File #13"An~" The tired groan from the back row of the half-filled lecture theater sounded louder than intended no thanks to the acoustics of the place.
However, since everyone else was still in a half awake status with the lecturer yet to be in sight, no one really cared. Neither did the person in question, who flopped over like a dead fish on top of the little writing space attached to her seat.
"...really hurts...owie..." Michishige Sayumi grumbled a half-hearted complaint as she stared out through lidded eyes before letting them flutter shut. Her
whole body felt like it had been put through the blender and then spun dry in the nearest washer.
Really, it's been a couple of days since
that time, and she
still hadn't fully recovered from the aftereffects. Maybe she really did need to improve her stamina...
"Ahh...baka Ai-chan..." She mumbled almost incoherently, her speech slightly slurred as she drifted ever closer to dreamland...only to be yanked out rather abruptly by a sharp tug on her ear.
"Hey! What was that...eh, Gaki-san?" The sleepy Sayumi grinned broadly at the appearance of her senpai, whilst rubbing sheepishly at her ear.
Speaking of ears...she quickly smoothed her sleek black hair over it. She was fairly sure that there were still some faintly visible teeth marks left there...
"Working too hard at your part-time job again, Sayumin?" Same old concern, same old Gaki-san. Or should it be said,
almost.
Despite her sleepy state, Sayumi was still an observant girl, and there was no way she could have missed the absence of the usual vibrant sparkle in her genki senpai's eyes. Those lively eyes seemed somehow...dead...to her. As if someone had stolen Risa's soul and left an automaton in its place. The instinctive motherly comment was just that: instinctive. The lack of exaggerated reactions sort of highlighted that to her.
"Nn...I suppose you could say so...I'm getting sort of a break for now though." Sayumi started cautiously. With Ai off doing god knows what, she would probably be having less strenuous nights out. Which was good, since she needed the recovery time. Ai's usual generosity when it came to paying her was also very useful, since it meant that she didn't really have to go out with anyone else for the next month or so at least, unless she wanted to.
Thus, with her own financial issues in good shape at the moment, Sayumi turned her attention to her haggard senpai, who looked tired beneath that radiant smile that did not seem as cheerful as usual. Something was obviously wrong with the girl.
"Good to hear. You shouldn't overwork yourself." Always putting others before herself. Sayumi could appreciate that aspect of Gaki-san's character, but honestly, sometimes the older girl really had to learn how to be selfish for her own sake once in a while.
"I'll be fine Gaki-san. How about
you? You don't look too good..." Sayumi asked intently, but Risa simply smiled gently with a little shake of her head.
"No, I'm fine. Just a little...tired."
Anyone else would have believed her. Sayumi, however, didn't. She
knew people, and her instincts when it came to this sort of thing had so far failed to let her down before. Those downcast eyes, that wistful smile, distant expression...something had obviously happened.
"I know that I'm in no place to question you, since we really haven't known each other for all that long..." Here she placed a hand over Risa's pale ones, clasping it tightly. "But as your concerned kouhai, I'm allowed to show my concern right?" Sayumi smiled. "You don't have to keep it all to yourself, really. If you need anyone to talk to, you can always look for me."
Risa looked up, their eyes meeting, and Sayumi was struck again by how lost those eyes were. Her smile was a little more genuine, although still holding that aura of sadness.
"Thanks Sayu, but it's not something you'll be able to understand."
"It's A--Takahashi, isn't it?" Sayumi's voice came out before she could stop herself, and she only just managed to stop herself from calling out Ai's name with that much familiarity. Wouldn't do to show off their underground connections, after all.
The minute flinch as Risa withdrew her hands confirmed the suspicion that Sayu had birthed on the spur of the moment. Sayumi looked at the older girl seated next to her, feeling a surge of pity for her. She knew first-hand how callous Ai could be, sensed it under the facade, even though the woman
could be disarmingly sweet when she wanted to be.
Knowing that it was not her place to probe any further than Risa was willing to reveal, Sayumi nodded half to herself since Risa was still looking very intently at her own feet.
"I understand. You don't have to tell me what happened."
I can still see the rope burns on your wrists...ah, Ai-chan, how could you do this to someone like Gaki-san... "But if you want to talk about it, I'm always available." A comforting smile from the bunny girl, rewarded with a barely perceptible nod of Risa's lowered head.
"Do remember to take care of yourself though, and..." Sayumi, who had been subconsciously reaching for Risa's outstretched arm, suddenly paused mid-sentence quite abruptly.
"What's this?" Before Risa could react, Sayumi flipped the wrist over to reveal some obviously fresh scars, cuts actually, on the older's lower arm. Risa quickly pulled her arm back into herself, cradling it protectively near her chest. Sayu pinned her senpai with a deadly look.
"Niigaki-senpai...don't tell me...you tried to kill yourself?" She kept her voice low to preventing alerting anyone else, but there was no mistaking the urgency in her tone.
"...it was an accident." Risa was rubbing the marks with her thumb, as if they would disappear by that action alone. Sayumi took another long, hard look at the arm, before raising an eyebrow.
"Right, and I'm no longer ichiban kawaii." The bunny girl's tone held none of its usual lightheartedness. "Gaki-san...Risa...is she really worth it?"
Risa looked up slowly, their gazes penetrating each other. When the older spoke, there was no hesitation nor regret in her voice, only a firm, quiet declaration.
"If I lost her, there's no longer any meaning in this world." In a lower voice, she continued. "If not for Ai-chan, I would be dead. If not for Ai-chan, I wouldn't be me."
A distant smile. Luminous tears lighting up those dulled eyes, making them seem almost alive again.
"Ai-chan is my everything."
Sayumi looked at the broken girl next to her, and silently cursed that damnable flirt into the lowest level of hell for a week for hurting such a wonderful person. She glanced at the scars again, at a loss for what to do and say at the moment.
Make that two weeks, Takahashi Ai. You and I have a lot to talk about the next time you choose to grace me with your presence...~*~*~
"Father..." A pouting Kamei Eri whined cutely at her stern parent, hoping that he'd at least reconsider what she had told him. She had been nagging at him for the last few days without any visible result though, not that she was giving up.
Eri could be
very stubborn when she really wanted something. As one Kamei Otosuke knew very well, judging from the frown lines that appeared almost permanently set into his forehead.
"Eri-chan...I'm busy right now. We'll talk later. I'll be back in a few hours."
Then he cut her off. Literally. The video screen went blank, a dull buzz signaling that the call had ended. Eri stared at the darkened screen before blowing a raspberry at it childishly, her lips still pursed in an indignant pout.
Her father rarely did that to her. No matter how busy he was, he was never this abrupt with her, unless it was a life-and-death emergency, but how often did that kind of thing happen nowadays? Eri flopped backwards onto her large bed, staring at the ceiling.
After a few moments of zoning out, she rolled back onto her belly and almost smacked her nose into an open book with pages full of delectable sweets. Easily distracted, she went back to her original activity, that is, flipping through the book and admiring all the tasty-looking creations.
Eri was not entirely sure where the time went, but somehow during her picture book frenzy and taking a nice long soak in her bathtub, she managed to wipe out the hours in between the call and her father's return. Idly getting dressed, the sleepy eyed turtle girl wandered down the stairs to wait for her father in the sitting room.
She didn't have to wait long. The ornately carved front doors opened almost majestically, the imposing figure of Kamei Otosuke sweeping in like a king returning to his castle. Eri gave a little yawn as she waved sleepily to her father, giving him a hug as he came in.
"Have you been at home the whole day again, Eri-chan?" His tone was affectionate, though his eyes were somehow a bit sad as he ruffled his daughter's hair, earning a little squeak from Eri as she tried to get the tangles out again.
"I didn't feel like going out." A simple answer that drew a light sigh from her father. Eri didn't see the big deal about going out. She'd rather stay home most of the time. A lot less troublesome.
They were still stuck at the entrance, and since Eri was far shorter than her taller father, she did not immediately notice the smaller shadow behind him. When she did, however, she started briefly, but her father merely smiled blandly, turning to reveal the person behind him.
"Eh?" Eri's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates at the unexpected visitor. "Ehhhhhhh???"
Otosuke smirked, shooting a glance at the nonchalant girl behind him, who was currently eying Eri with a certain exasperation as if the reaction really wasn't necessary.
"Eri-chan, I remember you wanted to pick up a new instrument a few months ago, so here's your new piano instructor. Don't give up on it again, alright?"
Eri picked up her jaw from her floor, trying to rescue some form of dignity in front of this person.
Thank you daddy! She grinned just a little foolishly as she grabbed onto the other girl's hands.
"Nice to meet you again! I'll be in your care!" Eri looked absolutely radiant, prompting a smile from her father in return, although he gave another pointed look at the "instructor".
"Yeah...nice to meet you,
ojou-sama." Barely a hint of mockery in there, but there was certainly a profound lack of enthusiasm in the whole greeting. A hint of a smile, more a smirk really, graced her features.
"Takahashi Ai, at your service."
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I know I skipped what happened in between, but that's the point. I won't show certain scenes directly, except through other means.
The timeline is pretty tight, it's been a week or less since Ai left Gaki's place that time. And so many chapters in between...haha I know I move slowly. >.> But yeah, here's the chapter.
Have fun everyone!
And T_T classes start next week....
Topic: Nocturne [13/02 - Epilogue (END)] (Read 133510 times)