Hello, everyone.
Okay, so I know, it's not what you're expecting. Some of you might be waiting for the next chapter for A Thousand Dreams, and I have good and bad news for that one.
The good news? I am still fighting to continue that fic. The bad news? Aside from the fact that I have a very bad writer's block for that one, I have lost ALL my flash drives. Meaning all the material I have managed to scrap from research had to be researched… again, and I have to refresh myself for the fic's direction.
So since I am suffering from a very, very mild depression, I decided to write this down. It was another plot bunny which kept on bouncing around my head, and forgive me if I am posting it in this month, when it was supposed to be Christmas.
A warning: this fic is full of drama. Yeah, and lots of angst. Probably because I got the idea from one of the very hardest questions to answer in our lifetime: if there is a 'happy ever after, then what lies beyond the happy ever after?'
Read on, at your own risk. I am trying to aim for a vignette, written in different perspectives from some of our beloved secondary characters to the main ones.
Dawdler, you are the main inspiration behind this one. It may not be as canon-compliant as you wish me to, but I hope you'll support this one all the same.
DISCLAIMER: Really? Oh okay. Yes, I do not own Chihayafuru, but I do own the plot. So please do not, in any way, try to copy this without my permission. I got a mean right hook.
Just sayin'.
Prologue
"Truthfully, I didn't need to promise you anything.
Not my heart, not my life, nor my loyalty.
I have loved you as a ninth grader with your short, boy-cut hair – so my heart has already been yours even then.
We have been separated, but has been reunited and had grown up together as karuta idiots – and will continue to do so, hence the fact that my life is something you hold in your hands all this time, dearest.
And my heart has already been yours from day one, which meant that my loyalty has always been with you and will be forever with you.
If there is one thing I still need to do, was to promise you that this will never change. Yes, the world may change constantly, but I will be your constant companion, your lover, your student, your mentor, your partner in parenthood, your toughest adversary, your best friend and your partner in mischief.
I will make sure to continue growing taller so that you can wear your heels anytime you have to shoot for a cover.
All this I swear to you, my darling bride… my wife. I call you mine, for you have been my light, my world… and simply my everything. For richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health… for all your perfection and imperfection, I will be with you through it all, and continue to love you for everything that you are."
It was a sacred vow that she willingly threw away for a very high price.
Her days passed, and everything changed because of the one choice she had to make.
The world continued on, spinning and spinning, weaving days and nights, seconds, minutes and hours into years. People had gone on with their business, went on with their schools, families and jobs. Everyone continues on with the cycle of life, as they all set out to find and complete whatever purpose they have in life.
But not her.
She had it all.
But she also didn't.
In breaking news, current reigning Queen of Karuta, Ayase Chihaya-san, has announced that she will be retiring from the karuta world. After three years in the spotlight, charming the fans and audiences alike with her passion and drive for the game and touring the world as an ambassador for the said sport, the Tokyo native is calling it quits. The 33 year-old, known for her superior hearing and aggressive style of play which had earned her the much-coveted title for three whole years, is returning to her family home once more in Tokyo from her last tour in Paris to enjoy some much-needed rest. JNN was able to get this exclusive.
"I'm not exactly giving up on karuta… just from the public life. I am looking forward to spending some quiet, alone time with my family and friends… especially with my nephews, niece and some godchildren, then just play the game whenever I feel like it."
"Why now… when many are saying that you are at the height of your career, what with your accomplishments as an athlete… and a model?"
"I would like to go out on top and be remembered for my accomplishments and contributions to the sport which I hope I have given the past three years."
"You definitely have, Ayase-san! However, many are also suspecting that that was not the only reason you're leaving us."
"What other reason would there be?" She asked, with a hint of humor in her voice.
"The scuttlebutt is that you wanted to settle down."
She gave a small, almost sad laugh. "In order to start a family, it is preferable for one to have a partner. I am unfortunately, unhappily, unattached."
"There's no one special?"
"No one, I'm sad to say. In between my training, my modelling jobs, my dream of becoming the Queen and maintaining the title it's next to impossible to meet anyone or maintain a relationship with anyone. I haven't even seen my family in well over three years, haven't had the time to breathe, much less even think to date anyone."
The host nodded, expression empathic. "So what is Ayase Chihaya's type of ideal man?"
"Someone who has the patience to put up with me and my strange antics… someone who is smart and can handle my stubbornness. And a good cook. Yeah… definitely. I miss home cooked chargrilled oysters. Maybe, since I'll probably have more time now, I can dust off those cookbooks stuck in my storage for all these years and start cooking for myself."
"Will Ayase Chihaya ever return to the field?"
"Maybe… it's hard to say. If the time is right. Who knows? I'm not saying never. But for now, all I want to do is to put my feet up, sleep like the dead for half a day and pig out on hotpot meals."
The world may have continued spinning, but not hers.
Not anymore.
Unfortunately, I will have to leave it here. But don't kill me yet. I promise the next one will be up immediately.
Lovelots,
Michiko