A/N: This story is set in the same universe as my major Kannazuki no Miko fic, Kannazuki no Shimai. Those familiar with that fic will recall that it's a direct sequel to the KnM manga, telling the events of the next cycle, in their next reincarnation. Since that reincarnation is as twin sisters, I suppose I ought to point out that technically this one contains incest, and anyone who gets too squicked by that even though it is just Himeko and Chikane should probably just stop right here.
"Well," Chikane said, surveying the room, "this is it, our home for the next year."
Himeko smiled happily. It was an ordinary enough dormitory room for first-year students at Kamiyatate University: two narrow beds, two desks, one bookshelf, a thin, rust-colored wall-to-wall carpet, and a light fixture in the ceiling. A side door led to the bathroom; they shared a shower and toilet with the next room over, though they'd have to use the public facilities if they wanted a bath. The nameplate outside the door, though, read, "Tsukuyo Asamiya/Hikari Asamiya," their names in this lifetime, and that was what mattered. It was theirs.
"Here's the last box, girls," their father grunted. They stepped aside to give him room to add the case to the small stack in the center of the room. He was a big man, a construction foreman with an unruly shock of dark hair and beard. The only thing he shared with his daughters, though, was that Chikane's knee-length sweep of blue-black hair was nearly the same shade as his. Her blue eyes and porcelain-pale skin, though, seemed to come from neither he nor his wife, and as for Himeko's blonde hair and violet eyes, no one had any idea how they'd trickled down the family tree.
Himeko could have explained it easily enough; she and Chikane still looked the way they had in their past lives as Chikane Himemiya and Himeko Kurusugawa, and probably in a score of unremembered lives before that.
"Thanks, Dad," she said happily and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You really helped a lot."
"Yes; thank you, Father," Chikane said formally.
"Well, then," he replied, looking from one to the other. "Are you sure that you want to do this? You could just as easily commute from home like your friend Marika will."
"We're sure, Father. I think this is an important step for us, the ability to live on our own a little bit before we step into life."
He glanced at Himeko, and she nodded firmly.
"That's right--and Chikane's scholarship does include free room and board, so we won't be a burden on you..."
"It's not about the cost, Hikari." He smiled at them both. "Your mother and I would miss you, that's all."
"Well, it is only across town," Chikane noted.
"We'll visit lots!"
He smiled at them. "I'll hold you to that."
They shared hugs, and then he left. As soon as he was gone, Himeko dropped onto one bed, squealing happily.
"Finally, a room all to ourselves!"
Chikane smiled.
"Himeko, we've shared a room ever since Mother brought us home from the hospital."
"But that was in our parents' house. It's not the same at all."
"I suppose not."
"So..."
She reached out and took Chikane's hand, feeling the warmth of her skin, then smiled in what she hoped was a flirtatious way. Sloe-eyed and sultry wasn't really natural for Himeko, and it showed when Chikane giggled. That was good too, though; she never got tired of seeing the other girl smile or laugh.
Himeko pulled and Chikane tumbled on top of her. Their faces ended up inches apart.
"H-Himeko, we should unpack..."
Himeko kissed her. It was not a sisterly kiss, but long and warm and sweet, a gentle urging against her lover's lips. Then again, when one remembered how they'd had to fight so hard to find one another, through pain and horror, through violence and blood, guilt and forgiveness, it was no surprise that they weren't willing to surrender what they'd found just because the bodies they happened to inhabit in this incarnation were related. Maybe it would have been different without those memories, but Himeko didn't think so. Their souls had been yearning for each other through countless centuries, cycles of reincarnation, meeting, and separation, before they'd finally, finally found one another. Himeko couldn't imagine herself ever letting that feeling go regardless of memories.
Her arms closed around Chikane as she deepened the kiss. Chikane was hesitant at first--she always was--but she soon succumbed and was kissing Himeko back. Their mouths teased and flirted; Himeko nibbled on Chikane's lower lip and Chikane responded by flicking the tip of her tongue against Himeko's mouth, teasing her lips open so their tongues could meet. Himeko's hands grew bolder, stroking Chikane's back and the silken fall of her hair. She was eager and asking for more, to drown in the other girl's touch, but held off, not forcing things. This was their room now, after all, not a stolen moment where they had to rush to completion or risk running out of time, and Himeko wanted to make the most of it. It was nearly thirty minutes before she even began working Chikane's blouse free from her skirt.
She slipped her hands beneath, letting them trail up the sleek skin of Chikane's flanks. A shiver ran through the dark-haired girl at the touch; Himeko felt the flutter of Chikane's stomach. Her palms slid up Chikane's back, lightly tracing up the length of Chikane's spine until she reached her bra.
Chikane countered by bringing her own hand from where it had been cupping Himeko's hip up along her side until her fingers reached just below her lover's breast. There her hand paused, fingers trembling in a wordless question. Himeko relinquished Chikane's mouth just long enough to give an answer.
"Please," she invited, then claimed another kiss, her tongue eagerly exploring, tasting. Chikane's hand moved upwards, and Himeko moaned into her twin's mouth. Chikane's fingers stroked the curve of Himeko's breast, the found the nipple and teased it through the fabric of her dress. Himeko undid the hooks of Chikane's bra so she could spread it out and stroke the length of Chikane's back from neck to waist without interference. She loved the feel of her, the skin like satin but the firmness of hard muscles beneath, made so by martial arts, archery, and tennis.
Chikane's mouth left Himeko's, drawing a little whimper of loss, and she began kissing her way down her lover's neck. Her teeth gently teased the skin, not biting but flirting with it. Her lips lingered in the hollow of Himeko's throat, flicking her tongue against the spot and making Himeko shiver. Chikane pushed the straps of Himeko's dress down off her shoulders, then lifted her slightly so she could urge it down to her waist. She nibbled delicately along Himeko's collarbone, sending teasing little surges of pleasure through the blonde, supporting her posture with one hand while the other worked the front clasp of Himeko's bra free.
Himeko was so distracted by Chikane's teasing that she didn't even realize what was happening until her lover whisked the bra away and she felt the cool air on her breasts. Chikane laid her back down and her mouth began to move downwards.
She teased Himeko's skin with delicate kisses, flicks of her tongue, and soft bites, her fingers gently caressing her sides as she did. Chikane didn't go right for Himeko's breasts, but only teased along their outer slopes while she worked down to Himeko's belly. There, she pressed her lips to the tender skin and began to suckle hard, pulling blood to the surface to leave a mark. It stung a bit, but it was the kind of pain that energized rather than tormented, sending surges along her nerves and a fluttering between her thighs. Chikane softly soothed the mark with her tongue before moving on to another spot. She had a real liking for leaving signs of herself on Himeko's skin like that, like she was branding the other girl as her own. She was always careful to do it in a way that wouldn't show since they couldn't be open about their relationship, though there had been a couple of times in high school where an unexpected change in gym class schedule had revealed to the locker room that Himeko might not be quite so innocent as she seemed.
Himeko didn't feel innocent at all, then; her hands were tangled in the silken glory of her sister's hair, urging her on while she marked her skin. Chikane's hands dipped lower, tugging Himeko's dress down over her hips, then knees, until Himeko moved her legs to discard it entirely. Eagerly, she pushed Chikane down, but the dark-haired girl was having none of it. Chikane raised her head and smiled, sapphire eyes flashing wickedly.
"Now, now, Himeko, be patient."
Himeko let out a little moan of frustration as Chikane moved back up along her body, then bent her head to take one coral-pink nipple between her lips. Himeko's nipples were absurdly sensitive and Chikane knew just how to tease them with her lips and teeth and tongue, drawing moan after moan from the blonde, making Himeko's head swim with pleasure, especially when she took the other one between two fingertips, lightly playing with it. Chikane moved her mouth back and forth from one to the other, leaving wet trails on Himeko's skin, until her lover was quivering beneath her. Himeko's legs trembled, and the heaviness, the ache between her thighs turned into a hot stab of need every time Chikane did something to her, until she couldn't take it any more.
"C-Chikane, please..." she cried, pushing against her lover's shoulders to urge her downwards. Chikane raised her head, a wicked grin on her face.
"Please what, Himeko?"
Saying such things would normally have embarrassed Himeko terribly, but her need overrode those feelings--that and the fact that saying it out loud, putting it into unmistakable words, served to silence the nagging worry of Chikane's self-doubts and reassure her that Himeko not only consented, but encouraged.
"Touch me? Down there?"
Chikane's smile grew, and with a final flick of her tongue against Himeko's nipple she began to move down her lover's body. Little nibbling kisses teased the sensitive skin of Himeko's belly, making her tremble. Chikane flicked her tongue a couple of times into Himeko's navel, hinting at what was to come, then moved further down, until her lips brushed the nest of springy golden curls between Himeko's legs.
"So beautiful," she whispered, raising her head.
Her hand slid down, fingers gently sliding through the hair, playing lightly with it, her touch so close to Himeko's sex making the blonde shiver as Chikane teased her. Her hand moved further down, her fingernails sliding against the soft, sensitive flesh of her inner thighs, then traced the outline of her cleft outside the lips.
"Chikane!"
Her beloved gave a naughty little chuckle and ran the tip of one finger up between Himeko's nether lips, feeling how wet she'd become. Gently, she spread her outer lips with her first and third fingers and dipped the middle between them, lightly teasing until Himeko thought she was going to go mad from desire.
"Please, Chikane, I...I need you..."
At last, spreading her just a bit wider, Chikane slipped her finger into Himeko's channel. Himeko gasped, almost a scream as the pleasure washed over her, made twice as explosive by her lover's meticulous teasing.
"Do you like that, Himeko? Is it good?" It wasn't a question; Chikane could feel the walls of Himeko's sex fluttering around her finger. She knew Himeko's body like a musician does her instrument and played it as expertly as she did anything else.
Himeko nodded frantically.
"More, Chikane, I want..."
Chikane began to move her finger in and out of Himeko while her thumb came up to caress the taut bud at the top of her slit. Himeko squealed and arched her back, reflexively thrusting up to meet her. Chikane built her higher and higher, teasing gently when it seemed like Himeko was about to reach her summit, then working her more vigorously when her passion had ebbed a bit. A second finger joined the first and she stroked them together into her beloved, then alternately. Himeko panted for breath; her heart was in her throat, her squeals turning into high, sweet gasps of pleasure. The walls of her core trembled around Chikane's fingers, and the dark-haired girl knew the finale was near. Without slowing her hand in the slightest, Chikane slid up Himeko's body and covered her sister's mouth with her own. This time, though, she kept her eyes open so that she could see the exact moment when Himeko's eyes went wide and staring, yet glazed, unfocused, as she screamed her passion into Chikane's mouth.
Himeko lay limply beneath her beloved, her mind slowly gathering itself from where it had been swept away, little tremors running along her limbs as if they were aftershocks of her climax. When she had recovered herself slightly, Chikane removed her hand from between Himeko's legs and made a show of licking her fingers clean of Himeko's nectar, licking up and down the sides of each, then popping them in her mouth and sucking.
"That's not fair," Himeko said with a teasing pout. "I haven't gotten to taste you yet."
Chikane hesitated--just half a second, but enough that Himeko knew it was there, that flicker of amazement her lover felt at Himeko's frank and open appreciation of her. Maybe that, most of all, was what gave her such pleasure in showing her feelings to Chikane, that tangible evidence of how deeply the other girl was affected by it.
"Well," she replied, "I guess we'll have to fix that."
Himeko watched avidly as Chikane unveiled herself, unbuttoning her blouse and slipping it off her shoulders, then whisking away the already unfastened bra. She got up on her knees to unzip her skirt and pushing it down, revealing that her sheer white stockings were self-gartered thigh-highs instead of hose. Himeko smiled brightly at the sight.
"Chikane! Were you hoping to seduce me today?"
Chikane blushed again. "Well...I thought, maybe tonight..."
"I'm so glad!" Himeko said, reaching for her. She slid her hands up Chikane's thighs from knee to waist, enjoying how the silky texture of the stockings gave way to the softness of her skin.
"Only you beat me to it."
"I can't resist you," Himeko admitted, pressing a kiss against the lacy triangle of Chikane's panties. After all, it wasn't only love that drove her into the other girl's arms. Chikane had an amazing body that Himeko couldn't tear her eyes from: long, perfectly shaped limbs curved by the hints of her athletic build, a true hourglass figure with lush breasts and hips and narrow waist, graceful hands with long, tapering fingers, and skin that was as pale as moonlight without a single blemish. She remembered the first time she'd seen it, how she hadn't then understood the feelings stirring within her. Himeko understood them now, though, and embraced them as eagerly as she embraced Chikane herself.
Her tongue tasted the wetness that had seeped into the fabric while Chikane had been attending to her, the musky warmth making it plain how much what she'd done had aroused her. Himeko felt Chikane's thighs shiver, reacting to the presence of her tongue.
"Himeko..."
"Let me?"
She curled her fingers into the waistband and drew Chikane's panties down her thighs. Chikane lifted one leg off the bed and helped Himeko slide it free of her underwear, then swung that leg over Himeko's body so she was straddling her head. Smiling, Himeko raised her mouth slightly to take what was offered. She nuzzled against Chikane's lips, then turned aside to tease her lover a bit, lightly binding and sucking at the girl's inner thighs Chikane moaned softly, a little cry of pleasure that delighted Himeko. She flicked her tongue around Chikane's outer lips, teasing them, then dipped inside for a long taste that made Chikane sag forward, having to grab the headboard of the bedframe for support.
"Ah! H-Himeko!"
Himeko kept it up, savoring the musky-sweet taste of her lover, dipping her tongue deep inside, exploring Chikane's depths. Chikane's soft cries and long sighing moans came faster and faster as Himeko licked her. Realizing that her love was reaching her peak too quickly, Himeko eased up, the flicks of her tongue becoming less insistent, more tantalizing. Chikane shuddered as Himeko used her nails to tease her bottom and thighs, lightly grazing the skin.
"Himeko, please..."
"Mmm?"
Himeko tipped her head back so Chikane could see her, the blonde's teasing smile made even more wicked by the glistening traces of Chikane's desire that stained her lips.
"Please..."
"What was that?" Two can play the "say it for me" game!
"Himeko..."
Himeko giggled, then brushed Chikane's clit with the very tip of her tongue. Chikane shuddered deliciously, then returned Himeko's smile.
"Wicked girl."
"For you!"
Chikane lowered one hand from the headboard and cupped the side of Himeko's face.
"All right, then, Himeko. Please make me come with your mouth."
She urged Himeko's mouth up against her, which the blonde went right along with. Himeko didn't tease this time, but surrounded Chikane's swollen clit with her lips, gently sucking while she worked her tongue against it. Moans turned to soft cries of pleasure that came faster and faster until at last they gave way to a muffled squeal and Himeko could feel Chikane's sex flutter with her climax as if kissing her back. Her body drew up taut as a bowstring while Himeko kept her at the point as long as she could, until at last her twin sagged off her to collapse beside her on the bed.
Afterwards, they lay curled together, naked. Himeko was on her back, while Chikane lay on her side, head propped up on one hand looking down at her. It was kind of a naughty thing to put into words, Himeko thought, but she never thought Chikane was more beautiful than after they'd made love, her hair slightly tousled, her eyes heavy-lidded, her skin dappled with perspiration.
"What are you thinking, Himeko?" Chikane said, sliding a fingertip down the bridge of Himeko's nose.
"Are you sure you want to know?" Himeko teased.
"Of course."
So Himeko told her, and was rewarded with a blush, elegant and delicate, that turned Chikane's cheeks the pale pink of cherry blossoms.
"Himeko..."
"It's true! You're always so beautiful, but..." She fished for words, wishing she had her beloved's skill with a deft phrase. "The way you look now, it's because you, um, gave yourself to me?" She reached up and twined a lock of her hair around her fingers. "So...if your hair's a little out of place or your lips are swollen or your skin's shiny from sweat, it's...it's like 'I love you, Himeko' is written right on your body." Now it was Himeko's turn to blush, bright and red instead of ladylike pink. The embarrassment was worth it, though, for the loving expression that shone from Chikane's eyes.
The dark-haired girl bent over and kissed her. "You're a treasure, Himeko."
That's silly; I'm plain and ordinary, was her first thought, but she didn't say it because she knew it wasn't true, in Chikane's eyes anyway. They'd both had to overcome things within themselves to find each other, and in Himeko's case it had been her conviction that she wasn't good enough for someone like Chikane. She knew better now; even though the occasional doubt still nagged her Chikane went out of her way to show her that she was loved. It was very similar to how Himeko tried her best to show Chikane that Chikane's lesbian desires weren't dirty or unwelcome to her, but quite the opposite.
She surprised herself when the thought kindled a fresh spark within her. Himeko reached for Chikane, letting one hand trail down her flank. Chikane arched an eyebrow at her.
"Again? Moving out from home is certainly making you bold."
"Well...we don't want the other bed to get jealous of this one?" she offered, smiling. Chikane laughed and embraced her.
"Do you know, Himeko...in my past life, when I confronted the other Orochi, Sister Miyako tried to control me by trapping me in an illusion of my heart's desire?"
"Oh?" Chikane had never been all that forthcoming about the darker parts of her previous existence.
"It was you."
"Me?"
Chikane nodded.
"Yes, you, but a sexually assertive you. A you who fondled me, who was eager to touch me, who delighted in my responses, who freely offered her body to me for everything I wanted from it. In short, a you who loved me as a lover, not just as a friend. But I broke free of that illusion--I shattered it and destroyed Miyako and the others because I knew that you would never, ever say such things."
"Eh?"
Chikane laughed.
"Could I have been more wrong?" she asked, eyes twinkling joyfully.
"Oh, you," Himeko groaned, blushing.
But she still pulled Chikane's face down to hers for another sizzling kiss.
A/N: I'm utterly convinced that between the two of them, Himeko would be the more sexually aggressive in their ongoing relationship. Even if Chikane is able to move past any lingering guilt over her actual actions, she still has any number of hang-ups over the "rightness" of lesbianism--she even refers to herself near the very end of the manga as "dark and ugly inside" because of that, a claim which Himeko immediately refutes. That combination of factors would make her hesitant in pressing her desires on Himeko. Himeko, by contrast, doesn't seem to have any of those hang-ups once she gets over her concerns about dating out of her league, so she'd not only be eager to act on her own feelings but also want to reassure Chikane that she welcomes Chikane's desire.