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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I quickly typed my reply.
“Sure.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Where do you want to eat?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

………………
‘Nee, Hitomi.”

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

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

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

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

“Ho.. how did you know?”

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

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

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


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

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

The End

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

A good way to start the new year is to have a double post!!! Enjoy reading this continuation...LOL




Rika stretched a little as soon as she woke up. She grabbed her cell phone on the table beside her bed and dialed her best friend’s number. A couple of rings later the other line answered.

“Ohayou….” Rika smiled at the still sleepy voice of her friend. It will be harsh but she wanted to tell it to her friend sooner…

“OHAYOU!!!” Rika gleefully screamed to the phone. She heard some noise on the background. She was sure that her friend fell out of her bed.

“What the heck is that?!? “ Ayumi yelled back. Rika couldn’t stop laughing her heart out. Her friend can really be funny sometimes. “What do you want?”

“Nothing…”

“You disturbed my sleep and then you tell me that it was just nothing?!” Rika breathe in deeply and stopped laughing. She knew her friend will be shocked at what she will reveal.

“You know what… My officemate is Kuwagata’s friend and her official proof-reader!”

“Ehh? Kuwagata? Your favorite on-line writer? Her friend? How come?!” Rika was giggling like crazy and her voice sounded an octave higher than her regular voice as she related to her friend what happened yesterday. The two talked for two hours more about different things in the JPOP world before Rika finally decided to hang up. It’s already 6am and there are still lots to do before going to work. She cooked her breakfast and took a bath quickly and dressed herself up before getting out of her apartment. Rika was waiting for the bus when she suddenly spotted a black Toyota Vios passed by. The car stopped and slowly drove back and pulled over in front of her. The window of the car opened revealing the person she was with last night.

“Ohayou! I guess this is the right time to drive you in my car.” Rika smiled and agreed on the other’s request. Hitomi opened the door of the front seat for her.

“Ohayou! I didn’t know that you pass by this street to?”

“My apartment’s 6 blocks away from here. I know that yours is just three blocks away. The company made sure that their apartments are closer to each other.” Hitomi explained after she stepped on the accelerator and the car started moving forward.

“Hey, did you know that your friend changed the story? It’s different than in the draft.” Rika started as she was putting on the seatbelt.

“Yeah, she wanted her readers to think what will happen next in the story. In short, she wanted to be unpredictable so when she learned that you’ve read her draft. She quickly changed it. If there are grammatical errors, then you know that I haven’t checked that one.” Hitomi quickly took a glance at her passenger. Rika was staring at her with her mouth slightly opened. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Sugoi…. Sugoi…. WAAAAHHH!!!! OH MY GAWD!!! You’re so cool!!! The two of you are SO COOOOL!!!! OMG…. When I learned that the two of you were friends, I thought that I can have some peep into her story before she can even post it but now after what you have said….. I don’t mind waiting for a long time to her to post it.” Hitomi thanked silently that Rika had the seatbelt on for if she didn’t wear it, she might have rolled on the car’s floor or worse, Rika might have strangled Hitomi because of too much happiness. Hitomi just bit her lip when Rika started saying incomprehensible words and at the same time, saying it a high pitch accompanied by her random squealing. At this, Hitomi realized that her boss was somewhat scary. After a few minutes, Rika calmed down a little bit.

“I’m sorry… you saw again my ‘flailing mode’. I can’t help it when it comes to my favorite stuffs. I hope you’ll keep this as a secret. My parents didn’t know that I’m like this.” Rika pleaded. It would be a disaster when her parents… worse, her company found out that she’s a ‘crazy’ person. No one might respect her ever again.

“Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.” Hitomi assured her. They were nearing their office now. Hitomi pulled over the corner and faced Rika.

“Ano, I really want to drive you in front of the office but… I don’t want them to start gossiping about us.”

“Ehh, what do you mean by that?” Rika asked. Hitomi closed her eyes and breathe deeply.

“You know, the usual stuff like, I want to be close to you because you’re the boss and I will profit from you, etc.”

“Ohhh, yeah, I got it. That’s right. But still, you are free to come in my office during lunch breaks… or I’ll just visit you in the office. You know … the usual department rounds.” Rika winked at her. She opened the door, got out of the car and walked away. She turned around and waved goodbye at the passing car. She walked towards the office, greeting every one she came across with. Mari greeted her warmly as soon as she saw her coming towards her room.

“Ohayou, Ms. Ishikawa. Your father called earlier.”

“Ehh? How come? There’s still 15 minutes left before the start of official office hours. Why didn’t he call my phone?”

“I’m sorry but I don’t know the answer to that. He left me a message saying that you have to call him immediately when you get here in the office.” With that said Rika quickly thanked her secretary and went inside her room. She dialed the number in her father’s office. She didn’t wait too long for after two rings, her father answered.

“Hello? Rika? How are you there?”

“I’m fine dad. Why do you want me to call you? You should have called my phone instead.” Rika grumbled.

“My, my… You sounded angry there. Don’t do that. You will have wrinkles on your forehead. I don’t want my daughter to look older than her true age.” Rika heard her father laugh. It’s been a while since he ‘annoyed’ her. Her mom wouldn’t understand it. They looked like they were fighting most of the time but in reality is, she’s a “papa’s girl”.

“Hahaha, very funny. Let’s get to the point. I guess it’s about work and it’s somewhat urgent so you decided to call here instead of my phone… Am I right?”

“No, you’re left…”

“It’s not funny dad.” Rika tried hard to sound serious and stifled her laugh. Her father’s jokes were lame but she cannot help but laugh at it. He sounded like a little boy trying his best to make people laugh with his silly but oh-so-lame jokes.

“You got me. To tell you the truth, you have to go back to Hokkaido this morning. Just get the plane ticket from Mr. Nishida and then give them a surprise visit. I know you miss them.”

“Yeah but that doesn’t erase the fact that you really like to surprise me. For how many days will I stay there?”

“Just this day. It’s just a round trip ticket and I’m sure that you will be home before seven.” Rika sighed. This sudden change in her schedule is making her head ache. There are still things to be done in the office. She bid her father goodbye and went to Mr. Nishida’s office.

“Ohayou! My father called and said that…”

“Here’s the ticket. Have a safe trip!” Mr. Nishida interrupted Rika’s speech and gave her the ticket. There are two brown envelopes under it. Rika looked at him questioningly. Mr. Nishida smiled. “Please give it to the president and the smaller one to Ms. Fujimoto.

“Hai.” Rika smiled evilly at Mr. Nishida. “So, you decided to make your move towards her right?”

“Hahaha, you’re really like your father. It’s about business, not a love letter. Got that?”

“I know, I’ll go now!”

“Take care!”

Rika walked back to her room. She wanted to maximize her travel time so she decided to bring some papers with her on the plane. As she got out of her office, she saw Hitomi waiting near the elevator.

“Where are you going?” Hitomi asked pointing at the black suitcase that Rika was carrying.

“My father called me and he wanted me to check up on the Hokkaido branch. I’ll come back later this evening.”

“Oh, that’s where you’re going? Mr. Nishida just instructed me to drop you off at Narita international airport before I do my job in Tokyo to check some supplies.”

“Arigatou.”

“Don’t thank me…” The elevator opened and the two of them went inside. “Thank Mr. Nishida. He’s the nicest president that I’ve ever encountered.”

“Well, you still haven’t encountered my father and I’ll tell you, if Mr. Nishida is nice, then my father’s nicer.”

“Yes I know.” Hitomi looked at her and smiled for the second time. “Like father, like daughter.” The two walked out of the elevator when it reached the ground level. Rika was greeting everyone she sees, the total opposite of what her companion is doing. Hitomi was wearing her serious face and was walking faster than her. She knew that Hitomi was obviously distancing herself from her. And she felt that it’s better that way. She noticed the ‘weird’ glances given by some people towards Hitomi, followed by a whisper or so. After talking with Hitomi last night, she perceived her to be a good person but she was really curious as to what the people were behaving when they see her. She pitied her companion. Something must have happened before that made her act like she didn’t care a bit about her surroundings.

Her thought was broken when a black car stopped in front of the door. She realized it was Hitomi’s car, probably waiting for her. The whispers became louder as she opened the door. She noticed from her peripheral vision that many of their officemates where looking ‘weirdly’ at them. She sat in the front seat and closed the door. Hitomi’s windows were tinted so their officemates have no clue that she was looking back at them.

“I told you. It’s not good to be acquainted with me.” Hitomi said as she started the engine and stepped on the accelerator.

“Why? Did you do something bad before?”

“I think it’s not bad… I just showed my real self and then yeah, they started acting like that. I really don’t care. That’s why I rarely go out of my room. I just focus on my work.”

“I’m sorry. I have no idea about what happened before. I guess I better be careful not to show my fangirl side.”

“Yeah, even though you are the CEO’s daughter, be careful when you are dealing with other people. Some are good, and most are just good on the outside.”

“Thanks for the tip. I appreciate it.” Narita airport was an hour away from Saitama. Even though she wanted to talk more with Hitomi, she has no idea where to start. It’s easy if their topic was about JPOP but the earlier events were still bothering her. She decided to start reading the papers that she brought. Hitomi decided to talk to her when they were nearing the airport.

“Wouldn’t you damage you eyes if you’re reading in a moving car?”

“Hai, I guess…” Rika nonchalantly replied. Her head was aching not because of the moving car but one of the reports has some erroneous items, making a lot of discrepancies in the computations.

“Why are you still reading?”

“Because I like to read… I’m a book worm even though I’m not an earthworm.”
“Yeah, go Rika! Be like your father with the lamest jokes ever…” Rika glanced at Hitomi and noticed that she bit her lip to prevent her from laughing.

“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’.” With that said, Rika looked at the person beside her; her grin reached up to her ears.

“REALLY?!? OH MY GOSH!!! What time will she upload it?!” Rika’s heart started beating very fast. She’s dying to know what will happen on the next chapter. It was such a cliffhanger. It looks like Sayumi will confess her love to Eri… Or Eri will realize her true feelings towards her best friend. She was somewhat disappointed when Hitomi shook her head. They were in the airport premises. Hitomi stopped her car near the departure area.

“I’m sorry but she didn’t tell me. Just check her blog from time to time. Have a safe trip!”

“Hahaha! I’ll check it as soon as I’m in Sapporo. Thanks for that info and for the ride. Take care too!” Rika closed the door behind her and walked towards the departure area. After finding her seat, she proceeded in checking again the reports but she was having a hard time to focus because of what Hitomi said. She managed to finish checking the papers before the plane landed in New Chitose Airport at Chitose; just south of Sapporo. Rika walked fast towards the door and out of the airport. Before going to the place where she was destined to go, she looked for a coffee shop or any restaurants with a Wi-Fi connection. She managed to find one and ordered some bread and coffee before opening her laptop and checked whether chapter five’s already been posted. And it did. Rika read the story while she was eating her 2nd ‘breakfast’.

……………………….
Chapter 5 :

“You’re really funny when you’re in a state of trance.” Sayu said which made Eri ‘wake up’ to reality.

“Eh?”

“Don’t mind it…” Sayumi messed up her friend’s hair before kissing her forehead which surprised the other. Eri saw a sweet smile coming from her friend. “Just make sure that you will still spend some time with me even though you’re meeting her. Promise?”

“Ehh, what are you saying?! Of course I want us to be together. You’re my best friend, Sayu.”

“Are you sure?”

“Ehh?!? I don’t really get you? What are you trying to say?”

“I’m just trying to ask whether friendship is what you’re feeling towards me.”

“Of course! You’re my best friend right?”

“Yes… And I thought that you’re going gay over me.”

“Why do you always say that?! I’m not gay!”

“Then why are you still holding me?” Eri realized that she’s been hugging her friend all this time. She immediately released her grip and pushed away her friend.

“Itai~ I’ve become numb because of your tight grip and you’re just going to push me? You’re mean.” Sayu said sulkily. Eri realized what she had done and hugged her friend again.

“Gomen! I didn’t mean to… I was just…”

“You’re hugging me again… You’re really gay.”

“I’M NOT!!!”
……………………
Eri was practicing her three pointers when she heard someone clap behind her. She looked back and saw the shorter girl whom she talked to yesterday.

“Sugoi, your form is really good… Oh yeah, Ohayou!” Eri giggled as the other person almost forgot her greeting.

“Ohayou, Tanaka-san! You’re really early today.” Eri passed the ball towards the new comer. Reina caught it, dribbled a little and made her way towards the hoop and releasing the ball into the air in a form of lay-up. Eri was delighted. She was grinning like a little child who had just seen the greatest magic trick on earth. “Sugoi! That was a nice lay-up!”

“I remember you doing that too the day you pushed me on the ground.. And what do you mean by ‘early’? You’re the one’s who’s earlier. It’s just 2:45 in the morning.” Eri picked up the ball and started dribbling. Reina can see that she was deeply in thought. She decided to play with Eri, even though the other didn’t answer her question.

Eri noticed Reina coming towards her and instinct was telling her to protect the ball. It was a one on one duel. Eri tried to get pass Reina’s intense defense against her but she can’t go inside. She took a step back and jumped high before releasing the ball. She took an advantage of her height for Reina can’t block the ball. Her fade away shot was a success. She has a score now. But Reina wouldn’t give in easily like that. She got the ball and run back towards the three point line and readied herself for the shot. Eri jumped when she that Reina was about to jump but she was deceived. Reina did a fake and when Eri jumped she dribbled the ball before stepping to her right side where the area was clear. She took the shot before Eri can jump again and stop her. It went in.

“My, that was a good fake and a three pointer. Are you the ace player of your team?” Eri asked. Reina looked at her.

“I’m not an ace player buy how did you know that I’m in a team?” Eri stared at her. “Hey, are you alright?” Reina waved her hands in front of Eri.

“Hai, gomen… My best friend told me that. She’s a sophomore student studying in your school too.”

“The one who pulled you away last time?” Eri nodded. The two resumed playing basketball. It was more of a give and take situation. Eri was teaching Reina some slick moves on dribbling, defense and the fade away shot. Reina on the other hand taught Eri some basic exercises that Ai and Risa was teaching her before to improve her shooting skills. They continued practicing everyday but Reina noticed that Eri always went home before the sun rises in the sky. She was intrigued by it but decided to remain quiet.

“Hey,” Eri started after finishing their play “Do you remember your question before? When you asked why I was early that day?” Eri noticed Reina nod after drinking her water jug. “Well, you see, it’s because I’m here every night just until before the sun rises.”

“Ehh? Why do you always go out at night? Are you insomniac or something?”Reina inquired. She wanted to know her friend better. Her question has been answered regarding to why no matter how early she went to the court, Eri’s always there before her. But Eri’s revelation is somewhat hard to believe.

“No…”

“Then why?”

“Promise you won’t feel… uhhm… different about me?”

“Shoot…”

“Well… that’s because… I’m…”

“Well? You’re a what?”

“I’m…. a… vampire.. I’ll die if I’ll be exposed to sunlight, yeah that’s right!”

“HAAHAHAH!! You’re funny. A vampire? If you’re really a vampire, why didn’t you suck my blood before?” Reina knew that Eri was lying; she can’t look straight into her eyes while she’s giving her explanations and she’s stuttering. But she decided to play along.

“Because.. That’s.. Well, you see I’m a worthless vampire. I don’t know how to suck blood. I’d rather buy my food at the blood bank than suck the blood of my friend.”

“Ohhh, that’s really… interesting. Well, I don’t mind a vampire hanging around me… That’s cool.”

“Thanks” Eri sighed, she didn’t know why but she can’t tell the truth to her new friend. She looked up on the sky and noticed some streak of light in the east part of the horizon. She checked her watch and noticed that there’s still an hour left before the sun will completely rise on the sky. Suddenly, she noticed someone near the other end of the court.

“Sayu?” Reina looked at Eri and then followed her line of vision. The girl that Eri saw was wearing a pink tracksuit and pink running shoes. It seemed the other just finished doing her morning exercise because she was sweating really hard. Reina realized that girl was the one who pulled Eri away from her that fateful night. The girl walked towards them. Eri stood up and hugged her friend before presenting her to Reina.

“Reina, this is my best friend Sayumi Michishige… You met her before right? The one who stopped me from doing ‘that’ embarrassing thing.” Sayumi reached out her hand and offered a hand shake.

“Hi! I’m Reina Tanaka. I’ve heard a lot of thing about you. It’s hard to stop your friend’s mouth.” Reina said as she took Sayumi’s hand and grinned evilly at Eri.

“Yep, I know… But you know, Eri was really shy… before. I call her turtle for she always hides when there are other people. That’s why I’m quite shocked that Eri managed to do that to you. You’re one lucky girl…” Eri elbowed Sayumi’s side pretty hard but the girl laughed out loud instead of crying in pain. Reina was left clueless as to why Sayumi was laughing while Eri’s blushing real hard.

“Ehh? I didn’t get that.”

“Hahaha! Well you see, Eri is somewhat…”

“My, my… is that the time? We have to go now! See you tomorrow! Ja!” Eri pushed away her laughing friend before she could tell anything that will possibly harm her relationship with Reina. Sayumi waved goodbye to the somewhat confused girl left in the court.

TBC

Apparently, I don't have the control over my schedule for work... They always put me on the closing shift... and I come home from work at 2 in the morning... and wakes up four hours before my sched... My travel time is two hours from our house...So yeah... I'll still try to update as much as possible.. ^_^



“Woah… that game’s really… SUGOI!!! ” Aika quickly covered her friend’s mouth. It’s already dark right now and they were on their way back to their own homes. Kusumi removed her friend’s hand from her mouth. “Fine… I’ll not shout anymore. So, I guess, we need to revert back to our own selves this night right?”

“Not THIS night… tomorrow night.” Aika corrected.

“Who cares? They won’t see it anymore. I will act as myself starting now!” Kusumi stuck out her tongue and ran towards their gate. “So, I’ll just see you tomorrow at school. I wonder what your sister will do when she found out that you already reverted to normal. She really stared at me earlier!”

“I’ll tell her the truth.” Aika replied casually.

“Owww, you’re spoiling the fun! Just tell me what will happen tomorrow, ok? Ja!”

“Ja!” Aika watched her friend get inside their house. Aika proceeded to walk home.
“It’s a really gruesome game. Much like ‘Resident Evil’. Wait… Where did I hear about Eri-Hime? Oh yes! That’s right! Nee-san and Hitomi-chan were talking about her last night. Wait… They must have played the game before! I’m going to ask them about it when I get home.”

…………
Hitomi and Rika fell on the sofa with a loud thud. They were really exhausted from the walking and running ‘exercise’ they did this afternoon. When they put down the receiver, they decided to search for their missing friend with no basic idea of where to begin their search. They went in Risa’s favourite computer shop at first, then at the amusement park and lastly, at the restaurant where they always wait for Rika. They decided to take a rest for a while and eat some snacks in there. As they wait for their orders, Hitomi tried to call Risa’s house. They were relieved when Risa’s mother said that she already went home. After finishing their meal, they went to Risa’s house to see her and also, to warn her. HItomi and Rika slumped on the sofa as soon as they got to Rika’s house.

“Did you notice something different from Risa?”

“Nope, why?” Hitomi looked at her friend. Rika was looking silently at the ceiling; her sweat was dripping from her head down to her chin and a couple of hair strands were sticking on her face. Hitomi unconsciously wiped Rika’s sweat with her own hands and tucked away the hairs behind Rika’s ear. Rika gazed back at her friend. Hitomi quickly looked away when their eyes met for a couple of seconds. Rika smiled.

“When Maki and you were alone together, do you usually have this kind of moment?” Hitomi could feel her ears already burning from embarrassment. She faced the opposite way so that Rika will not see her blushing.

“What are you talking about?! Maki’s always scaring me whenever were alone together.” Hitomi swore that she saw Rika’s evil glint on her eyes on her peripheral vision. She can also see Rika inching her way closer to her. A couple of seconds more and Rika pinned her down on the couch. Hitomi swallowed a lump forming in her throat.

“So, Yocchan, what scares you the most?” Rika grinned. Hitomi’s breathing became erratic. The redness of her cheeks intensifies as Rika’s face slowly moved closer to hers. “A snake, a ghost, a monster… or a vampire who will draw out blood on your neck?” Hitomi could feel Rika’s hot breath on her neck. She felt a searing pain and then followed by a wet sensation. Rika must have bitten her.

“So, what is it Yocchan?”

“I’m scared of al those things that you mentioned…”

“Yocchan?”

“Before ‘that’ happened of course.”

“Yocchan?”

“I’m not scared anymore because I need to be strong in order to protect you.”

“What are you talking about? I’m asking whether you noticed something different from Risa… Are you already dreaming?” Hitomi sat up straight. She noticed that Rika was on the opposite side of the couch, almost an arms-length away from her. She touched her neck and noticed that it’s not aching anymore.

“Aren’t you asking me just now about the thing that scares me the most?” Rika blinked many times before bursting out in laughter.

“My gosh… We just sat in less than five minutes and you’re already dreaming! Are you already in dreamland or are you just day DREAMING? I know that you’re tired and all but… HAHAHA!!!” Rika couldn’t continue what she wanted to say. It’s hard to talk and laugh at the same time. Hitomi on the other hand didn’t focus on what her friend was saying.

“Am I just thinking it… or I’m dreaming it? Damn hormones!”

………..
“Konban wa…” Aika said softly as she entered their house. She decided to return to her original self. Imitating her friend was fun… but it’s really hard for her part. She saw her sister and Hitomi sitting on the couch. Rika’s laughing marathon stopped when she saw her.

“Aika!” Rika looked at her intensely. Aika knew what her sister was thinking right now. She smiled.

“Don’t worry, I’m back to normal. We just fulfilled an agreement that’s why Kusumi and I switched personalities. It’s all over now.” The two nodded simultaneously as they learned the real reason on Aika’s behaviour. Aika went to her room to change her clothes. Rika on the other hand looked at Hitomi, again.

“By the way, you haven’t answered my question before about Risa.”

“I didn’t notice anything different… other than she’s being too silent than usual. Maybe she’s doing what your sister did… Maybe she switc…”

“WHAT HAPPENED WITH MY CABINET?!?” Hitomi was cut off by Aika’s sudden scream. Rika slapped her forehead softly with her right palm.

“I guess were caught.”

………..
“Why did you rummage my cabinet?!”

“Because we need to find answers on your behaviour.”

“Can’t you respect your little sister’s privacy? I’ll tell this to mom and dad when they come back.” Hitomi grinned at her made-up dialogue between the big sis, and the little sis. That’s the possible outcome if Aika’s still imitating Kusumi but it’s not the scene that’s unfolding before her eyes.

“You just have to return the items properly.”

“Gomen, we didn’t know what to do when your stuffed toys fell on us.”

“Did the two of you got hurt?” Aika asked worriedly. Rika shook her head. “These are the toys that Kusumi won over a grab-a-toy machine. I’ll return it to her tomorrow.” Aika took out a large paper bag and put the toys properly inside. Rika and Hitomi helped her pack Kusumi’s things.

“It’s finished! Well then, I think I’ve been away from our home for too long now. I’ll go home now.” Hitomi declared.

…………
The next morning, Hitomi tried to observe Risa in school. She noticed that Risa was acting a bit different. She’s always in a trance. Hitomi waved her hands in front of Risa’s face for the nth time this day.

“Hey! Did you catch what I’ve just said?”

“Hai…”

“So… what did I say then?” Hitomi asked. She liked the bratty, noisy Risa than this silent and mysterious one.

“I forgot…”

………….
“Hey, let’s go in your favourite hang-out place… The Karaoke Pub!!!” Rika yelled cheerily. Risa looked at them blankly.

“I’m sorry but I have to do something at home.” Rika and Hitomi remembered what happened last Saturday; the day that Risa didn’t go home and the start of her acting this strange. They decided to walk her home just to make sure that she’s not going anywhere. Risa just nodded and led the way to her home. They waved goodbye at her when they reached the Niigaki residence and walked away when they saw Risa close the door of their house.

“She’s strange… I wonder what happened to her this weekend.” Hitomi thought out loud. An idea came across Rika’s head.

“Hey! Why won’t you sleep again in our house and then, let’s discuss her behaviour!”

“We have a class tomorrow…” Hitomi corrected. They still have 4 days to stay in their school within this week.

“Ok… a dinner then?”

…………….
“You prepared this? It’s really tasty.” Hitomi gobbled on a piece of ref cake that Aika made.

“I learned that from our cooking class. I just used graham crackers, all-purpose cream, and then some slices of peach and mango.”

“Ishiguro-sensei?” Rika asked. They were both going on the same school. Rika is a sophomore high school student while Aika is a junior student in the middle school department so technically, her former mentors must be her sister’s teachers right now.

“Hai! But she would like to be called Aya-sensei instead of Ishiguro-sensei… she said it sounds cute.”

“That’s so her!” Rika took a bite again at their dessert. Hitomi took another slice from the Tupperware and put it on her plate. Aika looked at them seriously. There was something bugging her mind and she need some answers quickly.

“Nee-san… who is Eri-Hime?” Hitomi almost choked on her food while Rika spit out some water that she’s drinking due to the shock. The both looked at the equivalently surprised Aika.

“Wh… what do you mean by that?” Rika asked nervously.

“Well, I heard the two of you mentioned her last Saturday night. I was just curious so...” The two let out a sigh of relief. Next time, they will make sure that no one’s around when they will talk about these matters.

“Well, she’s the wife of a certain almost-non-existent daimyo in the 16th century. Why do you ask?” Hitomi asked after gulping some water.

“Does she really kill and drink virginal blood to maintain her beauty?”

“Y… yeah… She does. Is this your topic in your History class?’ Rika asked her sister worriedly. Topics like these must not be taught in school that’s why it’s not included in History books; that’s why Ieyasu didn’t want his historians to write about her. Knowing a little thing about Eri is a very dangerous thing.

“It’s like this. A cousin of Aibon gave her a gift and we played it. The title of the game is Maiden’s Curse and Eri’s involve in there.

“WHAT!?!?! Maiden’s Curse?!?” The two looked at each other fearfully. They destroyed her a month ago. Maybe this was what Maki and Miki wanted to tell them. Hitomi breathe in deeply.

“From whom did your friend’s cousin acquire it?” Rika asked anxiously.

“Aibon said that her cousin bought it in a game store. Kusumi read it in a magazine last Wednesday. It’s one of the most anticipated newly released games in Japan this week.”

“Did… you… play it?” Hitomi questioned.

“Yeah… Aibon only has one computer. The three of us took turns in playing our main character. Luckily, we’re still alive.” Aika took a bite of her cake. Rika tried to dissect what her sister had just said.

“Wait, you mean to tell me that… the three of you played Maiden’s Curse… using one character?” Aika nodded. The two were dumbfounded. They weren’t expecting a situation like this. If their character was killed… the three of them will be killed at the same time? Is that it? Rika feared for her sister’s safety.

“Please, don’t play that game again! Tell your friends that it’s dangerous!”

“Why it’s dangerous? It’s really a….” Aika hasn’t finished her sentence when they heard some static sounds coming from the television. The three went to the living room as fast as they can and saw the previously off T.V was now turned on. It’s a little bit fuzzy at first but then, a figure in a chair can be seen in the middle. Hitomi got the remote and tried to change the channel but it didn’t work. All channels were showing the scary scene.

“Nee-san… I’m scared. What’s happening?” Aika hugged her sister tightly. The scene became clear and they were astounded by the figure sitting on the chair. It was Risa.

“Risa!!!” Hitomi shouted. Risa on the other hand looked at them, as if she really heard Hitomi’s shout. Her head moved back suddenly, her tears were rolling down her cheeks.

“Tasukete…” The three heard clearly what Risa weakly said through the maximum volume of the speaker. Rika and Aika noticed that some of her hairs were ‘floating’ which looks like an invisible hand was holding it back. Risa raised her right hand in the air and put it behind her head. The three saw how that arm was twisted and bent like a small twig. Aika can’t look at it any further so she just hid behind her sister. She covered her ears for she can still hear the sounds of bones breaking and snapping.

“Stop it! Who are you?!” Hitomi screamed. She can see the person behind Risa who’s the one ‘dismantling’ her friend. It was the figure wearing a monk’s garment. “Rika, call Risa’s parents.” Rika nodded and grabbed the phone. She dialled Risa’s number and a couple of seconds more, it rang. They can also hear the ringing from the T.V. Risa’s mother answered.

“Konbanwa! It’s me Rika. Is Risa in her room? Please take look at her, she’s in danger!”

“Danger? She’s sleeping soundly upstairs. But if you say so, I’ll check her for you.”

“Thanks!” Rika pushed the end button. She was disturbed by what she heard. Risa was sleeping soundly in her room, the opposite of what they are seeing right now. She wanted to tell Hitomi that what they are seeing might be the future of what’s going to happen but, the look on Hitomi’s face says otherwise.

Hitomi saw and heard what the two probably didn’t know. The one who answered Rika was the figure. It imitated Mrs. Niigaki’s voice. The figure laughed at her when Rika turned off the phone.

“So, what are you going to do, Hitomi?” Hitomi felt her hairs stood up as she heard the ghastly, cold voice ever. The figure removed her hood and looked at Hitomi with fiery eyes. She then broke Risa’s neck and removed it with her bare hands. Blood gushed out rapidly from her neck like an angry geyser and spilled Risa’s precious blood everywhere. The two were stunned. Aika took a peek and quickly hid behind her sister again when she saw the decapitated body.

“I hope this serves as a warning to you… I WILL ALSO GET YOUR SOULS!!!” The T.V. monitor became fuzzy again; the scene vanishing from their eyes. Hitomi clicked the power button and the T.V. turned off.

“What’s that? I talked to Mrs. Ni…”

“She’s not the one you talked too. It was the damn figure in our dreams!”

“Please don’t curse, there’s a kid here.” Aika said in a third person point of view. She was having fun earlier, cooking and eating the cake she made but then, things turned different when she saw her sister’s friend being killed on T.V. Hitomi quickly went to Aika and held her shoulders tightly.

“Did the three of you manage to see the scene earlier in the game? Was there by any chance a decapitated character sitting on a chair?” Hitomi saw fear in Aika’s eyes. Aika tried to remember the game that they played yesterday.

“All I can remember is that we’ve seen a girl in pink clothes sitting on the chamber hall with a katana struck on her chest.”

“That’s Sayumi’s character!” Hitomi was shocked that the former players were still on the game. It was Rika’s turn to ask her sister.

“Wait, have you seen other girls? Have you reached the shrine in the back of the palace?”

“Hmmm, we haven’t reached that far. But we saw the shrine. There’s a torture chamber where two girls were hanging from the ceiling and a girl who looks like a contortionist with her position, was sitting on a bed. That’s all. So you DID play Maiden’s Curse before!”

“Yes, and we regret playing it.” Hitomi replied. Since Aika was already involved, they must tell her everything that they know.

……………
Hitomi and Rika explained what happened a month before; the real reason why they’ve became best friends, the reason why Aika must warn her friends of the impeding danger ahead. Hitomi also mentioned about what they’ve seen in the T.V.

“That old hag said that it’s just a warning to us. And she will get our souls too.”

“Hag?! Who’s the hag?” Rika asked. She just got back from the kitchen to get some water for her sister.

“The figure in our dreams, she removed her hood and I clearly saw her face. I can’t bear to look at her fiery eyes. She’s scary…”

“Was she really scary? Like that Eri with decaying flesh, black eyes, swollen face… what else…” Rika murmured. Aika looked at her with a confused look.

“Eri? But Eri’s a beautiful girl! There’s a hidden pain behind her eyes. And should I say, that’s not the kind of sadness that one feels when a husband cheats on his wife.” Aika stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

“And where did you see her?”

“In the picture; above the throne chamber where I’ve seen that girl with a katana in her chest.” Aika answered her sister’s question.

“But it wasn’t there before…” The two simultaneously said. Hitomi glanced at the wall clock. It’s almost 7 in the evening. If ‘that’ didn’t happen, she might probably be on her way back to their house. She can’t leave these two alone now that the woman said that she’s after them too.

“I’ll sleep here today. I’ll just call mom.” The phone rang suddenly even before Hitomi touched it. She looked worriedly at the two. Aika hid behind her sister again, afraid of the thought that the figure was the one who’s calling them. Hitomi took a deep breath before taking the receiver to her ears.

“Moshi-moshi?”

“Konban wa! Rika-chan? Is Aika there?” The voice sounded cheery. Hitomi relaxed a little bit and looked over at Aika.

“I’m not Rika, I’m Hitomi her friend. May I know who this is?”

“Hitomi?... OHHH!!! The one she always beats!!! Hi there! I’m Kago Ai, Aika’s classmate!” Rika watched as Hitomi changed from her relaxed mood to a pissed mood.

“Aika… Ai.” Hitomi said, trying not to sound too angry and pointed to the phone. Hitomi was known as the cool girl but only few people can piss her. The number 1 on the list is Maki, followed by Rika and now… her little sister Aika. She will just have to wait until Aika finished her phone call before breaking her bones… again. Aika took the phone from Hitomi while the other walked towards her best friend.

“What did she say? You looked like you could tear up Aibon if you could only see her.”

“So Aibon is her nickname then? That bratty kid… She’s acting like Ris…” Hitomi’s temper lowered as she remembered how her friend was killed brutally. Rika noticed the sudden change of temper.

“You’re having a mood swing?” Rika was about to laugh when she heard the sudden outburst of her sister. They both run towards Aika and tried to listen intently on the conversation.

“What?!? You were killed in the shrine? Who killed you?”

“The hooded figure…”

“How did you get killed?”

“Ahhmm, I don’t quite remember. It happened too fast.”

“Ask her the full details!” Rika whispered to her sister. Aika nodded. She started bombarding her friend with a series of random question about the place, the killer, the garment, anything that might give them clues.

“You sure sound like a detective. Oh well, I’m going to call Kusumi now. I just wanted to tell you the news that our character was already dead. I’ll try to play…”

“NO!!! Whatever you do, don’t play that game anymore, alright? And make sure to sleep with your parents.” Aika said. Hitomi and her sister already told her what happened to their friends and she noticed that they were alone when the ‘killer’ attacked them. The thought of having other people around them might prolong their life… or something like that.

“You sounded bossy there. Are you sure that Kusumi and you reverted back to normal?”

“Yes… And I mean it… you see… there’s this article I’ve read about that game.” Aika glanced at the two and winked. “It’s said that gamers who played that game usually have nightmares after playing it. There’s an experiment that they’ve done in which those players were put to sleep beside their parents. And the nightmare result was negative. So I just want you to try if that experiment is true or not…”

“Alright, I get you… Don’t worry, I’ll TRY your experiment. So I’ll call Kusumi now, Ja!”

“Ja!” Aika clicked the end button and sighed. She looked at the two and understood by their looks that they wanted to know the details.

Here it is!!! The continuation of Rika's fangirling life...LOL



Chapter 4
Eri looked up at the face of the person next to her. She didn’t expect her to be there. It was 30 minutes too early for her. She bolted up from the floor and sat straight.

“Hai, daijobu.” Eri looked away. She can’t help but to remember the ‘crazy’ thing she did two nights ago. As she felt the other person sat beside her, she felt like her energy has been sucked away from her.

“Are you really feeling alright? You’re all sweaty and I remember that you were so energetic before.” Reina commented and thus, making Eri’s face blushed once more. “You play here often?” Reina decided to change the topic after seeing that she’s making the other girl embarrassed. Who knew that they will meet again after that night? When she came home her memories about her lessons in school and the practice in basketball have been replaced by that weird girl who bumped into her. It felt so odd to be attacked by a person who you just met for the first time and saying that she wanted to be friends with you yet, it felt so soothing, so warm to be desired by someone.

“Hai.” Eri replied shortly. Her mind went blank. She wanted her to be her friend but now that the opportunity’s right in front of her, she can’t even express herself. She was asking herself where the confident Eri disappeared to. Eri glanced at the girl beside her. She was wearing a dark blue jogging pants and a white shirt, a towel was placed over her shoulders and her wavy hair was carefully put up into a pony tail. “You play here too?” Eri bit her lower lip. It is such a stupid question to ask because she already knew the answer.

“Hai, I’m always practicing here.”

“Yeah, I know.” Eri whispered.

“What? Did you say anything?” Eri bit her lip. She didn’t want the other person to think that she was a stalker (although she acts like one). She shook her head vigorously. Reina looked at her, puzzled but decided to let it off. “Well, anyways I think we’re not properly introduced. My name’s Reina Tanaka.” Reina extended her right hand to Eri for a handshake.

“I bet you know that my name’s Eri Kamei.” Eri shyly took Reina’s hand and squeezed it. She immediately retrieved her hand and put it on top of her lap. She was shy originally but that particular night, her shyness disappeared and was able to present herself towards Reina. She needed that confidence back right now but it seems that it’s not yet going to happen.

“Yes, I remembered that. By the way, why are you laying on the floor? It’s rather dirty.”

“I was tired. I just finished playing.” Eri replied. She looked at her watch and saw that her time’s nearly up.

“Woah, you’re early… And I thought that I’m early today. What time did…” Reina stopped talking when she saw the other stood up. Eri bowed her head to Reina.

“I’m sorry, I should head home now before my aunt wakes up. Thank you for your time.”

“Hai, it’s nothing really… Uhmm, where’s your house?” Eri looked up. She wasn’t expecting her to ask that.

“Ehh?”

“Well, uhhm, you see…” Reina couldn’t look in Eri’s eyes. Deep inside she wanted to see her again so knowing her house would be a good idea. She thought hard for a plausible excuse. “You didn’t say that last time. You were all talking about your favorite stuffs and food.” Reina saw Eri’s uneasiness vanished and was replaced by a smile.

“It’s that two-storey house near the hill.” Eri pointed. “I’ll be here again tomorrow.”

“Hai, I’ll try to be here as early as possible. I want to play with you.”

“Sure. Bye!”
………………..
“SAYUUUUUUU!!!!” Eri screamed as she saw her friend enter her room. She ran towards her and hugged her tightly. “Guess what happened this morning!”

“Uhhh, you went out in your ‘space suit’?” Sayumi joked. It was far from a space suit. It looks a lot like those worn by geologists who were studying an active volcano. It was made by aunt Kaori for Eri wanted to go out in the morning too when she was little. It’s her protection against the harmful UV rays of the sun which can become a source of death to a person born with XP.

“Baka… It’s not that. Do you think I’ll be this happy if I went out with that?!”

“Ok, I give up. What happened?”

“I talked with her!!!!” Eri replied and squeezed her friend tighter.

“Itai~ Give me a break will you.” Eri loosened her grip on her friend. “Who’s her… HER?” Sayu eyed her friend. Eri was grinning like a mad person and nodding her head vigorously at the same time.

“She was early this morning that we met before I went home…. She’s so cool!!! She said she wanted to see me again and play with her. She even asked where I lived…. Ahhh, I can’t believe that this day will come!” Sayumi stood still. She didn’t know how to react. She’s happy for her friend and at the same time, she felt jealous that someone will take Eri’s precious time away from her.
“Ahh… Is that so? I’m happy for you.” Eri looked up at her friend without even releasing her.

“Your face says otherwise…. You’re jealous right?!” Eri chided.

“What if I am? You have any objections?” At this point Eri realized that they were in an awkward position. Her face was really close to Sayu; so close that she can feel the other person’s breathe on her face. “I already told you that you’re making me jealous.” Eri can feel her cheeks flushed from embarrassment. She remembered the day they accidentally kissed and her heart started beating fast. Is she feeling something for her friend? She asked herself but she’s still confused to answer.

TBC

…………………………
“Ahahaha… Deshou? Yeah, like her I don’t know what I’m doing when I get excited over something. I kinda become impulsive especially when it comes to…… So, uhh can I meet her?” Hitomi bit her lower lip. She wanted to laugh but she tried her best to remain composed. Her ‘cool’ boss becomes totally disoriented when it comes to her ‘addiction’.

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

“Ehh? Then why did you have her draft?” Rika inquired. Hitomi looked at the paper on top of Rika’s table.

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

“Sugoi! So you’re her official proof-reader… nice….” Rika walked right back to her chair and sat. She placed her hands on her chin, as if she was thinking deeply. She suddenly gazed back at Hitomi. “So, where’s your real business report?”

………………………..
“Really? Why didn’t you make a blog account too? You see, my best friend Ayumi was the one who introduced to this blogging stuff and she’s making fanfics too. Mostly TakaGaki of ‘Futari’ and Ohyass of Kanjani 8 and I might say that she’s really good. Well, she told me to try writing and I did. It’s fun to write; mine mostly based from experience or from something that I’ve read or watched. It’s also fun meeting other fangirls or fanboys, sharing ideas and news about our favorite group. I already met some of them in real life during anime or toy conventions. Ayumi’s the one posting for a meet-up at least once a year. Did you know, the first time that I commented outside my blog and my friend’s blog is on the fic blog of your friend?” Rika raised her eyebrow towards her companion. She then sipped a little from her red wine before cutting the steak that she was eating. Her companion took a while before answering her, seemingly enjoying every move that Rika made from her graceful cutting of the meat to refined way of chewing it.

“Well, now I know. You sure do talk a lot when it comes to these stuffs nee?” Rika wiped her lips and smiled. Hitomi quickly looked towards the steamed salmon that she’s eating. Rika’s smile was something, its warmth seeped into her skin.

“I guess you can compare me to a spring of water hidden inside a wooden box. It looks tranquil on the outside but there’s a lot of force inside pushing on its walls. Once it finds an opening, even a little one, it will only take a small time before that box will burst and all its water will come out. You’re the small hole, my addiction is the water, and my front is the box, so yeah. You triggered my fangirling side, that’s why the water came out, my addiction came out.” Rika added some hand gestures when she explained it to help the other visualize what she’s trying to explain.

“Nice analogy there. Me? I’m the trigger? If I’m the trigger when I’m just her friend, how much more when you meet her?” Hitomi commented. Once again, she caught a glimpse of Rika’s sweet smile.

“Exactly, I need to have some valium to calm me up.” Rika laughed at her own joke but was suddenly stopped when her phone rang.

“Excuse me for a while.” Rika said to Hitomi before placing the phone on her ears. Hitomi continued eating her dinner. “Hello? Yes, may I know who’s speaking?.... Miki? Who’s Miki? AHHHH!!! Fujimoto-san! How are you? How did find my number? Yes… it’s working well? I’m glad about that. I miss you guys… Ok, take care. Keep in touch always… Ja!” Rika clicked the end button.

“Friend of yours?” Hitomi asked. Rika put her phone back into her purse and looked at the ceiling.

“Ehh? Are we friends?” Rika asked herself. She wanted to say that their kind of relationship is higher than being an acquaintance but lower than being friends. She decided not to tell it because she, herself, is not sure.

“Kinda… I met her when I was assigned in the Hokkaido branch. She’s just saying that the plan that we made before is working really well and is meeting up the established goals for the year. I might say that she’s a good marketing manager, just like you. She can predict what will happen in the future if we do this certain idea and so on and so forth. We were a duo back there but sadly, after 3 months I had to go back to the main branch. The people there are accommodating and friendly. I really miss them.”

“Well, there’s the phone and the e-mail. There are many ways for communication if you’re missing someone.” Rika stared at the person in front of her because she noticed that there’s a hint of sadness in Hitomi’s voice. She was about to ask something related to that but decided not to pry into her co-worker’s life for now. After finishing a scrumptious meal at the restaurant, the two walked together towards the bus stop. HItomi wanted to take her home using her black Toyota Vios but Rika really wanted to use the public bus so she decided to walk her ‘boss’ to the bus stop while leaving her car in the car park of the restaurant.

“Don’t you have any cars? You’re still the CEO’s daughter.” Hitomi asked after arriving at the bus stop after almost 5 minutes of walking from the restaurant.

“I have back in our town. I want to experience new things while I’m staying in a different place that’s why even though I can have one here, I didn’t do it. In a bus, you can see different types of people. Experience determines knowledge, so if that’s the case then what can I learn if I’m always alone, inside my car right?” Rika explained.

“I’m guessing that you have attended a pragmatist school?” Hitomi asked. “The way you think and act… is not more about practical things and not the traditional type. You must be a liberal student right?”

“Hmmm, I guess you could say that. I’m just following my dad, he’s the liberal one so technically, I became liberal too.” Rika breathe in the cold night air and suddenly coughed out loud. Hitomi rushed to her side and checked up on her.

“Are you alright?”

“Hai, I’m fine. I just remembered something. I used to I like the scent of the night air but Miki told not to do it often.” Hitomi raised her brows.

“Ehh? Why would she tell you that?”

“It’s because, we’re not the only ones who’s using oxygen; the plants breathe in oxygen at night. I laughed at it at first but now, it all makes sense. We are not living alone, there are other living things like the plants and we need to share the things that they also need. In return, when the morning comes, they will return something good to us like releasing oxygen that we breathe. They may look like they’re doing nothing on the outside but if it weren’t for them, we can’t live on this earth because we can’t produce the needed oxygen by ourselves. It’s just a matter of give and take relationship.”

“That’s so her…”

“Ehh? What did you say?”

“ I said, you really have a way with analogies.” Hitomi replied. Rika faced her and grinned.

“I’m not the one who thought about that. She just mentioned it to me, and now I’m saying it to you.” Rika looked up at the starry sky as if she was trying to express what she wanted to say ever since they were eating inside the restaurant. After a momentary pause, she looked back again at the person beside her. “And besides, I feel like I can compare you to the plants that are doing things that people don’t usually see with their naked eyes.”

“Ehh?! Me? Why?” Hitomi pointed her finger towards herself. Even though her voice sounded like she was surprised, her face still has no emotions.

“Hmmm, how will I start it?” Rika trailed off, “well, at first, I thought that you are a stoic person. You barely get out of your office, I hardly see you hanging out with other people… But after talking with you right now, I realized that you’re different from what I perceive you to be. I feel like you’re just trying to suppress something, just like me.”

Hitomi looked at Rika as she said the last part. She was right; she was trying to suppress something that she showed before. The thing that made her who she is now. Rika noticed the change in Hitomi’s behavior. She might be right with her theory. She decided to continue even though the bus was approaching them.

“Most people are close minded and they usually misjudge us so in order not to get hurt by their criticisms we tend to put on a façade that will agree to their beliefs. But for us, it’s hard to hide who you really are, right?”

“I guess so.”

“What I’m trying to say is, feel free talk with me in my office about your fangirling stuffs . So even if it’s just an hour of lunch break or overtime with dinner like this one, you can at least show your other side.” Rika extended her hand and offered a hand shake. “Well, have a nice evening and take care!” Hitomi took her hand and smiled.

“Sure, you too. I hope you will have lots of experience in the bus.”

“Of course! But next time, you have to drive me in your car. And by the way, you look better when you smile.” Rika said before going into the bus and sitting near the window. As the bus moved on, Rika waved goodbye to her co-worker. Hitomi waved back. When the bus disappeared into her vision, she walked back in the direction of the restaurant to get her car.

“You have no idea what I’m trying to conceal.”

………………………..

Rika immediately opened her laptop as soon as she came back into her apartment. She checked whether ‘Kuwagata’ had already posted a new chapter; the chapter that Hitomi proof-read. Hitomi even asked her earlier if she can use the company’s computer to send the finished draft to her friend’s email so that she can post it within this day. Rika gladly let her use it for ‘personal’ purpose even though it’s contradicting the company’s rule. She can’t believe she did it just to satisfy her fangirling side. She saw that there’s a comment already. She started reading it again even though she just read the draft earlier. And she was glad she did because she learned that it’s different from the draft. After finishing it, she typed a comment and browsed the net for about an hour to read about the latest news and gossips in the music world. She returned to ‘Kuwagata’s’ site after it and read the other comment s that have been posted in there.

NiNi said:
Cool chapter!!! Space suit? That confirms it… Eri’s really an ALIEN!!!XD

Charmy said:

EHHH?!?! What did you do? You revised it? I met your friend and accidentally read your draft. … But, I might say it’s waaaaay better than the first one. LOL…. Reina taking the initiative to talk with her is really like her in real life. I remember the first time they were interviewed. When asked about Reina’s special ability, she said she can easily make friends easily with someone…It’s TanaKamei at its best! XD

Eri_ S.L.A.V.E said:
A new chapter and it’s starting to be interesting. It’s really a different story from the movie. KYAAAAHHH!!!! Forget Reina and make it KameShige instead! HARHARHAR!!! :D

Kuwagata said:

@NiNi- Hehehe, she landed here on earth with her aunt Iida. :D

@Charmy- Yes, she mentioned you to me earlier… She said that you’re really hyper that time..Well, I just wanted to revise it… After all, the one that you read was a draft. ^_^

@Eri_S.L.A.V.E- hmmm, it’s based on my mood… Up until now, I still don’t know whether it will end as TanaKamei or KameShige… Or maybe TanaShige…. We’ll see… :)

Murasaki_Aoi said:
It’s a love triangle!!!! Reina can’t forget Eri… Sayumi’s making her move on Eri… This is fun! Maybe Sayumi will always guard Eri to make sure that Reina will not make a move on her… Hahahaha.. just thinking out loud. LOL..XD

@Charmy- Kuwagata revised it? What’s the original one looked like? XD

Elevator_Party said:
I agree with Eri_S.L.A.V.E. It’s a totally different story. So she did talk with her… and then ran away… *damn sun*… If Reina was only a little bit earlier, then they may have talked about a lot of things.

@ Kuwagata- Ehhh??? Can we please take a look at your draft too? I’m curious. XD

Charmy:
Eri noticed that Reina was coming and she hides behind the bench. Reina started playing basketball but didn’t notice her until Eri started running away because the sun is almost up.

“Ehh… Should I answer it? Kuwagata did revise it. Maybe she has some other plans.” Rika deleted what she had typed just now and replaced it with something else.

Charmy:
@ Murasaki_Aoi-Hmmm, it’s really different… Just ask the author about it… HARHARHAR… XD

Rika pressed the post button and after a while turned off her laptop. A lot of things happened in that day and she felt so exhausted. She literally crept into her bed to sleep. Tomorrow, she will call her best friend and tell her about her officemate who’s also a fangirl like her.

…………………………..
Hitomi threw her keys on her table and quickly went inside the bathroom to relax a little bit before going to sleep. She put a milk bath on her bathtub and added some warm water; checked the temperature first before completely dipping into the tub. She closed her eyes and tried to relax. It has been ‘a weird’ day. Her boss is somewhat a weirdo… a weirdo like her. She can’t help but smile at the funny antics that her boss can do... for the sake of fangirling. Her smile vanished when her reminiscing of the day’s happenings brought her to the restaurant part.

“Miki…”

Hitomi rose up from her resting position on the tub. She looked at the small wall clock near the door. She noticed that half an hour had passed since she first entered the tub. She didn’t know whether she was just thinking so hard or she fall asleep right there. She simply shrugged off the thought and proceeded to rinse herself. Hitomi slid on her ‘cute’ orange pajama with tiger prints after drying herself and lay on her bed. She’s really tired; physically and mentally and she need to have enough strength for she will go to Tokyo to check some supplies needed by their company. She will go first to their company for the list of products before proceeding to Tokyo. It will be a long and bumpy ride so she really NEED to sleep right now; even though her memories were preventing her from doing so.

Yeah!!! This is 'my' version of the possible ending of the movie... Have you guessed who the real killer is??? This chapter will give you some hints...( or the answer?XD)
My next updatewill be on my day off this friday... so yeah... I'll still try to post at least twice a week though I only have 1 day off... XD



“Okairinasai!” Rika’s sister ran towards the visitor as soon as she stepped inside their house. “Hey, you’re here again!!!” After buying a new game, Rika invited Hitomi to sleep over in their house to try the game they bought. After what happened to them, they made sure that they will only play games that are famous and won’t dare to try those titles which they heard for the first time. Another thing is; her little sister was bugging her ever since she introduced Hitomi to her. There’s something in Hitomi that makes her sister enjoy her presence… They sure are sisters.

“Hey there Aika! We bought a new game! Let’s play change the loser!” Hitomi brought out the CD case of NBA Live 2007 and Aika quickly set up the game equipment. Another thing why Rika invited Hitomi to stay was that their parents were watching over their grandmother who has been operated in the gall bladder. They need to stay there for a couple of days.

“Call me when you’re done. I’ll just take a shower.” Rika said to the two busybodies. Since there were 3 gamers in all, it will be unfair if it’s two vs. one. Her little sister thought of a way to enjoy those ‘versus’ type of game modes. When they heard it, they immediately agreed upon the ‘change-the-loser’ basis.

“Hehehe… I’ll beat you with my Steve Nash and Amare Stoudamire tandem!” Hitomi exclaimed.

“That’s so 10 years ago! Boston Celtic’s the hot team today! You’ll be no match with Pierce, Allen and Garnett!” Aika answered back. She pushed the switch on the Playstation 2, and grabbed her controller. Hitomi did the same while opening some snacks that they bought in the ‘konbini’.

The game started uneventfully. Rika emerged from the bathroom and went to their living room to take a quick look at the two. She smiled. Those two were really funny. They both seemed preoccupied with the game. Rika saw the scores and went to her room. She need to dress quickly for her best friend was already losing.

………….
“I told you! You’ll be no match against my team!”

“Huh… You’re just lucky that I’m not in the mood to play. If I were, I’ll easily outscore you…. Why are you looking at me like that?” Hitomi asked the person in front of her, smiling sardonically at her.

“Why won’t you just tell the truth that my little sister’s better than you when it comes to basketball?”

“It’s just a matter of choice of teams to be used.”

“You used ‘Western All-Stars 2005’ last time against my Dallas Mavericks. But I still won.” Hitomi blinked and look back and forth towards the two sisters who were clearly teaming up against her. She rolled her eyes when they started laughing at her.

“I’m going to sleep for a while… Just call me when someone has been defeated.” Hitomi stood up and went towards the sofa to lie down.

……………
“Yoh! Genki desu ka?”

“Hai… genki desu…”

“Are you sure? I know you’re somewhat pissed because a little girl’s always beating you in your favourite games.”

“No I’m not…”

“Yocchan, I’ve been your best friend for many years now… I know that because you’re feeling the same when I always beat you in Marvel Vs. Capcom.” Hitomi glared at the person standing in front of her.

“Are you here to make me feel better or to make it worst? You’re not helping.” Maki laughed. Hitomi tried to stop her grin from escaping her lips. She can’t hide anything from Maki. Maki knew her more than she knew herself.

“Actually I’m here to help you.” Maki’s smile vanished and was replaced by a serious look. “It’s not yet finished.”

“Yeah I know… I’m going to beat Aika for sure within this night!”

“I’m not pertaining to that. I’m saying that… The game’s not yet finished… Be careful. Protect Rika. She’s after the two of you…”

“Matte! We’ve already killed her right? Don’t go away!” Hitomi tried to ran after her friend but a figure suddenly appeared in front of her and tried to suffocate her by gripping her neck. Hitomi looked at the hooded figure in front of her.

“No way…”

………….
“Arrrgh!!!”

“Ehh?!? You’re noisy, Yoshizawa-san! You purposely did that to make me lose to my sister right?” Rika was leading the game with a point. The ball was in Aika’s possession with less than four seconds left. She was about to shoot the ball when Hitomi suddenly screamed, thus loosing her concentration and missing the shot. Though Rika should be happy because she won the game, she’s bothered by Hitomi’s scared expression.

“A nightmare? But you were just sleeping for the last 20 minutes… What was your dream about?” Rika stood up and went towards her best friend. Hitomi looked at her and smiled.”

“Yes… I dreamt that Aika was beating me in every game that we’re playing. It’s nothing much. Just a scream of frustration.” Hitomi lied.

“Ehh? Is that a nightmare or a reality?” Aika grinned. Hitomi shook her head and quickly caught Rika’s little sister, hugging her tightly.

“I’ll hug you until you can’t breathe!”

“Nee-san!!! Tasukete!!! She’s breaking my precious bones!!!”

“You deserve that… You know, ever since you’ve been hanging out with Kusumi you’ve changed a lot. I like your stoic, non-egoistic attitude before.” Rika laughed and left the two alone.

“NEE-SAN!!!!”

“HARHARHAR!!!! You’re mine!!!” That’s the last thing Rika heard before closing the door of her room.

………….
“You seem pretty bothered.” Hitomi whispered on Rika’s ear. Rika stirred on her bed and turned around to face her friend.

“I’m just worried… about you. You lied about your nightmare right? Tell me the truth.” Hitomi can see Rika’s determined eyes though the faint lighting coming from the moon. She didn’t want to worry her friend but it seemed that… Maki and Rika can easily read her thoughts.

“Hai… gomen. I just don’t want to worry you.”

“You know, you’re making me worried even more when you’re not telling the truth… Now what’s bothering you?”

“I… I … where do I start?” Hitomi mumbled to herself. Aika moved below her side of the bed. The three of them were sleeping in Rika’s room. Aika grabbed a futon earlier and put it beside her sister’s bed. Rika shared her bed with Hitomi.
“Maki visited me in my dream… She said that the game’s not finished. And then, she vanished and Eri-Hime attacked me.” Hitomi whispered softly, trying not to wake up Aika. She looked at Rika’s blank expression.

“She must have been shocked by my dream.”

“Ahhh… So your best friend was the one who visited you… Mine’s Miki.” It was Hitomi’s turn to be surprised. Rika smiled. She knew what Hitomi was thinking. “I dreamt about it last night. That’s the third reason why I invited you over here. I want to tell it to you but it seemed that Maki already told you. That figure attacked and tried to suffocate me.”

“So… what are we going to do?”

“I have no idea.”

……………
Hitomi woke up the next day when a beam of light was hurting her eyes. Luckily for her, she didn’t encounter any scary dreams aside from the one she told Rika but she’s unlucky not to get enough sleep. There’s something bothering her, and she has no idea about it.

“Wake up sleepy head… It’s almost 10 in the morning.” Hitomi opened one eye and saw Rika tying the curtains to let some rays of light inside her room.

“Thhn mminiites mooohhh…”

“What?!” Rika went beside the bed and removed Hitomi’s covers. “Just get up and eat your breakfast.” Rika grabbed her friend’s foot and tickled it. Hitomi squirmed a little but after a short period of time, she was used to it. Rika grabbed the other foot and pulled Hitomi out of her bed. Rika saw that her friend was not faking her being sleepy. She hastily tried to protect her friend’s head from knocking onto the ground. She landed on top of Hitomi.

“Itaii… do you really have to do that?” Hitomi said after hurting her butt. She tried to push aside her friend but Rika’s face seemed stuck on her neck. “Move…. You’re heavy.” Hitomi’s face turned red when she felt Rika’s hot breath on her neck.

“Hmmm… You smell good. Is that the perfume we bought last week?” Rika looked at Hitomi’s eyes which made the other even redder. She felt like she would burst from embarrassment when the door opened suddenly and Aika’s head peeped in.

“Ohay… What are you doing?” Aika moved closer to them. Rika smiled at her sister and looked back again at Hitomi.

“I’m just waking her up… Smell her. This is the perfume that we bought last week.” Hitomi’s heart started beating very fast. It felt like the temperature in the room rose when Rika shoved Aika’s face into the left side of her neck, while Rika continued smelling her from the right side.

“You’re right nee-san… It smells sweet… Can you buy one for me?”

“Alright, if you give me your money. It only costs 300 yen.”

“Yeah… go on… just talk on my neck… while we’re on this AWKWARD position!” Hitomi pushed the two sisters aside and stood up quickly. She wiped away the sweat forming on her forehead and tried to calm herself to quickly vanish her blushing.

“Hey… I’m FULLY awake now… so let’s all eat breakfast.” Rika grinned and went ahead of them. Aika jumped on Hitomi’s back.

“Carry me!!!”

“Do you want me to break your bones again?”

“Aika… you should lessen your contacts with Kusumi. You’re acting weirdly just like her.” Aika just put out her tongues at Rika. The other did the same. Hitomi shook her head and supported Aika on her back.

“Hold on tight.”

…………….
“Gochisousama!” The three said after eating their meal. They were tidying up the dining table when the door bell rang.

“I’ll get it!” Rika wiped her hands on a towel before going out of the kitchen. She opened the door and a girl with a long, black, silky hair smiled at her.

“Ohayou gozaimasu, Rika-chan. Is Aika in there?” Rika swore she blinked many times at her sister’s friend. The girl seemed worried when Rika didn’t answer her and just stood there like a statue. “Ano sa, I’ll just come back if she’s still asleep.” The girl bowed and turned back to leave. Rika stirred and called the person back.

“Kusumi? Gomen… I… I… was just… a little surprised at your sudden visit. Come in.” Rika steeped aside and opened the door wide for the other to enter. Kusumi bowed again and smiled before entering their house.

“Am I dreaming? It’s as if they switched personalities.”

“Ohayou!!!! You’re early..” Aika hugged her friend tightly. The other just smiled.

“Actually, I just arrived on the right time. You’re the one who’s being ‘late’ right now?” Kusumi eyed her friend from head to toe. Aika looked at herself and grinned.

“Gomen! I’ll change my clothes right now. Please sit down while waiting for me.” Aika ran towards her room. Hitomi emerged from the kitchen and smiled at the visitor.

“Hey there! You two will go somewhere?” Hitomi put down a glass of orange juice on the table. Kusumi took a sip before answering Hitomi.

“Hai, we’ll go shopping then we’ll play at our friend’s house.” Kusumi replied. Rika sat beside her and looked straight into her eyes. Hitomi pulled her friend away when she saw that Kusumi’s feeling awkward at what Rika was doing. Aika came out of her room just in time.

“Let’s go!!!” Aika pulled her friend and went out of the house. “I’ll come back late!”

“Iterashaii!” Hitomi waved back at the two. She faced Rika when Kusumi closed the door. “Is it just me or those two switched personalities?”

“Beats me… That’s why I’m staring at Kusumi.” Rika answered. “So, what are we going to do now?” Rika grinned evilly.

………………
“You sure are a great actress.”

“You know, it’s really hard to imitate you… Can we stop this? I’m sure they weren’t spying on us.”

“Kusumi, you made a bargain and we lost. We have to do it even though Jun Jun and Lin Lin were not around.” Aika just smiled and patted her friend’s head. “Don’t worry, they will go back in China tomorrow. You can stop preten…”

“What?!? It thought that they’ll stay here for 2 months?” Kusumi asked rather stunned by the news. A month ago, two transfer students came to Mizushima Gakuen. Though they had a hard time talking in Japanese, they immediately became close because they were also gamers like them.

“I thought so too… But that’s life. We need to buy some gifts for them.”

“Speaking of gifts,” Kusumi paused and scanned for her phone. She scrolled her phone for something before putting it back inside her bag. “Aibon mailed me. She said she has a new game that her cousin gave her as a gift. She wanted to play it with us after our shopping spree.”

……………
“Yocchan… move faster…”

“I’m moving… I’m MOVING!!!”

“Push it further… I know that there’s a lot of space inside...”

“It’s to tight… I can’t go on.”

“Push it harder…”

“I’m pushing! If you’ll just complain there, why won’t you help me push it inside?”

“Fine… move aside.” Rika helped Hitomi push the large bear stuffed toy inside Aika’s small cabinet. They decided to investigate why Aika was acting weird so they infiltrated her room. When they opened her cabinet, Aika’s stuffed toys fell on them.

“Why is she hiding these things on her small cabinet? It’s really hard to put it in… Your sister really became weird.” Hitomi pushed the toy with all her might. Rika closed the door swiftly as soon as the toy got inside the cabinet.

“That’s close! Now, my sister will have no idea that we’ve infiltrated her room.” Rika grinned before pushing her friend out of the door. The two of them sat on the sofa. The atmosphere suddenly turned serious. “I’m bothered by what Miki said. And that figure… I’m 100 % sure that it’s not Eri.” Hitomi closed her eyes and tried to remember the face of the figure in her dreams. She didn’t see it clearly but Rika’s right. The figure was somehow different from the figure in the game. The hood was pointed rather than rounded and it’s wearing a monk’s garment. Hitomi’s eyes opened. She gazed nervously at Rika.

“That figure… she’s wearing a monk’s garment… So it’s not Eri who attacked me! It was the same one that we’ve seen when we were inside the shrine in the game!” Rika tried to recall her dream and the night they played in the computer room. Her eyes grew wide when she realized the similarities between the two events.

…………..
“Aibon! We’re here!!!” Kusumi screamed. They just finished their two-hour shopping spree. Aika smiled at their friend who was currently opening the gate for them.

“I don’t know why you have to scream when I’m already in front of you.” Aibon retorted. She opened their gate wide enough for the two to enter.

“Gomen, you know that we have to switch our personalities for five days right? She was just happy that her misery will end tomorrow.”

“Ahh… after Jun-Jun and Lin-Lin goes back to China… Congrats!” Aibon said sarcastically but Kusumi didn’t mind. She went directly to the living room and was staring at the monitor of Ai’s Apple notebook.

“Woah!!! I’ve read this game in an article last Wednesday! They said that ‘Maiden’s Curse’ is a game to die for… I can’t wait to play it!”

………..
“So, what is this perceptive reality?” Kaori asked. The other two smiled at Risa. They remembered it clearly, the night Risa said to them the meaning of that term.

”I’ve read it in an article before. It said that the more time you spent playing a game, the more you will think that your reality’s becoming a fantasy.”

“Kindly elaborate your answer.”

“Fine!” Risa cleared her throat before continuing. “I’ll explain it in a more practical term… You’ve swum in a beach or pool right?”

Kaori looked at her student sternly. Rika noticed it. “Don’t worry, she got a point.” The principal nodded and Risa continued.

“After swimming, you still feel like your still in the water right?” Kaori nodded again. “Well, that’s it. Basically after watching a REALLY scary movie, you will think that there are ghosts inside your room. So… we’ve played too much graphic game so we’re being paranoid right now that someone’s attacking us…”

“But someone’s really killing gamers like you! Even your vice-principal was killed because of investigating your group!”

“That… is called a coincidence… You know, instead of accusing us being the killers, why won’t you send some police to guard us… We might be the next in line to be killed.”

……………..
“Let’s call Risa. Maybe she dreamt about Maki or Miki too… Or even her best friend, Ai-chan.” Hitomi got the phone beside Rika and dialled the number. She waited for a couple of rings before someone answered the phone. Rika moved closer to Hitomi so she would hear their conversation.

“Moshi-moshi! Dare ni?”

“Konnichiwa! Mrs. Niigaki. It’s me Hitomi. Is your daughter there?”

“Hitomi? I’m sorry but she’s still not here. She didn’t go home last night.” Rika grabbed the phone on Hitomi.

“Konnichiwa! It’s me Rika… We asked her to go shopping with us last night but she said that she has to go home early…”

“Yes, I told her not to go anywhere after school but then, she called me and she will sleep over with a friend.” Rika looked at Hitomi and signalled her to move closer to the phone.

“Who’s she staying with now?”

“I have no idea… she didn’t tell me. If the two of you could contact her, kindly tell her that she needs to go home before 6. Her father and I will be going in a seminar and she has to look after the house.”

“Hai, we’ll tell her. Thank you!” Rika clicked the end button and dialled Risa’s cell number.

“The number you dialled is either off or out of coverage area. Please try again later”

“I can’t contact her. I’m pretty nervous about this… Look, my heart’s beating really fast.” Rika grabbed Hitomi’s right hand and put it on top of her chest. Hitomi’s blood rushed up immediately and a blush can be faintly seen on her face.

“H… hai… I gue… guess th..that..”

“Will you stop stammering? I can’t understand you.”

“I would if you didn’t do that in the first place!” Hitomi removed her hand and looked away. “I said, we need to find her quickly.” Rika’s lips formed a half smile.

“Ehh… that’s not what I’ve heard before?” Hitomi looked back at her with glaring eyes. Rika grinned widely now. “I kinda understood some of your words but I can’t understand what you wanted to say… gets?”