“Onee-sama~” Riri called for Yuyu after she had knocked and opened the door to their legion room with Kaede, Fumi, Shenlin, and Yujia in tow. “Look, look!”
“Welcome back, Riri, everyone. What’s that?” Yuyu asked as she closed the book she was reading while she waited in their room.
“It’s a new item in the school store that is only sold on November 11th! It’s called Pocky!” Riri explained as she took the seat next to Yuyu.
“Ah. I have heard about that. It’s those biscuits that is 3/4 covered in chocolate coating and is shaped like pencils, isn’t it?” Yuyu accepted the box of pocky. “I never quite understood why it was only sold on November 11th.”
“Ehem.” Fumi popped from behind the couch right in between the two of them. “It’s because the 11/11 on the calendar looked like pocky sticks!” She held out two pocky sticks to demonstrate them looking like 11 as Riri looked at it with her mouth opened.
“I see. That is quite clever.” Yuyu took one pocky from the box that Riri had opened. “But what was so special about it? That’s not all of it is it?”
“Ehe~” Riri smiled shyly as she held a stick in front of her towards Yuyu. “The truth is Onee-sama, there’s this thing called ‘Pocky Game’ that came with it.”
“Pocky Game?” Yuyu looked at the pocky stick and mulled it over.
“Here I go, Yujia-san.” Yuyu and Riri directed their attention at Shenlin and Yujia on the other side of the couch.
Yujia, while beet red in the cheeks, had one side of the pocky hanging out of her mouth as she nodded. She shakingly held out the other end towards Shenlin with both of her eyes closed.
“Well then, here I go.” Shenlin took a bite from the side that was held out onto her as they both slowly ate a single pocky stick.
Yujia, with her eyes still tightly shut, bit little by little on the pocky stick as their faces got closer and closer and–
“Stop it!” Kaede hit the center of their remaining pocky sticky with a teaspoon as she angrily looked at them. “No kissing in the legion room!”
“Oh my, it broke apart. I guess we had both failed the game.” Shenlin only took it to stride but Yujia somehow looked both relieved and disappointed. “It was unfortunate isn’t it, Yujia-san?”
“Mm…” Yujia took out another stick from her box, and slowly ate it by herself.
Shenlin only smiled at her. “I suppose I would hold onto this box as my snack for tonight in our room.”
Yujia blinked as Shenlin only smiled at her.
“That–is a pocky game, Yuyu-sama–“
“So I wanted to do it with–“
“No.” Yuyu firmly answered her ears red as she understood what the point of this ‘game’ is.
“But of course…” Riri smiled wryly as she bit the end of her own pocky stick and began eating it by herself. She took one more stick from her box and noticed another hand that took one from her box as well. “Onee-sama?”
Yuyu held the stick towards Riri as she looked away, her cheeks beet red. “These kinds of stuff… aren’t something you do in public, you know?”
Riri looked at the pocky stick in confusion.
“Come to my room later after dinner time.” Yuyu shyly looked at her before turning away again.
Riri’s face brightened up like the morning soon as she took the pocky stick with delight. “Yes, Onee-sama! Ehehehehe~”
Fumi held a hand to her face as her nosebleed in happiness. “I think I’ll be satisfied in seeing it in my imaginations… This precious Yuyu-sama is an equal trade–worghh.”
“Fumi-chan!”
~
“Kanaho.” Takane called for the white haired Gran Epre leader as she arrived in their clubroom.
“Takane-chan! I thought you were in a scout mission with Kazuha-san and Renka-san?” Kanaho finished tending to the pot of plant inside their clubroom and walked over towards Takane.
“We finished our scout early so I went back right away. However, I also learned something about today from Renka-san.” Takane took out a box of pocky from her bag and handed it to Kanaho. “It seems that today is called Pocky Day.”
“Pocky Day…?” Kanaho accepted the box and looked at it. “Is it like the creation and foundation of this snack?” She carefully inspected the box first before opening it up.
“Mm-mm. Other than 11/11 looking like those pocky snacks, it’s also to celebrate a thing called Pocky Game.” Takane watched Kanaho take a pocky stick. “May I?”
“Of course. Here.” Kanaho offered the pocky as Takane took one stick. Kanaho bit one pocky stick to taste. “Mm. This snack sure is nice. It’s chocolate covered biscuit?”
“Yes. So pocky game is when you bite one end of this pocky.” Takane explained as Kanaho followed and bit one end of the pocky. “And then you hold it with your mouth and point it towards another person.”
“Like this?” Kanaho spoke with a pocky stick in her mouth as she held it out at Takane.
“Yes, Kanaho, you’re doing great.” Takane smiled at her. “And the other person eats from the other side, and they start eating the pocky together.” She took a bite from her side of pocky.
“!?” The moment Kanaho realized what the point of the game was, she moved away right after Takane took a bite at it and split it to half.
“Oh my, it split into half, too bad.” Takane ate the rest of the pocky that ended up with her and licked her lips.
“T- Takane-chan! Geez! You almost made me fall for that one…” Kanaho blushed as she chewed and ate the rest of the pocky in her mouth.
“What could you be talking about?” Takane smiled mischievously as she looked around the club room. “Where’s everyone el–“
Takane stared wide eyed as she turned to look at Kanaho only to find the other end of a new pocky stick held out towards her. “I prepared my heart this time… so come at me.”
Takane only looked at her for a long time as a few moments passed.
“Takane-chan!”
Takane blinked, then she took the pocky stick from Kanaho’s lips with her hand and kissed her without saying anything. She wrapped her free hand around Kanaho’s waist as she pulled her closer. Kanaho accepted the kiss as she wrapped her arms around Takane’s shoulders.
“Geez… Weren’t we playing the Pocky Game?” Kanaho pouted as she parted from the kiss.
“…I think you’re sweet enough without the chocolate and biscuit.” Takane leaned in for another kiss as they shared the moment.
Outside their clubroom door was a bright red Himeka with a hand on her mouth, a continuously nosebleeding Kureha who had her hands over Akari’s eyes who was flailing her arms around shouting “Tokkiiiiii~ I can’t see!”
“I am happy to have lived until November 11th of this year…” Then a Toki Kureha flew up into the sky, content with her life.
(Pocky Day/END)
Omake
“Onee-sama.” Riri knocked onto the door to Yuyu’s dorm as she waited for Yuyu to let her in with sweaty hands and a box of pocky.
“Riri. Come in.”
Riri slowly opened the door as she peeked inside first before going in and standing near the door with the box of pocky held out in front of her. Yuyu sat on her bed in her sleep wear.
“What are you doing over there? Come here.” Yuyu tapped the space next to her in bed.
“Y- Yes!” Riri walked like a robot towards Yuyu’s side and sat down as stiff as she could be.
“What are you nervous for?” Yuyu laughed as Riri sat down. She blushed a little as she held the little box of chocolate biscuits in her hand. “…This Pocky Game is a first for the both of us, isn’t it?”
“That’s true, hehe.” Riri smiled sheepishly as she watched Yuyu open the box. “But still, I can’t help but be nervous.”
“I see.” Yuyu smiled as she took out a pocky stick. “…Shall we?”
Riri sat up straight with both of her hands on her lap as Yuyu placed one end of the pocky stick in her mouth and tucked her hair behind her ear as she leaned towards Riri to take the other end. Riri swallowed hard then bit the other end of the pocky.
Without saying anything else, the two of them bit each of their ends of the pocky little by little… little by little, aware at how the seemingly long snack has gotten smaller and smaller on each bite.
Yuyu closed her eyes as she took her last bite, and unsure of what had come over her, Riri took the last two bites as their lips met in a warm kiss.
Riri was the first one to open her eyes but Yuyu was the first one to part away from the kiss. Yuyu covered her face with a hand as she looked away with a blush while Riri fashioned her own flushed cheeks, she only stared at Yuyu in awe.
“Th- This is why… No one should be doing this in front of other people…” Yuyu spoke in reason. Why is this so embarrassing?
“Onee-sama… You’re so cute.” Riri blinked as she moved closer towards Yuyu, leaning forward. “…Can we… do it one more time?”
Yuyu leaned away as she watched Riri’s intense expression. “I…”
“Did you not like it? I liked it a lot… because I get to see a cute side to you, Onee-sama.” Riri smiled at Yuyu brightly.
“I- It’s not like I didn’t like it…” Yuyu removed her hand from her face, but still not quite meeting Riri’s gaze. “…But I don’t mind doing it one more time…”
Needless to say… one pack of pocky later… Yuyu was glad Riri had only one box with her. And Yuyu’s words for the next day left everyone in their legion puzzled.
“Riri and a box of pocky could be quite a formidable opponent…”
(END)
