soundoftheseas | YOHAMARU CATCHALL

"Huh? Why are you bringing that up, all of a sudden?"

She knows what she's talking about, of course, it was only yesterday.

"And I did dress up nice, I wore the most normal thing in my closet and everything! I thought it went really well! Your family was really nice, and I don't think they, like, noticed anything. I tried not to make it obvious that we were, y'know, a thing..."

After all, Yoshiko hasn't told her family, either. Not because she's embarrassed about it or anything; it's more of a lack of contact issue, than anything. Still, in Maru's case, with her family running a shrine and all, the issue is a little more sensitive, so she tried not to be so openly affectionate. And yeah, there was one little mishap, but...

"They even played off my stupid joke better than I thought, all things considered. Even though it was a little humiliating, they didn't seem to mind it, I didn't think...and other than that, I thought it was nice. A little formal, of course, so it was kinda stiff, but I think they liked me, didn't they? Unless they were, like, talking about me behind my back or something..."

Whatever's remained of Hanamaru's indignation tapers off into weariness the more Yoshiko explains -- save for a single spike in tension, shoulders squaring up, when she talks about hiding their relationship like it was an accomplishment.

"Yoshiko-chan," she begins, slouching forward with a sigh. What stings most is the realization Yoshiko was doing her best, only with the completely opposite intent in mind-- she wasn't oblivious, she was deliberately trying to keep it a secret...

"Nobody was talking behind your back. Everyone liked you, and your clothes were nice. I just..."

She buries her face deeper between her knees.

"I wanted to tell them."

"Huh? If I didn't dress badly, and your family liked me, then why are you--"

...Oh. Oh no, she's such an idiot, of course she wanted to tell them...

"Z-Zuramaru, I didn't...I never meant to make it seem like I wasn't serious about you, of course! You...I mean, you told me that you hadn't said anything to your family yet, s-so I didn't want to surprise them or anything...I tried to just act natural and not give it away, because I thought you wanted to keep it a secret! It wasn't because I'm not happy to be your girlfriend or anything, p-please don't misunderstand!"

Oh shoot, she really dropped the ball here, didn't she...how could she have not picked up on that? The whole family was there, it would've been the perfect place to announce it...

"Why didn't you tell me?! I would've been extra careful if you said you wanted to tell everyone we were a couple!"

Maru watches the ground, tapping her toes together to a dull, sheepish rhythm. Yoshiko's right-- it would've been smarter to, and maybe then this whole mess wouldn't have happened, but...

"I guess... I just thought it was gonna happen, you know? It didn't seem that difficult in my head... but then I got more nervous than I expected, and kept waiting for the right opportunity to say it, and when it did turn up-- well..."

A sigh at the recollection; when Maru had wanted to say girlfriend, Yoshiko said little demon, and any chance they had of making it a serious conversation went flying right out the window.

"I mean, fallen angel or not, I know you can't read my mind, Yoshiko-chan. But when you brushed it off as a joke, it kind of hurt... I thought you'd be happy to tell them, too."

"R, right..."

So that's what this is about, then...it's true, even if she had wanted to say anything after a joke like that, there was no way in Hell that she'd be able to talk about it. Hanamaru's whole reason for wanting to have that dinner with her family was completely and utterly crushed at that moment, so it's no wonder she was upset for the rest of the night. Yoshiko had just assumed she was tired after a long evening, but the reality of the situation was that the dinner itself was the complete opposite of what Maru had intended, even when Yoshiko had been so bold as to consider it a success...

It might be presumptuous of her, to touch her while she's mad, but she puts a hand on top of Hanamaru's knee.

"Zu...Hanamaru. You know the last thing I want to do is hurt you."

But she sure did a bang-up job of that, between yesterday's fiasco and everything that happened today...

"If I had known you wanted to tell them, I would've been happy to go through it with you, of course. Your family couldn't have been nicer, especially to someone like me."

She was more nervous than Hanamaru was, at first. They had done a good job of putting her at ease, though...

"...If anything, I thought you were keeping it a secret for so long because you were embarrassed to tell them about me, or because you didn't know how they'd react. ...So I kind of just blurted the first thing that came to mind, there, and you know how that goes. I'm really sorry. I should have known what you were trying to do...I didn't mean to ruin your chance."

And who knows when Maru will get that chance again? It's not often the whole family has dinner together like that, between their shrine obligations and shifting schedules, so it'll probably be a while before they get that setting back...

Hanamaru tilts her head sideways, peering cautiously over at Yoshiko. It's not often that she hears her voice go soft like that, or that she calls her properly by name, and it makes her heart beat a little faster.

She reaches her hand over, wrapping her pinky over Yoshiko's forefinger.

"So... you really wouldn't mind telling them? For sure?"

"Why would I have a problem with it? It's been nearly a year now. If you think it's time to tell them, I'll be right there with you when you do. In normal clothes, holding your hand just like this."

She looks so cute, peeking out from between her knees like this...even though the moment was so tense before this, Yoshiko tries her best to give her a reassuring smile.

"...Maybe give my face a little bit of time to heal, so they don't think you're dating a samurai, but..."

And Maru returns the smile, gentle and soft, only for the corners of her mouth to twitch unevenly upwards at that last comment.

"Ee-heh-heehh... I didn't think something like that would leave a mark..."

She lowers her knees at last, turning to face Yoshiko full-on.

"I'm sorry. I'll kiss it better, okay?"

And leaning forward, she presses her lips to the bridge of her nose.

"Well, you did kind of throw it at me pretty hard..."

Though she'll take the kiss, for sure, her pale face turning cherry red when she does. But when Hanamaru faces her gaze, Yoshiko looks down...

"...Hey, did you mean what you said, earlier? About the fallen angel stuff? If it really bothers you, I'll stop it for you. I promise. I know the last time I tried it didn't go so well, but..."

Before, the only thing at stake was her reputation, and Hanamaru is far, far more important to her than that could ever be.

"If it's for you, I know I can do it. I've never heard you get that upset before, so, do you think I should?"

"Ah!" Maru jumps, paling. The words had completely slipped her mind until this very moment, and she regrets them immediately. She waves her hands before her frantically, as if to bat the very memory of it away. "No, no, that was just 'cause of the timing--!"

Ah, but that's not the greatest reassurance either, is it... she stops and takes a deep breath.

"... I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking when I said that. It was a really cruel thing to say, wasn't it..." Her back snaps upright then, new resolve in her eyes: "But, um, Yoshiko-chan wouldn't be Yoshiko-chan without it, and I love Yoshiko-chan! So you don't have to change at all!"

That felt like a better thing to say, at least to Maru, but she seals it with a quick kiss to Yoshiko's lips just to be sure.

"Okay?"

"N-no, no, Zuramaru, don't beat yourself up over it." She's quick to reassure her, gripping at her hands the instant they start flying. "You don't have to apologize to me, it was my fault for not being able to get the atmosphere."

Her reaction makes sense, after all; it was just a bad thing to say, in that circumstance.

"It just feels like sometimes it's nothing but trouble, is all. So I wonder..."

But Hanamaru is quick to give her a quick kiss to diffuse the situation, and the second Maru's lips leave hers, Yoshiko's hand darts to her face as she gives her most devilish laugh--

"Ah, but of course, trouble is bound to follow someone as malevolent as I am, wherever I may go. Such is the curse of a devil on earth, and that is simply the price one must pay for dating one! But never fear, my most favorite of all little demons! Should you ever need my unholy aid, you know you need only say the word!"

She's easy enough to please, is the takeaway here.

"...And that means no silent treatment, either! Seriously, to think you went off to go have lunch with Riri! I had no one to share my cream buns with..."

"Ehh, you had cream buns today?!" A kneejerk reaction. Missing the point a bit, though. "-- Sorry. I'm not used to being angry with you. I think I just needed to stew in it for a bit, maybe..."

Leaving Yoshiko in the dark and expecting her to work it out by herself was no good either, though. She's sure she's made her feel really bad today, when they could've had this conversation as early as last night...

Maru's face falls with guilt, and then she tilts her head up, touching foreheads with Yoshiko.

"But if something like this happens again, I'll definitely talk to you about my feelings properly." And she raises a pinky: "Promise!"

"I still have some leftover at home. I'll bring them in tomorrow, if you're okay with having lunch with me again. It was lonely without you."

She's not used to having Hanamaru angry with her, either, but she's glad that, at least, the day went by with the whole thing out of their systems.

"Honestly, to have gone this long without you getting upset like that is a bit of an accomplishment in my book, but at least now I know for the future not to say something silly when you're mad."

She rubs their noses together, in a bit of an eskimo kiss--

"I'll make sure to be more direct with you, too, when I notice something's wrong. We could have got this settled a lot faster if I just asked you what was up."

She hooks her pinky around Maru's, though, and she can't keep the grin off her face.

"It's a promise from me, too. You know I love you, right?"

Maru beams as she lifts their joint hands, feeling her heart skip a beat. "Yeah!"

She's already breathing easier, the mess of knots in her stomach coming untangled. She'd gladly let this precious moment linger, except--

"Ah, we should really get back before Ms. Librarian gets mad... I really don't want to make her angry twice in one day, zura."

Maru goes to get up, but then pauses. It occurs to her she's not quite content to leave things with this. "Right, there's still one thing left unresolved!"

Reaching into her schoolbag, she produces the latest book she's been reading. It's a small, softcovervcollection of contemporary haiku, which she shoves into Yoshiko's hands with a smile. "Please throw this at Maru's face!"

Edited 2017-05-28 07:09 (UTC)

"..."

Yoshiko just takes the book, rolls it up into a tube, and gently swats Maru's forehead with a thunk.

"That's the most you're getting from me."

Maru blinks, like the first step of a wince before she realized there's nothing to really wince over. A frown pulls at her features, cheeks puffing out slightly.

"That's no good, Yoshiko-chan! We gotta make it even!"

"I'm not gonna throw a book at you point-blank! Especially when I'm not even angry with you! Can't you make it up to me some other way, one that doesn't involve me hitting you?"

Besides, if she hit Maru so hard that it would leave a mark, her parents might actually kill her, or at least place a curse at the shrine that would jinx her for the next 100 years...

"Mmm, I guess so," Maru hums in thought, accepting the book back and slipping it into her bag. "Well, how about you think of how you want to be made up to, Yoshiko-chan, and you can let me know after library duty?"

"Even if you say that, there's not really anything special that I want in return for getting smacked...you already channeled all of your healing energy into that kiss from earlier, so the hit to your mana reserves is enough for me. Besides, strong as you are, an almighty celestial being like myself will recover much faster than an ordinary human could ever dream of. And were I to throw that book at you full-strength, worst-case-scenario, you may not even live to tell the tale."

She tries to stand up and help Hanamaru to her feet, though.

"But I guess if you insist, I'll try to think of something you can do."

The only thing Maru can think of during Yoshiko's little spiel is that asking for more kisses is clearly the obvious answer, but-- she can probably reach that conclusion on her own. So she rolls her eyes playfully, and offers a smile.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out!" She takes Yoshiko's hand as she rises to her feet, and keeps holding it after, too. "Come on, let's head back."

YOHAMARU CATCHALL

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