Title: Crystal // KojiYuu #6
Pairing: KojiYuu
Characters: Haruna, Yuko, Mariko, Miichan.
Words: 3142
“Nyan nyan~” The door burst open to reveal an energetic squirrel, sprinting towards the cat-like girl at the far end of the room. “I miss you,” the girl whined and got comfortable sitting on the lap of this ‘nyan nyan’ girl. The girl nodded absentmindedly, focusing on the magazine she was reading before she was rudely interrupted by the squirrel. The squirrel puffed up her cheeks in mock irritation and grabbed the magazine, throwing it across the room. “Pay.attention.to.me!” Yuko demanded loudly, ignored by not just Haruna but the other members in the room as well. It was a usual occurrence; Yuko harassing Haruna only to get the cold shoulder from the latter. “Pay attention to me,” the girl whined again, leaning towards the taller girl who responded with a quick peck on the older girl’s forehead. If there was something that Haruna learned over the years of harassment, it would be that a kiss would silent the other girl almost immediately and it never failed.
To everyone else, it seemed that this was a one-sided love. How Yuko could remain so infatuated with Haruna over the years despite the younger girl’s lack of response bewildered their friends. It must be love; many reasoned and had tried ways to help the shorter girl in her pursuit for the cat-like girl but to no avail. Don’t mistake this though; it wasn’t as though Haruna didn’t make any advances towards Yuko, but it was in such measly amounts that no one bothered to think that it meant anything. “I heard the photoshoot later will be in swimwear. Nyan nyan in swimwear~” Yuko said dreamily, earning a smack from Haruna. Yuko pouted and lowered her head, rubbing it in pain as a look of guilt flashed past Haruna’s face.
..
Haruna tightened the robe around her body as she walked towards the changing room. The photoshoot had been relatively smooth even with the perverted squirrel trying to grope her whenever a chance arises. She was glad the staffs at the shoot today were mostly females; she had enough of those men who tried so hard to undress her as they photographed her and she would pick a perverted Yuko over those men any day. “Yuko Yuko Yuko. Why am I thinking about her so much lately?” the cat-like girl mumbled to herself as she locked the room to change back into her casual clothes.
Haruna is a beauty even though she had chose not to believe so. Life before AKB48 included many heartbreaks and tears; boys she dated turned out to be jerks and toyed with her heart so much that she didn’t think that she was truly in love before. Thankful for the no dating rule, she had used it many times to get away from those advances from co-stars. That rule however, did not keep away a little perverted squirrel that had on numerous occasions made known to everyone that she loves Haruna. Haruna treated it as a joke at first but was slowly pulled in when Yuko had shown so many times how serious she had been in her love declarations.
“My nyan nyan, open up,” a voice interrupted Haruna’s thoughts, followed by the shorter girl latching herself onto Haruna once the door opened. “I am going off for my drama filming. I’ll miss you,” the older girl whined.
“I’ll miss you too,” the taller girl mumbled softly in reply, resting her head on Yuko’s crown. Haruna didn’t know what made her said that but what she knew was that she had to say so. Yuko pulled away from Haruna and beamed an eye-smile at the girl, mouthing an “I love you”.
..
“You know, you should start loving Yuko more,” Miichan casually suggested during the break no3b had in the midst of their new album recording. Haruna’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “Well, I heard from the trainees the other day that they voted who’s their favorite senpai and Yuko won hands-down. And look how she had been friendly with the other members recently. Don’t be surprised if one day they snatch her away,” Miichan shook her head as she filled in the airheaded girl then walking away to find the captain. Haruna looked at her cellphone; half a day had gone by without a mail from Yuko and a year ago, that wouldn’t have happened. Stopping at the door, her fellow bandmate turned around and looked at the bothered girl. “You know, sometimes you shouldn’t wait till the last minute before doing what you should do.”
..
That night, Haruna couldn’t fall asleep. Her mind wandered back to the moments she had with Yuko over the years. The skinship, as Yuko liked to call it, that they shared which Haruna resisted at first, but found herself liking it after a while; for a long time now, the resistance from the cat-like girl were a pretense. She had promised not to fall in love with anyone after joining the team, building a wall around her heart to prevent it from getting hurt once again. But this one girl had been trying over the years to tear down this wall; even though it hadn’t been a success yet, Haruna could feel that she was opening up bit by bit to that girl.
And that, that scared Haruna.
..
The next day, Haruna woke up with a splitting migraine. She didn’t even remember falling asleep; her mind was filled with thoughts about Yuko, particularly, the things that Yuko did for her. Her day past by foggily. Haruna sighed as she pushed open the door to the dance studio for the practice, only to wince in pain from the loud noises and bright lights from the room; how her fellow teammates managed to maintain this high amount adrenaline even at 1AM amazed her. She took a seat near the door quietly, observing the squirrel-like girl messing around with the team’s cyborg and found herself frowning. In fact, she sourly thought, Yuko seemed to be happier around Mayuyu than around her.
Haruna is a tough character to crack. With the walls she built around herself, seemingly airheaded and my-paced were the steps she took to protect herself. With these teammates, she found love from friendship. But love on its own still scares the shit out of Haruna. “You have to grow up, Haruna.” Mariko spoke a tone just above a whisper. The cat-like girl looked away from the duo and at Mariko, who was staring towards the direction that Haruna was looking at earlier.
“My nyan nyan!” Yuko spotted Haruna from across the room and ran over. Then without warning, she lost her footing, tripping over her other leg and landing painfully on her tailbone. A pain shot right through her body and she curled into a ball in the middle of the room. Haruna gasped, jumping out of her seat and rushing to the girl as the other members did the same. Yuko's face contorted in pain just as their instructor came into the room. "I...I don't think I will be able to stay for practice today," Yuko said faintly with an apologetic look on her face.
The instructor dismissed the apology with a wave of her hand, yelling for someone to bring Yuko home to rest. Mariko pointed down to the girl who was kneeling beside the injured squirrel and the other members followed suit, much to the amusement of the injured girl. "Nyan nyan...I think you have just been volunteered by everyone," Yuko whispered, making a move to get up then face twisting in pain and let out a loud cry.
Haruna flicked Yuko's forehead lightly. "Don't you dare move on your own. I'll carry you," the taller girl chided. "Mariko, do you mind calling a taxi for us?"
..
That night, Yuko couldn't sleep; she feigned asleep just so Haruna, who had been acting like a fulltime nurse since they left the studio, could rest without worrying for her. Replaying the night's events in her head, the squirrel couldn't help but smiled as a tear rolled down her cheeks. As sadistic as it might seemed to be, Yuko thanked her clumsiness for her fall earlier the night.
Haruna had carried her bridal styled out of the studio, onto the taxi and into her room; when in heavens did that girl get this amazing strength puzzled Yuko, for Haruna was known for being the least athletic among them all. Knowing that she’s hurting too much to shower, Haruna wiped the sweat of the shorter girl with wet towels and helped her get changed into her pyjamas. Yuko watched as the taller girl did all these with a look of seriousness on her face, occasionally frowning when she winced in pain from the little movements. If there’s anything that Yuko’s feeling right now, it’s loved.
Yuko turned her body slightly to the right, biting her lips to stop herself from groaning in pain and observed the sleeping girl. Sitting on the chair beside Yuko’s bed and resting her head on a hand on the bed, those pouty lips looked even more kissable under the moonlight that crept into the room. Her eyes travelled down to the hand that was supporting her head only to find a towel held tightly in her grasp. The faint silver streaks of moonlight that washed over her body only further enhanced her beauty. “I love you,” Yuko whispered, closing her eyes once again and tried to sleep.
..
After the incident, Haruna’s actions towards Yuko seemed to fluctuate a lot more than usual. While she opened up to Yuko loads more than usual, she seemed to pull back a lot more as well; one moment Haruna might be telling Yuko about her past, the next would be Haruna telling the shorter girl that she had an appointment and had to leave. “Nyan nyan,” Yuko started, taking a seat beside the taller girl only to see her bolting up from her seat.
“I’ve to do something. Be right back,” and off Haruna went, dashed off to God knows where, leaving a bewildered Yuko. Mariko took a seat beside Yuko, the exact same seat that Haruna was sitting on just moments ago.
“Where is that cat running to?”
“I have no idea,” Yuko replied, barely a whisper.
“Hmm…”
“Do you know what’s wrong with her?” The ace turned and looked at the eldest, hoping that she had some answers for Haruna’s weird actions recently. Moreover, the two were known to have close friendship, sharing their deepest secrets with each other; something that Yuko couldn’t help but felt really jealous of. Mariko cocked her head to the side and looked closely at the squirrel; the uncertainty seemed to seep through from Yuko’s dark brown orbs as the girl tried to appear indifferent to Haruna’s actions in front of her.
Mariko nodded.
..
Marichan…are you awake? –Nyaro
Mhm…where do you want to meet me? –Ue Kara Mariko
The restaurant near your place? I could do with some hot soup now. – Nyaro
See you in 30! ( *`ω´)八(бвб) –Ue Kara Mariko
It was one of those sleepless nights that Haruna had always dreaded and taking out her cell-phone, she sent a mail to her best friend. Thankfully, Mariko was available to meet her and the night crawled on with the two ladies exchanging heartfelt talks with each other over a hot pot of soup and some alcohol. The older girl watched as Haruna fell silent for a moment, trying to fight back her tears and placed her hand over the girl’s arm to calm her down. “It’s about Yuko, isn’t it?” Mariko asked softly as tears started streaking down the girl’s eyes. Haruna sniffed loudly and nodded, secretly thankful that they had been given a private room instead of out with the public. “Remember that I told you that you have to grow up?” the older girl continued. “She loves you, and you love her. What exactly was the thing that’s holding you back? Is it…worth losing her over that?”
Haruna didn’t know what was holding her back from accepting and reciprocating Yuko’s love fully. It would be irresponsible to say that she was afraid of being hurt again because Yuko would be the last person to hurt her and Haruna knew that very well. Then why was she so afraid to let Yuko into her heart? Haruna didn’t have an answer, or so she thought.
“You were afraid because you based those fears on your past relationships. But you know Yuko’s different. Why not try to open up to her…and see if she’s the one that you had been looking for? The unknown in front of you terrified you but without embracing the indefinite ahead of you, there will be no way for you to find true love.”
..
Where are you? – Yuuchan
Yuko sent Haruna a mail, desperately wanting to see Haruna after hearing what happened between her and Mariko some nights ago. It explained everything; why Haruna had been talking to her and opening up to her more and why Haruna had been drawing back even more. Haruna was trying to let Yuko in but she was unsure, unsure of the future and basically just about everything. Yuko wasn’t sure if she could convince the girl otherwise but she wanted to be there for the love of her life and work out a way for the both of them.
……Answer me please, where are you? –Yuuchan
Rooftop. –Nyan nyan
Stay there! –Yuuchan
“Go, I’ll cover for both of you.”
..
The rooftop door clicked open.
“Nyan nyan?”Yuko’s confidence seemed to seep away with every step she took towards the girl. Taking a seat beside the taller girl, Yuko grabbed hold of Haruna and turned the girl towards her. “Nyan nyan, I can’t promise that I won’t make you cry but I can promise I will always make sure you have a smile on your face. I can’t promise that I will love you forever but I can promise that you will be the last person I ever loved. I can’t promise that I won’t hurt you but I can promise that if you are hurting, I will be hurting more,” she paused and took a deep breath just as the taller girl wanted to speak. “Please let me finish. I can’t promise you a lot of things, Nyan nyan…but I can promise that I’ll give you all that I can ever give to you. You mean a lot to me,” Yuko spoke in a panicked whisper, looking down and nervously fidgeting her fingers.
“You mean a lot to me too…”
“What?” Yuko looked up to the girl in front of her, doubtful of what she heard a second ago.
“I said…you mean a lot to me too. Like…like really a lot!” Haruna yelled out the last word, then taking a deep breath before continuing. “Because you meant so much to me, I was afraid to accept you. Because I knew the walls around my heart were slowly being torn down by you, I was afraid that you would be turned off by the me that was in it. Because I knew the past would always be a scar for me, I was afraid that I couldn’t love you as much as you love me. But because I knew I couldn’t win over that nagging little voice in my head telling that I love you,” Haruna paused, gently placing her hands on Yuko’s face and leaned her forehead on the girl’s and said in a firm whisper.
“I love you.”
..
“Happy 4th year, nyan nyan…” Yuko mumbled, fitting snuggly in front of her girlfriend as they enjoyed each other’s company before needing to head off for another rehearsal. The girlfriend rested her head on the squirrel’s shoulder, nuzzling into Yuko’s neck knowing that her girlfriend loved it.
“Yuuchan, I’ve got you a present.” The shorter girl twisted her body around and watched in anticipation as Haruna reached to the drawer of their bedside table and retrieved a plain black box with a messily tied ribbon on top. “I guessed you wouldn’t really mind the messy ribbon…since you are not Takamina,” Haruna said sheepishly as she watched Yuko unwrapped her present. Sitting in the middle of the box was a delicate crystal squirrel figurine. “I’ve got myself a kitten figurine too,” Haruna said as she took out the other box from the drawer. “I had them engraved our initials at the base as well.”
“The squirrel looked really happy and I want my Yuuchan to be always happy. Especially when she is with me. But yet because this is a figurine, it’s quiet. And that is a side that Yuuchan doesn’t show often to others. This is the part of Yuuchan that is very precious to me because a quiet Yuuchan is a very vulnerable Yuuchan; it is the moment when she’s serious and just a wrong move would result in grave consequences and I am very honoured to always have a part in this. Being a crystal figurine, it is also very delicate and fragile and my Yuuchan is so as well, even though she tried hard to appear otherwise. Taking the figure up to the sunlight,” Haruna paused, placing the squirrel figure on the side of the bed where the sunlight washed into the room through the half drawn curtains. “You can see that the insignificant details of the figurine coming to life; how the crystal shimmers in the sunlight and refracting the light into the many different colours of the rainbow. That’s like my Yuuchan. Those hidden qualities within you will only shine out when you are in the right company and I want to be that one that highlights all your positive qualities.”
Yuko couldn’t believe her ears, slowly taking in everything that her girlfriend had said. Even though they had been together for such a long time, and even though Haruna had been more open in skinship towards Yuko, never once did she say such words to the girl before. Not that she needed to, honestly. She felt her breathing got harder and felt light-headed. All she could do was to stare at her girlfriend lovingly, amazed and thankful to God that this amazing girl here beside her, was hers to keep.
“I love you, Yuuchan. 4 years ago, 4 years later, and for the many 4 more years in the future.” Haruna whispered, gently placing her hands on Yuko’s face and leaning in to give her a shy kiss. A very sweet and shy kiss that spoke of Haruna’s feelings for the girl who had selflessly gave all her love for this cat-like girl over the past few years.
“Let me love you forever.”
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I actually spent a lot of time on this piece. Like a lot a lot. LOL.
I started wanting to write KojiYuu with no plot/aim in mind and came up with this somehow in the end. I wanted to address Haruna's lack of skinship towards Yuko and also how it all changes in the end when she found love in that perverted squirrel.