@gracula: lol MM anime? I'd buy it.
@Beecubed: Wow that was... AMAZING. Have I mentioned yet how much I love you? If I haven't, well here it is: I LOVE YOU
Your comments/critiques/analysis helps soooo much~~ and I TOTALLY appreciate everything you write. I read every word and laughed at some, nodded at some thinking, "AHH~ Sou ka!"
Point is, thank you for the awesomely long comment
And as for the genre of the next fic, I'm not sure what I'm doing yet. i might just mesh something up together but I hope nobody will be too mad if i just make the poll as a survey rather than the thing that actually makes decisions... i mean, i wanna test my skills too
I'M ALIVE~~~
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Chapter 37 The knock on the door continued on and on at a constant pace, refusing to stop. It was like a woodpecker finding its food in the morning, stubbornly hitting the tree over and over again. Soon, it got annoying enough to drag Reina off her couch and send her to the front door. She had heard the rhythmic knocking from its first contact with the wood, since the television was turned on but muted after all, but she had tried to ignore it. But eventually, she couldn’t take it anymore and gave up. The kitten trudged up to the door and opened it.
“Who is—”
“Konbanwa, Reina-senpai!” three girls said in unison with bright smiles. “Can we come—”
Before the visitors could even finish their sentence, the ex-yankii slammed the door and shuffled back to the sofa. She dropped back down and snuggled up inside the blankets again to stare at the TV. She heard the front door opening again as the loud chatting started.
“Mou, senpai!” one voice complained. “That was kind of rude, wasn’t it?”
“It almost hit my nose too,” the second voice whined. “Look, Mittsi! Is it bruised?”
“So the first thing you do when you see us is you slam the door, Reina?” another voice laughed as it got closer to the living room. A black-haired girl poked her head in and grinned. “That’s pretty cruel. You wound me, my friend!”
“I knew you guys were going to find a way in anyway so why bother locking you out?” the kitten grumbled. “So the least I could do was take my frustration out on the door.”
“Well, we always bring snacks, don’t we?” Junjun chuckled. “And Aika and Linlin usually cook something for you too. So we’re not exactly freeloaders, right?”
“Pay my electricity and gas bills, then we’ll talk,” Reina muttered.
“Then we’ll talk after I get a job,” Aika said brightly, also poking her head in. “Linlin and I’ll get started on some snacks. Anything you want in particular, senpai?”
“Ooh! I’m the mood for some chocolate covered bananas!” Junjun said.
“I was asking Tanaka-senpai,” Aika said flatly. She disappeared from the living room and walked into the kitchen across the hall as Linlin followed behind her, giggling, with an arm full of groceries.
“Aw, come on, I’m your leader right now, you know?” Junjun called behind them, chuckling.
“Why must you always come to my house to intrude on my privacy?” Reina moaned, clutching her head between her hands.
“Hey look, I was just worried, alright?” the panda sighed. “You didn’t come to school today.”
“I was sick,” Reina mumbled.
“With what? I-only-watch-TV-on-mute-itis?” Junjun smirked.
“Not funny,” the kitten groaned.
“Look at yourself, Reina,” Junjun started again, sounding a bit more serious. “When I came to check up on you last time, I though you looked bad then. Today, you look even worse. You’re hair was in a bun before; that’s tolerable. But today, it’s in a ponytail. A single, low, plain, not curly,
ponytail. It’s just so… normal. And effortless. You never wear your hair like that.”
“It was getting in the way,” the ex-yankii muttered.
“You’re dressed in a tank-top with a hoodie. And sweatpants. Assuming you’ve been wearing that for the whole day, that’s not very much like you either. The Reina I know is the type that can’t get through one day without being fashionable for at least ten minutes.”
“I think hoodies are in this season,” Reina mumbled.
“You need better excuse than that, Tanaka,” Junjun said, smiling. “Come on, just accept it. There’s something bothering you. You’ll feel better after you say it.”
“There’s nothing bothering me,” the shorter girl said through her teeth. “Now leave me alone.”
“… You know,” the panda suddenly said in a different tone, “while I was getting the groceries with Aika and Linlin, I saw someone familiar.”
“Great story, now go away,” the ex-yankii growled.
“I wasn’t sure who it was at first,” Junjun continued, ignoring her previous leader’s comment, “but I later realized it was actually Kame-chan.”
“You call her ‘Kame-chan’?” Reina asked, immediately turning her head and narrowing her eyes. “Since when were you close enough to use nicknames on Eri?”
“Since I got to know her a little better,” the panda smirked. “Why, jealous?”
“Hardly,” Reina scoffed, turning back to the TV.
“Hm.” The yankii leader smiled as she examined Reina’s seemingly calm face. “Anyway, I was about to go say hi but she was with someone so I didn’t. It was a really cute girl, with short brown hair and this gorgeous smile. I would’ve totally picked her up if she and Kame-chan didn’t seem so… you know, tight. I think I heard her name was “Risa-chan” or something. They seemed
really close.”
“They’re just childhood friends!” Reina suddenly yelled, glaring at the panda next to her. “She’s not anything special to Eri in that way!” The kitten remembered vaguely about Eri talking about a friend she knew since she was young, after she avoided the subject about her “American” mother. Her name was “Risa”; Reina was pretty sure. Come to think of it, wasn’t the name that Eri called out when she walked in on her changing also “Risa”?
“Woah, calm down there, girl,” the panda grinned. “I’m just telling you what I saw. And how do you know who this Risa girl is? Have you met her?”
“Well, no…” Suddenly, Reina had flashback again, when she was climbing up the stairs to Eri’s place. There was a short-haired girl who was skittering down the steps who smiled at her as she walked by. Maybe that girl was Risa… But did she really mean something more than a friend to Eri?”
“Well then, how do you know if they’re not an item?” Junjun pushed on. “It’s been two weeks already, and Eri is a pretty girl. She can find herself a new girlfriend.”
“… Good, then we can both move on like that.”
Reina turned back to the TV, trying to suppress the overflowing emotions in her chest. There were so many things to comprehend: anger, frustration, misery, jealousy, confusion… She didn’t which was the strongest. She tried to tell herself that this was perfect, just what she wanted; if Eri was spending time with other girls, than she was moving on to other people. And now, Reina could also move on with her life as well. Everything was perfect…
“Okay, that’s it,” Junjun sighed, frowning. “I’m not going take a roundabout way anymore. I did see Eri and this “Risa” girl together but it was obvious they were just friends; no chemistry there, they were like sisters. My question to you is this: does it really matter that much?”
“Does what matter?” the ex-yankii muttered.
“Does it really matter if someone is a boy or a girl?” the panda yelled. “Does it really matter which uniform this person wears? She loves you more than anyone else! All those other guys you went out with in the past doesn’t even compare to the person you threw out two weeks ago, and you know it.”
“No, I don’t know!” Reina shouted back, glaring at her friend. “Who the hell do you think you are to tell me these things? I know what I feel towards that person and it’s only contempt! You know why? Because she lied to me! She didn’t have enough guts to tell me the truth and be honest with me!”
“Reina, you really don’t see yourself clearly, do you?” Junjun said in a low voice. “If Eri came right out from the start and told you she was a girl, would have been happier then? You wouldn’t have even considered the slightest possibility that she could be something more special to you than anything else.”
“That’s—”
“A lie?” the panda scoffed. “Tell me, would you still have kept Eri close to you like you did if you knew she wasn’t a boy?”
The room was silent. Reina continued to glare at her friend, fury burning in her eyes. But Junjun just stared right back with the same amount of force. The kitten bit down on her lips. Things in the kitchen suddenly got quiet too; Aika and Linlin were obviously listening in. But Reina didn’t care. She knew Junjun was right. If Eri was a girl… they wouldn’t have even gone this far.
“Eri knew you were close-minded,” the panda said quietly, “and you know you are too. But she still loved you, Reina. And I’m willing to bet she still does.”
“… What the hell am I supposed to do?” the kitten mumbled under her breath, looking down at her hands. “It’s already over anyway. She’s not calling me anymore and we’re through.”
“All you have to do is answer just one question,” Junjun replied, smiling warmly. “What do you want the most right now?”
Reina looked up a little as she started to think. What did she want? She thought she had spent her whole life doing what she wanted as a yankii: smoking, raiding, getting high… but none of it had satisfied her. Then she had tried doing what others wanted for once and moved out at her father’s request after her mother’s death. Yet there was still a storm in her heart. There was nothing she
truly wanted…
Flashes of images started to spin through Reina’s head like a film strip. The pretty boy at the convenience store… ice cream at the park… competitions at the café… confession at her own living room… kisses at the aquarium… All the things she could remember and the only things she wanted to remember were these memories. The only happy memories she has of this place, and the person that created it all… Short light brown hair, baby-like complexion, bright smile…
“Aitai…” Reina whispered, her eyes widening, “I want… to see… Eri… I have to see… Eri…”
The kitten jumped up from the couch and ran towards the front door. She quickly shoved her feet into her sneakers as she zipped up the sweatshirt she was wearing and put the hood on.
“O-oi! Where are you going?” Junjun asked, quickly following her out of the living room.
“Out,” Reina said simply.
“Dressed like that?” the panda inquired.
“I don’t care how I’m dressed!” Reina said quickly. “Lock the door for me.”
“Can the girls and I sleep over?” Junjun asked, smiling.
“Do whatever you want, I don’t care,” Reina said before she ran out.
Junjun chuckled to herself as she closed the door and locked it. She turned around to see her two underlings, poking their heads out from the kitchen.
“Is… everything alright?” Linlin asked carefully.
“Yeah, I think it’s cool,” the older panda grinned. “I had to shove her in the right direction rather than push, but I think the results were the same.”
“You think Tanaka-senpai is coming back for dessert?” Aika asked.
Junjun smirked as she walked over to the kitchen. “Looks like we got the place to ourselves tonight,” she said, “because I don’t think Reina is coming back any time soon.”
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***BTW, the last line doesn't mean anything. Just thought I'd throw that out there before I get anyone's hopes up..
***
The next chapter is... oh who am I kidding. you all know
oh gosh i'm so excited to write now
Topic: Chigatte mo Iin da yo! ~Mainly TanaKame, TakaGaki~ [FINALE - Ch. 93 - (1/30)] (Read 410805 times)