Summertime Tomatoes
by rkOujirou

Author's note: This story takes place a few days after the Comuket in Season 2, Episode 6.

Disclaimer: Yuru Yuri is not my idea and I don't own it or any of the characters, obviously.

"Let's see, I took the sine of this, and the tangent of this..."

In the late morning hours of a warm, sunny day in Takaoka, Ayano Sugiura sat in her room, diligently looking over part of the mathematics portion of her summer homework that she had long since finished. It was the same thing she'd been doing for all too much of the last three days. It wasn't exactly the most exciting way to spend her summer afternoons, but it was at least a productive activity. That, and, more importantly, it did a fine job of keeping her mind occupied. There were certain recent events that she was eager to forget, and the less she was able to think about them, the better.

*knock, knock*

Hearing a knocking at her door, Ayano set down her pencil and turned toward the entrance to her room. "Come in."

The door opened, and in walked a familiar, light-haired girl with a warm smile on her face. "Hello, Ayano-chan," she waved.

"Chitose?" Ayano batted her eyes at her friend. This was strange; she hadn't been expecting any guests. "Ah, sorry. I didn't hear the doorbell ring."

"That's because I didn't have to use it. I actually ran into your mother just as she was leaving, so she let me in," Chitose explained, shutting the door behind her.

"Oh, I see," Ayano breathed a sigh of relief. Focusing on her studies was good, but she didn't want to be so focused that she'd ignore the doorbell and leave Chitose sitting outside forever. "What brings you here? You never mentioned you were coming over."

Chitose took a seat on the bed near Ayano's desk. "Ahaha, I'm sorry," she laughed. "You sounded a little down when I talked to you on the phone yesterday, so I thought I should drop by and check in on you."

Ayano paled at her friend's observation. Was she that obvious? "Down? I'm not down at all!" she perked up, trying to deny the current state of her mood. "Nope, not me. I'm happy as can be."

"Really?" Chitose tilted her head. "That's good. Maybe I was just imagining it," she said, although not entirely convinced that Ayano was telling the truth. "Oh, I'm sorry I didn't call you until yesterday. I've been so wrapped up in reading the lovely things I brought back from Comuket that I just couldn't pull myself away from it all."

The word "Comuket" was like an arrow to the heart of Ayano, whose body began to droop the instant she heard it. All of the effort to keep it off her mind had just been wiped out.

"Ayano-chan?" Chitose noticed the change in her friend's demeanor. "Are you still disappointed that Toshinou-san didn't ask you to come along?"

Ayano jolted upright. "N-not at all! Like I'd want to go through that again!" she folded her arms, adamantly refuting the idea.

Despite the girl's response, Chitose could tell it was still bothering her. "You really shouldn't think too much of it," she insisted. "They were probably just being considerate and didn't want to trouble you again."

Not feeling any better than she had before, Ayano leaned forward and plopped her forehead down onto her notebook. Chitose had a knack for seeing right through her that could be frustrating at times. "Ugh. Really, I should have just told Toshinou Kyouko that I wanted to go," she thought to herself. "Why can't I ever be honest?"

Any further pondering from Ayano would have to wait, however, as her phone suddenly began to ring. "Sorry, just a minute," she told Chitose, picking up the phone and bringing it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hey, Ayano! It's me," a female voice on the other end announced.

Ayano's eyes opened wide with surprise. She definitely knew that voice. "T-T-Toshinou Kyouko?" she stuttered. Next to her, Chitose's face lit up with excitement. "Wh-what could you be calling for?"

"Are you busy?" Kyouko asked.

"Am I...busy?" Ayano repeated the question. Unsure what to say, she looked to her friend for advice.

Chitose had already moved into action, quickly whipping out a pen and notepad from her handbag. After hastily scribbling something down, she held up the piece of paper, which read, "SAY YOU'RE NOT!"

"Erm...not really," Ayano replied into the phone, following Chitose's instructions. "Why?"

"Oh, good! I need your help. Can you come over?" Kyouko inquired.

"C-come over? To your house, you mean?"

"Yeah!"

Over on the bed, Chitose removed her glasses, and the blood began to flow from her left nostril. The talk of Kyouko inviting Ayano over to her place had inspired some lewd thoughts in the mind of the normally well-behaved girl.

Ayano wasn't so quick to agree in assisting the founder of the Amusement Club, though. "Wh-why don't you have Funami-san help you? Or Akaza-san? Or Yoshikawa-san?"

"No, no, they won't do! You're the only one who can help me with this!" Kyouko emphatically told her. "Please, Ayano? I need you!"

After hearing those particular words, Ayano's cheeks began to flush. "I'm...the only one who can help? Y-...you need me?"

Chitose fell even deeper into her fantasy world, and blood began to drip from her right nostril, as well. She could just see it now. Kyouko would look Ayano in the eyes, and say, "I need you, Ayano." Then Ayano would fall into Kyouko's embrace, replying with, "I won't ever leave your side."

"How wonderful," Chitose gushed over the imaginary scene before her.

While Chitose was certainly enjoying herself, Ayano was tongue-tied. This had all come out of nowhere; she wasn't prepared for it at all. Looking for some guidance on how to answer, she again turned to her friend.

Chitose slipped her glasses back on. She was needed! Scribbling something down again in a hurry, she held up a blood-stained paper with only two words: "DO IT!"

Somehow, that was exactly what Ayano was expecting from her fellow Student Council member. "W-well, I suppose I could help you out for a bit, if you really need me to," Ayano answered Kyouko's plea, trying not to sound too thrilled about it.

"Awesome! Thank you, Ayano! You're the best!" an ecstatic Kyouko expressed her gratitude.

A handful of directions to Kyouko's house later, the conversation wrapped up, and Ayano set down the phone. She looked back over to Chitose, still trying to digest what was going on. "Toshinou Kyouko...invited me over."

"That's great, Ayano-chan!" Chitose congratulated her. "You should hurry up and get going!"

"B-but..."

"Hmm?"

Ayano looked down, embarrassed, and started twiddling her fingers. "Umm...what...should I wear, do you think?"

Chitose couldn't help giggling at the sight of her flustered friend. "You're so cute."

A little over an hour after the phone call, Ayano found herself standing outside the very home where Toshinou Kyouko lived. The attire she'd settled on consisted of black stockings and a red, plaid dress, which she was taking care to straighten out before she dared let the other girl know that she was there. "Chitose said this looked good, so it should be fine," she assured herself.

Her dress was in order. Now, it was time to inform Kyouko of her arrival. Slowly, nervously, Ayano reached out to push the doorbell...and then stopped. Her hair! She needed to make sure it wasn't a mess! Ayano swiftly pulled a compact mirror out from her handbag and did some rearranging as was necessary. Then, once satisfied that her hair, too, was in good shape, she reached for the doorbell one more time. Then gulped. Then stopped, again.

"What am I so nervous about?" Ayano inwardly chided herself. "Toshinou Kyouko wanted my help with something, that's all. It's not like this is a d-d-d-date or anything." Even though she tried to tell herself that, the very consideration made her blush. "It's not!"

Ayano took a deep breath, letting her nerves settle a bit, and then reached for the doorbell a third time. This time she would do it, for sure! Before she could even get close enough to hit it, though, the door suddenly swung open, scaring her half to death.

"Oh, Ayano! You're here!" a cheerful, blonde girl beamed from the doorway.

"T-T-Toshinou Kyo-" Ayano started to say her classmate's name, but was interrupted as Kyouko grabbed her by the hand and yanked her inside. "Uwah!"

Kyouko brought Ayano in and slammed the door closed behind them. "Let's go, let's go!" she happily sang.

With Kyouko continuing to lead her in, Ayano slipped off her shoes in a hurry. "H-hold on! You don't have to pull me!" she protested. "Hey!"

The complaint fell on deaf ears. Kyouko dragged Ayano all the way up the stairs and into her room, where Ayano got her first look at the other girl's personal quarters.

"This is...Toshinou Kyouko's room..." Ayano took in the sight of the living space. Overall, it was fairly normal considering who inhabited it. There were a few Mirakurun posters here and there, some action figures and doujinshi, and a couple of cosplay outfits in view, but it wasn't quite the wall-to-wall homage to Mirakurun that Ayano wondered if she might see.

"Okay, Ayano," Kyouko addressed her, ready to get down to the business at hand, "...take off your clothes."

A blank expression washed over Ayano's face. Did she hear what she thought she'd just heard? "H-huh?"

"Take off your clothes," Kyouko repeated herself, sounding staggeringly nonchalant considering the request.

"Wh-wh-wh-what are you saying, Toshinou Kyouko?" Ayano stepped back, covering herself up with her arms. "Just what did you ask me to come here for?"

There was more to Kyouko's request than just that, of course. Grabbing something off of her bed, she walked over to Ayano with a stack of clothes in her hands—a stack of clothes that included a pointy, purple hat on top. "And change into this, please!" she added to her original statement, noticeably excited.

Ayano took a close look at the assortment of clothing. She felt as though she'd seen it somewhere before. "Wh-...what is this?"

"It's the Rivalrun outfit you wore before!" Kyouko reminded her, helping Ayano to remember it perfectly as the very thing Kyouko had her put on at last year's Comuket. "See, I've been really fired up ever since I got back from Comuket! I've been drawing a lot, and I wanted to draw Rivalrun in some new poses, but I needed someone to model as her to make sure I got it right. That's why I asked you to help."

Raising her head, Ayano turned an annoyed glare on her classmate. "You asked me to come here for something like that?"

"Mhmm!" Kyouko gleefully nodded.

"I can't believe you!" Ayano snapped at her. "You said I was the only one who could help!"

"Huh? You are," Kyouko blinked, not understanding where Ayano's disgruntlement was coming from.

"Then explain to me how Funami-san couldn't do this," Ayano demanded, crossing her arms.

"Well...Yui's busy today, and I don't think she would agree to it, anyway," Kyouko gave a nervous laugh.

"And Yoshikawa-san?" Ayano prodded her further.

Kyouko threw up an "X" sign with her arms. "No! Chinatsu-chan can only be Mirakurun!" she firmly declared.

"Akaza-san, then?" Ayano eyed her sharply.

"No presence!" Kyouko responded without hesitation, to which Ayano emitted a light growl at her. "I wasn't kidding when I said you were the only one who could help! To get the best results, I need the best model, and no one would look as cute as you did in Rivalrun's outfit."

With that one effective word, Ayano's entire mood changed, as did the complexion of her cheeks. "Cute?" she squeaked in a high-pitched voice.

Kyouko dropped down to her knees before the other girl, eyes sparkling, and locked her hands in a begging position. "Please, Ayano? Model for me?"

The look on Ayano's face gave away just how torn she was right now. She really wasn't sure what she should do. On one hand, she wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of wearing that cosplay outfit again. But, on the other hand, Kyouko really did seem to want her, and not anyone else, to do it. The girl was even on her knees pleading for her help. If she really needed her this badly, then...

"I...I guess I could...for a little bit, that is," Ayano turned away, embarrassed. "But just this once!"

"Hooray!" Kyouko sprung to her feet, throwing her hands in the air as she danced around with joy. She had her perfect model, and she was going to use the opportunity to the fullest.

Ayano was glad to see Kyouko happy, but she was already dreading what she might be getting herself into. "L-leave the room for a bit while I get changed," she ordered the doujinshi artist.

"Hmm? Why?"

"Just do it!"

Ayano got her way in the end, forcing Kyouko out of the room while she put on the Rivalrun garb, which also included a magic wand this time around. Here she'd been worried about what to wear over to Kyouko's house, and she ended up having to put something else on as soon as she got here. That was her typical luck.

Shortly after Ayano had fully donned the cosplay outfit, a knock came at the door. "Are you ready?" Kyouko asked, loud enough that it could be heard through the wood.

"Y-yeah, come in," Ayano nervously responded.

Kyouko re-entered her room, where the pleasant sight of Ayano dressed as Rivalrun for the first time in over a year awaited her. "It's perfect! Just like I remember!" she squealed.

Ayano couldn't believe she was wearing it again—this bizarre outfit that left her midriff entirely exposed, complete with some strange-looking purple pants, an equally strange hat, white sleeves that were detached from everything else, and a black bikini top that left less to the imagination than she would've liked. At least there was only one person around to see her this time as opposed to the countless doujinshi-seekers at Comuket, she figured.

As part of her preparation, Kyouko dragged a small table out into an open area of the floor and set her drawing pad on it. "Alright, that should work. Ayano, stand right over there," she pointed to a spot in front of her computer desk. Ayano did so, and now came the instructions for the first pose. "Okay! First, cross your right foot over your left."

"Like this?" Ayano asked, moving her one foot over the other.

"Just like that," Kyouko gave her a thumbs-up. "Now, lock your hands behind your head so that your elbows are sticking straight out to either side, and look a little bit to your right."

Ayano did as directed, but somehow, this position—which left her chest sticking out—seemed a little...provocative. "H-hey, what's with this pose?"

"Oh, this is actually for a really great part of my next book," Kyouko explained. "You see, Ganbo, on Rivalrun's behalf, challenges Mirakurun to a pose-off! And then..."

Following two solid minutes of holding her pose while listening to Kyouko drone on about plots to take over the planet and the like, Ayano was finally ready to give in. "Forget it. Forget I ever asked," she cut the other girl off. "Is there anything else?"

Rubbing her chin as she checked over Ayano's pose, Kyouko opted to stand up and move in closer to get a better look. "Hmm...your tummy should stand out a little more, I think," she suggested. She placed one hand against Ayano's lower back and the other against her stomach, then shifted them forward so that Ayano's abdomen jutted out.

"Hieee!" Ayano gasped, shivering as she felt Kyouko's hands against her skin.

Her interest piqued by the amusing sound Ayano had made, Kyouko gave her a sly look. "What? Are you ticklish?"

"N-no, I'm not!" Ayano insisted, still maintaining her pose.

Now a mischievous smirk crossed Kyouko's face. She had to see just how much truth there was to that claim. And so, with her hands still pressed against Ayano's body, she launched an all-out tickle attack. "Coochiecoochiecoochiecoo!"

"Ahahahahaha! Stop! Stop that! Ahahahahaaaaaa!" Ayano started to howl with laughter. She collapsed back onto Kyouko's bed, where the playful assault persisted. "Cut it out! Ahahahahahahaha!"

"No way! Not until you see my full power!" Kyouko grinned.

Finally fed up with the other girl's antics, Ayano took her Rivalrun wand and drove it down onto the top of Kyouko's head, effectively putting a stop to the tickling. "What are you doing?" she huffed, her eyes tearing up from all of the laughing.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch," Kyouko groaned, holding the area on her head where a bump was starting to grow. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself," she snickered.

After all of that, the girls now realized the awkward position they'd both worked their way into. Ayano was laying flat against the bed, and Kyouko was hovering directly over her. As Ayano came to this realization and her face started to turn red, Kyouko decided to have some more fun with her.

"Oh my, you look so delectable sprawled out on my bed like that, Ayano. What ever shall I do with you?" Kyouko teased her.

Ayano felt like she could die from embarrassment. "Wh-what are you thinking, T-Toshinou Kyouko? Hurry up and move!"

"Tch," Kyouko snorted, acting disappointed.

That was all undeniably entertaining for Kyouko, but now it was time for her to get back to work. Helping Ayano back to her feet, she led her into the proper pose again and sat down at her table. Then, the drawing commenced.

For the first couple of minutes, Ayano just looked straight ahead at the wall that her head was facing. Then her curiosity set in. Even though she could hear the strokes of a pencil, she wanted to know if Kyouko was really using her like she'd said she needed to, and thus, Ayano shifted her gaze to the side and shot a glance the artist's way.

Kyouko had stopped drawing for the moment to get another look at her model. She had her eyes focused entirely on Ayano—something the other girl quickly picked up on.

"She's...she's staring at me so closely," Ayano blushed. "This is nerve-wracking! Really, why did I ever agree to help this troublemaker?"

The drawing continued, and while Kyouko worked diligently, repeatedly switching between looking at Ayano and sketching on her pad of paper, Ayano began to notice something. "She looks so serious," she thought, impressed. "I've never seen her this serious about anything before. It's...weird, but it's good to know she can take things seriously when she wants to, I guess."

Before long, Kyouko had finished her work on the first drawing. "Done!" she gave a little fist pump to celebrate. "Okay, Ayano! Time for pose number two!"

The second pose was just as uncomfortable for Ayano as the first, only this time it wasn't so much provocative as it was just plain odd. Kyouko had guided Ayano into a stance where her legs were far apart, her left hand was over her abdomen, and her right arm, which held the wand, was extended up at an angle toward the ceiling. It was almost like part of a stretching routine before physical education class. Nonetheless, Ayano went along with it, and Kyouko began her second sketch of the day.

By the time this drawing got underway, Ayano was growing anxious. She knew she was here to help Kyouko, but so long as she had the chance, there was a certain topic she wanted to clear the air about. "S-so," she began, looking away, "...was Comuket fun?"

"Yeah, it was lots of fun this year!" Kyouko replied while continuing to work. "It was the first time we had the whole Amusement Club there, and Chitose even showed up. That really surprised me!"

"So I heard," Ayano muttered. That Chitose willingly went there on her own had been just as much a surprise to her as it was to Kyouko. "I...umm...I noticed you didn't drag me along to help this year."

Kyouko raised her head to get a good look at Ayano's upper body as she moved on to another part of the sketch. "Oh, yeah. Yui gave me an earful last time for not telling you beforehand what we were going to Tokyo for, and she didn't want me bothering you again," she laughed. "It turned out fine, though. Akari and Chinatsu-chan handled it well. They definitely leveled up!"

After hearing that reply from Kyouko, a sullen look came over Ayano. "It's just like Chitose said. They were just being considerate," she thought. Knowing that actually made her feel worse. She really did have nobody but herself to blame for not tagging along. "Why? Why did I just assume she would try to get me to go again? Why couldn't I just say that I wanted to go with her?"

Picking up on the change in the mood of her model, Kyouko stopped drawing for a second. "Did you...want to go?" she asked.

Ayano snapped back to reality in a hurry. Had Kyouko caught onto her? "N-no way! Of course not! It was such a hassle last year," she claimed, trying to sound as convincing as possible. "It's not like I was waiting by the phone for you to call or anything like that!"

Kyouko let out an inquisitive, "Hmmm," and then appeared to brush the conversation off as she went back to her drawing.

Even though she'd been trying to forget, Ayano could still vividly recall the memory of spending an entire day waiting for that phone call from Kyouko, only to learn that the girl had already gone to and returned from Comuket when she finally got it. There was no way she could tell her classmate about that, though. She'd sound pathetic!

"Okay, done again!" Kyouko proudly announced. "Now, onward with pose number three!"

The third pose once again fell into more of the "odd" category. With her weight put on her back leg, Ayano had her front leg bent at the knee, her right hand on her hip, and her left hand pointing straight up into the air with her head also inclined upward.

Kyouko sat back down at the table. However, there was one quick thing she wanted to do before continuing on with her work. "Oh, Ayano?"

"Hmm?" Ayano turned her head to look at her.

A bright smile appeared on Kyouko's face. "Next year, you're coming with me to Comuket again, so you'd better prepare yourself!"

Ayano was flabbergasted. Kyouko must have noticed her disappointment earlier, after all. But, even so, hearing the blonde-haired girl invite her along to Comuket again made her feel incredibly happy inside. She couldn't let her know how happy she was, though! She couldn't! "H-hah! Deciding such things by yourself, Toshinou Kyouko? W-well, we'll see. I might go if I feel like it," she told her, doing her best to contain her excitement. "I'm definitely not wearing this outfit again, though!"

"Aww, that's such a waste. You'd be the cutest Rivalrun there," Kyouko pouted.

Once more, that word had been thrown out there, and once more, Ayano's cheeks flushed. "Again with the 'cute' thing," she quietly mumbled. "M-maybe I'll think about it, then..."

A while later, after Kyouko had finished drawing Ayano in a fifth pose, she set down her pencil. Her work was complete. "Phew! That's it, Ayano. All finished."

"Finally," Ayano eased out of the final pose. At last, she had the chance to stretch out her body a bit. Holding those poses for so long had made her muscles stiff.

Kyouko looked quite content as she flipped through her newly-done sketches. "This is great! Ayano, come see how they turned out!" she waved her classmate over.

Ayano walked over next to the table, where she got her first look at all of the drawings Kyouko had done of her. None of them had the faces or hair added on, of course, since those of Rivalrun would be different from those of Ayano. Everything that had been drawn, though, was remarkably accurate. Body proportions, clothing positions, everything. "Wow, so all of this was from my poses just now?" she marveled at them.

"Mhmm!" Kyouko nodded. "It's good for artists to use new poses like this. Sometimes others can get lazy, and they use the same poses for characters over and over again. Using more variation like this helps set me apart from those types."

"Wow, she really does take it seriously," Ayano thought, admiring Kyouko's dedication to quality when it came to this. "Now if only she could apply herself just as much in school instead of cramming for tests the night before all the time."

Giddy over her day's achievements, Kyouko stood up, stretched her legs out, and then wrapped an arm around Ayano's shoulder and pulled her into a light hug. "Thanks a ton, Ayano! You were a big help!"

So flustered by the loose embrace was Ayano that she felt like steam was rising from her head. "D-d-don't mention it..." she stuttered, her face turning red again.

Kyouko couldn't help but notice the color of the other girl's cheeks changing. "Hmm? What's up? You're red as a tomato," she blinked. That observation, as it turned out, gave her an idea. "Ah, I know! Ayano, hold your hands out!"

As Kyouko backed away, Ayano, unsure what the other girl was up to, outstretched her hands with her palms facing upward. "L-like this?"

"Closer together," Kyouko insisted, pushing on Ayano's hands a bit so that the distance between them was lessened. "Okay, now close your eyes!"

"Eh? C-close my eyes?" Ayano asked nervously. What in the world was Toshinou Kyouko planning? Ayano wasn't sure, but, with a loud gulp, she caved in and followed the instruction. "O-okay..."

Though her eyes were closed, Ayano could hear Kyouko humming. The tune seemed to move further away, and the sound of someone rummaging through something soon followed. "What's going on? Why would she ask me to close my eyes?" Ayano wondered, her heart starting to race as various images popped into her head. "D-don't tell me she's going to...no! No, she wouldn't do something like that, would she?"

The suspense would end not with one of the visions floating around in Ayano's mind, however, but rather with the feeling of something soft and cottony sitting on her hands.

"There! Open your eyes!" Kyouko told her.

Ayano creaked open her eyelids and looked down, where she found sitting in her hands...a tomato. A big, red, stuffed tomato. "Tomato?" she looked up, narrowing her eyes at Kyouko. "What is this?"

"That's yours, to thank you for helping me!" Kyouko smiled, holding up a second tomato just like the one Ayano had. "I was at the arcade yesterday and saw these two in the crane game. They were so adorable, I just had to have them! I really only need one, though, so you can have the other."

Now seeing the scenario a little differently, Ayano peeked down at the tomato again. "S-so...we'd both have one..."

"Yep!" Kyouko replied. She attempted to gauge Ayano's reaction, but she genuinely couldn't tell whether or not the girl was actually interested in the stuffed toy. "You don't want it?"

Concerned that Kyouko had gotten the wrong idea, Ayano defensively pulled the tomato closer to herself. "Th-that's not it!" she quickly insisted. "I mean...I suppose if this is an extra and you don't need it, I...wouldn't mind taking it. Th-thank you, Toshinou Kyouko."

"Sure thing!" Kyouko flashed her a bright look, glad that Ayano liked her gift. "I hope I didn't take you away from anything important today."

"Eh? No, not really. I was just looking over my summer homework when you called," Ayano assured her—a line which Kyouko, for some reason, blanched at. "Wh-what is it?"

"The homework! I was so caught up in getting ready for Comuket that I forgot all about it!" Kyouko fretted.

"Seriously?" Ayano chided her.

"Ayano, show me your answers! You're the only one who can help me!"

"Huh? No way!"

"...Please?"

"Not a chance!"

Elsewhere, over at the Ikeda household, Chizuru had just gotten home from the library when she picked up on signs that her sister was in the bath. She quickly got undressed, prepared to offer her back-scrubbing services, as usual. When she slid open the door to the bath, she did, indeed, find Chitose soaking in the water. "Nee-san?"

One small detail now popped out at Chizuru: the bath water had a reddish color to it.

Chitose, aware of her sister's presence, spun her head around to look at her. There was a constant stream of blood dripping from her nose down into the bath, as well as an immensely pleasured expression on her face. "Oh, Chizuru?"

"N-Nee-san! What happened?" Chizuru asked in a panic.

"Today...was a great day," Chitose beamed. Then, feeling anemic from the blood loss, she slowly sunk down beneath the water's surface.

"Wahh!" Chizuru cried, rushing over to pull her out. "Nee-san, hang in there!"

That night, after Ayano had finished a bath of her own, she plopped down onto her bed in her pajamas. What a day it had been. She didn't think she'd ever have to wear that Rivalrun cosplay outfit again, and she wasn't much more fond of it this time around than she was the first. She did get to spend some time with Toshinou Kyouko, though, and despite donning the weird cosplay attire once more, she actually had fun when all was said and done. She'd gained some peace of mind that she didn't have when the day began, too.

Peace of mind, and one other thing.

Ayano tilted her head up toward her pillow, where a big, stuffed tomato sat. "A tomato. Honestly," she sighed. Reaching out, she poked the tomato once with her finger, making it wobble a bit. Feeling compelled to go further, she then grabbed hold of it, brought it close, and squeezed it tightly to her chest with both arms. "I guess everything turned out okay."

She brought the tomato up by her nose and smelled it. It had Kyouko's scent. Blushing as she recognized the aroma, Ayano, her heart aflutter, started rolling around on her bed with the stuffed object in her grasp. "I'm just doing this because I feel like it, Toshinou Kyouko!" she declared, just in case the girl was somehow watching. "I'm really not happy or anything!"

Maybe she could get used to the tomato. Maybe.

The End