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“To me…Kazuma Kiryu…is family.”
It had been a few weeks since Haruka had announced her retirement as an idol at the Japan Dome- Now, she’s staring into the pot of curry that she and Ayako have been making together for the past few minutes. She’s thinking to herself how eventful these past few weeks have been- her career as an idol, the death of Park-san, Akiyama-san, and of course, the short reuniting between her and her Uncle Kaz- cut short by the police whom end up arresting him and taking him away from her. “Haruka-nee-chan, are you feeling alright?” The voice makes her snap out of it, and turn to the girl next to her. “Oh, uh, I’m good! I swear!” She quickly replies.
“We should focus on the curry, the rest must be really hungry!” “Alright then, Haruka-nee-chan…”
Saying that really made her remember the times when she and her Uncle Kaz would stand and make curry together, before when she became an idol. Before her Uncle Kaz had to separate himself from her for her own sake. Before he got thrown into prison for something he did not do. She’s spacing out again.
“Haruka-nee-chan!”
One of the boys, Taichi, called out.
“Oh, uh, yes! The curry’s coming!”
“Oh, poor Mitsuo then! He’s out practicing baseball with his friends for his scholarship!”
Friends, huh? Haruka thought to herself. She loved everyone in the orphanage. But she’d always considered them family. Friends, on the other hand, she had barely any. She thought back to before her time in Sotenbori- How she always hung out with everybody in the orphanage and barely anyone outside of that circle. Besides, not like anyone would wanna befriend an orphan back then anyways. It was then she remembered. Her friends in Highschool- People who, for the sacrifice of being back with her family, she had to ditch. Yui. Akari. Akari. Akari Natsukawa. How could she forget that name? They worked together to defeat all rival dancer groups within the area. There was something about her…Something that made Haruka shine through the deep sadness of being alone and away from her family. Something that made her heart flutter. Maybe it was just the thought of finally having friends and not thinking about her family and feeling down. But now she’s back with her family, yet she feels…empty? That feeling of happiness and joy hasn’t come back since she left for Kamurocho that fateful day. She’s spacing out again.
“Haruka-nee-chan, you good?”
The kids called out, noticing their sister figure just not touching her meal at all. “Haruka-nee-chan!” “Huh? Oh, I'm, uh, good. Just, ignore me! Everything is fine! I’m just…shocked that our Mitsuo is getting a baseball scholarship!” “Alright then…” Some of the kids said, then diving back into their meal.
“It was for the sake of your dream, Sawamura. You have to let it go.”
———————————————————————————————————————
Later that night, she laid on her futon, reminiscing through all the time she spent with her Uncle Kaz. When she covered herself with a blanket to try and sleep away all the pain from missing her father, she heard a knock on the door to her room.
“Haruka-nee-chan?”
Ayako.
“Ayako..? What’s wrong?” She sits up from her bed. “You can come in.”
“Well..Haruka-nee-chan…I could be asking you the same thing…” She says, as she timidly walks in.
“What’s this about?”
“Your behavior these past few days have been…different. I don’t know how to explain it- but…you’re just not the same.”
Haruka looks at the ceiling. “You’re right. It isn’t.”
“I understand it’s been a rough week for you, Haruka-nee-chan. I think you just need a break. Please, don’t let the media get to your head.”
“No- it’s just-”
“It’s about Uncle Kaz too, isn’t it?” Haruka, upon hearing this, immediately turns to look at Ayako. “We miss him too, Haruka. And, we missed you too. As much as it pains all of us that we’re gonna have to wait a few more years for Uncle Kaz to come back, at least we have each other, and we must stick together.”
“You’re right, Ayako. As long as we have each other, we’ll be fine.” Haruka says, forcing a smile. “You should go to bed. It’s pretty late, no?”
Ayako stands up and gives Haruka a hug, before leaving for the night.
“...Thank you, Ayako.”
“Goodnight, Haruka-nee-chan. We will always be here for you.”
Ayako… her family. Family. Haruka is now left alone once again with her thoughts. Family. She remembered what she thought of earlier. About how the orphanage is family to her- and about friends. Friends. Akari and Yui. The okonomiyaki they ate together, competing in the dance league together…
“I’m afraid I’d never consider becoming friends again, because we already are. And I hope it always stays that way!”
She said that, didn’t she? What fucking friend does that and then completely ditches their friends like that? She kept on repeating to herself that it was for the sake of being with her family again- but part of her does feel horrible for leaving them and not staying true to her word. But what if she ever ran into Akari again? What if one day she turns in a corner of a shopping mall and Akari and Yui are just there, hanging out like how the three of them used to do? “You’re lying to yourself and making up scenarios, Sawamura. You’ll forget about it tomorrow morning.”
———————————————————————————————————————
As the months passed, soon to be years, these thoughts had been on Haruka’s backburner ever since the thought of friends crossed her mind the first time- especially when any of the other kids’ outside friends are mentioned. She’d think of trying to connect to them again- but with all the paparazzi spreading about her on the news at the moment- how she’s the daughter of the 4th chairman of the Tojo Clan, how she’s yakuza daughter- hell, the location of Morning Glory, her whereabouts, have been doxxed to everyone- she would ultimately decide against it, and try to drop the idea.
One afternoon, Haruka was in the middle of making lunch for the rest of her family until she heard a very distinct and familiar voice.
“Hello, is this Morning Glory orphanage?”
She dropped the large pan she was holding onto the kitchen counter, splattering some food onto her usual red shirt upon hearing the voice call for the orphanage.
“Wh-No. I’m in a dream, and I need to wake up NOW!”
“Haruka-nee-chan? What’s wrong?” Ayako asked, noticing the sudden shock run through Haruka’s face.
“I-It’s fine. Can you continue this for me? I need to step outside for a moment.”
“Oh, alright, Haruka-nee-chan…Take care!”
Haruka steps out of the kitchen area to go outside, timidly. It had been a while since she’s ever talked to anyone outside of the orphanage- or her visits to Uncle Kaz- or the occasional phone call to Yamamura-san, Christina-san, Horie-san, and of course Akiyama-san- after all, they were supporting her throughout her experience as an idol. There it is. That feeling again. Her heart’s fluttering again. “What’s wrong, Haruka? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” She froze. She had not realized that she had just reached the door to the outside due to her getting lost in her thoughts.
“Aka…ri?”
She had so many questions for her former colleague standing in front of her- “Why are you here? How did you get here? What are you here for?”-but that was all she could muster up due to her being so lost in her thoughts.
“Haruka, calm down! It’s just me here!”
“Akari…”
“What’s so wrong with wanting to check on a friend after so long?”
Upon hearing the word friend, tears started streaming down her cheeks, as she just stood there, staring back at Akari, frozen.
“Hey, Haruka, is…is everything okay? I’m here for you.”
As soon as Akari said that, the emotionally wrecked teenager collapsed onto the floor. The brown-haired girl standing in front of her immediately rushed to the collapsed Haruka and tried to console her.
“Haruka, what’s wrong?”
“Akari…It’s…very nice seeing you again…”
———————————————————————————————————————
Later that day, after the former idol had calmed herself down, she introduced her former dance partner to everyone in the orphanage.
“Everyone, this is Akari Natsukawa, my friend from highschool.”
“H-Hey, no need for formalities, yeah? Just Akari is okay!”
Everyone then introduced themselves to Akari one by one, starting from oldest to youngest.
“Akari-nee-chan, I heard that you and Haruka-nee-chan used to dance together a lot, and after each session you guys would go and get some okonomiyaki! Haruka-nee-chan said that it was always so nice having you cover everyone’s bill!” chirped Izumi, the youngest of the group.
“Akari-nee-chan. There’s that feeling again.” Haruka’s heart had started fluttering upon hearing Akari be called “nee-chan”. Now that she’s with both family and friends, why does this feeling still persist? “What is this feeling? Why does it only occur when I think of Akari and not Yui?” “It must be so much fun and cool to have someone buy you food all the time! I NEED free food!” added Taichi, who seemed to always love food-related discussions.
Akari immediately glanced over at her friend sitting next to her; “Word comes around, huh?”
Haruka giggles, and then teasingly replies;
“How about you buy okonomiyaki for all of us?”
“Oh come on, Haruka! I don’t have that kinda money! Besides, that was a one-time thing!”
After they finished dinner, all the residents of Morning Glory Orphanage all wanted to hang out with Haruka and Akari- and they did. Akari had thought of many games to play on her way here, due to the fact that Haruka was in an orphanage, and thus she’d end up meeting other kids anyway. She had taught the kids how to dance, like a pro choreographer, played board games with them, and even challenged some of them to karaoke. Haruka joined in on some of the activities herself, almost outshining everyone involved. By the end of the night, everyone was exhausted. It was time for the kids to go to bed- they had school tomorrow.
“One more thing!” One of the kids, Eri, shouted.
“Hm?” Akari looked at her.
“I think you and Haruka-nee-chan should have a dance battle!”
Haruka’s eyes became wide. A dance battle? Akari was the one who introduced her to the world of dance battles… She looked at Akari, who seemed to really, really like the idea.
“Good idea! Haruka, what do you think? Do you still got it?”
“...Alright, fine. Just for all of you.”
As Be The Star! pierced through the night audio, both competitors danced their best. Both moved very elegantly, moving swiftly and connected to each other, flowing through the song beat by beat. When the song ended, both were sweating. They had given it their best, and it was very hard deciding on the winner.
“You’ve trained a lot, Akari.” Haruka looks at her with a smile on her face
“I’m surprised you still got it, Haruka.” Akari smiles back at her.
———————————————————————————————————————
“What are you doing here?” Haruka asked her, sitting and watching as the waves splash onto the shore of the beach facing the orphanage. The kids have gone to bed by now- it’s just Haruka and Akari sitting on the shore, staring at the starry night together.
“Well, I’m moving into the area…For, y’know, college. And I remembered from one of the newspapers I read about your…thing…that you lived here. So, might as well pay someone who changed the entire trajectory of my life a visit, no?” Haruka looked down at the sand.
“Me..? What’d I do?” “Don’t you remember? Without you, I wouldn’t have realized my passion for dance, and just took it as a chore. But with your wake-up call, I was able to make it through.” “I guess you’re right… But…why? Why would you visit me? After I…I left you like that..? After I…left everyone like th-” “I’m not mad or upset at you for what you did that day, Haruka.”
Hearing this, Haruka turned to face Akari. “When I saw your big announcement live on TV, I couldn’t help but smile. You helped me realize my true passion for dancing that one day, instead of just grinding to get to a goal. That’s why when you announced that you’re quitting your job as an idol to be with family, I can’t help but realize that…you’ve finally figured out your passion, your love. The love and passion to be with your family again.”
“Akari…” Haruka stares at her, smiling.
“Me and Yui both understood how you felt- hence why we didn’t bother you”
“Until now”
“Until now.”
Then, everything went quiet. They just both stared at the sky, at the night stars, listening to the sound of the waves hitting on the sandy beach. They just stared at the sky, next to one another, smiling as the sound of silence soothes both of their ears, more than any idol or dance music could ever do. Akari then turned to look at Haruka.
“Nice weather, huh?”
“Yeah. It’s a pretty night out here in Okinawa. Usually the nightfall is like this anyway.”
As they stared into the night sky, Haruka’s hand reached for Akari’s subconsciously, grabbing it tightly. There’s that heart fluttering again. It now feels way stronger than before, when they’re alone like this. Being alone like this, holding Akari’s hand subconsciously, Haruka realized what the fluttering was. Love. She’d always had feelings for Akari. She didn’t know what it was- whenever she thought of her, her heart would always start racing. And now, sitting here next to her, she finally realized what the feeling truly was.
“Hm?”
“O-Oh! U-Uh-” Haruka realizes that her hand is on Akari’s, and immediately pulls away, her face burning red.
“I-I didn’t mean to-”
As she’s trying to figure out a coherent sentence, her dance mate grabs her by the sweater, and pulls her in, locking their lips together. Haruka’s jumbled mess of thoughts at first trying to process the situation soon just slowly changed, and morphed into just the marvel of her best friend's lips and hers locking together.
“Akari…” She thought to herself, as she closed her eyes, looking past all of her worries and just focusing on the pretty girl sitting next to her. Eventually, they both snapped out of it.
“By the way, Akari…You said you were moving here for college, right?”
“Hm?”
“Where are you staying?”
“Well, I’m gonna have to find an apartment and live like how you did back in Sotenbori…Except I won’t have an agency backing me up for rent like you did, so I’m gonna have to be paying rent all by myself…”
“Hm…Then how about you live with us? I’m sure Oji-san won’t mind…”
The thought of it made Haruka light up. Akari moving in with her and the orphanage. Akari’s time here has just been nothing but fun and happiness across the orphanage. Everyone enjoys having her aroun-”No, that’s stupid! You just started dating! Isn’t this a little too muc-”
“Really?” Akari chimed in, causing Haruka to immediately snap away from her thoughts.
“Yes! I understand if you wouldn’t want to, but there’s always a spare bed here you can use!”
“Oh, Haruka!” Akari runs in and gives her a huge hug, causing Haruka’s face to start turning all red and stunned once again.
“I accept the offer, Haruka! You saved my life! Thank you so much!”
After the hug, they sat and stared at the sky for a few more minutes as Haruka had her head resting on Akari’s shoulder, as their hands interlock with each other.
“Hey Akari?”
“Yeah?”
“Wanna go get some okonomiyaki? I’m familiar with the area, so I know a spot. Besides, don’t you need a tour around the city anyway? Since, you’re moving in with us for college and all.” Akari looks at her and smiles happily
“Of course!”
Haruka stands up first.
“Let’s go then! My treat.”
Akari stands up afterwards, smiling,
“Oh good, I don’t want your family knowing that I’m covering your food bills again!”
They then both walked to the train station together to get to downtown Ryu-kyu. The girls looked at each other, smiling, while holding hands as they walked up the flight of stairs towards the train.
“I love you, Akari.”
“I love you too, Haruka.”