#naru's chatting corner
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"AYAKA – SIDE STORIES 02" (Part 02/04)
"IZAKAYA "KAPPA" PROSPERITY STORY"
TRANSLATION: NARU-KUN
* List of Chapters
"I'm sorry. Please come quickly."
Said a man. Pretty tall looking and somewhat philosophical. His age ranges from his twenties to his thirties. He wears an apron over his pants and clean shirt.
"If you don't think it's bad, don't call me."
The answer was from the other man, Jingi. Sticking both thumbs into the left and right pockets of his pants, he looked at the aproned man with a nonchalant face.
"Didn't I tell you on the phone? The mansion is going to Ichinoshima for a family wedding, so we don't have enough people."
"That's why I'm your assistant."
"That's because you're the most reliable."
"Not at all."
The aproned man's response made his eyebrow twitch. Although his expression was still negative, it seems that it was a good answer that tickled the heart of this labor denialist.
"Above all, you were the easiest to persuade. If they tell you, "I won't let you drink on the account again", you will definitely come, right?"
"Persuasion, huh? The general public calls it a threat, mind you."
Jingi clenched his fists and shook his body.
Seeing that, the man in the apron gave a small laugh.
"If you don't want to be called that, stop drinking on the bill from now on."
"Then please make the drink free every time. Then there will be no bills."
"Do you want to destroy the store, idiot?"
The man in the apron shook his head with a wry smile at the unlikely proposition. Then suddenly a boy was caught in the corner of his vision. It was Yukito Yanagi.
"Uh..."
Noticing the aproned man's gaze, Yukito touched the post next to him as if he was calling for help. It is a special post where Kurama Haruaki accepts applications from the Ninoshima Islanders. Oddly enough, Yukito was brought here for his mission, right near the place where he met two of Kurama's disciples the other day.
"Jingi, who is that kid?"
Looking at Yukito, the man in the apron asked.
"You've talked to him before. He's Yukito Yanagi."
"Oh, Yanagi-sensei."
The man in the apron nodded two or three times in response to his answer. Apparently, to some degree, he had heard Yukito's information through Jingi.
"I am Azuki Mitarai, the owner of the Izakaya "Usagi" in the back."
The man in the apron, Mitarai, jerked his thumb behind him. What is there is a nice two-story wooden building, although it is not large. On the sign on the second floor, the word "Usagi" is written in large letters.
"Nice to meet you, Yukito-kun."
"Hello. I'm Yukito Yanagi."
Yukito waved back as he rolled his eyes. Aside from Jingi and Momoko, who he sees every day, he still feels awkward when he meets someone for the first time. It cannot be avoided because it is the result of living a life that avoids socialization.
"Ah, that's right, Azuki-chan. He will be working with you today."
"Ah!"
Yukito's eyes widened in surprise at his words. It's an expression like "I haven't heard of that" that he wanted to model.
"I'll save myself with more manpower, but... Yukito-kun, is alright?"
"No, I..."
The next moment, when Yukito was about to reply to Mitarai's confirmation…
"Why don't you go there and have a chat with your teacher, my beloved disciple?"
Grabbing the disciple by the neck, the master pulled him without saying yes or no. Yukito finally managed to untie the devotion arm from him when he was some distance away from "Usagi" and Mitarai.
"What is this? What happened to the new training?"
Yukito frowned and walked over to him.
"This is training."
Jingi spoke without any sign of remorse.
"Please stop joking around. No matter how you look at it, it's a part-time worker at an Izakaya. It's completely irrelevant, right?"
"Hey, who said that you are training to connect your pulse? This will train your communication skills!"
"This, my communication skills?"
"That's right. You've lived avoiding people because you're afraid that your powers will get out of control, right? That's why, when you talk to people, you're afraid. Your eyes water. Your voice shakes. So, what do you do when your classmates talk to you in high school? Don't miss out on making friends."
"Oh...!"
Yukito, who was leaning forward to denounce his righteousness, leaned back slightly.
Definitely, without a doubt, the words of dedication are a fallacy. He intends to involve Yukito in order to reduce his own work, even a little.
Even Yukito is fully aware of that. But...
"Will I improve my communication skills through this "training"? If that's the case, a fun high school life surrounded by friends is your thing."
Just like the finishing blow, Jingi whispered into Yukito's ear. The cloudy smile, the sweet words that make people happy and the whispers of the devil.
"That's cowardly... That way of saying it."
Yukito didn't want to give up. However, the words no will no longer come out.
"I'm going to tell Azuki-chan that you're ready to work too."
"Ah..."
Yukito's voice stopped him as he realized something.
"What?"
"Actually, I'm a high school student yet. Is it okay to work part-time?"
"Don't worry. Ichinoshima's mainland atmosphere aside, other islands don't care about such details."
"But..."
"I get it. Well, let's say you're here to help out at a friend's house, not a part-time job. Then, as a token of gratitude, I'll get paid for it and that'll solve the problem."
Jingi moved away from Yukito as he waved his hand. He is sure that he plans to go to Mitarai again to tell him that Yukito will also be working.
Looking at that back, Yukito said:
"How often do such quips come to you so easily?"
He muttered that with a half-astonished, half-impressed face.
Like the exterior, the interior of the Izakaya "Usagi" was very simple. It consists of four long tables that seat between six and eight people, and seating at the counter that seats about seven people.
"Then, it's a job I'll be in charge of."
Mitarai in an apron opened his mouth. At the end of his line of sight, he saw the figures of Jingi and Yukito, who are also wearing aprons. They were having a pre-opening meeting in the kitchen, across the counter.
"My duty is to help cook and drink. Yukito-kun, I will ask you to attend to the customers."
"Eh?"
Jingi slightly raised his hand while yawning.
"Hahaha!"
Yukito straightened his back... no, he stiffened and answered.
"You're very nervous. He's funny."
Jingi happily patted Yukito's tense back. Usually, at times like this, the disciple shakes off the hand of the teacher upset with him.
"...I'm nervous. It's my first time serving customers, so I wonder if I can do it right."
It's the first part-time job of his life and it doesn't seem to be a problem in the hospitality industry. It seemed that his face was turning pale.
"Silly. No one is waiting for you."
"That's right!"
Yukito's face became visibly hurt by the words Jingi uttered. Perhaps it was strange for Yukito to keep changing his expression like that.
"It's your first time, so it's not going to work out anyway. You make a lot of mistakes and you get really embarrassed."
"Does that mean failing and being embarrassed is also training?"
Yukito asked anxiously. Despite his low level of socialization experience, he tried to understand the true meaning of his words. He believed sanely.
But...
"No, I just want to see you. It seems interesting to see you nervous."
"This person is a devil."
Yukito was horrified by his response as he laughed.
Reality and Sagawa Jingi are generally not good.
"It's almost time to open. Jingi, break it up into small appetizer bowls of potato salad."
"What I hate the most is that kind of detailed work."
Responding to the merchant's instructions, Jingi went to the shelf to grab a small bowl, even as he grumbled. At the same time, Mitarai approached Yukito.
"Don't worry, Yukito-kun. When the time comes, Jingi will follow up."
"Jingi-san is a follower?"
Yukito's eyes were half suspicious. Since there was an exchange before, it seems that the trust is buried rather than in the ground.
"The guy who comes to the store as a customer is the worst kind of person who doesn't pay the bill for his drinking habit. But as a staff member who works with him, there is no one more trustworthy than him."
After saying that with a smile, Mitarai tapped Yukito on the shoulder.
"Then please bring the noren. The shop is open."
"Oh, yes."
Yukito left the kitchen and picked up the noren placed near the restaurant's entrance.
However, he didn't go out to the store as he was and silently looked back over his shoulder. He could see the kitchen over the counter. Next to Mitarai, who was working with a straight face, Jingi was about to yawn.
"Reliable, huh."
Yukito shook his head as if to say that it was impossible and left the store.
And when the night approached Ninoshima, opened "Usagi".
As soon as he opened the shop, customers came for the May Rain ceremony. There are already two groups at the table and three seats at the counter. Izakaya "Usagi" seems to be quite popular, even if you subtract the fact that there aren't many stores on the island.
"W-Welcome!"
Yukito greeted the new group of elders with an awkward yet smiling face. He has come into contact with various groups so far. It's actually easier to have a conversation with a customer than it is to exchange words with someone you meet for the first time in your daily life.
(I think I'll try to work as a waiter when I start high school.), Yukito thought.
Yukito's tension eased as his thought flickered.
But...
"Ah! There's a cute girl I haven't seen before! Yashiki-chan, are you free today?"
"Uh, well, it's a family wedding. So instead..."
"Look, this kid! He's the one staying with Momoko-chan."
"Ah, so you are Yanagi-sensei's son who returned from the mainland!"
"I am indebted to Yanagi-sensei in many ways!"
"Well, that's correct. So, the order is..."
"At your age, Yanagi-sensei was a sweet boy!"
"That's right! Young Inou always had a pale face when he was influenced! I can't believe he's the mayor now!"
"Um... the order..."
Yukito was there with a worried face along with the elders who recalled their memories. To be able to get into this quick conversation, that's exactly what is missing in his training right now.
"Don't be silly, order fast and contribute to sales! This is not the front porch next door!"
A voice that sounds like a person interrupting a sports game came flying in from the kitchen. The source is Jingi with a mischievous smile on his face.
"Haha, what's up? Are you doing the dishes today to pay the bills?"
"Azuki-chan, you should use him as much as possible!"
The old return a great mockery to the truth. They then turned to Yukito again.
"I'm sorry I kept you waiting. So, can I place an order?"
"Yes."
Yukito filled out the handwritten sheets with the names of the sake and the dishes that were finally ordered.
(I wonder if he helped me.), Yukito thought.
Yukito looked towards the kitchen as he took orders. The person who could have helped him was laughing open-mouthed with the customers sitting at the counter. It seems that Jingi also frequents this shop frequently, so if he sees a regular customer, he can always say hello like this.
(By chance? But...), Yukito thought.
Still, that didn't change the fact that he wanted to do it. However, since there was a high probability that he would get involved in a problematic way if he said it directly, Yukito decided to thank him in his heart.
"Here's the order. Two draft beers, one highball, one oolong highball, one edamame, one sashimi of the day, one bowl of yakitori sauce, one salt, one thick omelet, and one or more specialty salads."
About an hour had passed since the business opened, and Yukito and the Izakaya lounge staff were already following the board. They do not hesitate to take customer orders and communicate the content to the two people in the kitchen.
"Ok."
Mitarai nodded in response to Yukito, and immediately called the person in charge of drinks, "Jingi", who was about to start making alcoholic drinks.
"Help me cook. I'll make the yakitori, so make the sashimi, salad, and tamagoyaki."
"Huh? Do I somehow have more stuff than you?"
Despite the dissatisfied voice, Mitarai brilliantly ignored him. He then called Yukito over the counter from the kitchen.
"I'd like to order a drink from you. Please bring the green soybeans as well."
"I'll do Jingi-san's job!"
A kitchen that cannot be said to be big, if it hadn't been for such a place, Yukito would have inadvertently withdrawn. Of course, he was happy to be entrusted with a new job.
However, this is the first part-time job for Yukito. It cannot be avoided that anxiety prevails over happiness.
"It's okay because the menu isn't that difficult. The recipe is written in the notebook on the back shelf. It's something like a manual I wrote when I moved into the mansion."
"Yes."
As he answered, Yukito headed towards the shelf at the back of the kitchen pointed out by Mitarai. The target notebook was in the drawer, which was mainly used to store tableware.
"So, I wonder if I can..."
Yukito wondered with a stiff expression. So...
"Take it easy, easy."
At the cutting board, Jingi smiled as she lightly sliced through the colorful vegetables. He looks like he's making a special salad himself right now.
"Customers here don't mind if they get drunk. They don't know the taste of sake anyway."
"I can hear you!"
Laughing protests rang out from the audience in response to the open and honest comments.
Seeing such a light-hearted exchange, Yukito laughed as they called out to him saying "Hahaha...". He made him feel a little better.
(Let's try for now.), Yukito thought.
Yukito made up his mind and began to move.
The first thing Yukito started was a beer that required the least amount of processing.
Pouring beer from a beer mug into a pre-chilled mug. Simple as that.
However, even if it is simple when you write it, there are many things that do not turn out as expected when you try it. And apparently, pouring beer, for Yukito was one of those.
"I ended up with nothing but bubbles..."
Looking at the mug, which clearly had too much white area, Yukito's face darkened.
He was aiming for the golden ratio of 3 for bubbles and 7 for liquid, which he saw in movies and dramas, but ended up with something with the opposite ratio.
"That's strange... I followed the manual..."
Yukito looked at the notebook. There are instructions and illustrations on how to pour beer. Whether it was made by Mitarai or added by the mansion is unknown, but it is a cute round design.
"Ah. Was the angle supposed to be more?"
Yukito found the words "The angle at which the cup is tilted is the point" taped to the side of the illustration. Then, using the experiences of the predecessors as inspiration, he tried again.
"Ok, nice feeling."
A beer with a beautiful contrast between white and gold was born. Yukito satisfactorily lifted his mouth and poured a second glass of beer.
"Next is Oolong High."
Right next to the beer page, there was an entry for shochu high, so Yukito happened to work at oolong high.
He puts some ice in a chilled glass and adds an appropriate amount of shochu. From the attached illustration, it seems like the trick is to give it a slight stir once in there to make it delicious. Then he adds the oolong tea and mix it up so the whole thing feels familiar and complete.
(Maybe this is the right one.), Yukito thought.
Having finished preparing the three drinks that had already been ordered, Yukito's heart was beginning to relax a bit. But...
"Eh? Bubbles..."
He realized it when he took out the glass of whiskey. The foam of the first beer burst and the balance that seemed to be the golden ratio was lost.
"Uh, um... what should I do in this situation?"
Yukito flipped through the pages of the notebook quickly. However, while there are tips and tricks on how to create a drink menu, there's no way to fill in the gaps.
Also, by doing so, the foam area of not only the first beer but also the second beer became suspect.
"Sorry! Do you have the beer yet?"
As if to add another punch, a demanding voice rose from the audience.
(I have to do something... I have to do something soon... Quick, quick, quick...), Yukito thought.
Yukito desperately tried to find a solution. However, the more he hurried, the duller and heavier his thought became. It's a vicious circle to the point of being splendid.
"What the hell are you doing alone?"
"Cold?!"
Suddenly, a cold and stinging sensation hit the back of his neck. Then, his reduced field of vision suddenly widened and he noticed that there was a familiar person next to him.
"J-Jingi-san?"
"Don't serve beer while looking like it's the end of the world. I told you take it easy, take it easy."
With a fearless smile, Jingi tossed rock ice into the sink. It seems that this has alienated Yukito from his own world.
"Are you okay with cooking?"
"Ok, it was nothing, I was too efficient and I have free time."
While joking, Jingi looked at the area where Yukito was working. After a while, he made a guessing face with "Hmm.".
"Prepare the edamame for now. Then refill the beer."
"So, this foamy beer is..."
"I'll take care of that. Look, the guests are waiting. Hurry up."
"Yes."
Yukito nodded, backed by the momentum of his dedication. The boy's face was much brighter than when he was alone and desperate.
Yukito ran to the refrigerator and took out a container containing edamame. The already boiled yellow-green pods were then transferred to a bamboo strainer for individual servings.
"Edamame is fine. After that, beer..."
Yukito muttered as he moved his hand away.
Jingi, who was looking at him sideways, said with a small smile, "Didn't you learn the word carefree in school?" But he's not just looking at the boy at work, his hand is in constant motion.
He poured ice into a glass, add whiskey and mix with soda. He inserted a mixer to finish, but the number of times he mixed is extremely small. This is to prevent carbonic acid from escaping.
"Eh..."
Yukito was involuntarily fascinated by the flowing tricks.
"Don't be blown away, get it to the customer quickly. You'll run out of bubbles again."
Was much. He placed the finished highball on the worktable. The sound made Yukito come to his senses. He had two freshly refilled beers in his hands and was playing refreshing music.
"I'm coming!"
Yukito ran towards the audience.
After that, going back and forth to the kitchen several times, he was finally able to offer all the drink menus.
"All drinks are gone."
When Yukito returned to the kitchen, the food was placed on the work table that had been handling alcohol until just now. A colorful salad and white sashimi that makes you feel fresh and elastic. They both look very delicious.
"I can cook. Please take that."
The tamagoyaki, the aroma of dashi soup rising along with the steam, was placed on a new square flat plate, and Jingi looked to Yukito.
"Oh, yes."
Yukito took the plate of food and spoke to him in a low voice.
"Thanks for that earlier. It was helpful."
He was embarrassed, so he tended to look away a bit instead of looking at him squarely. However, there was no reaction from Jingi.
"Jingi-san?"
Thinking that he hadn't heard, Yukito looks at Jingi again. So...
"Glup, glup, glup...!"
"Hey..."
Yukito widened his eyes and was surprised at what happened. That was because the sage in front of him was crouching on the spot and holding a mug of beer.
"You're crazy, Jingi-san...! You're at work...!"
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Without Words II - Our Orbiting Paths, Chapter 1
Summary: In their third life, Kunzite has finally won the heart of Zoisite’s civilian reincarnation, Kozakura Izou. However, as their lives become progressively more intertwined, certain challenges begin to crop up… Between the stresses of work, adjusting to modern expectations, and old familiar faces flashing from the shadows, can Kunzite maintain a meaningful relationship with his partner successfully?
Rating: T+
Characters Featured in Fic: Kunzite, Zoisite, Nephrite, Jadeite, Naru, Umino
Chapter Summary: It's been a few months of dating now, and Kunzite thinks they're ready to take it to the next step.
AO3 Link Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27826732/chapters/68145631#workskin
“Oh, you should’ve seen it, Kunihiro-sama,” the voice was saying over the phone. “Absolutely atrocious, I had never seen anything like it!”
“Hmn,” was all Kunzite said, albeit with a bit of a smile. He didn’t usually have much opinion on the matters of Izou’s latest gossip, but he was happy to hear Izou talk about anything at all. He took another bite of his dinner - plain white rice and grilled salmon. “And then?”
“Oh, I took myself right out of that business,” Izou continued, and Kunzite could just imagine his curls frazzedly waving in exasperation.
“It sounds like you might be out-growing that coffee shop,” was Kunzite’s observation.
Izou huffed over the phone. “Entirely possible. The staff is completely different now. Honestly, Kunihiro-sama, these new girls, sometimes their attitude is just appal- ow! ”
Kunzite quickly pushed some loose grains of rice past his lips. “Mn. Izou? Are you alright?”
There was a little hiss, and then a whine.
“Yes, I’m fine,” Izou answered. “Just a prick, that’s all.” The words came out mumbly as Kunzite could hear him suck on his finger. “Shoot, that smarts!”
Kunzite shook his head fondly. “Be careful,” he chided as he began to clean up the remnants of his dinner. He had about another five minutes of his break left. “Perhaps we shouldn’t chat if you need to concentrate...”
“Mn, oh no!” Izou insisted. The sound of the phone being adjusted to his ear cackled over the receiver. “At any rate, what time are you finishing tonight, Kunihiro-sama?”
“Late,” Kunzite answered. He glanced at the clock. “About midnight, I think.”
“Oh.” Izou sounded disappointed. “It’s been so long…”
It had perhaps only been a week since they'd last seen each other in person, but to both it had felt like an eternity. Between Kunzite’s long and odd working hours at the precinct and Izou’s equally erratic shifts at the coffee shop, it was difficult to set a real date time consistently, and every window of opportunity was never wasted. Although they chatted every night (and occasionally stumbled to work from either other’s homes), it seemed that their craving for the other’s physical presence was only growing exponentially by the day.
“I know,” Kunzite said kindly. He missed Izou too.
Izou seemed to gather up some strength. “Were you able to eat? You’ve mentioned before it’s tricky to get a meal in sometimes…”
Kunzite threw the plastic container out into the garbage under the sink.
“I managed to grab something. Although I must be hanging up soon, Izou…”
“Oh, okay,” Izou said in a rush. “Well, um, maybe I could drop by tomorrow, before my shift? I start late in the afternoon…”
Kunzite smiled. “That’d be lovely. Whatever works for you.”
“Okay.” Izou paused as though to say something pressing, but Kunzite chalked it up to their usual anxieties of never wanting to hang up. “Take care,” he finally said.
Kunzite tilted his head warmly.
“You as well. Chat soon.”
After hanging up the phone, Kunzite finished tidying up the break room and returned to his desk. In one corner stood the small rosebush that Izou had managed to resurrect. It was Kunzite’s pride and joy in the office, a perfect reminder in lieu of their photo from the Dark Kingdom. As he settled himself amongst his papers and computers, he thought briefly of how lucky he was. It was so surreal to think that this was where they - he and Izou - were now.
In the past few months, Izou’s memories of his third life had rapidly solidified, and it had been fascinating to Kunzite to learn everything about Kozakura Izou. His parents - a concept that Kunzite was still struggling to come to terms with - lived in the countryside, on a small, modest farm. His mother was an artist, and his father was a photographer. Izou himself had moved to Tokyo at age fourteen to better his schooling and career opportunities. In between part time work and school, Izou loved to read, thrift, garden, and shop. His creativity energy would burst into little endeavours - sketches, doodles, collages - and was increasingly weaving into his sense of style and fashion. It wasn’t uncommon for Kunzite to hear a little yelp or hiss over the phone as he had earlier- followed by the endearing dismayed whine - from sewing accidents wherein Izou had stabbed himself at his fingertips. As Kunzite flipped through his briefing updates in his hands, he wondered which project Izou had been working on today, and if he would be seeing it soon.
“Saitou-san.”
Kunzite glanced up to see a younger officer leaning over the corner of his cubicle. He was holding two folders in one hand, while the other was scratching his head under his cap. Behind him, Kunzite caught a glimpse of the civilian as she left the precinct, her dark auburn hair swinging behind her.
“Yes, Kobayashi-san?”
“I just got another statement about the nondescript white van. That makes five so far.”
“No attacks?”
“None, just trailing.” Kobayashi scrunched up his nose. “It’s hard to get an idea though on where to begin. No identifiable markings, and none of the license plates line up. Still seems worth investigating.”
Kunzite’s eyes drifted to the other folder. “And the other case?”
“Mn? Oh. Just another sighting of the cargo truck with the black star. No attacks yet this week, but it’s definitely suspicious.” He looked at Kunzite sheepishly. “I guess you’ll probably want the more exciting one, huh?”
If it was one thing Kunzite knew very well, it was patterns. And he knew what would follow the cargo truck with the black star all too well.
“I’ll take the van,” he said curtly, taking the folder.
The younger officer grinned in excitement, holding the remaining case to his chest.
“Maybe this means I’ll get to meet a Sailor Senshi…!”
“I think you have much more pressing concerns than that,” Kunzite said crossly. He gestured to some of the boxes stacked up at the farthest wall of the precinct. “Why don’t you start setting those up instead.”
Flushing embarrassedly, Kobayashi straightened immediately.
“Yes sir!”
As the younger officer hurried off to set up the precinct’s newest surveillance testing program, Kunzite shook his head. Although he was the senior officer, occasionally Kunzite felt more like an unofficial mother hen than a leader. Quickly, he brushed the thought aside and returned to his paperwork with a sigh.
And when else had he felt like that before…?
---
It had been a long night. While his precinct also technically dealt with thefts, burglaries, and other emergencies, Kunzite found the public-facing aspect of his job far more draining. Although he usually could leave it to the younger officers, the fact remained that most of them still needed guidance and training, which Kunzite had to deliver. By the time he climbed his way up to the top floor of his low-rise apartment, Kunzite’s stomach was rumbling, and he was ready to hit the hay.
However, upon arriving at his door, Kunzite was greeted by a little surprise that woke him right up.
“Izou?”
The young man had been sitting by the door, shrouded in a thick winter jacket with a backpack to his side. Seeing Kunzite, he jumped to his feet. “Kunihiro-sama, welcome home!” It was the biggest grin Kunzite had seen all day.
Despite himself, Kunzite couldn’t help but reflect a slightly confused smile back. He gently laid a hand on the small of Izou’s back. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “Is everything alright?”
“Oh, yes,” Izou assured, lifting what looked like a large stack of lunch boxes wrapped in a spring green cloth. “I thought you could use something heartier so late after dinner time,” he said cheerfully. “It’s just some takeout, but…” His cheeks glowed faintly. “But...I couldn’t wait until tomorrow.”
As Kunzite inserted his key, he had to do his best to keep from growing into a ridiculous grin. Izou was just so sweet and thoughtful.
“You really shouldn’t have,” Kunzite finally said, as the bolt unlocked. Izou glanced up uncertainty.
“Was it too forward of me?” he asked.
Kunzite finally let the fondness of his smile show, and gently nudged Izou into the door.
“Not at all.” I’ve missed you too. “Please. Come in.”
Splitting into a grin, Izou slipped off his shoes and leapt inside. As he got settled and began to unpack the food, Kunzite’s smile faded when he realized how late it truly was. One in the morning, and while his area was safer than Izou’s neighbourhood, the city could still be a very dangerous beast at this hour.
“How long were you waiting for?” he asked as he slid out of his own shoes, watching Izou for any indication of polite refrain.
“Oh, not long,” Izou answered merrily, now plating the food into bowls. He gathered up the paper and plastic and swirled around to throw them into the garbage, not noticing Kunzite’s knitting brows.
“Izou.”
The boy paused for a moment to look up at Kunzite hesitantly. “About an hour,” he answered quickly. “But I knew you might be late so I brought a book, so it’s okay, really.” He then returned to cleaning up and setting the kettle for some tea.
Kunzite glanced down at the key that was still in his hand, and made up his mind. As Izou began undoing the tea tin, Kunzite gently but protectively began to wrap his arms around the younger man’s waist, bringing him close to his chest. Izou was clearly delighted by the closeness and looked over his shoulder to shyly smile at Kunzite.
“The city can be dangerous this late at night,” Kunzite murmured quietly into Izou’s soft hair. “You should be more careful…”
Izou was obviously touched by Kunzite’s concern, and brushed it off. “I’m fine, I can take care of myself,” he insisted. He placed one of his own hands on Kunzite’s forearm. “Don’t worry.”
Of course Kunzite couldn’t help but worry, he’d been worrying about Izou even before he had met him in this life.
“Maybe you should consider a different place to live,” Kunzite suggested. “Somewhere safer.”
Izou shrugged and began to swirl the tea leaves budding in the hot water. “Maybe once I have a little more money,” he agreed.
It took Kunzite a few moments to consider what his next words were going to be. Eventually, he pulled one arm away from Izou and placed the key, with purpose, onto the counter in Izou’s line of sight.
“I was thinking…” Kunzite mumbled softly, “that maybe you’d like to live with me.”
At first, Izou blinked at the piece of metal on the counter, not entirely sure if he was understanding, or had correctly caught what Kunzite had said. Unawares, Kunzite tightened his hug marginally, hoping that his suggestion wasn’t a step too far.
Slowly Izou turned his head around to look up at him. When Kunzite saw those big, bright and breathless eyes, he knew his fears were unfounded.
“Really?” Izou whispered, almost shyly. “You...think we’re ready for that?”
It was clear by Izou’s exhilarated whisper that he clearly was delighted to think they were, and Kunzite was definitely certain they were. Well, he was also certain because of how well he and Zoisite had lived together in the past… So, surely they were more than ready to move in together by now.
“Absolutely.”
It was clear Izou could hardly believe this turn of events, trying his best to hide the big grin Kunzite could tell was growing on his face. Finally, after rolling his bottom lip between his teeth, Izou beamed and nodded.
“Sure.”
It took nearly all of Kunzite’s willpower to not pick up Izou and swirl him around in his new home. Instead Kunzite simply broke into a smile again, followed by a short, relieved chuckle...Very quickly, the two of them were grinning and flushing together with excitement. Was this it? Were they really ready for this? It was as if both men were suppressing an armory of feeling that they were not yet ready to give words to, and giggling and laughing was the closest way they had to release the tension of mounting exhiliation that they were both trying to restrain.
“I’ll help you move in, the next time you’re free,” Kunzite said earnestly, seeing that he wasn’t alone in wanting to live together as soon as possible.
“I don’t have much stuff,” Izou replied, who couldn’t stop grinning behind his hands. “Although...I don’t have much money for my share of rent...”
“You don’t have to worry about any of that,” Kunzite reassured immediately. “I’ll take care of everything.”
Izou’s eyebrows stitched up together. “But...what about food?” He glanced around. “Utilities…”
“I’ll take care of everything,” Kunzite repeated again, firmly but gently. “I want to share my home with you. I want it to be our home. I’ll get everything ready.”
It was clear Izou couldn’t believe his luck. He was practically dancing into Kunzite’s arms when suddenly realization flickered across his face. Kunzite caught it instantly and his smile disappeared. “What is it?”
Izou didn’t say anything, but green eyes darted over to the bathroom. There was a moment of silence as both of them realized what Izou had just remembered... and Kunzite suddenly felt a bit awkward and unprepared.
“It’s okay,” he insisted, although he knew the memory of it wasn’t exactly pleasant. “Everything’s been removed, I promise.”
Hesitantly Izou glanced up at Kunzite, and it was clear how conflicted he felt about the situation.
“It’s empty,” Kunzite insisted again. “You can fill it with your things when you move in. Izou’s things.”
This seemed to make Izou feel a bit better, and the smile slowly resurfaced back up a bit. “Well it’s...not like I didn’t like the stuff ,” he mumbled a bit. “I mean, I did like that stuff and I still do like it but...it was just a bit weird seeing it all there ready for you, you know?”
“I understand.” Kunzite gently gave Izou a bit of squeeze.
“Did you really throw it all out though?” Izou asked. “It would’ve been a waste...I suppose I wouldn’t mind using it if you still have it.”
At that, Kunzite paused. He had gotten rid of it from the bathroom, but hadn’t actually thrown the items out…
Izou looked up curiously. “Kunihiro-sama?”
“Truthfully?” Kunzite asked.
“Truthfully,” Izou answered, but the smile on his face gave away that he was going to be okay with whatever Kunzite answered.
“Don’t look in the closet.”
Despite himself, Izou couldn’t help but giggle, and Kunzite’s shoulders released with relief. As Izou tried to hide his laughter behind his hand, Kunzite glanced up at the clock and saw how even later it was getting.
“Let’s eat.” He slowly undid his arms around Izou and lightly grazed Izou’s cheek as he pulled away. “I’ll undress and we’ll have supper.”
“Wait.” Izou took a step forward and placed his hand on Kunztie’s chest to stop him. There was a moment, and Izou’s eyes slowly trailed up from the bottom of Kunzite’s uniform, from its hem to his belt, to finally his eyes. “...Keep them on?”
Kunzite could tell that look anywhere and, hiding a smirk, he obliged. Gathering the food from the counter, the two of them made their way over to the couch to settle in for some cozy dinner. As Izou made himself comfortable nestling in Kunzite’s arms as they flicked the television on, Kunzite couldn't help but relish this humble but incredible moment between them.
Zoisite was finally home.
#anyo writes#without words 2#our orbiting paths#chapter 2#kunzoi#kunzite x zoisite#fanfiction#Civilian Life#Third Life
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Barakamon: Series Reflection
In retrospect, I’m glad I put off watching Barakamon as long as I did. When I first started watching it back in May, I was at the tail end of a run of shows with very similar premises, and I was getting kinda burnt out on the whole affair. No matter how much you might love something, be it a certain food, toy, or genre, you’re bound to get sick of it if it’s the only thing you consume. Besides, how could I accurately judge Barakamon’s place in the pantheon of shows about disaffected black-haired prodigies learning to loosen up and learn the value of life when I was watching it alongside fucking Sangatsu no Lion? There was no way I could give it a fair shake under those circumstances. Now that it’s been some time, I’m able to approach this show on its own merits at last. And thank god for that, because taken on its own terms, Barakamon is really damn delightful. If waiting three months was the price to pay to appreciate this show’s charms without qualification, it was absolutely frigging worth it.
What stands out the most about Barakamon is how effortlessly it’s able to put me in a good mood. In mostly jettisoning darker conflict, the show keeps up a constant rhythm of hilarious jokes and sweet bonding moments that wrap me in a comforting embrace I never want to leave. The characters are all hilarious and endearing in equal measure, with distinct personalities I never get tired of. Their chemistry together is infections and sweeps me up in their raucous camaraderie. Everything is so good-natured and charming, but it never forgets to be wild and chaotic and even a little destructive. It really does feel like living among a community as boisterous and supportive as the island people Handa shacks up with. I can feel myself strutting down the beach with Naru, catching crayfish with Miwa, geeking out over manga with Tama, getting into spats with Hiro, even making pleasant conversation with the sweet old ladies at the corner store. And the lively animation, crackling with personality and sharp timing, perfectly compliments the enthusiasm and recklessness of such an energetic life.
It’s in that space that Barakamon is able to capture your heart. Handa’s story of learning to slow down and re-adjust his expectations may be a tried-and-true formula, but done well, it still works like gangbusters. Watching his interactions with this community as he opens up and lets their influence in was wholesome from start to finish. I laughed, I cheered, I felt my heart swell three sizes on multiple occasions. In Barakamon’s best moments, the simple joy of watching this doofus find his footing and express his growing self-actualization through his art was enough to satisfy me effortlessly. And we certainly can’t forget about Naru, the delightful bundle of gremlin energy that perfectly compliments Handa’s snarky enthusiasm with sheer, unapologetic glee. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a child character so perfectly capture the precociousness, excitability, and innocent cruelty of kids that age. Her relationship with Handa is Barakamon’s soul, and it never failed to put a smile on my face.
Could this show be even stronger if it tried to dive even deeper into the characters’ emotional turmoil? Perhaps. But if all Barakamon wanted to be what a wholesome fish-out-of-water romp, then at least it succeeded as well as it did. Bottom line, this show was lovely, and I’m definitely gonna miss it now that it’s gone. And I give it a score of:
8/10
Good work again, Kinema Citrus. Now cancel the next two upcoming seasons of Shield Hero and I’ll consider our feud settled. Thank you for joining me on this ride! If you’ve enjoyed my analysis and want more of me, be sure to ask for an invite to my Discord where you can hang out and chat about the shows I’m watching with me and fellow anime fans! And I hope you stick around for the show that will take Barakamon’s place:
Welcome to the NHK
I’ve officially reached my second-choice list for my Summer of Suggestions event, less than two weeks before summer’s technically over. Good lord, that’s a lot of shows. See you next time for the start of a new adventure!
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Aro/Ace Harry Potter Fanworks Competition WINNERS Announcement
They’d wanted to use Hogwarts but with the inability to apparate onto the grounds, they thought Hogsmeade would be a more accessible meeting place. Even though she was absolutely a romantic at heart and loved creating safe and romantic atmospheres, Madam Puddifoot was aroace - and absolutely delighted when AroAceHogwarts asked several Hogsmeade business owners if they’d let them host an event there. The shopkeep was proud to be able to welcome her fellow aros and aces into her shop. So that’s how the normal pink theme of Madam Puddifoot’s tea shop had temporarily turned an interesting and fun mash of purple, green, and black.
Sock (better known as Hufflepuff Mod), Snafu (better known as Ravenclaw Mod), and Arti (better known as Professor of Charms) were happy to rest their wrists from all the re-decorating, though they couldn’t get off their feet just yet. The first of the audience was showing up. Arti kindly greeted folk as they showed up to the door, thanking them for being able to spare the time, and offering them their pick of the seating. With her wand tucked behind her ear, Snafu was working at a table in the corner of the shop, working out the electrical kinks that kept popping up due to all the magical interference. The three mods wanted those who couldn’t travel to be able to pop in via computer. They’d known it’d be a troublesome task, but so far, they’d been working on the optimism of good luck. For the moment, Sock wasn’t to be seen, but it could be assumed ey was back “stage” working with whatever was the source of that mysterious roaring that broke out every now and then.
Madam Puddifoot happily chatted up the early wyrms and brought out drinks in addition to the snacks and finger foods already awaiting the guests. As time ticked closer to the start of the event, more and more guests began trickling in and tables filling up. Finally, Snafu looked up with a smile as the computer cooperated and several more guests joined in on a video conference call, the closest seats in the house. She wandered up to the front, giving Arti the signal that it was about to start. Arti propped the door open - just a bit so that the noise wouldn’t bother the rest of the street too much but so that it would still signal they were happy to receive late guests, and hurried to the back with Snafu.
Sock greeted them both with a smile. “Time already?”
“Already? How about finally?” Snafu teased at the same time Arti responded with “everything’s ready!” The three grabbed their cue scrolls, smoothed out their robes, carefully wheeled the covered cart that Sock had been looking after, and took a peek out at the eager audience before hitting the stage.
“Not a bad turnout,” Snafu murmured. The crowd wasn’t giant, but it was more than the three had been expecting, which was very exciting - though a little nervewracking. The crowd looked happy as they chatted amongst themselves, catching up with folk they’d previously only known by screen name and meeting new friends. Most the crowd was proudly wearing at least one type of pride merch, many fully decked out in amazing outfits.
Madam Puddifoot dimmed the lights and the crowd’s murmuring slowly quieted.
“Ready?” Sock asked? Ey would give the opening speech, followed by Snafu announcing the winner of the fanart section, and ending with Arti announcing the winner of the fanfiction section. The two in question nodded, then all three slipped out from behind the makeshift curtains, gently pulling or pushing the cart along with them, surprised by a round of applause at their appearance. Under the cover on the cart, small roaring was drowned out by the clapping. Sock took up position at the microphone as Arti and Snafu stood slightly behind eir, on either side of the cart.
“Welcome and thank you all for showing up!” Sock paused for another round of applause and some cheering. “I’m Sock, though you probably know me as Hufflepuff Mod, and I help run AroAceHogwarts, along with my two co-mods back here: Snafu and Arti,” ey gestured to each of eir co-mods in kind while the audience clapped - and a few people even shouted out hellos. “We appreciate all the time many of you took for our little Aromantic, Asexual Creative Competition! So many of you submitted such fantastic art or wrote amazing stories for all of us to enjoy. Special thank you to all our contestants: @tonftyhw, @elusiveimp, @little-chikadee, @pheuthe, @captainoflifeandlemons, @shiro-naru, @bi-baudelaires, and @amortenteia! And so many of you showed up to vote for your favorites! In fact, I’m happy to admit that all of you did wonderful - absolutely everyone in both the art and fic category received a vote!” There was another small bout of clapping. “We’re very excited to get to conclude our first Creative Competition and get to announce our winners. Once we’ve announced a winner, that person should feel free to come up to the stage and accept their prize! You’re also welcome to give an acceptance speech, though you’re not obligated to. So, without further ado, please welcome Snafu for your artist winner!”
The audience clapped while Sock and Snafu switched positions. “Hello! Thank you for being with us this evening to celebrate the aroace community and its brilliant creatives. Though we only have one winner in each category of this competition, everyone who creates and everyone who admires those creations makes our communities (wixen and muggle) even more magical places to be. We appreciate every one of y’all! Now, without further ado, although we know that @tonftyhw won the category, I’m proud to announce that the piece of theirs that won is A Slightly Burned Dragon Enthusiast!” The crowd, including those calling in, burst into applause and enthusiastic cheering. When tonftyhw took the stage, Arti and Sock shook their hand, before a grinning Snafu shook their hand and handed them a paper certificate. “And we have another surprise for you,” Snafu said, gesturing towards the covered cart. The audience, as well as tonftyhw leaned forward in interest. As one, Arti and Sock pulled back one corner of the cover, revealing a housecat-sized Hungarian Horntail, which gave the mightiest roar it could when the cover was pulled back and jumped into the air. In its feet, it held a small scroll with the word “WINNER” on it.
by birdzgoboom
Snafu leaned in closer to tonftyhw to be heard over the crowd, who was now on their feet, scrambling for a closer look. “They’re a bit shy. We’ll keep ‘em up here for now so they don’t get skittish in the crowd. Don’t forget to come and collect yours before you go, though! If you can’t take care of one, we absolutely understand, but they’re mostly just magic, so they’re pretty low maintenance.”
When the excitement of the reveal had finally settled down and tonftyhw was back in their seat (after petting the Horntail a few times, of course), it was time for Arti to take the mic. “Hello, and thank you all for coming tonight. It is wonderful to see all our entrants into the Competition here and amazing to see all of you who came out to support them. Now, without further delay, it is my pleasure to announce the winner of the fanfic competition! Please congratulate the author of Seeking the Cr*zy - @pheuthe!” As enthusiastic as before, the crowd burst into applause and whooping as Liu, also known as pheuthe, made their way to the stage. Snafu and Sock shook their hand before a smiling Arti shook their hand and handed them their certificate. “And, of course,” ae gestured behind aerself, prompting Snafu and Sock to uncover the second Hungarian Horntail. This one jumped into the air, flapped their wings, and spit a small stream of fire into the air. The purple and green “WINNER” text stood out nicely in the brief stream of light.
by birdzgoboom
Once Liu had their own chance to pet the miniature dragon and everyone was back in their seats, Sock once again stepped up to the mic to finish things up.
“Again, we cannot express how grateful we are to you all for being willing to create, share your work, and just generally make sure this Competition ended up successful. And we hope everyone will join us in thanking the amazing spellcaster and charms master, by birdzgoboom, for helping to create these little prize critters! We have the rest of the night in Madam Puddifoot’s as well, so please feel free to stay for as long as you want and enjoy some good food! We’ll also be accepting people up one by one to see our little dragons up close. Thanks and enjoy!”
Please join us in congratulating the winners and thanking all our wonderful creatives for their hard work and fantastic creations!
#aroacehp#fanworks competition#housekeeping#fic recs#fanart#fanfiction friday#long post#the mod team#hufflepuff mod#ravenclaw mod#professor of charms#dragons#magical creatures#spells#aromantic#asexual#aro headcanons#ace headcanons#madam puddifoot#madam puddifoot's tea shop#aroace
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aiko bon “Profile Interview” Chapter 6 (3/3)
ーWhat songs did you contribute to the CD, aiko?
aiko: 3 songs: “Ano Ko e (For Her)”, “more&more”, and “AB-Gata no Futari (Us Two Type AB People)”. “Ano Ko e” ended up being one of the B-sides to “Rosie” later on. “more&more” is also a B-side on “Sakura no Toki”, but I sang it with a completely different sort of bossa nova vibe. Then there’s “AB-Gata no Futari”, which I haven’t included on anything yet. The key of that song is super duper high for me to sing, now. “Once a week I call him out of love~ Even though I’ve never said the words ‘I like you’ out loud~ I call him~” I used falsetto to sing that entire part.
ーYou were just fine singing in that key at the time, though?
aiko: No, it was still pretty high for me even then. (smiles wryly) But singing songs in a high key gave me so much status back then. All I did was write songs in super high keys because it made me so happy to hear people go, “Wow, that’s so high! Amazing!” For example, “Aitsu wo Mukaseru Houhou” starts off with me singing on the CD, but the old version actually started with me libbing some high notesーyou know, “Yeah yeah yeah~”, that sort of thing. It was super high-pitched. I tried to sing it again for real and was like, “Huh!?” (laughs) “AB-Gata no Futari” has this nice jazzy sound to it. It’s a song about how these two people whose blood types are both AB fall in love. It only takes them 3 hours to fall in love, but half a year to express their feelings to each other. I’d love to sing this song again.
ーHow did you arrange those 3 songs? Did you form a band for it?
aiko: They were all really simple, I sang accompanied only by a piano. Like, one of my friends from music school played the piano for me, and I sang.
ーAnd then after that was your very first indies release, “astral box”, which was your first solo work.
aiko: Yes, that’s right. We recorded it in this studio in Machida named Dutch Mama. It was called Dutch Mama because it was in Machida. Get it? Dutch Mama, Machida, Dutch Mama… I-I’m sorry, that was rude. (laughs) That mini-album had 5 songs on it, including “DO YOU THINK ABOUT ME?”, “Hikari no Sasu Ashimoto (Where the Light Hits Your Feet)”, and “HOW TO LOVE”, all of which have yet to make it onto any of my major label CDs. I’ve released the other two, “Power of Love” and “Kiss de Okoshite (Wake Me with a Kiss)”. The director, Mr. Chiba, said I absolutely just had to release “DO YOU THINK ABOUT ME?” right this moment. That said, he’s said that about a lot of songs by now. It’s like, “So Chiba, when is ‘this moment’ exactly?” (laughs)
ーBut since you were writing songs constantly after your talent agency president told you to, I’m guessing it wasn’t that much of a struggle to come up with songs when he asked you to make an album?
aiko: Uhhh, I think I had about 15 at that point. I was painfully slow at writing songs back then compared to the pace I go at now, so I think that was about how many I had in stock. Of those, we chose a few and then Shimayan (Shimada Masanori) recorded the arrangement digitally on a keyboard. I think I might’ve been a little bit nasty to him when I first met him. I mean, that was pretty much the first time I ever had anyone arrange my songs, and it really surprised me when he added all of these different sounds to songs I’d based around a piano. When he asked me what I thought about the arrangement, I didn’t give him very many positive replies. “How come this sounds Chinese?” I’d say. “I don’t get what that sound’s for there.” At the time, I pretty much hated everything about it.
ーWasn’t that the height of MIDI music, though?
aiko: Yeah, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the way it sounds. I was also sick and tired of it because everything under the sun had a MIDI arrangement back then, so I was like, “Wait, MY songs are all gonna have a MIDI arrangement too!?” I had a pretty strong reaction to it. But even though I thought I hated all things MIDI, when we worked on my 2nd indies release there were other times when I thought, “Wow, I had no idea it could sound like that… Cool!” My hate for MIDI arrangements totally vanished right then and there. I still feel like I caused Shimayan a lot of trouble because I just couldn’t accept it the first time. (laughs)
ーDid recording the vocals go smoothly?
aiko: I sang them all so seriously. We recorded 3 songs a day, or something like that. Now that I think about it, it’s pretty incredible that we were able to record so many! We went at a pace of 3 songs a day, choruses and all. I sang the same song over and over and OVER again because I didn’t know I didn’t have to, like, sing the song all the way through. I was so serious about all of themー”I sang a lot today and got it recorded.” (laughs) When I listen to it now, I can’t help but be bothered by the fact that I can hear the pitch wobble here and there, and that I’m not keeping the rhythm well. I’m able to keep a rhythm and sing on pitch now, but not I wonder if I’d be able to sing so animatedly now. It’s so complicated. I feel like I’m asking for too much, you know?
ーSo how was recording as a whole?
aiko: It was fun, but definitely exhausting. You see, I was commuting from Osaka. I still had my radio jobs in Osaka so I came and went in-between. Seeing a CD come together bit by bit made me so happy, though. You know how you get a sample of the cover and such before the CD is complete? I remember putting it in a color CD case. I put the back cover in the case and was like, “Wow, so that’s what it’s gonna look like!” That made me so happy. We did talk about that cover looking like it had blood all over it though. (smiles wryly) I also didn’t know anything about the ‘eye’ in ‘eye make-up’ at the time, so my eyebrows were bushy, I’d never worn mascara before, and I absolutely hated curling my eyelashes with an eyelash curler. ...Man am I being super harsh. (laughs)
ーYou the followed that up by releasing your 1st indies single “Hachimitsu (Honey)” roughly 5 months later, and then your 2nd indies mini-album “GIRLIE”.
aiko: Right. It all happened so fast after I released “astral box”. And I was really exhausted because I was still commuting from Osaka to Tokyo like always. Of the 5 songs on “GIRLIE”, I’ve released “Ijiwaru na Tenshi yo Sekai wo Warae! (Mean Angel, Laugh at the World!)” and “Rosie” after signing to a major label, as well as “Hachimitsu”. I still haven’t released the 2 songs “Inu ni Naru (I’ll Be a Dog)” and “Sasenaide (Don’t Make Me)” since going major, though. But man oh man, the cover for “GIRLIE”... just yikes. (laughs)
ーI don’t think it’s that bad.
aiko: I haaate it. For real, I do. It’s almost kinda funnyーlike, who is that even? My face is so chubby. (laughs) I made the pants I’m wearing in that picture myself; I cut my hair all by myself too. A friend came over to my house and gave me that bushy perm. We didn’t even use rods to curl my hair, we used pencils. That picture is just SO embarrassing…
ーDid you get the offer to debut under a major label with the movie theme song “Ashita (Tomorrow)” around the time you were working on “GIRLIE”?
aiko: I think so. We talked about it sometime in April, and then I debuted in July. I thought I would just be participating as the vocalist at first, though. I was really shocked to find out that I’d be releasing as a CD under the name ‘aiko’. For real, I was like, “...Wait, what!?” It wasn’t my songーwell, I wrote the lyrics myself, but they had a lot of requests. They said things like, “Kids are going to be listening to this” and “Don’t use difficult words, please”, which I whined about. That was the first time I’d ever listened to a composition and written lyrics for it too, since I tend to write songs starting with the lyrics first. Because of all that, I wasn’t really sure how to feel about it. In the end, I sort of just did it because the president of my talent agency said I didn’t have anything to lose by doing it. I didn’t care much either way. To be really honest, I didn’t have a clue. I honestly had no clue whether to OK it or not…
ーSounds like you were having a hard time making a decision. It wasn’t even a song you’d composed.
aiko: Yeah, exactly. And when I went to record it, there were people chit-chatting in English to each other, talking about the equipment, and I didn’t get their Tokyo sense of humor at all. It felt like I was in a foreign country. I slept in the corner of the studio with a knitted hat pulled all the way down past my nose. (laughs) They were very painstakingly detailed about choosing which take to use for like, the chorus, so I had to sing the same parts multiple times. It left me so beat that I almost had to hold onto the music stand to stand. Part of it was because I wasn’t used to being in the studio yet, I think, but that was also a pretty demanding recording.
ーBe honest, how did you feel when “Ashita” was released?
aiko: It didn’t really sink in. It didn’t feel like I’d ‘debuted’ at all. It didn’t even feel like it was ‘my’ song. I thought it was just going to be a one-shot thing. A little after I’d made my debut, people at [Pony] Canyon were telling me all the time that they honestly didn’t know who I was. (laughs) I was still living in Osaka, and the only information they had on me was this tiny A4-size flyer. Apparently they weren’t aware I existed even after I’d debuted. The Canyon people in Tokyo of all places were saying, “aiko? What’s that? Oh, she’s debuted? Who is she?”, which meant the locals definitely didn’t know who I was. We did a campaign to help with that, but even then we only went to Okayama and Matsuyama. I went with someone from Canyon since it didn’t cost me anything, did our campaign, ate some food. And then on the way home that person said, “I need to go to another campaign event. You think you can make it home on your own?” I said yes and took a plane home by myself. (laughs)
ーThat sounds like a pretty sad story.
aiko: But then FM OSAKA worked really hard and put “Ashita” on power rotation. There was also this guy over at FM Toyama named Kawakado. He was close to someone named Komorita who promoted my song a lot, so it was played heavily there too. It sold some copies thanks to those 2 stations. It sold maybe 20k or 30k copies in Osaka and Toyama, which got the Canyon people in Tokyo to go, “Hm? What’s this all about? Who’s this aiko girl?” And then it wasn’t a one-shot thing anymore. We started talking about signing a contract. I really feel like FM OSAKA and FM Toyama putting the song on power rotation was huge for me. FM OSAKA in particular really supported me.
ーWere you still the DJ for “Count Down Kansai Top 40” at FM OSAKA when you debuted?
aiko: I was. I even said “I made my debut!” while I was on air. (laughs) The time frame was changed to Saturdays late at night from 2 AM until 5 AMーa promotion! (laughs) The show had to be put on hold every now and then to check the broadcast equipment, but since I was generating some numbers, they decided to give me a live broadcast from 2 to 5 AM on Saturdays. I started getting more and more faxes and emails.
ーSince you’d just debuted at the time, right?
aiko: Right. The radio station was really supportive. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the radio station. That’s how much they all supported me. It felt like I had a bunch of moms and dadsーit still feels that way.
ーIt still feels like you have so many people supporting you, from the radio, to your fans, and all the various members of the staff, you mean?
aiko: Mm-hm. So many people have shown me so much support. I’m able to continue releasing CDs by… by selling a few copies here and there. I see that now.
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Event Report: FUDAN10KU LIVE 10th Anniversary Special ~Summer! Water! Live Band! A Music Festival Under the Blue Sky’s Light in Osaka~ 7.21.18
Having entered their 10th year of activities in September of 2017, danso (girls dressed as boys) idol group Fudanjuku have missed no chance celebrate the occasion, starting the year off with an outdoor concert at Hibiya’s Yaon concert hall followed by a three-part countrywide tour. This third leg of their concert series included something special-- a big outdoor concert supported by a live band and including… water?? With only the concert title to go off of, I and others had a lot of questions leading up to the actual performance, but with Fudanjuku as the headliners, we knew we were in for a good time.
On a broiling hot summer day a half hour north of Osaka, we trekked to the enormous Hattori Ryokuchi park, passing massive modern art fountains and huge patches of green until we reached the entrance to the open air concert hall.
Doors to the venue opened at noon even though the live itself was scheduled for 4pm. We arrived around 2pm in an effort to not fully liquify due to heat by the time the concert started. We were told that no re-entry was allowed and offered salty candy, a staple during Japanese summers, on the way in. The concert hall was surrounded by concrete walls on all sides which trapped heat and somehow made it even hotter within the venue than it was outside of it. As fans milled around chatting with each other, a massive screen hanging above the stage played Fudanjuku concert DVDs, first of their 2017 Nakano Sun Plaza concert and later of the 10th anniversary concert in Hibiya Yaon.
At the top of the seating area was a stretch of grass that included the goods table, a place to reserve CDs, a booth for participating in the chuusenkai (lottery raffle, using tickets you received from goods and CD purchases) and a tent spraying mist onto the several people who were camping out around it. On the opposite side of the venue from the entrance was a food truck serving various Fudanjuku-themed items like shaved ice in member colors and yakisoba named after one of their singles. We grabbed some snacks and settled in to wait.
Shortly after 3pm, The Hoopers took the stage as the opening act. Originally established as Fudanjuku’s “little brother” group, The Hoopers made their major debut on a different label than their predecessors and the two have only managed to collaborate a handful of times, so it was wonderful to be able to see them at the same event again! The members were wearing airy white blouses and started off their set with energetic songs “Go! Go! Dance ga Tomaranai” and “New World.” Next up was “Romeo,” performed by The Hoopers’ subunit, Four Roses. All members came back on stage to perform their newest single, “Jewel no Kodou ga Kikoeru ka?” and Fudanjuku fans were happy to join in with the song’s furicopy (copying the members’ arm movements.) The Hoopers thanked the audience for welcoming them so warmly, and generously plugged their concert the following day, also taking place in Osaka. (I’m pleased to report that several Fudanjuku fans bought day-of tickets and attended!)
There was a bit of a break for everyone to rehydrate, and then it was time for the main act. One by one, members of the live band took the stage… all of them, women in danso. It suited all of them so well I wouldn’t have been shocked if you told me that they always perform like that. As the opening riffs of the first song started, Fudanjuku took the stage dressed in red and white striped outfits like Osaka’s famous clown mascot, Kuidaore Taro. Fudanjuku are always wonderfully goofy and silly so these outfits were super cute, even if maybe not the most flattering.
The first few songs started off with a burst of energy, with “Taiyou Mitai na Kimi ga Suki” and Fudanjuku’s quintessential summer song “Muteki Natsu Yasumi.” We didn’t have to wait long to find out what the “water” aspect of the live would be, as four massive cannons attached to the stage began periodically blasting in time with the music, firing arcs of water high above the audience.
From where I was sitting, the sun passing through the mist in the air painted an incredible rainbow over the members from one end of the stage to the other. At the group’s outdoor concerts in Hibiya’s Yaon in both 2012 and 2017, fans made an enormous rainbow in the audience for the members, so getting to see a completely real rainbow over the group as they performed their first outdoor concert in Osaka made me super emotional! It really felt like a scene out of a movie. Former Fudanjuku member Kyan Chiaki (FKA Bukiya Momotaro) managed to snap some photos from where she was seated:
In addition to blasts of water from four cannons attached to the stage, members took turns running two at a time into the audience and spraying everyone with big water guns several times. Next up was towel-swinging seasonal song “Cocktail on the Beach” followed by upbeat “Ore no Sora,” “Kazamidori” and “This Is Love.”
There was a quick MC where one of the group’s newest members, Kuryu Masaki, was suspiciously absent. The others left the stage to prepare for the next song, and Masaki reappeared first in a flattering and handsome white and black outfit-- holding an electric violin. He lifted it to his chin and began playing the intro to “Moshimo Kore ga Koi Nara,” much to the audience’s delight. The other members joined him in the same cool outfits for the rest of the song, and continued into “Danso Revolution,” “Welcome to my Familia” and “Shunkan Tourai Future.”
After every few songs, the members would pause to rehydrate and encourage everyone to do the same, which prompted Fujimori Leo to initiate a venue-wide kanpai (cheers) among everyone’s water bottles, sports drinks, and the occasional alcohol. The setlist had a lot of similarities to what they’ve been using at other stops on their current tour, but between the water effects, members periodically running into the audience, and really creative visuals tailored specifically to each song being projected on the screen above the stage, it was a totally unique and immersive concert.
The guitarist switched out her electric for an acoustic for some relaxing versions of down-tempo “Hoshikuzu no Namida” and “Bokura no Arukumichi.” Around this time was another costume change, this time into cute and fun baseball uniform-style shirts in member colors with their names on the back. Energy ramped up again for “Daikoukai Boy,” “Eye of the Typhoon,” “Galileo ~Procyon wo Koete~,” and “Onaji Jidai ni Umareta Wakamonotachi.” The group’s most recent single, “Kimi Iroiro Utsuri,” suited the live band and summer energy especially well.
Water effects had also been in full effect during these few songs but I thought we’d already received the worst of it, until Seto Kouki was given control a high-powered water hose during the last song, “Arata naru Makuake no tame no Makuake ni yoru Kyoushikyoku ~Kimi ga Ireba Oretachi mo Egao Mugendai~.” As Fudanjuku fans may know, Kouki loves the ink-spraying Nintendo game series, Splatoon. Kouki really, really loves Splatoon. Kouki did not hold back as he used his acquired Splatoon skills and accuracy to thoroughly, completely drench several hundred audience members. Something about being soaked to the core by a member of one’s favorite group manning a firehouse makes it difficult to contain one’s laughter, and I found myself in hysterics as members did a last lap of the audience, taking GoPro selfies with soggy fans all the while.
I managed to find a dry corner of t-shirt to dry my glasses on before the encore, which included a cover of the permanent-hiatus female idol version of Fudanjuku, Nakano Fujoshi Sisters’ “tomorrow” and upbeat but bittersweet “Jaa, ne.” The members left the stage but were soon called back on for a double encore, inviting The Hoopers members to join them for another performance of the groups’ collaboration song made for their tour together last summer, “Kiratto Love.” After everyone left the stage, a final announcement on screen revealed that it wouldn’t be long before Fudanjuku’s next outdoor concert-- the final performance in the group’s 10th anniversary tours will be held at Hibiya Yaon on September 24th, with the setlist decided by fans!
Fans began streaming out of the venue, and in my sweaty, soggy state I felt immense relief I’d be able to head back to my hotel room and shower instead of boarding a bullet train as-is to head back to Tokyo. I’ve seen more Fudanjuku concerts than I can count at this point, but this one was easily in the top 5. It was absolutely one of their most creative performances, and really next-level fun for both fans and members alike. I’ve laughed through a lot of Fudanjuku concerts but never because I was being pelted with rocket-powered water. I’m looking forward to the DVD, but I sure have my fingers crossed that me looking like a drowned rat and beaming like an idiot doesn’t show up in the recording.
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Chapter 25 Halloween
It was a cold and rainy day at Hogwarts. Harry and Draco were in the great hall with other students. It was too cold and rainy to go outside. Madam Pomfrey was already busy handling a sudden outbreak of chicken and dragon pox. She didn't have time to deal with an outbreak of colds.
Harry and Draco were in the library chatting about their favorite Halloween traditions. They had seen the giant pumpkins in the great hall. They started talking about DCA and what they do there for Halloween. Soon everyone was meeting with their respective houses to head to the feast.
Harry and Draco both stood out in the crowd due to their pets. The feast was going well when Harry noticed Hermione was missing. "Where's Hermione?" Harry asked out of blatant curiosity as he propped his sword against the table. He didn't have to bring it with him he just felt safer having it with him. "Oh she's in the bathroom crying. She and Ron had a row and well Ron slapped her and said that everyone at Hogwarts hates her." A girl named Lavender Brown giving a death glare to Ron.
"I didn't say that!" Ron exclaimed indignantly. "Well the way you said 'get out of here and leave me and Harry alone about the pets!' had the same tone." Lavender retorted. Ron who looked angry got up after putting his knife and fork down left the great hall. It was shortly after this that Professor Quirel ran into the great hall turban askew and looking faint.
"TROLL! IN THE DUNGEONS!" Quirel yelled sending alarm through the entire school. "Just thought you outta know." Quirel said before fainting. Shadow started barking his hackles raised. Ren reared onto his hind legs and flared his wings as he let out several chuffs. Yuki was growling and Hedwig was hissing and spitting. Naru was circling the great hall in her true form with Kiara both were letting out low growls.
Alex shifted to a larger form picked Harry up and set him on his back. Cujo and Rino crowed closer to Draco both looking rather fierce. The teachers were now instructing the perfects to take their houses back to the common rooms were they would finish the feast. Dumbledore also told the Slytherin and Hufflepuff perfects to take their houses up to the unused towers were they'll find unused common room space.
As the students were being lead upstairs Harry had a sudden thought as he adjusted the strap on his sword. "Ron! Hermione! They don't know about the troll!" Harry exclaimed. "Let's go! Ren, Shadow continue leading the students with Naru and Kiaria! Yuki you're with me, Rino, and Cujio on damage control! Alex protect Harry!" Hedwig responded giving the pack orders. "Right!" came the unanimous word four new voices had joined the mental link one of those voices was Draco. Alex hoped over the crowd with Harry on his back surprising a lot of people. The pack and Draco began making sure no one got trampled.
Harry and Alex soon reached the corridor to moaning Mertle's bathroom. "Can you sense them Alex?" Harry asked his Ninetailed companion. "I sense them in the bathroom ahead. I also sense the troll approaching." Alex responded as he was about to rush towards the bathroom to get Hermione and Ron an awful stench filled the corridor. Alex covered his nose with his paw as the stench made his blonde fur stand on end. Harry cringed at the smell.
Suddenly a huge mountain troll lumbered into view dragging a huge club as it walked stupidly into the corridor. Alex and Harry shrunk back into the shadows trying not to make a sound. The troll's ears twitch then it lumbered into moaning Mertle's bathroom. "Let's go!" Harry exclaimed urging Alex to move. Alex nodded he knew that this was now a rescue mission. The fox leaped forward with Harry easily keeping his balance. An ear piercing scream rings out as Harry and Alex charge into the bathroom to see Ron and Hermione backed into a corner. Hermione had screamed sending the troll into a rage as it knocked the sinks off the wall.
Ron was standing between Hermione and the troll pointing his wand at the large creature trying to get the one spell he knows to work. "We have to distract it!" Harry yelled over the noise. "Leave that to me! Get Ron and Hermione outta here!" Alex said. Harry scrambled off Alex's back as the ninetailed fox launched itself at the troll sinking teeth and claws into It's shoulder and back. The troll began trying to shake Alex loose and hit him with his club. Harry ran across the bathroom and over to Ron and Hermione.
"We have to go now!" Harry said as the two stunned Gryffindors nod and rush outta the bathroom with Harry. As the three rush into the corridor they heard a sickening crack, a yelp, a thud and a roar. "Alex!" Harry yelled running back into the bathroom before Ron and Hermione could stop him. Harry beheld a seen of carange. Alex was laying on the floor his body twisted and bloody the troll was roaring and covered in blood as well.
Harry couldn't tell who's blood it was. The boy felt anger well up inside him. Before he knew what happened he was standing over the dead body of a troll that was burned and he had his sword drawn. The blade was smoking and steaming. Harry was panting as the anger slowly ebbs. He seathed the sword and ran over to Alex asking him to wake up. Moaning Mertle could be heard in her toilet.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and saw it was Hermione. "It's ok. let it out." Hermione said pulling Harry into a hug. Harry stared crying he usually tried not to cry in front of others but right now he couldn't help it. Ron ended up joining the hug. Teachers arrived on the scene they would've schooled the three until they saw the scene.
"All three of you head to Gryffindor tower. The fox will be taken to madam Pomfrey." That was all Mcgonagall said before ushering the three into the corridor. Snape watched the three and saw the beginnings of grief on the boy's face.
"I'll inform Dumbledore that the troll's been taken care of." Snape said before leaving. Mcgonagall conjured a stretcher and took Alex to the hospital wing were a note was sent to Hagrid and Professor Kettleburn. Harry, Ron, and Hermione returned to Gryffindor tower where they were greeted by the Naru, Yuki, Ren, Hedwig, and Shadow.
.They knew that something had happened to Alex and escorted Harry up to the bedroom and had him get changed into his pajamas and lay down. Harry didn't argue he did what his pets wanted and closed his eyes as the inky black bliss of sleep over took him
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58. She’s Already Gone
read the scarecrow and the bell on ao3
index | from the beginning | < previous | next >
TRIGGER WARNING FOR SELF HARM
I've worked it out, you'll always bring me down
From here on out I'm doing things for me
I'm impatient now, I'm not the type for life alone,
I need someone
She said, just let it go
She said, it's all you've ever known
-I'm Already Gone, A Day To Remember
Valentine’s Day was drawing ever nearer and with it came talk of romance and relationships. Naru’s heart fluttered at the thought of it all. She loved seeing everyone aglow with affection as they rushed into flower shops to pick out bouquets for their beloved. She watched dutifully from the dango shop with a grin pasted on her face, humming a happy tune to herself.
“I am highly convinced this is the absolute best time of the year” she sighed.
“Naru, you don’t even have a boyfriend” Sekkachi commented. Much unlike her comrade, she watched with indifference and a tinge of disgust. It all seemed so superfluous.
“I don’t need one” Naru said matter-of-factly. “I could care less about my own love life. I just love seeing everyone so happy and appreciative of their loved ones!”
Just then, Anko Mitarashi bolted into the dango shop on a mission. She slumped down into a nearby seat and ordered a special dessert that the other girls had never heard of before. They looked at her quizzically a moment before she shot them a sick grin and replied, “Every year around Valentine’s Day, they have a secret menu item—chocolate strawberry daifuku. I look forward to it every year!”
Sekkachi cocked a brow before shaking her head and leaning back in her seat. Ridiculous the lengths people will go to for food. Her stomach ached at the thought of it. She would never admit she wished she could feel the same excitement. Mealtimes only ever brought her dread.
As they sat and chatted and snacked, they caught sight of Asuma Sarutobi skirting around corners and trying to act as cavalier as possible. He was, unfortunately, failing miserably. Naru cocked a brow, immediately suspicious. “I wonder what’s gotten into him?”
Anko shook her head, mouth full of sweet dessert, and said, “I heard he’s got a girlfriend.” Naru’s eyes lit up at the prospect, leaning forward in her seat to find out who this mystery girl might be. “I wouldn’t say anything, though” Anko added, “I think he wants to keep it a secret.”
“Pfft!” Naru swatted her hand dismissively. “Do you really think I’m going to spread word of his love life around Konoha?”
Sekkachi rolled her eyes. “Don’t you do that with everyone else?” she asked.
Naru whipped around to face her, zeroing in on her blunt expression. “Maybe I should pry into your love life next, Sekkachi! Do you have something to hide? Hmm?” she asked, looking the blue-haired kunoichi up and down. Sekkachi’s face grew hot and she shoved Naru out of her personal space.
“I don’t give a shit about that sappy romance B.S.” she said coolly. “It’s all a load of garbage. Just a way for businesses to take advantage of gullible people hellbent on spoiling their significant others’ as if it’s going to save already failing relationships.”
The three other girls froze and stared at her a moment, blinking. Sometimes Sekkachi’s blunt cynicism was hard to swallow.
“I bet it’s Kurenai” Naru suddenly said, breaking the silence. Anko looked at her curiously, wondering if there was any evidence to back up her claim. Naru shrugged, saying “I just have a hunch about these things. I have lots of hunches about who is going to end up with who this year!”
“Oh yeah?” Rei asked. She had been relatively quiet the entire afternoon, far too busy overthinking her own situation. She had hardly seen Kakashi since she returned from her first mission and was beginning to grow rather anxious. He still didn’t know she had made genin yet. Or at least she hadn’t told him. Perhaps word had spread and he already knew, but she still wanted to confront him herself on the subject. She wanted him to receive confirmation that what he had heard was true, and she wanted to receive congratulations from him in return. But none of that was possible if she couldn’t even track him down in the first place.
Meanwhile, Naru had spread her hands across the table and a dark grin touched her lips. “I have so many predictions, I could explode!” she shouted. She went on to explain exactly who she expected to end up with who for Valentine’s Day, citing things she had heard around the village as her evidence. So far she had guessed Asuma was sneaking around trying to find something for Kurenai, Yugao and Hayate had a date planned, and Might Guy was likely going to try to woo any lady he could find within a five mile radius. “The most scandalous, however—” she began, “is Kakashi Hatake!”
Immediately, Rei’s ears pricked up. Kakashi had a crush on someone? And if so, who? She tried to remind herself that anything that came out of Naru’s mouth was just speculation, but it didn’t help that she was often right. If Kakashi had been ignoring her for other reasons besides work, however, she wanted to know about it. Her heart began to pound in her chest as she awaited Naru’s explanation.
“I was passing by the Yamanaka flower shop yesterday when I overheard Rin speaking with one of her friends, I don’t remember who, about how she wanted to get something for Kakashi for Valentine’s Day” Naru explained. “She sounded like she’s really got it bad for him, and I don’t blame her! Kakashi is pretty incredible. I wouldn’t be surprised if every girl our age in Konoha had a crush on him!”
“I don’t” Sekkachi replied with a smirk.
Rei’s face turned bright red. She knew all about Rin. The pact she had made with Obito before his death rang in her ears. Rin was going to confess her love to him definitively. She was probably going to hand him chocolates and grin that stupid sweet smile of hers and he would fall head over heels and they would go off living happily ever after and he would never speak to Rei again. It was bad enough he hardly gave her the time of day already but this was just too much.
“I can see that, Rin and Kakashi” Anko commented, taking another bite of her food. “They’d be pretty cute together.”
Naru grinned and nodded, her excitement growing. “I think their personalities would compliment each other really well!” she said. “They’d be so compatible, I mean, Rin is super talented and so is Kakashi. She’s so sweet, too, I’m sure she would be able to break past his walls and take care of him and make him super happy. It would be so cute! And then they can grow up and get married and have babies and—”
“Oh my god” Sekkachi groaned, rubbing her temples. “Don’t you think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself here?” Naru shot her a sour glare and rambled onward. Meanwhile, Rei was beginning to lose her mind. With every justification of Rin and Kakashi’s compatibility, she felt her tolerance disintegrate further and further.
That afternoon, after the girls had parted ways, Rei trudged home feeling defeated and bothered. Her entire body itched with a desperation to negate everything Naru had said; she couldn’t get it out of her head. What if Kakashi really did love her? Did Rei mean nothing to him? She shook her head and sucked in a deep breath. She never thought that at only ten, she would have an existential crisis like this. It didn’t seem right. Moreover, though, was the stark realization of her feelings. Up until now, she had felt many things toward her childhood friend but never bothered to put a name to them. Now, however, there was something there, there was a label, and it terrified her. Did she really love Kakashi? She knew she was possessive of him. She refused to let anyone else take him away from her. He had always been there protecting her and encouraging her. Many days, he was the reason behind laughter and smiles. She couldn’t imagine her life without him. She had never truly considered her future in depth before, but now her desires were clear. She had a vague idea of what she wanted simply by understanding what she did not and that made all the difference.
The longer she thought about it, the more she began to wonder if maybe she was overreacting. Just because Naru said something didn’t mean it was true, right? And besides, her and Kakashi had a history. Rin could never possibly hope to manage something of their magnitude. It was too late for that now. Sure, they had known each other for a while but not nearly as long as Kakashi had known Rei. And even if they were close, that didn’t mean there was any romance there. For all she knew, Kakashi and Rin could merely just be very good friends. And even if Rin did have feelings for him, that didn’t mean they were reciprocated, right? She could confront him about her affections only to be rejected with the excuse of My heart belongs to someone else. Rei wasn’t sure how plausible it all was, but she needed to cling to that last little shred of hope.
As she passed by the gates into the village, she was stirred from her thoughts by a familiar voice echoing in the distance. Kakashi. She whipped around, her cheeks burning red and an excitement rising in her throat. And there he was. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out, and she suddenly felt as if she was trapped in a state of sleep paralysis. She desperately just wanted to surge forward and wrap her arms around him and tell him the good news but it was no use. She was frozen. And then it hit her: he was leaving again. She watched as Minato approached, a smile on his face, as if trying to hype his comrades up. And then came Rin. She locked her arm with Kakashi’s and giggled happily and together, they disappeared into the open world.
A sickening weight flooded Rei’s chest and for a moment, she was convinced she was going to throw up. She clenched her fists at her sides to keep them from trembling. Naru was right. He really did love Rin, and Rei meant nothing, and life would continue on as if she was invisible. The buildings lining the streets began to sway and bulge and a lump rose in Rei’s throat, a shard of anger scraping her esophagus. She rushed into an alleyway and fell to her knees, pounding the ground until her knuckles bled then gripping her hair manically. And then, as if on her own accord, the words fell from her lips in a whisper. “I just want her gone…I just want her gone…I just want her gone.”
If only there was some way to get her away from him, to swoop in and remind Kakashi how much of a better candidate for him she was. But the more she thought about this as she walked home, the more she realized she was nothing. Compared to Rin, she didn’t mean shit. She locked herself away in her bedroom and studied her every feature. Her hair was too tangled, too fluffy, too orange. Her face lacked symmetry, and her teeth were an abomination. She was tiny and gangly and disproportionate and weak. She couldn’t do anything right. Why would he ever like her? Rin, however, was beautiful. She was bright and optimistic with clear skin and straight hair and sparkling eyes. She was talented and sweet and compassionate. She never lost her temper. She was perfect.
Rei tugged her hair out of her pigtails and brushed it out so that it parted down the middle, trying to keep it as flat as possible but to no avail. She tied her headband around her forehead and stripped down until she found an old haori in her closet that she thought might work. She stuck her index finger in her mouth and tried her hardest to move her teeth around so that they would straighten out, but deep down she knew that was not how teeth worked. She stepped back and looked at her reflection with disgust. For a fleeting moment, a part of her thought perhaps she could not only imitate Rin but override her. Be exactly like her but better. It seemed like a reasonable enough proposal. If that was what Kakashi liked and wanted, then maybe this would finally bring his attention back to her. Staring at herself now, however, it was evident that this was never going to work. No matter how hard she tried, she would never live up to the precious Rin Nohara. She was scum and no amount of gold paint and glitter would make her anything better. She tore the haori off her body and threw her ninja headband across the room, then curled up on the floor and let the darkness wash over her.
She said nothing of her affliction all week, choosing rather to suffer in silence. She would paste on a happy grin around her friends, pretend as if nothing was wrong, and then come nighttime would hide away in her room and deteriorate. It only seemed right. She didn’t want to burden anyone else with her petty problems.
Grandma Teiko sat at the kitchen table setting up tea when Rei approached. “I have some news for you” the old woman hummed. Rei cocked a brow suspiciously. “I heard Kakashi is back in town.” Rei’s heart jolted on its own accord at the prospect. She rushed out of the house as fast as possible, barely hearing her grandmother call after her “There’s something you ought to know!” She didn’t care what it was. If it didn’t have anything to do with Kakashi, it could wait. Nothing was more important than this.
Her heart raced as she scoured the village for him, Rin always in the back of her mind. She would hate to find them together, laughing and hugging or even, heaven forbid, sharing a first kiss. But she tried to shove all those terrifying thoughts aside. No matter what, she still needed to tell him her good news. She still needed him to hear it from her own mouth. Finally, she caught sight of him at the training grounds and her body electrified. She didn’t know if she could really do this, but she needed to. She raced forward, calling his name.
Kakashi looked up from his training, catching sight of her approaching. He almost wanted to run and hide. Now was not the time for this. He couldn’t bring himself to move, however. He was stuck there, planted like a tree in the dirt. The sight of her almost made him sick.
“Kakashi!” she shouted, a grin pasted on her flushed face. “I did it! I made it to genin!” She knelt down to press her hands to her knees and try to catch her breath.
“Oh?” Kakashi asked. She was only ten. She was certainly progressing earlier than most shinobi. Deep down, a tiny shard of him was proud of her. Only a tiny bit.
Rei nodded excitedly. “Yeah! So now I’m a cool ninja just like you!” she enthused.
Her happiness ignited something inside of him—something that was quickly shattered with one rough glance at his hands. He turned his eyes back to his kunai, a blank expression on his face. A flock of birds flew overhead. “Rei, don’t get upset, but you don’t want to be a ninja.”
Rei scoffed and crossed her arms. “What are you talking about? Of course I do. I’m going to learn all the tricks and then you and I can fight together. It’ll be the best!”
“No, Rei” Kakashi shook his head. Her naivete was heartbreaking. As if fighting was some sort of game, as if jutsu were just tricks. She truly knew nothing. He focused his eyes on the target ahead, knowing that if he looked at her, he would break. “You’re tiny. Weak. You’ll never make it. You’ll get crushed out there in an instant.” In one swift motion, he launched his kunai, the blade flying through the air before hitting the bullseye.
Gasping, Rei furrowed her brows and shook her head. “That’s not true! I’m strong! See?” she claimed. She ran to a nearby log and struggled to lift it over her head.
“That looks a lot like the opposite of strength” Kakashi commented, barely even looking at her.
Rei huffed before racing back to Kakashi and grabbing him by the arm. “Kakashi, why are you being so mean to me? I thought you believed in me!” she begged. Kakashi pursed his lips as he shook her off of him and then approached the target to collect his knife. Tears welled up in her eyes but she refused to let herself cry. “I thought you would be proud of me, Kakashi! I worked so hard!”
The young jonin shook his head as he plucked his knife from the wooden stump. “Well, you’re going to have to work a lot harder if you want to make it as a shinobi. I’m just not convinced you have what it takes.”
Rei’s chest ached, her throat tightened, and she could hardly hold back her tears any longer. “No! Y-you’re wrong! I will make it as a shinobi! I’ll be the best shinobi this village ever saw! I’ll show you! I’ll show everyone! I do have what it takes!”
As Rei screamed, Kakashi bowed his head and began walking away. He couldn’t argue with her on this. His methods were harsh, but they were necessary. A pale face flashed in the back of his mind, wide eyes and lifeless features gasping for breath, gasping his name. He bit his lip and continued onward.
“Don’t you walk away from me, Kakashi! Kakashi!” she wailed, clenching her fists at her sides. “How can you do this to me?! How can you betray me like this?!” She could hardly breathe, her chest ripping in half as she watched his figure shrink. She wanted to run after him but didn’t have the strength, instead falling to her knees hard into the dirt. “Kakashi!”
It wasn’t until sunset that Rei finally made her way home. Her skin felt sticky and her hair felt greasy and her cheeks were stiff with dried tears. This was her worst nightmare coming true. Her best friend betrayed her. He probably wanted her out of the picture so she wouldn’t interfere with this new life of his. He and Rin would go on living happily ever after just as Naru predicted. There was nothing Rei could do to stop it.
“How did things go this afternoon?” an old voice creaked from the doorway. Rei paused on her way to her room, turning slowly to find Grandma Teiko waiting for her. The young girl didn’t even need to say anything for her grandmother to understand. “Come here, let’s have a little talk” she said, and motioned for Rei to follow her.
The pair stepped out to the lake in the backyard and Grandma Teiko took a seat on the porch. “What is this about?” Rei asked, swinging her legs back and forth despondently.
“There’s something you need to know about Kakashi” Teiko started. “I wanted to tell you earlier, but you got ahead of yourself and ran off before I could say anything more.”
A tinge of panic surged through Rei’s body and she tightened her grip on the edge of the porch. Whatever it was Grandma Teiko needed to say, Rei didn’t think she wanted to know.
“There was an accident” Teiko began. As she relayed the rest of the story, Rei’s entire body went shock cold. The battle of Tenchi Bridge had turned the war in Konoha’s favor, but was not without it’s casualties. Rin was dead. Kakashi killed Rin. Rin was dead.
Rei excused herself quickly and raced to the bathroom, slamming the door shut and falling to her knees. She buried her face in her hands to muffle her screams, her entire body trembling. It was all she could think about. Rin is dead. Rin is dead. Rin is dead. Rin is dead.
She remembered what she had said the other day, catching sight of them before setting off on their mission. The last time Rin would ever be seen alive in the village. I just want her gone. I just want her gone. I just want her gone. God, what kind of sick bullshit was this? As jealous as she was, Rei would never have wanted Rin to die. And if she, for some god-awful reason, did, then it was never serious. But that meant nothing now. Rei was selfish. She wanted this girl out of the picture and now she was. Permanently. Every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was the image of Kakashi’s hand plunging through her chest, the flicker of lightning, Rin’s despondent face and limp, bloody body. She could see Kakashi kneel down beside her and pull her hand into his, her skin growing cold. Her blood drenching his forearm. Her vacant eyes barely creaked open. It haunted her. Everything about this haunted her. And the worst part was knowing…it was all her fault.
She caused this. She manifested this. Her selfish desires were far too strong and now they had killed someone. She couldn’t breathe. She felt like she was going to be sick. She ripped open the bathroom cabinets and rummaged around until she found a basic shaving razor, smashing it apart and stealing the blade. Biting her lower lip, she ripped the blade across her arm once, twice, three times, watching the blood bubble up and feeling the sting. Tears poured down her cheeks. She deserved this. It was the least she could do. She was selfish and horrible and disgusting. And more than anything, she kept repeating this one profound belief over and over in her head:
I should’ve died instead.
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Naru reta ai (Painted Love)
Chapter 1: Flower and Garden
Pairing: Sai & Yamanaka Ino; Saiino
It was the first day of classes and finally everyone took a step forward in their year levels
Konoha Gakkuen is a prestigious school in the whole of Japan, being included at the ‘Five Gakkuen Summit’. The ‘Five Gakkuen Summit’ is where only the best schools of Japan are included, they may excel academically, in their extracurricular activities, and the likes.
“Ahhh… It’s the first day of school again.” Walking towards the gates of the School, Ino stretched both her arms upwards as she heaves out a tired yawn.
Yamanaka Ino, being born as only child in a family of Florists and a Japan National Police Officer; she was raised in the calmness of flowers and courage of reality. Smart, Beautiful, and a bit Sassy, that’s how her friends describe her. The class flower, that’s how her beauty is fairly described.
Arriving in her respective classroom, she was a bit early for the Traditional Konoha Gakkuen Opening Ceremony which will be held at the School Gym.
An empty classroom welcomed her, she knew it was too early and being the first student in class wasn’t a part of her plan, if it wasn’t for her uptight father that woke her up an hour earlier than what she had expected.
A sigh escaped her lips as she slumped on an empty seat close to where she was standing “I could’ve slept for atleast an hour if it wasn’t for Otousan.” She said to herself, when suddenly she heard the sliding door open, causing her to tilt her head towards the direction.
The person who entered the room got her eyes went wide when upon noticing Ino seated not far from the doorway; a smile immediately lit the person’s face but was later on replaced by an annoyed look.
“I saw you smile a while ago, are you that happy seeing me? Or are you happy that Otousan sent me to school really early too, Sakura.” Ino greeted her childhood bestfriend Sakura upon entering the room with a sour look; Ino’s eyes snickered at Sakura’s direction. Teasing her with an annoying grin.
Sakura took a seat beside Ino and immediately rested her head on the desk; her short pink hair all messed up as she mumbled files of complain as to why she was also sent to school real early.
Ino laughed teasingly at her bestfriend’s suffering, ignoring the fact she was the same as her; sent to school way early. “So…” Ino’s voice became calm again as she continued, catching Sakura’s attention. “Seems like Sasuke-kun won’t be going back to Konoha Gakkuen anymore huh?” Her voice had hints of sadness in them, as Sakura looked at her with the same expression.
“I-I know Sasuke-kun will still be back… I just know it…” Sakura forced a smile as she straightened her back, adjusting her body; her statement wasn’t a word of encouragement for Ino, but it was directly to Sakura herself, motivating the trust and the feeling of affection that had built-up inside her towards her longtime one-sided love for Uchiha Sasuke. A Konoha Gakkuen Student, but was expelled due to violating school rules and regulations.
The two ladies conversed with each other until their topic went from being anxious towards Sasuke to now giggling as they chat about certain girl-y things. It took them almost an hour before the room started to get filled with students, some were their classmates from before and others were students from other section which are now mixed up to be their classmates for the current school year.
Familiar faces like Uzumaki Naruto, Rock Lee, Hyuga Neji, Tenten Xiao, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Choji are present inside the classroom and are currently gathered around the two ladies.
All of them were friends for so long, some were their classmates since their Middle School and others were when they were in their Junior Years and lastly some were their childhood friends. 3 of their friends were sadly designated to a different section, which are Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino.
“Oi! Seems like Kiba, Hinata, and Shino are the unfortunate ones this year.” Naruto spoke as he ascends towards the peer.
Neji nodded quietly as he took the seat close towards the group since everyone has already chosen their seats, making sure they were close to each other.
“Last year, Sakura-san and Naruto were the unlucky ones to be separated from the group.” Rock Lee laughed at the memories from the past year, but then suddenly started to sob as he gazed at Sakura. “I was separated from my beloved Sakura-san… I thought I was gonna die!” His Exaggerated actions and words were the perfect combination to tick Sakura’s temper and in an instant, a strong punch landed on Lee’s face, knocking him off to doze.
“Why do I have to be on the same room as him!?” Sakura cracked her knuckles as if thinking of landing another punch even though Lee was already in a total knock-out, when suddenly the speakers from each of the rooms, the hallways, and also the whole campus turned on and an announcement could be heard.
“Goodmorning everyone, the Konoha Gakkuen Opening Ceremony will be starting at exactly 10 in the morning. Everyone is instructed to form an orderly line infront of their classrooms; students shall leave the building at 9:30 am, no one is allowed to leave early or be late. Current time is 9:10.” The announcement ended with a beep and everyone started to head out of the room to form a line on the hallway.
It didn’t took too long before the students were all lined up outside their rooms, the hallway was filled with chatters but was at minimal due to the students’ discipline… well, some.
“Maaaan~ I’m hungry! Maybe I should bring some chips inside. Choji interjected as he pats his round stomach with a troubled look plastered on his face.
“Oi! Choji! Bring some!” A familiar voice came from the back of their line and saw Kiba with Hinata and Shino standing in their respective line infront of their classroom; their room was only a classroom away from them which caused Kiba, Choji, Lee, and Naruto to shout whenever they want to speak with each other shouting at each other, making a ruckus on the hallway.
“Oi! Kiba! Kiba! Let’s go to the arcade later!” Naruto shouted with a grin on his face, which Kiba raised a thumbs up, accepting his invitation and him shouting back “Sure! I’ll be bringing Shino with me!”
“Me too! Me too!” Lee shouted in sync, forcing himself on the topic.
Their noise was totally unpleasant to the ears, where luckily, Tenten was there as the moderator of the group. “Shut up the 4 of you!” Tenten halted her shouting friends, which they immediately went silent. Sighs of relief could be heard from other students in the hallway, causing Tenten to bow apologetically at the other sections’ students.
“What a drag…” Shikamaru said to himself as he heaved out a stressed sigh.
“You’re all so noisy! Especially you Naruto!” Sakura instantly grabbed Naruto’s collar, wrinkling the cloth as she readies her knuckles to land a punch.
“S-sorry sorry Sakura-chan” Naruto’s face drained with color while both his hands were placed between, trying to give distance towards their body.
Sakura wasn’t budging from their stance and had made up her mind to land a strong punch on Naruto, knowing that they wouldn’t stay quiet not unless violence would be used to one of the four boys when suddenly just when Sakura’s fist was inches away from Naruto that the speaker started to play music and an announcement followed.
“Goodmorning everyone, time check is 9:30. Students are required to depart the building and head towards the Gym, please pass the hallways quietly and in an orderly conduct. Ushers are found at the entrance of the gym and your class shall be guided to your respective positions. That would be all, thank you.”
That announcement saved Naruto’s poor soul, and thus causing Sakura to spare him then roughly letting go of her grip on his collar.
“You’re lucky Naruto…” Ino interjected as she ran her fingers through her long blond hair..
With the signal from the speakers, the students head out towards the direction of the gym. Students were all lined up as they filled the brick floors on the campus field, heading to the gym. Murmurs and laughter could be heard as anxious and excitement weld them up; some excited over the fact that the first day of classes has already begun, and others complaining about their tardiness to attend school again.
As they passed through the grove of trees, Ino’s eyes immediately caught the patches of flowers hidden behind the large trunk of trees. This made her stop on her tracks and her eyes glimmered with amusement at the sight of such beautiful flowers reflected the morning dew on its petals. To others, this may be just a bunch of flowers, but since Ino grew up with the flowers raised by her mother in their humble flower shop, she learned to appreciate even the smallest and simplest sight of these plants.
Sakura, whom was following behind her accidentally bumped on to her shoulders causing the pink haired to halt on her tracks. “Oi! What gives?” Sakura exclaimed as she touches where their bodies collided.
Ino didn’t give any response to her friend as she was too immersed in the view. Sakura thought this was weird and quickly followed Ino’s line of sight, only landing on the sight of the flower beds at the corner.
“Oh...” Sakura immediately understood why her bestfriend was acting as such, and with a light smack that she gave on the blond’s shoulder, she titled her head towards the direction of the garden.
“Go, I’ll fill you in to Tenten.” The pink haired whispered, and without hearing a reply from Ino, she headed towards the distant line of their classmates.
“Thank you Sakura.” Ino said to herself, her words were blown by the soft morning breeze while her eyes followed the sight of her classmates drifting further away from her.
After minutes of watching them drift away, they could no longer be seen and an empty brick wall and quiet field gave Ino a calming sensation. Feeling refreshed, her feet padded towards the mini-garden filled with patches of flowers, and with a gentle touch, she admired the flowers as they danced in sync with the breeze.
“These are all Bellflowers...” She brushed her finger on the purple petal. “I’m glad they took care of them during Summer break.” Ino said to herself, her lips forming a pleased grin as she took a stroll around the flower beds when suddenly, her eyes quickly notices a small rectangular black object just inches away from the next patches of flowers.
Curios, she picked up the object and found it as a small notebook. Not being nosy, she flipped the pages to find any information about the owner since in the first place, she was the only person at the location and the students present are now at the gym.
“Wow... These are all amazing...” Ino wih her eyes wide open said in astonishment as her eyes wandered off to the different drawings of scenery in each pages; the last page with a drawing on it, the most recent one was the location where she is standing at the moment -- the flowerbeds and the whole view.
“Who could be the owner of this?” No complete name could be found at the cover of the pocket size notebook, but only the word “Shin” was written on the very first page.
She didn’t know how long her attention had been snatched away by the drawing inside the notebook, when suddenly the school bell rang. It was an indication that the Opening Ceremony has already ended, she was there for an hour and was absent during the event.
“Oh no!” Ino gasped upon noticing the time and quickly tucked the pocket-sized notebook inside her skirt pocket; Dashing her way towards the gym and getting her shot to sneak back in the line without Tenten or Neji noticing.
Click the flower after this note for the CHARACTER REFERENCE AND FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: ❀
Click the flower after this note for the SCHOOL FACADE AND SCHOOL UNIFORM REFERENCE: ❀
#塗られた愛#sai#saiino#yamanaka ino#yamanaka family#fanfiction#novel#story#writer#anime#naruto#naruto shippuden#naru reta ai#otp#canon#romance
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By Any Other Name (2/4)
For: The 2017 Ghost Hunt Exchange
So might be good to mention the rating with this chapter.
Rated: T (for thirst ;) )
By: @tiffotcf
Chapter 2- Audrey
This week was one for the history books. She had had her doubts in the past but it finally looked like Naru was starting to warm up to her. Not only had their walk to the station not been a total failure. But the subsequent ‘thank you’ dinner that Madoka had Naru invite her over for on Thursday was one of the most fun evenings she had had in a long time.
Lin really was a good cook and even Naru ended up occasionally joining in the conversation throughout the meal. There had been a only one slight hiccup afterward, when Naru had given her a tour of the house.
The ‘tour’, had primarily consisted of her following him as he strolled silently though the home.
The first floor was the kitchen, dining area, and living room that she had seen on her first visit. The second held the study, a bathroom, and Lin’s bedroom. A large patio took up more than a quarter of the third floor and the bathroom took up another sizable chunk with its soaking tub and standing shower. Potential rent figures started to swirl in Mai’s brain again and she was worried she would need to sit down. Or have a soak in that tub.
She had started to follow Naru back down the stairs when she realized they hadn’t opened the third door on this floor.
“What’s that?” Mai had asked.
“My room, but you weren’t interested in seeing that.”
“Oh no I—”
“So, you did want to see my room?”
Mai’s cheeks colored.
“No,” she snapped.
“Well then, we should probably head back down. Madoka will no doubt want to force us into some sort of dessert.”
He started moving down the stairs again and she took the opportunity to let out a silent scream and smacked herself on the forehead.
He turned back to look at her.
“I’ll make some tea then.” She said with a smile.
She had been kicking herself ever since. Not because she had hoped for something to happen if they had decided to go in the room, but because she kept getting so flustered around him again lately that she was only making every chance they had to talk even more awkward. And, if she was honest, because of the what if. Her brain kept spitting out impossible scenarios that it claimed could have played out had she not wasted the opportunity.
She told it to stop but instead the daydreams kept getting more involved and farfetched. While she was not so secretly enjoying them she was now less than a day away from an English test that was not going to pass itself and she really needed her brain to start focusing.
She had spent the night studying at Michiru’s and she knew that if she went home she was just going to fall asleep. So instead she found a coffee shop where she could get some much needed caffeine and a few more hours of studying in before she succumbed to the sweet call of her mattress.
She had been working for about a half hour and could finally feel the effects of the coffee kicking in when the door chimed. Mai normally didn’t pay any attention to the door, but this time she could feel the shift in the air, a stilling to the chatter of the room.
Looking up, she forgot to hold back her gasp.
She was straight out of an old Hollywood movie. The type of film where style meant elegance and beauty was something that glowed around someone like a haze. Audrey Hepburn, that was who she reminded Mai of.
The woman was in a black knee length sleeveless dress that flared slightly at the hips to produce a figure Mai hadn’t thought possible without body altering accessories. Her glossy black heels clicked delicately but with purpose as she made her way across the concrete to the counter and ordered. A black gloved hand holding up a card to pay for her request.
Mai strained to hear, but even in the silence that had fallen over the shop she was too far away to hear her voice. Mai imagined it to be something soft, but low. Something that beckoned in any who listened at their own risk.
Her face was mostly obscured by a wide brimmed black hat, but Mai could see bright red lips against pale skin. Those lips parted briefly, a hint of a smile curling up at their edges.
Mai could see the barista staring, not that she could blame him, she could hardly move and she was back here, hidden in the corner. She couldn’t imagine being so close, being addressed. Her heart sped up, the anxiety of the thought enough to stagger her breaths.
The woman leaned towards him, that wide brimmed hat tilting and moving forward to fill more of the space between them. One heeled foot lifted to hover at an angle above the floor.
The barista jumped and set to work, the request finally registering in his brain.
The woman in black stood, posture perfect as she waited on her purchase, her hat still leaving anything more than red lips and a long pale neck a mystery that begged to solved. Mai chewed her lip, wondering if the pale skin of her exposed shoulder and upper arm felt as smooth as it looked, was it cool to the touch or would it radiate heat like running your hand over a hot bath.
Her fingers twitched, almost feeling the softness of the long silk opera gloves. Which would be smoother the silk or her skin?
Mai heard a small whimper. Wait, had that been her?
Her eyes went wide and her face burned at a thousand degrees.
“What,” she hissed to herself, smacking her cheeks lightly, “stop it.”
What was she thinking? She didn’t know this woman, she hadn’t even seen her face. And here she was having afternoon fantasies about her.
The woman’s head tilted higher, almost imperceptibly so, but Mai could feel that her gaze was now traveling the room.
Mai brought her eyes back to her notebook, a lump forming in the dryness of her throat. What if she had just seen that? What if she noticed her now?
Never in her life had she been more conscious of her appearance. Her finger brushed hair and slept-in tee shirt. No amount of knowledge gained at last night’s study session was worth the risk of coming into contact with radiance in such a state.
She could feel the gaze pass, the weight of it sliding like a brick of ice from her shoulders.
Risking a glance, Mai saw the barista hold up the woman’s drink, the paper cup visibly shaking as he set it on the counter.
She collected the beverage and with a small incline of that over large hat she turned to leave.
Light gossip returned to the space as the door chimed shut behind her. And Mai looked back to her notes, unsure as to which class these were even for.
She tried to study for another half an hour or so, but her mind was wandering even worse now. Deciding that perhaps a change of venue would help, Mai decided to pack up her things and go.
Two blocks over, Mai was struck with her next struggle for the day.
Cookies!
Fresh baked!
Get them while they’re hot!
She stared at the sign, her stomach letting out a small rumble as she remembered that she hadn’t eaten anything since the convenience store sushi at Michiru’s last night.
Well, and her coffee at the shop, but coffee didn’t really count as food. Plus, she had ended up letting almost half of that go cold and threw it out.
But did that really justify buying a dozen cookies just for herself?
The easy answer was, of course it did.
But, she knew better. She was already exhausted from being up all night studying, the coffee wasn’t really helping long term, and she didn’t feel like she had a handle on her vocab list. So, a sugar coma was probably not the best of ideas.
Although, she was near Naru and Lin’s, and Madoka had said she could stop by anytime. And if she brought them cookies then maybe they would invite her in to eat with them. She smiled.
She did need to buy them a thank you gift for having her over for dinner the other night. And, she had been studying so hard, she deserved a break.
Her mind made up, Mai headed into the bakery.
Bribes in hand and confidence inflated Mai headed back out into the afternoon and on her way to Naru’s.
She almost missed her turn as she ran through possible scenarios for the hand off. The most likely option was that he was not even home, but that one was no fun. So, she quickly shuffled it away. If they were all there, Madoka would invite her in they could have a quick chat. Madoka would force Naru to come out and interact with them and maybe she could make it through one non-work conversation with him where she didn’t stick her foot in her mouth.
Maybe she could ask Naru to help her with her English. Mai’s smiled widened at the thought. She had worked on it enough at the office that she had hoped he would offer. But the only time he had made any mention of it at all was to tell her that if she wanted to study she should go to a library. But maybe this new, non-office, Naru would be more amenable to the idea. And if studying meant she had to take the time to visit him out of the office that was a sacrifice she was willing to make.
She pictured sitting on his patio working, she would ask him a question and he would lean in to look at her work. Their hands would bump into one another, then their eyes would meet, their fingers entwining, faces moving closer together…
“Whoa,” Mai made a quick side step to avoid the sign in front of her and grabbed at her searing cheeks, the streets were too busy for more daydreaming.
She looked for something else to focus on, she was only a few blocks away and if she couldn’t get her head cleared up she would be a mess trying to actually talk to Naru.
She took a slow deep breath in, and then even slower allowed herself to deflate. Again, breathe in, and out. Deep breath in—
A large black hat moved into the people traffic in the distance ahead of her on the street. Mai felt the air catch in her throat, a cough springing up and stopping her.
Once the small fit was contained, Mai craned her neck to look down the street. It was further away but she could still see it. There were a handful of bodies between them but Mai knew that it had to be the same woman.
Part of her wanted to follow her, did she live near here? She had to be wealthy, her clothes already spoke to that and so it was no surprise to think that she might live in an up and coming trendy neighborhood like Daikanyama. Perhaps, if she came around to visit Naru she would bump into her.
She rolled her eyes at her own stupidity. What would they talk about if they were to meet?
The hat turned onto a side street, and Mai’s mind pounced. Had she just turned on Naru’s street? She had to have imagined it. What were the odds? Mai picked up her own pace, but then forced herself to slow down. If she was around the next corner the last thing Mai needed to do was sprint into the street behind her. She forced herself to wait just a moment more, pretending to be reading the sign ahead of her.
She rounded the corner, watching her own feet for a few steps until she had gathered the conviction to pull her eyes up the length road.
Mai sighed. She didn’t see her. On reflex Mai looked back to the street she had just turned from. She must have misjudged when the woman had turned.
Passing a parked car she froze, quickly backed up and found herself crouching next to the car peeking around it.
She had been wrong. The woman was here and more importantly, she had just stopped at Naru’s door.
Mai’s curiosity skyrocketed. Who was this woman and why would she be visiting Naru or Lin? Mai waited for her to reach for the bell. Would there be recognition when they opened the door? With the directness that the woman had walked here Mai felt there would have to be, this did not seem to be her first visit.
Mai’s mouth fell open as the woman pulled a key from her small hand bag and unlocked the door, stepping in without even a moment’s hesitation.
“What?” Mai said to herself.
Her brain wanted to explode. She leaned back against the car. Her legs feeling a bit unsteady. A key. The woman had a key. She had just walked right in.
Mai searched for some sort of explanation. There was no way she was any sort of house help. The landlord perhaps? But even the landlord would knock before coming in. Mai looked up and down the street, maybe she had gotten the house mixed up. That was a thing that could happen, right? But she knew she had it right. Half of the lots on this street were still under construction and those older homes which still stood were of a different enough make that there was no mistaking them for this property.
Could she be from a shop? Some sort of fancy high end boutique place that catered to their clients by coming to them? No, that was ridiculous she had a key. You don’t give shop keeps keys to your house no matter how swanky they were. Mai felt at least ninety percent confident about that.
Mai’s eyes went wide.
What if she was meeting someone for something more risqué?
Mai’s mind immediately went to Madoka. Lin couldn’t be…? No, impossible, and even if he did have other interests, why would he have her come around while Madoka was in town?
Mai stood, eyes narrowed and limbs straight. She didn’t want to assume the worst, but she had to check.
She took three strong strides towards the house and turned on her heel. Shuffling back down the street.
It really was none of her business, she reminded herself. What was she going to do, bang on the door and demand to know who that woman was? She would look crazy.
Mai reached the bottom of the street, but she couldn’t bring herself to go any further. She thought about Madoka, how she had smiled and laughed when she had finally gotten to open up to Mai about she and Lin. Mai couldn’t bear the thought of not checking to make sure all was right. Madoka would no doubt do the same for her. And besides there was probably a perfectly reasonable explanation for the woman being there that she just couldn’t see right now.
With a deep breath of determination Mai started back up the street. She hesitated for a moment more, her hand hovering at the door, but then she rang the bell.
Time crawled as she felt the high-low of the bell ring in the air. She was afraid to move, what if they didn’t come to the door? What if they did? What would she say? She had the cookies so that was a starter. But how would she jump from cookies to a mysterious woman. What if she answered? She had walked in as if it was her own home, maybe she would even be bold enough to answer the door.
Mai could feel her breath getting stiffer in her lungs. How long had she been waiting? Had it been enough time for someone to get the door? Had it been over long? Was it obvious that she was waiting around with a purpose? Should she ring it again? No, that would be too urgent. It could put them on edge. She was already on edge.
They weren’t coming. It had to have been enough time now. Maybe the woman was alone? Maybe she had the good sense not to open the door?
They weren’t coming. What should she tell Madoka? Should she say anything? She had no real evidence of any wrongdoings. But, what if she said nothing and she should have? She would be complicit in Madoka’s unhappiness.
“Mai?”
Mai looked up. Naru’s head and shoulder visible in the crack of the door.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“I brought—”
The words vanished, wiped clean by the light red tinge that she noticed on his lips.
She had made a mistake.
Naru’s eyes narrowed, he moved, opening the door a bit wider to peer at her.
The top buttons of his shirt were undone and from the awkward way his collar sat those that were done up were mismatched. She looked away when she caught sight of a second smear of color on the edge of his chin.
It wasn’t Lin.
Her chest hurt, her eyes hurt, her arms…her everything hurt. She needed to go home, to sleep.
“Mai?”
“I brought cookies,” she forced herself to look at his eyes wishing desperately that she could zoom in her vision and keep herself from looking anywhere else. Noticing, anything else. “For Lin and Madoka, as a thank you.”
“They aren’t here right now.”
Of course they weren’t there, Mai could feel the heat beginning to tingle across her, its burn blending with the ache that had settled everywhere.
“Well, I’m sorry to interrupt. Here.” She held up the box watching his eyes, looking—hoping—for an admission of his actions. If he could just give her that final proof then maybe she could just be angry and it would be enough to consume the ache.
“I was just reading.”
The ache spread, her throat and fists clenching against it. She blinked against the prickling. She wanted to see it, the lie, reflected in his eyes. But everything had gone cloudy and it hurt too much to hold her eyes open.
She felt the box move from her fingers and she let it go. Safe handover of its contents no longer of any concern.
“Mai, are you—”
“Sorry, I just got something in my” —heart. She scrubbed at her eyes. Pushing away the stinging with brute force of fingers and will.
“I should go.” She added when she had finished with her face. “I have to…”
“Study.” He finished for her.
“Yes,” her voice cracked on the word. She had to leave now or she was going to fall apart on Naru’s front step.
“Thank you, for the cookies.”
A tear fell. How dare he start thanking her, not now.
Mai gave some sort of grunt or possibly a squeak as she turned away. She walked as fast as she could, her vision severely diminished as hot tears burned at her eyes before searing down her face. She knew she had made it halfway down the street when she bumped into a recognizable car shaped blur.
“Keep going,” she told herself between clenched teeth, the world beginning to take shape once more. “Just walk.”
She made it two blocks.
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GH Vol 8 Ch 13 Sec 2
Ahhhh! It’s so good I just want to share it all. My heart’s probably going to die in the next section.
Also, when Mai says, “I literally couldn’t believe what I was seeing.” The line is actually more like, “I literally felt bewitched by a fox.” This means to be confused or unable to believe one’s senses. Mai has related Naru to a fox before, so I’m considering changing that... but I don’t know.
Okay here, pre-edits:
2
...What’s this????
I felt my mind go momentarily blank. I quickly pulled myself together and looked back behind me. No one was there anymore.
—This can’t be possible. Because that person was approaching me at a 15 degree angle to my front.
“Huh?”
I literally couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
“What’s the matter with you?”
That person, who had approached me at a 15 degree angle to my front, stopped.
Jet black hair and jet black eyes. Dressed completely in black.
“...Naru?”
He looked puzzled.
“You’re really Naru, right?”
“What are you saying? Are you awake?”
“Um… I’m not sure.”
How? What happened?
“—Who was here until just now?”
Naru tilted his head slightly to the side at my murmured words.
“Who was here?”
I pointed behind me where there was no longer anyone present.
“You. I was talking to you until just now. I’m sure of it.”
Without a doubt. That wasn’t a dream. I’m not nimble enough to sleep while standing.
“You were right next to me. What was that?”
“You were half asleep.”
I flared up at his openly contemptuous voice.
“It was different! It was like my usual dream, but it absolutely wasn’t a dream!”
“...Usual dream?”
Ah, I messed up…!
Naru moved his feet and came just a step closer.
“What is that?”
Naru’s gameface. Now I won’t be able to deceive him.
“It’s just a dream...”
Again, he stepped forward a distance of one step. Now, if I stretched out my hand, the remaining distance was close enough to touch him. I was against the thin tree trunk, which was still at my back, so I felt somewhat cornered.
“What kind, then?”
“Nothing that concerns you.”
“It didn’t sound all that unrelated to me.”
The color of his eyes was deep.
“I was here or something like that?”
“Or, it has nothing to do with you.”
“I think it may have something to do with me.”
“There’s no need to pry so much.”
“There’s no need to hide it so much, either, right?”
“I’m not hiding...”
...Fine! I’ll tell him already! After all, what’s the possible aftermath? He’ll laugh at me and I’ll slap his cheek, then I’ll feel relieved once it’s over.
“It’s a dream… about you!”
...I said it...
Even I could tell that my face had gone bright red. And yet, despite this, he, on the other hand, merely looked puzzled. This cold fish!
“—About me?”
“That’s right. About you. It’s my selfish dream. Perhaps it’s my wish. A dream about a gentle Naru.”
Actually, you’re not gentle at all, but this is implicit irony to its fullest.
“Gentle—?”
“Yes. About you smiling gently and even speaking kindly to me.”
I’ll never accept that that’s your subconscious.
Naru stared at me wide-eyed.
“...You were talking to me until just now?”
“Yeah. Got a problem?”
I don’t know what I’m being so hostile for.
“—About what?”
“Insignificant trivialities. It was probably a daydream. —Of course it was a dream. A certain someone doesn’t smile and won’t even engage in idle chat with me. And you absolutely wouldn’t search for me unless you had a task to order me to do.”
This is the perfect confession. Ha-ha-ha.
Now you can laugh as much as you want. My right hand is already in position to slap you. Someone as cold-heartedly callous as you could never understand my maiden’s heart anyway.
“...What does that mean?”
Naru appeared dumbfounded.
Being questioned like that, I couldn’t help feeling exasperated.
What does that mean? Isn’t that obvious? Why do you think I was keeping quiet about the fact that you were appearing in my dreams until today?
“Are you stupid!? You don’t know!?”
“I don’t understand.”
Aaaah! I’ve had enough!
“That’s right, of course you wouldn’t. I knew you were an unfeeling, heartless person. Even so, isn’t it human nature to unconsciously hope for a little bit of kindness where it can’t be seen? You always smile whenever you appear in my dreams, and because of that, you seem gentle and concerned for me. —Of course, that’s just my wish. Still, when I see that kind of dream, I sort of think, at the bottom of your heart, you’re actually not such a cold-blooded human being. When that kept happening, my maiden’s heart thought it was just your soul popping out to come see me!”
Now does that dimwitted brain of yours finally understand?
“I can’t astral project.”
...huh!?
“I can’t do that. I wasn’t blessed with that talent.”
“I know. Obviously, I know that. That’s just my wish.”
“...it’s something else.”
“If you’re going to laugh, then laugh… huh?”
When I suddenly calmed down, the already white face of the person I was shouting at was completely pale.
“When… did that start?”
Feeling oddly disheartened, I was dumbfounded.
“When did the dream start? From the beginning...”
“...It’s not me.”
...huh?
“That isn’t me. ...It’s Gene...”
Eh?
“Who?”
He placed his white hand to his forehead as if fighting off dizziness.
“Eugene...”
“That… that isn’t so! I would definitely know even if you are brothers! It was absolutely you!”
“No. It’s Gene.”
“But!”
I’d never mistake him for someone else. It was about Naru.
“We’re twins.”
...What?
“If we were expressionless, no one could tell us apart. —He’s my twin brother.”
...Th...that...
“So… Gene was still wandering this world...”
Similarly, Naru’s eyes also seemed to be wandering somewhere in the distance.
-Ghost Hunt Vol 8 Ch 13 Sec 2
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