Okay, so I was wrong. I missed reading that it was Akihabara they were riding on chapter 28, so the Kinshicho rendezvous is crossed out. XD …that was so stupid of me. =)) Explaining further, Akihabara is a stop for both Mari and Akko before reaching Ichigaya. We can take this as; Akko, from Kinshicho rides the train to Akihabara and waits for Mari there. This doesn't change Mari's route as she also has a stop at Akihabara. Okay, I'm done talking. =))
Note: Italicized words are usually for thoughts in my works…the ones inside quotation marks are for flashbacks of something though. XD And the ones in between normal sentences are probably just for emphasis. XD I use italic a lot, huh? =))
Dead on her tracks, the pigtailed lass stared at the taller girl incredulously a few seconds after she stated her offer. "Sugi-san…did you hit your head?"
I probably have. She could've answered, but that would only complicate the situation more.
"Although, I have an idea on what you're up to…"
"…you do?" Satoko found herself asking.
Tamami nodded. "It might not be too accurate, but you're bored. Despite having five boyfriends, you don't feel the real thrill of a girl in love. And since you're at an age where one tends to experiment—also given the condition of being surrounded by girls most of the time—you then chose to test the waters on yuri."
"…yuri?"
"Yep! In normal terms, it's a lesbian relationship."
Right on the money?!
She found herself speechless for quite a while. Just what was this all-too-convenient situation? The girl who just saw through her whole plan was the same person who knew nothing about Mari and Akko's relationship! It didn't add up…
"Silence means yes."
Satoko crossed her arms in an attempt to regain composure. "So? Are you accepting my proposal then?"
"No." Tamami flat-out replied, an easy-going smile went with it.
And now she was rejected. What in the world? It was one thing to be rejected by the person you love, but being rejected by someone who reads manga as a hobby, totally disturbed her. She was doing charity here! The midget was supposed to feel grateful that even someone straight and beautiful as her wanted to give her a chance at a relationship! …okay, that last thought was probably too conceited of her, but being shot down like that was so uncalled for! She was never ever rejected since elementary! So easily too! What's more, the way the otaku's face smiled effortlessly like that really, really annoyed her for some reason. Who does she think she is?
"…why not?" Was all she ever managed to say, however.
"Well, first of all, you hate otaku. Second, I don't want to be used for something I don't get benefit on. Third, it's a prerequisite for an event that seals the real deal!" She explained almost excitedly, doing hand gestures to emphasize her point.
"Please speak Japanese, I beg you." The curly haired woman deadpanned.
"See, that's another reason why we can't be together as 'that'. Half of what I say won't mean anything to you!" A lighthearted giggle was made.
That didn't stop us from being friends, did it?
An unsettled look rested on the Sugiyama lady, her reasons made sense, but she couldn't let it go. It bothered her that she can easily and blithely turn something like that down. It was kind of an opportunity—something she might gain something from, yet she refused it readily. Truthfully, she was increasingly worried about Tamamin ever since the two of them entered their second year. Sure, they went together on mixers, but there was never a time when the girl actually gave attention to any of the boys. This, of course, doesn't eliminate the possibility of her having too high a standard regarding the men she dates, but…does it really take this long to find a relationship? Nothing of that sort ever happened to her! She always had it easy. …thinking about it, her case was that of collecting boyfriends rather than settling romantically. Was that what her friend wanted? After all they've been through; Satoko realized she never really had a good introspect of what her pigtailed companion liked, disliked and just assumed—a whole lot.
"Ahh, I'm a bit tired…and hungry. Why don't we sit down over there for a while, Sugi-san? If you don't mind, that is." She added as she pointed the nearby bench little ways away from the main park. "You can go ahead if you want."
Ignoring the last statement, she asked. "You haven't eaten yet?" She led the way to the bench, a gesture to disprove the shorter girl of her nonchalant insistence to have her leave.
"Uh…not yet. Haha…I was planning to, when I get home. There was this anime I was planning to watch earlier on, but I decided to just give up on it for now." Scratching the back her head was an action she used when explaining an action that was not very appealing for an excuse.
That's why you looked like you were in a hurry earlier on…?
"Hey…did I perhaps…prevent you from accomplishing that?"
"Hnn? What do you mean?"
"Well…I appeared out of nowhere, stopped you on your way, and bothered you about my nonsense…"
"Eh? No, don't worry about it! I couldn't make it anyway even if I reached the station now. The trip takes at least twenty minutes from here to Korakuen, and we're not even talking about a rush hour. Haha."
"That's true, but…"
"I had it set to record too! …I think. So don't worry about it, Sugi-san. Besides," A V-sign was made from her right hand. "Anime is something that doesn't leave you when you neglect it. Friends are different. They should be treasured to the best of one's ability!"
Holding in a burst of laughter, she smiled. It was a first, since her smiles earlier weren't hearty as it was now. She must have picked that up straight from a shounen manga, but she didn't care. Tamami never failed to say things that made her all warm and fuzzy, it was so strange. Reaching the bench, both girls sat and beamed at each other. It was rare for them to be like this, but Satoko liked it. She was learning more about her friend that she once took for granted.
"…Tama-chan? Is that you, Tama-chan?" A guy who magically appeared out of nowhere asked in their direction. He had a slightly long hair tied into a low ponytail, his facial features were quite feminine, and he wore clothing that looked like something a butler would wear.
"Ohh! Hey there, Sugiura-kun!" Tamami cheerfully greeted, she stood up and approached the man while holding her hand up animatedly.
"Wow, look at you! Cute as ever, I see." The boy cajoled.
"What are you saying~? You're the one who looks gorgeous, ya know! And you speak like we haven't seen each other in years!" The petite girl landed a playful punch on the guy's shoulder.
Completely ignored, Satoko stared blankly at the two of them. Was this the otaku way of flirting? It was way too early for this…then again, it was already past 9:30, so that was an exaggeration on her part. But really, what was it with this guy? His actions totally gave him off! The way he smiled idiotically at the mention of his name, the way he twitched positively at the slight contact between them, and the way his eyes wandered all over the lass's body… it was so easy to figure out that he was interested in Tamami. She knew all of this, for this was how her boyfriends looked and acted towards her. It was quite unnerving, now that she thought about it. And now this guy—she didn't like him, not one teensy bit. Why was her friend even acquainted with this pervert?
"Oh, that's right! Sugiura-kun, I want you to meet my very good friend, Sugiyama Satoko-san!"
At this, the girl stood up and offered a hand. Not really noticing that she was giving off an ominous aura as she did so. "A pleasure to meet you, Sugiura-kun." She stated venomously.
"Su…Sugiura Mamoru…y-yoroshiku…desu." The guy answered shakily as he took the girl's hand carefully.
The eerie atmosphere kept on, and Mamoru was sure his hand was being gripped a little too tightly.
"My! Aren't you getting along already!" Tamami cut in, looking satisfied from her place near them.
No, we're not. It would be interesting if she heard both parties saying that outright.
Once the introductory gestures were over, the long haired man immediately excused himself. Now she really wondered how intimidating she looked to have him leave abruptly like that. For all she knew, the guy would stick around longer just to interact more with Tamami. The moment he was out of sight, a series of chuckles entered her unsuspecting ears.
"Would you look at that? He more or less fell for you already, Sugi-san!" The auburn haired girl claimed proudly.
Quite the opposite, my dear.
Satoko sighed and returned to her seat on the bench, the other girl followed suit, a fleeting look of concern accompanied her face. She didn't notice this before, but she felt exhausted. A lot of thinking in just one day was rather taxing, she found out. Most of it the fault of this oblivious person next to her—well, at least that's what she thought. At any rate, she refuses to accept rejection. It dents her clean record. She went all this way too; she can't turn her back now. Not as a loser, she won't.
"Just so you know, I'm persisting with my earlier scheme." She voiced casually.
Tamami looked like she heard the funniest joke in the world as she said; "Whaaat? Seriously?"
"Surprisingly, yes. I'm serious." Or rather, I hate being rejected. By YOU of all people, bugs me.
She scratched her cheek with her index finger in confusion. "C'mon, there are other girls out there! Prettier too! Why'd it have to be me?"
"You think a random girl would just say yes and date me if I asked them so suddenly?"
"It's not impossible. You're very pretty, you know? And hey! Does that mean you think I'd automatically say yes if you asked?!"
"I did not say that."
"You implied it."
"Did not."
"Yes you did."
"I did not think of that, okay? I want it to be you because I know you'd understand. You're my friend and…we've kissed at least a hundred times." Satoko slowly pointed out, blushing at her own words. The reasoning was random, but if it meant a more solid basis for the girl to comply…
Tamami stared. "Eh…what?"
"…you're a kissing monster when you're drunk."
"I…I know that! But you become drunk before I do! How would you know that?"
"Akko tells the tale."
"You believe her?!"
"…you've forgotten we've kissed in photo booths too?"
"Those were counted?"
"Can you please focus? We're straying from the point here."
"Y-yes ma'am…"
The more slender of the two sighed, for the umpteenth time that day. She did not know how long Mari and Akko took before they got together, but she was sure that they had a very long and painful time doing so. Did it really take a whole while to have a person say yes to play-pretend? It was so frustrating; her pride couldn't let it pass. Looking back, the girl was a complete train wreck when the topic of kissing was brought up. Was she perhaps touchy about it? If yes, then why? There really are a lot of things she's yet to know about her otaku friend.
"So then, work with me. This will be good practice for you until you find a boyfriend."
"I won't exactly get one if they found out I'm with a girl…"
"…I really won't take no for an answer."
Tamami sighed—if she was right—in defeat. She had placed her trump card into play; there was no way she could deny her victory now.
"Listen, Sugi-san. I would love to help you, but this really won't work out. So I'm really sorry…no."
Oh well, at least she tried—it was her entire fault to misinterpret the girl's claim to friendship all this time anyway. "…how would you know that? You haven't even tried." And yet she pursued on, for some weird and inexplicable reason.
"C'mon, I'm doing you a favor here! You're really better off with someone normal. Who wants to date an otaku?"
Somehow, she disliked the way the girl reflexively demeaned herself. "Do you really think I mind that? Have you forgotten that I chose specifically you for this particular thing? At least feel a little more confident about it."
A protracted and piercing silence plagued the both of them as they stared at each other stubbornly.
"…fine! I give!" Hands thrown in the air, the girl finally agreed—in exasperation.
There was another long and unnatural pause after the supposed climax of this painstaking story. GAD.
"…really?"
"Yes. Really! Are you happy now?" The tone was sarcastic, but overwhelmed.
Satoko had won the long battle. So instead of answering, she rewarded herself a hug.
"S-Sugi-san?!"
"Don't bore me. Okay, Tamamin?"
"What are you—
"Shh. You're supposed to kiss me now."
"K-k-ki-kiss…?!" All color left the poor lass except for a very vibrant red.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Don't look so stricken."
She thought that there was little chance of her becoming bored if she were to keep up with the bid—and was she so right about that. As it is, the girl's reaction alone was something to be amused about. She knew it was dicey, and she did have a really hard time in convincing the reluctant girl to coincide with her proposition. But there was finally something out of the ordinary and motivating to look forward to every day. As of now, things are looking up to be very interesting. The risk was indeed worth taking.
"We have to make a deal here, Sugi-san. Just in case." Tamami began, after quite a struggle of recapturing her lost poise.
"Sure. What is it?"
"We must promise not to get too carried away."
"Meaning…?" Satoko kind of knew where she was getting at, but in case she was wrong…
"Meaning we can't fall in love with each other." She shakily but seriously clarified.
Placing a hand on her lips, she gave a genial laugh. "You're so funny, Tamamin. You needn't worry about that. Of course I won't."
"Same here. And I did say just in case."
"Now then, about that kiss…"
"C-cut it out, Sugi-san!"
---
In the past, staying up late was something she dreaded. It meant a lot of things were to flop—waking up early, paying attention in class, doing her work efficiently, preventing herself from falling asleep in the subway train… It really took a lot from her. But now, all those things were the least of her worries. If there was one thing that urgently mattered now, it was her great effort to keep herself awake. There were only three days until their second month (together), and she still hadn't finished knitting that scarf. Risking the possibility of obvious eye bags, sleeping in class, and other things, Mari determinedly got back to work, embroidering the silky blue threads in slow succession.
She wasn't sure if Akko had realized this bit of info, but she was still going to finish the scarf anyway. If there was another way of showing the girl how much she loved her, perhaps this was it. She wouldn't give up now. Just then, her phone started ringing. There was only one person who would call at this hour, and she doesn't usually do so. She pressed a button and placed the device near her left ear. "Good evening, Akko."
["Mari! Thank goodness you're awake!"]
"Huh? Why? Did you need something?"
There was a giggle from the other line. ["Nothing, really. I just wanted to hear your voice before I went to sleep."]
Despite her efforts, she blushed deeply at her girlfriend's bold statement. "Th…that's nice."
["Mou…I miss you so much already…it's a killer, you know?"]
"I know what you mean…I-I feel the same…"
["I'll be having a good sleep then! Hehe! Good night, Mari. Sweet dreams! I love you."]
"I love you too!" She hoped she didn't sound too enthusiastic while she said that.
A quick 'click' was heard after a key was pressed. Smiling, Mari set down her phone. Tonight was going to be a sleepless endeavor, she decided.
………
To be continued…
Wooow, the page count is the same, but the word count isn't. =)) Anyway, for those words you didn't get it…
Yoroshiku (onegai shimasu) – Is a way to say; "Nice to meet you."
Desu – I can't explain well, but it means "to be" or "is". Their sentence structure is different though, so it's at the end of the sentence.
So yeah, that's it for the second chapter! XD
