Chapter 50 (Final)“What are you doing here Eri? Did something happen?”
Sayumi’s voice was filled with concern and it was apparent she was worried about the surprise visitor who had called at such an unearthly hour. When Eri didn’t speak, the anxiousness within Sayumi only increased as she stepped closer and furrowed her delicately shaped brows.
“Eri? Speak to me, you are scaring me.”
“I…”
Finally starting to talk but breaking off before the sentence was complete, Eri struggled to find the words.
“Come with me?”
It had always been a challenge for Eri to verbalize her thoughts and hence she had constantly left the task of dialogue to Risa with whom she had random Hello! Morning segments with. Except at this moment Risa wasn’t around to help her. On one hand Eri felt frustrated at herself, yet on the other, she was grateful that Sayumi was the one seeing her so helpless.
Now running along the silent hallway in the half darkness, Sayumi’s heart pumped at an astonishing rate. She wasn’t sure if the adrenaline that was pulsing through her veins was caused purely by the action of running or something else. It was fully possible that her lack of any real exercise save for the group’s weekly dance practice contributed to her breathlessness and flushed cheeks. But somehow, she suspected the clammy hand of a certain turtle that was tightly clasped around her own was the genuine reason why she was feeling all the symptoms of being giddy with joy.
Watching Eri’s familiar back and letting her best friend pull her along through the seemingly endless corridors, Sayumi smiled to herself. She could feel the slightly cold early morning air brush against her cheeks as their pace quickened. The two rows of small lights fitted in the walls a few inches off the floor transformed their path into a mystical route. She could immediately imagine this as the trail that would lead them to an enchanted castle. Even if it didn’t, Sayumi knew in her heart she would follow Eri anywhere.
-----
“So this is it? You're breaking up with me? I should have known a threesome would never work."
Convinced that all this underwear talk was just an excuse to find fault with her. Risa laughed bitterly and looked from Ai to Reina. So it was true that the two were getting tired of her. And now they were looking for a fast way to kick her out. In the end her mounting suspicions were sadly proven right.
"Who said anything about breaking up?"
"Really? Then why am I always being left out. It's like you don't need me, don't want me, around."
"Did it look to you like we're having all the fun? Cuz we aren't. Things don't reach
fun, fun without you Gaki-san."
Seeing Risa’s disbeliving look, Reina moved forward to grab at her friend's arms, tugging on them gently.
"It's true, Ai-chan can't keep things up by herself."
Her words sounded like a bad joke, but as Reina patted the taller girl's head, mimicking Risa's action whenever she comforted her juniors after a particularly frightening rollercoaster ride or scary ghost house experience, Risa knew the yankee was trying her darnest to cheer her up. And she was thankful for it. Reina did have an amazing ability to make people feel at ease when she wanted to.
The small triangular formation they were standing in fell into an uncomfortable silence as Reina thought of what else to say. Unfortunately, she ran out of good ideas for salvaging difficult situations as quickly as they came to her. Tilting her head and making short jerky movements, she shot Ai a look, motioning for her to say something.
Even though she was hesitant, Ai also went up to Risa. Knowing Reina, she might decide to come over and drag her there herself if she didn't comply soon.
“Gaki-san…”
When Ai reached Risa, she was both surprised and guilty to see her face streaked with tears. For a minute Ai didn’t know what to do. She thought of that picture stuck on her mirror, of them years ago with Makoto and KonKon, huddled together in the make-up room as the rest of the world rushed past them. And she thought of what Risa had done the million times she had cried to her, collapsing at the slightest wounding of her heart or pride.
So she reached over and pulled her over, wrapping her arms around her sobbing best friend. Blaming herself for ever thinking that the one person who stood by her all these years would betray her, she suddenly released Risa from her arms and slapped herself.
At this point, a shell-shocked Reina complete with blank expression and Risa with eye's glazed over with fresh tears watched as Ai-chan did something she rarely did for a person full of pride. She apologized.
"I'm a selfish, immature brat. I deserved to be smacked for riveting back to the self-centred, childish mentality that I wish I never had. I shouldn't have but I did. I hurt you..."
-----
The trees and buildings outside swayed with the winds as rain pelted down on every piece of unsheltered road. The world looked like a big white blur to Makoto as she sat leaning an elbow on the windowsill. It was warm and comfortable inside Asami’s apartment and she was glad to be indoors instead of battling the elements before dawn. More than a few people on the streets were rushing about, probably trying to get to their destinations sooner than later. Tokyo is truly a city that never sleeps.
“What are you thinking of?”
Rousing out of the couch and appearing to sit alongside Makoto at the window, Kon Kon rested her head on her partner’s shoulder and accompanied her, staring quietly out at nothing in particular. The two sat there caught up in their own paradise, enjoying the sound of rain falling against the glass and the small pleasure of being with each other. After several minutes of peaceful calm, Asami brought up the Yokohama trip.
“How was Yokohama? Did you manage to settle things?”
“They really didn’t need me at all. Kamei-chan had the hospital bit covered and Gaki-san held up pretty well.”
“That’s good to know. I almost had a heart attack when you called suddenly to tell me about Ai-chan and Reina being involved in an accident.”
“Nah, you’re too fit to suffer a heart attack. Besides, I know you wouldn’t bear to leave me behind.”
It took little to bring a flush to Asami’s cheeks and Makoto knew exactly what would, teasing. Sliding an arm around her shoulder and leaning her cheek in to rest on Kon Kon’s blushed ones, Makoto suggested in a mischievous manner.
“I brought back chocolate sauces, wanna play?”
-----
“Are we trapped?”
A sense of panic rose within Sayumi as the elevator unexpectedly turned dark and inched slowly to a halt. The noise of the motors roaring died down and silence soon followed.
“I made it stop. I……I needed some time alone…….. with you.”
Surprising herself with her boldness, Eri felt a new confidence. This courage was what was needed to face Sayumi. In the darkness, Eri groped around until she felt Sayumi’s hands. Squeezing them tightly, Eri spoke slowly.
"Sayumi, you've suffered..."
Pausing and biting her lip, Eri adjusted her thoughts. Did she really just say what she said? It sounded like a line straight out of some sappy Korean drama. How did she get brainwashed into saying stuff as lame as that baffled her. It must be Risa's fault, putting whatever Korean drama DVDs she could get her hands on, on rerun mode. It was impossible for anyone dropping by her room to escape being bombarded by the latest news and happenings from the land of Kimchi. And boy did Eri hate it. She would rather amuse herself with cramped spaces. Eri decided to get straight to the point before she started sprouting even weirder lines.
"What I mean is, I know I've been acting like a jerk and I'm really sorry. Will you forgive me? I'll make it up to you."
"Oh Eririn!!"
Flinging her hands around Eri's neck, Sayumi jumped forward in happiness and knocked her down such that they were now lying on the floor of the stationary lift in a tangle of arms and legs. Giggling, Sayumi sighed contentedly and lay her head on what she assumed was Eri's shoulder. She could spent all night in this cramped and stuffy elevator as long as it was with Eri. Running her fingers up Eri's arm, Sayumi let them trace on Eri's damp skin until they reached a slight peak somewhere above the region of Eri's neck. The entire Hello Project knew the member with the best body and poutiest lips in the current Morning Musume line-up was Eri. And being her best friend, Sayumi of course knew this tasty fact. When her long slim fingers and Eri's lips made contact, the tingling sensation she felt immediately brought back to mind Eri's earlier promise.
"And how do you intend to make it up to me?"
Her voice was teasing with a slightly naughty tone. The devil in her was definitely unleashing itself. So this was what Mikitty meant by Sayumi having a dark side and wanting to
see more of it.
"Umm.... I've got something."
Wriggling to free the cap of the small bottle she had tucked away all this time, Eri raised the now capless jar high in the air and tilted it. A moist substance dripped from the mouth of the glass jar and slid down the side of Sayumi's face. The trickling motion, the warm air inside the cubic structure and their damp skins made Sayumi's body temperature skyrocket and she could feel a hottness that was making her want to remove her tank top and PJ pants.
"We'll have loads of fun with this. I heard it's the tastiest one around."
Sounds of thumping echoed throughout the elevator airwell as the pair rolled around and bumped into the wall while trying to remove Eri's shirt and Sayumi's pants. It was definitely a scene that would make Miki proud. Chocolate sauce sure works wonders for bringing a turtle out of its shell.
-----
"You cry when you quarrelled, now you cry when you've made up?"
Reina threw up her hands and sighed the minute her seniors started bawling like nine month old babies. Sitting down on the floor and proping her hand under her head, she waited for their tears to run dry. She knew it would take a while. Never being able to figure out how the Gokkies could cry at the slightest change of emotions within them, she wore a bored expression as she played with her fingers. However inwardly, she was glad to see the tightly gasping hands with intertwined fingers. They were still a
threesome.
-----
*Yawn*"Morning."
Looking up, Risa saw four glistening eyes staring back at her. Three normal and one wonky.
"Morning."
She replied, careful not to direct the breath of stale air that was bound to emerge from her mouth at Reina whose face was barely inches away.
"Don't worry bout it, I didn't brush my teeth yet either."
The guffaws of laughter combined with bad breath that hit Risa in the face told her Reina wasn't kidding. Keeping her mouth shut while waiting for Reina to continue telling what tickled her so, Risa reached her hand over the bed covers to slip her fingers in Ai's.
"While you two were still being all lovey-dovey in dreamland, Koharu-chan came over."
"Koharu? She's back so early?"
Ai asked surprised as she glance at the clock hanging on the opposite wall. It was twenty minutes after ten o'clock. Most members only arrived after noon.
"Yup. And she made a very interesting discovery."
"Go on."
Things were looking exciting and Risa wanted to be a part of it.
"To be more specific, she noticed the elevator walls smeared with a strange dark substance."
"Ah huh."
Risa gulped when her brain finally kicked in. Now she was wide awake and could guess beyond a doubt what that strange substance was.
"You know something about this don't you?"
Reina questioned with a mischievous glee when she saw Risa's panicky look.
"I uh.... kinda told Kame about this Operation Elly thingy..."
"Operation Elly?"
Turning her body fully, Ai leaned against the soft pillows on the bed.
"Well, it's carried out in an elevator. That explains the Elly part."
"And?"
"That stuff's chocolate sauce. You can guess the rest."
Risa admitted glumly. Trust Eri to leave traces of her unspeakable deed behind. Turtles are so slow.
"You didn't hear the best part."
"There's more?"
Ai was incredulous and her huge doe eyes widened as Reina got increasingly fired up.
"Yeah, they had a camera installed in there yesterday afternoon."
"WHAT!??!
Risa thought she might faint from the news. This could ruin them all. What if
someone found out? What if
someone watched the tape?
"We gotta get that tape! We gotta tell Kame!!!"
Taking off at breakneck speed, she raced for the door and almost reached it when she got tackled to the floor. Now she could say she knew what a dusty carpet tasted like.
"Damn it Reina, that hurt!"
"Eri has herself covered."
"Huh?"
Ai scratched her head which made her hair tousled and her overall appearance extremely sexy.
"She's has a shell so she's covered, get it?"
"That's lame."
Risa shot back rolling her eyes. She was annoyed and didn't see what was so funny especially when their jobs were hanging by a thin thread.
"I like doing it when you're mad Gaki-san. I'm sure it's gonna be really
good."
Walking over to Risa who was still sitting on the floor rubbing her nose, Reina squatted down in her usual yankee manner and rested her arms on Risa's shoulders. Then pulling her up, Reina somehow got Risa into a piggyback position and carried her all the way back to the bed.
"Last night was okay, but now's gonna be a blast!"
"But...but... what about Kame? And the video?"
"Shush. No one's gonna find out so soon. Help me out here Ai-chan."
Slowly surveying the scene before her, Ai's field of vision rested on Risa and Reina's outfits, or lack of one.
"We will need to discuss this with the both of them and they probably aren't even awake yet..... after that work-out last night."
Adding in that last bit as an after thought, Ai worked with Reina to convince her loyal friend.
"We'll be quick. Just a little touch-and-go."
Scooping Risa into a tight bear hug, Ai blew softly into her ear and nuzzled at her neck. Then cuddling closer towards together, she made space for Reina's petite frame.
Reina congratulated herself mentally on her clever little scheme. Delaying an hour or so wouldn't make much of a difference.
"Yippee, it's fun-fun time!!!"
-----
"Ehhhhh Mikitty? You're early?"
Meeting Miki at the entrance of their apartment block, Aya gasped with disbelief at seeing her fellow H!P colleague and best friend. Miki was notorious for being late, to think that she was actually five minutes early today.
"I ran out of DVDs to watch."
Grumbling as she tapped her ID card at the reader, she waited for Aya to step through the automatic sliding doors before following. As they entered the lobby and walked further, Miki caught sight of a sign written in big red and white letters. The 'security room.'
"What are you doing?"
Rasing an eyebrow, Aya watched as Miki twisted at the knob of the wooden door.
"Breaking and entering. What else does it look like?"
Shaking her head, Aya decided to stay and make sure she didn't do anything too drastic or damaging.
"And how exactly does this interest you?"
"Watching the other H!P members when they don't know they are being watched could be fun."
"I didn't know you had stalker tendencies."
Leaning her hand on a nearby tabletop, Aya shook her head once more at being best friends with such a flippant character.
"Hey, did you know they installed a camera in the elevator?"
Jabbing at the eject button, Miki slid the tape out of the recorder in the master player.
"Don't know and don't care. Are you done yet, my bag's getting heavy."
"I'll enjoy this all by myself later and you
won't be a part of it."
Sticking her chin out at an impatient looking Aya, Miki jiggled the tape in her face.
"Whatever. If I can fall asleep through supposedly good movies, I can't see how this will be any better. Probably just images of people pressing lift buttons."
As the two parted ways in the hallway outside their room doors, Miki dumped her bag on a chair and proceeded to slot the newly aquired, through illegal means no less, object into her dusty video player. After ages of collecting blankets of dust from the lack of use, the machine greedily swallowed the tape and rolled its contents.
After some minutes of the company's workers jabbing buttons like Aya had so accurately predicted, Miki was beginning to get bored. However, determined to not let the agency's most successful soloist get her way, Miki swore to view the tape till the end. Another fifteen minutes passed by before Miki saw two familiar figures appear on the screen. It was dark but from their outlines, it was pretty obvious who they were.
Goody-two-shoes Eri jamming the lift? That's news. S**t, what are they doing? D*mn those two have great bod...NO Miki shut the hell up. You're with Aya.
*Knock knock*"Mikitty, do you want to go to the cafe for a cuppa?"
Aya's voice behind the door floated into her ears but Miki couldn't concentrate on anything else besides getting to know her juniors better. How could she have missed such good specimens that were right in front of her face all along? The Fujimoto ain't going to make the same mistake twice, no she isn't. Making a mental note to give Eri a nice hard wedgie the next time she sees her, Miki went back to watching the tape, completely forgetting about Aya still yelling outside.
Wow, Sayumi, wow.... ---------------
Yup, yup, that's all folks. With this last chapter (possibly the longest I've ever written) TLAB has finally come to an end. Thanks so much for reading through all my crappy writing. It wouldn't have come so far without your continuous support and kind comments. Sukoshi, wordsworth, Rei.rev.07, rndmnwierd, JFC, Ren, stefy, orangesocks and sLaVe, all of you are
awesome And to anyone whom I've left out, thank you so much as well