As spring comes (cowt 9, week 7, M4 - Primavera)

[hakurenshi]

 

Prompt: primavera
Missione: M4
Parole: 1588
Warnings: genderbend, shoujo-ai.

Spring is the best season to enjoy a lot of things, yet she can’t help but feel nervous; as she was leaving the classroom she noticed Nito running towards the first year class and then outside. Lunch time for their school usually means that in beautiful days like this they can eat in the large courtyard, for example, and she was thinking about inviting Nito - with… Tsumugi’s help, maybe? - and yet it seems like it won’t be possible.
«Kiryu-san, is everything okay?» Tsumugi asks, now next to her. Kiryu looks at her: they are not the best friends you could think of, but they manage enough and share some hobbies. They both enjoy handcrafts, especially clothes and embroidery, for example. Also, Tsumugi is quite calm which it’s pretty rare in their class.
«Yes, it is.» she mumbles «I was thinking about eating lunch outside.»
«It sounds like a wonderful idea. Maybe we could ask Nito-san too?»
Kiryu suspects that Tsumugi knows. She never asked though - it’s very hard, for her, to share such private matters with others and that’s the main reason why she never asked for advice about confessing.
«I think Nito-san is busy.» she replies, careful to not let any emotion betray her «We can go and enjoy the cherry blossoms, though.»
«Indeed!» Tsumugi says happily «It would be such a waste to not have lunch outside during spring!»

They have more or less emptied half of their bento boxes when Nazuna suddenly reaches them under the tree. It’s totally unexpected, yet (of course) they welcome her. A simple look and Kiryu can tell there is something wrong - she is pouting, which is adorable, but at the same time it doesn’t suit her… not as much as her usual, cheerful smile at least, and—
«Is everything okay, Nito-san?»
«It would be if Hibiki-san could stop bothering my cute kohai, Aoba-san.» she replies, a snort while she sits. The skirt of her uniform flaps a bit and the first thing Kiryu wants to do is to fix it, but she stops herself from doing it. She doesn’t really need to ask what Nito is talking about, because she knows it: Hibiki is one of their classmates, and more or less everyone knows she has a crush on a first year - and even the walls know that Nazuna is the most popular senpai because she tends to protect the younger ones, especially three of them and Mashiro Tomoko is one of them. The poor girl is being targeted by Hibiki and… well. Hibiki could make even a saint angry.
«I will ask Sakuma-san to do something about it.»
«Ah, I think Rei-san will be of some help for sure. Isn’t she the one who is better at dealing with Hibiki-san, after all?»
«Since they are both part of the oddballs, yeah. Should be. Anyway, Hibiki-san made me angry and almost made me skip my lunch!» Nazuna declares, opening her bento box. Kiryu lifts her eyes to the cherry blossoms: she is not a great expert of flower language, yet she knows someone who likes them enough to know it and that is unexpectedly good at ikebana despite not looking like the kind of person who would be. From what Kanzaki told her when she asked her, the name “Nazuna” means “I’ll offer my everything to you”... it’s such a lovely name and it suits Nito so much—
«Kiryu-san?» Tsumugi calls her and that’s when she notices that the other girl stood up already. She has a calm yet knowing smile on her lips: «I was telling Nito-san that I’m going back first, since I want to ask something to Itsuki-san before the lunch break ends. See you later in class!» she says, and she goes like that.
Kiryu never planned this, she is not ready and not talkative even when she expects things, let alone when she doesn’t. Nazuna, on the other part, looks perfectly at ease. They have been classmates for two years - in her first one Nazuna was in the same class as Itsuki and frankly speaking she noticed that her childhood friends had a very big crush on Nito, no matter how much denied the thing was… sometimes Kiryu notices the two girls in the hallway and something twists her stomach. Yet she would have never dared to say anything if they were together, no matter how much she observed Nazuna during years and how she fell in love with her.
«I was wondering» Nazuna says, and she simply has to focus on her «wasn’t spring when we met for the first time, Kiryu-san?»
«...Yes, it was the spring of our first year, in front of the notice board with the names of all the new students.» she replies, not sure about where this conversation is going to end. Nazuna picks a small portion of her bento and eats it, chewing slowly and savoring it. Kiryu doesn’t know if it’s because she is so tiny or whatever, but she reminds her of a small animal and it’s really, really cute. To the point that without further thoughts, Kiryu reaches out her hand to pick a flower petal that fell from the tree and stopped on Nazuna’s hair. The blonde girl looks surprised and a bit embarrassed, initially, but she smiles (a bit shyly?) when she notices the petal in Kiryu’s hand.
«Oh, thank you, Kiryu-san.» she says, and it makes Kiryu feel embarrassed as well.
«Hm.»
They stay silent for a few minutes, just eating and enjoying the view. There are a lot of sceneries she loves, but spring is one of her favorite after all - as much as autumn, in fact. She learnt how to appreciate spring even more since she came to this school and made friends with Hasumi and Kanzaki, but right now it also feels nerve-wracking.
There is something Kiryu is dying to ask, and it’s not like they will ever had a better chance to do so, so she has to be brave right now.
«Are you angry with Hibiki because you don’t like the idea of Mashiro falling in love with her?»
Meaning: do you find annoying the thought of a girl in love with another girl?
Nazuna doesn’t even need to think about the question, apparently: «I am angry because I want Hibiki to be serious about Tomo-chin!» she exclaims, a small pout on her lips as if it’s so obvious that this shouldn’t even need an explanation. Kiryu looks at her, but has not time to ask for more details since Nito gives them to her anyway.
«Tomo-chin is a good girl. She’s dependable and very serious, and she’s younger. Hibiki, being the older one, should be clear with her feelings and if she means it when she flirts with Tomo-chin, I hope she will show it soon.» she adds, finally satisfied with her reply to Kiryu. This is somehow reassuring, yet Kiryu is not really sure if this means she should confess: after all Nito being at ease with the idea of two girls together doesn’t mean that she is okay with a girl herself.
«...Is it okay if I ask you a question?» Nazuna surprises her, but she nods because she has no reasons to deny her such a simple thing. Nito seems to think about it for a while before voicing her doubts: «Aoba-san told me that maybe there is someone you like, and that I should have asked you to be sure. I was wondering… is it Itsuki?»
Kiryu can’t help but be surprised, because why Itsuki of all— well, it’s not like she can’t understand where this is coming from, with them being childhood friends and all. Yet, is that the impression everyone has about them?
«We are nothing but friends from our childhood.» she replies, Nazuna’s reddish eyes focused on her «Is that the vibe we give off?»
«Not really— I mean, Itsuki doesn’t have a lot of friends… and you look very familiar with each other, and she never really mentioned you being childhood friends in front of me. Also, I… well, it’s pretty stupid.»
«I promise I won’t laugh.» Kiryu assures, and Nito is convinced enough to keep going: «Since you look at flowers a lot, and Itsuki’s hair is the same colour as the cherry blossoms… I thought that they reminded you of her or something like that.»
Kiryu knows that she just promised to not laugh, but Nito’s expression and admission are so adorable that she can’t help but chuckle at least a little. Nazuna immediately notices it and Kiryu hasn’t apologised that Nito is puffing her cheeks already.
«You said you wouldn’t laugh!»
«I’m sorry.» she says, a tender smile (she’s not aware of) on her own lips «I just like spring. Do you know Kanzaki?»
«The second year who is with you and Hasumi most of the time? Yes.»
«Well, she likes flowers a lot. I’m not particularly fond of them, but since she tells me about them every now and then, I end up looking at them more than before. If anything, flowers and spring remind me of you.» she admits in such a smooth way that she doesn’t even realise that she practically confessed in that very moment - yet Nito’s cheeks are rosier, and she doesn’t move her hand away when Kiryu lets their pinkies brush against each other.
That is enough to make her incredibly happy.