“Yo~ha~ne~”
“Ch-Chika-chan, why are you so close!?”
Yohane blushed, quickly shoving Chika away from her face. Chika only giggled when she stumbled backward, sticking her tongue out when she found her balance.
“Hehe, why are you so embarrassed, Yohane-chan?”
Yohane’s face continued to turn a bright shade of red, which resulted in her trying to hide it underneath her hand by placing it over her face and averting her gaze. “I-I’m not embarrassed, you just showed up so suddenly!!”
Chika laughed, taking one big step closer to Yohane—but not too close. “Then why is your face red?”
Yohane whipped her body around so her back was facing Chika, her hand kept steady over her nose and cheeks. “I’m not red, you’re just imagining things!”
Chika walked over to Yohane, gently placing her hands on Yohane’s shoulders. She leaned in closely to Yohane’s ear, which had turned a light pink in colour. “You don’t have to be shy anymore, Yohane-chan.” She cooed.
Yohane’s heart beat speed up at the sound of Chika’s gentle voice, causing her chest to pound rapidly. She moved the hand resting on her face down and into a balled fist, attempting to articulate her feelings. “I d-don’t mean to be, it’s just.” She paused, feeling her cheeks heat up. “I really like you, s-so...”
Chika let out a small exhale, and wrapped her arms around Yohane’s waist, moving her head close enough so that her cheeks were touching Yohane’s. “I really like you, too.” She squeezed her arms tighter around Yohane’s waist, her own cheeks now starting to flush and heat up. “So then, is it better that I ask first?”
Yohane’s heart continued to feel like it was pounding out of her chest from Chika’s touch, but she answered nonetheless. “Ask what?”
“Can I kiss you?”
Wrestling her way out of Chika’s grip, Yohane turned around so that she was facing Chika once again. Both of her hands were balled into fists, and her eyes had started to become misty. Though she averted eye contact at first, she slowly turned her gaze to look at Chika. “Of course, you dummy!” She opened her arms, as if to welcome Chika into her reach, and squinted her eyes. “Now kiss me!”
Chika wasted no time rushing into Yohane’s arms, her hands flinging across Yohane’s shoulders, enveloping her neck. She placed a tender kiss on Yohane’s lips, moving one of her hands to take hold of the back of her hair. Yohane melted into Chika’s touch, her shoulders relaxing as she wrapped her arms around her waist, pulling her even closer. Her eyes relaxed and closed comfortably, as Chika twirled her hair during the embrace.
When the two parted lips, they both looked at each other with flushed cheeks and heavy breaths, neither wanting to break from the others grasp. The two smiled simultaneously, each letting loose a muffled giggle as they touched noses.
“Can we do that again?” Yohane asked, pulling on her arms that still had Chika’s waist in a clutch, moving her closer.
Chika only smiled as she placed a gentle kiss on Yohane’s forehead. “We can do this as many times as you like, Yohane-chan.”
And so the two again melted into the other once again, their lips never yearning to sever.
“Kaoru-senpai, it’s morning.”
Kaoru groaned, stretching her arms above her head as she lay in bed. Her hair had draped itself into a frizzy mess on top of her head, some pieces falling in front of her face.
“Five more minutes…” Kaoru whined, rubbing her eyes.
“You’re so lazy! Come on, up, up, up!”
Kaoru felt a finger persistently poke her in the belly, which tickled her enough to rouse her out of her sleepy state.
“Okay, okay, I’m awake!”
Kaoru finally opened her eyes and sat up on the bed she had just moments ago been nestled in. The white sheet she had been snuggled under fell off of her body as she rose, exposing it. She had worn just a simple white tank top and purple cotton shorts, which had both twisted in her sleep. Sitting down on the bed across from her was Himari, dressed in a similar fashion. Her hair wasn’t up in its usual pigtails quite yet, and was quite messy.
“Good morning!” She cheeped.
Kaoru groaned again. “Himari-chan, it’s so early…”
Himari giggled. “You’re just lazy, Kaoru-senpai! You don’t want to waste the day, do you?”
“As the great bard once said, sleep over work—“
“Oh come on, we only have this day together and I wanna go to the festival!” Himari whined.
Kaoru smiled sheepishly at Himari’s whining, pinching her cheek with her fingers. “The festival does not even begin for quite some time, Himari-chan.”
“Ow! Kaoru-senpai, that hurts!”
Kaoru chuckled, moving her hand from Himari’s cheek to the top of her head to pull back her hair. Sitting up a bit more, she planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, hoping to calm her down. “There is plenty of time left until the sun rises high in the sky. Be at ease, my little kitten.”
A bright pink flush adorning her cheeks, Himari admitted defeat. There was no way she could win against Kaoru’s charms, no matter how hard she tried. “Oh, fine! You win!”
Kaoru smiled, moving her hand from Himari’s forehead down to cup her cheek. Himari leaned into her hand in irritation, but soon found her shoulders relaxing as she closed her eyes and focused on the soft touch of Kaoru’s hand. “You’re lucky you’re so handsome, Kaoru-senpai.” Himari grumbled.
Kaoru laughed, enjoying just how malleable Himari was the instant she touched her. She moved her hand to cup Himari’s chin, pulling her into a lazy kiss.
Himari felt herself melt at the mere touch, feeling Kaoru’s hair brush over the top of her head. Kaoru stayed as composed as she could, but could feel her cheeks warming up and her stomach churning.
When their lips parted, Kaoru let go of her grip on Himari, smiling. “I’m also lucky that you fall under my spell so easily.” She cooed.
Himari only pouted, throwing her arms around Kaoru’s neck. She buried her face in Kaoru’s shoulder, feeling her arms wrap around her tightly. “I love you.” She whispered.
Grinning at Himari’s sudden confession, Kaoru moved one of her arms to rest on the back of Himari’s head. “I love you, too, Himari-chan.”
“Dia!”
Dia turned around from the grassy area they were standing in to see Phos’s sparkling teal hair waving in the distance. They smiled, tucking some of their hair behind their ear as they waited for their dear compatriot to arrive.
When Phos finally drew near, Dia heard them yell something else. “I missed you!”
“Ah, Phos, you don’t need to be so loud…” They replied, covering their ears. “I’m right here!”
Phos pouted, crossing their arms. “But I just missed you so much, you know? You’re always out with Bortz…”
Día laughed, patting Phos on the head gently so as to not risk breaking them. “You overslept as usual.”
“Can you blame me? There’s nothing to do until Sensei can find a job for me!”
“Yes, I suppose you’re right.” Dia answered, crossing their arms behind their back. “I heard Yellow mention you had something to ask me?”
Phos’s eyes lit up upon hearing that. They uncrossed their arms, moving one of their hands to a thinking pose under their chin. “You read those romance books right?”
“Yes, why do you ask?”
“Is it true there’s something called kissing in them?”
Dia blushed upon hearing Phos ask that, their cheeks turning pink. “E-Eh? I mean yes, but how did you—“
“Sensei mentioned it when he thought I wasn’t listening!” Phos smirked. “How do you do it exactly? And why?”
“Ah, um—“ Dia squirmed a bit to try to find their composure. “It’s something you do when you love somebody.”
Without hesitation, Phos responded. “Does that mean I should kiss you? Because I love you so much!”
Their cheeks turning even pinker, Dia’s speech only became more convoluted. “I—I mean, there wouldn’t be anything wrong with that per se, but—“
“Then show me!” Phos exclaimed, jumping around on the spot.
Dia had a hard time saying no to Phos. it wasn’t that they really wanted to to say no—they loved Phos very much!—but the idea was a tad embarrassing. A kiss was meant for someone that meant a great deal to you—it was something Dia really wanted to try with Bortz, in an attempt to release tension in their relationship. However, they knew they would never work up the courage. Perhaps with Phos it could be… nice. It wasn’t as if Phos did not mean a great deal to them anyway.
“Alright, if you say so!” Dia responded.
“What does it involve exactly?” Phos asked curiously, completely unaware of what was even going to happen.
Dia laughed anxiously. “I think it’s much easier to just demonstrate. Just stand still and close your eyes, okay?”
Phos nodded, almost immediately falling still and closing their eyes.
Dia approached Phos nervously, cupping the side of their face in their gloved palms. Carefully moving closer to their face, Dia placed their lips on top of Phos’s, closing their eyes. The touch was cold, but their chest felt warmer somehow. During the embrace, Phos placed one of their hands on top of Dia’s, which caught them by surprise a little bit.
When the two parted lips, they each took back their hands. Seeing the stunned look in Phos’s eyes, Dia attempted to make sure they were unharmed.
“Phos? Are you alright?”
“Ah, it’s just—“ They stammered. “It was really nice. You feel really nice.”
Embarrassed, Dia blushed again. “Th-Thank you. So do you Phos…”
Reverting back to their playful demeanor, Phos looked at Dia excitedly. “I can't wait to tell Bortz!”
“Eh!? Phos, no!” Dia objected, but Phos had already started to run back home. “Phos, don’t you dare tell Bortz!” Dia yelled after them, running as fast as their legs could go. “Phooooos!”