Yey!!! I MADE IT JUST IN TIME!!!! ahahaha...I got extended from work and thank goodness there's no traffic at this time of the night. So, I'll just get straight to the point... HAPPY B-DAY RIKA!!!! This FINAL chapter's my gift for you!!!XD


Rika typed her comment on Kuwagata’s blog but before she decided to send it, she thought that it contains a lot of information on the writer’s part. She just posted the first part and then decided to just send her analysis through PM.
Charmy

Hi there, Kuwagata-san. Finished your fic and I want to congratulate you for making me cry.. No pun intended.. but yeah, that was a really good ending for your fic. My best friend would squeal as you decided to end it as TanaShige. Or is it? ahahaha..So this is your answer right? I’ll just PM you my analysis coz I know, you don’t want me to expose your real identity here…Just reply if my ‘theory’ is wrong but mind you… I’m very good at analyzing stories…. Why? Because I had a pretty good grade in our Personality Psychology class. So, I’ll send it to you now~! XP

Rika clicked the send button. She grinned as she remembered to highlight the word ‘TanaShige’ as an answer to those who were fighting before. She was glad that after giving that lecture, those readers decided to not to take pairings seriously and be open minded about it. And they were still commenting on the story.

“If only those guys knew the real story…” She then opened another browser and typed in her personal e-mail account. She pasted her ‘analysis’ on it and sent it to Hitomi’s business e-mail account. She forgot to ask for her ‘personal’ account and since she had a database of the employees’ e-mail addresses, she used it to find Hitomi’s account.

To: yoshizawa_hitomi@ishikawagroupofcompanies.com.jp
From: kawaiicharmy@yahoo.co.jp
Subject: Analysis on Searching for the Light

Hey there! Sorry if I had to e-mail you using OUR official add..but yeah.. I forgot to ask you about your other email add so I had no other choice…Unless of course, you want me to tell the whole world about the real Kuwagata…LOL

First of all, I think, your story is not that ‘parallel’ on Miki’s story, since you’ve said it’s more on symbolism type. So… here’s my guess… Eri and Sayu are one… I mean..well, based on what I’ve learned on Miki’s story… You liked her… So I guess, Eri’s your ‘other’ side, (and her sickness was being gay towards someone)… and Sayu’s the normal one… I was having a hard time to decide who’s who at first because Sayu’s really hard to predict. And, you killed Eri… I think that means, you killed your feelings towards Reina… or Fujimoto-san in real life... and since Eri asked Sayu to be friends with Reina… I think you’re telling me that you wanted to be friends with her again right? And what you did with the ending… I think, “Eri’s” wish came true. Although… that doesn’t explain why Miki had to slap you in the park…I don’t mean to be rude or something. Just don’t answer it if you don’t want to. But how can you say that the two of you were alright when you left after Miki slapped you? Well, there is that hug but still… Hmmm… So there’s my analysis… I really hope you can reply to this PM. Don’t think that I’m just being nosy or something. Honestly, the two of you were fairly close to me that’s why I want to understand what happened before. I really hope that it’s already fixed now, just like in your ending. 


Rika clicked the send button and logged off on her account. She took a glimpse at her ‘temporary’ apartment. She almost didn’t notice it but it’s almost time for her to leave this cozy place. She lay on her bed and tried to get some sleep.

“Don’t be. I’ll wait for you, promise.”
“GAAAHH!!!! STOP PESTERING MY MIND!!!!” Rika shouted frustratingly. Somehow what happened earlier keeps popping out of nowhere. Her mind was playing some nasty tricks to her as she can’t seem to forget their ‘date’ especially Miki’s kiss. She knew she was blushing as she touched her lips; even though it’s just a short contact, she can still feel Miki’s lips on hers.

“Think rational Rika… It just can’t happen! Why did you do that! You’re giving her false hopes! She’s already hurt before and now, you will hurt her more! You’re a coward Rika. You just can’t do that. You have dreams. You have a good future ahead of you!”

“A good but sad future if you ask me.” Rika sat up from her bed and looked around. She was trying to remember whether she locked her door or not. When she remembered that she locked it, she returned to her lying position.

“Why do you keep on running away from reality? Why you just don’t grab the chance that you’ll be happy?”

“Who’s there!?” Rika shouted. The voice didn’t reply.

“I must be imagining things. Maybe I’m stressed out from work.”

“You’re stressed because you can’t face who you really are.”

“Who the heck are you?! And why are you telling me this things?!”

“Sorry if I haven’t properly introduced myself. My name’s Charmy.

“What?! Charmy?!? Hey that’s my…”

“Yes, your name… sometimes you’re so slow ne. I’m you if you don’t notice it.”

“So that means it’s all in my head…. WILL YOU JUST DISAPPEAR! I want to sleep!” Rika closed her eyes tightly and covered her ears. She knew it wouldn’t be effective because the voice was coming from inside her.

“Sorry.. but I can’t do that.”

“May I ask why? You’re just a figment of my imagination. YOU are not REAL!”

“Yes you are correct. I’m just a figment of your imagination… you know. I’m tired too and I really want to sleep.. so stop thinking about me and make me vanish already.”

“That’s what I’m trying to do! You just keep on popping out of my head!”

“You know why? It’s because your other side, represented by me, can’t rest until you solve your problem..I mean OUR problem caused by your ‘Reina’.”

“There’s no problem right! I already solved it. It just can’t happen okay. That’s my answer so stop bothering me.”

“You represent the head part and I represent the heart. My answer and your answer are contradicting each other that’s why we’re in this mess.”

“God placed our head to the higher part of our body to be used first before the heart.”

“But sometimes, we have to use our heart for the same reason as to the head because, it’s the right thing to do. We perceive the heart as weak but actually, it’s the stronger among the two.”

“Stronger?? If we follow my heart, we’ll only get hurt in the process and then…”

“Then we’ll be able to learn eventually. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. They are the one’s teaching us a lesson.”

Rika sighed. It’s really hard to fight with her inner mind especially if it was just showing her the truth… It’s hard to accept that her ‘other’ one was winning against her more ‘rational’ side but then again… love’s not really rational right?

“I hate you…”

“Correction… You hate yourself… because I’m you too.”

“Fine, geez… You know. I’m really tired. I know you can feel it too so let’s just settle this topic tomorrow. How’s that?”

“I’m okay with it. At least you’ll have a clearer mind to analyze things, Ms. I’m A+ in Psychology subject.”

“Shut up!” With that said, Rika immediately fell into the dream land.

……….
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY RIKA-CHAN!!!!” Ayumi half shouted/ half greeted her best friend as soon as the door to their mansion opened.

“Thanks!!! You really have a way with greetings right?” Rika rolled her eyes and opened the door wider for her best friend to get inside.

“Well, you squealed at my ears many times when you’re fangirling over Ohyass and Three-Tums. It’s just a little payback for making me deaf for many years now.”

“Geez, Ayu, you are so thoughtful. You haven’t forgotten that.” Rika replied sarcastically and then the two started laughing.

“Share the happiness with me.” The two looked towards the direction of the voice and saw Rika’s mother in the dining hall. Ayumi skipped towards her and hugged her best friend’s mom, which she considered as her second mom.

“Ka-san!!! You look gorgeous in that dress.” Ayumi complimented.

“Thank you Ayu. Now that’s what you call a compliment, right Rika.”

“Ka-san… you’re not a teenager anymore… It doesn’t fit your image.” Rika replied which earned her a light nudged courtesy of her best friend.

“Come on Rika. It looks nice on her.. Just chill ok? It’s sometimes good to try the unconventional rather than the tradition.” Mrs. Ishikawa nodded her head in approval as she pat the shoulders of Ayumi.

“Now, who’s hungry?”

………………
“Happy birthday Rika!” Mr. Ishikawa greeted as soon as he entered the dining hall. The three of them started eating the appetizer when Mr. Ishikawa arrived. Rika got up from her chair and hugged her father.

“You’re late. And you’re the one who doesn’t want to be late.”

“Just got stopped by someone.” Mr. Ishikawa moved away from her daughter and went to kiss his wife before sitting in his chair. Today was exclusively a family celebration. Rika celebrated her birthday party last night at their main office. Ayumi’s parents were present there too but they had to excuse their selves early to catch their flight to America for a business trip. Most of the executives of the other branch were present like Mr. Nishida of Saitama branch and Ms. Abe of Hokkaido. Hitomi was also there too and she gave Rika a watch as a gift. She then handed her a pink folder. Hitomi whispered to her that she really tried hard to write that ‘kind’ of story; a steamy and ero fic about her favorite pairing, TanaKamei. The party ended an hour after midnight but through that time, Rika felt lonely… She’s missing someone badly.

“Why didn’t you go to the party last night?” Mr. Ishikawa directed her question at Ayumi.

“I already told Rika-chan about it a week ago… She didn’t tell you?”

“Sorry, I forgot! Ahahahaha.” Ayumi playfully hit the back of Rika’s head, making her jerk forward a little.


“Oh by the way. Here’s your REAL gift, last night was just a prelude.” Mr. Ishikawa handed her daughter a small envelop. Rika looked quizzically at her father as she was thinking what was inside.

“Is it a check? A gift check? Another ticket to a Hanshin game? A plane ticket for my visit to another branch?”

“Why don’t you open it now?” Mrs. Ishikawa smiled at her daughter. Ayumi nudged her so Rika peeled the sides and pulled out its contents. Rika and Ayumi was shocked at what Rika received as a gift.

“You two have fun in watching that concert. Just make sure you’ll be back after midnight.” Mr. Ishikawa said as he drank his coffee. The two were still speechless. Mr. Ishikawa gave them a VIP ticket to the Hello! Project’s Chinese New Year Concert next month where Three-Tums and Futari are going to perform. Ayumi finally decided to say something after being awestruck for a minute.

“I told you, your parents are cool.” Ayumi nudged at her immobilized friend. Rika looked seriously at her father.

“Wha…wh… how.. did you find out?”

“Well, it’s because you left your ‘secret’ cabinet unlocked when you were still in college and when I opened it, I was greeted by anime and Three-Tums paraphernalia.” Rika’s father smirked as he remembered something. “Tanakamei Forever huh… If you asked me, I like the yankii and narcissist combo.”

“YEAH!!!!Wat to gO To-chan!!!! TanaShige rocks right?” Ayumi yelled excitedly as she shook the hands of Rika’s father. Rika was shocked at the revelation. She felt like someone possessed her father. Her ‘real’ father wouldn’t act like that. She turned her attention to her ‘unmoved’ mother, as if asking for a help or explanation. Her mother looked towards her and smiled warmly.

“If you ask me,I like the KameShige pairing. Best friend’s still the best, right, Rika and Ayumi?”

“KASAN!!! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!?! Ayu’s JUST my best friend!!”

“Yeah ka-san, Rika already has Rein…hmphh!” Rika quickly covered her friend’s mouth before she spilled anything ‘confidential’. Her parents grinned at her.

“Rika, let go of your best friend’s mouth… I’ll ask her something.” Mr. Ishikawa said sternly.

“But…”

“Rika….. let her go.” Rika has no choice but to obey the words of her father. She leaned back on her chair and glared at Ayumi. Mr. Ishikawa turned her attention to her daughter’s best friend who was slightly shaking from the glare of Rika.

“Now Ayumi, can you repeat what you’ve said earlier?”

“Uhhh… Rika already has Reina. You know.. She idolizes Reina so much. Ahahahaha.”

“Oh really? I thought that she’s more of an Eri fan because there are tons of Eri’s posters on her cabinet.”

“And don’t forget Eri’s photobooks, dear. She completed all the releases.” Mrs. Ishikawa followed. Rika was sure that her face was bright red from embarrassment.

“Of course, she’s my daughter. I know she would complete that. Just like my collection of Dragonball.”

“eehh?!?! To-chan.. are you… an otaku before?” Ayumi questioned.

“Yeah… and you know what.” Mr. Ishikawa looked at Rika, “your mother and I met in an Anime Convention where there’s a concert of SMAP.”

“NO WAY!!!”

……………………
Rika entered her room and went directly to her table where her laptop was awaiting her. There were many things that she learned today. She learned that her father was an anime otaku while her mother was so into SMAP. Her father showed her his ‘secret’ cabinet full of dragonball DVD’s, figurines and other things. She opened her laptop and decided to write something before her birthday was officially finished.

After all, she promised it.

…………………..
Second Chance

“Ohayou minna!”

“Ohayou Ms. Michishige!” The people in the boutique answered as the raven-haired girl entered. Sayumi Michishige, the daughter of the owner and president of a certain brand of perfume, went to manage the newly opened store in Kobe. She will stay there for a month or two until she saw that the store can stand alone. Before she was assigned by her father there, she was the store manager of the Saitama branch for three months. Apparently, her father opened another branch in Hokkaido so she was sent there to train the people working in there. She’s a good leader, daughter and person but there’s only one flaw to her excellent personality…. She’s a closet Otaku. Most people associate the word OTAKU with men but there are also girl’s like her who are addicted to Anime. As a proof, she has a collection of manga, Anime DVD’s and MP3’s, posters, cards, magazines, etc. in their house. She even had some costumes of her favorite Anime characters which she always wear in Anime conventions, which her parents didn’t even know.

The Kobe branch is much smaller than in the pioneer store in Hokkaido. There were only five of them inside the store. She was close with all of them except with the management trainee. Managers were supposed to look approachable and friendly but this girl was somewhat different. She was warm and caring when it comes with the customers but when there were no people in the shop, she preferred to be left alone.

“Good morning Tanaka-san! Let’s have fun today!” Sayumi greeted the new management trainee but was answered by a snob. She’s the boss and her subordinate was acting like this towards her. A way to punish insubordination was by suspension but Sayumi tried to restrain her ‘evil’ side and tried to be civil first. What she meant by ‘civil’ is by ‘teasing’ the other girl.

And that’s what the boss was doing every single day. And every single day, her efforts were being returned in a form of snob, glare, hiss and a frown. It went for a week and Sayumi was really considering making a verbal and written warning before suspending the girl but a miracle happened.

“Isn’t that the DVD of the new season of Kyou Kara Maou?” Sayumi’s eyes widened. Her ‘secret’ has been out and most importantly, the one who saw it was Ms. ‘Glaring’ girl.

“Uhhh… yeah.”

“Ahhh, there are many Yaoi parts in there especially between Yuri and Wolfram.” Sayumi turned around and stared at the girl behind her who was grinning widely. “And the ending was just priceless.”

“NO WAY?!? YOU KNOW THIS ANIME!?!?” Reina swiftly covered her boss’ mouth as the other staffs were looking at their direction.

“Ahahahaha, don’t mind us. We’re just discussing something about the monthly sales analysis.” Reina lied. The staffs went back to their work. “Geez, do you plan on telling the whole world that you’re an otaku? Do you want the staffs to make fun at you because of that?” Reina whispered as she let her hands off Sayumi’s mouth.

“Thanks… you’re an otaku too?” Reina just replied with a smile. And that’s the start of a beautiful friendship between the two.
…………………..
“Reina, can I borrow your Vandread DVD?” Sayumi asked as she scanned the DVD collection of her friend while she was waiting for the other to finish her bath. Reina yelled her affirmation. “Reina, can I borrow your Ouran Host Club DVD?”

“SURE!!!”

“Reina, can I borrow your Tsubasa Chronicle DVD?” This time, there was no answer. “Reina? Can I...” The door of the bathroom opened and Reina came out with a white towel draped on her body.

“Just get what you want to borrow.” Reina said casually but the other one was not listening to her intently because the other one was busy staring at her. “Hey… Did you hear what I said?”

“Uhh.. yeah.. I heard it. Thanks.” Sayumi quickly move her attention back on the DVD’s but her mind was constantly showing Reina’s body.

“Geez… this is the result of watching too much yuri animes…”

………………
“Good Morning! Welcome to…”

“Reina!!!!” Sayumi’s eyes twitched as the girl with a toothy-grin ran past her.

“Oi, Eririn.. Wacha doin’ here?” Sayumi has only a little knowledge about dialects but she knew that Reina just said that in Hakata-ben. She turned around and saw the ‘girl’ hugging Reina. Reina saw her questioning eyes and move away from the girl.

“Ms. Michishige, this is my best friend, Kamei Eri.” Then turning to the girl, “Eri, this is the owner of this store, Michishige Sayumi.” With that said, Sayumi saw the girl’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Ow..ner?”

“Yeah.” Sayumi tried to say it in a nice way but she was sure that she sounded proud there.

“I’M SO SORRRRRYY!!!!! REALLY!!!! I’M SORRRY!!!! I DIDN’T KNOW YOU WERE THE OWNER!!!! SORRRRRRRRYYYY~!” Eri started bowing down excessively that Sayumi and Reina were getting dizzy over her. Reina held her back to stop her. Reina turned towards Sayumi.

“Sorry about that.. She’s the Ahou-Queen.”

“Hey! I’m your best friend but you’re ruining the name of the turtles in front of your boss!” Sayumi chuckled. Eri was a complete opposite of Reina and she was wondering how the two ended up being best friends.

“Hey, it’s okay. Tanaka-san, why don’t you take your break and talk to your best friend. I’ll take over for now.”

……………………
For the next five days, the three spent time together. Eri was into anime too and the three of them would have a pajama party at Reina’s house where they will watch different animes until the wee hours of the morning. And on their last night, the truth came out one night.

The three of them were sleeping together in Reina’s not so wide bed. Reina was in the middle while the two were on the side. Sayumi was awoken by some whispers coming from the two. She didn’t open her eyes and just listened intently on the conversation.

“Reina. Please, come back to me.”

“I can’t. I’m busy here.”

“You can’t or you don’t want to?”

“Let’s not talk about it tonight. She might wake up.”

“Ohh… so you’re busy with your boss. I should have known.”

Sayumi resisted opening her eyes. The topic was about her. She tried to control her breathing so Reina wouldn’t feel that she’s becoming tense and thus blowing up her cover.

“Eri, I already told you before… I can’t love you the way you loved me. You’re my best friend. I don’t want to ruin that and besides, you have Gaki-san now.”

“We’re already through because you’re the one I truly love! Can’t you understand that? I tried loving Risa the way I loved you but… I can’t seem to forget you.” Sayumi can hear Eri’s light sobs. Reina moved a little bit towards her best friend’s direction.

“Look, you can’t love two persons with the same zeal for each. The result will always vary because those two people are not the same. Well, sorry if I can’t fully explain it to you, but I hope you grasp the idea there.”

“Please, I beg you… just try to love me… more than a best friend. Even just for a day.” Eri begged. Sayumi felt Eri’s arm on Reina’s hips, tightened.

“I don’t know about that…”

……………………
“Hey, where’s your alien friend?” Sayumi asked even though she knew the answer. She was awake pretending to be asleep when the turtle left the kitten’s apartment.

“She went back to our home town. An emergency came up.”

“Ohhh…”

“Yeah… so, what are you up to today? There are still lots of animes to choose from.” Reina asked, forcing a smile on her face which Sayumi quickly noticed.

“Why don’t you follow your friend? It’s clear that you’re somewhat lonely today.”

“I’m not lonely? I’m glad that ahou-queen was not pestering me.” Sayumi thought deeply. Maybe a little ‘push’ will help her friend realize something.

“If that’s the case then, let’s enjoy ourselves together. How about watching Strawberry Panic together?” Sayumi inched her way closer towards Reina which caught the other off guard.

“Wacha doin’?!” Reina blurted in her native tongue as Sayumi caressed her face.

“Come on… I know you think that I’m hot and sexy.” Sayumi leaned forward to whisper something on Reina’s ears. “What are you waiting for?” Sayumi moved forward to kiss Reina’s lips when the other pushed her away.

“Hey! What the hell are you doing?!”

“Reina… I’m your boss, you should do what I told you or else, you’re fired.”

“No I won’t I would rather kiss Eri than you!” Sayumi pointed at the shorter girl while grinning widely.

“AHA!!! Now the truth finally came out from your own mouth! You love your best friend!!!”

“Ehhh?!? NO!!! I was just… I was just…”

“I heard your conversation earlier… She went away because she was broken hearted courtesy of you. What are you afraid of? She really loves you very much and I know she won’t do something that will hurt you.” Reina decided to remain quiet. Sayumi can see that the other was contemplating. “Look, just follow what your heart says. Don’t mind what the other people will say to you. It’s your own life.” Reina’s eyes lit up as she looked at Sayumi’s warm smile.

“Go to her and ask for a second chance.”

The End

Written by : Charmy
Posted : January 19






oh yeah..that's the ending!!! *runs off to hide from those who wants to kill her*
that's the last chapter but I'll make an epilogue..hehehehe..fooled you there.XD

Did I made it? I posted it right on time right??? Ahahahaha... HAPPY NEW YEAR GUYS!!!! what a way to start 2010...hmm, that means... I'll still be writing for the rest of the year..anyways...enjoy this 2nd to the final...yeah, you heard me right... the next one will be the FINAL chapter... and no amount of deal would make me post it sooner... I'll post it as Rika said... on her birthday..so you'll have to wait for 19days more to read it..I'll not stall this chapter any longer. Enjoy reading!




……………..
“So? What if I’m Kuwagata? It’s not really MY story… got that? So please just move out of my way.”

“SO THAT’S IT!!” Rika blurted. After staring for minutes in front of her computer, the ‘data’ input has been processed in her brain and she finally ‘almost’ understood what Miki meant.

“So.. wait… She’s not Kuwagata in that forum… but she’s Tenma. It’s either she has two usernames in that forum or… she’s not really Kuwagata, but then again, she said she’s Kuwagata. Hmmm, but if she’s not Kuwagata, then that means… HOLY CRAP!!!! Yoshizawa-san??? No way.”

“Who wrote this story?”

“Ahhhm… my … my friend. I was just...”

“I don’t know. We haven’t seen each other for a while.”

“My PC broke, I can’t proof-read her fic so yeah, she sent it to me via mail instead. Kinda low-tech right?”

“Speaking of reading. My friend’s on a roll, she told me that she already finished last night the fifth chapter of ‘Searching for the Light’.”

“Well, my friend was bothering me to check her draft. It’s almost midnight when I sent her the chapters. I bet you read it that’s why your eyes were like that?”

“Well, I believe she’s inspired to write every day… and if it’s based on something, expect it to be updated frequently than her fanfics with original plots.”

“I didn’t think about that one…”

“Hmmm, when I think about it, I think that’s not considered plagiarism. She didn’t copy the whole story although the idea’s still there… but it’s really different. That’s my opinion.”

“Hmmm, I guess she will end it up like the story. She’s a really sadistic person and she likes it when her main characters die. But she’s a masochist too… sometimes.”

Memories of her conversation with Hitomi flooded her mind. It’s as if she’s watching straight from a television and it showed her the important memories only.

“OMG! She’s just like Reina! She’s talking in a third person point of view!” Rika got her cell phone and was about to call Hitomi. But she realized that it’s already past midnight and the other was probably fast asleep. She will just have to call her tomorrow morning or go to her office. With that, Rika closed her laptop and decided to sleep.

……………….
“So, what now?” Miki glared at the person in front of her. She really didn’t want to talk about her ‘escapades’ but her friend was REALLY bugging her.

“Ayaya, can we please not talk about this for now? I mean, it’s already 1 in the morning and I’m already tired.”

“Hmmm, just a little bit of information? PLEASE?!?!? I’m your best friend and… come on!!! TAN~!!!! PLEASE~~!!!!” Aya started shaking the shoulders of Miki. No matter how hard she glared at Aya, it seemed that the other was already immuned to it.

“OKAY!!! Just stop shaking me! You’re making me dizzy.”

“Yey!!! So, uhhh… what happened?”

“Got on a date, saw Hitomi again, got in a bicker fight… resumed date… wrote a fanfic, oh yeah.. and then my best friend is bugging me. That’s it.” Miki muttered sleepily. She’s really exhausted and still hasn’t fully recovered on the ‘talking’ marathon that they’ve done at Maki’s house.

“WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!?! How am I going to understand it?”

“You asked for a LITTLE information. And I gave you one. Now stop asking questions and go to sleep. GOOD night!”

“Is that how you treat your FORMER love now that you found someone new?”

“Aya?!” Miki rolled her eyes as she saw Aya making her famous puppy eyes. Miki knew she would fall for the trap if she would not look away. She closed her eyes so that she will not see her ‘weakness’. “Look. I’m tired now. My energy’s been drained. I just want to get some decent sleep.”

“Alright. I’ll give you a decent sleep. But promise me, tomorrow morning, you’re going to tell me the whole story. Got that?”

“Yeah, promise. Good night!” Miki hugged her best friend without ever opening her eyes, and went towards the bed. Miki faced the wall and was about to sleep when she felt that there’s someone on the other side of the bed. She turned around and saw Aya smiling sheepishly, with both of her hands under her head.

“May I ask you… What are you doing?”

“Sleeping?”

“Uhhh… here?”

“Come on Miki, have you forgot whose house is this? And whose bed is this?”

“ARRRGGHH!!! Ok fine it’s yours. Just let me sleep ok? No big movements!” Miki faced the wall again and closed her eyes tightly.

“Who’s the messy sleeper here?”

“AYA!!! LET ME SLEEP!!!”

“Ok~! Geez… Tan, lighten up. You’re so grouchy like an old person.”

“I’m not old. You are.”

“HOW MANY FREAKING TIMES SHOULD I TELL YOU…. I’M NOT OLD!!!!”

“LET ME SLEEEEP!!!!” Aya didn’t retaliate as she decided to let her best friend get her sleep. Instead, she hugged Miki from behind and nuzzled closely on her neck.

“Do you really plan to let me sleep?”

“Actually, I’m helping you get your sleep.” Miki felt Aya’s lips form a smile on her neck. She just let out a sigh as she held Aya’s hand on her waist and drifted off to dreamland.

………………….
As the morning came, a girl was awakened by the sounds of her phone ringing. She blindly searched for her phone, not bothering to take a look at the monitor to know who was calling her.

“Hello?”

“RIKA~!!!! So how’s the date turned out with Miki?”

“Huh? What are you saying?”

“Geez, did you forget? I left you two yesterday… Well, I purposely left you two that is.”

“Uhhh, who am I speaking too?”

“Is that the way to treat your best friend? It’s me, Sayu!”

“Sayu? Sayu?.... Hitomi? Uhh no, she’s Risa…wait… best friend….. AYU!!!! What the heck was that?!”

“Ahahaha… so ERI? How’s Reina? Did she treat you really good? Come on tell me~!”


………………………………….
“Well, how can I explain it… Uhhh, good?”

“Come on Tan!!! You’re no different than last night!”
…………………………………
“It’s kinda awkward.. We role played a TanaKame scene.”

“REALLLY?!?!?! So Miki’s being straight forward with you?”
………………………………..
“Uhh, yeah and then, I held her hand.”

“MIKI!!!! OH MY GOD!!! You’re really the straight forward type!!”
…………………………………
“I guess so…And then she… uhh.. you know… hugged me.”

“OMG!!!! OMG!!! DO you know that I’m hyperventilating right now?!? Rika that was… KYAAAHH!!! Just like a real TanaKame scene.”
…………………………………
“And not just that. I caressed her cheek and said some sweet stuff.”

“KYAAAHH!!~ And how did she react by that?”
………………………………..
“Umeboshi? Way to ruin a good moment there Rika. And since when did you like umeboshi?”

“Come on Ayu… I don’t know how to react to those kinds of…. You know!”
………………………………
“And you bought her umeboshi?”

“I was about to, but then Hitomi came.”
………………………………
“Ohhh, the other manager popped out… is that the friend of Kuwagata?”

“Yeah.. and it turns out that Miki and Hitomi knew each other.”

……………………………..
“And she followed me into our role play thing, and became Risa.”

“Ohhh… Hitomi’s still updated with the latest buzz. She knew ‘GakiKame’ fans are multiplying. So what happened next?”
……………………………..
“They used the ‘role play mode’ to fight. I’m still not sure about the root of their fight though.”

“Ahhh… It’s really hard to be in the center of conflicts. So what did you do?”

……………………………..
“Rika pulled us into a quiet place to settle our thing and then… we settled our thing.”

“So… Hitomi and you are friends again?”
………………………………

“I can’t hear them clearly but Miki said that they’re ok…. And she continued the date.” Rika took a peek at her wall clock. She still has time to do her morning chores before going to work. She just needed to finish her chat with her best friend.

“You know. You two are really like Reina and Eri. You’re weird. And Miki’s really yankii, my hand still hurts a little from her grip. Anyways, what happened next?”

“I’m going to be late if I don’t hang up now.” Rika excused. Should she tell her best friend what happened with their ‘date’? Up to now she, herself, can’t imagine as to why she allowed herself to be dragged in this so called ‘mess’. She’s the president’s daughter and Miki’s one of their employees. Not to mention a ‘girl’ employee. Rika massaged her temples. She’s been into too much ‘Shoujo Ai’ or even ‘Yuri’ genre with the Three-Tums that somehow it’s back firing at her own life.

“Come on Rika. I know you can make it in your office in just 20 minutes. So, what happened? TELL MEEEE~~~!!! PLEASE~~!!” Rika cringed at the high voice of her best friend and let out a sigh. She’s still her best friend no matter what.

“Well, she took me into this another restaurant with some live music performance and great ambience and then she accompanied me to my house… and…”

“THAT’S SO SWEET!!!!! You know. I’m not imagining a Rika x Miki scene… I’m imagining a REINA x ERI scene! That was so sweet!!! Geez, Rika… you’re such a lucky girl!” Rika smiled at the comment but decided to remove that smile from her face.

“AYU!!! Come on, Miki’s a girl! I’m a girl!”

“Reina and Eri are girls too. I don’t see any problem with that.” Ayumi defended.

“Ayumi, we’re living in the REAL world.” Rika retaliated. She heard her best friend chuckle a bit. She already knew she would get some ‘stupid’ argument after that chuckle.

“They are living in the REAL world too. And you should know that because WE are attending their concerts.”

“But… Their relationship.. you know.. Tanakame, TanaShige and KameShige thing are just a figment of our imagination. It’s just can’t happen in real life.”

“Really? How sure are you about that? Did you already do a research about that? Come on Rika, reality’s even ‘magical’ than the movies or fanfics if you think about it. We say that ghosts or creatures don’t exist but there are evidences that they exist. There are lots of ‘impossible’ things happening everyday at the different parts of the world, we just don’t know it because of the lack of media or information.” Somehow, her best friend has a point. Before Ayumi would only give her crazy answers whenever she was asking or telling her point but now, she’s answering sensibly.

“Ok, I must say that you have a point there but still, I think, they are just doing purely ‘fan service’ because it’s what their fans, like me… and you, want.”

“If you put it like that then I’ll become a fan of YOUR pairing. Hhmm.. Fujimoto Miki and Rika Ishikawa… It could be IshiMoto but since Miki’s the one leading, I think it’s better if we named it FujiKawa. What do you think?” Rika face palmed at what her friend said. Ayumi’s taking their discussion really far.

“AYUMI!!!! ARE YOU REALLY PUSHING ME TO THE ‘OTHER SIDE’?!? ARE YOU REALLY MY BEST FRIEND?!?!” Rika yelled playfully. Somehow, the blush on her cheeks wasn’t cooperating with what she’s saying.

“No, I’m not pushing you to the other side and yes, I’m your best friend.”

“Then why does it seem like you’re pushing me towards Miki?”

“I’m not pushing, I’m just merely telling facts from my observations. You were really happy when you changed her. You bugged her in ways a superior would never do, in ways that you would never do to someone who you just met. You seemed really happy when you were talking with her when we were in the restaurant. Rika, the signs are right there in front of you, ready to pounce at you anytime. You just have to grab it.”

“I don’t want to grab it! Is this even legal?”

“I guess the right question is, is it even accepted here? If you worry about it too much then go to Spain, or Belgium, Canada… or Sweden! You can have your marriage there and then straight to honeymoon.” Ayumi followed her comment with a laugh that’s different from her normal, ‘fangirl’ laugh. It’s more on the ‘crazy’ laugh.

“SHIBATA!!!! It’s really early in the morning!”

“Hai, hai… I’m just stating my opinion. You don’t have to be angry. ”

“Well, you’re the one making me angry.” Rika pouted even though she knew her friend wouldn’t be able to see it. She took another glance at her clock and decided that she really needed to end the call. “Anyways, if you’re just going to annoy me at the start of my day, I’ll hang this up. I need have to prepare now.”

“Ok, I’ll just annoy you later.”

“Geez, thanks, you’re really my best friend.” Rika replied sarcastically.

“Good luck with your love life. I’m officially into FUJIKAWA now. I’ll write fics about you two, ja~!”

“AYUMI DON’T YOU…. dare.” Rika put her phone beside her. Her best friend cut off the line even before she even completed her sentence. She sighed out loud. Her friend has a point. Ever since she ‘officially’ started in her work, her father sent her into different branches ranging from a month up to five months. Her three-month stay in Hokkaido was, for her, the happiest and at first she didn’t know why. Her father also noticed it too and thus, she was given a day to visit it again five days ago. Ayumi’s right. All the facts were there, hitting her every time. It’s just that she didn’t notice it… or was trying NOT to notice it. Rika grabbed her pillows and screamed on it before deciding to finally start her day.

……………….
“Ohayou!” Rika turned around to see the owner of the deep voice.

“Ahh, Ohayou, Mr. Nishida. You’re pretty late this morning.” Rika made it into their office 5 minutes before her official work time due to her early phone call. Usually, Mr. Nishida was earlier than her normal arriving time of 20 minutes before the official work time but now, it seemed that she reached the office first. The door of the elevator opened and the two went inside. They were staying on different floors.

“My car broke down but I managed to fix it in time. So, how have you been? It’s just a few days from now and then you’ll go back to Kobe. I hope that you enjoyed your stay here.”

“Yes, I really enjoyed my stay here. And I learned a lot from this branch.” The elevator stopped on Rika’s floor. She stepped out and turned back as she heard the older man said something.

“We also learned a lot from you. Do your best today. See you later!” Rika smiled at Mr. Nishida before the elevator door, closed. She walked towards her office to start her work and it seemed that she will be quite busy before she will go home as Mari showed her a list of meetings and paper works that she needed to attend. During her lunch break, she just ate her lunch silently, without even checking her laptop for updates. She has lots of paper works to do so she completely set aside her fangirl side for the first time since her stay in Saitama branch. As she was munching and checking some papers, her phone rang. Rika rolled her eyes and mumbled a silent prayer before answering it.

“Oh please… I hope it’s not Ayu.”
“Good afternoon, Ishikawa Rika speaking. How may I help you?”

“Uhh, hi… so uhhh.. My flight back to Hokkaido is tonight at 8. Can I see you after your work?” Rika blinked many times. Rika wanted to scold herself from blushing as soon as she heard Miki’s voice.

“Uhh, ok. Where?”

“Let’s meet at that restaurant last night. I want to treat you again before I go.”

“Ok. There’s so many things that I want to clear with you after reading that fic. I want to ask it now but I have much work to do before I go back to Kobe five days from now. So I’ll just see you later at 5.”

“Alright. Uhh….uhhh… Take care always.” Rika knew Miki wanted to tell her something else but it seemed that the other can’t say it.

“Sure, you too. Bye.”

“Bye.” Rika clearly heard Miki sighed before she fully put down the receiver. Somehow, hearing Miki’s voice made her heart beat really fast.

“What’s going on with me!!!! This cannot happen!!! My dad’s gonna kill me!!!” Rika managed to finish her meal without a glitch and continued her work. She managed to finish ALL of her work an hour before 4 in the afternoon. She stretched her arms as massaged her eyes. She pressed her intercom and called for her secretary.

“Yaguchi-san, kindly pick up the files. I’m already finished with it.” After a couple of minutes, Mari emerged from her door and picked-up the papers. Before going out, Mari gave her a present.
“What’s this?”

“A goodbye present. I want to be the first one to give you one.”

“Thank you very much! I appreciate your efforts.” Rika gave a hug at her secretary at this branch. She was thankful that she met a certain Mari Yaguchi who has been a great helper. Rika went back to her seat and took a good look at her office. She stayed here for at least a month and she knew somehow, she’s going to miss it.

“Ahhh!!!” Rika suddenly exclaimed. She grabbed her phone and called someone whom she should have called earlier.

“Yasuda-san, is Yoshizawa-san there? Kindly tell her to go here in my office. Thank you.” With that said, she put the receiver down and waited patiently for the other party to arrive.

“Uhh, Yasuda-san said that you wanted to see me.” Hitomi greeted after knocking on Rika’s door.

“Yeah, Gaki-san, I need to talk to you about something.” Rika smiled as she said that. She can’t believe she’s the one who started the ‘role play’ mode, in which the other one gladly played along.

“Is it about last night with Tanaka-san?”

“Yes… I’ve already asked her what happened but she told me to read a fic instead. And that fic, was…well, I think it’s about you and Reina’s story.”

“Well, what’s there to explain when you already know the whole story?” Rika saw Hitomi’s sad expression on her eyes.

“I need to clear something on my mind… Are you, the real Kuwagata?”

“Yes… and no at the same time. It’s our nickname. I’m Kabutomushi and she’s Kuwagata… but I decided to use the latter in that blog… so as not to forget her completely.”

“I see.”Rika leaned back on her chair, trying to imagine what happened between the two friends. “Do you and Miki… I mean, Reina already fixed your differences last night?”

“Yes.”

“You’re still having a hard time talking about this right?” Rika asked as soon as she noticed Hitomi fidgeting over the topic.

“Yes…. But if you really want to know what happened, I think I’ll update my fic tonight. But you’ll have to analyze it yourself because I’ll tackle it through symbolism.”

“Ok, I think I can manage that.” With that said, Hitomi left Rika’s room as the other readied herself for another ‘date’.
“They are both alike; expressing their explanations through fiction.”

…………………
“Hi there! How’s your day?” Miki stood up as soon as she saw Rika coming near her table to pull out a seat.

“Thanks!” Rika sat down on the chair while Miki get back on her on seat. “Well, I’ve been pretty busy this morning. I have to finish a lot of paper works before I go back to Kobe.” Rika mumbled a simple thank you as the waiter gave her the menu. They ordered their food first before Miki finally continued their conversation.

“When are you going back?”

“Five days from now. “

“Ohh.” That was all that Miki can say because her mind was drifting somewhere else. She was being very nervous every time she took a glance at Rika.

“You alright Reina? You’re sweating profusely. Do you have a fever?” Rika touched Miki’s forehead to check her temperature. Miki quickly swatted her hand away. Rika was stunned at the action.

“Yeah, Reina’s fine. Reina’s just nervous… about my flight. That’s all.” Miki lied. Based from her experience, Rika will start to worry about her about that simple thing.

“Then don’t take that flight! You know, just like Final Destination. Something might happen… and I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.” Miki saw a light blush on Rika’s cheeks. The other girl decided to look away from her and turn her attention on the waiter who was serving their food.

“Does Eri worry about Reina?”

“Of course.. you’re… my friend.”

“Ohh.” The two silently started eating their meal. Miki knew they were in an awkward situation and she needed to fix it up before she will board her plane. After eating, Miki took Rika to the nearest park. There were few couples walking around the park at that time so Miki decided to take the chance to confess her feelings for her ‘boss’.

“Uhh… Reina only have an hour left before she’ll go to the airport but before Reina will go, Reina needs to say something.” Rika’s heart started beating really fast as soon as Miki said those words. Rika took a deep breath and decided to act naturally.

“What is it, Reina?”

“Well, you see, Reina was really angry with her heart. Before, her heart was pure and full of kindness towards her friends but something happened and Reina’s heart turned into ice. It was covered with impenetrable ice that even Reina herself had a hard time removing. Somehow, someone came into Reina’s life that started melting the ice that Reina unknowingly put up, and now, it’s completely melted.” Rika listened intently on what Miki was saying. Deep inside her, she knew she was the one Miki was pertaining too. “Reina tried scolding her heart and did her best to not let the person into her life because Reina knew she would only get hurt in the end. But Reina’s heart was stronger and even though she knew she would get hurt, it wants to take the risk.” Miki looked straight into Rika’s eyes. “Reina’s in love… with a turtle.”

Rika wanted to melt at the way Miki ‘confessed’ her feelings. Her other half wanted to say yes right at that moment but still, her ‘rational’ side won the argument.

“Ano, that turtle is me right?”

“Yes, my one and only Eri.” Miki took Rika’s hand into hers, hoping the other would receive her.

“I’m sorry that I destroyed the ice wall that you built.”

“But I’m really thankful that you manage to break it down.”

“Ok, uhh.. I appreciate your confession... no, what I mean is… I appreciate your love for me, but I think,” Rika paused, still thinking of a ‘lighter’ way to say it, “ I’m still not ready to accept your love. You’ve fallen in love with a turtle who wouldn’t want to go out of her shell. There are lots of factors to that but the number one reason is fear… fear of the unknown. Turtles’ feel secured inside their shell and I think it will take some time for a turtle like me to go out of my security zone.” Rika explained but her heart felt heavy as she was doing it. Add to that, Miki’s almost teary eyes made it hard for her to stop herself from hugging the other one.

“It’s alright with me. Reina will take her time and instead of putting up an ice wall, I’ll develop myself and become a shell. So when Eri will finally decide to go out, I’ll become her shell and protect her from outside forces.” Rika finally let her tears fall freely from her eyes as she lunged forward and hugged the other girl.

“I’m so sorry.” Rika cried on Miki’s chest as the other girl hugged her back and stroked her hair. Miki took a deep breath as she, herself, was having a hard time holding her tears. She mustn’t cry now. Rika need her strength.

“Don’t be. I’ll wait for you, promise.” The girls remained in that position for what seemed like an eternity before Miki took the courage to move away. “Reina has only one request before she goes away.”

“What is it?”

“Will Eri let Reina kiss her goodbye?” Rika didn’t answer instead, she closed her eyes. Miki put her hands on Rika’s shoulders and pulled her closer to her. It was nothing more than a quick, chaste kiss on the lips. Even though she really liked it, Miki has to pull back. “I have to go now. Thank you, for everything.” Miki walked away but was stopped when Rika hugged her from behind.

“On my birthday. I’ll post a fanfic. Be sure to read it.”

“Sure. See you again.”

Rika went home as soon as Miki went to the airport. She was really tired from all the stress in work and the emotional turmoil that she was going through right now, but she definitely needed to read Kuwagata’s next chapter. She opened her laptop and typed in Hitomi’s blog. Her sleepiness vanished when she saw that the next chapter has already been uploaded.

……………….
Chapter 11

“So, what is it this time?” Reina asked as soon as she got on the place that Sayumi said. Sayumi decided to go for the ‘direct’ approach too.

“Do you have feelings for my best friend?” Reina was taken aback at the other girl’s question but decided to answer it none the less.

“Well, I’m asking that to myself too. Lately your friend’s making me confused.”

“What if I told you that Eri likes you, how would you feel about that?” Reina blinked at the other girl. She still find Sayumi quite hard to read and she’s definitely having a hard time analyzing as to why the other girl’s telling her stuffs like this.

“Why are you telling this to me now?”

“Because Eri’s too ashamed to tell it to you in person. Being her best friend, I want to help her out.”

“Really?” Reina crossed her arms trying to get the real intention of the other girl.

“Yeah, you don’t believe me do you?”

“Well, based from experience… yes. You’re hard to read… But I feel that there’s something else that you want to talk about.”

“And what’s that?”

“Earlier… before you called. I felt like.. I don’t know. Somehow I felt like Eri’s in danger or something. It’s pretty late when you ran out of the court. I guess, the sun rose up even before she was able to go inside her house right?” With that said, Sayumi removed her gaze from Reina and her smile vanished. Reina knew she hit the spot. “Is she alright?”

“For now.” Sayumi responded. Reina looked away from the girl. She somehow felt guilty as to why Eri wasn’t able to go home earlier. If only she noticed the time. Sayumi sensed what the other girl was thinking. “It’s not your fault. We knew it will come to her sooner or later.”

“What?”

“Her death… it will definitely come sooner or later.”
…………………..
“Hey there Reina! What are you doing here?” Eri tried to greet cheerfully even though she doesn’t have enough power on her voice. She gave her best friend a questioning look as to why the other girl was here.

“I felt that something bad happened to you earlier and I asked Sayumi to take me to you. We didn’t notice the time earlier and the sun rose up even before you went inside your casket right?” Reina tried to lighten up the mood a little bit by bringing up the ‘vampire’ thing.

“Yeah, but you didn’t need to worry that much. I’m a tough vampire; I won’t go down easily without a fight.” Eri reassured her friend by holding onto Reina’s hand and squeezing it a little bit.

“I’ll gladly help you with your fight.”

…………………
For the next three months, Sayumi and Reina were always visiting Eri and if it’s their lucky day, Koharu would tag along with them. Aunt Iida would always cook for them as they cheered up the little turtle. As the days go on, Eri’s health grew weaker and weaker. And the weaker she became, the more Reina wanted to stay by her side.

“Hey, are you sure you’re not sick? You look paler than before.” Risa commented. She noticed that Reina lost some weight and she’s always running away right after the school was over. She didn’t even have the time to play basketball with them on their free time. Reina was completely taken by her ‘vampire’ friend.

“Yeah, I’m alright. I’m just, well… doing some important stuff.”

“Would you mind sharing what that ‘important’ stuff is?” Ai asked, concerned at what her friend was acting for the past few months.

“I think in due time I’ll tell you about it, but for now, let me do this alone.” The two saw the seriousness in their friend’s eyes that they just let her do her way. Reina immediately excused herself as she saw Sayu waiting for her outside.

“Did you tell your friends?”

“Nah, I don’t want to bother them. Besides, they’ve only seen Eri once.” Sayu was about to reply when her phone rang. She answered it and Reina saw how Sayu’s facial expression changed to shock.

“It’s Koha-chan.. We need to go to the hospital, fast.”

…………………
“Eri… wake up… Eri... We’re here now.” Eri slowly opened her eyes as soon as she heard her best friend’s voice.

“Hey.” Eri weakly replied. “How’s school?” Reina bit her lip as she saw how Eri gave her best effort to smile and pretend like she’s not in pain. Reina wanted to tear up right at that moment but knowing Eri, she would just ‘forcefully’ laugh at her weakness.

“Fine.. how about you? How are you feeling right now?”

“I’m much better now that I’ve seen the two of you.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Well then, what do you want me to say to you?” Sayumi opened her mouth but her voice didn’t come out. Reina put a hand on Sayu’s shoulder.

“Eri, are there still things that you want to do?” Sayumi glared at her. She didn’t know what came to Reina’s mind. Eri stared at Reina’s determined eyes. She let out a dreamy smile as she told them her answer.

“I want to do a dunk… That’s the only thing I haven’t done ever since I started playing basketball.”

“Then, get stronger… and when they discharge you from this hospital, we’ll play basketball.”

“Promise?”

“yes.. I promise. Rest now and be stronger.”

…………..
“What the hell are you thinking?! Are you insane?!? You do realize that Eri’s weak.. and she’s becoming weaker every single day!!! Look at me when I’m talking to you!” Sayumi pulled back Reina, only to be surprised to see her crying for the first time.

“I know… I just want her to do her dream… so she will not have regrets later. I know it’s hard for us.. but it’s even harder for her. Please, help me with this… I beg you.” Reina pleaded over the now crying girl. “Look, from what I’ve read, fewer than 40% of individuals with this disease survive beyond the age of 20. Eri’s nearing her 20th birthday and we don’t know whether she will die earlier or later. With her current state, I don’t know how long she would last so I want to do this… for her… And I need you to help me. Please, Sayu.

……………
“Why do you need to cover my eyes?” Eri asked her cousin who was pushing her wheelchair.

“Well, because it’s a surprise.”

“Where are you taking me?”

“To the usual place” Koharu continued their journey and after a couple of minutes, they reached the place. “Here we are… you can now take it off.” Eri took off her blindfold and saw that they were in the court. She squinted her eyes and saw that Sayumi and Reina were already there, waiting for her.

“Hey guys! What are we going to do here?” Koharu pushed her closer towards the two and that’s the only time that she noticed that there’s a large trampoline underneath the basket. Reina grinned excitedly.

“We’re here to see you dunk the ball.” Eri’s eyes widened as Reina took her ‘request’ seriously. Reina walked closer and offered her a ‘piggy back ride’. “Let’s go. Hold on to me.”

Reina was able to carry Eri’s current weight with ease. Sayu put a strap to ‘lock’ Eri to Reina so she wouldn’t fall when they will jump. Reina and Sayu climbed up the trampoline as the latter gave the ball to Eri. Koharu was on the side, busy filming the entire event on Eri’s camera.

“Here, hold the ball tightly.”

“Thanks Sayu.” Eri mustered all her strength just to hold the ‘heavy’ ball.

“Ready when you are.”

“I’m ready.” Reina started jumping on the trampoline, slowly gaining height as she put force on her jump. She jumped a little closer towards the hoop so that Eri can do the ‘dunk’. She tightened her grip on Eri as they neared the basket.

“Come on Eri…. You can do it!” Sayu yelled, encouraging her best friend.

“Yeah!!! Do a windmill!!!” Koharu cheered. Eri focused as she neared the hoop. She readied herself as Reina jumped higher on the trampoline. She raised her hand and did a two-handed windmill. Sayu and Koharu applauded as the ball went through the basket perfectly. When their ‘bouncing’ stopped, Reina put Eri down and gave her a hug.

“That was great! I was just expecting you do a regular dunk instead you did a windmill. You’re really great!”

“Thanks.” Eri mumbled. As she hugged back her friend.

“You don’t have worry about us. We’ll be fine. We’ll see each other again at the finish line.” Reina whispered so that only Eri would hear it. Eri tightened her hold on Reina.

“Thanks a lot. Let’s play basketball when we meet again.”

…………………….
“Hey, what are you doing there?” Risa called back as soon as she noticed that their other friend was not following them.

"Just saw a good book.... It's about taking care of your skin."

"Yeah Sayu... you and your narcissistic ego strikes again." Ai commented and the three laughed.

"Hey! I'm not that narcissistic!!!" Reina went close to her and patted her head.

"Yeah, yeah... and I don't have wonky eyes... Geez, Sayu... you're like that ever since I've known you."

"Whatever... Let's just continue shopping."

An hour later, the two excused themselves and went off somewhere.

"I can't believe it's already been three years."

"Yeah... But I know, she's happy where ever she is." Reina replied as she looked towards the sky. "Hey, let's buy your book."

"What book?" Sayu asked as Reina pulled her back towards the bookstore.

"You know, the one which tackles on taking care of your skin."

The End

……………………
Rika didn’t expect that she would cry over a fanfic. Her imagination was really vivid that she felt like she was watching a movie. She was about to type a comment but, it’s Hitomi’s ‘explanation’. Instead of making a public comment.. She decided to PM the author instead.

TBC




by the way... you have 19 days to 'interpret' Searching for a Light before Rika will post her interpretations...nyahahaha.XD

Hi there! Got sick.. missed work.. and so, I managed to finish the next chapter. I will warn you..there's too much Charmikitty on this chapter... Read if you dare.Oh yeah.. I think this is the longest chapter I've done so far in this title.XD



“More than the friend type?” Hitomi repeated. “I didn’t know about your relationship with Kame-chan. She didn’t mention you to me. If you’re the ‘more than friend’ type, then I should be the one to know it first.” The three were still standing in the middle of the street

“Why would she reveal such things to you? You’re just her ‘officemate’.” Miki stressed the last word and gave Hitomi a smirk. She’s having fun being the ‘yankii’ like what Reina portrays on the screen.

“I’m not just her officemate.”

“Ohhh, so you’re the third party who wants to destroy our lovely relationship. Is that it?” Miki raised her voice and moved closer to Hitomi. Hitomi didn’t back down over Miki’s piercing glare but instead, she just stared coolly at her and answered back.

“You should have your eyes checked. I’m not the third party here.”

“And what are you trying to imply at that?” Rika finally decided to step up and stop the ‘playful’ arguing of the two when she saw that people were starting to stop and look towards their direction.

“How about continuing that in some quiet place?” Rika suggested. The two stopped bickering as soon as they noticed that people were flocking near them. They quickly left the area with Rika leading them to a nearby park. Rika kept glancing back towards the two and noticed that they were not talking with each other and were facing the opposite sides. Rika and Miki’s eyes met for a split second and Rika saw that ‘weird’ look

“I’m really curious about those two. I haven’t heard any news or gossips about some managers having conflicts with each other.”

“Eri, where are you taking us?” Rika sighed. Miki’s still in her ‘role play’ mode.

“I’m taking you two to a quiet place where you can sort out your thing.” Miki walked faster and caught up with Rika. She held Rika’s hand which made the other flinch from the contact.

“Tanaka-san.. can’t you FEEL that Kame didn’t like having TOO MUCH PDA?” Hitomi said in a serious voice.

“PDA?” Miki asked. She’s not really good at this acronym thing.

“It’s public display of affection… dimwit…” Rika answered seriously but deep inside, she wanted to laugh at Miki’s ignorance.

“Hey… How come you know that? Reina thought that you’re the atomic aho of our group? You mustn’t know that arduous thing.”

“It’s not that hard, TANAKA-san. Even the little kids nowadays knew that.” Rika replied. She stopped near the man-made lake and moved away from Miki’s grip on her hand.

“Why the formalities? Because your officemate is here? I guess you didn’t want her to know about our little relationship because you’re embarrassed about private things?” Miki crossed her arms over her chest.

“If I’m embarrassed… that’s because of your attitude.” Rika looked at the two culprits. “The two of you need to settle things NOW!”

“If we’re going to settle something… well, it’s gonna get bloody here.” Miki quickly said.

“Yeah, and if you want to clean up after… we don’t mind settling our differences.” Hitomi followed. Rika sighed. She knew, or rather, felt that something happened between the two and she want it to be fixed.

“Look guys, this is serious. Please settle whatever happened with the two of you.”

“But Eri…”

“Fujimoto will you cut the role play already?!” Rika asked with a hint of irritation on her voice. Miki snorted and looked away. “Guys, I know… something happened. I’m not that blind. And correct me if I’m wrong but, I think the two of you knew each other before.”

“Yeah, way to go captain OBVIOUS.” Rika saw Hitomi bit her lip to stop herself from laughing from Miki’s remark. Rika smiled to herself. Although, again, it’s her ‘blunder’ that made her almost laugh, at least the tension was somewhat lifted up.

“Anyways, I’ll leave you guys alone. I’ll just sit there on the bench and just wave at me when the two of you are done.” Rika pointed on the other side of the lake where there’s a vacant bench near a row of food stalls. Rika walked off, not waiting for the two to say something.

“The two of them were close to me. I hope they can fix it”
Rika crossed the bridge to go to the other side of the park. She put down her bag on the bench before completely sitting down. She looked at the two figures, still unmoving.

“What are they waiting for?! Geez, JUST TALK ALREADY!!!!” Rika stood up and went towards a crepe stall. In times like this, she really would want to eat something sweet so a chocolate-flavored crepe will keep her company while the two sort out their thing. She sat back at the bench after paying for her snack. It felt like she was watching some kind of a drama movie, minus, the sounds because she can’t really hear most of what they were talking about. Hitomi and Miki’s faces were in a lot of pain. Hitomi suddenly held Miki’s shoulder’s and was shaking her. Miki slapped Hitomi on her cheek. Yes, it was like watching the climax of a tear-jerker movie. After a couple of minutes, they stopped. Rika can see Hitomi trying to suppress her tears as she extended her hand to Miki. They shook hands before Hitomi turned around and left the place. Rika immediately ran towards Miki.

“What happened?”

“She left. She needed to finish something and it’s getting late.”

“Ohh…” Rika didn’t know what to say next. She considered asking for details but she can see that Miki didn’t want to talk it over. Miki’s still staring at the direction where Hitomi went. “so… uhhh..”

“Let’s continue our date, Eri.” Miki turned around and grabbed Rika’s unfinished chocolate crepe and gobbled it up. Rika was left speechless. She can’t discern whether from Miki taking her delicious snack or because Miki still wanted to continue their role play. Or both.

“But… I’m… not… finished… with that.”

“Reina will buy you many crepes if you really like it that much. Its Reina’s treat since Reina haven’t bought your umeboshi earlier. Now, let’s go!” Rika wanted to laugh at How Miki exaggerated Reina’s 3rd person talk but her mind went blank at the way Miki’s holding her now. Miki held her hand again and this time, entwining their fingers. Their bodies were really close to each other and Rika thought that with their current space, Miki might hear her heart beating, really fast.

“Role play… it’s just a little role play…. Just get along with it.”

“Why are you so stiff? Lighten up will you? We’re on a date here.”

“Uhh… well, you see…”
“Gaah~! Rika! Get a grip!!! It’s just a role play…got that? Do you understand that? It’s just normal if your heart’s beating really fast… Well, you’re still outside and it’s already dark. Something bad might happen. And… it’s really cold right now.. Your heart beats really fast because your blood is circulating through your body to give you enough heat. That’s it. And you’re cheeks are feeling hot right now because…”

“Hey, you became silent. Is something wrong?” Miki moved her face closer to Rika. She touched Rika’s forehead to check whether she’s sick. “Hey, tell me. What’s wrong?”

“You are not blushing… GOT THAT?!?! This is a normal phenomenon to you when you’re imagining what will happen to that TanaKamei fic you’ve read on that forum. You’re on the same situation as them in the fic that’s why you remembered it. You remembered Reina kissing Eri under the moonlight as they were on a date that’s why you’re blushing. You are blushing because of that fic… Your heart’s beating really fast because you’re excited to read the next chapter of that fic. That’s the ONLY reason.. Remember that Rika! Separate fiction from reality!”

“Uhh… I’m… listening to my stomach growl. I’m hungry.” Rika wanted to smack herself for coming up with such a lame alibi. Miki laughed really loud.

“Why didn’t you say so? Come on, let’s go find another restaurant.” Miki pulled Rika to the chain of restaurants located near the park. Miki chose a place with a good ambience and delectable cuisine. The waiter led them towards their seat which was near a fountain.

“So… what do you want to eat? Just choose. Reina will take care of the bills.”

“Uhh, REINA… you really didn’t have to do this. I have my own money.”

“So that’s it?” Rika looked at Miki as soon as she heard her somewhat ‘irritated’ voice. “You didn’t want Reina to treat you because YOU have your own money? Sorry about that. Reina forgot that you’re the president’s daughter.” Rika massaged her temples. Miki even copied Reina’s yankii and somewhat ‘grouchy’ attitude. But then again, Miki’s attitude before was worse compared to Reina.

“No, what I mean is… Don’t waste your money on me.”

“Reina’s not wasting her money, Reina’s happy to treat Eri. Reina’s contented whenever Rika… I mean Eri smile.”

“Gaah~! Too much ‘Reina’… Ehh? WHAT!?!” Rika’s eyes grew wide as she heard her name. She looked at Miki who was smiling impishly.

“So, uhhh… Will Eri accept Reina’s treat to her?” Rika blinked her eyes. It must have been just her imagination. But why would she imagine that? Rika leaned back on her chair. She might as well enjoy the ‘free’ food now.

“Ok. Just order me a steak and a chocolate marshmallow cake.”
…………….
The ‘date’ turned out well. Miki and Rika had fun talking about the latest Jpop news, but they deliberately left some information about Three-Tums and Futari because they were still on their role play mode. The good thing about that restaurant was at a certain time, some musicians will go to a table and played a melodious music so they felt they were on a ‘real’ date. They left the restaurant after finishing Rika’s 3rd dessert. Miki decided to walk with Rika to her apartment.
“So… welcome to my apartment! Please take a seat” Rika lead Miki to her couch but the other remained standing.

“No, it’s alright. Reina will go home now. Reina just wanted to make sure Eri’s safe.”

“Ohh, you’ll leave me alone already?”

“Unless you wanted to do something. Do you want to play in the bed with Reina?” Miki moved closer to Rika and then put her arms around her hips. Rika remained calm and looked at Miki’s eyes seriously. She managed to hear some of their conversation at the park and it really bothered her when they started mentioning, Kuwagata and her story. She can’t thoroughly connect each pieces of ‘vague’ information so she needed to ask before letting Miki off the hook.

“It’s your story right? I’ve heard the two of you arguing about that.” Rika saw Miki blinked her eyes many times before going wide. Miki remained silent and turned around to leave.

“It’s getting late. I’m going now.” Rika quickly blocked Miki’s escape route by closing the door and leaning against it.

“Don’t try to deny it. I won’t let you out unless you answered my question.”

“You heard us?! But you’re really far from us. You have such good ears.”

“Well, I can’t hear it if the two of you would just settle it in a nice way. I’m glad I moved away because if I didn’t I might became deaf from the yelling and shouting.”

“We’re not yelling, we’re just talking in a loud voice.” Miki replied sarcastically.

“Yeah, right… So… you’re Kuwagata? It’s your story?

“So? What if I’m Kuwagata? It’s not really MY story… got that? So please just move out of my way.”

“What happened between the two of you?” Rika asked straight to the point. Miki took a deep breath and closed her eyes. After a minute of deafening silence, Miki replied.

“You like Futari too, right?”

“Uhh, yeah? Why?”

“Go to ‘that’ forum and read a fic entitled ‘Chingudeul’ later this night.” With that said, Miki pushed Rika aside, opened the door and ran away. Rika has woken from her ‘half dazed’ state caused by the very mention of the said forum when the door closed with a bang. Rika swiftly opened the door and yelled to the fleeing girl.

“HEY!!! YOU DIDN’T EVEN ANSWER MY QUESTION!!! GET BACK HERE!!!! FUJIMOTO!!!” Miki stopped then turned around and stuck her tongue out at Rika before continuing to run again. Rika didn’t know whether to be angry or laugh at what Miki did for it really was unlikely for her character to do that. She closed her door and went towards her laptop.

Wait… Is that Korean? One shot? Oh~! I really hope she will make a double post! GAAAHH~! MIKI!!! UPDATE SEARCHING FOR THE LIGHT ALREADY!!!! I WANT TO KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO ERI!!!!!!

Rika opened Kuwagata’s blog… and there’s still no update. She remembered that Miki ‘just’ left her apartment minutes ago. Rika sighed and just waited calmly at the story that ‘Kabutomushi’ will post later. In the mean time, she opened a translation site and searched for the meaning of the korean word. And it turns out, it meant ‘friends’. Rika had a theory; if Miki based it on the fic, it might be that Miki and Hitomi were ‘friends’ before but then, something happened along the way… and she’s going to find that out later. To kill the time, she typed another comment in Kuwagata’s ‘latest’ chapter to let the writer know that she’s still waiting for the continuation.

Charmy
Hi there! It’s been a while since you last updated. I guess you’re really putting an effort to make it really good. Well, for me, whatever you write is great! Ahahaha… I hope you update soon!
Oh yeah, thanks for the treat today! (^_^)

Rika pressed the send button. It was a little milder than what she actually thought in her mind. With nothing else to do, she watched some of the ‘good’ stuffs that Ayumi gave her, especially Three-Tums’ latest Asian Concert Tour, where they held a concert at Korea, Taiwan and mainland China. After two hours of watching, the concert ended so Rika checked the forum and saw that the story has been posted, but the username’s different. She was expecting to see ‘Kuwagata’ or ‘Kabutomushi’ as the author but instead, it was written by ‘Tenma_Mosaku’.

“EEEHHH!?!?! Tenma?!?! What the… Now I’m really confused. I better read it now.

……………….

Chingdeul

“Good morning Ai-chan! How’s your homework?” My best friend looked up from her book and stared blankly at me. I guess she didn’t do it because she got hooked again on our favorite group’s latest movie. “Uhh… you know… the scenic pictures?”

“Ohh, that one! Yeah. I’m finished with that already.”

“Then why did you give me that look?”

“Because I thought you meant ‘school homework’ when you mentioned that.” Ai smiled sheepishly and went back to reading her book. Yeah, ignore me again with that stupid book. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Risa Niigaki and the girl that I was talking to is my best friend, Ai Takahashi. Well, if you know us, then you would ask us why the two of us are best friends. Our characters are a ‘total’ opposite. She’s silent, I’m loud. She’s responsible… I’m carefree. She’s somewhat a loner, I’m friendly. With all that said we still complement each other, probably the only thing that holds us together is our great love for our favorite group, Morning Musume. Well, I mean, she introduced it to me and then boom! I became addicted to them too; Koharu Kusumi, the miracle member, Konno Asami, the ‘geek’, Makoto Ogawa, the cheerful one, Kaori Iida the ‘weird’ one and their fierce ‘yankii’ leader, Yuuko Nakazawa. Both of us are ‘head to heels’ addicted to their music. Another thing is that we both really love basketball. Well, my two bestfriends were the ones who introduced it to me and then, Ai-chan somewhat became my mentor. She taught me everything I know. Our sport was the one responsible as to why were like this. I think I’ll just give you some details on how Ai and I met.
…………….
Flashback
“Gaki-san! Watch out!”

“Itai!!!”

“Where are you looking at?! Geez, Mame-san… Focus on the game!”
“That’s my first two best friends. The one who called me Gaki-san was my pet alien… I mean, Eri Kamei and the one who just insulted my forehead, was Sayumi Michishige. We always play basketball at a certain court near our neighborhood. I could say that I’m not really that good in basketball but I’m not that bad too. I mean, I was just plain, old, good enough player. I really wanted to beat these two airheads in basketball but I don’t know whether I can do that because, they’re the ones who introduced me to this sport.

“Hey… Gaki-san? Are you alright? Look at what you’ve done Sayu! Risa probably developed amnesia because of the impact!

“Sorry Mame-chan! That was an accident.. but… it wouldn’t really happen if you focused on the game. Geez, why did you freeze in place?”
“Why? You want to know why? Because I saw ‘her’; the one who uses this basketball court in the wee hours of the morning. The one who played basketball better than anyone else in school. The one who was addicted in anime and games, like me. The one who some call ‘the mysterious one’.

“Hey! The game’s not yet finished! Where are you going?”

“I forgot something! I’ll be back later!”
“So I went to chase the ‘mysterious one’ and I lose sight of her. And when I’m going back to my friends, I suddenly bumped into someone who’s looking at some CD’s in a certain music store.”

“I’M SO SORRY!!!! I didn’t mean to bump… into... you.”
“Now this is a new one for me. In school, my classmates call me ‘the Reaction Queen’ but that sure didn’t take effect when I met her face to face. Well, you could say that my face has some ‘funny’ reaction that she noticed.

“It’s nothing…. I think you’re the one who’s hurt. Are you alright?”

“uuhh, yeah… I… I’m fine… uhhh, you’re from Hinode Gakuen right?”
“Yeah, I’m the one who took the initiative to befriend her. Because I had a feeling that she’s the ‘shy’ type. And that time, my hunch was right.”

“Yes, Do you often see me in campus?”
“I would really like to say that I see her most often in the court near our house rather than the school but she might think that I’m stalking her or something so I decided to ‘lie’.

“Uhh, no. I’m from Kaede Gakuen, I just always see you reading a book in the public library during weekends because I always go there too. My name’s Niigaki Risa.”
“Well, I don’t ‘actually’ read when I’m in the library, I’m just visiting Eri whenever Sayu’s not around. Eri’s working part time in the public library and Sayu’s working as a part-time model/idol so her schedule’s somewhat warped. So whenever I’m bored, and although I know I’ll just be bored more in the library, I visit Eri and play some nasty tricks which will annoy her… and the librarian. But whenever I make that, I’ll make sure that Ai’s on the other side of the room.”

“Mine’s Takahashi Ai. Nice to meet you.”
……………………
“To make my story short, we became friends. But my two best friends didn’t know that because I don’t want them to know, until Ai will train me to become good in basketball. We always play early in the mornings when the sun isn’t up yet. No wonder she’s good in basketball; she’s got the determination and the attitude of a varsity player. In other words, she’s a workaholic and she’s rubbing that attitude of hers in me... and that’s good because, I see how I’ve improved from the two months that we know each other. And then, finally, I decided to introduce her to my best friends.

“WHAT?!? SINCE WHEN?!?! WHY DID YOU HIDE IT FROM US?!? WE’RE YOUR BEST FRIENDS!!!”
“Ok, now I know that Eri has a potential to become the Reaction princess. And Sayu’s dead pan look is a winner. I really wish that I had my camera with me at that time to capture the ‘moment’”

“Is she… normal?”
“What kind of question is that Sayu? OF course, she’s still a human. She just have higher I.Q than yours. You see, Hinode and Kaede Gakuen are on the same community, after all, we’re sister schools. Ai-chan’s really good at basketball but she’s not the captain. She’s good at exams and other things too as far as we heard. And then I got to know her better and I can fully tell them that she’s normal. She might be weird, likes to be alone… fixated at favorite things… and then.. yeah… she’s acting somewhat suspicious.. I mean mysterious, but she’s still human.”
“Uhhh, Last time I checked her, she’s a human. She even had a scratch on her knees when she fell down. I accidentally tripped her while guarding her.”

“Since when did you learn to play dirty?”

“ERI!!! I SAID… ACCIDENTALLY!!!”

“Hey, it’s so early in the morning and you’re already yelling. Are you this loud?”

“You’re here~! Hey guys, this is Ai Takahashi. Ai, my two best friends, Sayumi Michishige and Eri Kamei.”
“I just introduced her to my friends, and they already started ganging up on me. I won’t give you the details but, they’re really mean. At least they got along pretty well. We started playing two on two. Sayu and Eri and I teamed up with Ai. And you know what… WE’VE WON!!!! Ahahaha. My hard work really paid off. So after that, I became the captain of our varsity team when I was on my senior year, Even though Hinode and Kaede were rivals in competitions, Ai-chan would always help me in my training. Just like a private tutor in basketball.

When we graduated from junior high, Sayu focused on being an idol, and Eri transferred to a different place. So me and Ai went to a same school and we decided to enter in a different club other than basketball… And that’s the Photography class. In our school, we are known as a diligent student. We always excel academically and were admired but other students. That’s why we decided to keep quiet that we are an OTAKU. You know… people who are REALLY OBSSESSED with anime. Otaku’s has that geeky image; glasses, messy hair, and a really weird behavior. If ‘normal’ people would know that we’re an otaku, they might move away from us. It’s really Ai-chan’s fault. She introduced me into this world and now, I’m amplifying it.”

So, we’re here in our photography club room. We passed the ‘assignment’ that our president, Mitsui Aika, gave us. The theme is ‘Matsuri’ and I think she had a plan to exhibit our photos on our school festival next month.

“Woah! Takahashi-san… Niigaki-san… your pictures are awesome! I have a feeling our exhibit will become a success!”

“Thanks!” We grinned at each other. We’ve become a great tandem ever since that day. Whether it’s in basketball, or academics… or even photography, people can’t separate the two of us. It’s like what I’ve said before, we complement each other. And another reason why we grinned was because Mitsui-san likes to treat us whenever she was happy or something. And tonight, we will go to the karaoke.
……………………
“BRAVO!!!!” We roared as Ai finished singing and dancing her song. It was from Morning Musume’s number 1 single, Love Machine. Yep, I told you we’re great fans.

“Niigaki-san! You’re next!” Mitsui-san gave me the mic. And my fingers excitedly punched the numbers of my favorite song.

“Ai wo kudasai~.. WAHH!!! Mr. Moonlight! Upside down! Mr. Moonlight~!” I saw Ai laughing away as I clumsily do the dance choreograph of the said song. I really didn’t know what was happening to me. It felt like I’m really energetic or like I was in the cloud or something. Well, I guess, everyone here is as crazy as me. My song ceased and my group mates clapped their hands for me. Mitsui-san raised her glass of tea.

“For the success of our exhibit!!!” We raised our own cups and drank its contents simultaneously. My iced tea tasted really weird. I looked at Ai-chan and I was about to tell her about my drink when she fell on the floor, and continued laughing hard. Ok, that was WAY too weird. That’s Ai-chan we’re talking about. Mitsui-san gave her the mic again. They all love Ai-chan’s voice… oh wait. They are going to do a duet!

"I want to believe this love is true . . .
. . . the love you express to me.
The future can only tell if this love is true or not, right?

As for now, I love you with all my heart
and nothing can get in the way."

“WOAH!!!! WAY TO GO AI~~!!!” She really liked English subject and she nailed Makoto’s engrish part. Mitsui-san took Yuuko and Kaori’s parts while Ai-chan took Makoto, Kon-Kon and Koha’s parts. They were dancing and singing crazily.

“Thank you!!! I love you all!!” We all laughed and cheered for Mitsui-san.

“I LOVE YOU RISA!!!! PLEASE BE MY GIRLFRIEND!!!” The cheering stopped and all their eyes looked towards my direction.

“Nice joke Ai-chan! Give me the mic and it’s my turn to sing now.” Instead of giving the mic to me, Ai-chan put it close to her mouth.

“I’m not joking Risa. I’m serious. I’m in love with you.” I just have to do something before it worsen. And the best thing to do is… laugh.

“Ahahahaha… geez, Ai-chan. I think you’ve drunk too much ice tea.”

“I told you not to put alcohol in it.” I looked back at Mitsui-san as she smacked the head of our naughtiest member, Koki. So that’s it. Alcohol! The weird taste and the weird actions… It all makes sense now!

“I’ll take Ai-chan home. Just continue the party guys!” I pulled Ai out of the karaoke bar and went to the bus stop.

“I told you I’m not joking.”

“You know, it’s just the alcohol messing with your mind. Koki put some alcohol in our drinks.”

“I’m not drunk. Why can’t you believe me? I’m in love with you.” I didn’t answer. Now I know how Eri felt before… so here’s another flashback.

………………
Flashback
“GAAAH!!! HE’S REALLY CUTE!!!”

“Ehh? Where? Who’s cute?”

“My friend’s little brother. His name is Yuki Michishige. He walked with us earlier… Kyaah!!! He’s so cool!”

“Uhh, ok… I thought your fangirl side is only for Morning Musume?”

“Yeah… but there’s always an exception.”
“I said that to Ai-chan but in reality, I’m just using Yuki as my mask. The one I really like was my other best friend Eri. I don’t mind them teasing me about Yuki, at least I can hide my true nature to them. It all happened before I even met Ai-chan.”

“I’m sooooooo tired~!!!! I have an audition tomorrow!!!”

“If you’re soooo tired, then just go home and rest.”

“Yeah, we’ll gladly take you home.”

“Ohh really? Is that ‘really’ your agenda Mame-san? Or do you like to tag along with me to see my brother?”

“EEHH~! NO!!! come on… we’re friends! It’s only natural for us to look at each other.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Anyway. I’ll just go home alone. I think Risa you still need to practice your jump shots. Eri will help you. Right?”

“Yeah! I’ll help her improve. Just go and rest. Do your best tomorrow!”

“Thanks! I’ll do my trade mark Usa-chan Peace tomorrow.”

“If you want to become a model DON’T EVER DO THAT!”
“And because of that remark, Sayu smacked my head. Anyways, I was left all alone with Eri and we continued playing basketball. Until we’re very tired.”

“Gaki-san… I’m tired.. Aren’t you tired yet?”

“Uhh… no. I can still play.”

“Geez, your stamina is like a man’s stamina.”

“I am a man… I mean woman. HAhahahaha.”
“Did I just say that? I guess I did. I always had this feeling towards Eri. She’s a very reliable person.. and funny. Sayu and I always tease her about her strange behaviors and all those teasing led to another. I had no idea that I would fall in love with my best friend.”

“So let’s go home now.”
“We were silent on the way home. I wanted to confess but I don’t know where to start. And if I didn’t confess, it would just torture me. I didn’t know that falling in love is really hard.”

“Uhh, Kame… how would you feel if somebody falls in love with you?”

“You’re asking me that? Of course I will feel happy that somebody noticed a turtle.”
“And she laughed at her own comment. She’s really strange.”

“What if that person is your friend?”

“Hmm? That will make it easy for both of us. If we’re friends, then we won’t feel awkward with each other.”

“What if that friend of yours… is a girl too?”
“At this question, Eri stopped walking and faced me. She didn’t just faced me, she scrutinized every inch of my face as if she was searching for something.”

“AHA! I knew it! You’ve fallen in love with Sayu!”
“Awww come on!!! SAYU?!?! That narcissist bunny?!? Can’t you see that it’s you whom I’ve fallen with?”

“Ewww!!! NO! Who would want to date a narcissist bunny who only talks about how cute she was all day?”

“Hmmm… so it’s me then?”
“Her keen senses were very fast considering she’s a turtle. I was taken aback and I didn’t know what to answer her. And I’m glad I didn’t because…”

“You know, I really appreciate it. Thank you for loving me but I guess, I’m not the right person for you. You see, I don’t want to ruin our friendship. You’re my best friend. If we fight, we can still fix it but if, for example we become lovers, I think it’s hard to bring back the friendship if we breakup or something. You’re too important for me to lose. I know that you’ll find someone better than me, someone that will take care of you no matter what happens. And when that day happens, let me be the one to know it first okay?”

…………………..
“You see, you’re my friend Ai-chan. Not just any friend, but I’ve already considered you my best friend. I don’t want to ruin our friendship in case our relationship will turn sour.”

“Why do you think that I’ll turn bad? I won’t do something that will make you sad. I’ll make sure that we’ll always be happy with each other.”
“Woah… that’s… yeah… she has a point… But… I just can’t love her. Whenever I’m with Eri, I’m happy and my heart always beats very fast. When I’m with Ai-chan or Sayu, I’m happy too, but my heart was just beating normally. And based from that, I know that Ai-chan isn’t the right person for me. She’s just a very dear friend. And honestly, it broke my heart when Eri said that. I know it will hurt Ai-chan too.”

“Well, things don’t go well in reality. It may happen it the fics, but it’s really hard to do that in reality. There are just some things that we can’t control. I’m sorry Ai-chan. But I rather have you as a friend.”

…………….
AI-chan started ignoring me since that day. She went back to her ‘introvert’ self. When we’re in our club, the other members were looking weirdly at us. I think they still can’t forget Ai’s confession in the karaoke. I tried to be close with her again but it’s her who’s moving away. I guess I hurt her that much. And I will just continue to hurt her when I stayed here. On the next school season, I changed my school. I went back to my parent’s hometown to study. I like photography that I took it again as my club, even though it still reminds me of Ai-chan. I know in time, we’ll be friends again.

“Woah… you’re good.” I looked up and saw this wonky-eyed girl staring at me. “Hi! I’m an exchange student here too! My name’s Tanaka Reina.”
“The girl extended her hand but I didn’t take it. My attitude changed when I left. I became grouchy and I’m always glaring at other people. I’m not the same Risa anymore. Risa only exists when I’m visiting Eri or Sayu. Reina started bombarding me with ‘cold’ jokes and it’s starting to annoy me.”

“What’s wrong with you? Why are you annoying me like this?”

“I’m not annoying you. I’m just being friendly with you. I think we’ll see each other more. You’re really good. No wonder Aika idolizes you.” With that said, my eyes grew wide, not because she messed up my hair but because of the name Aika… Is she talking about our president? Mitsui-san?

“And true to her word, she didn’t stop bothering me. It turns out that Mitsui-san was her relative and she told Reina about my photos. Reina really ‘bugged’ me during her stay in our school. And because of her, I became the same old Risa again. She stayed for only three months in our school and she has to go back to her school but for three months, we became friends. And I started to like her. Maybe she’s the one whom Eri mentioned; the right person for me. I started observing her and I learned that she was hiding something from me. And she was hiding it perfectly, until she accidentally blurted it.

“OH MY GOD!!!! I’VE BEEN SEARCHING THIS FOR YEARS!!!! MORNING MUSUME’S FIRST SINGLE!!!!”
“My heart started beating fast at the mention of my favorite band. I gave her my famous stare and she started stuttering her answer.”

“Uhhhm… uhhh… well, you see, my best friend really like this group… and I’m searching for this album because I know she will love it. After all, it’s a rare item.”
“I tried to go deeper and I learned that she’s a closet fangirl. I decided to visit her in her town and it turns out that Ai-chan and her were classmates. And our meeting turned sour.”

“Come on Kon-Kon, The great Makoto will treat you for dinner.”
“Oh yeah, since I already know that she’s a fangirl, I decided to make our reunion fun by role playing our favorite members.”

“Hey! Have you passed the photos for… our…exhibit?”
“I looked back and saw Ai-chan. I didn’t know how to react at first. I saw Reina looking back and forth at us. I know she’s confused as to why Ai-chan was staring at me. I don’t know what has gotten into me but I put my arms around Reina.”

“Who’s this Kon-Kon?”

“I’m Koharu Kusumi, Kon-Kon’s classmate.”
“I’m surprised at first that Ai-chan role played with me. I started doing things to Reina. And she’s just taking it in silently. And then, she noticed the tension between us and she took us to a quiet place to settle things. We talked and we came into a conclusion. I won’t give the details because… it’s our secret. But I can assure you, we’re both fine now.”

The End

I'm back!!! Alive and kicking after being sick, not because of the ah1n1 virus..I'm just really really REALLY exhausted that I became susceptible to sickness. Anyways, It's been a while since I've updated this fic... so yeah... as promised, here's the chapter 7. Enjoy!





“Yoh! What are you doing?” Rika recognized Miki’s voice and swiftly closed her laptop.

“Hi! When did you arrive?” Rika asked nervously. She was reading some comments on Kuwagata’s site when Miki suddenly spoke from behind her.

“Just now… What were you reading?” Miki asked as she sat on the chair opposite Rika. Rika quickly thought of a nice alibi. She hadn’t told anyone in this branch about her fandom.

“Well, it’s nothing. Just surfing the net and opened up my best friend’s blog. I really miss her and her blog is a quick way to know what she’s been doing now.”

“Ohhh, a blog…. From what I’ve heard, it’s like an online journal right? Where people can posts pictures and write about what happened in their lives?”

“Yes, that’s it… But not all blogs are just about themselves. It can also be about their hobbies or favorite artists… It’s like they are making an unofficial site about it, without, of course, the knowledge of the one they’re writing about.”

“Ahh, so if I really like playing basketball, I would write something about it on my blog, like the rules and history and stuff… and if I like to listen to some artists… say Three-Tums, I would write about the latest news about them or their discography… right?” Rika’s eyes suddenly lit up at the mention of her favorite group. She can’t think properly for she was trying to restrain herself from squealing and blabbering about it. She remembered the fanfic that she’s currently following. It’s about Reina being a basketball player and Eri playing it at night.

“Yes that’s it! Woah, I didn’t know that you were listening to ‘Three-Tums’… that’s new… You know…”

“I don’t… I just heard it from the news. So, did you order some food yet?” Rika’s ‘adrenaline’ was suddenly stopped by Miki’s (piercing) words. How can she expect someone like Miki to enjoy the kind of music that her favorite group was singing? Her impression of Miki was that she liked groups like Malice Garden, L’arc and Ciel, Kaggra and other JRock artists. She imagined Miki always shouting at their concerts together with the other people and was wearing a black outfit with heavy ‘metal’ accessories and having thick, make-ups.

“No not yet. What do you like… Oh… wait… Don’t tell me…”

“Yakiniku!” The two of them said simultaneously. It was Miki’s favorite food. The two called the waiter and ordered. Rika noticed Miki looking closely at her.

“Is there a dirt on my face?” Rika finally asked after she can no longer bare Miki staring at her.

“Is it just me or because of the cold weather but it seemed that you lost some weight? You seemed slimmer now.”

“Really? Maybe because there’s so much pressure on my part like being asked to go to places in such a short time that I haven’t noticed that I’m already losing weight.” Miki blinked several times. They haven’t received any notice that morning about the visit unlike the first time that Rika stayed with them.

“Your father surprised you again right? Is he that inconsiderable?” Rika giggled. Miki gave her a glare which made Rika laugh louder. Miki knew that she was fooled by her boss.

“I don’t know because it’s only a joke! The real reason is that I’m doing some exercise every day. You know. December’s really a cold month and that’s my trigger for asthma so I need to make my body stronger.” Rika stopped laughing because she remembered something that Miki said earlier. “Hey, you mentioned basketball. Do you like it?”

“Yep.” Miki answered before the waiter arrived with their drinks. Miki ordered an orange juice while Rika settled for an iced tea. “Before I was playing volleyball then I became a varsity player of basketball when I’m in high school. I’m not really interested in it at first but my two friends introduced me to it. I’m not really good at it at first but someone taught me some skills and I’m pretty proud to say that I eventually became the captain of our team.” Rika’s eyes widened. She really admired and envied athletes. She wanted to become a varsity player before but her teachers were ‘forcing’ her to study more. The only sport that they allowed her to participate in was chess where she can increase her thinking ability and logic.

“Woah! Sugoi! You didn’t tell it to me before.” Rika thought for a while. For the last three months that she stayed here in Hokkaido, she really never dared to know Miki further. She didn’t take the initiative to befriend her more for Miki was different. Different in a sense that she’s always alone and glaring at most people she met and she knew that Miki was just forcing herself not to glare at her because she’s her boss. Eventually, within those three months she was able to change or lessen Miki’s attitude, and then Ms. Abe helped her also. She was satisfied changing her and talking with her, but she never found out the real Miki. They were both the same; they were hiding their true self from the other people.

“Am I not telling you now?” Miki replied sarcastically. Rika was taken aback and then laughed. This is the ‘real’ Miki Fujimoto. The two chatted while eating the food that they ordered. They were having fun that afternoon. After eating, they decided to take a walk. They passed a music store. In the window pane, Rika noticed something inside a store. It was something she wanted for so long; a limited edition copy of Three-Tums’ Christmas album. She was searching for it for four years now. It’s the last album of Three-Tums under an independent label before they transferred to Hello! Project. Rika pulled Miki inside.

“Ehhh? What are we doing here?” Miki asked. She was oblivious at what was happening to her boss. Rika wanted to squeal at delight when she grabbed the CD. She tried to compose herself by doing some ‘breathing exercise’. “Hey, are you alright? Do you need to see a doctor?” Miki asked worriedly. This is the first time that she saw her boss act like this. She was afraid that Rika was having an asthma attack right now.

“No, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. I’m just really happy!”

“Happy? Why?”

“I’ve finally found what I’ve been searching for four years!” Rika placed the CD in front of Miki’s face. “I finally got hold of this album!” Miki stared blankly at the thing in front of her.

“So, you’re a fan of them?” Miki asked while giving a weird glance at her. Rika felt like a cold water was suddenly poured onto her. She showed her other side to another colleague. Rika wasn’t sure of what she will do next. It worked with Hitomi because she was a ‘closet’ fangirl too but with Miki, she felt like it’s a different story.

“Well, my best friend likes this group. She introduced this to me and, I kinda liked their tune. I’ve been searching for this for years because this is the perfect gift that I can give to my best friend.” Rika told the truth at first but she lied at her last sentence. She will not give her precious CD to Ayumi, although she might lend it to her or give her a copy. And then Rika saw it again, Miki’s mysterious sadness.
………………..

Rika woke up suddenly. It’s already 4 in the morning and she didn’t have a good sleep at all. She just finished reading the new chapter three hours ago and she dreamt exactly what happened two days before; the time she visited Hokkaido. She can’t explain why she was being disturbed by Miki’s behavior. Inside, she made a theory that she already considered Miki as her friend than being just a colleague at work that’s why she’s somewhat concerned by her inner sadness. But what bothered her most was the puzzling statement that Miki said to her before they parted their ways…

“I’m having a funeral…”

She got up and went to her kitchen to drink some milk. As she was ready to go to bed again and sleep for another hour, she saw her laptop and her unconscious mind made her open it. Instinctively, her fingers typed an address and her conscious mind gained back its control after seeing that there’s a new update on the story that she’s following; a double post that she haven’t noticed earlier.

……………………
Chapter 7

Reina left something in her locker that’s why she decided to sneak back to her room. After getting her book, she quietly walked back to towards the main door.

“Got you!”

“AHHH!!! I’M SO SORRY!!! I just forgot my book and… ehh?” Reina saw a girl hiding behind the door. “Michishige-san? What are you doing here at this hour?”

“Well, I was doing my assignment back home when I realized that I forgot my notebook. So I decided to sneak here. And you? What are you doing here at this time? The gym’s on the other side of this building.” Sayumi eyed her closely. Reina held up the book that she forgot in her room.

“Same as you. I forgot my book so after our practice, I sneaked in here too.” The two laughed at the similarity of their situation. They decided to walk home together.

“So, you’re always playing basketball with your friend… Why didn’t you join our club?” Reina asked the taller one. Sayumi looked at her seriously.

“Because my beauty doesn’t fit the world of athletes. I’m more suitable being the muse or a captain of a cheerleading squad.” At this, Reina coughed out loud. She didn’t want to be rude or something, but she breathed in some smoke from a passerby who was smoking at that time. And besides, Sayumi’s pretty so there’s no need to disagree with her statement.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that.”

“Hahahah, well, you have a funny way to react on a joke.”

“Ehh? So that was really a joke?” Reina slapped her forehead. She realized that she was as gullible as her two friends. “I should have known.”

“Well, it’s not your fault. It’s really hard to know whether I’m joking or not.” Sayumi suddenly turned serious. “You can ask Eri for that. I’m always fooling her.” Reina was bemused by the reaction of her companion. Usually, if a person was telling that he was making fun of his friend, that person will usually laugh, but that’s not the case this time. And she was sure that Sayumi’s not joking this time. She will ask Eri about it when they meet each other later. “The main reason is that I do not want to play basketball without Eri. You know, we’re unbeatable when we’re together and I hate losing so yeah, why do something with all your heart if you don’t precisely know what the outcome will be?”

“But isn’t it the main reason why we always do our best? That unpredictability of the result is always a part of our everyday life, not just sports and that will make us do something that even surpasses what we thought is our limitation. I hate to lose too, that’s why I always practice to improve myself. I always think that there are better players than me. That’s my motivation.” Reina replied. This was the first time that they had a long conversation and a pretty serious one. She can’t stand people who easily give up on challenges and people who don’t even make an effort were the worst ones of all.

“Well, I guess you’re correct… But still, I don’t want to play it if Eri’s not with me. Basketball is something special for me… and for her I guess.”

“So, why don’t you play with her then? Is she from a different school? I always forgot to ask about it when we’re playing basketball together.” Sayumi didn’t let her companion see that she’s grinning.
“She’s not studying. Her auntie was the one who’s tutoring her. Have she told you a secret about her real identity?” Reina’s wonky eyes widen. Could it be that Eri was telling the truth and her observations were just fooling her?

“Is she really a vampire?”

“Oh, so she told you about it already. I thought she hasn’t because it seems that you’re not scared of her.”

“Because I thought that she’s only joking.” Reina stared at Sayumi’s eyes. She really wanted to know whether she was telling the truth this time.

“Well, I know that it’s hard to believe in these modern times but some paranormal things really do exist. But don’t worry. Her kind is good although they were portrayed badly in movies and stuffs.” Reina’s mouth was widely opened. She looked at Sayumi’s eyes and saw that she’s serious in saying those things.

“So, are there other vampires existing?”

“Yes of course. Most of them were in Europe but her family is staying here in Japan and man they’re really weird specially Eri. She’s always spacing out and if you ask me, she’s maybe an alien vampire so to speak. Hey, are you alright?” Sayumi moved her hands back and forth in front of Reina’s eyes. Reina mind was clouded right now because of the ‘vampire’ fact that Sayumi was giving her. She didn’t know why but she stared at Sayumi’s neck, scanning for something. Sayumi noticed that Reina’s eyes were fixated on her neck. “She won’t bite me. Although I’m a mortal and I’ll die someday and leave her, she won’t make me into a vampire. So don’t worry, she’s harmless.”

“Yeah, I know that. She said that she’d rather buy her food at the blood bank than drink mine because I’m her friend. By the way, I somewhat told my two friends that she’s a vampire because I thought that it’s not true. They wanted to meet the person who helped me improve my basketball skills and I somewhat revealed that she’s a vampire because they were curious why I have to get up early in the morning.”

“It’s alright. You were just telling the truth.” Sayumi replied. She suddenly stopped in front of a white bungalow house. “I’m already here. So they wanted to meet Eri? We will play basketball this midnight. You can ask her then about that.”

“Thanks.” Reina smiled and waved goodbye to Sayumi. She was just five steps away from her when she heard Sayumi yelled at her.

“I looked serious right? I told you I’m pretty hard to read whether I’m joking or not.” Reina looked back, bewildered at what the other said.

“HUH?!?” Reina yelled back.

“That vampire thing was really a joke. The truth is she’s sick and she’s afraid to tell it to you because you might not want to continue your friendship with her. Just let her explain it to you later.”

TBC

…………………….
Rika just finished posting her comment for the said chapter. She was laughing because Sayumi was making fun of Reina. On the other hand, she was also curious about the way Sayumi was acting. It’s hard to know whether she was telling the truth or not. And Rika can’t see whether what she feels for Eri was the truth or not. She re-read again the past chapters to look for more clues and also because her sleepiness vanished. As she read the past comments, she realized that two particular individual looked like they were fighting on-line.

“Fans were scary nowadays. They look like they would kill for their pairing.. Wait… I’m scary too right? Especially when I’m too happy or flailing because of my fandom but still.. It’s different. I hope they can fix their differences. They are still, after all, following one group and that’s Three-Tums. I’m a TanaKamei fan but I also like KameShige. And don’t forget Ayumi’s TanaShige pairing. I hope Kuwagata can fix this one. I do hope it would be a threesome of Three-Tums, hehehe. Slowly my innocent mind is being corrupted by these dirty thoughts. Wait…”

Rika saw her own comment on chapter 6. She was ‘high’ when she made that comment and she haven’t realized what she wrote until now.

“It’s like a natural instinct for us. To move away from someone who’s different from us…”

“I’m different from the normal people. Hitomi’s different too. And the people who thought that she’s different were distancing themselves away from her… I can really relate to the story.”

She decided not to sleep anymore and read every fanfic she could but after a while, she was running out of new fanfics to read, or new comments to reply to. Out of boredom, she decided to make a drabble without thinking. She just wrote what comes first to her mind; not minding the topic or the outcome of the story. She let her mind drift freely into the unknown and uncertain part of her consciousness.

……………..
Tegami

Can we call ourselves, friends? How can you differentiate an acquaintance from a friend? How do two people start friendship? Is there a rule that needs to be followed or you just both feel it? That’s something that’s been plaguing my mind ever since. Reina… are you my friend… or acquaintance?

Sayumi and you… Both of you became my acquaintance because of the audition. As the years pass by there were lots of memories we shared together and to be honest, I feel like Sayumi is really my friend, a best friend. We do things together, tell each other secrets, and always be there for each other through thick and thin; on and off screen. But you? Sure we do lots of things. We also hang out together often but then, I feel that something’s missing. On screen you were so close to me but off screen you become someone I don’t know. You always act indifferent when the cameras are not rolling. You have that far away, stone-faced look in your eyes, as if I do not exist in front of you.

I know that the word ‘friend’ is only a label, we only need to show it. But Reina, I don’t FEEL like I’m your friend at all.
-Eri

Reina crumpled the piece of paper that she was reading a minute ago and threw it in the trash bin beside her. She was waiting for this to happen. It’s the only way out to ease her suffering. The truth is, Eri was really important to her; way too important than an ordinary friend. But she was afraid to show her real feelings. Feelings that need to be suppressed as early as possible. It will be hard but she will do it without regret… for the sake of the two of them.

The End
………………..

“Ohayou… It looks like you haven’t slept a bit.” Hitomi non-energetically greeted her.

“Yeah, and I should say the same to you too.” Rika replied. She was waiting for the bus when Hitomi stopped her car in front of her again.

“Well, my friend was bothering me to check her draft. It’s almost midnight when I sent her the chapters. I bet you read it that’s why your eyes were like that?” Hitomi inquired. Rika’s energy was coming back to her whenever she liked the topic; and this was the topic that she liked the most.

“You are right. And I wouldn’t have noticed that she posted the next chapter if I haven’t woken up from a… dream.” Rika wanted to say ‘from a nightmare’ but her dream can’t be considered a nightmare. She just dreamt what happened to her in Hokkaido and there’s nothing ‘horrific’ or ‘terrifying’ that occurred in there.

“Ahh, I thought it’s because of a nightmare. She did a double post this midnight...” Rika thought about Hitomi’s comment. Her voice lacks the energy so her statement can be interpreted in two ways. The first one was that it’s really a statement and the other meaning was that she’s questioning her that her friend did a double post for the day but she was too ‘lazy’ to do a rising intonation at the end. It’s possible that she didn’t know that Kuwagata posted two chapters at once because she proof-read four chapters. Or it could be possible that her subordinate already proofed-read chapter 6 before and what she finished last night was the 7th chapter and then Kuwagata posted the two chapters at once.

“Yep, a double post.” Rika answered and observed Hitomi’s actions. Like Reina to Sayumi, she can’t tell whether Hitomi knew about it or not. And she was really curious about it; after all, Hitomi was Kuwagata’s proof-reader. If she noticed that Hitomi knew about it, that means that Kuwagata was really a fast writer because she made chapters in such a short time or if she noticed that her subordinate didn’t know about it, then Kuwagata might have posted it without checking its grammar or she asked another person to proof-read her work. But Hitomi didn’t react even a little bit so she really didn’t know the answer to her own question.
“She’s like Sayumi… she’s hard to read.” She brushed off the thought and used that chance to talk with Hitomi about their fandom.

“What’s your favorite boy band or girl band?” Rika started.

“Girl band, its Three-Tums and then I’m more into the sounds of KAT-TUN.”

“Is it because you like their ‘rock’ sounds? Or because Reina’s brother is in there?”

“Both.” The two continued chatting about the latest news about their favorite groups but suddenly, Rika noticed something dangling on the car’s rear view mirror.

“Hey… is that a keychain version of a ‘Kuwagata’?”

“Yes. It’s actually a cell phone accessory. Do you want it?” Rika was surprised at the sudden question.

“Ehh?! It’s yours right. Why would I want it?”

“Because ‘Kuwagata’ bought it. I’ll give it for you… Besides, you’ll go back to your place in two weeks right? Make that my parting gift for you... or an early Christmas gift.” Hitomi removed the accessory from her mirror and hand it over to her boss. Rika looked at it longingly.

“WOAH!!!! A thing from my favorite writer!!! HAhaha, so I can’t get the first-hand access to her fics but… indirectly.. because of her friend… I GOT A GIFT FROM HER!!!!”

“Am I just imagining things because from the lack of sleep… or it’s really real that I saw you grinning like a psychotic killer back there?” Rika snapped back to reality when she heard Hitomi’s voice. Her fangirl side was popping-up once more.

“No, I’m not. I’m just smiling.” They were nearing their office. Hitomi stopped the car near the corner and Rika left her subordinate’s car.

“Thanks for the lift... and for this gift.”

TBC