JPHiP Forum
The Hello! Project Fanfics => H!P Fanfics => Topic started by: rokun on April 25, 2007, 04:01:38 AM
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Hello! I've been thinking about writing a Berryz fic for a good while now since I've come to enjoy them more and more, but I didn't really have the motivation I suppose... until today when I read some of the other stories in here! ;D This is the first thing of any kind I've written featuring them, and I've taken their characters from impressions I've gotten from other stories but primarily from my own ideas when seeing them live... I don't know how this will go or what anyone will think, but I hope you enjoy. :) Thank you for reading!!!
Chapter 1
“Krgggghhhhhhmmmph!!”
Miyabi twisted in her sleep, pulling the covers from the annoyingly loudly snoring girl lying beside her as if she was a corpse. She cast a sleep-deprived glance back at the large form, whose mouth hung open appearing to let loose another deep grating from deep within her rather sizable gut.
Flopping onto her back once again, Miyabi sighed as the expected rumble came. Well, she supposed, she felt rather restless and probably wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway. It was the night before their big debut at Saitama Super Arena, and she was antsy and over-excited about how awesome it would be, stepping onto that stage with thousands and thousands of people cheering them on… cheering her on… She smiled and closed her eyes, imagining running out on the center walkway, arms flailing at her sides with her precious microphone clutched in her hand, urging the crowd on as they called out her name… Mi– ya- bi! Mi- ya- bi! She smiled and shouted into her microphone “Saitama Super Arena no mina-san… Genki desu ka?!!” to which only louder shouts greeted her in return. Mi- ya- bi! Mi- ya- …mrhhhhhhhhffff!!!
Her eyes popped open again widely and she let out a guttural sound of her own before bolting up in bed and slapping a hand over the mouth of the girl who interrupted her incredibly pleasant fantasy. Unfortunately for her, she once again acted before she thought about what she was doing and widened her eyes even further at the realization just as the girl in half-snore coughed at the sudden choking of her air supply and what was coming from inside her was redirected… to somewhere that ended in a not-so-pleasant result for Miyabi.
“Eeeewwwwwwww!!!!!” Miyabi cried, pulling her hand back as if from a cobra and dashing frantically for a tissue. “That’s grrrosss, Maa-chan!” The other girl probably barely heard her in her fit of choking coughs.
Eventually though, as Miyabi wiped her precious hand as clean as she could, the girl regained her breath. “It serves you right! That’s what you get for going around waking people up by trying to choke them to death!” She seemed to want to say more, but any more noise quickly degenerated into another coughing fit.
Miyabi looked desperately at her hand. This was not going to work. Of course! She could have smacked herself she was so silly. Maybe she was more tired than she thought. Quickly jumping up from the bed, she ran into the bathroom and began to vigorously wash her hands, making sure to use as much soap as she possibly could and still keep their delicate texture.
She heard the coughing calm down once again and expected another outburst, but none came. In fact, when she turned off the water there was nothing but dead silence. As she dried her hands thoroughly, she wondered if the girl had fallen asleep again already. If so, that’s the quickest she’d ever heard of someone doing that. Ever.
Feeling dry finally, she began walking as softly as she could back toward the main room of the motel suite she shared with the girl who was nigh exactly her age. She was happy she wore her white silk nightgown tonight – folding over her figure like it did, it made no sound whatsoever as she tiptoed past the doorframe and…
“Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiyyyaaa!” she yelped, as strong hands deftly took her sides and swiped her out of the doorway and with her back against the wall, her feet dangling helplessly not more than a few centimeters from the floor. “Please don’t kill me!!!” she pleaded desperately. She closed her eyes and looked up, beginning a prayer, “Dear Kami-sama, I’m too young to die. Please don’t let this great hulking beast tear me apart. I have too much of a future left to see! I’m an idol who everybody is just starting to love! I HAVE SO MUCH MORE TO DOOOOO!” She cracked one of her eyes to look down at the creature below her. A blank face stared back. She squeezed her eyes shut again and resumed her whispering plea, “If she does have to kill me, make sure she’s nice about it at least. I need to be presentable in my coffin. Like, I still need my head and arms attached.”
Suddenly she found the pressure release at her sides and her feet hit the ground hard. The action jolted one of her eyes back open and she stared with the lone eye – all she dared use at the moment – at the girl who was giving her a very odd look. “Umm…” she began, but trailed off and didn’t continue.
“You are a strange girl, do you know that?” Maasa said, her face still twisted as if she was looking at a curious animal.
“So you’re not going to kill me?” Miyabi thought she’d risk opening her other eye now. The new depth perception allowed her to see the other girl’s lips puckered as they always were when she was thinking about something.
Maasa cocked her head slightly to the side. “You know, I thought about it, but I decided that I shouldn’t kill you before such an important day. It’s a big-time chance for us of course, and I wouldn’t want it ruined by Miyabi suddenly turning up missing. Our choreography would look pretty weird with only the six of us. Of course, they all just look at Risako anyway, so it wouldn’t make too much of a difference…”
“Hey!” Miyabi protested. “That’s not true.” The taller girl raised an eyebrow. “They look at me, too.”
Maasa rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at Miyabi before spinning and jumping back onto their bed, snuggling quickly into her pillow and pulling the sheets over and around her, making sure that there was absolutely no way Miyabi could take any for herself.
“If you wake me up again, the only thing that will be seeing you is the ground twenty stories below the balcony.” Her voice was somewhat muffled, and became more so as she snuggled tighter into the pillow. “I have got to get myself a roommate that is less weird.”
Miyabi opened her mouth to protest once again, but a hard knock came from the door. She heard Maasa groan into her pillow. “And to think… I was in a land of magical butterflies and dancing from mushroom to mushroom…”
As Miyabi’s teeth clicked shut, giving the other girl a look she obviously didn’t see, she walked over to the door and undid its locks before opening it slowly. She didn’t see anyone at first and was about to close it again until she felt a sharp poke at her ribs.
“Hey!”
“I’m not that short, you know. You can quit with all the teasing. I’m almost to your eyes!”
Miyabi looked down at the girl who spoke, and also noticed another girl behind her. “Oh, hello Captain. Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”
“Funny,” the Captain responded in an emotionless voice. “So tell me. What’s the commotion? I’m surprised to see you opening the door. With all the screaming going on I figured you’d be dead. Don’t tell me… you figured out her weakness?”
“Weakness?” Miyabi replied slowly.
“Oh no, there she is,” Saki said as she snaked her head around Miyabi’s waist. “She could only give me that look if she was totally undamaged.” Miyabi began to blush as she stared at the girl who was standing behind Captain. Saki had wrapped her arm around her waist, and her hand was… The shadowed girl showed a smirk, and Miyabi’s blush grew. Thankfully it was so dark in here that no one could see her face… Could she? The other girl’s eyes seemed to glow in the dark across from her. The Power of the…
“Iya!” Miyabi squeaked, as Saki suddenly released her hold and stepped back to where she began. “Try to keep it down, will you, you two? We have a big concert tomorrow, you know. If we’re all up – Chinami is too by the way, she just was too frightened to leave our room – it might even be enough to wake Risako. And that girl can sleep through anything…”
She flashed a cute smile, and Miyabi felt her face color slightly again. “Oyasumi!” she said, suddenly with a cheerful wave, and turned heel to head back to her room. Miyabi leaned out the door slightly to watch her go.
“I know her butt’s cute, but really, you’re too obvious, Miya-tan.”
Miyabi jerked back and nearly slammed the door in the face of the other girl who was still standing there. “Oh. Um. Hi. I didn’t know you were… How are you tonight, Momo?” she finally finished, stuttering.
The other girl stepped primly forward up to the door. “I was partaking in quite a luxurious beauty sleep before your yelping ended it quite suddenly.” She cocked her head as if studying Miyabi, who suddenly felt very exposed in the light silk of her nightdress. “You sounded like a dog, you know. A bad-tempered dog who suddenly found her toy missing. Do you need a toy, Miya-chi?”
Miyabi just stared. She never got along with Momoko precisely, even though the girl had the most similar background to herself. Part of it was that she never seemed to be able to understand the words coming out of her mouth.
“Well well. Just make sure to not go playing with other dogs’ toys. You might find that you’ve bitten off a good bit more than you can chew.” She straightened her head again. “Night night.” With that, she turned smoothly and headed back down the hall.
Miyabi slowly closed the door as she slid back into the room, sighing. So this was it. Everybody hated her tonight. She glanced over at the girl on her bed. Maasa now had her head turned the other way and she thought she heard the faint beginning of more snoring. This was going to be a long night.
Deciding that she couldn’t stay in this room if she had hopes of getting any sleep, she quietly tip-toed over to her dresser to pull out some casual clothes for the morning and slipped back out the door. She didn’t bother taking her key card with her – she wouldn’t be back tonight, and tomorrow everything would be open while they prepared for the show. She did slide something else in her pocket though that she always made sure to obtain even if she never used it, which she hadn’t for a while.
She slunk quietly down the hall, quite aware of the heightened senses of anyone who she had already woken up, especially an apparently hyper-sensitive Chinami who everyone had warned not to watch that movie last night. As her eyes were beginning to get more used to the darkness, she found her target and slowly slipped the extra key card she’d stowed in her pocket into the slot. The door clicked and she walked slowly in.
Moving further into the room, she realized there were actually two beds there, although they were smaller than the king-sized one her and Maasa shared. These were only meant for one person. Studying the lumps rising from each one, she found the one she was looking for and snuck under the covers, pulling them around her before wrapping her arms around the warm body she snuggled up against, partly just to avoid falling off. The other girl stirred slightly, though was still quiet for a moment.
“It’s been a long time since you’ve been here…” came a soft whisper finally, just loud enough that she could hear it as close as she was.
“Yes, I know…” she responded hesitantly. It had been a long time, and she was slightly worried about the reception she’d get. It was so long, it even felt a little unusual holding the girl in her arms. The slow and exceptionally soft greeting didn’t help that worry, but the girl didn’t resist her embrace, and when she squeezed a little tighter with no resistance, she smiled. Soon, their breathing became slower and more even. Still, even though she was the warmest she’d felt in a long time and finally at ease, as she drifted off to sleep she couldn’t shake a nagging feeling that something felt just the slightest bit wrong…
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I was gonna go to bed but I have to say this
I am hooked =]
update or meet the same torture that FIM faces every day!
>;P Fufufufufufu
I wonder who that other girl is...it can't be saki...so..Risako?
*hopes*
Now I sleep =D
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Who is the other girl!!? :dizzy: :tantrum:
One of my suspects is Megumi from C-ute but I fail at being a detective so that's pretty farfetched. :D
Hehe so you've been lured in by the Berryz too Rokun :D
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Me too, me too! I always had this nagging though that MiyaMomo didn't get along that well.
My guess for the mystery girl is Risako. But then again I'm almost always wrong so I don't know. Are any of C-ute gonna be in this? Or is it strictly Berryz only? So I know if to include C-ute girls in my next guess :D
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Hahaha, Master and I have started a Berryz REVOLUTION! -flails-
.__. I love this so far. Please more? Yes?
I'd have to guess that the mystery girl is Risako.
Or, though I wouldn't expect it, perhaps Yurina, since you didn't mention her at all in this chapter name-wise.
Other than that, I don't know unless it's one of the C-ute girls.
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Thank you guys for reading! ^_^
Yes wordy, I have caught the Berryz bug ;) lol. Your Too Young story definitely was one of the first to help with that. :) I don't think I can pull off a Pretty Boy though...
I'm glad to see people are guessing about the mystery girl. :D I thought that was a fun thing to throw in there at the end. This first chapter had quite a lot of cliched bits lol... But I guess I just wanted to introduce the characters a bit and their relationships. I wouldn't expect it to continue though... As for C-ute, I think I'd like to include them, and I have already included one in my character breakdown :D, but we'll see when they pop up... (if they haven't already!!! :-X) I don't feel I know them as well as Berryz though, so if they do appear, don't be surprised if they may not be how you think they are. :P
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I'm not educated enough in the Berryz to really get everything, but I love the way you write. You inspire me to be more like you. You're descriptive, you're thorough, you're meaningful. You're so good at what you do. Thank you!! :)
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I wasn't originally going to read this story- just skim through it to see if it was interesting- but seeing as it's you who wrote it, I found myself taking in every word. It's so hard not to like the Berryz when everyone writes about them...
I must say that I'm intrigued by the mystery even though I'm not entirely sure you meant it in a couple of parts. I definitely want to know who Miyabi was sleeping with and more about the plotty plot plot. But I'm sure that everyone does.
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Thanks again for all the comments and for just reading! :D Lol, I'm basically just writing this as I go along with just certain characters stuck in a certain situation... I suppose if anything what I think of most when writing about Berryz are teen dramas... lol... Anyway, it appears a bit of plot has actually taken shape in this chapter. I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 2
Miyabi almost jogged after she jumped off the bus and headed with the rest of the girls toward the backstage entrance of Saitama Super Arena. The day was finally here… She was excited, but for some reason didn’t feel as exhilarated as she thought she would. This was their biggest concert ever, after all.
“It feels like every other concert I’ve been to…” Yurina said from behind her, apparently echoing her thoughts. Apparently she wasn’t the only one thinking that too, as some of the other girls nodded in agreement. Chinami yawned.
It was still fairly early – they arrived at the arena even before noon for a bit of practice. Apparently she didn’t sleep too well last night either. Well, at least Miyabi eventually slept well. Quite well… She tried to catch the eyes of one of the other girls, but she was just excitedly looking around at the sights of the arena. Miyabi decided to do the same, but there really wasn’t much to see. They were in a tightly cordoned off unloading area into the back stage. She could hear screaming fans beyond, and imagined that all the publicity they were getting caused security to be extra tight. For a moment she felt in awe that all this effort was being put in because of them… just herself and her friends.
Well, some closer than others. Momoko came up to Miyabi as her eyes lingered on Saki a moment. “At least you’re a well-dressed dog today,” the girl whispered to where likely only she could hear. “Still, you should be more cautious…” The other girl glanced over at Saki as well for a moment before slowly parting from Miyabi’s ear. Miyabi looked down, blushing slightly. She honestly had no clue what the girl was talking about.
After walking just a few more steps with her head down, she heard girls in front of her start to giggle and chant “Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!!” one after the other. Her attention suddenly caught, she looked up to see the expected camera pointed toward them, and she was about to walk into its path. She mentally berated herself for a split second. She almost missed it!
“Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!!!” she crowed, jumping into its view and flashing peace signs. “We’re at Saitama Super Arena! Yay!!!”
Yurina and Risako squeezed in around her and flashed the signs themselves. “Yay!” They cheered in unison. Risako turned to look at the two beside her.
“You know,” Risako said eagerly. “I heard that I’m the youngest girl ever to perform here! Isn’t that so exciting! I must be so awesome.” She then adopted one of her faraway looks and stared at something beyond both them and the camera.
“Uh huh,” Yurina quipped. “I dunno if I’d bet on that. You see… Risako…? Risako!”
Risako snapped out of whatever world she had found herself in and looked at the slightly older girl with wide eyes. “What? Oh. Does my hair look all right?” she asked, primping her baby-like curls slightly.
“Hey you,” Miyabi said, poking her in the stomach. “Did you notice? The camera’s still here… and you’re acting like an idiot!”
Risako stared at Miyabi with a slight blush after the poke. When she was called an idiot though, her mouth turned down in one of her cute pouty looks before realizing the rest Miyabi told her. Then, she turned back to the camera and her pouty look changed slightly into a smile – though still keeping the ineffable poutiness – and tilted her head slightly. She didn’t say a word though, just stared back into the camera while existing in the world that apparently only the two of them shared. Ineffable. Miyabi liked that word. She didn’t really know what it meant, but she heard it in some musical play that she can’t remember anything other than it being the cutest thing ever. Still it was cool. Effable. Ineffable.
Suddenly, all three of them felt themselves pulled forward toward the doors again. They all stumbled, though amazingly Yurina gained her composure quickest. For being so tall and gangly and looking well… just so unsophisticated and not fluid when she moved, she showed surprising agility. Sometimes. Of course, she was nothing like Miyabi herself.
“All right you three camera hogs. There will be a dozen more inside I’m sure. Anyway, we need to get in there already! First rehearsal starts in fifteen minutes!” The three girls all whined at their captain, standing there looking at them with fists on her hips like a little pixie. A cute pixie too, Miyabi added inside her own head. Maasa and Momoko stood at her sides. Apparently they were responsible for dragging the reluctant three away from their dearest friend of all. Then Miyabi caught something from the corner of her eye beyond the three girls facing them. Chinami walked straight into a wall a meter to the side of the door and fell flat on her back spread-eagled as if she was trying to do a snow angel on the pavement. She heard herself giggle, but she wasn’t the only one. The girls to either side of her joined in with snickers of their own. Captain turned around and sighed when she saw the prostrate girl.
“Toku...san!” she barked, walking up right to the girl and looking down into her face. Miyabi walked a few steps closer as well and could see that the girl’s eyes were still open, but she looked in a daze as if she had no clue where she was. “I know you like walls, but it would be a lot easier if you just used the door over there.” She pointed to emphasize the there she meant.
“It attacked me out of nowhere,” she said in a faint voice. “I was just walking along and…” Her eyes began moving to the left and right. “…and…” Without further warning, she lurched up and grabbed onto Saki’s legs, causing their owner to sway back and forth trying desperately to keep her balance. “Oh Captain, my Captain! IT’S COMING FOR MEEE!!!” The girl almost looked as if she was going to cry.
Saki crossed both her hands on top of the girls head and tried to push her down, but to no avail. The girl had quite a death grip going there. Miyabi was impressed. She looked over at Risako, who caught her glance and rolled her eyes.
“The only… urghh… thing that’s coming for you is my boot if you keep this up…” She tried pulling her foot up out of the girl’s grasp, but it only resulted in her boot staying in one spot as her foot slid up inside it.
“Looks like your boot has deserted you there, Captain,” said a grinning Yurina, her hand by her mouth trying to stifle more giggles.
Saki raised her head and gave them a poisonous look. “I don’t suppose any of you would care to help your Captain,” she nearly growled through gritted teeth.
“Why would we do that?” Maasa said, innocently blinking her eyelashes. “You look like you have it quite under control.” With that, she sauntered off toward the door, Momoko in tow clearly disapproving of the childishness of the whole exchange. Acting before thinking again, Miyabi grabbed the arms of the two girls beside her and ran off to the door as well, dragging them behind.
As they passed by Maa and Momo, they heard gruff yelling from where they just were. “Hey! You guys can’t just leave me here! If I have to, I’ll come in there after you bare-footed!!”
“Sorry!” Miyabi shouted behind her shoulder before degenerating into the giggling the girls she was dragging fell into again at the same time. Soon, they were safely inside and could barely hear the yells from behind.
“Whew, that was close,” Miyabi said as she released her holds on them and started walking nonchalantly down the hall. Crew workers ran back and forth hardly sparing them glances.
Risako soon came up next to her breathing heavily, followed quickly by Yurina. She supposed they lost the two older girls along the way. She cast a glance the youngest girl’s way. “You’re so out of shape, you know. You’re not gonna die of a heart attack on stage today, are you?”
Risako scrunched up her face in a glare back. “You’re so mean. I’m too young for a heart attack anyway. You’re the one that’s gonna die, you old maid… ouch!!”
Miyabi rubbed her knuckles. Dang that girl’s arm was hard. Of course, she knew exactly what kind of shape Risako was in… “So anyway, do you see any cameras?”
“Nope,” Yurina said, her head swiveling as she scanned the halls. “There sure are a lot of people running around though.” She stopped, and Miyabi and Risako caught the drift and did the same, though Risako was mostly just giving Miyabi pouting glares. “By the way… Do you have any idea where we’re going?”
Miyabi looked around. They’d become so used to their normal concert venues she’d become complacent about finding her way around here, even though the place was unfamiliar. “Um…”
“This way,” Risako said firmly, pulling Miyabi along but leaving Yurina to fend for herself.
“Are you sure?” asked Miyabi as she jumped to keep up.
“Yes,” Risako responded.
“Have you ever been here before?”
“No.”
Miyabi didn’t respond after that. When a spell like this came over Risako, it was best to just go along with her. It defied explanation, but most of the time she ended up being right about whatever the subject was. Miyabi supposed she didn’t really care whether they were going the right way anyway. She looked around at the people rushing around them. There certainly were a lot of people here. It was interesting that none of them really seemed to be paying them any mind. They were the ones all the commotion was about, after all! She noticed that one man who looked like he was just out of college did glance at them, and she blinked for a second before he passed. Until he saw her looking, was he frowning at them?
“Here we are,” Risako pronounced suddenly. Miyabi, still distracted by what she had just seen with her face to the side, walked into the girl in front of her and quickly knew nothing but a tangle of arms and legs.
“Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!” she heard a girl chirp cheerily from behind. “I’m Yurina Kumai! The girls on the floor here are Sugaya-san and Natsuyaki-san. You can judge for yourself what they’re doing.” Miyabi scrambled amidst the limbs below her, producing grunts from within them, trying to get up to defend herself. “And here, Natsuyaki-san, who is starting high school this spring, is attempting to molest the girl who is barely even a junior high student…’
Finally gaining her feet, Miyabi jumped up in front of the camera that had appeared out of nowhere and pushed Yurina out of the way. “Don’t listen to Kuma-chan there,” she said, waving her hand in front of her face, “I was doing absolutely nothing of the sort! I am just the innocent yet extremely talented…” She wasn’t able to finish what she was trying to say except with a yelp as the two girls squeezed around her sticking their faces into the camera’s view as well.
“Iya!” she shouted finally, diving out from between them and grabbing the camera from a young man who, once she took it, quickly scampered down the hall. She turned the camera to face her and smiled into it. “As I was saying, I am the… hey!”
The camera was now wrenched from her grasp and held up above her to where she couldn’t get at it, pointing down at a smiling Kumai. “Miya is our resident lunatic, you see. She goes around molesting young girls and then starts to spout her narcissistic views for the world to see and hear…”
Miyabi reached for the camera again, determined to claim it for good this time, but hands pulled her back and quickly down the hall as Yurina continued with her oblivious monologue.
“Hey…” she started to demand, before she caught a glance of the face of the girl who was shepherding her. Moist eyes greeted her, and she was so stunned for a moment she didn’t know what to say.
“Miya, please stop it. The way you’re acting is so unfair… Why do you have to do this?” The two girls now walked briskly down the hall, toward a destination Miyabi wondered if the other girl even knew.
“Rii-chan, what… are you talking about?”
The other girl looked back forward and down, shaking her head. “And you don’t even know… you had to do it now…” Miyabi wasn’t sure those two fragments were the same thought. Presently the other girl stopped in front of a door and hesitated a moment.
“Risako, I…”
“Here,” she said, opening the door. Miyabi just stared beyond it. “This is your dressing room. You’d better start getting ready!” With that, she pushed Miyabi into the room and shut the door swiftly behind her.
Miyabi, stunned for the moment, looked around the room. It… had the look of a regular dressing room. She glanced over at the closet and noticed dresses that were the color she was supposed to be wearing tonight. So the girl did know after all… The girl…
Spinning around, she swung the door open and looked desperately either way down the hall, but all she saw was a crewman or two scurrying along his way. She backed once again into the room and slowly shut the door, falling back against it with a sigh until she plopped to the floor. It sure wasn’t getting any easier. She was so confused right now she didn’t even know what to think. She wondered if Kuma-chan was still talking into that camera… This seemed like it would be quite a day.
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What? Risako doesn't like Miyabi being big-headed? This is going to be one of those crazy plots, isn't it?
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What? Risako doesn't like Miyabi being big-headed? This is going to be one of those crazy plots, isn't it?
Oh, it runs much deeper than that. >:D Don't you know me?
You wouldn't, or at least shouldn't, know what's going on with what's been presented yet in the story. ;) (although I bet Yuuyami would guess it if she read it...)
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Oh, but I do read it xD
It's just I want to read more before I start putting conclusions together dearie xD
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Miyabi's thought processes are quite entertaining to read.
This is going to be one of those crazy plots, isn't it?
I'm quoting this because that was my first thought after reading the second chapter. Lots of hints of weird goings on that are about to start happening
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Chapter 3
Miyabi ran off stage after their goodbyes at the end of the afternoon concert amid the tears and sweat of the six other girls running along with her. While it may have started off not feeling much different from a normal concert day, the concert itself was truly as exciting as it was built to be. So much adrenaline was flowing through her that she hardly could keep still, and she hugged all the other girls as they all hugged each other. After getting through the first five, she looked for Risako to hug but the girl didn’t seem to be around. Thought about that just flitted through her mind though as her excitement brought her to a different subject: the subject of food!
“We should all have dinner together before our next concert!” Chinami shouted.
“I know this great place right down the street!” Maa-chan chipped in.
“Um… I already have dinner plans…” Saki said in a sympathetic voice.
“What? What are you talking about?” Momoko asked as if her feathers were ruffled. “Don’t tell us you’re meeting up with that boyfriend of yours!”
“I’m sorry!” Saki went on, carefully avoiding Momoko’s question, and scurried quickly down the hall.
“Well that leaves five of us…” Chinami said, counting on her fingers.
“Forget it,” Momoko said, now clearly disappointed. “I’ll find my own somewhere…” With that, she started down the hall away from them as well.
“Well that’s some exceptional Berryz team power we’ve got going there…” Maasa said, looking after her.
“Ehh,” Miyabi muttered. “We’ll be fine without them. We’ve still got the four of us, right?” She was disappointed that Captain wasn’t coming along, but if she really is meeting with her boyfriend, there’s no hope there. The girl may be the best and most caring leader when they were together, but whenever he got involved she seemed to just totally lose her mind. Miyabi didn’t like him very much. “Anyway, where’s Risako?”
“Who knows,” Yurina replied dismissively. “The smartest person in the world would have a field day trying to figure out what’s going on in her head sometimes. I haven’t seen her since the curtain fell, really.” Miyabi fell silent at Yurina’s words. That was true, but… what Risako had told her before the concert was bothering her. She hadn’t gotten the chance to talk to the girl about it since then with the activity surrounding the concert. Also, she hadn’t really thought about it until now when circumstances were killing her excitement from the event.
“So…” Maasa began, apparently trying to get the others back on the track of food. “How about that place I know down the street? It has great yakiniku.” The other three girls nodded in eager response, and they danced their way down the hall to their dressing rooms.
Once they were changed into their stylish casual clothes – they were the trendsetters for teenagers in Japan of course – they met up and found a staff member who led them to an exit they could use where they wouldn’t be hounded by fans. Sneaking out through it, they donned sunglasses and walked down the streets, chatting among themselves. They didn’t really talk about anything important; mainly just about different things that happened during the concert. Maasa almost fell during Fighting Pose, and Yurina complained about the set entrances being too low. Chinami told her she was just too tall, for which she received a hard poke.
They also had a great dinner. Maasa was right about the yakiniku. They were given a whole hour for their meal, so they filled it all with random chatter. Miyabi realized once more that she was glad to have such good friends.
On returning to the arena they separated, and as Miyabi was heading to her dressing room she ran into an oblivious Risako. “Hisashiburi!!” she yelled as she snuck up on the poor unsuspecting young girl.
“Iyaaa!” the girl shrieked, jumping in the air and spinning before she saw who it was. “That was not funny!” she said, holding her hand to her chest and breathing heavily as Miyabi broke into a giggle.
“You’re so out of shape!” Miyabi chided. “You get out of breath just from walking down a hallway…”
“Stop calling me fat!” Risako demanded in return.
“Fat? I didn’t say fat…” Miyabi said incredulously. The other girl just huffed and turned to stalk back down the hall.
“Hey! Wait up!” Miyabi called after, and ran to catch up with the other girl.
“Help! Help! I’m being stalked!” Risako yelled in a mock scream, causing some of the staff also passing down the hall to stop abruptly to see what the commotion was about. “There’s an old crazy girl trying to molest me!”
“I am not old!” Miyabi protested loudly as she continued running after her quarry.
Risako did her best, but unfortunately for her Miyabi wasn’t totally wrong about the shape she was in. Before long she was tackled kicking and screaming to the floor. “Ahhhh!”
“Ha! Gotcha!” Miyabi looked down at the girl who after the fall she found she was straddling the waist of. Risako looked back up at her as if she was fearful of her life. No other noises could be heard; apparently the staff who were around decided they didn’t want to be involved in Berryz Gone Wild. “Now… you shall be tickled!” Before she even said the word, she began administering her threat.
“Ahhh! Ahh… ahahahahhaa!” Risako giggled uncontrollably beneath her, wiggling around as she struggled to get free. After a minute, really when her arms got tired, Miyabi stopped her ministrations and looked back down at the girl, her own breath now heaving along with the other’s. She enjoyed seeing the smile that now graced her friend’s face.
“I was wondering if you were still that sensitive to tickling. I guess I got my answer,” she said with a smirk.
“Not funny…” the girl below said in mimicked offense, and raised her arm to push Miyabi’s shoulder. She couldn’t dislodge her captor from her superior position, however. “You can get off me anytime you know.” As she calmed, she seemed to begin to adopt a pleading look.
“Mmm… I don’t think so,” Miyabi replied. “Not yet at least…” As she looked into the deep youthful eyes of the other girl the spark of her exuberance shone back at her. She was suddenly very conscious of how close they were. Their faces were just centimeters apart. Something she couldn’t explain came over her and she began to lean closer…
“Ewww,” came a too-girly voice from behind them down the hall. “Get a room, you two!” Miyabi and Risako both jumped up and apart from each other as quickly as they could. “You’d better be quick about it though. We meet for first stage in ten minutes!” Momoko walked up to them as if reluctantly at first as she spoke, and then darted quickly between them, sparing them looks as if to make sure they didn’t try anything on her. She then continued running down the hall, yelling behind her back, “And put some better makeup on or everyone will know what you’ve been up to!”
Miyabi cast a quick glance at Risako who didn’t look back, her eyes lowered and face appearing a little flushed, before starting to head quickly straight down the hallway herself. They had not been up to anything! They… might have been… she supposed, though she didn’t know exactly what happened there. Either way, she was sure her makeup was just fine!
After a moment she noticed Risako was walking the same way as her. “Miya…” she breathed in not much more than a whisper. Miyabi stopped dead, the other girl catching up with her. She had no idea what she was going to say… “You’re going the wrong way. Your room is in the other direction.”
“Oh,” Miyabi replied, her sense lost to her. “Thanks…” She then just noticed Risako nod and begin walking straight on again without looking back. Miyabi watched after her for a moment, her feet rooted to the spot unsure of what to do, before the girl disappeared behind a corner.
As if that triggered something in Miyabi’s brain to make her feet work again, she turned around and headed back toward her dressing room. Okay, what just happened back there? she asked herself. However, her mind didn’t really seem to want to process it. Did I just almost… kiss Risako? It’s not like that would be the most earth-shattering thing in the world. They kind of went out a year or so ago, going on cute little dates and things and even sleeping in the same bed together when they could. It was nice being able to do that again last night… But they hadn’t quite gotten into a kissing stage yet, and school and work became busier and pushed them apart to where they didn’t see each other much at all or do much together… that is until Miyabi stole into her room last night.
As she found her dressing room and began changing for the performance, she began preparing mentally for it and tried pushing thoughts of what happened earlier out of her head. That was something for later tonight. Now, it was show time.
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A few notes about this story... This began with me just wanting to write something involving Berryz, since I felt they still didn't have much that portrayed their characters for everyone to get to know well. Also I've come to love them quite a bit and felt like I might have some fun things to write about them. I was inspired a bit by Wordsworth's and Loser87's works but I hadn't yet realized a bunch of others started writing Berryz fics around the same time... lol. I wonder what happened this month?
Anyway, when thinking about what to write about them I didn't know much more except for what the characters would be like. It's quite difficult to apply Berryz to traditional plots, mostly because of how young they are, so I got stuck for a little while (part of the reason I didn't write sooner). Then I looked at what I already had seen written about them and basically they were stories that focused on some sort of romance and other things that really just reminded me of teen dramas. So I thought, what the hey. I've got characters, let's throw a bit of backstory into them and start them in a certain setting and see what happens. I'm basically writing this story about what I think might be the random happenings of Berryz' daily life. Because of this, as in a teen drama, the plot and such might meander a bit, but hopefully it will be interesting nonetheless if nothing else than because of the characters. This also feels to me like the best way of keeping the Berryz spirit in what I write, which I consider more important than some other groups. Those dramas tend to acquire plots at some point and gain quite a bit of interest, and some people at least seem to enjoy the little I've written so far, so we'll see how it goes. :)
Thank you all for reading, and please let me know what you think about the girls!
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Yurina's complaint about the set entrances made me :wahaha: She must be really having a hard time, being the tallest. But her height is part of her charm ;D
Berryz Gone Wild? :kekeke:
Looks like Miya's the aggressor here. I love it when she spazzes out :shy2:
Don't worry too much about how you portray the girls Rokun. I had a problem with that when I was starting too so I had to watch some vids to help me. The one that helped me the most was their Music Fighter appearance. It gave me an idea of what their personalities are. I also visit the Berryz thread frequently because tama and Ayabie usually post some great info or news there :D
But actually, what's fun about writing about the girls and their personalities is that they constantly change. You watch a vid where Miya's dead serious then you get to see another one where she's ultra insane and camwhores. My first impression of Momoko is that she's a spoiled brat type but actually she's one of the most fun and crazy of the bunch. These girls can be anything they want anytime they want. :D
Keep it up man! :cool1:
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I <33 your story I really do
I found myself laughing at Yurina's complaint of the entrance XDXD
I <33 I <33 I <33 XDXD
I love the RiixMiya moment it's so cute >w<
I'm so happy to know my story helped in inspiration *-*
I feel happy XDXD
And to me, Berryz story tend to be more of a teenage drama because well..They are teenagers
And They do have the stereotypical teenage drama of jealousy, issues w/ eachother, secrets, gossips and general girl problems
The norm for all teenagers
So for me finding a conflict for stories isn't that hard
Find a way to fix the conflict is a bit harder haha ^^;;
Now I feel old by commenting like that, I should stop being all 'oh, i'm so wise' because I'm not XDXD
Anyway, UPDATE
OR MEET THE EYES OF DOOM which are these --> O_O
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But actually, what's fun about writing about the girls and their personalities is that they constantly change. You watch a vid where Miya's dead serious then you get to see another one where she's ultra insane and camwhores. My first impression of Momoko is that she's a spoiled brat type but actually she's one of the most fun and crazy of the bunch. These girls can be anything they want anytime they want. :D
:vv: I'm actually not too worried about how I portray them... I have pretty good ideas of what they're like, or at least what I want them to be like (though hopefully is something like the girls you all already know), and there are only certain ones that I'm so far considering "major" characters anyway... though everyone seems to be getting a good amount of screentime so far, lol. I think the main ones will flesh out a bit more as the story progresses, especially when the PoV switches... >:D
One thing though, is I imagine I may be pigeonholing Momoko a little bit. Whatever she may really be like though, she's actually become more pronounced in the story than I intended, and I think it's because it's just fun to write her like this. It reminds me of how Risa turned out in my MM stories (though hers wasn't so negative). Still... I'm big on character development, so I wouldn't be surprised if she loosens up a little as time goes on. :) In a way really though, she's kind of mysterious right now... Although, most of them are that at this point. :P Thanks for your comments you guys!
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Thanks for your comments, everyone! I hate to do this so early into a new story, but it may be a few days until I get another chapter up... I have finals this week through Thursday >_<. After that though I should have more time to spread the Berryz <3!!! :D
Chapter 4
Miyabi wasn’t able to talk privately with anyone after her and Risako separated to change since rehearsals took up all their time until the concert began. She did manage to catch Risako’s eye a few times over the course of the rehearsals and concert, and she was smiling back, though Miyabi wasn’t sure if that was directed to her or if it was just happiness and excitement for the performance.
The concert itself went wonderfully again. The girls fixed most of the mistakes they had made in the afternoon, but Chinami still almost forgot one of her lines. Miyabi felt it was one of her best concerts ever, and as she gave her goodbye at the end she just soaked in the atmosphere of a place she wasn’t sure when she’d be returning to and even cried a little. She wasn’t the only one.
Actually, she thought of a time in the future when she might really do a concert by herself there. She knew it would be a long time before she’d even be considered as a solo act in Hello! Project, but she felt she had the talent for it… and the desire. Many people she knew seemed to think the same, even some of the other girls. She’d of course talked about it with Risako; they both cheerily discussed the days when they might be able to travel on their own – or together, they admitted they wouldn’t mind – across Japan, and have entire arenas filled to capacity with fans there to see only them. Some of the other girls thought they were a bit narcissistic, but they all teased each other about those things.
She’d also talked about it with Captain, though only really in a way of seeking guidance from a person she respected. Saki was always willing to talk with the girls about their career plans… dreams… ambitions… whatever they might be. She could always be counted on to give well thought-out advice not biased by any feelings she might have about a certain subject… or person…
When they left the super arena stage for the last time on this trip, they gave all their otsukaresama deshitas to the cameras in the halls, everyone mostly too tired to be too crazy in them this time. Miyabi even mostly just gave them quick smiles and nods of her head. Of course, one time though when she reached the camera along with Yurina and Chinami she had to do a few cute group poses, and they even tried bragging about the concert in English made even worse than usual by their weariness. Maasa joined them as they were wrapping up to tell the camera how cool she was. Miyabi sometimes wondered if words like that were all she knew how to say in English…
Eventually she made it back to her dressing room, and was just pulling on her denim shorts when a knock came at her door. “Hang on!” she yelled at it.
“I’m coming in unless you’re naked in there Miya, so be ready…” came a muffled response from beyond the door, and it opened to admit an already freshened up Yurina just as Miyabi snapped the last of her buttons into place.
“I could have been naked, you know…” Miyabi grumbled at the over-presuming guest, and she pulled a low light brown beret over her head. She now wore a casual outfit similar to the one she used for Very Beauty, because after seeing how it looked on her then, she thought it portrayed what Miyabi Natsuyaki was all about quite well.
“Well then, that wouldn’t have been my problem, would it?” Yurina replied as she looked around the room pretty much anywhere other than at Miyabi. “You would have been the naked one. As you can see, I’ve got all my clothes on.” Her eyes finally came to rest on the girl she was talking to, and she gave her outfit a short evaluation. “What do you do in here that takes you that long to change, anyway?”
Miyabi felt like poking the other girl… hard… but felt too tired to walk over to her. “What do you want, oh abominably tall girl of poor fashion?” Yurina never seemed to care what she wore, and Miyabi consistently teased her about it, always particularly aware of how her own style appeared.
The other girl seemed to ignore her as she responded though. “Miki Fujimoto is having a special reception at her apartment to celebrate our day, and has invited us over for… nothing in particular,” she said with a wink and a grin. “I hear most of the Project was invited, but with so much going on right now I don’t think many will actually come… I think not even all of us are coming. Captain said she would just make an appearance at the beginning before sailing out to parts unknown, and who knows what will happen with Rii-chan and Momo. Captain at least is concerned that Rii-chan is too young, though Mikitty seemed insistent that she should come more than most…”
A party at Fujimoto-san’s? Now that sounded like it could be fun. Miyabi hadn’t had a good party – meaning one where alcohol was actually served; that was obviously the ‘nothing in particular’ Yurina mentioned – since last year. She’d have to be more careful this time though. The morning after that night had been… not the most pleasant in her life. It wasn’t enough to spoil her illegal appetites though. Her eyes lit up and she forgot all about her tiredness and that she was upset with Yurina at the moment. “Of course! Count me in! Um… Where does she live?”
“I don’t know, but Captain apparently does. Everyone who’s coming is supposed to meet out back as soon as possible. She says it’s because we’re eager to get there, but I know she’s just as eager as we are… Anyway, are you ready?” Yurina looked around the room again, her mouth turning up as she apparently found distaste in something she saw.
Miyabi ignored her look though, of course. “Yes! Let me just get my handbag and I’ll be right with you…”
Yurina nodded and crossed her arms, tapping her foot as if impatient. As Miyabi tidied up and made sure she had everything, she figured the girl probably was impatient. She was impatient herself to see what Fujimoto-san had in store for them. Lifting her handbag strap over her shoulder, she looked at Yurina and announced, “All right! Ready to go!”
“About time,” Yurina grumbled. “Come on!” Without waiting to see if Miyabi was coming, she headed back out the door.
The halls of the arena were becoming quieter as many of the staff began to retire for the night, and their trip outside was rather uneventful. When they arrived there, they found Saki, Maasa and Chinami already waiting. “Hello!” the three said in unison.
“That was a great concert, wasn’t it?!” Chinami beamed. “If only I hadn’t forgotten my line…”
“You always forget a line,” Maasa chided her. “I think we should call you ‘Bad Actor Girl’.”
“Nah,” Yurina piped in. “She’s going to be known as ‘Wall Girl’ for quite some time still, I think.”
“Oh, that’s right,” Maasa replied, snapping her fingers. “She does stupid things so often, it’s hard to keep track anymore…”
“By the way…” Saki broke in, a sense of warning in her voice. “I still haven’t kicked you guys around barefooted yet for leaving me out there… It took me so long to pry myself out of that vice’s grasp that my tie was on backwards because of having to dress too quickly or risk missing first stage!” The two taller girls broke into giggles at the remembrance of that situation before the afternoon’s concert, and primarily their Captain’s resulting embarrassment.
Before a visibly chastised Chinami could utter a word in her defense, Miyabi, who had kept herself from giggling at the thought herself – it was funny – asked loudly, “So where’s Momo? Rii-chan? Are they coming?”
“Momo-chan is,” Saki responded, still frowning at the two giggling girls with arms crossed and foot tapping. “Who knows about Risako. I made sure she knew about it, but she didn’t give any indication what she would do. She seemed preoccupied with something.”
Miyabi fell silent after that. She thought she had a good idea what Risako might be pre-occupied about. If it weren’t for Yurina coming and basically dragging her from her dressing room – okay, so she didn’t have to tug too hard – she likely would have been stuck in a similar stupor herself.
Her train of thought was broken when Momoko strode out from the arena, her silk jacket billowing in the sudden outdoor breeze. “There you are,” Saki said, her attention finally diverted from the others as she uncrossed her arms and took a step toward the new arrival. “We’ll give Risako five more minutes, and then we’ll assume she’s not coming and head out.”
With Momoko joining in, the conversation returned to the concert and the girls traded stories of how they did and how it was so wonderful the fans reacted such and such a way in such and such a spot.
When the five minutes were nearly up, the door swung open again and a breathless Risako ran up to join them. “I’m sorry to keep you waiting!” she said with a bow. All attention turned to her now, and Saki frowned at her appearance, apparently still unsure whether she was old enough to go to this ‘adult’ party. She’s only a year younger than Yurina… Miyabi thought, feeling like frowning herself. I don’t see anyone complaining about her being able to go! Even though Saki was still cute when she took the wiser older sister role, for some reason she felt strongly about defending Risako this time. Besides, maybe at the party she might get a chance to talk to her…
“All right,” Momoko chirped. “I suppose this is as good a time as any to show Berryz pride together!” she continued in an unusual amount of team spirit. “Let’s go!” The seven of them then began walking out toward the road past the bus, which was only there to take them to their motel if they wished it. Miyabi walked near Momoko at first, and she heard the girl say beneath her breath, “If the child wants to see what it’s like to get drunk and be miserable tomorrow morning, far be it from me to stop her…” Miyabi smiled. Ahh, there was the good old Momo.
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Ebiru Duo love and just plain evil Momoko. Why must this be so addicting?
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just started reading your story and i'm hooked :luvluv2:
*holds out bowl*
more please :stuffed:
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Sorry for the long hiatus, but here you go. ^^ This is a fun bouncy chapter... lol. Enjoy!
Chapter 5
It ended up being a decent train ride to Miki’s place - since she lived in Tokyo. It was in the northern part of the city at least, but still… Miyabi thought she might as well have it at her house in Saitama. Of course, her parents would probably disapprove of junior high girls like them getting drunk and crazy, so it probably wouldn’t have been the greatest party anyway… As they departed the station to walk the last way to Miki’s, Saki led a grumbling gaggle of girls along the dark, windy paths.
“You know, Captain,” Momoko said sarcastically, “Young beautiful girls like us shouldn’t be walking along the streets by ourselves at this hour. There are any number of hoodlums who might jump out of the shadows and take advantage of us…” Her outburst caused a few of the other girls to look around themselves nervously.
“Oh give over,” Saki responded. “Do you have any idea of the kind of people that live in this neighborhood? They aren’t exactly the scariest and most troubled Japan has to offer…”
“Fujimoto-san lives here…” Yurina quipped, and scared expressions suddenly turned into giggles around the girls.
“Besides,” Maasa broke in wisely, “You do know we’re still near the station, right? The people who live here are much different than those that would live near Fujimoto-san, for all that’s worth.” She finished with a stupid grin twisting the corners of her mouth.
“Ahh, don’t worry,” Miyabi finally added, “If anyone does come out of the shadows, it’s the seven of us versus whoever that is, and I would kick their butts with my insanely awesome magically enhanced ninja skills anyway.”
Throughout the whole conversation she had been paying attention to Risako, but the girl didn’t seem to give her any mind, nor any of the other girls for that matter. She just looked around them thoughtfully and seemed like she was off in her own little world. Miyabi hoped her boasting might impress her, or at least make her laugh at her silliness, but the girl still seemed as if she hadn’t noticed her existence. Catching a sigh, she added, “Right, Momo-chan?”
“Speak for yourself,” the girl she addressed replied, giving her a sideways glance. “You can get yourself killed or worse all you’d like, but if anyone jumps out at us I’ll be running as fast as possible the other way.”
Of course that didn’t go over too well; the second she said it, the other girls began teasing her about being a coward like a little girl and how it must be so beneath her to get in an actual fight… even though she did have similar martial arts training to that Miyabi had. Miyabi did her best to ignore everyone though. She knew that if push came to shove, Momoko wouldn’t be the only one running away like a little girl.
In the midst of the distracting exchanges of the other girls, Miyabi decided to try to creep closer to Risako. Of course she couldn’t talk to the girl seriously while they were all together like this, but talking to her at all would be an improvement, and enough for her at the moment. She had come close enough to where she was just about to reach out and touch the other girl’s soft pale hand before Yurina’s voice came out from beside them more loudly than their teases had been, and Miyabi quickly tucked her hands behind her back as if she were up to absolutely nothing.
“Hey look,” the girl said, following her own advice and looking at their surroundings. “I think we made it to the richer people’s houses.”
Miyabi looked around, as did most of the others as they finally forgot about the torturing of their beloved second-eldest member, and sure enough, the buildings that sprung out from the sides were now full-sized, mostly gated, houses with well-tended lawns and lights glowing from inside windows that covered many floors. Surely it wouldn’t be too far now until they got to Miki’s. She hadn’t imagined that Miki would own a house before, but she supposed there was no reason she wouldn’t – the girl had done well enough for herself for several years now. She must just be used to all the days she spent darting in and out of the hotel rooms they shared or apartments that some of the older girls maintained, who weren’t quite old enough for houses of their own…
“It’s only another couple of blocks,” Saki spoke up. “See, I told you nothing would happen to us…” She said all this with an air of smug victory, well, smug for Captain at least, as if this proved she was right all along.
“That’s too bad,” Maasa mourned. “And here I was looking forward to seeing Momo-chan run away like a little girl… Wait, she always looks like that when she runs…” The girl broke off into a snicker that was joined by Yurina and Chinami.
“Laugh it up,” the girl in question said below eyes that seemed to glower from within deep dark depths. “Then at least I wouldn’t be molested by some gross pervert.”
“What do you mean?” Maasa replied. “We’ve got nothing to worry about thanks to Miya here, right? At least she doesn’t turn away from a fight!” She came over to Miyabi and wrapped an arm around her, hugging her as if she was her best pal. Well, that wasn’t too far from the truth.
Maasa’s loudness and gesturing seemed to finally break Risako from her spell, and she looked over at the two of them with wide eyes. “What? Miya’s going to fight someone?”
“Yeah, haven’t you heard, Rii-chan?” Yurina said, coming over and wrapping her own arm around the other girl. “Miya entered a kung-fu contest, and she’s going to win more money than we earn in a year. Even you!” She laughed while she spoke as if incredibly amused at her own unbelievable wit. “She just has to beat up some losers who always think too much of themselves and never seem to be quite… one with reality.”
“Oh,” Risako responded quietly, looking carefully into Miyabi’s face. Apparently the slightly older girl’s joking reference flew over her head.
“Give it a rest!” Miyabi said, wriggling out from her large captor’s grip and dashing to pull Risako to safety as well. “I just can’t wait to see what happens when you guys actually get drunk,” she grumbled sardonically.
“There she goes! Rescuing her fair damsel in distress!” called Yurina, floating with Maasa back to the others who had been watching the exchanges with varying levels of interest. “We’d better leave those two alone… Our brave hero deserves a kiss after all…” Most of the other girls broke into giggles once again, leaving deeply flushing Risako and Miyabi by themselves somewhat apart.
“Hey Captain,” Momoko chirped. “I thought you said it was only a block away?”
“Two,” Saki replied hollowly, her own face becoming darker as well now at the stupidity surrounding her. “Or was it six…” Momoko sighed.
Upon being left by themselves, Risako and Miyabi did their best to keep their own distance from each other as their embarrassment overcame them, but owing to the darkness and to the fact that they were apparently going to be left alone – the other girls skipped a bit ahead in their inscrutable hyperness – they eventually began walking together.
“So you’re going to start fighting again?” Risako said quietly after a time.
“No,” Miyabi said quickly, eyes lowered and frowning ahead of them. “They were just playing around.”
“Oh,” Risako replied simply. “That’s good.”
They walked in silence for a bit longer just listening to the boisterous voices ahead of them. Miyabi felt like she was being tortured for some reason until she got to the point where she couldn’t stand it any longer. “Risako, I…”
“Aha!!” Saki yelled, jumping up to accentuate her cheer before turning back to her girls. “There it is!” she told them, pointing an arm vaguely behind her. Miyabi squinted her eyes, but couldn’t see anything. “The one with all the cars outside, you idiots!” she scolded, jumping again, and turned to run toward the place she must have been describing. “Come on!”
The other girls started after her, but Miyabi was just frustrated that she was cut off. She opened her mouth to start again, but Risako jumped into a run ahead as if to join the other girls, leaving her with her mouth hanging open and herself hanging a ways back. Not confident enough in her albeit extensive self-defense abilities to be caught alone in the night like this, she narrowed her eyes before running to catch up as well.
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FINALLY AN UPDATE!! *hugs the story and clings on* DON'T GO ON HAITUS AGAIN I BEGETH' THEE!! O_O...
Come on ya' gotta update faster MUSH MUSH!! YA!! *cracks whip* >_>.....
Erm...Update please!~ =D
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Hehe. Momo high-tailing and leaving them when an intruder appears is priceless :lol:
And Miya entering a kung-fu contest? :lol: Maybe she'll have cosplay pics on her upcoming PB.
What does Risako mean by Miya will "start fighting" again? Did she already beat up someone before? :o
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W00T an update! Can't wait for them to start partying!
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I wasn't going to post the next chapter until tomorrow, but due to that I'm already ahead in my writing (something that normally isn't the case), these chapters really blend into each other, and in honor of Loser posting her next chapter, I thought I'd go ahead and throw it up. ^_^ This way I can check what all you lovely people have to say in the morning! After this the plot begins to thicken, so enjoy the fluffy cheeriness! I hope everyone who reads and doesn't comment is enjoying! Now... It's party time! Kanpai! ;D
Chapter 6
Entering Miki’s house was like entering a shrine to Bacchus. As the smiling bright-eyed hostess waved them in, Miyabi at their tail, the girls looked around to see streamers of all sorts and a sign in English that after a moment Miyabi made out as “Welcome Super Berryz”. The foyer was bare aside from the decorations, with a stair just ahead spiraling up into unknown heights.
As Miyabi tore her eyes from above, she realized that she was now alone at the bottom of those stairs with a cup full of some strong-smelling liquid in her hands that she had no idea how it got there. “Damn…” she swore to herself. She wasn’t likely to get Risako alone anytime soon, or anytime ever by the noisy chatter and yelling coming from what seemed all corners of the place.
Recovering from a fit of coughing after unconsciously taking a sip of the drink that was in her hand – that’s what one normally does with a cup she’s holding after all – she resolved that she would have to be very careful while in the midst of the adventure she had entered into.
Walking into a connecting room – a sitting room she supposed, although there wasn’t much sitting going on; girls of all ages were cheerfully greeting and hugging a few of the new arrivals, since it was their night after all – she set her drink on an end table and took in the scene. She wasn’t able to look for long though before Maimi and an already tipsy-looking Reina came up to hug her.
“Omedetou!” they chimed after the hugs, and one of them seemed ready to bounce off the walls while Reina flashed her a toothy grin.
“Welcome to the GAMorous House of Blooze!” Reina squeaked before poking Miyabi in the shoulder. “Mikitty makes sure we say that to everyone who comes and has never been here before.”
“Actually, Reina-chan,” Maimi corrected in an automatic voice as if having said this many times already, “Remember, Fujimoto-san last told you to make sure you don’t say that to anyone else. It makes her sound… how did she put it… cheesy.” Miyabi could definitely believe that.
“Oh, that’s right,” Reina said, tilting her head as if straining herself in deep thought before breaking out into another toothy grin. “I keep forgetting…” She looked past Miyabi for a second as if she saw something unexpected just beyond her. “Oi! It’s Eririn and Sayu! I need to welcome them!” With that, she brushed past and shuffled off to them, a visibly flummoxed Maimi trailing behind, Miyabi apparently forgotten.
Not exactly sure what to make of the encounter with her Aa! senpai and C-ute’s leader, Miyabi slowly and carefully walked across the room to sit on the vacant couch. Several other Hello! Project members came to congratulate her and tell her she needed to drink something – she politely turned them down since she didn’t really feel like feeling any worse tonight – and she could tell by the noises coming from all over the house that everybody seemed to be having a wonderful time. She was glad for that; they didn’t all get to enjoy themselves like this very often, together… After a time, the crowd around her lessened and she must have spaced out for a while, because the next thing she noticed was Saki sitting down next to her. The girl drew her small pink-socked feet up onto the couch and crossed her legs, looking over at Miyabi.
“Fun party, huh?” she asked. Her question was accentuated by a crash from somewhere a few rooms away, accompanied by screams and bursts of laughter before a yell that obviously came from Miki from another area of the house.
“Everybody seems to be having a great time,” Miyabi responded without a large amount of enthusiasm.
Saki just looked at her for a moment, and Miyabi looked down at her hands which were playing with a half-filled cup that someone had forced on her an indeterminable amount of time ago. “It doesn’t look like you are though, Miya-chan.” Miyabi looked up and down into the girl’s face. Her big eyes were shining back at her above a tender smile.
“I’m just tired,” she said, lowering her eyes back down to the cup. “Being the center of attention all the time is hard work, you know.” She couldn’t help a slight twist of a smirk coming to the corner of her mouth after she said that.
Saki chuckled and looked down into her lap herself, where she was playing with the embroidered hem of her socks. “Maybe I should tell Tsunku to give you fewer lines. Or maybe just separate you and Rii-chan for once during a concert. You always seem to tire yourself out most in those songs.” Miyabi froze at those words, staring hard into the rippling liquid within her cup. Silence held for a moment before Saki continued, “Are you two all right?”
Damn Captain’s incredibly irritating empathy. “O-of course we are. You know us. We don’t let anything get us down.” Unfortunately, before she even finished talking she knew the effect of her lie was lost the moment she stuttered on the first word. She never stuttered under normal circumstances. Saki didn’t seem to take offense to it though.
“I try not to get involved in the personal affairs of my girls…” she said after a time, “But you know I’m always willing to listen if one of you wants to talk.”
“I do know, Captain…” Miyabi began. “I guess it’s just complicated. And I made it more complicated last night, I think…” Well, that was one way of putting it.
“Does it have to be complicated?” Saki asked. Miyabi could feel the smaller girl’s arm wrap around her and just then realized she was trembling slightly.
Miyabi turned to look at her senpai. “What do you mean?”
Saki smiled and looked back out into the room as if she could see what girls were doing all over the house. “Most of the time it’s only complicated in your mind, when in reality it’s as simple as anything could be. Whatever you did last night, did you get a complicated reaction?”
“…No,” Miyabi answered after a moment. “There was really no reaction other than that it was… nice…” She began flushing slightly when she realized how much she was opening up to the other girl.
Saki smiled. “It sounds pretty simple to me, then. After tonight’s festivities are done, you should see what you can do to ‘make things complicated’ again. It doesn’t sound like a bad thing to me.”
Miyabi just stared into the other girl’s constantly wide-eyed and smiling face. What she said really did make a lot of sense. Suddenly, realizing the situation, she broke away from the girl’s eyes and looked back down, very conscious of the thin arm around her. “Thank you… Captain…”
“Don’t mention it!” she heard the other say cheerily. Then Miyabi felt something vibrating against her leg – the leg that was nudged up against the other girl’s – and reason having fled her in her emotional state, she bowed her head even more to hide her sudden deep blush.
Saki reached between them into her pocket and pulled out her vibrating cell phone, Miyabi mentally ninja-kicking herself for stupidly losing her control like that, resulting only in a deeper blush. She couldn’t bear to look up, but visualized Saki checking a message on her phone. “Sorry Miya, I have to go,” she said regretfully, though also a bit excitedly. “I already had plans for tonight, but I just had to make an appearance here…” Miyabi almost sighed as she felt the arm retract from around her, and the girl stood up. However, Miyabi didn’t feel confident enough in the paleness of her face yet to look up at her. “You’ll be all right?” Miyabi nodded, gripping her cup tightly. “Just be yourself!” she called out as she headed off toward the door.
When she sensed the other girl was gone, Miyabi raised her head and without thinking dumped the contents of the cup down her throat in one gulp. She immediately regretted it due to the coughing fit that followed. “There you go!” she heard a buzzed Momoko shout from one of the doorways. “It’s about time you joined the party!” Well, at least now she had an excuse for her red face.
Before she knew it Momoko, Maasa and some other girls had dragged her off into one of the other rooms to play something called “flippy cup”. Immediately skeptical of it from the name, before long she realized it was just as immature and childish as she first thought. Of course, nobody involved cared at the moment. It was funny, but for some reason Miyabi didn’t care anymore either. So much for Fujimoto-san’s ban on cheese…
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That was a sweet chapter *w*
I <33 your portrayal on the saki/Miyabi friendship X3
Ya' need to update, UPDATE UPDATE!! GRRR!! >w<
Or else I die from anxiety!! Ya' wouldn't want that would ya'? ;+;
Must be quoted for pure awesomeness
So much for Fujimoto-san’s ban on cheese…
XDXDXDXD
I roffled..a lot XDXD
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Wow, my only comment was my diehard and shout-out. Come on you guys, throw me a bone here. ^_^ Well, on we go! More characters! Yay! ...And somebody's dead? O_O
Chapter 7
Much later – it had to have been well past midnight – Miyabi stumbled out of a quite destroyed GAMorous House of Blooze arm-in-arm with Chinami and Maasa. They had lost Yurina and Momoko at some point after they finished the flippy cup game. Miyabi’s memory was regrettably foggy beginning about then, but she felt great. This wasn’t nearly as bad as the last time…
“Where’s Risako?” she asked, looking dumbfoundedly and sleepily around them as if the answer could be found in a bush or streetlamp they passed.
“Who knows…” Chinami said, an elated and oblivious smile fixed on her face.
“Who cares…” Maasa said, herself frowning around at the darkness surrounding them. “Hey, do you think we’re at the station yet? I can’t remember where it was… Captain confused me when we first walked here…”
“I care…” Miyabi said with her brows furrowed in thought, ignoring the last part of Maasa’s comments. “At least, I think I do…” Yes, there was something. It was something to do with the night before…
Her train of thought was completely broken however by a scream from Chinami, who immediately also clung to the other two girls as tightly as she could. Miyabi suddenly became alert and looked all around them, but didn’t see anything. “What’s wrong?” she asked slowly, making sure of her words.
“A monster!!!” Chinami whined. The girl was now quivering as she held onto the two larger girls. Indeed, as they looked on, something did step out of the shadows ahead of them…
The dark-colored cat walked up to them and meowed questioningly. “Honestly Chii-chan, you really need to stop watching those scary movies,” Maasa said with irritation. “Especially when you’re going to be drunk.”
“B-but… I didn’t mean to…” Chinami responded, still looking warily at the cat, who was now rubbing itself along Miyabi’s ankle. “Kuma-chan made me watch it. She told me she’d eat me if I didn’t.”
“I’ll eat you if you don’t stop being so… so…” Whatever Chinami was supposed to stop being, something the girl seemed very interested in finding out since she didn’t want to be eaten, Maasa must have lost that train of thought as she stared out into the darkness. “I think I’ve seen this house before…”
Miyabi squinted into the darkness and sighed. “Of course you have! It’s Fujimoto-san’s! We’ve been walking in circles… Does anyone know where we’re going?”
“Lost your way?” a girl asked as she walked up to them. The three Berryz turned to the one that addressed them, and she turned out to be a quite composed-looking Niigaki-san, accompanied by tired-looking Maimi and Airi, and Reina, who could apparently hardly stand.
“There was a monster…” Chinami said in a small voice, still clinging to Maasa as if for protection.
“A monster… I see,” Risa said, nodding at the younger girl and looking closely at her as if she was making perfect sense. Miyabi was about to open her mouth to correct her before Reina shoved to the front.
“A monster?” she asked, looking all around, though lacking any and all focus. “Where? Let me at ‘im… Me and my girls Airin and Miya here’ll make quick work of it…”
“I’m quite sure it’s gone now, Reina-chan,” Risa said, patting the other girl’s head as if a patient mother toward a particularly ornery child. “You three can show us how to do it in the morning.”
“Morning… yeah…” Reina managed, and started sauntering off down the road. Airi looked like she wanted nothing to do with showing anyone anything, and Miyabi just felt like rolling her eyes. The older girl had drunk too much by the beginning of the night even…
“We’d better follow her,” she said, starting after Reina, “Don’t want her getting into trouble…” “She’s all the hope I’ve got outside of Berryz right now…” she grumbled to herself. It was such a lost cause. However, once again regrettably, just then her foot seemed to halt as if frozen beneath her and the ground met her, followed by shooting pain all up and down her body. “Itai…” she breathed into the pavement.
She heard feet behind her as the other girls came up to view her fully sprawled on the ground. “Yeah, we don’t want trouble, all right,” she heard Maasa say, and she thought she heard amusement in her voice too. That was just like the girl; taking pleasures in the pain of others. Oh, she was in pain… though oddly, it seemed to be fading for some reason.
“Do you think she’s dead?” Chinami asked from behind her in a light, nervous voice.
“She does look in pretty bad shape…” Maimi offered as well, her voice seeming slightly worried.
She felt a poke on her back. “No response,” Airi said after a second from just above her. “She always twitches when I poke her…”
“Do that again and I kick your ass…” Miyabi growled, attempting to push herself up with her hands but failing since she suddenly felt sharp pain in one. She must have skinned it… Oh well, she always skinned her knees during various activities; that was nothing new. Eventually she managed to get up and look back at the girl who had now backed a step away from her. “And don’t think I couldn’t do it little sis, even if you are taller than me now.” Brushing herself off, she turned around to look at a speck moving back and forth in the distance. “Didn’t anyone go after Reina?”
“Oh she’ll live,” Risa said. For seeming to be the leader of their small group right now, Miyabi wondered where she was when she fell and could have been dead for all they knew. “In fact you’re right, we should go ahead and follow her. She has an amazing sense of direction when she’s drunk. She’ll lead us right to the station.”
Miyabi didn’t wait for anything more and just walked on after the freakish drunk girl. Apparently the others followed, because after a minute she could hear voices from back there. Soon, some of them even caught up to her.
“I’m glad you’re not dead,” Chinami said earnestly, sidling in next to Miyabi, matching her pace.
“I’m sorry I poked you,” Airi said from her other side. She looked at the girl and got a smile in return. However, it lasted only a moment before trembling a little.
“What is it?” Miyabi demanded quietly.
“Your face…” the girl responded.
Miyabi raised her hand to her face, looking at it a second before feeling touching it to her cheek. Yep, the heel of her palm was scraped a little and bleeding. As for her face though, she didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s got dirt all over it…”
Miyabi sighed. Airi and her pre-occupation with dirt. Miyabi didn’t like being filthy of course, but she never saw the girl anything other than squeaky clean. She looked to her other side where Chinami was looking out into the darkness around them. “By the way, why are you so scared of everything all the time?”
The girl looked back at her, but didn’t respond for a moment. “I’m not…” she said finally. “I just have an overactive imagination. My parents tried to wean me out of it when I was young, but it didn’t work… so I still have nightmares all the time. Sometimes when I’m really sleepy I think I have daymares too…”
Miyabi stared ahead into the darkness, wondering how whatever visions the girl was having could be called daymares when it was the middle of the night. “Sometimes I envy you,” she said softly, but quite loud enough for the two girls to hear.
“Huh?” Chinami said. “What did you say?” Miyabi stayed silent. “It sounded to me like you said you envy me…” the other girl continued under her breath. It was true. People always told Miyabi she should have more imagination, show more emotion… She did! She wondered if she was maybe just too shy sometimes, and with some things…
“Hey, look!” Maimi called out from behind them.
“I told you~!” Risa chimed.
Miyabi cast her eyes ahead. Sure enough, the station was within sight. They were there within a minute, and found a wobbly Reina trying to negotiate for a ticket in some language that Miyabi had never heard before. Risa quickly came up behind her.
“I’m sorry, sir,” she apologized quickly. “She is from far away and doesn’t understand how to use her JR pass.” She turned to Reina, pulling her away from the frowning ticket master. “Pon-chan, I told you, we don’t need tickets. You’ve got all you need right there in your…”
Miyabi stopped listening and tried to stifle a snicker at the puzzled expression on her friend and senpai’s face. However, she didn’t think it was the first time she’d had a lecture like that. Risa seemed quite rehearsed at it…
Once inside the station, they hugged and separated from the Morning Musume and C-ute girls, who were headed elsewhere in the city. Miyabi supposed she could have just headed home now that the concert was over, but didn’t fancy her parents seeing her like this and coming in at what would probably be like three o’clock. Besides, they still had the hotel another couple of nights, and she wanted to see if she could find a certain someone; she wanted to sleep well again tonight.
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lol @ Reina speaking with a never before heard language. Must be the universal Wonky language of love. :D
YAY! Risa's the 'leader' of the small troop. I did read something in the Berryz thread before that Risa was close to them. Well, she did do that segment in HPC where the kids had to ride those exercise bikes. :D
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Whee, graceful Miya and freakishly drunk Reina. Wow, why does everything look like it's spelled wrong? I need to sleep...
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You know what you should do?
You should update...
Yeah, That's exactly what I think you should do yuppers *nods*
Drunk Reina is amazing =3 yes she is
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Lol thank you for your comments guys :). I :heart: you all. I have those times when everything looks misspelled too... and of course Risa is leader in that group :P.
Loser, you're quite enthusiastic about updates, aren't you? :D I'll post the next chapter sometime over the weekend. I just don't want to get too ahead of myself so I go days and days without updating again @_@ I'm not sure how long I'll be able to keep this writing streak up, lol. Although, I do have more plans for the story now. It's just kind of hard at the moment, because with the next chapter... things get a bit more complicated. ;)
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As promised! Things start to get serious...
Chapter 8
The train ride was very quiet, mostly because the two girls with Miyabi fell into various stages of slumber throughout it. She watched Chinami from time to time curious what the girl would do if she was having one of her nightmares, but in general just looked around the car or out at the lights of the buildings they passed. This part of Japan was almost wholly urban now, but she didn’t really mind since she grew up within it. As for the car, there were only a few other scattered passengers on the early morning express. One man in a long coat had his head back, seemingly sleeping as well. Another used a pocket flashlight to read a manga; he didn’t seem very attentive to the outside world. There was even a woman who seemed to constantly be staring out of the window at the lights. Miyabi wondered if she was ill or something; her gaze never wavered in the slightest.
From time to time Maasa would jerk awake and talk with Miyabi, but most of the time Miyabi was trying her best to not fall asleep herself. She must have failed however, because one second she was looking across the car at the lights outside, and the next Maasa was tugging on her arm as the train was slowing, groggily telling her and Chinami, whose sleeve she also tugged, that it was their stop.
Rising to a sudden and intense headache, Miyabi joined the other two in a slow walk to the door, and eventually out onto the platform once the train stopped and it opened. It was also a slow walk out from there and back to the hotel. Miyabi’s head felt like it was going to explode the whole way, and seemingly the other two girls weren’t feeling any better. This was more like what she remembered from last time… It was odd though - her scraped hands and other assorted body parts weren’t bothering her nearly as much. Apparently there was some good side to alcohol.
They arrived back at the hotel, and without thinking Miyabi mumbled goodbye to Chinami along with Maasa as the older girl broke off at her room, and followed Maasa back to their own. Once inside, they both kicked off their shoes and collapsed onto their bed.
“You know, there are times I wish we had separate beds…” Maasa moaned into her pillow. Even though their bed was quite large, for some reason the two of them seemed to be taking up a lot of space tonight.
“Yeah…” Miyabi muttered. However, just then a rush as if blood suddenly sped up through her brain overtook Miyabi, and she sat up straight. She looked down at Maasa, but the girl had already fallen asleep and was beginning to snore. That’s right, she wasn’t planning on sleeping here with Maasa tonight…
Feeling a strangely renewed sense of vigor, Miyabi crawled carefully off the bed – even though she later realized there was likely no way the other girl would wake other than for something like the building collapsing around her – and searched the bedside table. She soon found what she was looking for, and as she reached the door remembered how filthy she apparently was from the fall, and also that she was still in her party clothes.
Realizing there was no way she could do what she wanted to like this, she quickly entered the washroom and set the card near the sink, quickly undressing for a short scrub and rinse. Once finished, she didn’t bother with her dirty clothes but headed back into the bedroom nude and with wet hair to pull a long shirt out of her suitcase.
She stole a glance at the girl on the bed while she pulled the shirt on, but her brash friend was still snoring and hadn’t seemed to move a millimeter since she fell there. Once with the shirt on, she zipped up her suitcase. Sure she didn’t have anything on underneath it except her underwear, but she didn’t care. Well, maybe she did a little, because she couldn’t hold back a slight blush in the darkness.
Now all clean and comfy she stole across the room, running back into the washroom quickly when she realized she’d forgotten what was lying next to the sink, and finally made it out into the dimly lit hall.
Making the same trip she had the night before – a time that seemed aeons ago – she crept down the hall and slid the keycard through the scanner at the door she sought. Tip-toeing in, she found the bed she was looking for and snuck under the covers, making sure for the moment to keep her shirt down, and began stretching an arm to wrap around the still warm form next to her.
Her hand barely crossed the other girl though before it stopped at the soft but firm pressure of a hand around her wrist. She caught her breath. She should have expected Risako would wake when she joined her, because she always seemed to, but for some reason this time it was a surprise. Maybe her wits were still being slowed by her exhaustion and the chemicals in her system.
She tried to reach down and take the hand that held her, but instead her arm was pushed back. She now found herself staring at the fluffy but sleep-deformed hair on the back of Risako’s head with her arm in a slightly uncomfortable twist being held back by one the other girl wrapped around herself. Still, there was silence for a moment.
“Please go…” Risako requested in a voice barely above a whisper. Miyabi froze, uncertain what to do in this new situation. The girl released Miyabi’s wrist and pulled her hand back in front of her, shifting a little as if curling in tighter to herself, becoming further away from Miyabi.
“What?” Miyabi finally asked, confusion and other emotions swirling in her head allowing the headache from earlier to return, except this time it felt like little men were pounding away with sledgehammers inside it.
“I… I don’t want you here, Miya,” Risako replied, and Miyabi could now sense obvious tremors in her voice. “I can’t do this any more. I’ve… moved on.”
Miyabi nearly broke out in a sweat at the bone-chilling cold she suddenly felt inside her, cold that the blankets and the warmth from the girl, still near her, couldn’t touch. She still didn’t know what to do for a moment, even though the command was obvious. It was just so… shocking. Maybe she should have known that since things seemed to be pretty rocky between them the last twenty-four hours things wouldn’t be the same any more, but the reality in front of her and staring her in the face – or rather, staring the opposite direction away from her – was unbelievably cold and harsh.
After that moment however the other girl didn’t move, and there was silence between them. Miyabi finally came to grips with the idea that she wouldn’t say anything else, and if Miyabi tried to hold her again, she would surely be rejected. Slowly and distantly, as if she was watching someone else’s body move, she slid out from the covers and off the side of the bed, standing perfectly still to its side while watching Risako, who still showed no signs of movement or even life.
Taking all this in yet unable to think at all, she tore her eyes away from the still form below her and walked slowly toward the door. She hoped, wished to hear something from behind that would wake her from this nightmare, but nothing came, and she was out in the hallway, leaning her back against the door.
What just happened…? she thought to herself. She was acting like a little girl is what was happening. She couldn’t handle this… rejection. Rejection was an emotion she wasn’t used to feeling. She always got what she wanted. And apparently she wanted Risako. Or did she? She hadn’t hardly talked to the girl for months before slipping into bed with her the night before because she wasn’t sleeping well. Even then, the next day they hardly spoke. Why would she want someone in a totally unreasonable way? Why…
Before she caught herself, she felt the bottom of her first slam back against the door behind her. She froze again then, hoping she didn’t wake anybody within. Or maybe she wanted to. The girl probably fell asleep right after she left her bed… Damn her! This time, the sharp pain of the scrapes from earlier throbbed after both her fists came away from the door.
The next second she was running down the hall. She didn’t know where she was going; she didn’t care… She just wanted to run. The pain in her head and her hand grew. She just wanted it to end. She wanted the pain to stop.
She ran through dim hallways and bright hallways. She ran down stairs. Somehow, after going through one more door she found herself outside, crickets chirping around her, and slowed as she felt bushes brush against her legs. She wouldn’t cry for a pointless reason… She wouldn’t!
Still though, the sound of crying came to her ears. She tensed herself to try to force it to stop, but it didn’t. Why didn’t it stop? Why…?
She looked around. She wasn’t the one crying. The pain must have blinded her. No, that wasn’t the right word. It deafened her. Creeping as quietly as possible – very easy in her long thin shirt, though it obviously wasn’t the best outerwear, especially with no pants – she thought she managed to zero in on where the soft noises were coming from. Slipping around a large bush she found a small dark form, and her breath caught.
“…Captain?”
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Captain? Aww, don't cry, what's wrong?
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;+;
You made me sad ;+;
I need reasons, logical reasons! To explain all the sudden drama and mini-angst!!
>w<
.....
Yeah, You should totally update the next chapter like right now, right at this minute
Do it!
Post!! Who cares if you have 2 comments right now, update! >_>
You should do it because I said so and I have the power of cheesecake...
O_O
C'mon~ Don't make a girl wait, it's rude!!
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ow poor captain. her b/f probably broke up with her
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Oh, last update was intense, and intriguing... :yep:
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Anyone want some Captain? You seem worried about Captain. :) Let's have some Captain!
Chapter 9
Saki raced down the hall to put as much distance between herself and the girls’ teasings she could. She was used to them by now of course. Far be it for their great and honorable Captain to have a boyfriend - they all know how well that worked out with Morning Musume - but that didn’t mean she necessarily still liked it. Most of them hadn’t met Jun-kun since she still had to keep things reasonably under wraps, but sometimes she wished they’d understand how great a guy he was. And he sure was great…
She began to slow as she neared her dressing room, and while she changed into her casual clothes consisting of long tight cut-offs, a cute yellow-striped shirt, ball cap and shades, she had a constant silly grin on her face while thinking of him and the dinner that would be so great this afternoon. She hadn’t seen him since arriving in Saitama because he lived in Tokyo and only made the trip out to catch the afternoon concert, so she was excitedly looking forward to the dinner and what he had to say about the concert.
Pulling her cap tightly over her ears, she pulled out her cell phone and checked for any more messages. There was one.
I’m outside. Come save me, these people are crazy!
She giggled to herself as she read it. He sure had quite an opinion of the wotas. He wasn’t one himself – she met him while staying at a hotel in Tokyo once – but she told him he should start following their ways if he was going to keep coming to their concerts like this. He of course wasn’t a fan of that idea, but could not deny its sense and sound reason! Saki was a reasonable girl, after all. All of her Berryz loved her and thanked her time after time for her sound and reasonable advice. She tried her best in leading them and setting an example for them as their senpai. Well, she supposed she was unreasonable about some things of course…
A blush came to her face as she walked through the halls to the exit. Thankfully nobody came up to her while she was dressed like this and asked her why a (puny!!) girl like her would be walking around back here. She guessed the ones that did earlier must have spread the message around well. Of course, they had good motivation to… Her blush faded into an evil grin.
That grin didn’t last for long though before she sighed. Yes, quite a strong and reasonable girl. Except when it came to love. When she liked someone, whenever things started to involve that person, she seemed to lose all control and her aura of maturity. For a long time, in fact since she became Captain of Berryz, she hadn’t had someone she liked, so it wasn’t an issue… until lately. She met Jun and…
“Hey there Shooting Star.”
She paused as she passed the fence closing in their private loading area, staring at the boy in a hoodie and dark blue jeans who was leaning against the wall. “What…?” Shooting star? Was he talking to her?
“Yeah.” He straightened up and walked toward her. “When I look at that beautiful girl up on stage, that’s what I see. Of course, it also makes me feel like punching all the other drooling guys around me in the face…”
Saki giggled at that, not noticing a slight blush. “You didn’t do that I hope… Did you?”
“Well,” he said, holding his wrist and cracking his knuckles, “Just the one that cut in line for the washroom during intermission…”
She reached up and grabbed his wrist. Unfortunately, he was at least a dozen centimeters taller than her, so she had to look up into his face as close as he was. Of course, she had to do that to nearly everyone. “Didn’t I tell you not to lie to me like that?” she said with a smirk.
Jun stared back down at her with eyes slightly widened. “Did anyone ever tell you you’re too smart?”
“All the time!” she responded, smiling, and began to dash off toward the street, pulling him along.
“Hey! What are you doing? I can’t have some little girl pulling me along the street like a pet… If anyone saw me, I wouldn’t be able to show my face out-of-doors ever again.”
“Live with it!” she called back, but slowed down to allow him to catch up and walk at her side. She looked around, and satisfying herself that no one was paying any attention to them, slipped her hand down from his wrist to twine her small fingers into his, looking back up to his face and smiling. “So, where are we going for dinner?”
He hesitated for a second before responding, making her smile turn into a slight frown. “I was supposed to pick a place? I thought you’d have somewhere special all set to commemorate your big day. Plus, weren’t you treating? You’re the one making millions of yen a year…”
She squeezed his hand. Hard. “You didn’t find a place?! What are we supposed to do then? Oh, and you are most definitely treating sir… This is my big day after all!”
He didn’t respond, but looked up as if thinking about it, holding a finger to his cheek. “Hmm, well then if that’s the case, I guess since we have no other choice how about…” He stopped walking suddenly, pulling her to a stop next to him. “…here.”
Saki, who was about to take the hand she was holding and make him strangle himself with it, looked up at the building they stood next to, and her mouth fell open. In big bold stylized characters, a sign running up the wall pronounced “Shooting Star Sushi”, with smaller characters below it continuing “at the Arena”.
She finally regained her senses after a minute and looked back to Jun, her mouth still slightly open. The boy was looking cautiously back at her as if unsure what she would do. “Do you think this will do?” he asked quietly.
Saki broke into a smile. “I think it should do wonderfully.” Jun relaxed into a smile as well finally, and the two walked into the restaurant, still hand-in-hand and walking even a bit closer than before.
Dinner was as wonderful as she hoped. Roll after roll of sushi came to her and she ate it all up. It was so delicious! Jun seemed to have his share as well, though Saki noticed he kept careful track of what he had. That momentarily made her feel guilty about all she was eating. After all, what he said earlier was true. She was the one that made millions of yen a year. Jun was just a concierge at the Tokyo hotel she met him at. He was probably lucky to make half what she did, and he was two years older. Of course, she hadn’t made that much until recently either, when high school became a lesser priority and her role as Berryz Captain became more complex. Well, it was just momentary; she did treat most of the times they went out, and today was her day. It was their day really… She thought back to what her girls might be doing for dinner.
“And… Oh, when I was walking out of the arena, two girls came up to me and just started making out with me… You aren’t listening to me, are you?”
Saki broke out of her reverie and stared at him. “What?” She looked down at her food, but her chopsticks were just clanging against an empty plate. Where did it all go?
Jun chuckled. “I thought I lost you for a minute there.”
“I’m sorry,” Saki said, laying her chopsticks down and smiling over at him. “I was just thinking of the other Berryz.”
Jun leaned back in his chair and studied her face closely. “They’re really important to you, aren’t they?”
“Yeah they are,” she responded. “They look up to me for some reason…” She traced a line on her plate, though she still smiled. “They’re my girls. They deserved a day like today.” She noticed what she was doing and how silly it was and stopped, pulling her cell phone out to check the time before looking around. “Hey, I’d better get going…”
Jun rose quickly and crossed to her, proffering a hand. She took it gratefully with a smile and he pulled her up. “You really do have the most beautiful smile,” he said softly. Saki looked into his eyes trying to read them, but couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Then she lowered them with a blush, staying silent as they walked toward the door.
Once outside they walked quietly hand-in-hand back toward the arena. When they reached a sheltered spot not far from the fence behind it, they stopped and looked at each other. “When can I see you again?” Saki asked, holding his hand up in both of hers between them.
He didn’t respond for a moment while looking into her eyes. “How about tonight? Although I’m going back to Tokyo now…”
Saki broke into a wider smile. “That sounds perfect! I haven’t told the girls yet, but Miki Fujimoto is having a party for us. She lives in Tokyo, so I wouldn’t have to go far.” She paused for a second, her smile fading slightly. “…Where would we meet?”
“How about my apartment?” he asked without hesitation.
She hesitated, however. His apartment? She’d never been to a boy’s apartment before… But as she looked into his eyes, she knew she trusted him. “Okay then,” she responded with a nod.
He smiled. And then he leaned down and she felt his lips on hers. Her world dissolved like it always did when they kissed, and for a while she just melted as his arms pulled her close and she tip-toed up toward him.
Then, too soon, he pulled away, still with his arms around her as if for support. She wasn’t sure she didn’t need it. “Well. Later then,” he said. “Mail me when you’re able to leave the party.”
“I will,” she breathed. She felt his arms unwind from her, and then he was gone, with her staring after.
“Captain!” came a high-pitched voice from behind her. She turned around to see Momo walking toward her. “I see you’re back too, huh? Have a good dinner?” she asked with a sly grin.
“Yes,” Saki smiled back. “The dessert was to die for.”
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aww, saki going back to his apartment? naughty, naughty!
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Gah! I wanted to post a comment for chapter 8 since the weekend but I can't think of anything to say except that it was great. It was kinda unexpected for Risako to drive away Miya like that but maybe she's just confused with what her true feelings are. :cry:
And yay for Captain love! Shooting Star fits her real well too. I just hope Jun doesn't do anything bad too her :mon zoom:
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He didn't try to take advantage of her, did he? Err, why I oughtta... :angry:
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Chapter 10
The evening concert couldn’t have gone any better. All the girls nailed their lines. They reacted very well to each other. Saki was very proud of how far they all had come. The smiles and cheers from the girls afterwards seemed to indicate they felt the same.
After changing, Saki accompanied Chinami and Maasa – the only two girls ready aside from Yurina, who she had a special mission for – out behind the arena to gather for the trip to Fujimoto-san’s. The two other girls were hyper as always, although Maasa seemed to be trying hard to scare the slightly older girl as much as she could. Usually Saki would try to stop something like that, but she didn’t want to get too involved again and have a Chii-chan accessory for the party.
“By the way…” she began, but Maasa cut her off.
“So who all is coming? I’m so excited! Mikitty throws the best parties, and this one is even going to be at her house!” The girl’s eyes were wide as with awe at the idea of treading in that most sacred of places in Hello! Project social lore.
Saki held her tongue. If only these girls knew the kinds of things that really went on in that place… Well, maybe they’d get a taste of it tonight. She looked between the two girls, Chinami now also with an expression of wonder and awe. A tear nearly came to Saki’s eye. They were almost all grown-up now…
“I told Momo about it before the concert. I think that was part of the reason she was even bouncier and squeakier than usual. So she’s definitely coming. When coming to meet you guys I ran past Rii-Rii’s room and shouted at her about it. She said enough to let me know she heard me but I couldn’t tell anything else from her mumbling… I also sent Kuma-chan to tell Miya. Those two always take the longest to change, so I imagine they’ll be out at some point…”
She had thought about not telling Risako about it since that was one girl she still wanted to try to preserve whatever innocence was left in her, and she was afraid a party at Fujimoto-san’s would forever cause that line to be crossed, but with the rest of them going there was no way she could leave her out. Still, she held out some hope she might not show up…
However, all four girls eventually did show up. Risako made it just before Saki was going to take the rest and leave her behind. Saki also stared at the girl’s long legs underneath shorts that were barely long enough to be called such. With those and a face like hers, she’d be lucky to escape the house tonight with any sort of faux innocence intact. Sighing in resignation though, she joined the girls in heading toward the station.
The ride over was uneventful, and aside from a bit too much teasing once they left the train they all kept together until they arrived at Fujimoto-san’s. The place was exactly as she remembered it. She’d sworn she wasn’t going to drink since she wanted to be at her best for Jun later on, but Fujimoto-san almost clung to her as soon as she walked in the door. First it was just congratulatory, but then she began offering cup after cup until Saki became annoyed enough and caved in.
After her second drink she was still quite composed – for such a small girl she had quite a head for liquor – although she did feel a bit more relaxed and loosened up. Miki however must have underestimated her, and Saki found out the girl’s true intent. With Yoshizawa-san’s upcoming graduation and Miki’s looming tenure as leader of Morning Musume, the woman apparently thought Saki, in her years at the helm of her own girls, had all the answers! She tried to help the best she could, but couldn’t really get out of her mind the ridiculousness of a twenty-two year old asking a fifteen year old for leadership advice. In hopes of making the woman realize it, Saki decided to give her something to chew on.
“You know, the main thing that will help you be a great and independent leader is to have support for yourself. Make sure you get a lover as soon as possible.” Of course everyone knew the rumours of her and Matsuura-san, and although Saki knew nothing was happening with them, she wouldn’t be surprised if things ended up that way. “You’ll be able to be much calmer in the face of whatever stresses might rise, and you’ll always have someone to fall back on if nothing goes right and everybody hates you – which will happen.” That much was true. There were times when things were rocky with her girls, but ever since she met Jun they just seemed to feed off her energy and visibly appreciated her. Of course, that wasn’t her point in talking to Miki. She just hoped her fifteen year old self talking to a woman seven years her senior about lovers would be what clicked in that warped mind of hers and made her realize Saki didn’t know what she was talking about and make her leave. Well, it did succeed in making her leave, but the thoughtful face the woman showed as she sauntered away caused Saki’s brows to knit. After watching her disappear behind a door, she whipped out her cell phone and opened a new mail message.
I can’t stand this any more. Take me away!!!
She grinned as she pressed “send”, all thoughts of strange older girls gone. She’d spent long enough here now. It was time to go have some real fun. Sipping the last from the cup in her hand and setting it on a table, she went through a door opposite the one she was just watching, carefully dodging a small ball flying across her path followed by a screaming Tanaka-san.
Once in the other room, she scoped it a bit and saw Miyabi sitting quietly on a couch, twirling a cup in her own hands. Immediately her expression fell into one of concern. All of her girls would have fun tonight! Strolling on over there, she slid smoothly into the seat next to the younger girl and pulled her feet in toward her lap.
“Fun party, huh?” she asked. She hid a grin as she immediately heard a crash and other noises from back past where she just came from resulting in a yell from Miki. Apparently the woman wasn’t taking her advice too much to heart.
“Everybody seems to be having a great time,” Miyabi replied in barely more than a mumble. Saki looked over at her, but the girl was still staring at her hands and that cup.
“It doesn’t look like you are though, Miya-chan.” Miyabi finally tore her eyes away from below and looked into Saki’s.
“I’m just tired,” she said, before apparently losing her will and letting her face fall back toward the cup that must have been quite something for all the attention she paid it. “Being the center of attention all the time is hard work, you know.” Saki widened her eyes at the smirk she saw when the girl said that. Miya and Risako seemed to be the hardest ones for her to deal with. The rest of the girls, possibly excluding Momo, just seemed to enjoy having all the opportunities that came to them. Those two however always seemed to have stars in their eyes lately as if they thought they would really be special some day. Saki didn’t tell them so of course to make sure they didn’t get big heads, but she thought they would too. They already were, really. They’ll definitely make of themselves far more than her. She worked hard, but that could only get her so far. Jun really helped her realize there are always other meanings to life out there.
She chuckled before responding and dropped her own gaze. “Maybe I should tell Tsunku to give you fewer lines. Or maybe just separate you and Rii-chan for once during a concert. You always seem to tire yourself out most in those songs.” Miyabi stayed silent after that, though from the corner of her eye Saki thought she saw the girl tense up. Ahh, it seemed she’d hit a nerve. Those two always did seem to have more going between them than their performances. Saki also swore she saw Miyabi creeping from Risako’s room some mornings when they weren’t assigned to the same one. “Are you two all right?”
“O-of course we are,” the girl responded quickly. She was such a bad liar. “You know us. We don’t let anything get us down.”
Saki smiled. “I try not to get involved in the personal affairs of my girls… But you know I’m always willing to listen if one of you wants to talk.”
“I do know, Captain…” Miyabi began as if reassuring her Captain of something. “I guess it’s just complicated. And I made it more complicated last night, I think…”
Saki smiled softly to herself. Yes, much more than meets the eye. She decided she’d try to share with this girl some of the joy she felt lately herself. Love really was a wonderful thing. Noticing that the other girl seemed almost about to cry, she wrapped an arm around her, taking a deep breath, and went for it. “Does it have to be complicated?”
Miyabi turned toward her. “What do you mean?”
Saki hugged the girl closer. These were the situations that made her happiest. Some of her girls might accomplish much more than herself, and she greatly respected Miyabi, so she felt proud when she could do even the slightest thing to help them out with one of the few things she knew. “Most of the time it’s only complicated in your mind, when in reality it’s as simple as anything could be. Whatever you did last night, did you get a complicated reaction?”
“…No,” Miyabi answered after a moment. “There was really no reaction other than that it was… nice…”
Saki smiled. Well that was more than she expected the girl to say. She looked toward her and caught her eyes, which stared back intently. The girl did have the most beautiful and deep eyes… “It sounds pretty simple to me, then,” she said almost as if in a wistful sigh. “After tonight’s festivities are done, you should see what you can do to ‘make things complicated’ again. It doesn’t sound like a bad thing to me.”
Miyabi stared back for what seemed the longest time. Saki secretly enjoyed the connection the two shared right now until Miyabi broke it to look down. Only the best for her girls…
“Thank you… Captain…”
“Don’t mention it!” Saki suddenly burst out.
Neither of them could say more before Saki felt her phone vibrate between them. Excitement bubbling up inside her at what it should be, she hurriedly pulled her arm from around the girl and tugged it out of her pocket, clicking it on. She smiled at what she saw, trying her best to hide the blush that suddenly infused her face.
Well then, don’t keep me waiting…
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;+;
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I want to know moooorrreee~
Update...
in fact..you should Double post!! =D
with you know...TWO chapters *cough* >_>
Update faster please =D
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Setting Cap'n up to take a fall?
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Why do I have such a dirty mind for the upcoming chapter?
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Don't kill me... :heart:
Chapter 11
“Sorry Miya, I have to go,” Saki spluttered out, trying to maintain some sense of composure. “I already had plans for tonight, but I just had to make an appearance here…” She stood up and cast a glance back at the seated girl. “You’ll be all right?” The girl nodded, though Saki couldn’t see her face. She thought she should maybe comfort the girl a bit more, but her anticipation was beginning to kill her. “Just be yourself!” she called out, almost kicking herself for such a lame farewell, but ran out of the room and then the front door. At least she still had sense enough to check cautiously for a potentially lurking Fujimoto-san on the way.
Once she was outside, she confirmed Jun’s address and almost ran to the station, finding the right train and taking it to his neighborhood. It wasn’t quite as glamorous as Miki’s, although she was never too worried walking the streets of Tokyo, but between anticipation and anxiety still walked quickly until she came to an intercom near the door of a tall mansion. Finding his number, she pushed the button and waited.
“Hello?” came the reply through the speaker.
“Um… hello… This is Saki…” Excitement was really starting to fade into nervousness now.
“Well step right up m’lady,” came the response, and she giggled as he buzzed her in.
Once inside, she found an elevator and rode it up to his floor. After leaving it and coming to his door, she knocked softly. Almost right away it swung open and a smiling Jun stood in the same clothes she saw him in earlier, minus the hoodie, and waved her in. “Welcome to my humble abode…” he said with a grin.
Once inside, she looked around. It really was a small place. There was a living room large enough to fit one futon and his desk and television, a small kitchen off to the side, and a hall branching off the other that she imagined must have led to the washroom and bedroom. It was almost as if the two of them were from different worlds…
She twitched as he walked past her, heading over to the loveseat and dropping down into it. He slid down as if slouching and draped an arm across the back behind the seat next to him. “I know it’s not much,” he said, looking around. “In fact, I’m kind of ashamed to show it to you…”
“Don’t be,” she said quickly, stepping into the living room herself. “It’s your home. That’s all that matters.” He smiled, though Saki thought she detected a hint of sadness in it.
Looking down at the seat next to him and back up to her, he asked, “Well, would you like to join me?”
Saki nodded and walked over to sit next to him. Feeling the warmth of his body, her surroundings faded and all she could sense was him. She sidled next to him and wrapped an arm of her own around his waist, snuggling her head against his shoulder.
“Did you have a nice evening?” he asked, stroking her hair.
“Mmhmm,” she responded. This truly was the perfect day. Perfect concerts, perfect dinner, perfect friends… and a perfect ending. “I think I even touched two lives tonight. Apparently sometimes being Captain has its advantages.”
She felt a finger on her chin, and it tilted her face up to his, which was looking back earnestly. She blushed. Then she blushed more realizing she couldn’t hide it. His expression never wavered. His eyes were deep and thoughtful. She thought she could lose herself in them…
“Am I one of them?” he asked, and leaned in for a kiss that Saki returned eagerly. His arm slid behind her neck holding her mouth against his, but she wouldn’t have moved it away for the world. She wrapped her other arm around the front of his waist and they pulled each other close. The world really could not have been more perfect.
They shared seemingly endless kisses until Saki felt his hand slide slowly down her side. She didn’t think much of it at first until it dipped below her waist. Then she became more nervous at what he was doing and tried to pull her mouth back from his. His arm around her neck wouldn’t let it budge though, and her resistance seemed to only spur him on. What was he doing? They were getting along great, but she was still only fifteen. As he continued, even though everything had been perfect, she realized she most definitely was not ready to go that far.
She began struggling against him, using her hands to try to push herself away, but he wouldn’t let her go until suddenly after putting all her strength into it she was able to break free and jump back from the couch. He looked up at her with wide eyes, although she was sure they couldn’t be as wide as her own.
“What’s wrong with you?” she breathed in not much more than a whimper while hurriedly re-buckling her belt. “Couldn’t you tell I was uncomfortable?”
He just continued to stare at her. Why didn’t he get up to comfort her? Not that she would have let him. Why didn’t he show any emotion??
“I just thought you were getting into it,” he said slowly.
“Getting into it?” she asked incredulously and almost frantically. “Getting…” Ok Saki, calm yourself down. This was just a misunderstanding… Be reasonable. “Okay. Did you notice my pushing away from you there? That meant I wanted to stop...”
“Stop?” he asked, and his expression changed as his brows furrowed. “You wanted to stop?” Finally he stood up and took a step toward her, though she took a step back. “You kiss me like you do… You come to my apartment… I could even smell alcohol on your breath… I thought girls like you did stuff like this all the time!”
Saki tried to keep her mouth closed. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Girls like you???
“I put up with an awful lot from you…” he said, turning away. “I really do…” What was he talking about? He hesitated for a moment before turning back to her with a glare unlike any she’d ever seen, and it caused her to step back again, though this time she felt herself halted by a wall. “So I think I deserve something in return!” He started toward her, and she cried out before darting quickly to the side and toward the door. One of the few talents she did have was a quickness that benefited her in things such as dancing… and apparently this as well. Although, she never could have imagined this one.
At the door, she turned back to see him leaning toward the wall she just moved away from, stretching his fists out against it. “Why are you doing this…?” she asked in a voice she was trying with all her might to keep composed.
“Get out…” he nearly growled after a hesitation. She could see his whole body tensing as it pressed against the wall. “I don’t want to see your face again…” Suddenly he pulled away and turned to her. “Get out!!”
Saki didn’t need any more urging. She tore the door open and slammed it quickly shut behind her, running down the hall to the elevator. She lost almost all sense of time as she barely kept herself from running from the building down the street to the train. While waiting she paced back and forth, trying to rationalize everything that had just happened. It was a dream. It was a nightmare. It had to have been! She was becoming like Chinami… only worse… The girl wasn’t insane.
On the train ride she buried her head in her hands, hugging into herself as she kept up her strength not allowing herself to cry. Eventually she managed to clear her mind of all thought and just looked out the window at the passing lights.
Back at Saitama, she walked calmly to her hotel; past all the staff; into her room. Nobody was there yet. She’d shut off her phone long since because she didn’t know if she could stand to hear a message come in. Now she turned it on. Nothing was there.
She sank down at the foot of her bed holding her phone with both hands between her legs, lowering her head. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. What went wrong? She always had the answers… Where was her answer now? A teardrop fell onto her phone. Was she finally crying? The silence of the room around her echoed through her head. Yes, it was time to cry.
She shook as she fully broke down, her breathing becoming wracked with sobs. Let me cry… Let me cry… After a minute she regained some sense of herself. This room wouldn’t be vacant for long. She couldn’t be found crying here. She was the Captain; she had to be strong. She had to be strong no matter what…
Rising quickly, she tossed her phone onto her bed and ran out the door before walking quickly down the hall, trying to stall her tears as much as possible. She knew there was a private courtyard below. That was where she should go. Eventually she made it there and crawled past bushes with crickets chirping before curling into a ball behind one. There was no reason to hold it in any more. She let herself go for what seemed like ages. Ages, at least, until…
“Captain…?”
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I want at least 5 comments before I post my next chapter. :P It shouldn't be hard, because at least that many have even responded so far and it shouldn't be a problem considering the subject matter above... Thanks all for reading. :) Your comments make me happy!
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O.. wow I held my breath the whole time I read this chapter, i dont know but im getting little chills. at least the worst didnt happen
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Comment number 2 man...
>_>....you should like...
Toss the minimum comment thing because ya' know..I Commented >_> *cough*
C'mon...update the next chapter you know you wanna
The chapter was for me like this
:OMG: :dizzy: :depressed: :err: :fainted: :frustrated: :pleeease: :scared: :scolding: :shock: :tantrum: :temper:
o_o...yeah...
Update~
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-materializes out of lurk-mode-
D: Captainnnnnnn... ><;;
That really bites. T________T
At least he didn't like... rape her or anything.
That's what I was thinking was gonna happen. o_o
Buh~ I'm a bad commenter. ><;; I should keep up better. XD
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That Jun's a playa! :mon zoom: Good thing he wasn't able to do anything 'drastic' to Captain.:mon geek: but still, Captain!!!! :gyaaah:
Know what? Captain should get even but she's too nice, I can't imagine her thinking about stuff like revenge.
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-materializes out of lurk-mode-
Comes out of lurk mode too XD
What a jerk. I had someone try to do that to me when I was 15 (he wasn't my b/f thou). But he was only 15 too and luckily very drunk. Was able to push him away enough times until he fell asleep!! :lol: So I feel very sorry for Captain.
Great story. I can't stop reading and I agree with Loser87 ~ update the next chapter!!!!
(plus ~ more Risako please :D)
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I knew it! That bastard! Grrr, let me at him, I'll rip him to peices!
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Aww thank you all! :) :heart: I'm glad to hear from all of you - the ones who I've seen before as well as the ones who I haven't. :)
rndmn: Lol, yep you guessed it early. ^^; Although, it wasn't terribly hard to predict. You knew something was going to happen, and I was setting her up well. >.>
Lolli: Hey! Nice to hear from you! I've not seen you around here yet. :) I'm sorry to hear you had a bad experience too :/ That's part of why I did it how I did though - things that really do happen, so it's easier to relate to. Anyway, things shall get better from now on. ^^ For awhile at least... :ph43r:
Edit: Oh, I forgot to say!! There will be much more Risako soon! :D
Wordy: Captain is too nice, isn't she? :)
Fimmy-chan: Hey there! I've gotta keep up with you and Loser's Senjou more >.>. It's interesting how you guys thought she might get raped. While something of that nature is very possible in my stories, I just can't quite do that to Berryz yet... :oops:
Loser: :heart: as always. ^_^ You are so impatient! Even though I do write a little ahead, if I post too fast I might not get the chance to write for a little while and you'd be out for several days! Like, that might happen after I do what I'm going to do now... I tell you, you guys quickly got to me. :P
modesta: Glad to see you're getting into it. :) Here's a little something to relieve a bit of the tension...
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Chapter 12
Miyabi and Saki stared at each other, one with wet eyes and the other’s anger quickly dissipating. What is Captain doing out here? And crying! Miyabi didn’t think she’d ever seen Captain cry, except at the ends of concerts. She seemed to have something for things coming to an end, but Miyabi thought that was about it. Judging by the redness around her eyes now, the whole world might just be coming to an end.
Miyabi’s eyes widened as she processed that thought. First Risako told her to go away, and now Captain was sitting behind a bush crying. That was it! The world was coming to an end! She looked up into the sky, expecting to see shinigami start flying around and tossing down fire and brimstone to burn Japan away from the Earth. She fell to her knees. She was too young for the world to end!
“Miyabi-chan…” Saki breathed. Miyabi looked down at her, though the other girl was looking even lower. “…Why are you walking around outside with no pants on?”
Miyabi opened her mouth, but realized she had no idea how to respond to that, and shut it slowly. Captain looked up intensely and questioningly into her eyes, and once again she couldn’t tear her own away. Suddenly she blushed and pulled her legs tightly together and her knees up, hugging them to her chest. She remembered she was seeking some kind of comfort right now and slid over closer to Captain.
“You should be careful about that, you know,” Saki said softly. “You might catch cold.”
Miyabi greatly doubted that she would catch anything of the sort due to not having pants on, since it was really quite a mild spring night. Plus, she was used to the Saitama weather to where year-round it hardly bothered her anymore.
Both girls stayed silent for a time until Miyabi remembered how the idea of creeping into Risako’s bedroom was confirmed. “You’re bad at giving advice, you know,” she said with a grumble. She didn’t hear anything from beside her, so looked over to see Saki turned toward her with an apology on her face.
“I know,” she said. “I’m sorry.” She looked back ahead. “I was too caught up in my own matters that I let them influence how I look at everything in life. Now I know that view of things was wrong, though.”
Miyabi closed her eyes, and a vision of the curled hair on the back of a head came to her. She wanted to touch the hair, but knew she couldn’t. The curls would turn to snakes if she did, and they’d bite her fingers off. Wait. What did Captain say?
“Your own matters? Are you okay, Captain?”
Saki looked back at her, smiling underneath swollen red eyes that belied the expression. “Of course. I always am, remember?”
Miyabi wasn’t too sure. Those were awfully red eyes for someone who was always okay. Apparently she didn’t want to talk about it though, so Miyabi let the subject be.
“Things didn’t go well with Risako tonight...” Miyabi began, dropping her eyes back into her knees.
“Oh?” she heard the voice from beside her ask.
Miyabi nodded. “I’m not sure whether to be sad or upset with myself though. Nothing was ever really happening to begin with. It was probably all just in my mind.” Silence answered her this time. “I guess… there was just finality to it this time… She said she’d moved on…” Raising her head, she balled her hands into fists and dropped her knees, her legs now sticking straight out in front of her. She banged the bottoms of her fists down against them. “What does that mean anyway?! I’m not good enough for her any more? If she thinks she really has become the princess now, then…”
“That’s not what she means,” Saki broke in, and Miyabi felt a hand on her shoulder. She angrily looked at the girl beside her for interrupting her. She’d almost forgotten she was there in her tirade. The smile was there again below those red eyes, but this time it looked a bit more genuine. “You’re good enough for anyone, Miyabi Natsuyaki. Don’t let anybody tell you different.”
Miyabi stared again at the small girl. The smile now most definitely was genuine because, Miyabi thought, this time it was for her. She felt herself begin to blush again and looked away. The hand didn’t leave her shoulder though.
“I don’t know what all has gone on between you and Rii-chan…” she heard the older girl say from behind her. “But I’m sure it has nothing to do with anything you’ve done.”
Miyabi felt her eyes begin to moisten. Were the tears finally coming on? The girl had to be right of course. She and Risako had hardly seen each other for so long, and suddenly Miyabi was trying to wiggle her way fully back into the girl’s life. Who knows what might have happened during that time. She’d had school. She has her own life in her own home. Miyabi had her own life…
Well, the problem was, Miyabi didn’t really. It’s true she’s finishing up junior high, but she hadn’t been focused on school in a long time. Ever since the Berryz debut and her opportunity with Aa!, she’s known what she wanted to do. All her effort was put into perfecting her voice and her performance skills. Everybody told her how much she was improving lately. She didn’t know how many compliments she got after the all-project concerts at the beginning of the year. Of course, that led her into getting a big head, but she didn’t think it was too overboard… People really did look up to her.
She didn’t have many friends from home. That’s why, even though she was in Saitama for this concert, she always spent her time with the Berryz. They were her real friends. They were also the ones that mattered. They were her business friends. Aside from them, she was pretty much a loner ever since her brother went away to college a few years ago… In fact, that was around the time this all started. Of course Risako would have other friends. She’s such an outgoing girl. She’s probably the most popular girl in her school…
She felt an arm wrap around her shoulders, and she leaned over, now really crying. Apparently she was more sad than angry. “I’m sorry…” she sniffed after a while. “I must seem like a baby to you.” She tried pulling herself up and found herself looking down at the smaller girl.
“Don’t worry about that.” It looked like Saki was trying again to keep from crying herself.
Miyabi looked carefully into the other girl’s face. There was something there she didn’t like; something she didn’t like at all. She’d been so caught up in her own stupid matters she’d forgotten that Saki had been here crying for much longer.
“What’s wrong… Captain?” The last word came with difficulty this time for some reason. She had wanted to say ‘Saki-chan’, but propriety took over…
“I told you, I’m okay.”
Miyabi though now had about enough of this. “Saki,” she started, and the other girl’s eyes widened slightly. “Stop it. Your eyes look like somebody’s been beating on them for half the night, you’re sitting out behind a bush in a hotel courtyard at who knows what hour, and otherwise you look like somebody died. Maybe even you! Don’t tell me you’re okay…”
The other girl stared back steadily – Miyabi was amazed at her resolve – but she could tell something changed. Had she finally gotten through?
Miyabi carefully wrapped her own arm around her senpai. The girl was so small and thin she thought she could almost wrap it totally around her body. For some reason this felt very weird; sure they hugged from time to time, mostly after concerts and such, but there was something different now… It was intimate.
The next thing she knew, she was frozen in surprise when the girl leaned into her and laid her head on her shoulder. Sure, that’s what she was offering she supposed, but she didn’t at all expect Saki to accept. It was a sign of vulnerability and comfort-seeking that she thought impossible for Captain to show. If she had any doubts that something was very wrong before, they were completely gone now.
Not knowing what to say or do, Miyabi kept perfectly still for a minute while the other girl snuggled into her in an apparent attempt to get comfy. She held her hand just off the other girl’s arm until she became still as well. Then she carefully laid it down.
“You’re horrible at cuddling and comforting, you know,” came the voice from below. Saki’s head was now resting lightly just below Miyabi’s shoulder, and she could hear her sighing softly in comfort. She felt a hand take the one that laid on the girl’s arm and pull it in tighter until she was hugging her close. This all felt very strange to Miyabi, but feeling the warmth of the small body curled up against her, she felt a calming sensation as well.
“I’m sorry…” she managed finally. She closed her eyes and relaxed. It really did feel quite nice. It reminded her of the times she held Risako close through the night, but it was also different… This time she felt stronger… more secure.
“I’m glad to see you learn fast though.” The voice that spoke most definitely was not Risako’s, and she was suddenly very in the present, with the very real realization that it was her Captain she held in her arms this time, the girl whom she respected immensely and always came to for advice, the girl who always knew the right thing to say, who made Berryz such a great thing to be a part of and allowed it to be what pretty much comprised Miyabi’s life… That girl was now in her arms, making herself as vulnerable as the younger Risako ever did.
“I was crying tonight because of Jun.”
Miyabi opened her eyes, looking ahead. She was looking above the other girl, but was very conscious of what her face might look like. Her boyfriend? To hear her talk about it, he was the greatest thing that could have ever happened… How could that have made her cry?
“He… he tried to take advantage of me. But… I wouldn’t let him. I’m still too young. I’m not ready…” Miyabi tensed and involuntarily tightened her hold on the girl in her arms. He took advantage of her? Miyabi couldn’t even begin to imagine… “And when I told him that, he like… freaked out… and threw me out of his apartment…” The girl began stuttering more as she became shorter of breath, and Miyabi noticed she was crying again. Miyabi hugged her closer, and without knowing what she was doing, took her hand. Saki’s fingers twined with hers, and once again she realized how close they were. They were holding hands… like lovers… Miyabi was glad the girl’s head was below hers so she couldn’t see her blush, but she couldn’t hide it to the dark in front of them.
“I’m sorry, Saki-chan,” Miyabi finally managed to say. “I don’t… I can’t imagine how you’re feeling.” She felt something steel up inside her once again, and she forgot about her feelings about her present condition as she squeezed the girl’s hand tighter. “It’s not right that this happened to us on a day like today.” She closed her eyes, sniffling with emotion. “It just isn’t right!”
“I’m sorry you had to see today how cold and harsh a place the world is…” Saki said. “I try to protect you from it… I try to protect all of you… But it seems I can’t help but fail.”
“You don’t need to protect us from the world,” Miyabi responded quickly, shaking her head. “We’re all in it, after all. I’m just glad…” She trailed off, feeling the warmth in her arms very vividly again suddenly. I’m just glad you’re in it with me… she thought to herself.
The two girls laughed and cried a while longer about each of their problems, each never letting the other go. Eventually when they were about to fall asleep right there they both rose, parting slowly and a little awkwardly. At least that’s what it felt like to Miyabi. Saki seemed as cool as she always seemed to be about everything, despite her still-red eyes.
Their hands didn’t part though, and after they walked back up into the hotel and left to their respective rooms with nothing more than quiet “goodnight”s, as Miyabi slowly closed her door behind her she laid back against it, closing her eyes in contented thoughts. What a day…
She slowly made her way to the bed, lying down and this time not even paying mind to the other girl occupying it. As she quickly drifted off to sleep, her last thought was that when she woke, nothing was going to be the same…
___________________________________________
If I'm leaving you for awhile, at least I'm leaving you in the hands of some good fluffiness. ^-^ These are the kinds of chapters I enjoy writing most - just two girls having a conversation the entire time. You'll notice it's also probably the longest chapter of the story so far. I enjoy them, but they're hard... It's much easier when there's lots of stuff happening. This is where character comes from though, and where I fall in love with them. :) :heart:
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-fangirly sigh- Yayyy~
That was very heartwarming. <3
You're such a fantastic writer, has anyone ever told you that?
I'm pretty sure I melted.
Don't let Loser push you around, though. XD Take your time with this stuff, it's definitely worth the wait.
(Although, I have to admit I'm just as impatient. >__< It's just so good. XD)
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Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww :heart:
Also MiyaXSaki. Yay!
This is where character comes from though, and where I fall in love with them. :) :heart:
This is where I tend to fall in love with them too.
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I sense Captain/Miya!! =O
I really thought I commented but I guess I didn't oh well
I'm commenting now!
=)
Soooo....I wonder...If you're deciding to make a Risako/Miyabi/Saki Lurve triangle?
That'd be major conflict-o!!
I love it!
Anyway....WHY GO ON HAITUS WHY!?!?! :OMG:
I COMMAND YOU TO POST DAMMIT!! POST A NEW CHAPPIE!!
I can't wait, I'm not patient enough :pig cry:
Don't let Loser push you around, though
<_< The only person I'll push around is you Fimmy-chan
I'm just....nudging Rokun to update faster *cough* >_>
~Update!!!
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I sense Captain/Miya!! =O
Soooo....I wonder...If you're deciding to make a Risako/Miyabi/Saki Lurve triangle?
That'd be major conflict-o!!
I love it!
Nooooo ~ don't do it :cry: Only Risako/Miyabi :angry:
Could be quite interesting though XD
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Cap'n and Miya comfort is good! So sweet and awkward. *waves* See ya later!
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Wow, it really has been a long time since I last posted here! Well, at least I warned with a suggestion of a hiatus. ;) I'm sure everybody will forget everything and not many will read anymore, but it's not too long to re-read or catch up with, and... Well, I hope a few of you still :heart: me. ^_^ The day after: things begin to change a little bit... ;)
Chapter 13
Miyabi woke slowly the next morning, and the first thing she saw was her roommate sitting backwards in a wooden chair not far from the bed and apparently watching her while munching on some rice cakes. She took a minute to orient herself and be sure that what she was seeing wasn’t another dream – she’d had many quite pleasant, but rather embarrassing, ones over the night – but the other girl only kept munching and watching.
“I know I’m the cutest thing ever when I’m sleeping, but you’re starting to freak me out you know, Maa-chan…”
Maasa kept silent for a little longer as she finished up a cake and brushed her hands together. “I’m trying to decide something,” she said finally, her eyes not straying from Miyabi’s face. Miyabi wondered if she was drooling, but she couldn’t feel anything… Under the circumstances though, she decided to keep still and comfy.
“By the smile you’ve had on your face while you were sleeping at least since I woke up – from the fact that you were sleeping that well next to me at all - I would guess either you must have been having the greatest dream in the world, or you just had a really good night last night.” She rose from the chair and picked it up, stuffing it back under the table nearby before turning back to Miyabi.
“However, since you are here, and not somewhere else… I kind of have to throw out the second option. Still, dreams don’t make much sense either. So!” She hopped on the bed, causing Miyabi to reflexively turn onto her back, and sat on her stomach. “Before you go anywhere this morning, you’re going to tell me what happened.”
Miyabi attempted to breathe, which was difficult with the mass above her, and looked up at the ceiling, closing her eyes for a moment. She tried to relax herself. There were worse things than being basically woken up in the morning by a large girl sitting on you.
“Last night I went to Mikitty’s party with you all and had a bit to drink… like you all… And then I came back here and went to bed. Does that explanation suit you?”
Maasa studied her face closely as if its appearance would tell her that Miyabi was lying. She was, of course. Or at least, she wasn’t telling the whole story. She was a good liar though, so she felt she would be relatively safe. The narrowing of the girl’s eyes though told her she was wrong.
“I don’t believe you,” she said, confirming Miyabi’s guess. “And since that means you’re lying to me, I’m going to have to tell Captain as well. We’ll see what she can wring out of you about what naughtiness you were involved with last night.”
Miyabi grinned widely. “Go ahead. Tell Captain. I’d be interested to see what she’d have to say…”
Maasa’s eyes widened at the insubordinance and with a frustrated groan jumped off the prostrate girl and walked to the washroom. “Don’t bother needing to use this for a while. I’m going to be in here a long time…”
Miyabi looked at the ceiling, filling her lungs since she was unable to with the girl on top of her, and waited for her lower body to wake up again. There might be worse, but there definitely were more pleasant ways of waking up in the morning. Well, she supposed she deserved it in return for the morning before.
Thinking of that time, even after she became comfortable again, she lay there while the events of the previous day flashed through her mind. She didn’t know where to go from here. They would be here another day, so she’d have to deal with… everyone… somehow. Well, staying in bed certainly wasn’t going to answer any of her questions.
Sliding a sheet slowly down herself, she realized she still didn’t have any pants on. What she wore last night upon going to bed was so comfortable, and she was so tired at that very late point, that she still wore the shirt she expected to go to Risako with. Trying to stop that train of thought for the moment, she jumped up and looked toward the washroom door. True to her word, there seemed no sign the other girl would be out anytime soon. The water was just running for a bath, and Miyabi imagined she could soak forever. She certainly felt like it this morning. Cuddling and crying behind a bush for hours definitely wasn’t conducive to keeping clean.
After staring at the door a moment as her mind felt blank and not quite awake yet this morning, she wandered through it, looking around at a hallway that was still rather quiet. Sounds of some sort came from one of the doors near her that could have been real voices or just the television. She knew many of the girls liked to watch the morning variety shows.
Walking slowly, she headed to the end of the hall and a door that stood silent before her. Gathering some courage after the events of the night before, she knocked softly on it. Just a few seconds later, it was opened by a girl who still held her toothbrush in her mouth. They exchanged looks for a moment before she pulled it out and with a closed mouth tilted her head to show she had to hit the sink. Miyabi nodded, and after a short disappearance the head popped up again.
“Good morning!” Saki said with the smile she always showed in greeting.
“Good morning…” Miyabi said slowly. “Um… Do you mind if I use your washroom? My roommate is being a hog and keeping me from ours because she’s mad at me or something…”
“Sure!” the other girl responded, backing up and pulling the door fully open to allow Miyabi entrance. Saki gave her a funny look. “You’re still not wearing pants, huh?” Blushing furiously and hoping Saki wouldn’t notice, Miyabi walked in, looking around at the dimly lit westward-facing room, no sign of much lying around except for a few small piles of neatly folded shirts on a dresser.
“Um…” Saki began, still holding the door open. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” Miyabi stared at her at a loss until Saki’s eyes traveled up and down her body, making her cheeks faintly flush again. “Your, er, shirt…” she explained. “Since I’d guess you want to change, you’ll need something to change into, won’t you? I’d offer you something of mine, but I have a feeling they wouldn’t fit too well…”
That made Miyabi flush brighter at her cluelessness. It was most certainly lucky they were not the same size, because she wasn’t sure if she was ready to deal with the other girls seeing her walking around sporting Captain’s skirt. Not that they would have any reason to think anything of it. None at all.
“I’ll be right back…” she said, and ducked quickly out of the room, the other girl nodding as if Miyabi wasn’t tripping all over herself this morning. Keep your control, Miyabi… Keep your control! There’s no reason to be acting like this…
Finding an appropriate set of clothes for the day, and still hearing soft splashing coming from her own washroom, she returned to find Saki sitting crosslegged on her bed watching TV. After closing the door, she thought about approaching the other girl, but since her eyes didn’t waver from the television, she just headed on into the bath.
She came out to find the TV off and Saki gone, so she headed on out herself after supposing she should begin the day. Maasa was still in the washroom, though she supposed the girl really had no reason to leave it since the day was pretty much their own until the afternoon. Plus, Miyabi knew her friend must be loving spiting her. On the other hand, it was good she was cooped up in the room and unable to see where Miyabi had gone…
She walked back out into a silent hallway. Aside from Maasa still in the bath, the other girls apparently had already left since there were no more sounds of television or video games emanating from behind closed doors. Miyabi checked her cell. She was slightly surprised to see that it was well into the morning now. She tilted her head to the side and felt suddenly as if someone had stuffed a bag of cotton into her ear. Despite the loss of time and apparent sleepiness of the morning, the events of last night had made her give up her vow to never drink again. There was just too much that happened in life to not allow yourself certain pleasures… And, she thought, being the performer she was at least she definitely had no interest in mind-altering drugs in order to promote her “creativity”. Well, that’s what songwriters were for. Hers were more physical talents. For some reason, she blushed at that thought.
Still, she didn’t let that stop her from taking certain other… liberties… in life. She smiled thinking of what awaited her once she returned home tomorrow. The experience of yesterday was just what she needed…
“Miya-chan?” came a squeaky voice from behind that broke her out of her reverie. “Why are you standing in the middle of the hallway twirling your hair and staring at the ceiling?”
Miyabi spun, her hand flying down to her side, to see Momoko slipping out of her room and shutting the door softly behind her, scrutinizing her closely. She narrowed her eyes at the unexpected encounter. Momo must have just been getting ready to leave and so had turned anything off already that would alert Miyabi to her presence within her room. “If you must know, I was pondering the metaphysical effects of extreme elation.” Momo tilted her head, studying Miyabi as if she were a fairly uninteresting species of worm. “And for some reason, now you’re here my train of thought seems to have left for Hokkaido.”
She looked back as Momoko stared at her with her beady tilted eyes. She somewhat regretted being so harsh, but the girl was hardly nice to her lately, so she held her tongue from any sort of apology. “You’re a strange girl, do you know that?” Momo said quietly.
“Yeah,” Miya responded with a bored expression. “I hear it all the time lately. I must be doing something right.”
Momoko stepped primly closer to her, her eyes still studying Miyabi’s face. Miyabi’s bored expression evaporated into a suspicious look, and she dropped a foot back herself. Momo’s face no longer seemed to express her usual teasings, but instead made Miyabi feel like she was something caged that was being carefully examined. “Something’s changed…” the girl said after a moment. “Hasn’t it?”
Having not a clue what the girl was blabbering about, Miyabi looked down her own body. She was just wearing some snug jeans with a thin chain hanging from the pocket and a T-shirt with an English phrase she thought looked cool beneath her thick leather jacket – nothing out of the ordinary for her. “What are you talking about?” she asked in an honestly blank voice.
Momoko continued to peer at her though in silence until breaking it again after a time. “Would you like to go for some coffee?”
Caught off-guard once again, Miyabi felt her mouth hang open before she was able to respond, “Er… why?” Immediately realizing how that sounded, she hastily corrected, “O-of course.”
“Great!” Momo said, and her studious look disappeared in a flash. She bounced up to Miyabi and took her arm in her own, pulling her along the hallway, Miyabi stumbling to keep up with the other girl’s skipping trot.
They were able to find a corner coffee shop quite easily – strangely, it was just around the corner. As Miyabi felt herself wake up over the coffee, even though it most definitely didn’t help the cotton in her head which now felt the size of a giant panda, the two girls chatted about meaningless things as well as how the concert yesterday went. It was not precisely the start to the day Miyabi expected, but after a while she admitted to herself that she would have been hard-pressed to find more pleasant company. Excepting perhaps that of Saki, although she felt there also would be quite enough awkwardness involved in that to cancel much of the pleasure out.
All of this, lying underneath the edges of Miyabi’s mind the whole time, fed growing suspicions of what brought this on. Just the fact that she was having a quite relaxing and friendly time speaking with Momo was enough to throw kilos of coal on that fire. Of course obviously the girl did have many friends and surely shared occasions like this with them all the time, but occasions such as those that included Miyabi were quite rare, especially recently for some reason. Suddenly however, it was like they had just met again and each was happy to get to know the other.
Miyabi expected the conversation to at any point turn to the real reason Momo asked her out to coffee, as well as to follow up on her cryptic comment about something having changed, but as their cups were drained and their plates lightened to hold only crumbs, there seemed no sign of movement of the conversation away from chatter about last night’s party.
“And when Toku-san started scolding Mikitty’s armoire for peeing on the floor, when it was just her that had spilt her drink, and Mikitty herself came up and virtually dragged her away by her ear, I almost died!” Momoko tittered, breaking out in a fit of giggles.
Miyabi laughed along since it undeniably made a very funny image, although it was one she hadn’t the faintest recollection of as it was long past the time when she could remember anything at all. A faint feeling of envy of the girl sitting across from her pervaded her however, since she wished she had such a head for alcohol. Momo had drunk at least as much as Miyabi. Hadn’t she? Miyabi propped her head with her hand and stared out the window in thought as the girl continued going on about last night’s apparent misadventures of Natsuyaki, Tokunaga and Kumai. The girl had surely drunk as much as her. She took one pretty much as often as Miyabi herself did after they played flippy cup…
She was trying to remember if Momoko actually had played flippy cup when out of the window she saw some girls walking by that caught her eye. She raised her head slightly from her hand, still hearing Momoko nattering on, her attention now back in the present. The girls were talking to each other, but their heads also swiveled in interest at everything they passed. One, who had glanced into the window Miyabi was staring out of, came to a sudden halt, and the two with her paused soon after, looking at their friend and then into the window once they followed her eyes. Miyabi stared back at them as they shuffled their way into the shop, the shortest leading the others, of whom the youngest looked slightly reluctant to enter the shop, but curious as well along with her companions.
“Well hello there!” Saki said, beaming at the two girls on high chairs as Momo finally ceased her chittering. Yurina shared her expression, but Risako looked off to the side as if avoiding their eyes. Miyabi wasn’t really concerned with that though, and it was something she only caught out of the corner of her eye. She was doing her best to hide a blush at the wide smile Saki bestowed on her.
“Hello,” Momoko replied with one of her small squinty-eyed smiles that betrayed absolutely nothing of what she was really thinking or feeling.
Trying to avoid the infuriatingly genuine expression on the girl who barely came up to her elbow as she sat on the high stool, Miyabi saw that Yurina was now looking between Momo and herself, a questioning expression on her eyes. She didn’t look her direction, but she imagined the youngest girl appeared the same.
“How… nice to run into you two here,” Yurina said, plainly curious at the odd coupling. Miyabi and Risako normally kept to their own business or that of the group, and Yurina, Maasa and Chinami normally hung out together, and none got along incredibly well individually with Momo who was, well, rather individual. Except for Captain of course. The two of them could be seen speaking alone sometimes, but that could be said of Captain and everyone. Her non-judgmental demeanor won the loyalty and friendship of, to Miyabi’s knowledge, anyone she came into contact with. At these thoughts, she once more found herself gazing into the face of the girl in question. It was much nicer when it wasn’t red and tear-streaked, although when it was, it allowed Miyabi a peek at an inner vulnerability she had a feeling the older girl had only ever shown to very few.
“Miya and I were just talking about everything that happened yesterday. It was all great, wasn’t it!” She looked around them as if for chairs, but there were only the two at the table, which in itself was barely large enough for even the two of them. “You can… join us if you’d like…” She hesitated when she realized that there actually was no way they could really join.
“It’s okay,” Risako said, and Miyabi thought she noticed a strange insistency in the young girl’s voice she hadn’t noticed in a long time. She didn’t bear her more than a glance though before returning to the dregs of her coffee, which were unpleasant, but preferable to the frown she found on a face that was staring back at her as if trying to catch her eye. Was the girl finally going to pay her attention now? Well it didn’t matter anymore. Miyabi actually felt too confused to be around most anyone in particular, which led her to give Momo an odd look as she wondered why she had no trouble carrying on for an hour alone with her.
“We were just passing by, really,” Risako continued. “Kuma-chan wanted to do some shopping, and Chinami had just left us to go look for Maasa… You two haven’t seen her lately, have you?”
“Call Toku-san up and tell her to look in our bath,” Miyabi said, pointedly not looking at the girl she was responding to. “Maybe she’ll have drowned herself by now…” she finished hopefully, resting her head back on her hand and staring wistfully up at the ceiling.
“Now, now!” Saki laughed. “No wishing death on other Berryz! We know you want more of the spotlight Miya, but really, that’s not the way to go about it.” Miyabi’s widened eyes darted to her Captain, who was smirking back at her. Her heart had almost stopped at the scolding, but one look into Saki’s eyes told her how she meant it, and it even skipped a beat starting back up again as she burst into a smile herself.
“You don’t have to sleep next to her while she snores all night long…” she grumbled dramatically. The girls around her laughed, all having experienced that unfortunate situation in the past. All except Risako, Miyabi noticed, as her grin widened at the glance she caught of the girl’s darkened pouting face. Well, today might not turn out so bad after all.
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I'm not sure what the mood for this chapter was suposed to be but I actually found it funny. Nice to see you updated. Berryz goodies FTW
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About damn time!
Now update again! >o<
I DEMAND IT!!
sry no long prodding comments today
It's..1:25 a.m. here in Korea =O
BUT UPDATE!!! >_>
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I'm not sure what the mood for this chapter was suposed to be but I actually found it funny. Nice to see you updated. Berryz goodies FTW
There were mainly a lot of hints in this chapter of things to come that might not make much sense quite yet... :lol: It might make more sense once later chapters come out, if... that itself makes any sense. ;)
Nice to hear from you Loser. ^_^ I thought you might not be around now. Don't worry, more updates will be coming...
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Glad you updated. I really enjoyed that chapter.
Now I'm with Loser when I say...UPDATE AGAIN! :D
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Well I'm sorry to have taken so long. >.> I've just had sporadic internet access and been busy a lot while on vacation the last couple weeks... Anyway, I hope this isn't too long, but there should be plenty in it for my loyal readers. ^_^ Enjoy...
Chapter 14
The five girls eventually joined up with the two late additions, when Miyabi found out Maasa had apparently finally finished with her bath. She spared nothing in teasing Maasa about her wrinkled fingers, and though the larger girl looked like she wanted to say something several times, she held her tongue after dark glances at Miyabi, who each time perked up as if incredibly interested in seeing what the girl had to say.
As the afternoon wore on, Miyabi found that she apparently developed some nerve and was now hoping to get Saki alone for an encounter she hoped further would be much different from that morning in her room. This, of course, was exceedingly difficult as she always had at least three girls who seemed intent on gluing themselves to her sides. She was what held them all together to begin with after all, and always seemed to be at the center of things. It wasn’t that she was necessarily the “life of the party” sort of person. She was definitely extroverted, but quite content to let the other girls take the spotlight, which most of them were very happy to do. It was more like she was the moderator of their gatherings, the MC role that she performed so well even in concerts. It was one of the many things Miyabi admired about her. The girl was so popular, yet humble to a fault, never taking any glory for herself and always brushing aside her own concerns to attend to those of the other girls. This was in stark contrast to what seemed everyone else, who was so self-absorbed it was amazing their “team” held together so long. Well, Captain was the reason for that.
Miyabi respected her greatly for all of that, but she never thought any more of it than just respectfulness of their leader. That is, until last night. Last night Saki had opened up to her, and let her into a world in which she was very self-conscious. Miyabi didn’t know how many times the girl apologized to her for neglecting her Berryz whenever he came into her mind. Miyabi thought absolutely nothing of it of course – while it was rather odd to hear Saki talk about herself so much, the girl was allotted that and so much more. Since that night though, when she held the small and wispy girl in her arms, Miyabi wondered if she’d mentioned her breakup to any of the other girls yet…
“Miya-chan~!” piped a still-hyper peach girl. “Do you like the jacket that much?”
Miyabi stared in front of her into her own face. Below it she wore her normal jeans and t-shirt, but over it was a jacket she had never seen before. It was short and leather, black with red stripes where it cut off just above her belly. She swiveled her waist slightly. It did look good on her. She could imagine wearing a tee below it that was also cut off just above her midriff, and the jacket was the perfect length to show her belly button off gracefully. Yet, it still had the sort of bad girl image that she incurably was drawn to…
“I guess I do,” she said, honestly surprised. Momo looked up to her from the side, peering at her appearance. That’s right. They were shopping, and she was trying on this jacket in one of the stores they went into.
“Here,” Momo said, and thrust a pack of hangars carrying a few blouses into her chest. “Try these on. I think they will, er…” She gave Miyabi another appraising look that clearly implied she thought the pink of the blouses would look much better on her than the jacket. “You’ll be so cute in them!” And she pushed Miyabi toward the dressing rooms.
Miyabi stumbled over there awkwardly. She would never in a million years buy these blouses, and she nearly feared even putting them on to see what they did to her, although she admitted they couldn’t be much worse than some of the things she wore on stage, but she thought she’d make the girl happy to continue to try to get to the bottom of her unusual friendliness. If the girl had taken the time to get to know her before, she would realize that Miyabi wasn’t exactly into the cute princessy style as she was.
Regaining her composure, she ambled to a fitting room door, opening it and sliding in to hang the blouses on the door hook. It was only when she turned around again though that she realized this room was already occupied. She found herself blushing in mortification.
“Hello!” Saki said cheerily from centimeters away. Blessedly the girl was not fully undressed, but she still stood only in a plain white tank and denim short skirt, clearly in-between trying on some shirts of her own.
“Hi…” Miyabi said in return. She felt she would have liked to say much more, but any other words had completely left her at the moment for some reason.
Saki glanced past Miyabi at the blouses she had just hung up on the door, and her smile faltered slightly before her eyes returned to Miyabi’s face. “I see Momo-chan found some things that would be perfect for you too, huh?” She gestured behind her to another, smaller set of pink blouses as well as skirts that she’d apparently hung there and intended to try on herself. “I don’t know about mine, but I’m sure the pink in those would really set off the black in your eyes, Miya…” The corner of her mouth turned up as she finished, and Miyabi’s blush faded into a grimace.
“If you ever catch me wearing something like that apart from the stage, you’ll kill me before anyone else gets the chance to see me, right?” She said this very seriously, as well as without thinking, so she was momentarily affronted when Saki burst out laughing until she realized what had just come out of her mouth. “Oh…” she said, the flush creeping back into her cheeks. “Oh dear…” She circled the shorter girl and dropped onto the bench along the wall, dropping her head in an attempt to bury her face in her hands. Here she was, finally alone with the girl, and this wasn’t going at all as she had envisioned it.
She felt an arm around her shoulders and instinctively raised her head to look at the smiling girl beside her. “You have my word,” she spoke in a serious voice belied by the smile whose corners were trembling with apparent effort not to break out in further laughter.
For some reason though Miyabi felt quite relieved at those words, and she let her hands fall to her sides, looking back into the girl’s face. Now finally letting herself relax a little, despite the continuing awkwardness of the situation she thought she’d try to salvage what she could. “Saki-chan…” she began.
Saki looked around. “Kind of an odd place for a conversation, don’t you think Miya-chan?” Miyabi glanced too at their cramped quarters and the clothes covering two opposite walls.
“Yeah I suppose…” she said slowly, and quickly barked a short laugh. “It is, isn’t it? But Saki…” she said once more, seriously again, and Saki this time lowered her head in attentiveness. She knew when someone wanted her to listen. “I…” She’d thought about talking to the girl all afternoon, but now that she had her she apparently didn’t know what to say. “I really enjoyed last night,” she said finally, and almost bit off the last word when she realized what she’d said.
However, Saki just broke into another of her warm smiles. “I did too,” she said sincerely. “I’m sorry I bothered you with my problems, but –“
“You didn’t bother me,” Miyabi broke in quickly, leaning closer as if that would make her seem more earnest. Their faces now were almost close enough to be touching, though Miyabi didn’t seem to notice this intimacy. “I liked that you told me about it,” she said, lowering her eyes a little. “I mean, it’s totally horrible that happened to you, but thank you for… letting me in…” Her knuckles were now white as she clutched tightly at the bottoms of her shorts.
Saki was silent for a moment, so eventually she looked back up into her face. The girl was no longer smiling, but studying her closely, her face unreadable. She fought to hide another blush at the scrutiny she was being put through. It seemed like the girl was debating with herself about something. Finally though, she spoke again. “I’m still not sure why I did that…” She looked toward the door needlessly; they could hear the babble from the store behind, but no one they recognized appeared close to their room. “Miya-chan, I… I try to keep my personal matters outside of Berryz. Well, at least I tried to until he came along, but still I never really talked about him.” She was right, Miyabi realized. She and the rest of the girls obviously knew Saki was meeting him between concerts and after the party, as well as all the other times before then, but she’d never actually mentioned it. Saki looked down her nose. “And I’d still like to know how you all found out about him…” Miyabi shrugged with feigned innocence, and Saki rolled her eyes before going on.
“But last night, I don’t know, we’d both apparently just faced horrible rejection – I know you think mine was much worse Miya, but as far as what they meant to both of us they were equal enough.” Miyabi shut her mouth to cut off the point she had intended to argue. She still wasn’t sure what the girl meant, but she was obviously brooking no nonsense. “And…” Saki went on. “Well, you asked about me, and wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. I’m not used to people being like that with me. It’s usually the other way around…”
She trailed off, and the two girls stared into each others’ eyes. Miyabi felt she should be blushing at the compliment, but couldn’t do anything but look back into the warmth of the eyes in front of her. She found her gaze straying to take in the other features of the girl’s face – her bushy eyebrows, her perfect nose, her dark complexion, her lips… She just caught Saki darting her tongue out to lick them a little for some reason.
Then, a wind grazed Miyabi’s knees as the door in front of them flew open, and she flew to her feet likely just as quickly. “Oh,” came the voice from beyond it. Risako looked in between the two of them, clearly surprised by what she saw. “Miya, I didn’t know you were… er… here.” She now was just looking Miyabi up and down, disdain and some other emotion Miyabi couldn’t decipher in her face.
“I was just leaving,” Miyabi said quickly, and took a step out the door before she remembered the blouses, which she hurriedly spun back to take, noticing a once more composed and smiling Saki standing slowly herself. This bothered Miyabi for some reason until she noticed the girl needlessly brushing her skirt. Then, smiling herself, she walked off with the blouses past the girl who had interrupted them, unconsciously ignoring her in her own distracted thought.
When she had walked half-way across the store, she realized she still hadn’t tried on the blouses Momoko picked out for her. Well, there was no way for the girl to know that since she had after all gone to the dressing rooms, so rather than face herself wearing those dreadful things, she went to tell her they just didn’t seem quite right, and had them put back. Momoko seemed slightly disappointed, but thankfully did not recommend anything further for her.
While Miyabi was at the register purchasing her jacket with Momo not far back in tow, the other girls joined up with Saki and Risako bringing up the rear. Miyabi tore her face back to the sales clerk when she realized she was giving Saki a dreamy smile, which she thought the girl caught just as she looked away. She also caught a glimmer of a pout on Risako’s face as her eyes rolled past. Now what could her problem be?
They left the store and began conversing merrily until someone brought up the subject of supper since it was getting late. “This is our last day together for two weeks, so we should all eat together somewhere!” a too-cheery Chinami said, and amid murmurs of agreement the girls decided to eat at a ramen shop near the arena, fitting, they supposed, since it would remind them of the occasion.
“Well, I suppose we’re big-time now, aren’t we?” Yurina asked between mouthfuls of noodles.
“Nonsense,” Momo said with her usual primness. “We’ve always been big-time.” There were a few nods of agreement from around the table above long noodles being slurped. Miyabi wasn’t too sure of that herself, but decided not to speak her thoughts. Although, a surprising amount of kids near her age she’d met lately knew who she was and were excited about seeing her…
She looked around at the other girls. Maasa, Yurina and Momo were still arguing over the point the tallest brought up. Saki was quietly enjoying her ramen, giving smiles and short glances from time to time at the others. Miyabi did her best not to let her eyes linger there. Chinami was staring at a noodle she held in her chopsticks as if it were quite an interesting worm. Risako was just staring off into space with her mouth slightly open, her chopsticks forgotten dangling a few noodles above her bowl. Miyabi suppressed a giggle. Now that she wasn’t smitten with the younger girl, she realized how her flights of fancy must seem to the average person.
“…What do you think, Miya?” came Maasa’s voice from beside her, causing her to drop the noodle she’d just lifted back into her bowl.
“Huh?” she asked with widened eyes.
Yurina, who was sitting beside her, raised her hand and tapped her head. “Wake up! It’s not time to sleep yet! If you don’t watch yourself, we’re gonna have to start calling you Risako…” The other girls giggled, except for Saki who just smiled as she always did, and at the sound of her name the eyes of the youngest came back into focus.
“What?” she asked. They all laughed again, much to the chagrin of both the teased girls.
“Come on,” Maasa said. “Are we all done?” There was a flurry of activity, and several of the girls stood up and began the walk to the door – all except for Miyabi, Risako and Chinami, who still had noodles in their chopsticks. Chinami tried to slurp hurriedly, but Maasa took her arm and yanked her up too, whispering something to her that Miyabi thought sounded sinister while she gave shifty glances at the two still seated, and they both scurried away leaving them alone at the table. Miyabi was trying to eat her noodles quicker as well until Chinami rose, which made her just attempt to stand up and bang her knee instead, causing her to drop back into the chair. She was still rubbing it as the rude girls wandered out the door.
She looked across the table to see Risako staring at her with her chopsticks laid over her bowl and hands folded neatly on the table. Miyabi glared around. This was obviously a set-up, though she didn’t know for what.
“Miya…” the younger said in a low voice. “I want to talk to you.” Miyabi didn’t like the tone she was addressed with at all, but with her knee still hurting like it did she felt that if she tried to stand up she’d just collapse, and she did not want the girl acting the hero and picking her up off the floor.
“What is it?” she responded shortly, not in the mood for pleasantries.
Risako went on as if she didn’t notice Miyabi’s tone. “I want to know why you’ve been ignoring me all day today.”
Miyabi couldn’t help herself now and stared at the girl, the pain in her knee completely forgotten. “Are you crazy?” she asked, flabbergasted.
Risako raised an eyebrow. “Is that why? You think I’m crazy?” Her voice started to become a little angry. “And what would have given you that impression!”
Miyabi continued staring. “You’re the one who threw me out of your bed last night. You’re the one who said you didn’t want me near you.”
“I never said that!” Risako retorted, her voice rising now. “I just… I couldn’t be close to you like that!”
“Sounds the same to me,” Miyabi said bitterly. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter anymore. To take a phrase from you, I’ve moved on.” With that, she got up from her chair, the sore knee forgotten, and headed toward the door.
“Miya!” she heard the girl yell from behind her. She looked back to see her on her feet as well and leaned over the table toward her. Several other people in the restaurant now were turned toward the two sparring young teens. “Why do you keep ignoring me?”
Miyabi looked back levelly for a moment. She knew what the girl was aiming for now, but was unsure how she wanted to respond. Risako was used to attention all the time, most of all Miyabi’s, and now that she wasn’t getting it, it was driving her crazy. “We’re still friends, Rii-chan,” she said at last, trying to put some warmth into her voice. “But people, including me, do have lives aside from you,”
“No you don’t…” the younger said in a low voice, and Miyabi could sense a hint of a pout in it, although it mostly seemed quite serious.
In response, Miyabi glared at her before spinning on her heel and walking out, blood running hard in her ears shutting out the sound of any further comment the girl might have. She could just be so… so… Risako sometimes! Stalking off down the street she didn’t pay attention to where she was going, and some other pedestrians scampered quickly out of her way when it looked like she was just going to trample them. “Argh!!!” she growled not softly, coming to a sudden stop at a corner. Calm yourself Miyabi, stay calm. Let the goddess inside you… Her calming exercise doing the trick, she cast her mind about for a thought other than one involving her young friend. Strangely, Saki’s face popped up, and she donned a stupid grin. Feeling lighter now, she started forward, her eyes still closed trying to keep that picture in her mind.
The blaring sound of a horn getting quickly and immediately louder was her only warning, and her eyelids flew open as she turned to see headlights barreling toward her. She’d walked right out into the middle of the street in her trance. She started to scream, but was cut off quickly as something jarred her from the side, tossing her out of the car’s path and onto the pavement.
The next few moments happened in a daze. The screech of brakes sounded from where she’d seen the car. She felt something warm on top of her as she lay on the pavement for the second time in the past twenty-four hours. She must have developed some affinity for it. Funny, she’d never thought of that before. Was pavement a living thing?
The warmth pulled up and away from her, but was replaced by a hand tugging at hers, pulling her up. The sound of a car door shutting echoed throughout her brain, and she heard a male voice cry out, “Oh no, is she hurt?” Something swam into sight before Miyabi’s eyes and she saw a short balding man swaying in front of her ringing his hands. “And while Kiko was riding with me too…! My wife is going to kill me!”
She heard another door shut a bit more softly, and a little girl came running around the car to the man, looking wide-eyed toward Miyabi and her savior, whom she hadn’t been able to focus on enough yet to see who it was. “Oooh Daddy Daddy! They’re Berryz Koubou! Wait until I tell all my friends my daddy almost ran over Berryz Koubou!!”
“And she’s a celebrity…?” the man said in almost a whimper. His eyes rolled back into his head and Miyabi thought he was going to pass out.
“What are you doing walking out in front of a car, Miya-chan~?” rang a high yet also concerned girlish voice from beside her. She looked in that direction, although her head had now begun to throb. Momoko stood there frowning at her, her hands which had just helped Miyabi up mindlessly dusting at her skirt. Four more girls came running from the side of the street Miyabi had been headed for, and Yurina hugged her tightly.
“Miya you idiot! You can’t go and get yourself hit by a car all of a sudden…” the taller girl said from near her ear.
“Um, I hate to break this up…” Saki said looking around nervously, though contrary to her words she looked quite content to have this moment pass as soon as possible. “But we should probably get out of the middle of the street.” Chinami stood next to her with her face pale and eyes wide in horror as she looked from Miyabi to Momoko. Maasa just gazed coolly at the two hugging girls.
“Yeah…” Miyabi said in her first words since being saved by Princess Momo. “That’s probably a good idea.” Then, dragging a tall girl along with her, she stumbled over to the street side.
At this point there were now quite a few cars stopped behind the one belonging to the man with the daughter who knew about Berryz. Many of the passengers in those were peering out eagerly to see what the fuss was, although about as many also just stared stolidly forward as if nothing interesting at all had just happened. Miyabi only wondered if anyone else recognized them, although there didn’t seem to be many other young children in those cars.
Soon, a bicycle cop came riding up the side of the street toward them. He dismounted and walked over to the girls, who were still making a fuss over Miyabi. The man from the car was about halfway across the street toward them and looked unsure whether he wanted to inch slowly away or toward the apparently famous girl he almost killed. “Is there a problem here?” the officer said crisply.
Momoko looked over at him and shook her head quickly. “No no, no need to bother you, officer.” She batted her eyebrows at him. The girl actually batted her eyebrows! “My friend was just being stupid and her feet got a little carried away…”
The officer nodded, although he didn’t look entirely convinced. He looked over to the man, who froze in his creeping at the attention. “Well then, can you please return to your vehicle and be about your way? We can’t have traffic congested here.”
The man nodded vigorously. “Yes sir, officer sir. I’ll just go along here once I gather up my little daughter…” He looked around for his daughter since she had apparently escaped him somehow. The reason was that she had followed the Berryz to the curb and was standing nervously as if thinking about something. “Kiko!” the man called, walking toward her quickly. “Come on back to the car! It’s time to go…” He was obviously very eager to depart the scene without being accused of anything more than clogging traffic.
The girl’s eyes darted to her father as he moved toward her, and this apparently unstuck her legs since she made a run for the six girls standing further along the curb. “E-excuse me!” she said hastily. “Can… Can I have your autographs? If I tell everybody my daddy almost hit Miyabi Natsuyaki they won’t believe me unless I have something to prove I saw you…”
Maasa furrowed her eyebrows and gave the girl a frown, and Saki started forward as if to block the girl from drawing unwanted attention to them, but Miyabi stuck out her hand and grabbed her Captain’s wrist. Saki stopped cold and looked at her wrist before looking up into Miyabi’s eyes. Miyabi thought she detected a slight flush in her features. So she couldn’t keep her vaunted coolness throughout everything, eh?
“It’s all right,” she said toward Saki and the others before looking at the little girl with a smile. “We’ll be happy to sign something for you.”
The girl’s face suddenly blossomed in excitement at Miyabi’s words, and it was in stark contrast to her father’s, whose drew down and paled, aghast. Little Kiko dug in her bag and drew out a little pink journal, which she opened to the blank inside cover. A short pink pen was attached to it. She handed it to Miyabi. “Thank you so much, Natsuyaki-san!” she beamed. “Eriko-chan will totally flip out when I show her this!”
She gazed on hungrily as Miyabi signed the three characters of her name, along with a little message beneath it. Then she handed it toward Momoko, who eagerly took it as well, beaming back at the girl. Each Berryz signed it, if not all with Momoko’s excitement, and they waved as the father hurriedly came up to collect his child and shepherd her into the car, the officer still looking on and appearing impatient.
As the car sped on its way followed by the traffic behind it clearing up, the officer returned to his bike and rode off again as well. The Berryz girls walked off, some of them still teasing Miyabi about her spaciness. Risako had apparently joined up at some point as well, though her eyes were carefully avoiding Miyabi’s. At least she looked a little ashamed; apparently she’d listened to Miyabi at least somewhat. Miyabi also thanked Momoko profusely for saving her. The trio of Yurina, Maasa and Chinami teased her that she had a new ‘hero’, and told Risako she’d better watch out since there was a new damsel in distress in town. Risako did not seem impressed. Neither was Miyabi. Most of the other talk was nothing more than good times in their last minutes together, however.
“So…” Yurina said after a while when things became a little quieter. “We all leave tonight to go home again, and we won’t be back together for two weeks…” The other girls became silent at this pronouncement. Such a break was hardly unusual for them of course, and at times they went even longer, but they never did like parting, something amplified by the wonderful weekend they’d shared together in Saitama.
“Kuma-chan, I’ll call you up tomorrow, all right?” said Maasa. Chinami nodded fervently that she’d do the same.
This whole topic was apparently brought up by the sight of their hotel and their managers out in front of it awaiting their return. After the troublesome trio’s agreement at their communication later in the week they arrived at the staff, who greeted each of them warmly and asked them to get their things together for leaving. Miyabi always liked their staff. There were some older men, but mostly they had very pleasant and fun female college interns who accompanied them while they traveled. Miyabi’s present one, a girl by the name of Asako who studied communications, she liked very much and got along with wonderfully. Now though she was a little distracted, and quickly headed through the doors toward her room with Saki and Momoko. The other four girls were still chatting in a group with the staff.
It was a silent procession that made its way into the elevator, until Momoko spoke as it lumbered upwards. “Don’t think I don’t know what’s going on,” she said in a voice different from what she’d used all day. It didn’t have any of the bubbly or squeaky quality of before.
The other two looked at her. “What are you talking about?” Miyabi asked at a loss.
“The two of you,” the girl said simply, her hands now folded at her waist. “Let’s see. First you, Miya.” She turned toward Miyabi, who pulled back slightly as if frightened at what she would have to say.
“You’ve always unintentionally flirted with Captain, and there wasn’t a day went by that I didn’t catch you looking at her butt when she was walking away.” Miyabi blushed, mortified, and at a glance at Saki realized the other girl was flushing as well. “But, you still had Rii-chan. She always distracted you from anyone else that might have caught your fancy. However, today I noticed you weren’t paying attention to her with anything like your usual zeal.”
Suddenly, she turned the other way to Saki, and the girl stepped back further even than Miyabi did to where she was against a wall and looked like a mouse in a trap. A cute mouse, Miyabi thought with a smile as her blush faded.
“As for you Captain, you’re harder to gauge. You don’t wear your heart on your sleeve like most other people do, most of all Miya here.” Miyabi turned a frown on the middle girl. She did not – “Of course, lately it’s all been ‘Jun this, Jun that’, but I’ve noticed that when Miya does her little flirty thing with you, you definitely don’t seem to mind. Of course you smile like that to everyone, but I see something in your eye when she’s doing it. She’s the only one that flirts with you, you know, and you obviously like it.”
Saki opened her mouth as if to say something, but the girl in the center just went on, now looking between both of them. Miyabi wished they would reach their floor very soon. She glanced at the panel. Five it said… Their rooms were on nine, so they were barely halfway there… “Of course, that all had been going on for ages, but like I said, Miya has barely even registered Rii-chan’s presence today. Instead, I see the two of you sharing looks that you think nobody else notices. Miya always has this silly grin when that happens, and your attentiveness, Captain, sure isn’t much less.” Miyabi looked over at Saki. Was that true? Was Saki really that interested when they looked at each other? What Momoko had said to the other girl seconds ago suddenly registered in her mind. Wait, she flirted with Saki a lot, and Captain liked it?
“Along with Maasa’s story about her morning with Miya, I know something’s going on between you two.” She beamed a toothy smile at both of them. “And I’ll find out more later. Each of you should expect a call from me in the next few days.” The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. “Ta~ta~!” the girl sang, and skipped out into the hallway leaving the two remaining staring openmouthed behind.
The doors began to shut, and Miyabi quickly stuck out a hand to stop them. Saki apparently did the same, and when the doors hit them and receded once more, their arms brushed up against each other. Stifling a blush, Miyabi stepped out into the hall. Momo had already disappeared somewhere into its depths. Saki followed after a second.
“Er…” Miyabi said, her ability to speak failing her at the moment.
Saki looked up at her with a smile, and for the first time Miyabi realized it was a special smile she’d never seen her give to anyone else. There was a twist to it this time too, as if she was about to laugh at some private joke. “Well,” Saki said smoothly. “I guess that’s that, huh? It seems I’ve forever lost my image of the Captain that cares for each of her troops equally yet never becomes too close.” Miyabi stared at her. Was the girl saying what she thought she was?
Suddenly, the shorter girl leaned toward her for a hug. It wasn’t as tight as the one Yurina gave her earlier, but it felt warmer… more special. Before she knew it, she’d wrapped her arms around the girl and was hugging her back the same way.
“Thank you…” Saki said in a voice just above a whisper near her ear. “For last night,” she continued, “and much more. And… Do be careful…” The other girl pulled away slightly and looked into Miyabi’s eyes. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay? And if you don’t mind, I think I… can visit over the weekend…” At that, she pulled fully away and smiled her normal smile. “See you later, Miya-tan!”
“Bye…” Miyabi managed to respond, feeling breathless, and the girl turned and disappeared down the hall just as Momo had done.
Miyabi stared after her a minute before she noticed what she was doing and pulled herself together, starting down the hall herself. Saki might be over this weekend… Unconsciously she began to smile, and her feet bounced in a little skip as she made her way to her room.
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Hmmmmm so Momo knows much more than she's letting on before she contronted Miya and Captain in the lift. I never thought of a pairing between them but hey, it looks like a really interesting one. I wonder if Risako's gonna do anything to get Miya back. Or better yet, hook up with Momo XD
And YAY to Momo saving Miya and the day....kinda :lol:
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:lol: at Miya's fear of the clothes Momo wanted her to try out. I guess she really likes those witch/gloomy clothes XD
Poor Risako's getting less attention from Miya. :cry:
I didn't think that Momo will be the one saving Miya because I remember this Gatas pic where Miya got crushed between her and Maasa :lol:
Also,Detective Momo's been studying Miya and Captain's activities. She wants to get involved doesn't she? XD
How come I've got this feeling that Miya won't just be in a love triangle in this story. :)
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You're gonna keep updating at this pace aren't you?
You bastard >_>..........Making me wait!
But...Since I love it, like every word of your damn story...
I'll do my best to be patient >_>...
.....But why do I get the feeling that Miyabi really has no feelings for Risako anymore besides her passive behaviour and so forth? >_>...
But the saki/miya thing is love too --cough--
what's better is major fookin' drama >_> -hint-
UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!
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Hey! Thanks for your responses you guys. :) Unfortunately, now that I'm back from vacation work is very busy at least the early part of this week (likely all week), and I'm not feeling the best either so I'm not as motivated at home... Plus, the last two nights I've mainly just been watching my new set of 14 sai no haha I got while in Japantown (I've discovered the awesomeness of a movie shop there). However, that has also inspired me a bit and given me ideas for my own writing. :) Don't worry though, there are no plans for a Berryz to get pregnant anytime soon! :P There aren't even any guys in the story at the moment... It's such a sweet and fun show... Anyway. Onto the important stuff: Reponding to your comments! :D
@lil_hamz: Hey there! Nice to see you here again! :) Yes, Momo is surprisingly insightful. Well, surprisingly to Miyabi at least (she is a rather unreliable narrator, after all. Ah the naiveté of youth... well, her youth :P no offense to young readers out there!). The MiyaSaki pairing does seem a little odd to me too, but I love em both so I figured, why not? :) Plus, I'm liking how the relationships are developing, and it's really growing on me! Of course, you can't always assume things won't change... As for Momo or Risako, more will happen involving them soon. :)
@wordy: Nice to see you too! :) You know I love your stories, so I'm glad you like mine! You actually mention something in your comments that I've only hinted at yet but will become very visible (and also integral to the plot) before long. I'll just say I may soon be taking some soap opera "liberties" with reality. ;) Then again, what's to say other things or points of view can't be real? Also, I'm not really sure what you mean by "Miya won't just be in a love triangle", so I guess you'll see where that goes. :P You think it'll be a love quadrilateral or something? XD
@Loser & lolli but everyone else should read too: Gaman shite kudasai ne? ^^ I don't know whether Miyabi has feelings for Risako anymore. She sure did like her in the past though, didn't she? I'm not sure what the cough is after the MiyaSaki reference. :P Oh, that's right, Risako's the only one for her. ^_^ There are some reasons Miya likes Saki though. You know some now and can guess at others which will be more pronounced soon (One very soon. Saki may be visiting her house next weekend, after all). :) And, I do realize the last few chapters have been a lot of fluff and stuff without much serious drama going on. While my story won't have drama all the time, well dramatic events at least, give me a couple more chapters or so of fluffy-looking material and then you will see some hopefully major drama! :glasses:
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And as usual after a post of responses to responses... Another chapter! :D My loyal readers will notice Miyabi in this chapter may seem a bit different from the one you've gotten to know so far. As Miyabi even ponders to herself, her lives look like they're quite different between her home life and her Berryz life. Care to take a wager of whether that'll stay the case? ;) I hope it makes her a more complex and interesting character though. Characters are the life of my writing, after all. Anybody who's not been reading so far might find this one good to start in on as well, since there's a bit of recall of what's already happened.
I also felt able to throw in a few little Japanese cultural references to this chapter as well. Nothing too deep or philosophical I think, but...
Cheesecake is popular here isn't it?
Then some cheesecake to anyone who might catch and understand them all. ;) Well I've blabbered on too much here. I really like this chapter. I hope you do too. :)
Chapter 15
Miyabi walked down the street in her school uniform swinging her oversized purse that she used as a schoolbag. It was barely big enough to carry a book, let alone all she needed for her classes, so she stowed everything else in her desk. It barely closed most of the time, but she didn’t care. She wouldn’t part with her little black bag for anything.
The other Berryz regularly teased her about going to Joshi Gakushuin, and Maasa loved also teasing her sometimes that she would turn out to be a princess. She was surprised the girl didn’t bring it up when Momoko saved her from the car of the man with the cute daughter, and that made her think Maasa might actually have been genuinely scared and happy she was all right. Whenever Miyabi appeared the damsel-in-distress was usually prime time for the princess talk. Pshht, Miyabi thought as she meandered down the steps to the station in Shinjuku that would take her back home. There were plenty of girls there who much more than her wanted to marry any princes, although so sadly most of them are always disappointed since there are no princes of age to be at school at the moment. She grinned to herself thinking that some of the girls might have to settle for “lower members of the aristocracy”.
Again, Miyabi herself could care less. When her parents told her they were sending her to Gakushuin when she completed elementary school she had just stared at them. “You’re famous now!” they’d said. “Places like Gakushuin love to admit students who are maybe not the highest class but still well-connected because it promotes their diversity.” Miyabi plopped down in the seat of a train that was filling up quickly. Well connected, hah. Just because she knew many of the most famous adult celebrities and rumors had flown that one of her friends may have even dated one of the younger ones… She looked around and noticed, as always, people glancing at the junior high school girl taking up one of the precious seats as the number standing grew to overcome the number seated. When they caught sight of her uniform though, they quickly lowered their eyes and gave her a wide berth. Pulling out a cardboard-bound volume that was not a schoolbook from her bag, she opened it smiling. Well, there were some advantages to going to the school she did. Aside from the space, it helped greatly for staying anonymous without further masquerade since hardly anyone felt willing to look her in the face. The doors slid shut and the train started up, and she began her near-hour ride home.
When she arrived, she called out to her mother to let her know she was home before heading straight to her room to continue reading. Her mother yelled something about supper, but she didn’t bother with it. She’d know well enough when it was ready when her mother banged on her door or yelled even louder.
It was the start of a new school year, Miyabi’s last of junior high, but instead of studying for her classes and high school exams she normally did a sort of more independent research. Flipping to a page that had a big picture of the planet Mars on it, with various odd-looking markings scrawled on it at various points, she lay back on her bed to relax. Students at Gakushuin Junior High had better chances than most at doing very well on the exams, and she always achieved better than decent marks, but she usually thought her life would take a different direction than that of academic achievement. She wasn’t even sure of continuing onto high school, much to the chagrin of her teachers. She supposed she would though. After all, Saki and Momoko went on… The thought of Saki distracted her from Mars, and she laid her book down in her lap. She wasn’t sure she believed everything the book had said about Mercury and Venus, and although Mars seemed much more interesting at a glance, she wasn’t exactly thrilled to continue on, especially when other such pleasant thoughts entered her head.
She rolled said head to the side to look at her phone sitting silently on her bedside table, with its tassel hanging just over the side. She said she’d call today… Of course, Miyabi didn’t know the first thing about what she’d say if the girl did call, but still she found herself waiting anxiously for it.
She’d never had a boyfriend before joining the Hello! Project Kids and eventually Berryz, at first partly because she was too young, but she just didn’t develop the desire early like some of her friends in elementary school did. Then, especially when Berryz was formed, she became very good friends with Risako, and after about a year the two of them began hanging out together outside of work from time to time. It wasn’t too long after that they became closer and closer, with lots of hugging and eventually cuddling, and after a time they began sharing beds, which ended up being the closest they would become since not long after it began they each became busy and were able to see each other only rarely. That was, of course, until the other night.
Miyabi wasn’t sure exactly how it happened. She liked boys well enough, although she didn’t see many outside of rather formal occasions where she couldn’t really get to know one, but there was something about Risako that drew her to want more than friendship, even if it was nothing more than that she was the only one Miyabi ever really spent much quality time with. She hadn’t thought of a girl other than Risako like that, but she supposed her experiences with Risako broke down some sort of barrier that opened up the possibility of… others. Still though, she could have never imagined the one she’d fall for would be her Captain.
She looked at her phone again and sighed. As hard as it was to believe, after what Momoko made clear the day before and she’d thought about things, it was obvious that she’d developed feelings for the girl beyond just friendship. For some reason though, it felt different than it did with Risako. Maybe it was different for every person you came to like. She wouldn’t really know, she supposed. She’d only felt that way about two people. With Risako she felt very comfortable, perhaps because they were such good friends for so long before becoming more. Risako also felt very fragile to her, as if she had to tread carefully or something might crack, perhaps because she was so much younger than herself. A vision from a few nights ago flashed through her mind of curls held very still, and when she tried to touch them they seemed only to get farther away. She suppressed that vision vigorously. It was crazy to begin with, she tried to convince herself. The girl was too young. If they weren’t put basically on equal footing in their work she would hardly have considered even being friends with the girl. The girls she knew at school sure would have quite a laugh about it if they knew. Well, if it wasn’t Risako Sugaya that is.
With Saki there was also the sense of comfort, but it was different. Instead of being comfortable in any situation, it was as if she felt secure, protected. The thought of running around Captain in her underwear just being silly was still mortifying to her, yet she and Risako did that kind of thing all the time when they shared rooms. Still, the awkwardness was… nice. Saki’s frame was so small when she held it that night, but the girl still radiated strength that Miyabi felt she could feed on. She had a deep respect for the girl, and awe of what seemed some kind of mystery she couldn’t yet uncover. Miyabi herself was the younger and simpler one between them. In fact, the gap wasn’t all that different than between her and Risako… She widened her eyes. That was true! Aside from leading them the last three years, she also was that much older! Anxiety gnawed harder in the pit of her stomach. Momoko didn’t know what she was talking about! There was no possible way the girl could feel the same way she did about her…
“Mu-na-sa-wa-gi Scaalet-to! Koi no niji ga hi-ka-ru! YES – MY - LOVE!” sang her cell, and her book went flying as she bolted up, her heart beating wildly. She stared at her flashing phone a second before scolding herself for being silly and picking it up.
“Hai, moshi moshi,” she said in a voice she tried to keep from being breathless. Before she held it to her ear, she’d seen the katakana for ‘Captain’ on the little screen.
“Miya-chan! How are you?” came the thin voice from the other end.
“I’m okay. Just got back from school a little while ago and I was lying in bed reading…”
“Reading? I’d really like to know what it is you read all those nights at home sometime, Miya-chan…”
“Mhmm…” Miyabi responded sarcastically. “Someday you’ll find out, I’m sure,” she finished mysteriously.
The effect seemed to be lost on the other girl though. “Oh?” She paused a moment, but Miyabi didn’t say anything. “So, how was the start of your term?”
“Oh you know, last year of junior high, everybody is stressing out already about exams and stuff…”
“It doesn’t seem like you are though.” Miyabi’s lips turned down in a frown as she could almost hear the smirk appear on the other girl’s mouth.
“Yeah, well, I’m not too worried about them. Exams of any kind have never really bothered me…” She lay back down against her pillow as she spoke.
There was a short pause before the other girl spoke again, though Miyabi heard a sort of chuckle first. “Miyabi Natsuyaki, resident Berryz genius!”
“Am not…” Miyabi said with a hint of a whine. She really wasn’t. She didn’t realize it, but she was talking very comfortably with the girl on the other end. She never really had just talked like this on the phone with Captain before. Or anyone really…
She began picking at the tie at her chest. “I miss you guys already.”
“There’s no need to feel that way! We Berryz are always together!”
“Hah hah,” she responded with definite sarcasm.
“Well, if that’s not good enough for you, then I’ll just have to bring a little of Berryz to you.” Miyabi’s hand froze on her tie. This might be what she was waiting for.
“I have all our CDs, thanks,” she said as if preemptively dismissing the favor.
“Well, as you know, I just live a train ride or two away in Tokyo. High school is already busier than the last year of junior high was – some of us actually have to study for our futures you know, Miya.” Miyabi closed her mouth tightly from what she was going to say. “So I can’t get away during the week. But I thought… if you weren’t doing anything special… I mean, if it wouldn’t be too much of a bother, maybe I could come over on Saturday or Sunday…”
“I have school on Saturday morning,” Miyabi blurted out, and during the silence on the other end of the line she felt she could kick herself. “I mean…” She wasn’t sure what she really did mean. “Well, obviously I do have school then.” Well, that surely wasn’t it.
“Of course you would,” Saki said quietly. This was not going at all the way Miyabi hoped. She didn’t know what kind of school Saki went to… it could even be a public school…! And here she was basically bragging about her own. She knew anything too serious was a little touchy for a few of the other Berryz. She wasn’t sure if that included Saki though…
“I mean… um…” she stuttered, “I’ll be away then, but then I have the rest of that day and all day Sunday. Actually, I’d really like having you over Saturday afternoon, because it’d be a great way to wind down after the week of school. You and I could…” As she trailed off, she lifted her phone and stared at it before forcing herself not to slam it repeatedly against her forehead. From one extreme to the other! She was hopeless. Suddenly she realized she wouldn’t be able to understand anything if Saki started talking, so she hurriedly brought the phone down to her ear, twisting it when she realized it was upside-down, and fearfully listened closely.
There was silence for a moment, before, “That sounds wonderful.”
Miyabi loudly let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. “Ahh, that… that’s great then!”
“You’re a strange girl, you know that Miya-chan?” Her breath caught again.
“Um, abracadabra?”
The girl laughed on the other end. “I think I should let you get back to your book. Enjoy your… research… and I’ll get back to my studying that will now possibly keep me up all night.”
“Oh, I’m sorry!” Miyabi gasped, sitting up again and acting as if to bow before she realized how ridiculous that was.
More laughter came in response. “No no, don’t worry. Fail with five, you know?” Miyabi actually didn’t know. “Anyway, I like doing it. I probably wouldn’t be here otherwise, ne?”
Miyabi stared at the ceiling. “You’re the genius.”
Saki laughed again. Miyabi didn’t really know how she was doing it, but she was glad to be making the other girl laugh so much. “Will you really have time to come visit me?”
“Of course Miya-chan, why would I have suggested it if I didn’t?”
“I just wondered.”
“Well, ganbatte these next couple weeks.”
“I will.”
“Oh, and by the way, Momo called me earlier. We had quite an… interesting discussion. She’s really quite a friend, isn’t she? Although, by the silence at the other end of the line when I told her I wanted to visit you this weekend I thought she might have died. No worries though! I think she’s planning to call you tomorrow, though I told her not to try too early. Ganbatte ne! Ja ne!” And there was a click from that end of the line.
Miyabi thought she maybe should have said some sort of farewell as well, but her mouth was hanging open as she stared at the foot of her bed, the now-still phone still held to her ear. Momo… And Saki told her she would be coming over this weekend… and she was going to call tomorrow…
Her Captain would be coming over this weekend…
“Oh my god! I need to clean!” She looked around her room. Clothes hung from drawers pulled wide open and a wardrobe at one end. Books lay strewn across the floor. Charms hung everywhere they were able. There was a circle of candles on what could almost pass as a makeshift shrine in one corner. This wouldn’t do at all!
“Miyabi!” her mother called from downstairs. “Supper!” She flipped her phone shut. Later… She would get to it later…
…
Food resting comfortably in her stomach, Miyabi lounged in the twilight reading the last few pages of her book on the astral sphere. She still wasn’t sure she believed everything it said, but couldn’t deny it was somewhat interesting. She’d always had an interest in the stars and sky, and though she believed in fate more than the motion of balls of gas burning billions of miles away – her mind as it was she couldn’t think of them as anything more – she still liked to think there was some way to read what was in store. Because really, you never knew. Today you might be lying in bed in your seifuku reading a book, and tomorrow you might be dead. That was something she tried not to dwell too much on though except to do her best to avoid it. Who could say it was really the end, after all?
Even though two days had passed since her talk with Saki, clothes, books and miscellaneous trinkets still hung and laid everywhere around her room. She never really felt like doing anything productive after supper, and she returned from school so late there wasn’t time to really do anything before it either. Except for a phone call or two of course. Her mother didn’t really bother her since she thought she was studying hard as any good Gakushuin girl should be, and she really did study sometimes, so she enjoyed her quiet thoughts and contemplations.
It was definitely exhilarating being around Berryz when they were together for practices or concerts, but there were times she still longed for the solitude of a nice book and cup of tea on her bed table. None of the Berryz knew what kind of life she led here, and that it was almost opposite what she led with them, just as she knew nothing of what Risako did at her hometown. The girl really must be terribly popular. She probably has boys eating out of her hands… Noticing she was distracted again, she flipped the last few pages of her book and sighed before laying it in her lap. Some force was preventing her from finishing this book, she was sure of it. That was another reason she was determined to read it all even though she didn’t care all that much for the material. Jupiter and Saturn were no more interesting than Mercury and Venus, although far more so than Uranus or Neptune. Poor Pluto… Well, she would persevere. That was what was important. Just as she closed her eyes and for some reason saw Risako’s face there, her phone sang out the tune to Gag 100kaibun Aishite Kudasai.
Groaning, after a second she reached over and picked it up as if she were handling a poisonous snake, which made her think again that she should get some kind of poisonous snake as a pet so she’d stop having those nightmares, and opening it, brought the phone to her ear.
“Miyabi-chan!” squeaked a voice on the other side before Miyabi could open her mouth. “How are you?”
“Hi Momo,” Miyabi responded wearily.
“You sound tired! Have you been getting enough sleep?”
“What?”
“You know, if you have that much studying to do you should really think about transferring to a different school. One like I’m in for example! That’s why I never went to a place like Gakushu-“
“I’m getting plenty of sleep,” Miyabi retorted in frustration. “…mother…”
“I’m sorry. Do you really like going there so much?”
Miyabi’s frustration died with the words she had planned to use next. That was a sudden change in tone. “Yeah, I suppose I do,” she answered. “It’s really all right. I would have thought you’d love to go to a place like this too. You could even become a princess.”
“Of course. Too bad all the princes are already taken…” Miyabi could almost sense the glint in the girl’s eye when she revealed her motivation.
“Man, I don’t know if I can take this. I’m surrounded by geniuses…”
Momoko giggled. “Nonsense. You’re the one going there after all! Plus, we all know what you do in your spare time over there, and to even understand it you have to be leagues smarter than… Toku-san, for instance.”
Miyabi couldn’t help herself but break down in a giggle as well. “Hey! No putting down other Berryz who aren’t here to defend themselves!”
“Oh you know her. She’d be the first to admit it!”
“I wish Maa-chan was like that sometimes. Rooming with her last week was almost a nightmare. The girl has way too much intuition…”
“Oh? Don’t tell me someone else noticed the sparks flying between you and our beloved Captain?”
Miyabi froze and became dead silent. Of course. This was why the girl was calling after all, because she had to nose her way as far into their relationship as she could. …Sparks?
“Oh come on,” came the voice from the city. Why did it seem every single person she talked to this week lived in Tokyo? “Don’t tell me you haven’t accepted what’s going on between you two yet.”
“I… don’t understand what you mean,” Miyabi said slowly.
“You were like that when I talked to you over the weekend, and you’re being that way again now, although from what I hear at least you’re not too much like that when you’re alone with her.” What she heard? What exactly did Saki tell her the other day?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Miyabi insisted stubbornly.
“Do you like Captain?”
Miyabi became flustered at the sudden question. “Er… well…” After giving this a lot of thought lately, she knew her answer, but was a little afraid to give it to this girl. “Yeah, I suppose.” There was a small squeal of delight from Tokyo.
“And do you think she likes you?”
“Well I don’t know… I mean… She couldn’t, could she?”
This time there was a low exhalation of breath. “And why is that?”
“Well… she’s… I mean, she’s the Captain, right? She’s older than me… prettier… in much better shape… it’s just so weird anyway…! She doesn’t like to get too attached to her Berryz…” That was true, but something else the girl had told her at the same time rang through her memory loud and clear. “I’ve forever lost my image of the Captain that cares for each of her troops equally yet never becomes too close.” Then she realized she’d known the answer to this question ever since the night they spent in the hotel courtyard.
“Miyabi?” came the voice, though instead of being impatient, it just seemed to be gently pushing again for a truer answer.
“I… think she does…”
Another squeal of delight. “Wonderful! Well then, now you’ve come to grips what you already knew, I can tell you that yes, she does like you.” Miyabi’s ears seemed to throb suddenly. “It took nearly as much effort as it took to get it out of you – you always were the stubborn one – but apparently you did something for her that swept her off her feet, so to speak I’m sure, and now she’s broken her cardinal rule of never falling in love with a nakama. Stupid rule to begin with I’d always thought…”
If Miyabi had been paying any sort of attention to the girl’s tone of voice at the end she would have noticed an odd bitterness in it, but what the girl had said earlier on made the throbbing in her ears expand to encompass the whole of her sizable head. “Excuse me…?” she said in a whisper likely barely loud enough to carry across the digital airwaves.
“Yes?”
“…Nothing.” A smile had now begun to bloom across her face as she stared out her window at the colors of last rays of the setting sun.
“Well, it seems my job is done here. Do have fun this weekend, won’t you?”
“Yes, I’m sure we will.” She paused a second, but then burst out in case the other girl was about to hang up, “Momoko?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
There was silence from the faceless girl on the other end, but she hoped there was a smile on her face that at least almost matched her own.
“Of course! See you later, Miyabi!”
“Bye bye.”
Miyabi flipped her phone closed and fell back against her pillow once again. As she lay there, her fingers mindlessly played with the phone’s tassel. Whatever she was thinking before one of her least favorite songs rang out to her was replaced only with thoughts of the coming weekend. She turned her head to look at the book that had fallen open, the last few pages waving up in the spring breeze wafting in through her window. She really might never finish that book. It was late tonight and she still had a bit of studying to do before a date with a bed that was beginning to seem all too tempting, but she still had two more evenings. She glanced up and around at her still-cluttered and unpresentable room. She had work to do.
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An Update!!!!
You really should do another one, yea like right now!
Anyway the conversation between Momomiya was cute and insightful I suppose?
But the conversation between captain and miya was just delightful >w<
the references seems like I need to do some research to understand them so like, that means you're making me study? WTH!?
You best be updating soon or else I'll stab you with a spork!
Yea that's right a spork dammit!
My face while reading this chapter : :farofflook: :hee: :hehehe: :luvluv2: :whistle: :nya: :stunned: :mon sigh: :mon cweepy: :mon zoom: ....basically Yay new chapter!!! to Update or you die!!
Then cute :mon baby: smily XDXDXDXD
And of course cheesecake is popular how can it not be!? CHEESECAKE RULES ALL!
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Please~
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Momoko sounding bitter? Hmmmm I'll take that it has to do with her own feelings for another BK member. And since you mentioned more of Risako and Momo coming up, I'm inclined to think that the 2 will find solace with each other since the object of their affections have now hooked up XD
This chapter provided a nice insight into Miyabi's world. Miyabi the Genius. It does have a ring to it :P
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Thanks to your great writing I now have a chocolate mark on my bedroom floor. I was reading this chapter whilst eating my breakfast I didn't realise that I had dunked my buscuit in my tea for ages and just after I took it out ~ splat! You owe me a new chapter for that.
:bingo:
The last two chapters are really, really, really good (is that enough really's?). Now...I :heart: Miyabi and Risako pairing's so when you started suggesting Miyabi and Saki I was like WTF Noooooo. But now I'm warming up to the idea, so much so that I was really upset that you ended this last chapter before Saki goes around to Miyabi's house. ARGH
:depressed:
I don't have much to say today as I am a person of very few words!!! But what I definatly have to say is...
UPDATE NOW!!! DAMN NAMMIT!!!
Oh and Cheesecake is ok as long as it's not of the fruity variety. Chocolate = GOOD, Fruit = BAD. Chocolate owns all other cheesecakes. So there :hee:
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Yes, update soon, I'm anxious to know whats gonna happen when Saki comes over
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I also felt able to throw in a few little Japanese cultural references to this chapter as well. Nothing too deep or philosophical I think, but...
I don't think I'm educated enough to catch all those references, but here's my two cents.
The other Berryz regularly teased her about going to Joshi Gakushuin, and Maasa loved also teasing her sometimes that she would turn out to be a princess.
Members of the imperial family used to attend this school, right? Therefore, it means Miyabi was princess-like enough to be accepted, or she adopted some princess traits there. Either way, she's bound to get teased. :lol:
With Saki there was also the sense of comfort, but it was different. Instead of being comfortable in any situation, it was as if she felt secure, protected. The thought of running around Captain in her underwear just being silly was still mortifying to her, yet she and Risako did that kind of thing all the time when they shared rooms. Still, the awkwardness was… nice. Saki’s frame was so small when she held it that night, but the girl still radiated strength that Miyabi felt she could feed on. She had a deep respect for the girl, and awe of what seemed some kind of mystery she couldn’t yet uncover. Miyabi herself was the younger and simpler one between them. In fact, the gap wasn’t all that different than between her and Risako… She widened her eyes. That was true! Aside from leading them the last three years, she also was that much older!
People can be childish around those they consider their equals, but not around their respected or admired ones because they don't want these people to think less of them. It's like a senpai-kouhai thing of sorts...
:glasses:
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Waa~! Thank you everyone for your replies! :D I'm so happy to hear from you all. As to my little Japanese culture "challenge", I realized there's no way anyone could get them all without basically going word by word, so I'm just going to give everyone cheesecake as a 'thank you' for reading and enjoying my story. ^_^ Plus, I think you need more marks on your floor, Lolli. ;) And sorry Loser, I suppose you study quite enough as it is, don't you? :lol: Although to me, this is fun studying!
Amarghetta did quite well - the Gakushuin thing was perhaps the most significant sort of subtle thing in this chapter (I guess I thought most people might know it already), and I didn't even think of the senpai-kouhai issue as part of what I was asking for. It really is though, so I suppose my studying is making me begin to take some things for granted. :lol:
Some other little tidbits about both this and what else is going on in the story, though first one last note about Gakushuin: Since Joshi Gakushuin (or Gakushuin Girls' School - the campuses are separate for girls and boys) is in Shinjuku and Miyabi lives in Saitama, that is the reason for her long train ride. Many students commute into Tokyo for school, especially for special ones like this you can't really find anywhere else...
- There's a lot more about Japanese school culture here and there, and in fact, reading through it again I find that most of the references I mentioned deal with school in some way. I tried to research to get the most accurate info as I could (I have an interest in this outside of this story so don't go thinking I did all that just for this :P), and I hope everything is at least close to being correct. The Japanese school year begins in April, which for the Berryz was the week after their SSA concert. During the concert they talk about the coming school year a good bit... Also, school is compulsury in Japan only through Junior High. Most students do go to high school, but since Miyabi thinks she might already have a career that's why she wonders if she really needs to. Many private schools also have school on Saturday, though many as well as public schools do not. That's why Miyabi was so concerned when she talked about it.
- I've mentioned Miyabi lives in Saitama. Momoko and Saki live in Tokyo (I know I said this in the story, but thought I'd state it plainly :lol:). Saitama is the prefecture just north of Tokyo, so they're not far apart and thus, an easy train ride or two away.
- Miyabi's father works very hard as many Japanese fathers do to support his family. That's why you rarely if ever see him around. He puts in long long hours at the office... Also, Miyabi has a brother who is off at university - Tomo.
- Most Japanese have shrines in their houses to honor family members that have died. That's what the one spot in Miyabi's room was designed to look like, although her shrine serves a slightly different purpose...
- Nakama is a word I find hard to translate into English, so that's why I used it instead. XD It basically means a type of "work friend" or "colleague", though the connotation seems a little bit different. It's what the H!P girls generally use to refer to each other, and some of them are really good friends, so it means a closer relationship than just "colleague" in the Western sense, but it's not quite a normal personal "friend" either. In Japan work relationships are very important in general, and Japanese work harder to maintain them than most Westerners, who prefer to keep a degree of separation between their work and personal lives, do. In Japan in most cases, work is your life. You identify yourself with it, and do your best to dedicate yourself to it 100%, something most Westerners are reluctant to do. Because of this, I believe the nakama relationship is a special one not well defined by Western ways of thinking of things.
- The Disney reference! "balls of gas burning billions of miles away" - Poomba, from The Lion King, when they were talking about what they thought about stars... I think I should point out though that Miyabi does not normally have gas on the mind all the time like Poomba. XD
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After the last post you knew another chapter was coming, didn't you? Didn't you??? :D I think most of you know what's coming up in here, so I won't bore you with my usual details (I think I gave enough just above anyway, ne? :lol:). So I'll just say: Please enjoy!
Chapter 16
After sliding a book into a shelf near her bed Miyabi stepped back to admire the fruit of her labors. Chests stood with all their drawers closed neatly, nothing hanging on a knob or even draped over the tops. Her shrine stood properly respectfully clean and unremarkable except for a few candles sprinkling the velvet covering. If they weren’t the type of candles one would normally find on a shrine, it wouldn’t matter. Surely Saki wouldn’t notice a thing so trifling as that. The carpeted floor was clean and even vacuumed. Funny, she must have forgotten it was precisely that shade of red. She stared at it a second and smiled wistfully. It almost contributed a romantic vibe to the area. She could even light some of the candles to heighten that sense. None of them gave off the horrible scents people normally bought candles for, so that wouldn’t hurt things. The purpose they served didn’t require them to produce any odor.
Bookshelves were almost bursting at the edges, but everything seemed to fit sensibly into them. She even had pulled out some of her old stuffed animals to set here and there. It was the spitting image of what the room of a young teenage girl should look like. Smiling, she glanced around it and found herself counting the bookshelves. One… Two… Three… Four… Five… She stopped and stared at the fifth. Oh no! She had too many books! She looked at them all again. They weren’t the largest sets of shelves, but each row was filled from end to end. She looked anxiously at one she’d tried to hide away in the shadows in a corner. No, she couldn’t tell anything about what the books there were. Well that was great. Captain would now just think she was a geek who read way too much. Her sense of romance while standing in the room suddenly lessened considerably.
“Miyabi!” her mother called from downstairs. “Your friend is here!”
Miyabi tensed. This was it. She’d had friends over from time to time of course, though it had been awhile since the last, but never had she had someone quite like… her. Suddenly she looked down and gasped. In all her hurry in getting her room straight she’d forgotten to change out of her seifuku! Not that that was the most horrible thing of course – when she went out in public she generally had to wear it anyway – but the topic of her school was one she definitely wasn’t crazy about having come up much today. She made a mental note to be sure to ask Saki about her own. Surely the girl didn’t go to a public school…
Realizing she’d just stood there since her mom called her she dashed out of the room, but when she got into the hall she stopped cold after only a few steps. Saki had just reached the top of the stairs and was headed tentatively in her direction. Seeing Miyabi emerge from the doorway, she stopped herself and appeared to relax, smiling.
Miyabi just stared at her for a few seconds. Saki wore her hair flat and straight as usual, and had on a short denim skirt with the seam on the front of her right leg and a thin braided belt around her slim waist. Above it she only wore a dark t-shirt, but on the top in gold lettering it pronounced BERRYZ KOUBOU with the traditional Roman lettering Berryz and the two characters for workshop. Distracted, Miyabi thought once again how odd a name it was. Sure she supposed it made sense in the beginning, but now if anyone really thought about it they’d probably be confused. Well, it was who they were now. Below the name were little sakura trees with blossoms falling from them surrounding more lettering saying Saitama Super Arena 2007.
“Did you have a long morning?” Saki asked earnestly. Miyabi thought she didn’t look as calm and in control as usual.
“No, not really…” Miyabi responded, still staring at the girl before her. “Although, since I miss so many Saturdays I had a lot to do. I’m afraid I have more for here the rest of the weekend too…”
“Me too,” Saki said, and smiling, she twisted to show the small book bag she carried on her back.
“You brought it with you?” Miyabi asked, and her heart gave a leap. She didn’t know how long the girl was planning to stay, though the whole weekend was approved by her parents, but if she brought books and stuff along…
Saki nodded, still smiling. I think it’s always best to be prepared, ne? You never know what might happen.” Miyabi’s stomach did a funny flutter. Saki looked into her eyes a moment before following them down to her own shirt. She took the bottom in her fingers and pulled it out so Miyabi could see it clearly before smiling back up into her face. “I told you I’d bring Berryz to you!”
Miyabi didn’t know why but she blushed slightly at that, and then heard her mother calling again from apparently just at the bottom of the stairs. She walked over and looked down to see her smiling up at the two of them. “If you girls need anything make sure to let me know. Otherwise, I’ll have dinner ready at around five. It’s too bad you don’t have the whole afternoon…” Miyabi was disappointed at that too. It was already long past two since her commute from school took so long. It would be all too short a time with Saki, and then they’d have dinner and she’d likely be gone again. Well, she always had her books… and things. “Will you be going out?”
Miyabi looked at Saki, who returned a questioning gaze. “I don’t know,” she called down. “Probably. You know I can’t stay in my room for long.” She gave Saki a sideways look as she spoke the lie, but only saw the girl bow slightly to her mother.
“Thank you, Mrs. Natsuyaki. I’m sorry for bothering your family today.”
“Oh it’s no bother dear,” her mother said cheerfully. Having an idea what was to come, Miyabi grabbed Saki’s wrist with both hands to try and pull her away before her mother continued, but failed. “I don’t know when the last time was Miyabi had a friend over, so we’re happy to have you!” Miyabi closed her eyes wishing it was over.
“Mother, we’re going to my room now, okay? We’ll let you know if we need anything.”
“Of course, of course,” came the response, but Miyabi just heard it fading away as she dragged Saki down the hall. Pulling her into her room, she nudged the door shut with her shoulder and was about to say something before she noticed Saki standing with her arm out in front of her, limp as Miyabi held onto her wrist. Looking down at her hands in shock she suddenly let go, and the girl’s arm dropped to her side.
She stepped away slightly and kept her eyes lowered. “Sorry…”
“Don’t worry about it,” Saki said smiling as if the concern never came to her mind, and she turned to look around Miyabi’s room.
Miyabi fidgeted anxiously while the girl looked, and glanced around again herself. Everything was all put away, right? She didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. “You have a lot of stuff,” Saki said as if impressed, and Miyabi’s spirits lifted slightly.
They fell right back down again though as Saki walked over toward the bookshelf in the shadowy corner, and she spoke up quickly, “So! What would you like to do? There’s not much on TV on a Saturday, but we could play a game or watch a movie or something. I have a Wii.” She wanted to gesture to it, but unfortunately it was in the den in the basement. That was the closest TV she’d be able to use too. She didn’t like keeping electronics in her room since it spoiled the energy flow of the space. “There’s not much time I know, but… Well, we could always go shopping or to an arcade.”
After pausing to look at her, Saki altered her direction and walked briskly over to her bed and began sliding her backpack off. Miyabi glanced at the corner and tried to keep from sighing in relief. Before she let the bag come fully off though, she turned to Miyabi to make sure it was all right for her to lay it there. Miyabi nodded vigorously and she dropped it down. “Well,” she said, turning back around. “I’ve wanted to do some shopping all week but haven’t gotten the chance…”
“Shopping it is then!” Miyabi said with a giggle, and Saki joined her to exit the room again and begin to head downstairs. “Mother! We’re going out!” she yelled as they took the last steps at a leap and walked quickly and excitedly to the front door.
Miyabi and her family lived in a residential area, but it wasn’t too far from a Saitama commercial district, so the two girls walked down the streets, laughing and talking as they went. Miyabi was doubly glad she hadn’t changed out of her seifuku. Aside from needing it on while out, many people still recognized where it was from since there were a few students with one like it in the somewhat affluent neighborhood she lived in, and gave them a wide berth. Anything that left her able to be more alone with Saki was all right in her book!
Since Saki said she was hungry from the train ride and Miyabi was still hungry from her earlier one as well as the work she’d done when back to her house, they stopped by a crepe shop. Miyabi got her traditional strawberry, chocolate and whipped cream one and to her surprise Saki ordered the same. They sat on a bench along the street while eating and watched the people strolling along. Everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves on a leisurely spring weekend day, and she felt like it helped her relax too. After she took the last bite and tossed away the wrapping, she leaned back casually supported by her hands behind her and asked what kind of places Saki wanted to shop at. It was now well past three, so they didn’t have a whole lot of time left. Saki told her she actually wouldn’t mind going into a bookstore, and although Miyabi thought this was a little strange, she never turned down a trip to the bookstore and led the girl to a quaint but decent-sized shop she liked to visit on her own.
Once inside, Saki explained that she was doing a report on modern South American history, and had been on the lookout for anything she thought might help her out. However, the girls became engrossed in checking out the new issue of the manga Prince of Badminton and soon were giggling over a particularly embarrassing scene where Ryo is defeated by an American girl who uses a racket shaped like a poodle.
Eventually they managed to pull themselves away from the manga section and Miyabi followed Saki over to South American history. There were only a couple shelves dedicated to the subject, and general history was not Miyabi’s favorite to begin with, but she was too torn by wanting to stay near the girl she felt closer to all the time to go where she really wanted to look. After Saki pulled a particularly dry-looking volume titled The Modern Peruvian Dictatorship though, she told Miyabi herself to go look for something she was interested in. “I want you to have fun too here apart from me!” Miyabi was quite willing to stay right there, but grudgingly accepted the offer when Saki sat on a low stool to read the introduction and pointedly ignored her. “Fine! I know when I’m not wanted…” she whined melodramatically, and she could catch a glimmer of a smirk and rolled eyes from the seated girl.
She wandered over as if not headed in any particular direction, but before she had gone far the store clerk came up to her. He was a slightly overweight and balding man who seemed nervous much of the time and had a habit of rubbing his hands together as he spoke. “Ah! Natsuyaki-san! That volume you ordered has just arrived…”
Miyabi, with a glance back at Saki who a few meters away seemed not to be paying attention, took the man’s arm and led him further away. “I’m sorry, but not right now! I’m, er, not going back home after this and don’t have any way to carry it around with me. I promise I’ll come in tomorrow to pick it up though!”
The man looked positively astonished. “But it’s what you’ve been waiting for! You asked about it for months before I could get it on my order list, and you’ve been asking nearly every day this week if it was in yet! Although, it’s beyond me what a fine young girl like yourself wants with something like Mors Mortis –“
“Shh!” She cast another nervous glance back at Saki, who was now turning the page. “Please. I’ll pick it up tomorrow, okay? Here,” she began digging in her purse. “I’ll even pay for it now if you’d like.”
“No, no, Natsuyaki-san!” exclaimed the man, appearing scandalized. “No need for that. I’ll hold it for you tomorrow. I just thought you’d want to take a look at it…”
“Thank you, Mr. Kanagawa,” she said with a quick smile. “I’m honored by how willing you are to help me.”
“Of course, Natsuyaki-san,” he said with a bow. “Anything for one of my favorite customers. You give me a challenge every time, you do.”
Miyabi smiled, glancing back longingly at the section she had intended to browse, but did her best to convince herself anything that might be new there could wait. She headed back toward Saki, who was just standing up. “Did you find something? That’s great,” she said before allowing the girl a word. “Let’s go to um… a clothing shop or something. I know this great one down the corner…”
Saki didn’t seem to mind being rushed out of the bookstore at all. In fact, the amused grin she had on her face the whole time irked Miyabi for some reason. They did indeed go to the clothing store Miyabi suggested, and after trying on several outfits realized it was time to be heading back to the house for dinner. Watching the people as they walked along beneath the lowering sun seemed to relax her a bit again, and she walked with a little spring to her step the closer they got. They talked of last weekend and how their weeks were at school. Miyabi was grateful that when she mentioned her own school the other girl didn’t seem taken aback at all. On the contrary, she seemed quite interested in how it was for Miyabi. However, the topic of those times they’d been alone together wasn’t broached. As the house came into view, Miyabi started to become sad that Saki would be leaving just after dinner and she might not even get time to be truly alone with her today. She should have insisted they stay in…
It was a wonderful dinner, as all prepared by her mother were, and Saki never stopped giving her heartfelt thanks for the food. Her mother played it all down of course, but Miyabi couldn’t help a smile at seeing the looks she started giving Saki after a while. “Well, I can certainly see why Miyabi looks up to you so much. You’re also quite the charmer…” she said at one point, after which Miyabi buried her face in her rice bowl for a good minute.
As they cleared the table, the girls rose and Miyabi started slowly back up to her room, dreading saying goodbye to the girl she had such strange feelings for, but Saki hung behind faced toward her mother.
“Excuse me, Mrs. Natsuyaki?”
“Yes dear?” she asked pleasantly. Miyabi coughed slightly to stifle a snort. With how Saki had won her mother over during dinner, if the girl had some sort of request she had a feeling her mother would fall all over herself in an effort to grant it.
“I was thinking… if it’s okay with Miya-chan as well of course… I know we’d mentioned it before, but would it be okay if I stayed the night? Miyabi and I have a lot to catch up on, and… maybe I could help her with her studying too since I did most of the same things last year…”
Her mother smiled while she wiped her hands on a towel. “Of course, dear! You’re welcome here any time, and like I said, it’s great to see Miyabi having someone over to spend time with. Especially someone older, and who is a good influence.” Miyabi could see her shaking her head with her eyes lowered in amazement as she walked back into the kitchen, whispering too loudly to herself, “Such a nice girl. I wish Tomo had had friends like that…”
She disappeared, but Miyabi still stared at the girl standing left behind, who now looked over and grinned at Miyabi. “Well, that’s taken care of,” she said craftily. “Although I haven’t properly asked you yet…”
“Of course!” Miyabi said, running up to and hugging the smaller girl. “Are you an idiot!?”
“Um… your mom…” Saki said hesitantly, but this time Miyabi didn’t care.
A short time later saw the two girls in t-shirts and sweatpants – Saki’s coming from the bag she’d brought with her (“You were planning this all along weren’t you!” Miyabi had said with a laugh) – comfortably sitting on a loveseat in the basement, holding a bag of popcorn between them while watching Shikoku. Not many of the other girls knew this, and of course none at her school did, but Miyabi actually quite enjoyed horror films, and especially ghost stories with strange psychics and such. Surprisingly to her though, she found out tonight that Saki enjoyed the occasional one as well, and so they were, sitting here in the dark basement and watching Shikoku. Miyabi had seen it before, but not Saki, and Miyabi definitely didn’t mind seeing it again. However, even though she never got as engrossed in horror moves as some people, she was even less so tonight because of being mightily distracted by the girl sitting curled up next to her.
She felt how close they were on either side of the small couch, with only the popcorn separating them really. Their knees were almost touching, and she could feel the heat the small girl radiated. She knew larger people let off a lot of heat, but Saki seemed to do well enough herself. Or perhaps she was just over-sensitive to it…
Hearing her still munching on a handful, Miyabi decided to take a break from the popcorn and acted like she was focused on the television screen. However, she dropped her hand casually between them underneath the bag, where it rested just between their folded legs. She did her best not to look beside her, and before long the crunching came to a full stop.
In the movie, the ghost had just appeared and seemed unlikely to again for a bit, and the scenes drew down into some slower plot development so there wasn’t too much to pay attention to. After a moment Miyabi felt a small hand set on top of hers, and she finally looked at the girl next to her.
Saki was already looking her way, and found Miyabi’s eyes upon her glance. Deciding what she wanted for this moment Miyabi flexed her hand under the other girl’s and their fingers twined together. Was it just her, or did those eyes look a little nervous and unsure? They stared back at her with the kindness and warmth she’d always known in them, but there was the added emotion as well.
“Well,” Saki said unsteadily but with a small smile. Miyabi noticed it was a lighter version of that special smile she only gave to her. “It’s been a long time since I’ve just watched a movie with someone like this.”
“Oh?” Miyabi said, unable to look away.
“Actually,” the girl said, now looking down at their joined hands, having let the bag of popcorn fall to the floor in front of the couch. “This is the first time I’ve watched a movie with someone like this…”
Miyabi kept looking at the girl’s face. She felt a finger softly stroking her palm, but kept her gaze determinedly upward. “What do you mean? Surely with Jun…?” Realizing what she implied, she blushed slightly and finally looked down, though not at their hands.
“No,” Saki said quietly, and as Miyabi looked up again she saw a slight shadow mar the girl’s features. “We mostly went on dates and outings. The only time we were ever in a private place was when I went to his apartment…”
“I’m sorry,” Miyabi said quickly. “I shouldn’t have mentioned him.”
“It’s okay,” Saki said, and she smiled as she looked up again, the shadow gone. “You helped me deal with that, remember? It feels like an old memory already.” Miyabi gave a small smile too, lowering her eyes slightly. “Plus…” Saki continued, and Miyabi felt a little uncertainty creeping back into her voice. “Now I have you.”
Miyabi’s eyes rose straight up. The two looked at each other a moment in silence, each trying to read the other’s thoughts, until Miyabi broke into a hopeful smile. “So, you think of me as… a girlfriend?” She tried to leave no doubt what she meant.
Saki hesitated only momentarily before nodded slowly but still unsurely, and after looking carefully into Miyabi’s face another second leaned forward relatively quickly and touched her lips against her own. She held them there for a few seconds before pulling slightly back, looking into Miyabi’s eyes as for a response. Words utterly failed Miyabi however, and she even wondered if they’d ever return, but she looked back strongly and licked her lips, trying not to give a sign that she didn’t want more. Apparently the other girl noticed, and her lips returned. This time, their free arms wrapped around each other and they shared what Miyabi supposed was a real kiss, and some time later they stayed cuddled looking at their hands joined between them, the movie forgotten, though haunting noises still echoed from the screen.
Miyabi still hadn’t found her voice, but Saki definitely didn’t seem to mind. She supposed they’d said enough in ways other than words. She blushed a little at that thought, and wondered just how much blushing would be required after the events of tonight.
“I guess Momo was right that I don’t have to worry anymore about you liking me,” Saki said as she broke the blissful silence, and Miyabi looked up to see her grinning. “I still don’t know why, but I can’t say I’m complaining.”
Miyabi did her best to gain a breath. “You really are an idiot if you can’t see that,” she finally managed weakly. She hoped the strength of her expression made up for her voice though. “Who wouldn’t love you?”
Saki’s grin became a little crooked. “Well, I guess you’d be surprised. As for you guys, I never imagined you could think of me as anything other than your Captain. I mean, all the time it’s ‘Captain this’ and ‘Captain that’. It makes me wonder if that’s really my name.” Her grin straightened and widened as she went on.
“Well then,” Miyabi said, her voice seeming back to normal. “I’ll just have to start calling you Saki-chan then.” She smiled widely. “Although, it seems I might already be doing that…”
Saki’s smile had faded a little, and she was studying Miyabi’s face. “Was that your first kiss?” she asked. Miyabi stared a second before nodding timidly. “I hope you liked it.”
Miyabi pulled up a bit straighter and looked down at the girl, holding her in front of her. “It was wonderful,” she said. “Although, I’m sure it can be even better.” She grinned and leaned down toward Saki… to her Saki-chan… again.
-
Oh yes, fluff, love it! :nya:
What was with that book Miyabi ordered? Was it a manga? I was so curious about it that I even searched it up at google and I read something like chemical changes in muscles after death? :mon huh:
and I got one quote
“Of course!” Miyabi said, running up to and hugging the smaller girl. “Are you an idiot!?”
“Um… your mom…” Saki said hesitantly, but this time Miyabi didn’t care.
I actually laughed at this part, because, I'm not too sure, was that a "your mom" joke? or was she actually gonna say something about her mom.
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I'll answer you backwards because your question is something I want to tease a bit about. :lol:
What was with that book Miyabi ordered? Was it a manga? I was so curious about it that I even searched it up at google and I read something like chemical changes in muscles after death? :mon huh:
If you're really curious about that book, you can google for an online Latin dictionary and look up the phrase. Although people who actually know more than a trifling of Latin will probably call me out on it, I did my best to get it right. >.> Otherwise, you'll find out more about it later on (probably next chapter). Oh, and Miyabi cut him off before he could say the full title, so you only got about half of it... And it doesn't have to be a real book. :lol:
I actually laughed at this part, because, I'm not too sure, was that a "your mom" joke? or was she actually gonna say something about her mom.
:lol: I'm glad you laughed at it! Although here Saki was just a little embarrassed and nervous since she was unsure if Miyabi's mom was still around, and hoping that if she was the hug wouldn't be taken the wrong way... Or I suppose I should say, the right way. Saki's this perfect little angel to Miyabi's mom, isn't she? :) She would never corrupt her daughter... :hee:
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I'll answer you backwards because your question is something I want to tease a bit about. :lol:
What was with that book Miyabi ordered? Was it a manga? I was so curious about it that I even searched it up at google and I read something like chemical changes in muscles after death? :mon huh:
If you're really curious about that book, you can google for an online Latin dictionary and look up the phrase. Although people who actually know more than a trifling of Latin will probably call me out on it, I did my best to get it right. >.> Otherwise, you'll find out more about it later on (probably next chapter). Oh, and Miyabi cut him off before he could say the full title, so you only got about half of it... And it doesn't have to be a real book. :lol:
An apocryphal book seemingly about death, random mentions of shrines... I bet her independent research is quite interesting. Can we expect some Ctulhu references, too? (j/k) :P
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:mon inluv: :mon lovelaff: :mon inluv: :mon lovelaff:
I managed to read this just before I went to work last night and spent the whole 12 hours with a HUGE grin on my face (I think some people thought I had taken something!!!)
I'm now definatly loving the Miyabi / Saki pairing (sorry Risako) and want more. Lots more!!!
:mon inluv: :mon lovelaff: :mon inluv: :mon lovelaff:
UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE
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Finally got the chance on reading this >_< phew!
Anyway, Another awesome chapter!!
Are we gonna get some drama now?!? huh huh huh huh huh?!?!?!
Like are ya' gonna put risako into this now hmmm!?
>_>
..........
UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE!!!!
Cheesecake too please
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Well what can I say? More cheesecake for everyone! :D How about another helping of this story as well? This chapter felt a little unique to me as I wrote it, as if I was telling a pungent story second-hand through some sort of fog... Or maybe it was just because I wrote most of it as I was lying dead tired on my couch last night. XD Either way, I love you all for reading, and I hope you all love what I've written for you. I can't say any more without too obviously revealing anything, so I'll leave you to your own thoughts now. :) I keep saying I write more dialogue than I used to, and now I swear this is the longest two-person dialogue I've done again... And I still don't know if I'm any good at it. :P so shite...
Chapter 17
Miyabi woke to the mid-morning light shining dimly through the curtains covering her window. She lay beneath the covers for a time in her grogginess of having slept too long until finally feeling up to getting out of bed. When she turned to slide out of the sheets though, she froze at the sight of another girl still sleeping soundly beside her.
Memories of the night before quickly came rushing back into her brain, and the blush rising in her face fell through various shades of scarlet at each thought. When they had all returned though, she found she had a smile on her face. She was also reaching up to her hair behind her ear and stroking it needlessly. It was a habit of hers, one she usually never even realized she was doing.
Even though she was smiling at the small and still form beside her, she was still very nervous. The previous night’s events seemed hazy and surreal in the fresh mindset of a new day, and rational thought, which had fled her through most of the night, now was making an insistent return.
The older girl lying before her was now her girlfriend; that much at least seemed quite clear after the night before. Her Captain was her girlfriend… That thought, although quite pleasant from the sensations she’d experienced with the girl, now had a practical side that brought her up short. It was very significant in her life, but of course there was no way she could bring this up to anyone at school. Although many of them admire Saki Shimizu, the idea of Miyabi Natsuyaki dating her might be a bit too much. Although, she thought with a grin, she supposed the image it’d promote of the school wouldn’t be one they’d shy away from. Then again, Joshi Gakushuin had quite enough going on already that two young celebrities dating each other surely wouldn’t cause too much of a stir.
Her Berryz were another matter altogether, though. Momoko and Maasa were already apparently way too observant, so there would be no way they’d miss the connection she’d surely share with Saki now. They might even be scandalized; how could Captain remain partial any longer when she obviously had a special interest in one of the group? It wouldn’t be the all for one and one for all Berryz team any more. She and Saki would be naturally set apart from the others.
As horrible thought after horrible thought continued through her mind, her eyes and mouth widened. Saki might even have to step down from being Captain! She tried to imagine Momoko as their Captain, but her ears started to ring incessantly for some reason. She was shaking her head to try to stop the horrible noise when she heard a small voice from in front of her.
"Good morning!" Saki said, sounding as if she wanted to be cheery, but still ended up being weak from just being unconscious.
Miyabi looked at her with wide eyes. “I’m sorry…” she whispered.
The other girl gave her a look as if she was crazy. “Sorry for what?” she said, still sleepily. “You haven’t done anything…” A grin widened on her face and she suddenly looked much less tired. “…this morning. I would never have known you could be so naughty. You seem like you’re off in your own innocent little world sometimes… Not unlike Risako.” After saying that, she adopted a thoughtful look. “Then again…”
Miyabi gasped. Risako! The girl would kill her! No, she wouldn’t do that. She wasn’t evil like Miyabi herself. She’d ignore her; that was it. She’d never talk to her again. Well, that was funny. It wasn’t too long ago she was complaining to the girl that she wanted too much attention, but now that she knew she would have none it troubled her. How could she have done this… Yes, Risako hurt her deeply, but it was only a couple of days. Everybody had fights. But then they made up. Well, that would never happen with Risako now. She’d seen to that last night. Even though she would die of embarrassment if anyone found out exactly what happened, it would be impossible for them to hide that something had happened.
Realizing she’d been staring off into space lost in her own thoughts, she focused back on the present and the girl still lying beside her, who was giving her an unreadable blank expression. Noticing Miyabi’s attention back on reality, Saki sat up and crossed her legs which were still under the sheets, still looking into Miyabi’s eyes. Miyabi couldn’t help herself feeling lighter as she looked back. The girl had such beautiful eyes…
“I wondered if this would come up,” she said knowingly.
“What?” Miyabi asked cluelessly.
Saki just stared at her for a few seconds. Last night Miyabi would have blushed at that look, but she didn’t now for some reason. “Risako,” she said simply.
Miyabi became wary at the mention of the girl’s name. “What about her?” she said carefully.
“It’s the reason I tried to keep my distance last weekend, you know. Even though I had begun to feel something between us after that night…” Miyabi stayed silent. She didn’t really know what the girl meant, but supposed she could guess.
“Of course everybody knew about you two. We’d even talked about it the night before at the party.” Miyabi nodded at the girl’s glance. She wouldn’t forget that night easily. “Aside from having to be the Captain and inherently separate from all of you, I didn’t want to do anything to harm you and her. When I saw you crying in the courtyard I began to wonder, but I still thought it was a quarrel you’d eventually get over… I hated myself for awhile after that night because of what I’d let myself do with you when I wasn’t in my right senses. But then this week I found out what was really going on.”
Miyabi tried not to look interested in what the girl was about to say, although she unmistakably was. She was also very interested to know what was really going on with Risako. Not that it matters anymore… She began to feel guilty again.
“Risako called me Tuesday night. That’s why I didn’t call you then even though I’d told Momo I would. She said she wanted to tell me something, but seemed scared to. I did my best to comfort her, and so eventually she did open up and tell me about her boyfriend.”
Miyabi had been nodding throughout the girl’s story, but when the last word came out her body froze as if paralyzed. “E – excuse me? Boy…?” She couldn’t finish repeating the word.
Saki’s expression suddenly changed to concern. “You didn’t know?”
Miyabi did her best to shake her head. Nothing else, including her mouth, seemed to work.
“Oh,” Saki said. “I thought you would. You seemed…” The girl quickly seemed to become frightened and couldn’t hide a slightly desperate look in her eye. “With last night… I thought that’s why you wanted to move on…”
Miyabi stared at the girl. She’d never seen Saki so unconfident and shaken. She looked as if everything was crashing down around her… or worse. The horrible sight pulled at something deep within her, and she tried to compose herself. Stop it, Miyabi. You’re being stupid! You can’t tell yourself you’re surprised! It was true.
Managing to pull herself together, while the other girl kept looking worse and worse and seemed about to bolt from the room, she reached over and pulled the smaller girl into a very tight hug. She felt her toned muscles tense in surprise.
“You’re right,” Miyabi said, trying to be soothing while still overcome with emotion herself. “Even if it wasn’t for that reason, I did want to move on.” She loosened her grip slightly and let the girl pull back enough so they could look at each other. Saki was looking carefully into her eyes. “I do want to move on. I’m sorry I reacted that way. Like you said, Risako and I had always been close…” Now that the initial shock had sunk in, she realized she wasn’t jealous at all. She was just upset. Upset that as close as they were, Risako hadn’t told her about it. Saki had probably been the first one. She could imagine it wasn’t something she wanted everyone to know. It made sense though, she tried to convince herself. Saki was, well, their Captain.
Seeming to realize she wasn’t about to be rejected, a fear Miyabi couldn’t have imagined the girl to have to this extent, Saki spoke up again. “That’s one of the things Risako wanted to talk about.” She reached up and ran her finger along a strand of Miyabi’s hair just above her ear. Miyabi resisted the urge to reach up and make sure it was still in place once the girl was done. “I’d known your side of the story from the weekend, but she told me hers. Of course I didn’t mention that I’d already been talking with you…”
Miyabi slid back down beneath the covers and stared up at the ceiling as the girl continued from above her. “She was worried about how to tell you, and how you’d react. I tried to explain that it was just something you needed to know, and it was better for her to tell you than…”
“…to hear it from someone else.” Miyabi finished. She moved her eyes down from the ceiling to look at Saki, who nodded slowly.
“She said she’d call you later that night…” The end of Saki’s statement had the hint of a question to it, but she also seemed to already know the answer.
Miyabi shook her head. “She never called.”
“Ah…” Saki said, looking down at her fingers, which were playing with the edge of the sheet. “The next day, when I talked to you, you sounded so happy to hear from me. I thought you two had talked and put everything behind you, and… well…” The uncertainty seemed to creep back into her voice again. “I hoped to snatch you up.”
Miyabi broke into a grin that the other girl didn’t see. She sat up quickly, and Saki looked up into her face, but became puzzled at the grin she saw. “And you did.” Miyabi took her Captain’s wrists. “Do you think last night would have happened if I had any doubts?” Saki’s gaze seemed to relax slightly, but she still seemed full of doubt. “Do you think that little of me?” she continued in a sincere whisper.
Saki’s eyes widened at that, and her face completely changed. She looked like she was about to firmly deny her suggestion until Miyabi laid a finger against her lips. Miyabi smiled at catching her off-guard again.
“As far as I was concerned, after that night it was clear that nothing would happen again between Risako and me, or at least that it wouldn’t until a lot of time passed and things changed again. It might have taken me a while to fully realize it, but especially after talking to her the day after… Yes, I missed her. But something else was missing too – that vital essence that people need between each other to be more than friends. Neither of us seemed to have it any longer. I think I lost it when I spent that night with you...” Saki blushed slightly at that, of all things. “…And now I understand why Risako no longer had it either. You know, it’s really funny!” As if to prove her point she giggled freely, an action that finally elicited a smile from her Captain, if still a slightly unsure one. “I’ve been telling myself the whole time she must have found friends elsewhere… probably someone else special too… I guess that’ll teach me I need to listen to myself better, ne? My intuition seems so stellar, after all!”
Saki held her smile, and Miyabi broke into one too when she noticed it was now becoming fully genuine. “Your intuition, huh?” she asked. “Is that what you’re calling it?” Miyabi thought she even saw a smirk twist the corner of the girl’s mouth.
“Why Captain, what on earth could you be talking about?” she said with the most sarcastically innocent face she could muster. The other girl just grinned at her. “I guess I failed at hiding everything, huh?” Miyabi said after awhile, now picking at her own edge of a sheet.
“Do you really think you could hide anything from me after last night?” Saki asked lightly.
Miyabi looked into her face, and the girl was smiling back encouragingly. “No, I suppose not. I just didn’t want you thinking I was weird or something…”
Saki brought out into a loud giggle at that. “Miya-chan! You know I already think you’re weird! You seem almost as much of an alien as Kamei sometimes… “ The two girls both fell into fits of laughter at that. When they calmed down, Saki continued as she raised her eyebrows at Miyabi. “And if you think I’m the only one who’s realized your secret, I think you may be in for a surprise.”
“Damn you Berryz,” Miyabi responsed in mock anger. “Why couldn’t you be as oblivious as everyone else around me…”
“Because we’re Berryz,” Saki said simply.
Miyabi looked up at her, her smile fading, but the other girl’s was still clear as crystal. This was now how things should be; Captain giving her that unwavering smile, and her just trying to figure everything out. It wasn’t meant to work the other way.
“Thank you,” Saki said after a time.
“For what?” Miyabi asked.
“For all you’ve done for me,” she responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Then she turned and leaned in, and before Miyabi could react was snuggling herself into her arms, which reflexively closed around her waist.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Miyabi mumbled, and she heard soft laughter from her chest before the girl raised her head level with her own to catch her eyes.
“That’s my Miya.” With that, she pressed her lips to Miyabi’s, who now familiar with the pleasure and comfort of the touch responded willingly.
After an indeterminable amount of time, Miyabi found herself once again holding Saki in her arms as they snuggled peacefully and in the utmost relaxation.
“So I guess here we are, ne?” Miyabi said softly, as if being any louder would shatter the blissful silence irrevocably. “Together…”
She felt Saki nod on her shoulder, but hesitate before responding. “I still don’t feel as I should… as strong as you,” she finally said softly as well.
Miyabi pulled back slightly to look into the girl’s face. “As strong as me? What are you talking about? I have no idea what I’m doing. This is… well… I guess this is my first real relationship… I just hope I don’t totally screw it up.”
Saki gave her a tender smile in return. “That may be… But that doesn’t mean you can’t be strong. For me it’s just been… Well, it was just last weekend…”
Miyabi stared off into space again. She was right. Miyabi had almost forgotten it in all that had happened since. Saki had gone through a horrible rejection, something that Miyabi could only imagine… It had to have been much worse than her own… Suddenly she felt very young and inexperienced next to the girl she held. “I can’t imagine what…” she began.
“All you have to do is not stop,” Saki said in what sounded a very pleased voice. Miyabi came back to reality and noticed she had been absently stroking the girl’s hair as her head rested on her shoulder. Her eyes were closed as she enjoyed it. Miyabi’s fingers had stopped when she came back into focus, but Saki nudged her head into them urging them to continue.
At the click of a doorknob though Miyabi suddenly pulled back, and terrified, looked in its direction.
“Good morning you two sleepy-heads!” came her mother’s voice, quickly followed by her figure in the doorway. She was smiling indulgently but very kindly at the two of them. Saki, who’d pulled away as well, scratched the back of her neck and put a hand in front of her mouth as if stifling a yawn, but Miyabi could see a fixed smile behind it. Miyabi wished she could be so relaxed. Her heart had just calmed down after being kissed, and now her mother almost…
“Mommm!” she whined, and picked up a pillow to throw at the woman. “Give me a little privacy why don’t you. This is my room after all! I could have been naked! Saki-chan too!” As if realizing what she’d just said she tried to keep a mortified look from coming to her face, since of course her words would have meant nothing more to her mother than the point she was trying to make. Saki now held her hand tightly over her mouth, obviously attempting her very best to avoid breaking out in hysterical laughter. Miyabi felt the urge to poke the girl. Hard.
Blessedly, her mother didn’t seem to notice a thing. “Yeah, yeah. And then you’d be scarred for life, wouldn’t you? I suppose I shouldn’t remind you of when you were a little girl…”
“MOM!” Miyabi cried, no longer able to keep her face from turning various shades of scarlet.
“Alright! Well, I just wanted to tell you girls that even though it’s so late, if you’d like me to warm up some breakfast for you just let me know. Or else you can just wait for lunch, which won’t be long now.” She began turning to head back out the door. “Don’t stay in bed all day! You still have some studying to do, and Shimizu-san needs to go home soon!”
As she closed the door behind her, Miyabi stared at the wood. “Sometimes I wish she’d just kill me…”
“Well Miya, look at the bright side,” Saki said in a plainly highly amused voice, though at least she refrained from breaking out in the laughter she’d been holding in. Then she wrapped her arms around Miyabi’s waist as she hugged her from behind. “We weren’t naked in here.”
Miyabi raised her eyes to the ceiling once again. “Kami-sama, take me now…”
…
Having skipped breakfast, since they against her mother’s wishes ended up staying in bed a little while longer, once they finished lunch Saki reported sadly that it was time for her to go. Her and Miyabi’s mother exchanged pleasantries for letting her stay over and for being such a wonderful guest, and Saki packed her small bag and said her final goodbye at the door.
Miyabi’s father actually had come home late in the morning, and he gruffly thanked Saki for coming over as well. To Miyabi’s utmost chagrin, his comments about Miyabi having too few friends over lately were too much like her mother’s the day before. Saki, however, didn’t seem to mind.
The two girls bowed their way through the entry and out the door, Saki to head to the train station and Miyabi to escort her there. They were silent for a while, though Miyabi didn’t mind. She just wanted to enjoy the girl’s company for a little while longer.
“So what do you have planned for the rest of the day?” Saki asked finally. “I know you’re not actually going to be studying. For school, at least,” she finished with a grin.
Miyabi kicked a stone she passed. She’d put her seifuku back on for the trip outside, and Saki wore something similar, though a more casual version. She was amazed the girl actually bought clothes like that. “Well, you know,” she mumbled. “I’ll probably be… stopping at the bookstore on the way back…”
Saki giggled. “You dork.”
Finally getting her chance at unsuspecting prey, Miyabi poked at the short girl’s side. “You’re the one who likes me,” she scolded, sounding as if she was still grumbling.
“Mhm!” Saki responded confidently, smiling.
They walked on a little farther before one of them spoke again. “I guess I won’t see you this week, will I?” Miyabi asked.
Saki’s face darkened slightly. “No… School is busy… and you don’t really have the time either with your commute, do you?”
“No, not really,” Miyabi admitted grudgingly. It would be a long week.
“But I’ll call you,” Saki said. “And we can text all the time!”
“You can,” Miyabi said. “It’s not allowed at my school.”
Saki gave a mock gasp. “Miyabi Natsuyaki! Don’t tell me you actually follow all your school rules!”
“I have to,” she pouted. “You have no idea the eagle eyes the teachers have. And if you’re caught sending one they confiscate your phone and use it to call your parents. Trust me, it’s not a pleasant experience…”
Saki giggled again. “I wouldn’t have imagined you could be such a normal student!”
Miyabi gave her a level look. “You do know where I go to school, right?”
“Mmmhmm!” Saki responded cheerfully.
“Speaking of that…” Miyabi began. “Especially now we’re, well, dating, I’ve been wondering. Where do you go to school?”
Saki jogged a few steps ahead and turned around, still jogging backwards in front of her and smiling. “Why Miya-chan, you don’t know?” Miyabi stared at her. “Well then, I think that’s something you should find out, don’t you? Let’s see… If you get it right I’ll… let you kiss me!”
Miyabi still stared at her, though now with a slight blush. There wasn’t anyone likely close enough to overhear, but hearing her girlfriend say that in public still made her a little nervous. “Oh? You won’t let me otherwise?”
“I didn’t say that…” she said with a grin, and before Miyabi could give her irritated response turned on a dime and ran out ahead. Miyabi started running to in an attempt to catch up, but unfortunately with this girl that was a race she was not going to win.
Eventually though, the girl slowed up enough for her to jog back to her side, panting heavily. Saki didn’t seem to be breathing hard at all. “It looks like I need to get you into shape! You’d better watch out next weekend…”
“Tell me…” *huff* “…why…” *wheeze* “…I put up with all of this…”
“You’re the one who likes me,” Saki said with a grin, and she reached out and clutched Miyabi’s hand. They twined their fingers together as they slowed down and walked in silence again. Before long the station came into view down the street. When they reached it, Saki checked the signs for which train she needed and the two girls headed toward the turnstile.
“Well,” Saki said, now not seeming quite as cheery, though slightly antsy for some reason. “I’ll see you next weekend.”
Miyabi nodded.
“Bye!” she said, and rising quickly to her tiptoes she planted a quick kiss on Miyabi’s lips and released her hand, slipping through the turnstile and jogging off onto the platform out of sight.
Miyabi stood there for a few minutes staring after her, two fingers touching her lips lightly where Saki had just kissed her. She didn’t think she would have cared at this point anyway, but people passed by with their heads down as quickly as always having apparently not noticed anything, much less two schoolgirls kissing goodbye.
Slowly she turned around and walked back down the street, her feet feeling lighter than the air she passed through. Two straight weekends now of world-shattering surprises, well for her at least, and now she was going home after seeing off her first real lover, girl or boy. The frantic thoughts of this morning seemed a far cry, and she just couldn’t seem to get those light feet back on the ground.
On the way, she passed by the bookstore and picked up her copy of Mors Mortis Mortalitasque. She’d been awaiting it so long, and although she was sure she’d open it up to dive into it the minute she relaxed on her bed back in her room, it was hard to become distracted from thoughts of the girl she’d just kissed goodbye.
It had been a couple years now since she’d met a girl even stranger than herself who transferred half a year later to a school in another city, after which she’d never seen her again. The girl introduced her to ways of finding nature’s hidden secrets, and since she left Miyabi sought out many books and people, generally online, from whom she learned much more. She’d never admit it, but she knew she’d discovered much more than that girl knew, and even most of those she spoke with online. She was still very careful of course, and hadn’t actually performed much of anything she couldn’t do from the shelter of her small shrine. However, she was sure she knew the theory of much more. That theory and her innate curiosity led her to question something which had been very mysterious to her ever since she had watched her grandmother experience it while still in primary school. She’d studied deeply on the subject, but upon finding out the existence of this book she realized it was what she needed. Still, overwhelmed with life as she had been just this last week through the girl she’d become closer to than anyone, it was hard to imagine it suddenly floating away into death like a grain of sand in the wind that was blowing gently through her hair as she stroked it while walking the oh so familiar way home…
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I want Drama, I want fights, arguements the whole nine-yards!!!!!!!! :angry1: :ding: :mon zoom:
But this chapter was so full of Mushy Mush I melted! >w< :luvluv2:
Though, the Risako/boyfriend? Why do I get the feeling, it's not going to work out oh, so kindly? :err:
Miya's mom is love, I heart her motherly-ness and the embarrassment it causes poor poor Miya :hiakhiakhiak:
I hope to expect some...grr argh triangle thing to pull the strings of one's heart
Because nothing says I love you when you're torn between two people you care about heehee :mon misch:
P.S. : UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :mon zoom: :mon geek: :mon cweepy: :mon XD: :mon uggh: :mon blowhorn: :mon lovelaff: :mon star: :mon pissed: :mon annoy: :temper: :scolding: :kneelbow: :grr: :angry1: ...<---all that to tell you to update <3
=3 please do update soon!!! :mon baby:
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I did my best to comfort her, and so eventually she did open up and tell me about her boyfriend.”
So Socko is seeing someone? Is that probably the reason why she rejected Miyabi when she came to her bed and later said she couldn't be close to her like that?
Kami-sama, take me now
And I don't know if you're a Family Guy fan, but there was a scene where a charcter said that, but in english of course. XD
anways I love your long dialogues. It seems like theres a lesson in them thats supposed to be learned, lol.
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Saki jogged a few steps ahead and turned around, still jogging backwards in front of her and smiling. “Why Miya-chan, you don’t know?” Miyabi stared at her. “Well then, I think that’s something you should find out, don’t you? Let’s see… If you get it right I’ll… let you kiss me!”
:O
Captain's got a big devil inside that small body of hers! I knew it! XD
And she even breaks school rules and policies! :lol:
Miya's mom :rockon:
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I'm not into Berryz Kobou atm, although I know quite a few things about them. I can't help it if I turned mushy after reading your fic, you know. Especially when Miya, after being rejected, found solace in Saki. Awww....so cyuteee! I know that Miyabi often get paired with Risako but her and Captain works well too. I can see it in my mind. Great chapter 17, I hope you can update quickly. :D
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Hey all!
I'm sorry I haven't updated yet. I've been busy with er, other things this week >.> and work has been hectic also since it's the week before classes start! All the students are returning now. There were 7,000 that moved in yesterday, and I could hardly even get around campus so it took me an hour to get home. >.> Ugh, anyway. I'm replying to everyone because doing that seems to get me motivated to write and get another chapter up soon after. :P
@g4rfield: Nice to see you here! There seem to be a few people not into Berryz who are keeping an eye on my fic. I'm glad to see it's sparking interest in you and I hope the Berryz :heart: keeps spreading!
@wordy: Well, Captain's been through a lot. :) She knows a bit more of life than does poor Miya... That's something that'll really be pronounced soon...
@modesta: I do like Family Guy, though I haven't watched it in quite awhile. ^_^ That line is really pretty cliche from many places... lol... That's probably why Family Guy used it. :P And thanks for the comment about the dialogues! There may be a lesson in there, but I don't know if it's intentional XD lol.
@Loser: Whatever do you mean about Risako and her boyfriend not working out? :D I guess we'll just have to see what happens to them... There should be more about her... soonish...
I'm glad to see you guys liking Miya's mom, lol, even though I didn't really expect it. XD It probably wouldn't happen with Japanese children, but it's just more of the image of Miya's youth and naivetè. :D
Also, I hope you all enjoyed the mush and fluffiness of the last few chapters, because in the next one things should start to get... er... not so good. ;) I almost hate to do this to those poor girls, but unfortunately, "life" happens... :O Too bad Miya's still a bit disconnected with it... though she's not the only one...
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So Miyabi is trying to explore the boundary between life and death through ancient mysticism huh? That sounds like a good hobby for her.
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My Miyabi birthday chapter! Well, it didn't exactly end up as I was previously envisioning, but I have a feeling you all will enjoy it anyway. :) I think what's to come next is best kept for a day other than her birthday anyway. :P
Miya, what on earth are you thinking? Oh, and happy birthday. :)
Chapter 18
The next few days passed quickly through all of Miyabi’s studying, classes resuming, personal reading, and of course frequent texts to Saki whenever one or the other wasn’t at school. She was never so frustrated at the rule that she was not allowed to text while on school grounds, especially due to Saki’s occasional messages during the middle of the day that teased her about it.
“Hey! <3 How are you? This has been the most fun day! After lunch, the teachers let us have a small amount of free-time to play sports or do whatever. I wanted to play futsal, but nobody else seemed too interested. Other girls seemed more interested in just playing badminton instead… Anyway, I’m in class of course right now, but I thought I’d see what’s up! Later!”
A short while later another would arrive:
“Hey… Why haven’t you responded to my last txt yet? Our class just got over and we’re having a short transition time. Please mail back soon! <3”
Then later:
“Ok I’m getting mad now. Are you ignoring me?! :cry: :cry: :cry: Mail me back soon or I’ll break up with you!”
All of these Miyabi of course received at once while riding the train home after school on Wednesday, causing her to furiously type a pleading message back that she just couldn’t write her while at school. She didn’t get a response for a while, but when she did all the girl said was, “Oh I know. I was just teasing you. Lighten up Miya! I’m starting to agree with Momo that you’re studying too hard…” After that, Miyabi purposely did not write to her for the rest of the night and instead tried to read more of her new book, which was made very difficult by her frustration that occasionally flared anew when Saki sent another message or even a time when she tried to call. Upon seeing the ID, Miyabi ignored it.
Later on in the evening though a different girl called, and although she still wasn’t thrilled about talking to anyone, she picked up her phone to answer.
“Hello?”
“Miya-chan! How are you?”
“Hello Momo. Oh, I’m just wonderful,” Miyabi responded as she kneaded her forehead.
“That sounds a bit sarcastic, Miya-chan,” the girl responded in a disapproving voice. “What happened?”
“It’s nothing,” Miyabi replied, removing her hand from her forehead but laying back onto her bed.
“Did you and Captain have a fight?” Momoko asked. Miyabi responded with silence. After a moment, she went on. “I heard you two hooked up over the weekend.”
Fighting back a blush, though not really surprised the girl knew, Miyabi quickly covered herself. “No, we didn’t have a fight. I’m just not talking to her tonight because she was mean to me earlier today. It’s nothing major though.”
“I see.”
“By the way, how did you know about the weekend?”
“I think you just told me,” Momoko said quietly.
Miyabi was silent a moment again. Drat the girl… She felt like another headache would be coming on. “I didn’t tell you anything.”
“Of course you didn’t. Now we have that established though, what’s going on? Are you two dating? Lovers? Or was it just a one-time thing?”
Miyabi felt her face grow darker at each questioning word the girl asked. “Er…”
“Yes?”
“…I would say… more than dating…”
“I see.”
“…Why are you asking this?” The blush fading, Miyabi was now starting to get uncomfortable.
“Well, you see,” the girl responded, “Being with Captain is not going to be an easy thing.”
“I know that,” Miyabi said, and some of her worries from that Sunday morning started to stir inside her a bit.
“You’re going to find it tough. Once the girls find out about this – and of course they will – some of them are not going to be very happy.”
“Yes, I know,” Miyabi said a bit impatiently. “Risako for one will kill me.”
“I thought you two had resolved things between yourselves?”
“Er… Not exactly, I would say…” As if that wasn’t an understatement.
“Well then, I think you might have more problems than I even expected. Whatever happens, and whatever the cost, you know we have to maintain Berryz harmony, right? That’s something Captain would definitely agree with. Ahh, Captain…” The girl trailed off as if she’d fallen into thought. “She’s going to find it very difficult.”
“Are you that eager to become Captain yourself?” Miyabi asked before thinking, quickly becoming irritated.
“Of course not!” Momoko said, and the girl sounded genuinely affronted. “Do you think I want that kind of responsibility? In fact, one of the reasons I’m keeping an eye on you two is to make sure that doesn’t have to happen! I’m sure you feel the same, but Saki-chan has done a splendid job keeping us all together these past few years. But now that she has a special interest…”
The echo of her own thoughts from a previous day calmed Miyabi’s irritation. Despite the tone of the discussion though, she couldn’t feel that she’d done something wrong. “If you agree she’s done a great job balancing everything the last few years, why don’t you have faith that she’ll be able to continue it now? This may be a special situation, but it’s not like she’s not dealt with things like this before, right? I mean, she was dating Jun for months…” Amazingly, silence greeted her on the other end. “In fact, I’m surprised you haven’t mentioned that. I mean, Risako came up…”
“I’ve talked with Captain about that,” Momoko responded, and Miyabi was almost taken aback at the sudden change in her voice. It was now much quieter and more sincere. “I offered to beat him up, but she didn’t seem to like that idea…” Miyabi wondered if she should laugh at that, though was stopped short by the very un-amused tone of her voice. “It’s good that you’ve been there for her since then.”
Miyabi no longer knew where the girl was going with her talk. Her emotion seemed to swing at the drop of a hat, and she was fairly certain for some reason that she didn’t believe Momoko was at all happy they got together, but she couldn’t detect anything but honesty in her voice now.
“If this is the case, then I also want you to know Miya that… While others might not like you two being together I… I’ll support you, and fight for you, as much as I can.” A couple seconds after she finished, Miyabi heard a *click*, and when she checked her phone, it was flashing the end of the conversation.
Miyabi stared at the piece of hot metal in her hand a while afterwards. She didn’t know if she could imagine a more confusing conversation. The girl almost sounded like she was going to cry at the end there… Eventually she decided that if Momoko had anything to tell her she’d do so, and went back to her reading. However, she didn’t make much headway since she was quite distracted still, although the cause had altered slightly.
The next day she began mailing Saki again, and to her surprise the girl seemed quite anxious about not being talked to. It was basically the same thing the girl did to her; what was the big deal? She tried to explain everything while riding the train to school, and by the time she arrived it seemed Saki understood and wished her a good day.
Unfortunately, it was really not a good day. By this second week of term her teachers seemed quite insistent that she should do her best to study for the exams so she could get into a top high school. They understood about Berryz and H!P of course, but told her that she should also think ahead to what she’d do in the future when she could no longer just sing and be beautiful. She quietly hoped that day would not happen for a long time, but she’d always trusted her teachers and respected their advice, and by today had realized how much work it would really take to do what they suggested. She might seem more talented than most of the other students, but students like her were a dime a dozen at the most prestigious high schools, so she had to do something to set herself apart. She of course mentioned Hello! Project right away, and the teachers nodded their heads at it, but also suggested she try to pick up at least one thing that was more… academically related. Because she’d always thought of herself as a performer first, she wasn’t terribly excited about most academic subjects even though she did well in them, but eventually she decided that she might take on some extra work in biology. She didn’t really think of herself as scientific, but this at least went along well with her interest in nature. Maybe she would after all pick up something related to history too…
Because of all this activity, Thursday and Friday went quickly, and soon she was stepping off the train Friday afternoon with relief in the knowledge that she wouldn’t have classes the next morning, but instead would be traveling to Nagoya to meet with the Berryz for the beginning of their Golden Week concerts. It would be a welcome break from the last two hectic weeks of school, with seeing Saki of course being the highlight. At this point she hardly even cared what happened with the other girls; she just wanted to see her girlfriend again.
As she walked in the door to her house, her mother came to greet her. “Miyabi, a friend of yours stopped by. I let her know you would probably be busy and weren’t expecting anyone, but she was insistent on seeing you, so I sent her up to your room to wait.”
Right after her mother’s words about sending the girl to her room, Miyabi darted for the stairs and ran up. She wouldn’t have come over tonight… would she?! Her heart was racing as she reached the top.
Blasting open the door to her room, she skidded to a halt as she saw a slightly taller girl at the side of the room staring at one of her bookcases. Upon hearing the door she spun around, but did not seem especially flustered at seeing a girl storm into the room and instead just regarded her coolly.
“Risako…?” Miyabi said, slightly breathless.
“Hello Miya,” came the calm reply.
“Why…” she began, but her mind changed tracks. “How did you get here?”
“I took the train after school,” the younger girl responded, and she turned back to study the bookshelf she’d been looking at. “I suppose it wouldn’t have been too much farther than your commute, would it? Plus my school lets out earlier than yours. I had to sacrifice precious social time after school though of course… But then, I won’t be seeing any of them for a week anyway, will I?”
Miyabi stood still in the doorway, her bag still on her shoulder. Risako here… Risako here… Why did she think this was an inauspicious start to the weekend?
“Why’d you never invite me over here?” Risako asked seemingly randomly, still apparently quite engrossed in Miyabi’s bookshelf. “I don’t live terribly far away, and your mother seemed very nice even at an impromptu visit. Your house is nice, too…”
“I guess I never really thought about it,” Miyabi responded, her mind not on the subject. “You were young, and… Well, I’ve never really had anybody over.”
“Ah,” the girl responded.
Miyabi didn’t really know what to say after that, so she finally came to herself and trotted over to her bed, dropping her bag down on it and causing Risako to glance over at her again. “So why are you here?” she asked, confident in the question this time.
Risako turned completely around at that, but was quiet a moment as she appraised Miyabi in her seifuku. She was wearing some of her own, but Miyabi could tell they were a bit less elaborate. Although she didn’t know where Saki went to school, everybody knew Risako went to a private school in Yokohama, although it wasn’t quite as prestigious as Miyabi’s. It was also co-ed.
It seemed like Risako was trying to think of a way to evade her question, but in the end apparently couldn’t do it. “Several things,” she replied finally, “But mainly, I want to tell you something.” The pretty young girl left her perch in front of the bookshelf, and when she arrived at Miyabi’s bed smoothed her skirt and sat down on the edge. Miyabi joined her, trying to look interested even though she had a feeling she knew what it would be about. However, she didn’t try too hard.
“I’m sorry for what happened the other week,” she said, although Miyabi guessed the apology was mostly a formality. The girl didn’t really sound apologetic at all. “You caught me off-guard, and I didn’t know what to do. The first night I was too surprised to do anything, but the second night I resolved I wouldn’t give in.”
“Give in?” Miyabi said bitterly. “You say that like I’m some sort of narcotic.”
The other girl’s eyes widened slightly at the suggestion, and she looked over at Miyabi, but her face soon fell into a smile again. She did have quite a cute smile. It was really no wonder Miyabi had become enamored of her. “Well you are, you know.” Miyabi raised an eyebrow at her, but she quickly looked away. “Like I said,” she said in a lower voice, “I had something to tell you…” She sounded unsure of herself for the first time now, and hesitated a moment before saying anything else. This allowed Miyabi to claim the advantage.
“Is it about your boyfriend?” she asked, and the girl’s eyes darted lightning-quick back to hers.
“What did you say…?” Risako asked, astounded and even sounding a little frightened.
“Your boyfriend,” Miyabi said simply. “I heard about him, you know.”
Risako looked into her eyes a moment longer before realizing what she was doing and lowering them in shame. “I didn’t want you to find out another way…” she mumbled.
“I know. But I did, didn’t I?” Miyabi tried her best to be patient with the girl.
“I’m going to kill Captain…” she said in what Miyabi supposed was an attempt to sound threatening. The attempt didn’t come across very well though.
“No you’re not,” said Miyabi, still with a calm voice. She reached over, tentatively at first then firmly, and took the girl’s hand. Risako looked up into her face, slightly curious. “You’re not the only one with a new flame,” she finished, and Risako’s eyes widened again. She really was quite the waif.
“No…!” the girl gasped, but Miyabi nodded her head. “You and Captain? That’s just so… so… weird! Isn’t she a little old for you?”
“What?” Miyabi asked suddenly. “She’s not even a year older than me!”
“But you like younger girls,” Risako said sincerely.
Miyabi stared at her. “I liked you. That doesn’t mean I like younger girls in general.”
“But that’s three years’ difference. Doesn’t that seem a little strange to you?”
“No,” Miyabi said confidently. “Not at all.” However, now that the girl mentioned it, she did wonder a little bit at the difference in ages between her two flings, and thought about her relationship with each of them. She had been with Risako for over a year, and the two had never done more than cuddle; they didn’t kiss at all. Saki she kissed on what she supposed was just their second real night together. She almost blushed a little remembering it. And they kissed a lot. Saki also had what was apparently a fairly serious boyfriend before they got together. Risako had been eleven. At these thoughts Miyabi expected to feel some glimmer of fear, but she really didn’t. Sure the relationships were… quite… different, but she felt so comfortable doing anything with Saki that it totally didn’t intimidate her at all, even though they bordered on doing things she wouldn’t have dreamed of doing while her mind had still been on Risako. Instead, she thought with a frown, what bothered her slightly was that she was no longer the corrupter…
While Miyabi was lost in thought, Risako rose and walked over to her bookshelf again. Her next words broke the spell that had come over her mind. “Miya-chan, what does Secundus Vitae mean?” Brought firmly back into the present and the room she existed in, she jerked to her feet and darted over to Risako, hugging her behind her back to pin her arms to her sides as she started to reach for the book.
It took her a while to notice that the girl had stiffened in her arms, and when she realized what she was doing, she hurriedly released her and took a step back. “Sorry,” she said quickly.
Risako turned slowly toward her, her face stormy with emotion that Miyabi could not decipher. “Like a drug…” she whispered under her breath, her eyes seeming far-off, before they refocused onto Miyabi. “Did you know I’ve been with this boy for several months now?” Miyabi shook her head. “He’s a classmate of mine. He’s kind of quiet, but very sweet… and very protective of me for some reason. We haven’t kissed yet though, or barely even touched…” Miyabi watched as the girl stared off into space again while beginning to twist her baby curls around a finger. Quickly though she seemed to shake it off, and focused back on Miyabi. “Miya-chan…” she said in what seemed a wispy sort of voice, and took a step toward her. “Even though I’m with him now, you’re the first one I liked, and that really means something to me. You… you and Saki haven’t kissed yet, have you?” Miyabi tried to look innocent, but when Risako sighed softly she figured she must have failed to keep all the shiftiness out of her eyes. “Oh well, never mind that.” The girl shook her head as if shaking the matter off, and then looked back carefully into Miyabi’s eyes. “I want to kiss him soon, but… Miya, I want my first kiss to be with you.”
Miyabi stared into the girl’s face, sure she must be sweating by now. She licked her lips, but the other girl didn’t seem to catch onto the sign. Quickly Miyabi looked over to the door, which was standing wide open, but there seemed no sign of life outside it. “What are you talking about?” she said unsteadily. “We’re both dating someone now. We can’t just go kissing each other like that…”
“I know we are, but it doesn’t have to be more than this one time. It would just… mean a lot to me if it was with you.” This time, Miyabi noticed a sort of resignation in the girl’s voice that puzzled her for a moment since it seemed to contradict her words. However, a sudden realization dawned on her that changed her whole perspective on their encounter. As she’d found out last weekend, the girl hated that Miyabi didn’t treat her as specially as she used to. However, apparently she’d been thinking about it over the week, and now with finding out about her and Saki… Looking into her eyes, Miyabi realized the girl now knew they could be nothing more than friends, and even that would be tough with their schedules and separate lives keeping them apart as they had for most of the past year. Risako hated the idea still, but knew that’s the way it had to be. Miyabi felt herself give a hint of a smile. The girl had grown. Apparently turning thirteen had meant more to her than just a number.
“I still don’t know…” Miyabi said, but she knew even as she spoke it that she’d already given in. Apparently catching onto that, Risako stepped closer to where they were almost touching. Her fingers jerked as if she wanted to reach her hand up, but wasn’t sure what to do with it. Well, she thought, If I’ve decided to do it, I might as well finish it. The depth of her care for the younger girl in front of her also motivated her to do it right.
After glancing out of the corner of her eye to the door again she reached out her arms and pulled the similar-sized girl into an embrace, catching her slightly off-guard, and leaned in to catch her lips with her own. The girl appeared quite anxious and tentative about the encounter, and though Miyabi found her lips to be soft, she realized it didn’t feel the same as when she kissed Saki. Hugging her close, she held this light and innocent kiss for several seconds before pulling away a bit, and when she did she saw the girl’s eyes closed as if she was gazing onto a distant land beneath her eyelids. When she finally opened them she licked her lips unconsciously, causing Miyabi to chuckle slightly. Then she released her and walked over to sit on her bed, staring at the open door.
Risako stood in her spot for a while before turning to face Miyabi. “Thank you…” she said softly. Her eyes traveled to the window behind Miyabi, which twilight was now seeping through. “It’s late… I know it may seem strange, but can I stay over tonight and ride with you to Nagoya tomorrow? I brought my luggage with me…” She gestured over to the corner next to Miyabi’s shrine, and sure enough, two large suitcases sat there. Miyabi thought it was funny she hadn’t noticed them before.
“Strange? What are you talking about?” Miyabi asked. Risako gave her a cock-eyed look, and Miyabi burst into a smile. “We do room together sometimes anyway, after all. Plus we’re friends, so it’s not like I can refuse you.” The girl’s lips blossomed into a smile as well, and Miyabi couldn’t help staring at them as she gave a firm nod.
“Right! What else are friends for? So what should we do the rest of the night?”
“Well I was just going to read…” Miyabi said wistfully. “But I have a feeling you’d find that boring. I have a Wii downstairs though!”
Risako nodded her head again. “Okay! But first… I really do want to know what Secundus Vitae means…” She glanced over at the bookshelf once again.
Miyabi sighed and stood up. “It’s about life after death,” she said. “It’s one of the first books I got like that.” She walked over to that bookshelf and began to look as if she was browsing through them.
Risako giggled. “Silly Miya, what is it with you and death?”
Miyabi shrugged. “It’s interesting. It’s not all I read about though. Hey, do you want to see something I can do?”
Risako looked uncertain for a moment, but then nodded. Miyabi smiled, feeling a tingle of excitement, and walked over to her shrine where she picked up a piece of wood that was sitting next to a candle there. It fit snugly into the palm of her hand. She walked back toward Risako and held her hand out. Risako looked at her strangely, but seemed to get the idea and watched the piece of wood. Miyabi closed her eyes and concentrated hard. It had been awhile since she’d tried it, but it was simple enough to her now that she was convinced she could do it in her sleep. She hoped she didn’t, however… Well, at least until she learned to control her dreams.
A feeling of sudden warmth in her hand and a gasp from Risako confirmed her success, and she opened her eyes to see a ball of flame a few centimeters high atop her palm. She watched carefully for a moment, and then closed her hand around it. When she reopened it, the flame was gone and all that was left was a bit of ash from the piece of wood that used to be there. She wiped her hands together to clean it off and grinned at Risako, who was staring at her with her mouth open.
“Miya! You never told me you were learning to be a magician!” she scolded, though the effect was slightly lost in the impressed tone she delivered it in.
“That’s because I’m not,” Miyabi corrected. “That wasn’t a trick. It was real magic.”
“I don’t understand…” the girl said slowly.
Miyabi grinned again. “Yes you do. But whether you believe is the question. You already know this story, but I’ll tell it to you anyway because I don’t think you truly got it before now.” She sat down on the edge of the bed, and Risako joined her, if slightly nervously. “A long time ago…”
-
I died and I hate you for that....
Okay I live now and now, I'll give you a big comment and it'll probably be the last huge comment I'll ever give to anyone again for like...a bajillion years..Because I'm just that lazy, NOW! Let's get started!
She was never so frustrated at the rule that she was not allowed to text while on school grounds, especially due to Saki’s occasional messages during the middle of the day that teased her about it.
It must suck not being able to text anyone, especially the person you like and together with -O-
“Hey! <3 How are you? This has been the most fun day! After lunch, the teachers let us have a small amount of free-time to play sports or do whatever. I wanted to play futsal, but nobody else seemed too interested. Other girls seemed more interested in just playing badminton instead… Anyway, I’m in class of course right now, but I thought I’d see what’s up! Later!”
A short while later another would arrive:
“Hey… Why haven’t you responded to my last txt yet? Our class just got over and we’re having a short transition time. Please mail back soon! <3”
Then later:
“Ok I’m getting mad now. Are you ignoring me?! Mail me back soon or I’ll break up with you!”
LMAO, Captain could be more ebiru than Miyabi in the sense that Captain knows Miya can't text back to her while in school
And then to be even more evil she pushes it a bit further by threatening to break up even though Captain was just joking Miyabi probably took it seriously and was like :OMG: :frustrated:
She didn’t get a response for a while, but when she did all the girl said was, “Oh I know. I was just teasing you. Lighten up Miya! I’m starting to agree with Momo that you’re studying too hard…”
Lol Captain truly is the devious one
After that, Miyabi purposely did not write to her for the rest of the night and instead tried to read more of her new book, which was made very difficult by her frustration that occasionally flared anew when Saki sent another message or even a time when she tried to call. Upon seeing the ID, Miyabi ignored it.
Lol see, I knew Miya would take it in an offensive manner and be slightly mad at Saki for doing something like that
Ah, poor Miya :mon sweat:
“That sounds a bit sarcastic, Miya-chan,” the girl responded in a disapproving voice. “What happened?”
“It’s nothing,” Miyabi replied, removing her hand from her forehead but laying back onto her bed.
“Did you and Captain have a fight?” Momoko asked.
Momoko really...How does she get all this info?
Did Captain call her and tell her?
“By the way, how did you know about the weekend?”
“I think you just told me,” Momoko said quietly.
Momoko is really..quite the sneaky one isn't she? :mon hobo:
“I’ve talked with Captain about that,” Momoko responded, and Miyabi was almost taken aback at the sudden change in her voice. It was now much quieter and more sincere. “I offered to beat him up, but she didn’t seem to like that idea…”
Momoko could have beaten him up with the guns she's packing...But I can't really see Momoko actually in a fight I just picture her throwing something then running away into hiding :mon sweat: But I'm sure Momoko can hold her own yup :mon determined:
Miyabi wondered if she should laugh at that, though was stopped short by the very un-amused tone of her voice. “It’s good that you’ve been there for her since then.”
I can't help but get the impression that Momoko hates Miyabi being the one being there to help Captain out..Not like she wants Captain miserable and horrible but more like...She wanting to be the one that helps Captain out of the whole Jun situation.
“If this is the case, then I also want you to know Miya that… While others might not like you two being together I… I’ll support you, and fight for you, as much as I can.” A couple seconds after she finished, Miyabi heard a *click*, and when she checked her phone, it was flashing the end of the conversation.
To me that statement...looked more forced than anything, like she really hates the idea that Miya is together with captain but because it is captain (seeing from previous chapters Momoko I'm guessing talks with captain a lot and spends a lot of time with her) she just wants saki to be happy I suppose.
The girl almost sounded like she was going to cry at the end there…
This statement itself just deepens my theory that Momoko definitely likes Captain more than just a 'You're my friend' type of way
She of course mentioned Hello! Project right away, and the teachers nodded their heads at it, but also suggested she try to pick up at least one thing that was more… academically related.
It's good for Miyabi that her teachers are telling her to look ahead other than just her position in H!P Not everything lasts forever so it's good to see her choosing something more than just her performance abilities as an idol.
As she walked in the door to her house, her mother came to greet her. “Miyabi, a friend of yours stopped by. I let her know you would probably be busy and weren’t expecting anyone, but she was insistent on seeing you, so I sent her up to your room to wait.”
Miya's Mom is sweet and it makes me kinda wish for the sweet non-nagging mother that Miya in this story sorta' has.
Blasting open the door to her room, she skidded to a halt as she saw a slightly taller girl at the side of the room staring at one of her bookcases.
That's....Not Saki, not at all :cool2:
“Risako…?” Miyabi said, slightly breathless.
This is where the heart begins to twist and crush itself because you expect more of a drastic turn for the worse to happen here.
“I suppose it wouldn’t have been too much farther than your commute, would it? Plus my school lets out earlier than yours. I had to sacrifice precious social time after school though of course… But then, I won’t be seeing any of them for a week anyway, will I?”
That's like one clear sign she's a total brat in one way and to me it's amazing how incredible sophisticated Risako is in her speech abilities but that's okay it just makes the reader feel more anxious and antsy in the slight drama that one expects to see.
Miyabi stood still in the doorway, her bag still on her shoulder. Risako here… Risako here… Why did she think this was an inauspicious start to the weekend?
Maybe because it is an inauspicious start to the weekend and hopefully you will cause quite a major stir with this and others we have yet to see. :glasses:
“I’m sorry for what happened the other week,” she said, although Miyabi guessed the apology was mostly a formality. The girl didn’t really sound apologetic at all.
Risako still feels justified in doing what she did does she? And if I'm sure looking back on previous chapters Risako still believes that Miyabi still likes her no matter their circumstances.
“You caught me off-guard, and I didn’t know what to do. The first night I was too surprised to do anything, but the second night I resolved I wouldn’t give in.”
“Give in?” Miyabi said bitterly. “You say that like I’m some sort of narcotic.”
The other girl’s eyes widened slightly at the suggestion, and she looked over at Miyabi, but her face soon fell into a smile again. She did have quite a cute smile. It was really no wonder Miyabi had become enamored of her. “Well you are, you know.” Miyabi raised an eyebrow at her, but she quickly looked away.
heehee...In this, it seems obvious that Risako really feels something for Miyabi and it's strong..Though, Risako wants to detach herself from that for whatever reason, I assume perhaps for her boyfriend (Bleh >_>) but knowing you (not really but I assume through your writing!) there might be another reason for Risako's behaviour towards Miyabi and if I'm right that other reason is probably much more complex that might cause 'OMG WTF JUST HAPPENED!?' moments later on
“Is it about your boyfriend?” she asked, and the girl’s eyes darted lightning-quick back to hers.
“What did you say…?” Risako asked, astounded and even sounding a little frightened.
“Your boyfriend,” Miyabi said simply. “I heard about him, you know.”
It shows that Risako was terrified of telling Miyabi this not knowing exactly how she would react hnn..
Risako looked into her eyes a moment longer before realizing what she was doing and lowering them in shame. “I didn’t want you to find out another way…” she mumbled.
“I know. But I did, didn’t I?” Miyabi tried her best to be patient with the girl.
It also shows that Risako still is a child in the aspect that she told someone else first than the one that deserves the right to know.
“No you’re not,” said Miyabi, still with a calm voice. She reached over, tentatively at first then firmly, and took the girl’s hand. Risako looked up into her face, slightly curious. “You’re not the only one with a new flame,” she finished, and Risako’s eyes widened again. She really was quite the waif.
And this is when Risako is just :shock: :err:
“No…!” the girl gasped, but Miyabi nodded her head. “You and Captain? That’s just so… so… weird! Isn’t she a little old for you?”
“What?” Miyabi asked suddenly. “She’s not even a year older than me!”
“But you like younger girls,” Risako said sincerely.
Risako...still does like Miyabi as it seems she is trying to find ways to make Miyabi realize she shouldn't be with Saki. That Miyabi should like someone like say...Risako herself -cough-
Saki she kissed on what she supposed was just their second real night together. She almost blushed a little remembering it. And they kissed a lot.
Saki/Miyabi is so cute... :shy2:
Sure the relationships were… quite… different, but she felt so comfortable doing anything with Saki that it totally didn’t intimidate her at all, even though they bordered on doing things she wouldn’t have dreamed of doing while her mind had still been on Risako. Instead, she thought with a frown, what bothered her slightly was that she was no longer the corrupter…
Ohoho...Miyabi while with Risako wouldn't do anything of course because in Miyabi's mind, Risako was the youngest of their group and therefore incredibly naive and I guess in a way pure? So Miyabi wouldn't dare do anything but being with Saki now completely changes the whole scale. Saki being the oldest and possibly more experienced in relationships Miyabi puts herself completely in Saki's hands trusting her to lead the way I suppose.
Although, it bothers Miyabi slightly as she's not the one thats leading to kisses at all that it's Saki and it's always Saki that's starts the lead leaving her as the innocent and Saki as the dashing corrupter :hiakhiakhiak:
“Miya-chan, what does Secundus Vitae mean?” Brought firmly back into the present and the room she existed in, she jerked to her feet and darted over to Risako, hugging her behind her back to pin her arms to her sides as she started to reach for the book.
Miyabi obviously doesn't want Risako nor does she want anyone at all touching and opening her books for a reason that you may explain later on into this story..
Though stopping Risako by hugging her from behind instead of simply just grabbing the girl's wrist IMO shows...that Miyabi, despite being completely involved and infatuated with Saki...That she still feels something for Risako even if it isn't obvious to her herself, it might be her subconscious still saying that she still likes Risako in that manner.
It took her a while to notice that the girl had stiffened in her arms, and when she realized what she was doing, she hurriedly released her and took a step back. “Sorry,” she said quickly.
And it's quite obvious Risako still likes Miyabi but tries incredibly hard to detatch herself from the older girl.
Risako turned slowly toward her, her face stormy with emotion that Miyabi could not decipher. “Like a drug…” she whispered under her breath, her eyes seeming far-off, before they refocused onto Miyabi.
hee more fuel to the fire :kekeke:
“Even though I’m with him now, you’re the first one I liked, and that really means something to me. You… you and Saki haven’t kissed yet, have you?” Miyabi tried to look innocent, but when Risako sighed softly she figured she must have failed to keep all the shiftiness out of her eyes. “Oh well, never mind that.” The girl shook her head as if shaking the matter off, and then looked back carefully into Miyabi’s eyes. “I want to kiss him soon, but… Miya, I want my first kiss to be with you.”
This is when I started to die a little from Miya/Rii overload -O-
Miyabi stared into the girl’s face, sure she must be sweating by now. She licked her lips, but the other girl didn’t seem to catch onto the sign. Quickly Miyabi looked over to the door, which was standing wide open, but there seemed no sign of life outside it. “What are you talking about?” she said unsteadily. “We’re both dating someone now. We can’t just go kissing each other like that…”
Miyabi already gave in to the suggestion as soon as Risako has suggested it kukukuk :kekeke:
“I know we are, but it doesn’t have to be more than this one time. It would just… mean a lot to me if it was with you.”
Despite all the sincerity in it why do I feel like it won't be than just one time?
After glancing out of the corner of her eye to the door again she reached out her arms and pulled the similar-sized girl into an embrace, catching her slightly off-guard, and leaned in to catch her lips with her own. The girl appeared quite anxious and tentative about the encounter, and though Miyabi found her lips to be soft, she realized it didn’t feel the same as when she kissed Saki. Hugging her close, she held this light and innocent kiss for several seconds before pulling away a bit, and when she did she saw the girl’s eyes closed as if she was gazing onto a distant land beneath her eyelids. When she finally opened them she licked her lips unconsciously, causing Miyabi to chuckle slightly. Then she released her and walked over to sit on her bed, staring at the open door.
......... :farofflook: :luvluv2: :shy2: :luvluv1: :k-inlove: :k-inlove: :k-thrilled: :k-thrilled: :luvuluvu: :luvuluvu: :mon inluv: :mon inluv: :mon lovelaff: :mon lovelaff: :mon lovelaff:
seriously...I died.. :imdead:
“It’s late… I know it may seem strange, but can I stay over tonight and ride with you to Nagoya tomorrow? I brought my luggage with me…”
...
“Strange? What are you talking about?” Miyabi asked. Risako gave her a cock-eyed look, and Miyabi burst into a smile. “We do room together sometimes anyway, after all. Plus we’re friends, so it’s not like I can refuse you.” The girl’s lips blossomed into a smile as well, and Miyabi couldn’t help staring at them as she gave a firm nod.
Now, as much as I adore Miya/saki I adore Miya/Rii too
And with my theories in my head, why does it seem like Risako spending the night will cause something more to happen? something that will cause drama and arguements and fights that I've been waiting for leaving Miyabi torn in the middle? heehee :wriggly:
“Right! What else are friends for? So what should we do the rest of the night?”
“Well I was just going to read…” Miyabi said wistfully. “But I have a feeling you’d find that boring. I have a Wii downstairs though!”
That oddly sounds like how Saki and Miyabi night went before they actually hooked up huhuhuhuhu :kekeke: :kekeke:
A feeling of sudden warmth in her hand and a gasp from Risako confirmed her success, and she opened her eyes to see a ball of flame a few centimeters high atop her palm
Well..tat was just an 'OMG WTF JUST HAPPENED?!' moment for me haha
So Miyabi really is a witch ne? huhuhuhuhuhu
Miyabi grinned again. “Yes you do. But whether you believe is the question. You already know this story, but I’ll tell it to you anyway because I don’t think you truly got it before now.” She sat down on the edge of the bed, and Risako joined her, if slightly nervously. “A long time ago…”
Curious that she already told Risako but she doesn't really remember making me curious what was the story Miyabi told Risako..hnn..
OKAY!!
Done disecting this chapter and giving you my insights on this chapter and what may possibly come!
And hopefully I am right in some of my guessings and maybe you'll surprise me with more shockingness!
Now all that is left to do is say...
UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!
UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!
UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!
UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!
UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!
UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!
UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!UPDATE!!!
or ya' know have me be mad at you! >;P
UPDATE!!! please!~ :mon baby:
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Risako! Fancy telling Miya straight in the face you want your first kiss to be with her :wahaha:
I'm really curious as to why Momo behaves the way she does. Does she secretly like Captain? Or Miyabi? Momo side story soon please :pleeease:
Don't tell me Miya is a real witch? :shocked:
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I thought I commented on the last chapter but obviously I didn't. Doh!
The whole of the last chapter was great. I'm still loving the Miyabi / Saki pairing :heart:
On to the new chapter ~
The text message thing between Miya and Saki is cute. Then WTF??? Risako nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! What was Miya thinking??? You don't flippin kiss her and then let her stay the night. GRRRRRR!
Miya reading random books and being able to make fire is cool though.
For the first time ever I'm not going to say update!!! Cos I don't want bad things to happen :cry:
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Yay!, nice long chapter :heart:
hmm, Momo crying at the end of the convo she had with Miya? so maybe she might be involved in the story more later.
Miya/Risko kiss = :wub: inocent but still very :wub: I wonder if Saki is going to flip out if she learns that socko spent the night, I kinda think she
won't, but if she were to find out that they kissed:
Saki= :mon zoom: or, :mon waterworks: , who knows, you probably do, lol
and....noooo you can't end the chapter like that, I was interested in reading her "magic" story.
anways, nice chapter.
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Loser - Wow! :oops: I've never had anybody respond so much to something I've posted. I :heart:-ed it. You guessed quite well at some things, but on others... Well, you're about to see. Thank you everyone else for reading and commenting too! Now, even though I'm reluctant to, it's time to go... on.
A lot of things happen. I cried. Because of such different things happening, I thought about splitting up this chapter, but I just couldn't. Everything ties in together... For once I won't say "enjoy", but... I hope you feel the experience. As you can maybe imagine, I doubt things will be the same from now on...
Chapter 19
The next morning the two girls merrily boarded a train at the local station near Miyabi’s house that would take them to the shinkansen station, which would take them to Nagoya. Miyabi thought the previous twelve hours or so were quite successful really. She’d been very anxious about two things that happened during that time. The first was how Risako would react when she told her about Saki. The second was what would happen when she revealed the detail of her ‘hobby’ to one of her friends. Of course, that wasn’t something she was expecting to do the night before, but it had the very pleasant effect of letting them become totally distracted from what had just happened before Miyabi showed her the flame.
Overnight while in bed she’d had some time to think about it alone – Risako slept on a futon closer to the door that she and her mother brought in – and despite early feelings of guilt, she decided that it really was just one kiss. The girl wanted to have her first with her, and she couldn’t deny the idea made her feel special. Besides, she was convinced that kind of relationship between them had ended with that kiss as well, and even felt as if she had a weight off her shoulders that would allow her to devote herself completely to Saki now. She no longer had an inkling of doubt where her heart really lay.
Risako seemed to cooperate well enough in that regard also. Maybe it was because Miyabi had wowed her enough with her magic and everything involved with it, or maybe they just did it for long enough that Risako got too tired to do anything, but she never made another move and the topic of kisses or girlfriends or boyfriends never came up. Once they settled in on the shinkansen, Risako yawned and seemed as if she would drift off at any time. That must be the reason for it.
As for Miyabi’s art, the girl didn’t seem to follow most of the time, and couldn’t even come close to replicating anything – not that Miyabi really let her try – but understandably it still seemed quite interesting to her. Using ancient traditions to conduct nature into such events as creating fire or making things move around on their own wasn’t something terribly usual, after all. Of course, Miyabi only showed her the simplest things she was capable of…
“Will you really not let me tell any of the others about that stuff you do?” the girl asked after the fifth yawn. “You know they’d just die in amazement…”
“No, I won’t. I told you, I want to tell them myself when the time is right. You’ll let me have my special moments too, right?” she said with a grin. At the hinted reminder of their encounter the night before, Risako blushed and closed her eyes, lying back in the seat.
“Yeah, yeah…” she said, and before long she’d fallen asleep.
Miyabi watched her sleep for a while as the train zoomed out of the cityscape into the countryside. Sometimes she thought the gap between them was much greater than two years. When she finally looked away, she thought about the girl’s suggestion. She did want to be able to tell everybody about it herself, but that wasn’t her main motivation. Apparently unlike the other girl, she wasn’t sure everybody would just be amazed at what she could do. Everybody liked shows and books where people did magic of course, but she had a feeling that when it came to real witchcraft, that broad appeal may not quite hold up. She trusted Risako with almost anything, and she thought the girl felt similarly toward her, so that was probably part of the reason why nothing went amiss in her case. Her youth might have had something to do with it too. But when it came to those she wasn’t as close to and might be a bit older and more socialized into an adult world… She thought about Saki for the moment. Surely she at least wouldn’t think anything of it, if nothing else than for her sake. However, she still had an uneasy feeling about it.
It had been a long time since she practiced as much as she did the night before, so through the ride and while Risako slept she had much to think about: what kind of results she attained in the simple spells she’d done, how the girl reacted to them, and what she’d learned from the performance. That’s one of the reasons she liked this hobby so much – every time she performed a task, she learned a little more about the tools she was using, tools that included various energies that inhabited all living things, some in the non-living, as well as the powers of spirits… That last was in a way her own innovation on the original craft based on her own feelings about her Japanese heritage and culture. It had been experimented with before, but Japanese were even more rarely given to these pursuits than Westerners, so she hadn’t heard tell of any great successes made by anyone else. She was certain there was a way to draw on that power though…
It was a quiet ride in general, so she was easily lost in thoughts such as those. Everyone else kept to themselves as always and was very polite to the other passengers, although she did hear cell phones ring a bit more often than she expected them to. Wanting to return that polite respect though she didn’t listen in on conversations, and also checked to make sure her and Risako’s phones were turned off. She didn’t want anything to wake the girl if she could help it; she needed all her strength for the weekend to come. She has a big part in this current concert tour, after all. Miyabi was slightly disgruntled at her own, though she felt she’d been featured enough over time that it surely was no big deal. Most of that time it was with Risako actually…
Her excited thoughts, which kept her from falling asleep like her friend, made the trip go by quickly, and eventually they reached Nagoya station and found their attendants waiting for them. They greeted the two girls as always and shepherded them into cars which would take them to their hotel, where they would unload their baggage and prepare for a rehearsal before the concerts that evening. After the greeting the attendants didn’t say a word, and Miyabi and a rested and refreshed Risako chatted about the upcoming concerts as they rode along the busy streets.
Upon arriving at the hotel they walked into the lobby, the attendants taking their luggage on up to their rooms, but right after entering the door Miyabi found herself attacked and hugged tightly by a much taller girl.
“Miya! I’m glad you made it! I was worried about you the last two weeks since you almost got yourself run over. It would have just been like you to be on the wrong train this morning too!” She said that last with a rather light laugh.
Finally Yurina pried herself away from Miyabi, who caught her breath, and turned slightly to her side. “Rii-chan!” As she dove that direction, Miyabi took the opportunity to walk quickly across to a couch where she saw Saki sitting cross-legged in a Kitty-chan t-shirt and short gym shorts. As she did so she passed Maasa, who rolled her eyes in commiseration.
Apparently Saki was watching TV, so Miyabi stepped right in front of her, disrupting her view, and looked down. “Hello,” she said, her flustered-sounding voice making her feel even more flustered.
Saki looked up at her. “Hello,” she said with a slight smile. Miyabi looked carefully into her face. Even though she smiled, the older girl still appeared a little sad for some reason. Miyabi instantly became worried. Everything was all right… wasn’t it?
Trying not to feel too frustrated and desperate at the less-than-enthusiastic greeting, she knelt down in front of Saki and asked quietly, “What’s that for? Are you okay?”
“Of course,” Saki said, and as if to prove her point she rose from the couch, forcing Miyabi to rock back on her heels slightly and occupy the strange position of looking up into the other girl’s face. She smiled. “Aren’t I always?” Miyabi felt like rolling her eyes at that. “I just take everything too hard I think…” Miyabi stared at her at a loss, until the older girl sighed and gestured around her toward the TV. She turned on her knees to look at it, sitting back against the front of the couch. Saki sat very closely beside her and even took her arm in her hands. Miyabi felt a flush begin to grow in her face at that, and she looked around quickly, but the other girls must have already gone up to their rooms. Upon seeing that, as well as not much other activity in the lobby, she slowly snuggled up closer to the smaller girl beside her before turning her full attention to the television. She frowned for a second at seeing that it was just a news channel, but then what the commentator was saying began to sink in.
“…reports now are that several hundred people may be missing, in what the Prime Minister and Governor are already calling one of the gravest disasters in Japanese railway history. As you can see, the wreckage from the second train is virtually unidentifiable, and the front half of a third one is still buried in the bottom two floors of an apartment building that was, unfortunately this morning, too close to the railroad tracks west of Tokyo.”
Miyabi watched the report in silence. Her parents were always concerned about disasters happening and preparing their family for them, since they naturally did so frequently in their country, so for some reason she couldn’t make herself feel too strongly about this one. She turned her head to Saki, whose eyes seemed captivated by the screen, and just watched her for a moment. Was this what it felt like being a leader? Did the care and concern you needed to show for your kouhai make you concerned about things like this, since something like it could easily threaten the group harmony or even one of your precious charges? In seeming contrast with the one-sided connotation of her thoughts, she felt an outpouring of care and love toward the girl beside her and reached out her arm to pull her close. As she did, Saki’s eyes came away from the screen, and now that their faces came close together, caught Miyabi’s, whose looked earnestly back. Miyabi was about to lean in for a kiss until a soft cough jerked their attentions back toward the lobby. Upon seeing a girl standing not far away quietly watching them they pulled apart quickly, and Saki tried to put her attention back on the television as if nothing had happened. Miyabi didn’t make any such efforts; she just looked at the girl who’d caught them.
“If you two want to keep this low-key, you really have some things to learn…” a quiet voice said in their direction, and Saki looked back again slightly wide-eyed.
Miyabi blushed and stood up, looking down at the young girl’s feet. “Well, we could have had worse than you discovering us, couldn’t we Rii-chan?” she asked with a slight grin, raising her eyes back up. However, she couldn’t decipher the look Risako was now giving her. What did the girl really think?
“That’s only ‘cause you were lucky,” she responded flatly.
“Well you know me. I’m the lucky one!” Miyabi said with an ingratiating smile.
After she spoke, she felt Saki stand up beside her and look between the two other girls. “So you know…?” she asked Risako in a puzzled voice. The girl nodded slowly in assent. “Oh…” Still, the girl seemed to blush harder than Miyabi had ever seen her.
“What?” Risako said, donning a grin of her own. “Did you think I’d be jealous? I do have a boyfriend, remember. And he’s much prettier than Miya-chan ever was, so I think I definitely got the best end of the deal.” She ended with a smug look, causing Saki to break out in a giggle and Miyabi’s eyebrows to rise and chin to point out in mock indignation.
“Excuse me!” she said. “I am still in the room, you know!”
Saki kept giggling and took her arm again, now grinning back at Risako. “Well, that’s what you think. I beg to differ…” And she looked up into Miyabi’s face.
Miyabi smiled back, feeling her face redden slightly, before turning halfway back toward Risako. “You didn’t happen to find out what our rooming arrangements are this week, did you?”
Risako’s face clouded, and Saki seemed to grin even wider. “Apparently we have more limited space this time,” Risako began to explain in barely more than a grumble. “So Captain doesn’t get a room to herself anymore.” She seemed reluctant to continue. “And you have been paired up with her.”
“Imagine that…” Miyabi said, eyes drifting skyward innocently, but she caught Risako still staring at her suspiciously. She sighed. Things were never going to be the same, were they? “I didn’t do it, if that’s what you’re wondering.” Her defense seemed to lessen the girl’s suspicion, but it was definitely still there. Saki was looking again between the two of them, half in confusion and half in amusement, the grin still plastered on her face.
“You two just had better keep it innocent,” Risako warned. “I might just happen to wander into your room on an unannounced visit… since I am your friend and all…” She now began to adopt a pondering tone. “It wouldn’t do for me to see things I shouldn’t at my age, you know. Because I do have a boyfriend, and the last thing we need is for me to become pregnant or something…” At that she turned and walked away toward the elevator, apparently wanting to leave her effect behind.
The only one that resulted though was a fit of giggles that Miyabi and Saki both broke into when she went out of earshot. “Ah to be young again…” Saki wished dramatically. “Is she really that innocent, Miya?”
Miyabi looked up to stare after the girl, who was now entering the elevator without looking back as the doors closed behind her. “You know, I don’t know…” she said, giving a little shrug. The next thing she knew, she felt the girl wrap around her and bury her face in her neck just below her left ear.
“What I know Miya-chan,” she said in a loud and seductive whisper she heard plenty clearly so close to her ear, “is that until everyone gets here and we have to get ready for the concert, I think we should spend a bit of time in our room getting things… organized…”
Miyabi felt she would break out in a sweat at the rush of heat that shot through her body right then. She was most definitely not used to these kinds of propositions from anyone, much less a girl she was actually crazy about. Grinning, when Saki let loose her hold a little and glanced at her with a glint in her eye, she walked arm-and-arm with her toward the elevator as well, leaving the television behind playing to no one, now showing the prime minister behind the flashing of cameras.
“’We, the people of Japan, will remember this day. Some may remember it with anguished tears of loss and sorrow. Some may remember it as nothing more than a disrupted schedule. To the former, the deepest sympathies of the entire nation go with you. To the latter, this is truly a day to break from your routine and remember what it is to live, and as the story unfolds, I am certain each and every one of us will be affected in some way. Last, to the both of you, we will come together with the utmost effort and rebuild what can be rebuilt, and remember what must be remembered. I assure you. We will persevere.’”
…
Some time later, after taking every precaution that nobody uninvited would interrupt them, which mostly included pleading the very legitimate cases that Miyabi had to take a nap and Saki had to concentrate and go over some lines, the two girls found themselves sitting in the middle of their bed – there was only one large one in the room – wrapped around each other with their mouths seemingly glued together.
Miyabi had certainly never been in a situation such as this, although she also didn’t feel that she minded it in the slightest. Saki seemed very fierce with her today for some reason – much more so than at any time the previous weekend – and she felt her own excitement rising quickly in an attempt to keep up. The girl sure was energetic… She’d begun to lose all control and concept of what was happening, surrendering almost completely to the girl’s exertions, until they heard a hard rap at the door.
The two girls quickly detached themselves from each other, and although she was sorely tempted by the fiery look Saki was still giving her, Miyabi quickly tried to catch her breath, sliding off the bed and attempting to tuck in her blouse as she headed toward the door.
When she opened it just far enough to poke her head through, feeling about as if she would rip off the one that belonged to whoever had interrupted them, she found Asako-san looking back at her with a grim expression.
Her anger changing to pleasure at seeing her intern manager, she forgot the situation momentarily and smiled at her. “Hello Asa-chan!” she chimed. “It’s nice to see you!” Asako nodded back, but as she held her grim expression Miyabi’s smile faded. “What is it?”
“Kirin-kun asked me to get you and bring you to a meeting room off the lobby. He has something to talk to you about. The… other girls have already been summoned there too.” She said this solemnly, and once she was finished stared at Miyabi’s face a moment until she thought there must be something on it. “Why is your face so red?” she asked in tame curiosity.
“Er…” Miyabi replied, now no longer bubbling at Asako’s scrutiny and seriousness.
“Is Shimizu-san here too?” Asako asked when Miyabi apparently couldn’t come up with anything else to say, and she acted as if to look around her.
“Yes, I am,” Saki said, popping up under Miyabi’s arm and making the door open a bit wider. Miyabi was impressed. The girl’s clothes looked as if they hadn’t been touched. “Give us a few and we’ll head out, all right?”
“Hello, Shimizu-san,” Asako said. “Actually, Kirin-kun wants to see you as soon as possible. You won’t need to bring anything, but if you need to run to the toilet or something I’ll wait here for you.”
“Oh… okay,” Saki said, and she looked questioningly up at Miyabi, who forcibly held back a sigh.
“Sure, we’ll come,” she breathed at the end of what would have been her sigh, trying futilely to mask the reaction. “Do you have a key?” she asked Saki. The other girl ran to get one, and they followed Asako down the hall, giving each other glances as they went. This had better be something very important… Miyabi growled to herself. She loved Asako to death, but the girl usually had more respect for their privacy than this.
Eventually seeing that Asako led them and seemed to not care to look back and start chatting, something Miyabi thought a bit odd for her, she felt Saki grab her hand, and they twined their fingers as they walked closely together, only releasing when they were in the elevator.
When they entered the room the meeting was to be held in, they saw most of the girls already there, as well as what must have been all the staff members along on the trip. Chinami, Maasa and Yurina sat chatting along one wall. Yurina was the only one that seemed to acknowledge their presence with a smile when they walked in, and Risako sat beside her seemingly lost in thought. Miyabi thought it looked a little forced this time though as if she was purposely trying to look like she wasn’t paying attention to anything. Kirin-kun stood near another wall finely dressed in slacks and a shirt and tie, looking quite distinguished for the thirty-something manager he was, but carried his jacket slung over his right shoulder as if he wanted to feel more comfortable right now than formal. He also seemed to portray quite a grim expression that Miyabi wondered about until they sat down next to the other girls.
When Miyabi and Saki sat down next to Chinami, they began to trade queries about what they were summoned for and wondered if their concert was maybe going to be delayed. A thought hit Miyabi when she was talking to them, and she said it was strange they were having a meeting like this when not all the girls were present, because Momoko apparently still hadn’t arrived. She found herself slightly disappointed at that for some reason; probably because of how friendly she was in talking with Miyabi about her and Saki’s relationship, since it felt quite nice to be sure she had at least someone on her side. That thought made her glance over at Risako, who was still staring off into space. The other girls of course thought there was nothing unusual about this expression of hers, but Miyabi still wondered… Saki was staying strangely quiet, too. She just sat at the end of the little row they’d formed, but seemed to mostly keep to herself and let the middle four girls engage in their conversation.
After a few minutes Kirin-kun stepped away from the wall, still holding his jacket over his shoulder, and approached the girls. As if at some type of cue, the other staff began gathering closer as well. The Berryz’ conversation died out as they looked up into the austere faces above them.
“First of all,” Kirin began, “Welcome to Nagoya. I think it’s been a long time since you’ve been here, but I hope you’ll be able to remember your ways around.” Miyabi doubted that would be much of a problem. They’d been performing for so long now that they were accustomed to traveling here at least once a year, and knowing their way was made much easier by almost always staying in the same hotel.
“However, I must inform you that tonight’s concerts have been cancelled,” he continued, and he was met with surprised and somewhat angry mutters from the girls.
“What? So what are we supposed to do all day? Practice?” Chinami asked with a look of near horror.
“Well that’s just wonderful,” Maasa said in a very sardonic voice. “What did UFW screw up this time?”
“So you’re telling me I could have gone to school this morning still?” Miyabi asked, her thoughts a little scattered by her mixed feelings on the concert being cancelled. “This is an important year for me, you know. They’ll not be happy I didn’t actually attend the concert when I was given such special treatment to be absent for the day…” Maasa seemed to have pushed Chinami into her, since she felt the girl’s elbow dig hard into her side. Both girls responded with hoarse “Itai”s.
“You and your school…” Maasa said, and Yurina looked as if she would chip in something as well, but the girl on Miyabi’s other side spoke up.
“Let’s hear what he has to say,” Saki said calmly, looking up at Kirin-kun with serious interest. Her calmness cut off anything the rest might have been about to say, and the other girls turned their attentions back to the man as well.
As she looked back, Miyabi realized he’d just been watching them in quite calm silence while they talked among themselves, and he almost seemed to be fighting with himself for his next words. “What’s the matter?” Miyabi asked upon seeing his expression.
The manager raised himself up again and seemed to steel himself for something before he went on. “I take it you have all heard about the train derailment and disaster that happened this morning near Tokyo?” he asked.
Miyabi nodded, since she and Saki definitely had seen it, although she heard Chinami utter a hesitant,” Er… of course!” They weren’t canceling the concerts because of the disaster, were they? The otaku wouldn’t care about something like that having happened, and on the contrary would be quite upset if they didn’t hold the concert because of it.
Kirin-kun went on. “Tokyo Management has been keeping a close eye on the situation to see if it would affect anything Hello! Project-related, and we’ve just received word…” He seemed to pause for a second, a bit of that hardness seeming to drain out of him before he forced it back in. “They found out the numbers of the trains involved in the chaos, and one of them was the one Tsugunaga-san was supposed to take over here.”
Deathly silence greeted this pronouncement at first. It was so calm all Miyabi could hear was the low buzzing of the hotel’s environmental system.
“Is…” Chinami began, “Is she okay? Have you heard anything that even indicated she was on it? I don’t even know anything about it. Was it a bad crash?”
“Yes…” Miyabi breathed. Everyone looked at her, but she was staring at some distant point beyond the man standing before them. “It was…”
“What do you mean?” Risako asked, apparently having fully come back to reality, and stood up to look over at Miyabi. “Were some people… killed…?”
“Probably hundreds…” Saki said quietly, echoing Miyabi’s thoughts. Silence took over for a moment once again.
After a few seconds, Kirin-kun spoke up, “Management called her station’s ticket office, and after finally being able to get through, were informed that her pass’s number had checked in onto the train. She was on it.”
“Do they know which one?” Miyabi asked, now coming into focus as she stood to look at the man. “Was it the one that was totally destroyed? The one the apartment building collapsed on? Which one!?” she finished with a vehement cry. She felt Saki stand up beside her, and the other three girls finally stood up as well, their desperation quickly heightening. Saki took her arm as if to try to calm her down. It was maybe a fonder gesture than they’d normally ever use with each other, but she didn’t really care right now.
“We don’t know,” Kirin-kun said. Then his pants began to play one of their songs, and he took his phone out of his pocket, turning away from them to answer it.
While he conversed on it, the trio next to her began to talk in low voices in desperation and anger, Chinami or Yurina occasionally turning to Miyabi since she appeared to be a source of news of what had happened. Miyabi didn’t give them any answers though, only stayed silent as she tried to absorb strength from the older girl clinging tightly to her side.
After a few minutes Kirin-kun turned back to them. Miyabi noticed his face had paled considerably, and she watched him fervently, though seeing his expression she’d felt the energy flee her body. Something was most definitely not right…
“That was Mitsubara-san,” he said in what seemed an unsteady voice, referring to one of the company’s top secretaries. “They’ve heard from the crash site. Apparently some of the rescue workers there…” He gave a slight hesitation before going on. “They found Momoko’s body.”
Panicked gasps responded to him this time, and Chinami let loose a low wail. “Her body…?” Maasa said, her vaunted coolness appearing quite shaken, although she was well more composed than the girls around her. “Does… does…” She couldn’t seem to finish her question, and sat back down hard. At the same time, even though she’d not uttered a sound, Miyabi found herself do the same thing. The three other younger girls had fallen to their knees in varying states of distress. Risako had an open-mouthed far-away look that it appeared she’d never recover from.
“They rushed her to the hospital,” Kirin said quietly, “but it was no good. It was already too late.” Cries now broke out from several of the staff as well, and a few of them even fell to their knees.
Miyabi vaguely wondered why she didn’t feel support from beside her, but couldn’t give it much more than a fleeting thought. From the corner of her eye Saki appeared to be sitting very still in her chair as well, making no move toward Miyabi or otherwise.
“While others might not like you two being together I… I’ll support you, and fight for you, as much as I can...”
The last words she heard the girl speak seemed to echo through her head. She never got along with her well; did she? But lately the girl had seemed to understand so well, seemed to want to give Miyabi whatever support she needed. They had a great conversation in the coffee shop. She’d picked out pink blouses for her… For some reason, the thought of those horrible things brought tears to her eyes. Kirin-kun couldn’t be saying what she thought he was… could he? Momo-chan wasn’t… gone?
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...... :shocked:
very speechless chapter, I just knew it had to be something involving Momo when I read the Tokyo news report. I did my best holding back tears.
This Berryz fic is really starting to take it to the next level, which I love :heart:
......and Saki and the hotel room thing.. :w00t: yowzers!
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New chapter! :w00t:
Sorry if I haven't commented on the previous chapter though. I really wanted to do a long comment but that chap was really...(I told Loser87 via MSN that it made me all fluffy inside XD)
I was looking for one of you comments in one of my fics, so I can quote it, I really believe you may be my favorite H!P fanfic writer.
Now it's my turn to say it.
I believe you may be my favorite H!P fanfic writer. :kneelbow:
I really enjoy your style. Your choice of words, the hidden meanings, how you can shift the mood of one scene into another. It reminds me of my high school days, when we study the works of Edgar Allan Poe or Shakespeare, where every line needs to be read more than once so you can get the essence and what it wants to deliver.
Your choice on the Miya-Saki pairing really made things more interesting. It's not that I'm tired or Miya-Risako, but knowing what Miya (an egoistical ace type) and Saki's (leader captain who leads by example and always plays by the rules) personalities are, you were able to bring out a side of them, a side I that I think might be their true selves.
I really want to see how things will develop between them, what kinds of conflicts they will encounter and overcome, and how the other members of Berryz Koubou will accept their relationship.
Keep it up! :thumbsup
Sorry for the long post. :P
Oh noes! Momoko!!! :OMG: :gyaaah:
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Uhm... That accident was certainly unexpected, yet I can't help thinking it's a crucial element for the development of a certain plotline. I could be way off base, but that's the impression I have. :?
Don't get me wrong, I don't claim to have figured it out (since I haven't), but I'm intrigued by the way some bits of information intertwine and fall into place. Things don't seem so random now, in my mind at least. :roll:
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Wow...
I wanted drama but..woah...just..woah
But I know something will happen I know it..
-will be edited because...this chapter deserves a huge comment too!-
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Oh my....gawd...no.... :OMG: :farofflook: :fainted:
Momo's gone?? That can't be true, BK is 7 people (post-Maiha)
I need to lie down :imdead:
That said, I agree about the Miya/Saki pairing. It can be seen that this pair is rather close so why not make them a couple. Excellent choice there.
About the accident, it was unexpected. The death was shocking.
I'm anticipating reading how the story will continue to unfold.
Lastly, this chapter is incredible on so many levels. I'm still overwhelmed.
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I read the chapter this morning and was in shock..I just finally got the words to say it.
You were right, things won't be the same now, but momo. Why her?
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Wow... wordsworth :oops: :oops: Thank you so much! I'm humbled by everything you said... :oops: I'm not sure if I deserve it, but thank you for enjoying what I write. :) I've definitely come to enjoy writing myself a lot more lately... though I think I get too attached to the stories.
@ckd: Welcome and thanks for the comment! Why Momo? Because it had to be. :)
@lil_hamz: Mhm, I try to keep my stories beared on reality as much as I can, though it gets to a point where the narrative just has to take over... Basically, the only stuff that's safe is the beginning, which usually involves what's happening at the time I write it. BK is 7 people... 6 is such a lonely number, isn't it? I've noticed that in writing the past two chapters...
@Loser: I'm still waiting for your edited comment. :lol: jk. I'm sorry I didn't respond to your last one too much. I do wonder a bit about your "WTF just happened" moments and whatever else you think about this now though, mainly because you've been very outspoken in what you've thought so far... You know something will happen? A few things have happened, no? But don't worry, there is more to come. :) Poor Miya. Things are only going to get worse for a while...
@Amarghetta: I can't say too much to your post because you seem to be catching on well. You say you haven't figured it out, but I have a feeling from your comments you have some guesses that may not be too far off... As this story is coming together, I'm doing my best to have a reason for everything. As you guys no doubt noticed from this chapter, seemingly random things usually end up not being quite so random, whether it's the next chapter along or way down the road...
@modesta: Glad you enjoy where this is going :D and also glad you enjoyed Saki! She's quite a little spitfire, though that may be caused by her being slightly bipolar too... I wonder if Miya really knows what she's gotten herself into. Well, maybe she'll realize a bit more next chapter.
Speaking of next chapter, I plan to have it up tomorrow night (probably at very nearly 24 hours from now), so any last-minute comments on this chapter, please shoot away! :bingo: :k-thrilled: You know I love hearing from you all. It's incredibly gratifying to know the products of my imagination are enjoyable to people other than myself. XD :sweat:
Also, a couple more general things on this. Accidents really are the most shocking things, aren't they? Because they're never expected. Things can be going incredibly wonderfully and everyone has not a care in the world, but in a matter of seconds that can change completely... I hope these girls don't change too much, though you know, anything else would be hardly entertaining. ;) I'm also surprised to see how much :heart: there is now for MiyaSaki. I could have sworn some of you were diehard Miya-Socko followers, so I'm amazed but very pleased to see that I'm writing them in an appealing way. I hope I can continue to make you love them all. :)
jaa, mata ashita~! :D
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Okay I did try my best really to edit my comment but it seems a bit too late since you already posted replies Rokun!! >w<
I was out the past day or two so i really couldn't edit it BUT!!
I really do think 100% positively know for sure!!!
My theories (you don't wanna know them then don't read it PLEASE!!)
that Miyabi WILL learn about the fine line between Life and Death and attempt to bring Momoko back from the dead
BUT nothing is without a price, so Something more dramatic I'm sure Really!!
Anyway I guess I'll make it up in the next chapter hee!
UPDATE!!
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Aww, Loser, I'd still really love to hear what you have to say about the last chapter! Maybe I'd even make a special response for you. :grin: Of course, some things may be made pointless by what happens in this one, but eh. :) Anyway, I know it's a bit early but I've been itching to post this chapter. It's a bit shorter than the last few have been, but in reviewing it I think I've expressed exactly what I wanted to and really have absolutely no desire to add anything. The chapter after this will continue the story. :) Anyway, uh-oh, things aren't getting better...
Also, in this chapter is perhaps my favorite paragraph I've ever written. I don't expect anybody to notice it (and read my mind), but it exemplifies an idea Loser had in her long post from a bit back. It made me happy my characters are having some consistency. ^_^ But also some growth... Anyway, onward!
Chapter 20
“No… no…!” Miyabi exclaimed as she sat on a small armchair with her arms wrapped around legs bent up in front of her. “She can’t be gone!” She wasn’t sure exactly who she was saying that to, but the thought had been going through her mind for the past couple hours. She looked over at Saki, who upon returning to their room had gone to the bed and lain on her back, staring at the ceiling, seemingly unblinking and unmoving ever since except for her chest rising and falling slowly with her breath of life. Of life… That was something Momoko would never have again. It was something so simple, something that was no effort for nearly everyone, and yet…
Unfolding her legs to set her feet back on the floor, she rose from the chair and walked over to Saki, looking down at her on the bed. Saki didn’t seem to notice her presence; she still stared blankly at the ceiling. “Saki-chan…?” Miyabi asked. When there was no response, she slid her knees onto the bed and shuffled next to the girl. She hesitated a second before poking her in the side. At the touch, Saki finally shifted her eyes to look at her.
“Are you okay?” Miyabi continued. “I don’t think you’ve said a word since the meeting…”
Saki continued staring at her. Despite herself, Miyabi felt that she became lost in the girl’s eyes. It seemed as if she was being held captive by them. “I’m sorry,” Saki said simply.
“There’s nothing to be sorry about…” Miyabi comforted, and she lay down herself, curling up and trying to snuggle into the other girl, who still didn’t make any further movement. “I’m just worried about you. We’re all of course taking… this… hard… but well, all the other girls are together in the room Risako, Kuma-chan and Maa-chan are supposed to share. I think they wanted all of us to stay together, but you just came in here by yourself. I had to follow, even though they were unhappy with me…”
The other girl didn’t respond, but now that Miyabi was close to her warmth, she felt herself relax a little bit. Everything outside of this bed seemed cold and dark and cruel right now, but as long as she was with her Saki-chan things could never be so bad. Eventually she felt the girl stir and sit up, and she adjusted and rose with her. The other girl still stared straight ahead. Why was she doing that? Miyabi wanted Saki looking at her.
“Miya…” Saki said in a hoarse whisper. The addressed girl kept close, listening intently. “I don’t know what to do…”
“What do you mean?” Miyabi asked curiously. “We were all close to Momo-chan… She’d been wonderful to me lately actually… But if she’s gone, there’s nothing we can do about it. We’ll just remember her…” Miyabi didn’t know if she really believed what she was saying, but right now next to Saki and her comforting warmth, that pain seemed distant.
Saki turned toward her and looked into her eyes. Miyabi’s breath caught at the fulfillment of her current wish. However, those eyes didn’t hold anything at all like what she had imagined in her fantasy. They were full of sorrow… of pain. That, she might have expected, but they were also… dark. She thought the girl was going to say something. She would have given anything for the girl to explain the phantom she saw in her eyes. “Miya…” she began again. “I - I’m sorry, I need to be alone for a while.” And then she shifted away from Miyabi and slid off the bed to walk out the door without looking back.
Miyabi stared after her for a moment until she felt a chill sweep through her, and she wrapped her arms around herself. What kind of thing was this that would make Saki-chan become like that? She’d read so much on death. She embraced dark symbols and ideas often enough herself. She thought she’d understood it when her grandmother died, but she was old, and it seemed the natural thing. She died with a smile on her face. This, though…
Images of the trains from the television arose inside her head. In her vision people milled around them all, some crying out in despair, some just staring blankly as she’d seen both Saki and Risako do in just the last few hours. And there were also apparitions rising from the wreckage. They drifted toward the people who were crying, but weren’t seen. Some of them waved frantically, trying to get the attention of those still living. It didn’t help. Momoko crawled out through a window in the apartment building that had been gutted. Her hands were scratched all over, and she was bleeding. She raised them in a pleading gesture to Miyabi.
“No!” Miyabi yelled. Momoko was young; full of life still. It wasn’t natural for that life to suddenly vanish!
She was broken out of the realm of her imagination by the sound of a girl calling to her. “Miya-chan?” Yurina asked slowly from the doorway. Miyabi turned her attention in the girl’s direction. She could see the other three girls behind her, Maasa peering up with interest while Chinami and Risako cowered behind the taller two. Chinami just looked terrified, but Risako stared at Miyabi as if she’d never seen her before.
Also upon returning to reality, Miyabi realized she had stood up on the bed and was glaring at herself through a mirror on the wall, her fists clenched at her sides. She didn’t immediately change her position, however. The hot emotion of the idea of the desecration she’d discovered was still blazing in her heart.
“Miya-chan,” Yurina repeated. “Are you all right…? Where’s Captain? We caught a glimpse of her going down the hall, but by the time Risako got to the door she was gone.”
Miyabi jumped down from the bed and spun to look at the gathered girls. “I don’t know where she is,” she said bluntly.
“Miya-chan…” Yurina said once more, softly, and this time she walked closer to the girl she was calling out to. Reaching her, she hesitated a moment before reaching out and hugging her, tentatively at first, but then very tightly. Miyabi didn’t respond right away, but with the girl’s embrace the fury bled out of her somewhat, and she hugged her back just as tightly. There was a time for the fury, but that time had passed. It now slowly began to be replaced with cold determination. Feeling the taller girl’s warmth calming it, and even her beating heart, she’d fully realized what she needed to do.
The other girls were now coming up behind Yurina, and in turn each joined in the hug, even Risako. However, Miyabi noticed the youngest girl still couldn’t hide a very frightened look within her eyes.
“Thank you,” Miyabi said in a voice muffled by Yurina’s hair, which was pressing against her face. The girls finally separated, and she smiled at them all. “I guess through it all, Berryz still stick together, huh?” She somewhat hoped rather than believed that would be the case. She didn’t want to do this alone.
However, the other girls except Yurina only exchanged glances. “But Captain…” Chinami said.
“What about me?” an energetic voice rang from the doorway. The girls spun to look at their new arrival, and most broke into smiles at the sight. Saki was smiling herself, seeming as if nothing had ever affected her. Miyabi caught the ruse though. The smile wasn’t copied in her eyes, which were still shrouded in a shadow that now felt impenetrable to Miyabi. Yurina ran up to hug her too, but this time the others didn’t join in. Apparently Maasa and Chinami were satisfied just to see her, though Maasa at least still appeared to have some doubt as to her true recovery. Risako hadn’t even smiled. Miyabi felt saddened noticing that. Her two closest friends… and because of her, now also apparently not far shy of enemies. Well, she’d have to see what she could do about that later. First things were first, and she had a feeling she didn’t have much time.
She walked over to her bag and began digging in it. She’d brought a few things with her in case the subject happened to come up, since she had a suspicion it might with Risako’s new-found knowledge, but she didn’t expect it to be coming up in such this way or quite this quickly. She also didn’t expect to need it for this purpose.
Pushing aside two books she would need later, but not now, she eventually found the large coin she was looking for and sat cross-legged next to her suitcase, holding the coin out in front of her. She glanced back at the other girls, who were still talking with their Captain at the door. Saki gave her a glance from time to time, but nobody made a move toward her. Good, that was all for the best right now.
She looked back to the coin and concentrated hard on it. It wasn’t the designs arrayed on the coin she concentrated on, but rather she stared as if looking through it, beyond it. A vision appeared in her head of her room and her bookshelves within it. She guided herself toward one of them. It wasn’t as if she walked, because she wasn’t really there. It was more that she floated along as some ethereal form. She reached a non-existent hand out toward one of the books sitting there, and when she grabbed at it the vision disappeared, and she found herself sitting once again in the hotel room. She still held the coin out in front of her, though it was now quite hot in her palm. However, her other arm was outstretched as well, and she gripped a book in its hand. It was a plain-covered and solemn-looking volume, meant to look old even though this print was rather new. Calligraphied golden characters on its cover read “死者の書”.
While smiling at her success, she finally noticed several girls standing around her. “Miya…” Chinami said in a voice that seemed terrified again. “What are you doing…?”
She looked up at the girls surrounding her. Most stared down at her with wide eyes, but Risako’s were actually narrowed, and Saki’s seemed cloudier than ever. “What does it look like I’m doing?” she said calmly, rising and curling her fingers tightly around the coin in her hand before stowing it in a pocket of her baggy shorts. “I was getting a book out of my bag.”
“No you weren’t,” Risako said in a sharp voice. Miyabi stared at her. The girl looked like she was becoming angry now.
“We saw you sitting there…” Maasa said slowly. “It looked like something was wrong, so we walked over. On the way, you reached out an empty hand, but by the time we arrived… You were holding that book…” She leaned forward slightly and squinted as if trying to get a better look at it. Miyabi held it close to her chest within both her arms.
“Well then you must have been blinking or something when I pulled it out of my bag. What else would it be?” she asked innocently. The other girls exchanged glances, but Risako kept staring at her.
“Tell them, Miya,” she ordered.
Miyabi furrowed her eyebrows and opened her mouth as if to scold the girl, but she noticed the other girls staring at her expectantly. Saki was now also looking at her. She didn’t at all like what she saw in those eyes. There was the darkness still, but there was also a sense of a burning question… and knowing. It was looking into them that caused Miyabi’s walls to collapse, and she began to get flustered.
“Er…” she began. She tore her eyes away from her girlfriend and looked around from expectant face to expectant face. Apparently the other girls were also more than willing to take any excuse to be distracted from what had happened today. “I… it’s really nothing…” Risako took a step toward her and poked her in the stomach below the book. Hard. Miyabi winced.
“Okay, okay… Um… Well, you see. When I’m at home, I do a lot of reading…”
“Of course,” Maasa said, and then continued challengingly, “Your school is tough.”
Miyabi tilted her head slightly. “Well… actually… it doesn’t have to do with school…”
“Then what?” Chinami asked. For some reason, the girl no longer seemed frightened and instead very interested.
Suddenly Saki broke into a laugh. “Do you think we’re idiots, Miya?” she asked. Miyabi stared at the girl, shocked. “You’re the one that started the fashion of all the skulls and stuff, after all.” The other girls nodded. “I didn’t realize how far it’d gone though…” She stepped closer to Miyabi too, who felt herself break out into a sudden sweat. “So, you’re really a witch?”
The pronouncement was followed by gasps from Yurina and Chinami. Apparently not everyone had put it together. However, Maasa only nodded slowly in understanding, and Risako stared at her as hard as ever.
“Because that was magic, right?” Saki said, and she reached out her hand. Miyabi wanted to dive out of the way, but she couldn’t, and Saki took the book from her and looked down at it. “The Book of the Dead?” she asked, then quickly darted her eyes back to Miyabi. “What are you planning to do with this?” she asked in a low voice.
Miyabi’s fingers itched to reach out and grab the book back from the girl, but returning the look into those eyes she couldn’t bring herself to do it. This was the girl she’d do anything for… give anything for… after all. That had been the final impetus that made her decide to do what she planned. She wanted to make the darkness that had invaded those delicate and beautiful eyes go away. Finally she gave up, and her body sagging, went over to sit at the edge of the bed they were interrupted while making out on what now seemed so long ago.
“Okay…” she said defeatedly. She felt Saki and Yurina join her on the bed, and except for Risako, the other girls sat on the floor to look up at her. Risako leaned back against the wall, watching Miyabi carefully. “Yes, I’ve been studying things recently that might be called witchcraft. Some of it I suppose is. Do you remember Kuromi?”
The girls were quiet for a second as if they were thinking. “That’s the girl who you went to school with but transferred away, isn’t it?” Saki asked. “I remember you talked about her. You were friends, right?”
“Yeah,” Miyabi replied. “Her mother was some kind of Shinto mystic, and tried to train her in ‘communing with nature’, they called it. Kuro-chan had apparently expanded on that idea though and tried to learn western mysticism too. A lot of it was quite similar to what most people think of as witchcraft…”
“Why did you become friends with her?” Chinami asked, frantically astounded. “She doesn’t sound like the type of person to be hanging around with.”
Miyabi stared at her. “You guys know me. When I’m by myself I’m not exactly a normal girl either.”
“Don’t say that!” Yurina exclaimed. “You’re a Berryz!”
“Yeah…” Miyabi replied, looking down into her lap.
“So this Kuromi taught you about witchcraft?” Maasa asked insistently, and the other girls quieted down again.
“She taught me about her communing with nature,” Miyabi corrected half-heartedly. “But she transferred before I could really get to know much, and in my curiosity I started looking up some things on the internet and found some sites and forums…”
“Miya!” Yurina gasped. “You know not to talk to strange people online! They could be some ota stalkers. I mean, you have enough fans now.” She shuddered. “Or they could be worse…”
“Do you think I cared?” Miyabi asked, looking back up toward her. “My best friend had just moved away… Plus, the types of places I went to I doubt were very concerned about Japanese teen idols.” Yurina looked like she was going to say something more, but closed her mouth again before anything came out.
“Anyway,” Miyabi continued, “So on the internet I found western Wiccan and other sites were they talked about things similar to what Kuro-chan told me about, and although it was tough sometimes understanding their languages before they started trying to speak Japanese to me since they found me very interesting for some reason, I suppose I came to be very interested in the idea of energies and spirits and magic, and since then I’ve done my best to learn as much as I can. That book,” she said, nodding her head to what Saki held in her hands, “is one of those I’ve studied from.”
“So…” Saki began, “What are you going to do with it now?”
Miyabi couldn’t help but notice the suspicion in her voice, and she looked adamantly back at her girlfriend. “Nothing special,” she lied easily. “I just felt like it would be a good way to distract myself from today.”
Saki stared back at her, and Miyabi knew that just like she could tell when the girl wasn’t being honest, her own lie rang clear to her as well. The other girls seemed to accept that though – even Risako – and she joined the girls on the floor finally to look up at Miyabi.
“Well now that you’ve told them,” the young girl began impatiently, “The rest of us need our distraction too, you know. I guess we’ll still be here all weekend, so we need something to do while management talks about our futures.” The other girls adopted slightly anxious looks at the reminder, but it only seemed to encourage her friend who somehow always managed to continue making things worse whenever possible. “So show us more of what you can do! Cooler things than you showed me last night before we went to bed. Like whatever you did to make that book appear…”
Miyabi slowly froze at several points during the girl’s command, and at the end barely moved. She didn’t need to look to know that Saki was giving her a very cool stare indeed.
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So that part with saki leaving and re-entering the room was part of her bipolarness?.... ~creepy~
and that was such a bitch move for risako to call out miyabi like that, and make her reveal her secert, since miyabi wanted to do it herself, when the time was right.
and the ending,haha, jealous captain,. waiting for the next chapter
I wasn't able to identify you favorite paragraph too.
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Sorry for not commenting on the last chapter and leaving a crap comment on the chapter before. I doubt this comment will be much better though.
The last few chapters have left me kinda speachless. With Momoko dying I was like :OMG: But now there may be some hope with Miyabi bringing her back from the dead. But is Miya's magical skill that powerful??? Hmmm...
Risako blurting out about sleeping at Miyabi's and making it sound worse then it actually was, was funny. I suppose it was good that she didn't have any reason to say anything about the kiss but...Uh oh!!! Miya's gonna be in trouble. But I really hope her and Saki don't split up (don't be that mean). I will actually probably cry if they do.
By the way. I'm glad you updated this earlier than you were planning to as I was gonna try and stay awake and wait for it but now I don't have to. I'm not sure if I could actually make myself stay up till 2:50am though :sweat: Anyway. keep up the good work. This is the only story that I'm reading at the moment that keeps me wanting more. So.....
UPDATE :D
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wait...Miyabi's actually a witch!? Uh-oh...
Don't tell me she'll try and bring Momo back or Risako will force to make Miya love her instead of Saki later on, right?
I have to say that chapter got me, not knowing Miyabi had a secret all along
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Seriously hooray for the updates! <333
But let's see...Since some of my idea's are wrong and some are right...You never clarified which is right or not so I can't chuck any of them out yet =T
But anyway BIG post >;P
Saki, who upon returning to their room had gone to the bed and lain on her back, staring at the ceiling, seemingly unblinking and unmoving ever since except for her chest rising and falling slowly with her breath of life.
It's one of those typical 'I can't believe my friend just died' moments but..Considering that Momoko and Captain were closer like best friends..She took it harder than the others even if they were close to Momoko as well..
At the touch, Saki finally shifted her eyes to look at her.
“Are you okay?” Miyabi continued. “I don’t think you’ve said a word since the meeting…”
The shock of it all is still there but thinking long and hard about it..Captain must be recollecting memories of the past and such and coming back to the future where Momoko is dead and she can't really do anything about it
The other girl still stared straight ahead. Why was she doing that? Miyabi wanted Saki looking at her.
This...just made me believe Miyabi really is becoming the needy type. Like How Risako wants Miyabi's attention back then, Miyabi wants Saki's attention now. :kekeke:
“What do you mean?” Miyabi asked curiously. “We were all close to Momo-chan… She’d been wonderful to me lately actually… But if she’s gone, there’s nothing we can do about it. We’ll just remember her…” Miyabi didn’t know if she really believed what she was saying, but right now next to Saki and her comforting warmth, that pain seemed distant.
Miyabi at first is willing to let Momoko go on with her passing here, ready to let go and move on because it's life but that's changes later.. :glasses:
However, those eyes didn’t hold anything at all like what she had imagined in her fantasy. They were full of sorrow… of pain. That, she might have expected, but they were also… dark.
.
When i read this I full heartedly believed that Saki was ready to tell Miyabi off for saying those things because in my head Saki is the Captain and feels it is her fault for letting it happen. :gyaaah:
Images of the trains from the television arose inside her head. In her vision people milled around them all, some crying out in despair, some just staring blankly as she’d seen both Saki and Risako do in just the last few hours. And there were also apparitions rising from the wreckage. They drifted toward the people who were crying, but weren’t seen. Some of them waved frantically, trying to get the attention of those still living. It didn’t help. Momoko crawled out through a window in the apartment building that had been gutted. Her hands were scratched all over, and she was bleeding. She raised them in a pleading gesture to Miyabi.
This...Confused me slightly. Like Exactly How powerful is Miyabi? To the point that she has the ability to see the dead or not? :smoke:
Also upon returning to reality, Miyabi realized she had stood up on the bed and was glaring at herself through a mirror on the wall, her fists clenched at her sides.
If Miyabi had the ability to see the dead, seeing Momoko like how you described probably hit some buttons in Miya that just made her realize just how bad the events were :mon ref:
“Miya-chan…” Yurina said once more, softly, and this time she walked closer to the girl she was calling out to. Reaching her, she hesitated a moment before reaching out and hugging her, tentatively at first, but then very tightly.
hee, You make Yurina the very supporting type like she's trying extremely hard to keep the Berryz together even when some are just out of it -coughcaptain- :mon wind:
“What about me?” an energetic voice rang from the doorway.
FAKE as soon as I read energetic, I knew Saki was faking it :mon geek:
She looked back to the coin and concentrated hard on it. It wasn’t the designs arrayed on the coin she concentrated on, but rather she stared as if looking through it, beyond it. A vision appeared in her head of her room and her bookshelves within it. She guided herself toward one of them. It wasn’t as if she walked, because she wasn’t really there. It was more that she floated along as some ethereal form. She reached a non-existent hand out toward one of the books sitting there, and when she grabbed at it the vision disappeared, and she found herself sitting once again in the hotel room. She still held the coin out in front of her, though it was now quite hot in her palm. However, her other arm was outstretched as well, and she gripped a book in its hand. It was a plain-covered and solemn-looking volume, meant to look old even though this print was rather new. Calligraphied golden characters on its cover read “死者の書”
I wonder if the realm Miyabi ventured in to recieve the book was a realm that bordered on the realms of the living and the dead :mon cweepy:
“What does it look like I’m doing?” she said calmly, rising and curling her fingers tightly around the coin in her hand before stowing it in a pocket of her baggy shorts. “I was getting a book out of my bag.”
“No you weren’t,” Risako said in a sharp voice. Miyabi stared at her. The girl looked like she was becoming angry now.
Risako could have been a brat for calling out Miyabi for lying like that but the idea that I get is that Risako knows Miyabi should tell what she was doing and lying about it was not the best time..Though I'm not sure if I made sense saying that lol :mon sweat:
“Well then you must have been blinking or something when I pulled it out of my bag. What else would it be?” she asked innocently. The other girls exchanged glances, but Risako kept staring at her.
“Tell them, Miya,” she ordered.
It's to me..a whole 'we're a group and we don't keep secrets from one another' kind of thing that Risako is trying to abide by...But thats just IMO :mon sweat:
“I… it’s really nothing…” Risako took a step toward her and poked her in the stomach below the book. Hard. Miyabi winced.
Lol, quoted because it's just cute XDXD
“The Book of the Dead?” she asked, then quickly darted her eyes back to Miyabi. “What are you planning to do with this?” she asked in a low voice.
Obviously IMO bring back the dead or communicate to find a way to bring one back.. :mon angel:
Miyabi’s fingers itched to reach out and grab the book back from the girl, but returning the look into those eyes she couldn’t bring herself to do it. This was the girl she’d do anything for… give anything for… after all. That had been the final impetus that made her decide to do what she planned. She wanted to make the darkness that had invaded those delicate and beautiful eyes go away.
I can't help thinking though, Miyabi is most likely bringing Momoko back not because she wants her back but..Because Saki wants her back even if Saki doesn't say a thing about it, Miyabi feels Momoko is important to Saki in a way. :mon determined:
“So…” Saki began, “What are you going to do with it now?”
Miyabi couldn’t help but notice the suspicion in her voice, and she looked adamantly back at her girlfriend. “Nothing special,” she lied easily. “I just felt like it would be a good way to distract myself from today.”
Liar >;P Miyabi knows The others and Saki would attempt to stop her at any means if they knew what Miyabi was truly planning to do with that book.. :mon determined: :mon geek:
“So show us more of what you can do! Cooler things than you showed me last night before we went to bed. Like whatever you did to make that book appear…”
Lol that tiny slip up of Risako staying over at Miyabi's is likely to cause a stir between her and Saki :mon sweat:
Miyabi slowly froze at several points during the girl’s command, and at the end barely moved. She didn’t need to look to know that Saki was giving her a very cool stare indeed.
Yup, issues between her and Saki indeed :mon uggh:
UPDATE UPDATE :mon blowhorn: :mon blowhorn: :mon blowhorn:
I need to know what happens next!! :mon baby:
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@Amarghetta: I can't say too much to your post because you seem to be catching on well. You say you haven't figured it out, but I have a feeling from your comments you have some guesses that may not be too far off... As this story is coming together, I'm doing my best to have a reason for everything. As you guys no doubt noticed from this chapter, seemingly random things usually end up not being quite so random, whether it's the next chapter along or way down the road...
I have some guesses, yes; but I don't think I'm on the right path. :P I've imagined Miya trying to do something about Momoko's death, but not exactly bringing her back. I didn't expect her to be so careless about her secret, though. It makes me wonder if that means she'll be careless about some other things, you know.
The girls were pretty calm about Miya's thing, considering the circumstances. Then again, it's probably because of the circumstances that they don't get to grasp the true meaning of it all. Nice trick she pulled, btw. It sorta reminded me a scene of the movie Constantine, although that one was different...
In particular, Saki's reaction to Momoko's death is intriguing and somewhat scary. It makes me think she had some unfinished matters with her or something. :?
And finally... Risako's totally acting like a jealous (ex)girlfriend! XD
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Well first of all, applause for rokun!! I was drawn to this because it obviously involves the berryz, and I confess that I haven't read the whole fic, (I seldom ever do) but this is very interesting and addictive! My favourite member is dead :cry:, but I'm still gonna read it!
It's also (excellent but) scary how you make the characters so genuine. For instance, I like miyabi in this fic. There are many different facets of her personality but they all seem plausibly Miyabi-ish. and is that the Tibetan book of the dead, i wonder? Egyptian? Tsugunagian? all ways are intriguing!
Since Miyabi is one of the protagonists, it's natural that other characters are less developed, but I have to say I really like how Yurina is this big, tall thing that gives miyabi hugs. wery wery dahhlink! reminds me of barney the dinosaur hahhaha
I'm not gonna try to figure out what's going on and to predict what'll happen next (I'm superdumb at that) but I'm definitely awaiting the next chapter! :)
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Love how Risako pushes Miya around like she's her wuss XD
Basing on Saki's reaction on the last paragraph, looks like Miya didn't tell her about the sleepover. Let's see how Miya mellows her down. :)
Wow, so Miya really knows witchcraft. :O I hope this won't be her first time reviving someone, coz usually the slightest mistakes in resurrection spells/rituals can have disastrous results. But hey, a crazier, spazzzier, faster eye-blinking Momoko would be great, ne? XD
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Wow~ I've been JPH!P deprived for too long, I think.
-pants- I had a lot of chapters to catch up on.
Unfortunately I'm terribly exhausted from marching practice, so I'll just have to try and give ya a better comment the next time around (if there is a next time, I'm not sure how long I'll have access to the forum before/if it's taken away from me again).
This story has really grown wonderfully from the last chapter I read.
T___T I was terribly devastated to read about Momoko's death, though. I seriously cried. T~T
And then Miya's being a witch was kind of surprising.
So it'll be interesting to see where this goes. <3
CAPTAIN/MIYA FTW~!!!
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Eep! I never responded to you guys from the last chapter! I suppose I don't really need to, but I like to let you know I am reading all the wonderful things you have to say. ^_^
Hello Fimmy-chan! :D Nice to see you. I hope your internet access isn't taken away. :( We all need our JPHiP fix! Thank you for enjoying the new chapters though. :hee:
Wordy - Risako pushes Miya around like she's her wuss? LoL I suppose that's a nice way of putting that. :sweat: You'll find out more about it in coming chapters, but Miyabi really hasn't er... had the chance to practice a lot of what she thinks she can do yet. You can bet it's going to be quite the spectacle...
bot - Welcome to you too! My, so many replies to this one. I feel so special, and I don't think it was even my best chapter. :oops: :shy1: Miyabi is of course the central character, with Risako and Saki kind of also playing major supporting roles, but I've tried my best to develop the other girls as well as I could too. I know some are still rather pigeonholed... But I'm hoping to reveal a bit more depth with them as time goes on. In the next chapter for example you get to see a bit more from one of the other girls. ;)
Amarghetta - Once again, you've got some pretty good guesses. ;) However, while part of Miyabi's "hobby" being revealed may have been carelessness, I wonder if she might not have really subconsciously wanted them to find out about it... After all, she really didn't try to hard to keep it hidden. Being first-person perspective, Miyabi really is quite an unreliable narrator after all...
Loser: Yay! Long comment! :D I wonder if anything else will get answered in the coming chapter? :kekeke: As to Miyabi's vision of the train wreck, it was really something that she saw in her mind. Now, whether it was something her imagination created or that was summoned by some type of intuition might be a matter of discussion...
ckd: Sorry for surprising you. :lol: Although, I did hope some people might not have figured it out by then...
Lolli: :oops: <-- That's what I'm feeling after reading what you had to say. I'm glad the story's captured your attention that much! Hopefully this is still early enough if you want to read it tonight! Although sorry it's been awhile since the last update. >.>
modesta: I like how you're really keyed into the comments I make. :) I'm trying to make the characters complex, but I don't know if I'm able to keep them consistent all the time...
Also, I shouldn't have even mentioned that about my "favorite paragraph". XD It was kind of silly really. When Saki took Miya's book away from her, I just had this vision that wouldn't go away of Miya staring at nothing but the book in Saki's hands while Saki was looking at it, holding her hands tensely in front of her trying to keep from snatching it back away from her, since of course she couldn't do that to her girlfriend. :lol: I dunno lol, it was just a very enjoyable picture in my head. There are a few more lines I love in my new chapter too, so I suppose I'll have to get used to it, lol. Speaking of...
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New chapter! :D I feel much happier about this chapter than the last few I've written (in both my stories), so I hope everyone else loves it too! A lot happens in it, but there's also space for a couple rather intimate conversations... Anyway, once again without further ado...!
Chapter 21
Not especially wanting to follow Risako’s suggestion - at least, especially not after what she’d just revealed in it - Miyabi did her best to convince the other girls she needed some time to think about what had happened today. They grudgingly left her alone, although with strong objections from Yurina who thought they should still stick together. Maasa and Chinami were different stories, though.
Whenever Miyabi caught Chinami’s eye, the girl displayed this spooked look that seemed to imply she was unsure whether Miyabi was going to yell at her or set her hair on fire. Considering the girl’s fears of so many things, Miyabi wasn’t terribly surprised at this reaction, but at least she didn’t run away from her. Apparently witch didn’t quite equal monster in her mind. As ridiculous a thought as that might sound, Miyabi had been quite afraid that was how some of the girls would react.
Maasa on the other hand now always seemed to give her even cooler looks than usual. She was very sharp in asking questions about specifics of what Miyabi did, and when she wasn’t speaking she seemed to be appraising Miyabi as one would a million yen tuna at the market. As much as Miyabi liked expensive tuna, she wasn’t thrilled with the comparison.
Yurina was the only one who didn’t seem to be bugged at all about things that were going on at the moment. Amid Chinami’s and Maasa’s independent reactions, as well as Risako’s and Saki’s level stares which Miyabi thought didn’t necessarily have anything to do with something as insignificant as Miyabi practicing witchcraft, she always looked at her with interest just as she did everyone else. She was the last to leave after Miyabi asked them to go, giving her a long hug that ended only when Saki cleared her throat loudly. None of the other girls so much as touched her.
Distracted in the thought about her friends, she flipped a page in her Book of the Dead as she lay on the bed reading through it. Saki had gone with the others to dinner or something, and although she was expected to return since it was her room also after all, after a couple hours there was still no sign of her.
Despite her distraction, Miyabi was captivated by one passage that spoke of a “Ritual of the Innocent”. It didn’t go into deep detail except to speak of innocence being held highest above all, and that if innocence was despoiled, innocence alone could restore it. The paradox stumped her, but the only other useful information the passage gave was an obscure religious reference that Miyabi couldn’t pinpoint.
Groaning after deciding to give up, she rose into a cross-legged sitting position, closing the book and kneading her forehead. Maybe she needed some sleep… She glanced at the clock, which showed the time nearing 19:30. Saki had to be back soon… Although, if she did return, Miyabi wasn’t sure what exactly she’d even say to the girl. “Hi, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before, but my ex-girlfriend slept in my room in my house last night. As my current girlfriend and the last one to be in there with me, I thought you should know.” Thinking of that made Miyabi rub her forehead even harder. Why stop there though? “Oh, and before we went to bed, we kissed. She asked me to be her first, and I couldn’t deny her could I? I mean she’s just so cute!” Yeah, Saki would leave it at that all right. Risako herself might not read much into it, but she had a feeling Saki with her indelible maturity would have a slightly different view.
She was on that train of thought until it abruptly crashed when a voice spoke from behind her. An apartment building might have even fallen on it. “Well Miya, that’s quite some dedication. I’ve been watching you read those two pages of that book for the last half hour. Or are you just too tired and stupid to absorb anymore right now?”
Miyabi felt as if she jumped in the air as she twisted to see Saki sitting calmly on a chair before the foot of the bed. She still wore the same gym shorts and light t-shirt she had when they made out before her life was turned upside down. At Miyabi’s look of shock and recognition, Saki launched herself softly from the chair and landed on her knees at the foot of the bed, crawling up past Miyabi to open the book to the first few pages.
“Only in unknowing may one find the illuminated path of righteousness. So is the path, lit by the thousand candles of the One Most High. The Highest summons those who give their lives in pursuit of illumination, and so along the path they trod and in his footsteps they find the Way,” Saki read from the book. “Well, I take the stupid part back…” she said in a voice that didn’t sound so sympathetic. “In fact, I feel a sudden urge to fall asleep after reading just that…” Immediately after she spoke, her head fell to the book, and with her eyes closed she began snoring loudly.
“Stop it!” Miyabi growled softly and half-heartedly, and pulled the book out from under Saki’s face, carefully inspecting it to make sure none of the pages were marred. As she did so, with great fanfare Saki ceased her snoring and yawned, rubbing her eyes as if she’d just been awakened from a terribly deep sleep. Miyabi slammed her book shut. “You’re being so silly…” Even though she meant to be scolding, she couldn’t help her voice sounding simpering and affectionate.
“What?” Saki said through another wide yawn. “I’m the one that feels stupid now for watching you that whole time. While I thought you were reading, you were really sleeping. You know you’re a nerd Miya when even in your sleep you’re turning pages as if you’re still reading a book…”
Miyabi poked her in the side. “You’re mean…” she whined.
Saki stayed quiet when she said that, and Miyabi halted the second poke she was preparing. It would have been much harder than the first. Instead, after a few seconds the girl caught Miyabi’s eyes and studied them closely. “I suppose you expect me to wonder why Risako said she went to bed with you last night? Or about what you’re doing with that book?”
Miyabi felt her breathing slow at the sudden change in tone, and her senses flared into overdrive in an attempt to discern whatever signals the other girl might be letting slip out. She opened her mouth a time or two, but at the shock of the bluntness of both of Saki’s questions, didn’t manage to utter any words.
“Well I’m not,” Saki said dismissively. Miyabi stared at her in amazement. However, that amazement was quickly tempered by what the girl had to say next. “Because I think that if there was anything that was really important, my girlfriend would tell me, especially since she knows me better than probably anyone alive. That I ask nothing more of her than to be honest with me...” Her contemplative look suddenly became a sly grin. “Well, nothing more than a few… favors… that I know she doesn’t at all mind granting…” With that, she crawled up almost into Miyabi’s lap, taking her shoulders and raising her lips ever closer to Miyabi’s own.
Miyabi had felt chills run through her with every word the girl had to say, and right before their lips met she raised her own hands and gripped Saki’s sides, pushing her gently but firmly away. “No…” she breathed, and she almost couldn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth. Saki was so close to doing who knows what wonderful things to her, and she had stopped her because her conscience was now devouring her insides as if trying to find a way, any way, out into the light.
“Hmm…?” Saki questioned. “Is there something wrong?” Her voice nearly appeared innocent, but there was a keen awareness in her eyes Miyabi couldn’t miss.
Miyabi looked away. “I…” she began.
“Yes?” Saki prodded.
“Risako stayed over at my house last night…” she said reluctantly, still looking away and down.
“I see…” Saki said, betraying no surprise in her voice.
“She’d come over because… because things hadn’t been right between us.”
“So you aren’t as over her as you thought you were?” Saki said, a note of resignation now entering her voice.
At that, Miyabi snapped her gaze back to the girl’s. The sadness in the eyes she looked into nearly drove her mad. “No!” she cried. “I was over her. I mean, I am over her. If anything, last night confirmed it.” She now began speaking quickly as if she was in a race to save Saki from the despondency she seemed to be falling into. “When she came over, she… expressed her feelings for me. She knew there was no way we could be together now, and that’s not just because of you and me; she still does have that boyfriend you know, I suppose. But, we just… had to clear the table between us… And we did… And I agreed to her spending the night there as friends. I mean, despite it all we’re still best friends, you know…” She ended with a pleading look at Saki, hoping she’d understand. The girl’s look did change; however, it didn’t become any happier. If anything, it actually became sadder, but when the girl looked away herself, Miyabi realized it might not be because of her.
“Yes… I suppose you are,” Saki said softly. “That’s what friends do, isn’t it?” She looked back into Miyabi’s face, this time earnestly amidst the sadness. “You and I can date, and kiss, and maybe even love…” Miyabi felt herself blush slightly at those words. “…But there are others you can love too, aren’t there? That you can spend time with, that you can enjoy the company of… That you can just have fun with…”
Miyabi nodded eagerly, happy for anything that might help lift the shadow she still saw veiling those beautiful eyes. “Yes, that’s right! You and I are… lovers…” she said blushing, “but that doesn’t change our friendships. Those are permanent…”
Unfortunately, Saki only seemed to look more down, and the shadow now nearly obscured her soul from Miyabi. Feeling that the girl was nearly on the verge of tears, Miyabi reached out and pulled her tightly to her.
“Miya…” Saki said to her shoulder. “I’ve made you be truthful with me despite how hard it must have been…” Miyabi stamped out a bit of guilt that flared up again at those words. “But really, they only made me realize I was being a hypocrite and that I need to be just as truthful with you…”
Miyabi felt pressure on her sides, and Saki pushed herself back to look into her eyes again, although she was still basically in Miyabi’s lap. “Last night…” she began, the last word breaking slightly. “Probably while you were talking with Risako and learning all about what she felt, Momo-chan called me…” Miyabi’s breath caught at the mention of that name, and resolve for what she intended to do flared up inside her once again. She had to figure out that book.
“We talked like normal at first, but then…” Saki now focused her eyes on something past Miyabi’s shoulder. “I’d been so stupid, and I hadn’t even realized. She told me she was scared, and that she thought she could ignore it while I was with Jun because she could convince herself I could never understand anyway. But when she realized there was something going on between you and I that illusion shattered, and she began to get obsessed. You know her, her hyper-ness comes from her obsessive compulsiveness, and this was just the type of thing to put her into overdrive…”
Miyabi joined Saki in staring at nothing, thinking about what the girl was telling her. It all made sense: why Momoko paid so much attention to her lately, why she seemed hyper-aware of their relationship, why she was so insistent in talking to both of them… But, Saki surely wasn’t implying…
They locked eyes again as the girl continued. “Last night she explained it all. She said that… she was in love with me…” Saki’s eyes now pled to Miyabi’s own. She wanted to hug the girl as tight as she could, but her arms didn’t seem to be working at the moment for some reason. “I was… so shocked I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want to try to comprehend it because I was with you, and she knew it, but she wasn’t giving any ground. Eventually I just hung up since I didn’t want to deal with it right then. The last thing she did before that was call my name pleadingly…” Tears were definitely now glistening at the edges of her eyes. “That was the last I’ll ever hear from her…”
At the sight of those tears, Miyabi’s arms finally found life and wrapped around the girl, pulling her into a close and intimate embrace. They held each other for a few minutes, Saki somehow amazingly holding back tears while Miyabi felt some kind of instinct take over and rocked her slowly. During the silence, Miyabi tried to reconcile her own thoughts on the matter. Obviously Saki was devastated by how her last conversation with the girl who was probably her best friend went. However, the content of that conversation was of strong personal concern to Miyabi herself. Saki was her girlfriend. If anyone was going to love her, it should be her. However, this girl whom until lately she’d almost despised expressed her love, and Miyabi could only wonder what Saki’s own feelings were toward her. It wasn’t like the Saki and her had been together for very long – far from it in fact – so there was a very real possibility that with the emotion that had tied her to Momoko for so long, there was a much higher potential for more…
Then again, did that matter anymore? The girl was dead. She was gone. If Saki did love her, it meant nothing because she was no longer there to receive it, or reciprocate it… That is, as long as circumstances didn’t change… Miyabi re-evaluated the plan she’d decided on after seeing Saki earlier that day. As long as the girl was dead, there would be nothing to pry the two of them apart. Why would she want that to change?
The vision of the shadow over Saki’s eyes appeared in her head, and she felt the sadness of the girl she clutched tightly to her chest. Whether there was love or not, Saki would never be the same again. She’d always have that shadow, and Miyabi didn’t know if she could bear to see it another day much less a lifetime. Resolve planted itself deep inside her again. “While others might not like you two being together I… I’ll support you, and fight for you, as much as I can...” It wasn’t just for Saki that she was doing it.
She squeezed the girl tighter. “It’s okay,” she said firmly. “I won’t let this continue. I’ll bring her back.”
Saki pulled slowly back from her, staring at her from behind blurry eyes. “What are you talking about?” she choked.
“Momoko,” Miyabi stated. “I’m bringing her back.”
Saki stared at her until comprehension flared within her from amidst the grief and sadness. “That book…”
“Those books,” Miyabi said.
Saki kept staring. “No…” she said finally. “No, you can’t!”
“Why not?” Miyabi snarled. “The stuff Risako was talking about is child’s play. I’m capable of so much more. It’s time for me to finally do something worthwhile with what I’ve been spending so much time and effort on.”
“That’s not what I mean!” cried Saki. “I mean you just… can’t! Momoko is gone. If you were to b-bring her back, that’s not natural! You’d be defiling her!”
“She’s already been defiled,” Miyabi rebutted. “That train accident? You can’t tell me that was natural! Her innocence was stolen away from her… but I can bring it back!” Suddenly, comprehension dawned within her own mind. She felt her mouth hang open while something she’d read earlier in the week flashed through her brain. Of course!
Saki now completely pried herself out of Miyabi’s grasp, and at the sensation she finally managed to snap her mouth shut as she looked up at the girl, who backed away across the bed. “No…” Saki repeated. “No… it’s just… It’s not right!”
“She’s your best friend!” Miyabi nearly yelled.
Saki just shook her head as she stumbled off the end of the bed. “Yes, she is,” she said. “Miya…” She stopped moving backward, and her voice became pleading again. “You don’t know what you’re doing…”
“Yes I do,” Miyabi replied resolutely.
Saki stared at her a minute. “I… I need to be alone,” she said finally, and headed out the door.
Miyabi stared after her a moment, hurt in her expression, but it was not enough to overcome her determination. “Soon…” she said. “Soon you won’t need to be alone any longer.”
She jumped off the bed and started digging in her bag. Finding the book she’d bought just the week before, she pulled it out and flipped to pages she’d read early in the week. She could have kicked herself for not realizing it sooner. One of the underlying principles of Gaia is that of balance within nature. One thing can’t be created without something similar being destroyed. Now that Momoko’s life and innocence were gone, she needed something of equal value to trade in exchange for it. A passage in Mors Mortis Mortalitasque spoke of innocence and how it transits the line between life and death. She thought she remembered what it implied she needed, but she wasn’t sure. Excitedly, she found the page she was looking for and began scanning down it.
“Miya-chan,” a voice scolded from behind her, and she spun around to see who it was. She thought it might have been Saki returning, but until she saw the face she hadn’t processed that it couldn’t have been her voice.
Maasa stared at her hard, with Risako standing a couple steps behind in the doorway. Miyabi admonished herself. She had to keep a better ear out for when people left and entered rooms… “Hello Maa-chan,” she said politely, trying to pacify the excitement that still welled within her. “Nice to see you here,” she said, a little bitterly.
Maasa walked up to her, though Risako still hung in the doorway. “You and Captain had another fight, didn’t you?” she said sharply.
“What do you mean?” Miyabi replied innocently.
“Don’t play the angel with me, you little witch,” Maasa said, though her voice wasn’t quite as harsh as her words might have implied. “We just saw her running down the hall almost in tears. I wouldn’t have necessarily thought much of it beyond the obvious, except I know something’s been going on between you two lately, and it’s also happened before. The funny thing was I thought you two liked each other more. I thought that if the two of you were alone that you’d be able to console each other… But she obviously hasn’t been consoled very well. That’s why I’m here. So… what happened, Miya?”
Miyabi stared back at her friend, and past her she could also see Risako studying her closely from her perch at the door. She thought about biting back at the girl, but at the last second changed her mind in favor of a… more interesting tactic. “Maa – chan~” she said playfully, pulling herself into a cross-legged position on the floor and looking up at her with a smile. “Do you remember that morning in Saitama when you had the everlasting shower because you were mad at me for not telling you something?” The addressed girl gave a curt nod, but Risako’s lips pursed tighter together.
“You told me that either I just had a wonderful dream or I had a really good time the night before,” Miyabi continued. “Well, you correctly tossed the idea of a dream out right away, but I didn’t actually tell you about the really good time I had.”
“What does this have to do with Captain running down the hall crying?” the girl prodded impatiently.
“Just be patient,” Miyabi said, nodding and smiling as if to a small child. The girl adopted a slightly disgruntled look, but didn’t complain anymore. “Anyway,” Miyabi went on, this time carefully casting her gaze just above Maasa’s shoulder to the younger girl in the doorway. “I did have quite a good time… with Captain.” She adopted a whimsically romantic tone as she went on, still looking Risako in the eyes. “We stayed in each others’ arms all night long… At that time it was just for comfort because of… experiences… we’d both had that night. However, we met up last weekend and, suffice it to say, she’s now my girlfriend.”
Maasa’s eyes widened throughout Miyabi’s speech, which was not the least bit cutting unless you were Risako, who by the end had turned and stormed out the door unnoticed by the girl in front of her. “You and Captain…” she began, and her eyes lit up. “I knew it! I knew something was going on! I didn’t quite imagine… that… though…” Her mouth twisted as if something unpleasant had entered her thoughts, but she composed her face quickly, returning her harsh and impatient focus back on Miyabi. “That still doesn’t tell me what you’re doing with those books though!” she demanded. “Or why Captain ran off crying! If you two really are… dating…”
“Oh, I assure you it’s more than that,” Miyabi said with a grin. She began to believe Maasa’s eyebrows couldn’t rise any farther.
“Well… if you two… are… whatever you’re doing!” the girl resumed, stuttering exasperatedly. “Then there’s even more of an issue of her running away from you like that! I said this about that boy she was dating before, and I guess I should rightfully say it to you too. If you hurt her, I’ll kill you…” She ended with a warning tone. However, it wasn’t too effective since she still seemed to be a little confused as to whether or why she should be warning one of her best friends like this about something like that.
Miyabi’s face darkened. “Don’t compare me to him,” she warned in a tone much more convincing than the girl had just used with her. “I haven’t nearly raped her.” Maasa’s mouth opened once or twice, but no words managed to escape this time. Despite her burgeoning anger, Miyabi felt somewhat satisfied to see this usually unflappable girl so shaken for once. If the girl was going to come into her own room and accuse her of something, she was going to be the one in control of the encounter.
“She’s just devastated at what happened to Momoko,” Miyabi continued. “As I’m sure we all are. But she felt it more than most of us I think because the two of them were… quite close.” She stopped there because she still wasn’t ready to elaborate along that line of thought. “Don’t worry though,” she said with a disarming smile. “I’ll have her all better before long.”
Maasa studied her closely for a minute, finally closing her mouth, and then came to sit in front of her. She looked behind them before talking. “I thought Risako was coming along after me…?” she asked rhetorically before she turned back to Miyabi. “Oh well, best for her not to be here anyway. Miya…” she began, and Miyabi adopted an attentive look. “You’re going to try something witchy on her, aren’t you?”
Miyabi was slightly taken aback by the surprising question. Well, she’d always called Maasa quite intuitive… “Um…” she began. “Not on her, per se…” Suddenly she gave the girl a sharp look. “Also, I prefer the term Neopagan,” she corrected. “Calling it witchcraft, or even Wiccan, isn’t quite…”
“Whatever, you nerd,” Maasa said dismissively, causing Miyabi’s eyes to narrow. “But that’s what you’re planning, right?” she insisted.
“You’re really close to getting a hex put on you right now…” Miyabi muttered. The girl stared impassively back at her. So much for gaining control. She sighed. “Yes, I’m planning to do something… witchy... but I can’t tell you what it is now. You’ll find out what I’m up to soon enough though, all right?”
Maasa continued to stare hard at her, but apparently accepted her conditions as good enough, and finally relaxed. “So…” the girl murmured, “This thing between you and Captain.” She leaned forward again, though this time with interest and not the judgment she portrayed before. “You have got to tell me more about what the two of you have been up to…”
Miyabi dearly wanted to get started on what would probably be her night’s work, but looking back into her friend’s eyes she couldn’t keep a smile from spreading its way across each side of her face.
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I knew it!! You read my mind, rokun! Hope it won't be like Full Metal Alchemist.
Now that Maasa knows that Miya and Saki are a couple, looks like they'res gonna be a lot of fireworks..and a lot of tears shed on everybody's part
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Miyabi dearly wanted to get started on what would probably be her night’s work, but looking back into her friend’s eyes she couldn’t keep a smile from spreading its way across each side of her face.
I think that pretty much sums up my face after reading this :D
I'm a bit worried about Saki and Miyabi. Hope things don't go pear shaped between them. Especially with Miya telling Massa about the two of them and also about what happened with Jun. I really don't want them two to seperate :cry:
Glad it was confirmed that Momo was in love with Saki. I re-read the whole story to fill the gap between you posting and it was so obvious. I understand why Miya wants to bring her back but I think it would be better if she stayed, well, ...dead. Better for my sake at least :lol:
Anyway I really missed you updating this last week. I had a crap weekend at work and I kinda blame you!!! I usually read your new chapter the night before I work and then my weekend seems to go really well. But the weekend just gone has to be my worst in a long time. I only worked two nights out of three and it was still hell.
I think I deserve something to make up for it. Like a new chapter before I fly to Japan. Or just don't leave us hanging for over a week then I can read it whilst I'm in Japan.
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To me, I know Captain really misses Momo, but it also kinda seems that she doesn't want Miya to bring her back.
Was Miya trying to get Risako jealous there? Was she just trying to get her out of the room so that she could talk to Maasa alone? or is there another reason? man, all these things get me worked up for whats going to be in the later chapters.
“You have got to tell me more about what the two of you have been up to…”
Just like Miyabi, I couldn't help but smile at that part. :D
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“Yes… I suppose you are,” Saki said softly. “That’s what friends do, isn’t it?” She looked back into Miyabi’s face, this time earnestly amidst the sadness. “You and I can date, and kiss, and maybe even love…” Miyabi felt herself blush slightly at those words. “…But there are others you can love too, aren’t there? That you can spend time with, that you can enjoy the company of… That you can just have fun with…”
I love this part. I love how Saki reacts after learning what happened to Miya and Risako the previous night. So mature. Go Captain! :farofflook::farofflook::farofflook:
However...
I really don't like how she reacted after Momo confessed her feelings. WTF was that? :scolding: :pleeease: :hee::P
Miya and Saki's developing relationship is really amazing. Lovers shouldn't keep secrets from each other. Even if it will hurt, at least there'll be someone whom you can share your pain with and at the same time, someone who will comfort you throgh the ordeal. And I think that's something friends won't be able to do for you.
I wanna see Chinami's spooky stare! :mon cweepy: :mon scare:
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I'll edit this post tomorrow morning lol but I have to say this.. I KNEW THAT MOMOKO WAS IN LOVE WITH CAPTAIN!! >;P
See I want Momoko back for the drama that I know that will come
And Miyabi saying that to Risako is Love because that was obvious 'tear your heart' and 'she still got feelings for me' type of thing
Rokun = <333333333333333333 seriously >;P
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Woo, ebiru Miya FTW! And kudos for cool, curious Maasa. ;)
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Here we go again! I didn't expect to post so soon, but I wanted to make sure and satisfy Lolli before going to Japan, and it's what I felt like doing anyway. :lol: Ckd, I've never watched Full Metal Alchemist, but your comment made me look up a short plot summary lol, and it was amazing! I assure you though, since as I mentioned I've never even watched it, any resemblance is coincidental (although freakish XD). And while I may not be following that per se, I am drawing from many different influences, so you might recognize some things... Anyway, I have some things to do tonight, so onward to storytime! :D
Chapter 22
It wasn’t until late in the evening when Saki finally returned. Miyabi lay on the bed, propped up by some pillows and reading one of her books, just as she’d been doing for the past couple hours. A lone lamp was turned on at the side of her bed to give her light as she read, and the darkness surrounding that pool was broken for only seconds when the door swung open and light from the hall spilled into it. Saki closed it quickly and quietly though, and Miyabi watched over the top of her book as she walked to her suitcase and after digging through it, changed her clothes to her normal night attire of only a t-shirt that was a few sizes too large for her. After changing, she crawled up onto the bed without looking toward Miyabi’s face and slid under the covers.
“Welcome back,” Miyabi offered gently.
The girl didn’t respond at first. After covering up, she rolled over with her back toward Miyabi and lay on her side. Miyabi continued to watch her, but didn’t offer any more in the way of a greeting. “I’ve been thinking, Miya…” Saki said finally in a quiet voice. Miyabi had given up and returned to her book, but at the sound of the girl’s voice turned back to her. Even though Saki spoke to her, she still faced away from her. “Don’t you think that if people could just be … raised from the dead… that somebody would have done it by now? And of course we would have heard about it because nobody could keep something like that secret…”
Miyabi just gazed at her for a moment before responding. “Well maybe nobody’s been able to do it yet. I’m doing some things I don’t think anyone else has, after all.”
At that, Saki finally rolled over and looked up into Miyabi’s face, an unreadable look on her own. “Miya, you seriously take being conceited to new levels…”
Miyabi shrugged, grinning. “What can I say? I’m the Berryz girl you made me.” Saki rolled her eyes before rolling back over and snuggling in as if she was going to try and sleep. “So are you okay with what I’m trying to do now?” she asked hopefully.
“No,” Saki replied without turning again. “It’s still wrong. But I know I’m not going to stop you. If anything bad happens though…” Miyabi could feel the girl’s body tense beside her in her warning.
“I’ll do my best,” Miyabi said.
“I know,” Saki replied. “I hope though…” She never finished her thought, and Miyabi was left wondering what the girl hoped. She continued watching her lie there as her breathing became slower, and eventually it appeared she fell asleep.
Closing her book carefully, Miyabi laid it on the bedside table and sat up slowly, doing her best not to wake the other girl. Once she managed to pull out of the covers, she sat there for a minute and stroked her girlfriend’s hair. The sleeping girl stirred once or twice, but didn’t seem to wake.
“I’ll do my best, Saki-chan…” she whispered again. “Whatever you might think, Momo deserves to be with us now. I might not like that she’s in love with you but… I think I’m in love with you too…”
She couldn’t stop a completely unreasonable blush from coming to her face when she said that, but it caused her to pull her hand away, and she slid slowly off the bed. Walking back around to her bag, she dug through it. Quickly finding what she wanted, she stared at it a moment before tucking it inside her belt.
While Saki was gone, she’d realized what she needed to acquire. She needed something that symbolized innocence to trade for the innocence that was lost when Momoko was killed. However, not just anything would work, and she wanted to get the best possible for her trade. She felt confident, but this was still something she didn’t take lightly. It hadn’t taken her long to decide what she knew of that was purest.
She walked to the bathroom and picked up a small glass from next to the sink, carrying it with her as she stole quietly over to the lamp she was using to read. She turned it off, and with one last look at her girlfriend headed toward the door. She opened and went through it as quietly as possible, but when she turned around to go down the hall she almost jumped at the girl who stood not centimeters in front of her.
“Getting a drink?” Chinami said, her eyes still wide as she stared at Miyabi.
“Um… yes,” Miyabi responded. She looked curiously at the girl. “Have you been watching scary movies again?”
“Me?” Chinami asked. “No.” She glanced to the side as if she saw somebody looking at her. Miyabi looked too, but they were the only two in the quiet hall. “Well, just one. But it wasn’t too bad. I think…” She looked back at Miyabi and hesitated.
“Do you think I’m going to turn you into a toad or something?” Miyabi asked, slightly irritated.
Chinami drew breath and took a step back. “No!” she said. “Of course not! I’m not scared of y-your magic…”
“You’re a horrible liar you know,” Miyabi responded. “You should really just give up trying.”
“Hey!” Chinami whined. “That’s mean!”
“So what are you doing out here?” Miyabi asked.
“Oh you know…” the girl responded. “Just walking randomly down the hallway… I couldn’t sleep,” she explained. “I was supposed to share my room with… with her…” she said, hesitating again. “And I didn’t want to be alone, so Risako decided to move over and join me. That was awfully nice of her… She even picked the movie that we just finished watching…”
“Is Risako asleep now?” Miyabi asked nonchalantly, perking up at this news.
“Yeah,” Chinami replied. “At least, she was when I left. I hope she doesn’t wake up. I left the door unlocked so I didn’t forget the key and lock myself out again, and I doubt she’d be happy if she knew she was sleeping behind an unlocked door…”
“I’m sure she’ll stay asleep,” Miyabi replied quickly. “That girl can sleep through anything, you know.”
“I know,” Chinami said. At least she didn’t look so scared any longer with the casual conversation they were having. “Hey, do you mind if I join you while you get your drink?” she asked.
“Er…” Miyabi responded. “Sure… why not?” And with that Miyabi began walking down the hall, the other girl staying at her side. She didn’t really have any clue where she was going, as she was definitely not going for a “drink”, but she thought she’d better entertain the older girl for the time being. Why would she be walking down the hall with a glass for something to drink anyway? She could get water from her room, and anything she got from vending machines here wouldn’t need a container. She gave Chinami a sideways glance. And people called her strange.
“You know,” Miyabi said, deciding she might as well try to strike up conversation again. “It’s a little strange for you to be walking around vacant hallways at night as scared as you seem to be of everything.”
“Oh?” the girl said, looking around her as if surprised. “I guess I’m used to it. I think I actually like being scared though. That’s probably why I find myself in situations like that all the time.”
Miyabi hadn’t thought of that before, but now that she did it made perfect sense. The other girls were always warning Chinami to stay away from scary movies and things, but thinking about it, Miyabi realized she must watch ten times more of them than anybody else.
After a moment of silence, Chinami shrugged. “I guess it’s my hobby or something, after all. Being scared, you know.” Miyabi nodded her head as if she knew, although she was still a little confused. She wouldn’t have thought being scared could qualify as a hobby.
“I’ll be sure to bring you along to the next haunted house I go to…” she said with a wry grin.
“Really?” Chinami asked hopefully. “That’d be great! Um…” she said as she stopped walking. “Where are we going, by the way?” Miyabi looked ahead of them and saw they’d arrived at the elevator at the end of the hall. “You’re not gonna go down to the bar or something, are you?”
“Yes…” Miyabi said. “That’s exactly where I was planning on going! Why don’t you go ahead of me though and wait there. I’m sure they’ll have music or something playing. I left something in my room and need to go back and get it.”
“Oh it’s okay,” Chinami responded. “I’ll go back to your room with you.”
“Er…” Miyabi said, now just wanting to get rid of the other girl. “Saki-chan’s sleeping in there, and I bet more than one of us going in would wake her. Plus, I’m sure you’ll find plenty to keep you busy down there! It’ll be a lot more fun than waiting for me.”
“All right…” Chinami said, and giving her an odd look pushed the button for the elevator.
Miyabi gave a nod of her head and turned around to head back down the hall. Turning a corner, she looked back to make sure the girl wasn’t following her, and continued on toward their rooms. She knew what she had to do, and with what Chinami had told her it seemed the fates were with her tonight.
Coming to a door, she turned the knob and opened it slowly. Sliding in, she closed it softly again and looked through the darkness toward where the beds would be standing. As her eyes adjusted she made out two, one flat and the other with a small lump rising from it. Risako was not only alone, but the door was unlocked, something else Miyabi was happy about because she hadn’t yet tried a spell to open electronic locks and wasn’t sure it would work. Dealing with electro-magnetism tended to be tricky in any circumstance, much less one as important as this. Whether Chinami was right about how Risako would react to being left alone in an unlocked room, she really should have been more careful. They never knew what kind of creep might try to walk in on one of them. Although, Miyabi didn’t guess they would have imagined they needed to worry about one of their own…
Fumbling around with the lock, she heard it click, and advanced toward the bed with the sleeping girl. The image brought back vivid memories of the last time she did this not long ago. Of course, there was much different motivation this time. As she pulled the ceremonial dagger out of her belt, she thought it was funny that the situations were in fact nearly complete opposites.
Carefully, she leaned over the softly breathing form and pulled the covers down to her waist. Risako lay curled up there almost in a ball, her hands folded just in front of her face. Miyabi smiled. It was the perfect picture of innocence she’d imagined. The sight increased her confidence tremendously, but it also tugged at something inside her. Yes, she was innocent… She was so cute just lying there, and Miyabi recalled times when she laid with her, hugging her from behind as they both slept.
She didn’t realize she’d reached out toward the girl until she almost touched her cheek, but finally came to her senses and satisfied herself with sweeping a few of her hairs behind her ear. “I’m sorry, Rii-chan,” she said. “But we have to help Momo.” Then she became silent as she raised the glass and her dagger toward the sleeping girl.
…
A short time later, she exited the elevator and walked toward the lounge. Finding the entrance, she walked in to find a group playing some kind of slow hypnotizing music not far from the bar. It wasn’t exactly her style, but she supposed it was perfect for the salarymen she saw sitting at the high stools in front of the counter. She looked around at the people sitting in the spacious “family” area, and found Chinami staring dreamily of all things toward the group.
Miyabi walked toward her, and even when she sat down across the table the girl still didn’t seem to register her presence. There was a drink of some sort in front of her, but it looked half-forgotten. “Hey, Chii-chan,” Miyabi said, and the girl almost jumped, giving her a startled look.
“Oh, hi Miya,” she said, quickly picking up her drink and bowing her head over it.
Miyabi looked over toward the band. The lead singer was a young woman of maybe thirty, but the rest seemed to be composed of young college-aged men. “Don’t tell me you’ve been staring at that cute guitarist this whole time,” she chided the girl across from her.
Even with her face lowered Miyabi still noticed her blush. “Not… the whole time…” she responded in a squeaky voice.
“All we need now is another story about you and some cute band member…” Miyabi said in a mock serious voice.
“Hey!” Chinami said, looking up finally. “That wasn’t my fault!”
“What wasn’t?” Miyabi heard a voice say from behind her, and a tall girl walked up to their table. “Hey you two,” Yurina said. “Couldn’t sleep either?” The question seemed to be directed at Miyabi since Yurina likely guessed the other girl’s reason the same way Miyabi had.
“Nope,” Miyabi said. Well, it was partly true. “Here, have a seat Kuma-chan,” she continued, and slid over so the girl could slide in next to her.
The girl sat down thankfully and looked between the two other girls. “It’s been a long day, huh?” She looked around at the other people in the lounge minding their own business. “Yet everything still goes on as normal…”
“Yeah,” Miyabi said. “There should be some kind of holiday to recognize what happened, shouldn’t there?”
“Nobody cares,” Chinami said, and the other two girls stared at her. However, she stared back just as strongly. “If it doesn’t involve them, they do their best to ignore it.”
Yurina gave an angry look around at the people they were talking about. “That’s not right. They should try to pay attention to other people better!”
“Is that what you think?” Miyabi asked, and the two girls now turned to her with furrowed eyebrows. “Until we heard about Momo, we hardly even noticed anything happened either.”
“But we’re just kids,” Yurina said, and the other two became quiet.
“That’s really convenient… isn’t it?” Miyabi said under her breath after a time.
“What do you suppose we’ll do now?” Chinami asked, adopting an anxious voice after the uncomfortable silence. “With Momo-chan gone it won’t be anywhere near the same.” Her eyes widened again. “I might have to sing more!”
“Oh I’m sure that would be so horrible,” Miyabi retorted sarcastically. “It’s about time you start singing more instead of just always talking.”
“But I like acting better…” Chinami pouted.
“Besides,” Miyabi said, adopting a smug tone. “Maybe I’ll just get all the lines now.”
“Miya!” Yurina scolded. “Now isn’t the time to be so selfish!”
Miyabi stayed quiet. She really didn’t care what they said about “how things would be now that Momo was gone”. After all, by tomorrow night everything would be back to the way it was before. Saki’s face flashed in her head, the shadow gone and only brightness in her soft eyes. Everything.
She was brought out of her reverie by a hard poke at her side. “Ow!” she cried.
“You’re sick you know, smiling at your narcissistic fantasies like that,” Yurina said, though this time Miyabi noticed it only seemed half-hearted.
“Well of course,” Miyabi said. “Some day I’m going to be the most famous singer in the world, you know. I was just thinking about who I’d have for my attendants… Would you like to do my make-up?” She received another poke for that.
“Just because you can sing well and do a little magic doesn’t mean you’re any better than the rest of us,” Yurina said, and her words were met with an uncomfortable silence.
“Hey,” Chinami said. “Do you think maybe if you practice some more you can stop people from dying?”
Miyabi stared at her. The girl seemed terrified of what she might do most of the time, and now she had the most surprising insight of anyone around her all day. Yurina didn’t seem to catch Miyabi’s reaction, however. “Don’t be silly,” she said offhandedly. “Miya might be able to pull books out of thin air, but she can’t do the same thing with people. Right, Miya-chan?” she asked her, obviously not expecting an answer.
At first Miyabi didn’t give her one. After a while though she couldn’t hold her tongue. “That’s not… entirely true…” she said softly.
Chinami stared at her, though Yurina still didn’t seem to register what she’d just said. “See, Toku-san? What’d I tell you.”
“Um… Kuma~chan…” Chinami chimed slowly.
“Hmm?” the tall girl asked, and she finally looked up at the two she sat with. Chinami was still staring at Miyabi, who was looking down at thumbs she was twiddling.
“What you said,” Miyabi resumed softly again. “I can bring people back.”
Now Yurina joined Chinami in staring at her. “What?” she asked, apparently at a loss. “Have you… done it before?”
Miyabi shook her head. “No,” she responded. “But I can do it.”
Yurina now turned and grabbed her older friend’s shoulders. “Are you crazy?! That’s impossible! You just… just…”
“Just what?” Miyabi asked, giving the girl a heated gaze back. “Just know how to do a little magic?”
Feeling her anger start to rise, she closed her eyes and focused her thoughts. At a squeak from across the table she opened them, but only just to slits. Yurina was slowly sliding away from her on her chair, which began to lift into the air as well. The girl had frozen, and was clutching her chair seat as if for dear life as it rose steadily to nearly a half a meter above the ground.
“Stop it!” Chinami said, and Miyabi looked over to see her pressed to the back of her own chair, staring at Yurina and holding onto it too as if she was the one flying across the room.
Miyabi then heard a clatter, and she turned back to see Yurina on the floor with the chair toppled next to her. She quickly rose to go help the girl, berating herself for losing concentration. That was something that couldn’t happen tomorrow night. “Are you okay?” she asked a slightly shaken-seeming Yurina. Helping her up, she looked around them. A few of the people at the bar and around the room were frowning over at them. They obviously hadn’t noticed Yurina floating, but definitely heard the crashing chair and now likely just thought they were some idiot kids fooling around.
“Excuse us,” Miyabi repeated over and over, bowing at the people looking at them as she helped Yurina carry the chair back to their table. A few of them chuckled, and by the time the girls regained their seats most had turned back to their drinks and conversations.
When she sat down, Miyabi looked over at Chinami, who was still glued to the back of her chair, now staring at her. “Sorry about that,” she offered half-heartedly, but the girl’s expression didn’t change.
Having finally regained her composure and becoming able to relax in her seat, Yurina spoke up, softly at first but with increasing volume. “That... was… so… cool!” Chinami now shifted her disbelieving stare to the taller girl. “Can you make me do that again sometime?”
Miyabi broke into a grin. “Sure, if you’d like. Along with lots of other fun things.”
“You…” she gasped, still apparently excited from her experience. “You can’t really bring Momo back… can you?” Miyabi nodded. “But you said you’ve never done it before. I take it you’ve heard of others doing it though?”
“Well, no,” Miyabi responded hesitantly.
“Then how do you know it can be done?”
“Because it’s gotta be possible!” Miyabi responded vehemently. “In everything I’ve studied about nature, the Earth… the spirits… Gaia, if you will… They like things to maintain a certain order. As we’ve become more modernized we’ve increasingly begun to disrupt that order, and cause things, like that train accident, that should never have occurred.” Feeling she was losing her audience, which consisted of one very interested-seeming girl and another who stared at her as if she was the one with snakes growing out of her head, she tried to explain further. “It’s like everything and everyone is connected in a big web.” Chinami shivered again. Miyabi made a mental note to add spiders to the list of things that creeped her out. Then again, remembering their earlier conversation, maybe the girl could do with having some spiders summoned on her from time to time.
“When things like that train accident happen,” she continued, “That web is snipped in the spots where those lives that were lost existed. Momoko would have been at the center of the web, where kids and others who are most innocent lie. And when parts of the center are cut out, it threatens the integrity of the whole web – of all of nature… Most never get replaced, and so the web has been getting more and more tangled as we’ve moved farther away from our natural states. All I’m looking to do is help restore what little of it I can… at least… what’s important to me…”
She trailed off to the blank staring looks before her. “…Strange things they teach you at that school,” Yurina intoned finally. “But it’s still cool. And if it helps Momo-chan come back…”
“Well I don’t think it’s cool!” Chinami breathed. “I don’t know about all your webs and spiders and things.” She shivered again, and Miyabi sighed inwardly. She hadn’t even mentioned spiders… “But I still think what you’re doing is wrong. You’re messing with things that… obviously shouldn’t be messed with! And now you’re even messing with… with… life and death itself! Those are things that should be just left alone and to themselves! The gods will take care of us like they always have… even Momo…” Her eyes began to tear up slightly by the time she mentioned the girl’s name.
“Why is that?” Miyabi said through gritted teeth. “Is that what your parents told you?”
“Yes…” Chinami said, visibly trying to keep herself from crying. “Momo is gone… Why can’t you just accept that!” And with that, she stood up quickly from her chair and walked away from them, increasing her speed with her distance until she was almost running when she disappeared out of sight through the open lounge doors.
“I suppose you think I should just accept it too…” Miyabi grumbled, not looking at the girl who still sat next to her. Surprisingly though, Yurina draped an arm around her shoulders, causing her to look up into a sincere young face.
“I won’t admit it isn’t a bit… strange…” she said, “But there are a lot of things about the world I don’t know, and maybe… Maybe you’re right. Maybe we’ll be able to see Momo again. It isn’t wrong to have hope at least, is it?” Miyabi stared at her. She thought the girl was younger than her at least. “Excuse me,” she continued, releasing Miyabi’s shoulders and rising from her chair. “I’d better make sure Toku-san’s alright and doesn’t do something stupid.” She hesitated a moment before walking away, though. “You’re really gonna try this?”
Miyabi nodded. “Tomorrow night,” she said. “I’ve… started preparing already.” Her mind drifted to Risako for a second. “At least that’s the plan. Chii-chan’s reaction troubles me a bit… She sounded pretty strong against me trying…”
“I’ll keep her occupied if she tries to stop you,” Yurina insisted. “Anyone else, too.” She looked sincerely into Miyabi’s eyes. “I don’t know if you’re gonna be able to do this…” she said, “But I still want to have hope that we can all be together again…” Miyabi saw her eyes begin to glisten too, but before she could say more the taller girl turned and headed off after Chinami.
“Thank you…” Miyabi whispered to herself. She didn’t know why, since she was set on doing this alone, but it felt nice knowing someone, at least, supported her.
She stayed in the lounge for a while longer listening to the music and thinking about the next day. She even ordered a drink. After taking the last sips, she finally slid out from her table and made her way back up to their rooms. The hallway was quiet, so apparently either Yurina had caught Chinami elsewhere or they both were back in their rooms. Out of pure curiosity, she reached her hand out and turned carefully at the doorknob to the room she had broken into earlier. Finding it locked, she sighed in relief. Chinami must have gone back to sleep.
Leaving the door be, she re-entered her own room and quietly changed into the long shirt and comfortable shorts she normally wore to bed before sliding in under the covers next to her girlfriend. She supposed she was still her girlfriend at least. They may be having a fight now, but the girl still came to bed with her after all… Deciding to be brave, she carefully snuggled up next to the small warm form and lightly draped an arm around her waist.
“You’re back late,” she heard a small voice say just as her arm fell into place around the girl. She froze. Well, at least she didn’t pull away from her embrace.
“…I couldn’t sleep,” Miyabi whispered finally.
“Liar,” came the voice again, and Saki rolled over, careful to stay within Miyabi’s arms. Miyabi wasn’t sure exactly what to make of the girl’s sudden actions. Once she turned, the space that separated their faces could barely even be called a gap. Feeling the girl’s warm breath lightly caressing her skin, Miyabi’s pulse quickened as her body heated.
Saki studied her eyes. “You’re going to try to bring back Momo, aren’t you,” she murmured in a tone that wasn’t the least bit questioning. Miyabi hesitated only a second before nodding slightly. “And nothing I say is going to stop you?” she continued. This time there was a longer pause before Miyabi nodded again.
“I’m doing this for myself, for many reasons…” Miyabi explained, also in a low voice with their intimate position. “But…” she continued, looking into the eyes across from her. “I’m also doing it for you…” Her heart seemed to be racing now. “I don’t… I can’t say I like hearing someone else is in love with you… someone who’s your best friend even… but since she’s been gone you’ve been so sad, and I can’t bear to see you that way. I want to make you happy again…” She felt tears come to her eyes as she finished, and tried to pull the girl closer to her. Strangely, she didn’t meet any resistance.
Saki looked intensely back at her a moment before her expression suddenly changed. “Miya~chan…” she simpered. Miyabi felt her breath catch in anxiety. “You don’t need to raise the dead to win me over…” Then, she leaned forward and laid a short peck on Miyabi’s lips. Miyabi felt herself blush, and she began to think if she got any hotter she’d completely burn up. She hadn’t lost control and set herself on fire or something, had she?
Resisting the urge to look away to find out, she held her eyes on the gentle ones across from her. “Just promise me one thing, okay Miya?” Saki asked.
Miyabi nodded. “S-sure…” she managed. What was wrong with her? There was no reason for her to lose control like this.
“Take me along when you do it,” Saki said, this time in a more serious tone. Miyabi studied her face, emotions conflicting within her. The girl had the right to request that of course, but she still wasn’t looking forward to seeing how she would react when her best friend, who had just declared her love for her, suddenly appeared out of thin air. That thought distracted Miyabi for a second. Would that be how it happened? Or would she just… rise from her grave wherever it was or something?
Those thoughts were lost completely however when she felt Saki reach over and grip her arms. “What’s going on in there…?” she breathed, looking into Miyabi’s face as if by doing so she could read her mind. Finally she settled back on her eyes. “No matter what happens… Remember… You’re the one I chose, Miya.” Miyabi stared back, feeling something very strange inside her, until Saki leaned in to kiss her again. This time it didn’t end as quickly, however. In fact, it seemed to last forever.
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Fast update, yowzers! :w00t:
“I’m sorry, Rii-chan,” she said. “But we have to help Momo.” Then she became silent as she raised the glass and her dagger toward the sleeping girl.
WHAAAAAA!? am I reading this correctly? hopefully she's just cutting off a piece of her hair. XD
SakiMiya :wub:
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^ Lolz, you're funny :P
But that could very well be the case, though I have no idea why Risako's hair is needed to bring Momo back from the dead XD
I can't wait for all the hocus pocus stuff to actually start. It should be fun :D
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I'm a liar, I didn't give an edit to my last post my bad >;P
Anyway, short comment since I gotta go to an interview soon
I honestly think Miya did not cut off Risako's hair..Though it'd be funny
But usually it's gotta be blood, since blood is life and it's part of what keeps us going =D
And Miyabi said Risako can sleep through anything...So Miya probably gave a little cut and took a few drops of blood =O=
End of my theory there
Update faster Rokun I can't wait another week or two!
Go!
UPDATE!!
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:nya: Thank you for updating before I left. I did read the chapter earlier but have been too busy to add my thoughts until now.
I'd like to think that Miya was cutting Risako's hair too but like Loser said, it should be more than just hair shouldn't it, not that I know anything about magics and stuff. Plus she pulled the cover down to her waist (or am I reading too much into that?) . But then again would Risako sleep through someone cutting her? She may be able to sleep through anything but I can't see her sleeping through that. Hmm....
Chinami watching horrors films because she likes to be scared :lol: - I was gonna say that's just plain weird but my sister does it (but then my sister is weird!!!)
Miya and Saki :heart:
I'm very conflicted becuase I don't want Miya to bring Momo back as I don't want anything bad to happen between Saki and Miya. But then I also want Momo to come back because of the extra drama it would cause. ARGH!
P.S. - Update please :D
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Bad things coming soon. Or in Risako's case already happening. And I guess things can't get much worse for Momo. . .
I guess that means that it's really: bad things already happening.
UPDATE!!
P.S. - Update please :D
I am interested in your idea's and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
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Hello everyone! Here I was going to post today wondering where you guys were, and I get two more responses today! :D Thank you for making me feel more special again. I had a feeling I might have just updated again too quickly, despite the urgings of certain parties. :P
Lol, I had a feeling everyone would latch onto the Risako part (obviously). I actually had a page or two extra written of detail at that part, but it seemed really weird (and morbid) and didn't make complete sense lol, so I thought giving it this air of mystery instead was a better idea. ^_^ You'll find out quite soon what that was all about. I'm hoping to get to the "hocus pocus" in the next chapter, but if nothing else it will definitely also be soon. :)
I'm glad everyone's still loving MiyaSaki, and Chinami's whole "likes to be scared" thing is kind of a reflection of myself, because I think I'm kind of like that. :lol: Then again I'm a little strange too...
Lolli, are you going to Japan for quite a while and will have no internet access? That sucks. :( I'll miss you here!
Even though I'm giving comments, don't expect another chapter too soon. I'm working on finishing A Young Girl's Odyssey, and while I'm definitely not forgetting this(!), it may be a little slow updating for a while. Speaking of which, if you really need something to do in the meantime while awaiting another chapter, and if you like my writing, I urge you to check out Odyssey if you haven't yet (since I see very few of you posting in its thread). Berryz aren't central to it, but it's still a fun though different kind of story, and long enough to suck up way too much of your time still. ;) [/shameless plug]
Have a great weekend everyone!
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Lolli, are you going to Japan for quite a while and will have no internet access? That sucks. :( I'll miss you here!
I'm in Japan now and luckily I have a free broadband connection in my room :D (good job I brought my notebook with me on the off chance). So now I can read when you update. I'll check Odyssey out as well.
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Hi everyone. I don't want to say a whole lot before posting this next chapter, so I'm sorry for taking so long, and here you go. :)
Chapter 23
Miyabi woke in the morning to a chill. When she opened her eyes she realized her arm was stretched across an otherwise empty bed, and the covers were drawn down enough to let a cool draft touch her beneath them. Shivering slightly, she pulled the blankets around her as she sat up, looking around. The room was quiet, with light from what looked like the late morning sun shining in through the window. How late had she slept? She was amazed they’d let her stay unconscious this long.
Sliding off of the bed, she busied herself with a bath and dressing for the day into a short but heavy black skirt with a black, white and red striped sweater above it. She topped the look off with a couple necklaces with charms that at a glance just looked cool. She was wearing them for a different purpose though, since she thought she might as well start preparing for the evening. As she was hooking the last one she heard a knock at the door, and walked slowly over to open it.
“Miya!” Yurina said. “You’re finally awake! I thought you would sleep all day.” The taller girl leaned in closer to her ear at a surreptitious glance down the hall before whispering, “I wasn’t sure if you needed a lot of sleep before what you’re gonna do tonight.”
Miyabi furrowed her brow in irritation. “What? No. I just slept in, that’s all.”
“Ahh, I see,” Yurina said, nodding.
Before she could continue, Risako and Chinami departed their room a bit farther down the hall all fully dressed and freshened from what seemed like some time ago, and after catching sight of the two other girls walked over to join them. Risako seemed to do so somewhat reluctantly however, and she was also scratching her arm lightly over her sleeve. Miyabi tried to pretend she didn’t see that.
“Hi Miya,” Chinami said, looking at her warily. Since she was greeting her though, Miyabi thought Yurina must have convinced her to come around a little bit at least.
“Hey you two,” Miyabi said with what she hoped was an ingratiating and innocent smile.
“You guys heading down for the appointments too?” Chinami asked.
“Appointments?” Miyabi asked, and raised an eyebrow at Yurina.
“Counselors,” Risako said flatly. “Apparently the big result from all management’s meetings yesterday was to get us counselors to get us through everything.”
“Oh,” Miyabi said, finally daring a peek at the young girl, who was looking at her with narrowed eyes, before quickly shifting back to Yurina. “I take it she doesn’t like counselors very much?” she tried to ask in a light tone.
“She has an uncle who’s a psychiatrist,” Chinami answered. “Apparently he’s always treated her as some wonderful test subject, and asks her questions about how her fame is affecting her. Whether she feels better than everyone else because she’s a celebrity. If she feels mood swings a lot more than she used to because she goes through such highs and lows. Things like that.”
Miyabi and Yurina both stared at Chinami, and Risako’s eyes seemed like they couldn’t narrow any further, though this time it wasn’t directed at Miyabi. “Thank you, Toku-san…” she hissed almost under her breath.
Chinami seemed to come back to herself, and with wide eyes became defensive. “What? We were talking about that all morning. I didn’t think you meant it to be a secret.”
“So!” Miyabi interjected in an attempt to save her clueless friend from being clawed. “Counselors, huh? Are we going to just have a quick session with them and then get back to rehearsing?”
“No,” Yurina said, apparently just as eager to swing the conversation flow. “They’re gonna talk to us first as a group and then in individual appointments. It’s scheduled to take all afternoon.”
“Oh,” Miyabi said. “That sounds like barrels of fun.”
“Tell me about it!” Chinami said eagerly, jumping on the bandwagon.
Risako finally seemed to calm down, though still spoke in a low voice, “Well you guys can just stand around here all day, but I’m going to go down. They told us not to be late.” With that, she turned around and headed down the hall without looking back.
“What got under her skirt?” Yurina asked, looking after the departing girl.
“Who knows,” Miyabi responded defeatedly. “It’s Risako.”
“She’s been scratching her arm all morning for some reason,” Chinami said. “I asked her what was wrong, but she said it was nothing.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about,” Miyabi said quickly, and found Yurina glancing at her suspiciously. “Well!” Miyabi followed up quickly when she noticed the look. “Shall we go down and see what these counselors are planning to do to us?”
“Sure,” Chinami said listlessly, and after a second Yurina nodded in agreement also.
The group meeting basically consisted of a couple counselors asking the girls questions as they stared back at them. Miyabi had an idea as to the cause of the apathy. Of course, she felt no need to say much since she was going to bring Momoko back from the dead tonight. Yurina, Chinami and Saki also knew what she was planning to do, so that was likely on their minds as well. Risako was still grouchy over something, and who knew what Maasa was thinking.
After the group meeting, they took the girls in one by one for their individual sessions. They called them in by age, beginning with the “youngest and most vulnerable”, as they put it. As Risako walked in, Miyabi noticed she was unimpressed by this idea, and it definitely did not improve her mood.
The rest of the waiting girls sat generally in silence, all apparently beginning to share Risako’s opinion of counselors, until Saki got up and began walking as if going outside. Miyabi looked up at her, since she still hadn’t really gotten the chance to talk to her today, and she noticed the other girl giving her a meaningful glance back, after which she looked around to see the other girls dozing off or staring blankly out into space before rising and walking off after her girlfriend.
When Miyabi made it outside into the bright sunlight, she looked around until she saw Saki sitting on a small ledge that went around the side of the building near the ground, and she walked over and joined her. “Nice day, isn’t it?” Miyabi asked.
“Lovely,” Saki said flatly. “I’m still not sure whether to cry like those shrinks are telling us to, or to worry over what you’re doing tonight,” she continued after a slight hesitation.
“There’s no need to worry,” Miyabi responded complacently. She’d realized there was probably nothing she could do to convince anyone of that at this point.
Saki turned her head to look at her, her body bent slightly as she sat on the short ledge. “Isn’t there?” she asked, and Miyabi shrugged. The girl looked back at the ground again, where she was playing with a small twig. “There was blood on you last night.”
This time Miyabi stared at her. “I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“While we were in bed, I found out that you didn’t have any cuts on you,” Saki continued, and Miyabi felt her face flush a little. “So the blood must have come from somebody else. That worried me a little, and probably was partly why I felt so affectionate toward you last night…” Miyabi’s blush deepened. “But then this morning when I saw Risako with a bandage on her arm, and looking at it strangely as if she couldn’t figure out why it was there, it began to make sense.” Miyabi now felt very aware of her heartbeat, as well as her breath that at the moment wasn’t coming. “You weren’t… trying to get back at her for something, were you? I’ve noticed you two have almost been at each other’s throats lately. And I also know it’s because of me…”
“No!” Miyabi protested quickly. “It’s not because of you… I mean, not all of it…” She realized she wasn’t helping things. “I mean, I wasn’t trying to get back at her. It’s for…” She cut off before she continued, not wanting to tell anyone about this quite yet.
“The magic you’ll be doing tonight?” Saki asked, looking back over at her. Miyabi stared back, her mouth hanging slightly open. “Don’t look so surprised,” Saki said, and she seemed to be a little embarrassed herself as she returned to her twig. “It’s the only other thing that makes sense if you weren’t doing it to get back at her. Which I’m thankful for, by the way,” she interjected with a slight smirk. “Still…” She looked back at the open-mouthed girl who, now realizing it, shut her lips tightly together. “If you need Risako’s blood for what you’re doing tonight, it sounds like pretty bad business. I’m not sure I like the idea of it.”
Miyabi was silent for a minute, not really knowing what to say. Finally she responded, “Risako’s fine, and… I’m doing it for Momo… Remember, she’s… dead… Having her back is a much bigger deal than a bit of a cut on Risako’s arm.”
“I suppose so…” Saki said ponderingly. Miyabi looked at her as she gazed out into the street. With the light reflecting off her face as it was, she looked beautiful. Before thinking about it, Miyabi wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. Saki seemed surprised at first, but quickly relaxed and laid her head on Miyabi’s shoulder.
“And I just want you to be happy again,” Miyabi said in a soft voice.
She felt Saki shift against her side slightly, and turned her head slightly to catch the girl looking into her face. “Miiya…” she said tenderly. “I am happy.” Then she kissed Miyabi’s cheek and returned her head to her shoulder.
At the touch, Miyabi found herself wishing for more, but at a glance back out toward the street where cars rolled along and scattered people walked along the sides, she understood why the girl didn’t make more of a move.
“Well,” Miyabi said, still not wanting this moment to end. “We should probably go back inside… Who knows when they’re going to call us…” She realized she sounded very unenthused at the prospect.
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right…” Saki agreed with a contented sigh. And with that, after a bit more reluctance to part from their cozy position, the two girls managed to stand and walk back toward the entrance, hand in hand.
When they approached the other girls still waiting in the lounge, they were met with stares of various types. Yurina was missing, though Risako was back, having apparently already finished her session. Miyabi wondered if it didn’t end fairly quickly by Risako being rather uncooperative, as she expected the girl might have been due to her opinion of counselors. She caught sight of them right away, and kept her face impassive as she watched them rejoin the rest of the girls.
Maasa and Chinami had been talking, but Maasa apparently caught sight of the two returnees out of the corner of her eye, and turned to stare at them with a silly grin plastered across her face. Chinami, seemingly annoyed at her friend’s sudden disinterest in her, turned to see the cause as well, and her face lit up when she saw Saki and Miyabi.
“Hello you two!” she said cheerily. “Welcome back!” She caught sight of their hands held tightly between them as they halted at the welcome, and her face became slightly concerned. “What’s the matter? Is everything okay? It looks like you’re trying to protect each other or something.” Maasa’s grin widened, and Risako cleared her throat loudly.
“Everything’s fine, Toku-san,” Saki said calmly, and Miyabi turned to look at her girlfriend, who just smiled at the others, her visage seeming as unconcerned as her voice. “But…” She looked up at Miyabi and raised an eyebrow. Miyabi felt like clearing her throat as well. Instead, she turned back to the expectant faces in front of them. Risako almost looked like she was smirking!
“Saki-chan and I are together,” she said quickly, staring hard at Chinami’s forehead.
“What?” Chinami said, a bit confused. “Of course you are. You’re standing right there…” Risako coughed again, and as she brought a hand to her mouth it was obvious she was hiding a giggle.
“You know,” Maasa said. “Hearing about it is one thing, but seeing you two like this… it’s really… rather strange…” She was still grinning, but now she cocked her head as if trying to get a better look at the two girls standing in front of them.
Miyabi felt Saki look toward her. “’Hearing about it’…?” the girl mouthed. Miyabi kept looking forward, but out of the corner of her eye caught Saki blushing.
Chinami was now looking back and forth between Maasa and the two girls. “What?” she asked, now quite visibly confused. “I’m missing something here. What have you heard…?” She didn’t continue though as her eyes widened in apparent sudden realization. “Oh…” she breathed, and now stared at the two lovers with wide eyes. Her eyes glanced down at their hands again. “Ohh…”
Miyabi now managed to make herself move, and stepped forward, dragging the shorter girl along to sit closely together on one of the couches, their hands never parted.
“I think I need a therapist…” Chinami said, amid burgeoning giggles from Maasa.
“Well it’s too bad,” Risako finally chimed in, giving them an evil look. “I’ve already seen mine… C’mon Miya, kiss her for us. That just might convince me to barge right back in and knock Kuma-chan out of the way…”
Miyabi blushed deeply as she felt a small hand tighten around hers.
…
As girls were let out and called in for appointments, Miyabi and her Captain were forced to sit through a barrage of questions and teasings. They found Yurina had learned of their new status overnight from Maasa. This didn’t irk Miyabi overmuch, but Saki seemed suspiciously quiet at learning of the fruits of her little chat the night before. It almost got to the point that she wanted to take the girl aside again and talk with her, but before she could find a chance she was called in for her own counseling appointment.
“I’m here as a friend,” the smiling counselor said as he gazed over at her, legs crossed and a pad of paper set in his lap. Miyabi sat quietly with her head down and hands folded in her own lap. “However, I’m a friend who won’t judge you for anything you have to say to me. I’m here to listen, so I hope you’ll be happy to talk with me. So… How do you feel, Natsuyaki-san?”
After going through various noncommittal responses to questions such as that, and trying to portray the fact that she was deeply grieved at her close friend’s death, but that she was sure she would be all right, they started talking about her own life. They talked about her school and her friends… whether or not she had a boyfriend… That question she responded to while trying to hide a smile. The counselor also asked about the clothes she was wearing today, wondering if they might somehow reflect the mood she was feeling after yesterday’s tragedy. They very much reflected her mood of today, but obviously not for the reason the counselor suspected, so she sloughed it off as just befitting her personality. Unfortunately, this spurred a barrage of other questions that she evaded as best she could. This counselor most definitely did not need to know she had been toying with magic, and tonight intended on resurrecting the girl whose death was the reason for all this fuss.
Eventually, after her muscles felt like they would atrophy as she sat, the counselor finally said she could rejoin the others, giving his card as well as one last offer that if there was ever anything else she wanted to talk about, to call his office. She said she’d be more than happy to contact him if there was anything she wanted to talk about, a response he seemed quite satisfied with.
Leaving the lounge turned counseling office feeling as if her brain had just been through a wringer, she stepped back out into the crowd of girls who looked back expectantly at her upon her arrival. As far as she knew they were allowed to leave after they’d met with the counselor, but all of them so far had apparently stayed. She halted, looking back at them, until the counselor came out and laid a hand on her shoulder. “Natsuyaki-san, is everything all right?”
Miyabi looked back at the man before bowing her head slightly. “Yes sir,” she said. “Thank you.” Then she walked quickly through the girls, still with her head bowed. It was now becoming late in the afternoon, and she had to start getting prepared for the evening. However, she was well aware of the stares she received from girls on both sides. Each seemed to have a different attitude toward her now, from Saki’s nearly grim expression as she stared at the ground, to Risako’s flat-out glare, to Chinami’s study of her as if she were some strange animal. She now thought she had an idea of what Saki had been subjected to since she had gone in for her appointment. She wanted to ask the girl to join her, but knew that she had to stay down here for her appointment. Well, she supposed that would allow her plenty of time to gather the things she needed… as well as her wits.
Once back up in her room and going through her bag, she heard the door swing open behind her. Mentally chiding herself for not making sure it was locked, she stood and turned, hesitating when she saw it was Risako looking back at her.
“Not being very sociable, are you?” the young girl said, still looking at Miyabi hard, although the glare was oddly almost completely gone from her eyes. “Everybody stayed down there to support each other so far whether they’d finished or not, but you just come out and head straight up here to be alone. You were in with that man a long time, too.”
“I didn’t feel like talking any more than I already had to him,” Miyabi responded irritably. She did not want to be dealing with this girl right now.
Surprisingly, Risako broke into a smile. “So we’re not so different yet after all, huh?” She walked in and sat on the edge of Miyabi’s bed, looking at the clothes and items Miyabi had splayed out on the floor. Most was pretty normal. That is, aside from her two books, a round stone that seemed to be clear as crystal, and what looked like an old handbag. “I must say though…” she continued, frowning at the handbag. “Your fashion sense definitely isn’t improving. What’s in there…?” She reached down to pick it up, but Miyabi rushed over and snatched out of her grasp. Risako then paused a second before looking up to give her a blank look and fold her hands in her lap. “I want to talk to you, Miya.”
“What is it this time?” Miyabi retorted, and she was sure the irritation was quite clear in her voice now. “Need to reveal anything else that you know will cause problems for me and my girlfriend?” She said that last between gritted teeth.
“Nonsense,” Risako said, seeming totally oblivious to Miyabi’s tone of voice. “How would I even tell any secrets about you since there’s no one else here but…” She looked around as if searching for someone. “…you?”
Miyabi responded with silence. The girl was getting under her skin, and she did not want to let that happen. She tried to calm herself again. “Risako,” she said, with all the calmness she could muster. “What do you want?”
Risako stared at her a moment as if in thought, and even spared a glance for the old handbag Miyabi held clutched in her arms. “It’s funny, you know?” she said, in a much less chiding voice all of a sudden.
The girl looked calmly at Miyabi a bit longer until she could almost not take it anymore. “…What’s funny?” she asked as if by rote.
“Well,” Risako responded cheerily, as if she was glad – and surprised – Miyabi asked. “You see, I woke up this morning to my arm stinging and itching. When I looked at it though, I saw one of my pink bunny bandages that Sayumin gave me. Unfortunately it wasn’t big enough to cover the cut on my arm that looked pretty deep and had to have been a few centimeters long too…”
Miyabi frowned in an attempt to look concerned. “Well that’s certainly not funny,” she said seriously. “Are you all right?”
“Oh yes,” the girl responded. “Quite. However, I can’t remember ever getting cut there… or putting a bandage on…”
“You probably just forgot about it,” Miyabi said dismissively. “It happens to me all the time.”
“Well you’re a strange girl,” Risako responded. “I happen to remember when I cut myself badly like that and put a cute bandage on it.”
Miyabi stared at her. “Whatever. So, is this what you wanted to tell me about? Your phantom cuts? Maybe aliens come and kidnap you in your sleep to take you back to their mothership and do experiments on you. Tell me… aside from the scratch, do you… feel quite all right?” She leaned down as if to press her hand to the younger girl’s forehead, but Risako slapped her hand away, her eyes flaring with anger again.
“No, Miyabi Natsuyaki!" she burst out suddenly. "I do not feel all right! I don’t know what to feel any more! First,” she said, pulling back a finger as if in a count. “I meet this incredibly sweet boy in my class. We start dating, even though he still seems to think I’m far beyond him, which is complete nonsense since he does anything for me… He even got into a fight with someone much bigger than him trying to protect my honor when my photobook came out! Second,” she went on, and added another finger. Miyabi almost cringed while looking at her hand. The girl really could spread her fingers unnaturally far apart…
“…I find out that my best friend who I was closer to than anyone else in the world is dating my Captain…” She stopped at that, apparently hesitating at going too far. Miyabi was surprised she even went here. I’m her best friend…? Miyabi thought to herself. I didn’t know she thought that way about any of us… I thought she had more friends at home…
It was only a short pause before she continued, though in a more subdued voice this time. “Then, I have my first kiss with someone who’s not my boyfriend… and when I’ve barely had the time to think about that another friend gets killed in a freak accident… and now…” She looked up at Miyabi, this time with tears in her eyes. Miyabi blinked in surprise. “Now that best friend… the one who started dating someone else… who gave me my first kiss… She hurts me in my sleep…” She was now choking her words back a bit. “Why, Miya…?” she asked. “Why…?”
Miyabi stared at her, and couldn’t help but lick her lips and feel her eyes dart around shiftily. “What are you talking about?” she asked nervously. Seeing the girl crying like this all of a sudden and accusing her of… well… something that she’d done after all… had completely disrupted her calm. “I wouldn’t… hurt you…” she said. The words tasted bitter to her even as they left her mouth.
Risako looked away. “It had to be you,” she said. “You’re the only one that’s ever come to me in my sleep. You’re the only one that always seems to somehow find a way into my room. Chinami wouldn’t do something like that…”
“I still think you just forgot that you did it yourself…” Miyabi continued protesting, though her excuses sounded hollow even to her own ears. “Or maybe someone broke into your room and tried to… tried to hurt you more… but didn’t for… for some reason…”
Risako choked a laugh as she still fought back tears. “Yeah, someone did break into my room all right. A robber or murderer who happened to only cut my arm a little, and even was thoughtful enough to look for a bandage in my bag to put over it…” She gave the feeble laugh again. “And one who likes cute pink bunnies… Too bad Sayumin wasn’t around, or there might be a case.”
This time Miyabi said nothing as she stood stock still. After a moment though she sat slowly down on the edge of the bed next to Risako, fiddling with her hands in her lap and leaning over her knees. She felt Risako’s eyes on her. “You’re the only one around who’s ever been that ‘thoughtful’ to me,” the girl said in a different tone of voice.
“Risako…” Miyabi began, but realized she didn’t know where to go with it. Then she thought back to the other things Risako had mentioned. The girl wasn’t just talking about the events of last night. “Saki-chan and I really like each other, you know… At first it might have been because I felt rejected by you, but…”
“I know,” Risako said quietly. “I never could have imagined it before, but you two get along together so well, I can tell. A lot better than we get along… It kind of makes me sick, you know.”
This time it was Miyabi’s turn to bark a mirthless laugh. “Yeah,” she said. “We completely turn our backs on each other without a word… I steal your first kiss… then I break into your room and steal something else from you…” At the return to the subject at hand, she went silent again.
“You know, everything else makes sense... even if it’s grossly disturbing.” Risako said after a time. “But I just can’t understand… Why’d you cut me?”
Miyabi stayed quiet for a little bit longer however before responding. “It’s for Momo,” she said finally. “I needed…” she started, stuttering. “I needed something from you to trade for her. Her innocence… her life… was stolen, and I needed the purest thing I could get to offer in trade for it. So it had to be you…”
She didn’t receive a response for a minute, so eventually she turned to look tentatively into Risako’s face. Surprisingly, even though the girl’s eyes were still moist, she was smiling at her. “You think I’m that pure…?” she asked, the smile not leaving her face. It was one of those pretty smiles that Miyabi was convinced only Risako could produce. Miyabi nodded, and looked back down.
“I’m sorry…” she responded. After offering her apology and seeing Risako’s smile, she didn’t know what to expect, but it definitely wasn’t that the girl would reach over and take her hand.
“You’re trading me for Momo…” she said, this time as if trying to reason something out.
“Your blood,” Miyabi corrected lightly. “I could never trade you for anything,” she said almost without thinking, and it caused her to blush. Somehow, she knew the girl was smiling again.
“I see… So… You’re trying to bring her back to life or something?”
Miyabi nodded. “Yes. I’m going to resurrect her.”
Risako didn’t respond right away. “Can you do that?” she asked, this time sounding breathless in surprise of her own. Miyabi looked over at her and nodded again. Risako studied her closely, and apparently came to some conclusion of her own, because she nodded sharply too. “Ok, I’ve decided,” she said firmly.
“Decided what?” Miyabi said, having not a clue what the girl might be talking about.
“If you’re gonna trade me for Momo and use my blood… I think I should be there.”
Miyabi’s eyes widened. “No,” she said too quickly. “You can’t. It’s… It’s too dangerous…”
Risako cocked an eyebrow at her. “All the more reason for your best friend to be there then.” Miyabi couldn’t help herself at that statement, and after digesting it a second adopted a smile of her own.
However, it faded quickly, and she looked back down past her lap. “No… You can’t come. It wouldn’t work out.” She picked at the thick hem of her skirt. “I’m already bringing Saki with me…”
She could tell that news caught Risako slightly off-guard, though it seemed to for only a second. “Of course,” she said. “She should be there. She is your… girlfriend… after all.” Miyabi again looked up into her plaintive face. “But I still want to be there, too.”
Miyabi stared hard into those too-pretty eyes for a moment before forcing herself to look away. She nodded. “Okay. As long as you know it may be dangerous… I’m not sure what all might… happen…” she said. “And you’ll need to do whatever I tell you to.”
“You’re the boss,” Risako said, and when Miyabi looked back up into her face, it reflected the soft smile she hadn’t seen from the girl in what had seemed like so long.
“So…” Miyabi said. “Would you like to help me get ready?”
“Things are not okay between us,” Risako said suddenly, the smile fading as the girl became serious again. “You know that, right?”
Miyabi stared at her a moment before nodding slowly.
“Good,” Risako said, and seemed to brush it off as if it were nothing and smile again. “Then in response to your question: Yes sir!” She even gave a mock salute.
She didn’t know why, but for some reason, despite everything, just talking with Risako like this again filled something inside of her that she barely even knew was empty. One thing she knew though – she no longer seemed to have to work so hard to keep the calm that would be so necessary for the task that was now looming all too soon. Momo-chan… she thought to herself with fully confident determination. Just hang on a little longer…
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MOAR PLEASE!!!! :w00t: :w00t: :w00t: Why do you keep teasing us with a chapter that doesn't have anything to do with the resurrection?!! :lol: Well, I do enjoy Risako confronting Miya about the cut. It seems like Risako felt something more than a best friend type of feeling toward Miya after the first kiss. Is it possible that she already had the feeling before rejecting Miya cuz of denial and now that she lost her to Saki, Risako wants her Miya back? Heh. To make this more complicated, Miya wants to bring Momo back from the dead who was in love with Saki and who knows if she came back alright without any trace of demonic tendency she might have acquired during the after life moment. :twisted:
*This fic definitely need to be updated soon* OMG I've been dragged to the loli side cuz of your fic!!!! :scared:
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Yay update :k-thrilled:
but at a glance back out toward the street where cars rolled along and scattered people walked along the sides, she understood why the girl didn’t make more of a move.
forget the ppl, Miyaaa
So what was up with the girls giving Miya those stares when she returned from the Counselor? I felt like I could feel the tension. And were the other girls
interogatting Saki or something?
The girl really could spread her fingers unnaturally far apart…
lol, yeah I know, one pic that came to mind was this one I saw of Risako and (I think) Chinami in their Kokuhaku outfits, and she has her fingers spread far, it was funny because she looked pretty gangsta.lol. sry, unnecessary babbling
“And one who likes cute pink bunnies… Too bad Sayumin wasn’t around, or there might be a case.”
lol, Sayumi cutting Risako :lol: XD
awesome chapter as usual :)
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Wow an update. So cool :D *hugs*. I've been on forum restrictions for a while but I've been checking back every now and again to see if you update the story. I'm so glad you have.
I will come back and edit this after I have read the chapter a few times.
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Welcome back! :w00t:
Great update, btw. I liked all their interaction, but Socko and Miya's conversation was definitely intense, in a good way... :P
Now that Socko's invited herself to Momo's resurrection, I'm starting to think that all of them will want to be there, too. :lol: Poor Miya, I don't think she'd be able to handle the pressure. XD
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* OMG I've been dragged to the loli side cuz of your fic!!!! :scared:
Yay! Then I've reached my aim with at least one person! :D
As to yet another chapter not having to do with the resurrection... I really meant to include that in this chapter since I wanted to just portray it and move on (I didn't intend on making this much of a lead-up to it, lol. Now I'm gonna have to put more effort into it :P). However, as I was writing other things just kept happening, and the Miya-Risako conversation developed, and it ended up already being way too long, and since the event itself won't be dealt with in just a few pages... Well, suffice it to say, you'll be getting it next chapter. :twisted: I've started writing it and already have several pages and it's barely started yet... I have to say already though, the tone is gonna be a liiiitle different from the past chapters. Some character interactions will be the same, but you're going to see a lot more description of the underpinnings of Miyabi's power... as well as its consequences.
Looking forward to if you have anything else to say, Lolli. :)
Also, remember, this is my version of a soap opera. For those who may not be familiar with what they involve, I'll maybe try to explain at some point, but it's really pretty complex to sum up concisely. :lol:
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One would wonder if too many people at the resurrection might throw off Miyabi's concentration and cause some sort of major screw up. Not to mention the fact that Risako, the source of one of the ingredients in the spell, will be there. Maybe the spell requires more "innocence" than what's in her blood. Or maybe she's not as innocent as Miyabi thinks and something horrible will happen. (Does it make me a bad person if I want something bad to happen?)
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I was gonna edit my above post but...meh!
Good chapter. I think this interaction between them was needed before the resurection. I agree with other people though, in that I think that if the rest find out that Risako and Saki are going to be there, then they will want to be there too. Will Miya be able to perform under watchful eye's?
No more mushy-ish Risako / Miya interactions please!!! You were the one that converted me to the Miya / Saki pairing. I don't want anything to go wrong between them. Even if Miya still has feelings for Risako.
Miya / Saki FTW :heart:
P.S - UPDATE NOW!!!
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Well, here it is. Can you guess how things may be different after this? :twisted:
WARNING: This chapter contains some potentially disturbing imagery. Read prepared...
Chapter 24
“How did I ever let you drag me into this?” Risako growled through gritted teeth as she, Saki, and Miyabi trudged through footing that was now a puddle, now mud. As if to accentuate her words, a lightning bolt split the sky and cracked with a loud peal of thunder, causing her to jump in her hyper-attentive mood.
“You’re the one who wanted to come,” Miyabi replied. She meant to make it sound irritated, but it mostly just sounded breathless as she nearly slipped once more. “Since your blood is being used, you thought you deserved to be there.”
“‘Deserved to be there,’ I said,” Risako scolded herself. “Next time I say something like that, you have free rein to shoot me. Or zap me with your magic, if that’s what you do.” Another zap of lightning made her jump once again.
This was only the most recent reason why the night hadn’t started quite as well as it could have. Saki finally joined them after they managed to get ready, and upon seeing Risako and Miyabi sitting together in their room became very quiet, and didn’t say much even when Risako tried “helping” by telling her not to get the wrong idea and assuring her that she really hated Miyabi completely and wanted nothing to do with her. For some reason, that seemed to only make it worse. Miyabi wondered if she shouldn’t have zapped the girl right then.
It had also been a bright and sunny day since the morning and when Saki was with her out on the curb snuggling up during the counseling appointments. However, just when they became set to go out this evening, the storm came up quicker than Miyabi had ever seen, and since then they’d been trudging through its rain and thunder to where they needed to perform the ritual. As they left the hotel, they saw many very confused people in the lobby who either wore sunglasses or were drenched from head to toe, and swore they’d heard it would be sunny at least until Thursday. Oh, and Saki still had hardly talked to her.
When they finally arrived at the place Miyabi was looking for, the three girls stopped and stared up the slight slope just ahead of them. “Momo-chan isn’t even buried here…” Risako said. “Why couldn’t we have just done it in a park? Or perhaps a nice warm lobby back at the hotel…” She looked as if she got lost in the thought, and almost ignored the rain for a moment. At least, she did until another flash of lightning lit the sky followed by its requisite crash of thunder. Miyabi didn’t think she’d ever seen an expression change so fast.
“I told you before we left,” Miyabi answered, trying herself not to shiver in the downpour. “It has to be in a graveyard – any graveyard. It doesn’t matter which one. No other place has the right atmosphere. That is, unless you’d rather break into a morgue or a funeral home…”
“Maybe not a morgue,” Saki said, and Miyabi looked quickly over at her, happy to hear her girlfriend say anything at all, even if she might be about to get angry with her. She nodded toward the cemetery, her bangs plastered to her forehead and almost covering her eyes. Miyabi wondered if it was wrong that she thought the girl looked incredibly sexy right at that moment. Shaking herself, she followed her eyes to a small structure standing up in the gloom. “But might a vault do?”
“Yes,” Miyabi said, a smile of relief forming on her face. “That actually should do quite nicely.”
Spurred by the idea that they might be getting out of this muddy mess, the three girls almost sprinted forward up the slope – Risako slipping once before being caught on the arm by Saki. Even though she was saved a face full of mud, the girl didn’t look too grateful. Finally they reached the vault, but upon trying the door found that it was padlocked.
“Oh no…” Risako whined. “Maybe I should go back and just roll around in that mud… at least then this shower would be put to some kind of use…”
“Hang on,” Miyabi said, and stepped up to the door. Wrapping her fingers around the lock, she gripped it in her fist and closed her eyes. She tried to feel the lock… to learn it… to understand it completely. It took a little mental searching, but finally she smiled as it felt like something within her slid into place, and as she came back to reality the lock clicked and fell open in her hand.
Saki didn’t seem impressed at the deed, but Risako looked with wide eyes from the lock to Miyabi. “Well now I know how you got into my room last night…”
“Nah,” Miyabi said. “Those doors have electronic locks, and are really tough to open like this since they’re so complicated. I just got in because Toku-san left to go to the bar and didn’t lock it.”
Risako opened her mouth as if trying to say something, but all she could do was close it again and blink. Miyabi grinned. She had a feeling the girl would have a talk with Chinami when they returned. That is… she thought, the grin fading, if what happens tonight doesn’t wipe thought of anything else from her mind…
She was still a little nervous over how the two girls might react to some of the things that would happen during the ritual. Even though she’d been lukewarm to her so far tonight, she knew that Saki at least would want to react in some way if she saw Miyabi being hurt. She’d done her best to make it sound as if she didn’t know what would happen, but that she was sure she’d be okay. Actually, she wasn’t just worried over what the other girls might think. She wondered if she was really prepared for what was to come as well.
“So do you want to go in or not?” Miyabi asked more irritably than she would have liked. The dampness of her completely soaked clothes seemed to be getting to her. She swung open the heavy steel door to the vault and stepped inside to dryness. The two other girls followed quickly, and she shut the door behind them, leaving the rain and thunder as only muffled hollow sounds beyond the stone structure surrounding them.
It wasn’t a big vault they were standing in – it was maybe the size of just the bedroom area of their hotel rooms – and urns of various sizes lined the walls around them in raised shelves. However, it seemed that about half of the places that urns might go were empty. Either this was still an active vault, or its family had died out before filling it as much as they expected.
Risako trudged toward one of the walls in mud-covered designer boots, being careful not to slip on the stone tiled floor, and looked at a plate near one of the urns. “I thought so… It says ‘Sugaya’…” she commented flatly. “I wonder if some of these people were distant relatives of mine…”
Miyabi didn’t know how to respond to that, so she just sat and began to pull things out of her bag. Saki crouched next to her, unlike Risako apparently uninterested in checking whose ashes surrounded them. She only seemed focused on the task at hand. Miyabi looked at her and nodded, and crossed her legs, opening a book on her lap. She was surprised to feel Saki take her hand as she laid it beside the book, and squeeze it reassuringly. She glanced up at the girl, who was looking sincerely back at her, and smiled.
“Hmm…” Risako said from the wall. “Ichiro… Hanako… I don’t recognize any of these names…”
“Risako,” Miyabi said, not eager to hear any more information about the people whose resting place they were defiling. “Can you help me with these candles?”
Risako looked back at her as if surprised to find the two other girls still there, and frowned at seeing Saki holding Miyabi’s hand. “Sure,” she said, seeming as if she was trying to ignore what was plain in front of her face.
She came up and took a few wide candles out of Miyabi’s old handbag – giving a grimace to the bag itself of course – and at Miyabi’s direction set five of them in what looked like a circle around the three of them. Then Miyabi, regretfully releasing Saki’s hand, motioned the other girls to sit at points within the circle as if making the base of a triangle that Miyabi was the top of. She explained that the form they made with their positions along with the candles was a type of star – a powerful symbol in Wiccan mysticism.
Then Miyabi leaned over and lit each of the candles. Before she thought of it herself, Saki got up quickly and went to the door, opening it a crack. The sound of rain and thunder became louder, but when Miyabi saw the smoke from the candles being sucked outside, she thanked the girl for her alertness.
As everyone regained their positions and the candle flames danced in the draft, Miyabi closed her eyes, her palms laid evenly on the pages of the book in her lap. Before she even began speaking, she felt the storm clouds from outside invade her mind, and as she delved deeper into her subconscious for focus, they began crackling with thunder as well.
At one particularly loud crack inside her head, a vision sprang into view of the vault she sat in, almost as if her eyes were wide open and not shut tightly closed. However, the sight was much different from what she would have seen with her eyes. A dark ethereal mist seemed to pervade the chamber and shroud everything in it. She could see the forms of the girls sitting across from her, but they appeared as nothing more than faceless phantoms. “Miya…” she heard Saki’s voice say worriedly as it penetrated the mist, and at the feel of a rush of power within her, her body stiffened and she began to speak.
Words seemed to seep out of the book her hands lay upon and into her body, dissolving and reforming to give her mystical cues. “Through storm we have come, and in the Storm we shall find our light. Hear me, oh gods of the Heavens. Hear me, oh dwellers in the Abyss.” The words coming out of her mouth began to scare herself even, but they continued unbidden as she gazed through the mist surrounding her. “You of many names, hear my cry. Death, unto you alone I speak. What is natural has been corrupted, and though I bear my own blame, I ask that the flaw be corrected. My friend shall return!” She nearly shouted that last, her own passion now mounting with the words.
Suddenly, her body went completely rigid, and her eyes flew open to the reality before her. Saki and Risako sat frozen to their spots, looking fearfully at Miyabi while casting anxious glances above them. Miyabi raised her own eyes to see that the ceiling of the vault no longer existed, and in its place were only miniature storm clouds fraught with lightning just as she’d seen in her head. They cast a pallid darkness around the room as well, a wind seemingly coming from nowhere making the candle flames dance chaotically.
She lost control again, and her eyes snapped down to the crystal globe, which was in the center of their star. At her gaze, it caught aflame and began rising from the floor. She peered into mist that swirled within it. Wow, that’s pretty neat. No sooner had the random thought occurred to her though than she felt a stirring in her midsection, but having anticipated something of the sort, ignored it. The ritual must go on, and it was time for her to pay her price. The other girls’ fear seemed to be rising every second.
“Bringer of life, I offer innocence to replace that which was stolen.” She took up the vial of Risako’s blood, and though its unwilling donor looked longingly at it, her hand reaching mechanically to her shoulder as if the cut all of a sudden stung again, Miyabi cast it at the globe, where it burst into flame and became enveloped.
“Taker of life, I offer my own in humility.” She drew her knife from her bag, and this time both of the other girls looked warily at it as she drew it up. When she quickly brought her hand up to it and sliced across it, wincing in pain, Saki let out a small cry. Hold on, Saki-chan, Miyabi pled through the tumult filling her head. We’re almost there… The girl seemed frantically anxious to reach over to Miyabi, but stayed seated as if glued to the spot. Miyabi smiled. She really was the luckiest person in the world.
She raised her cut hand and held it over the floating, burning globe, letting drops of her blood drip onto it. The drops sizzled and were vaporized before they even neared it. The flame turned from the pallid green it had adopted after taking Risako’s blood to, this time, a true blood-red hue. “Hear me…” Miyabi whispered in supplication.
Suddenly the flame and mist cleared on the side of the globe facing her, and she could see what really lay inside. However, she only caught a glance before doubling over in pain. It felt like something was tearing through her midsection, and she opened her mouth as if to be sick, but instead she felt something large and painfully dry slide up her throat.
Risako gasped, eyes widening in horror, and drew away from Miyabi, though somehow managed to keep her place. Even Saki’s eyes grew, and her nostrils flared as if she was becoming quite distressed as well. Miyabi didn’t want anything more than to eject whatever was coming from within her. She clutched her chest as she leaned over, and saw the head of a large serpent fall to the floor below her face, sliding slowly away as more of its length came out from her mouth. The pain was unbearable, but she was rather incapable of any other action due to the large snake she was coughing up from inside her.
The snake cast its beady eyes on the two other plainly terrified and shell-shocked girls, but then turned toward the door which was standing slightly open, and began slithering in that direction until it slipped out through the crack. Through the pain, Miyabi felt a glimmer of thanks that Saki had thought to open it – now for more reasons than just smoke asphyxiation. She didn’t want to imagine what would have happened if the tremendous serpent was trapped in here with them.
Finally Miyabi felt the last of it leave her throat, and at the reprieve from the pain straightened up again, although dryness still made her ache for thirst.
“Miya…!” Saki said again as the last of the snake’s sinewy body wiggled its way through the crack of the door, and made as if to reach over to her. Risako, her face becoming increasingly pale, seemed like she wanted to rush to the door and slam it shut.
“No!” Miyabi ordered. “Keep your places! The ritual is almost complete!” Then, she once again looked into the globe as lightning crackled and rain even began to fall from within the stone structure they sat in.
She couldn’t describe the face that looked back at her from it. It was maybe what she imagined the devil would look like if he existed. It was grotesque, yet had a handsomeness that contrasted with all rationality.
“Why have you summoned us?” a low and unearthly yet deliberate voice sounded within her head, and she knew it had to come from that being. “It has been eons since we last looked upon a mortal face…” The face tilted slightly as if appraising her. “We do not remember such beauty existed outside the Heavens.”
Despite herself, Miyabi felt her face blush. Was this literal demon from Hell actually flirting with her? She cleared her throat. “I ask that my friend’s life be returned to her.”
The demon’s horrible eyes widened. “You wish to reverse the natural order?” She thought she heard a guttural laugh. “How arrogant mortals have become, as well.”
Miyabi stayed her ground and spoke through gritted teeth. “It was not natural. Her death came about from mistakes we have made. She still deserves life. I have made the required offerings.” Saki and Risako appeared to have caught onto the change in Miyabi’s voice to a conversational one, and looked between each other, plainly wondering who she was talking to and perhaps hoping she hadn’t gone crazy from just regurgitating a several meter long snake. I’m not going crazy yet… Miyabi thought when she saw those looks. She looked back into the globe and the face within it. At least, I hope not…
“So you have,” the demon replied, now appraising her more thoughtfully, and somehow Miyabi thought the demon knew what she’d just been thinking. “It is not our purpose to restore souls that have continued on, but in this instance the results could be… intriguing. And it has been a long time…” It trailed off as if in nostalgia before focusing back onto Miyabi. “It is done.”
Miyabi blinked. “It is?” she asked stupidly.
“Yes, child,” the voice responded in her head. “Now go. We shall keep watch on you from afar with interest…”
The face vanished from the globe along with the fire surrounding it, and it fell to the floor where it shattered between them. All three girls jumped back as if some spell had been broken. The storm clouds on the ceiling cleared up, and once all became calm again Miyabi thought she even heard that the rain outside had stopped.
So they sat amid candles that had been extinguished at some point, Miyabi staring at the powdery broken glass of the globe, and the other two staring from each other to her as well.
“Miya…” Saki said, her voice trembling as if she was trying to calm herself. “You’ve got some explaining to do…”
Miyabi looked up into eyes that shown with concern, as well as still a definite trace of fear. Then she looked over at the younger girl, who was about ten times paler than her usual silky paleness. “I…” she began, her eyes wide with a shock that she couldn’t seem to snap out of. Before she could say more though she fell back limply to the floor, having fainted dead away.
Miyabi looked back to Saki. “Oops,” she said, and gave the girl a toothy grin and a shrug. Her mind, however, was elsewhere at the moment…
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WOW!
I loved every minute of that chapter. From start to finish it was so great I really didn't want it to end.
I wonder where about's Momo has 'woken' up and what she's gonna be like personality wise now she's been resurrected. I just hope she doesn't turn out like Buffy did!!!
Miya / Saki :heart: Risako LMAO
Can't wait for the next chapter. UPDATE :heart:
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Woah! This chapter had some creepy shit :badluck: (not in a bad way)
and the ending, after Risako fainted (that was her that fainted, right?) was that really
an appropriate time for Miya to have her mind on Saki in that way? XD especially with that "Oops" she said
Updateee :yep: :yep:
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It seems like Miya has to explain why she's capable of doing such things, among other things... :P
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I got my wish come true this chapter. Yay for resurrection!!! Tell me you're a avid fan of Buffy!! Cuz I am, and this chapter just :rock!!! :inlove: That snake bit, gaaah!! Totally reminds me of when Willow summoned Buffy from the dead! Anyway, the demon kinda make me laugh. I mean he just said, "It is done." That's all? No 'but you got far greater price to pay', or demonic laugh to signal that Momo came back wrong? :grin:
I want more Miya x Saki moments! Risako keep showing jealousy signs in this chapter, are you gonna switch pairings?
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Yay for you guys thinking of Buffy! :D Yes, I like that show too much and now it's seeping into my writing... LoL. I just :heart: Willow so much that when Miyabi started heading that way I couldn't help but throw some of that in...
As to the results of Miya's hocus pocus... we'll have to wait and see. One immediate result you can see already is that Saki is a little concerned about Miya coughing up a snake. :lol: Among other things... She's the more mature one, and thinks of things like opening the door, so she might do her best to try and keep Miya grounded... something that might be hard to do since Miya is realizing exactly how much she can do...
For the relationships, I can't say anything specific or it'd be no fun to find out what happens :P, but I will say I :heart: MiyaSaki quite a lot... Saki's been through a lot, and Miya's always been there for her, even though she doesn't act terribly mature all the time (all that Socko influence :roll:). Now that Miya will be going through quite a bit of her own... it'll be interesting to see how she turns out.
For more technical things, at the very end I think Miya was trying for a bit of lightness to contrast with what they've just been through.. Of course, after what had just happened to her, it might be hard not to think of some things... Interesting her seeming indifference to Risako fainting though. :)
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...Interesting her seeming indifference to Risako fainting though. :)
Yeah, interesting. My guts told me it's gonna be MiyaSaki after all. :D
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Yeah, interesting. My guts told me it's gonna be MiyaSaki after all. :D
That's probably a good thought. ;) Although in a soap opera you can never say for sure what's gonna happen... After all, if Momo's back she's gotta be thrown into the mix too however she, er, winds up. :kekeke:
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No, you can't do this too me. Is Momo gonna come back really different, like, someone who always gets what they want even if they have to be forceful about it? Or evil or gahhhhhh!!! :twisted:
UPDATE NOW DAMN NAMMIT!!!
*breathe, breathe*
Sorry I'm bored
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Lol yay for a little conversation in here! :D I'm bored at work late on a Friday afternoon too, so I'm writing, lol. I've already finished maybe half or so of the next chapter. My, things between (among?) Miya, Saki and Risako are... complicated...
I can't wait to see what happens if Momo turns up somewhere... :twisted:
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I've already finished maybe half or so of the next chapter.
wow rokun, your a fast writer :bow:
*prays that you never get a writer's block*
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Kekekeke.....you aggravate me with those little hints of yours who seemed to go into a certain direction but of course as the case with all the teasers you'd deny every single thing I state to confirm those hints. :banghead: DAMN IT! Finish that half of the chapter quick!! So I can calm my mind about MiyaSaki!! :angry:
Well....actually part of me can't wait to see Momo came back wrong and stranded somewhere to make it worse. :lol: I'm mean! :twisted: But as you said, Saki is more mature than Miya so hopefully she can see that the Momo now is not the Momo she knew.
Aaah....I got ahead of myself. Who knows if that's what really gonna happen eh? ;)
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Don't expect updates in two days like this often. :P But like I said, I wrote a lot of this yesterday afternoon, and now I'm content enough with it for posting. It's a fitting end to a day where I listened to the Dalai Lama speak...
Chapter 25
A short time later found Miyabi and Saki trudging into the hotel with Risako halfway supported between them. The girl was fully conscious, having woken up barely a minute after fainting, but also took full advantage of her plight to make the other two nearly act as her personal assistants. By the time they got back to the hotel, Miyabi was about to just drop her to the floor, but at a warning glance from Saki thought better of it. Still, both girls were happy to be rid of her weight once they found a couch to sit her on.
Risako laid back into it, holding the back of her hand to her forehead as if she’d just been through a horrible ordeal, and closed her eyes. “Miya, I hate you,” she said in a weary voice.
Miyabi exchanged glances with Saki and shrugged. “Fine,” she said. “Suits me. I wish you’d told me that before I dragged you the whole way back though. I would have stayed as far away as I could from you starting then.” The girl’s eyes opened below her fingers as she lifted her head a little to give Miyabi a cute glare. However, Miyabi just avoided her eyes and looked at her girlfriend, who was surveying the lobby. Miyabi did a quick sweep of it herself, and saw that it was nearly empty except for a man who looked as if he was napping on another couch and a desk clerk who frowned over at them. Well, more precisely, at them and the muddy trail they’d left from the door to the couch. She ignored that though. There were spots elsewhere too. They weren’t the only ones who had come in out of that mess outside! Granted, probably not many others had graveyard dirt…
“It’s late,” Saki said abruptly.
Miyabi stared at her. “Yep…” she began. “I was hoping it wouldn’t take so long, but through the rain and mud traipsing halfway across town and back again took quite a while…”
Saki stared back at her as if she was stupid. Miyabi blinked. Was there something on her face? “As well as the time it took for you to summon a demon and cough up a snake…” she corrected, and Miyabi blushed slightly. “But that’s not what I’m talking about. I mean… It’s late.” She pointed to a clock near the service desk.
Miyabi looked at it, squinting since she could hardly tell what it said. She’d been trying to put it off, but with all the reading she did, if this kept up she might have to get glasses… Finally she was able to comprehend what it said, and blinked, which made the hands all blurry again. She squinted once more to get a better look.
“No,” Saki said. “Your eyes aren’t that bad yet.” Miyabi frowned over at her. “It’s really nearly three in the morning.”
“But that can’t be,” Risako said, stirring from her self-induced slumber. “We only left at around seven. There’s no way we were there for…” Her eyes went out of focus and her lips moved as if she was counting in her head. Miyabi sighed. “…seven hours!”
“That’s almost eight hours, dear,” Miyabi said unthinkingly, and ignoring the younger girl’s angry pout looked over at Saki, who was looking back carefully. “But she’s right. It’s not been that long. That explains why we have no welcoming crew though…” Saki nodded slowly, still studying Miyabi. For some reason Risako was doing the same now, whatever was going on in her head forgotten. Miyabi fell into thought herself.
Of course nobody to her knowledge had done a resurrection ritual like she just had – nobody recently at least, since according to that demon they’d been called upon in the past. Hmm… she thought to herself. They would be the right word, wouldn’t it? The demon had referred to itself in the plural. Aside from the creepiness factor, it made her wonder if she really saw what she thought she saw. There must have been more than one of… whatever they were. She’d known she would be calling on something, but she thought it would be some kind of green and frolicky forest nymph or some such pretty thing – not the devil incarnate like she saw. The idea worried her slightly that she might be getting into something a little darker than she expected, but shook out of it when she realized she was becoming sidetracked.
Nobody had done such a ritual in recent years, but she heard of cases where people doing rituals, especially summoning rituals, crossed for a moment into a dimension that… wasn’t quite of this world. After coming out of these rituals, people would notice that literally no time had passed since they started, so that it was like what they did was a dream that never actually happened. Others, in rarer cases, reported that more time passed than should have – days in some instances where the ritual had taken only hours. Occult scholars thought this might be due to time moving differently in dimensions aside from the one people normally occupied. There was little substantiation to this though – all these reports seemed to be second-hand. Nobody actually claimed doing these things themselves. She smiled. Well, it seemed that now she could. She suddenly looked even more forward to putting up a new blog entry. Then, everybody would know that Miyabi Natsuyaki of Gakushuin…
“Miya!” Risako snapped, effectively snapping Miyabi out of her train of thought. She blinked a few times and looked at her two companions, both of whom stared at her. Saki’s face expressed primarily concern, though there was something else in it too… But Risako frowned at her, her hands in her lap now, her mock illness apparently completely and conveniently forgotten.
“That’s the last time I carry you anywhere,” she told the girl, who widened her eyes in surprise. “What is it?” she asked irritably.
“You spaced out,” Saki said in a tight voice. “It looked like you got… lost in your own little world…”
Looking back into the beautiful and petite girl’s eyes, Miyabi understood. Just because she vomited a snake and had a conversation with a burning crystal ball everybody thought she was going mad. Well she wasn’t! “I was just thinking about time,” she said. Trying to revive that train of thought, she remembered the storm that had appeared inside the vault they performed the ritual in. “I think we summoned another dimension, which we were pulled into for a few minutes.” Her friends stared uncomprehendingly back at her. “The storm clouds in the vault?” she offered. “That’s not something that would normally happen.”
“No,” Saki said, getting a hint that Miyabi might finally be about to explain something. “It definitely isn’t,” she finished quietly. “Although I’d throw the storm clouds outside into that mix too. Wasn’t it convenient how they gathered despite the forecasts right as we were set to go out? And then seemed to dissipate right when… you… finished… whatever it was you were doing?” Her emphasis on the word identifying Miyabi reminded her that these girls only thought they were along for the ride – she was the one actually crossing over lines, she admitted, that might best not be crossed.
Miyabi thought again. The girl had a point. However, she didn’t need that bit of info to make her point. “Sure, whatever!” she said. “Anyway, I think we were pulled a little bit into another dimension – the underworld maybe? – where time passes differently. So we might have just experienced a few minutes where a few hours actually passed…”
The two girls stayed silent as if absorbing this hypothesis. Saki looked like she accepted it, coming to realizations that it explained many things, but Risako’s expression quickly changed from thoughtfulness to terror again. “Oh no!” she exclaimed. “So you’re saying I’ve lost hours of my life? And that I’ve been to the… the underworld?! I’m too young to die!”
This time she even got Saki to stare at her. However, since her Captain was apparently thinking clearer she said, while still staring at Risako, “So… we went into another… dimension?” Her eyes shifted back to Miyabi. “I hope you know I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Miyabi lowered her eyes. “Whether you do or not, that must be what happened,” she said quietly.
Saki took a step toward her, becoming very close, and looked up into Miyabi’s eyes. “I want to understand, though…”
Looking back into that angelic face, with its hair still wet and bangs plastered to her forehead, Miyabi couldn’t resist any longer. She didn’t want to resist, Risako and the public place be damned. She put her hands on Saki’s waist and pulled the girl into her, leaning down quickly to kiss her lips. Saki froze at first in surprise, but as Miyabi became more insistent she seemed to get lost in the moment.
It was a wonderful feeling to contrast with the rest of the night, but it was cut off all too abruptly with a quiet cough from opposite Risako. Quickly, Saki pulled away, blushing and keeping her eyes down now, while Miyabi turned narrowed eyes on the intruder.
“Excuse me…” It was the clerk from the front desk who spoke, shifting nervously from foot to foot and doing his best not to look directly at them. Apparently he wasn’t quite comfortable with himself watching two schoolgirls kiss. He began again with a nervous but droning voice, as if he were reading from a book. A boring book. “Please do not perform public displays of affection in the lobby. You… you have rooms, right? Please return there to… continue.”
Miyabi looked around the lobby. The man on the couch was still sleeping – snoring in fact – and obviously oblivious to anything that happened, and aside from him and the clerk they were alone. She raised an eyebrow, but the clerk didn’t budge.
“We’re sorry,” Saki said quietly. “We’ll go upstairs.”
Miyabi turned to her girlfriend in surprise, but she just tried to wiggle a bit more out of Miyabi’s grasp, her eyes still cast down. A glance over at Risako showed the young girl staring straight ahead into nothing with her lips pursed. “Right,” Miyabi agreed. “We’ll go up.” Careful to keep her arm around Saki’s waist – she didn’t want to let the girl go again – she started walking with her to the elevator. After a short deliberation the polite side of her won, and she turned her head to call back, “Risako! You coming?” The girl turned frosty eyes on her before slowly rising. Once up, she also glared at the clerk, who scurried quickly away, before following Miyabi and Saki. However, she still held the gap that already formed between them and walked a short distance behind.
“What are you doing Miya?” Saki asked in a low voice as they walked. It was plainly low enough that Risako wouldn’t be able to hear.
“What are you talking about?” Miyabi replied, still staring ahead but smiling thinking of the girl firmly in her grasp at her side.
“You’re rubbing it in a little hard to Risako, aren’t you?”
This caught Miyabi’s attention more closely, and she turned to look down at Saki. “What do you mean? Is it a crime to want to be close to my girlfriend?”
“I’m not an idiot, Miya,” the smaller girl responded, but didn’t say anymore as they arrived at the elevator. She pushed the button for ‘up’, and as they waited Risako arrived behind them. Miyabi wondered if she should look back, but then decided against it.
With as empty as the hotel halls were this late at night the elevator arrived quickly, and the girls all stepped in. This time they were forced to look at least a little at Risako, though the girl no longer seemed upset. Instead, she looked thoughtfully at the pair.
“You two look cute together, you know,” she said, and even donned a small smile. Miyabi felt slightly taken aback in surprise. “Since it looks like we’re gonna be here awhile, I wish I could invite my boyfriend over. We could have a double date!”
Miyabi peered at her disbelievingly. She was thankful her boyfriend was… well, he’s her classmate, so he must be thirteen or so too, right? Anyway, she was thankful he couldn’t come here. Because a… double date… would be a blast. However, she realized this was a perfect opportunity to convert Saki a bit more. “That’s too bad…” she said, with as much regret as she could muster. “It might be fun. Although, Saki-chan and I do like our private time to be… well… private.”
Risako blinked at her. “Well of course,” she said, looking at a loss. “I didn’t mean…”
“Will you two please stop it?” Saki asked in a quiet voice. There was virtually no authority in it, but Miyabi suddenly felt no desire to break the silence, and Risako looked the same. Saki looked up between them. “Aren’t you the least bit… concerned… about what happened tonight?”
Miyabi swallowed, and Risako lowered her eyes, looking chagrined. They were once again saved by the door opening though, and after seeming as if surprised they were still in an elevator, the girls walked out into the hall. Risako quickly took her leave of the other two and slid her card into her door upon arriving at it, leaving Miyabi and Saki to walk on. Miyabi could almost feel the tension in the air between them as she opened their own door.
Once inside, Saki announced she was going to take a bath, and as she headed toward the washroom Miyabi asked in what she hoped was a casual voice and a smile if she could join. Saki barely gave her a glance back before she disappeared into the room and closed the door behind her.
After they both finished bathing, Miyabi sat on the bed brushing her hair while Saki lay seemingly asleep. That was how Miyabi had found her after finishing her own bath. She was curious that the girl didn’t want to talk any more since she seemed concerned about what happened tonight, but it was late… They would likely have to wake up within a few hours’ time. However, as Miyabi was fighting a particularly tough tangle, she felt the other girl stir.
“Miya…” Saki said in a voice that showed she was plainly wide awake. She immediately disengaged the brush from her hair and turned to her lover, eager to hear whatever she might have to say.
“Yeah?” she responded.
“I’m sorry it didn’t work tonight,” Saki continued in a melancholy voice.
“What didn’t work?” Miyabi asked.
“The…” Saki began. “The thing you did. You know, with the storm. And… the snake. I know you, well, put a lot into it.”
Miyabi still stared cluelessly at her. “What are you talking about? It worked fine.” She furrowed her brows. “I think…”
Saki finally turned to look up at her with a puzzled expression. “What? What are you talking about? Nothing happened…”
Miyabi stared at her a moment before coming to a realization. “Oh… oh!” she said. “You didn’t see the demon!”
“Demon?” Saki asked in a neutral voice.
“Yeah, the demon in the globe. I talked to, er, it, and asked it to raise Momo. And it said it did.”
Saki looked at her unblinkingly. Miyabi held her gaze steadily, though after a while in the uncomfortable silence the corners of her mouth turned up and she gave Saki a toothy grin, raising her eyebrows in an attempt to look interesting. Eventually the girl pulled herself up into a sitting position, keeping eye contact with her the whole time. Then, without any further comment, she laid her hands on Miyabi’s shoulders and leaned in to kiss her. Miyabi was caught somewhat off-guard, but definitely not minding the turn of events, kissed her back. Saki’s hands slid around to her back, holding her as if she was desperate not to let her go, and Miyabi’s arms slid around the girl’s slim waist as well as she was kissed with an underlying passion that might even outdo some of their previous encounters.
For the first while Miyabi thought she might be fantasizing – this was definitely too good to be true, especially for tonight – but before long she just got lost in the moment. However, just when she found herself wanting more, Saki took her mouth away from her own. The girl still held her very closely, but she looked up into Miyabi’s eyes as if searching for something.
“Miiya~” she cooed. Miyabi tried to listen through her still hotly running blood and Saki’s breath which still fell warm against her face. “There are no demons… There are no other dimensions… Miya, Momo…” she swallowed as if it was hard to say herself. “Momo is dead. She’s not coming back…”
This time Miyabi heard the girl’s words clearly through the emotional fog she was in. “Yes there are,” she responded. “Well I mean, I didn’t really know before tonight since only second-hand accounts were posted online, but tonight proved it. I talked to the demon and, well, the dimensional theory explains how long it took, doesn’t it?”
She’d hardly finished before Saki kissed her again, this time even harder than before. Miyabi widened her eyes before they rolled back in her head and her eyelids slid shut. She could definitely get used to this…
However, once again the girl pulled away earlier than Miyabi would have liked. This time she kept the fingers of one of her small hands tangled in Miyabi’s hair, caressing it gently. “Miyabi…” she looked at her moving fingers while she spoke. “You weren’t talking to anyone.”
“Yes I was…” Miyabi said, this time with annoyance breaking through the things this girl was making her feel. “You didn’t see it because you weren’t looking at the front of the globe. And Momo is back… somewhere…” She gazed determinedly into Saki’s eyes as she talked, and when she finished slid out of her arms and beneath the blankets, turning away from her. She couldn’t believe it. Saki didn’t believe her… She knew it was a strange tale, but she’s seen things other people haven’t. She knew what happened. As she lay there, Saki sat up a little longer, looking down at her. “You saw what happened,” she told the wall. “You saw the ceiling of the vault and the globe catching flame and floating. The snake… If that happened, is it so hard to believe me about the rest too?” She was almost crying now.
She felt her girlfriend move beside her, and after a few seconds arms carefully wrapped around her sides and Saki snuggled against her from behind. “Okay,” she said from close to her ear. “So maybe there are demons. But Momo didn’t come back… Momo isn’t coming back, Miya.” Miyabi felt her hair moisten with the girl’s tears, which now matched her own.
…
They woke in the morning to a loud knock on the door. When Miyabi opened her eyes, she noticed that half of her was draped over the other girl, who smiled sleepily up at her. She blushed a little before rolling over and sliding out of the bed, taking a robe from the arm of a chair and pulling it on before stumbling over to the door.
When she opened it, she was surprised to see the other four Berryz members waiting outside, fully dressed. “Um… good morning?” she greeted.
Yurina was at the front, and she craned her neck to see into the room, where she noticed Saki still lying in the middle of the bed. “Is she in there?” Chinami asked. Yurina nodded. Then Chinami looked at Miyabi. “We want to talk to you two.”
“Um… okay,” Miyabi said, and with a little self-consciousness for her current fashion and a glance back at Saki, who nodded and sat up in the bed, pulling the covers up over her, opened the door fully to let them in.
The other girls all filed in as Miyabi rejoined Saki on the bed. Maasa and Chinami took the available chairs, with Yurina leaning against the wall and Risako standing further back from them all near the wall as well, staying silent but watching everything closely.
“We’re starting some rehearsals later this morning,” Yurina said with a cheery voice, breaking up the slightly uncomfortable silence. “I guess they’re gonna try to get things back to normal. The… funeral… is on Thursday, and we’ll be having concerts again next weekend…” She ended much less optimistic than she started, and the silence began again.
While it continued, Miyabi looked at the others’ faces. Yurina seemed about as uncomfortable as she felt, and darted glances at the girls with her. Chinami always kept her eyes on Miyabi and Saki, who just stared up at the ceiling with an odd smile as if nothing interesting was happening. Maasa looked coolly at everyone.
Finally, Chinami spoke up. “Before we start rehearsal…” she said, “We wanted to talk to you two about… you two.” She glanced at the girls with her as she spoke for support. However, she didn’t seem to have a whole lot. This time she even got Saki to look over at her too. She swallowed. “I dunno if I’m very... comfortable… with you two, er, dating. And I mean,” she started to look nervous again, but couldn’t keep her eyes off Saki, who leaned toward her as if to hear her better. “You’re also sleeping in the same room, and the same bed…” She looked around again.
“I just think it’s awesome,” Maasa said with a big grin, making Miyabi’s face reflect the same.
“Miya, Captain…” Yurina began, a bit more serious. “You know I love both of you, but now that both of you are… in love…?” Miyabi blushed at that, and she imagined Saki did as well. She gave a glance to Chinami, who nodded sharply. “Well, I don’t know what I think of it. I mean, you’re two of our leaders… Of course,” she said, looking at Saki, “You’re our Captain. And Miya, you know we look up to you when we perform. I just don’t know what to think of things now…”
“What’s there to think of?” Miyabi asked, puzzled. “Nothing’s changed. We’re the same Berryz as always. Well, almost…” The faces of all the girls fell at that. “Speaking of that,” Miyabi began with a little anger. “I see nobody’s asking about last night.”
This time Chinami and Maasa exchanged glances, and Yurina frowned at the two of them. Risako kept quietly studying them all like she had been since walking in while now leaning back against the wall like Yurina. “Um… how did it go?” asked Maasa, and Miyabi noticed the skepticism in her voice.
“A snake came out of Miya,” Risako interjected. Miyabi glared at her.
“What?” Yurina asked. Chinami looked between the two of them with wide eyes.
“A snake came out of her mouth,” Risako repeated, pushing off the wall and walking forward, her eyes glued to Miyabi’s. “And she’s convinced she resurrected Momoko.” Chinami gasped at that, and Yurina’s eyes widened.
“Im… impossible!” Chinami stuttered, plainly frightened again.
“Of course it is,” said Saki, who spoke up for the first time. Miyabi looked over her shoulder, but the girl had come up behind her and now wrapped her arms around her waist, resting her own head on her shoulder. Miyabi blushed at the action in front of everyone. “Now can we get back to the more important business of Miya and I doing naughty things?” she said with a grin. The other girls looked at her with various expressions of shock as if she was mad. All except Maasa of course.
However, before any of them could comment on that, there came a rapid knock on the door. “What!” Miyabi exclaimed. “Is this ‘Bother Miya and Saki’ morning?!” However, she didn’t have to get up for the door because Risako turned around and walked over to open it. In front of it stood several of the tour staff. Upon seeing them, Saki quickly pulled back from Miyabi and needlessly straightened her shirt. They all looked very excited.
“You’re all here!” said a Miss Takakubo. “That’s wonderful! Now you can all hear the wonderful news together.” Risako let them in, and they all beamed at the girls.
“We just heard from Tokyo management,” said Mr. Nakato, smiling at faces of young girls that stared curiously back, plainly struggling with dealing with the quick and crazy start to the morning. “Apparently their earlier reports were mistaken! They’ve just managed to locate Tsugunaga-san. She was a little dusty, but her healthiness for being trapped in the wreckage for who knows how long is quite amazing! I’m sure she’ll tell you all about it when she sees you, though. She’s spending today and tomorrow with her family, but wants to join up with us as soon as possible again. Isn’t that wonderful?”
The girls were no longer paying attention to him though. In fact, Miyabi wasn’t sure if she even heard his last words right. Upon hearing Momoko’s name, a very broad smile indeed had come to her face, and even though she was staring off into space, she knew all the other girls were looking at her with wide eyes too. “Yeah,” she said, giving a little twist to a corner of her mouth in sarcasm. “That’s incredible…”
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Aww, poor Risako. Dammit Miya, she should have waited to kiss Saki when Socko wasn't there. Very awkard moment.
Miya and Saki's 'momentsss' are getting more mature. But of course we can expect that since they are teenagers.
and I just love how Maasa is the only one who is supportive of them.
:heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart:
Momo is alive!!!
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Cocky, witchy Miya FTW!!! :rockon:
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:bath: Finally...some more mature 'interaction' between Miya and Saki. Thank you very much. Keep 'em coming please! :grin: Now that Momo is back to the circle I can't wait to see what sort of complication and/or destruction she would bring. :ding: You're a Buffy fan so...could it be that Momo is back and have her body possessed by one of those demons? No wish to the Underworld will be granted with so much as coughing a snake out of your mouth. Naaah, I don't believe she'd get off that easy.
Regarding Risako tho' she seems to put on a mask, at least temporarily. I wonder if you're gonna have Miya confront Risako about that 'little problem' they have any time soon. :shifty:
Maasa is waaaay comfortable with the lesbianism eh? Maybe she had dabbled or thinking about it herself. :twisted: More writing materials for you if you haven't already thinking of it, Rokun. :grin:
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I don't really read berryz fics but this just keeps getting more interesting by the chapter.
If momo comes back wrong, I imagine she could be obsessed with snatching saki from miyabi or maybe hellbent on revenge on saki for rejecting(?) her. Kinda like those horror flicks! lol! XD
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Wow Rokun. This fic is going from strengh to strengh :D
I loved all the Miya / Saki moments :heart: and now that Risako isn't too bothered about them that's great aswell.
Momo's back dun, dun, dun! Will she be evil though? When will we find out??? (I can't wait)
-prods you for next chapter-
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Hey Lolli! I wondered where you'd run off to! :lol: You go to Japan again? Thanks for your comments everyone! Sorry it's taking a while for the next chapter... work is still slow, but I just haven't felt like writing much the past week or two, lol. Plus, I need to figure out how to bring them all back together again. I think once I do that I'll have plenty of material, but it's blocking me a little atm. XD
@ g4rfield: As far as your comments about Buffy, Miya has set herself up quite nicely, hasn't she? :) A slight problem was beginning even before Momo "died", and now... Plus, I think of Maasa as just a cool chick who is just well, cool, and excited by anything that's a little different (yet awesome). Add in a pestering inquisitive nature... Of course, this isn't to say she doesn't mind experiences like that herself, I mean she's obviously getting maybe even a little too interested in Miya's escapades... but she just loves anything that's fun. Yurina's also pretty similar in keeping an open mind - she might be a little more hesitant about approving of things, but she doesn't reject them out of hand. I'm curious to see what her role will be in the future. With Miya, Saki, Risako and Momo getting all tangled up, someone's gonna have to step in, and I sure don't think it's gonna be Chinami! :lol:
To Lolli, meowz (thanks for reading! :D), and modesta's comments... I think Risako is dealing with a lot right now. Saki knows a bit of what's going on between her and Miya, and I wonder how much Miya is actually realizing herself. Risako just has... interesting defense mechanisms. :lol: As for evil Momo... I'll just say it might be interesting when they all get back together again. :)
Oh, I might also try to get back to more "normal" chapter names. :lol: I let my fancy take over a little bit too much in this story I think... lol.
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Sorry Rokun. I didn't go back to Japan :lol: I just space out every now and again (my mind is all over the place lately). Glad you think of me :D
I can understand why you have writers block. I couldn't even try to come up with a way to get them all back together. Oh, and please don't go back to normal chapter names. I love the ones you use :wub:
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Well it's been a long time - and I thought it was even longer than the month or so it's been! - but I finally was able to put out the next Berry Beautiful chapter! :) If anyone forgets what's going on, please feel free to read at least the last few chapters or so. Don't really have much to say, except on with the story!
Chapter 26
“You’re never gonna let us live this down, are you Miya?” Chinami asked as the girls stretched before a mid-week rehearsal. There was tangible excitement in the air since today was the day Momoko was on her way to join them in Nagoya.
They actually were supposed to have left the city by now, but because of the cancelled concerts the previous weekend, they pushed back their schedule slightly and now had Friday and Saturday performances coming up that they were hurriedly preparing for. The excitement over the weekend, and even at the beginning of the week after the Monday morning announcement of Momoko’s miraculous reappearance, rather precluded chances of getting much rehearsing done on those days. Thus, here they were late on Thursday morning with a long day still ahead of them. Gladly it would at least be broken up around lunchtime once Momoko arrived.
“Let me think…” Miyabi replied in a thoughtful tone. “Nope,” she said, after having obviously not thought at all. She rose to her toes and stretched her hands high above your head.
“You know, you look really sexy stretched like that,” Saki said from a few steps away, pausing in her own warm-ups to tilt her head while appraising her.
Miyabi quickly dropped back down to her heels and crossed her arms as if hugging herself, blushing fiercely at the girl’s public comment. Whenever she got on her high horse too much since that morning, her girlfriend just as often had some tease or comment to bring her back down. Although, nothing had been quite as… brazen!... as this. It even seemed to make Chinami blush.
The other girls had been quiet about their relationship since Momoko’s revelation, as if scared to bring up the topic again. Miyabi thought Chinami for one was actually scared of her. She wasn’t sure what she thought about that. The only one who seemed as natural as ever was Maasa, who came to her every morning for news of what had happened with the two of them the previous night.
Disappointingly for Miyabi’s too-curious friend though, the past few days she had little to report. Miyabi had essentially put Saki into the doghouse for not believing her, and refused to even hug her. The only reason she let the girl still sleep in the same bed was because of how… pleasantly… she had gone about not believing her. Still, Miyabi wondered how much of the girl’s teasings now had to do with that frustration, and wondered how long she’d keep it up. Maybe Momoko returning would be a good time to put it to rest. She didn’t want to give Saki reason to feel like looking elsewhere for comfort, after all. At that thought her jealousy flared up again and she began getting a little upset.
“Why thank you, Captain,” she said, being careful to use the girl’s title. “I’m glad I’m impressing someone at least.” She gave Chinami a toothy grin, who ducked her eyes once again.
“Miya, are you torturing Chii-chan again?” Yurina asked, walking over in her flaming orange sweat suit. Miyabi could barely look at the girl for fear of being blinded by it. “Just give it a rest. Everybody admits you were right and believes you now, so do you really have to rub it in all the time?”
“Yeah!” Chinami contributed, giving her a pouting look. “Be nicer to us! Captain, make her be nice!”
Miyabi looked to her Captain, who was observing the exchange silently. No matter how she steeled herself up, whenever she looked into the girl’s expressive face she melted at its cuteness and sweetness. Maybe she really was pushing too far… She made a note to definitely make it up to Saki tonight.
“No need for that,” Miyabi responded with an apologetic lilt in her voice. “Ok, I’ll be nicer. But if you doubt me again I’ll turn you into a toad,” she said with a grin. Chinami’s eyes opened wide again, but Yurina seemed to relax and began laughing. “Yo Rii-chan!” Miyabi yelled over her shoulder, and the named girl stumbled in one of her stretches. “What do you think? Is that what she’d be?”
The shared joke between them all with this was that last night, the youngest Berry had been particularly whiny after one of their rehearsal sessions. They all were sore after practicing hard for the first time in virtually weeks, and the girl was pushing it to the point that even Saki was becoming frustrated with her. Miyabi meanwhile had been practicing her mystic art more and more since the confidence she gained after Momoko’s apparently successful resurrection, as well as since she did not spend as much of her free time with Saki. She was eager to try out one of the new spells she’d studied, but hadn’t had an opportunity where she was sure people wouldn’t get angry with her for it.
Risako’s childish alienation of the rest seemed just the fitting time. While Saki was trying unsuccessfully to soothe her with calm words, she mumbled the incantation under her breath and Risako suddenly became the animal whose spirit her own most resembled. She became a pure white mouse.
After the initial shock of the girl’s even higher-pitched than normal squeaks of protest and complaint and some wide-eyed looks to Miyabi, she’d assured the rest of the girls it wouldn’t last more than a few seconds, and sure enough almost right then the youngest of them was once again sitting in their midst, if with her own wide-eyed expression of horror on her face, and they started laughing. Yurina and Maasa had even patted Miyabi’s shoulder at her effort toward taming the girl, who strangely didn’t whine again the rest of the night. In fact, she avoided Miyabi completely, something she didn’t mind in the slightest. Their other recent encounters had not been the most pleasant.
“I…” Risako began back in the present. “I need to use the washroom.” And she hurried out into the hall.
“I’m starting to get a little worried, Miya,” Yurina said. “Rii-chan has undoubtedly been more pleasant to be around since your little trick last night, but I wonder if the whole experience hasn’t scarred her somehow.”
Saki walked up to Miyabi, who decided not to object to Yurina’s description of her “trick”, and looking after where Risako had run off said softly, “You should talk to her, Miya. I don’t know if there’s much any of us can do. I think…” She hesitated as if a little reluctant to go on. “I think it’s only you that’s affecting her now.”
As Miyabi looked down into her girlfriend’s earnest and resolved face, she breathed in deeply as if to sigh, but didn’t. “All right…” she said, grumbling slightly. “I’ll go talk to her…” And with that, she headed toward the door herself.
“Natsuyaki-san,” Ms. Kobayashi, their current drill instructor, called as she was nearly through the door. “If you go somewhere, please don’t take too long. We’re starting rehearsal in three minutes sharp. Also, if you see Sugaya-san, please tell her to return as well.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Miyabi said quickly with a nod and smile over to her friends, and ducked swiftly out into the hall.
It didn’t take her too long to find Risako, who was leaning over for a drink at a fountain. Huh. It looked like she really had gone to the washroom. When Miyabi tapped her shoulder though, the younger girl jumped as if somebody had grabbed her and tried to kidnap her.
“Oh…” she said weakly. “Miya…”
“Hi Rii-chan,” Miyabi said, and her eyes began floating around randomly at the awkwardness as well.
“I’d better get back to rehearsal,” Risako said, and keeping her head low, moved as if to head in that direction.
“Wait,” Miyabi said in a louder voice, and this time she did grab the girl’s sleeve. Risako froze at her touch, but didn’t look back at her. “I wanted to, er, talk to you…” she said.
“Are you sure this can’t wait?” Risako said without turning around. “Kobayashi-sensei will be hard on us if we’re late.”
“No,” Miyabi said, becoming more confident in herself. “I need to… I want to talk to you now.”
She didn’t hear anything, but could sense that Risako sighed silently at her request, and turned to look soberly into her face. “What is it, Miya?” she asked in a much too quiet voice.
Miyabi swallowed dryly. “I… I’m sorry about last night…” she said. “I shouldn’t have done that. I was too overcome by childishness and my desire to experiment.”
“You’re right,” Risako responded, her voice still quiet. “You shouldn’t have done that. Do you have any idea how that felt?” The girl now was looking earnestly into Miyabi’s eyes, and her own were even becoming moist. For some reason, it tore at Miyabi’s heart.
“I felt like I was so small… and helpless. Everything around me seemed gigantic and dangerous. I think I was more terrified than I’ve ever been.” Miyabi stared at the girl, unable to move herself. What that true? Had she really put her through that? After thinking about it for barely a moment and realizing how much sense it made, she put up a wall in her head so she wouldn’t think about it any more.
“How could you have done that to me…?” Risako asked, her voice now barely above a whisper, and tears now visibly forming in her eyes.
Miyabi opened her mouth, but couldn’t respond. It suddenly felt as dry as the desert. “I…” she finally became able to utter. “I don’t know…”
Risako nodded very slowly and slightly, and swallowed herself as if drowning away the tears. “When you can tell me that,” she said in a partially broken voice. “Then we can talk.” And she walked away back toward their rehearsal.
Miyabi barely heard Kobayashi-sensei’s shout of “Natsuyaki-saaaan!” a minute later, but it did prompt her to return to rehearsal, where she was quiet for the entire hour. She was completely subdued during that time though, and couldn’t bear to look at Risako. She did notice however the other girls giving the two of them glances from time to time as if wondering what had happened, though of course unable to ask that while in their drill. At the same time she avoided Risako, she also did her best to avoid Saki’s eyes, which she imagined to be sternly judging.
When rehearsal was over and they finally had the chance to talk again, it was cut short by an announcement that Momoko had arrived. Apparently this made the rest of the girls forget everything else, and excitement bubbled in them as they raced down the hall to find her. Miyabi brought up the tail end of the gabbing group of girls as they traversed the halls, but to her surprise she noticed Saki hang back to join her.
“Are you all right?” her girlfriend asked, and she took Miyabi’s hand, squeezing it softly. “You’ve been distant ever since you went after Risako-chan.”
“Yeah,” Miyabi said flatly, and right away she knew that would not have convinced anybody. “We just…” she continued, becoming self-conscious. “She’s mad at me.”
Saki just nodded, and for some reason that sparked fury in Miyabi, who released her hand as if it caught fire. “Are you going to be on her side?!” she demanded, losing her composure. “Can’t I count on anyone anymore?”
Saki blinked at her. “What are you talking about, Miya? You know I’ll always support you. But…”
“But you’re on her side,” Miyabi retorted. “Fine. I can deal with it myself.” And she quickened her pace, stalking off ahead of the other girl.
What right did the girl have to treat her like that? Hadn’t she done great things lately? She satisfied Risako’s desire for her first kiss – that was obviously a mistake on many levels, looking back on it now. She poured out her heart and gave herself to Saki. What more could she do? For Heaven’s sake, she brought Momoko back from the dead!
Just as she thought that, she entered the small cafeteria at the back of the concert hall, and found the four girls who had been ahead of her gathered around another, shorter one. She came to a sudden stop, and as she looked on, the smiling object of everyone’s attention turned her own attention toward Miyabi.
She knew what she’d done, and she knew this encounter would happen since they and all their staff were excited at the girl’s return, but looking at Momoko in her dark seifuku, she felt she needed to pinch herself to wake up from the dream.
For some reason she thought the girl’s smile vanished when she looked at Miyabi, but it might have been a trick of her mind, because the next thing she knew it was back, and the girl shouted out in her direction, “Captain! I’m sorry to have worried you so much!” She ran up past Miyabi, who turned slowly as she realized Saki had entered the room not far behind her, and hugged her girlfriend as if they’d not seen each other in ages. She hugged her girlfriend!
Saki returned it, a happy smile coming to her face as well. “Momo! We thought you were gone. We…” She looked over the girl’s shoulder at Miyabi. “So you’re all right?”
“Yep!” the girl chirped. “I’m just pichi pichi!”
The other girls, seeing the movement of their current focus, came over and joined the rest. Miyabi noticed though that Risako stayed as far away as she could from her and still be part of the group.
“So what happened?” Chinami asked excitedly. “How did you survive the wreck?” A few of the girls, including her, gave Miyabi quick glances at her question.
“It was very strange,” Momoko said, and she raised a finger to her chin as if thinking in a dainty way. “I remember a jolt as the car I was in suddenly changed direction, and then a lot of people screaming… but then the next thing I knew I woke up and I was alone. I was a bit scared, but after wandering a block or two away from the wreckage I managed to find somebody who helped me get to a hospital. It was definitely something I don’t wish to do again…”
“Are you…” Yurina began, giving another sideways look to Miyabi. “Are you sure you don’t remember anything more? Like anything that happened between when the train crashed and you woke up? It must have been a long time!”
“According to the doctors at the hospital, it was about a day and a half,” she said. “They were amazed I was conscious, much less in the perfect shape I was in. I keep telling you all to work out! Aside from giving you a perfect body such as mine, it might save your life some day!” She grinned as she said that, and a couple of the girls laughed, if a trifle nervously.
However, when she spoke about the timeframe and what the doctors said, she gave Miyabi a level gaze, and Miyabi could tell by her eyes that there was something she wasn’t telling them. “Momo—“ she began, but the girl ignored her and turned to Saki, piping up again.
“C’mon Captain! I have a lot of catching up to do if I’m going to be ready for the concert tomorrow! The doctors said I’m in pristine shape of course, but I won’t really know until I start performing again. Let’s go!” Then, grabbing Saki’s arm, she dragged the girl out into the hall, with the others hurrying to follow.
However, Miyabi stayed behind, just staring after the rest of her jubilant Berryz comrades. What just happened there? She looked down at herself. She wasn’t that unattractive in her baggy workout clothes, was she?
“Natsuyaki-san?” she heard a voice from behind her say. She didn’t turn around, but the voice continued, “Aren’t you happy to see Tsugunaga-san? We’re all lucky to have her back, you know!”
Miyabi finally turned to face Asako, the intern who primarily managed her. The Keio college student was beaming at her, although when she got a look at Miyabi’s face, the smile faded a little. “Is something wrong?”
Miyabi stared back, and after a moment shook her head. “No…” she responded. “Nothing’s wrong.” Risako hated her. “I’m just speechless because I’m so happy for everyone.” She’d literally risked her life to save Momoko, and the girl barely seemed to recognize her existence. “It’s so wonderful to have Momo-chan back so we can have our full Berryz team again.” And now, she’d yelled at Saki, who was quickly claimed by the newly-returned Momoko, a girl who by her own admission was in love with her. “What could be wrong?”
…
After their afternoon rehearsals, when barely anyone still talked to Miyabi, she was changing into her street clothes when Momoko came up to her and considered her silently. Miyabi registered her presence, but didn’t say anything as she deliberately buttoned her skirt.
“Since you’re standing there, are you going to say something or do you just enjoy watching me change?” she asked in a voice that was much bitterer than she intended it to be.
“Why Miya,” the girl said. “Aren’t you happy to see me? I did just apparently come back from the dead after all. My other friends think it’s a cause for celebration! Don’t you?”
“Yeah,” Miyabi said. “I heard about that. Congratulations on being alive. It’s truly amazing.”
“I heard from a little birdie…” Momoko said, looking up as if she was listening to that little birdie right now. “That you think you… resurrected me or something?” She paused a moment as if expecting a response from Miyabi, but she kept silent. “That’s quite a claim,” she continued when she realized nothing was forthcoming. “And if it’s true, it seems that I owe you my life.”
Miyabi shrugged. “You’ve apparently got no reason to believe it’s true, so why bother?”
“Well…” Momoko began. “Captain doesn’t usually lie.”
Miyabi looked up to stare at her. “She’s the one who told you?” Momoko nodded, but Miyabi just shook her head and shrugged again. What did that really matter?
“I told you all that the last thing I remember was the train derailing…” the girl said, and she sat down on the bench next to her. Strangely though, it didn’t seem to make Miyabi uncomfortable. Considering her current standing with everyone, she wondered how she even stood talking to them. “So that doesn’t mean I forgot anything that happened before it. I know what’s going on between you and Captain. Or, at least I thought I did. Since I’ve been here though I don’t think you’ve even said two words to each other.”
Miyabi looked down at her toes. “It’s… complicated,” she said. “I think your, shall we say, resurfacing, might have made things worse.”
“They believe you, don’t they?” Momoko asked. Miyabi looked up at her questioningly. “That you brought me back to life.”
After looking into the girl’s inscrutable eyes for a second, Miyabi returned her own to her toes. “Some of them do. Others refuse to believe I can do these things even though they’ve had plenty of evidence of it.”
Momoko tittered in response. “Oh yes, that’s right. You turned Rii-chan into a mouse. I’m sure she loved that.” Miyabi felt like she could bore holes in her toes with her glare. “I also heard what you think that spell does. What do you think?” she asked, and drew Miyabi’s stern gaze again. The girl had her arms spread as if she was presenting herself. “A hamster? I might have said mouse, but Rii-chan seems to have already taken it…”
Despite herself, Miyabi broke a smile and even coughed a short laugh. “Who knows,” she said. “You’re welcome to try it out sometime though.”
“Oh that’s quite all right,” Momoko said with a grin. “I think I’ll pass on that for now.” She then got up and then acted as if to leave. Strangely, Miyabi felt like she didn’t want the girl to go. “Remember,” she said. “Come to me if you need anything. It seems I have even more reason to support you now.” Miyabi nodded dully, and the girl walked away.
Miyabi watched herself wiggle her toes for a few minutes more before pulling on her shoes, getting up and hoisting her bag to her shoulders to head back to the hotel. It was quiet since apparently the other Berryz had preceded her out, and Asako cheerily bowed her into her own cab. As she rode through the Nagoya dusk and viewed the fluorescent lights of the city, she thought about the events of the past week.
Was she really just being childish? Momoko apparently didn’t hold anything against her, so why would anyone else? Aside from Risako of course, but she figured the girl would get over it. She hoped so. Saki especially wouldn’t be against her, no matter what the deal with Risako was. After all, the girl hadn’t fallen far short of declaring her undying love for her. The thought of that made Miyabi smile, and she played with her heart necklace as the lights continued flashing by.
Upon returning to the hotel, she found her way to the floor they shared. She heard lots of shouting and excited giggling coming from Maasa’s room, where she supposed they were having Momoko’s coming-back party, but since she didn’t quite feel ready for that she just slid the key card through the lock to her and Saki’s room and walked into it, dumping her bag next to her suitcase.
It wasn’t long though before she heard the door open, and she turned to see Saki slipping inside in a pair of comfortable-looking if tight shorts and a light white blouse.
“Hello,” she said. “I thought I heard someone outside the door, and knew it must have been you. It took you a while to get back here.”
Miyabi took in the girl, and thought once again how lucky she must be to have her as her own. Her face looked perfect, and the outfit even made her look angelic, with the tight shorts adding just a touch of sexiness.
“Yeah,” she responded. “I guess my cab driver was slow. I’m surprised you heard me over all the noise in that room.”
“Oh…” Saki said, and lowered her eyes in a slight blush, toeing the ground a little. “Actually, I was keeping an ear out for you so I’d know when you’re back. After this afternoon, I wanted to apolo—”
“There’s no need for that,” Miyabi said quickly, holding her hands tightly in front of herself to keep them in check for the moment. “I’m the one that should be sorry. Lately I haven’t been paying attention to people as well as I should be.”
“Oh…” Saki said, and looked down again as it seemed like an awkward silence began.
Miyabi couldn’t help herself any longer and closed the gap between them, taking the smaller and almost fragile-seeming girl in her arms. Obviously surprised at the gesture, Saki looked up into her face. “Thank you for standing by me,” Miyabi said, and with a slight hesitation leaned in and kissed her, wrapping her arms fully around the girl’s waist. She felt Saki’s arms wrap around her neck as their kiss deepened, and Miyabi mentally berated herself through the wonderful feeling she had right now at how stupid she’d been to deprive herself of it the last few days.
Eventually they parted, and with both breathing a bit heavily, Saki laid her head against Miyabi’s shoulder. “I wondered how I could fix what I’ve done wrong…” she said, plainly terrified of what she’d been torturing herself with lately. “But you would hardly talk to me, and…”
“Shhh…” Miyabi said reassuringly, stroking the girl’s bushy but smooth hair. “You haven’t done anything. I’ve been too selfish. I won’t make that mistake again though. You’ll see. I’ll set things right.”
She felt the girl nod against her. “I missed you…” she said simply, and without hesitation this time Miyabi pulled her up for another kiss.
A while later, Saki suggested with one of the most real smiles Miyabi had ever seen her with that they go to a party, and Miyabi happily accepted the offer. After knocking on the door, Maasa opened it up and brusquely pulled the two of them into her room, where the other girls were playing Jenga. Chinami was just removing a block when the stack fell and the other girls screamed and poked her teasingly.
“Hello!” Momoko said, rising to greet the newcomers. “You finally decided to join us, eh Miya? Perfect timing even! We were just talking about trying another game! What do you guys think?”
Miyabi smiled, finally feeling as if she was being accepted again. She and Saki had made up… quite completely… Momoko was being her usual peppy self, and even Risako was smiling and laughing over at them. She almost felt overwhelmed at the reversal of her fortune until she caught Momoko’s eye as the girl hugged Saki in greeting. Despite her outward appearance, when looking into her eyes Miyabi suddenly felt cold. She didn’t know why, but she suddenly got the feeling that the girl hated her.
Shaken as she was, she barely even offered a comment on what game they should play next, and her trepidation wasn’t even eased by the contentment that tried to fill her upon noticing that Saki was constantly clinging to her arm and apparently did not want to let go of her tonight. Every other time she caught Momoko’s eyes the rest of the evening, nothing seemed out of the ordinary once again. It seemed her mind was playing tricks on her again.
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I'm fairly new to this forum, and I thought I should let you know that I joined up primarily because of this fanfic. I don't even know how it happened that I stumbled upon it, but once I started reading, I was completely hooked!
I really like how you've developed the characters through the story and I really enjoy the Miya/Saki pairing. I'm glad they made up! :D
Now I'm hoping for Miya and Risako to properly fix this gap that has formed between them, rather than just have Miya sit back and assume that if she gives Risako some time and space, the poor girl will just get over it. Risako seems very sensitive, and seeing as she views Miya as her best friend, I fully understand why Miya's recent actions have been hurting her so much. My heart goes out to Risako!
As for Momoko, don't quite know what to make of her yet. I highly doubt that the looks Miyabi's been seeing are just her imagination. What I'm not sure of is what they mean. Is it that Momoko's evil and is trying to lull the girls into a sense of security before BANG!!!, or is it like in Buffy when Willow raised Buffy from the dead, and Momoko is upset with Miyabi, because even though she says she can't remember what happened after the crash, she was actually in heaven and Miya's spell pulled her out, making for a very disgruntled Momoko who had to come back to a world where she has to deal with her unrequited love for Captain? It'll be interesting to see what happens with her.
Can't wait for the next chapter!! (Am also waiting [im]patiently for the next chapter of The Circle of Three XD)
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OMG rokun, finally a new chapter!! But I guess the long wait is justified by the awesomeness of this chapter! Momo is baaaaack and Miya has a rival again.
Hmmmm someone took the word out of my mouth. I was actually thinking about the same thing that happened with Buffy. Like when she was being pulled back from Heaven could be what happened with Momo too when Miya resurrected her. That would be unpleasant, but you know what would be the most unpleasant? If Momo was indeed in someplace that she enjoyed and was pulled back and met the Devil who pulled her back who then lied to her or something, clouding her judgment so she can be its vessel into the world. That cold feeling Miya felt must be coming from something and me thinks...Momo is lying.
Heh....I think I've been reading too much mangas, anyway, that's what I thought.
I like how Miya can never be too harsh toward Saki even if she is upset with her. The doghouse punishment is kinda cute, but unnecessary since she ended up NOT enjoying the luxuries that is Saki's lips. :lol:
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Woo, new chapter! :w00t: I was bored yesterday and I came here to read some of my favorite chapters again, and then the next day, it's updated!
Miya, are you torturing Chii-chan again?” Yurina asked, walking over in her flaming orange sweat suit. Miyabi could barely look at the girl for fear of being blinded by it
:lol: everytime I read any chapter of any of your stories, I look out for things like(hope I didn't miss any more). IMO, it's almost like playing 'Where's Waldo.'
Now, when Momo came back, I was starting to think that the consequences of Miya's magic was that Momoko couldn't see Miya, and thinking it was that, I thought the other girls were not going to be able to see Miya either. Good thing my thoughts were proved wrong when Momo visited Miya after the rehearsal.
“I heard from a little birdie…” Momoko said, looking up as if she was listening to that little birdie right now. “That you think you… resurrected me or something?”
Ok, now who spilled the beans? :mon suspect:
“Well…” Momoko began. “Captain doesn’t usually lie
I would have expected Risako to do something like that instead.
Momo didn't know that she was killed at first, right? She didn't seem freaked out about it, but did Captain even think about how it could go when she told Momo she was dead and then resurrected? Seems like Momo is a chill person :lol:
I didn't see a consequence of Miya's actions, except for that fact that Momo gave Miya a cold look. Jealousy is in that air, but that was definitely bound to happen even if Momo was never killed in the first place.
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I got the impression that Momo's really angry about something. It could be that she actually remembers more, and that she didn't like what happened. Or maybe she just doesn't like how Miya's actions have started to break the group apart... :O
Saki's right about how Miya seems to affect Risako, a little too much. She was confused about Miyabi already, and having to deal with the latest occurrences must be really hard for someone like her. She probably felt Miya hates her or something. I'd say she's on the brink of depression. :'(
Oh, and I demand more Maasa! :love: (Well, not really, but she rocks!) I like how she's cool about everything. Nothing seems to faze her, and it makes me think she'd be level-headed enough when things get really ugly among them. Saki's doing a good job so far, but she shouldn't have to deal with everything alone. :-\
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I'm finally caught up. There's so much to comment on. First, I love the MiyaSaki pairing. It's so unusual but I think it might be my new fav BK couple.
Next, witchy Miyabi. So cool. :inlove: Total love.
Third, undead Momoko. In my opinion, they should have just left her dead, but then there wouldn't be much of a story, huh? Especially since she seems to have a certain dislike of Miya now. I think she remembers more than she's letting on. Maybe she was pulled away from heaven? Or maybe it's simply rivalry over Cap'n, but then again, it can't possibly be that uncomplicated. Can it?
No, not from you.
I think Miyabi should cast that little familiar/soul animal spell on herself. I wonder what she would be? Maybe a horse, with that long face. Oh, nevermind, that's kinda mean.
Anyway UPDATE! Please. Pretty please with sugar on top?
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Oh my...I can't believe my eyes...A NEW CHAPTER!!! *squeals*
I'm pretty sure the new Momo is evil and Miyabi's gonna have her hand's full with whatever's coming her way. What makes you all think she was pulled from heaven? Maybe it was hell? XD Just kidding. But something does seem fishy and she ain't telling. I wanna know what happened next *keeps refreshing pages :P*
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First, Hooray, you finally updated and you should do that more often -coughhinthintcough-
And two, I have my theories to share.
If Momoko came back and there is something wrong with her
Its possible she came back feeling absolutely nothing. That maybe Miyabi brought her back wrong not as in evil but just brought her back where she can't exactly feel properly as she use to. That she wants to feel something and the strongest feeling she had before she died was being in love with captain. Though, she can't exactly see if her strongest feeling will still be there if Miyabi is going out with captain =w=;;
Oh and plus, jealousy can't forget that
That's my two cents on Momoko
Now to Miyabi, I'm going to say she's getting really power hungry
The fact she brought momoko back really boosted her already high ego and she just happens to learn magic a lot faster now
And testing it on people like say Risako with out much consideration on how they would feel
Which by the way major booage on Miyabi's part, it's really making Risako feel like miyabi doesn't see her as a friend and more like 'your annoying so i'm gonna test stuff on you' I feel uber bad for Risako on that =(
But knowing...well not really knowing but..You're gonna make this story long and attempt really hard and well on pulling on our heartstrings in future chapters which I can't wait for because there's gonna be a some-what decent happy ending.
Now as always..
UPDATE or I'll...I'll..well I can't do anything but just prod you and tell you to Update o(=A=ll)o
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Third, undead Momoko. In my opinion, they should have just left her dead, but then there wouldn't be much of a story, huh? Especially since she seems to have a certain dislike of Miya now. I think she remembers more than she's letting on. Maybe she was pulled away from heaven? Or maybe it's simply rivalry over Cap'n, but then again, it can't possibly be that uncomplicated. Can it?
No, not from you.
You have so much faith in me!!! :oops: :mon sweat: I hope you're satisfied with how things develop. :)
Thanks everyone so much for your thoughtful replies and comments!! :D That kind of thing makes me very happy. :D <--- me happy. XD I'm glad to have gotten you into JPHiP Maize! :oops: Thank you for enjoying my stories so much!
Your theories are all very interesting, and although they all touch on different things and maybe some part of what's really going on, nobody has it right on so far. :) Some of you might be close... there is definitely something going on between Momo and Miya now, but it's bigger than just the two of them, or even their little triangle with Captain. I like all your Buffy theories XD. Hopefully my other story is getting my need for fireworks and crazy magic things out of my system, but there's still going to be a bit of that with Miya. She is getting just a bit addicted to power. Bringing someone back from the dead definitely might do that to you. That is at least, until she learns about the consequences... The problem is, now it's done she's also going to have to find a way to live with it.
Poor Risako... I actually think Miya really might still feel something for her (there was the kiss after all, as well as those random thoughts of Risako's cuteness...), and because she doesn't want to accept that since she's so very happy with Saki, she might be acting out a bit instead. If she's not careful though, she might lose Risako forever. Then again, how observant Risako is at her young age and how loyal a friend she can be might come into play too. She did come to the resurrection, and maybe she's been able to notice something Miyabi hasn't been able to accept herself yet. Miya's always been kind of an idiot despite her elite school, but more and more it's beginning to look like she may really have a problem.
It's finals week this week for me, so hopefully at least I won't be doing much writing :lol:, but everything's done when it's over, so I hope to get back to things... Take it easy in the snow until then, and I'll try not to become like this: :mon freeze:
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Your theories are all very interesting, and although they all touch on different things and maybe some part of what's really going on, nobody has it right on so far. :) Some of you might be close... there is definitely something going on between Momo and Miya now, but it's bigger than just the two of them, or even their little triangle with Captain. I like all your Buffy theories XD. Hopefully my other story is getting my need for fireworks and crazy magic things out of my system, but there's still going to be a bit of that with Miya. She is getting just a bit addicted to power. Bringing someone back from the dead definitely might do that to you. That is at least, until she learns about the consequences... The problem is, now it's done she's also going to have to find a way to live with it.
Poor Risako... I actually think Miya really might still feel something for her (there was the kiss after all, as well as those random thoughts of Risako's cuteness...), and because she doesn't want to accept that since she's so very happy with Saki, she might be acting out a bit instead. If she's not careful though, she might lose Risako forever. Then again, how observant Risako is at her young age and how loyal a friend she can be might come into play too. She did come to the resurrection, and maybe she's been able to notice something Miyabi hasn't been able to accept herself yet. Miya's always been kind of an idiot despite her elite school, but more and more it's beginning to look like she may really have a problem.
It's finals week this week for me, so hopefully at least I won't be doing much writing :lol:, but everything's done when it's over, so I hope to get back to things... Take it easy in the snow until then, and I'll try not to become like this: :mon freeze:
Good luck on your finals! :)
well, I think I agree with everyone about miyabi being a little (or a lot) power hungry... she seems like a fast learner, but she's still hurting a lot of people with her new powers (risako being the best example on this)... and omg, miya might still feel something about risako? that's going to mess some things up, if it develops...
well, since nobody's theories are right, I guess we reached the "wait and see" point... I must say I'm sooooo very curious about how things will turn out here... :grin:
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Hello again. :) This chapter is shorter than usual, but I think there's quite enough in it for everyone to think of at least a couple things to theorize about or discuss. ;) Plus, it's meant to catch a specific psychological moment, and those things can get difficult to read if extended too long. Plus, like I said, this is only a moment, not a detailed story. Let the frustration commence. :D
Chapter 27
Miyabi lay quietly in her bed at the hotel late in the evening after their Friday concert. She lay there in the dark, alone.
After the evening performance, many of the Berryz had separated. They were going to celebrate Momoko’s return, but since Miyabi felt she’d gotten enough attention from the audience at the concert she wasn’t crazy about joining in.
In the nearly two days Momoko was missing no official announcement had been made, but some segment of their fans had of course somehow gotten wind of it and the news had spread like wildfire throughout the community. Miyabi herself had even looked at some of the websites talking about it in amazement.
The result of this news leak of course was that everyone chanted “Momo!” throughout the concert, to where they could really do nothing but have Momoko say a few words about it. That of course led them to all go crazy, but Momoko was all smiles. Most of the girls thought it was a wonderful thing for her to experience after what she went through.
Miyabi wasn’t the only one who didn’t feel like continuing the celebration though. Risako had complained she was tired and decided to return to the hotel too while the rest spent their time out. Miyabi wondered if she didn’t have some ulterior motive for not wanting to hang out with everyone, and eventually the two of them came to share an awkward elevator ride once back at the hotel.
At first Risako was quiet, and just looked up at her every few seconds. Then she asked her a question. “Miya…” she began. “Why did you kiss me?”
Miyabi blinked, and didn’t respond right away. The elevator dinged their floor, but neither of them left the carriage. The doors closed again and the two stood in the elevator staring at each other as it hung at their floor.
“I…” Miyabi began, then cleared her throat after going so long without talking. “I was just honored that you wanted your first kiss to be with me, especially since you had your… your boyfriend.”
She had a hard time with that last part. Risako was actually cheerier tonight than she’d been for a long time. Whenever Miyabi wasn’t smiling dumbly at Saki throughout the concert, she normally cast glances over at her as she smiled out at the audience. The younger girl normally focused her eyes on just one spot though, and when Miyabi looked toward it and saw the comparably young face beaming up at her she knew. Her boyfriend had come to the concert.
“Was that all?” Risako asked, peering into her face. She stepped closer to her, and Miyabi began to feel uncomfortable. This would be a perfect time to turn the girl into a mouse again, but she felt as if any words she wanted to speak were frozen in her throat.
“You…” she responded pitifully.
“Yes?” Risako said, coming even closer, bringing her face to within centimeters of Miyabi’s.
“You’re pretty…” Miyabi said fumblingly, and immediately blushed.
Risako smiled. “Why thank you, Miya. I’d doubted that lately.”
“I don’t know how you could,” Miyabi said without thinking. Risako looked at her questioningly. “I mean, you were gawking at your boyfriend’s face all night. He was completely besotted with you.”
Risako kept that mysterious smile, then leaned closer. Miyabi braced, feeling trapped back against the elevator wall, but Risako’s face brushed past hers until her mouth was at Miyabi’s ear. “He was, wasn’t he?” she whispered. Then, without another word, she stepped away, pushed the button to open the elevator door, and stepped out, paying no more attention to Miyabi as if she’d completely disappeared.
For her part Miyabi stayed pressed back against the wall for another minute, hearing her heart beating rapidly inside of her. What just happened? she asked herself.
As she thought further about it, she felt the elevator lurch to life, and it began going down again. Now quickly trying to regain control of herself, she pulled away from the wall and pushed the button for her floor again, although the elevator kept going down.
When it got to the bottom, a man dressed in a suit and tie walked in as the door opened. He pressed the button for the floor he needed – one that was a couple floors down from Miyabi’s – and seeing the one Miyabi had pressed gave her a strange look. Miyabi smiled a toothy grin back, trying not to show any of her current foolish feeling.
When she managed to set her foot on the green carpet of her floor, she walked down it quickly as if on a mission. In fact, she was on a mission. When she got to a door, she knocked hard on it. “Risako!” she shouted into it. “Open up! I want to talk to you!”
There was no answer.
“Risako!” she shouted again, knocking a bit harder even.
Grumbling at being ignored, she pulled up her purse and looked in it a few seconds before remembering that she hadn’t gotten Risako’s room key for this trip. That struck her in her momentary one-track mood, and she opened her eyes in horror.
What was she doing?! Of course she didn’t have Risako’s room key anymore! The two girls were still friends, or at least she thought so, but Miyabi no longer had thoughts of slipping into the younger girl’s bed on a particularly chilly or lonely night. Now she had another girl to sleep with, one who was with her every night without question… a girlfriend. Whatever she and Risako had been in the past, she could never have called her a girlfriend, and now it definitely wasn’t going to be that way because she had her Saki-chan. Taking slow and heavy steps, she left the door to return to her own room.
Now, several hours later, she still lay awake in that room, listening only to the stillness of the night, feeling colder and lonelier with every passing minute.
They were just having a fun party, she’d told herself. It was your own fault you didn’t join them. But she didn’t want to join them. She couldn’t face girls who thought she was a liar. She couldn’t face Momoko hanging all over Saki like she’d usually been since coming back.
The other girls noticed it too of course. She saw the looks they gave her when Momoko touched their Captain’s hand in playfulness; when Momoko hugged her in excitement. They looked at her as if gauging what her reaction would be.
She hadn’t forgotten how they spoke out against her and Saki’s relationship, and how more serious talk was only halted by Momoko’s arrival. Since then no one had seemed eager to broach that subject again since Momoko always seemed to be around at times that would have been appropriate, and for some reason they didn’t want to talk about it with her around. It had nearly gotten to the point where Miyabi thought to bring up the subject herself, but whenever the fancy struck her she quickly suppressed the urge.
She didn’t know what was going on, but every time she caught Momoko’s eyes she noticed that there wasn’t something right in them. Momoko had told her to come to her for anything, but did the girl really think that way?
They’re just having a fun party… she told herself again, although now it rang more hollow and less convincing than ever. Suddenly, she heard laughter from out in the hall. Someone was returning. Girls’ voices giggled, and she heard doors open and shut. She relaxed. The party was over. All her worrying was completely for naught.
However, as the minutes ticked by after the last closing door shut out the last of the giggling, the specter of worry rose within her again. Where was Saki? Why was she not returning with the others? She knew she heard Chinami return. She thought Maasa did too. However, Saki didn’t come back to their room.
She restrained herself from jumping out of the covers and going to look around the hall for herself; if the girl wasn’t coming in here, she wasn’t back yet. Instead, she decided to use another spell she’d wanted to try out. This seemed like quite an opportune time.
She closed her eyes and cast her thoughts outward. At first, she had a sensation like she was floating above her body. Her eyes were closed fast, but she could still see the room around her, and even better than usual since the darkness was illuminated by an ethereal greenish mist.
She focused her thoughts again, and she floated out from over the bed. Then she floated through her own door as well as on through the door across from hers. She couldn’t see much more than shadowy forms, but could make out enough to tell that Yurina, Maasa and Chinami were gathered together talking on one of the beds. Nothing was unusual about that, except she thought that Chinami was staying in another room…
Floating through a wall, she found that other room, the room that was supposed to belong to Risako, Chinami… and she supposed Momoko was staying there as well since she’d returned. There was nothing in the room but some clothes scattered over the beds and dressers.
She felt like something punched her in the stomach at the revelation of what she had really known already would be true, and she almost lost her grip on the spell. Hurriedly focusing it again, she thought she’d try something more; go a little deeper. She would try to find Saki and see what she was doing right then.
The view of the vacant room vanished from her sight, and instead she found herself occupying a space just over the shoulders of two girls who were sitting next to a wall somewhere; it looked like it was outside. This time she could hear their conversation too.
“So how are things with you and Miya-chan?” one of the voices asked. “After I came back it looked like you two weren’t even talking to each other, but tonight I saw you stealing any free moment you could together in the dressing room backstage. You know if you’re not careful you’re going to get in trouble for that one of these days.” She grinned as she teased.
The other girl blushed. “We’re okay,” she said. “It’s up and down.”
“Is it?” the first one asked rhetorically.
There was silence for a moment, while Miyabi tried to perk up her magical ears to hear anything that might go on. Then Momoko spoke, changing the subject. “You know what I told you that night, it was true.” Miyabi focused as hard as she could to listen closer.
Saki hesitated for a moment. “I believe you,” she said. “You’ve always been a good friend to me, Momo. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. When I thought you were gone…”
“Ah yes…” Momoko replied, as if reminiscing on something. “My being gone. That was something quite courageous Miya did. Going around resurrecting people can’t be easy to do.”
“No,” Saki said. “It didn’t look like it.”
Momoko glanced over at her. “You were there when she did it?” Saki nodded. Momoko looked back toward the ground. “I thought everyone was just going by her word. I thought she might have just been boasting, that maybe she hadn’t really done it and I was just blacked out and hidden for a couple days.” Anger flared within Miyabi, even through her incorporeal self.
“It was horrible, Momo,” Saki responded, staring in front of her at nothing, as if reliving some horrifying experience. “First there was the rain and the storm. That was bad enough, especially since I had a feeling it wasn’t exactly… natural. Then…” She hesitated. “Well, I was nearly scared to death. I’m worried about her, Momo…”
“Oh…” Momoko responded. Listening to Saki’s words just now, Miyabi felt renewed compassion toward the girl. She shouldn’t have put her through that. She thought of Risako too. She shouldn’t have put either of them through that. But then, could she have done it alone? Their support gave her the strength she needed. Or so she thought…
The vision suddenly faded a bit, and she became alert once more, fighting to keep control of it. It fizzled for a few seconds, as if she were peering at the scene through static like on a poorly received television station, but finally she managed to make it clear again. When the two girls came back into view though, her breath caught. They were now holding hands.
“You shouldn’t be made to worry like that…” Momoko said softly, and she seemed to lean closer to Saki, who now looked over at her too. “You deserve more.” Momoko brought their hands up between them and squeezed Saki’s tightly. Miyabi felt like she was going to turn blue from holding her breath.
“It’s just so scary sometimes, Momo-chan…” Saki said, seeming to become a little distraught. “I like her, but…”
“I know…” Momoko said. “I know.” Saki didn’t seem to realize, but Momoko appeared to be moving her face closer and closer to the other girl’s. Saki may not have noticed it, but Miyabi definitely did, and she felt something cold and hard rise within her.
“What should I do, Momo-chan?” Saki asked, raising her face to the girl she pled to.
“Together we’ll find out what to do,” Momoko responded in her softest voice yet. “You just have to trust me.”
Saki nodded that she did, and Momoko smiled. Then Momoko leaned in completely and pressed her lips to her girlfriend’s. Miyabi’s body was already shaking, not believing what she was seeing, but it wasn’t over yet. After Momoko’s initial move, she saw the other girl kiss her back. Miyabi could watch no more.
“No!!!” she screamed, and she sat up in her bed in a cold sweat, breathing heavily, her heart beating the fastest it ever had.
How could she do that! she exclaimed in her mind. How could she go and… how could they go and… Her mind cleared, and whatever rational thought was left regained a foothold. How could they? Because one of them was in love, of course. With that, it only took so much for the other one to feel that way too. Still, she couldn’t believe it. Saki was with her. With her. She lay back down on the bed, her heart slowing quickly. That’s right, she thought. She was…
After a few minutes of lying there and not hardly being able to form another coherent thought, she heard the door open slowly. She stopped her breathing as the silence throbbed around her, and she saw what had to be Saki’s form creep carefully into the room so as not to wake her.
She began breathing normally again, trying to make it into the even rhythm of sleep, but her eyes followed the girl as she tip-toed over to her suitcase and pulled some clothing out. She watched as the dark form changed into her night clothes, and then as she crept over to the bed and slowly pulled back the covers to slip beneath them.
Miyabi closed her eyes and kept careful control over herself to make it seem as if she was sleeping while she felt the girl getting comfortable beside her. She dared a peek out of one eye to see the shadowed face looking over at her quietly.
“Are you awake?” Saki whispered. Hearing no response, she settled down under the covers, and before long Miyabi noticed the girl fall into her own even breathing of sleep.
What was she going to do? She’d just witnessed her girlfriend kissing someone else, someone who was obviously completely in love with her. Then again, she still came back to Miyabi’s bed.
As she lay next to the small, warm and still form beside her, she decided to act like everything was normal again starting tomorrow. After all, she shouldn’t have been able to see what happened, should she? She decided to wait until the girl told her what was going on. If the girl told her.
What if she didn’t? Would she be able to allow her to still be her girlfriend despite it? Would she still be able to kiss her and hug her and sleep beside her? The answers to those questions, no matter how many spells she knew, were things she could never divine.
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Saki! How could you let Momo seduce you? I guess, though, that Miya can't really begrudge one kiss, since she didn't tell Saki about Risako. But then again, that was different circumstances. BTW astral projection for the win.
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Astral projection huh? Well, I think something is definitely wrong during it. I mean sure what she saw might be correct up till thrt where she felt faint and tried to regain the connection by focusing harder but this is where I think something happened. Momo might insert some images during that moment and the kiss scene planted on Miya's head will make her doubt Saki therefore she will pushed her a way before finally question her. It's so evil I'm excited to know where this is going. and What's up with Risako? Did I read that right? Clothes strewn across the room? Risako is doing the dirty with the boyfriend? Ohoho......
MOAR PLEASE!!
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What was she going to do? She’d just witnessed her girlfriend kissing someone else, someone who was obviously completely in love with her. Then again, she still came back to Miyabi’s bed.
As she lay next to the small, warm and still form beside her, she decided to act like everything was normal again starting tomorrow. After all, she shouldn’t have been able to see what happened, should she? She decided to wait until the girl told her what was going on. If the girl told her.
What if she didn’t? Would she be able to allow her to still be her girlfriend despite it? Would she still be able to kiss her and hug her and sleep beside her? The answers to those questions, no matter how many spells she knew, were things she could never divine.
And this comes from someone who kissed another girl, but never told her own girlfriend about it... :roll:
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Woah, Risako in that elevator! It really didn't seem like her, maybe she's part of the consequence of bringing Momo back to life.
Astral projection? So that's what its called, cool :yep:
Clothes strewn across the room? Risako is doing the dirty with the boyfriend? Ohoho......
I overlooked that part, but now that I think about it, I remembered something that Risako said in an earlier chapter :-X....and I lol'd
at the O-->hoho
Poor Miya, I'm pretty sure that kiss was a one time thing for Saki, but Momo definitely wants it to be something more.
Anways, great Christmas present, even if you didn't mean it as one.
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AHHHHH!!!
-squeals!!-
Finally an update here! >w<
Keep updating man! I want more! I wanna know more, I need to know more!!
Please o(=W=)o You gotta!
Man, just..Just...update...I..need..
I can't even..put my theories in..Too much shock that theres even an update o(=A=)o~
So...You should update again..Yeah..
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An update on Xmas day! This is a great present for me :)
I love Momo, I do. But I find myself rooting for Miya. The girl has done so much and she deserves Captain all to herself. Still this triangle is keeping me on the edge of my seat and I can't wait to read more.
Why do I get the feeling Risako is playing mind games with Miya? :D Sure, she has a boyfriend now but could she be wanting Miya too? Ah, questions and I will need to read the next chapter to find out more :)
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aw, man! if this story wasn't complicated before, it sure is now! I'm still not very sure about the momoko/saki thing, dunno why... and well, looks like miyabi understands the situation, especially considering her kiss with risako...
now, I reaaaally wanna read the next chapter :yep:
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Aww, it makes me so happy how so many of you are demanding an update. :) Well, how would it be Christmastime without a little wish-granting? :D Because what do you know, I happen to have the next chapter right here and all ready for you all... Merry day-after-Christmas! The girls definitely seem to be getting what they want... and hopefully I'll make you feel a little enchanted too. :) And maybe... just maybe... I'll actually get Loser to respond... ;) :oops:
Chapter 28
Miyabi was awakened the next morning by a bright light invading her sleep. Just after her eyes popped open to the blindness of the lights of her room, she noticed a girl jump onto the foot of the bed below her.
“Good morning, sleepyhead!” Saki said in a voice as bright as the lights, and she crawled up to give Miyabi a good morning kiss. She received it, but didn’t kiss back. Saki crawled back off of her to resume whatever she was doing, apparently just attributing her lack of enthusiasm to having just woken up.
“It’s reasons like this why I’m the Captain,” Saki rambled on, ferreting through her suitcase for appropriate attire for the day. “Even though you were in bed before I was, you’re the one sleeping in too! You haven’t forgotten we have a concert in a few hours, have you?”
“How could I have…” Miyabi grumbled, burying her face in her pillow. She didn’t need the reminder of last night and the girl’s late arrival. Plus, it wasn’t like she’d actually gotten any sleep.
Saki giggled. “That’s my Miya. I wouldn’t love ya the same without that brilliant yankii attitude you have sometimes…”
“You love me?” Miyabi asked in a suddenly quiet voice, turning her head to rest her cheek hard against her pillow as she stared over at the other girl.
Saki froze in her rummaging before looking slowly back at her. “Of course I do, silly. Haven’t I ever said that before?”
“No…” Miyabi responded, still looking at her. “You haven’t.” The girl had to go and do this now? She felt her anger rising slightly, and did her best to suppress it.
“Oh…” Saki said, blushing, and returned to her bag. She seemed to only half-heartedly sort through it now though, and before long she turned back fully to Miyabi.
“What I said just then,” the girl explained. “I was just saying it as a figure of speech. You know, we always say we love things about our friends and such…”
Miyabi continued staring at her. That was true, except… they weren’t just friends. At least they shouldn’t be.
However, instead of leaving it at that, Saki climbed back onto the bed again and slipped under the covers, scooting close to Miyabi and making her feel slightly uncomfortable. Apparently the girl didn’t notice though.
“But…” she said. “You know I’m yours, don’t you? I know I’m… not the best at expressing my emotions…” She avoided Miyabi’s eyes as she said that. “But Miya,” she looked back up into her face. “You know you mean more than anything to me. All you’ve done for me… all we’ve shared… I’m, well, I’m glad to be with you.”
“Are you?” Miyabi asked in a whisper.
Saki nodded, reaching down to take Miyabi’s hand in both of her own. Miyabi didn’t resist. Whatever had happened last night, she really did love this girl so much that she felt like she could forgive anything. However, things still wouldn’t be the same…
Miyabi pulled away slightly, sitting up in the bed. Saki followed her after a moment. “You’re right,” Miyabi stated. Her Captain raised a questioning eyebrow. “We have to get ready for a concert.”
She slid out of the bed and shuffled to her suitcase, pulling some clothes out. She didn’t pay attention to what she took out, but it didn’t really matter. Once she got to the concert she’d be provided with the concert wardrobe as well as what to wear for the rest of the day between concerts and after the last one since they’d still be quite available to the public eye.
Avoiding turning back to the girl on the bed, she pulled off her shirt to begin changing. She didn’t hear any other sound while she went about it, but she still did so calmly under the apparent watchful eyes of her girlfriend. After all, it wasn’t like she had anything to hide from her Captain anymore.
“Miya,” Saki said when she finished, this time in a quietly serious tone much different from the loving one she used when last she spoke. “Are you mad at me for some reason? If so, I’d be grateful if you told me why.”
Miyabi, never being able to resist that tone in Saki’s voice even when she was just her Captain, turned slowly around to her, fully accoutered in a medium-sized pleated black and white striped skirt, tight white turtleneck and red knit vest. “I’m not mad at you,” she stated plainly. “And what are you doing?” She looked at the clock on the bedside table. It was already past nine, and they had to be in the lobby by nine-thirty sharp to gather and head to Nagoya Rainbow Hall to prepare for the day’s concerts. Before long Asako and whoever Saki’s manager was would be knocking on their door to make sure they were up and about. One of these days she’d really have to find out which of the managers was Saki’s.
Becoming exasperated at the girl’s slowness, she stepped toward the bed and lunged forward, grabbing her by her arm and pulling her out of it. Saki stumbled to her feet in front of her, surprised by the gesture.
“Now,” Miyabi said in a voice that brooked no nonsense. “Are you gonna get ready, or am I going to have to dress you too?” She finished with a wicked grin.
Saki blushed and looked down. “You never cease to surprise me, Miya-chan…” she said softly.
“I know,” Miyabi said. “That’s why you love me, isn’t it?”
Saki looked up at her, her eyes shining. “Yes…” she responded. “It is.”
In the next moment Miyabi quickly reached around the smaller girl in front of her and squeezed her butt, making Saki jump. “Well?” she said. “Are you going to stand here pouring your heart out to me or are you going to get ready? My offer still stands.”
Saki blushed slightly again and turned quickly to her suitcase. “No…” she said, and Miyabi could sense the smile on her face as she spoke. “I think I’ll be fine.”
“Good!” Miyabi said, sitting down on the bed intending to watch even if she didn’t participate. The girl had watched her, after all. “I’m not used to dressing people other than myself, so it would have been a rather awkward experience.”
Saki turned to her once more, her hands still in her suitcase, and grinned mischievously. “Well…” she said. “I’ll just have to let you do it sometime then so it won’t be awkward any longer.” Satisfying herself with Miyabi’s wordlessly moving mouth in response to her own offer, she turned back to her suitcase, obviously in a good mood.
Miyabi closed her mouth and watched as the girl proceeded. Unlike Miyabi though, she didn’t stare at the wall the whole time as if the audience didn’t exist. Instead, she almost made a show of it with her glances back from time to time and the deliberate and teasing way she went about it.
Miyabi smiled as if she enjoyed it, and she had to admit to herself that she actually did, but inside she still didn’t at all feel the level of joy Saki seemed to radiate this morning. Why was the girl so happy after cheating on her the night before? At least she’d had the decency to feel incredibly guilty about when she kissed Risako, even if she hadn’t told her girlfriend about it yet. However, in Saki’s case not only did she not seem likely to tell Miyabi about her own affair anytime soon, but the girl didn’t seem like she could be any happier.
She continued pondering on this after they were done in their room. They didn’t meet anyone else in the hall – apparently all the other girls had already gone down; it was virtually nine-thirty now after all – and when entering the elevator on their way to join them in the lobby, Saki grasped her hand tightly. Since this would be the last time they had to themselves until whatever moments they could snatch in a dressing room during the concert, they used it as a last chance to be intimate. Once the elevator doors closed and it jerked to begin its trip downward, Saki stepped around in front of her and pulled her head down her own level. After leaning up to kiss her, they made out in the otherwise empty car, Miyabi into it just as much as her girlfriend this time because, if nothing else, they’d already had a wonderful morning together.
Their lips parted as the elevator neared the ground floor, but Saki still held her close, apparently not wanting to let her go quite yet. “Miya-chan…” she said, looking into her eyes. “I do love you.”
Miyabi smiled, and leaned down to kiss the girl’s nose in response. She wrinkled it and giggled, and as the elevator lurched to a stop fell back to Miyabi’s side, only holding her hand. As they walked out into the lobby, Miyabi loosened her grip in order to let the girl go before they met up with the rest, but Saki held on tightly. Miyabi glanced down at her, but she only looked straight ahead with a smile on her face as she walked on. Miyabi swallowed, and soon they reached the gathering.
The other girls and managers greeted them, and one or two, including Chinami, scolded them for being late. Most of them seemed to notice the two of them holding hands, but the managers apparently just thought it was a normal teenage girl thing to do and thought nothing more of it.
However, some of their Berryz comrades thought otherwise. Momoko in fact seemed to constantly stare at Miyabi with a faint smile from almost the moment they arrived. Looking down to see if Saki noticed anything, Miyabi realized the girl looked anywhere but at Momoko. Trying to be sneaky, was she? Feeling her mood quickly come down after their session in the elevator, she squeezed the girl’s hand tighter, feeling almost violent. Saki only returned the gesture as if she thought Miyabi just wanted to hold onto her more tightly.
“Well, even if you’re late, at least you’re not as bad as Rii-chan,” Chinami said, frowning among Saki and Miyabi and the joined hands between them. “I never even saw her come back to our room last night. Maa-chan and Kuma-chan didn’t see her in theirs either.”
“She was back,” Miyabi said, leveling a heavy gaze at the still-smiling Momoko. “She came back at the same time I did.”
“Then she must have left again,” Chinami said. “Because she wasn’t there when we returned from karaoke or even when Momo and I went to bed.”
The girl’s words finally sunk into Miyabi’s brain, and she tore her eyes away from Momoko’s to look in puzzlement at Chinami. “What?” she asked.
“I’m sorry to keep you waiting!” came a young voice from the direction of the lobby’s outside door, and they all turned to see Risako jogging up to them, her long light faux fur coat hanging open at her sides. She arrived very red-faced, but also smiling.
“Where have you been?” asked one of their staff, a young woman by the name of Haruka, closing in quickly on the beaming new arrival.
“An aunt of mine who lives in the city was at the concert yesterday and asked me to spend the night with them. I couldn’t pass up the chance to see my wonderful cousins.”
She turned to look at the rest of the girls as she spoke, and when her eyes came upon Miyabi’s own suspicious ones, Miyabi thought she caught a deeper flush in her pale features. “You need to tell us if you make different arrangements for the night!” Haruka scolded. “You’ve been around long enough to know that by now!”
Risako dipped her head a few times in apology, but the smile didn’t disappear from her face. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’ll make sure to do that next time. It just came up so quickly I didn’t have the chance to tell anyone…”
Now the girl was pointedly avoiding Miyabi’s suspicious glare. Well wasn’t this just the perfect morning. It wasn’t just Saki; everyone seemed like they couldn’t be happier! After Risako’s excuse some of the other managers as well as Berryz girls just laughed and rolled their eyes. They were all quite accustomed by now to the babying the baby of their group needed sometimes. Miyabi just sighed and glanced back toward Momoko. This time the girl was just talking animatedly to some of the staff members and ignoring Miyabi as if she was nothing special again.
As the managers quickly shuffled them toward their bus, Miyabi wanted to catch Risako for a word but couldn’t manage to pry herself away from her girlfriend. Not that it was such a bad thing, but it definitely didn’t lend itself to private conversation with anyone else. Saki just chatted with Chinami and Maasa along the way, Chinami seeming to ignore Miyabi on Saki’s other side while Maasa seemed to positively beam at nothing more than seeing the two of them so close. She was going to have to have another talk with her friend later. Hopefully she could manage it by the time they had to leave.
Risako for her part seemed to steer well clear of Miyabi, although that didn’t spare her the girl’s infernal smiles whenever Saki said something to her. The only looks she received though were sideways ones as if she was reveling in the fact that she had a secret that Miyabi couldn’t find out. Once in the bus, the racket and plain chaos that normally went on ceased any more thought of private talks altogether. Still, throughout the whole ride, Saki sat next to her with her hand tightly folded into her own. The ride could definitely have been much worse.
The afternoon concert was quite enjoyable again. Miyabi didn’t know how she did it, but by perhaps some power Saki had on her own as Captain she managed to steal no less than three moments during the nearly two-hour length of it to pull Miyabi into a dressing room. Breathless and exhilarated as she was by the performances, Miyabi had no ability to resist even if she wanted to.
Between concerts all the girls and all the tour staff had dinner together since it would be their last in Nagoya, and there was quite the celebration to be had with all that had gone on since they arrived. After this, since the school year was getting into full swing, it would be weeks before they were all together again.
The evening concert went very similar to the earlier one, except with less dressing room time and the traditional crying at the end since it marked the end of both their stay in the city as well as their tour. All except Miyabi of course; she never cried. Saki as usual could barely hold it together, which even brought a smile to Miyabi’s face at how emotional her girlfriend obviously was, even if she didn’t think she could always show it.
On their way back to the hotel, the topic of another party was broached but by now everyone was completely exhausted, and so nothing formal was planned. Since it was their last night together for so long though, they let their hair hang down considerably until most of them literally couldn’t keep their eyes open any longer.
This resulted in Miyabi finally making it out of Maasa’s and Yurina’s room at nearly midnight to wobble sleepily back to her own, arm-in-arm with Saki. When they arrived though, Saki told her she should go see Risako once more.
She tried to make a point of always checking on the girl before retiring for the night, since she was after all the youngest, although she almost skipped it tonight seeing as Risako had seemed to be on cloud nine all day. Everyone raved about how these were also two of her best concerts in weeks, and marveled at how she seemed to her way out of depression again, with an accusing glance or two spared for Miyabi as well.
Miyabi on the other hand still regarded the girl with suspicion. She didn’t believe for a second she’d spent the night before with her “aunt”. But, then again, what business was it of hers what the girl did anymore? She was Saki’s now, for better or worse. Maybe this was a good chance to take a step back from Risako’s life. Strangely though, she felt like the idea caused a small bubble of emptiness to form within her.
Stumbling into her room after Saki’s parting, Miyabi flopped face-down on the bed, feeling like she could fall asleep right there. She was brought out of her descent into peaceful slumber though by a voice from the door.
“This has been a very tiring day, hasn’t it?”
Miyabi groaned, not wanting to move, but didn’t dare ignore the voice. She rolled over, pulling herself up into a somewhat seated position and hugging her knees to her chest. “Yes it has, Momo. Are you happy you came back from the dead now?”
“Oh yes,” the girl responded, running her fingers down the doorframe and looking at it as if it was made with exquisite craftsmanship. “I couldn’t love performing with everyone and for everyone any more. But then again,” she went on, as Miyabi yawned. “That’s not all that tired you out, was it?’
“What are you talking about?” Miyabi asked in a sleepy voice.
“I saw you and Captain shut yourself in those dressing rooms. I know you were doing more in there than ‘retouching your makeup’.”
Miyabi stared at her. “What’s your point?”
“No point…” Momoko said, coming closer and sitting at the foot of the bed. “But I just hope you guys are being careful. If any of the staff put two and two together, you could be in very big trouble.”
“Well,” Miyabi said, her eyes narrowing. “That’s why we are careful. So they won’t put two and two together. And believe me, if they happen to discover it another way I’ll find out how.”
Momoko stared at her quietly, oddly not seeming hardly tired at all herself. “I just worry for you two, you know? And I wonder if it might not be best if you just came out clean and told everybody what’s going on since you’re so serious about each other.” She looked up at Miyabi questioningly. “You are serious, right?”
“Yes,” Miyabi said in a low voice. “Very.”
“Well then, that’s wonderful!” Momoko crowed, clapping her hands together, as if the declaration was tremendously surprising. Then she reached up to pat Miyabi’s leg lightly. “It was just a thought. I hope you have enjoyable weeks back at school.” At the plain indication that she was going to leave, she rose up and headed for the door. Before she passed through though, she turned her head halfway back to say one more thing.
“Oh, and about your ways of finding things out… I may not know much about this magic of yours, but I don’t know if I’d blindly trust it. Surely it can’t always be perfect. Captain still isn’t too far removed from a horrible relationship, and so I wonder if she’s quite ready for another one that’s obviously as deep as the one you two share. Be sure to give her my best regards, by the way.” Then, with a slight wave and a smile, she passed out and into the hall.
What was that about? Miyabi thought after she left. Well, the girl was definitely right that she didn’t know anything about magic! It had never let Miyabi down before, and she had no reason to think it would now. Still, for some reason, it left doubts in her mind that didn’t seem to be directed at anything she could decipher. Strangely enough as well, the girl’s last words didn’t seem to affect her overmuch either. Perhaps it was due to Saki’s declaration of love this morning… She felt herself flush thinking back to that, in both intense pleasant emotion as well as nervousness.
“Is Captain in hiding someplace?” she heard a voice from the door ask. Turning toward it, she saw Maasa’s sizable shadow filling the doorway. “I couldn’t think of any other reason for you to be blushing like that, Miya.” Then the girl took a couple quick steps and jumped onto the bed before finally coming to a rest next to her and flipping over on her back to stretch wide. Miyabi had to dodge out of the way of one of her fists. The girl definitely didn’t know the meaning of space.
“She’s off tucking Rii-chan in for the night,” Miyabi said with a smirk. “It only takes the thought of her to make me blush anymore it seems…”
Maasa turned on her side to face her, propping her elbow on her bed to hold up her head in her palm. “Man, you’ve really got it bad, dontcha?”
Miyabi nodded, unable to keep from blushing again. She blamed it on her tiredness; she was just unable to control herself any longer! Speaking of… “Maa-chan,” she said, yawning. “It’s great talking to you, but I’m really tired. Do you think you could just let me get some sleep?” Instead of moving, Maasa just kept grinning at her like an idiot. “What?” Miyabi grumbled. “Do I have something on my face?”
“Nothing, nothing…” Maasa said briskly, looking off above them innocently. “So has anything happened the last day or so I should know about? Like… you know…” She poked Miyabi in the stomach.
“Hey…” Miyabi whined, rubbing her poked spot. “Well…” she began while still rubbing. She didn’t know if it was best to tell anyone, but she was almost aching trying to hold it in. Then, remembering Maasa had seemed to become one of her best friends whom she’d told virtually everything lately, she nodded, though still spoke hesitantly in her nervousness. Maasa still peered at her with one eyebrow raised. “She did say she loved me this morning…”
Maasa’s mouth fell open. “She did what!” she exclaimed, and reached over to hug Miyabi tightly, who struggled in vain in an attempt to regain her breath. Finally the girl pulled away, though she now viewed her with what looked like tears in her eyes. Miyabi just tried the best she could to regain her lost oxygen.
“That’s incredible, girl!” she said, sniffing and wiping her eyes in a completely fake way as if she were quite moved by something. “My little Miya is growing up…”
“I’m not that little…” Miyabi pouted. “I’m not even two months younger than you! Besides, what are you talking about anyway?”
Maasa just adopted that idiotic grin again in return. “Oh nothing, nothing…” she said in a very amused voice. Then she turned to the doorway. Miyabi followed her eyes to see a small girl standing within it.
“You’re not stealing my Miya away from me, are you?” Saki said, and Miyabi could literally hear her grin through her words.
“Oh of course not, Captain!” Maasa declared, jumping quickly out of the bed and holding her flattened hand to her forehead in a mock salute. Miyabi felt the bed bounce at the sudden departure of the girl’s weight, but even through the distraction she now only had eyes for her girlfriend.
Saki still wore her short, tight shorts, but her t-shirt now hung out at the sides almost covering it up, making it appear that was all she wore. The t-shirt even had skulls on it. That was the subject of quite some teasing by the rest of the girls since Captain never wore anything as freaky as that, instead usually just dressing herself in something simple and pretty. They were amazed she even owned a shirt like that. Miyabi smiled. They didn’t know that it was really hers. The girl had asked to borrow it upon returning from the nightcap.
“I wouldn’t dare to do such a thing!” Maasa continued with elaborate flourishes. “She’s alllll yours…” Then, with another big grin back at Miyabi, she skipped out of their room and into her own across from them, pulling their door shut behind her.
Saki moved out of the way while the freight train passed, and then quietly closed the door. Miyabi watched her as she smiled over at her and locked it, then crawled onto the bed and sidled up next to her, pulling the blankets up over them both even though they were still in their street clothes.
“Is Risako all right?” Miyabi asked, not really caring about the response but thinking it was polite to ask.
“She’s high as a kite,” Saki said with a broader smile. “I don’t know what happened to her, but her time with her family must have helped her sort out her issues somehow.” Her time with her family… Miyabi thought. Yeah right… “She probably won’t get any sleep in the state she’s in, and I know I’ll be roasted alive for delivering her back to her parents in that condition, but I think Momo and Chii-chan will at least keep her company quite well tonight. They were setting up for some game even as I was leaving. Kuma-chan I think is already asleep. That is, if she’s not woken up by someone,” she finished with a grin.
While she grinned, she also looked into Miyabi’s eyes as if she was trying to hint something with her words, but Miyabi couldn’t guess what it would be. Instead, she just stared back. The girl’s dark eyes were really the softest and most beautiful she’d ever seen. Why did she think Risako’s even compared? The younger girl was pretty enough of course, but it never seemed like much lay behind that outward charm.
Saki was a different story though. She was like a book that only told its story a page at a time, and Miyabi always hungered to turn to the next. Suddenly what she saw between her and Momoko last night didn’t seem to have much meaning at all. She was the one the girl came back to at the end of the night, wasn’t she? And plus, it wasn’t like Miyabi didn’t have secrets of her own…
Saki scooted closer to her, to where she could feel the warmth emanating from her slim frame. “Since who knows when we’ll be able to be together like this again…” she began seductively as well as with a slight tinge of nervousness. She looked down at where she began picking at a button on Miyabi’s shirt. Despite the restrained fidgeting, confidence is what the girl exuded, and that caught Miyabi off-guard more than anything in its anomaly. “And… since you now know I love you…”
Miyabi could feel the girl’s heartbeat increasing swiftly, her own leaping to keep pace. Saki reached up to brush a strand of hair behind her ear. It had been falling into her face while lying in the slightly awkward sideways position she held beside her. Miyabi felt herself blush at the gesture, excitement building as her fancies seemed to take over. This was real, wasn’t it? The girl, her girlfriend, was really…
“I thought I’d like to give you something to remember me by…” Saki finished, and this time her nervousness turned into a full blush while she still picked idly at Miyabi’s button.
Miyabi though, now past the initial stage of disbelief, held the girl’s chin and raised it up so she could look again into her eyes. “I’d like the same,” she said quietly with a smile, and then leaned in to kiss her lips.
As they kissed tenderly, Miyabi felt the hand at her chest move down as it took care of each button in turn. When it was finished Saki moved closer to her, pressing against her and pulling her closer in need. The girl held her with one arm, and her other hand slid down Miyabi’s side. When it tentatively reached her waist, Miyabi felt her excitement rise – showing it in her kiss – and it continued on below her waist and around her thigh. That pushed Miyabi over the edge, and for the next good while she lost herself to the passion and want of her girlfriend… and of her love for her.
Much later, Miyabi lay exhausted in the dark room holding the sleeping older girl in her arms and stroking her matted hair tenderly. Her eyes closed, feeling completely relaxed, and a smile slowly crept its way across her face. Despite her girlfriend’s modest ambitions, Miyabi knew without a doubt that this was a night whose enchantment she’d remember not only until they met again, but for the rest of her life.
-
You know How I said I'm an incredibly lazy person and would never post such a long comment until a billion years has passed?
Well, I'm giving you one helluva' comment because there is so much to say dammit!!
Miyabi was awakened the next morning by a bright light invading her sleep. Just after her eyes popped open to the blindness of the lights of her room, she noticed a girl jump onto the foot of the bed below her.
“Good morning, sleepyhead!” Saki said in a voice as bright as the lights, and she crawled up to give Miyabi a good morning kiss. She received it, but didn’t kiss back. Saki crawled back off of her to resume whatever she was doing, apparently just attributing her lack of enthusiasm to having just woken up.
Saki is either extremely happy for that night with Momoko (Which I'm sure she is in a way) Or she's genuinely happy for that new day, blah,blah,blah good day thingy..
Saki giggled. “That’s my Miya. I wouldn’t love ya the same without that brilliant yankii attitude you have sometimes…”
“You love me?” Miyabi asked in a suddenly quiet voice, turning her head to rest her cheek hard against her pillow as she stared over at the other girl.
Now, that's a first..A declaration of love out of the blue..
She could really mean it..But in my opinion, it was said to keep up the whole nothing really happened last night facade thing.
Saki froze in her rummaging before looking slowly back at her. “Of course I do, silly. Haven’t I ever said that before?”
“No…” Miyabi responded, still looking at her. “You haven’t.” The girl had to go and do this now? She felt her anger rising slightly, and did her best to suppress it.
Its only natural for Miyabi to feel angry
She just saw her g/f get kissed and kiss back to a girl who has admitted of being in love with dear old captain..
It's only a matter of what Miyabi is going to do later...
“What I said just then,” the girl explained. “I was just saying it as a figure of speech. You know, we always say we love things about our friends and such…”
Miyabi continued staring at her. That was true, except… they weren’t just friends. At least they shouldn’t be.
Ohoho, taking the proclamation back by saying it's just meant as a friendly thing is she? :glasses:
However, instead of leaving it at that, Saki climbed back onto the bed again and slipped under the covers, scooting close to Miyabi and making her feel slightly uncomfortable. Apparently the girl didn’t notice though.
She's way too happy that morning...I get the feeling somewhere in Saki's mind she's really confused over the event of last nights happening with Momoko and the fact that she has Miyabi who is suppose to be her girlfriend...
“But…” she said. “You know I’m yours, don’t you? I know I’m… not the best at expressing my emotions…” She avoided Miyabi’s eyes as she said that. “But Miya,” she looked back up into her face. “You know you mean more than anything to me. All you’ve done for me… all we’ve shared… I’m, well, I’m glad to be with you.”
“Are you?” Miyabi asked in a whisper.
Does Captain really believe she's in love with Miyabi? Or is she just trying to convince herself that she is?
In my opinion, Captain is only trying to say that to lessen her confusion..
I'm sure kissing Momoko brought up some emotions she never really thought she had for the living dead girl..
Saki nodded, reaching down to take Miyabi’s hand in both of her own. Miyabi didn’t resist. Whatever had happened last night, she really did love this girl so much that she felt like she could forgive anything. However, things still wouldn’t be the same…
See, I remember a few pages back that you said Miyabi might be/will be getting power hungry?
I suppose this is the first step of it all
My thoughts of why this is the first step is because she's given in to Saki,forgiven her instead of feeling angered fully or outraged at the fact Saki is acting perfectly fine, saying she loves Miyabi...Miyabi is weak-willed that she melts and just lets it happen, going along with it instead of fighting it and try to get reasons behind why and such things like that..
Avoiding turning back to the girl on the bed, she pulled off her shirt to begin changing. She didn’t hear any other sound while she went about it, but she still did so calmly under the apparent watchful eyes of her girlfriend. After all, it wasn’t like she had anything to hide from her Captain anymore.
........Changing like that with no embarrassment..But then again, its been said that some of the idols do bathe together and there are public bath housings so w/e..But onto the main point of this quote..
Miyabi did hide something from Captain though, she never told her that she kissed Risako that time..
So, in a way isn't that a contradiction?
“Miya,” Saki said when she finished, this time in a quietly serious tone much different from the loving one she used when last she spoke. “Are you mad at me for some reason? If so, I’d be grateful if you told me why.”
She was mad but since she's so into captain she's forgiven her already..
I can only imagine how badly things will turn out in later chapters...
“Now,” Miyabi said in a voice that brooked no nonsense. “Are you gonna get ready, or am I going to have to dress you too?” She finished with a wicked grin.
....Miyabi is...a devilish girl..Really Rokun are you really going to make them all devilish like that?!
Saki blushed and looked down. “You never cease to surprise me, Miya-chan…” she said softly.
“I know,” Miyabi said. “That’s why you love me, isn’t it?”
Saki looked up at her, her eyes shining. “Yes…” she responded. “It is.”
...Does she love her..It gets confusing for me but I'll stand by my beliefs that Saki is only saying it so she would believe it herself..
when in reality....She really isn't sure.
Saki turned to her once more, her hands still in her suitcase, and grinned mischievously. “Well…” she said. “I’ll just have to let you do it sometime then so it won’t be awkward any longer.” Satisfying herself with Miyabi’s wordlessly moving mouth in response to her own offer, she turned back to her suitcase, obviously in a good mood.
..Making them all into devil girls... :depressed:
Miyabi smiled as if she enjoyed it, and she had to admit to herself that she actually did, but inside she still didn’t at all feel the level of joy Saki seemed to radiate this morning. Why was the girl so happy after cheating on her the night before? At least she’d had the decency to feel incredibly guilty about when she kissed Risako, even if she hadn’t told her girlfriend about it yet. However, in Saki’s case not only did she not seem likely to tell Miyabi about her own affair anytime soon, but the girl didn’t seem like she could be any happier.
Maybe because...Saki did enjoy doing what she did with Momoko..She enjoys it but there lies the fact that she is with Miyabi..And Miyabi is her girlfriend..So, maybe its a defense mechanism she has, to make it seem like everything is okay between her and miyabi when in truth kissing momoko must have caused some huge dents in their relationships, Saki just chooses to attempt in ignoring it..
Once the elevator doors closed and it jerked to begin its trip downward, Saki stepped around in front of her and pulled her head down her own level. After leaning up to kiss her, they made out in the otherwise empty car, Miyabi into it just as much as her girlfriend this time because, if nothing else, they’d already had a wonderful morning together.
Its just strengthening my theories that Saki is being extremely affection to ignore possible conflicts that may be revealed later in the story..
Their lips parted as the elevator neared the ground floor, but Saki still held her close, apparently not wanting to let her go quite yet. “Miya-chan…” she said, looking into her eyes. “I do love you.”
More fuel to the fire baby, more fuel.. :cool1:
Miyabi smiled, and leaned down to kiss the girl’s nose in response. She wrinkled it and giggled, and as the elevator lurched to a stop fell back to Miyabi’s side, only holding her hand.
And alas...Miyabi has really emotionally attached herself to Saki, She might have already given her heart to the girl without realizing it...That weak-willed factor, she'll do anything for captain and possibly...do anything to keep her...
However, some of their Berryz comrades thought otherwise. Momoko in fact seemed to constantly stare at Miyabi with a faint smile from almost the moment they arrived.
Momoko just doesn't like Miyabi at all..In the beginning it might have been rivalry feelings but now it became extremely complicated with her being together with Captain and Momoko IN LOVE with Captain. In truth, yes, she might like Miyabi as an acquaintance but entirely detests Miyabi for being the first to take Captain away.
Looking down to see if Saki noticed anything, Miyabi realized the girl looked anywhere but at Momoko.
If Captain looked at Momoko, noticed her I am sure it would erupt some feelings she is trying to control..
she squeezed the girl’s hand tighter, feeling almost violent. Saki only returned the gesture as if she thought Miyabi just wanted to hold onto her more tightly.
..I find this as another sign in future chapters of Miyabi's....mmm I don't want to jump the gun so quickly but I'm positive on it...
That this is a sign of Miyabi's own destruction in future chapters..I predict something bad and tragic will happen and Miyabi will be in the center of it.
“Well, even if you’re late, at least you’re not as bad as Rii-chan,” Chinami said, frowning among Saki and Miyabi and the joined hands between them. “I never even saw her come back to our room last night. Maa-chan and Kuma-chan didn’t see her in theirs either.”
“She was back,” Miyabi said, leveling a heavy gaze at the still-smiling Momoko. “She came back at the same time I did.”
“Then she must have left again,” Chinami said. “Because she wasn’t there when we returned from karaoke or even when Momo and I went to bed.”
When Miyabi explored Risako's room clothes were sprawled everywhere, she was trying to look good..And I bet it was for her boyfriend..And I'm sure she stayed at her boyfriends :err:
The girl’s words finally sunk into Miyabi’s brain, and she tore her eyes away from Momoko’s to look in puzzlement at Chinami. “What?” she asked.
Miyabi without knowing it, still likes the girl..After all..that elevator scene from the previous chapter..Whether Miyabi wants to acknowledge it or not she still has feelings for Risako..but thats my belief.
“An aunt of mine who lives in the city was at the concert yesterday and asked me to spend the night with them. I couldn’t pass up the chance to see my wonderful cousins.”
That is one load of bull.. :mon blowhorn:
She turned to look at the rest of the girls as she spoke, and when her eyes came upon Miyabi’s own suspicious ones, Miyabi thought she caught a deeper flush in her pale features.
And Miyabi knows Risako is lying through the skin of her teeth..
But that blush Risako made when she looked at Miyabi..I suspect its because she knows that Miyabi knows she's lying...
Now the girl was pointedly avoiding Miyabi’s suspicious glare.
Liars can tell whose lying..I remember it once being said that Miyabi and Risako are extremely good or just good at lying..
And Risako just doesn't want to go with telling the truth to a girl who seems to have an on and off affection towards her not knowing whats gonna happen..
As the managers quickly shuffled them toward their bus, Miyabi wanted to catch Risako for a word but couldn’t manage to pry herself away from her girlfriend.
Miyabi is there wanting to know what really happened with Risako but Saki in all her "i love my girlfriend" attitude refuses to let Miyabi go anywhere but be at her side..I see that as way for Captain to reassure herself in that sense of really being in a loved relationship that they don't have problems and always will be together..
Ah, the smell of drama and chaos seems to be so near..I can't wait.. :twisted:
Chinami seeming to ignore Miyabi on Saki’s other side while Maasa seemed to positively beam at nothing more than seeing the two of them so close.
I find it funny how Maasa is absolutely Smitten at the idea her friends being together and how some people assume Chinami is wigged out by it..Its understandable that Chinami is wigged out but I don't think its mainly because of Saki's and Miyabi's relationship..More like Miyabi's abilities and powers and what she could do..I honestly think Chinami may have some gut feeling something might happen..
Risako for her part seemed to steer well clear of Miyabi, although that didn’t spare her the girl’s infernal smiles whenever Saki said something to her.
Risako is either teasing Miyabi by torturing her in a sense she has something to hide and has hidden it well or she is doing her best to stay clear from Miyabi and live her life without getting too close..(After all..Risako has said Miyabi is like a drug to her)
The only looks she received though were sideways ones as if she was reveling in the fact that she had a secret that Miyabi couldn’t find out.
Lol, Or maybe Risako is just being childish and rubbing it in Miyabi's face that she knows something and Miyabi doesn't but knows Miyabi is (kinda') dying to know..
The afternoon concert was quite enjoyable again. Miyabi didn’t know how she did it, but by perhaps some power Saki had on her own as Captain she managed to steal no less than three moments during the nearly two-hour length of it to pull Miyabi into a dressing room. Breathless and exhilarated as she was by the performances, Miyabi had no ability to resist even if she wanted to.
..Really..Jeebus on a cracker..Its getting quite..-cough-...
but..really these moments are really solidifying my theories..
The evening concert went very similar to the earlier one, except with less dressing room time and the traditional crying at the end since it marked the end of both their stay in the city as well as their tour. All except Miyabi of course; she never cried. Saki as usual could barely hold it together, which even brought a smile to Miyabi’s face at how emotional her girlfriend obviously was, even if she didn’t think she could always show it.
Miyabi possibly believes she can show emotion but from what I've seen she really can't..She hasn't been able to express anger very well, more like little hints of it, annoyance, irritation but she's never been able to express anger at all..There were several moments where a girl like Risako or Maasa, Chinami or even Momoko would be able to show that they are angry..
But Miyabi seems to repress it in a way, either by giving into forgiveness (Like with captain) or being swept into a different dilemma..She never cries, another sign in this story that...she might have some problems in expressing things and again..it might show up later on in future chapters as a huge delicious problem :twisted:
When they arrived though, Saki told her she should go see Risako once more.
She tried to make a point of always checking on the girl before retiring for the night, since she was after all the youngest, although she almost skipped it tonight seeing as Risako had seemed to be on cloud nine all day. Everyone raved about how these were also two of her best concerts in weeks, and marveled at how she seemed to her way out of depression again, with an accusing glance or two spared for Miyabi as well.
Risako had one helluva' night i bet at her boyfriends or had a revelation of sorts..not sure what so I'm going with my boyfriend theory..
But I'm sure Risako and her boyfriend will not go picture perfect and things will go wrong...
Miyabi on the other hand still regarded the girl with suspicion. She didn’t believe for a second she’d spent the night before with her “aunt”. But, then again, what business was it of hers what the girl did anymore? She was Saki’s now, for better or worse. Maybe this was a good chance to take a step back from Risako’s life. Strangely though, she felt like the idea caused a small bubble of emptiness to form within her.
:mon star: its because she still cares...more like still likes Risako..Even if she doesn't realize it herself.
“This has been a very tiring day, hasn’t it?”
Miyabi groaned, not wanting to move, but didn’t dare ignore the voice. She rolled over, pulling herself up into a somewhat seated position and hugging her knees to her chest. “Yes it has, Momo. Are you happy you came back from the dead now?”
Snappy and sarcastic I'm sure there will be some..problems or hints of ones at least..
“Oh yes,” the girl responded, running her fingers down the door frame and looking at it as if it was made with exquisite craftsmanship. “I couldn’t love performing with everyone and for everyone any more. But then again,” she went on, as Miyabi yawned. “That’s not all that tired you out, was it?"
She seems...not that appreciative for being brought back from the dead..Maybe this is one of the signs of Momoko coming back wrong..
She also knows what Saki and Miyabi do, so its probably inflating her dislike for Miyabi and its also probably in a twisted way happy.
“What are you talking about?” Miyabi asked in a sleepy voice.
“I saw you and Captain shut yourself in those dressing rooms. I know you were doing more in there than ‘retouching your makeup’.”
Miyabi stared at her. “What’s your point?”
“No point…” Momoko said, coming closer and sitting at the foot of the bed. “But I just hope you guys are being careful. If any of the staff put two and two together, you could be in very big trouble.”
Momoko is warning Miyabi to be careful of the staffs catching them like she's going to rat them out but I don't see it as her being the one..I have a guess on who if thats whats going to happen later on..
But back to my theory that Momoko's knowledge of what Miyabi and Saki do in their dressing rooms..
I've said repeatedly that I think Saki is being more affectionate than usual is because of the whole reassurance thing..Well I also think Momoko knows Saki might have felt something during that kiss of theirs..And knows why Saki is so affectionate towards Miyabi more than usual... :smoke:
“Well,” Miyabi said, her eyes narrowing. “That’s why we are careful. So they won’t put two and two together. And believe me, if they happen to discover it another way I’ll find out how.”
hmm just hmm :mon suspect:
Momoko stared at her quietly, oddly not seeming hardly tired at all herself. “I just worry for you two, you know? And I wonder if it might not be best if you just came out clean and told everybody what’s going on since you’re so serious about each other.” She looked up at Miyabi questioningly. “You are serious, right?”
“Yes,” Miyabi said in a low voice. “Very.”
More like Momoko is just worried for Saki..She is in love with her...
I like seeing Momoko questioning Miyabi's and Saki's relationship to see if Miyabi really is serious...Its as if she's challenging Miyabi in a way..
“Well then, that’s wonderful!” Momoko crowed, clapping her hands together, as if the declaration was tremendously surprising. Then she reached up to pat Miyabi’s leg lightly. “It was just a thought. I hope you have enjoyable weeks back at school.” At the plain indication that she was going to leave,
Momoko obviously doesn't like their relationship, since she wants to be with captain...but she's continuing the whole 'I support you guys' thing..I wonder if theres a reason behind it..
“Oh, and about your ways of finding things out… I may not know much about this magic of yours, but I don’t know if I’d blindly trust it. Surely it can’t always be perfect.
Oh my Momoko's words hit hard...Magic really can't be all trust worthy, there's always a consequence to it..But Miyabi who is a practitioner, a novice one at that believes she can handle it and is 100% Full proof..And that i'm sure will lead to Miyabi's power hunger thing and some other damaging effects..
Captain still isn’t too far removed from a horrible relationship, and so I wonder if she’s quite ready for another one that’s obviously as deep as the one you two share. Be sure to give her my best regards, by the way.” Then, with a slight wave and a smile, she passed out and into the hall.
My, oh, My...But I can't help but agree at Momoko's words. Sure she's a girl who in my opinion detests Miyabi but she does speak honesty and truth in a lot of her speeches..After Captains break up with Jun, she was absolutely devastated and Miyabi just happens to be there in her time of need...One can't help but think and believe that Miyabi is Captain's rebound...
Well, the girl was definitely right that she didn’t know anything about magic! It had never let Miyabi down before, and she had no reason to think it would now.
With confidence like that...there's going to be a problem with Miyabi and her magic..I know it..
Strangely enough as well, the girl’s last words didn’t seem to affect her overmuch either. Perhaps it was due to Saki’s declaration of love this morning… She felt herself flush thinking back to that, in both intense pleasant emotion as well as nervousness.
She doesn't believe it and absolutely believes in Captain, since Captain is technically Her first real relationship...But she doesn't really know what captain really feels or think and only captain knows that...(I smell another possible cause for major drama~ :twisted:)
“She’s off tucking Rii-chan in for the night,” Miyabi said with a smirk. “It only takes the thought of her to make me blush anymore it seems…”
Maasa turned on her side to face her, propping her elbow on her bed to hold up her head in her palm. “Man, you’ve really got it bad, dontcha?”
First real relationships are like that isn't it..? :cool2:
“Hey…” Miyabi whined, rubbing her poked spot. “Well…” she began while still rubbing. She didn’t know if it was best to tell anyone, but she was almost aching trying to hold it in. Then, remembering Maasa had seemed to become one of her best friends whom she’d told virtually everything lately, she nodded, though still spoke hesitantly in her nervousness. Maasa still peered at her with one eyebrow raised. “She did say she loved me this morning…”
Maasa acting as the best friend thing brings back their twisted world into some normalcy lol
Since Maasa is the only girl who doesn't seem to have much problems and is the only girl who is relatively normal and supportive to any of the members choices...
“That’s incredible, girl!” she said, sniffing and wiping her eyes in a completely fake way as if she were quite moved by something. “My little Miya is growing up…”
“I’m not that little…” Miyabi pouted. “I’m not even two months younger than you! Besides, what are you talking about anyway?”
It brings the reader back that they are still young teenagers...and that is how one would normally act lol :hee:
“Is Risako all right?” Miyabi asked, not really caring about the response but thinking it was polite to ask.
Polite to ask but when she hears the response I'm sure she did care a little..
“She’s high as a kite,” Saki said with a broader smile. “I don’t know what happened to her, but her time with her family must have helped her sort out her issues somehow.” Her time with her family… Miyabi thought. Yeah right…
Like that, she knows Risako didn't spend the night with her family but isn't all that curious to know why at that moment..
The girl’s dark eyes were really the softest and most beautiful she’d ever seen. Why did she think Risako’s even compared? The younger girl was pretty enough of course, but it never seemed like much lay behind that outward charm.
Miyabi is smitten with Captain of course one..And Maybe the reason why she's questioning If Risako's eyes even compared to Saki is because maybe Risako doesn't want Miyabi to see beyond her eyes...Like things she doesn't want Miyabi to read, making Risako seem in a way a mystery..But we can't be sure since we really don't know Miyabi's and Risako's relationship back then per say..
Saki was a different story though. She was like a book that only told its story a page at a time, and Miyabi always hungered to turn to the next. Suddenly what she saw between her and Momoko last night didn’t seem to have much meaning at all. She was the one the girl came back to at the end of the night, wasn’t she? And plus, it wasn’t like Miyabi didn’t have secrets of her own…
I think from this, Saki only shows what she wants Miyabi to see but makes it seem like she's easy to read making Miyabi wanna know more..
So in a way Saki is..devious, clever, and a complete mystery..
Saki scooted closer to her, to where she could feel the warmth emanating from her slim frame. “Since who knows when we’ll be able to be together like this again…” she began seductively as well as with a slight tinge of nervousness. She looked down at where she began picking at a button on Miyabi’s shirt. Despite the restrained fidgeting, confidence is what the girl exuded, and that caught Miyabi off-guard more than anything in its anomaly. “And… since you now know I love you…”
...What?... she really does love her? really?...hnn..i have doubts ;;
-ahem-
I stand by my theories about Saki's actions..
She's absolutely confused..And is reassuring herself that she does love Miyabi when in all honesty she doesn't know what she feels
After being Kissed by Momoko and kissing Momoko back, its hard to say that Saki didn't have feelings back there...
And Earlier with Momoko's message about how soon Miyabi hooked up with Captain right after Captain broke up with jun..
Its hard not to see Miyabi as no more than a rebound to Captain...And In it all, I'm sure it will be problem thats gonna be dealt with later..
With Risako Miyabi too in my opinion confused..
She did kiss Risako but held no feelings that she knows of but Risako was enamored by it
Risako obviously still likes possibly love Miyabi but with recent behaviors of Miyabi acting out against Risako
It makes her feel hurt emotionally to find someone she likes treating her so harshly.. Ex-turning her into a mouse, using her blood, lying to her..
And she's not so sure what to do so much..
But after that elevator scene Miyabi holds some sort of feelings for Risako, it may be dormant or it could already be there just not known to Miyabi herself just yet..
Momoko's feeling is out there in the open between her and Miyabi. Miyabi knows Momoko is in love with Saki and that triangle love is gonna be a pain..
I honestly don't thing Saki/Miyabi will work out well...but that could just be the raving Risako/Miyabi fangirl speaking..
I can only wonder what wonderful drama will happen in future long chapters..
I Really, really, really hope this story gets updated frequently.
I'm dying to know whats to happen
And Waiting for chapters that will push those buttons and pull those heart strings..
Don't disappoint me Rokun~
I :heart: this story very much Mr. I would like a very nice drama, tragic, story to happen with a very good happy ending of course :mon cigar:
I really wonder who will eventually end up being together..Because I'm sure not all the relationships will stay the way they are..
Phew..That was one long comment and it took a long time!
My reasons why I don't do these long comments, I get carried away and I sit and ponder on my theories and what ifs...
I wonder if this is how JFC feels like when he comments lol
Anyway...
UPDATE ROKUN, UPDATE!!!!!
:mon baby:
P.S. sorry for the really bad grammar and stuff o(=A=)o
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“Oh, and about your ways of finding things out… I may not know much about this magic of yours, but I don’t know if I’d blindly trust it. Surely it can’t always be perfect. Captain still isn’t too far removed from a horrible relationship, and so I wonder if she’s quite ready for another one that’s obviously as deep as the one you two share. Be sure to give her my best regards, by the way.” Then, with a slight wave and a smile, she passed out and into the hall.
Finally it was mentioned! As the Miya/Saki thing progressed, Saki's previous relationship was in the back of my head. I wondered if it was conveniently forgotten, or just saved for later... :yep:
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Does Captain truly like Miya? Or does she have feelings for Momo too? It's weird that she would kiss Momo back if not.
And Momo's acting really strange as well. It's obvious she wants Captain yet she's warning Miya to be careful about keeping their relationship secret. Argh, and Risako....what's she up to?
I need to know!! :P I'm keeping my feelings crossed that you'll update frequently :)
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Wow, that was a fast update, and with that a long chapter :w00t:
I'm dying for Miyabi to talk with Risako again. Yeah she probably went to her boyfriend's house, but I feel like there's more to her story...
I really do think Captain has feelings only for Miya, but all those "I love you"s from Captain are from (this is what I think) the guilt
she's feeling from kissing Momo. I mean really, the Captain/Miya relationship is really strong. How the heck is Momo gonna break up/steal Captain away? unless she....kills Miya (too extreme) or gets her into some trap and blackmails her.
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Wow, Saki was really confusing in this chapter. Either she's stuck on Momoko and trying to forget, or kissing Momoko made it easier to be with Miyabi. Then again, I don't think her intentions were exactly pure with Miyabi either. Then again again, what they did wasn't a pure act anyway, but whatever. I'll be waiting for the next chapter, and happy holidays!
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:bingo:
Now that I've digested this chapter, I must say that the whole Miya/saki thing seems kinda off. Well, many things seem off, but I won't comment on them just now...
Someone mentioned that Miya could be Saki's rebound, but I think it goes further than that. A lot has happened since this started, but I'm suddenly thinking so much of the previous chapters, especially about Saki's relationship with Jun. She was very much in love with him, if I remember correctly. But still she claimed she was too young for what he wanted... Yes, she's young, but Miya is younger.
So, why Miya and not Jun? *shrugs* Maybe because Miya/Saki is cuter, lol. But seriously, there's something intriguing about it. Everything seems so rushed, as if she (Saki) was desperately trying to protect herself from something or someone. Yet I don't think she's even aware of that, hence her confusing behaviour.
:err:
IMO, she probably wasn't in love with Jun. Also, I wouldn't be so sure about her love for Miya. But that doesn't mean she's actually in love with Momo. Actually, I think she doesn't want to take any risk (even if her boldness indicates the opposite). Miya's a safe bet. At least, she's safer than Jun... Whether she cares for her or not comes second, as long as she's in total control of the relationship. It's like she can't be at ease unless she's the one making the decisions.
:sweat:
Miya, she can't let Risako's rejection go just yet. No matter how happy she seems to be with Saki, the feeling of inadequacy is still there. So, she targets Risako to get rid of it, by getting back at her. It's almost as if she believed she has to be bad, because she wasn't good enough. Therefore, she's Risako's personal and unrepentant bully.
Saki makes her feel wanted and loved, unlike Risako, who pushed her away without a proper reason (even if it surfaced later). Saki's given her the attention she needs, and she's willing to do whatever it takes to keep the girl by her side. The problem is that she doesn't stop to consider the consequences of her blind trust, and she just goes with the flow.
:depressed:
However, she's having a hard time dealing with the aforementioned consequences. She brought Momo back because of Saki, yet she doesn't like it when Momo clings onto her. She's been pushing Risako away, but doesn't like it when the younger girl ignores her. Also, she cannot take criticism and prying from the other girls, even if she's been constantly showing off around them. She cannot make her mind. Her need for reassurance will only cause her more pain, but she's overlooking it.
:badluck:
And then there's Momoko, who seems to be up to some strife. The others don't really notice it, but she's been rather cunning since she came back. Makes sense, though. If being nice and supportive took her nowhere in the past, then she must ditch her amicable ways to succeed. And this time, she's seizing every chance she gets. Berryz beware, Momo's on the prowl!
:sejinemo:
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I think my mind's running away with itself in this story. :lol: I'm stuffing so much into what really isn't very long... and it's pretty deep to me... but anyway, hope you enjoy. :) :heart:
Chapter 29
Opening her eyes to what was still pre-dawn darkness, Saki rose slowly out of a pleasant yet occasionally troubled sleep to the warmth of her blankets, as well as of a girl who held her loosely as they pressed against each other. As the events of the last day or two swam once again into her conscious memory, she laid her hand on her bare stomach, which felt warmer than most of the rest of her. She felt a strange ripple through her body at the touch, and began to tense at the idea of what she’d done. While she slept, and even now, she might have felt the most at ease and relaxed she had in at least a long time. However, despite that, she also felt impure in a way she’d never experienced before.
Why was that? Didn’t she love this girl who now held her in the waning night? Didn’t people who were in love do things like this? She thought she knew the answers to those questions…
Slowly and carefully she grasped the wrist of one of the arms holding her just above her stomach. She lifted it just as delicately and angled it behind her to rest on the other girl’s side. Saki froze when, at Miyabi’s change in position, she rolled onto her back, her other arm now lying limp beneath Saki’s side. As carefully as she’d moved so far, Saki rose and slid out of the covers and off the bed to the floor.
When she attained a good balance, she looked toward the washroom. She wanted to bathe to try and remedy her unclean feeling, but thought that wouldn’t be a good idea right now since she didn’t want the other girl to wake. Instead, she plodded over to her suitcase and pulled out some simple clothes to outfit herself with, just enough for her to be acceptable to walk around in public.
After that, she quickly but silently ducked out the door, padded down the quiet hall, and rode the elevator to the bar. She took a seat at the bar, which had a modest crowd for so early in the morning, and ordered a caffé mocha while she closed her eyes to ponder.
After the disaster with Jun, which she was beginning to believe was of her own making, she forswore that level of intimacy until far into the future when she was sure she’d be ready for it. Little did she know that time would come so quickly, and that she would even be the one pursuing it. That strange chill rippled through her body once again, and she was thankful when the steaming mocha was set in front of her.
What of Miyabi? If she herself didn’t even think she was ready for it, with the various relationships and experiences she’d had such as with Jun, how could she believe Miyabi, whose only knowledge of intimacy was the innocent bond she shared with Risako, was prepared for the responsibilities and consequences such an act resulted in? The rational side of her supposed this was different than what might have happened with Jun, but her emotions told her a different story.
Still, she was already worried enough about Miyabi’s instability as she explored this strange power she apparently could use, and despite how eagerly the girl reacted when Saki came onto her, she worried more whether this was just more fuel to the girl’s fire.
But… she’d explained all this to Momo – all her worries and her fears. Momo, who was the one she shared a close bond with, and trusted possibly more than any other. She’d not only done what her heart told her; she also followed her trusted friend’s advice, the advice from someone who was only concerned with her happiness.
“…It was horrible, Momo,” Saki told her friend. The memory of that night in the graveyard had tortured her ever since. She looked off into space in front of her as she relived it. She saw the storm that seemed meant just for them. She saw the horrible snake that had come out of Miyabi’s mouth. She heard once again Miyabi’s voice as she talked to some entity that no one else could hear.
“First there was the rain and the storm,” she finally managed to continue to Momoko. “That was bad enough, especially since I had a feeling it wasn’t exactly… natural. Then…” She hesitated, trying to shut off the visions. “Well, I was nearly scared to death. I’m worried about her, Momo…”
“Oh…” Momoko responded. Then the girl scooted closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Saki looked over into her face, which looked it was trying very hard to show comfort. Despite herself, Saki almost laughed. Momoko’s attempts at comfort usually just ended up being comical more than anything. Well, she supposed there was a sense of comfort in just laughter.
“You like her, don’t you?” Momoko asked her.
Saki stared back with a puzzled expression. “…Of course I do. Why else would I be doing all of this with her?”
“Well maybe...” Momoko said with hesitation.
“What?” Saki asked, curious.
“Nah…” Momoko replied, withdrawing her arm and hugging her legs to herself, staring ahead as if she saw something Saki couldn’t.
“Momo,” Saki said in a low, warning voice. “You’d better tell me what you were going to say or I’ll have to…” She thought a second. “I’ll have to… tickle you!” She raised her hands threateningly.
Momoko gave her a skeptical look, but apparently decided to go on, albeit reluctantly. “Well, I was just thinking…” she said. “Apparently you’re the one she feels closest to and trusts the most right now. Risako was her best friend, but that’s obviously not the case anymore.”
Saki studied her as she spoke. There was an odd anger in her eyes for some reason at the idea of how Miyabi and Risako’s relationship had fallen. She wondered soberly if the girl was upset over how that mirrored what the two of them were going through. She hoped it didn’t. She knew she still thought of Momoko as her closest friend. But maybe it was different for her…
She put her arm around Momoko this time, and the girl gave her a surprised look before becoming self-conscious again and going on. “Maybe…” she said. “You should try to open up to her. Give her something that’ll make her feel really special. You might be the only one who can pull her back.”
Saki thought on this a second, frowning. “Like what?” she asked finally.
Momoko looked at her as if she couldn’t be more dense. “Don’t make me say it…” she said, now in a warning voice of her own.
Saki’s eyes widened. “You don’t mean…!”
But she did mean. Saki couldn’t have believed her friend, who herself admitted she might have been in love with her, would want her to go that far with another. But they talked a bit more. They reasoned it out. Saki in her trust for the girl came to believe her. She believed that she loved Miyabi – that’s how the word slipped out early the next morning. Then over the day, when she pushed to see how far the girl would go, Miyabi didn’t give her any reason to believe that she wanted her any less than she did the younger girl. And then, with the craziness and almost euphoric feeling of the night, she just let herself become lost in the moment…
She frowned. Risako hadn’t helped in that either. Seeing that an even younger girl could enjoy herself, and even be responsible with it, made her all the more intoxicated with the emotion that had been consuming her throughout the day. She could tell by Miyabi’s reaction to the girl that more happened than she let on, even if Risako had managed to fool her too. But still, hearing her talk…
“Rii-chan!” she exclaimed, entering the room to the girl lying on her bed with her hands crossed beneath her head staring wistfully at the ceiling. It was getting late, but Risako didn’t look like she was anywhere near going to bed. So much for tucking her in… “You’ve had quite a day! If you perform like that at every concert people will actually start coming to hear you sing!”
The jibe caught Risako’s attention, and she turned her head to stick her tongue out at her. Saki jogged over to her and jumped onto the bed next to her. Then Risako suddenly smiled and sat up. “You’re right. It has been quite a day!” Then she looked up at the door, checking to make sure it was closed and locked. “Captain… can I talk to you about something? I’ve been itching to tell someone all day, but I’ve been scared too… If I tell you though, you have to promise not to get angry with me!”
Saki grimaced at her. “Of course you can talk to me,” she responded quietly. “But I don’t know about the getting angry part. Is it something that’s going to upset me?”
“No no…” Risako said dismissively, then peered back up at her timidly. “I hope not…”
“Go for it then!” Saki said reassuringly, patting the younger girl lightly on the shoulder.
“I kissed a boy!” Risako blurted out.
Saki blinked. “You did?” she asked. She wasn’t expecting that, but quickly tried to adapt with a little humor. “Well… I hope he was your boyfriend.”
“Of course!” Risako responded, nodding earnestly. “It was…” She smiled and looked back up dreamily at the ceiling again, folding her hands below her chin. “It was wonderful… He had come to the concert last night, and after we all left the arena we walked together to a movie. He was a perfect gentleman during that, but afterward it was getting late. I told him I should be getting back to the hotel, but he grabbed my hand and told me he didn’t want me to go. It was so romantic…! So then we rented out a karaoke room…”
Saki narrowed her eyes. She didn’t like where this was going. “Risako…” she said warningly, the pitch of her voice rising with each syllable of the girl’s name.
“We just did karaoke!” she responded. “But then, during a break, we just got to talking, and it all just went so nice. And then… and then he kissed me!”
Despite the dangerous territory, Saki had been brought along by the girl’s wonder and excitement. It was all new to her. She remembered what that was like; how good it felt to be close to one you felt like that toward. That got her thinking about Miyabi… and what Momoko had said.
She probably paid less attention than she should have to what else the girl said, although she’d satisfied herself enough that Risako hadn’t gone too far. She and her boyfriend apparently made out for a while as both of them got used to the new experience, and then had fallen asleep next to each other. They were awoken rudely early the next morning by the building manager demanding payment for the extra time they’d spent, as well as eyeing them both warily at what mischief the young couple might have been up to over the night. That left Risako flustered up until she made her way back to the hotel, but the feeling quickly turned to exhilaration that she carried on throughout the whole day.
That also made Saki want to feel that same exhilaration. As the day was spiraling onto seeming inevitability, she advised Risako to try and get some sleep, and upon a suspicious looking Momoko and Chinami returning to the room, quickly excused herself to return to Miyabi. Now, as it was nearing sunrise, it left her drinking coffee by herself in the hotel bar.
“You’re up early,” a thin, high voice said from beside her.
She looked over sleepily at a girl who’d seated herself in the stool to her side. “Momo?” she said in surprise. “What… what are you doing up so early?”
Momoko raised an eyebrow as she ordered a chai latte of her own. “I could ask the same of you. I thought you’d want to spend your last morning here with Miya-chan.”
Saki suddenly blushed, unable to help it at the girl’s words. Now both of Momoko’s eyebrows raised. “No!” she gasped. “You didn’t!” Saki’s blush only deepened, and she tried to bury her face into her coffee, her throat constricting any thought of speech. She really wasn’t good at being outspoken, especially when it involved herself.
“You did!” Momoko said, eyes wide as saucers. Well, small saucers. Momoko’s eyes were just too tiny for anything other. Saki noticed something register behind those eyes, but she couldn’t decipher what it was. “So…” she said in a softer voice, grinning now. She also elbowed Saki lightly.
Saki finally felt her throat loosen enough to open her mouth. “So what?” she croaked.
“You know…” Momoko said, still grinning and looking at her shiftily. “How was it?” she said in barely above a whisper, looking around evasively as if to make sure no one overheard.
Saki stared at her. She couldn’t believe the girl was asking her that! Here she was, sitting over her cup of coffee and re-evaluating everything that had happened over the last twenty-four plus hours, and the girl came in and asked her this?
“It was wonderful, Momo,” she said, without really thinking about it. “What kind of question is that anyway? I love her, so I’m not going to have anything to complain about…”
Momoko’s smile vanished, and she took a sip of the latte that was just brought to her before responding flatly, “Then why were you down here before sunrise sipping coffee by yourself?”
“I’m sorry Momo,” Saki said quickly, touching her shoulder. She suddenly felt quite awkward. “I… I guess I’m just scared, that’s all.”
“What are you scared of?” Momoko asked. “What she can do? What she’s done? Remember, if it weren’t for her I wouldn’t be here now…”
Saki hadn’t heard Momoko mention her near-death – or was it death? – experience in quite that way before, and it caught her off-guard. She was right. How much harm had Miyabi really done? Sure she turned Risako into a mouse, but as far as Saki was concerned in her capacity as Captain, the brash young girl had deserved something. And didn’t she recover from that quite well? Maybe it even gave her the boost which motivated her to have a great day such as she did today.
“Momo…” she said slowly. She wanted to be careful, but she also couldn’t stifle her curiosity. “Do you really not remember anything that happened after the train derailed?”
Momoko stared off into space over the bar. Saki noticed she had her hair combed so that her bangs covered only half her forehead. The other side was brushed back, and it nearly even looked slicked. She had to admit it made her friend look very cool; edgy even, like a rocker chick or something. It was very unlike her usual cute, prissy style.
“I remember there was a passage like a very long hallway,” Momoko said, as if she could still see it now. Saki began to worry at what she saw in the girl’s eyes. “It was very dark. I couldn’t see an end to it. A dim purple glow from all around was the only way I could even tell the shape of the place I was in.” She took another sip of her coffee, and Saki reached over as if to lay a hand on her shoulder, but couldn’t manage to do it.
“Then I started running,” she continued. “I ran and ran. It seemed like I would run forever, but I never got tired. And then I saw…”
Suddenly she blinked, and looked around in that birdlike way of hers as if just realizing once again where she was. “Captain?” she asked, looking at Saki as if she’d never seen her before.
Saki gave her a soft and tender look of concern. “I’m here, Momo-chan,” she cooed in an attempt at comfort. “I’m sorry I made you relive that…”
Momoko stared at her another moment, even reaching a hand out to her as if making sure she was real, but then quickly bent back down to her latte, taking big gulps that must have burned her throat.
Saki watched her friend quietly as she drank. She didn’t think the girl had told anyone what she’d just told her. Momoko almost had seemed to lose herself back in the moment she was reliving, and especially with her reaction once she came back to reality Saki wondered if she had even been close to losing her. She had obviously become quite detached.
She couldn’t imagine having that kind of experience. Had the girl been dead? Was that what death was like, just running through darkness forever? Then Momoko had seen something. Saki would give almost anything to know what it was she saw, since it may have even been linked to what Miyabi did, but she was never going to put her through that experience again. Knowing now how it affected her, she couldn’t do that and still allow the girl to call her a friend, much less a close one.
Finally Momoko looked up from her latte self-consciously. Saki cracked a grin and almost giggled at the brown marks on her top and bottom lips. It seemed like she was going to say something, but was momentarily halted by Saki holding a napkin up to her mouth to dab softly at it in order to clean it off. Then, once her lips were clean, when Saki caught herself staring at them she fell back and dropped her napkin onto the counter, staving off a blush the best she could.
What was she doing staring at the girl’s lips? She didn’t really find Momoko attractive. It was nothing against her; she just… wasn’t Saki’s type. For one, she liked somebody taller. She shook her head. Beyond that, she’d just slept with Miyabi, her girlfriend! She felt something clutch hard at her insides.
“Well…” Momoko said faintly, apparently trying to reorient herself as well. That only made Saki’s inner turmoil worsen. She knew her friend loved her, and now she had just gone and teased her like that. There was nothing more to it; she was a horrible person. And she was even supposed to be their Captain? Well, that type of relationship was already long lost with Miyabi at least, especially after tonight…
She heard Momoko clear her throat, and she returned to her normal squeaky voice. “Don’t worry about me, Captain,” she said. The title almost made Saki cringe. “I’ve… thought about that a time or two in the past week, and each time it gets a little easier. I’m sure that in another week it’ll hardly bother me at all!” As she ended, her voice sounded as cheerful and high as always. Despite herself, that made Saki even look up at her and smile. Strangely though, the piercing gaze she received in return from her friend made her feel slightly uncomfortable.
“Um…” she said, returning to her own mocha, which was beginning to get cool, and she drank the last of it. She glanced outside to see the sky brightening slightly. “I think I need to get back upstairs. Miya will be up soon and I… should be there.”
Then she got up and smiled apologetically at Momoko. “I’m sorry to make you go through that again.” She bowed slightly.
Momoko giggled, catching Saki by surprise. “Saki-chan, didn’t I tell you not to worry about that? You go up to your sweetheart.” Then she gave Saki an evil grin that made her blush again.
“Yeah…” Saki responded. Avoiding the girl’s eyes to make sure she didn’t blush any deeper, she headed back through the bar and up the elevator.
Upon reaching her floor she slipped into her room, noticing it was still dark except for a tinge of light seeping around the closed curtains. Making sure the door was locked again, since she still most definitely did not want to be disturbed, she stepped lightly over to the edge of the bed.
Looking down at the dark form lying in it, she thought about what she would do. She still had that dirty feeling, but it seemed less than before. Momoko was right; she loved this girl, so why did she feel bad about what they’d done? Why had she slipped out of bed so early in the morning to sit alone at a coffee bar?
She could go and have that bath. The noise would probably wake Miyabi up, but the girl should really be getting started anyway. They’d be jumping on the train to head their separate ways home before long. The thought made her stomach drop; she didn’t want to part from her, and this wasn’t going to be a short time either. Well, she’d just have to do her best to come up to Saitama every weekend if she could. That is, if Miyabi’s mom would even let her. Maybe she’d even be able to catch her after school some day…
Deciding against the bath for perhaps a few more minutes of precious intimacy, she slipped out of most of her clothes and snuck under the blankets again. Sidling up next to her girlfriend, she tentatively reached an arm across her body to pull her close again. However, she froze as she felt the girl grasp her wrist. Despite the small shock of fear, the girl actually pulled her arm farther down around her waist, snuggling back against her. The sudden feel of Miyabi’s warmth almost intoxicated her.
“You came back to me,” Saki heard her say in a low voice. She didn’t know how to respond, and when Miyabi noticed it she turned her head back to face her. Saki stared ahead into big, brilliant eyes. “I was afraid when I woke up and you were gone, and I didn’t want to leave the blankets… But then you came back to me.”
“Of course I did, Miya,” Saki said, trying not to choke up. She felt she was bad at expressing her emotions, but sometimes she just couldn’t stop showing them. She thought sometimes that she was almost too much of a crybaby, but here, next to this girl, she had a very hard time controlling them.
“So…” Miyabi said softly, rolling the rest of her body around to face her. “Good morning.”
The girl’s simple greeting made Saki unable to stop herself from smiling beneath her tears. Miyabi raised her hand, wiping her tears gently from her eyes. “Good morning,” she responded in a breathy voice.
Miyabi glanced over toward the window, where the early dawn light still just peeked around the curtains, and turned back to her with a grin. “We still have a little while before we need to get ready to leave…” she intimated. Saki thought she was going to blush, but strangely, upon looking into her lover’s eyes she felt excitement rise up within her. What she interpreted as an impure feeling before now just reflected tingles of anticipation. If impurity could feel this amazing, how could it be such a bad thing?
When Miyabi leaned slowly in to kiss her, she let herself go completely. Despite anything else… despite the complexities of life, despite the specter of death, despite it all… her want for this girl that she knew was her own overrode everything, spurred on by the other girl’s own seemingly desperate want… and need. The sun may have been becoming brighter with the onset of day, but this morning she felt the two of them outshone anything.
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The one thing that really caught my attention is Saki and Miya's relationship. I can really feel their emotions especially Saki's. Her doubt and dirty feeling as she gave up her virginity and maybe almost regretting it. I love all the details you put in. It also makes me think about how can you get over it? Would you feel numb and not feeling anything and later on start feeling the regret chip on you heart little by little as time goes on or would you be so happy you'd cry? Yet. she still came back to her. Did she do that because she don't have a choice after what they had done last night or is that part of Saki still trying to deal with what happened and the other part who love Miya still wanted to be with the girl? It's confusing. All these feelings overlap each other and muddle it. I suppose that's what humans are. A string of emotions muddled together until you can sort through them and makes sense of it through the process of understanding what you want and how you feel toward what you want.
Anyhow, I thought that you did a great job detailing this chapter. Very entertaining and thoughtful. :yep:
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Nice! I like how it was all Saki's point of view this chapter its was interesting to read she felt impure and unclean after doing the deed then towards the end coming to somewhat of a conclusion if it feels good it cant be so bad. Really liked the last couple of paragraph to nice way to end it all with all the emotions between Saki and Miya but I also like Momoko telling Saki to go to Miya and being really supportive of Miya and Saki's relationship I'm torn. Really good story I love all the drama and the love triangles going with Momo liking Captain who just broke up with Jun moves on to Miya who had a innocent think with Risako who now has a boyfriend keep up the great work.
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Saki really gets me confused. She likes miya, but now she's somehow attracted to momoko. At least, in the end of the chapter, she doesn't feel as dirty anymore about what she did with miya. I still don't get a good feeling about the whole situation (Saki gets me confused because she is confused), but now they're going to have some times for themselves to think about it. And what really gets me sad is that miya is kinda oblivious to what's happening with saki. I really like miya in this story (and in real life, lol), so I get sad when people are confusing around her and/or hurt her.
The other Berryz are also a little confusing. Not only risako (that sometimes likes miya and sometimes her boyfriend) and momoko (that I can't help but like, even though she is weird towards miya) but the other girls too. Maasa seems too happy about saki/miya, and I don't know why but this leads me to believe she likes another berryz, lol. I guess chinami is a little afraid of miya, which is understandable, but it's sad because they seem to be really good friends (at least in real life). And about yurina... well, I don't know. XD
Man, your stories really get me thinking, I love them! Keep it up! :)
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g4rfield: Did you mean to give part of that reply to Loser's fic? Or did you just confuse the stories? XD I just thought I'd mention that in case Loser felt bad about not getting the comment. :P
I'm glad this is making people think. :) That was my intent... Heck, it's even gotten me to think... I'll say one thing though: don't be too sure about Momo's good intentions. ;) I'm starting to acquire a better image of her, and am curious to see what everyone thinks when we get to see what's really going on. For example, her conversation with Saki when they "kissed", and then the flashback in this chapter...
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I'm glad this is making people think. :) That was my intent... Heck, it's even gotten me to think... I'll say one thing though: don't be too sure about Momo's good intentions. ;) I'm starting to acquire a better image of her, and am curious to see what everyone thinks when we get to see what's really going on. For example, her conversation with Saki when they "kissed", and then the flashback in this chapter...
ooooooooooh I hope we get a sneaky, evil, cheating, girlfriend stealing Momo...it would be so devious and cute at the same time.
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LOLL :lol: :lol: :lol: My brain is definitely not working this early in the morning. Yes it was intended for Loser's fic. XD
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I was all ready to label Momo as the mean one in this fic. Someone going all out to destroy the relationship between Miya-Captain to get Saki for herself. Then you had to make me feel all sorry for her here. I can't believe how self-sacrificing she is, to encourage Captain to um, do stuff with Miya XD Darn, now I want Momo to be happy with someone too. Make that happen! :P
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I like how the chapter was from Saki's perspective this time. I've been wanting to know more about what she was thinking after the kiss with Momo and all.
It confuses me why Momo gave Saki that suggestion, cuz y'know, you would think Momo would want that herself. I really have no idea what momo is/was trying to do with that suggestion she gave, she's definitely has an ulterior motive...I think so .....I'm still expecting Momo to blackmail Miya, or maybe even kill,..not saying that I want it to happen though I'm still anxious for another Risako/Miya talk....wanna read how Miya is gonna react/feel if or if Risako tells her what she's been up too :P
and I have to agree with walking_wounded about all these ppl in the love mix(well, one not involved but is still mentioned). It kinda reminds me of six degrees of separation, haha
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This story just keeps getting better and better (and it was already great to begin with).
I agree with lil_hamz on the Momo thing. I was thinking that Momo had come back all evil, then she sacrifices her feelings to try and get Miya and Saki even closer. But this could all just be part of a big evil master plan -dun dun dun-
LOL at Risako. Young love is so sweet.
Sorry I haven't posted in ages. But you can see why as my posts are always poor. I do read this and 'The Circle of Three' as soon as you update them though. Keep it up and as I haven't said it in ages...
UPDATE!!! :D (especially circle of three)
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I had a fever when I intially read this chapter, and when I saw there was a new chapter up, my mood immediately brightened. But then I got really confused :? when I saw it was Miya x Saki, 'cause I hadn't read the story title, only the author of the story... So I had started reading this chapter thinking it was a new chapter of "The Circle of Three". XD
Anyway, this was really nicely written. I like how we really got to see what's going on in Saki's head for once, since we are mainly privy to Miya's point of view. You really feel how torn and confused Saki is regarding everything that is going on, but at the same time she really does love Miya and is just trying to figure out how to deal with it all.
But man, did it ever pull at my heartstrings when Saki returned to their bed after her talk with Momoko.
“You came back to me,” Saki heard her say in a low voice. She didn’t know how to respond, and when Miyabi noticed it she turned her head back to face her. Saki stared ahead into big, brilliant eyes. “I was afraid when I woke up and you were gone, and I didn’t want to leave the blankets… But then you came back to me.”
:gyaaah: Poor Miya. That's definitely not a good feeling to wake up to the morning after your first time with the one you love and who supposedly loves you too (keeping in mind that Miya still has a picture of Saki and Momoko kissing in the back - or maybe the front - of her mind).
Can't wait for the next chapter!
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Wow, thanks everyone for the comments...! :D I'm glad to see so many of you still reading, as well as even some at least relatively new readers (thanks w_w and maize!)... and some who've been MIA for awhile (Lolli, your posts are not poor at all! I love seeing 'em! :D).
It sounds like the main things in your comments were Saki coming back to her after going to the bar for a bit, and what exactly is going on with Momo. I love the emotional roller coaster Momo is putting you through, and it's incredibly ironic considering what's actually going on with her character right now (which I haven't explained yet), so even better. XD This chapter's taking a little different track - beginning a little different arc that's been building for awhile - but don't worry, the angst isn't going anywhere either! :P It'll just kind of be the backdrop tension that'll keep bending and bending... until eventually it might break. There's quite a lot to even read into the last paragraph or two of this, and so I'll be eagerly anticipating the beginning of the next chapter (as I hope you will too). Well, for the time being, enjoy this~! It's one of the longer chapters of this story, but quite a bit happens...
Chapter 30
“Miyabi!” her mother called from downstairs. “There’s… someone… here to see you!”
Miyabi sighed, staring off into space past her algebra book as she levitated and spun it around slowly in front of her. Couldn’t people just leave her in peace?
Then suddenly she felt a rush of excitement. What if it was Saki?! It would be odd for her to come over on a school night, but as they’ve gotten closer and closer lately she guessed she didn’t really know what to expect. This was all completely new territory for her, after all.
At the burst of thrill that accompanied the thought of her girlfriend she completely lost her focus on her algebra book, and it began spinning faster and faster until it apparently gave up on her and shot across the room, crashing through her window and rocketing off somewhere into the distance until she could no longer see it.
Miyabi stared after it, completely frozen at the release of power and the ensuing commotion, until she heard her mother calling frantically from downstairs – “Miyabi!!!” – and the sound of feet shuffling up the steps as best she could in her long narrow housedress.
“It’s okay, kaa-san!” Miyabi yelled at the door, able to regain her senses. “I just… I…” Her mind raced. She of course couldn’t tell her mom what had really just happened, but she also needed to explain why she suddenly needed a new algebra book. “I got so upset over my homework that I picked up the book and threw it across the room. But I didn’t aim well, so it ended up going through the window.” She paused as if she was looking out it. “I can’t see where it went though. I’m sorry, I think I need a new algebra book…”
Blessedly the stampede up the stairs calmed, and she just heard soft footfalls make their way to her door. She looked over at it as her mom pushed it open slowly to peer at her guiltily grinning daughter. She took a glance at the window, and then looked back to Miyabi. “I thought you liked math…” she said quietly. Miyabi shrugged, still grinning, hoping her mother wouldn’t ask any more questions.
She didn’t, but instead opened the door wider and gestured her toward it. “Come on down then,” she said. “Like I said, someone’s here, and it didn’t look like someone who would be happy to be kept waiting.”
Feeling a new surge of excitement – Someone who doesn’t want to be kept waiting? It had to be Saki-chan now! – Miyabi jumped up from her chair and headed toward her mother.
“While you’re busy, I’ll find some cardboard for the window. I’ll call someone up to fix it in the morning.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Miyabi responded, waving a hand nonchalantly as she passed her mother in the doorway. “I’ll take care of it later tonight.”
“Oh…” her mother said, only slightly surprised. “All right, dear. Well hurry on downstairs.”
While it might have been strange in most families for a young daughter who’d just broken a window to say she’d take care of it like that, Mrs. Natsuyaki was quite used to strange pronouncements such as this from her daughter. Miyabi was quite exceptional after all, and she only did her best to understand her.
Her mother quickly out of her mind in the anticipation of maybe seeing her girlfriend, Miyabi made her way quickly down the stairs and into the living room, where she stopped, noticing an older woman dressed in a black ladies’ business suit of jacket and skirt rising from the couch upon her arrival. This woman was definitely not Saki.
She was several years younger than Miyabi’s mother, but she also thought the woman might look young for her age. Her round face beamed a wide smile at Miyabi as she considered her. For some reason Miyabi thought she was giving her a careful appraisal, despite the bright smile.
“Hello,” Miyabi said, bowing a little, offering just slight politeness toward the stranger who had invaded her house.
“Ah, Natsuyaki Miyabi-san, correct?” the lady said. “I’m pleased to meet you!” The lady offered her own short bow. Miyabi regarded her skeptically, but she seemed sincere in her expression.
“If you will excuse me, I will make us some tea,” Miyabi suddenly heard her mother say as she shuffled past on her way toward the kitchen. She had her head bowed to the woman, but gave Miyabi a curious look as she disappeared into the other room.
The stranger smiled over at her as if waiting for something, and even though she hadn’t introduced herself properly yet, Miyabi gestured her to have a seat. She gratefully reclined stiffly back into the sofa. Miyabi walked around it to take a seat in a chair just opposite and regarded the woman again.
“Is there… something I can do for you?” Miyabi asked. She wondered idly if the woman was from her school, and quickly began thinking of events from the past few weeks since returning from Nagoya to try and guess if she’d done something that warranted a home visit.
“Actually,” the stranger said. “I was hoping there might be something you could do for us.”
“Us?” Miyabi asked, looking around the room in case someone else was hiding out in it.
The woman across from her tittered in soft laughter. “No no, I’m the only one here. Speaking of, where are my manners? I haven’t introduced myself yet!” She bowed her head slightly again. “I am Natsumi Abe. I’m from a… special branch of the government.” Miyabi suddenly became very wary, not only because the woman worked for the government but also since she swore she knew that name from somewhere... “We seek out… exceptional individuals, and see if there is anything we can do to help each other out.”
She stopped her explanation when Miyabi’s mother returned with tea and offered a cup daintily to the mysterious agent. She took it, and when her mother took a seat on the other end of the sofa, peered over it toward Miyabi as she drank.
“You say you’re from the government?” Miyabi’s mother asked. Miyabi looked over at her, and she could see excitement in her features, although it was mixed with a hint of trepidation. “What interest could the government possibly have in my daughter?”
“Oh, we have interests in a great many things, Mrs. Natsuyaki,” Abe responded. “You surely know your daughter is quite special and unique.”
“Oh, I couldn’t say something like that,” her mother responded, hiding her face behind her own cup. Despite her words, Miyabi detected definite hints of pride within her voice.
“Actually,” Abe said, setting her amazingly completely drained cup of tea on a coaster atop the end table. “Would you mind if I took your daughter for a little walk? I’d like to have a little chat with her, and I find that a bit of fresh air does wonders to liven up a conversation, don’t you?”
“Why of course,” her mother said, rising quickly herself. She glanced over at Miyabi, still with pride in her face yet slight anxiety as well. “Miyabi, you don’t mind having a talk with Abe-san, do you?”
“I suppose not…” Miyabi said noncommittally, and still taking no great pains at formality, rose from her own chair, smoothing the skirt of her seifuku before sauntering over to join the agent.
“You won’t be long?” her mother asked. “I’ll have dinner ready at six. Won’t you join us, Abe-san?”
“Thank you very much,” the woman smiled, “But I’m afraid I can’t stay that long.” She bowed again to her mother. “For tonight, I’d just like to talk with your daughter and then I must be off.”
“All right then,” her mother responded, and gave both of them smiles as they headed out the door.
They walked in silence until they were out of sight of Miyabi’s house, Miyabi glancing over from time to time at the woman, who just looked around herself as if fascinated at every facet of the neighborhood. Miyabi had just started kicking rocks softly to keep herself from being bored when the stranger spoke up.
“How is your friend doing?” she asked, still not looking over at Miyabi in lieu of examining the neighborhood.
“What?” Miyabi responded, unsure if she heard the question right. Despite the rocks, she could feel the boredom creep into her like a thief in the night.
“Tsugunaga… Momoko-san, isn’t it? The one you brought back to life?”
Miyabi stopped dead, and the woman turned to face her, her polite speech belying budding excitement Miyabi saw behind her eyes. “How do you know about that?” Miyabi asked quietly, no longer feeling that spark of boredom.
“We’ve been watching you for a while, Natsuyaki-san,” Abe responded, giving Miyabi an intense gaze.
Miyabi, feeling a bit spooked, glanced around as if she’d see faces peering out at her from bushes or around the corners of the mostly gated houses. Abe tittered behind her hand again. “Oh no, you won’t find anyone in those bushes,” she said, as if the idea was the most ridiculous thing in the world.
“You know what’s involved in the things you do,” she continued, becoming serious again. “The energies you manipulate create ripples that affect many other things all over the natural world. Those ripples can be identified if you know where to look.”
Miyabi considered the woman again. “So you’re saying you know where to look?”
The agent nodded, though didn’t speak again at first. “But while we’ve seen some of the… effects… of what you do, we can’t be sure exactly what the results have been. Aside from what seemed to happen to your friend, that is. I’m curious… Could you show me something that you can do? It can be anything. Whatever you feel comfortable with.” There was easily discernible excitement in her features at the request.
Miyabi regarded her warily. “Why should I?” she retorted. “I’ve seen this kind of thing on TV. If I show you and you think I’m a freak, you might cart me off and lock me away somewhere…”
She expected the woman to laugh again at her suspicion, but instead the woman looked as serious as she’d been so far. “I can assure you,” she responded, “Nobody will lock you away anywhere. We just need to make sure what we hear about you is accurate. If so, then I hope we can help each other rather than establish a negative relationship. Wouldn’t you like to put what you can do to a use that benefits society at large?”
Miyabi just continued her scrutiny of the woman. Society at large… That sounded an awful lot like saying that if she didn’t cooperate with them, it would be harmful to society, and could still end in her being locked up.
Abe seemed to notice her continued hesitation though and let out a slow breath. “I know you have no reason to, but all I’m asking is for you to trust me. Let’s see.” She perused their surroundings herself. “What might I be able to do to gain your trust…”
Finally she focused on a bare patch of dirt. Bending over, she picked up a stick and tossed it to the spot. She then raised a finger, and Miyabi could discern intense concentration on her face. After a few seconds she heard a soft crackling, and looked over to see that a small flame had sprung to life on the stick, burning along its length. She stared into it as if it was mesmerizing.
“Did you do that?” Miyabi asked quietly.
The woman nodded. “I’ve studied these forces and elements of nature for years, and finally I’ve been able to make a small flame like the one you see there. There are those who can do more of course, but I hope by this small demonstration of how I too am at least somewhat a ‘freak’, you’ll be reassured that if I’m free and walking around, you won’t be locked up either.”
Miyabi stared into the woman’s eyes before going back to the fire, which had nearly consumed the stick now. “Okay…” she said, still a bit reluctantly.
She closed her eyes, yet the last image imprint of the burning stick remained within her mind. She projected her thought outward to it, feeling the warmth of the nature that felt like it wrapped around her.
As her eyes opened slowly, the burning stick rose from the ground along with a thin bed of the dirt beneath it. She reached out her hand as if to grab the stick, and then suddenly she held it, still burning within her fist. She didn’t feel the heat; instead, she had directed the flame to cascade toward the stick’s tip until it appeared lit just like a large match. Then she squeezed her fist, and the stick disintegrated into ash, leaving just the flame which still danced above her hand. She opened her palm beneath it and looked over at Abe, who stared fascinated at the small flame dancing above her hand.
“Very creative…” she murmured. She didn’t appear impressed, or even anything of the sort, but Miyabi had a suspicion she might have been just doing a remarkable job of holding it back. “I wonder if you can do something… more productive though. Something the opposite of the destruction you just managed.”
Miyabi frowned at the insinuation that what she’d just done was something negative, and the flame winked out in front of her. Abe though was looking back toward the patch of dirt and the brush surrounding it.
“Do you see those blades of grass creeping out from beneath the bush? Do you think you could make those grow?” Despite her direction, Miyabi thought the woman spoke as if not expecting Miyabi to accomplish the task.
Frowning again at the doubt of this woman who knew nothing about her, Miyabi stared hard at the grass. It took a few seconds, but eventually the blades began to extend noticeably, picking up speed until stopping their sudden growth spurt when they were about half as tall as the bush they now surrounded.
“Remarkable!” the agent breathed, now apparently no longer able to conceal her amazement as she stared at the grasses. “Even Kuromi wasn’t able to do that until…”
“It’s not that remarkable,” Miyabi insisted bitterly. “I thought you people had been watching me? I’ve conjured and made deals with demons… Playing with fire or making a little grass grow isn’t much more than child’s play.” Suddenly she seemed to register what else the woman had said, and her mind blanked. “Wait… Kuromi?”
“You’d be surprised at how many people claim to conjure demons,” the woman murmured wryly from the side of her mouth, kneeling down to run a blade of the grass between two of her fingers. “We haven’t found one yet that could reproduce the supposed act though.”
“But I did!” Miyabi insisted defensively, putting aside names of old friends for the moment to respond to the affront toward her word. “I could do it again whenever all the prerequisites have been met! I… How do you think I managed the resurrection? Life can’t be reawakened without a deal with Death.”
“We’ll see about that,” Abe said, seemingly nonplussed, and she rose, still staring at the grass as if it was remarkable in itself. “Everyone involved in cleaning up the wreck claims she was just knocked out and hidden until she woke up, after all. I hope you understand, we only have your word to go by, and nothing like this has ever happened before.”
Miyabi felt herself fuming, but did her best to keep a rein on it. What did she care what this woman thought about what she could do anyway? She’d never liked the government very much. Why would she want to assist it in its own plans?
“As to your other question, Kuromi Takeda is the one that first led us to you. We knew her from her mother, and she began working with us not long ago. She gave your name when we asked her if there was anyone she had talked to about her little family tradition. She gave others too of course, so we thought little of it. That was, at least, until we noticed your online claims and observations from our Readers.”
Feeling her anger slowly fade, Miyabi fell into thought at the information overload. Kuromi… She hadn’t heard the girl’s name since she transferred. It made her sad actually that she seemed uninterested in keeping up with her, since Miyabi had thought of her as a close friend, but apparently she hadn’t been forgotten. A light smile began creeping to her lips.
“Anyway,” Abe said, resuming her businesslike air. “I think I have what I need for today. You’ll hear again from us soon.”
Miyabi blinked as the woman bowed and began walking briskly away from her. “Wait… what?” she stuttered.
The agent raised a hand to waggle her fingers in a wave back to her. “See you again, Natsuyaki Miyabi-san,” she said. “It was a pleasure meeting you, and you can’t imagine how much I look forward to our next encounter.”
…
“I’m home!” Miyabi called in a grouchy voice as she entered her house after a long and confusing walk back. She left her shoes at the entrance and stepped up to the floor, shuffling down the hall past the living room.
“Welcome back,” her mother said, standing from a spot on the couch where she had apparently been nervously sipping tea and awaiting her return. “Did it… go well?” she asked, peering to either side of Miyabi as if the agent might still be with her.
“I guess,” Miyabi responded. “I’m gonna go call Saki-chan.” She pulled out her cell to check the time. “Dinner’s in a half hour, right?” Her mother nodded slowly, clearly holding herself back from saying more. “Well, see you then!” With that, Miyabi skipped up the stairs and into her room, closing the door softly behind her.
Once in, she sighed as if to exhale from her mind the memory of the insanity that just occurred. What did that Abe woman want? She definitely didn’t impress Miyabi very much. She’d started the conversation by talking about Momoko, but by the rest of their encounter it didn’t seem as if she believed a word of it. Amazed that Miyabi could play with fire? That she could make a little grass grow? That was even less than child’s play compared to what she’d done.
She needed to vent, and she wanted some comfort. Hence, she was going to call Saki. It wasn’t like she wasn’t going to anyway, and even again after dinner, but now she really had a reason!
She belly-flopped onto her bed, and as she waved her upwardly bent legs back and forth above it and through a cool breeze entering her room from the broken window, she picked up her cell phone and dialed her first speed dial. That number used to be her brother, but it had recently changed for obvious reasons.
“Moshi moshi,” came a young feminine voice from the other end as someone picked up.
“Hi,” Miyabi said, falling completely flustered at the sound of the girl’s voice. She remembered something about there being a special reason for this call, but what it actually was she suddenly couldn’t remember for the life of her. “It’s me.”
“Miya!” Saki cooed happily. “I was just thinking about you.”
“You were?” Miyabi responded, smiling dumbly and twirling a strand of her hair in a finger.
“Mhmm,” came the response. “I miss you.”
“I miss you too…” Miyabi said. “It seems like ages since I last saw you.”
She heard giggling from the other end. “You know that was just yesterday after school, right?”
“But that’s a long time!” Miyabi defended herself. “And it’s not like we had any private time since we just walked to the station… It’s been almost two weeks since we had any real time together!”
She blushed at the memory. It had been several weeks since Nagoya and everything that had happened there. Saki visited the first weekend after they were back home, and Miyabi’s mother actually let her visit Saki two weeks later. The problem with going to Saki’s was that apparently other Berryz girls felt quite comfortable in bothering their Captain at nearly any time they pleased, so Yurina and Chinami showed up as well.
To say the least, Chinami for one wasn’t thrilled to find Miyabi visiting too. Yurina mostly seemed to keep her happy and out of their way, although they most definitely didn’t get much private time in Saki’s room. Actually though, through the experience at Saki’s Miyabi thought she began to realize at least part of the reason why Chinami got so upset about the two of them.
Before she started going out with Saki, Chinami was one of Miyabi’s closest friends. She wondered at times how she dealt with the always-bubbly girl, but there was also an endearing quality to her that she couldn’t resist. Plus, she enjoyed scaring her whenever she got the chance.
Since Miyabi and Saki became nigh inseparable, Chinami had been able to see her less and less, and Miyabi thought she might be jealous of the attention she now didn’t receive. The interesting side effect of that was that Chinami now had more time to spend with others, mostly Yurina and Maasa. And sometimes Risako, although of course the youngest girl now had her own boyfriend keeping her busy too.
Since Chinami lived closer to Yurina, Miyabi found that since they left Nagoya the two of them had apparently spent a lot of time together. Apparently they had before too, but Miyabi noticed something different in their relationship now.
Yurina seemed completely oblivious, but whenever Chinami looked at her the older girl suddenly seemed to feel awkward as if just realizing her friend was there, and she’d look that way until her attention was diverted elsewhere again. With Chinami’s attention span, that diversion occurred quite often. However, awkward or not, Chinami didn’t seem willing to be very far from Yurina’s side. Not saying anything about it though and just observing quietly, Miyabi pondered on the implication.
“I guess you’re right,” her Captain responded, bringing her back to the present. “And it was weeks before that since you had, er, visited me…”
“That’s not an experience I want to relive anytime soon!” Miyabi laughed, though she didn’t hear it echoed from the other end.
“I’m worried about Chii, Miya…” Saki said. “I don’t think she likes us being together very much…”
“Well she’s just gonna have to live with it!” Miyabi responded firmly. “Because we’re not going anywhere.”
“I know…” Saki said. “But I have to think of these kinds of things as Captain. I’m supposed to be able to hold us together, not be the cause of something that pushes us apart… I don’t know… Maybe I should resign as Captain… Erika-chan stepped back after all, and that worked out quite well for them.”
She finished with a bitter edge to her voice. She wasn’t thrilled with the attention the other young Hello! Project group had been getting lately, and even took it as almost a personal offense that by all indications it already seemed like they might be more popular. Considering how good-natured she normally was, her reaction was all the more shocking.
Miyabi however just sighed at the girl’s words. This was a conversation they’d had many times since those nights in Nagoya. “Saki-chan…” Miyabi said in a lightly scolding voice. “These things happen no matter what position you hold, and people just have to learn how to deal with it. Besides, after the other week I have a feeling we aren’t really Chii-chan’s problem.”
“What do you mean?” Saki asked in a soft and confused voice from the other end. Miyabi hadn’t revealed her thoughts to her girlfriend yet, though after dealing with this for so long, she felt it was time.
“Did you even notice the two of them when we were all at your place?” she asked in a voice whose pitch constantly rose. “They seem to have been spending an awful lot of time together…”
“No, I didn’t notice them,” came the soft response. As she went on and her voice became even softer, Miyabi imagined the blushing face on the other end that hers quickly jumped into competition against. “You were there.”
Miyabi’s throat constricted as it felt like something was being squeezed inside her, and she held her phone at her ear in silence for at least a full minute.
“Miya…?” Saki finally asked, concern seeping into her voice.
“Yeah,” Miyabi choked out, and swallowed at the parching dryness in her throat. She missed the girl so much…
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. It’s just…” She felt like she was going to choke again. “I love you…”
“I love you too,” Saki said on the other end, and Miyabi could sense in her voice that the girl was smiling. “Hey,” she said gently. “Mom’s calling me for dinner, so I have to go. I’ll call you later, okay? I just heard from the company today, and it sounds like they have big news for you…”
Miyabi nodded before she realized that Saki could of course not see it from a prefecture away, and finally said quickly, “Okay. But give me at least an hour or so. I’ll be eating dinner soon too, and you know how my mom is…” She wondered momentarily what the news from the company was, but the thought of it quickly fled aside from that of her girlfriend, which was occupying most of her brain space at the moment. As well as the rest of her body, she thought, blushing.
Saki giggled. “Mhmm… well, until then!”
“Bye bye~” Miyabi said, and she slowly slid her phone closed.
Rolling over on the bed, she closed her eyes in peaceful bliss at the experience of talking to her girlfriend again. Then, as the silence began bringing her back to reality, she remembered what happened just before the call.
She glanced at her phone. She still had about fifteen minutes until her mom would call her for dinner. Quickly trying to pull herself out of pleasant thoughts of Saki to those of things with more pressing concern, she rose and walked over to her altar.
So the Abe woman that visited her earlier from out of nowhere didn’t think much of her power, did she? Well, the relaxation of her phone call had cleared her mind a bit, and she decided it was time to prove what she could do.
She thought a minute. The woman had left perhaps a half hour ago, so she couldn’t have gone far yet. Beginning to smile, she wondered if she might not be able to take out two birds with one stone.
Lighting some candles at her altar, she took another small glass candle-holder that was filled with sand and poured some of it onto its slightly concave metal surface. Then she ran her fingers lightly over the sand, smoothing it out to where it gave a thin covering to the metal. Then she drew a hasty map of Japan into the sand before carefully outlining Saitama and Tokyo within it, thinking that would be her most likely target.
Lifting a thread of twine that she had tied to a small round jewel, she held it over the map and closed her eyes. “Show me Kuromi…” she whispered, focusing on the girl’s name within her head and even picturing her with her long raven-black hair.
After a few seconds, she felt the weight change beneath the fingers that held the twine as the jewel swung slowly over the map. She maneuvered her hand carefully, responding to what she felt as the jewel’s momentum, until it became still again. Releasing herself from the power, she opened her eyes slowly and looked down at the map.
Surprisingly, the jewel hung over somewhere in the northeastern part of Honshu, where she hadn’t given the map great detail. Grumbling a little, she closed her eyes again to seek further.
“Sendai…” she heard herself say after a moment, and her eyes popped open. Wherever they’d taken the girl, it was in that city. That is, if they’d taken her anywhere. Maybe she just lived at home still. However, Miyabi’s intuition told her that she didn’t.
Laying the jewel and twine toward the back of the altar, she turned from it and walked to the center of her room. “Let’s see how long you doubt me now…” she said, grinning to herself, then closed her eyes again.
Attempting to clear her mind as much as possible, she concentrated the hardest she had for nearly anything so far, probably shy of that night in the graveyard. She hadn’t exactly tried to do this before, but knew in theory that she should be capable of it. Surely she was powerful enough by now. After all, she’d summoned a demon from the netherworld, hadn’t she?
Reaching out in order to not only recognize her surroundings, but to know them, she looked beyond them, something made considerably difficult considering the clear focus she had to keep on her immediate environment. Finally she was able to summon the image of a girl into her mind, clearing up the vision until it was as clear as if she was standing right next to her.
“Take me now…” she commanded in a voice that sounded hollow to her own ears, and the breeze that was blowing in through her broken window – which she’d have to remember to fix later – appeared to strengthen until she could hear it even scream past her. The shrill whistling continued for an indeterminable length of time until it slowly calmed down to nothing.
Cautiously, Miyabi opened her eyes to find herself in a bright sunlit room that looked smaller than her own, and in which she stood amid walls that blared a peppy pink, with just a bit of a quite contrasting black. There were also posters plastered all over the room from various manga, including at least three of Hamtaro.
Miyabi though focused on a girl who sat on the floor amidst oddly neat stacks of the colorful books, leaning down over one she was apparently reading. Then Miyabi smiled.
“Hello Momochi~♪ Want to take a trip?”
-
Yay for another update!
Miya's inability to focus when she talks to (or generally thinks about) Saki is absolutely adorable. :)
Is there a Chinami/Yurina romance blooming here? :) It'd be nice to see some more Chinami and Yurina in this fic. Even though Maasa's not particularly vital to the plot, we do get lots of enthusiastic Maasa moments. I'm interested in seeing more of how Chinami and Yurina's characters develop.
Now I'm wondering, is this Natsumi Abe THE Natsumi Abe, or just a lady with the same name?
“I am Natsumi Abe. I’m from a… special branch of the government.” Miyabi suddenly became very wary, not only because the woman worked for the government but also since she swore she knew that name from somewhere...
I'd figure that Miya would know who Natsumi is. Anyone who knows anything about Morning Musume knows who Natsumi is... I'm looking forward to seeing how that plot line develops.
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What? How the heck did Miyabi not recognize Natsumi Abe? I mean it has to be the same one because you usually don't throw in the name of a particular person, expecting it to be someone else. :?
A Chii/Yurina thing possibly happening? lol, I kinda sensed something would come up, but Yurina is oblivious about it now, she will find out though
I don't have an idea of why Miyabi suddenly went to visit Momo. I know Natsumi mentioned her, but there wasn't much said. Maybe Miyabi wants to confront Momo on their trip? And I really loved how you described Miyabi's "take off" scene, I can't really give a name for what she did there, but it reminded me of that Harry Potter floo powder (was it?). And I also see the chapter title came from that part :lol:
And congrats on the 30th chapter of this story :) Wow, I can't believe how long it has been since a lot of us had been following this story
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Wow, chapter 30? I like this story so much that I've never noticed it was this long already! :wub:
The cute parts were the Saki/Miya conversation and Yurina/Chinami being some kind of new pairing... I really want to know what's going to happen with them!
I'm also curious about this Natsumi Abe. Is she the same woman from H!P or someone with the same name? I also thought that Miya not remembering where she heard the name was weird... Oh well... I still want to know a lot of things, I guess... But that's the whole point of reading a story, so keep it up! I'm already waiting for the next chapter, lol :lol:
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Awww thanks for all the 30th chapter congrats... :D lol. I didn't really think about it in that way, but I'm glad it's lasted this long too. :) I was gonna respond to these comments ages ago but then I got so totally wrapped up in other things... but I definitely wanted to talk about one thing in particular everyone mentioned.
Ok so it's lame but using my "it's a soap opera" excuse I have altered this world just a liiiittle from reality... :ph43r: I mean, there's already witchcraft and resurrections and everything so why not? :lol: The thing is, this story has gotten more and more Berryz-centric and should stay that way (I like the seven-person dynamic enough without having to worry about extra complexities, so really there's no reason to part from that). There is a plan starting in the next chapter where you might see a bit of C-ute appearance, but that'll be the extent. That said, I've decided other H!P girls might appear (such as Nacchi), but as more functional characters to push forward a plot point, since I think it's more fun using them than just some random unknown Yuna Takeda or something... Miyabi "recognizing" the name is just my little way of making fun of myself and what I'm doing and pointing out how ridiculous it is. :P I wanted to make that clear and apparently got the impression across. :P That's just kind of what I'm doing with this story... it's just gonna kinda meander and parts might connect or not, but just in whatever seems like the best way to induce more drama and fun... all the stuff of a good soap. ;)
Anyway, on to other stuff. Chinami thinks the idea of two girls dating isn't right, so she's going to have a problem when she herself starts to have undeniable feelings that she might have a hard time coming to grips with... She'd just never really thought about it before the MiyaSaki thing came into the open, but now... Also, definitely expect more Miya/Saki/Socko/Momo goodness, beginning with Miyabi popping into the peach girl's room... I wonder if anyone will be surprised at her reaction. :shocked:
Anyway, main thing in this story - it's gonna deal with crazy stuff, but I'm trying not to take myself seriously, so you'll never know what to expect. :P
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-gets on knees and begs-
please please please please please please please update. It's been forever.
-sob sob-
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*Joining Lolli*
yaay!.. update!!
I want a Miya/Rii chapter! :heart:
Hope that it is possible.. :wub:
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Awww, thank you guys for the support! ^___^
I've got a few projects going on here, and things are getting really busy for me in my life too - just got accepted to a study abroad program in Japan for next year so have all of that stuff in addition to everything else going on... I've also been sick this last week and winter's been dragging on, so with all that and then the stress of the busy-ness I just haven't felt like writing too much, even when I might have some time. >_< Glad to see you guys still care though.
It really has been a long time though, hasn't it? I'll see what I can do, but this next week or two will be perhaps the busiest so far as I'm beginning a new class and also leaving for spring break... argh. XD It annoys me that I can't write more, but I'll do my best. In the meantime please enjoy the stories from the other fine writers here. ^_^ We'll carry on...
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Hello everyone! Thank you to those of you keeping up with my other fic. ^__^ But I've been looking around the place lately, and I see there is such a wonderful movement around this fic that I'd be remiss not to try and make this active again... So, I've been thinking over things and deciding how I want to continue it.
A problem over the past few months is that I caused myself somewhat of a block that (along with my busy schedule) worked to prevent me from continuing. Like my comment before chapter 29 said, I felt like my mind was running away with itself in the pace of updates I was doing. I think it was good to take a step back for awhile and maybe look at it with fresher eyes again. I do still want this to be soap opera-ish in the ways I said, but I also want to have broader meaning than maybe some directions I was going. I think my experiences in pushing forward my other fic helped me realize the types of complexities I really love to write.
Anyway, so I went back and reviewed everything that's happened so far... the story itself, your comments/theories/hopes/wishes, and I feel I've regained a new sense of purpose that I might have lost a bit in my own mind during the course if it all (though hopefully that wasn't lost in my writing - I still feel very strongly about everything that's been done so far. I just need a clearer direction to continue). Now that I've gotten back into the writing swing with my other fic, and now that the term is over and I should be less busy for a while, I plan to begin to continue this as well. I hope maybe to have a chapter up by this weekend sometime, though I also know it's best not to hold myself too hard to deadlines. ;)
In any case, thank you all again so much for your support, and I hope you'll continue it once I keep up my end of the bargain! :)
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We'll all continue to support you Rokun. Your fics are amazing. But don't put pressure on yourself to get a chapter out by the weekend. We can all wait a bit longer for it.
Just don't forget though!!! :D
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^ yeah the same
we're all with you ^^
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Well, as promised, and even a little early. :) I'm happy about continuing and how this story keeps meandering... Those who are still out there, please enjoy, no matter how long it takes for you to notice I finally stopped being lazy. ;) Please comment as well with those ever-so-wonderful thoughts/wishes/theories. It's not terribly long, but there's plenty of heart. Speaking of... Berryz :heart:
Chapter 31
After freezing a second at the strange voice suddenly coming from behind her, Momoko rose quickly and turned, staring at Miyabi. Miyabi stared back, a bit surprised at the reaction, until the girl suddenly shrieked so loud she resisted the urge to plug her ears. Just as suddenly as the eardrum-bursting sound began though, it stopped.
“Oh, it’s just you Miya,” Momoko said afterward. Miyabi did her best to continue listening through the ringing in her ears.
“That was…” she said, in a voice that sounded distant to her. “…loud…” And she finally rubbed her ears to try to ease some of their pain.
“Well wasn’t that the reaction you expected?” Momoko asked, leaning back down to neatly fold and place the manga she was reading back into a stack.
“What?” Miyabi asked, the throbbing of her ears still precluding any rational thought on the increasing oddity of the situation.
“Momo?” came a voice from outside the girl’s bedroom door. “Is everything all right up there? I heard a scream.”
“It’s fine, mom,” Momo shouted back, still studying Miyabi as she finally felt like she was recovering.
“Well okay then,” came the reply. “I just worry ever since…” The rest of what she said was drowned out as she apparently walked away.
“You don’t seem too… surprised to see me here,” Miyabi commented finally, giving the girl the same scrutiny directed toward herself.
“Well I can’t say I expected you to suddenly show up in my room…” Momoko explained, “But I’m not surprised to hear from you. It’s about… the new group, right? Aren’t you excited?” The girl suddenly adopted a bright, bubbly air.
“Huh?” Miyabi asked, flummoxed. “New group?”
“You haven’t heard?” Momoko shot back eagerly. “I’m surprised Captain didn’t tell you. Or the company…”
“Heard what?” Miyabi asked, now becoming impatient and irritated. She just wanted to pick the girl up and… Wait, why wasn’t she doing that? Why did she care to have a nice chat with her right after teleporting straight to her room from a prefecture away?
She started preparing herself for the next, more difficult phasing, but Momoko kept on talking, this time completely distracting her. “We’re going to be in a new group within the Project!” she cheerily informed her. “You, Airi-chan, and… myself.”
“You… what?” Miyabi asked, her concentration broken.
“A new group!” Momoko repeated, not with any less sparkle. “I don’t think they’ve decided the name yet, but it’s going to be tied in with a new anime out this fall…”
Miyabi stared at her at the revelation of something completely different than the purpose she came here for. Surely the girl couldn’t be… The two of them in a new group? And Airin? Her eyes widened. She’d have to start spending more time with the girl? Airin too was good and all but… she was just a kid and wouldn’t have any clue what kind of stuff is going on between them…
Finally Momoko’s smile faded and she shrugged. “Oh well. I thought you’d be more excited. You’re quite single-minded, aren’t you?”
“I—“ Miyabi began.
“Well then, shall we get down to business?” the other girl interrupted. “Is this about that agency contacting you, or about Risako? Though I don’t know why you’d come to me about that…”
“Risako?” Miyabi asked, trying to keep up with the girl. “Wait, you know about that agency?”
“Of course, silly,” Momoko responded. “I was the one who called them about you and told them what you did for me.”
Miyabi stared once again.
“You know, not much communication can happen when one person talks and the other just stares all the time…” Momoko continued after the pause. She peered into Miyabi’s face as silence spread between them again. “Maybe I can do something about that…” she said mysteriously, and before Miyabi knew what happened, the girl leaned forward on her tip-toes and kissed Miyabi lightly on the lips.
“Iyaaa~!” she cried, aghast, jerking quickly back as the girl settled back down. “Momo! What are you doing!” She wanted to say something else, but the words wouldn’t come to her.
“What?” Momoko asked innocently. “I see I got the desired effect. Hmm…” she pondered, raising a finger to her chin. “So now that’s three girls you’ve kissed in the last few weeks, but I’m the only one that knows all about it, aren’t I?” She rubbed her palms together as if just noticing some tasty morsel. “Knowledge is the most useful thing, isn’t it prep girl?”
“Okay,” Miyabi said, needing to come to some kind of control over the situation and sort through the multitudes of things suddenly filling her head, and sat down on the floor. “Sit down,” she ordered, and the other girl joined her, looking around as if to remind Miyabi that this was actually her room. “What is going on with Risako?” Out of all the things suddenly on her mind, Miyabi wondered why she started with that. Sure, the girl had been on her mind. After all, she hadn’t even heard from her since Nagoya, but…
“Why, you don’t know?” Momoko asked, as if she was an idiot for not knowing. “I thought sure Captain would have told you by now.”
“Captain?” Miyabi asked, repeating Momoko’s term. “Told me what?”
Momoko sighed. “This is going to take a long time, isn’t it? No worries, if you stay too long I can have my mother make another place for you at dinner. You could even stay the night if you wanted.”
Miyabi’s eyes widened in horror. Spend a night at the girl’s house??? That was positively the last thing she would consider doing! No matter if her mother… This time she let out a gasp. Her mother! She pulled out her cell phone and looked at it hurriedly. Dinner was in five minutes! She couldn’t let her mother start wondering what she was up to now that she was who knows how many kilos away…
She stood up, causing Momoko to rise with her as if this was nothing more than she expected. “Something up?” the girl asked, smiling.
“I have to go home,” she responded in a rush. “But before I go, what’s up with Risako?”
“Oh,” Momoko said, seeming disappointed. “She thinks she’s pregnant.”
…
“Why didn’t you tell me about this?” Miyabi asked her phone as she lay in bed with a full stomach after a wonderful meal from her mother.
“Miya, she came to me in confidence…” Saki explained on the other end. “She was afraid to tell anyone. She didn’t tell me the truth first. I couldn’t just go telling other people.”
“But I’m not other people,” Miyabi insisted. “I’m your girlfriend.” There was silence on the other end. Miyabi tried not to think of the other girl she’d just kissed not an hour ago. At least this time it most definitely was not her fault. “And you also know about what went on with Risako and me.” Except, of course, that Saki didn’t know everything. “I should have been the first to know.”
“That’s another reason I didn’t tell you,” Saki said quietly. “Because I know exactly what went on with you and her.” Miyabi felt her chest tighten. “I also didn’t tell you because I agree; you should have been the first to know. But she didn’t tell you.”
This time it was Miyabi’s turn to be silent. She and Risako were supposed to be best friends. And best friends told each other when something crazy or bad happened, right? This was obviously both. She suddenly felt something flare inside her, and she didn’t know if it was all anger. If she ever got her hands on that boyfriend of Risako’s, before he knew it his face would be slammed into… Then she caught herself and the flare was replaced by an empty feeling that began gnawing at her stomach. Saki was right – this was exactly why Risako didn’t tell her. At least, why she didn’t tell her this.
Hmmm… she thought. You know, I’m really beyond those types of childish fist fights. I should set his hair on fire or something instead… Nah, that would be too nice.
“Miya…?” she heard a voice ask through her phone.
“Hmm?” she replied, still lost in her own world.
“Are you okay?”
The tender yet worried words brought her back to reality, and Miyabi blinked, shaking off those thoughts before returning to her conversation with her girlfriend. “Yeah. So,” she began, trying now to sound unconcerned. “How’d she find out? Did she go to the doctor, or is she just freaking out that she did something naughty?”
“She missed her cycle,” Saki responded, seeming distracted. “I don’t think she’s been to the doctor yet… I told her to go, but she is freaking out about what her parents would think, even though I told her it was probably a bit too late for that.”
Now that she was starting to lecture and give advice, Saki was beginning to sound like her old self again. “I think she’s been trying to work up the courage to buy one of those self-test kits though.
“And Miya,” she continued in her instructing mode. Miyabi cringed. “If you’re going to talk about it, stop being so childish and actually call it sex. Risako didn’t say it either. We’re doing it after all, so…” she broke off as if she suddenly lost concentration, and continued in a slower voice, “…so we have to be able to talk about it…”
Miyabi swallowed. The girl was right. Even though she was new at it, she was in a relationship with Saki, an older, more mature and wiser girl, and thus a more mature relationship. She had to be able to talk about these things and use the right words without getting all giggly like a schoolgirl. Even though she was still a schoolgirl…
She was about to tell Saki that she would treat it with more respect, but the other girl broke the short silence first. “Miya, I have to go. I’ll talk with you tomorrow, okay? Love you.”
Miyabi tried opening her mouth again to respond at the sudden farewell, but with a click the girl was gone. “But I also wanted to ask you about…” she still began into the dead phone line.
Rolling over on her bed, she looked up at the ceiling as she played with her phone above her stomach. How many things had happened today that she completely wasn’t counting on? First it was that… that woman from the government that came over. Then her short time with Momoko brought out a multitude of more questions, only one of which she’d had what was a rather unsatisfying answer to. Then her Saki-chan was acting strange over the phone…
She sighed. Unless she wanted to appear completely rude and pathetic, she had no choice. She slid open her phone and hit the number with the peach icon.
“Hello,” came the high-pitched voice from the other end. “Decided not to just drop in on me this time? I’m disappointed… I was feeling a little lonely.”
“Thank you so much for telling me what you did,” Miyabi said, ignoring the girl’s oddities.
“Of course!” she responded energetically. “I just thought you should know those things. I take it you’ve spoken to Captain?”
“Yes,” Miyabi said, not really wanting to talk about that in particular right now. “But she couldn’t tell me everything.”
“Oh.”
“I really can’t believe Risako would be so stupid…” she said, nearly punching down at her own bed. “She could ruin her career, you know!”
“Oh much more than that,” Momoko replied comfortingly. “But you’re doing the same thing, aren’t you?”
“That’s different,” Miyabi replied through gritted teeth.
“I see.”
“So you knew about the lady from the government because you’d called them. If they already knew about you, why did she put me through those tests?”
“You were planning to kidnap me, weren’t you?” Momoko accused in an amused-sounding voice.”
“What?” Miyabi blurted out. “I don’t… You are just out of your mind. Why on earth would I do that?”
“Uh huh,” the peach girl responded.
“So if you called them, how did you know about them in the first place?” Miyabi asked.
“I have my sources,” she replied.
“That sounds pretty shifty.”
“What did I say about knowledge?”
Miyabi sighed. She was getting nowhere. “I wonder if I’ll hear from… that lady again.” This was the second time now that she talked about the woman and tried to use her name, but for the life of her she couldn’t remember what it was.
“I don’t know,” Momoko said. “They seemed pretty mysterious to me. The next time you see one of them will probably be whenever they come to you.”
“No…” Miyabi protested, shaking her head. “I can find them. I found where Kuromi was, after all, and they can’t be far. Maybe I should try going there again…”
“Kuromi?” Momoko asked.
“Friend from awhile back,” Miyabi replied. “We learned about this kind of stuff together.”
“Oh?” Momoko asked. “Sounds like someone I’d like to meet.”
“Why did I call you again?” Miyabi asked, now becoming distracted with more thoughts of her old friend.
“You couldn’t go without another minute of my irresistible charm?”
“And now I get to spend even more time around you… I honestly don’t know how I’m going to survive…”
“Airi-chan will be there too.”
“At least I’ll have a companion in my torture.”
“Am I really that bad to be around?” the girl asked, seeming genuinely surprised.
“…No, not really,” Miyabi responded, at least trying to sound honest. “You’re just insufferable.”
“Unlike anyone I know of course.”
“Of course.”
“Well Miya, I must say I do so enjoy our little chats. We should make a daily habit of it.”
“Nothing could be further from my heart’s desire.”
“Good night, Miya,” Momoko said with some amused finality. “I’ll be seeing you in rehearsal soon.”
“Good night Momo,” Miyabi responded in kind, and slid her phone shut before letting her head fall to her pillow, her bent legs sliding down as well until she was sprawled on the bed. “Well that was a wonderful idea…” she finished to herself.
She had to admit it was nice talking to someone, making it feel like she had some connection to the outside world and even to some kind of friend after what had happened with Saki made her feel starkly alone. The hand holding her phone made reluctant jerking motions as she inwardly debated making one final call, but in the end she decided it was best not to. It was getting late, and she’d already heard what should be quite enough for one day. She didn’t know if she could handle any more.
Even though she still had some homework to do, she settled into reading another of her books on natural theory. If she was going to confront some branch of the government, she wanted to be prepared. Dealing with the woman earlier was one thing, but if she had to deal with the full force of the government and its knowledge, she knew she’d need much more than the carefully and painstakingly researched forces that connected life and death, and might even want to try and discover how to work with people themselves.
Psychological manipulation was frowned upon by most black arts practitioners, but as Miyabi felt control of her life and everything within it slipping away, she wondered if it might not be helpful to try and fix some of it all herself. She didn’t even know if it would work; one of the reasons not many people followed that line of research was because of a general perception that it was a wooly subject to begin with and thus not worth the scrutiny.
Who knows, maybe she was chasing after phantoms here. She wanted to find some way to increase her power though, and if that included the means to keep Saki hers forever, as well as get Risako back into shape from whatever she’d fallen into, she wondered what price might not be worth it.
As she read, her mind slipped away from her, and it was much later when her mother came in on her nightly check to find her daughter sleeping soundly and peacefully with a book spread open upon her chest and readings lights still on at full blast. She picked up the book, smiling sadly at its title of Friend or Foe: The Art of “Making” Friends before sticking it gently into one of the many bookshelves in the room. Then she pulled up a blanket, wishing that she could somehow get her daughter out of her seifuku since now she’d have to iron this set again tomorrow, and turning out the light.
“Sleep well, my dear,” she whispered softly in the dark broken only by the crack of light from the hall. “May all your dreams come true.”
Then the mother smiled at the slowly turning corners of her daughter’s mouth, relieved that she could be happy even at this point in her sleep. In fact, at that moment, Miyabi dreamt that she lay in bed as well, though in her dream her Saki-chan and Risako lay just to either side. Saki leaned over from time to time to kiss her cheek, while Risako exposited how special her first kiss had been with her before going into fervent detail of how exactly it was that she became pregnant. Suddenly there was a baby in her arms that wouldn’t stop crying, though none of them seemed the least bit concerned with it. Then finally, Momoko came up to the foot of the bed to look down at them all.
“Once again,” she said in an ethereal-sounding voice that was still as cheerful and energetic as always. “I fail to see the problem with these new lives being created.” Somehow Miyabi could tell that she was not only talking about the baby Risako held, but also Saki and herself, who now seemed to be merged into one inseparable being. “Because it sure beats being dead.”
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Well, it is a smaller chapter compared to the others you posted, but there's so much stuff happening!
It was getting late, and she’d already heard what should be quite enough for one day.
This part sums it up! XD
The government thing is intriguing, and at least we know that Momo called them...
The news about Risako were surprising, too!
And it seems like Momo is a very smart girl... I wonder what else she's hiding... ;)
Keep up with the great job!
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I totally expected Risako's situation to happen a while back. That scene where she interruppted that kiss that almost happend between Saki and Miya. And then you reply comment also added to my thoughts. I seriously love the mature situations that the Berryz are expriencing. I've never read them like this, and it's really great. I'm already dying for the next chapter...
and Momo's character kicks ass :rockon:
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nice that there is finally a new chapter. i like that most likely airi will appear much more in future. but i definitely don't like what is happening to risako :cry: even in a fanfic she shouldn't do stuff like that at that age :mon cry:
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Woo...not a chapter you should read just after waking up. Very intense.
Risako thinking she may be pregnant is both a shock and not a shock. Stuff like that happens to young girls. I kinda hope that she isn't pregnant though. Just because it will be one hell of a thing for her to have to deal with.
I really don't like Momo's character. Sometimes when I read this fic I tend to not like her for a while IRL as well. Yeah I know that's lame but it's true. I think I need to go back and read some of the older chapters again but it seems to me like Miya needs to wake up and smell the coffee a bit - when it comes to Momo.
I still really hope that Saki and Miya's relationship doesn't fall apart. But I think she needs to tel Saki about the kiss before somebody else tells her.
Thanks for the update :heart:
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O.O risako...pregnant? :angry: Nooooooo she's too young Miya Kick his ass!!! lol interesting chapter I'm really happy because of this update :grin: I wonder whats next?
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You've to uptade!
What going on with Risako, eh? she can't be pregnant!!! :O
UPDATE PLEASE :roll:
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Sorry it took so long again for the next chapter! That may be how this story is going a little though. :) It might really end up being the neverending story... Well, we'll see how things turn out for our angsty heroines. :P Speaking of angst... There's a lot in this chapter, so I hope you all enjoy it. It was hard to write... very hard... Btw, konbini = Japanese convenience store. Enjoy~!
Chapter 32
“May I present… Buono no mina-san desu!!!”
Loud cheers and applause followed the pronouncement by the young woman who was supposedly going to be the starting manager of their new little group. Miyabi, Momoko and Airi walked through the curtain into the backstage room bowing, and with Airi and Momoko at least repeating chants of “Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!” Miyabi just stared around as she bowed automatically, trying at all times to keep at least one eye on Momoko.
Eventually they made it to the center of the room, and Momoko said something about how happy she was that the three of them formed a new group, and that she’d do her best as leader. Airi giggled and nodded, as jubilant as ever, while Miyabi tried her best to smile. Once Momoko was finished, everyone looked to Miyabi as if expecting her to say something.
“Um…” she said, trying to think of something. “I’m happy to be working with… with Airi-chan here, since we don’t get the chance to see each other often being in different groups ever since Aa!.” Airi beamed at the recognition, and Miyabi couldn’t help giving the girl a genuine smile. “We all will work hard and do our best as Buono!” she finished in a rush, bowing low once again to more applause. Even while she was bowed she noticed Momoko look at her. Miyabi wondered if the girl noticed that she “neglected” to mention anything about her new leader.
“I’ve been looking forward to working with Miyabi-chan again for so long,” Airi said in her quick, awkward informal speech style. “I couldn’t have dreamed I’d get the chance in a group like this again though! It’s been a year and a half since we sang two songs together in a concert, which was a wonderful recall of Aa!, and I miss her so much! Usually I only find herself falling on her face.” She giggled as she finished, and Miyabi flushed as the staff started laughing also.
“It’s only because she can’t control her big feet,” Miyabi protested. “They stick out everywhere. You try and avoid them all the time!” Airi now received part of the laughter, and Miyabi grinned as the younger girl flushed too.
“I do not have big feet!” Airi cried, kicking one up as if to look at it and nearly decking her manager. “Oh! I’m sorry…!” she piped.
“What’d I tell you!” Miyabi said, nodding wisely and pointing at the girl’s long thin leg. “They’re dangerous weapons!”
“It looks like you’ve already got quite the group, Tsugunaga-san!” one of the male staff said, and Momoko rolled her eyes.
“I swear I don’t know those two…” she claimed innocently.
“Wouldn’t that be the life…” Miyabi said, smirking, and Momoko lowered her eyes to her again. Miyabi stared back defiantly as the others continued laughing, missing the interchange between the two of them.
“And it’ll be wonderful working with Tsugunaga-san!” Airi said, patting her senpai’s shoulder. “I haven’t really had the chance to do much with her yet, but she’s such an excitable girl I’ll have quite a time keeping up with her!”
“You can try,” Momoko said slyly. “But I’m the ichiban genki around here!”
“Oh my god…” Miyabi sighed, holding her forehead dramatically. She peered around at the staff. “And this is what you’ve stuck me with from now on?”
“Congratulations!” said the manager, grinning.
…
Miyabi walked with sore muscles back to her dressing room after a rehearsal where they practiced their new song – actually a pretty good one as far as Miyabi was concerned, surprising her. Maybe this group wouldn’t be too bad after all… They even told her she should wear her skull outfits for the group, saying they want to have a rock focus. Miyabi couldn’t help asking if they made the group just for her.
She found she made it back to the dressing room before Momoko or Airi returned, as the other two girls being just the balls of energy they were still hung back to talk with the staff. They were certainly excited about the new group and song. Miyabi supposed things could be worse – it definitely was nice working with Airi again, even if Momo… After all, it could always be Risako instead. Just the thought of being alone with the girl who seemed to hate her and the other who… hated her, for hours on end made her shiver.
Honestly, she was glad the rehearsal was over, because now she could go back to the hotel. Saki and the other Berryz girls were supposedly staying there because Berryz had their own practices this weekend. She was supposed to practice with them tomorrow in fact, as they had the day today out in town somewhere without her and Momoko. She wondered what they were up to all that time in fact… It seemed strange thinking that they were all here for rehearsal yet not hanging out together like they always did.
“Isn’t Honto no Jibun just the most awesome song?!” Airi sang with glee as she pranced into the dressing room, picking up a towel and dancing with it. “I mean,” she clarified. “C-ute is fun and all, and we’ve had some cool songs, but this is just cool! You know what I mean, right?” She danced over close to Miyabi and stuck her face close to her own. “Right…?!”
Miyabi raised her hand, laying it flat on Airi’s face to push it back, which made the girl fall clumsily to the ground with her legs spread. “…You’ve gotten noisier since we performed together last.”
Airi grinned her toothy grin up at her, and struggled to her feet. “And what’s up with you? Acting the mature, suave lady…” She giggled. “Wait, you were always like that, although your lighter hair spoiled the effect a bit… I’m honestly amazed you didn’t become a gyaru.”
“Who says I’m not,” Miyabi responded irritably. “As for you, you might have grown but you’re still a shrimp. I can take you any time…” As if to prove it, she darted her hand out at Airi’s side to attempt a tickle, causing the girl to jump back and scream playfully. Miyabi chased her around the room until she managed to catch the slower girl in a headlock, with the intention of tickling her mercilessly. Ahh, those were the times…
“Oh my goodness!” came a voice from the doorway, and Miyabi stopped tickling for a moment to glance that direction, the heavily breathing girl whose neck she held taking the opportunity to squirm in an attempt to get free… an attempt which of course failed. “And here I thought someone was dying in here!” Momoko tried to peer over toward Airi. “Are you dying?”
“Mi…” Airi breathed in a whine, “Miyabi-chan was just…”
“We were just having a bit of fun, weren’t we kid?” she asked, giving Airi a noogie until she could finally break free of the headlock.
Upon straightening again and giving Miyabi a wary look, Airi straightened her hair desperately. “I’m not a kid!” she informed her.
Miyabi considered her. Well, the girl was as tall as her now. “Huh,” she grunted. “Maybe not. I guess a few years makes a big difference.”
Momoko sighed dramatically. “Is this something I’m going to have to deal with all the time?”
“No,” Miyabi and Airi responded at the same time, then gave each other dirty looks. Airi was still straightening her hair, but now had begun smoothing her clothes too.
Suddenly Momoko smiled. “And here I thought this experience might just be boring… Kami-sama knows that’s what Miya’s like all the rest of the time.”
“Hey!” Miyabi objected as Airi fell into giggles again.
“Miyabi-chan? Boring?” she asked, looking askance at her. “All right, I suppose she could be... I’ve sure never seen it though…
“But I’d like to…” she grumbled as she walked toward the wardrobe Momoko had just finished with.
“And just in case you don’t think Miya-chan’s interesting enough,” Momoko said, her voice slightly muffled by the t-shirt she was pulling over her head. “She can do magic!”
“Whatever,” Airi said, huffing incredulously. “That’s nothing special. I can even do a few card tricks.”
“Oh what Miya does is more than just a few card tricks…” Momoko chimed in an amused voice. Apparently that interested Airi enough that she twisted her head from the wardrobe to frown at the two of them. Momoko was just finishing buttoning her shorts, and Miyabi was dabbing on a last bit of lipstick.
“What’s she talking about, Miyabi-chan?” Airi asked.
“Go on,” Momoko said, still sounding amused. “Show her something.”
Smacking her lips, Miyabi turned away from the mirror and glared at Momoko’s back before looking at Airi, who was still peeking her head out of the wardrobe.
“I don’t know…” Miyabi said. “You may never think of me the same way again…”
Airi rolled her eyes and turned back to the wardrobe. “Oh come on. I bet you don’t know anything and are just bragging to everyone trying to make yourself… eeeeee~k!” She screamed and hung onto the wardrobe door for dear life as her feet lifted into the air behind her. “Help!” she cried. “Help me! Momo~! Miya~!”
Miyabi walked grinning over to the girl who was slowly being turned upside down in the middle of the air. Her shirt began falling down over her head, and she seemed unsure whether she should let go of the wardrobe to pull it up or continue hanging onto it for dear life. As Miyabi’s grin widened when she reached Airi, the girl’s bare stomach pleading to be tickled, Momoko’s laugh ringing out into the halls made the staff smile also and congratulate themselves on such a fine idea for Hello! Project’s next group.
…
“Mrfff…” was the only sound as Miyabi let herself fall face down onto the bed once she finally made it to her hotel room. She probably shouldn’t have used so much draining magic when playing with Airi earlier – after teasing her at first they’d all had fun playing around with what she could do and Miyabi was right, Airi did look at her differently now. Still, it was nice to just let loose sometimes. Between school and the drama with the rest of Berryz, she hadn’t felt like she’d really been able to do that in a long time…
Rolling around onto her back, she sighed, looking up at the ceiling. She wondered who she was rooming with this week – for once nobody had told her. Whoever it was apparently hadn’t dropped by the room yet. She wondered if she should go hunt Saki down, but her weary body argued against it. It was too bad there wasn’t some spell she could do to make herself less tired…
Just when she was about to try something that’d do just that, she noticed a shadow darken the doorway. Suddenly stowing her stupid childish laziness at the excitement that it might be Saki, she bolted upright… only to stare at a girl who was gazing at her with desperation in her eyes.
“Miya…” Risako said, her eyes even becoming moist already. “I’ve messed up…”
So the drama begins again.
Miyabi swallowed and held the girl’s eyes with her own since that seemed to be all that was keeping her upright. “Come here,” she said gently, and with just a slight hesitation Risako jumped into a run across the room to the bed, falling into Miyabi’s arms.
Miyabi was slightly surprised at the girl’s sudden warmth toward her, but just held her and smoothed her hair as she cried on her shoulder. “I’m so sorry Miya…” Risako apologized, sniffling and clinging onto her arm. “I should have told you right away. You’re my best friend and… and I should have told you… I didn’t want you to hear it from someone else…”
“Shh…” Miyabi soothed. “It’s all right. I’m sure you were just too frightened to tell anyone. And I of all people can understand going to Captain about something like that,” she finished with a grin, trying to lighten the mood a little.
Risako coughed as if trying to suddenly laugh while she cried and sniffed. Miyabi stared over the girl’s head at nothing as she continued stroking it and smiling softly. What she said was perfectly true, but she really was still quite sore that the younger girl hadn’t told her. After all, they were best friends. Or so Miyabi had thought. She thought she was beginning to realize that they were in actuality something different, and could never quite be that…
After her short cough, Risako’s grip only tightened on Miyabi’s sleeve. “But it’s not all right,” she said in a shaky voice. Miyabi looked down at her. The girl was incredibly tense. She almost involuntarily held her closer. Risako seemed veritably terrified. “I… I did something bad, and it’s not something that we can just laugh off and forget. I’m going to have a baby, just like Tsuji-san, and my career is going to be over.” She looked despairingly up into Miyabi’s face. “I’m only thirteen!” she whined. “I’m too young for my career to be over! I’ve barely even started middle school!”
“Risako,” Miyabi said firmly as the girl’s eyes began adopting a faraway look. When her mouth also started to hang open Miyabi reached up and grabbed her shoulder. “Risako!” she said once again, louder this time. Risako finally seemed to come back to reality, only to have her bottom lip quiver as she began to cry again. “Stop it. Crying isn’t going to help anything.”
“I don’t know what to do, Miya…” she whined, and leaned back down to hug Miyabi’s shoulders again.
“Well…” Miyabi started, but she didn’t really know what to say. This wasn’t exactly the sort of thing she was familiar with. Especially after her experience with Saki the idea wasn’t strange to her of course, but how to deal with it was a completely different matter. Especially because it was Risako. Risako!!! Of all the people she would have expected to have something like this happen… which actually they’d all been talking about since what happened with Tsuji-san.
Risako looking up at her plaintively as if expecting Miyabi to come from nowhere to save her, she cleared her throat anxiously. “You know what?” she asked, feeling hot under the pressure. “I think I need something to drink. I think I saw a konbini just across the street from the hotel. Would you like to come? A bit of fresh air would probably do you good.”
She tried to pry the girl off her shoulders. She really was thirsty, having not drunk anything since leaving the studio, but partly she also just wanted to get out of this uncomfortable situation. After all, what would happen if Saki happened to walk in or something and see them like this? She already seemed worried enough about Risako and her; she didn’t need any more reason. Miyabi also tried to forget the other girl she’d had a “moment” with recently.
“Drink…?” Risako asked, mouthing the word as if it was strange. “But I’m freaking out here, Miya! And you want a drink?!”
Miyabi tried to adopt a winning grin. “It’ll make us think clearer?” She tugged at her collar. “It’s so stuffy in here I’m surprised I can think at all. Or do you not want me to try and help?”
Risako considered her carefully for a moment. At least she wasn’t crying again. Looking into her youthful eyes, thinking that she should not still be seeing so much innocence in them, Miyabi thought once again how almost unbearably cute her longtime friend was. The thought to lean closer barely even registered though; she was Saki’s now through and through.
“If you think it’ll help…” Risako said, still seeming unsure, and finally unglued herself from Miyabi, who let herself take in a long breath.
“Thank you…” she said under her breath, glad that it didn’t seem the girl heard her, and stretched. Yeah, this was all her tired body needed – first a girl nearly attacking her, and now a walk to the konbini and back. Of course Risako would have no idea how she felt. The two had always spent the same time in rehearsal before, but now Miyabi had suddenly picked up something extra… Risako and the rest of the Berryz had had the whole day off before they would get together tomorrow.
A little time later saw them in the Seven Eleven konbini. Miyabi was peering at the slurpee machine while holding the hand of a still-anxious Risako. “Miya, I feel like everyone’s watching me…” She crept in closer to Miyabi’s side. “They know! They know I’m a stupid teenage idol who got herself mmmrrrhh…”
Holding her hand over the now-struggling girl’s mouth as she continued peering at the slurpee machine, poking a button to bring it to life, Miyabi told her, “Well they’ll definitely know if you start shouting about it everywhere you go. I thought you wanted to keep it a secret? It’s amazing it lasted this long.”
“That’s not fair,” Risako whined after Miyabi released her mouth, crossing her arms. “It’s ‘cause I’m with you. You…”
“I what?” Miyabi asked distractedly. “What flavor do you want?”
“Blue raspberry…” Risako mumbled in reply, sagging once again on Miyabi’s hand.
“Figures,” Miyabi said, poking at another button. She should have remembered that’s what the girl always got.
Both of them were quiet as the machine whirred to make their frozen delights, and they paid and left the store slowly. Risako seemed to be constantly sucking on her straw, while Miyabi sipped daintily at her own. “Careful,” she warned the younger girl. “You’ll get a brain freeze.”
She felt a bump to her side in response, and Risako finally released her straw. “You know I don’t get that,” she said, sticking her blue tongue out at Miyabi. Then she looked around. “Where are we going anyway?”
“I just thought a nice walk would do us good,” Miyabi replied. She supposed now was as good a time as any to talk seriously with her friend. “So… did… did your boyfriend try something with you?” she asked faintly. She still wasn’t good at this, despite going through the same with Saki.
“What?” Risako responded, sucking a bit more blue raspberry slush through her straw. For not seeming excited about the outing, she sure was enjoying her drink.
“I mean… getting you pregnant… Did you even know what you were doing?”
Risako blushed, for the first time seeming genuinely uncomfortable. “I… well… you and I had kissed, and it wasn’t too much more… I couldn’t help it! I was just too tired!”
Miyabi stopped, pulling the other girl to a halt with her. “You were tired?” she asked in a quiet voice.
Risako nodded. “I was so tired after all the karaoke. You know me – I go crazy. And then we just started kissing, and it got late and… and it happened.”
Miyabi forced herself to breathe slowly. She wasn’t going to slam his face into something; she was going to murder him. It was as simple as that. She started to think about how she could do it in the most horrible way and, of course, not get caught. It wasn’t easy…
Eventually her breathing caught up to her and her anger abated somewhat. Risako was peering at her curiously while she continued slurping. “Have you been to the doctor?” Miyabi asked.
Risako shook her head. “No. I haven’t even managed to get a test. I looked at one when we were in that konbini, but that’s all I could do; it’s all I’ve been doing wherever I go!”
Miyabi ground her teeth and felt like shaking the girl. “How do you even know you’re pregnant then?!” she demanded of her young friend – her young friend whom she’d always looked at as so innocent… but it turned out she was no more innocent than Miyabi. Less, perhaps. “If it’s just about that missed cycle, that could be…”
“Because I slept with him!” Risako insisted, looking scared again and forgetting her slurpee, but Miyabi wasn’t sure whether she was scared of what she’d done or of her. “And everyone knows that’s how you get pregnant! They even said Tsuji-san slept with that guy and…”
Miyabi’s eyes had closed while the girl spoke, and as she finished she was shaking her head. “Wait,” she interrupted. “You know you’re pregnant because you slept with someone and you missed a cycle by a few days? Did you use…” Before she went into more detail, a bell went off like an alarm in her head and her jaw dropped.
“…You said you slept with him.” Risako nodded vigorously. “After you were tired.” She nodded again. “You told me before that you’d fallen asleep after making out…” Another nod, this time a little more unsure because she thought Miyabi was being a little strange…
If she thought she was strange then, it was nothing to what she was like now. She almost dropped her slurpee as Miyabi suddenly broke into a smile and nearly jumped up and down, laughing. “Risako, you cute innocent dear friend of mine!!” Risako now looked at Miyabi mortified as if she had grown horns. “You’re not pregnant!”
Miyabi adjusted her own drink, taking a long sip as it was beginning to melt, and snuck an arm around Risako’s shoulders. “You don’t get pregnant just by falling asleep with a guy…”
“B-but…” Risako protested, trying to make sense of Miyabi’s sudden mood change.
“Just trust me,” Miyabi said, and gave a glance over to her. “Have I ever given you reason not to in something like this?”
Risako looked steadily into her eyes, her drink now dripping slightly down onto her fingers. “I’m… not pregnant?” she asked finally. Miyabi shook her head, and Risako finally let herself smile in wonder. “Oh Miya…” she said, and laid her head against Miyabi’s shoulder. Well that was a load off the shoulders of both of them.
As they neared the hotel, both still unable to stop smiling, they met Saki who seemed to have been waiting outside the door. “Hi,” she said, and Miyabi, intoxicated by the frozen fruitiness and the surge from helping Risako out, smiled even more widely.
“Hi there,” she responded. “I’ve been looking for you.”
Instead of diving into the hug that Miyabi wanted very much though, Saki glanced between the two of them, her face looking completely blank. “Were you two out for a walk?”
“We went to get some slurpees!” Risako said cheerily, and brandished her own in Saki’s face. Miyabi coughed a laugh behind her hand. “And I’m not pregnant!!”
Saki stared at her. “I’m… thrilled for you,” she said, still betraying no emotion.
“And I’m breaking up with my boyfriend!” Risako said, echoing something she’d told Miyabi on the way. “I may be okay now, but if this whole experience has taught me anything it’s that it all could change at any time…”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Saki said, hardly seeming to hear Risako in some kind of distraction. Miyabi’s smile faded as she looked into her girlfriend’s serious face. “Hey, would you mind letting me talk with Miya?” she asked.
“Of course not!” Risako chirped, and giving another smile to Miyabi skipped off into the hotel.
“Is everything all right?” Miyabi asked, giving up on her drink and tossing it in a garbage can outside the door.
Instead of responding though, Saki pulled her along into the hotel. The two girls walked silently through it until they reached the entrance to a small courtyard in the middle. Despite the silence, Miyabi nearly smiled again. It was in a place very similar to this that she and Saki shared what she felt were their first close moments together.
Saki guided her over to a bench, where they sat down next to each other. Miyabi didn’t let go of her hand, but her girlfriend still wouldn’t look her in the eye. She decided to stay silent though, since Saki seemed to want to speak in her own time.
“I’m glad you seem to have helped Risako,” she said finally. Miyabi knew that wasn’t what she dragged her in here to say, but with the way Saki was acting, she wondered if she really wanted to know what that was.
“Yeah. She really is the incarnation of innocence. It didn’t even matter when I…” She bit her tongue before she could say more and reveal one of those horrible secrets of hers, but Saki didn’t seem to notice.
“Do you like me, Miya?” Saki asked, finally looking up into Miyabi’s eyes.
For her part, Miyabi nearly teared up at the question she felt was so harsh after… “Of course I do, Saki-chan,” she said with all the warmth in her heart. “I love you… How could you ever doubt that?”
Saki looked down again. “I heard you went to Momo’s.”
That short plain comment made all of Miyabi’s insides freeze into a block of ice. She tried to think of some way to respond, but nothing would come to her as quickly as she’d like. “It’s… it’s complicated,” she said, trying to at least come up with something that didn’t sound too lame.
“She said you kissed her, Miya,” Saki finally got out in what seemed a very strained voice.
Whatever else was unfrozen inside Miyabi clenched tightly at that. “S-she…” she spluttered. “B-but…”
“Did you?” Saki asked straightforwardly, looking up again into her face. This time Miyabi felt she couldn’t bear to look into her eyes, but at the same time couldn’t look away.
“I…” Miyabi began, her mind becoming muddled. “Yes, she kissed me but…”
At that, Saki stood up and took a couple steps away from the bench, running a hand through her hair. “B-but, I didn’t mean it to happen!” Miyabi said. “It just…” Then something unfortunate rose within her. “What’s all this about anyway? You’re the one that kissed her first! And that was definitely nowhere near one-sided!”
“What are you talking about?” Saki asked, seeming to rapidly become heated herself.
“I saw you!” Miyabi nearly shouted as she jumped to her feet too. “When you and she were talking outside the hotel! I cast a spell to see where you had gone. She was asking you about me, and you were telling her your… your doubts, and… and then you kissed her!”
“You were spying on me?” Saki asked in a quiet and intensely bitter voice.
“With good reason, obviously!”
The stare Saki gave her now was enough to burn her insides away, but she held her ground hard and fast. “I can’t believe you’re standing there lecturing me about what I did – if I even did anything! – with everything you…” She turned, clenching her fists as if unable to look at her anymore. “The kissing was just the half of it, you know?” she said in a tight voice. “She said you also spent the night.” This time Miyabi’s insides were no longer frozen – they were roiling in blooming anger directed at one specific girl. Saki spun back to look at her. “Spending the night between friends is one thing,” she continued. “But after kissing someone, it takes on a whole different meaning… When were you making love to me, Miya? Was it before or after you were sleeping with my best friend!”
Miyabi shook under the assault, her anger flaring more. She felt something aside from her emotion wake up within her too. How could Saki be scolding her like this with complete lies from a girl who hated her? She was just about to tell her so. “Some kind of people you’re keeping as friends then!” she shot back. “Have you even noticed how she’s acted toward me ever since…?” She trailed off, unsure how to continue.
“Since when, Miya?” Saki asked again in that dangerously quiet voice. “Since she almost died?” Miyabi swallowed against the knot in her throat. “Do you have so little sensitivity toward others?” She stepped closer, making Miyabi nearly begin to sweat in the tension between them. “Do you have any idea how I felt that night out in the… the graveyard!... when you slashed your hand? When a snake came out of you?”
“I did that for you!” Miyabi said, raising her chin. “You were in such bad shape after what happened, I just wanted to make things better!”
“But you didn’t do anything!” Saki bit back, now almost shouting. “You didn’t bring anyone back from the dead, Miya! That’s just something you can’t do!”
“But I can!” Miyabi replied stubbornly, clenching her own fists at her side. “And I did!”
“Ok,” Saki replied, not losing any of her intensity. “So what if you did? You said you did it for me? Is that why you jumped into bed with her the next chance you got?”
“I didn’t—” Miyabi began, but then paused. “Wait, what?” She’d hardly even processed what the girl was telling her, so just now realized the full import of what she was saying. She’d recognized the lies, but didn’t think of what they actually meant. “I did not sleep with her! Did she tell you that?”
“Yes, she did,” Saki replied curtly. “Was there anything else she left out?” Her words were now beginning to drip with bitterness and spite.
“No!” Miyabi replied, her anger coming now to a fine boil, but this time not just directed at a certain peach girl. “I mean, she added that!” Next though, something unfortunate happened again in her distress. She stuck her chin out and continued, “What? Are you assuming since we kissed that I had to have jumped into bed with her? Well I kissed Risako too – her first kiss even! – and we actually did spend the night together afterward. I guess that automatically means we had sex too, huh? Did you even catch earlier that Risako doesn’t even know what sex is? Or were you too busy already prejudging me after listening to your supposed friend?”
After her tirade, Saki just stood staring into her face, her own darkened to where Miyabi could barely see its detail, the detail she’d fallen in love with after their sensitive and over-private Captain had let her in. “I gave… everything… to you,” she finally said, in a voice barely above a whisper. “It was almost against my better judgment at the time, and yet I… you were so loving…” Her jaw clenched and Miyabi noticed tears come to her eyes. “If I only knew…”
“What you know is lies,” Miyabi replied through gritted teeth.
She dropped her hands and gripped the legs of her shorts hard as if to try and keep something inside, even though she was apparently not completely succeeding with the moisture in her eyes. “Miya, how am I supposed to trust anything you say…?”
She paused for a good while, the two lovers staring at each other, feeling more distance now between them than perhaps they ever had. “I think we should take a break,” she pronounced at last, and despite the fortitude her anger had swelled within her Miyabi felt something clench at her heart. “We obviously have some issues and… and I just can’t deal with all of this right now. Here I thought that just…” She shook herself and released a deep breath. “I’m going to bed. Please don’t talk to me tomorrow except for what’s needed. I… I just can’t…” Then without saying any more, she spun in a move good enough for the best dance she does so wonderfully, and walked quickly back into the hotel.
Miyabi stared after her for a long while, her anger fading slowly and being replaced by complete emptiness, as if the world either within or without her no longer existed for a time. Eventually she found some kind of will to make her feet start moving again, and she plodded woodenly into the hotel and made her way up to her room. When she was nearly there her steps quickened as she felt the inevitable tears begin to rise. She was already tired, and after that it felt like her body, and her heart, were just completely falling apart. Was this real…? How could it be…? Just a little while ago she was rejoicing with Risako and looking forward to seeing Saki more than anything in the world… and now… Now she might never be able to see Saki in that way again. It just couldn’t be…
She fell against her door as her eyes quickly moistened. “No…” she breathed. “No…” She needed to be alone. She needed to be able to let flow what needed to… She turned the knob.
“Hello!” came a high voice as she swung the door open. Momoko sat on the other bed smiling brightly over at her. “Is something wrong?”
-
^
i haven't read the whole thing yet...only the parts i needed and all i can say is: THANK YOU ROKUN!!! thanks for turning risako's pregnancy thing into this direction :lol: you really made risako fans happy :lol:
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Wow....I don't even know where to start. Nice seeing Airi in here. I can't think of other fanfics now where Airi is actually "Airi" (As in Airi from this world, an not an AU or something like that)
Risako needs some serious sex education XD Nice to see that she isn't pregnant, and that she's breaking up with the boyfriend :lol:
My favorite part in this chapter had to be the scene inside the 7-11 XD
NOooooOoo Miya/Saki :cry:
O, Momo is Miya's roomate? I thought it was gonna be Risako :P
So with this break between Miya and Saki, I see two things happening... one of them I have a positve feeling about, but I'll just wait and see if it's correct :grin:
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All I have to say is a lot better on the arguement~ >;D
Really, really good and well worded ;P
-edit-
...>_>...it seems to have cut off the beginning? so...I'ma' try this again..
Sorry it took so long again for the next chapter! That may be how this story is going a little though. It might really end up being the neverending story... Well, we'll see how things turn out for our angsty heroines. Speaking of angst... There's a lot in this chapter, so I hope you all enjoy it. It was hard to write... very hard... Btw, konbini = Japanese convenience store. Enjoy~!
Its about damn time you updated!
Miyabi just stared around as she bowed automatically, trying at all times to keep at least one eye on Momoko.
Well its natural for Miyabi to be cautious of Momoko...
Especially since the girl is seemingly out to get Miyabi even if in subtle ways..
-the airi/miyabi banter-
Its cute, its like a sibling's relationship XD
A good comic relief from the current drama
Miyabi wondered if the girl noticed that she “neglected” to mention anything about her new leader.
Well I would suspect that Momoko did notice
Considering the girl has been very watchful of Miyabi and anything that could involve her as of late..
After all, it could always be Risako instead. Just the thought of being alone with the girl who seemed to hate her and the other who… hated her, for hours on end made her shiver.
I wouldn't say Risako hates Miyabi but more afraid of Miyabi.
Miyabi is someone Risako wanted to avoid, to avoid having any relationship with to I guess pursue a 'normal' life and then their is the fact Miyabi had turned her into a mouse >_> That could scar anyone..
-More Airi/Miyabi banter-
A good comic relief from all the stress of it all XD
“And just in case you don’t think Miya-chan’s interesting enough,” Momoko said, her voice slightly muffled by the t-shirt she was pulling over her head. “She can do magic!”
Wow, Momoko just tell the whole world why don't you?
Unless that is a planned intention to single her out in H!P?....
-Momoko and Miyabi teasing floating Airi-
Its really nice to find this kind of fun/teasing relationship.
That momoko and miyabi can both tease Airi mercilessly because she is the youngest despite their obvious disdain for one another.
Just when she was about to try something that’d do just that, she noticed a shadow darken the doorway. Suddenly stowing her stupid childish laziness at the excitement that it might be Saki, she bolted upright… only to stare at a girl who was gazing at her with desperation in her eyes.
“Miya…” Risako said, her eyes even becoming moist already. “I’ve messed up…”
LMAO I really thought Risako was going to be Miyabi's room-mate until I read the "I've messed up" Part XDXD
-Miyabi comforting Risako in her room-
Really I can't imagine Miyabi comforting Risako like that..
Especially since Miyabi assumes Risako hates her, she must find it awkward in this situation
She tried to pry the girl off her shoulders. She really was thirsty, having not drunk anything since leaving the studio, but partly she also just wanted to get out of this uncomfortable situation. After all, what would happen if Saki happened to walk in or something and see them like this? She already seemed worried enough about Risako and her; she didn’t need any more reason. Miyabi also tried to forget the other girl she’d had a “moment” with recently.
I can imagine why Miyabi wants to be avoid being seen like this with Risako
She already has a few secrets in hiding from Saki
And saki has had doubts about their relationship, Miyabi just doesn't want to add more fuel to the fire.
“Miya, I feel like everyone’s watching me…” She crept in closer to Miyabi’s side. “They know! They know I’m a stupid teenage idol who got herself mmmrrrhh…”
LMAO at Risako's Paranoia XDXD
“That’s not fair,” Risako whined after Miyabi released her mouth, crossing her arms. “It’s ‘cause I’m with you. You…”
Exactly what was Risako going to say here..
Its a bit disappointing we won't ever really know until later on possibly..
But IMO it could be something about miyabi and the idea that Risako may not be over her yet. ;P -wishful thoughts-
“I what?” Miyabi asked distractedly. “What flavor do you want?”
“Blue raspberry…” Risako mumbled in reply, sagging once again on Miyabi’s hand.
“Figures,” Miyabi said, poking at another button. She should have remembered that’s what the girl always got.
I think its cute how Miyabi remembers its what Risako always gets and makes stereo-typical comment about it XD
-The Risako misinterpretation of the saying 'sleeping together'-
LMAO, its a big relief that Risako is not pregnant and undoubtedly cute at how naive she really is
But give her at least some knowledge of the birds & bees for the poor girl! She got scared over nothing! XDXD
As they neared the hotel, both still unable to stop smiling, they met Saki who seemed to have been waiting outside the door. “Hi,” she said, and Miyabi, intoxicated by the frozen fruitiness and the surge from helping Risako out, smiled even more widely.
“Hi there,” she responded. “I’ve been looking for you.”
Instead of diving into the hug that Miyabi wanted very much though, Saki glanced between the two of them, her face looking completely blank. “Were you two out for a walk?”
Obviously, Saki is feeding into her doubts again and misinterpreting the situation.
“We went to get some slurpees!” Risako said cheerily, and brandished her own in Saki’s face. Miyabi coughed a laugh behind her hand. “And I’m not pregnant!!”
Saki stared at her. “I’m… thrilled for you,” she said, still betraying no emotion.
Saki seriously doesn't seem to care all that much of Risako's good news.
Mainly because I think Saki see's Risako as a threat to her and Miya's relationship, probably knowing of their past relationship..
“And I’m breaking up with my boyfriend!” Risako said, echoing something she’d told Miyabi on the way. “I may be okay now, but if this whole experience has taught me anything it’s that it all could change at any time…”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Saki said, hardly seeming to hear Risako in some kind of distraction. Miyabi’s smile faded as she looked into her girlfriend’s serious face. “Hey, would you mind letting me talk with Miya?” she asked.
Or you know scratch my above quote comment
And Saki just doesn't care what Risako has to say because she's got a bone to pick with with Miyabi.
“Do you like me, Miya?” Saki asked, finally looking up into Miyabi’s eyes.
The dreaded question you ask when you know your doubt is so over-whelming you can't ignore it and you need to ask to find reassurance.
For her part, Miyabi nearly teared up at the question she felt was so harsh after… “Of course I do, Saki-chan,” she said with all the warmth in her heart. “I love you… How could you ever doubt that?”
yeah how? :tama-mad:
Saki looked down again. “I heard you went to Momo’s.”
That short plain comment made all of Miyabi’s insides freeze into a block of ice. She tried to think of some way to respond, but nothing would come to her as quickly as she’d like. “It’s… it’s complicated,” she said, trying to at least come up with something that didn’t sound too lame.
“She said you kissed her, Miya,” Saki finally got out in what seemed a very strained voice.
Well, I know Momoko was previously very much in love with Saki
But now Momoko is also out to get Miyabi.
And I can see Momoko wanting it all by taking away the first thing Miyabi really loves
And that is lil' Captain there.
“I…” Miyabi began, her mind becoming muddled. “Yes, she kissed me but…”
At that, Saki stood up and took a couple steps away from the bench, running a hand through her hair. “B-but, I didn’t mean it to happen!” Miyabi said. “It just…” Then something unfortunate rose within her. “What’s all this about anyway? You’re the one that kissed her first! And that was definitely nowhere near one-sided!”
And the argument really begins now~
“What are you talking about?” Saki asked, seeming to rapidly become heated herself.
“I saw you!” Miyabi nearly shouted as she jumped to her feet too. “When you and she were talking outside the hotel! I cast a spell to see where you had gone. She was asking you about me, and you were telling her your… your doubts, and… and then you kissed her!”
“You were spying on me?” Saki asked in a quiet and intensely bitter voice.
“With good reason, obviously!”
The stare Saki gave her now was enough to burn her insides away, but she held her ground hard and fast. “I can’t believe you’re standing there lecturing me about what I did – if I even did anything! – with everything you…” She turned, clenching her fists as if unable to look at her anymore. “The kissing was just the half of it, you know?” she said in a tight voice. “She said you also spent the night.” This time Miyabi’s insides were no longer frozen – they were roiling in blooming anger directed at one specific girl. Saki spun back to look at her. “Spending the night between friends is one thing,” she continued. “But after kissing someone, it takes on a whole different meaning… When were you making love to me, Miya? Was it before or after you were sleeping with my best friend!”
Miyabi shook under the assault, her anger flaring more. She felt something aside from her emotion wake up within her too. How could Saki be scolding her like this with complete lies from a girl who hated her? She was just about to tell her so. “Some kind of people you’re keeping as friends then!” she shot back. “Have you even noticed how she’s acted toward me ever since…?” She trailed off, unsure how to continue.
“Since when, Miya?” Saki asked again in that dangerously quiet voice. “Since she almost died?” Miyabi swallowed against the knot in her throat. “Do you have so little sensitivity toward others?” She stepped closer, making Miyabi nearly begin to sweat in the tension between them. “Do you have any idea how I felt that night out in the… the graveyard!... when you slashed your hand? When a snake came out of you?”
“I did that for you!” Miyabi said, raising her chin. “You were in such bad shape after what happened, I just wanted to make things better!”
“But you didn’t do anything!” Saki bit back, now almost shouting. “You didn’t bring anyone back from the dead, Miya! That’s just something you can’t do!”
“But I can!” Miyabi replied stubbornly, clenching her own fists at her side. “And I did!”
“Ok,” Saki replied, not losing any of her intensity. “So what if you did? You said you did it for me? Is that why you jumped into bed with her the next chance you got?”
“I didn’t—” Miyabi began, but then paused. “Wait, what?” She’d hardly even processed what the girl was telling her, so just now realized the full import of what she was saying. She’d recognized the lies, but didn’t think of what they actually meant. “I did not sleep with her! Did she tell you that?”
“Yes, she did,” Saki replied curtly. “Was there anything else she left out?” Her words were now beginning to drip with bitterness and spite.
“No!” Miyabi replied, her anger coming now to a fine boil, but this time not just directed at a certain peach girl. “I mean, she added that!” Next though, something unfortunate happened again in her distress. She stuck her chin out and continued, “What? Are you assuming since we kissed that I had to have jumped into bed with her? Well I kissed Risako too – her first kiss even! – and we actually did spend the night together afterward. I guess that automatically means we had sex too, huh? Did you even catch earlier that Risako doesn’t even know what sex is? Or were you too busy already prejudging me after listening to your supposed friend?”
After her tirade, Saki just stood staring into her face, her own darkened to where Miyabi could barely see its detail, the detail she’d fallen in love with after their sensitive and over-private Captain had let her in. “I gave… everything… to you,” she finally said, in a voice barely above a whisper. “It was almost against my better judgment at the time, and yet I… you were so loving…” Her jaw clenched and Miyabi noticed tears come to her eyes. “If I only knew…”
“What you know is lies,” Miyabi replied through gritted teeth.
She dropped her hands and gripped the legs of her shorts hard as if to try and keep something inside, even though she was apparently not completely succeeding with the moisture in her eyes. “Miya, how am I supposed to trust anything you say…?”
Needs to be quoted because in my book
That is the best couple argument I've read in a long, long time >;P
She paused for a good while, the two lovers staring at each other, feeling more distance now between them than perhaps they ever had. “I think we should take a break,”
Things can happen during their break....-hoping XDXD-
She fell against her door as her eyes quickly moistened. “No…” she breathed. “No…” She needed to be alone. She needed to be able to let flow what needed to… She turned the knob.
“Hello!” came a high voice as she swung the door open. Momoko sat on the other bed smiling brightly over at her. “Is something wrong?”
I laughed at that moment because of the irony..
Now, all I'm waiting for is the showdown between Momoko and Miyabi as it's unavoidable now.
And perhaps we can finally see why Momoko is out to get Miyabi despite the possibility that Miyabi took Saki away from her (in their pursue of love I suppose).
And who knows what could happen next, Momoko could make a move on her long-time love with saki
Or Miyabi out of confusion/anger/frustration could go on a rebound to spite the girl who just told her that they needed a break =T
:glasses:
huhuhu...
So many possibilities, so many options....
You best be writing!! UPDATE, UPDATE I SAY!! XDXDXD
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NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?!
Gah...damn.
*thinks postive thoughts*
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This chapter had all types of emotions. First, it was happy and funny with the appearance of Airi and her c-uteness.
Then, it was also happy (for me at least) because Risako isn't really pregnant (even though she really needs some sex ed. classes, lol). Of course, anything could happen in this story and Risako could be pregnant after all, but right now I'm going to believe she isn't. :grin:
But the end was soooooo sad! Why would Momoko ruin everything for them? She likes Saki that much, or is it because she hates Miya? Maybe both? :?
I believe the fight with Saki and the shared room with Miya are all according to Momo's plans. She's smart.
Keep it up, loving it! :love:
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I'm happy that Risako isn't pregnant :P
I wanna know what's going to happen with Miya now :?
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It's my first post here and it's my 100th one :cow: So, firstly, you got me to liking H!P kids and thank you for that :hee: Secondly, Miya rocks in your story and I absolutely love her :wub:
And about new chapter: Phew...Thank god Risako isn't pregnant and is sooo innocent XD And Miya Saki argument :OMG: I hope they will make things clear and they won't break up :pleeease:
I can't wait to see how this story will develop now :ding:
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hmm.......firstly....i just finished the whole chapters a while ago........i was like :shocked:
anyway! im not really a fan of saki and miya.....im kind of a total miya and risako......about the momo sinister thing,,,,,haha kind of unusual since how momo is so cuuuuuttttttte :P
but having natsuyaki a power kind of thrilled me.....yeah! i never thought this story would turn out this way.
hope the demons she conjured would not chase her or something......
hey! hey! hey! AUTHOR-SAN! since you finally decided that Sugaya would break up with her boyfriend (which totally made me smile) how about trying to break up Natsuyaki and Shimizu.........and make Sugaya comfort Natsuyaki ( i told you, im a miyaxrisako fan)
how about it? please do.........they're a lovely couple, with all the cuteness and innocence of sugaya and natsuyaki the corrupter one.....haha, kampeki! :P
hehe update soon.....oh, almost forgot,,,,,,,,,thanks for such a great monogatari......
Berryz no saigo! :)
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^
I'm a MiyaxRii fan too.
I read this fic because Rokun is an amazing author, has amazing fics, writes berryz fics and i love berryz :P
I'm with u ayase909. The next update has to be a MiyaxRii chapter, with all of Socko's innocence and with all Miya's .. weirdness? XD
Hoping for that chapter :wub:
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Thank you everyone for responding! Nice to see new faces too. :) I'm glad to see there's some Berryz :heart: around here yet.
I'm glad I satisfied people about Risako's pregnancy :P though I'm not sure what to think about people being happy she's dumping her boyfriend! :lol: I mean... poor guy... I suppose dating a celebrity (especially a H!P girl) is tough...
There also seem to be a lot of MiRii fans here... You might get a bit of what you want in this next chapter but hmm... be careful for what you wish for maybe? XD Be interesting to see what you think.
Lolli: Your post made me sad. :cry: You'd really come to love MiyaSaki, hadn't you? Me too. It was hard... and so it had to have quite the fireworks. I'm still hoping the best for them too. :heart:
Look for more Airi at some point too. ^_^
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-WEDGE- O___________________O;
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Don't hate Miya. :oops: :heart:
Chapter 33
“What the hell are you doing here…?” Miyabi grated in a very low, very tired voice.
Momoko blinked back at her with her big, birdlike eyes, a picture of seeming innocence. “This is my room,” she said plainly, as if she was stating something nearly too obvious to acknowledge. “It’s yours too I suppose, ne? I think they wanted to pair us together to help us get more comfortable with each other in Buono. Maybe they thought Airin wasn’t ready for us yet…” As if that would be the extent of the interruption, the girl turned her attention back to the manga she’d been reading.
Miyabi stared at her, her eyes starting to burn. “I would give anything to stay with Airi instead of… of… you…”
Momoko looked up again and continued blinking at her. “Me?” she asked at an even higher pitch than usual. “Why don’t you want to stay with me?”
“You cutthroat…” Miya said harshly, “backstabbing… heartless… lying little bitch!!!” she yelled, taking a dangerous step forward, her fury plain on her face and in the fists balled at her sides.
Momoko’s eyelashes worked furiously in response. “Oh my,” she said. “Someone must have slipped you a grumpy pill today…”
“Mór Macha, mi goir tu es mi,” Miyabi began chanting in harsh language, and Momoko’s eyes widened. “Mór Medb, mi smèid tu. Mór Morrigan, éisd mi. Great goddesses of the earth, hear my plea…”
“What in the world are you saying, Miya?” Momoko asked, but Miyabi ignored her, focused only on the face of her target in her rage.
“Come to me, and smite she who would—”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a voice interrupted her, and she momentarily lost concentration.
“Don’t try to stop me!!” she ordered, but noticed that Momoko was just staring back at her quietly with wide eyes.
“Now now, you should watch that temper of yours,” came the voice again. She couldn’t tell where it came from.
“Please hear my call—” she began again, shaking her head as if to rid herself of the voice.
“What did I just tell you?” it interrupted once again.
“Shut up!!!” she yelled.
“Who are you talking to?” Momoko asked, confused.
Miyabi did her best to ignore her, but her concentration was almost lost. “Come to me and…!”
“Sorry,” the voice said sadly. “I can’t let you do that.”
“Ahhh!” Miyabi screamed, and held a hand to her forehead. “Get out of my head!”
When she took her hand away, she saw Momoko staring at her with concern. The girl reached for the phone. “I think I’d better call someone…” she said.
That’s it! Miyabi thought. I will not have her calling for help like I’ve gone insane! The thought fueling further the anger inside her, she marched quickly across the room toward the girl, who fell back slightly, but not in time before Miyabi reached her and swung her tightly clenched fist, connecting with the girl’s jaw. The blow actually knocked the girl back further until her head hit the wall, and she collapsed onto her pillow, out cold.
Miyabi leered over her a moment longer, fuming, until blood started seeping from the cracked skin near Momoko’s mouth. Seeing her just lying there though, injured and peaceful, her anger faded and her excruciating sadness and shame toward herself kicked in. She turned quickly away, unable to look any longer, and jumped onto her bed, burying her face into her pillow and crying loudly, uncontrollably.
The night, a night which had started so well, had become one of the worst ones of her life. She didn’t know what to do. Saki… Her Saki, who she’d given so much to… her heart… her soul… her body… and now what she did to Momoko… She wondered if she had any soul left.
Who are you? she asked inside of her head, where the voice earlier must have come from, but there was no response.
Are you there…? she asked again, now hoping for someone, anyone, just to avoid being alone. The room, and her head, stayed silent though except for her own sobbing and sniffing.
She cried into her pillow and into the silence until she hardly had tears left to shed. In her extreme tiredness and grief, she finally fell asleep, a sleep without dreams as if even they had fled her.
…
The next morning she woke with itchy eyes and a headache. Rubbing them right after she opened them, she sat up slowly and realized that the rest of her was itching a little as well. She looked down at herself through her blurry vision. Must have slept with my clothes on… she thought, and then the events of the night before came crashing back to her.
She darted her eyes to the other bed in the room, rubbing them again since it was at first too blurry to see, but no one was there. There was an insistent knock at the door, and Miyabi realized that must have been what woke her up. She looked out the window to see the sun shining strongly in. “What time is it…?” she asked herself, looking around to find that apparently she hadn’t unpacked her travel clock. Of course; she was a little pre-occupied last night.
“I’m coming!” she shouted as the knocking continued, and she got up slowly, wobbling slightly and holding a hand to her head.
After making her way unsteadily to the door, she opened it enough to stick her head out to find Chinami and Yurina there. Both girls beamed at the greeting until they took in her appearance, and then their smiles faded slightly.
“Geez Miya,” Chinami said sourly. “You don’t have to be so obvious about it…”
“What…?” Miyabi responded in a daze, but the girl had already turned to walk away.
“Sorry about that,” Yurina said, frowning after her friend. “She’s still not comfortable with the ‘you and Captain’ thing.
“But she’s right,” the girl continued, now studying Miyabi. “You’re not doing the best job of hiding it. You know the tabloids would love to get their hands on some pictures of you like this.”
“There is no ‘me and Captain’ thing,” Miyabi retorted bitterly, turning back to her room and jumping on the bed, curling up at its foot.
She heard some steps behind her. “Are you all right?”
Miyabi almost coughed a laugh. “You don’t want to know what I did to the last person who asked me that.” Why was her head hurting so much…? She curled up tighter into herself.
There was a pause from the other girl until Miyabi felt a depression as she sat on the bed not far from her. “Was that you then…?” Yurina asked in a soft voice.
“Was what me?”
“Well, we came to tell you that your Buono rehearsal was cancelled today because Momo’s been injured and can’t practice. She apparently wouldn’t say what happened other than she fell somehow. But we all thought it was suspicious.”
“Yeah I did it,” Miyabi sneered in reply, though privately she was thankful the girl didn’t sound to be too badly hurt. Hopefully it left her a bit of brain damage at least though. “It wasn’t a fraction of what I was going to do though if… if…” She suddenly realized she of course couldn’t tell the girl about hearing voices in her head.
“So what’s the matter?” Yurina pressed on. “Did you and Captain have a fight?”
“You could say that,” Miyabi responded, unwilling to say more.
“Oh…” the girl replied. “I’m sorry. Is there anything I can help you with?”
“I don’t think—” Miyabi began, but was interrupted by another voice.
“Toku-san,” it said commandingly. “Can I have a word with Miya?”
Oh my god… Miyabi thought, and wrapped her arms around her head to burrow it further into her knees.
“Of course, Captain,” Yurina said slowly, but it was a second before Miyabi noticed her rise from the bed, and she felt a hand on her arm before she left.
It was quiet for a minute after Yurina left, enough so that Miyabi eventually thought that she was alone again. She opened an eye and was just about to roll over until someone spoke… she spoke.
“It’s not her fault,” came the quiet voice.
Miyabi squeezed her eyes shut again. “What are you talking about…” she mumbled into her arms.
“Momo,” was the response. “It’s not her fault what happened. That was over the line what you did to her.”
“You don’t understand…” Miyabi grumbled gruffly. “You don’t know what she’s like now to anyone that’s not apparently… you.”
“You’re right,” Saki said after a moment. “She’s my friend. I thought she was yours too.”
“That girl is not my friend,” Miyabi growled.
There was silence again for a moment until Saki broke it. “I can’t have you two getting along like this – you definitely can’t be breaking her jaw like that again.”
Miyabi snapped. “What do I care!” she shouted, spinning around and glaring at the small girl standing near the door. The sight made her insides twist. She was still so beautiful, but now there was something different when she looked at her; something not beautiful at all.
“Everyone’s turned against me, and what do you expect me to do about it? Huh!? Just lie back and take it? Well here, Captain,” she growled, and stood on her knees on the bed, throwing her arms out as if baring herself at the other girl. “I’m right here. Just give it to me. I punched Momoko? You’re damn right I did! Do you have the fucking guts to do the same to me? I apparently deserve it!”
Saki’s face darkened, though Miyabi couldn’t tell through the girl’s shielded exterior why. “Things can’t be this way…” she said slowly, shaking her head.
“Well they are!” Miyabi spat back. “This is the way you’ve made things for yourself and your girls, so I hope you’re happy with it!” She continued glaring at her former girlfriend while Saki just stared back solemnly. After a minute Miyabi thought she was keeping her face just a little too tight…
“Ok,” Saki said finally, her voice void of emotion. “Goodbye then.” And she turned and walked out.
Miyabi wanted to yell something else at the girl’s back as she retreated, but bit her tongue, and soon she was gone. She fell back onto her bed and curled into herself again, starting to cry once more.
Come on Miya, don’t let her get to you like this! Don’t cry! Someone could come in at any time…
Rising back to her knees and wiping her eyes, sniffing, she tried to calm herself. Yes, that wouldn’t do at all.
“Miya…?” came a voice from the doorway.
“What!” Miyabi shouted back, still in no mood.
“…I just talked to Yurina, and I saw Captain nearly crying as she ran down the hallway past me. I called out to her but she didn’t seem to hear.” Miyabi felt a depression on the bed next to her again. “What’s going on?”
Miyabi turned to look into Maasa’s face. Her friend’s eyes widened as she saw Miyabi’s red and tear-streaked face, still swollen from the night before. Instead of saying anything else though, she leaned forward and hugged her to her chest. Miyabi felt like resisting at first, but quickly relaxed into her friend’s strong arms.
“She’s gone, Maa-chan. She’s gone…” She repeated the words over and over, Maasa shushing her and not letting her go.
Eventually she cried herself out enough to pull apart, and sniffing, she looked over at the door to see Yurina had returned as well. She flushed at the embarrassment of being seen like this. “Um…”
Yurina lowered her head as if sensitive to her embarrassment too, and closed the door gently behind her before walking over to join Maasa and Miyabi on the bed.
“What are you going to do now?” the tall girl asked, still not looking up.
“What do you mean?” Miyabi asked, sniffing once again.
Yurina exchanged a glance with Maasa, who gave her a hard look, and then turned back to Miyabi, who looked at her questioningly. “I mean… you can’t practice in this state. And… Are you going to be able to do it in the same room as Captain?”
Miyabi sniffed once again, mad at herself that it was still continuing. She thought of Risako. “I’ve done it before,” she said. “I’ll do it again.”
“You’ve done this before?” Maasa asked. “Just broken up with someone who you… became so close with?”
Miyabi rubbed an eye before she responded. “…No. But I can handle it.”
“What about Momo?” Yurina asked. The girl looked to the other bed. “Is it true you were the one who… who gave her the black eye? I don’t know why you would have done it, but that seems like something you… well, honestly, that you can’t really handle.”
“That girl is a lying bitch,” Miyabi responded calmly and casually, and she felt Maasa’s grip on her tighten. Yurina almost drew back in a gasp. Miyabi gave both of them hard looks. “This is all her…” She rethought her words. “She’s right in the middle of all of it. I can’t forgive her.”
“But you…” Yurina began, and gave Maasa a look again. “You were the one that brought her back…” she finished quietly, leaning in as if scared someone might hear.
“Believe me, I’m regretting that right now,” Miyabi responded, leaning in conspiratorially as well before pulling away from Maasa to head toward the door. “I need some air. Thank…” She turned, and gave the taller girls a forced smile. “Thank you for your comfort, but… I’ll be all right.”
She left the room quickly before they could follow and jogged down the hall. Not wanting to mess with the elevator, she ran down the stairs until she made her way outside. Rubbing her eyes as she just realized how bad she still looked, she walked around the side of the building and listened to the sounds of the city street. Crowds of people passed by her with hardly a glance – salarymen mostly busily on their way to or from their offices in this part of downtown – and she let herself become lost in the mass of humanity.
Nodding to a doorman for the hotel, she wandered toward a small park that she knew was only a few blocks away. Reaching it, she walked slowly in, watching the pigeons that strutted all around before taking a seat on a small bench. She zoned out a little as she let all of her senses take in the movement of life around her, including a sense she’d only developed since learning about her magic, and tried to let all of that energy envelop her, join with her, to help soothe herself and her headache. She wasn’t doing it for long though before one voice separated itself from the buzz around her.
“Miya!” Risako said, and Miyabi opened her eyes to see the girl walk smiling up to her. “Hey! You decided to come here too, huh?” She looked around them. “It is pretty here, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Miyabi said, feeling calmer now. “Pretty.” She wasn’t sure though if she meant the park or the girl she now stared at.
Risako giggled. She was wearing a puffy white blouse, with denim shorts that fit tight around her thighs, giving no mystery as to the shape of her legs. She reached Miyabi and sat down on the bench next to her, which was quite tight since it was barely designed for two people.
“Taking advantage of your time off rehearsal, huh?” the younger girl asked again, still peering around them. “Momo’s so silly – she’s gonna really hurt herself one of these days!”
“Risako,” Miyabi said, feeling her calmness fading. “I was trying to get some time to myself…”
Instead, the girl laid her head on her shoulder, making Miyabi tense up. Maasa, someone who was perhaps her best friend and absolutely nothing more, hugging her was one thing, but this intimacy from someone like Risako… Miyabi felt herself become warmer in her continuing instability, and so she tried to relax again.
“I haven’t thanked you for yesterday,” Risako said. “I texted my boyfriend to break up with him last night. It feels nice not having to worry about that again.”
“Risako…” Miyabi repeated, feeling more uncomfortable by the moment. She broke up with him by text? She tried to imagine Saki doing that with her, but couldn’t even wrap her mind around the concept.
“But I still feel a bit lonely after it… I mean, I don’t really have anyone else…”
Lonely… Miyabi thought. I know something about being lonely… “Me too…” she whispered, but apparently loud enough for Risako to hear.
“What do you mean?” she asked. “You’ve got Captain.” She wrapped her hands around Miyabi’s arm. “Now that’s a wonderful romance. A girl and her Captain… There should be a story about it. You two are so cute.”
If only she knew… Miyabi thought. The girl really was so innocent. “Risako,” Miyabi said once again, and she finally turned to face the younger girl, who peered smiling up at her. “I’m not…” she tried to continue, but choked slightly and swallowed. She looked down again. “We’re not seeing each other right now.”
“Why not?” Risako asked, a picture of innocence. “Did she have to go somewhere?”
“No…” Miyabi said. “We… we had a fight. And…”
“W-what do you mean, Miya?” Risako asked, now pulling her head off her shoulder and looking carefully into Miyabi’s still downturned face. “You and Captain need each other. I need…” She trailed off.
“What?” Miyabi asked, turning an intense gaze onto Risako, and reaching her hand over to hold the girl’s own hands to her arm. “What do you need?”
“I need you to be happy…” Risako breathed.
“Risako, I…” Miyabi said, the emotion she tried so hard to control flooding back to her again at the proximity of this girl she cared so much for. However… what she was feeling now was far from the purity of loving care.
As if hearing what Miyabi told her was too much for her own stability after her own recent problems, Risako’s lip quivered as if she was going to cry. Miyabi was beyond that though as she tightened her grip on the girl’s small hand. “Miya… that hurts…”
Then, as Risako tried to pull her hands away, Miyabi leaned in and pressed her mouth tightly to the girl’s own. The heat burning within her led her to quickly slip her tongue between the surprised girl’s lips as well, and she leaned harder against her body in a kiss as passionate as any she’d shared with Saki.
Why did she have to believe those lies…? she thought while she pressed herself against the girl beneath her. Why did… was I really such a bad girlfriend?
Coming back to herself in horror, and also sensing a presence focused on them nearby, she extricated herself from the girl’s lips and darted her eyes toward a young man who had his cell phone held up and pointed directly at them as if taking a picture. “Incendio!” she hissed, and the phone sprang into flames, the man dropping it in surprise before giving them a wide-eyed look and running away. She turned back to Risako.
The younger girl still had her head tilted up and her eyes closed, as if living a pleasant memory. She licked her moist lips. “Miya…” she cooed. Miyabi stared at her in horror.
“I’m sorry,” she said quickly, and jumped up, causing the girl to nearly fall face-down on the bench. “I’m sorry!” she repeated, and she started running into the crowd, somewhere, anywhere but there. Not really paying attention to where she was going in such a hurry, she ran into people from time to time, even knocking one man’s briefcase from his hand to fall to the ground, where it snapped open and papers from within flew all over. “I’m sorry!!” she called behind once more as she kept running.
“Miya!” she heard a young girl call behind her. “Come back!” Soon though the voice faded away, and all Miyabi heard was her heavy breathing as she ran down crowded sidewalks and across a street. She was sure now… it was unmistakable; she had no soul. The next thing she heard was the blare of a horn that was heading straight toward her.
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How could you hate Miya with the greatness she's shown in this chapter? :P
That was a hell of a punch you described :o
I'm actually starting to miss the Miya/Saki. Don't know how it's gonna work out since their relationshio has gotten even more strained
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That was an epic punch.One hit KO.
That was also an epic kiss too.I'm gonna miss Miya/Saki too.
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You got me scared with the "Don't hate Miya" warning. As I was reading the chapter, I understood why :yep:
She did all the stupid things she could do when in a situation like hers, but I guess she needed that, in a way.
The end was scarier, though. Looking forward to the next chapter, obviously :-\
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At the end I wanted to shout "Watch out Miya!" :sweatdrop: :badluck: I wonder if Miya is going to use her powers to save herself :dunno: Gosh, I can't wait for the next chapter XD
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nice new chapter. i really felt sorry for miya and captain :cry: i hope captain will realize that momo was lying all the time...
and i really hope nothing bad will happen to miya or risako. i guess it could happen that risako pulls her out of the way before the car hits them...so i really hope neither miya nor risako get hurt by the car
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Lolli: Your post made me sad. :cry: You'd really come to love MiyaSaki, hadn't you? Me too. It was hard... and so it had to have quite the fireworks. I'm still hoping the best for them too. :heart:
I had come to love them two. First off I was dead against it as I was such a Miya x Rii freak. But you did a great job of their relationship and this whole break up is well written too. If Miya and Risako are gonna get together or something then I suppose I don't mind either way (easily pleased :D)
Momoko's a bitch though and I want her to get what's coming to her. I'm glad Miya punched her one. I would've done the same thing too.
Who the hell was talking to Miya in her head?...whilst I was reading it I was thinking maybe Nacchi because they're keeping an eye on her right? Or have I managed to get this story mixed up with another one? But would they be able to tell when she was doing (attempting to do) magic and shit? Hmm...I can't remember how they found out about her in the first place so I'll have to go back and re-read. If that really is this story.
Sorry I haven't been commenting on your Circle of Three fic. That story is fantastic and I keep up with it every update, it's just kinda above me XD I get confuzzled sometimes and my allegiance's are changing. I've become such a TakaGaki fan. Maybe you could write more TakaGaki in it. Ahh...gah...later on I will go and post a comment there as I feel bad now.
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Why have I not commented on this fic yet?! :banghead:
Miya punching out Momo? Skull much, Miya? :wub:
With everything thats happened... her powers, her relationship with Saki, her bringing back Momo and what she had with Risako... It seems like all the events occured at such a condensed rate that things simply spun out of control. Miyabi used her powers to bring back Momoko for Captain's sake, yet it backfired when Momoko came back and stabbed her square in the back and caused a whole line of problems for Miya/Saki. The situation was taken from Miyabi's hands, and if only she hadn't brought Momo back then the mess wouldn't have occured. But then again, without that, we wouldn't have all these interesting parts that make this fic as interesting as it is :)
I'm intrigued to find out who that voice Miyabi heard was :? :?
And with that, I'm off to catch up and comment of Circle on Three! :cow:
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:hee: yay! an update....i've been waiting for this......
hmm.....i thought momo has a split personality for acting she never did anything to make saki and miya fight.....nice one! it did make me feel she didnt do anything at all....... :glasses: hmm....
as for the man's cellphone.......haha he deserves it.... :ding:
and miya kissing risako....hmm...that was intense! haha :hehehe: but i just hope that while she's kissing the younger girl she was not thinking about Saki.....i really am a fan of mya and risako! can you please make it happen?hehe :err:
sorry miya-saki fans!
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a great chapter!
yeah, please make MiyaRii come true! :heart:
you MiyaSaki fans, sorry, but you've already enjoyed that couple 8) :roll:
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wow ive been reading this fanfic like forever and finally i can comment on it!Rokun i love your fanfics and your style of writing.you are like the best writer in history!(no offense to other writers,you guys are good too)i love this fanfic and hope you continue to write it. :)
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Miya punching out Momo? Skull much, Miya? :wub:
How could you hate Miya with the greatness she's shown in this chapter? :P
That was a hell of a punch you described :o
That was an epic punch.One hit KO.
LoL @ all the comments on the punch. I'm glad you liked it! XD Yeah, Miya was a little pissed off at that point...
I'm actually starting to miss the Miya/Saki. Don't know how it's gonna work out since their relationshio has gotten even more strained
That was also an epic kiss too.I'm gonna miss Miya/Saki too.
all the other MiyaSaki memories
Aww, i feel so much :heart: for what I've created. I'm glad I could take you all along on the journey as well. :) Although things look really bad... those that love them, don't lose too much hope yet. Anything can happen in a soap opera (though not I'm not promising anything). Remember, I have hope that they can at least work something out too :heart: You'll see in this next chapter how bad things can get with the way they are now though.
I'm intrigued to find out who that voice Miyabi heard was :? :?
Who the hell was talking to Miya in her head?...whilst I was reading it I was thinking maybe Nacchi because they're keeping an eye on her right? Or have I managed to get this story mixed up with another one? But would they be able to tell when she was doing (attempting to do) magic and shit? Hmm...I can't remember how they found out about her in the first place so I'll have to go back and re-read. If that really is this story.
You're not wrong. It's this story. :) More on this in the next chapter if you're on top of things...
Ok enough with the quoting lol.
@mode: Thank you for thinking of it in that way. XD
@grisours: All the stupid things she could do in that situation? :twisted: Just you wait...
@peti-chan & missing-maiha: Thank you for reading!!! :D Now you'll be able to find out how the end turned out. :)
@gooosefish: Things are spinning out of control all right. ;) And they're not done with their revolutions yet...
@ayase & Isaura: Hopefully you'll get a pretty good MiRii fix in the coming chapters. ;) There might even be some pure fluff if I'm so inclined...
@berryzkouboumm: Thank you so much for your wonderful comments!!! :D
New chapter coming soon! Could things possibly get any worse? :ph43r:
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i think things can get worse..maybe Captain and Momo getting together? :w00t:
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dum dum dum......
Chapter 34
“Is she awake?” someone said. “We have to make sure we’re here the moment she wakes, or who knows what might happen.”
“No, she hasn’t stirred,” came a different voice. “Has the incident been taken care of?”
“Yes,” the first voice replied. “I made sure nobody will remember a thing. I tell you though, it’s one of the toughest cases we’ve had…”
“That’s why you’re the best,” the other replied warmly.
“She’s my friend.”
Miyabi now recognized the last voice as a girl’s, one who must not have been far from her age. “I’d do whatever I could to take care of her.”
“Yes yes… I know.”
Where was she? She tried to sense her surroundings, and found that she didn’t hurt, but had apparently been sleeping. Wherever she was lying, it wasn’t the most comfortable. She wondered if she dared open her eyes to see who was talking, because she didn’t like the sound of what they said about ‘being there when she woke’.
“Well I think you’re about to get your chance, because I think she’s about to wake,” the older voice said. As the world filled in around her, Miyabi realized she recognized that voice too. How did they know she was awake? She opened her eyes.
She was in a small room that was very plain except for the bed she lay on. The two who were speaking stood over by the closed door, looking expectantly at her. The younger was maybe a bit taller than her, and had jet black hair that flared in twin tails from the top of her head down the back. She wore a gold cross around her neck. The older had short, brownish hair and wore small-framed glasses.
“Kuromi…?” she said to the girl in tails, who then smiled back to her. She looked over at the other. “Nacchi…?” she asked, and shook her head. It hurt slightly, and was definitely very foggy. “No, you’re not Nacchi. I know her. Who are you?”
The older woman walked over slowly and held a hand to Miyabi’s head. She pulled back slightly, but didn’t separate from the touch. “You’re right – Natsumi Abe is not my name,” the woman said. “I apologize for what we had to do back at your house, but after hearing from your friend, we thought providing a setting you’re familiar with would be better.”
“Momo…” Miyabi said darkly, remembering who that ‘friend’ was.
The woman nodded her head. “That’s right. She’s the girl you resurrected, isn’t she?”
“So you do believe me?” Miyabi asked suspiciously.
“Yes Miya, we believe you,” Kuromi said, now walking up to her as well. Her face betrayed barely disguised excitement at seeing her old friend again. “I’d be very interested in how you learned to do something like that. It definitely didn’t involve anything we ever talked about.”
“It’s not all that different than you might think,” Miyabi said, testing her eyes by narrowing them and opening them wide, since they felt a little blurry. She looked around again at the empty, white, and very clean room. “Where are we?”
Kuromi seemed to flush a little and looked to the other woman, who cleared her throat, hesitating a moment before speaking. “You’re at a hospital. It was the only place nearby that had the facilities we needed for your… unique… situation.”
“A hospital?” Miyabi asked, appraising once again the walls and floor that were very plain and unornamented except only for the bed, which was still a matching shade of white.
“Well…” the woman said, “Not a medical hospital…”
Miyabi stared at her. “You brought me to a loony bin?” she asked in a harsh voice, and stood up, making the two step back, and strode to the door, pushing at it. It didn’t move, and there was no handle. She stood there staring at it, feeling her anger rise. “I’m not crazy…” she hissed.
“We know you’re not crazy, Miya-chan,” Kuromi said, coming up behind her and laying a hand on her shoulder. “You’re just here for protection. After what happened, safety was our main concern.”
The hand felt cold on her shoulder. “And what exactly was it that happened?” she asked in a quiet voice. “Also, don’t be surprised if I don’t turn around and hug you or something. Now that I see you’re working with…” she turned a gaze on the woman, “them… I’m not sure what kind of friend you may be anymore.” Kuromi withdrew her hand from her shoulder, appearing genuinely hurt at the harsh comment.
“Don’t blame Kuromi-chan, Natsuyaki-san. I don’t think she’s the real target of your anger, is she?” Miyabi scowled, looking away from her. “And as for what happened, you nearly killed the driver of the car that came at you, not to mention the number of pedestrians who just happened to be walking along the side of the street.”
“What…?” Miyabi asked, anger suddenly gone from her face as she turned bewildered eyes to the woman. She tried to remember what happened earlier, then quickly wished she hadn’t as she recalled the encounter with Risako. “I need to find Risako…” she said without thinking, and then the memory of what happened after came back – the frantic run through the streets, the car screaming toward her, and then she only pictured bright light before waking up here.
Kuromi reached out again to touch her arm. “Don’t worry about others right now. We’re only concerned with you.”
“What do you mean I nearly killed all those people?” she asked the woman, giving her a piercing stare. “What happened?”
“Please,” she responded, gesturing toward the bed. “Have a seat.”
“I prefer to stand right now, thank you,” Miyabi responded. “What happened?”
A smile flashed across the woman’s face, and Kuromi came around to stand next to Miyabi, her hand still on her arm. “You are quite a unique girl, aren’t you?” She turned and walked toward the door, looking through the small slit of a window in it. “We’re not sure exactly what happened, but you cast some kind of very strong spell that caused an explosion, knocking the car coming toward you off the street and into the sidewalk.”
Miyabi gaped. Why did she not remember doing this? Wouldn’t she have known something like that? She thought a moment. Perhaps in the desperation of the moment, she really had cast something frantically in order to save herself. She would never knowingly have put others in danger though… She thought about the temper she was in at the time after everything that had happened, and her stomach sank. Would she…?
“It’s okay,” Kuromi said, smiling at her. “That’s why we’re here – to help guide you to control your power better.”
“I can control it fine,” Miyabi retorted, her heart still darkened at those memories.
“You nearly killed all those—” the woman began, but Miyabi interrupted her.
“But I just did it as a reflex to save myself, didn’t I? Would you prefer I had let the car splatter me and maybe died myself?”
The others were silent.
“Besides, I’m surprised I’m not under arrest or something instead of just locked in this asylum with the two of you. Even though I suppose I’m in prison just as well.”
“No you’re not,” the woman said. “We only took you here to rest and keep you out of the cleanup of what happened. Whether you stay or not is up to you.”
“Cleanup?” Miyabi asked sharply.
The woman smiled. “Kuromi would probably be the best to explain about that, since she was the one who did it after all.”
Miyabi looked to her old friend, who blushed. “We couldn’t have people speculating about what happened out there on that public street. We’re not supposed to exist, after all. After hurrying to save everyone we could, I altered the memories of all the witnesses so they wouldn’t remember that a young girl blew a car off the road. Could you imagine the kinds of accusations and problems that could have caused in today’s world?”
“Altered their memories?” Miyabi asked blankly.
Kuromi seemed to beam with pride at her amazement. “That’s a specialty of Kuromi’s here,” the other woman said, smiling. “She’s the best we have,” she said, sounding proud herself. “Of course, until we learned about you,” she quickly added. Kuromi’s smile faded slightly. “Anyway, now as far as anyone who was present there knows, a crazy man plowed his car off the sidewalk into the crowd. I don’t envy him, but we do what we must do.”
Miyabi stared at the woman. There were so many things just so wrong about her explanation that she didn’t even know where to begin. Then again, how was that so much different than some of the things she’s done? She’s messed with lives too… called upon dark forces… Goodness knows she’s screwed up her own life well enough with what she’d done. Her own life… Her thoughts turned once again to Saki and Risako. Even after all of this, it was hard to get them out of her head.
“You said I have the choice of whether to stay?” she asked skeptically, and the woman nodded at her.
As if to prove it, she turned once again to the door and tapped on the window. After a few seconds, it opened, a husky security guard appearing on the other side. The woman nodded at him and he bowed slightly in return, walking back down the hall outside, which was lit with a flickering light. “The door is open,” she said, gesturing at it.
Frowning at the other two, Miyabi started walking for the door, but the woman grabbed her wrist lightly as she passed. “The door is open…” she began. Of course, Miyabi thought. I knew there had to be a catch. “But I strongly urge you to stay with us. The power you wield is very unstable. I wasn’t kidding when I implied you’d be the most powerful witch we’ve seen. Just some of the things you’ve done…” Her eyes glazed as if imagining them. “You could be a great asset to us, but you could also very dangerous if your power goes uncontrolled.”
“I can control it fine,” she responded in a tight voice. “I only did it in an act of desperation to save myself, didn’t I? And by the way, a witch huh? Is that the technical term you government-types use?”
“Please think about it very carefully,” the woman advised seriously. “Use of these forces can have unexpected consequences. After all, in everything there must be a balance. Then again, you should know that quite well, shouldn’t you?”
All Miyabi knew right now was that she couldn’t get Saki and Risako out of her head. “I promise I’ll be careful,” she said in a sarcastic voice, and tried to pull away from the woman’s grasp. Surprisingly, she slipped out easily.
“Please, Miya,” Kuromi said in an insistent voice, and it sounded sincere enough that Miyabi paused again. “There’s so much we could learn from each other. It would be just like the old days, remember? Only we’d be doing much more important things!” She hesitated a moment and walked up to stand just behind her. “I’d love to be able to catch up with you again too…” she said in a small voice.
Memories of the fun days she shared with Kuromi flashed across her mind, and she couldn’t deny she did long to explore those things again. It would definitely be happier than some of the experiences she’s had with her Berryz lately. But still, they were her Berryz, and she couldn’t just leave them. Besides, what would happen with Buono? She was so happy to finally get into a group where she could stand out more. Could she really give that up?
“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice becoming tight again, though this time with the emotion of longing. She started walking out the door.
“The door will always be open!” The woman called after her as she disappeared down the hall.
…
When she finally made her way through the maze of halls, dodging security guards and nurses looking at her suspiciously, as well as inmates she did her best to avoid, she walked out and took a long deep breath of the outside air. She realized the day was winding toward dusk, but she immediately recognized that she was still in Tokyo, which made sense since the two had said something about finding some place close, but she still hadn’t been sure.
Noticing some passersby giving her funny looks, she looked down at herself. “Shit…” she cursed softly. She noticed for the first time with all that was going on that she was still wearing the same clothes she’d had on for nearly two days now, and her baggy denim shorts and dark t-shirt were definitely showing wrinkles, and even clinging to her a bit, making her itch. She raised her sleeve to her nose and sniffed at it. “Ugh…” she muttered. She needed to get back to the hotel.
As she walked down a street trying to get her bearings, she fidgeted with her clothes trying to get them straightened, and had just started playing with her hair too – which seemed completely lost – before she realized… She’d been gone all day… They’re going to think she’d gone missing or was in a train accident or something! She started hurrying on all the more, though didn’t stop messing with her hair.
Eventually she realized she actually wasn’t too far, and found the Oedo line station to take her back to Shinjuku and her hotel. Going down into the station, she realized she didn’t have her passes or anything on her, so when she thought no one was looking in the crowd, slipped stealthily under the turnstile. There were advantages to being small sometimes. Still, she knew she’d be detected quickly enough, so she hurried off into the crowd and onto the car before anyone could pick her out. Some of the salarymen passing by who noticed what she did gave her hard looks, but she did her best to smile and look cute, and as usual, that worked to distract their attention.
When the train finally arrived at Shinjuku just after nightfall, she hurried out of the station and spotted her hotel just down the street. She walked more leisurely in its direction, trying not to let herself get too excited about what she might find there.
What would the other girls think of her showing up after dark like this? She almost shuddered at the idea of encountering Risako, Saki or Momoko again though. She knew she had to confront each one, but for different reasons each would also likely be quite a stressful encounter…
Trying to forget about the two shortest, she cast her mind back to the park with Risako. She really didn’t know what had come over herself; it was likely just too much stress over what had happened with Saki, as well as the other girls. She wondered fleetingly if Momoko was all right. She had knocked the girl unconscious after all…
What did she want though? What was she even doing? Kissing Risako like that after just breaking up the night before? Maybe what they said on all those online message boards she heard about was true. Maybe she was a slut.
It was with a darker face she walked through the doors of her hotel. The concierge looked at her appearance with disdain before recognizing her, and then offered her anything she wanted. She politely declined and just made her way to the elevator up to the rooms. On the long way up, she leaned against the wall and rested her eyes.
When attaining her floor, she peeked out carefully to see if anyone was in the hall. Seeing no one, she stepped tentatively out and walked toward her room. Well, if she was going to run into Momo again, this would be it. Rattling the door handle she realized she of course didn’t have her key. Sighing in despondency, she banged her head against the door before chancing a slight knock. After a short moment, it swung open.
There was Risako, staring out at her.
“Miya!” she said, surprised. “You’re back!” She looked around surreptitiously. “I was just about to get ready for bed.” She looked Miyabi up and down and scrunched her nose cutely. “It looks like you could use a bath…” Then, her eyes came back up to Miyabi’s face and she nearly gasped. “Oh I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean you looked dirty or anything…” She clamped her mouth shut as if afraid of what might come out next.
Giving the younger girl a narrow-eyed stare, Miyabi pushed past her into the room. “Gee, thanks for the tact there Rii-chan,” she said. She looked around the room, seeing the newly made up bed she’d slept in last night, as well as the mass of pink that was obviously Risako’s. The girl always brought her own blankets with her for some reason. She’d always thought it strange, but definitely didn’t mind those nights she slipped into bed with her. They were much softer and more comfortable than what the hotels usually provided…
Trying her best to get her mind off slipping into bed with the girl, she headed over to her suitcase. “So what are you doing here anyway? Is this your room now?”
“Yes…” Risako said slowly. “Momo’s spending the night in the hospital. They didn’t think you were returning either, so I tried folding some of your stuff up…”
Miyabi blushed as she noticed the neatly folded articles in her suitcase. She roughly pulled out a pair of pyjamas to change into after she bathed, and turned to the other girl, who was sitting at the foot of her bed looking curiously at her.
This was odd. Risako seemed quite natural with her. Shouldn’t things be different after what happened this morning? She walked carefully past her, meeting the eyes of the girl as she smiled up at her, until she reached the washroom door. She hesitated there a moment, trying to get the image of the younger ebiru’s cuteness out of her head.
“Miya, is something wrong?” she asked from her bed.
Miyabi turned to look at her. “So Rii-chan, how about taking a bath with me?” …was what she wanted to say, but she knew she never could in a million years, and even flushed with the thought. Instead, she asked a different question. “Risako…” she began, “Aren’t you mad at me… or bothered… or something…! about what happened this morning?” she spluttered.
Risako’s face changed into one of confusion. “What are you talking about? Did I see you this morning?”
Miyabi stared at her. Had the girl gone mental? Did she just not care about what happened? Was her kiss really that amazing?!?
“Y-yes…” Miyabi responded, now confused herself. “In the park, remember? We sat on the bench together…”
Risako’s eyes were still full of bewilderment. “I went to the park this morning,” she agreed, “But I just stayed there by myself enjoying the pretty scenery until I came back to the studio for rehearsal. Are you feeling all right, Miya?” she asked, getting up and walking over to hold a hand to Miyabi’s forehead. “Are you sure you’re all right to be back here? From what they said, I thought you’d be gone at least the night too, and maybe even longer.” Her face now adopted a sad look. “I actually wondered if maybe you wouldn’t come back for a long time…”
“That’s ridiculous,” Miyabi said irritably, grabbing the girl’s wrist to pull it away from her head. She held onto it though as she looked into her eyes, which looked back into her own now fearfully. “Where’d you hear that something was wrong with me anyway? I feel fine.”
“F-from the managers…” Risako responded nervously, and Miyabi could feel her tugging slightly in an attempt to retrieve her hand. Miyabi knew this tack well from her. She was trying to withdraw into her shyness, and soon she’d be curled up into a ball on her bed. She wouldn’t allow it this time though.
Quickly readjusting her grip on her wrist, she drew it down toward her waist, and giving slight pressure to her lower back, drew her up very closely against her. Risako gasped as the space between their bodies disappeared and their faces came within centimeters of each other.
“Miya…” the girl whined, still fearfully. “You’re hurting me…”
Miyabi blinked at the déjà vu, but didn’t release the pressure around the girl’s wrist. “You don’t remember me kissing you?” she asked in a hoarse whisper.
Risako’s eye widened. “Kissing me?” she gasped. “But you have Captain… Why would you kiss me…? Unless, are you talking about those weeks ago?”
Miyabi shook her head, confusion still fogging her thoughts. No, that wasn’t what she was talking about at all. Why didn’t the girl seem to remember? Remember… Suddenly the answer slammed into her head like a semi truck. Kuromi… she thought. She said she altered memories of the witnesses… She remembered Risako calling after her just before everything exploded in a flash. Risako was a witness...! Only, it wasn’t just her memory of the accident that was changed…
“I’m sorry,” Miyabi said, now spooked herself. “I didn’t mean…” She released her hold on the girl, who quickly backed away and rubbed her wrist, looking cautiously up at her.
“There’s no need to apologize, Miya,” Risako said. “The things you were saying just scared me a little. I’m worried about you…”
“I’m fine,” Miyabi stated, and turned around to the washroom again. Upon reaching the door she turned just her head to look back, and hesitated. “Risako,” she said, her words getting choked slightly. “Do you mind…” She swallowed. “Can I sleep with you tonight? I don’t want to feel so alone again…”
Risako studied her a long moment, and Miyabi could see questions forming and getting dismissed in her eyes. Eventually, after apparently some long hard thought, she responded, “Okay, Miya.” Miyabi saw a blush creeping into her cheeks before she turned quickly to fiddle with the blankets on her bed. “I’ll be out here. Have a good bath…”
Then, for the first time in what felt like a long time, a small smile crept to Miyabi’s face before she turned back toward the washroom.
…
Saki walked slowly down the street in the dark of night, though it was still illuminated brightly by the neon lights above. She walked with her hoodie pulled up and her hands in her jean pockets, the image of a teenager trying to lose herself in the mass of humanity that still bustled around her, their noise increasing along with the night.
She was actually quite grateful that it was a slim rehearsal today – just the five girls that were left out of the new shuffle group created to help support some new anime. She supposed she should be happy for the two that got the opportunity, since she’d been their strongest advocate for so long for more exposure. She wished she could just be happy instead of having to face the reality of what had happened among them all in just the last few short weeks.
She sighed, and leaned back against a lamppost to watch the outrageously dressed youngsters file along past her in their little groups, likely off to some club or other for the night. Well, those were the all-stars of the old H!P kids, she supposed. She’d had her chance in the limelight those years ago with Yajima-san and the others in ZYX, but those days seemed long past now. It was time for the new stars to shine, those that were the most likely to carry their careers far into the future, the hopes all of them had from the beginning but that few would likely ever obtain. She knew the company would take good care of them all if they let it, but a role like that just wouldn’t be the same. It just wouldn’t be the same…
She hugged herself tighter as she reclined. Her size probably made her look like some middle school girl out for a dangerous stroll alone. Too bad she wasn’t, as anyone who tried anything with her would quickly realize. She wasn’t in the mood tonight.
She thought of that particular member of the new group, the one that had meant so much to her in recent months, and who she’d felt the closest to of anyone in her short life. She remembered fondly all the incredibly happy times they’d shared. She remembered being so excited that she knew someone who had a chance to have a real career – she knew she didn’t have a shot at the starlight herself, but she loved the business, and even having just that share of it would mean so much to her.
But now… now that dream seemed ruined. The girl she loved had torn her heart in two and thrown it to the wind. She’d gone behind her back with her best friend… and at the end she learned she’d also gone behind her back with her own best friend…! The wind blew the hood of her jacket around her face as she stared out into nothingness. Had the girl really ever loved her? Did she give herself away for nothing? Herself, which was the most special thing she had to offer, and she did her best to treat as fine porcelain? What was even the point of it all?
She lifted herself from the pole and began walking again, wandering seemingly aimlessly along the streets as her dark thoughts withdrew deeper and deeper into her psyche. Occasionally some guy would come up to her, usually tipsy with drink, and proposition her in some fashion. Without saying anything she would just ignore him and go on, usually hearing laughter from behind that sped her shaky steps.
She was amazed she got through practice today, despite the objects of her surging depression not being present. The trio had tried to cheer her up like always, Chinami never losing her incredible smile, but she saw in the glances the other two shared that they knew. Despite how they joked, they knew. They knew their Captain was lost, and she wondered if she could even count on them having the same regard as before. She didn’t think she deserved it. After all it was her fault, wasn’t it? She knew what she was doing. It was one of her girls that she pulled down with her. How could she ever expect their team to be as whole as it needed to be? What future did they have?
There would also be girls too, usually ones around her age even though they might not realize it thinking she was younger. It was usually a small group, coming over and teasing her about being emo, or maybe even just calling her cute. Either way, she would turn her collar to them coldly.
Sometimes a rare group would come up and recognize her age, and maybe even ask her to join. “You’ve got an awesome body!” they’d exclaim. “You should come with us – I’m sure guys wouldn’t be able to take their eyes off you dancing!” Any other night she might have accepted. Dancing was her life, after all. Beside it, what else did she have that made her Saki Shimizu? What else did she have…
She felt her steps wobble as she walked further, and the crowds thinned as she left the commercial area. Recognition of where she was tugged at the back of her mind, but she could in no way grasp it, just continue on.
She admitted to herself that she would never taste the sweetness of true fame. She felt lost in what she could possibly do to restore the formerly unbreakable bonds of Berryz Koubou, the group she led, the group she held herself, perhaps unfairly, nearly completely accountable for. She felt empty at the loss of the thing that made her the most special, that the one who took it would perhaps never look at her twice again. She’d live forever with the knowledge that she was the cause of the friction in the group. She would be the reason if anything happened to it. After all, it was her responsibility. Wasn’t it?
She finally realized where her feet had taken her, and she almost uttered a hollow chuckle to herself. How appropriate that it would come full circle, back to where it felt like it all began. She walked up the tattered steps to a heavy door and laid her weight against it to push it in. After all, if she had any respect left inside herself, what would it matter? She might as well try to find whatever happiness, however artificial it might be, that she could… that she knew she could count on. She wondered, after going through it all in her head as she had walked under the moonlit sky, could she ever really be happy again?
Finally reaching a plain, stark door in the fitfully flickering light of the hallway, she paused at it, trying to make herself feel something. She should feel something right now, shouldn’t she? That compass she’d trusted for so long as Captain and friend should surely kick in once again at a time like this, shouldn’t it? Raising a heavy hand, she knocked on the door.
She expected the anticipation to kill her, but instead she felt nothing. She wanted to feel something… After all she’d gone through, how much worse could any imagined consequences really be?
The door opened a crack, still held fast by a chain stretched across the gap. A face appeared beneath the chain. His face.
“What are you doing here?” he said in a low, flat voice.
“Jun…” Saki breathed, as for the first time all night she began to feel something at the memories the face renewed in her.
She heard him exhale deeply, and the door began swinging closed again. She jabbed a hand out, causing it to fall back against the chain’s length.
“You’d better get out of here…” he warned, his voice slightly dangerous.
“Please,” Saki said, holding the door open and looking into that face, the face she remembered kissing those days so long ago. “Listen to me,” she said.
He held his ground, but didn’t move to shut the door again.
Fixing her eyes on that face, she made her decision. She wanted to feel something again.
“I’m ready to give you what you want…” she said, holding his eyes as intensely as she could.
They widened slightly at her words, but the surprise was only fleeting. She heard metal scrape lightly against metal, and the chain fell away from the door. Swinging it open wider, he stuck his head out to look both ways down the hall before gesturing her in.
Was this really all there was?
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:shock: what the???? i dont like saki that much........but her, acting like that all of a sudden made me like :imdead: she just can't do that with him........no, let her back to her sane state of mind
yay! :nya: natsuyaki and sugaya......haha sleeping together.....hmm....looking forward to it.......though it saddened me a little that sugaya's memories of the intense kissing scene was erased by that kurumi girl. :tantrum:
well. its better Natsuyaki stay with Sugaya, she'd been more happier, then if she's with her, no momo would go destroying her relationship..........or.....if she would know that her beloved saki made out with jun then she can go kill the guy, hahaha :wahaha:
nice chapter.......more miya-risako.....hehe :wriggly:
domo arigatou! ganbatte ne, author-san!
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Ohhmaaa gaaaa, the return of Jun! :shock: This whole time you're just thinking that Saki is gonna run off to Momo. And I was also thinking Saki was the most composed out of the Miya-Saki-Momo triangle. :-\. and if Jun is a human, he wouldn't actually try to do 'something' with Saki, unless he's comforting her, seeing that she's distraught.
It disapoints me a bit that Risako's mind was erased too :P But it's cute to see them going back to those times when they used to share a bed.
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:dizzy: NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!why Saki,why?!
oh well at least Miya's carrying on with Risako(even though her mind had been erased :gyaaah:) well anyway really, REALLY great chapter!
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I didn't get to reply yesterday like I had planned, trying to re-download programs and stuff...
Trying to put my music back into my computer...
Very time-consuming, I didn't know =A=ll
Anyway, Onto your story!
We were left off thinking that Miyabi might have gotten hit by a car...
I just didn't expect her to...demolish that car and almost kill the driver and anyone else near the explosion.
So, Miyabi does have immense power more than she could possibly handle...
Only thing is the people trying to help her control those powers....
In my opinion sound a little fishy to me..Like they want something out of it..
After all the 'Government' or any 'society groups' has gained some reputation for dirtying their hands through media =T
All in all though, I predict somewhere in the future...
Miyabi might go to them for help...But probably ends up destroying their entire purpose/operations because of a disagreement on things..
But that's getting way ahead of myself there..
The Miyabi/Risako scene is the scene ever miri fans want XDXDXD
It was utterly adorable with the shyness at the end..
But a bit disappointing that Risako doesn't remember their....second kiss.
Though, she doesn't remember I think the purpose of it for her to forget...
Would be so, she would stay as the innocent character.
Yeah, she's been innocent from the start yesiree.
But ever since the Saki/miya break-up and Risako being just right there.
Risako had been pushed to the 'other girl' character or the 'rebound chick'
with her memory gone, its for the best.
And when Miyabi asked to sleep in her bed together, its like imo...
A way for them to start over from the beginning.
Now the Saki/ Jun thing.
Holy poopers am I not happy about that.
Saki is smart but the emotions being too much...She had to expect it!
She felt doubt, she was the one doubting their relationship since the beginning even if it were minor.
But to resort in returning to Jun..
That seems like a new low.
Pathetic even.
But I doubt anything happens...If it does, I'll come after you with a chainsaw! :tama-mad:
But though, going to Jun is completely understandable at the same time..
So, the whole emo thing Saki's going through...
It better not last long...
I suspect though, Momoko might do something to interfere...
Though, earlier you wrote she was in the hospital...Which could be a lie..
who knows.
At any rate it's momoko's chance to get captain, her longest lurve.
their. epic comment, without the quotes XD
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So
much
catching up
to
do.
But that cliffhanger in the last chapter. The suspense and the anticipation gave me some kind of 'zooming hallway' + 'dilated pupils' effect like the ones in movies when the hero realizes that he's just been pwned by the villain or when he fails.
If you let Jun get his way with Saki... :mon mad:
Captain! :gyaaah:
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So Risako doesn't remember that kiss. It seems sort of better that way.
And about Captain/Jun...NOOOOOOO :angry: !!! She knows better than that.
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this chapter was so :O!
all that happen to Miya, Risako doesn't remember that kiss, and Saki with Jun :O :O :O!
what other things has changed? :?
poor Miya, she's with a lot of problems
and like Loser87 said "A way for them to start over from the beginning", i hope so :heart:
next chapter please! ^^
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okay if captain really does what it sounds like now...i will quit reading berry beautiful... :lol: seriously, i don't want to read of something like this.....so i really hope it won't turn out the way it looks now...so who knows maybe chapter 35 will be the last chapter i read
you really know how cliffhangers work though
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Ack nearly fourth page!!! I guess it's time to bump this up a little. :P Of course, I'm not doing it randomly... I'm almost finished with a new chapter that hopefully will get posted soon, so I'm going to take the opportunity to do some comment replies to all you lovely people. :) Hopefully you haven't forgotten everything yet...
ayase: You'll be getting some Miya-Risako in the next chapter definitely. :lol: There's been far too little of that around here lately... Who's going to kill Jun? lol. You'll have to wait and see whether it would be worth it or not. ;)
mode: You didn't think Jun would just fade away without a trace, did you? :) I suppose Momo was the logical conclusion, but she's in the hospital at this time due to her last girlfriend and well... there may be more to come with that. ;) I'll just say that Saki doesn't get exactly what she's looking for with Jun. But her being how she is, how much will that matter? Remember the slight bi-polar-ness... No matter what's going on in her personal life, she feels it is her responsibility to be strong as Captain of Berryz, and that dichotomy causes some odd happenings... such as one encounter that comes up in this next chapter. :yep: As far as Risako and her memory goes, just look at it this way: something might be gone, but there's still plenty of room for many more memories!!!
berryzkouboumm: Glad you enjoyed the chapter. :) As for your question for Saki... The last chapter gave some insight into her psyche, and this one will give a little more. :) She's a girl that has quite a lot on her mind, even though she doesn't always show it so much...
Loser: Yay for an epic comment! :D This will probably be the last one for a while now that you're so busy with your crappy college work though, huh? Uh oh, it looks like I have to quote you...
So, Miyabi does have immense power more than she could possibly handle...
It's starting to maybe look that way, huh? Kuromi and "Nacchi"'s warnings should be some indication... but it may be a little while before that comes up again. It's like the little bump that you may not even think anything of until eventually it gets too much to handle and you find out it's cancerous... What do you think Momo would think of that? Not to mention Saki and Risako...
MIYA AND RISAKO COMMENTS
If you guys loved the part in that chapter, you're going to love the next one too. Risako's image of innocence and purity has been riding a fine line for a while now... How long will it be able to hold up? How will that affect the other girls (whose opinions of her you'll get to see a bit more in this next chapter as well). Stay tuned! :D
ABOUT CAPTAIN
Nobody's very happy with that, huh? Unfortunately in life not everything is all peaches and cream... or perhaps cheesecake is a better reference in this instance... But anyway. Saki sure feels like she's pathetic after what's happened. Bad breakups can really be killer, especially with a first and such significant love as this. I'm not sure she really knows what to think, despite all the insights into her mindset we're getting. I guess it's time to see what kind of person Jun really is, as well as her... It's in these situations that kind of thing really comes out. It will be interesting to see what Momo does now. :)
wordsworth: Yay glad to see you reading! :D Hopefully you're still around after all this time... lol. So much talk about Jun and Saki. XD Wonder why...
slasha: You think it seems better that Risako doesn't remember? Perhaps thinking along the lines of the innocence argument presented by Loser, ne?
Isaura.Tsuji: There are always new beginnings :) I wonder where this one will start from. Miya definitely does have a lot of problems, and no real end in sight at the moment.
missing-maiha: I hope you do know how cliffhangers work and stick with it. :) Read the next chapter, onegai! :mon pray2:
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update soon.....author-san!!! :tantrum: :nya: :on hypto:
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Yay! I'm glad to see somebody's still around! :D At long last, here's finally the next chapter in the Days of Our Berryz Lives... Err, I mean Berry Beautiful. And this chapter deals with much that is Berry Beautiful indeed. I seemed to have gotten over-flowery with much of my language, so I hope you guys appreciate it. :oops: Anyway, yoi.... staato!
Chapter 35
Saki wasn’t sure what time it was when she crept silently into their hotel, but it was nearly completely quiet in the lobby. No one was even stationed at the desk, though she knew someone would come if called. Outside along the way there had only been the few stray late night partiers walking the long way home from karaoke or some such since it was far too late for the trains to be running. She almost wondered why they didn’t just wait the extra time until they’d start their schedule for the new day.
The silence was what she preferred right now though, as it let her completely clear her head of troubling thoughts. It was long since she had finished crying, but she knew her eyes would still be swollen from it, as well as the lack of sleep the night before. Plus, she wasn’t sure she had many more tears to shed. What was done was done.
When she reached her floor, she got off and wandered slowly down the hall past the other rooms, pausing just before… hers. She’d heard that Risako was to move in tonight, and she wasn’t sure that she liked the thought of that more than Momoko being in there or not. Risako was her best friend though, so perhaps it was best to leave them to each other… to love each other perhaps? All along Saki had known of the relationship between the two, except of course for some obviously vital facts, but she had thought that somehow Miyabi still could really love just her…
She laid her fingertips lightly on the door, leaning near to it and closing her eyes. Keeping completely still, she thought she could almost hear the breathing of the sleeping girls within. She didn’t know how, but she knew she was in there. She pulled away. That was no longer her concern.
She continued on down to her own room and opened the door quietly. She maybe had the chance to get a few hours sleep before needing to be up for work again. She wondered idly if Momo would be out of the hospital and back again – tomorrow a photo shoot including the whole group this time was planned for their new single. She had been looking forward to hearing about it, as she always did with a new single, so it should have been a joyous day…
As she lay down in her bed, not bothering to change out of her clothes, she thought about the past twenty-four hours. They began with a thing she thought was so wonderful coming to an end, and the period itself had ended with an experience that could have been even worse, all having consequences that could affect the rest of her life.
“Saki, what is this?” he asked as they sat on his couch just like they had when they last parted.
She looked up at him, though her eyes felt hollow. “I just want…” she said softly, and crawled into his lap, leaning up to kiss him.
Before she made contact though, his hands on her shoulders pushed her gently away. “This is not what you want,” he said, looking at her sternly. She stared back, at a loss.
He looked back carefully into her eyes as if trying to read her thoughts. “Look,” he began, “I don’t know what’s happened, but this isn’t right.”
“Is…” she said, about to cry again, “Isn’t this what you want? Am I not good enough for you anymore either?”
She felt his hands tighten on her shoulders as if considering the temptation, and anxiety over what she was giving herself over to washed over her body once again.
“Why are you saying that?” he said in a tight voice. “You’re more than good enough for anyone. Too good, if anything. Too good for me, for one…”
Despite her burgeoning tears, she nearly broke a laugh at that. “Too good?” she repeated. “If you only knew how ‘good’ I was…”
She broke off as she felt his finger lift her chin slightly to meet his eyes again. She hadn’t realized she was avoiding them. “You asked if this is what I want. Yes, I wanted you. I wanted you so badly… but that’s exactly the thing. I wanted you. And I needed you to want me, something to make me different from all the other guys that look at you day in and day out.” She wanted to look away from his eyes that seemed to be staring straight into her, those eyes she had thought she was in love with, but he wouldn’t let her. “You want something now, but it’s not me.”
“Yes it is—” she protested, but he cut her off again.
“No,” he repeated. “When you were my girlfriend, I knew it was about you and me, not some cheap fling. It was my own fault that I couldn’t handle the role you needed me for, as well as the image you have to portray. This… what you’re doing now… This is completely different. But it’s another role I can’t handle… and I know you couldn’t either. I don’t know what’s driven you to it, what’s happened since I…” he looked down, finally breaking her gaze.
She was at a loss for words. ‘…what’s driven you to it,’ he’d said. Was she really at that low a state? Were things truly that horrible? Yes she’d just lost the girl she loved… but was that the end? She hadn’t even given a chance to anything that could come after, and she had almost…
“Please…” she said again, and she felt him tense, perhaps thinking she was pressing on despite his words, and perhaps losing some of his own resistance. After all, it was basically part of her job to make people want her, to make them keep coming back time and again. “Just hold me?”
She sighed, curling up tightly into a ball and hugging the pillow to her chest. He’d held her, but not for long, and then she’d left, hardly able to even look at him as she did so. Did it take him to show her how stupid she was being? It would have been so easy for him to… Well, it was over now, and she was back in her bed alone, the morning due to dawn in just a few short hours, after which she would do her best to see how she could start her life over again.
…
Miyabi woke to the darkness of the too-early morning, her body still feeling as if it was being carried along the wind. She had been flying, and it was a remarkable experience. Beneath the bright, pale moon she had her arms spread as the wind carried her onward to nowhere in particular. She could see the cities beneath her with all their lights and some sounds drifting upward, but she was free. She was alone, and she was free.
As her body reoriented itself though, she felt only the softness of the bed and the lightly perfumed scent of the sheets.
Perfumed? Hotel sheets weren’t perfumed…
She opened her eyes, and as they adjusted, she felt the warmth of the girl lying next to her as she breathed slowly in her own sleep. Risako’s face was barely centimeters away, her hands resting just beneath her chin as she likely viewed dreams of her own.
Miyabi smiled. She didn’t know why she had dreams about being alone – she didn’t even like sleeping alone, a preference that had become even stronger lately since she always had someone there whenever she needed that intimacy.
Her smile faded slightly. That someone was not this girl. Yet, this was who she had, someone she now thought she could always count on. She hadn’t even told her yet about all that happened between her and Saki – at least, apparently not when she would remember it – yet the girl let her into her bed… as friends? She wondered. Had she and Risako ever really been just friends?
She reached out slowly to touch the girl’s hands, and when she made contact, Risako began muttering something in her sleep and moving slightly. Miyabi froze. “Miya…” she could make out among the mumbling, and the named girl’s heart leapt up into her throat, beating forcefully. The younger moved closer to her and slid her arms around her back as if snuggling with a giant teddy bear. She burrowed her face into Miyabi’s neck before coming to a rest in an apparently comfortable position. “I love you…” she heard the girl mumble, and this time her heart nearly stopped.
Not even daring to breathe for a minute, she felt only what her hyperaware senses told her about the girl that had wrapped herself around her. She’s sleeping… Miyabi thought. She’s dreaming… She doesn’t know what she’s saying. But then if that was the case, why was she dreaming that she loved her? Despite herself, Miyabi blushed even though there was no one conscious to see it.
“…Risako?” she whispered, wanting to make sure the girl was asleep. There was no response.
Well, she wasn’t sure whether she was comfortable with the position she was currently in after all that happened, but she decided there was nothing to do about it. She didn’t want to wake the girl. After all, it wasn’t like she was doing something to hurt her. In fact, feeling someone hold her like this after all that happened felt… good. “This dream of you holding me…” she murmured, thinking of one of the many songs she’d learned, then almost laughed. This wasn’t a dream – for her at least – and she also wasn’t a great artist, though she tried.
Completely giving up, she wrapped her own arms around the younger girl, snuggling in as well in an attempt to return to her own dreams. Perhaps she would no longer be flying alone. Before falling asleep much more quickly than she expected, she had a vision of a faint smile on the lips of the girl in her arms.
…
When she opened her eyes again it was morning, but she realized she was alone. The space next to her was vacant, the blankets pulled down at the corner, and her arm draped across the bed where the other girl had been. The events from the middle of the night drifted ethereally through her memory, and she wondered if all of it had been a dream. Blinking her eyes, she took account once again of her being alone. Had she even dreamed going to bed with the girl? A soft scent of perfume wafting past her nose made her look down at the pinkness of the blankets that covered her, and she couldn’t help but smile. No, that at least was no dream.
She heard the sound of water running from the washroom, and a moment later a girl wearing an overlarge t-shirt and similarly baggy boxer shorts emerged, giving a glance in her direction. “Morning,” she mumbled before walking groggily toward her luggage. Risako was definitely not a morning person.
“Good morning,” Miyabi responded, watching the girl as she dug into her bag, still not moving from her prone waking position.
Risako cast an eye askance back at her. “Are you going to get up?” she asked. “They might not have expected you at the photo shoot today, but that’ll change once I tell them you spent the night here.”
Miyabi continued smiling at her as she turned back to rifling through her luggage. “You wouldn’t do that to your best friend, would you? Ijiwaru…”
Risako spared another glance back to stick her tongue out at her before pulling out some clothes and tossing them on the bed. “Well, I’m not going to change until you get up, so if you stay there you’ll have my lateness on your head too.” Then she sat stubbornly on the bed next to her clothes, crossing her arms.
“All right, all right,” Miyabi said, groaning while sitting up as if it required extreme effort. “I wouldn’t want to be responsible for the princess missing her photo-op…”
“Hmph,” Risako grumbled, arms still crossed. “Yeah, you’d do well not to forget that about me being a princess. All that bowing and stuff. Being this pretty is quite a responsibility after all, and should be respected.”
“Could you be more full of yourself, your highness?” Miyabi teased, and the girl turned to give her a mock stricken look.
“Well I…!” Risako began, turning more fully toward her now, but Miyabi thought it was time to take advantage of the opportunity she was presented with. Suddenly seeming quite awake and spry, she lunged toward the other girl and tackled her to the bed, tickling her in all the right spots to get her giggling in a very un-princess-like way indeed.
When Miyabi’s hands tired she stopped, but still hovered above the younger girl, whose shirt had been shifted above her belly button during the struggle. They looked into each others’ eyes a minute before Miyabi broke the tension with a smile.
“I missed these times together,” she said honestly.
“Me too,” Risako replied simply.
“It’s a good thing you got rid of that loser boyfriend of yours. The Ebiru duo can rise again!!”
Risako giggled a little again and playfully slapped Miyabi’s arm. “He was not a loser,” she said. “He just wasn’t right for me at this time…”
“Right…” Miyabi said, not bothering to conceal her heavy sarcasm. She coughed. “Loser…” she said, and quickly coughed again.
“Psht…” Risako protested again.
“Oh my god…” came another voice from the doorway, and both girls turned to stare as Chinami’s eyes nearly bugged out at them in return.
“Chii!” Risako greeted warmly, but the other girl spun quickly and nearly ran out, the door swinging shut behind her.
“Shit…” Miyabi growled, and pulled up, looking down at Risako’s halfway hiked up shirt and her own legs still nestled comfortably beneath the pink blankets.
“What?” Risako asked, looking at her in bewilderment. “What’s the matter?”
“I have to run after her before…” Miyabi responded shortly, nearly jumping out of the bed.
“Before what?” Risako asked, but Miyabi in her hurry didn’t respond again.
A moment later saw her running down the hall, a leg half-raised as she pulled a pair of sweats on the rest of the way, looking wildly all around her for a sign of where the untimely interrupting girl had gone.
“If I were Chii-chan, where would I be…?” she mumbled to herself in thought, and having successfully donned her sweats, leaned close to a door to listen inside. She could hear nothing, so she continued on down the hall. Oddly, she found the girl just standing at the elevator, nervously tapping her leg as she looked up impatiently at the floor indicator.
“Chii-chan!” Miyabi half-shouted, and the girl spun to face her before quickly turning back to the elevator and mashing the down button in an of course unsuccessful attempt to make it arrive faster.
“Hey, why are you running away?” Miyabi asked as she ran up to the girl herself, though stopping before getting too close.
“How could you!?” Chinami cried after turning to look her in the face. Miyabi fell back slightly. “After Captain…” she stuttered, “And you… and me…”
“Let me explain!” Miyabi insisted. “Wait, and you? What does…? Nevermind. It wasn’t what you think.”
“What I think?” Chinami said exasperatedly, not seeming to notice the elevator open behind her. A suited salaryman frowned out at them in annoyance when it became obvious they wouldn’t be boarding the elevator, but at a glare from Miyabi he only quickly pushed the button to close the door.
“What I think…!?” Chinami spluttered again, brandishing a dangerous-looking finger at her. Then she looked around them as if she didn’t want anyone to hear what she had to say next. Then she began to whisper, in increasing pitch, “Even though you’re dating Captain, who is one of the most wonderful, kind, caring, sensitive people in the world, it looked like you were just in bed with someone else. And not just someone else! Our baby!” Then she even leaned forward and sniffed at Miyabi. “And her smell… it’s all over you!” Miyabi stared with increasing worry at the finger that was wagging at her, self-consciously sniffing slightly at her own shoulder. Well, she wouldn’t need perfume today…
“Did you…” the girl stuttered again. “Did you…?” She widened her eyes and gestured to Miyabi with both her face and hands as if expecting her to know what she was talking about and prodding her to finish for her.
“Did I what?” Miyabi asked through clenched teeth, wanting the girl to say what was on her mind.
“You know!” Chinami burst out, the finger waggling again. Obviously she wasn’t going to say any more.
Miyabi took a deep breath to gather her thoughts before responding. “First of all,” she said in a tight voice, holding up a hand and ticking off a finger with the other thumb. “Saki and I broke up, so I’m free to do whatever the hell I want to do.”
“’Captain’!” Chinami hissed in a quick correction, but Miyabi ignored her.
“Whatever,” was all Miyabi replied. “Second, we did not. We just share a room, and it is not rare to share a bed. We do it all the time.”
“But—” the girl protested again, but Miyabi shushed her with a finger to her lips, making the other girl appear taken aback now as well.
“But nothing. We’re best friends. There’s nothing unnatural anywhere.”
She removed the finger, and Chinami lowered her eyes finally, toeing the floor beneath. “I still think it’s not fair to Captain. Whatever might have been the case before, things are different now, you know.” She shot a warning glance up at Miyabi. “This is the kind of thing we were afraid of. Any of us dating at all is troublesome, but dating each other can cause all kinds of problems… like this.”
“Like what?” Miyabi asked calmly, holding Chinami’s gaze strongly. “I don’t see a problem here.”
Chinami was quiet a second. “We’re loyal to our Captain,” she said finally in a low voice, her own eyes with determined and sincere strength within them. This time it was Miyabi’s turn for silence.
“Are you now?” came a voice from down the hall, and Miyabi turned smoothly to see Saki walking toward them, smiling brightly at this early hour in the morning. “Now that’s some good news to hear first thing in the morning.” She arrived to wrap an arm around Chinami’s neck and squeeze it gently. “Glad to see I’m so loved,” she said, turning her gaze to Miyabi.
“Of course you are…” Chinami mumbled, a little thrown off at the peppy appearance of their Captain despite everything she’d learned.
Miyabi though couldn’t look away from the dark eyes gazing up at her from the small girl. True she was smiling brightly and had a spring to her step and voice, but her eyes told a completely different story. Her eyes seemed almost completely empty, and there were even light red rings around them that Miyabi tried not to think about too hard.
She felt pangs of regret and guilt for a moment before she remembered that none of this was only her fault. She had most definitely not wanted to break up with the girl either. Those things that Chinami said were very true; in her opinion as well Captain was the most wonderful, caring, kind, and sensitive person she knew, and she would add even more superlatives such as immensely loving, warm, compassionate, generous… She could go on and on. There was a reason she had fallen in love with the girl, and facing the possibility of a future without her was one of the hardest things she thought she could do.
As she thought of all that, her own face became hardened into stone, and she tried not to let those eyes get to her. Apparently she was expected to say something, but her mouth seemed sealed shut tight. Eventually though the Captain broke the silence again.
“I hope you two are as eager to hear about the new single as I am. Although you know I’m not the biggest fan of photo shoots…” She blushed slightly. “I keep wondering when they’ll realize how unphotogenic I am.” She glanced between the two other girls. “Not that you guys have ever had something like that to worry about.”
“Are you kidding?” Chinami asked softly, apparently still a little flustered at the unexpected direction of the conversation. “When Berryz started I hated having my picture taken. I felt like I was so awkward all the time.” She looked at the stares that greeted her. “…Not that it’s any different now!”
“Oh come on,” Miyabi said, somehow distracted from those eyes. “You were the cutest thing back then, and still are. The kiddies can’t get enough of you.” Chinami blushed fiercely.
Miyabi turned back to Saki to see her watching her calmly with those eyes, which somehow didn’t seem as lost as just a moment ago. “But I thought I was the cutest thing?” the captain said in her sweetest voice. “Or were all those compliments concerning my height just to make me feel better?” Both girls stared back at her now, flabbergasted. Miyabi for one had no idea how to respond to that.
“Well, I’ll see you and the rest at the photo shoot, ne?” Saki continued, releasing Chinami and walking smoothly into the elevator that had just happened to open up right at that time. “I have some things to do before then, including picking up Momo from the hospital. Oh yeah!” she said, hurrying her speech before the door closed. “I didn’t tell you! I just received a mail from her this morning saying she’ll be at the shoot. Berryz will finally be whole again!” At that, her time ran out, and the door shut her off from her two kouhai.
Miyabi stared at the door for she couldn’t tell how long, and after with a jolt realizing what she was doing, she glanced over at Chinami to see she had been doing the same thing. The other girl looked back at her with a blank expression, and Miyabi smiled and shrugged.
“That’s our Captain…” she said in a ‘what else would you expect?’ sort of way.
Chinami just stared back at her. “Yeah…” she said, making the word long and drawn out. “I… I need to check on Kumai-chan…” And with that, she walked back down the hallway, swaying slightly. If Miyabi didn’t know better she would have thought the girl was drunk.
Then the last thing Saki said hit her. She had better head back to Risako as well for what more small comfort she might be able to take. Like Saki, but for quite a different reason, she was now also not looking forward to this photo shoot.
…
Later in the day found Miyabi leaning through somewhat of a cubby hole to watch Saki pose for her shots. The girl hadn’t paid much attention to her all day, but at least she wasn’t completely ignored. After the strange encounter in the morning, she’d seemingly gone back to her usual self as their Captain, with all the smiles and support of them all that entailed. Still, at times such as now, Miyabi noticed that the emotion wasn’t completely gone from her eyes. Still, the girl did an extremely good job of turning it into only an expression of her beauty.
Miyabi sighed. She missed her so much – it wasn’t like she never saw her or anything since they still worked together, and somehow seemingly normally now, but she missed the girl being hers. Well, life was full of changes, wasn’t it? Still, she wondered how things would go in the future. She and Risako were now getting along extremely well again, but she wasn’t sure how Saki would react if they became a pair.
“Stop staring at her butt!” Chinami whispered exasperatedly into her ear. She ignored her and continued staring. It was really quite nice actually, especially in the form-fitting white dresses they all wore today.
Their new single they’d learned was to be called Tsukiatteru no ni Kataomoi. It seemed quite an energetic number, and the crew had done a good job making them look like Greek goddesses or something. She wondered exactly what part of Greek culture they were supposed to be portraying…
She felt a tug on her wrist again as the cameras flashed a few more shots of Saki. “Stop it, Chii,” she whispered behind her shoulder, but her glance caught someone else there, and she quickly pulled back out of the cubby hole.
“Ha!” Chinami said triumphantly, and leaned in to take her place. Giving the back of the girl’s head a glare, Miyabi turned to Risako.
“You made me lose my spot!” she complained to the younger ebiru.
“Oh?” Risako said, raising an eyebrow. She also looked quite pretty today… definitely not really like her age. “Do you think I regret stopping you from being able to stare at her?”
“I wasn’t…” Miyabi began.
“What? Staring at her?” Risako asked, the cute little pout forming on her lips. “You’ve only been leaned over there for a good five minutes and hardly moving otherwise… It was time you gave someone else a chance.”
“You’re mean,” Miyabi said, poking the other’s shoulder.
In response, Risako leaned in close, pulling her a bit further away from Chinami. “What’s mean is gawking at someone else like that after this morning while you’re looking as beautiful as you are now,” the girl said in a low voice so no one else could hear, and Miyabi could detect a trace of a blush.
“After this morning?” Miyabi asked carefully. The girl didn’t remember, did she? “What exactly happened this morning that would make that a problem?” Then she unconsciously began twirling a finger in her hair, having become distracted. “You think I look beautiful?” she asked idly, feeling like blushing herself.”
“Of course you are,” Risako said in an even quieter voice, not at all able to meet Miyabi’s eyes. “You look so grown up and mature… I only wish I could look half as good…”
Half as good? The girl was being ridiculous. First off, she was not… Well, Miyabi thought, glancing to the side to a mirror that had been set up for them, and smiled. I guess I could look a lot worse… She shook the thoughts from her head. That wasn’t the point! She always wished she was even near as pretty as Risako, or even Saki… She lifted her face a little and stroked her chin. Then she heard giggling from in front of her and blinked.
“And everyone thinks I’m vain!” Risako teased, her eyes sparkling as she now seemed not bashful at all in meeting Miyabi’s. “All it takes is one compliment, and we lose you from the world…”
Miyabi was about to prepare some sort of retort before something caught the corner of her eye and she turned to find another girl staring between the two of them with slightly buggy and curious eyes. Miyabi nearly jumped back in surprise. “Momo…” she said without thinking.
“Hey Momo!” Risako chirped. “How’s the day back at work going?”
“It’s going quite well, thank you,” the small girl responded, smiling up at Risako. Miyabi was a bit confused at what she saw in her eyes. They were full of pride and caring toward the youngest of them. Of course, there was nothing too strange about that – they were all friendly with each other of course, and the rest were most definitely concerned with their baby princess, but Miyabi saw something different in this girl’s eyes that went beyond normal consideration. It was almost… motherly.
“Your shoot is after Captain’s, right?” Risako asked.
Momoko nodded. “I just got out of makeup. What do you think?” She twirled a little circle on the spot. “I’m just awe-inspiringly beautiful, aren’t I?”
Risako giggled. “At least they did a good job covering up the bruise,” she said, but then quickly shut her mouth, looking nervously at Miyabi.
“Ah yes,” Momoko responded. “I was wondering how that would work out.” She turned toward Miyabi. “I really must be more careful walking home late at night.”
Miyabi, ignoring the girl as best she could for the moment, was looking into Risako’s eyes. Somehow the girl knew. If she lost some of her memory, why couldn’t it have been of more convenient things like that? Perhaps she just knew Miyabi too well. Either way, the girl now was looking at her with a mix of emotions.
“Excuse me,” Risako said, bowing slightly to the both of them. “I need to prepare for my own shoot. I don’t think all my makeup is quite right…” she explained, patting her cheek slightly before walking away.
Why? Miyabi thought, looking after her. It’s perfect…
Finally, as the girl disappeared through a door, she turned back to see the other girl still standing there watching her quietly, and she nearly jumped again. “Geez Momo…” she breathed in her surprise. “Don’t do that!”
“Don’t do what?” she responded. “I’m just standing here.”
“…Nevermind,” Miyabi said, composing herself. There was just something about Momoko these days. Ever since…
“So how are things?” Momoko asked.
Miyabi hadn’t really gotten the chance to talk to the girl yet today. Sure she’d seen her when she rejoined the others, who were quite happy to see her; some had been happy to see Miyabi too thinking she’d be gone for some reason. She wondered idly how adept Kuromi must be at her work to have been quite that successful with getting everyone around here on the same page about her “condition”. However, she’d not had time alone with the girl she’d punched out just a couple nights earlier, and really, the girl didn’t seem to regard her especially at all… until now. Then again, she could just be acting friendly as she generally used to toward her, especially before the train accident. It was a rather neutral question, after all.
“I’m all right,” she said, wondering if the girl could read her mind and discern how untrue that actually was. No thanks to you… she thought, rather hoping Momoko would hear that little snippet of her thoughts.
“That’s good to hear!” the girl replied, apparently oblivious. Well, that perhaps was one of Miyabi’s concerns she could rest easily on. Momoko then also glanced over to where Risako had disappeared. “You two seem to be getting along well.”
“Yeah,” Miyabi said neutrally. “It’s been a long time since we were roommates. It’s been a good time for… catching up.”
“True, true…” Momoko replied, still staring off away from Miyabi. “It’s a good start for what you owe her.”
Miyabi hesitated a second. Owe her? What was she talking about? “If you mean when I turned her into a mouse, I’ve tried to apologize time and again for it… and besides, she was such a darn cute mouse I’m not sure her regular form is necessarily that much of an improvement…”
“Oh yes,” Momoko said as if just remembering the event. “That.” She turned back to Miyabi. “Did I ever thank you for bringing me back to life?”
Miyabi’s eyebrows furrowed. That question was unexpected. “You mentioned something about owing me big.”
“But no thanks, huh?” Momoko asked, smiling, and raised a hand toward her eye. “I suppose if I owe you so much, this really isn’t too big a deal, is it?” Miyabi stayed silent. “By the way, with how close you and Rii-chan seem to be today, do you think that’s right considering you and Captain?”
This time Miyabi opened her mouth, but no sound came out. That was right, the girl didn’t really know, did she? She’d been knocked out because of it, but she didn’t know… Now she was making the same comment Chinami had just given her not long ago. “There is no ‘me and Captain’,” she said in a low voice. How many times would she have to explain this today? It wasn’t exactly her favorite thing to do.
“Eh?” Momoko replied, looking confused. “How could there not be?”
Miyabi felt her fists clench almost reflexively. Suddenly she wanted to hit the girl again, but felt like it was a bad idea in their present environment, with Chinami still close by hanging through the cubby hole for a look at the shoot. “There just isn’t, okay? We had a fight and… and that’s it.”
“Oh…” Momoko said, staring off past Miyabi. “I see. Well that explains some things.” She looked up at Miyabi. “But you and Rii-chan are getting along well, right? I suppose I don’t have to warn you to be careful. You know how fragile she is… like porcelain,” she said, grinning.
“Fragile…” Miyabi agreed noncommittally, no real coherent thought going through her head right then.
“Excuse me,” Momoko said. “I think they’re calling me for my shoot.” She headed off around the corner toward the set.
As Miyabi stood there, trying to sort out what was currently in her head, Chinami walked up to her. “Captain’s so beautiful, isn’t she?” the girl said, smiling giddily. “Oh…” she said quickly, her smile fading slightly. “I’m sorry.”
Miyabi closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “No, it’s all right,” she said. “It’s not like I can go on from now and avoid hearing things like that. She is, isn’t she?” she asked, a wistful smile of her own coming to her face. However, it didn’t reach her eyes.
She caught sight of Momoko through the cubbyhole as she passed Saki while they exchanged spots for their respective shoots. She caught the Captain’s arm and whispered something into her ear. Saki nodded, smiling, and as she broke away Momoko turned to smile cheerfully at Miyabi.
She couldn’t very well go on like this, could she? The girl had basically told her to take care of Risako. Perhaps it was time she listened to her for once. After all, despite what she still felt in her heart, Saki was no longer hers to take care of, was she? Plus, the girl generally seemed to get along quite well by herself. Miyabi didn’t think she knew anyone stronger. She would be fine… She nodded to herself, causing Chinami’s brows to knit in confusion. They all would be fine… in time.
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good job ;) nice story...i like how it turned out...can't wait to read the next chapter :inlove:
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all i can say is that :kneelbow: hands and head down to you oh suguio author-san!
Risako is so cute......that part where she called Miya in her sleep and says "i love you" KYA!!! :luvluv1: :luvluv1: :luvluv1:
so sweet....i really love it! :luvluv2:
And chinami was funny! :wahaha: acting like that after she saw miya and risako....
for captain..... :hehehe: though it pains my delicate heart seeing the two broke up, since i grew to like saki-chan and miya.....im glad rii-chan finally but slowly realizes the one and truly for her is miyabi! hahahaha :shy2: :shy2: :shy2:
Momo on the other hand....still, she's acting way too suspicious :ding:
well, i guess its a good news for her that miya and saki broke up! hahahaha
im sleepy already! berryz nice long chapter! :on thumbb:
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Wow, a new chapter! :cow:
Ok, first of all, Momo confuses me (and kinda bothers me too). I mean, she's all mysterious and stuff, all the time! It's like she knows something all of them don't, whatever that is.
Miya's dealing really well with the break up... Captain not so much, but she did seem better at the end of the chapter. Risako and Chinami are just acting weird, in different ways. Risako doesn't know if she likes Miya or not (or at least it seems like it) and Chii... I can't say much about her, she just acted weird in this chapter. Still, it's nice that she's loyal to Captain.
Keep it up!
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Yay mysterious Momo lol
Crazy Chinami with her mixed signals
I'm surprised with Miya's reaction to her's and Captain's breakup
I'm rambling again...lol. Can't wait for the next chapter.
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Aww, Captains scares me in this chapter, in a sad kind of way. But she does seem like she's starting to move on, so thats good.
The Chinami in this whole chapter was great! I got a good laugh.
and the Miyabi/Risako, Miya still has to tell her that she and Saki are not together...again, right? I see Risako acting differently towards the news the second time around...
Update sooooon
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well this was quite a cute chapter..
I'm extremely relieved nothing really happened between Jun and Saki..
Because if there were you know I'd kick your sorry ass right?
Anyway, the whole Miya/Risako thing was very adorable..
Like they were starting over again..
Minus the whole Saki/Miya fiasco going on..;;
Momo seems to be making a move on her part in my opinion...
But in that discreet way?
Like taking her time for captain but subtle in showing her affections for captain?
Saki in general is still hurt by the whole break up
And is pretty brave to keep up a face..
But the whole break up seems to be really hard on her
that I can't help but think that there might be some serious verbal abuse later on due to miya's and saki's break-up =T
Anyway, its about damn time this story got updated!!
You should update again since you know..
This is like your only current story at the moment =P
UPDATE!
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A moment later saw her running down the hall, a leg half-raised as she pulled a pair of sweats on the rest of the way, looking wildly all around her for a sign of where the untimely interrupting girl had gone.
Funny imagery, really. I could actually picture Miyabi like that, puffy, messy, bed hair included, too. XD
“Stop staring at her butt!” Chinami whispered exasperatedly into her ear. She ignored her and continued staring. It was really quite nice actually, especially in the form-fitting white dresses they all wore today.
HAHAHAHA! Chinami's extremely funny in this update.
It's nice that Miya and Risako are doing fine now, but I still worry a bit about Saki.
Also, there's Momo and her strange ways.
Anyway, thanks for updating.
I just realized how much I've missed this...
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Awww...I love this story this chapter has got to be one of my favorites!
Although I like Miya and Saki I've always wanted Miya and Risako
yes and like loser87 it is like they are starting all over again :) I hope!
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Awww I'm glad to see everyone still interested in the story! And you're right Loser, hopefully I will update this more often for awhile. :lol: However... This week has been insanely busy for me, and even today I have no time to respond to comments like I'd so dearly love to, but over the weekend I did manage to finish a new chapter, so you guys would want that already anyway, wouldn't you? :) This chapter is different in some ways than what I've come out with for a while. Kind of building on Saki's internal emotions from the last couple, this chapter becomes extremely introspective... from Miya's point of view. Not as much action, but a lot of thoughts and abstract questions about life. You know, the kinds of things all teenagers wonder, right? I hope you guys enjoy reading it. :)
Chapter 36
A few weeks later saw them in the same white dresses as they began shooting the PV for Tsukiatteru no ni Kataomoi. It had been a rather uneventful few weeks, for which Miyabi was somewhat thankful as a contrast to all that seemed to happen in such a small amount of time before then.
Not long after the photoshoot they had gone home for school, only returning from time to time for some rehearsal or additional shoot or other. Sometimes it seemed to Miyabi as if aside from school, her whole life was spent in front of some type of camera, with occasional breaks for a concert. Their summer concert had been a success, with Miyabi even enjoying the roles they played as various types of people who would live in a palace… the Berryz Palace of course. The thought of that always made her smile. To them Berryz might seem like a palace of their own sometimes, and if thought of that way, there was only one person who could truly be its princess. Speaking of said princess…
The night after the shoot she and Risako slept again in the same bed, as it felt like the most natural thing to do once again. There were no surprises this time though such as a secret confession in the night or an uninvited visitor getting the wrong idea. Miyabi also didn’t make any further move because she was too concerned about what some of the others had said about her and Saki, as well as her own feelings. She just didn’t think it was time yet to pursue anything else, and felt that some time to herself, with perhaps a few fringe benefits, might even do her some good.
Saki had somehow returned to her normal self as Captain, though Miyabi found she couldn’t manage to exchange any words with her other than what was necessary for their work. Miyabi was satisfied with this for the time being though, as it allowed them to continue living their lives apart, but she knew that surely sometime they would have to confront each other and talk about where they stood. Then again, if one of them started dating someone else before then, it would likely be an easy conversation.
Since Miyabi knew of Momoko’s own love confession to Saki, she honestly felt like it would only be a matter of time before those two drew together just as what seemed to be happening between her and Risako. However, there was no outward sign of that happening. Sure the two eldest in Berryz still hung out quite often as best friends, but nothing seemed different from before.
Then again, Saki had said that she just didn’t think of Momoko in that way… Miyabi wondered if that didn’t change how hard the other girl might take it. Strange and a backstabbing little bitch or not, Miyabi still felt connected to the girl. She supposed raising someone from the dead would do that.
Their rehearsals as Buono were still enjoyable, if for no other reason than that she got the chance to be in front of the camera more often. Of course, teasing Airi was always fun as well, though Momo seemed to be losing some interest in it.
The others seemed content with things appearing to go back to normal as well, and for the first time in a long while Miyabi received very little grief from them – in fact, mostly just the usual teasing about how many lines she gets and such, of which a much larger extent was directed to Risako. Still, one thing did seem slightly different from normal. There was no way to prove it, but Miyabi was sure now that something was going on between Chinami and Yurina. Unlike before, she would see the two of them together quite often, where usually before Maasa had also joined them. Instead, she hung out with Maasa herself during a lot of their free time. It may have felt a bit lonelier than before, but between Maasa and Risako, she felt content with her social life for what it was.
Despite her friends, the feeling of being in front of a camera so much, or else rehearsing for when she would be, only seemed to be getting worse. She thought it was only natural where everyone teased her for being a camera hog, because it was how she’d been trained for so long, hadn’t it? Especially now that there didn’t seem to be any drama going on apart from the stage, she began to lose herself in her work and school. She hadn’t even had the urge to use magic but rarely, something that she regarded with pride since she was able to control it despite the worries of Kuromi and that mysterious woman. Things were definitely starting to settle into their normal, monotonous rhythm once again... though she couldn’t say that the life of a celebrity, even a rather small-time one was necessarily bad.
Fall dawned and began to be reflected in their surroundings, with the trees beginning to lose their leaves in the first sign of the looming winter, spurred on by the September wind and rain, and it seemed the perfect backdrop to the video they were shooting. It had a rather dark tone to it, though contrasted with the purity the white dresses and she supposed they themselves symbolized. It was definitely quite a different filming experience than they were used to. It seemed to take on a very abstract and almost mystical quality, one that Miyabi could very well relate to, but she knew was hard for some of the others to perform within. Risako especially, since she had quite a central role in the video, seemed to struggle at first, though she worked hard to improve her acting, and Miyabi thought she was now doing quite well. Risako always had a dream of being an actress, and she seemed determined to realize that goal in some fashion at least.
On this day, Miyabi had heard that she was to shoot a scene with Saki, and apparently one that was supposed to have a somewhat provocative sense to it, so she felt nervous all day leading up to it as she watched the others film their own similar scenes. She knew it shouldn’t worry her so much now, but as she waited to walk into the studio in what was likely just a few more minutes, she couldn’t help some slight exasperation. After all, she and Saki hadn’t been close in any form since that night and… Well, her job was her job.
As Momoko and Maasa finished filming their scene, she noticed Saki come up next to her and look calmly on while the others wrapped up. “You ready for this?” she asked.
Miyabi wondered how she should respond. Well, she supposed there was no reason to worry too much. It was just their job, after all. And anyway, perhaps it wouldn’t be quite as bad as she thought. “Yeah,” she responded neutrally, and watched as Saki looked on at Momoko saying her arigatous… and wondered.
As they passed each other on the way out, Maasa came up to her and mentioned something about it not being too bad – they just stood and waved their hands a bit – but Miyabi couldn’t help but pay half attention while watching Saki and Momoko smile at each other and hug in greeting.
“That’s good,” Miyabi said, looking back to Maasa, who smiled at her with a raised eyebrow. “I mean, at least we’re not doing anything too stupid,” she followed up quickly.
“Sure…” Maasa said with her eyebrow still half-raised. “I hear they have something special planned for you though, seeing as how adult-looking you are and all. Their main goal seems to be for elegance, like a Greek goddess or something. Isn’t that silly?”
“Yeah,” Miyabi replied. “Silly. The only one around here that’s like any kind of goddess is…” She caught Saki glancing at her out of the corner of her eye as she spoke, and didn’t finish her sentence. “Well I’ll catch you later, okay? I just want to get this over with.”
“Okay…” Maasa said, some slight worry in her voice. “I’ll see you later then.” She began to walk off. “This dress is killing me…”
“So…” Saki said, walking up to her as Momoko followed in Maasa’s wake. “Shall we?” She offered Miyabi her hand, but she only stared at it as if by itself it symbolized everything that had happened between them.
“Why not?” Miyabi responded, and lightly took it.
As they walked, the closest they’d been in a long time, Miyabi couldn’t help but feel as if her hand burned as it held the other’s smaller one, causing something to swell within her. Since that day she’d tried to suppress her emotions about what happened, but now, holding her hand again… She looked over at Saki, who only smiled ahead tranquilly just like the Greek goddess she apparently was to become. That was a somewhat funny thought, since she was not the girl Miyabi had in mind when she’d spoken earlier of who would be closest to such a character…
How could the girl be this calm? Was it not this way for everyone when you lost the one you loved? Then again, from all she’d heard, when that happened it was very hard to remain friends. She wondered if the two of them were able to overcome that obstacle… or was it just because they were nearly forced to?
As they arrived, the crew was already changing the set to the one the director apparently had in mind for them. It consisted of a chair atop a platform adorned with a regal-looking rug and blankets. Miyabi wondered at the one chair. Was one of them supposed to sit on the other’s lap or something? Now that would be fun…
She looked down at Saki with a questioning eye, and the other girl fell into a soft giggle, causing Miyabi to smile broader too despite her anxious thoughts. Were things really returning to normal? Then again, what was normal? Saki turned back to watch the action, but Miyabi continued looking into her face. At that moment she decided that ‘normal’ was only how things were at any given time; there was no guarantee they wouldn’t change at the drop of a pin.
Eventually they took their places, which involved Saki sitting in the chair and ‘waving her arms around’, likely what Maasa had mentioned. Miyabi however was to lie reclined on the platform, her head nearly resting back on Saki’s leg. She became quite embarrassed when she realized how much leg she was supposed to show herself. She wondered if she might not prefer the girl sitting on her lap. Her chosen pose wasn’t overtly provocative per se… but when she looked down at herself, she was very aware of the curves of her body, and she knew everyone else would be as well. …Was she getting fat?
“Yoi, katto! Beautiful!” the director yelled at last after the round of shooting, and Miyabi let her head fall back against Saki’s leg without a thought, tired of holding it in that position for so long. A soft giggle from behind her made her look up, and she realized what she’d done. But she was too comfortable to move…
As Saki looked down at her, Miyabi felt her cheeks burn under the smiling gaze and quickly draped one of the sheets of fabric she was holding over herself. “The director was right, you know,” Saki said, her eyes sparkling. “You looked beautiful. Every inch the Greek goddess, no matter who else was the only one you thought could look it before.”
Miyabi sat up. “Are you serious?” she said, trying not to think too much about her current situation. She laid her hands to her stomach. “If anything, I’m fat. Then again…” she said, welcome other thoughts entering her head. “There were fat Greek goddesses, weren’t there?”
“There were,” Saki agreed, standing herself and sorting out the various sheets of fabric she held to hand to a crew member. “But those weren’t the ones I was talking about.”
Miyabi did her best to shade her now somewhat burning face away from the girl as she sorted out her own fabric. The things she was saying were just like things she says to all of them to make them feel better about themselves and happy with their day’s work, but Miyabi couldn’t help taking them differently. Saki was lost to her… She didn’t want something that would tempt her to think otherwise.
She glanced off the set to see Risako standing by herself watching them quietly. Throughout almost the whole video shoot except for the dance parts the younger girl only had scenes by herself, and so she didn’t have as much opportunity… or obligation… to interact with other members.
Miyabi turned back to Saki, who at the attention looked her way, and said with somewhat of a forced smile, “Otsukaresama deshita. If nothing else, we’ve given the fans plenty more to imagine after this.”
“There’s still the cut, you know,” the Captain responded. “None of it may even make it in there.” She grinned slightly. “But I doubt it.”
“Ugh…” Miyabi responded, and then had a strange impulse. “Hey,” she said as she unloaded herself of the last of the material. “Risako and I are going to a coffeeshop for a little while. Would you like to join us?”
Saki’s grin faltered slightly, and she blinked as if surprised at the question. Neither of them had invited the other to anything for a good while. “Um… I’m sorry. I’m meeting Momo and waiting for Chii and Kuma-chan to finish their scene before heading to dinner or something. Can I take a raincheck?”
“Sure,” Miyabi said, turning back toward Risako decisively now. She’d just heard all she needed to hear. “It sounds like fun! Though I don’t envy you with that pair…” she added as Chinami and Yurina walked toward the stage past her, giggling and whispering to each other with hands held tightly between them. They’d always been affectionately friendly, but to Miyabi and the rest who see them so often… She was amazed there hadn’t been another lecture yet. Then again, Chinami was one of the ones giving the lecture before, so perhaps silence was the best remedy for the time being.
“You two have fun also!” she said with a wave and a grin, causing the two girls to fall into another fit of giggles. Seriously, what could they be so happy about all the time?
“Hello,” she said upon reaching Risako.
“Hi,” the girl responded simply. “Have a fun scene?”
“It was horrible,” Miyabi said, wrapping an arm around her friend’s shoulders and guiding her toward the dressing rooms. I feel so violated…” she continued dramatically, gesturing with her free hand toward her dress.
The comment made Risako suddenly giggle. “You silly,” she said, poking Miyabi’s side. “It couldn’t have been that bad…” she said, her voice a roller coaster of pitch in mock disbelief.
“Trust me,” Miyabi assured her, and began smiling again herself as she held the girl close. Safety and comfort; those were the most important things to her now, and Risako’s smile was all she needed.
…
With the dawn of the fall and the completion of their Berryz Palace concert circuit, they actually had a decent amount of free time to concentrate on school and other things until the winter. They still rehearsed from time to time, but Miyabi had to content herself with mailing and calling the ones she wanted to talk with.
However, not all was peachy because what they did do – well, her and Momo at least – was take up a small role in C-ute’s tour as Buono. She could have stood to not spend as much time with the other girl, but she contented herself with hanging out with Airi as much as she could. Still, since the younger girl had her own group-mates around, a lot of time it was just her and Momoko.
One afternoon between concerts found the two Berryz sipping coffee at a shop in Yokohama’s Minato-Mirai mall, where Miyabi always enjoyed gazing out the windows at the harbor. Things had been moving slow, with school the main focus outside of the concerts, but she was happy enough keeping up with Risako via mail and occasional phone calls.
She even received mail from Saki from time to time checking in on her, which she supposed all the girls received. She had to give props to their Captain for managing to put everything aside and continue leading them. She only wished she could handle things so well, but she was still anxious about getting into anything intimate, and Risako in her relative youth seemed quite happy to continue basically as they were.
“Whatcha thinking about?” Momoko asked, breaking her momentary serenity.
“Oh… just things,” she responded disinterestedly.
“Things?” Momoko asked. “Like what?” After seeing Miyabi’s reflexive frown, she continued on quickly, “Sorry. I guess I’m just feeling a bit bored! Times like this are quite a let-down after the high of a concert, even if we only appear once…”
“Really?” Miyabi said, turning back toward the window. “I actually like it. It’s quiet. And watching the sea relaxes me.”
“I suppose…” Momoko said, seeming rather unsure. “I guess I’m too much of a city girl – a bunch of water doesn’t do a whole lot for me. I’d much rather just meet up with Captain and go for karaoke or something.”
Miyabi coughed a laugh. “Yeah, I can’t exactly see you being ‘one with nature’ and all that…”
“Yep!” Momoko agreed. “None of that for me. You can keep your communing with nature to yourself as far as I’m concerned…”
“You still seem to have an interest in it though,” Miyabi followed curiously.
“Oh? In what way?”
“I remember you once even mentioned that I should be careful with it since I’d never know how it’d turn out. That was quite astute for someone with no interest in the stuff.” She knew she was being a bit aggressive in her questioning, but she’d always been curious how Momoko viewed what she did. She was alive because of it, after all.
“Did I?” the girl responded, looking thoughtful. “You must have quite a memory for things like that.”
“It’s all right.”
“Well I’m not sure what I would have been thinking, but that’s all in the past now, isn’t it?” she asked, now looking curiously at Miyabi herself. “Are you even still studying the stuff?”
“Oh yeah,” Miyabi said, closing her eyes but still able to see without them… to feel the water outside. “What else am I going to do these days?”
A tittering laugh came across from her in response. “I suppose so.”
Feeling herself relax as if in a nice massage as she let the water’s natural power wash over her, she decided to pry a little bit since they were now talking of old times, something she hadn’t done with anyone shy of Risako for a long time. “Speaking of what we’re doing these days, how about you? You talked about karaoke with Saki. Do you do that often?”
Momoko peered at her closely. “Sometimes,” she responded. “You gotta have someone to hang out with and do stuff like that after all, or it’s very easy to be alone in the middle of the big city.”
“That’s true,” Miyabi agreed. So it didn’t seem like she and Saki were that much closer. Perhaps her suspicions in the past were misplaced. A dark pallor fell over her face. That still didn’t change what they resulted in, even had she wanted things to be different now. Maybe Momoko was right. Her hobby wasn’t called ‘magic’ for no reason after all… much as she hated to admit it, there could be things she didn’t know. She’d have to redouble her efforts to make sure she was doing everything precisely as it should be done.
“You know, it’s a silly thought…” she continued, tracing the tip of her finger around the rim of the coffee cup.
“Hmm?” Momoko asked, taking a sip of her own.
“Well, I heard how you felt about Captain before, and I just wondered, now that, well, you guys are hanging out more, if you might not even start dating yourselves… Goodness knows Chii-chan and Kuma-chan are going to drive all of us crazy if we have to continue only watching them all the time.” She let out a long breath she hadn’t noticed she was holding when she was finished. She’d not allowed herself to even get close to this kind of subject for a long while, and was quite nervous doing so now, even though her curiosity had gotten the best of her.
Instead of responding right away though, it was now Momoko’s turn to look down into her cup. “To use a metaphor appropriate to your mood right now, that ship has sailed I’m afraid…”
Miyabi looked up and frowned at her. “Why? What do you mean?”
The other girl gave a long sigh before pushing her coffee away slightly and crossing her arms to look out the window herself. “I did think that… well… with you out of the picture after all, that she might be able to see something in me instead, but…”
“But…?” Miyabi asked after Momoko trailed off into silence.
“I can tell when she looks at me. She enjoys my company, don’t get me wrong, but that spark just isn’t there… it never has been… We’ve known each other for long enough now that I think I can also safely say it never will be.”
“Oh…” Miyabi said, looking away to avoid seeing the girl’s face. She had her suspicions before, but hearing the girl say it straight out gave her mixed emotions. On the one hand, her selfish part was happy that Momoko didn’t get what she wanted, and that Saki hadn’t moved on. However, on the other hand, didn’t she really want them to be happy too – Saki above all? She supposed the girl was by herself, but now that she’d experienced love, she thought she had some idea of what true happiness was. Besides, there was Risako…
“What about you?” Momoko said finally, breaking the silence and reaching up to wipe a tear from her eye. “You and our baby princess. I think you two have spent as much time together maybe as Chii and Kumai-chan even.”
“Well…” Miyabi said, pausing slightly to consider the oddity of the conversation she was having with this girl who she once hated. Had she really put everything behind her? Then again, had she ever been right to blame her to begin with? “Nothing… really… has happened yet. You know how she is. Even if something were to happen, I’m not sure what it’d be.”
Momoko broke into a smile. “But you said ‘yet’,” she said with a nod. “So you think something will happen.” Miyabi shrugged her shoulders in what she hoped was a ‘who knows?’ way. “Also… nothing… really? Does that mean something has happened? Ooh tell me! No matter how little!” The girl now seemed to become positively eager.
Miyabi blinked at her. “Um…” She blushed and looked back outside. What could talking about it hurt? She hadn’t mentioned it to a soul since that night; it’d probably do her good to get it off her chest. “One night… A while ago…” she said, not wanting to give Momoko the idea of the exact time, “We were sleeping together, right? Like we always have. I woke up in the middle of the night, and in her sleep she hugged me… and called my name.” She paused as she watched a barge begin drifting out to sea. “Then she said she loved me…”
“Oooooh!!!” Momoko said, nearly squealing in delight. “Aww, our baby is growing up so fast…”
“Don’t take it too seriously,” Miyabi said, waving her hand in front of her face as she turned back to the girl. “She didn’t know what she was saying – she was only dreaming after all. And the subject has never come up since then.”
“Oh but it’s something that should be taken seriously!” Momoko advised. “Dreams are very important things. They offer the true essence of the dreamer, free of all the inhibitions society and the chains of friendship place on her. Rii-chan feels very strongly for you… I guarantee it!”
Miyabi blushed slightly and hid her face in her cup as she took a sip. “Right…” she said, then cocked an eyebrow at the girl. “Are you sure you don’t think much of nature? For all you say, you seem to understand it quite well… better than me even maybe…”
“Psht,” Momoko replied dismissively. “Like I said, boring stuff.” Her face suddenly brightened in a smile. “By the way, isn’t it about time we headed back for the concert? All those people… such a wonderful thing, ne?”
“Yeah,” Miyabi said, standing and taking a last glance out the window. The sea seemed a bit more turbulent for some reason now. “Talk about ‘nature in action’…”
The giggling of the two girls was soon all that they left behind… aside from their coffee cups of course. One of them wasn’t even finished.
-
Wow so Momo got them seperated for nothing,eh?I wonder what's gonna happen between Miyabi and Saki later on...hopefully not anything bad. :mon pray2:
p.s. AWESOME CHAPTER!
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sorry momo fans.....but she irked me.....i had this feelings that she hate miya and will do anything to hurt her.... :onionwhip: :onionwhip: :onionwhip: not just in the case of saki but i think with risako too...... maybe she would separate rii-chan and miya...... :frustrated: :frustrated: :frustrated:
aw...love the captain and miya scene......hehehe
miya and risako ....... :on gay: :on gay: :on gay:
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It's good that Miya is on talking terms with Captain. I'm also glad she got to talk with Momo as well. I hope Momo isn't planning anything bad, now that they just started to build their friendship back or something...
Keep it up!
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So, things aren't going that bad between Saki and Miya, huh? I would even say that they are going surprisingly good. I was afraid that after the break up the atmosphere would become much more cold and tense but none of this really happened. It was hard for both of them but they seem to move on already. Guess, it's thanks to Risako and Momo and btw Rii-chan is so adorably cute :wub: Oh and I really enjoyed Chinami appearance XD However, I wonder how long this peace will last and who or what will destroy it this time...well maybe it will last and I'm just being pesimistic :sweatdrop: Anyway, I'm curious about what is to come :D
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Aww, not as many comments that time =/ Well I agree, it was definitely not my best chapter... Hopefully this next one will rekindle everyone's interest a bit more. Still, thank you very much for reading, and for the gracious comments. :)
Chapter 37
“Miya, I have something to tell you…” Risako said as they lay in a hotel bed together in the dark of early night. For some reason they were assigned to the same room again – something that Miyabi did not mind of course, though she had a feeling Momoko was somehow behind it – while they stayed in Tokyo for rehearsals for live performances of the new single. They were all happy to be back together since it had been so long with all of them busy with other responsibilities.
Miyabi’s heart jumped into her throat when she heard the girl’s request. Was she going to say what she thought she would? This time, she was most definitely not asleep… “Yes…?” she asked, trying to keep the hesitation out of her voice.
“…I really want some chocolate cake…” Risako said with a long sigh, and Miyabi’s heart quickly fell back to where it should be.
She reached over and poked the girl in the arm, to a cute squeal. “If you eat something now you’ll never get to sleep~” she scolded her chidingly.
“But I’m hungry…” the girl said. “And I want something sweet…”
Miyabi rolled her head to look at the shadows of the girl’s face. I can give you something sweet… she thought, her eyes straying helplessly to the girl’s lips, and she licked her own. It had been so long since the two last saw each other, and she was nervous being in the same bed with the girl, much less being so forward in her affections.
She pondered a moment on why that was. She was never that shy when it came to this type of thing before, and after her experiences with Saki… Well, she shouldn’t have anything to hide after that. Still, when around Risako, somehow her stomach rose to fluttering and she was happy sometimes to even speak to the girl in complete sentences. However, even Momoko seemed to be all for the two of them, and she still wasn’t sure why she held back. For example, Chinami and Yurina had dropped all reprimands since beginning… whatever it was they had going on.
“Risako…” Miyabi said in a low voice, having one of those moments when she was unable to complete a sentence.
“Hmm…?” the girl responded, though didn’t look over at her as she continued staring at the ceiling dreamily, likely imagining the varieties of cake and cream puffs she could be enjoying right now.
“…I think the hotel lounge sells some kind of chocolate cake,” Miyabi finished, having failed miserably once again. “If you want, we can go there and try to find some.”
“Oh really?” Risako asked, brightening and now rolling her head to look at Miyabi as well. “Would you go with me?”
“Of course…” Miyabi said, holding back a sigh, and the girl giddily pushed down the covers and sat up in the bed.
A short time later found them sitting at a table in the hotel lounge, which definitely did have chocolate cake – and a very good one at that – that Risako was now happily enjoying. Miyabi couldn’t help but smile at the smears of chocolate that were flourishing at the sides of her mouth.
“Couldn’t sleep either?” they heard someone say, but Risako barely looked up from her prize to recognize the new arrivals.
Miyabi smiled at Chinami and Yurina, and gestured to the two open seats on the other side of the table. “Something like that. Our Princess needed her nighttime treat…” She rested her chin down against her arms, blinking sleepily. “Myself, I’d be happy to still be in bed right now.”
Chinami giggled as the waiter came to take their order, but they only asked for iced cocoa. “You know,” Yurina said, pondering the waiter’s back as he went to retrieve their drinks. “I heard they serve sake to anyone here. You wanna try some, Chii? Or you, Miya? You look like you could use a pick-me-up.”
Chinami looked at her scandalized, but her face quickly relaxed, something Miyabi attributed to Yurina stealthily grabbing her hand just beneath the table where they thought no one would notice. She gave a small smile before looking to her own side and watching Risako’s hands finish polishing off the last few bites of her precious cake. Once finished, the girl patted at her mouth daintily with her napkin and let those hands fall to her sides, where not far away Miyabi’s own burned with restraint.
“Maybe I’ll try a little bit…” Miyabi offered, causing Risako now to utter a small gasp of her own. “I’m the wild one after all, aren’t I?” she grinned at them.
“Miya, if you drink tonight you’re sleeping on the floor…” Risako reprimanded, and smiles broke out across from them.
“Ouch, she’s being scolded…” Yurina commented.
“How embarrassing!” Chinami agreed.
“So how long have you two been in rabu-rabu?” Miyabi shot in, causing whatever embarrassment there might have been to shift, and she sensed that the two girls quickly released each other’s hands.
“E~hhhh?” they both exclaimed together.
“What are you talking about?” Chinami said, betraying herself with slight nervousness.
“Oh come on, it’s not like you two are experts at hiding it. Anyone could have spotted what you were up to from kilos away.” Miyabi grinned at her taunting of the poor girls, who now looked like deer in the blaze of headlights.
“What’s going on?” Risako asked, and Miyabi looked over at her clueless face. “Rabu-rabu…?” she asked as if the term was unfamiliar. She’d only used it a thousand times on air…
Miyabi’s face fell completely into her arms at that as the other two girls began giggling as if their apprehension was suddenly relieved. “Good question!” Chinami chirped. “The whole idea is silly, isn’t it Kuma-chan?”
“Silly,” Yurina agreed, and Miyabi could feel all eyes on her.
When she finally looked up, the two lovers stared at her expectantly, relief shining in their faces mixed with slight apprehension of her next move. “Whatever…” she said, and the two girls relaxed fully. However, she let them know with a gaze that despite Risako’s unfathomable cluelessness, their secret was definitely not safe from her. Still, they seemed satisfied enough with that for the moment.
Finally the waiter came with the other drinks, and the two new arrivals sipped them in silence, each with thoughtful expressions as if considering Miyabi’s revelation. For her part, she looked over to Risako, who seemed to be getting a little antsy.
“Excuse me,” the youngest apologized. “I have to go to the washroom.” And with that, she rose and swept to the back of the lounge and her goal.
With Risako gone, Miyabi watched the other two quietly, each giving her half-hearted smiles when they noticed her looking. “Are you happy?” Miyabi asked suddenly, and after a sip Yurina looked at her curiously.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“You know,” Miyabi said. “Being together… dating… being girlfriends… lovers… whatever you wanna call it.”
Her words this time made Chinami nearly spit out her drink, and she wiped her mouth before looking carefully back into Miyabi’s eyes. “You really know, don’t you?” she asked, the embarrassment creeping back into her face.
Miyabi nodded, and the two glanced at each other before reaching over and holding hands once again, this time above the table. “Of course we’re happy,” Yurina said, having apparently given in. “If we weren’t, do you think we’d take the risk?”
Chinami nodded eagerly. “Yeah. I mean, we know what happened with you and Captain…”
There was an uncomfortable silence after that as Miyabi’s eyes fell once again to the table, and she pulled Risako’s plate over to scrape up the remaining small amount of chocolate frosting with a finger.
“Oh, I’m sorry…” Chinami said, as if just realizing what she had said. Yurina gave her a frown, but then a reassuring squeeze to her hand. Miyabi sighed.
“Are you happy?” Yurina asked, leaning down slightly to peek in at her face, which was again somewhat buried in her arms.
“What kind of a question is that?” she asked in response.
“It’s one you asked,” Yurina pointed out quietly, and Miyabi sighed again.
“Am I happy?” Miyabi repeated, as if it was still unfamiliar. “I suppose I haven’t really been since… since…” She couldn’t finish.
“But you have Rii-chan, don’t you?” Chinami asked. “I mean, you two seem to be getting along quite well…”
Miyabi barked a laugh. “Yeah,” she said shortly. “Well.”
“If you…” Chinami began, looking at Yurina and gulping as the girl squeezed her hand again. “If you two would get together, we’d support you as much as we could,” she said, and the silence stretched a bit longer again as Miyabi considered the words that came from the girl who may have been the most against her similar relationship with their Captain.
“I think it’d be good for both of you,” Yurina chipped in, looking between Chinami and Miyabi. “I mean, obviously for you, but Rii, well… for one it’d keep her away from the boys…”
Miyabi smiled again. “Yeah, I suppose that would be a good thing, wouldn’t it?” she asked, then stayed silent a moment. “But what about Saki?” she followed finally. After a moment she looked up to the other girls looking between each other as if considering her question. “I mean, you see how I’ve taken this. Do you think she’d like seeing me with another of our friends?”
“I think Captain would do her best to support us whatever we did…” Chinami said carefully, though avoiding Miyabi’s eyes. Yurina nodded slowly.
“I’m back!” Risako said to no response as she took her seat again and looked around at the three silent girls. Miyabi was still tracing circles on the plate with her finger. “Did something happen?” she asked. “It feels like somebody died here…”
“Sorry, Rii-chan,” Chinami said.
“It’s late…” Yurina commented, and the two girls rose to leave.
After a moment Miyabi could feel Risako’s eyes on her. “Did I say something wrong?” the girl asked quietly, and Miyabi looked up to see her youthful eyes filled with concern.
“No,” Miyabi said quickly, lifting her head from the table. “Of course it’s nothing like that.” She reached for the girl’s wrist, realizing how close she was to her hand, and pulled her up out of the chair. “Let’s go back to bed,” she said. “I’m really tired.”
On their way back up the elevator the two girls stood silently until apparently Risako could not stand it any longer. “Miya, what happened when I was in the washroom? I get back and those two leave… and then you’re acting all weird…”
“It’s nothing,” Miyabi assured her. “Really. I mean, it is late, isn’t it?”
“Not so late…” Risako said, searching Miyabi’s eyes as if she knew there was something she was holding back.
Miyabi looked back into the girl’s own, and this time she didn’t know if she could hold back. “Risako…” she said again, this time her voice in barely a whisper. Her hand rose slowly up the girl’s arm until it reached her face, where she slowly cupped her cheek.
She noticed Risako swallow with sudden nervousness, but just as she began to lean in, the door opened to their hall and her eyes snapped quickly in that direction. Thankfully there was no one in the hall at this hour, but instead of continuing her previous action she grabbed Risako’s arm again and pulled her out down the hallway and toward their room.
This time they dressed quietly with no protest from either, but when they crawled into bed the silence became eerily awkward and they paused before sliding fully under the sheets, gazing at each other as they sat in the dim light from the bedside lamp.
“Miya…” Risako said, breaking the tension finally. Miyabi could almost feel the courage she was gathering to speak. “If that elevator door hadn’t opened… what were you going to do?”
Miyabi stared back at her a moment without answering her question, and spoke up again, still without answering it. “A while back,” she began, “At another time we shared a room and bed like this, I had a dream.” Her voice seemed like it was speaking by rote now, things that she’d wanted to say for so long finally managing to form on her lips.
“A dream?” Risako asked, and Miyabi nodded.
“Well,” she corrected herself. “At least I thought it was a dream… I woke up in the middle of the night, and couldn’t remember where I was. Then I realized you were next to me. I reached out to touch you… I’m not sure that I can say why… and you scooted closer to me, wrapping your arms around me like I was your teddy bear or something. Or at least that’s what it seemed.”
Risako blushed. “I’m sorry. That’s so embarrassing… I guess I must have seemed so childish.”
Miyabi smiled suddenly. “No,” she said softly. “It was cute.”
Risako blushed further.
“Well if that’s what you’re worried about, I can tell you that it probably wasn’t a dream… I…” She hugged herself, unable to meet Miyabi’s eyes. “Actually, at home I do still sleep with a stuffed bear. Toto, I call it…” She looked up to see Miyabi’s smile. “I know, silly name, isn’t it?”
“Not at all,” Miyabi assured her, then gathered herself to go on, her smile fading. “That’s not why I think it was a dream though. When you scooted over to hug me, you called my name...” This new information apparently caught Risako’s attention, and she looked curiously, if a little frightened, at Miyabi. “Therefore I don’t think it was Toto you thought you were hugging.”
Risako blushed again, but this time didn’t look away. “Did I… Did I say anything else…?” she asked, her voice rife with uncertainty and apprehension.
Miyabi looked back into her eyes a moment before responding. “Yes…” she said, and the girl twitched a little as if at a shock. “You said…” she paused, considering her words. “You said, ‘Miya… thank you…’” Her heart, which she just realized had crept back into her throat again, fell back down again at her most recent failure to really express what was on her mind.
Risako visibly relaxed, and even gave a little smile. “Thank you?” she asked, then giggled a little. “I wonder what I was thanking you for?”
“No clue,” Miyabi said, now smiling too.
“I don’t know why you were so worried,” Risako continued, giving Miyabi a slight nudge at her shoulder. “That’s hardly something that could have only been in a dream. Everything I’m sure had quite a reasonable explanation… at least in my head,” she said, giggling again.
“Yeah,” Miyabi agreed. “You’re right. I don’t know why I was so concerned…”
Then Risako reached over her to switch off the light, Miyabi closing her eyes as she felt the sudden proximity of the girl she couldn’t seem to escape yet couldn’t quite seem to catch either. Afterward, the two girls slipped fully beneath the sheets and lay in silence a minute as they attempted to fall asleep.
“Miya?” she heard Risako ask in the darkness.
“Mmh?” she responded.
“Maybe I was thanking you for our time together. You’ve always treated me so well…”
“Have I?” Miyabi asked.
The girl nodded in the dark. “You’re always here for me whenever I need my teddy bear and he’s not around, and even… even when I thought my life was going to change forever, you were there to pull me back to the ground. I actually don’t think I’ve thanked you enough, so… thank you… again…”
Miyabi felt her chest tighten at the girl’s praise, remembering the horrible things she’d done to her, the worst even without her knowledge. “Risako…” she said, intending to set the record straight, and rolled over to her side.
However, when she did so, she noticed the girl was lying on her side too and now facing Miyabi, gazing at her silently with their faces centimeters apart. “Yes, Miya…?” she asked, eagerness in her voice, as well as curiousness, but for the first time no trace of anxiety.
Miyabi didn’t respond, but instead slowly withdrew a hand from beneath the blankets to rest on the girl’s shoulder. “I’m about to do something that up until recently I felt couldn’t be right, but that for some reason now seems like nothing else could be more natural…” she said very slowly, never looking away from the girl’s eyes.
“What are you going to do, Miya?” Risako responded in kind. She suddenly noticed the girl had somehow shuffled closer to her, and now wrapped herself around her once again just as she had that time from her dream.
Then, without any words, she leaned her face in and tilted it slightly until her lips met those of the other’s. It was the most gentle kiss she’d ever had, as tingles like tiny shocks spread throughout her body from the softness of the lips that were at the moment caressing hers in a slow rhythm. Despite whatever she might have done with that boyfriend of hers, she was still obviously inexperienced, something that Miyabi didn’t mind in the slightest at the moment.
After a few minutes that seemed like barely seconds, they parted and glanced once again into each other’s eyes before Risako pulled her closer and nuzzled her face into her neck. “I hope this means you’re mine now,” Risako said softly against her neck. “I’ve waited, I think… off and on for a long time now… We’ve been through a lot, but I… I don’t think I’d rather experience things with anyone else…”
Miyabi felt her insides roiling at the confirmation of the thoughts she too had imagined for a while now. Still, even here with the girl in her arms, she wondered if she was really experiencing this.
“Then is this…” she began, “Is this all right? That kiss wasn’t like our first one. I really meant it…”
Risako pulled her face back level with her own again. “I did too,” she said, her candid eyes sparkling. “But like before, this was only once… Would you kiss me again, so that I know without a doubt that you’re mine?”
Miyabi smiled gently, but this time pulled Risako close for a kiss she thought would leave the girl doubting absolutely nothing. She also thought there was something she had no doubt about now herself – her dream had become a reality.
…
“Do you dream often, Maa-chan?” Saki asked her roommate as they lay in bed reading deep into the night. Well, Saki did at least. Maasa was watching the late night music shows on TV, but at least she didn’t have her earphones in so Saki could still talk to her. She’d not been able to do it for a while during their stays because she was always spending time with Miyabi, but since then she’d rather rediscovered its enjoyment. Still, following the words up and down the pages didn’t seem to convey the same sort of luster to her as it used to before… before…
“Oh of course,” Maasa replied, keeping her eyes on the screen. “Usually about crazy things though.”
“Are they nice dreams, though?” Saki asked, now laying the book facedown against her stomach.
This time Maasa spared her a glance. “Someone’s getting sentimental tonight,” the girl said.
“Not really,” Saki defended. “I’m just curious.”
It was actually a bit more than curiosity. Lately it seemed like she hadn’t been able to dream, after all that happened… She knew it was a horrible thought, and couldn’t possibly be true, but she didn’t know if she had any dreams left.
“Some are nice dreams,” Maasa said in response to her question as she turned back to the TV. “Some aren’t so nice.”
“But even despite the bad dreams, the good ones make it all worth it, don’t they?” Saki asked earnestly.
Maasa gave her a sideways glance. “Ok, what’s wrong? Captain’s never like this. Usually you’re the one giving answers to questions like that. You’re the one that knows it all, aren’t you?”
Saki’s eyes fell, pondering. “I wish I did…” she said in a slow and quiet voice.
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” Maasa asked, her voice changing slightly, and she hopped quickly off her bed to sit at the edge of Saki’s own. “Captain, are you okay?”
Saki did her best to keep her eyes from moistening. “Yeah, I’m all right. I crossed that bridge long ago.”
“Bridge?” Maasa asked. “Were you going somewhere?”
Saki coughed a hoarse laugh at that and leaned up to playfully shove the other girl on the arm. “Don’t be so dense. She said you were always there for her when… when she needed it, so I know you’re not so oblivious.”
In contrast to the snide remark she expected in response to that, Maasa was quiet a moment. Then Saki realized what she just said. “Is it Miya?” Maasa asked in a low voice finally, and Saki swallowed. “You guys have been apart for weeks now. Is it really still affecting you?”
Saki, after a short pause, responded, “You’ve spent a lot of time with her lately, haven’t you?” Maasa nodded slowly, her face now taking on a very sympathetic tone. Saki tried her best not to wonder about why, and went on in a voice tight with emotion, “When… it happened… it felt like a part of me was ripped out. Try to put on a cheery face as I might, not a single grain of what I lost has come back to me. The worst part might be that we never stated clearly where we were. We wanted a break… that was for sure… but beyond that… I wonder if that’s why that hole can’t be filled.”
Maasa continued looking at her quietly, the music from the TV now playing an appropriately gently ballad. “Do you still want to be with her?” she finally asked softly, and Saki tensed, though she couldn’t imagine she should have been surprised at the question.
“I…” she began, trying to find the words to say what she felt, but instead going a different route. “…Even if I did, I’m not sure I deserve her anymore. Not after what I’ve done…”
“What did you do?” Maasa asked, concern now deeply etching her voice.
“I…” she began, as memories came flooding back. “Jun…”
“Jun?” Maasa asked, eyes widening in surprise. “That boyfriend of yours?”
Saki nodded. “The night after, I… I went to him.” Maasa’s eyes widened, but this time in slight fear. When Saki noticed this she explained herself quickly. “Nothing happened… but the idea of what I almost did…”
For some reason, Maasa seemed to suddenly calm down. “Almost did…” she repeated, and even gave a small smile.
“What’s there to smile at?” Saki asked with a blank face.
“You said ‘almost’”, the girl responded. “If that’s the case, then everything’s all right.”
“But I wanted to…!” Saki protested, but Maasa laid a finger to her lips.
“There are a lot of things we want to do, Captain,” she said in almost a motherly way, “But it’s the things we follow through with that define us.” Saki fell silent at that, allowing the other girl to remove her finger, realizing where she was going, and how stupid she was being.
“That’s good advice,” she responded almost sheepishly.
Maasa smiled again, this time more fully. “I heard it once from a very intelligent person,” she responded. “I never thought I’d ever repeat it to her though.”
“It’s just hard, Maa-chan…” Saki said, turning to lay flat on her stomach, her book falling to the side. She rested the side of her head on her pillow. “Despite the fighting, I still can’t imagine myself with anyone else…” She noticed Maasa’s face become devoid of emotion again and watched her eyes carefully. “But that’s not very likely, is it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Maasa said, though Saki could tell she was hiding something. She knew her girls too well for them to get away with concealing things from her. “If you really want something, and are willing to work hard for it, nothing is impossible. More good advice I heard once upon a time.”
“That’s true,” Saki admitted, “But there’s more, isn’t there? You’ve been around her… It’s Rii-chan, isn’t it?”
“Th-there’s nothing to say about that…” Maasa replied, her stuttering all the confirmation Saki needed of something she already knew.
Suddenly Saki smiled. “I’m happy for them. Sometimes I felt like I stepped into a private world that I didn’t belong in, and that was designed for just the two of them alone. Of everyone I know, they honestly deserve each other.”
“Captain,” Maasa pressed again, this time taking Saki’s hand within hers and squeezing it softly. “Don’t talk like that. Don’t give up. I can see now how much you want this. Don’t let the opportunity slip by. When I said there was nothing to say about Rii-chan, I meant there was nothing to say. They hang out a lot, but nothing else happens. They’re best friends, like you and Momo are, and I’m not sure if that’ll ever change. I mean, Miya loved you, didn’t she?”
Despite her resolve, the girl’s words did get to her a bit. If it was true that those two wouldn’t become involved… even though she believed it wasn’t… then perhaps she could still have her Miyabi. Perhaps she could still have her dream. Best friends like her and Momo, the girl had said. Yeah, that’s a good example. Momo was in love with her, though she just couldn’t feel the same way in return. Maybe… could Miyabi and Risako be a mirror image? If so, could she really be satisfied with herself if she left both of the others unhappy? After all, they were all her girls.
“We’ll see,” Saki said finally, closing her eyes. She wondered if she would finally have a dream tonight. She supposed she could always try to see more in Momo, but the thought didn’t feel right. To her, love was something rare that you don’t act on unless you’re willing to follow it through. “We’re still young, aren’t we?”
“That we are,” Maasa said, and Saki looked up to see her face smiling back at her.
-
“Maybe I’ll try a little bit…” Miyabi offered, causing Risako now to utter a small gasp of her own. “I’m the wild one after all, aren’t I?” she grinned at them.
“Miya, if you drink tonight you’re sleeping on the floor…” Risako reprimanded, and smiles broke out across from them.
:shy1: :shy1: :shy1: from that, they already acting like a couple and it somewhat depicts a mikitty-ayaya scene!
from the title "dream"- i thought, all thats happening was just a dream...hahha baka me!
anyway! YAY! :luvluv1: :luvluv1: :luvluv1: so much miya and risako! loving it......im glad rii-chan didnt reject miya.....they're finally and officially a couple now! hahahhaa :on gay: :on gay: :on gay:
in saki-chan's case......mou, i feel sorry for her, she wants her miya back......."GO CAPTAIN!" :onioncheer: oopss for that moment i forgot im a risako-miyabi fan! :sweat:
but seriously....i like the twist, saki-chan fighting for what she felt, making miya hers again! im so intrigue what would the baby princess who's all to shy do.....her captain taking away her girlfriend! hahaha :hehehe: :hehehe:
but dont get me wrong.....im looking forward for the sweet nothings scenes of miya and risako now that they're already a couple! :shifty:
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*gasp*They finally kissed!!!!But the sad thing is though is that Saki wants her back...So sad... :( I wonder how she's going to react when she finds out they're actually together.This chapter was awesome! :wub:
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Very very enjoyable chappy :cow:
I love the Miya and Risako scene very very satisfying now this is what I've been craving for lol
I feel bad about Saki though but this only means more drama coming up later I like it :yep: :yep:
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Aww, cute ebiru duo scenes. Miya's really whipped, isn't she? :P
China and Yurina, it was pretty obvious. At least they're not acting funny around Miya... I guess that's mostly of Yurina, though.
Oh, Captain! Confused as she might be, she's grown up so much since the whole drama started. Of course, having mommy Maasa to talk more sense into her probably helped, too.
But, what happened to Momo?
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Yes, the fluff :heart:
I almost wanted to jump into the chapter and slap Miya because I thought she was going to back out of confessing :P but she did it, and now everyone's happy, except our Captain :( I'm excited to see how all of this is going to play out.
Its always great to see an update on probably my favorite story on this forum :D
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Love.
Lotsa' love.
Sad that captain wants Miya back..
Though, completely understandable as they never really did 'break up.'
Rather they took a 'break from each other'
2 completely different things lol..
mmm keep in mind though, even though captain does want miya back..
She'd rather have all her girls happy than to pursue her own feelings =T
Captain's sweet but is sweeter with Mama Maasa there to talk some sense into her...
And besides Captain said she might look a little deeper into momoko...
so there might be hope for some midget love LOL.
update rokun....update...
enough site seeing...you had like...3 months....i think..update some more!
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OMG UPDATE SOON ROKUN!!!PLEASE!!!!! :mon whine: I LOVE YOU!!(I don't think that will help but I'm trying)
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So... hisashiburi, lol. I wonder if I lost all my readers, though I'm glad to see a few still around at least. ^^ Recent events have just made me want to continue this story again... I want to thank from the bottom of my heart everyone who commented after the last chapter. I won't go through them one by one since it's been so long, but know that it's because of you that I'm able to even continue now. :heart: I'm sure after so long there's going to be some change in the feel, though I'm trying to keep it the Berry Beautiful you guys have always loved. I can't believe it's been 38 chapters... Anyway, onward. :) What's in store next for our favorite Berryz heroines?
Chapter 38
“You’ve been doing a better job lately, Natsuyaki-san,” Tsunku said as he walked back around his desk after greeting her into his office. “Your school life is secret, and no one is imagining you as perhaps a future entrant into Tokyo University.”
“You know I’d rather go to a performing arts school anyway,” Miyabi said firmly in response. “So it’s not hard to keep that ‘illusion’ up. But thank you for your praise,” she finished with a wry grin. The magic she had still been teaching herself, albeit quietly and uninterruptedly over the months since her run-in with Kuromi and that woman, also lent her an eccentric disposition, which she supposed supported her spacy and calm attitude.
Tsunku smiled faintly himself in response. “Yes, well,” he began, “All that’s well and good of course, but there are still matters to take care in.” He suddenly fixed her with a hard gaze. “Those pictures and video from the internet are quite incriminating.”
Miyabi felt her face flush at the subject coming up again, although it was nothing she wasn’t used to lately. “I told you and everyone else in this building before, that wasn’t—” He didn’t let her finish.
“Oh I believe you well enough,” he said, holding up a hand. “Although there are those that aren’t so convinced, but that’s not the point. The point is that you did allow yourself to be photographed in situations that could be construed into something potentially damaging to your career. You talk about going to a performing arts school, so apparently you’re serious about it, and I’m sure would not want something so stupid to ruin your aspirations.”
Miyabi’s temper kept rising from his interruption to his calling her ‘stupid’, and she knew she had to start to be careful with what she said. “You know as well as we do that we can’t pick and choose the people who surround us twenty-four hours a day. Every one of them is bound to have some kind of camera, so it’s just a matter of when someone uses it. That’s been a problem for everyone lately, hasn’t it?”
“Yes, yes,” Tsunku agreed, sitting down in his desk. “But most of them are well-established into their careers, whereas you are still barely starting out, and it would be unfortunate if something happened to hurt your future chances.” Miyabi was about to open her mouth again before he went on, “But again, this works well into your image. Who would think anything more of you than another witless teenage celebrity who does unimaginably stupid things sometimes?”
Miyabi clenched her fists at her producer’s language still, but now began to realize he was not meaning his words as insults. “So, I won’t be punished?” she asked, almost through gritted teeth.
“Unfortunately,” Tsunku replied with a dramatic sigh as he looked down at some papers on his desk. “We must take some action to appease those higher up.” Miyabi’s breath caught at that. Despite the very real potential of going to a place like Tokyo University and having the kind of career other students only dreamed of, that wasn’t the kind of career she wanted. She wanted to do what she enjoys… to sing. If this punishment were to damage that possibility…
“Am I to have a sudden ‘graduation’, then?” she asked, hoping she kept at least some of the concern out of her voice.
Tsunku looked up at her, and she noticed his eyes slightly wide. “Oh dear me, no,” he said. “This is nowhere that serious, even with those that don’t believe you, and plus, you’re far too valuable to the future of the Project.”
Suddenly she felt her hopes buoyed by the man’s words, as well as a bit flattered by his comment about the future.
“No, we’re going to do something a bit more subtle. I’m afraid you still may not enjoy it, but hopefully you’ll accept it as necessary and maybe even take the advice to be more careful tighter to your heart.”
He stared at her a moment as if studying her reaction, but she was getting tired of the anticipation. “So…?”
“In order to push forward our plans with Buono, we want to present Tsugunaga-san as more of a focal point since she is the oldest and who people most expect is and will be leader. To that effect, from now on she’ll start to be in the center for more of the shoots and performances.”
That was hardly a surprise to Miyabi. Her personal feelings aside, she’d always wondered how she managed to be the center girl for their first few singles. Despite her own ideas of herself, she knew Airin was the most talented, if still a bit young, and Momo was her senior. Taking the traditional measures into consideration, she was really the least exceptional of the three of them.
“Also, though to a lesser extent, you’ll feel a bit of a shorter shrift in upcoming Berryz media,” Tsunku continued. “We want to begin to push Sugaya-san more as an individual artist, so I’m afraid she’ll be taking up most of the solo work, but I assure you, you’ll still be a face of the group.”
Miyabi almost wanted to bark a laugh at that. It really was the rise of the “next generation”. First Airi, and now they wanted to push Risako more as well. Then again, she couldn’t complain too much in that respect. After all, Risako’s happiness and career was very important to her as well, as both her best friend and girlfriend.
“I can’t say I’m thrilled, Tsunku-san,” Miyabi said in meek acceptance, “But it sounds like my hopes will still be secure, so I thank you for that.”
“Of course, Natsuyaki-san,” Tsunku replied, now smiling genuinely at her. “And please, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to come to me.”
Not wishing to spend any longer in the man’s office, Miyabi just bowed and made her way out the door. As she strolled slowly down the hall in thought and turned toward the elevator, she was suddenly attacked and driven back toward the wall.
“Miya!” Risako said in a cheerful but almost frantic voice, holding her against the wall as she searched her eyes. “How’d it go? Tsunku-san called me in earlier, and so I was afraid of what he might want to talk to you about…”
“It’s… fine, Rii-chan,” Miyabi replied neutrally. Glancing to either side to see that the hall was clear around them, she leaned forward to give her young girlfriend a light peck on the lips before taking her hand and pulling her toward the elevator. As they walked, she gave the girl a sidelong glance. “I hear congratulations are in order for you, though,” she commented in a more colorful voice.
She saw Risako’s face blush slightly, but the girl just protested, “Congratulations for what?”
Miyabi squeezed her hand. “There’s no need to be modest, so don’t start now,” she joked. “I hear they’re going to start pushing you solo more. That’s great. I bet that means you’ll be getting that solo song we hear is going to be on the next album.”
“That’s still a ways away yet,” Risako said dismissively, still from within her blush. “I wouldn’t expect anything so soon.”
“Oh?” Miyabi asked with a raised eyebrow as they reached the elevator, but instead of pushing the button they just turned toward each other. “Then what did Tsunku-san call you into his office for earlier?”
“Um…” the girl responded, apparently caught offguard by Miyabi’s shrewedness. “Well…” she continued to stammer, before jabbing Miyabi playfully in the shoulder. “Hey! Stop being so smart!” she pouted.
At seeing her cutest feature shine from her face, Miyabi couldn’t help herself and leaned forward again to kiss those pouting lips. This time Risako wrapped her arms around her and pulled her closer, the kiss deepening until the other girl pulled breathlessly away to look frantically around.
“Is something wrong?” Miyabi smirked, licking her moistened lips.
“You know we shouldn’t be making out in the hallways like this!” Risako scolded. Miyabi’s smirk didn’t go away. “Somebody could walk by any second!”
“Isn’t that danger what it’s all about?” Miyabi breathed in a low voice. “You know I’m the rebel.”
“Yes, but I’m not…” Risako said, beginning to pout again, but this time she raised a finger to Miyabi’s lips to stop her from leaning in for another kiss. “I’m the shy princess.” Then the pout faded, and once again the young girl peered into the older’s eyes. “Is everything really all right? You’re acting…” She blushed. “Different…”
Miyabi sighed. She was going to have to tell her girlfriend sooner or later, so she supposed she might as well get it over with. “I’m to be punished,” she said simply.
“Punished?” Risako gasped. “You’re not…”
“Nothing serious,” Miyabi assured her quickly. “Just maybe a few less lines here and there to make me a bit less visible and I suppose prone to criticism. Temporarily, I’m sure.”
Risako’s hand slipped past her ear to stroke her long hair gently. “Don’t act like that,” she said quietly. “I know it’s important to you to stand out.”
Miyabi just shrugged. “What’s the big deal, really?” she asked offhandedly. “Maa-chan and Chii have never been in the front, and Chii’s still the happiest person I know. I’ll live I’m sure. After all, it could be worse.”
This time she saw a different spark in Risako’s eyes – one of sudden anger. “It’s unfair for them to do this to you!” she complained. “It wasn’t your fault! It’s even completely obvious!”
“At least you’re going to be getting something good out of it,” Miyabi said insistently. “Seeing you succeed will make me happy.”
Risako seemed to ignore her, and slammed a hand in her fist. “We should just tell them about the two of us,” she said, her eyes focused on a faraway place. “Tell the whole world! Then they’d know for sure you didn’t do anything wrong!”
Miyabi was now starting to get worried. She clutched the girl’s shoulders tightly, and their eyes connected once again. “Whoa,” she said warningly. “You know we don’t want that. All they have with this is speculation, but if we go on air to tell everyone we’ve been dating for the past six months they’re going to have far more than rumor to go by. Besides, do you want people to be following us with cameras even more eagerly than they are now?”
“But Miya,” Risako whined, “It’s not right for them to do this to you. Besides, knowing our fans, they’d be excited to hear about the two of us being together.” Her mouth turned up into a look of slight disdain at her words, despite her implication of it being a good thing.
“Think, Risako,” Miyabi said in a firm voice again. “Your career is just starting to really take off. Mine is far from being in shambles. We don’t want to do anything that’ll threaten it.”
The girl looked back into her eyes again, but this time in anxiety. “I hate always having to hide this from everyone. I want the world to know I love you, and about how happy we are together.”
Miyabi couldn’t help herself but feel softened by Risako’s words. “The important people do know, don’t they?” she asked. “Everyone in Berryz… our friends from home. Can’t we just be like normal girls in something like this?”
“But we’re not normal,” Risako dissented, lowering her eyes again. “We’re celebrities. Apart from that, everyone thinks we’re too young, especially me. They don’t understand…”
“We understand,” Miyabi said, lifting her girlfriend’s chin with a finger. “That’s what’s important.”
Risako just sighed, and punched the ‘down’ button on the elevator. “I’m going to go work out a bit before our turn at rehearsal. Come with me?” she asked with a pleading look.
Instead of a response, Miyabi leaned in to kiss her lightly, leaving the girl’s chin tilted slightly, and the girl herself wanting more. “Maybe in a while,” she responded. “There’s somewhere I want to stop by first.”
Risako wrapped both her hands around one of Miyabi’s wrists. “Then can I go with you there? I just want to be wherever you are.”
“No,” Miyabi said, pulling the girl’s fingers away gently with her other hand. “You go ahead. I won’t be long.”
The elevator dinged and opened, two office ladies inside peering out at the two idols. Risako gave her one last longing look before stepping inside and managing to don a smile. “Okay,” she said, raising a hand to wave. “See you soon then!” Then the elevator door closed.
Brushing her hair behind her ears with her fingers, Miyabi turned in slight frustration and headed toward the stairs. Where she was headed was only a couple floors down, so she didn’t want to bother with the elevator, not to mention it gave a better good-bye to Risako than it would have if it had to have been in front of the office ladies sharing the elevator.
Finding the staircase, she scaled them quickly down to the floor that held one of the studios, and she hurried toward it. The Berryz weren’t the only ones who were having rehearsals today, as Morning Musume and a new group also were present. Then again, most of the new group were from either Berryz or Morning Musume.
Finding the entrance, she shuffled inside, bowing and smiling to a few staff members who nodded back with smiles of their own before heading slowly through the darkened room toward the stage, where she began to watch quietly from the shadows. The five members of the group that was to support Morning Musume’s new musical were rehearsing the dance for their debut song. Miyabi stared at their sharp movements, unsure if she’d ever seen something so… cool… before.
Everyone had of course heard a few weeks ago when it was first announced that their Captain was going to be joining some of the finest from the other Wonderful Hearts for this special unit, and Miyabi had been waiting for today when they were scheduled to start shooting to see what it was all about.
All the girls were dressed in short black skirts with tight black tops, with Takahashi-san and Tanaka-san, the Morning Musume representatives, wearing a red blouse over the tops, and the younger members – Yajima-san from C-ute, Yuukarin, one of the Eggs, and Saki – red vests to allow the sparkling star on their shirt to shine.
Miyabi felt almost hypnotized watching the talented girls’ dance movements, but she found a hard time trying to keep her eyes off Saki, who moved with her own exceptional precision and flexibility that she remembered quite well. It didn’t help that the girl was wearing a black fedora along with Takahashi-san, completing the look.
While watching and beginning to move with the girls who danced, she didn’t even notice when two other girls walked up beside her, and started in surprise when one tapped her shoulder. Stifling a blush for some reason, she looked quickly into the eyes of a smiling Chinami, arm-in-arm with Yurina.
“Decided to come see the show too, huh?” the energetic girl asked. She glanced over toward the dancers, and the smile faded slightly. “It sure puts our ‘monkey dance’ to shame, doesn’t it? I don’t know how Captain is going to readjust for our rehearsal later.”
Miyabi turned to join the others in watching the rehearsal again. “At least it’s good she’s doing this first,” she commented. “All she has to do for our rehearsal is let loose and act crazy. Focusing on something like this after that would be the problem.”
“Hmm,” Chinami responded. “I suppose you’re right.”
“Where’s Rii-chan?” Yurina asked, looking around as if she was expecting to find her. The two had always been good friends, and Miyabi was happy to hear that they had been hanging out quite a bit lately as well. It was only fitting to pair with the time she spent with Chinami. Perhaps things were more relaxed among the four of them now that they were all involved in long-lasting relationships.
Somehow Chinami and Yurina had been able to keep theirs more on the down-low though, as even some staff members knew of Miyabi and Risako. Although, the long-heralded ebiru duo she supposed just naturally drew more attention. Attention was something Miyabi liked quite a bit, but not especially this kind.
“She went down to the gym. I figured she wouldn’t be as interested in watching this shoot, so decided to just come alone.”
“I see,” Yurina said, turning her attention back to the performers, but Chinami glanced out of the corner of her eye toward Miyabi.
“She looks pretty awesome up there, doesn’t she?” the girl asked. “A far cry from even a couple years ago. She’s really come a long way.”
“As we all have,” Miyabi said solemnly. “As we all have…”
Suddenly, watching Saki swagger to the front to duet with Yajima-san while looking like she was having so much fun while working so hard, Miyabi wondered what she was really doing there.
“Well, I think I’m gonna go join Risako now,” she said quickly, and turned to leave.
“So soon?” Chinami asked in surprise. “Surely they’ll be done soon. Wouldn’t you like to talk to Captain and maybe the others? Don’t get a chance to see them all like this often.”
“Nah, it’s all right,” Miyabi assured her. “I bet Rii-chan’s getting lonely down there anyway. She’ll like the company. And besides, that’s my duty anyway, isn’t it?” she finished with a grin, glancing between the two girls arm-in-arm themselves.
That caused the two of them to glance at each other with smiles of their own, and Yurina replied, “You’re right. Chii would do well to remember that too,” she chided, before receiving a playful bump in return.
Miyabi just smiled and waved weakly as she headed back out the studio door, bowing to and thanking the staff. As she headed toward the elevator, she thought about the past six months or so she and Risako had been together. It had started wonderfully, with the cliché “dream come true”, and as time passed she found there wasn’t much better than being with your best friend. Risako adored her, perhaps in that child princess-like way she still had, and Miyabi in a way felt the responsible adult of the pair as Risako would do crazy things just for the sake of play when they were out together.
She also thought that Momoko would have approved of their relationship, and she did at first, but for some strange reason as time went on the older girl became distant again, as if the two of them were ever close to begin with. When they were Buono, they spent the most time together, but still Miyabi found herself hanging out with Airi more and more, rediscovering her fondness for the girl, perhaps partly due to her similar age and attitude as Risako.
When she pushed the button for the elevator, she felt her mood lightened. Her best friend was her girlfriend, and had proven to be very loyal and loving for over half a year now, the girl she still didn’t get along with well was not paying her as much attention anyway, and despite her “punishment”, between Buono and Berryz her career had never been better, for all of Tokyo University. She smiled. Surely she couldn’t be happier, and to celebrate she even thought about doing a little magic to surprise someone in the hall.
…
After the final “CUT!” called by the director, the girls were allowed a break, and Saki took off her hat to sweep her sweat-soaked hair back. She didn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed a rehearsal so much.
“You’re doing so awesome, Saki-chan!” Takahashi-san complimented her with sparkling eyes, the older Morning Musume leader dealing with layers of sweat of her own. “You should keep your hat on though. Your hair’s hopeless if you have it off.” Saki sighed and smiled, deciding to take the advice.
“You know, I’m envious of you,” Tanaka-san told her while looking at her through her eyelashes like the girl tended to do. “I wish I had the body to dance like that,” she laughed.
“That’s ridiculous,” Saki responded. “You’re great, Tanaka-san!”
As the girl smiled in response, Maimi came up and grabbed her arm. “Hey, you wanna run and get an Aquarius quickly? I’ll treat.”
“I’ll catch up with you,” Saki responded, patting the girl’s arm and glancing over to three shadowy figures watching from behind the lights.
“All right,” Maimi said. “Don’t be too long though! We only have fifteen minutes!”
After the girl left her, she smiled at a shy Yuuka as she walked over to her spectators, who whistled when they saw her strut up in her hat. “Lookin’ good there, Captain!” Chinami beamed. “You’ve even made a fan out of Tanakacchi. And don’t worry about Ai-chan. She’s a tough nut to crack.”
“Don’t I know that,” Saki grinned, and her eyes swept beyond them toward the hall before she turned them on on the shortest girl there. She swore someone else had been watching too…
Momoko was smiling as wide as ever, and looked ready to bounce up into the ceiling. “Sugoi, Captain!” she chirped, and Saki couldn’t help but smile at her contagious enthusiasm. “They may call you a King, but there you really were the Dancing Queen!” They all laughed at the reference to the Western musical that would be coming to Japan before long. Saki really was looking forward to it, and so felt humbly flattered and amused by the comparison.
“Momo…” Yurina said, appearing to be holding back laughter. “That was lame…” She couldn’t hold back any longer, and the three of them all burst out at the peach girl’s expense.
“Iya da…” Momo whined with a pout, before grabbing Saki’s arm. “If I heard correctly, Yajima-san invited you to have an energy drink, right? Mind if I come along?” As if Saki had a choice, with the other girl actually dragging her in that direction.
Still, she went along willingly, waving to Chinami and Yurina as they started to head out. However, her eyes lingered on the door to the hallway once again. She knew another girl had come, and by herself even, only to watch for a while and leave before Saki had the chance to catch her. She didn’t know why, but after so long of being business-like with one another something stirred inside her again.
You came… she thought, her wistful smile soon all that was left of her in the studio as her best friend dragged her off to her breakroom doom.
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OMG IT'S BEEN UPDATED. :shocked I've actually read all of Berry Beautiful a while ago (when I started getting into Berryz) but I never commented because it was so dead. :sweatdrop: But since you've updated it, I'm commenting. :)
Did I ever mention I was a fan of... What would you call them, YuriChii? XD Either way, the Yurina/Chinami pairing. I was quite happy when I first read that in your fic. :P But moving onto the present... I feel happy for Miya... But I'm also worried about Captain. :(
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Ima comment for the first time ever, when i say YAY an update!
I was hoping that this story wasn't going to be pushed back into the shadows! :twothumbs :twothumbs
I admit when when i first saw High-King i was mesmerized by Saki too, it's hard to not watch her. *sigh* she's starting to have feelings for Miyabi again...and i cant help but think the same for Miya
Keep updating!!!
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OH Kamisama has it been a long time since you updated!
I see that Miyabi and Risako have been processing over time eh?Interesting...
Please keep writing after this if you aren't busy because you inspire me! I have a California state writing test on Tuesday and I'm reading your fanfics to help me.Thank you for updating! :twothumbs
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I started reading yesterday and today I am in Chapter 10!
Really good, please, keep writing!! I am your fan!! :)
Oh... How I wish Maasa and Yurina together... :wub:
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You sure haven't lost me!!
So it's been 6 months since the events of the last chapter? I didn't think it would be any longer than a week, but it's nice to see that Miyabi and Risako's relationship is..stronger.. the same? lol.
and Captain is in High King now :D sweet of Miya visting her, just like the other Berryz, though it's disapointing that they couldn't talk there and then, but I'm sure that their time will come.
pleasee don't be away for so long next time, I missed this story :cry:
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wah! :shock: you're alive.....you updated this one! :shifty:
the miya-risako scene melts my heart again! more of it....i demand, onegai...... :nya: :nya: :nya:
hmm.....they're so cute together, well,....but, why did miya wants to see captain.....er....dont let miya hurt rii-chan, the baby-hime! :frustrated: :frustrated: :frustrated:
but, that's make the thrill or twist of the story.....but then, just make the ending a miya-rii-chan happy couple....nyahahaha :wahaha:
update soon.....and please dont take too long..... :kneelbow:
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Miya is far too calm right now. She's letting things happen, and that seems a bit off. However, I wouldn't put it past her to have some tricks under her sleeve...
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Ahh, this story has dragged me out of lurkerville to post once more. In general when it comes to Berryz I'm a staunch supporter of Miya/Risako BUT in the case of this story I have to fully back Miya with the captain!
My justification for this is the differences between the two relationships. Miyabi's relationship with Risako in this story has mostly been described as duty, responsibility and a relationship in which it is Miyabi's role to protect the younger girl. In return, besides being super adorable, Risako gives very little back. It's also quite obvious that with Miyabi it's a matter of since she can't be with the one she loves, she's going to love the one she's with. To that I say 'boo'. Relationships are about mutual support after all and that's much more prevalent in Miyabi's relationship with Saki. Contrarily, Saki being strong enough to be alone and Risako being fragile and therefore needing a girlfriend to keep her 'safe from boys' is a bit weak since we can see that Saki is only hiding how she feels quite expertly but is not coping as well as the others may think (poor captain!). :cry: I actually feel that Risako having Miyabi as only a friend would be enough for her whereas to the captain, Miyabi is much more vital.
To touch on the mystical elements of this, I'm a huge fan of Buffy too so the parallels to that was quite interesting. Especially Miyabi's curiosity in exploring the extent of her powers. When reading those parts in earlier chapters, I had a few thoughts:
From a story standpoint, wouldn't it have been easier to have had Miyabi heal Momoko who had little chance of recovery, rather than pull her back from being dead?
From the time difference of when they'd left for the ritual and when they came back from the hotel, I'd thought that what the demon actually did was reverse time to before people discovered Momoko was dead and change that part of history - that way her being dead wouldn't have needed to be explained.
Did the body of Momoko that they supposedly found and declared dead magically turn into a Jane Doe thereby meaning the hospital authorities 'made a mistake' in announcing her death?
One thing I'll say about Miyabi is that I'm proud that she didn't use her magic to hold onto Saki by force as Willow did to Tara in Buffy by erasing her memories. Probably one of the heartrending moments for me in television when Tara found out. :( With this strength of character in mind she better not just 'settle' with Risako when she's still staring at the captain's ass. :P
Now about Momoko's character, easily one of the most intriguing facets of this story! She sure is amazing and I can't help feeling that her giving up on Saki is a ruse because with the amount of intelligence she's shown thus far, it took her THAT LONG to figure out that Saki isn't interested and will probably never be? ...and what was up with the kiss that Miyabi saw? Reading that, I was calling foul! There was some weird mojo going on there.
Anyway, I realize it's been awhile since the last update but I wanted to get this out there, I love this story with the intensity of a thousand suns<333 Matteimasu yo. I await the future of this fic with great anticipation.
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kyaaaaaaa~~ :heart: :heart: :heart:
I started reading your fic about 16 hours ago and now I've finished it until your recent post..
I didn't even sleep. XD
and I have to say.. YOU got yourself another FAN! XD
I LOVE how this fic has turned up.
Captain/Miya pair is :heart:
sorry, I'm one of those Captain/Miya fans... :sweatdrop:
Can't wait for the update!
so please...
UPDATE Soon :wub: :wub: :wub:
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I hope you update soon Rokun!
You're doing a great job!
Keep going. :D
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rokun-sama... Please update soon!!!! :tantrum:
sorry for this post of mine... just watched Saki/Miyabi videos in YT... and got kind of caught up on wanting Saki/Miyabi again.. XD
So I'm re-reading this fic, for the 3rd time.. :hee:
btw, if any are interested on seeing the vids... here they are.. XD
[noembed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eEcKOt6-D0 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eEcKOt6-D0)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-CGTYrvPnk&NR=1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-CGTYrvPnk&NR=1)[/noembed]
but... I also found a Miya/Rii video.. its kind of an OPV story of Rii liking Miyabi.. I think... cause I can't understand arabian... but its :twothumbs
[noembed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UcqaSPzLUo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UcqaSPzLUo)[/noembed]
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Hey everyone, I'm sorry I've been quiet for so long. :oops: School has been really getting on my nerves, and I can't wait for it to be over... also a bit worried about other things too such as how the economy might affect me when I return home... anyway.
Thank you for bumping the thread and again with all the comments. ^_^ I'm glad to see people are enjoying and even still reading this. I'm sorry updates are slow, but one thing about this fic you might not need to worry about is I'm not sure if it'll actually finish... haha... I really in some way intended for it to just go on and on kinda... remember like a soap opera like I've always said. ^^ It'll just be chronicling their lives for as long as we hear from them, or I have interest, or I run out of anything at all more interesting to say. XD But we'll see how it all turns out. If a plot arc develops I might just follow it through... I'm not sure if I have the structure for it to go on forever anyway...
Well, I wanted to say that I've been working on the next chapter, and likely the next time I get to any kind of writing I'll be able to finish it and get it posted. Hopefully everyone will enjoy it still. :)
I see most of the comments for the last chapter involved a lot of "it's been a long time!" XD Which I suppose is deserved. For those of you like SxY that have read but not thought it worth commenting though... Please do. ^_^ I read comments as soon as possible, and they can definitely convince me to try and write more too (as well as perhaps what I write in some respect), such as kuji's and PoP's wonderful comments did the last week or so. :) Speaking of which, I have a few things to say...
To Ayase, I expect to see some of your well-used emoticons such as :shock: and :frustrated: in coming chapters. XD I think you'll still enjoy it though... after all, you're a sucker for Berryz, aren't ya? ;) Like me...
PoP and kuji, welcome to our forum!^_^ I'm touched to see I was one of the first stories you both posted on, and especially the well-thought out post from kuji. You have a lot of good ideas there, and you might see some of them touched on even in the next chapter. Otherwise, I like the perspective you have on things. :) Oh, and PoP, don't make yourself sick staying up too long (16 hours?!?!) reading fics! :oops:
Finally, BKMM, I was very flattered when I read your comment about my fics helping you to study for exams. I've never thought of them good in any kind of academic sense, but I'm glad you think so highly of it. :) I hope the exams went well!
Anyway, wanted to make sure and give a short comment and respond to you guys in case when I post the next chapter it's late at night and I don't feel like posting comment replies too (as what usually happens lol). Still, hopefully you can expect something new relatively soon. :) As long as school doesn't kill me...
Take care. :heart:
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^ lol... I can't help it.. If I do sleep and not finish the fic until the current chapter.. I can't sleep at all... XD
and yeah, take your time in updating... :)
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Hello. ^_^ Sorry this took a while, but a lot has been going on. Thank you everyone once again for following this story like you have. :) :heart: It really helps to know what I do is appreciated by others, even if I mostly do it for my own enjoyment. Anyway, here's the new chapter! If certain things that happen in it worry you, just be patient, because not everything may quite be what it seems. ;) Life is full of events that are only reflections of reality, after all...
Chapter 39
However much fun she might have had in rehearsal with Maimi and the others, Saki still didn’t think it really held a candle to what learning the “monkey dance” was like with her Berryz. Of course she’d quietly longed for more of the spotlight ever since ZYX those years ago, but finally doing something else again just made her realize how much she enjoyed her time with those she was already with. Besides, it wasn’t like she never got attention while with Berryz. If nothing else her dancing had been featured, which was really the performing art most important to her in the first place.
It put a different perspective on those days when, after rehearsals, she’d go by herself into a mostly dark studio hall and dance on the stage, her eyes closed imagining the seats in the hall full of people watching her every move… It was something she picked up from Takahashi-san several years ago when she had passed by one of those studios by chance and seen the now-leader of Morning Musume herself doing the same. She wondered if she’d feel the need to do that any longer. Well, she probably would, as that feeling of being alone and within her imagination was something she felt she has needed more than ever recently, and that wasn’t likely to change, despite…
Despite what? What she thought she saw through the blur of the studio lights during their recording? In contrast, during their just finished rehearsal Miyabi seemed to ignore her even more completely than usual. Was her imagination running away with her yet again? Even if it was, could she keep on denying it? Perhaps it was time to take some advice given long ago.
Maimi had invited her and Momo to go to dinner after all their rehearsals were over, and so the arrival of eighteen o’clock saw the three of them laughing and walking from Shinjuku Station to one of their favorite ramen shops. Upon arrival, they unobtrusively took seats at a table in the corner, and after giving their order to the attendant, she and Maimi shared a smile.
“This really brings back memories, doesn’t it Saki-chan?” Maimi commented, picking up some chopsticks and playing with them idly as she spoke. Saki grinned. Her fellow group leader had to always be doing something.
“Mm?” Saki asked, still grinning.
“You know,” Maimi continued. “Us being together in ZYX. I mean, we see each other all the time of course, but rarely really work together aside from occasionally at the all-project concerts. We even have the token Morning Musume members! I’ll have to admit though…” she said, glancing toward Momo with mirth in her eyes, “Yuukarin’s cuter than Momo was back then.”
“Impossible,” the petite princess peeped in response. “Nothing is cuter than me.”
“We’ll have to take that up with Sayumin sometime,” Saki said, still grinning. “Yuukarin of course would never admit it…”
“Yet another advantage she has over you, Momo,” Maimi said, eyeing the shorter girl over the rim of her teacup. “Humility.”
“Humility is overrated,” Momoko responded, now sounding slightly annoyed.
“You’re pure evil,” Saki said, gazing at her friend in mock awe.
However, her comment didn’t evoke the response she intended. Instead, Momoko’s face fell, and her eyes glazed as she stared off into space. “I wonder…” she said simply.
Gratefully, Maimi cleared her throat and gave a short giggle. “I don’t think she meant for you to take her so seriously, Momo,” she said, trying to lighten the mood. However, the other girl’s eyes remained vacant.
“Is something wrong?” Saki asked, but before she could get the other girl to respond their steaming bowls of noodles arrived, and after the mouth-watering aroma of the various mixed-in spices, as well as the noodles themselves, reached their nostrils, any serious issues were forgotten and the rest of the dinner deteriorated into rather mindless chatter of food and their new releases. Maimi was approaching a time when she would be very busy with promotion for C-ute’s new single, Namida no Iro, so she had quite a lot to say on the subject aside from the Berryz’ comments lone comments on their own rehearsals.
Afterward the girls headed back toward the station, but Maimi left them there since C-ute was having their release celebration party. That left Saki and Momo on the Yamanote back to Shinagawa, where their hotel for this stay was located.
Momo had been rather quiet since dinner was over, but having herself forgotten what happened before their food arrived, Saki just thought the girl must be too tired, and leaned up nearly against her in case the girl wanted to rest and drifted into thoughts of her own about how she was going to proceed with her perhaps not-so-honorable plans. However, the girl eventually asked a question instead, pulling her back to the present.
“Saki-chan?” Momoko said.
“Yeah?” she responded in her usual quiet and un-excited voice.
“Do you remember when that train I was on derailed?”
“Of course,” Saki replied, raising a hand to pat the other girl’s comfortingly. “I’m not sure that’s something I’ll ever forget. We were all so worried about you.” Momoko was silent for a moment as if she was considering Saki’s words. “Is what happened then still bothering you?” she asked, only half-curious, mostly concerned with comforting her friend.
“No,” Momoko replied. “I mean… well… It’s strange. It feels like that whole part of my life was a dream that I just now seem to be waking up a little bit from.”
Saki frowned over at her. “What are you talking about?” she said. “I’m sure it was scary then, however you managed to survive after getting out of that train, but it was only a few days. Since then things have just been normal.”
“That’s the thing,” Momoko replied, still staring off. “I don’t think I did get out of that train.”
Saki stared at her. “What are you talking about, Momo?” she asked, squeezing her hand. “You’re here right next to me now, aren’t you?”
“Am I?” the peach girl asked ambiguously. “But what if I didn’t get out of that train alive? Miya said she brought me back from the dead, didn’t she?”
“Of course she didn’t,” Saki responded quickly. “You and I both know that’s impossible.” However, she tried to make her voice sound more certain than she felt.
She of course normally wouldn’t believe it at all, and with how normal things have been since there hasn’t seemed a reason to think about it, but Miya had seemed so sincere about it, and at the time, she found it hard not to trust anything about the girl. Still, that had changed somewhat… She thought again randomly about her chosen new course of action, but the one thing she couldn’t betray was her own feelings.
“I’m not sure about that,” Momoko said quietly. “Like I said, those few months were like a dream, especially the beginning of it, but I do remember I was convinced that I was dead and had somehow been brought back.”
“If that’s even true,” Saki suggested, “How would you have known?”
However, Momoko stayed silent afterward, seeming lost in thought, and Saki let the time pass like that as the train rolled on around the city. It wasn’t that long a ride, but a half hour was still a long time to just be sitting and doing nothing.
“Hey Momo,” Saki said after a while.
“Mmm?” the other girl replied dreamily.
“Would you hate me if I purposely did something that hurt someone else?”
Her words this time finally seemed to jar her friend out of her reverie, and Momoko looked up at her with birdlike eyes. “What a silly question,” she blurted out, and Saki frowned. “There’s just no chance you’d ever do anything like that.”
The rest of the train ride passed by silently as the two girls just held their hands loosely, each dwelling within her own thoughts. Neither of them knew it, but the same girl was the subject of both.
…
Miyabi arrived in her hotel room late that night tired, as well as frustrated with the day’s events. After watching High-King’s filming she’d done her best to avoid Saki during their own rehearsal, which resulted in her spending more time with Risako. The younger girl thought it a little odd that Miyabi didn’t talk to much anyone else, except Maasa from time to time, but since that meant she had more time with Miyabi to herself she wasn’t all that concerned about it. Miyabi wished she could share the girl’s carefree attitude.
She glanced over at the open suitcase on the other side of the room with a few clothes hanging off its sides. Chinami was technically her roommate for the weekend, and had left most clothes in here to keep up appearances that this is where she actually was staying, but since Yurina had been assigned to a room with Risako, the four of them had quietly decided that Chinami and Risako would trade, for obvious reasons.
Even though Risako had been blissfully unaware at first, by the new year all of the Berryz knew of both relationships. After all, they involved over half the group, which led to private discussions about whether Saki and Momo might also get together since everyone knew they were still close. Maasa impressively held herself above it all, but for some reason Miyabi suspected the girl wasn’t quite as innocent as she appeared.
The thought of Saki and Momo made her feel even more frustrated and exhausted than she already was. “I think I need to do some self-reflection,” she said as she viewed her tired expression in the vanity mirror.
She thought back to the things she had discovered through her ventures into nature’s secrets, which she had been cultivating deliberately over the months since her accident-that-wasn’t-an-accident, but that unfortunately reminded her of one of the specific things she had discovered – that of her, at the time, beloved Saki-chan kissing that devil peach.
Freezing at the unbidden thought, she walked slowly over to her bed and sat on it with her legs crossed, maneuvering gradually into a lotus position in order to attempt to calm herself.
Closing her eyes, she imagined a deep blackness within her and fed her thoughts into that void. Time passed, and she felt as if she was floating away to nowhere. She felt various powers within her grasp as she found the center of her consciousness, including the one that allowed her to completely separate a part of herself and go to another place… such as happened that one time. Such a thing was much easier for her now as she’d gained more control over herself and her environment, but she stayed away from it as if it was a wasp’s nest within her mind.
“Meditating again, huh?” came a voice from beyond the void, but in her focused calm she hardly even heard it, and was able to pay it absolutely no attention.
However, what came next she could not ignore, as she felt something very soft and damp pressed up against a similarly sensitive part of her own body evoke sensations that her brain couldn’t help interpreting and alerting her to.
Not having any idea how long she might have been within the void, she opened her eyes to see her vision blocked by something, and that something’s lips were pressed up tightly against her own.
As she awoke, the kiss ended, and she saw Risako’s sweetly smiling face draw back in front of her. “Funny how that always seems to work,” the girl said with a giggle, and Miyabi smiled in return.
“I would imagine few powers, whether from this world or another, could resist the touch of those lips,” Miyabi said, her smile fading into a grin, and the other girl’s pale face blushed a light pink.
“I wouldn’t know anything about another world…” Risako said. “Or even about any ‘powers’ from this world.”
“Well that’s a surprise,” Miyabi responded, encircling her arms around the young girl’s waist. “You sure wield quite a few of your own.” She raised a hand to touch a finger against those soft lips. “And these are very deadly weapons. You’d better watch what you use them on.”
“I only use them on you, Miya,” the gentle girl responded, and hugged Miyabi tightly to herself, snuggling her face into the crook of her neck.
“You’d better,” Miyabi grinned. “I’m not sure anyone else would have the strength to handle them.”
“Oh I’m not so sure about that…” Risako hinted, and Miyabi felt the full force of those weapons again, this time against her neck. She closed her eyes in the delight. “You’re not so high and mighty as you think you are, Miyabi Natsuyaki-sama. Why, if I can turn you into nothing more than a puddle of goo by just a hug and a few well-placed kisses, I’m not sure how you could stand up against the real demons of the world.”
Despite her urge to remind the girl of a certain encounter she had with a real demon, very soon she realized a puddle of goo was beginning to be a very good description of her current state. Between the girl’s hands roaming carefully over her and the kisses seeming to sear her neck in multiple spots, she was quickly beginning to lose herself in the moment, something made much easier by the casting off of everything else she had just been attempting.
Soon she couldn’t help herself either and pulled the girl closer, her own hands beginning to wander, and she rubbed her cheek slowly against the lightly almond-scented black hair before her. She noticed Risako begin to breathe heavily almost to the point of making noise as she continued tending to her neck, and Miyabi slid her hand up into the girl’s hair, intending to use some leverage to pull her back into a now much more desired kiss, but instead as Risako’s face rose it pulled away, leaving Miyabi leaning forward into thin air.
“Miya…” the girl said between breaths that were now quite audible. Not wanting to hear any words, Miyabi attempted to lean forward again to claim her sweet rose, but a soft finger against her lips forced her back once again.
They were still holding each other almost impossibly close aside from their faces, but the last unresolved connection of their lips left Miyabi wanting. “Just hold still…” she told the younger girl, a mite impatiently.
The finger still against Miyabi’s lips, Risako shook her head. In response, Miyabi parted those lips and sucked the tip of the finger into her mouth, barely realizing what she was doing. Risako’s breathing halted momentarily, but she made no move to retrieve her finger.
“Miya…” the girl breathed again, lighter and more desperately this time.
“Mmm…?” Miyabi murmured around the captive finger.
“I want you…” Risako responded, and after a moment Miyabi paused in her tender sucking.
Raising her other hand, she grasped the one at her mouth and pulled it back to remove the finger from it, holding it just between them. “What did you say?” Miyabi asked.
Risako looked at her with eyes more earnest than she’d seen in a long time, eyes also filled with desire that she knew must be directed toward her. “I want you, Miya,” the girl said solemnly. “We’ve been together a long while now, and I want…” She paused a second, and a bit of the sincerity seemed to leave her eyes before returning quickly in full force. Along with what she saw reflected in the girl’s eyes, she noticed a new, flowery scent mixing with the almond that was still at her nostrils from before. “I want to feel you against me as you never have been before… I want to feel you inside of me.”
The two stared into each others’ eyes for a long moment before Miyabi slowly pulled away just the slightest bit. “Do you know what you’re asking?” she asked in a low voice. “After everything you’ve been through… If we would do… that… there’s no going back, Risako. The consequences might be different, but they’re no less serious or severe.” Unwelcome thoughts were welling up within her mind again as she spoke. So much for the exercises she had just done earlier.
“No, I guess I don’t know what I’m asking, because I’ve never done anything like it before,” Risako responded. She tried pulling Miyabi closer again, but the older girl resisted and instead pulled further back, releasing Risako’s small hand to fall into her lap. Her voice seemed to take on a tone of desperation once again, though this time it wasn’t so subtle. “What I do know is I want to be close to you. I want to be close to you like…” She broke off again, and her eyes glanced down slightly, almost imperceptibly, but Miyabi caught them.
…Like Captain was, Miyabi finished within her mind, and along with the misgivings she’d already alluded to, she realized that the girl was at least partly requesting this of her with less than pure intentions, whether she could help it or not.
“Risako,” Miyabi said again, reclaiming her partner’s attention. “Something like this only happens when it’s natural. It’s not something that can be forced, and if it is, especially for the wrong reasons, it can only result in something worse in the end. And like I said before, there’s no going back…”
As Risako continued staring at her with those big dark eyes, Miyabi noticed suddenly that she could see her reflection a bit easier from within them, and a moment later the tiniest teardrop began forming in one corner. “But when will it become natural for us, Miya? When will it be time when… when I can finally really have you?”
“You have me now,” Miyabi said, attempting to muster as sincere a voice as she could offer.
Risako looked back at her as if considering her words for a long moment, but in the end looked down and away, and Miyabi noticed the tears begin streaking slowly down her face. “But I need more…” she said very softly.
Miyabi stared at her girlfriend for another long moment, feeling her mind blank, before shifting across the bed to slide off it and stand up, walking off to the side toward Chinami’s suitcase. “I can’t give that to you right now...” she said to the wall, her eyes staring now unfocused down at the scattered clothes.
When she heard nothing but silence and eventually the sound of soft sniffling from behind her, she began walking woodenly, and slipped out of the door, letting it swing shut by itself behind her. The last thing she wanted to do right now was leave Risako alone, but she was afraid of what the girl would do if she returned and let her pull her into her arms.
Worse, she was afraid of what she would let herself do…
It just wasn’t time. With Saki it was… it was different. With Saki she was the one who was being pulled along tenderly in the other girl’s wake. She knew she was definitely not the most mature person yet, but there were things happening inside her, changes, both emotionally and physically, that when the older girl had opened herself to her and made her the same offer she’d just now received once again, she let herself ride along the wave breaking in the other’s wake.
However, in this instance, she didn’t feel she was strong enough to be the one blazing the trail and creating those waves. She’d certainly sailed along that course, but her new mate was far different from her last one, her Captain. And she also didn’t think Risako was in the same place she had been herself at the time. After all, the girl was still innocent, and she… she was the one who had stolen it. Well, she wasn’t about to do it again so unthinkingly, and for good this time.
“Miya!” exclaimed a high-pitched voice from further down the hall, and she looked up to see a bird-like face peering at her as the new arrival neared.
“Momo,” she responded, in half-deadened surprise. She quickly tried to compose herself, hoping she didn’t show any signs of what she had just been doing.
However, the shorter girl scrutinized her with that astute look she’d developed so well. “You look tired,” she said finally. “I’m surprised you’re not in your room trying to get some early rest.”
“I…” Miyabi stuttered, obviously not keeping her composure as well as she’d hoped.
Momoko reached up and patted her shoulder. “Go get some sleep,” she said. “We have a long day with the PV filming tomorrow. Plus I hear we get to dress up in monkey costumes!”
Miyabi stared at her. What did the girl just say? Monkey costumes? How degrading… They would never get her to do that in a million…
“Hey Miya!” Maasa called as she exited her own room, looking slightly surprised but not unhappy at seeing the activity in the hallway. One look into Miyabi’s face apparently told her something, and her expression changed in a flash. “Want to come to a vending machine with me? I think I could use a late evening snack…”
“Um…” Miyabi said, looking at the taller girl and then once again at the shorter one. Quickly her eyes returned to Maasa. “Sure,” she said in a noncommittal tone, though the word still being enough to acknowledge commitment. She brushed past Momoko and smiled at her friend.
“You two have a good snack,” Momoko said, waving after them. “I might even have one myself in my room while I wait for Captain to get back. That baka girl really does keep herself too busy…”
Miyabi’s smile turned crooked at the girl’s grumbling, but at a raised eyebrow from Maasa she followed her toward the elevator. As they turned a corner she caught sight of the devil peach girl still in the hallway with her back turned to them. Even though the view quickly disappeared behind the wall, Miyabi halted suddenly and stepped back carefully, just enough to peek around the corner once again.
Momoko stood still in front of the door to the room Risako was currently occupying, her head turned halfway to the door as if she could sense something behind it or was even thinking about going in. However, after a few seconds, she began walking normally again and eventually disappeared through her own door.
“You coming?” Maasa called from ahead of her. She turned to see the girl standing impatiently in front of the elevator.
“Yeah,” she replied, and with one glance back down the other hall, turned once again to join her friend.
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:onioncheer: YEY!!! an UPDATE! :heart:
“Would you hate me if I purposely did something that hurt someone else?”
now I'm curious what Saki is planning...this made me worried...
“But when will it become natural for us, Miya? When will it be time when… when I can finally really have you?"
when it comes...wait...I can't believe Risako wants that! :shocked
thank you for the new chappie rokun! XD
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You updated! :w00t:
This was an electrifying chapter. I can see Momo returning to the room (it seems likely). I can't wait to see what will happen. Maybe Momo will brainwash her :P
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hidoi rokun-san..... :tantrum: :tantrum: :tantrum: you let risako cry.....
but hey, that miya-risako scene is one of a heck fluff at first, not to mention :on bleed:
"i want you Miya......" :on bleed: kyah! she's not so innocent here, but grr... :on voodoo: why did she refused? haha :on blackhole:
dont tell me miya still harbors some feelings for saki, nooooo! :shock: but like i said, this is getting more interesting....and i would stand in my opinion that momo has this evil aura surrounding her.... :on polter:
haha, next please, dont take too long! :kneelbow:
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You know, I think I was spoilt by being able to read all those many chapters at once before, since now it's pretty hard to sit and wait for each chapter to come out. Haha... that's why I usually like to read fics that are already completed. Still, I just can't keep away from this one. Also, I know what you mean about school, I have five official school days left and I can't wait for it to be over either! For this chapter...
I enjoyed the parallel between Saki and Ai being drawn through the commom pratice of dancing in the empty hall. Looking at Ai's climb to the limelight from when she first joined to the time of High-King's formation and Saki's thoughts on being satisfied with the attention she's getting but of course craving more also, it makes me wonder about her future in what I shall dub 'Rokun's reality'.
MAIMI APPEARANCE!! :wub:
“You’re pure evil,” Saki said, gazing at her friend in mock awe.
However, her comment didn’t evoke the response she intended. Instead, Momoko’s face fell, and her eyes glazed as she stared off into space. “I wonder…” she said simply.
:OOO Oyaoya... What is this I spy? Is Momo feeling guilty about her lies to Saki regarding Miyabi? That would explain why she's taking the jibe so seriously. ...But I sort of like the evil, manipulative Momo (as long as I can blame it on unholy resurrection). SO DON'T BE A WIMP WHO CONFESSES NOW YOUR DASTARDLY DEEDS NOW! :tama-mad: Besides, I need her to be evil so Miya can come and 'save' Captain. *cough*
Hmm... Momoko's question of what if she didn't get out that train alive makes me wonder some more about it as well. IF she didn't get out that train alive, what happened between her being announced dead at the hospital and her sitting next to Saki now? Is she some devil-made copy? D: A manifestation of Miyabi's magic and wish for Momoko to be alive again? A spirit who somehow has a physical presence (who will disappear later!?!)? DX Gosh, I don't know. I just hope she's not some ghost-thing. I mean the way she says 'brought me back from the dead' can be intepreted different to 'brought me back from being dead' can't it? Although I'm probably just getting too paranoid while scouring this chapter for hints.
Ah! What could Saki be planning with this intentional hurting thing and does it involve parties other than herself and Miyabi? Third party consideration too, short one Captain!
After watching High-King’s filming she’d done her best to avoid Saki during their own rehearsal, which resulted in her spending more time with Risako.
Stop using Risako as an excuse and a wall to hide behind, Miyabi. Spending time with her should not be some sort of side-effect from avoiding someone else. I IZ NAWT PLEEZD WITCHU, MIYABI. D:<
“Meditating again, huh?” came a voice from beyond the void, but in her focused calm she hardly even heard it, and was able to pay it absolutely no attention.
A paranoid part of me thinks that you should not disturb a person who is meditating. Especially a person who astral projects and does magic. What if they're having an out of body experience and disturbing them severs their conciousness from their physical being, huh? HUH? WHAT THEN, RISAKO? /paranoia
“What I do know is I want to be close to you. I want to be close to you like…” She broke off again, and her eyes glanced down slightly, almost imperceptibly, but Miyabi caught them.
Oh Rii-chan... :cry: But I admire Miyabi's resistance because she could sense the lack of readiness on both their parts. Her as the elder and more experienced one in the relationship and Risako as the one offering what she is. In Risako's place though, it has to be pretty devastating.
Now what was Momoko doing, lingering outside Risako's room? In the beginning of this chapter I thought she seemed to be feeling a bit guilty so does this mean she's going to approach Risako with good intentions? ...or is this more evilness? Only you can answer these questions, Rokun!
(Oh my gosh... isn't this comment even longer than the one I made for all the other chapters combined??? :shocked)
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“Miya…” the girl breathed again, lighter and more desperately this time.
“Mmm…?” Miyabi murmured around the captive finger.
“I want you…” Risako responded, and after a moment Miyabi paused in her tender sucking.
:rofl: AHHH!<3
I think I died and went to Heaven :rofl: I love this chapter!
I miss this story sooo much Haha Soo Happy You updated.
Love ya! Update Again!<3
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Risako's " I Want You.." Kawaiii!!!
I Do Kinda miss the Saki/Miyabi Thing but know im kinda starting to like Rii/Miyabi
Anyways Update the Chapter Pls!!!!
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Omatase? :oops: XD I thought it was about time I updated this. I think I'm gonna try getting back to its origins though and post shorter chapters. That seems to be working well with my other fic, plus it might mean I'm able to update more since they won't take as long to write either. :) Sorry for no comment replies atm >.>; It's too late, plus I feel weird doing it after being gone so long. Anyway, yatto chapter 40. :)
Chapter 40
Looking into the mirror, Miyabi carefully applied the peach lipstick she held carefully before her. This was definitely one of the pains of being beautiful and idolized because of looks, among other things. Being beautiful took quite a great effort. She once again thought of looking for some kind of magic she could do in order to eliminate such effort.
She never had come across anything of the like, but for some reason she was suspicious about at least certain Morning Musume members. It seemed so easy sometimes for them to get fans of both sexes drooling over them. Not that Miyabi necessarily wanted all that much drooling going on concerning her, but it might make some things easier. As she puckered and pressed her lips together to even out what she’d just applied, she thought that then again, it wasn’t that bad. After all, she did rather enjoy putting on makeup most of the time.
“Exactly how long are you going to be keeping my bathroom hostage?” she heard Maasa call from out in the bedroom in a somewhat annoyed voice.
“Geez, I forgot how cranky you are in the mornings!” Miyabi called back, giving her hair a few final brushes. A few strands over her left ear didn’t meld in seamlessly with the others, and it was beginning to irritate her. One of these days she would really have to try getting it cut and seeing how a shorter style fit her. All of it was really quite a bother.
“I’m not the one hiding from my girlfriend!” Maasa called back, and Miyabi promptly forgot her hair.
A moment later, in all her made up glory, she faced her roommate from the night before from in front of her bathroom door.
“Well, are you gonna let me in?” Maasa asked, eyeing her warily.
“That’s not fair,” she said in a low voice.
“What’s not?” Maasa asked, the wariness not lessened one bit. “I’ve already let you use the washroom this morning much longer than I’ll be able to.”
“You know that’s not what I’m talking about,” Miyabi continued, voice still flat.
Maasa sighed, apparently resigning herself to the fact she wasn’t getting into her washroom until this was resolved. She sat down on the edge of the bed. “Come on, Miya,” she said in a tired-sounding tone. “You get this great chance to be alone all weekend… in a hotel…! with your girlfriend, and instead you end up spending one of those precious nights with me. Care to tell me what you’re doing if you’re not hiding?”
Miyabi stared a few seconds longer before walking to Maasa’s handbag and replacing the cosmetics in there. She noticed by the silence though that the other girl didn’t take the chance to dash for the washroom.
“I guess I am hiding…” she said, still facing down toward the bag. “But not because I’m afraid of her. I’m afraid of myself.”
She heard the bed creak as Maasa apparently got up from it, and a moment later felt a hand upon her shoulder, which she glanced up toward.
“Miyappi…” Maasa said in a gentle and encouraging voice. “Of everyone I know, you’re the one most able to hold control over yourself, and even things that are not you. I can maybe understand if you’re scared, but there could never be a reason for you to be scared of yourself.”
“Thanks for the support,” Miyabi responded, and turned around to face the girl. “You really are a good friend. I feel I can rely on you whenever I need to.”
“Of course you can,” Maasa said, smiling. “Anybody can. We’re Berryz. We’re a family.”
Miyabi smiled, and almost felt like chuckling. Yeah, they were a family all right. Everyone close, generally being able to count on one another, but the requisite dysfunction always going on as well. Miyabi wondered at a lot of it seeming to revolve around her as well.
“Well,” she said, “I think it’s about time I went back to my room. I should get some appropriate clothes for the PV filming today after all.” She right now wore her sweat pants from yesterday, and one of Maasa’s shirts. It could get her by through filming today since she’d be wearing the PV outfits anyway, but she still preferred something a bit more stylish, especially since she wouldn’t be working out in these clothes.
“Monkey dance!” Maasa teased, pointing her hands over her head in the monkey pose and crossing her eyes and sticking her tongue out in a silly way.
“Oh don’t remind me…” Miyabi said, shoving the girl so that she fell back onto her bed. “I’ll be amazed if I get through the day with any shred of dignity left.”
“But I’m sure you’ll look so cute! Then again, I peeked into the costume designers’ workshop and saw them, and…” She broke off, falling into helpless giggles.
Miyabi gave her a very unamused stare. “At least we’ll all be wearing them. So I can share in my misery…”
“Aw c’mon,” Maasa said, jumping back up. “Don’t be so negative! It’ll be fun! Wasn’t it all right yesterday?”
“I guess…” Miyabi said, toeing the floor. “It’s just the costumes… And these will be shown in the PV all over Japan!” Her eyes widened. “Oh my god… My friends!”
Maasa crooked an eyebrow. “You have friends outside of us?” she teased.
“Well, no…” Miyabi replied without thinking, still feeling scandalized. “H-hey!”
A few minutes later, after she finally made it out of Maasa’s room having just barely avoided resorting to supernatural means, she walked slowly down the hallway back toward her own room. There was no activity in the halls, the other girls apparently either still getting ready or already having left for breakfast or some other early morning routine, so it was an uneventful trip until she reached her door. Pulling out her key card, she took a deep breath before sticking it into the slot and pushing the door in.
She peeked in at first, but when she found only silence greeting her, walked in properly to find that Risako had apparently already left. The bed was already made, and the girl’s clothes were packed tidily into either her suitcase or the closet. Glancing at her own clothes which were strewn over her suitcase at the floor beside it, she flushed needlessly in embarrassment and headed over to clean it up, picking out something to wear for the day as she did.
The day at the studio didn’t start too badly, with a calm rehearsal before the filming, but she didn’t really get a chance to talk to anyone. That included Risako, who didn’t overtly ignore her, but also wasn’t her usual warm self with respect to her. Even so, there were times when she caught the younger’s eyes and they conveyed a depth that let her know she may not be very happy at the moment, but it wasn’t unforgiveable, and they’d talk later when the time was right and after enough of it had passed. Perhaps later in the hotel room – after all, the girl could have easily moved back into Yurina’s room.
She was actually mildly surprised she didn’t, because she knew the girl thought of her closest contemporary about the same as Miyabi of hers. That idea made her feel even worse though, since that was who she actually had fled to. And she was supposed to be the mature one. Was all she said to the girl the night before nothing more than a sham of something she thought she knew?
During a break when she was off by herself brooding on such things while nursing a bottle of green tea, she heard someone else punch at the vending machine behind her. After the sound of it dispensing its product, she felt Saki come up and sit in the chair next to her. Funny, with everything going on since the night before, she’d barely even thought of their Captain.
“Hey Miya,” Saki said in a friendly tone, popping the cap off her own bottle of energy water. “How ya doing?”
“All right,” she replied, but after a moment glanced over to see Saki staring at her intently.
“Miya, I know you pretty well…” she said, and for some reason Miyabi felt herself blush a little at that, though the girl appeared not to notice. “I can tell when something’s wrong. Something’s eating you today. You’re not the only one either, but you’re the one I know best so I thought I’d ask.”
“N-no one’s eating me!” she protested, but at the girl’s confusion in response continued quickly, if still a bit uncomfortably, “I’m really all right. Just didn’t sleep well last night, that’s all.”
Saki reclined back a bit more into her chair. “Is everything going all right with Rii?”
Miyabi almost spit out her tea. Instead, she chugged it quickly and responded, “Of course things are all right. Things just happen from time to time.”
“Ah,” Saki replied, nodding sagely. “So there are ‘things’…”
Miyabi almost convulsed in frustration. “No,” she protested strongly. You’re one of those things… was a thought that flitted through her mind. That was one of the reasons she couldn’t talk about it with her. She looked closely at her Captain. She wasn’t going to have to keep lying about it, was she?
“Did you like our dance yesterday?” the other girl asked, now playing with her bottle.
Miyabi blinked. “Dance?” she asked dumbly.
“Yeah,” Saki responded. “When I was with Takahahashi-san and Maimi-chan and the others. You were there in the studio, weren’t you?”
Miyabi’s breath caught. How did the girl know about that? She was sure she hadn’t seen her…
“Umm…” she responded.
“Oh?” Saki asked. “You weren’t? Hmm, I must be mistaken.”
“Y-yeah…” she replied uncertainly. “I guess… I’m sorry?”
“Sorry?” the girl asked, seeming genuinely surprised at the apology. “It’s not your fault. But you should come by our studio sometime, maybe after finishing up our PV filming this afternoon. I think you’d really like it. It’s very cool…” She looked up at Miyabi now from beneath her eyelashes. “Considering that’s the image you seem to like best lately, I thought you might be interested.”
“Sure…” Miyabi said, still feeling a bit confused. “Sounds like fun.”
“Well,” Saki said, getting up from her chair. “I guess we’d better get back to our own studio, ne?” She crumpled up her bottle and popped it into the recycling bin. Miyabi stared, glancing toward her own still half-full bottle. She wondered again how the girl was able to down things that fast. She was just so tiny!
“See you there!” Saki greeted, and left the room.
Miyabi stayed in her chair for a bit longer, drinking sips of the tea from time to time. She’d be late when rehearsal resumed, but that’d be nothing new for her. Had the girl really noticed she was at her rehearsal? She didn’t want her to get the wrong idea…
…She thinks I’ve become cooler lately?
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Yay I'm first to post reply! XD Ok so I must admit I love reading about Miyabi/Maasa interactions they're great friends and so funny while put together :lol:
Miyabi hiding from Rii, huh? Still not sure what she should do but actually I'm glad since I'm still cheering for Miya/Saki :P And Saki thinks Miyabi became cooler~ :roll: I wonder what she is up to...On one hand they are just friends now but on the other...who knows…plus we have to remember about evil Momo and what kind of step she will make next and that somehow worries me since I don’t know how far she will go…Geez, I'm very, very curious with whom Miya will end up in the end
And must admit Berryz are hella crazy family, having members with supernatural powers, evil manipulators, very impatient about their first time kids and so on :lol:
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:cry: I lost for being the first one to reply... But that is okay~ :D
YAY!! AN UPDATE~ :heart: :heart:
Gosh.. I love your fic really rokun~ :wub:
Saki is still in Miya's heart no doubt. :roll:
And wow,Captain's eyes are sharp~ She even saw Miya even if she was rehearsing. :lol:
Love it rokun~ Hope to read more from you and this fic. XD
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Everybody's updating their older fics!! I have too much to read!! :bleed eyes: <---See that? That is my brain, having exploded from lack of time to read these fics again. I will edit this when I get a chance to reread it.
EDIT: It took me two days, but I finally caught up!
Omg Miya and Cap'n broke up and Chii and Kuma got together and Momo's crazy and Miya and Rii got together and Buono! And Berryz! And High King! :mon ko: Monkeys :mon huh: monkeys :mon heh: monkeys!!! :mon emo: I can't believe Miya and Cap'n aren't together but omg, Saki's planning something bad and Momo's still crazy! Monkeys!! :mon pee:*head explodes* :bleed eyes:
:mon rockstar: MONKEYS! :mon surr:
*takes a bow* Thank you. :smoke:
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Yatta! An Update!!!! - and an awesome one at that.
Loved the Miyabi/Maasa interactions - so funny. Especially Maasa's friend comment.
Yay for Miya/Saki talking! - I'm still rooting for them.... >.> Saki thinks Miyabi is cooler lately - not sure if cool is used in the good way or the bad....
Miya avoiding Rii?....I wonder why...
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Wah! ur alive again author-san! :on lol: :on lol: :on lol:
i was expecting a long chappie :depressed: though Im really happie u updated this fic! :onioncheer: :onioncheer: :onioncheer:
hmm.....again! what was Miya thinking.... :dunno: not spending time with Rii, alone in their hotel room?! gah! :frustrated: :frustrated: :frustrated:
poor Rii-chan! :on hobo:
ne, ne, author-san! i was having some Mi-Rii withdrawal :gyaaah: ......put some fluff soon! :kneelbow: :kneelbow: :kneelbow:
nice chappie......hahaha i want the appearance of evil momo too! :on polter: :on polter: :on polter:
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Zomg, this is updated too!? Eeeeee~ *runs around in a circle all happy and giddy-like*
Oh man, Miya got caught... XD Twice at that! And by Captain no less. Oh my. And cool Miyaaa. <3
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Waaaah, you updated! Yay for that!
However, it was too short (for your standards)... D:
Loved the way Maasa teased and comforted Miya at the same time. Macchan really is like a mother to all the other girls... :p
Oh, and I couldn't keep myself from laughing when Miya blurted out that nobody's eating her. xD
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Wow, am I posting an update after just a few days? What's wrong with me? :lol: First though of course, especially since I missed it last time, replies to all your :heart: comments! I see there may not be all that many followers of this... but those of you that do are pretty diehard about it. :) Sono subete no ai ni~
peti-chan: Hello there stranger! :D First to reply too! Good job! :twothumbs You're one of those MiyaSaki fans too, eh? Poor ayase is so outnumbered :lol:. Somehow I have a feeling with all that happens in this chapter, it'll only be giving you more questions. :lol: Berryz is a fun family, eh? I think it's a bit more messed up than even you describe too though. ;)
panick-chan: Nice talking with you tonight! Hopefully you get the chance to read this soon. :) I'm happy you like the fic so much :oops:. And of course you're so pro-MiyaSaki as always. Wonder what you'll make of this chapter. ;)
rndm: Um, monkeys on the brain a little? XD And this chapter definitely won't help... haha... In fact this may disturb (or excite) some people to even further levels. >.> Glad to see you've caught up. Hopefully I'll be able to keep writing this for a while so you'll have something to keep reading. :) I take it you think this fic is... crazy...? :lol:
advent: Another MiyaSaki supporter, eh? :lol: And you're the one of the only ones to mention Maasa from this chapter! I guess since you haven't been able to yet from other ones it was appropriate to do it when you got the chance now. :) Looking forward to more comments from you! Welcome again!
ayase: Enjoy this chapter. :) That's all I'm going to say this time. ;) But it's nice to see you again~
Shicchan (XD): Thanks for being excited about the update! Miya seems to get caught quite often actually...
Amarghetta: Nice seeing you back too! You're not the only one to mention you thought it'd be longer... I thought you guys liked short stuff. XD Perhaps this next chapter will satisfy you a bit more. :P And yes, nobody is eating Miya (currently). XD
Alright, time for more of what you've been waiting for. :)
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Chapter 41
“Aww, everybody looks so cute!” Momoko crowed, looking around as the Berryz all gathered with their monkey outfits for the next part of the PV filming.
“Uki?” Chinami asked in her monkey imitating voice. She actually managed to pull the thing off, perhaps even looking cuter than she usually did. Yurina kept staring at her with a smile playing at her lips. Then again… Yurina was known for staring quite a lot, and Miyabi really wondered sometimes what it was she actually saw.
Chinami and Saki seemed to be having fun playing together in these costumes, and Miyabi was amused at how at times Saki could so easily degenerate to act so childishly. She seemed the youngest of them when she did that, which was just compounded by her size. Although it looked like she might be growing a bit finally…
“You’re doing a great job of keeping that fake smile up, Miya!” Risako said, smirking over at her. While they were filming she’d catch the girl glancing over at her from time to time, and there were scenes when that was made easy enough that the two girls actually shared some long looks. They didn’t say anything since it was in the middle of filming of course, but somehow Miyabi thought it was a microcosm of what their attitude was toward each other today. “You almost seem like you’re really enjoying the costume!” The damned girl almost couldn’t seem to help but giggle when she saw her in it.
“Well…” Miyabi said, “I like the white ears…” She reached up to pinch her right one.
“UKII!!” Chinami cried, pointing over at her.
Saki grabbed the girl’s arm. “Uki, ki…” she nodded, as if agreeing with the girl on something.
“I think you guys like monkey language more than Japanese…” Miyabi said, rolling her eyes.
“Of course!” Momoko said, almost bouncing around. She’d been hyper like that almost ever since they’d started filming. Miyabi was beginning to wonder once again if the girl was possessed. Then again, for the most part that was just Momoko…
Saki walked up to her, holding her tail. “Uke?” the girl asked, waving it in her face.
Miyabi batted it away, and Saki frowned – a cute monkey frown of course – before deciding to play along, and she picked up her own to wave at the other girl.
“Ukii!!” Saki cried excitedly, and started running.
Miyabi blinked, but then looked over to see Risako watching her carefully. The youngest girl seemed the only other one not to really get into the part… that is, unless she was trying to be a sexy monkey or something. Miyabi was very amused at the winks she kept giving the cameras, and how aloof she seemed to try and keep herself otherwise. As Momoko was perhaps being Momoko, she was just being Risako, and it made her smile.
Suddenly Saki came rushing back at her, brandishing her tail. “Ehhh?!” Miyabi cried, eyes widening, as the girl looked like she would ram right into her. Before that could happen, she started running too… in the opposite direction. That of course degenerated into all of Berryz scampering raucously around the set chasing each other in their monkey costumes. Miyabi might have laughed until her sides hurt at the ridiculousness of it all, except that she was too busy scrambling for her life.
Along with Risako’s sexy celebrity monkey prancing around, Chinami sure made one very mean, insane, and yet very cute yankii monkey. And Maasa sure wasn’t helping things herself. Miyabi wondered if the girl was still sore from her bathroom being stolen that morning…
Eventually the staff was able to get the Crayz Berryz Monkeyz™ under a modicum of control, and they managed to get through the shots they needed for the PV, Momoko being as wild as her usual monkey self – Miyabi continuing to ask herself if the costumes made a difference – and Risako still giving those long, mysteriously smiling stares her way. During one such exchange, Miyabi developed a plan for getting her hands on the girl after they were done.
After the filming when the girls were watching a review of the tapes, they engaged in small wars with their tails, slapping at each other and making monkey sounds while barely paying attention to them. Miyabi tried to stay out of it, but at one point she nearly – accidentally of course – decked Momoko when the girl was acting even a bit too wound up for her. The girl didn’t even notice though, and instead went back to swatting her tail into Saki’s face. Miyabi was not amused by the whole encounter.
“Aww… It looks like someone wasn’t having too much fun out there!” came a light, childishly pouting voice as Miyabi was walking down the hall after they finally wrapped up. She almost couldn’t wait any longer to get the blasted costume off, and was still nearly traumatized with the idea they’d just completed filming of a promotional video involving it that would be seen all across Japan. Friends or not, anyone seeing it would be a disaster. Oh man… she groaned inwardly as she thought about that. Airin is not going to let this go at the next Buono! rehearsal… Momoko would be there too of course, but like the girl would tease her. This was the most natural thing in the world for that demon after all…
“I had fun,” Miyabi grunted, continuing to walk down the hall, though her mind whirring with the plan she concocted earlier. However, any plan was quickly made obsolete when she felt a hand on her shoulder and was spun around and pushed against a wall, a red-cheeked young monkey grinning seductively at her.
“Uh…” Miyabi mumbled, at a loss for words. Perhaps Risako’s sexy monkey was not an act…
“Don’t you think I’m cute?” the girl asked, picking her tail up and twirling it in her fingers.
“Umm…” Miyabi stuttered, not any more intelligently, staring at the tail as if it was a viper. “Tails aren’t really my thing,” she said, those words the first thing coming to her mind.
The other girl’s smile faltered a bit. “What are you talking about?” she asked, then smiled again and spun herself completely around. “I think they’re cute!”
Feeling sweat breaking out once again after she’d just dried off since the rehearsal, Miyabi’s lips curled into a quick smile as well. “Yes!” she said. “You’re… very cute!”
Risako’s eyes brightened at that, and she flashed them up and down Miyabi’s body, the tail in her hand apparently forgotten. “You know what I want to do?” she asked.
I want to get out of this damned bloody costume… Miyabi thought vehemently. “Get dressed and shower?” she asked, skipping ahead a step or two.
Risako’s grin became wider, and she pressed herself closer to Miyabi, looking quickly both ways down the hall before capturing her eyes. “Aww, you’re no fun…” she pouted. Cuteness… Miyabi found herself thinking idly. Definitely there… Then she realized she was just eyeing Risako’s white monkey ear as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.
“You look so cute and un-Miya-like in that,” Risako said, leaning forward to whisper hoarsely into her ear. “I don’t get this opportunity often, so I want to take advantage of it.” Then the girl nipped and tugged at her own fluffy monkey ear. She actually did it!
“Wh-what…” Miyabi began, now thinking she realized where this was going, but she was stopped by lips pressing tightly on her own, and Risako began kissing her quite intensely, to the extent Miyabi didn’t even mind the fuzz in her mouth that apparently the girl had picked up from her ear.
“Aww, look at that,” came a voice from down the hall an indiscernable amount of time later, just as Miyabi felt something going on with her tail, but despite her sudden anxiety the younger girl did not pull away from her. “Two monkeys making out in the hall… I thought you didn’t like those costumes, Miya-chan?”
Finally Risako pulled away, the two girls catching their breaths, but the younger making it clear with an intense look that she did not pull away out of worry over having been caught. Without the distraction, Miyabi also felt that her tail was definitely being pulled by someone. It was an odd sensation… But then she turned to face Momoko, who was strolling toward them with that silly grin from the filmings still on her face.
“I don’t like it on myself,” Miyabi stated plainly, licking her lips and trying to subtly spit out the bits of fuzz without the girl holding her noticing. “But I just can’t resist Rii-chan’s cuteness in it.”
Momoko cocked an eyebrow, stopping a few paces away. “You don’t think she looks fat in it?”
Miyabi’s breath caught, and Risako turned to look at her with a questioning face. “O-of course not!” she replied, hugging the girl to her. Risako seemed to take the chance to nestle her head into the soft and fuzzy crook of her neck. “She’s my ultra-huggable monkey Rii-baby.”
Momoko started to smirk, apparently quite amused at the situation she was forcing Miyabi into. For her part, Miyabi was beginning to wish she had smacked the capricious princess earlier. The demon girl seemed to revel in the costume!
“Miya~” Risako cooed, rubbing at her side. “Stop being so jealous~”
Miyabi blinked, her attention returning to the girl in her arms. She was not being jealous! The day she would be jealous of Momoko would be the day…
“Sorry to break up this lovely moment,” Momoko said, “But I need to talk with your Monkey-chan for a moment.” Risako giggled at the reference to her name from the song, but then the peach girl added, “Although it’s nice to see it looks like she won’t be alone tonight too.”
At that Risako pulled back from the crook of Miyabi’s neck and looked over at the other girl, but soon fell into soft giggles again. She looked deeply into Miyabi’s eyes, and Miyabi realized she was thinking of the truth of Momoko’s words, before tapping a finger at her nose.
“I’ll see you later?” she asked, her eyes looking as if she’d forgotten everything that happened the night before.
Miyabi nodded. “I’ll see you back at the hotel,” she said, then grimaced and twitched uncomfortably from within the outfit. “I still can’t wait to get out of this stupid thing. For some reason it just now feels the hottest it’s been all day…”
Risako started giggling again before finally pulling away from her and skipping over to Momoko. Miyabi stared after them as they walked off, the both of them leaning in and giggling. She really did not want to know what the two of them were discussing… Between the two they knew way too many of her dark secrets. Once they disappeared around the corner, she headed off herself finally to the locker room.
The other girls were apparently still having too much fun in their costumes, or else having private talks like Risako and Momoko, because she was alone as she changed. After showering, she left the area with her bag slung over her shoulder and jacket on her arm, intending to return to the hotel for a nice long bath, but then she remembered something.
Changing course, she headed through the myriad halls of the studio building, greeting and bowing to staff members she passed, until she got to some of the big rehearsal halls. She wasn’t sure why she’d find anything at this hour as the day was definitely waning, and she was just about to give up and leave again until she saw light coming from one of the rooms. It was quite low, so she didn’t think it must be a full rehearsal, but she thought if she came this far she might as well check it out.
Reaching the door, she peeked through the window to see a solitary figure in sweats twirling and jumping inside. Almost immediately recognizing who it must be, she felt her breathing slow, but despite her trepidation she found herself unable to look away. The girl moved fluidly and agilely, from one form, one step, into the next. It was a captivating sight to watch, but it always had been when she watched the girl perform.
Although she wasn’t performing now… This time she was just dancing for apparently nothing other than the pure love of it. Especially after the day they’d already had, Miyabi couldn’t help but feel impressed by the dedication.
As she watched the small form whirling around the room, she began to lose herself in thought. She and Saki had shared so much, been so happy, and she felt like being with her she’d grown immeasurably as a woman as well as just a person.
But then, the truth had come out about things that happened, as well as those that may have just been thought. Miyabi confronted her about kissing Momoko, and Miyabi herself let slip about giving out Risako’s first kiss. Sure she’d kissed Momoko as well, but that was out of her control, and she thought Saki now understood that somehow.
It was when she thought about the girl’s reaction to the accusation of herself with Momoko that Miyabi felt the darkest, even after all this time. Part of it was conflict. Despite her very strong feelings about the girl cheating on her, she’d never forget the look of hurt on her face when she made the accusation. It left her confused ever since, knowing what she saw outside the hotel that night… but also knowing what she saw in those dark eyes in that courtyard.
None of that was important now though, since she had a wonderful young girlfriend for well over six months that she knew loved her with all her heart. That, though, was another issue. Even though Risako had made it clear that she loved her, Miyabi hadn’t been able to say those words yet herself. The reason was always because she’d had a very intimate relationship already, where those expressions had been exchanged, and seen how quickly it completely fell apart. She didn’t want it to happen again where she’d invest herself so deeply that she’d feel a hypocrite and perhaps even devastated, not to mention the other involved.
That was also the reason she gave for turning down the girl’s request last night. It bothered her to say no, and then walk out like she did, but she just couldn’t handle it when the girl asked her what she did. Sure they’d been going out for a good while. Sure she’d done those things with Saki. But this was Risako. She was young… She was innocent… Thinking those things clearly at the moment was almost a shock to her system.
Innocent…
Of course. The girl wasn’t innocent. Long ago, Miyabi herself had stolen that from her. That’s just what she didn’t want to do now, but she couldn’t repeat something she’d already done to her.
Risako loved her… She was great to her… But Miyabi wondered for the first time if she really deserved all that. After all, she hadn’t even told the girl what she’d done.
Then it hit her. That’s why watching Saki dance had reminded her of the lies that ended their relationship. This most recent incident with Risako made her realize even more that through it all, she hadn’t been honest with the younger girl, just like back then. Of course they were completely different issues, but it all came down to the same thing – she wasn’t being honest.
“Miya, what are you still doing here?” came a voice from down the hall, and she turned to see Chinami walking toward her, holding her own bag and jacket on her arm.
The girl reached her, and glanced through the window before turning back to Miyabi, her face becoming more serious. She took Miyabi’s arm and pulled her gently, walking with her down the hall. The two girls walked in silence down some stairs as well until they bowed to the staff at the front desk and left the building.
“She’s something, isn’t she?” Chinami asked as they walked down the darkening street.
“What?” Miyabi asked, pulling out of her thoughts again. “Who?”
“Captain,” Chinami replied. “You were watching her dance, weren’t you?”
“Oh,” Miyabi replied. “Yeah.” I didn’t mean to… she thought. She just asked me to come watch them, and she’s who I came across. Now she thought about it, something felt strange there, but the other girl continued.
“Today was a fun day, wasn’t it?” Chinami asked. Then she did a monkey pose once again. “Uke?” Miyabi pushed her playfully.
“I don’t know if I could have been more embarrassed the whole time…” she responded.
“Aw c’mon,” Chinami pressed, nudging over at her. “I know you had fun. And besides…” She nudged her again, grinning, and winked. “We saw you and Rii-chan in the hallway. Monkey rabu-rabu~”
Miyabi slapped at her shoulder. “I thought we were by ourselves out there! Well, except for Momo…”
“And me,” Chinami added. “And Kuma-chan. And her manager.” The girl thought for a second. “And—”
“Alright, that’s enough…” Miyabi said, trying to keep her face from flushing several shades of pink and almost matching the make-up from the costumes which she couldn’t completely get off.
Chinami glanced at her sideways after the interruption. “You know who didn’t see you though? Captain.” Miyabi blinked, surprised, but at the same time was somehow expecting that…
“Mmm?” she murmured, unsure exactly where the girl was going with this. She had her suspicions, but with Chinami you never knew.
“She’d already gone off to do whatever it is she does after filming and rehearsals. Speaking of which… You’re not doing your own little monkey dance around here, are you?”
Miyabi turned to stare at the girl, now really confused at what she was saying. “My own little monkey dance?” she repeated. “What on earth are you talking about?”
“Your Chinese sign is the monkey, right?” Chinami asked, obviously not looking for a response at something she already knew. “That’s why you’re so smart and so good at everything. But you’re also flirty and can be devious with disregard to others to get the attention you crave.”
Miyabi didn’t know whether to be flattered or somewhat insulted by what the girl was telling her. She’d never followed the zodiac much herself, and didn’t know Chinami did either… But then she remembered nothing was ever really a surprise with her dear, quirky friend… “I—” she began, deciding that she should defend herself, but the girl plowed on.
“I don’t know what ended up happening between you and Captain, although I know she’s not been the same since. It didn’t take you too long to get to Rii either. Still, I thought that’s where you’d thrown your lot. But seeing you staring at Captain dancing in that room…”
“I wasn’t staring!” Miyabi protested.
“I saw you!” Chinami said, firmly but with little rise in her voice. “I watched you for a good few minutes before I actually said something.” Miyabi’s jaw clicked shut. She didn’t know what to say to that… Had she really been staring? “If you’re gonna dance around with both of them… Rii’s our baby, and Captain is, well, our Captain… so don’t think we won’t have something to say about it! You caused enough of an uproar just when you and Captain started going out to begin with.”
Miyabi did her best to try and process everything the girl was saying to her, and finally managed to open her mouth again. “But you’re dating Kuma-chan!” She almost wanted to mentally kick herself. Was that the best thing she could come up with as a retort?
“That started later,” she said calmly. “After the ruckus you two already caused, so we got used to the idea of members dating.”
Finally getting her mind straightened out, Miyabi grabbed at the girl’s arm and pulled her to a stop. “Look,” she said as Chinami was spun to face her. “I’m not doing any kind of monkey dance, or any other kind of dance, with Captain and Rii-chan. Gods know I can’t even imagine Saki-chan letting me do something like that!”
“Aha!” Chinami cried out, pointing into the other’s face. “You called Captain by her name! You’re not over her!”
Miyabi took a deep breath, trying to compose herself. “She and I got very close. You said it yourself. Some things just become habit. Anyway,” she attempted to continue, seeing that she’d satisfactorily subdued the girl, “You’re right, I’m dating Rii-chan. Captain is… a memory… and even though some of it might be nice, that’s all anything more than friendship is with her.”
Chinami didn’t look completely convinced, but she let Miyabi pull her forward back into a slow walk toward the hotel. “You didn’t stay in the room with Rii last night,” she said after a while, not looking toward Miyabi.
“No…” Miyabi said, focusing on her breathing again. “I didn’t. We just had… Things happen sometimes. You know how that is. Surely you and Kuma-chan haven’t been smooth sailing all the time.”
“Well… actually…” Chinami began.
“Okay, okay. I don’t need to know about the perfect relationship you guys have.” She rolled her eyes. “But everything’s okay. I promise. We’ll both be staying in our room tonight.”
“You will?” Chinami asked. Miyabi nodded, and then the girl latched tighter onto her arm and even laid her head on her shoulder. Miyabi also noticed a lighter spring to her step. “That’s good then. I just don’t want to see anyone get hurt.”
“It’ll be all right,” Miyabi said, eyes forward as she walked with her friend. Somehow, having for the first time said out loud her plans to stay with Risako again tonight, a weight felt lifted from her shoulders. Was she really just stupid last night? What would she do if the girl asked the same thing again tonight? Those thoughts kept her occupied until they reached the hotel.
When the elevator dropped them off at their floor, Chinami bid her good night and left for Yurina’s room, leaving Miyabi to take a breath and head for the one she shared with Risako. When she unlocked and opened the door, the light shining out informed her Risako had already arrived, and she stepped in to see the girl reclining on the bed in a white night dress reading a book.
“Hi,” she said, looking over at the girl.
Risako looked up at her, a smile coming to her face. “Hey Miya,” she said, and she adopted that curious pout of hers as she laid the book down on her chest.
“You’re so beautiful,” Miyabi said, still standing just beyond the now-closed door and twirling a finger in her hair reflexively.
Risako blushed. “But I thought you liked me better in the monkey suit?”
Miyabi’s mouth fell into a grin. “Are you kidding? Those things were…” She stopped herself before going on, and continued smartly, “You were very cute.”
“And so were you,” Risako said, sitting up and setting her book on the end table. “It was… refreshing to see a break from the cool, badass Miya we’ve been seeing all the time otherwise lately.”
Miyabi finally stepped forward and jumped on the bed, making the younger girl giggle as she bounced with it, and crawled over to sit in front of her, knees folded to the side. “Aww… Are you saying you’re bored with me looking and acting that way?”
Risako’s smile widened in response. “Miya~ I could never be bored with you…”
After the girl said that, and as Miyabi continued looking into those youthful, and she now realized not-so-innocent, eyes, she couldn’t help herself as desire took over control of her body from her mind, which was still a bit stuck on the not-so-innocent concept. After all, the desire was telling her, What’s so bad about not being innocent? She definitely wasn’t innocent herself, and yet still thought she was the greatest thing in the world.
She leaned forward swiftly, and all Risako did was give a small squeak as she was suddenly being kissed very thoroughly and pushed back again to the pillows. Miyabi, not wanting to bother changing into pajamas, eventually lost all but her underclothes, but that was as far as it went. Just having a taste of this beautiful creature was enough for her for now, and despite all the thought she gave to the matter on the way to the room, the girl didn’t repeat her request from the night before.
The only thing she thought could possibly tear her away from the bed for the rest of the night was that bath she’d been wanting ever since getting out of that stupid, yet apparently quite useful, monkey suit.
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i can die now peacefully! thanks author-san! :on bleed: :on bleed: :on bleed:
i can't have enough fluffiness! i want more..... :on lol: :on lol: :on lol:
i was thinking this chapter was for me since it has Mi-Rii all over it...KYA! :shy1: :shy1: :shy1:
though Miya is acting like she was about to do something.....something that could hurt Rii-chan! :smoke: like Miya cheating! NO!~ :on_plug:
why do i sense some evil aura from Rii-chan! :glasses:
and of of course, my opinion still stands......Momo is evil! :on polter: :on polter: :on polter:
though i really hope Miya would stay loyal to the baby :luvluv2:....well, she can't have both the eldest and the youngest berryz! :on freeza: mou~
after a very tiring day from school, :on_hot: this update made me feel relax! :on gay:
love this chappie author-san! :on GJ:
update soon! :kneelbow:
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:mon pee: Monkeys on the :mon baby: brain? :mon ko: Why would you :mon closeup: ever think that? :mon hi: *twitch*
But seriously the girls running around in monkey costumes and being crazy? I love it. It's so cute And yes I do think this story is crazy. Crazy like a fox!!
I still like MiyaCap'n as a pair better than MiyaRii but I'm sure no matter who Miya ends up with, it'll be awesome.
:mon phone: :mon dance: :mon chilly: :mon cam: :mon prayer: :mon yeah: :mon cheek: :mon fyeah: :mon pumped: :mon loveflower: :mon look: :mon kungfu: :mon gamer: :mon fu: :mon fierce: :mon whimper: :mon dolla: :mon evillaff: :mon scooter: :mon scratch: :mon money: :mon yoyo: Monkeys!
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Oh, lovely! Another update... :)
As much as Miya denies still liking Saki, I don't think she's completely over her. Then again, I don't think she was completely over Rii when Saki happened... :roll:
You made me want to watch that monkey PV again, but I don't know where I left it. YT could help, but that won't be enough for me. Rii-chan was certainly cute there, and Chinami did look like a yankii. :lol:
Oh, and whatever you meant by "liking short stuff"? Dunno about others, but I like my fics long and complicated. ;)
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You know I'm a pure SakiMiya~ XD But it was nice talking to you too~ hope we can do it again. :lol:
Now to read the chapter. :P
:imdead: I dunno.. I've been reading MIya and Rii kiss and stuff but when I read it this time.. it was different.. :mon duh:
But anyway. I so love the part where Miya was staring at Captain. :mon inluv: It kinda proves Miya still has something for Captain. And a more stronger feeling compared to Rii.
When Chii and Miya were talking, it made me think that maybe Captain saw it but Chii was telling her she didn't...? :mon sweat:
But anyway~ I love it as always~ :mon lovelaff: Keep it up rokun-san~ :mon roll:
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I missed this story soooo much :)2
But this was Risako. She was young… She was innocent… Thinking those things clearly at the moment was almost a shock to her system.
Innocent…
Of course. The girl wasn’t innocent. Long ago, Miyabi herself had stolen that from her. That’s just what she didn’t want to do now, but she couldn’t repeat something she’d already done to her.
Wait, so have Miyabi and Risako already slept together, but Risako wasn't aware of it? :O
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But this was Risako. She was young… She was innocent… Thinking those things clearly at the moment was almost a shock to her system.
Innocent…
Of course. The girl wasn’t innocent. Long ago, Miyabi herself had stolen that from her. That’s just what she didn’t want to do now, but she couldn’t repeat something she’d already done to her.
Wait, so have Miyabi and Risako already slept together, but Risako wasn't aware of it? :O
Lol! If I remember correctly, the stolen innocence thing has something to do with band-aids, witchy stuff and Momoko's return to life...
Nvm... I just found out what that meant. :roll: :lol:
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Shicchan (XD): Thanks for being excited about the update! Miya seems to get caught quite often actually...
I understand what that XD is for... xDDDD Anyway, yay for another chapter! And well...yeah, she does get caught a lot. Proven by Chii. Oooouuuch. XD But poor Miya...it seems there might still be a place for a certain Captain in her heart. >~<
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im in a BUMPING mode right now :onioncheer: :onioncheer: :onioncheer:
so bump bump bump this fic.... :hehehe: :hehehe: :hehehe:
ne, author-san...i know i told u about liking the miya-airi :luvluv2: but im originally a mi-rii fan :luvluv1: :luvluv1: :luvluv1:
so, since u updated ur other fic....please, onegai, update this one too? :on ksweat: :on ksweat: :on ksweat:
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^_^ Thanks for the bump, ayase! I see you've fully tranformed into that Miya/Airi fan now, eh? :lol: Though of course I'm sure you won't be able to forget MiRii.
Anyway *cough* I thought I'd post to mention that because of a different fic I've begun (which will be a surprise and gift to everyone when it's time for me to post it), I've started looking at this again in hopes of continuing it! I've developed some ideas of where to go, so hopefully I'll be able to keep it going a little bit too. ^_^ The next chapter or two are going to be... significant... XD Anyway, while I'm here I might as well do comment replies too! So I'm not scrambling for it at the last minute again. :)
ayase (once again ^^): I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter so much. :) It makes me happy I can keep the MiRii fans like you happy up to this point - that was a big goal. Everyone was definitely a bit suspicious again, including Miya, but I hope how it turns out won't be quite like anyone expects... >.>
rndm: I'm glad you've had your monkey fun! :lol: I'm sure enough time has passed so that's over now though, right? Well, it is story-wise at least basically. XD Although, it really is fun writing all the craziness that is Berryz...
Amarghetta: I wonder if Miya really even knows what she wants? :lol: Maybe... she's going to have to learn it from someone else altogether... I'm glad you like the long chapters ^^ I'll try not to disappoint with what's upcoming. Also, in your second comment, I'm not sure what you did there and understood. :lol: I don't think you needed to cross out what you did. :) You'll find out more in the next chapter or two!
panick: It was different, wasn't it? :) Although... it may not actually be settled yet... And believe me, I know you're MiyaSaki-ness. ;) Speaking of which, Miya definitely did show something when she was looking in on Captain. Again, more next chapter. :)
mode: I think Amarghetta answered your question for me. :) I hope you keep following the story!!! Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!!! That goes for the rest of you too. :)
SxY: The time for Miya getting caught is over now, and it's time for something new to come into play. Sorry I haven't talked to you lately. Keep in touch! :)
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First post here!
this is a fitting place me thinks too as this was the firstt H!P fanfic I read!
really hyped that you are thinking of continuing your story, I really enjoyed it up to this point and now cannot wait to see where you go with it. In a lot of fic's iv've read i,ve been able to figure out what will happen in the end, but not this one, I REALLY want to know how this one will end!
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Hello. :) I told you an update was coming! After all this time...
It actually took me longer than I expected since I realized I had to work hard on it to get it just the way I wanted it. For those of you that are still around, I hope it's worth at least part of the wait. :heart:
If you know Berryz song titles and their meanings, I think you'll get more out of this chapter. :lol: But it's not necessary.
Chapter 42 – Anata Nashi de wa Ikite Yukenai
Miyabi woke to light flooding the room, even though the curtains were pulled tightly together. She squinted her eyes tightly after the shock of glancing toward the window and groaned, pulling the covers back over her. Even though it must be late, she still didn’t want to get up since most of them, including her, had the day off.
She realized, though, that she was alone as she rolled around in the bed. Blinking more from beneath the covers, taking in the ever-present scent of the younger girl still on the sheets, she tried to make her mind work since she thought there was something she should be remembering. Of course! She’d actually woken earlier when Risako got up, but all she really remembered was the girl telling her she had to meet up with someone and she’d see her later. Miyabi didn’t remember if Risako said who she was meeting.
Getting up now herself, she heard her phone beep to let her know there was mail waiting, so she groggily groped the table for it before picking it up and staring at the message that was from an unidentified address.
High-King is having training practice at 11. Just thought you might be interested...
Maybe it was because she just woke up, but that seemed like a strange thing for someone she didn’t know to text her. Closing the message, she checked the time on her phone, and saw it was 10:24. Blinking, she tried to register what that meant.
She didn’t really have any plans for the day except to go shopping with Chinami and Yurina, and maybe have lunch while she was out. She blinked at the time again. She supposed there was no reason she couldn’t stop at the studio first, at least to see what that mail was all about. However… if she was going to be there by 11, she’d really have to hurry. Shinjuku was a short train ride, but it would still take a while to make it all the way to the studio through the various connections.
Now suddenly feeling more awake, she jumped up from the bed and began ransacking her luggage for clothes for the day.
A little while later, she hurried down the street toward the studio building with her hat pulled low over her eyes. She glanced down to her phone again, seeing the numbers change from 11:12 to 11:13. Of course it wouldn’t matter if she was late since she didn’t even need to be there in the first place. In fact, she wondered why she was. On her days off she normally stayed far away from the studio in lieu of shopping.
Finding her way to the floor where she expected they’d rehearse, she walked the loop through the halls, nodding to staff members she passed. Occasionally she’d see activity through one of the windowed doors, but nothing that looked like High-King. She tried another floor that seemed emptier, but upon still finding nothing became a bit puzzled as she pondered what to do next. Was the practice over already? It was barely 11:30.
A flash of movement through one of the last windows she passed on the way back to the stairs caught her attention, and she looked in to see a lone girl standing dressed in training clothes, drinking out of a water bottle and looking like she’d just finished from being hard at work at something. Apparently she noticed Miyabi peering through the window out of the corner of her eye, because she turned to pause as if in a bit of surprise to find her there. Miyabi’s breath caught as the girl pondered a minute before striding evenly to the door and opening it.
“Hi Miya,” Saki said, dabbing at her face as she smiled at Miyabi through the opened door. She glanced up and down the hall as if expecting to find someone else there. “What are you doing here? I thought this was your day off.”
“Well I got this mail and…” Miyabi began, but then her brain seemed to decide to turn on. She did not want to go on to Saki about mysterious mail from strange addresses. “I was just in the area,” she said instead. “I thought I’d drop by and see if anyone was around, maybe to bring along shopping too.”
Saki gave her an appraising look. “Well I’ve just been practicing my dancing here,” she said, and she handed Miyabi her water bottle to take a few quick steps before beginning to leap and twirl across the room. Miyabi’s eyes widened, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the girl. When she almost reached the other side, she came to a halt and turned back to Miyabi. “It’s a real stress-reliever, you know.”
“You’re under a lot of stress?” Miyabi asked, setting Saki’s water bottle and her bag on a table as she walked toward the girl.
An apologetic smile appeared on Saki’s face. “No, I didn’t mean it that way. But dancing is always enjoyable to me.” She reached up again as she went to one foot, and tried to rise up on just her toes before falling back down flat-footed and sighing. “I can never seem to get those ballet poses though. Sometimes I envy Takahashi-san.”
Suddenly Miyabi stepped forward and took Saki’s hands. “I’m sure you’ll get it if you keep working hard,” she said, looking into the girl’s dampened face.
Saki stared down at their hands for a moment before raising her own eyes to Miyabi’s. “I don’t know,” she said. “I think I might be getting too old to train my muscles to all that stuff.”
Miyabi let out a soft giggle at that. “Captain, you may be many things, but you are definitely not old.”
As Saki continued to look impassively into her eyes, Miyabi’s mirth and smile faded slowly from her face until she felt Saki clutch her hand tighter before spinning to wrap herself up within Miyabi’s arms and press against her chest. Miyabi froze, suddenly utterly aware of the small form held tightly against her, and she could smell the clean scent of her sweat.
Before Miyabi could move to extricate herself from the situation… if she even wanted to… Saki spun once again out of her embrace, turning around her underneath her arm to whip out opposite her, Miyabi nearly hanging onto just her fingertips. The girl, smiling at her, dug in her pocket for a small remote to pull it out and click it quickly. When Miyabi heard music come on from Saki’s stereo dock, the girl closed back in and wrapped a hand to her back underneath her arm, Miyabi’s own falling to her waist. Never breaking contact with each other’s eyes, they began moving and turning slowly together to the rhythm.
Miyabi at first felt a bit uncomfortable with Saki apparently giving her the lead, even though it seemed the older girl was really the one leading her along, but of course she was not a novice at dancing either, and soon they flowed almost perfectly together, stepping and twirling slowly. Miyabi wasn’t really dressed for it in a dark yellow faux leather vest, though thin, over a long skull-emblazoned t-shirt and short black and red checkered wool skirt, but still she did her best to keep up with the girl despite the vest flapping gently between them.
The next song to queue on the player was faster, and without parting or stopping the two girls glided into a brisk tango, Miyabi now forgetting about the discomfort of her clothes and not focusing on anything other than the music and the person she was uniting with to turn it into art of movement.
Prancing and whirling around each other, Miyabi felt her own sweat begin to break out in complement to the other’s, which had already nearly saturated her. As her breathing also came heavier and quicker, she felt amazed and envious of Saki, who despite having already been doing this for probably a good while, didn’t seem to be exerting herself at all aside from the visible sweat.
Eventually the music rose to a crescendo, and the two girls spun and spun before Saki snapped back into her arms in a position very similar to how they started the whole thing.
Miyabi, breathing hard, stared down into the other’s glistening face, and she was somewhat pleased to see Saki’s chest dramatically rising and falling as well against hers. They stood and stared like that for a minute until Saki began slowly rising to her tip toes, her eyes drifting half-closed as her breath began to fall on Miyabi’s own lips. Miyabi knew that in the blink of an eye that breath would become hers when their lips touched…
Almost right when she began to feel that tantalizing touch though, she pulled her head back and fought to untwine her arms from around her partner. A moment later they continued to look into each other’s eyes, fingertips touching between, until Miyabi dropped her gaze to the floor.
“I… I’m sorry,” she said, feeling her face burn. “I can’t do this. I…” She suddenly dropped Saki’s hands, her own falling to her sides as she took another step back. “I don’t even know what I’m doing here…”
Saki seemed to hesitate a moment, but then stepped forward herself, and she laid a finger beneath Miyabi’s chin to lift her eyes back up to her own. Miyabi felt like her insides were roiling with confusion, but looking back into the other’s round face, it seemed like Saki was having a fierce internal struggle of her own. After a moment though, she spoke.
“Miya…” she began. “I know it’s been a long time since things have been completely right between us. We might even have developed some charade of a friendship. But…” She let her hand drop from Miyabi’s face, though Miyabi couldn’t look away from the turmoil held tightly captive within soft, dark eyes.
“But I’ve decided I can no longer lie to myself,” Saki continued. “It’s been…” This time she looked away. “It’s been hell ever since I lost you,” she said in a very tight voice. Miyabi swallowed back a breath. Was she crying?? “I decided that I need…” She looked back up to Miyabi. “I need you to know that I love you. I love you, Miyabi Natsuyaki… de… anata nashi de wa ikite yukenai, kamoshirenai.”
Miyabi had lost her breath when the girl began crying, and now shock bore through her core so deeply that she couldn’t possibly move. Did her Captain just say that she didn’t think she could go on living without her? She’d been missing her all this time?
“I…” Miyabi said, stumbling around for words, any word. “I…” She swallowed and blinked as Saki’s glistening eyes turned back up to her. “But Risako-chan…”
As she said the name a shadow drifted across Saki’s face, and Miyabi now understood the struggle she’d seen in her before she made her declaration. Why did her life always seem to have to be so complicated?
Looking back at the small form of the girl before her though, the incredible girl that was her indomitable Captain even long before she fell in love with her, her mind seemed to become filleted with thoughts of what had been, what was, and what might be.
“I’m sorry…” she rasped simply, knowing she could say nothing else, and she turned and ran to the door, barely remembering to hook her arm around her bag as she passed the table. As it slid off the surface beside her, it knocked Saki’s water bottle onto the floor where Miyabi could hear it bounce once before becoming still behind her as she fled the room.
…
“Oh Miya, this one is so cute!!! Don’t you think?”
Miyabi glanced over at the outfit Chinami picked out. It was a cream-colored pleated dress with a stylish leather belt. As she held it close against herself, Miyabi glanced up to see Yurina rolling her eyes opposite her from the girl, but she could barely find a fake smile in sympathy after everything that’d already happened so far today.
After fleeing the studio, she’d wandered around the skyscraper district to try to lose herself in the bustle of the business world, and it worked so far as isolation at least – it was one of the only places where she could fairly safely walk around without having to worry about her identity. There might be some fans among the masses of upper-end salarymen who worked in the area, but it was such a professional environment that the most they’d do is glance her direction and stare for a second or two. It wasn’t really a place people went to have fun and play around, especially in the middle of the day.
Sometimes she wondered how she fit in such a world. Even though she might have the talent to get into business, she knew she never would, and her status as a woman would still limit her options at some point. No, she was probably stuck being a celebrity and entertainer. In the past, such people had been thought of as even less than peasants, and as with most other things in this country, she was sure some of that perception still existed. Still, at least she had a shot of being much wealthier than a rice farmer.
Eventually she’d found a cozy café to have lunch, and over her miso soup and oyako-don pulled out her initial notes on the new album that they’d be working on for the next few months. She realized approvingly that she would be doing one of her shuffle songs with Chinami and Yurina, and could discuss it with them while shopping later.
She actually had two shuffle songs in this album, a fact that raised an eyebrow. Maybe Tsunku’s deciding I’ve served a bit of my punishment and he can let me be a bit more visible now… she thought. Glancing at the performers for the other song, she felt her heartbeat quicken on seeing Saki’s name as one of them. It surely wouldn’t be the same as the duet they had in the last album, but…
Don’t Make a Fool of Me… she read. She sighed, wondering who might be the bigger fool. Was she one for not seeming to know what she wanted? She had a great thing in Risako, but her Captain was just… Captain.
She shook her head, scolding herself. This is exactly what she was trying to avoid in trying to concentrate on her work; she didn’t want to think about two certain other Berryz right now. Looking down, she saw the title of another song. REAL LOVE. And it was… a solo for Risako.
This time she couldn’t help snorting a laugh. If there wasn’t irony in that…
The rest of the lunch went much the same; she did her best to try and distract herself with her work, but somehow it always brought her back to her personal issues. That seemed to be a problem when personal and work lives were so intertwined. It felt like it was her fault for letting it get that way, but she decided it couldn’t really be helped. They were really put in an impossible position with the seven of them having to work so closely together almost constantly. Even if you wanted to have a life of your own, you inevitably became tied in with your other group members. Especially now, having been together four years and counting…
That was longer than most classes stayed together in school, and Berryz was a much smaller group where they spent much more time together as well…
Eventually she’d jumped on the train to Shibuya and met up with Chinami and Yurina to go shopping at 109. It was relaxing to just shop with her friends like nothing was worrying her, chatting about banal things like clothes and accessories, which she could easily and happily go on and on about.
After seeing Chinami coming out of the fitting room with the outfit she’d picked out, spinning to show the two others as Yurina palmed her face as if trying very hard not to say anything, Miyabi rushed in quickly to take another room that just opened up.
Coming out a few minutes later she found Chinami and Yurina brandishing designer outfits at each other, apparently in the middle of some kind of argument. One after another though they fell silent as they noticed Miyabi strut slowly toward them. Their mouths fell open as they couldn’t help but stare at first until Chinami managed to utter in a strangled voice, “Oh my god Miya… you look so hot…”
That broke the spell momentarily as Yurina blinked and shot a frown in her girlfriend’s direction that Chinami didn’t seem to notice.
“Glad you like it,” Miyabi said, smirking a bit flirtatiously.
Stepping in front of a floor mirror, she held a hand to a hip to scrutinize herself up and down. A small knitted maroon beret sat just off to the right atop her hair above the curls spiraling down past her shoulders. It crowned an outfit she’d put together that included a tight black strapless nylon undershirt barely covering her chest. The top-left edge of it just showed beyond what was bared by a red t-shirt cut off at the left shoulder. The bared shoulder and upper arm gave a strong hint of the flesh hidden just below further down her midsection.
The otherwise oversized t-shirt read Rock Good Life in stenciled black print across the stomach above a wide striated leather belt set unevenly at her waist. Loose as it was, it obviously did no good except as an accessory statement for the barely thigh-length tiger-striped black leather skirt that flared from below the hem of the shirt, which itself hung just past where her thighs met.
This had the effect of showing barely centimeters of the skirt that shielded the top part of black tights reaching halfway to her knees. White nylon stockings to mid-calf completed the look above thick-heeled black stiletto boots that she rocked back and forth on to give her different looks at her legs.
Looking back up into her face, she saw her eyes as she widened them and nodded slowly. “You’re right, Chii. I think this is what I’ll go with.”
Presently she saw the other girl appear behind her in the mirror to touch tentative fingertips to her bare shoulder. Her mouth still hung half-open. “You’re so daring,” she said, partly in envy and partly in veiled desire as it seemed to Miyabi. The thought made her grin. She knew Chinami had always harbored a tiny crush on her with as close as they were as friends, and if this could lay that bare then she wondered at what effect it would have on someone Miyabi was trying to seduce.
When images of two other girls came into her mind at that, her expression abruptly changed and she broke away from the increasingly intimate fondling by Chinami to stride back toward the fitting room. She glanced back once to see a very cold stare indeed being issued to Chinami by Yurina before disappearing into the room and beginning to change. She’d still get the outfit because she liked things she looked hot in, but she wasn’t quite sure what she’d do with it yet.
As they were checking out, the other two girls gave each other furtive looks as they stood anxiously beside each other. Miyabi didn’t know what happened between them as she was changing back into her own clothes, but looking at them now she would have thought if this wasn’t a public place the two would be jumping each other to make out in an instant. She shook her head. Relationships were very strange sometimes.
When she hoisted her bag and left the register to follow after her friends, she heard a short chime signify a new mail on her phone. Readjusting all the baggage she’d acquired, she dug into one of them to retrieve it and flipped it open, scanning over the short text. Her mind suddenly blanking, she read it again.
“話必要”
We need to talk… she repeated once again in her head. She stared at the three kanji as if they tried to imprint themselves into her mind before glancing down to the sender’s name even though she didn’t think actually reading it was. It was sent by “Rii”.
“Miya?” Yurina called, and when she glanced up in a daze to see her two companions out several paces ahead of her, she realized reading the message must have stopped her in her tracks. “Are you all right?” the girl continued.
Miyabi just stared at them. Then she stared back down at her phone before returning to the others.
Chinami walked back to rejoin her, and when she reached her took her arm gently. “Miya, what’s wrong?” she asked, and then glanced down at her phone that she had made no move to hide. Chinami’s expression immediately became serious. “Did you do something to Rii-chan?” she asked, her voice with a bit sharper tone now.
By then Yurina had joined them, and she glanced between the two of them before blinking at Chinami’s words. “Rii-chan?” she asked. She took in Miyabi again. “What’s going on?”
“N-nothing…” Miyabi finally managed to stutter. Once again able to make her brain work, she frantically ran the scene back in the studio through it. She couldn’t have seen her, could she!? She was meeting someone, but Miyabi didn’t know who or where. It could have been at the studio for all she knew! Or one of the others could have seen and told her. She darted sharp glares at Chinami and Yurina, almost backing them up a step. No, they couldn’t have told her. They’ve been with her all afternoon. Plus she’d have been able to tell if something was up with them.
Suddenly she realized Chinami looked like she was about to cry. Yurina apparently noticed too and wrapped a careful arm around her shoulders, glancing around just a bit anxiously as she did so.
“Miya…” Chinami said, her voice becoming tighter. “What has been going on with you lately? I hoped talking with you yesterday would make you seriously think about things.” She sniffed. “You have no idea how hard that was for me. Being harsh and mean and strict doesn’t come easily to me like it does to you.”
Miyabi felt her heart clench. She knew she was careless and insensitive sometimes, but never really thought about how it might be different for others. She rarely thought about others in general, in all honesty. She was so selfish. That’s why she was having all these problems.
She selfishly thought she was powerful enough that she could defeat death, and brought Momoko back to life.
One girl wasn’t enough for her – she had to have two. Nevermind that it was really Saki who’d broken them up to begin with – they both had cheated after all – it was still all through her own selfish desires. Just a bit ago she’d even felt thrilled seeing a look in Chinami’s eyes that she thought meant she wanted her. All of that was how it really was, but… what was she to do? It was just how she is.
“What did you do to Rii-chan?” Chinami asked again, blinking up through watery eyes.
“Nothing,” Miyabi said, staring back placidly. “I did nothing to her.”
…
When she stepped into the hotel it was like the heat had been let out of the building. She was dreading meeting the girl she knew was waiting upstairs, but also knew that she couldn’t avoid it. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe something just happened to the girl today that wanted to talk to her about. It really was impossible that she’d seen or heard what happened at the studio, after all.
She knew that wasn’t the case.
The elevator ride seemed to take ages, but the walk from it to her room seemed instantaneous when before she knew it she found herself staring at the door. Slowly, she swiped her key card and turned the handle.
Inside Risako sat quietly on a chair watching TV. What a funny thing to be doing in the afternoon of one of your days off, Miyabi thought. At the sound of the door the young girl glanced over and noticed Miyabi, who tried to step in casually to drop her bags off onto a table.
She heard the TV click off as she turned back to her girlfriend, finding a face taut with puffy red and swollen eyes as if she’d been crying for quite a while. As she took in the sight, she felt her heart that still hadn’t unclenched drop in a freefall through her insides.
No… a voice echoed woodenly within her head. There’s no way.
No way…
-
Argh! Cliffhanger! :banghead: :banghead:
But, yay! You updated! I'm so into MiyaSaki because of this story, so I'm glad to see them being intimate with the dancing, but at the same time, oh noes! Risako! What happened? What?
An lol goes to Chinami's little crush, though somehow I think that might bite her later.
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author you..... :frustrated: :frustrated: :frustrated:
okay, did i mention how awesome author you are? :hehehe: :hehehe: :hehehe: because i was i mean i am in a Miya-Airi pair right now, right? :hee: but then my hidden Miya-Saki fandom is slowly waking up :shock: :shock: :shock:
i remember when Miya and Saki were still dating kinda really like it :luvluv2: :luvluv2: :luvluv2:
poor captain....finally tired of that pretending im alright with miya and risako dating eh :farofflook: :farofflook: :farofflook:
anata nashi de wa ikite yukenai, kamoshirenai :scared: :scared: :scared:
i can't live with you...argh! Miya bagging the oldest and youngest BK at the same time, ebil :wahaha: :wahaha: :wahaha:
ne author, how about Saki-chan and Rii come into terms to share the great Natsuyaki-sama :ding: :ding: :ding:
i know, I'm greedy :kekeke:
and what's with rii-chan meeting with someone? was it just an excuse so she could spy on miya or is she meeting with her ex-boyfriend what his face :dunno: :dunno: :dunno:
rii-chan's crying, :fainted: why oh why :err: and what a cliff hanger :on chew: :on chew: :on chew:
author-san.....don't take too looooooooong (nagai) to update this one,ne? :on hypto: :on hypto: :on hypto:
thanks for the update and as always it didnt disappoint me :kneelbow: :kneelbow: :kneelbow:
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So glad this story is back i spazzed out :panic:
really glad yopu started this story again, this chapter left me more confused but in a good way!
Saki still loves Miya, there my favorite berry pair so I'm cheering for them, I really loved the dancing scenes in this chapter wonder who sent the txt tho? I think maybe Mono but does this mean she has other motives behind it?
Please keep this story going I beg of you! :bow:
great update tho
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Ah! An update! :heart:
*reads*
:banghead: why a cliffhanger? Even so, now I can't wait for the next chapter. You must write faster. :glasses: jk
Now I don't really know if this is the plan that Saki was thinking from the past chapter/s (I forgot which chapter it was...). If it is the plan.. then.. I dunno what to say. :frustrated:
I actually read chapter 40 again to just refresh myself from what happened previously. (Now I will bug you in msn until you post the next chapter. lol )
I loved what happened with Captain and Miya at the studio but Captain cried... It made me cry too.. :mon waterworks:
Will be waiting for the next chapter. :heart:
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Ha! Miya's like a frat boy... Where did her witchy self go? Now she's all about girls and relationships. Very 'Korean drama' of her... XD
However, she seems to be maturing a bit, by stepping down from her self-made pedestal and questioning her previous beliefs and actions. She's starting to care, for real, and I can also detect traces of a certain desire to make things right. Unfortunately, that's just the first step, and the worst (best?) is yet to come. :yep:
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Tomorrow (April 24th) will be the third anniversary of Berry Beautiful! :w00t: :sweatdrop: I hope to get another update done to post by then, but all I'm gonna have is tonight since I'm going on mini-vacation over the weekend. Ganbarimasu!! For the time being, comment replies! Even though I'm sure not everyone who'd like to has commented yet. Please, as always, feel free to even after these. I'll still get back to you and :heart: you. :)
rndy: Whoever knows what will happen with Chinami. :lol: She's kind of all over the place. Being terrified, being there for Miya, trying to help Miya, taking the cue from Miya to be comfortable dating Yurina. >.> Truly anything is possible with her...
ayase: You and your changing fandoms! XD What will it take to make you happy?!?! :lol:
Sharing Miya... hmm... That's an idea. :mon determined: Somehow I think Risako and Captain would have problems accepting it though. :lol:
Who was Risako meeting, indeed?
oddball: Hey! Welcome to the thread! :D It'd be wonderful if any other lurkers or new readers commented too!! Don't just stay quiet!! :) This story is definitely continuing - remember I said it might be never-ending. :lol: Though I'm not sure about that now. Depends what kind of new ideas I get. But what's going on now still has quite awhile left to go. You may be the only one that has some of the right ideas, even if not all of them. :) But much will be revealed right away in the next chapter.
panick: I'm waiting to be bugged. :) I guess there was a lot of crying in this chapter, wasn't there? lol. And yes, Captain definitely did have a plan. Not many things that happen to Miya are pure chance. :)
Amarghetta: Doesn't everyone here love girls and relationships? :lol: I'm glad you mentioned the witchiness though! Don't forget about it. :) And that goes for everyone... Remember, this story is almost wholly from Miya's perspective. I haven't done anything like that outside of Odyssey really, but I love making an unreliable narrator. There are 7 girls in Berryz, all with agendas of their own... :glasses:
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Tomorrow (April 24th) will be the third anniversary of Berry Beautiful!
really? :shock: :shock: :shock:
i didnt noticed its been 3 years already.... :on woohoo: :on woohoo: :on woohoo:
so, BERRY BEAUTIFUL HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! (already 24th of april here in my country) :onioncheer: :onioncheer: :onioncheer:
ne, author-san? where's the update? te-hee :hehehe: :hehehe: :hehehe:
the curiosity is killing me already! :imdead: :imdead: :imdead:
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Eh! Really? Belated Anniv Bery Beautiful! :twothumbs
I started bugging you. Earlier was my 2nd attempt. :P
Awwm c'mon.. When will you post the update? *whistle* I'll wait either way. :D
Was Captain's plan is only up until that confession or is there something else? And what will happen to Captain and Miya now? ._.
(I'm really going to bug you. :P )
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when is the next update? :mon cute:
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So it's a little later than I'd hoped... >.> Oh well, happy 3rd anniversary anyway ^_^ :cheers
This story is crazy. XD
Chapter 43
Shaking herself from her thoughts to return to her visibly distraught girlfriend, Miyabi rushed over to the younger girl, kneeling next to the chair and picking up her hand to hold in hers. Risako twitched slightly at Miyabi’s touch, but didn’t make a move to resist as she looked down into her eyes.
“Rii-chan!” Miyabi cried softly, “What’s wrong?” She thought she knew what the problem had to be, however impossible it was, but tried to deny it as long as she could.
Risako just kept staring into her eyes, her fingers slowly caressing her own. The look of hurt and regret in those eyes made Miyabi think it wasn’t just a loving action.
“Talk to me…” Miyabi said, her voice becoming tighter.
“I love you, Miya,” Risako said, her puffy eyes only seeming to become sadder as she spoke.
Miyabi couldn’t take it any longer and rose up to squeeze next to Risako in the chair, wrapping her arms around her to hold her tightly close to her. She always liked how warm the younger girl’s body felt against her own.
They stayed holding each other for a full minute before Miyabi felt Risako gently try to push her away, and she released her hold, sliding just out of the chair into a crouch. When she looked back into those big, soft eyes she realized nothing had changed in them. Her heart tightened as she now knew something was very wrong, but wasn’t really sure what. Instead of saying any more though, she waited until the girl was ready to talk.
“Do you know I’ve loved you for so long, I’m not even sure I remember what it’s like when I didn’t?” she finally asked in a quiet voice. This definitely wasn’t helping Miyabi’s fears. “At first of course I’m sure it was just some childish crush… but then things changed, especially when you accepted me.” Her expression turned somewhat thoughtful. “At least I thought it did.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Miyabi asked her, looking intently into her face. “I know you love me… It’s not just a crush…”
“I’ve been blind,” Risako said, her eyes still looking past Miyabi. “I didn’t want to see. Maybe I wouldn’t have anyway since you’re just so good at it, but all I knew was that I wanted you.”
Along with becoming stressed, Miyabi also continued becoming more confused. “You’re blind?” she asked, and reached up to wave a hand in front of Risako’s face, but the girl just swatted it away and turned to face her again. “…What didn’t you see?” Miyabi asked finally, deciding to play along. Risako did have a tendency to make even potentially mundane things sound quite flowery. It was really very princess-like of her.
Risako continued looking at her, almost seeming to debate whether to continue. Miyabi held her breath, suddenly coldly dreading the girl’s next words.
“That you don’t love me.”
Miyabi stared at her. Eventually she broke her gaze and looked down to her hands. Her eyes began to water no matter how much she tried to stop them. “That’s…” she said in a very tight voice. “That’s not true…”
Then Risako cupped her chin and pulled her up to look at her again. When Miyabi saw the smile there, she nearly lost control of her emotions.
“It’s okay,” Risako said. “I’ve realized that now. I’ve felt like that for so long now but now… I know you’re not for me.”
“But…” Miyabi said through her tears. “I do. I really…”
Risako looked back at her expectantly, but no further words came to her. When Miyabi dropped her eyes, the girl released her chin. “You can’t say it, can you?” Risako asked, settling back into her seat in the chair. “Because it’s not true.”
Silence stretched on between them until Miyabi could finally loosen the steel vice clamping her chest tightly shut and speak, if weakly. “Why…” she began, but had to clear her throat as the tension seeping out of her body let her fall back to sit on her heels against the floor. “Why are you coming to me with this now?” The timing still seemed incredibly coincidental, and the girl hadn’t yet explained her sudden shift in attitude.
Risako studied her for a moment before she responded in a quiet voice of her own. “I met with Momo-chan today,” she said finally.
Miyabi’s eyes snapped up to the girl’s, and her face slowly rose along with them. “Momo…?” she asked faintly, uncomprehendingly, and yet also somewhat sharply.
Risako nodded. “We had a long talk,” she replied. “She’d wanted to do that for a while, it seemed, but hadn’t thought of exactly what she wanted to say to me.” Her eyes adopted a haunted look, and began to look far away past Miyabi. “But she said she figured it out. She said she’s been… different… since the accident.”
Miyabi almost barked out a laugh. Momo? Different recently? She hadn’t noticed…
“She said…” Risako began again slowly, and her eyes fixed onto Miyabi again sadly. “She said you did something evil when you brought her back.” Her voice was very faint by the time she finished her statement.
Miyabi could only stare for a time.
Evil…
That word sent shivers down her spine, but she saw stark images of blood, and snakes, flash through her mind.
Apparently since she didn’t seem like she was going to respond, Risako continued, “She explained to me something she realized. You made… a pact… with evil, bringing her back in opposition to… the natural order of things?” She peered at Miyabi after her voice rose at the end of the question, as if she didn’t fully understand what her words meant.
Miyabi understood all too well, though, even though she didn’t want to. She had never wanted to. She had just wanted to see her friends happy.
When Miyabi didn’t say anything, Risako went on once again. “Anyway, whatever it is you did, she told me she hasn’t been the same since. She told me she’s been… unhappy…”
A small flame began burning within Miyabi’s chest after that, and expression drained from her face. Unhappy… The word resounded in her head. It was almost as if she should feel guilty about it, but instead her head began running through lists of things Momoko had done since that night
If Risako noticed her change of expression she apparently didn’t think anything of it, instead looking herself as if she was nearing the heart of what she was trying to explain. “Then she asked me if I thought I’d changed at all since then too.”
Miyabi’s eyes sharpened on her again. “And what did you say?” she asked, in a harder voice this time.
Risako blinked at her sudden words after the long silence, but answered her question. “I thought about it,” she said. “Then I realized that I feel older. I feel like… I know things…” Miyabi’s eyebrows drew down at her. “I don’t… enjoy things like I used to. I’m…” She took a breath. “I don’t feel like a kid anymore.”
Miyabi did let loose a short grunt of laughter at that. “You don’t? Is that really such a bad thing? Don’t we all want to be more mature?”
Risako looked back into her eyes. “I don’t think I was ready for it though. And when she asked me that, when I realized those things, it was as if… as if fog cleared from my eyes. I recognized things that I’d seen but I didn’t believe. I realized I knew… that you don’t love me.”
“I see how you came to that conclusion,” Miyabi said in a tight voice, anger now warring with hurt at what she was hearing, but she was not sure who, or what, the anger was directed toward.
“Do you remember when I asked you to… to sleep with me?” Despite herself, Miyabi felt her face begin to flush. The way Risako emphasized her words made no confusion over what it was she meant.
“I…” Miyabi began, realizing she was still flushing. “Of course I do.”
Risako was looking at her carefully again. Was the girl going to throw everything questionable she’d ever done back at her in this conversation?
“At first,” Risako began again, in a softer voice, “I was upset that you didn’t want to… sleep with me,” she finished quickly. “After hearing what Momo-chan had to say, my first thought was that was a sign you didn’t love me, which it might be, but then I realized something even worse. Why did I even want you like that?”
The girl’s words were doing a good job of keeping Miyabi’s flush at a low simmer on her face. She was just… not used to having discussions like this with Risako. Risako was… she was… just too innocent…
The girl now fixed her with a very solid stare. “I didn’t just want to sleep with you, Miya,” she said in a flat voice. “I wanted…” Her voice became more heated, as if something was burning inside of her as well. “I wanted to feel your touch all over. I wanted to be ravished. I wanted you to ravish me.”
Miyabi couldn’t stop staring. This was definitely unlike the conversations she was used to having with the younger girl.
Risako then seemed to compose herself, and took a deep breath before her eyes became distant and she seemed to whisper to herself, though Miyabi still heard, “I still want that…”
Then her eyes focused on the girl before her again. “That scared me. My heart and mind can’t seem to reconcile things now. I know I’m not ready for something like that, but at the same time I want it. After talking with Momo-chan I realized why. You took something from me that night. Something I shouldn’t have lost for maybe a long while yet. When you first told me about it I was flattered that you thought I was so pure, and since I was already so blinded by loving you, I didn’t realize what it meant. Maybe I wouldn’t have anyway; Momo-chan had a way of explaining it…
“Anyway, when I realized that, along with everything else, I just knew that… someone who really loved me… couldn’t have done something like that to me… no matter what the reason. Since it turns out Momo-chan hasn’t been happy either, she and I both…” She looked at Miyabi a bit anxiously this time. “We wondered if it has even really been worth it.”
The flame within Miyabi had been heating her to a slow boil for a while now, perhaps even feeding on her flushing at the current content of the conversation, and now she didn’t know if she could bear it any longer.
“Not worth it?” she asked in a quiet, almost dangerous voice, but Risako apparently didn’t notice the undertones. “She doesn’t think her life is worth it? And yet…” Colors swam in her no longer steady vision, and she continued too quietly this time for the other to hear. “Yet she seems to do her best to ruin mine as well…? It always comes back to her,” she finished normally.
“Miya?” Risako asked, worry creeping into her voice. “What are you saying? I can hardly hear you.” The girl’s words brought Miyabi’s attention back to her, but only in a half-distracted way as if she’d nearly forgotten she was there.
“What are you saying, Risako?” she said quietly, the girl flinching at the casual use of her name. “You’ve told me you love me. You’ve told me I don’t love you. You tell me it’s because…” She shook herself and focused her eyes back on the younger girl. By this point she knew what the girl was going to say, but at the moment it seemed any emotional reaction to it was only beyond the stone walls she’d just built around her heart, and she needed to hear it said aloud. “What are you saying to me?”
As Risako looked back into her eyes, the girl seemed to understand what she was asking, and her own eyes became sad again behind the tears shed earlier that still dried. “I love you so much…” the girl said, searching her eyes, but only another layer of stone appeared around Miyabi’s heart. “But I need you to love me too. And since you don’t…” New tears seemed to be coming to the younger girl’s eyes now.
Without saying anything, Miyabi rose, leaving the girl in her chair, and began walking to the door as she began hearing sobbing behind her. After leaving the room and shutting in the horrible sound behind the door, she stood as if she was a rock herself just before it.
“Miya!” she heard Chinami call from down the hall, and she felt her and Yurina walking up the hall toward her. Perhaps she could have seen them out of the corner of her eye too, but at this point she just felt something flowing through her – it was strange, but through the tightly held turmoil of her emotions she somehow felt as alive as she ever had, everything surrounding her clear as if she could see it all.
“Miya?” Chinami asked now, a little more uncertainly, when she didn’t move as they approached.
When they were almost to her, she turned slowly to face them. The two girls stopped in their tracks when they saw her face – she wondered how it looked.
“Why does she have to take away everything?” she asked them, and their faces twisted in confusion.
“Who?” Yurina asked. “Rii? What happened?”
At mention of the girl’s name, Chinami’s eyes narrowed. “What did you do to her?” When Miyabi just stared between them in response, the girl went quickly to the door of the room she’d just left and knocked smartly. “Rii-chan!” she called. “Are you in there?”
Yurina joined her, still looking confused, and Miyabi started down the hall where they’d come, not concerned with what was going on behind her.
After a moment though, she remembered something. Feeling life flowing through her, words she didn’t say out loud echoed through her mind.
Take me to her.
She found herself in a small café, and was disoriented for a moment at the sounds of cooking and dining. People seemed to be starting to take note of her presence, and although a few raised questioning eyebrows, she was only given passing consideration. It was just a schoolgirl, and of course she couldn’t have just appeared out of nowhere. That kind of thing just doesn’t happen.
“Miya?” she heard a gentle voice ask from her side, and she turned to see Saki peering curiously up at her from her seat behind a table. “I didn’t see you come in. Well… would you like to join us?”
Us…
The word teased her, wrapping its sleazy fingers around her, caressing her, and she glanced up to the seat across from Saki to see another girl of similar height and shape. Momoko smiled cheerfully back at her. Her anger flared again. “And now you’re with her?” she asked cryptically.
Saki rose now, laying a hand lightly on her arm worriedly. “Are you okay, Miya? You look strange. Do you need to go to a hospital?”
“Get out of here, Saki-chan,” Miyabi growled through gritted teeth, her eyes fixed unwaveringly on the still-seated smiling girl.
The hand on her arm didn’t move, and Momoko lifted her cup of tea to her lips, her pinky finger sticking out as she held the handle. Thunder seemed to echo outside through the paned glass walls of the café.
“Why are you doing this?” Miyabi asked her in that quiet, dangerous voice. “Why are you trying to ruin my life?”
“You talked with Rii-chan?” Momoko asked, tilting her head and nodding as if she already knew the answer. “I’m only trying to make sure everyone’s honest with each other. We’re a small group after all – if we’re not honest, bad things could happen.” She peered up to Miyabi as if she thought a thing like that might be happening right now. Miyabi wondered if she knew she was right.
Lightning flashed bright through the windows now, and some of the other patrons of the café glanced out worriedly, likely wondering how wet they’d get if they tried a run to the nearby station. Few had umbrellas since there wasn’t supposed to be rain today, but the weather people had been wrong before.
“I lost her now too,” she told the calm-seeming girl flatly. “Why can’t I help believing that it’s all your fault?” The girl quirked another eyebrow at her, and she felt another tug at her arm.
“Miya, let’s go…” said the girl beside her imploringly. “We’ll talk somewhere else, okay?”
“I said to get out of here, Saki,” Miyabi intoned again absently, but the tug on her arm was suddenly much stronger to where she fell back, just before blinding white light filled her vision, and a violent roar as if the world had exploded knocked her even harder off her feet.
When her back hit a wall and completely knocked out her breath, she blinked ever so slowly as if time had frozen before falling hard to the floor. Somehow, through it all, she still felt the sense of being alive, and after a groan and blinks that started becoming faster, her vision slowly cleared to reveal devastation around her.
The glass walls had been completely shattered, bits and pieces all over the floor among other debris. She winced as she pulled a small shard out from where it had embedded into her arm, amazed she hadn’t been shredded by them. A quick look around her though showed that apparently she’d been tossed clear of where most of the glass had fallen.
She began to hear shouts from the street outside within the downpour, but she glanced around herself to try and get her bearings. Apparently she’d been tossed against a wall at the back of the store opposite where she’d been standing, and she saw no sign of the other patrons or staff amid the destruction, except for a small girl lying not far from where she was.
Suddenly her eyes snapped back to that girl upon recognizing her and remembering who she had been with before the flash. “Saki-chan!” she gasped, and groaned as she pulled herself to her feet, kicking some rubble out of the way from around them.
“I guess you can’t kill me that easily,” came another voice from further up the store, toward the windows. She now began to hear sirens from what sounded still far away, though no people were able to make it through all the rubble around what used to be the café.
Tearing her eyes away from Saki, who like her had apparently missed the shower of glass, she looked to see Momoko dusting off her clothes from near the gaping walls. Shattered glass surrounded her, but there didn’t seem to be a mark on her skin or clothes. Some part of Miyabi realized the other girl sounded almost as surprised as she was.
“What…?” Miyabi asked, swallowing in terror at the sight before her. “What are you?”
Momoko turned birdlike eyes toward her and blinked before peering around her again and shivering. “I guess I’m what you made me. What else?”
Irrational terror flooded Miyabi even more strongly now, and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out what she had seen. “No…” she moaned. “No…!”
“Miya?” Momoko asked. The voice seemed to be coming closer.
“NO!!!” she shouted, and her eyes snapped open, though she frantically ignored everything around her as she began bounding through the rubble toward the shattered walls and the rain.
When she emerged from the devastation, people who had gathered outside murmured and pointed at her, some calling if she needed help, and was there anyone else in there, but she danced through the rubble, her feet feeling light, and when the murmurs around her began to turn more worried and frightened, she burst through the crowd and ran down the street as fast as her legs could carry her.
Back at the café, a girl peered after her solemnly, sadness etching her face around dark eyes.
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Woah! What happened?! :O I think I'm beginning to see a little bit of the consequences of the ritual on Risako and Saki, but maybe it's not what I'm thinking exactly, so I'll hold off on guesses for now. I'm ecstatic to see an update though, I'm sad I'll have to wait for another. So don't make us wait too long!
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Witchy stuff is back at full force, and FrankenMomo is in the middle of it! :lol:
Gone are the days of player Miya, now she must face the consequences of her actions. D:
And somehow, I sense Chinami will have a more significant role from now on... Part of Berryz Inquisition, maybe?
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Gah.... I couldn't get enough time to sit down and read all the chapters again so since I wasn't able to wait any more I was just 'wth Imma read it!' and went for it. So maybe I'm a bit fuzzy on what happened awhile back in the story but oh Captain... T.T
And Risako. O_O I mean sure, in my mind, Miya still love loves Saki so I agree that Miyabi doesn't love her but does Risako really believe that now or is it some Momo mojo...? I love maybe-evil-Momo in this though, I think I've told you that before.
The whole glass shattering and people tossing at the end was... awesome. XD I enjoy those parts.
Sorry I'm not too coherent but lots of fic love, Rokun!
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Eep major witchy episode!
Momo knows that she could be evil, how much control of herself does she have?
why do I feel Capain knows more about the situation then she is letting on?
are all th berryz gonna turn on miya?
great chapter again rokun! :bow:
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wooot! an update :onioncheer: :onioncheer: :onioncheer:
wah! :frustrated: the scene between miya and rii is really heart breaking! i can almost hear the pieces shattered bit by bit :farofflook: :farofflook: :farofflook:
“I wanted to feel your touch all over. I wanted to be ravished. I wanted you to ravish me.”
i think i just died there :on blackhole: :on blackhole: :on blackhole: she used the word ravished not make love :on_hot: :on_hot: :on_hot:
“I still want that…”
rii's not so innocent at all but (ahem) liking it :hehehe: :hehehe: :hehehe:
I guess there's no denying that Momo is ebil :kekeke:
and how cool is that...appearing suddenly in thin air! Miya kakkoi :on lol:
eh,shouldn't momo be grateful that miya revived her? or that miya revived something else or some entity and its just using momo's body as a vessel? :glasses:
i thought there's going to be a magical fight :sweat: but dang! why did miya run away, she should fight back and shows no one messes with her especially her LOVE LIFE! :onionwhip: :onionwhip: :onionwhip:
who is the mystery girl at the last part? was it kurumi, her childhood friend(forgot her name) :on ksweat:
but anyways....poor Miya-Rii :gyaaah: :gyaaah: :gyaaah:
im hoping this will end a happy miya-rii ending :wriggly: :wriggly: :wriggly:
nice chappie as always author-san :on GJ: :on GJ: :on GJ:
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she saw no sign of the other patrons or staff amid the destruction, except for a small girl lying not far from where she was.
Suddenly her eyes snapped back to that girl upon recognizing her and remembering who she had been with before the flash. “Saki-chan!” she gasped, and groaned as she pulled herself to her feet, kicking some rubble out of the way from around them.
Don't you dare kill me with that... it almost made me have a heart attack.. I thought you killed Captain.. :cry: please warn me before anything like this. :P I might take it seriously. lol. Like right now, I haven't slept for two days and emotions are taking over. lol. Anyway.. I'm gonna ask you things in msn soon. I think I'll go and get some sleep first.
Btw, love this chapter. Though that part with captain... nearly freaked out. :D I didn't even know there was an update. xD
keep it up rokun! :D
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(http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/5930/rixmixca.jpg)
author-san, look! look! XD XD XD
happy ending should be like this.... :inlove: :inlove: :inlove:
right? minna? :w00t:
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^ You know, looking at those pictures, I am way too tempted by that! :lol: I'd meant to say that... a long time ago. Oh well, lol. Are you still around, ayase? I hope so! ^____^
rndm: Sorry I made you wait so long!!! :bow: But again, late is better than never, ne? ^_^ And it's only been... just over two months. :ph43r: lol I'm curious at your ideas on things. :D You always seem to be very good at reading between the lines. Even sometimes better than Essy-sama!! Though she's so narcissistic about her own writing she doesn't pay attention to the rest of us as much. :P (then again, I'm one to speak >.> XD)
Amarghetta: Dang, I see so little of all of you anymore!! But yep, witchy stuff is back. :lol: If you notice, it seems to affect mostly at times of great emotional turmoil for her... But has it now perhaps gone too far...?
Kuji: :heart: back atcha ^_^ What really is going on with Risako? Is Momo perhaps more to blame for things than it seems? Less? I wonder if this next chapter might muddle that picture even more. :lol: More glass shattering coming up, too. ;)
oddball: Saki is definitely about to get much more involved in what's going on. After all, as Captain it's her responsibility to help take care of things, right? We'll see when we see the other Berryz again. :) Things may be much different by then...
ayase: Again, :heart: for the pics. ^___^ I'd forgotten about them until I opened this thread to update again. Risako really tugs at you, huh? XD And yeah, she has become not too innocent... I wonder if things will continue like that. As for the magical fight, it kinda was. :lol: Miya just couldn't really handle the result of it... Still, perhaps there might be something more in the future... cause it ain't over yet. As for the girl at the end, it's not that much of a mystery.... :oops: It was Momo, watching Miya from the wreckage. :) Still can't promise the ending... If I even decide to end it, lol. MiRiiSaki ménage à trois really is tempting... though I'm not sure how the other Berryz would react to that. :lol:
panick: :heart: You always take things quite seriously, don't you? :lol: Especially when it involves our lil' Captain :heart: (btw, you still owe me some PM comments!!!). It's fun to see all your reactions though. :lol: This chapter should help answer some of your worries. :)
Update next in a few minutes!!! Stay tuned!!!
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*wedge*
XD
Y'know, this is the first time I'm doing this. :D
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^ XD I wondered about a wedge... but didn't expect it from you!!! I didn't even know you were awake, you stealth girl you. :P
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the update! :D
Chapter 44
“Hey, young lady, are you all right?”
The voice as if out of a dream came muffled to her ears. Her body seemed mobile now, but since she was barely able to hear she dared not open her eyes.
She felt a hand shake her, and a woman spoke up, “I hear an ambulance on its way. I’m sure they’ll take care of her, officer. Maybe you should check if you can get to anyone else yet?” The voice still seemed garbled to her ears, and her throat tightened that they still didn’t seem to be working right, but she also began to hear a faint siren in the distance.
“There is no one else,” the man she heard first said grimly. “Just that girl who was strangely unhurt… I think this one was thrown aside from the impact somehow. The kitchen staff who were in the back seem all right as well.”
“Are you sure, officer?” the woman asked, panic rising in her voice. “Maybe you should just check…”
Her throat still tight, Saki slowly opened her eyes, unsure if she wanted to see what was going on around her.
“She’s awake!” said another woman who hadn’t spoken yet. “Look!” With opening her eyes and fully adjusting to the world again, her hearing seemed to improve, but everything still sounded as if she were wearing earplugs.
“Just rest easy, Miss,” a police officer said as he knelt beside her. “You’ve been through quite a shock.”
“Officer, I think this is hardly the time to make jokes!” the woman who’d been badgering him said.
The officer blinked and peered up at her. “I didn’t. Ma’am, I don’t make jokes.” From the man’s flat voice, Saki believed him.
“I…” she said finally, a croak from her throat, and attention turned back to her. “I can’t hear very well…”
“It must have been the impact,” the officer said thoughtfully. “A lightning strike is an explosion just like any other.”
A lightning strike…
Memory flooded back to her, and her hand grabbed harshly at the officer’s wrist. “Miya…” she said, “Is she okay?”
“She must mean the other young girl,” one of the women said knowingly.
“She’s fine,” the officer said kindly, if still in seriousness. “My partner is interviewing her right now about the incident. Damaging lightning strikes do happen sometimes, but…” He glanced with apprehension up at the others surrounding them, but Saki hardly noticed.
All she cared about was that Miya was safe. Lying back and closing her eyes again, she took a deep, rasping breath that felt like her first one in ages, but then began a hacking coughing fit.
“Careful,” the officer said, patting her shoulder. “You probably still have dust in your lungs. The paramedics are just about here to tend to you and your friend, even if she doesn’t look like she has a scratch on her.” Indeed, the sirens had been increasing in volume the whole time, and just then began slowing to a low growl. “Actually, here they are. Just stay still.”
Doesn’t look like she has a scratch on her? she wondered as she coughed. But Miya was right with her… “Mo… mo!” she hacked, getting the syllables out, though the bystanders seemed to misinterpret what she was saying.
“Here they come, Miss,” the officer said, and rose as two men dressed in paramedics uniforms took his place beside her.
They kept her prone while conducting a thorough checkout, and attached an oxygen mask to her mouth to help her breathe for the time being. As she began breathing more slowly and lightly into it, her cough almost immediately subsided, for which she was grateful. However, she still couldn’t talk well. “Mm-mm…” she tried to say, but it took a few minutes for them to let her up and look around.
She stared in shock at the carnage.
The café where she and Momoko had been enjoying their tea just… wasn’t there anymore, except for perhaps the back half of the building visible through doors that were heavily damaged. Paramedics and officers were now picking through the rubble, and she almost became sick when she saw one pull a limp, bloodied arm up out of it.
Turning away from the horrible sight, she peered around at the emergency vehicles surrounding them and the silent crowd that had gathered to watch from even further back. Seeking one of the ambulances, her eyes fixed on Momoko standing before a paramedic in front of its open back doors, seeming to try to fend him off.
If she was the “other girl” the ones who helped her had been talking about, then…
Ripping down her mask, she cried out, “Where’s Miya?!” before falling into another coughing fit. A paramedic was on her immediately to pull the mask back up to her face.
“I’m sorry, Miss,” the man said gently, if a bit anxiously. “Please, go over and wait by your friend. Someone will take you to the hospital shortly.”
Saki did not want to go to the hospital. She wanted to know what happened to Miya. But as her coughs still continued abating within the mask she knew it was hopeless trying to ask about her now. Instead, her eyes snapped back to the rubble, to the men trying to clear it, to the… bodies… they were now pulling from it. Was one of them Miya? She didn’t know if she could bear to find out.
“Please, Miss,” the paramedic said, a bit more urgently, and helped her up.
She stumbled at first, but then immediately started toward the rescue effort. She barely took a step though before the paramedic, who had now been joined by another, easily diverted her in her weakened state the other direction toward the ambulance. She tried to call out, but again there was nothing she could do, and when she finally tore her eyes from the rubble, she saw she was now nearing Momoko, who had apparently at least gotten herself free from the medical attention.
Saki tried to look a question into the girl’s eyes. Momoko just stared back for a moment, but then finally nodded. “She’s all right…” the girl said quietly. “Well, she’s unharmed at least.”
Saki wanted to ask what the girl meant by that, but decided against removing her oxygen again quite yet. She turned reluctantly to once more cast her eyes sadly over the terrifying scene before them, wondering where Miyabi was in the midst of the disaster. It wasn’t long before they were ushered into the back of the ambulance, and as the rescue effort continued on, they drove away beneath blaring sirens.
…
Saki stared at the white ceiling in the hospital room she occupied. Her parents had been called, though hadn’t arrived yet. Used to being in comfortable control as leader of Berryz Kobo, she felt so helpless right now.
Finally through the silence she heard the door to her room slide open, and glanced up to see Momoko duck quietly in. She quickly pulled her mask down to her chest, able to get by fairly well without it now, and sat up. However, seeing the small girl walk slowly up to her, she altered what she was going to say.
“How are you, Momo?” she asked. “I think I heard someone say you didn’t have a scratch on you…” She had a hope that the girl the officer had been talking about was still Miya, but it was a slim one at this point.
“I’m fine,” Momoko said cheerfully, though Saki knew her well and could tell she almost seemed a little surprised at that fact herself.
Saki nodded, smiling, letting out a light cough. “Are you okay, Saki-chan?” Momoko asked, worry tinging her voice. “At least your cough seems better.”
“It is,” Saki replied. “The doctors think I might just have some dust aspiration from the… the explosion.” She was silent a moment. “Momo,” she said quietly, not being able to stand it anymore yet trying to keep the desperation out of her voice. “Tell me what happened to Miya.”
Momoko stared into her eyes for a moment before pulling up a chair next to her bed and taking her hand in her own. Saki’s apprehension was heightening every second. “She ran away,” the girl said then, simply.
Saki blinked. “She ran away,” she repeated flatly. “What does that mean?”
“After the lightning hit the café,” Momoko patiently explained, “She and I were the first ones to recover. But then she ran away screaming.”
Saki’s eyes widened. “Why would she…?”
The lightning. The sudden storm on a sunny day. She felt her body tense hard. But… why?
Her gaze focused on the small girl beside her once again, who was staring back steadily. “Why were you unhurt?”
She didn’t get an answer though, as the door suddenly opened to admit a nurse frantically trying to fend off two men dressed in long black trench coats. The eyes of the man in front immediately focused on the two girls, and Saki’s breath caught at the hardness she saw in them.
“Please come back later,” the nurse was protesting breathlessly. “She needs her rest. She can still hardly talk much without respiratory distress, and needs to stay under the oxygen while her system clears.” At a glance back at Saki though, and the mask resting uselessly at her chest, her words died out and she just watched as the men stepped into the room and closed the door.
“You’re welcome to stay here and look after her condition,” the man in front said, never taking his eyes from the girls. “But we must insist that we need to talk with these two young ladies as soon as possible.” The nurse just stayed by the door with her hands folded in front of her. As for the other man, he almost seemed a shadow of the other, and kept his eyes mostly down.
“Please,” the speaker said, gesturing to the mask at Saki’s chest, “You must use the oxygen if you’re to get better. For the moment our questions will just be for your friend.”
Saki glared at them for the intrusion, but was also a bit scared as to what it could mean. Still, she knew they and the nurse were right, and placed the mask back over her nose and mouth. She was not going to question Momoko more in front of these people anyway.
For her part, Momoko let go of Saki’s hand and stood, though the man gestured for her to stay seated, so she plopped right back down, peering curiously up at them.
“…Tsugunaga-san, isn’t it?” the man asked, glancing down to a small notepad held in his hand. He barely waited for Momoko’s nod before continuing, “We received a copy of your report to the officer on the scene, but would just like to clarify a few things for ourselves… if you don’t mind?”
Momoko peered from the speaker to the man standing quietly behind, his eyes still downcast. “May I ask who you gentlemen are?” she asked. “You don’t look like officers.”
“We’re special detectives, ma’am,” the man replied. “We’re just trying to get to the bottom of what happened.”
Momoko continued peering curiously up at them. “It was just a lightning strike, wasn’t it? It looked like many other people saw it too.”
“According to your account and those of the other witnesses,” the man said, looking into his notebook again and appearing to ignore her, “There was a scream heard not long after the blast, and then another young girl like yourselves running as fast as she could away from the wreckage. Do you have any idea who she is? Is she perhaps another friend of yours?” He glanced at Saki as he framed his second question.
Saki now turned to peer at Momoko as well, breathing the oxygen easily through the mask. She wondered if the girl would tell them any more than she’d told her. She was also a bit worried about these men, and their questions about Miyabi.
Momoko peered up at them without comment for a long moment, before finally asking casually, “Are you from Section Six? …Or is it Section Five?”
The questioner’s eyes widened in apparent shock at her words, and Saki saw the eyes of the man in the back snap up to turn a hawk-eyed stare on her friend. “She’s the recipient,” the man said in a strangely deliberate, fluid voice. Then he turned his eyes on Saki.
“Tell me,” she heard him say, though she blinked. His lips didn’t seem to be moving – he only stared intensely at her. “This friend of yours here, she was in a bad accident not long ago, wasn’t she? Please, there’s no need to remove the mask. Just put word to your thoughts, and I will hear them.”
Saki stared back, dazed, but then found herself thinking, “Yes… she was…” Then she shook her head, but wished she hadn’t as a sudden headache hit her. “No… I don’t want to tell you people anything. Where’s Miya?”
Her body froze in horror. How can I be so careless!? I can’t control what I think that closely… How dare he just… just… get into my head like that!
She suddenly became aware of other eyes on her, and noticed Momoko staring at her quietly as well, sadness etching her features. Did the girl somehow know what had just happened?
“Miyabi Natsuyaki,” the psychic said calmly, and the other nodded, having gotten over his surprise yet still darting furtive glances at Momoko. Saki wasn’t sure she read him right, but he almost looked… frightened… of her?
“Thank you very much for your time,” the man said, tucking his notebook back into his pocket and seeming to fish into another for something. “We won’t—”
He was cut off though by Momoko abruptly jumping to her feet. “I think it’s time for you to leave,” she said coolly, and Saki barely had time for another thought before the girl tossed a blanket at her head and everything went dark.
She cried out as the blanket fell over her, but reclining and weak as she was in the bed, it took her a moment to manage to throw it off her. In the space of that time she heard shouts from around the room. The nurse screamed, and there was the sound of shattering glass.
When she finally sat up, pulling the blanket off her face and breathing heavily into the mask, she saw Momoko standing at the foot of the bed staring at the large window, which was broken as if something had been thrown through it. There was no sign of the men, but the nurse cowered in the corner in terror.
“Momo…” Saki breathed after ripping the mask off again. “What…?”
“I need to leave now,” Momoko said, turning to her. “Lie back. Act like you’re sleeping. Soon you won’t have anything to worry about.”
“But…” Saki began in protest, her cough preventing her from asking anything further. What in the world had just happened…!?
Then Momoko was at her side, and the girl pushed her gently back to the bed. Weak as she was still she couldn’t resist, and Momoko pulled the mask back up to her face as well. The oxygen was blessed relief, but that wasn’t what she wanted right now.
“Just sleep…” Momoko said soothingly, and Saki saw her turning a knob on the machine that provided her oxygen. Almost immediately, she began to felt drowsiness creep up on her, and within seconds she could hardly keep her eyes open.
“Momo…” she thought, as through her eyelashes she watched the girl walk over to the nurse and crouch next to her, speaking softly to her. The last thing she saw before her eyes closed was Momoko escorting the nurse out of the room, arm-in-arm. “Miya…”
That was her last thought before being claimed by a deep, dreamless sleep.
…
Miyabi glanced anxiously around her as she walked from the Oedo Line station down the street along a path she remembered from long ago. It had only been an hour or so since she’d run from the café, but the time since then had seemed to pass as slow as an age.
After finally coming to herself, she’d huddled in the shadows beneath a rail bridge. It was just too much today; first Risako, and then the café with Saki and Momo. Saki wasn’t supposed to have been there… It was Momo she had come to see. And then there had been the explosion… So much rubble… all the people who must have been buried beneath it… Were they dead? Probably. Had she killed them?
Had she killed Saki?
She felt tears come to her eyes again as she walked down the street. No, the girl had to be all right. She had to be…
Why?
Do I love her? I thought I loved Risako, but then the girl had told her to her face she didn’t. It had to be true then, didn’t it? Saki loves me…
All those people…
Eventually she’d left the bridge and headed to a subway station. At first she didn’t know where she was going, but now, back on this street, she did. What she still wasn’t sure of was what she would do once she got there.
Momoko…
How had the girl survived? She didn’t have a scratch on her. Then again, I was hardly hurt myself.
What is wrong with me? Is it really all about a girl? Two? Three?
Those people…
Eventually she found herself at the front door of a large, nearly windowless building. It was set rather out of the way of the rest of the neighborhood. Pushing at the door, she went inside.
A woman in plain white clothes stood behind a window that was heavily barred. As she stepped up to it, glancing at the door beyond that she remembered exiting through very clearly, the woman looked up at her. Taking in her disheveled, dusty and slightly dirty appearance, and who knew what in her eyes, the woman’s eyes focused seriously onto Miyabi’s own.
“May I help you, Miss?”
“Please…” Miyabi replied, and she felt the beginnings of tears come to her eyes. “Yes… Help me…”
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Update!! :cow: :cow:
Aftermath version, eh? Momoko, her lack of injuries must have something to do with the spell that brought her back and Miya's magic must keep her safe. Still, why? Why is this happening in the ways that it has? I don't really have much time to analyze tonight, so that's all I have to say for now. I suppose my questions will be answered soon enough!
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I was wondering who the on-looking girl at the end of the last chapter would be. I thought it would be Saki or Risako. I'm surprised Saki was caught in the blast. (Thinking that the girl at the end was Saki) I thought she was a good distance away from the fiasco. If Miya is so worried then she shouldn't have left the scene. Ah! but I guess there were many possibilities of what could have happened if she stayed. She could have also been taken to the hospital, and then the men in black (lol) might have snatched her or something.
You've been on an updating spree, don't stop! :D
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First off...
AN UPDATE! :heart: :heart: :heart:
Now i wonder where Miya is.. :huhuh
As far as I have understood:
1. Momo is not injured and it is not really unusual because it might have been because of the previous things that happened when she was "risen from the dead".
2. Miya is in need of help and so is Captain. They should be together at this point you know. :P
3. Poor Captain. I hope she gets well soon. (and she better be. :yep: )
Questions:
1. Who were those psychic special detectives?
2. What did momo do? (you're making Momo evil. XD )
3. Where is Miya?
I got answers from my previous questions but some more came up from them. :sweatdrop:
Thanks for the update! =D I love updates.
And of course, I will be serious when it comes to captain. :nervous
as for the PM's... :nervous I will comment after reading Part C. :P I have read the other two (that reminds me I need to make a long comment about the last thing you sent me.) And you know, I was at school when I read it. Good thing I was alone in our lab or else they will look at me weirdly because I was grinning all the way from the start to finish. And I seriously love it! :heart: Especially... uhh, maybe I should take it to PM. XD Wait for my PM in a little while (I guess.)
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I've been a bit slow on reading fics lately, but when I saw that this story had been updated I just had to read it ASAP.
First of all, commenting on the last chapter - I'm glad Risako could clear her thoughts about Miyabi (I'm still an avid Miyabi/Saki fan). I really hope Miyabi does find some help - and then come back to Captain.
Momo is a bit creepy...but you probably already knew that.
The most important thing though is that you updated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:cow: :cow: :cow:
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OK now Momo is getting proper scary, She wassn't hurt at all and she threw a 'special' agent out of a window, The phsycic one escaped though and he seems to be important he definatly knows something about what Momo really is and was afraid of Miyabi? hmm intresting
I know Momo put Saki to sleep, not to kill her I hope! I think Momo os still trying to protect Saki, I feel at though whatever has happened to Momo has not fully happened yet as in there is still a part of Momo left in there somewhere but the creature/deamon/whatever the hell it is is slowly taking over!
So Miya as run away to her old friends (I can't remember her name at the moment :doh:) orginisation, we may see a different Miya who knows how to control her powers soon then, will Miya go off the map for a while because of it though, how will it affect Saki?
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Shock! :w00t: :w00t: :w00t: its an update! XD XD XD
Oi, author-san....I'm still here! ;) just waiting for you to update your fics :inlove: :inlove: :inlove:
So, you actually update eh? :P
anyway! Momo's showing her true colors, which is berry ebil :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: and she's not concealing it anymore eh? :smhid
why is she ebil only to Miya and not to Saki :? she should be grateful to Miyabi-sama :bow:
and gah! :banghead: it still bothering me that Miya chickened out in a fight :doh:
hoping she could have her sweet bitch revenge to ebil momo :angry:
so, the protagonist went back to where Abe-san and Kurumi eh? hmm..... ;) ;) ;)
Update soon, author-san! as well as your other fic! :thumbsup :thumbsup :thumbsup
PS: I'm pissed cos i can't used the emoticons i want, feels like its my trademark of the sort! :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:
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Okay, I just spent all day rereading the story to firmly grasp the entirety of the plot. There was a lot I had forgotten about that, really, I needed to have in mind for this chapter. Saki started having feelings for Miya before the whole accident with Momoko and the same goes for the trouble with Risako. When Momo was brought back, she started acting weird(er than normal) and Miyabi even said that she seemed mad at her at one point. Then Captain said that Momoko had told her she'd slept with Miya, an obvious lie, but Saki asked Momoko if she'd hate her for doing something to intentionally hurt someone.
So, who did Saki hurt? Miya? If so, then why and how? Was it with the information Momoko supposedly gave her? Though, now Saki's saying she can't live without Miyabi and the witch's break from Risako, also seeming to be Momo's doing, gives them the perfect opportunity to start getting close again. Not so soon afterwards, maybe, but Miyabi is starting to really question her feelings for them both.
The incident at the cafe. Was it Miyabi's doing? We know that she's capable and has done something similar to save herself from being hit by a car, but it still happened so suddenly that it gave me pause. Sure she was distraught about Risako breaking up with her, but I would have thought her concern for Saki and any innocent bystanders would give her pause enough to rein in her control. Maybe Momoko's meddling and just her general effect on the witch was all she needed to send her powers spiraling out of control. Is she going back to the mental hospital to seek help from the government?
And the scene with Momoko and Saki at the regular hospital. 'Recipient'? Of what? Maybe that demon didn't just bring her back from the dead, maybe he gave her eternal life. Or protection from death. Either way, did she toss them out the window?! And judging from the tossing of the blanket to block Saki's view, she didn't use her hands.
That's quite a bit more in depth, I feel quite satisfied and it happily passed my otherwise boring Monday morning away.
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Awwww... Thanks for the follow-up comment, rndm! :D It's always nice to see your perspectives on things. Actually, that deserves a bit more in-depth of a response than usual...
This is complicated, isn't it? :lol: I almost lost myself just reading what you were summarizing lol. As for who Saki hurt, or maybe would/might have hurt, remember as Berryz Captain and just the person she is, she's very considerate for the feelings of her members. She feels like they're her family, and she wouldn't do anything to hurt them. That said, it was at that point she decided to try to win Miyabi back... and with the situation at the time, who is the one who would be hurt if she succeeded? :) It's still to be seen if that actually happens though.
Good points on other things, and Momoko is the "recipient" of... Miyabi's resurrection spell. Remember, that was something quite remarkable that she accomplished, and if there was a government agency interested in that sort of thing, they would have likely noticed her... :ph43r: In Wiccan belief, all nature is connected through a common energy, so manipulations of that flow of energy can be detected by observant others who may not have been involved in the actual act. Especially manipulations of the magnitude of what Miya accomplished... For the rest, we'll wait and see. :)
mode: Miya was a little traumatized by the scene to have done much about it at the time. :lol: First of all, it was well... a discharge of power that she didn't quite expect. Secondly, Saki was obviously hurt, and she didn't know how badly except that she was unconscious. Thirdly, Momo was standing in the middle of it all without a scratch on her. She'd gone there to find Momo, but once there, she could take only so many shocks. She's still a young girl after all, remember. :)
panick: Everyone thinks Momo is evil! :lol: You'll get at least another question answered in this coming chapter. I still look forward to your upcoming PM. ;)
advent: Nice to see you here!!! Thanks for the very nice thought though. ^__^
oddball: No one escaped. :) It was the short cameo of the psychic "detective" XD lol. Interesting thoughts on Momo. :) Next chapter should give a more... interesting perspective lol.
ayase: Why can't you use your regular emoticons??? And remember, Momo loves Saki. :) Or... had said before that she did. Miya vs. Momo fight... hmm... XD
Thanks everyone for all your comments! :D Glad to see this story is still loved after all this time. :heart: Also, I saw someone with a Miya/Airi sig/avatar before (was it you, ayase?). If you haven't yet, be sure to check out my thread in Crack-to-go forum. ^_^;;
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Chapter 45
As Saki slowly came back to consciousness, she wasn’t sure whether she was really waking or not since she felt a deafening silence hanging around her. Eventually though she heard a slight rustle of someone moving, and let her eyes fitfully flutter open.
She realized right away that the oxygen mask no longer felt tight against her face. Oxygen? There was something important about that which happened just before she’d fallen asleep. Momo... That was right. Momoko did something to the flow of gas… Did she change the flow from just pure oxygen? Surely not; why would she do that?
Memory slowly returning to her, her eyes widened as she stared at the white ceiling. Everything seemed white around her. What happened to the investigators that had come to question her and Momo? Was Momo somehow responsible for it? She couldn’t see how. Then there was the matter of the men themselves. It was an incredibly strange encounter, and one that she didn’t understand. That part of it scared her even more.
“Saki-chan?” she heard a girl’s voice ask. “Are you awake?” Her hearing at least seemed to have almost fully returned now, though there was a dull ringing from time to time still.
Then she saw a face appear above her own, and she almost died in shock and relief right there. “M-Miya…?” she mumbled, her mouth feeling full of cotton.
“You’re all right,” Miyabi replied, a smile of relief appearing on her face. Saki couldn’t help staring. That beautiful face… “I was worried. You’ve been asleep for so long, even after they got you out of the hospital. They said you were okay, that you were just given a high dose of an anesthetic…” Her face scrunched slightly in confusion. “Why would you have been given that anyway? Were you going into surgery? You looked fine when I found you…”
Saki, a bit overwhelmed by the girl’s quick questioning, rolled her head to get a better look at her surroundings. She was in a very plain room, those white walls surrounding her. She lay in a small bed with white sheets covering her tightly. “Where…?” she asked, trying to recover her voice.
Miyabi began to look a little uncertain, and pulled back from hovering over Saki, an action Saki most regretted. “You’re in…” she said, hesitating. “Well, you’re in a hospital. But it’s a special hospital. You’re safe here.” Saki noticed a question in her eyes after that, as if the girl wasn’t sure of something, but Saki hadn’t a clue what she would know more than the other.
Saki took another deep breath, happy and amazed at seeming to have no trouble with it any longer, and finally found her voice. “Where’s Momo?” she asked, and instantly regretted the question. Her mind just wasn’t clear yet, and the events from just before she fell asleep were still high in her thoughts.
Miyabi’s smile faded instantly, and her face adopted a haunted look. “I… I don’t know,” she said faintly. “Last I saw her was after… after…”
“She wasn’t at the hospital?” Saki asked, and tried to sit up. Miyabi noticed her movement and jumped quickly to help her. The girl’s fingers felt hot on her arm. “I… I mean, the hospital I was at before…”
“No,” Miyabi said simply as Saki managed to sit and scoot back to face the girl levelly now. However, she held the other’s arm and wouldn’t let go, and after a moment Miyabi sat on the edge of the bed beside her. Miyabi actually seemed to suddenly become distracted and just stared off into space for a moment, letting Saki hold onto her hand.
“It was… odd,” the girl said. “It seemed like no one had been to your room for a while, and many of the staff didn’t even seem to know you were in there. The window was broken too…” She looked back into Saki’s face. “Do you have any idea what happened? We’re… very curious about it.”
Saki stayed quiet a moment, trying to think of what to tell the girl, but also just enjoying the feel of her hand in her own. Until she learned more herself though, she decided to keep it to herself. No one would likely believe her anyway. “You said ‘we’?” she asked instead. Miyabi’s eyebrows furrowed. “You said ‘We’re very curious’. Who are the others who helped me?”
“Oh,” Miyabi said as if surprised at the question. “Just some… friends of mine. We went to the hospital to… make sure everything was all right with those who came from the… the accident. Somehow I got this weird feeling though, and was drawn to the room you were in. Like I said, the staff didn’t even really know you were there, or that you were at the scene as well. I told my friends about you right away, and we brought you here.”
Saki paid very close attention to the girl’s words, trying to make sense of everything. “Your friends aren’t from the government, are they?” she asked quietly, focusing intently on Miyabi’s eyes. Seeing them widen was all the confirmation she needed. “Are they from… section six?”
She feared the answer, but Miyabi replied after a moment, “Saki-chan, I… don’t know what you’re asking about. Who’s section six?”
“Never mind,” Saki replied, and she let her eyes fall to her hands. She noticed her fingers were slowly stroking the girl’s own. “Does Rii-chan know you’re here? Is she around somewhere too? We probably should get back to work… Someone’s bound to be missing us by now.”
Miyabi didn’t respond though, and after a moment Saki looked up again to see the girl staring back at her, her face tight. “Rii-chan…” she said finally, and swallowed as if to compose herself, looking away. Saki felt her body tense, feeling her hopes rise along with her self-hatred.
“You don’t love her,” Saki said in a very breathy voice, hardly realizing she spoke aloud. Miyabi’s eyes darted to her face, widening slightly, and she felt her heart clench. She was right. Miya didn’t love the other girl. She…
“Kiss me…” Saki implored her, looking longingly into her eyes.
Miyabi stared back into her own, that intense gaze Saki loved so much… so much it hurt. And not all in a good way. After a moment though, she felt the girl’s face close in toward her, watched her cherry lips as they disappeared from her vision to almost electrify her own…
“Miya, is she any better? You know, you really shouldn’t stay in here the whole…”
Miyabi yelped cutely, caught off-balance, and her head fell to Saki’s shoulder. Saki instinctively grabbed the other girl, and ended up holding her tightly to her chest to keep her from falling off the narrow bed entirely.
“Oh…” came the voice of the girl who’d just entered the room carrying two bottles of orange juice. Saki felt her cheeks flush as the newcomer stared at the two of them.
She felt Miyabi try to get up, but there was no way Saki was going to let her go right now. Instead, Miyabi just sighed and cuddled resignedly into her side.
“Saki-chan,”
Saki felt her breathing quicken at the voice coming from so near her hair. The beautiful voice… How it hurt.
“This is my friend Kuromi. I’ve told you about her, right?”
Saki just nodded numbly.
“Miyabi-chan…” Kuromi said, her voice now adopting a cautious tone. She didn’t yet walk toward them with the drinks. “Are you sure you should… You know you need to be careful to rein in your emotions.”
“My emotions are perfectly reined in, thank you,” Miyabi replied a bit coldly. Saki tightened her hold on the girl, beginning to get worried about her tone. What did this Kuromi mean that she had to be careful with her emotions? Was Miya all right?
…What exact history did the two of them have, anyway?
Miyabi spoke of the girl who helped her learn about magic occasionally, and it sounded like the two were close. Obviously they also shared a connection through the magic they performed, something Saki didn’t think she’d ever be able to share with her, even if…
…Miya almost kissed me, didn’t she?
“You know what sensei said,” Kuromi said, her voice still heavy with caution. “I don’t think you should be… should be…” Then the girl finally had the decency to blush and look away. Saki almost grinned, clutching Miyabi possessively tighter.
“Who’s this ‘sensei’ you’re talking about?” Saki asked the girl directly. “Is he a doctor? If so, I think I’m feeling much better.”
“Oh, no, Shimizu-san,” Kuromi said. “She is one of us trying to help Miyabi-chan here.”
“One of you?” Saki asked suspiciously. “Who are you?”
“Saki-chan…” Miyabi murmured into her ear, but she ignored her.
“We are just trying to help Miyabi-chan here,” Kuromi replied, now a bit tight-lipped. “She came to us for help, after… after having some trouble when she didn’t know where to turn.”
Saki turned her head to face Miyabi, who was still lying contently on her shoulder, her be-ringed fingers picking at the sheet covering her. “You went to them for help, Miya?” Saki asked her softly. Miyabi kept quiet, and her fingers stopped their motions. “Was this after…?”
She didn’t get to finish though, as Miyabi raised her newly idle finger to her lips. Then she sat up slowly, Saki almost sighing with regret. Miyabi shared a long, meaningful look with her before she turned away. It was different from the looks she’d been giving her up until this point. It was obvious what she meant.
Be careful what you say.
Then Miyabi dropped her feet off the edge of the bed and stood. “You’re right, of course, Kuro-chan,” she said, smiling at the other girl. Kuromi was still peering through narrowed eyes at Saki. Miyabi then walked up to the other girl and took her arm in her own. It was innocuous enough, but Saki still felt an unjustified stab of jealousy.
Despite anything that happened, it still wasn’t like Miyabi was her girlfriend… Plus, there was too much going on here that was too fishy. Especially with Miyabi’s warning, Saki felt like she was treading on thin ice in this unfamiliar place.
“We should leave Saki-chan alone to get dressed. I’m sure she’s sick of stuffy hospital rooms,” Miyabi advised her friend, who finally took her attention away from Saki.
“What kind of hospital is this, anyway?” Saki asked, looking around again more alertly now at the plain white walls, and for the first time noticing a small table beside the bed with her clothes folded neatly on top of it, and items like her cell phone atop them.
Miyabi grinned back at her. “Welcome to Sumida River Asylum.”
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hayai yo! :shock: :shock: :shock:
yeah, momo loves Saki :luvluv2: but i didn't know such ebil :on polter: is capable of loving someone.....she's twisted! :on blackhole:
why does she loathes :ding: Miya so much, anyway? beside from resurrecting her from the dead? :hehehe: :hehehe: :hehehe:
“You don’t love her,” Saki said in a very breathy voice, hardly realizing she spoke aloud. Miyabi’s eyes darted to her face, widening slightly, and she felt her heart clench. She was right. Miya didn’t love the other girl
Yada! yada! Yada! :frustrated: :frustrated: :frustrated: NO! i can't accept this! Miya, still loves Rii........, author-san, hidoi.... :fever:
“Kiss me…” Saki implored her, looking longingly into her eyes.
Now that she knows that Miya-Rii broke up :kekeke:, she's already in attack mode, eh? :onionwhip: i admit, i like this scene! :shy1: :shy1: :shy1:
It's just so cute how Captain clings to Miya.... :on lol: :on lol: :on lol:
and Kurumi appears hmm :on woohoo:......hope this asylum will really help Miya beating ebil Momo's ass in the future :on kimbo:
(don't get me wrong, love momo! :on ksweat: Saikyou Buono! :onioncheer: ahem)
I'd like to know what's the reaction of captain now that she knows she's in a sort of asylum! :wahaha: :wahaha: :wahaha:
nice author-san! :on GJ: u updated so fast.....like this one! :shifty:
update so soon! :kneelbow: :kneelbow: :kneelbow:
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ah...almost forgot:
where can i find this crack-to-go forum, author-san! :? :? :?
:nervous :nervous :nervous
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It's one of the "child boards" to the fanfic forum. :) Just look at the tree at the top of the forum... or in the drop-down menu at the bottom right... or just at the jphip forum menu. :mon sweat: You should really check it out! There's a lot of good stuff in there!!!
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Kuromi :doh: that was her name!
So Saki now knows that that Miya and Rii are no more, its kinda cute that she just wanted to cuddle Miya evn when she was in a strange new place to her :wub:
So Miya and Saki are with now are section 6?(possibly), but the two agents in the last chapter seemed as though they were worried about Miya, perhaps section 6 is some sort of supernatural powers division who were tryuing to find Miya but she found them first? Perhaps Miya dosn't know then as section 6 yet? If Kuromi is an agent in section 6 it would explain how the agents knew Miyabi's name etc. I wonder what part Kuromi will play in the story from now on, I wonder how close she will get to Miya and how much she really wants to help her.
Why does Miya not want Saki too say to Much, is it becasue she fears what may happen to Saki if the people she is with feels she knows too much, or do they not yet know what Miya did by bring Momo Back?
I wonder what Saki's reactions will be to being in an asylem, will she think that she has gone mad perhaps? or is it just because it the organisations base of operations???
so many questions so new chapter soon please!!! :P
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Yay! Miya-Saki reunion! Though I'm sad that the Miya-Rii is over. I wonder whats gonna happen with Risako in future chapters.
and I'm glad to see Kuromi back in the picture. For some reason I picture her having pink hair, haha... (was that ever mentioned?)
and the Asylum: Saki ended up there cuz Miya brought her there, and not its cuz of her (Saki) health, right? She seems to be stable for the most part. Well, hopefully Miya gets the help she desperately needs. :lol:
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Whoa, it's been so long... And now you come with two updates in the span of a week. :bow:
However, seems like things aren't progressing much this time. Many things happened, but they only served to complicate things further, not to solve them. :rofl:
As many have already commented, Momo seems quite evil, but I perceived her more as excessively cautious. Rii-chan is still around (along Kuromi!), even when she's not, only to make Captain all possessive and jealous over Miya. Oh, and I was surprised Miya asked for help. Goes to show she's still a kid, no matter how mighty she can be. :thumbsup
And finally, don't worry about my lack of show ups, I'm still around. :P
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As for who Saki hurt, or maybe would/might have hurt, remember as Berryz Captain and just the person she is, she's very considerate for the feelings of her members. She feels like they're her family, and she wouldn't do anything to hurt them. That said, it was at that point she decided to try to win Miyabi back... and with the situation at the time, who is the one who would be hurt if she succeeded? :) It's still to be seen if that actually happens though.
Risako, right? I didn't think about it that way, but it makes sense when I add in Saki pressing forward to win over Miyabi into the equation. Must have missed that part. I still feel like maybe the depth of Risako and Saki's feelings are a result of the spell, certainly Risako's 'wanting' Miyabi is, but what about the pain Captain feels when she looks at the witch? Pain of not being together, feelings so strong they physically hurt.
...
...Eh, actually that sounds like love, but I still like to think that it's the demon meddling. :lol:
I do certainly want Miya to end up with Saki, but that's just my inner MiyaSaki fangirl cheering loudly. XD
“It seemed like no one had been to your room for a while, and many of the staff didn’t even seem to know you were in there. The window was broken too…”
Mind altering magic? Momo's doing? Or Kuromi's? (I just decided to put her out there since it's been stated that that's her specialty.)
Good points on other things, and Momoko is the "recipient" of... Miyabi's resurrection spell. Remember, that was something quite remarkable that she accomplished, and if there was a government agency interested in that sort of thing, they would have likely noticed her... :ph43r: In Wiccan belief, all nature is connected through a common energy, so manipulations of that flow of energy can be detected by observant others who may not have been involved in the actual act. Especially manipulations of the magnitude of what Miya accomplished...
This is very interesting and brings to light a lot of the witchy bits that are going on that are, honestly, a bit beyond my complete comprehension. Not that you don't explain it very well in story.
So, Momo's the recipient and they know because of her knowledge or because of her energy flow? If it's the latter, might it be possible to track her? Oh, wait, if Miya wanted to find her, she could just summon herself to wherever the girl is. Or maybe she could even bring Momo to her.
Be careful what you say.
Big Brother is watching? So, Miya needed help, so she came to the only place she knew of, but just because she needs their help, doesn't mean she trusts them, right? But will they exchange their help for her services?
I know I'm kind of jumping all over the place with this review, but there was a lot to think about. I'm sure it will all become clear soon enough.
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Must use my first post here to comment on this. :D
I sense that the reason Saki was unharmed was because either Miya or Momo subconsciously protected her out of love, but a part of me hopes that Saki is more powerful than she seems.
:wub: Miya went to get Saki, but I didn't think that Miyabi would actually take Saki with her to the asylum. I thought she would've visited Saki while she was sleeping and then disappear for a period of training or something.
Kuromi's entrance...... :doh: I knew you wouldn't let a kiss happen so easily.
I'm continuously impressed with Captain's ability to analyze situations :yep:. I think her reaction to being told they're in an asylum would be more like this :shocked than this :panic:. I'm curious to hear about what Miya has learned since she joined Kuromi.
I'll be waiting anxiously for an update. :twothumbs
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rokun~
please never forget this fic neh? (i noticed you made another one)
i will patiently wait for your update, even it will take months!
i really... really like it~
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OMG it's been like three years since i've been at this fic XDDDDDDD
I ALMOST FORGOT HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU!!!
WHYYY!!!!!!!!!!! I was sooo happy mirii got together and they're done already?! lol
and Risako lost her innocence! lol interesting
I WANT THIS TO END WITH MIYABI WITH BOTH SAKI AND RII HAHAHA cant choose :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart:
I want to start reading again update much :cow:
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Wow, it's really been over 6 months again? >.> How time flies... So much for updating the timeline. :lol: Well, once again I'm sure everyone's forgotten what's happened, but maybe there's a little bit of a refresher in this new chapter. I really hope it's not as long a wait for #47...
Chapter 46
“After seeing the two of you when she woke there, I’m not sure it’s best for you to be seeing her right now,” Kuromi warned in a low voice as they continued down the hall from Saki’s room.
Miyabi did her best to keep that fixed grin on her face. “I can hardly just never see my friends again, Kuro-chan,” she replied in a no-nonsense voice. “Especially since we work together.”
Kuromi glanced at her from beneath her dark bangs. “It looked far more than ‘friendly’ between the two of you in there. She’s the one you were seeing for a while, isn’t she?”
“She’s my Captain,” Miyabi replied, looking beneath her own bangs. “And yes, there was a time we were very close.” She tried not to say what was really on her mind, which was how wonderful it felt when Saki pulled her down onto the bed with her… even almost kissed her! Things had been confused again in her mind since that dance they had, and then with Risako…
It was really quite a comfort, after what she was going through concerning Rii-chan and Momo, to suddenly somehow feel like she could go to Saki again. Still, she was also uncertain about what was happening. After the events surrounding their breakup she wasn’t sure if she could totally trust what was going on with the girl, and especially between the two of them.
Had Saki cheated on her? She’d denied it. Miyabi had cheated though in kissing Risako. No matter how she tried to sugarcoat it as just something between best friends, that’s what happened. At least she could shrug off what happened with Momo. Still, was it really her that shouldn’t be trusted? Could she even trust herself?
Despite the counseling she’d undergone the past few days a blinding light flashed through her mind, followed by unidentifiable screaming.
She only remembered where she was when she felt a hand tighten around her own, and she shot a wide-eyed look at the girl beside her while realizing she’d stopped walking, and was even clutching tightly onto her old friend.
“It’s okay, Miya,” Kuromi said, concern in her voice again. “It’s not going to be easy to deal with everything for a while yet. That’s why you’re here.” She gently tugged on her arm, and the two began walking slowly down the hall again.
“That’s also why I think you need to be careful with your friend,” she continued.
“Her name’s Saki,” Miyabi said absently, as well as a bit annoyed.
“Saki-chan then,” Kuromi corrected smoothly. “You were thinking about her when you froze just then, weren’t you?”
“…No,” Miyabi replied eventually, rather self-consciously. “I was thinking about myself. She has nothing to do with this.”
“Any strong emotion, no matter its origin, can cause you to lose just enough of that precious control. Isn’t that what Nakagawa-sensei has been talking about with you?”
“I remember what Nakagawa-sensei says, Kuro-chan,” Miyabi replied flatly, remembering the counselor that was meant to help her through… what she was going through. The girls walked in silence for a ways until Kuromi sighed. “What is it now?” Miyabi asked, trying to keep her mood from darkening again.
Surprisingly, Kuromi smiled over at her. “I was just thinking back to what happened in that room, and how you’re doing a good job of upholding the stereotype.”
“What stereotype?” Miyabi replied, somehow feeling the tension lightened a bit.
Kuromi cast one more glance over at her before continuing, “That there are many witches who are lesbians.”
Miyabi stopped in her tracks again, and spluttered, “But I’m not a… a…”
“A what?” Kuromi asked, turning to face her with a grin. “A witch? A lesbian?”
Miyabi just stared at the girl. She hadn’t heard someone address her so calmly in those terms before – they were both words that generally caused fear and distrust among people. Many people also used them as dirty words, to describe those who either were evil or didn’t conform to the rest of society, which she’d heard all her life was as bad as a crime. She herself had trouble when the other members found out about her “religion”, and them calling her a witch then definitely did have negative connotations.
But it was true, wasn’t it? All of it. Use words like “Neopagan” all she would, she was a witch. And as for the other… “Well, I’ve liked some boys,” she defended, going a light shade of scarlet.
“Uh huh,” Kuromi said, and took her arm to continue walking her down the hall. “You liked them cause it was expected, right? Are there any boys you like now?” Miyabi stayed silent. “It’s only girls on your mind anymore, isn’t it? We’re the only ones that can turn you on.” She definitely heard the grin in her voice now.
“This…” Miyabi began, swallowing, her face still coloring, “This talk is starting to get a bit weird…” She was also suddenly very conscious of the arm hooked around her own. She glanced anxiously toward Kuromi’s face again. “Are you saying that you’re also…?”
Her grin falling into a smile, the raven-haired girl shook her head. “Not that I know of. Unless you meant a witch, which of course is true,” she added with a giggle.
“Besides,” Miyabi went on, still feeling defensive and unable to change the subject. “It isn’t just me, y’know. Half the girls in Berryz are…” She paused a moment before finishing quietly, “They like other girls.”
Kuromi shrugged. “I said it was a stereotype, didn’t I? Like I said, I’m not gay. Maybe it is more unique to your group that those kind of feelings come out since you all are so close and spend so much time together. Still,” she continued, giving Miyabi a sidelong glance, “Anyone who finds out about it all is gonna think of you as just another lesbian witch.”
Miyabi sighed dramatically. “I’m never gonna have a normal life, am I?”
Kuromi smiled again, turning Miyabi around a corner to where she just realized was toward Nakagawa-sensei’s office. Was it time for another appointment already? “Is that ever something you’ve wanted?” the girl asked appropriately gaily, and Miyabi gave a titter. “Orange juice?” she followed with, finally offering Miyabi the other bottle she carried as she popped open one of her own. “I have a feeling you’re gonna be doing a lot of talking…”
…
After getting dressed in what she realized must actually be Miyabi’s clothes and wondering what had happened to hers in the destruction at the café, Saki walked out of the bright yet bland room in the black-threaded red blouse and jeans. She peered up and down the hall as if expecting to see some crazy person jump out at her from nowhere, but it was silent.
“Miya?” she asked into the air, but there was no response. Great. What was she supposed to do now? She supposed she could just stay in her room, but she wondered if staying in there much longer might really drive her crazy to the point she belonged here.
Shrugging, she padded off down one way, peering nervously at the doors she passed while wondering if any other “patients” were inside. Maybe this wasn’t even really a true asylum. After all, she obviously wasn’t crazy. Neither was Miya.
Are you sure about that? something asked within her head.
After all, Miya was the cause of that horrific scene at the café, wasn’t she? Maybe she didn’t want to believe it, but she knew what the girl was capable of.
Why, though? What had caused her to completely lose it? Ever since then events had seemed to run like a blur to her. Waking up after the explosion, then waking up in the hospital and encountering Momo before somehow falling asleep again and then winding up…
Momo.
Somehow it all seemed to come back to her quirky little friend. There were the just… unbelievable events at the hospital, which she had even been unable to tell Miya about. Then at the café…
She opened herself again to memories surrounding that horror which she’d been trying to repress, and remembered how scared she’d been when she saw Miya. The girl had hardly seemed herself – frantic, cold, visibly full of malice and devoid of pity. Miya had been trying to just push her away it seemed.
What did she have against Momo? Was she still upset thinking the two of them had kissed? Even the thought caused bile to rise into Saki’s throat after its part in the end of their relationship. She didn’t know why Miya believed it, but she was still trying to live and deal with the consequences of it among everything else.
No. Surely it wasn’t that. Why would that cause her, after all this time, to so completely lose control like that? It had to be something more immediate…
Then she remembered. “Risako,” she breathed as she walked, and self-consciously glanced around her at the empty hall. Now she thought about the girl’s words, did she think Momo had something to do with Risako not loving her? How could that be?
Wasn’t Miya, like her, just grateful to have Momo back with them? After all, she was the one so insistent on bringing her back…
Finally, after turning a corner, she saw what looked like a nurse’s station at the end of the hall. There were two uniformed women behind the counter, and others in robes who looked like they must be patients.
Swallowing, but thinking she had to find someone to ask where Miya was, she walked toward them. One of the nurses caught her eye and frowned at her as if trying to place a face, but before she reached them another woman stepped out of a staircase that ended beyond a door just beside her.
Her eyes widened momentarily at seeing Saki, but after giving a quick glance back to the nurses, the woman took her arm lightly and turned her toward the stairs.
“Shimizu-san,” she said in a calm, polite voice. “I’m surprised to see you up and about already. Even though Miyabi-chan wouldn’t leave your side no matter what we said…”
“Um,” Saki began dumbly, wondering at this woman who apparently knew her well. “Do you know where Miya is? She left with her friend, and…”
“Oh, if Kuromi-chan finally peeled her away from you, I’m sure she’s seeing her doctor now,” the woman replied as they descended the stairs into a lobby area. There were certainly more people here, and she tried to shrink and disappear when she saw patients walking unsteadily around, some shouting randomly at the walls followed by a nurse that came running. This certainly was a real asylum, after all.
“Her doctor?” Saki asked as the woman ushered her quickly through the room. Despite her insecure feeling, the others there hardly even seemed to notice them. When she finally decided no one was going to come up and stab her, she blinked up at the woman again. “And who are you, exactly?”
“Oh, I apologize,” came the reply as the lady blinked big, birdlike eyes magnified by her glasses. “My name is Yasutake. I’ve been working with Miyabi-chan and Kuromi-chan for… a long time now.”
“Are you from section six?” Saki asked without thinking. She bit off the last word but it was too late. The hand on her arm stiffened.
When she turned her face up again, the woman’s eyes were fixed on her. The gaze was perhaps still bird-like, but now they were hawk’s eyes scrutinizing her. “Where did you hear that?” she asked in a low voice, and then Saki thought she saw some fear enter her eyes. “Did Miyabi…?”
Saki shook her head quickly, mentally kicking herself. Miya had even warned her not to reveal too much to the people here. How was she going to take it back now though? It obviously meant something to the woman, just as it had meant something to the men who visited her in the hospital when Momo had asked them about it. How had the girl known about something like that anyway? Well, if she’d already broken the ice, she might as well stick her foot in… if with a very thick boot.
“So Miya doesn’t know who you really are yet?” When the woman wouldn’t meet her eyes, she actually started to feel a bit angry. It seemed like Miya was putting a lot of trust in these people to help her, and yet they couldn’t even be honest with her about who they are? Of course, she still had absolutely no clue what it was they could be hiding. She just knew they were hiding something.
Maybe it was her protective instinct coming out. Not only was Miya her responsibility as Berryz Captain, but… she also loved her. “If you’re putting her in any kind of danger…” she warned, and felt the hand fall away from her arm.
“We’re not putting her in any more danger than she puts herself,” the woman said in a still-hushed voice, leaning down toward her, and then looked around them before trying a door and pulling her into a room.
Saki leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms at her chest as she watched the woman carefully. For her part, the other stared cautiously back. Saki could see the questions in her eyes, but did not intend to let them breathe. She was used to dealing with people to a certain extent the past several years as Captain, and she had a feeling this encounter could be a bit more significant than discussing songs with Tsunku.
“So what does the government plan to do with Miya?” she asked, piecing together what she’d heard. “Make sure she uses her powers for ‘good’?”
“All we hope to do right now is help your friend,” Yasutake replied. Saki noted her choice of words. She apparently didn’t realize the extent of their relationship.
What relationship? that voice asked in her head again, but she squashed it down for the moment.
“You’re obviously an astute girl,” the woman continued. “You know what she has done. There were many people killed at that café.”
A sliver of pain shot through Saki at the remembrance again, but this wasn’t a time to go by her normal instinct and avoid conflict. “And what exactly makes you best qualified to help her?” she asked calmly in return. “She doesn’t even know who you really are.”
“Well,” the woman said, appearing frustrated. “We’re better than the alternative, aren’t we?”
Saki almost continued on, but paused to think on what she’d just heard. Alternative? Miyabi going crazy? No. It sounded like she was referring to something in particular. Out of the fog of her memory of recent days, something else Momo had said came to her.
“…Section five?” she asked. The woman’s eyes visibly narrowed, and Saki even noticed her breath catch.
“Just how much do you know…?” she asked in a rather hoarse voice, despite that they were now in a private room.
Saki scrambled for some sort of plan. Momo. Unbeknownst to the woman before her, she’s the one of them who really seemed to know what was going on. But why? Could Saki really trust her? It was something else to think on, but the suspicion of what she herself might know gave her leverage right now. How best to use it?
Quickly deciding what was best for now was to not reveal anything more, especially since she had no idea what any of it might mean in the bigger picture, she came to a decision that combined both her emotions and her sense of rationality.
“You said Miya was seeing her doctor, right?” The woman blinked, but nodded. “I’d like to see her, if you don’t mind.” When the other stared on as she turned to the door, she turned back as if in afterthought. “Oh, by the way, despite however pure your intentions might be, I still do not trust you. Or Section Five,” she threw in. The slight wince continued to confirm her guesses.
“But you know what?” she continued. “You can prove it to me. Leave Miya in my protection.” Her heart started racing as she went on with her bold idea. “As long as she’s here, I want to be near her all the time. Go to her ‘counseling sessions’. Stay in the same room.”
“Those sessions are private, you know,” the woman murmured.
Saki shrugged unconcernedly. “With her approval of course. I take it that’ll satisfy any legalities? Don’t wanna break the law right in front of the government, after all.”
“Yes,” she murmured, now staring at Saki in amusement. “I’m sure that would be acceptable.”
Despite the act she was putting on, Saki couldn’t believe it. The woman was about to give into everything she asked for! The problem was, that just worried her more. How valuable was the information this Yasutake thought she might know?
Then the reality of the wild plan’s acceptance hit her. She would get to be with Miya constantly as her ‘protector’, which in a place like this would likely leave the two of them alone for the vast portion of their time. And they would share the same room, perhaps even the same bed… Aside from the setting, it was like her dream come true ever since she’d realized she was still in love with the girl.
That is of course, if Miya herself accepted it.
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Just got an email saying this thread was updated, and since you mentioned you might have something new for me to read, I popped over right away to check... And yay! It wasn't just a comment. XD
However, I now need to go back and read what the heck has happened, so I'll comment again once I've actually done that. ^_^
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:on grad: "today is such a wonderful dayyy!!! "
have i told you how much i love you rokun? ... AND YOUR STORIES?!
they make my day!!! makes my day even betttteeeerrr~
Then the reality of the wild plan’s acceptance hit her. She would get to be with Miya constantly as her ‘protector’, which in a place like this would likely leave the two of them alone for the vast portion of their time. And they would share the same room, perhaps even the same bed… Aside from the setting, it was like her dream come true ever since she’d realized she was still in love with the girl.
oh yeah, sure :tama-lotsaluv:
cum'on, 6 months. don't be so lazy~ write more :onioncheer:
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Oh crud! A short chapter! xD Lol, sorry. Just not used to you posting short chapters. =P
Oh! You're so right! :thumbup I could still see (FEEL!) this chapter as MiyaSaki. Even though they didn't see each other. :heart:
And the ending of this chapter... I wonder what will happen when Captain's liking would come true? xD
After a long wait!! FINALLY! :D Now to wait again. :P
I'll wait because this is really a great story! :D
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I feel like I need that spit take emote again. I totally wasn't expecting an update, welcome, though short. I guess I'll keep my reply short too, then. :P
Miya thinks over the captain. Does she feel like she doesn't deserve her? Does she? Wait, what am I saying, of course she does, she'll just have to work extra hard to make up for that little lapse. I mean, it's cheating, but not really, right?
Oh, it is?
I hate cheaters... XD
I can't believe Saki managed to manipulate her way into being Miya's 'guardian'. Who knew just dropping a few names and having a high bluff skill would get her that? Now they can be together to work everything out. Or explode on each other.
Or explode on each other. :drool:
Don't leave us in suspense, now. :lol:
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I thought my eyes were playing a joke on me when I saw a new post. I believed it was a new chapter, and not just a fan pleading for an update. :lol:
I know it wasn't intentional, but it's bit disturbing knowing that Miya killed ppl at the cafe. :(
My mind is a bit fuzzy on this story, but the little recap helped jump start things.
I also read your posts over at the other forum. I'm quite excited for the possible inclusion of C-ute members.
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I can believe it, a post!!! :farofflook: Oh joyous day!
Ah poor Miya, her feelings for Saki are all confused, she loves her yet feels as though she dosn't deserve Saki as it was her, and not Saki that cheated plus of course these feelings she has, they're making Miya unstable, causing her to lose focus, making Saki an dangerous person for Miya to be around....
Andthen of course there is Saki, who despite Miya's fears of not deserving it, loves Miya and want's to protect her, I wonder why the lady gave in to Saki's requests, perhpas she felt that Miya would say no. or perhaps she thinks it best that Saki not leave......
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Hello. ^^ Thanks for still enjoying this story. Since I honestly don't intend to let it go on so long this time, and since I feel I'm getting close to being able to post another chapter, I wanted to go ahead and reply to everyone's :heart: comments! :D
First comment replies from the last chapter now I have the time to catch up a bit more...
ayase: You haven't disappeared, have you? :cry: I know it's been a long time... We'll be finding more about Momo as time goes on, but probably not for a while yet... MiyaSaki have some things to work on first. ;) Sorry about Rii's rejection too. XD You have some weird fluctuations in excitement here. XD Oh, and you got to see some of Captain's reaction in chapter 46. :lol: Hopefully you're around somewhere, and there'll be more soon...
oddball: When in a strange place you tend to want to keep the familiar things close to you. :) And Miya is VERY familiar to Saki. ;) Good thoughts on section 6 and such! That might stay a bit mysterious for a time while they try putting the pieces together, but it'll eventually be made more clear...
mode: I hope I have some interesting enough plans for Risako. ^_^ She'll have some work to do for a good while... Um. I guess you get your hair answer in the last chapter. XD Maybe she highlights it pink sometimes. ;) And it was partly for Saki's health, but also to keep her and Miya (two people who know too much) safely together. She's fine now though. :) You'll get an idea of exactly how fine she is in the coming chapter. :oops:
Amarghetta: I hope you're still around somewhere too! But I'm not too worried. ^^ Rii-chan is always around. ;)
rndm: Something is definitely meddling somewhere :lol: They can perhaps track the girls, but only if some disruption in that energy occurs... otherwise things just flow naturally and unremarkably. Unless there's some deeper connection of course, like between Miya and Momo. I dunno if it'll come clear "soon", but eventually it should. XD one way or another. XD
Windy: Wow, your first post!!! I'd forgotten... :cry: We've talked tons about everything since then, but Saki may just be more than she seems. :lol: No kiss in the last chapter either, but we'll see what happens in the next one. ;) I let things like that happen easily enough. :lol:
aya-chii: Sorry you had to wait months!!! orz
anonymousdowner: Well hopefully that little one shot help satisfied you a little. ^^ Hope you can enjoy the rest too~
Now for replies to this chapter's comments!!
maiZe: Nice to see you over at b!p! I guess we're nakama there now. :lol: You probably haven't had time to read through everything again yet, but I figured you wouldn't mind if I posted more... I hope to read what you have to say soon!
aya-chii: Hello! I've seen you elsewhere as well! :D I'm glad I was able to make your day :) Hopefully I can do that more often from now on. Not sure exactly what you meant with your comment, but it surely won't be 6 months!! Support like this definitely helps!
panick: Short? It's longer than the last one. >.> Glad you felt the MiyaSaki. And well, you'll get to see what happens next... next!! :lol:
rndm: Glad I surpassed your expectations! :lol: Saki can be... very forgiving. :D Though they'll have to deal with it at some point, they're going to have some... distractions for a while. EXPLOSIONS!!! :w00t:
...ok. Did that sound crazy?
mode: Yeah, Miya's gonna have to live with that from now on... but I'm not sure it'll be the last thing either... Look forward to what's to come. :D
oddball: Remember (I know it's hard after so long >_<), Miya still believes Saki cheated on her too in a certain little "tryst" with Momo. Unfortunately yes though, Miya's still a bit unstable, partly due to what mode mentioned just above you. You could be right too. There may be multiple reasons why she accepted Saki's "proposal". ;)
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panick: Short? It's longer than the last one. >.> Glad you felt the MiyaSaki. And well, you'll get to see what happens next... next!! :lol:
Hey! We had this conversation at MSN already. Do you still need to bring it up now? :P I already told you the reason. :P And I said it was fine. :D Aw, now I'm wondering what that "next" is... XD
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...ok. Did that sound crazy?
Crazy? Crazy like a fox, baby~! Can't wait! :lol: :lol:
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I'm so happy you finally update this one :w00t:
looks like Saki using her negotiation skill to be close to Miya again... :nervous
more importantly, what's with section 5 and 6... what did they want from Miya? :?
looks like Momo's involved too...
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When I first started reading this (back in late December/early January), the members I only knew was Miyabi, Captain, Risako and Momoko. That's probably the reason why I stopped reading it after chapter 11 or so. :nervous The story is great but I was having a hard time differentiating who's who and putting faces into the characters. Well after months of not reading it and being more exposed to other H!P groups (aside from MM), I read it again a day ago and hasn't stopped reading it since then. This time though I was able to put faces on ALL the characters of your story which made a big difference, interest wise. :D I am still not familiar with Berryz (in terms of their singles and personality wise) well at least this time I can name them all and know their brief history.
Anyway, I'm babbling on to the story!
I KNEW something was up with Risako after the resurrection!!! I put two and two together back in Chapter 28, while I was reading the part where she was being promiscuous towards Miya in the elavator. I dropped my itouch on my tummy when realization hit me, "HOLY CRAP!!! RISAKO LOST HER INNOCENCE BECAUSE OF THE RITUAL!!" :panic: Well that was my theory back then but its now proven with Chapter 43. :grin: Its not only Risako's action that brought me to that conclusion, Momo's cryptic lines also helped me get there. The one where she said that everything has consequences or something in that line. :nervous And the way Miya made the ritual, when she said "I offer you her innocence and my humility" came rushing back to me when I put two and two together. Supporting my theory more.
Also the way Miya's been acting after the ritual made sense too. Since she lost her humility. Why she turned Risako into a mouse. Why she was offended when Nacchi said that what she did with the fire twig thing was not that impressive. She has become arrogant with her power! She shows it off whenever she can.
At first I am really pissed off at Momo the way she broke up Captain and Miya! (and now Risako) :angry: But after reading Chapter 43 I sympathize her but not enough to actually start liking her! :lol: I think there is also a reason why she is acting that way. She is not pure evil! could she? Anyway I think there is some truth in what she told Risako, that she is unhappy being back and all that. My theory, she wants to piss off Miya sooooo much that Miya would want to kill her. I think she really wants to be killed and just be dead again. That is after all, the natural balance of things. She wants to be dead and be left in peace! I might be way off with this one. XD
But what really pisses me off more is how easily Risako and Captain believed Momo's words and how easily they were swayed?! I mean c'mon!!!! :banghead:
On to the relationships!!
You are seriously confusing me on who to root for! LOL. Since I don't follow Berryz like I do with MM and until recently C-ute. I am confused just like Miya. :lol: But why oh why does Miya think of another girl while she is in a relationship. While she was with Captain she had issues and a thing with Risako. And when she was with Risako she have issues with Captain and sort of thing with her as well. :bleed eyes: Does losing her humility has got something to do with this as well? LOL. I mean her wanting more or both? :?
I'm not done reading, I have only read until Chapter 43 I will edit it once I catch up! :grin:
AGAIN! You write the Risako x Miya x Captain triangle so well that I am really confused. :bleed eyes: Risako says Miya doesn't love her so does Captain. But Miya knows herself better than the others and she says that she does love Risako. GAHHHHH!! Maybe her love for the two are different but I don't know which is which. Is it lust, infatuation, deep caring or friendship. Which one does she feel for Risako and which one for Captain. :?
Also did Captain kissed Momo? I mean in the flash-back of Captain -when she was at the bar after she gave herself to Miya - there was NO KISS in that scene. I mean if she did kiss Momo, that would at least make an appearance there right? All there was to it was her talking to Momo about Miya and none about her feeling something for Momo or that Momo made a move on her or something. Then on the recent chapter Captain thought that the thought of kissing Momo kinda repulsed her, and makes her wonder why Miya would think they that kissed. So they really didn't kissed I guess. BUT! What did Miya saw then? When she did the astral projection? Has Momo got something to do with what Miya thought she saw? Or was that Miya's fault? Like it was her construed thinking that made her "see" that scene taking place.
I wasn't aware that there is a stereotype that witches are gay. :lol: That was funny reading that. :grin:
So many questions.... What is Section 6 and Section 5. What exactly does the government want from Miya. And what is up with Momo? How come she knows too much? What/who are her sources! UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE. :grin:
Will Nacchi reappear anytime soon? XD
P.S. I think this is the least fangirly comment I ever made on a fanfic thread or any other thread for that matter. :lol:
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Holy...!! XD I didn't see your wonderful comment until just now, mmsuki!! :w00t: I don't have the time to read through it now, but I will be sure to respond to it later! Maybe while I'm sipping Starbucks in Seattle. :lol:
For now... let's see how quick I can be... that long-promised new update!! :w00t: :w00t: Now, with maybe one exception, I hope this will satisfy everyone until at least after Sakuracon. ;)
Chapter 47
“You’re crazy.”
Saki sat on a cleanly-made, white-sheeted bed, which although it was the same as the one in the room she’d found herself in earlier, that was the only similarity to her earlier surroundings.
For one, the walls were painted a soft blue. There was also a small television mounted near the top of the opposite wall, with a dresser to its right and potted flowers on the end tables to either side of the bed. A few clothes lay scattered about as well, mostly on the dresser, showing that Miya had been here for a few days.
“You’re out of your mind.”
Miyabi stared wide-eyed at her while sitting on the bed herself, the two girls facing each other just as if they were having girls’ talk at a sleepover.
“Well aren’t those the words every girl just longs to hear when she asks to move in with the one she loves?” Saki replied with a grin, and heat flooded Miyabi’s cheeks. Saki did her best to suppress the same rising into her own.
She lowered her head, considering Saki’s words. “How long have you… been in love with me again?” she asked quietly, finally, and Saki smiled in triumph. Her actions recently had obviously not gone unnoticed like she’d feared.
“Always,” she replied simply, and Miyabi glanced up to her, a question in her eyes. “There’s no ‘again’.”
“But…” Miyabi said, lowering her head again and fiddling with her fingers. “I cheated on you…”
Saki’s smile faded at her words, but she only reached over to take the other’s hand, stopping the long fingers from twitching uneasily. “Do you think even something like that can just stop someone from loving you? Yes it hurts, but I can’t help believing. Plus, I think you’ve grown lately. After what happened with Rii-chan…”
When Miyabi’s eyes darted up with fear in them, Saki instantly regretted her words.
“That’s not what I’m talking about,” the older girl said sternly. “We’re all growing… learning more of what we want… And I know that almost no matter what, I want you.”
“Are you sure you can trust me?” Miyabi asked, the fear still in her eyes.
That uncertainty tore at Saki’s soul, and she knew even more that she had done the right thing in insisting on protecting her. She needed something; something that all the doctors in the world couldn’t give her, and that she only wondered if she could.
Holding those eyes steadily with her own, she leaned forward slowly. The other girl didn’t draw back, and though Saki’s tension heightened as she made her advance, her next impression was of the softness of Miyabi’s lips as her own pressed against them.
It seemed like forever that she’d longed to kiss them, and though she wanted it to last forever, they soon parted. The fear was now gone from the other’s eyes, with only fond acceptance in its wake, and Saki knew she would have her wish.
Still holding each other loosely, they lay back on the bed with their legs still folded beneath before their lips met once again. Saki pulled the girl closer to her as the kiss deepened this time, and they explored each other once more in a way that just felt so right to her.
Finally they parted, Saki still holding the other closely in her arms as she nuzzled her hair affectionately, Miyabi’s head against her chest just like in her room earlier, even though now it felt like they’d scaled a mountain and finally reached the other side.
“So I take it you approve of me being your guardian?” Saki murmured into her hair with a grin, enjoying far too much its softness and scent.
She received a poke in the side in return. “I still think that sounds ridiculous,” the girl replied, though now half-heartedly. Then she rolled her head up to look Saki in the eye again, their faces close together. “I’ve always thought of myself as the one who should protect you.”
“I know. It’s strange, isn’t it?” Saki replied with a grin. “Even though I’m older it’s felt like you’re the big sister who looks out for me, and has the strength to make up for what I can’t do, especially since I’m such a crybaby.”
Miya scrunched up her nose. “I sure hope you don’t think of me as a ‘big sister’ anymore. That’s just… wrong in so many ways.”
Saki’s grin widened. “I think when we had each other that first time all pretenses of that were pretty much dashed. But still,” she went on more seriously, “You always seemed like the strong one. And when we all realized what you could do with this magic you’ve been studying…”
“I’m not strong,” Miyabi replied quickly. “You saw how I’ve completely collapsed at times. Plus even aside from that I’ve made some horrible mistakes that I wonder if I shouldn’t regret more than I do.”
Saki was silent for a moment. “You aren’t the only one who’s made mistakes,” she said quietly.
“It’s okay,” Miya said, squeezing her sides gently while looking earnestly into her eyes. “I don’t blame you for what you did before like in the dance room. You had to make your feelings known, and well, it worked out anyway with what happened between Risako and me. It might even be fate.”
“That’s not what I mean,” Saki replied, sniffing. Though she still wondered. How big a part did Momo play in this whole thing? She now realized she’d apparently been blinded by their friendship, and now it had her questioning the motives of almost everything the girl did.
For one, she now was almost convinced that whatever “kiss” might have happened between her and Miya was not in any way under Miya’s control herself. She noticed how the two had been acting around each other, both lately and before, though until now she’d just shrugged it off as some trifling disagreement. There was no way anything could be going on between the two.
It was almost even as if Momo had been trying to sabotage their relationship then… But if that was the case, then why might she somehow also be at least partly responsible for what happened with Risako? It made no sense to get Miya and herself to break up so the two of them could get together… only to then turn around and break them up as well.
She could only think of two possibilities… One, that the girl had something against Miya – she couldn’t imagine what since if it weren’t for Miya the girl wouldn’t even be alive. And two, that Momo in truth had a crush on Miya. That also seemed unlikely since the girl had been very clear in letting her feelings for Saki known.
Now with this new information Saki didn’t think it was something as simple as teenage hormones, and she felt she had to do something to get to the bottom of what was going on between the two people closest to her.
She sighed. Now was not the time for that though. Now was time for just the two of them.
“After we… broke up…” she began hesitantly, Miya gazing at her with deep eyes. “I went to see Jun at his apartment.”
She felt the girl tense beside her, but she didn’t say anything for the moment. “I was… distraught. I felt lost. I felt lonely. I just wanted… something… to feel.” She swallowed, but a small squeeze of reassurance from the other let her go on.
“I basically threw myself at him, Miya,” she said straight out, feeling like she was going to cry. “I would have done anything just to feel something pleasant compared to everything else going through my heart and mind at the time.”
Miyabi let her compose herself a moment while just holding her closely. “But he didn’t let me,” Saki continued eventually. “He didn’t want me like that… He knew something had just happened. So it stayed at that and… I left.”
“It’s okay,” Miya said finally. “I don’t blame you for… whatever you might have done then. You had no reason to try to do anything other than move on.”
“It was far from moving on,” Saki protested, now audibly crying.
“Maybe not,” Miya said. “Maybe in a sense it was.” She fell silent now a moment too while seeming to consider something as Saki tried to get herself fully under control. “When I… saw you and Momo kissing…” she began. Saki felt a small rush of anger arise again at something she didn’t do, but it didn’t even get past her stomach. “I was, well, using magic to spy on you.”
Saki blinked. Spying using magic?
“Momo asked me once if I could really trust what my magic told me, since I wasn’t actually looking through my own eyes…”
Suddenly it became clear to Saki. “Miya,” she said with widened eyes. Miyabi blinked up at her. “Momo, I… I think she might have some magic of her own. In the hospital before you came to pick me up there was something…”
“What?” Miyabi asked, blinking again. “That’s impossible. I would have noticed if…” But she trailed off, her eyes becoming vacant. “When I brought her back I was using very strong forces. She was… well… basically born again from those forces. I thought it would just bring her back how she was, but maybe some of the energy stuck with her…”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying, Miya,” Saki said, though she was trying her best. When the girl got talking about her studies, she wasn’t the only one to quickly become lost.
“That energy,” the girl responded, eyes still unfocused. “I thought it would just be her life force, but maybe there was something else, something like…”
“Something like what?” Saki asked, and she brought her hand up to tilt Miyabi’s head so her eyes once again connected with her own. Her heart fell. That fear was back again.
“It’s so dangerous to be close to me,” the girl said in a soft, ardent voice. “I… I can’t do that to you…”
Her thoughts momentarily dashed by the move away from things she intellectually felt she needed to know, from Saki’s heart came something akin to relief that the exchange had once again returned to the two of them. She leaned in slowly, holding Miyabi’s eyes the whole time, to place another light kiss against her lips. “It’s a risk I have to take,” she replied even more softly. “And it is also my choice. I love you, Miya.”
Miyabi looked sharply, desperately, into her eyes for a long moment before pulling her tighter in. “You’ll protect me?” she asked in barely above a whisper.
“Yes.”
“From myself?”
“I don’t want to see you in pain anymore.”
“Kiss me,” Miyabi ordered her, a command threaded with the expectation of being followed.
What could she do?
She kissed her again, and this time it deepened quickly as they held each other desperately close like they couldn’t get enough of one another after all this time. Saki ran her hands slowly up and down the other’s arms, while Miya’s fingers trailed along her back. Their mouths opened against each other and tongues snuck out, searching for each other as long-lost lovers themselves until embracing with gentle strokes.
Saki moaned into the other’s mouth, overjoyed at having this girl once again after so long. Her hands quickly made their way to the other’s chest, and her ministrations there caused her lover to respond with desperate moans of her own.
As Miya’s hands found their way beneath her shirt and began to slide up her back, the tingling feel created in her skin making her shiver with desire, Saki let one hand drop down past the other’s stomach before small, slim fingers slid underneath the elastic of the girl’s pants.
However, after they split her thighs and pressed against their target, Miyabi gave a small grunt before breaking the kiss and pulling back, her hand gripping Saki’s wrist to pull it back up between them. When Saki caught her eyes, she saw distress and fear in them again.
“I’m sorry,” Miyabi said quickly, softly. “I… I’m not ready for that right now. It was just the other day I was still with Risako…”
Saki blinked, her awareness completely coming back to her now, and she looked around the still-silent room. “I’m sorry Miya,” she repeated. “I didn’t mean to…” She moved to pull farther back. “I’m sorry.”
However, Miyabi didn’t release her wrist, and kept her close beside her. “No, it’s fine. You have no idea how much I would like to…” Her eyes flickered down Saki’s body for a moment and she licked her lips, causing the older girl to blush. “I really would,” she reiterated when she caught Saki’s eyes again. “It just… doesn’t feel right yet.”
“I understand,” Saki said, though the other girl apparently noticed the hesitation still in her voice. In response, Miya brought the hand she was holding closer to her face and, still looking into Saki’s eyes, kissed each fingertip delicately one after the other.
Saki felt her breath leave her. As harsh and strong as the girl came across sometimes, there were also times like this when she could be unbelievably romantic and sweet.
“I understand,” Saki said again more breathlessly as Miya finished the light kisses. “Besides,” she continued, a slight smirk coming to the corner of her lips, “I suppose your hospital room isn’t the best place for this anyway.”
Unexpectedly, a new gleam came to Miya’s eye now, and Saki’s own widened as the girl allowed one of her fingers to enter her mouth to suck on gently. “Oh but we’ll have to try it some day before I get out of here,” she said with a mischievous grin after suckling to her satisfaction. “Just not now, okay?”
Saki couldn’t help but stare back into those big, beautiful eyes. She’d almost forgotten how lost she could become in them.
This girl…
She was the only girl Saki had ever loved, and everything happening now was doing nothing but reminding her why.
…
Over the days Miyabi stayed at the hospital, Saki settled in as her “protector” like she’d promised. They also settled into Miyabi’s room together, and Saki felt so wonderful being able to hold the girl in her arms every night once again. In fact despite the situation, it was even nicer than before because they truly got to spend almost all their time together, including every night… something impossible before due to their hectic schedules.
For all of this to be allowed, in the first couple days after she woke at the asylum she took some trips back out into the town – to work in order to give them information on what was going on with Miya (written off by one of the doctors as a sickness which required her to be hospitalized for a time), as well as to receive permission herself to look after her. Miya’s mother came by every once in a while as well, but the staff was careful to keep from her the full reality of what was going on. All she knew was that Miya was going through some deep psychological trauma from the accident in the café… which was of course true up to a point.
Saki also went to her own house to pick up clothes and things she’d need, and felt privately overjoyed at how she was truly living with Miya at the asylum. Although the two of them had exchanged clothes before, now they did it every day, and the articles became so mixed and matched in the dresser they couldn’t even really tell which belonged to whom anymore.
No one asked questions at first about the two girls staying together, especially considering the… uniqueness of their surroundings. Apparently someone had noticed though, or perhaps Kuromi had said something, because after a couple weeks or so, Miya’s doctor included Saki in the discussion for the first time even though she’d been attending the sessions with her daily.
The sessions were quite enlightening. Previously, Saki had known next to nothing about Miya’s hobby aside from what she observed at the ritual to bring Momo back. In talks with this doctor though – and a doctor of what exactly Saki didn’t really know, since the office wasn’t very well suited to the man’s tastes and gave the impression he just borrowed it for their sessions. He also wore the white lab coat loosely above an impeccable suit as if he donned it just to keep up appearances. Still, he did seem quite skilled at both counseling as well as theory on this magic Miya had been delving into.
It actually was quite an education for Saki. Until recently she’d mostly thought it was something strange Miya was into, and maybe a few eccentrics out there as well who had written the books, but it seemed to be a real field with requisite experts just like for any other academic subject.
She giggled to herself sometimes. She may just yet go to college if she could study magic! It’d be just like Harry Potter!! Surely her skills at math would be useful too, though it’d mean she’d approach it in a different way from Miya, who seems to mainly focus on the natural science aspects of it.
That was part of what she learned, as well. She arrived part of the way into the discussion of course, since Miya had been meeting with him for at least a day or two before she woke, but learned that he initially tried to understand her basis for entering the field, since she had done so independently. That of course wasn’t completely rare, although many of these “neo pagans” did pick it up from and learn it with others, whether family or friends or colleagues. Miya was also apparently remarkable to have come across it at such a young age, and especially to reach the power she already had.
It didn’t take long for Saki to tell just by looking into the doctor’s eyes that he was actually afraid of her dear Miya. She found that most practitioners of the popular religion focused only on ritual and enlightenment, while maybe trying to instill some kind of power within themselves to make them happier, or more capable of something. With some it was a case of ability, but with most it was just a case of perhaps being content to only go so far with it.
Miya however was unusual in that she’d actually attained some real power, and the doctor seemed particularly impressed with the resurrection she’d accomplished. He tried asking many questions about that from time to time, though sensing the moods of both girls when he did, he wouldn’t normally dwell on it. Still, Saki saw the curiosity flaring in his eyes. He constantly sought new angles to bring it up, but never really succeeded, and otherwise appeared content just to learn more about Miyabi Natsuyaki.
Until this certain day.
His eyes straying over to Saki as they did occasionally, Saki felt herself blush since she’d heard some of the rumors going around the last few days. If it was Kuromi who’d gossiped, she needed to make Miya have a talk with the girl. The doctor’s question, his eyes still straying over to her, convinced her beyond doubt that he’d heard them too.
“Are you now sexually active?” he asked after a short moment of mulling over his notes.
Miyabi blinked, and Saki saw red begin to flush her face as well. “Um,” she replied, obviously unsure what to say. “I’m not sure what you mean…”
“Do you have a boyfriend?” he asked again, and though his eyes didn’t leave Miya, Saki knew he was very aware of her appearance in his periphery. “A significant other?”
Miya’s eyes darted to Saki before she could think, and the observant doctor visibly took note. “I don’t have a boyfriend,” she replied quietly, and even Saki could tell she was obviously hiding something. A rush of excitement suddenly filled her. Even though they lived together here, they’d never made it completely clear what was going on between them now apart from the physical intimacy, along with, of course, Saki’s role as her “protector”. She figured that right now though the technicality didn’t really matter to the doctor.
“Natsuyaki-san,” the doctor said easily, leaning back in his chair to view the both of them through his glasses. He also immediately noticed when Saki caught Miyabi’s hand with her own to hold it between them. There was really no point keeping it secret anymore now, was there? “I’m not here to judge you. But I am here to help you. Since the things you’re doing, the powers you wield so recklessly, rely strongly on emotion, impetuses of your emotions are vital to the work we’re trying to do here. Now, like I said, I’m not here to judge, but I do need to ask. Is there someone you have an intimate relationship with?”
Miya swallowed as Saki tightened her hand against her own, but after the two girls exchanged glances and nods, she turned to the doctor and answered resolutely, “Yes.”
The doctor let out a long sigh before leaning forward again and folding his hands on the desk. “All right. Now we don’t need to discuss specifics, but I urge you to be as open as possible. The more we bring out, the more I can help you. How long have you and this… person… been together?”
After exchanging another glance with Saki, Miyabi thought a moment before replying, “I’m not sure how to answer that.” When the doctor was silent, just watching her to see if she’d go on, she eventually did. “We broke up over half a year ago.” The doctor took in a deep breath, but she hurriedly went on, “But I guess we’re… seeing each other again now.” She carefully didn’t look Saki’s way again. “Right now.”
The doctor expelled his breath.
“You know having someone so close to you with whom you share such strong feelings makes the work and therapy you’re trying to do here more difficult.”
“I’m doing my best to keep emotions… distant. As much as I can. Besides, I don’t think she’s the one causing the… most dangerous emotions right now.” Miya still avoided looking at her, but Saki already understood what she was saying.
“There is someone else?” the doctor asked. “Did something happen while you two were apart?”
“Well…” Miyabi said, scrunching her nose a bit. “Yes. But that’s not what I mean.”
“What do you mean then?”
Miya seemed to become frustrated now. “It’s hard to explain. You see, ever since we brought her back, Momo…” She stopped short.
“Momo?” the doctor asked, glancing down to his notes. “Tsugunaga Momoko, the girl you raised after the train accident, right?”
Miya only nodded in response.
“Has there been something going on with her?” he asked. “Has she perhaps been overly fond of you for what you did for her?”
Miyabi’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, no. No, it’s nothing like that.”
The doctor sighed again, apparently taking this for a similar reaction to previously when he tried bringing up the subject. While he jotted something down in his notes, Saki watched as Miya’s eyes were lowered to her lap. She was about to speak up herself when the doctor asked again, if in a bit tighter voice now, “Well, thinking about the present again, what’s going on now. Are you sexually active?”
Miyabi’s eyes came back up to his, and they shared a gaze for a moment. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I really am not sure what you’re asking.”
Saki tightened her hand again on the other’s. Despite her seeming maturity, her younger lover really was still innocent in many ways. “Yes,” Saki replied in her place, the first time she’d spoken since coming into the office. Both the doctor’s and Miya’s eyes swiveled to her. “We are.” Even though she was watching the doctor’s face, her own burning, she could feel the question in Miyabi’s own gaze on her. She squeezed the girl’s hand to assure her they’d talk more later.
“I’m sorry to ask about such a private matter,” the doctor said, “But there are certain… times when we naturally relinquish almost all our self-control. Merely being in a relationship where love and strong positive feelings are shared can actually serve to cultivate awareness of your abilities, but when giving completely into physical desires… that can open the door to virtually any consequence.”
“It’s not a bad thing,” Miyabi said, her voice suddenly laced with venom.
The doctor looked back at her, blinking and taken aback. “I’m… not saying it is, Natsuyaki-san. I am just… suggesting you be thoughtful, and take care in all the things you do. You don’t want to lose control again either, do you?”
Miyabi stared hard back at him for a time, long enough that Saki began to get worried, but when she squeezed the girl’s hand in reassurance she visibly relaxed, her eyes falling to her lap again.
“You’re right,” she replied submissively. “That would be unfortunate.”
…
That night, as out of habit Saki was fixing her hair after a bath in front of the mirror on the dresser, she saw Miya peering at her as she lay back on the bed, her legs crossed as she held a magazine above her chest. Normally the two were very aware of each other here, but now it seemed like Miya was paying her a bit… closer attention than usual.
She blushed lightly, patting the sides of the boxers she was aware were quite short on her waist. They and a snug t-shirt were normal bedclothes for her, a boyish trait her brother always teased her about, and which Miya had long go taken up as well for its convenience and comfort.
When she finished brushing and headed toward the bed, Miya quickly laid down the magazine on the end table and sat up, scooting to the edge to greet her. Saki blinked as she looked down at the girl, who reached up to take her wrists.
“Why did you answer the doctor’s question the way you did earlier?” she asked in an innocent-sounding voice.
Saki felt herself blush again as the girl caressed her thin wrists lightly with her fingertips. “Well…” she began hesitantly. “It’s true. We’ve, you know, had sex before.”
“But it’s been so long,” Miya replied, and Saki felt a quick breath at a faint note of regret in her voice.
“That doesn’t matter,” she replied, hoping the girl would stop asking about it. She did, and instead rose up slightly to place a kiss against her lips. Saki was also very aware of the girl’s legs splayed around and pressing gently inwardly against her own.
“Do you think he was serious about Momo maybe liking me?” Miya asked idly, curling a finger in her just-shampooed hair.
“Well, actually…” Saki replied before thinking, caught off-guard by the question, “I was just thinking about that possibility myself.” A quick yank at her hair caused her to cut off abruptly.
“You were?” Miyabi asked in a deep voice as she buried her head into her chest.
Saki swallowed, upset she’d let that slip. “Just… you know, Momo has been acting strangely ever since… and well, I was thinking about why.”
“You’re thinking again about when she kissed me?” the other girl asked, and Saki felt her body heat as Miya began slowly kissing deeply into her neck.
“Um…” Saki stuttered, the proximity of the girl now making it difficult to think. “Actually, no. It was other, er, things that made me think about it.”
“Saki-chan,” Miya purred, her arms snaking around Saki’s body to hold her tightly as she continued slow kisses. “If we’re going to be telling the doctors we’re sexually active I think that, you know, we should be sexually active.”
Saki swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. The kisses hot against her skin weren’t helping. “Miya…” she began, trying to gather herself, but subconsciously her hands had found Miyabi’s head, and her fingers stroked gently at the girl’s also freshly-washed locks. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. You heard what the doctor said. You… we shouldn’t be doing those things…”
The other girl moved slowly up to face her again, their eyes connecting, and Saki somehow knew from there this was a battle she was going to lose. In all honesty, it was a battle she wanted to lose.
“Maybe it’s just me,” Miya murmured, her breath hot against Saki’s face, “But all that talk about giving into physical desires…” She leaned forward to press a very warm kiss against her lips. “I’m not sure I can help myself anymore. Having you next to me again lately, holding me protectively every night… I feel like I’m in a different world.” Then she delicately kissed the corners of Saki’s mouth. Saki felt her resistance crumbling like a rockslide into the sea. “And after all, it’s not a bad thing.” She moved her lips to her ear, and whispered, “I want you, Saki Shimizu. I feel too cooped up in here, surrounded by doctors and crazy people every day. I need you…
“…Tonight.”
With that, Saki completely gave in to the person who could make her do so seemingly whenever she pleased, and pulled her head back to meet her lips in another kiss, but this one stronger and much deeper than before. She pushed her back onto the bed, the girl’s legs wrapping comfortably around her waist, and when she pushed her tongue past soft lips, the girl immediately pushed back in what seemed to be an attempt to shove her own tongue down her throat.
The two moaned in the passion, holding each other tightly, but when Saki tried to move down she found herself held fast by the other’s unyielding limbs. When she was about to break the kiss in protest the girl rolled over, carrying Saki with her, until their positions were switched. Except for, of course, Miyabi still being completely wrapped around her body.
What came next was a torrent of sensations from things Miya was doing to her. The younger girl quickly became aggressive however, a flare being loosed into the sky, and Saki’s cries quickly heightened until she passed her breaking point and let herself go against her lover.
After falling back onto the bed, her body feeling fulfilled and energized by what Miyabi did to her, Saki watched the girl clean herself up a moment before pulling her up for a long kiss. This time she held Miya tightly to her soft, now bare flesh, enjoying the feel of the girl’s against her own.
“That was… quick…” Saki breathed when they finally broke, looking into the other’s eyes as they continued holding each other close.
“Sorry about that,” Miya apologized with a sheepish grin. “I guess I got carried away…”
Stealthily as they spoke, Saki slid her hand down the girl’s bare back before slipping it beneath her boxers. When she gave a light squeeze at her bottom, Miya gasped slightly, eyes widening. “I’m upset you got your turn first,” she said with a fake pout, her hand now caressing and massaging gently.
Miya’s breathing quickened at what she was doing to her, and the younger’s eyes held her own intensely. “Please tell me you’re going to fuck me,” Miya said in an almost desperate voice, and Saki grinned.
What could she do in response to such an honest, desperate, dirty request? She returned the favor, trying to give the girl everything she had just been given herself and more, although she was much more deliberate about it. She even teased the girl from time to time. “What… are you doing!?” she’d say.
Saki loved every moment of it.
Eventually though, after working the girl into a near-frenzied state beyond even when she’d gone on the attack herself, Miyabi’s body shook as the girl grabbed her arms to dig fingernails in, telling her she was close to reaching her goal…
But then, everything went horribly wrong.
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I also happen to have one of your favorite "extended" versions of that last part. In case anyone would like to see it, let me know and I'll PM... I'll also try to get it up in the other forum soon. ^^
Bye for now~
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Damn you and your cliffhangers!!! :lol: :lol:
I'm glad, at least, that Miya and Saki have gotten back together, that couple is just so right. And Saki finally actually learning some stuff about magic. The theories on Momo are pretty inconclusive so far, but I have a feeling they'll figure something out soon.
And of course I want the extra parts. Come now, you know me. XD
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^You beat me from being the first one to reply. xD
Rokun!!! Me want the extension! xD *goes to PM*
As expected! When you really write MiyaSaki... I get carried away to dream land. XD
But really, the cliffhanger on this one is very... unusual from how you do cliffhangers. ^^; From how I read your chapters of BB, this is something... very informal type. xD Since you write a little formal. lol. Just noticed. xD Don't poke me! xD
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I finally caught up with your fanfic :otomerika:
and it's absolutely awesome :w00t: :w00t: :w00t:
and I would like the extension :drool: :drool: :drool:
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that was fast... they just get back together for like a couple of weeks? XD
they have been together for years though... and I'm not complaining since I like the scene... extended version please XD
now they're speculating about momo... i wonder why the doc think momo likes miya
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Extended part has now been posted to the other forum for those who can go there!! :w00t: For those who can't, like shenlog, continue to ask and I will PM. :)
Just a few short comments atm - panick: less formal? :lol: Not sure what you mean there, so it doesn't make me feel the urge to poke you. :P At least... more than usual. 8) eruchan: Like you said, they've been together a long time. Plus, it's easier for exes to become closer again... quickly. :lol: It's not like they're experiencing it all for the first time. There's that certain "comfort" with each other. Still, your concerns about some things moving too quickly are perhaps not too unfounded...
Also, mmsuki: I read your post! :D Thank you so much for the thoughts and opinions! Your perspective on how Miya's character has been affected was really interesting to me, and you do have a point. Keep reading for more! :D And don't worry, I'll do my best to turn you into an over-active Berryz fangirl too! XD
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“When I… saw you and Momo kissing…” she began. Saki felt a small rush of anger arise again at something she didn’t do
Wait, what? She did kiss her though, didn't she? Or was that just Miya's mind playing tricks on her (at that time)?
I did think of the possibility of Momo liking Miya, but then again, I just thought Momo became a psycho bitch who was out to destroy Miya.
And you just had to leave us with that ending! Maybe it's Momo busting in on sexy time?
Have fun at Sakuracon! :jphip:
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While I was reading this I already had some things to comment on but then when it came to the end of the chapter..... :on bleed: well basically I lost the ability to think straight. :panic:
Especially when I read this part:
“Please tell me you’re going to fuck me,”
My brain stopped functioning. :banghead:
I'm gonna have to reread it and jot down notes. XD I'll edit my post when I'm done. :nervous
Sorry it took a while for me to edit it. :nervous
So Saki has always been in love with Miya all this time? :oops: :wub: Thats so sweet. Although I don't approve of Miya jumping from one relationship to the next. Clearly she is not familiar with the three month rule. XD I mean her relationships so far has ended in disaster one after the other. It is not entirely her fault though. Momo definitely has a lot to do with it but then if her relationship with Saki/Risako is good in the first place then it would have not ended the way it did... i think?. :huhuh
So the kiss really did not took place. But how much of it is Miya's (magic) fault? and how much of it is Momo's doing?.. grrrrrr.. answers! XD I am also curious about Miya's powers, it seems that there is much more to it than what is revealed so far. XD
AND THAT CLIFFHANGER!!! WHAT'S UP WITH THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :lol:
But then, everything went horribly wrong.
my off guessing, someone walked in on them.. LOL! :lol: OR!
...but when giving completely into physical desires... that can open the door to virtually any consequence.
the doc's prophetic line.. XD but i'm hoping for my first guess.. :lol:
It's also kinda twisted that they are enjoying their stay at the asylum. XD
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ok. i already read the "thing" from the other thread
so..
CUM'ON! THE CLIFFHANGER?!!!
ohmee~ i'll badly wait for that cliffhanger...
well.. before that.. i got way too excited for the cliffhanger...
I never thought of the idea of momo liking miyabi!
could that possibly be?
well yeah... it does real sound possible now that you mentioned it in this chap.
oh geez~
bring momo into action soon!
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Ahh, how can you leave us with an ending like that, what has happened to Miya?!? :shocked
It's kinda sweet how Miya is all embarrassed when the doctor asks thequesntions about her being sexually active and she blunders through it all but Saki just goes and says it.
...... I'm just not sure that Miya is tottaly comfortable with Saki, not the same way Saki is with Miya, it just seems as though Miya is holding back, is it Rii, or possibly guilt, I'm just not sure....
Aand could Momo like Miya?!? :panic: that would definatly make things more intresting.....
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ah! an update!!! :onionwhip:
and it's Miya-Saki again... :bigdeal: :bigdeal: :bigdeal:
I'm rooting for the appearance of ebil Momo, :kekeke: make her appear again, author-san! I want her to wreck havoc again! :wahaha: :wahaha: :wahaha:
I'm wondering what happened to the other Berryz.... :dunno: especially to the *ahem* youngest one *ahem* :hehehe:
*busy* can't make my comment long, gomen! :on cloudeye:
And excuse me Miya-Saki fans but...not really fond of that pairing, te-hee... :on_hot: :on_hot: :on_hot:
*runs away and hides from Saki-Miya fans* :on speedy:
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Damn, I haven't updated this since Sakuracon? :lol:
Well, I suppose that's par for the course for this story. XD Saving this thread from dropping off the first page! >_<
mode: Did Saki and Momo kiss? That has never quite been answered. Momo did warn Miya though that magic can be unreliable...
We may never know what Momo actually thinks :lol:
mmsuki: I hope you're still around cause I really enjoy your comments :D
XD Disfunctional brain :lol:
After edit:
MiyaSaki raburabu :heart: I'm afraid Risako might have been a bit of a rebound girl. ^^; Though she's also a fickle (kimagure!) girl :) who has had a bit of outside sabotage working against her too :ph43r:
Yeah, nice asylum stay huh? XD Well, twisted things happen in those places... :ph43r:
aya-chii: We'll hear from Momo... eventually. ^^;
oddball: This was a long cliffhanger, huh? :lol: Hmm Miya being comfortable with Saki... is she really comfortable with anything yet?
ayase: We'll see more of the other Berryz now :D It has been awhile ^^; You and your MiRii and MiyAiri fandoms :lol:
Anyway, a surprise coming up soon! O_O
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Since it's been so long, and since it's kinda signifying a "new beginning" as well... Starting here, Volume 2 of Berry Beautiful will begin. Thank you for supporting this story for the past 4 years, and I hope you continue to enjoy Volume 2 as well. :)
Berry Beautiful
Volume 2
Chapter 48
Saki peered at the two lovebirds over her cinnamon-apple shaved ice. It was close to the last of the season, and she was going to enjoy it! Almost without thinking about it anymore, she pulled the sleeve of her hoodie up to her hand again after it had fallen to her elbow.
“No, I love you!” Chinami said with a big smile and googly eyes.
“No, I love you!” Kuma-chan replied.
“Nuh uh,” Chinami said, shaking her head as she took another lick of her maccha shaved ice. The girl hadn’t even liked the flavor all that much until this summer. “I love you~!”
“I love…” Kuma-chan said, pondering as Chinami gazed happily up at her, the two girls seeming almost stuck together like glue. Chinami was even idly playing with her hair. “…maccha!” And then the taller youth gazed at her own maccha shaved ice with lovingness that seemed to even surpass how he’d been viewing Chinami.
Then she yelped as her head was abruptly tugged back. That gave Chinami her attention again, but the girl was still only smiling widely.
“You two… seriously make me sick,” Maasa said from beside Saki, sans shaved ice of her own and instead leaning with her chin in her fists, staring blankly up at the two.
“I dunno,” Saki said with a soft smile of her own. “I think it’s romantic.”
Chinami’s smile finally faded slightly, and when Saki came out of her pondering she noticed all three girls were now looking at her. She quickly sat back in her chair, unconsciously pulling her sleeve up once again.
Chinami shifted, and Saki realized that the girl had actually started trying to drape a leg across the other’s lap. Instead now though, she moved back into her chair to continue with her shaved ice. Her smile returned as she enjoyed its cool refreshment.
“Just sick to me,” Maasa said, now eyeing the two again as if they were children who needed to be watched. “As if staring at each other during sweaty dance rehearsals isn’t enough!”
This time the other two girls had the grace to blush – Kuma-chan more than Chinami – but Chinami still gave a quick grin up to her girlfriend. Saki was suddenly very aware that Yurina’s bangs were still somewhat bunched together and stuck to her forehead.
“Maa, what about you anyway?” Chinami asked. “Haven’t you had special thoughts about anyone?” She wrapped her arms around one of Kuma-chan’s. “Except you can’t have Kumaicho! She’s all mine,” she finished, grinning again up at an eye-rolling Yurina.
“You kidding?” Maasa asked, looking the epitome of cool. “No way. It’s even… gross, man. I mean, you’re other members! It’s like you’re my sisters or something.” This time all the rest of the girls blushed, though gave each other knowing glances and smiles at the same time.
Saki though, observing the other girl, wondered if perhaps she wasn’t being fully honest. She took it as part of her job to know the other members quite well, and she could sense something a bit off about Maasa as she spoke. Still, something like this certainly wasn’t her business, and so she wouldn’t press the issue. Not that teasing wasn’t fun.
“So it’s someone from another group, is it?” she quipped, going back to her shaved ice. Such sweet, syrupy, frozen goodness. “I’d never even thought of one of us cheating on Berryz. I’ll have to keep that in mind.” Then she peered subtly up to gauge the other’s reaction, hiding the beginnings of a grin behind the ice.
All she saw was Maasa staring at her. “Cheating on Berryz!? Captain!” She glanced frantically between Saki and the other two members present, who were doing their best to play along with the joke as well. Ah, Saki knew she could always rely on Tokkuma. “You know me! I’m the least likely to betray Berryz! As many times as I’ve stood for the group… I’m the red kamen!”
“…So who is it?” Saki asked, now doing her best to keep a straight face. “Maimi-chan? Or maybe Yuukarin… It seems she’s all the rage now with S/mileage coming together, and I know you like ‘em cute.”
“No!” Maasa protested, now half off her seat. “Neither of them!” When eyebrows raised, she changed her last statement. “None of them!! Ah! What do I have to do to assure you guys I’m not a traitor!? Do I need to go and kiss Risako or something?”
Saki gave a thoughtful tilt of her head at that, however it just caused Maasa to let out a quick grunt and leave her chair to head grumbling out of the room. The three remaining watched after until she was completely gone, and then Chinami and Kuma-chan burst out in laughter. Saki stopped keeping her face still as well, and before long the room was filled with giggling.
“Ah, that’ll never get old…” Chinami said, wiping tears from her eyes.
“You guys are mean, you know,” Kuma-chan said seriously, though her own grin betrayed her.
“What?” Saki asked innocently. “It’s just gossip. I don’t know why she got so worked up about it…”
“Shimizu-san! Tokunaga-san! Kumai-san! Rehearsal resumes in five minutes!”
“Haaai!” all the girls said in response to their manager calling from the hall, and they began tidying up the area.
While walking back to the studio, Saki silently watched the other two holding hands. They didn’t even bother hiding it any longer in front of the staff – it hadn’t been intentional to tell everyone, but they’d still found out. Like it was difficult.
“Mou,” Chinami said as they walked quietly down the hall. “I wish Miya was here. Everything seems so much quieter these days…”
“Are you saying I’m not interesting enough to be around?” Saki asked in a light voice, and Chinami glanced her way, her smile momentarily faltering. Saki quickly waved her hand to reassure her.
“Well, you are, but…”
“I know,” Saki replied, looking forward again. “You and Nacchan had something special. You really brought out the craziness in each other.”
“I’m sorry I’m not interesting at all…” Kuma-chan murmured almost forlornly.
The other two girls stared at her.
“What are you talking about!?” Chinami asked, nudging her as they walked.
“Honestly, I sometimes even wonder why you’re dating me…”
Saki couldn’t help but continue to stare along with Chinami.
“You idiot!” Chinami said, and reached up to rap the taller girl on the head.
“Hey…” Kuma-chan said, wincing.
“Do you need me to give you the list again!?” Chinami prodded in disbelief.
“Ooh, I wanna hear the list!” Saki said, and it both girls looked at her as if they’d almost forgotten she was there.
“Well all right then!” Chinami said happily.
“Oh dear…” Kuma-chan sighed.
Chinami hugged her arm and walked closer to her. “One, you’re beautiful. Two, you’re so kind and sweet. Three…” She looked up sidewise into her face. “…you’re modest…” she continued before mumbling under her breath, “Except maybe too much so sometimes…”
As the girl went on, Saki listened with a smile that even turned into a blush at some of the things Chinami said. The two of them were so wonderful together. Different in many ways, but they complemented each other very well. Thinking about them and hanging out with them might have hurt a little at first, but over some days she’d gotten used to it. As their Captain, she was just glad to see them happy.
After work was over for the day – Maasa grimacing every time she looked the direction of her three tormenters, though Saki knew the girl wasn’t truly bothered by the playfulness – Saki was wandering into the locker room when she noticed two other girls there.
Risako was speaking, but suddenly cut off at her entrance and glanced shyly in her direction. The other girl seemed a bit confused at first, and then brightened when she turned to see Saki as well.
“Saki-chan!” Airi cheerily greeted her. “It’s nice to see you! It’s been… since the summer tour ended, hasn’t it?”
“I think so,” Saki replied with a small smile of her own. “It’s nice to see you too. I didn’t know C-ute had work here today, though?”
Airi shook her head. “No group work,” she said. “I’m just here for an extra voice lesson. Buono!’s new single is just about out, and I want to be at full strength for release events! Plus, I want to do it during summer break since I have the time…”
Saki had forgotten about that new single release. It surely was going to become very busy very soon.
“I hope Miya’s back from wherever she’s run off to these past weeks,” the girl continued, musing to herself. “It’s been so long, and I’ve been worried, and with promotion events coming up! But when I ask Momo about it, for once she doesn’t say anything.” Then she brightened and glanced over at Risako. “I haven’t even thought to ask you yet. Do you know what she’s up to?”
Risako stared back wide-eyed, and Saki wondered if the girl could possibly get more moé. The two of them hadn’t talked too much since… what happened, and it was a shame, because her innocent cuteness was refreshing.
“Um…” the girl began, Airi looking intently at her, before Saki bailed her out.
“What did Momo do when you asked her about that?”
“Well,” Airi began, an anxious glance toward Risako now after having picked up the tension, “She got really quiet. You know that pouty look she gets like when you say someone else is your favorite idol? It was like that, but then she just started grinning and danced away…”
Saki raised an eyebrow. “Favorite idol?” She felt like grinning herself. “And who would that be?”
Airi beamed a big smile. “That’s~ a se~cret!”
“How are your scars?” Risako asked suddenly, gazing placidly and thoughtfully at Saki.
Saki blinked, and then self-consciously pulled her sleeves down again. “Um… they’re… they’re better.”
“Scars?” Airi asked curiously, peering at Saki up and down. “Did something happen? Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” Saki said, eyes still connected with Risako’s. Risako stared back just as steadily, and Saki realized just how little they had talked recently.
She saw the question in the girl’s eyes, and it tore at her. She knew Risako loved Miya, and it made things difficult in the best of circumstances. She hated that, because it created an almost impassable distance between the two of them. In addition, these were certainly not the best of circumstances.
“There’s nothing you can do for her now,” Saki said quietly and solemnly. “There’s nothing any of us can do…”
“Is everything okay?” Airi asked, looking between the two of them.
“I need to get back home,” Saki said instead of a response. “Family’s planning dinner.”
As she hoisted her bag on her shoulder and started to turn around though, she felt a firm hand on her wrist. She looked down, and saw Airi holding her securely. The C-ute member held Risako’s wrist just the same, as the youngest Berry almost precisely reflected Saki’s surprise.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” Airi said calmly, “but the two of you look flighty as birds before a storm. You’ve been in a group together for a long time now, but I know you enough to know when something’s wrong. You’re good friends!”
“It’s nothing…” Risako said in a small voice.
“There’s a lot you don’t understand, Airin,” Saki added, in a bit more confident voice.
“May be,” the girl replied. “I’m sensitive to two of my friends hardly being able to talk to each other though. We always fight about silly things, and maybe this is something that can be worked out before it gets ridiculous.”
“It’s not a silly thing,” Saki said, looking up into the girl’s face.
“Oh?” Airi asked. “What is it?”
“It’s Miya,” Risako said quietly.
“Miya?” Airi asked again. “Did she do something?”
“It’s complicated,” Saki said again.
“You keep saying that…” Airi said, “But nobody even gives me a hint what’s going on. She’s my friend too! It’s too bad we weren’t in the same group anymore until recently, but I’m still worried about her. Can nobody really tell me what’s going on?”
“We love her,” Risako finally said, the quietest yet. Saki’s eyes jumped to her face.
“Hm?” Airi murmured.
“We love Miya,” Risako explained.
“Well you’re her friends, right?” Airi asked, seeming confused. “I love her too.”
“No,” Risako said, shaking her head.
“We dated her,” Saki said, still gazing at her youngest member. “She’s… she’s my girlfriend.” Risako looked up at her again, the question once more in her eyes.
Airi’s eyes widened. “Oh,” she said, and then she seemed to realize it more. “Oh…” And she released their arms to sit down in a chair behind her.
Saki sighed. “Something happened,” she said, and she felt that she now definitely had Risako’s attention. “She had a problem. A… serious problem. And she had to go away to get it fixed. I went with her for a while to… try and help.”
“The scars?” Risako asked, and Saki nodded. Risako’s face transformed into a look of sympathy.
“She went away?” Airi asked. “Well, when will she be back?”
Saki looked into the innocently questioning face. “I…” she said, “I can’t…” And before they could react this time, she spun and hurried out the door.
Much later, when she arrived home, she stared at her calendar. August 18th. Just a few more days…
Just a few more days until her life would either go back to normal again, or might instead just be over.
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Glad to see you come back and continue this story Rokun :P
I'm starting to forget about the previous of the story :nervous I will re-read it when I have time.
Hahaha ChiiYuri's raburabuness makes Maasa sick XD I think I understand her feeling lol.
Hmm.. and Maa hitting on someone. Who? I wonder.. :roll:
what happened to Miya? Where is she? :huhuh
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its four years already? :shock: whoaaaaaaa and WAW! and update! :onionwhip: :onionwhip: :onionwhip:
and yes, me and my MiRii and MiyAiri fandom :luvluv1: :luvluv1: :luvluv1: its still intact and secure :kekeke:
and i was like this last night---> :luvluv2: while watching BK's Haru Concert Tour. Miya and Risako performing Munawagi Scarleto :onionwhip: :onionwhip: :onionwhip: I'm so happy they're being partnered in concerts again :shy1: i also watch Rock'n Bouno4! Kya! for MiyAiri :shifty:
so yeah, im still a die hard fan of that pairings, and it'll never change :kekeke: that's y i was like this ---> :on blackhole: :on blackhole: :on blackhole: when Saki claimed Miya as her freaking girlfriend. Yadda! Yadda! :tantrum: :tantrum: :tantrum:
and i want ebil Momochi to appear... :kekeke: :kekeke: :kekeke:
...will patiently waiting for the next update! domo! :kneelbow:
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I finally have to time reply! :D
First of all, I can't believe BB has been around for four years. I still remember the days when I anxiously waited for a new chapter. The girls have grown up in the series (just as they have in real life.)
I like the idea of a fresh start with a story that's already well progressed. Can't wait to see the direction it heads in.
Nice appearance from Airi. I'm sure I'll be seeing her and C-ute in this.
Ch 49 now! :P
Edit: if you saw my earlier post about your birthday, then forget that. I mixed you up with ronin, lmao.
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Hey Rokun, well what to say, BB is back, or more accuratly it has been reborn?!? a new-begginig eh, well this is definalty going to interesting, to see the new direction this story will go in!!
as for this chapter well, I think you could cut the tension between Saki and Rii with a knife! especially after Saki refere to Miya as her girlfriend..... of course it must be hard for Saki, hiding so much from everyone, especially girls like Airi who have very little idea about the situation as it is now, even Rii, who has a pretty firm grasp of the situation does not know the full extent of what has happened with Miya....
the fact that Saki is back though, well after the last chapter of 'volume 1' where something went 'wrong' it indicated that Saki has been sent away from where Miya is because she got Miya's emotions up all the time, especially during their more..... intimate moments, like at the end of the last chapter.... I get the feeling that a very different Miya may be the one we next meet......
Interesting to see a bit more of Airi this chapter, and how she reacted to the news that Rii and Saki loved Miya a,d that Saki was dating her, shock perhaps, maybe even a little sadness because it wasn't her.... Just a thought, hmm wonder if we will see more of Airi now?
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rokun!! I miss you! :D and of course, Berry Beautiful. :D
It's so nice to read fics again, and well, I love Berry Beautiful since it was introduced to me. Now I don't know why I am saying these... anyway...
I read ch48; first chapter in volume 2 and I love it. :D The only thing is, I now wonder what happened wrong on the last chapter. ^^; Will it be out on the next chapter?
...and it was a shame, because her innocent cuteness was refreshing.
lol! SakiRii! xD Ahh, yeah.. it's a shallow thing but don't mind me. lol *whistles*
Just a few more days until her life would either go back to normal again, or might instead just be over.
Wahhh! What does this mean? o_o Lol. It's like I'm fearing the worst. ^^;
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Aww, Chinami and Kumaicho were so cute here. :heart: They really looked sweet and really a couple. As for Maasa, haha, I lover her reaction. Saki was just kidding and she took it too seriously. lol. The event here that surprised me was, well, other than the very last sentence of the fic. It was the time Risako and Saki revealed their problems to Airi and finally got to sit down and talk, even though it was just very short time before Saki runs off, it is still a good thing, in my opinion. ^^
Will look forward to the next chapter rokun. :D Now to read "The Sword and the Dove". xD