Chapter Text
Ritto Dormitories | Jun 03 | Friday | 6:18 P.M.
Today had been a pretty tame day for Cheval Grand. Another day of classes, another day of training. It's a Friday night, perfect--- plenty of time to wind down for the weekend. Maybe talk to Win Variation about their days, about their siblings or... whatever. Then maybe a fishing trip tomorrow, just her and her trusty fishing rod, maybe grab some desserts along the way. But first things first, mail. Their mailbox should be resupplied by now she assured herself, but what would she find this time? Something from her parents probably, her allowance, a few fanmail like usual.
Cheval sighs as soon as she enters the building, stepping into the building's little lounge room. A blue carpet laid flat before her, flanked by a couch to the left, and eventually the mailboxes to her right. She fiddled with her keys as she walked up to their assigned mailbox. The thin metal door swings open as the lock clicks quietly, Cheval reached her hand inside, lightly grasping onto the stack of papers inside before pulling it out. She nudges the little door back close, fishing out the little key out of the keyhole.
Shion's... Shion's... Mine... Shion's...
She mutters quietly, organizing the two girls' mail one by one, holding onto her own on one hand while the other hand held onto Shion's. The hallways tonight are pretty quiet today. Usually there would be a decent amount of girls roaming around, both loud and quiet before curfew would set in. Eventually, she arrives at her dorm, fishing her key out of her pocket once more with brief struggle. The brass object slips inside the keyhole with ease and with one turn, the door is unlocked, and pushed open.
"Ah, welcome back, Cheval."
"Good evening."
The red haired girl was sat on her own bed, already dressed in her pajamas as she brushed her tail. Cheval doesn't waste her time walking up to Win Variation, gently setting the girl's mail down beside her on the mattress before stepping away, retreating to her own desk. She lets out a quiet huff as she pulls the chair towards her, it's feet grind briefly against the hardwood floors, before taking a seat on the soft cushioning. She finally frees her mail from her grasp, dexterous fingers picking up each envelope one by one, sorting each one by importance.
From mom and dad... From the Academy... From the URA...
Then Cheval's heart skips a beat upon a particular envelope. The same name and address catered only to be sent to her, the same one that she's been reading from and writing to on a weekly basis at this point. She smiles, sneaking a glance to her sides as if Shion would bother peeping over her shoulder. She sticks a nail underneath the flap, gently prying it open without ripping even a millimeter of the delicate paper. To her success, it opens without damage as a folded piece of paper sits inside of it. She pulls it out of the envelope, fiddling with one end of it before finally unfolding it open.
Hey Cheval!!!
It's been a pretty tame week for me, not much has happened, other than summer kicking my ass, even if it just began. I don't think I've ever told you how much I dislike summer, but now you know I guess. I imagine you feel the opposite considering you enjoy fishing. Sitting by the sea must feel quite nice. The sea breeze blowing against your hair, your face, all while simply lounging on a chair, waiting for your fishing rod to shake or whatever--- I mean, I don't know, I know nothing about fishing, haha.
Anyways, I haven't really done much this week other than go to school and all that. Went to a music store the other day, picked up a few CDs. Ate at this one cafe close to the Tokyo Racecourse too, they had really nice desserts, thought I'd recommend that to you if you ever have a race there one day. I've also began planning for what to do this summer break at least. Maybe head to the beach with a few friends, or just stay home in front of a fan, but that would be pretty boring, at least for me.
I'd love to hear what you're planning this summer too, I'll be waiting for your reply as usual.
Tomo Aoki
Cheval concludes reading the letter in her head, another quiet sigh slipping out of her lips as the piece of paper is gently set down on the table. Her eyes focus back on the previously opened envelope, noticing a subtle bump inside. She reaches inside, fingers making contact with a solid, plastic-like piece before finally pulling it out to reveal a USB stick. What in the world would he put in this thing? He's never sent anything to her other than the usual letters, so this was pretty new from him.
...
"I'll.. be back."
"Where are you going?"
The computer tower beside her hums quietly as Cheval settles into the seat. The building's little computer lab is pretty barren tonight, yet she can't help but look back to scope out eavesdroppers. She sees, and hears no one, giving her the green light to continue. The USB stick is inserted into one of the ports, the computer's headphones letting out a quiet blip into her ears as a small notification appears at the bottom right corner of the screen. She slides the small mouse in her hand, navigating her way to the computer's file manager, and eventually reaching the USB's directory.
I Could Die for You.mp3
readme.txt
A song? Could it be from his trip to the music store? Cheval thought to herself. The cursor hovers over the mp3 file for a second, before she gives it two clicks. The song begins with a soft guitar riff followed by the quieter hum of what she presumed to be the bass, before the drums finally kick in. The lyrics are sung entirely in English, thankfully, she has a few, or atleast a decent amount of knowledge on the language, so listening to it was not the end of the world.
What it means for me to be with you alone
Close the door and no one has to know
How we are
The song finally fades into silence. She doesn't exactly know what the song means, at least from just one listen, but the title itself feels like it holds a message only for her. Then her eyes perk up, noticing the other file in the directory, aptly named "read me" like it would hold all her answers. The cursor on the screen hovers downwards, before she gives it a double click.
i know youre not exactly the best at english, but i thought you'd enjoy this song. kind of reminds me of us i guess
Cheval's heart skips another beat, her lips gently curling into a small smile as she reads over the small note. It didn't really answer her questions on the meaning of the song, or the gesture as a whole, but it leaves her mind to simply imagine a plethora of ideas.
Us? As in me and him? Alone?
Tomo,
I think I know the cafe you were talking about in your letter, though I don't remember the name. Was there a piano inside of it? If so, I think it might be the one I'm thinking of. As for the summer... I don't have much plans yet. Chances are that my sisters would probably pull me to the beach and swim, which I hope not. Otherwise, I would just spend time on my own to fish, visit the market or something.
I also got your other little gift, if that's the right word for it. I like the song, it feels very calm and warm. I do admit that I barely understand the lyric's meaning, but I still enjoyed nevertheless. Did you understand the meaning behind it? I'd love to know based on your own words, so I'm not going to spoil myself to learning the meaning on the internet. Especially the title of the song, which I thought was a nice message from you... if that was your intention this whole time.
I'm also curious at the part where it goes "to be with you alone... and no one has to know how we are". And also, what did you mean by us in that little note you wrote..?I look forward to your letter, and thank you for the little gift again, though I don't have much use for it... do you want it back?
Cheval Grand