File #15
It seemed but a gradual process, the road to friendship. The discovery that differences, while present, were largely imagined; or the simple fact that they did have more in common than they first thought.
Little things, like preferring to stay home instead of braving the concrete jungle. Like all-night drama serial marathons, and waking up to aching muscles after falling asleep huddled under the kotatsu.
And then there were the bigger things, like the feeling of isolation from others. Or the need to be someone else in front of others. Wanting to be more, and do more.
For the first time in her life, Kamei Eri felt like she had a real friend. Not people that were bought by her father and placed by her side, but someone who genuinely wanted to get to know her, if a little reluctantly at first. Takahashi Ai, of course, was not the easiest nut to crack in the world.
It began innocently enough, amidst strictly formal piano lessons with Takahashi's little sister sitting by the side, book in lap. Ai was nothing if not attentive, and Eri found herself picking things up pretty quickly, though she was far more interested in the teacher than the lessons.
Little tidbits of conversation passed between them during breaks, mostly initiated by Eri. Ai tended to be rather passive, or was usually absently keeping an eye on Yuuka, who always looked a little pale and shaky and generally not too well. If Eri had felt any jealousy about the attention given to another before, she stopped feeling so after seeing for herself how the little girl was like. How could she begrudge the sickly little girl any attention from her doting elder sister? She wasn't that much of a spoiled brat.
If Eri really had to pinpoint when they really broke the ice, it had to be the dancing.
When she was younger, Eri had had ballet classes among all the other etiquette classes she ended up being shoved into. It had been somewhat enjoyable, though the strict discipline sort of wore on her after a while. She had had enough of strict discipline in the rest of her life, thank you very much.
Hip hop dancing though, that was another matter. Her father had been extremely opposed to it right at first, given that he didn't think too well of the whole thing, but Eri had insisted and gotten her way eventually. Locking herself inside her own room for a week might have contributed to that decision. What Eri wanted, she usually got, one way or another.
On hindsight, perhaps she should not have been particularly surprised that Ai was capable of dancing. The young woman appeared to be full of surprises, with a certain degree of competence in a wide range of activities.
Eri had totally forgotten that she had lessons that day when she was inside the little dance studio her father had built for her when she was younger. It was one of the activities she used to keep fit with since she rarely left the house otherwise. That and she enjoyed the whole activity of expressing herself through dance, letting her emotions flare with the new risen sun in the quiet confines of the mirrored room, with only the beat of music sustaining her steps.
Ai had come in quietly sometime during her dancing, watching her with interest. Eri had been slightly embarrassed afterwards at her wild hair and generally unkempt appearance, but Ai had surprised her by walking calmly over and helping Eri to tame her wild hair. The quirky smile on her lips when she suggested that they dance together had surprised but elated Eri at the same time, who had usually done it alone after picking up the basics. She had improved a lot by watching videos, but nothing quite compared to having the energy of someone else to play off to, the heated gazes and intense stares as they moved with and against each other.
Somehow, after that, Eri found that Ai would come over a lot more often, invited or not. Well, she had said that Ai was welcome to visit at any time, as long as she left a message beforehand. Hardly a day passed without them spending some time together. Yuuka came along several times, but generally stayed out of their way otherwise. Eri barely paid attention to anyone else other than Ai, really. It was as if her entire world revolved around spending time with her.
Ai, Eri was soon to discover, was a quiet sort of person, just as she herself was. She liked that. She found that she liked a lot about Ai. Eri soon found herself smiling in a silly way whenever they were together, be it at lessons or simply just hanging out. Ai never made her do anything she didn't want, never asked anything of her, and generally just kept her company.
Although she did wonder why Ai had nothing else to do. She suspected that her father might have been paying the woman to stay by her side, but then again it wouldn't have been the first time he had done that. Eri hadn't really wanted to ask, but in the end she didn't have to. Ai told her directly.
"Kamei-sama is paying me for your lessons and nothing else. I come here because I want to." Ai had given her that look of absolute sincerity, much like that of a puppy wanting to be patted. Eri had only smiled broadly after that and snuggled into Ai on the couch afterwards, earning a muffled grumble from the older girl, who gingerly put an arm around the rich girl and looked somewhat awkward at the intimate position.
They did many things together, though they rarely left the house. Eri rarely wanted to leave the house, unless she felt stifled by the atmosphere. Now that she had Ai with her almost everyday, the house no longer felt as oppressive. The older girl always entertained her sometimes childish whims with a certain kind of amused tolerance, often pretending to scold her when she tried to throw a tantrum to get her own way. It was all very entertaining, and certainly kept things interesting for her.
Eri had been rather amused by one fact though. She had grown so used to the idea that there was little that Ai could not do, that when she did find something that her seemingly perfect friend was unable to accomplish, it completely blindsided her...and provided an endless source of entertainment for the mischievous turtle.
Ai could dance, play the piano, possibly climb mountains and take down baddies twice her size, but she was afraid of water. She could swim, albeit reluctantly and certainly not very well, but apparently being underwater freaked her out totally and completely. Eri had found out about that first hand, and then it was an accident that she did.
The Kamei residence had an indoor pool that was fully heated such that it could be used comfortably even during winter, and Eri had been enjoying a dip in it when Ai had come popping by on her random visits.
She probably should have guessed that something was amiss when Ai had stubbornly refused to step close to the sides of the pool, preferring to watch her from afar. It was only when Eri had asked her to pass a towel that she got up and went anywhere near the pool...
...only for Eri to pull her into the pool with her. The turtle girl certainly hadn't expected Ai's reaction when her head went underwater. The older girl had started struggling almost immediately, eyes wide and bulging, and practically about to cry right there and then.
When Eri finally managed to haul the stricken Ai to safety, it was the first and only time Eri saw the normally composed Ai burst into tears, shivering and shaking. The first time the capable young woman actually looked her age and even younger, almost vulnerable. Eri had fell all over herself apologizing at first, hugging Ai in order to comfort her.
After that incident though, Eri often teased Ai about it, with Ai pouting and looking, in Eri's opinion, absolutely adorable while she was at it. It was one of the few things she had on Ai anyway, so she used it to the hilt. Like right now, since she was trying to coax Ai into the water with her.
"No." Ai was frowning, casting occasional nervous glances at the calm surface of the water. Eri pouted and whined cutely, clinging like a koala to the currently very stiff Ai. Yuuka, as usual, had quietly slipped out of sight, leaving the two older girls to cozy up to each other as they always did somewhat unconsciously. Eri thought that that was very intelligent of the little girl, and liked her better for it. She wanted Ai all for herself.
"I won't let go of you. You'll be ok!" Eri gave her the puppy eye treatment. Ai wavered slightly, but still managed to refuse with a weak excuse.
"But I don't have anything to wear..." Only for Eri to grin deviously and tug Ai to her room. Ai began to suspect the worst right about then, only to be proven right when Eri showed her what she could in fact wear.
"It's a bikini...?" Ai didn't think that Eri would go that far. How the hell did the rich girl know her measurements anyway? Then she remembered all the times they had play-fights involving a lot of shoving, wrestling and general physical contact, and inwardly marveled at Eri's ability to judge from something like that.
Still, she refused. Or tried to. "I can't really swim very well..." Ai demurred modestly, trying to escape the iron grip Eri had on her wrist. Eri narrowed her eyes, although she was still smiling disarmingly. Ai had a very bad feeling right about then.
Ten minutes later she had a fluffy white bathrobe pulled tightly around herself and was glaring flatly at a triumphantly grinning Eri, who clung to her the moment she stepped out of the bathroom. She somehow managed to fend off all attempts by the turtle girl to take a look at how the bikini fit on her, and deflected the issue by moving on to what Eri was going to wear instead.
Eri had wanted to put on a plain black one-piece swimsuit, but Ai had flatly rejected that idea. In a fit of childish vengeance, she insisted that if she had to wear a bikini, Eri had to too. And Ai would get to pick it for her as well.
Eri's swimsuit collection was modest, ranging mostly from one-piece swimsuits to modest two-piece ones. There really weren't that many bikinis...until Ai unearthed something that made Eri blush on the spot before she even put it on. Amazing how helpful trick presents from college friends could be at times like this. Sure, it was a bikini in the sense that it was shaped like one, but the tiny scraps of sleek black fabric would be very...revealing indeed.
Ai was smirking as Eri changed, sitting on the edge of that wide bed as she waited. Sure, she wasn't at all looking forward to getting into the pool, but she could deal with that later. Getting an eyeful of the hot, rich girl was far more important to her right now.
Eri pulled the same trick as her though, and was using the bathrobe to hide her shapely form. Thus, all would only be revealed at the pool. Ai didn't know if she looked forward to it or dreaded it. Well, at least she would still get to see Eri in a barely-there bikini if she somehow managed to drown in the pool. Not such a bad sight to die by.
On her part, Eri felt very warm under her skin right now. She was at least mildly embarrassed by the fact that she was wearing something that skimpy. Even though they were both girls, she still felt a little awkward about exposing that much to someone like Ai. Not that it was bad or anything, but it was just...different. She cared about Ai's opinion about her, and despite whatever everyone else had said about her looks, every girl is just a little insecure about that aspect to some degree somewhere inside.
Not that she should be bothered. It was just Ai. They were friends, right? It should not matter so much.
In any case, she really wanted to see how that red bikini looked on her...friend. It was just curiosity, of course. She wanted to see if the other girl looked better than her. Yes. That was all there was to it. Really.
Eri firmly pushed all doubts to the back of her mind as they entered the pool area. No servants were around, since Eri had requested that they leave them alone whenever Ai came over. She looked a little shyly over to the older girl she was clinging to. Ai was still staring at the pool like it was going to eat her alive. The sight made her giggle, breaking the tension.
"It's going to be ok, Ai-chan." That bright smile, revealing cute little canines. Ai smiled back a little nervously, pulling away from Eri gently as she started to pull off the bathrobe slowly, yet somehow fluidly at the same time.
Eri stared. She knew it was rude, somewhere in the back of her mind, but she still did it. How could she not? Eri had known Ai was fit, her muscles toned and all that. She just hadn't known how good the whole package looked like that.
Ai had the body of an athlete, but not the overly muscled kind. There was some muscle definition across her entire figure, but it was subtle and melded seamlessly into her curvaceous figure. Ai cut a small figure, smaller than Eri herself, but she did not look at all frail. No, from head to toe, the other girl radiated a quietly magnetic energy, grace and power that reminded her of a leashed panther or tiger. There was a certain fluidity of motion as Ai had let the bathrobe first slip off her shoulders, before stepping out of it like a goddess out of the sea.
Eri didn't even realize that Ai was right in front of her until Ai flicked her nose playfully, a glint in her clear brown eyes. She blinked and swallowed nervously. She certainly hadn't expected that.
Well, she wasn't about to lose at her own game. Ignoring the laughter in Ai's eyes, Eri stepped back and took off her own robe as well. She wasn't going to lose in this department, certainly.
Now it was Ai's turn to stare. Eri saw it and felt a certain sense of triumph at that, although she still felt almost painfully naked under the appreciative look that Ai was giving her. Despite herself, she blushed faintly, and cast her glance downwards. It was still awkward to be looked at like that, friend or not.
"Eri." The quiet voice took her almost by surprise, but what made her jerk her eyes upward was the fact that it was the first time Ai had addressed her by name, without honorifics or anything else. It was a little strange, and felt...right. Almost intimate, the way Ai breathed it out in a voice barely over a whisper.
"You're beautiful." Eri met those clear eyes again, felt the hushed tone wash over her like a fleeting touch. Ai was looking at her, not at her body or what she represented, but her. Kamei Eri. Not just the daughter of Kamei Otosuke or anything. Eri.
Eri flushed a brighter shade of red this time, practically glowing at the compliment. Without really thinking about it, she half-tackled Ai with a crushing hug, impulsively, one might add. The absurd little joy she held had to expressed somehow.
"You mean it?" Eri murmured as she buried her face in Ai's semi-long hair, nuzzling into the nape of the older girl's neck. She could feel Ai breathing a bit more shallowly.
"...yeah." Came the slightly breathless reply. It was only about then that Eri realized how odd the embrace felt, skin on skin contact like that felt very...different. With a deep blush, she let go of the equally flushed Ai, who had a strange expression on her face. Eri was certain she looked a bit odd herself too, so she didn't mind.
Ai was still trying to regulate her breathing and hiding any visible signs of her rising lust for the shapely girl no more than an arm's length from her. She was doing a fairly good job of the latter, save for the hard-edged glint in her eyes. She really didn't want to wait to get a suitable chance to get to touch Eri, but knew that she couldn't push it too far, too soon.
Patience. She could do that. Ai pushed down her libido and focused on the task at hand. Ugh, swimming...
Eri, for her part, was also trying to calm her wild heart down. She hadn't yet recalled that she had a reaction of such magnitude towards anyone at all. This was a first...and the other party was a girl. That was...troubling.
Although what was more troubling was how little she cared about the fact that Ai was a woman, and a very attractive one at that...and that she still wanted to get closer to her.
To hide her own rising confusion, Eri quickly strode over to the pool, pulling the highly reluctant Ai along with her. They stopped at the edge, Ai still not looking particularly pleased about doing something she didn't really like.
"Don't worry so much Ai-chan. I'll make sure you're fine." Eri found herself saying automatically, beaming at the girl next to her. Ai pouted a bit, but complied eventually, gingerly following Eri into the water and staying close to the side with a slightly panicked expression on her face.
Somehow, Eri found that utterly hilarious...and absolutely adorable. Who wouldn't?
In the water, Eri was absolutely comfortable. Well she was a Kame(i) after all. Chuckling at her own lame joke, Eri swam easily over to Ai, who was still clutching the railing like a lifeline.
"Boo!" Bursting out from underwater like a great white shark (except cuter), Eri tackled Ai from behind, earning a short scream from the older. Giggling inanely, Eri latched onto Ai's back and laid her head on Ai's shoulder, feeling the older's heartbeat underneath silky soft skin.
"Kamei-chan..." Ai sighed, before gasping softly as Eri nipped playfully at her ear.
"Call me Eri." Eri breathed into Ai's ear, and felt her own heart thump just as wildly as Ai's was under her. Ai's voice was close to a low growl when she said it.
"Eri..." Ai was really trying her best to keep her libido in check, but the damnable girl on her back was making it so very difficult. The close contact they were in definitely didn't help matters. She was just glad that she wasn't in a position to get an eyeful of Eri again. The sight of that tight black bikini that just barely held back Eri's considerable charms was making the fire rage higher in her. She didn't need to make it any more difficult for her to keep her hands to herself.
She could actually feel Eri smiling behind her as the younger leaned on her again. Ai's own trepidation of being in the water was now a side issue. She was a lot more distracted by the sensation of skin on skin contact. So close...yet so far. Resisting the urge to gnash her teeth together in frustration, she willed herself to relax. Not that it really worked, but at least she tried.
"It's not so bad is it, Ai-chan?" Eri asked after they simply floated there for a while, doing nothing but enjoy each other's presence. Ai hummed a reply, not relaxing her grip on the steel railing. Phobias didn't go away just because one was distracted by a hot girl. Although it definitely helped. Sort of.
"Can we please get out of here now?" Ai mumbled almost pleadingly. Eri, who enjoyed swimming, wasn't really satisfied by just floating around doing nothing, but looking at Ai's tense shoulders, she decided to relent for today.
"Alright. But next time I'll teach you to swim properly." She giggled at the little shudder that ran through Ai's shoulders, letting go of the older so that she could climb up out of the pool.
Well, that was the idea anyway. They had been at the shallow end, but no one could accuse either girl of being very tall. As Ai had started to haul herself out of the pool hastily, she must have slipped, because she lost her footing and plunged right back in, her head going underwater.
Ai panicked immediately, flailing wildly and spluttering madly. Even after Eri had pulled her head above water, she was still struggling, gasping with tears standing in her eyes. Her life had literally flashed before her eyes in that instant.
Chains. Cold.
"Put her in the tank."
Air! No air!
She was going to drown. The chains were very heavy. And she was so very small. So very scared.
Cold eyes. And then it was dark.
It was no more than a minute or so that Ai continued to struggle before she went completely limp in Eri's arms for a moment, scaring the turtle girl half to death. But the fainting spell was brief, and the light returned to those clear eyes almost immediately, though an old, raw fear burned in them.
Eri felt her heart squeeze painfully tight inside her chest. What had made Ai so terrified of drowning? Ai herself appeared to be trying to get a grip on herself, still clinging on to Eri as they drifted over to the safety of the side again.
"I'm sorry." Ai whispered, her arms dangling over Eri's shoulders, her eyes downcast.
"Whatever for?" Eri asked, baffled.
"For scaring you. I'm...really bad with water. Baths excluded." A heavy little chuckle at the somewhat forced joke, but Eri only smiled and bumped noses with Ai.
"It's ok. I shouldn't have forced you." Their faces were inches apart, but neither girl had noticed their closeness...yet.
Predictably, Ai was the one who noticed first, and despite her best attempts to hide it, her eyes grew a little strange as her breathing became more shallow. The eyes of a predator, barely restrained. It was something Eri had no real experience with, but she felt a strange thrill run through her as she met those hungry eyes.
The atmosphere had subtly changed, leaving the panic and concern of moments ago behind and becoming almost electrified. The energy crackled all around them as they locked gazes, felt the warmth of each other's breath, the rapid rate at which their hearts pounded in time with each other.
"You are very beautiful, Eri." Ai murmured, raising one hand to cup Eri's cheek, the rising blush on the younger's face marking a sharp contrast with Ai's pale hand.
Ai must have whispered something else, but Eri couldn't even register it as her world completely shut down around her, save for one specific sensation.
She must have stopped breathing entirely the moment Ai's warm lips pressed against her own, still wet with chlorine from the pool, but she quickly forgot all about that as she felt Ai lick her lips almost teasingly, that hot, wet tongue trying to coax entry.
She even almost forgot about exactly where they were, and it was a good thing that the water was at chest level while their feet could still touch the ground, so there was little risk of drowning. Not like Eri was in any condition to even stand properly, much less tread water, right now. Drowning would be such an impediment to their current activity.
Ai was behaving in a remarkably restrained way for all that she was currently kissing Eri. Had it been someone like Sayu in her arms, she would have been far more aggressive and a lot less considerate, but she was ever mindful of that fact that Eri would require more...careful handling. She couldn't very well scare the girl off after doing such a good job of getting close to her.
It was awfully difficult to control her urges, but she managed somehow. Eri moaned quietly, and Ai took the opportunity to slip her tongue in, smirking a bit at the little gasp from the intrusion. She was being a bit too bold, she knew, but to hell with it, Eri had been all but tempting her the moment she had first laid sight on the girl. Ai had endured 2, almost 3 weeks of being around the girl while being on her best behavior. She deserved a little reward for that kind of inhuman patience.
Eri was a little awkward right at first, not knowing how to react. Ai found it cute though, and thoroughly ravished Eri's lips and mouth, letting her hands wander just a bit down Eri's back, cupping her perfectly rounded bottom. She was tempted to run her hands along the younger girl's thighs, but regretfully held back. It might freak the girl out if she went so far, so soon. She would have to test the waters first before trying anything else.
Eri was sure that her face was redder than a tomato when Ai finally released her, well, from the kiss anyway. They were still in a tight embrace, with the turtle girl blushing madly and feeling just a little dizzy. Her heart felt like it was all over the place, and her body wound tight in places she never knew she had before. A strange sort of excitement lingered within her. She wanted Ai to do it again, to kiss her again and touch her. The urge surprised her, and only increased the intensity of her blush.
"Sorry..." Ai whispered again, and Eri looked up to see the embarrassed expression showing cutely on Ai's face. It was as if she was a little awkward about having been so forward. There was, however, a kind of wildness still tainting those eyes, as if Ai still hadn't quite had enough. Eri shivered. What more could there be? How far could they possibly go? They were both girls...
And that thought brought her sharply back to reality. Both girls. Her father would be livid. A stray, rebellious thought crossed her mind. She didn't need his approval, she was almost of age anyway. He needed to know that she was growing up, had the right to make at least some of her own decisions.
"I got carried away...Eri, are you listening?" She had spaced out again. Eri blinked and refocused back on Ai. Her heart gave an excited leap as usual. The feeling had already been there from before, but it was stronger now. Ai had given a form to the unspoken attraction that bound them together, and Eri found that prospect both daunting and exciting.
"I'm not afraid." Ai looked confused at the non-answer. Eri giggled softly and leaned in close to rub her cheek against Ai affectionately.
"You're my teacher. Teach me more." Ai never knew Eri could sound so coy. Well, if that wasn't an open invitation... Her eyes twinkled with predatory anticipation.
"Gladly."
~*~*~
"I've looked around quite a bit, Onee-sama. Got a good idea of how the place is laid out, and there really are a lot of cameras hidden around..." Yuuka paused and looked at Ai, who was studying the floor plans that Yuuka had sketched.
"Onee-sama?" Ai looked up distractedly.
"Yes?" Yuuka hesitated briefly, before asking timidly.
"Um...is it normal for you to be so...friendly with Kamei-san?" Yuuka blurted out. She had been more than aware that Ai was spending a lot of time with Eri, and the little girl was not ignorant of the fact that Ai swung both ways. It just didn't seem very right that Ai would be flirting with the target's daughter, somehow.
Ai put down the plans, turning to regard Yuuka with a friendly smile as she patted her younger sister on the head. "Not normal by ordinary standards, certainly. But when have I ever played by the rules?" She grinned mischievously. "Besides, this way it's a lot more fun."
"I thought we were just supposed to do the job." Yuuka's eyes were slightly wide as she gaped at her sister, who only smirked in reply.
"Oh, of course we get the job done. That's what we do." Ai sat up a bit more seriously at this bit, before an ironic sort of expression crossed her face.
"But you see, Yuukarin, in the end the reality is that we're just tools. Expendable tools. Our careers eventually lead to unmarked graves...assuming we have one in the first place."
At Yuuka's slightly disturbed expression, Ai's face became more kind as she laid a comforting hand on the younger girl's shoulder.
"The point is, we probably won't live long enough to grow old. When will we enjoy ourselves if not now?" A tight, savage grin. "I don't intend to die any time soon, but I'll be damned if I don't have my fun while I still can." Ai's eyes were more gentle as they regarded Yuuka with a certain parental pride.
"Do you understand?"
Yuuka nodded slowly, looking at her sister with a new light. Wild and almost free, yet all restrained fury and a weapon honed to deadly lethality. She felt Ai's life burn brightly like a raging flame, strong and powerful, yet something that could be extinguished at any time.
Her Ai-oneesama had been a perfect role model and practically an idol to her when she was younger. Now on the field with her, Yuuka could see that her sister was a lot more human, a lot more real. Flawed, but all the more beautiful for it.
And Yuuka would have it no other way.
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That was a lot longer than my usual chapters for Nocturne. I hope y'all enjoy it. Well it's late and I had best go to rest. Night~
Topic: Nocturne [13/02 - Epilogue (END)] (Read 133913 times)