Ready, Steady… Confess!

Golden light trickled through the bedroom window as the sun slowly approached the horizon of Nagano's mountains. It still wouldn't be sunset for another two hours or so, but the sky was already dazzling in anticipation of it.

Miyami ran down her mental checklist as she brushed her hair in the mirror, scrutinizing every aspect of her appearance nearly as much as she'd been studying the steps of her plan.

Her long hair was perfectly straight, falling like soft, silky drapes that framed her delicate features and provided security to half her face before being pulled back into an unfamiliar ponytail. She'd moisturized her skin and fumbled with the lightest of makeup. And her outfit was fresh, clean, and breathable.

Yep. Everything was in order. All systems were a go for this evening's main mission:

♡Confession!♡

She thumped her chest, channeling the upbeat confidence she'd been getting progressively better at tapping into recently, and inhaled to puff herself up even further.

She'd spent the entirety of yesterday and the better part of today buffing herself and prepping for this fateful encounter.

Her fingers performed a drum roll on the dresser top as chibi Hinoka emerged from her headspace, bringing along a floating presentation to organize the situation.

• • • • • • • • ✧MISSION GOALS✧ • • • • • • • •

⊳ Primary: Present Hinoka with admission of romantic feelings; ensure she has both a safe and a great time!
• Secondary: Be confident, brave, and cute while doing so!

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Miyami nodded to herself. Yep, crystal clear, just as she'd settled on.

Despite how straightforward the objects were, it'd been rather challenging to figure out how to approach them.

Her earlier plans had regrettably not made the cut. Confessing to her in the safety of the apartment was her first idea, perhaps after making a nice dinner or something else. However, every iteration that originated from that was voided by Hinoka's recent restlessness.

Miyami had noticed it in small ways the first couple of days they'd locked themselves inside; the athletic girl would do little exercises like pushups, stretches, and the like in regular intervals. In the past two days though, it'd gotten way worse. Despite how much she could see Hinoka had been trying to adapt to her shut-in ways, there was only so much she could hold back. She was starting to go crazy.

That was why the final plan had turned out the way it did.

Miyami folded her arms to resemble some sort of scheming daimyo as the artificial breeze of her room's AC fluttered her hair.

After several hours of brainstorming, she'd finally settled on a simple but hopefully effective strategy of attack. The main gist was to take the usually-ponytailed goddess on an excursion to the nearby park, where she'd show off a light homemade meal and cool refreshments she'd prepared in advance.

Once they'd eaten, she would pop the confession event at a popular, but typically not that crowded, overlook in the park that gave a beautiful view of the city. There, she'd give Hinoka the dialogue option, and then regardless of the outcome, they could safely return to the apartment together before night fell.

It was a solid and simple operation. One that Miyami confidently felt could solve both Hinoka's exercise urge and a confession in a single fell swoop.

However, the real challenge was going to be executing it.

"…" Miyami gave a resolute nod to chibi Hinoka, and she saluted back, turning the presentation to the last part.

• • • • • • • • ✕ MISSION HAZARD ✕ • • • • • • • •

⊳ THREAT: Stalker
BASIC INFO: Shirahata [Given Name Not Important]. Mid-Twenties. Very Mean.
DANGER RATING: Unknown (Likely High)
STATUS: Unknown
LOCATION: Outskirts of Nagashiro (Likely)
MITIGATIONS: Monitoring, PI on Speed Dial, Tactical Flashlight, Personal Alarm

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

The dark-haired girl's resolution flinched slightly as she took in the details, but her nerves calmed when she remembered the precautions she'd taken.

Her uncle had kept them updated on the PI's progress. The detective had apparently tracked down the stalker to a small house in the city outskirts. He'd confirmed the guy had been passing the shop and Hinoka's apartment building constantly, but other than likely being a bit frustrated he hadn't seen the ponytailed woman for a while, the creep had made no major moves yet.

She'd run her general plan—excluding the confession bit, of course—past her uncle and the detective over message yesterday. Admittedly, it was a little of a hard sell, but they agreed to the idea once it came to light that Hinoka had resorted to running laps around the living room for an hour straight and had upset the downstairs neighbor.

As long as she and Hinoka were careful, and the PI was able to keep tabs on where their stalker was during the operation, it was a go.

Kaitoji had even volunteered to be on standby in case anything happened.

Now? The only remaining thing to do was to tell the target of her affections that they were all ready. She was probably getting antsy.

Miyami turned to her bedroom door and stared at it as if it were a mighty fortress gate.

'You got this my penguin princess!' The chibi cheered her on. 'Just remember: be brave, be confident, and most of all, be yourself! You can do this!'

Miyami clutched her hands together as the now much more supportive version of Hinoka pumped her up.

'Yes. I got this,' she echoed, donning her 'serious-mode' face.

*slide*

She pulled open the door and stepped out of the room with a dramatic flourish, her hair surging behind her as a result of the air pressure change.

"…" Miyami paused to soak in her glory. Then…

*scoot*

*shuffle-shuffle*

She scuttled down the wooden hallway.

***

Hinoka's legs vibrated with frustration as she stared at the cute figurines in Miyami's living room.

A week and a half of staying indoors, cooped up like a cat in a cage, had been driving her up the wall. No real jogging. No real running. No natural breeze through her hair.

She'd thought that she would've been fine—after all, how hard could being lazy be? However, the afternoon after Miyami's strangely cryptic text, her fit freakness had reared its ugly head and started to drown out nearly every other sensation. Stationary exercises had NOT been enough to satiate her needs.

She needed to feel the wind. She needed the sun on her skin. And most importantly, she wanted to go outside. To feel free.

Miyami had been more than understanding and accommodating about the situation, bless her. She'd apparently ran through the soul-crushingly slow process of talking with Kaitoji and the PI about the idea of her going outside, and they'd all come to an agreement.

Hinoka would get to experience the outdoors again, even if for just a moment!

The brown-haired girl's eyes lit up at the thought of feeling the summer breeze and the ground beneath her sneakers.

She'd been waiting for the past half hour, but that was more than fine. It gave her enough time to ensure all of her own preparations were in order.

Bringing up her phone, Hinoka gave herself an inspection in the self-facing camera. Her tank top, shorts, and new hairstyle were ready for action. Instead of her usual streaked ponytail, she'd split it into a pair of twintails, an echo of her younger years. It was a bit silly to see on herself again, but she didn't mind too much if it was to change up her usual profile for safety.

Perhaps Miyami might even appreciate it?

Hinoka gave herself a thumbs up and a grin in the camera before pocketing it.

It had been a while since she'd been looking forward to an outdoor activity THIS much. Seriously. It was like she'd been edging herself for the past week. She was just so excited to move and—

*slide*

Miyami stepped out of her room, and time stopped.

Hinoka's felt her mouth go dry as she observed the now-ponytailed girl shuffle across the wooden floorboards, her hair billowing out behind her like a banner. It was a different look. And damn if it didn't make the taller woman look more mature.

Hinoka gulped as Miyami's eyes met her own. A moment of silence hung in the air.

"…"

"Hey, you look great!" Hinoka blurted, suddenly very self-conscious. "Wow, I uh, didn't think you'd be wearing your hair that way."

"…!" The other woman flushed and looked away with shyness, her hand coming up to play with her bangs. "T-thank you. I felt… inspired."

Oh crap. Her blood was boiling now. Had Miyami just blessed her with using her voice too?

Like, sure, she'd been trying to use it more often, but the tone of it just now was slightly different too. Despite the usual hesitation, it somehow felt firmer. More confident. It wasn't quite the husky one she'd been dying to hear, but…

She loved it.

"Um. Thanks," Hinoka managed to reply, wrangling her emotions back into place.

Miyami gave a shy thumbs-up before shuffling over to the kitchen, and the slightly shorter girl followed her with interest, noting how she was opening the fridge.

"…"

*clink*

Miyami glanced at her as she started taking out a cooler bag, and a lightbulb flickered in Hinoka's head.

No way. Was this more than just an excursion?

Was the girl planning an outdoorsy date for the two of them?!

She'd nearly forgotten about the subtext beneath the other day's message. When her exercise desperation took over, the idea of Miyami possibly confessing had faded to the back of her mind.

Now, it was roaring back into the spotlight in full force.

Ack. No. She was getting ahead of herself.

Don't be brash. Don't be a dumbass.

The dark-ponytailed woman finished packing a light meal and a few drinks—AH! Was that melon?!—into it, along with a thin blanket. Then she shuffled to the front of the apartment and turned to face Hinoka, determined aura radiating like a beacon.

So damn cute.

"Um. So where did you want to go?" Hinoka asked, hoping to break the tension in the room and playing ignorant. "I'm definitely up for anything, but I'm not sure how—"

*ping!*

She looked down at her phone.

∘₊✧─────────────✧₊∘

 >> I already have something planned out. It's a safe route, so don't worry.

 >> Please just follow me, okay? (･ω<)~☆

∘₊✧─────────────✧₊∘

Oh no.

That emoticon was really, REALLY cute. And the fact that Miyami had the confidence to lead her around?

"…" Hinoka exhaled as a fluffy shudder traveled up her spine. Crap. She needed to calm down. This was going to be a long trip if every little thing she saw set her heart on fire, plus she still needed to keep a watch out for trouble.

"…Alright. Lead the way." She nodded, and the penguin girl beamed, her eyes sparkling as she fumbled with putting on the new running shoes that'd been delivered the other night.

Hoping to make herself useful, Hinoka got closer.

"You uh, need help with that? Cause if you do—"

Miyami finished right before she could offer. Instead, the girl outstretched her hand, as if offering it to hold.

"…Oh." Hinoka's face burned as she gently took it by instinct, and Miyami's palm squeezed hers with a gentle firmness.

So soft~

Their fingers laced together as they made their way out and into the summer air. The breeze blew gently, and the sounds of the city wrapped around them.

Anticipation, catharsis, and a hint of anxiety all mixed together in a cocktail that threatened to make Hinoka's knees buckle. But she stood strong.

She was outdoors again!

This was what she had been waiting for. This was the moment she had been—

*sudden pull*

Hinoka nearly stumbled as Miyami abruptly started dragging her forward. Nervous excitement soon took over as the quiet girl tugged them into the first running steps of their adventure.