A/N: Hey. So, this is my first manga fanfic, but i'm pretty excited. If you haven't read the whole series, it might be k/o a spoiler... Fair warning!
Disclaimer: I do not own Beauty Pop. It belongs to mangaka Kiyoko Arai. But since she didn't finish....
"The girl I'm in love with…"
"Oh. So that's how it is."
"YOU'RE AWAKE?"
The conversation played over and over again in her head as she stared up at the ceiling fan. L.A. was hot in the spring, hotter than she remembered it in Japan. With a sigh, she turned over. In a few minutes, Emi would be shouting upstairs for breakfast. Seiji would throw open the door, and after they had finished, Billy would barge in…
With a groan, Kiri buried her head into her pillow. And three… two… one…
"Kiriiiii!!! Breakfast time!" Right on cue.
Kiri stopped in the bathroom before going downstairs. It's growing out… She lifted the scissors from their place in the cup next to the sink and, with a few deft cuts, cut her bob back to the usual 2-milimeters past her chin.
"Kiriiiiiii???"
"I'm coming. Jeez, so loud." She replaced the scissors and yawned one more time before leaving the bathroom and trotting down the stairs. She passed Seiji on the way down.
"Oh." He blinked. "That was fast."
"Uh huh." She dragged her feet over to the breakfast table. Her cereal was already poured, eggs to the left and a cheese-covered bagel to the right. She wasted no time or decorum digging in, as Emi watched from the other side.
"So what're you doing today, sweetie?" Kiri shrugged.
They'd only been in L.A. a week; nowhere near long enough to make friends. Billy was working at the same movie studio as her mom, and she usually tagged along—well, was pulled along—on all their errands.
"Billy will be here in…" She looked down at her watch. "Now."
"'Morning!" Billy Iketani burst through the door with a huge grin on his face, plopping down next to Kiri and giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"Billy…" Emi Koshiba didn't reprimand him; she only laughed as Seiji walked in with a red face.
"What are you doing to my daughter?"
"Didn't you hear? We're getting married!"
"YOU…"
"…" Kiri stood silently and emptied the remnants of her milk into the sink, then walked out to the small porch while Seiji and Billy bickered, Billy returning every remark with a witty one on par.
She looked at the phone she had taken from the counter on her way out. Would it work out here? The rest of SP had promised to call her…
As if on cue, it began to ring. Taking a deep breath, she answered it on the third chime.
"Hello?"
"Puffy-head?"
She snorted. Of course it was Naru-Naru who had called. Why not Kanako? Or Kei?
"You're the one who called, and you're asking who it is?"
"Don't be stupid! What if you're dad had picked up, or something?!" He was getting worked up. She smiled. Huh. She missed that.
"What is it?"
"I haven't talked to you in this long, and you're this rude!? Forget it!"
"Ok. Then put someone else on the phone." She heard strange noises in the background.
"Me wants to talk to my Kiriti! Give me the phone! Kiriti!!!"
"No! Prince-sama! Prince-sama! Demon-onee-san, give Chisami the phone!"
"NO!! ALL OF YOU SHUT UP!!"
"I miss you…"
"Huh?" She could almost hear Naru-Naru turning red. It made her chuckle.
"Kukukuku…" Maybe he'll break out into hives…
"Why are you la… You know what, never mind. Here." She heard the rush of air as the phone was exchanged.
"Kiri-chan!"
"Hi, Kei."
"Kiri! How is it in L.A.? Do you see a lot of famous people?"
"Not really. Well… I don't think I'd recognize them anyway."
"Naru-Naru misses you," Kei whispered. "He still hasn't taken off your hat!"
"KEI!!"
"Pfft….kukuku…" Kiri hung up the phone in a fit of giggles as, on the other side of the planet, Narumi chased Kei around the SP room, over the hat that Kiri had given him on her last day…
"KEI! YOU… STUPID! WHY DID YOU SAY THAT!"
"Because it's true, Naru-Naru-kun."
"No it's not," Narumi snapped, glaring daggers at the small boy.
"Oh yes? Then take it off now." Ochiai peered at Narumi dangerously from behind his glasses.
"I…" Narumi reached up a hand to remove the hat, red-faced. But something stopped him. The hat refused to come off.
The whole room stared at him as he held the hat to his head. He looked down at the ground. It was just like when he got the hat in the first place…