Work Text:
By: Escarlata
Precure belongs to Toei, the plot is mine
~o~o~o~o~
“Nagisa! Yukishiro-san! Look what some relatives brought me from Oishina Town!” Rina exclaimed as she went with her classmates, Shiho was at her side. From her backpack she took out a quite elegant transparent box, with a colorful design and the logo of a female silhouette. Inside the box was some kind of cup filled with individually wrapped colorful candies.
There were still a few minutes before the first class started. They were in their first year of high school and were still getting used to the fact that everything they did from that moment on would affect their entrance into a good university and, therefore, their future job. This time Nagisa was taking her studies seriously and Honoka was there to guide her.
They were no longer little girls; they had to start thinking about their future.
“It’s very nice packaging,” Honoka commented in an analytical tone.
“Those inside are candy, right?” Nagisa was looking at the box from various angles.
“That’s right! That’s right! That’s right!” Shiho looked excited. “These sweets are said to have the taste of your first love.”
“They are called ‘Sweet Crystal’ and they are very popular there,” Rina completed.
“Wow,” Nagisa and Honoka said at the same time.
“Shall we eat some of these at lunch?” Rina proposed. “It will be interesting to see what our first love tastes like,” she continued in an excited voice.
“Your first love? Have you fallen in love with anyone before, Rina?” Nagisa asked in surprise.
“Of course I do! But that’s my best secret, only mine,” Rina replied with a mischievous smile.
“What about you, Kubota-san?” Honoka asked immediately.
“I’ve had a first love too!” Shiho responded immediately. “So we eat them for lunch?”
Both girls nodded.
They all had to return to their seats when the first class teacher arrived and sent everyone to their places. Verone High School was also divided into boys’ and girls’ sections.
After her morning classes, it was finally time for lunch and the small group went to one of her favorite places: under a wide-canopied cherry tree. They took out their lunch boxes; Nagisa exchanged food and began to eat lunch between talks and laughter. After finishing eating, Rina took out the box with the sweets.
"Ready?" The girl asked and everyone nodded. She opened the transparent box and let everyone choose a candy. "Now, let's see what our first love tastes like."
The four of them put the candy into their mouths at the same time and the reactions were diverse.
Shiho put her hands on her cheeks and smiled. "It's very sweet".
Rina had her eyes closed in contemplation. "Mine has a very mild, sweet milk-like flavor."
Even since before eating the candy, Nagisa had in her mind the face of her first love: Fujimura Shougo. She tried the candy and it had a very pleasant sour-sweet taste, she smiled.
For her part, Honoka wasn’t surprised that her candy tasted somewhere between bitter and sweet, a little more bitter than sweet. She also had the face of her first (and current) love in her head: Misumi Nagisa.
“And what did it taste like?” Rina asked Nagisa and Yukishiro.
“Sour and sweet at the same time, like a lime. I liked it,” Nagisa responded with a smile. She had experienced all the time feelings for Fujimura, she even cried, it took her a lot of courage to express that she liked the boy. She was at peace with the subject but she liked to confirm what she already knew.
“And you, Yukishiro-san?” Shiho asked.
Honoka smiled. “It tastes exactly what I hoped it would taste like,” she said and then looked up at the sky. “Bittersweet.”
“Oh! Has someone earned a place in your heart?” Rina asked mischievously.
“Someone who obviously hasn’t reciprocated her feelings,” Rina chimed in, nudging her friend lightly. “Don’t be rude, Shiho.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Yukishiro-san!”
“Don’t worry,” was all Honoka said. “I’ve never been bothered by bitter flavors.”
Nagisa looked at Honoka and the first thing that crossed her mind was that her best friend was surely referring to Kiriya. Who else could be? Nagisa had spent so much time with Honoka that she knew her few male friends: Fujimura, Kimata, and Kiriya. Fujimura and Kimata were more like her older brothers, so the only candidate would be Kiriya. Furthermore, even though he was alive, he had a new life... Plus the boy was quite a few years younger than her.
The rest of the lunch hour was spent among other topics and the day passed without further incident. But Nagisa was now curious about the bitter taste that Honoka spoke about; did the topic still affect her friend?
On the way to Honoka’s house (they would do homework together), Nagisa looked at her friend and decided to return to the topic of sweets.
“Hey, Honoka...”
“Hmm?”
“About what happened at lunch... The crystal candy thing... Did you really feel a bittersweet taste?”
“Yes,” was Honoka’s quick response.
“They said it’s an unrequited love... Is because... of him?”
Honoka looked at Nagisa for a few seconds before softening her expression. “No. Kiriya is living a new life. It’s not about him, don’t worry.”
Nagisa scratched her head. “You know why and by whom my sweet tasted like that, right?”
“Yes, I know that too,” Honoka held Nagisa’s hand. “Don’t worry about it, Nagisa. It’s just candy.”
“But!”
Nagisa pressed her best friend’s hand a little harder, out of sudden worry. “So what is this unrequited love they say you have? You didn’t deny it.”
Honoka smiled almost amusingly; did Nagisa really notice that little detail? “It’s nothing to worry about.”
Nagisa pouted. “How can you have an unrequited love? You’re a great girl!” Nagisa now sounded offended, what kind of fool wouldn’t reciprocate the feelings of a girl as wonderful as Honoka? “You’re beautiful, very smart, you’re elegant, and a great friend,” Nagisa listed, growing increasingly annoyed. “Who is the idiot who doesn’t return your feelings?! I can’t believe it!”
Honoka blinked a few times before laughing, having to cover her mouth. “Someone who does not know them cannot reciprocate my feelings; I have not confessed anything to them.”
Now Nagisa was confused. “Why?”
“Because that person already has someone else in their heart,” Honoka’s smile seemed bitter but only for a second. “Someone who has already been given a very pleasant taste of first love.”
“It seems harsh.”
There were a few seconds of awkward silence.
“Oh, I’m sorry! Tell me who that person is. We’ve been together for over two years and... And as far as I know, no one has come close to you nor have you approached anyone else.”
Honoka only then noticed that they had stopped, so she walked and made Nagisa also pick up the pace. The girl made a playful face.
“I’m sorry, I can’t tell you, you just called the person I like an idiot," she replied with funny seriousness. “I don’t want anyone to speak ill of that person.”
Nagisa blushed because of her embarrassment. “Sorry.”
There were a few seconds of awkward silence.
“Do you think that if I confess my feelings to that person, they will reciprocate?” Honoka asked.
“Even if that person doesn’t love you back, if you don’t get out what you have locked up in your heart, those feelings will hurt you,” Nagisa said, clearly remembering what she did at the amusement park that Christmas night. She felt free like never before and she didn’t even need to tell Fujimura or for him to reciprocate her feelings. “Sometimes you just need to say it.”
This time it was Honoka who stopped walking; Nagisa’s words carried so much truth... The girl sighed deeply and blushed slightly.
“Then I’ll say everything,” Honoka declared with a single breath.
“Great!”
But to Nagisa’s surprise, Honoka let go of her hand, took three steps away from her, and faced her. Nagisa was now confused because of Honoka’s serious face; she even noticed that her friend became nervous.
“Honoka?”
“Nagisa,” Honoka took a deep breath and bowed slightly. “I like you, Misumi Nagisa. I’ve liked you for a long time.”
The confession was direct and simple, accurate as an arrow.
Nagisa was stunned by the confession. Her head began to spin and she didn’t know how to react when Honoka looked her in the eyes. I can’t believe it! Nagisa took two steps back, before she could open her mouth, she saw Honoka’s face soften.
“You don’t need to reciprocate my feelings, Nagisa. Not if you don’t feel like it,” Honoka said, her voice slightly cracking, “but you were right, I feel better... I feel free.” It was her turn to take two steps back, turn her back on Nagisa, and hug herself. “I promise you that nothing will change if you reject me. I will still love you, you will still be my best friend and we will continue to enjoy our school days and our lives as always. We both fought the Darkness to achieve this.”
Nagisa went blank, was Honoka seriously in love with her? How come she never noticed it?
Wait a minute...
Honoka was always there for her, Honoka never let go of her hand, Honoka supported her, fought alongside her and their hearts always became one every time they held hands and let the Light give them power and strength to win in every battle against the Darkness. Honoka was at her side at the end of the world, Honoka was with her when there was no hope or strength to continue.
Honoka was the reason why she accomplished many things.
Her Honoka...
“We can part ways here and talk later if you want, I’m sure I took you by surprise,” Honoka said trying to smile. Nagisa’s lack of words worried her. She swallowed and decided to give Nagisa space and time.
Noticing that Honoka was about to leave, Nagisa did not allow it. She quickly caught up to her and grabbed her hand tightly.
“Honoka, wait!”
“Nagisa?” Honoka looked at her, her eyes beaded with small tears.
“I...”
But this time there were no words Nagisa could string together in her head, she could only act. She pulled Honoka against her body; her free arm wrapped around her waist and kissed her.
It was Honoka’s turn to be surprised. She couldn’t return the kiss for the first few seconds, but it didn’t take long for her to hug Nagisa by her neck and finally respond to Nagisa’s sweet, clumsy, loving kiss.
The kiss lasted several seconds before they both needed to breathe. Her first kiss was full of affection and inexperience, she was forgetting to breathe.
“What did you taste?” Nagisa asked as she caught her breath.
“Huh?”
“What taste did you feel in the kiss?”
Honoka smiled. “A sweet taste.”
“Good, because that's how it will be from now on, Honoka,” said a blushing Nagisa. Now the girl felt nervous but happy, still dazed but with her thoughts focused on a single idea: she also liked Honoka. She also loved Honoka.
By the time Nagisa said those words, Honoka was crying softly with joy. “Nagisa...”
“Oh, come on! Don’t cry or you’ll make me cry,” Nagisa warned too late, she was already crying.
The young couple embraced each other while she recovered from the love confession and kiss.
“Let’s get more of those candies... I want you to feel the full sweet taste of your first love.”
“Okay, we’ll go to Oishina Town on the weekend.”
“It’s a date.”
Both girls smiled and finally continued on their way to Honoka’s house. They had homework to do and, perhaps, more sweet kisses to share.
FIN