Woah!!!! It's been really that long?!?!?! I can't believe it. I haven't been updating for half a year.. I guess I'm just too busy with work.. Actually, this fic that I'm about to post was initially entitled, "Stressed" coz I'm really stressed right now..but I 'played' again..and it became...'cute' so I decided to change the title...ahaha...enjoy reading!



I am staring at the monitor for almost an hour now and yet, not a single sentence has been written on the page. I WROTE something for the past hour but whenever I pressed a key, my mind went blank and then it took a little too long to press the next letter. I sighed out loud. This is going to be a long night.

First of all, let me introduce myself, I’m Takahashi Ai; a manager of a certain restaurant and a ‘fiction’ writer. I wrote stories as a hobby. My forte would be writing comedy and horror themed stories but I sometimes do drama and romance... Just don’t ask where I get ideas from the last one because even if I’m almost 24, I’m still lacking a ‘significant other’.

I have already written about a hundred stories of various genres but now, I’m in a pinch. I’ve acquired the dreaded ‘writer’s block syndrome’. Well, technically it’s not a disease or something, but it’s not what most writers would like to have. I have lots of ideas going on my mind right now but I just can’t fully express what I want to tell to my readers. Add to that, being a manager, there were lots of responsibilities that you have to do and lots of problems to solve. So for an amateur writer like me, vague ideas + stress = writer’s block.

I shifted in my seat as I put my fingers back on the keyboard. I wrote a sentence then erased it… Wrote another one, not satisfied… erased. I grumbled as I stopped the urge to hit my laptop. Thank goodness that technology has already advanced right now. If not, then I would still be writing in a piece of paper. If it really were a piece of paper, I would have crumpled it a lot of times now and threw it in the trash can. Sad to say, my laptop is a little bit expensive than a piece of paper… scratch that… WAY TOO EXPENSIVE to throw just like a trash. And just imagine just how many ‘trees’ would have been cut down for the hundreds of paper I would have thrown.

I’ve been thinking hard but all I can think about is this: store review, how to increase the sales, audit and making the guests happy. My ‘managerial’ mind really works alongside my writer side whose thinking about a very beautiful girl trapped in a castle with a ‘vegetarian’ vampire and a group of friends who ate something at a certain party and was turned into a ‘sentai’ group. With my current situation, I’ll not be able to finish something. How I wish I didn’t become a manager.

I’ve always liked my job… that’s before, when I was just a mere team leader. But I STILL like my current position; I just don’t like the additional responsibilities. Before, I can write three different genre stories at the same time but now, I can write three paragraphs in 10 minutes and end up deleting it again and again. Sometimes I want to quit being a manager due to stress but my co-manager was preventing me.

Niigaki Risa, my co-manager who helped me a lot with the paper works and handling our staffs. When I was about to hit my head on the table after our area manager had a little talk with me on the phone to rant how dismayed she was, Risa quickly put her hand between my head and the table. I’m not exaggerating, it did happen. When I was really annoyed at our staff for making a mistake, she would be the one who would talk to that person. But before that, she would pull me inside our office, play some soothing music from the computer, give me a juice or an iced tea and then leave me alone to relax. When the date for the ‘dreaded’ store review was announced, Risa already readied the papers that I would report. She even made a survey about our competitors and their promos so I can explain fully why our sales went up… or worse, go down.

I’m the ‘shy’ type of person. Wait… egoistic? Hmm, I don’t know how to call it but I can’t really say out loud how thankful I am to her. So, I just sometimes put Risa as my heroine in my stories… I put a different name but her characteristics were almost the same. She nearly died from this certain story of mine where she was trapped inside a cave for three days, but I made sure that there’s a certain ‘Takahashi Ai’ helping her out. This is the only way I could repay her for all the things that she’s done to me. On another story, ‘Risa’ and ‘Ai’ went to an amusement park and had a fun time together. I made ‘Risa’ puke after riding the roller coaster ... Don’t get me wrong! I’m not actually biased about my stories. I made ‘Risa’ laughed hard when I screamed my ‘manly’ scream inside the horror house. I named ‘Risa’ as Lisa and me… Lovely. Both foreign names because even if I’m Japanese, there were quite a few international readers reading my blog. Can you believe that?! I managed to keep my own blog considering my tight and stressful schedule! That’s something to be happy about.

Anyways, I had enough from reminiscing things that didn’t even happen in reality and possibly, will never happen in the future. For the 8 hours that I’m working, Risa and I only spent 4 hours together. One of us would be the opening manager and the other, the closing manager. If one of us has a day off, the other one will have a straight duty. That’s just how things work in our restaurant so I know that ‘that day’ will never come. I turned my focus back on my monitor and tried to write something. I saw Risa bumped into the door earlier. Maybe that’s a good idea on another comedy fiction. What should I name her this time? I already named her Sayumi (the narcissist who was turned into a bunny by a revengeful witch named Koharu), Reina (the closet yankee-girl who works in a maid café), Eri (the dorky school girl who has a serious heart disease), and Aika (the girl who loves animals, specifically her pandas Junjun and Linlin, but has yet to learn how to ‘love’ humans).

I closed my eyes. Thinking about the name wasn’t that hard before. Maybe I’ll just change the ‘S’ with ‘K’. I’ll name my character ‘Rika’. There, that’s settled. Now about the genre... Mystery? Drama? Horror?I guess I’ll just stick with comedy first.

For the characterization, I noticed that Risa can sometimes do cutesy stuff, and can be a little bit stubborn. Ohh, and sometimes our staffs call her the ‘reaction queen’! Maybe I’ll include that character of hers. Hmmm, Will I include myself or not? There’s a guest complaint earlier at the store, and Risa was the one who talked with the ‘fuming’ guest. She knew I’m not good with those stuffs. Okay, I’ve decided I’ll include myself so I can repay her. My name…. I guess Hitomi will do. I was about to cry earlier but Risa told me that I have wonderful eyes so I’ll better not ruin it with my tears.

Now here comes the plot… It’s comedy so a plot wasn’t that necessary right? So Risa slipped and bumped her head earlier. She opened the blender while it’s still rotating thus making the mango shake burst out right to her face. What else… Hmm... We were drinking coffee earlier; Risa burned her tongue and due to the shock, she now has coffee stain on her blouse. Talk about ‘unlucky’ day. So here comes me, the one who was laughing hard at her. The one who applied ice on her head, the one who got her own handkerchief and wiped her face… The one who helped her remove the stain inside the restroom.

Come to think of it, maybe I’ll just give ‘Ai’, I mean, Hitomi a cool character. The Hitomi who didn’t had a laughing marathon. The Hitomi who caught her before she bumped her head. The Hitomi who stopped her from opening the blender and the Hitomi who reminded her that the coffee was REALLY hot. Yeah, that’s something I could never do in real life.

And now that it’s been settled, I’ll begin writing the story…

It was a normal day at the Musume Restaurant. There were quite a few guest eating at lunch time due to the bad weather outside.

Wait… that was yesterday. It was pretty sunny earlier. Erased.

It was a beautiful and sunny Monday morning at Tokyo, Japan but the Musume Restaurant manager ignored the scenery and was running really fast. She over slept this morning and…..

Hitomi was supposed to be a cool character!!!! I’m the one who’s late… Not her…. GAAAHHH!!!!
I slumped on my chair, hitting my head lightly on the table. All the planning failed; I’m back at the starting line. I guess I wouldn’t have an update on my blog this month.

Suddenly, my phone vibrated, indicating that a message has been received. I flipped it open and saw my co-manager’s name on the screen.

“Hey Ai!!!! We managed to meet our target sales this month! You wouldn’t have a problem when the store review comes, isn’t that great? Anyways, you’re the closing manager tomorrow right? Let’s celebrate! I’ll wait for you after operating hours. It’s a great way to unwind and we really haven’t hang out ever since I have been transferred to this branch. I hope we can know each other better. <3
--Risa--

I smiled because of two reasons. One, our operations manager will not yell at me this month and two, Risa and ‘Ai’ will finally be able to have a ‘chill’ time together. No work related and problem related talks tomorrow night. I started thinking about the possible things we can do together at that time. Were there other restaurants still open after 10? Were there still arcades, karaoke, or mall at that time? If not, I guess we can just hang out at the park… or the bay side.

I quickly typed my reply.
“Sure.”

I placed my phone on the table and stared AGAIN on the monitor. I wasn’t thinking about the story anymore; I was thinking what kind of chill time we could do tomorrow night.

………….…….
“I’m sorry you have to wait for four hours.”

“No it’s okay. I went to shop for a couple of things before going back here. So shall we go?” Rika stood up and grabbed my hand. “So how much we’ve earned today?”

And here I thought that we’re supposed to have some ‘chill’ time with no work-related talks. I’m thinking about a nice payback for ruining the evening.

“Well,” I paused to look at her. She looked back at me, curious as to why I’m grinning like crazy. “Half the normal sales for our average Monday sales add to that our net sales last Tuesday. Our running Average Daily Sales last night became higher than our ADS last Wednesday giving us the idea that..”

“We sold a lot today than yesterday, right?” I nodded. Rika playfully punched my shoulders and we resumed our walk. It’s quite a chilly night for September that’s why Rika was still holding my hand. At least that’s what I’m thinking as to why she hasn’t removed her hand yet. Deep inside me, I DON’T want her to remove her grip on mine.

“Where do you want to eat?”

“Any place that’s still open at this hour.”

And so Rika pulled me into the first restaurant we saw that’s still open. We ate… a lot. I guess I’ll just exercise for two weeks to get back to shape. Yep, that’s how MUCH we’ve eaten. We drank. Well, just a little bit. Even though it’s my rest day tomorrow, I don’t want her to have a very bad hang over just because of me. After all she will be having a straight duty tomorrow. It’s nearing midnight when Rika decided to walk near the bay side.
………………..

I was thrown out of my reverie when my phone vibrated again. It’s still Risa.

“You don’t sound so enthusiastic there… I guess what I heard from our staff is right. You hated celebrating your birthday. Well, I guess that will change tomorrow night. I’m going to give you a gift.<3
--Risa--

Oh yeah, my birthday is on the day after tomorrow. Now I remembered as to why I requested that day as my rest day. Well, it’s not like I hated it, it’s just that I don’t like thinking that I’ll be a year OLDER again that’s why, I don’t NORMALLY celebrate it. I celebrate it ALONE; playing my PSP, watching anime, downloading movies and writing a story. Yup, that’s the real me.

I was about to reply her when I thought about something.

………………
‘Nee, Hitomi.”

I reluctantly left my gaze at the beautiful scene in front of me and looked questioningly at my partner… who was not looking directly at me but at her watch. Right, she needs to go home because she still has a duty tomorrow.

“You want to go home? It’s okay, I’ll help you get a cab.”

“No, just wait.” Now I’m really confused. She kept staring at her watch, as if she wanted to kill it for being so slow… or fast. That is until I heard her ‘silent’ countdown.

“5,4,3,2,1….. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AI!!!!!” She lunged forward and hugged me. Well, it feels quite comfortable being hugged by someone… like… this… I looked at her, tears threatening to fall.

“Ho.. how did you know?”

“I had my sources.” She replied, still grinning like a kid. “Here, I got a gift for you.”

She removed her arms from me to get something in her bag. My mind went blank at the sudden loss of heat. I wanted it back and so, I grabbed her and pulled her closer to me. I felt her body become stiff.
“Ai?”

“Thanks… not just for this night… Thank you for being there for me every day.” Suddenly, my mind can’t catch up with what my body was doing. I just see myself, holding her chin up, and leaning forward to kiss her.
………………..


Wait!?! Did I just think about that?!?! I didn’t seem repulsed by the thought and I actually feels…good. I sighed out loud. Now, I have a hint as to where I’m getting my ‘romantic’ ideas in my fiction. I’m officially in love with ‘Rika’. So I guess my supposedly comedy fic will be written as a ROMANTIC-comedy fic.

That is…. If only I could write what I’m thinking…. Wait, wouldn’t it be better if I could actually ‘DO’ what I was writing?

The End

Ahahahaha...since I can't make a vid out of this song..I decided to make a TakaGaki song fic instead...Enjoy!XD





Ai Takahashi just finished taking a bath after an hour… that is because she finished a level of ‘Final Fantasy XII’ game on her PSP. It’s her ideal way to relax on their hectic schedule. She dressed up and sat on her couch to read her favorite book.

Ai:

“Aah, an afternoon alone with
My favorite book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."
No roommate to bother me.
How could it get any better than this?”

Ai cringed when she heard the door open and in came the Reaction Queen, straight from their ‘GakiKame’ show.

Risa:
“Oh, hi Ai!” Risa greeted excitedly and sat down in front of Ai.

Ai:
“Hi Risa” Ai replied flatly.

Risa:
“Hey Ai, you'll never
Guess what happened to
Me on the subway this morning.
This girl was smiling at me and talking to me”

Ai:
“That's very interesting.” Ai responded monotonously and focused on reading her book. Nothing will stop her from finishing the last installment of J.K Rowling’s story.

Risa:
“She was being real friendly,
And I think she was coming on to me.
I think she might've thought I was gay!”

As soon as she heard the last word, Ai looked up from her book and stared at her grinning best friend. Ai cleared her throat before answering.

Ai:
“Ahem, so, uh, why are you telling me this? Why should I care? I don't care.” She then decided to change the topic.

“What did you have for lunch today?”

Risa:
“Oh, you don't have to get all defensive about it, Ai..” Risa grinned at her friend. Ai raised her voice as soon as she heard the ‘D’ word.

Ai:
“I'm NOT getting defensive!
What do I care about some gay girl you met, okay?
I'm trying to read.”

As to prove her point, Ai raised her book, on her eye-level to completely ignore her friend, and started reading a paragraph or so. Risa remained quiet for a while and then decided to continue her ‘attack’ on her best friend’s ‘preferences’.

Risa:
“Oh, I didn't mean anything by it, Ai.
I just think it's something we should be able to talk about.”

Ai:
“I don't want to talk about it, Risa! This conversation is over!!!” Ai snapped.

Risa:
“Yeah, but...”

Ai:
“OVER!!!” Ai, yelled as she glared at her friend. Risa on the other hand didn’t seem affected at all.

Risa:
“Well, okay, but just so you know …” Risa stood up from her chair, making Ai look at her presence before starting to sing and dance.

“IF YOU WERE GAY
THAT'D BE OKAY.
I MEAN 'CAUSE, HEY,
I'D LIKE YOU ANYWAY.
BECAUSE YOU SEE,
IF IT WERE ME,
I WOULD FEEL FREE
TO SAY THAT I WAS GAY
(BUT I'M NOT GAY.)

Ai tried to process what was happening to her friend. She made a mental note to separate her best friend from a certain turtle so that turtle will not be able to impart her craziness to Risa.

Ai:
Risa, please!
I am trying to read....” Risa just grinned at her making her somewhat irritated.
“What?!”

Risa:
IF YOU WERE QUEER

Ai:
“Ah, Risa!” Ai face-palmed herself. Risa was really acting weirdly all thanks to the ‘Ahou’ queen.

Risa:
I'D STILL BE HERE,

Ai:
“Risa, I'm trying to read this book.” Ai waved the book in front of Risa but the younger one just ignored it.

Risa:
YEAR AFTER YEAR

Ai:
“Risa!!!”

Risa:
BECAUSE YOU'RE DEAR
TO ME,

Ai:
“Argh!” Ai covered her ears with her hands just to make her best friend’s noise go away.

Risa:
AND I KNOW THAT YOU

Ai:
“What?”

Risa:
WOULD ACCEPT ME TOO,

Ai:
“I would?” Ai pointed at herself.

Risa:
IF I TOLD YOU TODAY,
"HEY! GUESS WHAT,
I'M GAY!"
(BUT I'M NOT GAY.)
I'M HAPPY
JUST BEING WITH YOU.

Ai:
“Watch Takarazuka plays, High-King recordings...” Ai tried thinking about different things just so she can escape her predicament.

Risa:
SO WHAT SHOULD IT
MATTER TO ME
WHAT YOU DO IN BED
WITH GIRLS?

Ai:
“Risa, that's GROSS!” Ai countered back. Eri must have given her best friend something for Risa to act ‘crazily’ like this.

Risa:
No it's not!
IF YOU WERE GAY
I'D SHOUT HOORAY!

Ai:
“I am not listening!” Ai covered her ears and started running away from the delirious ‘bean’.

Risa:
AND HERE I'D STAY,

Ai:
“La la la la la!” Ai tried to mask Risa’s voice with her own but it seemed that the other person was immune to it.

Risa:
BUT I WOULDN'T GET
IN YOUR WAY.

Ai:
“Aaaah!”

Risa:
YOU CAN COUNT ON ME
TO ALWAYS BE
BESIDE YOU EVERY DAY,
TO TELL YOU IT'S OKAY,
YOU WERE JUST BORN
THAT WAY,
AND, AS THEY SAY,
IT'S IN YOUR DNA,
YOU'RE GAY!

Ai:
“BUT I'M NOT GAY!” Ai shouted frustratingly.”

Risa:
If you were gay.

Ai:
“AHHHHH!”

The End

A good way to start the new year is a story about how the colors of the fireworks came about...ahahaha.. I imagined this while I'm still at work and I really had to hide my face and pretend that I was busy so that they won't see me smiling like crazy... HAPPY NEW YEAR GUYS!!!!




One fine evening, a young couple was staring at the clear night sky when suddenly, fireworks exploded from afar, giving different colors to the sky.

“Nee, Ai-chan. Do you know how they put different colors in the fire crackers? Do they put food coloring in the gun powder?”

“Why would they put FOOD coloring there? Risa, you are really funny.”

“But, how can they produce those yellow, green and pink colors?” Risa looked back at her lover who was holding her from behind.

“Hhmmm, there’s a story that I’ve read on a book about fire crackers. It’s like an urban legend.”

“Come on, tell it to me.”

……………………
“Once upon a time, even before China was being ruled by an emperor, there were three powerful kingdoms. The North, Middle and South Kingdoms were ruled by three, young queens. The North Kingdom was ruled by Queen Junjun. The kingdom was much like Sparta. They were focused on military tactics and kung-fu. The people respected their queen because of her prowess in the battle field. Her tall figure and awesome brute strength was enough to make their enemies ran away from her.

The South Kingdom was ruled by Queen Aika. That kingdom was like Athens. The queen wanted her people to be intelligent and creative so she put up many schools. The queen even gave scholarships to those with ‘special’ ability like her. She became queen not by blood or marriage but because of her high memory capacity. She can memorize a list of names or things in twenty minutes.

Queen Linlin was the ruler of the Middle Kingdom. The people there were happy and contented with their lives. They were the traders and businessmen of the old China. Queen Linlin was a jolly queen and she wanted her people to be like her. Every morning, the citizens of her kingdom would gather near her palace. When the first ray of sunlight illuminates the statue of the queen, Queen Linlin would come out of her room and laugh with her people.”


…………….
“What?!?! EVERYDAY??? They are laughing with the queen?” Risa asked quite shocked at her girlfriend’s story.

“Yeah, according to that book, it’s like the queen wanted to start their day right with a laugh. They even nick named her the ‘HAHA Queen’.”

“Really weird queen if you ask me. So, where do the colors of the fire crackers fit in?”

………………….
“These kingdoms have different Gods that they worship. For the North Kingdom, they worshipped the studious but narcissistic, pink hare-God, Sayu. The South, they worshipped the fiery yellow tiger-God, Reina and for the Middle Kingdom, the subtle and shy green turtle-God, Eri. As you noticed, the gods that they were worshipping were in contrast with what the kingdoms were doing. And it was noticed by a young, mischievous traveler named Koharu.

Koharu visited the South Kingdom first. When she heard that there’s a ‘Memory’ Competition and the winner will get a free meal, she decided to join, only to be surprised that she will have to compete with the queen. It was a tough fight but still, the Queen won. Even though Koharu lost, the queen still gave her a free meal and a free tour of the kingdom.”


“And this is the shrine of our Tiger God, Reina.”

“Hhmm, who made this statue? Your god has wonky eyes.”

“Don’t say that about our God. She might kill you with her Fiery Glare.”

“Ok, I won’t but still… her eyes… it’s a little disturbing.”


…………………….
“After visiting the South Kingdom, she went to the Middle Kingdom and ‘interrupted’ the morning routine.”


“WHERE IS IT??? WHAT’S THE REASON OF YOUR LAUGHING MARATHON? I DON’T SEE SOMETHING FUNNY! SHARE IT TO ME~!!!”


“Even though she disturbed their routine, since she’s on the land where only happiness exists, she was forgiven by their good queen.”

“You know, you should stay here in our kingdom. You’re a jolly person too.”

“I can’t stay in just one place. I’m a traveler and I would want to see different places before I die.”

“If that’s the case, then let out tortoise-god, Eri, guide you on your journey.”

“Ehh? Why does your God’s thighs are like that?”

“That’s because she uses her power called Thunder Thighs.”

“Thunder Thighs? Shouldn’t it be Thunder shell or something? She’s a tortoise. She’s supposed to have low leg powers right?”


………………………
“When she reached the North Kingdom, they were in the middle of their Daily Exercise. Queen Junjun was not happy with the disturbance that she made the traveler do push-ups, 100 times.”


“UWAAAH~! I’M SO TIRED!!!!”

“That’s your punishment for interrupting our exercise.”

“Geez, will you lighten up? It’s just an exercise.”

“It’s not JUST an exercise. It’s important for us to have good body built.”

“Ehh? If you’re so into ‘body building’, then why does this statue of this girl looks so skinny? She looks like a wimp if you ask me.”

“Don’t you dare disrespect our hare-God, Sayu! She will punish you with her ‘venom tongue’!”


…………………….
“Koharu stayed at the shoreline of the North Kingdom, ready to go out of China the next day. While she was asleep, the 3 Gods were having a confrontation in their sky palace.”



“I’LL KILL THAT GIRL!!! SHE SAID I HAVE WONKY EYES!!!”

“Hey, calm down. Lower your voice, I’m trying to sleep here.”

“In case you were asleep earlier. SHE BAD-MOUTHED YOUR THIGHS!!!”

“ZZZzzzzzzzz.”

“Geez, Reina. You’ll get wrinkles on your face if you don’t stop what you’re doing.”

“BUT, THAT KID’S REALLY ANNOYING!!!! DON’T TELL ME YOU’RE NOT ANGRY WITH HER WHEN SHE CALLED YOU A WIMP!!!!”

“Well, I don’t mind being called a wimp as long as I’m the cutest god there is on the entire heaven.”

“ARRRGGGHHH!!!!! ARE YOU REALLY THE NORTH KINGDOM’S GOD?!?! YOU WON’T EVEN FIGHT!!!”

“And look who’s talking… your kingdom is a peaceful and intellectual kingdom. And if you have a ‘brain’, then you’ll realize that you have to stay calm and at peace with your inner self.”


“The tiger god was really angry with Koharu and the hare-god amplified her ‘grouchiness’. She grabbed a carrot and threw it towards the hare-god but her ‘wonky’ eyes made it hard for her to aim and thus, hitting the sleeping tortoise-god.”


“THAT WAS MY FOOD!!!! I’ll KILL YOU!!!”

“WHO DISTURBED MY SLEEP!?!?!?! YOU’LL PAY FOR THIS!!!!”

“FINE! LET’S FINISH THIS ARGUMENT TONIGHT!!”

“The tortoise-god opened her shell and out came an army of little turtles. The tiger-god growled and from her breath, formed an army of little kittens. The hare-god hopped around and from the wind that she produced, came an army of little bunnies. The 3 armies clashed with each other and when they clashed, they produced a wonderful color in the sky followed by a loud bang. Koharu was woken up at the sound and she watched the spectacle with awe, not knowing that she’s the first one to start it.”


…………………..
“And that’s how the firecracker’s colors started based on the book by ‘Murasaki Aoi’.” Ai finished her story. Risa remained quiet, as if she’s still processing something.

“So, I guess, the pink colors came from the bunnies then, the green ones, from the turtle and the yellow colors came from the kitties?”

“Yes. Cool right?”

“Yeah, cool story. I didn’t know that there’s a legend about that. You really love reading books. I guess, you lived in that South Kingdom in your past life.” Ai laughed at what her girlfriend just said. The two continued watching the night sky being lit up with fireworks.

“Nee~ Ai-chan, I wonder if Koharu’s still the cause of this ‘heavenly war’ right now.”

“Hmm, I highly agree.”

“Why?”

“Well, because after that incident, Koharu went here in Japan and annoyed our own gods Izanagi and Izanami.”

“Ohh, she really is mischievous.”

“Yes she is… Can we please stop talking about her? Let’s just enjoy our date here.”

THE END

Ahahaha.. I decided to make a fic out of the OPV that I made... so yeah, I made this one really fast so I think it affected the quality of the outcome... Anyways, enjoy reading!XD



You’re in my arms
And all the world is calm
The music playing on for only two
So close together
And when I’m with you
So close to feeling alive

“That’s it for today! Good job everyone!” Sumio-san said after finally being satisfied with our performance. It’s what you expect for a veteran Takarazuka director.

“Takahashi-san?”

“Yes?”

“You and Niigaki-san have a great chemistry. I guess that’s because the two of you are best friends. You two amazed me. It looks so real.” He gently patted my shoulders. I muttered a simple thank you as he walks away. Sumio-san, if you only knew. I hope it’s really real too.

When did I start feeling this way towards you? When did I start hiding a simple glance from you? I didn’t really know the answer at that and the initial reaction I did was to move away from you. I knew you tried hard. But I was more stubborn. From ‘Risa-chan’ I resorted to calling you ‘Gaki-san’, though I know it would hurt you most. Why? Because I’m afraid. I’m afraid to lose you as a friend. It’s better for me to suffer alone and still being able to talk to you in ‘civilized’ way than not being able to talk to you at all.


A life goes by
Romantic dreams will stop
So I bid mine goodbye and never knew
So close was waiting, waiting here with you
And now forever I know
All that I wanted to hold you
So close

I’m in this kind of ‘self- denial’ stage right now and I think there’s nothing that I can do about it… Every night my dreams kept on haunting me. Dreams of you and me together. Dreams of us back then where we would give our innocent smiles to each other; back then when this feeling hasn’t surfaced yet. I tried to live my life as normal as it can be. But every day you would mess with my inner mind. You don’t have any idea how your simple touch can wreak havoc inside me. I knew you did that on purpose. Because I knew you sense that I was indirectly pushing you away from me.

I think I’ve succeeded on that. You and Eri make a great pair. As I look at the two of you, happily talking to each other while packing up your bags, I felt a tinge of jealousy. If I’m not afraid to face this feeling, it was me who would be laughing with you right now. And for a split second, I felt that I want to hold you… forever, if that’s possible.


So close to reaching that famous happy end
Almost believing this was not pretend
And now you’re beside me and look how far we’ve come
So far we are so close

“Hey Ai-chan, why are you still here?”

“I need to practice more… I feel like I’m not still good enough for this role.”

“Ai-chan… you’re such a workaholic… You’re fine. Believe in yourself. I think you’ve improved a lot ever since Ribbon no Kishi.”

“Thanks Gaki-san… But still… I want to practice.” Please Risa… Don’t make this hard for me… You, saying those words, makes me want to embrace you right now.

“If Takarazuka are my idols too, I would be really nervous just performing with them. I know what you feel Ai-chan. I’m here to help you.” You put down your bag and held my hand. I hope you didn’t hear my heart skip a beat. “So, let’s practice Cinderella and Prince Charles’ parts, shall we?”

“Ha… hai…”

How could I face the faceless days
If I should lose you now?
We’re so close
To reaching that famous happy end
And almost believing this was not pretend
Let’s go on dreaming for we know we are
So close
So close
And still so far

It felt like time stopped on us. It’s like we really are Cinderella and Prince Charles. Or that’s what my mind wanted me to think. I stared at your brown eyes and tried to decipher that ‘mysterious’ look that you’re giving me. Was it happiness? Pain? Confusion? Anger? Sadness? Maybe it’s all of those emotions. You’re silently asking me why right? Why did I keep on pushing you away when all I ever want was to be beside you?

“Do I love you because you’re beautiful? Or you’re beautiful because I love you?” It’s the first time that you talked since we started dancing. I thought you said that we should practice our scenes but all we did was dance… and got lost to it. Should I answer it? It’s just our song that we would sing so there’s no need to answer right. But a small part of me wanted to answer ‘both’. I want to pretend this ‘practice’ of ours was real. If it’s only me, I wanted to go on dreaming. At this moment, I didn’t want to lose you. You’re always the one who gave me strength, who’s always telling me that I can do this and that. The one who always says that you’ll stay by my side and support me at everything. I know it’s not part of the scene but I can’t stop myself from resting my head on your chest. The sound of your beating heart made me feel at ease. I really don’t want to end this fantasy.

“Gaki-san! Come on! I thought you promised that we would go shopping!” I heard you let out a ‘sad’ sigh.

“I have to go Ai-chan… Kame’s waiting for me.”

“Uhh, thanks… for practicing with me.”

“I had fun. Let’s do it again sometime. Oh yeah, believe in yourself. You can do it. You know I’ll always support you no matter what.” You immediately ran after that. I was left alone, thinking about what you said. I gave me hope, but at the same time, a little bit of pain in the heart. I felt like you feel the same way about me too… but like me, you were afraid. I guess it can’t be helped. We’re best friends. We’re so close… and yet, we’re still so far.

The End

Not much but I made a TakaGaki OPV... I don't know why but the idea came to me two weeks ago? Not sure about the date but it was during one of my breaks and I was watching Dora the Explorer Tour from afar while I was listening to Jon McLaughlin's So close... and suddenly, I wasn't watching Dora anymore but a tear-jerker TakaGaki 'possible' fic... possible coz I can't write too much drama..I'm still not good in that area..so yeah... Just sharing this one..Sorry about the subs!I haven't downloaded the RAW file.XD

I'm back!!!! Ahahahaha... anyways.. to those following my 'fangirl' I'm happy to tell you that I may post it some time next week... but for now, this fic is based on my grueling experience last Saturday when a typhoon hit our country. The incidents really happened.. but I added some 'fluff' scenes which didn't happen in reality.. So yeah.. I hope you would have an idea at what I went through that day...(although I made this one short..yeah... SHORT)I hope you like it!

PS: Yeah, the banana shake was true and so as the 'picnic'. There's that "TanaKamei' thing goin on...I did eat that chocolate, 'Matsuura-san's really gay.. 'Nakazawa' really ran off. There's really that shivering 'Risa' beside me..though in real life Risa's a HE and I definitely didn't do what Ai did. Talk about code names.. :)


“I wish I went out earlier”

I let out a deep sigh as I grabbed my phone from inside my bag. I have to message my manager that I’ll be late. Now my record of having a clean slate would be tarnished. I looked outside the window and saw that the rain was still pouring down hard. I hate rainy days.

~Good morning mam!~
“What’s so good this morning? I’m going to be late!”
~It’s me, Takahashi-san. I think I’m going to be late. The bus hasn’t move due to the flood for about forty minutes now. I’m really sorry.~

After I sent the message, I put my phone back to my bag and pulled out a book that I bought two days ago. I can’t seem to focus to my reading as my ‘responsible’ side was bugging me.

“If you only didn’t play PSP earlier, you would probably be in the store right now.”
“I can’t help it. I can’t wait to try the new game.”

“And now, look at you. Why are you reading that book when there’s only 20 minutes left before you will be officially late from work?”
“I’m going to be late anyways. There’s no need to make haste.”

“What are you saying?!? Are you really a team leader?! A leader isn’t supposed to say those things!”
“And what should I do?”

“How about you, getting out of this bus right now and run towards your store just before your time expires.”
“And what? Be soaking wet from rain and mud?”

“Remember, this will be the first time that you will have a ‘late’ record!”
“But if I do that… I’ll have an ‘x’ mark on my ‘uniform’ in the checklist. You know Fujimoto-san’s strict when it comes to appearance.”
”But you will be late!”
“This is my first time… and I can’t control the weather. I think Fujimoto-san will understand me.” As if on cue, I pulled out my phone from my bag and read the message.

~It’s ok. I’ll just adjust your time if you will be late for an hour. The store’s in a mess right now. We closed the ‘Smoking’ section due to the heavy rain.~

I smiled. Our ‘scary’ manager really has a soft side. The ‘responsible’ me vanished after reading the message and I’m left alone with my book. I finished four chapters and looked at the time. It’s been thirty minutes pass my ‘original’ schedule but the bus only moved an inch…or so. I messaged my manager again to tell her about my current situation although nothing much changed since then. It’s just to show her how ‘eager’ I am to get to work so she should stick to her word about adjusting my schedule. I continued exchanging mails with my manager. I learned that our front was already flooded and although our store was on the third floor, due to the wind, the outside was already ‘flooded’ too.

It’s already an hour and fifteen minutes passed since I was stuck in this traffic jam. I looked outside and noticed that the rain had died down. I sent one last message to my manager. I’m glad I bought some load before I got on the bus.

~I will walk now~

…………..
“I should have listened to my other side”...I shouldn’t have fallen for that new game.
I cautiously walk along the highway. One, because I don’t want my pants to get dirty and two, because I’m walking beside the cars and buses. But I’m not alone in this kind of ‘Exodus’. I was thinking to use the train for convenience but after seeing that I have to ‘swim’ to get to the other side, my feet automatically turned towards the flyover. I took a picture towards the ‘brownish sea’ below me as a form of evidence. I was nearing the end when I saw that it’s also flooded. I quickly boarded another bus to get to my destination. So here I am in our store, almost 2 hours late if not for the adjustment.

“Takahashi-san~! How are you! Glad you made it.” I was greeted by my ever ‘weird’ sub-leader. She’s reliable… yeah… But sometimes.. She’s just plain weird. I didn’t know how Rei can keep up with her weirdness. Oh yeah, did I say that in our store, it’s forbidden to have a relationship between your co-workers? They always say, ‘one must die’ if they ever found out but hey, you can’t stop love. And surprisingly, Matsuura-san found out, but still kept quiet. It’s because Tanaka-san and Kamei-san knew something about our Matsuura-san and Fujimoto-san’s relationship which I knew from the beginning because I was ‘fairly’ close to Matsuura-san. Yep, I have an open mind about the third sex. Anyways, Michishige-san was reapplying her make-up when I approached the cashier’s area.

“Hey, what happened here?”

“The ceiling’s leaking. We had to cover the POS and elevate the UPS so that it won’t get wet. And I had to hide my cute face under this hood so I won’t get wet too.” Shige-san’s narcissistic side attacked again. I smiled as I walked past her and put my bag into my locker room. Nothing much happened for the rest of the day. I just did some paper works, checked the stocks, and cleaned what was needed to be cleaned.

“You want some banana shake?” Jun asked me. I looked back at the dining room and saw that the others were already drinking their share. I know he liked bananas but a shake at this weather? Well, I guess it’s not that bad.

“Sure. You made this one?”

“Yeah…” There were no guests given that there’s a typhoon in our country right now. Fujimoto-san suggested that we had a ‘picnic’ and at the same time, helping our store to have some sales. Aika suggested that we use our tip in case we don’t have enough money. Lin-chan and Jun-kun made our orders. Rei-kun and Eri-chan made the drinks while Shige-san and Aika-san went to the lobby and tried to get some customers, if there were any. I sat down beside Fujimoto-san.

“Is Matsuura-san alright? I heard in the news on the bus that her town’s flooded right now.”

“Yeah, apparently, her subdivision is the only place where there’s no flood.”

“Glad to hear that.”

………………..
It’s almost six in the evening and finally, some real guests arrived. It’s only four transactions but still, at least we sold something. Due to the bad weather, we closed early that day. We left the store at 9 in the evening. I’m the only person who goes home in the south.

“Are you sure you’ll be ok?” Linlin asked worriedly. Among the staff in the kitchen, Linlin was my favorite. She’s really funny and I like to tease her a lot about her eating habits. Besides, we get along pretty well when it comes to cooking so even though I’m a dining team leader, she would let me cook sometimes when there are few guests.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine. I’ll keep in touch.” I waved at them as they crossed the street. Rei-kun lives nearby but I know he will accompany Eri.

“Don’t you wish you had a boyfriend?”
“I’m still enjoying my single life.” Yeah, my single, BORING and REDUNDANT life. Shaking that feeling aside, I had to squeeze my way in just to board a ‘nearly’ full bus. Normally, it would only take me thirty minutes to reach my other bus stop but then, some of the streets were still flooded. I sighed in resignation. My legs were numb from an hour of standing on this crowded bus. After another thirty minutes, I got out from the bus. I really wish that there’s a bus line that would travel straight to my place so I won’t have to board a bus twice.

And as if it’s really my UNlucky day, I’m waiting for at least an hour now. It’s almost midnight but there’s no bus going towards my town. My stomach growled and I instinctively opened a pack of chocolates inside my bag. Sorry Kusumi.

-Flashback-
“Hey mom, I just got here… I’m stranded for two hours.”

“I told you not to go to work today but you didn’t listen.”

“I can’t help it. I’m a team leader.”

“Anyways, I think you should sleep at your cousin’s house.”

“Why?”

“Apparently it’s really flooded outside. We’re on the second floor now because the water on our first floor is waist deep.”

“Ehh? How about my PS2? My computer? My books?”

“Don’t worry about it. We saved it just in time.”

“Thanks. I’ll call Kusumi now.”

“Ok, be careful on your way home.”
…………….
“Hello? Kusumi? It’s Ai.”

“Ai-chan? Hi there! How are you doing~! Where are you~!” Still my ever hyperactive cousin.

“I’m here at work. Mom said that our house is flooded and she thought it would be better if I would stay there.”

“GREAT~~~!!! LET’S PLAY ~~!! I HAVE A NEW GAME~~!! And please.. BRING SOME CHOCOLATES~~!”

-End Flashback-

~It’s not flooded anymore. Where are you going to sleep?~

~I’ll go home. It’s already midnight and I don’t want to disturb Kusumi’s sleep.~ That is, if she really sleeps at night. That kid’s always full of energy.

There were many buses going to the town next to mine. It’s a nice option but still I didn't want some ‘adventure’ in the middle of the night. Another option was I can sleep in a hotel… or motel but I didn’t have extra money with me. When all hope was lost, a miracle happened. A lady driving a white pick-up truck stopped in front of us and asked the old man beside me where he’s going. Apparently, the old man was from the same town as mine, and so are the others beside me. The kind lady told us to ‘hop-in’ on her truck. Finally, I was going home.

But that didn’t end my sufferings. We were again, stranded just right after midnight. Add to that, the rains were pouring harder. I’m glad I brought an umbrella that day but I can’t be happy when there are other people on the truck who were soaking wet because of the rain. Two hours have already passed since I boarded this truck. The kind lady checks us time to time. I learned that her name was Yuuko Nakazawa and she’s working in our city hall. That made sense as to why she helped us.

I tried to sleep but I can’t. My ‘seatmate’ kept on moving. She was sitting beside me before but when I observed her, her knees were close to her chest while she lay her arms and head on the side of the truck. She was shivering badly, probably due to her wet shirt and she was probably conserving her body heat with her current position. It began raining again and this time, I shared my umbrella with her. She looked up as she felt that the rain wasn’t falling on her. I vaguely see her face but I definitely notice her eyebrows and bean-shaped forehead.

“Thanks.” She mumbled.

“It’s nothing.” I looked away and observe the other people on the truck with us.. There’s the old man, a woman with her pet dog, a student.. a lot of office workers and a lovey-dovey couple in front of me... hmm… that’s interesting. At first sight you would think that they’re a normal couple because that short-haired blond GIRL really looks like a guy but then again, my gay-dar’s improved all thanks to Matsuura-san giving me on-the-spot quiz every now and then with the guests that eats in our restaurant were gay or not. I continued watching them and noticed that they were sharing their body heat with each other; my inner side spoke up again.

“Now, do you wish you had a boyfriend?”
“In this circumstance… yes.”

I looked back at the girl beside me. She’s still shivering. She shifted her position so that she was again sitting beside me on the side of the truck, with her head on her lap and her arms crossed over her chest.

“Care to share your body heat with someone?”
“Ehh? But I don’t know her!”

“Being a leader means you are sensitive towards the other’s needs.”
“Yeah.. I can see that she’s really cold right now but the thing is… I DON’T KNOW HER!!!”

“Then take this a chance to, you know, make friends.”
“But… I can’t.”

“Come on! This is really easy. You are working in a restaurant where you HAVE to interact with various STRANGERS! Show them why Aya made you a leader!”
Ok. First things first, I’m a shy person. I’m not the one who usually made the first move or started a conversation. I was really surprised when I learned that I’ll become a leader although I already had the feeling that Fujimoto-san and Matsuura-san will choose me. I was just doing my job properly though they saw me as ‘hard-working’ and ‘perfectionist’. Did I already say that THEY think I’m ‘responsible’ too? Anyways, I’m a leader but it’s like that I’m the one being lead by the others. And another thing was, I would rather forecast and analyze the stocks and input something on the computer than to face the guest. I would serve them, yeah… But sweet-talking them as to why they should eat in our restaurant wasn’t really my thing. I always leave that to Kamei-san or Michishige-san while I always hide in the bar where I’m enjoying making/tasting the drinks.

“Just do it. Look at the other passengers. They are talking even though they don’t know each other. Look at Nakazawa-san, she let us ride on her truck even though she doesn’t know us. She talks to us from time to time just to check on us. She’s not even the mayor but just a simple worker in the city hall but she still decided to help us. So I think, that’s enough reason for ‘us’ to help this person who’s in desperate need of heat.”
Gaah, I hate it when my inner mind tells me what to do. She made it look like it’s really easy. I sucked in my fear and faced the girl.

“A..a.. are you cold?”
“Geez can’t you tell yourself?! OF COURSE SHE’S COLD THAT’S WHY SHE’S SHIVERING!”

“A little..”

“Ahhh…” The reply made me want to cut the conversation but my inner side was still bugging me. I looked down at my jacket. “I can share you my jacket.” The girl looked back at me with a shocked expression on her face.

“Ehh?!”

“Yeah.” Our conversation was going smooth. Did I sound sarcastic there? Anyways, I started taking off my jacket when the girl straightened up and stopped me.

“It’s your jacket. I’m fine.” Finally! A full sentence from the girl.

“But I can see you shivering.” The girl blinked several times at me. I knew that she was trying to think of an answer.

“Well, it’s because of this weather. It’s just normal.” Woah, I didn’t know that there’s a person who’s stubborn than me. I can’t give up now right? Not when this strange feeling of confidence has swept me. I moved closer to her and put half of my jacket on her.

“I think its ‘normal’ for me to share this jacket with you.” This time the girl was speechless with my bold action. I can’t remember the last time that I’m being bold like this. I tried starting a conversation and my efforts have not been wasted. I learned that her name was Niigaki Risa, she was just hired as a receptionist in the hotel in front of our building and she lives near my cousin’s house. It’s really a small world right? We talked about lots of things; from our current situation now, which wasn’t going any better, to our work and hobbies. And then after almost four grueling hours, the cars were already moving. We laughed at the scene. There were many cars and buses that weren’t moving, probably because the driver has fallen asleep. We approached the toll gate in a matter of 15 minutes. But, when it’s our turn to pay, Nakazawa-san sped off.

“Ehh? Why?” Risa asked me, as if I know the answer.

“Maybe she’s just pissed off because we’re stranded for hours and they didn’t do anything.”
And what do you know, my hunch was right. Apparently, a high-way trooper followed us and asked Nakazawa-san to pay.

“WE’VE BEEN STRANDED FOR HOURS AND YOU PEOPLE DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!”

“The flood is out of our hands. We can’t control things like that.” And so, we innocent people have to listen to this heated argument. The trooper called some back up and I felt Risa stiffen as soon as she saw that the other trooper was holding a shot gun. Nakazawa-san was still driving slowly because the cars in front were driving slowly too. I bet the flood hasn’t gone down for good. And then my reverie was suddenly halted when the door of the passenger seats opened and the people inside there, transferred to our place… while the truck was still in motion. A girl was crying and freaking out.

“He aimed the gun at Nakazawa-san! I was really scared!” I looked at the couple in front of me; the girl with the long black hair was stroking the scared girl’s back.

“Don’t worry about it. He will not shoot her. There are many witnesses if he did that.” The boyish girl answered. Risa looked at me with a scared expression on her face.

“Don’t worry. Nakazawa-san works in the city hall. She’ll be alright.” After a couple of minutes of heated argument, the troopers finally left us. The rest of the journey was uneventful, after all, it’s almost four in the morning and all of us were already tired.

“You guys alright back there? Nakazawa-san shouted from the driver’s seat. “Just shout when you need me to stop.” All of us answered yes.

“I’m almost near.” I said to Risa. “I can leave you my umbrella and just get it tomorrow at the hotel.”

“Thank you but I decline your offer. You’ve done a lot for me.”

“We’ll see each other again.”

“Hai!” Risa answered. I’m glad that I listened to my inner self. It feels good to earn a new friend. I shouted to Nakazawa and she stopped the truck. I jumped down and took one last look at my new friend before going to the front and thanking the kind lady. It’s muddy and dark at our place. I quickly got my lighter and opened it. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t smoke but we had a smoking area so a lighter was part of our ‘readiness checklist’. When I got home, I quickly mailed my manager, asking whether she can change my schedule, again. Thank goodness Matsuura-san was already awake at that time and replied that I can go to work at lunch time. I quickly replied thanks and put the phone on my drawer. It’s been a tiring day for me but I experience a lot of new things and earned a new friend.

The End

Ahahaha... My third installment (continuation)... I hope you like this one...LOL



“I can’t believe we’re doing this… We’re leaders. We’re supposed to be the model of the other members. We can’t be like this!”

“Be quiet! Do you want them to find us out? Geez, if you don’t want to listen, just pretend that you’re not doing anything and be quiet.”

“I want to go back! I don’t need to watch them 24/7. We have a busy schedule for today. What the others told us was enough evidence for me.”

“Come on… Don’t tell me that you’re not DYING to know the real score between those two? And besides, we’re the only one’s who didn’t see it right?” Risa grinned at her astounded friend. Ai just took her milk tea and sipped it silently. Risa was trying to hear the conversation on the opposite table so she peeked at the news paper that she’s holding.

“You know, you should drop that newspaper thing. You’re really obvious.”

“Just shut up! I can’t hear them.”

……..
“Gross… Really disgusting….”

Miki glared at the person opposite of her. Miki treated Yossie on the cafeteria as a gratitude for helping her earlier. Miki dropped her favourite yakiniku on the table after s dipping it on the sauce. She immediately picked it up after a second, and put it inside her mouth which made the other person gross out.

“You might have stomach-ache later but don’t rely on me helping you again.”

“Hey, I picked it up in less than 5 seconds. I’ll be ok.” Miki retorted. She picked up another beef and dipped it again on the sauce before biting it.

“Ohhh… The ever famous ‘5-second rule’. You know. Bacteria don’t need 5-seconds to stick on the food. They stick immediately as soon as they touched it.” Yossie stated in a matter-of-fact tone. Miki looked up to her and tilted her head.

“And where did you read that one?”

“I’ve watched it last night, Mythbusters, Discovery channel… Well, it seemed interesting and there’s a translation so I watched it. They busted that rule. Plus, they also found out that many bacteria stick to wet food than dry foods. Now, I wonder how many bacteria colonies are there inside your stomach.” Yossie couldn’t help but laugh real loud at the sight of Miki widening her eyes in disbelief.

…………
“Why can’t they talk about something important?” Risa whispered more to herself but Ai definitely heard it.

“They are talking about something important. There are lots of bacteria around us and I’m glad to know that the 5-second rule was busted.”

“You know what I meant when I said ‘important’ right?” Risa said without looking at her friend.

“Uhmm… No.” Risa slammed her fist (together with the newspaper of course) on the table, irritated by what her friend answered.

“YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!!! IT’S THE REASON WHY WE’RE STALKING THEM!!!” Everyone inside the cafeteria stopped; definitely surprised at the sudden outburst. Risa looked around her. Miki and Hitomi were staring at her.

“Busted.” Ai calmly said. Risa eyed her friend before standing up and taking an apologetic bow to everyone.

“It’s nothing. Don’t mind us… We’re just… ahhhh... playing. We’re going now!” Risa grabbed her friend and walked rapidly towards the door. “We can’t stalk them anymore in there. Let’s just follow them later.”

“Still not giving up?”

“I won’t until I see it with my own eyes!” Risa replied, full of energy. She pulled her friend towards the end of the hall and hid behind the wall. From there, she can still clearly see the people coming in and out of the said cafeteria. Ai was stuck with her friend. With nothing much to do, she pulled out from her bag her handy English ‘slang’ book.

“I want a kitty.”
…………….
“Yoh, what’s up?”
……………
“You wanna dance with me?”
……………
“I’m going to kick your ass!”

“Hey! Could you read that silently? They might find us out because of you… again.” Risa paused for a while before adding the last word. Ai, who was sitting on the floor beside her friend, just ignored the comment and returned to her reading. A couple of minutes later, Miki emerged from the door, followed by Hitomi who was supporting her. Risa nudged Ai’s elbow.

“What?” Ai lowered her book to look at Risa. She followed her friend’s line of sight and saw the ‘not-so-interesting’ scene. “So what if Yocchan’s supporting her? Your imaginations are running wild.”

“Look!” Risa pointed at the way Miki was walking. “Koharu was right, they might have done something last night. This is really…”

“Insane. Let’s stop this now and we’ll be late for out taping this afternoon.” Ai interrupted and stood up, ready to walk towards the opposite way. Risa pulled her back forcefully which made Ai land on top of her.

“Itai… What do you think you’re doing? I have enough of this. I’m going back to the studio. It’s their private life, you should respect them.” Ai reprimanded. Risa grabbed her friend’s shoulders and ‘shifted’ herself on top of the surprised Ai.

“I won’t let you go until WE see it with our own eyes! We’re so close right now and I won’t let you turn your back on me at this crucial time!”

“There are lots of empty rooms during lunch break. You should do your thing inside there where nobody will see you.” The two Gokkies were frozen by that voice. They slowly looked up saw the grinning faces of their sempais.

“I tell you. Don’t be like this girl beside me who would just jump on Aya anytime she sees her. I’m glad that Aya can control this person otherwise, she would have caused a scandal years ago.” Miki glared at Hitomi.

“And how about you and Rika? You’re flirting with her even on stage and on videos!”

“At least it’s not that obvious compared to you.” Hitomi replied. Miki was about to answer back when Ai decided to end this ‘foolishness’ once and for all.

“Ano sa, Risa just wanted to ask whether you’ve done… uhmm… something ‘fishy’ last night..”

“Huh?!?” Hitomi and Miki answered simultaneously. Ai scratched her head and looked at her frowning friend.

“Ano, we presumed that you DID something… ‘ero’ last night that’s why Miki-san is walking weird today.” Ai saw the two exchange looks at each other before bursting out to tears.

“I told you that we must be prepared for other versions of the ‘story’ that they saw.” Miki said while laughing.

“You want to know the real story? Miki was late for our futsal training that she forgot to do warm-ups. As a result, her legs were aching badly and I’m just helping her right now… as a captain of course.”

“So, the two of you are not dating?” Risa blurted.

“NO! Do you really think that I’ll replace my Aya for this boyish, un-sexy girl? No way!” Hitomi removed her support from Miki’s waist making the other cry out in pain. “ITAI!!!! It was just a joke!” Hitomi grinned and helped her friend once again.

“Be thankful that I’m helping you…” Hitomi looked back at the two. “In any case… you might want to change the venue of your current activity. There are many people who will pass by here after lunch break so… yeah… you know the rest.” The two slowly walked away from the unmoving couple on the floor. When they reached the corner, the two can see Miki grinning and winking at them.

“Uhmm… now that you know the answer… can you please let me go?” Risa looked at her friend for a couple of seconds more before realizing that she’s still on top of her.

“AAAHHHH!!! Gomen!!! I totally forgot!” Risa stood up and helped her friend to get up.

“Let’s go back to the studio.” Ai said and quickly turned around before Risa would see her blushing face.

…………….
“DID YOU ALL SEE THAT?!?”

“Of course Koharu… we’re not blind.” Reina replied sarcastically which the other ignored as she’s already lost in her own world.

“Earlier it’s Yoshizawa and Fujimoto sempai… now it’s… Takahashi and Gaki-san…” Aika remarked. Eri looked at her, somewhat in a daze.

“Gaki-san…. Gaki-san… I can’t believe it… Gaki-san…”

“We’ve lost her.” Linlin said after waving her hand back and forth in front of Eri’s face. Junjun tried to shake her up to bring her back but to no avail.

“Poor Eri. It must have been a shocking day for her…”

“I SEE A PATTERN!!!!” The others were at the sudden squeal of the miracle girl.

“Are you planning to ruin our ears with your shout?!” Koharu ignored Reina for the second time and continued grinning like a little girl who had just seen her favourite toy.

“There’s a pattern! Yoshizawa-san and Fujimoto-san were our former leaders right? And now, Gaki-san and Ai-san…. So, the next leaders will probably have a relationship too!”

“Not a bad theory…” Aika nodded in agreement.

“~KYAAAH!!!” The others turned around and saw Sayumi blushing real hard.

“What happened to you?” Junjun asked the person nearest to her.

“I was just wondering who will be my partner~~” Reina raised her eyebrow.

“Nani?! Why do you think you will be the next leader?”

“Because I’m the cutest among you!”

The End

It's supposed to be my b-day fic for Ai Takahashi... But.. It center is more on Risa so that doesn't count... I'll try to make another when I have a free time... XD