Well... looks like JPHIP went down November 8th to me... so how come people posted comments at November 9th?! >.< And I have to go read chapter 15 of FoF's fic >_<
So yeah, I tried to post this chapter from November 8th since today, but the forum was always "down for maintenance", so I'm late... blame it on the forum, not on me xD
Also -->
I know I shouldn't say this but I'm scared of the 'main character got raped' kind of fics so I really don't know if I could read the next chapter 
,
Omg thank for telling me
I kinda forgot some people may not like this kind of situation, so thank to remind me about it. Well, I know I shouldn't spoil you guys, but since some people may not like it:
DON'T WORRY, NO RAPE SCENES IN THIS FANFIC. First, I don't know English enough to write about it
. And second, as I say before, I don't want some of you to dislike my story because of it. Even though it would be great to have this kind of situation, I won't make them.
So to answer your question, yes, you can read it without fear.This story may looks like a dark one, but later... It will get better. Maybe... Probably. Anyways, I'm not as cruel as you think I am
I'd rather focus on the character's feelings ^^
Finally.... THANKS FOR YOUR COMMENTS!!!
Chapter 4Takamina laughed as she saw Yuko doing her chicken imitation. Honestly, how could Yuko imitate a chicken so good? It was so funny! Even after a hundred times, she was laughing as much as the first time she saw it. Yuko stopped and came back to sit with the others.
“So this is your famous imitation? It’s really credible!” The presenter said.
Takahashi Minami, Oshima Yuko, Kashiwagi Yuki, Sasshihara Rino, Watanabe Mayu, Shinoda Mariko, Akimoto Sayaka and Kasai Tomomi were all participating at a TV show. They were here to talk about the next concert of AKB48. It was the last thing they had to do before leaving for Paris. Their departure was tomorrow.
“Thank you!” Yuko said. “I always do it when I feel we need to laugh.”
“So, tomorrow you’re all going to leave. All the 48 members are going to do a concert in Paris, right? It’s the first time all the group will leave Japan!”
“Yes.” Takamina said. “We’re going to do two concerts in Paris. The first one will be during the Japan Expo and the next one a week after the event. We wanted to be sure everyone could go to one of them.”
“We need to thank everyone!” Sasshi added. “If we’re so popular, it’s because of Japanese fans, but also because of overseas fans that support us! We want them to know we like them.”
“How do you feel when you think it’s the first time everybody leaves Japan together?”
“I think it’s a great thing.” Mariko explained as everyone nodded. “It’s the first time overseas fans will see the entire group. I think its represents the fact that we’re becoming popular. And also, overseas fans must have different oshimen, so it’s great they could be able to see their favourite member.”
“We hope Japanese fans aren’t mad at us for leaving like this.” Kasai laughed.
“Are you able to speak French?” The presenter asked. “I know some of you already went to Paris.”
“We have learned a little…” Takamina said.
They all laughed. Their lessons about French had been the more ridiculous ever. They wondered if the fans would be able to understand them. Even thought they had sung “Sakura no hanabiratachi” in French once, it didn’t mean they could speak French. Not at all.
“Sayaka can talk in English, so at least they will understand a bit.” Mayuyu said. “But I’m really happy I had the chance to learn a bit more than “my name is”.
“Really? What can you say?”
“Merci de votre… Supp… Suppart?” Mayuyu said.
Everybody laughed as Sayaka corrected her.
“Merci de votre support. [thank for your support]” Sayaka said.
“On espère pouvoir revenir bientôt. [We hope we could come back soon] ” Mariko added. “And also… How do we say that… Oh yeah! We will ask them “Voulez-vous que l’on revienne? [Do you want us to come back]” And also “Qui est votre membre pré…pré….”
“Préférée. [Who’s your oshimen]” Kasai corrected.
They could say some others phrases, but nothing too hard.
“We still had difficulties with the “r”.” Sasshi said. “I wonder how French people could talk this way! It’s so hard!”
“I’m sure they wonder how you can talk so fast in Japanese.” Yuko pointed.
“When will the group come back to Japan?” The co-presenter asked.
“After the second concert, we’ll stay another day for an AKBingo special episode in France. And then we’ll come back.” Takahashi said.
“Really? It’s a long trip! Anything to say to the fans here?”
“We’ll miss you, but we’ll come back as soon as possible!” Yuko said.
They were about to finish the recording when the presenter asked them another question.
“One last question we received from a fan before the show. I know it’s been a long time, but how do you think it will go since it’s the first time AKB48 leaves Japan without Maeda Atsuko?”
“We know Acchan had overseas fans too so we expect some of them to ask us about her even if it’s been a year. Some things can’t change. Acchan was an important part of AKB48, so we think questions about her are inevitable. We are prepared for everything. And even if we’re sad she’s not here, I think everyone’s fine.” Yukirin said.
Everybody nodded. The presenter talked about them and their departure a bit and then, the show was over. The members went in different ways. Kasai and Mayuyu had photoshoot while Sasshi, Yukirin and Sayaka had to go somewhere else for another TV show. Mariko and Yuko had two hours off so they decided to spend time together as Takamina left them. She wanted to practice again. And since she had free time too, she was going to walk around a little before. It was 13 o’clock. Mariko and Yuko had already eaten.
“I’m glad everything came back as usual.” Mariko said.
“I can’t believe we’re going to be in Paris tomorrow!” Yuko said.
They were going to leave tomorrow morning at five o’clock. They couldn’t wait more. Fashion, food, concerts, fans… It was going to be epic.
“It’s nice. The group will finally go overseas all together. Even Takamina seemed to be happier!” Yuko said.
“I know! Isn’t it great?” Mariko pointed. “I thought she was depressed because of Acchan, but during those past two weeks, I thought I saw the real Takamina. The one we’ve always knew!”
They were both smiling. During the two weeks of practice, Takamina changed. She wasn’t the same. She was smiling more than before, she was the captain they had always known. She was back.
“It’s great… I don’t know why she suddenly changed so much, but I’m glad she’s back. I couldn’t believe it when she called me to wake up! I thought I was dreaming!” Yuko continued.
“Do you think she saw Acchan?” Mariko asked.
“It’s impossible. We’ve practiced a lot. I didn’t even have the time to update my blog! And Takamina was always the first one to come the morning… And the last one to leave too. If she has seen Acchan, she must have a twin.”
“Well, I guess she like France.”
“Or French guys.”
They both laughed. It would be great if it was that simple. Of course, they knew it couldn’t be only that, but seeing Takamina positive again made them happy. The last year had been horrible. It was nice to know she was still able to laugh. Yuko was about to add something when Mariko asked:
“So… How it’s going between you and Haruna?”
“Well, it’s normal.” She answered.
“Nothing more?” Mariko asked, surprised.
“I did nothing if it what you wanted to know. And I’m not going to do anything for now. We’re fine.”
Mariko frowned. Like she could believe something that stupid… But she didn’t say it.
***
Takamina was walking around the street. Three weeks. Three weeks since she had received Acchan’s last “good night” message. Three weeks since she had discovered that there was more than “Acchan” in her life. She had not received a little mail from Acchan since that day she had fallen asleep instead of waiting for it. And tomorrow, she would be leaving for France.
Those past three weeks had been crazy. She had worked like never before. She had practiced until she fell asleep on the dance floor. But everyday, she took a moment to think about what had happened the morning she hadn’t received Acchan’s mail.
That morning, she had felt bad. She had wanted to sleep again. And when she had seen that Acchan hadn’t sent her a message, it had been like a slap in her face. She had been sad. She had almost cried. Was it the end? Had Acchan forgotten about her already? Was their friendship dead like others members had told her? She had felt… Alone. Without anyone by her side. She had felt exactly the same as the week after Acchan had left AKB48. Alone. A part of her was gone. She had thought nobody was there to support her now. Acchan was like a sister to her. She had lost a part of herself.
How could she still live without a part of herself being gone?
It was when she had realized how stupid she had been until now. Her first though was that she had been stupid to care only about Acchan while the group needed her so much. She had not received a mail that day. So what? Was she dead? Was she crying and praying for a mail? No. She wasn’t. She was as usual. Nothing had changed. It wasn’t because Acchan hadn’t sent her a mail that it was the end of the world.
It wasn’t because Acchan hadn’t sent her a mail that she had to cry.
Of course, she missed her mails. A lot. Really, she missed them. But there was no way she could change the fact that Acchan was probably busy with her own work. What was she thinking? Was she hoping that the mails would last forever? No… it was impossible. The fact that she hadn’t got a mail… kind of bring her back to reality. It was okay to miss Acchan. It wasn’t great to think only about her though. She missed Acchan. She missed having fun together, crying together, eating together, and talking together… Like Acchan, she missed her old life. She wanted to come back one year ago… Maybe she would have had enough strength to tell her to stay with her now… Maybe she wouldn’t have been so afraid of telling her she was going to miss her.
But she was trapped in the present.
But still… Even though she had not received a mail… It had been okay for the first three days. And after, she had started to wonder about the reasons why Acchan had suddenly stopped her mails without a word. She had sent her a mail, asking her if everything was alright. The only answer she had had was “I can’t talk to you now.” How was she supposed to take it? Was it a great new? It meant her work went well, right? Or was it a bad news to know that her worst bad dream had become reality… Acchan was so busy that she couldn’t talk to her anymore. Takamina had started to think that Acchan hadn’t time to talk to her. She hadn’t time for their friendship. She was busy. She had a life, a job, dreams… and she was working for it. Unlike her. She had been sad for a day. And then she had become herself, the captain who always worked hard for her team.
She had come to the conclusion that Acchan was fine...She didn’t need her for now.
She had come to the conclusion that she had to think about her own life.
And then, she had doubted about her own words… What if Acchan wasn’t alright?
“But I guess she is…” Takamina thought as she walked towards the dance studio to practice again for their next concert.
As she walked, she saw posters of Acchan announcing her new drama. It was a love story between her and an actor she didn’t know. It reminded her of Q10, the drama Acchan had worked on when she was with AKB48… Just before she left. Except this time, Acchan wasn’t playing a robot, but a real woman. Somehow it was funny. Her character was a woman really busy with her work. The unknown actor played a random guy coming from nowhere who suddenly fell in love with her. And between them, there was Acchan’s character’s best friend who was jealous of the two lovers. Takamina started to think that if there was a remake, Acchan would still play her character… the random guy would be replaced by “work”… and she would probably be the best friend. And she wondered which one Acchan’s character chose at the end…
***
Flash BackWhat was going on? How did she get in such a situation? What was happening now? The door was closed. It was closed. In others words, she couldn’t escape from her bedroom. She couldn’t do anything but stay here while her manager was by her side. Her hand was on her shoulder. Acchan was shaking. What exactly was going on right now? What was she going to do?
“I’m sorry,” Hiroko said, “You must think I’m crazy. But I want to talk to you seriously.”
“What do you mean?” Acchan finally said.
“I am the one who control your career. You must know that.”
So what… What did she mean by that? How was she supposed to take it? She started to breathe again as her manager moved apart.
“I don’t think you understand what it means. Why don’t you trust me more? I can see you’re afraid of me right now. I don’t want it to be like this. We should work together.”
Together? But Acchan was afraid something could happen. It wasn’t like the first time she had met the members of AKB48. That time, she had felt she could trust them, but with her manager… She didn’t feel at ease.
“I don’t like when you read the blog of the members of AKB48. They’re from your past now.”
“So what?”
“Past belongs to past. You have to realize that you can’t always think of AKB48. It will handicap you when you’ll work!”
“No! I mean… until now, I gained popularity, right? And I was thinking of my old group all the time! So it doesn’t matter!”
“You know you can trust me instead of thinking about them. It was just a little group where hopeless girls go when they believe it will help them to realize their dream.”
What? No! She couldn’t. She couldn’t accept it…
“In case you still haven’t realized it, I was in AKB48, and I wasn’t hopeless!”
She thought a little about Takamina before she added:
“AKB48 isn’t a group where “hopeless” girls go! It’s a real job where members work hard in order to realize their dream! They don’t believe it will help them, they know it!”
Her manager moved closer. Acchan didn’t know what was happening. She wanted to flee far away from here. She was breathing heavily. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t say anything. She couldn’t…
“Why did you leave your perfect group then?” Hiroko asked as she touched Acchan’s shoulder.
Acchan didn’t say anything.
“If everything was so nice with them, why did you leave? Do you know? I will tell you why. You realized that nothing could happen if you stayed in the group. You realized that even if it was fun, it wasn’t a real job. It wasn’t a job that would help you to survive. You realized AKB48 couldn’t bring you what you really wanted.”
Well, right now, she wanted to see Takamina and AKB48 could have brought her Takamina, so Hiroko’s argument wasn’t the best one. She looked everywhere, trying to find an excuse or a way to go out of here. She didn’t want to stay here alone with her. She was afraid of what her manager could do. She wanted to call someone to help her… Maybe Takamina… But as she moved her hand to take her cell phone, Hiroko innocently said:
“I’m sure you don’t want to buy a new phone…”
Acchan froze. She stopped moving her hand. She stopped thinking about her phone though she was screaming in her head for Takamina. Her friend would know what to do. She would protect her. Like she had always did when she was in AKB48. She would help her to flee… She would find a way… Why didn’t she call her before? Why?
“Listen to me. I know you must think I’m overreacting about your group… But soon or later, you will loose popularity because of this…”
She stopped talking a little, thinking about something.
“I heard you were Takahashi Minami’s best friend in the group. Is that right?”
What the hell did Hiroko want to say about Takahashi! Acchan was ready to fight. Nobody could talk about her friend in a bad way.
“Yes…”
“You still think about her right? Was it her you were going to call?”
“Yes.” Acchan’s voice wasn’t shaking anymore.
“This is the best example I can give to you. If you don’t stop thinking about her, you won’t be able to work correctly. What did you think? That you could stay friend with her for the rest of your life? NO! You are popular now. You have to be friend with popular people. Is Takahashi popular? No. I know, you say she will be because her dream is to be a well known singer… But she won’t!”
Acchan glared at her manager with a curious feeling. She wanted to kill her. Nobody could talk about Takamina in a bad way. EVER.
“She has a great voice, right… But she won’t be popular. Because fans don’t want a mini boyish singer. They want someone like you. Cute, popular, nice… someone who’s a winner.”
“Are you saying Takamina isn’t?”
“She’s not like you. Once she’ll be popular, if she ever became popular, she will have her own friends. She won’t have time to think about you either.”
Acchan didn’t like the way the conversation turned out. It wasn’t true! What was that?! Takamina would always have time to talk with her… Right? She hated herself for believing Hiroko for a second. It wasn’t true. It could not be true.
“Come here.” Her manager commanded her.
Hiroko was sitting on her bed, waiting for her to come. But Acchan didn’t move. She couldn’t. She wanted to open the door and run as fast as she could. She never knew things would turn out this way. It was becoming dangerous. Hiroko grabbed her arm and forced her to sit by her side. Acchan was anxious to death. She was sitting on her bed… with a frightening manager by her side… and she couldn’t call anybody. It wasn’t the scenario she had imagined for tonight.
“Sleep. I know you’re tired…”
Acchan was way too scared to sleep. Her heart was pounding hard. Hiroko was so closed to her… They were so closed she could hear her breathe… And they were talking a minute ago! How could she sleep now?! Acchan lay down on her bed, knowing it was the only solution for her to be more distanced from Hiroko. She thought about Takamina and it helped her to stay calm… Or at least it helped her to not scream. She couldn’t close her eyes. Her manager was staring at her.
“Close your eyes.”
Hikoro’s voice was gentle, like she really cared about Acchan. The idol closed her eyes. She had to do it or she would regret it. She felt it. She dived into darkness. She saw nothing but black. As she began to breathe in a normal way, her manager’s voice came back to hunt her.
“I like the way you are now.” She heard her manager whispered. “You know, when you sleep, you don’t think about AKB48, right?”
She felt a pressure on her shoulder. Her manager must have put her head on it. She heard her manager sighed. And she kept thinking about Takamina. She wouldn’t be so calm if she didn’t. She needed to think about her friend to stay calm. Otherwise, she would just break into pieces. She wanted to cry but couldn’t. Her manager did nothing to her… She didn’t touch her…It was just the situation she didn’t like. Acchan would remember this feeling all her life from now on. The feeling of waiting for a friend that wouldn’t come.
Acchan slowly opened her eyes after what seemed to be an eternity. Hiroko was sleeping. Her head was on Acchan’s shoulder. If she hadn’t done what she did before, Acchan would have thought it was only a nice friend, sleeping like a baby.
But she knew she wasn’t. She went outside and, while the wind began to caress her face, she began to sob.
End of Flash BackShe was still thinking about this moment. She was in a café, doing nothing. It’s been three weeks now. The three longest weeks of her life. She had stopped to send mail to Takamina after this incident. She wanted to, but she was afraid Hiroko would get upset about it. She didn’t want to loose her friend, but she was ashamed of what had happened. She had left AKB48 to work on her new job. She couldn’t tell Takamina she did the wrong choice a year after her graduation. She couldn’t tell her she wasn’t as happy now… Takamina would hate her. Or at least, she thought she would. She was afraid of asking her for help. She knew Takamina would be the first one to help her if she needed, but she didn’t want to bother her. She had read AKB48 was going to France in the newspapers. She couldn’t ask her friend to stay with her when there was something so important happening to her. She couldn’t ask her to choose between her and AKB48. It would kill Takamina, and she knew it.
So she endured it. She endured her manager, because she knew if she didn’t, she would have nothing left to her. She would have left AKB48 for nothing. Her manager had done the same thing twice. One the next day after the first event… And the second a week ago. She had threatened Acchan. To her, Acchan HAD to stop thinking about her old group. If she didn’t, she would make sure her career would be dead. She always said the same thing: She would regret it later. She controlled her. Acchan could do nothing. She was not strong enough to confront her. She couldn’t ask for help… others wouldn’t believe her. Others saw Hiroko as the perfect manager since Acchan was always the number one idol and actress.
The first time Acchan had met her, she looked nice. She was a beautiful woman, ready to work with her in order to make her the best idol of Japan. She had told her how glad she was to work with her, how they would do their best… They had almost become friends. Sure, they weren’t as friendly as Acchan was with the AKB members, but they still laughed together. They had normal conversations together… The last thing Acchan would have thought about her was that she was so… cruel. Even when Hiroko had begun to act strangely, Acchan had still trusted her… It was only after the bathroom event that she had wanted to tell someone… But now it was too late. She had discovered why Hiroko had been in the bathroom. When she had looked at her cell phone after, she had seen all her pictures had been deleted. She had waited too much. Not that Hiroko had touched her… But the way she had talked to her…
“Acchan?” A voice asked.
The idol turned around and saw Sae standing in front of her table. She hadn’t seen her approached.
“Sae?” She asked, surprised to meet her here. “Long time no see!”
They hugged. Sure, they had not being in the same team, but it didn’t matter. Acchan liked Sae a lot. They hadn’t talked a lot together after her departure, but it was great to see her again. And it helped her to forget a little about her crazy manager.
“I thought all the members were busied to pack their things for France.” She said with a smile. “You’re going to leave tomorrow, right?”
“I was just going to buy something to eat. I haven’t eaten anything since seven o’clock. I’ll prepare right after.”
Sae was glad she could see Acchan before leaving. She knew the actress/idol was really busy. It was surprising she wasn’t working now. When she asked Acchan about it, her friend just answered:
“It’s hard to believe, but actually I have a break. I have nothing do to until 6 pm.”
“Really? Why didn’t you call us! It’d be great to have some news sometimes you know!”
“I’m sorry… I know you’re all busy with the trip so I thought I would disturb you.”
“There’s no way you would. We talked about you today. Everyone miss you, but it’s okay. We know you’re leaving your dream now, so we’re glad for you. ” She smiled.
They stopped talking a little as Sae buy her food. Acchan wanted to scream that, no, she wasn’t that happy… but she couldn’t.
“I’m sorry, I don’t have a lot of time to talk with you… But I hope you’re fine with your work! We’re proud of you, you know.” Sae apologized.
“Don’t worry,” Acchan smiled, “I hope your trip will be alright. France looked so nice.”
Sae stared at Acchan. Somehow, she could see sadness in her eyes. It was really faint though, but…
“Takamina miss you.” She suddenly said.
“Really?” Acchan asked. “I miss her too.”
“I mean…”
Sae didn’t know how to say it to make Acchan understand how much Takamina seemed to miss her in the group.
“I mean, maybe you should call her before we leave… she’d be happy.”
Sae knew she couldn’t do a lot for the captain of Team A, but meeting Acchan now… She just had to say it. And then again, Acchan looked so… confused. She left as Acchan promised her she would do if she had time. But the girl didn’t have the intention to call her. She didn’t want to disturb her. She knew Takamina must be crazy about the concert… She didn’t need to bother her more. But maybe she could send her a mail… It’s been already three weeks…
And last time, she had answered nothing more than “I can’t talk to you now.” It hadn’t really nice from her. Takamina deserved more than that kind of mail. But it was the only thing she could have told her before. Takamina would probably think she had work and that was perfect. She wouldn’t care too much about her. She couldn’t have told her “I’m sorry, my manager is threatening me”, right? But since her friend would be overseas for a long time… Maybe it was time to her to start sending mail to her again. She opened her phone. She still didn’t know if she had to send her a mail or not.
***
“I can't turn this around
I keep running into walls that I can't break down
I said I just wander around
With my eyes wide shut because of you”
Takamina closed her Ipod. She liked the refrain of this song, even though she didn’t like the artist too much. She had discovered this song after Acchan’s graduation. She thought it represented how she felt about it. Her work was done. She only had to wait until... her departure. She wondered if Acchan knew they were going to France… Well, she must know it because it had been in every newspapers of Tokyo. She liked how AKB48 was getting more popularity overseas. She had always been afraid that overseas people would not like them… The fans couldn’t understand anything… She had been really surprise when letters from overseas fans had begun to arrive. It had been a great new.
She was at home, reading fan letter she had had from those fans. The fans she was going to meet in less than a week. It was crazy. She knew some fans from America would be there too. She was so exited she almost didn’t sleep all night. She stayed awake, reading their letters again and again. She didn’t want to read those with the name of Acchan inside. She didn’t want to think about Acchan. She wanted to forget about her. If she began to think about her, she would forget about AKB48 again. She wanted to focus on AKB48. It wasn’t the time to be confused by Acchan. Her cell phone rang.
“Takamina, where are you?” Miichan’s voice asked.
“I’m home.”
It was now 6 o’clock pm. It was perfectly normal she was home. She wanted to relax before leaving.
“We have a party remember?! To celebrate our trip to France!”
Really? Takamina looked at her calendar. Crap. She had forgotten.
“Um… I…”
“Don’t tell me you can’t come!” Miichan interrupted her. “We’re waiting for you!”
She hanged up. Takamina went outside. She had no choice but to go. She locked her door, knowing she would probably not come back until the end of their trip to France.
She arrived to Yuko’s apartment. There were balloons everywhere and majority of the members was there.
“Come inside!” Yuko screamed as she saw Takamina. “We’ll have fun now!”
She gave her a cocktail. Takamina knew she wasn’t supposed to drink, but she was old enough now. She told herself it wasn’t that bad… It would probably help her to be more positive. Music was playing everywhere. It wasn’t too loud though. It wasn’t the kind of parties clubs had. It was just having great time with friends. It couldn’t be bad to her. She really needed to laugh.
“Come here Takamina!” Sasshi said.
Everyone was in the living room, watching old videos or talking together. The ambiance was nice. Some members didn’t drink anything, but Takamina felt better with a little alcohol in her body. It couldn’t be that bad. She knew her limit though and didn’t take another.
“Where are Tomochin and Tomomi?” She asked.
“They said they didn’t want to come. They want to be together. They’re boring.” Yuko said.
Yuko was excited. It was nice to be with her friends… And Haruna was here too. She was in heaven. Nothing could be bad now. Takamina heard some conversations, but didn’t really want to say anything. She felt great the way she was, just listening to them and laughing about their jokes.
“You should be happier than that.” Mariko said to her.
“I am.” Takamina answered.
Why did everybody still think she was unhappy! She was! She really was! There was no way she could be mad, right?! Seriously, did she have to smile all the time to show them she was okay?
“Okay… But don’t cry when we’ll leave.” Mariko said.
The captain smiled.
“I have no reasons to.”
Mariko stared at her. She wanted to believe her… But… But there was always a “but” somewhere and she felt she had to say “but”. Takamina apologized to her as she walked in the kitchen to take something to eat. She was hungry and since she had come after all the other, there was no food left. They had eaten everything. She felt bad for Yuko who had to receive everyone. And they would probably leave directly to the airport. Her friend would have lot of cleanup to do when she would come back. She heard a conversation from Yuko’s bedroom as she walked in the hallway. It was Miichan and Haruna. Takamina sighed. Every time she heard someone talking secretly with someone else, it had to be them. She didn’t want to hear them since she knew it wouldn’t be really nice from her but…
“She said that?” Haruna’s voice said.
“Yes.”
“Acchan called you and…”
“Shh! Don’t scream. She called me yesterday. She said she had called nobody else.”
Takamina froze. Acchan had called Miichan? Yesterday?
“She hopes we’ll have a nice trip. She said she missed us. But she also said she didn’t want Takamina to know she called me.” Miichan whispered.
“Why?” Haruna asked.
It was exactly the same question Takamina had on mind now.
“I’m not sure… She said she didn’t want to talk to her now…”
Takamina left. She had heard enough. Acchan didn’t want to talk to her? Well… It wasn’t exactly what she wanted to hear, but she had to respect this point. She didn’t want to hear more.
Unfortunately, Miichan had not finished talking.
“She also asked me for help. She had something to say to Takamina about a problem, but she doesn’t know how to talk about it.”
Haruna didn’t answer. She didn’t understand exactly what was going on. Acchan wanted to talk to Takamina to ask her about a problem, but she didn’t know how? Why? She and Takamina were best friends. It couldn’t be so important…
“She didn’t tell me more. She told me she had to leave. But before, she wanted me to promise her I won’t tell anybody… But I’m worried.”
“I don’t know what it could be… She didn’t give you a hint? Something that could help you to understand?”
Miichan chose her word carefully before she said:
“I’m not sure… But I think I heard a woman telling her she had to hang up if she didn’t want her cell phone to be broken.”
They both froze. They were about to leave for to France… They couldn’t help their friend. It was painful for them to do nothing to help Acchan.
***
Acchan was working again. She hadn’t seen her manager yet. She wanted to leave the studio as soon as possible. She felt bad when she was working now. She didn’t feel as comfortable now… She was always anxious. She knew her play was probably horrible now. She couldn’t be her character. She couldn’t understand her character nor understand her feelings. All she had on mind was Hiroko. Hiroko… and what her manager did to her.
Just before the beginning of the recording, she had received a mail from her manager, telling her she would be waiting for her at the end of her work. She was afraid. She was afraid it might be true. As she opened the main door of the studio, she saw a black car waiting in the street. She knew this car. It was her manager’s. She felt like she had a lump in her stomach. She knew her manager had probably already seen her. All she could do was walking in the car’s direction.
As she reached the car, the door opened automatically.
“Remember,” her manager pointed to her as the idol sat by her side, “You own me popularity. To me, not to anybody else.”
What a cruel woman… But Acchan had no choice. She said nothing as the car left.
“Let’s go to my home this time…”
Acchan froze. It was the words she had feared almost everyday. She opened her mouth.
“Don’t say anything.” Her manager commanded.
“She’s going to kill me. She knows I talked to Miichan…” Acchan thought as she felt more anxious.
They arrived at Hiroko’s home. It was late. Acchan had no idea what the time could be. Midnight, maybe… Or one in the morning…
“Come in.” Hiroko said.
At the beginning, it was nothing bad. They ate together. As friend would do. Except Acchan didn’t feel she was eating with a friend. She felt Hiroko was a predator. A woman who waited to attack. But this time, Acchan felt ready. She felt ready to protect herself. Takamina would want her to protect herself. She would probably want her to attack too. She would say something like “Don’t let the other control you”. And Acchan wanted to do as Takamina would say.
“Sit here.” Hiroko said as she pointed the couch. “Don’t be afraid, I just want to talk.”
Acchan didn’t trust her for a second, but did as she said.
“See?” Her manager asked. “There’s nothing bad now. Stop believing I would rape you or something pervert like this. I’m not like this, understand?”
Achcan didn’t know if it was true, but she told herself that if it was, Hiroko would probably have done it. So she thought it must be true. But still, she was ready to attack.
“Let’s begin… Can I have your cell phone?”
***
Acchan left Hiroko house. She wasn’t asleep even though it was late. She had no idea how much time had passed. She was not crying, she was not sobbing… She was… nothing. She felt she had lost something about herself. She had been ready to attack… Like Takamina would probably have told her if she had called her.
But tonight, her manager went further than before… Acchan didn’t know exactly was her manager had done, but she had seen her sending a mail to someone. Then… She had taken her phone… And she had given her another one.
In her head, she had screamed so loud for help… For an unreachable help.
She opened her phone… Her new phone. She hoped it wasn’t too late… But it was. The only number she had on her phone was Hiroko’s. Takamina had changed her phone a week ago. She didn’t know her number by heart. She knew it because it was on her phone, but now… She was alone.
***
Takamina was in the airplane with the others members. They were ready to leave. The party had finished five hours ago. They had arrived to the airport at three o’clock in the morning. Two hours later, they were sitting in the airplanes, waiting for it to leave Narita airport. Takamina was smiling with excitement. She had waited all her life for this moment. France, AKB48, success… it was perfect.
“Are you sure you’ll be alright?” Miichan asked Takamina for the third time.
“Stop worrying about me!” Takamina answered with an angry voice.
She was not that sad! She wanted the others to understand. If she needed to be mad at her for that, she would be! Sure, she would miss Acchan, but since she had not received news from her since three weeks, it wasn’t so bad. And she couldn’t help but feel disappointed about the fact that Acchan had talked to Miichan instead of her. She closed her eyes, waiting for the takeoff. She opened them faster. She had forgotten to close her phone. She opened it and was about to close it when she received a mail. Acchan’s name appeared on her screen. Her anger vanished as she read the words that were on the screen.
“I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”
The airplane left at the same time. Takamina stared at the window for a long time. Mariko had told her not to cry… She didn’t. Was it true? Acchan really didn’t want to talk to her?
She wanted to get out of this airplane. But she was already gone.
TBC
ENDNOTE: Chapter 5's already finished since I had time because the forum was down. But I'll post it later... Or maybe sooner if I got many comments from you
Topic: Pink Vitriol (AtsuMina - COMPLETED) + Sequel - CHAPTER 4 (3/10/2012) (Read 105009 times)