Changing what I was, for what you wanted me to be

by promisedlife

Summary:

"Oh. So, that's it."

"You can keep a secret, can't you?"

-

Kohane was human. Never being satisfied was something she was used to.

Notes:

poly vbs *LOUD APPLAUSE SCREAMING CHEERING YELLING WOOOOOOOO*

title from 'if i killed someone for you' by alec benjamin

Chapter 1: On another love, another love, all my tears have been used up

Notes:

bends down a breaks back and throws it back

title from 'another love' by tom odell

She was the happiest girl in the world when An asked her out.

Chances was that was a huge exaggeration, but to her, on that day, it was most certainly true.

It was just a normal day. They had just finished practice, and the two of them had said their goodbyes to Toya and Akito. An had insisted on walking her home, for whatever reason. (Well, the reason was obvious now. But she hadn't thought anything of it at the time...) Well, insisting on walking her home had changed into taking a scenic way home, then next thing she knew, An had taken her hand and the two of them were aimlessly walking around the streets, hand in hand.

Eventually, or perhaps, regrettably, the two had finally reached Kohane's home. By then, it was already night.

"An, thank you for walking me home." She smiled at the blue-haired girl, slowly scooting towards the front door. "Even if it took ten years, ehehe."

An's face flushed in embarrassment, as the moon gently lit her in a beautiful silver. "Well, you're home safe and sound, so no issue! Besides, I wanna spend as much time with you as possible..."

Those words made her heart skip a beat, and she stopped in place, feeling her own cheeks flush. Awkwardly, she smiled again, and averted her gaze. She heard An shift in place, before she stepped towards her. Soon, An stood right in front of her. Suddenly, her shoes seemed a lot more interesting.

Her gaze flickered back to An when she cleared her throat. She internally acknowledged that An looked even prettier underneath the moonlight.

"So. Kohane..." An visibly gulped, and said, "Um. We've been partners for, uh, a long time now, right?"

"Well... when you're by my side, it feels like I've been with you forever." Kohane mused, smiling sheepishly. An seemed to turn pinker at that.

"...urgh, listen, I-I won't be able to talk if you say stuff like that..." At An's pouting, Kohane giggled, before nodding encouragingly. "S-So. Um... I have something to tell you."

"Yes, An...?"

"C-Could we, uh... let's- fuck, um." An took a deep breath, and rushed out, "I'minlovewithyouandwanttosmoochyou,let'sdateforeverokay."

Kohane blinked, once. Twice. Staring at An. Then, her jumbled words finally registered in her brain, and she turned a deep pink. "A-An!? Did I-... Did I hear you, right...?"

"...please say yes." An hung her head, visibly trembling. "I'm going to cry if you don't."

"Ah." Kohane's brain was mush. She giggled softly. "...then, yes."

An's head snapped back up, and she started vibrating in excitement. Her eyes searched her face. Kohane stared up at An, nodding slightly.

When An pressed her lips against hers, the world did not, in fact, stop, or explode. Fireworks did not light off in her chest, and sparks did not fly. Pigs did not suddenly drop from the sky and splatter onto the pavement next to them, though she wasn't sure if she wanted that one to be true. All in all, every single romcom anime that Kohane has watched up to this point had lied to her.

First kisses weren't magical. They were awkward and nervous and very horribly unexperienced, at least on her end.

Kohane pulled away, expression blank. When An's eyes fluttered open, they stared blankly at each other, before breaking down into a fit of laughter and hugging each other, giddy on emotions.

That wasn't to say she didn't like it, though.

 

---

 

She wasn't sure what she expected, but An randomly blurting out that hey, the two of them were now dating, in the middle of crass cafe was most certainly not what she thought of.

To her relief, MEIKO simply grinned proudly at the two of them, and Miku nodded approvingly. Len let out an excited shriek, and immediately dashed out of the cafe, repeatedly calling out Rin's name. (She couldn't wait to deal with Rin's squealing...)

Akito scoffed good-naturedly. "Gee, absolutely no one could've seen that coming." Then, he plucked Kohane's cap off her head and placed it on his own, grinning. "Congrats, shrimp. You too, Annie-pie."

"A-Annie-pie?!" Kohane spluttered, trying to hold back her laughter. An scowled at him.

Toya, for his part, seemed happy for them. As happy as he could look. Kohane watched him shake his head fondly, before turning to An and tilting his head. "Hey, An, did you kiss Kohane?"

"Wha!?" An choked as Kohane blushed. She felt Akito place her cap back on her, then, he added, "Actually, yeah. C'mooon, we're all partners, right? I expect all the details."

"Yes, I'd like to know if your practice paid off." Toya said.

"Shut up, Toya!" An shrieked.

"Practice?" She and Akito chorused.

Toya nodded, tapping his chin. "So, around two days ago, An was telling me ho-"

Before he could finish, An plowed into him, blushing furiously, and covered his mouth with her hands. Though, their height difference made it a little funny. "T-Toya." An attempted to say firmly, but her voice was shaking. "Shut up."

Suddenly, the gears in Kohane's brain started working, and she turned pinker as she hesitantly asked, "An... did you practice kissing before asking me out?"

"I-!!" An's words got stuck in her throat, and she somehow blushed even brighter. A giggle fell out of her mouth in surprise. Next to her, Akito covered his mouth, attempting (and failing) to stifle his laughter.

"You shut up too!" An fumed, her face a tomato. "Guh... I hate all of you!!!"

Yeah, this felt nice. She thought to herself as she and Akito fell into fits of laughter, Akito nearly stumbling because of how hard he was laughing. An had turned her yelling to Toya, who's quiet (and still muffled by An's hands) giggles were the final nail on the coffin. This... is really nice. Being with An. Joking with the others about her, us.

Surely, anything more would just be selfish.

If she was paying attention at the time, she would have noticed how MEIKO's gaze suddenly seemed a lot more distant.

Notes:

an: toyaaaa i wanna smooch kohane but idk how to smooch :(
toya: okay
an:
toya:
an: toyaaaa
toya: *sigh* fine

*insert antoya borderline makeout session here*

toya: do you know how to smooch now
an: idk we gotta practice more in the future
toya: *sighs again*

reupload for the TENTH TIME. please work ao3 pleaseee

Chapter 2: I wish I didn't care all the time

Notes:

when i was younger i thought being a virgin was being scared to get married so i told my mom i'm not a virgin and i got my ass beat

title from 'play date' by melanie marTINEZ I DONT CARE IF HTATS ONSG OVERRATED I STILL LVOE IT

In all the time Kohane had knew Toya, she's never seen him cry.

(And, it wasn't like she wanted to see him cry, it just... occurred to her.)

Pride and hope that flickered in his cold eyes, gentle smiles that shone through plain, dark expressions. Slightly furrowed brows and a flickering grimace. Unyielding determination coloring his entire face as he swore to be free, once and for all.

But never crying. She doesn't think even Akito has seen him cry. (Not that she was going to ask. That'd sound creepy!)

The two of them were hanging out in crass cafe, having nothing to do on the weekend. MEIKO had disappeared somewhere after giving them their drinks, saying something about 'looking for the end of the rainbow' in a way that made Kohane think she had downed a few too many. So, the two of them were left in the cafe, by themselves, casually sipping at their drinks in silence. With anyone else, maybe it would have been awkward.

But not with Toya. It's alright. It was nice. Toya was nice... to be around.

Suddenly, the cafe door swung open, and the bell rang out a familiar jingle. The two of them simultaneously lifted their heads to look at who entered.

Rin was standing there, grinning proudly. "Ehy, Kohane and Toya! What a duo, I didn't think you guys were here!"

"Hello, Rin." Toya called out, a small smile on his face. The mentioned girl practically bounced over to them, and plopped down onto a chair. "What brings you here...?"

"Ehh, I was supposed to go grab some water for me and Len, but that jerk can stand to wait a few minutes while I talk to my favorite people~" Rin sung out playfully.

"Favorite people...?"

"She means us, silly." Kohane giggled at Toya's slight frown.

"Ah..."

"But now that I have your attention! I wanna tell you guys about something I found~!" Rin waved her hands around excitedly. "So, you know how you guys have items that represent you!? And how you can earn more items for every new feeling you unlock, like a video game!"

"Yes..." The two of them chorused.

"I found a cute little bear stuffie near the place me and Len were practicing at! It was holding a heart and everything! Though it was a little dirty..." She murmured the last part, before shaking her head and popping back up with renew energy. "Hey, hey, Kohane, do you think it's yours??"

"Huh? Why me?" Kohane smiled, confused.

Toya tapped the table twice. "Maybe because you and An started dating recently."

"Oh! Well, probably not? I think it would've been, um, a hamster or something instead." She joked lightheartedly.

"Darn, there goes that theory... hey, what if it's Kohane's feelings for someone else, then????" Sparkles seemed to fly off of Rin at her words.

Feelings for... someone else? The idea sounded reasonable, but Kohane shook her head and said, "No way! I only have feelings for An right now."

"Eh!? Surely Kohane has someone else that make her heart go all pitter-patter, like An does!" Rin pouted, sticking her bottom lip out.

Giggling sheepishly, Kohane let her gaze flicker over to Toya. "N-Not particularly. Though, I'm sure I've had a few crushes when I was a kid. Hey, Toya, what about you?"

"..." Rather than responding immediately, Rin and Kohane watched Toya chew his bottom lip, before taking another sip of coffee. "...no. Besides, relationships come off as intimidating to me."

"Intimidating?" Kohane parroted, turning her full attention to Toya. He nodded carefully.

"I... I know it's unreasonable, but I just... can't help but feel like that." Toya's hair swayed gently as he shook his head. "To... be expected to dedicate your entire self to someone. That scares me."

She frowned at his words. "Then only a dummy would make you uncomfortable. What makes you think that, anyways?"

"Oh, that's not... well, I just don't have... much experience with love, so I... I can't help but be a bit scared."

Judging from Toya's expression after those words fell from his mouth, he didn't mean to say that. Kohane hesitated, before saying, "I... If you're scared, then stay by my side until you're not...! And, I love having you by my side, I'll keep you safe, so... so it's going to be okay."

Toya gripped his mug tighter, staring at the table wordlessly. She hesitated, before slowly slipping out of her seat and moving to sit down in one next to him.

"...Toya?" Somehow, she had ended up carefully scooting her chair up against Toya, tilting her head to look at him. Distantly, she heard the cafe door quietly shut, and she thanked Rin for giving them privacy.

She'd never forget the pit that formed in her chest when she heard a quiet sniffle. Scrambling, she gently gripped Toya's hand, staring at him.

Slowly, he turned to look at her. His eyes were teary, and his mouth was twisted into a pitiful, mockingly sad smile.

"I just... I just can't believe I have the audacity not even want these f-feelings..."

Her heart was in her ears. The cafe was stagnantly quiet. Toya's hand felt clammy in hers.

(A dirty part of her wished he'd cry over her like this too.)

A quiet squeak fell from her lips when Toya all but crumpled into her, sobbing into her shoulder. She panickedly debated over whether to hug him or not, but when Toya moved to grip her arms, she gave in and wrapped her arms around his trembling body.

Every poorly muffled sob that fell from his throat felt like a stab to her heart. She rubbed his back soothingly as he cried and cried, not minding that he was getting her jacket wet.

Kohane didn't know how long the two of them stayed there, but eventually, Toya's sobs died down into quiet little hiccups, then to nothing at all. At some point, Toya had adjusted himself to be resting on her lap, and she rubbed his side soothingly. His breathing evened out, and she would've thought he'd fallen asleep if it hadn't been for the way his nails were digging into his palms, most likely unintentionally. A part of her would be incredibly embarrassed when she thought back to this, but Toya was more important right now.

Toya was always more important.

"...s-... sorry." Toya croaked out eventually. "I... I shouldn't have..."

"N-No, no, Toya, it's okay." She most definitely did not splutter out, no, she was all cool and confident. I am so pathetic... "I... I'm happy you opened up to me. I... um... I want you to do that more often. So... no sorries."

A quiet, pretty giggle fell from Toya's mouth. "Okay... no sorries."

Kohane hummed in response, before quietly going, "Ah-" and gently pushing Toya back up. Blinking, he sat back up in his chair, and rubbed at his tear-stained cheeks. "Sorry, that just... looked uncomfortable." She explained, and his mouth formed a small 'o'. "I-I didn't want your back to hurt later."

"Ah, I see..." He looked a little disappointed at her words, but when she blinked, the expression was gone. Mentally, she slapped herself.

"A-Anyways, I think your coffee's going cold." She laughed, then she suggested, "You wanna try chugging it, so it can last longer?"

Toya stared at her, before slowly smiling. He picked up his mug and started chugging it. Kohane cheered him on, and when he stopped to breath, he managed a small laugh in return. The two returned to a more comfortable silence, and Toya took another sip of his coffee.

Then, Kohane smiled and joked, "So... who's the lucky babygirl?"

She spent the next ten minutes trying to get Toya to stop choking. Then, she pinched him when she realized he was just messing with her.

God, she loved having moments like this with him. With all of them.

Notes:

rin never did end up getting len water so the two just died of dehydration in this fic lol /j

Chapter 3: But nobody knows what's going to happen tomorrow

Notes:

#satanism💯✂️

title from 'what happens tomorrow' by duran duran

Once upon a time, Akito Shinonome scared the absolute shit out of her.

(Not to say he wasn't scary now, but Kohane was definitely more comfortable around him than she originally was.)

If she were to tell the old her that she would be hanging out with Akito in MEIKO's cafe, staring at a laptop as they reorganized their set list for the fifth time, she would've laughed. Or cry, because she'd probably think he was going to kill her.

"What if we tried doing Flyer instead of Ready Steady?" Akito suggested. "It's a good hype song, besides, if we sing Ready Steady one more time, I'm going to tear my hair out..."

"Eh, but that's the Vivid Bad song!" Kohane pouted jokingly. Akito rolled his eyes and flicked her in response.

"I'm gonna Ready Steady off a cliff if we perform it again. Actually- y'know what? We're banning it. No more Ready Steady for the next couple of gigs."

She giggled, before reaching over to the laptop and replacing Ready Steady with Flyer. "Then, how about we add one more song before BRING IT ON? Maybe that'll fix how the pacing seems off."

"Four songs instead of the normal three, huh?" He paused, thinking about it, before nodding. "Bold. Let's do it, what song were you thinking?"

Despite herself, Kohane's cheeks flushed a light pink. "Ah... um, Just Be Friends."

Aktio stared at her blankly for a moment, before snorting and moving next to her. He reached over to the laptop and added Just Be Friends right before BRING IT ON. "Just promise me you guys won't start making out in the middle of performance, got it?"

"Wha- h-hey!"

From behind the counter, MEIKO laughed melodically, and picked up a glass, beginning to scrub it with a sponge. "Surely, Akito has a point? We've all seen how you eye up An every time you two perform."

Her face grew warmer. "I-I do not!"

"Mhm..." Akito hummed, a sly, cute smile on his face. Kohane's words died in her throat, but she still pouted at him.

The cafe door suddenly let out a cheerful jingle, and they all turned to see KAITO. He rubbed his nape, and smiled sheepishly. "Hey... Akito, my favorite girl of all time..."

"If you pissed off the twins again, I'm not helping you." Akito retorted, sticking out his... tongue...

Wait, girl?

In contrast to this mind-boggling information that Kohane just learned, MEIKO sighed playfully, and gestured vaguely. "Hide in the bathroom. No one ever looks in there."

"We have a bathroom?" KAITO and Akito chorused, before KAITO shook his head and shot a thankful look at MEIKO, before hurrying away and disappearing.

A few moments trickled by before Kohane said, "Hey, Akito? Just now... why did KAITO call you a girl?"

She immediately regretted saying that, as the color seemed to immediately drain out of Akito's face. She could hear MEIKO's breath hitch.

They were interrupted by the sound of the cafe door opening once again. Rin and Len bursted into the cafe, visibly out of breathe.

"W-Where is that bastard...!? He's gonna pay! Seriously this time..." Rin huffed.

Len nodded frantically. "Yeah! We're not letting him get away this time...!"

"...normally, I'd at least try to stop you..." Akito started, before grinning. He... she(?) pushed up her sleeves and gestured for the twins to follow her. "But, he deserves it now. C'mon, let's go jump him in the bathroom."

"We have a bathroom?" The twins chorused, before shaking their heads and hurrying after Akito.

A few moments of awkward silence passed by, before Kohane cleared her throat and said, "Um, so..."

MEIKO sighed and licked her lips. "Akito asked us to keep this a secret..." She smiled dryly at her. "You know how this SEKAI is made up of all your feelings, right?"

"Yes...?" A part of her felt like this was one of those cheap lore drops moments she's seen in her romcom animes...

"Well, while the main feeling making up this place is the, uh, determination of wanting to surpass RAD WEEKEND, there are a few... many... other feelings sprinkled into here." MEIKO finished rinsing the glass and began studying it for any spots she missed. "And we feel what you feel. If one of you developed a crush on someone, we'd know right away. Some of us know sooner than others, depending on who it is. So, uh, if Akito was feeling like a girl..."

Finally, Kohane's braincells decided to start working. "...then you'd refer to Akito as a girl. Ohhh... Oh!?"

MEIKO let out a snort. "Don't feel too bad, dear, like I said, Akito told us to keep this a secret. But, well, KAITO is linked to Akito, and... we all know how KAITO is."

"Ah, yes, but..." The gears in her head were still attempting to turn. "You guys called me a girl from the start, but, if that's the case with Akito, then wouldn't you have called her...?"

MEIKO raised an eyebrow before opening her mouth, but got interrupted by KAITO running past them, shrieking. Rin and Len hurried past them, swearing bloody murder after the poor guy. Akito soon appeared, slightly out of breath. Her hair was slightly out of place.

Quietly huffing, she turned to Kohane. "I-I promise we can talk later! Just, uh, keep looking through our shit and make sure it's- fucking- y'know? Uh- yeah, see you!" With a pink face, Akito sharply turned, and hurried after the twins and KAITO.

"Wait, Aki-" The cafe door jingled noisily as the door shut. "Ah..."

MEIKO offered her a sympathetic smile, before setting the glass down to dry and picking up a plate, beginning to clean it. "Here her out, okay? It'll be better if she explains it, rather than me."

She nodded dumbly, and turned her gaze back to the laptop, doing her very best to shut off her brain. It didn't work.

 

---

 

"Kohane!" Jumping when she heard Akito call out her name, she whipped her head around looking for them (? her? him?). She finally spotted Akito waving at her, casually approaching her with a tense smile. "Geez, there you are. Took you long enough, I was waiting forever."

"Akito! What are you doing here?" 'Here' being the front of her school. Kohane could feel her ears turn red as she heard other students whisper loudly while walking by them.

"Would you believe me if I said it was out the goodness of my heart?" They asked, before laughing at Kohane's look. "Didn't wanna keep you waiting for an answer, I guess, had to tell you. Before practice, so we can, like, just get this off our backs."

"Ah... you don't have to make yourself do that..." She frowned, feeling a bit bad.

"Yeah, yeah, shut up, just accept it." They laughed again, before nudging her and beginning to walk away. Kohane hurried after them, and soon fell in step with them.

Then an awkward silence fell over the two of them. She cleared her throat, noticing how Akito seemed to immediately tense.

"...sooo..."

"So...?"

"So."

"So?"

"So!"

"So!?"

"So."

The two of them stopped walking and stared at each other with blank faces, before snorting and breaking into fits of laughter.

Smothering their laughter, Akito gave her a toothy grin. (She dutifully took note of their fangs.) "Um, so, basically..." They sighed and their expression melted into a nervous smile. "I'm, uh, genderfluid? Sorry for not telling you."

Kohane blinked once, twice. Then a lightbulb went off in her head and she nearly fell to ground in disbelief of how oblivious she was.

"I am so stupid Akito holy shit."

They stared at her, before sighing softly and pinching her cheek. She squeaked in surprise. "Hey, no swearing, that's my job, asshole!"

"Well, youwe not doing a vewy good job at it!" She retorted, her words mushy due to Akito pinching her. Laughing, they let her go, and she rubbed her sore cheek. "Ow... how could you, Akito...!?"

"Yeah, yeah, I wasn't even pinching that hard." They rolled their eyes, before pausing, and glancing nervously at her. "Um... so..."

Kohane stared at them before realizing. "Oh! No, it's okay! I mean, I've been hiding a similar secret too." At their raised eyebrows, she giggled. "I'm trans too. I didn't really say anything because it... never really came up?"

"...ah." Akito smiled softly at her, before suddenly turning away. They suspiciously lifted a hand to their eyes. "U-Um. Thank you for telling me..."

She frowned, worried. "A-Akito... are you crying..?"

"N-No! No way in hell!" They declared, most definitely crying. Giggling, she reached over and gently pat their back.

"...I'm just..." She tilted her head and leaned closer to them to hear them better. "...happy. I guess."

Oh.

"Is that so..." Despite herself, a grin slowly began creeping on her face. Akito lifted up their head and glared playfully at her, their eyes slightly watering.

"You're awesome, Akito. I'll keep it a secret until you're comfortable." She smiled. "I'm glad you trust your partner."

Akito stared at her, before letting out a quiet chuckle and rubbing their eyes again. Kohane wasn't lying, she was happy that one of her partners trusted her enough to tell her one of their deepest secrets. It made her unreasonably happy they trusted her.

On the other hand, said partner didn't need to know just how hard her heart was pounding.

Notes:

these damn liberals with their pronouns make me sick *squishes them*
also i'm like 80% sure its canon the vocaloids are linked to certain members of a unit....

update nvm bring that down to 79% i can't find solid proof BUT THE POINT STILL STANDS. I AM NOT CRAZY. (the last part is debatable... /j)

Chapter 4: I forgive every word you said

Notes:

10 Reasons Why Homosexual “Marriage” is Harmful and Must be Opposed

title from 'flowers' by miley cyrus

"Kohane, let's have lunch together!"

Kohane looked up from her desk to see Minori bouncing up and down, Shiho standing behind her. She giggled softly, and nodded. "Why not?"

"Yay!!" Minori squealed, before moving to push her desk next to Kohane's.

Shiho shook her head with a fond smile. "Did you expect her to say no or something?" She asked teasingly, before moving to do the same as Minori.

Kohane chuckled at the two. The three of them said their thanks for their respective food, and began eating. They ate in silence for a few moments, before Minori pulled out a bottle of water and slammed it onto her desk.

With sparkling eyes, Minori went, "Kohane! You got a maiden, right!?"

Choking on her spit in surprise, Kohane stared at the girl. Shiho gave Minori a disgruntled look. "Minori... what?"

"I-It's a genuine question!" She spluttered in self-defense. "I mean, come on, you totally noticed how Kohane's been looking much more sparkly lately, right?"

"Sparkly is not a word."

"Yes, it is!"

"It is not..." Shiho shook her head and sighed. "And besides, just because Kohane's been looking more sparkly- which is not a fucking word, by the way- doesn't exactly mean she got a partner.... um, well. Does it?"

At Shiho's expectant look, Kohane swallowed down her nerves. "Oh, I-I did get a girlfriend actually." She admitted sheepishly, her cheeks flushing pink.

Minori and Shiho both froze in place, staring at her. Then Minori's expression melted into one of pure joy. "You do!? Congrats, Kohane! Is it An?"

"E-Eh? Was it that obvious..."

"Of course it is! All you talk about is An, after all!" Minori nodded seriously. "Oh, An, please sweep me off my feet! Let's go live together off on a secluded island where we spend the rest of our lives basking in each other's warmth and our three cats!"

"Stop projecting your Haruka fantasy onto her." Shiho deadpanned. At Minori's pout, she added, "I'm going to tell Shizuku you're cheating."

"Wehhh... I'd never! And besides, Shizu trusts me, and I trust her! We're not so shallow that we'd just cheat on each other!" Minori pouted again, her cheeks turning pink.

"Gross, I don't need to hear about my sister's love life..." Shiho grimaced as Kohane giggled. "Not to relationship-shame you or anything-"

"You're totally about to relationship-shame me right now."

"-but I'd be pissed if any of my girlfriends kissed someone outside of our band. I don't care who, I think I'd be rightfully pissed." Shiho finished.

Minori visibly deflated. "See? You totally relationship-shamed me... well, I mean, Shizu and I haven't really had a proper conversation about it, but we've both made, well, flirty jokes with Haruka and Airi, and we can talk about wanting to kiss someone without feeling betrayed, because, I trust she's not going to dump me that easily, and vice versa! You know?"

"Listen here, relationship-virgin-"

"Stop making up words! Just because Emu's stuck doesn't mean yours will!"

"Wonderhoy, asshole." She and Shiho both snorted while Minori stifled a giggle. "Okay, but seriously, talk to her about that, even if the answer's obvious. That was one of the first conversations I had with my girlfriends when we first got together."

Minori nodded, tapping her chin. "Actually, I can probably talk to her after school! No time like the present... hey, how about you, actual-relationship-virgin?"

Kohane smiled sheepishly when Minori and Shiho turned to her. "Hm... what do you mean?"

"Are you saying you and An haven't kissed?" Shiho tilted her head, and despite herself, Kohane's cheeks flushed pink.

"Shiho! So vulgar... you can't say the k-word!"

"Kiss kissing kissed k-i-s-s-"

"Shihooo!"

Kohane laughed again, and shook her head, smiling. "We have kissed, hehe... erm, well, we haven't really talked about anything like that, but well, I think I'd be fine if she did, hypothetically, kiss someone outside of our relationship. Only two people though, probably."

"Ah yes, the good old 'you're an exception' trope. You are a woman of culture, Kohane!" Minori said with an exaggerated British accent. Shiho lightly elbowed her. "Oogh!"

"Yeah, yeah, it didn't even hurt that much." Shiho shook her head, smiling. Minori reached over and started drinking from her bottle of water. "Who are the two lucky people, Kohane?"

"Toya and Akito, obviously! An's already kissed Toya too, so..."

Kohane flinched back when Minori started choking on her water, and hurriedly reached over and pat her back. After a few moments, Minori took some deep breaths and let out a breathy chuckle. Kohane glanced over at Shiho, and frowned at Shiho's agape mouth.

"Shiho?" She waved a hand in front of Shiho's face.

Shiho blinked twice, before clamping her mouth shut and refocusing her gaze on her. "Um, sorry, just... you said it so casually. An kissed Toya...?"

"Well, Toya accidentally spilled that they were kissing, to help An practice..." Kohane explained. "I don't blame An! I'd probably want to practice if I was planning a confession too. If she's going to continue practicing with Toya, I don't mind! And if she had practiced with Akito, I wouldn't have minded either."

"Huh, that makes sense." Shiho frowned in understanding, before smiling bashfully. "Sorry, you said that and my mind just went wild..."

"Yeah, same! I was like 'wehhh?!' Y'know?" Minori waved a hand around, giggling.

"Yes, Minori, I do know. You were dying."

"Only for a bit!"

Kohane giggled lightheartedly, before adding, "She doesn't need an excuse actually. I'd kiss them too, hehe!"

It didn't escape her how the two raised their brows and traded looks. Shiho scratched her cheek, and said, "Well... that's fair. I used to kiss my girlfriends back when we weren't dating."

"I don't think that counts..." Minori giggled. "I mean, you guys are dating now. Kohane is... well, not."

"Yeah, we're all just friends! Still, it'd be nice to just know how my teammates feel on me, y'know? Everyone feels this way, I'm sure."

Shiho and Minori were back to staring at her.

She frowned. "What?"

Shiho shook her head. "Uh, sorry, we keep blanking! Anyways..."

Minori cleared her throat. "So, guys, do you wanna know what Shizu did the other day?"

"I don't want to hear another lovestruck rambling about my sister..."

Kohane chuckled at the two bantering, and brushed off the weird feeling on her back. She was probably just imagining it anyways.

 

 

("...hey, Shiho?" Minori whispered when Kohane wasn't paying attention. "Please tell me you heard it too."

"Of course I did! Friendship kissing is one thing, but this is too 'friendly' for my taste!" Shiho whispered back.

"I still can't believe you didn't think twice before kissing your now girlfriends..."

"...you didn't kiss your friends...?"

Minori stared at her, before snorting quietly. "Man, and I was wondering why it was taking you so long to just confess."

"Wh-What are you implying!?")

Notes:

this entire chapter was dedicated to me realizing that it'd be funny if vbs was all 'oh yeah we would make out w each other bc we love the feeling of each other but were all just friends ahaha!! :33' amd everyone else was like '...........................................'

background minoshizu and poly/need real
also it's not really relevant but minoshizu is queerplatonic and minori is aroace lesbian sorry i projected (again...)