." Nonon slurped down her iced coffee. "He'll ask if the staff put me in one of the glass cases."
"Apologies, this just felt too fitting." Satsuki looked down at the snake which moved its head a bit before it began to slither around the box. "Snakes are rather cute. They're so simple looking, and the way they slink along is charming."
"Most people are scared of snakes since they're creepy and dangerous and stuff." Nonon tried to sound dejected.
"Are you fishing for a veiled compliment out of my pity?"
"Whatever would make you think that?" Nonon smirked.
"Well in that case, snakes are adorable, especially the tiny ones with a lot of venom." Satsuki rested her head on her hand, eyes meeting Nonon's.
"You're a lot more forward than I expected."
"Does that bother you? Am I coming on too strong?"
"Not at all!" Nonon spoke louder than she intended. She hunched forward in her seat and watched the snake slither about its glass case. "This is honestly really great."
"I'm glad." Satsuki lowered her head so it was just above the table. She looked at the snake in the glass case, at least that was what Nonon initially thought, but upon inspecting where Satsuki's eyes were actually pointed, it was clear Satsuki was looking at Nonon through the case.
Nonon didn't know what to do, so she just waved at Satsuki.
Satsuki waved back.
"I don't remember Satsuki ever being this playful before. Normally she's so reserved. Why is she acting different? Is it because she likes me so I cause her to act in a way she normally doesn't? No, we're around each other all the time and she doesn't act like this. It must be because we're on a date. This is how she acts when she's in 'date mode'. Date mode is really hot, but in a different way to how Satsuki is normally hot. Oh, God. The gap. This is gap moe. I get what those otaku on the internet were saying now."
A waiter approached the table with Nonon and Satsuki's food in hand. Both women sat up straight as plates were placed in front of them.
Satsuki ordered cheese covered curry bread, while Nonon got sausages decorated to look like snakes.
"Satsuki got curry bread. Curry usually gives you bad breath. Did she not think of that when she ordered it, or does she not intend to kiss me today? Not that she has to kiss me or anything, it's just a first date, but, y'know, it's nice to dream. If we kiss, Satsuki's mouth will taste like curry. I'll need to be ready for that. I don't wanna instinctively react to her curry mouth in a way that makes Satsuki think I don't like kissing her. Am I overthinking this?"
Both women began to eat, conversation dying down as they both just enjoyed their meals and the atmosphere of the café, at least that's how it seemed. In truth Nonon was in a constant panic internally as she fretted over every minor thing.
As they ate the building began to shake. Everyone assumed there was a small earthquake and didn't dwell on it.
"Satsuki's quiet now. Is it because we're eating, or because she's bored? We hang all the time though and she doesn't get bored, unless she does! Has she been bored hanging out with me all this time? Was she only hanging out with me out of obligation or something?"
"Hey, Satsuki." Nonon put her utensils down.
"Yes?"
"Are you having fun?"
"Of course I am. This has been delightful so far."
"But are you really?"
Satsuki frowned.
"Why would I lie?"
"I just…I dunno. I'm just scared that you're only pretending to be enjoying this for my sake." Nonon poked at the last bit of her final sausage.
"Nonon, I would never lie to you about this or anything else for that matter." The intensity of Satsuki's voice was reminiscent of when she was young. Nonon got chills. "You are the one person I have always confided in. I trust you more than anyone else, and that includes my trust that I can be honest with you about my feelings. When I say I'm enjoying this, I mean it. I like spending time with you, and this date has been especially enjoyable."
"I guess I gotta believe you when you say it like that." Nonon was sweating.
"Do you want me to prove it?"
"Prove what?"
"That I'm enjoying this. That I'm enjoying you."
"Uh-I-uh-what-I-exactly what do you mean when you say, like, prove?" Nonon leaned back into her seat, though it may have been more accurate to describe the action as Nonon retreating into the seat.
"I'll show you." Satsuki stood up.
"Where are you going?"
"You mean 'where are we going?'''
A love hotel. Nonon and Satsuki were now in a love hotel. The room they were in was very modern in its design, with blue and white walls.
"Why are we here?" Nonon shrieked.
"You waited until we were already in the room to ask that?" Satsuki crossed her arms. "I told you I'm going to prove I wasn't lying about enjoying your company.
"This seems like a little much!" Nonon blushed. "Isn't this a little fast?"
"If you aren't comfortable with this, then we can leave. I suppose I've already proved my point."
"I didn't say that! I'm comfortable!"
"So you want to have sex?"
"Yes! If you want to! If you don't and you're only doing this to prove a point, then don't! But, y'know, if you really wanna, then we can have sex."
"I want to have sex too." Satsuki's smile and rosy cheeks made Nonon's heart pleasantly pang.
A step. Satsuki had stepped closer.
"Holy shit, is this actually happening. Satsuki wants to have sex. We're gonna have sex. This is real. This is really real. Are we moving too fast? I mean some people have sex early in relationships, I just wasn't expecting Satsuki to go for that considering her trauma and everything."
Another step. Satsuki was even closer.
"Wow, Satsuki's so hot. I wonder how experienced Satsuki is. This isn't my first time. I guess it depends on how much Satsuki fooled around when she was dating guys. That still would have been straight sex. Her only experience with other women was with her mom. Shit."
A third step. Satsuki was right in front of Nonon.
"I'm worried, but I also really wanna do this. If Satsuki doesn't want this or changes her mind or whatever then she'll say something. Right? Maybe we shouldn't do this. But I really wanna do this. Wait a sec, when did I get on the bed?"
Nonon was on her back. Satsuki had pushed her onto the bed and was now looking down at her. The taller girl's arms were at the sides of Nonon's head. It was like a cage, a cage Nonon felt comfortable inside.
The face hovering above Nonon began to lower towards her. It made sense to start all this off with a kiss. It would be Satsuki and Nonon's first kiss with each other. First impressions were important, so Nonon double checked with her tongue that nothing was stuck in her teeth, and made sure that she wouldn't burp or do anything gross.
So close. Satsuki's face was only a few centimeters away.
Closer.
Closer.
Two beeps.
Both Nonon and Satsuki's phones beeped. It wasn't a standard notification sound. The sound signaled that both women had been sent an emergency alert.
They groaned at the same time at having their intimate moment interrupted. The fact that they had the exact same reaction simultaneously made them look at each other and laugh.
Continuing to laugh, they pulled out their phones to check the alert.
There was some kind of attack on a nearby subway. The alert wasn't very specific, but there was a lot of damage apparently and everyone was being warned to stay away from even the streets above the subway.
What was most concerning about this news was that the subway station that was attacked was the one Ryūko worked at.
"I'm sorry." Satsuki got off of Nonon and stood up as she called Ryūko.
"It's fine, I understand." Nonon couldn't help but feel disappointed that her first kiss with Satsuki was going to be delayed, but she also wasn't so heartless as to be upset with Satsuki considering her sister could have been hurt or worse.
After a few failed attempts at getting through to Ryūko, Satuski opted to try Mako next since she was always the first person Ryūko contacted when anything noteworthy happened. That was the correct choice as she got through on her first attempt.
Before Satsuki could even say anything, Nonon could hear a muffled avalanche of Mako's usual babble coming from the phone.
"Mako, would you mind letting me speak to Ryūko?…Thank you.…Ryūko, what happened? Are you okay?…That's good.…What?…She's back?…So you killed her? You're sure?…Did you make absolutely sure she's gone for good this time?…Okay. I'd still like to double check.…I trust you, I just don't want to take any risks.…She did all that in public? Of course she would. Are you really okay?…Good. And no one was hurt?…Good. You're a good security guard. I'm proud of you.…I have to act like your big sister sometimes. Anyway, I'd like to double check that she's gone right now. Could you come pick me up, and then Inumuta and Iori?…We'll meet up at Shibuya Crossing; I can get there quickly if I run.…Alright.…Alright.…I'll see you in Shibuya. Be safe."
Satsuki hung up and headed for the door.
"I'm sorry, but there's an emergency. We'll finish this another time." Satsuki grabbed the door knob and turned back to face Nonon. "I really am sorry."
"It's okay, go. This is an emergency."
"Thank you. I'll tell you everything later." Satsuki opened the door, but then stopped short of leaving the room. "I really did have fun. This was a fun first date."
"I had fun too." Nonon smiled and Satsuki smiled back before she left the room.
And that was it. That was Nonon and Satsuki's first date.
It was genuinely fun. Nonon felt blue balled at the end, but it was great up until then.
There was also a part of Nonon that was relieved that things didn't get more intimate. There was chemistry between Nonon and Satsuki that implied that romance between them could blossom, but taking the plunge into the sexual left Nonon full of dread.
For some reason Nonon knew that once she and Satsuki got intimate, everything would go wrong.