~ame's SS~ Time After Time - Chapter 4 (NTako) [31.12.2017

[ametakarano]

Time After Time

Chapter 02

"WHERE THE HELL AM I?!"

Maybe I've said it too loud because my voice echoed all across the room. I heard a faint sound of footsteps coming closer and somehow felt afraid... who kidnapped me?! Could he be a man with a weird moustache? Or someone with a body of enormous muscles?Or some maniac wanting to rape me?!

Then I looked at my body.

What the!! I'm wearing someone else's pajamas!! He's a creep! He even saw my naked body already! I'm gonna kill this one for real!! I stood up the bed and charged, I'm going to knock this person/maniac's brain for real!!

Yooooosh! Three! Two! One! Charge!

I jumped over the mysterious person just before he came inside but we end up stumbling over the floor. It was then that I realize that the person was a girl!

"Ouuuch!" She exclaimed. "I guess you're feeling well already."

"Who are you?! Why am I here?! What happened to my clothes!?" I asked, firing her too many questions.

"Before I answer that, would you please get off of me? You sure are heavy." She frowned and I quickly got off with blushing cheeks. I sat at the edge of the bed, without looking at her.

"Do you want some tea? Or perhaps, coffee?" She asked politely as if I haven't done anything weird to her.

"Anything will do. Thank you." I answered.

"Then I'll go with coffee." She said before leaving me alone inside the room. I scrutinized every detail of the place. It was no where near my room but I somehow felt comfortable here... I don't know why...

The girl went back with a tray containing two cups of coffee and a small slice of cake. Looking at her, she looks quite familiar... But I can't remember what happened last night since I was at the bar... And... I can't remember...

I stopped from my thoughts when I heard the girl in front of me sigh...

"I can't believe I took a stranger into my house and ended up making a cup of coffee for you... You even jumped at me!" Frowned the girl. Who's she, anyway?

"Where am I and why am I here?" I asked after taking a sip of the coffee she prepared. It was brewed perfectly.

"Well, as you can see, this is my room and you're at my house." She answered and stirred her coffee. "I saw you at the bar just before I leave to go home. You're the only one left there and you fell asleep at the end of the counter. The bartender tried waking you up but it's no use. I helped him and had you stand up but when you slightly woke up, you vomited and it spilled all over your clothes and mine. That's why..."

As she proceeded with the story, I felt my cheeks burning red already. She sipped her coffee and stared at me. "You should eat the cake. I'm sure you are hungry." It made me look at the slice of cake and my stomach growled inside. "Don't worry. If I intend to poison you, I should have done it while you are helpless."

I took the fork and dig into the dessert. Once the food got into my mouth, I tasted the sweetness of the cake and it somehow lifted my spirits. "Oishii~"

"It sure is..." She sipped her coffee again. "Now, where were we? Ah, vomit. You stink of your own vomit and so am I. I didn't want you to cause too much trouble at the bar. I can't let you take a cab because I know you wouldn't be able to tell the driver your address. That's why I didn't have a choice. The only option left is to take you home. And I resorted to that."

"Thank you..." I said as I looked down and tried to hide my red cheeks.

"Now, finish your snacks. A cold coffee doesn't taste good at all." Said the girl.

I ate the remaining piece of cake and sipped the coffee quickly. As I do that, I tried remembering what happened last night. I blushed redder as the thoughts come clear into me...

"Anyways, why are you trying to drink yourself to death last night?" She suddenly asked. It made my chest painful inside.

"Well I--" But I stopped from talking when I felt her warm fingers by my cheeks, wiping a tear.

I didn't even notice that. She had a concerned gaze and looking at it made my heart skip a beat. "If you can't, don't force yourself to tell me." She swiftly stood from her chair. "I'll look if your clothes are already dried."

I nodded and thanked the girl. She was about to leave the room but before she did, she stopped by the door and spoke, "Don't shut the pain in your chest, it might blow you out."

The girl left and went back to the room quickly. "It isn't dried yet." She sat at the edge of the bed and looked at me. The silence between us felt very awkward and I was the one who started the conversation this time.

"You're the performer at the bar, right?"

She nodded at me as a reply.

"Anyways, I was there last night because..." Before continuing my words, I took a deep breath and started  "Well, I went to New York to leave my past behind and try to forget."

She looked at me intently and encouraged me to continue my tale. "It happened not so long ago, I had my marriage ruined by my runaway groom. I never thought he'd do that. I was as surprised as hell when that happened."

"Oh, a heart broken maiden searching for love at New York... Interesting enough."Said the girl. I glared at her and she smirked at me. "Go on."

"That's it! No more further details." I pouted and grunted as I diverted my gaze away. She chuckled lightly.

"By the way... your name. What's your name?" Asked the girl. It surprised me, the question, I mean. But yeah, we are complete strangers up until now.

"I'm Masuda Yuka. And you?"

"Sato Natsuki." She smiled at me in an instant. "Nice to meet you."

"H--How about you?" I asked her. "Why are you here?"

"Me? I was assigned by the company I'm working for a project here at U.S., just for a few months. I perform at the bar as a sideline job."

"Oh, I see." Silence enveloped the atmosphere again. "Anyways... thank you, Sato-san."

"No problem. Don't go drinking all out if you're alone." She said with a kind smile. It was when I realized that she was quite cute. "I'll go check your clothes again."

She left me again in the room but quickly returned with my clothes now dried. She handed me my clothes and closed the door. As I was undressing myself, I heard a soft strumming of a guitar. It sounds really great and it somehow makes my heart melt. It put my clothes on and enjoyed the sound when it stopped and I heard a loud thug. Quickly, I went to where I heard it and found Sato-san collapsed on the floor.

I ran to her and called her name multiple times, but she was unconscious. The guitar she was holding had a small crack maybe because of the fall. I carried the girl and settled her body on the couch as I called an ambulance...


The can of orange juice felt cold on my hands as I waited for the doctor to finish the examination. I clicked it open and drank the contents. The drink made me feel chilly suddenly but I loved its sweet and sour taste.

"Masuda-san?"

It was the doctor. I entered the room with him and he discussed the details to me. "Sato Natsuki-san's condition shows signs of anemia. This is the medications she needs to take. And please make sure that she takes that. She needs plenty of rest, too. I'll check her again later."

"Thank you, doctor."

He left the two of us inside the room. I looked at her and went closer to remove the strands of hair over her face. But the messy hair looked rather angelic, for me. My cold and shaky fingertips got in contact with her smooth and soft skin and it warmed my chest a bit. I made sure not to disturb her as I proceeded.

And then, it's done. I moved back to my chair and yawned. It's still morning but I'm feeling sleepy already. No, I need to remain awake! I must make sure she's fine. Yeah, a payback for her small charity last night. I did some stretching and went out to buy some energy drink at the vending machine.

But on my way back to her room, I heard my phone ringing. I answered the call since it was my friend overseas.

"Moshi moshi..."

(Yuka-chan...)

"What is it, Natsumi?"

(It's about Umeda-san.)

"W--What about him?"

(He went at your house and also here and he's looking for you... I told him that you went somewhere far and that you don't want to see him now... Is that fine?)

"Unn.. Thanks, Natsumi."

(In case you want to talk to him, I'll send you his phone number.)

"Why would I talk to him?"

(For a proper closure, Yuka... You can't just leave things like this.)

"But that's exactly what he did. He left things just like that."

(Yuka...)

"Fine, do as you please, Natsumi."

(Good girl. Anyways, how's New York?)

"Just fine. Bright, just like Tokyo. I'll tell you next time, I'm quite busy here. I'll hang up the phone now."

(Okay, take care Yuka. I miss you.)


"I miss you, too, Natsumi... Take care."

And I hung up the phone. I went back to her room and sat on my chair. I received a message from Natsumi and it contained Umeda's phone number. I turned off my phone and calmed myself down.

I looked at her and she looks peacefully resting. I stared at her and felt somehow peaceful too. I stared at her and waited for her to open her eyes.


TBC...


Thanks for reading! 

[ametakarano]

Time After Time

Chapter 03

(Natsuki's POV)

It sure felt rather too chilly inside the office. I wonder who set the unit into a higher temperature? I checked out the settings of the aircon unit, 18 degrees Celsius, just the same. Maybe, it's really just me who's feeling cold?

I let out a sigh as I stared at the tall piles of papers on my desk. Got to blame my two-day hospitalization and my freaking anemia for this load of work I failed to finish. Too bad, I don't think I can perform at the bar this Friday...

I checked my planner and knew that my flight somewhere was coming close to date already. I need to finish my job and meet the deadline. I took out the file on top of a pile and read it thoroughly before signing on the designated part. I did the same with the proceeding papers until I finished about half of it. I continued after sipping some water but then the telephone rang.

"Sato-san, you have a visitor at the lobby. She said her name's Masuda Yuka. Will I take her inside your office?"

Oh, I almost forgot! I reread her text message last night and we're supposed to have lunch together today! I just agreed to her because she took care of me when I was at the hospital...


FLASHBACK (Two days ago...)

I woke up with a dizzy gaze and reached on the table for my phone, but it isn't there.

"Sato-san! Are you feeling better now?" Said Yuka who's silhouette became clear into my vision. I roamed my eyes and I knew I was at the hospital. I tried to recall what happened and all I can remember is that I'm playing with my guitar when my visions turned into all black.

"I--I'm alright. Don't worry, this usually happens." I said. "Where's my phone?"

"Phone? Maybe it's on your house." Yuka concernedly tugged me back under the blankets. "Are you hungry? I can buy food if you want."

"No, I'm fine."

"But you need to eat!" She insisted until I can't refuse. In the end, she fed me with plenty of fruits and stayed with me the whole night.

The next morning, I woke up without her by my side. But she came later with some clothes on hand. The clothes were hers, though. She just lend them to me for a change in clothes.

With that said, she took care of me for the whole two days that I was at the hospital. I remember asking if she was busy but told me not to think about it.

We exchanged phone numbers and got bunch of texts from her as soon as I went home...

That's all, I guess.

END OF FLASHBACK.


"Please take her to my office." I said before fixing my collar and straigthening my skirt. I quickly cleaned up my things on my desk until I heard a knock on the door.

"Come in..."

The receptionist opened the door for Yuka and soon left us alone. Her eyes roamed around in amazement of my office. She sat on a chair in front of my table and smiled.

"You forgot, right?" Yuka said with a goofy smile.

I nodded as I placed my pen on my table safely, resting my hands for a bit. "Got plenty of work to finish. I think I need to pull-off an all-nighter again."

"You can't! You still need to rest like what the doctor said!" Insisted Yuka with a frown.

"If I mind about that too much, I'm sure I wouldn't finish anything here. The deadline's not getting any farther." I chuckled as I tapped my fingers lightly on the table. Yuka stood up and walked towards me to stare at my face.

"What are you up to, Masuda-san?!" I asked, a bit annoyed of what she's doing. "Don't stare at me like that! It's scary!"

"You didn't eat breakfast, too? Right?" She asked with scrunched brows. She caught me. How'd she know?

"I did grab a cup of coffee." I said before laughing awkwardly. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me up to stand. "W--Wait!!"

"Wait for what? It's past noon already! You need to eat, too. Let's go and have a lunch!" Ordered Yuka as if she was the boss here. She ignored my complaints and even dragged me out of the building.

The streets of New York was busy even day or night. We traversed the short journey and found a decent restaurant serving Asian cuisine. We entered the small building and found a seat on the far corner.

A waitress went over our table and handed a menu for each of us.

"Choose whatever you'd like to eat. My treat!" She smiled at me brightly.

I looked over the menu. How about some Thai food? Or Indonesian? I was having a hard time choosing. I'm not familiar with food like this because when I eat on restaurants, I prefer salad dishes.

"Dou?" Yuka asked me.

"I don't know what to choose." I plainly answered.

"Want me to choose for you?"

I nodded and looked at her as she told the waitress our order. After doing so, the girl left us. I silently watched Yuka as she fiddled over her phone.

"What's the matter?" I asked her but she just smiled and shook her head no. She isn't a good liar, though.

I insisted on asking her but got interrupted when our food came. A large bowl of noodles, a small plate of fried dumplings, a serving of rice cake and a pot of black tea. The aroma of the food smells too sumptous.

"Itadakima~su!!" Said Yuka cheerfully. I repeated what she said before splitting apart the wooden chopsticks. We dug into the food and ate it. Chinese cuisine sure is tasty. Yuka was happily eating her food when her phone rang. She looked at it but didn't move at all.

"Won't you answer it?"

She just shook her head in reply.

"Maybe you should. What if it's important?" I asked again.

She looked at the screen of her phone again before looking at me. I smiled at her, pursuing her to answer the call. She settled the chopsticks on the plate and excused herself for a while.

I took one fried dumpling and took a bite. The crust was crunchy and the inside isn't too dried. It was cooked nicely. I was munching on my food when she came back with a bothered face. "What happened?"

She sat on her seat with trembling hands. "Sato-san... Remember the reason why I was here?"

"Yeah, running away from past and forgetting about your runaway groom. What about it?"

Her lips trembled but she bit on it. "How can I do that quickly? How can I forget about him?"

"So, he's been bugging you again? For what? Did you even talk?"

Yuka shook her head. "I'm afraid to talk to him sooner. I don't want too face him when I feel so weak, when it was still him who makes me weak."

"So, what can I do for you?"

"Can you help me... Forget about him?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I don't really know how but I want to live like it is my new life. I don't know how to start back at zero."

"I don't know too if I can help you... All I can do is offer my company to you, when I'm not busy of course."

"I have something too much to ask, Sato-san..." She said looking away but then she looked back at me with pleading eyes.

"Hm?" I asked before sipping my tea.

"Would you mind if I... stay over at your house for the meantime?"

TBC...


Sorry for the short update. 

[ametakarano]

After not updating this for more than a year. I'm baaaack~

As I promised myself before, I'm going to finish all of my stories. No matter how long it takes.


Chapter 04

(Natsuki’s POV)

"Would you mind if I... stay over at your house for the meantime?"

Masuda Yuka’s face looked stern as it was full of intent and seriousness. It was indeed a hard-to-answer question. Her eyes were staring as if it was begging me to agree. I don’t think I have the heart of stone to refuse.

It made me remember of that one time when my best friend, Kana, told me, err, scolded me.


"Stop pushing people away from you! Later you'll regret it, and no one would want to stay chasing you in the end."

"But you would..." I hugged her. "...right?"

"I'm serious, Natsuki!" Kana was really angry. She punched my arm lightly. "I can't believe how I can put up with your jerky attitude."

"Having you as my friend will be good enough for me."

"You shouldn't. I wouldn't be there all the time, you know."



“You can stay at my house, but for three weeks only!” I told her. She smiled at me. Her eyes seem to smile too after hearing me say that.

“Really? Thank you, Sato-san!”

"Anyways, may I ask why?"

Yuka's smile faded and diverted her eyes downwards. "I don't want to be alone for the meantime. I want to have a fresh start. I know it was too much to ask from you... But there's no one else I can run to."

"Was that person who called you... your ex-fiance?"

She shook her head. "It's a relief that it wasn't him. The call was from my friend, but it was all about him asking where I was."

Yuka looked at me with saddened eyes. "I was thinking about talking to him, but in the end I was too afraid of the pain."

"Then, don't push yourself to do it. Talk to him when you're ready to face him." I smiled at her, trying to bring some sort of relief through my sympathy. Yuka smiled back and nodded.

"Thank you..."

Both of us resumed eating and after quite some time, we are done and full.

"Anyways, when are you moving in?" I asked her as we walked out of the restaurant.

"Tonight." She answered. "Maybe we should meet up at the station."

"No need. I'll drive us home." I showed her my keys. "Meet me at 7pm at the park across the office building I work in."

"Okay theeeen~" Yuka walked ahead of me. She then turned around, her skirt fluttering along with the wind. "I'll get going!"

"See you later!" She said as she waved her hand. I nodded at her and went to the opposite direction, back to the office.

**********************************

"The finance department and the director both approved our budget proposal. They were requiring us to submit full documentation of the expenses and also the progress of the project." Sato Natsuki's secretary handed her a clear file folder. She browsed it and nodded as she saw the approval signatures.

"Thank you." Natsuki flipped the pages until she reached the end of the document. "Please arrange a meeting for the project management team tomorrow morning. We need to work quickly. The project's deadline is already at hand."

"You have exactly one more month to work on it, Sato-san." The secretary checked on her planner.

"I know. The director expects me to finish this before I went back to Japan."

"I'll be preparing the necessary documents for the project. I'll re-think of a more efficient schedule too."

"Thank you." Natsuki looked at her watch. It's already 6:09pm. "I'll get going then. Contact me if there's any problem for the meeting tomorrow. And please send me through email the documents that I need to review."

The secretary nodded and left the room. Natsuki piled up her files on the filer across the upper right side of the table. She turned her laptop off and slid it into the bag. She also slid the project proposal she was reading a while ago and some more folders.

Checking her reflection at the small mirror on her table. She fixed her hair and wore her coat before going out of her office. She headed straight to the parking lot and got inside the car.

Natsuki drove to the place of the meeting -- a park. She went out of her car and took a stroll around. She felt a bit chilly as the evening breeze came in contact with her face.

"6:37 pm..." murmured Natsuki after taking a glance at her silver wristwatch. She saw the empty playground and it brought back some teenage memories,  which are all fresh from her mind.


"K--Kana..."

Kobayashi Kana was quick. She ran towards her as she saw the drenched face and red bloodshot eyes.

"What was is it that he did this time?" Natsuki felt another surge of pain running across her heart. It was such a great turn of events even if she had saw signs of it coming. She never imagined this happening.

"He broke up with me."

Natsuki managed to say the words but it left a tingling feeling inside her chest. It was like something was pinching her inside and it felt too painful for her to bear. She just cried as she remembered the cold look in his eyes. His voice was cold as well. His words were like daggers of ice, repeatedly striking her inside.

"Stop crying." Kana told her with her stern and strong voice. "Miyazawa doesn't deserve any of your tears."

It was yet a simple task, but she can't control the stream of tears rolling down her cheeks. The pain of her first break-up was too much for Natsuki's young and fragile heart. Kana tightly embraced her friend and said, "Okay then, cry everything out! Let it all out!"

The heartbroken girl cried loudly, her face buried in her friend's shoulder. The tears have drenched her uniform but she didn't care. All that Kana wanted was to see Natsuki smile again.

"You don't deserve any of this pain, Natsuki. He doesn't deserve being loved by you..." Kana pat her back slowly, bringing comfort to her.

After quite a while, when Natsuki gained back her composure, she wiped her tears and managed to thank Kana for her company.

"Be happy, okay. I'm still here." Kana told her. "You should never cry again. You look ugly."

She didn't know if it was a joke or what but it made Natsuki laugh. "Kana..."

"Don't look at me like that... It wasn't a joke."




Natsumi's reminiscence stopped when she heard someone call her name. She looked behind her and saw Yuka running towards her with her luggage on hand.

"Did I make you wait too long?" She panted as she spoke.

Natsuki shook her head. "I was just taking a stroll. It's been quite some time since I went to a park. We should get going, I guess."

They both headed to the car. And Natsuki began driving. Both of them were quiet along the ride. The silence and the comfort of the leather seat lulled Yuka to sleep.

It wasn't a long ride, the car was parked in front of the house. Natsuki turned to glance at Yuka but she's still sleeping...

"Yuka..." Natsuki tugged on her arm and soon enough she opened her eyes, hazily having the girl's blurry image in sight.

"Oh, I fell asleep!" Yuka wen't back to her senses and quickly removed the seat belt.

She has been at this house before, but haven't took a good look. It was a small house, yet the lawn was spacious enough. There are daisies planted along the pots lined up on the side of the lawn.

They entered the house and took a quick tour around it.

"Anyways, I actually have a spare room, but the thing is that, I renovated it to serve as my office. That's why, we're going to share the bed."

"Will you be fine with that?"

"I don't really mind... How about you?"

"It's fine. Thank you again."

"Then, we're settled."

Yuka was smiling at me brightly. It felt good seeing her smile like that. It's been a while since I last saw someone smile like that...


TBC...


Thanks for reading!