ElsaBelgium: Ok, so I co-authored this story with my friend Oconnella, and we have weird pairings...but whatever, moving on, for some reason, most of everyone's names are japanese so I put a key below this so you can tell, if you're confused just ask us, we'll be happy to help you also, we refrence ALOT of different animes, like, Cl'annad(i think that's how its spelled, not really sure), so if you're confused, just ignore...
Chapter 1 starts out pretty fast, but it goes slower as we move along. I'm going to stop talking now so you can
ENJOY! XD
ロードトリップ
Belgium - Tomoyo
Liechtenstein - Nanase
Taiwan - Suzuran
Germany - Ludwig
South Korea(daze~)- Takashi
Japan - Kiku
Iceland - Fuyuki
Chapter 1
"Road trip! Road trip!" Suzuran and Takashi cheered as we all piled into Ludwig's trailer. It was the summer just after 11th grade, and since we could all drive, we decided to combine our earnings and rent a trailer for the entire summer. I couldn't wait! I'm also excited about going on a trip with Ludwig, my secret crush and exchange student from Germany. Also, Kiku, Nanase, and Fuyuki were coming. We'd all gotten permission from our parents, so it was okay! Mostly I was glad to get out of Hokkaido for once.
"Tomoyo!" Nanase called from the trailer. "We're leaving!"
"Okay!" I replied, running up to the vehicle. I took a seat beside Ludwig, who was sitting on one of the couches in the back. Kiku was driving, and Fuyuki was sitting up front to keep him company. Nanase was sitting in a seat just behind them, talking animatedly to both of them.
Sitting across from me and Ludwig were Suzuran and Takashi, embarrassing me with cutesy couple stuff.
"I guess it's just couples back here, right Tomoyo?" Suzuran asked. I resisted the urge to strangle her, and replied coolly. "Ludwig and I aren't dating, remember?"
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Ludwig blushing. "Nein," he added quietly.
"Weeell, you should," Suzuran finished.
"MAKAAAAAAAAAA CHOP!" I shouted, smashing a book on her head. She collapsed, and Takashi fawned over her to make sure she was okay.
At that moment, before things could get awkward again, Kiku turned up the radio, and the Big Dango Family song started to play. We all started so sing along, except Ludwig, who kept asking, "What's a dango?" Kiku explained that it was a sticky dumpling, usually filled with meat or vegetables and sometimes a red bean paste.
Soon enough, Ludwig hummed along to the song. I smiled as I sang.
After the song was over, the conversation in the back sort of died out, and I caught some words from the front of the trailer.
"What? We're going to the hot springs in Sapporo?"
"Exactly," replied Kiku from the front seat.
"Sounds cool!" Nanase exclaimed.
"That's the reaction we were hoping for!" said Fuyuki. Nanase beamed.
"And we should be there...in a few hours," Kiku added, looking at his gps. Everyone went back to their conversations. I noticed Nanase looking out the window, contemplating something.
"Is anything wrong?" I asked, curious.
"No, it's nothing..." she said, trailing off. I let it go, deciding it was best to leave her to her thoughts.
"We're here!" Suzuran shouted, waking me from my slumber. I opened my eyes, groggy, and noticed my head was resting on Ludwig's shoulder. He was still asleep, thank goodness, and I quickly sat up, blushing.
"They sure are cute," I heard her whisper to Takashi as they left the vehicle. I walked outside, admired the sunset for a minute, and then walked off to the girls' hot springs. Nanase, Suzuran, and I shared one, and I got in the nearly boiling water, relaxing.
"Ahh," I sighed. "It's good to kick back and relax once and awhile, right guys?" I asked, leaning my head against the side of the pool.
"You said it," Said Suzuran, carefully putting her hair up and placing a towel over her hair. Nanase nodded, apparently still lost in thought. I looked at her quizzically. "What's wrong Nanase-san? You've been spacey all day."
"It's nothing." She said.
"Uh oh," Suzuran said, looking at her concernedly. "Tell me all about it."
"No!" Said Nanase shaking her head and blushing. "It's nothing; I don't want to talk about it!"
"C'mon, you can tell us," I nodded. "We're your friends after all."
"Yeah tell us!" Suzuran started to chant. "TELL US, TELL US, TELL US!" I joined in. "TELL US, TELL US, TELL-
"ALRIGHT!" Shouted Nanase, turning red. "I…..I w-was…um…thinking about how cute it would be if Ludwig-san and Tomoyo-san were to kiss!"
Silence. As I held a surprise stare at Nanase, I silently hoped to God the boy's bath was faaarrrr away from here.
Nanase turned bright red and sunk lower in the spring water.
More Silence.
…
"Ooooook." Said Suzuran. "That was very awkward. Well, I'm all good. I'm going to get out and find the boys. Maybe they'll be in the ambi-sexual bath…."
"Cool," I said. "I'll come with you. I've been warmed to the core."
"I'll wait for you two in the changing room." Said Nanase, smiling.
"Ok." We called as we started to walk towards the bath. When we arrived Ludwig and Fuyuki were in there talking. They were the only ones in it.
"Oh, hello Tomoyo-san, Suzuran-san." Said Fuyuki. "What brings you here?" I walked to where Ludwig was in the water and sat next to him, legs submerged. I saw Ludwig blush and look away.
"Oh, we were just here to tell you guys we were ready," Said Suzuran. "When you get out tell the others we're all ready, ok?"
Fuyuki smiled and nodded.
"Hey," I said. "Why are you guys the only ones here anyway?"
"The men's spring was crowded," Ludwig explained, turning back to me. "We came here for space. Kiku and Takashi didn't mind so they stayed there. When we get out we'll be sure to pass on the message to the others."
"Ok!" I said, hopping out of the water. "Meet us at the changing rooms!" I called, walking to them.
"Okay!" Fuyuki responded.
Back in the changing room, we met up with Nanase, and walked back to the trailer which was parked a quarter of a mile away from the hot springs. I know, right? It was all about "protecting the natural beauty" or something. On our walk there, Suzuran and I conversed happily, while Nanase went off into a daze again. I sighed, and then decided to confront her. "A penny for your thoughts? No really, just spit it out already. I know you were lying when you said that thing about me and...Ludwig..." I trailed off, embarrassed, but finished with more confidence. "C'mon already!"
Nanase looked very surprised and was just about to open her mouth to respond when -
"Hey guys, wait up! You forgot about us at the changing rooms!" Kiku called from about 50 feet away. Walking with him were Ludwig, Takashi, and Fuyuki.
"Oh no, I can't tell you guys now! Later, okay?" Nanase said softly to us.
We slowed our pace as we waited for the guys to catch up. Soon they did, and we walked as a group. I caught Ludwig's eye and remembered what Nanase said and turned away, blushing as I did so. Damn, this was starting to resemble a shojo manga.
"Guys! Guess what daze~?"
"What?" Nanase and I said at the same time Suzuran laughed and said, "You do know we're girls, right?"
Ignoring Suzuran's witty comment, Takashi continued. "We're going to Tomakomai beach tomorrow, daze~! We'll have to take turns driving at night, but doesn't that sound great, daze~?"
"Yeah!" everyone responded.
"It was Kiku-san's idea, as usual," added Fuyuki. Kiku blushed and put his hand behind his neck.
"It was nothing, really," he tried to counter.
"This is gonna be so much fun!" Nanase squealed.
"I've never seen you so happy, Nanase-san," said Ludwig. She paused; startled that he was talking to her. What? I thought. Did she think he was only capable of talking to me?
"Well, I'm happy to be on vacation with the people I care about," she replied faintly.
"What was that?" asked Suzuran.
"N-nothing, Yūjin ni," Nanase said, louder, using the Japanese word for friend to reply to her.
"Okay!" I said, covering for my friend. "Then let's get in the car!" I hopped in the back and Ludwig sat next to me, blushing and trying to catch my eye. My face turned red and I looked out the window. Damn, this WAS becoming a shojo manga.
Kiku started to drive again with Nanase in the passenger seat this time. She was apparently going to take over for Kiku.
I looked back out the window.
Ludwig's POV
I grunted as I looked out the window. Japan was so far away from home….Good thing Tomoyo was here. I blushed and looked around to make sure no one was looking. Everyone was absorbed in conversation. Gut so far. I glanced at Tomoyo. She was looking out the window. I gulped as I noticed her open hand lying on her thigh. Suddenly, my Brüder Gilbert's words echoed through me, Kiss a girl's cheek first! They love that! Oi, West, are you listening to the awesome me? I'm trying to give you awesome dating advice! Usually, I never listen to any advice my Brüder gives me but this….this was different. Although…I glanced at Tomoyo…I don't think I'll kiss her. Maybe I'll try to hold her hand. Ja, that would work. I quickly slipped my hand through Tomoyo's.
Back to Tomoyo daze~!
My cheeks went warm was I felt someone grip my hand. I glanced over and saw Ludwig blushing and looking at me nervously, a bead of sweat trickling down his face. I squeezed his hand to make sure it was there and real.
After Ludwig squeezed back, I smiled and tackled him with a surprise hug. We landed on the floor of the trailer with a loud thump.
"What was that?" I heard Kiku say.
Takashi's head popped up from the other seats.
"Oh, Tomoyo and Ludwig are doing it, daze~. I always-
I threw the nearest projectile at Takashi's head to shut him up. It happened to be a random dictionary and I successfully hit his forehead.
"What did you say? They were doing what?" I heard Kiku ask.
"Nothing!" I called as I got off Ludwig and we sat back on the seat and avoided eye contact with each other for a long time.
…
A few hours later, I heard Nanase talking to herself while driving. She always speaks to herself in French, so we don't understand her.
"S'il vous plait aides-moi," she said quietly. Of course, I had no Idea what she meant by that, but I continued to listen, intrigued by the language's soft sounding words. "Je l'aime beaucoup...je la connais de Mon passé?"
She kept driving, lost in thought. I looked around the trailer, and saw that everyone else was sleeping - Suzuran and Takashi on the two twin beds in the back, Ludwig on the other couch and Kiku on the floor, and Fuyuki in the passenger seat. Everyone else was tired, but I was wide awake. Looking out the window, the night sky peered back at me, adorned with stars and airplanes making their way through the sky.
"Nanase-san? Do you want a break from driving?" a voice asked from not too far away.
"I-it's fine. Don't worry about it," she responded, surprised that he was still awake. "I thought you were asleep, Fuyuki-san."
"I was, but something woke me up. I guess it was a nightmare, I forgot it though."
"Do you get nightmares a lot?"
"Yeah, all the time."
"Me too."
"Really?" he questioned. "You don't seem like the type."
She laughed. "You don't either."
There was silence for a minute, then:
"You remind me of someone, Fuyuki."
"I do?"
"I knew him in junior high. We never talked, but he was so sweet to me...he was going to the same high school as you, too. Do you know him, by any chance?"
"Nah, not a clue."
"Oh."
"B-but I'll do my best to remember! I promise!"
"D-don't feel pressured, Fuyuki-san."
A pause, then conversation continued a little more quietly. I had to lean in to hear, sitting nearly behind them.
"You don't have to call me that, Nanase-san," he said softly.
"Oh! I didn't realize! You didn't hear me talking to myself in French, did you?"
"Uh, yeah...I did."
"D-d-do you speak French?"
"No."
Stillness filled the trailer for a minute or two.
"You don't have to call me that," Fuyuki repeated, with slightly more confidence this time around.
"Call you what?" she asked carefully, so as to not awake the others.
"You don't have to say 'Fuyuki-san'. Just call me...Fuyuki, okay?"
"..."
"It's not weird, is it? I know we don't know each other well and all, but I just...I don't know..."
"No! It's not weird at all! You can call me...Nana."
"...Okay."
I inched a little closer then fell off the couch. They both spun around, then Nanase looked back in fear that she'd swerved, then Fuyuki said, "T-T-Tomoyo-san! Why are you awake? Did you hear our conversation?"
I decided it was best to play dumb. "Whaa? I just...woke up, you see..." I yawned for effect.
"Oh, okay then...go on back to sleep."
"We're not there yet, Tomoyo-san," added Nanase.
"I know." I said. "It's obvious if we're still driving."
"Ok, then go to sleep." Said Fuyuki, a bit forced.
"Ok, fine," I said, sticking up my upper lip for a pouting effect. Yeah, fall asleep my butt. Trust me, I was going to listen to their conversation and cheer Nanase on. I crawled back up on the couch and turned over to seem like I was sleeping. From the other couch I heard Ludwig mumble, "Brüder, bitte leiten die wurst." And turn over in his sleep. I closed my eyes and listen to hear Nanase and Fuyuki's conversation.
There was a period of silence. Then Nanase turned on the radio.
The song 'Snow of Sadness' came on.
Crap. That song always made me sleepy. Nanase knew me well.
In seconds, I began to feel its effects. My body fell weak and my brain was shutting down for the night. I heard Nanase and Fuyuki talking but I had no idea what they were saying.
Curse you song….
I sighed and feel asleep.
Reveiw please! XD
Brüder, bitte leiten die wurst- Brother, please pass the wurst... X3