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It was just about any other weekday at school for Sogo. But it was different than the school day of an average student. Sogo had to collect the works of students, carry them up and down the stairs sometimes. She would be seen rushing throughout the school buildings often in middle of class breaks, sometimes busy talking with one of the teachers. What does she talk about with the teachers so much? Doesn't she know the more she engages with them the lesser time she will have to even breathe in this school? She doesn't even talk that much to her peers.
Torao thought of these questions as she noticed Sogo talking to the third teacher of the day in the hallways.
"Mido-san? Mido-san?"
"Oh. Yes, Sogo. What is it?" Torao must be daydreaming for a while. Why was she even daydreaming about Sogo? Is it because she is right in front of her, so her current thoughts only consist of Sogo. Yes, that must be it.
"Are you starting to feel the exhaustion, Mido-san?" Sogo expressed a little concern.
"Mm…Maybe. Are you yet done with your questions?"
Torao turned her head around to take a look at the library's wall clock and did a mental calculation of how much time she had left until her next schedule. She wasn't quite fond of being late. Especially on a date.Sogo stared down at her paper as her eyes scanned for the progress she made so far. "I'm stuck on one question. But, it should take me 15 minutes more maximum."
"Alright. Ask me if you still struggle with it. Sometimes its much easier to solve problems together." Torao said with a smile. Sogo couldn't help but smile back with a small nod. Torao was always like that. Eager to help, willing to step in to take care of any trouble. She didn't earn her spot in the student council for no reason. Sogo admired her quite a lot. Everyone in student council seemed to respect her too. Rightfully so, Sogo believed.
Once Sogo began to try and focus on the question again, she unintentionally noticed Torao with her peripheral vision. The girl gathered her materials scattered on the table, tidying up her part of the table. Sogo asked nothing and said nothing, simply assumed Torao was done with her work. Probably ready to leave the library first.
According to Sogo's guess, approximately five minutes passed. Torao was still sitting on the same chair across her. She lifted her head up to check on her and she found Torao playing on her phone.
An unfazed expression, eyes moving up and down on the screen, her well maintained fingers combing through the long piece of hair resting behind her ear to set it straight. So soft, silky, well behaved strands of hair. How often does she visit the salon or could it be that Torao was blessed with her genetics. Not impossible given how tall she was. Her legs being unbelievably long and they're also well maintained. Sogo never saw a strand of hair on them even by mistake. It looked smooth, her skin. Sogo never touched her like that, definitely not her legs so she doesn't know. But, she guessed it was smooth. Highly possible.
"What is it, Sogo?"
Torao didn't move her eyes away from her phone even for a second yet she caught on Sogo staring.
"Oh, uh. Just wondering if you're gonna leave now. I assume you're done with your work?"
Sogo waited for Torao to respond. Torao sighed and put her phone down on the table. "I have one more question to answer but I can do it at home."
"Oh.", Sogo gave her an understanding nod. "Alright."
They both went quiet again. Sogo focused on her work and Torao respected the silence Sogo needed to concentrate. Time really flew somewhere around that.
"I'm done here. I'll be going now, Mido-san." Sogo announced, grabbing her materials from the table, carefully collecting them in her bag.
"Wait. Where are you going?"
Sogo paused. Took a second to answer, perplexed as to why Torao asked that. Sogo always goes straight home, not like she is allowed to fool around in town. She doesn't have friends to do that either.
"Well, home."
"So, are you saying I wasted my time waiting for you?"
"Huh?"
Now, Sogo was more confused than before. Torao… was waiting? For her? Is that why she wasn't going home?
"Um. Why were you waiting for me? Do you need help with your homework?"
Torao leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table with her hands cupping her face. "To play with me. Let's go to my place, I wanna play."
Sogo stared at her, trying to process the invitation Torao proposed to her. It's been quite sometime since her and Torao became somewhat close. Torao often took her to her place with the excuse of studying and Sogo too used the same excuse to pretend in front of her father when confronted about it. Fortunately, it worked. It's not entirely a lie, they sometimes study as well. Mostly, they play. Torao seemed to enjoy everything they did so far. Sogo too had no reason to dislike it. After all, she was secretly romantically interested in Torao.
In no time, they were there. They both took Torao's car, Sogo's driver following behind.
Sogo carefully followed Torao inside, expecting to be met with Torao's family members but no one was home yet. So, the path went straight to Torao's room. Once inside, Torao threw her bag onto the nearest chair.
"You know," Torao uttered and waited, to make sure Sogo was listening.
"Yes?" Sogo acknowledged.
"I thought I had a date scheduled today. I remembered the date wrong so I have nothing else to do today."
Torao confessed leisurely and patted the empty space next to her on the bed, gesturing Sogo to take a seat.
"Oh, Thank you." Sogo comfortably took a seat and followed up with a question. "What kind of date?"
"He wanted to go to our hotel's rooftop restaurant with a pool on the outer part so we can swim and have fun there. I don't understand what's so fun about it? I've been there fifty times."
Sogo forces out a polite chuckle out. Most of her knowledge of romance comes from movies and books. Even then it's not much, she seemed to consume more music than any other kind of media. What did most people do on dates? Swimming together was probably one of them, she concluded not wanting to waste more time on unnecessary thinking.
She began speaking again, "He probably loves swimming and loves your company, Mido-san."
"You think?"
"Mhm." She nodded with a smile.
Torao responded with a smile as well. As she relaxed on the bed, her hand instinctively found itself over her neck, attempting to take out the tie. "What about you, Sogo?" She asked.
"Me? What do you mean?"
"Is my company enjoyable for you too?" She grabbed the loosened tie and laid it down on her nightstand. Unbuttoned just the top of her shirt, deciding to completely relax.
Sogo barely took a second and spoke out,"Well, of course. It's very enjoyable to talk and play with you, Mido-san." She stated as if it was the most obvious truth.
Torao beamed, displaying her satisfaction after hearing the respond she was hoping for. "Sogooo" She chimed then hung her arm around Sogo's shoulder and continued, "You're always really nice to me. I wish i was dating you instead of my stupid boyfriend."
Torao chuckled.
Sogo froze.
"I know he only wants to just see me in my swimsuit with the excuse of swimming. Though, it's fine. I'll fulfill his dreams."
"Mm.. yeah." Is all Sogo could mutter. Her eyes wasn't leaving the ground. Torao was so close, her long locks being the only barriers between her and Sogo's cheeks. Scared— Torao will see in her eyes what she holds in her heart once she faced her. For a moment, she wished Torao actually meant it. A wish born and thrown out so fast even Sogo didn't know if it existed in the first place. How was God supposed to hear it?
She doesn't really believe in God anyways. It didn't matter, she decided.
All while Torao was saying something again. She liked to ramble away, Sogo liked to listen to her rambles. She merely wondered if Torao was aware of this habit of hers.
"What should we do today, Sogo?"
Torao was asking a question, so she should pay attention now. "Uh…"
Torao also paused for a moment, trying to think as well.
"Mido-san," Sogo reached her hand out to gently feel Torao's hair on her palm. "Apologies. Did you trim your hair recently?"
"I did!", Torao grinned.
"Ah, looks particularly neat." She complimented as she let it go.
"Thank you, Sogo. Do you want to braid it again today?"
Sogo seemed to perk up at the proposal. "Is that ok?"
Soon enough both were comfortable on Torao's bed, sitting with Sogo facing Torao's back. She worked her hands through Torao's hair strands, as gently as her hand allowed her. Threading it carefully, as if the hair had a life on it's own and could get hurt. She grabbed Torao's hair brush, using it to untangle any piece of hair. However, as she kept brushing it, she realized it was useless. There wasn't a single tangle to get rid of. As always, she was amazed by how Torao took care of herself. As if it all came naturally to her.
Torao sat patiently, allowing Sogo to take her time. She closed her eyes every time she felt Sogo's delicate fingers near her scalp, breathing out a pleasured sigh. It never stopped, much to Torao's satisfaction.
"Sogo, do you remember? You told me that because you always had short hair, you couldn't braid your hair."
"Yes, of course. It's so fun to braid your hair, Mido-san. It is so long."
"I'm happy to hear that, Sogo." Torao smiled but Sogo couldn't see it.
"But I never see you with a braid at school. Do you happen to actually dislike having your hair in braids?" Sogo asked, feeling a slight anxiety setting in as the realization dawned upon her. Torao never puts her hair in a braid. Was Sogo doing something she didn't like?
Torao lightly shook her head, being considerate of Sogo. It would be a shame if the progress she made was to be ruined accidentally. "I like it. I just rarely have the chance to do braids." She confessed in a defeated tone. "My current boyfriend and exes preferred to see me in either a ponytail or with my hair down. It's the trend, apparently."
Sogo uttered a quiet 'oh'. She had nothing else to follow up with. She could understand somewhat. Avoiding things that are out of the ordinary, keeping the harmony in life by only doing things that others deemed 'correct'. She struggled to come up with an appropriate response so she just didn't respond.
Her hands kept working on Torao's hair without losing focus, aiming to adorn her head in the most beautiful braid. She was determined all of a sudden. A comfortable silence filled the air soon.
After some time, Sogo spoke up. "All done. It's not the best but—", she grabbed the piece of braid and threw it to the front to let it rest over her chest now and then, she paused. Sogo discovered something. Turned out, Torao's exposed nape was too much for her heart. She was staring, the urge to leave a kiss there or to even just simply touch was unbearable so she looked away.
"Sogo? Are you done?"
"Oh, yes. Please, take a look." She tried to steady her breathe without catching Torao's attention. She doesn't even know when her heart began to race. She tried her best to erase that sight out of her memory.
Torao gasped dramatically. She could take note of how neat the work was. The little hearts and stars decorating parts of it, enhanced the charm of it quite a lot. Most importantly, Torao was feeling content. With both the process and result. She instantly turned her body around to face Sogo and grabbed both of her hands in pure excitement.
"It's so pretty, Sogo!" She sang happily.
"Ah..! T-thank you!"
HANDS. MIDO-SAN. MY HANDS!
Sogo internally panicked like a helpless little lamb. Now, she was definitely red in the face.
My hands are getting sweaty and slippery, she's gonna notice!
She nervously pulled her hands away from Torao. Not too hurriedly, to avoid appearing too weird in front of her. "Uh, need to rest my hand for few minutes."
Nice excuse. Believable.
Rest of their playdate had gone smoothly from that point on. The two of the teenage girls lost in their own world, until the sun went down. Painting the sky in all shades of oranges and pinks, harmoniously blending in such a manner that one wouldn't dare deny their fellowship.
Days, weeks, months and eventually years went by somewhere along that.
"The sunset was just like this that day as well."
It caught Sogo's attention and she turned her face to look at her. "Which day?"
"Remember when we went to our house and you braided my hair? Back then my hair used to be a bit longer than now." Torao reminisced, gazing at something far in the distance.
"Oh." Sogo said and giggled softly. Torao adored how Sogo's hair, somewhat resembling the waves in the ocean— bounced lightly whenever she made the slightest movement. "You still remember that?" She asked, smiling fondly at Torao. She saw how Torao's cheeks went a little pink.
"I.. Of course." Torao responded, now looking at the ground. The sandy beach, all of it glittering like gold under the golden sun.
Sogo could feel Torao had something more to say so she respected the silence between them, allowing Torao her time. Torao opened her mouth but closed it immediately. She instead turned her body to face Sogo properly now and reached out to take Sogo's hand in hers.
"Sogo, listen."
"Yes."
She was now properly looking into Sogo's eyes as she continued. "You were the only person who braided my hair, who made me feel pretty in them. Not even I braided my own hair until much much later in my life. So, how could i not remember it, Sogo?"
Sogo was listening attentively, not just understanding but also feeling what Torao was intending to rely on her.
"I like it when you play with my hair with your gentle hands. So… thanks for this today, Sogo." Torao touched her braid. Colorful shells all over it.
Sogo nodded with a smile. "Thank you, Mido-san. For allowing me the privilege. I always wanted for you to live a life true to your heart, both then and now."
Then, she leaned a little close to her, inviting Torao to come close as well. Once they were close enough, she whispered, "By the way, are you aware that your exposed nape is incredibly alluring?"
Torao gasped and moved back to her original position. "U-uh… Well, thanks." She was caught completely off-guard.
Sogo could only giggle at her. "Couldn't that be one of your charming points as an idol, Mido-san?"
Torao struggled to tell if Sogo was serious or simply teased her. Just then, the feelings of gratefulness had flown through her heart. Grateful to be playing like this with Sogo just like their school days. She hoped it was the same for Sogo— No, it had to be.