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Ever since their escape from Hope’s Peak Academy, progress had been slow. It had taken some time to find their places in this new world, especially when it needed their help to grow. Settling in had its many difficulties, especially when the death of their friends had been so recent in all of their minds.
Through it all, those six survivors had grown and bonded as a group, even if some of them showed it less than others. There were subtle ways of showing that they cared - and it was only accentuated by the fact that they were the only ones that could truly understand each other when it came to what they’d experienced.
Perhaps it shouldn’t have come as a surprise when the three surviving girls found themselves closer than ever. It had taken time, of course, as all things did (especially with Kyoko and Toko), but with the help of Hina as their catalyst, somehow they’d ended up in a tentative ‘relationship.’ If it could be called that.
And with more and more time their bond had become stronger, going out to places or just hanging out when possible outside of work. It was times like this that they’d all come to enjoy, even if some of them (Toko) refused to admit it.
Sleepovers, as Hina liked to call them, were common. It couldn’t really be considered ‘living together,’ because they really weren’t (Kyoko traveled quite a bit and Toko didn’t seem quite ready to truly share a space with anyone), but they occurred frequently enough that it was a step in the right direction. Besides, living together wasn’t really the goal. They never had to do that if they didn’t want to, but perhaps it was something to look forward to. The Future Foundation gave them their own comfortable living spaces, but they’d still have to move to get all of them in one space anyway.
Regardless, today was one of those ‘sleepovers,’ and Hina was eagerly awaiting her girlfriends’ arrival. The wait couldn’t be any more agonizing, and for perhaps the 30th time in a row, she walked around her room in a large circle. The house had been cleaned hours ago, which left only the exhaustive wait.
It seemed like ages passed before she heard the tentative knock at the door, followed by the doorbell ringing a few seconds afterward. Nearly jumping with excitement, Hina rushed over to the door, “Coming!” She shouted, although there was little need as she was practically already at the door. Opening it revealed exactly what she was expecting, both Kyoko and Toko stood there. “Tokyo!” She exclaimed - a nickname she’d begun calling them when the three of them were together. It suited them and was practically the perfect combination of their names. Pulling them both into a hug, she smiled.
“D-Don’t touch me,” Toko sputtered, though she made no active attempt to remove herself from Hina’s grasp.
“It is good to see you again,” Kyoko added, waiting until Hina had released them both and stepped to the side for them to head in.
“Oh, what do you have there?” Hina couldn’t help but ask, noticing the extra bag Kyoko held with her. Hopefully it wasn’t work related, it was always a little disappointing when they were busy with actual important things during their alone time.
Kyoko gave her a light smile as she stepped inside, Toko not far behind, “I thought we could do something today,” she explained.
“I-I didn’t have anything to do with this! So d-don’t look at me,” Toko quickly added, scuttling over to the couch and taking her place, setting her belongings beside her. Kyoko followed after, albeit slower, her motions calculated and graceful.
“Well, do tell,” Hina insisted, electing to kneel by the table while Kyoko carefully set the bag down on the table, joining her on the floor.
Silent as ever, Kyoko opened up the bag, slowly taking out each item one at a time. First she set a collection of origami paper down on the table. It looked absolutely beautiful with its ornate patterns of various flowers, hearts, and other various nature related things that adorned its surface. Next, however, she set down a beautiful feather pen and some expensive looking ink next to it, a nice looking notebook following behind it. This quickly caught Toko’s attention, who was now watching with earnest intrigue as she eyed the writing supplies. Last but not least, however, Kyoko set down the last few items remaining - a selection of nice fabrics and threads, along with a few nice looking needles that had been stuck into one of those pen holders shaped like a donut. This caught Hina’s attention as well, seeing the way the thread seemed to reflect the light not unlike a coin might.
“W-Well? What’s all this for?” Toko asked, sitting a bit straighter than before as she continued to eye the fancy looking feather pen.
Kyoko, seemingly in no rush at all, took her time setting the empty bag on the floor next to the rest of her belongings. When she turned back around, however, she reached for the origami paper. This surprised neither of them, as Kyoko had picked it up after their time at the killing game. She’d needed something to do with her time to relieve stress, and it seemed that origami had worked well. It gave her something to do with her hands with the attentive precision needed to make it look clean. She’d managed to improve quite a bit and had been making increasingly extravagant things. And while she wasn’t outwardly proud of her creations, Hina could tell from the way she coyly displayed them for Hina and Toko to mention from time to time that she was proud of them. She went out of her way to compliment them whenever possible because of this - though, apparently she wasn’t very subtle, as Kyoko seemed to have caught on, even if she didn’t mention it directly. What did surprise Hina, however, was when Kyoko turned towards her direction instead, holding out the pack of fancy looking paper. “For you,” she explained simply.
“W-Wait- What?” Hina stammered, reaching forward regardless as she carefully took the offered paper.
Not responding directly, Kyoko lifted up the fabrics and other related supplies and placed them into Toko’s hands. “For you,”
Toko, for her part, looked just as baffled as Hina felt, though she looked a bit more panicked. “J-Just because I-I’ve done it before doesn’t mean I k-know how to sew you know!” She stammered, staring down at the various fabrics in her hand that Kyoko had to offer.
Finally, Kyoko set the notebook, ink, and pen in front of herself. “I thought we’d get to know each other a bit better,” she explained, as if that cleared up any of their questions.
“How does any of this relate to us getting to know each other?!” Toko questioned quickly, placing the supplies off to her side. They really did look nice, Hina noted. She couldn’t help the way she stared at them almost longingly.
“Worry not,” Kyoko insisted, opening the cap to the ink and lifting up the feather pen. Toko was giving her a similarly longing look that Hina had been giving the fabrics. “We can trade supplies back once we’re done. I just thought we could give each other’s hobbies a try.”
“It could be fun, you won’t know until you try!” Hina insisted, giving a cautious look to the origami paper in front of her. She didn’t even know where to begin…
Thankfully- “Oh, and I brought this for you, Hina, as I realize origami is perhaps a bit less intuitive than something like sewing or writing,” Kyoko began, seemingly realizing Hina’s doubt as she looked down at the paper. She reached over and pulled out one last thing from the bag, a small book. “It’s filled with different things you can try and make.”
“Oh, so she gets help and I don’t?”
Kyoko turned to her, blinking slowly. “Do you want help?” She inquired, “Firstly, I don’t have much experience with it, either, so I had nothing to bring you. And secondly, I was fairly certain you’d be perfectly capable of figuring it out on your own. You’re crafty and creative, both traits that I believe would benefit you well for this. Not that I think Hina can’t do origami on her own, it’s just… Difficult to come up with origami on your own as opposed to a potential sewing project or any kind of creative writing.”
Toko’s expression seemed to freeze, though her face was becoming more red the more Kyoko continued to speak. Placing her hands close to her chest and lap, she stared down at her chosen thread in her hands. “W-Whatever! I don’t need your praise…”
Kyoko’s chuckle was barely audible, but a soft smile had emerged on her face. “Very well. If you say so,”
In the meantime, Hina took a moment to see what options she had available for herself. There were so many colors to pick from! Ultimately, though, she chose one that was a light blue with clouds and birds covering it. Flipping open the origami book, she had no idea where to start. There were a lot of things she’d like to make, some things that she’s even seen Kyoko make, but all of them had way too many steps and looked too complicated to even start.
Glancing up between her partners, she found them both fixated on their projects in front of them. Kyoko had a contemplative expression as she focused on the page in front of her, her hand moving with a precision Hina could only wish to have. Meanwhile Toko held fabric in her hands, a beautiful maroon color with an almost gold looking thread weaving in and out of the fabric as she went. To Hina’s surprise, she seemed to be making good progress already! The stitches looked so even, she was almost jealous.
She supposed that just meant she’d need to work a little harder and a little faster! So, skimming through the pages, she continued to search until she found something that looked semi-reasonable to make. A butterfly! It practically had five steps. Surely that couldn’t be too difficult.
Thankfully, it ended up being much easier than she anticipated. It wasn’t perfect, her precision when it came to folding paper was nowhere near as good as Kyoko’s, but for her first attempt she thought it was pretty good! “Hey, this is pretty nice!” Hina chuckled, proudly taking the origami butterfly in her hand and holding it up.
Two pairs of eyes turn towards her direction. Kyoko’s gaze is gentle and almost impossible to read, but Toko’s seem something sweet for once before she quickly glanced back down once more. “Y-Yeah? Well… Whatever. I-I’ve seen better.”
Kyoko, at least, was a bit more supportive, “It’s a good start,” she encouraged.
Hina nodded, that was enough encouragement for her! With a bit more energy than before, she looked for her next project.
For a while time passed. Every once in a while they would make a comment or two about how their projects were going or anything else they thought of. It was pleasant.
They’re pleasant silence was suddenly interrupted however as-
“Ah-!”
Hina barely had enough time to look over only to find Toko half collapsed backwards for just a moment, needle and thread dropped, before springing back up once more only a second later. It didn’t take much more indication for Hina to know they were now in the presence of their beloved Syo, - or Jack, whichever really - who’s eyes were scanning the room suspiciously for just a moment before they landed on the project in front of her. With a laugh she lifted her finger to her lips, seemingly licking away some blood from where the sewing needle had pricked her finger and her body quickly relaxed. “So-o-o~,” she sing-sung, leaning forward to get a closer look at the table. “What do we have here?”
Kyoko barely looked up from the paper, the feathery pen she held still gliding easily over the page with perfect script as she wrote. “We’re trying each other’s hobbies,” she explained simply. “You’re more than welcome to give it a try.”
Syo rolled her eyes, leaning back into the couch as she let her arm drape over the side. “Ugh, boooring,”
Hina sighed, shaking her head, though it, too, was filled with an affection she couldn’t shake. “It’s great to see you, too, Syo,” she added. For as long as it had taken for the two of them to gain Toko’s trust, it had taken twice as long for them to get Syo’s trust. And while she wasn’t exactly in the relationship yet, they had left the offer open for her if she ever wanted. It made things a little complicated at times, maybe, but they had learned to work with it, and once Syo had adjusted to them things got a little easier. If anything, she hung around more than Toko at times, almost always eager to get into the middle of whatever they were doing and messing it up. Not to the extent that it messed with Toko’s relationships too much, though.
At the very least, both Syo and Toko had gotten better at not beating themselves up - or in Syo’s case, not insulting Toko. It seemed they got along better these days. It wasn’t something Hina inquired about too much, letting them have their privacy about that. Kyoko seemed to understand it better than she did, anyway, even if Hina did try her best to help.
During that time they’d gotten to know them a little better - one of the main things being that Syo didn’t really mind what people called them, so they tried to mix it up every once in a while unless Syo said they wanted to be called otherwise.
“Are you going to join us?” Hina decided to ask after a while.
With a long drawn out sigh, Syo pulled herself up, dramatically rolling her eyes as she reached down to the unfinished project that Toko had been attempting to start. “I guess so. I’ll show you guys who’s boss!” She laughed, picking up the sewing needle in her hands, observing what Toko had gotten done.
“Do you need a band-aid?”
“Nah, It’s already stopped bleeding,” they replied, already back to sewing with surprising ease, picking up a different color as she figured out where to continue.
Kyoko, surprisingly, had turned her gaze away from the paper in front of her and instead towards Syo. “Do you know how to sew?”
Syo looked over at her as if he’d been personally offended. “Uh, yeah!? Who else could repair Toko’s clothes otherwise?”
Humming, Kyoko nodded slowly. “I see,” she replied after a moment.
Another 15 minutes or so passed. Every so often Syo would chuckle at something she’d added to the project. After a while more though, Syo sighed again, providing them with a long and dramatic groan as he stretched his arms back behind his head. “You guys are always too mushy for me and it sounds like Ms. Morose herself wants her body back, so, oh well!” She announced, tossing the project back off to the side. “I guess this was fun. I’ll see you guys later.”
“Oh, really? Well it was nice talking to you-!”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. I’m outta here!” Syo interrupted, waving her hand dismissively.
For a moment she paused and they sat and waited as Syo - or more likely now, Toko - blinked and slowly gazed around the room. Glancing down towards her project, she lifted it up, her eyes narrowing. “What… d-did she…?”
“Yeah, Syo stopped by for a little,” Hina confirmed, giving Toko a light smile. “Are you alright?”
Toko nodded, but stopped halfway as she squinted, looking a little closer at the fabric. “Oh what is this!?” She muttered in exasperation, fiddling with it and turning it in multiple angles to inspect it closer. Muttering under her breath she reached for the needle, looking at the stitches and markings that Syo had made.
“Wait! You should keep it,” Hina interrupted quickly, reaching her hand out. “She’s part of this group, too, y’know?”
Toko sighed for a long while, just staring at the shared creation. After a few long seconds, she slowly nodded. “Alright. Fine,”
Hina nodded, giving her another smile. By then, Hina was practically done, but Toko still wanted to work more, so Kyoko taught her a few more origami things - like a crane! Which, admittedly, took a good amount of time.
By the time she knew it, it seemed Toko was at least satisfied enough to present what she’d made.
Hina went first, offering them both origami hearts of varying quality, a red one for herself, which she’d made first, a purple one for Kyoko, and a maroon one for Toko (and another one for Syo, but she kept that one to herself for now). To her surprise, Toko hasn’t complained about it much and almost seemed to appreciate it. The cranes that Kyoko had tried to help her make had, unfortunately, not really come to fruition - but hey! Kyoko’s looked great and hers looked almost passable. She could almost identify it as a bird.
Toko was next. With a bit of hesitation she lifted up her creation, which, to Hina’s surprise, looked like a skirt! A real, and even if a little wonky, skirt! The fabric itself was a deep dull pink color, with its thread being a golden color along the edges where she’d sewn them in. The remaining thread, however, was a bright red with various patterns and shapes sewn into the fabric. The most obvious being the pair of scissors. And, even though it took her a second to really notice it, she also spotted the extra details Toko had put in. A light purple magnifying glass, a blue pattern of waves just beneath it, and a pink-ish book. Toko herself didn’t point it out, but Hina spotted and appreciated it anyway. Perhaps the colors clashed a bit and Toko didn’t look the most enthused about it, but Hina was still very impressed!
“You’ll have to wear it sometime!” She urged.
Toko quickly shook her head. “W-What?! N-No way-! I mean… it’s just-“ she shoved it to the side, “i-impractical at best…!”
Hina shrugged, oh well, it was worth a shot. “Well, I’d still like to see you wear it at some point! Maybe just for a bit? It’s nice!”
Toko huffed, “Y-Yeah, whatever,”
Last but not least was Kyoko. She seemed less hesitant to share than Toko at least but not as confident as Hina - though it was difficult to tell. Kyoko was always hard to read, it took Hina lots of practice and patience to get to where they were now and her ability to understand her a little better.
“I’m no poet, but…” Kyoko hummed, gently lifting the page, taking a deep breath before she began to read. Hina listened intently, eager to hear what Kyoko - always so professional and elegant with her words - had written.
“Outside the window is a sunset so clear,
An ocean so deep and unsteady.
On the waves sits a collection of flowers,
Floating along the tide’s gentle pull.
A rose so red and bright
A carnation, mauve as the dim-lit sky
And lilacs, delicate and light.
When the sky darkens and brings forth rain,
The waves grow high.
The flowers were not meant for the ocean,
The sand and rocks beneath their roots,
The salt in the water.
The flowers weren’t meant for each other,
Far apart from their accompaniments.
And yet, their roots intertwine together as one,
The rose’s protective thorns,
The carnation’s deep-set roots,
The lilacs provide cover from the rain.
The waves fight,
The flowers are consumed by waves and water.
And yet, the flowers thrive,
Resisting.
When the tempest subsides,
And the rays of light cast upon the water once more,
The flowers remain resolute,
Forever stronger together.”
A silence lay over the group for a few moments as Kyoko stopped reading, her eyes drifting towards each of them for just a moment before returning to the page.
Hina was the first to really react, clapping. “That was really nice, Kyoko!”
Toko, however, seemed more bashful than enthused. “I-I mean… It’s not the best thing I’ve heard, the symbolism was a little heavy-handed. B-but, yeah. I guess I liked it,”
Kyoko shrugged, and though she was looking towards the ground, a grin emerged on her face and she seemed to be blushing. “Well, perhaps you could have done better, but I think that’s part of the enjoyment,” she paused for a moment, “But, this was fun, wasn’t it? I find that I enjoyed writing. Isn’t that half the fun?”
Toko shrugged lightly, “At least you understand that,” she muttered.
Hina watched them for a few extra moments, just appreciating their presence. They really had come a long way since their last day at Hope’s Peak Academy. Both Toko and Kyoko had been closed off in their own ways. Kyoko had, somewhat surprisingly, opened up first - though it was nothing major, Hina had found herself chatting with her more and more. And Toko’s progress had been slow, certainly, but they’d gotten so far already! She couldn’t help but be proud of them both. Standing, she clapped her hands together, “Alright, that was fun, but I’m hungry. Should we make something?”
“I won’t help but, I’ll watch,” Toko muttered, also standing.
Kyoko gave her a light smile and a nod, already making her way to the kitchen. “That’s alright, I can help. Perhaps we can make something sweet afterwards, too?”
“Oh, that’s a great idea!” Hina agreed, following along eagerly.
The day was far from over, and Hina found herself eager for whatever lay ahead. There was so much more they could do, and she found herself excited by the future. Things were gradually improving, and they’d only get better from there, and it would be better with Kyoko and Toko (or Syo) by her side.
And, maybe next time they went on a date she’d buy some flowers.