Wow, it's really been over 6 months again? >.> How time flies... So much for updating the timeline.
Well, once again I'm sure everyone's forgotten what's happened, but maybe there's a little bit of a refresher in this new chapter. I really hope it's not as long a wait for #47...
Chapter 46“After seeing the two of you when she woke there, I’m not sure it’s best for you to be seeing her right now,” Kuromi warned in a low voice as they continued down the hall from Saki’s room.
Miyabi did her best to keep that fixed grin on her face. “I can hardly just never see my friends again, Kuro-chan,” she replied in a no-nonsense voice. “Especially since we work together.”
Kuromi glanced at her from beneath her dark bangs. “It looked far more than ‘friendly’ between the two of you in there. She’s the one you were seeing for a while, isn’t she?”
“She’s my Captain,” Miyabi replied, looking beneath her own bangs. “And yes, there was a time we were very close.” She tried not to say what was really on her mind, which was how wonderful it felt when Saki pulled her down onto the bed with her… even almost kissed her! Things had been confused again in her mind since that dance they had, and then with Risako…
It was really quite a comfort, after what she was going through concerning Rii-chan and Momo, to suddenly somehow feel like she could go to Saki again. Still, she was also uncertain about what was happening. After the events surrounding their breakup she wasn’t sure if she could totally trust what was going on with the girl, and especially between the two of them.
Had Saki cheated on her? She’d denied it. Miyabi
had cheated though in kissing Risako. No matter how she tried to sugarcoat it as just something between best friends, that’s what happened. At least she could shrug off what happened with Momo. Still, was it really her that shouldn’t be trusted? Could she even trust herself?
Despite the counseling she’d undergone the past few days a blinding light flashed through her mind, followed by unidentifiable screaming.
She only remembered where she was when she felt a hand tighten around her own, and she shot a wide-eyed look at the girl beside her while realizing she’d stopped walking, and was even clutching tightly onto her old friend.
“It’s okay, Miya,” Kuromi said, concern in her voice again. “It’s not going to be easy to deal with everything for a while yet. That’s why you’re here.” She gently tugged on her arm, and the two began walking slowly down the hall again.
“That’s also why I think you need to be careful with your friend,” she continued.
“Her name’s Saki,” Miyabi said absently, as well as a bit annoyed.
“Saki-chan then,” Kuromi corrected smoothly. “You were thinking about her when you froze just then, weren’t you?”
“…No,” Miyabi replied eventually, rather self-consciously. “I was thinking about myself. She has nothing to do with this.”
“Any strong emotion, no matter its origin, can cause you to lose just enough of that precious control. Isn’t that what Nakagawa-sensei has been talking about with you?”
“I remember what Nakagawa-sensei says, Kuro-chan,” Miyabi replied flatly, remembering the counselor that was meant to help her through… what she was going through. The girls walked in silence for a ways until Kuromi sighed. “What is it now?” Miyabi asked, trying to keep her mood from darkening again.
Surprisingly, Kuromi smiled over at her. “I was just thinking back to what happened in that room, and how you’re doing a good job of upholding the stereotype.”
“What stereotype?” Miyabi replied, somehow feeling the tension lightened a bit.
Kuromi cast one more glance over at her before continuing, “That there are many witches who are lesbians.”
Miyabi stopped in her tracks again, and spluttered, “But I’m not a… a…”
“A what?” Kuromi asked, turning to face her with a grin. “A witch? A lesbian?”
Miyabi just stared at the girl. She hadn’t heard someone address her so calmly in those terms before – they were both words that generally caused fear and distrust among people. Many people also used them as dirty words, to describe those who either were evil or didn’t conform to the rest of society, which she’d heard all her life was as bad as a crime. She herself had trouble when the other members found out about her “religion”, and them calling her a witch then definitely did have negative connotations.
But it was true, wasn’t it? All of it. Use words like “Neopagan” all she would, she was a witch. And as for the other… “Well, I’ve liked some boys,” she defended, going a light shade of scarlet.
“Uh huh,” Kuromi said, and took her arm to continue walking her down the hall. “You liked them cause it was expected, right? Are there any boys you like now?” Miyabi stayed silent. “It’s only girls on your mind anymore, isn’t it? We’re the only ones that can turn you on.” She definitely heard the grin in her voice now.
“This…” Miyabi began, swallowing, her face still coloring, “This talk is starting to get a bit weird…” She was also suddenly very conscious of the arm hooked around her own. She glanced anxiously toward Kuromi’s face again. “Are you saying that you’re also…?”
Her grin falling into a smile, the raven-haired girl shook her head. “Not that I know of. Unless you meant a witch, which of course is true,” she added with a giggle.
“Besides,” Miyabi went on, still feeling defensive and unable to change the subject. “It isn’t just me, y’know. Half the girls in Berryz are…” She paused a moment before finishing quietly, “They like other girls.”
Kuromi shrugged. “I said it was a stereotype, didn’t I? Like I said, I’m not gay. Maybe it is more unique to your group that those kind of feelings come out since you all are so close and spend so much time together. Still,” she continued, giving Miyabi a sidelong glance, “Anyone who finds out about it all is gonna think of you as just another lesbian witch.”
Miyabi sighed dramatically. “I’m never gonna have a normal life, am I?”
Kuromi smiled again, turning Miyabi around a corner to where she just realized was toward Nakagawa-sensei’s office. Was it time for another appointment already? “Is that ever something you’ve wanted?” the girl asked appropriately gaily, and Miyabi gave a titter. “Orange juice?” she followed with, finally offering Miyabi the other bottle she carried as she popped open one of her own. “I have a feeling you’re gonna be doing a lot of talking…”
…
After getting dressed in what she realized must actually be Miyabi’s clothes and wondering what had happened to hers in the destruction at the café, Saki walked out of the bright yet bland room in the black-threaded red blouse and jeans. She peered up and down the hall as if expecting to see some crazy person jump out at her from nowhere, but it was silent.
“Miya?” she asked into the air, but there was no response. Great. What was she supposed to do now? She supposed she could just stay in her room, but she wondered if staying in there much longer might really drive her crazy to the point she belonged here.
Shrugging, she padded off down one way, peering nervously at the doors she passed while wondering if any other “patients” were inside. Maybe this wasn’t even really a true asylum. After all,
she obviously wasn’t crazy. Neither was Miya.
Are you sure about that? something asked within her head.
After all, Miya was the cause of that horrific scene at the café, wasn’t she? Maybe she didn’t want to believe it, but she knew what the girl was capable of.
Why, though? What had caused her to completely lose it? Ever since then events had seemed to run like a blur to her. Waking up after the explosion, then waking up in the hospital and encountering Momo before somehow falling asleep again and then winding up…
Momo.
Somehow it all seemed to come back to her quirky little friend. There were the just… unbelievable events at the hospital, which she had even been unable to tell Miya about. Then at the café…
She opened herself again to memories surrounding that horror which she’d been trying to repress, and remembered how scared she’d been when she saw Miya. The girl had hardly seemed herself – frantic, cold, visibly full of malice and devoid of pity. Miya had been trying to just push her away it seemed.
What did she have against Momo? Was she still upset thinking the two of them had kissed? Even the thought caused bile to rise into Saki’s throat after its part in the end of their relationship. She didn’t know why Miya believed it, but she was still trying to live and deal with the consequences of it among everything else.
No. Surely it wasn’t that. Why would that cause her, after all this time, to so completely lose control like that? It had to be something more immediate…
Then she remembered.
“Risako,” she breathed as she walked, and self-consciously glanced around her at the empty hall. Now she thought about the girl’s words, did she think Momo had something to do with Risako not loving her? How could that be?
Wasn’t Miya, like her, just grateful to have Momo back with them? After all, she was the one so insistent on bringing her back…
Finally, after turning a corner, she saw what looked like a nurse’s station at the end of the hall. There were two uniformed women behind the counter, and others in robes who looked like they must be patients.
Swallowing, but thinking she had to find someone to ask where Miya was, she walked toward them. One of the nurses caught her eye and frowned at her as if trying to place a face, but before she reached them another woman stepped out of a staircase that ended beyond a door just beside her.
Her eyes widened momentarily at seeing Saki, but after giving a quick glance back to the nurses, the woman took her arm lightly and turned her toward the stairs.
“Shimizu-san,” she said in a calm, polite voice. “I’m surprised to see you up and about already. Even though Miyabi-chan wouldn’t leave your side no matter what we said…”
“Um,” Saki began dumbly, wondering at this woman who apparently knew her well. “Do you know where Miya is? She left with her friend, and…”
“Oh, if Kuromi-chan finally peeled her away from you, I’m sure she’s seeing her doctor now,” the woman replied as they descended the stairs into a lobby area. There were certainly more people here, and she tried to shrink and disappear when she saw patients walking unsteadily around, some shouting randomly at the walls followed by a nurse that came running. This certainly was a real asylum, after all.
“Her doctor?” Saki asked as the woman ushered her quickly through the room. Despite her insecure feeling, the others there hardly even seemed to notice them. When she finally decided no one was going to come up and stab her, she blinked up at the woman again. “And who are you, exactly?”
“Oh, I apologize,” came the reply as the lady blinked big, birdlike eyes magnified by her glasses. “My name is Yasutake. I’ve been working with Miyabi-chan and Kuromi-chan for… a long time now.”
“Are you from section six?” Saki asked without thinking. She bit off the last word but it was too late. The hand on her arm stiffened.
When she turned her face up again, the woman’s eyes were fixed on her. The gaze was perhaps still bird-like, but now they were hawk’s eyes scrutinizing her. “Where did you hear that?” she asked in a low voice, and then Saki thought she saw some fear enter her eyes. “Did Miyabi…?”
Saki shook her head quickly, mentally kicking herself. Miya had even warned her not to reveal too much to the people here. How was she going to take it back now though? It obviously meant something to the woman, just as it had meant something to the men who visited her in the hospital when Momo had asked them about it. How had the girl known about something like that anyway? Well, if she’d already broken the ice, she might as well stick her foot in… if with a very thick boot.
“So Miya doesn’t know who you really are yet?” When the woman wouldn’t meet her eyes, she actually started to feel a bit angry. It seemed like Miya was putting a lot of trust in these people to help her, and yet they couldn’t even be honest with her about who they are? Of course, she still had absolutely no clue what it was they could be hiding. She just knew they were hiding
something. Maybe it was her protective instinct coming out. Not only was Miya her responsibility as Berryz Captain, but… she also loved her. “If you’re putting her in any kind of danger…” she warned, and felt the hand fall away from her arm.
“We’re not putting her in any more danger than she puts herself,” the woman said in a still-hushed voice, leaning down toward her, and then looked around them before trying a door and pulling her into a room.
Saki leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms at her chest as she watched the woman carefully. For her part, the other stared cautiously back. Saki could see the questions in her eyes, but did not intend to let them breathe. She was used to dealing with people to a certain extent the past several years as Captain, and she had a feeling this encounter could be a bit more significant than discussing songs with Tsunku.
“So what does the government plan to do with Miya?” she asked, piecing together what she’d heard. “Make sure she uses her powers for ‘good’?”
“All we hope to do right now is help your friend,” Yasutake replied. Saki noted her choice of words. She apparently didn’t realize the extent of their relationship.
What relationship? that voice asked in her head again, but she squashed it down for the moment.
“You’re obviously an astute girl,” the woman continued. “You know what she has done. There were many people killed at that café.”
A sliver of pain shot through Saki at the remembrance again, but this wasn’t a time to go by her normal instinct and avoid conflict. “And what exactly makes you best qualified to help her?” she asked calmly in return. “She doesn’t even know who you really are.”
“Well,” the woman said, appearing frustrated. “We’re better than the alternative, aren’t we?”
Saki almost continued on, but paused to think on what she’d just heard. Alternative? Miyabi going crazy? No. It sounded like she was referring to something in particular. Out of the fog of her memory of recent days, something else Momo had said came to her.
“…Section five?” she asked. The woman’s eyes visibly narrowed, and Saki even noticed her breath catch.
“Just how much do you know…?” she asked in a rather hoarse voice, despite that they were now in a private room.
Saki scrambled for some sort of plan. Momo. Unbeknownst to the woman before her,
she’s the one of them who really seemed to know what was going on. But why? Could Saki really trust her? It was something else to think on, but the suspicion of what she herself might know gave her leverage right now. How best to use it?
Quickly deciding what was best for now was to not reveal anything more, especially since she had no idea what any of it might mean in the bigger picture, she came to a decision that combined both her emotions and her sense of rationality.
“You said Miya was seeing her doctor, right?” The woman blinked, but nodded. “I’d like to see her, if you don’t mind.” When the other stared on as she turned to the door, she turned back as if in afterthought. “Oh, by the way, despite however
pure your intentions might be, I still do not trust you. Or Section Five,” she threw in. The slight wince continued to confirm her guesses.
“But you know what?” she continued. “You can prove it to me. Leave Miya in my protection.” Her heart started racing as she went on with her bold idea. “As long as she’s here, I want to be near her all the time. Go to her ‘counseling sessions’. Stay in the same room.”
“Those sessions are private, you know,” the woman murmured.
Saki shrugged unconcernedly. “With her approval of course. I take it that’ll satisfy any legalities? Don’t wanna break the law right in front of the government, after all.”
“Yes,” she murmured, now staring at Saki in amusement. “I’m sure that would be acceptable.”
Despite the act she was putting on, Saki couldn’t believe it. The woman was about to give into everything she asked for! The problem was, that just worried her more. How valuable was the information this Yasutake thought she might know?
Then the reality of the wild plan’s acceptance hit her. She would get to be with Miya constantly as her ‘protector’, which in a place like this would likely leave the two of them alone for the vast portion of their time. And they would share the same room, perhaps even the same bed… Aside from the setting, it was like her dream come true ever since she’d realized she was still in love with the girl.
That is of course, if Miya herself accepted it.
Topic: Berry Beautiful [Volume 2] (Read 112972 times)