"The best... gift?"
Soga Yura's beautiful eyes were swimming, luminous with a watery sheen — and completely at a loss. Her gaze darted helplessly, with nowhere to land.
Because, for Soga Yura, the sight before her was simply... far too much.
The girl who had tugged her blouse collar open, who had pulled her sky-blue tie loose — just that much alone was already a near-infinite temptation for Soga Yura.
Iori had thought ahead for both of them, right down to their clothes.
Soga Yura wore a sky-blue long gown. The gorgeous, elaborate hair rosette and the great cascading clusters of lace at her chest were all deep navy.
And Su Yuzu, in her navy formal dress, had her tie and every last small accessory done in crisp, clear sky-blue.
But Soga Yura was well aware that she could no longer tear her gaze away — not even by a fraction.
The girl had tilted her head just slightly downward, delicately lifting the silver chain at her neck — drawing up that ring wound about with flowering branches.
The ring was so white.
It seemed to overflow with a soft, sweet fragrance.
Soga Yura felt the very tip of her heart trembling.
[A... ring...]
The girl bit her lip, pressing those glistening petals of her mouth into a thin, tight line.
She watched the girl lower the silver chain. She watched the ring slip back down — down into that abyss that haunted her dreams.
Su Yuzu made no move to re-tie her tie or do up her buttons.
The night breeze tossed the girl's hair into gentle disarray, and that faint citrus-like fragrance threaded through her strands kept drifting, kept encroaching, into Soga Yura's domain.
"I've already received the best gift~" Every word the girl spoke carried an unwavering certainty.
"After all, this is a Holy Relic~"
But I, on the other hand... Soga Yura's gaze dropped.
She had downed an entire glass of wine just to work up her nerve.
Even now, she could still feel the trace of that wine lingering on her lips — that almost-bitter fragrance.
The alcohol made her feel as though her whole body was burning up, her cheeks flushed scarlet — yet somehow it had lent her what felt like boundless courage.
But... in the face of Yuzu's smile, that courage was being devoured, bit by bit.
Really. She had already walked through Abysses far more terrifying than this.
So why — the moment her gaze fell on the open collar the girl had pulled loose, on the delicate collarbones beneath that slackened tie — did she feel like she could barely string words together?
"Yuzu..."
"As long as Yuzu likes it." Soga Yura could only feel her own voice growing smaller and smaller.
"I love it~" And yet the girl — was as confident as if she were the protagonist of this story.
Only, Soga Yura did not know — whether what Yuzu loved was the design of those twin-set rings.
Or... something else entirely.
"Oh — r-right..."
"I prepared another gift for Yuzu as well." She ducked her head in a flustered rush, and perhaps it was the alcohol — Soga Yura could feel her words coming out slightly slurred.
Though... perhaps it was also the alcohol.
Soga Yura felt as though all her senses had been sharpened to an unbearable keenness.
She could hear the clamorous noise of the banquet hall at her back.
She could feel it — the curiosity of those girls who had followed Yuzu out here, the girls who had gradually come to fill the place that should have been hers alone, their attention trained on this balcony.
And... the puffed-up pout of their cheeks.
But today was a special day.
Today — was the day she was supposed to have her privileges.
The sounds of the world and every shift of the wind were all magnified inside Soga Yura's mind — and yet the thing that stirred her heart the most was still every tiny movement of the girl before her.
The breeze made the formal dress ripple and snap.
Hair strands brushed together with a soft, whispering sound.
Soga Yura produced a gift box that looked, all things considered, rather presentable.
The handmade box's craftsmanship could only be called exquisite.
For a gift that Soga Yura had made with her own hands, it was perhaps just a little... lacking.
Because Soga Yura had made this herself.
She watched the girl before her with anxious care, then gently squeezed both sides of the box. It sprang open on its own — revealing, nestled inside, a watch.
It was a remarkably exquisite and rare mechanical timepiece.
The face of the watch lay open, exposing the turning gears and movement within.
Watching those gears turn had a way of easing one's heart.
Even as she had poured endless imagination into its commission — for instance, this watch would begin its count from today, the birthday of both of them.
When this same day came around next year, the moving mechanism would reveal both her name and Yuzu's.
And yet, at the moment of presenting it, Soga Yura could only open and close her mouth, unable to produce a single word.
D-do you... like it?
Her tongue felt as though the alcohol had numbed it. Every word she managed felt laced with the scent of wine. Her heart hammered on and on without rest.
"Love it~"
[Yuzu...]
[She's too close.]
"Let Sister put it on for me." The girl extended her wrist toward her.
Soga Yura had heard the word "Sister" more times today alone than in all the past ten years combined.
With trembling hands, Soga Yura took hold of the girl's wrist.
It was completely unlike her own frail hands.
Something about Yuzu made her feel... safe.
Through the girl's slightly cool skin, Soga Yura could feel the heat being transferred from her own hands.
She was the one who had been drinking, after all.
She was the one who, in this story, should have turned into the wolf.
And yet — Soga Yura had the sudden, strange sense that this wolf of hers wasn't standing on such firm ground after all.
And the little white rabbit who was supposed to be trembling before the big bad wolf — might not, perhaps... be any ordinary, gentle bunny.
But rather the kind of heavily-armored little rabbit from manga and anime that would launch fireballs and unleash forbidden spells.
And... not exactly little, either.
Her trembling fingers fumbled with the clasp of the watch strap, unable to fasten it.
In the midst of that flustered confusion —
Somewhere along the way, their foreheads had come to rest against each other.
"Sister's forehead is so warm..."
"Are you feeling unwell?"
"Mm..." Soga Yura felt as though she was losing the ability to speak.
"If you're feeling unwell... you should go rest."
"No!!!" Soga Yura refused on pure instinct.
And then — she saw the corners of the girl's lips slowly curl upward. "It's alright —"
"I'll stay with Sister."
"When we were little, Sister sneaked a sip of Iori-nee's sake, and her cheeks and body were just this warm."
"Back then I thought Sister had come down with something."
"O-okay, that's enough..." Soga Yura had the nagging feeling that if she let Yuzu keep talking, another piece of embarrassing history she had almost managed to forget would be permanently added to the record.
Hm... why "another."
"Just like back then — I'll stay with Sister."
Their foreheads still resting together, the tips of their noses just barely touching.
"Can Sister still walk?"
"I... I can..."
For all that she'd said she could walk, Soga Yura felt her body suddenly go weightless — and found herself lifted, cleanly, into Su Yuzu's arms.
"Yuzu..."
"Close your eyes~" The girl leaned in close, murmuring against Soga Yura's ear.
Soga Yura closed her eyes.
In truth, closing her eyes made little difference for a mental-type Esper — least of all one at Soga Yura's level.
She felt the wind suddenly rise. The girl holding her leapt from the balcony in a single bound.
Su Yuzu was selfish in her own way.
She had no intention of letting those tiresome onlookers catch a glimpse of her Sister's adorable flushed cheeks.
Su Yuzu took the long way around, carrying Soga Yura back to her room.
Not until the very instant before Su Yuzu was about to push open her bedroom door did Soga Yura suddenly seem to snap back to her senses — and immediately began to squirm, trying to climb down from Su Yuzu's arms.
"Yuzu..."
"Yuzu, wait!!!"
But it was already too late.
Su Yuzu pushed the door open with effortless ease.
The interior of Soga Yura's room was, almost entirely, a shrine to Su Yuzu.
Photographs of Su Yuzu.
Club photos. Award photos. Photos from when they were small.
Su Yuzu's certificates, her trophies — and every single gift Su Yuzu had ever given her.
But the most conspicuous thing of all was on Soga Yura's neat, tidy bed — a large body pillow, nearly as tall as the girl herself.
The style of the pillow was almost identical to the one Su Yuzu had seen in [Operator Development] — the one Soga Yura was always hugging and rolling around with.
"Yuzu." Soga Yura felt as though she was coming completely undone.
She could feel her neck, her cheeks, the roots of her ears — all rapidly heating up, burning all the way to the tips of her hair.
"Yuzu — Yuzu, let me explain."
"There's no need to explain~" The girl's soft murmur made Soga Yura feel as though she truly might not survive this.
"It's just... it's this small?"
"Huh?"
"Sister really has been limiting her own imagination, hasn't she~"
"Wh — what?!?"
That teasing voice — and then Soga Yura watched as those crimson eyes drew startlingly, dangerously close.
—
The evening wind moved through the dark, cool and lonesome.
Only in the banquet hall, seated in what was almost the farthest corner — Lyudmila.
The Saintess sat with her hands folded in quiet prayer.
She could not hear the voice of the divine within her heart. The nameless deity she served... had uncharacteristically not come today, either.
She looked at the clock.
Time crept forward, drawing near to midnight.
Strange... being forgotten by that wretched goddess ought to have been something worth celebrating.
And yet, why did her heart feel so... empty.
____
________________________________________
🌸 Help Love Bloom!
Our girls need a little push... and you can help!
💖 Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 50 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter to warm your hearts.
🚀 Community Reward: If we reach 20 supporting members, we'll have a +5 chapter marathon across all stories! The romance won't stop.
👻 Come to our secret corner: Search for GirlsLove on (P). You know that's where the magic happens... 😉