A/N: I made this one practically a song!fic. Title's inspired by Green Day's Time of Your Life. This chapter was made while listening to Bizet's Habanera, sung by Agnes Baltsa (look it up on YouTube, if you like opera, it'll be amazing). Song within this chapter (italic and put on in the middle) is Up to No Good by Rancid.
Oh, and beware of the darker aspect in this fic. This chapter contains disability, and if you don't like it, please don't proceed. I receive no flames. Enjoy!
Chapter Seven: Shock of My Life
12345678!
To say Eguchi Tappei was shocked and curious was a serious understatement.
First, he had never seen Yoshida acted so... out of character like that. Like what was said, Yoshida he remembered was a calm and collected boy who never glared, let alone threatened anyone. So, if he did something like that, something must have happened when he wasn't here.
Something related to Yamada, that was one for sure.
Second, if that concerned Yamada, he had to find out whatever it was.
I see him walking
Lock your doors now
I hear him knocking
Up to no good
Tappei found himself in Shimura's house a day later. He wasn't greeted by her, and her sister shooed him instead. "Mari is making her comic," she said sullenly, as if she didn't really like having a guest right now. Or maybe she really did. "You better come back later, Eguchi, she can be very scary if disturbed."
So, yeah. Tappei left, knowing very well how Shimura could be when furious. He was walking idly around the street near the cafe where he and Yamada met again when he saw a vaguely remembered yet so familiar sight.
It was another girl from his childhood, with dyed hair and contacts, but still recognisable. She was wearing a simple t-shirt and jeans, reminds Tappei of his stepsister, but she was carrying a leather briefcase, which became an odd sight to her image. She had dyed her hair from brown to ginger red, and wore blue contact lenses above her brown eyes. Her face was still plump (like Shimura) from her childhood, and that was the first thing that Tappei recognise from her.
And thus, Tappei approached her with certainty, hoping to get an answer this time.
"Sakamoto?"
Sakamoto Haruna couldn't be more surprised to see Tappei, although she couldn't really remember him. After graduating from college, she went back to her hometown, Fukushima, and worked there. The first reason why she remembered Tappei was because of her neighbours' rambling about the 'great Japanese swimmer in America', but then remembered clearly that he had been her classmate.
"It's been a while!" she said after they were settled in a park, about ten minutes walk from the station. "I think you'll never come back."
"What's with the hair and contacts?" Tappei hurriedly asked before she could say anything else. It seemed Sakamoto was going to elaborate her last sentence, so he grabbed the opportunity and continued the conversation as if she hadn't said anything. He didn't really feel like being scolded by another childhood friend.
She smiled. "I teach drama. You know, in my old school in Fukushima." She paused, the smile still on her face as she pulled down her red hair, showing Tappei her usual brown one. "The hair is the school's property."
They chatted for a while. Sakamoto turned out to be having a reunion with her high school friends in Tokyo, and she wanted to surprise them with her new 'appearance'. She even had made a 'fantasy park' near her house to remember her childhood friends in Tokyo, who had made her one. Children in her neighbourhood loved it.
"So, you moved after graduating?" she asked at some point.
"You too," Tappei answered, and she laughed.
"Yeah. Me and Yukko got scholarship to a private school, so we went there. She had her friends and I had mine, so we... say, drifted apart."
Tappei began to feel disappointed. If she and Yukko weren't close anymore, she wouldn't have any idea about Yamada. But he wouldn't give up.
"What about Yamada?" he demanded, straight to the point.
"Miiko? I wrote her letters sometimes, and she visited us with Mari-Chan, but after we graduated I have to move away again, this time without Yukko."
"So you lost contact," Tappei replied, his voice sounded hollow.
"Not really, but we just can't find anything interesting to talk about. Miiko started to work part-time so she didn't have time to reply my letters. Mari-Chan was too busy with her comic group, and I didn't really want to disturb Yukko and Kenta. I didn't really like how they act to me, but I understood."
Tappei was silent, since he found nothing else to ask about. Sakamoto asked about his career, and they chatted for another while, even though Tappei didn't really feel like doing it anymore. Finally she excused herself, smiling cheerfully at him as she wore back her red wig. "I think if you want to know about her, you better look for her…" She stopped before continuing, rather reluctantly. "…family."
He rose in excitement. "Are her parents still there?" he asked, referring the mansion Yamada used to live.
She shook her head. "No, sadly. They moved out somewhere. Oita, I think. After Miiko's grandma died and Mamo went to college."
A memory about a certain person hit Tappei. "What about Momo?"
Sakamoto blinked and looked down, obviously avoiding Tappei's curious gaze. "I rarely see her. I don't know. Sorry."
Tappei frowned. Was there something wrong with the youngest Yamada?
But before he could say anything, Sakamoto had already bowed at him and bid him farewell. It was odd to see her leaving in such a hurry, as if she had something she didn't want to tell him. Or maybe she really had.
And although nobody seemed willing to tell him, Tappei was determined to find out.
12345678!
Yamada Mamoru.
Yamada Miiko.
There were not many people with Yamada as their surname living in Tokyo. After seeing Yamada Mamoru and Miiko's names, Tappei skipped them and continued looking down. There was no Yamada Momo in the telephone book, much to his absolute dismay. He almost gave up when his eyes caught another name under Yamada's surname list, directly under Yamada Miiko's name.
Yamada Morimoto.
Tappei blinked before he wrote this Yamada Morimoto's address on a piece of paper. Then he stopped.
Wait a second; have I seen this address before?
With that feeling of certainty, he slowly began to trace his way up until he saw the exact address under someone else's name. Someone he used to know, and someone he had met before his interview with Yamada.
Takashi Yuuma.
Best intention's gets misunderstood
Up to no good
Like he had guessed, he could see a 'Takashi & Yamada' etched near the bell. The house wasn't really big, a plain one-story house painted in white and grey. It was quite far from the street, and Tappei wondered why the house was... kind of... isolated from the crowd. He even had to walk to reach this place.
He lifted his hand and pressed the bell. He had this feeling, that he knew this Morimoto, not only Yuuma, the younger brother of Shouma, the... abusive kouhai of his.
The door slowly creaked open, and a woman peeked out. She, like Sakamoto, was recognisable. She had long blond hair, like her brother, but it was wavy, like her sister's. Her eyes were wide and clear, like her sister's, but she had this coolness, something she inherited from her brother. Under her eyes were some wrinkles and faint scars, as if she had gone through something traumatic...
"I'm sorry, but are you looking for Yuu-chan?" she asked, frowning. She probably sensed no danger from him, because she opened the door wider. Tappei could see that she was using a wheelchair. Although she looked perfectly healthy, it didn't take long for Tappei to realise that she was paralysed.
All Tappei did afterwards was calling her name as he got the shock of his life.
"Momo?"
...or maybe she had.
Up to no good
Up to no good
12345678!
A/N: Alright! Here goes Momo-Chan! Her full name, Morimoto, is taken from Wikipedia (Miiko Yamada Underground/Kocchi Muite Miiko), along with Yuuma's surname Takashi (in there's only Shouma Takashi, but they are brothers so yeah). I know it's a boy's name, but somehow I prefer it than Momo. Sorry all! And not just for the name :) but you've been warned in Chapter 1. This is the 'disability' I've talked about.
The point about all of this is: Tappei has to find out about Momo himself. Nobody can tell him.
Jadiii... retret saya berjalan dengan kurang baik, saudara-saudara! Tapi itu bukan masalah besar juga, jadi ya udah. Sempet juga ngelamar jadi guru les, yang dengan berat hati harus dilepaskan (#galauberat). Sekarang kerja gue cuma nulis, belajar buat SBMPTN (#yay, dan mungkin ini juga bakal jadi alasan buat hiatus -_-"), dan nganterin makanan buat cari duit. Wish me luck! :D
So... anyone here watched Iron Man 3 and Asterix & Obelix? Asterix has been my childhood, and I love the movie (alright not really although I LOVE distressed!Asterix XD). I LOVE James Badge Dale (he's the evil bald man who's the henchman, but you should see him when he was 10 years old! HE WAS THE CUTENESS AND THE BOY WHO DIED FIRST DX) so I watched Iron Man 3 and ended up loving the whole movie :P
About Haruna: Since she's still a new character, I haven't known her real personality yet. So I made my own, I hope Marybelle (and the others) like it. All I know about her is she's cheerful like Miiko, but a bit... blunt like Mari-Chan and Yakko. I'm trying hard for putting those two in the scene with Tappei.
Oh ya, siapa yang mau ketemu Eriko Ono-sensei bulan depan? (SAYAAA! YAY!)
Alright! Reviews' time:
cims:
Thank you! UN, mengapa engkau harus kacau D:
Oke, oke. Gue baru aja dapet yang Telkomsel dari gereja, tapi thanks jawabannya!
Oh, udah baca kok yang #25. Waktu gue sweet 17 dikasih itu ama temen :D
Marybelle (sori waktu itu gue ga liat namanya ^^):
I've thought about Haruna, and I think I can put her in. I'm not sure if she will appear again or not, since she appeared just… last minute. I'm sorry for making their friendship drifted away like this, but I couldn't think about a better way. Sorry! Maybe I'd make her rejoining up the trio (Miiko, Mari, Yukko) in the end.
I've read it, of course. Thanks to my friend from church who bought it for my Sweet 17th birthday last month :D
lidiishere:
The national exams? BIZZARE. Gue juga bingung kenapa bisa kacau bener begitu -_- Mungkin karena UN SMA itu paling duluan kali ya…
I don't know about who ends up with whom. I should keep writing so I'd know XD Tsundere!Tappei is tempting, though XD
I think it's Ikuya. I've seen one with Takuya, but Ikuya is more often so I use that one. In Wikipedia, I think it's Tatsuya.
No, Yoshida has a sister. But I just can't remember how many or what's her name.
SMARTFREN, BAYAR ANAK INI KARENA DIA SUDAH JADI SALES VIRTUAL. CEPAT! :D
Ryuzaki Miki:
Thanks a lot! And yeah, it's been a while. And yeah (again), I have writer's block.
If you have something to write, write it down before it disappears. Really. :D
Jealous!Yoshida is rather fun to write, and Tappei... yes! Keep fighting, my boy! XD
Yes, it's Yuuma and Momo-Chan. I always think they're like Miiko/Tappei.
I didn't really have a nice trip, still, thanks a lot (again)!
Sashamiivers29:
Yoshida is a committed type of guy, and he loves Miiko so much so I can't put Yoshida/Mari right now or it'd be infidelity (cheating) for me. I've been thinking about that pairing since ever, I love them too, but not now. Probably towards the end. I hope so. :) And thanks a lot!
flamboyant writer:
Thanks a lot! I'm trying, but you know... modem and RL keeps blocking me out D: