Watashi no Sekai o Kaeru Chapter 11: Saying Goodbye part 1
Author: cammie13iyen
Title: Watashi no Sekai o Kaeru
Pairing: Morimoto Ryutaro X OC
Rating : PG
Type: Chaptered
Summary : Villa Mae went to live with her aunt in Japan where she was sent to study at Horikoshi Gakuen. She had always admired Japan and she was an avid fan of Morimoto Ryutaro of Hey Say Jump. She never imagined that Ryutaro would be the exact opposite of what she had expected...would she still fall in love with him? :)
As expected, Ryutaro didn’t come.
Not on their date of course. Mae would have had him killed even before he can utter the word “gomen”. No, she was referring on their Christmas party. Actually, Ryutaro had warned him beforehand that he can’t come yet Mae still expected him to appear out of the blue.
“Meri Kurisumasu!” a voice greeted from behind.
Mae spun around. It was Daisuke, smiling ever so cutely. She greeted him back with slightly forced enthusiasm. Daisuke noticed that she was gripping her cell phone tightly in her hand.
“Waiting for Morimoto-kun?” he asked.
“Eto…not really,” replied Mae.
“Jump’s concert would be this coming Monday. Of course he wouldn’t come if he doesn’t want to get kicked out of the group,” said Daisuke in a matter-of-fact.
“Ah…hai…” said Mae, suddenly disgruntled. Daisuke had just spoken the words that she knew deep in her heart yet she can’t accept.
“Come, Mae-chan,” said Daisuke encouragingly. “You should enjoy the party.”
And so, Mae had no choice but to join her classmates in celebrating the upcoming Christmas. She participated in the games and even won a chocolate bar in their made-up singing contest. She smiled, laughed, and chatted with her classmates but still, the thought that Ryutaro wasn’t there to have fun with her still lingers in her mind. It just feels empty inside…
After they have all been happily fed and watered, they decided to conduct the exchanging of gifts. Mae didn’t really look forward to that part since her gift was supposed to be given to Ryutaro. So, she just lurked silently on one corner. When her name was called, she was surprised to see Keiko walking towards her with a gift clasped on her hand. Apparently, Keiko was the lucky person who picked her name for the exchange giving.
“Meri Kurisumasu…” Keiko muttered. “Mae-chan.”
“Arigatou...” Mae answered softly, taking the gift from Keiko’s hand. “Merry Christmas, too…”
They stayed silent for a while and then…
“Does this mean─”
“Mae-chan, I’m not─”
They gazed stupidly at each other for a few seconds, dazed that they both tried to speak something at the same time, and then they suddenly burst into small giggles at the awkwardness.
“Okay, you first,” Keiko said after a while, a hideous smile still etched on her face.
“Eto…Keiko-chan, are you still angry with me?” Mae asked seriously.
“Hmmm…” Keiko said thoughtfully. “Maybe yes, maybe no? Well, ok…maybe just a little.”
“ARIGATOU!” Mae indignantly stood up and hugged her. She just can’t express her feelings of having her friend back. It was very lonely at that period when Keiko was still not uttering a single word to her and Mika, her other friend, was forced to follow her example.
“Hora, I’m not saying we’re friends again but…” Keiko trailed off.
“Demo nani??”
“I definitely won’t lose to you when it comes to Chinen-senpai!” Keiko grinned.
Mae can’t help but grin back. She was so happy she felt like exploding. Mika went also by their side. She was delighted with the turnout of events. Mae felt as if Christmas came a bit earlier than expected.
“Finally! Keiko actually listened to me!” said Mika cheerily.
“Maa, you talk sense once in a while,” Keiko nodded.
“What’s that supposed to mean?!”
“Nanimonai~!” Keiko said in a singsong voice.
“Really Keiko, I thought you’re the silent type…” said Mae, smiling.
“When it comes to love, I’m wild!” She said proudly. Mika and Mae chuckled.
“But believe me when I say, I won’t hand Chinen-senpai without a fight!” She added.
“Hai hai!” Mae answered enthusiastically.
They continued to chat happily for several minutes. Keiko urged Mae to open the gift she just handed to her. Mae was delighted to see that it was Hey! Say! JUMP’s new single she’d been looking for in the past few days. Now, she finally has something she can give to her sister when she sees her. Mae was just thinking how she’d be able to get the members of that group to sign the cd jacket when Mika eventually spoke.
“Anyway, Mae-chan…”
“Hmmm…?” answered Mae, still not taking her eyes away from the cd.
“I know you’ve been waiting for him.”
Mae suddenly averted her gaze to Mika. She wasn’t able to answer right away. It felt as if words were stuck on the edge of her tongue. Keiko, on the other hand, was gaping at Mae. She was obviously thinking about who the hell Mika was referring to when suddenly, comprehension dawned at her.
Don’t lie!” Keiko said right away.
Mae looked at her then sighed in defeat.
“He won’t be able to come today,” said Mae softly. “He’s busy…”
“But maybe if you ask him─”
“I’m not going to disturb him even if I have something really important to say…”
“Eh? What’s that?” Mika and Keiko seemed very intrigued.
“Well…the truth is…” said Mae, rather hesitantly. “I’m going back to the Philippines.”
Mae was satisfied with the effect she had imposed upon her friends. It was more than what she had predicted. Mika actually clapped her hand to cover her mouth while Keiko stood frozen on the spot. After a few seconds, when the two of them finally regained their composure, Mika decided to break the silence.
“Seriously?” was all Mika was able to say.
“Really, it’s just for the winter vacation,” said Mae.
Keiko deeply sighed in relief and then as she looked up at Mae, restored her smile.
“I thought you’d really be gone for good!” Keiko said. “Mataku! Scaring us for nothing…just when we made up…”
Mae chuckled. “Gomen ne?”
“So…” Mika interjected. “Itsuka (When)?”
“My flight is booked on the 16th,” answered Mae.
“Hayai…that’s just three days from now…” said Mika thoughtfully.
“Ne…” said Keiko. “How are you going to tell him?”
“Well...we’re going out tomorrow and─”
“HONTOU?!!” Keiko said hyperactively. Mika glared at her. “I mean…uhm…sou desu ka?”
Mae chuckled. “Yeah and I was planning to tell him then.”
“Mae-chan, how will you actually say it to him?” Mika asked.
“No idea…” Mae admitted.
“How about, ‘Morimo-chan, see you next year!’?” Keiko suggested. Mika and Mae stared stupidly at her.
“Nani?” Keiko asked uncertainly.
“Keiko, you’re weird,” said Mika seriously.
“Un…” Mae nodded in agreement.
“Oi!”
“Anyway,” said Mae out of a sudden. “I think I’ll just say it naturally when the time comes.”
“Sou…” said Mika quietly.
“Then, have you told Chinen-senpai about that?” asked Keiko.
“That too…” said Mae, sighing. “Aaaah~ taihen muzukashii (This is really difficult)…”
“Mae-chan,” Keiko rolled her eyes. “You’re perfectly aware that you won’t be able to see senpai ‘til January, right?”
“I know…” uttered Mae. “I’m just going to text him, then.”
“Honestly, you’re no love expert,” Keiko sighed then grinned widely. “Want me to teach you?”
“No thanks.”
Keiko continued to rant about love techniques which Mae was very much glad to refuse. After too much insisting and refusing, Mika joined their little quarrel. She was siding with Keiko that Mae should take a move quickly before others do so. Keiko was emphasizing that her techniques are only for Ryutaro and not for Chinen. Mae laughed a lot but still, bad thoughts continued to haunt her already bewildered mind. Now, as she was clutching her phone tightly in her left hand, she can’t help thinking that all she has to do for now and stay fixed while waiting for the planned day to arrive.