Lights

Prelude: Shimmer

At what point in life do you come to rely upon someone so much that they become a part of you? That without them, you'd just fade into the background? And wouldn't that be a shame, because that's the only thing about Akari that's unique.

"I've had enough."

"Don't you know it's your job to help me with my homework?!"

"When I see you with her, I want to hit you!"

The desperate, broken words buzzed through her mind like a cassette on replay—a cliché love song that you just can't get out of your head.

That—the incident—had been months ago, now, and with no hint of a repeat performance. But still…there were a few (less than a dozen, at any rate—or at least, that was all she'd allow herself to admit to) times that Furutani Himawari would glance over at her best…frienemy(?) and wonder the same thing, over and over again. Always the same memory, always the same question.

Why?

Himawari knew that Sakurako enjoyed her company more than she let on—she herself was the exact same way. But the extent to which it had bothered the walnut-haired girl was something the bluenette could never have predicted, which led her to dealing with the whole thing in a rather dismissive manner, instead of probing further.

It's not as if you would have known given time to think. After all, here we are, months later and you still have no response.

Himawari shook the voice out of her head—it reminded her of those obnoxious people, the ones who knew everything and made sure everyone else knew it, too.

Like Sakurako.

The bluenette rolled her eyes—Sakurako liked to think she was always right, and was, accordingly, always (always) vocal about it. The difference, of course, being that Sakurako was rarely, if ever, actually correct about whatever she was saying. It was one of her qualities that Himawari found utterly adorable—which, of course, led to it being one of her qualities that the taller girl absolutely couldn't stand.

And she couldn't even remember when they started fighting all the time, or why. They used to be inseparable, attached at the hip—Himawari thought back to just a few days before, when Sakurako had gotten them 'lost' behind the school. The shorter girl had fallen asleep against her shoulder, and it had been such a strange, yet achingly familiar feeling. Except Himawari didn't remember her heart skipping a beat back when Sakurako clung to her when they were children, nor could she remember the ache in the pit of her stomach that she couldn't quite label.

And come to think of it, Sakurako had always been selfish with Himawari, too. She couldn't believe it had taken her so long to catch on…except that Sakurako hadn't thrown a tantrum like that since they stopped being friends and started being rivals.

Himawari certainly didn't remember a breath catching in her throat back when Sakurako would get jealous of just about anyone else the bluenette spoke to.

But then, it had been so long since they'd spent any real time with anyone but each other, or, if they weren't alone, they were always together, at least.

It was just a headache, really, and Himawari forced her thoughts to the back of her mind, where they'd wait like a thousand-piece puzzle, because Sakurako was due any minute, (if instinct served her right) and that was enough of a headache in itself.

As if on cue, the doorbell began to ring incessantly. Himawari rolled her eyes and took her sweet time making her way towards the door. When she finally opened it, she was greeted by an overeager Sakurako crashing into her—something that seemed a bit too familiar—and nearly sending them both plummeting to the floor.

There was a split second in which Himawari reveled in the feeling of the smaller girl in her arms, and then she bristled. "Is this how you always enter someone else's home?" she asked heatedly. "You really haven't changed a bit since we were children.

Sakurako, still in Himawari's arms, proclaimed shamelessly, "Nope, just yours!"

A vein in the bluenette's neck pricked, and without warning, she let go of the other girl, sending her crashing to the ground.

"Booby monster!"

"Am I to assume this means you don't want any help with your homework?" Himawari asked nonchalantly, barely concealing a blush when Sakurako scrambled to her feet and threw her arms around the taller girl's neck.

"You're my servant, you don't have a choice!"

And just like that, Sakurako was back on the floor, this time with an unmistakable bump right on the back of her head.

Himawari huffed—to think she'd just spent so long trying decipher the reasons behind this same girl's actions. Sakurako didn't even try to decipher herself—she just did whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted to. If she didn't say it out loud, she didn't feel it. She was the epitome of an open-book.

So why was that familiar ache still resting in the pit of her stomach?

Why?

A/N: What do you think? Please leave a review, any of you guys who are writers will know it's what motivates us to continue. Also, this is my first Yuru Yuri fanfiction, even though I've been writing fanfiction (on a different account) for years now, so I'd like to know how I'm doing and if I should continue. Hope you enjoyed!