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Thanks for all the great reviews! They make my day. Sorry this chapter is, once again, kind of short… But we're just getting into the plot! Plus, it's only been a day since the last chapter. Got this one out quick. Anyway, sorry if it's a little boring, but it'll get a lot better as it goes on. Remember to tell me what you think!
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Chapter Two— No More CryingI stood up on my tiptoes, trying my best to look past all the very tall heads in front of me. Even in three-inch high heels, I still felt like the shortest person alive. Not that I mind it too much. Being short is fun when I want to go on kiddy rides and they'll let me because I'm really small. Sure, there's the teasing, but I guess it's a trade-off.
Eventually, I spotted a noticeable heap of bright blonde hair with a red bow tied within it. Squealing, I charged straight toward the hair and collided with her body, hugging it close to me. At first, she jumped at the sudden action, then she turned around only to spot me, a goofy smile held on my features.
"Usa-chan!" Minako squeaked happily, enveloping me in the same kind of forceful hug I had given her. I swear you could mistake the two of us for identical twins, by the way we looked and acted so similar. It's kind of weird sometimes, the way we are so alike. We've called each other sisters for as long as I could remember, even though we really weren't. Anyone's better than having the annoying Shingo for a sibling.
After finishing my hug with Minako, I turned to the rest of my best friends, giving each of them tight hugs.
Makoto smiled when we broke off our hug, saying, "We missed you so much! You have no idea. Everything was so dull around here."
"Yeah, we didn't have to put up with your loud wailing every single day," Rei started off somewhat bitterly, then her tone softened. "I did miss it in a weird way, though."
"Yes… Nothing seemed right without you," Ami added thoughtfully.
"Thanks, guys, that means a lot to me. I'm really glad to be home. I even missed your stupid bossiness, Rei," I told them, showing off one of my trademark bright smiles. They all let out a joyful laugh, with the exception of Rei, who only crossed her arms in response.
"You think you'd learn some manners after spending so much time over there, but I guess not," Rei said, sticking her nose up in the air slightly, yet still holding a happy smile on her face. I knew she couldn't stand a day without arguing with me and liked the fact that I was back.
"Yeah right, and I guess that means you learned some manners. I don't see that, though," I retorted playfully.
"I have plenty of manners!"
I snorted. "Yeah, maybe for a horse's ass."
"Shut up, BLONDIE."
"Hey, I resent that!" Minako joined in for a second, while the others continued to watch us in amazement. Even after all that time, we still picked up where we left off and bickered like two old married people. Can't say it isn't fun, though.
Makoto glanced around a bit, noticing the crowds forming around and beginning to shove us a bit. "Okay, okay, that's enough out of you guys. We should leave this zoo they call an airport before we start getting trampled on by some weird animals."
"Hey, Rei-chan, maybe you'll find some of your family here," I commented jokingly, though it didn't register through her brain at first.
"Let's go to my place! I have ice cream and other munchies!" Minako exclaimed to tempt me.
"Ice cream? What are we waiting here for? Lets go!" I grabbed Minako's arm and dragged her away, the rest of them soon following behind us.
I could hear Rei after I had been running for a bit, shouting, "HEY! THAT WASN'T FUNNY, BAKA!"
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Minako and I had spoken on the phone over the time I was gone, nearly every single day. We were so comfortable with each other that there were no awkward pauses when we spoke, just random conversations about daily events and how our lives were going on separate parts of the world.
I would call her late at night, which to me was around eleven, and tell her about my English lessons. I'd remark on how I was doing, or tell her some word and even maybe a sentence that I had learned that day. It took me months to get the pronunciation right, and though I practiced, I still had what they called an 'accent' in my words. To me, they had the accent. Anyway, I eventually learned all the basic phrases and words, enough to get me day by day. By the time my visit was almost over, I had mastered the language, and could speak normally as if I was speaking it all my life.
Minako would tell me how proud of me she was, then go on about how she had been "discovered" by some hot Italian photographer while sitting in a café ordering her usual latte. She told me about her first real photo shoot and how she became famous so quickly that she became known around Tokyo the "new bow-haired teenage model". Her bright red bow was her trademark, and I wasn't surprised. She had worn that thing for as long as I knew her.
It wasn't any surprise to see her apartment, either, when it showed to be a very high-class place. Fancy carpeting, windows that opened the whole apartment into view of the city below, reproductions of famous paintings scattered here and there, and the color orange as far as the eye could see. Orange pillows, orange refrigerator (which I didn't even know was a possible color for one), orange grand piano (that she didn't know how to play), orange walls; orange everything.
Each of us took a comfortable seat in the orange-paved living room, me choosing to seat myself on the long, feather-soft couch, Minako taking a seat next to me. I glanced around, marveling at the brightness the room showed, and how comfortable it felt. Not to mention the big screen television sitting straight across from us on the wall.
"Wow, Minako-chan, you're loaded!" I commented, causing her to giggle.
"Yeah, well, that's what you get for being a famous model," she replied while flipping her hair over her shoulder dramatically and winking for effect.
"You're not that famous," Rei grumbled.
"I think what she's trying to say is that you shouldn't get too cocky about it," Makoto added to soften Rei's words.
"Cocky! She's practically a fucking walking, talking definition of cocky!"
"Hey!" Minako shouted, then grinned slightly. "I can't help it if the public loves such a wonderful person such as me!"
"Oh, well, I stand corrected," Rei said sarcastically, Minako throwing her an air-kiss. Rei just shook her head at the blonde.
"Come on, guys, we should be celebrating Usagi's return! Let's not talk about Minako's ego for once, hmm?" Makoto suggested, but I could tell she just wanted to end Minako's ego-trip. I couldn't blame her. Sometimes you'd think she was joking by how into herself she was. That was possibly the only downside to her personality: her ego. It could definitely be deflated a bit. Well, okay, a lot.
"Yeah, I agree. I have to say, Usagi-chan, you look really nice," Ami commented after being silent for awhile, like she usually was. I glanced down at myself, blinking. Sure, my hips had widened a bit, my chest growing, and slimmer from working out, but I was no supermodel. In my younger years, I was slightly chubby from eating so much junk food and never exercising, aside from the daily morning rush to school, which did help somewhat. I eat better now, but sometimes the chocolate cake or cookies were too hard to resist. I still had baby fat back then, too, which now had almost all faded away, except in my cheeks, giving me that baby-ish look. I liked that look, though.
I then replied modestly, really not believing it, "Thanks, but I'm not that great, Ami-chan."
"Oh, don't give me that!" Minako interjected. Her eyes were a bit wide at my answer, I'm guessing. "You look great! I mean, long legs, slender waist, soft skin, curves in all the right places… You're definitely model material! Since you are nearly my twin, I guess it's only natural."
I laughed at the thought of it. "Right, I so could walk down runways in tight little bikinis without dying from embarrassment. Be serious!"
"I am serious! You're exactly what they look for, believe me. Maybe I could take you to the agency and make you a portfolio! Ooh and I could recommend you! We could be the blonde bombshell twins of Tokyo!"
Blinking, I turned slightly red at the barricade of compliments I was getting. "Don't even think about it, Mina-chan. There's no possible way I could be a model. Can we change the subject, please?"
"Oh, that's right, I forgot! You're the dancer and not into the whole model thing," Minako realized, nodding her head. I almost laughed at her usage of me as "the dancer". I would go on night and night again about how I had joined a dance studio, not only to hear all the new music America had, but to also learn how to dance better. I had wanted to learn ever since I was ten. All the American music videos had women performing hard-looking dance moves to hip-hop sounding music. Ever since then, I wanted to learn how. And I did.
It wasn't an easy task, going every single day after my English lessons, being taught the mechanics of dancing. It was three weeks before I actually got to try and dance. I was terrible first off, then got better and better. After what seemed like ages, I danced with swift movements to every beat of the songs, moving myself as if I was floating on the air. Even I began to notice how much better I had gotten. The actual moves took a long time to get used to, especially any hard ones in particular, but soon I could do them easily. I loved every minute of it.
One day, as I was about to start stretching before the class was to begin, my dance teacher walked in the room and asked me, "What are you doing here?"
The question confused me, and I removed myself from the leg stretching position. Slowly, I said, "What do you mean?"
She showed me a gentle smile, almost secretive. "You've almost surpassed my skills. There's nothing more you can learn from me. The rest you'll have to gain on your own."
That made me feel on top of the world. Me, nearly knowing more than a teacher? That was definitely unheard of, especially for someone like me. After she had said that, I hugged her tightly and rushed out of the studio to call Minako. All she said was, "Guess we're gonna have to take you clubbing when you get back, huh?"
I had told her that's not what I wanted to do with my life, no matter how much I loved it. I went to a wonderful American high school that accepted me as a transfer student. Some made fun of me; others helped me through learning English and how everything worked. I made many new friends, but none of them nearly as close as I was with Minako, Rei, Ami, or Makoto. My grades were horrible at the beginning, with the usual D's and F's. Slowly, I became more determined to get good grades for many reasons and went to high B's and C's. Still no A's, but hey, I'm not that smart. I still needed to get into college, as my dad told me every time I talked to him over the phone. He was proud of me nonetheless.
"I hope it's not ballet dancing. I'd be blinded for life if you wore those tights," Rei told me, trying to hold in a laugh. I could tell she was imagining me falling flat on my face while trying to even stand on my toes.
"For your information, Pyro, I happen to hate ballet dancing. Tried it. Standing on your toes is a lot harder than it looks. The only reason I stayed for a week in that class was to watch all the guys in tights! Now that's something I could've gotten used to."
Makoto's ears perked up at the word 'guys', and she added enthusiastically, "Amen to that!" We all shared a laugh. I guess her boy-crazy phase still hasn't faded away in the least. Can't say I expected it to. Most likely she'll love boys until she's eighty-years-old, in a creaky wheelchair, whistling and remarking "Hey, sexy!" at any cute, young guy that passes her way.
"That reminds me! I completely forgot to tell Motoki you came back into town! Shit, we'd better get to the arcade fast!" Minako exclaimed, rushing into her bedroom at light speed.
"Going to put on more make-up," Makoto said, sighing. "It'll be hours before we'd even get to the arcade."
Ami giggled lightly, defending her friend by saying, "You know that she always wants to look her best for him."
"Ever since they got together, all we hear is 'Motoki this' and 'Motoki that'. 'Oh, did you see that cute way he sneezed? I could just die!' Well, it would stop the pain of us having to listen to her stories," Rei told us as she stood up, stretching her muscles from sitting so much on the floor.
"Give her a break, Rei-chan. She's been sprung over the guy forever," I retorted, also standing up.
"Oh, and you haven't?"
My cheeks darkened with a light pink color. "That's history! You know that!"
Rei waved her hand dismissingly and grabbed the long chain of keys off the coffee table, being our chauffeur, and said, "Yeah, yeah, I know. He's like a brother you never had, blah, blah, blah. Still, I love bringing it up."
"She does have a brother," Makoto pointed out the obvious. All of us heard Minako in the background, saying how she dropped something, followed by a lovely curse word.
"Brother? What brother?" I asked innocently. We all shared a laugh, one I was getting used to right now, and heard a loud crashing sound in the back, with Minako yelling out, "FUCK! MY DAMN FOOT!"
Rei eyed her bedroom while Minako continued her cursing streak, asking casually, "Think we should check on the baka?"
"Nah, probably just dropped her purse on her foot again," Makoto said, amused.
"Oh, right, the purse that has every single color and shade of eye shadow possible in it."
"Think she'll notice I borrowed her green one?"
"MAKO-CHAAAN!" Minako sounded from the bedroom, sounding furious.
"Guess that answers your question," I told her, giggling to myself.
It was good to finally be back.
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"Motoki-chan!" I yelled out at the older blonde, tackling him into a hug. Surprise was written all over his face, but he soon came to his senses and returned the hug.
"Usagi-chan! It's been so long! You look great!" Motoki commented, smiling sweetly as he always did. Two dimples could barely be seen at the corners of his mouth. I could tell he glanced over my form for a quick second, snapping back into reality before he went too far. He was always such a gentleman. Some of those guys I had met after I left were complete pigs and only cared about my body. I don't see why they all looked so damn much. "When did you get back?"
"Just a couple hours ago."
"And you didn't call me! Here I thought I was a good friend of yours," he told me jokingly, pretending to be hurt.
I giggled at his reaction, standing up on my toes, and patted the top of his head lightly. "Sorry, Motoki-chan. I had to catch up with the girls. You know how it is."
He laughed as well, nodding his head. "Yeah, I do."
Minako stepped in the conversation, hands on her hips, she asked him, "So, no greeting for your wonderful girlfriend, I see? Must I remind you who picked you up when your crappy car broke down, and who stayed for three full hours at the police station with you after you ran a red light after very stupidly argued with the police man about how you were doing a public service?"
"Hey, my car isn't crappy!"
"Motoki-chan…" she trailed off, faking anger as if she was his mother scolding him for taking a cookie out of the jar before dinnertime.
He chuckled a bit and wrapped Minako in a warm hug, planting a kiss on her cheek, which she welcomed fully. "Sorry, sorry, you know I love you."
"Of course. Who doesn't?"
"You mean you want a list? But that would take hours, and I want food now!" Rei said, while we all let out a laugh at the blonde.
"Very funny."
Motoki released her from his hug, much to Minako's disappointment, and said, "Why didn't you just say so? The usual for each of you, coming right up! And the same for you, Usagi?"
"Two cheeseburgers, a chocolate milkshake, and fries! What, do you think I'd honestly forget how good your food tasted? Come on!" I beamed, walking over to our old booth, we all took a seat and continued our conversation, catching up on times I wasn't here for.
Ami told me she was pulling off the usual A's in every course and was planning on applying to Harvard in America as soon as possible. Her study was, of course, medicine. She wanted to follow in the footsteps of her mother. Who could blame her? Doctors make loads of cash! She told me, though, that it wasn't about the money. Yeah, sure.
Rei said that the temple's business was doing very well. She and Yuuchiro had a fling for a couple short months, but soon broke it off, and he left for good. Now she was on the prowl for a boyfriend, but still missed him sometimes. Her grandfather, still as energetic as ever, kept Rei busy with cleaning and helping out with their charm shop.
Makoto, also looking for a boyfriend of her own, kept on with her cooking and was learning new recipes every day. She said that cooking was a way to a man's heart, so she had to try harder and harder to be a better cook to keep a steady boyfriend. She was planning on going to cooking school soon, since she loved doing it so much, anyway. Not only that, but she's really good. Especially at making chocolate chip cookies! Those are the best.
I didn't have to ask Minako for any information about her life, since we had kept close touch. It was still great to hear every horrid date she went on before meeting Motoki. Then, once again, she went on about how great he is and how much she loved him. It was sweet, but also sickening, since we all have heard this so many times before it nearly made us want to hurl.
We were having a conversation filled with laughs and forgotten memories, my food almost gone by now, when it happened. There were many people walking along the streets at this time of day, nothing unusual, and that's when a certain couple happened to pass by the large window next to the booth. I glanced over on instinct and nearly choked on the fry that was halfway down my throat.
Midnight black hair, cool blue eyes, a strong figure, a girl dangling by the arm. Mamoru. At that very second, he passed by the window, smiling down happily at the brunette who seemed to be chattering away about her day without another care in the world. She laughed at something she had said, while his smile widened a bit. Then they were gone.
I felt like I was going to throw up. He looked so… happy without me. Almost as if I didn't ever exist. I had to be real about this, though. I mean, did I expect him to be walking around downheartedly down the street, alone? Half of me hoped so, but the other half knew the truth. He was wonderful, nearly rich from inheritance, and was incredibly handsome. Sexy was more like it. Not much changed from what I could tell. He looked a little skinnier and had a slightly darker skin tone, but that's it.
I was just about to break down right then, crying, wishing that were me telling him every single little detail about my day, and seeing him smiling down lovingly at me. I couldn't though, for his sake and my own. He deserved way better than me, and by the looks of it, he already found someone way better than I ever could be. I managed to keep any tears held in my eyes, as I took in a weak breath, trying my best to pretend I had been choking on my French fry. I was, but I couldn't let them know why. At least not right now. I had to pretend I was over him, no matter how much it hurt.
"Are you okay, Usa-chan?" Minako questioned me, pounding her hand against my back to help me, making me believe there was going to be a bruise there tomorrow.
I pretended to swallow on the French fry, everyone's eyes on me, while I nodded my head wearily. "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks." The weakness of my voice was thought to be from my loss of air, but it wasn't. It was from the tears I had choked down into my chest, to be absorbed back into my body where they came from.
It was like I never saw him, for all they knew. It had to stay that way. I had to avoid Mamo-ch— Mamoru, no matter what. If I talked to him, I know my heart couldn't take all the feelings flooding back to me, all the feelings I never lost for him. I don't want it broken again.
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