"Chika! Hurry up!"
"I'm coming as fast as I can!"
Whining while dragging her small piece of luggage, Chika followed after You with as much finesse as she could muster. Her luggage was, of course, orange, and decorated with miscellaneous mikan charms. It didn't come with wheels, so Chika was forced to carry her luggage over her shoulder, the weight of all her things weighing on her. She brought as little as she could get away with, but her luggage still felt like it weighed so much. Despite jogging every morning, she still couldn't muster the strength to carry heavy things.
"You're so slow!" You teased, running ahead of Chika. She turned around to face Chika, walking backwards, and had the most mocking look on her face.
Chika puffed her cheeks up. "You're so mean, You! You could help me, you know!"
You laughed, a huge grin plastered on her face. "That's no fun! It's more entertaining to watch you suffer, Chika."
"Meanie!" Chika whined.
You only laughed more, slowing down so her friend could catch up to her. "Don't worry, we'll be at my apartment soon."
"I sure hope so!" Chika replied.
"Just a few more minutes. You can do it it Chika!"
Switching the luggage on her shoulder to the other one, Chika sighed. She hoped You was right. She was going to have really sore shoulders if they didn't get to You's apartment soon.
Within a few minutes, You pointed to a small building in the distance. It looked like a four-story apartment. "That's it! We're almost there."
When the two finally arrived at the building, You dug her keys out of her pocket, opening the entrance door. She held it open for Chika to walk through. "Come on in! I'm on the first floor, remember?"
"Yeah, number 106, right?" Chika responded, carrying her luggage through the open door.
"Yep! Just a few doors down to the right."
Following You's instructions, Chika turned right at the fork, and stopped in front of a door with the number's '106'. You caught up to her quickly, and opened the door with her keys, gesturing for Chika to go first.
Chika walked past the door, into the room. It was a small apartment, just one room in size, plus a bathroom. You's bed was nestled neatly in the center of the room, in front of a small TV. Beside her bed was an orange sleeping bag, which she had set up for Chika.
"It's a bit bigger than your last one, but it's still pretty tiny," Chika said, plopping her luggage beside the sleeping bag.
You shrugged. "I don't mind, I'm not at home very often anyway. I'm usually at school practicing my swimming routines."
"Yeah, that makes sense!" Chika responded, shyly laughing. "Oh, by the way... what was that surprise you had for me?"
You looked at Chika, that sparkle in her eye she always got when she was up to something. "Why don't you try to guess?"
Chika looked at her, blinking her eyes. "Eh!? How could you expect me to guess what scheme you're concocting this time?"
You smirked, putting a hand in front of her mouth for dramatic effect. "Just you wait and see!" She made a troublesome laugh as she walked over to the fridge in the corner of her apartment. She seemed to pull something out that made a sound similar to plastic bottles hitting each other--possibly some kind of bottle? Chika couldn't be sure.
Pulling the mysterious item of the fridge, You walked over to Chika and outstretched her arms, revealing two jugs of what looked like some kind of alcohol. "I bought us Shochu!"
"Shochu!?" Chika let out loudly, in surprise. "Are you planning on trying to kill me?"
You laughed, handing Chika one of the jugs in her hand. "Come on Chika, where's your sense of adventure!? We're both finally 20 now, let's try it!"
Chika took the jug reluctantly, looking at it with a worried expression. "Are you sure we should be trying this first? Isn't Shochu supposed to get you drunk really fast?"
"Isn't that the point?" You asked without hesitation. "It was cheap and it will get us drunk fast. Besides... my funds are dry this month, it's all I could afford."
"I could have helped you out!" Chika responded, also without hesitation. "I just got a check from my mom for helping out with the store over last break." You gave Chika an angry look but no response, which made Chika sigh. "Fine, fine, I understand! Thank you, You."
You's angry, scrunched up face turned to a smile. "Good, now that that's settled, shall we drink?"
You sat down on her bed, motioning for Chika to sit down on the bed across from her. Chika did so, sighing, and set down her drink next to her. "You first!"
"Yousoro! Here I go." Giving her token phrase, You opened up the jug of alcohol, and took a small sip. The taste was... awful, to say the least. "Pleh!" She exclaimed, while sticking her tongue out. "It doesn't taste the greatest..." Trailing off, You suddenly had an idea. She looked at Chika with a mischievous grin, yet again. She was going to make this fun. "I'll bet you can't drink more than me, Chika."
"This isn't a contest, You!" Chika whined. After a few seconds of looking at the jug however, Chika gave You the same mischievous grin back. "You're on, though." She opened the bottle, chucking back a large of amount of alcohol. You looked quite startled at the amount she drank. The flavour wasn't very good, but she chugged back as much as she could. "Pleeeeeeh!" Chika exclaimed. "Take that!"
You looked at Chika, bewildered. "I never thought you'd really do it. Chika, you're amazing!" You tried taking a bigger sip than her last one, but the flavour was just unbearable. "Ugh, this tastes awful! How did you do that?" You looked at Chika, whose cheeks were starting to turn a light pink. "Uh... Chika?"
"You..." Chika trailed off, blinking her eyes. She could feel herself start to get warmer. It started in the her face and worked her way down to her stomach. Her vision was getting a little blurry, and she was having trouble sitting upright. Trying her best to stay sitting without letting You know how she was struggling, Chika grinned and took another big gulp of the Shochu.
"Chika!" You yelled. "If you drink too much, you'll be sick!"
"I'm... fine," Chika replied, the warmth in her stomach increasing. She was trying not to slur her words, but she was having trouble trying to speak full sentences. "Does this mean... I win?"
You gave a nervous laugh. "Ah, I guess so. I can only manage small sips!" After saying that, You took another small sip of her bottle. She could feel her face and stomach start to get a little warm.
Chika smiled, watching You take small tips of the Shochu. "What do I..." she trailed off, trying to get her words right. "...win?" She managed to snicker.
"Win?" You asked confused. "Well, I guess you can win... my everlasting friendship?"
"Booooooooooo," Chika whined. She lost some of her posture and nearly fell, but managed to catch herself back up. "That's... no fun!" She put the bottle down, and somehow managed to move herself so that she was sitting next to You, instead of across from her. She leaned into You, her head resting on You's shoulder. "Why not something like, 'Chika, you win a kiss'?"
Before Chika had realized what she just said, You's face started to heat up even moreso than before. This time, it wasn't the fault of alcohol. "Ehhh!?" she yelped. "Wh-What are you talking about, Chika?"
Now fully aware of what she had just let slip, Chika was decidedly embarrassed. Not because she didn't want to kiss You, she definitely wanted to kiss her, but she did wish her feelings had come across in a more... elegant way. Either way, there was no backing down now. So she decided to roll with it. "I want to kiss you! What's wrong with that?"
"Ch-Chika...!" You replied, her cheeks softening to a light pink colour. "You're just drunk..." You trailed off, looking at the floor. Chika's head was still resting on her shoulder, so she leaned her own head down so that the two were resting on each other. "You don't mean that."
"I am not..." Chika pouted. She lifted her head off of You's shoulder, slowly, so that You could also move her head in time. Chika glared at You, her eyes showing a certain determination. "I love you... ever since we were kids... even when you started dating Riko!"
"What?" You was visibly startled. She had no idea Chika had ever felt this way, but she still wasn't sure this wasn't just the alcohol talking. "But you were so supportive of Riko and I."
Without a second thought, Chika responded. "Because she made you happy..." She looked down at the distance between herself and You. She could feel her eyes starting to water. The drunkenness was still there, but Chika fought it to get her feelings across. "I didn't want to take your happiness away from you... besides," she mumbled. "There's no way you'd like someone as plain as me."
"Chika..." You said. She could now tell this wasn't just the alcohol talking--it was, in fact, Chika's true feelings. She thought long and hard of how to word her next reply. While it's true that she and Riko had dated, they had broken up two years ago, since Riko decided to go to University in America. You had never seen Chika with anyone, and wondered if her feelings for her were why. Nevertheless, You started to form a reply. "Since we were kids... I always looked up to you." The look on Chika's face was one of surprise, but You continued. "You always did everything you could to make everyone's dreams come true. You always encouraged me to keep swimming, even if you weren't interested in it yourself. But when we formed Aqours, I saw you fight so hard to make your own dreams come true, and I was so happy to be a part of that with you. But now you're telling me that when I was Riko, you..." You gently touched Chika's hand that was resting on her lap. "You mean so much to me... I'm so sorry." She bit her lip. "But to honest... these past two years, I've looked forward to you coming to visit to me than anything else."
Chika looked up, locking her gaze with You's. "Really?"
"Really," You responded. She moved her hand from Chika's hand up to her cheek. She softly rubbed her thumb across it. "What I mean to say is... I love you too, Chika."
A single tear fell down Chika's cheek. She moved her hand to touch the hand that You had on it. "You mean it?" She asked.
"One hundred percent!" You grinned. "The main reason I wanted to drunk with you is because I wanted to find out if you loved me, too..."
"You..." Chika trailed off. The single tear that dripped down her face now turned into a giant stream. She threw her arms around You in a hug, tears still coming down. "I love you so much!" Chika couldn't contain her sobs any longer, letting out whimpers as she cried.
"I love you, too, silly!" You told her, detaching herself from the hug. She used her thumbs to attempt to dry Chika's tears. "No more crying, okay? You can't kiss me like that!"
After letting out one last sob, Chika dried her tears with the sweater she was wearing, and then positioned one of her arms into a captain's salute. "Y-Yousoro!"
This made You erupt in laughter. "You're so cute!" she exclaimed. Just as she was about to reach for Chika's face, she saw her eyes close and watched her fall down on her back. "Ch-Chika!? Are you okay!?"
Rushing to see if she was okay, You sped to Chika's side, only to find her asleep on the floor. She had passed out from drunkenness. "Oi, That's not fair! Passing out before I can kiss you! Chika!" She shook her, but Chika stayed asleep. You pinched her cheeks, but Chika still stayed sleeping.
"No fair! Chikaaaaaa!"