Ami x Michiru - Chapter 1 - Blue
Spring had just begun and so did the new term but there was one girl who already occupied herself with a thick textbook as she ate freshly baked bread. It was after school and Ami was heading to a cram school in Shinjuku. She was wearing a school uniform and she walked with grace about her whether she was aware of it or not. She wore a pair of new glasses that day. Her hair was short and blue. Although she was rather skinny, she was neither weak nor weary. She wrapped a dark blue scarf around her delicate neck as the weather was cold, her hand clutching to her bag and the other was at her side.
It had been more than six months since the battle with Sailor Galaxy took place. Since then all was rather peaceful so she, along with all her friends and comrades resumed their lives like other normal school girls. It was a luxury each of them had been waiting for so Ami thought it was understandable when the cheeky leader, Minako protested a little about her going to cram school. The blonde babe went on and on about how she should try new things and gain new experiences. Ami knew that Minako was right but to her, it was a luxury she could not afford at that moment. Ami was seventeen and university was only around a year away. She had to secure her spot in the faculty she wanted and at the university she wanted.
Ami was sitting in the front row in the classroom as she waited for the class to start in about twenty minutes then a friend at the cram school approached her. Her name was Nami and she was average build and she looked average. Her hair was dark and shoulder length and she had droopy eyes. She greeted Ami cheerfully before she set herself beside her. Nami placed her tote bag on the desk and she grabbed a half eaten hamburger out of it in an instant and then she started eating.
They became a little closer once they realised they shared the same interest in gaming. The girl clearly admired Ami. She said that Ami 'accidentally' looked like the protagonist of a detective fiction that she just started working on. The girl was a huge fan of thriller and writing was another hobby of hers.
There were tiny dark circles around Nami's droopy eyes which could have come from gaming, studying, writing late at night. She once told Ami that her father was a game producer in a huge company but lately he kept complaining about how his new colleagues lacked inspiration and motivation.
Nami leaned in and whispered, "my dad always says recent new released games are all similar like they just copy one another, you know." She did not bother to cover her mouth full of food while talking.
Agreeing with her friend, Ami nodded enthusiastically when she averted her eyes elsewhere.
"You're so clever and super good at playing games," Nami continued. "Do you record video game walkthroughs and post them online? You can easily get paid, you know? Some gamers got a lot of fans by that." Nami gave her an encouraging smile.
"Yeah I heard about that too," said Ami, turning to face her friend, "but I'm so busy and editing video can take quite a lot of time."
"I can record us doing walkthrough if you wanna hang out," Nami said, her eyes full of expectation. There was a brief pause as she was waiting for Ami's response. When the genius girl said nothing, Nami took a bite from her hamburger and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
Ami then handed a piece of tissue to her and she took it gladly.
"Thanks," she said with a wide smile and Ami could see a small piece of vegetable on the girl's tooth.
"So you want to be like your father? Producing games," Ami said conversationally.
"Oh, I don't know about that. Dad keeps saying my plot isn't good enough." She took another big bite on her hamburger and chewed roughly a few times before she continued, "He said it's too girly and if it's not appreciated by male audience then it won't make much profits."
Ami tapped her chin thoughtfully. She could see Nami's father's point about how the majority of domestic and international video games were aiming at the opposite sex.
"I know he's not gonna use what I write for a plot of his next game but I just want to prove to him that I can make a good plot too," Nami went on, lifting a finger. "I know I can do it if you give me some help."
"Me?" Ami asked, surprised. "But I'm not good at writing a fiction."
"You've played enough games to know what's good and what's not, right?" She looked at Ami expectantly. "I'm sure you can help me on the parts I've been stuck on for the whole month."
Ami felt a little nervous. It was not something she was familiar with. As she was about to open her mouth and say no, she remembered Minako's words and decided to give it a try. Nami beamed at her.
Nami quickly put down her food and shifted in her seat. "Okay. So here's the thing. My protagonist is so smart that I think creating a random, romantic guy for her would be dull and cliche, you know." she said, her tone serious.
"Like, this girl is the smartest person in her class and she is pretty too. Naturally she should meet a guy who is her equal, right?" Nami said and when she saw Ami nodded, she smiled before she continued, "I want to write a dating scene that's not just a typical romantic date that high school girls dream about. I want something completely new but I also want actions to be in it and I still want it to be romantic."
There was a long pause between them. It took Ami a while to realize that she was supposed to give a response. Trying as hard as she could, she could not come up with a clever idea. For the whole two minutes, Ami just sat there uncomfortably. She made an effort to take her glasses off and pretended to clean them with a clean piece of cloth in order to buy herself some time she needed to gain her composure.
She's writing a detective story and she asked for my opinion about love? Ami licked her lip nervously. So many other things that she could have asked but she asked me about love?! Ami let out a sigh as she tried to think of something but no, nothing came to her. Love was the one thing that was a puzzle she could never crack.
"Are you okay?" It was Nami who broke the silence.
"I… I don't think I can help," Ami said shyly, her voice quiet and distant.
"Why not?" Nami raised her eyebrows. "Do you … kinda think that maybe a smart girl is too good for guys? To be honest, sometimes I think the same too," Nami said, her expression jovial. "I was hesitated if I should create a smart woman for my protagonist instead. Someone her equal, you know."
Ami held up a hand and said, "that's not what I wanted to say."
It took another minute for Ami to tell her friend that she had never been in love and that she had never had interest in romantic relationship so it was impossible for her to give a noteworthy opinion about the scene her friend was working on. When it was all said and done, the amateur writer's eyes widened.
"You? You've never been…" She covered her mouth with a hand. "Are you joking? But you're so smart and pretty. I thought people ask you out all the time because they say brainy is the new sexy."
Ami shook her head and told her to keep her voice down. The smart girl felt her cheeks hot as she was so embarrassed. "I've never even been on a date," she added and she regretted it as soon as the words got out of her mouth.
Ami shook her head and told her to keep her voice down. The smart girl felt her cheeks hot as she was so embarrassed. "I've never even been on a date," she added and she regretted it as soon as the words got out of her mouth because Nami burst into a laughter that lasted for a minute or two and every pair of eyes in the room were staring at them. It was all Ami could do not to run away from the scene. Ami was never laughed at because of her lack of romantic interest before in her entire life. It was the first time in a long while that she felt dumb. She didn't even know how to make her friend stop her loud and ugly laugh. Luckily, the teacher walked in and it was time the class started so the awkward atmosphere ended quickly though not as quickly as Ami wished it did.
When she was alone, sometimes Ami admittedly couldn't help but wonder what it was like to be in loved. An image of Minako and Rei briefly appeared in her head. Ami dismissed her thought right away. Why did I think of them? They're friends like the rest of us … aren't they?
That night Ami studied until she went to bed but all she could think of was about something that she could never understand no matter how much research she did, no matter how many times she read the explanation and no matter how desperately she wished the answer would come to her like everything else. Love cruelly remained a mystery to Ami and if there was anything she hated, it was not knowing what she wanted to know.
TO BE CONTINUED.