@Kuji: You are the cause of too many instances of my insanity!
@AmberSan: Thanks! Haha I love 9ki crack.
@H!PShipper: Well Eripon's my favourite for drumming up crazy things, so yeah.
And as requested, the SayuReina reaction!
Obligatory warning: more insanity ahead.
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Love on a Highway"Michishige-san! Do you know..."
"Michishige-san! I really like what you're wearing today!"
"Michishige-san! Are you free later?"
"Michishige-san, do you like spaghetti?"
"Michishige-san! I love you!"
"Michishige-san~~!"
After a whole day of being pestered by her junior, Michishige Sayumi was almost ready to throw in the towel. 10 years in Morning Musume had never prepared her for this!
"I wonder if this was how Gaki-san felt like...?"
Sayumi had made a last minute escape back to the dressing room she shared with Tanaka Reina, her fellow 6th gen member. The pint-sized idol had been drinking carrot juice while flipping through a magazine when Sayumi burst in and locked the door behind her, making the cat-like girl raise an eyebrow.
"Sayu? What's wrong?"
Another first. Well, less shocking considering their recent thaw in relations. Reina had become more solicitous of Sayumi's well-being ever since Sayumi became leader and they were the only two Rokkies left at the top. The old Reina would have made a scathing comment about Sayumi barging in before, or more likely, simply ignored it. They didn't used to be close until now, and Sayumi was really grateful for the support her generation-mate was finally stepping up to provide.
"Michishige-san~~"
The echo from that voice reverbrated through the hallways, and the thin walls were no protection against it. Sayumi shivered involuntarily, a hunted look in her eyes. Reina took one look at her, and laughed.
"Ikuta?"
"Mou Reina, it's not funny! How did Gaki-san deal with this?"
Reina gave it all of two seconds of thought, then shrugged.
"I think she just gave in at the end."
Sayumi pouted, then heaved a great sigh as she flopped down on a chair next to Reina.
"I don't know what's up with Ikuta, I mean, usually she's always extremely chatty, but she talks to everyone all the time so that's fine..."
"I always just ignore her." Reina chirped in (un)helpfully. Sayumi shot her a sideways glare.
"You think I don't? Well today she's been latched on to me the way she used to follow Gaki-san around like a lost puppy. I thought she was just being Ikuta at first, but when she won't leave me alone at all throughout the day..."
"Maybe she just got interested in you. You know, like with Gaki-san." Reina seemed amused by the whole situation, but was trying to say something to assure her nervous generation-mate. Sayumi looked uncomfortable.
"She asked me out for a date!"
"Haaa?"
"I know! I thought she was just kidding at first, but then she kept pestering me about it and asking me what I liked, so I just tried to blow her off by being really vague and stuff, and now she seems to think I've said yes and won't leave me alone!"
Sayumi finished her rant and grabbed a bottle of water off the table, chugging it as she tried to calm her nerves. Reina recovered from her stunned state, patting the distraught Sayumi on the shoulder awkwardly.
"You
could always just pull rank on her and tell her off..."
"But she didn't actually do anything? Speaking of which, I
did tell her off for being a pest. She didn't seem to notice..."
Reina pursed her lips thoughtfully.
"You could just limit it to a meal right? Just humour her a couple of times and she might just lose interest. You could always call Gaki-san for advice."
The two Rokkies stared at each other for a long moment, then Sayumi raised an eyebrow.
"You
do know that Gaki-san was hopeless against Ikuta right?"
"I know." Reina grinned impishly. "Good luck, Sayu."
Sayumi threw a cushion at her generation-mate, who ducked, and then they both burst out laughing. That was when a knock at the door froze both of them up. Or well, froze Sayumi up. Reina just took another look at her and continued laughing.
Sayumi swatted her unhelpful fellow Rokkie and reverted to her bad childhood habit of gnawing on her nails for a moment, then remembered she was an idol and probably shouldn't do so. She was contemplating plucking at her eyebrows when a hesitant voice called through the door.
"Michishige-san? Do you have a moment?"
Sayumi lit up like a lantern. That voice was...!
Reina raised an eyebrow as Sayumi rushed to the door and unlocked it. Then she shrugged. It
was Sayashi, after all. Sayu's favourite junior. Reina was quite fond of the brat herself, though not quite to the extent of her probably obsessed generation-mate. Reina watched with some amusement as a visibly nervous Sayashi was led into the room like a lamb to the slaughter. She nodded in acknowledgement when the kid greeted her politely -- Sayashi never missed a beat when it came to etiquette -- and settled back with a grin on her face as she watched Sayu fawn over the girl.
This could be fun, Reina thought as she sipped at her juice.
She choked about 10 seconds later when Ikuta burst in through the now unlocked door as her designated bait cringed (subtly) away from the attentions of the leader.
"Michishige-san~ Your schedule's open this evening right? Let's go have some Italian food~"
"Eh!?"
Reina was still hacking on her carrot juice when someone handed her a napkin. When she was done cleaning up the mess, she glanced over and saw Riho hovering stealthily at her side. Clearly, the kid had taken the chance to crawl away from Sayu in the ensuing confusion. Reina snorted at the ingenuity of her juniors.
"Ikuta put you up to this, right?"
"Well, I couldn't say no..." Riho demurred, cleverly hiding behind Reina and eyeing the door wistfully. Unfortunately, because of the way Sayumi and Erina were positioned, she had no clear shot for escape at the moment. Reina chuckled.
"Can't tell if you're really brave or really dumb, kid."
Riho shrugged in response, wondering how the hell she was going to get out of the situation. At least Tanaka-san was agreeable enough to let her stick around!
~*~*~
Meanwhile, in another dressing room...
"What do you mean, Riho-chan went to help Eri-chan? Is Riho-chan going to be ok?"
"Well...Riho-chan's just there to create a distraction, it should be alright?"
"But this is Michishige-san we're talking about!"
At that moment, her phone beeped.
Kanon-chan, I'm trapped (・ω・);;;
Tanaka-san's with me now so I'm safe for the moment, but Eripon seems to be getting shoved out soon..."Oh dear." Mizuki's unhelpful comment came from over Kanon's shoulder. The youngest of 9th gen resisted the urge to facepalm and typed a quick reply back.
Don't worry, I'll send in help. Just hang on for now!The reply came back instantly.
Kanon-chan thank youuuuuu! I'm...hiiiiiiiiiiiiiThe message trailed off there. Silence in the room. Kanon leapt to her feet.
"10th gen should be next door, right?"
Mizuki nodded, and then hid a giggle to herself as Kanon dashed out of the door. This was getting entertaining!
~*~*~
"Mou, Ikuta you're annoying! Get out of here!"
"I'll pick you up at 7 later!"
"Get lost!"
Sayumi finally managed to drive her persistent junior out of the door, and locked it again for peace of mind. The nerve of that girl! And where was RihoRiho in all this?
Ah, there she was! The girl had grown too big to properly hide behind Reina. While Sayumi mourned on some level that RihoRiho was no longer all tiny and cute like she was when she first joined, there was no doubt that the girl was slowly growing into a woman...and to her surprise she found that she liked the metamorphosis. Not that it made the girl any less cute in the process. Case in point: RihoRiho still looked very much like a hamster with her cheeks puffed up as she huddled close to Reina, who was chatting with her.
"RihoRiho~ ♥"
Riho dropped her phone again for the second time that day. Reina whistled in amusement and reached for a pack of chips. What? Snacking was a perfectly legitimate activity!
As Riho was pulled away from Reina's side by a very persistent Sayumi, there was a sudden pounding at the door as the doorknob rattled.
"TANASA-TAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN~~~~~~"
"Ah, it's Sato." Reina paused in mid-munch. "Come in...ah, the door's locked." She crossed the short distance to the door and unlocked it, and was promptly greeted with a flying tackle from the 13 year old.
"Good afternoon, Tanaka-san." Came a husky voice from behind the high pitched squeals of the hyperactive Sato Masaki, who was latched on to Reina like a baby seal. Reina bore it with much grace -- it's amazing how one could get used to anything. She nodded at Kudou, while patting Sato on the head like she was hushing an overgrown puppy.
"Is Sayashi-san around?"
Reina glanced over her shoulder while Masaki stole her bag of chips. She flicked a finger into the kid's forehead, and Masaki made a face back at her.
"Should be somewhere around there. Oi Sato! My chips! Mine!"
Kudou Haruka skirted her favourite senior and her partner-in-crime, intent on her current target: Sayashi Riho. Who was currently looking too freaked out to even bend over to pick up her phone. And who was somehow still managing to smile as their leader wrangled her into a two-shot photo. Several shots, actually.
"Um, Michishige-san? Can I borrow Sayashi-san for a moment?" Haruka cleared her throat self-consciously. Sayumi turned.
"Oh? What for?"
"Well, we have voice training lessons..."
Behind Sayumi, Riho mouthed 'we do?', but was wise enough to not say anything out loud. Haruka was at her earnest best. Sayumi, ever the consummate professional at work, let out a sigh and let Riho go. The frazzled ace scooped up her phone and all but ran out of the door with Haruka in tow. They left Masaki exactly where she was. God knows Maa-chan would love nothing more than spending time with her beloved Tanasa-tan.
"Thank god you came." Riho breathed. "Did Kanon-chan send you? I'm pretty sure our voice training lessons aren't until tomorrow..."
"You looked like you could use the help. But yes, Suzuki-san dropped by to ask us for help." Haruka shoved her hands into her pockets. Riho beamed up at her.
"Thank you." A pause as they continued down the corridor. "You're free now right?"
"Well, the event's over already, so yup. Spring holidays are great!"
"Wanna go grab a drink? My treat. Since you saved me and all." Riho looked over at Haruka, who grinned back just as enthusiastically.
"Yosha! Free drinks~"
"I hope you don't mind Starbucks."
"Uwahhh, Sayashi-san likes adult drinks!"
"I'm sure they have ice cream too."
"Yay! Should we call Suzuki-san along?"
"Nah, she's got a recording later with Iikubo-chan I think."
"Cool. It's a date then!"
Riho paused in her tracks, eyeing Haruka dubiously. The boyish girl cocked her head questioningly.
"Did I say something wrong?"
"I was just thinking what Ayumi-chan would say if I stole her ikemen from her for the day."
"Ahahahaha! Ayumin isn't like that! Plus she's like a little sister to me! Even though she's older than me..."
"Ah, I get that! You know the other day..."
They continued walking. Back in 10th gen's dressing room, Ayumi sneezed, then rubbed at her nose.
Hay fever?, she wondered.
Spring
was a time of change, after all...