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The LyriLily girls still didn’t have as much access to technology as rich girls should. It was likely because of the school they went to. Sure, it had accepted their DJ-ing, but allowing cellphones was a completely different danger. What if they exploded?! Which, perhaps, wasn’t a worry that many people had, but who knows! It wasn’t a risk they were going to take.
So Haruna lay on the sofa in their not-so-secret hideout. She needed a bit of a break from chasing after the shenanigans of Miiko and Kurumi. Sure, she could’ve hid somewhere completely unknown to them (if that place really existed), but on the off chance they actually needed her for something important (that would never happen). She was somewhere they could find her.
The girls in the other units were always surprised by how chronically offline LyriLily was, but Haruna didn’t mind this sort of life; but it's not like she knew any other. Call messenger pigeons outdated, but Haruna thought they were amazing. Little KFC was the light of her life.
She'd always wondered what KFC stood for, though, but her parents never told her when she asked. They just gave her a little pigeon named KFC, and he's been with her since she got her first friend.
Haruna had sent Miyu more than a thousand letters in their time as friends, but as they grew up, KFC no longer took letters (unless it was truly necessary), but he was always flying around waiting for Haruna's call.
Haruna rolled over on her side to face the back of the sofa. It was a bad idea to keep her back exposed when Kurumi and Miiko were around, but it was so nice and comfortable to do so.
Before Haruna knew it, she was jolted awake; she didn't even know she had fallen asleep. But what woke her was not by Miiko and Kurumi, like she expected, but by Miyu. Miyu was leaning dangerously close to Haruna's face, and Haruna felt like her cheek had a bit of a slimy spot.
“Did Miiko and Kurumi put something on my face?” Haruna rubs the side of her face to look at the mysterious substance.
Miyu tilts her head, “No? I gave you a kiss.”
“Oh, a kiss,” Haruna says a bit too coolly. Something that doesn't last too long. It hits her full force, and her face becomes as red as her hair, “Wha- What, why?!”
“You looked really cute asleep,” Miyu says sheepishly.
“D-do you kiss everyone to wake them up?!” To be honest, Haruna didn't want to know the answer to the question, but her jealous side couldn't help but exist.
“No? Why would I do that?”
“Because you just did it to me!” Haruna sputters.
“But that's because—“
And in came Kurumi and Miiko.
“Ack! Chairwoman is in here—!”
“Who are you calling chairwoman?!”
“Kurumi-chan, let's hide somewhere else!”
“What did you two do?!”
“Nothing! Gotta go!” Kurumi sprints out with Miiko close behind.
“Ugh, I think that's our sign to go back to class.” Haruna rubs her eyes and smooths out her uniform.
“I think so as well.”
Once they were back in class, all Haruna could focus on was the fact that Miyu kissed her! She felt her face was an inhuman amount of red. What the hell did that kiss mean?! Well, it couldn't mean much, was the thing. Maybe it was Miyu's angelic way of gracing Haruna with everlasting happiness and love…?
Something like that.
If Haruna was right about that, then she shouldn't be thinking too much into it! She's just the lucky chosen one to receive Miyu's blessed touch! It explains why Miyu has always been a little more touchy with Haruna than with anyone else!
Haruna was content with that answer. Now she could focus on the lesson.
~♪
After school, the girls of LyriLily headed to their usual hideout. They were all going to work on lyrics for their newest song, and by all, it would be just Haruna and Miyu while the other two goofed off.
Speaking of goofing off, Miiko and Kurumi were currently on the LyriLily shared tablet. Haruna wasn't really sure what they did on that thing, and Haruna rarely touched it outside of looking at YouTube for more songs.
“Haruna-chan! Miyu-chan! Look at this funny dog!”
“Why are you two looking at dogs and not helping us write?”
“Because you and Miyu-chan are better suited for it!” Kurumi waves off the scolding, “But look at the dog!”
On the screen was a very judgmental dog with a caption on the screen that said, “Not too fond of gay people.”
“What does this dog have against happiness?” Haruna thinks, “God gave us that emotion.”
“I dunno! But there's so many pictures of this dog with that same expression!”
Next on the screen was the same dog but with “I know what you are” as the caption.
“What am I??” Haruna questions.
“Uptight?” Kurumi suggests.
“Watch what you say.”
“It's a cute dog, though.” Miyu comments.
“Miiko thinks so too! Miiko and Kurumi found a lot of pictures of it!”
“Does it have a name?” Haruna asks.
“All me and Miiko saw was that people call it ‘homophobic dog.’”
“This dog doesn't like homo sapiens? Well, I guess it's a dog so maybe it's a joke about how its owners didn't feed it.”
“Maybe!”
The next photo was the same dog, but with the caption of “f slur”
“What's a slur?” Miiko asks.
“Isn't it the curved line that goes over music notes in sheet music?” Miyu answers.
Haruna sighs, “These pictures make no sense, let's just go back to writing lyrics.”
“But the dog is so cute!” Kurumi swipes to the next photo.
This photo is a photo of a dog with the caption, “We must take a stance against the LGBTQ community.”
“What's that acronym?” Haruna asks.
“Dunno! Let's search it up!” Kurumi opens a new tab.
Haruna reads out the definition, “Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer?”
“Miiko doesn't know what any of those words mean.”
Haruna shrugs, “I have no clue either, I've never heard any of these words besides ‘gay.’”
Kurumi opens another tab and searches up the first word, “A lesbian is a homosexual girl.”
Haruna thinks, “Isn't homosexual what the nuns tell us is bad?”
“Dunno! The nuns tell us a bunch of things are bad. I stopped listening after…” Kurumi thinks, “Well, I never did from the start!”
“I can tell,” Haruna grumbles.
Kurumi presses on the images tab, and all their eyes widen.
Haruna can't help but blush, before backing as far away from the tablet and covering her eyes, “That's sinful! We shouldn't be looking at that! It's going to taint us!”
However, the other three don't move from their spot.
“It's just looking, chairwoman! We already saw it, so we might as well keep looking. It's just one long look! Better than two looks like you’re doing.”
“I am not looking! You're giving into temptation! The devil spawned those pictures! Miyu-san, stop looking, it'll sully your angelic glow!”
“I'm a little curious about it… I think Tsubaki-san is like this…”
“Wha-? Really?!” It was really a 3-v-1, and apparently their senpai was a homosexual?! What kind of day was this?!
Haruna comes back to stand next to Kurumi as she scrolls down the images of women kissing each other and doing various other things. Haruna can't help but keep her hands over her eyes, but she also can't help but look. Why did immoral things have to be so intriguing?
“Is this what the dog you showed earlier was talking about the entire time?” Haruna asks.
“I guess so!” Kurumi nods.
“I think that was a sign from God! To not stray from the path he's given us!”
“Maybe you're right, Haruna-chan,” Miyu says, finally looking up from the tablet.
“Thank god, you agree. It can’t be a coincidence that Miiko and Kurumi stumbled upon that dog!” Haruna takes the tablet and holds it high, “No more forbidden fruit!”
“Aww! You’re no fun, chairwoman!” Kurumi pouts.
“Who are you calling ‘chairwoman’—I’m trying to stop you from going to hell! Listen to the dog you found!”
Kurumi continues her pouty expression, one that Miiko copies.
“No more tablet for you two, go do homework or something!”
Kurumi looks around. She wasn’t going to get that tablet anytime soon. “Let's work on our next operation, Miiko-chan.”
“Yay! Okay!”
The two go back to the sofa they were sitting on, far from Haruna’s ears.
“Miiko thinks we shouldn’t tell Haruna-chan that we kiss a lot.”
“Definitely not.” Kurumi scribbles in her notebook.
~♪
Later that night, Haruna couldn’t stop thinking about those images she saw. What was wrong with her? She didn’t want to think about that sinful lifestyle, but it was so burned into her mind now. The devil must’ve gotten in her because she looked at the images too much.
Haruna got her phone and opened up Google, searching up that dog to try and keep her from going astray. It was essential that she stayed on the path God had laid out for her. She liked these pictures of this dog, the dog was speaking God’s word. She hopes that whoever made these images is having a happy, fruitful life filled with actions that fulfill God’s will.
Maybe she should pray a bit; those thoughts will surely disappear.
~♪
The next morning, Haruna couldn’t sleep a wink. Her mind was stuck. She made that damn dog her wallpaper so that every time she looked at her phone—which may not be a lot—she would be brought back to the right path. It’s not like she was going to find a girl and become romantically and/or sexually involved with her; it was just, if God wanted her to look at it, then God would’ve made it a normal thing to see! Yup! A silly couple of pictures wouldn’t make her indulge in that lifestyle. But she felt unbelievably guilty for defiling the gift of sight that God had bestowed upon her.
Haruna called down KFC from his daily routine of flying around Tokyo. She was just holding the pigeon and petting his feathers.
“KFC, I'm sad you are an animal. I would've loved to see you in heaven. But I may not be going anymore, I have sinned. But I know God is kind, he will forgive me, but I must confess my sins. And that I will never repeat that sin, but my mind has been corrupted, I don't believe that I can ever truly go back to the purity that I was before.”
KFC squawks.
“You agree too? Yeah. I raised you to be a good pigeon. I'm glad that you'll live a proper life, unlike me.”
KFC squawks.
“Oh, Haruna-chan!”
“Miyu-san, good morning.”
“Is that KFC?”
“Yes. I called him down today to keep me company while I got to school.”
“Oh, really? Why?”
“I missed him.” Haruna lies—great, another sin. She was really racking them up.
Miyu smiles the smile that could heal thousands, “I understand. He does look a little rounder than usual.”
“I believe he's been taking shortcuts on his routes, but he is also getting older, so I will not scold him for not taking the original routes. However, my arms do kind of hurt from carrying him.”
“He's a good pigeon,” Miyu pets the bird with a much more gleeful smile.
“Yes, better than me.”
“Well, I would hope that you're not a pigeon, Haruna-chan!”
“I did not mean it like that!” Haruna sputters.
Miyu giggles, and it feels like the holy luminance behind the open gates of heaven has shone down on Haruna.
Simply being in Miyu's vicinity really was healing.
Miyu grabs Haruna's hand that isn't holding KFC and intertwines their fingers.
…
Well, that's one way to make Haruna stop thinking about the mortal sin that she committed just the day before. Hell, it was the way to make her stop thinking about anything.
Maybe Miyu could see through Haruna's lies, that's why she was comforting her with her heavenly touch. Miyu was truly just such a compassionate deity.
Haruna truly loved her.
The images from the previous day flashed in Haruna's mind as she had that thought.
No. She did not like Miyu in that way! That's absurd! She'd never once had a thought like that before about Miyu, and those stupid images really did tarnish Haruna's sacred mind.
Miyu would hate her if she found out about these horrible thoughts Haruna was having about her.
“I just remembered! The disciplinary committee needed me for something this morning!” Haruna tries to run off, but Miyu's grip seems to tighten on Haruna's hand, “Um… can you let go…?”
“Oh, right!” Miyu says, but doesn't let go, leaving Haruna confused. She's not confused for long before Miyu pulls Haruna back towards her and presses a kiss on the corner of Haruna's mouth, barely missing her lips.
Haruna screams, frees her hand, and starts sprinting as far as she can. It was against the rules to run in the school, and as a member of the disciplinary committee, she knows she shouldn't be running. But as a spineless coward, she couldn't care less.
Haruna ends up behind the school, holding KFC closer to her body. Her cheeks were so red, her heart was beating so fast. It felt like her heart was going to burst out of her chest, and she knew that it wasn't just because she sprinted far enough to rival an Olympic gold medalist.
Her heart always beat faster when Miyu was around, but that's just because she loves her! Not in a weird romantic way, it's just she loves her! There's just no other way to describe it!
She's never wanted to marry Miyu, like how Haruna should marry a nice guy her parents choose! She's never wanted to participate in homosexual affairs! She didn't even know that was possible, and she's never entertained the idea until now! It was all Kurumi's fault for searching up those strange things on their tablet!
Kasuga Haruna was NOT a homosexual.
Sure, she's never had an interest in guys like how her classmates would talk about, but that's because she was devoted to Lord only! That doesn't make her a lesbian!
Haruna never brought her phone to school; she couldn't just look at her phone and at that dog with all the right words to comfort her.
She knew she should've printed out those pictures of that dog to keep with her, but she thought it would be excessive. She also didn't know she would be so thoroughly stained with immoral ideals and think of them every free and not-free moment she had.
She understands why there was a no-technology rule. Technology really was just the devil incarnate.
“KFC, I don't think any amount of time in the confession box will make me go to heaven.”
KFC squawks.
“I shouldn't keep you for any longer, you have a route to fly.” Haruna lightly gives KFC a hug, “Thank you for listening.”
KFC squawks and flies out of Haruna's arms.
Haruna wasn't big on skipping, but she really didn't want to run into Miyu when she was still having these sinful thoughts. She didn't want to pollute Miyu's beautifully pure, angelic aura by being in her vicinity.
She could call KFC back and write a letter to her driver to drive her home, but she was at school already. Maybe hearing the morning hymns and lessons would be a suitable replacement for that inspirational dog.
~♪
Miyu was never very confrontational, so why was Haruna cornered in their hideout?
“Haruna-chan, is something wrong?”
“N-no!” Haruna's face can't help but stay flushed, “Everything is fine!”
“Does this have something to do with the fact we're lesbians?”
“H-huh??!” Haruna backs into the wall, “What are you talking about?! I'm not a lesbian!”
“Oh, then bisexual?”
“I don't even know what that means!”
“Oh, it means you like boys and girls!”
“I'M NOT A HOMOSEXUAL!”
“Huh? Then what are we?”
“What do you mean what are we?!”
“Aren't we in lesbians with each other?”
“WHAT?!”
“Yes, you—… are we not…?”
“I DON'T LIKE YOU LIKE THAT, MIYU-SAN! I MEAN I LOVE YOU A LOT BUT I'VE NEVER THOUGHT OF YOU AS MORE THAN A FRIEND—WHICH, ACTUALLY, I GUESS I THINK OF MORE AS AN ANGEL AND IDOL BUT STILL THAT DOESN'T CONSTITUTE ROMANCE.”
“Oh, so I've been misunderstanding our relationship this entire time…?” She frowns, and it feels like a billion knives are driven through Haruna's body.
Haruna wants to refute that relationship, but she also feels like she would regret it for the rest of her life. She's not sure why, though.
“I- well, um…” Haruna stutters with a blush on her face.
“I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable with my affection then…”
“No—! I liked it, it was nice—!” What the hell was Haruna saying?
“You're giving me mixed signals, Haruna-chan…” Somehow, this expression feels like it's running over the billions of knives with a construction roller.
Haruna's mind was spinning as if she had drunk 10 shots of 80 proof alcohol, which she had never done, but she felt like it would be a fair comparison. She doesn't know what ‘proof’ means either.
“Alright! So hypothetically, if I had feelings for you, I couldn't pursue because that's not right!”
“The school said music was wrong, too. They could be wrong about homosexuality as well.”
“But the nuns say that it's in the Bible!”
“The Bible is thousands of years old! The original language it was in is extinct! Translating it was difficult!”
“...that’s true… but that doesn't mean I'm a lesbian!”
“Yes, it does!” Kurumi yells from the entrance of the hideout.
“STOP EAVESDROPPING, KURUMI-SAN!”
“Yes, please leave.”
“Aww, man! I'm only leaving because Miyu-chan asked!”
“Why do you never listen to me?!” Haruna yells.
“Because you're mean!”
“Leave now, Kurumi-chan,” Miyu repeats.
“Ok! Bye!”
The girls hear the door shut.
“I don't think she left,” Haruna says.
“It's fine.”
“I guess…”
“So, you're not lesbian?”
“No! How many times do I have to repeat myself?!
“Miiko knows Haruna-chan is a liar!” The other intruder yells.
“See! I told you they didn't leave!”
“You only told Kurumi-chan to leave! Not Miiko!!”
“Leave too, Miiko-chan!” Miyu adds.
“Okay!!” The door makes an opening and closing noise.
“That dog was still a sign from God, Miyu-san!”
The noise of the door opens again, and Kurumi yells, “That ‘homophobic dog’ has homosexual owners!”
“WHAT?!”
“Haruna-chan! Blushing and a fast heartbeat aren't normal around girls!” Kurumi shouts.
“I GET THAT WAY BECAUSE OF MIYU-SAN'S AURA!”
Kurumi peeks out of the stairway, “NO, IT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH HER!”
“I LOVE HER, I'M NOT IN LOVE WITH HER. THAT'S COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!”
“MIYU-CHAN KISS CHAIRWOMAN!”
“WHAT??!”
“Pardon me,” Miyu says, pulling Haruna by the collar and into a kiss (on the lips this time!).
Haruna's brain short-circuits, and she feels like she's going to explode like those microwaves that are so dangerous in their kitchens. It's nice, way too good. Miyu's lips were softer than anything Haruna could imagine. Miyu pulls back, and Haruna wants to frown at the loss of contact.
“YOU'RE LESBIAN, HARUNA-CHAN!” Kurumi shouts again.
“NO, I'M NOT! I LIKED THAT KISS BUT THAT'S BECAUSE MIYU-SAN IS A GOOD KISSER AND BECAUSE I WOULD LOVE ANYTHING MIYU-SAN DID TO ME!”
“DO IT AGAIN, MIYU-CHAN!”
Miiko cheers in the background as Miyu kisses Haruna again. Haruna's totally-not-gay brain explodes and she passes out, ragdolling on the floor.
“Oh, no! Did I kill her?” Miyu sits on the floor, next to Haruna's corpse(?). “KFC is going to be so sad!”
Miyu pulls Haruna's body close to her to do CPR.
“Miyu-chan, I think you're just kissing her.”
“I don't know how to do CPR!”
“Miiko has seen that you have to press on their chest in horror movies!”
“Chest…? I don't think I can do that without her consent…”
“Hmmm. That's true,” Kurumi thinks, “I can pour water on her face!”
“What if she drowns, Kurumi-chan?!” Miiko interjects.
Miyu does her best to put Haruna's head on her lap. Miyu will be a good lap pillow! “Let's just wait for her to wake up.”
After two hours and thirty-four minutes, Haruna wakes up—only to combust and pass out again when she realizes she used Miyu as a lap pillow.
~♪
“Miiko found out what ‘f slur’ means!” She runs into the hideout with Kurumi behind.
“Oh?” Miyu looks up from the still-passed-out Haruna. “What is it?”
“It means fa—”