A/N: Hey guys! I'm pretty excited for this story since Himawari and Sakurako are one of my favorite all time couples. The plot device I'm using is a little bit cliche, but hopefully I can bring in a unique twist to it. Also, this is important: Fanfiction seems to have introduced a new reviewing function for guests which is great and I'm happy to answer any questions that anyone has, but I can't do it unless you sign in before you review. If you want to make an account it's pretty easy, then just come back and ask your question. Anyways, I was planning to do a spell check before I submitted this, but it's four in the morning and I have school tomorrow, so I'm just going to send it in. Man this is a long a/n! Anyways, I hope you enjoy and I hope you leave a review. Thanks!
Sakurako groaned. She had been staring at her book for a whole ten seconds, but her mind refused to absorb any of the content. "Himawari! I'm bored!"
Himawari turned to her friend with a look of irritation. "You need to learn to study properly. You know we have entrance exams coming up and if you don't study for them then you won't be able to go to a good high school."
Sakurako frowned. Himawari started to say something when suddenly, Kaede could be heard calling her name.
"I better go check this out. You better have gotten some work done by the time I get back." Himawari lectured as she left the room. Sakurako sighed. Now that Himawari was gone what was she supposed to do?
Sakurako stared at her book for a while and went to grab her pencil when she realized it was not where she had left it. It must have grown legs and walked away! Eager to find a walking pencil, Sakurako started inspecting every nook and cranny of Himawari's room.
Sakurako had soon torn up Himawari's bedroom without realizing what she had done. Clothes and books lay sprawled everywhere and the bed covers were messily compiled in a corner.
"Uh-oh..." Sakurako exclaimed once she finally noticed the mess. "If Himawari sees this she'll freakout!" Sakurako whipped her head back and forth trying to decide where to start cleaning up when something caught her eye.
The corner of what seemed to be a small book could be seen sticking out from beneath one of the pillows on Himawari's bed. Curious, Sakurako started to walk towards it.
"What the heck did you do?!" Came a voice from behind her. Sakurako turned around to see a wide-eyed Himawari.
"Uhh... It's not what it looks like" stalled Sakurako. "I mean... Aliens! They came and made your room a mess with some kind of laser! They also stole my pencil!"
"Your pencil is behind your ear: right where you put it, genius" Himawari said, anger evident on her face.
"How the heck did it get there?" Sakurako wondered.
"Shut up and help me clean this mess up before my mom gets home!" Himawari yelled.
Soon the mess had been cleaned by Sakurako and a very grumpy Himawari, as for the book, it had been forgotten, at least for now.
"Hey Himawari-chan, what high school are you going to?" Chinatsu asked during homeroom.
"I have a few choices I'm going to apply for, but I haven't made up my mind yet" Himawari answered. "How about yourself Chinatsu-chan?"
"I'm going to the school Yui-senpai went to of course!"
"Isn't that where Toshinou-senpai went as well?" Himawari questioned.
"Actually, surprisingly enough, Kyouko-chan went to a different high school. Yui-chan's grades actually weren't high enough to get in." A voice that seemed to come from thin air said.
"-And that means I get Yui-senpai all to myself" exclaimed Chinatsu, obviously delighted. "How about you Sakurako-chan?"
"Hmm... I haven't really thought about it much." Sakurako said lazily.
"You do realize entrance exams are coming up in a month, right?" Chinatsu sweat dropped.
Just then the bell rang and interrupted their conversation. The rest of the day went on as normal for the girls, but on the walk home it seemed like Himawari wanted to say something to Sakurako, although in the end she never did.
The next day Sakurako had returned to Himawari's house and as usual had been spending her time procrastinating studying.
"Wait here and I'll make us some tea" Himawari instructed as she left the room.
Sakurako impatiently scoured the room until her eyes rested upon Himawari's pillows. What was up with that book? She wondered. It looked private. Maybe it was a diary!
Being the respectful young girl she is, Sakurako asked for permission before searching for the diary, despite no one being in the room with her. After shoving her hand under Himawari's pillows, Sakurako found the book with ease.
She opened the book on the wrong side, which revealed blank, lined pages. No way! Is this actually a diary? Eager to learn more, Sakurako flipped through the pages until she found handwriting.
February 10th
Today we talked about high schools. Sakurako still hasn't chosen a school yet; I can't believe her. I wish we could keep going to school together, but if she doesn't study I don't know what else I can do.
Sakurako read the entry a second time. She had a strange feeling in her chest. It was warm and kind of felt like something was shaking. Sakurako was about to turn the page when she heard footsteps coming down the hall. Sakurako quickly shoved the book back under the pillows and returned to her spot as Himawari entered the room.
"Here you-" Himawari started to say. "...What?"
"What do you mean what?" Sakurako snapped, confused.
"What's with that stupid smile?" Himawari interrogated.
"What? I'm not smiling!" Sakurako frowned.
"You were just a second ago..."
"No I wasn't!" Sakurako continued to argue.
"Fine just forget about it" Himawari gave up on trying to convince her friend. "Anyways here's your tea... And I noticed you didn't get any studying done..."
"Mmm... It's too annoying! Do it for me!" Sakurako pouted.
"Shut up! No one can study for you! You have to do it yourself. If you don't understand something you can ask me for help." Himawari retorted. Sakurako studied Himawari for a quick second. After reading that diary, she almost expected Himawari to act differently, but she still had that same frown on while talking to her.
"Hey Himawari?" Sakurako asked softly.
"Hmm?" Himawari distantly replied, currently absorbed in a novel.
"I'll go to whatever school you go to. So that you can keep giving me answers. Alright?" Sakurako gave a reassuring smile.
"First off, I've never 'given' you answers and I'm never going to. Second, you won't be able to go to the same school as me at this rate anyway." Himawari replied coldly, still reading her book.
"Urk!" Sakurako let out a funny noise. What the heck? It didn't phase her at all! In fact I think I'm the one who was affected the most. Why is my heart beating so hard? Dammit! The Himawari writing the diary must be an imposter!
As Sakurako actually took a glance at her textbook for the first time, she realized Himawari might actually have a point. She wasn't understanding anything in here and Himawari said this was sure to be on the entrance exams.
"Umm... I think I might need some help" Sakurako voiced.
Sakurako had trouble waking up the next morning. When she went to bed she thought about the diary entry she had read and the funny feeling returned to her chest. It kept her up for a while. Now however, the next day, the effect was starting to wear off.
Sakurako knew it was wrong, but she had to have another look at that diary; she had already become addicted to the feeling it gave her.
"So I've started considering studying seriously, so I'll come over to your house today." Sakurako said on her and Himawari's walk to school that morning.
"Fine, but you had better actually study this time" Himawari said strictly.
"Yeah, yeah, I will" Sakurako assured.
The two girls got to school and were met by Akari and Chinatsu on the way there. Chinatsu kept talking about Funami-san and how excited she was to see her. Sakurako did not understand her. How could she be that obsessed over a friend?
The day seemed to drag on and all Sakurako could think about was reading more of that diary. She couldn't comprehend why she was so excited just to read a book, but she really wanted to.
Finally, once school was over, Sakurako and Himawari made their way to the Furutani house. Sakurako was really anxious to read the diary, but knew she had to time everything right. She waited for Himawari to go make tea, as she usually did. Sakurako found the book under the pillows with ease.
"Himawari! I'm going to use the toilet!" She shouted. Sakurako excitedly made her way to the washroom and then opened the book to the latest entry.
February 11th
Sakurako said she wanted to go to the same school as me, at least in her own sort of way. It made me so happy I just wanted to hug her right there!
Sakurako's eyes felt like they might pop out of her skull. She couldn't believe what she was reading. Himawari certainly didn't seem to be happy when Sakurako had said that. Did Himawari actually still think of her the way she did when they were friends? Sakurako felt very confused, but the strange feeling in her chest was back. Sakurako flipped through the pages.
January 27th
Today Sakurako was fooling around with a paper air plane she made. When I confiscated it Sakurako leaned against me to try and get it back. She was so close and she smelled so sweet. I almost lost myself there. It felt so good!
Now the feeling in Sakurako's chest was very prevalent. It seemed like all the diary entries were about her. What's more is that they all seemed to be very affectionate. Was Himawari actually writing this? It was hard for Sakurako to believe. She had to test it somehow.
"Hey Sakurako! Are you alright in there? You've been in there for a while!" Himawari shouted behind the door.
"Uh, yeah! Just a second!" Sakurako shouted back, too flustered to be angry. Sakurako flushed the toilet a few times and then washed her hands. Sakurako walked towards the door and then stopped. She hadn't thought at all about what to do once she exited the washroom. How was she going to hide the diary from Himawari?
Sakurako stepped out of the room, holding the book behind her back. She walked into Himawari's room making sure to face Himawari at all times as she made her way to Himawari's bed.
"What are you holding?" Himawari asked.
"NOTHING!" Sakurako shouted a bit suspiciously. She shoved the book into her panties and held up her hands for Himawari to see.
"Why are you acting so weird?" Himawari questioned, still a bit wary.
"I don't know what you're talking about..." Sakurako stalled as she finally reached the bed and shoved the book beneath the pillow.
"Whatever..."Himawari said as she rolled her eyes. Sakurako felt herself exhale a silent breath of relief. That had been really close. She was actually quite surprised that she managed to get away with it. There was still something that was bugging Sakurako though.
"Hey Himawari" Sakurako grabbed her friend's attention.
"What is it?" Himawari sighed. Sakurako started to crawl over to Himawari's spot.
"How do I smell?" she asked in a soft voice as she pressed her chest up against Himawari's. Their faces were inches apart and Sakurako had the strange feeling in her chest more intensely than ever before. Sakurako noticed that Himawari's face was completely red and she imagined that her face must be doing the same thing.
It was quite embarrassing and uncomfortable and yet, at the same time it felt wonderful. Sakurako had no idea why she was doing this, but at this point she didn't really care anymore.
"Wh-why do you want to know?" Himawari stuttered defensively.
"Go ahead and smell me to your heart's content" Sakurako rambled, embarrassing herself even further.
"S-stop it! Geez, quit fooling around! You promised you would study for real!" Himawari shouted as she pushed Sakurako away from her. Ah, fooling around. Yes that's what it was. I was making fun of Himawari. Thought Sakurako as she came to a conclusion that seemed to explain her odd behaviour. Then that feeling in my chest, it must have been from having so much fun... Sakurako decided.
"If you don't get serious about studying today I'm not having you over again!" Himawari nagged.
"Okay, fine" Sakurako submitted as she surprised everyone and actually opened her book.
Sakurako found herself in the same situation a few days later. To avoid suspicion she had to have Himawari over at her house every once in a while, but now Sakurako finally had the diary in her hands again, as she was currently 'studying' at Himawari's house.
This time however, Sakurako was more prepared. She planned to hide the diary in the washroom after she finished reading it and then come back for it at a more opportunistic time. Eager to begin, Sakurako hastily opened the pages.
February 16th
Today was a quiet day. I went over to Sakurako's house today, but she seemed a bit calmer today. She actually seems to be learning the material, although she's a bit slow. I think she might be able to make it to the same school as me if she keeps this up, but maybe it's just wishful thinking. Oh yeah, this might just be more wishful thinking, but I think Nadeshiko-san might actually support me,
Support her in what? Sakurako wondered before she continued reading.
Well not that she knows, but I think she at least approves of it.
Of What?!
Especially since it seems like she has a girlfriend herself.
Sakurako felt so confused. Of course onee-chan had a girl friend. She has lots of girl friends. Sakurako decided to check out the entry on the last day she had visited Himawari's house.
February 12th
Sakurako was acting really weird today. Not that I minded; I got a free hug out of it. I wish we could have stayed like that longer, but I was too embarrassed to, plus I can't act even a bit obvious for even a second. I have no idea how Sakurako would react if she found out.
Found out what?! Sakurako felt like she was going to go crazy! This diary was being so vague. Following common logic, which surprisingly enough, Sakurako did have, she assumed that there might be some answers at the beginning of the diary, before Himawari became so used to writing in it.
Sakurako flipped to the very first page of the diary and although it was not anywhere near what she was expecting, it was a Jackpot all the same. The date seemed to be from quite a few years ago.
October 22th
I've been struggling with my feelings for a while. I feel like there is no one who will understand me and I have no one to talk to about this. It's starting to feel like it's too much, so I'm starting this journal in hopes that it will help me vent my love for Sakurako. I'm just too in love with her to bear it.
Sakurako read the last line a few times over to make sure she read it right. All of her questions had just been answered, but Sakurako felt more confused than ever.