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 23Miyabi 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…
Topic: Berry Beautiful [Volume 2] (Read 95300 times)