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Author Topic: One-shot Scraps: February Project [02/14]  (Read 27896 times)

Offline yunagi

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One-shot Scraps: February Project [02/14]
« on: April 03, 2013, 04:03:45 PM »
Sign Seeker


“Eri! Are you even listening?” An irate black haired girl growled as she glared at her office mate. She expected this of the airheaded girl, but to actually be ignored while she was relating her story really got to the girl’s nerves. Getting off her chair she walked over to her friend and began snapping her fingers in front of the dazed girl.

Eri blinked. Slowly her head turned to her companion’s direction, half glazed eyes slowly began refocusing on the glaring girl. “Hm… Sayu? What is it?”

Sayumi sighed as she lightly hit Eri’s head. “Nothing, just… Never mind. What were you looking at anyway?” she said. Sayu tilted her head up to look for what was so fascinating that her friend had completely ignored her while she was talking.

“Nothing.” Eri mumbled. Her hand came up to where Sayu had lightly hit her, unconsciously rubbing the spot as if it had actually hurt.

“Really?” It wasn’t really a question. Sayu knew something was up. They’ve been together for so long, there were just something’s that didn’t need to be said but the other could still get the idea. Eri knew Sayu knew something was up. After all this was Michishige Sayumi she was talking about.

Eri grimaced. It was both a blessing and a curse to have such a sharp best friend. This time it was leaning more on the later. “... I was just wondering why this office doesn’t have a ceiling.” Sayumi guffawed. Leave it to Eri to say these kinds of statements.

“Cost cutting.” Sayu went back to the comfort of her chair. Turning the office chair around so she could face her partner, she leaned back into a more comfortable position before stretching out her leg and lightly nudging Eri’s chair to get her attention.

“Okay, spill. What’s bothering you?” Eri grinned, momentarily glancing back at Sayu before resuming her blank look.

“It’s boring stuff.”

“Come on. Unlike you I’ll actually listen instead of randomly nodding my head while my mind is somewhere in la-la-land.” Eri smiled sheepishly and sent her friend an apologetic look. Sayu merely smiled knowingly and lightly shook her head.

“We’ve got nothing to do. Our shift doesn’t end till another hour. Talk.”

“Sayu I’m fine. Really. I’m just a little tir-” Eri’s stopped mid-sentence when a familiar figure glided by their shared cubicle. Her mouth hung where her sentence ended as she openly stared at the smiling petite girl that momentarily paused in front of them.

“Bye, Eri.” The petite girl waved before turning and going on her way.

Sayu watched the retreating back of the girl, then back to her still gaping friend. A smirk slowly forming on her face as she looked back at the receding figure before the petite form disappeared around a corner. Sayu shoulder shook as she stifled her laughter.

“A fly’s gonna fly in that trap of yours if you don’t shut your mouth Eri.” Sayu said. Eri quickly shut her mouth, a light tinge of pink colored her cheeks. Sayu’s grin widened and she leaned forward, crossing her right leg over the left and resting her elbows on the arm rest of her chair with her hands entwined together giving her a look of someone with power.

“Eri~” she crooned. Eri felt a shiver run up her spine. Pursing her lips together she ignored her friend and instead took out a random magazine and absently began flipping through it. Not one to be easily discouraged Sayu began nudging her friend with her foot. “My lovely Eririn~ is there something you’d like to tell me? Something regarding a certain Tanaka Reina-chan?”

“There’s nothing to discus Sayumin. Oh, this look’s cute.”

“Eririn…” Sayu crooned again. Still trying to ignore her friend Eri turned to another page, trying to look engrossed in the magazine.

“Eri don’t use that on me, at least not with the magazine upside-down.”

“What?” Eri refocused her eyes on the page she was on. The model was definitely upside-down. How’d that happen? Blushing a deeper shade Eri gingerly set the magazine down.

“That’s better.” Sayu grinned triumphantly. “You know… She’s got the hots for you?”

“What?” Eri stared blankly at her friend. Sayu sighed.

“She likes you.”

Eri’s brows scrunched together “Who does?”

“Oh God, Eri do I have to spell it out for you? Reina-chan likes you.” Sayu said exasperatedly.

“Reina?” Eri began chuckling. “Nah, she’s just friendly.”

“If she really is friendly she should have greeted me too. She greeted practically everyone here except me. How is that friendly?”

Eri shrugged. “Maybe she didn’t see you.”

Sayu made a sniffling sound. She raised her brow and began laughing humorlessly. “Didn’t see me? That’s impossible. You don’t just go by and not see all this.” She said, her hands doing a sweeping motion over her body. Eri grinned and shook her head. She turned around in her seat and faced her desk, her hands roaming about in search of anything to do.

“Hey, ask her out tomorrow.” Again Eri let out a short laugh. “I’m serious Eri, ask her out.”

“Sayu stop kidding around. There’s no way she’d say yes. In fact she’ll just think I’m kidding around with her.”

“No she won’t. I’m telling you she likes you!” Sayu said exasperatedly.

“How would you know?”

“She looks at you differently. She speaks to you in a different tone. You’re the only one she’s ever called using the given name. Everyone can tell she likes you.”

“If that’s really true then how come I never noticed?” Eri scoffed.

“That’s cause you were too busy ogling at her like a high school boy.” Sayu nearly growled. Taking in a calming breath she lightly rubbed her temples to help ease a forming headache. “What are you waiting for?” Sayu sighed. Raising a hand she pointed her finger at her forehead then dragged it across saying “A sign on her forehead saying ‘Be mine?’ Just ask her out.”

Sayu paused, waiting for an answer. She knew Eri was listening. Her hands were frozen over her cluttered desk indicating that she was thinking it through. After a while and still no movement Sayu decided to drop the subject. It wasn’t her problem if Eri’s love life remained woefully empty. Anyway she’ll always love the idiot girl no matter what, at least Eri will never be alone.

“Alright! Let’s just… Get up, let’s take a break. I think there’s still some coffee left in the lounge.” Sayu brightly proposed. She jumped to her feet and skipped over to her friend. Grabbing onto one of Eri’s arm she began tugging the girl along. Eri stumbled from the shock of suddenly being dragged away from her seat but quickly regained her footing. She sent Sayu a questioning look and was rewarded with an innocent smile.

“Hey, if someone’s looking for us tell them we’re taking a break.” Sayu told the girl beside their cubicle. The girl smiled politely and nodded her head.

“If I’m not back in an hour… call the police.” Eri called over her shoulder as she was forcedly dragged away earning her a couple of snickers from the other employees.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Eri yawned as she stretched her tired muscles. She was back in her shared apartment and was, more importantly, in the safety of her room. They had left work earlier and came home to a nicely prepared meal courtesy of their motherly flat mate. There were four of them living in the same apartment. They’ve been good friends since high school and through-out college. After they graduated they had agreed to live in together and divide the cost amongst themselves so that they wouldn’t have a lot of financial problems. It took a while but thankfully they found one with four bedrooms, complete with a living room, kitchen and dining room with a decent rent rate.

Eri smiled at her luck. She had a good home, good friends and a good job. What more could she ask for? Just then Sayu’s voice seems to echo in her mind. “she like’s you... Ask her out.”

Eri sighed as she flopped unceremoniously on her bed. Her eyes trailed over to the top of the bed, then to the digital alarm clock on the bedside table. She reached out and snatched the clock off the table and righted herself up into a sitting position. She lightly began tapping the object in her hands, her eyes staring blankly ahead in deep thought.

Okay, how bout this… I’ll set my alarm for 7:00 in the morning tomorrow. If I wake up before then… I’ll take that as a sign. Tomorrow morning I’ll ask Reina out.

Setting the clock back on its perch Eri flicked her night lamp off, blanketing her room in darkness.

Eri grinned at the silliness of it all. Someone bad at waking up in the morning as her could beat the alarm clock? Impossible. Eri smiled sadly, her eyes gazing blankly at her ceiling. Who was she kidding?

She yawned, her eyes tearing up at the light sting. The soft buzz of the night creatures slowly lulled her to sleep. Her eyelids flickered slightly, her breathing evening out. The last thing she saw before sleep took her was the red light of her digital clock softly illuminating her room.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Eri groaned as the light from outside slipped past her curtains and shone on her face. She tried to drape her arm over her face to block the offending light but her body wouldn’t move as she commands them too. Slightly panicking she struggled against her restraints. Her eyelids peeled open and she hissed in pain as the light stung her eyes. Struggling harder she felt her arm starting to get loose and she squirmed around with new vigor. Eventually her arm broke free and she sighed in relief. She squinted her eyes, groggily she began taking in the problem before her. Her blanket was tightly wrapped around her, completely cocooning her body.

Great, all that adrenaline rush for this? Now I’m wide awake…

Wait a minute…


Eri began kicking off her blanket. Her eyes quickly locked onto the digital clock on her bedside table. She grabbed the object and stared at the figures blinking back at her. A couple of second later the alarm went off.

Alarm clock… check.

Shaking her head Eri turned off the alarm and placed the clock back where it belongs. Like a balloon that was being diffused Eri slumped down beside her bed, her legs in an awkward angle and her eyes blankly staring forward.

“It’s a coincidence.” Her lips curled up slightly and she let out a choked kind of laugh.

Yeah… That was just a coincidence.

“Eri?” A head of disheveled brown hair popped in from Eri’s doorway. Eri slowly shifted in her position, bringing her legs under her and turned her head slightly. She mumbled a barely audible “Good morning, Gaki-san.” before letting out a yawn.

“Good morning to you too.” Risa grinned. She shuffled over to the bed, sitting herself at the edge. “This is unusual. Usually I have to push you off the bed for you to end up on the floor awake.”

“Woke up before the alarm.” Eri mumbled. She began stretching her arms and her back letting out one last satisfying yawn.

“That’s very unusual. Maybe something special might happen later.”

Eri’s eyes widened and she shot Risa an alarmed look. “How’d you-?”

Risa hummed, staring questioningly back at her now gaping friend. “Eri are you really awake?” Getting no response Risa shook her head. Getting up from the bed she lightly patted Eri’s head before she turned around and headed back out to the hall. “Close your mouth, get changed and come down for breakfast. Okay?”

“Un.” Eri finally mumbled. She bit her lip, still staring at the door her friend had disappeared to. Shaking her head Eri pushed herself off the floor. Her hands came up to rub what remained of her sleep away from her face.

Come on Eri, time to wake up.

It didn’t take her long to pick out her clothes for the day. Fitting dark blue pedals, a white blouse and a pink cardigan sweater and she was all set. Checking herself once more in the mirror she nodded her head in approval before leaving her quarters for a good breakfast.

Okay, if I see any strawberry during breakfast, that’s it. It’s a sign.

“Good morning, everyone!” Eri cheerfully greeted.

“Kamei Eri! Is that my cardigan?” Sayu exclaimed standing up from her seat and pointing accusingly at the shocked turtle. “I’ve been looking for that everywhere!”

“Eh?” Eri took the tip of the material in one hand and pointed at it. “This is yours? I was wondering where I got this from…”

“Please, not so loud.” A voice whined in front Sayu. A head was resting on the table, her arms wound over her head as if protecting it from harm. Sayu glanced at the disheveled head of the woman, frowning slightly, before silently taking her seat. Eri slipped in her seat beside Sayu. She nudged the girl lightly, putting on an innocent look. Sayu rolled her eyes at her best friend’s antics but smiled none the less. It was hard not to when Eri was acting all cute and innocent.

“Ai-chan, sit up straight. It’s time for breakfast.” Risa reprimanded the woman. Ai grumbled something incoherent before she grudgingly pushed herself into a sitting position. Satisfied Risa began putting down their breakfast on the table.

Eri scanned the food on the table. Pancakes, French bread toast and milk. Eri’s smile dropped for a moment but she quickly regained her smile as the plate of pancakes was passed around. They made small talk while they ate, poked fun of one another once in a while, all in all it was just like any other day. Before long they were finished with their breakfast and they began clearing the table.

Well that’s the end of breakfast and still no strawberries in sight.

“Gaki-san! When was that put up?” Sayu gasped.

“That? Just this morning. Ai-chan bought it, isn’t it cute?” Risa said. She was pointing at whatever ‘that’ was. Eri followed her finger and gasped in surprise. Hanging by the door was a new clock shaped in the image of a large strawberry.

Strawberry… check.

“Eri, you alright?” Ai asked.

Eri blinked and turned her attention back to the other girls. Everyone was staring at her. She ducked her head down to hide her blush and she began picking up the plates, completely avoiding eye contact, and mumbled a “yes”.

-o-o-o-o-o-

“Eri are you sure you’re feeling okay?” Sayu asked. They were boarding their usual train on the way to work. Sayu had felt something was off with her friend since breakfast. She was zoning out a lot more frequently than normal, and Sayu had practically plastered herself to Eri’s side. She was worried plain and simple.

“I’m fine, Sayu, really. I’m just having a… weird day. Everything’s fine.” Sayu doesn’t look convinced. In fact her hold only seems to tighten around Eri’s arm. Eri smiled, touched by her friend’s action. With her free arm she reached over to cover Sayu’s hands, squeezing them in reassurance.

The intercom crackled to life, the lights on the doorway began blinking as the electronic doors began to shut. Sayu sighed and mumbled one thing or another about the morning rush hour and packed sardines before comfortably resting her head on Eri’s shoulder. Eri smiled.

During the ride the both of them stayed quiet and stood beside each other. Sayu would occasionally glance up at her friend, just to make sure she was all right, and would then resume resting her head on Eri’s shoulder. Eri on the other hand was contentedly staring out the widow, watching the buildings pass by in a blur.

Okay, another one… let’s see… a dog, if I see a talking dog… Heh, that’s kind of impossible huh?

“Eri, you’re starting to creep me out.” Eri snapped out of her thoughts. She tilted her head to the side to face Sayu.

“Huh?”

“You were grinning one moment and frowning the next. It’s kind of creepy.” Eri giggled a bit and lightly nudged her friend.

“Sorry, I just thought of somethi-” Eri’s smile dropped. Despite the overcrowding in the train somehow Eri’s eyes landed on a girl a little ways in front of her. She was playing with a dog puppet. She would ask it a question and then pretend that the dog would reply to her questions. A talking dog.

“Eri! Maybe you should just go home. We’ll go down the next station and-”

“No, it’s okay Sayu. It’s just… a talking dog.” Eri replied weakly, she smiled sheepishly as she pointed in the direction of the girl. Sayu raised her brow, took one look at the girl then back at her friend. She shrugged her shoulders and said no more.

Dog… check

-o-o-o-o-o-

They were finally at their station. After that it was just a short walk to their office. Sayu had refused to let go of Eri the whole time, fearing for her friend’s safety. Eri didn’t mind, she trusted Sayu with her life, even though sometimes Sayu’s idea’s lands them in trouble.

Eri took a sweeping glance of her surroundings. They were just a pedestrian away from their building.

Alright, one more… If I see a chicken on the way to the building, then that’s it. That’s my sign.

“Come on Eri.” Sayu tugged at Eri’s arm. The crossing light had just turned green, people around them were starting to cross to the other side. Eri obediently followed Sayu, not like she had any other choice. Just then something white caught her peripheral vision. Curious she turned her head to the side. A huge chicken was passing around fliers for the new chicken joint across the street.

Chicken… check.

What- what I meant was a giraffe. Not a chicken. A giraffe.

“Eri!” She heard Sayu yell. Too late. She felt herself collide with something, or rather someone. She teetered somewhat but managed to regain her footing.

“Oh jeez, I’m so sorry! Are you alright?” Eri apologized, the pitch of her voice going up an octave as she bent down to help the man up. Sayu had let go of her and began picking up the various things the man had dropped. After making sure that the man was alright Eri began too began picking up the man’s things. Just as she was about to pass the man the papers she gathered she saw something orange on the corner of one of the paper in the pile.

No, it can’t be…

She pulled out the paper from the stack. It was a drawing. It was crude, probably made by a child, but there was no mistaking it. It was a drawing of a giraffe.

Giraffe… check.

“Eri.”

“Huh?” Eri’s head jerked up. She stared up at Sayu’s concerned face then at the man’s open hand and questioning gaze. “Oh, right.” She handed the man back his things, apologizing once more before she was ushered into the building by Sayu.

-o-o-o-o-o-

“Mou, Eri, what’s wrong with you today? Are you sure you’re okay?” Sayu asked. She had successfully brought Eri up all the way to their floor without any other mishaps happening, much to her relief. Eri had stayed quiet the whole way up, ducking her head and merely followed Sayu to the lounge. 

Sayu pushed off her perch from the counter and faced Eri. She bought her hands up placing one on her forehead and the other on Eri’s. “If you’re sick and not telling I’m-“

“I’m not sick Sayu. I just… I’ve just been thinking, that’s all.” Eri said, pulling away from Sayu’s hand.

“Well, maybe you should stop thinking before you kill yourself.” Sayu quickly retorted, her face void of any emotion. She turned away from Eri, pulling out a cup from the cabinet nearby and prepared herself a cup of coffee, making herself look busy.

Eri smiled from her position beside Sayu, idly playing with an empty cup she had taken out earlier. She wasn’t the least bit bothered by what Sayu said, she knew she only meant well. She could be a bit harsh with her words at times, but Sayu had always been there for her and Eri was thankful for that.

Eri felt a tug at her arm, she turned to the source and found a cup of steaming black coffee offered by a frowning Sayu. Her smile widened as she accepted the offer quietly uttering her thanks. Sayu nodded her head, reached over and took the cup Eri was previously playing with.

“I’m going ahead. See you later.” She said, putting the empty cup by the sink.

“Eh? You’re not going to drink?” Sayu shook her head then grinned.

“When I see you later I hope I hear something good.” She winked. Turning around she lifted her hand and made a dismissive wave as she walked away, leaving behind a confused Eri. Eri was about to call out to her friend when a familiar voice made her stop.

“Morning, Eri.”

As if switching to automatic Eri’s body turned on its own accord. Her eyes instantly met mesmerizing dark brown ones. She froze in place.

Reina smiled at her office mate then bowed her head in greeting.  She then proceeded to take out a cup to make herself coffee, completely oblivious to the love-struck stare she was receiving. Eri swallowed drily, the steaming cup in her hands forgotten, as she watched the petite woman.

Eri couldn’t help but notice everything about Reina. She wore a grey cotton tank top, a black sleeveless cardigan and grey fitting jeans that, Eri noticed, hugged the contours of her butt quite well. Her long brown hair was slightly curled today and neatly tucked under a black fedora hat that had a couple of randomly placed letter buttons around it. She also adorned a couple of stylish black chain necklace, each varying in size. She was happily humming a song Eri couldn’t seem to identify, her lip curved up in her signature cat-like smile.

Realizing that she was being stared at Reina turned her attention back to Eri and tilted her head slightly in confusion. “Is there something on my face?” she asked.

Still staring straight at her Eri tentatively raised a finger to gently poke the petite girl’s shoulder. Reina’s brows scrunched together in question. She then smiled awkwardly. Eri blinked then, her face braking into a lopsided grin, making Reina laugh.

“Omoshiro, Eri. You’re funny.” Reina said in between her laughter.

Snapping out of her daze Eri’s cheeks blushed a deep shade of red and she quickly ducked her head. “What? I’m… No… it’s nothing. Ididn’tsayanything.” she quickly mumbled. Again Reina laughed. Eri raised her head slightly then quickly ducked and looked away when Reina grinned at her.

Okay Eri, get yourself together. She’s right there. Just say it. You already got your signs right? There’s the alarm clock, the strawberry, the dog and the chicken that became a giraffe... What more do you want?

She took a deep breath.

Okay… one last sign. The ultimate sign…

“What are you waiting for? A sign on her forehead saying ‘Be mine?’” Sayu’s voice rang out in her head.

Eri’s eyes widened at the thought. Her inner mind chided her for being so immature about the whole thing. What was so hard about asking someone out? If she couldn’t do it, then don’t.

Chalk it to curiosity, and that small hope in her, but she found herself slowly turning around. Unfortunately the forgotten cup in her hand tilted a little too much, sending the hot concoction to the floor. Both girls yelped as it splashed.

Eri quickly righted the cup in her hand and shoved it on the counter. The brown liquid sloshed around the cylinder, a good amount went over the brim and onto her hand. Eri jerked her hand back, pain momentarily taking over her mind, and she cursed lightly.

Reina located the box of tissue paper and began haphazardly laying them one on top of the other over the spill. Seeing this Eri grabbed the cleaning rag from the side of the sink and dropped to her knees, running the rag over the parts Reina missed, profusely apologizing as she did.

“It’s okay, Eri. It was just an accident. Don’t worry.” Reina said over the stream of apology leaving Eri’s lips.

Unfortunately due to an overload of embarrassment Eri couldn’t hear anything besides her own voice as she babbled every apology she could think of. She felt her eyes slightly sting from the tears threatening to come out, but she held them back. It was only when she felt a warm pair of hands cupping her face that she stopped.

Her eyes snapped up to stare at forgiving ones. Reina slightly shook her head then smiled. Eri felt her face heat up, but for some reason she couldn’t pull her face away, not when it felt so right.

“…I am so sorry. Oh, God I’m so clumsy. I didn’t mean- You’re not hurt, are you? I am so sor-“

“It’s all right.” Reina interjected. She let her thumb brush across Eri’s pink cheeks, to wipe away the tears. “It’s all right. It was just an accident.”

Still feeling embarrassed all Eri could do was nod her head.

Realizing their position, and how it would look to others, Eri’s eyes widened. She was about to pull away when Reina noticed something and gasped loudly. She released Eri’s face and pulled her left hand, brining it close to her face to examine the red appendage.

Reina’s face scrunched, she began pulling the turtle closer to the sink. Turning on the faucet she guided Eri’s hand under the cool stream. As soon as the cool water touched her hand Eri hissed and tried to pull away, but Reina tightened her hold on her wrist and pulled it back.

Eri started to whimper, fresh tears started rolling down her cheeks, now from pain rather than embarrassment. Reina glanced back at Eri’s face. Eri tried to smile, but miserably failed as another wave of pain shot up her arm.

Reina smiled apologetically as she firmly kept the turtles hand under the steady stream. After a while Eri let out a relaxed sigh, the cold water finally working its magic on the burned area. Reina told the turtle to keep her hand under the water and excused herself. A minute later she came back with a first aid kit in hand.

Turning off the tap Reina guided Eri to the table situated at the corner of the room. After gently drying Eri’s hand she applied a generous amount of burn cream over the red area. Eri would occasionally twitch from the contact, her skin still quite sensitive, but she held herself together.

“There you go. Feel better?” Reina softly asked.

“Yeah. Th-Thanks.” Eri quietly murmured. Reina smiled and began clearing the table.

Putting the kit to the side, she got up and made her way to the counter to get their now cool coffee before going back to the table. She place Eri’s mug in front of her before taking a seat adjacent to her.

They drank their coffee in silence. Reina would occasionally glance at Eri while the turtle ducked her head down, much too embarrassed to look the kitten in the eye.

Eri finished her drink first, considering half of it was drying on the floor. But instead of standing up to leave like what she would normally do she found herself rather unwilling to leave. So instead she started to play with the cup, her mind drifting back to the incident a couple of minutes ago.

She thought of Reina’s hand clamped on her wrist, the worried expression on her face as she held her in place while she tried to pull away. How incredibly soft her hand felt while she treated her burn. How cute she looked concentrating on applying the ointment on her skin, being careful not to put too much pressure while she gently spread the cream.

Just then she heard Sayu’s voice in her mind.

“Be mine?” she unconsciously murmured.

“Did you say something?” Reina asked. Eri’s head snapped up at her voice. She was about to shake her head when she noticed something on Reina’s hat.

In white cursive letterings the word “Mine” was neatly embellished on top of the ribbon. Before that was a small dark blue pin with the capital letter b.

“Um…” Eri licked her lips, her eyes trained disbelievingly at her sign.

“Hm?”

A wide smile soon found its way to Eri’s face. She let out a small chuckle, her eyes now gazing back at brown smiling ones.

“Ne, Reina. Do you… I mean, would you like to catch a movie with me later? That is if you don’t have any other plans.” The last sentence ended in almost a whisper as uncertainty and the thought of reject crept up in Eri’s mind. She brought her head down, paused as if she was reconsidering, breathed in deeply and forced herself to stare back at Reina.

Reina paused in thought. Then she smiled. “I’d love to.”

-o-o-o-o-o-

And they lived happily ever after. XD

Well, that's the end of my first H!P one-shot. I'm a bit rusty at this since I haven't really written anything for the past year. But I think I'll improve over time... assuming I don't go AWOL again.

By the way, I was inspired by a short story/long advertisement(same title), and after a while this came up. Hope you enjoyed reading it as I did writing it.
« Last Edit: February 13, 2014, 06:05:16 PM by yunagi »
._.

Offline kuro808

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Re: One-shot Scraps: Sign Seeker
« Reply #1 on: April 03, 2013, 04:35:09 PM »
Lol Eri had a lot of signs to see before finally spitting out her invitation to Reina

Incredible lol hope you don't go AWOL
Random Thought:

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R.I.P. Jab!  Dad/friend

Offline H!PShipper

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Re: One-shot Scraps: Sign Seeker
« Reply #2 on: April 06, 2013, 05:47:36 AM »
Oh my God all those signs!
Lol great job
I hope you continue this ^^

Offline yunagi

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Re: One-shot Scraps: Sign Seeker
« Reply #3 on: April 08, 2013, 12:52:56 PM »
Kurosawa87: lol yeah, all those signs. But if I was in her shoes I'd probably be looking for more. And probably go insane if I think about it too much. :panic:
Thanks, I'll try not to get too distracted by other stuffs.

H!PShipper: Ikr Signs everywhere. XD
Thanks. A sequel huh... Let me think about it.
._.

Offline H!PShipper

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Re: One-shot Scraps: Sign Seeker
« Reply #4 on: April 09, 2013, 07:54:56 PM »
Lol no pressure. I'm content with just this oneshot.^^

Offline yunagi

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Re: One-shot Scraps: Afternoon Drive 4/10
« Reply #5 on: April 10, 2013, 10:10:31 AM »
Another one shot. Yay!
A toast to the end of my internship. I'm free!  :lol:
Anyway, I got this idea while driving to work last Thursday. It's written in the first person point of view, guess who.


Afternoon Drive


It was a lazy Saturday. After finishing what was left of my assignment, there wasn’t really much left, I called Ai-chan and we decided to hang out for the rest of the afternoon. I voted we go out of the house, since all Ai-chan ever does indoors is play her video games till the end of the day. As much as I loved watching her play (sarcasm implied) I would rather do something we both actually enjoyed.

We met up at the plaza by twelve noon. We bought some sandwich, figuring the more we saved the more clothes we could buy. But after two bags and our pockets nearly emptied out, it was pretty clear that there was no way we could stay around the mall. It was like a vacuum for cash. It was hard to turn away something as cute as the new blouse on display, or the new scent they were promoting. Besides after the attendants there had followed you throughout your search for the cutes outfit it was hard to say no to them when they ask if you would buy the ones you’ve tried on. Besides shopping was one of my, and Ai-chan’s, many weaknesses.

That was how an hour and a half later we were back to square one, only this time we were heading back to Ai-chan’s place. I really didn’t want to stay cooped up indoors, but it wasn’t like I could come up with anything else to do, it was too cold out for simply idling at the park, so I quietly followed Ai-chan.

That was why when we got there I was surprised when, instead of heading straight for the front door, Ai-chan went directly to the side of the mansion.

“What are you standing around there for, Gaki-san? Come on.” Ai-chan said, taking a hold of my arm.

I asked her why we weren’t going back to the masion. She grinned, pulling out a set of keys from her pocket, dangling it in front of her. It was her dad’s car keys. She had asked for his permission earlier to use the car, or so she says.

She took my bags, unlocked the doors and tossed our things in the back seat before she slipped in behind the driver seat. She grinned, patting the passenger seat beside her when I didn’t move from my spot.

After I settled in my seat she reached over for the seatbelt and strapped me in.

“Mou Ai-chan, I could have done that.” I whined. She grinned once again and started the car.

She had successfully backed the car out when she suddenly spoke again. “I want you to remember something Gaki-san.” I turned my head to her. She was looking back at me seriously, and yet she was still smiling. She pointed below her, on the pedals, and started naming them one by one, then she moved on to the gear shift.

“You got that Gaki-san?” she asked. I nod my head.

“Why are you telling me this Ai-chan?” I asked. I was confused as hell. Why did she have to tell me all this? She was the one driving.

She grinned, her eyes going back to the road before us. “Because today… I’m going to teach you how to drive.” She said it so simply, like we were just talking about today’s weather.

Of course my normal reaction was to scream out a “What?” I stared at her, and I swear her grin was getting bigger by the second.

She drove us all the way out of the bustling city and onto deserted roads. Well it wasn’t really deserted, we were in a subdivision near the outskirts of town. There weren’t a lot of people out and the cars were a few and far in between, which I guess was why Ai-chan chose this place in the first place.

Throughout the ride here she kept pointing out things, like the speedometer, the gas gage and what significance they had, then went onto to things like how to know when to change gears and what to do when going on a full brake. It was a lot to take in, especially since this was a spur of the moment thing.

“Now remember Gaki-san, keep your left foot on the clutch. The right foot is for the accelerator and the break.” Ai-chan reminded me, for about the tenth time that day, as she slowly rolled the car to a halt. She kills the engine. I notice it was already mid-afternoon, three according to the clock in Ai-chan’s car.

I’m hyperaware of my immediate environment. I notice the shades dangling on a strap tied around the rearview mirror. I notice how too big it was to be Ai-chan’s, maybe her dad’s. I notice that some parts of the leather dashboard were turning brown and there were parts where it seemed that a blade had run over it.

I also notice my palms getting sweaty, my breathing fast. I could feel my heart hammer in my chest. I did not want to do this. I wasn’t ready. “Ai-chan, Ican’tdothis!” I blurt out. I was gripping the seatbelt in my attempt to lessen the tremors in my hand. It wasn’t really working, but I didn’t care as long as I had something to grab on to.

I heard a thud and realize Ai-chan had gotten off and was now rounding the car to get to my side. She opens the door and I tighten my grip on the belt. I shake my head, but still she smiles encouragingly at me.

She reaches over me to unbuckle my belt. I still don’t let go. She tries to pry my hands open, I try to fight back but she manages to take it away from me anyway. She pulls me out, guiding me to the driver’s seat. My hyperventilating is getting the best of me, my head starts feeling light.

She’s stubborn. I know this. I’m getting a bit dizzier. I give in. Why bother fight against her?

She tells me to calm down as she buckles me in. She tells me to breathe deeply and hold my breath for a while, just like morning exercise. I do as she says.

I feel calmer, it’s working.

“Good. That’s it Gaki-san.” She encourages from beside me.

“Feeling better?” she asks. Timidly I nod my head. She smiles.

She closes the door, jogging to get to the other side. She slips in and puts on her seatbelt. I stare at her. I don’t know what to do next, so I wait for her instructions.

“Okay Gaki-san, start the car.”

I think I go stupid for a while. I stare at her, panicked, and the car hasn’t even started yet. She tells me to calm down, again. She pulls my right hand and starts rubbing my palm. It’s oddly relaxing.

She guides my hand on the car keys dangling from underneath the steering wheel. “Turn the keys.” She says softly. She isn’t irritated, there’s no sneer in her voice. I feel better.

I turn the keys and hold it there as the engine roars to life, imitating what Ai-chan did earlier. As soon as the purr of the engine is consistent I let go of the keys. I turn to her, my face breaking into a smile, feeling giddy that I started a car for the first time. She smiles back.

“Okay, change gears. Left foot on the clutch and right foot on the breaks. Change gears to first gear. And…” she reaches in between us, putting the hand break down. The car rolls forward and I jam my foot on the break. My hands grip the steering wheel in shock.

“Gaki-san, change gears.” She repeats. I pry my right hand off the steering wheel and grip the gear stick in between us. I pull the stick towards me, as far as it permitted, then pushed it forward, like Ai-chan had done so many times.

“Good, now give it a little gas, and slowly ease off the clutch.” I move my right foot from the breaks to the gas pedal and do as Ai-chan said. The car moves slightly forward, trembled some and then it died. I don’t know much about driving, but I know that that wasn’t supposed to happen.

I bite my bottom lip, dropping my head on the wheel, feeling disheartened. Then I felt warmth on my hand and I turn my head to face Ai. “It’s okay.” She says. “It happens to everyone on their first time. Let’s try again.” She reaches over and rests her hand on my left leg, giving it a little pressure. I press on the clutch and she puts the car back to neutral and then sits back.

I take a deep breath and start the car, gripping the wheel with both hands. I make sure I’m stepping on the accelerator, I listen to the engine roar, and then slowly lift my foot off the clutch.

The car doesn’t move. It didn’t die. I can still hear the continuous roar since I haven’t let up on the gas, and there was still a light vibration confirming the cars current (living) status. “Ai-chan, I think the car hates me.” I frown, glaring at the steering wheel in front of me.

I hear a short bark of laugher beside me and I shot a questioning look at Ai-chan. She has her hand clasp on her mouth, trying to stifle her laughter. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t laugh, I’m sorry.” She says after her giggles dies down. I scrunch my brows together, still at lost. Ai-chan smiles sheepishly and points at the gear shift.

Of course. I wanted to smack myself. I felt my cheeks heat up from embarrassment and quickly change gears, pulling my left foot off the clutch quickly. The car jumps to life, and when I say jumps to life I mean it shot off at high speed from our resting place. We both scream. I jam my foot on the break and the car screech to a stop just before we hit a light pole.

The soft rumbling dies and all that I am left to hear are the sharp intakes of breath courtesy of myself and Ai-chan. I was still gripping the steering wheel tightly, I can see my knuckles turning white from all the force I’m exerting. I check on Ai-chan and she wasn’t faring any better.

Her face is pale and her eyes wide. Her hands were tightly wrapped around the seat belt, like how mine did before this whole thing started. Slowly she turned her head towards me and we stare at each other.

She makes a crooked smile and, despite myself, I laugh. Soon she does the same and the car is filled with laughter. I am laughing so hard that tears start forming around my eyes. I wipe them away, trying to bring down my giggling.

“Gaki-san, why don’t we stop for today.” She suggests. I don’t need any more convincing and quickly get out of the car. As soon as I set foot on hard ground my legs starts wobbling, I grab on the door to steady myself. I make my way around the car, my hands running over the warm metal body as a form of support.

When I get to the other side I see Ai-chan sitting on the side walk. She looks up and pats the space next to her. I hobble over and plop myself down next to her.

“Can’t stand?” I ask. She laughs and nods her head.

“That was scarier than any of the rides I’ve ever tried.” She jokes. I make a face and playfully slap her arm. She grins and gives me a light nudge. I smile back.

We made small talk. We talked about school, the insane things we did with our friends, the things we bought, anything we could think off. It was nice. I wish we can stay like this.

When the after effects of adrenaline finally disappeared, and the cold too much to bare, we both retreated to the car. Ai-chan starts the car and drives us back to the city. I turn on the radio and we both sing to the familiar songs playing. We screwed up some of the lyrics, our voice cracked in some parts, but we continued singing anyway.

 We finally arrive at my house. It was already dark. I reached over to give Ai-chan a hug, and thank her for the afternoon. I take my bags and skip out. I wave one more time, watching the car as it disappeared from my sight, before going in the house.

The room is dark. I call out a greeting, no one reply’s. The place is deserted. I check the time, it was a little after six. I go into the kitchen where I find a note. They went out to buy dinner. It said they’ll be a while but to expect them before six thirty.

I change my course and go into the living room. I leave my bags by the foot of the couch and switch on the tv. I surf the channels not really caring what show was on, I just wanted to burn time.

My phone vibrates in my pocket and I reach for it.

‘Today was a lot of fun. Let’s do this again another time.’ It was from Ai.

I grin widely and type in my reply. ‘Are you still going to teach me how to drive?’

A moment later my phone rings again. ‘Of course.’ She says. I laugh.

I play with the phone strap, wondering whether Ai-chan was really just persistent or down right crazy. I smile as I recall the things that happened today. It was probably the most fun I’ve had for a while. I really wouldn’t mind another day like this, minus the nearly crashing part.

I start typing.

‘I’d like that.’


-o-o-o-o-o-o-

This is actually based from my first driving experience. Only in my case we nearly went over the sidewalk and crash onto my neighbors wall. I'll never forget that day. XD
I don't know how to change the author topic. XD
._.

Offline kuro808

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Re: One-shot Scraps: Afternoon Drive 4/10
« Reply #6 on: April 10, 2013, 05:33:45 PM »
All was needed was encouragement or a crash into into trash cans and an outburst from the reaction queen :lol:
Random Thought:

tumblr

R.I.P. Jab!  Dad/friend

Offline H!PShipper

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Re: One-shot Scraps: Afternoon Drive 4/10
« Reply #7 on: April 10, 2013, 09:40:54 PM »
This was cute. Takagaki <3
Have you thought of writing about the current lineup? I'd like to see that ^^

Offline Yuuyami

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Re: One-shot Scraps: Afternoon Drive 4/10
« Reply #8 on: April 11, 2013, 12:33:49 AM »
Oh goodness your stories are so fluffy and so cuuuute ;n;

I look forward to the rest of your works, I really like your writing style :>

HERE! TAKE THIS HARDHAT TO PROTECT YOU FROM WRITER'S BLOCK!

-gives-

You have received HARDHAT.

Offline rndmnwierd

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Re: One-shot Scraps: Afternoon Drive 4/10
« Reply #9 on: April 11, 2013, 08:06:13 AM »
These are really good and cute! The signs one made me giggle the whole way through and the driving one gave me this great nostalgic feeling. I can't wait to see more.

Offline yunagi

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Re: One-shot Scraps: Afternoon Drive 4/10
« Reply #10 on: April 12, 2013, 10:38:14 AM »
kurosawa87: All the right triggers makes a happy reader :p

H!PShipper: I’m gonna have to get a rain check on that one. As of now I’m not yet that familiar with the new kids. Maybe after I get to know them better. ;)

Yuuyami: Yeah, even I can’t believe I’m this mushy. I blame the romance going on all around me (and all the crack that gives me my daily dose of sugar high).
I’m glad you liked it. And thanks for the anti-writer’s block hardhat, butter put it over my all things fluff thinking hat. XD

rndmnwierd: Why thank you. I’ll try to get more fluff out of my head while the happy meds are still kicking in. XD

To everyone else that read my fic, thank you. I’ll try my best to deliver more fluff, or crack… whichever I finish first…
._.

Offline H!PShipper

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Re: One-shot Scraps: Afternoon Drive 4/10
« Reply #11 on: April 13, 2013, 06:29:19 AM »
as it is, is seems like there's already solid ships among the new members to fans lol
Anyway I hope you warm up to them they're lovable kids ^^ 

Offline writerjunkie

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Re: One-shot Scraps: Afternoon Drive 4/10
« Reply #12 on: April 13, 2013, 04:49:19 PM »
._.

...

Keep KameShige love alive! That is my only request. There aren't a lot of kameshige fics around now, but of course including the new members is nice too. ^_^

You have some interesting pieces so far, if you haven't noticed, I like the first one. Eri and Sayu interaction is so cute~ <3 I can picture them talking like that very clearly. You've captured their personalities well.

Protect yourself well from writer's block!! You might need two hardhats. o_o 

I'll be on a look out for your fics. ^_^
« Last Edit: April 19, 2013, 01:26:15 AM by writerjunkie »

Offline yunagi

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Re: One-shot Scraps: Afternoon Drive 4/10
« Reply #13 on: April 17, 2013, 03:51:38 PM »
H!PShipper: Yeah, I already like them all, especially Duu. And I can now differentiate them from each other. (ノ≧∀≦)ノ
It took me a couple of days of going through photos but I finally did it. I still need to do a bit of research, but I’m sure I’ll like them even more after that.

writerjunkie: You got it. I’ve already though of something, but it still needs a little work. I’m just winging it right now, see how it develops. And thank you, I’ll try to keep them in character as much as possible.

I might need to build an anti-writers block fort. I keep getting stuck in the middle. >.<
For now I managed to squeeze out this super short fic. I don't know... I must have eaten something again.  :sweatdrop:
... Enjoy~
._.

Offline yunagi

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Re: One-shot Scraps: Crossword 4/17
« Reply #14 on: April 17, 2013, 03:59:51 PM »
Crossword

‘Eight letter word, found on a person’s face that resembles a caterpillar’ Ai sighed for the nth time that day as she straightened her back. It was a little past four. Dance rehearsals were over and most of the girls were probably heading home if they didn’t have voice lessons for the day. Then there were a few, like Ai, that took the chance to rest for a while.

They had gone over the same song over and over again. As they say practice makes perfect. Ai didn’t mind, she liked the practice, though honestly at the end of the day she felt exhausted. Her muscles ached from going through same choreography for the whole day. It felt more like boot camp than practice.

“Ohayoo.” Came a murmured greeting. Ai didn’t look up as she robotically greeted the new comer. Whoever it was she didn’t seem to mind the lack of enthusiasm coming from the leader as she shuffled over to the small kitchen located at the side. There was a clank of ceramic as she went through the motion of preparing a cup of her preferred hot beverage.

Ai was still going over her vocabulary. The puzzle was unexpectedly hard. That or she was just plain tired, she couldn’t tell. After a while she sighed, pushing the crossword book away from her in disgust and rested her head on her arms and closed her eyes. Maybe she should start heading home and take a rest, a nice bath could help.

“Ne, Ai-chan, shouldn’t you go home?” The voice asked. There was an annoying screech of the chair being dragged from its resting point followed a clank of ceramic on wood.

“Shouldn’t you Gaki-san? You sound sleepy.”

“I just woke up. I’ll go after I finish my tea.” The younger girl said as she took a sip of her tea. “I thought you already went home.”

“Hm… too tired.”

“Speaking of… Didn’t today’s practice feel too brutal? I mean we’ve been doing this for years, and I love practicing just as much as the next person, but today was just… so tiring. I’ve never felt like this for years.”

“Yeah…” Ai murmured in agreement.

Risa let out a loud yawn before groaning. Ai smirked at this. “Ne, Gaki-san are you sure you can go home on your own? I can walk you back if you feel too tired.”

“Huh? I… I don’t-“

“I don’t mind. I have nothing better to do anyway.” Ai quickly cut her off.

There was a pause as Risa contemplated the offer. Finally she sighed and mumbled a “yes”, blushing as she did, an action that went unnoticed by the second party considering that Ai still had her eyes closed.

“Great. I’ll go wash my face first.” Ai said as she stood up, finally opening her eyes to look at her friends face.

She paused, her face frozen as she stared at her friend, or rather at the marking on her friend’s forehead. With a black marker someone had written mayuge beam on the bean’s forehead and drawn over her eyebrows to make it look thicker.

Slowly Ai sat back down. She raised her hand, her pointer finger raised as her mind slowly clicked. “Eight letter word… eyebrows. Why didn’t I think of that earlier.” she smiled, pulling her discarded crossword book back and wrote down the word.

She smiled triumphantly at her masterpiece. The puzzle was finally finished.

“Thanks Gaki-san.” Ai smiled as she stood up and walked out of the room.

“Huh? Uh… you’re welcome, I guess…” Risa said as her eyes followed Ai’s figure until she disappear out the door.

“What I do?” she muttered as she sipped her tea.

-o-o-o-o-o-

The end. Told you it was short.
Don’t worry Ai comes back for her…  (¬‿¬)
._.

Offline rndmnwierd

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Re: One-shot Scraps: Crossword 4/17
« Reply #15 on: April 17, 2013, 09:02:16 PM »
Omg, I wasn't expecting that! :lol:

Offline H!PShipper

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Re: One-shot Scraps: Crossword 4/17
« Reply #16 on: April 17, 2013, 09:52:33 PM »
Omg I laughed my ass off! I can practically see Gaki and her marked face! Too good! And yes Haruka's a huge charmer. I literally cannot wait for her to grow up lol
Do you have tumblr? Search Morning Musume and you'll learn everything about them lol oh but i hate those confession blogs! Ugh they ruin the tag so much. Oh but also try blog-project.net
The girls blog quite a bit lol
Oh! Check out the DVD Magazines too. Here's the promo for the latest one, it comes out on the 20th, it's footage from their 2012 fall tour colorful character. They've been covering it since DVD Mag Vol 49 . Apparently, they have A LOT of footage from that tour lol. Morning Musume is getting so much more interesting, it's amazing lol



I'm glad to see you're warming up to them :)
« Last Edit: April 18, 2013, 01:10:09 AM by H!PShipper »

Offline yunagi

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Re: One-shot Scraps: Let's Pretend 4/29
« Reply #17 on: April 29, 2013, 11:45:03 AM »
Let's Pretend

“Eri..” I groan as I check the time, again. It’s already forty-six minutes past the hour she said we should meet in the coffee shop. I mean I know she’s always late, and after all these years I’ve gotten used to it. Knowing her, and I do know her; she must have fallen asleep at some point. But still she would have called or texted if she was running late. Well, later than her usual.

There was also that weird text message she sent me.

‘Sayu, let’s meet at the café later at four, the usual one. Pretend you don’t know me. See you~ : )’

What was with that? I really don’t get her, and I’m her best friend. How sad is that?

The door chimes ring and my head snaps up. She finally shows her face. She’s grinning wide as she makes her way to our table. I try to ignore her. It’s childish, I admit, but I was just so annoyed.

“Hey.” She says.

I try to look like I didn’t hear her and focus on the cooling cup of choco in my hand. After a while I notice that the seat adjacent to mine had remained empty. I look up, there wasn’t any turtle in sight. Did I just imagine all that?

I make a sweep of the whole café. I spot her talking with the cashier, making her order, and I sigh in relief. Stupid Eri.

She comes back a minute later. Again I try to ignore her. She doesn’t sit directly, from my peripheral vision I can see her standing beside the table.

“Excuse me but is this seat free?” she asks.

I shoot her a confused look. Then I remember her weird message. “Uh… no. I mean, yes it’s free.”

“Ah, then do you mind if I share your table?” I shake my head and mumble my consent.  She happily plops down on her seat. She places the yellow number card on the holder and grins at me.

“Hi, I’m Kamei Eri.” She introduces herself, putting out her palm. She’s really going with this weird idea. Well who was I to burst her fun? So I play along. I take her hand and lightly shake it.

“Michishige Sayumi. Nice to meet you.” I say pleasantly, acting like this was the first time we met. Her grin widens at this and for a moment I forget that I’m annoyed with her and I feel pleased that I can make her this happy.

“Well, Michishige-san, do you like banana cream pie?” I raise a brow. That’s what we always order in this café. Their cream pies were to die for and Eri and I always order one and fight for the last bite. It was a lot more fun that way.

“I love banana cream pie. I hear theirs are the best.” I tell her.

“That’s good to hear, Michishige-san, cause I just ordered some. Here it comes right now.” True enough a second later the waiter comes to our table with two dishes of the sweet confectionary and a steaming cup of choco.  I shoot her a questioning look. We never order two at once. She just smiles.

She starts eating hers, delicately I might add. As much fun it was watching her eat the pie in a ladylike manner I just couldn’t shake the weird feeling at the pit of my stomach. It wasn’t really uncomfortable- no wait, it was just that, and I felt kinda feel stupid now for going along with this.

“Eririn, what exactly are we doing?” I ask her.

She stops eating, there is a smudge of cream on her upper lip that she doesn’t notice and I nearly laughed out loud. “Just play pretend Sayu. Pretend that we are strangers and that this is the first time we met. For me, please.” She says, her eyes wide and pleading. There is no way I can say no to that so I cave in.

I motion to her lips, her tongue darts out to lick away the white foam and she goes back to eating. I start with mine, taking small bites. The familiar taste burst across my tongue and I soon loose myself in the sweetness of the pie.

We make small talk in between bites. There wasn’t any significance in our conversation, nothing to link between the stories we told to our personal lives. We jumped from topic to topic, discussing tv shows we liked watching or the current movies playing in the cinema. It was as if we never really knew each other from before. It was kind of unnerving.

It was a little past five when we finally decided to get out of the café. It was already late into December and there still wasn’t a snowflake in sight, I know snow is rare but I wanted to see it snow here. I let out a breath and watch the wisp smoke float up from my mouth. It was that cold. I can still feel it through the thick layer of my winter coat and I suddenly miss the warmth of the café. I hug my coat tighter to myself.

Eri doesn’t seem to be too bothered by the sudden change of temperature. Sure she was bundled up like I was but she barely showed any signs of being cold.

“Is there any place you’d like to go to Michishige-san?” she asks. I’m getting a little irritated at being called by my last name by my best friend, but Eri was still playing this whole pretend business. As annoyed as I was there was no way I would blow up at Eri. So I try to think of a place, any place.

“Well, I’d like to go to the park, I guess.” I finally say. We always stopped by there whenever we can to take a break from the city. It wasn’t a big park, and even in the middle you could still hear the city sounds, but the tall trees always seem to bring a sense of calmness.

“The park. That’s not too far from here… Let’s go there.”

“Now?” I ask her. It’s too cold.

“Yeah, come on.” She says and she starts walking ahead of me. I stare at her back for a couple of seconds. I’m really starting to dislike the whole pretend game. Eri wouldn’t have left me alone, she would have link arms with me instead of going ahead of me. Stupid game, stupid Eri, idiot turtle. I sigh and run to catch up to her.

By the time we arrive at the park it was already dark. The park lights were enough to lighten our path, but it was still dark. I wondered, what if there were some hooligan’s hiding behind the trees or behind bushes. What if someone attacks us? If Eri wasn’t a foot ahead of me maybe I wouldn’t have felt this weary of the park that we usually hang around in. But she is and I’m scared.

When we stop walking we were already in the middle of the park. There really wasn’t much to see, and with the darkness it was just a bit in the creepy side. I walk closer to her.

“Eri, can we stop playing pretend. I don’t like this game anymore.” I whine.

Eri turns, she offers her hand and I don’t hesitate and latch onto her.

“Okay, I think I’ve had enough of being strangers. How about we change it? Let’s pretend we’re going out, and this is a date.”

Some kind of date it is to end up in the middle of the park at a cold night, I roll my eyes but I don't tell her this. Besides the whole pretend thing just suddenly got interesting. I tighten my hold on her arm and nod in agreement.

“So,” she starts. I look up her, she’s grinning really wide. “Do you want to go anywhere else?”

I try to think of somewhere else, but by now all I want to do is just go home and curl up in my warm bed or submerge in a tub of warm water and not come out until winter is over. Crashing at her apartment doesn’t sound bad either, but there is no way I’m suggesting that. Just thinking about it’s already making me blush. After a while I shake my head.

“How bout we head back to my place? It’s not far from here.” My eyes widen. Did she just read my mind? She doesn’t wait for my response and starts pulling me along with her.

We arrive at her place a couple of minutes later. She lives alone in her apartment so only the darkness greeted us as we entered her place. I’m glad it turned out this way, sure my home was just as lonely as Eri's, but at least here I’m with her company. And that makes all the difference.

We kick off our shoes and shuffle inside. Eri turns on the lights and the heater and then heads for the kitchen to the right. “Want some tea? I’ve got green, oolong, black and red.” She calls out.

“Green please.” I tell her as I make my way to the couch, stripping off my coat in the process. There are various dvd cases scattered on the small coffee table and even some dvd’s on the couch, typical Eri. I pick up the dvd’s and place them on the table before I take a seat, draping my coat over the couch, she wouldn’t mind.

“Eri, where’s the remote?”

“Don’t know.”

“Well, where’d you last leave it?”

This time there was a stretch of silence as Eri tried to recall the whereabouts of her remote. I could hear the kettle start to whistle, followed by a click as the stove was shut off. “… somewhere."

Well that sure wasn’t helpful. I start digging under the couch, managing to uncover a few coins and crushed piece of a cd. I hope that wasn’t a rental.

“Did you use the remote yesterday.” I try again.

“Well… I think I did when I got home in the afternoon, but I remember shutting it off manually before I went to bed last night. Must have misplaced it in between diner and taking a bath. Do you want some cake? It’s choco moist. Mom bought me a box.”

“Uh… sure.” I tell her. I get off the couch and head for the bathroom. Out of all the rooms I think the bathroom is the cleanest; that is if you disregard the random clothes strewn on the floor. I pick up the clothes and dump them in the laundry basket. I try the medicine cabinet behind the mirror, and make a quick makeup check while I was at it. Girl’s got to look her best when on a date, pretend or not. I go over the room one more time. Nope, no remote in sight.

“Sayu?”

“I’m coming.” I call out. I check myself once more and make a quick usa-chan peace pose just for the hell of it.

I get out of the bathroom. Eri is standing by the couch, the remote in hand. The pile of dvd’s and cases are gone to make room for the tea and the cake. I walk over to her.

“Where’d you find it?” I ask her as I take the remote from her hand. It is usually cold and I drop it on the floor in shock. I look back at her. She smiles sheepishly as she crouches down to retrieve the remote before she takes a seat on the couch.

“I left it in the fridge.” She mumbles. Her voice could barely be heard over the sound of the tv, but I heard her. I bite my bottom lip to prevent myself from laughing.

She pats the space next to her, I happily plop down next to her. She laughs as the couch bounces a bit from the sudden added weight. I lift my feet up and slip them under me. I take my cup and rest my head on Eri’s shoulder. Her arm goes around my shoulder and she relaxes onto the couch.

For the next couple of minutes we watch the tv, reruns of old drama’s. I don’t really pay much attention to the tv, instead I concentrate on the tea and the warmth beside me.

Eri on the other hand seems intrigued with the drama’s plot. Her eyes are fixed on the television screen, her half eaten cake forgotten in her hand. I deliberate between taking the cake off her hands before it ends up on the floor or leave it, and from the way the plate was slowly tilting the former prediction wasn’t so far off. I pull away, to place my cup on the coffee table and reach for the plate, but Eri snaps out of her daze. She places her plate on the table and stands up.

She doesn’t say anything but she looks my way with an expression that was different from her normal. It isn’t the usual cheerful but sleepy look she always had on. I haven’t seen her look like that for years, not since we became close friends. It’s like she wanted to say something but was too hesitant.

After a short while she smiles stiffly and turns away. I watch her back as she retreats into the bathroom, leaving me alone in the living room.

That was weird.

I begin to stand up, thinking of following her. I was worried.

And then what? What was I going to say? What am I supposed to say that won’t make this awkward? We’ve never had any problems that we couldn’t share with each other, at least not until now. Frankly I don’t know what to do.

I sit back down and pick up my part of the cake. I take a bite. It taste suburb. Then again it’s cake.

I hear a click and turn to the source. Eri comes back out. Her fringe is sticking up at weird places in clumps, but aside from that she looks fine. She sees me looking at her and she smiles back, acting like there was nothing wrong. Maybe there wasn’t anything wrong in the first place, and it was all just my imagination, or maybe there was. If she wasn’t going to tell me I obviously won’t know, and I don’t want to prod her for answers.
   
She disappears into the kitchen and I go back to the cake. It would probably ruin my appetite for diner but was delicious and it would be a waste if I didn’t eat it. I try to eat slowly, savoring the taste and revel in its moistness, but I’m weak against cake. When Eri comes back to the living room I have finished two-thirds of the cake.

She laughs and I look up at her.

“Sayu slow down. You’re eating like someone who hasn’t had food for days.”

I puff up my cheeks and put the plate down. “Well… I haven’t had cake for weeks.”

She laughs again. It’s contagious, her laughter. It wasn’t long till I found myself laughing along with her. She sits back on the couch, trying to bring down her laughter. Her hand comes up to wipe the tears forming in her eyes. I laugh harder at this, to the point that my stomach starts aching and tears were forming around my eyes.

“Okay, I think that’s enough laughing Sayu.” I nod my head and bite my bottom lip. My cheeks are starting to hurt from the huge smile I had on, but better my cheeks than my stomach.

We settle back down on the couch. Well she sits back and I settle back to our previous position.

For some reason her posture stiffens. I tilt my head to look at her expression, she notices and cover up with a well-placed smile. Her shoulders relax somewhat but the rest of her look stiff. What was with that all of the sudden?

I act like I needed a drink and sit up. I watch her from my peripherals as I take a sip from my cup, her posture doesn’t change and her eyes are a bit shifty.

“What’s wrong?” I blurt out. Her head snaps at me, her eyes wide. Me and my big mouth. So much for not prodding her. Well at least now she knows I’m worried about her, and since I already got this started might as well get to the bottom of it.

“You know if you ever got a problem I’m here. I might not be of much help but I can promise you I’ll always, always be here for you.” I tell her honestly. I watch her expression. She stares at me and opens her mouth, but nothing comes out. Her posture completely deflates and her eyes move away from my face to her clasp hands. She bites her lip and I fear she might completely withdraw. I try to come up with something to say, something to distract her before everything starts going awkward.

“Sayu?”

“Yes!” I answer, a little too quickly. She jumps in surprise. I giggle nervously. “I uh… yeah?”

“… Are you okay?”

I raise a brow. “I asked you that first.”

“No you didn’t.”

“I just did. Just a few seconds ago.” I argue. Was she playing with me?

“No, you asked what was wrong. What I asked was if you’re okay.”

I open my mouth, about to retort, then I realized that she got a point. I breathe out and smirked. “Okay. Yeah, I’m fine. What about you? You’ve been acting a bit weird since earlier. Is anything wrong? Come on, you can tell me.”

She looks away again, her fingers nervously twiddling against each other. “You might get mad.” She murmurs.

I smile. “Eri nothing you say or do can ever get me mad.” Just a little annoyed, I added silently. I reach for her hands, gently covering them with my own. “I promise I won’t get mad.” She looks at me with sad eyes, like an abandoned puppy would, and it takes a lot of strength to restrain myself from just pulling her into a hug.

“Cross my heart.” I say. I raise my right hand up and make a cross over my left chest, where my heart is, with my left. She looks pensive. Again I take her hands, this time bringing it between us. I give them a squeeze and smile brightly. “Come on, have I ever been mad at you?”

She shakes her head.

She closes her eyes and exhales through her mouth. She raises her head and looks straight at me. I tilt my head a bit forward, my brows raising, silently urging her to go on.

Instead of getting a verbal answer I get another type or response from her. No words needed spoken, I know now the reason why she’s been acting strange.

Slowly my eyes close as I concentrate on the soft pressure against my lips. I feel a zap of electricity running through my spine and nearly shiver. My head feels like it’s filled with helium, and I can’t feel anything besides the sweet warmth against my lips and those in my hands.

Eri pulls away and my eyes open. She’s biting her bottom lip and looking away, blushing, how cute is that? I just stare dumbly at her, my mouth slightly slack. Then I notice her grip on mine, it’s tight, like she’s scared if she let go I might just up and leave.

“Sa-Sayu? You’re not… you don’t hate me… do you?” she asks hesitantly.

“Why would I?” I say. She looks back, her eyes wide, unbelieving. I give her a smile and her face breaks into a wide grin. I lean over and give her another kiss.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Oh God, slap me. I'm turning into a fluff monster.  XD

Okay so I'm like re-watching old H!M episodes and it got me to write a couple one-shot fics featuring a few of the OG's. I got stuck in the middle for the most part, but I had managed to rewire my brain and finished this piece. Hope the fluff was just enough. It rhymes!!  :lol:
._.

Offline H!PShipper

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Re: One-shot Scraps: Let's Pretend 4/29
« Reply #18 on: April 29, 2013, 01:26:08 PM »
It's beautiful *sniff*
Lol
There's nothing better than some KameShige early in the morning lol

Offline rndmnwierd

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Re: One-shot Scraps: Let's Pretend 4/29
« Reply #19 on: April 29, 2013, 02:08:36 PM »
So much random Eri adorableness! I haven't read Kameshige in so long.

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