This story is a sort of expansion of Louise-sama's Game OS (https://louise48sama.wordpress.com/2013/12/16/louise-sama-game-jurimayu-os/). With how much potential drama it had and the amount of material Louise-sama packed into such a small story, I couldn't resist divulging in to the OS more, and so here it is. The Jurina and Mayu portrayed here is the same Jurina and Mayu in the original. I might deviate a bit from what you might have expected from the OS, but I'll do my hardest to stay true to my best interpretation of what Louise-sama intended the story as well as the characterizations of the characters to be.
Louise-senpai, if you're reading this, arigatou! You gave me a lot of freedom on this story, and the limits it has are juuuust right. I hope you'll enjoy this as well as the imminent torture your kouhai would endure. I blame you xDThe first arc, "Past", is exactly what it says on the tin. The events in this arc takes place six years before Game (https://louise48sama.wordpress.com/2013/12/16/louise-sama-game-jurimayu-os/). Here, Jurina and Mayu are in their first year of university. Drama ensues and stuff happens.
Finally, Yuu-kun desu. This is my first time writing for the AKB fandom (I'm pretty new to writing in general), so I hope you like the twistedness that is this product of my weird imagination. Comments and advice are more than welcome. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu~
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Game
Arc 1: The Past
Chapter 1: I Don’t Know
It all began like some cliché teenage rom-com anime.
The two girls were rushing in the halls of Akihabara University, each coming from a different direction, both fearing that if they were late, their professors would lock them out of class on the first day of school. As freshmen, the lazy vibe that their seniors exhibited hadn’t quite reached them yet—the quick pounding of their feet against solid marble testifying to this fact. Both of them dared to ignore the chiding of janitors and other professors, and they didn’t even bother to glance at the wet floor signs that were stationed in intervals along the corridors. Suffice to say, a collision occurred when the two found themselves at an intersection; the girls bumped into each other with a force rivaling a bullet train.
It was quite simple, really.
As Matsui Jurina looked into the dark brown pools that were Watanabe Mayu’s eyes, one could almost hear the pounding of her heart not entirely caused by her earlier cardiovascular exercise. As Watanabe Mayu took the offered hand of Matsui Jurina, a passerby could almost see the electricity emanating from their joined palms. As they greeted each other a strained and rather high-pitched “good morning”, one could certainly say that it was love at first sight.
And it was wrong.
The cliché, their blushing, their shy laughs, their breathless introductions…
Everything was wrong.
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Despite giving off the aura of a prim and proper 19-year-old in public, the inside of Mayu’s room looked like a 30-year-old otaku’s paradise. Figurines ranging from busty girls to muscled men lined shelves that also held anime DVD titles and knick-knacks from Comiket. Posters of
Haruhi Suzumiya,
Evangelion,
Detective Conan,
One Piece, and other popular shows were systematically arranged on the walls like Tetris blocks. Anime-themed goodies such as
Doraemon wall clocks,
Death Note banners, and a large bookshelf full of manga volumes and light novels could immediately be seen upon entering. The only real indications that the room belonged to a girl were the polka-dot pink wallpaper, the pink dresser, the pink laptop, the makeup kits strewn all over the place, and a framed photo sitting on top of a bedside table that featured two high-school girls inside a
purikura booth.
“S-So… this is my room, Jurina,” the twin-tailed girl nervously announced, giving a half-hearted smile. The only ones that had ever entered her “sanctuary” were her parents, her sister and—
“Kashiwagi-san was right,” Jurina chuckled as she looked around, amused by her surroundings. “This place is sooo like you. Pink. Anime. Pink. Anime. Anime. Pink. And I guess that sexy-looking dakimakura of Eren Jaeger over there is—”
“Kyaa!” Mayu immediately went over to said item, hastily bundled it up, and chucked it inside her closet. Luck was a funny thing, however, and her rather M-rated dakimakura of Levi tumbled out too, causing her attempt at hiding the embarrassing objects to take longer. At each second that passed with her holding a 2D character’s naked chest, her cheeks colored themselves varying intensities of scarlet.
“You did NOT see that,” she glared at the taller girl, slamming her closet door close. She just
had to leave Eren on the bed today.
Jurina wiggled her eyebrows playfully. “See what?” she replied, giving Mayu her signature Cheshire grin. “Blackmail material?”
“Ha-ha, very funny,” Mayu deadpanned. The monotony of her voice, however, betrayed a hint of fear.
Jurina slowly crept closer to the short girl. “Know what else is funny?” she said, the seriousness of her tone making Mayu swallow the lump that she suddenly felt in her throat. Jurina smirked at the action.
“What?”
“If a certain someone’s girlfriend finds out that that certain someone sleeps with semi-nude, sexy, titan-slaying anime characters.”
“You wouldn’t…” Mayu whispered, eyes wide, not hiding the desperation and fear in her voice. In retrospect, she could’ve said Yuki did already know about the pillows, but her mouth just had to say something before she could even think about it.
Jurina merely stared at her, their noses just centimeters apart. As dark orbs penetrated fearful ones, silence prevailed inside the room, and the bubbly atmosphere of the otaku wonderland was completely gone. Each breath Mayu exhaled was inhaled by the person pinning her against the door; each breath she inhaled came from the girl towering over her.
Oh no. As their eyes locked on each other, Mayu felt that familiar feeling. It was the feeling that seemed to spring up lately whenever the taller girl would come close to her. The feeling that confused her. During lunch break at the university, whenever Jurina would join her and Yuki at their usual spot, Mayu would feel her heart quicken when Jurina would sit right next to her, and she would unconsciously move towards her girlfriend to calm herself down. Since their schedules were almost the same, Jurina would often greet her in the mornings or after lectures, and Mayu would feel confused as to why her cheeks felt hot to the touch after the taller girl would leave with a “see you later”. It was a peculiar feeling: one that she wasn’t sure what meant, and one that she wasn’t sure whether she’d like to find out.
The recognizable scent of citrus coming from Jurina invaded her nostrils, making her blouse suddenly seem too tight and further complicating the unwelcome emotions rapidly going through her mind.
Actually, no.
It
wasn’t unwelcome.
In the deep recesses of Mayu’s addled mind, she knew that it was anything but unwelcome. She wasn’t sure of her feelings, but she was sure that right now, with their faces so close together—so near yet so far, the taller girl’s thin lips suddenly seemed so… inviting. Mayu could almost… if she leaned enough… just almost…
If I could just… Jurina suddenly pulled back and laughed.
“It’s like Mari-nee-san’s infecting me with her sadism,” she wiped her eyes, doubled over. “I gotta admit, your face was priceless.”
Mayu blinked in confusion at her friend, trying to process what just happened. With her back still pinned on the wall, she clutched her chest, taking quick note of how the beating of her heart matched the drumming in her ears.
Earlier… right there… was she just about to…?
“Don’t worry, Mayu,” Jurina said, taking the stunned girl’s hand. “Your er… secret,” she wiggled her eyebrows again, “is safe with me. Shall we do that project now?”
Mayu stared at the hand clutching hers intently, as if engraving the back of Jurina’s palm inside her mind. The hand felt rough, slightly bony, and the calluses on Jurina’s fingertips contrasted with the smoothness of Mayu’s. Jurina’s hand was bigger, firmer, and was more akin to a man’s than a woman who wasn’t even twenty. However, as Mayu squeezed it ever so slightly, she noticed that her hand—her smaller hand—fit perfectly inside it, and she unconsciously smiled at how Jurina’s warmth was slowly transferring to her.
She was holding Jurina’s hand.
Her
friend’s hand.
She was smiling at its warmth.
Without thinking, she pulled back.
“R-Right!” Mayu stuttered, caressing the hand that Jurina held moments before. “M-My laptop’s right here. I-I’ll log it in for you.” She quickly stomped towards her desk, opening the device. The feelings inside her were so jumbled up, and she couldn’t make sense of it all. As she waited for the laptop to boot up, she tapped her cheeks, telling herself to get a grip. The thought of Yuki picking her up for their six-month anniversary dinner suddenly came to mind, but it somehow only made her feel worse. Just what the heck was going on with her?
“Alright,” Jurina smiled, neither fazed by Mayu’s sudden actions nor noticing how Mayu seemed to twitch at her voice. “I have the books in my bag. Is it really okay for me to use your laptop while you research like some ancient scholar?”
“It’s fine,” Mayu curtly replied, avoiding her friend’s face. The blue design of her laptop’s login screen suddenly seemed interesting. “I used your computer last time, so it’s only fair.”
“But it’s only ‘cuz you lost at rock-paper-scissors,” Jurina retorted, taking out the heavy books from her bag and placing them on Mayu’s bed. “I propose we play a round to see who really gets to use the laptop.”
Mayu dared to glance behind her, taking a peek at the person currently ignorant of how uncomfortable she was. Once she saw Jurina smiling at her, she quickly looked away, immediately feeling her cheeks flush. She closed her eyes, praying that the heat she felt inside her would cool down.
Stop it. Stop being so— “Moshi moshi? Mayu?” Jurina called, finally noticing her friend’s weird behavior. “Are you alright? Should we postpone this?”
Taking a quick breath, Mayu internally berated herself. What was the matter with her? Why can’t she even turn to meet Jurina’s gaze? And why did she suddenly feel like she’ll collapse if she did?
“I-I’m fine,” she timidly replied, not risking another glance at the taller girl. She prayed that Jurina wouldn’t notice the shakiness of her voice. Her throat felt so dry, and she knew that if she swallowed, she would feel a sting. Why did it suddenly feel so hard to talk to her friend?
Jurina sighed, “If it bothers you that much, I’ll use the laptop. It’s not a problem, really.” She started to move forwards towards the desk, right next to the shorter girl. She didn’t notice how Mayu seemed to tense upon hearing her footsteps, and she was surprised to hear a startled yelp when she placed a hand on Mayu’s shoulder.
“Don’t!” the shorter girl growled. Mayu forcefully shrugged Jurina’s hand off, backing away from her, and Mayu’s side painfully hit against the wall. She turned, their eyes finally met, and she could see the confusion written on Jurina’s face. The taller girl’s eyebrows were knitted together; worry clouding her dark eyes, lips upturned in a hurt frown.
Mayu didn’t blame her. Her actions stunned her too. And it wasn’t as if Jurina knew just what was happening to her; heck, she didn’t even know what was happening herself. All she knew was that she could still feel the taller girl’s hand on her shoulder even though she could plainly see Jurina holding up the same hand in front of her. She stared back at the taller girl’s eyes, trying to convey that she was sorry; she didn’t know what came over her. The only thing that Mayu wanted right now was to hide—away from Jurina, and away from the jumbled up emotions she was feeling.
A minute of silence passed, with each second becoming increasingly awkward for the both of them. When Jurina finally shrugged and scratched the back of her head, the breath that Mayu had been unconsciously holding slowly escaped her lips.
“W-We should er, do this some other time instead,” Jurina said, her tone resigned, slowly making her way to the books on Mayu’s bed. She carefully picked each one up and returned them inside her bag. All the while, she avoided Mayu’s eyes, focusing on the mundane task that seemed more interesting than anything in the colorful room.
“I… I…” she finally faced Mayu, eyes downcast. She was holding her bag so tight that her already pale knuckles turned white. “Call me when you feel better… Watanabe-san.”
Jurina left the room, not even bothering to close the door.
Lips pursed, Mayu shuffled over to her desk, opened her cell phone, and dialed the number of the person who had loved her since middle school.
“Yuki… Sorry, I’m feeling a little sick today… I think we should cancel…”