★ MINE ★
KISS THE BOY!

          the plan was simple. Kimiko would go to her father's party and then drink so much wine that he would send her to her room. Only this time she wouldn't actually drink the wine. She would just pretend. Because that's how she behaved at all his parties. Without alcohol, nothing and no one could endure there. So it would be completely normal if her father sent her away before the fireworks.

     Of course it would be difficult to get through half the evening without any alcohol, but the thought of Kazuha and seeing him later made it all better. She would do it for him, otherwise there was no other way to sneak out. And she definitely didn't want to disappoint Kazuha. She really wanted to see him.

     »You seem different today than usual«, Nanami cleared her throat. She stood behind her and tied her hair nicely. Mei was about to get the dress. »Not in such a bad mood, like always before every party.«

     That was true. The thought of Kazuha made her infinitely happy. She couldn't describe how fortunate she actually was. She had never seen the big fireworks display before. She always wanted to see it and seeing it now with him was kind of special.

     »Would you like to tell me why?«

     Did she want to tell Nanami about Kazuha? Yes! Did she want to tell how incredibly adorable he was, how gently he spoke to her? In any case! Did she want to tell her how beautiful his red eyes were and how cute the little braid and the few red strands looked? Definitely! And how perfectly kissable his lips were, gosh yes!

     But she didn't know how Nanami would react. In principle, Kimiko trusted her. Really! But Kazuha was her own little secret and maybe it should stay that way. Maybe it would be better if only she knew about it. It was enough that Hiroki had told her brother about it. She didn't want more people to spoil it for her.

     »Not yet«, Kimiko said. »Maybe another time.«

     »As you wish.« She could see Nanami nodding in amusement through the mirror. »I'm glad to see you happy again.«

     Happy. Yes, Kimiko hadn't felt like that in a long time. In fact, she had never felt like this before. As a child, she was always very happy with her mother. But that was a completely different happiness than what she felt about Kazuha.

     »And that's why I'm not forcing you to wear your hair very tightly this evening.«

     Kimiko laughed. »Very nice of you.«

     »I have the dress!« Mei ran into the room with her new dress over her right arm. »Oh and!« She pulled out a letter and handed it to Kimiko. »From your brother.«

     A letter from your brother? Her brother never wrote letters. Kimiko accepted the letter anyway and tore it open awkwardly. There wasn't much in it. Even just two words. For you. That's it. He hadn't written anything else.

     »Mei that's not the dress!«, Nanami almost shouted. »She needs to wear something traditional! Where is the other dress?«

     Kimiko folded the letter and put it back in the envelope. She looked between the two of them. Nanami was red with anger. Kimiko thought she would explode under the stress. Mei, on the other hand, was red with embarrassment. She would probably have preferred to sink into the ground.

     »I-i don't know. There was just this dress and the letter.«

     »That can't be! Go check again!«

     »This is the right dress.« She interrupted the two of them and they fell silent. »It's from my brother. I should wear it.«

     »But Miss Kujou! I know you don't like wearing these clothes, but your father.«

     She shook her head. »I should still wear it.«

     Nanami wasn't convinced. Kimiko could tell by the look on her face, but she still helped her put the dress on. As Mei was about to do the tons of heavy makeup, there was a knock on the door and Hiroki came in.

     »Nonono! She is not finished yet!«

     »Her father wants to see her, right now.«

     Frustrated, Mei put the lipstick aside and Nanami crossed her arms. »For some reason I don't believe you.«

     »If you want, I'll tell Mister Kujou. I'm excited to see how he'll react if he knows you don't follow his instructions.«

     Kimiko stood up from her stool. She smoothed the skirt of her dress and tossed her long hair over her shoulders. »It certainly won't take long«, She said to Nanami. »And then you can paste me again.«

     Nanami nodded, but she still looked at Hiroki sternly. Kimiko walked past them all, out into the long hallway and waited for Hiroki to come after her. He closed the door to her room behind him and motioned to follow him.

     »I see you got the dress.«

     »I may not be able to think as strategically as Sara, but even I notice something strange here.« Kimiko stopped and looked up at him. »Where are we going?«

     He leaned down to her. »You have a date. I'll make sure you get there.«

     »W-what?«

     »I picked the dress up for your brother. He said it would be better suited to the festival with the young Kaedehara,« Hiroki explained. »Your father thinks I'm taking you to Kamaji. He thinks you two are spending the festival together.«

     »He simply agreed?«

     »Yes, Today important business partners are coming from Snezhnaya. I don't know how much you know about the Fatui, but even your father doesn't necessarily want you to be there.«

     Kimiko didn't believe those words for a second. Her father didn't care at all which people she had to wrap around her finger. He clearly didn't want her to know what kind of business this was about today. And since it was the Fatui, Kimiko didn't even want to know. She was just happy to be able to go.

     It was perfect. Her father was busy and thought she would be with her brother. He would be so busy that he wouldn't notice anything. It couldn't have been better.

     »I would be mad because my brother and you were shadowing me, but the dress is really beautiful and you guys came up with this whole plan.«

     »Is there perhaps a little thank you behind this sentence?«

     She rolled her eyes. »Don't overdo it.«

     He nodded, a little amused. »So are you ready or do you have to do something before we leave?«

     »We?«

     »Don't worry, I'll just take you out of the house and accompany you to the hill.« He even knew where they met? Honestly, that was scary. »As soon as I see that you're with him, I'll go back and be right there at one o'clock to pick you up, understand?«

     »Why are you helping me? I mean the other day I was told I should be careful and not meet him anymore.«

      »I've never seen you so happy. And your brother simply wants the best for you.«

     If Kimiko hadn't had to hurry, she would have certainly continued to argue with him. But now she was just happy to see Kazuha. And then also about being on time.

     »Okay fine, let's go.«

     »Alright!« He opened one of the many side doors and escorted her outside.

     They didn't say a word to each other the entire way. On the one hand, because Kimiko was simply enjoying the fresh air and didn't feel like talking. And on the other hand, because she was already going through all the sentences in her head that she could say to Kazuha. She liked it when his cheeks turned red because of her. She liked to make him a little shy. But ever since he told her what he thought of her, she had been a little nervous herself.

     She couldn't forget how he had laid on her. She couldn't forget the way he looked at her. And she certainly couldn't forget how he ran his thumb over her lip. Did he want to kiss her? Because she wanted it. So incredibly much.

     Only when they reached the hill did Hiroki complain. »So as I said, I'll pick you up at one o'clock.«

     Or had he just wanted it because he had been drinking? Or did he just not have the courage to do it? Kimiko simply couldn't think of anything else. Maybe she should just kiss him. Maybe she should just do something at all.

     »Did you even listen to me?«

     »Huh?«

     He shook his head. »We're here.« Hiriko pointed his hand up to the hill. »Do you want to turn back?«

     »Nonono! I'm just a little nervous.« A little was perhaps a bit of an understatement, but she couldn't and didn't want to admit anything more. »Okay, I'm going now.« She took a deep breath. »See you.«

     It was already dark outside. The sky was dark blue, cloudless and full of twinkling stars. It seemed like they were competing and trying to outdo each other. The moon was in the middle. It glowed cold and pale. It was a beautiful night and if Hiroki hadn't been waiting at the bottom of the hill for her to finally move on so he could leave, she would definitely have stopped for a while.

     So Kimiko moved on. The meadow beneath her feet looked silver through the light of the moon and glittered through the many stars. It looked like something out of a fairy tale. She would have preferred to just lie down on the meadow and enjoy the silence. Just dreamed a little. But when she finally got to the top she saw him.

     He sat with his back to her and looked up at the stars as well. It was ridiculous, but as soon as she saw him she felt safe. She immediately felt comfortable. She immediately became a little calmer.

     Kimiko walked quietly towards him and when she was directly behind him she placed her hands over his eyes from behind. He didn't even flinch in shock. He had definitely heard her coming.

     »Did you miss me?«

     She felt him start to smile on her finger. He gently took her hands down and looked at her over his shoulder. The light from the stars made his eyes sparkle even more beautifully. And Kimiko felt her heart start to beat faster.

     »You came.«

     »I keep my promises.«

     Still holding her hands, Kazuha led her around to sit next to him. It was just a small gesture but Kimiko found it adorable. Even when she sat, he still held her hands. Like last time, he locked his fingers tightly with hers. She loved that. Truly.

     »I'm glad you came.«

     »You are?«

     He nodded. »Definitely.« And she could see that it was difficult for him, but he still looked at her. With his beautiful red eyes. »I-i missed you.«

     And there she was, the answer to her question. She hadn't expected him to say the opposite, but it still made her happy to hear it. Everything he said just sounded beautiful. He had such a soft, calm voice no matter what he said, it made Kimiko's heart beat faster.

     »So hm what's all this?« She nudged him with her shoulder and pointed to the things in front of them.

     »Well, since I know you were never at the festival, I was down at the market and brought you some things«, He said. »I-i thought if you can't go to the festival I'll bring it to you.«

     She smiled. »Kazuha.« And as soon as she said his name, he smiled too. She loved that she had such an effect on him. »That's so sweet of you.«

     His smile only became more beautiful. It reached up to his eyes. And Kimiko had the urge to put her hands on his cheeks. She wanted to pull him closer and kiss him. She wanted to fall on her back onto the meadow and pull him down with her. She wanted to wrap her arms around him tightly and never stop kissing his lips.

     »All right here, take this.« He broke the silence and handed her one of the few bowls that didn't have any food in it. But she still looked at him. She completely ignored the bowl. His face was illuminated by the moon and looked flawless.

     She still wanted to kiss him. But she didn't want to force him. And she had no idea if he wanted it. He had broken her silence. Maybe because he was nervous. But maybe also because he didn't want to be kissed.

     »Besides all the food I saw these well-preserved maple leaves so I bought some for you«, He continued talking »Since they reimend me of you...«

     Yes, he was incredibly cute. And that only supported her urge to want to kiss him. But Kimiko tried to push that thought aside. At least for tonight. Or the next few minutes.

»They really beautiful.«

»Yes, really beautiful.« He emphasized it. He emphasized it unusually strongly. Kimiko didn't know this about him. She looked up at him from the leaves in the bowl. »Like you.«

His little smile was lovely. Kimiko could definitely say it was her favorite smile. And she could never ignore it. She had to reciprocate every time because then his would only get bigger.

     »You're adorable, Kazuha.«

     She couldn't push the thought aside. She didn't even want it. She didn't want to have to pull herself together anymore. She wanted to fucking kiss him.

     Kimiko moved closer to him and put her finger under his chin like she did at the docks. This time he didn't flinch. He let her bring his face closer to hers. And that made her smile. Her heart skipped a beat and a quiet giggle left her lips.

»W-what?« His innocent eyes stared at her. His cheeks turned red. »Did i something wrong?«

     »Not at all.« She moved her finger to his cheek and stroked it gently. »You're just so incredibly sweet.«

    Kimiko leaned her forehead against his and kissed the tip of his little nose. She felt him tense and pulled back to look at him. Kazuha looked at her lips. One. Two. Three. Four. Five long seconds before he looked into her eyes again.

     He wanted it. It was like a confirmation that made Kimiko feel much more confident. She ran her hand to his neck and pulled him towards her to close the small gap between them. And then she kissed him.