"Wh-what?" Yuzu asked slightly nervous
"Take everything off and go take a shower. I'll make sure to get your clothes washed and dried immediately before you head home" Mei said
"R-right now?" Yuzu asked
"Of course. You're completely drenched and you could catch a cold" Mei said
"U-uhm okay" Yuzu said and Mei guided her to the bathroom so she could shower.
"You're nuts for coming all the way here. What were you even thinking?" Mei asked
"Because of you. Are you feeling well?" Yuzu asked
"I-I'm fine now. Just take a shower quickly. I'll give you my clothes once you're done" Mei said and closed the door. Yuzu immediately covered her face as she was extremely flustered while shaking
I know I said I wanted us to be together alone but I didn't think it would be this soon!!! Ahhhh!!!!
"Calm down idiot. Everything is fine" Yuzu whispered as she tried to calm herself down. She took a deep breath and sighed deeply before starting the shower. Once it was at a decent temperature, Yuzu went ahead and removed her clothes before stepping inside. She shivered slightly as her skin touched the warm water and started to bathe herself
Knock Knock
"Are you inside?" Mei asked
"Y-yeah" Yuzu said and Mei opened the door to pick up her drenched clothes while holding fresh towels in the other hand
"I'll set the towels here" Mei said
"Okay. Thanks" Yuzu said and Mei stepped out of the bathroom. Yuzu immediately covered her face while having another gay panic attack
"Ugh...I seriously need to get myself together" Yuzu said
Calm down...
After the shower, Yuzu was a complete blushing mess struggling to behave normally around Mei
"Are you okay?" Mei asked
"Y-yeah" Yuzu said
"Your face is all red..." Mei said
"Must be from the warm water. Anyways thanks for lending me your clothes" Yuzu said
"You're lucky my grandfather isn't around. Also what about your mother? Shouldn't you tell her where you are?" Mei asked and Yuzu jumped
"Shit...I don't think she arrives late today. Oh no! Gah! I'll be in big trouble if she doesn't see me! But I need my school uniform to get washed quickly. I'm not sure when the rain will stop. She might get home before me" Yuzu said
"You can use the phone if want" Mei said
"Wait really? Thank you! You're a lifesaver!" Yuzu said as she hugged her and Mei only pushed her away
"It's downstairs in the living room" Mei said
"Thanks" Yuzu said and ran out of the room heading to the living room to make a call. She got to the phone and started calling her mother. The phone started ringing for a few seconds until her mother answered the call
"Hello?" Ume answered
"H-hey mom" Yuzu said slightly nervous
"Yuzu?" Ume asked
"Just letting you know that if you don't see me at home it's because I'm at a friend's place" Yuzu said
"What do you mean you're at a friend's place? You're not lying to me right?" Ume asked
"N-no I'm not. I'm really at a friend's place this time. I promise to get home once the rain stops or calms down" Yuzu said and looked over at Mei who held her hand out
"I'll help" Mei whispered and Yuzu nodded
"U-uh hey mom. I'm passing you to my friend which will prove that I'm not going out and having fun like...well you know like those other times" Yuzu said and handed the phone to Mei
"Hello ma'am. This is Mei Aihara speaking. I'd like to inform you that I brought Yuzu to my place for a study session to help her on her homework and lend a few helping tips that'll help her succeed in her exams" Mei said
"O-oh really? Hmmm...well then. I guess it should be fine. I'll pick her up in a bit though once I'm done" Ume said
"I understand. I'll let you know the address" Mei said and looked over at Yuzu giving her a nod
"Thanks" Yuzu said as she bowed her head
Phew...I'm safe. Well for now since I know she'll scold me a lot when I get home...
"Alright since that's been settled. Get your work out" Mei said putting the phone away
"Wait what?" Yuzu asked
"What? Did you think I'd let you slack off? No. We'll use this opportunity to work on our homework" Mei said
"Are you serious?" Yuzu asked
"Yes. Now come" Mei said walking away
"But..." Yuzu sealed her lips shut and followed Mei back to her room. Mei walked towards her school bag to grab her books. A flash of light was seen outside causing Mei's body to tense up and flinched hearing the loud roar from the lightning. Mei felt her head throb and gripped onto her bag tightly as she struggled to calm herself down
Ah...stop it. Stop it. Why the hell...am I like this? Damnit...quit thinking about-
"So you really don't do so well when it comes to rain huh?" Yuzu said hugging her from behind
"...what are you doing?" Mei asked
"Leave the books, Mei" Yuzu said
"What?" Mei asked and Yuzu held her hand as she took her to the bed
"Nothing wrong with taking a break right?" Yuzu asked as she smiled and pulled Mei's body onto the bed
"Y-yuzu!" Mei said as she fell onto the bed and was immediately held by Yuzu's arms. Yuzu cuddled her in her arms and placed Mei's head against her chest
"S-seriously stop. Stop joking around. We have to do our homework" Mei said as she tried to pull away
"Do you always think of work? Aren't there days where you just want to lie in bed and relax? It's not good if you overwork yourself. Even if you plan on taking over the Academy one day...it's best to take it easy" Yuzu said and stroked Mei's hair softly. Mei trembled slightly because of this unknown feeling she felt inside her. She quit struggling to get away and seemed to enjoy the warm embrace. The warm feeling caused Mei to almost fall asleep because of how relaxing it felt being in Yuzu's arms. Unfortunately she couldn't because the girl's heart was beating quite loud and fast
"...Yuzu" Mei said
"Hm? Yes?" Yuzu asked and Mei pulled away as she sat up
"Your heart...is really loud. Are you okay?" Mei asked and Yuzu sat up laughing slightly nervous
"U-uhm yes I'm okay or well...actually..." Yuzu paused and looked down at the red string
"Yuzu?" Mei asked and looked down as Yuzu placed her hand on top of hers
"It's because of you..." Yuzu said, looking at Mei with a cute flustered face. Mei's heart skipped a beat and tried to pull her hand back slightly but Yuzu held onto it gently
"W-wait..." Mei said
"Ever since our eyes met...I've been feeling something strange whenever I was with you or looked at you. It was confusing at first but you know...this is probably what they call love at first sight" Yuzu said leaning in closely and Mei didn't seem to move away as she remained still
"Wh-what...are you doing?" Mei asked
"I'm...not sure but...I really want to kiss you" Yuzu whispered softly as she slowly closed her eyes. Mei didn't seem to know what to do but soon her body started reacting once she felt a pair of soft warm lips against hers. Mei slowly melted into the kiss and started kissing her back. Their lips started moving a bit as their gentle kiss slowly began to get slightly heated. Yuzu reached out cupping Mei's cheek softly and her fingertips touched the girl's ear causing Mei to tense up
"M-mm~" Mei moaned a bit and felt Yuzu's tongue lick her lips. Yuzu kissed her with passion and seemed to want more from her. Mei grabbed her shoulders before breaking the kiss breathing slightly heavy
"H-haah th-this...haaa...th-this is not right" Mei said as she looked away blushing extremely hard. Yuzu panted softly and grabbed Mei's wrists before pinning her down
"Y-yuzu! H-hey sto-" Mei gasped seeing a slight vision of another girl but it was slightly blurry
...huh? Wh-what's happening? Who...
"Hey Mei...if we keep kissing...then we might find an answer right?" Yuzu asked as she leaned in. Mei was completely speechless, not knowing or understanding what was going on. Yuzu pressed her lips against hers and Mei started kissing her back. Both girls were in bed kissing each other and letting out soft moans. Yuzu's tongue slipped inside of Mei's mouth and wrapped her tongue around hers
"M-mmm~" Mei moaned softly
"Mm~ Haa~" Yuzu moaned during the kiss and sucked on her tongue. She felt Mei's arms wrap around her neck pulling her body closer. After a couple of minutes, Yuzu pulled away with a few strands of saliva connecting their lips and licked it off
"Haaa...M-mei..." Yuzu panted softly
"H-haah....haaa..." Mei panted heavily and looked away trying to hide her face. Yuzu smiled and leaned in kissing her cheek
"You're cute" Yuzu whispered against her ear making Mei flinch
"No!" Mei said pushing her face away with her hand
"Ack!" Yuzu groaned
"N-not my ears..." Mei said trying to catch her breath and flinched as Yuzu licked her palm
"Wh-what are you doing?" Mei asked and Yuzu held her hand kissing it softly
"...I think I know why this is happening to us. It's probably a sign that we're meant to be with each other" Yuzu said and Mei pulled her hand away
"What are you talking about?" Mei asked
"Heh...we're soulmates" Yuzu said and Mei sat up trying to process what she said
"We a-are...what? No wait...you think those dreams are meant to indicate that we're soulmates?" Mei asked
"Don't you think that's a good explanation? It could probably be the only explanation..." Yuzu said
"W-well...I guess that somehow makes s-sense but I don't think that's possible right?" Mei said
"Hm? Is it because we're girls?" Yuzu asked
"...you think my grandfather is the type to understand?" Mei asked and Yuzu hugged her before lying down with her on the bed
"Stop hugging me" Mei said
"So as long as I get good grades I might have a chance to enter that Academy of yours?" Yuzu asked
"Yes. Why?" Mei asked
"Go out with me" Yuzu said
"Wh-what?" Mei asked surprised
"Once we graduate, let's go out together" Yuzu said while wearing a bright smile
"H-huh? Wh-what do you mean go out together?" Mei asked and Yuzu grabbed her face making her look in her eyes
"I want to date you, Mei. I want to be together with you and spend the rest of my life with you" Yuzu said and Mei only wore a confused expression since her mind couldn't process the sudden confession coming from the other girl
"Look I know it was confusing for us at first when we had those dreams but...that kiss we just had helped me realize my true feelings. Mei...I love you. I really do and I...I really want to be with you" Yuzu said
"Y-you...this i-is...this is too sudden" Mei said
"That's why I'm giving you time to think about it until we graduate and become adults together. Besides, you can't deny that you felt good during that kiss. Your expression was really cute and it looked like you wanted more" Yuzu said and Mei pushed her
"D-don't say stuff like that" Mei said
"But you were making cute noi-ow!" Yuzu whimpered as Mei hit her head
"Shut up" Mei said
"Y-yeah sorry sorry. But I'm serious, Mei. I want to go out with you..." Yuzu said. Mei blushed seeing her cute little puppy eyes and looked away
"You're just confused..." Mei said
"Then let's kiss again" Yuzu said leaning
"N-no! Okay fine. We'll wait and see how it goes then" Mei said grabbing her shoulders
"Yay!" Yuzu said
"That doesn't mean I agreed to dating you in the future" Mei said
"But you didn't reject me" Yuzu said
"...not yet. Who knows you might end up falling for someone else" Mei said
"I only have eyes for you" Yuzu giggled. Mei couldn't stop feeling something fuzzy and warm inside
Just what the hell is going on?

A few hours later, Ume was outside waiting for Yuzu who was inside saying her goodbye to Mei
"I'll see you next week then" Yuzu said
"Yeah...see you. Next time don't do stuff like this" Mei said and Yuzu wrapped her arms around her as she hugged her
"I love you" Yuzu whispered and Mei pushed her away
"D-don't say that" Mei said
"Okay okay. Hmm mind if we kiss each other goodbye?" Yuzu asked
"No" Mei said and Yuzu laughed softly
"Alright. Maybe next time" Yuzu said
"There won't be a next time" Mei said
"You never know. Anyways I'll get going now. Oh wait! You said next week you might come, right?" Yuzu asked
"Uhm...w-well sure. Yes" Mei said
"That's great! I promise we will work on school stuff" Yuzu said and walked away
"Okay" Mei said
"Bye Mei" Yuzu said and walked to the front door
"Bye...Yuzu" Mei said and watched Yuzu walk out of the door. Yuzu rushed over to the car and got inside before getting startled by her mother
"Yuzu! Why didn't you tell me your friend is the granddaughter of the owner of the school!? Do you know what you're doing?! Are you behaving well around her!?" Ume exclaimed
"H-huh? H-hey calm down okay? Why are you making this like it's a big dea?" Yuzu asked
"It's a big deal because you're befriending his granddaughter. If you do anything then she could easily report it to her grandfather. Yuzu you better be on your best behavior when you're around her and don't try to do anything to her. I don't want you to end up on her bad side" Ume said
"No way I can get on her bad side" Yuzu whispered
"Do you understand? I need you to do well on your studies and take it seriously this time" Ume said
"Yes mom. Don't worry I'll do my very best this time" Yuzu said
"You better. I better not get any phone calls from you about your behavior." Ume said
"Yeah yeah..." Yuzu said and looked out the window. She couldn't help but smile remembering the kiss and licked her lips
...I want to do it again
Meanwhile Mei was a complete mess feeling mixed emotions inside of her. She held onto a pillow tightly burying her face against it
"...why...why did I do that? Why didn't I push her away?" Mei asked and sighed deeply. She rolled over and stared at the ceiling. Her hand went towards her lips and touched them
That kiss...for some reason it felt...normal. No...not normal. The kiss felt...familiar?
"It's like...we kissed before..." Mei said and remembered the blurry image of the girl during the kiss
"...soulmates huh? I guess...I can't deny it but...is it okay?" Mei said. She looked to the side, seeing the folded clothes that Yuzu wore and grabbed the shirt. She stared at the shirt for a few seconds until her hands brought the shirt up to her nose
"Her body scent...is...here" Mei whispered and closed her eyes remembering the warm embrace she had with Yuzu in bed. Her heart skipped a beat and held onto the shirt closely
"She smells good..." Mei said and flinched. She gasped, tossing the shirt as she realized what she was doing. She covered her face feeling embarrassed and groaned
"...what's gotten into me?" Mei asked. She looked at the clothes and grabbed them before heading to the laundry room. She stopped by the door of her room and looked at the clothes
"Maybe I could wear them. It's not like they're dirty..." Mei said
I need to shower right away and wear it...