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"Are you still angry?"
"I wasn't angry," came a curt reply.
Lying on a hammock stretched between two concrete pillars, Toriko didn't meet my gaze. With her eyes firmly fixated on the gray ceiling and arms crossed, she looked like a perfect representation of 'angry'. I shouldn't have even asked.
A warm spring day had seemed perfect for an exploration trip, but we severely underestimated just how warm it would get on the Otherside. Having set out early in the morning, we managed to cover some distance before the sun got too unbearable, but around noon it finally forced us to take a break.
Now we were resting in the shade of a small ruined building-- though, maybe calling it a building was too generous. It was more like a slab of stone resting on top of a bunch of randomly placed pillars.
Sitting on a blanket laid down on the concrete floor, I stared at Toriko's golden ponytail hanging off the side of the hammock while I chewed on sliced fruit she brought as a snack.
"I'm sorry. Really." I tried again.
"It's okay."
She spoke in that flat tone of voice. The one that always made me unsure what to do.
Right. The scorching sun wasn't the most troubling issue I'd run into today.
…I completely forgot it was Toriko's birthday.
She did remind me about it, a month ago. And a week after that. And again, a week later… Well.
I was going to celebrate it with her, of course. But I ended up putting off buying a birthday gift (what do you even get for a woman like her?), then we both got busy with some Otherside trouble, school stuff came up as well…
Yeah, in the end I totally forgot. How was it June already anyway?!
Toriko turned around in the hammock with a "Hmpf," as if she could hear my shameful thoughts. I put another piece of fruit in my mouth and wiped my forehead with a tissue. I wasn't sure if the weather or the current situation was making me sweat more.
I haven't seen Toriko act like this since… the time I didn't tell her about my Otherside neighbor, maybe? It had been so long since then. That time we resolved the conflict pretty quickly, though. Meanwhile, Toriko had barely spoken to me at all today…
I found it a little annoying, honestly. Was a forgotten date really something worth getting this worked up over?
…No, maybe I was the one being weird. Birthdays are something every normal person cares about a lot, aren’t they. The fact that I hadn't celebrated mine in years was probably more than a little strange.
Ah, I really messed up this time, didn't I? And there I was now, trying to sink into the concrete, all the while eating the hurt Toriko's snacks…
I took a deep breath, picked up the lunchbox with fruit and stood up. Ugh, moving made me realize just how drenched in sweat my T-shirt was. I didn't have the confidence to take it off and walk around in only my bra, which is what Toriko was doing right now. I had a spare change of clothes, but it was supposed to be for emergencies only. Still, even if I changed now, I'd get sweaty again in no time.
I approached Toriko and stopped the hammock from swaying.
"Can I sit with you? My butt hurts from sitting on the ground."
Toriko looked up at me from underneath her blond eyelashes, then, with a heavy sigh, dropped her legs off the hammock and sat up to make space for me.
You don't have to be so dramatic about it…
"Thanks."
"..."
She leaned back and continued her ceiling-staring. Her face was moist with sweat, and a little red, probably from the heat. Or maybe it got burned a bit-- her skin was fairer than mine, it had to be more prone to sunlight.
I sat down to her right and placed the lunchbox on my lap. She silently reached into it.
"I didn't mean to make you angry. I'm sorry," I tried.
"I said I'm not angry," Toriko answered quietly.
"Then why won't you talk to me?"
A silence fell between us, yet again. And there I was hoping that food would cheer her up.
"I'll make it up to you, okay?"
Hearing that, she finally turned her head to look at me.
"And how exactly are you planning to do that?"
Meeting her sharp gaze, all the confidence I had in my words suddenly disappeared.
Toriko’s voice almost cracked when she answered me, and once I realized that, I felt horrible. I hadn’t expected her to be this upset about the situation.
Not being able to withstand her cold (and incredibly beautiful) eyes, I looked down, then quickly to the side when I noticed that my gaze landed on her blue sports bra.
What should I do now? I must have really disappointed Toriko, and I didn't even know how to apologize properly. Thinking so, my heart dropped to the pits of my stomach.
My eyes darted back to Toriko when I felt her cold left hand on my right cheek.
"...It's so unfair," she murmured.
"W-what?" I stuttered.
"I can't ignore you if you keep making a face like this."
Face? What kind of face have I been making?
Toriko's right hand followed her left's example and her fingers squeezed my cheeks.
"H-hey…" I protested.
Just as I was expecting, she started playing with my face as if it was play-dough.
"Hey, that hurts! Cut it out!"
I shook her hands off but she leaned closer and wrapped them around my back instead. Before I could do anything, she suddenly pulled me forward.
"Hyaah?!"
With a dull "THUNK" of the lunchbox falling off my lap and hitting the floor, I landed on top of Toriko, while desperately trying to hold onto the swaying hammock. Laughing out loud, the blonde pulled her legs up and shifted us around. We were now lying next to each other along the hammock, pressed closely together, her arms still wrapped around me.
"You smell like sweat." She stated bluntly.
"You do too!" I snapped back.
It was a lie. She somehow managed to smell as good as always, even in this weather.
I looked at Toriko's face, half hidden behind the messed up hair that now covered it. She stared at me with a soft smile, hiding a hint of sadness. For some reason I couldn't make myself move away, even though our faces were incredibly close, closer than I'd usually like them to be.
"I don't care about having fancy dinners or anything. Being alone with you here is the best gift I could ask for," she spoke softly, loud enough only for me to hear. "I just wanted to hear a 'happy birthday', or something…" she trailed off, looking embarrassed.
"I-I'm sorry. My bad."
"...So?" she looked at me shyly.
"W-what?" I asked back.
Toriko lowered her eyebrows, then pinched my arm with her nails. I flinched.
"Ouch?!"
"Is your brain broken, Sorawo? Should I try hitting you to fix it?"
No… I perfectly understood what she meant. I just needed a moment to brace myself for what I was about to do.
Tentatively, I moved my hand to her face and brushed her bangs behind her ear. The funny expression she made somewhat eased my nerves.
It was rare for us to see each other this up close. I could tell Toriko's cheeks were redder than before-- definitely not just because of the heat.
I took a deep breath, swallowed, shut my eyes, then closed the short distance between our faces.
"Wh-"
Whatever Toriko was trying to say was smothered by my lips pressing against hers.
They were as soft as I remembered, and the sensation combined with Toriko's scent made me feel lightheaded. When I pulled away, I couldn't tell how long the kiss lasted.
"...H-happy birthday," I breathed out.
Toriko brought a hand to her mouth.
"W-w-wha--"
Terribly flustered and beet red, she could only stutter. Though I was feeling nervous myself, I felt a smile form on my face. Had this been what I looked like when she was the one kissing me? Seeing the other party in this state was kind of satisfying. I could understand why she liked to mess with me so much.
"Wh- why did you--?!"
"I said I'd make it up to you."
"S-sorawo…"
Toriko looked conflicted. She stared at my face as if she was searching for a better answer. I raised an eyebrow.
"Was it bad?"
"No! I-i liked it…"
A silence fell between us. Toriko looked down, hiding her moist eyes behind those long blond eyelashes of hers. They, and the strands of hair framing her face, practically sparkled in the bright sun. How could she still look so perfect in this heat? Seriously, this woman could run a whole marathon and finish it looking like a model ready to go on stage. With my heart pounding, I watched up close as a single drop of sweat rolled down her reddened cheek.
“...Uuu~!”
Suddenly letting out a weird sound, Toriko covered her face with both of her hands (the translucent one didn’t do much), and turned around away from me, making the hammock shake dangerously.
“H-hey, what are you doing?!”
“You’re staring too much, it’s embarrassing!”
Oops. I carefully sat up. When I glanced at the ground, I felt my heart sink. Fruit from the lunchbox I dropped was now scattered across the concrete. Aww. If I picked up the pieces and rinsed them with some water, would Toriko think I’m weird?
“Sorawo…”
The blonde’s voice interrupted my train of thought. I turned to look at her.
Ah, come on. For some reason, the same sad expression from earlier floated back onto her face. She slowly sat up and looked at me seriously-- and with that, all the confidence my earlier stunt gave me disappeared without a trace, like a bolt falling into a particularly nasty glitch.
“I really liked it… I mean it. B-but…”
But what?
Toriko paused. The next part came out almost whispered.
“I don’t want you to force yourself, you know… I mean, if you made yourself do something you don’t like because I complained, I’d hate that, so- W-what?”
Noticing the pissed off look I gave her, she stumbled over her words.
“Is that how you think I feel?” I asked.
“Uh… Don’t you?” she responded with a straightforward question.
Do I? I honestly wasn’t sure, but for some reason the accusation made me angry.
“...I never said that I didn’t like it. When you k-kissed me, I mean.” I mumbled.
Toriko blinked.
“W-well… Did you like it?”
“...”
Did I?
...Were we seriously having this conversation? Toriko was turning red again, and I could only imagine what I had to look like right now.
“...I didn’t dislike it!” I uselessly repeated myself, turning away and standing up from the hammock. With a wet sound, a piece of pineapple got squashed under my foot.
Toriko stood up as well and, gracefully avoiding the fruit, walked around to face me, taking my hand in hers. Her face was flushed, but she looked awfully amused. How could a person change between emotions so quickly?
“If you didn’t dislike it, can we do it again?”
Forcing myself to take my eyes off the lips which quietly asked this question, I ended up looking straight at the sweat-soaked blue bra again--
Aaaaahh!!! Could this day get any more nerve-wracking?!!
“You know, one kiss isn’t enough to make up for a missed birthday~”
Where did that talk about ‘not wanting me to feel forced’ from earlier go?!
“...S-sure. Do whatever you want.”
“Hehe. Are you certain about that one?”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself!”
Laughing, Toriko embraced me. I awkwardly hugged her back.
She really did smell nice today. Like everyday. With my head nestled between her shoulder and neck, I would have been able to smell her shampoo too, if her hair wasn’t up in a ponytail. It disappointed me a little- hold on, hold on, hold on.
...
Damn it. That conversation about whether I enjoy kissing her or not had made me become awfully conscious of my own thoughts.
Toriko pulled herself away and cupped my cheek in her left hand. I had to admit, the coolness felt very nice against my skin. I reflexively leaned into it.
“Cute…” the blonde murmured.
Embarrassed, I looked up at her face. Her sparkling indigo eyes were staring right into mine. Even though we were lying on the hammock equally as close only about 5 minutes ago, my heart was pounding just as much as it did back then. I really couldn’t get used to it.
Toriko put her other hand on my left cheek and painfully slowly closed the distance between our faces. I shut my eyes and leaned in to meet her.
Ultra-soft and somehow still perfectly moist lips brushed against mine. Toriko’s kiss was incredibly gentle. It irritated me, so I put my hand on the back of her head and pulled her closer. If you want to do it, do it properly.
My action earned me a surprised moan from the blonde, but she seemed to get the idea. Starting to feel unsteady on my feet, I wrapped my arms around her as I returned the kiss. Thankfully, I felt so lightheaded I didn’t have the mental capacity to worry if I was doing it right.
After a few seconds, our faces separated. And once again today, Toriko was reduced to a blushy mess. Did she always get this flustered? I might have been too busy losing my shit myself to notice.
...
Maybe I could get used to this after all.
Dropping her hands to my shoulders, Toriko looked at me anxiously.
“So… Do you know if you like it now?”
“Hmm… Not sure yet.” I answered dismissively.
“Eh? Come on, not fair!”
Toriko pursed her lips. I untangled myself from her arms and turned towards the AP-1 parked nearby.
“I might need a few more times to make sure. Hey, the sun has come down. Think we can go now?”
“Yeah, it feels like the heat is not so bad anymore… Wait, a few more times?!”
Ignoring the panicked Toriko, I scuttled away under the pretense of getting the vehicle ready. I took a mental note to add lip balm to my to-buy equipment list.