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"And so begins your graduation party! Have a great time and make sure to smile!" Kokoro kindly shouted from the stage. Cheers ensued her announcement.
As much as Kaoru wanted to follow Kokoro's instructions, she couldn't quite celebrate yet. There was something off with the environment– something she could sense from just a few meters away.
As soon as Kaoru excused herself from the stage, she went directly to her friend at a snack table, who seemed to be pondering about something.
"I hate to disturb the maiden while in thought, but how are you doing this fair night, Chisato?" Kaoru gently, but loudly enough to be heard, asked her childhood friend who was, until recently, staring blankly at some macarons.
"Ah, Kaoru. I haven't seen you yet tonight." Chisato said, quickly grabbing a macaron to distract from her earlier behavior.
"But yes, not too long ago I was up on sta-" suddenly there was a macaron stuffed in her mouth. Chisato grabbed another one for herself and smiled.
Her 'shut up' smile, that is. Kaoru noticed, Chisato probably knew she was going to say something she didn't want her to.
"Fufu... I see the princess wants to be left alone. I'll be off, then. Remember to have a fleeting time, Chisato" she winked at the child actress, who didn't seem to have much of a reaction.
"Kaoru-kuuuuuun!!!" Hina called out to her friend walking away from one of the many snack tables. She was with Lisa, as well.
"She can probably hear and see you just fine, Hina!" Lisa told her friend.
"Good evening, my dearests." she saluted her friends with a wave.
"As expected from Kaoru, that kind of dress looks amazing on you...!" Lisa exclaimed, "I consider this a big win on our side"
"Riight~? It somehow makes Kaoru-kun look even taller, plus the heels." Hina answered.
"Fufu. I do owe the outfit finding to you two, and I thank you for the fleeting choice. However, I hardly wear dresses for these events, so it needs getting used to." Kaoru explained. "You two look gorgeous as well, if I do say so myself."
"Ahaha, thanks, Kaoru. Although, I think that right now you should be treating your little kittens and not us..." Lisa told her friend.
"They're going crazy! They look like they're about to go kaboom! Kachow! Bazoonga! BAA-"
"Do your thing, Kaoru! We'll talk later, if you can!" Lisa pulled Hina away with her in a hurry.
"Farewell" Kaoru said with a smile, and quickly turned towards the crowd of fans waiting to be attended.
("Hopefully someone will have cheered Chisato up after this... If not, I'm going to have to do it somehow")
[two hours later]
"Fleeting..." Kaoru sighed with a smile. She had chatted with each one of her fans one by one, and couldn't help but feel sad. She would probably never have such a similar experience again outside of the band... Which reminded her.
"I should probably go check on Chisato again" and so she tried to find her dear friend. Dancing had already started, so the dance floor was quite hard to see through.
Much to the purplette's disappointment, she was nowhere in sight. "I hope she didn't have to leave..." Kaoru frowned.
"Kaoru-san...? Is something wrong...?" she was suddenly approached by Kanon, "Are you looking for something?"
"Ah, Kanon! Yes, or, rather, I'm looking for someone... Do you know where Chisato wandered off to?"
"Chisato-chan? She went off to the bathroom not too long ago, I think" Kanon answered rather quickly.
"Many thanks, Kanon! I will pay you back." and once again, she took off.
Kanon softly laughed at Kaoru's response.
("It seems like Kanon is also off to get some macarons. Yes, they are truly delectable... Maybe I'll get some for myself later. There are probably endless amounts given all these storage spots in Kokoro's party mansion")
Hold on a second.
If Chisato went to the bathroom... Which one of the many did she decide to go to?
Kaoru couldn't afford to check every bathroom in the building, so she decided to think this one through. Just for once, think, Kaoru.
("If Chisato's in a bad mood and doesn't want to talk... She probably went up to the second floor, right? And then...")
As Kaoru was going up the stairs, she remembered something.
("That's it! If there's a bathroom in every corner, she probably went to one close to the staircase to not make it seem like she's purposefully avoiding people. That being said... I only have two options left! Left or right?")
("Left or right... Ah! Once upon a time, Chisato told me her favorite side was actually the left one! Genius! That's Kaoru Seta for you...!")
And so she peacefully waited for the door to open. Until she noticed– there was nobody in there.
("Alright then. She must be in the ri–")
She suddenly heard the door starting to unlock. With not a single thought in her mind, she sprinted over to the other side of the hall. She made it right before the door, and exactly as she expected–
"Kaoru? What are you doing here?" Chisato asked, surprised.
"Fufu." Kaoru didn't have a plan.
"Kaoru." Chisato insisted. "You clearly didn't come up here to use the toilet. What do you want?"
"Hey, Chisato."
"Hm?"
"Do you want to dance?"
[a few minutes later]
Square dancing. Everyone was square dancing. How do these people even know how to?
"Kaoru."
"Yes?"
"You may have convinced me, but there is no way I'm doing whatever this going on here is." Chisato said with a straight face.
"Does it not look fun? I can teach you how to do the dance" Kaoru genuinely offered.
"I'll pass, thank you. I'd much rather wait for something more tame to come on..." Chisato let her gaze move back to the macarons. She stared at them a little.
"Those are some tasty macarons, aren't they? They seem to have caught your eye from the start, no?" Kaoru caught Chisato looking at the same thing, once again.
"They're pretty good." Chisato answered dryly.
"If you want one, go ahead and get some. They won't be running out anytime soon. Or is that not the issue?" the taller girl looked into Chisato's eyes.
"What do you mean, Kaoru?" she struggled to look back, yet with her acting skills she managed.
"Those macarons all have the colors of the pasupare members, do they not? That must've caught your attention and made you think. Maybe regarding our graduation" Kaoru reflected.
"I knew you'd notice that. You're right, but I don't think you know exactly what I'm thinking about." Chisato looked away again. "...Ah, this song seems calm enough. Come on"
As curious as Kaoru was, she decided to give it some more time and not push it.
Once on the dance floor, among many other people, they positioned themselves for the dance. It was the typical slow dance– Kaoru placed a hand on Chisato's waist as Chisato placed hers on her companion's shoulder. On the other side, they held their hands together. They then started dancing.
This here, the way they were positioned, made Chisato realize just how small she was next to Kaoru. The latter was not only so much bigger in height, but her hands were also so much bigger than her friend's. It was strange. It felt like it was nothing ago, it felt like just yesterday they were taking Leon out for walks and playing without a single worry in the world. Maybe this broke Chisato a bit. She looked up at Kaoru sadly, without any control over her actions anymore.
"Chisato? Are you not feeling well?" Kaoru was worried, "We can stop if you want"
"No, no. I'm just thinking again. See, Kaoru, what I was lost in thought about didn't have much to do with pasupare. I'm very happy with how we've been going up until now, and I'm really grateful too. I just think... I think, through these last few years, I barely made any effort to make memories with you" Chisato looked at her again, more worried than sad now.
"Huh? But we made plenty of memories, did we not? The culture festival, performing together, the café, the amusement park, the library, the many live events..." Kaoru was confused.
"That's not what I mean" Chisato leaned onto Kaoru's chest, "I mean that I wish I could've appreciated you more than I have been"
While Kaoru was shocked and somewhat flustered by everything, she managed to let out a response. "Chisato. I've had so much fun throughout these years, and I've felt plenty appreciated too. But if you feel that way, it can't be helped. How about this?"
"Hmm...?"
"Your life isn't over yet. You still have so much time left to appreciate me and everyone else. It may not be the same as before, but you can at least try to please yourself that way" Kaoru smiled, looking down at Chisato's head.
"Honestly, Kaoru... I suppose so." they stood in silence for a few fleeting moments. "One last thing"
"Yeah?"
"Promise me you'll always be Kaoru. My Kao-chan. Please always stay true to yourself, please"
"I will, Chisato. I promise."