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1.
“Akito! Toya!” An’s voice rang out through the cafe as they entered, the girl in question stopping her work to come greet them. Which, honestly, should have been their first clue that she was up to something. An would never willingly approach Akito unless there were malicious intentions.
She smiled at them, bright, as she gestured wildly to an open booth. They followed her directions, confused but unwilling to cross An in her own domain. Surely she’d be kind to them, today at least…
…Which was wishful thinking. An, without Kohane by her side to reign her in, was at their sides before they even had a chance to sit down, her creepy customer service smile unwavering as she looked between them. Either she didn’t know about Akito’s feelings or didn’t care. Probably the latter.
“Okay, so, today we’re going to do a little role reversal,” she started, cursed smile never leaving her face even as they stared blankly at her. “ Today , we will be asking how you guys can help me , okay?”
Akito groaned, resisting the (admittedly strong) urge to slam his head onto the table. He had to be cool, at least while Toya was still around.
“The hell are you on about?” He settled for asking a question instead, fixing An with his best ‘ how dare you bother me when I’m here with my partner ’ look.
An ignored him.
“I plan to finally ask Kohane out,” she elaborated, sliding in next to Toya as she sent Akito a wink that told him that she knew exactly what she was doing. “So I’m forcing you guys to help me. Thought I’d admit to that so you couldn’t complain later. It’s not optional.”
Akito could no longer resist the urge, and the sound of his head hitting wood rang loud throughout the café.
Again, An only ignored him.
“So, anyway, I was thinking, why not be a little dramatic , right?” Akito hadn’t even lifted his head off the table before she continued talking. “I could do a plot like in those cheesy fanfics I definitely haven’t read.” Akito did lift his head this time, only so that he could bang it against the table again. “So why don’t I start really big, right? Hey, Akito!”
An was clicking her fingers in his face. Why did he and Toya decide to pair up with her and Kohane, again? Akito feels like he’s already lost a decade from his lifespan.
Regardless, he raised his head, this time resting it on the palm of his hand to resist any more self-inflicted brain damage. He’d listen to her, at the very least so that she would leave them alone.
“I was thinking, ‘ why don’t I use jealousy’ , y’know?” An’s attention span was something else. “If she sees me dating someone else then she might realise that she’s head over heels for me and confess in the heat of the moment! So, Akito-”
“No.” He knew where this was going. He appreciated An as a friend and as a teammate, but he was not sacrificing any more of his free time for this, least of all for a fake dating plot .
An pouted at him, but seemed undeterred as she turned towards Toya.
“Hey, Toya, what about you?” Akito didn’t like the grin on her face, but at least Toya seemed like he had no idea what she was talking about. “Wanna fake date me to make Kohane jealous?”
If they hadn’t been seated in a booth, Toya probably would have fallen off of his chair.
“ No ,” Akito intervened again. “Anyway, haven’t you already come out to her as a raging lesbian?”
A lightbulb seemed to go off in An’s head.
“You’re so right, Akito! I just need to ask Haruka or something…”
With that, she left the table without even pretending to take their order.
2.
“Toya! Toya! Toya!”
Aoyagi Toya considers himself a patient person, he really does, but that does not stop the wince that shoots through him when he hears Shiraishi call out to him. Ever since she realised that all of her fellow woman-likers were in committed relationships, she’d been bugging both Toya and Akito for different ways she could ask Azusawa out. Toya would like to help, really, but it’s not like he can even ask out the person he likes, so what help would he be towards Shiraishi?
“Toya! I need your help!” She had caught up to him, alone together in the hallway between classes.
“I’d like to help Shiraishi, but you’ve already pulled every idea you could from Akito and I.” He hoped he didn’t sound unsupportive.
“Oh, not that,” she said, waving him off before reaching up (on her toes?) to wrap an arm around his shoulders. “I’ve figured out what I want to do, but I need your help accomplishing it. Please?”
Her arm was still around his shoulders (how was she managing that? Toya had a good eighteen centimeters on her, and he wasn’t one to slouch) but he could hear her desperation in her voice. It would be mean to deny her.
“What is it that you need my help with, Shiraishi?” He supposed that there would be little harm in indulging her this much.
Though, the speed at which she tears her arm from around him so she could bow in front of him, hands clasped in front of her as if she was begging him, told him that not indulging further would only backfire.
“I found this really cute hamster plush as a prize in the claw machine at the arcade that reminded me of Kohane but I suck at those games so can you please teach me so I can win it for her, pretty pretty please ?”
Really, how was Toya supposed to say no to that ? He couldn’t, which was how he found himself alone with Shiraishi at an arcade after school, which, really, could mean he played right into the whole ‘ fake dating ’ plot as well. He wasn’t going to focus on that part.
“So if you just move it there-” Toya had no idea what he was doing, teaching claw games. He could play them better than fine, but teaching was a whole other ( weird ) thing. “No, Shiraishi, on top of the plush you want to grab.” Maybe it would be easier if Shiraishi wasn’t worse than she described.
Shiraishi looked like she was about to cry, which Toya had only seen her like once or twice. Surely the claw machine wasn’t that difficult for her, was it?
“Shiraishi, if it’s so difficult for you, how about I grab it so you don’t waste any more money?”
He had thought the suggestion to be gentle, helpful, but it obviously wasn’t , if Shiraishi’s loud “ no! ” was anything to go by. She’d slammed the drop button in her desperation, completely missing the hamster.
“Sorry, Toya.” She wiped at her eyes, as if banishing her unshed tears. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell when you were nice enough to waste your time helping me.” She turned towards him, smiling softly, but he could see the tears still threatening to fall. “I wanted to win this myself , so that it could mean something. Which sounds stupid now that I say it, but I want to give her something that I won for her, even if it takes all that extra time and effort.” She took a deep breath, turning back to the machine. “Sorry, Toya, you don’t have to watch anymore. I’ll, uh, probably get it, eventually.”
Though she couldn’t see him, Toya shook his head, moving so that he could place his hand over hers to guide it.
“Here, I’ll show you like this,” he said, hoping his voice sounded kind, not forceful. “Since it means so much to you, I’ll help you however I can.”
(In the end, they were spotted like that by a fellow Kamiyama student. They panicked, and Shiraishi begged Toya to just get the plush himself. The dating rumours that spread around the school for a whole week were not worth it, especially when Toya was lectured by Akito about indulging in Shiraishi’s schemes, and Shiraishi never even confessed to Azusawa.)
3.
Akiyama Mizuki had so much free time to fill, it almost felt useless. Sure, they could actually show up to school, but what was the point in that?
> Show up to school tomorrow or I’ll sic Akito on Ena >
Well, that could be a point in it. They could just ignore An, but if she really could get Ena’s little brother to piss her off more than usual, well…Mizuki really didn’t want to deal with their girlfriend when she was that pissed off.
< it better be worth it <
> I always am >
And true to their word, Mizuki showed up to class the next day. The evil smirk on An’s face when she saw them walk into class did nothing to ease their heart.
“Okay, so I actually need your help,” is what An said upon Mizuki walking within earshot. The little liar. “I know, I know, but I’ll owe you one!”
“Sure, sure~.” Admittedly, they were curious about what An needed so badly that they resorted to threats of Ena-harm. The things they did for their girlfriend… “What’s this all about, and can I save the favour to cash in at a later date?”
“Okay, first, yes, I owe you one whenever you desire ,” An sounded desperate, She looked calm on the outside, but the slight tremble to her voice, combined with the slightly quickened pace in which she was talking, said more about her mental state than An herself did. “Second, I need you to help me make and set a stage so I can serenade Kohane after school.”
That was nowhere near what they were expecting from this conversation.
“I’m sorry, I know you’re friends with Kamishiro-senpai, and that he’s friends with Tenma-senpai, so I was hoping you could get them involved? Please?” An looked so desperate when she begged. It was kind of cute, if Mizuki was being honest. “I’m sorry, I know Toya knows them too, but I’ve already bothered him enough with this. Seriously, I will owe you big time if you can help me!”
Mizuki laughed without meaning to.
“You’re so funny, An,” they said, not even bothering to suppress their giggles as they spoke. “Of course I’ll help. I’ll try my best to get Rui and Tsukasa-senpai to help on short notice, but I can’t promise that one.”
An looked so happy, Mizuki really hoped Rui would be on board.
*
“Rui. Rui, please . I told her I’d get you on board.”
Rui looked at them with that stupid cat-like expression that they, currently, wanted to smack off of his face. Of course he chose now to be difficult.
“My, my, Mizuki, you seem rather desperate.” Because they were . Not only did they want to help An get her girl, they also would not be opposed to being owed a massive favour from someone on the disciplinary committee. “Are you sure she wants my help? What if I blow something up?”
Oh, so that was his angle.
“What if I can get her to let your inventions slide, at least for a while?” They would really have to pull out the big guns for that one. They really hoped it would work.
Rui considered their offer, cat-like smile still on his face, but less infuriating now that he was at least considering their offer. In the end, he nodded, a crazed look in his eyes that put Mizuki even less at ease than An’s had.
“I won’t accept less than a month,” he started, crossing his arms over his chest. “Two if you want me to get Tsukasa on in on it as well.” As if he were a damn mind-reader. Though, Mizuki knew their senpai, at least a little bit.
“You get one. Tsukasa-senpai would never pass up the opportunity for a performance.”
Rui laughed, which was how they knew they were right.
*
Mizuki had, in fact, been right. Tenma Tsukasa was currently yelling at Rui, because even though An had readily given Rui a free pass on explosions for two months (he got the extra one for dragging Nene-chan along with him), Tsukasa had protested that explosions were unromantic and that Rui needed to be stopped. It was kind of funny, if they were being honest. Nene-chan was just watching as they argued, like she couldn’t be bothered with the conversation at all.
An was walking back and forth in the same spot, wringing her hands together as she waited for Kohane to arrive. They had long since set up the stage for her performance, and now all that was left was for Rui and Tsukasa to duke it out over the special effects, which An wasn’t even paying attention to. Tsukasa could probably make fireworks spell out his signature “number one star” spiel and An wouldn’t even care.
Actually, they should pitch that, just to see how it turns out.
“ When would you even have time to make that?” Or maybe they were too late? Who knew what they were arguing about at this point. Mizuki just wishes they would make out or something. It seems like they needed it.
Back to An, who was still pacing. She’d resorted to biting on her nails, which Mizuki felt that they needed to intervene in. An had nice hands, Mizuki could not live with themself if they stood by while An ruined them.
They grabbed An by the hand, forcing her to look at them.
“You’re going to kill it, and she is going to love it, because she loves you .”
An nods, smile returning to her face, even if it is an uneasy one. Mizuki supposes that that’ll do, at least for now. Mizuki strokes her hand in an attempt to calm her further.
“An-chan!”
Well, calming didn’t really work, if the way An rips her hand from Mizuki’s is anything to go by. Though, to be fair, Mizuki wouldn’t want Ena to see them holding hands with someone else, either.
When Mizuki turned towards the direction Kohane’s voice came from, they saw a familiar-looking pink-haired girl waving excitedly to them. They waved back, causing the girl to smile even wider before redirecting herself in the direction of Rui, Tsukasa and Nene-chan at an almost inhuman speed. Mizuki watched, curious, as the girl leaped at Tsukasa’s back, knocking him, Rui, Nene-chan and herself to the ground like dominos.
Mizuki needed to reassess their opinion on Rui’s relationships.
While they did that, though, An was making her way on to the stage, gesturing for Kohane to sit in the only available seat. How had they overlooked that? Was everyone just supposed to stand for the two minutes it took An to sing?
The answer was yes, apparently. When An stood on the stage, breathing heavily after pouring her heart into song, Mizuki pulled themself up from where they had eventually sat on the floor, applauding her with everything they had.
Kohane was giving a standing ovation, too. Win.
An jumped down from the stage, and Mizuki could overhear her excited questions of “how was it? Did you like, it Kohane? Did you get it?” Mizuki thought she was coming on too strong, but that was just their opinion. An was a bit stupid.
Rui called them over to help disassemble the stage, though the job seemed like it could be done fast enough without them (the pink haired girl was excitedly pulling apart the props and throwing them into something that barely resembled a pile near a tree, while Nene-chan watched with an expression like she was going to start laughing any second and Tsukasa tried to stop her). As they watched Tsukasa get smacked in the face by a piece of airborne prop, they heard Kohane’s sweet voice say, “that was amazing, An-chan! The fact that you would try this hard for individual practice is amazing!”
Mizuki had never laughed so hard in their entire life.
4.
Oftentimes, MEIKO felt like her store became more like a daycare center than the café it was. That didn’t mean that she didn’t absolutely adore the children that created this Sekai, it was just…between them, the Kagamine siblings always fighting, and KAITO’s sudden reappearance, she felt like she could barely relax.
Which was why An’s sudden offer to take care of the store for a day surprised her. Of course, it came with a catch (she wanted to use the café privately, so she could confess to Kohane), but the idea was so cute that MEIKO had a hard time disagreeing. She still wanted to help An confess, though. It was the least she could do.
In the end, they closed shop for the day to prepare and set up decorations. An had somehow managed to drag the boys along, too, which was a great help, even with Akito’s complaining. An was busy bossing them around, telling them where, exactly, she wanted her sapphic banners (her decision, and she wouldn’t listen to MEIKO’s suggestion that it was too obvious) to hang, so MEIKO was able to stand back and watch her kids interact.
They–well, An and Akito–were bickering as usual, with Toya standing near-silent as they did so. If she was honest, it didn’t look like he was paying any attention at all, but she didn’t blame him. They’d been fighting over Akito’s height (An was convinced he’d need a stool to hang the banners, while Akito was insistent that he could manage without; An was right) for about five minutes at this point, and MEIKO was starting to feel like she should intervene.
So, she did just that.
“An,” she said, stopping the arguing and drawing the teen’s attention towards her. “How about we get started on the food?” An beamed at her, already forgetting the argument in favour of dashing into the café’s kitchen.
MEIKO was quick to follow, but An was fast enough (or excited enough) to already be prepped and apron-clad, practically vibrating where she stood. MEIKO could only smile as she got herself ready.
They didn’t talk much while preparing the treats, aside from suggestions both ways. By the end, An was staring at their numerous plates of sweet treats with a look that could only be described as satisfaction. MEIKO was rooting for her.
“How about you clean yourself up and take these out while I clean the kitchen?”
MEIKO’s suggestion seemed to shock An out of a trance, the girl only nodding as she raced to do exactly that. Kohane was due to arrive in the Sekai by now, so MEIKO didn’t mind tidying the kitchen by herself. Besides, it meant that An had time to prepare herself fully.
It wasn’t long before the café’s bell rang, and MEIKO heard An’s faint call of Kohane’s name. There wasn’t any cleaning left, so MEIKO decided that her next course of action should be preparing their favourite drinks for the two girls. If an opportunity to observe came up while doing so and while handing them off, well, she wasn’t responsible for that.
“How do you like everything, Kohane? ” An sounded nervous. Maybe MEIKO should have spoken to her more, before. This was Shiraishi An, though. She would handle it.
“ They’re really good, An-chan! Did you help MEIKO-san? ”
As MEIKO busied herself with the drinks, the two girls could be heard talking about the sweets. Kohane was continuously complimenting An on her effort and MEIKO couldn’t help but feel proud of both herself and An. She had put her best effort into them, wanting only the best for the occasion. MEIKO smiled to herself again as she grabbed the drinks she had made, making her way to where An and Kohane were seated.
“By the way, An-chan, where are Aoyagi-kun and Shinonome-kun? I saw them on the way in, so I thought this was a team meeting…”
Perhaps MEIKO should have suggested more sapphic flags.
5.
Haruka almost dropped her phone from laughing so hard.
“What? What? ” An was looking at her as if she couldn’t possibly see what was musing about the situation.
“I don’t know how you expect me to record this,” Haruka said between small laughs. As it was, she had to stop the previous recording because her hands were shaking too much from the laughter. “You want me to record your confession, cool, pretty normal thing to ask–” she didn’t miss the glare An gave her, “but you want me to record you as you throw flower petals at her and ask her out like you’re asking for her hand?”
The glare on An’s face disappeared, instead replaced by a look of embarrassment. Perhaps Haruka had teased her too hard.
“I’ve already failed four different ideas,” An said, standing up from where she had been kneeling on the ground. “I want to make sure she gets this one, Haruka.”
Haruka sighed, turning her phone off completely.
“Look, An, I get it,” she started, moving so she was closer to her friend. “I didn’t realise it when Minori was trying to confess to me. But that doesn’t mean you have to act like you’re proposing . You’re going to scare her!”
An seems to consider what Haruka said. Then, she nodded, a look of determination on her face, before passing her basket of rose petals to Haruka.
“Okay, I’ll confess normally!” An exclaimed, followed by a mini fist-pump, before whirling so she was so close to Haruka that their noses almost touched. “You’re still recording this, though,” she said, as if it were a threat. “I want my bravery immortalised for all to see.”
Haruka didn’t really understand what her friend was talking about, but she agreed nonetheless.
By the time Kohane arrived, Haruka was hidden safely around a corner–far enough that Kohane wouldn’t know she was there until it was time, but close enough that she could still see and hear everything that they were saying. Oh, the things she did in the name of being a good friend.
Things started out well enough. An seemed confident (which, honestly, should have been a warning sign. An was a hopeless lesbian) as she and Kohane spoke, even going so far as to bring Kohane into a hug that was long enough to make her intentions obvious.
And then it went downhill.
Haruka had faith in her friend, of course. She thought that An could at least fake confidence in the outcome, seeing as she was so confident in everything else. That, apparently, was too much faith to have in her dear childhood friend.
An could only manage to say “I”. Which, well…Haruka wasn’t going to judge. It was better than she had ever said to Minori.
Haruka was , however, going to judge An for how that “I” turned into “I was wondering if you would help me study.” She had to stop recording to help An save face.
She did send the recording to An, though, with a message asking praising her bravery.
+1.
An-chan was really pretty. She was really good at singing, and smart in her own way. Kohane really liked her.
Recently, though, An-chan had been acting strange. Kohane had gone to visit her at her dad’s café one day, only too see An-chan sitting with Aoyagi-kun and Shinonome-kun. They seemed to be having a good time, so she’d left without saying anything. Then, An-chan had said she was too busy to hang out after school, but Kohane had found her with Aoyagi-kun in an arcade that same afternoon. She couldn’t help but wonder if An-chan didn’t want to spend time with her anymore.
Though, there was the time An-chan had invited her to watch her individual practice, and the song felt like it was sung exclusively for Kohane. There was also the time at the café, when An and MEIKO had put all those efforts into the treats for them to enjoy…
It was all a little confusing for Kohane. She really liked An-chan, it’s the truth! But An-chan’s signals were confusing her, and she didn’t know how An-chan felt about her. Unless…
Kohane was going to confess to An-chan! Then she’d have her answer.
She’d do it after their group practice tomorrow! That was plenty of time to prepare. She hoped.
Or maybe not , she thought, standing next to Aoyagi-kun and across from An-chan after their practice the next day. The nerves were eating her up inside, but she had to do this! She had to know if An-chan had the same feelings for her!
“A-An-chan,” her voice was small, shaky, as she got the attention of her partner. An-chan was facing her immediately, smile so bright it instantly ate away all of Kohane’s nerves. “Can we talk over there?”
Over there was a grassy space far enough from their current location that Shinonome-kun and Aoyagi-kun couldn’t hear them. Kohane liked them as friends, but she didn’t need them to hear her pour her heart out.
“Sure thing, Kohane!” Kohane didn’t even have time to process An-chan’s agreement before she was being dragged away by the arm. An-chan was the one dragging her, though, so it was okay. “What did you want to talk about?”
“Ah!” The nerves were back, but Kohane could swallow them for An-chan’s sake. “An-chan, I like you!” Kohane bowed slightly, mostly so she wouldn’t have to see An-chan’s reaction. “Recently I’ve been getting mixed signals from you, so I thought I would come out and confess to put my heart at ease. Please take you time considering my feelings!” When Kohane raised her head, she could see tear tracks on An-chan’s face. “Ah, An-chan!”
She reached out, using the sleeve of her jacket to gently wipe the tears from her An-chan’s face.
“Kohane-!” An-chan had brought a hand up, grasping lightly at Kohane’s wrist. Not enough to stop her, just to hold her. “I like you too, Kohane! I like you a lot!”
“R-really? You mean it, An-chan?” Kohane couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“Yes! I’ve been trying to confess to you for a while now, but it never seemed to work.” An-chan seemed to pout, moving her arm so that she could hold both of Kohane’s hands. “That doesn’t matter, though. Will you go out with me, Kohane?”
“Yes!”
Kohane felt like she had never smiled harder in her life.