JPHiP Forum
AKB48 Fanfics => AKB48 Fanfics => Topic started by: OMGACookie on February 28, 2013, 04:23:24 AM
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おはよ〜〜〜｀
Okay, maybe I got that wrong. But still. Hello~~~~
Today marks the first day I firmly begin to write fanfics~
I've mostly been writing original works and my novel (almost getting published)
but I've been exposed to AKB for a while now... And there's one thing I've always wanted to write about, which is what you're about to see.
Keep in mind that this is merely an experimental first chapter, so depending on how people respond, I might just continue it.
Anyway, enjoy~ (笑)
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Shibuya always thrives with youngsters near their 20s, some even in their 30s. They walk back and forth, chatting, texting and dancing to music with their friends. Nobody is alone in Shibuya, not usually at least. One could even meet a complete stranger who would soon become his or her friend within minutes. The social ground of Japan never failed to ease the qualm of loneliness.
Well, not for Itano Tomomi.
The 24 year old lady strolled down the street with her earphones on, a nostalgic smile hanging on her perfectly carved face, alone with nothing but her shoulder latched purse. It's true that she became one of the greatest fashion icons of her time; It's true that she now works as a model and actor; It's true that she was an amazing soloist and still was; It's also true, however, that simply nobody recognized her anymore.
She remembered, clearly, the gargantuan lines at the fan and handshake events, the massive welcoming crowd in Guam and the glimmering stage she performed on. Those songs she used to know ring clearly in her head and she still repeats the lyrics in her dreams. But one truth remained self-evident:
It's been a year since she left AKB, and there was nothing left for her to do with her spare time.
Sometimes she reflected on whether or not she made the right choice of graduating. Following in Atsuko's footsteps, Tomomi found little to no reason for her to stay with AKB anymore after the majority of the 1st generation graduated, some even disappeared and Itano never heard from them again. She wondered what they're doing now, but ultimately brushes aside her curiosity. She needed to make it to the music store for now.
Following her long awaited departure from the group, though, the rest of the earlier generations left the group to pursue other careers as well: To name a few, Mariko started her own designer brand clothing line. Sayaka became an actor and part time Martial Arts instructor. Haruna and Yuuko simultaneously graduated and now live together doing.... God knows what. As for Takamina, she now works as the full time manager of AKB and just... Didn't perform anymore.
Although, apparently, the group's slowly recovered from the chaos of 2013 thanks to Paruru, who became the new center, to which Itano responded by making a guest appearance with Atsuko to award her Senbatsu trophy, and has since inspired many of the new members as the second queen of AKB. Perhaps many others will join and take the first generation's respective places... Maybe another Tomochin will rise to fame. Who would know, other than that the previous one stepped down, what could happen?
Shivering from the sudden vibration of her phone, Itano retrieved her phone from her purse and checked for a number... Only to find that she didn't recognize it. Although, while her instinct told her to simply ignore the call, her curiosity begged her to answer. Now tired of her instinctual insecurities, Itano answered the call, unsure of what to do.
"Tomochin~?"
Could it be?
"Kasai-san?"
"Yo~~~"
Tomo laughed at her companion's sweet voice she misses from twelve months ago and softly caressed her phone such that it nestled comfortably near her pierced ears.
"I haven't heard from you in... Ages..."
Itano parted her lips to speak but produced no audible sound when she remembers her bittersweet graduation, complemented with images of heart-shattering, tearful faces of her fellow members and fans alike. Any mention of the past seems to yield the same result, and Itano didn't know if she went crazy or not.
Shaking her head clear of these deviations, however, she returned to the conversation at hand.
"Yeah..." she finally murmured, "it's been a while... Hasn't it?"
"Yeah..."
Thinking back to her younger days, Itano reminisced her final touching moment with Kasai when the former graduated a month or two before she did. Frowning at the memory, Itano plunged into a state of nostalgia once more.
"So... Are you doing anything for these few days? Why don't we meet up?"
Itano ruminated on her companion's proposition and decides to give it a try.
"Sure. Did you have anything in mind?"
"Maybe dinner? At my place? You remember where it is, right?"
"Oh, of course. How could I forget?"
"Okay, are you up for tonight at six maybe?"
The fashionista glanced at her pink leather watch. Given the time remaining, she had two hours to buy those strings, return home, change and head over to Kasai's. Maybe she could pull it off, and she'll never know until she tries, as Miyazawa would put it, anyways.
"Mhmm. I'll bring some food, maybe we'll have a hot pot dinner!"
"I'll invite the married couple too, if you don't mind. I haven't seen them in a while either..."
"Sure."
"Well, I'll see you then, Tomochin."
"Bye~"
Tomochin snapped her phone and places it back in her purse. Now that she agreed to an commitment, she would waste no time completing her tasks for the day. First: The damned guitar strings.
Strangely enough, Itano began to harbor an affection towards musical instruments shortly after her graduation. Perhaps the infatuation resulted due to the lack of lively pop music every night and performance. Itano would never know for sure. She never paid attention to such trivial things when still belonged to something greater than just herself.
After all, Acchan once told her that it was only after she left did she realize how much she lost. Although, Atsuko did drink a little too much later, or so Yuuko claimed, on in the evening, so perhaps her mind probably wasn't in the greatest of states: Specifically, one that exists primarily to contradict her normal, cheery and persistent personality.
As a parting gift, Sata gave Itano a custom classical guitar that he, and the other members who regularly appeared on the TV show, signed with messages of farewell, congratulations, yearning and good luck. Shortly after a few days of brooding, Itano picked up the guitar for the first time and plucked at its delicate strings, diligently learning the notes, chords and progressions on the elegant instrument that manifested the end of her glorious reign in AKB.
However, had she not acted like the idiot that she was and threw a fit in her apartment and furiously tore at her guitar's strings, she probably wouldn't be here now. She regretted destroying part of the instrument that she cherished as a memorial to her fame, and ultimately resolved to better care for it in the future. Though now she had to venture all the way into the music store to buy a set of simple guitar strings that probably wouldn't be as soft and sensitive as Sata's.
By the time she finished recounting the events that lead up to her unfortunate trip to the music store, Itano arrived at the largest music store in Shibuya, one that she once arrived at before four years ago. She was certain that she could find her strings here. If not, well, she'd just have to try another day. Although, the interviews, photo shoots and TV guest appearances in the following days probably wouldn't allow her to do so.
Unsure of which strings to buy, she consulted with a staff member of the store and listened to his keen advice but thought of how it would play out two years ago: for one, there would be fans, everywhere, followed by cameras and other young members of AKB that trailed behind her bold footsteps to the strings section... Although, Sayaka and Miyazawa would probably be banging away at the drums by now.
She giggled at her own imagination and thanked the staff member for his help before shuffling over to the guitar section in the far left corner of the large shop, hidden just behind the large collections of sheet music. Maybe she'd need some more songs to practice with too.
Nothing particularly interesting happened there, as Tomo hoped at least. A song that she sung with AKB played on the stereo system and haunted her for a good five minutes while she browsed the variety of strings for her guitar. No one could understand how much pain she endured when she thought of her past. Why couldn't she just return to it? Why couldn't she and the others be young and innocent again? Such was the painful course of time that not even Acchan could withstand, and she was, arguably, the strongest of the original 48.
Although, she did catch a glimpse of the relatively tall boy in his mid twenties, who stood in front of the guitars with one in his hand, staring at her, which she, as anyone else would have, found odd. So, she peeked twice more at him before turning her head to look at him dead in the eye and, of course, the flustered boy looked away while muttering:
"Sorry."
"No, it's okay," she responded as she browsed the variety of strings for her guitar, "you must have had an odd day. Tired?"
"Nah, it's just that..." the kid said ,"you look... kind of familiar."
The brunette raised an eyebrow in response to his statement. Maybe people did recognize her after all.
"May I ask your name?" He queried, a hint of trepidation lingering in his wavering tenor voice.
"Tomomi," she said with glittering intent in her eyes and firm confidence in her voice, "Itano Tomomi."
"Ah, that's right, now I remember you," he spoke, eyes shifting from the orange tainted finish of a Yamaha guitar, "from AKB. I've heard a lot about you and what you've done recently."
The young man chuckled and blushed before trailing off "I guess you could say that I'm a... Pretty die hard fan of yours..."
Itano visibly recoiled in surprise, a fan of mine?
"Geez, I, uh, guess I kind of worded that horribly, didn't I?"
Both of them comfortably laughed in the other's presence, Tomomi in the comfort of an earnest stranger and the mysterious boy in that of a famous vocalist. Taking a moment to burn the moment into his mind, the young man turned to face her and let a small, nervous smile creep its way to his lips. Similarly, Tomomi flashed her customary grin.
"Anyway, i-it's nice to finally meet you in person.... though," the spiky haired male continued, "I've never really had the time to attend your live events and all..."
"Oh," she says, holding a hand to her petite mouth, "well, it's nice to meet you... Umm, I didn't quite catch your name?"
"Name's Ayato," he extended his hand for a shake with a frank smile "Kazama Ayato"
To which, Itano firmly grasped and shook up and down, just as she would for those many years ago.
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So~? Whatch'ya think?
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That's great story....
AH... so everyone drift apart... I can understand that..
YukoxHaruna is married to each other I guess
Minami become AKB GM full time... without performing... is good... but too bad... she has very nice distinct voice
Tomochin is successful I guess... but lonely... and bored easily... understandable.
Thank you for the fic
Can't wait to see the next
:twothumbs :twothumbs :twothumbs
The Pairings are: TomoTomo, Kojiyuu, Atsumina, SaeSaya, and MiiMari... please....
:wub: :inlove: :heart: :love:
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No guessing over here
Although I find Tomochin interested in a new venture a very good start to the fic
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The past huh? Don't we all wish that we could go back in time to better days? The way you worded your fic really resonated with me. I'm glad I picked your fic up. Definitely looking forward to the next chapter. :) What novel are you writing? Good luck with that as well!
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ooooh! very good first chapter!!
:wub: :wub:
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I am guessing
tomotomo kojiyuu atsumina saeyaka and please MARIMII :w00t: :D :twothumbs
hehe I am a fan of it :twothumbs :D
please keep it up :bow:
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Sorry to keep you waiting, guys, I’ve just been very busy with my life.
See, I go to a boarding school and it’s a pretty prestigious one that some of you may have seen newspapers write about (we were mentioned in the movie “Admissions” twice, if I remember correctly). Lately, after watching some of my favorite 1st gen members announce their graduation, I can’t help but feel that it will be the same for me soon.
If I may, going to this school is like joining AKB: It is here that people all band together in a rare community that many lack the privilege of joining. It is also here that we experience a period of fame, that when we return home or appear in public, friends, strangers and families alike, flock to us in admiration, jealousy or curiosity. Above all, it is here that we realize, not only our true potential, but the wonderful people we can meet and lead the world to a brighter future, one smile at a time.
Ultimately, however, it brings us, members of these prestigious organizations, to the last question of what would happen after we leave this group. The unfortunate truth about joining these institutions is that all good things must come to an end. Only after a short period of euphoria and grace does there lie a grim future ahead. Our past and involvement may never change, but after the end of our glory days, how may we act certain of the distant tides? What would happen to the next generation who come after us? Eventually the world will ask, “I know AKB/_______, but who is ______?” And to me, this still causes me to cringe when I ponder on the possibilities by which we may respond….
Thus explains why I now decide to write this from a graduated member’s perspective, as a mere prediction of how it might feel following my graduation.
Well, anyway, enough of my rant: Here comes the second chapter, and some answers to the question in the title.
BUT GUESSS WHAT?
I'm going to be a good AKB Wota and give you a DOUBLE CHAPTER FEATURE~
That's right: Two chapters for the price of one!
Why? Because I actually enjoy writing this ^_^
Anyway, enjoy~!
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Chapter 2
Unbelievably, Itano clasped her cold hands with Ayato’s warm, smooth palm, quite different from the ones she’d always shaken, which were calloused, moist or even sticky.
Thus, after a years worth of waiting, Itano finally shook the hand of a fan of hers. Moreover, it happened at a music store, not in front of a massive crowd of fans. That, in itself, seemed to soothe the graduate's anxious insecurity.
"So," Ayato picked up the conversation again, "seems as if you're looking for strings."
"Yeah, how'd you know?"
"Well, why else would you be looking at the strings?"
Again, Tomochin raised an eyebrow in response to his witty statement. It took the man a full two seconds to realize what he said.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean it that way."
Although, strangely enough, she couldn't help but feel attracted to his blunt honesty. It reminded her of someone...
"Oh no, it's okay. But yeah, I'm looking for some strings."
"For the guitar that Sata gave you?"
Now Itano was truly confused. He was a fan, for sure, but was he a stalker too?
"How did you-"
"I watched your graduation," he explained, finally picking a satisfactory guitar from the shelf and strumming its metallic strings, "the last graduation of AKB I ever watched. Just couldn't take it anymore, you know, watching the greatest of the old generations leave."
For a split second, Itano's solid heat of gold earned the smallest trace of a crack and a twang sent a sharp pain through her chest. To think that even her fans couldn't stand her leaving... Maybe it wasn't such a good idea for her to graduate after all.
"I'm flattered." Itano claimed, watching Ayato place the guitar back to its rightful place.
"Oh, you're welcome." He responded, now shuffling over to the strings she scrutinized and picking one out of the hundreds before them.
"Here," the Ayato proclaimed as he handed Tomomi a set of packed strings, "I used those once before. I don't think you're much of a beginner, mind the reference, but these'll be just right for you. You know how to re-string a guitar right?"
Tomochin only blankly nodded as she carefully accepted her fan's aid.
"Thanks..."
"No problem, Itano-san."
Ayato smiled again and proceeded to flip through assorted set of the newest sheet music to hit the store.
"You can call me Tomochin if you want."
"Uh, no thanks, that'd be impolite."
“Please? I insist.”
Tomochin pouted at Ayato, who stared at her convincing facial expression and finally relented.
"God, and I thought Shinoda-san specialized in Muchaburi."
Itano smiled again and recollected the oldest member of the group at the time. No one knew where she ended up after she left. Granted, word from Takamina suggested that she actually re-applied for AKB and was, subsequently, accepted as a Manager for AKB, working directly under Takamina. To Mariko, it would be the ideal job.
For Itano, it would have meant day after day of jealousy that would ravage at her soul, envying those who stayed and performed.
"Well, she did rub off on me,” Itano retorted, “it’s hard to avoid that kind of influence when you have to spend six years with that same person.”
Ayato momentarily narrowed his eyes and skeptically looked into her brown irises. Seeing as he couldn’t find any trace of doubt in her gaze, he sighed and gave up on his indignant refusal to acquiesce to such a ridiculous demand.
"Okay, Tomochin-san, how's that?"
Itano flashed a thumbs up in response to her fan's compromise, to which he merely smiled and nodded once in acknowledgement
"Anyway..."
"Well, thanks for the whole advice thing for the guitar... I actually don't know too much about it since Sata's been teaching me and well, you know...."
"Oh, no, don't worry. And thank you, it's an honor to finally meet you in person."
Kazama dutifully escorted his idol to the cashier and offered to pay for her. Although, Itano would have none of that, and struggled with him for a good minute or two before he relented to her pleas. Several staff members and other music students around them chuckled at their little engagement and Itano's memories of the staff at AKBingo! quickly resurfaced to haunt her once more.
Finally, after Itano paid for her strings, a group of young girls came sauntering over to her with their Tomochin calendars for a signature. Of course, Itano obliged them, but still felt slightly guilty that only she appeared in the calendar photos and wished that Kasai or Takamina or Atsuko were here with her: Being an independent idol... Well, it got a little lonely, she thought.
Now that she wasn’t affiliated with AKB, Itano often felt left out when she watched those girls perform on Television. Even just seeing their merchandise caused her to cringe in a somewhat painfully nostalgic way. Life just… didn’t involve too much unity, freedom and passion, as every song she’d sung over seven years always dictated. Itano often wondered if she ever really meant what she sang.
Or if AKB was just a lie: A falsely lead life of halcyon, shielded by lies and youthful innocence. What a fool she must have been to not have foreseen that.
But she didn’t have to be alone, would she? Outside of AKB lay a new world for her, a previously unexplored frontier that had many a nightmare and fantasy. Sure, not everything was purely sunshine and rainbow as she used to think. Drawing from the letters Atsuko sent her, there were new people she could meet.
Perhaps, starting with this spikey haired individual to her right.
"Say, Kazama?" She asked as she slowly made her way out the music store with him.
"Yes, Itano-san?"
If anything, Tomochin never felt this nerve-wrecking anxiety that she suffered from now, neither from the multiple flashbacks of her time in AKB nor the many horrible memories of her middle school years and yonder.
She fiddled around with the words in her mouth that she never properly said to someone before: It’d all been in acting that she’d stuttered the sentence that seemed… Almost harmless: Even when she was acting, she couldn’t help but feel as if it wasn’t all feigned.
"M-Mind if I have you number?"
"What for?"
"Oh no, I just want to keep track of my fans and send them messages sometimes," she lied, “you know, for good times sake.”
Itano felt uncertain of whether or not Ayato would buy her excuse. She watched his eyes narrow again and his head tilt to convey the depth of his thoughts. Twiddling with her nervous thumbs, she waited for his answer,
"Oh sure, hold on a sec. Do you have paper and pen?"
"You can just type it in my phone..."
Obeying her command, Ayato quickly, but calmly, tapped his number into her phone and returned the device to its petite owner.
"Thanks! So... I'll see you around?"
Ayato’s smile flipped around to a mild frown as he peered around her to bserve his surroundings.
"We'll see, I'm not going to be here for long, but... We'll see."
“We’ll see, huh..”
On a lighter note though, Ayato backed away from Tomochin and bid his farewell all the while.
"Again, it's been an honor to meet you, Itano-san! Hope to hear from you soon!"
Tomochin smiled and waved at the departing fan she just met and thought of how to proceed.
There was something odd about her encounter with Ayato that sparked a flame of passion within her, a hope and intriguing enigma that somewhat captivated her at the moment. Evidently, he was a fan, but he treated her like any other girl... No fan of hers has ever approached her in such a way.
And now that she was free of the Love-Ban law....
Without hesitation, Itano whipped out her mobile phone again, unsure of how to proceed. But in the end, she managed to type a simple message to Ayato, and hoped to whatever God that seemed to abandon her that he was one of those boys who wouldn't simply charm girls upon first contact and mercilessly disappear.
Maybe we can meet up for some coffee sometime? -Tomo
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After frantically scrambling through the streets, Tomochin finally changed and made her way to Kasai's apartment. She hadn't moved since the day she left AKB, or the day she moved in, as a matter of fact, so it was easy enough for Itano to locate her.
Sporting a blue blouse and white skirt, in addition to brown leather boots, Itano patiently waited, bags of chocolate and other miscellaneous snacks and beverages in her hands, for Kasai to answer the door upon ringing the doorbell. Who came to welcome her in, however, was someone else entirely.
"Itano-san?"
"Takahiro?!"
The estranged member of EXILE stood before her clad in a simple black leather jacket over a white shirt and dark jeans to complement his night attire.
"Ehehe, yup. It's me."
"I didn't know you lived with Kasai-san!"
Takahiro stood astray and slightly bewildered at Itano’s cluelessness.
"She didn't tell you?"
Tomochin rapidly shook her head left and right in confusion (and partial excitement).
"Anyways, come on in, the others have arrived as well. Please, make yourself at home."
When Itano entered through the doorway and took off her boots at the carpet, she could not believe the sight before her. Kasai's apartment had completely changed
Kasai, of course, became the first to welcome Tomochin inside her home, following Takahiro's hospitable gesture.
Dressed in a simple shirt, jeans and fur-coated slippers, Kasai stood before her old companion with a genuine smile that reached from one ear to the next. The same could be said for Tomochin as hazel met dark amber.
"Hey, Tomochin~"
"Hey..."
Embarrassingly enough, following their full year of separation, Itano had completely forgotten Kasai's old nickname.
"You look different," Itano finally mustered, "you look prettier than before..."
"Thanks," Kasai said, twirling around to let her permed hair and ponytail swish around, "same goes for you...”
The worst part about visiting old friends was always the strange gap in their lives, the fact that neither one could relate to the other or share and laugh about everyday incidents. Tomochin felt as if she stood in front of a completely different person with a completely different life from what she once came to recognize. Standing in front of her wasn’t Kasai Tomomi; it was a stranger.
“Man, it really has been a while, hasn't it?"
"Yeah..."
Following the awkward silence between the two, Haruna emerged from the kitchen with a teddy bear apron tied around her wist and an onigiri latched between her mouth, which eventually landed in her manicured hand when she saw the 24 year old Tomochin standing before her.
"Tomochin?!"
Itano switched her gaze from Kasai's sweet smile to Haruna look of excitement and surprise and answered with a shrug and a grin. Although, even that couldn't beat-
"TOMO~~!!!"
Without warning, Oshima Yuuko launched herself from the seat on the floor and into Itano in a full frontal assault. Stronger from Sayaka's training, Itano held Yuuko up and resisted the temptation to fall backwards as a graceful idol would. However, Yuuko's face planted into Tomochin's normal sized breasts, forcing an embarassed squeak out of the latter.
"Yuuko..."
Spontaneously, after seconds of compiling seemingly disjointed pieces of information, it finally hit Itano.
"Wait... You guys are married?"
Everyone stared at her with incredulous looks, Takahiro included.
"Officially?" She added, unsure of her assumption.
"Of course, you airhead!" Yuuko yelled in pride and disbelief "Nyan nyan and I have been married for 10 months now! Where've you been?! On Mars?"
Ironically enough, Itano’s head did fly over to Mars to live an anti-social, pedestrian life. And the fact that it happened a mere 2 months after her graduation did not boost Tomomi's self-confidence at all.
"Ah, around, I guess."
Although, what Haruna asked following her cheeky response struck Itano's conscience as a hammer would a nail.
"But I’m pretty sure it was on the news… Don't you read the news anymore, Tomo?"
Now that she thought about it, Tomochin never really read or watched the news following her leave from AKB. She'd cut herself off from the outside world, almost completely. Even so, no one could know the truth behind her melancholy
Not even her most trusted of friends.
"Well, no. I just kinda work, eat, sleep and take care of some stuff every once in a while. Maybe compose a song or two on the guitar."
"That's sounds like a pretty good lifestyle," Haruna added, "Yuuko, why don't we ever try that?"
The genki girl tilted her head and placed a finger to her chin, as if she attempted to stimulate her cognitive prowess to reach a decision. But of course, she remained as indecisive as her air-head of a partner. Not that Tomochin appeared any better at this point.
"Hmm... I dunno~"
Tomo laughed at the newly discovered couple's antics, maybe that was how it felt like to be in a relationship... Maybe she would try it one day, just as the indefatigable squirrel and the licentious cat so bravely had, but only time would tell.
"Anyway, dinner's almost ready, I'll got get some stuff. Boy, that's a lot of food there Tomochin. D'ya plan on stuffing yourself?"
Itano looked at the bag of food she brought with her. Now that she gave it some thought, her contribution to the party seemed relatively excessive. Even so, it wouldn’t hurt to bring some confections to Kasai’s. She loved eating these things, after all.
"Nah, I just thought we could use some snacks."
Dinner consisted of a simple hot pot that steamed up pretty much the entire living room, until Takahiro turned the ventilation system to its maximum potential. Even then, steam still occasionally clouded their view of the TV, which showed the newest episode to the newest season of Majisuka Gakuen: A show all the ladies recognized as their childhood glory.
After another few minutes of joint eating and laughing, Takahiro started playing a couple games of poker with the girls. It felt odd for Itano to eat beside her former admirer: She and Takahiro had a small fling back in the day… But she’s never spoken to him since.
Similarly, she refused to speak with anyone else, adopting the salty, austere persona that dominated Shimazaki’s complexion during her early years of Senbatsu status. Itano had to admit though, being salty brought a lot of comfort, independence and satisfaction with keeping mostly to herself. If she had to pinpoint one disadvantage, it would only be the sense of loneliness that occasionally haunted her
Returning to the subject of Takahiro, however. The fact that a man, and of all men, Takahiro, lived with Kasai simply baffled her. Even if the two dated, and God forbid they were, she knew Kasai well enough that the latter couldn’t possibly allow a member of the opposite gender so much as touch anything but her hands.
Could it be that the jerk tried to steal her Kasai from her?
Tomochin violently shoved that idea of jealousy from her already tainted mind and shook herself free from the binding shadows that racked her integrity…. By marching over to the fridge
Initially deciding against it, Itano finally shuffled to and arrived at the porcelain white refridgerator to retrieve a can of light beer. She convinced herself that a single, innocuous can would suffice. Yet, as always, she failed to restrain herself as her already mildly sedated peers soon did, following the mindless consumption of alcohol.
Thus, a few snapped cans and a feature-length movie later, Itano felt akin to a lazy puppy that simply refused to budge or twitch: One so lavishly indulged in the confections that lay sprawled across the floor that she only rolled her eyes around to indicate the shift in her attention from one to another.
As for the others, well, they all regressed to a similarly pathetic state. The man Itano once knew betrayed his weak tolerance towards alcohol by passing out shortly after. Yuuko soon regressed into a continuous fit of incessant giggling and Haruna just, stayed as the airhead that she was.
All eyes, however, soon focused on Kasai, who dreamily said “Chiyuu” again as she shifted, almost comfortably, on the stack of pillows that sustained her. One by one, they broke from their trances, save for Takahiro, who still lay unconscious on the floor.
“So… Anything interesting these days, Kasai?”
“Well, not really,” the drunken ball of fluff replied, “released another single, hosted the radio show and went on TV a couple of times. Life’s been significantly quieter since. How about you, Haruna?”
“We visited Guam the other day,” Haruna said, chugging another can of beer all the while, “this silly, cute thing right here got to meet all her former colleagues: They were re-doing one of our old videos, ehehe….”
“Ah, the Ponytail video?”
“No, no, that umm…. Damn it just slipped my mind.”
“It’s the one where we were all in white bikinis,” Yuuko finally mewed, “I remember that day was that time of the month for Nyan Nyan. Remember how you refused to wear white that day?”
Normally, Tomochin postulated, Haruna would quickly silence her partner. But, when under the influence, apparently she just didn’t really care anymore.
“Ha…. Those were the days, Yuuko…”
“Ne, ne~~ Tomo~ What have you done lately?”
Though slightly deterred by the modicum of alcohol in her system, Itano could only manage to recall her eventful day… And the unfortunate boy caught in the midst of her lonely life. Anything prior seemed beyond the grasp of her incapacitated memory yet close enough to barely escape her tenacious mental prowess.
"Well, I met this really cute guy today..."
To everyone’s surprise, Itano mindlessly blurted out and even insinuated her apparent interest in a male individual.
"Oh? Tomochin met a guy?"
“Tell me more! Was he cute?”
Cute? Maybe not so, Itano thought, but he damn well attracted her, being an earnest boy and what not. She knew nothing of him, though, besides his name and the fact that he stayed as a fan of hers since the inception of AKB. But at least hat would suffice for Itano in her currently lethargic state.
"Yeah, he was a fan of mine too~ Although, he was brutally honest with me, like, none of that suck up crap like back at the handshake events."
Yuuko slowly raised her arm, pointed in Itano’s general direction, before doubling over in laughter, attempting to articulate an already incomprehensible statement.
"Haha, I remember that one time when you and Paruru completely saw through that stuff~"
At this point, they were all talking nonsense from the superfluous amounts of food in their stomachs and alcohol in their systems.
A good two hours later, the girls started to sober up a little thanks to intermittent periods of falling asleep and melancholic brooding sessions. Itano simply listened to what her friends had to say and refrained from complaining of her relatively isolated life. Nobody would enjoy hearing stories of her moody ventures from the kitchen to wherever it was she ended up thinking about AKB at.
Soon enough, the time came for them to part ways again, much to their chagrin.
"We should probably go then. I’ve got a photo shoot with Takamina and Acchan and, well, Yuuko could probably use some sleep.”
The younger genki girl pouted at her almost parental, authoritative figure. Tomochin figured that, had Haruna been born a male, they would make a perfect husband and wife.
It'd be nice if everyone from the first generation got together again.
With the departure of the married couple (and the fact that the only “man” still slept flopped over on his stomach), Kasai and Itano were left alone in the house, with a blacked out Takahiro on the floor, of course. Cleaning up the living room around them, Kasai and Itano enjoyed a comforting silence in each other’s company as they tirelessly worked at removing the remnants and traces of their wild night.
There and then, Itano thought she just might have had a chance to rekindle their relationship. Thus, she asked Kasai out for a small walk around the surrounding neighborhood after they were done, to which the 2nd generation member responded in the affirmative.
Besides, Takahiro, as far as Itano knew, did not wake up from alcohol-induced slumbers very easily.
The walk through the nightscape was comfortable. The two fashion queens walked side-by-side, close enough so that they felt each other’s warmth radiate to one another, but far enough such that their hands never brushed against each other like before.
“It’s a beautiful, night chiyuu~”
Itano laughed at her friend’s signature catchphrase that always ached and yanked at her already swelled heart.
“It is. Isn’t it?”
Staring into the glimmering eyes of an angel after averting her attention from the glistening stars, Itano gently smiled at her “Identical Twin” and their odd relationship that came to an abrupt end.
“Remember that one night in Nagoya?”
“Of course, how could I forget…”
“That was when you first told me you loved me… I was so happy that day…”
“I-I’m sure you were… It was a surprise for me too….”
They didn’t talk for another full minute. Itano could feel herself subconsciously urging her hand to drift around and meet Kasai’s. It was a strange feeling for her, almost foreign due to the lack thereof. She remembered the days when their fingers would find each other and instantly intertwine with little to no effort whatsoever. Ah, yes, those days of being young lovers never left Tomochin.
Until, finally, when they were half-way around the block, Itano asked the wrong question.
"Kasai-san?"
"Yeah?"
"Why didn't you tell me that you lived with Takahiro?"
The delay in her partner’s response evoked some suspicion and a degree of mild disturbance to Tomochin’s equanimity.
"Well, because I didn't think it was too important."
Itano stopped mid-way in her footing and slowly turned to face her former lover with a discernable aura of vexation.
"You didn't think it was important?"
Kasai only bashfully nodded.
"You know what happened between us before, right?"
Again, Tomo~mi nodded again and, without even properly ruminating on the potential implications, Itano directly assumed the worse case scenario she feared would be true.
"Oh God,” Itano said, holding an un-manicured hand to her mouth in mistaken revelation, “do you not love me anymore?"
"No! No, no, no, no~ I do love you~"
"Oh my God, you don't!"
"Tomochin, stop! You're over thinking this!"
"You broke your promise..."
“No! No, I didn’t!”
“You said you would wait for me…”
“Tomochin, please, don’t.”
“You lied!”
“Please, I can expla-“
“YOU DON’T HAVE TO EXPLAIN ANYTHING YOU LIAR!”
Kasai fell silent as a slightly intoxicated Tomochin spilled her words that echoed through the empty streets.
“Tomochin…”
Infuriated from both her alcohol consumption and her ill-conceived revelation, Itano ran away from Kasai, as far as possible from the moron who broke her heart. Yet, while Kasai continued to scream after her, pleading her to return, Tomochin never stopped or looked back.
With tears streaking out her eyes and anguish spilling from her chest, she sprinted away into the night, unsure of where she might go.
Uncertain of what she might be.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 3
“Chiyuu~”
“Ah! Tomo~mi~”
“Tomochin!”
“Good morning!”
“Hehe~”
“Did ya sleep well?”
“Nope~ No thanks to you Chiyuu~”
“Oh, shut it! It was your idea!”
“Johto~ Don’t blame Tomo~mi.”
“Na~~”
“Ah~! Stop it tickles~”
“Admit it, you like it!”
“I don’t like it… But I like you~”
“Do you?”
“Yeah, I do, I like everything about you…”
“… I love you, Tomo~mi.”
“I love you too, Tomochin~”
“Always?”
“Always, I promise.”
--------
When Tomomi woke up from her ephemeral dream, she woke with a slightly groggy headache that ached when she tried to move or sit up. Reluctantly, she gave up trying to move and merely blinked at the ceiling as she attempted to recall the events of the night before.
To no surprise, she couldn’t remember anything. Again, had she not been so stupid and restrained her alcohol consumption, she might have had an easier time today. Sadly, she couldn’t raise her arm or hand to slap her forehead and simply moaned in frustration as she rolled back to her side and curled her blanket around her.
Although something didn't seem quite right: She never used polyester bed sheets.
Feeling the eccentric fabric that covered her place of rest, Itano assessed and dutily noted the differences between the room she spent her nights in and this one that she came to recognize. For starters, the color of the bedroom differed from that of hers. The air was considerably cooler and it smelled like… Strawberry? Itano shook her head and recalled that she never used strawberry scented products. Ever.
After compiling her observations, Itano drew only one conclusion that drove a surge of exhilaration into her chest:
She was in someone else’s home.
A tinge of fear jolted her up and out of the covers as the hugged the nearest wall for safety. Someone soon knocked on the door to signal his or her entry. Attempting to seem calm and collected, Tomochin merely sat on the covers of the bed and waited for a familiar young man, who donned an apron and a cooking mitten, walk in to greet her
"Oh, you're awake."
"A-Ayato?"
Her newly met fan nervously smiled and scratched the rear of his head where his hair curved upwards.
"Ehehe, yeah, that would be me."
Initially vexed, Itano tried to reason with her current circumstances
"How-"
"Did you end up here, you ask?"
Tomochin nodded as she frantically snatched the sheets around her to cover her relatively exposed body.
"Funny story actually," Ayato continued, "I found you crying on the late night bus system when I got on. When I came closer and put a hand on your shoulder, you kind of just collapsed on me. I didn't know where you lived at, so I carried you here. It was better than leaving you on that bus anyways."
Tomochin blushed at her fan's account of how she ended up here. Did she really lose control of herself that night? What did she do? While faint details rung in her mind, the entirety of what happened last night persistently eluded her conscience.
"I have some clothes you can borrow," he said, exiting the room to leave the former AKB member to her privacy, "they belonged to my ex-girlfriend who was, funnily enough, also a fan of yours. So you can imagine how much she wanted to look like you."
Tomochin chuckled at his little anecdote at the end and perused the wardrobe that towered over her from across the room. She carefully pried it open with her delicate, but steady hands, to reveal clothing that closely resembled what her former colleagues would wear. She softly brushed her hand down the fabric of one of the blouses that hung from the closet. Oh, how she missed being young…
“Great, I’m in an apartment of my fans,” she finally remarked with a sigh of relief. Ayato merely smiled though, and didn’t register any audible response besides his final comment before leaving Itano to herself so she could change her clothing.
"Breakfast is almost ready too, if you'd like to come out."
Itano formed an “O” with her mouth and nodded, acknowledging her new found friend’s hospitality and benevolence. Then of course, he was a fan of hers in some way, so perhaps this was to be as expected of him. Truthfully, though, Tomochin really couldn’t tell.
She had to admit, the moment she walked out the room, changed and ready for the day,
“What time is it?” She asked, gracefully consuming the yakiniku on her spoon.
“It’s 11:30 AM, right now,” Ayato replied, checking his chrome coated digital watch, “why do you ask?”
“Damnit,” Itano jolted up and pinned her eyes to the doorway, “I have a photo shoot to go to. I’m late.”
Just before she could pounce from her seat at the table to grab her stuff, Ayato interjected by not only firmly grasping her by the arm as she’d continually dreamed that her man would do, but also standing up and nearly towering over her, saying:
"Itano-san, it's a Sunday, and photo shoots don't usually occur today. I think you were thinking of Monday."
Besides attempting to contain the squeal of romantic delight that lurched in her throat, Itano simultaneously fought off the agonizing headache she had and the urge to lose her temper again. Calmly, she sat down on the chair again and puffed her cheeks upon realizing that Ayato was right: Her photo shoots never happened on Sundays.
Damn alcohol, damn reunions: Damn it all to hell!
After they finished their hastily cooked meal, Itano offered to clean up with Ayato: A formality she used to extend to any and all she enjoyed a simple, though entertaining, meal with. Such an occasion proved rare in recent months, if not in the past year.
Itano spent the next hour exploring Ayato’s house. It was terrifyingly lucid: A large, comfy couch with a plasma television in front, a glass dining table over here and a simple, decorative piece of calligraphy to embellish the immaculate wall of white in the main hall.
Such an apartment, no ordinary person could afford, Itano reduced the possibilities to either a testament of his success or a display of inherited wealth. Given that she knew nothing about her savior, in some ways, she could judge him in neither way.
Curiously enough, however, Itano didn’t notice a single picture of himself or anyone otherwise… Anywhere. At those little nooks and shelves one imagined to house photos of his friends, old or young, rested nothing on a stand or a frame. The empty feeling of the house dragged Itano back to stop and offer a tacit display of compassion towards her once devout fan of AKB.
"I'm going to the supermarket,” Ayato soon announced, picking up his keys, clad in a navy blue polo shirt and grey denims, “anything I can get you, Itano-san?"
"No, I'm fine thanks,” Itano responded with a polite wave of her hand, “I actually think I should head home.”
“Well, where do you live? I’ll take you there.”
As much as Itano wanted her place of abode to remain a secret from her new companion, she felt somewhat attracted to this honest, charming man. Something told her that maybe she should spend more time with him, even if she knew better.
“That would be nice, thank you.”
Much to both of their chagrin, Ayato didn’t exactly own a car. He did own, however, several motorcycles, including a Yokohama motorcycle that Itano remembered riding on the race tracks once before. It’s possible that Ayato might have actually supplied AKB with such a fine craft of machinery, but she gave it the benefit of her doubt.
What stimulated further curiosity and reverence was the fact that Ayato could sense how uncomfortable Itano felt about riding behind a guy on a motorcycle: He simply looked deep into her almost terrified eyes and immediately offered to take her home by bus.
Yet, while Itano was perfectly capable of returning home alone, she insisted that Ayato come with her, to which he agreed without a second thought.
If anyone ever rode the buses in Shibuya, they would notice that nearly every archetype of citizen either stood or sat in the relatively cramped space of the bus: These ranged from the loquacious businessmen to the haphazard teenagers, all of which Itano treasured and valued as a part of her life in the city and couldn’t quite pinpoint which profile Ayato would fit.
Following a good 10 minute ride, Itano lead Ayato, after disembarking with little difficulty, to a metropolitan area that she spent the majority of her time around. He did not refuse her offer to go waltzing around the area to view the bakeries and apparel shops at the street level. She assumed Ayato hadn’t been to this particular part of town for a while.
Well, that was until he said that his ex used to live just a block down.
Itano harrowed over the small, crestfallen expression Ayato donned whence he mentioned that the room she slept in belonged to his previous lover. She felt as if she invaded the sanctimony of his long, if not recently, lost lady. Eventually, she asked him what itched away at her mind since, as they quietly walked, side-by-side, to Tomo’s apartment complex.
"You said these clothes… Belonged your ex?"
Ayato looked at her with eyes of guilt and furrowed brows of frustration.
"Yes."
"So... You guys broke up?"
"No," Ayato murmured with a newly forming frown, "she's just… Not around anymore.”
Itano fell silent with a melancholic aura that emerged once when her close friends graduated from the group. Did his girlfriend die? Did it conceive a void in his soul? Is this how Paruru felt when she left her?
Quite unlike her though, Ayato sorrowfully smiled at the thought of his ex-girlfriend and dreamily sighed as he recounted his philosophy:
“Although, I like to think that she’s some where else where she’s happier now,” he continued in a lighter tone, now slowly walking towards a photo that rested on top the artificial fireplace, “with a better guy and a greater life somewhere out there.”
Tomochin visibly shivered at the thought of the prospects Ayato’s lost partner probably gained. Could the same be said of Kasai? What if that’s true? Was she better off without her love?
“I just like to keep some stuff that reminds me of her around anyways. You know, for good times sake…”
Seeing no other way to respond, Itano murmured and offered her sincere condolences.
“I’m… Sorry to hear that.”
Now Tomochin just felt bad for wearing his Ex’s clothing.
“Oh, don’t be, it’s not your fault. Besides, it was probably for the best of both of us.”
She took comfort in knowing his reconciliation with the harsh reality of the real world. Quite unlike what her old songs used to say, nothing truly ever worked out the way people really want it to. All those bubbly melodies that encouraged people to keep on living, she saw no importance or intention in them anymore.
Itano wondered if those same songs she sang meant anything to Ayato and his ex at the time. Of course, Itano remembered the innumerable couples that passed to and fro the gates of the Don Quixote theatre, a place she once christened her safe haven. Perhaps, among that sea of people that flocked in and out of the entrance, Ayato once stood among them, eyes brimming with hope and holding the hand of his lucky girlfriend.
Perhaps, she might have missed him, or even forgotten they’d even shaken hands before. She just felt ashamed that her futile efforts to inspire their juvenile love were inadequate to keep them together: She’d failed her duty as an idol. No, AKB failed its duty to nurture the true power of affection and care.
Nevertheless, Tomomi arrived at the door of her apartment shortly after and awkwardly silent lift ride. She fumbled around her purse to retrieve her small, yet excessively ornate, key chain and slowly shoved her key into the lock and opened the oak door, revealing her secret abode to the first person besides her parents.
“Wow.”
Ayato stood, gob smacked, at under the doorframe leading to Itano’s apartment. There, she giggled at his humorous expression of shock and awe before inviting him in.
“You can come in if you want,” she said, “it does get a little lonely at times.”
“Wow,” Ayato whispered again, amazed at the stunning décor of Tomomi’s crème themed apartment.
“What?”
“I just…. Can’t believe that I’m in Tomochin’s house, the one that Mariko always spoke of on TV…”
Likewise, Itano couldn’t believe that she’d stayed a night in someone else’s apartment and that she’d let the owner of said house to enter her own. Back in the day, this would most likely have expelled her from the group for reasons of scandalous behaviour. But of course, perhaps this was one of the perks of leaving.
Spontaneously, Itano reasoned that maybe this was why Acchan left… To pursue a life of romance and adventure, something nobody could ever do in AKB. Ever since she turned seventeen, Tomomi herself wanted to marry a loving husband and settle down. Perhaps, this was a sign of things to come?
“Well, as you can see, it obviously isn’t as pretty as she makes it to be,” Tomochin nervously explained, “I haven’t really done any housework lately either, so you’ll have to excuse me…”
“Oh,” Ayato quietly responded as he took several steps in, having taken off his shoes at the doorway. Itano noticed that he’d carefully placed them parallel to each other and to the line of her shoes that spanned the entrance corridor. She laughed to herself and believed it as a cute idiosyncrasy: Tidiness was rarely found in men.
Supervising Ayato’s curious venture through her apartment, Itano followed straight behind him from the living room all the way to the kitchen. As he leaned closer and eyed several strange pieces of home décor, he would let out a low pitched hymn that resonated in Tomo’s ears and made her shiver from harmonious delight: Even though it reminded her of the past.
Yet, curiously enough, Ayato seemed to know his boundaries well and never trespassed or eyed anything or place that was sensitive to Tomomi. Not once did Ayato attempt to go past the bathroom and into the bedrooms that lay beyond either (giving Itano another reason to respect him).
Until, of course, he saw her guitar.
“Oh wow, so that’s Sata’s gift.”
Almost choking on her words and teary from her nostalgia, Itano responded:
“Yes, that’s the one.”
Ayato slowly inched towards the delicate instrument that rested on a black stand, covered with the signatures of every AKB member at the moment she graduated. Written in scintillating silver streaks, messages of encouragement and even empathy etched themselves not only previously onto the stand but also in Ayato’s photographic memory.
Itano could feel the aura of the Tokyo Dome once more as Ayato dropped to one knee in reverence of her grace. The last concert she ever had… The last day she remained a part of something greater than herself… None of that mattered or existed to her anymore, replaced only by a melancholic loneliness that chipped away at her steeled heart.
Suddenly, Ayato stood up turned around and gazed deep into her hazel eyes. He was almost a head taller than Itano, and she needed to lift her head to indulge herself in the comfort of his soft, sympathetic eyes. Itano thought, for the split second of their eye contact, Ayato almost felt sorry for her and frowned at the pain he found lurking behind her brave face. She could swear that she would’ve cried had he looked any longer.
When she heard the bell ring, Itano’s heart temporarily stopped: It probably wasn’t a good idea to be seen with Ayato in her apartment like this. Given the circumstances, nearly no-one besides reporters and columnists alike, would bother to trouble the vogue following her fall from grace
Put simply, everyone knew that she never truly loved to stay, nor to leave.
Keeping the truth hidden in the back of her hands, Itano refreshed her facial expression to a calm, almost sleepy smile, and sauntered over to answer the doorbell. When she turned the crystal knob of her front door, Itano swore her heart skipped two or three beats.
“TOMO~~!”
Oh crap.
“Yuko?”
Again, just as she did the day before, Yuko flung the entirety of her body using both her momentum and inertia to knock Tomochin backwards, who was, in turn, caught by Ayato behind her.
“TOMO~ DON’T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN. NYAN NYAN AND YUUKO WERE SOOO WORRIED ABOUT YOU~ YOU MORON! YOU JERK! YOU IDIOT!”
Watching the nascent photographer cuddle her small frame as a child would their precious comfort blanket, Itano felt her tears welling in the corner of her eyes. Maybe what she’d done was too cruel, she thought, and soon enough, Itano returned her former captain’s affectionate hug by wrapping her arms around the back of the shorter girl.
Ayato, on the other hand, slowly, but silently, slid away from view and prepared to abscond the scene as quickly as he could.
“Anyway, thank God you’re okay! We got a call from Kasai just after we left, and, and we heard that she was crying and and that you left her! Do you know ho-“
Yuuko stopped mid sentence when she finally noticed Ayato, hastily collecting his belongings and fixing the couch in the background. Immediately noticing the inane sensitivity of the subject, Yuuko leaned in towards Itano’s ear and whispered:
“Hey Tomo, who’s that? Is that the guy that you were talking about the other day?”
“No,” Itano lied, trying to shove her old colleague away.
“Oh? So it’s your booyyyffriieennndd?” Yuuko cooed.
Instinctually, Itano wrinkled her nose, scoffed and exclaimed in a defiant tone:
“Of course not!”
“Then why is he in your home… Hmmm?”
Frantically searching for a reasonably plausible explanation, Itano fumbled with her fingers and her words before finally mustering her blatant lie.
“H-he just happened to be a friend of mine who stopped by with some food and gifts.”
“Tomo has new friends? Yuuko wants to meet him!”
Itano couldn’t grab onto the energetic squirrel as she sped down the corridor and mentally cursed herself before desperately yelling at Yuuko to leave her bewildered fan alone.
“No! Yuuko! Stop!”
Unfortunately enough, Yuuko, with a wild smile hanging from her face, halted to a stop right behind Ayato, who did a double take when he turned around to see her.
“Hey~~” Yuuko chided in a sweet and flirtatious voice.
“Hey….” Ayato answered, confusion scibbled across his face.
“I’m Oshima Yuko~ Nice to meet you mister?”
“Kazama,” Ayato responded with a feigned smile that barely covered his nervousness in Yuuko’s presence “Kazama Ayato, nice to meet you Oshima-san.”
“Hey~” Yuuko said, turning back to Tomo while pointing at Ayato, “he’s polite too!”
Vexed and scared, Ayato attempted to tiptoe his way away from the former captain of Team K but couldn’t escape her cursed iron grip.
“Say, what are you doing in Tomo’s apartment?”
Unsure of how to answer, Ayato leaned out and eyed Itano, who simply glared at him and lifted her hands, as if she said “Well? Tell the truth!” Honestly, though, Ayato just wanted to leave at that point.
“We-Well, I-I just thought I’d drop by, you know, to see how she’s doing. I-I’ve rarely seen her since she graduated, s-so…. You know…”
Yuuko then suspiciously eyed Itano again.
“Yuuko, he’s just a friend.”
“Oh, oh, tell me more!”
“Maybe not today, Yuuko,” Itano replied, checking her watch, “Ayato and I have to leave.”
“Fine,” Yuuko pouted and crossed her arms as a child would, “but you promise that you’ll tell me more about him later?”
“I promise, okay? Now we really have to go! Ayato!”
“Yes, Itano-san!”
“D’ya get everything?”
Ayato had a confused glint in his eye but Itano flashed an impression of Sayaka’s “Medusa Stare” and he immediately understood what he had to do.
“Yeah! I’m ready, we’re going to be late!”
“Well that's your fault!”
Mocking a furious temper, Ayato stormed straight out the door and waited for Itano just around the corner where Yuko couldn’t see him. He'd nabbed the lift with the quick press of the metallic button, praying for the salvation that took the form of a cage that moved up and down and kept every outside away from its contents... For a brief respite at least.
Meanwhile, Tomochin finally pried the tenacious grasp of the former center from her slender waist and set Yuuko in front of her as a mother would her reprimand deserving child. Slowly, Itano inched away towards the lift, where, eventually, she stopped with Ayato beside her as Yuuko continued to be a bother to her life.
“But, Tomo~ I’m bored~”
“You can go visit Kiyoto or something: He lives just down the hall, actually. But if you’re really bored… Hey, why aren’t you with Haruna, anyways?”
“Oh…” Yuuko trailed off, “Nyan Nyan had to film a commercial today, and I kinda volunteered to look for you so… Yeah~!”
“Oh,” Tomochin replied in a weak tone of resignation and resentment.
“Well, Yuuko’s gonna go take some photos! Ja ne~~”
Itano didn’t say goodbye or even wave, but merely chuckled and widened her eyes at the fleeting girl as the lift’s doors closed before them. Just after the metal barriers cranked shut, Itano let a heavy sigh escape her chest.
“Damn that was a close call…”
Ayato didn’t say anything, and uncomfortably shuffled around and twiddled his thumbs on the spot. Sensing the awkward aura that dominated the confined space in the lift, Itano revealed something that surprised her.
“I didn’t know you could ad lib so well. How’d you learn to do that?”
“Well, getting caught does help with practice,” Itano noticed a weak cringe that griped Ayato’s once neutral complexion, “I can’t say those went well... But it’s all just experience, I guess.”
Even during the elevator ride down, Ayato snickered in the corner, which raised some doubts in Itano’s mind.
“What’s so funny?” She finally asked.
“So Yuuko really is like that even off of the stage,” Ayato scoffed and chuckled, “and here I thought it was all an act.”
Itano felt relieved that her previously held assumption was wrong.
“Well, you’re right,” Itano chided, “in a way, she does get more excited when she’s on stage.”
“And her eye bags haven’t gotten any better either,” Ayato shrugged.
Itano spilled a quick giggle at his rather peculiar, but hilariously true, observation.
“Now the only other thing I want to see how she reacts to spicy food again,” Ayato cheekily grinned, “hot curry: probably a thousand yen. That face: Priceless.”
Again, Itano couldn’t restrain the fit of laughter that toiled around her stomach.
“You’re funny.”
“Well, I aim to please,” Ayato curtly responded.
Now, they’d arrived at the lobby of Itano’s apartment complex, where Itano intended to part ways with her friend (she didn’t see him as a fan anymore). Although, she finally decided on taking a stroll through the nearby public park with him: It would be an opportunity to learn more about her hybrid of an admirer and acquaintance.
Aside from the request to join her in a walk, Ayato never spoke to her for the duration of their promenade. While they basked in the radiant, vivacious aura around the park, Itano still stayed in the deep regresses of her mind, thinking of Kasai, of all people. Had she abandoned her? Or was it the other way around? Objectively, Itano would never find out.
Come to think of it, Itano never publicly acknowledged her eccentric relationship with Kasai. All the cosmopolitan aspects of her career and professional life deprived her of a true, genuine existence beyond the grand stages, oddly attractive outfits and seductive photos.
Curse that love ban law. Screw AKB for stripping her of her freedom to love
In the end though, while they sat at a cafe shop, Itano had intended to part ways with Ayato. He, however, serendipitously did so in her place.
“It’s been an interesting two days with you, Itano-san.”
Glaring at the adolescent again, Tomochin intimidated Ayato simply by eyeing him for a split second.
“What did I say about calling me that?”
The message of fear seemed well received as Ayato raised his hands in mock surrender and corrected himself immediately, as a student would to someone his senior.
“I mean, Tomochin-san, sorry, sorry.”
“That’s better,” she smiled, patting him gently on a relatively flat spot of his head.
Ayato let a nervous chuckle slip from his mouth, turned his head and looked away, unable to stare straight into his idol’s soft brown eyes.
“Man, I sure am lucky,” he finally said, albeit in a relatively nonchalant tone, “fans would die for an opportunity to meet their idols, let alone spend more than a few hours with them…”
“Maybe it’s fate,” Itano suggested, as she lowered her head to conceal her blush that barely hid behind her makeup.
“Perhaps…” Ayato murmured while he surveyed the busy streets of Tokyo from his comfortable seat under the cool shade.
With another moment of silence, Tomochin fell into a deep train of thought that occupied her, for the most part, while the two squandered their free time in each other’s company.
The estranged man that stood next to her met her a mere 48 hours ago, and now he acted as if he were a friend of hers: A quality one rarely ever finds in admirers. Perhaps Ayato managed to partially place aside her status and fame and treated her as a normal person. Perhaps that was why his presence felt considerably warmer than the fans at handshake events and whatnot.
Thinking back to her glory days, Itano sighed at the unceremonious change in her predicament. What was once a childish, hopeful and chaste existence now hardened and fused with the gruesome realities she fought so hard to ignore even during her time with AKB.
“Well, I should probably head back home. I’ve got some work to do.”
Tomochin suddenly realized: Ever since the two met, neither of them talked much about each other’s working life. It wasn’t that Ayato didn’t know what she did, that much was obvious, but Itano had no idea of Ayato’s occupation. With her curiosity sparked, Itano pressed to ask more of Ayato.
“Oh? What kind?”
“Official documents, papers and what not. It’s all sorts of stuff really, mostly for school though.”
“School?”
Ayato made a nonchalant expression by furrowing his brows and shrugging as he answered.
“Yeah, music school. Why else did you think I was around the store? I’m not one to stalk people...”
The irony was not lost on Itano.
“Well, I wouldn’t imagine you as one.”
Ayato wrinkled his nose in agreement.
“I certainly hope not.”
Although, there was a more pressing matter that plagued Tomochin’s thoughts: If he still went to school….
“Wait, how old are you?”
“23, actually,” he responded, “I turn 24 on Christmas day, though.”
“Wow, music school when you’re 24”
“Hehe… I’m a little bit of a late bloomer, aren’t I?”
“There’s nothing terribly wrong with it...” Itano excused herself, reassuring her male companion that she didn’t think of him any differently… Well, that wasn’t exactly true, she actually thought more highly of him than before after his modest qualification: Earnest men always nagged at her affections.
“Again, I should probably go. I’m not looking forward to that pile of work on my desk, but hey, we all have to work right?”
The fashionista chuckled and wore a wide grin on her round face, “right.”
Neither of them bid their farewells verbally but both knew equally well that they’d tacitly done so already. Itano clasped her hands together in front of her and anxiously swayed from left to right as she watched Ayato disappear into the crowd of people that so quickly and desperately engulfed him, obfuscating him from her view. Leaving a smile for herself, Itano turned around and started walking home.
Later that evening, Itano returned to her apartment after eating a ramen dinner, took off her shoes and slumped onto the long stretch of a sofa that lay bare, in front of the plasma television, waiting for her due presence. She checked her phone and e-mail for messages from her friends, even if she rarely received any these days.
Although, she did manage to find a message from Yuuko: It was a picture of Haruna and herself, eating ice cream just outside the AKB theatre at Don Quixote with a caption reading “Visiting Paruru~~ :3”. Itano heaved a deep sigh and quickly moved her cursor to another curious, unread message.
The peculiar message came from Haruna’s old e-mail address, dating back to the advent of AKB. It proved odd that she would use this account, given that it hadn’t been used since Haruna’s popularity bloom.
“Let’s meet for lunch sometime,” it read, “I haven’t spoken to you in a long time, and it’d be nice to catch up some more, no?”
Smiling, Itano typed in her response and sent it. Without hesitation, she pulled a thin blanket from the drawer and fell right to sleep on her comfy couch. There remained much to do in the following week and she could use all the sleep she could get.
Although, in all honesty, Itano would have liked to have someone to hug instead of a pillow. She just didn’t know who it would be.
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Next Stage Preview
“The Vogue, The Ace, The Model, The Twin Towers… What are we now?”
“You know, we should all get together again some time.”
“Why don’t we start a new group?”
-break-
“You should be careful with Kasai-san. She’s very fragile.”
“But she-“
“Long term promises only stay true in fairytales. It’s time to grow up now.”
-break-
“Ah, that’s right, Itano-san, I’d like you to meet my ex.”
“It’s been a long time, Tomochin.”
“No way…”
To be continued
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Well, there you have it, the double chapter feature…. And a sneak peek! (hope you enjoyed that ^_^)
Quick thing about the pairings:
Yes, this consists of KojiYuu (because I know, in real life, two girls who behave almost EXACTLY as those to do) plus some TomoTomo and some ChinParu (as Shimazaki san christened themselves at a previous handshake event).
But can you guess what pairings come in the next chapter?
I’ll give you a hint for both:
Forecasters depend on machines to predict that tomorrow will be cloudy with a chance of friendship…. Or it could just be too cool for the following days?
No queen falls from the memory of her baroness, her confidant, her lover.
Ja ne~~~
(Oh, and if you have ideas as to how you want the story to play out, feel free to make the suggestions or improvements in your comment)
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Extremely amusing how Ayato is sort of the friend where anything can happen between them and Tomochin reliving the past through the other members.
KojiYuu was funny although jumping on Tomochin is normal for her and Chiyuu... seems rather depressed? although I guess seeing Tomochin brought her spirits
Also, don't feel bad for graduation... its only a new start to another venture in life. I went through four and on my fifth adventure with about 40 years more to go for my next "graduation"
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is tomo x tomo right?
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Wah... Thank you for the long chapters....
Itano is so sad, lonely and confuse...
She doesn't know what she wants...
Ah... Is Itano going to be with Kasai.. or it was never going to work up between them?
Eh.... Kasai has a bf...?
Who is this Kazama ex...?
I hope Itano going to be with Kasai....
Yeah... Yuko and Haruna got married... how about the rest of the early Gen.?
Can't wait to find out the next chapter...
Thank you for the update
:twothumbs :twothumbs :twothumbs
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Hey guys, this isn't going to be a chapter update, but I thought I'd answer some questions first...
So, yes guys, this is a Tomo X Tomo & KojiYuu fic but I'm interested to see how Tomomi would fare with other members as well (there's a teaser for you..) I'm going to study her relationship with other members first, before I say anything though.
The unfortunate part of relationships, even ones that I'm dealing with, is that we all have to choose someone: Nobody may fall in love with one or more person, or at least, not truly. So, I leave Tomochin in this predicament for one specific reason
Itano Tomomi, to me, was the ideal girl that I wanted to marry and spend the rest of my life with. However, the more I studied AKB and related those traits to my ex, the more I realized not only did she hide so much from the public, but it almost felt painful just to watch her try to put on a brave face in the mornings or manage that maudlin smile on AKBingo!. Eventually, yes, I was a shoulder she could cry on, but even when she decided that it was enough, I'd let her go. Because, guys, if you truly love someone, you'd support them all the way, no matter how tough it seems. I think, at this point, with her graduation coming up, I'll go visit Akibahara as soon as I can and drop off a rose in the hall of portraits for her because I will support her from here on out...
Returning to answering queries, some have PMed me with regards to Ayato, and allow me to answer those questions here.
Ayato Kazama represents any person you could meet on the street, at a cafe or even, in this case, at the music store. I'd actually intended for him to be Atsuko Kazama, but then I realized it'd be pretty hard to deal with when we see Acchan (and yes, we will see her in later chapters) and it would defeat the purpose of conveying a certain message he serves to communicate with the readers. What we often fail to notice are the frivolities in life that do actually make a difference. For example, I never thought I'd be a writer until I started talking about potential stories and scenarios with my buddies at the cafe of a couple we knew of. Ayato also happens to be an upcoming protagonist in another novel I've been asked to write (yeah, they ask you to write sequels before they publish your other one) and the publishers saw no problem with me having him make a cameo appearance in other, non-profit, fictional stories. So I said, "why not?"
We, unfortunately, will not be touching upon the current members of AKB. As much as I enjoy AKB, I've only really followed the 1st, 2nd and 3rd generations (with the addition of Paruru, the Ponkotsu:3).
As for the rest of the early Generations, I can guarantee that we'll see some of the early Senbatsu members (we may even see some of the more obscure members of the 1st gen). I'd mentioned before that we'll see Acchan, but we'll also see Takamina, Sae, Sayaka, Yuki, Miichan and Mayuyu. Although, we will also see new characters that I thought would help with the continuum of the story. these people I won't disclose, but I guarantee that they'll be interesting people
I still don't see how I could incorporate Mariko into the story besides as just comic relief though. But I promise I will try!
Furthermore, I hereby announce that aside from Heartstrings, I have planned and will write the following other AKB Fanfictions once I am done with this. These are intended as sequels and detail events that happen after Heartstrings and what we will see happen to, not just Itano Tomomi.
Legacy
Cloudy, with a Chance of Friendship
Lovable Adorkable
I'll give you more details on each of them and start a little poll on which you'd like to see first.
Cheers!
Cookie
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Nice... another tomotomo fic :D (please tell me that it'll be tomotomo in the end :bow: :bow: :bow: )
Somehow read them with a man made me cringe :banghead: (especially tomo~mi :bleed eyes:, since she really made my gaydar beeped continuously ever since i laid my eyes on her )
Anyway... thanks for the nice fic, hope you can update soon.
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Thank you for the fic and also for the explanation, OMGACookie
You have answered all my questions I think
I will just enjoy the fic then...
I can't wait to see this story... and also the future fics
:twothumbs :twothumbs :twothumbs
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interesting... veeery interesting!!!
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Before I sign off for today, I just wish to say that I thank you for all the support you guys have given me so far! I really appreciate it!
Oh, and please don't stop asking questions about the plot in the comments, it really helps me figure out what I should write to tailor this story to your liking!
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Hey guys~
It’s Cookie here, with an update to this fan fiction that may answer more of the questions that required spoilers to properly respond to.
But first, a little rant.
We approach exam weeks these days, and, in the frantic mess we call a life, every one of us here at my school is busily shuffling along lunch lines and filing important documents left and right. There’s a serenity in the achievement of tasks, no matter how trivial that seems to assure my productivity.
But in the end, does it matter where we end up? Does it matter if we win or lose in the next race we zoom across in the skyline beyond our reach? Who knows what entails the endless cycle of work and accomplishment?
Enough of that now, on to the fact that KASAI TOMOMI GRADUATED AND I WASN’T IN JAPAN TO SEE THAT HAPPEN~~~ ARGH~~~~~! (Don't worry, it'll help me with further writing much of the fic, now that I know exactly how she graduated.)
I will also say that I did catch a glimpse of Itano in NYC some time ago, actually (which melted my heart SO much). I was there on an art field trip and guess who strolled down the street near central park? That’s right, the Vogue herself… With plenty of crew and guards to boot, so no, I didn't run up to her and introduce myself, unfortunately.
Anyway, today we introduce a very special member of AKB that I’ve always found so incredibly ADORABLE you just wanna pinch her cheeks and give her a great smack of a kiss on the lips (I know I did, at least).
Enjoy~
(Oh, and tell me what you think and what you’d like to know : ))
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Chapter 4
The week following her intriguing weekend passed in a relatively mundane fashion: Tomochin woke up early at eight in the morning to conduct her daily activities and attend her obligations. Nothing particularly special happened during her photo shoots or recordings, but Itano supposed that she couldn’t possibly expect much from her now laconic life.
Of course, not being a part of AKB meant that she had significantly more free time in between her activities at this point in time. Sure, she still needed to practice singing and film every once in a while, even if she rarely ever appeared in dramas, let alone on television at all.
It was only then that she realized that her repetitive daily sequence considerably bored her to levels previously unfathomable to the young lady: Not only did she never really meet with people she would remotely enjoy the company of, but she would never speak of the same juvenile things she once did with her former colleagues.
With a sense of constant isolation both from her professional and personal activities, it was no wonder that she couldn’t possibly interact with anyone any more than she could have on the Saturday night she still couldn’t remember. Heaving a weary sigh, she returned to the entertainment so thankfully provided by her smart phone.
Of course, there were several things in her life that she would follow and look forward to. Whether it may be a new television series or, perhaps, some other media personality she felt somewhat attracted to, Itano still unraveled some interest in the world. Although, Itano always estimated, correct to a certain extent, that such things would inevitably disappear or jettison themselves from her life: Just as her career with AKB had.
But even then, this frustrating sense of normalcy evolved into a constantly tormenting irritation she couldn’t possibly ignore.
That very Friday, she almost lost her ability to contain and bottle up the erratic sentiments that toiled and jittered impatiently in her mind. Until a very familiar face somehow miraculously appeared in the corner of her eye alongside an equally familiar lady beside him.
Curious, Itano slowly stood up from her chair and slowly inched closer to where the two young adults sat underneath the comfort of the shade, occasionally brisked with the refreshing breeze of the district. The young couple seemed to stare back in return, almost foreboding a sense of recognition and delight. Itano squinted to see better, but, even then, both the girl and the boy stood up and made their way towards her.
Tomochin did not run or awkwardly glance in a different direction. She made no attempt to dispel the attention of the incoming man. Just as Sae always reminded her, Itano planted her feet on the ground, stood firm and felt the provoking sense of embarrassment bloom to a full conflagration of confidence. She simply would not shake her ground or stance.
“Tomochin-san?”
Upon recognizing the inquisitive tone that belonged so much as a signature to Ayato, Itano instantly lit up, a small, albeit frank, smile forming on her face.
“Kazama-kun?”
“Hey,” he said,
“Never thought I’d find you here,” Itano said, holding a hand to her mouth to stifle a blush-inducing giggle.
“Nor I, you. It’s really strange to see you now.”
Ayato checked his midnight gold watch, complemented by the charcoal rubber straps that fastened it in place, before raising his eyes to look beyond her own and into something that lay dormant behind her seductive smile.
“I’d thought that you’d be busy. After all, you told me that you’d be at an interview today, right?”
“Yeah,” she nonchalantly confirmed with a slight shrug, “but it didn’t go on for as long as I’d expected it to.”
Though partially owing to the fact that I didn’t’ really like the interview or the guy Itano would omit from her reasoning.
“Ah, yes, Tomochin-san,” snapping his fingers, Ayato allowed himself a brief moment of realization to remember something that slipped just off his train of thought, “I’d like to introduce you to my ex. Although I think you’ve met before.”
The instant the girl beside Ayato turned around, Tomochin flung a hand to her mouth in sheer shock. She could never forget that all too familiar round face, alto voice, dark eyes and childish smile that perfected the young complexion…. Even if they existed on a taller, slender figure than before.
It couldn’t be.
Could it?
“It’s been a long time, Tomochin,” stated the mildly ecstatic girl.
“No way…” Itano staggered backwards several steps, eventually reaching a halt after she registered the identity of Ayato’s former lover before her, “Erepyon?”
With a wide grin, Erena sprinted straight into the fashionista for a warm, loving hug.
“I’ve missed you so much, you have no idea!”
“I missed you too~”
By the time Itano let her former colleague go, though, the former had a firm group on the latter’s square, but tender, shoulders.
“Where’ve you been?! We’ve been looking all over for you!” Itano demanded, still wrapping her head around the idea that Ono Erena finally showed herself after disappearing for a year.
“England,” Erena replied, “I wanted to continue studying theatre and, well,” she turned to look at the guitarist beside here, “Ayato here helped me reach that dream.”
Itano could see the intimacy in the sincere smile that Erena gave Ayato following her statement. Strangely enough, she felt a twang of jealousy pluck at her chest: One that felt so foreign yet familiar in the same desire of emerging victorious from a scrimmage between two desperate souls. Her competitive nature never left her, that much she knew.
“I’m going to grab some stuff to drink?” Ayato finally said, careful not to rudely interrupt their exchange, “Do you ladies want anything?”
Itano shook her head and politely smiled at him, as did Erena, and both watched their subject of affection waltz off to the café, hands shoved into his pockets his hair flying all over the place.
“So… He’s the boy you always talked about in your messages back in the day?” Itano finally asked.
“Yeah,” Erena answered, watching her ex talk on the phone while standing in line to nab a beverage, “he’s a great guy, right?”
“Yeah…” replied Itano, dragging a long, dreamy sigh as she propped her head on her hand.
So many years she’d spent wondering about how her life would seem after she graduated and it turned out to be the least she imagined it would become. True, she’d thought about an occasion such as this happening in the future, but she never expected it to seem so… Sad.
She could trace the finer details of Erepyon’s once childish facial and bodily features. Her overall shape had evolved into well-defined curves and her once puffy cheeks slimmed down to an almost seductive lower half of a perfect face.
“So…” Itano began, also uncertain of the resulting exchange, “are you two… you know…”
Initially, Erena failed to understand the implications Itano brought forth with her incriminating tone, as per usual. Although, given some time and a nice sip of green tea, Erena nearly regurgitated the liquid she swallowed as it finally occurred to her what Itano suggested.
“Oh!” the once chubby girl responded, sulking and rapidly swaying from side to side in a futile attempt to shake off her anxiety, “w-well, not like that~ But you know. We’re close friends and all.”
Itano wrinkled her nose and mentally sighed in relief, at least she wasn’t stealing him from someone.
“How about you?” Erena asked in return, “have you two, you know, been doing anything?”
Erena made circular gestures with her slender hands in hopes of articulating a certain implication towards the proclivities between Ayato and Tomomi. Of course, for one to even fathom such interactions between the fashionista and the still patiently waiting
“Nah,” Itano responded, waving it off with a nonchalant tone, “I met him one day when I was getting some strings for the guitar, we’ve been acquaintances ever since.”
“You know,” Erena murmured, her eyes tracing the outline of Ayato’s muscular body at the coffee stand, “he talks about you a lot.”
Taken aback, Itano gave Erena an incredulous look of her own in disbelief. “He does?”
“Yeah, plenty. He keeps saying that this girl he met does that and he planned to do this and he didn’t know what to say what. He seemed really happy…” With a dreamy sigh, Erena rested her round head on her open palms, sustained by the elbows she propped on the table. “Although he never told me your name, so it’s kind of a shock to see that it’s you.”
“Likewise, I didn’t think he’d be your ex.”
“Yeah, well,” Erena finally replied, shrugging as she sighed, “pretty small world isn’t it?”
“Yup.”
A moment of silence would pass as both former members noticed the tight fitting of Ayato’s button down shirt. While Erena spent her precious seconds of admiration thinking of her ex, Itano suddenly brought up the idea that Ayato looked slightly familiar. Although, the faint memory seemed too distant for her to pinpoint, it occurred to her that perhaps it re-surfaced from a time before she became an idol: A time almost no idol either wished to, or could, remember.
Erepyon broke the trance when she finally popped an astute question.
“Speaking of which, weren’t you dating Takahiro or something?”
“O-Oh no. That was just a small…. Fling.” Itano answered with a misichievous grin
“And what about Kasai-san?”
Itano didn’t say anything and the younger girl could see the sorrow that flooded her former colleague’s aura. Immediately taken aback, Erena threw her hands forward while shaking her head, attempting to recon ciliate with the poor vogue.
“O-oh, I-I’m…” Erepyon paused and brought a fist to cover her agape mouth, “sorry I asked.”
“No, it’s okay. It’s just…” Itano struggled to accurately describe a comprehensive generalization of the tensions between her “twin” and herself, “it hasn’t exactly worked out, you know, the two of us.”
Itano guessed that nobody could easily recapitulate a single relationship within in a matter of words: What with the sporadic, and often extreme, emotions that entailed such an onerous privilege ushered that all affections entailed at least some vexing, complicated nature. She had learned that much from, not only high school, but also the broader world she once thought so small in the Don Quixote theatre. A full decade had passed since then, and Itano would only grow older from then on.
“It’s funny, you know,” Erena finally spoke, slowly nodding her head to straighten out her intended message, “I never thought I’d end up like this.”
Itano failed to understand. Even upon thorough consideration, she could not imagine what Erepyon had meant.
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean, I never thought that I’d end up like this,” Erepyon lamented, sighing as she stole another glance at her former boyfriend, “here I am, visiting Japan and staying with the one gentleman I’ve ever learned to appreciate. I’m sure it feels the same to suddenly return to some one you used to love.”
“Must be surreal,” Itano suggested, tending not to spend any time on the subject matter for fear of introducing another episode of crippling nostalgia.
“I could say the same for you though,” Erepyon boldly declared, purposeful in her curiously straightforward choice of words.
For once, the younger female had offended the Vogue in some insignificant way that Itano couldn’t quite place her finger on. Unlike their days as younger children, Erepyon finally found the courage to speak her mind. Could it testify the inevitable maturity one would feel as they aged? Is this how Acchan gradually came to realize that it was time for her to put aside such childish aspirations?
“I fell for Ayato the moment I’d met him after graduation from high school,” Erena added, sighing at the memory of her pursuit, “we went to music school together, which was I wasn’t around all the time… But what with the love ban law and all…”
Itano winced in sheer hatred and agony. Yes, the love ban law: The one single clause that rendered all expression of affection to one particular individual non-existent, a testament to the dedication and loyalty that one must show to the fans they must equally love in return. She would scoff at the idea that she once let someone limit the freedom of choice her repertoire once encouraged. Irony bounded no less than that.
“Now that I’m out here,” Erena continued, “sometimes I wonder why I even went by the love ban law at all. It’d affected me in some way, in that I would still remain open to everyone… But I’d almost lost the true feeling of love… It’s such a sad thing.”
“Tell me about it,” Itano conferred to her junior’s inherent wisdom, shaking her head at the thought of some stupid rule.
“Again, we’re free now, so I guess it couldn’t be that bad. Sure, life isn’t as great as it used to be, but how could one living without love for one person?”
Itano rarely balled her fist in anger, but this proved one of the legendary occasions where she felt the savage urge to rip something inanimate to shreds. A centralized locus of affection: the one thing in her life that never came to fruition.
“So, Tomochin, I think it’s time to ask yourself a serious question, whether the answer lie in Kasai or elsewhere.”
Taking Erepyon’s insinuation to full offence, Itano silently growled, and in a gruffy vindictive voice, she spoke her mind.
“It’s not my fault she’d hurt me,” Itano defiantly proclaimed.
“Long term promises only exist in fairytales,” Erena chided, lifting a scholarly finger to emphasize her imparting of wisdom, “it’s time to grow up now.”
Itano would open her mouth to retort but found that Erena did seem right in her theory. Judging from the hypocritism between that AKB advocated and what truly governed the group, Itano couldn’t help but feel certain remorse and scorn towards the paradoxical past of her life.
“Sorry I took so long,” Ayato returned with a green tea latte in each hand, “something went wrong with the machine and stuff.”
“That’s alright,” Erena reassured him. She would then giggle at Ayato’s offering one of the two latte’s to her.
“Oh stop it, you. You didn’t have to get me one!”
“I insist,” Ayato maintained, “we’ll be out for a while. Last thing either of us would want is for you to suddenly collapse from your jet lag.”
Itano watched the younger AKB graduate smile and coo at the former’s ex-boyfriend, returned only with a nervous smile of genuine pleasure. The two lovers had spent some time gazing into the other’s pupils before Ayato broke contact and extended one latte to Itano.
“I know you’re busy,” he calmly said, “think of it as a form of encouragement.”
Graciously, Itano accepted the warm cup of coffee, heating her wind-chilled hands with the benevolence of the young man she barely knew not too long ago. She would wait to either toss it away or consume it in a hearty silence as she rode the bus back home.
“We should meet again,” Erena offered, passing a small sip of paper with her number on it to Itano, “I haven’t heard from you in a while and I’ll be here for another two weeks or so before I head back: There’s a seminar that my professors want me to attend here so I’ll be around.”
Itano graciously accepted Erena’s proposal: She was right, again, in that they hadn’t spoken in years. In fact, Tomochin led herself to believe that she’d forgotten about Erepyon a mere month after the latters graduation. Justice called for a due payment and debt to the younger woman and Itano would abide by her moral honor system
“Where does your heart belong?”
Itano asked herself the same question even after Ayato departed, arm hooked by Erena’s by the elbow. She watched the two waltz off into the sea of promenading civilians that crossed from one side of the street to the other under the autumn sun. Feeling proud of the woman her junior matured into, she saw the two off and smiled as they both slowly disappeared from her sight.
“Where does my heart belong?” She demanded to her clueless self before she retired for the day, slipping into a blissful state of slumber: A rare occasion for the vogue whose memories returned to haunt her.
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A full day would pass before Tomochin reveled fully in the benefits of not having to perform on stage or even go on television during her gratuitous weekends.
During the long hours that lasted from morning to night, Tomochin found herself only looking through the scrapbooks she stored in the corner of her shelves. These were ones she feared to scan through after graduating not only from high school, but AKB as well.
Being a lady of music and artistry, Itano enrolled, shortly after graduating from AKB, to an arts Academy in Tokyo. It wasn’t the same as To-dai or Kan-dai, no, it wasn’t anywhere near as difficult than those two universities, but it proved equally prestigious and wonderful in many ways Itano never previously imagined school to be: Perhaps this was the fulfilling sentiment her school friends kept nagging her about while she was busy playing along with AKB.
She remembered that, at one point, having seen the designs Itano drew in her notebooks, Mariko even offered her a job as associate designer at Marii-yama, Shinoda’s own clothing line. Itano still regretted waving off the offer and dismissing it as a joke, however. She imagined how serious Mariko must have been that time and Tomochin only wished that she’d learned to take people more seriously than not at all.
So, as life passed on for the lonely vogue, Tomochin started a new “venture,” complete with an education, occupation and reputation to boot. Scoffing at her predicament, Itano simply snapped away from her childhood dreams of remaining in AKB for the rest of her life: What a fool she once seemed to wish for such an impossible thing to ring true.
But at what point did Itano finally suffer enough to change? The world posed that one, real question that Tomochin simply couldn’t figure out. Maybe it started with noticing the egregious demand that rose as a result of the boom of AKB’s popularity worldwide. Maybe it simply manifested when Atsuko thought of her graduation at a relatively early stage of their careers. Maybe it hid in the back of her mind, afraid of the revelation signifying the eventual maturation Itano underwent in eight years.
When she could no longer stand to look at photos of her younger self, enjoying the company of other equally innocent, cheerful girls, Itano turned to her guitar. Throughout the week, she’d strummed at its strings, singing familiar tunes whose lyrics still occasionally floated through her head. Although, honestly, she hadn ‘t been practicing all too lately. Or, at least, she didn’t practice as much as she should have.
Of all the less complicated items she owned in her comfortable lifestyle, Itano never thought that she would find the most enjoyment out of strumming at the strings of her guitar. Of course, it never was Itano’s guitar to being with: AKB purchased it, at the request and specifications of Sata Masaki and partner-in-crime Kiyoto, for her. Akimoto Yasushi bought it for her. No, all the wonderful girls got it for her.
The truth of the matter remained that Itano never acquired this forsaken instrument for herself: It served and would forever serve as a damned reminder of her glorious youth.
The anger that boiled in her circulating blood, all the hatred and regret that burdened her fragile emotions, soon translated itself onto the deliberately harsh plucking of strings and unnaturally loud chords, painful for the regular ear to receive. Before she broke another set of strings, however, Itano managed to imprison her own rage in a locked cage, sunken deep into her mental prison she so prayed wouldn’t explode like a Pandora’s box: Once open, no one or thing could possibly shut it.
On a happier note, Itano struck several major chords on her guitar that retained the reticent, sappy, invigorating motif of the many songs she sang in the Don Quixote Theatre.
Returning to the coincidence of the day before, Itano smiled at the prospect of watching Erepyon walk off into the crowd of people in Shibuya with Ayato by her side. It felt strangely pleasing to watch a former member finally find her one true desire who still continued to support her despite the overwhelming distance between them. Again, she felt jealousy swelling up in her chest, envying Erepyon for having the greatest man she’d known so far as a loyal companion.
Although, the idea of pursuing her affections occurred to Itano later in the night, when she would share a meal with Haruna, the more feminine figure of the odd, married couple.
Where Haruna would end up taking her to eat made no difference to Itano. The vogue would still dress appropriately to live up to her name as one Japan’s finest fashionistas. Thus, clad simply in a blouse, formal skirt, with flats and tights in addition to a darker cardigan on top, Itano strolled down to her rendezvous with the other more fashionable former member of AKB at a simple coffee shop.
“Oshima’s at an interview with Acchan,” Haruna said, “since she wouldn’t make it back for dinner and I’d be free. I thought this would be a good time for the both of us to catch up… Hopefully, without getting too drunk, of course.”
Itano let a maudlin chuckle escape her cat-like smile. Oh, she’d never forget that night…
She noticed mostly, however, the calm, concentrated aura around Haruna that predominantly occupied the space of the two-seater as the latter drove through the empty freeway leading from Shibuya to central Tokyo. Not once had she remarked that it was possible for the gentle air-head to even nurture such an intellectual poise for a split second.
There were always two sides to a coin, Itano reminded herself, as she slowly acquiesced to the idea that her colleague could adopt such a mentality that contradicted her entire existence.
They would not talk for the remainder of their trip to the main city. Itano would not mention anything to do with the relationship between Haruna and Yuuko and, similarly, Haruna simply wouldn’t speak for reasons that seemed relatively flagrant to Itano. Together, they sat on opposite sides of the car and stare straight at the trailing tail and headlights of other cars that zoomed passed them on the highway.
A good fifteen minutes later, the two former members finally arrived at their intended destination and parked in a nearby complex that stored their vehicle amongst the cast labyrinth of other cars and motorcycles alike. By leaving their sports car on the platform, the two watched the wonders of technology work and carefully place the mustang away.
Haruna would lead Itano down the large streets of the capital city of Japan and expertly navigate their way to a relatively obscured location just next to the large Tokyo Hands department store, a feet once deemed impossible.
Indeed the world had seemed much stranger even after they roamed the crowded streets of the main city. Many of the neon lights Itano thought still existed were either missing or replaced with newer plasma screens and patterned displays with designs of every kind. Even the style in which people dressed appeared odd to her eyes. Perhaps her exclusion from the ever-changing world had been too much. Perhaps she really ought to stop staying in her own world that granted so much comfort.
Haruna greeted the young man at the front desk with a genuine smile and thanks for the last minute reservation that she made (of course, there were some things about Haruna that Itano knew would never change). Together, the two idols walked to a small, private room with a small table in the middle. They would take off their shoes and sit, cross-legged on their thin seats on the ground as the waiter took their order.
Itano, of course, didn’t know what to order at this newly found restaurant, so she let Haruna do most of the work with much regret that she couldn’t even help with making a simple suggestion or two. At this point, the guilt she harbored for not properly immersing herself in this modern society caught up to her and then, more than ever, she wanted to cry.
“So,” Haruna finally spoke to her after the waiter left, “it’s been a while since we’ve done this, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Itano responded, sipping from the baby blue colored teacup, “been a year since we’ve seen each other and heck, I didn’t even know Oshima and you got married.”
“Yeah, it’s been a wild ride since we all left, hasn’t it?”
“I couldn’t agree with you more,” she replied, not knowing how she would contribute to the ensuing conversation.
They managed to engage in a lengthy discussion of sharing and relating to one another throughout the course of their meal together. Itano actually learned a few things about the ever-rising Japan and beyond. Haruna spoke of the inflation in foreign countries and the international consideration and reverence of the persevering virtue of the Japanese people. Honestly, she’d never been prouder of her country than before.
When their entrees arrived, they lamented on the past together, pulling fond memories from distant shores together and revealing certain secrets once never discovered that explained a great majority of misunderstandings and comedic instances: Perhaps the single time that Itano never felt any negative sentiment towards thinking of her AKB days.
Upon careful consideration, though Haruna, to Itano, appeared quite jolly of having married perhaps the single most annoying, yet cheerful, individual either of them ever came to know. She could imagine all the wonderful things the couple must have experienced together, but also failed to realize the difficulty in maintaining such an, to traditional standards, unacceptable relationship status.
Of course, when she lived as a young teenager, Itano enjoyed the occasional Yuri manga or anime back in the day and often scribbled down notes of how to interact, if not provoke, with Kasai. She remembered the long nights she spent in her room, reading the manga under the dim light of her bedside lamp and swooning at the romantic nature of her one, true source of entertainment.
It wasn’t long before she soon abandoned such childish ideals and resolved to marry a wonderful man as a princess would. Only the disparity of proverbial princes who caught Itano’s affections hindered her search. Nothing ever really went to plan either; Itano could only collect herself and keep marching forward as she always had without any second thought.
When the sweeter portion of dinner arrived in the form of jello, Haruna recounted her wedding ceremony that Itano, apparently, lost the invitation to.
“We sent at least three of them to you,” Haruna claimed, “we only wondered why you never responded in the first place.”
Once more, Itano slapped herself for acting so morosely following her graduation. Even though, if anyone gave her perspective any serious thought, the fault wasn’t entirely hers to bear: Itano rarely ever read physical mail as of late and she wondered if she should empty her mailbox. Perhaps, she would find those three invitations buried under an assortment of fan mail or what not.
Progressing with their discussion on the feline’s wedding, Itano inquired how Haruna felt about marrying another woman. Surely it would appear unnatural to the world that one lady should fancy the prolonged company of another so beloved. Indeed, Itano felt afraid of the urges she had previously experienced as well. Not just with Kasai, but also with several other members she once took for granted as more masculine figures.
“I honestly don’t know what’s so wrong with it,” Haruna surmised, “I don’t see any problem with vowing to spend the rest of your life with someone you love so much.”
Haruna brought a single finger to her mouth and nibbled on it as she worked the gears in her almost clockwork mind. Itano hoped that perhaps it exercised cognition to greater extents than before for the sake of both Nyan nyan and Yuko.
“Though I suppose it’s just not natural to see women get married. We’re expected to marry men, after all.”
Itano concluded that Haruna’s logic proved cogent enough to summarize the controversy that so propagated the subject of marriage. She dismissed the thought of marrying women too; in fact, some part of her still yearned for male company. However, that desire needed to remain patient for longer: Itano had yet to find the right man as of late. Although, she could argue that she’d gotten one step closer as of late.
When asked how the ceremony proceeded, Haruna produced a gratifying sigh and dreamily stared at the ceiling, romantically recalling the bright summers day the two had stood in front of the Tokyo cathedral.
“Oh, it was SO much fun.”
Of course, smiles and giggles would fill the proceeding plethora of words by which Haruna would attempt to express her satisfaction with the second greatest day of her life (the first being her graduation from AKB). Itano intently listened to the details as would a teenaged high schooler delve into the gossip her friend had to offer. It had been filled with such intricate details that Haruna could remember that Itano could manifest and image thereof at the blank wall behind.
Had she properly checked her mail and assimilated herself with the world at the time, perhaps should wouldn’t have reduced her illustration to mere imagination. One could reason that this came as a punishment for the errors that Tomomi committed during her two-year long epoch of brooding. Karma struck fast and relentlessly following enlightening
“Though I would argue that our wedding night was much better than it could possibly be, had I married a man.”
An idea started to creep into Itano’s mind of how the two of them must have spent their honeymoon together. Of course, tradition dictated that married couples “consummate” their marriage earlier in the day by engaging in more… Erotic activities. Such a lewd imagination only served to bring a slight tinge of red to Itano’s cheeks as she frantically shoved the images out of her mind.
“W-well, I’m sure it must have been.” Itano stammered, careful not to allow her obscene thoughts resurface, “what else could you expect from Oshima-san?”
They’d left the restaurant near eleven at night, when it usually turned into a night-bar of sorts. The receptionist that Haruna had befriended offered them a spot and a drink later in the evening. Although, both would promptly, yet politely, refuse, remembering the prospects of alcohol from not too long ago.
The car ride home, which came faster than Itano’d expected due to Haruna’s impressive directional sensitivity, also filled the immediate air with laughter and an aura of merriment. Listening to Shimazaki’s radio broadcast she appeared in on behalf of AKB, both recounted the days they, too, had spent at the studio, sitting around a square table speaking of assorted topics into various microphones. These were some of the things Itano did not hesitate to remember, as they rarely ever had much association with irreconcilable ideas.
Then, at last, Haruna had parked her car to the side of the street where no parking meters would inhibit the duration of her stay. Both would stumble around, drunk from the nostalgia they’d so carelessly indulged themselves to, and into the lift at the lobby, earning a curious look from the security guard from afar. Of course, neither of them cared, it felt nice to let loose and go wild every once in a while anyway.
“Well, here we are, Tomochin,” Haruna deadpanned with an accompanying shrug, “at cross roads again.”
By the time she finally registered her environment, Itano rightfully snapped out of her reverie. She enjoyed the last four productive, if not convivial, hours with her former colleague that still towered over her by a full head. Tomomi had admired how Haruna maintained her youthful beauty in the milky smooth skin that still glowed under even the dimmest of light.
“I only wish tonight lasted longer,” Itano murmured, much to Haruna’s chagrin.
“As would I,” Haruna responded in a sorrowful voice, “but… I guess we all have to go eventually.”
Without warning, Itano spilled a single tear that busted from the corner of her large eyes and left a moist trail down her face. Such a portent of sadness and regret did not leave unnoticed by Kojima, who stepped forward and lifted Itano’s head by the chin, carefully inspecting her reddening eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
Shriveling into a more or less a bashfully vulnerable stance, Itano choked on a sob that escaped the sealed well of emotion in her chest. She’d wrapped her arms her insecure self and allowed a single tear emerge from the corner of her eyes.
“I just… Don’t want to have to say goodbye anymore…” Itano whispered quietly in a maudlin whimper, “not like this…”
Without warning, Haruna suggestively pinned Itano to the wall behind, holding both of Itano’s arms by the wrists, slamming them against the hardened cement. Wincing in pain, Tomochin furrowed her brows in vexation and desperately struggled to escape Kojima’s surprisingly firm grip.
Left with no plan, route or plausible means of escape, Itano simply accepted the condemning fact that Haruna trapped her in a position from which the former had no hopes of avoiding. So, after a few seconds of intense staring and, hitched, staggered breathing, Itano submitted to Haruna’s aggressive behavior.
However, just as her breathing returned to a steady, though shallow, pace, Haruna leaned in closer as Itano’s head lurched further back against the wall as she could. It proved futile, however, against the next action that so put Itano in another cataclysmic state of panic:
Haruna gently planted and sealed her lips with Itano’s, flooding Tomochin’s mouth with a bitter, strawberry aroma and her mind with such luscious sensations, she almost lost her mind.
Itano could feel Kojima’s tongue attempting to explore the previously unchartered areas of her own mouth, seeking the hidden pleasures that hid themselves from Haruna’s desperate grasp. Eventually yearning for more, Itano returned the favor with equal, if not increased, fervor, going so far as to shove her own tongue deeper into Haruna’s.
It felt strange for both former members at first, sharing a patiently awaited kiss under the flickering fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling of Itano’s Complex corridor. The vogue had imagined such a scenario happening in dramas and sitcoms alike, but not once had she believed that such a lugubrious incident should happen in reality. Almost perfect in its execution, Haruna’s first kiss with Itano felt more righteous than it seemed.
At this point, two years since retiring from their demanding roles as exemplars, both girls were so tired of acting perfect. Both became so equally disgusted at their past that they couldn’t help but kiss away all their fears and hatred, passion burning in their sensual moans and heated contact.
The awfully delectable sweetness of their kiss prompted Itano to remember the day they first met as two of twenty of the first generation members. Neither one would speak to the other before smiling to each other, bowing as all polite teenagers would. That one-day was the first they all spent as idols in training. Those bygone days that eluded the grace of her appreciation and nostalgia.
They shared a mic set that day, since AKB hadn’t fully fledged yet, they were slightly short on resources. Together, they sang, slightly off-pitch, but close enough for their vocals tutor to grant them well deserved credit for effort. When that day ended, they remembered taking the same train home, bashfully sitting intimately close and learning about each other all the while.
Itano remembered that one night she returned to her home and slept: She actually dreamed of her future endeavors alongside Haruna. As a budding soloist, Itano fantasized of long days out on the beach, tanning and playing volleyball, all the while hiding from masses of Papparazzi. She imagined all the wonderous places she would visit for concerts and the magnificent fame that would follow suit.
Of course, these dreams did come true, almost. While she hadn’t visited nearly all the countries she desired to, she’d definitely accomplished the other frivolities. But, looking back, there was no saying how she felt about them now. Nor did it matter, not as much as Haruna’s probing tongue, at least.
The two finally separated after a full minute, leaving Tomochin gasping for much needed air, deprived by the wriggling of her slender form against Haruna’s strong, tall frame. The erotic sound of her heavy panting caused her lower body to considerably rise in temperature; viciously demanding for more, but Haruna would have none of that.
Careful with her approach, Itano looked deep into Haruna’s lustful eyes and leaned forward to for a second one, but met only the soft skin of Haruna’s index finger, silencing Itano prematurely. Instead, Haruna held Itano in a loving hug, positioning her head such that Itano could whimper in delight as Haruna’s lips gently grazed against Itano’s sensitive ears.
“Don’t tell Oshima-san,” Haruna gently whispered in the shorter girl’s sensitive ear, “alright?”
Kojima backed off, allowing Itano to stare at her provocateur long enough to give a heartfelt “thank you” and register a sincere “you’re welcome” in return.
With the scent of strawberry still lingering around the corners of her mouth, Itano licked and smacked her lips. In slowly maneuvering her tongue to massage the tender parts, she could savor the aftertaste that came packaged with the quick smooch from the unintentionally, or so Itano thought, licentious feline woman who treated her to dinner that evening.
She wondered if Haruna could see the desperation in her own eyes, the same pair she Ayato seemed to read like an open book. These eyes of hers that once glittered under the scintillating stars, a sign of courage and downright foolishness in the face of difficult times, lost their radiance. Upon looking at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, Itano could see the clearly outlined sadness and wisdom that carved into her stoic eyes of fear and sheer disdain. She felt ashamed, for sure, but what else could she do?
Shortly after changing into a set of comfortable sleepwear, Itano slowly crawled into her covers and drifted into her long awaited slumber that night with a fluttering heart and a finger between her soft lips. She’d hoped that by kissing her own flesh, she could feel how it would be like for her to properly kiss some one in return, having forgotten the sensation so long ago until Haruna’s bold gesture of comfort.
Of course, it would have been better had she kissed someone else instead, knowing full and well of the jealousy Yuuko might have conjured should she ever find out.
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And there you have it, another chapter for Heartstrings!
I know, I know! It’s crazy that I made Ono Erena Ayato’s ex-girlfriend~! O_O
Truth is though, I’d always imagined, even when she was in AKB, that she had a pretty close male friend, since she was always so reserved and shy about speaking of relationships. God knows if that’s true and what Erena’s doing now, but I still follow her nonetheless!
As for the strange scene between Kojima and Itano, let me shed some light on that:
You know, for a while, I shipped Tomochin with SO many other members, it was impossible to choose who would fit her the most. Eventually, I arrived, to an extent, at the point where I thought it would work out between Tomochin and Haruna (until I was convinced otherwise by another fan who showed me HARD evidence of KojiYuu)
During their live events and television programs, I would always catch only Itano who didn’t actually jeer at Kojima’s apparent stupidity. Itano would always laugh at Haruna’s seemingly horrible jokes and, in one episode, she even saved Haruna’s favorite type of sushi for Kojima!
Although, I guess, in the end, Tomochin got beat by the genki girl Yuuko. Don’t get me wrong, I love Yuuko and her vibrant personality, I just sometimes think that it’s too much and not very genuine, as I’d learned from knowing someone similar to Yuuko in every sense of character….
Plus, plenty girls I know back in Hong Kong behave almost identically to Yuuko and I kind of got sick of dealing with them whenever we’d leave for a lunch or a movie. It’s not exactly fun to go to a Yakitori restaurant and suffer from the incessant laughter and cheeky harassment of one another… Not very fun, as you might imagine. In fact, I might argue that I’m the Harunyan that’s stuck in between (but, of course, those girls don’t really like me =_=)
I haven’t forgotten about the other early gen members, don’t worry~! In the next chapter, we will see another love triangle, I promise!
But as to whom it might involve, well, let’s just say that playboys and machines don’t share the weather very well….
Oh, and I might just make it a double chapter feature too. Seeing as I'll have more time after APs.
Leave comments, suggestions, questions and speculations in the comments guys!
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Kazama ex is Ono Erena ... didn't guess that at all...
Erena and Kazama seem to be so close still....
The bond still there... but they all have their own paths to follow...
Tomochin is so lonely...
She doesn't know where her love is...
She was hurt too many times I guess...
Ah.. Haruna's 1st kiss was with Tomochin...
So Haruna gave Tomochin a comfort kiss... very hot one at that....
What's going to happen next to Tomochin's love life?
Can't wait to find out
Thank you for the update
:twothumbs :twothumbs :twothumbs
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Tomochin has a lot to go around for her despite her stall in real life
The past brough up a lot of other stuff that I think she didn't expect to come back up and I guess it might stir up more than she expects in the end :nervous
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Hahaha, tbh, Yuuko feels like a person who is hard to approach in real life and maybe it's just me but her eyes seem like hiding sadness or something like that, haha.
Anyway, thx for the update! Kinda surprised to see KojiTomo XD
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Cookie Here,
Sorry that I haven't updated this story in a long time. I've just been through a lot of !@#$ lately
So now we have another graduation announcement and by the least expected, by my standards at least, of Shinoda Mariko, who once claimed that she would re-audition for AKB again after she graduated. To me, I think I'll pass on her returning as well as for the other members.
Something people haven't really known is that any previous member of AKB was invited to join the Senbatsu Elections this year. It is to their surprise and to my prediction, however, that many did not (including my favorite Ono Erena, who still faithfully continues her solo career though it hasn't been going too far lately ^_^"). The reasoning for this is simple: In Erepyon's words, we simply can only move on and we must never look back to a dream once passed.
I grew up with Itano Tomomi, Maeda Atsuko, Takahashi Minami, Kashiwagi Yuki, Kojma Haruna and Oshima Yuko. The only reason I have to stay for AKB are those members who still remain. Although I like Shimazaki too, I, unfortunately, must move on from AKB after this as well. So my declaration today is my graduation from AKB fandom once all the seven members I have listed have graduated from the group. The day the last member on the list leaves (probably aside from Takamina, who may just become a General Manager for full time) I will release the fic that I have planned for some time now, in conjunction with the other AKB fanfics I am planning to take place in this same universe called "Legacy" and that will mark the end of fanfiction and AKB for me because, I too, have to start my own solo career.
I'm sorry to trouble you if you're reading this right and, instead, expect another chapter (that's coming up and it's a definite two chapter special) but I feel as if I must get this out of the way before anything.
Cheers,
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OMGACookie-san...
Well I support your graduation...
I could understand your reasoning...
I would also quit looking at AKB after Maeda Atsuko, Itano Tomomi and 'Mendol' graduated from AKB...
Even if Miichan may still be there in AKB or Takamina may just become a General Manager for full time.
They were the reason I started looking at AKB.
So... Good Luck in your career
:twothumbs :twothumbs :twothumbs
PS: Please finish up this story before you graduate...
This fic is one of my fav.
So can't wait to see the story until the ending
Thank you...
:wub: :inlove: :heart: :love: