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Ichika stares. A lot.
It's mainly mindless, really. When they play their own songs during band practice, Ichika's usually too preoccupied with capturing the melody of the song with jer voice just right and playing the right chords to even notice anything else. But, when they're taking a quick respite from the music, water bottles in hand and sweat sheening on their faces, Ichika can't help when her gaze strays away into the general vicinity of Shiho. Perhaps Shiho is just always the focal point of her vision, and the centermost point is always the one the eye lands on, right? Well, saying that would be a bit of an understatement and maybe even a lie—Ichika's eyes are often trained on Shiho's every move, examining the other girl, committing the scene to memory. It's not like Ichika lies in bed, staring off to space whilst recounting these secret moments in which she lingered too long on Shiho... but, it's completely like that, in actuality.
It's not anything of concern, however. Ichika doesn't dwell on it too much (thinking too hard of why her mind keeps on wandering to Shiho's lithe frame against the starry sky in their SEKAI opens up a Pandora's box of emotions she doesn't want to touch), and the girl in question is utterly oblivious. It's a victimless crime.
In fact, sometimes Ichika's borderline-overt staring (with how much she does it, it's a wonder she hasn't been found out yet) brings some good.
Ichika's often invited over to the Hinomori estate to talk about whatever's on either of their minds. Talking usually devolves into something else, though, especially if Saki joins them. That sense of unpredictability makes every visit unforgettable in Ichika's eyes—nevermind the fact that it's Shiho, which her stomach makes a leap at, for some reason. At the start of their friendship, the older girl recalls how Shiho had been so flustered at the thought of Shizuku, her sister, openly doting on her sibling that she had gone as far to forbid Shizuku from being in the house when Shiho had friends over. Now that they're older and Shiho's considerably mellowed from that point on, she's more lax about Shizuku meeting the rest of them. It always makes Ichika smile at the thought of such a flustered, little Shiho. Today, they sit in the latter's bedroom together on the bed, legs touching with how close they're sprawled together.
The conversation's lulled to a stop. Ichika and Shiho hang out relatively often, since they both attend Miya Girls and they're a part of Leo/need as bandmates. This means that it's hard to find a new conversation topic; often times, they've already exhausted all their thoughts to the other. It's then that Ichika starts staring again.
Shiho's objectively really pretty. Her strong, lime green eyes are easily read, especially when shs's feeling strong emotions like determination for the band or affection for anything cute. The curvature of her face is striking, since it's sharp but it compliments the softness of her pink lips perfectly. The callouses of her hands from playing bass draw Ichika in, as if daring her to run her thumb over the hard skin. Ichika never gives in to the impulse, however her will only holds out because she knows that she's already memorized the bumps of Shiho's slender fingers from years of knowing the girl. Actually, it's surprising that Shiho doesn't get asked out on dates often. Sure, Ichika knows of how people perceive her: they see an abrasive, tomboy-like personality, deterring any pursuers. Though, Ichika's been with Shiho long enough to know that the rumors are all false. The gray-haired girl is actually a lot kinder and more caring than anyone could ever expect.
Then, after wandering all over her body, Ichika's eyes finally rest on Shiho's hair. It's really hard to look away once you've seen it. The locks seem soft to the touch, and all Ichika wants to do is run her fingers through that hair as Shiho's head lies contently in her lap. Though it's a remarkably far daydream from what would happen in real life, Ichika imagines the sight anyway. Would Shiho shiver as Ichika's fingers brushed against the nape of her neck...?
As she observes, Ichika notices a detail many wouldn't have even registered (that's, like, the only perk of Ichika's inability to stop looking at Shiho). "Oh, don't you think your hair's getting kinda long? You don't usually keep it to this length, I think..." Ichika suddenly blurts out. The minute it comes out, however, she wishes it wasn't said. How embarrassing, to point out a fact even Shiho hadn't known about herself!
"Hm. You might be right," Shiho hums, reaching her hand up to her hair instinctively. Her gaze lifts up from her phone which she'd been using only a few moments prior, eyes shifting to glance at Ichika. The blue-black haired girl feels almost squeamish underneath Shiho's gaze. "I'll probably cut it later, then."
"Why don't we just cut it right now? I'd like to think that I'm pretty good with scissors." Ichika's not lying here—she cuts her own bangs and sometimes trims her hair to make it more uniform, after all—yet it dawns on her that maybe she shouldn't have said that. Cutting her hair... entails a lot of physical touch and toying around with Shiho's perfect gray hair. How will Ichika deal?
"Sure." A pause. "But, just so you know, I am trusting you with the next month of my hair's appearance."
She laughs slightly in response, despite herself. "No promises, I guess?"
That's how they end up sitting on the floor, newspaper underneath to catch the hair and Ichika straddling Shiho as she sits up a little bit straighter. The former girl wields green craft scissors in one hand and a small black comb in the other, sneaking glances at the mirror sitting in front of them in order to not make a single mistake. Ichika does her best to quell the thoughts bubbling up with how close they're sitting—it's nothing new, they sit packed like this when the train's busy, but why is she feeling so nervous now? It shouldn't be because of how beautiful the girl sitting in between her legs is, of course. That would make their friendship way too complicated.
"Trim maybe an inch off the bottom, and try to give it some shape so it doesn't look like some sort of bob." Shiho orders, and Ichika tries her best to follow through diligently. After a moment's silence, she adds, "I'm counting on you." The four words do nothing to stop the rapid beating of Ichika's heart.
"Got it. And when the others inevitably ask, you can say it was from your usual hairstylist and they won't even bat an eye." Ichika jokes to calm her nerves. Surprisingly, Shiho lets out a small chuckle at that. The sound is melodious and mesmerizing, so she lets the sound waves wash over her as she gets ready to start the haircut.
Ichika brushes through her hair first, taming the bedhead brought on from laying on the pillow oddly. Of course, Ichika had taken Shiho's good pillow to use for her own: the memory flashes in her mind and she smiles at the thought. It's so satisfying, she realizes, doing Shiho's hair. It looks so effortlessly good that Ichika never imagined it needed any care at all. Then, with a feather-light touch to Shiho's jawline, she cups the other girl's face slightly with her palm as to cut the hair more accurately. The sensation shoots electricity through Ichika's nerves, and she swears she sees Shiho's lips parting in a small gasp at the motion. Though, the instance fades as quickly as it had arrived, and Ichika finishes the trimming in a timely manner. Good, as she probably couldn't take any more of this any longer.
Ichika lets Shiho see the hair more properly by extracting her legs from their resting position, and the lack of touch is made very obvious by the drop in warmth. Shiho runs warm, she finds. Speaking of Shiho, she makes a noise of approval at the haircut, in which Ichika beams at. Ichika thinks Shiho looks pretty all the time, yet with her new haircut that frames her face, that innate beauty is drawn out for the world to see. However, at this point in time, it's only for Ichika's eyes to see.
"I like it." She turns to Ichika, smile present on her face. Ichika stops cleaning up the mess to take in the sight. It's wonderful.
"...Thanks," she finally says. It's enough, however.
So, Ichika staring at her best friend isn't all bad. While the thought of having feelings sets off a swarm of butterflies in her gut... this soft scene between the two of them, this, Ichika can stomach. And so, she cherishes it—filing it in her brain for another night spent dreaming about Shiho.