Fumoffu Lover
Chapter 1: Ms. Sheep
A youthful, bright eyed woman sat by herself on the half empty train, in a booth fit for four against the windows. A bit moody that she had to work during Golden Week, her one finger worked busily spiraling her brown hair along her finger to pass the time. The train had yet to leave the station but only a few ticks of the minute hand would change that and her guests would officially have been left behind. It might end up a waste of a good day yet the smile on her face couldn't tick away if she spent all day waiting for the mangaka Hiyori Tamura. To be sitting across from the hit author and artist of yuri in Japan today was an honor big enough for only a few lucky editors she considered much more suitable than herself, even for a routine mangaka's research trip.
The train budged from its position on the tracks, the shift in momentum enough to push and pull the editor out of her seat. "Tamura really missed the train…so the rumors are true."
"Excuse me," a voice softly called out. The young woman looked up and felt her gaze lock at the beauty in front of her. This woman, baffling enough the same age as her, appeared to be nothing less of a blob, a blob of cuteness unrivaled and outshining beauty. Her light colored skin was only pierced by easy purple eyes that seemed to swim with her body's amazingly natural colors and like it was described in Tamura's works and interviews so often, this woman simply oozed fluff.
The editor rose from her seat immediately and bowed a greeting to her guest, stretching out her hand for a shake. She'd dare say it was more of a massage with the surprising delicacy rubbing against her. This must have been the legendary Sheep's Hand she read so much about. "Thank you for coming Ms. Sheep-I mean Miyuki! I'm terribly sorry for that!"
"It's okay, it's a really cute name I'm happy to have," Miyuki said. "Hiyori will be here soon, she had to stop to use the bathroom onboard."
"No problem, please, have a seat." Instead Miyuki bumped her head against the railing over the seat. "Are you okay?!"
"I'm alright."
"Really? If… you say so." It was frightful how accurate the description of this woman was, Haruka had hardly ever encountered someone so clumsy. "I'm very interested in talking to you as well. Oh, my name is Haruka. I'm replacing Hiyori's editor whose fallen ill for a while."
"I hope she gets better. What is she suffering from?"
"Hmm?" Haruka wondered why the meganekko cared but decided there was no problem in simply stating the sickness. It was midway into her next sentence she remembered another line from Hiyori's works. "It's just a fever. I'm ashamed to say I forgot you were a doctor Ms. Shee…Miyuki. Hiyori talks about you so much after every one of her chapters; you must be getting along nicely."
A long smile stretched across Miyuki's face. "We are, she's a very loving person who makes me happy without end. I like to think that's what makes people love her stories, how much love she has inside of her when she writes them. It must leak out sometimes."
"Sorry I'm late," Hiyori said, flipping a welcoming hand into the air. Her sudden entrance sent Haruka flinching in her seat, both with excitement and a slight spook. "We would have gotten here earlier but I accidentally put the clock on snooze."
"No, it's my fault," Miyuki said. "I usually set the clock correctly but forgot we had to wake up an hour earlier today."
"I'm just glad we packed early like you said or else we would be in real trouble. I'm a wreck without you sometimes," Hiyori said. The editor watched attentively as the scene played out before her, noticing how Hiyori's hand carefully topped Miyuki's before she leaned in for a kiss, like a private warning system telling her affection was on the way. It was clear why such a method was necessary, the tomato red flashing onto the pale beauty's face was astonishing, like watching a marshmallow darkened in a fire, a fire that could grow wild any second. Despite certain scenes in some of the mangaka's works, the kiss was gentle and nothing short of romantic, those lips slipping through the air and nearly piecing perfectly against Miyuki's. Apparently the two did not act careful enough. Their glasses hit and they both attempted to twist out of the mistaken impact but only manage to get their glasses caught in each other.
"Oh my!" Miyuki peeped.
"Crap, we better be careful Ms. Sheep, we need our glasses for this trip," Hiyori said. It was amusing to watch the both of them nervously move their hands towards the scene, both retracting when they saw the other try to fix it but returning their fingers to their faces when they both offered to heal the situation. "You do it Miyuki, you're gentler."
Like playing a harp's strings, Miyuki separated the connection. However, her glasses seemed to slip down her pinked nose all the way to the edge. Hiyori pulled out a notepad and jotted down a few notes, quickly slipping it back into her pocket when finished-it must have been routine behavior. "Now that's moe!" panted out Hiyori who watched her lover adjust her lenses. It was seconds after that the meganekko found a hand on her shoulder and receiving a more well angled kiss from the artist. Haruka watched as those cheeks of the so-called Ms. Sheep puffed up from her sweet smile.
"So you two really are close, I've never actually seen you two in person but I've read a lot about your relationship," Haruka said, resting her arm on the small table that separated them from her, her chin atop her palm. "But I have to hear it from the horse's mouth, why do you call Miyuki 'Ms. Sheep'?"
Hiyori snapped her fingers. "That's easy! She's fluffy. Everything about her is fluffy like a sheep. It takes godly craft to form such a beauty that makes you want to cuddle just by looking at it. But looks aside, she just acts fluffy right? That's my Miyuki, Ms. Sheep."
"Do you have any nicknames for Hiyori?" Haruka asked, now directing her sight towards the subject of the conversation.
"Um…well, my nicknames aren't very creative. I simply call her 'honey' or 'Hiyorin'."
The named woman pulled out a laptop from her bag and placed it on the table. "You guys don't mind if I go on my laptop for a moment do you?"
Haruka and Miyuki shook their heads. The editor couldn't help but notice the computer was from a recent series she herself had her eyes on. "That's a nice machine. Where did you buy it from?"
Hiyori perked up her lenses. "That's a funny story actually. Spin it Miyuki!"
The shift of attention caught the blob off guard. "Oh! Well, it was a little while before Christmas and…"
The two agreed to go crazy with that year's gifts to each other so a budget in the thousands was approved by both of them over lunch. The money wasn't difficult to obtain, Hiyori's latest manga was a hit in sales and later adapted into a mainstream anime while Miyuki's profession as a doctor at a shared clinic was nothing short of a slide for money to fall down onto. Making certain to hunt and purchase gifts on separate days, it wasn't until the night of Christmas Eve, on their knees, dressed in holiday socks and sweaters that they handed each other both heavy boxes.
"Wow! Miyuki…this is perfect! A laptop, I really needed this. How did you know?"
"I should say the same…you bought me a laptop as well."
"Well, we always have to share and if anyone should be using the busted up it shouldn't be you and…"
The two stared at each other, eyes wide like looking into the face of an angel. "I'm sure it'll take some time to set these up…" Hiyori started.
"Oh yes, and we have to move our files from the old computer and customize the settings so…" Miyuki excitedly replied, hugging her new toy without notice. They both slowly stood up, computers in hand.
"So…see you later?" Hiyori asked.
"Y-yes. There's a lot to do on the new computer." Their excitement couldn't be pushed back any further. They ran to their separate rooms, Hiyori to her art room and Miyuki to the bedroom, both popping open their gifts and basking in the screen's light. It took a few seconds before they both ran back into the living room and pecked each other on the lips, remembering their manners. "Merry Christmas Miyuki!"
"Merry Christmas honey! Thank you for the present!"
"Yeah, thanks for the laptop. I really, really love it! And…" The two nodded, no need for sentiments. Their new laptops needed immediate attention!
"We ended up staying up all night without even seeing each other," Miyuki said, holding her cheek as she talked.
"Yeah, when morning hit we just fell into bed and went to sleep," Hiyori added. "Which kinda sucked since I had some color pages left to finish. We talked about our computers at dinner and all the stuff we found on the internet. It's nice to have a safe haven for my doujinshi stash. Heh, there was one time where Miyuki found some of my more 'fetish-related' goods stored under My Pictures."
"I think I was quiet for most of the day when that happened."
"Yeah, you couldn't look me in the eye without feeling nervous. Man, I was so scared; I was half expecting a letter on the table saying 'Sorry, our tastes are just too different. I'm leaving you.' You wouldn't believe the relief I felt when she talked to me in bed that night, saying stuff like 'I don't think I can share your interests with that kind of stuff but I don't mind if you keep it to yourself, well hidden in a different folder.'"
"Really? It must be nice to have such an accepting wife." Haruka commented.
"I know! What she said that day felt like a definite final flag for me" Hiyori said. "It was after that day that I definitely knew Miyuki and I were meant to be together forever! Especially after I got her to dress up for me."
"Hiyori…" Miyuki murmured. Haruka was shocked, the sheep's embarrassed face was especially cute! She was beginning to wonder how even a respectable geek like Hiyori struck so big.
"How did you two meet anyway?"she asked, realizing she had to hide a faint irritation in her loose smile.
"It's funny that you should ask. There's actually a secret motive behind this sudden trip. I know we're going on a trip for research but we're going to have to make a stop first. It's where Miyuki and I had our first date actually. I think it was there I decided that I wanted Miyuki as my wife. I think I was about 15."
"That soon?!" Haruka exclaimed.
"Well…yeah. Is there a normal age?"
"It's not 15!"
"And our story began in my freshman year; I was still waiting for Haruhi Suzumiya's second season and…"
"You're ignoring me."
Author's Note: A new couple is on the block. I plan three chapters for this story; the second will be longer than the first of course. Tell me what you guys think, I love to hear your opinions on my story.