Before the summer night falls | Ayamiya

I

It was a late night in the Kamisato household, Ayaka just came back from a long day of "running errands" around Narukami Island, especially Inazuma city.

It wasn't unusual for Ayaka having to help around doing some tasks in the city, but that day she had more to get done than her usual number, simply because her brother had some more "important business" to take care of, more likely in some of the other islands.

She was absolutely drained, so as soon as she got inside, her first thought was to finally complete all the work that was left, then maybe, after that long and hard day, she could have finally had some of her well-needed rest.

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There was complete silence. The only thing you could hear were the tapping of a pen, some occasional "Hmm.." and Ayaka turning multiple papers then group them all up tidily.

It became somewhat too quiet for her.

Usually, Ayaka wouldn't mind it, especially while working. So why did it bother her so much now?

Well, simply because of her.

That day, she wasn't alone running errands, she had some company.

"I can't imagine how stressful and tiring it could have been if it wasn't for her..Thanks a lot, 'Miya." Ayaka smiled lightly.

Before she even realized, the snowy haired girl was already lost in her own train of thoughts.

Being from the Kamisato clan, Ayaka and her brother, Ayato had gone through some hard times, and all of this alone, left on with only their power to rely on. While her brother had to keep carrying on for the clan, the most present person in her life was Thoma, that was basically the errand runner of the house and one of the few people that was trusted by Kamisato siblings, but other than that, it was mostly dread from people. Even doing tasks such as simply walking down the street became stressful, as they had the constant worry of potentially getting assassinated which was indeed, quite possible. Although later in the years they did manage to restore the clan and gain their well deserved respect, sometimes she felt like that got in the way of her reaching out to people and making friends.

While Ayaka always keeps her noble facade, deep down, she's simply a lonely girl, yearning for company that she can't have for her status. That was the price to pay for being a noble figure in Inazuma and she knew full well she had little to no power over it.

But things somewhat changed after Yoimiya came around.
She wasn't scared or felt inferior to Ayaka, and, although she still deeply respected her she made the princess not feel so lonely anymore, and she absolutely admired that. She managed to make even the most boring of tasks, conversations or whatever came to her mind fun, and the most admirable thing was that she didn't do that for her own enjoyment. She was determined in her own beliefs, and of course, Ayaka could see that. Perhaps yes, she was the friend she so badly needed.

"Yoimiya is always so nice, she never judges anyone based on the background and makes sure everyone feels loved in one way or another. She's truly an admirable person."

"..I wish it was that easy for me..you helped me a lot though..I truly hope there's some way I could repay you, even for today.."

Usually, when approaching Inazuman citizen, Ayaka had an hard time having a clear communication, mostly because people got nervous around her and the most they could ever try to do was to shower her with compliments, even though some of those weren't always created by genuine thoughts, instead mostly by feelings of unease, and by consequence, that forced her to spend more time on tasks that required her to get in contact with people than it was needed. But with the Naganohara girl around, everything changed and she finally had a clearer communication with less useless barriers with average citizens and it helped her out a lot.