Chapter 26 – Rained Out Feelings
Jun's POV
Nothing much was done after Mugi-senpai, Miharu-senpai, and Azusa came back from wherever they were all day yesterday. We just took baths, ate dinner, and did our own thing until it was time for bed. A pretty normal way to end off our first day in Okinawa.
Today, however…was a bit different. Mainly because…
"*whine* It's raining!"
"The forecast says that it's going to rain all day today. "100% chance of showers."." Nodoka-senpai said to Yui-senpai.
"*whine* Nodoka-chan! Can't you make the rain stop?!"
"Y-Yui, I'm not a miracle worker."
"Who said you had to be a miracle worker? Just do some hocus pocus stuff and get this rain outta here."
"Hocus pocus? What the hell?" Nodoka-senpai gained a huge sweatdrop from hearing that.
"You guys were supposed to start practicing today, right?" I asked Mio-senpai.
"*sigh* Yeah. Nothing much we can do with this rain around. It'll surely set us back a bit."
"Can't you just find a place to practice? I mean, you're usually the one demanding to practice no matter what."
"Even if we do find a place to practice, there's still…"
"Come on, Nodoka-chan! You read a lot of books, right?! You surely read a book about changing the weather with witchcraft stuff, right?!"
"Y-Yui! That's ridiculous! I don't read witchcraft!" Yui-senpai and Nodoka-senpai were still arguing about changing the weather.
"Gah! Damnit, how do I keep losing?!" Meanwhile, Ritsu-senpai, Himeko-senpai, and Sumire were playing Smash Bros. on the TV. With Ui watching from the sidelines.
"Wow. Tainaka-san, you suck at this game." Himeko-senpai said.
"As if YOU'RE doing any better, Himeko…"
"Woah…I won again." Sumire said. Still shocked over her winning streak. "I must say…this "linguine" guy is rather fun to use."
"S-Sumire-san…his name is Luigi." Ui said with a sweatdrop.
And then the smoothie trio were still asleep in the other room. With Azusa snuggling up against Miharu-senpai like she's a freaking teddy bear. And Mugi-senpai…she's surprisingly a wild sleeper.
"Right…I guess everyone's already doing their own thing." I said with a sweatdrop.
"There's no way in hell I can get anyone to practice. Especially with the rain pouring down."
"Then…let's go do our own thing."
"Huh?"
"Come on, Senpai. There's never been a chance for just us two hang out together. It's always you with your group, me with my group…you and Ritsu-senpai having crazy weird sex in those FanFiction stories…"
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that last part." Mio-senpai said with a pissed off look on her face.
"Point is, we should take this opportunity before it drifts off from us. Beat the norm, you know?"
"Well…you do have a point." Mio-senpai thought for a moment. "Alright, Jun. We can go hang out together. It'll be fun."
"Yes! Alright! Let me just go put on a bra and we'll get going!"
"Y-You mean you're not wearing one?"
"Duh. I took mines off the moment we step foot inside this hotel room. I'm surprised nobody has noticed yet."
"I-I see…" Mio-senpai gained a sweatdrop.
The two of us left the room (the others were too busy with their own thing to notice that we were leaving) and went walking around the hotel. Eventually ending up on the first floor somewhere. This place is bigger than I first thought it was.
This honestly puts Tamura-san's place to shame.
"Geez. The rain's really pouring out there, huh?" I asked.
"Yeah, it sure is. It makes sense, though. We are close to the rainy season, after all."
"What? Rainy season? Doesn't that start in June?"
"In Okinawa, the rainy season starts in May. This is because of it being its own island. In fact, a lot of things tend to be earlier here because of that reason."
"Wow. You sure know a lot about Okinawa, Senpai."
"I-I just read a bunch about it before coming here. It is my first time here, after all."
"I see." I was honestly amazed that she took the time to do that.
Mio-senpai sure is smart. Diligent, too. I don't know why Azusa says that she's unreliable. She's every kōhai's dream senpai. Hah~…
…
…
…
N-Not that I would know! I-I'm just saying!
"So, what exactly did you wanted to do, Jun?" Mio-senpai asked.
"Uh…" I went silent for a bit. "…I'm not really sure. I've never stayed at a fancy hotel before. So, I'm not entirely sure what's here for us to do."
"I see. Well, we can just walk around a little to see what's here. Maybe we can find something for just the two of us to do."
"J-Just the two of us?!" I blurted out in shock while gaining a small blush on my face.
W-Wait, why did I react like that?! This is just a simple thing that people hide! I'm getting worked up over freaking nothing!
"You okay? Your face is getting red."
"U-Uh, yeah. Nothing to it. Let's go take that walk, Senpai."
"Uh…okay." Thankfully, she didn't question that outburst much. I honestly had no idea how I would explain it. It surprised me, too.
Seriously, though. Why DID I react like that?
It wasn't that long of a self-tour when we found a small lounge area on the first floor. It kinda looked like a miniature living room with tables, chairs, couches, and a flat-screen TV mounted on the wall. There were also a few vending machines, too. So, it wasn't an EXACT copy of a living room.
Not with that selection, at least.
"Well, this looks kinda cozy." I said.
"Yeah, it does. Maybe we can relax here a little bit or…"
"A-Akiyama-senpai. S-Suzuki-senpai." We heard someone call out our names. And since there was a stutter for both, it just had to be…
"Oh. Mikuru-san." Mio-senpai said as we went over to Mikuru, who was also with Yui-san, her friend Sachiko, and that Yuri kid.
Still can't believe she's only 13. Her breasts are HUGE!
…
B-Bigger than mine. Unfortunately…
"I was wondering why you weren't in the room with the others. You were down here?"
"Y-Yes. I was getting to know Yuri-san a little more and…th-the two of us became great friends."
"Yep! The two of us are super great friends!" Yuri cheered as she wrapped her arm around Mikuru.
"Well, good for you, Mikuru-san."
"It's also nice for Yuri to make more friends." Sachiko said. "Other than Risa, she doesn't have that much city friends."
"Who's Risa?" I asked.
"Rise's little sister."
…
…
…
"M-Matsumoto-senpai has a little sister?" We both asked in shock.
"Yep." Yui-san said. "And she's just as rambunctious as Yuri. The two are a perfect match."
"Huh." Was all we said.
That's really shocking. I honestly thought that Matsumoto-senpai was the younger sister. Don't judge a book by its cover, I guess.
"So, you got affected by the rain too, huh?" Mio-senpai asked Yui-san.
"Yeah. Can't really do much in terms of practice. Especially with my status in the music industry. It truly sucks hiding my second identity."
"But you've proven time and time again that you suck at doing it. So, it's actually fine." Sachiko said.
"Shut it, you." Yui-san grew a little pissed. "Anyway, everyone's just doing their own thing for today. Kyouko and Chinatsu are on a small date together and Akari's watching TV back in the room we all share. While the three of us decided to come here and relax. Then we ran into Mikuru here."
"W-We were actually about to play a game. W-Would you like to join us?" Mikuru asked.
"Sure, I'm game." I said. "Whatcha playing?"
"UNO!" Yuri cheered as she held up a deck of UNO cards.
"Yuri's favorite game. She plays it constantly." Sachiko added.
"Ooh~! I haven't played this game in years! I'm totally in!"
"What about you, Mio?" Yui-san asked.
"Well, I would, but…what exactly is UNO?"
"WHAT?! YOU NEVER HEARD OF UNO?! IT'S LIKE THE BEST GAME EVER!"
"Y-Yuri-san, please calm down. N-Not that many people know what that is." Mikuru said to her.
"It's a shedding-type card game from America." Yui-san said. "The objective is to be the first to get rid of your deck of cards by matching the current card in the middle."
"And when ya got one card left, ya gotta yell out "UNO!" before ya place it." Yuri added.
"Why?"
"Because them's the rules. Otherwise, ya get penalized for it."
"P-Penalized?" Mio-senpai began to panic.
"All you really do is draw 2 cards." Yui-san said.
"O-Oh. I see. Sounds safe."
"When you get rid of your last card, or "going out" as the game calls it, your opponent's cards are tallied up together. First to 500 points wins the whole game."
"There are other rules, too. Such as Progressive UNO, 7-0 UNO, and Jump-In. But those are for more experienced players, honestly." Sachiko added.
"W-Wow. Th-That sounds really interesting." Mikuru said.
"You two sure know a lot about this game." Mio-senpai said.
"Yuri often makes us play with her. As I said, it's her favorite game."
"I see."
"Well, I said I was in." I said. "You wanna play, Senpai?"
"Uh…sure. I'll give it a try."
"Alright!" Yuri cheered. "Imma so gonna beat ya all! Hahahaha!"
"Calm down, you rambunctious loon." Sachiko said with a sweatdrop.
About 30 minutes later, we finished a couple of rounds. And the results were as followed:
Mio-senpai had 93 points.
I had 116 points.
Mikuru had 124 points.
Yui-san had 229 points.
Sachiko had 350 points.
And Yuri had…500 points.
The fact that I lost to a 13-year-old at a simple card game stung me harder than a bee. And I had no idea how any of this was possible, to begin with.
I know they said that it's her favorite game. But still, I didn't think I would lose THIS badly to her! My freaking pride is pretty much gone at this point!
"Ugh. No more. I can't take this nonsense anymore…" I whined as I laid face-first onto the table.
"I-I must say, Yuri-san…you are really good at this game." Mikuru said.
"Hehheh. Yep! I'm the best UNO player there is! No City Girl can me! Hahaha!"
City Girl?
"No one likes a bragger, Yuri." Sachiko said to her.
"So, how'd you like the game, Mio? Is it any fun?" Yui-san asked her.
"Well…there are still a few things I don't really get. But all in all, it is really fun. Probably the first game I've ever enjoyed."
"The first? You don't play games, Senpai?" I asked.
"Not really. I kinda find them to be a nuisance. Mainly because of Ritsu playing them instead of doing any work. And yet, she wonders why I keep hitting her."
"I see…"
"But…I guess I can let this one game sly. It was rather fun. Oh, and…thanks for helping me out those few times, Jun. I really appreciate it."
"U-Uh…s-sure thing, Senpai. A-Always glad to help. Hehheh." I immediately started blushing from getting grateful remarks from a Senpai. It's something that rarely happens to a typical kōhai like me. Especially if it's coming from an upperclassman like Mio-senpai.
It's words any kōhai would treasure forever. Hah~…
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…
…
W-W-Wait! Hold on! I-I'm not saying I would do such a thing! I-I don't think of Mio-Senpai that way! Honest, I don't!
…
M-Maybe…
*Growl*
"Oh, man. I'm getting hungry." Yuri said while holding her stomach.
"Didn't you eat breakfast, Yuri?" Sachiko asked.
"No. The line was too long and by the time I got to the counter they were sold out of everything. It truly sucked."
"Yeah…that happens when you stay at a fancy hotel like this." Yui-san said.
"Well, lunch is about to be severed." Mio-senpai said. "I could take Yuri-san with me."
"Really? You don't mind?"
"I haven't eaten yet, either. So, I was going to go down there myself."
"I see."
"Do you want to come too, Mikuru-san? I'll help you around."
"U-Um…s-sure. I-I am…r-rather hungry myself." Mikuru said with her anxiety clearly showing itself.
She should really get that taken care of…
"Eh. I guess I'll come, too. I am getting hungry." Sachiko said. "Wanna come, Yui?"
"Uh…no, I'm fine. I'll eat something later."
"What, on another diet or something? You really wanna keep that stereotypical hourglass figure, huh?"
"N-No! Sh-Shut up! I-It's not stereotypical!" Yui-san began to blush.
"Yeah, yeah. See ya in a few." The four girls then left the lounge to go get something to eat. Leaving me alone with the J-Pop idol that I adore so much but didn't know I was already friends with.
I'm still rather shocked about that, by the way.
"*sigh* Geez. I didn't think I would get my ass handled by a 13-year-old in a simple card game. That kid's really good."
"Yeah, she is." Yui-san said. "Although, UNO isn't really a simple game once you know all the rules it has."
"I guess."
All conversation went dead silent for a bit. Not because it was awkward or anything. We just didn't have anything to talk about.
Or…so I thought.
"So, um…you and Mio seem to be good friends with each other."
"Huh? Well…yeah, I guess. Even though I met her through Azusa, the two of us get along well." I then went silent for a bit. "That is whenever we get together. We're still rather separated on the whole kōhai/senpai thing."
"I see."
"Why bring this up, anyway?"
"Well…I just saw how you two were comfortable together during the game and it made me think about it a little. No biggie."
"Huh." I shrugged it off.
Although…probably a bit too soon. Because what Yui-san would say next was something I DEFINITELY wasn't prepared for.
"But honestly, Jun. I gotta ask one thing."
"What's that?"
"Do you…love Mio?"
And at that moment, my face went pale as I kept replaying that out-of-nowhere question in my shocked as hell mind. I felt my face burning up due to the excessive blushing I was currently doing.
Until finally…I spoke.
"WH-WH-WH-WH-WH-WHAAAAAAAT?! WH-WH-WH-WH-WH-WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT?! H-HOW DID YOU EVEN COME TO THAT CONCLUSION?!"
And it wasn't exactly a calm response.
"Well, when you were helping her out during the game you were rather close to her. And with a bunch of other things I noticed, the belief just kept getting bigger."
"B-Belief in what?! There's nothing to believe! I don't see Mio-senpai that way and I'm not a lesbian!"
"Really? You're saying this to a girl, who's been a lesbian since the day she was created in a manga over a decade ago?"
"Th-This is no time for a 4th wall break!"
"Just admit it, Jun. It won't do you any good if you keep it in."
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…
…
"W-Well…I-I have been…th-thinking about it. R-Recently." I finally admitted it.
"Recently?"
"W-Well, not exactly recently, but…it started back during Christmas when Azusa got together with Miharu-senpai. I made this comment that since we're a bunch of teenage girls who go to an all-girls high school there should've been a lesbian among us a long time ago."
"That sounds like something Chitose would say…"
"What?"
"N-Nothing. Please continue."
"Okay…" I shrugged it off. "…Anyway, once I said that, Nodoka-senpai said that she was surprised that it was Azusa and not me. And that's when I found out that everyone believed that I was a lesbian."
"Everyone?"
"Yeah. Everyone. It was a total surprise for me. I never thought I even looked like the lesbian type."
"And just what is this "lesbian type"?" Yui-san grew insulted.
"S-Sorry." I gained a sweatdrop.
"*sigh* Anyway, what happened after that?"
"Nothing much, really. It was just life as I knew it for the past four months. Although…the thought of me actually being gay did come up a few times. And I would spend nights thinking about the possibility of it being true. With no success, of course."
"I see."
"And then today came. With it raining so hard and everyone else doing whatever, I suggested to Mio-senpai that the two of us do something together for once. And when she agreed to it…I-I honestly felt my heart skip a few beats. I was that happy. Shockingly." I then went silent again.
"There's more, isn't there?" Yui-san asked.
"Well…even if I do accept the fact that I'm gay, who's to say that Mio-senpai will feel the same way towards me? I feel like this whole thing is going to be unrequited and I'll be lonely and heartbroken. And I guess that's what's blocking me from deciding."
"I see. I think I understand it all now."
"Hey, Yui-san. I know I already asked this, but…why did you bring this up? It seems kinda random don't you think?"
"Well…to be honest, Jun…I'm in the same boat as you."
"R-Really?" I was totally shocked to hear this. "W-With who?"
"W-With Sachiko."
"Sachiko? You have feelings for her?"
"Yeah. But the thing is…she's straight."
"Ouch. So then, your love will always be unrequited, huh?"
"Yeah. But I've gotten used to it by now. In fact, it's done some good for me in my life."
"Really? How so?"
Yui-san looked to both of her sides and then signaled me to come closer. Making sure that no one could hear her.
"I've never told anyone this, but Sachiko's the reason why I became Lyrica."
"S-Seriously? Because of Sachiko?"
"Yeah…the love of my life is the reason why I sing to hundreds of thousands of people all across the country. Sounds kinda cheesy, doesn't it?"
"*giggle* Well, when you put it like that, it actually does." I then thought for a moment. "But at the same time, it's also kinda sweet. Romantic, even."
"R…Romantic, huh?" Yui-san began to blush on her own. Probably fantasizing of doing romantic stuff with Sachiko.
…
And I…I can honestly feel her pain.
D-Does that mean…th-that I've accepted my own feelings?
"Hey, y'all. We're back." Sachiko said as the group of girls came back with some food.
"We didn't know what to get you two. So, we got each of you a mini-boxed lunch." Mio-senpai said.
"Eh. Fine with me." I said.
With us eating our food, I noticed the single slice of cake sitting between me and Mio-senpai. And as I kept staring at it, I did get curious.
"Hey, who's cake is this?"
"O-Oh, um…" Mio-senpai stuttered a little. "…I-I actually got that cake for you, Jun."
"F-For me?"
"Just as a way to thank you for helping me during the game. And for inviting me out here, to begin with. I really had fun with you, Jun."
"R-Really?!" I grew a huge blush before finding the sanity to calm down. "W-Well…I-I'm glad you had fun, Mio-senpai. A-And thanks for the cake." I then took a piece of the cake and moaned due to its sweet flavor. "And it's strawberry cheesecake, too? Aw, this is the best."
"*giggle* You're very much welcome, Jun." Mio-senpai said with a smile.
"Psst. Hey, Yui. What's with those two?" Sachiko asked her.
"Eh. It isn't too much to think about, Sachiko." This was all Yui-san said to her. Leaving her unrequited crush with a confused look on her face as I had one huge smile on mine.
…
And I honestly think it's more than just the cake.
Author's Note: Unrequited love and UNO. I think it's a great pair. Nothing wrong with that.
This whole chapter was going to strictly be about UNO. But midway through I changed it up a bit. Mainly because of the game's complicated advance rules. It became kinda hard to explain it all without making the chapter too long. Hell, there were somethings that I didn't even know about the game myself.
So, I'm not entirely sure if Jun having some feelings for Mio is actually canon or it's just something the fanbase made up but didn't go anywhere. But it's something I'm going to experiment with in this story. It's too interesting and "out-of-the-norm" for me to just push to the side after mentioning it once. It could work, you know.
Thanks for reading. Later.
