Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Michiru & Hikaru want to help (II)

- Hikaru -

Seeing how Aoyagi reacted to what Michiru said, I knew it was my turn to talk. I put my hand on top of my girlfriend's, signaling her to let me take over. First of all, I had to get Aoyagi to calm down.

"You don't dislike Akaishi-kun, right?"
"Of course not!"
"And you agreed to pretend to be lovers, right?"
"Ah, well, about that..."

She told us what happened that morning. How Akaishi rushed to her side and hugged her, and how they never mentioned being "lovers" to anyone but our classmates.

"So, you guys are pretty much back to square one?" I shrugged, "I guess that's fine. For now."

I glanced at Niko. Now that Michiru brought up the topic of romance too early, Niko may have raised her guard. If I wanted to get her to talk about her feelings for Sugihara, I would first need to let things cool off.

In that case, I should leave her for later.

"That aside, I want to know more about you, Aoyagi-chan."
"Oh, me too," Niko said.
"What would you like to know?"
"Your three siz-"

Michiru covered my mouth with her hand before I could finish, then she stomped on my foot. It hurt, but that was all within my calculations.

My real objective is... this!

With her fingers still pressing against my mouth, I forced my tongue out and licked Michiru's hand.

"?!"

Rather than pulling back, she kept her hand there. Her cheeks were now a bright red, and her lips struggled to keep themselves from forming a smile.
Aoyagi, confused, blinked twice, but Niko, who knew what was going on, smirked.

"Get a room, you two."
"Waah!?" Michiru pulled back her hand at last, but she didn't wipe off my saliva. "Bad Hikaru, bad!"

Oh my, you want to do pet play right here? How bold of you, darling.

"Woof..."

I was sure my impression of a sad dog wouldn't win any awards, but it still managed to get a giggle from Aoyagi.
Now that things were a bit more relaxed, she would feel comfortable talking.

Before I could resume the conversation, the waiter arrived with our order. A black coffee for Michiru, a cup of hot cocoa for Aoyagi, a chicken sandwich and a glass of iced tea for Niko, and a cappuccino for me.

"Thanks for the food," Niko said as she prepared to take a bite of her sandwich, "Hmm, so good!"
I brought my cup to my mouth, then I formed a smirk with my foam-covered lips, "Don't think I have forgotten, Aoyagi-chan."
Michiru glared at me, thinking that I was going to bring up Aoyagi's three sizes again.

Don't be silly, darling. I only care about your measurements.

"What do you like to do in your free time?"
"I don't do much..."

Niko raised her hand, but she was still chewing her food, so she couldn't speak just yet. She tried to say something via hand signs, but I had no idea how to interpret them. However, Michiru had better luck understanding.

"Alter Fortuna? You play, Aoyagi-chan?"
"I built some decks, but I don't get the chance to play much."
Niko took a sip of her tea, "I heard you wiped the floor with Ryu."
"I wouldn't put it like that. You play too, right?"
"Yeah, even Michiru-chan has played some matches."
"Eh?" I looked at my beloved Michiru, who by the looks of it had kept a secret from me, "I didn't hear of this!"
"You were out with a cold that day. Akaishi-kun, Sugihara-kun, and Niko-chan taught me how to play."
Both Aoyagi and I looked at Niko, to which she nodded, "Yup, she got the hang of it real fast. We didn't stand a chance."

That damn cold! I missed a chance to see her being cool and beating everyone! Oh well, she visited me later that day and nursed me back to health, so I think it was worth it.

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"So, do you have any other interests?"
"I, uh..." Aoyagi fidgeted for a bit while looking at the table, then she looked up at us, "I draw sometimes, but I'm not that good."
"Can we see your art?" I asked.

Back in middle school, I knew some people who were in the art club, and while I was no artist, I picked up enough from them to appreciate the art when reading Michiru's manga collection.

"Actually," Aoyagi held her phone towards us, "I-I made this."
"You did? This is great," I wanted to scream, but I had to be mindful of the other customers, so I contained my excitement and kept my tone within reasonable levels.
"You should join the Art club."
Aoyagi didn't waste a second to reply. "I'm fine."

A curt answer, huh? Feels like I'm about to step on a landmine. Well then, let's change the subject.

"Ok, now is your turn to ask us stuff."
After some hesitation, Aoyagi looked into my eyes. "How did you two meet? I think you mentioned something about not getting along at first."
"It's a long story, but I will-"
"Look," Niko pointed to a table in a corner, "isn't that girl in our class?"

- - -

- Michiru -

We all followed Niko's finger to the corner of the coffee shop. There, a girl our age sat alone at a small table, working her way through a book with a faint grin on her face. Even though her bangs covered her eyes, I could feel them scanning through the pages.
As the class representative, I had memorized each of my classmates' names, so I was the first of us to identify her.

"That's Kowasugi Hanako."

With long, black hair that covered her eyes, and pale skin that made one think of milk and sugar, Kowasugi had spooked a fair amount of students visiting the school library after classes last year, or at least that's what I had heard.
She continued her reading, but she must have felt our eyes on her because she looked up from her book and waved at us. Aoyagi, Hikaru, and I waved back, while Niko beckoned her to our table.

Hmm, aren't we interrupting her?

I thought she would be upset because we interfered with her pastime, but she bookmarked the page she was on, put away the book in her bag, and made it to our table in a hop, taking the seat next to Niko while keeping that subtle smile on her face. Just to be sure, I took a look at her with my gift, but it seemed she really didn't mind being called out by our group.

"What a nice surprise, class rep. And everyone else, too."
"Likewise.
"Do you come here frequently, Kowasugi?"
"Yeah. I like coming here to read."
"What kind of books do you read?" Niko asked.
"I'll read pretty much anything, but my favorite genre is horror."
"Really?" Hikaru scratched her cheek, "I can't handle horror at all..."

Hikaru would always cover her eyes and cling to me whenever we watched horror movies. As for me, I always focused on appreciating things like the special effects.

"What about you, Aoyagi?"
"Eh? I don't really have strong opinions about horror one way or the other..."
"Oh, by the way, about yesterday..."
When Kowasugi said that, Aoyagi's shoulders shook a bit. "Y-Yes?"
"What was that about?"
"Um, that was, uh... I don't know, myself."
"Love is weird like that, right, Michiru?"

That reminds me, weren't you about to tell them how we met, Hikaru? I guess it can wait.

Kowasugi turned to Niko. "That leaves us with..."
"..."
"Are you and Sugihara...?"
Niko shook her head, "Not at all. We are just good friends."
She paused for a bit, then she added, "For now."
"So you do like him. I mean, not that it wasn't obvious but..."
"W-What do you mean?"
"You two seem so... How should I put it? You get along very well."
Niko let out a sigh. "Well, that's the problem. I'm afraid of what would happen if things don't work out between us, that's why I haven't told him how I feel."
"But you know what they say," Hikaru raised her index finger, "No fear, no pain."
I shook my head, "You mean 'no risk, no gain'."
"Yeah, that."
Niko stared at her half-empty glass of tea and let out a sigh. "You have a point, but..."
"I just remembered," Aoyagi said, "weren't you going to tell me how you two met?"
"That's right! I had totally forgotten, let's see... It all started back in middle school."

As Hikaru told that story, I played back those memories in the back of my mind.
A girl who would greet everyone with a huge smile, and a girl whose greeting seemed devoid of any emotion. There were times when they would clash due to their personalities. One day, one of them caught the other using her gift and discovered one thing they had in common.
I could still remember clearly the day those two girls settled their differences and got to better know each other.
And then, during their first year in high school, one of them asked the other out.

"And it was all thanks to this power," Hikaru said, opening and closing her right hand. "That's why I want to use my gift to help others. I feel like I should pay back all the happiness I received."

When Hikaru said that, I noticed something in Aoyagi's expression. Just for an instant, she frowned.

The five of us kept chatting for a while until Kowasugi excused herself to take care of some errands. Aoyagi and Niko, too, had things to do back home, so we all paid the bill and went our separate ways.
Back in my place, after taking a bath, Hikaru and I talked about the various things that happened that day while drying off our hair.

"Those two... they will be fine, I think," Hikaru said.
"Yeah, even if it takes them a while, I'm sure they will find the path they should take."
Hikaru turned towards my desk, where I left the keychains I got today, next to our felt dolls.
"I didn't notice the first time we watched it, but that movie had some pretty animation."
"I know, right? By the way..."
"Yes?
"I haven't forgotten about that little stunt you pulled earlier."
"P-Please be gentle, Michiru-sama! We have to wake up early tomorrow to watch 'Fruity Warriors' right?"
"We will manage somehow. Besides, I can just record it."
"Oh..."

Time for payback, hehe.

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