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"I'm happy, I'm so happy..." Kuronuma mused, the setting sun casting a dreamlike glow upon the teens. "I wish time would fly faster, so that our being together will become the norm..."
Kazehaya then grasped her tightly, internally exhilarated that he could finally express his feelings physically. It gave him more time to come up with the proper words to grace her with. "I can't do such a wasteful thing," He said matter-of-factly. He was quickly becoming familiar with the fact that his statements required a lot of matter-of-fact-ness when it came to Sawako. He didn't mind.
"I'm sorry," Shota continued. Sawako gasped. "I thought I was the one experiencing a one-sided crush, but now.." He couldn't help but blush, as he commonly does around her, but at least she wasn't looking at his face at this moment. "I feel like I'm monopolizing all the great times we're having together."
Once again, Sawako couldn't find the words to respond with. While she was becoming better at expressing her feelings, her mind was currently preoccupied with the fact that Kazehaya, the amazing, wonderful, and thoughtful Kazehaya, was holding her. Whenever he touched her, her brain seemed to short-circuit.
The fact that Kazehaya wanted to spend time with her, to make more beautiful memories with her just as much as she wanted to with him, was almost beyond her comprehension. All this time their feelings were the same, and she was simply blind to it. "Dense", her friend and her rival had called her on separate occasions, and she truly had been. She knew in her heart that her greatest breakthrough so far, her biggest point in her social evolution, was her bold confession to him. An incredible catalyst to a new and thoroughly intoxicating chapter of her life. Kazehaya...
He eventually released his tight hold on her, albeit reluctantly. He was closer to her now, his hand lingering on her shoulder. There was a graceful, contented silence between them as they simply enjoyed each other's presence. Neither teen could shake the heat from their faces or the relentless squeezing of their respective hearts, but they were comfortable now.
Kazehaya would be lying to himself if he couldn't admit to his own internal monologue that there was something pressing on his subconscious. It was something that commonly crossed from his subconscious to conscious mind, and made his face flush every time. During all the sleepless hours the previous night, he had resolved to address the 'issue'. However, the more he thought about it, the more antsy he got. He removed the hand-knit toboggan from his head, as the afternoon warmness was combining with his own nervousness. As much as he loved the gift, the last thing he wanted was to become sweaty in front of Sawako.
"S-Sawako..." He began, swallowing. He sat up straight, fidgeting with the hat in his lap.
"Kazehaya-kun!" Sawako said suddenly, startling the boy with her exclamation. "You're downright red...is it too hot out? Should we go inside somewhere?"
She herself was still blushing, but he was completely scarlet.
"Uh, n-no, it's fine..." He averted his eyes, and tried to somehow consciously control the blood flow to his face. It was then that he truly noticed the incredibly pulchritudinous scenery surrounding them. The flowers, the gentle swaying of the trees, the chirping of the various insects - it was all perfect. Not to mention the total absence of any Jo-like creatures popping up out of nowhere. True solitude...with Sawako. "No, actually, this is perfect. I want to stay here a while longer." He flashed her one of his famous, genuine smiles. "Actually, there is something I wanted to ask you..."
Sawako's mind immediately flashed back to the previous time Kazehaya had something to ask of her. The beach, silly thoughts of marriage...her face flushed again, but she remained attentive to the boy. "Y-yes?"
Kazehaya swallowed, squeezing his eyes shut. "Have you ever..." He peeked one eye open, wanting to see her reaction. "Have you ever...been kissed by anyone?"
Sawako's face flushed immediately as she bowed her head, staring at her lap. Her long, black hair created a curtain between them. She pushed her palms onto her skirt, suddenly becoming aware of her heart pounding. "Uh...u-um.." She stuttered. "My mom...my...my dad..."
"Besides family, silly." He had been very nervous to ask such a question, but watching Sawako become so flustered was somehow relieving. She was so cute.
She then turned her head away from him entirely. "W-well...there was this one time, a few months back..."
Kazehaya's eyes widened exponentially. While he had no idea what the answer to such a question would be, he had to admit he thought, or perhaps just hoped, the answer would be no. But now she won't even look at him...and a 'few months back'?! What could she be referring to? He scooted even closer to her, leaning forward in an attempt to see her face, but his efforts were thwarted by her ever present long, thick hair.
Sawako gulped, continuing. "A few months back, I was spending the night with Chizu-chan and Ayane-chan, a-and we were talking about...romance..." She was getting significantly quieter. "They knew I liked you..." It took all of her courage to continue, but more than anything she wanted to be honest with him.
"They knew I liked you, and they knew I didn't know anything about...well...being a girlfriend..."
He continued to stare at her, eyes as wide as they could go. He had nothing to say yet, but the implications...his mind traced back to the times they would all hang out together, when the girls would play around with Sawako...when they got to be close to her, but not him...
At this point, Sawako had essentially shrank into a ball. "Chizu-chan offered to kiss me for practice..."
"What?!" Kazehaya exclaimed, louder than he intended to. Countless feelings began mixing inside him.
She began to speak much faster, and somewhat less intelligibly, "I-I was confused, and I didn't know what to say, so I looked to Ayane-chan to see what she thought, she's usually the voice of reason, b-but she seemed to think it might be a good idea, too, claiming it was harmless! I think it was just because of how late it was, because she even said she would also help if I wanted...and I-"
"Did you do it?" He pressed. "Did they kiss you?!"
Sawako fidgeted with her skirt. "N-no...I couldn't..." She peeked at him through her strands of hair. "It was too embarrassing...Chizu-chan's face was so...so close to mine..."
Kazehaya heaved a sigh of relief and propped up his arms behind himself. He looked up at the sky. "That's good."
"Is that...good?" She sat up a little straighter. "Why did you ask?"
He looked at her with resolution, determination. "I wanted to be the first."
Sawako faced him entirely, her eyes wide. She suddenly felt warm from head to toe. She was going to speak, but abruptly realized she couldn't formulate a worthwhile response. Kazehaya wanted to be with her as much as she wanted to be with him, as she had recently discovered, so of course that might also mean matters such as this...it just hadn't quite crossed her mind. Briefly, the thought occurred to her, what other mutual feelings of desire they might share...she was practically a tomato at this point, and she hid behind her hair once more.
A veil of silence fell between the two. Sawako twiddled her thumbs, looking down at her hands, trying to focus on her breathing. Kazehaya sat up straight, his hands on his knees. There was still an air of naturalism between them, but now there was also something else. Something they couldn't quite pinpoint. They both felt the energy between them build inexplicably. She was compelled to speak, if only to address the vibes.
"Should we go-" "Sawako-" They spoke at the same time. Realizing this, they both quickly faced away from one another, faces flushing again.
"You first," Sawako insisted, not daring to look at him.
Kazehaya took a deep breath and faced her, though she continued to avoid his eyes. "Sawako, may I...may I kiss you?"
Kuronuma's heart seemed to have skipped a beat, its rapid pounding resounding in her ears. She reached a new level of nervousness, and after a few seconds (what felt like infinity to Shota), she answered. "Mm." She nodded once.
He couldn't contain his wide grin after hearing her answer. While his nerves had been getting the better of him since the morning, he was able to adopt a new feeling of confidence after spending the day, after talking so extensively, with Sawako. Her consent gave him everything he needed. Everything about her made him feel so alive, so rejuvenated. He loved her.
Kazehaya lifted his hand, reaching to the other side of her face. He slowly tucked her beautiful, silky hair behind her ear. He then moved to cup her cheek in his palm, gently coaxing her into facing him. She was seemingly unable to open her eyes.
"Sawako," He breathed. "Look at me, please."
Sawako peeked her eyes open, her heart thumping hard against her rib cage. She felt dizzy. Kazehaya was gazing at her, looking at her like she was the most precious thing in the world. She was suddenly able to look at him fully, entirely entranced by his eyes, his soft smile.
"That's my girl," He said, lightly stroking her cheek. She couldn't help but let out a small 'eep'.
They found the universe in one another's gaze. A relaying of seemingly infinite amounts of information, copious amounts of affection, within one another's eyes. An entirely silent conversation, a universal understanding. Sawako couldn't breathe. As his eyes slowly slid shut, she allowed hers to flutter closed as well. She didn't dare move.
'Finally,' Kazehaya thought to himself. 'I finally get to kiss her...'
He leaned in just a little further, tilting his head just a little and gradually bridging the gap between them. His ever-so-slightly parted lips brushed lightly against hers, and she gasped.
"My Sawako," He breathed against her lips, and then sealed the kiss.
Sawako's lips were insanely soft. While Kazehaya had embraced her a few times before, this was the first time he was close enough, or perhaps the first time he had enough time, to notice how wonderfully she smelled - like lavender with a touch of sweetness. She was utterly intoxicating. As he moved his lips against hers just a little, she made a small noise from the back of her throat that caused his entire body to respond. When she began moving her lips more in response, it was all but overwhelming.
He subtly moved the hat he had given her further up his lap, hoping she wouldn't notice. He hadn't anticipated this...and while he was feeling guilty, he never wanted the kiss to end.
Kazehaya's kiss made her feel lighter than air. It was so gentle, yet so passionate. It electrified her from head to toe. The way he cradled her face...she was overwhelmed by feelings of affection. She genuinely had no idea what to do with herself, and was eternally grateful that he was taking the lead. She mimicked his actions, but provided her own passion.
Sawako continued to make tiny, almost inaudible noises here and there, likely unbeknownst to her. Kazehaya was beginning to feel like he may not be able to handle himself, and he pulled away rather suddenly. Both of them realized they hadn't been breathing, heaving huge breaths as they stared at one another.
"That was...amazing!" Kuronuma raved, not minding her own boldness. Before he knew it, Kazehaya found himself graced with another one of her beautiful, genuine smiles. She was experiencing adrenaline like never before.
"I..." Kazehaya began. "I...ah..." He threw his head onto his palms, elbows on his knees.
"What's wrong?" She said quickly. "Did you...hate the kiss? I'm sorry! I didn't know what I was doing..."
"No!" He looked up at her. "No! That's not it at all! I just...ah, I can't handle you..."
"What do you mean?" She tilted her head. She was becoming increasingly worried she had done something wrong, despite his assurance.
"The way you affect me...I'm sorry, I don't really know what I'm saying, I just...damn it, I love you so much, Sawako." He smiled at her. "I seriously can't get enough of you."
Sawako blushed scarlet red for the seemingly billionth time that night. "Kazehaya-kun..." She uttered, stunned. "I feel the same way..."
Kazehaya grabbed her hand, squeezing it. He was beginning to calm down, but his heart was still pounding uncontrollably. "I'm glad."
They both turned towards the horizon with content smiles, just in time to witness the final moments of the setting sun. Both of them were looking forward to not only the many moments, but also the many, many kisses they would be privileged to share with one another from that point on.