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The date is… utterly irrelevant. Sometime in April, Shiho forgot to check her phone in a while, she just knew that she was meant to have practice that afternoon and that there wasn't school that day.
It was, overall, a painfully average day that she would've given little to no thought about. So, groaning awake and checking her clock, she finds herself sitting up, then standing, as she mentally scoured what she was meant to do that morning.
First of all, she probably should've made some breakfast. Chances are, maybe there were some leftovers in case her mom went out early. If that wasn't the case, she'd just heat something really quick.
After that… Hm. Well, she'd need to go to the bathroom to clean up. Wash her teeth, adjust her hair, and then maybe go back upstairs to choose her outfit.
It's almost a ritual nowadays- she'd stare into her closet, studying outfits and combinations the same way Saki would pester her to do, only for Shiho to conclude every time that she didn't understand fashion and put on the first thing she found.
Her girlfriend was never too pleased. The bassist, instead, found herself absurdly pleased by that.
Besides, it's… the natural order of things, or whatever. Saki and Honami were the put together girlfriends with actually nice outfits, while Shiho and Ichika were the ones that didn't. Symmetry. Their quartet wouldn't work as well otherwise, clearly.
Ah, getting sidetracked here. Plan for the morning…
Outfit. Alright. Then… Shizuku had plans in the afternoon, surely, but she'd want to have lunch together regardless. What a bore… After getting ready for the day, Shiho could probably squeeze a few more hours of calm and bass lines before her older sister came crashing down her door, and Shiho'd be forced to be functional for society.
The plan ended there- after the lunch together, Shizuku would go off her way, Shiho would go to practice, and the rest of the afternoon would be spent with her beautiful girlfriends. That's it. By the time she'd be back, Shizuku would either already be asleep or absent, so nothing to worry about there.
Pleased with herself and the completed plan for the day, Shiho looked into the mirror of her room, watching for the familiar flicker. How did she feel today? Still a she/her?
Satisfied with the lack of dysphoria as she stared into the mirror (a part of her, distantly, could already tell she'd end up switching to they/them later… gut feeling, or whatever), she finally headed out of her room.
Careful to avoid her sister, she looked left and right into the hallway. No Shizuku in sight. Made sure that she was all clear, she walked forward, making a beeline straight to the kitchen.
Curiously enough, the place had already been raided. Usually, Shizuku liked to sleep in on free days, and her mom never left the kitchen in this state. Indeed, it seemed the older Hinomori had already gotten up. Which was… unusual.
Huh.
Shrugging, Shiho grabbed the remnants of the breakfast her sister had left for her, and ate that. Less time spent thinking about what she should eat, anyways…
Curiosity killed the cat, however, and she found herself thinking why the other was up already. Some nightmare? Some plan in the morning? Instinctual spirit calling? Maybe she needed help…
Wait- no, don't get sidetracked… What about the meticulous plan? Shizuku was more than able to handle whatever reason she had for being up. No reason to worry.
(She thought that, while usually, her plans ended up being more suggestions than actual things she respected…)
Reassuring herself once more, Shiho cleared up the table, and she went to the bathroom to get herself cleaned. Which took… very little, actually.
Her hair was surprisingly easy to brush, and she didn't bother with make-up too much, so she was out in a matter of minutes. After that, she was back into her room.
Choices upon choices awaited her as she opened her wardrobe, and she actually decided to try bothering with an outfit. Really! She tried- looked a bit under the first things she had, actually tried matching the colors…
… but then she looked into the mirror, convinced to have actually picked a decent outfit, and found herself in the same outfit she wore last week. Namely, shorts, white shirt, and a blue jacket. So much for trying…
Not my fault my clothing choices are the same! I have a style. Really, Saki should appreciate the fact I even tried.
Now finally ready for the day, Shiho sat down on her bed, bringing her bass case next to her. Her fingers danced on the strings, seeing if it was still tuned.
She checked her clock, saw lunch was still a few hours away, and decided to play for a bit. The new song Saki composed was fun, really, but fun didn't necessarily mean easy.
Getting in the starting position, Shiho took a deep breath… And let the notes flow out of her. With a practiced ease she learnt over the span of years, her fingers started moving, speaking with her instrument as she let the music flow out of her bass.
It was absurd how easily she could get into the so-called “zone” that everyone always spoke about. A place between words, where artist and art became one and the same. Where Amor and its lover met, and you're left no choice but to obey its every order.
Shiho, however, never considered music her lover. She knew people who did, yes, and she's been teased endlessly about how she'd rather sell her bed than her bass. But to be fair, she'd do that with everything important to her…
For example, they'd have to force her to possibly give away the four Phennies stored in SEKAI. They'd have to hit her to take away the little keychain Shizuku gifted her a few months back.
They'd have to kill her if they wanted to hurt anyone in her family.
So, really, Shiho's protectiveness for her bass is just… natural protectiveness for things she cares about. Nothing more, nothing less. Besides, her heart was already filled with three other very special girls. She didn't have space for yet another lover…
If she closed her eyes, she didn't hear herself. She heard Saki's excited giggles as her fingers flew over the keys of her keyboard, playing harmonies that lifted her heart. She heard Honami's steady drumming, her embrace and the absolute certainty that their leader was ready to catch her if she fell. She heard Ichika's voice, harmonic and powerful, and her guitar accompanying her bass, becoming one and the same.
She heard Shizuku's voice, telling her she needed help.
… Wait, no, that's real life…
Eyes snapping open, fingers stilling on the bass, and Shiho's green eyes met Shizuku's light blue ones, wide and apologetic.
“I'm really sorry for interrupting your playing, Shii-chan, but I really need help! I've been driving myself crazy in my room, and I don't want to make Airi-chan wait…”
Pause everything. Airi… Ah, right, that's the plan Shizuku had. She had lunch with her teammate… Wait, that meant Shiho's plans were completely thwarted. She could still have lunch at home, or maybe at the Hoshino's… Ugh, what a bore.
Shiho looked up, and noticed Shizuku was holding a few nice dresses in one hand, other casual clothes in the other. Her brain took a moment to register the sight, a part of her already understanding what was asked of her, but it just wasn't logical. Looking for clarifications, she spoke up.
“Help… Alright, then. What's the problem?”
The taller girl smiled, glad, and put down her outfit choices next to Shiho. Before the shorter could complain, Shizuku was already showcasing the outfit combinations.
After a while, she looked up, eyes looking for approval, and asked “Which one should I wear?” to the bassist. Action that immediately made only one thought bubble up in her sister's mind.
Why are you even asking me???
The question, from every point of view, was absolutely idiotic. Shizuku was an idol. A fucking model. People all over Japan admired her beauty, many fashion designers used to pay her a lot just for a single photoshoot back in her
Cheerful*Days era.
Compared to Shiho's fashion sense, Shizuku's had been honed by people in the industry who actually knew what they were doing. Working in showbiz ever since she was a child, she picked up quite a few tips and tricks-
So why, in the everlasting fuck, was Shizuku asking Shiho how to dress for a lunch out?
“Because it's- it's our first date, and I'm scared of dressing wrong for her and it's- it's really important for me, ok?”
Ah, did she speak aloud? Whoops. Wait a second-
“First date?? You finally confessed?”
Shiho watched, shocked, as the idol’s cheeks tinted pink, and she gave her a nod. Well, it was only a matter of time, honestly…
“... Ok. I'm- I'm happy for you, onee-chan.”
“Thank you!”
“But still…” a pause, as Shiho racked her brain for some version of events that made sense “... It doesn't explain why you're asking me. Our fashion senses are on opposite sides of the spectrum…”
And that was an objective fact, too. Shizuku liked feminine clothing and dresses and accessories, while Shiho preferred dressing on the masc side- no matter if she was on a fem day or a masc day or whatever else. That's just her style. So, again, asking her…
It was like the sun asking the moon how to shine, or the river asking the lake how to flow, or the hare asking the turtle how to run and- it just didn't make sense in the girl's mind, alright?
So, expectant, she looked at her sister, waiting for a solution that made sense, surely- She remained sorely disappointed and more confused.
“Because I don't know how to dress for a girl…”
The fuck does that mean??
Seeing her expression, Shizuku spoke up again “I mean… I know how to dress for a date with a boy, I still remember that, but isn't it different with a girl? Should I be more casual? More formal? More mature? More girlish? And what about the make-up? And I thought, since you've been dating Honami-chan and Saki-chan and Ichika-chan for a while, surely you knew how to dress for a date with a girl, Shii-chan…”
Stop everything. Ah, so that's the issue. That's… simultaneously adorable as it was frustrating because that's… stupid. Like. Abysmally stupid. Idiotic, even. What does it even mean to “dress for a girl?”. Shiho at her first date literally wore a band T-shirt she had owned since she was fifteen.
A little voice in her head told her that, however, just telling Shizuku not to care about the outfit wouldn't help, and choosing one for her wouldn't fix the issue, either…
Ugh, what a bore… Think, me, think…
How would Shizuku help Shiho? Usually, whenever Shiho had an issue that she absolutely couldn't fix herself, and she couldn't bring it up to the rest of Leo/need, she'd ask Shizuku. She can be… surprisingly level-headed when she needs to, despite how overbearing or airheaded she can be at times.
Shiho herself wasn't good at emotional pep talks, but she hoped she'd manage to get her point across, because actually seeing Shizuku this nervous and concerned was actually upsetting her.
“I… ok. How do I put it… We're talking about Airi-san here, right? Your teammate?”
“Yes”
“Ok… Onee-chan, you and Airi-san have been working side by side for a while, right? Not to mention, you've been friends even longer than that…”
“Right… Where are you going with this, Shii-chan?”
A pause, and then she looked straight into Shizuku's eyes “She knows you really well, she's seen you in the worst outfits and the best outfits known to man, and she has probably seen every single item in your closet at least once. She doesn't want to date your clothes”
She pointed a finger right into her sister’s chest, giving her a little reassuring smile.
“She wants to date you.”
Silence. Absolute, complete silence. Dread crept up in Shiho's chest, convinced she probably fucked everything up. Wouldn’t be the first time, either. Good call…
Yeah, actually, it was way too-
“Shii-chaaaaan!”
“What the- oof! Hey!”
Before she could react, a teary eyed Shizuku had thrown herself at her for a hug. The two toppled backwards, but the younger sibling managed to balance them both before she'd be completely crushed under the other's weight.
A faux-scuffle broke out, but it didn't last too long. After all, Shiho wasn't exactly opposed to her older sister hugging her, just embarrassed a bit (they weren't five anymore…), but she could allow her to every now and again.
When the hug stretched too long, however, she didn't hesitate to push the other off. Gently, obviously, not like a shove or anything, but it was still a push. The idol just hummed, happy and utterly unbothered, and the bassist herself could barely contain the smile that spilled from her lips.
Their eyes met once more, and after a quiet “Thank you!” had been exchanged with their gazes, Shizuku's filled with quiet determination. She left to her room, possibly to finally pick an outfit, leaving the bassist alone to her endeavours.
It wasn't long that Shiho's hands picked up her bass again, muttering to herself, playing another line now that the situation had been finished.
And yet, as her fingers moved and danced, she couldn't help but feel like Shizuku's date was going to go more than well. Pride that her- no, actually, their now, an internal voice told them- advice finally went through.
They'll make sure to ask their onee-chan when they see her in the evening.