Other Fruit
Title: Other Fruit
Genre: Shoujo ai, alternate scene for Episode #1
Series: Orange Days
Pairing: Takagi Maho x Alisa
Rating: U
Disclaimer: Characters created and owned by Kitagawa Eriko and TBS
banner courtesy of automated_icons
semi-related plug: sentai_ai
note: apologies to Jeanette Winterson
"With my eyes, I fell in love with your figure," She whispered gently, her hands unconsciously moving to form the words in sign as her eyes remained fixed upon the point between the soft green grass and the grey building horizon of the campus. "With my ears, I fell in love with your voice."
Takagi Maho hadn't intended to look, she felt uncommonly certain of that. There were greater things to occupy her mind, or so she liked to believe, than the distraction of passers-by. Certainly she liked to regard herself as someone who wouldn't pry into another's business and yet here she found herself, hands still moving in ever-declining movements and eyes straining to maintain contact with the windswept and emotional shape of the girl in the pink coat as her sharp heels dug deeper into the soft grass and she wiped tears away from her eyes upon her sleeves.
It was the sound of those shoes, initially so loud upon the concrete path before the girl had stomped directly into the centre of the green expanse, that had so caught Takagi's attention. Again she reminded herself that she wasn't the kind of person to interfere and tried to turn away, yet found her eyes utterly unwilling to do so. Her concentration was mutinous, she concluded and perhaps she had been sitting in the sun for too long.
Before she could fully comprehend the significance of her actions she was rising from the bench, a murmured apology slipping from her lips in the vague hope of explaining her actions to the three younger girls lined upon the bench's opposite side.
As her legs began to move, her own fashionable, if practical choice of footwear leaving the path in pursuit of the tracks before her, she reflected that this was the second time in a matter of days that she had abandoned her students because of personal distractions. A small flower of guilt blossomed in her stomach at the thought, its petals widening further as she remember that the previous, intended one-off occasion had been on behalf of Kai-kun. As swiftly as the thought had emerged she suppressed it, not fully understanding the sudden fervour of her attempts to put him out of her mind but doing so none the less.
Whilst the thought may have departed, the guilt remained and, as she closed the distance between her and the swish of the girl's pink coat and her sinking heels, she remembered their conversation in the dark the night before and her confession of feeling undeserving.
"Excuse me." The words jumped from her lips as if born of some desperate need to cancel out all memory of him.
The girl in the pink raincoat staggered slightly, her resolve faltering and her trembling legs almost sinking her down into the grass before her. She turned, struggling to preserve some small amount of dignity and looked upon Takagi with dark eyes, brimming with tears. Her makeup had smudged into thick lines and her lipstick had worn away from her persistent habit of biting her lower lip.
"What do you want?" She wailed, her voice wracked with sobs.
Takagi blinked, somewhat taken aback by such a direct demand.
"I-I noticed you were unhappy." She said softly. "I wanted to make sure you were okay."
"No, I'm not okay!" The girl sobbed, sniffing loudly and wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her coat once more. Takagi found her eyes drifting and noticed the thick lines of dark smudge, etched over and over again upon the sleeve. She smiled sadly and reached into her pockets for a handkerchief.
"Would you like to talk about it?" She asked softly, holding out the handkerchief.
The girl's dark, wide eyes looked from her to the offered handkerchief and back. With a whimper she snatched the other girl's offered kindness and dabbed at her eyes.
"What's there to talk about? I was stupid to not have noticed sooner!" She said.
The flower of guilt blossomed once more in the pit of Takagi's stomach.
"Was it another girl?" She asked, hazarding a guess at the nature of the younger girl's misery.
"No!" The other wailed, the tears streaming once more from her swollen eyes. "It was another man!"
Takagi felt a chill run up her spine.
"A-Another man, you say?" She asked.
"Yes! How many more times do you want me to say it? It was another man!" The girl continued. "Him and that friend of his, those...transvestites!" She spat the word with contempt.
"W-What was his name?" Takagi asked, her voice soft and calm despite the raging emotions that suddenly threatened to overcome her.
The younger girl looked at her with defiance for a moment and then broke down in tears, throwing herself forwards and into Takagi's unsuspecting arms.
"Aida Shohei!" She cried, burying her face into Takagi's neck. "His name was Aida Shohei!"
Sweat broke out upon her palms and forehead, a single bead of moisture running down her spine as she added two and two together and whispered;
"Kai-kun?"
The flower in her stomach shattered into shards of ice, melting away along with all her concern. She flinched for a moment and then gently weaved her fingers between the strands of the younger girl's hair, lifting her face once more to the soft daylight of the spring morning.
"What's your name?" She whispered, her voice suddenly full of conviction.
"Alisa." The younger girl answered, chewing her lower lip and looking up at her with all the guileless hurt of a child.
Without breaking eye contact, Takagi leant forwards and gently bit the other girl's lower lip, eliciting a gasp of surprise that opened her mouth. The older girl pushed harder, their lips meeting forcefully in the absence of space between them, her tongue pushing forwards and teasing gently across the back of the other's teeth.
The world faded away into silence, it was as if she had abandoned sound, confining herself to an existence pushed up against the warm, tear-stained cheeks of the younger girl before her. And in the end it wasn't sight, nor was it sound but rather touch that told Takagi Maho just how to fall in love. In her arms, Alisa trembled and sighed and she closed her eyes. The world crumbled in silence.
Genre: Shoujo ai, alternate scene for Episode #1
Series: Orange Days
Pairing: Takagi Maho x Alisa
Rating: U
Disclaimer: Characters created and owned by Kitagawa Eriko and TBS
banner courtesy of automated_icons
semi-related plug: sentai_ai
note: apologies to Jeanette Winterson
"With my eyes, I fell in love with your figure," She whispered gently, her hands unconsciously moving to form the words in sign as her eyes remained fixed upon the point between the soft green grass and the grey building horizon of the campus. "With my ears, I fell in love with your voice."
Takagi Maho hadn't intended to look, she felt uncommonly certain of that. There were greater things to occupy her mind, or so she liked to believe, than the distraction of passers-by. Certainly she liked to regard herself as someone who wouldn't pry into another's business and yet here she found herself, hands still moving in ever-declining movements and eyes straining to maintain contact with the windswept and emotional shape of the girl in the pink coat as her sharp heels dug deeper into the soft grass and she wiped tears away from her eyes upon her sleeves.
It was the sound of those shoes, initially so loud upon the concrete path before the girl had stomped directly into the centre of the green expanse, that had so caught Takagi's attention. Again she reminded herself that she wasn't the kind of person to interfere and tried to turn away, yet found her eyes utterly unwilling to do so. Her concentration was mutinous, she concluded and perhaps she had been sitting in the sun for too long.
Before she could fully comprehend the significance of her actions she was rising from the bench, a murmured apology slipping from her lips in the vague hope of explaining her actions to the three younger girls lined upon the bench's opposite side.
As her legs began to move, her own fashionable, if practical choice of footwear leaving the path in pursuit of the tracks before her, she reflected that this was the second time in a matter of days that she had abandoned her students because of personal distractions. A small flower of guilt blossomed in her stomach at the thought, its petals widening further as she remember that the previous, intended one-off occasion had been on behalf of Kai-kun. As swiftly as the thought had emerged she suppressed it, not fully understanding the sudden fervour of her attempts to put him out of her mind but doing so none the less.
Whilst the thought may have departed, the guilt remained and, as she closed the distance between her and the swish of the girl's pink coat and her sinking heels, she remembered their conversation in the dark the night before and her confession of feeling undeserving.
"Excuse me." The words jumped from her lips as if born of some desperate need to cancel out all memory of him.
The girl in the pink raincoat staggered slightly, her resolve faltering and her trembling legs almost sinking her down into the grass before her. She turned, struggling to preserve some small amount of dignity and looked upon Takagi with dark eyes, brimming with tears. Her makeup had smudged into thick lines and her lipstick had worn away from her persistent habit of biting her lower lip.
"What do you want?" She wailed, her voice wracked with sobs.
Takagi blinked, somewhat taken aback by such a direct demand.
"I-I noticed you were unhappy." She said softly. "I wanted to make sure you were okay."
"No, I'm not okay!" The girl sobbed, sniffing loudly and wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her coat once more. Takagi found her eyes drifting and noticed the thick lines of dark smudge, etched over and over again upon the sleeve. She smiled sadly and reached into her pockets for a handkerchief.
"Would you like to talk about it?" She asked softly, holding out the handkerchief.
The girl's dark, wide eyes looked from her to the offered handkerchief and back. With a whimper she snatched the other girl's offered kindness and dabbed at her eyes.
"What's there to talk about? I was stupid to not have noticed sooner!" She said.
The flower of guilt blossomed once more in the pit of Takagi's stomach.
"Was it another girl?" She asked, hazarding a guess at the nature of the younger girl's misery.
"No!" The other wailed, the tears streaming once more from her swollen eyes. "It was another man!"
Takagi felt a chill run up her spine.
"A-Another man, you say?" She asked.
"Yes! How many more times do you want me to say it? It was another man!" The girl continued. "Him and that friend of his, those...transvestites!" She spat the word with contempt.
"W-What was his name?" Takagi asked, her voice soft and calm despite the raging emotions that suddenly threatened to overcome her.
The younger girl looked at her with defiance for a moment and then broke down in tears, throwing herself forwards and into Takagi's unsuspecting arms.
"Aida Shohei!" She cried, burying her face into Takagi's neck. "His name was Aida Shohei!"
Sweat broke out upon her palms and forehead, a single bead of moisture running down her spine as she added two and two together and whispered;
"Kai-kun?"
The flower in her stomach shattered into shards of ice, melting away along with all her concern. She flinched for a moment and then gently weaved her fingers between the strands of the younger girl's hair, lifting her face once more to the soft daylight of the spring morning.
"What's your name?" She whispered, her voice suddenly full of conviction.
"Alisa." The younger girl answered, chewing her lower lip and looking up at her with all the guileless hurt of a child.
Without breaking eye contact, Takagi leant forwards and gently bit the other girl's lower lip, eliciting a gasp of surprise that opened her mouth. The older girl pushed harder, their lips meeting forcefully in the absence of space between them, her tongue pushing forwards and teasing gently across the back of the other's teeth.
The world faded away into silence, it was as if she had abandoned sound, confining herself to an existence pushed up against the warm, tear-stained cheeks of the younger girl before her. And in the end it wasn't sight, nor was it sound but rather touch that told Takagi Maho just how to fall in love. In her arms, Alisa trembled and sighed and she closed her eyes. The world crumbled in silence.