Kissing Cousing by the Koi Pond
I haven't watched Marimite in a while, I've never read the manga or the
novels etc, and have not the faintest clue what Rei and Yoshino's family
story might be beyond the fact that they are cousins, best friends and
next-door neighbours. I'm making all of this up, don't be offended if
you actually know the story from, say, the novels and it is nothing like
what I suggest here – or that Rei's mother isn't named Keiko – and so
on.
Feedback would be very much appreciated.
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While the Hasekura and Shimazu homes were separated by an old stone wall
at the front like all the other neighbouring houses on their street, in
the backyard the dividers had been torn down long ago when Rei and
Yoshino had been small children, creating a surprisingly large and
luxurious yard for the two families. It was more convenient that way,
and besides, any lingering concept of privacy had been rather thoroughly
smashed for either family once Shimazu Yoshino was old enough to get
over to the Hasekura home on her own two feet to demand to see her
precious cousin.
After that point the two girls would become inseparable.
As Yoshino had finally gone through with the heart-surgery she needed
during her first year as a Yamayurikai member at the prestigious school
of Lillian, her body was finally getting to be strong enough that the
strong-willed and hot-tempered young martial arts fanatic had managed to
somehow convince her far gentler, and somewhat over-protective, older
cousin to accept her enrolment into the Kendo club where Rei was
captain. Thus, during Rei's last year in the Yamayurikai and Yoshino's
second, it was no longer an uncommon sight for either household to see
the two girls train in the backyard.
Rei's mother, Hasekura Keiko, smiled as she looked up from her cooking
to catch a glimpse of the two girls through the kitchen window, but
thought nothing out of the ordinary about it. Distractedly she continued
with the preparations for the evening meal while chatting with her
sister-in-law.
In the yard by the small koi pond Rei frowned for a moment, looking at
Yoshino's stance with a critical eye. Yoshino certainly had aptitude for
kendo, and enough spirit to make up for the physical limitations she
still had, but occasionally she tended to break form and try to skip
ahead of herself. This was the reason why they had spent an hour
already, training Yoshino in the latest set of moves Rei had instructed
her in.
Rei would not be the captain of Lillian's kendo club when the next
school year came around, and she felt a certain... need... to make sure
that she had taught Yoshino as much as she could and as well as she
could before that happened. Not that the girl that would replace her
would be a bad captain, far from it, but Yoshino was, of course, a
special case.
Fortunately Rei knew quite a bit could be learned by watching, and it
made the training easier that Yoshino had done that ever since Rei
herself had first taken up the shinai. Yes... Yoshino's eyes had never
wavered from Rei, not even once.
Rei was surprised to find herself feeling slightly flustered at the
thought.
Snapping out of the strange turn of her thoughts, Rei sighed as Yoshino
once more broke form while Rei had seemed preoccupied, and with a wide,
somewhat devilish, grin completed a few flashy spur-of-the-moment moves
with a twinkle in her dark eyes.
Yoshino, Rei reminded herself wryly, also watched far too many
samurai-type action movies, and not all of them were good.
Knowing that Yoshino usually took her training seriously and only
started in on the 'Yoshino school of anything goes kendo' moves when she
started to tire, or, of course, if she was deliberately teasing Rei, Rei
decided to have one more go before putting a halt to their impromptu
session. She chose a method she never used with anyone other than
Yoshino, ever, and only very rarely at that.
When asked to Yoshino immediately dropped the playing to assume the
starting position for the move, and then Rei, having put down her own
shinai, moved in behind Yoshino.
The taller Rei moulded her form somewhat along Yoshino's back, a knee
nudging the back of Yoshino's making her leg bend just so while a hand
on Yoshino's hip kept that in place, and Rei's other arm came down along
Yoshino's to have one hand atop both of Yoshino's guide the move on the
shinai.
Although it was rare it had happened upon occasion that they had trained
this way, and just why it was so different this particular day would be
a question that Rei would ask herself time and time again in the days
that followed. Yes, they had trained this way before... yet this time
something shifted in Rei, and she found herself almost painfully aware
of her slightly younger cousin.
The heat from Yoshino's body blasted its way through two sets of
clothing, bringing with it a sense of intimacy that made Rei's face
burn, and her body seem like it was melting. As if watching her
reactions from some kind of inward distance Rei noticed with rising
alarm and mortification that she gasped almost right into Yoshino's ear
and pressed her body slightly closer to that amazing warmth. Oh
kamisama, what was she doing?
At the sound of Rei's gasp Yoshino stiffened for a moment and answered
with a tiny gasp of her own. Unnoticed to Rei the hand that had held a
light, chaste grip on Yoshino's hip moved and splayed out, no longer
remotely chaste, and the hand that had been placed to guide Yoshino's
own changed from a gentle grip to a restless and unstopping caress over
the suddenly very sensitive skin of Yoshino's hands. Yoshino shuddered
and leaned back into Rei.
Confused beyond rationality Rei merely stood there, staring at the
familiar form in her arms and listening to the sound of Yoshino's
shallow breathing, neither she nor Yoshino noticing when the shinai
dropped from Yoshino's hands to fall to the ground with a small clatter.
Rei's eyes were fixed to the scar on Yoshino's chest, the idle thought
running through her mind that the skin there looked soft again and no
longer lined with an angry red. Entwining her fingers with Rei's Yoshino
pulled Rei's other arm to wrap around her waist while she shifted subtly
in the surprising embrace, leaning her head back against Rei's shoulder.
Rei did not realize that she was staring down Yoshino's cleavage until
the slight shift refocused her attention to the round swell next to the
scar she had been unintentionally studying. Blushing even more furiously
and internally cursing her strangely rebellious body Rei snapped her
eyes away, finding herself instead watching Yoshino's face.
A strange jolt reverberated through her first when watching Yoshino,
head tilted slightly back, her eyes closed and her lips parted, then
again as Yoshino turned in Rei's arms to face her, dark brown eyes gone
black with an emotion Rei did not recognise.
"Rei-chan" Yoshino whispered breathlessly as one hand found its way up
to Rei's neck and the other up to caress Rei's face. The expression on
Yoshino's face made Rei's mouth go dry, and Rei was suddenly aware of
how very fast her heart was beating.
The first brush of Yoshino's lips was so light and so brief that Rei
would have thought it her imagination if not for Yoshino's hold in her
hair. The second reassured Rei that she was not imagining things, and
the third revealed to her befuddled brain that Yoshino's lips truly were
incredibly soft.
By the fourth kiss Rei's arms tightened around Yoshino's waist and there
were no more room for random observations as Rei were quite preoccupied
responding to Yoshino's kisses.
Keiko opened the kitchen window, shaking her head slightly at the sight
of the girls' embrace. Had Rei gotten upset about the thought of Yoshino
getting hurt, again? No matter, Keiko could count on Yoshino to comfort
Rei and soothe her fears. "Girls, you'd better stop for today...
supper's ready in a moment. Go clean up before it's time to eat."
Out in the yard Rei and Yoshino flew apart from their heated embrace in
automatic terror of having been caught in the act. Both were blushing
badly and looked similarly shocked, but Yoshino found her voice first.
"We will, thank you Aunt Keiko."
Unsteadily, aware of Keiko's concerned gaze following them, they
collected their shinai and each walked back into their own home to clean
up and change clothing. Supper came much too soon and Rei could not
taste a thing, poking idly at her food and only forcing the occasional
bite down not to worry her mother, eyes firmly and nervously focused on
her bowl even though she could feel Yoshino's eyes on her all through
the meal.
What remained of the evening was no better, she and Yoshino helped with
the dishes and then it was the expected Hasekura-Shimazu girls TV-night,
watching game shows and soap opera, all in all forcing Rei and Yoshino
to remain in the same room yet never giving them even a single moment of
being alone together. At least to Rei's relief her mother did not
mention what she had seen, although whether or not this was a good thing
was still undecided.
By the time Rei was allowed to make her excuses and flee to her room,
she was already a complete nervous wreck. Sleeping was out of the
question, although she went through the motions of preparing to go to
bed. What had happened? What had she done? And worst of all, what if
Yoshino hated her now?
Rei knew for a fact she could not live without Yoshino.
She squirmed around in bed for a long time, the house going dark and
silent around her, with the thoughts chasing one another in her head.
Then there was a tiny popping sound on her window.
"Rei-chan! Rei-chan, wake up!" Yoshino was standing there under Rei's
window in her pyjamas, a few tiny pieces of gravel in her hand ready to
throw again. "Rei-chan?"
Giving Yoshino a sign that she would join her Rei carefully sneaked
through the house not making a sound, irrationally afraid her suddenly
loud heartbeat would wake her parents up before she made it to the back
door. Her hand shook slightly as she opened the door, terrified beyond
words of what would happen next.
In the faint light outside Yoshino uncharacteristically looked as
nervous and unsure as Rei felt. Her long dark brown hair was freed from
the braids Yoshino usually kept it in, and Rei felt a twinge inside and
an urge to run her fingers through the thick, glossy waves.
She blushed slightly and would not meet Yoshino's eyes.
"Do you hate me now, Rei-chan?" Yoshino's whispered voice sounded
broken, and made Rei's head snap back up in shock.
"NO!" Realizing that she had spoken much too loudly Rei lowered her
voice and moved closer to Yoshino, the need to take away the other
girl's anguish overruling her own concerns. "No, never! Why would you
say such a thing?"
With one hand on Yoshino's back Rei gently urged the upset girl slightly
further away from the house before carefully getting her to turn around
until they faced one another. Rei could feel her heart breaking with the
tremors that ran through the slender body underneath her hand and wanted
nothing more than to make all Yoshino's pain go away. She opened her
mouth to say something although she was not entirely sure what, but
Yoshino beat her to it.
"I'm sorry!" With the soft cry Yoshino threw herself into Rei's arms,
burying her face into Rei's shoulder. "I'm so sorry Rei-chan, but I
can't help it! I, I, I just love you so much and..."
The rest of the sentence became a muffled rumble against Rei's pyjamas
while Rei automatically wrapped her arms around Yoshino's smaller form.
"Yoshino?"
When she got no reply she tried again. "Yoshino? I love you too, you
know that."
This time Yoshino tilted her face slightly so the words at least were
audible, even if Rei could not see her face. "I know Rei-chan. But...
the way I love you... the things I think of, the things I dream of and
long for... it's different."
The hands against Rei's chest curled into fist in a desperate grip on
the pyjama shirt and Yoshino's voice grew more and more hoarse and
choked with each impassionate word.
"I've tried so hard to tell myself that one day I have to watch and do
nothing as you marry some man and he is given everything I've ever
dreamt of, the future with you that I should accept that I can't have.
That I should be quiet and not interfere when someone else takes my
place by your side, that I have no right to become insane with jealousy
at the thought of someone else being allowed to love you, someone else's
hands and lips touching you, someone else having your heart and sharing
your days and nights. I've tried time and time again to convince myself
that I should be satisfied with watching over your life, your happiness,
from the house next door, but... but..."
The rest was a ragged whisper spoken against the skin of Rei's neck. "I
can't. No matter how much I try, the truth is that I will always love
you... I want you to be mine and only mine. See no-one else, love no-one
else but me, the way nothing in this world will ever make me look away
from you, make me love anyone else than you. I love you."
The shock Rei felt at hearing the words that struggled to fall from
Yoshino's lips were nothing compared to what she felt at what her own
thoughts managed to produce. During Yoshino's impassioned speech Rei's
mind was racing as if to make up for all the time she had been ignorant
to both her own heart and Yoshino's. From the vaults of her memories
came image after image, cast suddenly in a new light that gave quite a
bit of insight.
Yes, Rei had always imagined that one day she would be married and have
children, a family of her very own, and it was a dream that she
cherished. But until now Rei had never realized that in her rose-tinted
images for her ideal future there had never, ever, been an image of any
unknown man in her life. No, instead in Rei's dreams of family and
children, the one she had seen by her side had been Yoshino. Always
Yoshino... in fact the children she had imagined for herself held a
suspicious likeness to Yoshino rather than herself now that Rei's eyes
had been opened.
It was the one thing all Rei's dreams, whether asleep or awake, held in
common – Yoshino was always there, always by her side. She had never
questioned that, and the very idea that someone else could take
Yoshino's place seemed beyond preposterous.
Thinking about it now though, the thought of marrying a man and all that
was connected to that left Rei feeling strangely... blank. It was as if
the concept was so foreign that her mind could not imagine it and her
emotions remained completely unstirred. In her thoughts Rei turned the
concept towards Yoshino instead... and the strength of her own reaction,
not to mention the ease by which far to intimate and... downright
erotic... images came to mind stunned her. The image of Yoshino, naked
in bed with her head thrown back and dark eyes gone black with that
expression Rei had only now seen, was so vivid that Rei had to bite back
a moan, heat rushing through her veins like a raging torrent.
How could Rei not have known about this? The love she felt was no
surprise, but how could she not have notice this... desire... towards
the one that was the centre of her universe?
Another thought came to mind. If Yoshino assumed that Rei would marry
some man one day to raise a family with, then did it not stand to reason
that Yoshino would do the same? Suddenly Rei understood Yoshino's words
about jealousy only too well.
'NO!'
Rei gasped and tightened her already rather firm hold on Yoshino. No,
she wouldn't let anyone take her Yoshino away... she couldn't, she
needed Yoshino. She always would.
In the embrace Yoshino pulled her head back far enough to look worriedly
up at Rei as Rei was being much too silent for the outpouring Yoshino
had just managed. She had expected some kind of reaction, for good or
bad, and the silence was unnerving.
Although the darkness stole the colours away, Rei could still clearly
see the glittering tracks of tears on Yoshino's face and the worried and
anxious look directed up at her. Rei smiled.
When it came right down to it, all this thinking and procrastinating was
just making a complicated thing out of something that was really very,
very simple.
"I love you Yoshino." Rei's voice was warm, as was her smile, filled
with the overwhelming joy of being in love and knowing that love to be
returned. Then she leaned down to capture the slightly stunned girl's
lips into a kiss.
One kiss became many quite without intending to, and deep and hungry. By
the time either was willing to part, if only so far as to be able to
lean their foreheads together, Rei was slightly surprised to find that
they were lying down on the ground. Rei felt grateful for a brief moment
that they were located on the grass rather than on one of the gravel
paths before her mind dismissed their surroundings as entirely
inconsequential and refocused on what was important. Yoshino.
They shared a few leisurely kisses and happy, loving smiles before
rolling over until Yoshino was resting with her head on Rei's shoulder,
Rei staring up into the star strewn night sky with amazement and a wide
happy grin that didn't want to let go anytime soon.
"Rei-chan? What will we do?" Yoshino asked softly after a long moment.
Rei kissed the top of her head before answering.
"Our families love us both very much, I'd like to think that wouldn't
change when they found out about us." Rei sighed a little. "I'd hope
that though it's not what they might have wanted for us, they'd get used
to the idea in time."
"I hope so too, Rei-chan, but..." Yoshino pressed a tiny kiss to the
area above Rei's heart. "I'm afraid of what they might decide to do
before that."
"Only as long as we live with them." Yoshino's concern darkened Rei's
thoughts and the words came out a growl, despite the fact that her and
Yoshino's parents were good and loving people which Rei had a hard time
believing would deliberately try to do something so hurtful as a forced
marriage for either of them. "If it comes to that, we'll..."
"They probably wouldn't notice anything unless we do something terribly
obvious." Yoshino soothed, picking up on Rei's distress. "We've always
been very..." She did her best to sound playfully mischievous.
"...affectionate, after all."
Rei chuckled despite herself. "That's true. Mom certainly didn't seem to
realize what she had seen today, at least. It'll be ok."
There was a brief silence as both girls thought of the future.
"You will be going away to another school by next semester." It was a
subject that had been looming over both girls for some time now.
"...yes."
"I know you'll be getting a small place of your own while you're there,
I've heard our parents talk about it."
Rei nodded, forgetting that Yoshino wasn't exactly looking at her at the
moment. It didn't matter, the knowledge that not only would Rei go to
school in a different town for the next couple of years but also live
there during the week was the reason Rei's graduation from Lillian was
such a feared and avoided subject for both girls. They had simply never
been that much apart since Yoshino had been born.
To say that Rei would get 'her own place' was a bit of an overstatement,
although the room she would be renting was generously spaced and the
house large enough that Rei and the kind old lady that owned the place –
an old graduate of Lillian herself – would still have a measure of
privacy, but to Yoshino's eyes it probably counted as long as it was
away from the rest of the family.
"I spoke to the landlady..." Rei hesitated, she did not want to pressure
Yoshino into choosing her school just so that Rei could be near her,
still she wanted to make sure Yoshino knew of the option. "...she agreed
to let you come stay there with me if you wanted, I mean, if you
needed..."
Yoshino sat up and cupped Rei's face with both hands. "I will work hard
and make sure I have all the grades, all the qualifications, so I will
have to be accepted at your school next year, I promise!" Even in the
dark Rei imagined she could see the gleam of unbreakable determination
in Yoshino's eyes. "I promise!" Yoshino swore, and Rei knew that with
Yoshino's stubbornness and dedication they could count on Yoshino making
the cut next year.
Rei gently ran her fingers through Yoshino's hair. "Yeah... that's
decided then." They kissed and cuddled for a while longer before Rei
wryly shook her head.
"We shouldn't stay out here all night... want to stay in my room
tonight?"
Even in the dark Rei could see the mischievous look Yoshino had when she
replied, sounding terribly coquettish all of a sudden. "Oh my, darling,
how bold!" Rei blinked, dimly aware that one of Yoshino's hands was
doing things at the front of her pyjama jacket that made Rei's ears
beginning to feel rather hot. "Are you sure your room is soundproof
enough for the two of us, Rei-chan?"
Forget her ears, the things Yoshino implied and the sultry tone of voice
she somehow managed made Rei collapse back on the grass with her face on
fire. Yoshino giggled.
"Go ahead... go inside, save yourself." Rei croaked, waving weakly.
"I'll just lie here and combust."
Amongst more giggling and many encouraging kisses, Yoshino helped Rei
back on her feet and the two walked over to the Shimazu back door. They
lingered there for a while, kissing some more and exchanging words of
love, before finally, reluctantly, they drew apart.
"Sweet dreams... my Yoshino." Rei whispered as Yoshino finally made her
way inside the house, her smile wide and bright with the giddy happiness
that was bubbling inside. As she started back across the grass she just
couldn't stop herself from doing a few unladylike cartwheels in sheer
exuberance before jogging up to her own door.
Before she could go to bed she had to write an entry in her diary, Rei
decided, she had to write down the date of the day the world changed so
she would never forget it. The future had never felt quite as bright as
it did right then.
After she had done that, well... then she would get out of her wet
clothes.
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