"My Eminent Serenity" | chapter 19

[columbin3]

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Sumika was already worried. If she counted it correctly, it has been three days since she noticed her sister, Ayako, acting weird. She didn't talk about random things, like the lame deodorant commercial or the talking American donkey, anymore. She abnormally craved too much for ice creams and suddenly called her during working hours asking her to buy chocolate or vanilla flavored ice cream on her way home. She kept on staying in her room, playing one of her war games again or just spacing out. She even caught her unusually drowned in thoughts while brushing her teeth one morning.

"Maybe this is her way to cope up with global warming..." She randomly concluded.

"Meow," Maya butted in front of her, sounding not amused with her ideas.

Sumika snickered as she caressed Maya's head. "Maya-chan, what do you think is happening to your Mama, ne?! If it’s not about global warming, then what? Failing grades, I guess..."

"Meow... meow..."

"No? Well, she's a person who thinks failing is not an option so maybe that's not really the problem..." Sumika suddenly looked pensive. She crossed her arms on her chest.

"AHH!" She exclaimed like an inward bulb just lighten up. "I have an idea!!!" A grin crept on her lips.

-x-x-x-

"I need to do a general cleaning for the entire house so I want you out!"

Ayako's eyes widened. She was lazily eating breakfast when her sister stormed in front of her with a stern look. "Y-you don't want me to help?" She asked in disbelief.

"No. You'll just be on the way." Sumika insisted.

"Eh?! Have you hit your head on some wall Oneechan? Or you ate spoiled food last night?!"

She raised an eyebrow to add some more physical authority over the situation, "Just go out of the house after you eat. I heard the manga you are currently following just published a special limited issue two days ago so buy it now! I know many other people are following it too so the manga store may run out of stocks..."

"SPECIAL LIMITED ISSUE?! Crap, why didn't I know about that!" Ayako cussed.

'She didn't know? This problem she has is really big for her to be not updated with the releases of her favorite manga...'

"Thanks Oneechan! I'll buy it now. I'll just take a bath..." She stood up and went straight to the sink and set her plate.

"I'll be the one to put your plate on the dishwasher, just do what you want to do now." Sumika ordered.

She nodded, "Hai, hai!!"

"And go to the library too. You've been in the house for quite a while; you should sharpen your knowledge to remain competitive in Toyo. I don't want to have a sister who failed in high school!" She added.

Ayako looked as her sister walked past her. "Okay but I don't want to fail either so don't worry." 'Not a Nakajima Yuto or anyone can be the reason for me to fail in Toyo. If this feeling will be a hindrance to my dreams, then I rather forget this. Tsk… Emotions, they really drive people crazy...'

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Ayako sighed. She entered the train quickly and sat to the nearest available seat. She felt lighter than she had three days ago but not as good as she usually did before what happened three days ago -- during Tanabata Festival. She missed being carefree, cheerful and happy.

'That was so stupid; I should not let it happen again to me. If I wouldn't be able to buy that limited issue, I won't forgive myself!' She decided as the train started its engine. While sitting, she realized how messed up she acted just because someone didn't accept her feelings so for her to forget about it, 'No Hey! Say! JUMP or Nakajima Yuto for today!!!' Her thoughts screamed.

Just in fifteen minutes, she would be arriving to her destination so she wandered her vision to look at the people inside the train, a habit she does every time she is in a train.

It was past the rush hour so the train wasn't full of people. There were few vacant seats but some people still chose to stand up. Ayako grimaced. 'Why don't they just use the seats? Those were put there to be sat on! I can't get their logic.'

She started an intrapersonal communication about it when a certain guy standing just in front of her caught her attention. His back was facing her which gave her a good chance to look at him from head to toe without being caught.

'Hmm... Why this guy does give me a thought that he is glimmering? Black hair, a slender body, gray shirt underneath a black cardigan, blue jeans, Converse shoes, a sling bag commonly used by people studying in colleges... Wait...' Her thoughts were disturbed by a realization. 'Why is this figure so familiar...?'

The guy in front of her turned to his right for a while, like something caught his attention outside the train giving her a brief view of the side of his face.

'INOO KEI?!'

Her eyes widened.

The guy, whom she guessed as Inoo, mumbled something to the person sitting in front of him. Ayako noticed it and slowly tilted her head, trying to get a view of who he was talking to. In the process, she was slightly squinting to help her eyes get some focus. Inwardly, she cursed herself for not wearing her eyeglasses on these kinds of situation.

Finally, she had a look at Inoo's company. 'And who is this guy...?'

Inoo said something that made the other guy laugh. He was trying hard not to laugh loud though as he covered his mouth. Inoo chuckled too. That brown hair covered barely by his cap and his small chuckling voice were so familiar that Ayako almost leaped from where she was sitting.

"Bingo!" She mouthed. 'That is Takaki Yuuya... And he is glittery too!'

She listened inattentively to them as she realized how indifferent she felt. 'Maybe if I'm only on the mood today, I should be giggling in front of these guys... But I don't know why I can't even feel that tingling sensation I used to have even just seeing their posters on a billboard. All I know, they just glitter! Nahh....'

Just then, she arrived at her destination. The train's automatic doors opened, she got out with Inoo in front of her. For some reasons, Takaki stayed inside the train.

'Maybe he is going somewhere alone...' She thought.

By the time they were outside, the mob of people seemed to have eaten Inoo alive. Within just a span of few seconds, she lost sight of him. Well, she was not really affected. She didn't have any plan of stalking him anyway.

'But to think that I saw two of the JUMP members when I intended to not even care about them just for today... this is so hilarious...!'

She was currently walking along the busy streets of Takadanobaba. People around her age was flooding the place trying to spend the remaining time of their summer vacation with their friends since school would start in less than two weeks. Ayako sighed. She hated crowded places, especially if she was not on the mood.

Somehow, she managed not to run out of patience as she made her way to her favorite manga store. Unfortunately, when she was just a meter away from the store’s entrance, she saw people flooding on it. She grimaced and turned around, walking away and unto the nearby music store.

When she entered the music store, a single of Arashi was on play. She wandered her sight and got satisfied seeing only few people inside. Just a guy talking to the old sales lady on the counter, another guy looking at the ROCK section and two girls giggling in front of the CD rack that contained all the JE singles currently released.

She breathed in and started walking around; taking a look at some CDs when her eyes met "JUMP no. 1".

"Okay, as what I have said, NO Hey! Say! JUMP!" She muttered as she walked to the back part of the store, where the guy she saw earlier looking at the ROCK section had transferred to the FOREIGN section.

She heard the guy muttering something as his eyes roamed the titles of the album. As curious as her cats, she took a look at the guy on the corner of her eyes. She really felt that there was something weird about him so she thought she just wanted to check. The guy was dressed in black and donning a cap.

"Hmm..." The guy moaned and took a CD. If she correctly read it, it was Eminem's 'Recovery' album.

The guy turned to her direction with a smile. With that, she clearly saw his face as he passed across her and her eyes widened. To add it up, the guy was humming a familiar song too -- SCORE.

'YAOTOME HIKARU....' She mouthed in disbelief.

Okay, three down, seven more to go.

On that instant, Ayako wanted to sprawl down to the floor. 'Why is fate making fun of me?!'

Then she went out of the music store, feeling heavier than how she did earlier. She was already in the verge of riding the train to go back home and sleep or play one of her war games but something was forcing her to stay in Takadanobaba -- the special limited edition of the manga she was currently following.

She grumbled something incoherent as she forced her way through the crowd of people in front of the manga store. When she found a spacious area, she immediately ran to it and panted heavily.

"Gahh! How annoying..." She commented before walking towards the NEW RELEASES section of the store. Fortunately, the people who were flooding the store were not aiming for the new releases but instead to a guy sitting on the other end of the establishment. He looked like a manga-ka since he was signing some books from the people lining in front of him.

Ayako sighed, "At least they are not here to compete with me for the special limited edition..."

As she looked at the new released mangas, her eyes widened and immediately grabbed a red-covered manga from the shelf. She held it with both her hands while looking from left to right...

"Wow!" She exclaimed. She realized that it was the last piece of the special limited edition of that certain manga.

"Lucky! ~" She sang as she stared happily at the manga on her hands.

"Ehhh!"

She heard someone blurted at her back but ignored it. She was already happy and contented to finally hold the manga with her hands and she badly wanted to go home.

Ayako was about to walk away when a person caught his attention, "Sumimasen..." She thought it was the same person who exclaimed something in surprise behind her just a while ago.

She turned around, "Nani?" And almost drop the precious manga on the floor together with her jaw, figuratively, when she recognized who was calling her attention. 'ARIOKA DAIKI...?'

"I'm sorry to disturb you but may I ask if that is the special limited edition of The Detective Prince manga?" The guy, who was actually Arioka Daiki of Hey! Say! JUMP, asked. He was wearing a brown printed shirt, gray pants, and sunglasses on his head with a genuine smile on his face.

'Yabai...~' "Hai! This is the last one, actually..." She informed. 'This can't be happening!!!'

Four down, six more to go...

"Sou desu ka..." She saw Daiki bit his lip in slight frustration.

She tilted her head, trying to figure out the person in front of him, “Why, you want this too?" She pointed the manga.

Daiki's eyes glistened and he nodded. "I really need it. I know I will not be able to sleep tonight if I won't read it now."

"Hmm... me too." She said. "I wonder what we can do..." She turned pensive.

Daiki was surprised that the girl in front of him didn't react as what he predicted earlier. Though not to be boastful, he was aware of their growing popularity that fans seeing them roaming randomly around the city could lead into a total pandemonium. He thought the girl would freak out or act something weird yet she seemed like she didn't know who he actually was.

"But before anything else, I'll pay this to the cashier first and let's have a deal later... what do you think Arioka-kun?" She suggested and asked.

Daiki was dumbfounded. He only nodded in response and the girl in front of him went to the cashier. 'What? So she knows who am I and she is as calm as that! Wow!!! Ahh, anyway, this is all Yabu's fault. I should call him!' He thought as he got his phone and dialed a number.

"Moshi moshi..."

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Thanks for reading!
Comments are loved. ♥
Please tell me if this has liven up the fic's mood. I'm not really sure if the fic is getting into an interesting turn, ne~

By the way, I'll be having a very busy week ahead so I can't promise an update by the end of next week, Oct 8-10. I'm really sorry. It's finals period and I need to comply with bunches of requirements in school. Please do bare with me. Thank you again. ^_^

Next chapter: Click here!~