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The shop was quiet for a Friday evening. Even though lots of new albums came out today, there were not a lot of customers and the two friends finished listening to most of them as the sun began to set.
"I'm gonna get ready to close the shop, Oosawa-san." Mitsuki said.
"Oh, yeah, of course. Is it that late already?" Aya answered, lifting her head up from her phone.
"Not really, but it's not like there's lots of customers today, I'm just gonna tidy up the shop a bit. You can stay here all you want though." she said with an inviting smile.
Aya felt her cheeks getting a bit hotter.
Mitsuki left the counter to take boxes of discs and vinyls to the back shop. Aya couldn't stop looking at her coming back and forth, but she didn't want to be caught staring in a weird way. Trying to distract herself, she looked down at the little mirror placed on the countertop and looked at her hair.
"God, it's so messy. Is this how I've been looking in front of Koga-san all day?" thought Aya, whose mood suddenly dropped. "And no one told me it got so frizzy during the day! All because of that damn rain..." she sighed.
Trying to distract herself from her hair this time, Aya looked up at Mitsuki, who was still putting some boxes away and cleaning up the shop. Even though the guitarist put her hair into a low-bun to accommodate her black cap, long strands of black hair had escaped from her hair tie because of her back and forths.
"Your hair is getting longer, Koga-san."
Mitsuki stopped and turned to Aya. "Oh, that's right. I've stopped cutting them since a few months now. I don't know if I should keep them that way though..." she said with an awkward laugh as she removed her cap and untied her hair. "I feel like it doesn't fit the shape of my face. That's why I keep it into a bun most of the time, y'know?"
"Hmm... I think it's because you're not used to it. You've always had shoulder length hair, right?"
"Yes, even since I was in elementary school. I used to have long hair when I was younger though, but one day I realized that I've had enough, and cut it all myself."
"What?! By yourself? Even though you were like seven years old?!"
Mitsuki laughed. "Yeah but it was horribly cut. When I got home, my uncle almost didn't recognize me, and Kanna-san cut my hair evenly. I've had it above my shoulders ever since."
Aya looked at Mitsuki. Her black hair really fitted her rock style, but there was something even more attractive with her slightly longer hair now. Not in a feminine way, but more masculine, how she didn't care how her shaggy hair looked and how it fell on her shoulders, straight but with nice layers... And how it almost reached her collarbone--
"Oosawa-san?"
"A-ah, yes, sorry! I got, uh, distracted."
"No no, it's fine." Mitsuki smiled. "You didn't say anything, so I'm assuming you prefer my hair shorter?"
Wait. Does Koga-san look a bit... disappointed?
"N-no! I think it looks very nice! Very cool, even!!" Aya said, trying to justify herself.
"Ah, thank you but don't feel forced to say--"
"Actually, it makes you look more handsome like that."
A common pause and a bewildered stare.
"I-in my opinion at least!! You look pretty too, and--" Aya stammered.
"... Handsome?"
Aya looked up, and for the first time, Mitsuki's face was bright red. She'd never seen her like this, trying to cover her face with her hand, looking at the ground in order to find a short moment of peace from everything that was happening. But it wasn't the face Koga-san makes whenever she feels overwhelmed at school.
Aya didn't know how to react. Was Koga-san embarrassed? Annoyed? Angry? Content?
"I-I'm sorry if you didn't like that..." Aya mumbled, recalling the 'onii-san' situation.
"N-no!! That's not it!!" Mitsuki yelled. "I actually uh..." she turned her head, trying to hide her face with her hair. "... really like it..."
Aya took a glimpse at the mirror on the counter, and she too apparently, became bright red. She turned her head, but was still looking at Mitsuki.
"E-erm, I better get home, it's getting late..." Aya said as she took her school bag and went up to the front door.
"W-wait!!"
Aya let a sound of surprise as she felt another hand in hers. She turned her head back to a very embarrassed Mitsuki, still trying to hide herself with her hair, her hoodie or anything that came handy in this damn confusing situation.
"I know that, despite this weird 'onii-san' situation we went through a few months ago... I've come to realize that I like it when... you use masculine words for me." Mitsuki muttered, reaffirming her grip on Aya's hand. It looks like it was hard for her to admit this, but she went on:
"It's weird to tell you this when I've said I was jealous of myself back then... But now I realize that's I'm one and the same, a-and I like this part of me."
Aya was dumbfounded. Her face felt hot, her hand too. She didn't know what to say, but what she knew on this moment was that Koga-san was both very handsome and very cute, and that she wanted to--
"Aya-san... can you keep using these words for me?" Mitsuki finally lifted her head and Aya just lost herself.
"I--"
"Mitsuki! I'm back, are you in the shop?" Joe asked from the back door.
Both girls jumped at the call, and Mitsuki let go of Aya's hand to meet her uncle in the back shop. Aya quickly came back to herself, opened the door, and left the shop.
"What the hell just happened?" Aya asked herself, walking fast so she could get home quickly. "It's the first time Koga-san behaved like that, so... vulnerable and embarrassed. And for some reason..."
Aya-san... can you keep using these words for me?
"And what was that about? Using my first name?" Aya muttered. "Though... I'd be lying if I didn't admit I wanted her to call me by my name for a while now..." she embarrassingly thought as she finally reached her doorstep.
"Though the '-san' still feels way too formal..."
✧
"W-welcome back Uncle!" Mitsuki rushed to the back door.
"Ah, there doesn't seem to be lots of customers-- wait, is this Aya-chan leaving the shop outside?"
"Y-yes, she had to leave because it was getting late."
"Ah, that's a shame, I wanted to talk to her about something..." Joe sighed, putting a cigarette up to his lips.
"I don't think she heard you coming, that's why she left without saying hi. What did you want to say to her?"
"You heard of the Fuji Rock festival that Kanna talked about, near the Naeba moutain?"
"Oh yes of course! The line up looks amazing."
"Well I bought us tickets but she got free ones thanks to a friend. We wanted to give one to Aya-chan so that she can come with all of us." he grinned.
"Oosawa-san... coming with us?!" Mitsuki said, mostly to herself.
"Well if she wants to, but I'm sure she would like it. I don't think she's been to a festival before, has she?"
"I don't think so... She hasn't been to lots of rock concerts either, so I wouldn't be surprised."
"We'll have to organize that quickly. Can you tell her to come to the shop tomorrow?"
"E-erm, don't you have her phone number? I think it'd be a bigger surprise if you or Kanna were the ones announcing it." she said with an awkward smile, going up the stairs. "The shop is ready to close, I'm gonna take a shower before dinner!"
His niece was already upstairs before he had the chance to say anything. "What's with her tonight?" Joe asked himself.
Mitsuki grabbed the clothes lying on her bed, went into the bathroom and locked the door.
"Finally, some time alone..." she sighed, feeling relieved. Her conversation with her uncle felt like hours, when all she wanted was some time to process tonight's events.
"What the hell happened?" Mitsuki thought, putting her clothes on the sink. "Oosawa-san complimented my hair, called me handsome and then..." she turned and saw the reflection of her red cheeks in the mirror. "Why did I react like that? Do I actually like being called that way? Or do I just want her to see me like 'onii-san'?" she thought, turning on the tap for her shower.
"There's no denying it... I really like that..."
She went into the shower, feeling the warmth of the water.
Aya-san... can you keep using these words for me?
"And I called her by her first name too! What's up with me, seriously?!"