Chapter Text
Nishino Nanase was fourteen when she moved to Tokyo for her father’s job. She stood around and watched as her father and older brother lifted in some of their furniture with the local movers.
“Nanase, don’t stand there! Go carry some of the lighter things.” Her mother walked into the doorway with a cardboard box in her hand, labeled with fragile stickers all over it.
Nanase gave a small nod as her father gave her an apologetic look when she went out to help her parents and brother with their things. Just as she was about to lift another cardboard box and placed her bag on top of it, she noticed a pair of sandals stop in front of her.
Nanase peered up to see that it was a brunette girl, who smiled upon making eye contact with her. She couldn’t help but notice that the girl was pretty for a moment.
“Hi there! I’m Shiraishi Mai, but you can call me Maiyan.” The girl suddenly waved at the latter. “I live in the house across yours,” she pointed directly across the street, at a light blue-ish house.
Nanase gave her a curt nod, placing down the box in order to clear her throat and properly greet the girl. It didn’t hurt to know the neighbors nearby, and her parents would probably be relieved at the sight of her making friends instead of holing up in her room all the time.
“I’m Nanase. Nishino Nanase.”
Shiraishi brightened up at the sight of Nanase’s smile, asking where the girl came from and why she moved.
“Where did you move from?”
“My dad moved here for his job, we’re from Osaka.”
Shiraishi nodded in understanding, “It must have sucked to leave your friends and family behind.”
Nanase gave her a small nod, “Well, it can’t be helped after all if it’s for my dad’s job.”
“You’re surprisingly lax about it–have you moved around a lot?”
“No, it’s the first time here.”
“What school will you be going to?” Shiraishi asked, slightly curious as Nishino seemed to be around her age.
“I don’t know yet, but it’ll definitely be one nearby,” Nishino replied, slightly unsure as she had yet to hear anything about the highschool that she would be transferring to.
“I see, hopefully you’ll come to my school!” Shiraishi appeared excited at the thought of walking to school with her new friend, “And you can meet my friends and all–it’ll be fun!”
Nishino smiled wearily to herself, Shiraishi seemed to be in high spirits although nothing was confirmed yet. She didn’t mind though, since she had never met someone so openly friendly and kind.
They spent almost half an hour talking to each other without realizing until they heard a loud thud and something shattering. Nanase was about to ask her friend to stay there when Nanase’s father had stepped out of the house to see where Nanase had went.
His eyes were quick to realize that she was talking to a girl, and widely smiled at the sight. His daughter was already fitting in, slightly relieving him as he knew that it was hard for the girl to part ways with her grandparents.
“Nanase, come here for a second.” He gestured to her.
Nanase nodded, giving Shiraishi an awkward smile before turning to her father.
“Here,” her father suddenly handed her some money, “Take this and go treat your new friend and yourself to something.”
Nanase furrowed her brows, “But–”
He smiled, pressing his index finger to his lips, “Your mother is in a bad mood–one of the movers accidentally dropped her porcelain collection. Go quickly!”
She hurriedly nodded, turning back to Shiraishi who stood there with a wide smile on her face.
“Err…do you want to eat some ice cream?” Nanase asked, clutching the money tightly in her hand as she stood in front of the brunette girl. “But I don’t know where to buy some, so can you show me too?” She shyly admitted, while looking at the ground to avoid the other girl’s stares.
“Sure!” Shiraishi took her hand, surprising the other girl as they walked towards the direction of the convenience store. “Don’t worry, I know you just moved so I’ll show you around too.”
From then on, the two were able to get along well, with Shiraishi knowing that Nanase was lively whenever she was with her and for Nanase, Shiraishi was someone who became her beacon of light after having difficulties fitting in with her classmates.
-
“Nanase, meet my friends!” Shiraishi cheerily smiled as she had spotted the younger girl wearing the same school uniform a few days later.
They would be going to the same high school, while Shiraishi went to school walking with her friends, Matsumura Sayuri and Akimoto Manatsu. Nanase’s parents had bought her a bike to ride from school and back, to which she would find herself giving rides to Shiraishi in the mornings and after school.
Nanase didn’t mind, as she felt that Shiraishi was simply enjoying the sceneries of the days as they shared the ride back and forth. The time that they spent together, grew longer and longer–eventually they’d develop interests in each other’s hobbies and lifestyles.
Nanase’s parents were surprised that she had grown to become more outgoing, and knew that Shiraishi was partly the reason. They didn’t mind though, as they trusted the older girl to become a role model for their daughter who used to hide from the outside world, unable to find a place for herself when she was growing up.
-
Nanase became self-wary of her surroundings when she was sixteen, she never had a crush yet many people did towards her.
What did it mean to crush on someone? Nanase couldn’t wrap her head around the rise of romance and affectionate feelings towards an individual among her peers and juniors. She felt slow at times, but wasn’t very affected by it as she was comfortable at things going at her pace.
“N-Nanase-san!” A boy stuttered as he had bowed ninety degrees in front of her one day, after school and out of the blue.
She was about to walk home with Shiraishi after her club practice had finished when she was suddenly confessed to.
“Will you go out with me?” The boy’s voice trembled as he waited there for her response.
Nanase wasn’t sure what to say, she didn’t want to hurt the boy’s feelings but neither did she want anything to do with it.
“I-I’m sorry. I’m not interested,” she replied, when the boy suddenly lifted his head with a broken smile.
“O-Okay. Thanks for answering me, Nanase-san.”
“…goodbye,” Nanase mumbled awkwardly with a small bow and left, seeing Shriaishi waving at her from afar just then.
“Naachan! Did you wait long?” Shiraishi asked once Nanase was walking towards her direction.
“No, I just finished the art club’s meeting. How was softball practice?” Nanase asked, leaving behind the boy’s rejected confession just moments ago. Just like that, it was easy to break one’s heart and leave it in the past.
-
For the time that she had spent in high school that year, Nanase was not bothered about romantic relationships until she walked into an open confession between Shiraishi and a random boy. She felt uncomfortable standing there, watching her best friend take the flowers from the boy who suddenly engulfed her into a hug.
What was this feeling? No matter how much Nanase tried to shake it off, it kept lingering in her mind. She tried to move, walk, say something, anything to make the world around her move again, but she was frozen in place.
“Nanase!” Shiraishi suddenly called out, after the crowds of students finally dispersed from the commotion caused by the proposal, “I just got asked out to the festival dance!” She excitedly shook the bouquet of flowers in front of Nanase who gave her a forced smile.
“That’s nice,” she said without another word, her body finally listening to her as she turned away. Shiraishi continued to talk to her while clinging onto Nanase’s arm, oblivious of the other girl’s sour mood.
The softness of Shiraishi’s grip onto her arm as they walked to the next class together, felt just right for Nanase.
The scent of floral flowers in Shiraishi’s hair wasn't one that she’d ever forget because she was the one who picked out the perfume for her when they were shopping before the day of the school festival dance. The light purple nail polish. The ribbon on her hair. Even her dress. Almost everything suggested by Shiraishi was approved by Nanase.
What right did that boy, who knew nothing about Shiraishi, have in order to intrude between the two?
Her eyes wandered to the sight of Shiraishi and the boy dancing happily together as she sat there that dreaded day, gazing at the beautiful older girl in a frill purple dress, giggling shyly as the boy had given her another flower bouquet.
At first, she felt threatened by the presence of the boy who greeted her when the dance had begun, but she quickly pushed those negative feelings away, pretending that she was just feeling under the weather. It would be almost an hour later, that Shiraishi finally noticed that Nanase wasn't dancing with anyone, and was dragging him along to talk to her.
Nanase bitterly smiled at the sight of her best friend looking concerned for her as she shook her head to the question of wanting to dance with another boy.
“Really?” Shiraishi asked, as she had shook her head.
“You’re not dancing, so I hope you’ll feel better later.” Shiraishi smiled as the younger girl quietly nodded, slightly refusing to acknowledge the presence of Shiraishi’s date standing next to her.
There was a pang of pain in her chest when she watched her return to the festival dance while holding the boy’s hand instead of hers.
That night Nanase knew by then, in her gut feelings that she was interested in girls. She was becoming interested in her best friend. She was a lesbian.
-
That summer, was the last that Nanase had spent with Shiraishi. Her father broke the news to her one night, with an apologetic smile as he spoke to her. All Nanase heard was white noise, and her eyes began to water.
“I’m sorry, Nanase.”
They had to move again, back to Osaka where her father could work closer to the headquarters of his job. It was much more convenient now that he received a promotion. Nanase tried to rationalize her upset behavior by telling her father that she would be back before they were going to leave.
“I’m going to visit Maiyan’s house,” Nanase said with a heavy heart. “I’ll be back.”
Her parents looked at each other before giving their approval, as that was all they could do to support their daughter’s restlessness as they felt guilty for stripping her away from her closest friend without a note.
Nanase lied to her parents for the first time in her life. She walked near the local beach to calm her mind from the muddy mess that was lingering in her heart.
Shiraishi and that boy seemed close to each other after that one festival dance. It was from there, when Nanase knew that she had no chance to be together with her best friend. And that broke her heart.
She knew that she had fallen too deep when she saw them hold hands, and looked down at hers to see that droplets of tears were slowly falling onto her palm. She realized that she was crying, and quickly wiped them away to hide her sadness when she recalled the image of Shiraishi looking back at her with a smile.
It must be nice to not fall for your best friend, she thought.
She decided that it was for the best, to cut off all contact with Shiraishi. Maybe fate could determine if they were meant to be, Nanase believed as she took out her phone in her pocket, before extending her arm back to throw it into the water as far as she could.
She watched it land into the waters with a small splash before turning around to head back home. That small splash was to be like one of the many unheard broken hearts of people who bottled up everything inside and became part of the past.
Goodbye, Maiyan.
-
Nanase stepped out of her car to enter the back doors to her part-time job and was quickly greeted by her manager, Fukagawa Mai who was on her way to pick up a tray of food and brought it to the customer’s table.
“Good morning, Nanase!”
“Good morning, Fukagawa-san.” Nanase smiled, before heading to the changing room to start her day at work. She tied her hair into a ponytail and threw on a black apron before straightening it out and rolled up her sleeves to help out at the busy restaurant that was started up by Fukagawa herself.
She was now a sophomore in college with a double major in Biology as she held genuine interest in animals, and minor in art since she had a knack for drawing.
Currently, she was doing quite well for herself as she was presented with a brand new car, a blue metallic BMW 440i Gran Coupe by her parents, and shared a dorm with Hashimoto Nanami, another girl she was paired up with through drawing lots for housing.
Hashimoto was a Business Administration major, the type of person who quickly got the job done as she had been working at Fukagawa’s restaurant since she was a freshman in high school. Fukagawa often found herself relying on the younger girl whenever she had something come up and put her up to run the place without her.
“Nanase!” Hashimoto called out as she turned her head to see that the girl was just clocking in.
“Can you bring these plates to table three?” She pointed to the slice of pumpkin pie and another with a lemon blueberry cake. “I gotta whip up someone’s milkshake too. Thanks!”
“Sure,” Nanase took the plates without another word, and headed to the tables that ordered the deserts.
“By the way,” Hashimoto suddenly added, looking in the direction of a girl that was wearing their work uniform, which Nanase had yet to know her name.
“That’s the new girl, Takayama Kazumi. Go help her out since Fukagawa-san is busy handling other orders.”
“Sure, sure,” Nanase nodded without another word, approaching the girl after she was ordered to show the girl around and what to do.
Surprisingly, the new girl was her age and happened to go to the same college as her and Hashimoto. She was also a quick learner and spoke quite fast, so Nanase was relieved that Fukagawa had an eye for people who picked up things quickly.
During break time, Nanase entered the restaurant kitchen station to see that Takayama was reading a book when she looked up to see the latter flash her a quick smile.
As they sat together, Nanase was about to take a bite out of a steak sandwich when Takayama suddenly spoke with her.
“Nanase, do you mind if I call you Naa-chan? I mean, we’re the same age and erm–”
“Sure,” Nanase smiled, it had been a while since she last heard that nickname, which was given to her by Shiraishi.
“You can call me Kazumin, too.” Takayama smiled widely, causing Nanase to flash a quick grin at her.
“Okay. Kazumin, it is.”
Aside from her minor mistakes as a new hiree, Nanase learned that she was a Literature major, who was already trying to get her works published. She had yet to find a company that would recognize her works authentically.
“I hope I can quickly find someone who’s willing to read and critique my work. I’m not on talking terms with my father since he wants me to go into a typical office job…”
Nanase nodded in understanding as her parents were also pressuring her to find something that paid well. She ignored their wishes and instead delved into a world that she found fascinating.
“Naachan, do you mind if I ask you to read my works?” Takayama suddenly asked out of a blue, as Nanase was about to return to work after her short break.
Nanase nodded without hesitation, “Sure.” She smiled, knowing that the latter appeared ecstatic at the sound of her approval.
“Thanks so much, Naachan! I owe you one!” Takyama exclaimed, accidentally spilling her water over when her arms up to do her signature move, posi-peace.
“Ah!”
-
Nanase often spent her evenings after work to study at her bed or sketching random things that came to mind, and sometimes went to parties for a fresh breath of air. She was asked by the president of the art club, whom she knew from high school, to design posters for promoting their club, although Nanase wasn't a member but did it out of pure consideration.
As she was on her way to one of her lectures, she noticed the poster that she had drawn was posted on a bulletin board for advertisement, which she had drawn a colorful abstract portrait of a fierce lion. It was enough to catch a few people’s eyes when they passed by the board, which did the job for the president at least.
She turned away, realizing that she was standing there too long and turned at the corner to get to class quickly.
Little did she know, a pair of heels stopped at the same place where Nanase stood just moments ago, and turned to look at the advertisement board as she was on her way to meet her friend before her eyes caught sight of a colorful poster.
Her eyes were about to look away after briefly glancing over the words on the poster when she froze in her steps to take a closer took.
“Designed by…Nishino Nanase?” The words escaped from her mouth as she continued to read the poster’s advert.
Shiraishi looked all over the poster for extra contact information, before noticing that the person was not listed as a member of the club.
“Could it be…?” Shiraishi shook her head, knowing that it might be pure coincidence that their names were the same. She couldn't help but wonder how the girl was doing now, after she had lost contact with her two years ago.
-
As Takayama and Nanase were about to close up the restaurant for the evening as they were placed on the evening shift for the day, Nanase wondered how the slightly older girl was going to get home.
“Kazumin, do you live by?” She asked, Nanase wasn't one who was the type to offer rides but knowing that Takayama was a newbie and shared one class together, she knew better to take care of her as a friend rather than just a co-worker.
“Yes, I live close by so I’ll walk home–”
“I’ll drive you back, so don’t worry about that. It’s a little dark outside.” Nanase replied quickly, as to not seem so intrusive or a nuisance to the other girl.
Takayama smiled, quickly nodding. “Okay! Thanks for letting me know. You’re a really nice person, Naachan.”
Nanase could only smile at the mention of her nickname. Oddly enough, Takayama became someone whom she could easily get along with and felt comfortable enough to talk with, other than Hashimoto.
“No problem.”
-
Nanase thought her week was going great after midterms, to which she was planning to eat out with Takayama and Hashimoto after work. She often dropped off Takayama whenever she had evening shifts and Hashimoto whenever the older girl was planning to return to the dorms to study or something to do on campus.
“Hey–Nanase, get this order to table six for me,” Hashimoto said as she pointed to a tray containing a plate of salmon avocado salad and spinach berry quinoa salad.
“On it already, boss,” Nanase joked before picking up the tray and turned away, Hashimoto was taking over for Fukagawa today. It wouldn’t be surprising if the short haired girl took over the place, but she was more likely to be successful in the corporate world.
-
“…So I asked her to hurry up and bring my bag–”
“Excuse me,” Nanase suddenly stopped in front of table six, causing two pairs of eyes to look at her. She did not look up at the two’s face, holding the tray with the plates on her hands with ease.
“Who ordered the salmon avocado?” She asked.
A girl with short hair raised her hand halfway into the air, “That would be me.” Nanase gave a curt nod as she placed the plate in front of the girl who raised her hand.
“Here you go,” she said.
“…And the other salad is mine.”
Just then, Nanase froze as the familiar voice rang through out her head. She looked up to see that it was who she thought–the ever-so-beautiful Shiraishi Mai.
“Here’s your order,” Nanase paused as she could sense her cheeks turn slightly pink. Shiraishi’s beauty was definitely something that would always make her breath stop to admire it in the moment.
“Thank you…Nanase.”
Nanase could feel goosebumps ripple throughout her body as she gave a nod and plastered her signature customer smile to Shiraishi.
“No problem. Enjoy your desert.”
Nanase knew then, that she was still very much in love with the brunette who had clearly recognized her at first sight.
She clenched her jaw, hoping that this sudden encounter wouldn't shake her up and distract her the whole day.
-
“Maiyan, you know her?” Eto Misa, one of Shiraishi’s close friends after Nanase had cut off all contact with her, peered at the girl who was sitting across her.
“What?” Shiraishi raised a brow.
“She didn't have a name tag. Hello? You called her Nanase just now.” Misa rolled her eyes as she picked up a fork to carve out a small piece of the salad that Nanase brought to their table.
“I’ve never seen her before.” She lifted her fork, taking a bite of the greens.
“She’s someone that I haven’t seen in a while, that’s all.” Shiraishi said, as her eyes had never left the back of Nanase who walked back to the counter to pick up another plate.
“Okay, whatever.” Misa continued with their previous conversation but Shiraishi didn’t bother to hear the rest of whatever she had to say, as she stared at Nanase.
Nanase looked quite thinner and lost the baby fats in her cheeks. Her hair tied up with a ponytail emphasized the slender shape of her neck and head size. Shiraishi knew then that Nanase changed quite a lot, although the same could be said for her as well.
She could not help but feel disappointed at the reaction that Nanase had given her after a long time without contact. She wanted to know what happened and what the girl was up to now. Why it took so long for her to finally find her. Nanase became someone…different from the past.
-
Shiraishi was about to exit the restaurant when she noticed that the sudden rain was an inconvenience to her. Misa had gone earlier to head to her first lecture of the day which should have started a quarter of an hour ago.
From afar, Nanase watched the slender backside of Shiraishi who stood at the doorstep of the restaurant.
Of course, Hashimoto did not pretend to notice that her friend was distracted by the mysterious beauty standing outside the door, though she had a small clue of who she was from a previous situation where she had caught a glimpse of Nanase’s phone back at their dorms in their first year.
“Go,” Hashimoto suddenly nudged her from the side, surprising the other girl. “I don’t know who that pretty girl is, but judging from your face, you’re dying to talk to her.”
“What?” Nanase gaped at Hashimoto who pushed her without another word, shooting a wide smile and thumbs up as she took over the next orders.
-
Nanase took a deep breath before she opened the door to the restaurant where Shiraishi stood in wait for the rain to pass.
“Here,” Nanase extended her arm to offer the umbrella that she brought with her. “Take this.”
Nanase’s sudden appearance surprised Shiraishi who then shook her head.
“No thanks, my boyfriend’s going to pick me up.”
Nanase quickly pulled back her arms and awkwardly held the umbrella behind her back.
So she was still seeing someone. Maybe it was the same boyfriend from high school, Nanase thought bitterly to herself.
“Okay, I hope you have a good day.” She quickly turned around and walked away, surprising the other girl again as she did not bother to say another word.
“Wait–” Shiraishi suddenly called out to Nanase with a disappointed look on her face.
“…Why didn't you contact me for the past two years?” She stared at the latter, in hopes that Nanase would tell her something.
Nanase bit her lip, she couldn't waver under Shiraishi’s gaze.
“I lost my phone.” She lied, hoping that the other girl would quickly drop the conversation. She was unhappy and slightly annoyed at Shiraishi’s obliviousness yet she knew that she couldn't blame her for being frustrated.
“I see.” She suddenly held out her hand, surprising Nanase.
“What?”
“Your phone. So I can give you my number, idiot.”
Shiraishi watched as Nanase fumbled to take out her phone from her pocket and opened her screen to see that it was a picture of her and Nanase back in high school. She smiled widely at the sight of the photo.
Nanase did not forget her, Shiraishi knew then as the other girl averted eye contact with her after recognizing the nostalgic photo of the two.
A silver sedan suddenly rolled up to the restaurant, getting the attention of the two.
The window rolled down to reveal a boy’s face that Nanase had never seen before.
“Hey Maiyan! Sorry I’m a little late.” The boy said, before taking a glance at Nanase with a smile.
“Hello there!” He got out of the car to open up an umbrella for Shiraishi to get into the passenger seat.
Nanase awkwardly waved, “Hello.”
She had no idea how to feel at the moment, she just wanted to leave after seeing the exchange of kisses between Shiraishi and her boyfriend.
“Let’s catch up on a lot of things. Okay, Nanase?” Shiraishi let out a smile as Nanase nodded with a hint of frustration and jealousy in her mood.
“Bye bye!”
Nanase lifted up her hand to wave, “See you.”
Just then, Hashimoto popped her head out the restaurant door as Nanase was about to head back in.
“So that’s your dream girl?” The short-haired girl shot her a smug look, causing Nanase to roll her eyes before pushing her back inside the restaurant as the rain began to trickle harder.
“She’s way prettier than the picture on your phone! I would have thought they were different people.” Hashimoto gave her a thumbs up, “You've got good taste. Chasing after someone who’s taken too–”
“Shut up.”
-
“Who was that earlier?” Shiraishi’s boyfriend asked as soon as they took off from the restaurant’s front door.
“A friend that I haven’t seen in a while,” Shiraishi said happily as she glanced at her phone in hopes of a message or call from the other girl. With this encounter now, there was no chance that she’d let the girl slip away from her again.
Nanase wondered if she could send a text to the other girl. Maybe she was waiting for her to message her, Nanase thought as she clenched her phone in her hand.
It shouldn't hurt to send a message, right?
Nanase typed out a simple text to Shiraishi, who suddenly called her at that moment.
She hesitated to press the answer button, worried that she wasn't prepared to talk yet. But she knew that it was unfair for her to keep avoiding Shiraishi's questions.
“Hi Nanase!” Shiraishi's voice chirped as soon as she held her phone to her ear.
"Hey Maiyan."
"I'm so glad that I happened to eat at the place you work at! How long have you been working there?"
Nanase smiled as she could hear the familiar cheery voice of the older girl.
"Since the start of the semester, what about you?"
Nanase listened to the girl for nearly an hour, to which she learned that Shiraishi was attending the same university as her, and majored in Japanese Literature.
She was dorming with her friend, Misa whom she briefly interacted with earlier. However, Nanase noticed that she did not mention a word about her boyfriend during their long conversation, but she was thankful since she wasn't ready to talk about it.
"Nanase, I'm so glad that you haven't forgotten me."
What did Shiraishi mean by that?
Nanase tried not to keep her hopes up, as she knew that she couldn't take another heartbreak again.
"Me too," she paused, "I'm happy that we met again."
-
Nanase woke up to the sound of her phone vibrating. She received a text from her roommate, who messaged her that she wasn't going to be home.
She sent a quick reply in response and got up quickly to start off her day.
It seemed like a dream yesterday, talking to Shiraishi until it was late in the night which they had to cut their conversation short and save it for some time later.
She noticed another message from Takayama half an hour ago.
Apparently the girl wanted to meet up with her and asked if she had time today, to discuss a piece of her literature at a coffee shop near by.
It didn't take long for Nanase to respond with an immediate yes and asked the girl about the time they should meet up at.
As soon as she decided that it was a good moment to get up and stretch, she heard her doorbell ring, and went to see who was at her door.
“Hey Nanase!”
She was greeted by a blonde haired girl, Sakurai Reika. “You didn't call me after that night.”
Nanase palmed her face, “How’d you get my address?”
“Your roommie happens to be in my lecture sooo viola!” Reika winked, quickly pressing her lips against Nanase’s without warning and pushed her into the house.
Nanase frowned as she pulled away from Reika, “Enough!”
“What?” Reika’s eyes looked her up and down, “You’re not busy at the moment.”
“W-Well…” Nanase trailed off, she couldn’t tell her that she wanted to stop seeing her after meeting Shiraishi the day before.
Shiraishi has a boyfriend, she remembered before throwing away all rational thoughts to pull Reika into her arms.
Why did she need to suddenly drop everything for something that she knew that she’d never have reciprocated?
“Come here already,” she seductively growled into her ear.
Reika smirked, quickly wrapping her arms around Nanase’s neck before leaning in for another kiss.
“Took you long enough.”
-
After Nanase went back to Osaka, she found herself hanging around the wrong crowd, eventually finding comfort in sleeping with other girls and women her age. She wasn’t as innocent as everyone thought when they first met her. At first she dated a girl and made some wrong choices, losing her virginity in the process.
Nanase wasn’t the type to make a big deal out of having her firsts taken away by a girl that she liked for a brief moment. She preferred to be someone’s last, so that she could have it all in the end. Her actions seemed too carefree in the eyes of others, but she couldn’t careless about what they thought. It was the only way she could reclaim something that made her her.
“Nanase.”
Reika lightly shook her shoulder, causing her to stir in her sleep and finally opened her eyes to see that it was nearly evening.
“Wanna grab something to eat?”
“No thanks.” Nanase turned to her phone and looked at the time. “Shit.” She almost forgot about the message that Takayama had sent her a few hours ago, and the time that she was planning to meet was in less than an hour.
Reika arched her brow at the sudden remark.
“What?”
“I have a place that I need to go.” She got up and threw on her clothes before grabbing her car keys, “Lock up when you’re done, yeah?”
Reika rolled her eyes, “What, you've got another booty call after this?”
Nanase let slip a snarky response, “Sounds farcical.”
Sleep with Maiyan? That wouldn't happen in a million years. She wouldn't dare think about touching Maiyan, afraid that she’d break off whatever was left of their relationship from years ago.
Reika grinned as she leaned over Nanase, “Sounds like you’ve got some problems. Wanna talk about it?”
Nanase arched a brow at the sight of the blonde hovering over her.
Reika was a mystery sometimes.
The first time they met was at a freshman orientation night, where the seniors went to buy drinks but Reika knew better than to stay around. Just as she was about to leave, she saw Nanase sitting in a corner, crammed between two sweaty seniors who were trying to score a date with her.
Nanase was too shocked to react when one of the seniors kept attempting to make physical contact with her, who instead forced her to down a glass of beer.
Of course, Reika was keeping an eye on the freshman out of concerns when she realized that it was going too far when Nanase began to show signs of drowsiness and inability to respond to the questions thrown at her.
“Excuse me, coming through!” Reika half-shouted as she forced her way through the crowded tables and managed to grab Nanase’s wrist, pulling her away from the senior members who had different motives in mind.
“W-Who are you?” One of them questioned, causing Reika to turn around to give him the finger.
“Her friend, dumbass.”
-
Reika thought that was the end of it, when she’d drop off the girl at her dorm but she realized that Nanase was out cold.
“God, the things I do to help people…” She muttered under her breath when Nanase suddenly leaned over to her with a sly grin.
“Oh, you’re super pretty…”
Reika’s eyes widened in surprise at the latter who heard her.
“W-What the–? Are you sober?! Go home now!”
Nanase shook her head, her mind still trying to grasp the scenery before her eyes, “No…I don’t wanna!”
Reika huffed, knowing that she was too tired to argue and decided to bring her back to her place. People always slept at her place anyways, so she paid no mind to Nanase’s state when she felt something biting onto her earlobe.
“Hey! You’re being a handful here–”
The next thing she knew, Nanase’s lips were against hers, her eyes closed and somehow, the night became a blurred memory for her.
Nanase’s voice was the first thing she heard when she felt her blanket being ripped away from her.
“W-Who are you?!” Nanase pointed at her while clutching onto the blanket tightly to cover up.
“That’s my blanket there!” Reika scowled, sitting up to comb her hair back with her hand, “And mind you, I saved your ass from those creepy guys yesterday!”
“T-Thank you,” Nanase muttered, her cheeks bright red as she was still clutching onto the blanket covering her naked body at that moment, “D-Did…I happen to end up sleeping with you?”
Reika paused for a second, seeing how adorable the girl looked at that very moment.
“Yes,” she sighed, “You were like a feisty animal in bed. And the worst part was that you were drunk.”
“Y-You mean I…?” She pointed to herself in disbelief.
Reika nodded without another word, before getting up to grab a nearby shirt to wear as she was feeling cold, “I don’t mind if you want to sleep with me again. At least sober this time.”
Nanase paused for a brief second, before quietly nodding furiously.
This exchange brought a whole new storm of experiences for Nanase as she’d never thought that Reika was the type to party hard whilst look out for people. Nanase had to admit, she even had a brief period where she developed a crush towards Reika.
It was all in the past now, months ago but the memories were fresh in mind.
-
“You want to hear it?”
Reika grabbed her cheeks and pulled on it, “Of course, we can be more than just fuck buddies.”
Nanase rolled her eyes before finally telling her the whole story. How she met Maiyan. How she found out that she was in love with her. When she watched her friend get swept off her feet by a random boy. How she was running away from the older girl. How she began to seek comfort by sleeping with other women to get rid of her guilty feelings. How they met again after all these years.
“Wow.” Reika stared at Nanase in amazement as she unfolded her past memories. “You’re an asshole for cutting off all ties with her but I don’t blame you. Whatever makes you sleep at night, I guess.”
Nanase scrunched her nose, feeling the blonde twisting the guilt in her with a sharp tongue.
It was true, Shiraishi didn’t deserve to be treated that way. Nanase knew that it was better for her to move on. Maybe she’ll try, so that she doesn’t have to suffer as much.
“I know,” Nanase muttered to herself, as Reika finally got up to grab her clothes off the floor. “She shouldn’t be with someone like me.”
“Oh geez, stop being a Debbie Downer–it’s not your fault that things ended up like this! Well–kind of, just make up with her. Maybe she’ll let you fuck her or something.”
Nanase blushed at the thought of Shiraishi offering herself to her, “What is wrong with you?”
“Uh-uh, that’s you right there.” Reika winked as she fixed her shirt, “I gotta go now, I have a cute girl waiting to take me out for dinner.”
“What?” Nanase blinked as she looked at the other girl as they were heading towards the front door, seeing her out.
“You heard me, she’s been asking me out for months and I know I shouldn't keep her hanging–”
She was cut off by the sight of a brunette standing at the door, staring at the two in surprise.
Shiraishi Mai.