As always thanks to for reading and for commenting on the fic! I managed to finish writing chapter 18 yesterday so I was happy I’d be able to update today as promised
(PLEASE READ)I think the fic will be coming to an end soon, maybe 3-4 chapters left!
After that I’ll post a poll about one shot ideas regarding the fic like ‘how AW Atsuko and AW Minami became a couple’ ‘how AW kojiyuu met’ and ‘what happened after the final chapter takes place’
The poll will just determine which one I’ll write and post first, but I plan to write each one
For now I’ll work hard to update the next chapter by Friday, because soon I need to start studying for one more exam and I won’t know when I’d be able to update in that 2 week period starting next week. If I work really hard with the writing, I can maybe have the rest of the fic finished by Monday! So my goal is to post chapter 19 on Friday, 20 on Saturday, 21 Sunday and hopefully the remaining on Monday if it doesn’t end up ending at 21! So um..if it comes to that, possibly be prepared for a flood of chapters! Hope that won't bother you guys!
Please stick to this fic till the absolute end!
Replies: X_Last-Cross_X: I’m honoured! Thank you very much
Dieyg48: Lol I bet it’s awesome to play~ & yes, Jane is showing her Tsundere self
As for Atsuko’s answer, it’ll be revealed in this chapter! ENJOY
FlameHazeKatsu: lol not a prob, thanks for always commenting! Lol glad AW Atsuko’s words left you speechless
hikari_043083: *Gladly accepts Mt. Fuji melon pan* THANK YOU
& lol yeah, Yuko was at an advantage with that game
& yes, I do plan to tell the story of how AW Atsumina got together as a one shot idea after finishing the main fic
As for AW Rena, she’s indeed skilled! And squad 8 members will be revealed in this chapter
Shinoki: lol love all your reactions, glad the chapter could elicit all those
Haruko: Thank you! & it’ll be explained in this chapter what the government wants
AshuraX: A chance indeed
And lmao, it’s okay, Takamina would prob be more curious about Atuko’s answer than her own safety as well
Tanchan: LOL! OW Minami is indeed more dense than Jane when it comes to this stuff
Oh! I like the way you think!
I don’t want to spoil anything in the ‘reply’ section but this chapter will show what happens
Takaminafan49: Be curious no more as the answer will be revealed!
Chichay12: lol thank you! Atsuko’s answer is in this chap!
Archer1992: You’re welcome
& lol yeah Minami was taken aback to know Atsuko was on a date
Kochiki: Oh welcome!!!
Thank you very much for commenting and reading my story! I’m honoured my fic is a favourite of yours
<3 & lol Yuko is a genius! Atsuko will reveal her answer in this chapter
Thanks again for reading, please keep reading till the end and I hope you enjoy the rest of the fic ^^
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Chapter 18 – The Answer (Original World)Atsuko’s POV It took me a moment to process what Jane had just asked.
“Do you love you’re Minami the way I love Atsuko?” Once I understood her question, I immediately halted my steps, and my eyes widened. I looked to her, and she simply gave me a questioning glance, awaiting my answer. “Eh?” Was all I could say.
She gave a light smile, “it’s a simple question really, I’m just curious. So do you?”
“Do I what?” I asked like an idiot since my mind was still jumbled.
Jane let out a friendly laugh, “do you love your Minami the way I love Atsuko.”
This time I blushed. E
h! Love Minami. Do I love Minami? I mean of course I love her...but do I love her the way Jane loves her Atsuko? “Sorry, I didn’t mean to confuse you. If you haven’t got your feelings sorted out then, that’s okay” Jane offered an understanding smile, and it somewhat calmed me down.
“...No it’s fine. Fair question I guess since I asked you...It’s just...I’m not sure how to answer”
Jane placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder and I looked to meet her eyes. “The problem is you’re thinking too much about it. With this type of thing, you don’t think, you just go with how you feel”
I considered her words, and then spoke up, “you said you’d fallen for Atsuko for a long time, but finally acted on your feelings knowing she’s the person you want to be beside your whole life right?” I asked.
She nodded, and I looked up to the sky. After I few minutes, I met Jane’s patient stare and said, “I want to be the one by Minami’s side...Always supporting one another. I don’t want it to be anyone else but myself by her side...Does that mean I love her” My heart was pounding as I pictured Minami in my mind. I honestly couldn’t imagine my life without her. Before Jane could answer, I said, “I think I do...No...I know I do. I...I love Minami” My face turned red at the confession, but suddenly I felt lighter. Relieved by these feelings I held.
Jane smiled and patted my head like Minami always did. “Yeah, I can tell you do” she said. “Neh Atsuko, can I give you some advice. It’s your choice to follow it or not” Jane said with a suddenly serious but sincere expression.
I nodded.
“When Minami returns here...Tell her how you feel”
Shock was apparent on my face, “Eh!”
Jane heartedly laughed. “I know you’re probably scared of those feelings you have...But I can assure you you’ll hold nothing but regret if you don’t express them...And that’s worse than fear. Life is short Atsuko. When I realized that, it sparked both courage and fear in me. Courage to live my life to the fullest, and fear of living at all since it felt as though I’d lose everything early.”
Jane’s eyes seemed wandering for a moment, her thoughts most likely remembering something, but then her attention was back on me.
“I’m glad I told Atsuko how I felt...she accepted my feelings, but even if she wouldn’t have, I would not have regretted it, because it’s better to let someone know how you feel then to never let them know at all and have that lingering question in your head about ‘what if.’ For instance, things are complicated between me and the members currently, and now I’m stuck here in your world. But I’m confident enough to believe that the feelings I portrayed back home are still there. They still exist. My love for Atsuko and the members is still alive...and I’m sure a part of them knows that. We don’t know what could happen tomorrow, but we can control what happens today.”
I absorbed everything Jane had told me, listening intently. Realizing she was right, not only because she spoke from experience, but because she truly believed in her words...and so did I. While I was contemplating all my thoughts, I saw Jane blush.
“Ah sorry! I didn’t mean to ramble”
This time I laughed, “No it’s okay. I like it when you do; it reminds me of our Minami. I was just thinking about what you said. You’re right. I mean, I kind of wish Minami knew how I felt before she disappeared...and now I can’t help but worry everyday that I’ll never see her again and I’ll never be able to tell her” Tears began to gather at the corner of my eyes. I saw Jane shuffle uneasily as she took a step closer to me and wrapped me around in a friendly firm hug.
“It’s alright. Everything will be fine. I promise. Your Minami will be back to your side before you know it.”
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(Alternate world) “Me? They want me?” I asked in confusion. Before anyone else could say anything, Rena interrupted.
“Hold on, let’s further discuss this in the main lobby. All the members should be gathered there already.
Yui, Sasshi, Rena and I headed to the main lobby. As we entered, I saw all members were present and everyone was in a slight panic.
When Mariko saw us enter, she shouted, “everyone quiet!” That did the trick as everyone settled down, but the uneasiness was still evident in their expressions.
“How did this happen anyway” Mocchi asked.
“It was our mistake; we didn’t send very experienced members with squadron 8. Damn it!” Jurina cursed.
“We let our guard down. We didn’t think the government would come so close to our territory and ambush a scouting team in the area. It was careless of us” Rie added as she slammed her fist on the table.
“What’s the plan?” Karen asked with worry.
“What plan! We go over there and rescue our members!” Kasai shouted in panic.
“No!” Yuko yelled as all eyes turned to her. “They took them to one of their main base’s. We’d be at a disadvantage if we just go charging in their”
“It’d be a bloodbath, and we wouldn’t be able to guarantee all the members lives” Atsuko added.
“Well we can’t just sit here!” members protested.
I looked around at everyone shouting and yelling trying to figure out what to do. Fed up with it, I went over to a table and stood on it. “QUIET!” I yelled as loud as I could. Everyone stopped and turned to look at me. I let out a calm breath. “Listen, if the government wants to exchange the members for me...then the choice is obvious. We make the trade.”
“Are you insane, they’ll kill you” Sasshi said.
“Not to mention you’re not the Minami they want” Yuki added with worry.
“They don’t know that” I said. I saw the members holding downcast expressions, clearly not liking my idea. I smiled, “There’s no other choice and you all know it. I for one don’t want to forsake those members who were captured just so I can stay safe...its fine, really. They may not even kill me right away.” I said, trying to be positive and ignoring the fear building up in me.
“Idiot, you don’t know what you’re saying” Yui said as tears began to form at the corner of her eyes.
I looked around the room at everyone again, I could tell Atsuko, Yuko, Mariko and others were frustrated at not being able to do anything. But I could. Again I smiled, “no...I get it. You guys said it’d be a bloodbath if you went charging in on their territory...so that means, if I go over there for the exchange, you can’t come to save me”
Yuko gritted her teeth and walked up to me, grabbed me by the collar and pulled me off the table. “Then why the hell are you suggesting it! You just want throw away your life! You giving up!”
I kept calm as Yuko held me, “I didn’t say I was giving up” Yuko let me go and slightly pushed me. “I’m not saying I want to die or anything. I’ll find a way to keep alive. Maybe even escape” I let out a laugh. “I know that sounds stupid, especially since I’m not experienced. But I’m sure it’ll work out somehow...I won’t give up. Right now though, this is the only way, we don’t have time to debate”
The members all look around and murmured to one another. Atsuko spoke, “I’m not happy with this but...You’re right. This is the only way. We’ll trust you can handle yourself until we can figure something out”
I smiled, “thank you”
Mariko sighed, “I also don’t like this, but I’m assuming you’re just as stubborn as the Minami we know, so...I’ll let you go through with this”
Yuko crossed her arms, “Fine, there’s no choice really...”
“What does the government want with Minami anyway” Sasshi asked in frustration as she clenched her fists.
“It is weird that now of all times they’re asking for her” Rina said.
“We don’t know what happened between the government and Minami when she left, for all we know they may have been chasing her the entire time. She does know how to piss people off really well.” Yuko said with no real malice in her tone.
“Maybe they realized even alone she was a threat to them....and they probably somehow found out Minami is back at base with us” Miichan added.
“If that’s the case, then they’d assume she was back on good terms with us...Therefore they figured taking hostages would make us go with the trade” Sayaka chimed in.
“They’re not being subtle at all, the message seems clear. Delivering Minami to her death” Tomochin sombrely said.
“...It doesn’t really matter why they want her. Fact is they do, and there’s not much we can do about that” Sae commented.
“Are you really okay with this?” Miichan asked me with sad eyes.
I nodded, “I don’t want anyone to die, so I’m 100% okay with this” I said. Being okay with it and being scared are two different things though...and I’m scared...
“We should probably take Minami close to their base then for the trade” Rena broke the silence.
Atsuko nodded, “Yuko, Rena and I will go to escort her”
I nodded as well, and Sasshi ran up to me and grabbed my shoulders, her eyes were fierce, “you better come back! Do your best okay! I promise we’ll do our best to get you out of there to!” Tears streamed down her face, “promise okay...you may not be the Minami we knew, but you’re you...and you’re my friend”
I smiled and gave Sasshi a hug; “thank you...I promise” I whispered to her and moved away.
“Takamina san!” Yui stepped forward. “I want to get to know Takamina san better! So please be safe”
I patted Yui on the head, “thank you”
Karen and a few other kouhais stepped forward, “you’re concert was really wonderful! We want to see you perform again!”
I nodded, “it’s a promise”
Mariko came up to me and put a hand on my shoulder, “thank you for doing this...and we’re sorry. We’ll do our best to make sure you can return home to your friends”
“Thank you Mariko sama”
Yuko, Rena, Atsuko and I were then off on our way.
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We walked in silence for over an hour, and someone finally spoke. Rena said, “Minami, we’ll leave the choice up to you about telling the government the truth or not.”
Without having to ask for a further explanation, I knew what she meant, and I shook my head. “No...That’s too dangerous. Even if I could convince them, I don’t want them knowing about my world. I’ll pretend I lost my memories.”
“That’s probably for the best” Atsuko commented. We stopped a bit away from the government base, and saw a few of their soldiers scouting the area. One soldier noticed us and walked forward as she lowered his gun.
“I see you came for the trade” he said with not much interest.
“Where are our members?’ Yuko harshly asked.
“Tsk, relax. We have no use for those kids. You can have them back” He turned and signalled something to the others. The soldier on the other end nodded and opened one of the doors. The members were cuffed and a bit bruised, but overall they seemed perfectly fine. I let out a sigh of relief knowing they were okay.
Apparently squad eight consisted of, Murashige, Chiyori, love-tan, Hirata Rina, and Takayanagi Akane.
The soldier escorted them to where we were. “I believe you’re all not stupid enough to try anything here” he said as he un-cuffed all the girls.
The soldier who’d spoken to us initially turned to face me, “and you’re coming with us”
I turned back to the three who escorted me, “um...”
Before I could finish, Yuko cut me off, “shut up” she whispered, “anything you say now will sound like a goodbye so don’t bother” she glared.
Atsuko nodded, “remember, you’re not giving up. We’ll see you soon”
“I believe Minami is an amazing and capable person” Rena said.
I smiled and nodded to the three of them as I stepped up to the soldier; he cuffed my hands and escorted me towards the base.
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I was taken to one of their cells and thrown in there. Told to wait. After awhile, I heard footsteps and saw two soldiers approach with someone in the middle who seemed like their captain.
“Ah, Takahashi Minami, so good to see you again” the captain smirked. I stood up in my cell and glared at him.
“What do you want?”
“No need to sound so hostile, or are you still mad I tricked you and caused your little friends to detest you...that didn’t seem to last long though” he said with hate. My eyes widened.
“What are you talking about? What did you have to do with that happened back then! Wait...I remember they mentioned M...I let you live that time...you’re the captain from the ambush”
He semed taken aback by my response and raised an eyebrow, “did your little friends beat you around or something”
I glared, “as much as I’d love to remember how much I probably hate you, I have no idea what you’re talking about. My memories are foggy, AKB found me and after confirming I knew nothing, they explained to me the situation...Except they don’t know the full story...You said something about tricking Mi...me. What role did you play in that ambush?”
This was not what I was intending to happen when I was brought here, but if there was a chance to clear up and understand what happened between Minami and the members, then I wanted to know!
“Tch! Are you playing me for some fool? You honestly want me to believe you remember nothing!” he shouted angrily, and I took a step back in my cell.
“W...Why do you care about my memories”
The captain looked furious, and he punched the bars of the cage, “you damn bitch! I should’ve killed you back then instead of isolate you from your friends. Even alone you proved to be a nuisance! And all this time we’ve been searching for you, and it turns out you were back with those scum’s...You can’t have possibly forgotten...Tell me...Tell me where you hid it!”
He furiously hit the bars again and I flinched, but tried to hold my ground. “Hid what? I don’t know what you’re talking about”
His eyes almost seemed to turn red with anger; he harshly grabbed the soldier beside him and took the keys. Unlocking the cell door, he stepped forward and reached for me. I tried to fight him off, but close combat was definitely not my thing. He easily overpowered me and with both hands grabbed me by my collar and slammed me to the wall.
“Tell me where you hid it! That chip...That chip was supposed to be used to power my weapon to take down you stupid base and those trash along with it...and you...you took it!”
He lifted me up by my collar against the wall and it was getting hard to breath.
Chip? What chip? I opened my eyes and looked down to his angry face, “I...don’t know...what your...taking about...but if I took something...from you that you’d have used....against my friends...then I’m glad...and even if I remembered...I’d never tell...you” I choked out.
He glared and let me go, I fell to the floor and he lifted me up again. He brought his knee to my stomach and it made painful contact. He repeated the action a few times then threw me to the floor.
I was coughing as I held my stomach. He stood in front of me and I squinted as I tried to look up at him. “You better hope you remember...because I’d have no use to keep you alive if you didn’t” he said as she brought his foot to my head...and everything went black.
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(Original World) Atsuko and I came back from out ‘date’ and were greeted by the others. Rena and Jurina were also there.
“Thank a lot of ditching you too” Atsuko playfully glared at them.
“We figured you two would want to be alone” Jurina gave her sweet childish smile and she clung to Rena’s arm.
“And it’s a good thing they let you two alone. Having them tag along is cheating!” Yuko scolded as she crossed her arms.
“Relax Yuko, we should actually thank you. It’s not as awkward as it used to be between us” I smiled at Atsuko who returned my smile.
“And I realized something important” Atsuko said as Yuko and the others exchanged questioning glances.
“Well I guess that’s good then! Oh by the way, your Sasshi called Jane, we told her you were out on a date with Atsuko though” Yuko casually said.
“You told her that! Was Minami there?” Atsuko asked slightly panicked.
Miichan spoke, “yeah I think she was training where Sasshi was”
“Mou! I can’t believe you told her that” Atsuko pouted as the members all smiled and laughed.
I looked over to the table when I noticed the watch was glowing. Huh. Sasshi must be calling back. I picked up the watch and hit the button. Sasshi’s image appeared, and she looked pretty distressed.
Before I could speak, she said, “Takamina! We have to finish working on the portal now! I almost have it figured out! We have to hurry!”
“That’s great news Sasshi, but what’s wrong? Did something happen” I asked. The members around me stopped what they were doing and observed.
“It’s...It’s...the government! They have Minami in custody!”
My eyes widened and I heard the members behind me yell in panic and confusion.
“What do you mean? How did that happen! She was supposed to stay at the base. The government shouldn’t even know about her being with you guys” I was starting to panic now. It was definitely not a good thing Minami was captured, especially since they thought she was me.
Sasshi’s eyes were sad, “we don’t know. They somehow learned she’s back with us...we didn’t have a choice...They took members hostage and asked for an exchange. Minami knew there wasn’t any other way to she gave herself up...The others are trying to figure out what to do but...we’re really stuck...we don’t know how to get her out of there”
Damn it. Damn it. I turned and looked at the members. Worry evident on their features. I looked back to Sasshi, “let’s hurry and get this portal working!”
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Sasshi worked on the device all day and by the time it was late at night, she’d declared to have finished.
“Wait Sasshi, before we try anything, you need to continue the hack into my watch and keep the connection open between the two watches”
“Huh why? I built an exact replica; we won’t need your watch”
I shook my head, “no, you’ll need it. The portal opening function itself may not work, but what powered it in the first place still does” I said
“Powered it...what do you mean? I never added anything else to it” Sasshi said confused.
I sighed, “You didn’t...but I did. Remember, after you handed me the device, you had to leave...I tried using it but it wasn’t working...so I figured I needed to power it somehow, and I had something on me that could”
“Eh! What was it?”
I shook my head, “don’t worry about it. So just do as I say. You should be able to charge the watch on your end after making the connection.
“...Alright, leave it to me!” Sasshi said as she got to work on the final steps.
I turned around to the members who were patiently seated behind me. All of them anxious. Atsuko stood and walked over to me, grabbing hold of my shirt as tears filled her eyes. “Minami will be okay right!? She has to be!”
I gently grabbed hold of her arms and pulled her back. “She will...Remember, I promised you she’d be back by your side before you know it...I’ll do whatever I have to, to bring her back to you guys”
Whatever it takes...because I started this whole mess. “I’m coming with you!” Yuko suddenly said as she stood up.
Huh! “Me too!” Atsuko said as she wiped her tears.
“No!” I instantly said. “Are you crazy, it’s dangerous!”
“So what! That’s our important friend over there! You can’t expect us to just sit around. We’re a part of this too. We want to at least be there!”
...”Look, it’s not safe”
Atsuko grabbed hold of my hand, “please Jane...you of all people should understand why we have to do this...You’d want to do the same in our situation”
I looked back and forth between the two of them and sighed. “Honestly, none of you ever make anything easy...Alright but!” I said before anyone else could speak up, “I can’t take you all...My absolute limit is four, it’ll be hard enough for you guys to explain a few missing members, and it’d be too hard to keep track of you all and guarantee your safety”
“Decide amongst yourselves who’s to come with me, and decide quickly, because we’ll be leaving soon.”
Yuko’s POV Jane walked back to the watch and waited. I looked to Atsuko and we both nodded. “Atsuko and I will go. Any other volunteers?”
Mariko sama sighed, “of course we all wish to go...but we can’t. As Jane said, it’ll be hard to explain missing members.”
I nodded. “Not to mention a missing actress and general manager....Alright, Sasshi, how about you” I pointed at her.
“Eh, me!” Sasshi said.
“Sure why not” I shrugged.
Miichan spoke, “I see...good idea, Sasshi has nothing to do and we won’t notice she’s gone anyway” she teased as Sasshi protested.
“Might as well just go with them Sasshi, you can maybe help Takamina san and even meet yourself” Yui chimed in.
“...Well, that would be nice” Sasshi said. “I guess all I’d be missing is the preliminary results to the election, and it’s not like I’ll I expect to get first place or anything so...let me come along!” I nodded.
“One more” Atsuko said.
“I want to come and see Takamina san too!” Jurina yelled.
“Eh, Jurina, no way” Rena furrowed her brows.
Jurina smiled at Rena, “you can’t always go treating me like a kid”
“You are a kid” Rena retorted.
“I can take care of myself. Please Rena!”
“Let her,” Mariko said. “If anything, we can consider it a break for Jurina, because if she stays here, she’ll just keep overexerting herself and get sick again” I smiled knowing Mariko and Rena were both worried about her.
“We’ll look out for her, we have a whole other AKB and Jane with us” I said. Rena reluctantly nodded.
“Alright, we’re ready!” I said as I turned to Jane, and she faced us.
“Good...because so are we” She said as she placed the watch around her wrist. She pushed a few buttons and took our two revolvers, strapping them to her waist. She took out two daggers and places one in each boot. “Time to go home”
End of Chapter 18
Topic: Travel To A Distant World: The Recruitment (Mayuki) [side story] (Dec 29 2013) (Read 143743 times)