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"Just hurry up and do it already," Sayo says, clearly having lost her patience. "Our break's going to end."
"Sorry, sorry!" Lisa says in return, and after a moment's hesitation moves closer and brushes her lips against Sayo's. A businesslike kiss, with no real emotion behind it, and in an instant, the tightening discomfort in her chest—and presumably, in Sayo's too—vanishes.
"You really don't enjoy doing this with me, do you. I can tell from your expression."
Lisa realizes she's been making a displeased face, and quickly tries to smooth it back over.
"It's not that, really, Sayo. I just… had an image of kissing as something more romantic, I guess."
Sayo sighs dismissively. "That's very like you. But unfortunately, there's not a lot we can do about that in our current situation. Let's head back."
Lisa follows after her, feelings of disappointment welling up in her. If they were going to be stuck together like this, she'd at least like it to be on friendlier terms. But she can understand why Sayo feels this way about a relationship neither of them asked for. Her thoughts drift backwards, to the events of the previous weekend…
Hina invites her out, by means of sudden text message because everything she does is sudden, and Lisa is surprised to see Sayo there at the meet-up spot as well. Sayo is, as far as she's aware, not particularly friendly with either her or Hina, and despite herself she feels a wave of apprehension wash over her.
"Hi, Sayo!" she says, as cheerfully as possible. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."
"Lisa. Hello." Sayo doesn't seem quite as prickly as usual. "I was worried about what kind of trouble Hina might get up to, left to her own devices."
"You really start acting like an older sister when it comes to Hina, huh? It's kind of fun to watch!"
Sayo fixes Lisa with a glare and she shuts up.
The two of them follow Hina's lead in wandering around the shopping district, checking out accessories and knickknacks Hina and Lisa find interesting and Sayo seems to find herself above. Then Hina takes a turn down some alley Lisa never knew existed and they lose sight of her for a second.
Sayo grumbles something and the two of them take off after her, ending up in a lightly wooded area they've never seen before. Hina is nowhere to be found.
"Is this… a shrine? I didn't know there was one up here," Lisa says.
"It appears to be in some measure of disuse. Maybe Hina's gone somewhere around here…"
They wander throughout the shrine before arriving at the main building. A wooden offertory box is laid out in front of it, and while they can't see exactly what's inside it doesn't appear that there's anybody there.
"Do you think Hina's inside?" Sayo asks.
"Maybe…? It kind of gives me the creeps, though, going in there."
Sayo gives Lisa a look. "It's just a building. What could possibly be frightening in there?"
"Abandoned buildings are weird! And this one's a shrine, so, I don't know, maybe there's some sort of yokai in there or something."
Sayo sighs. "If you'd really rather not go in, I can go in by myself." Once again, Lisa's a little surprised by how kind Sayo's being today.
But that kindness turns out to be unnecessary, as Hina comes running up behind them. "So this is where you were! Oh, is this a shrine? Neat!"
"Hina! Don't just run off on us like that." Sayo's voice is sharp.
"Sorry!" she says, not seeming apologetic at all, and then before they can say anything reaches a hand between the wooden bars of the box, a mischievous grin on her face, and comes out with a handful of coins. "I always wanted to try this!"
Then she dances off again and Sayo and Lisa stare at each other, aghast. At least this is something that both of them can agree on.
On their left is a sign that says "Omikuji, 100 yen." Lisa suggests having their fortunes read to Sayo, mostly as an apology to whomever Hina might just have offended, and Sayo quickly agrees.
As she touches the wood of the stand she feels something like a mild electric shock run through her, which doesn't really make a whole lot of sense since wood doesn't conduct electricity, so she assumes it's just her continuing to be spooked. They leave their 100 yen coins and receive their fortunes, which seem to be identical.
"Very Bad Luck," Lisa reads aloud. "You will soon fall ill and the only thing that will cure you is a kiss."
After she finishes reading it she has to look it over again to make sure she got it right. "Isn't there, uh, usually more to these? And I don't think I've ever seen 'Very Bad Luck' before."
"I assume it's some sort of joke," Sayo says, crumpling up her fortune and putting it in her pocket. "Not a very funny one, though."
Lisa isn't sure that there exist any jokes that Sayo finds funny, but she keeps that to herself. Her throat is starting to feel a little painful, and she wants to find Hina and leave this place as soon as possible.
Just then her phone buzzes in her pocket. Hina, apparently, has had some urgent work with Pastel＊Palettes come up that's forced her to cut today's outing short. Sayo's received the same message, it seems, and they begin making their way back to the residential district.
Lisa's throat really hurts, though. She wonders if it's the first sign of a cold, or if she's just still weirded out by what just happened.
Suddenly Sayo stops and puts her hands on her knees. "Are you okay?" Lisa asks, even though she's far from okay herself.
Sayo seems like she's about to say something, but before the words come out she lets out an ugly cough, immediately putting a hand to her mouth to cover it. A thin trail of crimson seeps through her fingers.
Acting more on instinct than anything else, Lisa tears Sayo's hand away from her mouth and presses her lips to Sayo's. Almost immediately, the pain vanishes, as though she'd just been imagining it this whole time.
Her first kiss tastes like iron.
"Sorry," she says, feeling like she should apologize for some reason.
"Don't worry about it. Actually, I feel like I should be thanking you, as strange as it sounds." Sayo stares at the traces of blood on her palm. "I'm not entirely certain what's going on, but hopefully it doesn't interfere with practice."
It definitely interferes with practice. After a couple of days of painful trial and error, the two of them realize that twenty-four hours after they kiss, the "illness," or whatever it is, starts up again. They try to manipulate things so that the onset occurs after practice, but the times don't always line up so sometimes they have to take breaks that they hope aren't too suspicious.
The weekend comes, and because they've realized that they're going to need to be in close proximity to each other at some point, Sayo is over at Lisa's house around noon. Lisa opens the door and blinks in surprise. Sayo is wearing a tight green turtleneck and a long skirt, a level of fashion Lisa isn't used to seeing from her.
"You look cute today," she blurts out without really thinking.
Sayo gives her a bit of a strange look, but doesn't seem unhappy, necessarily. "Thank you."
The two of them go upstairs to Lisa's room, where they mostly do their own independent thing. Sayo's doing homework and writing music, so Lisa feels a kind of invisible pressure to do something similarly productive, to show her strict, serious bandmate that she isn't just some foolish girl with no real dedication to anything.
Eventually that now-familiar tightness in her chest returns, and she taps Sayo on the shoulder.
Sayo nods, already understanding what Lisa is going to ask without her having to say it, and Lisa leans down and kisses her. She feels like she's getting better at it, not that it really matters. Sayo shows no signs of reacting either way.
After some more time passes the sky outside Lisa's window starts to turn orange and Sayo speaks up.
"It's about time for me to get going."
"Okay!" Even if Lisa wanted to stop Sayo, she doesn't think that anything she could say would have much of an effect. The two of them descend the stairs, and then as Sayo puts on her shoes and steps out of the door Lisa has a sudden idea.
"Hey, Sayo."
"What is it?"
"I was thinking—wouldn't it make sense to do it one more time? It'll give us a bit more wiggle room with regards to time tomorrow."
Sayo looks like she's pondering what Lisa's said for a second, then nods. "That makes sense. Go ahead."
For some reason, it's always Lisa who initiates. Maybe because she did it the first time, maybe because doing this annoys Sayo that much, to the point where she doesn't want to put any more effort into it than necessary.
Anyway, Lisa cups Sayo's face in her hands and kisses her once more. As weird as it sounds, kissing itself is a pretty logical action in that scenario.
Doing it in front of Lisa's house, however, is maybe not.
Later that week at practice, Sayo calls for a break and the two of them try to slip away when Yukina calls out to them.
"Sayo. Lisa."
"Yukina? What's up?" Lisa asks, trying to stay as calm as possible despite the fact that she has a really bad feeling about this.
"I've acknowledged the necessity of breaks, but you two aren't… taking advantage of that, are you? I thought I saw you engaged in some rather intimate activities last weekend." Her gaze is filled with suspicion, and Lisa hurriedly thinks of some way to escape this jam.
"That was, well, I kind of ended up dragging Sayo into it. Just as a joke, I guess? But we're taking breaks legitimately, I promise."
Yukina's eyes narrow. "I sincerely hope you don't intend to bring some kind of unnecessary personal relationship into the band. Certainly, you've been diligent up to this point, Lisa, but you still have a long way to go. We can't afford any distractions."
Lisa gulps and nods, but before she can say anything in response Sayo speaks up.
"It's fine, Lisa. I don't think we need to conceal anything from Yukina."
Both Lisa and Yukina's gazes quickly turn towards Sayo, and she continues. "The truth is, Lisa's been somewhat sick lately, and she asked me to assist me with applying some medicine. That's what we've been doing during our breaks."
Yukina looks somewhat taken aback. "Are you certain you're well enough to practice? I'd like you to save up your strength for our performances."
"Oh, it isn't that bad! I should be fine as long as I keep, uh, treating it." Lisa coughs convincingly—well, she is sick, sort of, so it makes sense that it'd be convincing. "I just didn't want to worry the rest of the band with it unnecessarily, you know."
"That's… very like you. I'll leave you two to it, then." Yukina walks back and Lisa feels a sense of relief wash over her. She and Sayo quickly brush their lips together to prevent any future coughing, then she, unable to contain her curiosity, asks a question.
"You covered for me, didn't you? I guess I should say thanks, but… why exactly did you—"
"I only did what was obvious," Sayo says, expression unchanged. "It isn't your fault that we're in this situation, Lisa, so it didn't seem fair for you to receive an uneven share of the blame. In addition…" She trails off.
"In addition?"
"You joined this band because of Yukina, did you not? I didn't want her opinion of you to drop without good cause for it."
Lisa smiles, warmly, for what feels like the first time in a while. "Thanks, Sayo. You really are a kind person, aren't you?"
"I don't know about that." Sayo turns her face downward. It might be Lisa's imagination, but it seems like she's blushing.
"Since we're together anyway, how about we go get something to eat somewhere?" Lisa asks as the two of them meet up after school on a day with no practice.
"I don't mind," Sayo says. She's hungry anyway. And the more time she spends with Lisa, the more she realizes that if she is going to be stuck in this kind of relationship, Lisa is a pretty good person to be stuck with. She's considerate, and kind, and good at baking, and accompanies Sayo on her guitar practice sessions. Which isn't to say that she enjoys their situation, but there might be some unexpected benefits to it.
After they chat a bit over burgers, Lisa starts coughing and grabs Sayo's arm, dragging her more forcefully than usual towards a nearby restroom. They kiss the way they normally do, Sayo's lungs clearing, and then, getting caught up in the moment, kiss again.
Sayo feels her face turning red, and she can tell without looking that Lisa's is too. It isn't as though she's disgusted by the thought of doing this kind of thing with Lisa, but it's not like they started it because they wanted to. Doing it without a real purpose in mind feels a little bit strange.
Imai Lisa isn't a flaky girl only concerned with looking flashy. Sayo knows that much by now. In fact, she's a hard worker whose presence has at some point begun to feel indispensable to their band. But those feelings of growing respect aren't the same as Sayo wanting to kiss Lisa. That much should go without saying.
And yet, when faced with Lisa's flushed face and heated gaze, the "logic" that has guided Sayo's life up to this point suddenly loses its effectiveness. They kiss again, a couple more times, until the sound of voices from outside the stall knocks them out of their trance.
Few words are exchanged on the way back.
Hina is surprised but happy when Sayo asks her—the active idol who presumably has some cosmetic knowledge—to help her out with some makeup. Her surprise is understandable, as Sayo rarely asks her for help with anything, much less this particular thing.
But Sayo, for some reason, thinks it would be a bit of a waste to invite Lisa over and not at least make herself look a little bit better than usual. It's the same thing she would do for any guest, she tells Hina, but this situation might, she has to admit, be something a little bit different.
Lisa shows up and stares at Sayo for a few seconds. "You're wearing makeup?" she asks after the pause.
"…Yes."
"It looks good! If you're interested, maybe next time you come over I could lend you something."
It's an appealing suggestion. To be honest, at some point spending time with Lisa itself has become an appealing thing to Sayo, which isn't a position she ever expected to find herself in. It's not a bad feeling, though, which is why she really wishes they had some time to take things easy and figure out exactly how they feel about each other. But like it or not they have to kiss, and she isn't sure they'll be able to consider things clearly once they do.
They get up to Sayo's room and Lisa puts a hand on Sayo's cheek, the question she's asking with that action obvious. Sayo nods, and Lisa moves her face closer to Sayo's.
Then, after a couple of hot kisses, Sayo finds herself being pinned down on her bed, Lisa's hair draping down over her.
She feels her cheeks turning hot and turns her head away from Lisa as best she can. It isn't as though she dislikes being in this situation, necessarily, but…
"I don't think we should be doing this." At the very least, until Sayo has a better grasp on her feelings.
Lisa seems to come to her senses and nods. "…Yeah, you're right. Sorry, Sayo."
"It's fine."
Another day, another awkward ending.
Lisa shows up at Hanasakigawa's front gate to pick up Sayo, but her band's guitarist is nowhere to be found. Eventually Rinko shows up, a slightly worried expression on her face.
"Lisa…"
"Rinko! You, um, wouldn't happen to know where Sayo is, would you?"
The discomfort in Rinko's expression intensifies. "She, um, went home earlier. And… she mentioned that there was something that she wanted me to help you out with…"
Something that Lisa needs Rinko's help with…? Nothing comes to Lisa's mind until she realizes what Sayo's plan is. The fortunes they received mentioned a kiss, but they didn't specify who it had to be from. So maybe…
She can't help but feel guilty, looking at Rinko. Whether that's from the thought of dragging Rinko into all of this or from the thought of kissing someone other than Sayo, she isn't sure.
Explaining what's going on to Rinko, in the vaguest possible terms, is enough to turn Rinko's face bright red but not enough to scare her off, it seems. So Lisa pulls her off to a place where it doesn't seem like they can be seen and, trying her best not to think about anything, lightly kisses her.
It works. She doesn't feel like coughing her lungs out anymore. Which means that it doesn't have to be Sayo who she kisses. Anyone is fine.
When she gets home she texts Sayo. Is everything okay with you?
A response quickly comes. I obtained Yukina's assistance during our practice session today and no longer have any symptoms. Did everything work out for you?
'Assistance' sure is a funny way to say that. Yeah, I'm fine too. Sort of convenient to know that it can be anyone, isn't it?
It is, yes.
Their conversation ends there and Lisa feels a wave of loneliness wash over her. As inconvenient as their current circumstances are, thinking that she and Sayo have some sort of special bond between them has been a secret source of joy for her. Sayo is pretty. Cute. Fun to be around. More so than Lisa would ever have thought.
So if she can help it, she doesn't want their relationship to go back to the way it was before.
After their next band practice a few days later, Lisa grabs Sayo's arm.
"It's been a while since we talked, so how about you come over?"
Sayo nods slowly. "That sounds reasonable."
They head back to Lisa's house, Lisa feeling strangely nervous the whole time. It's as though a couple of days away has left her forgetting how she interacted with Sayo up until now.
She drops her keys in the entranceway because apparently she's forgotten how to unlock her door too, and as Sayo bends down to pick them up her eyes are drawn to the hint of Sayo's bare skin and simple bra that the force of gravity on Sayo's loose sweater lets her glimpse.
Sayo really is pretty, isn't she. Yukina and Rinko are pretty too, of course, but Lisa's never really seriously thought about it with them in the way she has with Sayo. The plan for today is supposed to be talking, and of course Lisa is happy to talk with Sayo, but recently when they're together her thoughts keep drifting in a different direction.
They head up into Lisa's room and chat while eating snacks for a while before Sayo drops a bombshell on her.
"Lisa, do you feel… jealous about me kissing people other than you?"
"Huh?" Lisa is struck dumb.
"I wanted us to get a little bit of distance from each other so I could get a better grasp on my feelings, but… it just doesn't sit right with me, after all. It not being you."
Sayo is blushing faintly, and Lisa feels her own heart beating noticeably faster.
Sayo's lips look even more inviting to her than they usually do.
After they kiss, Sayo feels the sensation of Lisa's hand on her leg through her tights. Slowly, it crawls up, eventually reaching under her skirt, and she twitches. Meanwhile, Lisa's other hand is gently massaging her waist, under her sweater.
"Sayo," Lisa whispers from behind her, "is it, um, okay?"
"Do what you want," Sayo says, more roughly than she intends. It's just that, well, the whole thing is embarrassing, even as much as she brought it on herself.
Lisa begins to knead Sayo's upper thigh with her fingers more intensely, and Sayo squirms.
"Don't tear my tights."
"I won't, I won't!" she says, but Sayo has trouble trusting her words. Lisa has a tendency to go overboard with some of these things, she's recently learned. She considers just taking them off herself, but that feels a little bit too bold, and anyway without her tights in the way she gets the feeling she'll start to be very aware of exactly where Lisa is touching her.
Lisa lightly bites her ear and Sayo shivers. She's remembering that it isn't just Lisa who can't fully control herself when they're together. Without realizing it she's become thoroughly obsessed with the way her band's bassist treats her, to the point where all of the activities they've engaged in together—and this too—are things she desperately wants more of.
Her bra comes unhooked and Lisa is fondling her chest—clumsily, but Sayo is a little bit too into it to care about that at the moment.
Lisa calls Sayo's name, softly but with force, breath hot against Sayo's ear, and Sayo squirms again, sensing that she's about to lose any remaining fragments of rationality she still has. She turns around and kisses Lisa, the feeling hotter and messier than any of the many they've exchanged before, and hears the noise of fabric ripping as her slightly wet underwear are exposed.
But she's long past caring about any of that.
Sayo looks just as good without clothes as she does with them, Lisa thinks. The girl she's just, well, had her way with has smooth skin that would look even smoother had Lisa not left so many marks on it. But even the sight of those gives her a rush of superiority, as though she's marked Sayo as hers and no one else's.
"Wait," Sayo tells her, breathing heavy and cheeks flushed. She's really cute like that, and Lisa says so, gently caressing Sayo's chest again. That earns her a glare.
"Is your sexual desire bottomless?"
"I… maybe? I've never really felt this way about anyone before you, Sayo."
That remark makes Sayo blush even harder. "For today… let's leave it at this."
"Okay," Lisa says, a hint of regret in her voice, and lies down next to Sayo in her bed. There's a hint of something still glistening on Sayo's thighs, but she resists the urge to stroke them again and just hugs Sayo instead.
"I love you, Sayo," she says.
"You're saying that now?"
"I just felt like saying it!" Lisa laughs, then in a more subdued tone asks, "What about you, Sayo?"
Sayo doesn't respond, instead pushing her face more deeply into Lisa's chest.
"No response, huh… does that mean you're just interested in kissing and sex? There are no feelings involved for you?"
"That's not—" Sayo begins to say, pulling her head back, and then sees Lisa's grin and stops. "…Don't tease me like that."
"Sorry, sorry. But I do kind of want to hear it from you." Lisa smiles. "I guess I have all kinds of desires that are bottomless."
"I'll consider it if you buy me a new pair of tights."
That is, Lisa supposes, a fair deal.
At band practice the next day, Sayo winces as she puts her guitar strap on her shoulder, something that Yukina doesn't leave unnoticed.
"Sayo, is everything all right? Are you still sick?"
"No, I'm fine. It isn't anything to be worried about," she says, very much wanting to shift the conversation in a different direction, and Yukina doesn't press any further.
But as practice ends and Sayo puts down her guitar, her shirt falls down over her shoulder and their band's innocent, tactless drummer asks an innocent, tactless question.
"Sayo, is that a bite mark on your shoulder? It's kind of cool but it also looks like it hurts…"
Sayo pulls up her shirt quickly, but the damage has already been done. Yukina and Rinko are looking at her strangely, and Lisa is staring at the floor, a mortified expression on her face.
Sayo hopes, at the very least, that she doesn't look that embarrassed.
Yukina glances over in Lisa's direction and sighs. "I don't think it's seriously affected your performance today, but… make sure to tell whoever gave that to you to be a little more gentle with my guitarist. I need her at full strength."
Sayo meekly nods and does her best to pack up as quickly as she can, desperate to escape the suddenly extremely awkward atmosphere.
She and Lisa head off to go eat at a family restaurant after practice, whiling away the evening chatting. Compared to practicing her guitar, it isn't really productive, spending time like this, but for some reason Sayo gets the impression that it'll help her sound coalesce into something she likes just a little more.
There's just one thing that feels a little bit off.
"I… don't feel like coughing."
"It should be coming around this time, right?" Lisa looks puzzled. Then, after a few seconds of thinking, something seems to come to her.
"Sayo, this is going to sound kind of dumb, but… I was talking to Hina at lunch the other day and she mentioned that she'd looked into it and the shrine we visited together used to be dedicated to a matchmaking god. So I was thinking that maybe…" She trails off.
"You mean, maybe it wasn't a curse at all? It was divine intervention to draw us together?" Sayo sounds skeptical.
"It's just a thought! I mean, it doesn't sound like it could be real, but nothing about this whole situation sounds like it could be real, you know?"
The more Sayo thinks about it, the more plausible an explanation it seems. If that was the case, though, she wishes the god would have picked a more pleasant way of intervening. Though she won't argue with the results.
"If we are done with this whole situation, I have to say I'm relieved."
"This means we don't have to kiss each other every day any more, huh…"
"Are you going to let that stop you?"
Lisa opens her eyes wide for a second at Sayo's provocation, then grins. "Want me to walk you home? Your place is closer."
Sayo acquiesces and the two of them head out of the restaurant and into the moonlit night.
As she more or less expected, they stop somewhere near Sayo's apartment and kiss. Sayo's well used to the feeling by this point, but something about this time feels different, somehow warmer and sweeter, the kind of sensation she never wants to end.
In the part of her brain that isn't currently being filled up by Lisa, a thought floats to the top of her consciousness.
Next time she visits a shrine, she's going to have to make sure to donate a lot more money than usual.