@arrow27: Thank you for the good words
I try to do my best as possible to make it at least a bit realistic because if not... well I think it's harder for people to get in the story ^^;;
@Haruko: I got your resume ^^ I might use some elements of it later in the story
I hope you won't mind, and thank for reading my fic ^^
@crazywota: Aww thank you so much
I hope I didn't take too long
Well... at least it's less than a few months
Hope you're gonna like the future chapters, and hint, I will not "destroy" kojiyuu couple
Thank for always supporting me =D
@Kid_Alpha: I'm sorry it took so long T_T But I will try to make it even more worth it
@hitsuji_14: Haha yup, nyan left AKB
More info in this chapter, and another moment with Atsumina ^^
@Megumi: Yup, same challenge for the couples, but you see in the end, there's always something to learn from it
It's heartbreaking, but I'll make sure not to kill anyone
@FoF: Edit? What edit?
Anyway, I don't blame you for not having time to read, I still haven't read Basket Case despite knowing it's really good T_T I need time T_T But yeah... glad to know I'm not the only one from the old crew here
@Wmatsui22: Some funny scenes in this chapter even if it wasn't planned
Hope you enjoy it ^^
@Kahem: You gonna have to wait a little more to learn about Hanako's role in the story, but it's nothing really bad
I think :p
@Everyone reading: Thank you all for your patience and your support
YES I WAS BUSY WITH SCHOOL AND THATS WHY I DIDN'T UPDATE SOONER.
Now, I was supposed to update 3 weeks ago but there was like a mega explosion of work and exams and I couldn't finish it T_T But, I made a new end to this chapter I think you guys gonna like, so you can actually thank school
Sorry for the mistakes, and no more wait...
Chapter 4“I did it…” Haruna repeated. “I’m no longer in AKB48…”“Impossible” was the first thought of Yuko. Impossible. She must have heard wrong. She must have imagined the sentence. She must be having a nightmare or something. It couldn’t really happen. Haruna told her a few weeks ago how much she wanted to stay in the group as long as possible, even if it was hard and even if they loosed their popularity. Even if they had to fight against news groups, against the media, against whatever… she said she would not leave the group she loved! And now, what? She was telling her she… left AKB48? No! That wasn’t supposed to happen! That was the last thing in the world she expected.
“WHAT?!” Yuko screamed, without noticing her voice was way too loud and that even people far from the park could hear her. “YOU WHAT?!”
Haruna was shaking in her arms, like there was nothing she could do to calm down. How… How have they come to this point? How come… this situation had grown that big? From a simple kiss… to be stuck in such a situation now… it was going to fast for them to follow… It was going to fast for them not to be hurt by everything.
“I’m sorry…” Yuko murmured. “It’s because of me, isn’t it? If I hadn’t insisted… If I wasn’t so clingy to you…”
“No! I decided I wanted to kiss you!” Haruna shouted, without realizing it.
She then blushed so hard she was looking at the ground like what she had just said was the most humiliating thing in the world, though Yuko thought the exact opposite.
“I… I was glad you did it…” Yuko smiled shyly. “I used to think you were just joking with me… and that moment… it was just the happiest time of my life.”
She had said those sincere words, looking right through Haruna’s eyes, holding her face gently, just to make sure she knew she was there for her.
“But… I’m not glad you left AKB. It’s your life. You love this job. You love being an idol! Why… We could have made up some story, pretending we’re just very close friends and that’s it happens often in the group… We could have said it was a way to show our affection… We could have… made up a story… something… I could have pretended it was an accident, that I took a wrong step and accidently bumped into your lips…”
“You know the medias… They wouldn’t believe it… It’s like saying we were in AKB48 “by accident” because we were “accidently” exactly everywhere the group went… It’s… too obvious we were kissing.”
“And it would hurt too much to pretend I don’t love you…” Yuko whispered quietly to herself.
They both avoided the other’s eyes for a moment. It was that silent moment when they’d wish to be elsewhere, not in front of each other having this heartbroken conversation. They both feared the same thing: that they would not be together anymore when they would leave the park. They both feared what the other would say. Haruna felt bad she made Yuko sad with her decision, because she truly felt like she had no choice. Plus, she still has a chance to remain as a model… It wasn’t totally the end… She still had a place in this industry, even if she wasn’t an idol! There were in fact so many possibility for her now! She wouldn’t need to follow a strict schedule anymore, she would be free… she would have more time to see her… but she would miss her place in the group desperately… As for Yuko…
“We’re both in the same situation now…” Yuko said, looking back at Haruna.
“In the same situation… I guess so…” Haruna frowned.
Obviously, they were in the same situation since it hurt the two of them! They were both concerned anyway! They would both…
“I mean… My agency, they kind of… let me go… by my own… You know…” Yuko said, ashamed of her weakness.
“No way! Without even waiting for an explanation?!” Haruna asked, surprised.
“They said they would call me back… but they never did it… I didn’t really believe they would, but… I would have wanted to explain myself…”
Yes, they were in the same situation now. They were both losing their lovely job… They both didn’t want this to happen… but they both didn’t have any control on it. Not now, and most probably not later either.
“Do you think medias would even listen to us if we tried to give them some explanation?” Haruna asked with a slight hopeful tone.
“I don’t know… I think so, they’re only waiting for us to talk to them, to confirm it… even though it’s clear for them that it was a real kiss. But yes, I bet they are waiting for us to comment on this…” Yuko answered. “Do you think we should… do something? I’m afraid… that they might misunderstand our words and it would be worse… They only need a small detail that could be unclear and, there we go with another scandal…”
They both knew the media world very well. During all those years spent in AKB48, they had known rumours, scandals, that had forced some girls to apologize, to withdraw from their responsibility, to be moved to another group, to be suspended, to retire temporarily from the group… They knew it. And they knew how far it could go. They still remembered how great some paparazzos were to find some hidden information. No doubt they would be able to find how much MORE clingy Yuko was behind the stage and all those cameras…
“Do you think we should give it a try?” Haruna insisted. “It’s the only thing we can do…”
Yuko stared at her girlfriend for a moment. She thought about how much she wanted to protect her despite being shorter… She thought about how much she wanted to see her smile despite the hard times… She thought about how much she wanted to share happiness with her despite life’s difficulties… She realized she could not even THINK of protecting her right now. She felt sad. She felt lonely. She felt she wasn’t good enough… but she still had this spark that told her not to give up on them…
“Not now… We can’t just call them and pretend everything’s a lie!” Yuko protested. “I don’t want that! I don’t want it to be so easy for them to… to destroy what we have! It’s not a lie! It has never been…”
“I know…” Haruna said. “Bur look… do we really have the choice? We talk to the media together… or they spend the rest of their time making out stories about us… We are in the same situation, aren’t we? We have… nothing to lose.”
“I might lose you.” Yuko thought, before saying: “We can’t! Not now! We’re not prepared! We’re not ready! You’re not ready!”
She stopped talking as she realized she had said the last sentence out loud. Damn. She didn’t want to feel so weak in front of her… she wanted to protect her, yet she couldn’t even do it properly.
“Me?! Ready… what for?!” Haruna asked.
“You can’t! We can’t! WE are not ready! Do you think you will support the cameras flashes, the reporters shouting questions from everywhere as we arrive, the anxiety… Everything! We just can’t! We won’t last two seconds without crying in front of them… and you know what? If we cry… it’s just as admitting we’re together. Then, it will really be over.”
Yuko took a short three seconds break before starting again.
“I wouldn’t support it. Saying we’re not together. Saying we’re only friends and that it was a mistake. I wouldn’t support it, losing you because of them. I wouldn’t support pretending nothing of this happened. I wouldn’t support saying… that I’m not in love with you.” Yuko finished, as she looked away. “I just… can’t.”
There. She had said it. She had admitted she just couldn’t live with the thought of losing Haruna. She had chased her for so long, it would be a total waste for them to be separated so soon… for so little.
They said love could surpass anything… was it really true? If so… how? It hurt so much to say those words. It hurt so much to think about them. She would cry saying “I love you” to Haruna in front of the reporters… but she would also cry saying “I don’t love you” to her… She’d be sad to admit they really were dating… yet she’d be depressed to pretend it’s all a lie and that they were just playing a bad and ridiculous game.
“I guess… it would be the same for me. I wouldn’t support it.” Haruna admitted.
Her love for Yuko had grown so much lately… to what was just a game between them… to slight flirt… to real crush… until they finally decided to go on this journey together… it has become so huge that even her heart wasn’t big enough to support it. Her love had taken over her heart… and soul.
Yuko suddenly became very concentrate on her thoughts. It would hurt if she said she loved Haruna… as well as if she said she hated her… as well as if she pretended it was a lie… or not…
“I know! I know what we can do to be ready to appear in public in front of the reporters!” She suddenly slapped her forehead.
“What?” Haruna flinched. “There really is something we can do?”
“We have to be immunized!” Yuko smiled. “Immunized against what we will tell the reporters, so we will not start showing our feelings!”
Haruna frowned. Immunized? Like for illness? Like for… what exactly was Yuko talking about? She waited for more explanations, which came soon after. Yuko explained her plan carefully, trying to make sure it was as clear as possible. The words… They had to make sure they would feel nothing when they would pronounce them… It was actually easy. Hard at first, but easy as time goes on…
“I hate you.” Yuko said, looking straight into Haruna’s eyes. “I hate you, and I never loved you.”
Her heart ached. Her body was shaking. Her face became red. Her lips were trembling. Her eyes were wet…
“I hate you.” Haruna answered. “I have never been in love with you, not once.”
***
Days after days, weeks after weeks, they met everyday to practice and say those mean things to each other. They would always look at the other in the eyes. They would not back down. They wanted to stop feeling anything at those words. They wanted to get used to those words… To those mean and cruel words…
The only way to get used to them, was to repeat them, over and over again. The only way they would support them, was to look into the eyes of the other, not blink, and say carefully each single word. Then, the other needed to stay as imperturbable as possible. The other needed to keep her eyes opened, to keep her mouth shut, and to breathe at the exact same rhythm as before. They needed to surpass the force of these words.
It was the only way they had found to be fully prepared to the media, to their deathly questions, and to the pressure of being watched by so many fans/haters who just wanted to be reassured about the real truth.
They did it in secret, behind everyone’s look. They did it by themselves, sometimes helping each other when one would break down, sometimes not saying anything, to help the other getting back to an emotionless face by her own strength. Sometimes they would take a break and smile to each other… but they both knew it was really exhausting mentally. To say to the person you love the most those words… it was really painful. They couldn’t imagine it, yet it was happening. They couldn’t even think of a great situation to ever say them… but it was live, happening now. And though they were learning how to be heartless in front of those words, they had never felt so vulnerable in their entire life.
“I hate you.”
“I’ve never been in love with you.”
“It was all lies.”
“We are nothing.”
They kept repeating the words until they wouldn’t enter their head, their ears… They repeated it again and again, over and over, days after days, just so they could build a wall around their hearts and body. An indestructible wall that would not allow a single act of weakness to show in front of the media, only when they would be the two of them. They would sometimes do it in private for a moment. Then go outside and say those words as they were walking together, trying to avoid people’s glances. It was always harder in public, because they felt they were lying to the entire world about their identity, but it was a great help to manage to control their emotions. They didn’t want to make the others see them cry, so they would make even more efforts not to be seen. They would often come back exhausted mentally, but stronger than before. They had both decided they would do it… It was their decision to do that in order to be prepared. Their decision. As a couple.
“We are only friends.”
“We have never been more than friends.”
The hardest part was not only saying these words. It was also knowing they were going to lie to everyone, including themselves. They had nothing to be proud of. But still… they would do it. They would make it, definitely.
It took them a long time… but someday, they would not feel anything anymore, shielded by their mental force. They stopped shivering when the fatal words were said, they would stop thinking about what they would say and how they should react, it just came naturally. Once, they would just stare as the words left their throats. They would just stare… and face them like the sentence had no meaning at all.
When words are repeated over and over again, they ended up losing their values, their significations… and the pain that goes with them slowly fades away as well…
***
“So… You’re going to play with Ray… I mean, with Hanako?” Minami asked, continuing the interrupted conversation she and Atsuko were having.
“Hanako? Calling her by her first name?” Atsuko couldn’t help pointing and raising an eyebrow.
“Me? No… well yes… Well, I mean, we were in Mendol together so I guess…” The singer stammered.
“But you weren’t even that closed when you filmed this drama…” Atsuko continued.
“That’s because it was really awkward… Ah, nevermind. So you’re going to be with Takigawa-san?”
“What’s with this sudden formal name?!” Atsuko frowned. “Don’t change it just because I said that you looked close to her… It makes you look even more suspicious.”
“But I’m not close to…Ahhh… Atsuko!” Minami pouted when she realized her girlfriend was just teasing her once again. “It’s not funny!”
The actress was slightly smiling, obviously trying to hide her amusement. She was gently poking Minami’s arm, playing with her hair and blinking at her innocently. She knew nothing had happened between them during the MENDOL shooting. She remembered how Minami was totally terrified, so shy at the thought of kissing another person, especially a girl… She didn’t know she was going to date one later of course. How ironic.
“It’s not funny, I said…” Minami repeated, thought her girlfriend suddenly cuddling to her and making funny faces was really cute.
Atsuko, at the total opposite, thought it was really funny, how shy Minami had sounded when she had teased her. She remembered very well how troubled her lover was at that time. She would call her after a long day of work, talking about how it went and how worried she was about the whole thing, despite NO3B’s two others members reassuring her. The day they had to shoot their first kiss… Minami had sounded so perturbed Atsuko wondered if it was really just a job to her. She knew Minami would not fall for Hanako, nor for the character, but still… she was a bit too panicked for nothing. But somehow, she, Atsuko Maeda, after some longs talks late at night, had managed to succeed in what both Haruna and Miichan had failed: Reassuring the poor little captain.
“You’re cute when you try to be mad…” Atsuko smirked.
“Sure…” Minami rolled her eyes. “I’m not trying…”
Mendol… It had been so long now, she almost felt like a old woman remembering her old memories, lost in nostalgia. That woman… That actress… It seemed like an old dream, kissing her, even if it was a really simple kiss. That panic in her heart… today she could truly realize it was only a job. But still, Atsuko, working with Hanako? Hanako must surely know about them dating… would she say something about it? Would she even remember her? No, that was stupid, of course she would remember… Minami had almost avoided her the whole time of the shooting because she was too shy to talk to her. Hanako would remember her as a freak.
“I will say hello from you.” Atsuko blinked. “Since she was your first unofficial girlfriend…”
“What?! No!” Minami blushed.
Why did she even blush?! There was nothing to be shy about! Sure… she had… kinda… been her first kiss…. But that meant nothing!
“You’re cute when you’re embarrassed.” Atsuko said.
“Anyway…” Minami just answered.
Atsuko lied her head on Minami’s shoulder, remembering how the little captain used to be her everyday pillow back during those hard days of practices. Minami’s shoulder was truly comfortable! Like, really! They should… They should just create a pillow with Minami’s shoulder’s shape and the whole world would be sleeping instantly. Seriously! They would make so much money!! But then again… Atsuko was glad to have her girlfriend just for herself. No one would ever feel that amazing feeling of cuddling to her amazing lover… Except maybe Miichan… but since Miichan was a very close friend of them, it didn’t matter. Plus, Miichan being lovey-dovey was really funny too… It was Miichan after all… She couldn’t wait to see her again, it had been quite a long time…
“You’re really comfortable… I will miss your shoulder so much…” Atsuko smiled sadly.
Minami couldn’t help grinning. She would miss every single little thing Atsuko did, every part -of her body, every side of her personality, her voice, her eyes, the way she’d take her hand and squeeze it, the way she’d wake up in the morning very slowly… and Atsuko would only miss her shoulder? Well…
“Just my shoulder? How mean…” Minami pouted, shaking her shoulder so Atsuko wouldn’t be so comfortable.
“Yup, just that…” Atsuko winked. “and just a few more less important things…”
“What about me?” Minami laughed. “You’re going to miss me or my shoulder?”
Atsuko, in a very serious way, pretended to start thinking deeply about the question, which caused Minami to slightly punch her girlfriend’s arm.
“You’re not funny…” Minami growled.
“You’re laughing!”
“No I’m not.”
“Yes!”
“No!”
“Just admit it… Look how the sky is blue! It’s as evident as you trying to keep that serious face…” Acchan smiled. “Look how I smile! It’s a happy smile! Do the happy smile!”
Minami couldn’t hold it anymore and burst in laughing. Atsuko’s face was so funny, her eyes full opened and her smile so wide she thought she’d see the Cheshire cat.
“You scare me!” Minami laughed. “Here, look at my super happy smile!!”
They kept smiling like crazy and laughing for a few minutes, without any reason. Sometimes they’d stop talking and just stared at each other, but the pressure was so high, they would just laugh again and again. There was that short silence where Atsuko would place herself back, next to her girlfriend, enjoying each second spent with her.
“You know what I will miss the most until I come back?” Minami asked shyly.
Their eyes locked together, and that magic atmosphere where they’d feel alone in the world slowly came back, surrounding them from everywhere.
“Those smalls bits of conversation that we’d have, here and there, talking about nothing…” Atsuko guessed while Minami answered with a real cute smile.
“I will come back soon.” Atsuko added. “It’s just for a drama…”
Minami, emotional as always, did her best not to let any tear leave her eyes. She couldn’t cry now, when she knew Atsuko was not leave before a few days. She would be able to hold on until then… because if she was crying now, and just for that, who knows what it would be the day of the departure… But at the same time, she had cried so much for her when they were in AKB48… and now they were dating. The situation was completely different! She totally had the right to be sadder now… Not that she didn’t before… but somehow, now that they were dating, she felt that it was more… less… that she could do it. Just… that she had the right to miss Atsuko THAT much…
Just as she was about to answer, Atsuko embraced her, making her heart beat fast. She loved her so much… even when she was being random and embraced her suddenly… In fact, that was what she preferred. When Atsuko would just surprise her with the simplest things in life… Simple… yet so cute… so… so adorable… Just to prove Minami that their love would never stop growing.
Deep in Minami’s mind… an idea. A song… The future departure of her girlfriend, the first time they would be separated since they got together… her second half in another country…
Atsuko slowly placed her lips on hers, making her head loose her idea. Butterfly in her stomach, just like the first time. She knew she would always feel this way… She knew that electric choc that went through her body each time her lips met Atsuko’s soft ones would never ever disappear… And she didn’t want it to leave either. That was the best feeling in the world.
“I love you…” Atsuko whispered in her ears. “Don’t you dare forget that when I’m away…”
That’s not possible… Minami wanted to say. That just… couldn’t possibly happen. In her soul, she knew… even if she wanted, she could never forget it, because she had wanted it so bad… and now she had it. Atsuko’s love.
“In fact… there will be no distance between you and I.” Minami murmured, thinking. “Not now… not later…”
***
Three weeks later“Kampaï!!!” The girls cheered, holding their drinks in the air.
The bunch of girls were all smiling, cheering and having fun, for they have not seen each other for a long time. They had all agreed that night would be a fun girls’ night, without problems being discussed because it wasn’t the time for this. Tonight was not the place for doubts, troubles, sadness or any other depressing things. Tonight was a sweet party night to celebrate Atsuko’s new drama and also her departure. They would not waste their time bringing depressing subjects.
Therefore, they would not talk about the recent scandal about Haruna and Yuko… And they would not tease them either. The girls who were at Minami’s and Atsuko’s house tonight were loyal friends who didn’t care whether or not there was really something going on between the two. If there was, then they would support them gladly. If there wasn’t, then they would do nothing about it and hope for the best in the future, hating even more the media’s endless hunger for drama.
“I’m so happy to finally have the time to see you, guys!” Mariko exclaimed. “It’s been so long!”
“You missed me? I know you did, it must have been hard!” Miichan laughed, patting Mariko’s shoulder while she just rolled her eyes.
The two were back to their old habits, under the amused look of Tomomi and Tomochin, who didn’t know that hidden playful side of the duo.
“Guys… please…” Sayaka sighed. “No fight tonight, remember?”
The tall girl had come with Sae to the dinner. It had been hard for them to deal with their respective busy schedules, but they managed to do it. After all, it was a special occasion, and they would have regretted it if they hadn’t come tonight.
“It’s mine! Let it go!” Tomochin said to Tomomi, who was trying to take her plate away from her.
It was little chocolate strawberries that Minami and Atsuko had spent the day cooking for dessert… A very special experience for both of them. They had both discovered the joy of having to clean a general chocolate disaster in the kitchen. They had also discovered the joy of spending most of the afternoon laughing at each other instead of actually cleaning… And they had discovered the joy of cleaning everything in less than fifteen minutes when they had suddenly realized their guests would arrive soon.
“But it looks good! And you have too many! Why did you take the entire plate!” Tomomi protested.
“I’m hungry!”
“So am I!”
Yuko suddenly magically appeared between them, stealing the plate, blinking at them, and rushed on the other side of the table to join Haruna to share her treasure.
“HEY!” Both of them yelled, though without getting up, knowing they would disturb everyone else.
They watched Yuko and Haruna smiling and feeding each other. They were cute together. It was almost as if the scandal had never happened. Despite their sweets looks to each other, the others could feel something had changed between them. There was still that deep chemistry between them… but something was different. What exactly, they couldn’t tell. When they thought about it, they didn’t know how the duo would deal with the scandal yet… No one knew, and they all knew tonight wasn’t the good time to ask. The only thing they could do was to wait… but seeing how close they were together tonight, they couldn’t help smiling and believe in every rumours juicy magazines had created.
“Takamina, do you have more strawberries?” Tomochin asked, shaking her head at the robber.
Though the AKB era was done for Minami, and despite her having her solo debut already, the others would still often call her by her nickname. After all, she had used it for so long… she couldn’t just throw it away. Plus, she felt that… when people still called her “Takamina”, it made “Minami” even more special when Atsuko would call her this way.
“No… those were the last ones…” Minami answered.
“YUKO! GIVE THEM BACK!” Tomochin growled.
“Me? Who? What are you talking about again?” The innocent actress asked, hiding the plate behind her back.
While Sayaka and Sae just laughed at it, Minami and Atsuko were already back in their own conversation. Even though they were having a dinner with everyone, there were still some shorts moments where they would talk together and share cute secrets the world didn’t need to know. Of course, there had been more strawberries… but it was so hard to resist while cooking them! They looked so good! And they were so hungry! It wasn’t all their fault, right?
“So immature… Fighting over strawberries…” Miichan sighed, pretending to be disappointed by their behaviour. “Such kids… and to think I’m-”
“Stop complaining!” Mariko interrupted her by stealing her plate and started eating whatever was in it.
“MY FOOD! GIVE IT BACK!” Miichan pouted.
“Talk about being immature…” The great Mariko-sama replied, totally eating everything before giving Miichan her plate back.
“It’s not about maturity, it’s about keeping what’s MINE!”
“What are you talking about? It’s empty.” Mariko smiled while giving the plate back.
“YOU!”
At the exact moment when the two were entering the dangerous path of the third world war, the bell rang, interrupting everyone. It was probably Yukirin, the last girl who could managed to come here tonight. As soon as Minami left the living room to open the door, the fight started again, with more love-hate opposition than before.
“Give it back!” Miichan pouted.
“It’s already in my stomach.” Mariko replied, perfectly calm.
“I don’t care! Vomit it!”
“Ewww…” Both Yuko and Haruna said with a horror look on their face. “We’re eating here…”
“Eating our food…” Tomomi whispered to Tomochin who just nodded.
“Here!” Minami’s voice said loudly. “Don’t fight in front of our cute little guest!”
She was coming back with Yukirin… and a little three years old girl. Sayaka immediately went to pick the little child, totally overtaken by how adorable she was. Mariko and Sae quickly followed.
“It’s my cousin.” Yukirin explained as she saw the brief confused look in both Tomomi and Tomochin look. “I’m sorry about it, but my mother asked me to look after her tonight. No one else could.”
“Sae? Sae… Saaaaaaeeeeeeee. Sasae. Sasasae. Sae.” The young child repeated, as members were already trying to make her learn their names.
“No problem at all!!” Sae said, with a bright smile on her face, forgetting for a moment that this wasn’t her home. “Look! She’s not disturbing us at all, isn’t she? No, you don’t! Noooo, you don’t!!”
She was playing with her already, like there was her and the child… and no one else. Sae definitely loved children. She thought they were adorable, loveable, sweet… Sayaka was right over them, trying to make the little thing laugh. Yuko was just smiling and making weirds faces, while Haruna was shaking her head at her crazy girlfriend. Even if Minami and Atsuko hadn’t said anything about it, they all knew there was no problem at all for her to stay here tonight. It was almost as if Yukirin had never arrived. The members were all around the kid instead.
“And… Yuuuukoooooo… Yuko. YuYu… KoKo… Yuko.” Yukirin’s young cousin repeated after what the actress had told her.
“It’s auntie Koko-chan!!” Mariko laughed, pointing at Yuko.
“What’s your name, cutie? Tell them!” Yukirin said softly, trying to reassure the child who was surprised by so many new faces around her.
“Ha… na…” The girl whispered, a bit shy, but proud to tell them her name.
“Hana-chan! How cute!” Haruna said, shaking hand with her.
“Hana-chan! Look here!” Miichan waved. “I’m Miichan!”
Atsuko just smiled at all the bunch of girls trying to get a glimpse of attention from the little new star of the house. She exchanged look with her girlfriend and smirked. Seemed like their celebrity was being stolen by a newbie in the showbiz. Despite being silent, Atsuko was the one Hana seemed to notice the most, always glancing at her, looking at her with a curious look. The whole night flew really quickly, conversations alternating between funny and serious subjects. Some would be about Atsuko’s departures, but they would mostly talk about positive things, such as how well she was doing in her career, how good it was nice to be reuniting again together tonight, how relieve they were to find out they hadn’t stop seeing each other after their graduation… They would even joke about some random subjects such as the number of minutes it took for them to find their address.
Of course, the attention always turned back to Hana and how cute she was. She would play with everyone and laughed innocently when she would “accidently” drop a glass of water on the floor. She would answer the same thing to every question, despite them being the total opposite. She would clap hands with each of the girl and enjoy her time, like only an innocent child can do. Near the end of the night, a bit sleepy, Hana moved closer to her target of the night, Atsuko, and smiled.
“Cute.” She said, moving her head up and down.
“Aww, look who’s trying to steal your girl!” Mariko teased Minami without waiting one more second. “You got absolutely no chance!”
Yukirin laughed. She already thought her cousin would attract a lot of boys and girls later when she would be older. She was already such a player, always finding one person to stay with for a moment, always saying people were cute, always looking at them with that smile that could melt any cold heart.
“Really?! Atsuko, you wouldn’t leave me for her, right?” Minami smirked.
“Who knows…” Atsuko smiled, totally overtaken by Hana’s charm, making her girlfriend rolling her eyes.
“Rough competition, right?” Miichan said like a spy, patting Minami’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, you can find… no, actually, you can’t fine someone better for you than Acchan… But no worries… Hana-chan will soon fall for me, so it’s fine.”
Minami just looked at her like she was crazy, but didn’t add anything. She couldn’t help thinking Hana chose well the girls she liked. After all, no one would surpass Atsuko in her heart.
“Why not me?” Yuko pretended to be sad. “Nyan…”
“Why do you complain anyway?!” Tomochin pointed. “You’ve been chasing after Haruna for this whole time only to say you don’t want her anymore?”
“Good point…” Sae laughed, high-fiving her.
“Honey, come here…” Yukirin tried to separate Hana from Atsuko. “It’s almost time to go home…”
The young child royally ignored her cousin, just hanging to Atsuko’s hand while the actress was smiling at her. She gently placed her in her arms, patting softly her back like a mother would do with a child.
“Aren’t they ADORABLE?!” Sayaka smiled. “I’m sure you’d be a wonderful mother…”
Atsuko blushed but didn’t say anything. Did she want children? She had never thought about it. Minami didn’t either. They would rarely talk about their future, when they would be older… They had never really touch this subject about what they would do with this house… would there be kids running in it in a few years? Would they get married? Was it even possible for them to talk about it?
“I’m sure you would.” Minami said, surprising everyone.
“You want kids?” Mariko asked.
“I didn’t say that… I just said that Atsuko would make a great mother…” Minami hesitantly said.
It seemed they had reached a difficult subject to debate about, but they would not insist more than necessary on it. It was a serious subject, and they would have plenty more time to talk about it later, when everything would be really fixed.
“Let’s not talk about such serious thing in front of her!” Sayaka saved everyone. “Come here, gimme a hug!”
She managed to separate Hana from Atsuko, only to see Yukirin’s cousin yawning. It was indeed, very late and they should all start to leave if they didn’t want to be dead tired tomorrow. However, none of them wanted to. They were having fun. They didn’t want to leave each other now. They didn’t care staying awake until very soon in the morning. After all, they didn’t know when they would be able to talk again together, so they’d rather spend every second they could together.
Plus, Atsuko was leaving soon. They wanted to be with her and enjoy their time. They hadn’t spoken about it, but there was also the scandal between Yuko and Haruna going on. They wanted to be able to make them have fun despite the hard time. They all wanted to see the great bond tying them grow stronger despite the long times spent without seeing each other.
“I’ll get you a last drink for the night.” Minami announced, heading to the kitchen. “I think it’s going to be a long night…”
She wasn’t tired. She was happy right now. She was glad. She wouldn’t change places with anyone right now. She would gladly stay awake the whole night just to speak to the girls she missed the most.
She smiled while pouring the drink in the fancy glasses. It was calm in the kitchen, but it was still easy to hear the loud laughs coming from where the others were. She frankly thought that, thought it wasn’t going exactly as planned, it was a better life that she had ever dreamed of.
“Need help?” Atsuko asked, appearing behind her.
“Yeah… thanks.” Minami said, but putting back down the glasses she was holding.
They just stood next to each other for a moment, smiling and exchanging words by looking at each other.
“Long night… It’s so nice to see them…” Atsuko whispered in Minami’s ear. “But how about we kick them out after that one last drink?”
“Kicking out friends is not a nice thing to do…” Minami laughed, though holding Atsuko’s look intensely.
“Really…?” Atsuko smirked, moving close to her. “We finally have a moment just for us tonight… I will leave soon, you know… I don’t want to waste one night with you.”
Minami’s cheeks turned red, but she managed to keep calm despite feeling a slight spark in her body. No! Now was not the time to think about that! They had guests… she must stay responsible and in control of herself. However… with Atsuko near her and her warm breath on her neck, she knew self control was not an option her girlfriend offered her.
“You’re cute when you’re embarrassed…”
Atsuko’s whisper was lost in the kiss that soon followed those words. Her hand passing through her girlfriend’s silky hair, Atsuko slowly deepened the kiss until she felt Minami totally giving up any resistance. They both breathed together as one for a moment, tongues dancing with each other, lips trying to make the other’s surrender, making it a hard battle to get the control over the other.
“A… Atsuko…” Minami moaned as she felt the actress slamming her against the wall without breaking the contact between their bodies.
“I love you…” The actress only answered.
They didn’t stop kissing. It was the total opposite. It seemed that their impulses had been held too much tonight already, and that they all exploded at the same time. Were they alone? No. They could still hear the distant laughs from the living room… so distant, it seemed to be far away… so distant, it wasn’t even important to listen to them. They were surrounded by people, yet so lost in their own world at the same time.
“I… We… There are people…”
“I don’t care.”
That spark had transformed into a bright violent fire, consuming Minami on the inside, destroying anything that wasn’t related to her desire right now.
When they separated, catching air for what seemed to be the first time in ages, they could only look at each other in the eyes, sending a silent message.
“Last drink?” Atsuko asked, with a smile that meant much more than it seemed.
“Last. Definitely.” Minami nodded, knowing exactly what it meant for them.
They went back in the living room, ignoring the tease of the others girls who complained that it took too long just “for a few drinks”. Of course, it was too long… it was too long, but still never enough to express how much they loved each other.
TBCI don't have school for the next week, but I don't know if I will be able to update
My ideas are clear, but long to explain
Anyway, I hope you guys will still be reading my fic when I will update later
Thank you for everything, especially the patience
I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's not exactly how I wanted it to be, but hey, I think it's fine
Topic: Pink Vitriol (AtsuMina - COMPLETED) + Sequel - CHAPTER 4 (3/10/2012) (Read 123576 times)