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When Tenko comes around the corner, she spots a head of blonde hair sitting on a bench some ways away, and she calls, “Akamatsu-san!” before breaking into a run over to the bench. She vaults herself over a group of playing boys-- young degenerates, ugh-- and bolts from there, stopping once she’s reached the area where Kaede is sitting, her breath laboured, her face flushed. When she straightens up, she’s beaming, and she’s upright just in time to catch Kaede’s eyes when she turns around, a smile of equal measure on her face.
“Chabashira-san, you made it!” Kaede says brightly. She gets to her feet, and Tenko gasps a little, the only real reaction she has time for before Kaede is right there in front of her, pulling her into an embrace.
It’s already a bit warm outside, humid, and Kaede is always quite warm herself, but Tenko doesn’t mind this at all, because Kaede smells like honeysuckle and syrup and she’s all soft and perfect in Tenko’s arms. Tenko sucks in a breath and then scoops her up, making sure there are no children or obstacles in the way (she shuffles them away from the park bench) before she spins Kaede around. Kaede shrieks with laughter, her hands fisting in the fabric of Tenko’s cardigan, and Tenko laughs a bit too, before putting her down, reluctantly stepping back and looking her over.
Kaede’s blonde hair has grown since Tenko last saw it, it’s almost down to the middle of her back by now. She’s curled it and pinned it out of her eyes with bobby pins, and she’s done a bit of her makeup, such that her lips are glossy and pink and her eyelids are shimmering with eye shadow of the same colour. She’s wearing a peach blouse over a white skirt and tall socks, bracelets clinking against each other on her wrist as she moves her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
The dress that Tenko is wearing is spring green, and she feels pretty in it, but next to Kaede she always feels… well, not frumpy, frumpy is the wrong word; it isn’t as though Kaede makes her feel ugly. Kaede makes her feel good, strong, cute, even, but… it’s hard to feel like the prettiest person in the room next to Akamatsu Kaede. Her eyes sparkle and her smiles shine and her laugh is like silver, ringing bells, and just the sight of her is enough to make Tenko’s chest and stomach blossom with warmth.
Needless to say, she looks breathtaking right now, and once Tenko has got her heart rate under control, she speaks again.
“Of course Tenko made it!” It takes her a moment to collect her train of thought well enough to reply after getting distracted with how Kaede looks. Tenko is proud of herself for remembering, really. She’s so scatterbrained in the best of times. “Tenko promised she would come, and it’s been so long since she’s gotten to see Akamatsu-san!”
Kaede giggles, lifting a painted nail to tap Tenko’s nose. “It hasn’t been that long, silly, just a couple of months! But I’m excited to see you, anyway.” She smiles, lowering her hand and offering it to Tenko, who eyes it with minor apprehension for only a moment before wiping it on her skirt and taking it. Kaede’s hands are smooth and soft and delicate, and Tenko’s are sweaty and calloused and rough, and the last thing that Tenko wants to do is make Kaede uncomfortable. Kaede doesn’t seem to mind, though, because she squeezes Tenko’s hand and starts to walk them out of the park. “I had a really good time in America, but I missed you! And the rest of our class, too, how were the last couple months of classes?”
“Fine,” Tenko rolls her eyes. “Ouma-san was causing the same trouble as he always does.” She tuts. “I hate a lying degenerate… I ought’a give him a piece of Tenko’s mind when summer vacation is over!”
“Maybe,” Kaede allows, with a smile. “Sounds like you all were just as lively as ever, though, that’s good!” She shakes some of her hair over her shoulder as they come up to a crosswalk, and Tenko takes just a moment to admire how it glistens in the sunshine. Kaede really is just so pretty. “Have you been having a good summer vacation so far?”
“Uh-huh!” Tenko nods eagerly. “Tenko has really been working on improving her Neo-Aikido! And she’s gone to see Yumeno-san a couple times, which has been fun.” She stops, looking over at Kaede. “But that’s enough about Tenko! Akamatsu-san should tell Tenko about her time in America, that’s much more important than what Tenko has been doing! It’s always the same old boring stuff here, y’know? Kaede probably has so much more interesting things to talk about…”
“Aww, don’t say that!” Kaede chastises. “I like hearing you speak! I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want to know, y’know?”
Well, Tenko doesn’t doubt that. Kaede is really very nice. But she’d much rather be listening to Kaede’s pretty voice while she talks about what she did on her tour than listening to her own. Tenko is annoying, and loud, and she rambles, but Kaede is so pretty and cheerful and her stories are always so interesting. Tenko wants to walk like this with her in the sunshine and listen to her talk forever.
“I’ll tell you some about it, though,” Kaede says, after a moment. “America is a really big country, and the people look so different there…”
Tenko feels herself smiling as Kaede launches into a story. It’s so nice to be walking with Kaede like this, holding her hand. Someday, Tenko hopes, she’ll be able to make Kaede as happy as she makes Tenko, just by walking with her like this.