A/N: I apologize for taking this long to get this chapter out. Blame it on my absent muse. Unfortunately, she has a bad case of holiday spirit and has been off shopping, when not in a food coma.
Thank you for all the encouraging reviews! I like reading them and the more I get, good and bad, the more I am inspired to continue this series. A special shout out to this series' ichiban fan, HamHamLover. Of course, this series would not even exist if it were not for the inspiration and support of my senpai, Hofftailing-senpai.
Let's Go Clubbing
Tsubomi didn't dare speak the entire ride home from the restaurant. She just sat in the passenger seat of Yaya's car and stared at the floor. Yaya, on the other hand, was taking great pleasure in watching her girlfriend sweat. Tsubomi formulated several different plans for escape once they reached Yaya's place, but none of them seemed like they would really work. As Yaya parked her car in the driveway of her home, Tsubomi bolted out of the car and ran to the front door. She had her key out and poised for quick entry. Yaya locked up her car and watched Tsubomi at the front door. Just as Tsubomi was about to turn the knob and run into the house, Yaya stopped her.
"Stop right there!" Yaya yelled and Tsubomi froze instantly.
Yaya leisurely walked to the front door. Tsubomi was standing on the porch, her head hung in shame with drooping shoulders to match. Yaya smiled and gently took Tsubomi's chin between her index finger and thumb. She raised Tsubomi's chin up to look into her eyes. Tsubomi trembled slightly in anticipation of her forthcoming punishment.
"Tsubomi-chan, ladies first," Yaya said and walked into the house, leaving a shaken Tsubomi standing on the porch.
After Tsubomi composed herself, she walked into the house. She found Yaya in her bedroom getting ready for bed.
"Yaya-chan?" Tsubomi sheepishly asked, gauging Yaya's mood.
"Hai Tsubomi-chan?" Yaya said as she slowly slipped her pajama top over her head to see if Tsubomi was looking.
"I…I…I…just wanted to say…," Tsubomi's stuttering let Yaya know she got her desired effect.
"Nani?" Yaya asked feigning innocence.
"I just wanted to say I'm sorry for the prank. I'll go sleep on the couch," Tsubomi said and she started to walk away.
"Tsubomi-chan…come to bed," Yaya cooed.
The tone of Yaya's voice caused Tsubomi to stop and turn around. She saw Yaya smiling at her from under the covers. Yaya patted the pillow next to her. Tsubomi didn't need to be called twice. She left a trail of clothes as she ran to join Yaya in bed.
Tsubomi playfully jumped on top of Yaya. Yaya wrapped her arms around Tsubomi and kissed her passionately, which took Tsubomi completely by surprise. While they were kissing, Yaya rolled Tsubomi underneath her. Yaya broke their kiss and sat up astride Tsubomi. Yaya leaned forward and began lightly kissing Tsubomi's neck, which, as always, caused Tsubomi to moan with pleasure. Yaya grabbed one of Tsubomi's wrists and slid it underneath one of the pillows. She fumbled with something under the pillow. She repeated this with Tsubomi's other wrist, never leaving Tsubomi's neck unattended. Yaya slowly moved from Tsubomi's neck to her collarbone and continued her journey south, until she was just above one of Tsubomi's breasts. Yaya sat up and looked down at Tsubomi, who had her eyes closed. After a bit, Tsubomi realized Yaya was once again sitting astride her. She opened her eyes to find Yaya smiling sweetly down at her and Tsubomi's arms were underneath both bed pillows. When she tried to pull them out from underneath the pillows, she was met with resistance. Yaya's smile instantly changed from sweet to mischievous.
"What's wrong Tsubomi-chan?" Yaya asked with feigned innocence.
"Yaya-chan," Tsubomi swallowed hard, "What are you planning to do to me?"
Yaya just smiled and got off the bed to secure both of Tsubomi's legs. Yaya mischievously smiled as she stood beside the bed looking down at Tsubomi tied spread-eagle.
"Yaya-chan," Tsubomi's voice quivered with fear, "Gomenasai."
"Tsubomi-chan," Yaya sat astride Tsubomi again, "I won't hurt you."
"Yaya-chan…" Tsubomi whimpered.
"However, I am going to get my revenge," Yaya said with a glint in her eye.
Yaya exacted her revenge by giving Tsubomi a night of unfulfilled pleasure.
Back on the set, in Hikari's dressing room, Amane held Hikari in her arms as they lay cuddling on the couch together after another zealous session. Even though Amane had a huge smile on her face, she seemed a million miles away.
"Amane-san," Hikari began.
"Hikari-chan, drop the honorific," Amane instructed.
"Amane," Hikari began again, "Are you okay?"
"Hai," Amane weakly replied.
"A-man-e," Hikari's tone was stern.
"I can't hide anything from Hikari-chan, can I?" Amane smiled at Hikari and kissed her on the forehead.
"Please talk to me," Hikari asked.
"Hikari-chan, as you already know, I am not a les…les…les," Amane cursed herself at her inability to say the word.
"Lesbian," Hikari finished Amane's sentence.
"Hai, Les-bi-an," Amane said as she rolled the foreign word around in her mouth.
Hikari extricated herself from Amane's arms and leaned up, bracing herself with one arm. She looked down at Amane.
"Amane, I AM a lesbian and proud of it, so I can't help but wonder what a self-professed heterosexual woman like you wants with me," Hikari did her best to control the anger in her voice.
Amane averted her eyes and said, "Hikari-chan, I don't have all the answers for you, because I don't know them myself…but I do know I like you a lot and want you in my life…in whatever capacity it may be," Amane looked into Hikari's eyes to convey her sincerity.
When Hikari saw the raw emotion in Amane's eyes, she bit her lower lip and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath.
"Amane, I am NOT into men, so if you're…" Hikari began, but Amane cut her off.
"NO," Amane shook her head, "That's NOT…NO…Never."
"Amane, I AM a monogamous woman and I expect the same from anyone I date," Hikari firmly stated.
"Hai, I sort of figured…assumed it, so…so…," Amane paused to gather her inner resolve, "So I ended my relationship with my boyfriend, before I came to see you today."
Now it was Hikari's turn to fumble all over her words.
"N-n-nani? Your BOY…friend?" Hikari repeatedly blinked in utter disbelief.
"Hai Hikari-chan, BOYfriend," Amane said. "I do NOT understand why everyone keeps being surprised by this," Amane added annoyed.
"Ano…because…you…are…kinda…butch," Hikari offered.
"Butch!" Amane said shocked and a little angry.
"Soft butch?" Hikari offered trying to make Amane feel better.
Amane thought, smiled, and said, "Okay."
Hikari snuggled back down into Amane's arms. She leaned up and kissed Amane on the cheek.
"Hikari-chan, I can't promise you there won't be any problems, but I promise to do my best to make you happy," Amane said and kissed Hikari on the forehead.
"Amane, since we have tomorrow off, let's get out of here," Hikari said.
The next morning, Nagisa arrived on the set a bit hung over from celebrating with Tamao. As soon as she got into her dressing room, she lay down on the couch to take a little nap. Almost immediately after closing her eyes, there was a knock on her dressing room door. Nagisa silently cursed the person behind the door, got up, and opened it. Tamao pushed Nagisa back inside and shut the door behind her.
"Nagisa-chan, you should go home and call in sick today," Tamao frantically said.
"Nani?" Nagisa asked still stunned from Tamao's entrance.
"Go…home. Call…in…sick," Tamao stated accentuating each word to make her point.
"Tamao-chan, I know I look like death warmed over, but it's just a hang over. I'll be fine," Nagisa teased.
Tamao deeply sighed, "Nagisa, Noriko-chan, Mizushima-san knows it was YOU. Chihaya-chan called and told me last night."
Nagisa felt all the blood drain from her body and fainted. Tamao caught Nagisa and placed her on the couch. Nagisa opened her eyes and saw Tamao looking down at her. When Nagisa realized she didn't dream Tamao's news, she jumped up.
"Tamao-chan, what should I do? Mizushima-san is YOUR friend. Do you think she would do anything on the set?"
Tamao thought about it and answered, "Noriko-chan is extremely jealous and is prone to small outbursts, but she's not a violent woman. Considering how often Chihaya-chan brings other women into their bed, Noriko-chan has never physically hurt anyone."
"Tamao-chan, why does Chihaya-chan torment Mizushima-san like that? I thought Chihaya-chan loves Mizushima-san?" Nagisa asked.
"Nagisa-chan, Chihaya-chan DOES love Noriko-chan, but according to Chihaya-chan, Noriko-chan alone isn't enough. Chihaya-chan has an extremely high sex drive," Tamao explained.
While Nagisa and Tamao tried to figure out a plan of action, a knock on the dressing room door sent them both out of their skins.
"Aoi-san, please report to the set," Sakoi Masayuki's assistant said through the door. "And if Suzumi-san is in there with you, would you please bring her," the assistant added.
"Well, it looks like my decision has been made for me," Nagisa said sadly.
Nagisa and Tamao walked on to the set hand-in-hand. Actually, Nagisa was gripping Tamao's hand for strength to get her through this first scene with Chihaya and Noriko. As soon as Nagisa's and Noriko's eyes met, Nagisa knew she was in trouble. Noriko's stare bore a hole through the back of Nagisa's head. There was blood in her eyes. Nagisa and Tamao took their places and prayed for the scene to start shooting. As Chihaya and Noriko took their places, Chihaya swapped places with Noriko, thus putting more distance between Noriko and Nagisa.
"ACTION!" Sakoi Masayuki yelled to cast and crew.
Nagisa was never so glad to have a scene wrap as she was now. She walked to her set chair on wobbly legs to wait. It wasn't long before she was called back.
"ACTION!" Sakoi Masayuki yelled to cast and crew.
Nagisa began to relax as she 'investigated' each club. She approached the Archery room with trepidation. When she peered into the open door, she saw Noriko taking aim at the target in front of her. Out of the corner of Noriko's eye, she saw Nagisa in the doorway. She turned and released the bow. The arrow embedded itself in the wall next to Nagisa's head, a mere two inches from it, right where Noriko intended. Nagisa let out a blood-curdling scream, which brought Tamao and Chihaya running from where they were talking, a little bit away from the shooting. They both stood frozen and incredulous at the scene before them.
"Gomenasai Aoi-san! Gomenasai!" Noriko rushed over to Nagisa.
"Mizushima-san! You almost killed Aoi-san!" Sakoi Masayuki yelled as his emotions bested his professional demeanor.
"Gomenasai Sakoi-sama, the bow slipped," Noriko gave a convincing performance.
After all concerned parties left, Noriko pulled the arrow from the wall and softly growled to Nagisa, "I know it was you Aoi-san."
Once cast and crew were back in place with nerves somewhat under control, shooting resumed.
"ACTION!" Sakoi Masayuki yelled to cast and crew.
The scene wrapped without any problems. Tamao ran over to Nagisa and helped her walk off the set. Chihaya rushed to Noriko, grabbed her by the wrist, and dragged her off the set as she yelled at Noriko.
Tamao handed Nagisa a glass with a small amount of brown liquid.
"Sakoi-sama instructed me to give this to you and make you drink it," Tamao said.
Nagisa sniffed the contents of the glass, made a face, and downed it all in one shot. She shook her head.
"YECK…I hate Japanese whiskey," Nagisa said.
The next scene was about to begin shooting.
"Tamao-chan, thank you for being here, but I'll be okay now. You look tired. Go get some rest until you're called," Nagisa assured Tamao.
The cast and crew took their places.
"ACTION!" Sakoi Masayuki yelled to cast and crew.
The scene rolled along smoothly until Nagisa saw Kizuna and Remon in their cosplay outfits, which immediately brought back a certain memory for Nagisa. She started giggling and before she knew it, she was rolling on the ground in a fit of laughter.
"CUT! CUT! CUT!" Sakoi Masayuki threw up his hands, yelling at cast and crew.
"AOI-SAN! What is SO damn funny NOW?" Sakoi Masayuki yelled as he finally lost all patience. "Come get me AFTER Aoi-san is done," he told his assistant and stormed back to his trailer.
Chikaru, Kizuna, and Remon watched Nagisa roll around on the ground laughing.
"Chikaru-san, what do you think is so funny?" Kizuna asked.
"Kizuna-chan, I have no clue," Chikaru said.
"Could it be a medical condition?" Remon offered.
Chikaru and Kizuna both gave Remon skeptical looks.
"Nani? It COULD be," Remon said defensively.
Kizuna and Remon finally had enough of the laughing hyena and whispered something to Chikaru. Chikaru smiled and left the set. A few minutes later, she returned with her girlfriend in tow and pointed to Nagisa.
"AOI-SAN! Whatever it is is NOT funny enough to stop shooting THIS long," Shion barked with her hands on her hips.
Nagisa immediately stopped laughing and looked up at the four women staring at her. Kizuna reached out and helped Nagisa to her feet. She helped brush off Nagisa's backside.
"Gomen, I didn't mean to interrupt shooting," Nagisa apologized.
"Aoi-san, what was SO funny?" Chikaru asked.
"Chikaru-san, I wish I could tell you, but I promised Hanazono-san and Rokujou-san I wouldn't tell," Nagisa answered.
Of course, when Shion heard Miyuki's name, her interest was immediately peaked.
'I need to find a way to get this information from Aoi-san. If it sends her into hysterics, it must be good…good enough to get at that bitch Miyuki-san,' Shion thought and smiled.
Shion motioned to Sakoi Masayuki's assistant to go get him. Kizuna was still brushing off Nagisa's backside off, which was getting to her girlfriend Remon.
"Ki-zu-na-chan, I think Aoi-san's backside is clean now," Remon growled and removed Kizuna's hand from Nagisa's backside.
"Hai Hyuuga-san, Natsume-san is right. My backside is clean now," Nagisa said
'Hyuuga-san and Natsume-san seem like a couple to me. After the mess with Chihaya-chan and Mizushima-san, I'm not taking any more chances,' Nagisa thought.
Once Sakoi Masayuki returned to the set, shooting resumed. Nagisa was able to control her laughter long enough to finish the scene. After the scene wrapped, Sakoi Masayuki broke for lunch.
Nagisa grabbed her catered bento lunch and ate in her favorite spot next to the lake. She was thoroughly enjoying her meal and the serenity. Her serenity was short-lived when a familiar voice invaded her ears.
"Peaceful, isn't it?" Shizuma said.
"Hai," Nagisa said and put another mouthful of food in her mouth.
"May I join you?" Shizuma asked and held up her catered bento lunch.
"Hai," Nagisa said and cleared a spot for Shizuma on the blanket.
They ate in relative silence, enjoying their meals, the serenity of their surroundings, and each other's company.
"Aoi-san, I want to apologize for jumping to conclusions the other day," Shizuma said as she packed up her lunch trash.
"I wasn't mad at you. You just scared me, sitting in the dark like that," Nagisa said.
"I know I can trust you. I just forget sometimes," Shizuma said and smiled her most charming smile.
"Hanazono-san, can I ask you a question?" Nagisa asked.
"Of course," Shizuma smiled.
"Howwas the forest nymph?" Nagisa giggled.
A flash of indignation crossed Shizuma's face, but was quickly replaced with mischief. "Hmmm," Shizuma pretended to think about it, "Probably not as good as a libidinous dorm mate," Shizuma countered.
"Touché Hanazono-san," Nagisa bowed.
"I heard Mizushima-san mistook your head for an archery target earlier today," Shizuma said.
"Hai, she did, but I got the point," Nagisa giggled.
"Situations like that can make the other side look pretty good," Shizuma said.
Nagisa arched an eyebrow and replied, "Maybe to you, but I love women too much…even with all the problems."
"Me?" Shizuma laughed. "Not in a million lifetimes. My name practically screams 'bian.'"
Shizuma and Nagisa laughed. They shared 'war stories' and a few personal tidbits. As the two got to know each other, Nagisa realized her and Shizuma had more in common than she first thought.
'She is really beautiful. Her smile is almost as bright as the sun. She really is more than the sum of her parts,' Nagisa thought as she looked at Shizuma.
'She has the innocence of a child, but the maturity of a woman. She is so cute. I really misjudged her at the resort,' Shizuma thought as Nagisa told another 'war story.'
The two sat by the lake and laughed, truly enjoying the day. Their lunch break flew by.
Sakoi Masayuki watched his two main actors return from lunch laughing and acting like they had been best friends their entire lives. To top it off, they were on-time.
'It's official. This is definitely a parallel dimension,' Sakoi Masayuki thought.
Everything for the greenhouse scenes came together perfectly and wrapped in record time. The chemistry between Nagisa and Shizuma was electric, making the scenes almost magical.
Tamao tried her best to calm Nagisa before they shot the tea party scene with Chihaya and Noriko.
"Nagisa-chan, don't worry. Chihaya-chan told me she spoke to Noriko-chan. There won't be ANY further problems from her," Tamao reassured Nagisa.
Right up until Sakoi Masayuki yelled "CUT!" did Nagisa relax and start breathing normal again. With the exception of some glares and snide remarks made under Noriko's breath, the scene wrapped in one take.
Nagisa was thrilled to be rid of Noriko for the rest of the day's shooting. With everyone in place, shooting resumed. Nagisa was concerned about her scene with Miyuki, because Nagisa knew Miyuki was upset with her. Much to Nagisa's surprise, the scene wrapped with no problems. Nagisa sat in her set chair waiting to be called for her next scene.
"Aoi-san, can I have a word with you?" Miyuki asked.
"Rokujou-san!" Nagisa said startled. "Haven't you spoken to Hanazono-san?"
"No, why?" Miyuki asked.
"Speak to her, she'll clarify everything for you," Nagisa stated and returned to her script.
As Miyuki walked away in search of Shizuma, she reflected on Nagisa's curt dismissal. As Miyuki approached Shizuma's dressing room, she could hear soft muffled moans coming through the door.
"Damn that Shizuma! She just can't keep it in her mouth. I wonder which flavor of the day is in there," Miyuki thought and fumed as she walked away.
Miyuki watched in amusement as Shizuma rushed on to the set straightening her clothing as she ran. As she watched Shizuma and Nagisa shoot their scenes together, she felt the electricity between them. The Piano Room scene was especially charged. Miyuki overheard several crew members commenting on the chemistry between the two actors.
The day's shooting wrapped and before Shizuma could pull her infamous disappearing act, Miyuki grabbed her.
"Shizuma! We need to talk," Miyuki growled as she firmly held Shizuma's arm.
"Of course Miyuki," Shizuma said confused.
"Let's go to your dressing room," Miyuki said.
"Ano…let's go to yours," Shizuma countered.
"Doshde?" Miyuki asked before quickly realizing Shizuma probably had someone waiting in hers. Miyuki groaned loudly and Shizuma just sheepishly smiled.
After thirty minutes of talking, mostly involving Shizuma trying to convince a skeptical Miyuki, Shizuma was sure she placated Miyuki enough to keep her from bothering Nagisa any further. Shizuma kissed Miyuki on the cheek and left for her own dressing room.
When Shizuma opened her dressing room door, she was greeted by the woman patiently waiting for her.
"What kept you Hanazono-san?" Nagisa asked.
"Miyuki needed to talk," Shizuma answered and closed the door behind her.
Miyuki slowly walked from her dressing room to the parking lot, looking at the ground the entire time, so she wasn't consciously aware of her surroundings.
"Rokujou-san?" a female voice called out.
"Nani?" Miyuki said as she finally looked up.
Noriko was standing in the Archery scene set with her bow down by her side. Miyuki noticed the arrow in the bow and felt suddenly nervous. Noriko saw Miyuki tense up and followed her line of vision to the arrow in the bow.
"Gomenasai Rokujou-san," Noriko apologized and removed the arrow from the bow.
"What are you still doing here?" Miyuki asked.
"When I saw the set had not been broken down, I thought I would get some free practice time in," Noriko smiled.
"I envy you. I wish I were good at sports," Miyuki said.
"Have you tried Archery?" Noriko asked.
"No…I'm a bit intimidated by it," Miyuki sheepishly admitted and blushed.
Noriko smiled at seeing Miyuki blush. She extended her hand out to Miyuki.
"Come, let me show you it's not intimidating," Noriko tried to reassure Miyuki.
Miyuki hesitated for a moment, quelled all her inner demons, and joined Noriko. Noriko handed Miyuki the bow.
"Stand like this," Noriko instructed as she moved Miyuki's body into the correct standing position in front of the target.
Miyuki could feel Noriko's warm hands on her hips, moving her into place.
"Hold the bow like this," Noriko instructed as she wrapped her arms around Miyuki to position her hands correctly on the bow.
Miyuki could feel the warmth rising in her face as her shoulder pressed into Noriko's chest.
"Place the arrow like this," Noriko loaded the arrow in the bow and wrapped her hand around Miyuki's to help her hold the arrow on the bow string.
Noriko suddenly became aware of Miyuki and felt warmth surge throughout her body. She was glad Miyuki was facing away from her, so she could not see the blush quickly rising in Noriko's face.
"Now, pull back on the bow string and hold it," Noriko firmly held both Miyuki's hand and the bow string in hers.
Miyuki's arm quivered from straining to hold the bow string taunt and she prayed for release.
"Aim and release," Noriko instructed as she released the bow string, but not Miyuki's hand.
They watched the arrow slice through the air and embed itself near the edge of the target.
"You hit the target, which is pretty good for your first time," Noriko said in Miyuki's ear.
Noriko's warm breath on her ear made Miyuki weak in the knees and she involuntarily leaned into Noriko.
"Rokujou-san!" Noriko dropped the bow and held Miyuki in her arms.
Miyuki looked up into Noriko's eyes.