The faintest tip of the sunrise peeked over the horizon, spilling
the first glimpses of sunlight into all the windows of the dorm rooms in
Mahora Academy. This light leaked slowly into a certain room: that which
housed Negi, Asuna, and Konoka. On this particular morning, however,
there were only two residents sleeping in this dwelling, only one of
whom actually lived there.
Konoka drew herself even closer to Setsuna, snuggling up to her
side. Setsuna pulled Konoka's head into her chest, gently stroking her
hair. Both girls were very peaceful, having just been awakened by the
now-expanding sunlight. They had been sleeping together in this room for
several nights now, the opportunity presented by the preparations for
Mahorafest. After the late night sessions of setting up the classroom,
Negi would go straight to preparing lesson plans or training with
Evangeline, while Asuna went to deliver newspapers. That left Konoka by
herself in the wee hours of the morning, so she had been inviting
Setsuna to spend what was left of the night with her.
They had yet to tell anyone about their relationship, but this
provided them with the opportunity to spend a few brief hours with each
other without the risk of being discovered. Konoka enjoyed doing this,
it made it feel more like her and Setsuna were a real couple, even if
they could not tell anyone about it. She would gladly tell her friends
about the situation, but Setsuna seemed uneasy whenever Konoka brought
up the subject. Konoka knew that Setsuna was a bit more shy than
herself, but she worried about what might happen if they were discovered
before they were ready to tell everyone.
True to Konoka's assumption, Setsuna was worried about the
security of their relationship. However, she was actually more worried
about Konoka than she was about herself. Konoka's grandfather, the
Headmaster, seemed to really be pushing Konoka to marry, what with his
O-Miai setups, and Setsuna was unsure of how he would react to the truth
about who his granddaughter really loved. Konoka's father, Eishun, had
been aware of Setsuna's feelings for his daughter for some time now and
had, on several occasions, urged Setsuna to be honest with her emotions.
Setsuna wondered how he would react now, to know that Setsuna had
finally opened herself up to Konoka, and that they were now truly in
love because of that honesty.
Noticing that the sun's gaze was filling the room completely now,
Setsuna opened her eyes completely to the newly arrived morning. She
lowered her eyes to look at the lightly sleeping form of Konoka,
bringing her lips down to kiss her on the forehead. Konoka reacted to
this touch and awakened, glanced up at Setsuna's face and smiled, then
reburied her face affectionately in Setsuna's chest. Setsuna chuckled,
then spoke quietly as she stroked Konoka's hair, "Come on, it's time to
get up. We can't stay here forever."
Konoka mumbled back sleepily, "But I wanna...I'm tired..." She
tightened her arms' grip on Setsuna, snuggling as hard as she could in
an attempt to coax her back into relaxation.
Setsuna sighed, still stroking Konoka, "We have to be careful,
remember. Asuna should be getting back from delivery soon." She sat up,
letting Konoka slide down to her lap, though this did little to wake her
any more. Setsuna smiled warmly, looking down at the content form of the
girl she loved. "Alright," she began, a new thought coming to her, "if
you get up, I'll buy you breakfast at the diner car."
Her body still in a sleeping position, Konoka's eyes snapped
open. She slid herself off of Setsuna's lap and sat up, letting out a
long, tired yawn. Setsuna regarded her, thinking about how cute she
looked doing that. She smiled, satisfied, and said, "I thought so. Let's
get going." She swiveled around to sit on the edge of the bed, pausing
ever so momentarily to make sure that she was as awake as she thought
she was. Deciding that she was ready, she got up and crossed to the
dresser. She had been keeping a change of clothes in with Konoka's
things since they had started doing this. As she dressed herself, Konoka
slid out of bed, rubbing her eyes as she struggled to adapt to the
too-quickly arrived morning. That was one reason that Konoka wanted so
badly to make their relationship public. They wouldn't have to worry
about hiding their love, and so would be able to spend more time just
being together. Konoka would have traded all of her secrets right then,
just to spend two more hours in bed with Setsuna.
Setsuna, at this point, was all business. She dressed herself
quickly, packed up her clothes from the previous night, and even made
the bed as Konoka got dressed. Picking up her bag, she turned to face a
partially dressed Konoka. Setsuna smiled at her brightly, something she
had not done much before, but had taken to doing since becoming involved
with Konoka. "Alright," she said, "I'll go wait outside, while you get
yourself ready." She then took Konoka in her arms, peering into the eyes
of the still half-asleep girl. "Good morning, Kono-Chan," she greeted,
then kissed her deeply. This brought Konoka from sleep fully; she closed
her eyes and returned Setsuna's embrace, along with her kiss. They
parted after a few seconds, both gazing into each others' eyes. Even
after separating from the arms of one another, they walked backwards to
their separate destinations, keeping their gazes locked on each other.
Setsuna finally got out the door, and closed it behind her,
turning around to look like she had been standing there waiting the
whole time. She fell back against the wall, breathing a sigh of relief.
This secrecy was getting tiring; she was unsure of how long they could
keep it up. True, it would be much more pleasant to just sleep in with
Konoka, rather than rushing out every morning, but would people think?
Class 3-A was not the quietest bunch of girls in the school, and Setsuna
shuddered to think of the things they would say to her and Konoka.
Setsuna was strong, she could withstand the verbal blows they would
undoubtedly throw their way, but she worried about Konoka, who was much
more emotional.
She had walked out the door just in time, as Setsuna opened her
eyes and looked down the hall to see Asuna coming back from her job,
looking tired. She caught sight of Setsuna and smiled in greeting.
"Setsuna! Good morning."
Setsuna, still surprised by how friendly Asuna always was towards
her, blushed quickly, then bowed, "Good morning...Asuna-san."
Asuna continued smiling, "Now, now, c'mon. You know you don't
have to be so formal with me."
Setsuna straightened up, "Right...sorry."
Asuna placed a comforting hand on Setsuna's shoulder, and spoke
gently, "There's nothing to be sorry for, Setsuna. You are who you are,
right?" She gazed calmly at Setsuna's nervous face, which became
incrementally less rattled with every passing second. Now Asuna smiled
to herself. It felt good to know that she was contributing to a more
sociable Setsuna. "So," she began after a time, "What are you doing at
our place, anyway? Picking up Konoka again?"
For several days, "picking up Konoka" had been Setsuna's excuse
for arriving so early. Asuna seemed to buy it, especially since the tow
of them went off together in the morning anyway. However, Asuna was a
perceptive person, and Setsuna had to wonder if Konoka had mentioned
anything to her, as they were best friends.
"Yeah, we're going out again," Setsuna replied, "I'm going to buy
her something for breakfast at Chao's diner car."
Asuna grinned with purposeful suspicion, "Going out for
breakfast, huh? Sounds like a fun date."
Setsuna quickly blushed again. "No! Nothing like that! It's
just...I know she likes food from the car, and, uh, I make a good bit of
money, you know, what with the headmaster and all, and....uh, why would
two girls go out on a date?! Everyone knows that that's some boys and
girls who are couples do!" She began panting, exasperated.
Asuna chuckled, "Relax, Setsuna. I was just joking, you know? You
and Konoka can do whatever you want; it's none of my business."
Setsuna continued with her desperate rambling, "Well, that's
okay, ‘cause, all we're doing is...you know, friend stuff, like you two
do..."
Asuna took her hand off of Setsuna's shaking shoulder, then
yawned and stretched as Setsuna carried on. She waited for a break in
the exposition, then interjected, "Don't worry about it. I'm not trying
to say anything. Just relax. I'm going to bed; I'll tell Konoka you're
out here." She opened the door to their room, and lazily walked in, just
as Konoka stepped out, dressed and ready to go. She evaluated Setsuna's
rattled form.
"Are you okay, Set-Chan?" She asked with concern.
Not wanting to worry Konoka, Setsuna regained her composure, then
looked up at Konoka with all the confidence she could muster. "Yes,
don't worry about me, Kono-Chan. I'm fine. Well, shall we go?"
Konoka smiled and nodded excitedly. "Yeah! Let's go!"
* * *
The campus was alive with the air of the festival, and this
excitement permeated the demeanor of every student at Mahora. They
strode to their classes and clubs with a refreshing vigor, each one
looking forward to whatever it was they headed towards. In the case of
Konoka and Setsuna, they headed towards breakfast. Konoka looked forward
to redeeming the offer that Setsuna had promised her, and Setsuna did
not mind. Rather, she enjoyed all the mornings they had been spending
together, and going out with Konoka for breakfast was no exception.
Her arm wrapped around Setsuna's shoulder, Konoka pulled her
towards a particularly set-off table. Still smiling sleepily, she sat
down, with Setsuna sitting down on her left side. Not trying too hard to
stay awake at this point, Konoka closed her eyes and let her head fall
against Setsuna's shoulder. "Kono-Chan..." Setsuna began, glancing
around nervously.
"Don't worry too much," Konoka said, her voice trailing off,
"Just let me stay like this for a minute, while I wake up..." She yawned
as she finished her sentence, and her consciousness gave way to slumber
as she rested against the body of her lover.
In this new dreamland, she brought herself back to where she had
been only a few minutes before: In bed with Setsuna as the morning
arrived. However, there was a difference between this vision and
reality. Here, they slept in as long as they wanted, unworried about
Asuna's arrival, as she knew of their relationship and was not surprised
at all when she walked in and found them like this. The same was true
for all of Konoka and Setsuna's classmates. They could freely express
their love in front of all of them, and be supported in it. The same
scene continued in Konoka's subconscious, with only one change occurring
at the end now: She saw herself with Setsuna several years in the
future, living together with the blessing of her grandfather, the
Headmaster. For their love to continue forever, and for it to stop being
a secret, that is what Konoka wanted now, more than anything.
A soft rocking motion on her head finally woke her from this
dream. She opened her weary eyes and looked at the amused face of
Setsuna. "Wake up now, or you'll miss the breakfast you were so eager to
get," she said lightly. Konoka looked at the meal that Setsuna had
apparently ordered for them. Among its ingredients was a cup of coffee,
which Konoka, began sipping eagerly. She did not want to miss another
moment of this day with Setsuna, even if the secrecy was less ideal than
the openness she had experienced in her dream.
* * *
Setsuna walked carefully into the room. She was completely unsure
of what to expect; Asakura was a wild card that way. Why she had called
Setsuna in was a mystery. Perhaps, with her life being endangered by
Negi's enemies so much lately, Asakura wanted to ask Setsuna about what
else she should watch out for, especially with a volatile event like
Mahorafest on the horizon.
The reporter had appeared quite suddenly before Konoka and
Setsuna; her habit of being a paparazzi type clearly gave her an edge in
stealth. She had simply asked that Setsuna come to her room for an
"interview" of some sort, and that she come alone. Setsuna had agreed,
despite Konoka's protests. Setsuna reassured the girl, and told her to
spend some time with Asuna while she waited.
Calming Konoka's nerves had done nothing to calm Setsuna's. It
wasn't like she feared for her safety when it came to Asakura. She was
more worried about being asked to reveal information about the world of
magic to someone who would undoubtedly publish her findings for all of
the school to see. Silently, Setsuna promised herself that she would not
reveal anything to Asakura, unless she felt that she would actually be
safer for it.
Distracted by her thoughts, Setsuna was once again taken surprise
by the sudden appearance of Asakura, who grinned expectantly at Setsuna
quick jerk of a reaction. She extended her hand in greeting. "Thanks for
taking me up on this, I know it was kind of short notice," she said in a
friendly, relaxed manner.
Setsuna took her hand and shook it, eyeing Asakura suspiciously,
but doing so as subtly as possible, "It was no problem," she said
carefully, "I haven't had too much important to do anyway."
"Is that so," Asakura replied, her voice clearly enunciating with
disbelief. She motioned to her bed, "Have a seat, why don't you? Let's
make this as comfortable as possible."
Setsuna walked carefully towards the bed, trying to keep her eyes
on Asakura at all times. "You still haven't told me why I'm here," she
inquired, her voice reaching a clear crescendo of suspicion.
Asakura followed Setsuna as she walked, speaking assuredly. "I
just have a few questions I wanted to ask you. Information is my job,
after all, and I'm just seeing if there's any you can provide me with."
They finally reached the bed, Setsuna sitting at the foot and Asakura
sitting at the head.
Setsuna straightened herself, trying to look as stoic as
possible. "If it's about anything magical, there's a definite limit to
what I can and can't say, so don't expect to get all the ‘information'
you may want.
"It's nothing about magic," Asakura countered, leaning in close
to Setsuna's face as she spoke, "I have questions about you."
Setsuna's face flushed, becoming embarrassed at the very thought
of telling Asakura anything about her personal life. Setsuna quickly
regretted giving into this embarrassment, as she was sure that her
obvious discomfort would only prompt Asakura to dig deeper for whatever
it was she was searching for. Asakura wasted no time in acting on
Setsuna's fears.
"Are you dating anyone right now?" she asked plainly.
Konoka's face flashed in Setsuna's mind, and her face grew an
even deeper shade of red. She concentrated hard, and answered. "No. I'm
not dating anyone..."
Asakura feigned surprise. "Really? Why not? There're plenty of
good-looking, eligible guys at this school. Maybe someone from the kendo
club..."
Setsuna looked downward, focusing on not looking Asakura in the
eyes, "Well," she began, becoming more nervous every second, "It's just
that I can't, you know, I can't find anyone I really like..."
Though it was blatantly obvious at this point, Asakura continued
with her charade of shock. "There's not a single guy at this school that
interests you?!"
"Not...not really," Setsuna replied quietly.
"Well," Asakura thought aloud, "Have you ever considered the
notion that guys may not be your type?"
Setsuna's head snapped up in immediate defense. "What?" She said
desperately, looking all around the room in a frenzied panic. "What do
you mean by that?"
"I mean," Asakura began, the tension rising in her voice as she
brought her face inches within Setsuna's, "That maybe you're the type of
girl who likes...other girls."
Setsuna was about to cry out in shock again, but her incoming cry
was stifled by Asakura's lips wrapping themselves around her own.
There was an overwhelming torrent of thoughts and emotions
whipping themselves around Setsuna's mind as this sudden, involuntary
kiss with Asakura became something she could not stop. The two thoughts
that stood out in this storm of consciousness were a realization, and a
question. The realization was that Asakura must know about her
relationship with Konoka. Setsuna cursed herself for not seeing it
sooner, as all of Asakura's actions leading up to this point had made it
painfully obvious. This led to the question Setsuna had, which was "Why
hasn't she told anyone? Why is she doing this instead?"
Seemingly in response to that inquiry, Asakura released her mouth
from Setsuna's, gazing into her eyes dreamily. "How was that?" she asked
softly. Setsuna reverted to her previous routine of glancing away from
Asakura, who did not even wait for an answer. She began to slowly slide
herself around Setsuna, bringing her head to rest on her left shoulder.
She breathed slow, steady air into Setsuna's ear.
Setsuna finally brought herself to reply to Asakura. "I
think...you might be right." She said cautiously.
"I thought so," Asakura said, her voice swelling with confidence,
"So I'll ask you one more time: Are you dating anyone right now?"
Asakura spoke differently from when she had last posed the question. It
definitely had a rhetorical sense about it, and this time, Setsuna
detected its intention. She decided to stand her ground, for the sake of
her love for Konoka.
"No," she said with as much assuredness as she could muster,
"There isn't anyone I'm seeing."
"That's good," Asakura said back, a reply which surprised
Setsuna, "That's lucky for me," she completed, then wrapped her hands
around Setsuna's breasts, and plunged her tongue into her ear.
This time, Setsuna was able to let loose a yelp of surprise.
Hundreds of thoughts flashed through her mind, and all of them involved
Konoka. What would she think? Would she find out? Could Setsuna still
stop this, or had she already gone far enough to hurt her? "I..."
Setsuna gasped, tears welling up in her eyes as Asakura undid her shirt,
allowing her hands to toy with Setsuna's bare chest, "I can't...do
this...please..."
"What?" Asakura teased, "You said you aren't seeing anyone, and
you like girls. What's the problem? I'm good enough for you, right?" She
began sliding her right hand down Setsuna's stomach.
"I...I might've lied...when I said that I...that I wasn't seeing
anyone..." Setsuna said, in between hard gasps.
Asakura's hand stopped at the top of Setsuna's skirt. It hovered
there, ready to pull it down at a moment's command. "Oh," she said, "If
you are seeing someone, then you shouldn't be doing this, should you?"
Setsuna sniffed, tears now fully streaming down her face. "No,"
She said, sobbing, "I shouldn't..."
"But..."Asakura began, her voice giving off a chastising tone,
"Why should I believe you? You could just be making this up. After all,
I haven't heard anyone mention that they were seeing you. Can you give
me a name, Setsuna?"
Setsuna, in full blown tears, cried out, "Konoka!" She put her
head in her hands, turned around, and cried into Asakura's chest. "I
love Konoka..." she sobbed.
Asakura stroked Setsuna's head comfortingly, allowing her to let
out all the feelings she had been keeping inside, revealing only to
Konoka.
* * *
Setsuna finally got out the door, and closed it behind her,
turning around, and not bothering to look like she had been there the
whole time. She took notice of Asuna when she appeared at the end of the
hallway, and walked out to meet her.
"Setsuna?" Asuna said, honestly surprised. "What is it?"
"I have something to tell you, before we tell everyone else,"
Setsuna said, her voice exuding a confidence she had lacked the day
before, "It's about me and Kono-Chan..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, there you go! Chapter 3 complete at last! AS you may have noticed,
it's fairly large, accounting for its increased composition time. And
not much of it was lemony goodness, now was it? *Laughs* Well, I hope
you enjoyed it anyway, even if it did lack an actual Kono-on-Setsu
scene. I will continue writing into next month, but I'll be taking a
break from this story to write one that *gasp* isn't a KonoSetsu fic!
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