Sakura Mochi (LGBTQ+)

Chapter 5 - Po the Fish

"Rin, heavens above, please stand still!" Onaeni exclaimed from beside me, already at his wit's end.

I couldn't help it, though. Today was special. After months of begging my parents, Haru was coming to visit! Sure, Mizuki and her parents have visited before, especially now that Akira and Mizuki are mated, but Haru was never allowed to come over. It sucked. How could I have a friend I never saw? We hadn't had any fancy events recently either, so Yuki and I had been in the dark about whether we'd see our friend again soon.

Today was it. Finally, we could hang out without the uncomfortable heavy robes and boring adults. We could have fun! Yuki was as excited as I was as she bounced on her heels. She was more subtle about her excitement than I was. She squeezed my hand instead, trying to contain herself.

When we saw two dragons approaching the estate, a wide grin stretched across my face. "HARU!" I screamed, waving at the sky frantically.

"Rin!" Oneani exclaimed, reaching out to grab my other hand to control me.

"Leave them be, Onaeni," Nobi spoke up. They were usually on the quiet side. Noni was the loud one between the two. "They are excited. Let those two be children for a day."

"Your excellence, they are nobles, they shouldn't behave in such a manner in public," our nanny tried to explain, but Nobi shook their head as a sign to end the discussion.

The two dragons landed before us. They were gorgeous. One was a bright, vibrant blue with shimmering green scales that seemed to move like gentle waves. Their body was sleek and longer, perfect for swimming through the ocean. The other was covered in frosty scales with beautiful icy horns. Puffs of cold smoke left them as they breathed. Their eyes were a piercing shade of icy blue that made me feel chilly. Ice dragons weren't very common in our part of the kingdom. We were a coastal town. Water and forest dragons were much more common. I supposed that was part of why Mizuki was chosen for Akira. Mizuki had a unique bloodline to mingle with ours.

On top of the water dragon popped out a head of fluffy white hair. "Rin! Yuki!" It yelled, sliding off the dragon to run to us.

Yuki and I ran from Onaeni to meet our friend, converging on him in a tight group hug. Haru laughed loudly and hugged us back.

"Did you get taller?" Yuki asked.

Once we pulled back, I realized that Haru had indeed gotten taller. He had close to half a head on us now. In fact, Haru looked different. He looked older, more mature. But, his smile was still the same. Still as charming as ever. When Haru laughed again, I snapped myself out of my thoughts to pay attention to him, surprised when I heard the deep voice that erupted from my friend, "Yeah! I bloomed recently," he explained.

"Lucky!" Yuki and I both exclaimed at the same time, taking a moment to glare at each other playfully.

Sure, we were twins, but we were so different. We didn't usually agree on things fully. We were our own people, of course. Whenever we did happen to connect mentally, it was a joke of ours to get pretend upset. I hoped it would stay that way even when we grew up. I loved my sister. She was my other half. She was my reason, wisdom, kindness, and intelligence. I was her curiosity, strength, impulsivity, and confidence.

"Look what I can do," Haru boasted.

He touched his chest and slowly pulled his hand away. As he did, a small flame followed his hand. It was certainly tiny, very frail, and thin, but it was a pretty shade of icy blue, like the ice dragon's eyes. It extinguished pretty quickly, causing us all to giggle. "I'm still working on it," Haru explained bashfully, ducking his head.

"Children," Nobi called out.

We turned to face our parent and saw that they were with Haru's transformed parents now. "We will be heading to my study. Please be good for Onaeni, and don't cause any trouble. Understood Rin?"