Other World Chimera
Sunnate

Nozomi felt quite rested as her consciousness slowly returned. The cool breeze caressing his cheek was balanced by the warmth of the pillow he was holding, making him lazy. The pillow is not only warm to the touch but also quite soft, not to mention the sweet and floral aroma. 

Unknowingly, Nozomi hugged the pillow tighter because she wanted to feel that more comfortable warmth. However, as his sleepy mind began to slowly wake up, he began to wonder where such a good pillow came from. 

He did not remember buying it, not to mention that such a good pillow would cost him a lot of money that he did not have. As his curiosity had shaken, he slowly opened his eyes. With her vision slightly blurry, Nozomi had to blink a few times before she could see well what was in front of her. 

The first thing he saw was a deep red strand. Moving a little so that he could get a better view, he saw the delicate rose beige skin. A pair of reddish lips a few centimeters from his lips, a neatly carved nose and eyes covered with long eyelashes. Her brain froze when she realized that she had hugged this person tightly, not to mention that the person was doing the same to her. 

Nozomi becomes confused as her mind begins to work to try and understand what she sees until her mind finally comes to a realization. The person in front of him was Tomoka! Tomoka's best friend! Upon realizing that, Nozomi's heart started to beat fast while her cheeks turned tomato red. 

"T-Tomoka!" She tries to stay away but Tomoka's tight grip doesn't let her go. However, it seemed that his words had moved the sleeping girl. A moment later Tomoka's closed eyelids opened slowly and lazily.

To Nozomi's surprise, instead of the bright emerald green eyes he used to see, he saw a pair of sparkling pink balls staring at him. In it he saw a strange image as in the pink iris an additional pupil would open and close randomly everywhere. Nozomi becomes fascinated with Tomoka's eyes that look like a pool of liquid pink diamonds bubbling up over time. 

Five more minutes Saying those words in a lazy and somewhat tired tone Tomoka closed her eyes again. Nozomi herself had many questions to ask, but seeing how tired Tomoka was, she decided to wait. 

In the past he felt empty and cold. He could never forget the indifferent gaze his clan members gave him. Even her nanny looked at her like nothing more than a burden she had to handle. He felt empty, cold, and lonely until Tomoka appeared in his life. A bright shining star that illuminates his world. 

Once she learns the joy of friendship, Nozomi is desperate to keep that warmth to herself. However, Hinata shows up and she feels threatened. He did not want to go back to being cold, empty and alone. How stupid he was at the time. 

Thankfully, as time went on she learned that her sun was bright enough for both of them. Not to mention when he got to know Hinata better, he felt a kind of kinship with the shy girl. Like his people didn't see Hinata for who she was. 

Unlike him, who was someone insignificant in the clan, Hinata was ignored for the opposite reason. As the heir of the clan, great hope was given to him. Hinata is ignored because people don't want to see who she is but who they want. 

Like that, Nozomi learns that just like her, Hinata is also hollow, cold, and alone. As of now, Nozomi doesn't mind sharing the sunshine with Hinata. The two grow closer as friends and rivals as they constantly compete for the attention of the sun. 

Seeing the girl in his arms, Nozomi could not help feeling happy and warm. His heart was tense with emotions that he barely understood. Every time he spent time with Tomoka, he felt happy and warm, but now it was different. At this time Nozomi felt her heart melt into a puddle of water. 

Perhaps, just maybe, this was what he had never felt before, what he had heard others talk about. Maybe, maybe, this is love.