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chisato had always thought that she had the one-up when it came to kaoru. the whole childhood friends bit should've been enough to always have one seta kaoru around her finger, but apparently, three years of having not gone to the same high school was all it took for kaoru to change into someone she wouldn't have recognized. three years was also all it took for chisato to be replaced...
by a member of her own band. that she herself, chose to be in the band. and she could not be more miffed. in the course of their high school careers, yamato maya had become more and more of a rival to her. and even though it seemed that she and maya had completely different perspectives on kaoru, chisato thought very highly of the princely guitarist, so long as kaoru wasn't putting up a front, the same way she used to at haneoka around the crowds of fangirls. ever since maya had gotten the hint that chisato was interested in kaoru, she'd gone out of her way to ensure that she spent as much time around kaoru as she could.
but that was in high school. now, she and kaoru were at the same college, and maya was not. this fact was excellent news to chisato, because now she could have kaoru all to herself... and share with kaoru's growing fanbase, again, but at least it wasn't yamato maya. (chisato was sure that those girls would inevitably make a club dedicated to kaoru, and when that happened, chisato would worm her way into becoming the secret president of the fan club and when she was, she'd trade information with them. yes, it was a genius plan).
at lunch, she waited for kaoru to arrive at the cafeteria. chisato had the brilliant idea to share some of her lunch with the purple haired woman, but after several minutes, her lunch was getting cold and kaoru had not yet shown her face. there went what was supposed to be some good quality time with kaoru. she took a bite of her lunch, and called kanon, to vent her frustrations. when kanon answered, chisato couldn't help but find it odd. kanon seemed to be covering something up in the background noise, but chisato was too distraught by Lack Of Kaoru Syndrome™ to really make any sense of it.
it was only when she arrived at work later that evening, that she figured out why kanon was being so dodgy during their phone call. maya and hina were flaunting to eve and aya about kaoru's visit to the keiho campus and helped maya pick out a club to join. when chisato's presence was felt in the the room, maya shot her a sly grin, as if to say 'i win today', before she answered a question that eve had asked. chisato, obviously irked, called for the conversations to stop and for their meeting to start. if she had to hear any more about how much fun maya got to have with kaoru, she might throw up.
maya met up with her after the meeting, a mischievous smile played on her lips. chisato shot back with a dirty glare. she heard hina say something behind her in an announcer-like voice, but chisato paid it no mind, not when the enemy was right in front of her.
"you seemed to have a fun day, maya-chan," chisato smiled, in a way that you could tell that she was beyond pissed, "did you find a club that you liked?"
maya pushed up her glasses the same way a character in an anime would. "oh yes. i had a lovely day. kaoru-san followed me around all day, and helped me to me find a club. we eventually found the outdoor society, and it took us most of the day. i'm pretty sure some girls might start a kaoru fan club at keiho, though."
behind chisato, hina said something along the lines of "what a devastating blow from yamato maya! can shirasagi chisato make a boppin' comeback?" it just egged her on more.
"kaoru must be tired after all that wandering about. plus the acting troupe bit that she had to do must've worn her out even more. i'm sure she's still in the area, perhaps i'll just invite her over for the night," chisato proclaimed, and feigned a moment of thought with her hand on her chin.
that knocked the shit-eating grin off of maya's face. "i'm sure kaoru-san would appreciate that."
"yamato maya defeatedddd! it's a 1-1 tie between shirasagi chisato and yamato maya!" hina announced. chisato just smiled and pulled out her phone to invite kaoru right in front of maya. hell, she called kaoru, just to watch the expression on maya's face when kaoru would say yes.
actually, chisato was super nervous that kaoru would say no, and she almost immediately ended the call when kaoru picked up, but she had a dignity to uphold. "hey, kaoru are you still in the area? you can come over tonight, if you're too tired to go home. i heard you had a lovely adventure today around keiho's campus grounds."
"why yes, i did. i was hoping to tell you the details of my adventures myself, but it seems that maya has already done that. how fleeting!"
chisato shot maya a smirk, that more or less translated to "she wanted to tell me herself, but now she can't because you already told me."
"no matter," kaoru continued over the speaker, "i must tell you about keiho anyway. and yes, i am still within the campus premises, and i will take you up on your offer of a place for the night. are you at work still? i will pick you up, my dearest chisato."
the bassist's smile only grew. "i'm at the agency still, yes. i will tell kanon that you will be staying the night. i would most appreciate your accompaniment home."
"very well. i will see you shortly."
"2-1!"
maya's cocky demeanor from earlier had now completely diminished. "you win today, chisato-san. i will find a way to win someday. mark my words." defeated, she turned on her heel and left.
"you should head home too, hina-chan. you wouldn't want your sister to worry."
"oh right! see ya tomorrow, chisato-chan! have a good night!" hina wiggled her eyebrows along with the last remark, but chisato didn't have it in her to scold the teal headed twin at the moment. she shot a quick message to kanon about kaoru spending the night, while she walked down to the lobby to wait for her prince to arrive.
when kaoru walked through the front doors, chisato never would have expected to be absolutely floored. kaoru was still clad in an outfit reminiscent of the costume she used as the happy phantom thief. the dark three piece suite with red and gold accents was enough to make anyone swoon, including shirasagi chisato. her normally pony-tailed hair was half out its confines and it was slightly ruffled. she wore a tired, but content look on her face, and it seemed to tie the whole look together. a little hina appeared on her shoulder, like those little devils and angels telling people what to do, and told her not to get her panties tied in a knot. chisato's face reddened like never before.
"good evening, my dearest chisato. i apologize for my rather formal attire. as much as i would like to change, i appreciate it more that i do not have to take public transit like this," kaoru smiled softly. she removed the hair tie and raked a hand through her hair. chisato almost couldn't utter a reply, but she did her best, anyway.
"i'm guessing you ran out of time to change out of your costume?" she managed to inquire.
"unfortunately, yes," kaoru sighed, "the troupe members were very keen on asking questions. all i could do was throw shakespeare quotes at them and hoped that they'd let me go home. it is but that."
"i will offer my wardrobe then. let's get going. kanon is waiting for us at home."
"and i will be in your care."
and they stepped out into the warm night.
at chisato and kanon's apartment, a warm meal was waiting for them, courtesy of kanon, whose cooking skills had gotten much better ever since she'd moved out. while they ate, kaoru told stories about her day. chisato's pleasant facial expression threatened to crack whenever she mentioned maya's name, but otherwise, she found kaoru's tales very entertaining.
"... and the troupe consistently mentioned my masculine build, which i thought was, at the very least, hostile, because it was more of a gesture of 'i wish all men were as stunning as you,' rather than what i assumed was supposed to be 'you fit every role given to you.' do you understand what i am saying?"
"or they don't understand their feelings towards you, kaoru-san. in the same way himari-chan and rimi-chan were with you a few years ago," kanon pointed out.
"it very well could be the case. i think that it is very unfortunate that people think so lowly of loving who you love," kaoru continued, "what do you think, dearest chisato?"
the question caught chisato off guard, mostly because she thought about how she hoped that those girls would never realized that they liked kaoru, so that she could have the princely woman all to herself. "i'm sure they'll figure it out eventually. it's better not to push it onto them and let them figure it out for themselves."
"yes, very true."
bits of conversation continued through the evening, mostly just in between her and kaoru, as kanon had retreated into her room to finish a project she had been working on for her class. kaoru also spoke of her band activities, and all of the fun trips and concerts that kokoro had planned out for them. chisato asked about how their band even functions, with kokoro as their band leader, and if misaki was okay, and kaoru responded with a simple, "it works out" and "misaki can handle kokoro just fine."
"even though kokoro has such childish abandon, she's started to understand the world outside her own. making the world smile is not an impossible task with that band of merrymen, no matter how odd of a group it is. besides, in the event that it all comes to an end, i would like to cherish these memories that we make. you know, you were just like misaki once, when your band just formed," kaoru observed.
"i'm sure misaki is more... hands-on, in your band than i am in mine, but i see where you're getting at," chisato pondered.
"honestly, i do not give misaki enough credit for what she does. kokoro interpreter, concert booker, composer, dj bear extraordinaire... and that's just for hello happy," kaoru sighed in a longing way, "she's very dependable, and i kind of owe her for always going along with kokoro's silly ideas."
"wait, you know about misaki-chan being michelle?" chisato inquired.
"yeah. misaki-chan was super shocked to find out too," kanon smiled as she walked into the living room, a towel sat on her shoulders and her hair was damp, "the bath is ready for who ever wants to use it next, by the way." kanon disappeared into her room once more.
"thank you, kanon. admittedly, it did take me some time to figure it out. i suppose that when she mentioned it to the band, i was not really paying much attention," kaoru said sheepishly, "will you take a bath first, chisato, dearest?"
chisato's cheeks reddened as she asked: "would you like to take a bath with me?"
kaoru's eyes widened, her face, too, was coloured with a light pink tint, but she nodded nonetheless.
now, they were in chisato's bathroom, and neither could face each other. how pathetic! chisato only had enough boldness to ask kaoru to take a bath with her, but to look in kaoru's general direction in this sate of nakedness? impossible! she sat outside of the bath on a little wooden stool, while kaoru soaked in the hot bath.
"chisato, are you sure you don't want to get int the bath? you might catch a cold like that," kaoru said. her voice sounded so far away.
chisato let out a huff, as if to steel herself, and stood up. she turned slowly. kaoru was looking intensely at the water, clearly feeling the same as chisato. she lowered herself into the bath carefully, so as not to startle kaoru, who still continued to look down. soon, the bathwater began to settle, and kaoru's brilliant crimson eyes met chisato's.
neither said a word, as they both drank in the facial features of the woman in front of them. kaoru's skin was as flawless as ever, and whatever scratch or scrape chisato remembered kaoru had in their youth, had long since faded away. kaoru must have been thinking the same thing, because she reached out to touch a spot on chisato's knee.
"it's faded..." she murmured, as if under a spell of sorts.
"yours have, too," chisato whispered, "you're-"
"gorgeous? i was about to say the same... it has been so long since we have seen each other like this, my dearest."
"may i ask something selfish?"
"what is it?"
"will you hold me, in a state like this?"
kaoru made no effort to answer, but instead opened her arms, and chisato moved into them, her back against kaoru's chest. kaoru's arms found solace on chisato's waist, and her chin rested on chisato's shoulder. chisato let her hands find kaoru's and intertwined them. they were finally comfortable. they stayed like that for a while, maybe even fell asleep a little, in their own world.
chisato lazily lifted her hand, kaoru’s still in her grasp. she checked for the guitarist’s callouses, and compared them to her own. kaoru’s hands were surprisingly soft to the touch, but if she paid better attention to the fingertips, she could feel the hard skin underneath.
like her, kaoru played many important roles, and worked so hard to become people that they were satisfied with. kaoru was much more admirable for that, being in a group that was as active as hello, happy world! was. and having seen kaoru grow into the woman she was today, from the timid little girl that she knew so many years ago, was truly, an honour to witness.
she felt kaoru laugh. “someone’s thinking hard about something.”
“how would you know that?” chisato blushed.
“just a hunch, dearest. after all, we might even be thinking the same thoughts.”
chisato could feel kaoru’s heart beating against her back. “and what might you be thinking about, kao-chan?”
“the long day i’ve had,” kaoru murmured into chisato’s hair. chisato huffed and kaoru just laughed again. “i jest. i was thinking about you, of course.”
chisato hummed. “so was i. thinking about you, i mean. we’ve come so far. you’ve changed so much… sometimes i feel like i’m falling behind.”
"really? i was thinking about how i was supposed to catch up with you. as for change, you, of all people know that it comes naturally. the people i associate myself with, only helps push that along.”
chisato thought about maya again, since she and kaoru had gone to the same high school, and for sure, was one of those people who shaped kaoru into the woman she was today. and while chisato didn't mind-- she liked the way kaoru turned out-- it still bothered her that it wasn't her, that was by kaoru's side all that time. she wasn't sure if she wanted to hear more about that. she snuggled into kaoru a bit. at the very least, she would enjoy her time with kaoru now. but also...
"we should probably get out of the bath. we've been here awhile," chisato suggested. she hoped that the conversation wouldn't continue.
"yes, you're right, my dearest. but you will have to move first."
so she did. she stepped out of the bath carefully and dried herself off. kaoru followed quietly.
in chisato's room, they sat and dried each other's hair. it made chisato feel reminiscent of when they were younger, when she was kaoru's knight in shining armor. but now, kaoru was bigger. a little less of a baby than she used to be, and now, a chronic romantic. chisato wanted that all to herself, but...
"i am excited to see one of your concerts again. pastel*pallets will be competing in the tokyo idol summit, yes?"
"oh, yes. i will send you some tickets for that."
"ah, no need, my dearest. maya has already provided them. as you know, she has gotten the wonderful opportunity to also be of assistance in your backstage setup, and i cannot wait to see what she offers to your performance."
chisato could see an image of maya with a shit-eating grin in her head. she did not let her expression change. "of course she has. that's maya-chan, for you. always so reliable."
kaoru noticed nothing of chisato's passive-aggressive tone. "precisely. i wouldn't know what to do without her, during our plays in high school."
chisato had to stop another scowl from forming. but, it seemed that she couldn't hide it from kaoru for very long.
"what seems to be bothering you, chisato? you have been trying to hide a sour expression on your face. but i know you too well."
"that you do," chisato sighed, "you have many fans, but tell me, who is your biggest fan?"
kaoru smiled gently, "why, it's you, of course, my chii-chan. through and through."
"not maya-chan?"
"what is this about, dearest? might you be jealous of maya because she spent the day with me?" kaoru gave her a look of concern.
"and also the greater part of three years, yes, i am jealous of maya-chan. i-" chisato looked up to face kaoru. they were now sat next to each other on the floor, their backs against chisato's bed. she wondered what would happen if she told kaoru, then and there, that she loved her. while it would allow her to get a one-up on maya, the fear of kaoru saying 'no' was stronger than her will to try. and yet, all she had to do was move in a little closer and hope that kaoru would do the same. but she refrained.
"you..?"
"maya-chan likes you."
kaoru just laughed. "you mean, as much as you like me?"
"what?"
"dearest chisato, i am not as dense as you might make me out to be. you and maya are equally awful at hiding your feelings for me. you both have provided me with many opportunities to have fun and relax... but just to be sure, your rivalry with maya, you two harbor no real hatred or resentment to each other? it's just a playful battle to win me over?"
"yes." it was true. as much as they butted heads when it came to getting kaoru's love and affection to themselves, they still respected each other as bandmates, and as good friends.
"then you have nothing to worry about, chisato," kaoru gently cupped chisato's cheek, "i love you both. you could never make me choose between my dearest friend and my right hand. seta kaoru has two hands, after all," she kissed chisato on the forehead, and continued. "i was hoping that you would be interested in sharing me with maya, though. as in, be in a relationship with me, but also maya. it is absolutely okay if you do not want to. it seems only fair to give you that choice, because you had the guts to ask me out first, sort of."
"are you sure you can share your attention like that? it seems tiring," chisato frowned, "and i wouldn't want you to push yourself for our sakes."
"you forget that i always share my time with all of my little kittens. and, anyway, i would be willing to put in extra work for the both of you. and you're sure you're okay with sharing me with maya?"
chisato had started many new things in the last few years. becoming an idol, learning the bass, balancing work and school life, college, just to name a few. what was one more? she said her answer, and she and kaoru would talk to maya in the morning, but in the meantime, they went to bed.
the following morning, they met up with maya at a convenient time when none of them had class. maya's eyes met hers quickly, saying something along the lines of "now you're just rubbing salt in the wound," as they approached maya with their hands intertwined.
"maya, a very important word, with you," kaoru let go of chisato's hand and led maya off somewhere. chisato wasn't sure why kaoru needed to talk to maya alone, when she already knew the premises to what could be their relationship, but she decided not to question it further. she guessed it was so there was less pressure on maya to choose an option, which was fair. she didn't want to pressure maya into doing something she didn't want to do. a group of three would surely draw more attention, too, chisato surmised. so she waited patiently on a bench.
she wondered what would happen if maya, in the end, said no. on the plus side, kaoru all to herself, but she'd still have to face maya almost every waking hour, like a living reminder of what she took from her. without a doubt, things would be awkward between her and maya, and for sure, it would get in the way of their idol work. she sincerely hoped that in the event that maya said no, that they wouldn't make it awkward between each other. another thing she wondered, is how their relationship would work if maya said yes. would it be a sort of custody thing that divorced parents have?
when they returned, maya had a satisfactory smile on her face. no more was the competitive stares or the mischievous smiles. "guess we can't tell anyone, huh?"
scratch that. maya still had both written all over her face.
"you said yes, maya-chan? i'm glad. i was starting to worry," chisato smiled back with significantly less competitive intent.
"you were? huehuehue... well i couldn't let you have kaoru all to yourself," maya gave her shoulder a light punch.
chisato grinned at maya’s remark. "just because we both get kaoru, in the end, doesn't mean i will go easy on you, maya-chan."
"good. i won't hold back either."
kaoru stood there and watched her two girlfriends jojo posed at each other, unable to do anything, for it was the fault of herself for loving such competitive women.
"how fleeting..."
hina stood not even five feet away from the trio. "them bitches gay. good for them, good for them."