Can I Be Fleeting Too?

Chapter 5 - The 'Pocky Game'

"Eh... EEEEHH?!" Himari yelled, attracting attention from everyone in the room.

Tomoe mustered up as much courage as she could. "It's normal for best friends at this age, my kitten~"

Himari gasped. "D-did you just quote Kaoru?!"

"Maybe~! Ahaha!" Tomoe chuckled nervously.

"W-well... okay! Let's play the 'Pocky Game' then!" Himari recovered from her surprise and focused on ticking this off of her bucket list.

Himari put a pocky stick in her mouth. Tomoe bit onto the other end.

Himari was nervously fidgeting. Eating Pocky... no, playing the "Pocky Game" with Tomoe... her cheeks flushed red. She got closer to Tomoe, and the bold yet comforting look in her eyes make Himari's heart quicken.

Tomoe pushed her nerves aside as she advanced further up the Pocky stick. She wrapped her arms around Himari, cherishing the sweetness of her perfume.

Tomoe's lips were only a few centimetres from Himari's now. Her heartbeat was pounding madly, as strongly as her Taiko drum. She couldn't wait for her lips to connect with Himari's soft, plush-

"Aah!" The pocky stick cracked just millimetres from their kiss. A bashful Himari looked up apologetically.

"I'm so sorry Tomoe! I didn't w-want to break it! In fact, I was looking forward to it! I mean, ugh..." Himari was close to tears.

Tomoe held Himari tightly. "Don't worry Himari. I know you didn't mean to. Wait... you were looking forward to it?"

"Uuuu... shall we try again?" Himari suggested.

Tomoe rejoiced in her head. "Yeah!"

As their faces got gradually closer together, Tomoe felt a gaze pierce her, but she tried to shake it off. But, as their lips touched, Tomoe didn't have a care in the world.

The feeling was crazy. Himari's lips were softer than Tomoe could have even imagined. She instinctively reached to stroke Himari's cheek, making Himari blush harder. She got completely lost in the moment, her mind going completely blank.

When the two finally pulled away, Himari was as red as Ran's guitar. Tomoe was as red as her own hair. Both of them giggled nervously.

They then noticed three pairs of eyes fixated on them, Moca's being smug, Ran's being surprised, and Tsugumi's being cheerful.

"W~wow, Tomo-Chin, you are smooth~." Moca teased.

"W-woah..." Ran gasped.

"That's so sweet you guys!" Tsugumi beamed.

"E-eheh, it was only the 'Pocky Game'..." Himari blushed.

"Y-yeah..." Tomoe added. Ran gave her a knowing smile.

"Well, it was nice of you to help Himari-Chan tick it off her list!" Tsugumi responded, smiling.

Everyone smiled back at Tsugumi. Trust her to be able to lighten the mood.

"Erm... shall we practice now?" Ran asked.

"Yep!" The rest of Afterglow chimed.

"Let's start with our new song then." Ran set the sheet music in front of each band member.

"Wow Ran-Chan, you've been working hard!" Himari gasped in shock. "I'm proud!"

"This song looks like it'll be great too! Good job Ran!" Tomoe chuckled.

"Ran, you're... Rantastic~." Moca said playfully.

"Doing this all by yourself! Wow!" Tsugumi encouraged.

"It... it was nothing... you guys..." Ran figeted shyly.

During practice, Tomoe could not get the kiss off of her mind. Sure, she was just trying to help Himari accomplish one of her wishes, but she felt like it was so much more than that. Her heart pounded to the beats of the music, quick and slow, quick then slow.

Himari's heart was racing fast. Tomoe was so brave... so wonderful... and she was so gentle too... Himari thought.

Little did she know this caused her timing to be a little off.

"Himari? Are you still with us?" She saw someone shake their hand in front of Himari's face.

"H-huh? I'm fine Tomoe!" Himari giggled, trying to focus. "Don't worry~!"

"I'm... not Tomoe..." Ran responded.

Himari chuckled. "Y-you're not? Ah... ahaha..."

"Maybe we should take a break guys?" Tsugumi suggested.

"Good idea." The others replied.

Himari sat down wearily and sighed. "Oh... I don't know what came over me..."

"Maybe it was what happened with Tomoe." Tsugumi said. "That wasn't your first kiss, was it?"

"No... I've had a few before... it just felt... different..."

"Ah right. Well, maybe in this one, there was more of a connection between you and Tomoe? I mean, we've all been friends forever, so it could be that with this kiss, there was something special about it. I mean, I've never been kissed by anyone, so I wouldn't know."

"It's annoying." Himari cried. "All I can think of is Tomoe!"

"Maybe you should try talking to her. She may have felt the same was about it. But you'll never know if you don't ask." Tsugumi reassured.

"Also, Tsugu, do you know why Tomoe has been acting a bit like Kaoru at all?"

"Acting like Kaoru? In what way?"

Himari sighed. "She's been saying the word 'fleeting' and called me 'my kitten'. That's not like Tomoe, that's like Kaoru, and I'm worried for her."

Tsugumi immediately realised the exact reason why Tomoe was acting this way.

She's trying to impress Himari... Tsugumi thought.

Of course, she couldn't tell Himari this. She had to keep it secret, for Tomoe's sake.

"Maybe you should let her carry on with this. I mean, you like Kaoru, don't you?"

Himari fidgeted. "Well... yeah..."

"It should be fine then. She could have just wanted to practice for some sort of event, like the White Day musical they did last year."

"That was a very good musical..."

Tsugumi beamed. "She's fine then. I wouldn't worry about it if I were you."

"If you say so. I know I can trust you, Tsugu." Himari gave Tsugumi a warm hug. Slightly surprised, Tsugumi returned the hug.

"And I know Sayo is very lucky to have you, Tsugu." Himari winked.

"Eeh? You know about Sayo and I?" Tsugumi blushed.

"I figured it out. Call me the love doctor!" Himari grinned.

Tsugumi smiled.

She knows about other's relationships... but not her own... Tsugumi thought. I wonder how long it will take for her to realise Tomoe's feelings about her...