Neko pulled away from her and ran outside after Hoshi. But in the dark, she didn't see Hoshi and couldn't tell which direction she had gone in.
"Neko-chan!" Mi-chan said more forcibly as she reached Neko outside.
"I lost them," Neko whispered.
"Nani?"
"I- I hurt two of the three people I love the most, and- and they left me."
"Oh, Neko-chan, they didn't leave you. They just needed time to think, that's all."
"Demo� Hoshi-chan wanted me to choose between her and Tenshi-kun�," Neko sniffed.
Mi-chan rolled her eyes. "Well, that was dumb of her. What was she thinking? I mean, that'd be like me having to choose between you and Chibi."
"That's what I- Hey! You'd have to think about a choice between me and Chibi?!"
"Gotcha!" Mi-chan said quickly, though the choice really would be hard for her. "Really, it's not as bad as it seems. Both Tenshi-kun and Hoshi-chan are sensible people. And they love you, and they'll forgive you. No matter what you did�. Or what they think you did, I guess."
Neko nodded slowly. Mi-chan did make a lot of sense. For someone who didn't always use the best common sense, she certainly had some sound reasoning sometimes. Still Neko couldn't help but worry.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Tenshi sat on the wall of the fountain in the middle of the garden, watching the way the rainbow lights that were focused on the piece affected the columns of water spouting from the fountain. She had figured that this was as good a place as any to sit and think. Besides, she was mostly cut off from the sounds of the party by the surrounding hedges.
She figured she had probably overreacted. After all, she was the one who had suggested to Neko that they keep apart while Hoshi was around. And it wasn't like she didn't know what she was getting into. She had dated a couple girls who were in the closet before - acting like the two of them were just friends when they were around others, while in reality, they were secretly dating. So she should have been prepared. But this was Neko's first time, so she couldn't be expected to just act naturally around Tenshi as if they had never been more than just friends.
No, it wasn't fair to Neko.
But Tenshi wasn't sure that it was fair to her either. Because with the other girls, she hadn't felt what she felt for Neko. She hadn't been half as close to them, half as in love. And just cutting herself off from the emotions that she felt for Neko - that was killing her. She could cover it up, tell herself and Neko it just made the times they could act naturally better, but deep down, she knew it was a lie.
But she loved Neko, and she'd do anything for her. Even keep her feelings to herself for a little longer.
*Great, so now I've got this all figured out. Am I ready to go back into the party?* She thought about Neko and decided she was� and then she thought about Hoshi and decided she wasn't.
She couldn't figure out what Hoshi's deal was. Was it jealousy? Or had she figured out that Tenshi was Neko's girlfriend? Except she was still friends with Neko, which was odd for a homophobic person. But maybe Hoshi was willing to forgive Neko for it because she was her best friend, but still couldn't accept Tenshi. Or maybe she had figured out who Tenshi's parents were and was holding that against her.
Or maybe she just didn't like Tenshi. Except that she didn't even know her.
No matter what the reason, Tenshi decided that she had overreacted, and it wasn't fair to run out on the party. It was disrespectful to those involved in the conference and unfair to Puroko, who had to sit through the ceremony without her older sister. And Neko, who hadn't really done anything wrong, probably thought that Tenshi hated her now. So Tenshi decided that she should probably return to the party.
And then Hoshi ran around one of the hedges and entered the courtyard.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hoshi stopped dead in her tracks as she saw who else was there by the fountain.
"You!" Hoshi's eyes narrowed at Tenshi. "Why are you everywhere I want to be?"
"Gomen," Tenshi answered. "I was just thinking of going back anyway." She got up from the fountain's ledge.
"No, I'll go. I wouldn't want to take your place." She turned to go.
"Matte, Hoshi-san." Well, it was now or never. But now that Tenshi had her attention, she couldn't think of anything to say to her. Except to ask the obvious question�. "Why don't you like me? Because I just realized that you never even gave me a chance. I mean, at least get to know me first. And then if you're going to hate me, do it because you hate me, not because you hate my relationship with Koneko."
"You don't deserve her."
"That's her decision, not yours. I just� Hoshi-san, I just want what's best for Koneko, don't you?"
"Stop that! Don't call her that! Kami-sama, you don't know anything about her! How can you claim you care for her, when you don't even know how much she hates that name?!"
"Not when I say it," Tenshi replied quietly.
"Maybe she didn't tell you because�" but that wasn't right. It didn't matter who she was talking to, if someone called her "Koneko," Neko made sure they knew that she didn't like it. So why would she let one of her friends do it.
No, that wasn't acceptable either. Hoshi refused to believe that Tenshi was somehow in the right. That she had actually been a better friend and for some reason that gave her free reign to call Neko whatever she wanted.
"No. You don't know anything about her. I mean, you probably don't even know her favorite color."
"It's green," Tenshi said softly. "But she really likes aquamarine now too."
"Then her favorite food?"
"Coffee ice cream."
"Duh, baka. I meant real food."
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