A/N: There really is no excuse for posting this so late, so I hope this kinda makes up for it. ^^; Enjoy~
" -the middle of this whirlpool!" The boyish idol cheerfully sang, as she made her way through the long halls of Vacation Island's massive hotel, motioning to the beat of the song. "Tonight's dream violently dances, as-" She continued. But just as the idol was about to reach her room, she began to feel a slight vibration from under her feet, which was soon followed by a loud banging on what sounded like a door. What the? The girl slowly removed the headphone from one ear, peering down the brightly lite hallway.
"Yukiho! Yukiho!" A tall man in a dark blue suit yelled as he continued to knock louder on the door.
Producer? Makoto quickly pulled out the remaining headphone from her other ear and rushed over to the man. "What's going on?" The girl questioned as she watched the man's frantic movements.
"I-I don't know." The Producer began coughing, unable to say anymore. Sweat was clearly noticeable on the man's face and was dripping off his cheeks and chin. His chest, heaving in and out, as he breathed in big huffs. The Producer coughed out a few more times before taking a deep breath, calming himself. "Ahem." He cleared his voice, making himself much more understandable now. "I was told that something was wrong with Yukiho, so I ran here as quickly as I could." He quickly explained. "But I don't know what. She refuses to open the door for anyone." The man said as he glanced back over at the door. He readied his fist near the door, preparing to knock again.
Makoto motioned to stop the Producer's hand. "Wait, where's Takane? Wasn't she with Yukiho today?"
"Takane was the one who told me. She said she was perfectly fine a moment ago. But now..." The man's voice cracked a little. "She and Miki are both at the lobby right now. We're trying to see if the front desk is willing to give us a spare key to get in." He gave out a sigh. "Yukiho's not even answering me back now...It's a bit nerve wrecking."
The two stood there, staring at the hotel door, as if waiting for the girl to open it some time soon, but nothing happened. Only silence could be heard from within the room. Not even the faintest sign of light could be seen from underneath the door.
"Yukiho, please, at least answer!" The silence having finally gotten to the Producer. The man suddenly felt a firm grip on his shoulder. "Makoto?"
"Don't worry, Producer." The young idol reassured. "I'll take care of things from here. Just tell the others not to worry, okay?"
"But."
Looking over at the door. "When we were little, Yukiho would always do this sort of thing." She smiled a little at the thought, despite the Producer's worried state. "Everything'll be fine, trust me." The girl said, releasing her grip.
The man breathed out once more, dropping his shoulder, less stressed than before. He smiled back the the idol. "Then I'll leave everything to you." The Producer quickly bowed. "Thank you." He slowly returned to his normal stance and began walking off. "I'll go and find the others then. Thank you again."
The girl waited until the man was no longer in sight before testing her own luck at reaching out to the brunette. "Yukiho?..." She said softly, hesitating a bit before knocking on the door, as if not wanting to frighten the girl. Just as worried as everyone else was, she called out once again. "Yukiho!" Makoto said, much louder this time.
The boyish girl was just about to knock again on the wooden door, but heard an audible complaint coming from one of the neighboring rooms. Sorry...She silently apologized to those around her.
Finding another way of reaching the girl, she pulled out her cell phone and began texting her friend.
Yukiho.
I know you're there.
Soon after, a faint buzzing sound came from the other side of the door, merged with a much louder chime. But seconds later, the ringtone abruptly stopped.
She ignored it... Makoto flipped open the phone once again and began tapping away.
YU
KI
HO!
Again, the other girl's phone began to ring, only to be cut off moments later. It rang, then stopped. It rang again, then stopped again. Eventually, this whole back and forth process stopped when the brunette finally decided to turn off her phone all together.
"Yukiho..." She mumbled, turning around so that her back faced the door. She gently tilted backwards, leaning on the door. Huh? The girl felt a slight shift as she pressed up against the wooden surface. Backing away from it, she pushed it once more with her hand. The girl furrowed her brow as the door shifted again. She motioned her hand towards the knob, getting a firm grip on it before twisting. Her eye twitched a little as she was able to fully turn the door knob and push it forward. It was open...Producer, you idiot.
Makoto continued to gently push at the door. Thankfully the building was no more than a few years old, so the door was able to swing with ease, without any creaks or squeaking. A sliver of light shone through, appearing across the darkened room, as the girl poked her head through the gap in the door. As she fully entered the room, she heard a rustling sound coming from a distance. "Yukiho?" She whispered, closing the door behind her.
The idol motioned blindly into the room, arms stretched out, using the wall as her guide. Cautiously, she began to move across the room, making her way past the closet and bathroom. The wall eventually shifted into a different direction, leading into the main part of the room. Still following the thing, she turned and bumped into the foot of a bed. A small girlish shrieked soon followed, but she didn't bother responding and instead, went on in search of some sort of light. She began to scan the room, slightly squinting her eyes, trying to make out any figures. The dark haired girl eventually managed to grab hold of a nearby light. The bulb on the lamp flickered on, slightly blinding the idol. She blinked several times before looking over at the bed. "Yukiho..." She sighed.
Wining the clock back an hour, we're presented two girls, both swiftly making their way pass the amusement park and into the hotel, one chasing after the other. "Excuse me!" The two hurriedly spoke as they shoved their way pass the crowded lobby.
"Yukiho! Please, wait." The silver haired idol called out, still remaining her "princess-like" posture as she made her way out of the busy lobby.
The brunette did no such thing and continued on to the stairs, not even bothering with the bustling elevators. Clunk clunk clunk. The idols' heels clinked and clanked against the metal stairs as they sped up each flight. If it were not for those countless breathing and vocal exercise they were put through, the two would've already toppled over once they've made their way past the tenth floor. It was amazing that even after climbing countless amount of flights, the silver haired idol didn't seem at all bothered by it. Her face showed no change in color, and her skin was dry as ever. Even the brunette's face was plastered with sweat. It was not long before the taller of the two began catching up.
Luckily, the smaller girl made it to her destined floor. With keys already in hand, she ran over to her given room. There it is! Shoving the key into the knob and unlocking the door, she quickly wormed her way in, slamming the door shut behind her.
Not making it there in time. "Yukiho!" Takane called, rattling the door knob and pushing at the door, but to no avail.
Despite already being in the room, she did not budge from her position. Back against the door, using her weight to keep it from moving. Her legs began to wobble as she felt the door behind her shake.
The racket eventually stopped. "Yukiho, what's the matter." The silver haired idol said in a gentle voice. "You mustn't-"
"I-It's nothing really." The girl interrupted. A tear trickled down her cheek and with the back of her hand, whipped it off. "I just don't feel so well is all. I'll be fine tomor-" Unable to hold back her tears any longer, she began sobbing uncontrollably. "P-Please, I just want to be alone right now." The brunette managed to say in between sobs.
Respecting the smaller girl's request, the silver haired idol backed away from the door. Are the stars playing tricks on me or is this just like what happened to Miki yesterday? What's going on? Takane stood there silently, pondering on these thoughts. Nevertheless, I should find the Producer. She thought as she distanced herself from the door.
Sorry Takane...But honestly, even I don't know why I'm acting like this. Yukiho thought while rubbing her watery eyes. These tears, just won't stop.
Only when Takane could no longer be heard and her presence was finally gone, did the brunette finally decide to detach herself from the door and staggered into the black room. Already use to the darkness, the girl began to navigate her way around until she found the nearby bed around the corner, and plopped right onto it. She places the back of her hand over her forehead as she stared up towards the ceiling, not knowing what to do.
The young girl couldn't stop replaying the kiss between the two in her mind.
"When it comes to love, unexpectedly it may actually be someone nearby." Those words rang through the young girl's heart. A tear managed to escape her eyes once again, as she rolled over onto her side. Her eyes began to flutter, opening and closing every so often. Soon, the girl fell into an almost dream like state, not sure if she was awake or not. How long have I been lying here? Minutes? Hours? She remained there, perfectly still for what felt like an eternity, as she stared into the void of her lifeless bedroom.
"Yukiho!" Came a man's voice from beyond the room, rudely jolting the girl from her trance like state. The brunette quickly sat upwards. She listened closely and soon recognized the Producer's voice. "Yukiho? Is everything alright?"
"Y-Yes!" The girl's voice, unmistakably, cracked. She tried to clear her throat, but it was as if a lump was clogging it. She swallowed, only to feel it choke back up.
"What's the matter Yukiho?" Knowing something was wrong. "Everyone's worried."
The word 'everyone' struck a nerve for the young idol, as she pictured her best friend again. "It-It's nothing. Really..." She tried to hold back the water works. Again, she couldn't stop sobbing, and just covered her face all together, as if shielding herself. "Please... just leave me alone..." But the man didn't budge.
After a while, she just decided to remain absolutely quiet, ignoring the man. And despite the Producer's many pleads, remained utterly silent.
She rotated herself around the bed, and sat against the stone cold wall, waiting for the man to just leave her be. Covering her ears as the man began banging on the door, worried that she had done something "stupid". But still, she did not respond.
Eventually the irritating knocking of the door stopped. There was a moment's pause. Then a second voice reached the girl's ears. "Makoto-chan?!" She inched herself to the edge of the bed, closing the distance between her and the door. She steadied her breath as she began listening careful to the people on the other side of the door, but only managed to get bits and pieces of the conversation.
"Yukiho, please, at least answer!" The sudden shout startled the girl, causing her to flopped backwards onto the center of her bed. Thankfully the sound went unnoticed. She quietly pushed herself off the bed. Again, a moment of silence; no sound came from outside the room. There was only a brief second when she heard voices, but that was only the guests next door, complaining about the noise level.
The young girl hoped that this moment of peace meant the two had finally left. In this state of mind, she didn't know how she was going to face others, let alone Makoto.
"Yukiho." The husky voice broke through the silence followed by another more softer knock. But just as she had done before, refused to answer the presence behind the door.
Bzzzzzzzz. A light hearted song began to fill the room. The brunette reached out besides her and took hold of the vibrating phone. Makoto Kikuchi, the screen read. She flipped open her phone then a second later, quickly snapped her phone shut, ignoring the message.
Not a moment later, another stream of messages appeared and the song rang through again. Then another, and another. Knowing already who they were all from, ignored every single one of the texts. I just can't talk to her...not now. Yukiho flipped open the phone one last time to turn the device off.
She felt horrible about what she was doing to her friend, but she couldn't think of anything else to do. She resumed her spot on the bed, not doing anything except staring at the blank sheets.
Click. The brunette's head shot up. What was that? But there was no more noise. Heart pace picking up she sat there, frozen in place, waiting for something to happen. And almost as if she had saw it coming, a line of light shone through and landed on the far wall of her bedroom. Not even questioning as to how her door was opened, she dived in under the sheets, and hid. What am I doing?! She held in her breath, not daring to make any sudden movements.
"Yukiho?" Finally came a whisper from her friend.
Thump. Something bumped into the bed. The young brunette quickly covered her mouth as a small shriek managed to escape the girl's throat. Oh no! But her friend didn't respond. She felt presence move behind her. Click. She heard the lamp besides her turn on, and saw the dim light through her blanket.
"Yukiho..." Taking a seat on the edge of the girl's bed, the presence looked down at the wrapped figure besides her. Makoto sighed as she placed a hand on the lying figure's head, feeling the girl's subtle movements as she breathed. Unknowingly to her, the girl beneath her hand was blushing ferociously, face feeling as if it was on fire.
"Heh. This feels quite nostalgic, doesn't it." The boyish idol said, slightly patting the girl's head. "I remember when we were younger, you would always do this sort of thing, whether you were sad or angry." She reminisced. You would always get so upset with the silliest things, Yukiho. Makoto smiled. "Hey. Remember that class field trip we took in grade school? How you fell and got that cute little white dress of yours all muddy and dirty? You cried for hours, refusing to even budge from that one spot, even when it was time to go." Makoto slightly laughed at the thought.
Yes...I remember. And I also remember how you carried me all the way back too, Makoto-chan, when everyone else just left me. Yukiho thought, but still, no sound came from her.
Tugging at the bed sheets. "Come on now, Yukiho. You're gonna suffocate yourself from in there." The dark haired girl eyes widen as she managed to pry the blanket away from her friend's head. "Yukiho, what happened?" Clearly noticing the brunette's redden eyes. Makoto placed a hand on the girl's cheek, motioning her head so that she could get a better look. But Yukiho shook it off, quickly covering her face with both hands.
The boyish idol retracted her limb. "Yukiho. Please...talk to me."
"Really?!" Miki said, mouth wide open, only to be filled seconds later with a spoon full of cake.
"Mhmm~" Takane hummed as she took a sip of her tea.
"Well now that you mention it, I know what you mean!" The blonde giggled to herself. "That would be so cute!"
The two continued to chat away as they dined on the lovely desserts that were laid out in front of them.
"Miki! Takane! There you guys are." The sound of the producer's voice echoed into the cafe, breaking through the relaxing and quiet atmosphere.
"Ah, Honey! You're here! Want a piece a cake?" The blonde bounced up, pointing towards the sweets on the table.
"Uh no, thank you, but what are you two doing here?" The man questioned as he continued to approach the two. "I thought you guys were at the lobby getting the key to Yukiho's room." He said as he glanced over at the door, which lead into the hotel lobby.
"Oh that? We stopped ages ago." The blonde said playfully, taking another bite out of her half eaten cake.
A sweat drop dripped off the man's face. "Wait what."
Mouth full. "Takane saw Makoto heading to her room earlier and said that she'll probably get everything sorted out. And that it's best we didn't interrupt." Taking another bite.
The four eyed man lightly sighed. "If that was the case, why didn't you tell me sooner? I was trying to get Yukiho out of her room this whole time."
Takane lifted her head. "Simple." Placing the tea cup back on the table. "If you hadn't been there in front of Yukiho's room when you were, then Makoto probably would've never notice something was wrong when she had walked by, correct?. Looking sternly at the standing man. "And if that were to happen, she would've probably just gone to her room and stayed there the rest of the night."
Not knowing what to say, only nodded in response. "I guess you're right..."
"Ne ne, Honey." The blonde reached out for the Producer's arm before he could walk away.
Looking back and seeing the young girl's face, the man couldn't help but smile. "Sure, why not." He cheerfully said, pulling over a nearby chair. "Um, Waiter. One coffee, please." He called out as he took a seat. As he began to reach out for the cafe menu, a sudden thought overcame him. "If you don't mind me asking. How do you guys know that Makoto would be able to get everything sorted out. Why put so much faith in just her?" He questioned before realizing how rude it must have sounded. "Wait, no...It's not that you shouldn't... I mean..." He continued to blabber.
The two idols that sat before him began to giggle to one another before exchanging a knowing look.
"That's just something we're going to keep between us girls."
Sigh. The boyish idol breathed out. "Guess I'll be staying the night then." She said, pushing herself off the mattress.
"Wait what?" The brunette finally spoke as she watched her friend motion away from her bed.
"Ah, you finally said something." Makoto teased, glancing back with a smile causing the blushing girl to cover her face again. The dark haired girl continued to motion towards the closet. "Well seeing as how you not going to talk..." She said as she began to yank spare blankets. "I thought I'd stay by your side til you do." Giving off a goofy smile as she tossed over a pillow.
"Please Makoto. Don't." The girl got up from off the bed to stop the other, but only to have her legs buckle from under her. Thud.
"Yukiho!" The idol immediately dropped everything and ran over to the fallen girl. "What's happened?!" She took hold of brunette's arm but had it yanked away seconds later. The girl blinked several times as she stood there in confusion. "Yukiho...are you made at me?" The girl bent over to look at her friend's covered face, but saw nothing but streams of tears dripping off the girl's flushed cheeks.
The dark haired girl couldn't stand to see her friend like that, but still, she could only manage to stand there, silently, as she watched her friend sobbed away, rubbing her already redden eyes. But soon after, Makoto broke out of her zombie-like mode and lowered herself down to her friend's level, reaching out for the other girl's hand. "Come on now. You shouldn't rub your eyes so much." She gently shifted the brunette's hand away from here eyes. "Here, use this." Makoto said as she reached into her pocket for a handkerchief . As she managed to pull the piece of fabric out of her pocket, another, much smaller object, fell out, hitting the floor with a small chime. What the-?
"Ne ne! Take a look at this! They're soo cute~"
"Hmmm? Oh hey! I remember these! I can't believe they still make these."
"Oh, you' know what they is?"
"Yea, they're some characters from this show me and Yukiho use to watch them all the time."
"Ah..."
"The white one was always her favorite."
" ...You two are really good friends, huh, Makoto-kun?"
"Yea. Best friends."
A smile managed to reach the girl's face as she held the small thing in the palm of her hand. She couldn't help but think that maybe the distant past of her childhood wasn't so far away after all. She could almost hear the nine year old Yukiho calling out to her. "Mako-chan! Mako-chan!" The boyish idol got a bit teary eyed herself, but soon realized that her friend was still waiting for her to hand over the piece of cloth. But instead of just giving the girl the cloth, Makoto scooted over towards her brown haired friend, and began patting away the girl's tears.
The dark haired idol, once again, reached out for the girl's arm, and this time, with much more ease, was able to help the girl up and back onto the bed. Thankfully after whipping the girl's eyes with the now soaked cloth did the waterworks somewhat subside.
Still clutching onto the small object, Makoto took another shot at cheering up her sadden friend. "Hey, Yukiho. You wouldn't believe what I ran into today." The dark haired idol opened up her fist, revealing the small key-chain. "I didn't even know they still made these things." Makoto happily said as she planted the thing onto the other girl's hand. "Sure brings back memories, huh?" The idol said as she slowly closed her friend's hand around the gift, still waiting for some sort of response.
Yukiho however only managed to open and close her mouth ever so slightly, almost as if a child learning to speak for the first time, but no audible sounds were spoken. Instead she just nodded her head in response, still looking down at the small object. She just didn't know whether to feel happy or sad. If only she had the courage to just leap into the arms of the girl besides her and pour out all those bottled emotions. But even the thought of it made her uneasy. She felt her heart racing and the blood rushing to her face as she ran these idea through her head. Mentally, she shook her head. I can't
The brunette dangled the small key-chain in front of her face, getting a better look at it, as it twisted and twirled in the air. The girl's eyes seems to glistened as she watched the thing spin around at the end of its strap.
A smile began to form on Makoto's face as she took note of the look in her friend's eyes. I knew she'd like it!
"Thank you, Mako-chan." Yukiho managed to say with a slight grin.
'Mako-chan.' The sound of her long lost nickname from her childhood friend made her heart leap. "Ha I knew you'd like it."
"But."
With that one word, the boyish idol's heart skipped a beat.
"You shouldn't do this kinda thing anymore, Makoto-chan." She placed the plastic thing back into her friend's hand. "Miki wouldn't be happy about this."
"Miki?" Still wearing her worried expression, echoed the girl's name in question. "Oh!" Makoto shouted in realization. "Heh, don't worry, Yukiho. I got something for her too. And one for Takane as well, and the Producer, Ritsuko-san, and everyone back-"
"That's not what I meant!"
Makoto immediately stopped herself from talking and merely stared at the girl besides her. Never had she seen her friend so upset that she'd had to scream like that, to the point where it made even her jump.
"T-That's not what I-I meant..." Yukiho said much softer this time. And again, the tears began to tickle down her cheeks "You're so...stupid Makoto-chan." She said between sobs as her shoulders began to shake.
Still, Makoto sat there in silence.
"I wasn't talking about some stupid key-chain..." Balling her hand into a fist and gripping the hem of her dress. "Or some stupid sovereign..." Yukiho slowly lifted her head. "And I'm not just talking about Miki either...I just..." She shifted her attention left and right before finally meeting the other girl's gaze. "I..."
A/N: I wanna start off by saying I'm really sorry for how long it took me to post this chapter up. This was originally suppose to have been posted during my Spring Break (yes I know, that was back in April) but some things came up; school work and a lost in the family. So apparently this chapter got pushed into my finals weeks.
Of course, being the procrastinator that I am, I ended up having to cram for several tests and papers at one time, not having the chance to even look at this. But lucky I just recently got out of my first year in college and was able to finish off this chapter.
The next chapter, hopefully, will come out this week? But again, I'm not too certain since my summer classes are starting in a couple of days. The next chapter, however, will probably (and mostly likely will be) the last and final chapter of "What's Love". And I promise to make it as pleasurable for you guys as I can.
I wish to thank you guys for sticking by as long as you have and I really appreciate all your reviews.
Thank you again, and I will see you soon! (Please review! ^^;)