JPHiP Forum
The Hello! Project Fanfics => H!P Fanfics => Crack-to-Go => Topic started by: yunagi on April 03, 2013, 04:03:45 PM
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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.
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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
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Oh my God all those signs!
Lol great job
I hope you continue this ^^
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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.
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Lol no pressure. I'm content with just this oneshot.^^
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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
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All was needed was encouragement or a crash into into trash cans and an outburst from the reaction queen :lol:
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This was cute. Takagaki <3
Have you thought of writing about the current lineup? I'd like to see that ^^
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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.
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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.
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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…
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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 ^^
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._.
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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. ^_^
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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~
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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… (¬‿¬)
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Omg, I wasn't expecting that! :lol:
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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
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKq14lXUhts&feature=youtube_gdata_player (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKq14lXUhts&feature=youtube_gdata_player)
I'm glad to see you're warming up to them :)
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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:
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It's beautiful *sniff*
Lol
There's nothing better than some KameShige early in the morning lol
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So much random Eri adorableness! I haven't read Kameshige in so long.
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It’s been so long…
And I haven’t finished anything yet…
Anyway I’m just dropping by to say thanks to everyone that read these short fan fics of mine, special mention to H!PShipper and rndmnwierd for commenting, and that I might not be posting for a while.
Let me explain!
*mutters to self* Crud it’s gonna sound lousy…
*ahem*
I’m taking review classes for the next few months( it actually started 2 weeks ago), until the first few days of September, in prep for our board exam. I’m not really much into a writing mode since I’m too busy rewiring my brain back to my student days, in hopes that I can have at least a fighting chance during “the exam” (hopefully the final one). It’s not really helping me much now, but I haven’t lost hope yet.
I’ll try finishing the one’s I do have in my drive whenever I have a free day. I’m not making any promises though.
Till next time, Ja ne~ ;)
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I understand! We'll still be here whenever you do post something. At least you have a reason to explain, mine's just writer's block, after all.
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@rndm: There should be a shot that prevents writer’s block. It's such a pain.
Anyway, I got to finish this little crack piece.
This is based off a real event... People around me are crazy.
-o-o-o-o-o-
Panties
“Good morning Gaki-san!” Sayu happily chirped as soon as she got within the beans hearing range. Risa lifted her head up from digging around her bag. Her face broke into large grin as she took notice of the younger girl’s presence.
“Sayumin, you’re really happy in the morning aren’t you?”
“Of course, I’ve had my beauty sleep and I think the world deserves to see my cuteness after being deprived of it for the whole evening.” Sayu haughtily stated. Risa just nodded her head in agreement. It was nice seeing someone happy in the morning, compared to the groaning mess she would soon be seeing for the rest of first and second period.
Risa glanced up to the front of the classroom, just in time as a haggard looking girl tumbled in. Risa silently followed the being with her eyes, smile at the ready. The girl dragged her feet across the room, as if the act of walking properly would drain more energy as opposed to what she was doing.
“Good morning, Ai-chan.” Risa greeted.
Ai muttered something in return, something Risa failed to hear, before plopping herself on the chair behind the bean, carelessly dropping her book bag on the floor. Without complaint Risa bent down to pick up the discarded bag and placing it on the hook.
“Ai-chan! Good morning!” Sayu greeted. She jumped to the tired girl’s side and began shaking Ai to wakefulness.
“What’s so good in the morning?” Ai grounded through her teeth.
“Everything, what else?” Sayu replied cheerily.
Ai only moaned in response. Her arms going over her head to hide herself from the world of the living.
Sayu and Risa giggled at the all too familiar response. Ai was never good in the morning, anyone who has met her before ten in the morning could tell you that. Though compared to another person’s reaction Ai’s unwillingness to converse was nothing.
A loud thud of the door being harshly opened emanated throughout the room. The once lively chatter tuned down to low whispers as a short girl came stomping in, dragging behind her a taller girl who looked to be halfway into dream world and reality.
Sayu wasted no time in greeting the two new comers, skipping to meet them halfway. She jumped onto the sleepy looking girl, locking her into a big bear hug as they exchanged hellos. Figuring that the two wouldn’t be budging from the spot anytime soon the shorter girl released her hold on the girl and proceeded to her seat.
Risa sent her a nod of hello. The girl nodded her head in response before plunking herself on her chair and resting her head on the table.
“Reina!” Sayu called. Her hand clasped around the other girls arm, pulling her along as she walked closer to the small girl. “Reina aren’t you going to say hello? It’s only common courtesy you know.” Sayu chided. “Tell her Eri.”
Beside her Eri let out a big yawn, not caring who saw. She peeled back her eyelids and smiled sleepily at Sayu, not quite understanding what was just asked of her. Sayu sighed.
“Yeah? Well courtesy can find its way out the door. I ain’t interested with it.” Reina growled.
Sayu made a huffing sound, her nose crinkling in displeasure and her mouth set in a small frown. She turned back to Eri, knowing better than to rile up the unfriendly teen early in the morning. Her frown instantly turned right-side up as she noted that the spacy girl was slumped over her desk, trying to get in a few more minutes of sleep before class started.
“Eri…” Sayu cooed. She approached the girl and, unable to hold herself back, pinched her cheeks. Eri whined as she was pulled out from her half-sleep state by the slightly painful feeling of her flesh being pulled.
“Itai! Sayumin… that hurt.” Eri reached up to rub her slightly reddening cheeks. Sayu chuckled and crooned how Eri was cute like that, of course ending with “well, not as cute as me.”
Eri groaned as she sat up, throwing any hopes of sleeping until homeroom starts. “Hai, hai… No one’s a cute as Sayumin. I got it.” She mumbled.
“So?” Sayu started. She sat herself on the unoccupied chair in front of Eri’s table, resting her head on her propped up hands. “Do you have any plans for the rest of the afternoon?”
Eri blinked at the girl in front of her. “Well… I guess I’ll try to stay awake for lit. class, there’s going to be a quiz later right? And after that…”
“Eri, she meant after school.” Risa cut in.
“Oh.” Sayu rolled her eyes.
“You know, sometimes I wonder if you’re doing it on purpose.”
“Doing what on purpose?” Eri asked innocently.
“Nothing. So, any plans later?”
Eri closed her eyes, slowly lowering her head on the table. To others it would’ve looked like she was going to sleep, but the other two beside her knew better. “I don’t think so. Why? Are we going somewhere?” she asked.
“Great! Come with me. I’m going to shop for some new…” Sayu stopped. She glanced over her shoulder, looking around the room for anyone listening on their conversation. After verifying that they were safe from any nosy classmates she indicated that the other two were to come closer. In a barely audible voice she whispered the last part.
“Eh? Can’t you do that by yourself?” Risa asked.
“But I wanted a third party opinion.”
“There’s no need for a third party opinion. It’s not like anyone will see it anyway.”
“… I’m wearing piggy panties today.” Eri suddenly announced.
The two girls turned to her.
“It has a face and a tail.”
“Kame! Sh..” Risa motioned with her hands for the turtle to lower her voice while scanning their immediate premises for anyone who heard. She sighed in relief when no one seemed to have heard the turtle’s slip of tongue.
Sayu made a face. “That’s so weird…” she paused, seeming to think of something before continuing “So the tail is spiral like?” she said, twirling her finger.
“No, it’s just a small box.”
“Are we actually having this conversation?”
“Wanna see?” Eri said, ignoring Risa’s last statement. She got up from her seat, her fingers already curled around the waistband at the back of her skirt. Before she could push her hands down Risa jumped up from her seat and lunged for Eri’s skirt, locking her hands around her hip to keep the skirt in place.
“Eri! Are you crazy?” she yelled.
“Aw, but I wanted to see.” Sayu whined. Risa sent her an incredulous look before pushing Eri back down her seat.
“What am I going to do with you girls?” The bean mumbled.
-o-o-o-o-o-
Just realized that it's been over a month since the last time I've written anything... Maybe I need to take some more of those happy pills.
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Lmfao
Eri for the win and Sayu perv for the win too
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As I was progressing through the story, I was like, "What does this have to do with panties?" Then I died at the end XD
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Lmao Fantastic, Nothing like reading some aho kame and sayu while Risa exaggerates the situation. however, I think she was right to exaggerate in this case lol Good Luck with school and have fun writing! I'll wait for your next update!! ^^
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I come bearing gifts...
Well not really gifts, more like a story to present and reply to comments while I'm at it.
First things first
@Kuro: SayuxEri crack FTW. Eri’s just too awesomely random/crazy, and with Sayu it just makes things more interesting.
@rndm: Maybe I shoulda made the title to “piggies” just to screw with you guys
@H!P: Thanks Imma do my best to sneak in an hour of writing every day. I’ll try to think up of more cracks.
And now I present to you folks the effects of stress, rereading fics and too much teddy bear cookies.
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And here's the second installation of Afternoon Drive (if you could still remember that story).
Another Afternoon Drive
“Seat belt.”
“Check.”
“Mirrors.”
“Check.”
“Keys.”
“…” Risa’s face suddenly turned pale, her eyes going wide. Her hands began frantically roaming all over her clothes for the key to the car. I bit my bottom lip to stop myself from laughing at her. The key was already stuck to the ignition, but Risa didn’t know that. I reach over to her hands, stopping them from further ruffling her wrinkled clothes.
“Gaki-san, breathe.”
“Ai-chan I really think this is a bad idea!” she suddenly exploded, her breathing getting labored. Now where have I seen this before? “This is a bad idea. Why did I let you talk me into this? Oh my God! We’re going to die! I don’t want to die. I’m too young to die! I can’t do this!”
Her trembling hands go to the seat belt, fumbling with the simple contraption. I take her hands and pull them towards me. “Risa, listen to me. Breathe. The car hasn’t even started yet.”
She whimpered slightly, her eyes shining with unshed tears. I look away. I really want to teach her how to drive, but the look she was giving me was slowly eating away my resolve. But how can I teach her when I can’t even look at her? I take a deep calming breath and steel myself. I can do this.
I turn back to her, plastering an encouraging smile. “It’s okay. I’m here.” I give her hands a reassuring squeeze. She calms down, this is good. We’re making progress, sort of.
“The keys are already in the ignition. Just turn it and start the car. It’s just like last time.” She nods her head and reluctantly starts the car. I notice her hands are griping the steering wheel tightly, her knuckles turning white from the pressure she was applying. I can understand this, I’ve done the same thing when I was still practicing. She’ll let up once she gets the hang of it.
“Change to first gear and let’s start. Slowly Gaki-san.” I tell her.
She shakily reached for the gear shift. I take a quick peak to make sure she placed it on the right number. “Okay, now slowly ease off the clutch while applying pressure on the gas.” I instruct. She nods her head. Her eyebrows were scrunched together as she frightfully stared at the long stretch of deserted road. I made sure we were as far away from any potential crash objects as possible. It was just us and miles of open road and nature.
The car slowly rolls forward, this time it doesn’t sputter as much. She puts on more gas, the car rolls a little faster but still remains at a considerably slow speed. I smile at her achievement. I sneak a glance at her. Her eyes were still concentrating on the road, but she was grinning widely now. She should, it’s her first time handling a car on an open road without it dying or feeling like a metal death trap.
I hate to burst her happy moment but if we stay like this then all her achievement till now would be for nothing. You don’t really expect anyone to drive through the road on just the first gear. It takes up too much gas. “You’re doing great Gaki-san. Now it’s time to switch to second gear.”
“Hah! Se-second. No. NO! I’m not-“
“It’s okay!” I quickly cut in before she could start hyperventilating again. “Changing gears after this is a lot easier than getting the car to run on first.”
“Just let up on the gas then step on the clutch and change gears. After than you lift your feet off the clutch and put more pressure on the gas.”
“Is that it?” she asks. She doesn’t look at me, her eyes are faithfully focused on the road.
“That’s it.” I confirm.
She takes a deep breath. “O-okay. Just… let up on the gas…” the roar of the engine diminishes as she quickly changes gears. The sound comes back a second later and we pick up speed.
I can feel my grin getting bigger. I knew I wouldn’t regret teaching her how to drive. “See, that wasn’t so hard.”
“Yeah.” She breaths out. Her grip on the steering wheel loosens and her stiff posture slowly relaxes onto the seat. She’s gaining confidence, that’s good.
“So, think you can get it up to three?” I watch for her reaction. She doesn’t react too negatively. She doesn’t answer at first but eventually she made a confirmatory sound. At least I think it’s a confirmation, I can’t really be sure.
“Should I take that as a yes?”
“Un. I… I think I can handle it now.”
“Okay… just do the same thing as you did changing to second.” She nods her head and changes gears once again. Just as before the transition is smooth. It’s easier to change gears when you don’t have to worry about getting the car to move.
“How do you know when to change gears?” she asks. Did I forget to mention that?
“The speedometer. You can tell by the sound of the engine too. When it sounds like it’s straining it’s time to change gears.”
“Eh? You can tell it like that?”
It was just for a short instant, just a few nanoseconds were we both looked away from the road. It was a long stretch of straight, empty road. There weren’t any houses or stores nearby so I didn’t think looking away for a second would cause any harm.
A loud thudding sound made the both of us jump from our seat, literally. Risa screamed as she stomped on the breaks, abruptly halting the car, and jerked the steering wheel to the side. I felt my body lunge forward, only to be stopped by the strap securing me to my chair, the belt digging into my skin, and then I slam back to the seat. My head feels a bit light, I can feel my hands involuntarily shake.
I check to see if Risa was okay. Her face had gone pale as she stared out the windshield. Her face was devoid of emotion and her whole body was stiff. I feel my heart crush at the sight. I’ve never seen her like this before.
“Gaki-san, you okay?” I shakily ask. She doesn’t respond. I unbuckle my seat belt and begin to undo hers. I reach up to her hands and try to pry them off the steering wheel, all the while calling her name. When she finally focuses on me it’s like a switch had turned on her head.
“Oh my God! Did I hit someone? I hit someone! What do I do? What do I do? What do I do!” she lunges for the door and tries to get it to open. It doesn’t budge. She starts wailing, checking the mirrors for any signs of a body. I try to calm her down but she only pushes me away. Finally she gets the door open and she jumps right out, running back the way we came.
“Gaki-san!” I have trouble with the door, it was locked, but as soon as I get it open I run after her. I hear her scream again followed by her calling my name. Oh God, did we really hit someone?
I pick up my pace, I kept my eyes peeled trying to look for the body or blood. I don’t really want to see the carnage but I can’t help but look. I see her hunched over something at the side of the road, beside a whole bunch of tall weeds. I can still hear her sobbing, but I can’t see the body. I stopped just a few meters from them. I didn’t want to look.
“Risa?” I called, I can hear my voice shake badly. Again she doesn’t respond, she just continues crying. I start feeling like I’m about to puke, but I hold myself together.
I brace myself for what I’m about to see. It must be little since I still can’t see it over Risa’s hunched frame and I hope we hadn’t run over a kid. I take a tentative step forward, craning my neck to see over Risa’s head. It looked bad.
I go over to Risa and pull her up by the waist. She instantly buries her head on my shoulder. I run my hand down her back and whisper into her ear, trying to get her to calm down.
“Ai-chan, did I kill it?” she fearfully asked. I look over the small thing, feeling bad for it. She turns her head, trying to get another glimpse of it. I hold the side of her face and pull her back to me, I don’t think it’s such a good idea for her to see it again. It looked pretty mangled up.
I lead her back to the car. She resists at first but I managed to persuade her to follow me. Once we were back I helped her into the passenger seat and bucked her in. By then she had stopped crying, she was just staring emotionlessly out the windshield. I slip back into the driver seat and got the car started. I turned back to where we came from. Looks like driving lessons were over for the day.
“Ai-chan… shouldn’t we call the cops?” she asks.
I spare her a quick glance “No. No need to.”
“But I killed it.”
“It’s okay. It happens sometimes, it’s not your fault.”
“But I hit it!”
“Trust me Gaki-san, it’s okay. Let’s just… not bring this up anytime soon okay?”
She sniffles “… what if the cops find out?”
“…Well then they’d probably charge you with vehicular bird slaughter.”
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Poor Bird XD
I guess Ai-chan wouldn't want another try with Gaki-san behind the wheel XD
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Poor Gaki will never learn to drive at this rate. XD
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@kuro and rndm: lol. I might have been too evil, always hindering Gaki-san's progress at driving... But I've gone through almost the same thing Ai-chan has here, if not worse, and I'm still alive and kicking... So I guess we'll just have to see. ;)
And surprise! I've decided to write out another short fic. I'm not too sure if the girls are in character or not but I wanted to try out this pairing.
-o-o-o-o-o-
Tomodachi
Haruka heaved a big sigh. She glanced up at the clock mounted at the front of the classroom and heaved another sigh as she noted the time. It was still a bit early for lunch; they still had one more subject to go.
“Okay, everyone take out your text books and turn to page 8.” The teacher announced enthusiastically, before turning to the board to jot down something.
She stared at the teacher with an unreadable look, then reached into her bag and pulled out her textbook for the class, Japanese lit.
“Ano…” Haruka looked up from her seat, turning her head to the side where the small female voice came from. The girl smiled sheepishly as she waved a short hello. It hadn’t been long since the start of the semester so Haruka wasn’t really familiar with her classmates yet, though she could vaguely recall the girl’s name being mentioned during their seating arrangement. Satou something.
“I forgot my text book, so can I look on with you?” Satou asked.
Haruka nodded. “Sure.”
What was the harm to sharing? Who knows, maybe she could find a friend by the end of the class, God knows she needed one. It wasn’t that Haruka was purposely isolating herself or anything of the sorts. It’s just that it was a new school, she was still adjusting to high school life and there was no one from her previous school she could talk to. In other words she was basically alone in her new life as a high school student.
“Thank you very much!” The girl beamed.
Satou stood up, pushed her table beside Haruka’s and pulled her chair along with her. Satisfied with her arrangement the bubby girl held up her thumb and grinned at Haruka. Haruka raised a brow at this but chose not to say anything. She opened her book, page 8, she mentally recalled, and situated the book in between them.
Haruka nearly jumped as she felt a weight on her side and an arm going around her shoulder. She glanced beside her. Satou was practically gluing herself to the shorter girl’s side, grinning broadly as if she had won the lottery.
“Um…” too close.
“Isn’t this great? It’s like reading a book when we were in kindergarten!”
Haruka grimaced and leaned slightly away, trying to put breathing space between them. Much to her chagrin whatever she did Satou would quickly respond by closing the gap between them. Had the girl no sense for personal space? Haruka thought. She glanced back up the clock and sighed.
It was going to be a long lecture.
-o-o-o-o-o-
“Thank you very much. You saved me there.”
Haruka shook her head. “It was nothing.”
“My name is Satou Masaki. Everyone calls me Maa-chan.” Masaki made a small curtsy, suddenly giggling after she had done the act. “I always wanted to do that.”
“Hm..” Haruka was too busy fixing her things to notice what the bubbly girl had done. Not wanting to look too aloof she nodded her head in hopes that Masaki wouldn’t notice and think badly of her. Though if the girl would walk away from their, what was quickly becoming a one-sided, conversation Haruka wouldn’t mind. She was still recovering from the much-too-close contact she had earlier with the girl. Honestly it was like having a koala stuck to your side. A giant, talkative koala. It wasn’t really bad, just slightly uncomfortable and awkward.
“You know, Maa-chan had wanted to talk to you for a while now, but I didn’t have the opportunity to. So I’m sorry.” Again Haruka hummed.
“Let’s be friends, Duu!” Masaki brightly cheered.
Haruka turned her head to the side, wondering if this Duu-person was her seatmate. Finding no one there she turned to her front, then to her back, before returning her gaze to the smiling Masaki beside her.
“Huh?” she asked bewildered, pointing her right index finger to herself.
Masaki enthusiastically nodded her head. Before Haruka could respond Masaki grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her up. Haruka managed to catch herself before her knees collided with the table next to her seat. She stared wide eyed at the girl, her body going rigid from the sudden action. Before she could do or say anything she felt herself being dragged by her arm as Masaki started to make a run for the hallway.
“As a sign of our friendship let me treat you to a juice!” Masaki brightly called over her shoulder.
“Wait! What did you just- gah!”
-o-o-o-o-o-
Can anybody guess where I got this from? Hint: it's from an anime.
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XD No one is immune to hurricane Maa-chan!
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:lol: MaaDuu :heart:
That was a quick relationship maker
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Risa driving is a scary thing! Why start of with manual?! Lmao
And
Yay you're writing with current members!!! MaaDuu is a wonderful thing lol
Can't wait for the next one!
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I made a sketch! I'm so proud of myself 8D
(http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2013/187/7/f/fujimoto_miki_by_yunaginomachi-d6c7x1u.jpg)
I'm not really good at sketching people, but I've been trying this out and it looks like I'm making progress... I think.
(http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2013/187/f/6/tanaka_reina__sketch_by_yunaginomachi-d6c7vq0.jpg)
Does it look like Reina(even a little bit)?
I'm out. xp
H!P: Starting with auto was too easy... and I don't exactly know how to use an auto XD
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This is probably going to be my last post for a while. The big day is coming up and I've been doing pretty bad, according to my comprehensive exam scores. It's not my fault I've got a bad memory and a short attention span... I probably need to fix that last part. >.<"
Now without further ado~
Hard Candy
Satou Masaki yawned widely as she stretched her strained limbs. The lecture felt like it took forever for the hyperactive girl. She didn’t like to stay in one place for long periods of time, but she had no choice in the matter. She didn’t want to get scolded by the teachers. How she wished her partner was there, then maybe she could have spent the time much more productive instead of trying to stay awake as the teachers droned on and on about things she wasn’t interested in. But alas Duu had to be placed in a different section from their group. There was nothing they could do.
Well at least she was placed in the same class as their two other close friends.
“I see you’ve stayed awake during the class.” Ayumi piped as she walked up to Masaki’s seat. Closely following her was Haruna who only smiled at Masaki.
“Yep, yep, yep. Maa-chan stayed up the whole afternoon.” Masaki proudly stated. She held out a peace sign at her success.
“Did almost falling out the window wake you up?” Haruna asked, recounting the earlier mishap with the broken latch of their window. Ayumi grimaced at the memory. She and Haruna had managed to grab the younger girl’s leg before she fully went over the window. How Ma-chan kept blabbering about this and that and not notice her body slowly leaning out the window she didn’t know, she was just thankful they noticed before it was too late. “You should be more careful Maa-chan.” Masaki smiled and nodded her head.
Ayumi covered her mouth, stifling a yawn. “As for me, I’m sleepier during the afternoon.” She said as she wiped off the small tear gathering at the side of her eyes.
Haruna fished inside her pocket, procuring two candies. “Want some candy to wake you up?” she held out her hand, offering the sweets to her friend. Ayumi smiled and thanked Haruna before unwrapping the candy and happily popping it into her mouth.
“Here’s one for you too Maa-chan.” Haruna said, passing the other piece to Masaki.
“It’s for me? Yatta! Candy for Maa-chan! Thank you Harunan!”
“That’s the last of it.”
“Hm? Really…” Masaki mumbled. “Then I’ll save it later for Duu.”
“But then you won’t have any.”
Masaki grinned. “We’ll split it.”
“How do you plan to cut a hard candy in half?” Ayumi asked.
Masaki clicked her tongue and waved her finger. “That’s easy! It’s a job for Maa-chan’s su~per cutterman!” she pulled her bag and fished around for her cutter. Feeling the familiar contours of the tool she pulled it out and set her bag back where it was. She began unwrapping the candy and readied the blade. “Yosh! Super cutterman, target acquired!”
“Don’t be reckless. It’d be silly if you get hurt over a piece of candy.” Ayumi reprimanded, reaching for the sharp cutting tool. Just before she could get a grip of the cutter Masaki pulled the tool outwards and away from Ayumi’s reach.
“I’ll be careful Ayumin.” Ayumi rolled her eyes but stationed herself beside the younger girl, just in case. Haruna placed herself to the other side, curious if it would work or not.
Placing the blade carefully over the round candy Masaki began putting pressure, making sure the spherical sweet wouldn’t roll off the plastic wrapper. Her hand began shaking, the tip of the blade just slightly making an indent on the candy.
“Is it working?” Haruna asked, leaning just a little closer to the table.
Just then the blade sliced through the candy, making the two halves shoot in opposite direction. One ricocheted against the wall and clattered on the floor, while the other shot straight towards an unsuspecting Haruna, hitting her right on her forehead, not that the other two noticed.
“Ah! It fell on the floor!” Masaki wailed, dropping the cutter and grabbed a hold of Ayumi’s arm, shaking her back and forth.
“I told you, didn’t I?” Ayumi deadpanned.
“But, I thought it would work.”
Beside them Haruna clutched her forehead, tears forming at base of her eyes. Next time, she thought, she was going to be sure to offer only if she had enough for everyone to go around.
-o-o-o-o-o-
Based off the same anime from before (^^,)
I really need to cut my nails... I think the layer of skin under the nail of my middle finger got separated from the nail...
Ja ne~
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T_T
No candy for being innovative XD
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Beside them Haruna clutched her forehead, tears forming at base of her eyes. Next time, she thought, she was going to be sure to offer only if she had enough for everyone to go around.
Yes, that might be a good thing to do. :lol: Poor Haruna~ And Maa-chan falling out of the window was just too hilarious XD It's dangerous to be hyperactive.
Nice one-shot~ I liked it. :P
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Lol okay, I give up, what is the anime, cuz apparently I need to watch this.
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I promised myself to stay away from this forum... and look where I am now -_-
Just gonna comment
@rndm - The anime is called A-channel. It's sorta like school rumble and K-on, full of possible crack ideas. I was working on one more shot based off this... but I'm still working out the kinks.
@MsSmigge: Glad you liked that. And yeah it's pretty dangerous being hyperactive, but that's what makes it awesome.
@kuro: Well then...
-o-o-o-o-o-
"Duu!" Masaki wailed as she jumped on the unsuspecting girl standing by the front of the school entrace. Haruka made a small offing sound and winced from the impact but quickly recomposed her face into a small smile as she greeted the girl looking at her with guilt-filled eyes.
“Hey Maa-chan, what’s a matter?” she asked. Just then Haruna and Ayumi emerged from the entrance. Haruka nodded her head in greeting, which was replied with a wave from the tallest girl and an equally passive nod from the other.
“Duu, I’m sorry. It wasn’t supposed to happen like that. I was so sure it would work. It did work but it didn’t work like how I want it to work so I guess it didn't work and so it’s gone now.” Masaki babbled, not noticing the confused look Haruka was giving her.
“She was going to share her candy with you, but something happened and it fell on the floor.” Ayumi helpfully summarized. Haruka made an “ah” sound, nodding her head in understanding before digging into her skirt pocket and procuring four colorfully wrapped biconcave objects.
“I was saving it for later, but I guess we can eat it now.” She said. Beside her Masaki squealed in delight, grabbing onto Haruka’s free arm and started jumping up and down in random directions, dragging Haruka along with her.
-o-o-o-o-o-
I really need to set my priorities straight...
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You had me a K-ON XD
Maa babble is the best. :lol:
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I’m back! Sweet baby Jesus I’ve never felt so high in my life that wasn’t stimulated by artificially made (read: sugar-rush-inducing-b****-I-can-do-whatever-the-f***-I-want-cause-I’m-on-sugar-high) beverage or happy pills of any sorts.
I am so done with exams. Yeah!
And~ it’s gone.
So anyways… as a celebratory contribution from moi~
I’m kinda torn. Should I post a funny fic or a sweet fic? Take a pick.
Speaking of sweet… I didn’t get my ice cream… >.<
Will post later... :3
Edit:
@rndm: how'd 'ya like K-on?
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Sorry, just got back from the hospital.
Anyway here's that fic I said earlier. Well... back to the drawing board. :bleed eyes:
-o-o-o-o-o-
Dream
“Anyway, don’t you think that was useless?” Reina took a bite out of her fries then pointed the remaining half at Ai who was seated opposite her, currently trying to swallow the large chunk of burger in her mouth. “Sure, dieting for the last few days the way she did, she was bound to lose weight. But after getting her desired weight she’s just going to go back to her old eating habits? Why bother dieting in the first place? It’s stupid.”
“Mah~ mah~ don’t get too riled up Tanakachi. It’s her choice how she eats.” Risa said from beside Ai.
Finally swallowing the food in her mouth Ai slammed her hands over the table as she stood up, shocking the other four girls seated around her. “Isn’t that right? I thought she was joking when she said she’s going back to her old eating habits.”
“Ai-chan! Don’t slam your hands on the table. And sit down.” Risa berated, grabbing a hold of Ai’s arm and began tugging her back to the seat. Ai pouted at the younger girl before complying with the request/command, quickly going back to her half eaten burger. Eri and Sayu remained quiet during the exchange. Eri was happily munching on her fries while watching their friends’ slightly heated discussion, whereas Sayu looked a little irked at Ai’s sudden outburst.
Sayu stifled a yawn. How did she get so tired? Maybe she exerted herself a bit too much during their physical ed earlier. She wasn’t one for sports, but that was her grade for the term, she couldn’t risk flunking P.E. again, one week of remedial classes were enough for her. Thankfully her efforts were rewarded. That was one subject less to worry about.
She turned her attention away from her friends, their voices blending in with the monotonous sound of the air-conditioning unit to their side. She glanced at the sleepy looking girl in front of her. Noticing Sayu’s gaze at her Eri smiled widely at Sayu before opening her mouth, saying something Sayu didn’t hear before turning her gaze away. Sayu yawned again. Her vision began turning blurry. Her eyes felt heavy; she could barely keep her head up.
Maybe she could close her eyes, just for a few seconds.
Yes. She was just going to rest her eyes.
That was all.
“Sayumin?”
Sayu’s eye’s slowly parted. “Huh?” She raised her head, her eyes automatically focusing on the face of the owner of the voice. Eri tilted her head. “Are you sleepy?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m good.”
Risa eyed the sleepy girl before checking her watch. “Ah! It’s already late. We must’ve chatted too long.”
“Shall we head home then?” Ai proposed. Gathering her things she slowly scooched out of the plastic bench, making way for Risa to slip out. Eri quickly slipped out on the other side just as Reina languidly got up from her seat. Following the others lead Sayu got up. She stumbled a little, still a little unstable from her minor siesta.
“Let’s go, let’s go!” Eri happily chirped, running on ahead of them. She abruptly stopped and turned back to them, a wide grin in place. “Back to space!”
“And there she goes…” Reina sighed, rolling her eyes at the turtle’s random outburst. Sayu giggled at this.
“No really! I’m actually an alien!” Eri stated happily.
Sayu smirked but said nothing. She turned to Risa figuring the older girl would set the turtle straight again, as what she usually does.
“I knew it!” Reina grinned, clapping her hands together. Sayu’s eyes popped open. She sent the kitten a strange look.
“I always thought you were one!” Risa added. Beside her Ai nodded her head in agreement and clapped her hands together. “It makes so much sense!”
“Wait, what?” Sayu stared at the three girls. Were they really going along with this? What happened to everybody? Was she being punked?
“Whenever you stared into space… you really were communicating with other aliens weren’t you?”
“She’d also say those weird things too.”
“I knew you weren’t normal!”
Sayu shook her head. What was going on? She glanced back at the group, only to jerk her head back as a bright light flashed in front of them accompanied by a burst of heavy wind. Sayu held up her arms, blocking her face from the harsh elements. “Eri!” she yelled.
The light dimmed some. Sayu slowly put her arms down, squinting to see what’s ahead of them. They weren’t in the restaurant anymore, instead they were somewhere outside. There wasn’t a building in sight, which was odd since they were in the middle of the city.
There was a flash of movement. Sayu jerked her head up, just in time to see a huge glowing saucer getting closer and closer to where they stood. In the middle of the flying saucer a circular door opened, a yellowish light streamed down from the inside, engulfing Eri in a bright light.
“See you, Eri.” Risa called.
“Come back soon okay.” Ai followed up.
“Take care.” Reina said.
Eri nodded her head just as an invisible force slowly lifted her up towards the flying saucer. “I will. I’ll see you guys later!” She said, energetically waving her hands goodbye.
“Eri! Wait!” Sayu yelled. She held out her hand, but somehow her legs wouldn’t move. “What’s happening? Why can’t I move?” Sayu turned to the other three girls. They didn’t seem to mind that some weird spaceship was taking Eri up to the sky.
“What are you guys doing? Stop her!”
“Why would we do that?” Risa asked, tilting her head.
“What do you mean? Eri’s being taken away!”
“Calm down Sayu, Eri’s just going home.” Reina said, shrugging her shoulder.
“Yeah, she’ll be back in a couple of years.” Ai said off handedly.
“Guys…” Sayu didn’t know what to say. She looked up at the turtle’s receding figure, her vision blurring from the tears. “…Eri. Don’t leave! Eri!”
Another bright flash of light.
Sayu jerked her head back, her eyes shooting open as a strangled cry left her lips.
“Oh, you’re finally awake.” Sayu heard Reina’s voice. Her head jerked to the side where Reina was looking up at her, a small smirk in place. “You were really out. We were wondering how to get you home.”
“Eh?”
“Anyway, Sayumin, do you think you can walk now?” A slightly strained voice asked. Sayu knew that voice anywhere. She glanced down, only to see the back of Eri’s head.
“Eri?”
“Yeah?” the girl replied. Eri tilted her head somewhat and smiled at Sayu.
Sayu blinked. She turned her head, taking in her surroundings. They weren’t in the restaurant anymore, but they were blessedly surrounded by tall buildings, and what’s better was that there were no weird flying saucers in sight. Her shoulder relaxed as she heaved out a sigh, her arms curled around Eri’s neck, bringing her closer to the older girl, loving the real warmth produced by the girl carrying her.
“She insisted on carrying you home.” Reina said. Sayu nodded her head in understanding before closing her eyes, certain that her friend wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
“It was a dream.” Sayu murmured.
“Sayumin, you okay?” Eri asked. Sayu nodded her head, tightening her hold around Eri. Eri sent Reina a questioning look. Reina just shrugged as they continued walking towards Sayu’s place.
“Eririn…” Sayu muttered. Eri hummed, tilting her head a bit to hear better. “Don’t go to outer space okay?”
“Eh?”
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Lols XD Sayu being the one to say strange things is just :lol:
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She isn't too out of character is she? I hope not.
Anyway... I think that's about enough funny fics, cause I haven't seen my 3 muses for an entire week and my brain's been dying due to boredom. So I'm going to try to give some lovin' and see if I get some back... As soon as I get my laptop back, within Internet range. I'm really sorry. I'll try to make better fics.
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Remember that thing I said about having trouble writing and fics and those fics mainly featuring OG's?
I actually wrote this one after writing its part 2, though at the time it really wasn't a part 2 since I wrote it first. But then I thought I could totally write a prologue to it and it took this long to give it the okay since I keep having second thoughts to posting it since it's sooooooo long and totally out of character but I wanted to post this first before the second part because I think the second part is written way better than this first part. It's also the longest one I've written yet.
*breaths in* Anyway... Here's the fic. I hope you guys like it. Oh and it's also based on an MM song.
-o-o-o-o-o-
Loving You Forever
When I met her, I fell in love. It was the first day of high school. I don’t know why I looked up when I heard her greeting, since I pretty much ignored every other greetings I heard earlier, but I did. It was almost like one of those sickeningly sweet love stories that quickly fly off the shelves. The only difference was that this was real life, and reality doesn’t work that way. I told myself it was just teenage hormones playing with my head, and for a while I fooled myself into believing it. But then, I noticed that I always find my eyes drawn to her. I always had that funny high in the head feeling whenever she was close to me, though I hide it as best as I can. Then there was her smile. She was always smiling, even in the morning, though she had her eyes closed looking like she was still sleeping. It was cute. She had always come in all smiles, like she had no care in the world. It was quite a refreshing sight. Every morning I would force myself to wake up early and get to school just so I can see her when she arrives, and I hate waking up early.
She never failed to greet me as she passed by my table to get to hers. I could never reply to her greeting, she would just whiz past, not waiting for a response. I guess it was only natural, we weren’t close anyway.
I wanted to get to know her better. She was a really sweet girl, everyone was practically drawn to her like moths to a flame. She just has a special charm to her. Maybe it was the way her eyes would glitter whenever she smiles, I’m not really sure. Whatever it was it sure caught my attention.
The first time I tried to speak to her I was nervous. I could feel my heart beat wildly in my chest as I approached her. But for some reason, after the initial awkwardness, we managed to slide into a smooth conversation. I can’t remember what exactly we were talking about but it was the start of our many conversations. We never really talk about anything important, we’d jump from topic to topic, never to actually reach a conclusion on the previous one but it didn’t matter. Through those talk we sort of formed a weird type of friendship, you couldn’t really tell since we don’t speak to each other outside of the classroom, but she had been the only one to actually hold a conversation with me longer than the rest, and for some reason I completely trust her. Though I’ve never actually shared a secret with her I just felt that if I ever wanted to tell someone something important that I don’t want to scatter all over she would be that person.
Whenever I see her, or hear her voice I feel my pulse palpitate every time. I tried to keep it in control but just a word from her I would lose my grip over myself. Thankfully I haven’t done anything drastic, but every time she smiles my way I can never help the smile forming on my face. It was then that I though “I think I love you”. Of course I didn’t say that out loud.
A year went by and we got up the ranks of school. I was relieved when I found out we still had the same homeroom. It meant I get to see her every day, like last year. I couldn’t wait to see her again. But then, after the first week of school she stopped smiling. She came in still looking sleepy, but her smile was nowhere to be found, instead a small frown took its place.
On the first day of the second week I tried talking to her. She didn’t seem interested so I stopped. During lectures I would sneak glances her way. She wasn’t listening in on the lecture. She was just staring out the window looking like she was thinking of something no one else understood. Once I caught her rubbing something from her eyes. It looked like tears. I didn’t understand. Was she suffering? I wanted to ask why, but I felt like I would be intruding on her personal life. I didn’t like it. I wasn’t able to help her.
For some time it continued like this. She didn’t look like the cheerful girl I saw a year ago. It hurt to see her look so sad, it didn’t suit her personality. I wanted to help, but I didn’t know how. I wasn’t really close to her, but I wanted to bring back that wonderful smile.
I decided, I would do whatever I can to make her smile again.
It was just a small gesture, I’m not good at making people happy but I hoped it would make her happy, even if just a little bit. I brought her a can of orange juice during lunch. When I offered it to her she looked up at me, unsure of what to do. I just smiled and nodded my head, hoping she’d get my message, and went back to my seat. The day after that I did the same thing, and the day after that.
At the fourth day she finally asked. “Why?”
I shrugged. “I just thought you’d like some juice.” She stares quizzically at me, like I had just grown another appendage. I don’t blame her, it’s unusual to find someone who just comes up and gives you something and not question their objective. I give her a small smile and turn to go back to my seat.
“Wait.” She calls. I turn back to her. “Tanaka-san, would you like to eat lunch with me?”
This time it is my turn to stare. I didn’t expect this. I was thinking more on the lines that she would thank me or ask for me to stop bringing her juice. An invitation was the last thing I expected from her.
“Uh… sure.” I manage to say. I must’ve looked stupid staring at her dumbly. I go to my seat and take out my lunch, just a plain mentaiko pan, and hurry back to her. I take the empty seat in front of her, say my grace and start eating.
“Tanaka-san?” she calls again. I look up at her. “I’m sorry if I sound rude but… is that all you’re having?” she asks haltingly. Still chewing the piece in my mouth I nod my head.
“I like mentaiko.” I tell her.
“Ah…” she goes quiet after that and stares at her bento box. She plays with her food for a while, looking like she was thinking of something. I try not to stare at her too much and concentrate on my lunch. I finish first, considering mine was just bread, and sit back. I don’t have anything else to do and staring at someone eat was just rude so I pretend to look interested at the ceiling.
“Tanaka-san?”
“Hm?” I hum. I tilt my head back down to look at her properly. She sits up slightly in her seat, staring straight at me. “Would you like a bite?” she finally asks.
“Huh?”
“Would you like a bite?” she repeats. This time she picks up a piece of rolled up egg and brings it up. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to do. Subtly I pinched my leg from under the desk, just to make sure I was awake.
I was awake. This was really happening.
I continue to stare at her, wondering if she was kidding. Slowly I nod my head and reach for the piece, but she pulls it away. She leans over the table and brings it up to my lips.
“Uh, Kamei-san?”
“Open your mouth.” She says.
Reluctantly I open my mouth and she feeds me the egg. I could feel my cheeks burning up, but I try to keep my blush down as I chew on the food. It’s different from what I’m used to but it taste really good.
“It tastes good.” I say.
“Really?” she asks.
I nod my head. “Did you make it?”
Her cheeks color as shade of pink and she hang her head down. She makes an affirmative noise and inside I feel like I’m melting. Damn it, she’s just so cute.
“It tastes really good Kamei-san.” I repeat.
She looks up and, for once since the beginning of the sem, she smiles.
“Eri.” She says.
“Huh?”
“Call me Eri.”
“E-ri?” I try, a bit unsure. Again she smiles. God I can never get tired of her smile.
“Well then… Eri.” I feel a small smile forming on my lips. I like the way her name easily rolls off my tongue. I can get used to calling her by her given name. “Call me Reina.”
“Okay… Reina.”
-o-o-o-o-o-
“I truly love you” was what I’ve always dreamed to say to her. She was just so special to me, I couldn’t believe I’d ever feel anything like this to anyone. The feeling of always wanting to be close to her, to make sure she was alright. The deep want to protect her from everything that could potentially hurt her. The irrefutable feeling of jealousy whenever someone came too close to her. I never knew loving someone would be this troublesome.
It’s funny, really. I didn’t even ask her out and already I’m thinking like a possessive girlfriend. Hell, even the thought of asking her out already sends my nerves into a frenzy. She’s just started getting comfortable around me, I mean really comfortable like what normal friends do with each other, I didn’t want to spook her off by just jumping at her with a confession.
‘Hi Eri. By the way I like, like you in that way. Want to hang out later?’
Right. I’d rather shoot myself point blank than make her think I was a weirdo. Ah, love, why art thou so cruel?
“Reina!” I nearly jump as Eri’s face comes into view, just a few inches away from my own. Too close.
“Y-yeah?” I push my chair back slightly, just to make a bit more space between us. This girl has no sense of personal space does she?
“Walk home with me?” she asks.
After the day when we started eating lunch together, and in extension got to talking again, we found out that we take the same train going home. Her stop was before mine. Since then we started going home together. Throughout the way we would talk with just about anything. Well usually I would do the talking and she would listen. She isn’t really as talkative as she was before, but she was a great listener. Though sometime I wonder whether she was still there or her mind had wandered elsewhere. I can never really be sure.
“Sure. Just, hold on, let me clean up my things.” She smiles at my answer. I’ve been seeing that smile for a while now. It’s very satisfying, knowing I got her to smile again. Me, Tanaka Reina, got Eri to smile again and no one else. I might sound a bit arrogant but I think I deserve to be smug about it, at least in my mind. She nods her head and takes a seat on the unoccupied seat in front of my table.
I start packing my stuff, just now noticing that most of our classmates have already left. Have I been spacing out for so long? I take a quick glance at Eri. She notices and sends me another smile. I quicken my pace.
“Okay, I’m done.” I tell her as I zip my bag close. “Let’s go.”
“Un.” She jumps up and waits for me to walk first. She trails after me, matching her pace with mine. I start talking about anything that pops into my mind. She’d answer with little hums or a nod of her head, sometimes she’d answer with short sentences but she goes quiet afterwards. By the time I feel my mouth getting parched from all the talking we arrive at the station. We were a bit early for the next train so I took the chance to get something to drink. I tell Eri to wait by the benches while I get something from the vending machine. I buy a can of tea for myself and a can of orange juice.
I go up to the bench where Eri was and, out of boredom, I place the cool can beside her cheek. She jumps at the contact and swivels around, eyes wide. I had to bite my lower lip to stop myself from laughing.
“Reina! Mou, you scared me.” She places a hand over her heart, looking a bit peeved.
“Sorry. I couldn’t help myself.” I smiled and hand her the orange juice. She looks at the can, then at me. “A peace offering.” I joke.
She smiles and takes the juice. She opens the can and takes small sips. I open my own and take a long swing. The taste of the cool tea was refreshing for my semi-dry mouth. Maybe I should lay off the talking for a while, walking in silence was just as nice anyway, just as long as Eri was there beside me.
“You know… if I turn orange from all the orange juice, I’ll know who to blame.” Eri suddenly pipes up.
Wasn’t that supposed to be for carrots? I turn to her and shake my head, but I don’t stop the grin forming on my face.
We take a seat on the bench and silently wait for the train. Like I said the silence was perfectly alright with me, it was refreshing. The station was mostly deserted so the place was pretty much void of the usual noise. A soft ballad was playing on the speakers. I never knew they had speakers installed in the station; I never really heard it play until today, and I’ve been taking the same train for over a year. I guess I really do need to listen more.
Speaking of listen, I hear the train coming. I get up to throw my empty can away. I reach over for Eri’s can, she’s been absently playing with it since she finished its contents a while ago. I wasn’t staring at her the whole time, I just see her through my peripherals is all. When I take it away her hands freeze where they are and she looks up at me, looking a lot like she just woke up.
“Train’s here.” I tell her. She blinks blankly at me a few times before her eyes slowly go to the train tracks, just as the train slowed to a stop.
I throw our cans into the nearest trash can and head back to where Eri was. She was still sitting on the bench, staring at something or another. Once I get close enough though she suddenly stands up. She grabs my bag with one hand and reach for my hand with the other. Before I know it we were running through the station heading for the far end of the cars. The warning signal starts to ring just as we get in the last car and a moment later the doors close and the train starts to vibrate slightly.
Eri strides to the end of the car with purpose. I notice that her hold on my hand hasn’t loosened in the least as I followed her, not that I minded. Her hand is soft and warm, I wish she won’t let go. When we get to the empty chairs she grins at me widely and pulls me to the seat beside her. Like a child she kneels on the chair and looks out the window, her eyes bright with delight as she watched the city zoom past, pressing her free hand and her forehead against the glass.
I don’t tell her to sit properly; I didn’t have the heart to, not with that look she was wearing, the one that was so full of childish wonder. I don’t know how she did it, we’re in our second year of high school but she projected an air of innocence, almost like that of a 5 year old. She just looked happy as she was, so I left her to her own devise.
Throughout the whole ride she would call for my attention and point at something and squeal, laugh, make up a lame pun or do all of the above at once. If it were someone else I would probably have told them off or ignored them. I shift a bit, acutely aware of our still linked hands. She hasn’t let me go since.
The train starts to slow down. I take a quick glance out the window as we arrive at the station, not that I needed to. I know this was Eri’s stop. The warmth in my hand disappears. I hold onto my disappointment and bury it at the back of my mind as I plaster on a smile.
“Reina, can I borrow your phone?” she asks. She has a serious face on as she held out her hand. I pull out my phone from my pocket and hand it to her. She takes it with a wide smile. I watch her as she busies herself with the small gadget, mentally counting the seconds before the doors would close and the train would continue on its way. As bad as it sounds I am actually hoping that the doors would close before Eri could leave.
She clicks the phone shut and hands me back the phone. “I put my phone number in. Text me later okay?” she says in one breath. Before I could respond she turns and run out onto the platform, just before the doors shut. So close.
I turn to look out the window. She was still there, waving her goodbye. I wave back, not stopping the action until she is completely out of my sights. I sit back onto the chair and fumble with my phone. I check the phonebook and search for Eri’s name. It’s there, like she said. I quickly create a message, just a hello and a smiley, of course adding my name at the end, and press send.
A few seconds later my phone rings. I check the mail and my heart nearly skips a beat.
‘You know, Eri already misses Reina.’ It said.
I rub my eyes and reread the message. I am so glad that the car I’m in was empty. My cheeks are staring to hurt from the huge smile I had on. I tell her I feel the same way and that she was fun to be with and that I can’t wait to see her again tomorrow. I try to make it sound as casual as I can, rereading my composition again and again just to make sure it doesn’t sound too forward.
Her reply comes a little later. ‘Nee, Reina, promise me we’ll be like this forever. I will always be here for Reina.’
‘I promise.’ This was a no-brainer.
It’s true.
This tenderness and this promise…
They’re all real.
-o-o-o-o-o-
Gentle and calm, a naturally kindhearted girl, these are few of her traits that everyone would use to describe her. So I guess it was hard to believe that someone as angelic as her would stick with someone who’s practically her opposite, personality-wise. At first we got stared at a lot for simply walking together, it felt like we were part of an exhibition. A quick glare would easily fix that though.
Eri never mentioned anything about it, so I assumed that she either didn’t mind or didn’t notice. It was pretty hard not to notice, especially if you were the one under scrutiny of the public, but I found out quickly that Eri tend to be oblivious to almost everything. I bet even staring at her from a feet away wouldn’t sway her any, not unless someone would tell her straight that she was being stared at.
I play with the pen in my hand. Sensei was in front blabbing about some great warriors from the past. I only half listen to the lecture, I don’t know how something from the past could help us with our everyday lives so I tend to not listen. Thankfully I’m seated at the middle so what I do isn’t noticeable from the front. I tap the pen on my notes. It’s barely filled with writings; there are more doodles in one page than notes of the subject. It doesn’t matter, I can always ask either Niigaki-san or Takahashi-san for the notes later. I would ask for Eri’s but I’m sure hers would be full of ink blots and random lines from trying to stay awake, if not void of any notes. I wonder which one I’ll be seeing today.
I glance up to the front, sensei’s busy writing on the board. Chance. I turn to look at Eri, she’s seated one seat to the left behind me so I have a good view of her, if I can just angle myself right.
Her eyes are barely open. Her pen is hovering over her notebook, not quite touching. Her head would tilt a little bit forward before she would subconsciously jerk back. At the rate of the lecture it won’t be long till her mind would entirely shut down. Ink blots and random lines it is then.
I stare back at the front, wouldn’t want to get sensei to notice now. It’s not that I’m scared of getting a lecture or anything of that sort, more like I don’t need to be called out in the middle of the class. The teachers are really singling me out. It’s not fair.
Speaking of which, sensei’s looking my way now, I pretend to jot down some notes.
“It would seem that my lecture is boring some of you…” I freeze mid-pretend write. Am I found out? No way. I’m in the middle of the room, so unless sensei is actually a super human disguising as a fat school teacher he can’t get to the middle this fast. I look up from my “notes”, sure enough he is still at the front, glaring at someone at the back. A lot of students were en route to dream world, some were already conked out on their seat. I relax my body, at least I might be let off the hook for today.
“Kamei-san!” Oh no.
I turn to look at the back. Eri jerks up from her seat, her eyes clear of the earlier sleep spell. She ducks her head down and straightening up in her seat, half-mumbling, half-shout an apology. I grip my table slightly, sensei has never paid much attention to those that slept through his class before, and the guy behind me was clearly passed out over his table. How come only Eri got called out?
“Welcome back to the world of the living Kamei-san, have you had a pleasant rest? Well now that you’re wide awake mind recounting my lecture to the class.” It wasn’t a request. I glare at sensei from my seat, he doesn’t seem to notice. I hear Eri squeak followed by the sound of pages ruffling.
“Um… from Tokugawa Ienari…” I turn back to Eri. She’s skimming through her earlier notes. Her face is entirely red from embarrassment but still she tries to save face. I grin slightly, proud of her.
“No looking at notes.”
“Eh?” She looks like she’s ready to cry. My hands form into fist underneath my table. “um… he’s um.. the eleventh to serve and the longest to hold office…” I quickly skim through my notes, so far she’s doing good. I turn back to look at her, she looks at me and I give her a go on signal “uh sta-starting from 1786-“ I slightly shake my head and hold up seven fingers “no 7. During his rule there was a great famine that lasted for… 5 years?”
“Kamei-san, please step outside...”
“Eh?”
“… and remain there for the rest of the period.”
“That’s not fair!” I yell. I stand up from my seat and glare directly at sensei. “She tried her best and what she said was right. She already said she was sorry.”
“Tanaka-san, sit down. No speaking unless I call on you. Kamei-san, step outside.”
I hear Eri squeak again and her chair scrapping back as she stepped out to the aisle. I open my mouth, about to retort when I feel a light tug at my sleeve. I turn to her, her cheeks are still red, and up close I can see the tears at the corner of her eyes. She looks up and smiles sheepishly. “It’s okay, thanks Reina.” She says hurriedly.
“Kamei-san.” Sensei barked. Eri jumped from the sound but before she could move I grab her wrist, stopping her movement. I give sensei one last hard stare and slip out of my table. Without saying anything I stomp up to the front and out the door, Eri a step behind. I slam the door shut and continue walking down the hall. I don’t let Eri go, she doesn’t resist.
We go up to the rooftop. Students aren’t allowed to go there except during lunch hours but the doors are always unlocked. I found out about it last year, whenever I didn’t feel like going to class I came up here instead. I’ve slept here so often that I actually have a bag of my stuff hidden at a corner somewhere. I just hoped no one found it and threw it away.
I let Eri’s wrist go and walk up to the far end of the roof, where a couple of logs and fences were left out. I go down on my knees and search for a plastic bag. I quickly find it in between a couple of logs, where I last left it. I take the plastic off and shove it back into the space. The bag is old, but free of smell and stains. The plastic fended off the rain and kept the bag and my things safe from the weather. I take out the large, old blanket and the small pillow. I put the bag back in with the plastic and head over to a shadowed spot. I wave Eri over as I begin to lay out the blanket.
“Reina, why do you have a blanket here?”
“I used to hang out here whenever I felt sleepy.”
“Was that why you disappear in the middle of class last year?”
“Uh…” crap, should’ve made up a lie. “Sensei was really being a jerk back there huh?” I sit down and pat the free space beside me. Eri hesitantly sits down, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her head over her knees. The redness of her face has already subsided, but her eyes were still a little watery. I nudge her lightly with my shoulder.
“Don’t mind. He was just flat out being mean. The guy behind me was clearly in snooze-ville and more than half the class was already half asleep. It’s not our fault his lectures were boring. He’d have knocked a lion out with his boring tone.” I joke.
Eri nods her head, but she doesn’t say anything.
I sigh. “Sorry Eri.” I say.
Her head rises at this. I send her an apologetic smile. It’s probably my fault she’s being targeted. I’m not exactly a model student. The teachers hate my guts, even though I didn’t do anything. Well that’s probably the reason why they hate me in the first place. I’m not too big with authority so I tend to be a sore for the grownups. Now with Eri hanging around me they’re probably thinking that I might influence her or something.
“Sensei’s just worried that I might rub off on you. I don’t think they like that I’m hanging around you too much.” I don’t look at her as I say this, I pretend to be interested with my nails. I don’t hear anything from her so I continue. “Maybe it’s best… if I keep a little distance.” Not that I want to, but it’s for the best. I don’t want Eri to suffer just cause sensei was being a pain in the ass and tried using psychology shit. I wanted to protect Eri from harm, how ironic is it that by being by her side I’m practically inviting harm to her.
I don’t hear a word from her, but I can feel her gaze on me. I ignore it and continue staring at nothing, I’m scared that if I look at her I might not want to go through with my proposition. I hear her sigh and a slight shuffle of cloth and I assume she’s getting up to go back to the class hallway. That’s why I nearly jumped when I felt her lean her head on my shoulder and her arm slip around my waist.
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea. I don’t like Reina ignoring me. I don’t care what sensei thinks, I don’t want Reina to be far from me.” She says. My heart melts at this. I bite my bottom lip and try to keep in the tears threatening to fall. I slip my arm around her shoulder and pull her closer. I don’t want to let her go. I don’t want her to be far from me either.
I have to become stronger. Slowly but surely, I will. I’m learning from her.
-o-o-o-o-o-
Okay, glaring at the teacher was alright, but storming out with your friend in tow and slamming the door just as the teacher was following us out and nearly smashed his face onto the door, whether it was intentional or not, and skipping the next few classes wasn’t one of my brightest moves yet. It was brilliantly badass, but it also meant I got us into big trouble. Thankfully I managed to convince the disciplinarian that it was all me and that Eri had nothing to do with it.
I couldn’t do anything about the skipping class part, apparently that was wholly Eri’s choice. It was of her own free will to stay with me and not attend the other classes so it was decided that she had to be punished too. She got a small mark on her record and a few days of afterschool clean-up duty for her ‘misconduct’. Niigaki-san told them how sensei was unfairly singling Eri out and that I was only being a good friend, so I got my suspension cut for a week. What’s sucks about it is that it’s an on school suspension. The only upside I can think of is that Eri and I are paired to do afterschool clean-up during the course of her punishment, after that I’m all alone.
Eri doesn’t seem to mind her punishment; she’s too busy fussing over mine to care about hers. She thinks it’s unfair that I get a full week of suspension. It’s cute.
Of course we didn’t forget our manners and properly thanked Niigaki-san. If she hadn’t gone in and backed us up I would’ve been doing 2 weeks’ worth of the teachers breathing down my back.
We went back to class after that. Even though I was mostly staring at my table instead of the front I knew my classmates were throwing glances at me. I was also positive that the next few teachers regarded me with contempt, but wisely kept their thoughts to themselves. By the end of the class I was practically restraining myself from jumping up and hightailing out of there. I keep calm and slowly put my things back in my bag.
I feel a soft tap on my shoulder and briefly wonder if that was just my imagination. I turn back and, to my surprise, find a smiling Niigaki and Takahashi. It’s unusual that the two would come to me of their own accord. It was usually the other way around.
“Uh… can I help you?” I ask.
Niigaki-san shakes her head, her megawatt smile still in tack. “I didn’t get to say this before we went back for class, but what you did earlier was…” she paused, her pupil darting up, trying to go through her internal dictionary for the perfect word.
“Reckless. Irresponsible. Stupid.” Takahashi-san quickly supplied. I shot her a glare, my hands curling into fists at my side. Niigaki-san beats me to the punch, literally. She reaches up, her fist at the ready and squarely connects with Takahashi-san’s shoulder.
“Ai-chan, don’t be rude.” Takahashi-san pouts at this but she says no more.
Niigaki-san fixes her a small glare before clearing her throat and continuing. “What I was meaning to say was… really nice, if a little reckless.”
“That’s what I said!” Takahashi-san protested.
“You didn’t need to add the last one.” Niigaki-san shot back.
Funnily I quickly forget my earlier irritation at Takahashi-san as I watched the two squabble. It’s not the first time I’ve seen them bicker, and I’m fairly certain it won’t be the last. I don’t try to stop them, mainly because they were a lot more interesting than anything in the telly, and they always make up afterwards, like an old married couple.
I jump slightly from the loud smacking sound. Takahashi-san had slapped Niigaki-san’s shoulder hard, enough that Niigaki-san stumbled to the side from the force. Niigaki-san had on a look of pure shock before her face contorted to irritation and she began raining slaps on Takahashi-san’s left arm. Takahashi-san must have realized how hard she hit Niigaki-san since she seemed resign to her fate of being the girl’s personal sand(slap)bag, all the while pouting and looking a lot like a bulldog.
I look back to Eri. She looked a little lost as she stared at the show in front of me, which was currently gaining everyone’s attention. I excuse myself from the two, I don’t know if they heard or not but I don’t wait for a response, and hurry to her side.
“What happened?” she asked as soon as I get to her.
“Same old, same old.” I shrug. “Hey want to head out for some ice cream? My treat.” She grins at the mention of ice cream.
“I want chocolate ice cream!” she cheers.
“O~sha! Ice cream here we come!” I cheer back, pumping my fist up the air. Then, remembering that we are still in school, I glance around the classroom. Every eye was on me, even Niigaki-san and Takahashi-san stopped their bickering to stare at me. I put on a glare and growl out “What y’all lookin’ at?” They all go back to doing their own business, I grin when I see a poor sap tumble over his chair as he tried to act casual.
I feel Eri’s arm slip around mine. I turn to her. She smiles, unaffected by my sudden change of attitude, and begin tugging me along with her, a little too forcefully. I snort a little at this. I slip my arm out of her grip, I see her pout a little at this and my stomach starts flipping. I pretend not to notice and casually slip my arm over her shoulder, inadvertently pulling her closer. “Let’s go.” She looks back at me, smiling so wide it looked like her face was going to rip.
She must really love ice cream.
-o-o-o-o-o-
We stopped by an ice cream shop a little ways from the train station. It was just a quaint little shop stuck in between large bakeries and restaurants. If you don’t look close enough you might just miss it. It looked a lot like a candy shop so usually children with their parents flock there more often than older kids. I think I can understand why though. If I was the owner I would’ve preferred kids than teens, they’re a lot less of a headache than high school guys that think more with their balls than with their heads.
When we get there Eri immediately stalked off to look for a free seat. I line up with the rest of the parents with their energetic kids randomly pointing and rambling on and on about things that kids like to talk about with their parents. The line is pretty short so I probably won’t take longer than five minutes. I make sure to put a distance between myself and the rest. I’m not really a fan of kids. It’s not that I dislike them, I’m just used to my little brother terrorizing me every waking moment of my life.
I admit they are pretty cute once they’re asleep. Not as cute as Eri though. She’s so cute when she starts nodding off.
I snap out of my musing once the old man at the counter calls for my attention. I try to contain my blush as I go up and order. Thankfully the old man just smiled and went off to make my order. He comes back with the two cups on a tray and I pay for it and quickly leave.
I find Eri near the back. She smiles as soon as she sees me and enthusiastically waves me over. I try to hurry, but it proved to be a challenge. Kids were wandering all over the aisle, much to their parents’ infuriation. Some were playing tag, racing across every free space they could find. It took a while but I manage to get to our seat, only once nearly tripping over a kid crawling all over the floor.
“Sorry, kids.” I say.
She tsked, playfully wagging a finger. “It’s bad to pass blame on the kids, Reina.”
I roll my eyes at this and begin placing our ice cream on the table and get rid of the tray. No sooner had we said our grace did Eri begin digging into her ice cream. She would eat half of a teaspoonful and start exaggeratedly moaning.
“So sweet~ Reina, would you like a bite?” I shake my head.
“You go ahead and finish that.”
“Reina, why is yours green? Is it green tea flavored?”
“It’s pistachio.”
“Pistachio?” she asked, tilting her head cutely.
I nod my head. I take a teaspoonful and offer it to her. She cautiously eyes the green creamy substance and purses her lips. “It’s some sort of nut. It’s pretty good. Try it.” I try to convince her.
Hesitantly she starts leaning over, her mouth slightly parting, just enough to permit the small spoon in her mouth. She pulls back, her eyes slightly widening in wonder and her hand going up to her mouth.
“Reina! That’s really good.” She states surprised.
“Of course it’s good. I picked it didn’t I?” I smugly smile at this.
“Let me try that again!” she says.
I pull the cup away from her, earning me a small frown. “Uh-uh. You’ve got your chocolate, let me eat my pistachio.”
“Aw.. Reina, let me try again. Please.” She begs. She claps her hands together and puts on those puppy dog eyes, her bottom lip sticking out to complete the look. I try to ignore her while I still can. I know I’ll lose sooner or later, might as well play my cards while I still have them.
Her hands wrap around my hands, her fingers playing with mine. I slowly turn to her, my firmness quickly crumbling. “Reina… Please.” She says in a small voice.
That was it. I sigh and smile defeated. I push my cup towards her but she shakes her head. I raise a brow at this. She smiles coyly before opening her mouth. I roll my eyes before scooping up some of the treat and feed her. She nods her head once, approvingly, and I notice that her cheeks are tinted a light pink. I don’t put much though on that, must be the cold.
We talk about our family as we finish our ice cream. I find out that she has an older brother and a younger sister and that she often has fights with her mother for the pettiest things. It was cute how she looked as she told me about that one time they had an argument while eating out, about who got to eat the one meatball of their pasta.
I told her about why my family transferred here in Tokyo after I graduated elementary. I told her that I have a younger brother that drives me up the wall whenever we were together and that my dad usually sides with him. That though I get scold at a lot by my parents they were still pretty cool with just about anything, though I’m sure they’ll probably blow a gasket after I tell them about my suspension. I keep the last part out of the conversation though.
Throughout my chatter Eri doesn’t say anything, her eyes sparkling in delight as she listens intently. It’s kind of embarrassing, but I like the feeling.
-o-o-o-o-o-
The weeks go by fast. I’ve served my time without much of a hitch. When I got back to class everything quickly eased back to normality. Risa and Ai were a big help, they lent me the notes that I missed and even offered their help if I ever needed it. They offered the same proposition to Eri which she gladly took.
The four of us started to hang out together. Ai and Risa didn’t mind that I had that yankii image, it even seemed like they didn’t know about my image the school body was spreading. I’m pretty sure the reason why they like me now was because of that time I stood up for Eri. That or because I kept going to them for notes. Well, the more friends the merrier. Eri absolutely loves the company and I sure don’t have a problem with it. They even said to just call them by their nicknames, that and Risa had given me a weird nickname. It kind of has a nice ring to it so I don’t mind.
With just the couple of weeks since we hung out with them I’ve already got a better understanding of the two. Risa can be a bit uptight at times and has infrequent, but scary, angry fits, but she has a lot of good points. She also something like a mother or the older sister of our group, especially when it comes to Eri, it’s probably cause Eri’s so dependent and innocent. Ai on the other hand is hard-headed, frightfully frank and has a bit of a violent streak, it doesn’t really come up often, usually only during an intense argument between her and Risa. But she’s a pretty dependable person, when she’s serious even Risa bows down to her authority. She’s not our iinchou for nothing.
Thankfully after that time, the teachers pretty much ignore me, must be because I’m hanging out with Ai and Risa. Whatever the reason is I’m just glad I don’t have to worry about being singled out ever again, or at least I hope so.
Rumors of me standing up for Eri spread all over the campus fast. A few days after I officially came back to classes a pale black haired girl from the other section came to our classroom during lunch. She pulled me up and suddenly hugged me, much to my surprise. It turns out that she was a close friend of Eri from back during their elementary school days, said her name was Michishige Sayumi. She thanked me for looking after Eri when she couldn’t, then she started sticking to my side, like really close. I tried to shake her off, but it was harder said than done. Suffice to say it was the most uncomfortable lunch period I ever had.
I don’t know if it’s just me but ever since that time with Sayumi Eri’s been acting a little weird. She zones out much more frequently than she normally does. She won’t look at me for long, which I admit hurts a little. She talks lesser and lesser as the days go by and it’s really starting to worry me, though on the other hand she does seem to be a lot more self-conscious, like checking her reflection a lot more often and the likes.
At the end of class I quickly stuff my things in my bag and head over to Eri’s table. I’m going to get to the bottom of this today, at least that’s my plan. I’ll try getting it out of her as soon as we get out of everyone’s hearing range.
She’s taking her time, slowly taking out her things and putting them in her bag. From the way she’s packing you’d think her bag would at least be a bit organized, I tell you it was just as bad as mine. I don’t even think her mind’s all there. I wave my hand in front of her, she jumps a little and hear head snaps to me. Just as I thought.
“Hey, ready to go home?”
“Ah… un.” She zips her bag close and stand up. I offer her my arm, she pauses as she stares at me. I can’t read her face. Feeling a bit awkward I let my arm fall limp by my side. “uh… Let’s go.”
We walk back in awkward silence. So much for “getting to the bottom of it”, I can’t even think of anything to say. I steal a glance at her, she still has a blank look on her face. What could have caused this? I try to think back to the last few days, before all the weirdness started. I haven’t treated her any differently, not that I can recall. Maybe I did or said something that upset her, but I’m not so sure. I’m not one for apologizing, especially if I can find no fault in what I’ve done, but this I cannot take any longer. I’d rather lower my pride once than go through another uncomfortable silence with her.
“Hey Eri…”
“Reina…”
We both stop. I turn to her, giving her my undivided attention. I motion for her to go first. She dips her head down somewhat, and then, as if thinking against it, raises her head back up. There is something in her eyes, something I’ve never seen before, determination. Her body language tells a different story though. Her fingers kept fidgeting with the hem of her skirt, she opens her mouth only to close it a second later.
We were going nowhere with this. I take her hands in my own, giving them a reassuring squeeze. It’s the only thing I can think to do now. Her eyes go down to our hands and I wonder did I make a mistake? I was about to let go when I felt her squeeze back.
She takes a deep breath. “Reina… I- I… I like…” her voice fades at the end. She’s not looking at me anymore, but it doesn’t look like she’s gone off to outer space either, which I guess was good. I rub my thumb over the back of her hand, her eyes go back to our hands. Again I wonder if I’m over doing the caring friend bit. Crap. I hope I’m not freaking her out.
“I think I like you.” She finally blurts out. I don’t know how to react to this. Wasn’t it already a given to like your friends? Eri must have sensed my confusion and she continued. “I mean… I like you more than a normal friend. I’ve felt differently for you for a long time, like I get jealous whenever someone gets too close to you or I get lonely whenever I’m not with you, but I didn’t know how to tell you and I was scared that you might think weirdly of me and I don’t want to lose you as a friend, but I don’t want to just stay friends so I never told you but I just really wanted to tell you and I don’t need an answer I just really wanted you to know.” She says all of that quickly in one breath. By the time she finished her face was already as red as beats, I could almost imagine steam coming out of her ears.
I had to take a short time to decode the mostly garbled words. Once I did I felt light on my feet. It seemed surreal. I was pretty sure I had a dream like this once. I pull one hand back to experimentally pinch myself. I wince slightly from the sharp pain. Wait, that meant this really isn’t a dream. I stare back at her with my jaw going slack. She shifts uncomfortably under my gaze, but I can’t make myself look away from her.
“Reina please don’t cry.” I hear her pleading voice. I reach up to my cheeks, feeling a warm wetness on my fingertips. “I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.” She sniffles. Her eyes are once again down cast, tears of her own silently falling down her cheeks. She starts to pull away. Without thinking I pull her back, my hand gripping hers tighter.
“You like, like me.” I say, almost unbelievingly. She stares at me, her eyes not betraying her nervousness. Hesitantly she nods, pauses, then shakes her head. I feel my heart crush at the action.
“No… I think I love you.”
Let’s be together forever
Loving you forever
My face lights up. I pull her closer and wrap my arms around her shoulder. I don’t stop the tears from falling down my face. I don’t care who sees us, I’m just so happy, I’m sure there’s a large smile on my face. “I love you too. I’ve always loved you. I just never thought you’d feel the same.”
“Really?” I nod my head.
I feel her arms wrap around me, I sink into the warm feeling. It doesn’t matter that we’re standing in the middle of the street, everything just felt right in that moment. So this is what it’s like to be in love and to be loved back. I don’t think I’ll ever want to forget this feeling, not in a million years. I pull back to see Eri’s face. Despite the tear streaks on her face you could tell she was happy by the wide smile she has on, she looked so beautiful. Her hand slips down my arm to intertwine our fingers. I feel all giddy in side as we lock our fingers together. I probably have on an even goofier grin, but I don’t care. I don’t care if anyone sees us, reputation be damned. I love this girl and I’m making sure she and everyone else knows it.
I’ll vow to the stars that I’ll love you forever. This warmth and this feeling, they’re all real.
-
Aaaah, TanaKame!! :inlove: Aaaah, GoRokkies!! :inlove:
Such a cute story~ :wub:
like an old married couple.
TAKAGAKI GETS!!! Lol, I always end up saying something like this when these two are involved :lol:
Very nice job there! I really liked this~
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asfsdgdfhg so cute~!~! :deco: I love it!
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i printed it last time because i was so busy with school works that i dont have time to read it.. it was only yesterday that i was finally able to. and it was so beautiful... so beautiful. i nearly cried as i read it. you.. you projected reina's POV very well. i myself, have felt the very same thing, or almost the same. though i'd most likely to be eri's persona, but such emotions.. some were even similar to what happened to us, i'd like to quote all of it but they were too many ! (yeah, it was that similar) not until the teacher scene of course xD those, small details.. how they interact *runs away and sobs*
though, we're still friends today :)
thank you yunagi <3
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MsSmigge: My mind is still stuck at the platinum era so I mostly write GoRokkie stuffs. GoRokkie saiko! I’m glad you like it.
TakaGaki FTW! You’re not the only one~
rndm: Then it’s a success!
Aya-chii: Thank you very much~
Thank you guys! I was so nervous that it wouldn’t be received well. Thank you very much! And now Imma take advantage of my stable internet connection and post the sequel.
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On a Nice Note
I wake up. There’s a light buzz in my head as the information I need slowly comes to my still half-asleep mind.
My mind processes that I am in my bed, in my two sizes too large shirt that I like to wear to sleep. I also figure out that it’s already morning and that my alarm hasn’t gone off yet, and that doesn’t sit too well with me.
It takes a minute for my eyes to adjust to the light shining in from my parted curtains, and for that short time I berate myself for forgetting to shut them close last night. I pushed myself up and swing my legs off the edge of the bed and place my feet on the floor. I cringe at the cold and pull my feet back into the warm confines of my bed, rubbing my blanket over them to provide a little warmth.
I check my alarm clock. The alarm will go off in ten minutes. I groan. I hate mornings.
I lie on my side and glare at whatever was in front of me, which unfortunately just happened to be my clock. I watch the long hand’s slow progressively ticking, silently urging it to just stop where it is and let me sleep longer. I quickly give up on that and close my eyes, and for the first time in a long time I try to recall pieces of the dream I had before I woke up.
I remember water, the feel of warm water on my skin and the faint salty taste in my mouth. I remember blue, it’s everywhere. Then the smell, it’s faint but I know what it is. In my dream I was at the beach. I try to remember more, but all I’m left with is a blur of motions, and before I can reach out and grasp the small remains of the dream, it is gone, lost in the dark recess of my mind. I give it up, no use trying to dig up what is lost and end up having a headache. I’m just content with knowing that it was a nice dream.
Just then a sound goes off. It takes a while for my mind to process the tone of the sound, and once it did I know it isn’t my alarm. The music dies down and I am left with the silence of the morning. I try to remember where I last put my phone before crashing for the night, a hard feat for someone like me who still sees everything in a light haze. I blindly began digging through my bed, slipping my hands in every cranny I can find. I feel the familiar contours of my phone and make a grab for it. I flip it open, reading the small message alert box that popped up.
1 new message
I lie back on my stomach and let out a good yawn, my thumb pressing on the okay button. I wipe the morning stars away from my eyes and squint to read the message.
‘Good morning Reina~’
It was short. A simple good morning message. There wasn’t even a single emoticon to go with it, but I felt my sleepiness go away and my lip quirk up in what was probably a goofy smile as I read the name of the sender.
“Good morning Reina” I read out loud.
I slip out of my bed. It’s Monday so I grab my uniform before heading for the bathroom.
Once I’ve freshen up and changed into my blouse and skirt I head back to my room. Just as I enter my alarm goes off. My parents are probably already down stairs preparing breakfast. My stomach grumbles at the thought of food and I sling my school tie over my neck and slip on my blazer, grabbing my bag before I head out the door.
-o-o-o-o-o-
I arrive at school a little earlier than usual. As usual students have already gathered in clusters, gossiping about whatever girls and boys my age talk about before school starts. I don’t stop to listen in; it’s too early for that. I can probably catch up to the latest gossip later when a certain usa-chan would happily prattle off everything at lunch time… or when I get to class. Either way I’m sure I’m going to hear every single gossip by the end of the day.
I head to my shoe locker and make a quick change. It wasn’t long before I arrive at my classroom. I slid open the door, putting on a smile and calling out a morning greeting. Some students look shocked at my arrival, obviously not used to my early attendance. I haven’t been much of an early riser recently, but I have my days. They shake off the shock and give a greeting in return.
I make my way to the small group of girls by the back and see various degrees of shock on their faces. I grin and make my way to my seat. I make a greeting to everyone again. I make sure I look at everyone, my mind quickly taking up every priceless expression and storing them in my memories, before I finally settle on a sleepy pair of brown eyes. As if snapping out of a spell everyone mumbles back a greeting.
“Wow Reina, this is… wow.” I look up to send a smirk to the girl seated to my right.
“Yep, here I am Gaki-san, way, way before the first warning bell rang. Don’t believe it? Try pinching yourself, just not your cheeks.” Everyone crackles at this and Risa makes a humping sound and turns away. I reach over to give her a light push, but I was beat to it by Ai. She grabbed Risa’s chair and dragged it closer to her desk, earning her a loud screech of surprise and multiple screams of “USO!” by the reaction queen.
Once she was on her feet Risa turned angrily and slaps Ai on her arm. Everyone laughs harder as Ai ducks under her arms while Risa beats her with multiple, light slaps everywhere she can reach. I take this moment to address the pretty girl seated in front of me.
“Hey.” I say, giving her my most sincere smile.
“Hey.” She mumbles back. She smiles widely, her cute fang showing. “Did you receive my message this morning?” she asks.
“Sure did. Would it kill you to add at least one smiley?” I say. Her smile drops and her eyes widen. She blushed, hung her head and started mumbling things I couldn’t comprehend. I reach over and grab her hand, giving it a good firm squeeze. She looks up and I smile. “I’m kidding Eri. Relax.” She looks relieved and smiles back, though a bit bashfully now. I don’t let go of her hand, I know she likes it when we hold hands, said she thinks it’s sweet. Her smile widens at this.
We jump back into the conversation. It was mostly Sayu going on about the latest campus gossip. Junjun and Linlin would sometimes jump in to crack a joke or make sounds at appropriate, and sometimes inappropriate times, much to Sayu’s annoyance. It went on like this until the second warning bell rang with the teacher coming in telling the class to settle down and we go back to out seats.
I try to listen to the lecture, really I do, but the teacher’s monotone was bad enough to put even a wild animal to sleep. In front of me I notice Eri’s head lightly bobbing back and forth and I hazard a guess that she’s near her morning limit, she’s usually the first one to clock out anyway.
I check on Risa, to my right, and Ai, seated behind her, as diligent as always. They were writing down the teachers notes, but from the way Risa’s posture was dropping and Ai’s random pen twirls it was obvious that they were getting bored of this too. Behind me Sayu was busy texting, while probably admiring her reflection from her phone to pass time, if her constant hair check and cutesy smile were any indication.
I hear a slight snicker to my left and I know Junjun and Linlin are passing notes again. Funny thing about it was that even though they were obvious about it most of the time none of the teachers ever called them out to read their notes as punishment, not after the last time. Their notes were in Chinese so even though they read it out loud only the two of them actually understood the message, which resulted in the two girls cracking up, which in turn got the whole class to erupt in laughter and consequently bruised the teacher’s pride.
We have two more subjects before lunch time and it’s already this boring. I laid my head down, too tired to think of how to keep myself up. It looks like Eri’s already tapped out. Her head’s bowed in an uncomfortable angle as she went to visit dream land.
I wonder, is she dreaming about me?
I smile as a plan formed in my head. Now if I can just get a little help.
-o-o-o-o-o-
By the time lunch period arrived I had already dozed off twice. My back feels strained from the awkward position I was in when the sandman paid me a visit. I make a short round of stretching, just to get the kinks out, before I notice Eri still hasn’t moved from her seat. I feel a grin forming as I thought of a nice way to wake up my sleeping beauty.
I make a small gesture to Ai, just a small nod, and she moves into action. She herds the rest of the girls away for a lunch up at the rooftop. We don’t normally go up there unless there was a special occasion so it was inevitable that there was some resistance. Fortunately that resistance was in the form of one Niigaki Risa. All it took a little sweet talk from Ai, a little touch here, a little push there and they were out of sight. Sometimes it amazes me how Ai can easily steer Risa wherever she wanted her to be, as long as they weren’t in one of their petty fights. This was one of those times.
I make a quick survey of the classroom. There were only a few left that hung out, maybe because this was where they normally ate or that they had to get a few things before leaving. It didn’t really matter, all I needed to make sure off was that there was no teacher in sight.
I shuffle closer to the crouched form of the sleeping girl before me. I slip my arms around her waist and plant small kisses near her ear. She stirs some, turns her head to the side and resumes her sleeping. I change course, now planting butterfly kisses on her exposed cheeks. She mutters something, lifts her head up and her eyes flutter open. I grin and swoop in for a light kiss on her plump lips. She looks up at me with confused eyes then, when recognition finally settles in, she smiles widely.
“Good morning Reina.” She mumbles, getting up from her table. There is a red spot on her forehead, from where her head had rest against the arm that she used as her make shift pillow. I reach up to her fringe and arrange them so that it covers the red area. She just smiles and let me do whatever I please.
I reach for her hand, instantly intertwining our fingers together, and help her up. We make our way out of the classroom, but instead of leading her to the rooftop where the others are I lead her to the ground floor. She just quietly follows, probably thinking we were heading to the cafeteria.
I lead her all the way to the shoe lockers. There was a bit of resistance at first but she doesn’t question my actions, not yet. It is when I pass her outdoor shoes to her did she finally spoke up. “Are we going somewhere?” she asks, I hear the confusion in her voice. We never go out of school ground until the last bell had rung. I smile.
“Yes. We’re eating out.” I tell her and leave it at that.
We change our shoes and I take her hand again. We run out of the school. The other students don’t stop to question us. Some of them are doing the same thing so they probably thought we were just going out to grab a bite to eat. There aren’t any teacher’s around so it makes this a lot easier.
We make a quick stop at the nearest burger joint. We order what we want and I get an extra bottle of water. I pay for everything, much to Eri’s annoyance, but I’d like to think of it as embarrassment especially since her cheeks turn red whenever I do this. I ask them for an extra bag and slipped our meals in it before we leave.
“Eri,” I start once we are outside, I grab her hand. She tilts her head cutely and smiles. I feel a smile coming up and I continue. “What do you think about heading for the beach?”
Her eyes widened and she asks “Now?”
I nod my head. I hold my breath, now that what we’re going to do next hinges on her decision. If she says she doesn’t want to leave school, then I won’t argue. If she says she doesn’t want to miss fourth period, I won’t argue. If she says she wants to go back, I won’t argue. I’ll be a bit disappointed, but I won’t argue, not with her.
She holds my hand and she smiles. “Let’s go.”
I let out the breath I was holding and squeeze her hand in mine.
-o-o-o-o-o-
It takes us almost two hours by train but we arrive at Hayama. We had to strip off our blazers, untuck and unbutton the first two buttons of our blouse and hide our neck ties so that we wouldn’t be questioned much. It worked, to a degree. People still stole weary glances our way whenever they though we wouldn’t notice, and I just hoped none of them cared enough to call our attention.
Eri looked as chip as a bird as she chattered all the way, the only hint of nervousness she gave was her tight hold on my arm. I tried my best to follow up, squeezing my input here and there, just so we would look less of the guilty students we really are.
As soon as the train doors open we bolted out of there. We didn’t stop until we reached the exit to the station. When we finally stopped for air we burst out laughing. The few people that lingered there spared us a glance then continued on their way, they had more pressing things to do than wonder what two students were doing by the station exit laughing their ass off. We calm down and I offer my hand to Eri. She automatically slips her hand in mine and I lead her to the beach.
The way there is uneventful. The only way to get to the beach was through a back road that was separated from the city. It isn’t the weekend, nor was it near summer. No one would think of going to the beach, no one except two teens out for a change of pace.
We are in the middle of autumn. The air is cold, not so much that we needed bundling up but enough that Eri’s hand’s turned cold after a few minutes out. She says it’s natural. I believe her, but better safe than sorry. I prod her to put on her blazer; she puts up a fight or at least tried to. I win in the end and she slips her blazer back on after much grumbling. She doesn’t disguise her annoyance as she refuse to look my way. To make her feel better I grab her hand and slip them in my skirt pocket. She looks shock at first, then her cheeks colors a slight pink and she smiles. I feel her hand grip mine tighter.
When we arrive at the beach we take off our socks and shoes. Eri runs ahead of me, leaving her shoes beside me. She strips of her blazer and carelessly chucks it to the side. I quickly pull off my socks and stuff them in my shoes, picking up Eri’s in the process. When I look up I see Eri run up to the waves, like a little child trying to chase off the water. When the waves come crashing back up she squeals and retreats back to the dry sand. I laugh at the sight.
She hears me and she turns, her smile is so bright. She yells at me to come over before she twirls around, her arms spread out as she soaked in the sun’s rays. I pause and watch her. It so beautiful, her joy. It is what gets people’s attention. She’s just so cheerful, so pure. I take that moment to capture the scene presented before me.
“Reina!” She calls again. She holds out her hand, an invitation. I dump our things by her discarded blazer and jog up to her. She takes a hold of my hand and she twirls us around. We both laugh freely, not caring who heard us. In my mind it was just us now. Just us and the beach.
She lets go and runs into the water. I chase after her. I know she isn’t running at her pure potential, else I wouldn’t be able to catch up to her. She squeals when I wrap my arms around her waist. She turns in my hold and holds my face in her palms. She leans in close and I close my eyes, waiting for the soft touch that would send tingles all over my body. But instead of a kiss I feel a weird wetness on my cheek. My eyes shoot open and I let her go. She takes the chance and makes a break for dry ground. She turns and sticks her tongue out. “Eri!” I shout but she just laughs. I wipe the saliva off my cheek and run after her.
For the whole afternoon we play at the beach. At one point she suggested we make a sandcastle. It doesn’t come out the way I imagined it. It looked more like a dome that had a circular chimney in the middle than a castle, but Eri absolutely loves it. I don’t say anything.
After that we ate our forgotten lunch. The burgers doesn’t taste as good as when they were still warm but neither of us cared. We were just too hungry to think about the taste. We scarfed down every single crumb and toasted to the warmth produced by the sun. Afterwards I lay out my blazer and Eri’s blazer side by side, as a makeshift beach towel. We both make ourselves comfortable, I lie on my back and Eri cuddles up beside me. I hook an arm around her shoulder and pull her closer, she rests her head on my shoulder and sighs in contentment. I look up at the sky and my mind unintentionally ponders over the lessons we are missing, not that I care much, and that we are going to have a hell of explaining to do when we get back. I try to think of an excuse, something the girls will believe. I think for a while longer but the lull of the waves and the soft calls from the random birds were much too serene. In this peace you’d think it would be easier to think up off a story. It’s not. I give up for the time being.
Then I think that it was really a beautiful day out, and here I was, in a beach with the most precious person in my life right by my side.
And I think, I don’t regret a thing.
I shift in my position to look at Eri’s face, she’s fast asleep. Must have tire herself out when we were running around. She makes a cute grunting sound and her eyes flutters. I hold my breath, hoping I haven’t woken her. Her brows scrunches somewhat and she sighs and wraps her arm over me. I feel the side of my lips tug into a smile. I pull her closer, gently as not to wake her, and place a small kiss on her forehead.
She mutters something. I can’t hear her, but from the way her sleeping face breaks out into a smile I know it’s something good.
“Sweet dreams.” I say. As if she heard me she sighs in her sleep, and that is all the answer I can get from her.
-o-o-o-o-o-
“This is the best day ever!” Eri says.
We are back in Arakawa. We walk hand in hand down the familiar path of her street. It’s already getting dark out, reminding me of the near end of my time with Eri for the day.
I received a text from Ai earlier that said she asked our classmates that lived near us to deliver the things we left behind. There was also a follow up message from both Sayu and Risa. They both had the same message, just that one was plain curious to where we’ve disappeared to while the other had managed to add in a lengthy scolding about skipping school, guess which is whose. Better start making that excuse.
Before I know it we are at the front of Eri’s house. Her hand slips out of my grasp, and though it hasn’t been a minute I already miss her warmth.
“Hey.” she says. I look up at her. She’s playing with her fingers, looking at her door then back at me. She’s buying time, this makes me smile. “We’re not going to do anything like this tomorrow, are we?” she asks. There is a hope in her voice, it’s small but I hear it. I laugh.
“I don’t think the teachers are going to be fine with us skipping classes every day.” I tell her. Her face falls into a small frown, but I know she knows what she’s asking for is impossible.
“Hey, cheer up. We can’t do this every time we like, but maybe we can do something after school tomorrow. Just you and me. We’ll go anywhere you like, just name the place.” Her face light up at this. She launches herself at me. I catch her around her waist as she latches her arms around my neck. Her happiness is contagious and I find myself rejoicing with her, bouncing in a small circle like little kids. We pull apart, her eyes is still shimmering with glee.
“I had so much fun today, Reina. All thanks to you.” She says. I feel my cheeks heat up and I grin. She takes both my hands in hers, swinging them as she talks. “And I can’t really think up of anything to repay you for all the happiness you’ve given me… so at least let me end this day on a nice note.”
Before I can say anything she leans in and kisses me. Like all our other kisses it is sweet, soft, tingly and just perfect. My hand finds their way to her back, pulling us closer to each other. Her hands wrap themselves around my waist. I can feel her soft breathing, feel the warmth of her skin, smell the sweet aroma of her perfume mixed with the faint smell of the sea. I love it all. I can die right now a happy girl.
But, too soon, she pulls back. She grins. “That’s the nice note.” She says and runs in her house and I am left standing there at the front of her house.
A goofy smile finds its home on my face. I can’t wait to see her again tomorrow. I wonder what we’re going to do. Knowing Eri it could be something I’ve never thought of doing. One thing’s for sure though, I’d sure like to start tomorrow with a nice note.
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Yay another GoRokkies story!! I so love how you have once again put all the typical characteristics with every girl XD Especially Takagaki, lol :lol:
Just can't get enough of these cute stories~ :wub:
And btw, you're no the only one stuck at the platinum era... :nervous
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MsSmigge: Thank you~ I just love writing those kinds of stories, especially with the gorokkies
And~ for the next story! Blast from the past. Starring the old minimoni group.
Enjoy~
Russian Roulette
“Umai!” Nono suddenly exclaimed as she took another bite from the creampuff in her hand. The heavy cream dribbled down her chin, landing on her pants before she could react. With her index finger she scooped the filling off her pants and quickly brought it in her mouth, happily sucking the sweet off.
“Ah… gimme some!” Aibon slipped beside her, taking Nono’s hand and brining it closer to her face. She took a huge bite and moaned in delight. She licked off the excess filling from the hole in between the pastry and moaned again.
“Hey, keep it down you two. And save some of that for later!” Mari berated the two girls. She stuck her head out the door, checking for any signs of the other girls. She checked the time, it wasn’t long now until the rest of the group comes back from filming. She played with the videocam in her hand, feeling the rush of adrenaline from all the preparations they did. If they could pull it off- no there was no hole in her plan, she made sure of that.
She looked back to the other two… and nearly screamed. The two girls, finishing the one creampuff they had shared, had begun creeping over to the stack of creampuffs they had put in the middle of the dressing room, with the full intent of swiping one or two more.
“Hold it!” Mari seethed. She ran over to the two girls and grabbed their hands, pulling them away from the pile with her. “Did you forget already? Some of those aren’t really creampuffs. I arranged those and even I don’t know which ones are filled with the surprise sauce.”
“But they look so good..” Aibon murmured eyeing the stack.
“Can’t I take just one?” Nono quipped, standing up she started to head for the pile. Mari tugged her back, a little forcefully, and Nono groaned from the slight pain around her shoulder.
“No. Look there’s still two left and we need those to bait the girls into thinking nothing is wrong with the others. Do you remember your lines?” Mari asked. The two girls exchanged glances then looked back at Mari with blank faces.
“We have lines?” Aibon dared to ask.
Mari resisted the urge to smack both girls head and instead let out a calming breath. “Nevermind. Listen, I’ll be taping the whole thing. I’ll pretend this is a new cam and that I’m trying it out. You two,” she pointed at the two of them “act like the studio gave those as a present and… eat like you normally do. Make sure they take the bait. I’ll take care of the rest. If all goes well we might be able to get the studio to show this on the next show… that is if we survive the rampage that’s going to happen later.”
The two younger girls stood to attention and, almost robotically, saluted to the older girl.
“Alright, let’s get this started.” Mari said as she checked herself in the mirror. She stationed the cam over a pile of boxes, adjusting the angle so that all three of them can be filmed and pressed the recording button.
All three jumped into view and started saying their greeting in a hushed way. Then Mari started. “Well today we’re going to play a little game with the others.” She said.
Aibon suddenly popped in front of Mari and continued. “We’re playing Rush roulee. But they don’t know that so sh…” she brought an index finger in front of her lips and made a shushing noise. Nono made shifty gestures behind her, acting like she was paranoid, which she obviously wasn’t given that she was grinning way too broadly.
Mari pulled Aibon back and continued. “Actually it’s Russian Roulette.”
“It’s going to be the best prank ever!” Nono suddenly shouted. Mari pulled her by her arm and both she and Aibon made an exaggerated shushing sound. Nono zips her fingers across her lips, and tosses an imaginary key over her shoulder. After the action is done she smiles broadly, mischief twinkling in her eyes.
“Okay, so there’s eleven of them right? Minus the three of us who do you think is going to pick the one with the surprise sauce?”
“I think it’s going to be Eri-chan.” Aibon said.
“Why Eri-chan?” Mari asked.
“Well, Eri-chan seems like the type who’s unlucky when it comes to draws.”
“Ah, is that so? Non-chan what do you think?”
“Rika-chan.”
“Why?”
“Because… she’s Rika-chan.”
Mari pauses as she thinks the statement over. She shifts in her place to look questioningly at the younger girl. “… I’m not following.”
“Rika-chan is Rika-chan so she’ll get the bad one.” Aibon helpfully pitched in. Beside her Nono vigorously nodded her head and smiled. Mari still didn’t get it but decided to continue anyway since they were short in time.
“Ah… Well there are four in there so I guess we’re just going to have to see.”
“I think I hear them now! Let’s see if we can trick them all. If all goes well we’ll be having a couple of nice reactions out of them.” Mari announced in a hushed tone before she reached for the still camera and turned off the recording button. Outside various voices of the girls could be heard as they came closer and closer to their dressing room.
Nono and Aibon took the last two cream puffs from the box and haphazardly threw the box somewhere behind the clothes rack. Mari refocused the camera on the two other girls and started recording.
Aibon took a bite “So sweet!” she squealed.
Nono followed up “Crap… this is too good! Yagut-san want a bite?”
“No thanks. I’m full.” Mari replied. She swung the camera around just as the first few members slipped through the door. Just as expected their eyes were automatically fixated onto the pile of treats stacked up in the middle, some looked at Nono and Aibon happily devour theirs. As soon as the rest entered the room they began crowding around the table.
“What’s all this?”
“Is that for us?”
“Ah it looks so yummy”
“Can I have one?”
Mari smirked behind the camera. Setting up the trap was just too easy, especially with this group of girls. From the way their leader was staring at the pile it would seem that even she didn’t suspect a thing. Food was definitely one of the groups weakness and they were going to get the best out of it while they can.
“Is this a present?” Makoto wondered aloud.
“Yup. The staffs said everyone was doing a good job and left these here for everyone.” Aibon said. She took another bite and exaggerated her moaning and flipped her head back, nearly toppling over her chair.
Without hesitation the other girls started picking up a piece.
Hook…
“Hey everyone why don’t you all face here and take a bite together?” Mari called out.
“Why?” Ai asked.
“I want to tryout the camera option in this thing. Come on. It would make a great group photo!” The girls shared glances with each other, wondering if they should do as asked. Some of the older girls looked as if they were having second thoughts about the treats as they wearily eyed the three minimoni members, most specifically Aibon and Nono. The two girls were, after all, infamous as the best, or worst depending on how one looks at it, troublemakers to ever grace their side of the idol world.
As if reading the growing tension the two girls quickly jumped smack-dab in the middle of the shot, simultaneously shouting ‘creampuffs’ and smiling up at the cam. Mari quickly turned off the recording and switched to the camera mode, taking a picture of the two girls.
“Ah, it came out nice.” Mari held out the camera, showing the shot of the two girls. She took a furtive glance at the other girls, checking if any one of them had taken a bite out of the treat, and let out a short sigh of relief as none of them seem to have done so.
“Okay, now everyone else join in.” Mari announced. She switched back to video mode and stealthily pressed the recording button. It was now or never. She moved back feigning that she was fixing the angle as the girls began lining up, while at the same time making sure that her path to the door was unobstructed.
… Line…
She zoomed out, making sure every one of the girls were in the shot. “Okay on three, everyone smile and take a big bite out of the creampuff.”
“One” she called. Aibon and Nono began slinking away from the group.
“Two” Mari’s finger started controlling the zoom stick, zooming into the group, ready to capture the glorious moment.
“Three!” Everyone took a large bite out of the treat.
… Sinker!
Seven of them had a look of pure bliss as the sweet flavor danced across their taste buds, tingling their senses. Four unfortunate girls, however, looked quite the opposite as their faces scrunched into an expression of disgust. Among the four was, as Nono guessed, and Mari humorously noted, a teary eyed Rika.
“Uwah… pah… USO! What’s in this? Ack!” Risa sputtered. Mari zoomed in on the young girl’s priceless over-reaction as she put down her chosen treat and stuck her tongue out, attempting to fan out the disgusting taste. Coincidentally, beside her Kaori was doing her best to hide her disgust. It was plainly obvious that she had one of the trap treats from the way her face would scrunch up as she tried to swallow the piece she had bitten off.
Nono and Aibon’s boisterous laughter cut through the shocked silence of the rest of the girls as they began celebrating their victory for, once again, pranking their colleagues. Mari’s lips twitched into a grin as she mentally gave herself a pat on the back for actually pulling off the trick without a hitch.
“What the hell is in this?” A chilling growl came from the far end of the line. Reflexively Mari swung the camera around, settling on the familiar intimidating figure of one Nakazawa Yuko.
“Huh? Yu-Yuko? Eh? Since when did you…” How did Yuko get a creampuff in the first place? There were only enough for 11. Who isn’t here? Mari thought. She made a quick scan of the room, only now noticing that every eye was on her, and made a quick mental count of those that were present.
Minus Yuko they were one girl short.
“Eh? Is there a party going on here?” Mari turned to the new voice, her eyes widening at the sight of the pale skinned, black haired girl standing by the doorway.
“Michishige-san? You weren’t here earlier?”
“No. I was admiring my reflection in the mirror at the hallway.” She said mater-of-factly, as if it was the most obvious thing to do when one encounters their own reflection staring back at them. But then, coming from the self-proclaimed number-one-cutest-girl, it didn’t really come as a shock.
Before Mari could say anything though, she felt a sharp tug on her arm. She stumbled from the sudden change of momentum, but quickly managed to regain her balance before her face could acquaint itself with the floor. She shot an alarmed look at the twins quickly receding figures as they ran for their lives. She felt her stomach flop uncomfortably and the hairs on the back of her neck stood in fear. Her mind automatically switched to auto, self-preservation kicking in, and made a dash after her co-conspirators.
She heard a string of curses and death threats coming from right behind her, urging her short legs to pump faster. She gripped the tiny gadget close to her chest, wondering whether she should just discard the object, but then thought against it. She was dead meat either way. And though the clip would probably never see the light of showbiz it had all the workings of a potential blackmail.
-
Oh my this was hilarious! XD
“Michishige-san? You weren’t here earlier?”
“No. I was admiring my reflection in the mirror at the hallway.”
For some reason this doesn't surprise me at all :lol: The end was way too funny when Nakazawa entered. You better run fast Mari!
It's always nice to read about the old members~ Makes me wish every time that I had found about hello project and such way earlier... But nice one-show anyway! :lol:
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@MsSmigge: Yeah, I wish I'd know about them from before too. Those OG girls are awesome... Oh well, at least there are still old H!M video's out there, and their music's saved in my hard drive.
I forgot to post this yesterday so a belated Happy Halloween and Happy All Soul's Day or Saint's (I always get them confused) everyone!
And yes, I know the title doesn't make sense.
Carving Soup
“Um… Eri?”
“Yeah?”
“What exactly is that?” Sayu asked, tilting her head to the side to try and guess what her friend was making. Eri blinked back at her. She turned back to her creation, pulling the orange sphere away from her body so she could look at the whole thing, before turning her attention back to Sayumi.
“It is what it is.”
“And… what is it supposed to be?” Sayu asked again before quickly adding “Just to be sure I got it right.”
“It’s a regular jack-o-lantern. See...” with the small knife she pointed at the parts she took off, naming them one by one as she passed them by. “Here are the eyes and there’s the nose. This one is the mouth…”
“Eh… I got it wrong then.” Eri pouted at the implication.
“Hey, I’m doing my best!”
“Eri, darling, it doesn’t matter if you’re doing your best or not, as long as you’re having fun everything else doesn’t matter.” Sayu smiled, patting Eri’s head affectionately as she passed her by to get to the refrigerator. She took out a bottle of green tea before walking back to the table, sitting as far away from the orange carnage as possible. She watched Eri carve out the outer surface of the pumpkin, her brows knitted together in concentration and her tongue sticking out the side of her mouth. Sayu sighed. “And with your artistic talent no one but yourself would understand that anyway.” She added silently. Eri’s hand’s paused mid-carve, her head tilted up somewhat to send a pout at Sayu’s direction before returning to her carving, this time putting more force than necessary in her work.
“Sayu, have you seen…” Ai paused at the doorway. Her brow rose up at the pile of orange mass on the table. Her eyes darted to Sayu, who casually took a sip from her bottle of tea, then to the hardworking turtle who was grunting softly as she pulled at the small knife that had wedged deep onto the pumpkin. “Eri, why are you hacking at that pumpkin?”
“She’s carving a jack-o-lantern.” Sayu answered for her.
“Oh…” Ai walked closer to Eri, stopping behind her and tilted her head to the side. Her brows scrunched together in thought. “Is that an alien?”
Eri’s hand’s stopped their movements. She sighed dejectedly, placing the pumpkin carefully on the table. “Would you girls like pumpkin soup for diner?”
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Kame for the win :lol:
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Aww poor Kame! She tried so hard to do art but others just kept on kicking her inner artist down XD Lol I laughed at Ai's alien comment :lol:
And yes, all thanks to the old videos and such! Though they are about 10 years old they never die! :cow:
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Control
I slow to a stop as the, somehow irritating, glow of the traffic light turned yellow before consequently changing to red just as the car halted into place right where, I hoped, the white line was. I can’t be too sure, the white lines were already faded, and it was already dark out so it made it harder to see. I turned to my widow to check if I was in line with the other car. Its head jutted out of the yellow post, just a couple of inches farther from where mine stopped, so I guess it was alright. The mob passing in front didn’t give a hoot to whether we were obstructing their passage or not, and I really wouldn’t have cared much if it wasn’t for the tiny camera situated right beside the traffic lights, giving whoever it was watching behind the cams a perfect view of the cars. I turned my attention back to the traffic light.
I hear the mechanical whirl of the window behind me going down followed by another on the other side and another beside me. By now I was practically glaring at the stop light, pleading with God in my mind for it to change as three voices started calling out hello’s and good byes to the people littering the streets, quickly followed by amused giggling’s, or for one case a loud crackle, above one other panicked voice.
The people in front stopped on their way to stare. As ludicrous as it sounds I actually sink into my seat trying to hid from the general public, even though I know they wouldn’t be able to see me past the heavy tint of the windows. I shoot a pleading look at the pale black haired girl seated beside me who looked absolutely confident in her drunken state, smiling and waving at the strangers at the side walk that were giving her a weird look.
I never thought there’d be a day that I’d ever think of that familiar song playing right before the pedestrian light changes as anything but annoying. Right now it was the most beautiful piece of music to my ears. The light changes back to green and I put the car on drive and hightail out of there.
“Reina! Hands inside! Kame! Stop struggling and get back in here! ” I hear the harried voice of the one other sober person in the car. It must suck to be in her position right now, with both windows down the two girl seated beside her were giving her a hard time, whether they consciously know it or not. I chance another glance at the girl next to me. Thankfully she seems stratified with just waving to the people littering the darkening streets, all appendages safely tucked inside, better for me since I can’t really spare her more than a glance, not if I wanted to go on a happy crash course on the way home.
“Oh my God! Ai, go back!” I hear Reina scream, I jump slightly from the abrupt command. I give her a questioning look through the rearview mirror, not that she can see from the way she was looking through the back window. I take note of Risa wrestling the bottom half of Eri back into her seat, only managing to stop myself from laughing out loud from the silliness of it all, before returning my gaze on the bottle neck before forming before us.
“Why would I do that?” I ask.
“There was a guy back there that waved back at me! Quick, go back!”
I take a longer pause as I stare at her figure reflected by the mirror. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I was pretty sure that it was the alcohol talking so there was no way I was going back there. Even without the alcohol that request was just absurd. I sigh and ran a hand through my face. “Sorry Reina but I can’t do that. We’re stuck in traffic.”
“Then I’m going down.”
“What?” Risa screeched. I cringed at the volume, even with the windows down it still felt like she was shouting right beside my ear. I glance back at the rearview mirror. She had successfully pulled Eri back to her seat, locking her in place with the seat belt and was now pulling Reina away from the door. Thank God Risa had me lock the doors before we left the restaurant.
“Are you crazy?” she seethed.
“Was he cute?” Sayu asked as she stuck half of her body out of the window, looking for the guy. I hear Risa’s scream followed by a long, loud beep drowning every other noise, and I managed to make a grab for the back of Sayu’s shirt and pull her in right before a bus squeezed past us. I’m quite pleased with how I’m still somehow managing to stay calm from all the craziness, even though my pulse has skyrocketed from the nearly devastating outcome of Sayu’s curiosity.
“Cute? Try hot. Ai, stop the car.” And there she goes. I wonder if this isn’t all a sick prank. I hope not cause it’s sure freaking me out.
“Did you not just see Sayu nearly getting decapitated? It’s dangerous! Sit down Reina. Sayu don’t you dare stick your head out again.” Risa shrieked.
“But he was hot!” Reina whined.
“Hot? Like sweet potato?” Eri ignorantly slipped in the conversation. Where was she for the past minute?
By now the cars in front of me had gone into a complete standstill. I unbuckle my seat belt and reach over Sayu for hers. I feel her arm slipping around my back as she tried to pull me into a hug. I reach out to the sides of the passenger seat to anchor myself and managed to secure the seat belt in place before I start trying to squirm my way out of her grip. For someone who hates working out she sure had a strong grip. Amidst my predicament I hear shuffling coming from the back, accompanied by grunts and more dejected whining and assume they’re having another wrestling match.
I glance out the open window, some people stopped to stare curiously at us. I pull back harder, managing to get Sayu’s grip to loosen just enough for me to slip out. She whines at the loss of contact but I’m already back in my seat, trying to make myself smaller so I wouldn’t be seen. Of all the time they could get drunk they had to choose the day where the master control of the windows got busted.
“Hey! You! I don’t like your girlfriend!”
“Oh my God! Kame!”
I hear more struggling. “No way! I think you need a new o-mph!”
“Kill me now.” I mumble as I lean further back into my seat. It was going to be a long ride.
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November Project
₪₪ “You sure are one crazy kitten.” Reina mumbled, carefully going up the small hill, mindful of the damp browning leaves slowly decomposing under her feet while keeping her eyes peeled for the small orange striped fur ball pouncing on anything it deemed interesting. Despite the lack of lighting on their part of the park Reina could still make out the kittens small form a little ahead of her. Silently she thanked whoever God was looking down on her for the guidance of the moon’s rays. Grabbing the nearest branch she hauled herself up. She gasped as her foot slipped on a protruding branch, one she didn’t see due to the pile of dead leaves on top of it, and swung her arm over the tree she was using as support.
Reina muttered a curse under her breath. She leaned against the sturdy bark a hand going up to rest against her chest, feeling the hard pounding of her heart from the near slip. Why did she let the kitten out again? It wasn’t like it needed to take a walk like it’s bigger- and crazier if you’d ask Reina- counterpart, though Reina was having second thoughts about this one. It’s tail twitched, front lowering onto the ground before it darted forward, once again putting a wide gap between them.
Why did she let it out?
Because you jumped at the very first excuse you could think of to get out of the house and the kitten just happened to be there, her mind answered for her.
Another argument had broken out that night, and not surprisingly for her it was about her grades. She had gotten another D in her math quiz “For the millionth time!” her father, the one who always told her not to exaggerate- how ironic- seethed as he slammed the crumpled sheet that was once her math quiz onto the dining table.
“How hard is it to understand numbers?”
‘Throw in ‘x’ and it might as well be alien language to me. As far as I’m concerned ‘x’ can go find its way to hell and screw over some other sad sap.’ She wanted to say but wisely held her tongue, settling to glaring at the placemat before her.
“I force myself to go to work every day, rain or shine…” Reina rolled her eyes in exasperation, already knowing where their conversation was heading. Her father stopped for a second, sending her a warning glare before continuing “So that I can give you kids a good education. Least you can do is do well in school and listen to class instead of hanging around those no good-“
“Don’t!” Reina heard herself say. She wasn’t staring at the placemats anymore and instead steadily met her father’s glare with her own. “They’re a good crowd.”
“You failing in class don’t make them good in my book.”
“Me failing in math doesn’t have anything to do with-“
“I’ve heard enough, Reina! I don’t want you hanging around them any longer!”
“They’re not-“ she began, slowly rising up from the chair.
“I said enough! I don’t want you anywhere near them. In fact, starting monday you are to come back here as soon as classes end and study.”
Reina gritted her teeth, forcing herself to look away from the disappointed look her father was giving her. It wasn’t that it affected her, she had seen him wear that look enough times to grow immune to the guilty effect it had, but it was getting old and she had rather ignore the annoying gaze. As long as she did that her father was least likely to make another comment and rub more salt into the wound, taking her silence as a form of surrender.
Unfortunately for Reina it had seemed that her father was in a rather talkative mood that night and he continued “Why can’t you do better? Your little brother is doing great with his classes. A’s and B’s! Why can’t you be like him?”
In the living room Reina could see her little brother’s head shrinking behind the couch at the mention of his name, wise enough not to say anything or call attention to himself. She didn’t know if he was being thoughtful of her or whether he just didn’t want the attention, but either way she was glad. One less headache to worry about.
“It’s just math! You use it every day. What is so hard about it?”
“Then why don’t you answer my quizzes.” Reina mumbled bitterly, only catching her tongue after the words left her lips.
“Would you like to repeat that Reina.” It was a command. Reina could hear the anger laced with the words. Her fingers clenched around the edge of her school uniform, trying to contain her own growing anger.
“I didn’t say anything.” She stood up, catching sight of the orange kitten she had taken home a few weeks prior, playing with a roll of yarn. Without sparing her father another glance she headed towards the door, deaf to all the angry words her father was shouting at her, gently picking the kitten up on her way.
“Reina? Where are you going?” A soft voice asked. It was her mother.
Slipping on a pair of sneakers she readjusted her hold on the kitten, holding it closer to her chest. She reached for the doorknob.
“Reina”
“Out. I’m taking the kitten for a walk.” Before anyone can say another word Reina stepped out to the cold night, closing the door behind her with a slam.
That was a few minutes ago. She didn’t exactly know how long she had been out, but judging from the way her stomach grumbled it was safe to assume that it was diner time, or a little past that. She rubbed her stomach, willing it to quieten with the promise of food in a while longer.
“You know, I’m not gonna chase after you the whole night. Come on, it’s getting cold.” As if making a point a cool breeze hit her, her exposed skin breaking out in Goosebumps. Hugging her arms to herself she continued trudging after the kitten, her pace, still careful of her footing, increasing in the slightest.
Finally the kitten stopped in its tracks, opting to stare up at something invisible, its tail moving in a lazy rhythm. Careful not to spook the kitten, and risk going into another round of chase, Reina lightly tiptoed towards the unmoving fur ball, scooping it up in her arms as soon as she had it within her grasp and cradling it against her chest.
“You crazy little thing.” She murmured, playfully poking its pink nose with her index finger.” If this is your way of making me feel better you better think again.”
The kitten mewled, paws up trying to swat at Reina’s finger. A soft smile came to her lips, whatever tension left from her earlier dispute with her father easing out of her body at the cute sight. She chuckled lightly, wriggling her finger some more.
A familiar chime, accompanied by a vibration in her pocket, caught her attention. Shifting the kitten in her arm she reached for her cell phone, flicking it open with a fluid motion and began reading the text message.
‘You busy tonight?’ – Ai-chan
Home or Ai-chan? She mused as she played with the center button.
‘Not really. Why?’ she replied, her fingers quickly going through the small buttons and lastly pressing the sned button. She waited for the reply.
‘Good. Come.’ – Ai-chan
She rolled her eyes. Typical Ai. Always making short- sometimes to the point of cryptic- messages.
‘Is Gaki-san with you?’
‘Yes.’ – Ai-chan
‘Gaki-san, mind elaborating what Ai-chan’s trying to tell me?’
‘She said she wanted to go over the latest song for our next performance. It’s alright if you’re busy tonight, it was suddenly decided out of the blue.’ – Gaki-san
‘No, I’m free tonight. Where?’
‘Great. Room 2, usual place. See you then.’ – Gaki-san
₪₪ Her father was still fuming when she arrived, waiting for her in the living room. As soon as she stepped into the house he exploded. She had tried to keep her responses short, if not none at all. She was boiling inside, her hands clenched tightly at her side, her nails digging into her palm, taking whatever verbal abuse she could knowing fighting back was futile and could only complicate and prolong the shouting. It took a while with her just standing at the front step, glaring down at her feet waiting for the storm to calm and finally her father ran out of steam and ordered her to go to her room.
It had taken her a while to sneak back out, her clothes changed to a comfortable shirt, jeans and jacket and her guitar bag securely on her back. She had snacked on a piece of jerky, emergency rations she had kept hidden in her room since going to the kitchen for food was out of the question. It had satiated her hunger, for now, she could worry about getting more later.
She stuck to the wall, ears perked for any sound of movement. After making sure that her brother was in his room she moved onto her parent’s room. They weren’t present, so that meant her parents were downstairs and that made sneaking out a lot more troublesome. Tip toeing down the stairs she kept to the shadows, her body tense as she slowly made her way to the base. The tv was on in the living room and there was the sound of running water on the other side, in the kitchen. She checked the living room first, seeing the top of her father’s head resting against the couch and a can of beer on the small table next to it. The Hawks were playing today which meant her father wouldn’t be budging from that seat anytime soon. She checked in the kitchen. Her mother had her back to her, engrossed in cleaning the dirty dishes. Sucking up a breath she slinked towards the front door. Halfway to safety she felt the hair at the back of her neck stand. The little kitten, seeing her owner trotted towards her mewing as it did.
Panicking inside Reina picked the kitten up and hurriedly made her way out the door, quickly slipping on her shoes on the way. Once outside she took off in a run, fearing her parents might have heard the kitten and seen her sneaking out. She didn’t stop running until a few blocks after, her heart beating wildly in her chest. She took a couple of deep breaths before regarding the kitten in her arms.
“Do you know what you did? I almost got caught because of you.” She flicked her finger on its nose, getting a small mew in return. She sighed, deflating. “Why am I talking to you in the first place? Ah~ maybe that person really is rubbing off on me…”
Shifting the kitten to a comfortable and safe position she turned her head this way and that, searching for the next turn she should take. She tried to sketch out a map in her head, visualizing the dark empty streets to what it was supposed to look like in the light of the sun. Chuck it to her lack of geographical sense but the night time road always seemed different to her somehow, foreign. There had been multiple counts of her mistaking one street from another wherein she had to double back or ended up elsewhere.
Double checking the street names she turned to her right and followed the name plates, unconsciously naming them as she passed them by. It didn’t take her long to find the shopping district after that and she sighed in relief as soon as she saw the familiar lighted signs. It was one thing to get lost in the neighbourhood, this was different. Morning, afternoon, evening, even if the whole place was covered in snow she’d still be able to find and name each store.
They were to meet at MusicBox, it was a small studio situated at the far back of the district. Just a handful knows of it, usually small time band members and people who are looking to learn how to play musical instruments hands on. With soundproof rooms and the owner nuts about privacy it was a great place to practice. Plus they had a special discount since one of their members was the favourite cousin of the owner.
As soon as she opened the door a head of short brown hair popped out from behind the front desk. The person was mumbling something, going through a bunch of papers in their hand, back to her. With a grin Reina silently crept towards the desk. Reaching out she grabbed the person’s shoulder instantly breaking their concentration. The person yelped and swivelled around, papers dropping to the floor. It took all of Reina’s concentration not to laugh at the normally cool and composed female stare at her like the cops had just pulled out a bag of weed from her bag.
“Yo! Been a while Yoshizawa-san.” Reina greeted holding her hand up, a sly grin on her face.
“Fuck me! Reina you sonnuvabitch! Don’t do that!” Yossie gave her an annoyed look before ducking down the front desk to pick up the papers scattered on the floor.
“Sorry. I don’t really see you so out of it and I just couldn’t let the opportunity pass.”
Yossie straightened back up. Placing the papers on the table she met Reina’s gaze, earlier irritation gone. “Well, I guess I had that one coming, though I didn’t think it would come from one of my cousin’s friends... Okay, I’ll let this one slide, in one condition. This never happened.” She paused, staring at Reina, attempting to intimidate her. “You copy?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She grinned. “Okay then. They’re in room 2. Tell my favourite cousin that I expect to have front row seats for the next gig...” She stopped, her eyes narrowing as she saw the orange kitten. “Reina that’s not what I think it is, is it?”
“Uh…” she stared down at the kitten then back up to the older woman. “I uh… had a little trouble back home… She won’t be any trouble, I promise.” She had a fleeting thought of going on her knees to beg further but quickly put the thought away. “Please… just this once.” She pleaded, looking up at the taller woman as innocently as she possibly could.
Yossie stared at her, her brows drawn in a hard scowl and that with the obvious height difference made her seem all the more menacing. Reina held her breath. Yossie was cool with a lot of things, but there are times when she just had to put her foot down and if that happens there was no way to persuade her to change her mind. Reina had just hoped she was in a fairly good mood that day.
“Okay. Just one time.”
Reina sighed feeling a big grin coming along. “Yes! Thank you! I promise she’ll be good.”
“Alright already. Get going before someone sees you.” She said, jutting her thumb out to point to the door leading to the rooms. Reina immediately set her directions there, power walking towards the door and slipping in quickly. “Don’t forget about the tickets!” she heard Yossie call out right before the door shut close behind her.
The door had led to a narrow hallway that was dimly lit and it took Reina a while to adjust to the lighting. The hall leads to three doors. Two of them were soundproof booths where bands could practice with privacy while last one, the one at the end of the hall was the recording studio often dubbed as “the room”. Reina had never step foot in “the room”, hell none of her group mates had, and she often wondered what it was like being there, but that could wait till later. It doesn’t dampen her mood, instead it excites her, thinking of the experience and the fun she would have on the way. Soon she’d be able to see the inside but now, now was the time to sharpen her skills.
She tears her gaze away from the third door, checking the side of the door she’s in front of where the number 2 was placed on top of a whiteboard and under it was the name of her band. There was a small light that had the words in use, cueing her that her friends were already inside, probably practicing, lazing around or goofing off. She shakes her head from the thought and pushes the door open.
“Oh, finally! Took you long enough, Tanakacchi.” Risa grinned, looking up from her music sheet. Behind her Ai looked up from her languid position on the couch, her guitar pressed against her chest as her left hand reached for the silver knobs to tune her guitar. She raised her right hand up for a hello, her thumb and index pinched together, the tip of the white pick peeking out, but it doesn’t go all the way up since she was using her elbow to keep the lower half of the guitar in place. “Hayo.”
“Osu! Is it just us?” Reina asks.
“Sayu’s nearly here. Kame might take a while longer, unless Sayu went to get her.” Risa answers before her eyes stopped at the small orange ball curled up in Reina’s arm. She blinked exaggeratedly, her eyes darting from Reina’s face to the fur ball. “Reina?”
Before she could say anymore Reina lifted the kitten for her to see. The reaction was instantaneous, as she had expected from the bean faced girl, and she could feel the kitten tensing up in her hand.
“Oh my God!” she shrieked, quickly clamping onto her mouth, momentarily forgetting that they were in a soundproof room, as she stared wide eyed at her “You! And the kitten! No way! No freaking way! You! You! Why? Why? No way! Wa-Why did you bring a kitten in here?! Yoshizawa-san is going to kill you! We are so dead! We- We gotta hide it! But where? Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear, oh holy-“
“Relax, Gaki-san. She knows. I met her at the front and asked” or rather pleaded, her thoughts corrected “for her permission. I’m not as irresponsible as you think I am.” She mentally gave herself a pat in the back as Risa’s body slowly relaxes at the information.
She placed the kitten down simultaneously sliding the guitar bag’s strap down her arm. As soon as the kitten’s paws found ground it made a mad dash for the drum set, tripped over itself and, as if it just couldn’t be bothered standing back up, rolled over onto its back to swat at the air. Reina rolled her eyes at the action, absently pulling her guitar out, dumping the bag somewhere to the side, and making her way to the couch where Ai was.
“Oh and Ai-chan, Yoshizawa-san says to remind her ‘favourite cousin’ to get her tickets for our next gig.” She said as she snatched the tuning device clamped on Ai’s guitar, much to the older girl’s exasperation, and sat on the couch opposite from where Ai was sitting and started tuning her own guitar.
“Noted, and I’m her only cousin so could you guys stop that joke.” She turned to Reina and gave her a pointed look. Reina just shrugs her shoulder, not even bothering to look at the older girl as she threw all her concentration on her current task.
“So the song.” Risa started. She held up the music sheet and waved them a bit, the rustling catching the two guitarist’s attention. “Or did you already forget the purpose of why we’re here.”
“Oh yeah, that reminds me.” Reina bit her bottom lip, just managing to catch herself from laughing, and covered her mouth with the back of her hand not to seem too obvious; else she was sure the glare directed at Ai would turn to her.
Ai pushed off the couch and nearly tumbled back hadn’t Risa acted fast enough to steady her. Ai smiled at the younger, nodding in thanks before adjusting the strap of her guitar. “Listen.”
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, a sort of ritual she does right before playing, whether they were practicing or out doing a gig. Her left fingers went to their respective positions over the thin strings, her right, pick held firmly in between her fingers, hovered a few millimetres in front of her. Then she began to play, deft fingers switching from fret to fret smoothly, the soft ring of the chords creating a familiar melody. Reina sat back, her mind following along with the rhythm adding in her riffs and fills along with the lyrics. But then, half way through the verse, the melody suddenly switched to a different tune and Reina’s brows knitted together.
Ai continued to play for a while longer, Reina closely following the positioning of her fingers with a surprised though interested look while Risa continued to stare silently from her spot. When Ai finally transitioned back to the original notes her tempo slowed until finally she stopped playing altogether letting the soft ring fade out.
“What do you think?” she asked expectantly, nervously biting her bottom lip.
Reina looked to Risa’s direction, noting humorously the awestruck face she had on slowly transitioning to a bright approving smile. “That was- Ai-chan, that was amazing!” she finally said raising her hands up to start clapping, a little too late. Reina chocked down a laugh and decided to clap along, nodding her head approvingly. Ai grinned, her cheeks blushed in a faint pink at the attention they were giving her.
Not surprisingly, when the other two arrived and after Ai, with accompanied teasing provided by Reina, once again went through the altered version, was immediately met with claps and various forms of verbal approval from the group. A moment later a flushed Ai finally called for silence and began writing down the new chords on the whiteboard. The three other girls, Risa already had hers out, quickly dug around their bag for their music sheet.
They were given fifteen minutes to go over the rhythm and practice, each individual going to their respective corners to silently practice on their own. Five minutes into it Ai slid next to Reina on the couch, quickly catching the guitarist attention.
“So? Whacha think?” Ai asked. Reina had to pause to mull over what the older meant. “I mean, think you can put in a few fills in there?”
“Ah, you shoulda started with that.” Ai shrugged her shoulders, leaning back to get comfortable on the seat. Reina rolled her eyes before good-naturedly bumping her knees with Ai’s. “I don’t know… You really surprised me with the sudden change, and after all the time we’ve put in to memorizing and practicing, especially this close to the next gig…” she trailed, pretending to be busy with her guitar while watching Ai’s face through her peripherals turn pale and contort to a horrified expression within seconds.
She laughed freely this time, moving towards Ai to playfully swat at her arm. “Reina’s kidding. Yeah I already thought about it. I’m still trying to figure out which would sound better but I think I’ll get this done in a few.”
Her words seem to give Ai little comfort. It was still plainly visible how worried she was about the sudden change she had made without prior notice, though Reina thought it was pretty weird not to think of how everyone else would react about it, but this was Ai she was dealing with and wouldn’t be quite her if she did think it through. Reina felt compelled to squash any more ill thoughts from the older girl’s mind, mainly because she had been the one to put it there in the first place. She grimaced.
“Don’t over think it. They- We love the change you did. It definitely sounds better than the original- not that I’m saying the original sucked or anything... point is, believe in us. We can totally do this.” Reina said. When she saw the hesitance in Ai’s expression she motioned with an open palm towards the rest of their group. “See for yourself.” Ai followed with her eyes, slowly but surely the creases on her forehead vanishing at the sight of the girls in their own world.
“Everyone’s doing their best. I’m sure we can pull it off.”
Ai smiled. It was a small smile, but a smile none the less. Then a low chuckle vibrated from the back of her throat, her gaze going back to Reina. “You’re sounding a lot like Gaki-san.”
Reina scoffed, her back plunging back to the comforts of the couch, her butt slowly dragging down the seat until she was practically lying down, her legs spread out in front of her. “Don’t get used to it. It’s just this one time.”
“Of course.” Ai nodded her head. Reina looked back at the older, but it had seemed that Ai wasn’t entirely there anymore, if the distant stare was any suggestion. A scream though quickly fixed that and the two guitarists snapped their head towards the source. Sayu was hiding behind Eri, clinging desperately on her arm while the confused girl stared at her, then towards the keyboard Sayu had abandoned, then back to Sayu. Slowly she lowered her bass, before slinging her arm over her friend trying to comfort, though albeit awkwardly, the terrified girl.
“What’s wrong?” Risa asked worriedly as she rounded the drum set, peering curiously at the vacated spot on her way to the two girls. Reina struggled to get up on her feet, her guitar and her position on the soft couch not the best combination. Ai had already gotten up by that time, torn between checking out what had freaked Sayu and going to comfort her friend instead.
“Something’s there!” Sayu squeaked, shakily she pointed at the direction of the keyboard. “Something’s there.” She repeated, tears slowly running down her pale cheeks. Risa immediately held the spooked girl in her arms, hand soothingly running down Sayu’s back.
Ai hurriedly ran to Sayu’s spot, quickly checking the immediate surroundings. “There’s nothing here.”
“There is so!” Sayu cried.
Finally getting herself upright Reina left her guitar to lean on the wall, quickly joining up with Ai, already having an idea of what Sayu was talking about. Before Ai could repeat her sentence Reina spoke up. “It’s nothing to get freak out about that much.”
“But there really is something there! I felt it brush against my leg!” Sayu insisted, her voice raising a pitch in frustration.
“I never said there wasn’t anything there.” Reina shot back, smirking, catching the two clueless girl’s attention and a look of realization from the older two.
₪₪ After a short explanation, and the two girls cooing over the kitten- overlooking the glares Sayu sent Reina’s way- was cut short by the ever responsible Risa pointing out the time, they finally gotten into actually practicing. It didn’t go perfectly well with everyone still adjusting to the new rhythm, they took it slowly, stopping to correct whatever needed correcting or throwing out an input on what they think would sound better. Before they knew it an hour and a half had already passed, and though it was a Saturday the next day they couldn’t expect the trains to wait for them to finish up. Slowly the group began to pack, purposely dragging on what would have been a minute of rearranging their things in their bags to chatter about nonsensical stuff, and for the case of one sleepy eyed girl to crash on the couch and play with the little bundle of feline cuteness.
“So we’ll see everyone here tomorrow, bright and early! 8 o’clock.” Risa announced, earning a couple of grumbling and whining, the loudest one coming from Eri.
“Can’t we postpone it to 10?” she asked half-heartedly, her mouth set into a small pout as she stared upside-down at a smirking Risa.
“8 o’clock, Eri.” Risa repeated sternly.
“Eh? But- but 8… it’s still so… so…” she moaned balefully indicating that it was too early “ Right nyan-nyan?” she lifted the kitten up to her face, tilting it back and forth gently making it seem as if it agrees with her.
“8 o’clock. And if you aren’t here by then I’ll personally pay a visit to your house. I’ll drag you here if I have to.” Risa warned, waving her drumsticks towards Eri’s direction. Her lips were quirked in a smirk when the lazy girl shot up to stare incredulously at her, the kitten clinging desperately onto her shirt. Eri whined one last time but nodded her head knowing she was beat before her head crashed back to the couch. Languidly her hands ran over soft fur, easily calming the frazzled puff ball.
“Don’t worry Eri, I’ll help you out!” Sayu chirped, skipping over to her best friend’s side. Raising Eri’s legs she slipped onto the couch before letting them drop to rest on her lap, patting them reassuringly. “I’ll keep calling you until you wake up.”
Eri managed to make a half smile, half grimace and thanked Sayu for her kind offer while everyone else grinned. Eri had, on multiple occasions, complained about her blaring ring tone shocking her to wakefulness. The unfortunate girl didn’t know how to change her ringtone and everyone else continued to play clueless with her whenever she asked for help on the matter, knowing it was the only way to get her up in the morning of a non-school day.
Finally Ai clapped her hands, grabbing everyone’s attention. “Alright, so it’s settled then. Everyone be here at 8 tomorrow morning. I hope you could practice a bit at home tonight. Anyway we better get going before Yossie comes charging in here. Check your things, make sure you don’t forget anything.”
Reina rose up from her position, fixing the strap of her guitar bag over her shoulder. She nodded her head when she noticed Ai trying to catch her attention and raised her hand up, silently promising to go over her parts later that night if she can. Ai grinned, quickly slinging her guitar bag over her shoulder and catch up to the drummer who was waiting patiently for her by the door. But before she could reach her friend Sayu half tackled the poor girl, catching her off guard planted a quick kiss right by her lip. Ai backpedalled, her face contorted in shock before she grimaced and playfully pushed the grinning girl’s shoulder while Risa laughed at the exchange.
Reina shook her head, chuckling lightly as she made her way to the couch where the lounging Bassist was, like the kitten in her arms, staring blankly into an empty space. For a second Reina deliberated between pulling the girl out of her dreamland via pulling at her feet or taking a picture first before doing so. In the end she wasn’t able to do either.
The kitten, catching sight of its master, began shuffling around Eri’s hold, slowly crawling its way towards Reina. Quickly, gently, Reina lifted the kitten, cradling it against her chest. She looked back to the bassist’s face, slightly shocked to see the dark eyes trained at her, curious and attentive- though a little hazy. Reina felt heat rising up to her face and forced herself to tear her gaze away.
She took a calming breath, lightly shaking her head wondering what had gotten into her. “Come on sleepyhead, time to go.”
“Carry me.” Eri replied, lazily putting her arms out, but then no more than a second passed when her arms fell onto opposite sides, crossing over her face and unintentionally hitting her nose. She groaned, but didn’t move her arms away.
Reina rolled her eyes at the action. “No way, carry your own weight. Reina’s got enough to worry about.”
“Aw.. where’s the love?” Eri whined as she slowly got up. Slinging her guitar bag over her shoulder she sluggishly followed after Reina, grinning lazily at the other three waiting for them at the door. Sayu lifted her left arm up, inviting the sleepy girl into her embrace. Within seconds Eri was by her side, flinging her arms over Sayu’s shoulder and leaning most of her weight onto the taller girl. Sayu grunted but surprisingly held up the additional weight with little problem.
Locking the door after them they set on towards the small lobby, bidding Yossie their good bye as they passed her on their way out. They chattered amiably, huddled together in an attempt to share their warmth with each other. Their warm breaths mixing with the cool temperature, making a thin white smoke floating in front of them, one Eri constantly giggled at much to the amusement of the others.
They arrived at the train station not long after, the PA announcing the arrival of the trains. Almost instantly Eri’s face fell as the familiarity and warmth around her slowly faded as the three other girls moved to head to the entrance. Quick to catch the change Risa reached to fondly pat the top of the bassist’s head. “It’s okay Eri. Go to sleep, before you know it it’ll be tomorrow and we’ll see each other again.”
“Eririn~ I’ll text you as soon as I get home. Cheer up okay?” Sayu added, smiling cheerily as she pulled her friend for a goodbye hug.
“Don’t fall asleep on your way home.” Risa joked. Eri cracked a smile at that, lightly shoving the older away from her.
“Of course I won’t, Gaki-san! I can’t stand the cold.” Her response was met with merry laughter, brightening up the gloom in the bassist’s face.
The PA boomed again, last warning for the departure of their train. Ai walked forward, tapping the other two’s shoulder to catch their attention. “We better get going or the train’s going to leave without us.” She turned to Eri and Reina, raising her hand in a good bye. “Careful on your way home.”
Sayu pulled Eri into a hug, mumbling something to her ear and getting a giggle in response before pulling away and giving Reina a parting tongue stick, one Reina readily responded with one of her own. Risa grinned reaching up to pat Reina’s head, the younger rolling her eyes but did not try to pull away, and pinched Eri’s cheeks.
“Tomorrow at 8.” Risa reminded once more before turning to follow Ai and Sayu into the train station.
“Well, looks like we better get going.” Reina finally said as she turned to head back home. A moment later she felt Eri’s arm wrap around her free hand, clinging to her to share their warmth. Reina’s lip hitched into a smile as she continued on her way, making sure her pace was the same as the girl next to her.
They were quite for a moment, Eri staring off into space while Reina just didn’t feel like talking. Halfway out of the district Reina stopped in her tracks, Eri nearly stumbling from the abrupt pause in their walking. She sniffed the air catching a whiff of the scent of coffee. She turned to the café to her left and almost immediately her mouth started salivating, stomach growling. The jerky hadn’t been enough, she needed food and her body made sure to let her know.
A giggling to her right reminded her of her companion and her face lit up in embarrassment. Wildly shaking her head she was about to move on when Eri spoke. “Let’s grab something to eat, my treat.”
Reina paused, the line sounding familiar to her, then it hit her. She turned to Eri, her left brow raised up in doubt. The last time she said that Risa ended up paying for them since she conveniently forgot her wallet back home. Seeming to catching on with her thoughts Eri pulled her wallet from her back pocket. “I swear I’ve got it this time.” Reina laughed as Eri smiled sheepishly at her.
Eri had gone inside to order; Reina didn’t mind what she bought for her so she volunteered to stay behind. Taking Eri’s bass with her she made her way to one of the small tables outside. She placed their instruments against the wall, making sure they won’t slide down. Afterwards she placed the snoozing kitten on her lap, lightly running her hand against the soft fur as she waited for her companion, and more importantly, food.
Eri came out a few minutes later with, to Reina’s stomach’s disappointment, a number card. She grinned as soon as she saw Reina and hurriedly made her way to her friend. Placing the number card on its holder she slipped onto the empty chair opposite of where Reina was and propped her elbows on the table to rest her head on her hands. “I ordered a club sandwich and hot choco. I know it’s a bit past 9 but your parents won’t mind you coming home a little late right?”
Reina grinned warily. “Reina’s sure they won’t mind.” They don’t know I’m out of the house anyway.
Eri nodded at her response, smiling her carefree smile. After a while she started to hum softly, something Reina quickly identified as their song, the one they were practicing earlier. Her fingers were pressed onto her palm in a complicated looking position before quickly transitioning into another position, her feet tapping on the ground in rhythm with her humming. To others she would look like she was checking her nails or was bored out of her mind or just plain crazy, but for their band mates they knew that wasn’t the case. She was playing with the bass, or rather an imaginary one. When they first started they thought she was just overly excited about the band, but months later she was still doing it. It didn’t matter if she had her bass with her or not but when she felt like playing something her fingers would start curling into her palm, changing ever so often to the rhythm in her mind. There was method to her madness, though. Soon they realized that she had gotten better, faster at changing chords. Her random finger curling had made them limber.
“Number 4?” a voice asked.
“That’s us!” Eri said. Her hand shot up, nearly hitting the poor waiter who had come up behind her with their order in hand. Reina bit down a laugh when she saw that Eri didn’t notice what her abrupt action had nearly done and was instead nearly jumping out of her seat for the orders to be placed down the table. As soon as the waiter left Eri’s hand reached out for the warm mug, her fingers curling around in search of warmth. Pretty soon she had the mug up to her lip carefully blowing the steam away. Reina followed the action, sighing in content as the warm concoction did what it was supposed to do.
The club sandwich was larger than they had expected. Reina had to stretch her fingers just to get a firm hold of both ends and she wondered, how is it that they don’t go bankrupt with how much they pile on their sandwich? How do they expect me to fit all of this in my mouth in the first place?
Reina looked over the monstrosity to Eri. She was staring in earnest at her half of the sandwich. Reina could imagine the gears in her mind working overtime, trying to figure out how to eat the damn sandwich. After a while she finally decided to peel of the top bun and started picking out the ham and bacon, eating them separately before munching down on the bread.
She paused when she noticed that Reina hadn’t taken the initiative to eat her half, completely oblivious to the stare and grin. “Aren’t you hungry? If you don’t eat that soon aliens just might swoop down and take it away from you.”
Reina scoffed. “The only alien here is you, and I’m sure you would want to watch your waistline. I think you’re getting a little too lazy recently.”
Eri pouted at the implication. “Hey! I’m a growing girl, and growing girls need nutrition and lots of sleep.” Then she smirked. “Reina how much have you grown recently?”
Just as she expected the shorter girl bristled. Putting on the best glare she could Reina took half of the sandwich and bit down on it with purpose.
Within minutes they were done with their late night snack and were calmly sipping the last few ounce of their drink. Reina was completely satisfied and, though it was embarrassing, she was glad her stomach had rumbled at that moment. When she put down her cup she found Eri, once again, staring into space, her mouth slightly open in that cute way of hers. She smiled softly and without thinking she reach over to Eri’s hand, snapping the girl out of her thoughts. Eri blinked curiously at her then her lips pulled into a goofy grin. Reina chuckled and shook her head in amusement.
“Thanks.” She said. “For the meal.” She quickly added when Eri’s expression turned into a questioning one.
“Oh, you’re welcome.” She paused. “We should get going.”
Reina nodded her head as she slowly got up, once again fixing the sleeping kitten in her arms to make sure it doesn’t fall off accidentally. Slinging her bag over her shoulder she stepped out of her seat, offering her arm to Eri as soon as she got to her side. The bassist was more than happy to accept the offer and quickly wrapped her arms around Reina’s.
“Okay! To home we go!” she cheered.
₪₪ Reina slowly let out a breath as she softly let her door click shut behind her. When she arrived at the front door she was taken by surprise when she heard the sound of the pretzel commercial blaring from the living room. She had thought that by then the baseball game would have been long over and was unprepared to hear her father’s footsteps approaching the foyer. Acting fast she let her guitar slip off her shoulder and left it out on the porch along with her jacket and slipped off her shoes, putting the kitten down somewhere along the way. When her father saw her his body immediately stiffen, the tell-tale sign that he was angry. Before he could explode however she had managed to construct a good lie, telling him about hearing something strange from outside and going out to check, as for the pants she just picked out the one from the laundry. Her father fortunately didn’t ask anymore, grumbling that it was too late to blow off his top and told her to get back up her room. She had just gotten back from retrieving her things from the porch and was glad that everyone decided that it was too late to check outside for teens sneaking around.
Placing her guitar to the side she flopped unceremoniously on her bed, stomach down. She was too tired to change into comfortable clothes and the meal she had was starting to make her drowsy. She yawned, stretching leisurely, wondering if this was what cats felt when they decide that getting up was too much of a waste of energy. Snuggling into the warmth of her blankets she was about to doze off when a vibration in her pocket pulled her back to awareness. Grumbling she pulled her phone out of her pocket, checking the message with squinted eyes.
‘Are you home? Have you fallen asleep?’
It was Eri. Reina had walked her home earlier, it was a bit out of her way but she figured the longer she stayed out the better her chances were to sneak back in undetected. Of course that didn’t exactly turn out the way she wanted but at least she managed to get away scot-free. She didn’t mind anyway, she liked the carefree atmosphere of her goofy friend had about her, even though right now she was mentally cursing the idiot for texting just when she was about to fall asleep.
‘Yes, and no, not anymore.’
‘Oops. Did I wake you?’ – Eri
‘Go to sleep Aho Kame.’
‘O~kay! Good night Rei~na! (=^x^=) <- look I made a kitty!’ - Eri
“That idiot.” Reina grumbled, smiling. Rolling on her back she keyed in her last message for the day and pressed the send button. After that was done she let her hand fall down to her side, phone slipping out of her fingers. There was still a smile on her face as the world around her slowly blurred through her half closed eyes.
“Sleep tight, Aho.”
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
If anyone is wondering why the title doesn't seem to have anything to do with the story... well it's not supposed to. I couldn't really think of a proper title for this.
This was made in response to the Writer's Block? Prompt Time here -> http://forum.jphip.com/index.php?topic=36508.0 (http://forum.jphip.com/index.php?topic=36508.0)
Does the ending seem kinda forced?
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Hehe, I should be doing one schoolwork which I have to return tomorrow (And no, I haven't started it yet... :nervous) but then I noticed this and tadaa! The schoolwork was totally forgotten and I read your stories XD But it was worth it!
Lol, Ai being a driver for her drunken friends? Poor monkey! And it doesn't surprise me that Risa was the other sober one in the car :lol:
And this I had to quote:
‘Throw in ‘x’ and it might as well be alien language to me. As far as I’m concerned ‘x’ can go find its way to hell and screw over some other sad sap.’
TOTALLY AGREE, REINA! I couldn't have said it any better! Oh and at some point there was also the reaction queen Gaki-san. I laughed quite much at that part :lol:
And if you ask me, the ending isn't too forced. At least I liked it~ :) Nice job! I really enjoyed these. And now I should finally do my schoolwork... Dammit :depressed:
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Really cute story (=^x^=)
Aho Kame XD
Reina and the kitten brought so many similarities in their personalities throughout the whole story. Thanks for doing it :thumbsup
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MsSmigge: Procrastination FTW. If you ask me the best motivation to make assignments and projects would be... *drumrolls* the last minute rush. :twothumbs
It's kinda obvious who'd be the other sober person in the group. I wonder what would happen if it were the other way around?
kuro_808: Aho... Damn, I haven't seen a turtle emoticon yet... ȯД<- good enough xD
Nosebleed Chronicles 1
Chronicles might not be the best word to use here but let's not go into details
₪₪ Eri wasn’t exactly the brightest turtle in the block. Just as her friends have lovingly dubbed her “Aho kame” Eri took pride in that and made sure the title would stick for a very long time. What she wasn’t was one to easily give up. She couldn’t exactly be called stubborn. It was very easy to sway her decision, if you knew the right bait to dangle in front of her. But when it came to problems she wouldn’t just drop everything like that, at least not until she had exhausted her efforts to at least try to address her problems, which would take around half an hour of serious thinking, give or take. Afterwards that’s when she would finally admit defeat and ask for someone else’s help, usually in the form of one bean-faced girl. Unfortunately in this case she didn’t have much time and she couldn’t ask anyone for help, not unless she wanted to get a zero on her pre-test.
It was still the first weeks of classes, and as per usual the school has given out a pre-test. It was supposed to be used to gauge how much the student had learned from the beginning to the end of the school year. Something Eri thought was weird. Wouldn’t they know after averaging their scores after every term?
She sighed, staring at the test paper before her. At least it was the last one for the day, after this maybe she could spoil herself for getting through with the entire tests. It wasn’t easy going through her mind to find the answers; she swore some of them weren’t even in a language understandable to humans, or at the very least to her. Like this one for example. Why were numbers infused with letters and those weird circular things?
Then there were some word problems like “Hose A takes 45 mins to fill the bucket with water. Hose B can do the same in 30 mins. If you use both hoses, how long will it take to fill the bucket?” Who honestly cares how long it takes? In the end the bucket will still be filled and that’s what matters right? And by adding another hose it would obviously take an even shorter time to wait for it to fill up. And why does it take 45 minutes for a hose to fill up a bucket in the first place? How big can a bucket get? Why does math have to make everything so hard?
Eri rubbed her temples, trying to ease the forming headache. She snuck at glance up at the facilitator. She was too busy looking through magazines to care what the students did. Feeling like she wouldn’t be caught Eri turned to the others around her. Just as she expected a lot of them were having trouble with the last test as she was.
She could faintly hear someone from her side, Sayu she guessed from the direction and the very distinctive tone, mumbling “what was it?” over and over again. Behind her she heard a string of cusses being muttered followed by a low banging sound as a hand, or head, was brought down the desk. Reina must have reached her limit.
Eri shook her head. It wasn’t the time to be idling around; she still had about three pages to go and around half an hour to finish. She needed to focus now. Alright next question.
“Boys V, W, X, Y and Z went fishing. V caught 8 more fish than Z. W caught 20, while X and Y caught 24 and 18 respectively. They caught an average of 20 fishes. How many did V catch?”
Eri stared at the questionnaire then turned her attention to the answer sheet. Her eyes began scanning the paper, looking for patterns or something that could help her. Seeing that she hasn’t answered the letter “c” in a while she decided to make that her answer and shaded the box before jumping onto the next question.
Two questions later Eri felt something wet starting to dribble down her nose. Great, instead of just worrying about math she now has to worry about a runny nose, and she had used up her tissues in the bathroom earlier. Talk about bad timing. Pinching the bridge of her nose to stop the flow she turned her head to her left where Risa was busily writing something on her scratch paper. She might have some she could use. She wouldn’t be scolded for just asking some tissues right?
“Gaki-san, do you have some spare tissues with you?” she whispered.
Risa slightly tilted her head to where Eri was. Without taking her eyes off the scrap paper she began digging through her bag. After a few seconds she sighed and shook her head. “Sorry, looks like I’m all out... Kame, you do know you can’t use the bathroom until the test is over, right?”
Eri pouted in disappointment. She eyed her white blousethoughtfully then pinched the top part and held it under her nose. “Un. Don’t worry, I just have a runny nose.”
Risa paused in her work. Ever the motherly girl she looked up to the turtle in worry. She was about to ask if she was alright when she spot the slowly growing red dot on the white cloth the turtle had used as a substitute tissue on her nose.
“Oh my God! Kame! Are you alight?” Risa screeched. Every head turned to her direction, shocked from the sudden outburst. Forgetting the test Risa went over to the bleeding girl beside her. Eri only stared as Risa began calling for the facilitator’s attention.
It was only a runny nose, what was the problem?
Before she could voice out her thoughts she felt two pair of hands pulling her up from her seat from both sides.
“Sensei! I’ll take her to the clinic!” Sayu volunteered at her right.
“Yeah! I’ll help!” Reina readily agreed at her other side.
“Ah… her nose is bleeding.” Eri had let go of her ‘substitute tissue’ as soon as the two girls pulled her up. With nothing to stop the flow the blood had freely dribbled down her face, some dropping on the floor and some quickly seeping onto her once white shirt.
“Quick Reina, stop it!” Sayu shrilled.
“Why should Reina stop it? Sayu, you stop it.” Reina shot back. Sayu was repulsed by the idea, she didn’t even bother to disguise her disgust, best friend or not she wasn’t going to touch Eri’s blood.
“Ew, no way.”
“My nose is bleeding?” Eri obliviously asked.
Reina muttered something under her breath before reaching up to pinch Eri’s nose and, a little forcefully, pushed her head back.
“We’ll take her to the clinic now.” Sayu announced as she began pulling the two girls along with her before the facilitator could stop them.
“Hey wait! You only need on-“
“Bye!” Sayu slyly grinned before closing the door after them, cutting of whatever the facilitator was going to say.
₪₪ “Eri hold still.” Sayu reprimanded as she dabbed a wet cloth under Eri’s currently clogged (with a tissue) nose. Thankfully the bleeding had already subsided so Sayu had begun cleaning up the aftermath, only because she lost at janken. Reina was busy shoveling through t-shirts in the small wardrobe the clinic possessed in search of something that could fit the turtle. The nurse was currently out for some emergency on what appeared to be faculty room related, so with no other choice the two girls immediately went to work on their friend.
“How come you didn’t know your nose was bleeding anyway?” Sayu asked.
“I thought my nose was just runny.”
“Your fingers were practically covered in blood.”
“I didn’t notice.”
“How can you not- Never mind.”
“I thought getting a nosebleed from reading something hard was just a myth. Guess that myth’s busted.” Reina smirked as she hopped onto the bed Eri was currently sitting on. She lightly nudged the turtle’s side, much to Sayu’s annoyance and Eri’s embarrassment.
“The test was really hard.” Eri defended herself.
“Got that right. Man, you sure saved me. I really didn’t know what to answer anymore, and it was giving me a headache. Here, I got you a change of clothes.” Reina said, pressing the clean shirt onto Eri’s open hands.
“Eri, stop moving.” Sayu snapped.
“Eh, but I didn’t do anything.”
“Shush. I’m concentrating.” Eri whimpered. Reina rolled her eyes.
“And… okay, done.” Sayu said, softly patting Eri’s cheek. “You can get dressed now.”
“Take your time.” Reina huffed as she plopped back onto the mattress, closing her eyes. “I want to stay away from that room for as long as possible.”
“Ah!”
“What now?/What happened?” Reina and Sayu simultaneously asked turning to the turtle standing a little ways from the restroom. She turned to face her two friends, holding out the ends of her blouse and grinning widely.
“Look,” she pointed at the long blot of dried blood on her blouse “it’s the map of Japan.”
kamehameha~ ȯД
There's two more like this that I might post at a later date. Keyword: might.
By the way this actually happened to me. In the middle of my DT "math" exam I suddenly had a nosebleed. It was embarrassing, but I got a helluva laugh out of it.
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Seeing that she hasn’t answered the letter “c” in a while she decided to make that her answer and shaded the box before jumping onto the next question.
For some reason this sounds very familiar... Wait! Yes, I do that every time in exams when we have "circle the right answer". No wonder I never got too good grades from those, hehe...
And yes, the last minute rush is something I am more than familiar with. XD But hey, results are usually better under a slight pressure, ne? :nervous
Reina ans Sayu were sneaky when the used Eri's nosebleed as an excuse to skip their test :lol: Anything, in order to avoid math, lol.
And about that It's kinda obvious who'd be the other sober person in the group. I wonder what would happen if it were the other way around?
You just gave me a magnificent idea! :twisted:
Can't wait for more of these~ Nice job once again!
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Kame and her bleeding nose. Kame don't overthink XD
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MsSmiggie: The hang and drop method works wonders, that is if it's a multiple choice question.
Exactly! It says so in the book entitled: The Lovely Art of Procrastination, combined with The Last Day: The End Results.
Thank you~
Kuro_808: I think it would be better if she left the thinking to other people. We wouldn't want her lovely face to get any paler.
Nap Time
oД~ I let out a satisfying yawn as I stepped back into the cool interior of the house. I stifle a giggle. I couldn’t really call it a house. It had walls, floors and a roof and it gave everyone under it shelter so yeah that would be the perfect definition of a house, but this one is huge. I bet it could fit five household and still have room for everyone to run around in. It even had a garden, with a koi pond in the middle of it. The first time I walked around here I was blown away by how massive it was. I still am, but I guess after staying here for a few days I’ve gotten used to it.
Back in the olden days I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a mansion, of course I don’t know this for a fact. I would have asked the owner but she was currently out of town at the moment. I thought about asking the next of kin, but from the way she reacted when she saw the place I doubt she even knew they owned such a grand place. I can still remember her face that day. Her eyes were as huge as plates as she gawked at the house, checking and re-checking the address written on a piece of paper her mother had passed her and the wooden plate at the entrance. She called her mother afterwards, practically yelling at the phone about how come she was never told about it and if we really were at the right place.
“Ah… it’s about time I get the futons in…” I mumble to myself as I retraced my steps. I may have stayed here for a week but if I weren’t careful I could easily lose my way. If memory serves me right, and I hope it did, I laid out the futons on the next corner.
“Ah…” I was right. Though besides the futons I found something else, two something’s actually, comfortably sprawled out on the futons, snoring softly.
“Sayu… and Eri too.” I’m not really surprised at the latter. I figured Eri would do something like this, but Sayu… It is a pretty warm day and the place is so peaceful, I guess it could put anyone to sleep. But still…
“Come on, Sayu!” I call, going into a crouch I gently nudge her side. Sayu shifts position, her eyelids slowly peeling back to reveal glazed dark pupils.
“Oh… Ai-chan.” She slurs, grinning sleepily up at me in a way that reminded me of the sleeping turtle snoozing next to her.
“You guys will crumple the futons I spread out to air.” I tell her in a strict tone. Groggily she pushes herself up, rubbing her eyes as she did.
“But it feels really good here. They’re warm and smell nice.”
“That’s why I put them out here fo-“
I don’t get to finish my sentence as I feel arms going around my neck and, out of surprise and the laws of gravity, I end up on top of the futons. I tried to pull myself up but the arms around my head don’t seem to want me to go anywhere.
“Ai-chan, sleep with us too.”
“Like I said, they’ll get crumpled!” I whine, struggling to get up while at the same time careful not to crumple the futons.
“Sayu!”
“Ai-chan is a good girl…” Sayu mumbled, one of her hand lightly massaging the back of my neck. It feels pretty good. I wonder if it’s because of the run I did just earlier, but my eyes suddenly feel heavy. Sayu’s breathing starts evening out and it doesn’t help me any, in fact it makes me even sleepier. I hear the light ringing of the wind chimes and my eyes roam up to the door frame above us. The colors of the designs blur and my eyes start to sting from being opened.
It’s such a nice day out.
oД~ Risa stared blankly at the scene in front of her. Three grown women were laid out on futons in the middle of the hallway, softly snoring as their minds went off to dream land. The one sleeping on the farthest end was less of a surprise since Eri was known to be able to sleep anywhere and everywhere and in a nice weather like this she couldn’t put it above Sayu to side with her best friend and catch a little shut eye. What surprised her was the sight of the oldest girl, her head snuggled comfortably around Sayu’s arms, sleeping soundly like a little baby.
“Should I wake them?” she mumbled to herself. They were sleeping in the middle of the hall, and though it was just them in the house it still wasn’t appropriate behaviour to just lay down anywhere convenient for them. Her eyes lingered at Ai’s back, watching her back move with every breath she took. “It does look pretty comfortable though…”
She crouched down beside them. There was still enough room behind Ai for another person. If she could just ease in slowly…
“What are you doing?”
“Gah!” she springs back up, turning around to find, to her horror, Reina staring at her, a devilish smirk in place.
Millions of excuses ran through her head, most of them absurd, as she felt her skin breaking in a cold sweat and her cheeks getting really warm. She was caught in the act, and of all people Reina had to be the one to catch her. What kind of excuse can get her out of this?
“I-“
“Nope, I don’t wanna hear it.” Reina cut in, silencing Risa with her index finger. “But sheesh, those guys can really sleep. Well.. it does look inviting…” Her end sentence trailed as she crawled close to the futon, situating herself behind Ai. She gave a hard stare at Sayu’s form, as if she was calculating something in her head, then gently she pried off Sayu’s arms from around Ai and pushed her to the side, happily jumping into the recently evacuated space.
“I got the first-class spot!” she cheered.
“Hey! Reina, you cat burglar! That’s my spot!” Sayu whined, grabbing the back of Reina’s shirt and began tugging.
“Well, you snooze, you lose!” Reina said, sticking out her tongue for good measures.
Sayu growled, her grip tightening around Reina’s arms. Before Reina, or Risa, could react Sayu dove down to Reina’s arm and bit down on the flesh. Yelping Reina sat up and started pulling at Sayu’s cheeks, trying to get the older away from her.
“Ouch! Alright! I get it! Get off of me!”
“Sh! You guy’s will wake them up!” Risa hissed, pulling the two girls apart. All three of them turned to stare at the sleeping girls.
“I’m actually surprised they aren’t awake by now.” Reina commented, inching closer to the oldest girl. “Well, Eri might not… but is she usually like this?”
“She… usually wakes up pretty easily…” Risa mumbled, leaning over to gently pat the side of Ai’s face. “Eh, she’s not waking up.”
“She won’t.” Sayu scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “I made sure she won’t.”
“OH MY GOD! SAYU! WHAT DID YOU DO?” Risa shrieked.
Grabbing Sayu’s shoulders Reina started to shake the older girl. “What did you do? Rather, what were you thinking?”
“I just wanted to sleep with Ai-chan.”
“Whattodo?Whattodo?Whattodo?” Risa murmured. She began slapping the side of Ai’s face, only to receive a pained, low grunt in response. “Oh my God! Is she dead? What are we going to do!”
“Gaki-san, that’s too much.”
Sayu puffed up her cheeks. “I got it. Sheesh.” Then she grinned. “But… Are you guys really sure you want me to wake her up?”
Reina’s brow arched. “Whaddaya mean?”
Sayu crawled over Ai’s form. Risa pulled back to give the younger space, and she and Reina silently observed from the side, both wondering what the evil bunny was thinking. Grinning Sayu bent down, her lips puckered.
“What are you doing?!” Reina boomed, grabbing Sayu around her arms and pulling her back.
“Waking her up with a kiss, duh! A kiss from a princess will wake anything up! It says so in the books!”
“Those are fairy tales! And it’s the other way around!”
“Do you want Ai-chan do sleep forever?”
“Of course not!”
“Then let me kiss her!”
“Absolutely not!”
While the two girls were battling out Risa continued to stare at the oldest girl in worry. On the outside she looked like how any friend would in a situation like the one she was in now, though, she thought, it was pretty strange for anyone to be in a situation like this in the first place. On the inside though she was way beyond panicking. Her mind, as sick as it sounded, had already constructed a way on how to get rid of the evidence that could lead back to them. Realizing where her train of thought was going she shook her head violently. She grabbed one of Ai’s limp hands and held onto it like her life, or rather her sanity, depended on it. That was when she realized there was something else rather odd with their predicament.
“Hey, why is Kame still asleep?” she asked.
The two bickering girls turned quiet, their head turning to the sleeping turtle curled on the other side of the futon.
“Well, I had to test it out on someone first.”
“Oh, dear God.”
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Got the idea from an anime. Me and my anime.
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That sounds exactly like a book I would write. Maybe I should do my bachelor degree about that! XD "The most famous persons of procrastination of history" or something like that... :nervous
Oh my gosh this was cute :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: I can so imagine how they are all sleeping on the futon in the afternoon and how everything is so calm and quiet~ Though, I wonder what on earth Sayu did... XD Well, Gaki-prince (or well... the reaction queen, lol) is there to save her lovely Ai-chan!
Aww, you just made my evening~ I became very happy when I read this. Thanks~
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Gaki-san FTW :lol:
As the cat and bunny fight leaving Gaki-san with the perfect opportunity and yet she does herself in with the question of a lifetime XD
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Oh God. Something happened last night... which reminded me of this story. I've written this months before, but forgot about it until last night.
From the Backseat
öД “Now it’s just like before. Keep calm, everything will be all right.”
“Easy for you to say.” Gaki-san grumbled, her hands planted firmly on the steering wheel as she stared- or was it glared- out at the gradually ascending road.
“Don’t worry, you’ve already got the basics down. This time we’re just taking it a little step further.” Ai-chan said energetically, confident in Gaki-san’s knowledge in driving.
Her positivity was replied with a grumble before Gaki-san’s head snapped to the side to stare straight at her. “But why go out of the city to practice on a hill? We live in the city! Last I checked there wasn’t a hill in the city. There’s no need for me to practice on a hill! Why are we here?”
“There are some parking area’s that reaches five floors, some even more, and getting up there is like getting up on a hill.”
Gaki-san was silent for a whole minute, her facial expression frozen in a stern look, probably running over Ai-chan’s argument in her head. “But why a hill?”
“Gaki-san, I already answered that.”
Gaki-san flung her hands up in defeat. “Fine! Then why is she with us?!” Gaki-san and Ai-chan turned simultaneously to look at me at the back seat. Out of habit I smile at them and wriggle my fingers.
“Eri wanted to tag along.” That I did. I heard about Ai-chan teaching Gaki-san how to drive, and that they would be having another session today. It sounded fun, and I didn’t really have anything to do so I decided to tag along. I wanted to see for myself how Gaki-san’s driving skills were. It’s not that I knew how to drive- outside of a racing arcade simulator- but it couldn’t be that hard. A lot of people drive, and Ai-chan, the only person I know outside of my family to have a driver’s license, was teaching her.
“Relax Gaki-san, I’ll just be watching quietly back here.” I tell her. I hear her snort as she shakes her head, her eyes once again looking forward.
“You just being there make me nervous.” She grumbled.
“Eh? It’s fine! It’s fine!” I lean over and wrap my arms around the driver seat and Gaki-san for a loose hug. “I promise I’ll stay quiet. Besides, I just want to know how good Gaki-san’s driving is now.”
Maybe it was just me but there seemed to be a tense kind of silence before Ai-chan started to laugh.
“Alright everyone, seatbelts.” Ai-chan ordered. She reaches over her seat to the driver side, securing Gaki-san’s seatbelt for her. I fake gag at the back as I put on my own. I’m quite surprised that these two haven’t become official yet.
“Eri.” Ai-chan calls. I jump in my seat. Did she see?
“Uh… yeah?”
“Tighten your seatbelt okay?”
“Ah.. oh. Yeah.” I adjust the belt so that it fit around my waist. After that I give her the thumbs up and, catching sight of Gaki-san staring at me from the rear view mirror, zip a finger across my lips and smile encouragingly. She rolls her eyes at me and her sights return to the road before us, and I swear her left eye was twitching.
“Okay. You ready Gaki-san?” Ai-chan asked.
Stiffly Gaki-san nods her head. She takes a deep inhale and move the stick thing, the racing simulator didn’t have this, in between them towards herself and up. Ai-chan reached over for the one with the button, the hand break was it?, and pushed it down. Slowly the car rolls forward and up. I smile and raise my hands up to clap, then remember that I was to be silent and instead hug my hands to myself, but inside my head I was cheering for Gaki-san.
“That’s it Gaki-san.” Ai-chan says over the roar of the engine. I peer out the window, watching the rice fields slowly pass by, until the speed gradually increased and the roar decreased. By then we had already cleared the hill and was on straight road. I could see Gaki-san beaming through her reflection on the rear view mirror and Ai-chan was clapping her hands lightly.
Imitating what game announcers would say I cheered “Stage clear~ Yeah! I knew you could do it Gaki-san!”
“Thank you, Kame. And what happened to being quiet?” I grin sheepishly at her and hold up a piece sign.
“Okay, now go back again.” Ai-chan says. Gaki-san doesn’t question her and immediately turns the car and heads back to the base of the hill. Once we were back Ai-chan instructs her to go back up the hill, and this time to switch to second gear half way up. She complies.
“Now it’s fine to stay in first gear but it takes up too much gas and is too noisy, and on a small slope like this you could easily change to second no problem. You can now change to second gear, but I have to warn you, you have to be fast in changing gears and putting pressure back to the accelerator or else…“
Ai-chan’s sentence cuts of as the roar quickly diminishes and, for some reason, the car vibrates then all of a sudden dies. The car stops for a second. I see Gaki-san’s face through the rear view mirror turn pale as she stares at the gauges in front of the dashboard and slowly we roll down where we came from. From what little I could see from Ai-chan’s side on the mirror it doesn’t look good. Her eyes had gone wide, her face frozen in a shock state. I probably look the same, if not worse, as my fingers dig into the leather seat.
“Brake! Brake! Gaki-san hit the brakes!” Ai-chan breaks the freezing spell casted on us as she instructs from her side, her voice going into a higher pitch at each syllable.
I feel the hairs on the back of my neck prickling, my heart beat pounding like no tomorrow in my chest and my stomach did a hurl-worthy flop. I was beginning to regret stepping out of my comfort zone and was mentally kicking myself for doing so. Gaki-san’s mind must have short-circuited as we only seem to gain more speed. Despite my current strapped to the seat status I turn around to look out the back window. We were heading towards the shoulder of the road, straight onto half a bark of tree.
“Bark! Bark! Bark!” I yell at them, my hands shooting onto the back of the driver seat to hold onto for dear life. “Stop! Stop! Stop!” I shut my eyes on instinct, preparing myself for the crash.
I feel myself press back further into the seat for a fraction of a second… then I bounce back like it was nothing. I peel back one eyelid to see if it was over.
Ai-chan was looking back, out the back window, her form heaving slightly. Her hand was wrapped securely around the hand brake, and it takes me a moment to realize that she was the one to stop the car. I stare at her for a few more seconds then the need to get out of the car seems to predominate in my mind. I unbuckle the seat belt and fling them to the side in my rush to get out. As soon as I feel the hard ground on my feet my knees buckle and I sit there in the middle of the road. I don’t even care about the oncoming traffic and if they can see me, I’m just too happy to be out.
I don’t know how long I’ve been sitting there staring at the pavement, everything around me seems to go in slow motion, then again all I can see is the grey pavement but I’m pretty sure it hasn’t been that long. I grasp my shirt, I can feel my heart beat even though my hand wasn’t firmly planted on my chest, that was how scared I was. I shut my eyes and take a huge breath in, willing my heart to calm down.
I hear long sigh from my right side and a ruffle of cloth on cement followed by a light bump to my shoulder. I open my eyes and turn to find Gaki-san sitting beside me. Her face was still pale, and she even seemed jittery.
“I’m sorry Kame… I… Are you alright?” she croaked.
Instead of a normal answer I burst out laughing. I’m laughing so much that I topple to my side and still I keep laughing. I can clearly imagine Gaki-san’s face staring at me weirdly and that only intensifies my laughter.
“Kamei-san? What did you tell her Gaki-san?” I hear Ai-chan ask. I cover my mouth to try and stifle my giggles.
“I- I just asked her if she’s alright.”
“… I think you broke her.”
I feel an arm go around my shoulder, Ai-chan I think, and, with a bit of difficulty, I am right back up. My stomach hurts from laughing so much and my cheeks feels like as if they’ve been stretched way too long, but that’s fine. It’s a good kind of pain. Once I’ve gain control of my laughing I look back to Gaki-san.
Bad move.
“Pfft..” I bite my lower lip and divert my gaze. “Ahem.. so- sorry. Ah~ that was a good laugh.”
“Kame are you gonna be alright?” I hear Gaki-san’s concerned voice and I feel a little guilty.
“Yeah.” I say and look back at her. I can feel my lips hiking up again. I should be serious… but “You should’ve seen your face Gaki-san.”
Her expression quickly changed from that of concern to disbelief in a nano second. I laugh again.
“Wha! But- You! Argh! I can’t believe you! And here I was worried about you!” she flings her hands up, nearly hitting Ai-chan in the process. Fortunately Ai-chan, managed to evade at the last moment, letting out a squeak in the process.
Gaki-san’s head snaps behind us, her face changing to concern once more as she motions to stand to check on Ai-chan. I take the chance to get a running start and a moment later I hear Gaki-san shouting behind me.
I’ll probably forget this ever happened, maybe when I wake up tomorrow or when I lay down to sleep tonight, but there’s one thought that will probably stick to my mind… I’m not going to be riding anything Gaki-san drives for a while.
~~~
And the story of why last night reminded me of this...
My sisters and I were on our way to my grandmother's place for the annual Christmas eve diner. See it was raining and dark and I forgot to bring an umbrella, so instead of parking at the front we decided to take the back entrance (the house was on top of a hill so we had to go up a narrow incline to get to the ground level of the house). Normally I'm level-headed and am a pretty decent driver, but then I'm driving a new (lowered) car that had it's seats lowered so on top of not being able to see much due to the darkness and the rain I could barely see the road in front of me. Anyway on the way up I might've accidentally put the car on third gear instead of the first, which was my intention, and the car sputtered and died. This was the first time I've had a car die on me while going up. I didn't know the foot brakes become useless once the car dies so the whole time I was stomping on the brakes, cursing and wondering why I can't make the car stop, while blindly guiding the car as it goes down the hill, hoping I don't hit the gate or the stone walls around us. Then I remembered the handbrakes, but by then we had safely arrived at the base.
... Merry Christmas everyone! :D
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Oh my gosh I freaking hate it when you change the gears and it doesn't go as you intended xD Been there done that...
You place and tell your own experience very well in this story. And I cracked when Eri was with those two lol :lol:
Merry Christmas for you too and be careful when driving! (At least in here the weather is so awful that you can easily drive off the road if you're not careful...)
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MsSmigge: Ikr? It's even more embarrassing when that happens on an intersection in the middle of rush hour.
And now for the...
December Project
öД “I see skies of blue… clouds of white… bright blessed days… dark sacred nights…” Ai softly sang. Carefully balanced in one hand was a tray with a nicely cooked sunny side up and two toast in a plate along with a steaming cup of chocolate in a small coffee cup, and though it was impractical to use it since she was at home it did add class to the simple breakfast. She couldn’t wait to see the reaction she would get when the recipient saw the results of her hard work. It had taken her a couple of weeks practicing and bribing a certain friend to take her on as a student, and of course all the hiding- and when asked about it was answered with badly thought of lies which always got a raised brow and a disproving click of the tongue- but seeing her hard work pay off was worth it. Seeing the happy, surprised look of the recipient would be the proverbial icing on the cake.
With her free hand she slowly turned the knob of the bedroom door, pushing it back to present her with a lump hidden in the heavy layer of the pure white comforter in the middle of the room. The sleeping occupant didn’t stir and continued snoozing away, the almost inaudible, and quite adorable, snores being Ai’s clue to this. She grinned “And I think to myself… what a wonderful world…”she sang, louder.
The lump shifted and a dishevelled head of brown hair popped up from under the cover. “Ai… chan?” The girl mumbled as she realized that the warmth that was supposed to be next to her was missing, her hands sleepily roaming over the bed. Ai chuckled as she walked into the room. Placing the tray on the nightstand she sat on the edge of the bed, her hands reaching for searching ones before pulling it towards her face and placing a small kiss on the back of the hand.
“I see trees of green… red roses too…” she continued, pulling the cover down and carefully helping the groggy girl to sit up. “I see em’ bloom… for me an’ you…” Gently she brushed the hair out of the girl’s face, leaning in to place a chaste kiss on pink lips. “And I think to myself… what a wonderful world…” she ended.
“Good morning, Risa.” Risa grinned sleepily, mumbling a greeting back before reaching her arms around Ai’s shoulder and pulling her for a morning hug before slowly drifting back to sleep, content to have the missing warmth back.
“Come on, time for breakfast.” Ai said, gently pulling away from the hug. Risa whined at the loss of contact and attempted to burry herself back into the warmth, but Ai had a sturdy grip around her shoulders and that made it impossible to accomplish, not when Ai was determined to wake her up. With a groan Risa abandoned that thought and instead flopped back onto the mattress, turning her back to Ai.
A second later she felt Ai crawl up from behind, wrapping her arms around her waist and resting her chin by the nape of her neck. “Come on, sleepyhead. I made you breakfast.” She whispered to Risa’s ears.
“Five minutes…” Risa mumbled back, letting out a contented sigh. She could feel Ai’s chuckles vibrate from her chest on her back and her warm breath tickled the side of her face. Then she felt Ai shift and a pair of lips pressing on the nape of her neck.
“Breakfast will by cold by then.” Ai said. “It’s breakfast in bed. You don’t have to move much, just sit properly.” She added.
“That’s awfully sweet of you. What’s the occasion?” Risa asked.
“There’s a very special girl in my bed, what more reason should I have?” Ai said grinning as she slowly sat up.
That seems to do the trick as Risa, her face a little flush, turned right back over and pushed herself up with her elbows into a sitting position. Her sleepy eyes found the tray on the nightstand and immediately a loopy grin found its way home on her face. Ai reached for the tray and carefully brought it in front of Risa. But before she could set the tray down she heard a gasp from Risa as she plucked the coffee cup from the tray to examine the content carefully.
“Uso! Wa-! It’s so cute~” Ai could feel her grin getting wider by the second. Risa was beaming at the image of snoopy the dog with a santa hat carefully etched over the white milk foam in the middle of the cup. It had taken Ai a couple of minutes to make it so the drink had gotten a little cool, but she wanted it to be perfect, it was for Risa after all.
“Ai, did you make this?” Ai nodded her head.
“How? I didn’t know you…” she trailed, her eyes widening in realization.
“Was that- All those afternoons?” Again Ai nodded.
“I know you love those latte art. I wanted to surprise you.” She beamed when Risa turned to look at her with an awestruck face. Carefully Risa reached over Ai to place the cup back on the nightstand, careful of the tray of food on the bed. Still beaming she leaned up to place a small kiss on Ai’s cheek.
“I love it.” Risa said, intertwining their fingers together. “But now I don’t know if I want to drink that anymore, it such a waste.”
Ai laughed. “That kinda defeats its purpose.”
Shifting her leg she moved to seat behind Risa, wrapping her arm around the younger girl’s waist and pulling her slightly back so Risa could rest her back on her. Risa gladly tilted her head back to rest against Ai’s shoulder and turned her head towards Ai’s face. Smiling Ai tilted her head and leaned down to capture Risa’s lips.
“I love you.” Ai whispered once they broke apart.
Risa grinned up at her. “I love you, too.”
öД “Eri, slow down!” Sayumi huffed as she powerwalked through the crowded walkway. In one hand she held tightly onto the bag of gifts she had bought while the other clutched the side of her pink jacket close to her body. The temperature had dropped significantly since that morning when she left her house, and internally she was cursing herself for forgetting to bring along her gloves, then again who would’ve thought that it would suddenly get cooler during the afternoon. She shook her head.
“Sayu~ Come on!” Eri called. Her hands were planted against the glass, peering into a candy store. The store clerk, a girl who sported a wide smile that reached her eyes, Eri faintly remembered having chatted with her a few times whenever she went shopping for candy, was setting up a small Christmas tree in the middle of the store, hanging candy canes and lollipops around the green plastic branches. Eri, a loopy grin in place, reached for the door handle, but before she could twist it open Sayu caught up to her and pulled her hand away, forcefully dragging the squirming girl with her, and more importantly away from the store.
“Wait! Sayu! Sayu! Can’t we go in? I wanna buy some candy!” Eri pulled at her hand but the grip Sayu had on her tightened at every pull to the point that it was starting to crush the poor girl’s fingers.
“I think you’ve had enough sweets for today.”
“But… but it’s my birthday.” Eri whined, tugging some more. True, this was the reason why they had gone out this day, and of course to do some last minute Christmas shopping while they were at it. Eri had gone around the mall buying cupcakes and gingerbread cookies and anything that looked sweet or caught the girl’s interest. The only time she stopped running around was when Sayumi presented her with her birthday gift, a silver bracelet with a turtle and a rabbit charm, and even then had only lasted for a few minutes as Eri profusely thanked her and admired the gift before going back to her sugar induced spree.
“You’ve ate more sweets today than you did for the whole month.” Sayumi said. She held her other, cold, hand close to her lips and puffed into it, trying to warm them. She looked up to the sky, taking note of the greying clouds, and hoped it wouldn’t rain.
“Sayu?” Sayumi hummed, turning her ear towards Eri’s direction. “Are you cold?”
She nodded her head. “It’s getting chilly. And it looks like it’s going to rain soon.”
“Really?” Eri asked, tilting her head to watch the grey clouds. She was quiet for a few seconds, her face devoid of emotion, much like when she was daydreaming. Then she grinned. “I think it’s going to snow.” She said confidently. Sayumi giggled.
“I thought it was rare to snow here.”
“It is. But it’s going to snow today, I know it is.”
Sayumi rolled her eyes. “How can you be so sure? Did your alien friend tell you that?”
Eri, grin still present on her flushed face, shrugged. Pulling Sayumi’s hands closer to her she slipped them in her jacket pocket and began leading them through the thinning crowd. They were silent, Sayumi pleasantly surprised by the thoughtful and wholesomely sweet act to think to talk and Eri, well, being Eri. After a while Sayumi noticed the familiar shop signs that she usually paid little mind to, they were nearing the train station. She cheered in her mind thinking of the warm room she would soon be in. Within a few seconds the train station came into view and Sayumi hastened her pace, pulling out their intertwined hands from the warmth of Eri’s pocket. After a few steps she felt resistance on Eri’s end and turned her head wondering what was wrong.
She was about to ask when a cold pin prick stung her cheeks. She flinched and reached up to swipe a cold droplet off her face, great now it was going to rain.
“Look.” She heard Eri whisper. Her head was tilted up, staring out to the sky, a large smile in place. She raised her free hand up to point upwards, indicating that Sayumi should look up. “It’s snowing.”
And indeed it was. A white powder of frozen water lightly fluttered down to the ground in the beginnings of a flurry. Eri reached up to catch a few of the ice crystals which immediately melted upon contact with her warm skin. She frowns at this and tries to catch some more. A step in front of her Sayumi looked on baffled, both her eyebrows shot up to her bangs and her jaw slack.
She blinked and shook her head, her lips quirked in a small grin and she chuckled humorously to herself. Reaching up to Eri’s head she brushed away the few speckles of crystalized water from her fringe, admiring the smoothness of the girl’s hair as her cold fingers brushed them. When she was done she tugged at their linked hands. Eri looked curiously at her, eyes shining with glittering excitement, an award winning smile still in place.
Sayumi, smiling, stepped forward. Before Eri could think, let alone ask, Sayumi had already leaned in catching Eri’s lips in a short, soft but sweet kiss. Pulling back Sayumi giggled at the wide eyed look Eri had, coupled with a goofy grin as if the girl had just found out that she won a year’s supply of candy canes and gummy bears.
“Sayu…” she breathed and motioned to catch another kiss, but a cold finger pressed onto her lips, stopping her midway, and the warm hand in hers pulled away.
“Ah, ah… you have to catch me first.” Sayumi giggled before shooting off towards the direction of the station.
~~~
Just some light writing.
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From the backseat: oh my god that must have been one of those things where frutrations filled up only to realize a good thing was luckily made out of it XD
The december project :thumbsup Great job on it
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First I have to say that I intended to comment on this story a looooooong time ago but somehow I forgot.... :nervous I remembered this after reading your latest comment on my fic and was like "Oh snap! I forgot to read that one! x___x" Lol, first I question why others haven't commented my writing and then I forget to do it myself... :lol:
But about this fic! I melted on the Takagaki part~ :wub: I was so warm and cozy and sweet and.... I could go on forever :lol: But it was so cute~
And for some reason Eri whining about candies made me lol. But the ending was sweet~
I should have probably read this during the Christmas time so it would have more feeling, but better late than never. Also the weather in here is much more "Christmas like" than what it was about a month ago.
Nice job~ Hoping to see more of these in the future :cow:
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Kuro: More like fear. Now I’m hyper alert whenever I have to go up hill.
And thank you very much. :)
MsSmiggie: Welp, better late than never. If you like that, you’re gonna love this next one. Pure TakaGaki one-shot. Enjoy~
I made this over a year ago, around the same time as Loving You Forever. This took me even longer to decide to post online since it was originally a perv based on a hawt, sexy dream so it was a bit heavy. After a bit of debating I made it kid teen friendly.
Home Alone
“Ai-chan” Risa sighed as she belly flopped on my bed, disturbing the sheets I had just arranged under her as she made herself comfortable. She began to stretch out, moaning in content as the cool air from the air conditioner cooled her body.
“Oh God, it’s so hot outside.” She says. She shifts on the bed, propping herself up on her elbows as she turns to look at me. I hum in response, just to let Risa know I heard, and turn my attention back to my book to continue flipping through the pages.
“What are you reading Ai-chan?” She asks.
I tilt up the book somewhat, just enough that she can see the title while I keep reading. I am half way through the story and it is just starting to get good. But my back is starting to ache from sitting in the same position for so long and my butt and legs feel numb. I’m just glad I got a carpet for my room, it would have been a lot more uncomfortable sitting on the floor without it. I stretch my legs, there is a prickling sensation shooting up from my toes and I freeze. I hate this feeling, the pain is bearable, but just barely so I try not to move a muscle until it passes.
When the prickling feeling finally subsides I push myself up and begin stretching, just to get the kinks out of my back. I take a look at the clock and am a bit surprised at the fact that it was already nearing noon. Have I really been reading for that long? I put the book down, after marking the page I am on, and take a seat on the foot of the bed. Risa scoots a bit inside to make room for me.
“I thought you had somewhere to go to today with Kamei-san.” I say. I pull my legs towards me and wrap my arms around my knees. I hear a shuffling sound behind me as Risa turned to her back, her head resting on her arms.
“She had to cancel. Kame forgot that she had something else planned with her family today.” She grumbles. I chuckle. Sure Eri could be an airhead sometimes, but forgetting plans she made before, to her family no less, was just plain irresponsible. But then again, it was the Kamei Eri she was talking about, she wouldn’t be herself if she did remember. Knowing Risa she wasn’t really as much upset as she was trying to portray.
“Are you sure you don’t mind me coming here?” Risa asks slowly. She had turned to her side, propping herself on her arm. Isn’t she a bit restless today? “Your parents look like they were getting ready to go somewhere too.”
“Yeah, they’re going to visit my aunt. Don’t worry. I’m not going with them. I volunteered to house sit while they’re away. They’ll be back tomorrow.” I tell her.
Risa nods her head in understanding and grin.
I yawn. I turn so I can lie down on my back. Risa returns to her back. She is staring at the ceiling, must be looking for the Libra’s constellation. I had painted the major constellation on my ceiling last winter, the original plain blue was too boring.
While she’s absorbed with the stars I take the time to study her attire. She was rather light with her choice of wear, maybe the heat was much too unbearable to go out with the usual conservative look. She had picked a thin white cotton t-shirt, that if she stretched ended just above her navel, and a pair of pink short shorts. I myself picked out a less than conservative look, just a light pink cotton tank top and a pair of short denim shorts. I was stuck at home anyway.
“Hey.” I nudged her softly from the side. Risa turned her head and hummed. “Want to go down and eat?”
-o-o-o-o-o-
Time flies when you’re having fun, or so the saying goes. That was exactly what I thought as I checked the time.
After wishing my parents a safe trip and watching them off I dragged Risa to the living room to have a one on one racing battle with her. Though I purposely let her win from time to time it had not affected her the way I thought it would. After six rounds and with both scores tied Risa had claimed that she would rather watch me play, so I switched to my favorite game and threw all my focus on the screen. Time wasn’t of the essence and was promptly cast aside. That was why three level ups later I hear Risa sigh loudly. I check the time. Over two hours had already passed. Oops.
“Crap.” I say. Risa chuckles beside me. I send her an apologetic look, she just rolls her eyes.
Feeling guilty that I had ignored my visitor for the past two hours I switch off the game. Based on the time I know there is nothing worth watching on tv, unless I wanted to watch reruns of every drama I could think off, which I don’t. I remember mom renting a couple of dvd’s a couple of days back so I head over to the dvd rack.
She doesn’t disappoint. There are ten dvd’s of new movies I haven’t watched yet. I look through the titles and discard the ones that are in the horror category. There are only half left, which I don’t get. No one in this household likes horror movies so why bother renting them?
I raise the one’s left. “Pick one.” I tell her.
She squint her eyes, trying to read the titles from our distance. I shake my head and pass her the cases. It takes her a while but she grins and holds up one that got her interest. I take the case and load the dvd before plopping myself next to her.
It was a sappy romance movie. It was in English, and though I’ve improved in that subject I didn’t really care enough to remember the title. Risa was fully engrossed with the movies story. Her body was slightly tilted forward, her elbows planted on her knees while her head rested on her palms. She looks cute like that. Then again everything Risa does is cute. She’s just too damn adorable.
I turn back to the movie. The couple was preparing for diner, talking about something that had to do with a fish. Now I really don’t get the movie. The guy suddenly leaves the kitchen. A short while later he comes back to take their food and then comes back for the girl, who was till then cleaning up. He leads her outside where their food is placed on a picnic blanket, facing a beautiful sunset, and there is a single candle in the middle. Talk about romantic. I’d sure like to do that at least once. If I did that to Risa I wonder how she’ll react.
“Ai-chan” Risa suddenly piped. I hum. I tilt my head so I can see her face. She is blushing. Why is she blushing? My brow quirk as I watch her shift in her seat to face me properly. “Ai-chan…” she repeats, her hand reaches forward and close over my own. Electricity zaps through my spine and I suddenly feel stiff. I continue watching her face as she comes closer and closer. Wait she’s not… No, this is Risa I’m dealing with here. I swallow down the knot in my throat and I mumble a “Yes?”
“Ai-chan, can I… can I try something? Promise you won’t get mad.” She said slowly. Her eyes drops, there is something in her gaze that isn’t normal, well normal for Risa’s standards. I open my mouth and her eyes shoots back up to stare at me. Weirdly enough I start feeling hot. I swore the air conditioning is on, but at the moment it felt like I was outside, under the summer heat. I lick my lips, they suddenly feel dry.
“Okay.” I croak out. She starts leaning in, closing the gap between us. I stiffen more, how that’s possible I don’t know but I just do, and just stare at her. My breath catches as I watch her getting closer and I don’t dare move a muscle. Weirdly enough even though a part of me is screaming that this isn’t real another part of me wants it to be and is cheering for her not to pull away. Then I feel a soft pressure against my lips and every cell in my body seems to come alive.
It wasn’t a dream.
My head feels light, I feel like I was floating on air. My cheeks heats up, so does the rest of my body. There is a weird feeling in at the pit of my stomach, it’s not unpleasant, just unusual. I feel her breath against my face, I can smell the sweet scent of wild berries from her hair, most of all I feel her warm, soft lips on mine. There is a tingling sensation from where our lips touch that spreads to the rest of my body. It’s kind of addictive.
I feel her pull away, much too soon. Without thinking I lean back in for another kiss. Her mouth opens slightly as she gasps softly in shock, but she doesn’t pull away. After a short while I pull away, curious to her expression.
We are close, close enough that if one of us just leans in a little our lips would undoubtedly lock in another sweet kiss. I watch Risa’s expression as the light from the tv danced across her face. There is no trace of her earlier shock. Her expression I can’t quite read, which is quite shocking and a little unnerving, but I can tell her mind isn’t all there. Her eyes are half closed and her lips are slightly parted, I think I may have the same look.
I pull further away, just a little bit, and the glaze in her eyes fade away as they come back into focus and her face falls slightly, and inside I feel a surge of relief and giddiness. I extend a hand, she looks questioningly at it at first but she slips her hand in mine. I lean all the way back, until the back of my head rests on the arm of the couch. Slowly I pull her along with me, she doesn’t resist. Her free hand stretches out the side of my head to act as a balance. I bring her other hand to the other side. I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her closer to me, wanting more contact from her. We are so close our foreheads are touching. We are literally breathing each other’s air. The only things separating us were the few layers of clothing on our back and the small space between our lips.
Risa doesn’t move. She just stares at me. It isn’t uncomfortable; there is something in her gaze that makes me want to kiss her again and again. Finally she moves. She closes the distance, her lips hovering over mine with just a few millimeters to spare. “Ai” she breathes out.
I can’t take the wait any longer and I lean up, closing the space between us. My eyelids flutter shut as we exchanged another soft contact, her lips starts moving against mine and I try to follow her lead. I’m probably not doing it right, I’ve never kissed anyone before, but it just feels so right. I don’t want to stop anytime soon. Unfortunately the need for air was too much and we break apart. I watch her quietly as she tries to even out her breathing. Her face is flush and her gaze is dark, alluring. I hear her sigh my name again, and my heart sores.
“Risa” I breath out. My right hand comes up to gently caress the contours of her soft face while my left slips up inside the back of her shirt. She gasped as I rub small circles on her back, I feel her shiver slightly and I feel elated that my touches can make her react like this. I lean up, placing butterfly kisses to wherever part of her face I could reach without straining my neck too much. She responds by trying to catch my lips whenever I pull back from one of the many kisses I leave all over her face. I feel her slip a hand into my shirt, lightly running her hands over my stomach. My torso lifts off the couch as a small moan escapes my lips before I slowly settled back down.
Risa jumps off me as a booming sound echoes around the living room. With wide eyes she stares at the tv in shock as the advertisement for the new phone played. We must have squished the remote by accident. I groan at the interruption and push off the couch. I snatch the stupid contraption from in between the cushions and switched off the distracting tube.
With the buzz of the tv gone, and the hypnotizing moment passed, we were left with an uneasy tension in the air. Risa had scooted to the far side of the couch, her cheeks painted a heavy red. She curled into herself, trying to make herself look small. I sighed as I plunked down on the other side. Normally I wouldn’t have minded the silence but with Risa looking like that, it just made everything awkward. And I hate awkward, it never ends good.
I rub my face, getting a hold of myself. My body still feels a little jittery, I can feel my heart pounding against my chest. God, how I wish I left the remote on the table. Stupid remote ruined the moment. I sneak a glance back at her. Even when she’s like that she still looks so adorable, I just want to kiss her again, but I don’t act on it. I don’t want to scare her. I look up at the clock. It was already half past 5. I look down to the stacked up dvd cases I left by the couch, the case of the movie we were just watching was on top.
Idea.
It was crazy, but it’s not like I have anything to lose.
“Gaki-san?” I tentatively call. At first there wasn’t a response, and I feel my gut sink, but after a few seconds she raised her head. I would have sighed in relief, but I hold it back. “Would you… like to stay for dinner?” I finish, silently hoping she would accept the offer.
Slowly her head bobbed up and down. I smile at the action and push off the couch. I station myself in front of Risa, holding out a hand. She stared at the hand for a while before she allowed her eyes trail up to my face. I grin at her.
“Let’s cook together.” Slowly Risa’s lips quirk into a smile, a small one but it was still a smile none the less, and she takes my hand. I pulled her to her feet and led the way to the kitchen. I don’t pull my hand back until we reach the fridge.
I pulled out a Tupperware of beef mix mom had placed in the fridge earlier and place it on the counter. I return to the fridge and begin pulling out lettuce, tomatoes, anything you could put on a burger that I can remember.
“Ai-chan, what are we going to do with this?” Risa asks. She’s stationed herself by the counter, turning the plastic container this way and that to try and guess what’s inside. Balancing the various condiments and vegetables in one hand I got the piece of index paper stuck to the fridge’s front and slipped it in her hands.
She took a look at the card. Her eyes widened as she stared at the things I lay out on the counter.
“Uso!” Her face brightens as she gleefully opens the container. “Are we really? Ah, yatta. Yatta! Ah, I want to eat it now.”
I take the container away from her. She pouts at this. She’s very cute when she does that and I can’t help but reach out and pinch her cheek. “No. I’ll take care of the patties. You clean the vegetables and chop the tomatoes and onion.”
She takes my hand and pulls it away from her face, she is blushing. “Fine.” She mumbles.
Just like that we get to work. I start frying the burgers while Risa takes care of the rest. The kitchen fills with the soft sizzling of cooking meat and the monotonous thuds of the knife hitting the chopping board. She starts humming a song. It is a familiar tune, something I’ve heard some time back but I can’t seem to place the title. I hum along, all the while trying to find the lyrics to the melody. Softly Risa starts adding the lyrics, her lovely voice stringing the words into the melody. The lyrics come to me and I start singing along. I glace back at her, at the same time she turns and our eyes meet. She’s smiling widely now, her eyes shining in delight, like they always do. The awkwardness was gone, thank God, and at that moment I felt that everything was right with the world, that I am where I’m supposed to be.
It’s a little past six by the time I finish.
I volunteered to set the table while Risa decorates the patties with whatever I’ve taken out of the fridge. I trust her better judgment in the taste department and leave her. I place the placemats in the middle of the table, on opposite sides, and put away the extra chairs. I go back to the kitchen in search of candles and matches. Risa sends me a confused look but I wave her off and I hasten my search. I find them in a drawer. The candles were already attached to a candle holder; dad must have forgotten to take them out of it. The match box was right beside them.
I slip out of the kitchen, hiding the candles behind my back. Risa just rolls her eyes as she continues decorating the plates. I set the candles in the middle of the table, light them and switch off the lights. I hurry back to the kitchen.
Just in time. Risa was trying to balance the two plates in one hand while trying to grab the pitcher of iced tea with the other. I slip beside her and take the plates from her hands. She gasps and jumps away a little, her eyes wide. “Ai-chan! You scared me.”
“I’ll take these. Come on.” I smile and head for the dining room.
I put the plates down and turn back to her. She is standing stock still in between the border of the kitchen and the dining room, her mouth slightly hanging in shock. I walk over to her, gently take her hand, and take the pitcher in the other, and lead her to the nearest chair. I pull it out, acting like the perfect gentleman and motion for her to take a seat. She blinks back at me, still not quite believing what’s happening, but she sits. I pour her a glass of the drink and shuffle over to the other side and do the same to my glass.
“It’s not as romantic, but it’s the best I can do.” I say. She just stares back at me uncomprehendingly. I can imagine the gears in her mind slowly work as they pieced together some elaborate theory just to end up with a simple answer.
Her eyes go wide. “Ai-chan… this…”
I open my arms and make a sweeping gesture to the table. I look up at her and put on my most sincere smile. There is no hesitation to my voice as I speak. “I’m just picking up where the movie left off.”
-
Gyaaaaah the TakaGaki cuteness is killing me :inlove: :inlove: :wub: :wub: In a good way~
Omg, this was so adorable! I was grinning stupidly the whole time I read this, lol. And the kissing part... haaawt :drool: Stupidremoteruinedallthetakagakikissinggoingon... :angry:
And the ending, I definitely didn't see that coming. It was so romantic and sweet :wub: Ai-chan is just a gentleman~ I wonder what they did after the dinner :roll:
And now my face muscles are sore because of all the stupid grinning... XD The takagaki cuteness of this story got me totally and I enjoyed it. Thanks for that~ Great job once again :)
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That was really good to watch although the hint of perv excites me a lot.
Crazy me going off about the usual perv fics XD
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MsSmiggie: What I planned for them to do after dinner, in this version at least, is far from what you're imagining. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Naughty. But you already know what I'm planing anyway.
Kuro: I'm always stopping at hints, but it's becoming obvious that my subconscious is planing to got further. In due time.
Took longer than I thought. Work has been hell on me recently.
~~~
February Project: Valentine's Day
Warning for the little kiddies, the last part is kinda hinting at a you probably know what. Fair warning.
₪₪ “Ai~chan~ Happy Valentine’s Day!”
“Nee, Ai-chan. Do you want to watch a movie with me? It’s Valentine’s.”
“This chocolate is so good! Thank you Ai-chan!”
“I’ll be your date, Ai-chan!”
“Nee, Ai-chan.”
“Ai-chan.”
“A~i~chan.”
“Ai?”
“Ai… chan?”
“Ai! Wake up!”
“Wha-!” Ai jerked upright from her position, forgetting the backrest-less chair she was sitting on and nearly toppled over, just managing to grab onto the table before her whole weight tipped too far back. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, she scanned the dimly lit room, blurry vision honing onto the other figure, a bright violet merging with the white fluorescent lighting, leaning against the doorframe.
“Reina? Dat’chu?” she asked, her words slurring, hands going up to rub her face. How long had she been asleep? And what was that God awful taste in her mouth? She glanced up, some blurry object was reflecting the light back to her. Oh right, alcohol.
“Who else is gonna be here, dope.” Reina grinned.
“Wha- what time is it?”
“5:30.”Ai groaned.
Pushing off the frame Reina walked over to Ai, stopping just a foot away from her. Reaching up she plucked a small card from Ai’s forehead, “What? No plans for today?” She asked, turning the card around. It was a business card of Risa’s work place.
Again Ai groaned, resting her head against the cool tile island. “I haven’t had anything planned for weeks. I’ve been busy working.” She began, then, turning her head to Reina she grinned “But now that I’m free, how’s about you and me spend the rest of the night watching movies? We’ll order pizza. I made jello-shots.”
“Sorry Ai, but as appetizing as those jello-shots sounds…” Reina began. That was when Ai noticed the purple strapless dress Reina had on. It looked lovely on her petite frame, especially with her hair tied up in a bun leaving a few strands of curly light brown hair at the front to frame her face. She looked beautiful, too beautiful to have just come home. Ai’s eyes widened.
“You’re not gonna leave me here are you? Ren-chan!” Ai wailed, reaching for the half bottle of vodka to hug to herself. “Don’t leave me here all alone.”
Reina laughed. “Sorry Ai, but I’ve got plans tonight. Why don’t you call up Gaki-san for a date? I’m sure she’d love to go out with you.” She suggested.
“Can’t… She’s busy.” Ai grumbled, resting her cheek on the tiled island top while the other was pressed onto the cool glass.
A raised brow. “She’s busy? At this day?”
“She is. I just finished my work this morning too so all I managed to do was make jello shots since you weren’t here.”
“Wait! Gaki-san is busy. Today?” Reina repeated, putting more emphasis on the last question.
Ai raised her head, turning her face towards Reina. “That’s what I said.” She said slowly.
“Are you sure?”
“Reina is there something you know that I don’t?” Ai said, eyeing Reina suspiciously.
“Well…” Reina hesitated, turning her head to the side “Eri mentioned earlier that Gaki-san was free the whole day, and that she had nothing planned and was staying home...”
Ai’s brows furrowed. “What?”
“Yeah. She said that they were done with work and that Gaki-san was heading straight home to rest.”
“That’s funny. She didn’t say she was going to finish a day earlier.” Ai grumbled bitterly. Repositioning her arms she hugged the bottle once again, liking the cool glass against her cheek. “So, what’s the occasion Ren-chan? I don’t see you dress up this fancy every day.”
“Ai-chan, do you even know the date today?”
Ai shrugged. “… February 13th.”
Reina sighed, lightly slapping her forehead. Figures. “… It’s February 14, Ai. It’s Valentine’s day.”
“Ah. That so…” A pause.
“What?!” Ai screamed, standing up and slamming her hands down on the island surface. The sound of glass sliding on tile reminding her of the clear bottle of vodka she have in her arms, well, had. With wide eyes Ai blindly snatched at the bottle on instinct, her fingers curling around the neck just before it went over the edge.
“Yeah.” Reaching for the bottle Reina gently pried of Ai’s fingers, placing the bottle as far away from Ai’s reach as possible. “And I’m gonna assume you don’t have anything planned.”
“No.” Pause. “I am so dead. No worse. She’s gonna hate me. I just know it!” Ai moaned, sitting back down on her chair and planting her face against the tile surface once again.
“Ai-chan I’m just gonna say this once. Gaki-san’s rubbing off on you.” Ai’s head shot up as she glared at Reina before slapping the younger girl’s shoulder.
“Okay. Okay. Reina’ll be serious now.” Reina said, holding up her hands in surrender. “So, how do you plan on going about this?”
“I don’t know.” Ai cried. “It was supposed to be a surprise! I was supposed to call for reservations later… I mean yesterday! Stupid.”
“This is a disaster! Risa-chan’s gonna hate me for sure!” Ai wailed, turning to engulf Reina in a teary hug, or at least that was her intent. Reina, seeing the action, quickly held onto Ai’s shoulder, pushing her at an arm’s length.
“Hey, hey. Reina’s got a date later. I don’t want to be covered in tears and snot.” Ai pouted but let her hands drop anyway and instead placed her elbows on the island top and rested her forehead against her hands.
“What am I gonna do Ren-chan?”
“Simple…” Reina began, lightly patting Ai’s shoulder “Ask her out.”
“Didn’t you hear? I didn’t make reservations.”
“You don’t have to actually take her out.” Reina said, rolling her eyes. “You made jello shots right?”
“Oh, yeah Ren-chan, that’s soo romantic.” Ai replied sarcastically.
“Hey! I’m not done yet.” Reina snapped back, holding up a finger and waving it around. “What I was going to say was why don’t you cook dinner for two? You guys could have those jello shots for dessert. And before you go ‘it isn’t as romantic as a gourmet meal out in an Italian restaurant’ or something… Do you really think Gaki-san would prefer that over a special home cooked meal?”
Ai stared at her younger companion, the last statement ringing in her mind. Reina had a point. She turned her head to stare at the tips of her fingers, noticing a small chip on one of her perfectly, well not anymore, manicured French tips. She should take care of that soon. God, she could use another shot of vodka.
Noticing the far off look Ai had donned Reina, grimacing, began waving her hands in front of the dazed face. “Hello? If you’re just gonna ignore Reina then Reina’s outta here.”
“No wait. You’re right. I should just invite her here.” Ai said. It was easy. She’s invited Risa out multiple times before, no problem. They could watch a romantic movie here, sure it’s gonna be an old movie but the perks of staying home means having a couch where they could cuddle without having to worry about proper etiquette and all that. This could work out.
“Great!” Reina said, reaching over the other end of the island where Ai’s phone was and passing it back to its owner. “Call her. Set up a date. And I’m outta here. You’re welcome.” She said quickly, turning around on the balls of her feet to walk out their shared apartment. She has a date waiting for her and it’s impolite to let a date wait.
“No wait Ren-chan!” Ai called, grabbing onto Reina’s wrist to stop the petite girl from running off.
“What?” Reina groaned.
“Aren’t you gonna help me?”
Reina scoffed. “With this dress? Nu-uh. You’re on your own here Ai-chan.”
“But, what am I supposed to make? It’s already 5:30.”
Reina shrugged. “I ‘unno. Omelette rice.”
Ai levelled her companion a narrow-eyed stare. “Ren-chan, I’m serious.”
“Yeah. So am I.” A pause. “Aw, come on Ai, don’t gimme that glare. You make a great omelette rice. And after that you can just write over the egg to make it look cute. Write her name or something. Besides can you think off another dish that’s fast to make?”
Ai bit her bottom lip, hanging her head down in defeat and let Reina go. “I didn’t think so. So unless you want to order Chinese or something you better get your ass moving.”
“Alright already…” Ai sighed. “We still have chicken right?”
₪₪ “Right so, candles, check. Movie, check. Did I miss something?” Ai murmured worriedly as she carefully guided the ketchup bottle over the steaming plate of omelette rice. Risa was due in a few and she just had to make sure everything was perfect. She already blotched the original plan for her perfect Valentine, it was supposed to be dinner out under the stars near a lake, the perfect setting for a perfect evening. How did she lose track of the dates?
“Omelette rice for two, check. Cute writing… check. What am I missing… Ah! The chocolate! Ah… no time. Damn it.”
She glanced up, checking the time. Only 5 minutes till Risa, supposedly, arrives. There’s something she’s forgetting, now what was it? Placing the ketchup bottle on the counter she absently passed her hands through her shirt, wiping away any moisture and dirt.
“Ah.” She glanced down, checking her white boxer shorts and the loose red long sleeves. “Clothes! 5 minutes!”
Scrambling for her room she quickly comb through her closet, pulling out a black dress, with white lacings around the top, that also served as its straps, which caught her eye. Quickly shedding her house clothes she slipped on the dress, pulling a comb and hastily brushing it over her hair.
Just as she finished dabbing a light pink shade of lip gloss over her lips she heard the familiar knock on her door. Three quick ones followed by two more hollow sounding ones. Throwing the lip gloss back in the drawer Ai hurriedly shuffled over to the door calling out a “coming” as she went.
“Hi, com-“ Ai stopped, her voice catching in her throat. Risa smiled widely at her, raising her hand up for a hello. She was wearing a white tube dress with black flowery patterned lace running along the left side going to a downwards slope to the right of her dress, designed to run up her left shoulder as a strap then back down to her waist at the back. She had a black belt that hugged the curve of her waist rather nicely and a matching black shoulder bag and white t-strap. Her hair was tied in a low ponytail, brushed over her left shoulder, following the back lace down to her breast.
“Are you gonna let me in?” she asked, her voice snapping Ai back to reality.
Absently licking her lips Ai took a step back, opening the door wider to permit her guest entrance. “Com- come hi- I mean… come in.” Ai stuttered. She took another step back, but this time extended her arm invitingly. Risa took a step inside, reaching for Ai’s hand and automatically intertwining their fingers.
“Hi. You look… wow.” Ai said.
“You don’t look bad yourself, Ai-chan.” Risa grinned. “Smells nice.”
“Yeah, you do.”
Risa giggled. “I meant the food.”
“Oh, yeah.” Ai mentally slapped herself. What was with her today? Must be all the stress she’s been putting up with work for the past weeks. But Risa really looked wonderful this evening. It’s just been way too long since the last time they’ve been together and she really missed her.
Squeezing their hands she guided Risa to the dinner table and Risa gasped, taking in the romantic setting. The place was dimly lit, there was a single lit candle at the center of the table and the surface was littered with red petals, courtesy from the few roses Ai nicked from Reina’s bouquet, much to the smaller girls chagrin. Simple yet elegant. Ai pulled a chair for Risa to sit in, pulling a little at their hands to get Risa’s attention back. Still with eyes full of awe Risa let herself be guided to her seat.
“Ai, did you do all this?” she asked quietly. Ai smiled.
“Well, Reina refused to help, so yeah, I did.”
Turning around Ai went to the kitchen to fetch the plates she had readied earlier and carefully brought them back to the table. She laid down her plate first before Risa’s, but before she could lay the plate down properly she heard Risa gasp again, taking that as a good sign.
In ketchup she had wrote 愛しています. It had taken a lot of concentration and a steady hand to keep the strokes right, while keeping in mind the short amount of time she had to finish everything.
“What has gotten into you?” Okay, that wasn’t what she was expecting. Ai raised her head, eyes wide, to stare at Risa. Risa was smirking as she met the surprised stare head on. “Did you eat something weird?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ai said, blushing. “I can be romantic too.”
“Since when? Last I checked the most romantic thing you could do was give chocolates on Valentine’s, and that’s if you remembered.” Risa teased. Ai felt her cheeks getting warmer.
Risa chuckled and, satisfied with her teasing, motioned for Ai to sit down. “I’m just kidding. This is sweet of you Ai, really.”
Ai pouted “Yeah. Haha… Did you really have to say it like that?”
“No, but I miss seeing your embarrassed face.” Risa admitted softly.
Ai paused, wondering if she heard right. “What did you say?”
“Hm… Nothing.” The younger girl responded. “Wah~ this looks great! Shall we dig in?”
Ai was quiet for a moment, wrestling in her mind whether to probe the girl more or leave it as is. If she did the former Risa would eventually yield to her, probably grumbling about Ai being an annoying monkey while she was at it.
Risa was already digging into her meal, making delighted noises after ever scoop. Ai chuckled silently, shaking her head amusedly and turned back to her place. Just as she was taking a seat she felt her whole weight suddenly shift downwards, her heart feeling like it skipped a beat, accompanied by a crushing sound. With a start Ai jumped to the side, screaming in her famous low pitched way. She paused, staring wide eyed at her companion, who, for a brief moment, stared back at her equally in shock before falling into a fit of strangled giggles.
“What was that?!” Ai squeaked, squinting her eyes to see the unusual lump on her seat.
“That would be my Valentine’s gift to you.” Risa replied, straightening up from her seat to look at the weird shaped lump that was originally box shaped and giggled. “I was hoping you’d notice it earlier, but your face when you sat on it was priceless.”
Cheeks burning, Ai reached for the squashed present before once again taking her seat. “Mou… You should have told me… Actually you really didn’t need to buy me anything.” Ai grumbled, though she couldn’t quite supress the small smile tugging at the side of her lips.
Risa waved a dismissive hand in front of her “I want to. And you’ll love this one. I know it.” She motioned to the present. “Go ahead open it.”
“What’s in it?” Ai asked, shaking the present near her head, trying to decipher the light thudding noise coming from within. Risa rolled her eyes, but kept her mouth shut, once again motioning for the present.
Carefully tearing the red paper wrapping Ai gently lifted the disfigured box lid. Lying inside was a nightgown in its crumpled state, due to the earlier shaking. Not a fan of wearing nightgowns Ai sent Risa a small forced smile, hoping the younger woman wouldn’t notice.
“It looks lovely Risa.” She said. Carefully lifting the dress she held it up to herself, belatedly noticing that the gown cut off mid-thigh and was also transparent. Ai blinked, her mind lagging at the additional detail. When her brain synapses finally clicked her eyes slowly widened in realization and her head snapped back up to Risa’s smirking face.
“It would look lovelier if you were wearing just that Ai.” The younger teased.
Ai felt her body temperature spike, even more so when she felt a smooth leg brush against her own and she immediately stiffened. Her lips pursed tightly, her gaze deliberately straying towards her untouched plate, realizing she had lost her appetite and in its place another growing hunger.
“Nee, Ai.” Risa called, her voice getting a deeper, huskier tone. One of her feet slipped up to Ai’s thighs, brushing softly against the heated flesh, receiving a shiver and a strained moan from the older. Risa bit her lip, smouldering eyes never straying from Ai’s reddened face as she applied a bit more pressure.
Ai suddenly stood up, catching the younger by surprise. She stared at Risa evenly, her hands twitching at her side, the babydoll clutched in her hand, her chest visibly heaving. Slowly she turned, unhurriedly walking towards the direction of the bed room. She turned her head once, catching Risa’s stare with her own darkened ones, her lips quirking up.
“You coming?” she said slowly before disappearing behind the bedroom door.
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MsSmiggie: What I planned for them to do after dinner, in this version at least, is far from what you're imagining. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Naughty. But you already know what I'm planing anyway.
You're giving me way too many ideas and I can't help my perv mind! XD Okay, now I just sound strange...
But of my gosh, this was so great! I was grinning stupidly once again I was reading this. Got to love hangover Ai~ :lol: The discussion with Reina was way too funny and the bottle hugging and Ai going crazy... I loved it XD
“You don’t look bad yourself, Ai-chan.” Risa grinned. “Smells nice.”
“Yeah, you do.”
Risa giggled. “I meant the food.”
>
I was lucky to finish my cocoa 5 seconds before I read this. So smooth Ai, so smooth XD And the ending, gooooossssh x___x This needs sequel. I demand for it.
Great job once again! My cheeks are hurting once again after reading your story, thanks to all the grinning :lol:
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Woman another one left hanging XD XD XD
Ai is so hilarious in trying to be smooth XD Although the dinner was rather quick and Reina playing her tsundere card :nervous
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Oh man, that was a fabulous reaad xD
Hungover Aichan xD
Tsun Reina xD Love how you write her!
TAKAGAKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
And Aichan being so smooooth lul
Good fic to distract me from what will happen in god knows how many hours left ;n;