author's notes
oKAY new changes with the dialogues
since i actually hate using google translate, i won't use it that much anymore lol
"Nozomi-chann! I need help!" = Kotori/Nozomi/anyone speaking french. if its bolded italics, it's french. aight? aight.
In short, here's a quick help chart I guess?
Bolded Italics means Kotori or someone is speaking in French or they're using French google translate.
Italics means Japanese google translate.
ALSO!!! on the average, how long does it take to form a crush for someone? i need to know yall's opinions cause kotori is going back to france in three months time, i need kotoumi to happen but idk if that is too soon lol
i dont want them to date yet, tho.. i guess.. hm
just expect umi to visit france in the last two chapters or so--
Responses for Reviews:
VivianneAeriPark (Guest): misspelt vivienne right there ;) thank you for the cute review!
Hiei's Curry: i like to think of mamasonoda as someone who just wants their kid to be happy lol and if the new french-japanese girl brings her happiness, then so be it
Nitsuy: WHO DOESN'T LOVE YUI LMAOOO anyways, i shall swear to keep this story purely fluff (enough to give diabetes) and as for that part, tbh i think the sonodas would be confused about how they felt about homosexuality at first, until yui sits them down and explains how it goes. i don't think umi officially 'came out', it just.. happened. its a headcanon for me -- the parents are confused, but the eldest sister explains how things go and umi just comes home one day and announces her relationship with a girl-
masterHakunon (Guest): omg thank you! i knew google translate will fail me.. hopefully you can create an account or find a way to message me, i'll badly need assistance from anyone who can speak french for the last few chapters, since kotori would be back in france for chapters 9-10 :DD instagram is @minami.chun if you have no ff,net!
With all that said, lez get into it!
Disclaimer; I don't own Love Live.
Chapter Four: Alpaca-tastrophe
Inside one of the second year classrooms, chatters of teenage girls continued (while an orange-haired girl played charades with the ashen-haired) and only came to a halt when the sound of their professor's heels clacking against the floor interrupted them.
"Silence is much appreciated, thank you, girls. Anyhow, Sonoda-san?"
"Yes?"
"The Principal has agreed to allow the use of cellphones between you and Minami-san for communication, but I must remind you -- if I spot any of you using it for more than that, then I may have to confiscate gadgets. And I'd like to remind everyone in the class, only Sonoda-san and Minami-san are permitted to use their cellphones, as Sonoda-san's family is the host family."
Ignoring the whines of the students, their professor began the class -- while Umi tried her best to translate everything to her French seat-mate. Of course, Kotori got confused every now and then -- Google translate wasn't the most accurate translation, so a few words came out odd. Thankfully though, Umi only had to translate the announcement the professor gave, and the rest of the class was in English -- a language Kotori was fluent in.
Upon seeing their teacher write on the board what seemed to be pages of assignments, Kotori took out her phone and typed a message, tapping Umi's shoulder to hand her the phone.
'Umi-chan, will we have assignments?'
"Hmm.." Umi waited until the teacher stopped writing on the board, taking note of the said pages on the board.
Read pages 134-142.
Write an English essay re - your opinion about the historical story.
'It seems like we will. Don't worry, it's for English. I'm sure you can do well even without my help.'
"Ugh, English again..! Ah!" Honoka, surprisingly awake, raised her hand and asked a question "Sensei, can we use google translate, too?"
"Kousaka, no. Moving on, during breaks, the alpacas need to be tended to. So far, only first year student Koizumi Hanayo and Tojo Nozomi from the other class has volunteered to help -- are there any other volunteers?"
Kotori looked at Umi curiously, and, well, after a week of them together.. Umi kind of understood her actions and tapped her message on the phone, handing it to Kotori.
'The teacher is asking for volunteers to care for the alpacas.'
'I wanna volunteer! I like alpacas!'
'Raise your hand, then.'
Most of the students knew that despite the alpacas looking adorable and fluffy, there were cons to taking care of them. Bathing them eventually turns into you, drenched, chasing the alpacas with a hose, refilling their hay containers means having a few sticks of hay in your shoes or hair, brushing them will cause them to lick you and leave you with their saliva on your face.. the list goes on.
So of course, no one raised their hand -- well, except Minami Kotori, their classmate who loves alpacas,
their innocent foreign exchange classmate who did not know the mess of the Alpaca-sans.
"Great, I'll be sure to tell Koizumi and Tojo later on. Sonoda, please lead Minami to the alpaca stables around lunchtime -- she is free to skip the classes after lunch to tend to the alpacas. And as much as possible, we wouldn't want you to miss out on lessons, so if it is alright with Minami, can she go without you?"
Upon hearing her last name, Kotori poked Umi's shoulder again, giggling when the bluenette let out a sigh before typing.
'The teacher is asking if you will do fine without me around while you and Hanayo tend to the alpacas.'
Eh? Kotori pouted, visibly troubled. Sure, she only spent less than a week with Umi, but only Umi understood her.. somehow, anyway. Nozomi's there, but Kotori is closer to Umi..
But the alpacas..!
As if a switch was flicked inside her, Kotori let out a reassuring smile and nodded.
"I think that means Minami will be alright alone, yes? Then, I will be telling Koizumi later on -- for now, let us continue with class."
12:30 PM
As soon as the lunch bell rang, Honoka (unsurprisingly) dashed her way out the door and to the cafeteria, where a 'limited' type of bread is currently being sold in various flavors. Meanwhile, Kotori hummed a tune while she picked up her bento box, then she took out her phone to try and talk to Umi.
'Let's have lunch together, Umi-chan!'
Umi just gave her a nod and a small smile, before she took out a book from her bag -- chuckling when Kotori frowned and let out a groan.
A 'Japanese 101' book for beginners, to be precise.
Now, Kotori had nothing against learning Japanese -- she went here, no, she was sent here for that after all. But.. studying Japanese could be difficult at times, and she really wanted to see alpacas!
"Alpaca-san.." Kotori pouted, frowning at Umi. Judging by the way the bluenette left the room, holding her bentobox and the book while calling her name, it seemed as though Kotori's pout didn't work on her at all.
"I should find a way to trick Umi-chan into giving in.." Kotori thought, still pouting as she left the room and trailed behind Umi.
Meanwhile, Umi...
"H-How can she look so.. so cute while pouting?! I almost gave in!"
Umi continued to scold herself mentally, trying her best to keep a neutral face on -- which she succeeded to do, except there was a faint blush on her cheeks.
"Umi! Kotori! Oh, why're you blushing--"
"What blush? There's no blush," Umi shook her head immediately, then she let out a sigh "Where's Nozomi?"
"With Hanayo. I assume they're having lunch together and would soon start taking care of the alpacas, since she volunteered too. Kotori too, yes?"
"Yes, that's why we'll spend some time learning Japanese, to help her communicate with Hanayo," Umi nodded, then looked back to see Kotori, who waved at Eli but still pouted "Kotori.."
"You know, I heard from Nozomi you could be harsh while teaching her -- Kotori rants to her sometimes.. Give her a break, no? So she could have fun with the alpacas."
"I'll just teach her some basic phrases, then it'll be done, okay?"
"Alright, then. I'll just go to the student council room -- I'll see you around!" Eli waved to the two of them, keeping a smile on as she made her way to the student council room.
"Though, she also talks about the way she loves how serious and 'cool' you look while practicing kyuudo and kendo, but that's for next time," Eli thought to herself.
Cafeteria, thirty minutes later..
"Okay, again."
As soon as she said that, Kotori started to practice the phrases she learned again -- phrases such as 'I need help,' 'I can help out,' and so on. With a satisfied smile, she looked up to Umi.
"Did I do well?"
"Yeah, you did wonderful pronouncing words," Umi praised her, chuckling when Kotori uttered a 'yay!' while clapping quietly.
"Kotori-chaaaan! Umi-chaaan! Ah! I found you two!" Nozomi tapped Kotori's shoulder, grinning at her "Let's go see alpacas?"
And just like that, Kotori was, well, 'snatched' away by Nozomi and a shy Hanayo. Umi packed up her bento box, and was about to follow Kotori, until she saw a familiar set of hair colors from afar.
"..that grin of Honoka's is making me feel nervous. I should get out and escape--"
"Oh shush, I know what I'm doing! Umi-chaaan--"
"What is it again this time, Honoka?"
"Jeez, your tone is scary.. Anyways, how's Kotori-chan and you~?" Honoka grinned mischeviously as she sat beside Umi "Anything new?"
"Honoka, give Umi a break, it's only been a week," Maki commented, taking a bite of the bread while Honoka glared at her.
"Geez, I'm just curious, Maki-chan! You're really mean to me today!"
"Today? So she said something painfully honest before now?" Umi questioned, wincing when Honoka lightly hit her "Hey, I'm just telling the truth."
"Maki-chan got the last pizza bread, so Honoka is pissed at her cause she really wanted to collect all flavors," Nico answered, shrugging her shoulders.
"Oh? Good, less carbs for you to burn."
"Mou, Umi-chaaan! You're supposed to defend your childhood friend, not agree with them!" Honoka whined, but was quick to compose herself as she thought of something "Say, are you going to pick Kotori-chan up later?"
"Of course. She isn't too familiar with the road signs towards home yet, so--"
"Okay! Got it! If you need me, I'll be off volunteering to care for the alpacas!"
"H-Hey, wait, Honoka--!"
Too late. Honoka was off, running towards the alpaca stables, leaving behind a furious Umi and a confused set of tsunderes. Normally, Umi would chase after her, except the bell has rung, signaling the students to return to their classes.
"Good luck informing your teacher about Honoka going loose."
Dismissal
Informing the teachers about Honoka's whereabouts was Umi's job -- it was also her job to bring Honoka's water bottle to her when the first teacher after lunch found out. Needless to say, in those ten minutes that she was given to bring the bottle to the alpaca stables, she spent more than half of it scolding Honoka for her reckless behavior.
Now, it's Umi's job to fetch Kotori.
Of course, she understood what it meant to take care of alpacas -- you'd have to move around a lot, which is why the volunteers would wear their gym clothes instead of the usual polo-coat-skirt uniform. You'd get wet, too, but the students often exaggerated it by saying you'll be drenched. Umi holds pride in her perfect attendance since first year highschool, and not once did she see a student drenched while bathing alpacas.
But there's a first for everything, right?
"C-Cold!"
"A-Ah! Kotori-chan, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to point the hose at you!" Honoka repeatedly bowed at Kotori, reaching out to get the latter's gym towel "Uwaaa! Nozomi-chan, tell her I feel bad!"
"Let's get you dried.. do you have an extra change of clothes? Honoka apologizes, but ehh.. Nozomi stifled her laughter while holding the leash of the brown alpaca "You need another shirt.. you dropped your typical uniform in mud earlier, no?"
"Honoka? Kotori--"
Umi's sentence was cut short upon seeing what had happened at the stables.
Hanayo was still busy in the stables, refilling their hay stands and giving the white one some vegetables. Nozomi, Kotori and Honoka were bathing the brown alpaca -- and judging by the exclaims, Honoka 'accidentally' pointed the hose at Kotori.
"Kotori? Hold on, I have my gym shirt here," Umi ran towards Kotori, taking the towel to dry the latter off "You're all soaked.. Honoka, be careful..! What if she gets a cold?"
"Seems like Otonoki's dashing prince is here to rescue you~" Nozomi teased, causing the startled Kotori to blush lightly "Umi-chaaan, what do we do? Kotori-chan's typical uniform is stained with mud and--"
"I think my shirt is just a bit bigger than yours, but it's okay -- here. Your towel is all soaked as well, use mine instead."
Kotori couldn't even utter a word in French or broken Japanese, as Umi would constantly talk to her in a language she barely understood, but whenever Umi turned her head to Honoka, Kotori knew she was scolding the latter.
"..and you can't understand me. Okay, wait," Umi put the towel over Kotori's shoulders, then took out her phone to type a message "This application hasn't failed me yet, it shouldn't fail me now.."
Noticing how the latter's hands were damp, Umi decided to play the audio of the translated message she wanted to give, letting out a relieved sigh upon seeing Kotori and Nozomi's satisfied expression -- okay, nothing shameless was said, perfect.
'Please follow me to the locker room so you could change, I can wait outside. My shirt is a size bigger than yours since I prefer baggy shirts for athletic stuff, but it's better than staying drenched. I also have gym pants, I think we're the same size. Don't worry, I didn't use them today so they're clean.'
Kotori nodded, and beckoned Nozomi to come near so she could whisper the message she wanted to say in her ear.
"Oh! Okay.. so, Kotori-chan says thank you and that she'll be happy to change out of the drenched clothes, and she said she forgives Honoka-chan for accidentally pointing the hose at her, and.. err, what was the last one again?" Nozomi turned to the French citizen, who repeated the message again.
"Their words are.. twisted, somehow," Umi thought, letting out an inaudible sigh "Will be difficult, but I must learn her language as well."
"Okay! Hanayo-chaaan! Kotori-chan says thank you for teaching her about the alpacas!"
"N-No problem, Kotori-chan!"
"Anyways, wouldn't want to keep Kotori drenched all day.. go along now, shoo!" Nozomi pushed Kotori towards Umi, who gave the purple-head a glare before leading Kotori back to the school building.
"Um.. Honoka-chan, the thing is.. Alpaca-san is done showering and was in the middle of drying, so there was no need to turn on the hose.." Hanayo approached them, taking the leash from Nozomi's hands to lead the alpaca back to the stables.
"Oh! I didn't notice that til you told me, Hanayo-chan! Honoka-chan.. did you plan this?" Nozomi looked at the cheerful blue eyed girl, letting out a chuckle upon seeing her mischevious grin "Seriously.."
"Whaaat~? At least Kotori-chan knows how much of a gentleman Umi-chan can be!"
Locker-room..
The trip to the locker room remained quiet; Almost no noise was made, other than Kotori humming a tune.. which Umi noticed she does a lot, and she doesn't mind -- Kotori's hum can be relaxing and soothing.
Upon reaching the locker room, Umi handed her the change of clothes, and stood outside the door while Kotori changed inside the room.
"Seriously.. What if I didn't bring my gym clothes today, what would've happened?"
"Well, what did happen?" Eli asked, appearing out of nowhere. Her eyes widened in fear as Umi almost hit her "Hey, hey, chill! It's me!"
"Oh, it's just you.. Mou, Eli, stop creeping up out of nowhere.." Umi slumped her shoulders, letting out a sigh "Honoka pointed the hose at Kotori by accident, now she's changing in the locker room."
"Ah, the clumsy Honoka, eh? I got a message from Nozomi saying Kotori dropped her clothes in mud earlier, though.. did she buy a new set of uniform?"
"I lent her my gym clothes," Umi responded, raising an eyebrow at Eli's expression "What's with the face? I-It's not used, of course!"
"Well, you know, students who lend other students their gym uniforms are often in a.. you know what, forget it," Eli sighed, shaking her head in defeat. She patted Umi's shoulder before going towards the place where the alpacas were "I'll go pick up Nozomi. See you tomorrow, Umi!"
"..in a what?" Umi muttered, cocking her head slightly "Eli can be confusing at times.."
Behind the shut-and-locked door, Kotori changed into Umi's clothes, and unconsciously spent a few seconds taking in Umi's scent.
"It smells.. nice, like a cool ocean breeze," Kotori whispered to herself, smiling after recalling the moments earlier "She can be kind at times.. Nozomi-chan called her the prince of Otonoki, I wonder why.."
Meanwhile, at the Hoshizora Residences
"I told you you have a cat allergy!"
"But cats are cute, nya! Mama, what do you expect me to do? Not touch them?"
Rin sniffled as she went back to bed, and soon pouted after seeing her mother's disappointed expression. Cats are cute, and to hell with her allergy, she will pet every single one she sees!
"I'll contact the doctor and ask for some allergy pill, then.. You're one helpless case against cats.."
"Yaaay~ Thank you, Mama--!"
"Now, now -- it's too early to rejoice, go back and sleep for the rest of the day. Hanayo-chan will come later to teach you lessons you've missed."
"Boo.." Rin groaned, hiding under the comforters.
sidenote:
wow this took a while to upload
idk when will i upload this again, but hopefully i will on december! please give me ideas what would you like to see them do in the future chapters uwu
i plan to make this story as fluff as possible, with honks and the rest of the gang trying to matchmake umi with koto uwu
please do leave reviews, i love reading them!
until next chap!
- zumi!