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Author Topic: 私のアホ家族(My Stupid Family)[24/6 - Chapter 25: A Series of Unfortunate Events]  (Read 93261 times)

Offline mmsuki

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when i started reading it i was really looking forward to the meeting of ReinAi.. but as i went on to read further.. 'oh crap, she's gonna end it with a massive CLIFFHANGER!!'.. and i was right.. :rofl: rawr!! the torture for the next chapter... :panic:

Quote
Ai wondered if the last 12 years had been but a mere dream,
lol! quite a paranoid Mama.. XD

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Her initial words was garbled and murred by sleep, but Ai heard "Tanaka-san", "I'm not slacking off" and "please don't kill me",
:lol: poor Riho even in her sleep Reina haunts her.. XD

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Riho wisely held out a box of tissue. She knew her Mama well enough to anticipate the reaction.
that is sooo cute!! it looks like Riho really planned it out well, even came prepared for her Mama's reaction..  XD

although...
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"Mama, look who's here!" Riho announced with all the guile of an innocent child, eager to please. Ai, who was drying her eyes and trying to regain some form of presentability, looked up.

And time stopped.
this is one reaction/situation she surely did not anticipate!!! XD

Offline oddball

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Aww Riho is so cute, doing so much for Ai!  :wub: and not buring down the kitchen this time  :P I'm glad that Ai really liked Riho's song to, bless her the girl was doing so well until, well until the last bit of her surprise turned up...

I wonder what Reina and Ai will do, I think alot will go unsaid infront of Riho, hmm why do I see an akward chapter coming up......  :panic:

Offline Shiawase_Honoo

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Wow, Riho such a good girl :wub:
I love how little Riho presented her love to her Mama which I never done before :thumbsup
(All I do just to not cause any trouble to her, that's enough :nervous)
Oh, and good enough that our little Riho not to burn down the kitchen or hurt herself :lol:
*imagined little Riho wolf down her food* It's so amused :rofl: I don't know how, but maybe because of her 'genuis' that she didn't break down table manners :lol:

And the awful has come with Reina's entering :panic:

Offline Kikk4r

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 oh and one more thing i think the present is something with karaoke


if it is it`s typical Reina  XD :lol:

Offline eruchan

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Wow, Riho... she prepared so much for her beloved mama  :thumbup
I agree! she's the perfect kid  :heart:
although this time her good intention kinda have the opposite effect... Reina...  :nervous
I'm looking forward for ReinAi interaction  :lol:

Offline gab98

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i want a Ai-chan Mama  too :mon cute:

hahaha Riho is a good daughter ...this chappie is really cute..

but...
Quote
It might have been years, days, minutes or mere seconds later, but the silence was shattered, had to be shattered, and it was with muted voice and ashen face that Tanaka Reina said, strained.

"Ojamashimasu."

Holy crap... :mon spit: ...

Tanakacchi is appear in Takahashi's House!!  :shocked  very shocked



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Offline aussie

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Dum dum dum. Poor Riho, we all know she meant well, even mistaking her mama's lingering gaze on Reina as a sign of her mama fangirling over the kitten, so she thought it would be a nice surprise to invite her mentor over. Maybe Riho won't be the only one guilty of destroyed furniture in the Takahashi household, not directly at least this time ^^; Though, I do hope Reina would have the decency to hold her anger(??) in in front of the kid.

Reina has certainly recognised Ai. I'm guessing it would be vice versa; if Ai recognised Sayu straight away (while Sayu took her time to recognise Ai), I have a feeling she won't have any problem recognising Reina. What was it that left Reina (and Sayu, to a lesser extent) bitter after Ai left 12 years ago is slowly starting to eat me up with curiosity :lol:

...though you probably won't divulge into it this soon XD


Can't wait to see how things will unfold....and what the secret final present Riho has arranged for her mother.




Offline Estrea

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Ugh, sorry to take so long with an update. Life intrudes.


kawaii: Riho is just a bundle of cuteness. :D And Ai is forever a drama queen. XD Queen of Emo, yo. And Riho is too awesome, so she needs flaws. As for how she survived, sheer good luck? Protagonist immunity? XD And yes Riho has no idea what events she has just set into place. XD

Kikk4r: I wouldn't say she likes to destroy stuff. She just accidentally does it. XD But isn't she so cute, trying so hard? :D

rndy: I'm glad I could do that. :D Have I mentioned how much I couldn't get my head straight in the chapter? Well, at least my readers seem to process it well enough. XD Little miss perfect needs to be...not so perfect, so I throw failures at her like sakura in spring. XD Besides, she has to live and learn on the road to becoming Wunderkind. XD ReinAi confrontation coming right up!

SarangAi: Hehe kawaii's the right word. :D Enter the Tanaka. *imagines dragon-kitty Reina* HM. XD Relax! It'll turn out just fine~ maybe

mmsuki: Aww you learned to read me already. :D I just enjoy torturing you guys, really. XD And Riho having vivid dreams was something I picked up from her radio show. XD And Riho can only plan for things that she has information on! :P

oddball: Well, thing about Riho is that she isn't perfect. She tries and tries, but SOMETHING always happens. XD She was doing so well too...XD;

Shiawase_Honoo: Riho's a wonderful daughter. I wonder if there's really such a specimen on earth. :lol: And yes, Reina's entry brings drama in its wake!

eruchan: Riho loves her mama. :D She did say she won't lose to anyone when it comes to love for her family, so...:D Didn't you hear how the road to hell is paved with good intentions? :D I just love being evil like that...

gab98: I want an Ai-chan Mama too. >_> XD What's so shocking about Reina showing up? They have to meet eventually...although, yes, the timing is dramatic. :P

aussie: Riho can only act on what she knows or can guess (however wrongly XD). Human perception isn't perfect in the absence of critical facts. XD What happened to cause the acrimony between ReinAi (and also Sayu)? That is the question. XD And yes, you know my methods too well! :P


Wow that's a lot to reply to. And ugh tired. Time to edit and post.

永遠に咲き続ける花なんていない、すべてはいずれ枯れて朽ち果てしまう。

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Offline rokun

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*wedge*
>.>
<.<

Offline Estrea

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A Moment in Time


Waking up early was not a common habit for one Tanaka Reina.

Even less likely when it was not for work. Reina wondered what sort of insanity she had tumbled into in agreeing to participate in her little protege's harebrained scheme. Her taste for mischief had not diminished as the years rolled on, and Reina was quite determined to stay young at heart, even if time chose to erode her outer shell. That was her way of thumbing her nose at nature's inevitable progress.

Still, this was not a prank, at least not in the usual sense. It involved deception, which appealed to the trickster in Reina, and the girly side of her positively squealed at the earnest effort little Riho was putting in for something like Mother's Day -- not that she would let her appreciation slip, of course. One had an image to maintain.

The display did, however, shame her into sending along a handwritten card along with the usual flowers she still sent on the day, as she faithfully did every year. Reina might be terrified of the cantankerous old bat -- a dangerous chill ran through her at the blasphemous thought -- but that didn't mean she didn't love her. They were both busy people, but they did make time to have meals together at least once or twice a year.

It was thus somewhat inconceivable to her how Riho was so abnormally (to her) attached to her Mama. Once upon a time, Reina imagined, she had felt close to her mother, but that seemed buried under that colossal mountain known as Work.

Reina had grown up practically on her own, since she did not have the benefit of a supportive extended family the way the Takahashi household had banded around Riho and her Mama. She had never met her grandparents, who had disowned her mother for being, ironically, too respectable. Reina knew little about the family history, but guessed enough to know that she probably didn't want to find out.

Her mother had proved too strong a character against her obviously weak-willed father, whom she did not recall, since the man either ran away or killed himself, depending on how cynical you wanted to be while listening to a mother's drunken rambles. Reina grew up relatively independent and able to hold her own in a scuffle, though she preferred to avoid them to begin with, if possible. Still, some fights could not be avoided, as was her inevitable involvement with delinquents during her younger days.

Such a far cry from those days, her idol self now. Reina eyed her nails with her usual alacrity, not bothering to suppress the yawn that came reflexively. Her bag bounced on her shoulder, weighted down by the parcel she was set to deliver to Riho. The invitation to come to her house was a surprise, though what surprised Reina most was how she had accepted it to begin with. She had taken a liking to the little tyke somehow, damn it.

It helped that Riho was quiet, obedient, and quick to learn. Reina's famous impatience could hardly find anything wrong with the Wonderbrat, except maybe with the singing, but the kid was young yet, and she at least possessed some sense of pitch. Reina's inner critic despaired of ever instilling that instinct into her dear cousin. Thank God for autotune.

The building was well maintained, though hardly spectacular. The general neighborhood was not particularly glamorous compared to her own, even though by some odd twist of fate, they were not located all that far apart. Had Reina really wanted, she could probably have walked there from home. Less than 2 kilometers away by her estimate, which was a trifling. Not that she would have walked there in heels. Or walked there, period. There was a somewhat unsavory neighborhood smack in the middle of their two districts, and Reina would never take such risks with her person. She had too much to lose.

With a fashionable beret on and famous face masked by her usual shades, Reina was convinced she looked no different from the average young woman on the streets. Going incognito became more of a imperative as the years passed; while early in her career she would have been more than happy to be noticed on the streets, time had eventually urged her to caution -- that, and growing fame made it difficult to do anything without people stalking her. While the attention was flattering, an older and hopefully wiser Reina had decided that having private time was more precious than she had reckoned.

Checking the address on her phone, she looked back up at the door. It had to be the right place. The wonders of GPS. Gone were the days when she ended up hopelessly lost! Technology was such a wonderful thing...once she figured out how to use it. Thankfully, her phone was more or less idiot-proof.

She rang the bell. The door opened between one yawn and the next, though she hid any signs of it quickly enough. The kid had to be parked right beside the door to open it that quickly. Smirking slightly in greeting, she lifted a small box out of her bag and waved it at Riho, who beamed widely in welcome.

Riho was prattling about one thing or another -- excitable little thing she was, really, though you wouldn't have imagined it of her -- and Reina nodded, not really listening. She turned her attention instead to her surroundings, which were quite spartan overall, but the inward progress into the tiny apartment yielded more signs of being lived in.

When Riho bounced forward to announce her, Reina's eyes caught sight of something on the table, an old photograph that had a visibly younger Riho and...

Her throat seized up. A ghost, it had to be. Ghosts from a past she tried to forget, though it still appeared in her dreams from time to time. She sucked in a deep breath, and turned.

Terror greeted her. For her part, Reina's eyes went absolutely blank, her brain doing the equivalent of CANNOT COMPUTE as seen in computers. This lasted but a mere moment, as she quickly recovered her composure -- outwardly, in any case -- and looked more closely at the teary-eyed woman on the couch.

That short hair, still mussed from sleep. It looked so different, yet so familiar, that a part of Reina almost reached towards it, but only sheer will prevented such an instinct. Her own eyes were hard, to mask the shock she was feeling, her posture wary, like a cat about to bolt.

The tear-streaked face...tears had not been a big part of those long-buried memories. Those long forgotten days were possessed of an innocent joy that excluded the need for them. The days that followed though...Reina felt her heart squeeze, then harden painfully at the memory. That time of her life shamed her deeply, a shame that she could never quite bury because one other person -- her dear cousin, Sayu -- had been privy to the depths to which she had sunk.

Those feelings of weakness, of vulnerability...all that was in the past. She had moved on past them, and no longer had any use for them. Useless emotions, that was all. She amused herself toying with young men, breaking hearts with the carelessness of a child, and never ever opened up her heart to anyone. No good could ever come of being open to others. It only ever allowed for betrayal.

This grim memory jolted her back into present times, and her own voice sounded distinctly clipped as she mouthed the usual formality, even managing a tiny upward quirk of the lips to suggest some sort of smile -- though no Oscars would be won for it.

Riho seemed unaware of the tension brewing in the room, and Reina briefly envied her for it. To be young and ignorant again! She watched with a steely glint in her eye as Riho catapulted back into Ai's arms with a contented sounding 'Mama~' emerging from her lips.

The perfect image of mother-daughter bonding would have been disgustingly sweet in any other situation, but it only made Reina cold in this case. She stood awkwardly at the edge, unsure of what she should do.

It was Riho who made that decision for her, bounding back to retrieve the case that Reina had obtained for her. Reina watched dumbly as Riho opened the box for her Mama (who just as obviously was hyperaware of Reina's presence), and in moments the room was filled with the haunting notes of an orgel.

Reina watched as Ai's eyes softened at the music, a motherly tenderness directed at her daughter, and inexplicably felt a kind of jealousy at the situation. Riho was beaming to see her final gift so well received, though even Reina had to let slip a hollow chuckle when Ai's next act was to rap her little girl's head and scold her for inviting a guest in to see her in so unglamorous  a state. Riho looked suitably chastised, and did not need much a second smack to dash off in the direction of the bedroom to fetch a hairbrush.

And it was just the two of them, briefly, in that suddenly claustrophobic living room.

"Reina..." Oh, so she remembers me, thought Reina bitterly, though her face remained impassive. The idol glided closer, her stocking feet making nary a sound on the tiled floor. She stopped just short of the couch, looking down at the person she had not seen in a dozen years, a confusing gamut of emotions tangled in her chest.

Ai did not shy away from meeting her eyes. Their eye contact remained unbroken from when Riho exited the room, and even now, less than a foot apart, neither looked away. A whisper of thought reminded Reina of how things change. The Ai she knew could never have met her eyes so consistently, so bravely, so...so...honestly. There was something almost naked in that gaze, and it made Reina uncomfortable -- which irritated her more than she could ever say.

"That kid..." Reina began abruptly, the first words simply leaping off her lips as they crossed her mind. "She's yours?"

"Yes." This close, Reina could see the defiant set of her jaw, and briefly entertained the notion of running her fingers along it. She dismissed the thought as quickly as it came.

"You left because of her." The words came out in a rush; hypothesis, conclusion, accusation all. Her thoughts all in a whirl, Reina stood alone in that roaring vortex, a silent calm within that churning storm. She was calm because the other option was hysteria. She felt nothing because she would not.

"Yes." There was something unutterably sad in that honest gaze, but it did not conceal the determination within. Reina jerked back slightly when Ai stood, their faces finally level.

A moment of tense silence, and Reina twitched visibly when Ai stepped towards her, placing a tentative hand on her arm. She was about to shake the grip off, but Ai had already let go after a light squeeze and a whispered "we'll talk later" before stepping past her to greet Riho with a smile on her face.

Reina's own expression was unreadable as Ai left Riho instructions to entertain their guest while she freshened up. She had half a mind to leave just then, but some perverse instinct made her stay. Her younger, more impetuous self might already have stormed out long ago, but Reina had learned a kind of stillness over the years. The kitten of yore had matured into a seasoned predator, and deep down, she wanted answers. She needed, no, demanded an accounting.

Her arm still burned where Ai had touched her. Reina wondered what it would take to exorcise old ghosts from the past, and hoped, not for the first time, for an end to it all.

And then what dreams would come?

Reina did not know. She could not.

===============================================


Preliminaries. Riho being there makes things difficult, but also interesting, in a way...

永遠に咲き続ける花なんていない、すべてはいずれ枯れて朽ち果てしまう。

Currently writing:
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I'm also on AO3!
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Offline rndmnwierd

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I guess it was too much to hope for a Takagaki at all... Le sigh. :lol:

Oh well, my theory of 'Reina is the father!' seems a little more plausible now. Obviously, Reina cared for Ai in the past, probably intimately since it seems she wants to caress her jaw and run fingers through her hair. And after Ai left, Reina despaired so much that, what? Her innocence was destroyed? I wonder if Sayu ever brings it up when she feels a need to be spiteful?

Of course, little Riho has no idea, still. :lol:  Will she learn? Or will it probably scar her for life?

So, they've met with a promise to talk later? How long can Reina stay calm, how long can Ai stay calm, for that matter? It's been a long time, they're both different people, but they're both still the same on many levels. Will they rekindle whatever they had? Or is it just too late to fix? Despite my bias, I'm actually hoping they can work it out.

That is, of course, assuming I'm right about who the daddy is. You know what they say about people who assume, though. XD

Offline SarangAi

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WAHHH  so many mysteries!  :panic:

So it seems like Ai was special to Reina no doubt, moreso than she was to Sayumi.  Seeming that the cold hard mask that reina usually manages to keep up just broke down as soon as she saw Ai...  :O

I wonder if this will lead to reina being colder to riho...  :(

avii&sig by the wonderful kawaii beam~!

Offline mmsuki

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Quote
Thank God for autotune.
ahhhh.. no, not really.. lol.. i hate that damned thing..

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For her part, Reina's eyes went absolutely blank, her brain doing the equivalent of CANNOT COMPUTE as seen in computers.
:rofl: i certainly know that feeling.. but for me its more like the loading bar that takes forever to process.. XD

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Reina felt her heart squeeze, then harden painfully at the memory.
hopefully it didn't harden enough that would make it impossible to break.. XD

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That time of her life shamed her deeply, a shame that she could never quite bury because one other person -- her dear cousin, Sayu -- had been privy to the depths to which she had sunk.
what?  :shocked something really deep and dark(?) happened in the past.. :grr:

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She amused herself toying with young men, breaking hearts with the carelessness of a child, and never ever opened up her heart to anyone. No good could ever come of being open to others.
oh wow... Reina is definitely scarred.. if she still feels and does the same then she needs closure/answers to truly move on and live a healthy, happy life..  XD

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It only ever allowed for betrayal.
trust issues surfacing.. will this be playing a role on the ReinAi interaction?  :? XD

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And it was just the two of them, briefly, in that suddenly claustrophobic living room.
just when the tension couldn't get thicker... it did.. XD

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Their eye contact remained unbroken from when Riho exited the room, and even now, less than a foot apart, neither looked away.
i know that its not the time for this... but.. -->>:wub:  XD

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"Yes." This close, Reina could see the defiant set of her jaw, and briefly entertained the notion of running her fingers along it. She dismissed the thought as quickly as it came.
why dismiss an awesome thought??..  XD yes, i know i know.. its not the time nor is it appropriate given the situation.. :mon sweat:

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"You left because of her." The words came out in a rush; hypothesis, conclusion, accusation all. Her thoughts all in a whirl,
so...... is it now safe to assume that they had a relationship in the past?  :huhuh  XD and my thoughts are in a whirl too... LOL! stupid unrevealed past.. :lol:

THE TALK..  :mon huh: what would be revealed there.. :banghead:

i think Riho being there made things civil between Reina and Ai.. :lol: if it were just the two of them suddenly meeting i don't know what would have happened.. XD

Offline Shiawase_Honoo

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For this chap, I have no word to say :sweatdrop:
because I want to know the past of them :cry:
And maybe the theory that a member of PLAY is Riho's father (mother?) would be true XD

^ do not pay attention to my odd assumption :nervous

Offline eruchan

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The display did, however, shame her into sending along a handwritten card along with the usual flowers she still sent on the day, as she faithfully did every year. Reina might be terrified of the cantankerous old bat -- a dangerous chill ran through her at the blasphemous thought -- but that didn't mean she didn't love her. They were both busy people, but they did make time to have meals together at least once or twice a year.
The relationship Reina has with the mother is such a contrast with Riho's  XD

Checking the address on her phone, she looked back up at the door. It had to be the right place. The wonders of GPS. Gone were the days when she ended up hopelessly lost! Technology was such a wonderful thing...once she figured out how to use it. Thankfully, her phone was more or less idiot-proof.
ah GPS... such a wonderful technology  :lol:

"That kid..." Reina began abruptly, the first words simply leaping off her lips as they crossed her mind. "She's yours?"
aaand... Reina and Ai finally meets! what a revelation...

"Yes." This close, Reina could see the defiant set of her jaw, and briefly entertained the notion of running her fingers along it. She dismissed the thought as quickly as it came.
I wonder why is that...

Offline dark-atrox

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i wonder what happened to the other gokkies  :?



Offline gab98

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so good!!!!  :thumbup

what happened between Ai and Reina in the past??  :shocked

They were together, but when Ai knows of you pregnancy, leave to Reina... :?

maybe the father was not responsible for Riho ... or do not know about she... or maybe he (she) being now before them .... is that possible?  :dizzy:


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Offline oddball

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So Reina meets a ghost from her past eh.....

seems as though, at some point Ai and Reina were close, how close I am still not sure but close enough it seems for Reina to be badly effected buy seeing Ai again, of obviouly causing her pain in the past.

Was it more than Ai having a baby, was Ai getting preganat a betral again Reina (in least in Reina's mind) and was it why Reina changed into who she is now....

I wonder too how this will affect Reina and Riho, obviously she will not see her the same as she did before, will she push her away, as she is now a reminder of Ai or will she use her to perhpas get back at Ai??? as of know, who knows...

Offline aussie

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Clearly Reina cared for Ai in the past.....on some intimate level (yes, like that was going to be hard to see XD), to the point it plunged her into a state of despair when Ai left behind a huge void that no one could fill.

Now, is Riho going to be picking up on the unusual vibe around her mentor and her beloved mama? She may be Wonderbrat, but I would still like to think of her as an innocent little kid who is just clueless when it comes to these adult-y "issues" yet XD

And also, nice to see there is some kind of love between the two cousins. Sayu cared enough to feel some sort of anger towards Ai, and I like to think it was not just because she became deprived of being around her beloved(coughworshippedcough) senpai. Having seen how Reina despaired after Ai left, and her reminder to Ai at their first meeting in 12 years of how there is one person who she owes an apology more than anyone else is driving me insane with curiosity to get to the point to see what happened 12 years ago, dammit!!! :lol:

So Ai isn't exactly avoiding Reina, even making a promise to talk later. Can't wait till the next chapter~~



Offline gracula

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Oh god, what a time to have RL bite me in the ass. I was just remarking to bee and ropy how this story had taken an interesting turn and I needed to keep up with it. No matter, for I am now here with many useless things to say!

Chap 9: Jigsaw
This entire chapter is too brilliant and deserves many words of praise and exaltation. Therefore, as the saying goes, I present you a picture:-


Looming/Imminent Pedophile*


I believe the title of the work, says it all.
*gacked from Pixiv


Chap 10: A Little Happiness
I loved the Ai-Riho here- there was so much to glean from this simple interaction between mother and daughter. They are both so similar- level-headed, yet with moments of randomness.

Quote
"Okaeri." She only just managed to lay a stack of neatly folded laundry aside before her daughter all but flew into her arms. Even at the ripe old age of 12, Riho still repeated this little ritual with her Mama every time she came home.

I don't remember if I have ever, ripe or unripe, done this to my mother. But then again, if my mom was Takahashi Ai, I might consider it.

Quote
...the original had been Ultimate Ichiban Kawaii in Known Universe, as inscribed by the owner of said number.
With the display limit on my phone, it would read 'Ultimate Ichiban Kawa'.

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As her daughter put it, "it's really sweet, but I don't know why she is doing this".
See illustration above for reason.

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Then again, it wouldn't hurt for Riho to spend time with Reina. She hadn't planned for it, but it would be good for them.
Fruit of their loins and all that. Heh hehheh.

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Granted, the kid was barely more than a toddler when it happened the first time, but Ai could never bring herself to forget the state of her poor hairdryer after little Riho somehow managed to make the thing explode in a shower of sparks and smoke.
What the heck was a toddler doing with a hairdryer?

Chap 11: A Little Plan

Quote
The woman tended to make her more than a little nervous even on the best of days.


A *little* nervous?

Quote
(including that one year with the spontaneously combusting frying pan -- she didn't know oil could do that)
Seriously, this has long gone past helpless moe to frighteningly destructive.

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It made her look years younger in an instant, and Riho was struck by how amazingly adorable her mentor was, in a cuddly, cat-like sort of way.

Sheeyah. Cuddly kitty. Nom.

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Mama's attention tended to linger just a wee bit longer on Reina whenever they went to watch PLAY live in concerts.
Oh! Angst. I love it.

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Tanaka-san can be my 'other' present! Riho thought gleefully at the brilliant idea. It sounded wonderful. After all, what could go wrong?
Tis the gift that keeps giving!

Chap 12: A Little Surprise

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Trying to get Riho to sleep in her own futon was an exercise in futility, as her little girl tended to automatically find her way to wherever Ai happened to be sleeping.
Hell, why wouldn't anyone? I would.

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Her daughter always took these things so very seriously. Last year, she had put up a puppet show using the various stuffed animals as props. Her drama background really showed in the various voices she utilized for the characters in the performance.
:lol: and at the fact that you've done this too.

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Her daughter really was going out of her way to be the model of a perfect child.
Okay, it's official. I want a daughter like Riho. But then again, she might irritate me out of the sheer fact that she will remind me of how flawed I am as a daughter myself.

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Riho knew she owed a crapload of favors to one Tanaka Reina right now
Better one Tanaka Reina than a Michishige. <---- should be made into a proverb.

I got busy right after reading this update's cliffhanger. It bugged me constantly the entire time, especially since I couldn't respond to these amazing chapters.  :panic:

Chap 13: A Moment in Time

I loved. LOVED this chapter. The ReinAi meeting was perfect. BLOCK QUOTING!

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That short hair, still mussed from sleep. It looked so different, yet so familiar, that a part of Reina almost reached towards it, but only sheer will prevented such an instinct.
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even managing a tiny upward quirk of the lips to suggest some sort of smile -- though no Oscars would be won for it.
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"That kid..." Reina began abruptly, the first words simply leaping off her lips as they crossed her mind. "She's yours?"
"Yes." This close, Reina could see the defiant set of her jaw, and briefly entertained the notion of running her fingers along it.
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Her younger, more impetuous self might already have stormed out long ago, but Reina had learned a kind of stillness over the years

I know this ending is unresolved, but I can live off this happily for the rest of my life next month or so. Very apt chapter title.

And hey, lookie:-
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And then what dreams would come?
Do I spy a Shakespeare reference?  Forsooth!

« Last Edit: May 26, 2011, 02:38:26 PM by gracula »

"I'm still blaming Sayu for my lolicon tendencies now." ~Essy

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