"Welcome home, my other daughter."

"Er… thank you for accepting me into your home."

At some point Shimamura's mother had started calling me that. I still didn't know quite how to react to it, or exactly what she meant by it. I guessed it meant that she didn't mind me being here so often? Or maybe that she had simply resigned herself to my presence. I suppose it didn't much matter - either way it meant that she wasn't in the way of my seeing Shimamura. No, no matter how you looked at it, it was hard to consider this a bad thing. Just... awkward. Really awkward.

"Haha. Of course Adachi. You're here often enough I'm not sure you still need to be so serious about it. Like I said, you're practically family at this point."

I didn't quite know how to respond. Did she mean I was here too often? Otherwise, what would be the purpose of bringing it up? Was I really here that often anyway? It didn't seem like it to me, though I'm not sure even living here with Shimamura would feel like enough time with her. If other people thought it seemed like a lot, well, I didn't really see the problem so long as they weren't trying to prevent it.

Wait, was she asking me to call her "mom" or something in return? I didn't feel that was something I would quite be able to do. Though I'm not sure she understood that for me, it wasn't necessarily a sign of endearment. Plus it just sounded... weird. Really weird.

Shimamura's mother was always a bit relaxed and forward though. Especially compared to what I was used to in a mother. It didn't come off as a bad thing. Just… something I didn't exactly know how to deal with. It felt kind of like trying to learn a new language when I was far too old to do it well. I wasn't sure that family was something it was even possible for me to master. Except, maybe, someday with Shimamura.

It was pretty obvious where Shimamura had picked up a bit of her personality - though I'm not so sure she would have been happy to hear me think that - but I really did see a bit of her mother in her. I think that made this awkwardness a bit easier than it otherwise could have been.

Not knowing what to say - and most likely being unable to say anything without embarrassing myself - I simply bowed my head. Really, I did it to try to hide my face. I could feel my cheeks growing warm and, though I didn't know if her ability to understand me better than most people was another trait Shimamura had inherited from her mother, I didn't think that this was quite the time or way to find out.

Nonononono. Not at all.

"Ahaha. That's the opposite of what I meant, Adachi." Shimamura's mother simply laughed at my response. She had a habit of doing this. I don't think she was making fun of me - not exactly. If I had to guess it would be her way of being familiar. Personally I didn't understand it but, really, there was a whole lot about this situation that I didn't understand.

"I swear, I wish my other daughter had your politeness and sense of humour. Try to get those to rub off on her, ok? Anyway, Hougetsu is studying upstairs today. At least if she hasn't fallen asleep again, which, well, you know her. If you get hungry, let me know. I don't mind feeding my good daughters like you."

"Er, thank you..."

I tried imagining my own mother calling me a good daughter and, as I had assumed, I couldn't do it. How I had gained such esteem in the eyes of Shimamura's I had no clue. Still, she also said Shimamura wasn't one of her good daughters. I thought Shimamura was a very good daughter - especially compared to my own motherly interactions - but it seemed like lately the Shimamura household had a surplus of daughters, both real and accumulated, and I didn't want to argue with the woman who was so kind to allow me into her home so often. Still, given how the younger Shimamura was as diligent as ever and my overly polite behavior, perhaps Shimamura had fallen in to the bottom.

I wondered if maybe this was just the way it was with mother's and daughters. That I could believe. If she'd seen her often enough I'm sure my own would prefer Shimamura too. Though... I guess there are a great many things I'm fairly sure my mother would prefer to me.

I bowed my head again - still the only thing I was fairly sure I could manage - at which point Mo... Nope. I definitely can't do it.

At which point Shimamura's mother did the same in return. This time she was definitely making fun of me. Strangely, it still didn't come across as mean. This just seemed to be how she was. It wasn't bad. Just… unusual. I could eventually almost call it nice. Being accepted by Shimamura's family… I don't think there really is a downside.

If I didn't head upstairs now - I wondered - would I be stuck here bowing my head until Shimamura got hungry and came to rescue me?

It didn't seem like that would be impossible.

It also didn't seem like it would be impossible that she was asleep upstairs, which could mean an awfully long wait to be rescued.

Faced with those possibilities, I somehow convinced my body to move and awkwardly made my way up the narrow stairway for my study date with Shimamura.

Adachi was sitting with me in our study room, laughing. I didn't know why, or what about, but I was happy to see her having this much fun. Adachi always looked great, but at times like this I felt like I couldn't look away. Well I could, but I didn't want to. It was like watching flowers bloom in front of my eyes.

At times like this, Adachi was my own personal springtime.

At that thought, we were now both laughing.

I didn't think anything was particularly funny. Seeing her like this had just made me happy too.

One of the things I loved about Adachi was that - unlike most people, whose thoughts and feelings were a bother to figure out - she tended to show me hers freely. Most people were a bother to deal with, but her I could understand. It was like a language that only we could speak.

Adachi and I were the only two people fluent in Adashima.

Adachi started to look self conscious and stopped laughing. She probably thought I was laughing at her.

I wasn't.

Not in the slightest. I was laughing because I was happy seeing her happy. There was nothing I didn't like about the sight in front of me except the lack of a smile.

I moved swiftly to comfort her. I gently laid my hands on her shoulders. I looked into her emerald eyes and smiled. She smiled back at me.

At least that's what I wish I could say happened.

I rose swiftly enough to comfort Adachi that my feet couldn't agree on a single route to reach Adachi, and so I attempted to fly to her instead. When I landed my head was next to Adachi's knees.

At least I traveled in the right direction and had avoided landing directly on her. That would killed the mood for sure. There was only one thing I could think of that may salvage the situation.

I curled my head onto Adachi's lap.

Maybe this will comfort us both.

She smelled nice, like she always did. Like all the good, comforting things I liked. I could smell sugar, and chocolate, and spring flowers. My mouth was practically watering.

Adachi had expressed a look of concern, then confusion, then relaxation all in the moments it took me to fly to her. Well, to fall to her. I was glad that she finally seemed to be smiling again. Mostly though I was glad she wearing the blue dress. I didn't question why she was suddenly wearing it when - a moment ago - she had been wearing her school uniform. It didn't matter.

Adachi must have been nervous for some reason, though I didn't have a clue why. I could hear her heart pounding from all the way down here. The poor girl must be really flustered right now.

No, that's not quite right.

It wasn't Adachi's heart pounding at all.

My chest was thumping so fast it was making me dizzy.

The room seemed to spin and wobble until I jerked my head back, desperate to make it stop.

It worked. Adachi was in front of me now rather than under me. How did she do that without me feeling it?

"Adachi…"

I reached out and touched her face. It was warm against my hand.

Yup. This was my Adachi.

I was sure of it.

My first impression upon entering her study room was that Shimamura was being a far more diligent student than I ever am. I can barely focus on my books half of the time - especially when I'm with her - and our study dates tend to involve a lot more sitting around not doing much of anything than one would expect from either studying or a date. It isn't uncommon for me to feel bad about this once I'm sitting in the classroom completely lost and yet, when we're here, it seems like a waste to look at a book when I could be looking at Shimamura. If school gave a test on Shimamura my grades would be far better, that's for sure. At least I hoped so. There was still so much I needed to learn about her.

One benefit to having become a tolerated presence in the Shimamura household is that after being greeted - most usually by her mother, rarely by her sister, more often than I'd like by the small glowing creature who I fear may be another of the household's adopted daughters, and occasionally by Shimamura herself - most of them were trusting enough of me to simply direct me to where they believed Shimamura was currently residing. It meant that if I were quiet and Shimamura preoccupied I could occasionally catch a glimpse of what she was like when I wasn't around. Thankfully nothing embarrassing had happened so far - not that I was hoping to catch her in an uncompromising position or anything, it wasn't really about that. Though if maybe I did see something, that wouldn't be entirely… no.

No, no. No.

It wasn't about that. Not really. I just wanted to understand Shimamura a bit better, and seeing her when she didn't yet know I was there was a tiny step toward that. For what it's worth, so far, she seemed very much to act like how I imagined she does when she's alone. Did that mean I always saw the real Shimamura, or hardly ever? I didn't particularly like where that train of thought could lead me but - thankfully - I didn't linger on it for long. I had more important things to do right now.

Yes, Shimamura seemed to act more or less what I would call normal most of the time. Except for right now, when she rolled over with a tiny groan. Based only on my own experiences I wasn't sure that it was especially normal to fall asleep on top of your textbooks. For Shimamura though, I couldn't rule out that it was maybe more normal than not. One question I could ace on a Shimamura test was definely "how much does Shimamura like sleep?" The answer is "a lot".

My first thought seeing that Shimamura was asleep - after not being particularly surprised - was one of disappointment. I wasn't sure I had it in me to wake her up when she looked so comfortable - how is that comfortable - nor to have another run-in so soon with her mother, so I was prepared to sit in the small room quietly while Shimamura slept through our study date. Not that spending an afternoon looking at Shimamura was in any way a bad thing, just not ideal. That was my second thought. My third was how even in her strange position, Shimamura was still beautiful.

I decided to take a closer look. There was nothing weird with taking a close look at your sleeping girlfriend, right? Right. Not weird at all.

It was rare to see Shimamura so at peace and unguarded. I found myself tracing the outline of her features with my finger, just far enough away that I could be sure not to wake her.

There was a story I had heard as a kid. A beautiful princess was cursed to sleep forever until a prince came along and woke her up with a kiss. Not that I was a prince, but it was the closest thing that came to mind. I'm pretty sure I had never heard a story like that about two princesses - outside of certain kinds of manga which I would never read - but it wasn't hard for me to imagine Shimamura as a sleeping princess right now, waiting for me to… rescue her.

We had kissed before - much to my delight it was not a completely uncommon occurrence in our relationship - though kissing my girlfriend while she was asleep seemed somehow less romantic than I had once thought it may be. Perhaps it was the difference between kissing Shimamura and being kissed by her that made it seem different. Or more likely I just didn't have the nerve to go thru with it with my body shaking as hard as it was at the thoughts racing through my mind. Setting those particular thought aside, I settled for the next best alternative to try waking Shimamura up gently.

I held my finger to my lips and thought only of Shimamura.

In the end I had to use my other hand just to steady my finger and avoid waking princess Shimamura with a poke on the nose or cheek. I pressed my fingertip lightly to the lips of my sleeping beauty.

My heart melted as she started smiling.

Could she be dreaming the same things I am? I didn't think it was very likely, but it was nice to think it may be possible.

My chest was pounding hard enough that I thought it, more than my shaking finger, stood a chance of waking her up.

Still smiling, Shimamura's lips parted slightly. A small pad of pink extended and brushed my fingertip.

Then again.

And again.

Shimamura was for some reason licking my finger in her sleep.

As soon as I understood what was happening - I swear I didn't wait any longer than it took for my brain to tell me what was happening - I tried to pull my finger away from Shimamura's mouth. I wasn't fast enough - her head twitched and caught my fingertip between her teeth.

I couldn't help but let out a small yelp.

My hopes that perhaps we were having the same thoughts were dashed as Shimamura, still asleep, had bit the tip of my finger. Fairly hard, too. I hoped I wasn't bleeding.

The thoughts that ran through my mind were deeply confusing. Being all but kissed and then suddenly bitten by my girlfriend was...

I-I'm not into that kind of thing…

I don't think.

N-No. I'm not.

Yes, of course, if I had to be bitten by someone I would probably prefer it be Shimamura. But that doesn't mean I find the idea in and of itself in any way appealing. Maybe if Shimamura absolutely had to bite me for some reason I would be fine with it. Like if I were the one asleep because a witch had cursed me, and for some reason I couldn't feel a kiss because it was really cold in the room, and Shimamura was impatient and had to really try to wake me up...

Yes, this was deeply confusing.

However long it took me to regain some measure of composure, I was just starting to express silent thanks that Shimamura was still asleep and would never have to know about my romantic misfire when her eyes opened. She blinked slowly right at me.

"Adachi..." She sounded a bit surprised to see me which was… understandable.

Shimamura extended a hand and held my cheek. Her hands were warmer than usual. Or maybe I was just now aware of how warm my face had been this whole time.

"Oh, you changed... Hmph."

"..."

What was Shimamura saying? I changed? How? Had I been different in her dream? Was seeing me now disappointing somehow? I didn't quite know how to process being jealous of myself, but thankfully I didn't need to for long.

Even half asleep, Shimamura seemed to know what I was worried about.

"I was just dreaming about you, and now here you are, only real. This is... much better." Shimamura laughed a bit as she touched my lips gently. Maybe she hadn't been asleep like I'd thought. Had she felt me touch her...

Shimamura seemed a bit warmer than normal. Whatever she had been dreaming had really agreed with her.

Wait, me? Really? Dreaming of me while she…

The room suddenly felt far too small and warm, even though that usually sounded pretty nice if Shimamura was with me.

"It looks like we may be thinking about the same thing, Adachi. You look like you're burning up." There was a tone to her voice that sounded slightly mischievous. Shimamura felt my forehead as she spoke, as though underscoring her point.

I couldn't argue that fact, though it's not like at the moment I could likely argue anything at all.

"That settles it then. We can study later. I want to do something fun right now. Isn't this supposed to be a study date, anyway?" Shimamura emphasized the word "date" as though it were underlined.

"..." What was Shimamura saying to me? What did she want to...

"Y-Yes. A date, so… u-um…"

"Come on, Adachi. Let's do it then."

"..."

"Let's go get ice cream."

-

-

How did I react to Shimamura's strange craving? Honestly... I have no idea. I have a vague recollection of an apology, a promise to make this a date Shimamura could be proud of, and bowing my head once again to Shimamura's mother as we left her house. To Shimamura's credit she either didn't notice my strange behavior, or was kind enough to not bring it up. I think I may have pulled myself together enough to function by the time she had fully woken up, although the gaps in my memory of walking to the park left me with a sense of embarrassment I couldn't quite shake.

Also to Shimamura's credit, she was being especially reassuring now. I hadn't even had to ask to hold her hand on the way there, which felt especially nice. Either I had embarrassed myself so much that she was simply comforting me or whatever she dreamt of had left her in an especially good mood. Could dreaming of me really have put her in this good of a mood? That question didn't seem likely to leave my mind for a good while.

The way Shimamura kept glancing at my face - causing our eyes to meet briefly before mine shifted away - made me think it was the former. Shimamura was simply playing big sister and trying to make me feel better.

"Hey, Adachi? What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?"

"Hmm? They're all good, I guess. I'm not sure I've ever had bad ice cream. They're pretty much all sweet and cool, right?."

"Sweet and cool, huh?" Shimamura giggled to herself. Was that funny somehow?

"For me, it's probably chocolate. Though fruit flavors are good too. Oh, and mint. And I once had this really good green tea ice cream I liked a lot. Hmm. This may be hard..."

Since our first Valentine's Day I had come to somewhat associate chocolate with Shimamura. I ate so much of it trying to find the right ones to give her that it had been kind of hard not to. Still, it felt a bit like I had overdone it, and chocolate wasn't something I sought out much on my own anymore. Not for myself at least. Hmm.

"Why don't I get something you think you might like too? That way you can try some of it to see if you like it, and you'll have chocolate in case you don't." This seemed like a good way to increase the chances of Shimamura enjoying our date.

"That's so sweet of you Adachi. But you'll have to try some of mine too then."

Sharing ice cream with Shimamura? After we'd both… oh. Maybe I hadn't thought this through. But, Shimamura seemed ok with it, so…

"Besides, I'm not going to let you feed me a bunch of extra ice cream just so you can stay the pretty one. I've got to watch my figure too, you know."

"W-What? No. No, that's not… I don't think you need to watch your figure. It's really…"

"Adachi... are you saying that it's already beyond saving? Hmph."

Shimamura had that teasing tone of voice again. I could do this!

"Your figure is…"

"My figure is what? I couldn't quite hear you." Shimamura made an exaggerated pout. She was playing with me. "Could you say it again?"

"Your figure is… great." was the best I could manage.

Amazing. Perfect. Beautiful. I can't stop thinking of it every time I close my eyes. Those words came to mind too late to be of any use.

"Why thank you for noticing, Adachi. I appreciate it."

"O-Oh, I mean, it's hard not…"

"Yours is pretty nice too."

I was a bit taken aback. Shimamura wanted to not just want to receive compliments, but give them as well. I wondered if I could play her game like she could.

"Just… pretty nice?"

Shimamura smiled. She knew exactly what I was trying to do. She had to. It wouldn't work.

"Uh-huh. Pretty and nice. Just like you."

It was clear that I wasn't going to win this battle. Still, pretty and nice weren't exactly bad words to hear. Maybe just not as nice as others.

Shimamura slowed down just enough to slip behind and wrap her arms around me. I stopped in my tracks. W-What was she doing?

Shimamura laughed a bit more before whispering at me.

"Yep. Pretty nice!" She giggled and once again took my hand.

"Oh! There it is!" More laughter filled the air as Shimamura skipped forward, slightly pulling me toward a small vending cart in the distance.

Shimamura seemed really excited about getting ice cream.