Okay, next chapter! Actually I sort of finished the last chapter already. Just have some parts left. Anyway, enjoy!
Gomattou
Chapter 22
Confessions
In the small yet cosy living room, the girl sat cross-legged on the red sofa. Image was not something she cared about in front of her former MM mate. She sipped the orange juice slowly before interrupting the silence by saying, “I shall not beat around the bush. Yoshizawa is graduating very soon and so I will like to collect some random videos and audio recordings of her to make her graduation very memorable. Do you-”
“What the hell are you trying to do? Why are you trying to…impress her?” she hollered.
“Rika, I just feel that it’s my duty. Don’t you want her to have a good graduation?”
“Yes but you’re out of MM already. You’re such a nosey-parker!”
Miki clenched her fists, took in a deep breath before saying, “Do you have any videos or audio recordings of her? I bet you do.”
Without exchanging any eye contact, she said defiantly, “Of course, but I’m not giving you.”
Miki tightened her fists and thought, “This is not working. She’s looking for trouble with me. This bloody stalker has the highest chance of having some recorded materials and also the highest chance of…yes, whatever the case, I must take the risk.” She lowered her voice, “Actually, Rika, if you think I like Yoshizawa you’re wrong.” She paused for a few second before saying with tears welled up in her eyes, “I like…Reina and I’m suspecting they are having some sort of affair now after I left. In fact, I think they slept together the night I graduated. Actually I just want recorded materials of the 2 of them so that I can confront Reina. Why’s this happening to me? It’s so unfair! Please help me, Rika. You’re helping yourself as well. You know what I mean.”
Rika’s eyes widened. “Are you serious, Miki? Actually the 2 of them are kind of close nowadays. I should have sensed something. I-”
Miki interrupted, “Do you have anything to help us? I hope you’ve.”
Rika took out her handphone and said, “Actually I wanted to confront Yoshi later today about this conversation they had that time but-”
“You know I stand a higher chance getting something out of this right?” Please Rika just pass it to me.
“Yes. Alright then.” Rika bluetoothed the video to Miki. Miki played the video:
“I heard from Tsunku that on the concert day, Matsuura and her spent the whole night in the dressing room and left together hand in hand the following morning. One of Matsuura’s staff mentioned that she had a stomachache that day and that’s the reason why she didn’t join the celebrations. Because they are girls, no one suspects anything but I can see that there’s something fishy about that. If this persists, I’m afraid that the jealousy effect might backfire. I don’t want the 3 of them to become best of friends and gang up against us and Fujimoto dropping GAM and opting for MM. It’s dangerous and defeats my main objective.”
“Ah, how I wish I stayed there that night to watch how they spent the night.” Yossie paused before commenting, “But it is nice to have that much insider news. Being Tsunku’s-”
‘She’ covered Yossie’s mouth with her hand quickly. “Are you nuts? Do you want everybody to know that? Our entire plan will be ruined!” Yossie gestured her apologies with her hands. “Anyway, I have decided what we should do with Goto already.”
“I can silence her for you.”
“No, leader, I just want her to get into trouble with the law.”
“You mean reveal her crimes?” Yossie’s facial expression revealed her astonishment at the devil in the younger girl.
“Yes, that’s the safest move. Shh, someone is coming over.”After they watched the video together, Rika asked, “I don’t get half the things they talked about. I hope the Maki’s crimes part isn’t true. She’s such a nice senpai.”
Miki grinned and murmured, “I hope it is.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aya tossed on her bed as she listened to the song that she had sung some years ago – Sankaku Kankei. “Kono koi dake wa orirarenai no” She felt like singing her part to herself, “Only light doesn’t shine on this love”. However, she decided against it as this only made herself weaker than before. For the 1000th time, she swore that she wouldn’t think back on that failed love and that selfish lover but it was an uphill task as this was the 1st time she fell out of love. Tears unknowingly found their way to her eyes and she allowed those tears to run down her cheeks. As she battled with herself internally, the door bell rang.
She struggled to get up and lumbered towards the door. Without looking through the peephole, she opened the door. As the door swung open, she prayed that the person wasn’t that lousy ex-lover or any random H!P members. Luckily for her, perhaps once in a while God did answer to her prayers, it was Miki.
Miki was shocked and sad to see the state of Aya. Her hair was unkempt and she had aged quite a bit over the span of a few days. She looked out of place in her neat apartment. Perhaps she did nothing but crying and staring into space since that day of her break-up with Maki. The lines that she had rehearsed before she came here were forgotten instantly when she set her eyes on Aya.
As she helped Aya to the sofa, Miki asked out of concern, “Are you ok?”
“Yes, I’m fine. The ankle is getting better. I’ll make you a coffee.”
“No, Aya, you’re injured. Just sit.”
“No, I’m ok. I insist. I hope my skills haven’t worsened.” With that, Aya headed towards her kitchen with Miki tagging along. As Aya went about mixing coffee powder, milk, sugar and water in precise amounts with the help of the measuring cylinder, Miki couldn’t help but to smile to herself. It had been ages since she watched Aya make great coffee for her. At least she knew that Aya was thinking of her when she mixed the ingredients. Suddenly, she felt somewhat thankful that Maki had entered their lives as it had made her appreciate and treasure Aya even more than before. Perhaps that was the only plus point of Maki’s intervention into their lives. In the past, she wouldn’t have stayed in the kitchen to watch how Aya made coffee for her as she had taken it for granted but now, this was the moment she truly treasured.
Before long, Miki could smell the perfect aroma of coffee in the air. Aya smiled and offered the coffee to her before saying, “I hope it’s nice, Miki-sama.” Thankfully, Aya was still able to crack jokes. This showed that she was indeed getting better. Would it be just another façade? If it was so, Miki would rather Aya ignore her or cry in front of her.
They sat down beside each other on the sofa just like what they did many times before. Miki sipped the coffee slowly and the incidents over the past months went through her mind once again. It was because of her that Aya was knocked down and when Maki entered their lives, their relationship became shaky and perhaps only now then things could slowly become as they were before. GAM had already existed full-term and Maki should get her retribution soon. But now she didn’t want things to be as they were at the very beginning anymore. Miki exclaimed, “Aya, this tastes great!” She added softly, “Only you can make my favourite coffee.”
“It’s just a formula; anyone can do it with that formula.” Silence descended for a few minutes before Aya said, “I was just joking. I know what you mean.”
Are you sure? Miki said as gently as she could, “Actually I don’t know how to put it but that time I had a conversation with Maki after you fainted and she-”
“Stop it Miki, I heard what she said.”
“You mean you weren’t asleep?”
“You were a little loud when you spoke so-”
“She’s such a lousy bitch.”
“True.” Aya paused. Tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke, “But it hurts a lot you know? Mikitan, have you loved anyone before?”
Silence descended for some time as Miki thought, “Shouldn’t she know how I feel towards her all these while? Oh well, Aya-hime is been Aya-hime. Such a blur girl. I’ll just say it out before I miss my opportunity again. Anyway, it’s high time for me to do so.”
Miki blushed as she rushed through her words, “I like you Aya…”
Bewildered, Aya’s eyes widened. “It can’t be…”
“It is.”
“Is that a joke?”
“No…”
“But why didn’t you tell me earlier? When did it begin?”
“Soon after I know you,” Miki whispered. “I didn’t know you…like girls then.”
“But then…but then why didn’t you say anything when I told you about that person and me being together?”
“What should I say? Then you were head over heels in love with her that you won’t listen to anything I say. And I’m scared that I’ll lose you.”
“I know you always treat me differently from the other girls. I should have sensed this earlier. But I didn’t know you feel like this towards me.”
“What about you Aya? What do you think about me?”
Tears rolled down both girls’ cheeks. Aya said, “It must be so painful to hear me say all that all these while. I’m sorry Mikitan.”
“What do you feel towards me?”
“I shouldn’t have said all that to you. I’m sorry.”
“For the 3rd time, Aya, what do you think? I hate saying things more than 3 times.”
“Mikitan.” They stared into each other’s eyes for a few seconds before Aya whispered, “Of course I like you. I won’t waste my time making coffee with all those instruments for anyone other than you. Just that when that person came along, I thought she was the one for me but I was wrong. I shouldn’t have chosen her at all.”
“Ok. Enough of talking.” Miki inched closer to Aya and their faces neared. Both girls closed their eyes as they anticipated the moment of truth. Their noses touched. This was the moment Miki had been waiting for so long alone in pain. All the tears were worth it because this moment arrived.
“denwa mo mada konai yeah!” Suddenly, Boogie Train 03 played and interrupted the girls. “What’s that?” Miki asked in frustration.
“That’s Boogie Train 03. That’s the ringing tone for my handphone,” Aya answered.
“Ignore it.” Miki placed her hands on Aya’s face and caressed it while Aya placed hers on Miki’s waist. Their lips finally touched and the initial light kiss became a long, passionate one. Both of them had somehow, one way or another, been waiting for this. They could feel the other’s tongue in their own mouth. All the passion Miki had suppressed thus far finally unleashed that day and she finally knew what Aya was capable of. Aya had never expected this to come that very day but she had always wished for this one moment with Miki deep inside. She was also frustrated that they needed to go through so much pain and agony before this happened, especially Miki who had been suffering alone. Without Maki, both of them knew that, one way or another, this wouldn’t have happened.
After several minutes, their lips finally parted and Aya asked, “What’s our relationship now, Mikitan?”
Without thinking, Miki answered, “We’re GAM.”
Aya smiled and she finally called the idiot who disrupted their kissing. She asked in a voice of irritation, “What’s up? Tsunku.”
“Hey! What’ve you been doing? Gocchin has been arrested for your hit-and-run accident and I wanted you to catch the news just now.”
“What!?”
“Listen up. Now the press knows nothing about you losing your memory or what or the reason for her doing so, therefore you should shut up if they ever ask you anything.”
“Ok.”
“That’s all I’ve to say but remember words can kill you. Speak less of them.” With that he hung up.
Miki asked, “What happened?”
“She’s been caught for the accident.”
‘Who?”
“Goto Maki.” Miki nodded knowingly. “Aren’t you shocked? I mean how did it leak out?”
“Aya, there’re some things you don’t understand about this situation. You will know of it soon enough.”
“Miki-”
“Enough is enough. Can I have another cup of coffee please?”
Aya nodded obediently and went to make it. Her gut instinct told her that whatever Miki didn’t tell her was harmful for her to know because that was what Miki was best at – protecting her. She could feel that something bad was about to happen but she couldn’t figure out what it was. There was absolutely nothing she could do now except to make that cup of coffee for Mikitan and praying that everything would turn out fine after the storm. Now, she felt a pinch of pain when she heard the news but she was more than happy that this selfish girl finally had her desserts. Aya thought to herself, “Who asks you to choose your career and reputation over me? Now you’ll have nothing. Serves you right.”
As she brought the cup of coffee to Miki, it slipped off her hands and the coffee spilled all over the floor and the porcelain cup broke into pieces. Miki shook her head and helped her to pick up the broken pieces. As she did so, it cut her index finger and it bled…
Miki...