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The banging at her door had been continuing at her door for a minute now. Nobara groaned and pulled her pillow over her head.
"I'm not running with you at this hour, Maki-san!!" Nobara said groggily.
"Please!! Nobara, it'll be fun, plus it helps with your speed!!" Maki said very unconvincingly to Nobara's ears.
"I'll buy our lunch for the next week if you do!!" Maki said, and Nobara knew that she had lost at the moment.
"Two weeks," Nobara said, rising out of her bed.
"One and a half!!" Maki countered.
Nobara groaned and flipped over in her bed to look at the clock, and it was 6:15.
"Fine! You better take me to some five-star restaurants!!!" Nobara said, getting out of her bed and walking into the bathroom across the hallway and grabbed her toothbrush. As she brushed her teeth, Nobara looked at her phone to see if she had a mission with Itadori and Fushiguro that day. To her delight, she noticed she was free that day and decided to text Maki if she was also free.
Maki, I don't have a mission tomorrow, do you?
I don't have one today either. Maki texted back almost immediately.
Do you want to go bowling then? Maybe a movie after that? Nobara texted a little nervous. She knew she was practically asking Maki out on a date, but they rarely ever get time to hang out like this due to the hectic lifestyles that shamans lead, and this might be her only chance for a few months.
Sure! I don't know if I'll be able to do the movie cause Kusakabe-Sensei gave me an assignment that I would like to work on before sleeping, but I can do bowling! Maki replied.
Ok!! I'm a little bummed about the movie part, but bowling is still gonna be fun, so it's all good! I'll be out in a few! Nobara texted back. She then went back into her room and grabbed her workout clothes from the closet, and started to put them on.
Nobara then ran down the stairs to the kitchen and saw Itadori eating the leftover pizza from last night that they bought together with Fushiguro.
"You going for a run, Kugisaki?" Itadori asked while chewing noisily.
"Yeah, with Maki-san," Nobara said, grabbing a slice. Itadori then looked at hair and started smirking in the same one that was usually mirrored on her face when they were getting ready to make fun of Fushiguro.
"Interesting.....you always turn down my offers for a morning run. What makes Maki-Senpai so different?" Itadori asked with a curious tone, though it didn't feel curious to Nobara because of the sly look on his face that he knew precisely why it was different.
"I don't like you as much, that's why," Nobara said bluntly. Itadori made an exaggerated offended face, and she decided to take that chance to eat the rest of her slice, wash her hands and book it out of the kitchen.
"We'll talk about this later!!" Itadori exclaimed from the kitchen.
"No, the hell we won't!!!" Nobara yelled back.
"Yes, we will!!" Itadori replied, and Nobara decided not to dignify him with a response cause she knew they would go back and forth for a while if she did. Nobara opened the door outside and saw that Maki was leaning against a pillar listening to music.
"What took you so long?" Maki questioned.
"Itadori was annoying," Nobara answered. Maki shook her head in slight understanding and decided not to push any further.
"Nobara, let me see your running stance," Maki said, her expression suddenly turning serious. Nobara could feel the confusion taking over her facial features.
"Ok," Nobara said. She was confused, but knowing Maki; she must have had a reason. Nobara turned to the side, brought her hands up into the typical runner's position, and bent one of her right knees as she brought her left foot from the ground. Maki was looking at her with curious eyes, and it took everything in Nobara not to turn red in the face. It's not every day your crush checks you out.
"Not bad," Maki said with an amused tone, looking over Nobara once more.
"However, your running form does need work. Having a perfect running form is essential in fitness and can help your speed." Maki explained. Maki walked in front of Nobara and grabbed her chin slightly, tipping it up, so her head was facing straight ahead. Nobara wasn't paying attention to any of that, though, as she was too busy staring into Maki's violet eyes.
"Were her eyes always this beautiful?" Nobara thought. Maki's eyes reminded her of the purple paint Saori would splash on her cheek when they were painting on the dirt floors of Nobara's house.
"Nobara? Are you ok in there? You seem dazed." Maki stated, looking at her with slight concern.
"Yeah, sorry you were saying?" Nobara asked. Maki looked at her a little doubtful but decided not to say anything else.
"You need to be looking at what's right in front of you when you're running. Not at the sides or on the floor right ahead, that's why I lifted your chin." Maki explained. Nobara made sure to hold on to every word this time. Maki then grabbed her hands and loosened them slightly.
"Your hands shouldn't be curled into a tight fist but a more loose one; this is to prevent tension and to conserve your energy into running instead of clenching your hands," Maki explained. Maki grabbed Nobara's shoulders and slightly lifted them.
"Your shoulders should be open and raised instead of hunched, believe it or not, but this helps with your speed and endurance," Maki explained. Nobara was slightly shaking her head up and down to catch on to every word Maki was saying. Nobara would have found this boring coming out of the mouth of anyone else, but she found herself enjoying what Maki had to say.
"Your torso and your arms are perfect the way they so keep then that way the whole time you're running," Maki said. Maki placed her hands on Nobara's hips and shifted them slightly. Nobara thought she was going to pass out from the embarrassment.
"Ok!! You look good now, and I want you to maintain this form during our run. Also, try doing it without using cursed energy so you can learn to be faster that way." Maki explained while she stretched her arms and got into position.
The two of them took off running after that and felt the cool morning breeze run through their hair. Nobara thought that this would be easy to maintain, but after about 10 minutes of running, she could feel her shoulders hunching and her gaze wavering to the ground before her.
Maki, who was right next to her for some reason (Nobara suspected she was holding herself back quite a bit) noticed and came to a halt.
"It's way harder than it seems, huh?" Maki asked, looking at Nobara with questioning eyes.
"Yeah, it would be easier if I was able to use cursed energy," Nobara said, looking at Maki with hopeful eyes.
"No can do Nobara," Maki said with a teasing tone.
"If you want to become even more powerful, this will help, " Maki told her.
Nobara groaned, but she knew that Maki was right. Nobara fixed her stance and started running behind slightly, going ahead of Maki.
"Hey!! Let's not make this a challenge; you know I'll win!!" Maki said, laughing as she sped up and quickly passed Nobara. Maki then proceeded to leave Nobara in the dust and looked back to speak.
"I'll be waiting for you at the end of this trail!! Good luck!!" Maki yelled, giving Nobara a thumbs up and then proceeded to run out of Nobara's sight.
"So she was holding back for my sake," Nobara said, grumbling under her breath. Nobara proceeded to speed up and started running, determined to catch up to Maki. She felt a similar rush to when she used Black Flash for the first time as she focused on keeping her eyes straight ahead. About 25 minutes later, she saw Maki waiting for her, waving at her with a slight smile on her face.
"You did it!!" Maki said, sounding proud of her, putting her arm around Nobara's shoulder in an attempt to support her and hug her at the same time. Nobara was slightly fatigued because she had never really needed to be so aware of her body before without using cursed energy, but the thrill she got from it was much better. Nobara knew she was going to go running more often from now on.
"No, thanks to you!!" Nobara said jokingly.
"Listen, I needed my exercise in as well, sorry," Maki said, winking at her playfully. Maki looked so beautiful, smiling like that, and Nobara decided to do something entirely reckless at that moment. Nobara turned towards Maki, grabbed her face, and gently kissed her.
Maki's eyes widened slowly, but after getting over her slight shock, she smiled into the kiss and grabbed Nobara's cheek, stroking it slightly. The kiss was perfect for both of them. Nobara tasted mint chapstick and made a note to herself to ask what brand later. Maki liked the slight pouty way Nobara's lips pressed into her and responded by pushing her hair out of the way so she could kiss her deeper.
They both came up for air and giggled sightly as they laid their foreheads together, just basking in each other's presence.
"Took you long enough," Maki whispered, looking into Nobara's eyes. Nobara turned red at that and jumped back a little.
"W-What do you mean??" Nobara questioned, hating the way she stuttered.
"I knew you had a crush on me, Nobara. I was just waiting when you would get the balls to confess," Maki said, explaining it to her. Nobara's eyes were bugging out at this point; she could feel it. Nobara opened her mouth, trying to explain before Maki caught her off.
"I like you too, by the way, but I wanted you to confess first because it was cute seeing trying to act like you weren't crushing," Maki said with a slight smirk. Nobara's face was the color of her favorite lipstick.
"Although I thought you would confess tomorrow since you asked me out and all," Maki said with a thoughtful look on her face. Maki looked at Nobara with such an affectionate expression that Nobara's heart felt like it would shatter to pieces. The last person who had looked at her like that was Saori.
"So does this mean you'll be my girlfriend?" Nobara said slyly, trying to salvage what was left of her dignity.
"Yes, I will if you agree to be mine," Maki said, stepping forward, kissing Nobara's forehead.
"Of course," Nobara whispered. Nobara pulled Maki into a hug and held her like that for a while, it just felt right. Nobara had finally found a home in this hectic city.
"We should get going now," Maki said, taking Nobara's hand.
"Yeah, Nanami-san's going to start freaking out if we don't head back now," Nobara said, chuckling. The two girls proceeded to head back to the school hand in hand, carrying the biggest smiles on their faces that they have had in a long time.