Chapter Text
There were times when Sakura Miko adored being in school. For instance, choir class. Or the lunch period. She enjoyed singing and she enjoyed spending time eating with her classmates. Not to mention the study halls where she could simply plug her earbuds in and tune out everything and anything else.
That said, there were also the times when she hated being in school as well. Like whenever one of the popular kids had a flock of followers surrounding them and ended up blocking the hallway while she was trying to get to class. Or when people picked on her for her enjoyment of things many others looked down on. It was a pretty-well known fact among the groups of bullies that she was big into idols and visual novels. That alone was enough for some people to go out of their way to pick on her. Like right now.
She sighed quietly, trying not to let the words of the three boys surrounding her get to her head. They'd already run through the whole "otaku" bashing, and now it was onto making fun of her instead.
"I mean, what's up with that weird voice of yours? You sure you should be in high school?"
Insecurity ran up her spine. She hated her voice enough already. "It's… a speech impediment…"
"Yeah, and what the hell," another boy perked up. "Your body's like, on the other side of the spectrum! What's with those fat tits of yours? You some kinda cow?"
She hated that her body wasn't less noticeable. Her hands crossed over her chest, trying to shield herself from them. "I… never wanted them this big…"
"Yeah, and you're fat enough to be a cow too," the final boy chirped excitedly, causing the others to start boisterously laughing at her along with him.
There was no way to physically move closer to the wall she was stood against, but she wished it would just swallow her alive and end this. It wasn't like she didn't exercise enough or eat right… That was just how her body looked! Burning, stinging tears pricked at her closed eyes as she tried to blink away the bullies. Anything to just get away from here!
A thunderous voice shut the three boys up. "HEY! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
Miko's eyes opened just in time to see the three bullies who were in front of her get shoved away by someone. A girl, judging by the uniform, and a tall one, too.
Long hair the color of the ocean cascaded down to her mid back. Her build wasn't particularly bulky, but her arms showed that she had plenty of well-trained muscle. Not to mention she was on the taller side, casting her in an almost heroic light as she stood in front of Miko with her arms to her sides. A familiar pair of star-patterned thigh-highs very blatantly spelled out who was before her. Miko had certainly heard of her around, and seen her around as well. It was hard not to, with her type.
In a word, beautiful. In two words, popular kid. So… why was she sticking up for her?
"Sorry, Suisei-san," one of the boys said with a nervous chuckle. "We just thought it'd be pretty funny to tell the others about messing with her."
Hoshimachi Suisei, a name known throughout the whole school as an up and coming diva with a million fans online only a year after she started singing. A girl at the absolute upper tier of the student hierarchy. That was who was defending the nobody, Sakura Miko.
"You three really thought someone would be impressed with you picking on a helpless girl?" She stepped forward, fist clenched. "Then how about me, huh?! You got something you wanna say to me as well? Or is it just 'cause you sickos wanna pick on her insecurities?!" Her hand shot out, a fist slamming into one of the nearby lockers. The sound caused all the surrounding students, Miko included, to flinch. "Don't screw around, you little brats! You're not even in the same grade as her! Show some damn respect to your senpai!"
With Suisei bearing down on the three of them as a far more popular upperclassman, the boys had no choice but to book it. She shouted after them to never bother Miko again as they scampered away. It was… really heartwarming for someone to stand up for her.
The azure beauty looked at her, eyes sparkling like stars in the sky. She flashed a smile. Gentle, caring. "You alright?" Her quiet, calming voice was so much different from the forceful yell she had just let out. The strength was still there, but much more tame. The light blue hair that trailed down past her shoulders framed her face in the most heavenly way.
"Y-yeah…" Miko didn't know if she was stunned more by the popular girl standing up for her or by her looks. She'd never been able to see her close-up in person before. It was like the woman was a sculpture, pure and beautiful. Her smile was a splash of sunshine, her gorgeous hair a lazy river. Far better than the pictures of her online. "Th-thank you."
Crinkles around Suisei's eyes, her bright smile infecting her whole face. "Of course! Screw those boys, they'll always be jerks if they think bullying some girl would make them more popular." Her crystalline eyes studied Miko. "Come to think of it, what's your name?"
"Ah. Sakura Miko." A smile, happy and endearing cast in her direction, melted all her apprehension away.
"Well then, I’ll call you Mikochi. And don’t worry; I'll make sure the others know not to pick on you again. There's a buncha cliques around, and I've heard your name in some of them. I'll give them all a warning not to be rude to you anymore."
She was startled by Suisei's sudden declaration. Even more so by the fact that she'd just barreled through any sort of standard honorifics straight to a nickname. "Wha- Suisei-san, that's totally unnecessary! You don't have to go out of your way for me!"
Suisei put her hand on her hip, and it suddenly became clear why she was such a prime choice as a diva. Her stance alone could convey so much emotion. This one read: "You've got to be kidding me."
"First off, call me Sui-chan. 'Suisei-san' sounds like I'm a grandma, or something. Secondly, I know it might seem strange since I'm kinda popular, but I really just hate people picking on others. And you're included in that! Third, I want to get to know you! You seem pretty interesting."
All she could do was blink her emerald eyes. Their stance as strangers had been completely obliterated. And Suisei… wanted to get to know her? A nobody?
"What's… so good about me to be interested in me?"
The taller girl simply held her brilliant smile, starry eyes crinkling along the edges. "I don't know. Just a feeling." She shook her head slowly. "Anyway, let's meet up at the entrance after school! We'll go to the arcade together!" Without waiting for her new friend to agree, she began to run down the hall, only turning around briefly to wave. "See you then!"
Like a gust of wind, Suisei was gone, and Miko had been completely swept off her feet. Metaphorically, of course. She pressed a hand against her beating heart, feeling it all erratic and jumpy beneath her ribs. "What…?" The poor girl didn't even know how to feel. Arguably the most popular girl in school, a downright beautiful, skilled, and overall wonderful person… wanted to be friends with her.
Miko remained in a daze for the rest of the day until, after waiting at the front entrance for almost fifteen minutes, she felt herself become disillusioned. 'Of course she didn't mean it. I'm just a nobody to her.' She turned around with a heavy sigh, ready to head home to spend yet another night by herself.
"Heeeeey!"
She looked back to see Suisei running through the halls, stopping at her locker to quickly switch out her shoes and then running up to her. Her face was flushed and she was panting.
"Sorry, Mikochi!" She sounded exhausted. "I was trying to excuse myself from the rest for so long, but they just kept talking! Sorry I made you wait so long. I ran as fast as I could to get here, though!" She seemed proud of that last part. Her hands gripped together in tight little fists as she made that declaration.
"Oh! N-no problem! I… just figured you were busy, and I didn't want to bother you." A hand came to rest gently on her shoulder. She looked up at the school diva.
"Mikochi. You won't bother me by waiting for me when I ask you to wait. I know a lot of people think I'm some kinda goddess or something cuz I'm at that weird semi-popular online status, but I'm not even big time yet!" She gave Miko a gentle push. "Lay off the worship, alright? I'm just a normal girl like you. I wanna have fun here and there. There's only so little time to goof off like a kid, y'know? I wanna use as much of it as I can!"
Miko caught herself from the playful shove, and found her eyes staring at the gorgeous woman completely befuddled. "You… really don't mind hanging out with me?"
Suisei took her hand, a brilliant expression shimmering on her face. "Does it look like I mind?" She gave Miko a quick tug by the hand, pulling the shorter girl along. "C'mon! The arcade awaits!"
They broke into a run. Free, the wind flying through their hair as they ran. It was warm where their hands were connected, their palms pressed together. Suisei laughed as she pulled Miko along. Completely taken by her new… friend(?), the shorter girl could do nothing but laugh along with her. It was as if the radiance of the golden sun was made to simply serve as a backdrop for the starry woman. Utterly gorgeous. It was the first time Miko had fun just by running through town.
The duo slowed down to a brisk stroll by the time they arrived at the arcade. When Suisei released her hand, Miko tried not to feel disappointed by the sudden lack of warmth she had just felt. Without giving her any time to sulk, Suisei pointed in at the array of blinking lights and machines.
They shared a smile, one that both could easily understand. "Let's go." The two walked in, slowly taking in the number of different machines. Most weren't in use, a bonus for them. Suddenly, Suisei stopped at one, a theme playing that was familiar to anyone who ever touched a video game.
"Tetris?"
The taller woman smiled at Miko. "I'm pretty good, if I do say so myself." She cracked her fingers as she sat down at the seat. "Watch and learn~"
Miko leaned against the machine with her side so she could see Suisei but wouldn't get in the way. And witness, she did.
The blocks stacked higher and higher, but each time Suisei expertly culled them. Her moves were fast, faster sometimes than the old machine could handle. It didn't matter, though, each misplay she made, she quickly fixed and returned herself back to a safe level. The game ended, presenting her with a score higher than all the others on the leaderboard.
"Phew! That was a pretty decent run!"
"Decent?! That looked incredible!"
Suisei smiled up at her. "I've done better. On the console, I'm a monster at it." Her smile grew evil. "We should do some versus matches sometime~"
"I'll pass. I'd rather keep my dignity." Miko strolled on over to another machine, spotting that it was two-player. "Hey, Sui…-chan. This one's two-player."
"Hey, stop hesitating with my nickname. It's just a nickname!" Suisei playfully jabbed at Miko's side with her elbow. "Anyway, you found a fighting game! Wanna go a couple rounds?"
She found it harder and harder to resist this woman's charm, allowing herself to be pulled down into a seat at the machine. The game was starting, and her eyes finally pulled away from Suisei's face to look at the screen as the round start sound chimed. The controls were janky and the graphics were lackluster, but the time they spent right there together, two relative strangers simply having fun in their free time, she wouldn't trade for anything.
Before Miko knew it, half an hour of back and forth victories ended in Suisei's favor. The girl beside her threw her arms into the air, a triumphant "YES!" leaving her lips.
Miko couldn't help but smile at her new friend's excited antics. "What else looks like fun?"
Suisei stood up. "Let's go take a look around. We’ll see what we can find!"
The sun set before they realized it, and their afternoon of fun had to come to an end. As they walked out of the arcade, Suisei quickly moved in front of Miko, arms held behind her back.
“I had a lot of fun with you today, Mikochi.”
Her heart thudded, overjoyed to hear she caused happiness for this beautiful woman. “I’m glad! I had a lot of fun, too!”
The taller girl sauntered forward a few steps, arms coming to rest at her sides. "We'll have to do this again. I think… I really liked being treated like just a normal girl for once."
Something about that sentence didn't sit right with Miko. "But you're not a normal girl! You're beautiful, skilled, outgoing, and brave… You stepped in to save me when anyone else would have stayed to themselves and just walked past. You, someone who could choose almost anyone in the school to accompany you… asked me. You're not normal, Sui-chan; you're special!"
Suisei's face ignited a bright red, barely visible by the dimly lit street. With her back turned toward the busy after-work traffic, she looked positively radiant. Only the headlights of passing cars that were able to shine bright enough at the perfect angle could reveal the blush. She stepped closer before reaching out to snag both of Miko's hands. Their arms slowly began to swing side to side together, prompted by the taller of the two.
"Well, you told me so much about me, but I can't return the favor because I don't know you well enough yet. Still… I think I know a temporary solution to that."
Emerald eyes, dimmed by the dusk sky, stared ahead as though the slightest blink would miss something more important than her own life.
They soon went wide before fluttering shut as Suisei pulled her close and leaned down to place a delicate kiss on her lips. When she pulled away, Miko could only open her eyes in rabid confusion.
"Wh-what was that?!"
Suisei's hands moved upward, cupping the shorter girl's cheeks to cut off her confusion. "Now I have to get to know you better. You took my first kiss, after all." She smiled playfully. As if it was completely logical.
She'd been tricked, but… her heart felt full. It was thundering. That kiss, it had felt right. It had a heat to it that screamed for more, but a calm to it that demanded reverence. Her mouth opened and closed several times, stupefied yet desperate to get something out.
"Wh-why? I mean, I'm not… upset, but… isn't this too soon? You don't even know me!"
Suisei smiled joyfully. "That's exactly right! I don't know you. But if I'm as head-over-heels for you as I think you are for me, I should make an effort to learn. My first thing I wanted to learn about you was how you'd react to getting a kiss. And I gotta admit, I'm liking the reaction so far." Her eyes shone as they narrowed slyly. "Don't think I didn't see you sending glances at me all day~"
She wanted to bite her own tongue off. She'd been too careless! Her eyes snapped open. 'Wait a minute. Suisei, the diva of the school, just kissed me.' It was as though she couldn't even comprehend it.
"S-sui-chan!"
Starry eyes gazed at Miko as though she were the most important thing in the world. "Yes, Mikochi?"
"You wanted to know more about me… and you already kissed me. So… would you like to go out with me?"
Suisei moved closer, angling the smaller woman's face upward. "I'd be ecstatic to go out with you." She placed another kiss against Miko's lips, they both sighed happily into.
"Sui-chan, this doesn't even feel real. You're… you're so incredible, so how does someone like me deserve you?"
"I don't think it's a matter of deserving me or not." She leaned close, placing another kiss on her newly-official girlfriend's lips. "I think it's a matter of what feels right and what feels best. Personally, I think those two things are achievable if you'd be by my side."
Miko felt her heart thud, having practically fallen in love all over again. Her arms snared Suisei by the neck, dragging her close. "I think I love you, Sui-chan. Is that… crazy of me to say so soon?"
The taller woman shook her head, arms holding her newfound love with tenderness. "I don't think so. It just feels…"
"...Right," Miko finished.
Suisei nodded against her. "Right," she agreed.
As their lips met for yet another kiss, it felt as though they were off in their own separate world. At that moment, it didn't matter what the future held. Maybe they'd reach their dreams or maybe the sky would fall; it didn't matter to them. They had each other, and they couldn't be happier.