Chapter 3 as promised!! I kind of went on a writing spree and already wrote 4 and 5 (which is the final) but I won't post them all at the same time so i don't overwhelm you all with too much reading
So enjoy this chapter! A few things are revealed but chapter 4 is where we learn Minami's reasoning
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Chapter 3 – The Actions of a Friend Minami was lying on the couch, staring at the black screen of the TV. They hadn’t hooked it up yet and she didn’t really feel like watching anything anyway. She’d received a text from Atsuko stating that she’d be heading back to Yuko and Harugon’s place, and thus Minami shouldn’t worry. She was glad the younger girl notified her, since she’d been worrying considering Atsuko was out for a walk with her dog for over three hours.
Nyaa chan jumped on the couch and cuddled against her owner. “Well...She’s still talking to me...technically, so that’s a good sign, right Nyaa chan?”
Except she didn’t really mention if she’d be staying permanently at Yuko’s...What am I saying. Of course she is. You told her you didn’t want to live with her, remember Takahashi! The leader let out a sigh. She’d also have to figure out her living arrangements. For now, she’d have to stay in this house since moving back into her old apartment was impossible, and not like she can just ditch this house after finding a new place. The moving process would take time. Great, so I’m stuck in a place that’ll be a constant reminder of how I messed up. Instead of worrying whether or when the actress would return for her things, Minami decided she’d head over to the AKB theatre. There was still a few hours hours until Team A’s slotted practice time, but she figured she could hang with some of the team K members and watch them for the time they had remaining.
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Yuko and the rest of Team K still had two hours of practice left, and were on their second short 15 minute break. Sayaka walked up to the ace and again held out Yuko’s cell phone. “You’re very popular today captain” she teased.
Yuko inwardly groaned. “I wish I wasn’t,” she said as she grabbed her phone.
Really what is it now? When she opened her phone, she saw a text message from Minami:
Hey. I have some free time and am planning to come by the theatre. I hope it’s okay with you team captain! – Minami
Ah! She’s coming here. Seriously leader you don’t know how to spend your time off. Yuko sighed and replied back informing the younger girl it was okay.
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Minami entered the theatre as team K was practicing one of their stage songs. She decided to take a seat in the middle row and watched. Watching them perform sent electricity through the leader. She loved the stage more than anything, and seeing her fellow members perform, she felt like jumping on the stage herself to release all her energy.
Ah, now I’m eager to perform with team A.
After the song ended, the member all greeted Minami then went back to work. Yuko instructed them on something then jumped down the stage and headed towards the leader. “You really should learn how to enjoy your time off” Yuko said, grabbing a seat beside her short companion.
“I am. I had plenty of fun watching you guys perform. Seriously that was great Yuko. Team K is as amazing as always!”
Yuko could practically see the excitement and energy in their leader’s eyes. She knew how the young girl got about stage shows and found herself smiling at Minami’s honesty and energy. “Well what do you expect; the amazing Oshima Yuko is leading them!”
Sayaka who walked by and overheard stated, “The amazing Oshima Yuko forgot there was even a team K practice today, and I had to remind her.”
“Hey! I would’ve remembered myself!” she shot back defensively as Sayaka laughed and walked back to the stage.
Yuko looked back and saw Minami watching the younger members practicing the dance steps with a smile on her face. She wondered whether to bring up the issue with Atsuko or not....After a few minutes of silence, Minami was the one to break it.
“...Hey um, so I heard Atsuko was going to be staying at you place”
“Huh? Oh yah. She sent me a text earlier letting me know, but I still haven’t called or seen her...”
Staying? Did Atsuko tell Minami she’d be ‘staying’ at my place? She texted me 'moving back' “I see. Well here.” Minami said as she picked up a plastic bag off the floor and placed it on the seat”
“What’s this?”
Oh yah, I saw her come in the theatre with this. “When Atsuko left and texted, I figured she already went straight to your house. She didn’t come back to get her stuff so I wanted to make sure she’d have some of her things for the night at least. I put her toothbrush in here and her favourite pyjamas. Also I brought Cocoa’s food and bowl. Oh, I also grabbed a few movies from her favourite collection since she likes to watch them late at night...”
As the little leader spoke, Yuko watched with interest. Minami had that loving protective look on her face like she usually has as she listed all the things she brought for Atsuko.
Are these two seriously in a fight? Yuko didn’t realize she drifted into thought until Minami kept waving a hand in her face. “Huh what!? Oh right. Yah I’ll take this with me when I go home.”
“Thanks. If she’d like she can come for other things she wants tomorrow. I’ll be at a photo shoot for the morning so she won’t have to see me.” She said with a slight frown.
“Hey hold it. Don’t go giving up like that. If you offer her to pick up all her things she’ll really move out for good. Besides, I’m sure whatever you guys are fighting about will blow over and she’ll want to move back in with you,” the ace said trying to reassure the leader. However, what Minami said next surprised her.
“...Yuko. I’m the one who told Atsuko I can’t live with her.”
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Their conversation ended there. Yuko sat shocked for a bit and then was called back to practice before she could say anything. And now, Team K’s practice was over and the Team A members came pouring in a bit early. She wanted to talk to Minami, but figured she’d leave it for another day. For now she’d go back home to consult Atsuko. Yuko remembered to grab the bag Minami left, and before heading out she ran up to Mariko and whispered to her what she knew. She and the older girl decided to not confront the leader any further today.
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When Yuko arrived home, she found Atsuko watching some TV with Cocoa by her side. “Hey, I’m home. Where’s Harugon?”
“Welcome home. Harugon is still at work I believe.” The actress answered, eyes still transfixed on the screen.
“Huh. How’d you get in then? I thought Harugon was home?”
“I still have the keys to the house”
“...Atsuko, when you move to a new place you’re not supposed to have the keys to your old place still. Not that I don’t love you and you’re always welcome of course”
“Well I didn’t have a chance to give it back to you. I was planning to today...But...” the young actress trailed off and Yuko saw her eyes glaze over in thought, but snapped back a second later. “You know there’s not one single good movie on TV!” she said, clearly trying to change the subject as she kept flipping through the TV.
Yuko remembers what she was holding in her hand. She reached in the bag and pulled out a couple of movies. “Here, I’m guessing these better suit your taste,” she said, handing them over to the young girl who now held a stunned expression.
“Where did you...Did you go to ou...” Atsuko caught herself...unsure what to call ‘that’ place.
‘Hers? Minami’s? Theirs? No ones?’ Yuko jumped in and explained. “Minami came by the theatre earlier and gave me all this,” she handed the bag over to Atsuko who looked into it with slight shock and...
Was that happiness? “She was worried you know. That you left without any of your necessities. And you know how the leader gets when she’s worried” after Yuko spoke, she saw the small smile more apparent on the young girls face, as though she was recalling fond memories.
“Yah. She does worry easily doesn’t she?”
“Yes she does, and so do you, and now you two are making me worried.” The current ace sighed as she sat on the couch beside Atsuko, shooing away Cocoa from her place. The dog jumped off and appeared to have glared at her. “Easy pooch, my house my rules”
Atsuko lightly laughed as Yuko bickered with her dog, but turned serious when Yuko faced her.
“Look, I don’t know what happened with you and Minami but...”
“She said she doesn’t want to live me. It’s as simple as that” Atsuko interjected.
Okay. That much I knew I guess. “She probably didn’t mean it. She’s most likely over thinking things and said that.” Yuko tried to reason.
“...She meant it. Next to her bluntly stating it, I could tell it was something she thought about, and honestly meant it when she said she didn’t want to live me with me.” Atsuko replied as she gazed stubbornly at the TV screen.
These stubborn kids will be the death of me. “Atsuko. Look, I can’t speak on behalf of Minami’s feelings but she...she really cares about you. She was also really excited at the thought of moving in with you. She wants to live with you. I’m sure of it...I just don’t know why she’d say otherwise...”
“The only reason she moved in was probably because she felt bad since I thought the reply came from her...”
Oh crap I forgot about that part. “...Atsuko I’m sorry. This is my fault. I shouldn’t have accepted in her place”
The young girl let out a sigh this time and said, “It’s not your fault Yuko. I admit for a second I was mad but...Minami made her own choices. There’s nothing I can do about that”
“Listen, I know I accepted for Minami, but that’s because I knew she herself wanted to say yes. She just needed a push.”
“Well clearly it’s not. She just did it since she believed I already thought she’d said yes and probably felt bad to tell me otherwise.”
Yuko grabbed the TV remote from Atsuko’s hand and turned off the TV so that the younger girl was now looking at her. “Do you seriously think that’s what Minami would do? You know as well as I do that it’s not. She would’ve told you on the spot that I’d lied to you and that she didn’t want to live with you but she didn’t. Do you know why? Because she wanted to say yes. I don’t know what’s holding her back
...though I may have an idea...but whatever it was, she probably forgot about in that moment with you at the hospital. She wanted to move in with you Atsuko. She’s not so irresponsible that she’d accept that offer while in a clear state of mind and then just reject it the next few days after all the preparations were already made. But apparently she is irresponsible enough to let her emotions cloud her judgment at times, and after realizing that, she decided to reject your offer.”
Yuko knew she was rambling, but she was afraid if she stopped, Atsuko would lose interest or refuse to listen anymore. Yuko had to get through to her. She knew the young actress still cared, regardless of what she said, otherwise she wouldn’t have told Minami she’d only be ‘staying’ at Yuko’s. Maybe Atsuko hadn’t realized that herself, but Yuko knew it meant that the young girl was hoping to return to Minami’s side.
“Minami cares about you!” she repeated. “She always has and always will. She’s always talking about you in the group, somehow always bringing up your name in a conversation or interview. She misses you, but she gets so proud and happy when she sees you perform on TV and always relaxes when she sees you smiling, and when you’re having fun. She’s doing her best for AKB and the younger members in order to make you, and other proud of AKB, of the AKB you were once a part of. She always has you in mind! She...”
“Stop it!” Atsuko yelled, cutting off whatever Yuko was about to say. Yuko thought she may have said too much and feared she’d made the younger girl mad. However, she realized the actress had tears streaming down her face and...
oh wait, there’s the anger I feared.
“I know! You think I don’t know! Talking to me as if I don’t understand Minami! I know her best! I know she cares about me and that she’s trying her best. I know she has worries too but...It’s frustrating. For once in my life I didn’t know what she was thinking or feeling. How am I supposed to understand if she doesn’t talk to me...when she so bluntly just rejects living with me? I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t know what she was thinking and that...It scared me... so I left.” Atsuko grew calmer with each word as she tried to control her tears.
Yuko was taken aback by the outburst.
Wait. So is Atsuko even mad at her, or mad at the fact she doesn’t understand what’s going on with Minami...If that’s the case, then these two idiots aren’t even technically mad at each other. Can this even be called a fight!? I swear I’ve never met more stubborn and impossible to understand people than these two...But if this is how Atsuko feels, then things should be okay once she realizes how Minami feels. Right? I’m sure of Minami’s feelings, we just have to get her to explain her actions and be honest. “I don’t think it’s that Minami doesn’t want to be honest with you Atsuko, I think it’s that maybe she can’t. She may not be able to tell you her worries, but nothing is stopping me and the others from finding out... I have a plan, and if you’re willing to give our dork leader a chance, then I’ll let you in on it.” Yuko said with a smile branding her face.
Atsuko had stopped her crying and without hesitation she nodded. She wanted to know what Minami was worried about and what her reasons were. She didn’t want to give up. Minami’s not the only one who can be stubborn.
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Yuko saw the determination in the young girl’s eyes and nodded back. She grabbed her cell phone, and in answer to Atsuko’s questioning glance, she said, “when it comes to Minami, it seems calling for backup is always needed. You were our secret weapon last time, now let us handle this in your place this time,” she smirked and made her calls.
End of chapter 3!
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True fact: Minami does bring up Atsuko's name a lot in interviews and such
Thanks for reading!! Two chapters to go! Since it's already written, I'll post chapter 4 either tomorrow or sunday
Topic: Leaders Responsibility to take Blame (AtsuMina) - COMPLETED (Read 26477 times)