It's like 6am in the morning now and I'm in no condition to do comment replies...so I shall simply present you with chapter and worry about it another time. =D
Sorry about the wait, it took some time to get it all down in my head. Plus I had to get down from the post-exam high...yes, exams are over YAY! Yup.
Enough babbling, chapter time~
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File #11Eri yawned widely as she traipsed groggily down a relatively empty hallway. She had woken up late, thereby missing her early morning class at the university, but she had come anyway. She did have a lesson afterwards in any case, so missing her first class didn't mean she had to miss her second one.
It was not that Eri was that much of a conscientious student; it was just that when she was at school, she was out of the direct surveillance imposed on her by her father. It was the result of numerous attempts involving begging, pleading and assorted other probably underhanded tactics that she managed to get him to agree to have her bodyguards wait outside of campus instead of trailing her like obedient guard dogs.
In any case, they were merely a quick call away, and Eri had the suspicion that her father had probably stuck tracking devices on most of her belongings in case of any kidnapping. He was that kind of man, always planning for the worst case scenario.
Blinking sleepily, Eri peered around the relatively empty premises. Here and there students milled around, some looking just as groggy as Eri did, others being somewhat more alert thanks to the cups of coffee they were nursing in their hands. It was a scene Eri was used to seeing every time she had morning classes; everyone seemed to be a veritable zombie until they had coffee or after noon...whichever came first.
Coffee definitely seemed like the first order of business. Making a quick detour, Eri headed down to the cafe where they sold better coffee than the lousy canned ones from the machine. A few minutes later she emerged with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand, sipping contentedly as coherence returned to her brain.
The hot liquid helped to kickstart her cranial functions, which led her to actually start thinking. Naturally, her thought processes followed her whims, which flitted around like a fickle bumblebee in search of pollen. Currently, the object of her thoughts revolved around a certain enigmatic freelance journalist.
Takahashi Ai, age 21. Parents divorced when she was young, custodial rights given to her father. Both parents confirmed dead at present time, sole remaining relative being a younger half sister. Portfolio centering around war-related photography, and was involved in an undisclosed hostage situation overseas that was successfully resolved without much public outcry.
Yes, Eri had done her research. She might not look like it, but she had inherited her father's natural inquisitivity. Plus, her father's name seemed to open doors when it came to accessing archival records in general. Having a government agent for a father
could be useful at times.
Frankly, this person fascinated her. The concept of a
woman, traveling alone and
free, to dangerous and exotic locales boggled Eri's imagination. For someone who had lived her entire life in metropolitan Tokyo under the watchful eye of numerous custodians and even more bodyguards, that kind of freedom to simply come and go as one willed was completely alien to her.
Eri had been brought up as a proper girl...that is, her place was to be in the household. Traveling for leisure usually meant trips to the other typical shopping and fashion capitals, like Paris or Milan for example. And even that usually involved a small entourage to accompany her as dictated by her domineering father. Eri could not imagine how it was like to simply take a backpack and go off on a trip somewhere, it was a move that never had been available to her.
Thus, a person, a
character like one Takahashi Ai fascinated her. That a mere woman could stand up to the men that ran their lives, and be free to explore her own interests...Eri felt seduced by the thought of freedom, though knowing that it could never really be, not for herself.
Her thoughts were briefly interrupted as she turned a corner, running straight into someone else. The resulting scramble was punctuated by the loss of her papers, which were scattered all around her after the collision. She did manage to save her coffee though, if nothing else. Funny how it all worked out.
"Ah! I'm sorry!" The stranger babbled, quickly helping to gather up the scattered papers. Eri looked on languidly for a moment, before unhurriedly picking up a few of the pieces closer to her and letting the other girl do most of the work.
"I'm sorry for bumping into you. Here, your papers." Eri looked at the girl. Pretty and fashionable, with dark hair and unbelievably fair skin. Shrugging, Eri took the papers back, feeling charitable enough not to throw a fit at the other girl for bumping into her.
They parted ways, shoulders brushing past each other as they moved in opposite directions. The musical jingle of a ringtone lit the air as they passed each other, punctuated by a clear voice as the other girl answered the phone.
"What do you want now?" Pause. "No I refuse to miss class again." Growing fainter now, as the distance between them increased. "Oh all
right, whatever, be that way. I'll see you..."
Boyfriend, most likely. Eri surmised as the other girl went out of earshot, still talking animatedly into her phone. Eri had already lost interest; by the time she reached the next corner her thoughts had already returned to its previous track.
She was that kind of person. Simple, yet complicated. Easy to figure out, yet difficult to understand. The best and worst incorporated.
Kamei Eri wasn't the type to care. She moved purely by passion, reined in only by duty. The two had yet to come into conflict, but it would soon.
Soon.
~*~*~
"You had better have a good reason for making me miss class
again." A disgruntled Michishige Sayumi glared at a nonchalant Takahashi Ai, who shut her book and looked up with a pleased expression as her companion sat down opposite her.
"I'm paying, as usual. That's really all you need to know." Ai informed Sayu with a matter-of-fact tone, a teasing edge to her voice. Sayu rolled her eyes.
"Yeah yeah, the customer is king...don't tell me you're thinking of
that this early in the morning?" And there it was, the counter-thrust. Ai took it with a smile.
"Time enough for
that later. I just wanted to see you. Isn't that good enough?"
The look Sayumi gave her was skeptical. When she spoke, it was heavy with sarcasm.
"Watch it, Takahashi. I might almost believe that you're in love with me."
Ai's return smirk was equally ironic. Leaning forward to close the distance between their faces, the older woman flashed a cocky grin.
"Only as much as you are with me, usagi-chan."
The staredown lasted all of a few seconds before Sayu tore her eyes away, rolling them heavenward as she leaned back into her chair.
"Honestly, Ai-chan, you're incorrigible." She just seemed amused now, and her companion equally so. They shared a mutual glance of understanding, the lies and truth they shared making their bond all the more complicated...yet painfully simple at the same time.
"Naturally." Ai laced her fingers together as she gazed intently at Sayu. After a few moments of intense scrutiny, Sayumi finally burst out.
"Now what? Can't keep your eyes off me because I'm just that kawaii?"
Full lips curved into a lazy smile. Ai leaned one side of her face into an upturned palm, staring at Sayu with her head held sideways like that.
"Always the narcissist. I
am going to miss you."
Sayu fought the curiosity from her voice. "What, are you going somewhere?"
"Perhaps." Pale fingers played with silken strands of hair. "I'm going to be otherwise...occupied for a while, so I won't be meeting you quite as often. Just letting you know in case you thought I dropped off the face of the earth or something."
Sayu couldn't help but notice the serious note behind the lighthearted tone. She had spent enough time with Ai to be able to sense such things. There were still so many things she didn't know about the older girl, and she was fairly sure she didn't
want to know.
"Ah~ That's good, I can finally catch up on my rest for once." She showed none of her concern for Ai, knowing that the latter would not appreciate any unneeded emotion between them. There was only the passion of the flesh between them, and an unspoken camaderie of those who had too much to hide. No more, and no less. The lines had already been drawn from the start.
"You should work out more often, usagi-chan. Your stamina is horrible." Ai teased back, eliciting a light flush across said bunny girl's cheeks.
"You give me enough of a workout any day, why should I bother?" Sayu shot back instantly, and a self-satisfied smirk crossed Ai's face.
"Is that so~ Then you're probably going to gain weight when I'm not around, hmm?"
Sayu snorted. "Contrary to what you think, I actually have other activities to worry about...like rescuing my grade for the semester, no thanks to
you."
"Touche." Ai seemed pleased by the verbal sparring. Standing up suddenly, she held out her hand to Sayu with a flourish, falling back on her gallant persona.
"Will you do me the honor of keeping me company today, my lady?"
Sayu took the hand. There really was no question about the answer, was there?
~*~*~
Much,
much later, they lay tangled between the sheets, panting slightly from their exertions. Well, one was panting slightly. The other was gasping for air like a fish out of water. Ai's comments about Sayu's lack of stamina was not completely unfounded.
"I am
definitely going to miss this..." Ai breathed into the back of Sayu's neck, her lips brushing over the numerous marks she had made earlier with her teeth.
There was no response from Sayu, who was still trying to get her world back in focus after the mind-shattering orgasm Ai had just given her. In the darkness of the room, unable to see each other, relying on touch alone to guide them...it was the only time they could not hide, not lie, exposed to each other as they were, naked as the day they were born.
Upon recovering, Sayu squealed again as Ai's fingers found a particularly sensitive spot, before receding to low, continuous moan as Ai continued to explore her with a studied intensity.
"Ah~" Sayu whined softly, whimpering in a way Ai was certain no one could make her do. She was just that confident that no one could get such a response like she could from the younger girl. Arrogance, or perhaps just self-assuredness. It was a matter of pride for her.
"Ah....Ai..." Sayu breathed out, her world already starting to spin around her again as Ai teased her with her hands. Seconds later, her world exploded yet again in another shattering climax.
She actually saw stars this time. Ai leaned down and kissed her temple softly.
"Good girl." The way she always did. Sayu, as usual, would be too busy trying to regain her senses to even...
"Don't die." The whisper cut through the room like a chill wind. A soft, wispy sound, huffed out by someone very much out of breath. Ai stilled, still on top of Sayu, but her hands had frozen.
Clear, watery eyes looking up, through the darkness. They could not see each other, but Ai definitely felt it as Sayu's small hand cupped her cheek, pulling her closer.
"You can't die." Repeated, more firmly this time. Ai closed her eyes, felt the warmth traveling from Sayu's palm and on into her. She leaned into the caress, just briefly.
"You talk too much."
The next time, they came together.
As if it was their first time, as if it would be their last. Past and future didn't exist; there was only the now.
Only the now mattered.
Now and always.
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There. My brain's about to collapse.
Comment lots!
Topic: Nocturne [13/02 - Epilogue (END)] (Read 133802 times)