Kaorin waited anxiously next to the park gate, her hands tightly clutching the strap of her satchel. In it, she had some breath mints, a bottle of water, and a handkerchief. "What does she want..." her mind kept asking. As her eyes continued to dart back and forth, eventually a Tomo-esuqe figure emerged in the distance. Kaorin gulped and tightened her grip on the strap. As Tomo grew closer, Kaorin noticed that her head was slightly tilted downwards. She loosened her grip up on realizing Tomo's eyes were almost completely glued to the ground. She stopped a few feet away from Kaorin.
"Hey." Tomo mumbled.
"Um, hi." Kaorin replied. She tilted her head a bit in an attempt to look Tomo in the eye. Tomo caught on and looked up at her. "Come on, follow me!" She said in a stern, peppy voice. Kaorin began to follow as Tomo stomped through the well-treaded path, her mind still buzzing with the idea of why she was out there.
"Why would Tomo bring me out here? I don't understand why she'd do this all of a sudden. Maybe it's just an apology?" She thought to herself. "No no, Tomo doesn't apologize. But could she really be gay? After all, I've never seen her with a boyfriend before, and she's always getting touchy with Yomi. I know Yomi likes guys...is this a date???"
As her mind continued to rush and flurry with an assortment of theories, Tomo came to a halt in front of a fenced off pond. Kaorin, who was lost in though, walked straight into Tomo. "Ow!" Tomo exclaimed.
"I'm sorry!" Kaorin quickly apologized. Tomo was silent for a moment. "It's ok." She said. "Maybe she is gay..." Kaorin thought, as Tomo ducked under the fence and sat on the grass near the pond. She tuned around and ushered for Kaorin to come under. "Um, are we allowed?" Kaorin asked, looking around to see if there were any signs.
"I think so." Tomo replied. Kaorin gulped and followed Tomo's path beneath the fence.
"So, what did you invite me out here for?" Kaorin asked as Tomo stared into the pond. There was a silence between them. "I wanted to say sorry." She finally said, keeping her eyes fixed on the pond. Kaorin looked over at her, her face slowly growing stern. "It wasn't nice." She said angrily. "I know." Tomo said. Kaorin looked at her for a moment longer before looking over at the pond. "I don't want to be like this, you know." Kaorin said quietly. Tomo looked over at her. "I think Sakaki is cute and all...but don't you think that if I could choose to like boys I would've?"
Tomo looked back over the pond. "I never really thought about that." They were silent again.
"How did you figure it out?" Tomo asked. Kaorin looked over in confusion. "You know," she continued, "that you were gay."
"Oh." Kaorin said. "Well, I'm not really gay. I still like boys, too...I don't know why, I just...I don't know. My priest told me it's just a teenage th-"
"Your priest?" Tomo asked. "Like a shrine priest?" The two made eye contact.
"Oh, no, like a church priest-"
"A CHURCH PRIEST?" Exclaimed Tomo, who quickly jumped up. "Aren't those guys super anti-gay?" Kaorin became red.
"I just said I'm not gay!! Weren't you listening!? I said it's just a teenage thing. And besides..."
Her voice began to drop.
"...my priest says as long as I don't do anything with my feelings, I'm in the clear." Kaorin looked over the water again, pulling her knees up and sinking her face into them. Tomo backed down from her stance and sat closer to the girl.
"Sorry...
...again."
Kaorin sighed.
"It's ok."
The two shared another silence as they watched the bliss that befell the quiet pond.
"I wish I wasn't like this either, you know."
Kaorin looked over. "What do you mean?"
"I wish..." Tomo's voice began to crack a little. "I wish I wasn't so over the top. I know I take things too far and I joke too much, but I never remember to stop when I'm in the heat of the moment. And if I did remember, I'd probably just keep going anyway." Kaorin was shocked that Tomo was so observant of her own behavior. Though she was short of advice, she managed to find something nice to say after a while.
"Your... your jokes are funny." She offered up.
"Really?" Tomo further inquired. "You really think so?"
"Sometimes." Kaorin quickly blurted out. "Not all the time. But sometimes." She blushed a little, feeling guilty for lightening her foe's mood. Tomo, however, smiled.
"Thanks Kaorin."
She winked and gave her a big thumbs up. Kaorin smiled back and closed her eyes.