Chapter 6
After a long day at the beach, the others come back inside the house to chill out for a bit, only to find Kaori curled up against Sakaki, both of them sound asleep on the floor.
Osaka: "S-should we wake 'em...?"
Yomi: "No, of course not, Kaorin wasn't feeling well remember?" she slowly raises a camera with a bit of a mischievous grin "Or at least wait until i snap this..."
After taking the photo, Yomi and the others all get changed back into their normal clothes and sit around the table to chill out a bit. While this is all going on, Sakaki wakes up but doesn't move Kaori just in case she's cranky in that situation.
Tomo: "S-so you're just gonna sit there like that with her?"
Sakaki: "Mhm..."
Tomo: "What, even if your arm gets tired or you wanna move somewhere?"
Sakaki: "Mhm..."
Osaka: "Wh-what if a big mighty asteroid came shootin' down on the beach??"
Yomi: "What are you even talking about right now?"
Sakaki: "Yes, Osaka, I'll stay even if that happens..."
Osaka: "Woahhh... You're so cool for doin' that"
Kagura: "Ooh, what if-"
Yomi slaps Kagura and Tomo on the head at the same time, shutting them both up
Yomi: "Ok, ok, we get it, just let her do it rather than asking a billion questions"
Sakaki looks down at Kaori softly and wonders about something she said earlier. 'Never had a kiss like that before'? What, not even off her dad before saying goodnight or even just starting to date someone? She's NEVER had a forehead kiss? Unless it's just that she overreacted to what it was, which she's definitely prone to doing, but it still begs the question of why. And more importantly, why did she try to lie about it first...? The statement itself is weird enough alone but to cover it up with a lie so blatant... Is there something deeper going on here?
Chiyo: "Miss Sakaki?"
Sakaki: "Hm?" she turns to look at her younger companion, who's standing just opposite her and Kaori.
Chiyo: "You seemed like you were zoning out so I wanted to check if you were ok"
Sakaki: "Ah, was I? Sorry for worrying you, I'm just thinking about something that happened earlier"
Chiyo: "Earlier? What happened earlier?" she tilts her head to the side a bit, as curious as an estranged cartoon chimpanzee named George.
Sakaki: She blushes softly to herself and looks away "N-nothing happened... Just thinking about if Kaorin's feeling better now or not..."
As chiyo giggles a bit over how considerate Sakaki is, Kaori stirs a bit, seemingly about to wake up.
Kaori: "Nnh... Hn- ah-..." she does a pretty big yawn, possibly rivaling even Osaka, and sits up just a bit "H-how long have i been-"
As Kaori looks around the room she realises EVERYONE, even the teachers are back inside and staring at the two.
Sakaki: "Probably longer than you meant to... But you seem to be feeling a bit better now"
Kaori: "O-oh. How long have they...?"
Sakaki: "To be honest, I'm not sure, I only woke up maybe 15 minutes ago."
Kaori: She immediately starts to feel butterflies in her stomach again, thinking back to before she fell asleep and realising the fact that she and Sakaki just cuddled on the floor through what must have been multiple hours. "Y-you fell asleep too...?"
Sakaki: "Well, it was a bit calming, especially with how you snore. It's like a cat purring..." she starts to blush as she describes the purring, which only drives Kaori even more crazy with love.
Kaori: "I-if you want I can record myself sleeping-!"
Sakaki: "N-no that's... Quite alright."
The two girls decide to situate closer to the table, but in relatively the same positions as before, so they can be part of the conversation.
Tomo: "So like I was saying, kiss marry kill, a dolphin, a walrus and an orca"
Kaori: "So, we clearly didnt miss out on much, huh?" Sakaki giggles in response, which absolutely delights Kaori. 'She finds me funny!!!!!! Ok, dont ruin it, just let the joke sit as it is and don't add ANYTHING that will make it unfunny'
Sakaki: She puts her hand on Kaori's again softly and holds it "You seem tense."
Much like any time Sakaki does so much as acknowledge her existence, this shoots off a thousand technicolor fireworks in her head, but this time it feels just a bit less one sided, as within Sakaki's head, a single firework shoots off, warming her own heart in kind.