Chapter 5: Falling Petals
After returning from Kyoto, life felt different for Eriko and Sammi. The closeness they shared in Kyoto lingered in subtle glances and gentle touches. Yet, neither had voiced their feelings directly, letting the sweet tension grow.
One crisp autumn evening, they found themselves once again in their favorite café. Sammi stirred her tea nervously, eyes fixed on Eriko’s sketchbook, where a delicate drawing of Kiyomizu Temple was emerging beneath Eriko's careful fingers.
"You really captured our trip," Sammi said softly. "It feels so real."
"It's special to me," Eriko admitted quietly, her cheeks flushed. "Because it's about you."
Heart pounding, Sammi leaned forward, voice gentle yet brave. "Eriko, do you know why I asked you to promise me beneath those Kyoto skies?"
Eriko looked up, eyes wide with vulnerability. "Why?"
Sammi smiled warmly. "Because I want to keep you close, always. Not just as a friend."
The sketchbook slipped slightly from Eriko’s fingers, forgotten as Sammi reached out to gently touch Eriko's hand.
"Sammi..." Eriko’s voice was barely audible. "I’ve been hoping you felt that way."
As the café lights softly glowed around them, Eriko finally let her heart speak clearly. She squeezed Sammi’s hand, feeling lighter than she ever had.
"I promise," she whispered, smiling shyly, "to follow you anywhere."
Chapter 6: Philosophical Musings
Late one afternoon, Eriko sat quietly in the library, her thoughts drifting into an imaginary debate. Kaibara Ekken, passionately arguing for Qi—the life force permeating the universe—stood facing Albertus Magnus, calmly advocating for God as the supreme ultimate. Eriko's mind painted the two historical figures vividly, their ideas swirling in her thoughts.
"Qi connects us all," Ekken insisted gently.
"God is the eternal foundation," Albertus countered serenely.
Nearby, Sammi flipped through a manga by Milk Morinaga, smiling softly as she pondered the tale of the beautiful, energetic girl who unexpectedly falls deeply in love with the quiet, plain girl.
"Why does the pretty one always love the quiet one?" Sammi murmured aloud, half-teasing, half-serious.
Eriko blinked, emerging from her philosophical daydream. She smiled shyly at Sammi, heart full.
"Maybe," she replied gently, "because sometimes the quiet one carries the universe inside her."
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