[SK] fic: Twin Stars ch11: food shows no boundaries
I need more time. Gah. I cannot believe that April is almost over. I still feel like it was just yesterday that it turned 2008. *sigh*
Does anyone have any Spring anime to recommend? ;___; I haven't been able to follow anything. Not too sure what's out there. I've only been watching Chi's Sweet Home because that comes out every day and it's only around 3 minutes long. And Chi is ridiculously cute.
I did watch Avatar The Boiling Rock. It was awesome. Loved who they chose to focus on. And now I want moooore. ):
...it's already been a month since I last updated this fic? Drats. I was hoping to be more timely. D:
Title: Twin Stars
Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King.
Notes: for au100 theme #59 'food'
Words: ~1700
Archive: lj / ffnet
-----chapter 11: food shows no boundaries-----
The energetic blue haired girl hummed merrily to herself as she made her way to the dressing room. Today, she was here to help Ha-chan finalize her image for her upcoming concert. Pirika squirmed at the thought of Ha-chan on stage. Imagine that! An idol that she tended to was going to be on stage! Pirika was responsible for a number of idols' appearances, but none of them had gained popularity as fast as Ha-chan had.
She continued humming as she approached the corner. She could hear her brother's loud voice nearby.
"Hey, that's mine!" he exclaimed indignantly. "You tricked me again!" He sounded like he was arguing with someone, and that someone had the upper hand. Pirika strained her ears to hear who exactly he was arguing with, but the other person's voice was much softer than her brother's.
She jovially sped up her steps. When she rounded the corner, she was greeted by the sight of her brother and...Ha-chan! Horo Horo looked like he had just leaped up from the sofa--his spiky hair drifted up with his motion. He made a wild grab at something Ha-chan held in her hands, but she calmly raised her arms out of reach. Horo Horo ended up crashing into the sofa that Ha-chan was sitting on.
Pirika winced for her brother.
"Umph!" Horo Horo landed face flat into the sofa, his face precariously close to Ha-chan's. The idol merely scooted away and opened the wrapped curry bun. She took a bite out of the bun, all the while smirking at Horo Horo's dismayed pout.
Pirika stood still at the corner. Since when had her brother and Ha-chan gotten so close? She hadn't even known that they knew each other! They hadn't had any jobs together yet. She would have known if they had. After all, she knew every little detail about her brother's schedule.
Her hands tightened around the straps of her bag. Her first reaction had been to jump out at them to scare her brother, but she was rooted to the spot. She had mentioned tons of wonderful things about Ha-chan to her brother, since she truly admired the rising idol, but she hadn't thought that they'd hit it off so well. It was weird seeing her brother get along with a girl.
She backed away from the corner, puzzled about why she was feeling unsettled.
She ended up taking a roundabout way to the dressing room.
-----
When Hao entered the dressing room, he was in a good mood. He thought that meeting the blue-headed brother of Pirika would have made his days even more miserable than before, but Horo Horo actually had the opposite effect. Hao found it refreshing having a guy his age around, even if said guy was loud and brash and entirely unlike anyone Hao had thought he'd associate with. Caught in the fiercely competitive idol world where idols like Anna were watching his every move, it was a welcome break to meet someone like Horo Horo. The other boy spoke his mind freely and often acted before thinking, a rare thing indeed in the idol world.
Hao was in such a good mood that he greeted his blue-headed tormentor with a cheerful smile instead of the grimace that easily overtook him whenever Pirika was involved with his makeup and outfitting. Pirika had her bag open, the contents scattered all over the counter. He was prepared for her bubbly greeting, but today Pirika merely nodded at Hao before going back to sorting her cosmetics.
There was something up with the girl.
His cheerful smile remained as he sat down in front of the mirror. He busied himself with his hair and watched the girl through the mirror by sliding his eyes just slightly off his own reflection.
She didn't have her usual bright smile that threatened to split her face. She had her lips pursed as she rummaged through the contents of her bag, and her poise was far from confident.
"Here we go," she said when she finally found the comb and the spray bottle she had been looking for.
When Pirika started on Hao's hair, he continued studying her through the mirror. Normally, whenever he glanced at her through the mirror, she would catch his eyes and grin at him. Today however, she had her eyes trained on his hair as she slid her hands through his hair rhythmically.
Why was she so subdued?
The pish pish of the spray bottle and the swish swish of Pirika's rhythmic combing were the only sounds that could be heard in the otherwise silent dressing room. Hao remained patiently silent in his observation.
Soon, Pirika's hands stilled.
"Hey..." came the tentative voice of Horo Horo's little sister.
Hao smirked inwardly. He long since learned that silence was often the best probe for information. People loved to fill in the silence, giving themselves away without his having to say a word.
"Have you..." she paused and then started with a louder voice. "Have you met my brother yet?"
He nearly raised his eyebrows at the question. He hadn't expected such a question. What did Pirika's brother have to do with anything? Horo Horo had nothing to do with his upcoming concert. He wasn't a singer either, and even if he were, Horo Horo wasn't a female singer that Hao was competing against.
"I met him a few days ago. Why do you ask?"
Hao's curiosity had been spiked.
"Oh um, I was just wondering, that's all. I wondered if the two of you would get along. You don't seem to get along with people too well, but my brother's a natural! He's pretty weak against girls though," she said jokingly.
"Ah, well, we get along fine," he said.
His smile brightened, and he saw Pirika's expression darken in response. Hm, there was definitely something going on there.
"Ow!" he exclaimed when Pirika yanked on his hair with more force than necessary.
"Sorry, there was a huge tangle in your hair."
He knew that there was no such thing as a tangle in his hair. He had combed his hair several times before coming to the studio today. It was perfectly sleek.
He let her impudence slide. He was more curious about what was up with her. When they finished with last minute changes to his outfit and his hairstyle, they left the dressing room together.
And lo and behold, there stood Horo Horo next to the sliding doors of the studio's entrance. His proximity to the door kept the door open, letting warm air to drift in. The warmth tingled Hao's cold skin, chilled by the freezing air-conditioning of the studio.
Horo Horo turned around, somehow sensing their approach. A large smile came over his face. "Oh hey, the two of you are done too? I just finished with my recording. It was great!"
"Hi Horo Horo," said Hao with a friendly smile. He had pretenses to keep up after all. Right after his warm greeting, Pirika pushed past him. Hao caught himself before he ran into the potted plant that guarded the entrance, his eyes blazing.
"Hey Pirika!" exclaimed Horo Horo as his sister stomped past him through the open doors without even saying hi. Horo Horo was at a lost to his sister's reaction.
Hao calmed down as he glanced between Pirika's diminishing figure and Horo Horo's bewildered expression. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in Hao's head.
Her sullen demeanor. Her questions about her brother. Her darkening expression when he told her that they got along.
Pirika was jealous. She thought that he was stealing her brother away from her.
Hao almost laughed.
He was certainly no threat in that sense...not that either of the two knew that.
His eyes gleamed. This gave him an idea of the perfect way to crumble Anna's confidence. What better way than winning her companions over? First, he'll start with that pink-haired manager of hers that he always saw with her.
Tamamura Tamao.
-----
The pink-haired manager that Hao had plans for smiled happily to herself as she closed the door behind her. She knew nothing about what Hao had in store for her, or else she would not be smiling. She was happy because Anna-sama had just praised her for keeping everything in order while she was away in Izumo. Tamao hugged her binder to herself. She treasured Anna-sama's praise because they were very rare.
"Something good happen?" asked an amused voice out of the blue.
Tamao jumped, an audible gasp escaping from her lips. She quickly glanced up.
In front of her stood who Tamao knew must be Ha-chan, the idol who had risen through the ranks at an alarming speed. Tamao had not yet had direct contact with Ha-chan. She had only ever passed by the idol in the hallways. Never before had Tamao stood so closely next to the rising idol. Never before had the new idol spoken to Tamao face-to-face.
With Ha-chan right in front of her, Tamao couldn't help but see how closely Ha-chan and Yoh-san resembled each other. They were identical down to the curve of their cheekbones and the slant of their noses. Not many people would be able to tell them apart without Ha-chan's telling attire, but Tamao was one of the rare few who could tell them apart. She had spent years watching Yoh-san and waiting for him to turn around and look at her. She knew Yoh-san in and out.
He always left her blushing, but she was never uncomfortable around him. Now that Tamao found herself facing Ha-chan, who looked so much like Yoh-san, she could feel her telltale blush blooming. She breathed in deeply, trying to suppress her blush. This was Ha-chan standing in front of her, not Yoh-san! Besides, Ha-chan was a girl just like her. Her mind knew all this, but her blush refused to recede.
Unlike the comfort she felt with Yoh-san however, just being near Ha-chan made Tamao shiver. Ha-chan had an atmosphere entirely unlike most people Tamao knew.
"Um, it's, uh, well," stuttered Tamao, unable to string together a coherent sentence.
The idol raised her eyebrows. Before Tamao was able to explain herself, her stomach growled.
Tamao blanched and hugged her binder even closer to herself, her back almost against the door. This was so embarrassing!
Her cheeks even redder than before, she glanced at Ha-chan through her fringe, fully expecting a smirk. The smirk was there all right, but Tamao only caught a glimpse of it before Ha-chan shoved something at her.
"Here, take this," murmured Ha-chan.
The pink-haired manager blinked and grasped the thing that Ha-chan had shoved at her. It was a package of curry chips.
"T-thank you...?" said Tamao uncertainly. Ha-chan merely waved Tamao's thanks off as she walked away.
Tamao sagged against the door. She looked down at the package of curry chips in her hand and then at the now empty corridor.
What had all that been about?
-----
to be continued
-----
And the next chapter will finally be the start of the concert. 8D This chapter was so hard to write since it's mostly...filler.
Does anyone have any Spring anime to recommend? ;___; I haven't been able to follow anything. Not too sure what's out there. I've only been watching Chi's Sweet Home because that comes out every day and it's only around 3 minutes long. And Chi is ridiculously cute.
I did watch Avatar The Boiling Rock. It was awesome. Loved who they chose to focus on. And now I want moooore. ):
...it's already been a month since I last updated this fic? Drats. I was hoping to be more timely. D:
Title: Twin Stars
Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King.
Notes: for au100 theme #59 'food'
Words: ~1700
Archive: lj / ffnet
-----chapter 11: food shows no boundaries-----
The energetic blue haired girl hummed merrily to herself as she made her way to the dressing room. Today, she was here to help Ha-chan finalize her image for her upcoming concert. Pirika squirmed at the thought of Ha-chan on stage. Imagine that! An idol that she tended to was going to be on stage! Pirika was responsible for a number of idols' appearances, but none of them had gained popularity as fast as Ha-chan had.
She continued humming as she approached the corner. She could hear her brother's loud voice nearby.
"Hey, that's mine!" he exclaimed indignantly. "You tricked me again!" He sounded like he was arguing with someone, and that someone had the upper hand. Pirika strained her ears to hear who exactly he was arguing with, but the other person's voice was much softer than her brother's.
She jovially sped up her steps. When she rounded the corner, she was greeted by the sight of her brother and...Ha-chan! Horo Horo looked like he had just leaped up from the sofa--his spiky hair drifted up with his motion. He made a wild grab at something Ha-chan held in her hands, but she calmly raised her arms out of reach. Horo Horo ended up crashing into the sofa that Ha-chan was sitting on.
Pirika winced for her brother.
"Umph!" Horo Horo landed face flat into the sofa, his face precariously close to Ha-chan's. The idol merely scooted away and opened the wrapped curry bun. She took a bite out of the bun, all the while smirking at Horo Horo's dismayed pout.
Pirika stood still at the corner. Since when had her brother and Ha-chan gotten so close? She hadn't even known that they knew each other! They hadn't had any jobs together yet. She would have known if they had. After all, she knew every little detail about her brother's schedule.
Her hands tightened around the straps of her bag. Her first reaction had been to jump out at them to scare her brother, but she was rooted to the spot. She had mentioned tons of wonderful things about Ha-chan to her brother, since she truly admired the rising idol, but she hadn't thought that they'd hit it off so well. It was weird seeing her brother get along with a girl.
She backed away from the corner, puzzled about why she was feeling unsettled.
She ended up taking a roundabout way to the dressing room.
-----
When Hao entered the dressing room, he was in a good mood. He thought that meeting the blue-headed brother of Pirika would have made his days even more miserable than before, but Horo Horo actually had the opposite effect. Hao found it refreshing having a guy his age around, even if said guy was loud and brash and entirely unlike anyone Hao had thought he'd associate with. Caught in the fiercely competitive idol world where idols like Anna were watching his every move, it was a welcome break to meet someone like Horo Horo. The other boy spoke his mind freely and often acted before thinking, a rare thing indeed in the idol world.
Hao was in such a good mood that he greeted his blue-headed tormentor with a cheerful smile instead of the grimace that easily overtook him whenever Pirika was involved with his makeup and outfitting. Pirika had her bag open, the contents scattered all over the counter. He was prepared for her bubbly greeting, but today Pirika merely nodded at Hao before going back to sorting her cosmetics.
There was something up with the girl.
His cheerful smile remained as he sat down in front of the mirror. He busied himself with his hair and watched the girl through the mirror by sliding his eyes just slightly off his own reflection.
She didn't have her usual bright smile that threatened to split her face. She had her lips pursed as she rummaged through the contents of her bag, and her poise was far from confident.
"Here we go," she said when she finally found the comb and the spray bottle she had been looking for.
When Pirika started on Hao's hair, he continued studying her through the mirror. Normally, whenever he glanced at her through the mirror, she would catch his eyes and grin at him. Today however, she had her eyes trained on his hair as she slid her hands through his hair rhythmically.
Why was she so subdued?
The pish pish of the spray bottle and the swish swish of Pirika's rhythmic combing were the only sounds that could be heard in the otherwise silent dressing room. Hao remained patiently silent in his observation.
Soon, Pirika's hands stilled.
"Hey..." came the tentative voice of Horo Horo's little sister.
Hao smirked inwardly. He long since learned that silence was often the best probe for information. People loved to fill in the silence, giving themselves away without his having to say a word.
"Have you..." she paused and then started with a louder voice. "Have you met my brother yet?"
He nearly raised his eyebrows at the question. He hadn't expected such a question. What did Pirika's brother have to do with anything? Horo Horo had nothing to do with his upcoming concert. He wasn't a singer either, and even if he were, Horo Horo wasn't a female singer that Hao was competing against.
"I met him a few days ago. Why do you ask?"
Hao's curiosity had been spiked.
"Oh um, I was just wondering, that's all. I wondered if the two of you would get along. You don't seem to get along with people too well, but my brother's a natural! He's pretty weak against girls though," she said jokingly.
"Ah, well, we get along fine," he said.
His smile brightened, and he saw Pirika's expression darken in response. Hm, there was definitely something going on there.
"Ow!" he exclaimed when Pirika yanked on his hair with more force than necessary.
"Sorry, there was a huge tangle in your hair."
He knew that there was no such thing as a tangle in his hair. He had combed his hair several times before coming to the studio today. It was perfectly sleek.
He let her impudence slide. He was more curious about what was up with her. When they finished with last minute changes to his outfit and his hairstyle, they left the dressing room together.
And lo and behold, there stood Horo Horo next to the sliding doors of the studio's entrance. His proximity to the door kept the door open, letting warm air to drift in. The warmth tingled Hao's cold skin, chilled by the freezing air-conditioning of the studio.
Horo Horo turned around, somehow sensing their approach. A large smile came over his face. "Oh hey, the two of you are done too? I just finished with my recording. It was great!"
"Hi Horo Horo," said Hao with a friendly smile. He had pretenses to keep up after all. Right after his warm greeting, Pirika pushed past him. Hao caught himself before he ran into the potted plant that guarded the entrance, his eyes blazing.
"Hey Pirika!" exclaimed Horo Horo as his sister stomped past him through the open doors without even saying hi. Horo Horo was at a lost to his sister's reaction.
Hao calmed down as he glanced between Pirika's diminishing figure and Horo Horo's bewildered expression. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in Hao's head.
Her sullen demeanor. Her questions about her brother. Her darkening expression when he told her that they got along.
Pirika was jealous. She thought that he was stealing her brother away from her.
Hao almost laughed.
He was certainly no threat in that sense...not that either of the two knew that.
His eyes gleamed. This gave him an idea of the perfect way to crumble Anna's confidence. What better way than winning her companions over? First, he'll start with that pink-haired manager of hers that he always saw with her.
Tamamura Tamao.
-----
The pink-haired manager that Hao had plans for smiled happily to herself as she closed the door behind her. She knew nothing about what Hao had in store for her, or else she would not be smiling. She was happy because Anna-sama had just praised her for keeping everything in order while she was away in Izumo. Tamao hugged her binder to herself. She treasured Anna-sama's praise because they were very rare.
"Something good happen?" asked an amused voice out of the blue.
Tamao jumped, an audible gasp escaping from her lips. She quickly glanced up.
In front of her stood who Tamao knew must be Ha-chan, the idol who had risen through the ranks at an alarming speed. Tamao had not yet had direct contact with Ha-chan. She had only ever passed by the idol in the hallways. Never before had Tamao stood so closely next to the rising idol. Never before had the new idol spoken to Tamao face-to-face.
With Ha-chan right in front of her, Tamao couldn't help but see how closely Ha-chan and Yoh-san resembled each other. They were identical down to the curve of their cheekbones and the slant of their noses. Not many people would be able to tell them apart without Ha-chan's telling attire, but Tamao was one of the rare few who could tell them apart. She had spent years watching Yoh-san and waiting for him to turn around and look at her. She knew Yoh-san in and out.
He always left her blushing, but she was never uncomfortable around him. Now that Tamao found herself facing Ha-chan, who looked so much like Yoh-san, she could feel her telltale blush blooming. She breathed in deeply, trying to suppress her blush. This was Ha-chan standing in front of her, not Yoh-san! Besides, Ha-chan was a girl just like her. Her mind knew all this, but her blush refused to recede.
Unlike the comfort she felt with Yoh-san however, just being near Ha-chan made Tamao shiver. Ha-chan had an atmosphere entirely unlike most people Tamao knew.
"Um, it's, uh, well," stuttered Tamao, unable to string together a coherent sentence.
The idol raised her eyebrows. Before Tamao was able to explain herself, her stomach growled.
Tamao blanched and hugged her binder even closer to herself, her back almost against the door. This was so embarrassing!
Her cheeks even redder than before, she glanced at Ha-chan through her fringe, fully expecting a smirk. The smirk was there all right, but Tamao only caught a glimpse of it before Ha-chan shoved something at her.
"Here, take this," murmured Ha-chan.
The pink-haired manager blinked and grasped the thing that Ha-chan had shoved at her. It was a package of curry chips.
"T-thank you...?" said Tamao uncertainly. Ha-chan merely waved Tamao's thanks off as she walked away.
Tamao sagged against the door. She looked down at the package of curry chips in her hand and then at the now empty corridor.
What had all that been about?
-----
to be continued
-----
And the next chapter will finally be the start of the concert. 8D This chapter was so hard to write since it's mostly...filler.