The discovery
Lisa couldn’t focus during school the next day. Regardless of the class, her head was filled with thoughts and feelings that she couldn’t discern. Time went by slowly that day, it felt like the clock stood still. Whenever she was with others, she was on auto-pilot - her mind was elsewhere. When the moment the final bell ultimately rang, Lisa was the first one out of Haneoka. She wanted time to sort out her thoughts, alone.
The long walk home was a blur; her thoughts kept her occupied the whole time. As Lisa arrived home, the sun was still bright in the sky. She walked up the steps and slipped inside her home quietly.
As she set down her things the aroma of roast chicken flooded her senses - her mother was home. Lisa peeked around the corner to her right - her mother stood at the stove, stirring a boiling pot. Lisa smiled vacantly, “Hi, I’m back from school.” She didn’t have enough energy to give an enthusiastic reply, so she settled for whatever smile she could muster - her thoughts were muddled in disarray.
“Lisa!” she smiled. Lisa’s mother was a petite woman, but whatever she lacked in size was made up with confidence and energy - she found it inspiring. “How did rehearsal go?”
Lisa felt a genuine smile tug at her cheeks, it was hard to stay in a poor mood when she talked to her mother, her positivity was overwhelming. “It was good! The festival’s getting pretty close, we have less than a month until performance day, so…”
Her mother chimed as she wiped the sweat off her forehead with a rag, “I’m sure it’ll go off without a hitch, you’ll be great~. How is Yukina-chan doing these days, she isn’t placing too much pressure on herself I hope? She was always an ambitious child.”
“She’s good, she’s just focusing a lot on the festival.” She took out the pink scrunchie from her hair, any previously restricted brown hair now flowed freely. “It’s typical Yukina. Anyways,” she continued, “I’m gonna head up to my room to do some homework, I’ll see you in a bit.”
“Alright then, study hard!” She added, “Dinner should be ready in an hour, it’s chicken stew - you’re favourite! I wanted to give you a small treat since you’ve been working so hard?” Her mother’s smile was contagious.
God, she was too sweet for her own good. “You’re the best~.” Lisa said, “I appreciate it, your support means a lot!”
“Well first,” her mother added, wafting the chicken smell to her nose, “I don’t want to keep you from getting your homework done. I’ll see you in a bit, okay?”
“Yep!” She replied. Lisa said her goodbyes and hopped up the wooden stairs to the second floor. Entering the first door on the right, Lisa collapsed onto her bed, burying her face into her pink pillow. Her stomach was left churning after Sayo’s prompted confession. Stupid, so, so stupid.Who just says stuff like that so directly?
Sayo liked her.
Lisa has been confessed to multiple times throughout her life; kindergarten boyfriends to coworkers at the convenience store. She turned them all down - there was no connection, no prior history to make a decision off of. However, this was different. This was the first confession she’d received from a girl, and not to mention, a girl she saw very often.
Lisa turned herself on to her back, now staring at the ceiling. She sighed, why was this bugging her so much? She could just decline the confession and this whole ordeal would be over. With the more thought she put into it, she had grown to realize: did Sayo even ask her out? Would it come off as narcissistic to decline a confession when they didn’t actually confess? Sayo had just answered a question - did she even want to go on a date?
Lisa’s eyes glossed over as she imagined in her mind what it would be to be in a relationship with Sayo. I can’t decline the confession without even giving it a shot, right?
Sayo was an enigma to Lisa. She felt like they'd gotten closer throughout their time in Roselia together, but the more she thought about it, did they even know each other that well? But again, a relationship’s purpose is to become closer - her mind hit a dead end.
She thought - okay, what do I like about Sayo? Lisa would be lying if she said she didn’t think Sayo was pretty - and she was very talented to boot. But she’s very stoic, she almost came off as cold. Her mind trailed back to her night at Sayo’s - she felt like she saw a glimpse of the real her: a passionate guitarist with headstrong ambition, a sister who had grown through her hardships; Lisa admired her. She’s grown a lot since I met her.
Lisa had spent the night less than a week prior - Sayo must’ve liked me at that time. Did she tell Hina? On a broader thought, who else knew about her crush, did Roselia know - Yukina? The possibilities made her stomach drop.
After thinking about it once over, Lisa was still undecided. It would be wrong to give Sayo an answer that she didn’t have full confidence in, though. She didn’t want to accept her confession, but deep inside her, she didn’t want to decline it either. What does she like about me? Why does she even like me?
Lisa pulled out her phone. She swiped into her calling app and stared at Sayo’s contact - she had a heart emoji next to it. It was put for platonic reasons, but now, Lisa didn’t want to remove it. The question burned at the back of her mind - why her?
She clicked ‘call’ despite the increasing heartbeat in her chest - fortune favours the bold, but regret does too.
She held the phone up to her ear and fiddled with a strand of her hair with her empty hand. It rang once, no response. Another time, still no response. Sayo’s probably busy, practicing guitar or something. She’s definitely busy -
A lull voice came from the speaker on her phone. “Imai-san?” Sayo sounded surprised. “Why are you calling me?”
“Sayo,” Lisa said, “what do you like about me?”
“Eh…?” There was a temporary moment of silence on the other side of the line. “Why… do you wish to know?”
“Your confession had me thinking ‘bout stuff.”
She heard a cough. “That… is a deep question to ask, did you expect me to not feel any pressure? I may be stern but I am not a robot, and more importantly,” she continued, “I didn’t confess to you - I simply answered your question.”
“Either way there was a declaration of love!” Lisa teased. Sayo was too easy. “C’mon, I don’t wanna pressure you - I know the past while has been tough for you.” She smiled as she spoke, “But, I wanna know your answer.” Lisa was flushed - not in a sweaty, uncomfortable way - but a lovey, stomach-flipping kind of way. Did Sayo feel like this too?
There was another pause. “That’s a vague question, I apologize if my answer does not live to your expectations.”
“Don’t worry about it, just answer.”
“Impatient much?” They both laughed, Lisa was very eager. Sayo audibly gulped. “I would say… you are a kind spirit. You are one of the most empathetic people I know; you show kindness to anyone and always do the good thing regardless of if it benefits you are not.” She paused, “God, this is embarrassing. You better not be using this as blackmail...”
“Everything that you say won’t leave this phone call - continue, Sayo. Please.”
“Did you need an ego boost or something?” Sayo sighed on the other end of the line.
“Please, for me?”
There was a moment of silence. “You are very hardworking. You are willing to give up the things in life people would typically take for granted throughout life. Like when you stopped using acrylic nails to continue pursuing the bass,” I’m smiling like such an idiot , “I admired your decision. It showed that you had depth.”
“Depth?”
“When I first met you, you came off as a person who lacked depth - only looks, no personality.” Lisa felt her heart ache a bit, ouch . “But,” Lisa’s ears perked up, “you proved me wrong. I think you are an excellent person, Imai-san.”
Lisa’s butterflies were going feral in her stomach. Her face was flushed, however, her smile was bright. “I think you’re great too, Sayo.”
“You… you do?”
“Yes.”
“Well,” Sayo continued, “you’ve helped me grow a lot since I’ve gotten to know you.”
“Sayo?”
“Yes, Imai-san?”
Lisa exhaled. “I think I might like you, in a romantic kind of way.” There was no response. She stared at the flower painting on the wall across from her. Did I really just say that ? The line was still silent. “Sayo, are you still there?”
“Yes, I am,” Sayo replied. “You just took me by surprise, that was…” she sighed, “wow…” Sayo added with some bitterness in her voice, “You think? What’s that supposed to mean? That isn’t much of an answer.”
Lisa sighed. “This is complicated for me too, y'know? The fact we’re both…”
“Girls.”
“Yeah, that.” Lisa continued, “But I do like you Sayo. Seriously.”
Sayo’s voice grew dreary over the phone. “You aren’t saying that only because I told you my feelings, I hope?”
Lisa noticed a dark cloud loom in the distance. “No way.” Was it going to rain again? “I’d like to maybe hang out sometime.” She never was the kind of person to beat around the bush, if she felt a certain way, she was very open about it. A raindrop tapped against her window, what was with all the rain recently?”
“Like a date?” Sayo asked.
Lisa nodded to herself, “Yeah, a date - if that’s alright.”
“I’d like that a lot, Imai-san.” Lisa could hear Sayo’s smile through the phone. A shout came from the other end of the phone, however, it wasn’t Sayo’s. “HINA! What did you do this time!?”
“Is everything okay, Sayo?”
“I’m so sorry Imai-san,” Sayo apologized, “but Hina had a small accident in the kitchen. Would you be okay with talking more after rehearsal tomorrow?”
Lisa smiled into her pillow, “I’d like that a lot.”
Sayo added, “I will talk to you tomorrow then, I look forward to seeing you.” Then the call ended, leaving Lisa alone once again.
-
Sayo sprinted to the kitchen, panic flooded her mind. What did she do this time? Please tell me she didn’t hurt herself. Her eyes scanned the kitchen, and there was a huge mess; messy bowls decorated the kitchen island, pots and pans stood together on the stovetop, but Hina was nowhere to be found. What did you try to do, summon a demon? You aren’t Udagawa-san, Hina. Sayo heard a whimper on the other side of the kitchen island, there you are. She crept to the opposite side of the kitchen and peeked around the corner of the table.
You’ve got to be kidding me. Hina was laying on the floor, covered in muck, head on the floor and buttocks in the air. “Hina,” Sayo asked, unsure if she really wanted to know the answer to her question, “what did you do?”
Hina’s hoarse voice made it obvious that she had been crying. “My…” the younger twin wiggled to the side to showcase the yellowish blob that was sloshed on the floor, “my egg… it’s ruined!”
Sayo knelt on her knees and stroked Hina’s hair. She sighed, “You tried making tamagoyaki again, didn’t you?”
Hina cried, “I just can’t get it right…”
Sayo sighed as she stood up. “Go change.” She opened the nearby closet and took out a mop and bucket. “I will start cleaning up your mess and you can help once you are finished - understand?”
Hina gasped as she wiped tears from her eyes. “You aren't yelling at me like you usually would, where did the real onee-chan go!?"
“What can I say? I’m in a good mood.”
"My Hina senses are tingling!" Hina rubbed her fingers on the sides of her head as if she was trying to tell the future. “They're telling me... something happened with Lisacchi!”
“You may be right, you may be wrong.” Sayo smiled. “I’ll tell you once you’ve changed.”
"Okie dokie! I'll be super fast! Dududududu!" Hina dashed down the hallway into her room with her arms spread out like an airplane. Sayo found her sister's childlike personality sweet, although a bit annoying sometimes; she knew that they cared about each other immensely. She wouldn’t trade it for the world.
-
Yukina noticed a change at their next rehearsal, however, she couldn’t place a finger on what it was. The air was static - like a haze had filled the room. Ako and Rinko acted like their normal selves, for the most part. However, Sayo and Lisa were acting strangely. She felt electricity - a spark - between them, it made her uncomfortable. The two were more hands-on than usual, and to be specific, more hands-on with each other. Lisa was typically a lovey, feely type - so her actions didn’t stand out to Yukina. However, Sayo was normally the opposite: quiet, secretive and cold. But for a reason Yukina couldn’t think of, the two were extra handsy with each other.
As rehearsal met its end - indicated by Ako’s groans and whines - Roselia began packing up and heading home for the night. While packing up, Yukina made sure to move slowly - she wanted to know what was going on. Ako and Rinko left together as always; the two were basically inseparable. The only thing Yukina had to do at this point was to wait for Sayo and Lisa to leave.
Thankfully, the two left together shortly, waving her goodbye. She waited a moment to ensure they were gone. The vocalist was almost set to leave. She tucked her water bottle into her bag and slipped out of the room, closing the lights on the way out. She gave Marina a quick wave, careful to not let the two girls leave her sight.
The sun was beginning to set like after every rehearsal. She watched the two stand together at the railing, it was picturesque; the sun was perfectly positioned in a way that made their bodies silhouettes of crimson. The lake was on the other side of the railing too - if she wasn’t here for other reasons, Yukina would have taken a picture. The two girls seemed to simply be chatting. Nothing was out of the ordinary, is it possible that Yukina had just been making it up in her mind the whole time? She gave the pair one more look before turning to walk home, it was getting late. I should be practicing, now I’ve just wasted my time. However, a nearby laugh - sweet as honey - pricked itself into her brain. I’ve heard that laugh many times before, I could never forget Lisa’s laugh. Yukina turned around and the scene in front of her left her without words.
Sayo and Lisa were holding hands, walking down the stone path. Yukina had certainly not been expecting that. Was Lisa keeping secrets from me? She made her exit quickly - it was a mix of a walk and run. Her head felt heavy and warm and sweaty.
She had to leave.