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“What did you just do?!” Menou demanded. She knew something was up. It was a feeling she’d recognized before, this strange deja vu. She knew Akari had used her Pure Concept, rewinding time for some reason or another.
“Eh? What do you mean?” Tokito Akari asked innocently. The Japanese teenager smiled brightly as she peered into Menou’s eyes. The smirk would’ve looked—even felt—innocent enough to anyone seeing it from the outside, but Menou knew better. She saw the sly, smug tilt to it, the slight narrowing of Akari’s eyes that told Menou that the girl knew exactly what she was doing.
“You used your Pure Concept! We have to keep a low profile, remember? What did you do?!” Menou insisted, closing the admittedly short distance between the two of them. Akari was quite the actress, Menou had to admit, but the Priestess had much more experience in such a skill, and being able to pick it out. Though, she had suspected that Akari wasn’t even necessarily trying to hide this from her.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Menou~!” Akari replied, sweetening her voice as the girl dressed in indigo robes approached. Menou was sure she was feigning ignorance. By this time, she had long suspected Akari of acutely knowing of her Pure Concept and how to use it. It hadn’t always been like this. There was at least one point in time where she didn’t know of it or how to use it—even to the point of losing her memories each time she used it—but Menou believed that time was over.
Menou pinched Akari’s cheeks, a light punishment, but she honestly didn’t think she could bring herself to hurt Akari. Even though that was supposed to be her job. Even thinking about it caused a pang of guilt, one larger than she’d ever felt for anyone else before. She opted not to think about that for now. Instead, she’d focus on making sure Akari wouldn’t lose herself by over-indulging in her ability.
“Ow! Menou, that’s so mean!” Akari cried once her cheeks were free. She rubbed them a bit, soothing the touch. She looked like she was about to cry, but Menou knew it was just a sympathy play. For some reason, the otherworlder had gotten much more aggressive with her affections, so she was used to that by now. “Is that anyway to treat someone who loves you?!”
“It’s the way to treat people who can’t behave themselves!” Menou fired back, not letting her actual feelings show. She didn’t understand how Akari could be so attached to her, but she’d be lying if she said it wasn’t endearing to some degree.
“Fiiiiiiine, fine!” Akari pouted in her typical over-exaggerated way of doing so. Menou sighed. On one hand, she was grateful that Akari could at least begin to acknowledge when she was acting ridiculous, but on the other hand, she was constantly frustrated by the fact that she was making these poor decisions and acting ridiculous in the first place.
“So, what did you do?” Menou asked once again. She tapped her foot against the ground as she waited for an answer, crossing her arms and doing her best to look impatient. Recently, she’d been having trouble looking stern and serious around the girl, so now had to make an active effort to do so.
“Do you really want to know?” Akari suddenly returned to a smirk, a knowing grin. She was no longer hiding any smugness, instead putting it to the forefront, directly on display. It caught Menou off guard briefly, but she knew she couldn’t show that. Unfortunately, it was getting harder and harder to do so.
“Yes, that’s why I asked,” Menou replied. She tried to have some air of sarcasm or bite to the words, but felt it still ended up coming off as goofy and a bit redundant. Why was it so hard to be serious around Akari? And why was she beginning to feel a strange and almost overwhelming sense of deja vu?
“Well, come a little closer and I’ll show you~,” Akari replied, her voice taking an overtly flirtatious tone. Menou hesitated for a moment. It didn’t sound dangerous in the way it was said, but the words themselves made her worry. Though, after a brief moment, she concluded that Akari wouldn’t try anything to hurt her, so she obliged.
Menou stepped closer to the Japanese girl, trying to conceal a blush as their proximity got closer. Akari smiled a warm, knowing grin as the priestess stepped a bit closer. Once she was in arm’s reach, Akari locked her hands onto Menou and pulled her closer. It was just a hug at first. A warm, gentle embrace. But just as Menou started to calm down, Akari pushed her lips against Menou’s, a soft kiss that caught the Priestess entirely off guard.
Menou's cheeks erupted in an explosion of red, her face heating up as she became flushed at the very notion of kissing Akari, let alone the action. Surprisingly, she found that she didn’t hate it. In fact, she enjoyed it. She wanted more, or at least to continue. She was blushing harder than she ever had in her life as she began to return the kiss, her arms wrapping around Akari’s body equally as she did.
The two enjoyed their kiss for nearly a full minute, the silence between them speaking louder volumes of affection than words ever could. Menou wondered why she felt this way. Why did she enjoy this. Why did she enjoy Akari?
Why did she love Akari?
The thought alone made her blush even more. She was sure that her face by now must have matched her old Master’s hair in color. Frankly, she didn’t even want to think about her right now. She wanted to enjoy the moment, enjoy the kiss. She wanted to enjoy being with Akari.
Unfortunately, the two couldn’t stay like this forever. While their kiss felt like an eternity, Menou knew it hadn’t really been that long when they pulled apart. Though, she couldn’t be sure that she would have minded if it had. She was surprised to see Akari keeping the same smile when they pulled apart, in contrast to the burning blush she felt on her own face.
“Akari,” Menou had spoken softly, quietly. Things just made sense to her now. Her own feelings. Her reluctance to hurt Akari. Why she found it so hard to be stern. She was in love. It was a feeling she didn’t want to lose.
Akari giggled. “Well, there you go. Unfortunately, now that you know,” Akari trailed off. Menou saw it too late. The glowing light of Akari’s Pure Concept in use.
“Akari, wait-!”
“What did you just do?!” Menou demanded. She knew something was up. It was a feeling she’d recognized before, this strange deja vu. She knew Akari had used her Pure Concept, rewinding time for some reason or another. She felt a sense of deja vu. She felt a sense of warmth. She didn’t know why that was, but frankly? She was sure she wanted to feel it again.