Lightning Strike (3)

"That's absolutely crazy! Oh my gosh!"

Koharu howled when I relayed to her Leo's… eccentric story about Algor.

"Nobody else in the room said *anything*? They really waited for another fairy?"

Today, we sat in one of the vacant offices with the door closed. The dining hall was occupied by Hikaru and whoever he invited to join him for lunch. It sounded like they were diplomats from a distant kingdom, but Koharu didn't know all the details.

It wasn't hard to bring our food and conversation to another place. It seemed we could ramble for hours without getting bored no matter where we were; our chatting was so incessant that we always whined about saying goodbye at the end of each night.

"If I were in that room, I wouldn't be able to say anything either," I said, sitting atop the desk and munching on a basic ham sandwich.

"I would start cursing."

"Well, you'd sound stupid saying,"—I switched to a higher voice— "'Oh, fiddlesticks! What is this diddly-darn atrocity?'"

She laughed, joining me in shouting so loudly that I doubted anyone in the nearby rooms could focus. "Gah, my side hurts. You're right, but I do *not* sound like that."

"Okay." I dropped my voice lower, making it slightly raspy. "You sound like this then."

Grinning, she rolled her eyes. "You're a little closer but no. My voice isn't that flat. You just sound like you're choking on that sandwich." She then poked my hip—somehow, I let her without being aggressive—and pushed against my back. "Why are you sitting on the table?"

"Because I want to…?" I folded the paper out of which I ate my lunch.

"Your butt's in my face! I'm sitting down here."

I swivelled to look at her as she reclined in the nicest chair in the room. "The other seats are boring. They make me feel like I'm being interrogated."

"But I wanna see your face! All I can see is your uniform."

*So do I, but I think I'll just embarrass myself under your gaze.*

I tossed the ball of paper to a receptacle on the other side of the room, and she took the opportunity to knock me off the desk. Because my feet dangled, I landed on them, but I turned to her with a frown.

"Fine. I'll pull up a chair, Princess Koharu."

When I dragged it across from her, I sat down and placed my feet squarely under me. They accidentally hit her legs due to the cramped space, and she placed one foot on top of mine casually.

"You should call me something shorter. That's a mouthful. Also, it's way too formal."

"Koharu," I replied as if that was the obvious answer.

"Something shorter."

*You want to be a letter? You already send me enough!*

"Hmm…"

I considered the parts of her name. I wasn't creative enough to pull something original and deep from my ass, even if I wanted to impress her.

"How about 'Koko'? I know your brother already calls you Haru." I rested my arms on the cold wood, mere inches away from hers.

"So I'm 'here'?" She smiled.

Laughing, I pointed to a wall. "You're not there."

She couldn't help but chuckle along with me. "In one language, 'Koko' means 'here'. Dad told me that."

My curiosity was piqued after that came up. "Then, what does 'Koharu' mean?"

She had to think, habitually biting the inside of her cheek. "I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the sun or spring."

"It suits you. You're always beaming."

A sudden rush of anxiety hit me, skin buzzing.

*Why do I get so nervous when I compliment her?*

Earnestly, she replied, "I think it does, too. So what does your name mean?"

I chuckled. "I think my dad named me after some girl who dies in a play. It feels like a bad omen. Nowhere near as cool as yours."

"Akiyoshi probably would know that play. He's a book nerd."

"You know what? He fits the stereotype."

"Completely." She moved her head forward, letting the sunlight from the window reflect beautifully off her face. "'Lia' is cute, though."

I chuckled nervously, feeling my heart flutter at the dubious statement. She used that term a lot, but it still received that visceral, giddy reaction from me every time.

"You mean the name, right?"

*Right?*

"I mean it any way you want to think of it." She put her elbows on the desk, cupping her face in her palms as she smiled at me sweetly with her eyes closed.

*I think I'm going to short circuit! Too much happiness is like too much lightning shocking my brain, don't you know?*