Do not own Kaori Nishidake or Marisol Diez Delgaldo. The plot is mine so no copywriting please :) And Thank you Hybrid for your help ;)
"Dearest Kaori,
It's good to hear from you, Chica. I see you've been busy; your new image is lovely. I do like your hair and I'm glad you finally took my opinion into view and wore a skirt for your promos. You do have nice legs. :) Will I be seeing you on my TV Screen this winter? I'm currently doing modelling in Africa that involves some rather raunchy pictures of myself. But if you want some let me know ;)
Did you see Elise's new Amazon women range? As much as we loathed each other we did have lots of respect for each other. Please tell her I've bought five pairs of the sequined underwear, and I find the whole range is gorgeous. I do hope Zoë and Elise are fine, and I hope you are well. Seeiah is producing music for Ziggy Marley in America at the moment. She has turned into a fine music video director.
I really can't wait to see you again Kaori. When are you coming back to LA? I miss you. I miss the snow as well, but I guess I am more of a sun and beach loving girl. ;) Now listen I received your last letter and I know how you feel about your body, but you aren't a Japanese porn star all right? You don't need bigger breasts; they're lovely as they are. How is your relationship with Mac going? I hope to hear from you soon. Keep Sexy. Hugs and Kisses. Marisol Kaori sighed and folded the paper over and put it back into the envelope. She would reply to Marisol later. Kaori stood in front of the mirror and sighed once more. She really did miss the bigger girl. She was such a bright vibrant person that bought so much to the circuit. Allegra and Skye just weren't the same.
xxxxx"
How is your relationship with Mac going? The sentence pounded incessantly around her head. In all truths … it was fine. Great, in fact. Mac was wonderful to her – he was taking her out for dinner later on. Wining and dining, so to speak. She'd been looking forward to it.
Then she'd seen that damn envelope with her name written on the front in that looping script. That damn letter … they were just words …
Kaori stared in the mirror. She smoothed her hands over her jeans, wondering whether the outfit had been the right choice. Marisol always told her these jeans never did her justice. Should she change?
Did it matter? A voice asked in the back of her mind. She bit her lip, staring uncertainly into the mirror for a moment longer. Then, realising she was agonising over her appearance, she threw up her hands, and swore several times in Japanese.
She had to get out of this room. Without a second thought, she grabbed her board and stormed out of the lodge, intent on losing herself on the slopes for a few hours.
When are you coming back to LA?
Shut up, she told herself viciously. Just … shut up.
Marisol was a good friend of hers, and they'd got close the last time they were on the mountain together. Watching crappy videos while gorging on pizza, and then complaining that they were getting fat loudly the next day. Stealing each other's make up – like they could hardly raid each other's closets – and singing off key along to their CD collection.
When Marisol had left for California and Kaori had stayed on the tour, she thought it would be okay. Sure, she'd miss her, but they'd write and Elise and Allgera and Skye were still here. Heaven knows they like gorging on pizza – the delivery guy hardly ever leaves the place.
But it was still different. It was almost like Kaori …
No. She didn't need her.
… and denial was just a river in Egypt.
Kaori had wondered night upon night if Marisol was gonna get back to her. Fanmail came for them everyday, but she didn't pay much attention to the mail; it was her one flaw, to not read mail and miss out. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate her fans, but she couldn't keep reading "Kaori you rock! I'm your biggest fan! You made me snowboard!" every damn morning – it was so repetitive.
It had always been up to Elise to check if Kaori had any letters from her family or friends, even though it made her feel the tiniest bit guilty. Sure, she was pretty damn bouncy and happy fifty percent of the time, but that was thanks to Marisol's influence. She had matured. Her new friend Sid had helped a little, as well; Kaori knew he had the biggest crush going on her, even if there were about 7 years difference between the pair.
However, Sid was crazier than she'd ever been. Psymon, too, had calmed down after watching sponsors pawn over them. It was a shame; she secretly missed arguing with the freak. The tour had changed too much. There were the usuals that hadn't made a difference by coming back. Elise and Mac for instance, but for others her included...
It was as if SSX and SSX Tricky had never existed.
Though in her eyes, SSX Tricky was gonna live forever, no tour would be the same. Not without Marisol. As she swerved her way through trees and pulled off small grabs - a shifty here, a Stalefish there - Kaori had to ask herself whether it was what she wanted to be doing her whole life. She had enjoyed snowboarding as the bouncy, hyper-active, Psymon-irritating teen she had been, but now it all seemed pointless. Did she really wanna be like Elise, Psymon and Nate? Snowboarding into her thirties?
Her mother had wanted her to get married. But Kaori sure as hell couldn't imagine taking Mac - or even Marisol - back to meet her parents.
"Find a nice Japanese boy. Who you can settle down with and raise a family." Her mother had said before she left for the tour. "You need a life now Kaori, a proper job. You can't keep giving us your winnings forever."
She had thought of other jobs she could be doing. She HAD envisioned being a Japanese model. But had been too self conscious about her small A/B Cups. She had asked Marisol for advice, and that looping handwriting had told her right away what she feared. "Now listen I received your last letter and I know how you feel about your body, but you aren't a Japanese porn star all right? You don't need bigger breasts; they're lovely as they are."
She was a grown woman now, and at twenty-one years old Kaori knew she shouldn't be worrying about what males had thought of her. Marisol seemed to be having a blast in Africa; maybe it was finally time to let go of her childish fantasies and stop listening to her mother. Maybe it was time to do things her own way, just like Marisol did. Kaori pulled her board to a stop and wiped her browline. She put her hand into her pocket and pulled out the letter again staring at it for a few moments and breathing heavily. Kaori stuffed it in her pocket and walked towards Atomika's office.
Marisol sat quietly in her African apartment, curling her hair and sipping on her coffee. The television was casting flickering shadows across the room, but she wasn't paying much attention to it. Channel surfing was getting quite dull, and she needed to be up at five the next morning for a photoshoot. Yawning and giving a wide stretch, she glanced at the clock, which told her it was ten-thirty, and decided to finish her hair and coffee and get to bed.
She stood up and straightened out her camisole and shorts, and grabbed her mug and hair curlers, intent of putting them away. On her way through to the kitchen, a picture of the SSX gang caught her eye – one face in particular. She nibbled her lip; she hadn't received a reply from Kaori yet, and it worried her. Kaori was usually very good at replying to letters.
The doorbell startled her out of her reverie and Marisol frowned. Who would be visiting her at this hour? She unlocked the door and pulled it open just enough to see who was standing on her doorstep. "Oh my!" she exclaimed, suddenly throwing the door open fully. "Chica!"
Kaori pull her bag strap a little higher on her shoulder and nodded, feeling a genuine smile pull at the corners of her lips for the first time in months. "Konnichiwa." she replied.
It felt good to be home.
Not a very imaginative finish I realise but nevermind eh. Reviews are greatly appreciated :)