Falling
Author: Anita
Fandom: Takarazuka RPF
Characters: Tsukishiro Kanato / Akatsuki Chisei, Kazama Yuno, Umino Mitsuki
Genre: yuri, romance
Rating: PG 13
Summary: Chisei thinks she's finally found the one for her in
Kazama Yuno. Yuno, despite their year-long relationship, started
displaying worried over Chisei's tightness with Tsukishiro Kanato. But
it's normal to message one of your best friends nonstop, right? To make
it worse, the two are to spend month apart when Chisei and Yuno find a
confession Kanato wrote in the past, and Yuno is convinced Chisei was
the intended recipient. How can Chisei prove to Yuno she's imagining
things and maintain both her girlfriend and her friend who's also a girl
when it's no secret she considers Kanato the most beautiful woman ever?
Previous Chapter | Chapter 4 | Next Chapter
Falling
Chapter 4
Because it felt like a good idea, especially when Yuno was so far away back in Takarazuka, Ari continued sending her the texts she’d usually have sent Reiko, although now they were back to talking more normally. And yet, was planning a date normal? All night she was sending links and funny pictures and cute videos to her girlfriend while Reiko was out with Umino on their touristic date to one of the famous restaurants in Hakata so she wouldn’t be interrupted. Deep down, she’d have been on a table nearby hearing their talk if it were possible. Her plan was weird, that was her conclusion whenever she thought too much, but it fixed things almost seamlessly.
Late that night, Reiko sent her a picture of them too in front of the Fukuoka Tower, but didn’t comment whether they’d been up there. It hadn’t been in the date schedule Ari had helped with, but they looked like they had been having the fun of a lifetime with the charming nightscape behind them. It was impossible not to feel hypnotized by the depth of Reiko’s single dimple.
“Had a great time thanks to me?” Ari asked Umino during their first break of the day. Reiko was busy elsewhere and that could be her only chance to get a first-hand review.
Umino shook her head in disapproval. “You’re feeling all smuggish, huh?” But she smiled. “It was really good, we ate, then took a walk, took some pictures. I just don’t feel like I owe you anything.”
“I can’t believe that was only your first official date…”
“I can’t believe you allowed us to go on a date.” She snickered. “But Reiko-san finally explained to me over dinner that you were doing it for Odachin.”
“She said that?” Regardless of knowing Reiko had caught Ari’s true intentions behind that matchmaking adventure, she hadn’t expected her to tell Umino. “That’s not romantic at all!”
“Was that Odachin’s idea? Because I’m not lying, it’s unbelievable that you’re sharing your Reiko-san.”
“Odachin has nothing to do with this.”
Umino just shrugged.
“Why are you so nonchalant about the date?” Ari asked honestly confused. That shrug, the answer about what they’d done the night before, it didn’t sound at all like someone in love. Was it really true Umino had rejected Reiko years ago? Would she again when they seemed all snuggly together? “Eri-san, how do you feel about her?” She was regretting that straightforward question as it left her mouth.
“Too beautiful to be true?”
“I’m serious.” And also hurt, Umino had no idea how bothered she felt having to go into that topic.
“Ari, we had our first date last night. What do you expect me to feel this soon? She came out of the blue, and it took me ages to understand she was asking me out. But the pieces finally fit in my mind when she mentioned Odachin and you last night. So, assuming there will be another time, ask me in a month or two, and I’ll have my feelings more sorted out.”
“And you’re going out again, right?”
“She didn’t ask me, but I hope? Unless you change your mind and cancel the permission.”
Why did she think Ari’s participation had been so important? Would Reiko not go on if Ari asked her not to? She felt her stomach tighten.
“You should call her,” Ari said.
“She’s in the same building!”
“But you know Reiko-san can be shy for these things.”
Umino rolled her eyes and took her phone out. “I’m killing you if this interrupts whatever she’s doing.”
That was how things were meant to be. Ari couldn’t run from that reality as she saw Umino’s aggravated expression smoothening into a smile. That smile, unconscious smile of happiness. The evidence she had feelings for Reiko, like everyone already knew.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Trying not to think too much of what Umino and Reiko were talking about, Ari sent Yuno the picture of a dog stretching his paw over a kitten’s head, making it look like a half hug.
With Umino still lost in the call, Ari opened her Youtube app and checked the newest release from one of the users she followed recently, another funny video about daily life drawn in manga style. She still hadn’t had the chance to show it to Reiko, but even if she wasn’t trying to cut down on their communication, Reiko was obviously too busy. She sent the link of the channel to Yuno followed by two of her favorite videos so far, one was about how a singer became famous and the other about how it was to work part time at a maid café. That reminded her she hadn’t seen updates lately from another channel that presented stories in manga style but focused on funny stories about part-time jobs. Before she could remember the name to enter in the search, Yuno finally reacted to her messages. And not in the way she had expected.
“Why do you keep messaging so much?” she asked in a text message without any allusion to the videos or the image.
Ari gulped at first but regained control of her thoughts. Why would she jump to the conclusion that Yuno’s tone was cold? There were no emojis or stamps or GIFs to indicate she was mad. She could just be too busy with her play and finally noticed Ari’s effort to message her more. But instead of happy, she was now weirded out.
“We’re taking a break now,” Ari typed back, pretending the message hadn’t given her pause. “I can’t wait to see you on stage.” It wasn’t a lie she was counting the days to finally watch Yuno lead a Bow Hall performance. Remembering that day they got the news months before and how much they celebrated made her crave for much more than just the show. “And see you in my bed too.” She added all the dirty emojis she could think of and then doubled them.
Finally, it blinked that Yuno was typing her answer. But it was taking long for Ari to receive it. That was uncharacteristic. Had her first instinct been right and Yuno was indeed mad? Though Ari’s horniness had gotten the best of her, and she’d overdone it with the kinky emojis, what could take someone so much time? Sending long messages and hesitating wasn’t like her girlfriend at all and, combined with the first message, it was freaking her out. Yuno could be shy around people she wasn’t close with, so she’d take forever to answer when they started exchanging messages, but that was not her behavior with Ari now.
Wait. She had to act less guilty. Why did she keep going back to Yuno being mad? She could simply be busy; she had a whole show to be responsible for. It was even selfish of Ari to continuously making it about her.
Oda: I heard Reiko-san and Umi-san went out on a date?
Me: how did they know?!
Oda: Then you did have something to do with that.
Shoot, she’d outed herself. And probably her plans with it. Ari decided to send a couple of ashamed emoji combined with a dirty smile.
Me: maybe I gave them a little push
Me: but Reiko-san was so on board!
Me: can you believe it?
And the message that Yuno was typing blinked many times again. Was she talking with anyone? It wasn’t surprising the news had crossed regions and reached the Takarazuka side of the troupe, but wouldn’t Yuno want the inside scoop? Or was she mad exactly because Ari never said anything? What else could she have done if, with two words of gossip, Yuno had seen through her plan?
Oda: I need to go back.
So, she had been busy. Despite not feeling as relieved as she should have, Ari still let out a sigh as the tension partly left her body. And because Umino was still on the phone, she could just go back to check that Youtube channel and maybe even send Yuno the link for her to relax during the next break.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
“Come on a date with me?” Reiko asked her out of the blue. No hesitation, no preamble.
Ari was speechless, trying to find out if someone was playing a prank on her, because it made no sense for Reiko to invite her on a date two days after she’d gone out with Umino. “Come again?” she managed to mumble despite her boggled eyes and dry mouth.
She had avoided being alone with Reiko for the whole day after that endless phone chat with Umino. Whenever the two had talked, Ari made sure to be with enough people. But why was that? Why was she so confused that she couldn’t be a proper friend when the date had been part of her plan? The truth was Ari didn’t understand her own self, along with Yuno and her best friends. She didn’t know what she was doing anymore and needed some timeout. Being apart from her girlfriend was supposed to be easier, be the breather their relationship showed to need lately, but she’d carried their problems in her luggage from the looks of it and couldn’t run away.
That day she had been sending the video of a fluffy dog making its owner’s bed to Yuno when Reiko found her. Ari hadn’t planned to hide from her like the day before, but she’d been so busy she wasn’t ready to face her either. Reiko’s presence was always this blinding? She smelled of the same soap they’d just used from the shower—not that they had shared the same bar or even the same shower. Reiko had had more to rehearsal before it, and Ari just went on ahead. Although she had been quick to clean herself and had used the very same brand of soap, Reiko still smelled much better.
“Were you running from me after Eri-chan told you she knows of your intervention?” Reiko asked in a light tone.
Nonetheless, that still sounded like an accusation. “What did she tell you?”
“That you insisted she had to call me after the date, and that our date had been boring.”
“I never said that!” she rebuked, but in the back of her mind she remembered she had implied it enough. “Sorry for meddling, though. I think Odachin wasn’t very satisfied either.”
“Are you two okay, Ari? I’ve been wondering but wanted to wait for you to be ready to talk about it.”
“So that you don’t meddle like I did to you?” She snickered.
Reiko joined her, laughing lightly, but then denied. “I asked you for help, so… I just didn’t expect you to be a double agent. Though I should, shouldn’t I? You’re best friends with Eri-chan.” Her eyes pierced Ari. “You can trust me, if you want to talk, but you don’t have to force yourself. Now I’m asking myself if I wasn’t open enough, because I feel so out of place about these things I may have avoided listening whenever you talked about Odachin.”
Reiko might not have known whether she had closed their communication, but Ari was sure she had on her part. Who knew if she slipped one day about her crush on Reiko and made her uncomfortable? Also, because things with Yuno, and any other girl, had started more physical, she had been embarrassed every time to give details. In the end, Yuno had been her most serious and lasting relationship. However, she had never considered that Reiko herself didn’t talk about crushes or love. She’d given summaries about her blind dates but never what was going on in her mind. Ari wouldn’t ask either. She’d been grateful Reiko didn’t call the others hot or described what she’d do to them in bed.
“But it’s time to change,” Reiko continued. “You’ve got an actual girlfriend, and I want you to know I’m here to listen to you. Also, I’m not getting any younger. We’re past the age we can call this youth, isn’t it depressing? Time to seize the day!”
“You speak like we’re two grannies in a nursing home,” Ari joked.
“I’ve been thinking about what you told Eri-chan, and I need a favor.”
Ari was curious about what exactly had Umino told Reiko she had said. She didn’t remember criticizing their so-called date so vocally, albeit accurate with her actual thoughts.
“Come on a date with me?” Reiko asked with joined hands. “Please?”
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Ari had just thought she’d misheard Reiko’s invitation or that, at best, she’d meant it a shopping “date”—they had talked before about buying Yuno a gift. One thing she’d been sure at the time: she hadn’t meant it as a romantic date. Strangely, she wasn’t either right or wrong.
“I can’t believe you two just ignored the tower.” Ari stood on a platform that had the perfect angle for photos of the Hakata Tower, the very place Reiko and Umino had taken the one she’d received.
“I swear I suggested going inside, but she said that then the tower wouldn’t be in the photos.”
Ari had indeed seen the product in Umino’s Instagram account. A charming angle with the perfect lighting. Although she’d been alone in all the shots, it was obvious Reiko had been the photographer.
CLICK
She looked in the direction of the sound and Reiko was beaming as she showed her phone. Ari was in profile with unfocused eyes turned to the tower. It was so Instagrammable, no one would believe that hadn’t been posed.
“Eri-chan did have a point, the view here is great.”
“Next time, take her to the restaurant on the second floor. Just don’t forget to book there first, I think the dinner course is only sold through reservation, or something. Then you ask her which view she prefers, some tower or the Hakata Sea.” Ari pointed to the opposite direction. It wasn’t visible from where they were standing but they could feel the salt in the breeze so close it was to the beach.
“We can pick ours soon.”
“What do you mean?” Ari looked around confused.
What would they pick? Were they going to the beach? It was a bit crazy when it was already dark and the breeze that smelled so great was also cold as expected from the fall. It could only get worse on the beach and to do what? Had Reiko hit her head? She did ask for help with improving her dating skills through that fake rendezvous, so maybe they should start with not picking annoying places like the beach at night.
“You’re making such a funny face, I could watch it all night.” Reiko pressed her index finger against the tip of Ari’s nose. “I’ve already booked a table for us, and I read it’s best to get there before seven” she checked her watch “which is pretty soon.”
“Wait, I told you to take Umi-san there, not me. This is just a simulation, don’t waste your cards.” Moreover, she wasn’t into paying for someone else’s date to succeed.
“But… wasn’t that the point of tonight? I need to test my cards to know how they’ll work.”
“She wouldn’t like to be your second, even if I don’t count.”
Reiko was silent, though there was nothing to consider in that situation. Going there with anyone else was a big no. “Well,” she said tentatively, “it’s already done, so let’s enjoy it. Compensation for the little time we get to spend together lately, how about it?”
Ari felt weird because that didn’t sound like a fake date anymore. “But it’s a great idea for Eri-san.”
“We’ll come up with another.” Reiko offered her hands like a gentleman inviting to a dance. “Shall we? Be a good girl and enjoy our date.”
Chuckling, Ari shook her head. “Ordering me around won’t make it a good date, Reiko-san.”
“Duly noted.” She winked and pulled Ari’s hand into her arm. “Milady?”
To be continued...
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