"Well then, what do you want, Miku?"

"Umm..." Miku pondered as she settled down on a bench in the shade. "Matcha milk tea, I guess"

"Got it, leave it to me!" Hibiki answered with a sharp salute and enthusiastically ran to a nearby drink stall.

The black hair girl couldn't help but crack a bitter smile watching her girlfriend retreating form. Mid-term was approaching and yet, here they were, having a date in an amusement park. While she was wondering whether this was a good idea or not, something fluffy entered her field of vision.

"Hm? A dog?"

Returning with two cups of drink in her hands, Hibiki happily called out "Mikuu, I'm ba-woah!?"

"Woof!" a golden fluff ball suddenly jumped out in front of the brunette. After successfully using a martial arts technique to prevent the drinks from spilling over while avoiding the creature at the same time, Hibiki stared blankly at what appeared to be an overly excited dog running around in front of her.

"Hey, now, calm down"

As a familiar voice reached her ears, she looked up and saw Miku approaching the little dog.

"Good boy, good boy"

When the black hair girl started gently petting his head, the golden dog closed his eyes and waged his tail happily. For some odd reason, Hibiki felt a bit pissed off watching that scene. Her girlfriend was all focused on that little one while she was standing right there. After a good 10 seconds, Miku finally noticed her presence.

"Mm? Ah, Hibiki, welcome back"

"Y-yeah, I'm back" The gear user stumbled to make a proper reply "Here, your drink"

"Thanks" Miku stood up to accept the cup.

Hibiki glanced down to the dog snuggling against her girlfriend's leg and asked

"Where did this dog come from?"

"An old lady asked me to look after him for a bit after you left. She needed to go to the restroom."

"Heeh"

"Isn't he cute?"

"Yeah, cute" Hibiki answered with a disheartened tone while sipping on her own tea. Of course, her strange attitude didn't go by unnoticed.

"What's wrong, Hibiki? Are you angry?"

"I'm not angry"

"Yes, you are"

"I'm not!"

"I see, then..." the black hair girl extended her left hand.

"Wah, Miku, what are you-!?"

"Good girl, good girl"

Looking at Miku's bright smile and feeling the gentle brushes on her hair, Hibiki could feel the irrational anger in her heart melting away while her face heating up for various reasons.

10 minutes had passed since Hibiki's little tantrum, the owner of the dog still hadn't come back.

"You sure like dogs huh, Miku" Hibiki made a dry comment as she uninterestedly watched Miku petting the little dog on her lap. She didn't feel angry anymore but that didn't mean she dislikes the sight any less. Miku's lap, no, everything about Miku was supposed to be hers and hers alone.

"Don't you like dogs too, Hibiki?"

"I guess I do, but..." The grumbling girl trailed off.

"...Still jealous?"

"Wha!?"

Miku chuckled at Hibiki's reaction, she was too easy to read. "Should I pet you again?"

After a moment of reluctant, the brunette muttered out a small "Yes" and lowered her head in anticipation.

"There, there" Miku never told her this but she had always loved how fluffy and soft Hibiki's hair were. "You're good girl, Hibiki"

"..."

Ah, she's blushing. Even though her face was hidden, Miku could easily tell just how embarrassed yet happy her girlfriend was from the look of her reddened ears. How cute.

"Thank you very much for looking after my boy"

"You're welcome, I had fun playing with her, too"

"..."

While trying (and failing) to fix her new crazy hairstyle, Hibiki watched the chat between Miku and the dog's owner from afar.

Yes, at last! The brunette pumped her fist up when she saw the dog jumped back to his owner's awaiting arms. As soon as she realized what she was doing, though, a sense of shame came over am I doing? Getting overly jealous of a dog like this? Still, she couldn't help but crack up a smile knowing that Miku was once again all hers and hers alone.

"Sorry for making you wait, Hibiki"

"It's fine, totally fine!"

"…There"

"Uweeeee!?" Hibiki shrieked as Miku suddenly poked the side of her stomach.

"Don't scream like that!

"B-but... If you do that then..."

"It's your fault for wearing such a creepy grin"

"Eh? Did I?"

"Yes, you did"

"Ah, ahaha... Well, putting that aside, let's continue with our date!"

Hibiki excitedly grabbed her girlfriend's right hand.

"Um?" Feeling the odd sensation, Hibiki looked down and realized that Miku was holding something. "What's that?"

Miku held up what she was holding for Hibiki to see.

"A discount ticket?"

"Yeah, the old lady just gave it to me as thanks"

It was a 20% discount ticket for any single good purchased in a certain pet shop.

"But we don't have any pet"

"Well, she kept insisting and I couldn't turn her down"

"Hm, I guess we could give it to..."

The conversation went on as the two continued with their little date.

Few weeks later, mid-term had come and gone. Somehow or other, Hibiki had miraculously managed to not fail any of her subjects. The same could not be said for a certain kouhai of hers, though.

"Ah... I'm booored"

Hibiki groaned as she rolled around on the floor with a black bird plush in her arms. It was a late Friday afternoon, her only class that day was cancelled because of a staff meeting. But since Miku still had her piano practice, Hibiki was stuck at home alone. Being in different departments was suffering.

Is this room always this big? Hibiki wondered as she stared up at the ceiling. Since morning, she had tried to keep herself busy with various things like working out, doing laundry, cleaning up their already clean room, etc. Nevertheless, no matter what she did, the lonely feeling in her heart just wouldn't go away.

Miku... Is this how you always feel when I'm away? It had always been like that, ever since they came to Lydian, Hibiki had always been the one busying outside, even on the rare chance when she was on the waiting side, it never last for more than a few hours. As she came to understand even for just a tiny bit of the feeling she had always made Miku felt, Hibiki's heart was stung with guilt yet all she could do was clutching the plush in her arms close.

"Miku..."

Just as the word left her mouth, the sound of a door being opened reached her ears.

"I'm home"

"...!"

"Miku!"

"Kyaa!? Wh-what's wrong, Hibiki?"

Miku cried out in surprise, never once did she ever expect to be jumped on by her girlfriend right at the door like this.

"Welcome home, Miku!"

Before she was able to recover from the shock, a bright smile, a smile as bright as the sun beamed at her.

"...Yeah, I'm home"

After a good 5 minutes of cuddling in front of the door, with much effort, Miku finally succeeded in prying Hibiki off herself and went to change her clothes. When she returned to the living room, Hibiki greeted her with a nice cup of hot tea.

"Here, Miku, be careful"

"Thanks"

Miku accepted the cup and settled down besides Hibiki. For some reason, her girlfriend felt a bit sweeter today. Did she do something wrong again?Well, it's probably not a big deal anyway. Miku set her suspicion aside, right now, she had other plan.

"Right, Hibiki"

"Um?"

"I have something for you" Miku took out a little box from her bag and handed it to Hibiki.

Staring intensely at the box in her hands, hundreds of questions started popping up in Hibiki's ? What day is today again? It's not my birthday for sure. A holiday? It's way past new year now and it's not Valentine yet. Then an anniversary? Hibiki was practically sweating now, once again, she was about to disappoint Miku.

"...Sorry! I've no idea what day is it today, I..." Her voice was cracking.

"Huh? No no, you got it all wrong, Hibiki. I just bought that on a whim on the way home"

"...Eh? On a whim?"

"Yeah, so you don't have to apologize"

"I see..." the brunette let out a relief sigh then smiled "Can I open it now?"

"Sure"

"Well then..." Carefully, Hibiki unwrapped the box, her heart was beating in excitement. The moment she saw what was inside, thought, her heart felt like it had stopped dead.

"..."

"..."

1… 2… 3… 4… 5 seconds later "Um... Miku, is this... a dog collar?

"Yes"

"..."

"..."

Silence again. Picking up her present, Hibiki was not really sure how to react. It was a simple leather orange collar with a small Fortissimo pendant. It's cute but... Hibiki thought as she looked at the side where a small blank ID tag attached. Hibiki was happy that Miku gave her something but …this is heavy. Once again, Hibiki was reminded of the weight of her girlfriend's feeling.

The instant Miku saw Hibiki's furrowed brow, she knew that things had gone astray. She really had only bought that collar on a whim, but it looked like Hibiki had other ideas. Now that she thought about it, would a normal person give their lover a dog collar for present? For now, she needed to clarify her intention.

"Um, Hibiki, do you remember the discount ticket that old lady gave me the other day?"

The brunette nodded.

"I happened to pass by that pet shop on the way home and... Well, this collar was on displayed and I thought it was cute... The staff there said it'd look good on dog with bright color hair and well, you know... when I thought about a dog with fluffy bright color hair..." No good, rather than clearing things up, it felt like she had just dug herself a bigger hole. While Miku was struggling to come up with a better explanation, Hibiki finally decided to say something.

"Miku" Smiling softly, Hibiki touched the blank ID tag with her thumb.

"Shouldn't you get this engraved first before giving it to me?"

"...Eh?"

"Let's get it done tomorrow, shall we?"

Slowly, the meanings behind Hibiki's words dawned on Miku "...Yeah, let's!"

Even though she couldn't clear up the misunderstanding, the black hair girl was happy that her girlfriend had accepted her present. Now, she found herself trembling in weird excitement as she struggled to put the collar on her Hibiki's slender neck.

"…Okay, done"

"Hm... so how do I look? Does it suit me?"

"Yes, it looks good on you, maybe even better than in my imagination"

"Really?"

"Really"

"Thank you, Miku" Hibiki smiled warmly. Just a few minutes ago, she had thought that the collar was too heavy yet right now, the weight around her neck felt oddly pleasant.

"Me too, Hibiki. Thanks for accepting my weir-kyaa!"

Once again, Miku found herself being pushed down by her big dog.

"I swear, Miku" Hibiki tightened her arms around Miku's back hugging her closer. "I swear that I'll always return to your side as soon as possible no matter what happens. And if you're the one going away then I'll wait for you to come back no matter how long it takes"

"Hibiki..." A slight blush found its way to the black hair girl's cheeks.

"No, wait... I don't think have that much patience"

"Eh?"

Chuckling lightly, Hibiki put her forehead against Miku's and continued "That is to say, if you take too long to come back I'll go to your place instead"

"Geez..." Miku's face was practically a tomato now "That's foul-play..."

"Woof!"

"...Idiot" Miku muttered and closed up the few remaining centimeters between their lips.