Disclaimer : I do not own Love Live!
"Kotori, Kotori!"
I could hear that someone is calling my name. It was your voice. Despite my consciousness that started to fades away, I opened my eyes slowly. I was lying on your lap. You, the one who was calling my name again and again was crying right now. I tried to lift my hand, wanted to wipe that tears away from your face. But it was no use. I felt like all of my strength already left my body. I looked at you and once again trying to move my own hand to reach yours. I did it. I held your trembling hand now and managed to open my mouth.
"I'll be waiting…"
As I said that I smiled. I knew that even though I'm gone, you'll come again to my side. Even though we were apart you'll come back and search for me right? I believe in you and that's why I won't say a farewell words that will only make you sad. You still have to do something here don't you? As my view began to blurred, I opened my mouth once again.
"I'll be waiting, always waiting…"
After that one last word I closed my eyes, letting myself fall into a deep darkness without an end.
Yes I'll be waiting for the day when we can meet again…I'll wait at the place of our memories, until someday when you return…
Solitude soaks and soaks my cheeks. I opened my eyes by the presence of dawn that rises quietly, almost like it was inviting me up to the sky. The soft light from the morning sun coming through from the gap of the curtains, forced me to wake up. I blinked my eyes several times and then I realized something. My eyes are wet. I was crying in my sleep.
Must be because of that dream again…
I let out a sigh. There's this one dream that I kept getting every night. I don't remember anything much from it. Inside my dream, there's a girl with the same name as me, looking like she was about to go somewhere far away soon. She was lying down on another girl lap whose face I've never managed to see. The one thing I was pretty sure of is that the two of the, shared an unbreakable bond.
They must be destined to be together or something like that…
I giggled to myself. Thinking about how romantic it was if that's really true. But then again, if that was really the case, what's the reason behind the tears I shed every time I woke up?
Maybe because it was painful for that girl to leave the one she loved? And I was somehow touched by it?
Maybe that was the answer behind it. Of course I would never know what it feels like to be in her position. Leaving the one I loved and cared behind? I wouldn't want that. Beside I've never loved someone before, makes it more difficult for me to imagine.
But why does it feel so real? As if it was me who experienced all the things that happened in my dream. Probably because I dreamt about it every night that it started to look like it was real. Just maybe, I started to understand the painful feeling that girl felt.
"There's no way something like that happened right?" I shook my head, thinking how silly I could be sometimes.
I get up from my bed and opened the curtain. I stretch my arms in the air and the morning sun immediately greeted me by its warm light. I opened the window and took a deep breath. I smiled as the fresh morning air entered my lungs. Today marked a new beginning for me. After ten years living in another country, my mom and I now are back to Japan. It's been years since the last time I was here. My mom told me that we used to live here and I was six when we move away from Japan.
I have no recollection of my past here. In fact I never knew that we used to live here. My mom said that maybe I was still too young to remembered anything. Maybe she was right. But it still feels weird when you don't know anything about the country you were born in.
I shook my head to clear my thought. If I don't know anything then I'll just have to learn about it right? I moved to the bathroom to clean myself. After putting on my uniform I looked at the mirror.
"And…there!" I done my hair and put a green ribbon on it.
"Kotori, breakfast is ready!" My mother is calling for me from the kitchen.
"Yes~" as I replied I took my bag with me and walked out of my room.
When I come in to the kitchen, mom already ate her breakfast. I sat opposite to her and started eating my breakfast as well.
"Today is first day of school. How are you feeling?" mom looks at me and grabbed her cup filled with coffee.
"A bit nervous actually. But somehow I got this feeling that something big will happen ehehe~" I hummed happily to myself, suddenly getting thrilled by the thought of my new school life.
"Is that so? Then maybe you should hurry up so you wouldn't miss that." Mother smiled at me. I looked at the clock and then my eyes got widened.
"It's already this time?!"
Seven passed thirty. I hurriedly finished my breakfast, took my lunch box and placed it inside my bag.
"I'm going!" I bid my mother farewell and then started walking towards the school. I don't want to be late on my first day.
My new school is not too far away from my house. It takes about twenty minutes by walking. Since today was my first day I go to school, I thought that maybe I should go earlier so that I have a spare time if I get lost. When I looked forward I could see a girl wearing the same uniform as me walking in the same direction. I let out a relief sigh. That means I'm not taking the wrong route to the school. I looked at that girl. She has a long blue hair straggling up to her waist. Without realizing it, I keep staring at her back, hope she would turn around so that I can see her face.
Not long after that a little girl approached her and tugging on her sleeve. I stopped my feet a bit far from them so they wouldn't notice me. The little girl pointed her index finger to a tree near them. My eyes followed the direction of her hand and find out that her balloon was stuck on that three.
Maybe she was asking for her help?
When I looked back at the blue-haired girl she's already walking to the tree along with the little girl. I caught a glimpse of her face and the first thing I noticed was her brown eyes that shone beautifully. She put her bag on the ground and then jumped as high as she could. She managed to catch the balloon ropes. After that she kneeled and tied the rope to that little girl's wrist. She got back up and patted the little girl's head. The little girl smiled brightly so do the blue-haired girl.
When I look at her smiling face suddenly I feel something in my chest.
What is this?
I clenched my fist on my chest, confused by the feeling I felt right now. Before I managed to find out what this feeling is, the blue-haired girl started to walk again. I shook my head and followed walking behind her.
She's a nice person. What year she is? If she's in the same year as me, maybe we'll end up in the same class! And then maybe we can be friends…
I giggled to myself imagining what coincidence if I really ended up being the same year as her.
My name is Minami Kotori. I'm sixteen years old and a second year high school student. Today I feel that something big that changes my life will start.
"Ah that's right, starting from today we'll have a new student joining our class." I could hear the teacher saying that to the class as I'm waiting behind the door that opened a little. The teacher gave me a sign to enter the class. I gulped and put my hand on my chest. I felt like my heart starting to beat faster than usual.
Calm down Kotori, you don't want to make a bad first impression right?
I took a deep breath and started walking inside. I stopped right in the middle and I could feel that my heart still beating a little faster than usual.
"Now introduce yourself." The homeroom teacher said that to me. Again I took a deep breath so that my voice wouldn't tremble and cracked.
"My name is Minami Kotori. Nice to meet you all." I bowed my head and smiled to all the resident of the class. Almost all the student there replied my smile and I was really happy by that. It means that they welcomed me in their class.
"Okay now, your seat is…" the teacher was scanning the whole classroom trying to find an empty seat when finally her eyes stopped at one spotted. She grinned widely and then opened her mouth again.
"Minami, you can sit beside Sonoda there on the back."
I looked to where her eyes were directed at. The view I saw right after that was a girl with long blue hair sat beside an empty seat. Her brown eyes met with my own eyes.
It's that girl from this morning! Coincidences do happen…
I didn't know what to do so I decided to let out a smile. She didn't reply it. All she did was turned her gaze from me and looked afar at the skies. Her reaction surprised me. Is she really is the same girl I saw this morning? Where's her gentle smile go?
I walked towards my seat and then sat beside her. I put my bag on the side of the desk and turned to face the blue-haired girl beside me.
"I'm Minami Kotori, nice to meet you." I held out my hand to her. She looked at it and hesitated for awhile before she took my hand.
"Sonoda Umi." She immediately let go of my hand and turned her head and gazing back at the sky.
I steal a glance at her. There's no doubt that she was the girl that I saw this morning. Her blue hair and brown eyes looks exactly the same. The only thing that makes her looks like a different person from this morning is that, the gentle smile I saw was no longer on her face. Replaced by this expressionless face she wore right now.
The bell is ringing and it's already time for lunch break. Just when the teacher left the classroom, a lot of student starting to gathered around my desk. They started to ask me the basic question for a transfer student.
"Minami-san, I heard that you were living in another country before transferred here, is that true?"
"Minami-san, your hair is really pretty! Did you iron it every day?"
"Hey hey Minami-san, have you decided on a club yet?"
They continue to bombard me with their never ending question. Between their gaps I tried to look for Sonoda-san but she's already left her desk. I let out a sigh. From now I just have to keep up with their questions. After the commotions subside, I took my lunch box from my bag and exited the classroom.
Now, where should I eat my lunch?
I decided that I'll eat wherever my feet brought me. I walked along the corridor and then took the stairs to the roof. Before I realize it, I already stood in front of the door heading to the roof. I opened it slowly afraid if someone already there. I peered and didn't found anyone else on the roof. I let a relief sigh. Still holding the door knob, I opened the door wider and walked to the roof. There's a shade beside the wall. I spread my handkerchief there and sat on it. I opened my lunchbox and saw my mother's homemade cooking. I smiled. Even though she's working, she always managed to make me a lunch before she went off to work. I thanked my mother before eating it. The soft wind and bird chirping accompanied my lunch. After I finished eating, I looked at the blue sky above me.
Aaaah such a nice weather~
I opened my mouth and start singing to myself.
"This moment is precious…
Being rushed towards destiny,
That moment we were holding each other was our sign of farewell."
Those words, where did I have heard it before?
"I'll be waiting, always waiting…
Those drifting words
They do not vanish in the wind; they exist definitely in the warmth of my chest."
I don't know where I've heard or when did I learn this song. Since I was in junior high school, these song lyrics keeps popping into my mind and without I knew it I already able to sing it like it was a natural thing for me to do. Sometimes I thought about the meaning of the lyrics. When I write it down I realize that this song was telling about being separated with the one you loved. Just like the same as the dream I keep getting every night.
I wonder if this song is connected with my dream? I shook my head when I failed to get the answer.
There are a lot of things I still don't know. A world unseen… but no matter what awaits me there, even if it's not the ideal, I won't be afraid.
I got up from my seat and about to go back to the classroom when I heard someone else voice from the rooftop above.
"Wait for me, always wait for me
Communicating with our eyes,
I'll wait at the place of our memories, until someday you return…"
I tried to look at the source of the voice. When I looked up, I saw brown orbs looking down at me. it was Sonoda-san.
"That song…" I wanted to asked her about how did she knew that song but somehow the blue clouds I saw before turned black and spinning on top of the roof. Suddenly a thunder strikes near where I stand making me surprised and fall and leaving a black mark on the floor.
"Minami-san!" Sonoda-san immediately climbed down the stairs and ran to me.
"Are you okay?" Sonoda-san asked me and helped me to stand.
"I'm okay, thank you Sonoda-san." I get up and nodded and of course thanked her.
The dark clouds keep gathering and spinning above us. I've never seen this kind of clouds before. It was really odd, like it was purposely gathered above us.
"For now let's go back to the classroom. It's dangerous here." Sonoda-san said to me and I nodded again. When she tried to open the door to downstairs, she frowned.
"What happen?" I asked for the reason behind her expression.
"I couldn't open the door. It's locked." Sonoda-san turned the doorknob again, harder this time. The door in front us was completely unaffected by Sonoda-san's force.
"What's going on right here? Minami-san did you locked the door when you come here?" Sonoda-san turned around to face me.
"No I don't." I don't remember that I locked the door so I shook my head.
The wind was getting stronger, making our hairs dance wildly in the air. Everything around us seems darker now because of the clouds. Another lightings strikes down near us. I covered my ears and shut my eyes. The sound that comes after that really terrifying. It sounds like an animal's roar.
The third lighting strikes again. This time when it reached the ground it deformed into a black wolf. I couldn't believe what I saw right in front my eyes. I rubbed it several times, hoping that I was just dreaming or maybe this was some illusion my mind created.
"What is that…" I heard Sonoda-san saying that in disbelief.
I got freaked out. If Sonoda-san can see what I saw, it means that this wasn't an illusion. This was real and happening right now. The black wolf looked at us with its predators eyes. Its mouth is open, showing its sharp teeth. Its saliva dropped to the floor.
"So-Sonoda-san, what should we do?!"
When I looked at the blue-haired girl, she was desperately trying to open the door again but the door was still shut.
The black wolf roared and looking at me and then start charging toward me. I tried to run but my feet betrayed me. I can't move it an inch. When the wolf is getting closer to me I closed my eyes, resigned to what will happen to me next. But the assault I was expecting never came. I opened my eyes to see what happened.
In front of me, Sonoda-san blocked the black wolf teeth by her hand. Blood could be seen dripping from it.
"Sonoda-san!"
"G-guh!" Sonoda-san tried to push back the black wolf but the wolf was simply just too strong for her. The black wolf ripped her clothes apart and then threw her to the side.
"Sonoda-san!" She fell to the ground. I tried to moved again but my feet still wasn't willing to listen to me.
The black wolf now shifted its target to Sonoda-san. It's walking closer to the her that lying weakly on the floor.
Come on feet, move!
I pinched my thigh, forced it to move. The wolf starts charging again towards Sonoda-san.
"Sonoda-saaaan!" I screamed her name again and closed my eyes afraid to see what will happen next.
When I opened my eyes, I realized that I wasn't in the school roof. I looked around to find out where I was but all I could see was an endless darkness. I feel like I was standing above water. A sea? Pond? River? I don't know which one since it was too dark for me to recognize my surrounding.
I'm a dreamer…
My power is hidden…
I heard a voice inside my head and then the endless black started to change into white.
Now awake, the power within me…!
That voice brought me back to reality. I gasped. Sonoda-san is still lying there and the black wolf still charging towards her. I moved my feet and run toward her. Luckily my distance is much closer to Sonoda-san than the black wolf is. I reached her first and then kneeled. I lift her head and put it on my arms.
"Sonoda-san, are you alright? Sonoda-san!" there was no answer from her.
The wolf is getting closer to us. It roaring and opened its mouth, showing us its sharp teeth that ready to rip our body apart anytime. And then I, once again heard a voice inside my head.
Break the seal now!
Without thinking I leaned closer and kissed Sonoda-san in the lips. When our lips met, a white light covered our bodies. The wolf strikes us but it was being thrown away by the light that acted like our shield.
What is this?
As I trying to find out what the light was, Sonoda-san opened her eyes.
"Minami…san?" she said with a weak voice.
"Sonoda-san! Thank goodness you're okay…" I let my tears of relief fall.
She looked to her surrounding trying to understand the situation she was right now but then she gave up and asked me instead.
"What happened?" Sonoda-san got up and sat on the floor while holding her injured left hand with her right.
"I don't really understand myself but I heard a voice inside my head and then after I ki–" when I realized what I was going to say next, my face suddenly become hotter than usual. I can tell that my face is bright red right now. There's no way I told Sonoda-san that I kissed her before!
"Ki…?" Sonoda-san tilted her head in confusion.
"I mean kneeled! When I kneeled beside you this light suddenly appeared and surrounded us."
"Is that so?" Sonoda-san frowned didn't seems convinced by my explanation. "Well whatever happened, now we have to take care of this thing first." Sonoda-san get up and looked at the black wolf that's already back to its feet again. I followed her and get up.
"If only there's a weapon I can use…" Sonoda-san clucked her tongue.
I looked around us but there's nothing that can be used as a weapon. And then I noticed something odd. A bat is flying to our direction, carrying something on its claw and then dropped it right above us. Sonoda-san seems to notice it as well. The thing that bat dropped was two red wristbands with white stripe on it.
"What is this?" Sonoda-san took one of it and observed it. I took one myself too. It was a normal wristband, nothing special from it.
Now, all you have to do is formed the contract…
I heard another voice whispering inside my head. At that moment, somehow I have an idea on how to defeat this black wolf. I wear the wristband on my right hand. When I looked at Sonoda-san, she already did the same thing as me. Without anyone order we joined our hands. We opened our mouth exactly at the same time and shouted.
"Arise, the fruit of the forbidden song! Give us your power as we seal our oath within your contract!"
The light that surrounded us become larger. In front of me an image of oak staff performed. I took it with my right hand. The moment I touched it, I feel something flowing throughout my body. I turned my head to look at Sonoda-san. She was holding a sword on her left hand. The white light disappeared, leaving only us and our weapon against the black wolf in front of us.
I caught a glimpse of Sonoda-san left hand. The blood was still dripping from it. I rushed to her left side and then put my arms in it. I closed my eyes and wished for her wound to close and the pain to go away. When I opened my eyes, miraculously her wound started to close as the blood stopped dripping from it. Sonoda-san widened her eyes in surprise. And I was the same. I never knew that I had that kind of power within me. She tried to move her left arm, clenched her fist and then opened it again.
"Alright this will do." Sonoda-san nodded to herself. She turned her face to look at me and then she smiled. "Thank you Minami-san."
There it is. The same gentle smile I saw before. Her smiling face made my heart beats rapidly. I looked down to hid my embarrass face.
Sonoda-san now held the sword with both her hands. She looked at the black wolf with fierce eyes. I could feel her intent to kill and it makes me anxious. In a second, the warm smile in Sonoda-san face was replaced with an emotionless face that makes me shiver. Sonoda-san started running toward the black wolf. They charge at each other at the same time. The black wolfs swing its claw to Sonoda-san but the blue-haired girl ducked and avoid it. She took that opportunity to stab the wolf belly from below. Her sword got through the wolf flesh and then cut it apart. The wolf roared in pain and then turned into ashes. No blood no flesh even the black mark the thunder left on the floor vanished. There wasn't any trace left from the battle we had before including the oak staff I held and Sonoda-san's sword. All of it disappeared along with the black clouds.
Suddenly my body feels limp. My consciousness began to run away from me. It's getting harder to maintain my balance and then I fall to the ground. The last thing I saw before I closed my eyes was Sonoda-san running towards me and shouting my name.
"Why did you let her carry the wristband and not me? That's not fair!" a raven-haired girl with cat ears popped from her head pouted and was folding her arms.
"It's because I can fly and you can't" the girl besides her twirling her red hair with her index finger, seems uninterested with what her opponent said. A small bat wings could be seen from her head.
"Why do you always talk like you are better than me?" the cat-girl turned her head to face the red-head.
"Isn't that the truth?" she let out a sigh, realized that the cat-girl isn't going to stop this argument anytime soon.
"What did you say?!"
"Now now, cut it out both of you." A girl stepped out from the darkness, wearing a black robe and a magician hat. The three of them were standing on top of a tall building. Their figures were illuminated by the moon above, making three silhouettes on the ground.
"But I didn't get any action today because she took all of it!" the cat-girl pointed her finger to the red-head.
"You don't have to worry about it. Our time to get in action already come~" the girl with the black robe smiled mischievously.
My world is made of dreams, love, and worried. But there are still things lying hidden that I can't even imagine.
The next day I woke up with tears in my eyes, just like usual. I must be having that dreams again. I let out a sigh. Somehow I don't want to move from my bed today. I closed my eyes for awhile and recalled what happened yesterday. All the things that happened yesterday were really hard for me to swallow. The dark clouds, the black wolf, the mysterious bat and the wristband it carried, and finally the voice in my head. What's the meaning behind all of that? Maybe it's all was just an imagination my mind creates. Yes that must be it. I forced myself to believe that it was all just my imagination.
I got up from my bed when I finally realize that something attached to my right hand. I lift my hand and looked at it. It was yesterday's wristband that mysterious bat dropped.
"So it wasn't my imagination after all…"
On my way to school, I saw Sonoda-san again walking ahead of me. Facing the sky like all the different trees around us, I'm gazing right at your back. I want to go and greet you but when I remembered what happened yesterday I encage my intention. When I remembered that I kissed her yesterday, my cheeks began to get hotter. I swore that it wasn't my intention to kiss her. There's no way I would kiss someone I just met that day. My lips moved on its own I couldn't control it. I don't even know if it was me or someone else stealing my consciousness and kissed her.
I should tell her and apologize to her later…
When the break time came, Sonoda-san walked to my desk with her usual expressionless face. Where's the smile she gave me yesterday? I wanted to see it again but judging from her face right now, I'm sure she wouldn't let me saw it anytime soon.
"Minami-san, can I talk with you for a moment?" she said to me with a stern voice. I nodded and then followed her outside the class.
She kept walking in front of me in silence. All I could do was gazing at her back, just like the same when I first met her yesterday and this morning. She brought me to the roof. After making sure that no one is following us, she closed the door and then turned around to face me.
"First let me ask you this; do you remember what happened here yesterday?" Sonoda-san looked at me with serious face and that's make me feel a little bit nervous.
"I-I do." I stuttered but managed to answer her question.
"So it wasn't a dream huh?" Sonoda-san held her chin and muttered that to herself. She looked at me again. Her brown eyes still feels a little cold.
"Next, do you have something that looked like this?" she took out something from her pocket and then showed it to me. It was the red wristband with white stripe.
"Yes I do." I nodded. I took the wristband that was attached to my right hand this morning from my pocket too.
"May I take a look at it?" Sonoda-san asked me and I handed it to her.
She observed the wristbands but the result was her frowning face. I already observed the wristband at home myself several times and I found nothing unusual from it. She gave the wristband back to me and then let out a sigh.
"Okay then the last question." I gulped as I prepared myself for her final question. "You passed out yesterday right? How are you feeling?" her cold eyes were now softened.
Somehow looking at her now I feel relief. She's really a good person indeed. She was concerned of my condition and that makes me really happy. I smiled brightly as I answered her last question.
"I'm okay Sonoda-san. It's all thanks to you!"
"I-is that so? Glad to hear that then." When Sonoda-san said that, she covered her face with her back hand and averting her gaze from me. Even though she tried to hide her face, I still can see her red ear tip. So she can feel embarrassed too huh? This was a side of Sonoda-san I don't know and I'm happy that I discovered it.
"L-let's back to the classroom. We haven't had our lunch yet." Without looking at me, she opened the door and then walking back to the classroom. I assume that she was still embarrassed to look at myself. I giggled to myself and then followed her from behind.
When we were walking at the corridor, when we met with a blonde and a purple-haired girl that looked like our senior.
"Umi!" the blonde waved at Sonoda-san and walked towards us. So did the purple-haired girl
"Hey Eli." Sonoda-san greeted her back and smiled at her.
Who's this person? An acquaintance of Sonoda-san? But they're using they first name so she must be someone close to Sonoda-san.
The blonde shift her eyes to me and then I bowed to her. She bowed back to me and looked back to Sonoda-san.
"It's rare to see you walking with someone else." The blonde said to Sonoda-san half joking.
"Yeah, like you're the one to talk." Sonoda-san let out a sigh. She looked at the purple-haired girl beside the blonde but then decided not to ask anything about it.
"Are you the transfer student in Umi's class?" the blonde looked at me.
"Ah, y-yes. My name is Minami Kotori. Nice to meet you." I introduced myself and once again bowed to her.
"You don't have to be so formal." The blonde somehow look trouble by what I did. "I'm Ayase Eli. I'm Umi's childhood friend. Please take a good care of her." Ayase-san smiled and offered her hand to me. I took it and replied her smile.
"So you're a transfer student?" the purple-haired girl opened her mouth. "I just got transferred to Elicchi's class today as well so we're the same~" she said in a carefree manner.
"I'm showing this person around the school." Eli explained the situation to us.
"You're mean Elicchi, I have a proper name you now!" the purple-haired girl pouted and Ayase-san only let out a sigh as her reply. She shifted her eyes to me and Sonoda-san.
"My name is Toujou Nozomi. I'm looking forward to work with you both from today onward, Sonoda Umi-san and Minami-Kotori-san~"
A/N : Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! As always I'm sorry for my bad grammar and any mistakes, I just hope that this fic is readable~
This chapter song are Minori Chihara – Kyoukai no Kanata and Maaya Sakamoto – Platina. It's not μ's song but I really like both of it! And so, somehow this fic was turned into a Mahou Shoujo fic (?) what's with that chant Kotori and Umi said there, I don't really understand the meaning behind it myself /got slapped
Rena Bodewig : Yes I'm in love with KotoUmi right now XD
lovemaki : whether Kotori and Umi will go to another place, I'm still not sure about that. Should they? (sorry to answer your question with another question) as for Us of course I'm not going to abandon it. I just get stuck a little but I already have a plan for the ending ehehe
avemari : Umi looks cool because she haven't known Kotori yet :p
Adri-VolKatina : Yes I think I'll let myself got addicted to this pairing for a very long time XD
KotoUmilovelive : Thank you so much for reading my stories haha~
Well then see you again next chapter~
