Chapter 58: Chapter 56 – Combined feelings

Maya's sudden confession of love had shocked Sophia so much that she accidentally stopped time on impulse. This ended up being in her favor because she now had more than enough time to think. She processed the shock and finally became aware of her own feelings for the cat-girl. Determingly returning the confession, Sophia forgot to turn on the time again, though.

"Uuh..." She was lying down flat on the grass with her limbs sprawled out. Her eyes were still wet from crying over the screwed-up confession while she looked at the frozen scenery around her. "S-Seriously, how stupid can one be? My idiocy got boosted, too, didn't it? Not that I was ever the brightest bulb in the box. S-So embarrassing! Haa..." She sighed and concentrated on her surroundings again.

"You know, now that my sense of panic has burned out from the earlier shock, stopped time is kinda cool. It's really tranquil, a great place to think. That absolutely nothing is moving, not even a bit, is really fascinating." While recovering from the botched confession, the girl focussed on the less pressing things, like how she broke the world yet again.

"A-Ah!" She remembered the previous time this happened, and some of her panic unfortunately returned. "I-I can still turn it back to normal, r-right?! How cruel would that be... being stuck now, after Maya- Okay, full power from the get-go!" Not limiting the amount of her used magic power, Sophia concentrated hard on getting the time to flow again. Contrary to last time, where she was freaking out too much, the girl now felt an effect much sooner. She noticed a slight movement from Maya's frozen body but then stopped her magic.

"Good, it seems I have control of it now. Wait a moment! What am I supposed to do once Maya's back again? I-I can't just do that confession again! I still haven't recovered from that failure! Uuh," She wasn't confident about doing a repeat. "J-Just why am I so damn complicated?! The other two were right! I really am high-maintenance! Okay, let's wait for an hour or so and gather some courage! Huh? If time's frozen... what does an hour even mean?!" Sophia's gotten philosophical all of a sudden.

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A good while passed since the girl started puzzling over the concept of measuring a period of time where time itself doesn't exist. Naturally, she was unable to come to a conclusion, but this sort of distraction was helpful nonetheless as it was extremely distracting.

"Alright!" Sophia was fully motivated again. "Now I wonder, though... can I invite Maya to this world? Can I unstop time just for one person? I really want to show it to her." She looked at the tranquil yet fascinating scenery around her once more. "Also, no one can bother us here. I wouldn't survive having to do my confession a third(!) time just because something or someone interrupts me!" This was her real motivation.

"Let's see," Sophia circled around the cat-girl and then placed a hand on her back. "Maybe pouring some of my magic power into Maya will do the trick?" Concentrating while thinking about time resuming for only the cat-girl as well, she did just that.

"..." Slowly, Maya started moving again. However, the rest of the area remained motionless. Even the birds in the sky were still rooted in place. "Hmm? Eh? S-Sophia!?" Once she was fully back to normal, the cat-girl panicked. For her, no time had passed at all, and Sophia just suddenly disappeared in front of her. "W-Where are you?!"

"Ahh… this is getting really complicated..." Sophia was marveling about the effect of time.

"H-Huh?" Hearing that familiar voice, Maya instantly turned around. "W-What is going on here?!"

"Weeell..." She hadn't thought her plan through at all. She simply pointed all around her, the frozen area, and then at the birds in the sky.

"E-Eh... Why aren't they moving? W-Why isn't anything moving?" She only got more confused.

"Stopped time sure is weird, huh?" She couldn't blame Maya for having such a reaction.

"S-Stopped time...? What?! If I remember right... didn't you say you won't ever do that again?!" She recalled the day when Sophia was all broken after trapping herself in there.

"I didn't do it on purpose... it just happened."

"S-Stuff like this doesn't just happen!"

"In the first place, it's your fault, Maya!"

"H-How can I be at fault here?!" The cat-girl wasn't aware of any responsibility in that regard.

"Your little... surprise shocked me so much that my body activated some sort of self-defense mechanism purely on instinct alone. You know, kind of a safety measure to protect me."

"My little what, now-? A-Ah." She suddenly stopped talking when she realized what Sophia was implying. "Y-You were so shocked that you accidentally stopped time in self-defense just because I c-confessed to you?!"

"That's-, That's what happened."

"Drama queen, much?!" Maya instinctively retorted to her reaction.

"As if that's such a surprise! Given my track record until now."

"Don't you argue with reason now!"

"What else am I supposed to do then?!"

"I don't know!" Maya also was slightly unreasonable.

"Ehh? Wait, why are we fighting?"

"I don't know that, either!" The two had taken a wrong turn somewhere.

"A-Anyway-" Sophia tried to get back on track. "Yeah, so that's the world without the flow of time." She gestured all around her. "What do you think?"

"Scary!" The cat-girl voiced the first thought that went through her head.

"I know, right?!"

"But... It's fascinating..." She curiously looked around at all the little details of the frozen world. The unmoving birds in the sky had really caught her interest. "I've never seen anything remotely like that. It's also so tranquil here, with no distractions whatsoever. I bet it's a great place to be alone and think."

"You have no idea how great it is." Being all alone had helped her immensely in dealing with the current issue.

"Sophia, how long have you been here?" Something bugged her about the way the girl had worded her answer.

"Hmm... a couple of hours? Half a day, maybe? It's hard to tell the exact duration when there's, well, no time."

"S-So long?!" Maya was shocked.

"I had a lot to think about! My brain's really not the fastest, after all. Not to mention that I got sidetracked all the time while searching for an answer for you."

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"E-Eh?" Maya stopped when she heard that. "H-Have you found one? An a-answer?"

"I have."

"R-Really?" Maya's body tensed up. Her cat-ears also perked up, and her tail couldn't decide on a position and nervously swished from one side to another.

"Uuh... I really have to do it again, huh?"

"W-What do you mean?"

"I-, I actually gave you a reply already..."

"Eh?! H-How did I miss that?!"

"Because I'm an idiot! I forgot about the stopped time and gave my answer to the frozen you."

"H-How did I fall for such a scatterbrain?!" Maya couldn't believe this girl.

"Funny, I was asking myself a similar question when I was processing all of it..."

"Because you're awesome!"

"T-Thanks..." Sophia got a little bashful.

"S-So...?" She was clearly nervous.

"..." She went silent to prepare herself while scratching together every last bit of courage she had left in her. "Yes... I love you, too. I've been-..." Sophia tried to recreate her earlier failed confession, but she never got the chance to finish.

"S-Seriously?!" The moment Maya heard those first couple of words, she couldn't contain her excitement anymore and jumped at the girl, tightly hugging her.

"Woah?! W-Wait, this does count now, right…?" No one heard her first confession, and her second was interrupted. But this time, she thought it was a success nonetheless.

"I-Is this really true...? You were so hard to read in that regard because you're always all over the place. In that regard, at least... I had no idea about my chances, but I couldn't keep those feelings to myself anymore..."

"Y-Yes. Honestly, I only became aware of the depth of my feelings after your confession. Still, in retrospect, I noticed that you always were special to me. Since the day we met, actually..."

"Well, you did call me cute before I even knew your name. That sure was something." There was no way Maya would've forgotten their first encounter, either.

"Ahaha, I sure fumbled that one up... Not that challenging someone to a fight without reason on their first meeting is any less, let's say, interesting."

"R-Right, I did that... Well, we at least got a lasting impression of each other."

"Yeah, that's for sure. I don't think I'll ever forget our meeting."

"Ehehe~." Maya suddenly started to giggle. "It's actually mutual... I can't believe it."

"That's my line! For hours, I've tried out why such an awesome girl like you would ever fall in love with a mess like me... Never found an answer."

"You're interesting, funny, cute, mysterious, strong, friendly, beautiful, caring, not to mention-" Maya instantly showered her in a rapid-fire of compliments that had no sign of stopping.

"O-Okay, I get it... p-please stop... I can only take so much before my brain melts... Again." It almost seemed like steam was rising from her head.

"I love that embarrassed side of you, as well." Maya was feeling playful.

"Uuh... t-the same goes for you... your cuteness is criminal, no, not just cute, straight-up gorgeous, actually...  You care so much for me, you're doing so much in helping me with my boosts. It's so much fun to be with you, and it's so relaxing around you. W-Well, when you don't tease me... Your fluffy ears are the best, and I just love your expressive tail!"

"A-Alright, I understand, okay?!" The heads of both girls were steaming by now. Maya was good at dishing out, but being on the receiving side was one of her weak points.

"Hehe~." The two shared a slightly bashful laugh.

"Sophia?" Maya finally let go of the girl again and looked straight into her eyes. "Such a beautiful color..." She found herself lost in them for a moment. There was no holding back with her anymore.

"Y-Your deep-blue eyes are much more gorgeous..." She was staring back at her and tried to return the compliment. "A-Anyway, what is it?"

"Ah, r-right, yes..." She snapped back to reality. "Your eyes, can you close them for a moment?"

"W-Why?"

"Just do your... g-girlfriend a favor, okay?" The cat-girl stumbled over the word when she said it for the first time.

"..." There was no way for her to say anything anymore after such an unfair attack. Doing as told, she then obediently closed them.

Nothing happened for a while, and Sophia could only feel the warmth of Maya right in front of her face and the slight tickle of her breath. Eventually, though, she felt an incredibly soft and gentle but ever so slightly awkward sensation on her lips—a feeling unlike anything else she ever experienced before.

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