Information: That designer name is just something that I made out. Anything in the future about Hatsumi and Ryoki is also a bluff cause I haven't bought Hot Gimmick S yet so I dunno anything about those two. And the OC, Mayu Alice is mine!
Disclaimer: I do not own HG and if I do I'll have Azusa for myself. (Sigh)Azusa...(in trance state)
'What a tiring day'. Azusa stretched his hands like a feline done with its nap. As he heard a bone pop in his spine, he stiffened but sighed in pleasure afterwards. "Nice shooting today, Azusa," a female voice called from behind him.
"Yeah?" The male model shrugged carelessly and run his hand through his new dyed lavender hair. "It's just like any other shooting, Rina." The twain walked to the lounge where Azusa always had a habit of having cokes after his shooting. He inserted some coins into the vending machine and asked if his manager wanted a can of carbonated drinks too.
The female manager, Rina Katsuragi, gave him a small smile and flagged her hands in refusal gesture. She took a glance to the clipboard in her hand and relocated her glasses. "Tomorrow you're going to have another shoot for a new theme. Lovebirds' wardrobe from Mabel's new designs for the upcoming summer. And the model you're going to work with is a new model from Paris, Mayu Alice."
"Mayu Alice? That's a weird name," Azusa mused before he took a big gulp of coke and blissfully sighed as the drink patched his sore throat.
"It's her commercial name after she successfully becomes a children model when she's thirteen seven years ago." Rina handed her clipboard and showed the picture of the model.
"Hmm," he hummed in sarcastic wonderment. "A pompous model then." Azusa took a look of the picture. Her hair was dark red in colour and had brilliant green eyes. 'Probably contact lenses,' he thought. From her profile she's a Japanese, and Asian women usually don't have eye colour but black or brown unless they have foreign genetics.
"Don't say that. She's quite popular in Paris," Rina chastised in not-so-chastise tone as the male model handed back the clipboard.
"Quite popular but not popular enough," Azusa dismissively argued. He bid goodbye to his manager with a chaste wave. As he ambled on the crowded sidewalk, he rummaged his mind, trying to decide where to go before he went home to his dark, eerie silent apartment. After he had turned eighteen, he had moved from the apartment he used to live under one roof with Hatsumi and whatnot of other people. He bought an apartment near his workplace, but the main reason he moved away was because Hatsumi didn't live there anymore, not after she was married to Ryoki when they turned eighteen.
The day when he heard Ryoki swore in front of his mother that he will marry Narita right after they turned eighteen, Azusa thought he was joking. 'But knowing him… maybe not,' the model thought with wry smile on his face. He was kind of shocked when he heard the marriage took place. They were married when they reached their legal age, but not after when they almost reached nineteen, some family lectures worth of ten years from both parents, and gaining green lights from the officers and the priest. But of course, the latter, Ryoki had to blackmailed them that if they're not married right there and then, they're not going to get sorry for their ass.
Jerking his hands upwards to the sky, which causes several people looked at him weird, Azusa made his decision. "I'm going to visit them and their new baby!" After two years of marriage, those two couple was blessed with a healthy boy some months ago and he was appointed as one of the very cute baby's godfather--much to Ryoki's dismay. And with his visits again today, Ryoki totally going to hooked him like a quarry under the inspection of a hawk every time Azusa was near one inch radius with the newborn.
When Hatsumi asked him to be a godfather for her newborn, Azusa had tried to decline, but the girl once he loved insisted. He had been hurt when he saw those lovebirds in the altar, silently wishing that it was him instead of Ryoki next to Hatsumi. But somehow the new change of life and the arrival of the new soul; recede his pain and were changed to satisfaction every time he saw Hatsumi's eyes filled with happiness when she looked at her husband or her son.
Azusa stopped in his track when two kids ran passed in front of him without so much care in this world. He turned his gaze towards the destination of the children and saw them ran towards a group of other children packed in front of a performer in the park. The performer was wearing a masquerade mask and his hands were expertly turned the string of the marionettes he was handling. 'Changed that to 'she',' Azusa thought when he sized up the hourglass figure and the long red hair that was tied to a ponytail. His guess was confirmed when the performer started to narrate a story and came out the angelic voice of a female.
Oblivious even to himself, Azusa was standing there, forgot his real intention. Instead, he listened to the rapt of the performer and some random, curious questions of the children. The spot where he was standing a few feet from the little group, made him able to decipher what the narrator was speaking. Something about a long made promise made by the prince to the princess, that the prince won't forget her even though the princess was out of country for years later on. And the princess promised to the prince that when they meet again, she will make a lot of onigiri for him, his favourite food.
Something in that made Azusa covered his mouth when he felt his throat ring in chortle. But it failed when the kids laughed and made him unconsciously laughed with them. 'Onigiri…what kind of lame promise is that!' Azusa thought with a smile, completely amused. By the time the performer ends her story, the sun already peeking from the west and the sky already coloured with amazing of red and orange. Azusa slapped his forehead when he remembered what he's supposed to do that day. "Damn! My new son!"
Sighing disappointedly, the model decided to visit him tomorrow. Ryoki never allowed him to visit when the sun already set. Once, he did and the guy said his son needed a good night rest, his present brought bad omen to the newborn, his stale alcohol mouth--even though he didn't drink else but coke that night--going to influence the boy to be like him, and--'Yadda, yadda, yadda,' he dismissively thought when he figured out that thinking back what Ryoki exactly said going to make his night seemed younger than it supposed to. And please, note the sarcasm.
After fidgeting with the doorknob, Azusa did nothing but swung the door opened and kicked the door closed and locked the door safe. Throwing the keys to the kitchen counter, he walked towards the fridge and searched anything edible in the freezer box. Right after he spotted a chilled onigiri in his fridge, he blinked and entered a few second of trance before he laughed again, remembering the story he heard that afternoon. Grabbing the packet of food, he brought to the microwave and heated it. Even when he was savouring the ball of now warm rice, he can't keep down his chuckle and at some point he needed help of a big gulp of water when he choked on the food.
Slamming his body--after a fresh shower--on the springy bed, he kept his gaze on the ceiling and compare what happened yesterday with today's event. Nothing changed drastically, just a few shots and more of few shots. 'But just one…' he realized. He was laughing today. True, that he always laughed when his friends made kinky jokes or when Hatsumi tried to composed herself from having a major blushing breakout, but his laugh never felt real than today's. The funny in it kept long-lasted and he didn't felt like he just laughed for the sake of it. As he was pondering the reason of why, his eyelids felt heavy and tried as he might to fight, he fell asleep in some good minutes later.
--Dream--
A teenage boy rested his chin on his knees and wrapped his legs with his long hands as he concentrated at nothing in the horizon. Under the tree he sat on, some lights were able to shine through the rustling leaves. "Azu-chan! Azu-chan!" a merry voice of a girl made the boy turned towards the running figure. But before he was able to recognize the little figure, they were pummelled to the ground by the force of the girl throwing herself to him. After some embarrassed and stuttered shouts for the girl to let him go, the two kids made themselves comfortable again. "Here a bento I made! A bento!"
A purple lunch box was shoved in front of him, making him jerked his head in surprise. Reluctantly, he took the box and put them on the ground not caring even to have a peek of the food inside. The girl tilted her head in confusion of his friend's action and nudged his sulking body. When Azusa grunted as asking what she wants, the girl asked, "Why don't you open the bento? I made it special for you." Azusa raised his eyebrow in incredulous manner, not believing the girl beside him can cook. But instead of taking offence, the girl beamed and flashed him the widest smile Azusa ever seen people can do. "Didn't I tell you yesterday that I'm going to make a food that indicates the meaning of your surname?" She nudged the twelve year old boy again to open the bento.
With a defeated sigh, Azusa peeled the lid open and what he saw inside was… "Onigiri?" he mused out loud. Not the most beautiful or neat onigiri he ever seen, even though the dish was simple to make, but what this food has anything to do with his surname?
"Yup! Onigiri is your last name right? So that's why I made you rice balls! Genius me, ne?!"
His eyes were twitching badly. He could feel it. Pinching the girl's cheek in not very gentle way, causing the girl to whine in pain, he glowered. "Genius you, eh?" he muttered in such soft voice. Twirling the pinched cheek between his fingers, he continued, "Not so 'genius' if you don't even remember your best friend's surname!"
After more of whining and some effort to pry the evil hands away, the girl rubbed her red cheeks and pouted. "Well, I know you're last name is Odagiri, but still… I just wanna made you happy…"
Azusa sighed again and munched the onigiri. "Why you did even made the suggestion anyway if you're so stupid not to know how to differentiate that?" he asked carelessly between mouthfuls.
"You know I'm going to move…and probably I'm not going to come back in Japan, so that's why I made something that can be memorable," she mumbled.
Gulping the last bite of onigiri, he took another onigiri but before he ate it he said, "Just move if you wanna move. I don't really care."
The girl snapped his head towards the boy and failed to cover the tears flooding in her eyelids. "Bu--but, if I moved then Azu-chan's going to be lonely again--" she choked her sobbed and cried rather loudly.
Ignoring the crying teen beside him, he plopped the onigiri into his mouth and looked over the sky with a forlorn face. Actually, he really cared if she's going to move away. He was hurt when he heard the girl's going to move faraway from Japan. From there and then he knew he was going to lose another precious friend--next to Hatsumi. Granted, Hatsumi sometimes gave him cards or letters when he moved to another school, but it had become so much less later on and at last turned to nothingness. And it probably applied to the bawling friend next to him.
When he moved to the new school, everyone turned a mocking face to him but not her. Everyone insulted his mother or him but not her. Everyone spoke so harsh to him that he thought his ears going to split from such torture, but not her. She was so nice that sometimes he thought the girl was just an imaginary friend of his. But sometimes she was just so annoying that he thought it would be nice if he could pummel her like Play-Doh. But one thing for sure, he was grateful that he met her. After finishing the last bite of onigiri, he landed his hand on her head without so much of comforting words. Her cry receded to muffled sobs a few minutes later and with that he decided one thing he could promise. "Don't worry, I won't forget you. Ever."
The girl sniffed loudly, touched by his exclamation and of course to prevent herself look silly with a running nose. She smile again and hugged the boy which responded with the same force she could utter. "And when I come back, I'll make you a lot of onigiris."
That's all. Actually I make this as a one-shot, cause I feel so sad that Azu was left alone to his solace. Please review and tell me what you think. I'm on my way of doing another story 'Tea for Two,' aka, T42. It's OHS Host Club story. If you wanna read that too, plz review!