I wish I could say I slept comfortably afterwards, but it simply wasn’t so.  Instead, while bathed in the moonlight pouring through my window, I stared at my hand.

The hand which touched a butt.

Not my butt.

But Saiyuri’s.

I don’t know exactly what happened to be honest.  She’s supposed to be my guardian while I’m going to school, and when I first learned about her, I admit I was curious as to what she would be like.  The one picture mom had of her that she could show me, was of a younger Saiyuri.  Though the Saiyuri in that picture together with mom was a young beauty, the one I’ve been able to meet is still beautiful, but her youth is more at heart.

Sure she’s teased me but only in a playful way.  I’ve never felt slighted at all, and she’s done her best to be attentive to me.  I tried to remain on my best behavior, but somehow when she’s around, I easily fall into her pace.  

After the massage, I ended up thanking her, which made her laugh further.  She didn’t ask me to answer her question, and I would have really been put on the spot if she did.  Because I was kind of in an ephemeral daze afterward.

It wasn’t just her butt, but her back was smooth to the touch, and her shoulders had a little bit of flabbiness, but I liked it.  I must have been running hot, because her skin felt so cool to the touch.  She… let me explore.  I don’t know why, but I think it was to help me understand something.

I wasn’t crazy or weird.

I was completely right after all.

The soft touch of a woman… was the best feeling in the whole world!

Was this her way of offering me some guidance?  I mentioned it before that the answer to her question opened up a hundred new ones I had to ask myself.  The most important one being what this new insight meant to me?

I mean I sort of already knew.

I knew that I preferred to hold the hand of a cute girl over that of a boy (dad excluded), but mom said I’d come into my own in time, and that I didn’t need to rush anything.  Yumi, even though she was my best friend, did her best to put up with me, and I did my best to hold back with her.

My favorite characters in any book were usually ladies.  The music groups I listened to were mainly female singers or idols.  Even the books I read were pretty much all written by women too…

I mean, I like soft, cute, fluffy things!  So it’s only natural, right, that a woman tended to fit most of those criteria perfectly?

 But Saiyuri showed me something new with what she allowed me to do.  She showed me that even if something wasn’t cute, but mature.  Wasn’t fluffy but friendly, even a bit sensual...

I liked that too.

So I brought that hand that awakened to something I didn’t quite yet fully understand, I brushed my own cheek gently with it, imagining it was Sacchan.  I let it fall onto my body brushing over my still-growing mounds, and then across the flat of my tummy and down to my legs.

I… was soft too, but… it was a different kind of soft.

This softness… I wanted to be on the receiving end of now.

Saiyuri and I had a lovely dinner, I even spent some extra time getting the apartment far cleaner than the day I arrived, and we even chilled out on the couch and watched television and painted each other’s nails while we did.

She preferred the rich blood red colored polish over a darker violet or black for her’s, and what she decided on for me, was a multitude of colors.

“You’re really a firework through-and-through Hanapi.  You should definitely go with that, since there’s nothing that would suit you better!”  She said that to me as she painted a rainbow on each nail.

We had fourteen different colors to choose from, so she expertly showed me how to layer colors for dramatic effect.  White, Pink, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet… just a few that she mixed around on each finger and when it was done, I thought I looked like a piece of candy instead of a firework.

But I liked it.

I was vibrant.

Which is how I felt being next to her.

I wasn’t the dull dirt-covered bookworm like I was back home.  I was already feeling like a new woman.  I had taken the first step into burning brightly, and Saiyuri was the spark that started it for me.

Before it got too late and I went to bed, I had made a phone call home to my mom.  I told her how Saiyuri and I met at the station, all about our matching phones, our lunch date with the parfait, the trip to the mall, and about my request for getting my ears pierced.

“Sure you can, honey.  Just keep it to no more than four per ear.”

Getting more than one piercing in each ear?  I hadn’t even thought of that.  I mean, sure I’d seen it before.  The delinquent girl from Blue Blue and the bookstore… she had a few in her ears too, come to think about it.  But would something like that suit me?

“Are you having fun rooming with Sayu-pon?”

“Sayu-pon?”

“It’s what I used to call her long ago.  Hanabi, I really hope you find what you want for yourself while you’re there.  I already miss you so much, and I know you always wanted more than what Tono had to offer.  I’ve lived my life there, in that kind of fast-paced life and between the two… you might never understand why I made the decision to move here and find happiness with your father.  But it wasn’t an easy decision at all for me to make.  There is absolutely no way I could have done it without Sayuri’s help, so if she gives you some good advice, please promise me you’ll listen to it.  Even if you don’t follow it, keep it close to you.  Okay?”

“Sure mom.  I miss you too, and dad, and Yumi-chan.”

“They’re going out now… Yumi-chan and Sosuke-kun.”

“...I figured.”

“Don’t sound so down.  She’s happy now, and you’ll no doubt find a happiness of your own soon enough.  So, while you still have a few days until the new semester starts, why not let her spoil you a little?  Go see a movie together or try out Karaoke with her?  You’ll definitely get a laugh out of that, I promise you!”

“I’m not down.  I knew… Yumi-chan liked Sosuke for almost a year now.  I’m happy for her, and I have her notebook, and your words too.  I’ll be fine.  So… I guess dad’s asleep, so please give him a big hug from me, and I’ll try and call a bit earlier next time so I can tell him I miss him too.”

“I’ll do that.  Also, before you go… it’s okay.  When you finally find it, I’m telling you now, that it’s okay.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just adding a little mystery to your life, sweetie.  I’ll let everyone here know you said hello.  You go and be the best and brightest Hanabi the big city has ever seen.  I’ll always be rooting for you.”

“Thanks mom.”

“I love you, dear.”

“I love you too mom.”

I couldn’t even say goodbye.  Because my lips were trembling and my eyes began to water.  I didn’t want her to know… that I was still just the tiniest bit unsteady.  So I hung up, and went to bed.

What to do, what to do?

The next morning was pretty much the same as before.  I woke up, and made breakfast for Saiyuri, and after a pleasant chat about nothing, she let me know that she had an errand to run, and that I’d be staying behind.

“I’m sorry, but where I’m headed off to…”

“It’s fine, Sacchan.  I have the duplicate key you just gave me, and I have Google-sensei to help me if I get lost should I go out.  My phone is fully charged, so if you need anything you can call me too!”

Saiyuri just nodded her head.

“You really are a capable girl, Hanapi.  Okay.  This Onee-chan is gonna try and be as fast as possible, so we can do something fun later today as well.”

I only shook my head at her.

“Please do your task responsibly, Sacchan.  We’ll have plenty of time to do all kinds of things now, won’t we?”

She sprung out of her chair and came over to squeeze me tightly.  It was a warm hug that made me flutter.

“It’s like having Kaede here all over again!  Not that I’m trying to compare you two, but… I’m really happy you came here, Hanabi.”

“Me too, I’ve had nothing but fun since I arrived, thanks to you.”

Saiyuri went to get dressed and booked it out of the house in under fifteen minutes.  What impressed me about that was how quick she did her makeup!

I had still yet to receive my tutorial on it, but I wasn’t in a major hurry.  There were still a few days until school began again, and I thought that since I had a little bit of time alone, I’d contact a friend of mine who I hadn’t in a couple of days.

My online friend and web novelist,  JadeBunny.

I sent an email to her letting her know I arrived in the big city, and that everything was going well.  I told her about my new friend and roommate Sayu-pon, and all about the two cute girls I had seen at the mall.  That I had got a new phone, and I included my Line app contact.

It took a while to get a reply, but when she did, she said she added me, so I checked it out.

〈Hanabikimasu〉 Hello Jade-chan, I saw you released a new chapter yesterday.  I haven’t had a chance to read and comment on DekaChi yet, please forgive me!

〈JadeBunny〉 What are you going on about!  You just moved your entire life to a new place!  Settle in first before you begin worrying about me.  My stories aren’t going anywhere!

DekaChi, short for Dekai Kanojo to Chiisai Koibito.  Basically it meant Big Girlfriend & Little Lover.  It was from the shoujo ai genre, and the work she was known for.  She was still relatively unknown, only about one hundred registered readers so far, but it was good stuff.  

〈Hanabikimasu〉 I’m already settled in!  It’s my third day here already.  I’m alone right now because Sayu-pon went on an errand, but otherwise I’m good.  I cleaned the place up last night, and talked to my mom.  But that’s not the important stuff!  Guess what happened!

〈JadeBunny〉 Hmm, is this related to the two girls you saw at the mall?

〈Hanabikimasu〉 Nope, but just as important… I touched a cute butt!

〈JadeBunny〉 …

〈Hanabikimasu〉 Jade-chan?

〈Hanabikimasu〉 Are you there?

〈Hanabikimasu〉 Don’t ignore meeeeeeeee!

〈JadeBunny〉 Shut up!

〈JadeBunny〉 How is it you are there for less than three days, and you see two super cute girls and then touch a butt?  I wanna touch a cute butt too!!!  Darn it!!!!

Since JadeBunny is my spiritual advisor on all things yuri, I decided to confide in her.

〈JadeBunny〉 So, spill it already!  How’d you do it?  What’s the secret?  Do you have a photo of the cute butt!?

〈Hanabikimasu〉 …

〈JadeBunny〉 Don’t you dare, you misfiring bottlerocket!

〈Hanabikimasu〉 …

〈JadeBunny〉 You better tell me, or else!

〈JadeBunny〉 I’ll make Chisato do XXX with Runa-chan if you don’t answer!!!

It was an empty threat.  Runa-chan was Chisato’s ex, and because of her controlling tendencies, pushed Chisato apart only to be found by Dekayome, who is the selfsame Dekai Kanojo mentioned in the title.

But no one would ship those two.  Maybe Dekayome and Runa-chan, but not the other two.  No way, no how.

〈Hanabikimasu〉 I was gonna tell you, I was just pausing for dramatic tension!

〈JadeBunny〉 You bully! Buuu~

〈Hanabikimasu〉 Okay, Okay… I’m sorry Jade-chan.  It happened like this!

So I explained in excruciating detail about shopping at the makeup outlet and about how Saiyuri was feeling sore in her legs after we got home.  How I volunteered to give her a foot massage, and how it turned into so much more.

〈JadeBunny〉 UUuuuuuu!  I’m crying here!  You’re so lucky!

〈Hanabikimasu〉 It was just that though, and a little hand holding, but that’s all.  She’s my mother’s friend, so it’s not like anything would have happened or anything.  I’m sure I’m just a little kid to her…

〈JadeBunny〉 Do you like her?

〈Hanabikimasu〉 Of course I like her, she’s been nothing but kind to me since I got here!

〈JadeBunny〉 That’s not what I mean dud-for-brains.  I mean do you like her?

〈Hanabikimasu〉 E~?

〈JadeBunny〉 You said she was a hottie in the email, didn’t you? 

〈Hanabikimasu〉 Well, yeah, she’s really pretty, but um… it’s not like that?  She’s just the person looking after me while I go to school here.

〈JadeBunny〉 Really?  So she’s cool with just letting you fondle her?

〈Hanabikimasu〉 What fondling?  It was just a massage!

〈JadeBunny〉 So a woman right around her forties is letting you just rub your slimy little fingers all over her body and making cute noises for nothing!?

〈Hanabikimasu〉 It’s not my fault you jumped to some strange conclusion!  It was just a friendly massage, and afterwards we even painted our nails together.

I took a snapshot using the camera feature on the phone and managed to attach the picture of my toes and my left hand.

〈JadeBunny〉 Oh, that’s so pretty!  She did that?

〈Hanabikimasu〉 Yup!  She’s really good with makeup and I’m gonna get her to teach me later on!

〈JadeBunny〉 …you’ll share any good tips you get with me, right?

〈Hanabikimasu〉 You can count on it, Shifu.

〈JadeBunny〉 Alright, I took a break to catch up with you, but I have to get back to writing!  Next chapter should be out tomorrow, so wish me luck!

〈Hanabikimasu〉 Good Luck!

After a number of waving and hugging emojis, I closed the Line app.

It was good to have a chat with Jade-chan.  I don’t know her real name, and my own Line name is the same as the one I use in the forums.  It’s a cross between Hanabi and Ikimasu which loosely means to go into bloom but with the connotation of a firework exploding.  It was surprisingly Dad who came up with the name when he happened to pass by my room only to see me staring at the screen and looking frustrated.  I was trying a few different ones and they were all taken, so he just typed it in, and it registered as being unique.

“Well, that’s taken care of.  I wonder if I should go out for a walk?”

Since I had worn the outfit from Blue Blue yesterday, I figured I’d put on a different one today.  I went with the blue jersey-and-lace shirt with the octopus print and the brown belt-pleated skirt.  I hadn’t picked up any longer socks, so just my regular black ones would have to suffice.  I put on my shoes and grabbed the bracelets and the watch I left on the top of my dresser.  I also put one clip into my hair, so half of my short bangs parted to the right.  

I was ready for a little adventure.

But where to go?

Where else would I usually go?

Normally, if this was Tono, it would be to hang out around the konbini, so I might as well start there.  Heading out and locking the door behind me, I sent a courtesy text to Sayuri to let her know I was going out, but only to somewhere nearby.

She didn’t reply right away, so I figured she might be driving, or doing whatever errand she was on.  I’d be fine anyway, the konbini was real close anyway.  

Heading out of the apartment complex, I followed Google-sensei’s instructions until I reached the nearest one, it was a Lawson’s.  It wasn’t too much bigger than the one back home, but the one back home didn’t have nearly the selection as this one.

I was glad I ate first, because they had some kind of chicken meal they were selling that smelled really good!  I ended up browsing the aisles for chips and cup noodles.  I know they are junk food, but we only have the basic and popular flavors.  They had other interesting ones here like curry, eel, and even a mushroom one!  I’m a big fan of mushrooms, and even used to go into the woods near my house to hunt for them sometimes.  

Don’t worry, I know how to tell the good ones apart.

I ended up grabbing a bag of shrimp crackers, the mushroom cup noodle, and in the back of the store where the cooler was, I found a glass bottle of Ramune!  The store had like ten different flavors… so I picked the lychee one, as I’d never had it before, and felt daring.

When I walked up to the counter to pay…  

I wondered if I was daring enough?

The blonde delinquent was there… working as the clerk!  Yes!  The same one from the bookstore who was browsing Comatose Countess!  Ah, but I hadn’t read it yet so I don’t know what happened with the bully character that made her excited.

Beep, beep, beep.

“Your total is 650 Yen.” She spouted out my total in a polite but mechanical fashion.

She was sporting the blue and white striped uniform ubiquitous with Lawson’s, along with a blue visor.  Remembering the conversation with my mother about getting my ears pierced, I quickly shot a glance to hers.

She had six piercings in each ear.  three little golden rings, one barbell and one medium golden ring on the upper side of each ear and a pair of small hoops hanging from her earlobes.  She also wore a gold necklace, and smelled like bubblegum even from the other side of the counter.

“Hello?  You hear me okay?  Your total was 650 yen.”

Ah, shoot, I had a moment.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my wallet.  It was a gift from Yumi’s grandmother for my twelfth birthday.  It was handmade out of red vinyl or something like that and had a firework pattern embroidered on both sides.

Yes, being called Hanabi in a small town means I had to own up to it, no if’s, and’s, or but’s about it.

Hehehe butt.

I quickly pulled out the appropriate money in coins, and handed it over.

“Would you like a bag?”

I nodded.

“Alright.  Thanks for shopping at Lawson’s, please come…”

She paused for a moment and inspected me further.  I also took the chance to do the same.  I enjoyed the bubblegum smell and wondered if it was some kind of body spray, because she didn’t look like she was chewing anything.

She snapped her fingers and pointed at me. “...ain’t you the girl from yesterday?”

“Ah, yes.” I replied, “From the bookstore in the mall.”

“You… got an interesting taste there in clothes again.”

“T-thanks?  I picked out a few different things.  Trying to find my style really.  Things change when you enter high school, you know? Heh heh…”

She raised an eyebrow at me.

“Sure.  Sure it does.  Alright.  So, didja ever get a chance to read the book?”

I shook my head.  “Sorry, I was busy putting stuff away and then I had to clean the house and make dinner.  But I plan on reading it a bit tonight.”

She bobbed her head a little bit, still looking straight at me.

“Nice piercings,” I said, trying to keep the conversation going.  “Did it hurt a lot?”

“Nah, the place I went to is really good about it being painless.  I usually have on much bigger hoops, but this place is a pain about it, calling it a dress code violation or some crap.” She complained as she turned her head to the side in order to show them off better.

“That… sucks?”

“Right?  I’d prolly drag in more customers if they saw how good I looked in them on the reg.” She replied confidently.

“...the reg?” I asked, not knowing that particular phrase.

“The regular? ...you new around here?”

“Yes.  I just moved from another prefecture, and I’m living with a family friend.  I’ll be attending Seishogawa Girls’ High when the semester starts.”  I answered, only just learning the name of the school when Saiyuri took me to see it after the trip to the mall.

“Huh.  So, you a first year, then?”

I nodded.

“Nice nails there, got a name?”

“Hanabi.  Sora Hanabi.” I quickly gave it.

“What, like your name is Fireworks?”

“Yeah, my mom was a romantic.”

“Pfffttt!  Well, it’s definitely a memorable name, don’t think I ever met someone with it before.” 

“What about you?” I asked, hoping she’d tell me.

“Narita Maiko, but just call me Mai, ‘k?”

“Sure,… Mai-san.”

“You really got a hearing problem don’cha, Firecracker? It’s Mai. Ma~i. Say it with me.”

“Mai?”

“Great.  Read the book, and I’ll catch ya’ around some other time.”

“Sure.  Have a good day!”  I said and then moved away.

I totally talked to a super cool delinquent gyaru on my first try, learned her name, and even got straight to no honorifics!!!  She even called me Firecracker instead of just Hanabi!  

I hurried far enough away from the store so as to not embarrass myself when I let loose a huge squeal of joy!

Wait a minute!  I didn’t get a chance to ask if she was also attending the same school as me… darn it!  Still, I found out she works part time here, so I’m sure I can meet up with her again soon.

The smell of bubblegum remained in my nostrils until I finally ventured back home.  Which took a bit longer than it should have, because I was caught up in the moment and forgot to consult Google-sensei.

I placed my spoils from my first solo trip into the big city into the cupboard for later, and seeing as how Saiyuri wasn’t going to be home for some time still, I went straight for volume four of Comatose Countess, and began to read the first passage...

“In my dark room, my cheeks were ablaze, and an unusual heat was causing my body to perspire.  Tumultuous feelings seized my bosom as I lay still yet restless on the fluffy sheets of my bed...”

Ooh!  What intense writing from the start!  This is gonna be good!

I quickly ran back out to the kitchen and grabbed the shrimp crackers. Gotta have brain food when you read the good stuff!

And just like that, an empty bag of crackers later, I made it about halfway through the book, when the door to the apartment swung open, and Saiyuri returned.

I couldn’t wait to tell her about my day!