A/N: Just a warning to my readers - My muse has been in quite a mood lately, so this chapter is a bit risqué.
Loves Lessons Learned
In Tamao's dressing room, Chihaya sat curled up on the couch waiting for Tamao to finish packing up for the day.
"Chihaya-chan, I think you should spend the night at my place again. I don't want to leave you alone in that house," Tamao said.
"Okay Tamao-chan, whatever you say," Chihaya replied softly.
Once they got to Tamao's house, Tamao made them dinner and practically had to force Chihaya to eat. After dinner, Tamao and Chihaya sat on the couch.
"Chihaya-chan, would you like some tea?" Tamao asked.
"Do you have anything stronger?" Chihaya asked.
Tamao took awhile to respond as she thoroughly considered the matter.
"Tamao-chan?" Chihaya asked.
"Hai, I have a bottle of wine," Tamao deeply sighed, choosing this lie as the best response.
"Let's open it," Chihaya said.
Tamao opened her liquor cabinet and pulled out the bottle of red wine, buried behind all the bottles of hard alcohol. She uncorked the bottle and poured one glass. Tamao didn't like red wine, that's why it was buried in the back of her liquor cabinet. She handed the glass to Chihaya. The distraught woman quickly downed the wine and handed the now empty glass back to Tamao, motioning for her to fill it up again. Tamao helplessly watched her childhood friend drown her sorrows in alcohol. Chihaya quickly made her way through half the bottle.
"Chihaya-chan, perhaps you should stop drinking," Tamao softly said as she gently took Chihaya's glass.
"Tamao-chan, I took Noriko-chan for granted. I never thought she'd leave me," Chihaya bemoaned and put her head in her hands.
Tamao wrapped her arms around Chihaya and did her best to comfort her distraught friend. Chihaya leaned heavily into Tamao and buried her face in the front of Tamao's shoulder. Tamao could smell the wine on Chihaya's breath and it made her stomach flip. Chihaya sobbed as Tamao held her. Chihaya moved and buried her face in Tamao's neck, which startled Tamao. When Chihaya began nuzzling Tamao's neck, Tamao could feel the heat rising in her face.
"Mmmm…Tamao-chan, you smell wonderful," Chihaya softly mumbled.
Tamao's thoughts raced and her heart beat wildly. Chihaya lightly kissed Tamao's neck, which triggered an unconscious moan to escape Tamao's lips. Chihaya kissed Tamao's neck harder, which resulted in a deeper moan. Chihaya licked Tamao's neck.
"Chihaya-chan, stop it," Tamao said firmly and pushed Chihaya away.
"Why? Didn't you like it?" Chihaya asked defiantly.
"That's not the point," Tamao answered.
"Tamao-chan, we've been together before, so what's the big deal?" Chihaya asked.
"You're upset and this is the last thing you need," Tamao said sternly.
"THIS…is exactly what I need," Chihaya's voice was full of lust.
Chihaya quickly tackled Tamao, catching her friend completely off-guard. Tamao found herself pinned underneath Chihaya. Chihaya straddled Tamao's waist and unbuttoned the captive woman's shirt. Tamao tried to stop Chihaya, but the threat of punishment stopped all further attempts.
Noriko sat up in Miyuki's bed and watched her lover, standing naked by the window, basking in the moonlight. Miyuki was lost deep in thought, as she stared out the bedroom window into the darkness, with the city lights twinkling far in the distance down below.
"Honey?" Noriko softly said as she wrapped her arms around Miyuki's waist.
"Noriko-chan," Miyuki whispered as she felt Noriko's naked body press against her back.
"Daijobu?" Noriko asked, concerned for her lover.
"I'm fine Noriko-chan. I'm just thinking about…everything," Miyuki said and leaned back into Noriko.
"Are you sure?" Noriko asked as she tightened her arms around Miyuki.
"Hai, Noriko dear," Miyuki reached up and back, gently touching Noriko's face.
"Are you having second thoughts about us?" Noriko asked tentatively.
Miyuki didn't say anything. The silence was deafening. Noriko felt a sharp pain in her chest and suddenly felt ice cold. Her mouth was painfully dry, so she couldn't speak, even if she wanted. After what felt like a long time to Noriko, Miyuki finally answered.
"No, are you?" Miyuki said.
When Miyuki felt Noriko exhale, she had her answer. Miyuki turned around in Noriko's arms and faced her young lover.
"You know it's not going to be easy for us? You're eighteen and just starting University. I'm twenty-one," Miyuki said tenderly.
"Honey, I already weighed the pros and cons, before I made my decision to leave my established life with Chihaya-chan," Noriko assured Miyuki and continued, "I may be young, but I carefully considered everything I was leaving behind and heading towards."
Miyuki looked lovingly at Noriko, leaned up, and kissed her young lover lightly on the lips. Noriko deepened their kiss and tightened her arms around Miyuki.
Yaya was sitting up in her bed, her arms tightly wrapped around her knees against her chest. She was lost deep in her thoughts of Tsubomi. She replayed the drama in Tsubomi's dressing room; all the crying, screaming, and yelling that seemed to go on forever. No matter how many times Yaya replayed the drama, the outcome was always the same; Tsubomi refused to forgive Yaya and broke up with her. Yaya pressed her face into the tops of her knees and wept loudly.
Hikari lay on her side, staring at her bedroom wall. Her thoughts were of Yaya and the distraught look on Yaya's face when she returned from the dressing rooms. Tears welled in Hikari's eyes. She blinked and they spilled on to her pillow.
"Hikari-chan," Amane softly called, as she wrapped her arm around Hikari's waist and tenderly kissed the back of the blonde's neck.
"Amane…," Hikari whispered and leaned back into Amane.
Shizuma sat across from Nagisa and watched in amazement as the younger woman happily consumed a lot of food.
'Well, at least she's not one of those types of women who eat like a bird when out with you and suck down the entire refrigerator when they get home,' Shizuma thought and smiled.
Nagisa came out of her food reverie long enough to notice Shizuma staring and smiling at her.
"Hanazono-san, is something wrong?" Nagisa asked.
"No, Aoi-san. I'm pleased at how much you're enjoying my choice of restaurant," Shizuma said.
"The food here is wonderful," Nagisa replied cheerfully.
"I hope you left room for dessert," Shizuma said.
Nagisa happily beamed and nodded. A rather large smile crossed Shizuma's face as she looked at Nagisa.
The next morning, Shizuma's eyes opened earlier than usual and she felt well rested. Since she usually felt like this after a night of passion, she felt beside her. She was quite alone in her large bed and giggled as she remembered it was she who turned down Nagisa at the end of their dinner date. As Shizuma sat up in her bed, thinking about Nagisa, she could feel her sexual stirrings growing stronger with each passing minute. She headed to her bathroom to take a shower…preferably a cold one.
'Perhaps I should have taken Aoi-san into my bed last night, but I really don't want her to be just another one of my 'bed bunnies,' Shizuma thought as she stood under the cold water.
Shizuma finished her shower and as she got dressed, she sadly realized her shower did not alleviate her growing problem.
By the time Shizuma got to her dressing room, her problem was completely out of control and she needed to do something about it NOW. She thought about Miyuki, but remembered Noriko. Shizuma's thoughts raced through her list of possible prospects, but could not find a suitable one. She resigned herself to taking matters into her own hands. A knock on her dressing room door temporarily interrupted her.
"Hanazono-san, please report to the set," Sakoi Masayuki's assistant said through the door.
Sakoi Masayuki checked his watch for the third time and looked around at the crew.
"Where is that woman? I sent her to get Hanazono-san fifteen minutes ago," Sakoi Masayuki muttered, irritated with his missing assistant.
Five minutes later, Sakoi Masayuki called one of his crew members over.
"Locate my missing assistant. I sent her to get Hanazono-san twenty minutes ago," Sakoi Masayuki instructed.
Ten minutes later, the crew member returned empty-handed.
"Gomenasai Sakoi-sama, I was unable to locate either Kobe-san or Hanazono-san," the crew member reported.
Fifteen minutes later, Sakoi Masayuki's assistant ran on to the set and took her place next to the irritated director.
"Gomenasai Sakoi-sama," Sakoi Masayuki's assistant said as she bowed repeatedly.
"Ayako-san, where have you been and where is Hanazono-san?" Sakoi Masayuki asked as he glared at his visibly flustered assistant.
"Hanazono-san will be here shortly," Ayako assured.
Five minutes later, a glowing Shizuma arrived on the set.
"Nice of you to grace us with your presence Hanazono-san," Sakoi Masayuki said sarcastically.
Shizuma completely ignored him. She found Ayako with her eyes. Lustful green eyes locked with shy blue ones. Shizuma subtly licked her lips, which caused Ayako to turn a crimson red. Ayako sputtered for Shizuma to take her place.
"ACTION!" Sakoi Masayuki yelled to cast and crew.
The scene wrapped smoothly in one take. Shizuma found Ayako with her eyes again and caused the young woman to blush. Shizuma smiled and returned to her dressing room. As she passed Tamao's dressing room, a loud primal scream froze Shizuma in her tracks. She quickly looked around to make sure no one was around and pressed her ear to the door.
"Ki-mo-chi! Ki-mo-chi! Tamao-chan! Please…don't…stop!"
An evil grin crept over Shizuma's lips as she stood with her ear pressed firmly against Tamao's dressing room door.
"Suzumi-san, I didn't know…," Shizuma quietly said to herself.
"You didn't know what?" Nagisa asked.
Shizuma quickly spun around to see who spoke and saw Nagisa standing behind her with her arms crossed.
"Hanazono-san, what are you doing?" Nagisa asked.
"Suzumi-san has someone in there with her," Shizuma finally answered after finding an appropriate response for the awkward situation.
Nagisa looked at Shizuma puzzled and innocently said, "It's probably Chihaya-chan. Just knock," and leaned in to knock on the door.
Shizuma quickly grabbed Nagisa's wrist to stop her, "Aoi-san, Suzumi-san has someone in there with her," Shizuma repeated, trying to get Nagisa to understand.
"Yes, it's probably Chihaya-chan…just knock," Nagisa said innocently, still clueless.
Shizuma stepped back, rolled her eyes, and decided to let Nagisa figure this one out the hard way. As Nagisa's knuckles were about to make contact with the dressing room door, a loud primal scream blasted through the door. Nagisa froze mid-knock. She stared at the closed door blinking rapidly for about a minute. The sound of Shizuma's muffled laughter brought Nagisa back. She turned to see Shizuma pressing the palm of her hand against her mouth, trying to stifle her laughter.
"WHY didn't you tell me?" Nagisa growled.
"I tried," Shizuma managed through her muffled laughter.
Nagisa huffed, grabbed Shizuma by the wrist, and dragged the laughing older woman away from in front of Tamao's dressing room door.
As soon as Nagisa and Shizuma were safely inside Nagisa's dressing room, both women doubled-over with laughter. After several minutes, Shizuma tried to speak while catching her breath.
"Who did Suzumi-san have in there with her?' Shizuma asked.
"Chihaya-chan," Nagisa managed as she still tried to catch her breath.
"Really? I guess Takemura-san bounces back quickly," Shizuma said sarcastically.
Nagisa stared silently at Shizuma. She wanted to defend Chihaya, but decided against it. A knock on Nagisa's dressing room door ceased all further conversation.
"Aoi-san, please report to the set," Sakoi Masayuki's assistant said through the door.
"Ayako-chan!" Shizuma cheerfully exclaimed and threw open the dressing room door.
A stunned Ayako stood in Nagisa's dressing room doorway as Shizuma trapped the young woman in a quick bear hug and swiftly returned to her own dressing room. Nagisa shot the stunned young woman a sympathetic look and muttered, "Ayako-chan?"
Nagisa was having a difficult time looking at Tamao and Chihaya during her scene in the cafeteria. Tamao and Chihaya behaved normally, with the exception of a few knowing glances between them. Noriko was having a difficult time sitting next to Chihaya, because under the table, her former partner had her hand on Noriko's right thigh for most the scene. Even with all these distractions, Nagisa and Noriko were able to shoot the scene without any breaks, because each one just wanted the scene to end.
In Chiyo's dressing room, Kagome and Chiyo were giggling on the couch.
"Did you hear the noises coming from Suzumi-san's dressing room?" Kagome asked through her giggles.
"How could I not?" Chiyo giggled.
"You weren't lying about Suzumi-san's skills," Kagome said as her giggling stopped.
"I wonder who was with her," Chiyo said, no longer giggling.
"Aoi-san?" Kagome offered.
"No. I know her screams," Chiyo giggled.
"How are you going to handle your next scene with Suzumi-san?" Kagome asked.
"I don't know," Chiyo said shaking her head.
A knock on her dressing room door sent a feeling of dread through Chiyo.
"Tsukidate-san, please report to the set," Sakoi Masayuki's assistant said through the door.
Chiyo could barely get through her scene with Nagisa and Tamao without giggling. She thanked Kami for her girlfriend's presence off set in Chiyo's set chair. It was the only reason the long scene didn't require several breaks. Even Nagisa was able to get through the scene with minimal giggling.
Nagisa's scenes with Shizuma were a completely different matter, because both women just could not control their laughter. One would start laughing and the other would follow suit soon after.
"Hanazono-san, Aoi-san, this is the twentieth break we have had to take!" Sakoi Masayuki said completely exasperated. "HOW can we make this easier for you both?"
Nagisa and Shizuma both apologized profusely for their laughter. After they resumed shooting, both women barely managed to get through their scenes, but they did.
In Tamao's dressing room, Tamao changed into her nightgown for her next scene with Nagisa. Chihaya watched her lover with lust-filled eyes from the couch.
"Come here," Chihaya commanded.
"Chihaya-chan, there isn't enough time," Tamao scolded.
"Yes there is," Chihaya said and patted the couch.
"No…there isn't," Tamao said firmly and stood her ground.
"Yes…there is," Chihaya stood and walked over to Tamao.
Chihaya wrapped one arm around Tamao's waist and pulled her close, as she passionately kissed Tamao's neck. Tamao leaned her head back to give Chihaya easier access to her neck. Tamao moaned loudly as Chihaya lightly sucked on Tamao's neck. Chihaya slipped her free hand up under Tamao's nightgown.
"Chi-ha-ya!" Tamao moaned loudly.
A knock on Tamao's dressing room door squelched Tamao's passion.
"Suzumi-san, please report to the set," Sakoi Masayuki's assistant said through the door.
Tamao extricated herself from Chihaya's tight grasp and reported to the set.
Tamao was uncomfortable throughout the entire scene. She wished she had a chance to change into a pair of dry panties. Nagisa kept giving Tamao puzzled looks throughout the scene.
Miyuki sat in her set chair with Noriko standing next to her. The two women were chatting when Shizuma approached.
"Miyuki," Shizuma addressed her friend and smiled as she sat in her set chair.
"Shizuma," Miyuki said.
"Noriko-chan? May I address you this way, now that you are my friend's lover?" Shizuma said with an edge to her voice.
"SHIZUMA!" Miyuki scolded Shizuma for her bold behavior.
As usual, Shizuma just ignored Miyuki's scolding and dismissed it with a slight laugh. Their scene wrapped quickly and smoothly.
Shizuma and Nagisa sat in each other's set chairs as they chatted, waiting for their scene to begin shooting. A gruff man in a suit approached the two women. He looked at the backs of the set chairs and placed his hand on Nagisa's shoulder, startling her.
"Hanazono Shizuma-san?" the man asked.
"No, I am Hanazono-san. This is Aoi Nagisa-san," Shizuma said.
The man looked clearly confused, but turned to Shizuma and continued.
"Gomenasai Hanazono-san," the man apologized and reached into his jacket.
Shizuma saw the gun in the holster hanging at the man's side and instantly knew he was a police detective.
"My name is Yamada, Homicide division. I need you to come to the police station and answer some questions," Detective Yamada said as he produced his badge for her inspection.
"Right now?" Shizuma asked and added, "I'm in the middle of filming."
"Gomenasai Hanazono-san, you don't have to come right now, but at your earliest convenience, please," Detective Yamada said and handed Shizuma his card.
"I will come by tomorrow morning," Shizuma said as she took his card.
"Thank you. I shall see you tomorrow morning," Detective Yamada said and left.
"The beating death at the nightclub?" Nagisa asked.
"Hai," Shizuma said as she slipped Detective Yamada's card into her script.
Ayako looked down at the ground as she quickly skirted past Shizuma and Nagisa, joining Sakoi Masayuki already on the set. Nagisa noticed the young woman was clearly embarrassed.
"Hanazono-san…," Nagisa began and stopped, after realizing she was probably better off not knowing the answer to her question.
Ayako called for the cast to take their places. The scene wrapped quickly.
Shizuma sat in her set chair staring at Tamao. This was making Tamao extremely uncomfortable. She did her best to ignore Shizuma and buried her face in her script.
"Suzumi-san," Shizuma said and startled Tamao.
"Hanazono-san," Tamao said as she looked up from her script to find Shizuma standing right in front of her.
"Are you and Takemura-san seeing each other?" Shizuma asked.
"Nani?" Tamao asked incredulous at Shizuma's boldness.
"Are you and…," Shizuma started to repeat her question, but Tamao cut her off.
"I do NOT see that is any of your concern," Tamao said firmly.
"Well, when your sexual escapades are broadcast throughout the dressing rooms, I think it becomes open for discussion," Shizuma curtly replied, turned, and returned to her set chair, leaving an incredulous Tamao sitting with her mouth hanging open.
Needless to say, their brief scene, while wrapping smoothly, was full of tension.
Nagisa and Tamao sat in their respective set chairs waiting for their scenes to begin shooting.
"Nagisa-chan," Tamao said.
"Hmmm," Nagisa said as she read her script.
"Did you hear anything…unusual…this morning in the dressing rooms?" Tamao asked sheepishly.
Nagisa's audible gasp answered Tamao's question and she hung her head in embarrassment. When Nagisa looked up from her script and saw her friend, she lovingly placed her hand on Tamao's shoulder.
"Tamao-chan, you're certainly not the first one…nor will you be the last one…so don't worry about it," Nagisa reassured her friend.
Tamao looked up into Nagisa's smiling face and felt the majority of her embarrassment fade.
Their scenes wrapped quickly and smoothly. Sakoi Masayuki looked at his watch incredulous.
'How did we start the day seriously behind schedule and now are ahead of it?' Sakoi Masayuki scratched his head and wondered to himself.
After the lunch break, Nagisa and Shizuma didn't have to go far for their next scene, since they had lunch together by the lake. They discarded their lunch trash and chatted as they waited for their scene to begin shooting. Sakoi Masayuki was pleasantly surprised to find his two actors already on the set.
"ACTION!" Sakoi Masayuki yelled to cast and crew.
As Shizuma looked down at Nagisa resting in her lap, she felt her chest expanding with emotions. She wanted Nagisa, but promised herself she would take it slowly. Nagisa was rubbing the underside of Shizuma left thigh with her left hand through Shizuma's costume and enjoying every minute of it. Nagisa heard the change in Shizuma's breathing and smiled to herself that she got her desired response out of the older woman. It was driving Shizuma crazy with desire and she wanted to scream out of frustration. After the scene wrapped, Shizuma quickly returned to her dressing room, leaving Nagisa confused.
Nagisa's and Tamao's scenes wrapped quickly.
Nagisa was looking forward to her next scene making cookies, because she loved eating cookies. Nagisa still had a difficult time looking at Chihaya, so it was nice having Chikaru, Remon, and Kizuna in the same scene.
'I have been with Tamao-chan. Tamao-chan has been with Chihaya-chan. Chihaya-chan has been with me. This is really becoming incestuous,' Nagisa thought as she waited for the cookies to finish baking.
"Aoi-san, are you okay?" Chikaru asked as she placed her hand on Nagisa's shoulder.
"Huh?" Nagisa said coming out of her reverie.
"Are you okay?" Chikaru repeated.
"Hai, I was just thinking," Nagisa answered.
"About what, Aoi-san, if I may ask?" Chikaru asked.
"About how our community is really small," Nagisa said.
"Hai, it is that," Chikaru smiled.
"We can play 'Connect the Dykes' with this cast alone," Nagisa said sadly and continued, "Me and Tamao-chan and Chihaya-chan and Mizushima-san and Rokujou-san…"
"And me and Shion-chan," Chikaru finished Nagisa's sentence.
After what Chikaru said finally registered in Nagisa's brain, she stared at Chikaru incredulous.
"Hai Aoi-san, it's true," Chikaru answered Nagisa's unasked question.
"You and Rokujou-san?" Nagisa asked incredulous.
"Hai, for three years, until I met Shion-chan on a project. Miyuki-chan and I came out together," Chikaru said wistfully.
Before Nagisa could ask Chikaru any further questions, the cookies were done and shooting resumed. The remainder of the scene wrapped fairly smoothly, considering Chikaru's and Kizuna's antics once again disrupted production.
Nagisa quickly wrapped up her scenes. As she shot her brief scene with Miyuki, her thoughts drifted back to what Chikaru disclosed to her earlier.
As Shizuma and Nagisa shot their scene in the greenhouse, the sexual feelings from earlier at the lake rushed back for both women. They did their best to maintain their professionalism and everything went well, until the part in the scene where Shizuma and Nagisa trip and Shizuma ends up on top of Nagisa. Nagisa lost all control of her professionalism with Shizuma on top of her. She ran her right hand along Shizuma's left thigh through the older woman's costume. Shizuma bit down hard on her lower lip, trying to control the lust quickly taking control of her body. Nagisa moved her hand from Shizuma's thigh up to her left hip. Their eyes locked and they slowly drew in closer. Shizuma tilted her head to the side and their lips drew closer…closer…closer.
"CUT!" Sakoi Masayuki yelled to cast and crew.
Both women froze, gathered their wits about them, and deeply exhaled. They wrapped the scene after a short break.
Kagome sat in Chiyo's set chair with Chiyo seated comfortably in Kagome's lap. Chiyo ran her fingers through Kagome's hair and playfully kissed her. Tamao walked up to the happy couple.
"Where is Nagisa-chan?" Tamao asked.
"Probably still shooting her scene in the greenhouse," Chiyo said without looking at Tamao.
"Okay," Tamao said and returned to her set chair.
From her set chair, several feet away from Chiyo and Kagome, Tamao overheard Kagome's comment to Chiyo.
"No lusting after Suzumi-san," Kagome warned Chiyo.
Tamao felt herself blush as she smiled and enjoyed her new status as a 'stud.'
The remaining episode scenes wrapped quickly, much to the delight of everyone, because for once, the day ended at a reasonable hour.