It’s not that I like her, I’d just like to make out with her for hours on end

Before Jesse had left, he told Scarlet to get as far away from Shibuya as she could. She decided to book a hotel in Yanaka. When she called Zaza to let her know they would have to cancel, she suggested that they all get a room together. Scarlet accepted.

They found the hotel to be amiable. It was a quiet, cozy place with few guests. The guests that were present tended to be on the older side, and quite friendly. Yoshi spent a bit of time conversing with them and proudly demonstrating her drawing skills.

After Scarlet had put Yoshi to bed, Zaza asked to speak with her. They sat down and poured themselves mugs of coffee.

“I’m so sorry for being intrusive, y’know. Please tell me if I’m ever crossing any boundaries”

Scarlet shook her head.

“Good” Zaza said, shifting her cup back and forth with her hands. She locked eyes with Scarlet.

“I’ll be honest, there’s another reason I was looking to reconnect with you”

Scarlet wasn’t exactly sure what the first reason was, but she kept silent.

“You have something pretty amazing. Your husband, I guess. It’s called the ‘sap’”

When she said “sap”, she lowered her voice out of respect and leaned in towards Scarlet.

“It’s a gift from the gods, or, more like a god itself. When you drink it, you get one wish. All you have to do is suffer one consequence of the god’s choosing, and then you’re off”

Her voice was nearly a whisper now.

“One wish, Scarlet. Pretty much anything you want. I’m sure there are limits, of course. But even with limits…”

She looked Scarlet directly in the eyes.

“If you could wish for one thing in the world, what would you wish for?”

***

“If you could wish someone dead, who could you choose?”

Cass finished her triple lutz with a powerful spin, the sound of her skate hitting the ice echoing in the stadium.

Scarlet leaned her head back and tapped her pen on her leg. The paper her professor had assigned her was stupid.

“Can I say my professor?”

Cass held out her arms and began making her way towards the other side of the rink.

“Jesus, what’d they do?”

Scarlet held up her assignment and stuck out her tongue.

“You’re funny” Cass said, coming to a stop in front of Scarlet.

Both Cass and Scarlet had just started their first year at the university. Cass wanted an education degree in case her skating career didn’t work out, and Scarlet went so that she could learn things. They had been assigned as roommates.

“Let me take a look at it”

She took the paper from Scarlet and quickly scanned it.

“All you’ve gotta do is write up a little essay about something you enjoy doing. It’s just to get an idea of your writing skills. Don’t stress it”

Scarlet frowned.

“I don’t know what to write about, though. That’s what’s confusing me”

Cass climbed over the barrier and sat next to Scarlet. She began taking off her skates.

“It literally just says write about what you enjoy. Why don’t you write about watching me ice skate? Don’t you just love admiring my stunning figure?”

“There’s certainly a lot to admire”

“Where’d that come from?” Cass croaked, hitting Scarlet over the head with her shoe. She started laughing, until the chair leaned back and she had to stop herself from falling over.

“You shouldn’t joke about people’s weight”

They both went back to their dorm. Cass eyed the ever-growing pile of laundry in the corner. The idea of teaching Scarlet how to wash clothes crossed her mind, but she decided that it would take more time to do that than to do it herself.

Their room was quite small, only having room for one bed and a small couch. Scarlet was petite, so she was forced to sleep there. Most of the clutter was due to Cass, as Scarlet didn’t own much outside of her clothes and school supplies.

“I’m going to do laundry. See ya”

Scarlet looked up from her textbook.

“Can I come with you?”

“I think you should work on your assignment”

Scarlet’s eyes went blank as she slumped down into the couch. It was such a pitiful sight that Cass decided to bring her along. Scarlet ended up learning how to do the wash, although Cass doubted she would remember it for very long.

***

The semester dragged on. Scarlet managed to submit most of her assignments, and Cass got in a lot of ice skating practice. Despite their efforts, they both found their grades to be lacking.

“I missed another bio assignment” Scarlet said, laying face down on the couch.

“Me too”

“You’re smart though”

“I was practicing skating and trying to think of ways to get away with murder”

“Who do you wanna kill?”

“Zaza”

“Who’s that?”

“My ex”

Scarlet rolled off the couch and fell to the floor with a dull thud. Cass jumped a little and leaned out of her bed.
“Jeez, are you okay?”

Scarlet raised her hand and gave the thumbs up. Cass laid back down, and stared at the ceiling. The plastic glow in the dark stars that she had stuck there emitted a faint light. They were arranged to reflect several constellations: Casseopia, Ursa Major, and Virgo.

“Have you ever had a boyfriend, Scarlet?”

“No, never”

“Girlfriend?”

There was a long pause.

“I’m a girl, Cass”

“I know”

Scarlet got off the floor and curled up on the couch. It was a bit colder than before, and she wished she was wearing pants now.

Cass threw a blanket at Scarlet’s face.

“Put on some clothes, dumbass”

Scarlet didn’t move from her spot, so Cass decided to lure her out by making a pot of coffee. She reluctantly took the mug and let Cass wrap the blanket around her. They sat beside each other in silence.

It began to snow, and the temperature dropped a bit more.

“Can I ask you something?”

Scarlet turned her head and nodded. Cass tried to maintain eye contact, but found her eyes beginning to water. It was like trying to win a staring contest with a cat.

“Would you date me?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she immediately wished she could put them back in. It was a really stupid thing to say, especially so bluntly.

Scarlet smiled and continued to stare directly at Cass.

“Sure”

Cass suddenly felt very sick. She quickly looked away and swallowed.

“Do you want to kiss me?” Scarlet asked.

Cass nodded, but she couldn’t bring herself to raise her eyes. She could feel Scarlet slowly moving closer, until their heads were nearly touching. A bony hand touched her cheek, and then another. Scarlet turned her head until they were facing each other again.

Suddenly, Scarlet bashed her head against Cass’s, making a loud cracking noise. Cass fell backward onto the floor.

“What the hell?” Cass said, rubbing her head.

Scarlet was a little flushed, but grinning ear to ear.

“I saw it in a manga”

“That must have been a hell of a manga. Come on, let’s play cards or something, I was just joking about the kiss”

For one night, Cass managed to stop thinking about Zaza, and Scarlet fulfilled her first goal in life.