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The sun is gently rising over the still water, mountains covered in green and dotted with an occasional yellow or pink serve as a lovely backdrop. The air is crisp and fresh, the temperature is slightly cool but comfortable enough to where one could enjoy it without wearing anything more than a sweater. Chisato is enjoying a warm cup of tea, sitting on the cabin’s balcony and slightly swaying back and forth on her rocking chair. Besides Chisato is her beloved, sipping from a mug of coffee and lightly intertwining her hand with her lover’s. Chisato would gaze at Kaoru’s profile and watch how the sun’s orange light fell onto her face, making her beauty glow in a way that made Chisato’s heart flutter. Gently, Chisato would lean over and press a soft kiss on Kaoru’s cheek. Her lover’s red eyes would gleam and she’d giggle shyly, a sweet grin growing on her face. Chisato would laugh gently as well, then lean in to kiss those smiling lips…
At least, that’s the idea Chisato had in mind. But of course it didn’t turn out that way. This was Kaoru after all. Kaoru Seta, friend of many, prince for all. Chisato learned very quickly that Kaoru was incapable of not inviting everybody she knew to pretty much anything ever. Whether it be a live show for Hello Happy World, a movie, shopping, or a simple get together with one of her classmates, Kaoru would always take that one extra step to invite anybody she considered a friend. And Kaoru had a lot of friends.
Despite this, when Kaoru invited Chisato to stay at her family’s resort in the mountains, Chisato prayed that it would be just the two of them. A quiet weekend with just Chisato and her girlfriend in the mountains would be just the kind of outing she needed. Lately Chisato had been terribly busy and has had little to no time for being alone with Kaoru. A weekend of solitude would certainly make up for the wait.
But no. It didn’t take but thirty minutes after receiving Kaoru’s invite for Chisato to learn that Hagumi was coming too. With Hagumi came Kanon, who Chisato loved to death, but nonetheless she was disappointed that now she didn’t have the entire weekend for just her and her girlfriend.
Things only got worse from there, because much to Chisato’s horror she learned that the devil herself, Hina, was attending as well. Hina with not one but two couples was not a good mix. The guitarist had a habit of making as many uncomfortable jokes about sex and making out as possible whenever a couple was present.
With Hina came Sayo, who brought her girlfriend Yukina. Maya and Kokoro had agreed to attend as well. In total, seven other girls were going to be invading Chisato’s precious weekend alone with Kaoru, and that pissed her off.
What could she say though? Chisato adored her friends and even if she didn’t get the weekend with Kaoru, she’d still get a fun time with a group of friends, right? This couldn’t be that bad.
“ Holy shit Kokoron! These are awesome! Is this stuff really used to hunt ghosts?”
“Mhm! I mean…that’s what the suits said! And they’re always right, so yeah. These are definitely for hunting ghosts!”
Hagumi wanted to drag Kanon along to swim in the lake. Sayo, being incapable of doing anything besides following her girlfriend around, was sitting indoors with Yukina who was most likely songwriting. Maya wasn’t the outdoorsy type either, so she simply stuck by Kaoru’s side doing whatever she was up to. Hina and Kokoro wanted to hunt ghosts.
They wanted to hunt ghosts .
“Kaoru,” Chisato whispered while in the midst of the chaos, “Everybody seems a bit occupied at the moment, how about we head upstairs or something…?” She gazes up at Kaoru, praying that she’d get the signal that she wanted to take this opportunity to get at least a little time alone. They could go upstairs, lay down, turn on the television, then forget about the television and just kiss each other instead.
“Are you feeling tired, my love?” Kaoru looked down at the blonde compassionately, “I can escort you upstairs if you’d like, though I’d like to stay down here and entertain my guests.”
Entertain your guests? What the hell could you possibly do to entertain these people? They’re already entertained enough! Now come upstairs so we can cuddle and make out. Is what Chisato would have spat, but she knew there was no use.
“No, it’s fine. I’ll just stay down here.” Chisato sighed curtly. Kaoru looked at Chisato a little longer then turned her attention to Hina and Kokoro, who were now accompanied by Maya. The drummer was gawking at the diverse array of “ghost hunting materials” that Hina and Kokoro had piled up in their hands, going on about how curious she was about the way these things worked and how excited she was to test them out. Kokoro and Hina were more than happy to let Maya accompany them.
“Kaoru, you and your girlfriend should come along too!” Kokoro chirped, “You always seem to make girls smile a lot. Perhaps if we meet a lady ghost you can make her smile a whole bunch too!”
“For my captivating beauty to reach as far as the after life and make a woman smile…How romantic…and oh so very fleeting…” Kaoru sighed dramatically, her face pale as a sheet. Here she goes again, going way too far out of her comfort zone just to make somebody happy. It was sweet, sure, but sometimes Kaoru was a bit too stupid and Chisato had no choice but to worry.
“Sis should come along too. Hey, Sayooo!” Hina yelled over at her twin sister, who had a bunch of paper sprawled across her lap but seemed to have most of her attention focused on Yukina, who was actually writing something.
“Is there something you need?” Sayo asked flatly as she scribbled down a few more words and then went back to glancing at Yukina.
“Wanna go hunting for ghosts with us?”
“That’s stupid.”
“Whaaaaat? No it isn’t. It’ll be hella interesting!”
“Doubt it.
Hina groaned and pouted while Kokoro simply looked unfazed, “Oh well! I already asked Hagumi and Kanon. Kanon said she was too scared, and Hagumi wanted to stick with Kanon, so it looks like it’s just me, you, Maya and Kaoru! Ah, Chisato, would you like to come too?”
‘No.’ Is what Chisato would have liked to reply with, but there was no way she could leave Kaoru all on her own hunting ghosts. The poor girl wouldn’t last. Besides, this whole ghost hunting thing was incredibly stupid, but Chisato would at least get to do something with Kaoru. If they’re lucky enough the couple could even find an opportunity to run off and finally get some alone time.
“Sure, why not.” Chisato said with no enthusiasm whatsoever. Kaoru gave her girlfriend a grateful look.
“Awesome!” Kokoro beamed along with Hina. Maya didn’t seem to notice and instead had her attention focused on a device in her hands that was unknown to Chisato.
“S-so, where shall we go hunting for these ghosts?” Kaoru stumbled over her words a tad but fought to appear put together, “I have no knowledge of such things roaming around these parts, so quite honestly I don’t think a search here would be very successful—“
“Well we won’t know until we try, right?” Hina instantly cut Kaoru off, and Chisato saw the taller girl’s shoulders droop. Well, it was worth a shot.
“The only problem I can think of is how to actually find the ghosts.” Kokoro’s golden eyes narrowed as she tapped her chin.
“Don’t people on those ghost hunting shows usually search at night?” Maya perked up, finally tearing herself away from the ghost hunting equipment. Hina and Kokoro nodded enthusiastically.
“Yeah yeah! People usually see ghosts at night, don’t they?”
“We could totally go searching in the woods. That’d be super boppin!”
“The woods…” Kaoru mumbled and Chisato placed a hand on Kaoru’s back to make sure she didn’t fall over.
“Well, the good thing is I bought a bunch of ghost movies to do some research on how to hunt ghosts!” Kokoro’s eyes sparkled as she ran over to her backpack and pulled out a handful of DVDs, all of them appearing to be horror movies.
“Kokoro, I don’t think movies are ever an accurate way to research something…” Chisato protested but the blonde ignored her.
Hina was ecstatic about the horror movies, snatching one DVD in particular and gaping at it, “Holy shit! I’ve wanted to see this movie for the longest time! Kokoron, we gotta watch all of these while we wait for it to get dark outside!”
Kokoro nodded, “What a fun idea! How do you feel about that, Maya, Kaoru, Chisato?”
“I mean, I don’t think movies would serve as good research, but it could be fun.” Maya shrugged.
Chisato glanced at Kaoru, who very obviously wanted to turn down Kokoro’s proposal. In all honesty Chisato wanted to turn down the offer too; she never liked horror movies, though she could stomach them better than Kaoru ever could.
“I…would rather stick with Kaoru, so I’ll just go with whatever she says,” Chisato tried her damned hardest to put on a convincing smile, “Kaoru, what would you rather do?”
The blonde looked back at Kaoru, giving her a look that said, Please, for the love of God swallow your pride for once and just say no.
“Well, to do my hunting of ghosts accurately I must do some research myself, no? I think your idea is a lovely one, Kokoro…Ahaha…”
Dumbass.
Despite not going on Hina and Kokoro’s idiotic expedition of ghost hunting, Sayo and Yukina had agreed to sit down and watch some movies with everybody else. Hagumi and Kanon had come inside from the lake just as the seven other girls had popped their popcorn and curled up on the several couches, so they decided to accompany them as well. In the end all nine girls had found themselves in the cabin’s family room watching Kokoro’s collection of horror movies that she brought as “ghost hunting research.”
Much to Chisato’s surprise, Kokoro enjoyed the horror despite her happy-go-lucky approach to pretty much anything. She and Hina were genuinely intrigued by the plot and characters, Hina occasionally muttering “Interesting…” or yelling “Wah! That was pretty boppin’ huh!” and cackling whenever there was a jump scare. Kokoro would just laugh and console Hagumi or Maya - who were sitting on either side of her - whenever they’d get freaked out over an occurrence in the movie. Yukina and Sayo had curled up in their own spot on a separate loveseat in the living room. Sayo anxiously crammed popcorn into her mouth at such a rate that Chisato was sure she might choke. Yukina appeared calm for the most part, though every so often a loud noise would get to her and she’d jump a little, swear under her breath, then go back to nuzzling up against Sayo.
There was one part in the movie that had scared the ever loving shit out of Sayo, who yelped and threw herself at Yukina, burying her face into the shorter girl’s neck. The reaction had caused everybody in the room — especially Hina — to laugh in amusement. Though to Chisato the most entertaining thing was the bright red blush that had covered Yukina’s face when her girlfriend pressed against her for comfort. It would be the closest Chisato would ever get to seeing Roselia’s vocalist lose composure.
Chisato had Kanon on one side of her and Kaoru on the other. Hagumi leaned against Kanon, and Kanon leaned against Chisato resulting in twice the weight on the blonde’s left side. Kaoru sat rather tensely on Chisato’s right, though it didn’t take long for Kaoru to be as pressed up against Chisato as Kanon was. Kanon and Hagumi took no shame in yelling at just about everything that scared them. Maya didn’t yell but she had a habit of swearing very loudly whenever she got spooked. Kaoru was deathly silent, though she quivered like a leaf in the wind as soon as the first act began. She clung to her girlfriend and had her entire face narrowed in an expression that made it appear like she was concentrating. But in reality, Chisato knew that Kaoru was just using all her power to keep herself together and not scream at just about any second in the movie.
Chisato didn’t feel bad for Kaoru at first. She did this to herself after all. Though by the time they were halfway through Kokoro’s set of movies Chisato could sense that Kaoru was reaching her limit. Chisato was as well, not because of how scary the movies were but more because she was getting terribly bored.
Perhaps this could serve as an opportunity.
“Kao-chan,” Chisato whispered quiet enough to where only her girlfriend could hear, “Do you want to leave? Everybody is either too engrossed in the movie or asleep,” She gestured towards Hagumi and Kanon wrapped around each other snoring, “We can slip out of here unnoticed.”
“Why would we want to leave?” Kaoru’s red eyes gleamed with confusion in the dark.
“You’re scared shitless and I’m bored. Plus I want to be alone with you.”
“Being alone with you sounds amazing, my love. But leaving might be a bit rude. Perhaps we can wait?”
“I don’t care about being rude and I do not want to wait.” Chisato whispered flatly, making it clear to Kaoru that she didn’t want to take no for an answer.
Kaoru glanced around, then nodded silently and slowly sat up. The couple managed to slither out of their blankets and tip-toe upstairs without drawing much attention to themselves. For once something on this hell-trip to the mountains seemed to be going in Chisato’s favor.
But of course that didn’t last very long.
“Aren’t you glad you’re out of there?” Chisato sighed as she shut the bedroom door behind her and Kaoru.
“Admittedly so. But I am quite proud of myself. I don’t think I would have survived that many scary movies in a row beforehand.”
Chisato let out an airy giggle and stepped closer to her girlfriend, sliding her arms around the back of Kaoru’s neck.
She placed a little kiss on Kaoru’s cheek, “Yes, I was quite impressed as well,” then a kiss on the nose, “But let’s forget about all that silly stuff, okay? I finally have you all to myself.” Chisato smiled and blinked at Kaoru dreamily. Chisato knew she looked like a lovestruck idiot, but right now she didn’t care.
“What are you saying, dear? I have always been all yours.” Kaoru chuckles and kisses Chisato’s forehead.
Chisato would make a snarky remark about Kaoru’s cheesy comment, but instead she just pulled Kaoru into a long, passionate kiss. Then another. And then another. They pulled away for a few seconds, Kaoru’s face bright red and eyes widened in shock.
“Aw, you’re so cute…” Chisato cooed and wrung her hands in Kaoru’s hair, pulling her down for another embrace. Kaoru gave no protests and melted into Chisato’s touch.
Every time Chisato tasted Kaoru she savored it, drinking in every little breath and sigh Kaoru let out when she kissed her. All the irritation and frustration Chisato felt just a few minutes before vanished as the couple embraced. At last, Chisato’s adorable prince charming was completely in her possession, and she could love her and kiss her all she wanted with absolutely no interruptions whatsoever—
“Yo, Kaoru! Chisato?”
There was rapid knocking on the bedroom door that caused the couple to tear away from each other and stare bug eyed as Hina came barging in, Kokoro and Sayo behind her.
“Ha!” Hina shouted, “Kaoru’s hair is ruffled! I told you they ran off to make out!” her green eyes sparkled triumphantly as Sayo’s jaw dropped in horror.
“You don’t just go barging into people’s rooms, Hina!” She shouted, then ironically followed Hina by marching straight into the bedroom, glaring accusingly at Kaoru, “And you! I know you have a thing for swooning ladies, but sneaking off with Chisato to do something indecent is absolutely unacceptable!”
“I beg your pardon?!” Kaoru’s voice cracked. Hina roared with laughter while Kokoro simply watched the commotion go down, smiling as she usually does. Chisato found it kind of creepy.
“God, my sister is such a nun!” Hina cackled, then shoved Sayo out of the way and patted Kaoru on the shoulder, “Anyways, everybody was getting bored of the movies and it’s dark out, so we decided to do our ghost hunting now!”
All color drained from Kaoru’s face while Kokoro excitedly rambled, “So from our research we learned that ghosts love coming out at night, especially at three in the morning!”
“Ghosts also apparently have super tragic backstories to them, so we gotta make sure to be extra nice!” Hina pitched in. Sayo rolled her eyes.
“A soul tragically bound to the Earth by its own suffering…how poetic…” Kaoru closed her eyes and attempted to look composed, but she began to sway and Chisato used her hand to prop Kaoru up again. Hina seemed to notice Kaoru’s discomfort.
“Aww, don’t worry that much, Kaoru!” She patted Kaoru’s shoulder again, “Our research also shows that ghosts only go after clueless white people, and we’re asian. So it’ll be just fine!”
“How fortunate.” Kaoru sighed, not looking the least bit comforted.
Then to Chisato’s despair, Kokoro and Hina dragged her and Kaoru back downstairs, a very annoyed Sayo trailing behind them. Soon enough Chisato had found herself outside at the entrance to the nearby woods preparing herself to do none other than ghost hunting. She was rudely torn out of her blissful moment with her girlfriend and was now expected to hunt for supernatural creatures that weren’t even real in the first place. The entire walk down to the woods Chisato knew she had the most rotten scowl on her face, for Kaoru was giving her girlfriend occasional worried looks and held hands with her in an attempt to make things a bit better. It kind of worked, though Chisato was still beyond irritated. Was it too much for Chisato to ask for some alone time with her partner? She’s been deprived of her girlfriend for a week straight, had her vacation invaded, and now she couldn’t even have this?
“Alright, so according to our research ghosts only show up when it’s a small group of people, so a large group like this probably won’t work.” Hina’s voice snapped into Chisato’s fuming.
“Awww, it’s kind of like the ghosts are shy! That’s so cute!” Kokoro’s eyes glistened and Maya laughed.
“I think they only approach small groups so it’s easier to attack you.” She perked up. Chisato felt Kaoru grow stiff and noticed how their hands had gotten sweaty, most of the sweat coming from Kaoru.
“Nahh, ghosts are just sad people but dead, remember?” Kokoro shook her head, “As long as we’re nice and understanding to them, nothing should happen.”
“Right…”
“Anyways,” Hina spoke up again, now digging in a backpack that most likely held all of their pointless ghost hunting supplies, “We’re still gonna have to split into groups, and since there are five of us, one group will be of three and the other will be a pair—“
“Kaoru and I will go alone!” Chisato immediately snatched her opportunity. She finally felt victorious as Hina nodded approvingly and Kaoru gave another grateful smile towards Chisato. She had seized the perfect opportunity. The groups would split up, her and Kaoru would pretend to ghost hunt for five minutes, then turn back and escape back to the cabin so they could finish what they started.
“Then Kokoron, Maya and I will all go together! Sound like a plan?”
Kokoro cheered while Maya didn’t say anything, she had found another ghost hunting device to tinker with. Kaoru nodded and tried to appear enthusiastic while Chisato surprised herself by cheering along with Kokoro, though it was for a completely different reason.
Hina and Kokoro divided up their array of ghost hunting tools and some flashlights among the five girls. Chisato and Kaoru found themselves stuck with some thing that measured temperature and something called a “spirit box”, which sounded incredibly stupid.
The woods had several trails that one could walk along, so the two groups split up and went along different paths, Chisato choosing the one that she’d overheard Kaoru mentioning was the shortest earlier on. The girls got their stuff together, agreed on a meeting time, then finally split up.
“This is so stupid…how the hell does this stuff even work?” Chisato muttered as the couple began their walk into the woods.
“Beats me, but the other girls seem to be having fun with it, no? Especially Maya…” Kaoru chuckled. Her hand was still intertwined with Chisato’s and she appeared to be a tad bit less terrified than she was beforehand.
“How long do you want to keep ‘ghost hunting’ until we turn back?” Chisato said slyly. Kaoru looked at her girlfriend confused.
“Hina said until seven, correct? So we’ll just keep walking until then.”
Clearly Kaoru had not taken up on Chisato’s intentions despite her making it very obvious just an hour earlier. Chisato sighed and was about to snap something a little rude back until she felt Kaoru freeze.
“Kao-chan…?”
“I heard something. Did you hear that?” Kaoru whispered, all calmness that was in her voice completely absent.
Chisato shook her head and opened her mouth to speak, but Kaoru put a finger to her lips and signaled Chisato to listen. Chisato did, and heard nothing for a few moments. Then there was a slight rustling that came from above accompanied by a gentle gust of cool air.
“My love, that’s the wind blowing the trees.”
“Even so it’s creepy!” Kaoru whined in a hushed voice, her face turning red in embarrassment, “I hate this…”
“Let’s just turn around, then.” Chisato eagerly suggested, praying that everything would still go according to plan.
To her joy, Kaoru sighed and nodded reluctantly, “I still feel a little bad though.”
“Oh, please. They won’t find anything anyways.” Chisato scoffed and whisked around, pulling Kaoru along. The taller girl merely shrugged, appearing to still have her mind focused on the rustling leaves above.
Chisato noticed how Kaoru appeared to become more uneasy as time passed. She didn’t talk and soon enough she was trembling, her hands sweating fountains. The blonde looked up at her lover and noticed that Kaoru’s eyes had gone glassy. A wave of pity fell over Chisato and she gently lifted her head to place a little peck on Kaoru’s cheek.
“Are you alright?”
Kaoru smiled at the shorter girl sheepishly, “Not really, but that kiss appeared to help.”
“Did it now?” Chisato grinned and instantly lessened the distance between the two, “Then perhaps I should give you another.”
“I’ll gladly take it.” Kaoru replied, then instantly shut up because now Chisato had her lips on Kaoru’s mouth. They kissed for a moment, then pulled away from each other. Kaoru’s previously fear stricken face was now warm with a gentle blush, and she was smiling.
“As usual, my princess gives the sweetest embraces.” Kaoru’s hand brushed against Chisato’s face as she played with some of her lover’s blonde hair.
“I’m not your princess.”
“My mistake. You are far too great to just be considered a mere princess.” Kaoru placed a kiss on Chisato’s cheek, “So therefore you are my queen.”
“God, you’re so corny!” Chisato snorted and rolled her eyes, allowing Kaoru to place more little pecks on her face.
“And you love it.” Kaoru replied simply and pulled away from Chisato’s face, only to be yanked back into another kiss by the blonde. They kissed again, longer this time. Suddenly Chisato wondered how weird it would be to make out with your girlfriend in the woods.
“Chii-chan…” Kaoru managed to let out between kisses, “Is this really the appropriate place? Your kisses are as lovely as ever, but we’re in the middle of the woods—“
“Oh, it’s only for a little bit.” Chisato cut Kaoru off then quickly stood on her tip-toes for another kiss, holding back a giggle when Kaoru willingly accepted it. Despite her protests Kaoru very clearly didn’t have the slightest problem with the situation.
The flashlight and weird ghost hunting device that was assigned to Chisato were suddenly tossed aside, and the blonde snatched the so-called spirit box from Kaoru’s hand as well. Once the couple was rid of their burdens, Kaoru allowed Chisato to fully embrace her. The shorter girl wrapped her arms around Kaoru’s sides and stood on her toes as her lover gingerly held her face. Kaoru kissed her cheek, nose, lips, then a few more pecks on Chisato’s cheek again. Kaoru rained kisses all over her lover’s face until Chisato got tired of the fluffy stuff and pulled Kaoru by the collar so that she could kiss her properly.
The bliss Chisato felt earlier in the couple’s bedroom returned as she passionately kissed Kaoru, who was slightly flustered but smiling against Chisato’s lips. Not once in her life did Chisato think she would be kissing her childhood friend in the middle of the woods on what was supposed to be a ghost hunting expedition, yet here she was, and goddamnit she was enjoying every second of it. Kaoru might be a dork, but Chisato would be lying if she said she wasn’t a great kisser. The cute bashful smile that Chisato would catch in between kisses and that absolutely adorable squeak she’d let out whenever Chisato did something daring with her tongue was also a plus. The best part out of all of this though was that it was all for Chisato, nobody else.
They kissed for a while. A long while. The couple shuffled around a bit while kissing and honestly Chisato was too invested in Kaoru to make note of where exactly they were standing in relation to their original position. It’s not like it mattered anyways.
“Mn— Chisato?” Kaoru suddenly tore away from Chisato and began to quickly glance around, her flushed red face slowly losing color.
“Kao-chan,” the blonde sighed, “I know you keep hearing things, but I promise you it’s just the trees to something—“
“No, this time I swear I heard voices.” Kaoru’s voice shook and she stepped back from Chisato, now looking around more frantically.
“I don’t hear anything.” Chisato deadpanned, then felt her stomach drop when she did indeed hear some voices and even a bit of rustling coming from off the trail, deep in the woods.
“I told you!” Kaoru hissed then began to pace backwards, her head swerving anxiously from side to side.
Chisato sighed irritably and walked after her girlfriend, “Okay— Kao-chan, just relax. I’m sure it’s nothing, let’s just hurry on back and—“
Suddenly her foot hit something hard. There was a small click. Then—
WSSHWHSSWHSSHWSSHWSSHWSSHWHSSWHSSHWSSHWSSH
“Kyaaah!”
Kaoru’s shriek would have made Chisato yell too if it weren’t for the massive weight that suddenly slammed into her body, sending her flying and hitting the ground with a loud thud that made her ears ring — that and the obnoxiously loud radio noise that seemed to come out of nowhere. There was some yelling, a few footsteps, and then the white noise was gone and replaced with a very familiar laughter that could’ve come from none other than—
“ Hina!”
“ Wha!” Hina’s hands flung up in the air defensively, “What are you yelling my name for? Did I walk in on a moment between you and Kaoru again?” She smirked and gestured at the taller girl that was clinging to Chisato, shivering and probably holding back some tears as well. Kokoro had kneeled down and begun to soothingly stroke Kaoru’s back, rambling her usual rainbows and unicorns nonsense in an attempt to make Kaoru feel better.
Chisato decided to ignore Hina’s jab, “What the hell was that noise? Were you trying to scare us?” She glared accusingly at the guitarist, who merely laughed.
“Oh, you mean the spirit box?” She pointed at the device in her right hand, “I didn’t touch it! It was making that noise when I found you two on the ground cuddling. Did you not turn it on yourselves?”
So that was what Chisato’s foot had hit earlier, “Accidentally, I guess.” she sighed, “Good lord, why does it make such a loud noise like that? Isn’t it for capturing ghost voices or something? Wouldn’t you want things to be quiet?” Chisato really didn’t care about hunting ghosts that didn’t even exist, but nonetheless she found this “spirit box” thing to be quite irrationally designed.
“Apparently it picks up voices, and you can hear them through the noise.” Maya spoke up, “We tested it out while we were walking on our trail and actually picked up something! If you want I can show you what we heard, I got it on video—“
“ No.” Chisato and Kaoru went in unison.
Kaoru had now sat up and actually managed to appear like she hadn’t just screeched at the top of her lungs a few moments ago. Hina was eyeing her with a smug smirk.
“That was a pretty loud scream you let out back there, huh?”
“It was not a scream of terror,” Kaoru crossed her arms as if anybody actually believed her, “It was a declaration of victory, for I had just protected my precious Juliet, Chisato, from being attacked by a spirit that was rather unfriendly.”
Chisato didn’t even try to hold back her eyeroll. Kokoro, on the other hand, was in absolute awe.
“Wow, that’s amazing Kaoru! How did you fight it off?”
Kaoru chuckled, “With my noble fencing skills, of course.”
“Huh? How did you get a sword? Do you just carry one around with you?”
Kaoru hesitated. Chisato could almost hear the gears churning in Kaoru’s head.
“I used a stick.”
Kokoro’s jaw dropped and her eyes sparkled while Chisato could hear Maya desperately holding back a fit of giggles, “ Woah , you’re so talented, Kaoru! I didn’t know you could do fencing with a stick!”
“You can fence with anything if it is to protect your loved ones.” Kaoru smiled dashingly as she wrapped her arm around Chisato. The blonde’s expression remained exasperated as she was pulled against Kaoru’s side, “Yes, I recall it clearly now. We were strolling through the woods searching for any signs of the supernatural, when suddenly…”
And then Kaoru proceeded to go on her own ballad about how she fought off an evil ghost. Kokoro and Hina listened attentively while Chisato toned Kaoru’s voice out in hopes of not losing faith in the amount of braincells her girlfriend was capable of using.
After a matter of time Kaoru wrapped up her tale and everybody decided to return back to the mountain house. It turned out that Kokoro, Hina and Maya had been very successful in their ghost hunting expedition, so much so that they spent the whole walk home telling Kaoru and Chisato about what things they had caught on camera. A few voices, some weird shaped shadows and small balls of light…all things that Chisato thought could be rationally explained. Kaoru on the other hand only grew paler and paler as she overheard the girls’ conversation. Every time one of the girls offered Kaoru an opportunity to see some of their “ghost hunting footage” she completely turned it down.
When the five girls returned to the mountain house Chisato could smell a lovely aroma coming from inside. They soon figured out that none other than Sayo had taken the liberty to use the house’s kitchen and cook some dinner for everybody.
"I am not the best, however Yukina can’t cook and Lisa got tired of being her chef, so I have a bit of experience that could be of some use.” Sayo replied to Kaoru thanking her for cooking. Yukina didn’t even appear ashamed.
As Sayo cooked, the rest of the girls occupied themselves with casual conversation. Talk of course started with Hina and Kokoro describing their ghost hunting expedition and how Kaoru had fought off a ghost herself. Hagumi was immediately intrigued and bombarded Kaoru with questions just as Kokoro did earlier. While Kaoru described how she gallantly defended Chisato from a spirit, Kanon and Yukina looked on terribly confused. Chisato got a slightly concerned look from Kanon, as if she was checking to see if Chisato was truly sane for dating a person like this. All Kanon got as a response was a simple look that read “I’m used to it”.
The girls all dined together, which Chisato had to admit was pretty nice. Sayo was a great cook; the dinner was delicious and Chisato even helped herself to seconds.
Hina stole the dinner’s conversation, her witty and eccentric sense of humor making even Yukina choke on her water. Kokoro, Kaoru and Hagumi joined in, being terribly loud but nonetheless very fun to watch. Chisato found herself getting more entertainment out of watching Kaoru, Hina, Hagumi and Kokoro spewing nonsense than actually engaging in the conversation.
At one point Hina made a jab at Chisato , remarking about how whenever she walks in on her and Kaoru their hands are always all over each other. Chisato blushed and laughed it off while Kaoru appeared oblivious. Sayo, however, was very offended and told Hina that indecency shouldn’t be taken lightly. Hina immediately responded with saying “You say that like you don’t have Yukina’s tongue down your throat whenever she comes over for ‘song writing’.”
Sayo didn’t make another remark about “indecency” for the rest of the night.
Following dinner, everybody moved to the living room where more casual shenanigans ensued. Kokoro pulled out a deck of Uno, which everybody who was present participated in. Chisato surprised herself by winning the first game and getting pretty far in the second, only to be beaten by Maya. Yukina took the game very seriously — except for the fact that she kept going to Sayo for advice despite her being an opponent. For the sake of her girlfriend Sayo dropped out of the game and assisted Yukina instead. Hagumi took up on the idea and decided to help out Kanon; the poor girl was seated next to Hina, who took pleasure in making her neighbor draw as many cards as possible. Kanon soon got her revenge by beating Hina in the third round.
Maya, however, was the one who won the most rounds. Soon after Kanon’s victory everybody had partnered up with another person: Yukina and Sayo, Hagumi and Kanon, and Kaoru had decided to assist Chisato because quite honestly Kaoru wasn’t very good at the game. Kokoro decided to partner up with Hina because “Everybody seems to be having fun working together and I want in on it too!”
Therefore poor Maya was left to her own devices. But despite the odds against her she managed to win every other round of the card game. She was very apologetic about it, though people were less annoyed that she was winning and more astonished at how great she was at the game.
After card games the group pulled out snacks. Hagumi, Kokoro, Kaoru and Hina went to town on the candy which caused all hell to break loose. The sugar rush brought Kokoro to the idea of singing karaoke. About two minutes later she received a rather convenient delivery from a trio of ladies in black suits: a brand new karaoke machine.
As usual, they were loud. Much to Sayo’s horror, Hina picked a few Roselia songs and terribly mimicked Yukina’s voice for the pure purpose of pissing Sayo off. It worked, but the anger boiled down when Sayo caught Yukina giggling at the impersonation. Sayo’s face softened and a slight blush tinted her cheeks as she watched Yukina laugh.
Soon after Hina, Hagumi dragged Kanon into doing some singing as well. Kanon was very reluctant and shy about it, but through Hagumi’s encouragement she decided to take a turn with the karaoke machine. Hagumi, Kaoru and Kokoro hyped the hell out of Kanon’s performance — most likely a result of their sugar high. Kokoro and Hagumi’s hoots and hollers could probably be heard from the other side of Japan while Kaoru immediately ran to embrace Kanon as soon as she finished, making a much bigger deal out of the performance than necessary.
“My precious Kanon! To overcome your insecurities to give such a fleeting performance for your dearest friends…!” Kaoru remarked as Kanon squealed for the taller girl to loosen her hug, “How noble of you! I am so proud!”
“Fueeee! Kaoru it’s really not that big of a deal..!” The drummer wailed as the other two of the three stooges scrambled to find another song to sing, “I-it’s just karaoke! It’s really nothing. Ch-Chisato…” Kanon’s purple eyes begged for Chisato to pull her girlfriend off the poor girl. Chisato giggled as she munched on a few chips, eventually calling Kaoru to lay off her bandmate.
Yukina then dragged a very bashful Sayo up to give singing a try, which took Chisato by surprise. She’d never expect Yukina to be the type to engage in something as carefree as this. But with that being said, karaoke was singing.
Sayo seemed to be pretty elated at the idea of singing with Yukina, though she tried her damned hardest to hide it. Hiding it didn’t go well. Hina took note of Sayo’s blushing and teased her relentlessly. Yukina even joined in, telling Sayo that this was no different than singing with the rest of Roselia. Sayo shyly responded that this circumstance had the singing only be between her and Yukina, therefore it was a bit different. Hina responded to this by cooing about how romantic Sayo was and how everybody should “Give my sister and Yukina some room so they can have their intimate singing time.” Sayo glared daggers but didn’t let Hina get to her that much, for the song had started and she ended up enjoying herself while singing with Yukina.
Yukina’s proposal to perform with her girlfriend gave Kaoru the idea to do the same.
“Chisato, we should sing together.” Kaoru said as she took a handful of the chips Chisato was eating.
“I don’t know, I was kind of thinking about us going upstairs.” Chisato replied smoothly.
“Again?” Kaoru raised her eyebrows.
“It’s getting late.” The blonde went innocently, “We can rest and not be interrupted.”
Kaoru’s eyes shifted to the ground, “I mean, I was kind of looking forward to having a bit of fun with you. You’ve been grumpy all day, so I thought this might lift your spirits…”
The thing that would lift Chisato’s spirits would be going upstairs, slipping into her pajamas and cuddling with Kaoru for the rest of the night. However, Chisato had to admit that the idea of karaoke sounded a little enjoyable, and she hated the disappointed expression her girlfriend wore on her face.
“Okay, fine. I will sing a song with you.” Chisato gave in, “But only one.”
Kaoru gave a bright smile, then pulled Chisato by the hand to the karaoke machine.
Hagumi was the first one to pass out. She lay snoring on Kanon’s lap as the drummer silently slept on the couch. Sleeping right next to her was Kokoro, who had Hina nuzzled up on her side. Kaoru had allowed a very sleepy Maya to rest her head on her lap, then soon fell asleep as well. Once again, Chisato had two girls resting on one side of her: Kaoru against Chisato’s shoulder with Maya on her lap.
In the end only Yukina and Chisato remained awake. Unsurprisingly, Sayo had found her pillow to be Yukina’s thighs.
“I'm surprised you’re not tired.” Chisato yawned, feeling sleep creeping in for her as well.
“I often stay up late doing songwriting and such.” Yukina shrugged, “It drives Lisa and Sayo insane.”
The blonde giggled, “Those two love to baby you, don’t they?”
“For the longest time it was always Lisa, but as soon as Sayo and I started dating Lisa left all the babysitting to her.” Yukina glanced down at the sleeping guitarist on her lap. Chisato noticed a trace of a smile.
The two girls fell quiet. Chisato could hear the gentle breathing of her bandmates and classmates all around her, though the one that stood out to her the most was Kaoru’s. The blonde glanced over and couldn’t help but grin at the sleeping girl who rested on her. She had a gentle hand placed on Maya’s shoulder and her other hand lightly touched Chisato’s. They were holding hands before but the touch had lessened as Kaoru fell asleep.
“That’s the first I’ve seen you genuinely smile all day.”
“What could you mean by that?” Chisato cocked an eyebrow at Yukina’s comment.
“You’ve been wearing this irritated scowl all day. It’s like you don’t even want to be here.”
Chisato didn’t really know if she should be offended or not. It wasn’t like Yukina was wrong.
“…I mean…”
“Forgive me, that must have been a bit rude.” Yukina backtracked, her expression unchanging.
“No, I mean, you’re not wrong.” Chisato shrugged, “I have been a little frustrated with today’s circumstances...”
“Care to explain?”
How odd. Chisato never expected Yukina to be the type to offer a lending ear, especially to somebody who didn’t even know her that well. Though in quite honesty the gesture wasn’t unappreciated.
“Well, I was initially expecting this vacation to be between only Kaoru and I…”
“Aah.” Yukina nodded understandingly and even chuckled a bit, “Then I would be annoyed too. I’m guessing that Kaoru is a bit dense then?”
“She thought our first date was a ‘platonic outing’ until I kissed her at the very end of it.”
Yukina chuckled even louder, “Sayo would definitely do something like that. She is also very dense. And uptight.”
“Uptight is an understatement.” Chisato sighed, “She threw a fit when she walked in on Kaoru and I kissing of all things.”
Yukina nodded unsurprisingly, “It’s ironic, honestly. Sayo is actually quite needy. Only when it is the two of us though.”
“Oh yes. Hina made sure to let us know.” Chisato referred to Hina’s comment at the dinner table earlier. Yukina’s cheeks got a little red but she remained composed. Chisato noticed her hands move to Sayo’s head and gently play with her teal hair.
“But you know,” Yukina sighed as she gently looked down at Sayo, “As much of a handful she can be, I honestly feel like I cause more trouble for her than she does for me.”
“I understand that feeling,” Chisato let out a wry huff of laughter, “I call Kaoru a headache yet I’m probably far worse. I’m always leaning on her and accepting all of her affection, yet I have trouble simply saying ‘I love you’…”
“I probably wouldn’t have gotten so far with Roselia if it weren’t for Sayo. If anything she’s the one who always lifts me up and pushes me forward.” Chisato traced a hint of regret in Yukina’s voice, “Despite what hurt she has inside, I’m always the one she looks out for.”
Chisato remembered one of the only times Kaoru had went to her for emotional support. All she did was rest her head on the crook of Chisato’s neck and allow Chisato to hold her. Kaoru never said a word about what was wrong and still hasn’t to this day. It hurt Chisato, but she didn’t pry. And it wasn’t like she was surprised; Chisato wasn't exactly vocal about her love and support for her girlfriend like the Kaoru was. It made Chisato feel terribly guilty, especially since she knew that Kaoru loved her no less despite the imbalance.
“Our girlfriends are so selfless for putting up with train-wrecks like us, huh…” Chisato sighed, sleepiness making her voice slow and gentle.
The pair fell quiet again, then Chisato suddenly felt Kaoru stir besides her.
“Ah, good morning sleeping beauty.” Chisato teasingly poked Kaoru’s cheek as she drowsily sat up. She blinked the sleepiness from her eyes and then looked at her girlfriend questionably.
“Did we all fall asleep? What time is it?”
“Eleven. And yes, everybody fell asleep besides Yukina and I.” Chisato looked over at the vocalist again. She was still gingerly playing with Sayo’s hair.
“I should probably be going to bed myself.” Yukina remarked, though she didn’t look like she was getting up any time soon.
“Kaoru, let’s go upstairs.” The blonde said as she stood up from the couch, “You could get sore sleeping in such an odd position, and I really don’t want to sleep on the couch.”
“Your wish is my command, my love.” Kaoru grinned, still a little drowsy from waking up only a few minutes ago. She gently removed Maya from her lap then stood up as well. Chisato gave a small little wave farewell to Yukina then walked with Kaoru upstairs.
Privacy at last.
Chisato should be tired, but the sleepiness immediately evaporated as soon as she realized that finally, at last, she and Kaoru were alone. Everybody was either asleep or too busy playing with their girlfriend’s hair (Yukina). Nobody was even upstairs. Chisato had finally got her opportunity. Kaoru was all hers.
The couple cleaned up then got into their pajamas. Soon enough the two were curled up in their bed, Kaoru’s arms wrapped around Chisato’s smaller body and holding her close. Chisato listened to Kaoru’s steady heartbeat as her head rested against her chest. Slowly, she slid her hands from Kaoru’s waist to her chest then face. Kaoru’s previously shut eyes fluttered open and she gazed at Chisato fondly.
“Can I help you?”
“Just hush…” Chisato whispered. Then she pulled Kaoru into a kiss.
Chisato felt Kaoru’s little smile against her mouth as they kissed. Her arms moved from Chisato’s back to her face. They cupped each other’s faces in their hands and gave each other gentle pecks and kisses until Chisato pulled herself away. Kaoru blinked curiously as her girlfriend sat up, rolled Kaoru onto her back, and then sat on top of her.
“That’s much better.” Chisato giggled as she leaned down and kissed Kaoru again. The taller girl allowed the blonde to smother her with kisses on her forehead, cheeks, lips, then jawline. Chisato’s fingers were twirled up in Kaoru’s long hair, which was now worn down since they were going to bed. Chisato took note of how nice Kaoru smelled…like lilac flowers she supposed. She breathed in the lovely scent as her kisses when up to Kaoru’s ear. She tested a boundary and licked it. Kaoru stiffened underneath her.
“Ah—“
“Is something wrong?” Chisato breathed into Kaoru’s ear. She felt Kaoru’s hands gently start to push Chisato up from her body. The blonde allowed it to happen, looking down at Kaoru confusedly. The taller one’s face was ablaze and Chisato traced sweat on her neck. She quite liked that.
“Uhm..as lovely as your kisses are my dear,” Kaoru looked away shyly, her hands now on Chisato’s shoulders, “I am a bit sleepy…”
Chisato’s brows couldn’t help but furrow. Her shoulders slumped and she sighed, “I just can’t win, can I?”
“Did I do something wrong?”
Chisato shrugged and shook her head, feeling guilty for behaving so selfishly, “No, nothing like that. It’s just…” She huffed and her hands absent-mindedly played with the hem of Kaoru’s shirt, “I wanted this whole trip to be just for us, you know? Like, I know you have friends and stuff but…I haven’t been alone with you in days. And now I can’t even have this.”
Kaoru’s red eyes glistened apologetically, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know…” She murmured, “I guess that’s why you’ve been so touchy-feely lately.”
The blonde giggled a bit, “You think?”
“Next time I will make sure that it’s only you and I.” Kaoru’s hand reached over and gently touched Chisato’s, “We can be alone, and I’ll do whatever you please. How about it?”
“I’d like that.” Chisato grinned, warmth spreading through her chest at the thought, “I would like that a lot.”
“I can also stay awake for you.” Kaoru’s hand moved up and caressed Chisato’s cheek, “For now I could at least give you this.”
She wanted to take the opportunity, she really did. However, she was getting drowsy and the last thing she wanted was to guilt trip Kaoru into doing something for her own sake yet again. She shook her head.
“Don’t worry about it, Kao-chan. We can just hold each other while we sleep. I don’t mind.”
Kaoru smiled, “That’s considerate of you, Chii-chan, but I really can stay awake.”
“No, no, really,” Chisato laughed again, touched by Kaoru’s persistence, “It’s okay, my love. Please don’t worry about it—“
Suddenly Chisato felt herself yanked down by her shirt. Before she knew it her lips were connected to her lover’s. Kaoru kissed her passionately, her hand bringing Chisato’s just a tad underneath her shirt. Chisato let out a little grunt as Kaoru held Chisato close and got sloppier with her kisses, until she loosened her hold and allowed Chisato to pull back. Her jaw dropped and everything in her body felt burning hot.
“I-I liked what you were doing before, so can we please finish what we started, Chii-chan?” Kaoru stammered, her face flushed even brighter than beforehand. “I told you: I can stay awake.”
Kaoru’s breathing was heavy and her eyes didn’t hold an ounce of hesitancy. All Chisato saw was hunger.
Have I just encountered a miracle?
“Well, if you insist.” Chisato gripped the side of Kaoru’s waist allowed a smirk to creep onto her face. Kaoru gave a bashful smile back, then let out an adorable giggle as Chisato dove down to kiss her again.
This time, there were no interruptions.