Flean: Sorry, I was slow for this one, but yeah, the world knows about them! If only it was true....
mangobanana15: Greatness? O_O I'm not that great
Scandals are everywhere!!! Now, they just have to find a nice way to deal with it... but will it be fine? And media are really powerful now that I think about it... I don't know... you'll find out in this chapter
Enjoy!
nyaha00: If you don't know what to say, say nothing
And yeah, I'm sorry, I'm not as fast as you, turtle!
TakahashiJ: Haha, if only it was true
Oh god, I would die right away
kahem: Read this chapter to know what happened with Hiroko's reputation... but yeah, I didn't have any idea, so...
A1: Me too
I decided it when I was done writing my chapter... It just pop out in my head suddenly =.=
blughise: Reactions are there! You just need to read carefuly the paragraph
LOL I TOTALLY FEEL THE PRESSURE X 1000... but thank for encouraging me
Everyone reading: THANK YOU
200th post I'M SORRY FOR BEING SLOW!!! SHAME ON MEEEE!!! I have time to write, I just waste my time instead
This one is a bit longer though
I hope you will like this chapter... took me a while to really be fine with it... and still not sure about it... PFF IT'S HARD TO WRITE
Sorry for the mistakes!
Chapter 25What is the matter about being in love with someone you know since a long time? There is none. What is the deal about friendship becoming love if the two people concerned are happy? It will be fine. Why would we forbid the right to be happy to someone? We wouldn’t.
But if everything is fine… if there’s no problem… why can’t some people reach love in their own way? Why does the path of love suddenly become inaccessible? The way two boys or two girls are in love is not different from the way a boy and a girl are. Who decided it was wrong to love someone from the same gender? Who decided it was impossible? Even society, since the very beginning, influences us to think it is strange and different. Love songs, love stories, movies, even pictures from everywhere show a hot guy with a sexy girl. Society thinks “they” are abnormal.
But love strikes without prejudices.
Love doesn’t make difference between boys and girls. It appears whenever it wants, surprising the ones it chooses. Love can become your best friend or your worst enemy, depending on how you deal with it. It can hurt you forever, but it can also bring you to the 7th heaven. It can make you laugh, but also cry until tears won’t fall anymore. In fact, love is free, is everywhere and has the power to do everything.
You can’t blame it, and you will never be able to. By blaming love, you blame humans, you blame the world that makes you think this way, but you don’t even reach love. And if you keep blaming it, it will hurt you. If you keep denying its existence, it will slowly kill you… if you can’t accept the fact that you are in love, you will never be able to accept yourself.
Love is love. It is our entire fault if its significance has been corrupted.
***
“Tell me… are you sure we couldn’t do anything else?” Minami sighed as she looked through the window, only to see reporters stalking Atsuko’s house, as she went by her girlfriend’s side.
“The more I think about it, the more I stop having doubts about it.” Atsuko answered, embracing her girlfriend, acting like she just didn’t want to leave the warm of her arms.
It seemed like they were alone in the world, but Atsuko’s house was surrounded by paparazzi and reporters, three days after the announcement they had done to the media. Everything was coming back, mostly about how their close friendship during AKB48 must have played a role in the revolution of their relationship. Even if now, everyone knew about it, they could only get closer. Yesterday, they had both had interviews here and there, but never together. Still, whenever the other was on break, they talked to the phone together, taking care of the other, asking if everything was fine. They both knew the media wouldn’t leave them alone easily. They had known it when they had made the announcement. They were both anxious about the pressure the other had, but supporting each other helped them to be fine.
Maybe Atsuko had been right… maybe it was the only solution. And now, with all Japan talking about it, they couldn’t even try to hide themselves in Atsuko’s house, knowing it was useless. But it didn’t have only negatives effects. It was like the biggest pressure had finally left their shoulders. Their biggest secret was known by everyone now… they didn’t have to pretend they were friends… Somehow, they were free to do whatever they wanted about it. Now they knew nobody could ever catch them… because they had announced it.
Flash BackAtsuko had called the reporter from a famous newspaper, asking him to have a short meeting. Minami had stayed home all the time. She didn’t feel like she could meet the media, not with the recent scandal accusing her of being involved in Hiroko’s murder. She had been worried about Atsuko announcing it alone though… but the actress had insisted. It was now or never.
“Hello!” She bowed to the reporter who had come with nothing but a notebook, just like she had asked him.
“The great Atsuko Maeda wanting to see me, I couldn’t refuse!” He said with a bright smile.
Atsuko smiled back, secretly laughing at him. If only he knew what she had to say, she was sure he wouldn’t be that happy.
“So, what can I do for you?” He asked. “This must be really important, right? Is it related to the Hiroko and Kenji affair? I can perfectly understand, the pressure to keep the secret must have been horrible… So, what happened?”
He was sure it was about it and was waiting for some juicy revelation… He wanted it to be important, well… of course it was. She had chosen him exactly because she knew he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.
“Unfortunately… there is no link with this scandal.” Atsuko explained. “You see, I’ve been really clear about it, I am not involved, and neither is Takamina.”
The reporter looked down. He was expecting to be the first one knowing the real story… There had been so many rumours about them being involved that it was probably the most exciting thing he could expect. He was expecting her to tell him about her past, about Takahashi’s point of view, about Kenji’s situation… even about blood and guns! About something related to revenge… to money… drugs, anything exciting so he would write a good article and get a promotion!
“But what I have to tell you is probably more interesting…” Atsuko smirked. “You remember Takamina from AKB48, right? The new singer?”
He nodded, wondering what the link was. He had had to cover one of her release event, so he knew her very well, and he knew she had a great voice. He was sure she was going to become popular soon, but why was Maeda talking about her?
“I don’t think I will surprise you if I tell you we’re great friends…”
Again, there was nothing new about it. He was wondering if Maeda had invited him to ridicule him… Everyone, EVERYONE, knew about the strong friendship between the two girls. He was sure that even overseas fans knew about it too. He had heard rumours that they were so close they were almost considered like lovers! If that was the new Maeda wanted to tell him… he would be fired by his superior.
“Well… we’re not just friends… Recently… we’re dating.”
“Dating?” He frowned.
“Yes… You know like… we’ve been closer… and closer… and now she’s my girlfriend…” Atsuko finally said.
It took a second to the reporter to react. She was… what?
“Ah…” He laughed hesitantly. “You mean like… like close friends?”
“No… I’m Minami’s girlfriend.” Atsuko confirmed, knowing the guy must think she was doing a mistake. “We love each other.”
Writing like crazy, the reporter took a few seconds to fully realize the scoop he had. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“And… M-Mina-Minami too? I mean, she knows about… um… your relationship?”
“Of course! I can call her if you want and she will confirm it.” Atsuko answered.
The reporter shook his head. It wasn’t necessary, he knew the actress was telling him the true. He knew what he was hearing was true. He just didn’t know how to put it in words. He was writing his article, asking a few quick questions, never looking into Atsuko’s eyes. It seemed like he was almost scared of this situation, even though he knew he was blessed to be the one with this revelation. He knew already the title of the next front page of all the magazines. Once he’d tell his superior, he would be promoted higher for sure. Staring at Atsuko before leaving, he was stunned by the look the actress had… Her eyes were looking away, but he could clearly see the sight of love… It was pure.
End of Flash BackIn the next hour, it was already spreading on internet, like if the Kenji incident had never existed. Minami had soon confirmed this fact too, when a reporter had called her personally to be sure about this. And then, the phone had started to ring, asking for interviews. Three days later, the two girls, exhausted, had decided to spend the night together, just so they could take a short break from everything, rumours and dramas. But even after eleven o’clock, there were still many people outside spying them… and who knew what they were talking about. After all, they were alone in the house, dating… and it was dark outside. It was the ideal condition for new 18+ rumours.
But maybe stress wasn’t the only reason why they had decided to meet. Maybe they had just decided it… just to confirm the fact that, even if everyone knew about it, nothing would change between them. They were only reassuring themselves by spending time together… but maybe they were also aware that they just couldn’t live too long without the other.
“But now… It will be impossible to have any private life!” Minami said, looking at her girlfriend.
“I don’t care… I’d rather fight against media and rumours than seeing you being affected because of what my manager did.” Atsuko answered. “Don’t be afraid about us. I think we can surpass it… Think about it, it’s nothing compared to what you’ve endured before…”
She couldn’t remember how many times she had said this sentence to Minami. “Don’t be afraid about us.” Since yesterday, she could see her girlfriend was anxious about the whole thing, even if she was trying to hide it. She could feel Minami’s sadness and fear of loosing her because of what society was going to say about them.
Even if they both loved each other deeply, they were hurt. Even if they knew they were going to be together no matter what, the pain was still there. Atsuko just wanted to reassure her girlfriend as much as she could. Because she needed to look stronger to help Minami, she had decided to put her own fears aside. She didn’t want Minami to notice that… she, too, was terrified about the idea of loosing her.
“Are you sure I shouldn’t give the tape to them instead?” Atsuko asked, still stuck at this idea.
“You can’t… we already announced we were together. And I still think it would have been a bad idea…”
Seeing that Minami was not as happy as she thought she would be, Atsuko looked at her sadly, wondering why she couldn’t do anything else to help her feel better. She felt so useless it hurt her heart. She really wanted to be there for her girlfriend… but…
“What’s wrong?” Are you mad at me because of what I did?” She asked.
“No!” Minami immediately answered. “Of course, no. I’m glad we don’t have to hide anymore… It’s just that… I don’t know, I want everything to stop a little… I’m exhausted; I’m tired of drama… I just think that… it’s the beginning of my career, but I already have so many scandals following me.”
“So, this is another reason why you should keep the tape’s existence hidden.” Atsuko said, kissing Minami’s forehead. “I will help you.”
The singer smiled and nodded. She was thinking too much. Right now, she should just relax and enjoy Atsuko’s presence. The actress was cheering every moment spent with her girlfriend. They were in private and Minami was a bit like a different person, like she was showing her a side she didn’t show others. She was showing her real feelings to her. She was really taking care of what she said… and at the same time, she was still herself, joking and laughing when she failed with her lame jokes. To bring her smile back, the actress would do anything. Looking at the cute face right near hers was only reminding her that… she just wanted to go farther in their relationship.
“I’m sorry…” Minami said, blushing at the way Atsuko was looking at her. “I’m being negative… But the tape…”
“Don’t worry, I tell you.” Atsuko nicely said. “You’ve supported me a lot because of the scandal… now it’s my turn. I will never let you down, you know it. I honestly wish I could do more. And when I think about everything we’ve been through… I’m not afraid. If you are with me, I believe it will be fine.”
“Tell me… why did you want to tell them so much about us? I mean… so suddenly… we could have found something else… something… less shocking…”
Minami’s thought about this situation were quite hard to understand. She still wasn’t sure about whether she should be happy or not about it.
“I don’t know… I just wanted to. In the future… in my life, I didn’t want people to know me as your friend… only. I wanted them to know me as the person you love… I want that, when my death will come, people remember me as Minami’s girlfriend. And I didn’t want to hide it. I don’t know for you, but I feel like I’m lying to myself by hiding our relationship. At the beginning, it was nice… it was new and exciting… but now, hiding it all the time makes me realize that I’m also hiding my true self by doing this. Acting like I’m only your friend… it’s a lie. I want everyone to know about us… I want them to know the real me.”
It sounded like she was a bit egoist, thinking only about her, but deep in her heart, Minami felt similar too. She knew she couldn’t keep her relationship with Atsuko secret a long time because, by doing this, she was lying about herself to her fans. She was hiding an important part of who she truly was. There were fans who were waiting for her to find the perfect guy… but in fact, Minami had already found the ideal person for her. She had found her a long time ago.
“Aren’t you… proud to be with me?” Atsuko asked, worried. “I know the announcement was sudden… but tell me, do you regret being with me this way?”
“Of course no!” Minami quickly exclaimed. “I will never regret it.”
Atsuko was right. She should be herself. Even if she wasn’t at ease about everyone knowing about them, she should be fine with it. There was no way she would voluntary hide their relationship… but to tell the media… It was like passing from an extreme to another. But still, she didn’t want Atsuko to have the wrong idea about her opinion.
“I’m really happy to be with you.” Minami added, just to make sure her girlfriend understood.
“I’m glad you’re not upset. I mean… I did it because everything was getting too important with the other scandal. They were even accusing you! They were saying that… that we were both murders! I know our fans didn’t believe them, but still… you can’t have a normal career if there is this kind of rumours behind your back… I felt like there was nothing else I could do.” Atsuko sighed. “It was that… or being accused to have killed someone.
“I know! It’s fine, really. And you’re not the one responsible for everything… I agreed with this.”
Once again, even though they wanted to blame themselves for everything that was happening, they were still supporting each other. But they were also looking forward everyone’s reaction before letting their guard down. They had to be really careful…
“Minami…” Atsuko whispered as she approached her face from her girlfriend’s.
It was dark, late… and they were alone… The actress was slowly starting to think about… something else.
“W-W-What?!” The singer asked, moving back.
“Now that everyone knows about us…”
She was getting dangerously close, an evil smile on her lips. She had a strange smile on her face, like she had something on her mind only she knew about. To Minami, this sudden change of situation was scaring. This new atmosphere was… exciting yet terrifying.
“W-W-What?” Minami repeated.
Atsuko was being strange once again… Minami was really aware of the situation, but all she could find to say what this single word… because she just didn’t know what else to say. She didn’t know how to react. She could guess how the situation was going to turn… She could guess what her girlfriend had on mind. There was this spark in her eyes… saying three words that meant everything.
I Want You.
“Well… you don’t have to be scared about someone finding out anymore... You don’t have to hide yourself anymore… So why don’t we celebrate the fact that… now everyone knows you’re mine?”
“W-W-What?” Minami repeated again, obviously focused on repeating the same thing again and again, trying to move back at the same time.
“You know… you could be mine now…” Atsuko whispered. “We don’t need to hide anymore… we’re alone… you know how I feel toward you…”
It didn’t sound pervert… it was like if the actress was asking her in a very indirect way… it was like… she was waiting for something to happen. She was waiting for Minami’s permission. But her patience was running out…
“I’m… truly in love with you…”
Kissing her slowly, she moved slowly her body closer, feeling her own heart beating faster. She was blind by her own desire. The recent revelation had made her realize how much she wanted to be as close as possible with her girlfriend. She didn’t want to tell her she loved her, she wanted to prove it. She didn’t want to think about her body, she wanted to touch it. She didn’t want to dream about her, she wanted to sleep by her side. She didn’t want to feel her body closed to hers… she wanted their two bodies to become one.
Without noticing it, her hands were already running on Minami’s tensed body. And when she felt that she was loosing all control… when Minami’s sweet scent was driving her crazy… when the contact of her soft skin against her was literally burning her hot body, she slowly moved back, catching her breathe in front of a hesitant singer. Atsuko stared at her in the eyes… wondering what had just happened. Even before, when she had thought about the possibility of them being so close… it had never be so strong in her mind… She had never truly desire something in this intense way…
“Ah… I’m sorry. I was… you know, just joking.” Atsuko tried to explain, laughing awkwardly.
Minami swallowed with difficulty, still feeling like they were kissing passionately. She felt like Atsuko’s lips were still pressing on hers again, like they had never moved apart. Hearing Atsuko’s embarrassing laughs didn’t make her feel better at all, but she decided to play the game… It seemed like the only way to get out of this situation.
“D-Don’t worry… I know you’re just joking.” Minami stammered. “Because you know I’m not…”
“Yeah…” Atsuko quickly said. “I know you’re not… I just wanted to see your reaction! I love to tease you, you know… And I know, I mean, I’ll be waiting.”
Of course, she would wait. She was ready to wait until forever. Love wasn’t only about sex. It had deep values, values that couldn’t be forgiven at any price. Trust, loyalty, sincerity, love was something more complicated than just having sex, and they both knew it very well. Love was about accepting the other. The actress understood how important this moment was, how precious it was and how she couldn’t take the risk to ruin everything by instinct guide her.
“I’m sorry.” Minami apologized, like she just had to do it.”
“Don’t apologize.” Atsuko smiled, surprised. “I was playing, I was joking. I was just teasing you… This situation was just perfect, I couldn’t resist!”
Minami didn’t know if it was because of Atsuko’s actress skills, but she was slowly starting to believe in the joke excuse. Maybe it was true after all. Maybe Atsuko just liked to tease her. Thinking this way, she smiled. She liked Atsuko, no matter how mean she could be. This evil side of her personality, she would never be tired of it. The smirk the actress had on her face right now was just another cute part of her too. And the actress’s lame excuse was just adorable, despite their awkward situation.
“I will never stop loving you, no matter what will happen to us.” Atsuko said seriously without mentioning the obvious upcoming scandal about them spending the night together.
Minami nodded at her girlfriend. She was the luckiest and happiest girl in the world. She thought the same thing about her. She would never stop loving her. If ever she did, she better have the best reason in the world, and even so, it wouldn’t be enough. She sighed. She liked spending time alone with her… and also… for the first time, she had desired her like never before.
It surprised her… but deeply, she would have loved to continue what they had started… It was the first time she felt this way… but she knew this feeling would only increase day after day…
***
Media’s reactions were mixed. Homosexuality would usually be an avoided subject. It was accepted… as long as it was kind of hidden. But now… it was totally exposed which was really rare in this country. It was just… something people didn’t like to talk about.
Some were only spreading the new through any way they knew, aka internet, tv, magazines, newspapers and even at the radio. Mostly were giving their opinion… and it was different from one to another. Media inspired their opinion from old facts, from old events that had happened before. Some were looking through AKB48’s archives to find explanation with it. And media were not making difference between rumours and reality. It was so intense due to the popularity of the two girls, even political problems couldn’t be on front page of the newspapers. Of course, with all this exchange of information, fans, too, started to have their own opinions.
It wasn’t necessary a subject people were talking openly about, even with all the media. But amongst the fans, it was obviously the new of the century. This avoided subject was not ignored anymore because it concerned their idols, the best actress and the upcoming best singer of their generation.
Some fans, of course, were glad about it. The TakAcchan/AtsuMina pairing was really existing! What they had always wanted when the two girls were on AKB48 was real. It wasn’t only fan service! Those fans didn’t care about whether they were two girls or not, they just liked them together, as a duo that couldn’t be separated. To them, Takamina was Acchan’s and vice versa since the beginning, so this new was only exciting them more. Now their support toward them would never decrease. They understood that Takamina had nothing with Hiroko’s affair. She was just following Acchan because of the love they had shared.
Of course, they weren’t alone. Some fans, despite being loyal to them, were not as happy as those mentioned before. In fact, they just didn’t know how to react. They had always seen them as best friends, nothing else. They had always supported them as F-R-I-E-N-D-S! To hear that they were really dating… that they were in love with each other… it was surprising and also a bit strange. They weren’t expecting the two girls to be… like that. They were seeing as straight, joking about being together. To hear this new… they just couldn’t react in a good way.
In Japan where it was a hidden subject, something accepted, but hidden… Two girls dating wasn’t the most common thing, even less than two guys dating. They were surprised…but still neutral. They weren’t going to stop supporting them, but it would just take a few weeks to get used to the news. And who knows… the fact that they were famous would probably help society to accept this difference.
But for haters… it was something else. They were a minority, but still they were taking advantage of the situation, saying it was forbidden and disgusting. Of course, nobody really paid attention to them, but they still existed. They were against this and weren’t mind open at all. It wasn’t necessary their fault… they were just being haters… and that was how haters were: cruel, without really giving them a chance. Fortunately, it wasn’t them that were going to stop Atsuko and Minami’s popularity.
Overseas fans… they were crazy. They were talking about it everywhere, screaming literally about it in the street. Even old forums about AKB48 talked about it. Even their blogs talked only about it. It wasn’t surprising to find a bunch of random comments on Atsuko’s new drama’s page, only about them dating. IT WAS PURE ECTASY.
Overall, in Japan, it was all the same in society. They had just wanted to ignore it instead of knowing it… but it was time to change.
***
“Look over there!”
“Are you sure it’s them? I was sure they were hidden somewhere because of media!”
“They are holding hands!”
Walking in the street, Atsuko and Minami were trying to ignore the looks people were giving them. They were even starting to wonder if it was still a great idea to be together right now, but when Yuko and Haruna finally joined them, their doubts were already gone. The four girls had decided to meet even with the whole mess happening to the two ex AKB members. And Yuko and Haruna were glad to see them after so long time. It wasn’t because of this stupid scandal that they were going to support them. They were still friends after all.
“Yuko! Haruna!” Minami smiled as she hugged them. “I’m so happy to see you after so much time!”
“Takamina!” Haruna said, pretending to be mad as she approached the small girl. “How could you cheat on me! I thought you wanted me as your future wife!”
“What? I think there’s no problem about her cheating on you.” Yuko said, rolling her eyes. “Now you’re all mine!”
They laughed together, remembering very well that they had once picked each other as potential wives if ever they had been guys. This short moment would never be forgiven.
“Acchan! Miichan’s upset! She was sure you two were married until death!” Yuko said. “When she learned the new, she was about to go outside the studio to have a long talk with Takamina!”
“And what about Mocchi?!” Haruna added. “She will never forgive you for stealing Takamina’s ears away from her!”
Both Atsuko and Minami laughed. Their friends really knew how to insert this subject in a funny way, and they were thankful about it. The singer could remember very well the harassment from some girls of Team A, but right now, it was just a nice funny memory…
“And we even received some comments on our blog asking if Acchan could play Ray’s character if ever there was another season of mendol!” Haruna continued. “Some says they prefer Hanako, but some are really serious about seeing you two kissing!”
“They aren’t really waiting for another season?!” Minami smirked. “It’s been such a long time…”
Now, she considered herself as a singer, but hearing some people still wanted to see her as Kai of persona, as an actress, was kind of nice too… though she was sure they must miss Kai more than the real her. Fangirls were scaring. Thinking that made her smile though. Becoming Kai had been nice, even if it had only been for a short time… especially that she remembered how Atsuko had looked at her when she was performing “3 seconds” at AX. Now that she thought about it… maybe the actress was already falling in love with her back at that time. Love that had been multiplied at her graduation…
“Don’t underestimate them! I know it, they will always be waiting.” Haruna laughed.
The four girls went on a café Yuko knew. She also knew the owner, so they managed to get a small private room where nobody else was allowed to go. It was perfect to forget about the crowd of reporters stalking them all the time.
“So… how are you doing?” Yuko asked, while drinking her tea. “I know we’re here to have fun and forget a bit about our problems, but I really want to know about it.”
Of course, this subject couldn’t be avoided.
“Well… as you can see, there’s nothing else we can do but wait.” Minami said.
“I’ve always known there was something special between you two…” Haruna frowned. “In team A, I mean… You were always together. Even after a long day of work, if the other was around, there was always a huge smile on your face. Even Team A’s current members are talking about it. We all support you, of course. I’m not against your relationship… but why did you tell the media?! Were you crazy?!”
The actress and the singer exchanged glances. Maybe they were crazy… but more important: they were in love.
“It’s complicated… We wanted to focus the attention of the media about something else than… the other rumour.” Atsuko said. “Maybe it wasn’t the best thing to do, but everything was getting out of control. If my career must be in danger, than I’d rather it to be because of love instead of some crazy murder stories.”
Under the table, she held Minami’s hand. Even with Yuko and Haruna, Atsuko could only concentrate on one single person. It was always going to be like that.
“It was stupid, right?” Minami sighed. “I don’t regret it… but it was stupid.”
“I don’t think so…” Yuko said with a serious look. “I admire you, guys. I wish me and Nyan Nyan could be as strong as you… but we just can’t imagine telling someone we’re dating. I am really happy with her… but I’m not ready to face everyone’s reactions. I’m not as strong as you… I’m just hoping everything will be fine without doing anything about it…”
It may not seem like this, but Haruna and Yuko really admired what they had done. They were famous, but despite everyone’s reactions, they had decided to do their “coming out” to the media. They were literally promoting their difference. They were fighting to make a difference at the same time, even if it wasn’t their main goal. Putting their career, reputation and even relationship in danger, they were ready for everything following the announcement… They were courageous, more than she had ever been.
“I just don’t want people to think I killed someone… I would never.” Atsuko just said.
After a short awkward moment, Haruna decided to speak, just to change the atmosphere. After all, they were here to have fun, not to sound depressed… so why not tease Minami, just like old times?
“Mariko was quite surprised too…” The tall idol said. “The newspaper article talked only about you dating, so her first reaction was to teach younger members about it. She was telling them it was fine and there was no problem about it since she considers Takamina as a guy.”
“Ehhh?!” Minami smiled. “Still joking about it?!”
She was sure that, after to many times, Mariko would have stopped, but it seemed that the woman was going to remember this forever. She was totally blaming her for being seen as a man by some fans. She wasn’t “that” boyish, right? Look at Sae! She wasn’t like Sae, right?!
“Not only her…” Yuko smirked. “We’re all joking about it… Sorry, Takamina! I hope you’re not really mad… it’s just too funny! Even new members know about it!”
Minami was about to answer something else when she felt Atsuko squeezing her hand. Looking at her smirking, the singer felt her heart beating faster… but not from love, from anxiety. What if Atsuko loved her… as a boy? Did Atsuko really see the girl she was… or was she dating the person some fans liked to call “takaboy”? Doubts were slowly taking her mind over, amplified by fear. What if Atsuko… loved someone she wasn’t?
“I’m not a…” Minami started hesitantly, slowly loosing her conviction.”
“She’s my girlfriend.” Atsuko said, helping her with a huge smile, not taking care if she was talking loudly. “We’re not in AKB48 anymore… I know now that… she’s a girl.”
Haruna laughed at the serious look Atsuko had. They were only joking, right? No need to look like if it was a big deal! Then, a strange idea crossed her mind and, judging by the funny look her squirrel had on her face, they were thinking the same thing. Even if she really loved Yuko, she couldn’t help being scared about the fact that they were thinking in the same pervert way right now…
“How do you know she’s a girl?” Yuko smirked. “She proved it to you? Really?! Ah, I wish-”
“Don’t think about it…” Haruna interrupted her right away, still shocked by her own thoughts.
Minami blushed. She wasn’t expecting the conversation to turn this way, but once again, Atsuko saved her precious heart from an expecting heart attack.
“She didn’t prove it, and she doesn’t need to.” The actress said. “I know Minami, that’s all…”
She smiled at her cute girlfriend who did the same, glad Atsuko considered her as a girl. Once again, they were alone in the world, not noticing Haruna and Yuko laughing together by their side. For a moment, they were just two unknown duos sitting at the same time, not talking to the other. For just a minute, they were just concentrating on the person they loved. Just for another second… forgetting the entire world just to dive into the other’s eyes.
“Ah wait…” Haruna suddenly said. “Did you just call her…”
“Minami, right?” Yuko said too, pointing at Haruna, like they were somehow connected for thinking always the same thing. “I knew I hadn’t heard wrong! So that’s why you were calling her Atsuko when we were talking to the phone, right?”
The singer nodded, knowing she couldn’t find excuses anymore to deny it. After all, now, whatever she could say, nothing was secret. A few seconds later, they were all talking about anything that was unrelated to this scandal. Just a normal conversation, a normal group of girls hanging out together, just the way they used to do when they were all part of the same huge group/family. Just so they can free their mind from the pressure, they all avoided the work related subject. Even if they were sometimes doing some short references to it. Sometimes interrupted by Yuko’s perverted mind, sometimes cut by Minami’s lame jokes, the conversation was nice overall and the four girls enjoyed their food.
Near in the middle of the meeting, Atsuko received a mail from her agency, saying everything was fine with her contracts. Only one had been suspended while two others projects were still fine. The producers of the dramas were fine with the recent scandal. According to them, if Atsuko stayed quiet about it, there would be no problem with her playing the main character of the drama. Of course, it wasn’t like they liked the scandal, and even Atsuko’s popularity wasn’t enough to stop the wave of negatives commentaries, but she was a great actress and as long as nothing else happened, it was fine.
Her agency had been really clear though… With Hiroko and Kenji incident, she couldn’t be involved in another scandal… but it was already too late. Even with so many fans, it was too late. They had decided she had gone too far. She would need to find another agency right after these two dramas. They wouldn’t help her. They wouldn’t find her new contracts, but at least, they were going to keep her until she found another agency. With this huge coming out, she had just gone too far… They just couldn’t risk keeping her with them anymore.
“After Hiroko… I thought I would only have to change manager, but no, I just HAVE to change everything…” Atsuko sighed, visibly angry and sad about it.
“Adults are stupid…” Minami said, even if she was one herself, after Atsuko had told them the phone call. “Don’t worry too much about it… I’m sure you will find another one in less than a second and that it will be better. Right now, they are all talking about it and it seems huge, but someday, they will stop. I trust you, you can surpass it.”
“I know…” Atsuko said, thankful for her girlfriend’s support.
There was just no way to describe how much she wanted to thank Minami for always being there with her, even if the singer had her own problems to deal with.
“You’re lucky…” Haruna added. “You only have to change agency and you still have contracts… It could have been worst.”
She was right. Atsuko’s career could have been over just because of the first scandal, and now, with her huge coming out, it was a miracle people were not avoiding her. Atsuko knew it wasn’t that bad… she only had to find another agency, and compared to some others things she had heard before, it was nothing.
“What about you, Takamina? Affected by the scandal?” Yuko asked.
“Not so much, at least until now.” The singer said. “So far, my single is still sold everywhere, and except a sudden increase of interviews, there is nothing new… I hope it will stay like this though…”
Even on a personal point of view, it was fine. Her mother was not too shocked about it. Minami suspected her to think as her like an L since the Hiroko incident. Well, it could only have helped, right? Anyway, it was fine with her. She knew her daughter had been through a lot of hard situations, and to hear she was finally accepting herself made her happy. Minami’s mother had always feared that her daughter might never really find herself because of this experience from her childhood, but now the singer was totally assuming herself, and there was no way she wouldn’t be proud of her. Of course, she was a bit sad about the whole little children thing… but she had time to think about it. Right now, she had just supported Minami in the whole scandal…
“The whole 48 family supports both of you too.” Yuko added. “You may have graduated, it doesn’t mean you’re out forever. Even during performances of old stages fans keep screaming your names. I know some are surprised, but you know… it’s AKB48.”
“And members miss you too!” Haruna said. “It’s so loud in Team A since you two announced you were together! Everyone is remembering you as TakAcchan and AtsuMina… it’s quite funny.”
Minami laughed at the coupling name, soon followed by Atsuko. They remembered when some members were joking around about them being a couple… They had always denied it. She knew that, if they were all with them right now, all she would have heard about would have sounded like “told you so” or something… Thank God, they weren’t there.
“Except Miichan!” Haruna joked. “She says she’s jealous, but in fact I think she’s really happy for you.”
“Haven’t you broken with her?” Minami asked Atsuko, kind of playing the game too. “That was what you told me, remember?”
Minami was probably talking about an old conversation they had had when they had been in AKB48 because Yuko and Haruna couldn’t remember this. But Atsuko remembered it very well… she just didn’t want Minami to know about it.
“Me? When?” Atsuko asked innocently like a little kid.
“Acchan, you’re such a player!” Yuko laughed as Haruna glared at her with a “you’re not better” look. “Look, Takamina’s being jealous!”
“I’m not jealous!” Minami said, rolling her eyes. “Atsuko’s worst! She was jealous because I was talking too much with you, Yuko!”
“What?” Yuko laughed. “But we didn’t talk too long! It was less than two hours, it was nothing!”
Atsuko raised her eyebrow at Yuko’s words. “Only” less than two hours? She was supposed to think it was not long?
“I never knew that!” Haruna frowned. “What were you talking about?”
Jealous Haruna… is scaring… even if she didn’t have any reason to be. But the tall girl wasn’t really serious about it. It was just by curiosity. If Yuko was talking about her in secrets conversations, she wanted to know about it. As for the actress, she was seriously wondering what a “long” conversation could be to them. True, it had happened to her to speak three hours with Minami at the phone… but it was because she was her girlfriend and just couldn’t get enough of her presence!
“Useless stuff.” Atsuko answered. “I was listening. But Minami apologized, so it’s fine!”
“You didn’t need to apologize.” Yuko said. “We’re like sisters, even fans say that!”
Just to prove what she was saying, Yuko went by Minami’s side and they both smiled innocently like two little kids, so everyone could see how they looked alike. Atsuko didn’t hesitate a lot before taking her cell phone to start taking pictures so she could finally update her blog with something more interesting than “thank for your support despite the scandal”. Right after, the two “sisters” were back at their respective side, Minami commenting on what Atsuko was writing and Yuko trying to do skinship with Haruna, not taking care of the others.
“Nyan Nyan… why don’t we go somewhere else? They will be fine anyway without us, you know? Look, they’re already ignoring us!” Yuko said to her girlfriend.
“We heard that!” Atsuko laughed, still looking at her screen.
“What? Don’t tell me you don’t want to be alone with her!” Yuko pointed the singer as Atsuko didn’t answer.
Friendship was nice. Spending time with friends was nice and could bring peace in someone’s heart. Laughing, talking, sharing joys and tears… it was cool, but there was always a time when love came back like a tornado blowing everything on its way. Strangely, it was always at the bad timing.
“Aw come on, guys, let’s go to karaoke!” Haruna said. “We haven’t sung together for months! It’s been a long time and I’m sure you can wait to be alone. Now, let’s just have fun, right?”
She was right. As a group, they had been used to sing all together all the time. She couldn’t remember the last time they have done something like this… dancing and singing…
“Karaoke!” Minami said happily. “It’s been such a long time! I’ll sing my single!”
“Eh? We don’t want to hear your single!” Yuko joked at Minami’s enthusiasm. “We don’t want to hear you at all!”
“What? But-” Minami started.
“Don’t listen to them.” Atsuko said cutely, holding her hand. “You have the most beautiful voice I’ve ever heard.”
Minami smiled at Atsuko’s sweet words. She knew Yuko was joking, but it was always nice to hear someone complimenting her, especially when it came from her girlfriend.
“Right, right… we’re leaving.” Haruna said. “We’re not waiting for slow lovebirds…”
They left the café under some flashed from paparazzi’s cameras. Wherever they go, it would never stop, but Minami didn’t care.
“Look, it’s them!”
“Minami! Atsuko! We support you! We love you!”
“Overseas fans support you!” A group of white tourists screamed in English, surprising them. “We will always support you!”
Minami and Atsuko smiled warmly at them. She was not surprised that some overseas fans knew about it… but seeing someone shouting it at her right now was. She sighed, relieved. She just wanted to have fun tonight with her friends. She just wanted to enjoy life… for the first time since a while…
***
Lying in his bed, he was staring at the sky through the window. What had exactly happened… he couldn’t tell. Why was he there… he knew it. He was aware of the gravity of his situation. He knew everything he needed to know about this injury… His father had told him everything, mentioning Takahashi Minami, his old target. His father must have known something about his past as an aggressor, but he hadn’t mentioned it. Parents were often like this, their children would never do anything like this… Kenji knew he wouldn’t be able to have a normal life anymore. He knew… he would never be able to eat anymore… as for being an actor, there was no way he would ever get a decent contract this way. He could say farewell to fame.
He did so. Except for a few words, he had not talked to the reporters. He didn’t want to answer any question. He had even stopped being innocent: he was not accusing anyone anymore. The only reason why he was still seeing media was to talk about his own career. He had officially announced he quit being an actor. There was no future in this condition, and he knew it was useless to pretend the opposite. He had had no choice but to leave this crazy world ruled by fame and money.
He knew Tokyo’s police was still investigating about this situation, but he also knew it was useless. If Takahashi was quiet, then nothing would be found. People would still believe as Hiroko as the bad in this story… because there was no way he was every going to say another version. He knew Takahashi would not take the chance to say everything, because media would jump on her little hungry dogs.
He wasn’t afraid about how the scandal was going to end. With the recent announcement, he knew it was only a matter of time before everyone forgot about it. He had been quite surprised about how his old victim had managed to turn the attention on another shocking subject. He had to admit that this small woman had surprised him… He had never thought she was strong enough to do something like this.
However, he didn’t regret what he had done. He wanted to protect himself. To him, a little boy always following everyone, being famous was the top of the world. He had wanted to protect his reputation and it was a success. With the accident, everyone pitied him. Nobody knew the truth and he knew nobody would ever know about his implication in Takahashi’s past. He was sure about it. He had burned everything related to her, and even gave money to some people so they would not speak. It was sad he couldn’t just have done it with Hiroko, but it was already too late: she was gone.
Even so, he couldn’t regret anything, not from the past, not from the present. In his horrible condition, his future destroyed, there was no way he would forgive anyone about this. He even had ideas to take revenge, but he knew it was useless now. God knew how much he wanted to take revenge… but he knew his condition would never change, no matter what he would do. For what he had left as dignity, he could only smile to his fans and promise everything was going to be fine… Even though without his job, he was nothing…
He thought about Hiroko and sighed.
He was alive… but truly, he wasn’t living anymore…
***
Atsuko was coming back to her mother’s house. Since she was living alone, it had been quite a moment since she had met her. Her father was probably absent due to work, but she was sure she would be there. She hadn’t spoken to her since the coming out scandal. Her mother had not called her… so she didn’t know what she thought about it. She was a bit afraid of her reaction though… Unlike Minami, she had had a perfectly normal childhood, she had been herself all the time, from what she could remember, girls hasn’t fell in love with her… she had even told her mother she was waiting for THE perfect guy. Minami’s mother had been really comprehensive and accepted it right away… she just hoped it would be like this with hers.
And her mother was encouraging her in this way too. Atsuko had always told her girls from AKB48 were just friends, that it was all fan service and that it would never go farther than this. She couldn’t remember how many times her mother had told her something like “So, have you found a good looking guy?” or “You might start looking at guys now, right?” She knew her mother really liked Minami, but probably not to point of letting her daughter DATE her. They were still two girls after all… Her phone vibrated, and as she looked, she saw Minami’s short message. She knew her girlfriend was probably already at work, another radio show.
“Good luck!
You can do it!
I love you!”
Right, she could do it… She went in her home, screaming she was back. She had not told her mother she was coming that night, but it seemed the woman was waiting for her since she had already prepared a huge meal.
“Atsuko!” Her mother, a beautiful and tall woman said. “I was hoping to see you soon.”
They embraced each other before sitting at the table. They ate, talking about anything that wasn’t related to the scandal, but Atsuko could see in her mother’s eyes that the subject was going to start soon. And right when she had done eating the excellent meal, her mother started talking about it.
“I’m happy to see you, of course, but… I don’t understand, is it really real about Minami-chan and you?” She said after telling her she had almost had a heart attack after she had read the article. “I mean… telling the media…”
Atsuko nodded. She was close to her mother, really close. She knew she could be honest, but she knew her mother was disappointed at the same time, no matter what she could say… and it hurt her thinking her mother could not be proud of her.
“We had no choice, mama…” Atsuko started. “You’ve heard about the other scandal too… we just had no choice.”
“So… it’s true? I was sure… you were waiting for the perfect guy, you know? I told you, you’re beautiful! Boys must only look at you all the time, I mean, I’m not saying this just because you’re my daughter, you really are a gorgeous woman. You should have no difficulty to meet-”
“It’s not about having difficulties to find someone…” Atsuko interrupted her. “I know a lot of guys and… I don’t know, we’re only friends.”
“But you told me yourself you wanted to find a guy and marry him… have children… Have a normal life!”
“My life is normal… You know…” Atsuko whispered, a bit sad about her mother’s reaction. “I’m not a different person because I love a girl…”
Her mother looked at her, a sad sight on her eyes. She had nothing against homosexuality… she had nothing against this, really… but now that it happened to her own daughter, she didn’t know how to react. She couldn’t believe it was really happening… She knew she should support her, because it didn’t care what gender she liked… But so suddenly… They had never really had a conversation about it.
It was often like this. People said they accepted it, that there was nothing wrong about it… that everything was fine and would ever be fine… But once it happened to them, they were lost. They had strange ideas on mind, they had prejudices, they had fears growing in their minds… Once it happened to them, everything changed.
“But Minami too, I thought you were only friends.” Atsuko’s mother said.
She really liked the small girl. She thought she was a great singer and all, nice, polite… but really, the two girls dating? She had difficulty to think this way. She knew her daughter… each time they had talked about her dating a nice guy, Atsuko had just nodded shyly, smiling…
“We were… until a few months.” Atsuko said, not turning around. “I love her, mama. I don’t know… it just happened… I’m in love with her.”
She was prepared, but it was still shock to hear it from her own daughter.
“Are you sure it’s love?” She asked again, knowing she was wasting her time. “You’ve been in this girls group so much time, maybe you think it’s love, but it isn’t.”
Atsuko felt bad. She knew her mother was trying to find excuses. She could see her mother was trying to… somehow avoid reality. Seeing how her mother was not sure about this new… hurt her. Was she going to be accepted by her own parent? If not… how could she even hope being accepted by others?
“It’s love.” Atsuko repeated.
“You told the media!” Her mother exclaimed, a bit upset. “The media, do you understand?! Everyone is talking about it! Everyone knows about it! Even some from our own family started looking strangely at me!”
“It’s love.”
She knew she could add nothing. She could have given many explanations, about her feelings, about Minami, about the situation… but she knew it was useless. If her mother really understood what it meant for her to love someone enough to tell the media… then she would know it right now. If her mother couldn’t accept it… she would know it too. Though, she felt bad for her too. Her mother had problems because of what she had done, she could understand she was a bit tired of these scandals.
“Everything… is fine between Minami-chan and you?” Her mother asked. “No problem, even with your work?”
Atsuko nodded.
“Listen… it’s not a problem that you two are… dating… But… telling the media, seriously! I was fine with you being in AKB48 and getting all this attention, I was also fine about you being a popular actress because I knew you were happy… but telling the media about this private aspect is too much! I don’t want everyone to know about what you are doing all the time…”
Atsuko, like a little being reprimanded for having broken a toy, nodded again.
“Be careful… You are young, you have no idea of what will happen later, but anything you have done can come back suddenly in your life at the worst time… You shouldn’t tell them… You should just let them thinking whatever they want and-”
“They were even accusing Minami!” Atsuko protested. “I couldn’t just stand there doing nothing…”
“No, you’re right.” Atsuko’s mother smiled. “I’m glad you protected yourselves… but don’t forget, as an actress, you also have the right to a private life, and this, nobody can take it out from you. You have the right to keep some things secrets… especially when it concerns an instable subject as love…”
The actress thought about the meaning of these words and sighed. Her mother was not upset… she was just anxious about her, and she was right. Letting the world knows they were dating wasn’t the most intelligent thing she had done… but past was past.
“I’m sorry for the problems you have because of me…” She said. “I’m sorry for being like this… I’m sorry…”
The silence remained for a moment.
“And… you’re doing fine with your job?”
Again, the actress nodded. Her mother seemed to be calmer as she added:
“My daughter… There is no way I can be upset about this… You know it, right? I really like Minami-chan too… I just didn’t expect thing to turn this way… Look at you… you’ve become a beautiful woman, assuming yourself and I can see you’re happy right now, even with the events…”
The older woman held her daughter’s hand and squeezed it strongly.
“Why are you sorry?” She asked.
“You… You were expecting me to fall in love with a boy, weren’t you? You were expecting me to have children… to have a wonderful husband… but instead, I’m just provoking scandals wherever I go.”
There was no way to describe how bad Atsuko felt. The pressure she had on her shoulder was reaching her poor heart. It hurt her so much… Just thinking that her mother was disappointed at her… Just to thinking that she could have been different and everyone would have been happy. Somehow… she still couldn’t accept it. Somehow… She just wanted her mother to be happy… She didn’t want to bring anything bad in her family because of her selfish choices.
“Atsuko…” Her mother smiled. “I don’t want to hear you apologize because of this ever again. You don’t have to apologize because of this. You will never have to.”
Atsuko knew her mother was right. Behind these words, there was an important meaning. What her mother probably wanted to say was that… it wasn’t a crime to love a girl. It wasn’t something bad… It wasn’t something she could apologize for. In fact, Atsuko couldn’t apologize to be the one she was.
“I know… but I don’t know what else to do.” The actress answered.
Her mother was wise. Now that the surprise was gone, she knew she could only help her daughter. Still, she didn’t accept the fact that she had told the media. But at least, she knew that right now, her daughter was learning to be herself… and sometimes being ourselves hurt.
“You don’t need to apologize.” She repeated. “Even to me, you don’t need to apologize. It’s surprising, I have to admit it, but you know, I will get used to it… I will get used to the fact that my daughter is dating a girl…”
Atsuko smiled. Her mother was still hesitating at this word… maybe she was scared, maybe she was afraid to do a mistake, maybe she didn’t realize it fully… but the actress knew she was going to accept it. She knew her mother very well.
“Mama?” She said, still wondering if her mother was proud of her.
“What?”
“I love you.” Atsuko murmured, becoming a young little girl again as she was being embraced warmly by her mother.
***
“Minami!
Everything went fine…
I hope you’re alright too!”
***
A month was gone since their announcement. Kenji had left the hospital yesterday. He had the permission to come back home, but he needed to had a special machine following him most of the time. He would probably stay home all day, only to get out two or three hours per day.
Atsuko was done filming her two dramas. She had to find a new agency. Of course, she had already had some offers, but she still had to think about it, knowing she needed to do the best choice. At least, she knew she would manage to start again, and probably reach the top again. Her fans were still behind her, encouraging and cheering. It was only a matter of time before she got a new agency… and another manager, again. Her mother had encouraged her a lot since their conversation… and Atsuko had never talked about her private life in front of the media.
Minami was doing fine. She was trying to find inspiration for another single. She had written some lyrics here and there, but she knew it wasn’t enough. She wanted her second single to be better than the first one, and she was training all the time, singing by herself or in karaoke with her friends. The fact that she was a bit less busy than when she was with AKB48 allowed her to relax and live her life like she wanted. She could finally, finally, spend her time like she wanted… and enjoy life… because right now, there was no problem.
Media? They were now avoiding them. Unlike the few days after the announcement, the media were now avoiding her, not offering any interview or anything else. They were obviously waiting for something new to happen. They had finally accepted the fact that the two girls were dating, unlike the minority of haters… but because they were a minority, they could do nothing. After a month… the front page had became:
“OSHIMA YUKO ANNOUNCED HER GRADUATION!”
Mariko had been transferred to SDN48 a few days ago… and now Yuko was officially leaving, after so long time. In any case, media had stopped talking about the two ex members. Maybe they would call them once Atsuko had confirmed she had another agency or another drama… maybe they were waiting for Minami to create another single… But right now, no one talked about them. It was always “has been”.
In the street though, it was different. Atsuko and Minami were almost always disturbed by some random people in the street, wherever they went. They still kept great friends from AKB48, and surprisingly, even Aki-P had congratulated them… but this, maybe it was due to the fact that the scandal had brought back AKB48 in front of the news for awhile. The idols group was doing fine. Aki-P had finally understood he couldn’t always create more groups. Right, after he had tried to create another sister group, AKB48’s popularity had suddenly dropped, making him realizing he should concentrate on his main groups instead of creating new ones, especially since all the first generation members were going to leave sooner or later.
The negative stuffs were behind them… Even the Hiroko scandal was almost forgotten. Still, the manager’s reputation was the same. She was the one responsible for everything. But since she was dead… police had stopped asking Kenji and looking for news proves. Kenji… was safe… and even though they disliked this fact, Atsuko and Minami couldn’t do anything about it…
***
“Minami!” Atsuko screamed, surprising her girlfriend from behind, something she had done many times.
The singer laughed. They had seen each other two days ago, yet Atsuko was acting like they had not met since three months. Thinking about it, she still couldn’t believe they had once spent one year without seeing each other… If ever it happened right now, she wouldn’t survive. Though this time was special… Atsuko was acting like this… but they were already together since a few hours, wasting time together at Minami’s house.
“Hey, take care!” The singer said as she received some popcorn on the head.
They were spending the night watching movies. They had done this a few time, sleepover… Whenever they both had free times, they were hanging out. And wherever they can, they were spending the night together… not to do dirty things, just to have great time. And even if Atsuko wanted it… Minami had been clear about it many times, so there was no need to force things.
“Sorry!” Atsuko laughed, though spreading more popcorn around them as she sat by her girlfriend’s side.
Minami sighed. Luckily her mother wasn’t home… but she had to make sure to clean up a little before she came back. She had promised the house wouldn’t be on fire or anything. Her mother was gone for three days for an important meeting for her job. Well, the house wasn’t on fire… but it was not the ideal place to invite others. Atsuko didn’t seem to care about it. All she wanted was to see her girlfriend.
“I’m just really happy with you!”
The singer could perfectly understood what Atsuko meant by this. She felt better than during her whole life. She knew there was nothing bad in her life right now. She knew Atsuko was never going to leave her, and this only thought was enough to make all her negatives thoughts go away. It happened for her to think about Hiroko too. She had kept the recorder and the tape with her, throwing everything else related to her old friend away. The tape would be the only material proof she would keep of Hiroko’s existence… because she didn’t want to keep anything else. She felt like she should only concentrate on her current life and her current love.
“I will always be happy with you by my side.” Minami smiled. “You don’t need to repeat it…”
Atsuko quickly ate a piece of popcorn that had fallen, kissing Minami’s neck at the same time, making her becoming slightly pink…
“I know, but I want to say it. You know, we might not reach tomorrow… maybe there will be a huge earthquake or something… so I’d rather say it as much as possible to make sure you understand.”
Minami smirked at Atsuko’s tragedy. Love was strong enough to surpass death. Nothing was going to happen to them. She would make sure to protect her everyday, every second spent together.
“How it’s going with your agencies thing?” Minami asked, still anxious about Atsuko’s future.
“Fine… There’s one I really want to be accepted in… but I don’t think they will accept. They really care about scandals and all… so I think my chances are over already, even if they said they would think about it.” The actress sighed.
She knew wherever she would go, this scandal would follow her too, just like a dark shadow.
“It will be fine… I trust you.”
True, she trusted her as a friend, as her lover and as an actress. She knew she wouldn’t hesitate to help her, no matter what the consequences would be. She knew she could tell her anything and that she would not repeat it to anyone without her permission… She knew Atsuko was strong to do anything she wanted… and that she could easily prove them she had surpassed this scandal. She felt really blessed to be with her. There were so many good looking guys, so many hot girls, so maybe people much better than her… but their close relationship had won over everything.
“I’m sure they will be happy to accept you…” Minami reassured her, really believing in her words.
“Yeah… you’re probably right…”
Minami smiled and put her head on her girlfriend’s shoulder. Starting the movie, they just sighed, knowing they would probably only think about how they felt good together right now instead of really listening to the story. Lost in their thoughts…
The movie ended before they even realized it. Minami had fallen asleep on her girlfriend’s laps, and Atsuko was only looking at her. She was just staring at her sleeping angel, just listening to her regular breath… playing her slightly with her hair… smelling her sweet scent… She could have stayed like this forever. Even with the music playing from the television, even with some random clip playing, there was no way she would ever look away.
She suddenly heard a storm outside. Rain was falling at an incredible speed, making her looking through the window for a few seconds. When she glanced back at Minami, she had her eyes opened and was smiling.
“How dare you look at something else instead of me?” The small girl smirked.
“I’m sorry!” Atsuko immediately apologized, smiling. “The rain was much more interesting.”
“Of course!” Minami said, rolling her eyes.
Atsuko, still smiling, played with Minami’s hair lovely, nodding.
“You should look at the rain someday… but not when I’m sleeping, alright?”
“So you can do it, but not me?” Minami laughed.
“You perfectly understood!” Atsuko answered, clapping her hands when she suddenly received a mail from someone.
Answering her cell phone, she read the mail under Minami’s interrogative look. A bright smile appeared in her face as she said:
“I’m accepted… I’m really… accepted in this agency! They only said I need to be careful in my life with the media… but it’s fine!”
“Really?!” Minami smiled. “See? I told you so!”
Now, everything could only get better, right? And even if something bad was ever going to happen again, Minami would be there to help her. As long as they were together, it was going to be fine. As long as hope was still there… it was fine. Minami thought about her next single… sooner or later, she would find the best idea ever… Someday, people from everywhere would not only recognize her as an ex AKB member, but only as a singer.
“I’m so happy… I just can’t realize it… I can’t realize that… everything is done with the scandal… Everything was so fast… Everything was so hard…”
Atsuko was repeating the same thing again as Minami was just looking at her, smiling. She knew how hard it was to think that all the problems were over. She knew the feeling about starting again, in a better way. She knew how Atsuko felt about forgetting the daily hell they had lived a month ago… Sometimes, you feel like you’re wrong to hope… but in the end, you realize it’s really the end… and then, you can’t believe it’s true.
“I told you so…” Minami whispered, interrupted by Atsuko’s lips on hers.
Still lying on Atsuko’s laps, Minami shivered. It may not be the best position to share a kiss, but it tasted the same… it tasted great, passion, happiness, sweetness, love.
“Thank you for supporting me when I’m panicking.” Atsuko smiled cutely.
“N-No problem…” Minami shyly answered.
The singer was becoming redder as she thought about one time they had been together, alone. It had been at Atsuko’s home, and her mother was gone somewhere with some friends. They had almost gone farther… but she had stopped her girlfriend right before just a second.... And before Minami could have said anything, Atsuko had only apologized, promising she wouldn’t do something she didn’t want. It had been three weeks ago. Since then, Atsuko had never even tried to do anything… and during this time, Minami’s fear had slowly disappeared… and her own desire had slowly increased.
“I’ll be there for you… always.” Minami whispered, closing her eyes.
She might looked like she was going to fall asleep soon, but Atsuko knew her very well to know she was asking for another kiss. She thought her girlfriend was so cute that she couldn’t refuse her anything, and kissed her again slowly, just to make it longer and deeper. She wasn’t really aware of it, but her hands were already slowly caressing Minami’s body… everywhere, like she wanted to feel each centimetre of her skin touching hers. When Atsuko stopped, she already knew she must stop now or else she would not be able to control herself. When they kissed… there was no way to explain her feeling. Her love was being multiplied by a hundred, her heart was burning from excitement… and she was just totally loosing her mind.
“S-Sorry…” She murmured, knowing she had probably being too fast.
She didn’t want to scare her girlfriend… She didn’t want to do anything wrong… But when Minami opened her eyes… Atsuko was totally captive by her look. Because deep in her eyes... there was something new. Something she had never seen before… Something she could resume with a simple sentence… Something she wanted to see since a very long time… something stronger than everything else…
I'm ready...The End ENDNOTE: ... Yeah... Gonna update an author note later, ok? So until then... don't kill me because of this chapter... and don't kill me about this chapter being the last.
Topic: Pink Vitriol (AtsuMina - COMPLETED) + Sequel - CHAPTER 4 (3/10/2012) (Read 105596 times)