Oh. My. God. Guys this is so overwhelming for real
Thank you so. so. much!!
Okay, reply time.
stv_wong: I KNOW RIGHT? I love their bonds! just so beautiful and so strong. I like the way they would always be there for each other whatever happens. And thank you, Bou-J525 helped me alot with my grammar and all.. seriously. About what Acchan and Yuko did...
you'll find out soon.
takamae, hikari_043083, FlameHazeKatsu, Minami-chan, Haruko, KojiYuu44, FNK23, kenjoy12, TakaminaBG : Like I said, everything will open up soon
I'm glad I got you guys curious there though
a hint would be it definitely has nothing to do with Acchan's scandal with Takeru. And I know how you feel about Minami being so sad
you will understand soon.
kurosawa87: LOL I found myself smiling while writting that scene to be honest. Miichan is always the supportive type so I thought that would be more like her
arrow27: thank you! I hope I can maintain the idea
Actuall I'm kinda suck at writing something that completely different to AKB48 that I know, so.. using real life events helps me alot
cisda83: thank you! I can't say that the fic places entirely in the present, after Acchan graduated.
You will understand after this update.
Tanchan: OMG I LOVE YOU FINALLY SOMEONE APPRECIATES ATSUMINATOMO!! I love them. They are definitely best friends and my favourite 91ers in AKB!! And everyone loves Mari-troll! about your logic comment..
did you read my mind or something? Yes to all the things you said. But I hope the flow will surprise you in a way. If you still follow this fic after this update, please continue on commenting and let me know what you think!
TO ALL SILENT READERS: THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!! -----------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 2: The day it all began
(Note:
Italic lines are Atsuko's thought and
bold italic lines are Minami's )
"Excuse me, Akimoto-sensei, do you mind repeat that? A what?" - A young, tiny teenage girl with her hair tied up as a ponytail raised her voice at the old man sitting in his desk. Beside her was another girl, at a similar age, a bit taller and short hair, nodding in agreement.
They had been ordered to meet with their producer, Akimoto Yasushi, in early morning that day, and were told that it was an emergency matter, which sensei wanted to discuss with them alone. Even if either of them found that odd, they kept their curiosity intact. It was not foreign to them anymore about the fact that their producer sometimes had...crazy ideas in his mind.
Like, look at them, they were a bunch of teenage girls, rarely knowing anything about singing and dancing and entertainment world, yet here they were, followed this old man forming an idol group named AKB48. They hadn't had their debut yet, but it would come quite soon, in a month to be exact. So in their little mind, all they could think of was some matter related to their work.
They just didn't know how crazy this was.
"A contract." - the man smiled at his two favourite girls so far. "A friendship contract, to be exact." He was now sitting up straight to be able to look into the girls' eyes. He liked them. Completely opposite in actions but the way they thought was basically the same. He still wasn't really sure about this idea of his, but somehow, his gut told him it was the right thing to do, even when he knew there might be more than a couple problems that would definitely come along the way.
"Didn't we already sign our contract with you to work for AKB, sensei? And what is a friendship contract?" -the tiny girl continued to ask. She glanced over ather supposed-to-be-new-friend, like if she was silently asking if the girl wanted to say anything, but all she received was a slight nod, meant she could be in charge of asking questions.
"Why don't we sit down? I can explain to you girls slowly and into detail this contract. We have the whole morning to ourselves anyway. Come here, any drink for you two?" - Akimoto asked. He was not in a rush, that was for sure. This needed to be done perfectly.
"Eh..I’m not really thirsty..but I don't really mind orange juice. Maeda-san?what would yo.." - the tiny girl spoke first, like usual.
"Orange juice sounds fine, too. thank you." - came the short reply.
Akimoto walked to the fridge, poured out three glasses of the juice and handed them over. He gently sat down, put in front of the girls two pieces of paper which they knew quite well what it was: the contract.
"Go on, read it first, so that you might have an idea about what we are going to discuss." He smiled again, took a sip from his glass and silently observed the girls' reactions.
Both had their brow furrowed, confusion all over their faces. And then, in that instance, Akimoto saw what he needed to see, a confirmation that his gut, again, was right: their eyes immediately found each others, even with confusion, That look between them had something that even Akimoto couldn't explain himself. The connection lasted for no more than 3 seconds, but it was there. The chemistry that he had been looking for. Their thinking was indeed the same. This would be so interesting.
"This is..." - they both started. A nod from Maeda, and it seemed like Takahashi understood that she would be the one to do the asking again. Akimoto tried to hide his amused smile at the way they communicated.
"Go on, ask me whatever you girls want to ask about the contract. I know it confuses you, but I need to know where you don’t understand and what you want to know, that way you won't misunderstand it." - he took another gulp of the juice, the most important moment was here.
"Why do we need this...friendship contract? and.. why.. why do I need to.." - Takahashi nervously asked. She didn't understand this. Not one bit. It stated in the contract that she would had to take care of the girl next to her, Maeda Atsuko, as long as they were in this group together. And by take care, it meant she would need to be on her side all the time, support her and help her through tough time. Take care of people had never been a task to her, it was in her nature, she always cared about others. That's why she couldn't understand why this contract was needed because she would definitely do the same anyway..
"...to take care of me. And it even states here that no matter what is the circumstance, means even when I don't want her to?" - Maeda finished the question. She already felt irritated with the contract. She certainly didn't need a babysitter. She could see that the girl next to her was the caring type, she cared about the girls in the group when they had their training session, even to her. So yes, she didn't understand this, too. This Takahashi girl would definitely do these things, probably when she would get to know more about everyone, and she could already see that happening.
"Good questions, you two. I'll answer them one by one then?" - Akimoto let out a breath that he had been holding, pleased to see even when theywere unsure and maybe irritated (Maeda's case), they reacted the way he had expected them to. Smiling confidently to the girls, he started to explain his plan.
An hour later...
"Do you have any more question? Can I have your signatures so you can go on for the day, maybe get to know each other perhaps?" - Akimoto put down two pens and point to the place for the girls to sign. "I hope you finally understand how important this is for our group to create a special image toward the fans. Dont worry too much about this contract, I can already see after a few months you won’t even remember about this because you'll be friends and take care of each other. But..." - He paused to look straight in the girls' eyes - "..if I see any hint of you two being in a fight, or an unhealthy argument that might affect that image, I have responsibility to remind you about this contract. Are we clear?"
"Yes, sensei." - came the union answer. Two girls took the pen, looked at each other one last time before signing in the contract. They didn't have any idea that it was going to be the cause of their dramatic and complicated life afterward. In their mind, as simple as it looked and as Akimoto sensei explained to them, they just needed to be there for each other when they were still in the group, in front of the camera and fans. Plus the contract would end whenever one of them graduate, which Maeda was sure of, she wouldn't last long in this group to worry about someone taking care of her. It was her mother's idea for her to audition anyway.
So...this should be an easy task, right?
For Takahashi, it wasn't even a contract because she knew she already cared about the girl. A bit of extra concern toward Maeda couldn't be that hard, right?
Unfortunately for them, God loved to prove how wrong they were.
----------
Inside a cafe near the AKB48 theatre, two girls sat quietly, both staring at their drinks like it was the most interesting thing in the world. It was Maeda's idea, to both girls' surprise, that they should hang out a little after the meeting to talk things through and get to know each other better. Now that they were sitting here, she didn't know what to talk about.
"Favourite stuff? Like food or colour? uhhhmmmmmm.. I can't really jump straight in and scare her off with the contract thing..""Maeda-san, um, I think... if you… err... don't mind, we can leave it for another day. It's new and all, and you don’t have to force yourself or anything... It's not like anyone will know about us, about AKB soon anyway. Sorry, I tend to ramblewhen I'm nervous…" Takahashi suggested.
"It's okay. I'm sorry I tend to quiet down when I'm nervous too. Not that I talk that much anyway…" Maeda mumbled. She felt sorry for the girl. She was just a normal shy girl and if it wasn't for her mom who wanted her to try out something new, she wouldn’t have fallen into this… complicated situation. She…
"Maybe we can... uhm... talk about our background or basic stuffs and all first? If you want to, that is. And since I'm the one that talk a lot, I can go first. Or do you want to talk about the con..."
"It's okay, Takahashi-san. I don't bite, so calm down, okay?" Maeda giggled because of the girl's antics. She sure talked a lot when she was nervous. Somehow, it didn't annoy Maeda as much as others’ ramble, when she just wanted to shut them off or walk away. This girl was...different. She had this comforting aura that made Maeda felt quite relaxed.
"Oh… basic information that is then." Takahashi smiled. She liked the sound of her new friend giggling, and it made her calm down immediately. Her mom always complained about how much she talked whenever she was worried or nervous, like before the audition, or when she had exams at school, etc. She tried to fix it but no progress so far. She was actually quite surprised at herself, at how calm she was at that moment, listening to the girl sitting at the opposite.
"Must be nicer when she laughs or smiles...If her giggle sounds like music to my ear like this. Oh my God, I sound like a guy! I blame you, Ryo-kun... " "Takahashi-san, you're alright?" Maeda asked, her voice laced with concern. Okay, not concern, since when did she care about other's feelings?
"I... urr... I'm good, and please, no more Takahashi-san, okay? We're the same age, right? Call me Minami or Takamina, like my friends call me at school, I don't mind."
"I... uhm… okay… And you can call me Atsuko then. I... I don't have any nickname, so..." Atsuko said the last bit in a very low voice, but Minami still caught it and realised there was a hint of sadness inside.
"Atsuko... Atsuko... I like it! It’s a nice name, and it suits you! A kind-heart child." Minami's smile grew bigger at the sound rolling out of her tongue. "If you don't mind, can I call you Acchan? There, you have a nickname now. But I like Atsuko better."
"I... I'm not kind.." Atsuko was blushing slightly. This girl... she didn't even know that she could blush but all the heat she could feel in her face now told her differently.
"Nonsense. I said you were kind, and I’m always right. Anyone that can stand me rambling is more than just kind!" Minami joyfully said, pumping her fists up the air, which earned them some weird look from other customers in the cafe.
This time, Atsuko lost it. She laughed out loud at Minami’s assumption, a childish one to say at least. How could anyone be that cute? And seriously, her ramble was not even half annoying!
"This girl is so interesting! Maybe we can be good friend after all..."Minami was stunned. It was not just because it was the first time someone laughed at her joke, but because the girl in front of her transformed to a completely different person when that smile broke its way to her lips. And she was right, it was much more beautiful when Atsuko actually laughed.
"I swear that smile can light up a whole room even in the dark...she should have laughed like that more often! What I wouldn't give to see that smile everyday...wait, what am I thinking again??" "You look much prettier when you laugh, I like it." Minami said gently. It was true. "You should smile more often. I'm sure everyone would love to see it."
If possible, Atsuko would have dug a hole in the ground and hidden her blushing face down there. How could she get embarrassed so easily in front of this girl? No one had ever said those kind words to her before. No one had bothered to give her a nickname before, not to mention saying she was pretty.
"I..." she shuttered.
"Ah, I did it again, haha, weren’t we supposed to talk about basic things? Okay, let me go first. Name, Takahashi Minami, nickname,Takamina. 14 years old. Love History and hate English, Math at school..."
With that, their conversation flowed smoothly. They talked a lot, about everything they could think of. Atsuko even talked about her pets at home, which surprised Minami to no end because it sounded like a little zoo with that many animals the girl had. Minami also learned that Atsuko was a shy type of girl. Somehow, she trusted Minami in a way that she was be able to open up a little bit, but toward everyone else, she hid in her shell, rarely communicating or saying anything. The interesting thing that she figured out, and probably Atsuko did too, was that they had completely contrasted personalities. Atsuko loved tomato, and she basically could have 3 courses with just...tomato's variations. Minami grimaced at the thought. She HATED tomato. Atsuko loved raw food like sushi, sashimi, especially seafood, and vegetable, not too fond of meat. Minami LOVED meat! And she couldn't eat that much seafood or vegetable, and the list just kept going on and on. It wasn't until Atsuko's phone rang that she realised it was late and that she had to go home. The two walked out of the café and hesitated to say goodbye. The day had turned out much better than they had expected at first, they were enjoying each other's company, and by this point, they had totally forgot about the contract, only focusing on the fact that they had just made a new friend. A potential good friend.
After exchanging contact, they parted away with a promise of more hanging out in the future. Plus they still needed to go on training with other girls for the group's debut next month. Each girl left with a smile on their lips and a warm feeling in their chest.
Maybe they didn't need to care about that contract after all. Maybe this would work out nicely and they would have a nice friendship, a true one. Maybe...
=======================================
(To be continue)
Topic: [Atsumina?] Love Fake (Chapter 2: The day it all began) 04/03/13 (Read 13713 times)