“It’s raining.”
Kaname sighed deeply. “It is, indeed, raining. Very heavily, actually.”
“Do you think it’ll stop raining if we wait for long enough?”
“I can’t say for sure.” Kaname stared up at the dark sky. “But something is telling me that that isn’t going to happen.” She shifted her grip on the hamper.
“We sure have bad luck, don’t we?”
“What can I say? God hates lesbians.” Kaname chuckled. “You know, there’s no way I’d have been able to say that this time two weeks ago.”
“And not out of religious devotion, either.” Momomi pouted, staring at the foul weather. “But this isn’t even funny. Every time we try and go on a date, something goes wrong, damnit!”
“Next time we can check the weather forecasts, right?”
“I guess so, but still. They’re not going to be accurate for us, now are they? It’s hardly fair.” Momomi shook her head. “You know, I think you’re right. This probably is some kind of divine retribution.”
Kaname smirked. “Gonna go off and become a nun?”
“Screw that. I’m not going to ruin my life for the convenience of any hypothetical omnipotent overlord. Until he writes me a polite letter, at the vest least.”
“You know what I’d do with a letter like that?” Kaname asked.
“No. Do tell?”
“I’d e-bay it. It’s gotta be worth something, right?”
Momomi laughed. “I think you’d have to prove its authenticity, right?”
“Well, I’m sure he can write it using the tears of angels for ink or something.” Kaname folded her arms behind her head. “I mean, he’s God. I’m sure he’ll be able to do something like that.”
“I’m sure we’re missing the point, but I’m not sure if I care.” Momomi closed her eyes and smiled. “To be honest, he doesn’t have anything good to say to me anyway. So why struggle?”
“It’s just a test from God, so you should still lead a holy life.” Kaname dropped the hamper and stuck her hands in her pockets. “Isn’t that what your sister would say?”
“Probably.” Momomi sighed. “I’m somewhat glad she can’t see us now. But I don’t think I should have to be ashamed either.”
“Well, if you get down to it, religion is a gamble. For Christianity, they make the stakes infinite, and I’m pretty sure that if that’s the case it’s foolish to risk it…” Kaname ran a hand through her fringe. “But if you think like that, you’re probably damned anyway. So screw it.”
“Screw it, and curse this blasted rain,” Momomi groaned. “Not fair! Not fair! The universe is picking on us!”
Kaname folded her arms. “So? What do you want to do?”
Momomi frowned thoughtfully. “Let’s see… well, I guess we can wait here for now, and hope it clears up. Is that okay?”
Kaname shrugged. “Why not? I don’t have any better ideas.”
Momomi sat on the steps and tucked her knees beneath her chest. She looked up, watching the rain fall down. “It’s surprisingly pretty, isn’t it?”
“Provided you’re not standing in it, yes,” Kaname replied, sitting by her. “This is the kind of weather where you want to be inside looking out, in two jumpers and an extra insulating layer of smug satisfaction as you think of all the mugs who are suffering out in the cold and wet.”
Momomi chuckled. “Well, quite. That can be our back-up plan.” She smiled at the rain. “But it’s a cliché, isn’t it? Kissing in the rain? Happens all the time in books and films.”
Kaname nodded. “Probably, yeah.”
“Wanna try it?”
“And catch hypothermia? Fuck that, if you’ll excuse my language.”
Momomi giggled. “My, my. Where’s your sense of adventure?”
“I’m sure it’s overrated, that’s all I’m saying.” Kaname glanced at her. “We can kiss just fine right here, can’t we?”
“Is that a request?”
“It’s a concession. Be happy.”
“You’re always such a savage negotiator.” Momomi leaned over and kissed her briefly, before pulling back and grinning. “Well, I’ll forgive you for now.”
Kaname nodded. “Rain’s a cliché for other stuff too, right? Break-ups and horror films spring to mind.”
“As ever, you jinx things so casually,” Momomi complained. “I’m trying to build up an ambience, you know? Romance! It’s important.”
“Well, what can I say?” Kaname asked, putting an arm round her. “I can’t play that kind of game for long before I get self-conscious about the ridiculousness of it.”
“That sounds like you,” Momomi observed, smiling and leaning into her shoulder. “Not even I can disable your painful sense of dignity for very long.”
“It’s good, isn’t it? If I’m not drunk on romance, I’ll probably be more reliable when the romance is gone, right?” Kaname asked.
“Hypothetically, the romance wouldn’t end,” Momomi replied. “Isn’t that the ideal? Whatever else happens.”
“Yeah, but what are the odds of that happening?”
Momomi chuckled. “You don’t say ‘forever’, do you? For you, it’s ‘I’ll be with you provisionally, until further notice is given’.”
“Well, yeah. This is a modern age, isn’t it? People who say forever in a time of spiralling divorce rates are being dishonest.”
“You’re still hopeless,” Momomi sighed. “But it can’t be helped. That’s one of the things I like about you.”
Kaname blushed. “Is that a compliment or an insult?”
“Probably both.” Momomi leaned forwards, putting her arms round Kaname’s neck. “You’ve put your scarf on wrong.”
“Oh…” Kaname looked upwards self-consciously as Momomi adjusted it. “I never really wore those things before. So I suppose it’s not that surprising.”
“Me neither, actually. But I have a general idea of what goes where.” Momomi kissed her on the cheek, then leaned back. “That’s gotta be a metaphor for us…”
“Shut up.”
Momomi chuckled. “Yes, yes.”
Kaname looked away thoughtfully. “But these things are novel for me. They serve a function, but not an essential one. That’s why no one would ever have brought me something like this before.”
Momomi frowned. “I see…”
“Well, it’s okay.” Kaname smiled. “This one makes my neck itch, so I wasn’t missing very much.”
“Cheeky girl. Well, now I know what to get you for Christmas.”
“Don’t you dare. I’ll make you suffer.”
Momomi laughed. “You’re still very bad-tempered. But never mind. What do you want for Christmas?”
“I could say something cliché at this juncture, but my painful dignity is kicking in again,” Kaname noted. “To be honest, I’m not too bothered. Horror novels are good. Ones I haven’t read.”
Momomi prodded her on the nose. “Once again, Kaname, you’ve got no sense of romance.” She looked away, grinning. “My mind is already overflowing with all the possible things I could get you, I can assure you, so I doubt I’ll be as kind as all that.”
“Then why ask me?” Kaname queried.
“Because it was your chance to say something cliché,” Momomi teased. “But forget it.”
“What do you want, then? Nothing embarrassing, I hope?”
“Of course not. Who do you think I am?”
“I won’t answer that.”
Momomi shook her head. “As cruel as ever… but I don’t know. If it’s actually put to me, I can’t find an easy answer. Something like… let’s see… I know. How about we get each other surprise presents?”
“Surprise presents?” Kaname asked. “Doesn’t that just mean we both end up with presents we don’t like?”
“That’s not the point! Or rather, that unintentional comedy is exactly the point!” Momomi smirked. “I want to see what you’ll get me if I don’t give you any advice at all.”
“But that’s going to make it such a pain!” Kaname complained.
“Exactly! It’s a labour of love.”
“It’s bloody stupid,” Kaname muttered. “And it’ll leave us running back to town for refunds the moment the shops are open again, too.”
“Oh, come on. I’m sure we know each other better than that.” Momomi touched her cheek. “Besides, we’re both pretty easy to please.”
Kaname raised her hands. “Fine. You got it. I give up. When your voice takes on that wheedling tone, I know I’m screwed. Surprise presents it is.”
Momomi kissed her cheek again. “Good girl. Don’t worry about it.”
Kaname watched the rain for a while longer. “Say, Momomi?”
“Yes?”
“Did you celebrate Christmas with your family?”
“Of course. We’re good Catholics, after all,” Momomi replied evenly, with just a hint of sarcasm. “So we go through the whole thing. All the ceremonies at Church, candles and whatnot. We’ll be doing that here as well, won’t we?”
“Yeah. We did last year.” Kaname sighed. “It gets a little tiring, what can I say?”
“Tell me about it. But yeah, we went through all the motions of religion. We also had the extended Phareli family to stay for about a week, which was always a painful experience.” Momomi sighed. “There’s a permanent state of cold war between my parents the main family and everyone else, both because we’re the richest and because of my father’s infidelity. They never treat us gently. Even their children don’t think much of us.”
“That kind of stuff pisses me off,” Kaname muttered. “Parents can do what they like, but if they’re dragging their children into their spats that’s just too low and pathetic.”
“Yeah, well, we all learn from our parents, after all.” Momomi frowned. “Uncle Isacco, Araldo’s dad, is generally reasonable. But Uncle Gaetano is an incredibly obnoxious guy and Aunt Chiara’s family is no better. The old ones are the worst, though. Between money and religion, one of them have much time for us.”
“So why do they get invited every year, then?” Kaname demanded. “Sounds stupid to me.”
“It’s the done thing,” Momomi replied bitterly. “My father always does the done thing.”
“I hate crap like that.”
“But I’ll say one thing. Perversely, I almost enjoyed that week, even though it reduced Yukaho to tears.” Momomi looked out through the rain. “For that week, we could do no wrong. For that week, my father’s coldness and rage and aloof arrogance and everything else were directed outwards, at the others, protecting us and dominating everyone. It’s stupid, I know. It’s only because of his pride, I know. But still, those were the only times where I could really feel like we were a family that he loved.”
“That’s pretty perverse,” Kaname noted.
“I know. Messed up, isn’t it?” Momomi smiled weakly. “Never mind. But we had the ritual Christmas for the family. Big, expensive, pompous and whatever else. Then a ball in the evening. I couldn’t stand the occasion. Afterwards, though, I think it was Yukaho who started the tradition… we all came down and gave each other our real presents, and talked like a family. Even my father came.” Momomi sighed again. “I really don’t understand that man.”
Kaname nodded. “I know the feeling. With my mother, it was the same. In reverse, I suppose. We were always visiting some relative, somewhere, and they all hated us. She didn’t change much, though. She still didn’t approve of me. But still, even when I was a kid, I looked at her at those times and noticed just how lonely she was.”
“It’s not a kind world, is it?” Momomi smiled weakly. “Say, did you go back home to your mother last Christmas? Or did you stay here?”
Kaname shrugged. “I stayed here. My mother was clear she didn’t want me around.”
“I wonder whether she meant that…”
“If she wanted to see me, she should have just said that,” Kaname snapped. “I’m not playing a bloody guessing game with her.”
Momomi laughed. “I wonder. I’ve never met your mother, but this may be where your dishonesty comes from. It sounds like she values her dignity.”
“She’s nothing like me!” Kaname snapped indignantly. “When she says these things, she means it. I should know.”
Momomi shrugged. “Well, I don’t know her well enough to say either way. That reminds me, though. My family will probably invite me back for Christmas… perhaps. Luigia and Yukaho will want that. I doubt Rodrigo will be as benevolent. I guess it depends on what he thinks will be more painful for me. But it’s a possibility, anyway.”
“Would you go?”
Momomi shrugged. “I don’t know. I’d rather spend the time with you, but-”
“But?”
“If I could see Luigia, I’d like that as well. I still miss her, sometimes.”
Kaname glanced at her briefly. “It must be nice. To have someone like that.”
Momomi nodded. “I guess you could come too, though? How about it?”
“Dragging your girlfriend to that kind of party would be one hell of a way to intensify the cold war,” Kaname observed. “Especially as I hate that kind of situation. It wouldn’t work at all.”
“I wonder…” Momomi frowned thoughtfully. “You know, if we made it known there, at that time of year, my father would back us up. I’m sure of it. Under those conditions his pride is everything and his family is an extension of himself. The more they disapproved of us, the more he’d support us. And that’d set a precedent he’d be unable to escape from.”
Kaname grunted. “Quite the hypocrite, isn’t it?”
“All proud people are hypocrites,” Momomi noted, smiling. “I know a lot of them. But on the whole, I think it’d be better if we avoided the family drama, for now. If I’m in the same position when I’m seventeen, though, that might be a plan.”
Kaname groaned. “Hopefully I won’t be the one involved with that.”
Momomi prodded her on the shoulder. “You really know what to say to make a woman happy, don’t you?”
“Hey, I say what I think. Honesty is good, isn’t it?”
“Sometimes. But not always. My fragile ego needs massaging from time to time, you know? Self-esteem is important.”
Kaname snorted. “Your fragile ego? Excuse me while I go and laugh up my lungs.”
Momomi prodded her again. “Nasty as ever. But what will the others do, I wonder? Olesa and Amiki will definitely go and see their family, right?”
Kaname nodded. “Right.”
“Shion… Shion will go and see her parents too, I think. She sounds like she gets on well with them, doesn’t she? Her father, at least.” Momomi smiled. “And the Etoiles will probably be with one set of parents or the other too, right?”
Kaname nodded again. “Honestly, I can’t imagine that. Kariya in France’s softest heartland, or Serané amongst the gun-totting gangsters or whatever devils spawned Kariya in the first place.”
“Yeah, I know. Sounds like a bad set-up for a romantic comedy, doesn’t it?” Momomi smirked. “Meet the Parents: Lesbian Edition. Will Kari-chan be able to impress Serané’s parents without killing anyone over wounded pride, resorting to blackmail or get caught screwing their daughter on a table?”
Kaname winced. “Damnit, why do you always have such a graphic imagination?”
“Kaname is a surprising prude,” Momomi teased. “But it’s going to be pretty lonely here, isn’t it? Was it like that last year?”
Kaname nodded. “Pretty much. But that suits me just fine.”
“Amane… she stayed behind, didn’t she?”
“Eh? Yeah.” Kaname frowned. “I must admit, that surprised me. Doesn’t she have balls to attend?”
“Well, I thought that’d be the case.” Momomi rubbed her forehead, looking mournful. “She said she doesn’t get on with her family.”
“That makes three of us.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Momomi chuckled. “It’s a terrible thing to say, but that makes her more human, doesn’t it? She isn’t actually perfect after all.”
“Of course.” Kaname glanced at her. “How do you know, anyway? She isn’t talkative, now is she?”
“Oh, it just came up,” Momomi replied vaguely. “You know how it is. Olesa says that’s normal, for Amane to say things, if you hang around for long enough. Even if it’s only because she starts talking aloud in your presence.”
Kaname frowned, looking away unhappily. Just what is it, her relationship with Amane? That cold bitch wouldn’t mention anything like that voluntarily.
“What’s wrong?” Momomi asked.
“No. Nothing.” Kaname glanced at her, smiling. “I was just thinking that you have a lot more friends now, than you did before.”
“You’re right. Jealous?”
“Just a little,” Kaname admitted.
“There’s no need to be.” Momomi put a hand on her knee, smiling gently. “I’m the one here with you, aren’t I?”
“I know. I know already. It’s not like I have a decent reason.”
“Then that’s fine, isn’t it?”
“But-” Kaname sighed. “I told you before. Things were easier then.”
“Well, what do you want me to do?” Momomi asked. “I can talk to Amane less if you insist. But it’d be a shame, as I’m finally beginning to understand her…”
“No. It is fine. It’s not your fault, or something you should change.” Kaname shrugged. “But it’s just who I am. I have a problem with people, especially people in large numbers. They get even stupider and a lot more violent.”
“No one’s going to attack you, you know.” Momomi frowned thoughtfully, touching her lips with a finger. “Unless you deserve it, anyway.”
“I know, already. I’m not stupid. But what with one thing and another, I’d be content to drift through school without being noticed.” Kaname sighed. “At the same time, I want to be the one who exceeds the Etoiles with you. Contradictory, isn’t it?”
“A little,” Momomi replied. “But I think I understand.”
Kaname raised her eyebrows. “You do? I wish I did.”
“It’s about your habit of having your cake and eating it,” Momomi teased. “Fame without effort. Rather like our dear Amane-san, actually.”
“Yeah, right.” Kaname rolled her eyes. “That’s not it at all.”
“Is too.”
“Is not!”
Momomi giggled. “You actually said that? I think I win by default.”
“Screw you,” Kaname grumbled. “That’s not the point, though. I like people in the abstract, if they’re looking at me anyway, but not to talk too.”
“The same as Amane. Do you two have some kind of condition, or something?”
“Amane doesn’t even want to be famous, so forget her,” Kaname complained. “This isn’t the point, though. It’s just a bother, that’s all. It’s hard to explain. I guess you could say I want fans but no friends.”
Momomi sighed. “That hardly makes Amane happy, now does it?”
“I know. It sounds stupid, I know. But I suppose that’s how I feel.”
“How about me?” Momomi asked. “Or would it be okay if you had a lot of fangirls instead?”
“Don’t screw around,” Kaname retorted. “You’re the important one. Without you, it wouldn’t work at all.”
“Is that so?”
“Right. I didn’t ask to be completely miserable like Amane, after all.”
Momomi smirked. “I see. Well, sometimes it’s hard to tell. But isn’t it fun? When we’re with Amiki, Olesa and Shion?”
Kaname nodded. “I suppose so. But-”
“But?”
“It’s still less peaceful. We get dragged into more things. Everything becomes more complicated, don’t you think?”
“But doesn’t that give us something to do?” Momomi asked. “I know I’d go mad from boredom if I just sat in room all day. Besides, how will we beat the Etoiles like that?”
Kaname nodded. “Of course. So it’s not like I can’t deal with friends, either. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just being an idiot.”
“That wouldn’t be new. But how about Amane? You definitely don’t like her, right?”
“Yeah. Now that is for sure.”
Momomi leaned back slightly. “Still raining… but I’ve never really understood why you hate her. She’s privileged and lazy, certainly, but she comes across as particularly troubled or particularly striking. I can understand disliking her, but why hate her?”
“I told you before, probably. She’s everything I hate and everything I want to be.”
Momomi raised her eyebrows. “Wouldn’t you hate yourself, then?”
“Who knows?” Kaname shrugged and smiled. “If you’re talking to me about these things, get used to internal contradictions.”
“You’re one big internal contradiction, Kaname, so that won’t be a problem.”
“Why, thank you.” Kaname tapped a finger against the ground, looking at the falling rain. “But Amane was about the first person I noticed when I came here, and I instantly disliked her. She also became the one to always beat me, and the one who had what I wanted. Like you say, she has achieved fame without effort.” Kaname scratched her cheek, closing her eyes. “No, that’s not fair. She’s put effort until her horse riding. But still, why that? Why not calligraphy or kendo or whatever?”
“Because everyone knows the handsome prince rides a beautiful white horse,” Momomi observed wryly.
“Yeah. The worst thing is, that may well be the reason…”
“In any case, I still have some things to say to Amane,” Momomi noted. “And, to be frank, if she wants to keep talking to us in the mornings I won’t stop her. It’ll be good for her, and you as well.”
“Don’t sound too much like my parent.” Kaname sighed deeply, staring into the heart of the rain. The leaves on the trees shook as they were enraptured by the wind, darting chaotically back and forwards before tearing free and fluttering down. It was a bizarre and beautiful scene.
“You can say that when you brush your own hair. Until then, I’m mother, okay?”
“But I’m not sure, with you two, which one it is I’m jealous of, exactly,” Kaname murmured.
“Huh?”
“You’re my girlfriend, the person who understands me, and I don’t like it when you go near her. I don’t like it all. She’s won at everything else, after all. Why shouldn’t she take you from me?”
Momomi touched her arm gently. “Don’t be stupid. I’m not that fickle, already, so don’t insult my intelligence. This round was yours, despite your bad leadership.”
Kaname nodded. “I know. I know that, and I trust you.”
Momomi rested her head on Kaname’s shoulder. “I’ll forgive you, just so long as you understand.”
“But for Amane, as well, it annoys me,” Kaname observed. “I’m not quite sure, really?”
“Because it’s her? You’ve told me before.”
“Because there’s someone, anyone, she talks to. Because she has the cheek to act like a normal girl, rather than a freakish prodigal heiress. Because it makes her less than perfect, I suppose.”
“Isn’t that worse for you?” Momomi asked. “Don’t you want your rival to be a fallible human? Because she’s that, she’s nothing but that, and I can’t pretend otherwise.”
“You’re wrong,” Kaname replied. “If I’m going to be defeated, if I’m going to be humiliated, if I’m going to hate someone that way, it’s better that they’re perfect. That casts a better light on me, who is cracked. It’s not my fault for losing if I never stood a chance to begin with it.”
Momomi frowned. “That’s the logic of a loser, isn’t it? I don’t like it. It doesn’t suit you.”
“I know.” Kaname slid her arm around Momomi’s waist, looking out into the storm. “Things are different now, because you’re here now. But the person I was before thought that way.”
Momomi smiled, nuzzling her girlfriend’s shoulder gently. “You’ve got better at admitting your dependence on me, right?”
“The first step is acceptance, after all,” Kaname replied absently. “But that’s Amane, again.”
“Amane?”
“I was actually the first to notice her. Well, one of the first. Before she really had fangirls, I talked to her a little and watched her a lot and realised just who she was. She was my stereotype of everything I feared about this school. So perhaps that’s why it bothers me.”
“Me spending time with her?” Momomi queried. “Because she’s been your rival for all that time?”
“Perhaps that. Perhaps not.” Kaname’s free hand slapped the floor. “I’ve always watched her, and she’s always been there. Amane was an overwhelmingly consistent presence in a life that was constantly in flux. Even if I hated her, at least it was something I could understand. That was why I always came back and watched.”
“I… see.”
“I’m sorry. That didn’t make much sense.”
“No, I understand. I said the same thing to Amane.” Momomi smiled. “About you.”
Kaname nodded. “I see. Yes, that makes sense. It was probably the same for me. But you weren’t as good at it, though.”
“Oh?” Momomi raised her head, looking annoyed. “Is that so?”
“I knew you too well,” Kaname replied, smiling slightly. “Even though I tried to pretend you were another demon, it didn’t work out. Not when I saw you come home bleeding from the other girls, watched you struggle to make friends and find a place, heard you cry for your sister in the night-”
Momomi flushed, looking down. “You heard that?”
“Sorry. I know I wasn’t supposed to. So I could tell you. I told you everything. I’m not sure whether I wanted to give you a chance to understand me or a chance to hate you forever after all.” Kaname shrugged slightly, reaching out with a gentle hand and touching Momomi’s hair. “It doesn’t matter. You showed me how you could touch me as well as stab me. After that, you ceased to be a monster.”
Momomi chuckled, moving closer to the warmth of Kaname’s body. “You always overcomplicate things, don’t you? But it was you who did it, in the end. You who said it all.”
“In expectation of your cruelty,” Kaname muttered. “You were the one who stepped beyond that.”
“Perhaps. We shouldn’t argue about this, though.”
“Amane, though.” Kaname raised her left hand and unfolded it, looking between the splayed fingers at the trees. Behind them, she knew, was the paddock. “Amane has always been aloof and careless. She’s always been perfect.”
“I never thought I’d hear you say that.”
“A perfect demon,” Kaname finished, her hand clenching into a fist. Her expression was blank. “Someone I can hate forever and ever. That’s all she is to me.”
“Is that it, then?” Momomi asked quietly.
“What?”
“When I approach her and she talks to me, when she approaches us and talks to you, it doesn’t work, does it? She’s less than perfect, she’s only human.”
Kaname frowned. “Perhaps you’re right.”
“Before that made sense, though. Not so much anymore.” Momomi shifted sideways, raising both her hands and placing them on Kaname’s shoulders. “You don’t have to hate, do you? You don’t need that control and release, because you have something better.” She hugged her girlfriend from behind, turning her head and whispering gently. “Can’t you let it go?”
Kaname enjoyed her warm embrace for a few moments, closing her eyes. Then she shook her head. “For as long as I have my own aspirations, I’ll need to hate her. And she still owes me for all the suffering that she caused me before.”
Momomi sighed unhappily. “It can’t be very healthy for you, to use hatred of another person to drive your aspirations.”
“No. That’s true. But are you any different?” Kaname chuckled. “My father, my father, my father… his money, his rules, his attitude, your independence, you aspire to free of him, because you hate him. It’s the same.”
“It’s not the same. He’s my father, someone personal to me. You barely know Amane.”
“And she embodies what I despise,” Kaname retorted.
“Well, I’m an aristocrat too, aren’t I?” Momomi said hotly. “What’s the point in hating us all? Isn’t that just as bigoted and stupid as her hate for you?”
“I don’t hate you, though,” Kaname replied. “Quite the opposite. I like you, Momomi, because of your aspiration.”
Momomi sighed. “Now you’re just being confusing.”
“To be honest, it would be nice for me if Amane always remained this way,” Kaname noted. “Perhaps I should do that. Perhaps I’ll make sure she’s the untouchable, inviolable one, whoever tries to approach her… I’m sure I can do that.”
Momomi’s grip tightened. “I won’t let you.”
Kaname laughed. “Of course. You can carry on beavering away at the dam of my convictions.”
“If your convictions are based on an illusions, they’re worse than pathetic,” Momomi replied steadily. “I’ll tear them down for your sake. It’s my duty as your girlfriend.”
Kaname nodded. “Good answer.” She slid forwards then flopped back, her head ending up on Momomi’s lap. “Well, this is nice.”
“What are you doing?” Momomi demanded, sounding annoyed. “Playing around with me like that.”
“Thanks for letting me have that conversation.” Kaname smiled. “It was important, I think. Even if it wasn’t, it made me feel better.”
“It made you sound very obsessive, you know,” Momomi complained, running her hands idly through the short blue hair. “Don’t be so worrying.”
Kaname smirked. “What can I say? I’m very obsessive.” She reached up, touching Momomi’s face. “But that means that when I am looking at you, you have my full and undivided attention.”
Momomi frowned down at her. “Compliments aren’t going to stop me from talking to Amane, you know.”
“Oh, that’s fine. I wasn’t talking in more than hypothetical terms for now. If your mind is made up, you are way too hard to shift.”
“Of course.”
“It’d still suit me fine both ways, if you didn’t talk to each other, though,” Kaname teased. “What can I say? A girl can dream.”
“Even if you pretend to be a cold pragmatist, you’re actually an idealist,” Momomi noted cynically. “That’s pretty troublesome.”
“Well, you’ll have to forgive me for that. I’ll try to make it up to you.” Kaname glanced up at her. “So what’s your dream? Freedom from your parents, an independent life here, but what about your dream of the present?”
“I could say something cliché at this juncture, but I won’t,” Momomi imitated. “But my actual dream is pretty cliché too. I just want to be someone people look at. Someone like Amane. The same as you, but without the schizophrenia.”
Kaname grinned. “I thought so. My dream’s a little different, though. I remember now. It has a lot to do with everything that I said before, and my desire to Amane to be perfect and untouched, but there’s a narrower significance as well. Why make her perfect, after all?”
“To protect your precious fragile ego, apparently,” Momomi noted distastefully.
“Nope. Not entirely. If I lose, it’s that. But if I win, that makes it even better, right?” Kaname closed her eyes. “I can’t really control Amane. Even I know that. So I just have to beat her instead, while she’s the rival I want her to be.”
Momomi sighed. “So now you’re being hyper-competitive again. Just my luck.”
Kaname sat up and turned, facing her. “Wrong again. Your dream and mine can be the same thing, and I want you to be happy as well.” She smiled, raising her right hand. “So how about it? If we work together, we can achieve great things. I’m sure of it. This time will be different.”
Momomi smiled indulgently. “You’re very skittish today, aren’t you?”
“You’ve been giving me a lot to think about. But really, I’m just honouring a promise I made long ago.”
Momomi took her hand. “If you put it like that, I can’t refuse on principle.” A moment later, she leaned forwards, kissing Kaname on the lips.
Kaname accepted graciously then moved back slightly, nodding. “Well, this should be fun.”
“You do know you have to audition for the play now, right?”
“Yeah. I’m aware of that.”
“I know.” Kaname sighed. “I’m going to really regret this in half an hour. But right now, I’m still fired up.”
“You’ll do fine. It’s your chance to beat Amane, after all.”
“Ice prince Amane, my inviolate one,” Kaname muttered. “Such a convenient rival, isn’t she? I’m lucky.”
“That won’t stop me from talking to her.”
“I know. Why do you always get the better end of these deals?”
“You shouldn’t come up with grand plans in my lap,” Momomi retorted, smiling. “It’s definitely going to be distracting for you.”
“Tch. That’s got nothing to do with it…”
“I still don’t quite get why, though. Why do you have to beat her?”
“To prove I can, I think,” Kaname replied. “Just as I came here to prove I can. Just as you’re going to become someone exceptional to prove you can.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Momomi ran a hand through her hair. “So these the important dreams and aspirations Amane went on about. Is this what she had in mind when she talked about them?”
“You talked to her about that stuff?” Kaname asked, surprised.
Momomi nodded. “At some length. She thinks about it a lot.”
“So?”
“So what?”
“What does Amane dream of?”
Momomi was silent for a while, then she spoke. “Someone who can understand her. I’m sure of it.”
“Is that all?” Kaname complained. “That’s pretty lame…”
“It’s very important.” Momomi stood, brushing herself off then offering Kaname her hand. “Once you have someone like that, everything else follows.”
“Is that so?” Kaname asked carelessly, grabbing her hand and standing. “What a convenient world.”
“More so than you’d think.” Momomi looked over her shoulder. “The rain’s stopped.”
Kaname frowned, turning around. “I see. Well, let’s go then.” She picked up the hamper.
Momomi nodded without letting go of Kaname’s hand. “Let’s go.”
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