Strawberry memories
ichigo no kioku
PROLOGUE
More than 10 years had passed since their last meeting, but despite everything, the memories, her memories were vivid, very vivid. All she had to do was run her tongue over her lips to feel that sugary taste. She had bought herself a strawberry lipgloss so that reminding those happy moments wouldn't make her fat.
She was sitting in a fuchsia armchair in her apartment in central Tokyo, with a simple black tank top and underpants, woolen socks that warmed her feet and a skull-shaped clip that held her little ponytails. She looked out the large window, twisting a lock of hair between her fingers, between those thousands of lights and that pitch black of the night, she savored her lips after a long time.
Since a couple of years she had changed a bit, she had devoted herself entirely to her work, after the end of high school she had won an audition for an advertisement and since then many agencies had contacted her, so many that she had been forced to find a manager. His life was booming, everything was fine, everything, until that day ...
That evening she was in the spotlight, doing a report for a Teen Idol newspaper, and twisting in the most flirty poses in his sailor school uniform (with a blue skirt a little too short for Japanese standards) her manager's cell phone rang and she immediately left the room. At that moment Misa Misa had not realized what was happening and all she did was keep smiling at the camera. But when, after the service, she had entered her dressing room to rest for a moment, she heard a knock on the door.
«Takeshi! I'm still changing, wait a little longer please, Misa Misa doesn't have a moment of peace, you're my manager not my semp... »
«Miss Amane, this is the police.»
«Takeshi, what are you saying?!» Misa shouted with a smile, her manager was really a prankster.
But when she went to open the door with her bathrobe, the smile disappeared from her face.
«Miss Amane has finally opened.» in front of her were two plainclothes policemen with the identification badge in their hand, one taller and more robust with a raincoat and a hat, both black and wet from the rain, and he was who had spoken to her, while the smaller one at his side kept his eyes down. Behind them there was Takeshi, who looked at her with a sorry look.
«Takeshi ...» Misa said in a voice of a somewhat gloomy cheerfulness "What is that face? What do these cops want from Misa? " she tried to be the Misa of all time and to ignore that hateful feeling that came from her chest, but the more she tried to drive it away the more it twisted around her throat making her suffocate.
«Miss Amane, can we come in?» the taller one asked, lowering himself to her height.
Misa looked at him for a moment impassive as if there was not a person in front of her but a simple blurred image ...
«y... es.» Misa stammered, slowly stepping aside, The two men entered the dressing room, while Takeshi stood outside not knowing what to do.
«We'd rather be alone with the young lady for a while, please wait here,» the usual policeman said to the manager, after which he closed the door. Misa was still staring at them, tightening more and more in the bathrobe.
The agent turned to her.
«Please Miss Amane, please sit up.» Misa suddenly recovered and stretched her face in a grimace.
«Excuse me sir, but it's Misa's dressing room, so I'm the one who must invite you to sit down and immediately ask for an explanation for this sudden break-in!» she said in her high-pitched voice and crossing her arms.
«And then I would like you to call me Misa Misa and not Miss Amane, otherwise you make me feel old and Misa Misa is in the midst of her youth and success ...» she finished saying with less conviction than before.
The policemen looked at each other with visible embarrassment.
«Ehm we are sorry miss .. eh Misa Misa well then we sit down ...» muttered the taller one slightly intimidated.
«Then?» Misa asked, returning with her arms crossed when the two finally sat down.
The policemen turned serious and one of the smaller one cleared his throat.
«Well what we were trying to tell you Misa chan is important and we would be grateful if you paid us attention ...»
«What Sergeant Toshi is trying to say is that today an irreparable fact has happened and we would like to ask you a few questions before letting you fully know all the facts ...»
Misa looked at them for a few seconds then shook her head and spoke:
«Misa will answer everything but first she wants to know the fact of vital importance ...»
The older policeman sighed and rubbed his wet face with a tissue, which was also soaked.
«Miss Amane ...»
«Misa-chan,»she interrupted him.
«Misa chan ...» the policeman continued seriously «we are not here to waste your time and if you will have patience we will tell you everything, have confidence.»
The model thought for a moment, took a deep breath and nodded.
«Ok Misa agrees hurry up with these questions mister ...»
«Satou ... Mister Satou,» he replied.
«Well, hurry up, Mr. Satou ...»
«Well,» he replied, taking out a notebook and a pencil. «Have you recently received any mysterious calls Misa chan?»
«well ... I don't think ...»
«Yes or no.»
«No ... no never»
«Do you have bodyguards or something to protect your person?»
«No ... but they often advised me.»
«Why don't you have them yet?»
«Misa doesn't think it's necessary.»
«So nothing ever happened that made you think you need protection ...»
«No. Nothing has happened to Misa for now…»
«Miss Amane ever heard of stalking?» Misa jumped at the bad word.
«Yes, Misa chan is informed about these things ... but Misa Misa fans are all good with her ...»
«Are you totally sure, Miss?» Misa was so shocked by the tenor of the conversation that she even forgot to correct it.
«Yes, very sure ... why are you talking about it, officer?»
«Well,» replied the agent without explaining, he closed the notebook and put it back in his raincoat pocket.
Misa rubbed her feet on the ground impatient for an answer. The gestures of Agent Satou were tremendously slow!
«Miss Amane,» was not the voice she expected, it was Toshi who spoke.
«There was a robbery at your parents house in Kyoto tonight, we came here to represent the policemen from your home country.» Misa gasped as she put her hands to her mouth, tears began to prick her eyes, the lump in her throat tightened more and more.
«The police arrived around 8:34 pm in your home, right after the ambulance, but ...»
«NO!» Misa cried in despair, she barely stood, her legs were soft, her arms trembling and she had leaned on a column so as not to fall.
«DO NOT SAY IT! DO NOT TALK ... »Misa continued, clinging even more to the white wall.
"Miss ... sorry." continued Agent Toshi "Your parents died around 9:00 pm tonight, your mother in an ambulance, for your father there was already nothing to do."
Agent Satou had lowered his gaze to the ground, he had always hated to give the bad news, which is why during every mission he committed himself at the cost of his life to make sure everything went well.
«Miss Amane is feeling good?» Toshi whispered at his side, Satou raised his head and saw Misa slumped on the ground staring at a point in the void, she seemed to murmur something but could not hear her.
«What is Misa-chan saying?» Satou asked getting up from his chair and kneeling in front of her.
«Mi ... mi ... saki?»
«What?»
Misa used all her strength and put her arms around her neck to remove the knot that oppressed her, her voice could not come out and her tongue had dried up as in the worst nightmares.
«Mi ...sa... ki.» she managed to gather all the syllables she could and Satou understood.
«You mean your sister Misaki right Misa-san?»
Misa only nodded just looking him straight in the eye. Satou could see the terror above the hazel eyes, a freezing storm were her irises and a swollen river seemed to be pouring out.
«Your sister was fortunately at a friend's house at that hour and she is safe in a police station now, for her safety she will skip school for about a week, they haven't told nothing to her yet.»
Toshi replied for him.
Misa felt even worse, while she was there on the ground crying, her 14-year-old sister was alone at the police station without knowing why, she was probably wondering where her parents were, where mom and dad were .. .but she did not know that they would never come back, that she would never see them again. At that moment she had to be the strongest because she was the older one, she had to be there with her, hug her, take care of her health, take her to her home and ... Her thoughts were interrupted by a hand resting on her shoulder, suddenly she realized she had started crying. Sergeant Satou looked at her with apprehension, was she so pitifull in their eyes?! She usually never cried, she was Misa Misa the one who had only one expression in the magazines, the smiling one.
«We are going to accompany you to the hospital for the body recognition now, are you ready?» Satou asked without letting go off her shoulder.
«Yes!» she shouted, immediately getting to her feet, the play continued!
«Are you sure?» Toshi continued approaching, Misa wiped her eyes with a single gesture.
«Of course, Misa Misa is ready!» The cops looked at each other in amazement as she smiled to reassure them. The curtain was open again, the lights still focused on Misa Misa the star! The best in the world to be able to play a role for life!
Misa Misa always smiled to reassure people, but every smile was a stab in the heart, Misa Misa did all this for the people around her, she felt proud of herself, in the morning she put on her mask and everything was fine.
Misa Misa did not realize that those stabs were more real than her own smiles and that her heart had more detached pieces than any other broken vase.
Misa Misa would surely have taken the Oscar for the best supporting actress, yes, but of her life.
Author notes:
And here we are with this sequel! What can I say, I really hope it doesn't disappoint your expectations, don't worry L will come in soon and we'll see how our Misa will behave, what will she do? What will have changed? What choices will our protagonist choose? We will see it in the first chapter! Which will be called MISA ahahha yes, simply because the chapter will focus on her choice, her first real life choice for her and only her =)
P.S: As I said yet English isn't my mother tongue so if there are some ortographic errors, PLEASE, tell me.