A/N: Being a writer for fun is really liberating. You can make up any scenario you want while not even worrying about if what you're writing is going to sell. That's what lets me write about a movie and series that was released over 7 years ago just because I thought that it was really adorable. Anyways, if you haven't watched Tamako market or Tamako Love story, I highly suggest that you watch those first. KyoAni did a solid job on them, and while they aren't perfect, if slice of life moe style anime appeals to you, then you should give it a try. I also found the romance in the movie really entertaining and cute, so here we are. Anyways, this is just a one shot for now, but I've got more in the works after I finish my other two fanfics!
Chapter 1: I'll see you tomorrow. Over."I love you, over!"
Mochizou stood there in silence. They simply waited a few moments for Tamako's works to sink in.
"I- mmph!"
Mochizou rubbed his head after being brutally tackled to the ground by Tamako, both of them blushing as if they were wearing parkas in death valley.
"I told you how I felt so…"
"Say it again."
"Hm?"
Tamako's eyes were full of determination, although they never got off the ground and both of them were still essentially still rendered talking tomatoes.
"Y-you told me to forget last time, right? S-so, tell me now. I c-can't remember if you did."
"I love you, Tamako. Should we… uh… get up now?"
"Huh? Oh! Right… Sorry…"
"Don't be. That felt… nice."
"Ah!"
Both of them averted their eyes, losing any shreds of confidence that they'd gained.
"Well… I'll see you in a bit."
"Huh?"
Mochizou cracked a smirk, regaining the ability to think rationally.
"I've still got some exams to pass, right? Today's the entrance exam, so I'll need to keep my composure."
"But… Midori said…"
Tamako and Mochizou both looked completely dumbfounded.
"She said you were leaving early."
Mochizou turned away, barely missing the moment where Tamako returned to providing eye contact.
"Well… I was, but after today, I think I'll stay here for the rest of the year. I'll go there at the start of the school year."
"Y-you're still leaving?"
Tamako's expression of sadness quickly snapped to one of guilt.
"A-ah. Right. You should… do what you need to, Mochizou."
Mochizou's mouth hung agape for a second before he turned to face Tamako again, morphing his face into a guilty smile.
"Yeah. I will. Look on the bright side, though, we've still got some time to figure things out. Heck, I might even just choose a different path than Tokyo."
Tamako shifted uncomfortably for a moment before taking a deep breath and returning Mochizou's eye contact in full.
"Don't… give up on your dreams for me."
"Huh? I… It's just that maybe you could come too?"
"What?!"
Tamako stood there for a moment before turning away from Mochizou.
"I… uh…"
"You're really good at making Mochi, right? Maybe you could open up a shop there? You could use word of mouth! You know a lot of people, so maybe they can spread the news that you're setting up shop in Tokyo. It's a long shot, but it just might-"
Mochizou suffered his second almost-a-concussion of the day after Tamako tackled him straight into the ground. This embrace lasted for much less time because both of them came back to their senses much sooner and sprung apart, equally as incoherent as they were at first. After a few minutes, Tamako recomposed herself once again and spoke with her eyes squarely focused on Mochizou.
"I'll do it. For now, though, g-good luck on your exams."
Mochizou shot Tamako a nod and a smile, to which her expression softened and turned into a smiling blush. Right then, the sound of another train pulling into the station filled the platform.
"I'll see you after the exams."
Mochizou turned around, completely red, debating with himself whether or not he should press the moment.
"L-love you. Tamako."
"Ah!"
"Tamako!"
Mochizou moved to catch Tamako after she had flopped backwards.
"W-well then, I'llseeyoulaterbye!"
Tamako sped off out of sight, having had her brain completely melted. Before she completely disappeared, though, she gathered up the courage for an immediate reply.
"L-L-Love you too, Ooji!"
With that, a smiling Tamako dashed out of the station while a haggard Mochizou staggered his way onto the train.
###
"Midori! What was that for?!"
Tamako had run up to Midori and tried to pin her against a wall, only to lose her resolve before doing the actual wall-slam and proceeding to settle for pouting.
"Woah, woah, what was that for?"
"You told me that he was leaving forever! I was so scared… I'd never get to reply!"
Midori let out a small chuckle, causing Tamako to begin curling into a ball on the floor.
"This isn't like you at all, huh. Well, the only way for you to catch him before the train was to get you there as fast as possible."
"I-I mean, couldn't you have just waited until he finished? I could have t-told him after…"
"Would you have, though? You probably would've just gotten cold feet until it actually was too late. He's leaving at the end of the school year, right? You've only got a bit of time, so there isn't any time to waste! Plus, I did want to give him a bit of extra motivation. He's the one who got the courage to ask you out, anyways."
"Aaahhh…"
Midori smirked at the completely tomatoed Tamako, who had by this point resorted to rolling back and forward on the floor.
"No need to get all flustered now! Come on, you've got yourself a boyfriend now, so you're gonna have to relish the time you have before he leaves!"
"AAAaaahhhh… He… we're trying to fix that."
"Oh? He's sneaking you into his-"
"No! I- Why would you say that?"
"We're right here, you know?"
The rest of the girls were standing right behind Tamako, Kanna having just spoken.
"What were you thinking Midori was going to say, mochi-pervert?"
"Hngh… W-would you guys tell people about this idea I have?"
Midori took another look at the timid Tamko in front of her and held back a chuckle.
"What's the idea?"
###
"They didn't fight it at all? Over."
"T-they said that if I wanted to, then I should. I haven't been able to figure out what I want to do with my life, but I like making Mochizou!"
"You mean Mochi? Over."
"Ah! P-please forget you heard that… O-over."
Tamako, who had already reverted to tomato, turned away and was waving her hand in front of the window. Mochizou, too, had begun turning red.
"I-it's nothing. How's the advertising going? Over."
"I've got a lot of people in the shop helping out. Some of them have relatives and friends in Tokyo right now, so I've already got some people to give Mochizou! Over. Ah, wait… Hnnnngh…"
Tamako curled up into a ball again on the floor of her room while Mochizou's face had become the colour of the ink written in the shape of a 96 on his test.
Both of them slowly turned to face each other after a few moments of waiting. Finally, as they made eye contact, Mochizou began chuckling. That small laugh transferred to Tamako, who began giggling too. Before long, they were both completely doubled over.
"I… That's… good… O-over..."
After they'd both calmed down, Mochizou continued.
"I also made a Yout*be channel and I have a couple thousand subscribers. I don't get much money, but it's something. Maybe I could record you making mochi? I would edit the videos and you would just make it! We could… Maybe I could film the shop and show people the behind the scenes of a Mochi shop? Yeah, that sounds good! Oh, right, over."
Tamako smiled at the entranced expression that Mochizou wore.
"This is all sounding great, but… where are we going to live? Over."
"My mom has a friend in the area who owns a building and is willing to rent it out to us. It's 2 stories with a basement, so I was thinking that we could live on the top floor, have the shop on the main floor, and I could do my work in the basement. How does that sound? Over."
Tamako's expression brightened even further. Her eyes were half closed and her gaze had shifted to the star-filled sky.
"That's amazing! I'm really excited for next year now! Over."
"Maybe so, but…"
Mochizou wore a relieved, yet guilty expression.
"We should spend our time now just as well?"
Mochizou's mouth opened slightly as he was surprised at how Tamako seemingly read his mind.
"Y-yeah. I was going to say that. Over."
Both of them shared one last smile before Tamako reached into her pocket.
"D-do you want my LINE? We can still use the cup phone, it's just that this way, we won't lose each other."
Tamako's eyes were planted squarely on her phone while both her and Mochizou's faces had robbed up all the blood from the rest of their bodies, causing them to shrivel up and wither away. (Just kidding about that last part.)
"Y-yeah."
It only took one reading of Tamako's ID for Mochizou to send her a quick "hello" sticker.
"W-well… Do you… uh…"
Mochizou shifted around on the spot, causing Tamako to also break the eye contact which she had been struggling to maintain until then.
"Want to walk to school together tomorrow? As boyfriend and girlfriend?"
"Yes! I'll come by and wake… you… up…"
A/N: These goddamn adorable little beans are getting flustered so much that I'm running out of ways to describe a blush.
Tamako instantly regretted all of her life choices that led up to that moment before replying in a shaky, quiet voice, although she was smiling from ear to ear.
"G-gladly.. Over."
With that, Tamako threw the phone back over (not the smartphone) which Mochizou expertly caught.