Work Text:
The first thing that Hitori thinks after she wakes up is how cute the nurse is, clad in pink scrubs and a small hat. Red hair tied up in a pretty ponytail. If her head wasn't so hazy, Hitori would've leapt out of the room for how much of a crush she has managed to developed on the spot.
Second is how much pain medication she is on. She lifts her hand, waving it limply.
“Oh! You’re awake!” The red angel looks at her and Hitori sees pure emerald in her eyes. The medication must be not as strong as Hitori initially thought as a burn crawls up her neck. “Can you speak?” She sounds nice too… Though, she seems a lot less energetic than she did when she noticed Hitori…
Hitori blinks, opening her mouth to reply, but no sound comes out, like her throat got replaced with an eel. She gapes, each smack of her lips hitting with an audible pop.
The Nurse hums, picking up a clipboard on a table next to Hitori's bed and writes on it. "Patient can't speak…"
"A-ah, I can!" Hitori's mouth finally functions. The Nurse looks at her like she had jumped out of the bed. "I-I—"
"Now, now," the Nurse pats on Hitori's shoulder and Hitori freezes. This is the first human contact she’s had since going to college. "You don't need to force yourself to speak. Answer my questions with your head if you're okay with that, alright?"
Hitori nods, relief in her chest. She can't embarrass herself too badly now.
The Nurse asks her questions about her condition, which are all fine other than the fact that she's feeling numb.
"That's normal," the woman says. Is she the same age as Hitori? She seems young… “The medication we use for situations like these is pretty strong.” She flips through the papers on the clipboard. “Alright, I’ll get the doctor now. Please, if you need anything, press the button to your right side.”
Hitori looks over to see the button the Nurse is referring to. Hitori nods in understanding to it.
“Okay!” The Nurse brightens and Hitori closes her eyes from it. Stars appear behind the back of her eyelids. “Stay there, okay, Gotou-san?”
Hitori nods through the blinking dots under her eyelids. She blinks them away as the Nurse exits the room.
Despite the warm sun on Hitori's skin, all she feels is the coldness of the room as she waits for the nurse to come back.
The doctor says Hitori got into a car accident. Thankfully, the car wasn’t going too fast when it hit her. She broke her left arm with it, though, so she’ll have to stay at the hospital for a few days to make sure it heals properly. Hitori wouldn’t have minded the missed time from school if it weren’t for the fact that she'll have to ask for an extension from all of her professors. And that she wouldn't be able to perform for weeks. And that she'll have a sling in the meanwhile.
"Don't look so sad, Gotou-san!"
Hitori looks up. The Nurse is standing next to her bed again, the scent of coconut drifting over like a tropical breeze. She even smells great. Hitori moves her glance towards the ceiling, frowning at it, to avoid staring her nurse down like a creep.
"I said that to make you stop frowning," the Nurse giggles. Hitori smooths her expression. "Well anyways, I'm here to check on your condition. Are you feeling okay speaking this time?"
"Ah, yes." Hitori says to the ceiling, heart beating to an unstable tempo from the Nurse’s gaze.
The Nurse asks her questions and Hitori answers them without too much of a hitch. Surprisingly. Is this how making friends supposed to be like? Hitori would've shaken her head if the Nurse wasn't here. Of course not, stupid, this nurse isn't your friend and she's just asking you how your arm is feeling.
"Gotou-san?" the Nurse asks.
Ah, Hitori must've gone too far into her own thoughts again. "A-ah, yes?"
"What are you thinking about? After I asked about your family, you just stayed silent."
"I, um, it's a bit of a sensitive topic…" When was the last time she returned her parents' phone calls? Months ago? Years?
The Nurse nods, sympathy shining in her eyes. "I don't have a good relationship with my parents either, I'm sorry."
"I-it's fine," Hitori lies. They’re the words she has been saying to herself since… forever. "We weren't on good terms in the first place."
"Still, it's terrible for them to abandon you like this."
Hitori wants to disagree but doesn’t want to say anything too offensive to her current caretaker. "It is what it is."
They fall into a silence for a moment and Hitori feels every twitch and sad glance from the Nurse like she's on top of Hitori. The Nurse coughs. "From what I've gathered from this morning and now," she's speaking professionally now, evenly and without warmth. "You'll be getting out in three days."
She continues on with her report as Hitori looks outside the window. At least it wouldn't be too long until she gets out of here.
It is the longest three days of Hitori's life.
They've given her a sling to hang her arm in and a cast. At least her legs aren't tied down to the bed. She could explore the halls of the hospital if she wanted to… But there's too many people here, so she stays in the safest place she knows: Her own room.
The clock ticks. Her right hand twitches, yearning for a grounding strum of her guitar. Even if she can't properly play it, it's the only comfort she has been granted in her life. She looks outside, sighing to herself as time drags her through the boredom.
"You've been sighing a lot there, Gotou-san."
“A-ah?!” Hitori snaps her head to the intruder. “O-oh, hi,” Hitori forces her shoulders to relax, looking up towards well-cared-for red hair and clear green eyes.
"Hi," the Nurse brightens and it burns Hitori's skin, a woman-made sunburn. “How are you doing today?”
Hitori bumbles through sentences before setting on, “I-I, um, I, I’m fine!” In the noon light, the Nurse’s gaze is a planetarium come to life. The way the Nurse’s dress pulls and stretches across her body forces Hitori to look away, pushing down any unwanted thoughts with run-throughs of her favorite songs. But she lacks that physical sound, that whole distraction of passion. That familiar strum of anxiety and shame sinks Hitori into her bed.
Hitori remembers her first crush in highschool, a cute black haired girl called Hanako. Remembers the wanton, disgusting lust Hitori had for her. The feeling of her imagined hands on Hitori's waist, fingers within herself. Disgust, disgust, disgusting. Those nightmares of Hanako, raven hair and smooth hands, are turning to daydreams of the Nurse, red hair and lush green eyes branding themselves into Hitori's mind.
Hitori’s head is light. Her eyes fade between black and red. Her left hand grips the sheet, cold, cold, cold. She wishes the blanket was thicker. Her entire body isn't warm. Warmth, a hand lay within her thigh. It's fake but it's so warm…
The Nurse watches her. Hitori tilts her head back. Eyes tracing the dots on the square-patterned ceiling, trying to remove embarrassment through dotted lines. The constellations she traces stare down on her in shame. It is so cold.
She wishes that she had gotten over herself by now. In high school, even now in college, she wishes that her sea of emotions could be conquered, an empress to the raging storm.
All she’s doing now is wishing, wishing, wishing against the black and red dots on the ceiling, against the frigidness of her own body.
A comforting hand touches her arm, like handing a drowning woman rope. Hitori snaps her head towards her caretaker, flowing red hair highlighting the beauty of her face. Hitori’s stomach turns again, stilling as the Nurse’s hand firms. “Are you with me, Gotou-san?”
Not trusting her voice, Hitori nods.
“Breathe with me.” the Nurse’s chest expands and holds for six seconds, then releases. Hitori mimics the Nurse, her nose hairs tickling as air rushes into her lungs. Each second, Hitori feels her heartbeat slow and her muscles loosen. At six, she releases and she starts again with the Nurse's breath.
Hitori doesn't count how many times they do this exercise. It steadies her, guiding her towards calmness. The sun shines onto the Nurse, making her even more beautiful, and Hitori pushes down her disgust at herself, at how easily these thoughts pollute her mind again. “T-thank you,” Hitori’s voice is dry and weak like a fallen leaf.
“You’re welcome.” the Nurse says. "How are you doing now, Gotou-san?"
"I'm okay." Hitori surprises herself when she actually believes it. "Tha-thanks again…"
"It's my job, Gotou-san!" The Nurse smiles, a threatening second sun. Hitori uses her right hand to block her eyes. "If you don't mind me asking, why did that happen…?"
Oh. Oh no. Heat burns up onto Hitori's face. "A-ah! Um, I-I, some air went down the wrong pipe?"
She is so convincing, she might as well just walk away from the conversation.
The Nurse's face stays blanker than white paper. Hitori fidgets with her right hand, the blanket taking the place of her guitar. "... It was about your family, wasn't it?"
Hanako’s false hand on Hitori’s thigh fades. Hitori had forgotten she was even feeling that. The Nurse’s eyes peer into her and Hitori realizes that she never looked her old crush in the eyes— only the back of her head. “U-um.. y-yes…” Hitori lies. She would talk about any subject to not talk about her.
The Nurse hums, giving her another comforting rub on the arm that Hitori wants to lean into. "When I was hospitalized, I thought about them all of the time too."
Hitori looks up into the eyes of forest green. She opens her mouth to reply but the only sound is creaking silence. Regret worms its way through Hitori’s throat.
"They called emergency services because I passed out while fasting," her crush laughs and it's a rubbery, fake thing— faker than the one Hitori has heard from before, the one her caretaker gives her coworkers out in the hallway. "I was stupid."
It's hard to imagine the Nurse looking anything other than perfect—like a model. The thought brings heat to Hitori's neck but the Nurse is looking through the windows now, street cars and crowd ignorant to both of them.
"They agreed that I was, and with everything, I'm still surprised they paid for my college tuition." She looks like a mannequin. It unnerves Hitori, watching a person turn into something less. The Nurse blinks, hazy green turning sharp. She laughs again, quiet and mocking. "I'm sorry for oversharing, I just wanted to give you some comfort about your situation."
Hitori doesn't know how to voice her pity without being patronizing. Her eyes shake, hand gripping on the blanket. Her mouth chooses the words for her. "I-it does," another lie falls out of her lips. "Thank you."
Silence stretches as the Nurse nods and starts on going about her routine for the room and Hitori. Her hands linger on Hitori for a long moment, comforting, and then she leaves.
Hitori stares, red washing over the black of her mind.
Tension lingers between them, broken arm in a sling like a baby being cradled by her mother. Hitori knows that these three days will haunt her in her dreams, memories of fading black and fire red added to the shameful collection she keeps in the back of her mind."
She walks back to her dorm, a cramped, dark space that's so cluttered that she can barely move without bumping into something. She does clean up, it’s just…
Sometimes when the days are a burden onto themselves, she looks up at the ceiling and plays. Like she did in middle school, high school, and now college. It’s her way of floating in that tide she keeps on getting dragged under. To forget black hair and smooth hands. But now, she can’t even do that.
With her usable hand, she turns her computer on and swallows, feeling her throat expand and constrict like a snake on a mouse. If only she was the snake.
She looks at all of the assignments she’s missing and a pit forms in her stomach. So many and she doesn’t have much time to do them. Her parents would be so disappointed in her. She feels that ocean’s wave coming over her. She breathes in deep, counting to six. She breathes out, teeth tight as she does it again.
She does the exercises as she emails her professors about her condition, though she almost deletes it multiple times throughout. With hot air coming out of her mouth, she sends the message. She stares at her computer. Her fingers itches. The guitar is her life, music is her life, but without that, void takes the space where those things lay. A void that Hitori needs to fill.
The missing assignments page highlights what she needs. With her free hand and cluttered mind, she holds onto the work and lets it fill in the void that music rests in.
Hitori’s eyes roll to the back of her head as the class ends. Even when she was doing extra work while her arm was broken, it still took a toll on her mind to even understand the material. She blinks into being and melds into the funnel of students coming out of the classroom.
She heads back to her dorm, grabbing the guitar case and amp from the side of her cramped room, and heads out to her old playing spot. Her fear of people has never gone away but it’s subsided— muffled under her love of music.
Her guitar case lays on the ground alongside her amp. She starts to prepare everything and a small crowd forms around her. The black nest at the back of her mind peters out to flowing red hair and steadying green eyes, grounding her mentally. Hitori breathes in the humid afternoon air. Keeps it held for six seconds. Lets it out in one. Hitori looks at her audience, familiar faces but all strangers. Tension climbs across her arm and back.
It’s been weeks since she has last played here and she has practiced harder to make those into weeks instead of months. Standing here again with eyes glancing at her as she is going to start, Hitori thinks about turning around and jumping into the river.
Another breath. Six seconds held, one second out. Hitori empties her fears, her worries, her shame.
She presses her foot to her pedal and her guitar roars.
-—-
She goes through multiple songs, some new, some old to her. At the end of the day, she is doing this for herself as well as whoever is listening. A few yen coins hit her guitar case and Hitori focuses back on her music.
“...Gotou-san?”
Hitori looks up and her world is scattered in colors of fire red and lush green.
Ikuyo regrets. It’s one of the things that only her mirror would know, privately. Quietly. Regretting in front of others isn't a good way of keeping them.
Tired sapphire eyes and unstyled bubblegum hair, holding a guitar with gloss reflecting the glare of the midday sun. She shouldn’t have said anything. This was just a patient her hospital had a few weeks ago, nothing more, nothing less.
The concrete beneath Ikuyo doesn’t move along to different sights, familiar comforts. That stranger's gaze stabs her, binds her, pins her in place. She regrets her bout of unprofessionalism, sharing that piece of herself that she thought would ease the burden on Gotou but had only seemed to double it.
Another breath. Six seconds held, one second out. She watches as Gotou does the same. She should get out of here.
“I didn’t know you played guitar,” her mouth says instead of excusing herself. “That was a pretty song, what is it called?”
Gotou blinks, nervousness shaking her eyes and arms. She’s shy, Ikuyo remembers. Skittish. Like a rabbit. “A-ah, u-um, it’s a song I made… It’s called, Sole Constellation,” the guitarist says, sapphire eyes turning to the side and fingers firm on the guitar.
Ikuyo smiles, the one she reserves for patients she likes. “It’s pretty good.” she digs through her purse and throws some yen into the guitar case. She’ll continue supporting Gotou as a recompense. “You often play around here, Gotou-san?”
“I-I just came back after my arm broke.”
“I think I’ll be a frequent visitor to this route then,” Ikuyo brightens her smile. “Be seeing you around, Gotou-san.” She walks off with a wave into the evening's light.
The back of her neck burns. She doesn't know if that's Gotou's stare or her own embarrassment. She should’ve just walked away and not spoken to her at all, but… she did say, well, all of that, so…
Her mirror is the only one that'll know about this anyways.
The Nurse always shows up in t-shirts and skirts—loose clothing tailor-made to fend off the summer heat. Hitori considers it a small mercy, that the Nurse never wears anything as tight as her work outfit. If she ever did, her guitar case will start to double as her casket.
The Nurse always arrives when Hitori's head is down, staring down at her own callused fingers as they work across the guitar. When Hitori looks up, she sees the Nurse staring at her, an intensity that’s burning her to her foundation. It makes Hitori pull her head back down and push that heat crawling up her neck to the side.
She continues to play the song and she's grateful for the practice she has put in to keep from making any noticeable mistakes. The song ends and a group of claps and cheers ring out in front of her. This is the closest she gets to her old dream of being famous outside of the internet.
She waits until the clapping stops before she continues onto her next song. It's wistful, for a youth that Hitori yearned for, for a life she never lived. It's dreadful because she feels the Nurse’s stare burning a hole into her.
Hitori strums again, hands tighter on her old friend. Tension bleeds out from her body as she plays. The cars’ honks and the crowd’s footsteps are nonexistent. Heat burns into her hair. She feels sweat dripping onto her guitar. That doesn’t matter. She plays the last chorus and with one last riff, she finishes her set.
The roar of the crowd pulls her eyes up and in dazzlement, Hitori counts how many there are. When her eyes land on the Nurse, she loses her number and everything turns silent. The clapping stops and the car horns and footsteps hit her ears harder than a gong. She shakes her head and, to be courteous, she tries to shout above it. “T-thank you for listening!”
She bows to the waist and takes a glance at her guitar case. More than she expected.
The crowd disperses as she packs up. A shadow clad in fire red and lush green falls over her as she does. “Gotou-san?” the Nurse asks, and Hitori tries to catch the jumping dolphin in her stomach. Another breath. Six seconds held, one second out, and Hitori looks at her crush. Deep green eyes buries into her, hooking her in place. “Do you…” Doubt worms into the Nurse’s face and it freezes Hitori. What was she going to ask that’s so concerning? “Do you want to go to a coffee shop?”
Hitori blinks at her, the afternoon sun signaling its goodbye with a cool breeze.
“I-I know it’s late!” The Nurse says, waving her hands. “I just thought it would be nice to get tea, or a biscuit, or—you know, something. For your amazing playing.”
Hitori stands there, her breath is to the count of the many footsteps around her. A cute girl just asked her out? Even if it's about her playing, Hitori is hoping she won't fumble her response.
"A-ah! U-um, yeah, sure," she says demurely. She points to her spare cash. "L-let me pick this up."
The Nurse smiles at her.
Hitori brushes the sweat off of her brow in relief. She won't give the Nurse any reason to regret this.
This is the worst idea Ikuyo has had in a while.
She watches as Gotou fidgets with her iced tea, staring down the cup like she’s dropped a coin into it and if she stares long enough, it'll float to the top. "So, any other hobbies other than music?" Ikuyo asks, sipping on her iced latte.
Gotou speaks to the tea. "U-um, school…"
Air pulls through Ikuyo’s straw, small pieces of ice hitting the back of her throat and Ikuyo stops drinking. "I was popular in school but that sort of went away when I started my nursing career."
For the first time in their little date, Gotou looks into her eyes. “I-I could see that. Um, that you were popular, I mean,” Gotou finally drinks a bit of her iced tea.
Ikuyo gives a smile and looks into the ice of her latte. The ice reflects back a frown. “Thanks. It was nice, I guess, being able to go out with friends and shop in high school, but now we’re all just so busy.” She’s talking to the ice now and she imagines her friends, melting away into the faint sunlight. “Honestly, outside of work, I just talk to you and… one other person?”
Sasaki hadn’t returned her text last week, but she’s often traveling around with her girlfriend. Ikuyo envies her, she won’t lie. But with that envy comes happiness. She’s glad at least one of her friends is happy despite everything. And still in touch.
“So, thanks for coming out with me for this.”
“N-no problem,” Gotou says, shifting in her seat and hitting her guitar case. It ruffles and Ikuyo faintly hears yen coins clinking in there. “U-um, do you… want to… to do this again?” With each word, the girl across from her gets quieter and quieter until Ikuyo barely hears the last word. She brightens.
Part of her, the part that tells her there's a reason why nearly everyone left her--that she's basic, or boring, even though she knows that's not exactly true--wants to reject the invitation outright.
The other part of her just wants to say yes.
“Of course,” Kita says, and hopes she won't come to regret this, too.
After each performance now, Hitori and Kita go somewhere together. The coffee shops are nice, though Hitori wishes that Kita would stop buying the drinks with absurdly long names.
Kita suggests the locations they should go and Hitori doesn’t disagree with any of them after a bit of pressure. Their current location is somewhere Hitori had thought about going to for some time herself but it just seemed… sad if she went in by herself.
Starry’s sign is bright against the dark staircase. “I-I didn’t know you were into rock music, K-Kita-san,” Hitori says, ignoring the beats of her heart and the small distance between them. Everytime they go somewhere, Kita stands or sits next to her. It’s… nice.
“I was,” Kita replies and their shoulders bump as they go down the stairs. Thankfully, Kita is looking straight ahead, so Hitori's blush remains unseen.
They open the door to see a grumpy woman with red eyes and blond hair that wouldn’t be out of place in America. Hitori thinks blonde hair is more common in America. She'll have to google that later. “Kita?" The woman asks, frown growing deeper.
Hitori has the sense to run away from this situation and hope that the lady won't look into the trash can she'll be hiding in.
"Long time no see!" Kita waves at the lady. "How's Nijika-senpai, manager?"
Manager? The woman coughs. “Nijika’s fine. It’s been years, Kita. How is…?”
Kita shakes her head and that seems to shut the lady’s question down. “Oh,” the irritability of the woman seems to shift into… awkwardness. Is it too late to run? “I’m sorry to bring down your night then.” the woman says politely, all business once again. “Which band are you watching?”
Kita continues to talk to the lady as Hitori looks around the live house—it’s a good distraction from the worry that this lady might kick them out. The walls and tables are covered with scratches, the dim light revealing the damage. There are posters of bands, a few Hitori recognizes and a few that are playing tonight.
A pull on Hitori’s sleeve breaks her out of her reverie.
“Come on, Hitori-chan!” Kita holds up two drink tickets. “Let’s get something!”
“O-okay…”
Getting their drinks, they stand to the side, waiting for the bands to start playing. Hitori starts to think about the next set of songs she’s going to play for her next performance. “Why are we standing to the side anyways?” Kita breaks the nest of her mind.
Hitori blinks. “...B-because I don’t like crowds.”
“But you… play in front of a crowd all of the time?” Kita looks at her, their shoulders rub against each other, and Kita grasps her hand. Hitori gulps, mouth working uselessly for a moment.
“A-ah, um, ah, that’s different… I just, don’t notice them?” Hitori scratches her cheek with her free hand. “The only person I notice in my audience is you.”
Kita stays quiet after that and the meaning of Hitori's own words catches up to her. If Kita didn’t have Hitori’s hand in hers, Hitori’s sure she would have sunk into a sea of her embarrassment. She looks at Kita to see her head is turned away, so Hitori has zero idea on how much she has messed up this relationship. “Thanks,” Kita says. Hitori barely hears the words over her echoing heart.
“I-I didn't mean anything... weird by it.”
Kita looks back at her, face red. “Still, I…I don’t know what I’m saying. It, um, makes me happy to hear that.”
Hitori doesn’t know what to say to that. A band starts playing and she finds that she doesn’t have to. She breathes out a sigh of relief but still keeps Kita’s hand in hers.
-—-
The bands that play are pretty good. She hasn’t heard many of their songs but she isn’t one to not experiment outside of her wheelhouse. When she gets back home, she’ll need to play around.
"Hitori-chan?"
Hitori looks at her friend, and when she thinks about it like that, her first friend. Friends keep holding hands like this, right? "Y-yes?"
Green eyes reflect back to her, a lush treeline. "I enjoyed this," a smile and, despite the dark, Hitori sees the blush on Kita's face. "Did you?"
"Yeah." she smiles back. "I enjoyed coming here with you."
"Um…" apprehension captures Kita's face. "I'm off tomorrow…"
Is she…? "I… I am too," Hitori glances into Kita's eyes. They shimmer, dancing against the dim light of the room.
"Wanna go to my place?"
Hitori grips onto Kita's hands harder. Play it cool. "U-uh, y-yeah! Of course! I already said I didn't have anything to do tomorrow or anything…" Hitori laughs at the end to cover her cringing. No wonder why she hasn’t had a friend before, she’s terrible at this.
Despite all of that, Kita's smile grows wider. “Let’s head out then.”
The trip to Kita’s apartment goes fine as the redhead chats about her day and how the bands were really impressive. Hitori adds some things here and there and before she knows it, they’re in front of Kita’s apartment. "Th-think is the first time I've gone to somebody else's home."
"Please don't judge too harshly then," Kita opens the door and Hitori blinks at the relatively clean room as she steps in. Ignoring the pile up of dishes, Kita asks, "Um, so, you want to watch a movie or something?"
"S-sure. What do you have?" Hitori asks. Kita starts listing off her selection of movies, but Hitori belatedly realizes she can count the amount of movies she's actually watched on a single hand, and tells Kita as much.
"Oh, that's okay then. We'll just watch my favorite movie," Kita clicks through her TV and the movie starts to play. She flops into a seat and pats the cushion next to her. Well, they are usually close to each other anyways…
Hitori sits, leaning into Kita, and watches the company logos flying across the screen with an intensity that would kill a fly. Kita wraps an arm around her.
The movie is interesting, Hitori registers in the back of her mind, getting more and more comfortable against Kita's shoulder. She smells like coconut. Hitori should ask for her shampoo…
It feels nice and warm here. It's getting pretty late too… Hitori's eyes shut. Just, a little nap and then she'll get out of here…
Ikuyo is surprised at how light Hitori is as she carries her to bed. She lays her down and stares, pink hair cascading down the mattress.
Hitori's shallow breathing rises and falls, a gentle ocean wave against the shoreline. A blush forms on Ikuyo's face. Why is she staring at a girl who she brought home? Especially one who was a patient at her hospital? She shakes her head but continues to stare.
She's… cool. Despite all of her difficulties with people, she's still out there playing. She didn't quit, Ikuyo did.
Hitori stirs, breaking Ikuyo out of her thoughts. Ikuyo gets in close to tell her that she could continue sleeping if she wants but a hand grabs her wrist, pulling her into bed. Caught off-balance, she collapses on top of Hitori, who is snuggling her like a teddy bear.
"Don't leave me," Hitori whispers.
Ikuyo rolls off of Hitori and to the side. It's warm and comfortable in Hitori's arms and, it is pretty late…
She snuggles into the crook of Hitori's neck and closes her eyes. She breathes in bubblegum, letting it gently lead her to sleep.
Hitori wakes up, feeling like she slept in a box, cramped and small. She moves her arm to stretch and she can't. A small and warm weight is on her arm—on her body. She looks down and sees Kita laying on her.
"Five more minutes…"
Hitori stares at Kita as she mutters. How did they get into this situation? Last thing Hitori remembers, they were watching a movie. Hitori cranes her neck to see the time but with how dark the room is, the sun couldn't be up.
Hitori looks up at the ceiling, feeling Kita’s warmth, and tries to relax back to sleep. Failing that, she looks at her friend, peacefully sleeping. Kita has buried her head back into Hitori's neck and Hitori feels a wave of embarrassment wash over her.
Hitori sighs. It's starting to get uncomfortable. She tries to gently push Kita off of her but her attempt is met with Kita pulling her in closer. Hitori resigns herself to her fate, looking back up into the dark. She tries to think of the last time she'd felt something like this, someone holding her close.
It was the family that she threw away.
Her face scrunches at the memories of her loving mother and father. Memories of a sister she never wants to face again. The tears they had all shed as she explained her choice. She tries to blink it all away. She looks down to Kita and in the movement, she realizes that her eyes are watering.
A deep breath and six seconds. The warmth from Kita's body helps tether her like a rope. Hitori grips onto her friend harder and focuses on her breathing.
She stops as she feels Kita move. Kita groans, trying to stretch. She shakes against Hitori as she lifts an arm into the air, then realizes that her other one is pinned. She looks up at Hitori and dull green eyes blink in confusion, then sharpen in an instant. "H-Hitori…?"
Hitori starts to speak but her throat just scratches out a vowel and a noise like rusty metal. She clears it. "K-Kita-san, um, good morning?"
Kita laughs. "Good morning." Maybe Hitori doesn't need the sun if Kita brightens up like that. Kita pulls herself up and Hitori is grateful as feeling starts seeping back into her shoulder. "... Nightmare?"
Hitori blinks at her. "W-what?"
"You're crying," Kita wipes a tear off of her cheek and Hitori realizes that she is crying. She hurriedly wipes the tears off of her cheeks.
"I-it's nothing."
From the look on her face, Hitori knows her lie has failed. Hitori bites the inside of her cheek. Kita opened up about her problems when Hitori broke her arm. Hitori should open up here too.
Heart pounding, chest tight, Hitori speaks. "I-I was thinking about my family, how much of a failure I am." She pauses, collecting the next words to say. Kita stays quiet, pupils still. "They didn't really expect much from me. I was a-always shy and talking to people scares me, so they didn't really push me that hard in school."
She hasn't told anyone about her childhood. Mainly because there was no one to talk to. Kita looks at her with rapt attention, hands wrapped around her arm. Hitori forms a fist in her hands and breathes.
"But then I found the guitar and that's all I wanted to do. They all wanted me to be a great musician, to reach Budokan one day." It was her dream, once too. "When I got to the end of highschool, I had a choice between going professional or going to college. They thought I wouldn't do well in college and uh… I don't want to see how disappointed they are in me for how I'm doing here."
The words hang in the air, along with Hitori's spirits. If Kita looks down on her for this like Hitori fears everyone would, she is going to sob.
Hitori feels Kita’s breath on her cheek, hands on her arms tightening.
"I'm sorry," Kita whispers.
Hitori weeps.
It’s shameful. She has cried plenty of times but they were by herself in the comfort of her closet. The comfort Kita is bringing her here is… too much. Hitori feels herself being pulled up from the bed and she doesn't resist. A pair of arms wraps around her.
And even though the room remains just as dark, Hitori, for once, feels as though she has been swaddled in light.
-—-
When morning peeks through the windows, Kita speaks to the dried tears on Hitori's cheeks. "Disappointed family is the worst thing to return to," her friend says. "I already told you about how they disowned me, right?"
Hitori shakes her head, throat dry.
"I wanted to play guitar once too," Kita smiles, eyes wide and cheeks hollow. "It was for a girl I saw on the street playing bass and she needed a vocalist for her band. I agreed to it and we played for a few months."
Her red hair glows faintly in the sunlight and the low light sharpens her chin, making her seem older, sadder.
"It was wonderful, and I told my parents that I wanted to be a musician, and I was trying to stay skinny at the time…"
Kita shrugs and Hitori tries to say something, anything to her. Hitori's mouth stays open as Kita continues.
"I got really sick, so I had to quit the band and continue with school. I met a really nice nurse at the hospital I was staying at and that made me want to go into nursing," Kita finishes with a gesture of her hands and faux excitement. "And that's how I became a nurse!"
"... W-what about the disowned part?" Hitori asks, biting a dry piece of her lip.
"They wanted me to be a lawyer or a doctor but…" She shakes her head. "I guess they didn't think nursing is good enough."
"W-well, I'm glad you did go into nursing," Hitori says. "O-or, I wouldn't have met you."
Kita smiles at her and this time, it fills her cheeks. "Me too."
After she calms down, Hitori cleans up around Kita's home. She has never been a guest for anyone, but she knows she would like someone to clean her room.
"Oh, you don't need to do that." Kita waves her off as Hitori does the dishes.
"B-but I want to."
Kita shakes her head with a sigh and a smile. "I appreciate it. Thank you."
After she is done with that, awkwardness floods Hitori. Both of them don't have anything to do today, so… "W-what do you… want to do?"
Kita shrugs. "I don't know."
An idea strikes Hitori. “Y-you said you played guitar right?”
Kita blinks at her, eyes wide. “I haven’t played in years,” she giggles but Hitori doesn’t see the joke.
“Do you have one with you?” confidence surges through Hitori, a rapid that she doesn’t want to stop.
“I have it in the closet.”
They pull out a blue guitar, a bit worn from age, and Hitori watches flashes of regret and grief flashes on her face as she stares at her old instrument before she looks at Hitori again. “Want to—” Now with the guitar in hand, worry enters into her mind. What if Kita doesn’t want to do this? Through the tightness in her throat, Hitori asks, “Do you want to learn how to play again?”
“I… yeah.” Kita grips onto the guitar gently, like she’s holding a kitten. “Please.”
Hitori doesn't know what to expect, teaching someone. The only person she’s had to teach in her life was her sister, and that was only for directions to her school. She feels like she’s fumbling explaining the basics to Kita, but fortunately Kita is starting to remember. “I-is there a song you want to play?” Hitori asks after Kita plays a simple scale.
Kita hums. “How about that song I heard you play the first time?” “O-oh,” Hitori stares at her. “T-that’s a pretty complicated song…”
“How about this,” Kita hands over the guitar to her, and Hitori blinks at the faded blue frame. “I could sing lyrics to it while you play—that would be nice, wouldn’t it?”
That would. “U-um, sure. I actually wrote some words for it… Lemme pull it up for you.”
Hitori gives Kita her phone with the lyrics, and Kita scans through them. Hitori fidgets. What if Kita thinks her words are stupid and abandons her because of that? What if—
“This is pretty cute.” Kita looks up and smiles. Hitori’s heart dies. “Are you ready?”
“Y-yes!”
It might be because she only has her own abysmal singing to compare it to, but Kita's voice sounds to Hitori's ears like an angels' choir as she plays through the comforting, familiar notes of the song.
Far, far, far, I am watching you in the dark.
Stars across the sky, sleeping side by side.
Far, far, far, I am thinking of you all the time…
-—-
The last note rings in the air like a bell and Kita claps. “How was that?”
“Th-that was great, Kita-san!” Hitori puts down the guitar to a wall and ignores how much the sun has traveled across the sky. They’ve been playing for a while, moving through different songs that Hitori knows and that Kita used to play in her band. “I-I thought you were a professional for a bit there.”
“I mean, if being in a high school band counts as professional, I guess I was?” Kita tilts her head over.
Hitori shrugs. She wishes that she could answer that question from experience but until college, she didn’t play in front of anybody. Youtube doesn’t count.
“I guess it is,” Kita laughs, red hair set ablaze by the midday sun peeking through the windows. Hitori could never get over how beautiful Kita is, in the dark, in the light, and in anything in between. Kita catches her staring and Hitori looks away, heat crawling across every centimeter of her skin. A second later, Hitori hears Kita taking a breath. “You can say no to this, but do you think I could join you when you play?”
The rest of the day rolls on afterwards, Hitori hanging around Kita’s place as they switch over to watching cat videos. It gets dark again, and Hitori makes her way to the door. A part of her doesn’t want to leave. This has been the most relaxed and wonderful time of her life.
…Her college isn’t too far away from Kita’s apartment, and she’s sure that Kita wouldn’t say no to her staying over for another night, but Kita does have work the next day and—
“Hitori-chan?”
Hitori turns back towards Kita and realizes that she’s been standing at the door for too long. “I-I’ll be leaving now!”
“W-wait!” Kita runs up to her and grabs her hands. Hitori freezes, looking into Kita’s lush green eyes. “You could sleep here tonight too, I’m okay with it.”
“B-but, your job?”
“Having a girl sleep over with me won’t make me late for work, silly.”
Hitori lets go of the handle.
-—-
Hitori showers. Afterwards she heads into the bedroom and sees Kita in PJs. “T-thank you for letting me borrow your clothes.”
Kita stares at her for a long moment and Hitori feels… she feels like she should be uncomfortable, but under Kita’s gaze, she’s not. A bit of her wants Kita to look at her more. Distantly, she wishes Hanako did the same thing. Hitori grips onto those feelings and tosses them out. Or at least tries to as Kita continues to look up and down her body. “I-it’s no problem,” Kita says, finally taking her eyes away and Hitori sees a redness on her cheeks. “I think they fit you better than me, anyways.” She laughs at the last part.
"O-okay…" Hitori sits next to Kita. A good half a meter away. "U-um, good night."
Silence is her reply for a while as Hitori lays her head on the pillow, turned away from her friend. "Good night," Kita replies and Hitori hears the flop of a pillow behind her.
Hitori closes her eyes. Her mind goes back to how Kita looked at her. No one has really done that before. Her gut tightens and she breathes to loosen it. Six seconds and out in one. It works as well as her putting a string on a guitar live in front of an audience. She rolls over subconsciously and sees Kita still looking at her. “A-ah, you’re having trouble sleeping to-too?” Hitori says, ignoring the dolphin in her stomach.
Kita looks to the side. “So… um,” Kita licks her full, pretty lips. Hitori does the same, a strange anticipation going through her. “You’re really cool.”
Hitori blinks. “W-what?”
Kita stares back at her, conviction shining through like a gem in the light. “I was just thinking that, yesterday and today while we were playing. You didn’t quit your dream after you came into college. You still play guitar and everything, while I had to drop it.” she shuffles closer to Hitori, grabbing Hitori’s arms. “I admire that.”
“T-thanks, Kita-san…” Hitori’s body is burning up, like she’s sinking into a star. “I-I admire you too.”
Kita’s eyes go wide. “Is that so?”
Could Hitori talk about how pretty she is to her? No, that would make her sound incredibly shallow after how Kita said all of those things about her. “Y-yeah, um, you really helped me with my anxiety…” Hitori bites on a dry piece of her lip. “Whenever I’m overwhelmed, I think about you…”
Hitori sees Kita turning that piece of information within her mind like looking at a jewel in her hands. She comes in closer, her face close enough to Hitori that Hitori feels her breath, a sweet mint. “...That’s really sweet.” The blush on Kita’s face is a deep scarlet. “I…” Kita puts a hand on Hitori’s cheek, a soft touch. Hitori freezes and her walls crumble, a slow and mountainous fall of stone.
The scent of mint washes over Hitori again and Hitori stares and stares into that eternal green. Her face gets closer and closer until their noses are touching.
Kita brings her lips to Hitori's.
Kita’s lips feel soft and smooth against Hitori’s dry and chapped ones. The kiss is short, and Hitori pulls away slowly, stunned. Hitori breathes in and finds it stolen.
Kita’s hand is on her chin, pulling her back into another kiss. Soft like the last one and loving like all the rest of her. Hitori relaxes into the kiss, closing her eyes.
“That was your first kiss, wasn’t it?” Kita asks softly, her mouth stamping the words against Hitori.
Hitori could only nod. Her friend's— or is it girlfriend now? Do friends kiss each other in bed like this?—smile is small but radiant.
“Let me give you some pointers, okay?” Kita does, telling Hitori about how she should use her hands while kissing and another set of items that Hitori is overwhelmed by. Kita kisses her again and Hitori tries to follow her advice. Her hands unsteadily move to the back of Kita’s head. Her red hair feels like velvet, Kita tilting her head, laying her lips at a different angle. Hitori does the same.
The sunset turns dark, the streetlights cast a dim glow into Kita’s apartment as Hitori breathes away from Kita. Her body feels coiled like a poorly wrapped string and she feels wet between her legs. When this usually happens, she wants to drown in her own shame, Hanako's name faint on her lips.
Kita changes that.
Kita’s muscles are tight against Hitori’s hand on her neck. Kita is panting, and she’s looking at Hitori, predator to a small, small prey.
After a breath, Kita pounces on her, pinning her hands to the bed. Hitori doesn’t struggle. Kita moves her head down next to Hitori’s, Hitori shivering at the breath on her ears. The redhead’s lips touch her jaw and Hitori holds in her moan.
Kita's mouth rumbles down to Hitori's throat and she feels her entire body tighten. "Moan for me, Hitori-chan."
A peep comes out.
"Good enough."
Hitori gasps as Kita moves down and bites into her neck. This is not like their… make-out session, just a few moments ago. Kita was soft and tender and patient but now, she’s chewing on Hitori like she’s a piece of meat. Hitori’s body tightens at that thought and she arches into Kita.
“You like that, don’t you, Hitori-chan?” Kita’s voice is trailing down her neck and Hitori feels the borrowed PJs she has on being unbuttoned, one by one. Kisses stamp down onto Hitori’s chest until Kita reaches her breasts. A breath’s pause as Hitori stares into Kita, wrapping her hands onto Hitori’s naked bust and laying a gentle touch onto Hitori’s nipple. A warm serene wave goes through Hitori’s body as Kita rubs it. A moan comes out of Hitori’s throat, an accidental hit of a string.
Kita continues to caress Hitori’s chest as she pulls herself down until Hitori only sees her hair. WIth her other hand, Kita pulls off Hitori’s pants, the wave of cold air jolting Hitori. Kita’s breath on her arousal is like adding a humid breeze to that wave.
A finger enters into Hitori. She gasps, her vagina tightening around Kita. “You’re tight,” Kita states but Hitori can’t hear her over the want. The want of Kita to move, to just, give it to her. She bucks and Kita gives a sound of surprise. The finger exits out of her and it hollows Hitori. Then a tongue licks her.
Hitori jerks but Kita’s head is solid as she starts lapping Hitori. Kita removes her hands from Hitori’s breasts to Hitori’s thighs, going to work, delving her tongue in. Hitori pushes against the tongue and Kita explores her, the walls of her vagina wet. Hitori hands come down from grasping the sheets to holding Kita's silky hair. Hitori presses on Kita's head and— Hitori gasps as Kita finds her sweet spot. She feels Kita lips curl and her vision turns spotty. A steady rhythm forms from Kita’s mouth.
Through the arousal and Kita’s hands pressing against her legs, Hitori remembers wishing her old crush would do this to her. Lapping her up, seizing Hitori in sweet, sweet surrender. Hitori finds the reality, with someone’s else’s hand guiding her pleasure, so much more enjoyable.
Hitori feels her core getting tighter and tighter. “K-Kita-s-san!” Hitori rasps.
Kita looks back at her, eyes deep emeralds and wide. Redhead of dull ruby messy from sweat. Hitori sees a corner of a smile on her face. She’s so hot eating Hitori out.
With that thought, Hitori comes.
Every muscle in her body tightens, a fistful of hair in her hands as Hitori arches to the sky. Kita continues to eat her out until she’s bones and dust and the crying wind. The pleasure comes in waves until it dulls and Hitori flops onto the bed.
Her breath comes ragged and the ceiling is spinning. Oh jeez. Does she need a doctor now? Hitori feels pressure on the mattress and, despite her exhaustion, rolls to the side to see Kita beaming at her, naked.
“How was that?”
“T-that…'' was the closest I came to dying. “That w-was amazing…” Hitori looks at her and a question forms in her head. “W-where did you learn how to d-do that?”
Kita purses her lips and bites the inside of her cheek. “I did mention that I played guitar for a girl but did I ever mention we hooked up?” At Hitori’s eyebrows rising into her hair, Kita sighs. “We dated for a while and I learned how to do that from her.”
Makes sense. “C-could you…” Hitori tries to gesture at Kita but she flails her arms around, her hands shaking about towards her… girlfriend? “Um… could you teach me?”
Kita looks a bit surprised at that, though Hitori doesn’t understand why. The surprise fades into a smile. “Maybe after you’ve recovered, you still look like you’re spent.”
Hitori remembers how she felt when they were making out, that tightness in her body, that want. She knows that Kita has that too— an idea comes to her. “M-maybe you could just… sit on my face and you t-tell me how to… do… it…”
Kita’s face turns from curious to horrified to aroused within a span of a few moments.
“Sure,” Kita purrs and everything locks in place for Hitori. She feels that arousal coming back as Kita crawls over and places herself over Hitori’s head. A fluffy mound floats on top of Hitori’s mouth with a strong tangy smell.
“S-so, um…” Hitori peers up to Kita as Kita looks down on her.
“Just, stick your tongue in me,” Kita demands. Hitori feels some amount of self-satisfaction about being correct about Kita’s arousal. If only that feeling could bring her confidence. “I’ll tell you if it’s good or not.”
So, Hitori sticks her tongue into Kita. She tastes salty and there’s a texture that Hitori can’t describe. Hitori sticks her head up more into Kita’s crotch, trying to get her tongue deeper and with more leverage. Above her, Kita gasps.
“T-to the right—”
Hitori does that, getting enough feeling in her arms that she grips onto Kita’s thighs.
“L-like that!” Kita commands and Hitori continues doing so, listening to Kita’s increasingly heavy breaths. Ragged and coming quicker and quicker. Kita leans back, hips shaking against Hitori’s head. Elation fills Hitori as Kita’s panting turns into begging. Hitori's tongue struggles to stay in Kita but with her waning energy, Hitori stays on her.
Hitori wonders if all couples feel like this— this fanatic intensity. It's like playing a solo to a different instrument and Hitori feels she's hitting the right notes on the right beat.
"L-like that! God!" Kita stutters. Kita’s body twitches into her climax. “Hitori-chan, I’m—!” Kita’s legs tighten as she comes. She twitches in waves and after a few beats, she drops beside Hitori, head near Hitori’s knees. “Y-you’re… a quick learner,” Kita forces out in between breaths.
“Tha-thanks to you…” Hitori shimmies over to give Kita space to move around. Kita rolls over where their heads are level and looks into her eyes. Her body is covered in sweat and she smells like a swamp. It makes Hitori want to do it again. “U-um… do you…”
Kita pulls her in and kisses her.
-—-
“Hitori-chan. I’m late for work.”
“I-I-I’m late for school too!”
As I play into the dark.
Hitori stums to the beat of Ikuyo’s rhythm, her girlfriend shining to the crowd in front of them.
I look for you all the time.
Ikuyo has been a permanent part of her performances for… a while, Hitori can’t really remember what specific week they’d officially started dating.
And yet, silence is my only reply.
The song continues with Ikuyo’s wonderful singing and rhythm guitar, and Hitori is really glad that she got run over all of those months ago. The song ends, the crowd claps for them. “Tha-that’s the last song for the evening, thank you everyone!” Hitori yells to the crowd. She turns to her guitar case. Wow, that's a lot of money. She could probably actually get real food now instead of cup ramen. “N-nice work, Ikuyo.”
Ikuyo’s smile pierces the heavens. Or at least, it pierces Hitori's heart. “You did most of the work, Hitori.”
A pair of footsteps comes behind them and they both turn to see a blue haired girl with gold eyes and a blonde with red eyes. That last one seems familiar to Hitori… “Kita-san?” The blonde asks and Hitori looks over to see Ikuyo smile brightly at this stranger.
“Nijika-senpai, it’s been too long,” Ikuyo hugs her and looks over to the blue haired girl. “Ryo-senpai, you look better now.”
“You look happier, Ikuyo. I’m glad,” Ryo says, and that answer seems to stun Hitori’s girlfriend.
“U-um…” Hitori opens her mouth and their combined looks makes her want to jump into the river behind her. “Ikuyo, are these your old bandmates?”
Ikuyo nods. “That’s correct! I’m sorry I didn’t introduce you to them when they came up—” Ikuyo gestures to Nijika. “This is Ijichi Nijika, the leader and drummer of my old band!” Ikuyo throws her hands towards Ryo. “And this is Yamada Ryo, bassist and my ex.”
Ex?! Does that mean she’ll be jealous that Hitori is dating Ikuyo?!
“Hitori, you look like you want to jump into the river.”
Maybe she could hide in her guitar case until these strangers leave her and Ikuyo alone. But what if Ikuyo joins them?
“... She’s unique,” Nijika says politely and it breaks Hitori out of her spiral.
Ikuyo bites the inside of her cheek. “Yeah but she’s my girlfriend.” Ikuyo walks up and hugs Hitori. Hitori melts on the spot. “I love you.”
“L-love you too,” Hitori replies.
“Cute,” Ryo says and Hitori hears a snap.
“Ryo! Don’t take pictures of them without their permission!”
“Ikuyo doesn’t mind, and I’m sure her girlfriend has the same opinion… right?” Ryo is looking into Hitori’s eyes and Hitori nods. Nijika sighs with a palm in her face. They stop hugging and Ikuyo turns back to her old bandmates.
“Nijika-senpai, Ryo-senpai, this is my girlfriend, Gotou Hitori!” Ikuyo tries to mimic a trumpet though it sounds more like a deaf duck. Nijika is nice enough to give a genuine clap while Ryo stares between the two of them. “She got me back into playing after I saw her a few months ago, and now we’re playing together!”
“I’m glad for you, Kita-san,” Nijika smiles at her, fading sunlight framing her like she has angel wings. “After everything with your parents, I thought you would never come back to playing guitar.”
Ikuyo breathes in and Hitori notices this is the first time in the conversation that she looks uncomfortable. “Yeah,” but then she looks over to Hitori and brightens again. “I’m still thankful for you.”
“I-it’s no issue at all!”
Ikuyo looks back at the pair. “How about this, me and Hitori just finished our set. Why don’t we catch up at a nearby cafe?”
“As long as you’re pay—” Ryo starts but Nijika elbows her.
“We’d love that!”
After exchanging contact information and the location of the cafe, they leave Hitori and Ikuyo to pack up.
“I-I never expected to see your old bandmates out of the b-blue,” Hitori says as she puts away her guitar.
“Me neither, but I’m glad we did,” Ikuyo replies.
And I’m glad I’ve met you too.
Bloopers:
The nurse walks into the room and Hitori is gobsmacked. How in the world did someone so pretty get to work in a hospital?
“Oh! You’re awake!” The red haired angel looks at her. “Can you speak?”
“Y-yeah, I was wondering if I could get your number…” Hitori says with unusual confidence.
The Nurse looks at her sideways. “Nooo,” she stretches out the word. “Silly, if I do that, then we wouldn't get to the story, would we?”
Hitori stares, red washing over the black of her mind. And then she told her blindfold off.
She stares into her own ceiling in her college dorm, blinking off sleep. “What was that dream?” She asks herself. So vivid but… boring. And angsty too. Why couldn’t her dreams be a lot more… Dream-like?
A knock comes onto her door. Shaking out her limbs, Hitori moves to open it and sees two women. A blonde with red eyes and a blue-haired girl with gold eyes. She blinks at the both of them. Should she just close the door? They must’ve gotten the wrong room or—
“Are you Gotou Hitori?” the blonde asks. Hitori slams the door on both of them. They’re strangers out to hunt her! They must’ve seen her playing on the street and want to rob her!
Hitori grabs onto the nearest thing, a hard pencil case, and throws it at her window, shattering the glass. She has to get out of here!
-—-
Nijika looks at Ryo as they both hear a muffled scream behind the door, going fainter and fainter. “I told you that going to her dorm to ask about her performance was a bad idea!”
Ryo scratches her cheek and not looking like she didn’t cause someone to jump out of their own window. “It's not our fault she reacted like that.”
Nijika raises a finger. “But she definitely wouldn’t have jumped if we just went to her after she was done playing!”
“Yeah, she would’ve jumped into the river then.”
“No, she—”
They continue to bicker and outside, Hitori groans in a heap.
“...Gotou-san?”
Hitori looks up and her world is scattered in colors of fire red and lush green. Her legs move before her mind does and beforelong, it all turns into a cool blue.
-—-
“So what did we learn, Gotou-san?” the Nurse asks sweetly as she feeds a hot bit of soup into Hitori’s mouth.
“Do not panic and run when people come up to see me…” Hitori mutters, spoon still in her mouth.
“Good! Please don’t do that again.”
Hitori stops playing for the day and looks up to see—
Her body convulses and she drops into her guitar case with a dud.
“Gotou-san?!” the Nurse shouts and she gets into Hitori’s sight again. The Nurse is wearing a tight red dress, one that compliments what curves the Nurse has. She just looks so… hot. How could Hitori survive on the same planet as this woman? “Gotou-san, stay with me!”
The Nurse’s words fade as Hitori’s world turns into a fiery red.
The movie is interesting, Hitori registers in the back of her mind, getting more and more comfortable against Kita's shoulder. She smells like coconut. Hitori should ask for her shampoo…
It feels nice and warm here. It's getting pretty late too… Hitori's eyes shut. Just, a little nap and then she'll get out of here…
-—-
“Hitori! Hitori!” a restrained shout breaks her rest. “You’re missing the best part!”
Hitori opens her eyes to see two girls kissing. “Eh?” She blinks and, wow, they’re really going at it.
“I think we should do that!” Kita says, pointing at the screen.
“Wha-”
And before Hitori says anything else, Kita pounces on her.
Ikuyo nods. “That’s correct! I’m sorry I didn’t introduce you to them when they came up—” Ikuyo gestures to Nijika. “This is Ijichi Nijika, the leader and drummer of my old band!” Ikuyo throws her hands towards Ryo. “And this is Yamada Ryo, bassist and my ex.”
Ex?! Does that mean she’ll be jealous that Hitori is dating Ikuyo?!
“Hitori, you look like you want to jump into the river.”
Great suggestion, Ikuyo! Hitori sprints with all of her might to her escape.
-—-
“So…” Nijika says as the three of them stare at Hitori swimming away. “Your girlfriend is a character.”
Kita's only response is to sigh.