Work Text:
The bell rings, signaling the end of the class. It was last period and the students hurry to pack up their things to either go to their respective clubs or to go their preferred cafe or shopping arcade with their close friends. Eli however had different plans in mind. With their graduation day coming closer and closer she decided that she would visit the student council room, the place where she spent most of her highschool life in, to hopefully find some solace from all the responsibility and work accompanied with a graduating student.
Eli opened the door to the student council room, she found Honoka inside alone with a stack of papers next to her. She was holding onto a paper and reading it when she noticed Eli enter the room.
"Honoka? You're still here? I thought you had plans with the others?"
"Aaah about that. Umi-chan had to go with Nozomi-chan and Nico-chan, they are going to buy some items for the club room and Kotori-chan needed to do some shopping with her mother"
"Oh, that's unfortunate. Here, let me give you a hand."
Eli placed her bag on a nearby table before sitting down next to Honoka, she took half of the papers from the pile and placed it next to her. She reached for the topmost document and scanned the contents of the paper. It was an application form for a new club "Hidden Block? what an odd name for a video game research club" said Eli while scratching her head. She checked if the club had all the necessary requirements before forwarding it to Honoka.
After sorting out a few more papers, Eli looked around the room. She can't help but feel nostalgic; the dull afternoons where she would read document after document with Nozomi, approving worthwhile requests, managing the budget for all the clubs, all while the leaves on the tree outside rustle as the wind blows a cool breeze into the room. Soon she will not be seeing this room anymore and will have to say goodbye to her beloved alma matter as she moves on to the next stage in her life.
"Are you alright Eli-chan?"
Honoka's voice broke Eli from her trance. She quickly looked at Honoka and said.
"Yes. Yes I am Honoka what made you ask the question?"
"Well you looked really sad awhile ago and you started tearing up...Is something bothering you?"
Eli's face turned red. She quickly wiped the tear on her cheeks. After taking a quick breath she looked at Honoka, smiled and said "It seems there's nothing that gets past you huh? Ok, you got me Honoka" Eli then raised her arms up as if she's a criminal who got caught by a police officer. Eli began telling Honoka all the things that has happened to her. From the anxiety of graduation and going to university, to her eventual homesickness of Otonokizaka and the eventual disbanding of μ's. Eli got teary eyed which startled Honoka, she scrambled to get the handkerchief in her pocket to which she quickly offered to Eli. After finishing, Eli took deep breaths and sat there silently.
Honoka couldn't find the right words to say. Honoka placed her hand on Eli's shoulder, smiled and said "Don't worry, everything will be ok". It's such a cliche response but for some reason Eli found it reassuring and comforting. She held Honoka's hands and nodded.
For a few minutes they just sat there in silence. Neither of them wanting to say anything because the atmosphere was too tense for small talk. Honoka eventually got up and filed the papers for tomorrow. Eli stood up and tried to stop Honoka.
"Wait. we can still do more work."
"Don't worry about that Eli-chan, we're both not suited for work right now and Umi and Kotori can help me finish these tomorrow."
Eli's knees grew weak, she couldn't help but sit down on her chair again. She felt responsible for the sudden turn of events. Maybe if she were able to control her emotions more they would have been able to finish the work needed to be done, instead Honoka is now fixing up. Eli started getting annoyed with herself and thought that maybe it would have been best if she went somewhere else instead of the student council room. She began wishing that time may somehow reset so she can undo the mistake she made.
"I guess I can't do anything right anymore, i'm just a burden to everyone" she told herself as tears started forming in her eyes. Eli grabbed her bag and made way for the exit, she covered her mouth with her left hand in order to muffle the sound of her sniffling. Just before she could reach for the door handle, Honoka grabbed her sleeve. Eli quickly turned around and was about lash out at Honoka but before she could speak, Honoka quickly interjected.
"Wait! Eli-chan!...before you go...I just want you to know that you're not bothering me."
Eli was at a loss for words. To think she was about to mouth off Honoka. She sat down on the nearest chair, put her head down, closed her eyes and placed her hands on her face. Honoka sat next to her and tapped her shoulder. When Eli looked up to see what Honoka wants and she almost jumped from her seat. Honoka's face was too close to hers, it's only a few centimeters away that if she were to move forward she would be able to kiss Honoka on the lips. Eli's face turned red and she inched away from Honoka. She regained her composure and asked.
"What do you want Honoka?"
"Well...I was thinking, since you have a lot a lot of things on your mind...maybe we could...you know...hang out tomorrow?"
Eli's eyes widened, her heart started beating faster and her hands started feeling numb. "What in the world is Honoka saying? and to say it without warning? How inconsiderate can she be? What should I do? Should I accept her offer? but...but...oh I just don't know" Eli thought while covering her face with her hands.
"Uumm did I say something wrong?" Honoka asked as she tilted her head while trying to get a peek at Eli's face.
Eli also took a peek at Honoka and saw her face was once again inching closer towards hers. She shook her head to remove the embarrassing thought from her mind, and cleared her throat before replying to Honoka "Yes...I mean, Of course, I would like to hang out with you Honoka". At the mention of those words Honoka's face lighted up, she jumped and threw her arms into the air while shouting "I did it!" she quickly grabbed her bag and told Eli to meet up at the school gate tomorrow by the end of last period before making way for the exit....Eli was left alone in the Student Council room, her mouth agape at Honoka's sudden reaction, still trying to process the sudden turn of events.
"I did it?" asked Eli before retrieving her bag and heading home.
....................
Eli kept tapping her pen on her desk as she looked at the clock which was located on top of the blackboard, she glanced outside then to her notes and then back to the clock. She tapped faster "c'mon...can't you go any faster?" the clock boringly ticked away and Eli was starting to get impatient. She took several deep breaths "ok, i'll just go over my notes to pass the time" she flipped through her notebook and stopped at a random page and read the words written on it "The Legend of Anne Bonny and Mary Read" Eli slammed her book shut.
The bell rang and Eli dashed to the school gate. When she arrived she looked around and saw that she was the only one there, she checked her watch and saw that it was only 3 minutes since the school bell rang.
"I...I guess I was a little too eager..."
Eli's face turned red and decided to tell Honoka that she arrived a little later than her actual arrival time.
Honoka arrived later and they went to Akihabara. They went to several different shops like the Clothing Store, the School Idol shop, the arcade and finally a cafe. They placed their school bags beside their seats and they ordered their treats. Honoka ordered for a banana split while Eli ordered for some Latte. They chatted while waiting for their orders to arrive. Eli felt like a weight has been lifted from her shoulders, her smile and laughter has never been this genuine in a long time. She gazed on Honoka's eyes as they sparkled everytime she would talk about things she loves, her lips moved rhythmically and were very delectable despite the lack of make up and Honoka seems to have a very sexy figure now that Eli took a close look at her.
"Oooooiii Eli-chan?" said Honoka while waving her hand in front of Eli's face
Eli finally returned to reality and she quickly looked left and right to see what has changed while she was in her trance. She noticed that her cup of latte is already in front of her and Honoka's Banana split has already been delivered...it's a lot bigger than she thought it would be, even Honoka is surprised at the size of her cold treat, she titled her head to the right to look at Eli and she laughed awkwardly. Eli smiled and asked for an extra spoon from the waitress. They both ate away at the plus sized banana split, They managed to eat a quarter of it and they're starting to feel full. Eli took a break from eating the banana split and took sips at her latte, she looked over to Honoka and she managed to catch her attention. She raised her cup and offered Honoka to take some sips too to wash the banana and ice cream down to which Honoka replied by vigorously shaking her head left and right with her eyes closed, she then returned to eating the banana split.
They don't know how but they managed to finish the whole banana split. Honoka is gently rubbing her stomach with her right hand and is holding a glass of warm water on the other hand, Eli is on her second cup of latte and she is giggling at the look on Honoka's face while covering her mouth with her hand. They heard a loud cracking sound come from outside and both of them immediately looked out the glass window, droplets of water soon came down from the sky and it grew in intensity as time went on.
Honoka stood up from her chair and placed both her hands on her cheeks and shouted "OH NO! I forgot that I have to be home before evening!"
Eli grabbed onto Honoka's sleeve and tried to pull her back down to her chair. "Sssh! you don't have to make a scene about it and why do you need to be home by evening? with the rain getting stronger I think it's better that we wait the rain out so we won't get totally wet even under our umbrella"
"Aaaaahhh well, Someone needs to look after the house because my parents won't be home for today and Yukiho will be at her friend's house studying"
"Oh well, I guess we have no choice...you do have your umbrella with you right?"
"Of course! Who do you take me for Eli-chan?" Honoka then proceeded to get her umbrella from inside her bag but after a few minutes she looked up to Eli, scratched her cheek and laughed awkwardly "Ummm...I left my umbrella at home."
Eli's right eye twitched "....fine, we'll share under my umbrella." Eli searched for the umbrella in her bag (Hmm?) Eli checked one more time (But I always put it there!) Eli rummaged through her bag in a desperate attempt to find her umbrella...It wasn't there. After another fruitless attempt she suddenly remembered her school desk. She may have left her umbrella under her desk in her rush to leave the classroom and hangout with Honoka. Eli's face turned red and her mouth quivered. She slowly looked up to Honoka while Honoka tilted her head when she saw Eli's expression.
....................
It was dark and quiet in the Kousaka residence. The only sound that echoed within the house was the rhythmic sound of the raindrops splashing against the wet concrete. On the table in the shop counter, was a note left by Honoka's parents informing the two Kousaka sisters that they will be at their friend's reunion for a few days. Light entered the house when the front door opened. Standing there, panting, are two girls who are soaking wet. They entered the house and tossed their wet bags onto the counter afterwhich they pulled up a chair and sat down in the most unruly way. They breathed heavily after running for what seemed to be like a marathon.
After a few minutes their breathing normalized and Eli went over to her bag. She slowly unzipped it and her heart sank at the thought of seeing all her belongings soaking wet. She peered inside her bag and was shocked that most of her belongings didn't get wet, the sweater which was on the topmost of her things absorbed most of the water. Eli placed her left hand on her chest and exhaled. Honoka went over to check her belongings and it was the same for her. Eli and Honoka looked at each other and they both smiled and laughed. Honoka went to her room to get some towels and gave a few to Eli. Before going to the bathroom to heat up bath water for them. After heating the water Eli took a bath first followed by Honoka, Eli stayed inside Honoka's room while waiting. She sat beside Honoka's bed and examined the room, it's exactly the same as the last time she was here. She laid her head down on the soft mattress and closed her eyes, she took a whiff at Honoka's bed "mmmm, it smells just like her" she placed her hands on the bed to be more comfortable and drifted away to sleep.
The Door opened and in came Honoka with only a towel on. She saw Eli sleeping on her bed and she sat next to her. Honoka laid her head on the bed and looked at Eli, It was only now that she took a close look at her and saw the bags under Eli's eyes. Their school bags were also brought to her room and she remembered that Eli's sweater got really wet. She hurriedly went to the bag, quickly took the sweater out of the bag and hanged it by her closet drawer.
"Phew, there we go." Honoka's curiosity has been peaked as she looked back at the bags. She dragged the bag over to her and she was surprised at how heavy it was. She peeked inside and saw a lot of notebooks, pens and university brochures "Eli sure has been working really hard huh?". The sound of the kettle's whistling was heard downstairs, Honoka looked at the direction of the sound and she stood up and went to Eli. She placed her hand on Eli's shoulder and tried to wake her up.
"Eli...come on, Eli. Our food is ready."
"Mmm...alright alright...."
Honoka pouted and left the room to switch the stove off. Meanwhile Eli woke up and rubbed her eyes. She looked around and saw her hanged sweater but no Honoka "Eeehh, I thought Honoka was here." She stretched and sheepishly walked to the door "Honokaaa?...where are youuuu?" she reached for the door but the door opened by itself and in came Honoka who is still only wearing a towel "Eliii-chaaan are you already-" before Honoka could finish her sentence she bumped heads with Eli and they both fell on their butt.
"Ouch...you should be more careful Honoka.." said Eli who is now fully awake. She gently massaged her forehead while slowly opening her eyes and something majestic greeted her. She saw Honoka sitting on the floor, now the towel wrapped around her body undone, her legs spread and her hand rubbing her forehead. Eli's mouth quivered, her hands were shaking, her body felt hot and her sight started spinning.
"Nnngghh what's wrong Eli-chan?" said Honoka who appears to be oblivious to her predicament. "Aaaahh!! Eli-chan! your face is bright red! Did you get a fever?!" said Honoka as she crawled toward Eli. Eli's eyes were locked on the swaying of Honoka's Honkers, Eli tried to back away from Honoka as she feel she may lose control of herself, she tried her best to tell Honoka that she's stark naked but the words just wouldn't leave her mouth. Honoka was inching closer and closer and Eli was inching closer and closer to losing her consciousness and self control. Eventually she gave out and her nose sprayed blood, Eli lied on the floor unconscious. Honoka naturally was shocked and flustered at Eli and only then did she realize that her towel was gone from her body and it was left at the door.
...................
Eli opened her eyes and, although a little blurry, the ceiling greeted her back. She tried to sit up and felt ground beneath her is really soft, she immediately looked at the "ground" and saw that she was laying on top of a bed which looked really familiar to her. She sat up and she felt a sharp pain coming from her nose, she felt her nose and noticed that there were pieces of tissue lodged in her nose. She pulled them both out and saw that the end that was in her nose were colored red. She also felt something painful coming from her forehead and she remembered the events that happened before she lost consciousness.
"Keh, where's Honoka?!" she looked around the room and didn't see Honoka. "I...I have to apologize!" she got out of bed and walked toward the door and as if some crazy deja vu the door opened by itself again. Eli is prepared this time and simply moved out of the way and in came Honoka holding a tray with a bowl of meatball congee and a cup of hot tea on it. She almost dropped the tray when she noticed that Eli wasn't on the bed, she placed the tray down on the table and searched the bed from top to bottom, when her search isn't yielding any result she almost went into panic. Eli snuck up behind Honoka and placed both of her hands over Honoka's eyes. Honoka jolted and frantically tried to grab onto anything within reach to maintain some semblance of awareness of her surroundings.
"Guess who? I won't let go if you don't guess correctly" said Eli monotonously
Honoka, still in a panic, gasped for words. Eli can faintly hear her going over several names from Umi to as far as Tsubasa. Eli smiled and thought that maybe she shouldn't play this little prank of hers too long. Honoka clapped her hands and said "Ahh, I know! this is Hideko-chan right?". Eli's right eye twitched, she wasn't sure if Honoka is being serious or not. How can someone like Hideko be here and at this ungodly hour no less. Eli was about to let go of her before Honoka spoke again "I'm just kidding. I know this is Eli-chan." Eli released Honoka and Honoka turned around, winked and then stuck her tongue out "but enough of that, Eli-chan are you ok now? what about your fever?" Eli waved her hand in front of Honoka and said "I'm fine Honoka, but I am a little hungry" she glanced over at the meatball congee and drooled. "Then I came at just the perfect time!" Honoka held the bowl in one hand and held a spoonful of congee in front of Eli "Here Eli-chan. Aaaaaaahhh!" said Honoka with a beaming smile.
Eli finished the congee and was happily rubbing her stomach. Honoka went out of the room to clean the bowl and the teacup. Eli looked outside the window and the rain still continued, she looked at the wall clock and saw that the time was already 9:30 PM. Having noticed the time, she realized that she haven't called home yet to inform Arisa that she'll be staying over at Honoka. She briskly walked to the telephone and dialed their phone number.
"Hello?....Arisa?....i'm sorry for worrying you, I only got to a phone now...I'll be staying over at Honoka's house...Yeah we got caught by the rain and her house was closer...Of course, i'll be home tomorrow when the rain lets up...Ok, i'm sorry again for worrying you Arisa....Bye" Eli put the phone down and sighed "I should have been more thoughtful".
"Eeehh you only called home now? What kind of a big sister are you?" Eli turned around and saw Honoka's pouting face.
Eli scratched her cheek and explained "With everything that happened, I only remembered to call home when I saw the time." Eli laughed awkwardly after. "Bu-But, that's not important now Honoka. First of all Honoka. I'm sorry for what happened awhile ago" said Eli promptly followed by her bowing.
"Eeehh? What are you talking about? it's my fault not yours...I...I wasn't really wearing anything afterall" Honoka looked away, her cheeks red and her hands behind her back.
An awkward silence followed and they both just stood in place. The only sound that resonated within the room was the pitter patter of the rain and the whirring of the electric fan. After a long while, Honoka took the initiative and said "A-a-anyway, do you wan't to go back to my room? I mean, we've got nothing else to do here and maybe in my room we could, like, I don't know...do some things...Aaaahhh!! i'm not suggesting anything naughty it's...it's just that...well...you know..."
"You're right. I'm sorry for making things awkward Honoka."
They both returned to Honoka's room and they sat around the table and talked about their everyday life and after awhile Eli's smile slowly returned. There was something that was bugging Eli for awhile now and now looks like as good a time as any to bring it up "Ummm Honoka? Where will I sleep?"
.
.
.
.
"We can both sleep in my bed."
"...excuse me?"
"Did I say something wrong?"
Eli thought that maybe Honoka would have an extra futon available or maybe even let her use Yukiho's futon since she is not here. Eli placed her right hand on her face and shook her head, she looked at Honoka and once again saw the bright sparkle in her eyes as she eagerly awaits Eli's positive response. "Is this really ok?" Eli asked herself as Honoka's beaming smile slowly persuades her.
....................
"i'm going to turn the light off now ok?" Eli nodded and Honoka flipped the switch, the lights turned off. The street lights outside act like night lights, providing illumination but just enough to not be distracting. Honoka frisked back to her bed, she hopped on to the bed and hurriedly went under the sheets to shield herself from the cold air. Next to her was Eli, she is resting her head on her right arm while facing Honoka. Honoka snuggled with Eli and with some hesitation, Eli placed her free arm around Honoka.
"Honoka?"
"Hmm?"
"Why do you want to share the same bed so much?"
"it's because you have been really troubled these past few weeks and well, I just wanted to show you that you don't have to shoulder all the burden."
"Oh...tha...thanks Honoka, it's an odd way of expression it but thanks. To tell you the truth, I'm really scared of the future. I don't know what will happen once University starts. I'm really scared that I may not be able to get a good future, I might lose contact with all of you, I might even have to leave Japan and go back to Russia, everything is just too uncertain."
"Eli...." Honoka paused, her mouth opened but she soon retracted the idea that was in her head. After much deliberation Honoka continued anyway "...Hey...do you remember when μ's was just starting out?"
"What about it?" Eli was surprised, what an odd topic to bring up she thought.
"I was also scared during that time." Eli's heart sank, she couldn't read whether Honoka is just being sympathetic or telling the truth. huh? scared? but she never looked like she was troubled. If anything she's like the foundation of a building that keeps the three of them from falling apart, thought Eli.
"To be honest I didn't even think that we would be this successful. I practiced and practiced with Umi-chan and Kotori-chan everyday to help re-assure myself that I was actually doing something to help save our school. That's why during our first live, when the curtains opened and we saw the whole auditorium empty....I...I thought all that we have worked for was futile and my fears were coming true. We were just lucky that Hanayo was interested enough to watch our live. If it weren't for her, Umi-chan, Kotori-chan and the others...I probably would have broken down right at that spot.
"Honoka..."
"So please Eli-chan" Honoka said softly with the light further emphasizing Honoka's lips and eyes "Please, don't shoulder everything. You have us...me. You can always confide with us your troubles and worries. Even if it's just listening I don't mind, I want to help you Eli-chan"
Honoka managed to dumbfound Eli again. Eli smiled and hugged Honoka, it was a long and heartfelt hug. They both snuggled under the sheet and were both slowly falling asleep from the cool temperature and the coziness.
"Say, Honoka."
"Hmm?"
"You could have showed me your concern in a different way so...why do we have to share the bed again?"
Honoka giggled and rested her head on Eli's chest "don't mind the little details"
Eli smiled and decided to let the question go. She wrapped her arms around Honoka and stroked her hair before she slowly drifted to sleep.
"Thank you Honoka."