A/N: Thanks to my new muse, here is chapter 10 in a timely manner. Please keep those reviews coming…they make me and my new muse happy.
The Mysteries of Women
The bright morning sun woke an exhausted and still angry Yaya. She didn't sleep well, despite Tsubomi's nearly all-night best efforts. Yaya lovingly looked down at her sleeping girlfriend and smiled, remembering Tsubomi's amazing stamina. Over the course of their relationship, Tsubomi proved herself to be an amazing lover and willing pupil. Yaya reached down and brushed stray pink hairs from Tsubomi's angelic face. As Yaya looked at Tsubomi, the younger woman stirred and opened her eyes.
"Mmm, ohayo Yaya-chan," Tsubomi smiled and stretched.
"Ohayo Tsubomi-chan," Yaya replied.
"Are you feeling better this morning?" Tsubomi asked as she reached up for Yaya.
"A little," Yaya answered and snuggled next to Tsubomi.
"Maybe you need more healing?" Tsubomi asked mischievously as she kissed Yaya's neck.
Tsubomi discovered soon into her relationship with Yaya that her older girlfriend used sex, the same way most women used a day spa. It relaxed and renewed Yaya. After an extremely relaxing morning and hot shower, Yaya notified Sakoi Masayuki's assistant she would be there to shoot yesterday's remaining scenes.
Hikari sat staring out her kitchen window, nursing a cup of tea. She thought about her fight with Yaya. She didn't expect Yaya to react so vehemently over her comment to Amane.
'How did everything escalate into such chaos? I didn't mean to insult Yaya, I just wanted to stop her from telling Amane what happened between us,' Hikari thought and put her head in her hands.
"Hikari-chan," Amane said as she snaked her arms around Hikari's waist.
Amane leaned into Hikari and buried her face in the back of Hikari's neck. As the older woman nuzzled and kissed the back of Hikari's neck, the younger woman moaned with pleasure. After Amane and Hikari finished their shower, Hikari returned the telephone call from Sakoi Masayuki's assistant. She confirmed she would be there to shoot yesterday's remaining scenes.
Sakoi Masayuki opened one eye to the new morning. He groaned loudly as he made his way to the trailer's kitchenette. He put the kettle on for tea and thought about today's shooting schedule. After realizing just how stressful a day he had ahead of him, he pulled off the kettle, took out his bottle of aged whiskey and poured himself a drink.
Amane and Tsubomi sat in their girlfriend's respective set chairs, ready to spring into action, should there be any further fighting. Hikari and Yaya managed to shoot yesterday's remaining scenes without incident or yelling, although you could have cut the tension with a knife. Immediately after the scenes wrapped, both women quickly retreated to their dressing rooms.
In Tamao's dressing room, Nagisa and Tamao laughed and gossiped over a light breakfast as they waited to be called to the set.
"Well, I heard from one of the crew that Hikari kissed Yaya," Tamao gossiped.
"Really? Is that what caused their fight yesterday?" Nagisa asked.
"No, the fight broke out because Yaya was about to confront Hikari about the kiss in front of Amane," Tamao said.
"NO!" Nagisa said shocked.
"Yes!" Tamao smiled.
"I wonder how they will behave during our scene with them?" Nagisa asked.
"I have no idea, but it's going to an interesting day," Tamao giggled.
The two women were laughing when a knock on the dressing room door startled them both.
"Suzumi-san, please report to the set," Sakoi Masayuki's assistant said through the door.
Nagisa and Tamao briefly acknowledged their seated co-stars as they walked on to the set. Both women didn't want to appear overly concerned about their co-stars, so they quickly sat in their set chairs and resumed chatting.
"Nagisa-chan, Tamao-chan, how are you two this morning," Yaya asked.
"F…f…fine," Nagisa sputtered.
"Oh, I see you heard about what happened yesterday," Yaya said.
"Yes Yaya-chan, we have," Tamao answered.
"Well, Konohana-san and I have come to an understanding, so there will no further incidents," Yaya explained.
"Oh good," Nagisa breathed a sigh of relief.
Yaya and Hikari were consummate professionals shooting all their scenes, although you could still cut the tension with a knife. Immediately after their scenes wrapped, both women once again quickly retreated to their dressing rooms.
Nagisa and Tamao were seated in their set chairs discussing the level of tension between their two co-stars when they were interrupted.
"Nagisa-chan! Tamao-chan!" Chihaya cheerfully exclaimed as she approached both women.
"Chihaya-chan!" Nagisa and Tamao cheerfully replied in unison.
"Where's Mizushima-san," Nagisa asked, looking around nervously.
Chihaya's face fell and she pointed to where Noriko stood with Miyuki. Nagisa shot a confused look at Tamao.
"I'll fill you in later," Tamao softly said to Nagisa as she hopped out of her set chair and went to comfort Chihaya.
Sakoi Masayuki's assistant called for everyone to take their places. Nagisa's heart went out to Chihaya as she watched her co-star bravely maintain her fragile composure throughout the scene with Noriko. Chihaya was in immense pain and she could barely look at Noriko, so she focused on Nagisa. As soon as the scene wrapped, Noriko quickly left the set. Tamao's heart was aching along with her childhood friend as she watched Chihaya sadly stare at Noriko's retreating figure.
"Chihaya-chan, sit in my set chair and wait for me to finish, okay?" Tamao smiled at her friend.
Nagisa and Tamao were seated in the Cafeteria set waiting for their scene to start shooting.
"Nagisa-chan, remember the last time we shot on this set?" Tamao giggled.
"Tamao-chan," Nagisa lightly scolded and giggled.
"What's going on with Chihaya-chan?" Nagisa asked.
"Noriko-chan broke up with her a few days ago," Tamao said sadly.
"Why?" Nagisa quickly said and after a bit added, "Besides the obvious."
"Well, of course the obvious, Noriko-chan finally had enough of Chihaya-chan's other women AND Noriko-chan moved in with Rokujou-san," Tamao answered.
"NANI? Rokujou-san?" Nagisa exclaimed loud enough to cause stares in her direction.
"Hai, Rokujou-san," Tamao said.
The two women's gossip session was cut short by Sakoi Masayuki's assistant. The scene wrapped smoothly, with a few giggles from Nagisa and Tamao as they kept remembering the last time they shot on that set.
Yaya's and Hikari's scene in the swimming pool did not wrap smoothly at all. Yaya nearly drowned Hikari after refusing to let the blonde up for air. They both almost broke bones in each other's hands while trying to out crush the other as they held hands in the pool. After several takes, one break to calm a hysterical Hikari down, and numerous warnings to both women, the brief scene in the pool finally wrapped. Both women were still fuming as they shot their scene in the shower with Nagisa and Tamao. Nagisa and Tamao could only watch helplessly as Yaya and Hikari verbally sparred throughout the scene.
"CUT!" Sakoi Masayuki yelled to cast and crew after Hikari delivered the wrong line.
"Typical dumb blonde," Yaya fumed.
"I'd rather be a dumb blonde than a brunette whore," Hikari spat back.
"Whore? Who you calling a whore, you bitch!" Yaya screamed and took a swipe at Hikari.
"Slut!" Hikari yelled as she dodged Yaya's hand.
"YAYA-CHAN! KONOHANA-SAN! STOP IT!" Tamao yelled.
"Stay out of this Tamao-chan," Yaya warned.
Tamao stepped away from the two fighting women. She and Nagisa watched the verbal fight escalate.
"YOU'RE the slut, NOT me!" Yaya yelled at Hikari and continued, "YOU'RE the one who kissed ME!"
"And YOU'RE the one who kissed me BACK!" Hikari yelled.
"I did NOT!" Yaya growled, knowing Hikari was partially correct.
"You DID!" Hikari accused.
Nagisa's and Tamao's eyes widened in shock as they finally noticed Amane and Tsubomi standing nearby watching their girlfriends fight.
Hikari and Yaya stopped arguing after realizing the set suddenly grew deathly silent. They looked around and their eyes widened in shock when they saw Amane and Tsubomi standing off set. Both women were staring at their respective girlfriends in shock. Tsubomi was the first to physically react. She ran off towards the dressing rooms. Amane gave Hikari a hard look, turned, and walked towards the dressing rooms with her head down.
"SHIT!" Yaya cursed. She quickly wrapped a towel around herself and ran towards the dressing rooms.
After a bit, Hikari wrapped a towel around her and walked towards the dressing rooms.
Nagisa and Tamao breathed a collective sigh of relief. They sat in their set chairs and waited for their co-stars to return. Rather than hold up shooting, Sakoi Masayuki decided to break for lunch.
During lunch, Nagisa decided to look for Shizuma, but Shizuma had not arrived for the afternoon shoot yet. Nagisa found Tamao and they enjoyed lunch down by the lake, since it was difficult to enjoy lunch in any dressing room with all the crying, screaming, and yelling going on in certain dressing rooms.
After lunch, a red-eyed Yaya returned to the set to shoot the remainder of the shower scene. She was uncharacteristically subdued. Hikari was also quiet, but she didn't have any telltale signs of crying. The scene wrapped smoothly, including Yaya's nude scene, which her three co-stars seemed to enjoy more than they should have.
Nagisa and Tamao sat on the bed in their dorm room set discussing something rather animatedly.
"Now I see why Konohana-san lusts after Yaya-chan," Tamao said.
"Tamao-chan, you're bad," Nagisa teased.
"Oh, and like you were immune," Tamao teased back.
"Me? Not with THAT body right in front of my face," Nagisa laughed and playfully leaned into Tamao.
The two women laughed loudly and started tickling each other. Sakoi Masayuki watched his two stars and smiled to himself.
'If those two can work things out like this, there's hope for Konohana-san and Nanto-san,' Sakoi Masayuki thought.
The scene ran smoothly until Nagisa and Tamao were under the covers in Tamao's bed. Nagisa started tickling Tamao again and it soon turned into a full scale tickle fight. A break was called so the two women could stop laughing. After the scene wrapped, the two women resumed their tickle fight.
Nagisa and Tamao were still giggling when they arrived at the location of their next scene with Miyuki. Both women froze in their tracks as they came upon the drama playing out in front of them.
"You home-wrecking BITCH!" Chihaya yelled through sobs as she slapped Miyuki across the face and ran off.
Miyuki stood rubbing her cheek.
"Miyuki, it looks like you and I now have something in common," Shizuma gleefully said from where she was seated.
Miyuki spun around and glared at her friend, clearly not finding any humor in the situation.
"What the hell are you talking about Shizuma?" Miyuki narrowed her eyes and said through clenched teeth.
"We've both been on the receiving end of a woman's slap," Shizuma smiled and added, "Me more than you, of course."
Miyuki was about to respond, but stopped when she noticed Nagisa and Tamao standing off set staring at her.
"Aoi-san, Suzumi-san," Miyuki acknowledged the two women.
"Rokujou-san," both women said in unison.
"Aoi-san," Shizuma said as she stood to greet Nagisa.
"Shizuma," Miyuki growled her warning at Shizuma.
Shizuma just shrugged, smiled, and continued towards Nagisa. Shizuma wrapped her arm around Nagisa's shoulders and leaned down close to the younger woman's ear to say something, when a frantic Noriko interrupted.
"Miyuki! Are you alright? I just heard what happened!" Noriko asked as she wrapped her arms around a stunned Miyuki.
Nagisa and Tamao stood staring with eyes wide in shock at the two women. Shizuma smirked at Miyuki. Upon catching Shizuma's smirk, Miyuki extricated herself from Noriko's arms.
"I'm fine Noriko-chan," Miyuki said in her best serious voice.
"Good. I was worried when I heard," Noriko said bathing Miyuki in a loving gaze, oblivious to everyone else on the set.
"Noriko-chan!" Tamao said, clearly not amused.
"Tamao-chan," Noriko said surprised to see her friend.
"Please explain yourself," Tamao sternly said as she led Noriko off set roughly by the arm.
"Hey…," Miyuki started to say as she unsuccessfully grabbed for Noriko before Tamao pulled the younger woman away with her.
Shizuma smirked at Miyuki and resumed her business with Nagisa.
"As I was saying, Aoi-san," Shizuma said as she gently led Nagisa off set.
Miyuki found she was all alone on the set and deeply sighed.
Sakoi Masayuki's assistant called for the cast to take their places. The scene wrapped in one take. After the scene wrapped, Miyuki went in search of Noriko.
The scene between Nagisa and Shizuma in the greenhouse also wrapped in one take. After the scene wrapped, Shizuma asked Nagisa to join her for dinner after the day's shooting. Nagisa happily accepted, since she had wanted to speak to Shizuma for awhile.
Chikaru and Shion were chatting intimately on the set when Nagisa and Tamao approached them.
"We heard there was an altercation between Rokujou-san and Chihaya-chan," Chikaru said to both women.
"Hai," Nagisa said and added, "In case you didn't hear yet, Mizushima-san left Chihaya-chan a few days ago and moved in with Rokujou-san."
The shocked looks on Chikaru's and Shion's faces confirmed to Nagisa this was the first both women were hearing the news.
'That's odd. I wonder why Chihaya-chan didn't tell Chikaru-san and Toumori-san about what happened with Mizushima-san, since they are all longtime friends,' Nagisa wondered.
Chikaru looked at Tamao, who smiled weakly. Chikaru hung her head as tears began to fall to the floor. Shion quickly wrapped her arms around her most important partner and whispered comforting words to her.
By the time Sakoi Masayuki's assistant called for the cast to take their places, Chikaru had pulled herself together enough to perform. The scene wrapped smoothly.
Nagisa and Tamao were back on their dorm room set engaged in yet another tickle fight on one of the beds.
"You two look like you're having a lot of fun," Shizuma said.
The two women froze in mid-tickle, surprised to see Shizuma.
"Oh, we are," Nagisa said as she resumed tickling Tamao.
"Na-gi-sa…stop…please," Tamao begged.
"Did you want something Hanazono-san?" Nagisa asked after she let Tamao up.
"Hai, I forgot to tell you to dress business casual for dinner tonight," Shizuma said and left.
"Ooo…business casual," Tamao said and teased, "That means she's taking you somewhere nice."
"Tamao-chan…," Nagisa threatened.
Their scene wrapped in one take, because both women were exhausted from their previous tickle fight.
From off set, Shizuma and Miyuki watched the two young girls chosen to portray their characters as children, deliver their lines.
"Kawaii ne?" Shizuma said and smiled.
"Hai," Miyuki replied.
"Excellent choices, don't you think? They really look like us at that age," Shizuma giggled.
"Hai, it's like seeing us back then," Miyuki laughed.
Shizuma's and Miyuki's classroom scene wrapped quickly. Shizuma and Miyuki walked back to the dressing rooms together.
"How did things with Mizushima-san go?" Shizuma asked.
"Fine, she's fine," Miyuki replied.
"I'm surprised," Shizuma started and paused to consider her words before continuing, "You've taken such a young lover."
"Taken such a young lover?" Miyuki repeated incredulous at Shizuma's comment.
"Hai, she's pretty young…for you," Shizuma said.
"True, I've never dated someone that young before, but considering how bad my track record is with women my own age and older, maybe…," Miyuki said.
"Miyuki, don't get me wrong. I love younger women, but you're not me," Shizuma said with genuine concern in her tone.
"Thank you Shizuma. I understand your concern, but Noriko is not like most other younger women," Miyuki said, as a deep crimson blush washed across her cheeks when she remembered how easily Noriko brought out her dormant passion.
Never one to miss a thing, Shizuma smirked when she saw Miyuki blush such a deep shade of red.
"If you say so and you're happy, that's all that matters to me," Shizuma smiled and added, "So? How good IS she?"
"SHIZUMA!" Miyuki yelled and quickly distanced herself from Shizuma.
Shizuma laughed as she watched Miyuki's retreating figure.
Nagisa's scene with Tamao at the pool wrapped in one take, much to Sakoi Masayuki's delight. No sooner than he yelled "CUT!" to cast and crew, Nagisa bolted back to her dressing room to get ready for her dinner with Shizuma.