Four Days

Chapter 1; Examples of Love

Akko was half blinded by the lights flickering around her. The room was dark and sweaty and made her feel claustrophobic, with the mass of hot bodies jumping and shifting around her. She felt a hard shoulder bump hers. A slick thigh brushed the back of her knee, and she flinched. A girl whipped her hair, twisting and flailing with abandon, bumping into Akko far too often.

The music, the heat, not even the bodies mattered though. Not when she came into view. Mari, thick black hair cascading down her shoulders in sexy waves, pushed through the crowd, and gave a soft smile - despite the chaos around them. Akko bit her lip and held out her arms in a silent request, and Mari immediately slipped into them, careful not to spill their drinks as she wrapper her arms around her girlfriend's waist.

"Still here?"

Adorable little dimples dented Mari's cheeks.

"Always."

"We should do something."

Mari replied with little but a distracted murmur, continuing to flick through her Home Economics magazine. Kuno frowned at the lack of reaction.

"Mari? Helloooo? Friend hinting at reasonably important troubles here? Suggesting a get away? You're loaded?"

"Yes, yes..." Mari said, reluctantly placing her magazine down. "What's the problem? And what do you mean a 'get away'?"

"I mean a vacation! A resort, an adventure! Anywhere but boring old Tokyo!"

"And the question I asked that was actually important?"

Kuno looked away, an uncharacteristic grimace coming to her lips. Mari already knew this was another episode of Kuno deluding herself with imaginary hints of Ouji cheating on her. "I think Ouji is cheating on me..." There it was.

"What was it this time? A hair on this shirt? He does work in an office, you know. He could have just innocently caught some girl that tripped, or even a guy with really lo-"

"There was a message on his phone."

Mari stopped immediately. "... Why were you going through his phone?"

"I wasn't!" Kuno said immediately with an offended furrow of her pretty brows. "How could you even think I would...! We got matching ring tones," That's not surprising. Mari thought, exasperated at their cheesiness. "and I thought it was my phone. I just opened it and started reading it automatically."

"Okay, so..." Mari said slowly. "What did it say...?"

Mari watched as genuine distress flickered over Kuno's face, and her eyes glazed over with the beginning of tears. Mari suddenly became quite worried - Kuno did cry, but when she did, it was normally fast and melodramatic. Tears she actually tries to suppress? Not a good sign.

"It was asking him when he wanted to book their hotel next Saturday..." She said quietly, her voice trembling. "Two days ago, I asked him to go on a date with me then. He said... he would be working late..."

Mari grimaced and curled an arm around her friend. Kuno turned into her arms, pressing against her shoulders - hiding the tears. Definitely not a good sign. But... they seemed so in love. Why would he cheat on her? "This could be a misunderstanding, okay? And even if its not... just, forget that ass. There are others, better than a guy who would cheat."

Kuno sniffled and looked up at Mari, smiling briefly, but it dropped much too soon, and she sighed. "I just want to get out of here, Mari. Away from him."

"If you want to get away, then that's just what we'll do. And I know the gang would love a chance to escape from all their university junk. Plus..." Mari leaned over the table and rummaged around in her bag, then pulled out a small square box that made Kuno feel better just seeing it. "I have dark chocolate."

"With strawberry filling?"

"Raspberry."

"God I wish there were guys like you..." Kuno moaned, breaking into the box with surprising efficiency.

Mari smiled.

Sorry babe. Already taken.

A man with broad shoulders, clipped black hair and an expensive tailored suit flicked the newspaper in his hands straight, his eyes trailing over one of the clippings covering the large page. He heard the padding of feet coming down the stairs through the wall, and glanced up to the familiar, and sorely missed sight of his daughter descending from the flight. She smiled as her eyes met his.

"Father," She said, leaning down to press a brief kiss to his rough cheek. "Good morning."

"Good morning Su-chan." He smiled. It faltered as he noted her slipping her shoes on. "You're not going to have breakfast? It's not like you're late. Your lectures don't start for another few hours..."

"I know. I invited some friends for breakfast at my place. Thanks for letting me stay the night, by the way; I know how relieved you are to have me finally out of here." Sugi gave her dad a knowing wink, and he attempted a smile. If only she knew how much we miss her... "Bye dad!"

"Good bye dear! Don't hesitate to ask us to stay! You're welcome any...time." He finished quietly, but she was already out the door, opening the front gate. He frowned after his daughter, and returned to his newspaper, realizing how depressing all these stories usually were.

Taguchi shifted under the heavy duvet draped over her. She scowled, and blinked at the stickiness of her eyes. Her arm brushed something. Someone. It made her shiver unpleasantly, and she pushed herself up to sit properly, her long legs folding themselves up in front of her, away from the lanky body beside her.

Who was this guy? Why didn't she remember him?

She took in the pastiness of his face - the side she could actually see as he was lying on his front- and how his breathing made the bedding under his plaster skin shift. He seemed gross to her then, and she slid out of the bed, trudging through whatever apartment or hotel she was in. It was a hotel. She found her clothes and slipped them on, then left, sending the woman at the front counter an embarrassed smile.

Taguchi sighed in relief as she accepted the coffee she had ordered, her usual cure for a hang over, and jumped as the phone in her pocket vibrated. She attempted to tug it out of her tight jeans. "Taguchi?" it crackled the instant she answered.

It was Akko. "No, the Prince of France."

"Ooh, exotic. Free on Sunday? Or, say, right now?"

"Of course. Where am I going?"

"Sugi is holding a breakfast for friends. We need you to serve our drinks, since you have that hospitality thing. Bring your work uniform! You're hot in a dress-shirt and slacks."

"What happened to the whole prince thing? But thank you. Pass on my arrival; I want a proper greeting, lines of servants and all."

"Of course, your highness!"

Taguchi smiled as she snapped her mobile closed. Better pick up some cake or something.

Tamamin smiled as she heard the door click open, and the familiar sound of her best friend bustling into her apartment. She sat on Sugi's bed in her cutest cosplay - a professionally made Mahora winter uniform, Asuna's bell ribbons included - waiting like the loyal puppy she had been associated with by her friends for years. Sugi walked in a moment later, her hands white with grasping 3 bags each, obviously surprised at Tamamin's presence. "Tam..." She murmured, and said girl frowned a little at how shocked she looked. Sugi blinked, and smiled. "What a surprise." She said simply. Tamamin grinned jovially.

"I thought, since you invited everyone to come over in mere hours and I knew you were staying at your parents that I would pop around early to help with cooking and such. Good thing I know where you hide your spare key, it's freezing out there!"

"It is late November." Sugi murmured, placing the plastic bags of various goodies on her small dining table. She began to remove items from bags, and Tamamin followed her movements, apparently expecting something. "I bought croissants, ham, cheese and a few jams. If you're going to help, could you set the oven?"

"Of course," Tamamin sang out, rolling off the bed and bounding into the kitchenette excitedly. She shrugged off her maroon blazer and rolled up her sleeves. Sugi cocked a brow at her red and gold striped tie.

"Nice get up. You look like the secretly filthy sixteen-year-old-girl in some old man's fantasy." She fingered the tie, and tugged it playfully when Tamamin puckered her lips for a kiss.

"Oh, yes! Asuna, getting intimate with Ayaka the class rep, gagging for forbidden fruit in the form of her hunky math teacher Takamichi."

"Isn't he like, forty?"

Tamamin's eyes sparkled in amusement, as well as a pleasant surprise. "You read it."

"The little boy on the front was cute." She said simply, popping a cream covered finger into her mouth. Tamamin frowned.

"Cream?"

"I'm whipping it with sugar and cinnamon. Its good on bananas and ice-cream."

"Gods girl, calm down. This is breakfast, not the local maid cafe`."

"Don't you get talking about those creepy fetish-feeders." Sugi scowled, and Tamamin giggled. They fell into a comfortable silence as Tamamin placed the wedges of pastry on several trays, layering them in the oven while Sugi beat the thick liquid into a fluffy mass of sugar and milkiness. Tamamin span on her heel, diving into the bags still on the tabletop. There were still about four bags untouched. She rummaged through the heaviest, and pulled out a large bottle of rather effective alcohol. Tamamin sent Sugi a look.

"What were you hoping to achieve with this, Miss Sugimoto?" She drawled, holding up the bottle of green-tinted drink.

"Oh, shut up." Sugi said, snatching it from her snickering friend, her cheeks colouring at the implied accusation. "I got it because you find it almost impossible to have a real party without it."

Tamamin frowned. "It's ten in the morning!" She gasped over-dramatically, placing her hand on her chest. "Are you saying I'm an alcoholic? Must you really bring this up now, so close to christmas? Think of the children...!"

"Oh, well I do apologize dear but it is an issue that must be addressed." Sugi said, leaning forward on her hands, her voice trembling as she settled into her role. "You think of the children, you, when you're guzzling down that awful red wine and dry champagne like your life depends on it!"

"Oh, you can insult me, but leave the whine and cham out of it!" Tamamin said, raising her hand as to hit her. Sugi let out a half snicker at her ridiculous tone, but went back into character in a second, reeling back with false fear. "Look at you now, resorting to domestic violence!" She wailed. "Oh, you men...!"

"Wha..." Tamamin let her hand fall, a little disheartened pout coming to her lips. "Aw, I'm a man? You just ruined it."

"Well I'm not being a man." Sugi said, indignant.

"So we're a pair of quarreling lesbos, then?" She joked. Sugi paused, and gave her a weak smile, going back to bowl of cream. Was I imigining that, or did it just get kinda awkward?

"I think I might have gone too hard on this cream." Sugi muttered, and Tamamin took it as it was - a gate way out of the odd lull in conversation that had came over them. She lifted herself up on the counter, placing the bottle of liquor at her side. Her brow furrowed as she picked up the smell of... smoke...?

"Uh oh." Her eyes widened, and she jumped from the counter, rushing over to the oven. Her hands safely clad in orange fish mittens, she pulled a tray from the oven, placing them on the table one by one as fast as she could. She looked down at the croissant's seared ends, and smiled apologetically up at a grimacing Sugi.

"At least they'll be crunchy?"

Kuno dragged her hand along the glass of the patisserie, her eyes scanning it for the best treat she could buy in mass to impress and please her friends. She noted the vanilla custard slice and strawberry short bread, then moved on to cakes. Ah, screwit. "Six sections of the vanilla custard slice please?" The pretty girl at the counter nodded with a dazzling smile, and Kuno appreciated her sandy curled hair. That might look nice... Maybe Ouji would like it.

Ouji. Her smile fell, and the girl's hair was quite far out of her thoughts. Idiot. Possibly cheating idiot. Lying, possibly cheating idiot! She took the paper bag handed to her with a strained smile and left the shop, huffing in annoyance. It left a little white cloud of condensation, and Kuno began unconsciously letting out puffs of hot breath into the cool winter air. Her eyes strained across the road for a second, and snapped back as she spotted a familiar young man holding the hand of another girl. Kuno was overwhelmed simultaneously by the biggest waves of anger, disappointment and embarrassment she had ever felt as it became clear that it was indeed Ouji, and that was certainly not his sister, who she had met orhis mother, as she was much too young. Shamefully young, in fact. What is she, fourteen? Okay, maybe that was stretching it but Ouji was almost twenty four! She looked she was barely out of puberty. ...A cousin? Kuno thought, a little hope returning to her. But the thought was dashed when he leaned over and whispered something in her ear, making her blush and giggle bashfully, like they had so many times before. Their fingers entwined, and he pulled her into a small gift shop, finally escaping Kuno's shocked gaze.

She felt sick. She felt physically sick, emotionally drained, and she wanted to run. She needed to move from here, she needed her friend; her friends, all five of them. She felt her feet move again, slowly picking up pace as she saw the people and buildings blur through the tears brimming over. Tagu...

Her thoughts - and her run - were broken as she bumped rather heavily into someone walking opposite her, tumbling backwards and to the ground. It hurt a little, but she was too saddened to care, and just looked down, sniffling, expecting the person to move on if she ignored them long enough. "Kuno?" A familiar voice said, and she looked up at the concerned face of her best friend. Taguchi suddenly looked quite worried, and Kuno felt a soft gloved hand cup her cheek. "Ku, are you okay? You look like you're on the edge of tears..."

"Tagu..." She whimpered, leaning up into a half-kneel to rap her arms around her friends neck, burying her head into the girl's shoulder. "I-I saw him, Tagu... With another woman..." Kuno's arms tightened when she felt Taguchi's strong arms wrap around her waist, pulling her to stand up properly. She stumbled to her feet, and almost fell into Taguchi, nestling into the comfortable crook of Taguchi's neck, breath still stuttering as she held herself back from breaking down right there. She felt the hands on her back rub her soothingly, and Taguchi whispered little comforts that made Kuno feel slightly better.

People in the street around them were giving them odd looks now, but Kuno didn't care, and apparently Taguchi didn't either. She leaned back until she look meet Kuno's eyes, and brushed away tears Kuno hadn't realized were trailing down her cheeks.

"Let's get out of the cold. Then you can tell me everything. Sugi's place isn't far..."

"B-but you were headed,"

"It doesn't matter." Taguchi said, flashing a charming smile. "Plus, you already handled that, right?" She gestured to the paper bag, and Kuno sent her a questioning look. "We have similar tastes."

Kuno smiled, and blinked away her tears, and with them her thoughts of Ouji.

For now.

"Finally!"

"Sorry, am I late...?" Akko asked gingerly, closing the door behind her.

"Way late!" Sugi snapped, her hands on her ample hips. "I said 'eleven', not 'eleven hours from now'."

"Well, lets pretend you did, and you can consider me early. Anyway, I came bringing gifts."

Sugi looked at the small dark brown bag that had been raised, taking in the logo of the local specialty chocolate shop.

"... You didn't."

"Black Forest Gateau."

Sugi flashed a brilliant smile. "Consider yourself forgiven. Your lateness is always fashionable, anyway."

"Of course."

The apartment began to rumble lightly, and both occupants turned to the near door, expecting Tamamin to burst out and tackle someone. Instead, Mari was the one swinging the door open. She stood there, one hand on the doorhandle, the other on the frame, staring at the newest arrival. Sugi brushed past her with a 'I'll just go do... something...' and was soon forgotten.

"You're late."

A smile. "And you're looking ridiculously beautiful. But lets not talk about things we already know."

A huge grin broke over Mari's face, and she jumped her girlfriend in delight, her legs wrapping around Akko's slender waist. The brunette stumbled back, but managed to keep her footing with the help of a nearby coat hanger. "Steady on..." She chuckled.

"Mmmmm..." Mari hummed, her arms circling Akko's neck. "No." She ducked her head to press a brief kiss to Akko's lips.

Or that's what she intended, at least. As usual, even the simplest of kisses turned into more, and Mari melted in Akko's arms, sighing contentedly against her lips.

But, the sound of Tamamin's loud laughter was a reminder of who exactly was not a room away from them. Their friends; three of which were ignorant to the nature of their relationship. Akko reluctantly broke the kiss, and placed Mari back on solid ground. The girl pouted, and leaned up to press a quick kiss to Akko's nose before turning to go back into the room, Akko trailing after her with an annoyed sigh. Damn you straigh tpeople and your right to kiss in public!

"Ah, they return!" Tamamin said loudly, grinning like a drunk lad. "Making out at the door? Shame on you."

"Tamamin..." Sugi breathed. The girl just laughed.

"I'm only joking!"

"You need to stop reading those pervy books." Taguchi said, sipping at her coffee. "Giving you weird ideas about your friends."

"So says you. Didn't you ask to borrow one not two days ago?" There were suggestive 'ooh's and 'aah's all over the room, save Kuno who had been quiet pretty much the entire morning, and Taguchi blushed to the roots of her hair.

"I was curious what had you locking yourself in the toilets all day."

"Ooh, burn!" Akko said, her embarrassment from Tamamin's earlier comment apparently non-existent. The same could not be said for Mari, as she was still red at the cheeks, her eyes firmly on the table she was now seated at.

"I only do that because Sugi is so annoying. She just about has a hissy fit every time I even mention yuri or yaoi, or anything manga. Its sad."

"I'm sad? Me? You're the one dressing up and pretending to be made up characters from pathetic picture books written for men with no lives."

"Says the girl who asked for the second volume of Negima earlier this very morning." Surprised gazes were shot at Sugi, and she scowled.

"Negi is cute." She said simply. Tamamin hummed knowingly, her eyes twinkling. Sugi's scowl deepened.

"Everyone," The voice rang out particularly loud, as it had been the first thing its owner had said since her arrival. Akko looked a little confused by the expectant silence. "I have an announcement."

Mari sighed quietly, apparently foreseeing whatever this was.

"I'm breaking up with Ouji."

Sup guysss. Long time no see!

So, this is the new first chapter. Thoughts? Critiques? Has it changed too much? Is it long enough? Give me your thoughts! :)

I do hope you enjoy the rewritten story from now on.

- Klasado