@luckymmsg: Thank you for reading!
@RenaChii: I don't know why but I have a tendency to write sad stories.

Maybe it's beacuse I'm not really good at writing funny stories...
@Arakawa: I guess Haruna will have to make Yuko fall in love with her again?
@nyaha00: Thank you so much for reading!
@AAAice: At least Yuko has woken up?
@crazywota: Thanks for reading!
@pretend_2besome1: I was wondering if anybody was going to catch that line by Haruna...
@aoi_sora: Thank you so much for reading!
@kahem: Hmm, maybe?

Thank you for reading!
@YumePouk: Maybe teach Yuko what skinship is?
@yukofan: I like what you said about not being able to erase one's feeling despite the memories lost...
@riama: Thank you so much for reading!
Chapter 3“I’m always going to be by your side, even when you don’t want me to.”
Atsuko groaned as she shut off her alarm. It was only 5:00 am, but she had another long day of solo work scheduled. Lately, she had been very busy with drama filming and the promotion for her single. She had not seen the other members in awhile and she really missed being with them, especially with one person in particular.
Atsuko sighed when her thoughts turned to Minami.
Ever since Yuko’s accident, Atsuko had noticed that Minami had changed. She usually took her captain duties very seriously, but lately, she had been different. Normally, she would jump at the chances to lead the team. Now, she would often ask Sayaka or team B’s captain, Kashiwagi Yuki to lead instead.
And maybe she was imaging it, but Atsuko could feel that Minami had also been a bit distant to her. She had not called Atsuko as frequently as she used to. Minami used to message her a few times a day when they were not working together. Now Atsuko would be lucky to receive one message from the captain in a week.
She missed the old Minami.
Atsuko picked up her phone and noticed that she had received a new message from Minami.
Acchan,
Yuko woke up last night. Call me when you get this message.
TakaminaAtsuko let out a sigh of relief. She immediately began to dial Minami’s number as she knew that the other girl would be up already.
Minami picked up after the first ring. “Acchan?”
“Hey.”
“Did you just wake up?”
“Yeah. How about you? Did I wake you up?”
“No, I couldn’t sleep really well last night, so I’ve been up for awhile now.”
“Takamina, this is wonderful news!” Atsuko exclaimed happily.
“Um.”
Atsuko noticed the tone of sadness in Minami’s voice. “What’s wrong?”
“Yuko has amnesia.”
“What?” Atsuko said in surprise. “Oh no…”
“She doesn’t remember any of us.” Minami answered as a tear rolled down her cheek.
“Well, at least she’s awake. That’s the most important thing, right?” Atsuko tried to sound positive.
“Umm.”
“How’s Haruna doing?” Atsuko asked softly.
“She’s not doing very well.” Minami sighed sadly. “Mariko-sama and Sayaka had to take her home last night.
“It’s understandable.” Atsuko replied. “I don’t know how I would react if I’m in her position…”
“Acchan…”
Just as Minami was going to reply, Atsuko heard her mother calling her.
“Atsuko, your breakfast is ready! You better get out of bed. The van will be here to pick you up soon!”
“Okay, okaasan.” Atsuko called out. “Takamina, I’ve got to go. I will talk to you later.”
“Okay. Hey, Acchan?”
“Yeah?”
“Have a good day at work.”
Atsuko couldn’t help but smile as she hung up the phone. She got out of her bed and got ready to face another long day of work.
~~~~~
Minami walked into the hospital and turned towards Yuko’s room.
She had a few hours of free time before she had work scheduled, so she decided to go to the hospital and visit Yuko again. She didn’t sleep very well last night, and after speaking to Atsuko on the phone, she felt like she had to see Yuko again.
She walked along the busy corridor and suddenly noticed that Yuko’s mother was walking towards her.
Minami walked up to Yuko’s mother and bowed politely.
“Minami-chan, you are here to see Yuko?”
Minami nodded.
“I’m just going to talk to the doctor about Yuko’s physiotherapy sessions.”
“Physiotherapy?”
“Since Yuko had been in a coma for so long, her body is still pretty weak. So, she needs to physiotherapy to strengthen her body again.”
“I see.”
“Yuko might have lost her memories, but her personality still has not changed.” Yuko’s mother chuckled. “She is still as active as ever. She said she can’t wait until she can get out of bed.”
Minami smiled. “That’s very Yuko like.”
Yuko’s mother gestured towards Yuko’s room. “You can go in and see Yuko. I’m sure she’ll love to have some visitors.”
“Thank you.” Minami bowed again as Yuko’s mother walked away.
Minami stopped in front of Yuko’s room and knocked softly on the door.
“Please come in.”
Minami slid opened the door and walked into room. Yuko was sitting on the bed, staring out the window. She turned when she heard Minami walked into the room.
“You…”
Minami bowed apologetically. “I’m sorry to disturb your rest.”
“Not at all.” Yuko shook her head. “You’re Minami-san?”
Minami nodded. “Yes. I’m Takahashi Minami.”
“I remember you from last night.”
A silence followed.
“Ahh… How are you feeling?” Minami asked awkwardly.
“Hmm, a little bit tired.”
“I see.”
The two fell into silence again as the only sound in the room came from the radio that was sitting on the bedside table.
“I like this song.” Yuko spoke up suddenly.
“Ee? Song?” Minami asked, not sure what Yuko was referring to.
Yuko pointed to the radio. Minami listened to the song for a few seconds. Her eyes widened in surprise when she recognized the song.
“That’s ‘
Sakura no Ki ni Narou’. That’s our song!”
“My mother told me that I was an idol.”
Minami nodded. “We are both members of AKB48. We are a well known idol group. There are 4 teams in the group. Team A, Team K, Team B and recently Team 4. I’m the captain of Team A.”
“Are you my captain?”
Minami shook her head. “You are in Team K. Akimoto Sayaka, who came with me last night, is the captain of Team K.”
“I see.”
“Shinoda Mariko and Kojima Haruna, who were also here last night, are both in Team A with me.” Minami added.
“It seems like there are a lot of girls?”
Minami laughed. “There are. We have 58 regular members in total, not to mention dozens of kenkyusei. Combined with members of our sister groups, there are over 200 girls in the AKB family.”
“200? Wow?” Yuko’s eyes widen in surprise.
Minami smiled at Yuko’s reaction.
“So, what are our songs like?” Yuko asked, wanting to know more about the group. It felt so easy for her to talk to Minami.
“Very upbeat, energetic pop songs.” Minami explained. “I can bring some of our CDs to you, so you can listen to them.”
“Really? That would be good.” Yuko smiled. Minami had missed that smile. “What?”
Minami shook her head. “It’s nice to see you smile.”
“So, what was I like?”
Minami thought for a second. “You are always full of energy and jumping around. You are like the mood maker of our group. And you like to touch and kiss the other girls a lot too.” Minami rambled on. “But you are a really good person and a really great dancer and a good friend…”
Yuko burst out laughing. “Are you secretly in love with me?”
“What?”
“It seems like all you do is praise me.”
Minami could feel her face turning red. “No, it’s the truth. You’re a really good person.”
“Are you sure you are not hiding some deep feelings for me?”
“It’s not like that!”
Yuko continued to laugh. “Can I call you Minami?”
Minami was taken back. “Uh, sure.”
“I like you, Minami. You are very funny.”
Minami did not know how to react to Yuko’s comment, so she just nodded. She looked at her watch and realized the time.
“I’ve got to go.” Minami noticed the slight disappointed look on Yuko’s face and added. “I’ll come back and visit again.”
Yuko smiled. “I’d like that.”
Minami was about to walk out of the room when Yuko called her back.
“Wait!”
“What is it?”
“Can I message you?” Yuko took her cell phone from the bedside table.
“Of course.” Minami nodded. “You have my address. You can message me anytime.”
“Thanks, Minami.”
Minami waved goodbye and walked out of the room. She looked at the closed door and smiled. The talk with Yuko had lifted up her spirit. All of the tiredness and anxiety she had felt earlier in the morning was gone.
She walked out of the hospital and towards her next destination with renewed energy and determination.