@kawaii beam: yeah, Ai's HAS officially "lost it"
@amEthystx: Sorry, can't say if you're right or not~ you'll have to wait
But NOO!!! Don't go into hiding again!!!
@kurosawa87: oh, you need a stronger word than "irritated" for Ai at the moment, sweetie
@rndmnwierd: GAH I would, but i have absolutely no idea what to write about that, specifically. But the next chapter will be a pretty in-depth TanaKame outing
@oddball: yup! something BIG
@badsaints: yeah, it's the awkward yankii with the clueless turtle
Thanks for the LONG comments guys, it helpes out, seriously
So this is a longer chapter~ it's gonna get a bit more exciting, this is like the pre-step to the main main plot
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Chapter 47 “Nee, Risa-chan, what was that all about?”
Eri tapped on her friend’s shoulder restlessly with a worried expression. The shock from Ai’s unusual behavior had not gone away yet. The two friends were together inside the elevator so they could go home.
“I have no clue,” Risa answered sighing. “She seemed very… energetic about the song…”
“There has
got to be a better word than ‘energetic’, Risa-chan,” Eri disagreed. “I mean, sexiness? Seductive? Rated-R? Where are all these vocabulary words coming from?”
“Maybe she’s just stressed,” Risa sighed. “I just wish that if she’s having trouble with something, she would come to me to talk about it… But High-Queen just had to run out right after the meeting, huh?”
The turtle and the bean finally reached the first floor. As they walked out through the front entrance of DFA, both of their chins dropped open with a pop.
Reina was leaning on the hood of a silver sports car, biting her nails. But when she noticed her two staff members staring, she immediately shifted her hand to her head, acting as though she had been brushing her fingers through her hair all along. She cleared her throat.
“What are you staring at,” she mumbled, scowling.
“The last time I saw this car,” Eri started, wide-eyed, “it was a black convertible. Since when was it a silver sports car?”
“That’s because it’s a different car, baka,” Reina groaned, rolling her eyes. “That was Ai’s car. This is mine.”
“Oh…” Eri sighed.
“So… um… you’re heading home, Reina?” Risa questioned.
“Not exactly,” Reina answered, scratching her head. “Um… do you want to go somewhere with me right now?”
“Me?” Risa asked, confused.
“No, not you, her!” Reina yelled as she pointed at the flabbergasted turtle. “The hopelessly idiotic one… you.” The yankii kept her head down, just in case she was blushing.
“Me?” Eri shrilled, surprised. “Um, yeah, I guess… sure.”
“I’ll meet you back home,” Risa said, not taking her eyes off the strange yankii.
With that, the turtle raised an eyebrow at the bean and walked over to the silver car. Reina turned and got into the drivers seat. Eri helped herself into the passenger seat and put on her seatbelt. Then, the sports car sped down the road.
“Sugoii…” Risa gasped.
“So you like sports cars more than convertibles?” a loud voice asked, right into the bean’s ear.
“Gah!” Risa jumped back to find Ai with puckered lips. “Ai! You didn’t go home yet?”
“Not yet,” Ai said, smiling. “There was just something I needed to see.”
“What’s that?”
“… Let’s just say it’s some sort of miraculous yet very entertaining change,” Ai said, laughing to herself. An image of Reina, frowning as her cheeks turned pink, popped into the leader’s head.
“Um, okay then…” Risa said, still confused. Then, she clenched her fists tightly and looked straight into Ai’s face. “Nee, if there’s something wrong, I want you to tell me.”
“Well, that was random,” Ai chuckled. “What makes you think there’s something wrong?”
“You’re acting differently, Ai,” Risa said. “You’re always composed and mature but… you seem a little disorganized these days.”
“Really?” Ai said. She took a step towards the bean and used her index finger to lift up Risa’s chin. “Then what if this is my true self? What if I’m not really the mature one? What if I’m actually the possessive one, the impatient one, the selfish one, the dishonest one? What if I said you shouldn’t involve yourself with me, so you don’t get hurt?”
Risa’s eyes widened. What was Ai saying? Her eyes were so dark and serious. Her breathing was steady against the bean’s face but… she seemed uneasy. The leader held Risa’s shocked gaze for a few more seconds before grinning.
“Just kidding,” Ai whispered, backing away. “I wanted to cheer both of us up but I guess it wasn’t that funny, huh?”
“Oh, well… um…”
“It’s fine,” Ai laughed. “There’s nothing wrong with me, Risa. But thanks for your concern. And in return, why don’t I drive—”
“There you are, Risa-chan!”
The two girls turned to face Sayumi and Junjun walking down the street. Ai’s smile dropped as a hard mask returned to her face. Sayumi smiled sweetly and skipped towards the bean and jumped into her arms.
“Sayu?” Risa exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to find you so we can do something together!” Sayumi announced excitedly. “Oh, hello Takahashi-san! I didn’t see you there.”
“It’s good to see you again, Michishige-san,” Ai said professionally. “You too, Jun-san.”
“Yes, nice to see you,” Junjun replied solemnly.
“Risa-chan, let’s go hang out!” Sayumi exclaimed, linking her arms with the bean’s. “Takahashi-san, would you like to come along?” She looked at the leader innocently.
“No, it’s fine,” Ai said stiffly. “I better get home.”
“Nee, Ai—”
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Gaki-san,” Ai interrupted. With that, she turned and walked away briskly. Risa stared at the leader’s back with shocked eyes.
“
She called me Gaki-san…” Risa thought. “
Since when am I Gaki-san to her again? Did I do something wrong? I feel like we’re growing apart… No, I don’t like this!”
While Risa’s expression twisted in misery and pain, Sayumi slowly smiled as she watched Ai disappear down the street. Junjun bit her lips and looked away, not wanting to deal with the contradicting feelings in her heart.
Meanwhile, Ai stomped down the street and turned into the parking lot. She got into her car and dropped her head onto the car handle. She beat her fist on her thighs.
“
Damn it!” she thought. “
What’s wrong with me? Why did I just call her Gaki-san? It took so long to be able to call her by her first name; why did I do that? I need to stay low but… how long can I hold out? I can’t even trust myself anymore…”
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sad, huh?
Topic: Kokoro no Uta ~Mainly TakaGaki, TanaKame~ [COMPLETE - EXTRA: Ch. 101 - (12/1)] (Read 243779 times)