Twin Fawns

"Mmm... was this really the right call...?"

Hitomi rolled the mouse wheel up and down, sending the page scrolling restlessly back and forth. The official site of the music festival—underwritten by Hyakurenno—filled the screen, and midway through the timetable lurching beneath her cursor was the name Sarah Groothuizen.

One of the singers originally booked had been hospitalized after a car accident, and the slot had been left empty. That was why Yuri had called: to ask whether Hitomi might, perhaps, put in a word with Sarah Groothuizen. There was no need to feel pressured, Yuri had said. A reserve list of artists was already drawn up against exactly this sort of contingency, so if the booking didn't land, it didn't land—they would simply move on to the next name in line.

If it was only a matter of making the offer, Hitomi had thought that would be fine, and sent the email. The reply had come back yesterday. She passed Sarah's contact along to Yuri—with Sarah's own permission, of course—and within a day it was apparently settled. Even the official site had already been updated.

"They must already be unsettled enough as it is."

That was what worried her. The tone itself hadn't felt so different from the usual Abraham, but if all they were doing was trading words in text, that was easy enough to fake. The VTuber work seemed to be continuing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠much as before—if anything, more faithfully than ever... and yet Hitomi found it hard to shake the thought that they might be leaning on it too hard.

"It's all right. Abraham is strong."

Han Seoyeon, who had been standing behind the chair and watching, smiled.

"Someday they'll overcome it, and come back to reclaim their Apostolic Seat."

"You think so? Mmm..."

Was that a rational judgment? Trust in the one she was speaking of? Or nothing more than a wish? Hitomi couldn't tell. She simply didn't know Abraham the human being—no, the person—nearly as well as Seoyeon did. All she really knew was a single face: the VTuber Sarah Groothuizen.

"Besides, everyone has their own way of letting off stress, don't they?"

Some people can't bear it and end up living drowned in drink; others use it only to rinse the stress lightly away. Even if it looked as though Abraham were drinking quite a lot, Seoyeon told her, they were surely the latter.

"Well... if you say so, Shion... More than anything, I'm hardly in a position to be worrying about someone else."

With a performance date already locked in, this was no time to fret over anyone else. Even a so-called home-crowd concert—where the only people watching would cheer you on if you sang off-key or collapsed in the middle of a dance—still had to be prepared for properly. This time, most of the audience would be there to see entirely different artists. In front of people ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like that, she would have to step out in the comparatively alien shape of a VTuber.

Some of them would surely be meeting a VTuber for the first time right there, or would have known of them only as a piece of trivia. For someone, that day's show would remain their very first impression of what a VTuber was. She couldn't possibly let them see anything half-formed. And so, ever since her participation had been confirmed, Hitomi had been practicing in the company studio nearly every day.

Come to think of it, it was about time she headed to the company today as well. She checked the clock, shut the computer down, and spun the chair a half turn. Seoyeon caught on at once that she meant to leave and eased aside to give her room.

"...Hitomi?"

But the moment stretched, and Hitomi only looked up at Seoyeon, making no move at all to rise. Puzzled, Han Seoyeon called her name—and Hitomi promptly broke into a bright little smile.

"Shion. I'm heading to the company now."

"Yes. I know. It's about that time..."

"So I'll have to get up from this chair and leave the room, then."

That much was obvious. It wasn't as if she were going to fly off with the chair still under her. Then again, if it were Hitomi, she could probably manage it—commanding bats, or steering her own shadow. Even so, she'd still have to wash and change before she walked out the door, wouldn't she?

And yet, far from standing, Hitomi only lifted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠both arms and stretched them out toward Seoyeon. Then ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she spoke, in a slightly mischievous voice.

"Oh dear, whatever am I to do. I've gone and gotten caught in a chair trap, and I can't get up unless I'm kissed—."

She looked up at her with a strangely seductive smile in her eyes. Faced with that shameless display, Han Seoyeon could only stare, blank. It wasn't pure brazenness, either. The faint blush, as if she were a little shy, only made it more devastating.

"...Honestly."

A moment later Han Seoyeon let out a soft laugh and stepped in close. Bending at the waist, she drew Hitomi's head lightly into her arms and pressed their lips together. Hitomi wound the arms she had been holding out around Seoyeon's shoulders.

It was the sort of kiss in which they worked their lips against each other, and yet never quite let their tongues meet. Hitomi's breath grazed her from so near. At first Hitomi had squeezed her eyes shut and gone a little rigid, with no idea when or how she was supposed to breathe—but by now she was familiar enough to open her eyes a crack and meet Seoyeon's gaze.

Still holding each other, Han Seoyeon stroked her back lightly and straightened. Hitomi didn't resist the pull; she came several steps forward with her. Pressed flush together, as if they were dancing a waltz, the two of them crossed the room and only stopped once they reached the door, parting their mouths at last. A thin thread of clear saliva stretched between their lips.

Hitomi looked at Seoyeon for a moment, then smiled and opened the door.

...And then, as if something had just occurred to her, she put on an impish grin and shut it again. What she was thinking was obvious enough anyway.

"Shion. Now that I think about it, the original of that just now was a room, not a chair, wasn't it?"

Grinning, she spun around and put her back to the door. Seoyeon gave a wry smile at the sight, and drew Hitomi into her arms once more. Hitomi smiled, satisfied with that... and then, the instant Seoyeon's hand moved toward the hem of her shirt, her face flipped into panic.

"Sh-Shion?"

"If we're going by the original, you're right that it was a room and not a chair. But by that logic, it wasn't a kiss either, was it?"

"No, I— wait. I wasn't thinking of going that far... I, I have to get to the company... mmph."

Seoyeon sealed the mouth that was trying to argue with her own lips at once. She pushed her tongue into Hitomi's mouth and kissed her a little more fiercely than the first time.

"Hahh... hyaah..."

"You're the one who tempted me, aren't you, Hitomi? I was holding back because you have to get to the company. Tempting me a second time is your fault, isn't it?"

...In the end, only after a truly sincere apology had burst from Hitomi's lips was she able to set out for the company.