@kawaii beam: LOL i've gotten Ai, Ai-chan, and Ai-chii but I've never gotten Aiai...
@aussie: no, it's reina! cuz Sayumi kissed Risa in front of Risa's ex-girlfriend, so in Eri's perspective, she's thinking of kissing Reina in front of Reina's ex-girlfriend, who would be Aika
@Swtme03: LOL you're so right with the last comment
@fallenxangel: yeah, Gaki is pissed
@Ada: LOL um, no killing going on here...
@kurosawa87: yup, that was it
@badsaints: lol is taht good thing, that it sounds like a kdrama?
@Haruka: yeah, Sayu's pretty insane...
@rndmnwierd: well, an anvil won't drop, but something else might
@oddball: you always come back and find something new, don't you?
Wow, so I got a lot of feedback for the last chapter...
as well as i should've, since it was the climax
So here's the new chapter!
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Chapter 88 The day was still bright but everything seemed so dark. She was definitely looking down but she couldn’t see her own legs. There was only the blur of the sidewalk as she ran down the streets. She still heard the echoes of her name being called by the girl she trusted… the girl she had sacrificed her love for. That hateful girl… that resentful girl…
Breathing heavily, Risa finally came to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk. She leaned on a near by tree and slid down into a crouch, trying to catch her breath. People walked by and stared, but they didn’t stop. It was a Friday morning; they all had more important things to do than to pay attention to a girl who happened to almost collapse in the middle of the street. Risa buried her head in her arms. She needed to think for a while. Everything she had heard back in the hospital was still processing in her mind.
First of all, Eri had loved her. Her best friend, that spacey turtle had loved her when they were little. But how many years ago was that? Ten years more or less… so should Risa even worry about that? Eri obviously didn’t see her in that way anymore; she had Reina for that. But the fact that Risa never realized the feelings her best friend held for her… Did that make her insensitive?
Second of all, Sayumi had lied to her this entire time. She was the one that made her and Ai-chan grow further and further apart through misunderstandings… until it was too late to clear it up. More than the fact that she and Ai-chan didn’t get to make up, the fact that she had trusted Sayumi all these years hurt more. They were such close friends, so the truth hurt that much more, now that all was revealed. At the moment, Risa couldn’t forgive her. Sayumi had done wrong to so many people, including her own cousin… She could never fully repent for that. But if Risa doesn’t forgive her, what will Eri do? Although she was a victim as well, Eri still treasured Sayumi so much. How was she feeling right now?
Third of all, Mizuhara Ai was Takahashi Ai. The Ai that she was in love with was the Ai-chan that she had shared a single dream with. The Ai-chan that she couldn’t remember was in front of her the whole time…
So with all these questions circulating in her mind, what was the next step? Should she go back to Eri? But then she would have to face Sayumi again, and she didn’t want to see her face for a long time.
No, there was only one thing she could do now; only one thing she
wanted to do. She had to confirm it for herself. She had to make sure that every bit of information she just heard was true. She needed to see her right now.
Risa jumped up and took out her cell phone from her pocket. She pressed and held on to the number two for speed dial. The tone only rang once before the answering machine took over. Risa snapped her phone shut in frustration and threw it down on the ground. The battery cover came off. She then gasped, realizing what she had done, and quickly picked up and assembled her phone again. She would need it later on in life.
Risa started to run down the street again, not being able to stand still anymore. She didn’t know where she was going until her legs automatically took her to the home of the person she wanted to see. She clicked the elevator button and started to pace. After a couple seconds, her impatience took over again as she started to jump up the stairs. She finally got to the right room and banged on the door, only to receive silence in response.
Risa cursed under her breath as she quickly ran down the stairs again. She stopped when she got outside. She rubbed her temples with both hands as she tried to concentrate. Where could that person be right now? What was her daily schedule…?
It was 10 o’clock in the morning; of course, she would be at the DFA! Risa started to run down the streets again, trying to avoid bumping into people as much as possible. The DFA was a little far from where she was, but she didn’t care. She didn’t even have enough patience to stop and catch a cab.
After about a good 15 minutes, Risa finally flew up the stairs of the Talent Agency. She banged on the front counter, shocking the lady wearing the DFA uniform.
“Ah… um… may I help you?” the lady asked nervously. She backed away a little unconsciously, which was understandable; Risa didn’t look too sane at the moment. Her hair was all ruffled while her cheeks were bright red from all the running. She was a sweating a little, even though it was December.
“Takahashi Ai!” Risa blurted out. “Where is she? Where is she right now?”
“I… um… am not allowed to reveal such information,” the lady stuttered. “Excuse me, who are you?”
“I’m Niigaki Risa!” the bean yelled out impatiently. “I’m her song writer!”
“Oh, I know you, Niigaki-san!” the lady said brightly, clapping her hands together. “Your songs are very nice!”
“Yes, thank you, thank you. Now,” Risa mumbled, “where is Takahashi Ai?”
“She should be in her dance lesson with Yoshiko-sensei,” the lady informed politely. “That’s the fifth floor.”
“Thank you!”
Risa quickly ran across the lobby and punched the elevator button. Again, she couldn’t bare standing still so she just decided to take the stairs again. Her legs were starting to cramp but she didn’t care; there were more important things at hand. When she reached the fifth floor, the bean ran into a skinny lady with long hair.
“Yoshiko-sensei!” Risa screamed, her voice coming out a lot louder than she expected.
“Good morning to you too, Niigaki-san!” the dance trainer yelled. “Now why are we screaming?”
“Shouldn’t… shouldn’t you be with… Takahashi Ai right now?” Risa huffed.
“Oh, we ended a little early because Reina didn’t show up,” Yoshiko-sensei grumbled. “She should be in vocal training now with Sky-sensei… I think that’s the 14th floor…?”
“Thank you…” Risa groaned.
She whipped around started to climb the stairs again. It was nine stories more, but she still didn’t have any desire to take the elevator.
Finally, she reached the correct floor and ran down the hallway. She found the vocal training room and burst in, only to find a man sitting by the piano.
“Sky-sensei, where’s Takahashi Ai?” Risa asked, starting to get annoyed.
“Good morning to you too, Niigaki-san,” Sky greeted, raising an eyebrow at the bean’s peculiar behavior.
“Yes, Good morning,” Risa mumbled. “Where’s Takahashi Ai? I thought she had vocal training with you right now?”
“Well, Tanaka didn’t show up so I let her go early,” he grumbled in the same tone as Yoshiko-sensei. “It’s like having only half a group… Tsunku-san told me that our yankii girl changed a little but I don’t see a difference—”
“So do you know where Takahashi Ai is right now?” Risa asked, interrupting the vocal trainer.
“I think she mentioned something about going back to the dance studio to practice,” Sky-sensei said. “That’s the—”
“Fifth floor, I know,” Risa interrupted again, running out the door. “Thank you!”
The bean skittered down the stairwells again. It was definitely easier than climbing up the stairs, but it was still tiring. She couldn’t find the oxygen to breathe in anymore as her stomach started to knot up because of the cramps. But she continued to run. She couldn’t wait… she needed to see her now!
As she reached the 5th floor again, Risa hopped on one foot for a while as she punched her other knee a couple times to loosen up the muscle. Then, she continued on to dash down the hallway, searching desperately for the dance studio. She finally found the right room and pushed open the double doors with as much force as possible.
The doors slammed open against the wall to reveal the back of a brown-haired girl. The reflection of her face in the mirror showed surprise as she slowly turned around. She was dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants with her hair in a ponytail. From the way she was perspiring, it was obvious that she had been practicing for some time.
“Risa…?” she breathed.
“Takahashi Ai…” Risa said, breathing heavily. “Listen carefully to what I’m about to ask you. I want you to answer me honestly; the whole truth and nothing but the truth! Can you promise me that?”
“… I’m not catching on, what is this about—”
“Can you promise me that?” Risa repeated, a little louder this time.
The singer’s eyes widened as she stared at the girl who had just intruded on her dance practice. Risa could clearly see the confusion in the leader’s face, even though they were a good ten feet away. She could even see her own face through the mirror behind Ai; her face was flushed red as her hair was messed up from the running. Her eyes showed desperation.
“… Okay,” Ai answered quietly. “I promise.”
This was it. Risa could start to unravel the truth now. In what way could she confirm what she had heard in the hospital…?
“Have you ever lived in the Yamaguchi prefecture?” she asked.
“… For a very brief time,” Ai answered, her face betraying no emotions. Risa sighed as she took a step towards the idol.
“Is ‘Takahashi Ai’ your real name?” she asked, deciding to go straight to business.
“Yes,” the leader answered without hesitation. “It’s my full name.”
What? So her real family name was Takahashi? How could that be? If she’s not a Mizuhara, then was Ai not the one she had been looking for? Risa started to rub her temples again. No, there was something she was missing; she had to think. Ai-chan had moved to her neighborhood with only her mother… Her parents had been divorced for some years, and she had never really known her father… Risa gasped.
“Is… Is Mizuhara… you’re mother’s maiden name?”
“… Yes.” Risa took another slow step towards the singer.
“And Takahashi is… your father’s name…?”
“Yes.” The two girls got another step closer to each other. Risa’s entire body was trembling now; could this girl really be…?
“Does… Does the song ‘Furusato’… mean anything to you?”
“… I sang it a long time ago with a certain girl who I treasured very much,” Ai answered, smiling a little at the memory.
Risa exhaled sharply as she took another step towards the idol. They were about four feet apart now. Ai stared straight into the bean’s eyes, unwavering. Risa breathed slowly to calm herself down before asking the final question; a call and response.
“… Ai…”
“Yes?”
“… Ai-chan…?”
“… Yes?”
The singer smiled a little as Risa gasped out loud. She slowly staggered forward, her shaking hands extended. She cupped the older girl’s face gently as small drops of tears started to form at the corner of her eyes.
“Ai-chan…?”
“Didn’t I already answer that question?” the idol laughed softly.
That did it. Risa jumped into the older girl’s arms and started to repeat her name over and over again: the name she had wanted to say for so long, the name of the person she had missed, all those years.
“As much as I love hugging you like this,” Ai chuckled, “I’m a little confused. Aren’t you supposed to be mad at me?”
“How could I ever be mad at you?” Risa whispered, pulling back a little to see the singer’s face. “I was never mad at you…”
Then, the bean explained everything that had happened at the hospital; about Sayumi lies and her confession, about how everything was over now.
“… So that’s what happened,” Ai said quietly. “Well, that was quite unexpected.”
“You don’t seem very surprised,” Risa mumbled. “Nor do you seem angry.”
“Oh, I’m shocked alright,” Ai smiled sweetly. “And I’m incredibly angry. If I told you what I want to do to that girl right now, I think you might be terrified of me all over again.”
“Terrified of you?”
“… I don’t blame you if you want to stay away from me for a while… after what happened yesterday…”
Ai’s arms around the bean’s waist started to slip away a little. Risa quickly pressed herself against the older girl, determined not to let go. Their foreheads met as the younger girl cupped the singer’s face again.
“How could I ever be scared of you?” she whispered. “I love you so much…”
“… Does this mean we’re back together?” Ai grinned.
“If you wish,” Risa laughed.
Ai leaned forward a little more to meet the younger girl’s soft lips. They kissed gently yet passionately, with enough emotion to show how much they missed each other. The older girl’s hold around Risa’s waist tightened as she pulled her even closer to herself. The bean’s grip around Ai’s neck wasn’t weak either. They kissed each other over and over again, moaning softly into each other’s mouths.
When they broke their lip-lock, Ai smiled and pulled the younger girl into a tight embrace.
“Okaeri,” she whispered in her ears. “Welcome back, sweetheart.”
“Tadaima,” Risa chuckled softly in response.
Yes, she was finally in the right place now. She was at home, with her true love, where she belonged.
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I could totally be cruel and end the story right here...
...But I won't do that cuz i promised 100 chapters
I'll probably update again today, later on
Topic: Kokoro no Uta ~Mainly TakaGaki, TanaKame~ [COMPLETE - EXTRA: Ch. 101 - (12/1)] (Read 242026 times)