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Asuna was staring up at a classmate of hers as said person narrowed her own eyes down at Asuna. The person that she was staring up at was Misumi Tozowa. They were both in the same class and somewhat saw one another passing by. Even though Misumi had an intimidating tall stature, Asuna could tell that her gaze was timid each time their eyes met. Asuna could sense that right now in the expression Misumi wore under her cap brim.
“What are you doing here?” Misumi said strictly, not really a tone Asuna was used to.
“Oh, uhm. I was just passing through…” Asuna said as she straightened her back while letting her school case drape onto her hip.
“Passing through?” Misumi said as she let down her shoulders a bit.
It was clear that Misumi seemed to be distraught about this situation as she was shifting on her feet in front of Asuna. Asuna tilted her head.
“What’s the matter? This is where I usually go.”
Whenever Asuna went through that route to the station, she saw the arcade packed with people, but it was unusual to see a very top student of her class participating in a competitive game. To Asuna, it wasn’t surprising, since she had noticed Misumi was already competitive, especially toward Asuna, who was also a top student. She had tried to retaliate that competitive mood in their earlier years but she decided it wasn’t worth it since she was a bit more busy, as long as her parents didn’t seem too displeased with it.
However…
To see the top student in her class waste her time gaming and somehow place first somewhat irked Asuna, but figured she shouldn’t stress out Misumi any more than she already was at the moment. Asuna just gently smiled up at Misumi.
“It’s just…I guess I was curious, that’s all,” Asuna stated lightly.
“Mhm…” Misumi hummed with animosity.
Asuna’s face went taut.
“What’s with that tone?”
The taller girl just put her hands behind her head and shook her head.
“Nothing… just… nothing…”
A short sigh blew out from Asuna’s mouth.
“Listen, I know that you still think of me as a rival. You can cut that out, you know.”
Misumi raised a brow as Asuna continued,
“Really, Tozawa-san, it’s unprofessional and rude.”
The girl remained silent as her chin tilted down slightly, her hat hiding her eyes. Asuna knew that Misumi was skittish in some cases and it was apparent that she disliked conflict. If that was the case though, then she would have let Asuna be when she had seen her walking by. It was clear that Misumi was really insecure about the hobby that she had. Asuna wondered if Misumi would have acted the same way if she was another student, but she discarded that thought immediately. It would be presumptuous of her to think that Misumi would single her out, even though they’re former rivals.
Misumi finally spoke.
“I’m sorry…”
Asuna looked up at Misumi.
“Oh…” Asuna spoke softly as she shook her head. Deep down, she was starting to feel bad. She didn’t know Misumi real well which made the interaction harder. “Don’t be, really.”
This sudden change in Asuna’s mood set Misumi back as she tilted her head.
“What?”
“Yeah, we don’t really talk so I wasn’t too sure what to expect from you,” Asuna said as she dipped her head down, “so… I’m the one who should be sorry.”
Misumi just blinked as Asuna spoke, not too sure of what to say next. Asuna gave a short bow as she continued on her way.
“Wha — wait, where are you going?” Misumi questioned as she paced next to Asuna.
Asuna turned, stopped walking so Misumi could catch up to her, and said,
“Well, I’m going home, I shouldn’t be out late.”
Her parents were pretty strict on her curfew; if they knew that she was going to be late, her mother would allow her to be out at least until dinner, which was 6 pm sharp. Asuna didn’t have many activities after school so she didn’t need to make that many excuses to her mother that she wasn’t going to be at home, so her interaction with Misumi was a bit of a hindrance to her.
“Well, I was hoping that you won’t tell anyone about this?” Misumi said in a low timid voice. Asuna tilted her head.
“I won’t? I don’t understand why this should be considered prohibited. It is a hobby of yours.”
Misumi sighed.
“It has nothing to do with school…”
“Oh…”
Asuna didn’t know what Misumi meant by that. It was definitely confusing for Misumi to be insecure about her hobby. Asuna didn’t play games herself, so she couldn’t give off a whole lot of empathy towards her.
Her watch beeped at her, as she had to go.
“Sorry, I have to leave, it was nice getting to know you, Tozawa-san,” Asuna smiled while waving at her.
Misumi then nodded as she backed off, letting Asuna go.
Everything between them felt different after that. Asuna had no idea why, since it was only a simple conversation, but years of feeling like Misumi was pushing her away melted away somehow. Asuna was still confused at Misumi’s personality but she cherished it, she was unique in ways that attracted Asuna like no other had before. It could be that she hadn’t paid attention to the other girls around her to see that they were unique in their own way; however, Misumi just stood out. She had the best grades in her class… but she was imperfect and independent, something that was considered unprofessional.
The thing that had surprised Asuna the most about Misumi, who was a distant and aloof student, was that she was actually very affectionate. Asuna knew that her other friends were pretty clingy to her too, but she didn’t realize that Misumi was possibly even more clingy than the friends who would occasionally hold her arm or hand.
After Asuna was done studying with her friends, Misumi approached her, bringing a chair next to her and placing her head onto Asuna’s shoulder. It was getting colder for the winter to start, so the extra warmth was nice to take in. Reciprocating, Asuna nuzzled into Misumi softly, brushing their cheeks together. Their warm breath mixed together as they spent the room alone. The two had remained silent while enjoying each other's presence. Even though their relationship was fast paced, it was intimate in such a physical way. Asuna understood that it was how Misumi acted and it made her feel special.
After a few minutes of silence, Misumi finally spoke up.
“I find it weird that your parents are wanting to move you away to another school after middle school.”
Asuna shrugged, feeling the weight of Misumi’s head on one of them.
“I don’t, it is what they want, so I can’t just say ‘no’.”
“I just find it crazy, that's all. Aeterna is a pretentious school after all, why can’t they just settle for that?”
“Well…”
Asuna felt a bit tongue tied at the moment. Her mother told her that it was safe to assure that it was good for her future to find different highschools, rather than focusing on the same curriculum that she had since she was in primary school. Her mother had it planned at the beginning of the year; it was daunting enough to say the least. She had more than a year to prepare for the entrance exams for her upcoming step in her life.
She could tell that Misumi was apprehensive about it since they wouldn’t be able to see each other much anymore. Asuna giggled at the thought.
“Eh… What's so funny?”
Misumi asked while raising her head off of Asuna’s shoulder.
Slowly, Asuna replied in a low voice,
“You can be so pouty about these things.”
She heard a grumble from the side of her face. Misumi fully sat back in her chair with a hint of redness in her cheeks and shook her head coolly.
“I’m not being pouty,” she retorted as she crossed her arms in an attempt to hide it.
“Yes, you are~” Asuna teased while winking at Misumi. The purple-haired girl could only roll her eyes while letting out a chuckle of her own with her cheeks still blushing a bit with a reason that Asuna didn’t know. Holding out her index finger, pointing at Misumi, undulating her finger vertically, she said,
“You’ve been asking about this ever since I told you.”
Misumi's eyes followed Asuna’s finger, looking at it with half-lidded eyes. Asuna stopped and smiled while holding out her tongue.
“I’m just worried about this… that’s all.”
Asuna hummed.
“I suppose that’s natural. We are friends, after all. It does feel sad to leave after we have just gotten so close.”
“Yeah…”
Misumi’s lagoon colored eyes trailed down to the desk, propping her head on her hand. They remained quiet again for another few minutes, until Misumi broke the silence.
“Let’s head to the arcade for a bit,” Misumi smiled, hoping to bring Asuna along. Asuna nodded while packing her stuff to get ready to go.