Mariko sighed dreamily.
"And he was sooo CUTE!" She squealed, almost jumping on top of Misa.
"I bet he was! He looked absolutely adorable!" Misa nodded in agreement. "He gets the MisaMisa seal of approval from me!" Misa squealed, giving Mariko a huge thumbs-up.
"Eeep~!" Mariko shouted as she nearly fell onto the carpet. "Hey, if I take a shower, can you help me with my hair?" She asked, tipping her head to the side.
"Sure! I wanna play arounnddd~!" Misa sang.
"Alright, alright." Mariko laughed and walked into the bathroom, stepping into the shower.
She sighed quietly once she was undressed and allowed the warm water jets to stream down her back, quickly soaking her hair.
The muscles in her back seemed to relax on their own.
She sighed.
Stupid Near.
Why did he come back?
Why did he have to come back?
The idiot.
She sighed and grabbed the bottle of shampoo, pouring a huge amount on her head.
Long hair wasn't all it was cracked up to be.
Letting her head fall back, almost as if embracing the water, she sighed and gently massaged the shampoo through her hair.
"This was supposed to be a new life…" She sighed and closed her eyes. "Why is he here?" She whispered, hoping Misa wouldn't hear her under the loud sound of the spraying shower jets.
Misa would take hours and hours to do her hair, she knew it… But maybe she'd see Near again.
Oooh.
What if Near had come to ask her out?
That would change everything.
He was so adorable, too. His expression of shock and surprise when Mariko had kissed him was too cute for her to handle.
Then she sighed.
That wasn't the reason he was here.
Maybe L had had some sort of thing…
She wasn't sure.
Then a sick feeling dropped in the pit of her stomach. Something was terribly, terribly wrong here.
She just didn't know what.
Turning off the shower and wrapping herself in a towel, Mariko didn't bother to wring her hair out as she stepped out into the small apartment space. "Misa, I'm ready!""Come into my bathroom, I have stuff here!" Came Misa's muffled cry, probably through the wall.
Mariko sighed and walked into Misa's bathroom.
Sure enough, the blonde was armed with a blow dryer and a hairbrush.
"Sit here." Misa gestured to a folding chair in front of the mirror, for once, a serious gleam in her eye.
"Alright, just don't shoot." Mariko chuckled, sitting down.
"Take out the extensions."
Mariko frowned. "Why?" She liked the purple and aqua extensions.
"Because. I need to blow dry." Misa muttered, already unclipping and pulling out the hair extensions and laying them on the table.
Mariko sighed and began to help her friend, soon her hair was the natural, long, midnight-colored raven hair that belonged to her.
"Now flip your hair over."
Mariko sighed. Well, she had asked for it. Literally.
But she obliged, sighing
For two hours, this carried on. Mariko had to lean her head this way and that, while Misa pulled out gels and hair ties and combs and brushes and curlers.
When Misa was finally satisfied with the twelve cups of goop in Mariko's hair, she stopped and stepped back, putting her hand to chin in a look of contemplation.
Mariko's hair was put up in two curled pigtails, and she had to admire Misa's handiwork, not a single strand of hair was out of place.
"Hey, MariMari?" Misa asked, suddenly edging slightly closer and doing a little bit of messing with her left ponytail with the comb.
"Yeah?" Mariko asked, tipping her head slightly so Misa could get to it easier.
"If you had the chance, would you pose nude in a magazine? Like… Playboy or something?"
Mariko's eyes widened. "Wh… What?"
"Would you pose nude for a magazine? Or be, like, a porn star?"
Mariko choked slightly on her own throat. "Of… Of course not!"
"… Alright. I was just wondering."
"Why?" Mariko asked softly. Of course she'd never do that. She glanced at herself in the mirror. The color had drained out of her face.
She couldn't believe Misa would even think about her doing that.
She wouldn't think about doing that in general. Especially… Especially not after…
Mariko felt herself shuddering slightly.
Not after Beyond.
Not after him.
The memories flashed before her eyes, and Mariko stood up abruptly.
"MariMari…"
"MisaMisa, can you give me a second? I need to step outside…"
Mariko very quickly walked outside to the deck of the apartment and let her face fall into her hands, elbows resting on the railing.
Tears were soon running down her arms and dripping down the railing. "Near, you idiot." She hissed under her breath. "Why are you here?"
The apartment only being on the second floor, anyone walking on the street below could see what was happening on the deck. Mariko hadn't cared who saw her at that point, unless it was the particular person that came along.
"Mariko?" It was just a soft question from below. A small gesture.
Mariko took her hands from her tear-streaked face and stared below.
"Near?"
Near was standing below, looking up with concern. "What's… wrong?"
Mariko wiped her eyes, mascara, eyeliner, and eye shadow causing dark smears to run across her face.
"N… Nothing." Mariko muttered, shaking her head. "Wh… What the hell are you doing here?" She muttered, trying to put on her persona again.
"I was just walking… Then I saw you up there… What's wrong?"
Mariko pursed her lips. "Do… Do you want to go to lunch and talk about it?" She asked softly, backing up a nanometer.
"Sure. I'll buy. Meet me down here when you're ready."
Mariko smiled softly and went back inside.
Finally, she was going on a date with Near.
And Mariko was going to tell him everything.
D'aw.
Well, I hope this provided some insight into Mariko's point of view right now. :3
Now you kinda know what's going on in everyone's head.
Noowww.
If you guys want more insight onto the sequel, I'm going to give you a song to listen to.
"Are You Ready?" by Three Days Grace.
That's about it. :3 You guys keep guessing what's going to happen as more is revealed!
--Rem