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Tiny sakura petals fell silently from the trees around Tomori as she walked alone into the perimeter of the nearby park. A light rain fell around her, but she had come prepared. In one hand she held her umbrella, and in the other were several choice rocks she had found in the nearby area. Both herself and her rocks were kept dry thanks to her trusty umbrella, but it was probably time to go home. After all, what was the point of going to the park alone?
That was when Tomori saw her. She was sitting on a park bench by herself, kicking her feet back and forth. Rain glistened and a single flower was resting in her bright pink hair, making it hard to miss her. There was something about her that made her instantly captivating to Tomori, freezing her in place. Was it because of how pretty she was, or was it the mystery of her very being? After all, she wore the same school uniform as Tomori, yet she had never seen this girl before. Either way, she had Tomori's attention, in a way that no other girl had before.
It was only a matter of time before she was caught staring, and things only became more intense the moment their eyes met. The girl tilted her head slightly, then smiled in a way that was completely breathtaking. Feeling her head start to swim, she watched as the girl stood up and walked towards her, until they were standing face to face. The tips of their shoes nearly touched, and Tomori was sure that she had stopped breathing.
"Hey there! I'm Chihaya Anon. I think I've seen you at school once or twice before." She looked down at the rocks in Tomori's hands, nodding once as if having determined something. "You're the one who collects rocks, right?" Tomori's eyes widened: how did this mysterious girl know that without her ever being caught staring? Still, all she could do was nod slowly. "That's cool! I'm sorry, though, I don't actually know your name." She rubbed the back of her neck and laughed awkwardly, still seemingly ethereal and angelic despite a human-like error.
"I-I'm Takamatsu Tomori. It's nice to meet you." For a few precious seconds, silence overtook them, which was just enough time for Tomori to overthink things as usual. Was she supposed to say something next, or was it Anon's turn to speak? What would they even talk about? Oh, wait, maybe school-
"You know, being alone at the park sucks. Why don't we go somewhere else?" It wasn't as if Anon was taking no for an answer regardless. She gently wrested the umbrella from Tomori's hand, holding it so that both girls could stand under it. "Ah, we'd better stand closer together if we don't want to get wet" Anon hadn't seemed like she cared about getting wet earlier while sitting on the park bench, but when she suddenly held Tomori's hand, that shut up all the non-existent words she was going to say. When their fingers entwined, she felt her entire body burst into a warmth she hadn't felt since...
The two girls walked together through the park, with Anon doing most of the talking. That was okay with Tomori, who had never been much of a talker in the first place. She was perfectly okay with soaking in all the information about Anon that she could, her eyes occasionally straying to their entwined fingers. It was almost like... like they were a couple or something, but they'd only just met. Still, that didn't change the fact that being next to Anon and listening to her beautiful voice made Tomori... happy. She could make her happy.
Their footsteps ended up leading them to the local aquarium, which the two entered after a few steps up the stairs. A holder at the front allowed them to leave Tomori's wet umbrella there so they could walk unencumbered. There weren't many people there anyway: not when the weather was as it was. It was as if they were the only two people in the entire world though, as far as Tomori was concerned, as they walked past tank after tank of aquatic wonders.
"I don't know a lot about fish and stuff," Anon admitted, laughing as she stared at a large blue fish that stared right back at her. "But don't aquariums just seem so comforting?"
"I... think so too." A small smile came to Tomori's lips at Anon's words. Aquariums were definitely a comforting place for her, with the low lighting and the quiet atmosphere. It was like an entire other world, one where she felt like she belonged more than the actual world she inhabited. Funny how that works.
They ended up by the jellyfish, watching the creatures float in an aimless sort of way. Sometimes Tomori felt like she was floating aimlessly in life too, so that was at least something they had in common. "Hey, is everything alright?" Surprised, she turned to see Anon staring at her, looking concerned as Anon squeezed her hand. "I mean, I space out here too, so no pressure, but I just hadn't heard your voice for a bit."
"I'm... alright." She bit down on her lip, sighing as she realized that her stuttered proclamation didn't seem to hit as hard as she expected. "It's just some stuff going on. Hard to explain..." She could admit that, right? It was vague enough to not truly go deeper into what was going wrong in her wrong, but she wasn't lying. Not completely, anyway.
"I get that," Anon responded, smiling as her eyes went back to the jellyfish. "There's some stuff going on in my life too, but it's like... I'm not ready to talk about it, you know?" Tomori's eyes were no longer on the jellyfish, but on Anon, staring at her beauty in the lowlight. "I will be, someday, but I don't know when that is."
"Yeah, that makes sense. I... feel the same way." Anon turned back to face her, and she felt the same force freezing her there just as it had back at the park. This time, though, they were already really close to one another, and it wouldn't take much to close that gap. As if in slow motion, she could see Anon moving even closer, her eyes fluttering closed. Wait, was this...
Anon's lips touched hers, and it was like a loud set of fireworks were being set off right there in the aquarium. Whizzlers and firebangs went crazy in her ears as she stood there like an idiot, dizzy and confused and wanting exactly what was happening. Just as she felt Anon pulling back, likely to apologize for such a sudden act, Tomori surged forward and kissed her back. Her first kiss wasn't ever likely to evoke Shakespearian poetry and wonder, but wow, did it feel good.
"Wow..." she murmured when they pulled away from each other, the sound of fireworks dying down, only to be replaced by a quieter, much prettier sound: the sound of Anon's gentle laughter.
"Wow indeed," Anon laughed, pressing her forehead to Tomori's. They stayed like that for a moment, letting everything that had just happened settle around them. Then they held hands again, and like nothing had happened, they continued on through the exhibits. Something had happened, though, and its shadow followed them around the rest of the time they were there. It wasn't until they were finished, and standing right outside the aquarium, that Tomori got the courage to face that shadow head-on.
"Can we... um, can we k-kiss again?" Grinning, Anon didn't answer with words. Instead, she leaned in once more, and the two were kissing again, completely lost in each other's presence, in their kiss. It was all they needed in the moment.
They slowly pulled away, fingers extricated from each other. "M-Maybe, if you want, we-" Tomori opened her eyes, and she was alone. It was sunny now, and there was no sign of Anon. "A-Anon?" Something felt strange... and when she looked in her hand, she was left with nothing but the flower that had been in Anon's hair.
"Tomori? What are you doing standing there?" Taki appeared almost out of thin air, putting a gentle hand on Tomori's shoulder. "Are you okay?" When Tomori finally turned to face Taki, she smiled, a wide, legitimate smile. Something she felt like she would never have had again. Holding out her hand, she cradled the flower in her palm.
"I'm okay now, Taki." Did she understand exactly what had happened? Maybe not, but Chihaya Anon... she had made her happy.