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“So, I was thinking about our band costumes, now that we’ve finally decided on a name. I know we’re doing everything under the MyGO name now that it’s our official band title, but I was thinking that we could do special costumes for each member.” Anon rambled on. “So for me, we could revive the ANON TOKYO title. We can put it on my costume. And if anyone else wants, we can put it on their costumes too! It can be our subheader. Don’t you think that’s a good idea, Tomorin?”
Anon looked over at Tomori. It was a beautiful day, perfect for going out. Tomori had asked her to come with her to see the penguins again, and Anon was always happy to join her there. She had even gotten her annual pass finally! It was a perfect day to spend time together with her friend.
But somehow, Tomori seemed... off. She was always quiet, but today she seemed to be troubled for some reason. Her normal upturned smile had been replaced with a small frown, and she was looking back and forth at Anon. She always loved to watch Tomori when she was focused, but not when she looked upset like this.
“Hey, Tomorin? Is everything okay?” Anon asked. She tapped Tomori on the shoulder lightly as they walked through the aquarium, causing her to start slightly.
“M-mhm.” Tomori nodded slightly, glancing at Anon again. She offered Anon a small smile, her cheeks powdered pink. Anon loved when she gave her that look. “I was... thinking.”
Anon smiled back. “Well, what do you think of my idea? We have to keep things exciting! If we don’t switch things up, we’ll start losing our audience. People will get bored if we do the same thing over and over again! ANON TOKYO would be the perfect way to- Ah!”
Too late, Anon saw the small bump on the path that she missed as she focused on her idea for the band. The penguin section they were entering coated the whole area in blue, so it was difficult to see any differences on the floor, and her enthusiasm for her proposal meant she wasn’t paying as much attention to her surroundings as she probably should’ve been. Anon fell flat on her face, her knees scraped on the pattern of the wood that made up the floor of the section.
“Owwwww...” She groaned. She kept trying not to be a klutz, but it was so hard to pay attention to everything at her feet, especially when she felt so ready to sell her idea.
“Anon!” Tomori cried out, quickly rushing to help her up. She reached out her hand, pulling Anon back up from the floor. She grimaced when she saw the expression of pain on Anon’s face. “Are- are you okay?”
Anon frowned. She felt her face and her nose, and when she drew her hand away, it came back free of blood. That was good, she supposed. But when she reached down to her knee under her skirt, her frown deepened. Blood was welling out from underneath a cut on her left knee.
She sighed. “I’m fine, I’m fine.” She straightened up again. “I guess I’ll need bandages now... I’m sorry to ask you about them again, but do you have any, Tomorin?”
Like clockwork, Tomori stopped fidgeting at the sight of Anon’s pain, and gave a firm nod. She pulled her bag off her back and quickly dug through it. After a shuffle through the bag, she pulled out a tin and quickly opened it. In the tin, there was just one bandage, which Tomori quickly handed to Anon.
Anon had a slight grin on her face as she took it. “Thank you so much, Tomorin!” She glanced at it. The bandage was another one in the series Tomori collected, a penguin face staring at her from the print on the bandage. “Which one is this?”
Instantly, Tomori’s face brightened up. “This one’s an African penguin, they’re in the same genus as the Magellanic Penguin.” She smiled. “Look, you see the pink patches above their eyes? Those are glands that help them cool down if it gets too hot.”
Anon peered at the face of the penguin again. The patch looked familiar. “Wait, are these... the ones from here?”
Tomori’s smile got wider. “Yes! These are the penguins they have in the aquarium here!” She said, her voice growing louder with excitement. “I was so excited when I found this one! I just forgot to put it away when I got it.”
In Anon’s opinion, the only thing cuter than Tomori’s face when she got focused was Tomori when she was excited. She loved giving out her bandages once she collected them, and Anon had learned to love accepting them. The bandages were cute, and she was cute.
With a smile, she bent down to apply the bandage, carefully removing the wrapper and applying it over her cut. When she took a closer look at it, it didn’t look too bad, but it did still hurt a little bit. It shouldn’t interfere with their outing past the time it took to put on the bandage. She looked up at Tomori. “Let’s go look at the penguins now!”
She looked up at the exhibit as they arrived. The penguins were as active as ever, swimming around the tank in twos and threes. Tomori stood next to her, and her earlier frown seemed to have returned even as she looked at the penguins. Not even they were able to comfort her this time. Two penguins swam by, right over their heads, and then swiftly ascended to the surface of their tank. Anon had to say something to her. Maybe she could make Tomori feel more comfortable.
“You know, Tomori...” She started, causing Tomori to look at her, wide eyes curious. “These past few months, I’ve started to read up on penguins. They’ve been such a big part of our lives, you know? The penguins saved the band.” She giggled. “Or they helped you save me. Anyways, I found something interesting.” She paused for a moment to make her speech suitably dramatic.
Tomori continued to look at her, and Anon could tell she had her full attention. “What is it?” She asked quietly after a second, her frown gone once more.
“Penguins are kind of awkward, aren’t they? They have wings, but those wings don’t let them fly. They can swim underwater, but they can’t stay there forever, and they would get caught by seals or sharks if they tried. And they can dwell on land, but they have to go back into the water for food.” Anon smiled at Tomori. “The penguins are just like us. They’re lost. Anywhere penguins go, they’re out of place. The only place they fit in... is with each other.”
She glanced up at the tank. She could see why Tomori was so fascinated with the penguins after the time she spent researching them. But Tomori wasn’t looking at the penguins at all now. She was still looking straight at Anon, her mouth in a wide O. After a few seconds, she closed her mouth and nodded sharply, clenching her fists. “Ano-chan...” She began. “There’s... something I want to tell you. Something important.”
Anon’s eyebrows went up, and she looked at Tomori. “What’s wrong, Tomorin?” She asked, then straightened up. “Don’t worry, I’ll listen to whatever you have to say.”
Tomori took a deep breath. “I... I love you! I fell in love... that day in the aquarium. That day with the penguins.” Tomori breathed slowly in-and-out as if to calm herself down. “You mean- you mean a lot to me, Ano-chan. Will... will you go out with me?”
Anon felt her mouth fall wide open. Her... with Tomori? She had thought about it in the past, but she had never thought that Tomori would like her that way. Tomori had always been someone pulling her forward, pulling her back into the band they built as a team. A whole life moment by moment, Anon had said a few weeks ago, but she never thought it could be together like this. She had no idea how Tomori would feel towards her if she made her romantic feelings clear, and she was happy with what they had built already. But now everything had changed.
A quick glance at Tomori confirmed that she was still breathing slowly, in and out and in and out again. Her eyes were closed, and she was trembling, her fists still clenched. Anon slowly reached out her hands, and opened up her fists, taking Tomori’s hands in her own.
“Tomorin...” She said, getting Tomori to open her eyes and look at her again, eyes full of fear and hope in equal measure. “I’m so happy you asked me.” She felt a tear run out of her eye, but she didn’t stop to wipe it away. “Of course I’ll go out with you. I fell in love with you at the same time.”
“R-really?” Tomori said, her voice barely a breath.
“Remember what I told you that day? That we could move forward together, as lost girls.” Anon smiled. “I was so happy when you chased after me. If you didn't pull me forward that day, the band never would’ve survived this whole time.” She squeezed Tomori’s hands, warm in her grasp.
“You... pulled me forward too,” Tomori murmured back, a small smile settling in on her face. “You made a band with me. I never... never would have been able to join a new band if you didn’t come to me.”
Anon pulled one hand away to reach up, wiping away the further tears that had formed. “Thank you. I told you I would move forward with you, and I meant it,” She said, and looked back at the penguins. They were still swimming to and fro, forming shadows on the ground below them. “I was so surprised when you first took me here, but I love this place now. Thank you for choosing me that day.”
“Mmm.” Tomori was still smiling, and took back her hand again. She didn’t say anything else, but there wasn’t anything else to say. Her eyes were shining, peering straight into Anon’s eyes. This was the happiest look she had ever seen on Tomori’s face.
“Can I hug you?” Anon asked, and at Tomori’s nod, she pulled her in.
She felt warm on Anon’s chest- Tomori was just the right height for a hug, within a few centimeters of Anon’s height. They stayed there for a while, cradling each other in their arms. Tomori was soft, and her hair tickled the back of Anon’s neck. She could’ve stayed like this forever- she hadn’t even imagined that she would ever have the opportunity to hug her like this.
But after a minute, they let go, and Anon grinned at a sudden thought. “You know, we’re going to have to break the news to the rest of the band at some point,” She said. “They’re going to be so surprised when they hear that we got together.”
Tomori pulled close to her after the hug, smiling and not really paying attention. She just stared upwards, settling in to look at the penguins some more. The sun had begun to set, and the penguin section was bathed in an orange glow.
“I guess we don’t have to talk about it now. There’s no rush,” Anon said. “But I’m so happy to start dating you. No one else in the band has dated yet!” She grinned at Tomori. “Just you and me.”
Once again, Anon looked up at the penguins and how they swam across the tank. More and more were returning to the land area of the exhibit, ready to rest after a long day, but a few kept swimming. She gave Tomori a soft smile, and moved even closer to her. She supposed they could spend a while watching the penguins for now.