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Author Topic: Neighbours [20/10 - Episode 7: Motto Aishite Hoshii no]  (Read 40999 times)

Offline XxRoByNxX78

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Re: Neighbours [25/02 - Ep 4: Chu! Natsu Party]
« Reply #40 on: February 28, 2013, 10:31:26 PM »
Sayu u pedo lol chasing after Riho!!!  :lol: :lol:

Ha Charmy has a story she cant report coz if she does it will back fire lol

AI-CHAN YOU ARE SO DENSE JUST GET WITH GAKI!!!

Tanashige finally lol i seriously wanna know more about their highschool days together plus i wanna know about some of Reina's old friends lol an how rebliouse her and her friends were lol

Tanashige are so cute together lol

nice update cant wait till you update next

Offline yunagi

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Re: Neighbours [25/02 - Ep 4: Chu! Natsu Party]
« Reply #41 on: March 09, 2013, 03:41:19 PM »
Crap. I have absolutely no excuse. How could I miss all this updates?

Anyway… All 3 Rokkies are afraid of Rika? o.O I did not know that.

KameShige together always equals cuteness. They’ve just got the best friends forever role down. What’s cuter than two grade school best friends handing out? It’s KameShige hanging out, plus there’s a higher percentage that it’ll end up in a lol fest.

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"Ch! Cheeky brat. Living with that girlfriend of yours must have rubbed off on you." Yossy grabbed her coat even as Ai shook her head behind the taller woman.

"We're not like that..."
Love Yossie’s comeback but what really got my attention was Ai’s response. That last part sounds interesting.

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"Whatever. That Gaki needs to get a clue, seriously. How long have you guys been together-but-not-together?"

"Only since high school." 
Ouch. Either Risa friendzoned Ai by acting oblivious or Risa’s actually oblivious. Either way Ai’s gotta do something about this. I want TakaGaki happening.

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"You have the patience of a saint." Yossy rolled her eyes. "I'm surprised you haven't jumped her by now."
Lol. If there was someone as irresistible as Gaki living in with me I woulda turned long ago. That girl really got herself together… I say give it a little more time, she’ll crack sooner or later.

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...you can always make it up to me some other time, like..."
Like… oh yeah !@#$%^&*()_$%!@*%^*... Yeah, that sounds nice

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I'll be able to see her more often after the season's over in any case. Guess I'll just whip up something simple and comfort myself with ice cream while watching her on TV again later..."
That’s got to be one of the saddest things I’ve ever heard. I think Ai’s together-but-not-in-a-relationship-together’s better than Yossie’s in-a-relationship-but-it-doesn’t-seem-like-it-together.

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"As I said earlier, we're not dating. And who knows, maybe this time Risa will figure out that she wants to spend time alone with me instead of sharing."
Oh God. xD But if you put it that way.. it could work.

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"I'm telling you! I'm innocent! You got the wrong person!"

"Yeah yeah, that's what they all say, boy."

"I'm a girl, dammit!"
Poor Kudou, girl can’t seem to get a break. There she is minding her own business, having nothing in her mind but going home. Then faith intervenes and decided that ‘this is boring’ and makes her think ‘hey why not take the time going home and use this alternate route instead?’ Next thing she knew someone hits her, runs away, then another helps her up. Cop rides by and it’s hello grey cell.

Well one things for sure, she certainly have the yankii image. Cops were bound to suspect her one way of another. She’s got to do something about her timing. xD

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"Older relative. Related. Guardian-ly. I swear."
Guardian-ly. Sounds legit. xD I think I know who this “relative” is, if my research was in anyway  correct, if I’m right then this is going to be one hell of a meeting.

Night out, people’s response to doing anything requiring physical/mental labor without a satisfying reward.

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"But I miss her..." Sayumi pouted, making Eri roll her eyes and pretend to gag. Really, the turtle sometimes found it amazing how the two went from outright rivalry in their high school days to their disgustingly saccharine married couple lovey-doveyness now. 
Yeah, how did that happen? O.o

Quote
Reina~ When are you coming home? Hehe...home...sounds sooooo good to say that...
Sounds like something a school girl would say.  Well it was definitely cute. So Sayu-poi.

Haha… looks like Kudou took the ‘ask for help’ advice. Not really something a person would expect after having no contact with a kin for a while, but it’s something.

Missing scene… I smell a little school-girl crush. The next time she wants to see the girl maybe she should actively go looking for trouble. ;)

Police station:

Reunion at the precinct, at least it wasn’t in a jail cell.

Worst thing to do when you’re around cops it to argue with them. Ain’t never gonna end in a good note. Then again if you got something to back you up.. then let ‘er rip.

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Sometimes she still got carded trying to buy alcohol at places, which was both immensely flattering and highly annoying at the same time.
Can’t say I know how it feels, I was the complete opposite.

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"I knew it! You must have disappeared to raise a kid! There's no other reason!"

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"The brat's an exact copy of you! I bet you don't even know who the father is, do you?" 
Oh God!  :rofl:

 
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"You two do look alike..." More laughing, then Sayu straightened and put on her most wounded expression.

"Reina, how could you?! I thought you loved me!"

"Oi! Not you too!"
DOOD!!! This exchange just gave me a whiplash. Ouch my neck, but I can’t stop laughing. *teary eyed*

Chapter 3

Ikuta Erina Detective in the making… it has a nice ring to it. But it kinda clashes with her being KY, which makes it all the more interesting.

Haruna Ayaka convo.. I couldn’t understand a thing they were saying… but it’s cute that they understood each other. Kinda like having a conversation in another language that only the other could understand. But from what I can see it looks like they’ve got a lot in common. Maybe something to build on. :D

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"Well, Reina's always around cute girls. I mean, I'm the cutest and all, but what if you get tempted?"
Lol Sayumi’s the cutes of them all. This is why I like Sayu so much.

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"Pity she's all dressed up like a boy though. She has such a cute face! Ah~ If only I could have my way with her~"
Hentai!!! No wait Pedo!!!!  :lol:

I wonder who  the sender was… looks like a job for Eripon! xD

Sorry it’s kinda short, I’m not yet familiar with the new girls.

Chapter 4
Quote
… While this wasn't quite life and death, displeasing one's girlfriend is still an unpleasant prospect. Reina really didn't want to get thrown out to sleep on the couch. She liked their bed a lot, thank you very much.
And she’ll miss hogging the blankets so that she gets more cuddle time with Sayu ;)

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Left to her own devices, Sayu would probably give herself an internal hemorrhage from excessive fussing.
Well it’s a good thing Eri’s their neighbor.

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The taxi ride home was uneventful, save for that one moment when Reina thought they were going to end up in a flaming fireball due to the driver obviously thinking that he was in Initial D. Seriously, while she did offer him extra to get to their destination by a certain time, that did not mean she wanted to reach it in a casket!
  :rofl: guess next time she’ll better watch what she says.

Quote
It was a bit of a squeeze getting into the elevator with all the people while clutching to her bags, and Reina found herself getting annoyed.
Reminded me off “People, people, people… wow, wow, party! party!”  XD It’s honestly the first thing that popped into my mind.

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"...no scoop? Dammit. A scoop I can't report!"
Not if she wanted to be found out too. Oh the woes of a reporter.

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Despite Riho's deceptively slim figure, the fact that the girl had also polished off all those pastries on her own within the last hour while idly finishing her homework at the same time spoke of an enormous appetite. Eripon raised an eyebrow. Where did all that food go?
Just like my sister. Seriously where do all those food go to?  :?

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"Uso! You're a real celebrity!"
Gaki-san, there’s no mistaking this.

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Reina nodded a tad stiffly, turning around to look for her missing girlfriend. What she saw made her grind her teeth together irritably.
Oh, little kitty’s jealous.  What’d she see?

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"Sure." Reina grumped, taking a sip from the cup proffered to her. "Then why is she flirting with Tall and Dashing over there?"
Should’ve known…

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In fact, that had been the main reason how their relationship got a much-needed jumpstart. There might have been tears, slurs, and some drunken groping involved. Needless to say it was all very dramatic and part of why both of them technically disagreed over just when exactly their real anniversary date was. It was all rather complicated, but at least it eventually worked out in the end.
Cheers to alcohol. See it solves problems.. though it almost always does make another one.

Quote
"Reporter Charmy doesn't look that scary."

Eri shot her a look. "You don't want to know. Trust me, you really don't want to know."
I wanna know! I gats ta know!

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"They'renotactuallydating...or so Gaki-san says. Ai-chan doesn't seem to worry about the details that much..." They watched in relative silence as Ai yawned and rested her head on Risa's shoulder. The younger of the two didn't react at the gesture, shifting only a little to make sure the older was comfortable.
TakaGaki love!!! :heart:

Quote
"I almost feel like I'm intruding..." Eri averted her eyes, letting her gaze fall upon where the Yoshizawa-Ishikawa couple were mingling with the Takahashi-Niigaki pair.

Couples, couples everywhere. It’s kinda like Valentine’s day… makes every single person aware of the fact that well… they’re single.

Quote
"Eri-chan's right, I have no idea how you manage to eat so much and stay so slim. One day your metabolism is going to slow down, and I will laugh when it happens."

Riho looked horrified at the mere thought, and Kanon enjoyed a laugh at the girl's expense. Riho did manage to finish almost everything she ordered earlier on her own, though she did also invite the rest of the staff to share with her tea-time. Or early dinner. Kanon could not be sure.
There will come a day! Bwahahaha.

Quote
"Oh I'm sorry!" Riho turned around to apologize as well. There was an awkward pause as the younger girl cocked her head to one side, uncertain if her apology had been accepted. The slightly taller woman was staring at her in a way that made her feel slightly uncomfortable, and Riho shifted uneasily on her feet.

"Ah, Sayu~ Meet my employee and her friend!" Eri leapt to the rescue unknowingly, gesturing at Kanon and Riho as she stood beside the still frozen Sayumi.

"Ah...how...nice..." Sayumi murmured, her eyes still fixated on a clearly jumpy Riho. "Do introduce us."
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the start of pedoSayumin!!!!

Quote
"Are you two still students?" Sayumi interjected smoothly, turning her best charming smile at the girls. Without even so much as a ring of doom, a conversation was struck up between the two high school girls and Michishige Sayumi, lolicon-in-denial.
Lolicon-in-denial! XD

The rest that followed… (If I did this one by one this would probably reach two posts)

Loled so hard. Pure crack at its finest. I’m pretty glad I’m the only one here right now.

Riho’s drunk! XD

Aw… Zukki-chan didn’t get a chance to drink(and suddenly disappeared). Tsk… At least we got a smashed Ai and Reina. :twothumbs

I love all the crack! Awesome writing!
« Last Edit: March 13, 2013, 03:28:37 PM by yunagi »
._.

Offline Estrea

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Re: Neighbours [25/02 - Ep 4: Chu! Natsu Party]
« Reply #42 on: April 13, 2013, 06:26:24 PM »
Apologies for the extended absence! I got distracted by another fic, and then I got a job and became really busy... ^^;

But I'm back! With an update! Yaaaaaayyyyyy~

Comment replies first.


@Shiawase: Yes, Neighbours is where I can bring EVERYONE in. As and when I like it. Teehee. Kanon-chan had to go back to work and thus RihoRiho was left to her own devices...XD you'll see what happens here~

@rokun: Yes, poor Duu. XD Next episode coming up! And honestly, don't try to ruin a good thing. :P Go write ReinAi yourself if you must!

@H!PShipper: Drunk everyone is always amazing. XD Patience! TakaGaki will come in time~

@rndy: Yes, I was feeling slightly crazy as the party progressed, so the chapter got more insane as the alcohol intake increased. :lol: And yes, Duu makes another appearance! :lol:

@Robyn: Ai-chan's drunk. Gaki's the one who's dense. XD Tanashige has an interesting past~ And yes they're the cutest couple ever ;w; Sorry I took so long to update!

@yunagi: Haha and then I make you wait for an update again. Sorry? XD But yes the Rokkies are afraid of Rika...or were...XD I love KameShige yes I do! And all that massive block quoting, love it. :D Thanks for the comment even if you were late! Haha, hope you like this chapter too!


Ok time to edit and post~

永遠に咲き続ける花なんていない、すべてはいずれ枯れて朽ち果てしまう。

Currently writing:
- Lilium-related things. God save my soul.

On Hold:
- Everything Else. Too many to list.

I'm also on AO3!
http://archiveofourown.org/users/Estrea

Offline rndmnwierd

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Re: Neighbours [25/02 - Ep 4: Chu! Natsu Party]
« Reply #43 on: April 13, 2013, 06:38:32 PM »
Wedge! >.<

Offline Estrea

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Re: Neighbours [25/02 - Ep 4: Chu! Natsu Party]
« Reply #44 on: April 13, 2013, 06:44:35 PM »
Episode 5: Kioku no Meiro


This week's letter is from chanponchan-san:

Konnichiwa I-sensei! I always have fun listening to you while I'm at work. To be honest, what I have isn't even really a problem, but well, it bothers me a little and that's why I'm writing in? Recently I realize that I'm surrounded by the oddest kind of couples, and I wonder how is it that I can't even find a normal relationship in my life. I'm already in my mid-20s but haven't really dated much. My best friend tells me not to worry so much, but I can't help it! I really want a dashing prince of my own, but I have no idea where to find my destined partner! What should I do???

Thanks for writing in, chanponchan-san! I'm glad you like listening to me at work...won't you get into trouble though? Haha. Mm, it's quite difficult isn't it? Trying to find the right person for yourself...


~*~*~

Sayashi Riho woke up with a pounding headache and absolutely no idea what she was doing or where she was. Unfamiliar stationery, scratchy upholstery under her thighs, and her mouth felt like someone shoved sand into it. Squinting blearily, she shifted, and a jacket fell from her shoulders to settle around her butt.

"Oh, you're awake! Good thing we picked you up before anything bad happened! You need water?" A perky lady in a neatly pressed uniform swooped down on the still groggy Riho, who was valiantly attempting to process her surroundings.

"Um, yes, that would be wonderful." Riho found herself saying, cradling her head with one hand. Her brain started parsing information before it clicked that the lady was wearing a police uniform, and judging by her surroundings, she was at a police station. How did she end up here? Why was everything spinning?

She was still trying to put things straight in her head when the cheerful policewoman came back with a glass of water and aspirin, which Riho gratefully downed. After a minute of two of silently blinking, Riho looked up at the policewoman, who seemed to be waiting considerately for her to gather her wits.

"What...happened? Why am I here?"

"We were hoping you could help us with that. A couple of our patrol officers saw you with a bunch of boys who were up to no good. Did they drug you or something? You were out cold when our officers found you."

Riho stared in shock, then quickly re-examined herself. Nope, her clothes seemed to be in order, except for a rip at her sleeve. The policewoman noticed her actions, and laid a comforting hand on the young girl's shoulder.

"Don't worry, according to my colleagues nothing seemed to have happened. The troublemakers were fighting, it seemed. Probably over you...do you remember anything at all?"

"I think...there was a party? Someone gave me a drink...and I don't remember much after that..." Riho winced as she vaguely remembered climbing down a fire escape and faint impressions of being chased by something...or someone.

"Children these days...you should be more careful." The policewoman tutted disapprovingly. Riho hung her head in shame. She was always a model student, and it would be awful if this got back to her school, or worse, her parents! They would be so worried...and so disappointed.

"You...you won't tell my parents, right?" Riho whimpered, looking terrified. The policewoman looked at her sternly, but Riho's best impression of forlorn kicked-puppy was second to none.

"I'm on scholarship at a private school, please, don't tell anyone! I don't want to disgrace my family." Riho started to sob -- slightly theatrically, truth be told -- but her fear was genuine even if her actions were somewhat played up to gain sympathy.

The policewoman softened after a minute or two. "Well, if you be more careful next time..."

"I promise!" And I'm never drinking again, I swear. Riho shuddered inwardly. Her memory was a mess!

"Well, if you're feeling better, why don't you come with me? We've caught the boys involved, but if you can identify them that would be great."

Riho nodded cautiously, eager to follow instructions and hopefully get out of this without any stain against her permanent record. Walking was a bit of a challenge with her persistent headache, and she hoped fervently that the medication would kick in soon.

The policewoman brought her to the holding area and told her to wait while she arranged for the suspects to be brought out. Riho spent the time waiting and trying to dig through her memory for anything beyond the fire escape. She vaguely remembered running into someone, she thought...but everything afterwards was a jumble of noise and faded colour. It was frustrating.

"Look up, kiddo. Do you remember anyone here?"

The policewoman came back with a couple of her colleagues, who were escorting a bunch of boys, five in all. No wait, four boys and a girl. Riho had very good eyes, and despite the short hair and boyish clothes, there was no doubt to her that one of them were a girl, and a good-looking one at that.

"You..." Riho paused in front of the other girl, who was glaring sullenly at the cops. The lanky teen narrowed her eyes at the confused Riho, who was struggling to remember what happened the night before. A flash of recognition lit in Riho's eyes as she thumped a fist into an open palm.

"I remember you! You were...holding me?"

There was a triumphant snort somewhere behind them, and the boyish girl glared over Riho's shoulder at the cop standing there. Riho stared at the person she vaguely recalled, remembering how close the other girl's face had been to hers. Riho frowned, trying to piece together her fragmented memory. She lifted a hand to her lips as something else floated into her mind.

"Did you...kiss me?"

"WHAT?"

More than one voice erupted in the room. Riho's eyes were wide as she vaguely recalled something, but she couldn't be entirely sure. Just that the girl in front of her was really familiar, and then...something?

"IT WAS NOT A KISS! YOU BUMPED INTO ME, YOU IDIOT! IT TOTALLY DOESN'T COUNT."

Riho found herself being shaken by the suddenly angry stranger, before the police stepped in and separated them by force. Riho was escorted out by the nice policewoman as an argument broke out between one of the portly policemen and the girl-who-dressed-like-a-boy.

"Don't worry about it, kid. We'll take care of the matter. You just go home and rest, alright? I'll get one of my colleagues to give you a ride."

The policewoman assured a rattled Riho in a motherly air. Riho nodded distractedly.

She seemed to be missing more than a few pieces of memory, and it was going to bother her until she worked it all out!

~*~*~

Michishige Sayumi hummed tunelessly to herself as she picked up the trash and started cleaning the remains of the wreckage from the previous night's party.

All in all, it was a successful party, she felt. After she had ascertained that the cute little girl she had been looking for all night was no longer around, Sayumi had then decided to join the party proper and started drinking like a fish. Despite having done so the previous night, Sayumi still managed to get up before noon with no visible ill effects. It was a trait the Michishige women shared, she found. Both her mother and sister were also similarly immune, and this was why she could clean up while her girlfriend languished in bed.

Reina was currently huddled under the blankets and exhibited no signs of moving out from underneath it any time soon. When Sayumi had attempted to tug the blanket off her curled up girlfriend, all she got was a miserable growl in response as the hungover kitty curled into a tighter ball. Sayumi had shook her head then and left the glass of water and aspirin by the bedside table. It was no good trying to force Reina to do anything, and there were better things she could do with her time.

Like trying to fix the worst of the damage left over from the night before. Her sister had cleared up the broken glass, but she might have to replace a couple of chairs. Maybe the coffee table too. What happened last night again?

Oh yeah, a certain Charmy Ishikawa. Sayumi shuddered. She was beginning to understand why Eri had stayed well away from the famous reporter. The woman had seemed harmless enough, but put alcohol into her and it was like unleashing her inner Hulk. With marginally less smashing (unless provoked), a lot more swearing, and possible anger management issues.

It would have been funny if only Reina had stayed out of harm's way. At somewhere past midnight, the kitty had woken up from her stupor and then promptly challenged the drunk-as-a-lord Ishikawa to an arm wrestling contest. Do not ask how that happened, or why it would even make sense at all, because Sayumi would not know and did not care to find out, concerned as she was in making sure that Reina didn't lose her fingers or end up with a broken beer bottle through an eye or worse. And this was after she had more than a few drinks in her too. It was amazing there had been no casualties.

Sayumi sighed as she made a few calls to order replacements. With some luck, she would have new ones in before Reina woke up and raised holy hell over the damage. Her girlfriend was thrifty to a fault, and Sayumi really didn't want that argument to happen. Living together was proving to be a challenge for their relationship at times, but Sayumi was determined to make it work. Even if Reina had a tendency to leave her accessories all over the dresser. While hogging the TV all the time. And never sorting the laundry into whites and non-whites...

But even so, Sayumi still loved her troublesome kitten. Because when she was stressed, Reina would buy them each a tub of ice cream, they'd put on a good movie they both liked, and then bitch about anything and everything while gorging on every unhealthy tidbit you could think of. Reina listened to her whenever she had something to say, whether or not she understood what was going on. And when she was sad, Reina would make her laugh. The woman had her flaws, but there was no such thing as the perfect person. They just had to work through their differences.

Just as Sayumi was clearing away the last of the debris, the doorbell rang. Bemused, Sayumi wandered over to the door and opened it.

"Osu~ Hi there Michishige-san! Is Tanaka-san around?"

"What are you guys doing here?" Sayumi asked incredulously. Three people stood outside her door, two of whom were carrying guitar cases. The one who spoke had no such burden, although she was carrying a backpack and a basket full of fruits.

"Oh, Tanaka-san didn't tell you? We couldn't make it to the party yesterday, but we told her we'd pop by today to visit before practice this afternoon. Figured we could hang out here and head down to the studio together later. If...it's alright with you?"

The speaker ended with a questioning note to her sentence, and Sayumi sighed. She had met her girlfriend's band members a couple of times before, but she didn't know them very well.

"It's alright, come on in. Okada-san, was it? Reina's still sleeping, she got really smashed last night."

"Just call me Okamari, Michishige-san. Ojamashimasu~"

Sayumi stepped aside, letting the three girls in. They politely took off their shoes at the entrance, looking around curiously. One of the guitarists grinned at the mention of Reina's drunkenness.

"Really? Damn, too bad we weren't here. Would have loved to see Tanaka-san get smashed! All we got to do last night was chaperone Marin on her date..."

"It was not a date." The other guitarist said flatly, giving the older girl the evil eye. "And you two didn't have to come along. I was the only one who promised to go."

"And leave you to the wolves? Not happening." The first guitarist laughed, patting Marin on the head like a disobedient puppy. Marin frowned, but didn't protest the action.

"It was just a performance, and it wasn't even me performing. Asahi-chan wouldn't have let anything happen to me."

"But she is the problem." Okamari muttered in between coughs, before handing over the fruit basket to their host. Sayumi raised an eyebrow, having heard the comment, and Okamari shrugged helplessly with a 'what can you do with this kid?' glance back at the baby of the group.

"Well, it was a good show your girlfriend put up though. She's really good on that keyboard of hers."

"She really is! I think she added in a little something I suggested to her when we were jamming together at the studio the other time..."

"Wait, you guys were jamming together? When did this happen?"

"Last week? I ran into her after lunch and she just finished piano lessons, the studio was still open so we spent an hour talking and playing on our instruments. It was weird trying to make my guitar work with her piano, but it was a good learning experience." Marin's expression was light, though bland, as per her usual fashion. Then she frowned as something else occurred to her.

"And she is not my girlfriend."

Okamari and Uozumi (otherwise known as Nee-san) exchanged long-suffering glances and heaved dramatic sighs. Nee-san slung one arm around the youngest of the group, shaking her head sadly as Marin looked confused about why her band members were reacting this way.

"I'll see if I can wake Reina." Sayumi said after a moment, obviously amused by the interplay between her girlfriend's colleagues. "Warning though, she won't be in the best of moods."

"I brought chocolate!" Marin piped up suddenly, rummaging around in her bag after putting her guitar case down. "I found some sweets I think Tanaka-san would like too. That might make her feel better."

"Gosh, you two need to stop gorging on sweets. No wonder you guys have delicate stomachs!" Okamari flicked Marin in the forehead, making the younger girl squint defensively.

"But I like sweets..."

Sayumi laughed as she returned to their room. The LovendoЯ girls knew about her and Reina's relationship and were totally cool with it, which had endeared Reina to them a little more than she would have otherwise. It also helped to be able to mark Reina as hers, since Sayumi always got a little jealous whenever Reina spent time with other girls.

"Reina? Time to wake up."

"Nngh..."

"Reina. You have visitors."

Something like "tell them to fuck off" came from underneath the blanket. Sayumi chuckled. The hangover wasn't going to go away like that, so she yanked the blanket off the suffering kitty and dodged when Reina kicked out reflexively. It was a little like dealing with a very aggressive baby, Sayumi mused as she all but forced Reina to drink water and aspirin, then let her girlfriend bury her face into her stomach while stroking Reina's light brown hair affectionately.

"Sayu...tell them to go away..." Reina whined, her voice muffled from being pressed into her girlfriend's tummy. Outside from the living room, Sayumi could hear the voices of the band members, and the sounds of an acoustic guitar being played (tuned, actually, not that Sayumi would know).

"You have to go to practice with them later anyway." Sayumi rubbed Reina's back comfortingly. Reina grumbled, shifting this way and that on the bed, kicking reluctantly at the covers.

"Don't wanna..." Reina pouted, squinting as she rolled to look up at Sayu from the woman's lap. Sayumi leaned down and kissed her on the nose.

"You never miss practice, Reina. Don't start now."

"Meanie."

"I love you too." Sayumi said blandly as Reina crawled to her feet, cursing and staggering to the bathroom so she could wash up. Sayumi made the bed almost absently, before going back out to the living room where the other band members were chatting quietly.

Nee-san was the one tuning her guitar, and she apologized for the noise when Sayumi came back out.

"It's alright. Reina's washing up now, she'll be out soon."

Sayumi joined in on the conversation, and soon the girls were exchanging stories about the strangest things they had seen during the course of their work. Okamari had them all howling with laughter at her description of her grandmother crashing one of her gigs.

"...so there was my dear old Baa-chan, sitting on her little foldable stool in the middle of a mosh pit and eating her bento while surrounded by huge guys with tattoos and piercings... I didn't know whether to laugh or cry..."

"What's going on?" Reina stalked out of the room with a towel around her neck. She looked and felt considerably better after a quick shower, and she was dressed simply in t-shirt and shorts before flopping down matter-of-factly into her girlfriend's lap. Sayumi 'oof'ed at the sudden weight, but smiled and wrapped her arms around Reina's waist. Reina leaned back comfortably, looping one arm around the back of Sayumi's neck. Nee-san whistled at the sight, and Okamari grinned.

"Just telling 'em about my family. I think they're all crazy."

"Well you're not much better. It must be in the genes." Reina snarked back, earning a pinch in her side from her girlfriend. "Itai! Sayu! What was that for?"

"That's not very nice, Reina." Sayumi chided her wayward girlfriend, who pouted back stubbornly. The band members watched this scene quietly, a bit awed by how tame their leader was around her girlfriend. Marin broke the silence first by scrambling over and handing Reina a few different packs of sweets and chocolates in a little plastic bag.

"I saw these the other day while I was out, and I thought you'd like it too. I tried them, they're good!"

Marin said proudly, and Reina couldn't help but grin back at the baby of the group. Out of the other three band members, she doted on Marin the most, mostly because they both loved sweets and Marin was adorably innocent. She accepted the gift graciously, and Marin beamed.

"So how's your new song coming along?" Sayumi asked after a few minutes of idle chat. Reina broke off from snacking and swallowed before answering.

"Pretty good. Okamari and I need to figure out some stuff around the bridge though, it's a bit rough there."

"Yeah, Nee-san and I are practising hard too. We've got some really hard guitar solos this time." Marin piped up, her mouth still full of chocolate. Nee-san poked her in the cheek, mouthing "swallow first" to the younger girl, and Marin scowled before doing as she was told.

"I was talking to Shacho about holding a mini underground tour. I think he liked the idea about hitting indies venues, reconnecting with our roots and all that." Okamari leaned forward enthusiastically, and Reina nodded approvingly. Behind her, Sayumi frowned slightly.

"Will you be gone for long?"

"We're only planning for venues in and around Tokyo proper. Furthest we'll go is Nagoya this time." Nee-san said quickly, hoping to defuse the situation in time. Reina shot her a grateful glance, and she acknowledged it with a tiny nod.

"It's all still in the planning stages. Top secret though! Don't go telling anyone about it." Reina nuzzled Sayumi affectionately, making her girlfriend giggle softly.

"Who would I tell? Except Eri, but she already knows about us, and she hasn't told anyone else yet."

Reina was about to banter back playfully when her phone started wailing loudly. Marin, who was nearest to it, grabbed the offending article and tossed it to her leader, who caught it deftly and grimaced when she saw the caller ID.

"Ugh. Can I not pick up?"

"Who is it?" Sayumi looked over Reina's shoulder, and Reina sighed.

"Someone who really doesn't like me..." Taking a deep breath, she accepted the call, and was about to put it to her ear when a really loud voice echoed through the speaker.

"TANAKA REINA HOW DARE YOU CORRUPT MY DAUGHTER..."

Reina made a face and disentangled herself from Sayumi, excusing herself as she walked into the room to continue the call. Everyone exchanged bewildered looks.

Two minutes later Reina walked back out with a tense scowl on her face. Sayumi stood up and walked over to embrace her wordlessly, and Reina's expression relaxed fractionally, her shoulders slumping.

"Can I not deal with her?"

"You don't have to if you don't want to." Sayumi soothed, stroking Reina's hair. Reina sighed, resting her face against Sayumi's neck.

"But I have to. My cousin's in trouble again, and somehow it's my fault even though I have nothing to do with it. I can't just ditch the kid."

The band members exchanged glances again while Sayumi tightened her grip on her girlfriend. Reina sighed before pushing herself away gently.

"Guys, I gotta pop down to the police station for a bit. I'll meet you at the studio later?"

The three band members had another silent exchange before Nee-san spoke up.

"We can tag along if you let us, Tanaka-san. We've still got some time. Us girls gotta stick together when stupid shit happens!"

"Yeah! We've got your back!" Okamari pumped her fist in the air. Marin just nodded with the other two.

"You guys..." Reina seemed genuinely surprised by the show of solidarity. Sayumi pushed her forward from the back, and the other band members swarmed around their pint-sized leader, towering over her as they went for a group hug.

"LoVendoЯ is the best! Yaaaaa~~!!!"

~*~*~

It's never easy finding the right person for yourself, chanponchan-san. I understand how you feel though, I too worried about never finding my prince back in the day, and ended up going out on random dates with really inappropriate people because I was desperate. Though in the end, I found my dear R-kun not through being desperate, but because we already knew each other from before and built on a relationship from there.

Now, I'm not saying that all relationships have to start that way, but I feel like you shouldn't stress about it so much! Maybe your prince is already somewhere near you and you don't even know it! Just keep yourself available, and maintain an open mind. Be calm and confident, guys like that! If you really want to meet people, maybe join a club or some kind of group activity? It's always easier to bond over shared interests!

Good luck, chanponchan-san! There surely will be someone for you out there! Never give up!


"What's this about inappropriate people?"

"Reina, you didn't really think you were my first girlfriend, right?"

"From the way you were in bed, only straight girls would be that lazy."

"Hey! Just because I'm not as athletic..."

"Whatever. So. Other girlfriends?"

"...are you jealous?"

"Not if you sucked as much as you did during our first time. Or didn't know how to suck, actually..."

"Reina!"

=========================================================================


This chapter took me the longest time to write. Haha. XD Thanks to Kuji for helping me get through it, and providing the title for me as well!

You know, this story wouldn't exist without her egging me on. :lol:

And whoosh~  :ph43r:

EDIT: Lol thanks for wedging, rndy~

永遠に咲き続ける花なんていない、すべてはいずれ枯れて朽ち果てしまう。

Currently writing:
- Lilium-related things. God save my soul.

On Hold:
- Everything Else. Too many to list.

I'm also on AO3!
http://archiveofourown.org/users/Estrea

Offline Kuji

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Re: Neighbours [14/04 - Ep 5: Kioku no Meiro]
« Reply #45 on: April 13, 2013, 07:12:11 PM »
Things just happen when we talk about the babies, that's all~ It's not so much egging as mutual squeeing, I think. XD

So, gave running commentary as I read this but in short:

LOL Riho. Hahaha. pft. <-- you know why
Poor Duu. ALWAYS MISUNDERSTOOD.
It doesn't count, really? Ok then. :3
Sayu is the best girlfriend/wife ever! ;w;
Band solidarity! Yay!

Oh silly Chanponchan.

 :bow:

Offline XxRoByNxX78

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Re: Neighbours [14/04 - Ep 5: Kioku no Meiro]
« Reply #46 on: April 13, 2013, 09:45:08 PM »
lovendoя really know how to stick together and Marin is adorable and Reina's cousin is so unlucky always getting into trouble even if it isnt her fault I feel so sorry for her as for her cousins mum it wasnt even Reina's fault so she needs to take a chill pill and sit down or you know zip her lips before I do it for her lol Riho doesnt even remember the night before *tut*tut* lol she shouldnt drink but then the only reason she was out late at night because she was escaping a very pervy bunny so its sort of Sayu's fault lol and Charmy has anger issue problems when she has alchol in her system i cant believe she broke so many things who knew she was that strong why didnt Yossi stop her lol Reina is so cute when hungover and when drunk she should have thought about her actions in asking Charmy for a arm wrestling match my guess trying to impress Sayu after little drunken drabble of not being good enough and Sayu how can she take so much alchol and Reina dont take that crap off your aunty when it isnt your fault just tell her to shut up and go away but it is very sweet that you love you cousin and protect her one question why does Reina's aunty think that its Reina's fault is she just looking for someone to place the blame on and Tanashige was very cute loved the ending bit after the advice go Reina tease Sayu! As for the hole Takagaki thing last chapter yer my mistake lol i wasnt thinking while writing it aahahaha and with you saying that Tanashiges past is interesting you just make me want to find out about it more lol and dont worry about taking your time to update remember lol you have a life other than JPHIP lol and i must say it was well worth the wait and wow this must be my longest comment ever on any ones fic ahahaha anyway i cant wait till you update next =)

Offline H!PShipper

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Re: Neighbours [14/04 - Ep 5: Kioku no Meiro]
« Reply #47 on: April 14, 2013, 05:32:35 AM »
Lmao chanponchan is so obvious. It seriously made me laugh out loud when I read it. Sayu's advice to Risa should open her eyes to see that Ai has always been there for her but density it strong. even in real life I feel like Risa just doesn't see the undying love that Ai holds for her Y.Y lol jk
Anyway, I see that you're bringing some HarukaxSayashi into this fic lol nice. (It has grown on me)
And what can I say, I love the sayurei. And the band sounds fun! I haven't seen much of the girls other than the stuff on UFLICKS but I think I love them now. Lol
Btw about That person who thinks her husband is cheating on her, I think it's harukas mother, huh? Idk lmao
Can't wait for the next chapter
« Last Edit: April 24, 2013, 06:26:23 AM by H!PShipper »

Offline all6th

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Re: Neighbours [14/04 - Ep 5: Kioku no Meiro]
« Reply #48 on: April 14, 2013, 08:38:44 AM »
I love your story sooooo much author-san.

tanashige here are the sweetest couple I've ever seen.. I love them very much.. Sayu is the best wife ever btw.. I love how she always taking care her kitten very well.. and wohooo for lovendor, I love their bond  XD

please keep it up author-san  ;)

Offline Shiawase_Honoo

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Re: Neighbours [14/04 - Ep 5: Kioku no Meiro]
« Reply #49 on: April 14, 2013, 12:16:26 PM »
Awwww for TanaShige :wub: :wub:
The LovendoR!! XD
Uh... Asahi-chan not that scary, right? With the kind of air-headed without her piano :lol:
Riho, you... maa, iiya. :lol:
O...oi Duu!!! You again!!!! Pity of you that whatever character you inherit from Reina so much. XD
Just put Maa-chan beside Duu, problem solve! XD :rofl: :lol:

Thanks for your hard working :bow:

P.S. I'm 22 now, quite an old lady everyday I look at them. :lol:

Offline all6th

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Re: Neighbours [14/04 - Ep 5: Kioku no Meiro]
« Reply #50 on: April 14, 2013, 12:22:21 PM »
oh yes, one more request, if you don't mind, why don't you write a little flashback about how tanashige end up together.  I would love to know their story before they're getting together. Well it's just an idea from me. If you don't want to, then you don't have to  :lol: thank you author-sannnn..  :thumbsup

Offline rndmnwierd

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Re: Neighbours [14/04 - Ep 5: Kioku no Meiro]
« Reply #51 on: April 14, 2013, 07:02:31 PM »
I figured it was appropriate to read this after waking from my own alcohol induced slumber XD

Btw, your SayaDuu is showing. Might wanna watch that.  :lol:

The whole exchange with Lovendor is amazing. I'm actually really excited about the band and to see them interact in that way, which is really close to the way I imagine it actually, is pretty awesome.

OMG, is Gaki-san the one writing in to I-sensei?! Omg, omg, omg! XD

Offline yunagi

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Re: Neighbours [14/04 - Ep 5: Kioku no Meiro]
« Reply #52 on: April 16, 2013, 08:56:01 AM »
I'm not so late this time! lol

Chanponchan! XD

It’s Risa isn’t it? It’s got to be Risa. Lol

Damn, with all the ‘odd couples’ surrounding her you’d think she woulda noticed that one (hot) person who’s always by her side.

Quote
Riho spent the time waiting and trying to dig through her memory for anything beyond the fire escape. She vaguely remembered running into someone...
Huh, police station + a bunch of boys and Riho vaguely remembers bumping into someone else… Wasn’t Duu loitering around there…

Quote
…despite the short hair and boyish clothes, there was no doubt to her that one of them were a girl, and a good-looking one at that
I rest my case. Poor, poor Duu.

Quote
"Did you...kiss me?"

"WHAT?"

More than one voice erupted in the room. Riho's eyes were wide as she vaguely recalled something, but she couldn't be entirely sure. Just that the girl in front of her was really familiar, and then...something?

"IT WAS NOT A KISS! YOU BUMPED INTO ME, YOU IDIOT! IT TOTALLY DOESN'T COUNT."
*gasp* … well at least she got a, sort of, kiss out of it.

Quote
Reina was currently huddled under the blankets and exhibited no signs of moving out from underneath it any time soon. 
From intoxication, finding out her gf is a loli or both? Hm…

Quote
Her sister had cleared up the broken glass, but she might have to replace a couple of chairs. Maybe the coffee table too. 
Well that was some kinda party. Wonder if drunk Rika-sama went into a rampage after the alcohol’s all gobbled up, I could totally imagine it. :lol:

Quote
Oh yeah, a certain Charmy Ishikawa. Sayumi shuddered. She was beginning to understand why Eri had stayed well away from the famous reporter. The woman had seemed harmless enough, but put alcohol into her and it was like unleashing her inner Hulk. With marginally less smashing (unless provoked), a lot more swearing, and possible anger management issues.
Scratch my last statement. I wonder if drunk Rika-sama went into a rampage after being interrupted one too many times.

Love, love, love how Sayu described Reina doing all those sweet things for her. I'm a bit jealous

And LovendoЯ appearance! Aw… Reina has such nice band mates. Kinda sucks that she has a major hangover the girls didn’t see her while she was drunk. Wonder what woulda happened if they all got drunk and began jamming.

Quote
Something like "tell them to fuck off" came from underneath the blanket. Sayumi chuckled. The hangover wasn't going to go away like that, so she yanked the blanket off the suffering kitty and dodged when Reina kicked out reflexively. It was a little like dealing with a very aggressive baby, Sayumi mused as she all but forced Reina to drink water and aspirin, then let her girlfriend bury her face into her stomach while stroking Reina's light brown hair affectionately.

"Sayu...tell them to go away..." Reina whined, her voice muffled from being pressed into her girlfriend's tummy. Outside from the living room, Sayumi could hear the voices of the band members, and the sounds of an acoustic guitar being played (tuned, actually, not that Sayumi would know).

"You have to go to practice with them later anyway." Sayumi rubbed Reina's back comfortingly. Reina grumbled, shifting this way and that on the bed, kicking reluctantly at the covers.

"Don't wanna..." Reina pouted, squinting as she rolled to look up at Sayu from the woman's lap. Sayumi leaned down and kissed her on the nose.
<3 So cute! Sayu’s a great girl. She could be a great mom… if only she could lighten up with the loli-con tendency.

Quote
"TANAKA REINA HOW DARE YOU CORRUPT MY DAUGHTER..."
… "But I have to. My cousin's in trouble again, and somehow it's my fault even though I have nothing to do with it. I can't just ditch the kid."
Still getting blamed even though she didn’t do anything. I see the innocent black sheep gene at work, though with Reina it was not-so-innocent. Ah… family. :lol:

Quote
"We can tag along if you let us, Tanaka-san. We've still got some time. Us girls gotta stick together when stupid shit happens!"

"Yeah! We've got your back!" Okamari pumped her fist in the air. Marin just nodded with the other two.

"You guys..." Reina seemed genuinely surprised by the show of solidarity. Sayumi pushed her forward from the back, and the other band members swarmed around their pint-sized leader, towering over her as they went for a group hug.

"LoVendoЯ is the best! Yaaaaa~~!!!"
"LoVendoЯ is the best!!!

Quote
Maybe your prince is already somewhere near you and you don't even know it!
You just don’t know it… don’t know it… don’t know it…. Poor Ai-chan.

Quote
"Not if you sucked as much as you did during our first time. Or didn't know how to suck, actually..."
XD

Maybe I'm overdoing the whole block quoting thing... :sweatdrop:
Anyway I love it! :twothumbs
Waiting for the next update.
._.

Offline Estrea

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Re: Neighbours [14/04 - Ep 5: Kioku no Meiro]
« Reply #53 on: April 23, 2013, 06:36:08 PM »
HI, THIS IS NOT AN UPDATE. BUT I WOULD LIKE EVERYONE TO GO REREAD THE CURRENT CHAPTERS. SOME CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE.

*trollface*

He.He.He.HEE.

:ph43r:

永遠に咲き続ける花なんていない、すべてはいずれ枯れて朽ち果てしまう。

Currently writing:
- Lilium-related things. God save my soul.

On Hold:
- Everything Else. Too many to list.

I'm also on AO3!
http://archiveofourown.org/users/Estrea

Offline AmberSan

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Re: Neighbours [14/04 - Ep 5: Kioku no Meiro]
« Reply #54 on: April 23, 2013, 08:24:58 PM »
I usually don't like gender bender but this works somehow.. also am i seeing IkuSaya??

anyway, Ikumen is always  awesome:




Offline rndmnwierd

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Re: Neighbours [14/04 - Ep 5: Kioku no Meiro]
« Reply #55 on: April 24, 2013, 04:39:15 AM »
*squee~* Erio is so awesome! I so want some IkuSuzu!

Offline Estrea

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Re: Neighbours [14/04 - Ep 5: Kioku no Meiro]
« Reply #56 on: June 05, 2013, 08:01:21 PM »
Look who's baaaack. :D


Kuji: We're awesome. It must be said. *nod*

Robyn: run on sentence wall of text ahhhhhhh but thank you for commenting. :D I read it all! I just can't reply to it at 2am in the morning after a whole day of work! Forgive me!

H!PShipper: Yeah, chanponchan is pretty obvious XD Risa's pretty dense, it's going to take some work haha. And I think my mission in life is to shove the new people down everyone's throats muahahaha. Btw, nice instincts. ;)

all6th: Hi, welcome to the thread! Sayu is indeed the best wife ever! And I love Lovendor as well. :D Flashback for Tanashige...hmmm...not at this moment but maybe later on. No promises though!

Shiawase: Asahi-chan might not be that scary...but well....just think of the others as overprotective big sisters LOL And I agree about "poor Duu" XD Maachan is always awesome!

rndy: Noted. :P I'm glad you liked the way I wrote Lovendor! I love those girls. And yes, who else could chanponchan be? xD

yunagi: I always enjoy your block quoting. I just can't respond very well to it right now @_@ Sorry to keep you waiting!!!!

AmberSan: Ikumen is always amazing. I think I love "him" most. XD


Time to edit and post. It's a looooooong chapter~

永遠に咲き続ける花なんていない、すべてはいずれ枯れて朽ち果てしまう。

Currently writing:
- Lilium-related things. God save my soul.

On Hold:
- Everything Else. Too many to list.

I'm also on AO3!
http://archiveofourown.org/users/Estrea

Offline Estrea

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Re: Neighbours [14/04 - Ep 5: Kioku no Meiro]
« Reply #57 on: June 05, 2013, 08:20:43 PM »
Episode 6: Seishun Bus Guide


And now we have a letter from mizuirobot-san:

I-sensei konnichiwa! I always enjoy listening to your advice! The truth is, I've been admiring someone from afar, but I can't quite pluck up the courage to do anything about it. I'm a couple years older, and while it wouldn't matter if we were adults, we're still only students...and it's really awkward to approach someone younger than me. I'm in my final year of high school though, and it's my last chance to do something about it. What should I do?

Ah, that really is tough around that age! Things can get so complicated...but never fear, I-sensei is here! You see, when it comes to love...


~*~*~

"Everyone to your assigned seats! Stay together! Your seatmate will be your partner for this trip, so don't lose sight of each other!"

The teacher blathered on to her noisy class of middle school students, who were chattering excitedly about being allowed out on a school day for a class trip. Never mind that it wasn't to anywhere particularly exciting, just trips to nearby high schools for visitation and allowing the third years a glimpse of high school life and what type of high school would be ideal for them.

Kudou Haruka was chafing at being told what to do. She was normally a very responsible, obedient student who never gave any trouble to her teachers at school, was well loved by her swim team and classmates, and was basically a model student. However, the incidents that happened outside of school had unfortunately led to her mother clamping down on any freedom she might have had. Straight home after school, or else her cellphone would be buzzing every other minute...or worse, her mother would call the school. Haruka did not want that to happen, so she toed the line...but it did not aid in improving her overall temperament.

At least now they got to get out of school on an authorized class trip, supervised by a teacher, of course. It was better than nothing, Haruka mused. At least it got them out of their stuffy classroom for a bit. Settling down at a window seat, the swimmer looked less boyish today only by virtue of the fact that she was in her school uniform - sailor suit, skirt and all. If one had to be perfectly honest, she made a pretty girl as well, but it never really occurred to Haruka herself. It was a blind spot within herself where she was concerned.

I wonder why Mama was so angry with Tanaka-neechan the other day? Haruka wondered as she leaned against the window thoughtfully. Honestly, it wasn't even her cousin's fault this happened, but her mother had railed against the singer (who came with the rest of LovendoЯ! It had caused quite an uproar at the station that day.) for "corrupting my daughter" and had told Tanaka-neechan, in no uncertain terms, that she was to "keep her freak self away from my children". Haruka had not understood what made her Mama so upset, but she couldn't help but think that Tanaka-neechan was seriously amazing in the way she didn't even get ruffled by the tirade, and even quipping quite blandly back that "Haru-chan's life is her own, I'm not going to force her choices, and neither should you". If Haruka hadn't already liked her cousin before, those words would have led her to literally worship the woman. Tanaka-neechan was cool!

"Yay! A free seat!" A voice squealed as the owner plopped her backside onto the seat next to Haruka. Out of courtesy Haruka turned away from the window to face her seatmate -- and, if she recalled correctly what the teacher said earlier, her partner for this trip.

"Ah...Satou-san, was it?" Haruka plucked the name out of a vague recollection from the start of term. Third years normally stuck to the same classes from second year, but this girl, if she remembered correctly, was shuffled in this term as she had just moved to town from Hokkaido.

The bubbly girl beamed broadly at her, and Haruka was reminded of the fact that this girl was also well loved by practically everyone in the class. Haruka had been busy with club practice so she hadn't really spent much time with her classmates, but she passed by knots of interaction centred around the girl in question often enough to know that despite the completely incomprehensible self-introduction the new girl had given at the start of term, she seemed to communicate well enough to be well liked. If nothing else, Haruka supposed that the bubbly enthusiasm was probably infectious on some level.

"I don't think we've talked before! I'm Maa-chan! It's very nice to meet you!"

"I'm Kudou. Nice to meet you, Satou-san." Never let it be said that Haruka didn't have any manners.

"Kudou-chan? Call me Maa-chan! Everyone calls me Maa-chan!"

Haruka gave the hyper-positive Sato Masaki a slightly perplexed look. She was sure they barely knew each other, so the "-chan" suffix was a little...premature, to say the least. Then again, it was probably something she could overlook. Some people were just naturally friendly, after all...

"So Kudou-chan, what's your favourite mug colour?"

"Huh?" Haruka blinked. "Orange, I guess?"

"Maa-chan likes clouds! They look like cotton candy! Do you like cotton candy, Kudou-chan?"

And then Haruka flinched as Masaki (or just Maachan?) half clambered onto her to point out of the window.

"Oooh, you know that tree, that kinda round one, that's my favourite!"

Haruka couldn't quite keep up with the pace with which Maa-chan was changing topics. Hell, when someone could change topics midway through a sentence -- Have you ever seen bears, oh, at the Skytree the other time I had Skytree flavoured ice cream and then my daddy, you know, he shot the bear that came to our house in Hokkaido, he brought us to the top and it was so high...have you been on Mt.Fuji? -- Haruka found herself frozen with a half-smile and glazed eyes as she attempted to process her hyperactive seat partner's thought processes.

It didn't really work.

By the time Haruka puzzled through one sentence (or half a sentence), Masaki was off onto the next three thoughts and not looking back. As long as Haruka nodded or grunted a response (sometimes even before), Maa-chan was happily rattling away at random topics and filling the air with interesting colours from the conversations she invoked. Mesmerized by the constant drone, Haruka just sat back and went along with the ride. Hey, when someone was this entertaining, you would play spectator too!

"Kudou-chan did you know my horse fell in love with my neighbour's cat..."

"Kudou-chan did you know that rolls of seaweed..."

"Kudou-chan did you know..."

"Kudou-chan..."

It was like watching a firing squad taking aim at a whole row of your conscious thoughts. Split. Splat. Gone. Somewhere in between seal-fishing, cow-tipping and the algebra of penguins, Haruka was suddenly roused back into consciousness when Maa-chan said:

"Kudou-cha--ah, that's so inconvenient! Kuu-chan? No, Duu-chan!"

Haruka spluttered. "Wait a minute, you can't just...!"

"Duu! Do you think they have camels in Ueno?"

"What?" Haruka stared at Maa-chan uncomprehendingly. There were so many things she wanted to correct, she did not know where to begin. Magnanimously, Maa-chan explained herself (one of the few times she would ever do so).

"The zoo! You've never been to the zoo?"

"Of course I have! And you just, wait a sec, my name is Kudou Haruka, not Kuu-chan or Duu-chan or whatever you come up with! I barely know you and everything and you can't just--"

"We're classmates right!" Nod. "That makes us friends!" Headtilt, and a raised eyebrow. "Friends give each other nicknames! That makes us closer, Duu!"

Haruka resisted the urge to bash her forehead against the seat in front of her (it would bother her classmate, so she resisted -- see, she was a good girl!), and even managed to stop herself from strangling the smiling girl next to her. A dozen sharp retorts leapt to the tip of her tongue, but she held it as she looked into the beaming face of her seat partner. It was just so sincere, so honest, so...so...happy.

"Friends?" Maa-chan pressed insistently, for some reason appearing a lot like a puppy. Haruka could almost swear she saw a tail wagging on the girl. And she had always wanted a dog, so...

"...yes." Haruka sighed. Maa-chan squealed and latched on to the resigned tomboy.

"Now you're a part of me too, Duu!"

"What."

This was going to be a long bus ride.

~*~*~

"Don't run in the hallways!"

"Yes, Vice Prez~" The grinning tomboy in the school blouse and skirt slowed obediently with a jaunty little wave as she speed-walked past the stern Vice President of the student council. Her blazer was draped over an arm, and she made a 'hurry up' gesture at the taller girl lagging far behind her in the hallway. "Mizuki-chan, you're slow! They'll run out of yakisoba bread by the time we reach the canteen!"

"Akari-chan walks too quickly!" The other girl walked at a stately, elegant pace, though she did pick up a bit of speed at more verbal prodding from her friend. Fukumura Mizuki nodded familiarly at the vice president, who smiled back at her classmate.

"Ayumi-chan, thank you for your notes the other day. They were very helpful!"

Ishida Ayumi, vice president of the student council, shook her head modestly. "It was my pleasure to help!" Mizuki thanked her again and went after Akari, who was hopping impatiently from one foot to another at the other end of the hallway.   

As the pair disappeared from sight, Ayumi continued her stroll slash patrol as she headed in the direction of the library. Pure and serious minded, Ishida Ayumi was respected among her peers for being hardworking and a model student who always kept her grades above average, though nothing about her stood out in particular beyond the fact that she managed to make vice president of the student council. Being responsible and rule-abiding, she was well liked by the teachers as well, though her schoolmates probably trod a little more carefully around her. Ayumi might not be one to abuse her authority, nor did she make a habit out of throwing the rulebook at people, but she was a stickler for propriety. It made people watch their behaviour whenever she was around, for better or worse.

"Good morning, vice president!"

"Ishida-san, the kendo club missed the budget submission deadline yesterday, we're really sorry, could you help us process our application? Here are the papers! Thank you so much!"

And so on and so forth. It was widely known amongst the students and staff that the person who got things done in the student council was one Ishida Ayumi, so everyone just went straight to her whenever possible. Being as responsible and good-natured as she was, Ayumi never turned down anything she wasn't incapable of. She enjoyed solving problems and helping people, so it was no big deal for her to take on the added workload where she could.

Personally, she was just a little concerned about having to hand over her duties to the incoming student council -- elections were in a few weeks, so you could see posters of candidates running for the various positions stuck onto the noticeboards all over the school. She had faith that the student body would pick competent people, but she really wanted to brief her successor and guide her through the mountain of duties the Vice President had (actually, there weren't that many, but Ayumi tended to bite off more than she could chew).

As she neared the library, she almost walked right into one of her teachers who was carrying a stack of files almost as high as up to her nose. The poor woman could barely see in front of her, and the heels she was wearing made her weave dangerously. Naturally, Ayumi had to do something.

"Good morning, Mano-sensei. Can I help you carry those?" Ayumi volunteered, easing up to her harried teacher and relieving her of half the stack. The moon-faced teacher huffed in relief and smiled at her helper, and Ayumi was once again struck by the seeming youth of her music teacher. Well, she was only 24, but the woman looked as if she could still be in high school herself!

"Thanks, Ishida-chan. Ah, I really have to get all these files to Takigawa-sensei! And then I have to go meet the middle school delegation that's touring our premises today! Oh, I hope I'm not boring you!"

"Not a problem, Mano-sensei." Ayumi smiled kindly at her harried teacher. "Oh, that's the visit you had the student council put us posters for in the academy this past week, wasn't it? I think each of the major clubs and societies have demonstrations ready in some of the assigned rooms, I drew out the assignment and schedule myself, have you seen it?"

Mano-sensei nodded absently. "Yes, good work Ishida-chan. You're always so reliable...I hope the next student council committee coming in will be at least half as hardworking as your batch were! It's really a big help for the faculty."

"Just doing my bit for the school and the students." Ayumi said modestly as they stopped outside the teachers' lounge. One of the passing students kindly opened the door for them, and teacher and student marched in before dropping off the files at Takigawa-sensei's table. Mano-sensei waved quickly at Ayumi before dashing off to meet the incoming delegation.

Left to her own devices, Ayumi decided to change course and head towards the demonstration rooms where some of the clubs and societies would be holding presentations for the middle school visitors who might be interested in enrolling. Her role was technically finished past the planning stages, and some of her juniors were helping with the nitty gritty of last minute on-the-ground logistics, but Ayumi was a hands-on kind of person, so she definitely wanted to help out where she could. Besides, it would be nice to see wide-eyed middle school kids as they wandered around. She might even be able to advise them about things!

As you could probably expect from all of the above, Ishida Ayumi was definitely A Good Person. And good things happened to good people right?

You will excuse the world as it pauses for a dramatic cackle. Which ended in a wheeze resulting from excessive squealing. Which in turn might have come from an extended game of hide and seek -- totally unplanned, completely spontaneous, and the seeker didn't even know to start seeking until she turned around and discovered that where there was once someone, no one was now there.

Which is why you might also have heard a very quiet "what" behind the cackle as it died down. Or you could have been imagining things, as a school full of high school girls are wont to do when in the grips of hormonal turbulence. Ishida Ayumi, serious and responsible vice president of the student council, was not entirely immune to that either. Who knew what lay behind that proper exterior?

"Good work everyone." She smiled and helped out where it was needed. One must always keep up with appearances. She straightened a crooked sign. Dusted off some streamers. Picked up litter. Bumped into harried juniors. Arranged tables. Cleared broken glass. Somehow picked up a lost child...

...wait a minute.

Ayumi paused in the middle of the central square and looked closely at the tail she had inadvertently picked up. Said tail was beaming happily, had a lollipop in her mouth, and was holding another one out to her. She also looked very, very lost, in a way only a lost child could manage -- if said lost child were five and crying for their mother. The girl in front of her was at least 10 years older than five, wasn't crying, and even seemed quite cheerful in all respects...and yet she still somehow managed to convey a sense of "HI I'M A LOST CHILD" in glowing neon letters that blinked every 5 seconds. And who was looking at her with watery puppy eyes.

Ayumi took the lollipop. it seemed like the right thing to do. Or the only thing to do, while she was trying to figure out what to say. Somehow, the urge to treat this seemingly-15-year-old person like a 5 year old was overwhelming, but that nagging sense of propriety in her thought that maybe doing so would have been insulting. Somehow. Then again, she got a lollipop out of this. Things could be worse, right?

She was proven wrong (or possibly right...or not...well, something may have been proven. It was just never patented) the moment the mystery girl opened her mouth.

"Are you from a different class? What's your name? Did you know it's probably still snowing in Hokkaido now? Are you lost too?"

The words made sense. The sentences made sense. The questions even made a strange kind of sense. What didn't make sense, of course, was the context.

Ayumi took a deep breath. She did not sigh. Instead, in practical, vice-president-ly fashion, she began to tackle the problem at hand seriously. In slow, simple, easy-to-understand sentences. She had a feeling her newfound charge was going to need it. She was right.

"Are high school students all so small? Duu's bigger than you are!"

Is that all she took out of what I said? And I'm not that small! I'm...average. Yes. Japanese people are petite. I'm the perfect example of the Japanese body type......am I really that small?

Ayumi smiled. She even meant it. There was just something about Maa-chan ("just call me Maa-chan!") that simply had no malice in whatever she spouted.

"Last week I had kanji lessons with Yasushi-san..."

Now, if only she could get Maa-chan to stop going off on tangents long enough to pinpoint which middle school group she came with, so that she could hand the girl back to them...

Ayumi squared her shoulders. She always did like a challenge.

~*~*~

Kudou Haruka was annoyed.

It was a few steps above irritation, and a whole flight of stairs away from rage, but it was, all things considered, quite justified. Why so? Her hand twitched spasmodically in response.

It had all begun after the bus ride. She had managed to survive it, amazingly. Maa-chan wasn't really so bad, as long as you pretty much gave in to her whims.

Tactical repositioning, Haruka corrected herself. There was no point in picking a fight over what to call the other girl. She wants to be called Maa-chan? Done. Haruka scrupulously avoided calling Maa-chan anything in particular, actually. It was actually rather easy. "Oi, you" was pretty much universal. Not very polite, but Maa-chan didn't seem to either notice, or care.

Haruka did draw the line at letting Maa-chan call her by some ridiculous nickname. Well, she tried. Maa-chan even managed to call her "Kudou-chan"...once in five times. Well, she had to start somewhere. Rome wasn't built in a day after all!

All things said and done, things only got more complicated after the bus ride. As the teacher had announced at the start, your seatmate was your buddy for the trip, and the point was that you had to stick together. It was an attempt to impose some form of order over the natural teen state of chaos. You try herding a bunch of rowdy teenagers around. It was very much like attempting to round up chickens, minus the option to truss them up like, well, chickens.

The pairing up was tolerable. So was splitting up the entire party into smaller groups of pairs to explore. It made a great deal of sense, actually. They were old enough to look around on their own, in any case.

No, you see, it was the fact that Sato Masaki had gotten into her head somehow that because Haruka and her were now buddies, they needed to revert to kindergarten protocol and hold hands. Just like pre-schoolers on their first trip out into the big, bad world. "So that we don't get lost!" Maa-chan had cheerfully declared, and then held on in a shark-like grip. Duu had groaned very loudly then, to the amusement of her classmates.

It actually worked out just fine for the first 15 minutes or so, with Haruka putting as much distance between them as was humanly possible while still holding hands. There was the vague sense of taking a puppy out for a walk (or the puppy was walking her, as is the case most of the time), but it wasn't completely terrible. At least neither of them had sweaty palms. That was something.

It was a mystery really, to then lose Maa-chan despite the fact that they were holding hands. Thing was, Haruka was so focused on keeping her distance that she wasn't even aware that the other girl had let go until she happened to flex her fingers...and met no resistance.

Apparently, no one else in their group noticed that Maa-chan was gone either, until someone pointed out that it was awfully quiet. Which, combined with Haruka staring at her hand disbelieving, clued everyone in to the state of affairs.

"Did Masaki-chan go to the toilet?"

"Maybe she saw something that interested her?"

"I'm sure she'll find her way back to us."

"Yeah, we're the only ones here with this school uniform after all, haha!"

Haruka, for some reason, had not been very reassured by that. Perhaps it was out of a misguided sense of personal responsibility. The teacher did say that they had to be responsible for their buddy. And like it or not, Maa-chan was her buddy. Being a good girl really sucked sometimes.

This was why Haruka was now wandering around in search for her missing partner. She, at least, was fully capable of finding her way back to the group, so her priority was to locate the errant Maa-chan and make sure that the girl wasn't in some kind of trouble. Her experience on the bus ride had taught her to expect shenanigans when one Satou Masaki was concerned.

So it didn't particularly surprise her that much when she saw the whirling dervish that was her partner hauling around a high school student (Haruka had to do a doubletake to be sure it really was a high school student she was dragging around, since even Maa-chan towered over the girl) and talking a mile a minute from what she could tell, standing metres away.

"...so when I went back to Hokkaido I brought back a HUGE jar of snow for my tutor Yasushi-san since she's never been to Hokkaido before, but when I came back it was all melted...but Yasushi-san said it was nice and she accepted it anyway! Isn't it great?"

"...that's...nice?"

Haruka sighed and decided to intervene before the baffled high school student got even more confused. Marching straight up to the pair, Haruka clapped one hand onto Maa-chan's shoulder, and the hyper 15 year old whirled around.

"Duu~~~~!!!! Look, I made a new friend! Anumin! This is Duu!"

"It's Ayumi, actually. Ishida Ayumi." The girl corrected reflexively, glancing up at Haruka as she tried to extricate herself from Maa-chan. The usually composed girl looked a little frazzled around the edges, and stiffened when she saw the taller Haruka looming somewhat apologetically over the over-excitable puppy that was Satou Masaki.

"Nice to meet you, senpai. Sorry about the trouble this kid caused." Haruka apologized politely, pulling Maa-chan away and keeping a firm grip on her buddy's arm.

"I-it's alright." Ayumi recovered from her momentary surprise, drawing herself up to her full height (which wasn't much) and tried to project some of her usual vice-presidently dignity. "You're visiting our school, right? How do you find it so far?"

"It's a beautiful place..." Haruka started, and then had to stop to haul Maa-chan back by the collar before the girl wandered off again. "Dammit -- sorry senpai--,  stop moving!"

"But Duu! The fountain is so pretty!"

Both Haruka and Ayumi heaved simultaneous sighs, looked at each other, and Haruka grinned. Ayumi returned the smile tentatively, then looked away quickly.

"Since you're here to look around, why don't I bring you around? I know the school pretty well."

"You would? That'd be great!"

Ayumi smiled and started leading the way. This day was turning out to be just fine after all.

"Isn't Anumin really tiny for a high school student? You're a whole head taller, Duu!"

Well, except for certain hiccups. Life was never perfect after all.

~*~*~

"Sooooo...I saw that your ikemen-kun walked you back to dorms yesterday~"

"Riho-chan! What are you implying!"

Sayashi Riho smirked at her beet red roommate as they walked down the corridor towards the main courtyard. Classes were out today for the first years since it was recruitment fair day. For this pair, it was a welcome reprieve, since Riho already knew what club she would probably join, and Kanon wasn't going to join anything since it would cut into her extra time after classes, and she needed to work part time to cover costs. Still, they had to keep up appearances and actually show their faces around the fair. If nothing else, Riho had to sign up with the calligraphy club. She did promise the club president last week. She had had to turn down the track and field team who wanted to train her for long distance races (Riho was surprisingly athletic for someone who spent most of her free time sleeping), and a number of other clubs and societies had all tried to court her before the recruitment fair day. Gymnastics had totally wanted her after she did a one-handed backflip during Phys. Ed, but Riho, having already decided to drop heavy club involvement in favour of focusing on her studies, stuck to her initial choice of calligraphy. It was the least demanding in terms of club hours and it would look pretty good on her CV if she played her cards right.

"I'm just saying that he seems awfully nice to you~" Riho said in a singsong fashion, that insufferable smirk still firmly in place. Kanon swatted at her smug roomie.

"Erio-kun is just a really nice guy! And we've been doing the closing shift together recently, that's why he's been walking me back! He says it's not safe for a girl to walk back on her own so..."

"Kanon-chan, your face is still really red you know." Riho pointed out, then wisely ducked from the incoming swat. She missed the follow-up elbow though, and doubled over with an 'oof'. Quitting dance back in middle school had really made her more than a little rusty! She made a mental note to do something about that...eventually.

"Honestly Riho-chan, we're just friends. That's all there is to it." Kanon waved hi to some of the girls from the other classes as they passed by. Riho watched half-enviously, admiring how easily Kanon-chan always made friends with anyone and everyone. "It's not like someone like Erio-kun would ever like someone like me anyway..."

"That's not true! Kanon-chan is the nicest person I know!" Riho defended her best friend loyally. Then the scholarship student smirked suddenly.

"Did I hear you just admit that you want him to like you?"

"Riho-chan!" Kanon had her hand up ready to smack her best friend, but Riho had already raised her hands in surrender.

"Ahahaha, sorry Kanon-chan. But really, you have a great personality and everyone likes you. Why wouldn't he?"

"Well, I'm not the prettiest girl around..." Kanon looked down uncertainly, playing with the hem of her skirt. Riho placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, forcing them to a stop as she looked sternly at Kanon.

"But you are pretty!" She shook her head. "Some people just don't know how to appreciate..."

"But I'm not cute and fashionable like Riho-chan is! Boys like girls like you!" Kanon all but wailed, looking anything but confident. Riho sighed.

"Don't be silly. Kanon-chan is gorgeous." Riho eyed her best friend as she walked in a half circle around the other girl. "You know, you have a better figure than I do, Kanon-chan. You're just not dressing up to show it off properly..."

"Well, I...I just don't know..." Kanon mumbled half to herself. Riho smiled and took Kanon's hands in her own.

"I'm on your side, Kanon-chan. Even Cinderella got to go to the ball and find her Prince too!"

"Does that make you my fairy godmother?" Kanon chuckled. Riho grinned mischievously.

"Shuwa shuwa PON!" Riho swished her finger around dramatically, then smirked all of a sudden.

"This means you're going shopping with me, you know."

"But I have work...?" Kanon protested as Riho linked arms with her bestie to continue their trek towards the courtyard. Riho clucked her tongue and waved one hand dismissively.

"It'll work out somehow~"

"Riho-chan, you shouldn't be so carefree about something like this! And you never did tell me what happened that night at Kamei-san's friend's party. You never came back all night! I was so worried..."

Riho twitched convulsively.

"It's a long story, Kanon-chan..."

~*~*~*~

"Akari-chan, can we not go home so early today?"

Takeuchi Akari turned to look at her childhood friend and benefactor. She had practically grown up with the rich girl, though she was of much humbler beginnings compared to the Fukumuras. Her parents worked on the Fukumura family estate and had been valued for their service, but a tragic accident had orphaned Akari at a young age. With no other kin that the then 8 year old Akari knew of, the Fukumura family had all but adopted her and sponsored her education as well. Part of it had been primarily to give Mizuki another girl to play with that they could trust, but regardless of the reasons, Akari was grateful. She could have wound up on the streets had the Fukumuras not taken her in as one of their own.

"Nn didn't your father say to come home early for a family dinner?"

"...I don't want to."

Akari paused, evaluating her options. Being semi adopted by the Fukumuras also meant that it really was her job to look out for the ojou of the family. Not just because she had to, but also because she wanted to. Mizuki-chan was very important to her, and if the choice was ever between the Fukumura family and her Mizuki-chan, Akari knew where her loyalties lay.

"Your eldest brother is coming back today." Akari said out loud, remembering the fact off the top of her head. Mizuki frowned almost imperceptibly, her hands tightening around the sketch pad on her lap.

"So? I don't want to go home."

"Alright then." Akari caved the moment she noticed the unhappy look in Mizuki's eyes. The tiny girl seemed about to say more, but thought better of it as her eyes tracked to something else beyond Mizuki's shoulder. The sporty 2nd year called out to her junior.

"Oda-chan! Why are you in such a hurry?"

"Ah, Takeuchi-senpai! Fukumura-senpai too! How are you two today?"

Though neither Akari nor Mizuki were officially in any clubs or societies, Akari often helped out with the sports clubs while Mizuki sat aside either studying or drawing on her sketch pad. As a result, Akari was quite well known (and well loved) by the juniors. The third years kept trying to recruit her into their clubs, but Akari would never commit to anything that would take her away from Mizuki, and Mizuki certainly wasn't going to join anything, so that was that.

"It's really noisy with all the middle school students tramping around, that's why we're here." Mizuki replied politely. 'Here' was a section of the gardens near the back of the campus, where there were many benches and pavilions for the students to do their work out amidst nature if it pleased them to do so. The junior nodded, panting slightly as she attempted to regain her breath.

"So Oda-chan, why were you running across the gardens?" Akari asked again, handing her own bottle of water to the first year. Akari remembered Oda Sakura from choir club. The girl could sing!

Sakura shook her head at the proffered bottle, finally catching her breath as she straightened slightly.

"There's a weird guy outside the back gate! I was helping to water the plants in the greenhouse earlier, and there was this flashily dressed young man outside talking to some of my classmates. He seems kind of shifty so I didn't dare to go up to him...but I'm going to report it to a teacher!"

"Weird guy? Interesting..." Akari mused. Mizuki seemed to have lost interest the moment 'guy' was mentioned, but she did point at a group of people on the far side of the grounds.

"Isn't that Ayumi-chan? She'll probably know where the nearest teacher is."

"Oh, the Vice President! Ah, aren't those middle schoolers with her? Is it alright to disturb her?" Sakura seemed concerned. Mizuki laughed.

"Ayumi-chan will definitely help you out if you ask! Come on, we'll go with you."

Mizuki rose and primly dusted her skirt off. Akari tagged along next to a confused looking Sakura, pestering her junior for details on the strange man.

"Tall and good-looking huh...doesn't sound like the typical pervert..." Akari swung her arms around restlessly as she jogged forward to meet the vice president's group. "Yo VP! Saw any teachers around lately?"

Ayumi, who had been attempting to rein in the hyperactive middle schooler with her, paused mid-scold to look at her junior.

"Is something going on?"

Akari jabbed a thumb behind her where Sakura was catching up with Mizuki next to her.

"Oda-chan says she spotted a suspicious man near the back gate. Guess we should report it to a teacher, huh?"

Ayumi was about to answer when the shorter of the middle schoolers with her suddenly yelled.

"Maa-chan will defeat all suspicious people in the name of the moon!"

"Don't copy other people's jokes!" Her taller friend swatted at 'Maa-chan' and dragged the problematic child back. She nodded at Ayumi.

"Thanks for the tour, Ishida-senpai. You were really helpful! But I best get Maa-chan back to our group now."

"Oh...you're welcome. Maybe we'll see each other again?" Ayumi smiled up at the tall middle schooler, who grinned back wolfishly.

"Haha perhaps! This school's really pretty, and you are too! I'm sure we'll see each other again!" The girl tugged at her restless partner. "Hora Maa-chan, let's go!"

"Bye Anumin! Duuuuu can we have ice cream?"

"Only if you're treating."

"Duu is meannnnn..."

The two squabbling youngsters walked off, leaving bemused smiles in their wake. Mizuki watched Ayumi with interest instead, a soft curl touching the corner of her lip.

"So that's what it was..."

"Pardon?" Sakura, who was next to Mizuki, looked even more confused. Mizuki's smile widened, but she shook her head. "It's nothing."

Ayumi turned back to face the others, all business again.

"I saw Mano-sensei with her friend earlier. I think her friend came to visit but we should be able to get her help! She was just round that other corner, so let's go!"

Akari fell back in step with Mizuki as Sakura hurried forward with Ayumi.

"Was that..."

"Akari-chan noticed too?"

"Maa...just a sense? Didn't think our straitlaced vice prez would be..."

"Fufufu...girls are beautiful, Akari-chan. Much better than stinky boys."

Akari hummed a quiet agreement, tossing a wistful side glance at the now cheerful Mizuki. It would have been nice if...

No. Akari shook her head. She shouldn't even entertain such thoughts. Mizuki was her best friend. And that was all there was to it.

"Akari-chan? Are you ok?" Mizuki looked concerned. Akari beamed widely, putting on her most energetic persona. She was happy when Mizuki-chan was happy! The last thing Akari ever wanted to do was make her best friend sad.

"Yup! Say, let's skip the rest of the day! I heard about this really good ice cream place..."

~*~*~

"Uwahhhh you woke up at the police station? Don't you remember what happened though?"

Kanon looked shocked at the account her roommate had given her. To think so much would have occurred after she had left! And she never thought that her bookish best friend would even have the capacity to get into that much trouble unaided.

"Well there was this one girl that..." Riho's phone started chirping noisily, and the pair detoured away from the fairground-like hustle and bustle of the main courtyard. Riho had just signed up for the calligraphy club just minutes ago, so they were pretty much just wandering around seeing the sights, even as Riho spun her tale of horror from the fateful night at the party. Once they were a safe distance away from the noise, Riho picked up her phone.

"Papa? Oh, you're coming to town on business? Yes, let's! I miss you Papa...how's Mama? Is Ryuuichi getting used to middle school? And Rikako, has she learned to sleep alone yet? Haha...I'm sorry Papa, I would take her in if I were home...can't wait to see you!"

Kanon watched her roommate with a peculiar kind of bemusement. Normally cool and aloof, it was quite a sight to see the reserved girl light up while talking to her parents on the phone. The chef-in-training looked around the festive atmosphere of the courtyard, noting the presence of many visitors. Right, wasn't it coincidentally Open House day too? Kanon nodded to herself even as Riho ended the call, still beaming widely.

"Kanon-chan! Papa's coming down this week so I'll be meeting him on the weekend! Do you want to come along? If Papa's around I'm sure I could get him to pay for stuff!"

"Is that really ok? I wouldn't want to impose..." Kanon seemed doubtful, but Riho just grinned and was about to say something when...

"YASUSHISUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN~~~~~~~"

Riho managed to squeak out a "Maa-chan?" before being steamrollered by a hyperactive 15 year old that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. 'Nowhere' being from around the corner, and then having accelerated to lightspeed from a standing start in order to launch a flying tackle at the hapless Riho. The diminutive star student gagged as her over-enthusiastic huggler seemed determined to strangle her with a bear hug. Speaking of bears...

"Maa-chan. Bear." Riho managed to gasp between strangled breaths. The speed with which Maa-chan's head turned around would have been sufficient to cause whiplash, as the girl literally jumped at the very word and was now hiding behind the slightly taller Riho while looking around twitchily. Thus freed, Riho rubbed at her sore neck and said clearly.

"And it's Sayashi. Not Yasushi, Maa-chan."

It took a few tries before Maa-chan could pronounce her name properly with Riho patiently walking the girl through it, to Kanon's endless amusement. She had heard of this Sato Masaki before from her roommate, but seeing is believing, and the Maa-chan experience had to be, well, lived. No amount of anecdotes would ever come close to the eccentricity of the real thing.

"Sayashi-saaaaaaan~ Did you miss me?" Finally, Maa-chan had gotten the name down to Riho's satisfaction, and was currently clinging happily on to her tutor, though with significantly less force than her initial tackle. Their parents were acquaintances, and Riho had stayed with Maa-chan's family in town when she first moved to the area for school, before her place in the dorms had been secured. When Maa-chan finally joined her parents in town, the girl had been delighted to find a new playmate in Riho, which was a happy thing since she had hated transferring away from her friends back home. Also, given that Riho's grades were excellent and Maa-chan's was...erratic at best, Riho then took it upon herself to tutor her mercurial young friend in her weakest subjects, ie. Japanese. It was one way to repay the kindness and hospitality Maa-chan's family had shown her, but Riho found that she did enjoy teaching the girl, even if it took some time trying to get Maa-chan to focus. Sometimes it was like the girl lived on a different plane of reality altogether, with the kind of words that came out in writing.

Riho was working on that. She was sure that eventually, Maa-chan would be able to express herself at least competently, instead of being a garbled mess. The star student took some pride in the fact that she was one of the few people in the world who could decipher Maa-chan lingo. It took a lot of intuition and even more patience -- not to mention an eye for abstract art when Maa-chan decided that doodling was a perfectly acceptable form of communication. She loved the kid to bits though, despite all the trouble and Maa-chan's constant inability to pronounce her name right. There was just something about that girl...

"Did you come here for the Open House?" Riho gamely played along with the impromptu thumb war Maa-chan initiated, and the two fell into a decisive battle of wits and thumb dexterity and ferocious concentration as they duelled. Riho had her tongue sticking out from one side of her mouth, while Maa-chan simply looked intense, even scary. Yes, over Thumb War. Because obviously this was Serious Business. Really.

Kanon was trying very hard not to laugh in the background. She hadn't thought that Riho would have had it in her. Yes, Riho-chan was cute and clumsy and adorable, but seeing her like this...it was like watching a pair of 5 year olds. In the best possible way.

"Ha! I win!" Riho crowed as her thumb finally subdued the opposing one. Maa-chan pouted.

"I will defeat Sayashi-sun next time!"

"It's -san."

"Hai~~~"

Riho ruffled Maa-chan's hair affectionately, making the younger girl squint and pout adorably. And then...

"There you are! Stop running off like tha----YOU."

Riho looked up. So did Maa-chan. Kanon was standing by the side, watching the festivities and regretting the lack of popcorn. Maa-chan, having identified the newcomer, squealed and pounced.

"Duuuuuuuuuuu!"

"Ah, delinquent-san."

"I AM NOT A DELINQUENT, DAMMIT."

"Why is Duu a delicacy? Duu's not edible, hora!"

"Ow! Did you just bite me?"

"You taste bad..."

"Maa-chan, it's delinquent. Not delicacy. It's not the same thing."

Kanon gave up trying to remain standing at that point. It hurt too much to do so. At the sight of the girl rolling on the floor laughing, Maa-chan paused and cocked her head to the side.

"Yasushi-san, you have weird friends!"

"I know, and it's Sayashi."

"OI, WILL SOMEONE JUST---"

The looming shadows of campus security bulked large over them. Riho smiled innocently. Kanon still couldn't stop laughing. Maa-chan waved. And Haruka just gulped. With fairly good reason.

Many things happened afterwards, but most importantly, no one went to jail that day. That was a change. But, if one were to summarize everything, we must defer to the only impartial observer on site, one Suzuki Kanon, who very wisely said this:

"What a day."

~*~*~

It's your last year of high school, isn't it? Mizuirobot-san, this is the last of your shining school days. You should make the most out of it! I understand it can be hard to confess to someone, even worse when it's a junior! If you find it awkward to do it in person, you can always write a letter... But the best way, really, is to get to know them first...especially if you want your confession to succeed. Don't just wait and watch from afar, nothing would ever happen if you do that! Don't live a life regretting the things you didn't do! As you said, it's your last chance, what do you have to lose?

As I said, just find a way to talk to them. It could be over something really trivial, but since you're the older one in this case, you do have the advantage of being able to initiate a conversation without it being too awkward. As a senpai, you can offer advice without it sounding too odd, and suggesting that you spend time together studying is a great excuse too! Be proactive, mizuirobot-san! Good things come only when you work for them! Don't be afraid, and I wish you the best of luck!


"Do you remember how we ended up together?"

"The first time or the second time?"

"Second. I don't even remember the first time."

"Right. You suck at holding your liquor, honestly."

"Shut up. Actually, why didn't you suggest alcohol? It would simplify things considerably."

"The kid's underaged, do you want me to get into trouble? Besides, it might complicate matters."

"True...and I notice you added the letter option."

"Well, since a certain someone was avoiding me..."

"Hey, I apologized!"

"And you are forgiven. Just don't expect me to forget any time soon."

"Meanie."

=====================================================================================


Monster chapter is looooong. So tired. Need sleep. x_x
« Last Edit: June 06, 2013, 10:32:04 AM by Estrea »

永遠に咲き続ける花なんていない、すべてはいずれ枯れて朽ち果てしまう。

Currently writing:
- Lilium-related things. God save my soul.

On Hold:
- Everything Else. Too many to list.

I'm also on AO3!
http://archiveofourown.org/users/Estrea

Offline rndmnwierd

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Re: Neighbours [6/06 - Ep 6: Seishun Bus Guide]
« Reply #58 on: June 05, 2013, 10:53:22 PM »
Omg I spent the entirety of the Maa-chan parts laughing my literal ass off. I even had to explain to my roommate because my cackles wouldn't cease. The MaaDuu combi has been established, IshiDuu meeting has commenced Delinquent!MizukixAkari duo shows up, and, what I'm most excited for, potential for later IkuSuzu! I love Maa-chan so much, though it seems exhausting just writing her XD More craziness!

Offline Shiawase_Honoo

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Re: Neighbours [6/06 - Ep 6: Seishun Bus Guide]
« Reply #59 on: June 06, 2013, 05:44:16 PM »
What a chap :rofl: :rofl:
Don't know that I want to laugh or cry. :rofl: :rofl:
As I said, putting Maa-chan with Duu, problem solve. XD
How crazy Maa-chan is.  :lol: :rofl:
Just imagine her run around like an exthusiastic puppy, I can feel how exhausted Duu is. :lol:

Thanks for your hard working. I almost die because lack of breathe. XD

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