Disclaimer: I do not own Love Live! This is entirely a work of fiction. These characters aren't mine :)
A/N: This is the unbeta'd version of the story. I own up to any mistakes in the story.
She's late.
Sonoda Umi is late for her first class, which started thirty minutes ago.
Am I going to make it?
Rushing past the many train commuters, she makes her way to the ticket booth and purchases her train ticket. Panting heavily, she checks the schedules. The train going to Hongo-sanchome Station left five minutes ago.
And the next train will arrive in ten minutes.
"…If it weren't for that 10-page essay for the English Lit class," she says irritably, plopping herself down on a nearby bench and setting her bag beside her.
She woke up five minutes before her 8am class, resulting to her mad rush to the train station earlier. She was up until 3am the night before to finish her essay, which was returned to her by her professor asking for its revision. And he's expecting it on his desk before 10am today. I can't even argue that I have other reports to finish.
Bringing out a copy of Japanese History and Civilization from herbag, she opens it to her bookmarked page. Since I already missed my first class, might as well study for my next.
Just then, she hears a noise nearby. She looks up to see a girl apologizing for bumping into an older woman.
"S-Sorry, I didn't see you because of the stuff I was carrying"
"It's alright, dear. Just be careful next time."
The girl smiles and, once again, apologizes to the older woman who smiles in return. She then makes her way to the other bench, across where Umi is, and sits down, depositing her things beside her. Her voice sounds nice, a bit high-pitched, but, nonetheless nice. Umi blushes, having realized what she was thinking.
The other girl pulls out a sketchpad from her things and starts flipping some pages. Looking closely, Umi observes that the girl looks really stylish with her red collar blouse and black skirt. She takes note of the girl's hair. Grayish-brown with a green ribbon tied to the right side. The girl looks up and their eyes meet.
Crap.
Umi diverts her eyes.
"The train going to Hongo-sanchome Station will arrive shortly. Passengers, please proceed to Platform 4A"
Hearing the announcement for the arrival of her train, Umi gathers her things and gets up. She makes her way to the indicated platform and doesn't dare look back to the other girl, knowing that her red face will give way to her embarrassment.
Mornings should not start this way.
Today is Saturday, which means that Umi has an obligatory weekly meet-up with her two friends from high school.
We will arrive at Ochanomizu Station in five minutes, is heard from the speakers.
Umi is currently sitting near the door, preoccupied with a book. She has just finished her archery practice for the day and is on her way to Akihabara to meet her friends.
Looking up from the book she's reading, she watches as the train slowly comes to a halt. The door opens and the passengers exit the train car. She goes back to her reading.
"Excuse me, is this seat taken?"
Umi didn't notice the train start moving, too absorbed with her book. She looks up.
Amber
That is the first thing Umi sees. The color of a girl's eyes. The same girl she saw last Monday. The girl who caught her staring.
"N-No, not really" she stammers, having remembered that she was asked a question.
The girl smiles at her. Umi knows that her face, even her ears, is red from her blushing. She removes the bag from the seat beside her and places it on her lap. She pretends to go back to her reading. The girl sits down next to her.
Why does this happen to me? She probably remembers what I did last time.
If it's possible, Umi's face goes a deeper shade of red. Glancing sideways, Umi observes the other girl. White dress and a green bolero jacket, a sketching pad and a few pencils inside her bag.
She must be an art student.
The speakers come to life, jarring her from her observations.
"We will arrive at Akihabara Station in a short while. Passengers, please wait until the doors fully open before you exit"
The girl beside her gathers her things into her hands. Umi catches a glimpse of a name written on the corner of the girl's sketchpad.
The passengers start to line up, waiting for the train doors to open.
She probably doesn't remember me after all.
The train comes to a stop. The doors open. Passengers begin to exit.
The girl stands up and makes her way to the door. Umi looks at her.
Before the girl exits, Umi swears she saw the girl glance back at her.
Or maybe she does.
Dumbfounded, Umi forgets that she has to get out. The ding of the train doors, signalling that it will soon close, startles her. She hurriedly stands up and joins the last batch of passengers exit the train.
Did I just imagine that?
Feeling the oncoming blush, she covers her mouth with the back of her hand. (As if doing so would help alleviate her embarrassment).
She looks at her surroundings. Akihabara Station is packed with people.
"- Kotori-chan!"
Umi turns to see the girl being hugged by her ginger-haired friend. They start walking side by side and talk animatedly –well, her friend does, the girl just nods and smiles in response.
White ribbon this time huh?
"You're a stalker."
"N-no, I am not!"
"Keep telling yourself that."
"I just happen to be observant and know her name because of certain circumstances."
Ayase Eri –Umi's best friend since they were little kids— looks at her disbelievingly. She knows her friend has a habit to people watch, but focusing on a certain girl that she only saw a few days ago is borderline stalker-ish.
"Really? So, knowing the name Minami Kotori does not make you a stalker?"
Umi glares at her.
They are currently sitting in a booth inside a café in Akihabara, waiting for their orders to arrive. Their current topic of conversation: Umi's stalker tendencies.
"I caught a glimpse of it on her sketchpad," she clarifies. She knows Eri would not let it go, given the smirk plastered on her face, so she diverts her friend's attention.
"Anyway, what is this I'm hearing that you are interested in someone?"
Eri blushes, "W-what?"
"I learned it from Nico." Now, it's Umi's turn to smile smugly. Success!
"My, my, our clever and cute Erichika has grown up now," She teases, avoiding a crumpled paper thrown her way.
"S-shut up!"
Umi laughs heartily.
She's so easy to rile up. At least that got me out of the interrogation.
After Umi's probing, she finds out —forces out, actually— that Eri is interested in Nico's friend from university. Although, she wouldn't divulge any other information, afraid that Umi will embarrass her, thus, reducing her chances to zero.
After their bantering dies down, they settle into silence, content with reading their own respective books while drinking tea –in Eri's case, eating her parfait.
"What happened to you?"
Umi looks up to see Yazawa Nico, wiping her dress with a tissue.
"Spilled coffee," Nico deadpans.
Eri archs an eyebrow, indicating for Nico to elaborate.
"I turned around a corner near the coffee shop and bumped into this redhead who spilled her coffee on me!" she says, exasperated. She gives up on wiping the stain off her dress. "She doesn't even have the decency to apologize and even got angry at me for spilling coffee on her medical journals"
Nico moves to sit beside Eri, dropping her bag on the empty space beside her. "She should feel lucky it was I, soon-to-be idol Nico nico-nii, who bumped into her."
Umi and Eri look at each other.
"So, was it settled?" Umi asks, choosing to ignore the last part of what Nico said. Her confidence level sure is high.
"Yeah! I bought her a new one." Nico grabs another tissue and starts wiping on her arms.
"Then, thinking that it would do the girl a favour, got my marker out and signed the cup", she adds nonchalantly.
Eri chuckles. Umi tries her best to contain her smirk.
Typical Nico, they both think.
"Anyway, Eri, Tojo-san asked me to give this to you," says Nico, handing her a wad of papers. "Since you're a Business Administration major, she asked me if you could go over the script for the film of our joint class project and correct the theories stated there."
Eri grabs the script. "The story revolves around two students fighting for an internship position, who appears to hate each other, but in reality—"
Umi tunes out what Nico is saying and looks at Eri. She could see that her face has a tinge of pink.
Tojo-san. . . Interesting.
"Tojo-san?" asks Umi, looking at Nico.
"Yeah. Friend from university," answers Nico, annoyed that she was interrupted. "I'm playing as one of the leads for the film, since, you know, I'm Yazawa Nico. She's the scriptwriter and director."
Umi smirks and looks at Eri intently.
Eri tries her best to avoid eye contact.
"So, what's she like?" asks Umi, not taking her eyes off Eri.
"Perceptive, kind, a mix of weird and mysterious, but it adds to her charm. She— " Nico stops. She looks between Umi, who is staring intently at Eri with a smug grin, and Eri, who is blushing profusely.
"Are you asking me? or are you asking Eri?" Nico asks, confusion evident on her face. Then, it dawned on her. She laughs.
Hard.
"I forgot," she says in between her bouts of laughter, "You have a major crush on Tojo Nozomi"
Eri groans. She clearly doesn't like the attention being directed at her by her two friends.
"I-I don't," denies Eri. "I just find her attractive and charming—"
"—which confirms your crush on her," says Nico, a smug grin forming on her face.
"What about Umi, then?" Eri redirects the attention to Umi, whose smug grin is instantly wiped off her face.
"What about her?" inquires Nico, curious with the new development. She stares at Umi who looks uncomfortable.
Eri proceeds to talk about Umi's adventures in the train station and her stalker tendencies.
"I didn't know the shy, honor student Sonoda Umi, has what it takes to be a stalker!"
"I told you! I just happened to have seen her sketchpad!" Umi cries out, her blush evident on the tips of her ears and neck. Why am I friends with these two again?
"That doesn't explain you always staring at her!" exclaims Nico, her eyes glinting. "Even though you're one year younger than me and Eri, you're too bold."
"I'll have you know that I'm a very observant and perceptive person—"
"—and a bit bold—" interrupts Eri with a close-lipped smile.
Umi glares at her, "—and curious in nature. I wouldn't just blatantly stare. I was discreet! I just took a glance at her—"
Nico snorts. Umi glowers at her. "—because I saw her twice on the train station!"
Umi finishes her rant with a sigh.
"You should probably introduce yourself to her next time, since you know her name, but she doesn't know yours, and you know, you were being discreet in your observation"
Nico and Eri burst into laughter.
Umi facepalms, knowing her whole face went crimson.
I wish the earth would swallow me whole right now.
Umi wasn't sure how she became friends with Nico. All she remembers is that Eri introduced Nico to her one time, during their highschool days. Although the two girls are a year older than Umi, they seem to find time in going home together since they live in the same area.
She observes her two friends have a friendly argument about mundane things. Nothing's change much.
Having Nico around is quite a handful because of her troublesome nature. Back in highschool, Eri and Nico seem to argue a lot because of their different personalities. Umi sometimes thought that, maybe, Eri hated Nico, but she saw the way Eri treated Nico like a little sister, so she ruled out that idea.
She watches Eri's i-am-not-amused face and Nico's smug smile. One thing's for sure though. They both are quite stubborn.
They went to UTX highschool together —Eri and Nico shared the same classes. The three of them belonged to different clubs, with Eri as the Student Council president, Nico, the president of the Idol Research Club and Umi with her Archery Club. It's a miracle how they remained as close friends.
I can't complain though. It's fun to have Nico around.
"—so, how are you going to introduce yourself to her?" Nico asks, directing all her attention to the younger girl. She leans forward on her seat.
Nevermind.
"Can we please move on?" pleads Umi, a telltale signs of a blush showing on her face. She pulls out her binder and starts taking down notes from her textbook. I will not honor that with a response.
"I'm just curious. Besides, I have nothing to do here," Nico looks between her two friends who started taking down notes, "Since both of you are focused on your studies."
"Sorry." They both say in unison.
"I have a Pre-calc exam on Monday—"
"—and I need to finish my report for my Soc Psych class"
Nico is not amused. Todai students
She sighs. The next time we meet up, I'll demand to have no other school distractions.
Monday rolls in and Umi makes her way to the train station.
Thank God I woke up early today.
She walks leisurely to the entrance gate. She passes by the guards, who check the passenger's bags, and purchases her ticket from the booth. She turns around and—
—She spots her.
Alone.
On a bench.
Sleeping.
Her conversation with Eri and Nico in the café replays on her mind. It's not as if I have a crush on her or something.
She tugs her yumi bukuro closer to her and approaches the girl. She sits two seats away from her –Umi figures that she should keep her distance.
I'm sitting here not because of my interest, but because there are no other seats vacant. She justifies in her head.
She pulls out her book to read, but keeps on stealing glances at the girl.
Green ribbon again.
"The train going to Shinjuku Station will arrive shortly. Passengers, please proceed to platform 2B."
The girl is jostled out of her slumber by the announcement. She wipes her mouth off some drool and gathers her things. She stands up and moves toward the announced platform.
After a short distance, the girl —Minami Kotori, Umi mentally tells herself— turns around.
Umi's heart skips a beat —or two. Her eyes go wide.
Crap. Did she know I was watching her?
The girl walks toward the seat she previously occupied. She bends down to retrieve something.
She forgot her sketchpad.
Umi lets go of the breath she didn't know she was holding in.
For a second, I thought she turned around to talk to me.
After grabbing her sketchpad, Minami Kotori makes her way to the platform, oblivious to the attention Umi was giving her.
She's a bit clumsy.
The corner of Umi's lips turn upward.
So she rides a train to Shinjuku Station.
Umi can't seem to keep the smile off her face that day.
The days pass by with a blur.
The next time Umi sees Minami Kotori again, it's on a Wednesday afternoon.
She just got out of the train car when she sees her walking towards the exit. She's carrying a lot of stuff —way too much if you ask Umi.
After a few steps, the girl trips, making her stuff fly out of her hands. Fabrics are strewn on the floor and a few pieces of paper are scattered around her. Minami Kotori immediately starts collecting her things. Umi steps forward, concerned for the girl—then she hesitates.
What if she remembers me and thinks I'm a creep or something.
Fortunately, a ginger-haired girl —probably a friend of Minami Kotori— rushes towards her.
"Honoka-chan!"
"Geez, Kotori-chan should be careful next time!" They start gathering the things lying on the floor.
"Sorry—"
"—you should ask some of your friends from Bunka to help you out sometime—" Umi hears the ginger-haired girl say.
"—don't just let them push you over just because you're the head of the project—"
Minami Kotori visibly deflates.
Her friend is really straightforward.
Her friend sees it and tries to take back what she said.
"—I just meant that you're too kind. You should say no or ask for help from time to time."
They finish collecting Minami Kotori's things. Her friend —Honoka-chan, as what Umi heard— offers her hand to the other girl. She takes it and allows her friend to lift her.
They begin to walk towards the exit, the ginger-haired girl carrying half the load Minami Kotori was holding a while ago.
Umi smiles.
I've been standing here, watching them interact.
She looks at the spot occupied by the two girls before.
Maybe I do have a tiny bit of a crush on her.
After a quick search on the internet, Umi found out about Bunka Fashion College.
She added that to the mental list of what she knows about Minami Kotori.
She crosses out 'an arts student' on her list.
Weeks pass with Umi following her routine and without anything eventful happening.
Except, maybe, somewhat knowing Minami Kotori's schedule and seeing her at the train station a couple of times.
That's when she decides to stop 'observing from afar' and try to initiate conversation —maybe, befriend her in the process.
One thing about Umi though, is that she has this determined attitude, that once she sets her mind to something, she makes sure that she sees it through. No matter what.
The day she finally manages to strike a conversation with her,
is the day she makes a big fool out of herself.
Again.
Umi sees her on the same seat she first occupied all those weeks ago. Luckily, the seat beside her is free.
Umi realizes that now is a good chance as any. She mentally readies herself.
She inhales a lungful of air, breathing out confidence when she exhales. Here goes nothing.
She willingly approaches the girl —with her being conscious this time.
Ten steps away from her.
Just say hi.
Eight steps.
What if she doesn't respond?
Six steps.
Maybe she'll think I'm a creep.
Four.
I already am, right?
Two.
No. Don't think about it. Just introduce yourself.
She stops in front of her. The girl looks up at her, curious as to why Umi is standing in front of her.
Umi opens her mouth. Closes it. She can feel her ears start to burn in chagrin.
"Excuse me, do you know what time it is?" She manages to squeak out.
Really? That's how you initiate conversation? She mentally berates herself.
The girl looks at her funny. Umi can only stare in return. Her heart is beating out of her chest— with the way it is pounding, a heart attack would not be unexpected.
Still no response from the girl.
Umi's confidence is slowly starting to dwindle.
Then, the girl smiles. At that moment, Umi firmly cements her belief that angels do exist on earth.
The girl glances at Umi's arm.
Then she checks her time.
"It's 2:45pm," she answers, her smile still plastered firmly on her face, "I suppose your wristwatch stopped working this instant?"
Umi can hear a hint of teasing somewhere in the girl's tone. She knows she will hyperventilate any minute now. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. She reminds herself to breathe properly.
"Yeah. I suppose it did." She agrees without thought, unable to comprehend that she is actually talking to the girl.
"I should probably introduce myself, since we have been crossing paths in this station often," the girl extends her hand, "I'm Minami Kotori"
"I-I'm Sonoda Umi," She stutters, taking the offered hand. Finally.
After their introductions, silence envelopes them. (Umi doesn't dare start another conversation for her fear of scaring the girl away)
She takes a seat beside the girl and pulls out her phone.
I should probably text Eri and tell her I'll be a little late for our weekly meet-up.
She looks at her wristwatch.
Wristwatch.
She forgot that she is wearing one.
And that it is, technically, still working.
Her whole face flushed crimson.
At least I got to introduce myself and start a conversation.
"You're way too lively today."
Umi looks up from the book she's reading. She is in the café she usually frequents, along with Eri. (Nico texted them earlier that she won't be able to meet them because of her film project.)
Eri raises one of her eyebrows, "You've been humming and smiling since we arrived here."
"Really?" Umi appears to be not bothered.
Eri looks at her quizzically. She takes note of Umi's grin—wide and clearly pleased, "Yes, you have."
She studies her friend and feels the need to ask, since she's the best friend—but, more so, because she's curious, "Did something happen?"
Umi fakes innocence and shakes her head no. "Nothing."
Eri is about to call her out on her lie when she hears her phone buzz. Umi sees her friend's change in demeanour. She takes note of her friend's soft smile.
"Is that Tojo Nozomi?"
"S-s-shut up!"
A tentative friendship is formed between Sonoda Umi and Minami Kotori.
They start off with shy smiles —mostly from Umi— and polite hellos (Since Umi was taught to be polite at all times, thank you very much.)
They don't hit it off at once. Umi is content with just knowing that her crush —she pretty much accepted the fact that she has a crush on the girl— notices her on the train station. Though, on certain occasions, they start little conversations about the most random things. (Like the weather)
She sometimes wishes she's brave enough to deepen their friendship.
It's not like she wants to start a relationship with her right away. She just wants to be close friends.
Maybe invite her to the movies sometimes.
Or amusement parks.
Even dinner.
Friends do that right?
One Wednesday afternoon, as Umi got out of the train car, she sees Kotori walking towards the exit.
She's carrying a lot of stuff again
Kotori stumbles on her feet, sending the contents of her paper bag flying out of her hands.
This time, Umi doesn't hesitate to help her. She rushes towards the girl and helps gather her belongings.
Kotori notices her presence and flashes her a grateful smile.
"Thank you, Sonoda-san"
They stand up after collecting everything lying on the floor. They stay rooted to their spot and awkwardly gaze at one another.
"Minami-san, do you want me to carry half the load?" Umi eventually asks, ever the gentlewoman she is.
Kotori hesitates, then she agrees, "Sure." She transfers half her things to Umi. They start walking side by side (Umi maintains her distance. She doesn't want to seem overly friendly with the girl).
"Where's your friend?" Umi starts the conversation, "Doesn't she usually come here and help you every Wednesday?"
Kotori archs one of her eyebrows, "Usually?"
Crap.
Umi realizes her mistake and quickly corrects herself.
"I mean, I coincidentally saw you guys a couple of times in this station, so I thought that, you know, maybe, she helps you carry your stuff and all. . ."
Umi wants to bury herself in a hole somewhere.
Really smooth there.
After a while, Kotori seems to accept her reasoning, so she answers, "She has practice today since she has an upcoming music performance in their university."
An awkward silence soon follows after.
Umi contemplates on what to say next. Fortunately, Kotori saves her from saying something embarrassing.
"So, I take it that you are also in university? What school, if you don't mind answering?"
"Yes." responds Umi. She shifts her load to her other arm and takes a glance at Kotori, "I study in the University of Tokyo, Hongo Campus. Bachelor of Arts in Literature."
A genuine surprise crosses Kotori's face, then she beams at Umi, "It actually fits your image."
Umi fights off the unmistakeable blush on her facial features. Is it just me or is it becoming too hot in here?
"How about you?" she asks after she's sure that her blush has lessened.
"Bunka Fashion College. I belong to the Fashion Technology Department," Kotori proudly says.
Umi smiles widely. She's too cute.
After that, conversation went smoothly between the two. Umi found a lot of things about Kotori and vice versa. They reach the exit gate. Umi hands the stuff she is holding to Kotori.
"So," Umi trails off, disappointment lacing her tone, "this is where we part."
"Yeah," answers Kotori, taking note of Umi's tone. Why is she disappointed? She wonders while observing Umi's behavior.
"See you around, Sonoda-san."
Kotori turns around and starts to move away.
Umi watches her back.
She makes a mental note to walk the girl home next time.
If there's a next time.
In a span of a few weeks, Umi has managed to fill out a mental list of what she knows about Minami Kotori.
That she studies at Bunka Fashion College
That her childhood best friend is Kousaka Honaka who studies music and voice.
That she attended Otonokizaka high school, since her mom is the chairwoman.
That she can sing quite well —in Umi's opinion anyway.
That she works as a part time maid in Akihabara every Fridays and Saturdays.
That she has a set of different colored ribbons —Kotori told her that she doesn't only wear a white or a green ribbon.
She likes the color gray.
She likes animals, especially alpacas.
Her favourite food is cheesecake and dislikes anything with garlic in it —Umi found out about it when she offered the girl her garlic bread one morning.
And lastly, that she can be really persuasive. (Or probably because Umi just can't say no to her.)
"Sorry for being late. I was caught up with—"
Umi looks among the three people on the table. She has just arrived inside their usual café. Eri texted her to get there as soon as possible or else she will leave.
"—afternoon traffic," She finishes. "Did I miss something major here?"
"Hi. I'm Tojo Nozomi"
She eyed the girl sitting beside Nico, and then shifts her eyes to Nico, who is containing her smile, lastly focusing on Eri, whose eyes are telling her to not do anything remotely embarrassing.
Umi grins.
"Sonoda Umi. Nice to meet you." She extends her hand. Nozomi gladly takes it.
"I've heard so much about you from—" Umi peers at Eri, "—Nico"
Nozomi doesn't seem to notice —or mind. "Yeah. We are working on the same project after all." She smiles.
Looking closely, Umi could see that this girl really is beautiful. Purple hair tied into two low ponytails. Turquoise eyes. Charming smile. No wonder she caught the attention of our Russian friend.
"Is that how you two met?" inquires Umi, genuinely curious.
"No. We first met at the Shinochanomizu Station. Yazawa-san helped me with my camera equipment."
Umi looks at Eri. "Isn't that the train station you also—"
"—you must be hungry because of the traffic, why don't I accompany you to the front to order your food?" Eri interrupts, standing up.
Umi looks at Eri and notices that her friend is becoming uncomfortable with the situation.
"Yeah. Sure," agrees Umi, "I would like that."
They excuse themselves and make their way to the front. Umi states her order. Before going back to their booth, She grabs Eri by the shoulders and pulls her away.
"What's wrong?" Umi asks when they make it to the corner of the room. Eri's tries to avoid eye contact.
So stubborn.
Umi looks her dead in the eye. Eri concedes. "She doesn't know that I sometimes see her at the train station. . ."
She darts her eyes away from Umi. ". . .even before we were formally introduced by Nico"
So that's why.
"I know I'm stoic and awkward, and I don't know how approach a person or make friends," the blonde continues, "but she appears to really not mind it one bit."
Eri bites her lower lip. "She's the one who usually greets me and starts the conversation everytime we cross paths."
She bows her head to hide the fact that her face went crimson.
"I really like her." She mumbles.
Umi smiles in understanding. It probably took a lot of courage for her to admit that she likes Tojo-san.
"You're basically the same as me in the shy department, Eri."
She looks up and rolls her eyes at Umi, but she can see the corner of Eri's mouth forming into a smile.
I don't know what I'll do with her. She acts tough but she's just like a little puppy sometimes.
They go back to their booth and slip inside. Eri is back to her usual calm demeanour.
"So, what brings you here, Tojo-san?"
Umi takes this time to get to know the girl. She wouldn't just give her best friend to anyone unworthy. Eri and Nico look at her, knowing what she's trying to do. (You don't want to mess with a Protective Umi. She means business.)
"I was supposed to meet a friend in the coffee shop around the corner, but then, she was called back by her professor. Something about her report analysis"
"I see," Umi trails off, "So you just wandered around the area?"
"No, not really. I planned to go home but then—" Nozomi looks at Nico, "I bumped into Yazawa-san and she invited me here"
Umi regards Nico with a pointed look. Nico sticks her tongue out and does her usual pose.
Nico, you little devil. No wonder Eri looked uncomfortable a while ago. She did not expect to see Tojo-san.
She returns her attention to Nozomi.
"You're a film student, right?," Nozomi nods her head, smiling. She seems unperturbed by the sudden questions
"Why film?"
"Well," Nozomi starts, "It's so that I could film a lot of cute girls, since it's inevitable to meet them in the entertainment industry."
Eri and Umi are stunned by her answer. Nico doesn't even bat an eyelash —probably because she's used to Nozomi's antics.
Nozomi's eyes sparkle with mirth. After a few beats, she laughs.
"I'm kidding" she teases, eyes glinting.
She's quite the playful one.
"I've been moving a lot since I was a little kid and that taught me to treasure even the simple moments of life." She answers truthfully. Eri hangs on to every word that comes out of the director's mouth, "So, it helped me open my eyes to a lot of things and view life from a different perspective."
Nozomi stays silent, pondering for a while. Eri smiles, endeared with the girl. Umi watches Eri's expression and turns her attention back to Nozomi.
She thinks really deep.
"So I chose to study film, particularly directing and scriptwriting," the girl continues, a soft smile appearing on her face, "to share to the world a lot of things, maybe open some of the people's eyes to new things"
The corner of Umi's lips forms into a small smile.
You're actually a great fit for Eri.
Umi's not surprised that in their following meet-ups, Tojo Nozomi has sometimes been invited to join them. Nico reasons out that she does it because it's convenient for her if the director is there, but Umi knows that it's her roundabout way of bringing Eri and Nozomi together.
Umi doesn't complain though, since she sees her best friend twice as happy. (And because it's funny to see the usual calm and stoic Eri blushing profusely because of Nozomi's innocent teasing.)
"Nozomi-san, how many months before the premiere opening of your class' film?"
Nozomi looks at Eri, a teasing smile evident on her face. "Why? Does Erichi want to go to the premiere and support me?"
"N-no. I was just curious!"
Nozomi giggles. Umi and Nico share knowing smiles.
The four of them has grown closer over the past few weeks and Nozomi has asked them to refer to her using her first name. They also told her to do the same for them. (Eri still adds san because she's too embarrassed to say Nozomi's name without the honorifics)
"You easily flush red Erichi, it makes me want to tease you all the more."
Eri's blushes harder. "You didn't answer my question."
"A month from now," answers Nozomi, still smiling in Eri's direction.
Umi pays close attention to their interaction. She smiles inwardly. How dense can you be Eri?
"I can't believe this," Nico mutters, sighing heavily. Umi sniggers.
Eri and Nozomi look at their two companions, blissfully unaware of their surroundings.
"What?" inquires Eri. Her eyebrow rising in question.
"I said that I'm inviting you and Umi to the premiere," Nico lies. She sometimes can't believe how Eri, the smartest and most popular girl in UTX highschool, can be dense when it comes to other people's attraction.
Eri regards her two friends suspiciously. She doesn't find anything, so she reluctantly nods her head.
"Is it possible to invite another person?" Umi raises her question. Her three friends look at her with varying expressions. Nozomi appears genuinely curious, while her other two friends look at her with mischief in their eyes.
Now, it's Umi's turn to blush. I forgot that I'm dealing with Nico and Eri here.
"Is our Sonoda Umi going to invite someone, probably the girl she usually sees at the train station?" Nico mocks playfully.
"S-shut up."
Eri and Nico roar in laughter.
Nozomi and Nico pretty much agree that it's alright to invite other people (Nozomi thinks it's a good publicity to do so.)
It makes Umi smile.
Maybe I can invite Minami-san.
As much as Umi wants to invite Kotori, she can't seem to find the chance, since she sees her less the following weeks.
Their finals are coming up, so Eri opted to cancel their weekly meet-ups, which resulted to the reduction of Umi's chances to invite Kotori to the premiere opening.
One Saturday afternoon, she rode the train in hopes of seeing Kotori, but she was nowhere to be found. Umi thought that maybe she, too, was busy.
She didn't dare do it again.
On Wednesdays, she sometimes sees Minami Kotori but she's usually surrounded by her friends from university. Umi's glad that her classmates are helping her now, but she can't stop her disappointment since she's missing another chance.
She can't even invite her on Mondays since her morning classes are moved in the afternoon.
How am I going to invite her.
She wishes that finals are over so they can go back to their usual routine.
The day Umi finally got her chance was on a Friday afternoon.
She just came from Akihabara since her mother asked her to get a package her mom ordered from a store there.
She's currently sitting on one of the benches in Akihabara Station, reading her study notes (Umi's not the type of person to slack off), with her bag beside her and the package underneath it.
Exams are finally over and she's looking forward to any semblance of normalcy to seep into her routine once again.
"Excuse me, is this seat taken?"
She knows that voice. She looks up.
Amber eyes.
"K-ko-, Minami-san" She corrects herself, still staring at the girl.
Kotori smiles at her. Umi can see that the girl is still wearing her maid outfit. "Fancy seeing you here."
"Yeah. Errands." Umi can't contain the quirk of her lips. "I was just about to go home."
"Do you want to go home together?"
Umi raises her eyebrow. Kotori flushes crimson.
"I-I mean, ride the train t-together, since w-we kind of live in the same area," Kotori clarifies, stuttering in the process. "I-it's okay if you don't want to"
She's so adorable.
"Sure." Umi pretty much established that she can't ever say no to Kotori.
They smile at each other. It makes Umi's heartbeat pick up its pace.
Umi collects her things and puts it on her lap. Kotori takes the seat beside her.
They ease into conversation and stop only when the operator announces the arrival of their train
I should probably ask her now.
Umi and Kotori are currently walking towards the exit of the Ochanomizu Station. A comfortable silence settled around them.
Come on Umi, you can do it. Just invite her.
"I haven't seen you around this station the past few weeks." Kotori states her observation, studying Umi out of the corner of her eyes.
"Yeah. I was kind of busy because of finals." Umi explains, pulling the stuff she was carrying closer to her.
The silence turns awkward. Umi clears her throat.
Kotori looks at her expectantly. Umi opens her mouth.
Nothing comes out. She closes it. Opens it again. Closes it.
Invite her to the premiere.
Umi steadies her breathing. She inhales loudly. Holds her breath. Then exhales it.
She pretty much thinks you're a weirdo by now.
"Would—"
"This—"
They both say at the same time.
Umi looks sheepishly at the girl.
"You go first." She says.
"This is where we go our separate ways" Kotori states, her eyes darting from Umi and the surroundings.
Umi scans the area around her. They had just reached the exit gate.
It's now or never.
"Yeah." She agrees. Kotori looks at her with curiosity.
"I-I was just wondering," Umi starts, nervousness lacing into her words. She bows her head to prevent Kotori from seeing her flushed face. "If you are free next Saturday?"
"M-my friend, her name's Yazawa Nico, is s-starring in a film," She continues without looking at the other girl, "and the p-premiere is next Saturday."
"I-I was kind of hoping if you would, maybe, a-accompany with me?" Umi requested, her face burning from embarrassment, "It's okay if you don't want to because I-I know you have w-work that day."
She finishes lamely. Although I do hope you say yes.
She is met with silence.
Oh God.
She waits for the girl's response with bated breath.
She probably thinks I'm some creep.
Umi thinks that she will pass out any minute now. She tries her breathing exercises.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Inhale.
Exhale.
It's confirmed. She thinks you're a weirdo by now.
"I can't."
It wasn't the response Umi wants to hear. Umi can hear her heart shatter to a million pieces.
She tries her best to school her features and looks up.
Kotori stares at her with regret in her eyes. "I'm out with someone that day. I promised that we would spend the whole day together."
Of course.
"It's okay." Umi tries to smile —she knows it comes out more like a grimace.
"I have to go now. My mother's waiting for me." She trails off, her voice breaking.
Umi bids her goodbye without waiting for a response.
She turns around and walks briskly towards the direction of her house.
Just my luck. She's is in a relationship with someone.