Axel Terizaki
29th April 2007, 11:46 PM
Blind Spot
by Axel Terizaki <axel at teri-chan dot net.>
MSN: axelterizaki@hotmail.com - ICQ: 81441376
Chapter 3 : My first time.
* * *
I didn't like Shibuya that much, to be frank. Even if being a teenage
schoolgirl in Japan should have automatically made me a pilgrim of that
particular district of Tokyo, reportedly one of the busiest districts in
the world, I had to say I was absolutely not into it.
Girls, or to be more precise, 'kogals', were flowing past us in a daze
of jewelry and stylish clothes. I was always attracted to shiny things
ever since I was little. Obviously, I should have become like those
girls when I grew up, but I just wasn't into it. There was just
something wrong with them, that I couldn't exactly put my finger on.
Maybe it was the whole exuberance of their appearance, their thirst of
fashion to the point where some girls would sell their bodies for
expansive handbags, or their tendency to dress up in unthinkable
outfits... And yet, I couldn't help but admire them, for the way they
lived their lives to their fullest, without worry. It was pretty rare to
see a sad kogal sitting around, but I had seen some screaming hissy fits
at their boyfriends before. All I saw passing by were happy girls with
their friends shopping, issueing a phone call or chatting excitedly. Sad
kogals don't exist, or they're called goths. Which is worse? Good question.
That, along with the loud music and the bright lights everywhere which
made all the girls shine even more would have surely given me a headache.
And yet, here I was, being dragged by Shizuka around the shops inside
the Shibuya 109 building, on a Saturday afternoon. The Shibuya 109
building was actually a heaven for women to shop at. Clothes,
accessories, and beauty products were mainstream here. In other words,
Shibuya was to girls and kogals what Akihabara was to otakus and
computer maniacs. Both were scary, honest.
Shizuka knew I didn't like it when it was too crowded, with my fear of
being lost by myself, but she absolutely insisted that I buy some
clothes for my first date.
Yes, a date.
Yes, with Ogata.
No, Karen didn't know...
"Ayako-chan, I think I spotted Karen over there!"
...yet.
"Ah, nevermind, she just had the same hairstyle." Shizuka said quickly
afterwards, her tone shifting from excited to mild disappointment in a
second.
Phew!
What's with all these people sporting the same hairstyle as Karen?!
If Karen ever heard about what I was going to do tomorrow, I'd
certainly have her on my tail all day long spying on me and Ogata. Karen
is a great friend, she always helped me out, but she was sometimes a
little bit overprotective. No wonder she got along well with my mother.
She seemed to dislike Ogata much, but she refused so far to tell me why
she was like this with him.
"Ayako-chan! Over there, look!"
Shizuka was much more excited than I was about going on a date it
seems. I must admit I never thought about the possibility of a guy
asking me out before. I mean, no guy approached me before, compared to
Shizuka who went to at least a few dates, to my knowledge. Oh of course,
I fantasized about dates sometimes, I read manga you know! But the
reality never quite catches with how fiction works.
"Wouldn't this dress look cute on you?"
I took out my new monocular from under my coat, and placed it over my
left eye to look at the dress Shizuka was pointing at from afar, behind
the window of a shop.
"The black shirt and skirt outfit over there?" I asked while searching
for what she wanted to show me.
"That's dark blue, Ayako-chan."
"Oh, whatever."
I looked at it more closely by approaching a little. I guess I wouldn't
look bad at all in that. The collar of the shirt was looking pretty cute
too.
"Shall we enter and try it on? It does look cheap too. Ah and you'll
need fantasy stockings too. Maybe something with leaves... Yes, yes, I
can already picture that! Let's go inside!"
And she dragged me, again.
Did I say anything about accepting to try the outfit on?
* * *
"Come on, Ayako! Are you done yet? I'm dying to see it!"
I was adjusting the skirt and shirt a bit in the mirror of the dressing
cabin before pushing the curtains away to show myself to Shizuka.
"Well, I guess it does fit."
She looked up and down at me and approached me slowly. She placed her
hands at my hips and sides, apparently trying to see if it fitted me as
well as I was saying it was.
There was, however, something terribly wrong with my outfit.
"I think this skirt is way, way too short." I argued.
"Aw, Ayako, girls show flesh around nowadays. Don't tell me you don't
watch TV."
I shrugged a little, and kept on arguing. TV was definitely not a good
example to follow, especially our TV.
"Shizuka-chan, I appreciate your kindness but this is simply too short
for me." I looked down. "Look at it, it barely covers my thighs!"
I heard her sigh, and looked up at her. She started looking around a
little. I wondered what she was searching for.
"You know," I explained. "I can't see if people look at me, so I don't
like, you know, to stand out that much."
She smiled at me, and placed her hands on my shoulders.
"But Ayako, standing out is part of seduction. You HAVE to stand out
for your date to notice you among the crowd."
I blushed a little. She was right. I nodded my head in agreement, as
there was nothing much I could say to this, frankly. I still felt bad
about this skirt, even with stockings on, there was no way it wouldn't
show flesh.
"Just have a little faith in yourself, and in me too. Trust me and you
won't be disappointed. I guess we can try a longer skirt."
It was my turn to smile now.
"Thanks, Shizuka-chan."
We started looking around for another skirt already. Every time Shizuka
saw something of interest, she usually showed it to me for a closer
inspection. I'm not difficult with clothes really, but I do have my
standards.
We eventually picked something good, that matched both my and Shizuka's
tastes. I came out of the changing cabin again, the skirt going down to
just above my knees, which was plain perfect.
"Looks good, really good. You'll need stockings now. You can't walk
around with those bare legs in winter!"
I frowned. I thought we were done, and she added more to the shopping list!
"Shizuka-chan, I already have some stockings at home. They'll do fine."
"Ssh, you can't go out with just plain stockings, I saw some nice ones
while you were changing." I felt her hands adjusting the skirt and shirt
some more.
Normally I wouldn't allow this kind of intimacy with someone, I guess
no one would, but Shizuka had always been someone I trusted much, along
with Karen. I watched as she was taking her time making the shirt look
absolutely right. These were the kind of things I couldn't do by myself
anyways.
"Great, you look good in that. Ogata-kun will love it."
"You know, I'm not sure I..."
"And now, on for some stockings! Change back quickly!" she said with a
nod, interrupting me. Looks like I won't be able to fight her back.
I nodded in defeat, and went back to the dressing cabin to put my
clothes back on.
* * *
I kept nodding when she showed me some stockings she wanted me to wear.
I must admit I was quite excited at the prospect of going on a date.
Yes, my first date in sixteen years of age. Don't laugh.
It's something I always wanted, something I often read about in girly
manga and novels. But on the other hand, it was so sudden, I wasn't
prepared, and it wasn't like I was in love with Ogata. The guy actually
scared me a little, especially with what Karen told me about him.
"What do you think of those?"
Shizuka snapped me out of my thoughts by showing me a pair of fantasy
stockings with leaves printed on them.
"Hmmmm."
I took them in my hand to look at them more closely. I guess they
looked okay. Frankly I wasn't going to be difficult, I just wanted to go
home now that I bought a new outfit.
"If we add this to your outfit, you'll really look cute. Tomorrow
morning I want you at my place at nine o'clock. At which hour are you
supposed to meet Ogata, and where?"
"Uh, two in the afternoon, in front of Hachiko."
She nodded and grinned at me, almost wolfishly.
"Ayako-chan, tomorrow you're going to become a woman."
Now I was scared.
"Y-Y-You don't mean..."
"Yes."
I gulped. She couldn't possibly think I'd...?
"Tomorrow," she continued. "I'm going to work on your hands, face and
hair a little, there's no way Ogata will resist you."
I blinked, twice.
"Shizuka-chan, I'm not sure. I mean, it's just a date, ne? I don't feel
anything for Ogata."
"Listen Ayako-chan, there is something a girl absolutely needs to be,
at all times: Beautiful, cute, and charming. Regardless of what you feel
for the other person, a girl absolutely needs to look good in any
situation."
I nodded at the lecture she gave me. I admit she was right, when I
thought about it.
"Good, now let's take you home. Tomorrow is going to be a good day, for
sure!"
I sure hoped so.
* * *
Shizuka accompanied me home, and I ate dinner with Miyuki and my
parents. It was uneventful and for a good reason: I didn't say anything
about tomorrow's date to my family. There was a 120 percent chance
Miyuki would want to forbid me of going alone with a guy I barely knew,
and an equal chance my parents would interrogate me for hours before and
after the date.
I went back to my room after a relaxing warm bath, and turned on my CD
player to listen to a album disc I bought not so long ago. I looked at
the books I was planning on reading sooner or later on my desk, but
there wasn't anything appealing to me right now. I guess I just wasn't
in the mood. I might be stupid, but tomorrow feels like something big
for me, it was rather intimidating, almost frightening even.
"...Futari ni God bless..."
I sometimes sang quietly along with the songs I was listening to. I
often fantasized about being on stage singing like that, in front of
people I liked, giving them a good time. Call it a little girl's dream
if you like. I know I won't ever be able to become successful in this
area of business anyways due to my poor eyesight.
I sat on my bed and laid down there to think a little while the music
played quietly in my room.
What was I scared about after all? It was just a date, right?
But it was my first... What would I do if he got bored with me? What
about if he took me someplace where I couldn't see things? What if he
took me to a love hotel!? Aaah, this was all making me crazy!
I guess I'd better find something to read and go to sleep.
* * *
The next day, I arrived at Shizuka's place, dressed in what we bought
the day before, along with a coat I bought not so long ago. I opened the
front gate, and rang her doorbell.
The sky wasn't very sunny, but as long as it didn't rain, it was fine
with me. I preferred it that way actually. It was easier for me to see
outside.
"Ah, it's you!" she said as she opened the door, and dragged me inside.
I climbed the stairs to her room after taking off my shoes. There, I
discovered a chair in the middle of the room, apparently waiting for me.
"You sit down there, Ayako-chan, I'll take care of the rest."
"Heh?"
"But first, you take off your clothes." she said in a commanding tone.
What was she thinking?
"S-Shizuka-chan!"
"Hehe, just kidding. Just sit there." she said, patting the chair to
invite me on.
As I sat on it, she covered my upper body with a towel, and went to a
drawer of her dresser.
"I've prepared a handbag I'm going to lend you. You'll find everything
you'll need inside. Handkerchief, mirror, perfume, gloss, a foldable
comb, some lipstick, about a thousand yen just in case, and a picture of
us and Karen. Of course, the thousand yen, should you use them, are
called 'come back', y'know? Oh and give me your phone, I'll put it inside."
I did hand her my phone, and blinked.
"A picture of us? Why?"
"So you can show off how much you value friendship. It's very important
to show that despite your handicap, you've got friends and a life, you see?"
She had a point, even if it was pretty obvious to me, it wouldn't for
other people. I found this quite weird though.
"Don't you find this a little bit too much?"
"What, the picture?" she asked.
"Yeah."
I felt like I didn't need it, like it was some kind of insult to my pride.
"Fine, fine, I'll take it out then."
"Alright, so, what's first?" I tried to show some enthusiasm.
"Well, obviously, we're going to depilate your eyebrows a little first."
Obviously!?
"Eh?"
"This is going to hurt a bit, but bear with it."
I closed my eyes and took a deep sigh.
"Don't worry, I've done this before." she said while she apparently
took something in her hand, from what I could hear.
I endured patiently as Shizuka started to work on me. After all, it was
something she'll have to do in the future for her work. I winced and
moaned a little in pain from time to time though, it wasn't very pleasant.
"Don't be such a crybaby, Ayako-chan. Your nails will come sooner or
later, and believe me, that'll hurt."
"S-Shizuka-chan!" I asked, unsure of her intentions now.
"Nope, this time I'm not kidding." I could sense the hint of a grin
from her voice. She must be enjoying this immensely.
Once finished, she took a mirror and gave it to me. I pulled the mirror
close to me to see better.
"They're quite thin now. It looks good." I commented, blinking twice.
"Desho desho? You need to suffer to get beautiful." I guess she was
right, even though I didn't want to pass by the suffering part much.
She took the mirror away, and I closed my eyes again, resting there on
the seat she prepared for me. It's not like I could do much else anyways.
"Next, I'm going to apply a revitalizing lotion. That will feel good."
she explained. "Your face needs it, it'll give you a much fresher look."
I smiled a little, and heard her apply something on her hands.
"Okay, here I come."
I then felt hands press onto my skin, applying a lotion on my face. It
felt fresh indeed, and Shizuka's hands were soft and warm. She was
making sure it got applied everywhere on my face and chin.
"Hmmmm..." I let out, enjoying the touch greatly. It lasted a few
minutes before Shizuka took her hands away from me.
"I'm going to wash my hands in the bathroom, wait a bit."
"Okay."
I let the lotion dry on my skin while Shizuka was away. This allowed me
a bit of thinking to myself again. I was going on a date! I should be
happy, right? Yet, for some reason, I felt restless. This was all beyond
my control, and I absolutely didn't like that.
"I'm back!" I heard Shizuka announce as she came back into the room. I
still had my eyes closed.
"Looks good. While it dries I'm going to file your nails properly and
work on your hands. Ogata must absolutely feel how soft and smooth those
delicate hands of yours are when he holds them, right?"
"Holding hands?" I asked, a bit surprised and actually shy about the
idea of holding hands with a guy like this.
"During a date, you hold hands, that's a rule."
"Okay, okay."
I waited patiently and chatted a bit with Shizuka while she was doing
my nails.
"So you didn't tell anything to Karen heh?" Shizuka asked first.
"She doesn't seem to like Ogata much, I think they went out together
before and it didn't work out." I explained.
"Hmmm, maybe there's something more to it."
"She said she found out he had lots of girl names in his cellphone
address book. She managed to get a hold of his phone and take a look
inside."
This actually made Shizuka laugh.
"Karen is after the pure, innocent type then. It's not exactly common
these days."
"R-Really?" how could I tell her now that it's what I was looking for,
in a boy? She'd make fun of me too.
"Even I have lots of guys in my phone's address book. I don't call them
anymore though, but it's a good thing to know exactly who might be
calling you, before deciding to answer or not, you know?"
That's actually clever, from a seductress' point of view.
"She's quite possessive I th...aah!" I moaned in pain a little as
Shizuka was filing my nails and hurt me a little.
"Ah sorry, sorry." she apologized, and kept on working on me.
"It's okay." I tried to reassure her "I'm fine, it just briefly hurt,
that's all."
She hmmed softly and apologized again. I could sense she was trying to
be more careful with it.
"Shizuka-chan... You know it's going to be my first date, right? Do you
have, you know, any tips?" I asked, a bit shyly.
She laughed again a bit at that, which made me feel like I was asking a
stupid question.
"What, don't tell me you need dating tips after having spent so much
time on my copy of Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side?"
H-Hey!
"Mou! You know what I mean!"
As if I had played that game a lot. I only did get one ending and
stopped playing it afterwards.
"I'm joking, I'm joking, don't panic."
Shizuka always had that recomforting tone and touch right after she
joked with me, or when she saw I was a little uneasy. It immediately
made me feel relaxed.
"Just act naturally, watch out for your date enjoying himself, and make
sure you're happy yourself. There's no use going on a date unwillingly."
Of course, she said 'watch out', and surely realized I couldn't do that
well. She corrected herself shortly after.
"I mean, try to check if he's enjoying himself during the date and make
sure there is as little distance as possible between you and him."
I nodded, trying to fully understand her words.
"And most of all, embarrassing remarks are not allowed!"
"Heeeh?" I admit I didn't understand well what she meant. Shizuka
giggled at my reaction.
"I mean, try not to make a fool of yourself by saying something stupid.
Weight your words. Some guys try to put a lot of efforts into what to
say to a girl, so it's pretty normal we do the same, or he'll think of
you in a bad way." she explained. That made sense.
She stopped what she was doing, and took some other tools from her tray.
"I hope Karen is spending a good time with her family." Shizuka said
softly while she was now painting my nails.
"Hm. She promised she'll bring back pictures from her trip to the
United States."
"She's lucky to be able to go abroad once in a while. I'd like to see
Europe for example one day! Germany, France, Italia, Spain!"
I giggled a bit. Shizuka always had big plans for everything. What's
worse, she often managed to make them possible to accomplish. I couldn't
say the same for mine. Do I have at least plans for the future?
I admit Europe wouldn't be a bad destination for a trip though. Maybe
she could smuggle me in her luggage when she goes there?
* * *
My ordeal was finished about one hour later.
"Okay, all done!"
Shizuka just finished applying some dark blue lipstick on me. She said
it'd actually make me look a little older.
I lifted my hand to my face to touch my cheek. It was so soft and
smooth now! I had a hard time believing it.
"Wow."
"Good, isn't it? Here, take the mirror."
She handed me a handheld mirror of hers, and I got it close to my face
to see better. The problem is that this way I couldn't see all of my
face, but I got the idea anyways.
"I really look good." I whispered, and inspected my hands and nails
next, they were colored of what looked like pink to me.
"Alright."
She helped me off the chair, and I looked down at myself. I didn't feel
like I was myself today, but the feeling was fresh and exciting, as if I
could do anything I ever wanted now.
"Hmmm. We forgot jewelry yesterday. I'll lend you some earrings and a
headband."
"O-Okay."
I looked her way as she rummaged through a drawer. She soon came back
to me with a set of small discreet earrings and a headband. She attached
the earring to my left ear and then my right one.
"They're light blue. They'll contrast well with your dark hair without
being obvious at first glance."
I nodded. I must admit questions about appearance completely slipped
from my mind these past few years. I then felt her place the headband on
my head.
"And some light blue here too, it's perfect!"
I sure hoped so. Part of me didn't want to disappoint my date, and
another one wanted to run away from him. I'm sure that if Karen were
there, she would have gladly helped that second part of me.
* * *
The sky was low, but it wasn't raining at all. Not yet anyways. Shizuka
was accompanying me to the rendez-vous point.
"I feel weird." I said to her as we got off the train at the Shibuya
station.
"Excited? Nervous?" she asked back.
"Yes, exactly."
"That's the spirit. I was trembling all over the first time too. It's
even worse at the love hotel!"
I facefaulted.
"Shizuka! You're making it worse!"
She laughed at me now.
"Just kidding, I'm trying to make you relax, can't you see?"
"Mou..."
"What an idiot I am, of course you don't see." she slapped her forehead
a little as if to correct herself. "Sorry."
"It's okay, don't worry." I replied reassuringly.
We walked together for a bit, with me waving my cane around in front of
us. As we exited the station, I placed my sunglasses on my eyes.
"Looks like he's here already." she pointed her finger in the direction
of Hachiko, and as I tried to focus, I could see someone there indeed,
in dark clothing with something white underneath. Most probably a sweater.
"Come on, let's get closer!"
And she dragged me over to him. He offered a little wave of his hand as
he saw us approach.
"Well well, did I get two for the price of one?" he asked, making me
immediately blush. Of course Shizuka laughed. It's hard to imagine her
getting embarrassed.
"Oh no, no. I'm just accompanying Ayako here. She couldn't have come
here all by herself. I'm handing her to you now."
There was a slight pause.
"If Suzumiya wasn't using a cane and sunglasses, you could pass as
sisters, you know?" he remarked.
"I'd better leave you two lovebirds, you've got work." she joked, and
waved her hand as she left us two alone.
Work?
"Well then," he started "Do you need my arm or something?" he asked,
politely. I guess he was just asking because of my handicap and not as
an excuse to get a feel of my chest against his arm.
"I'll be fine following you, I can see a little." I smiled.
From a love-love point of view, it wasn't the smartest move to do when
I think back about it, but I wasn't feeling at ease at the moment anyways.
"Fine, we'll go to that arcade nearby then, for starters." he suggested.
An arcade? I haven't been to that kind of place in ages.
* * *
Shizuka gave me some money, but I had prepared some as well of course,
and I was surely going to use it very soon.
We walked down the stairs to an underground arcade room. There were
quite some people here, but less than what I had expected when he
suggested the idea of playing video games in Shibuya. I looked around a
bit curiously, at the screens and the games displayed here. Rhythm
games, fighting games, shooting...
"I'm good at some of these, wanna see?" he asked me. Looks like he
wants to show off. He headed for a shooting game, placed some money
inside, and picked up the toy gun on the game station.
"Uh, well, it's not like I can really appreciate your skill you know."
I said a little embarrassingly. I guess he didn't think there was no
point at making me watch him play a shooting game. Did he think I was
going to see the screen in front of him well? Was he kidding me? I hoped
the date wouldn't be like that all day!
"Heh, I guess you're right, didn't think about your eyesight." he
semi-apologized. "Now that I put money in, mind if I play at least a
game?" he asked. I guess it would have been quite rude from me to
refuse. I was too nice I think.
"It's okay, you can play." I replied with a smile as sweet as I could
master.
I looked at his screen while he played and shot at some monsters. He
was rather good I think, since I was seeing the shapes disappear one
after another when the screen turned momentarily white everytime he shot
at something. I then took a look at him, a bit tired of watching the
screen flicker over and over.
He was in a good pose, concentrated, holding the gun in front of him
with both hands. He wasn't trying to show off, I think. He seemed to
concentrate on what he was doing. If it was showing off, he would have
probably tried to play single-handed, while chatting with me. God I
hated that kind of guys.
He eventually lost to some big evil tentacle monster from what I
understood, and he put down the gun back in place.
"Well, do you want a game where we can get closer to the screen?" he asked.
I looked around at the different game machines in front of each other,
running some kind of fighting game.
"Hmm, I don't know." I said, honestly. I wasn't too much into video
games, even if I did enjoy myself sometimes when Shizuka lent me her
game system at home with a few games.
"What about rhythm games? You know of DDR and ParaPara Paradise, right?"
Of course, I played them often when I was younger with Shizuka, Karen
and Aoi. These games were a bit outdated, but you could easily find some
working ones in a few arcade shops I heard.
"I know them yes, I used to play some with Karen and Shizuka." I said.
"This arcade has a room with some of these, wanna try? I guess you can
see the arrows moving on the screen at least, right?"
I nodded at this. Looks like he's starting to get it. It made me smile.
"Sure, let's try."
We went to a backroom, and there was still a unused DDR machine, along
with some other games with different musical instruments there. I knew
that kind of game had been popular for a while back then.
I let my cane and my handbag on the side of the DDR machine and climbed
on the dance panels without efforts. I felt Ogata's hand apparently
wanting to guide me, but he quickly saw I could do it myself. Come on,
how difficult it is to take a step on a panel just centimeters off the
ground?
"Are you good at it?" he asked me.
I shrugged a little.
"So-so. Don't worry about me, I can see the arrows when the background
is dark enough."
"Okay."
It felt like he asked that out of politeness, but then again, maybe I
was just too suspicious.
And we danced on the game's music. I must admit I was a little bit
rusty. I was about fourteen when I played it last. But it's like riding
a bike, you can't forget about it that easily.
I wasn't doing too good, and scored a few Bs and Cs during most songs.
I was about to go reach for my handbag to put some more coins into the
machine, but when I came back, Ogata stopped me.
"I did put some credits for you already, let's keep on dancing a little
more."
"Oh."
I smiled a little at his gesture, and climbed back on the dance
platform for another set of three songs. This time I insisted that he
chose the songs though.
* * *
After a few more songs, I gently signaled I was growing tired of it.
Sure it was fun, but I guess he noticed I wasn't too good at it and
wanted to do something else. We came back into the main room, and that's
when I felt his hand on mine.
So that's a guy's hand. Rough, big, warm...
He led me to a set of arcade games arranged in versus mode. You can't
see your opponent there, but you know he or she, is in front of you.
"You should see better if you sit directly in front of it, right?" he
told me, while motioning for a seat in front of one game.
"Huh, right." I said, with a nod, and sat down, while he went to his
own machine in front of me. I looked at the controls, it seemed like a
fighting game. I wasn't too comfortable with those. Shizuka or Karen
always beat the crap out of me. I considered this a guy's game anyways.
I selected my character, trying to pick the strongest one. I guess I
must looked stupid looking at the screen up close like that, and I tried
to hide my embarrassment by concentrating on the game about to start.
My character was a big guy named Maxima. Ogata used a female character
which I forgot the name already. All i remember was that she was looking
like one of those idols you see in magazines. You know, the kind of girl
who had her brains in her chest.
The battle started.
I started hitting the buttons randomly and making a few awkwards moves.
My character was slow, while his was apparently light as a feather. It
took me a few seconds to get used to the controls. The game was fairly
easy for me to follow, the graphics weren't much detailed and colorful,
it allowed me to concentrate on the characters in the front, clearly
noticeable from the rest of the background.
Kick, punch, chop, block... Once more now...
Mou! Ogata was not really making this easy for me! I wasn't sure if he
was taking it seriously or not, but I ended up losing twice in a row. He
didn't make any of those spectular moves you see in TV ads for those
games, but he just beat me anyway. Seeing that I wasn't doing well, he
stood up after the third battle, and went to me.
"Well, shall we go elsewhere now?" he asked, without making any
comments about my poor ability at playing video games. I nodded anyways
and stood up, taking my cane in hand and following him closely.
I thought I had just made myself a fool by playing these games badly
with him. I guessed it was common for girls my age to know how to play
these. There seemed to be a fair share of girls there, even though the
population of the place was mainly male, by a rough guess.
* * *
As we went out of the game center, I suddenly felt the coldness of
December again on my skin. But more importantly, there was wetness on my
skin. Rain?
I looked at my hands closely, and saw a little bit of snow here and
there. It wasn't falling too heavily, though. As I was inspecting my
hands, I heard a whisper in my ear.
"Shall we go eat something?"
It was a simple question, but the sheer power of the whisper in my
sensitive ears made me jump a little. Yes, that's my weak point. Sadly,
Shizuka knows.
"Ah uhm. Well, sure."
I put my sunglasses on to see better outside. Even though the sky was
low and the sun wasn't shining at all over us, it was still pretty
difficult for me to see well.
And yet, one week ago I wasn't wearing those at all. Now that they sit
on my nose and ears, I feel much better outside during daytime. I was
obviously against the idea at first, but you know how it is: parents
push you to do it, friends push you to do it, something in your mind
pushes you to do it, and next thing you know, you're suddenly wearing
sunglasses even when no sun is seen outside.
The thing was, as soon as I had tried them, I was much less tiring my
eyes outside, and it was just adding comfort to my everyday life. I was
still afraid people would question why a schoolgirl would be wearing
sunglasses, but I guess that my cane helped them understand what they
were for.
I let Ogata lead me again through the streets of Shibuya. We walked a
little bit, my shoes clicking on the sidewalk. I stood silent the whole
time, looking in front of me through my sunglasses.
"I see you're moving pretty swiftly, for someone not seeing well."
"Well, I see a little, the cane is just here to tell people to pay
attention."
He hummed a little at this.
"Are you like this since birth?"
I heard this question so many times before, and I always had the best
answer to it.
"Yeah. It's better than losing my eyesight in an accident or something.
Since I don't know how normal people see, I don't feel like I'm lacking
something. I don't know what I'm losing, and that's my strength."
I heard him chuckle, but I kept my eyes in front of me as we walked.
This wasn't supposed to be funny, Ogata.
"At least you try to see what's good in this. That's something to be
quite proud of."
As we crossed a street in direction of the Harajuku district, my nose
picked a smell. A very very nice smell.
"Taiyaki!" I let out, looking around to try to find who was selling some.
"Taiyaki...?" Ogata said too. As he saw me looking around, he seemed to
be searching as well.
"Come with me." I then felt him take my arm gently and lead me further
up the street. Ah, the smell was getting stronger...
My addiction to melonpan and taiyaki was actually legendary among my
family and friends. Some said it would lead me to my end one day. Don't ask.
* * *
Soon enough, we were sitting on a bench together, a bag of hot taiyaki
in my arms, and one of those delicious fish-shaped cakes in my hand. I
was chewing on the head of the fish rather hungrily.
"If I knew you were this hungry, we would have gone to a café right
away." he told me.
I didn't really care. I finished munching on one of the taiyaki, and
fished another out of the bag. That's all that mattered to me for now.
"Hmmm, I just love those. Do you want one?" I asked him.
"Sure."
I handed him one and kept munching on mine, watching the snow drop
before us. The warmth of the cake, filled with sweet custard was enough
to make me forget about the cold.
"Do you see well when there is snow all around the place?" he asked me,
out of the blue. The question did surprise me at first, but I found it
nice of him that he asked. Was he that concerned about me?
"Well." I said between bites. "Snow is white, and the sunlight blinds
me already, so it just adds to the miscomfort."
"That's why you use sunglasses." he noted. Smart one.
"Right. That's not perfect, but it helps a lot in making it less
painful to see. When I didn't have sunglasses before, I was always
blinking my eyes, because I couldn't keep them open long enough in the
light. I was only seeing a picture or so every second, so I had to be
extra careful."
"Hmmmmmm." he seemed to listen, and care, at least. Well, I hoped he
was genuinely concerned. That would be mean of him if he wasn't.
He went silent after this, allowing me to finish my taiyaki in peace.
After I finished my second cake, I started to wonder when we were about
to leave.
"So, what are we doing next?" I asked, curious.
"I initially planned for a movie, but I didn't take your eyesight into
account."
It was a first for me. I didn't know if I should have felt insulted
that he only thought of it now, or grateful that he cared about it. I
mean, if he only thought of it just now, did he really prepare anything
at all for our date? It's my first! He could respect that, at least!
My answer was surely going to surprise him anyways.
"I actually can go to the theater, the screen is big enough. I just
need to be in the first rows of seats."
I understand though that people might think I couldn't see well in the
theater given the distance from the screen to the seats, but honestly,
as long as it's not a subtitled foreign movie, I can enjoy it pretty
well too.
"Then let's go." he said while standing up, brushing some snow off his
lap, and I did the same to follow him, my bag of taiyakis in hand. I was
feeling a little tired, and a movie would surely help me relax a little.
* * *
There was a lot of people around the theater at this time of the day,
and I ended up holding Ogata's arm close to me to follow him, my cane
in hand. The handy thing about this cane when there is a lot of people
around, is that it can disperse people easily. A little wave here and
there, and people make room for me to go through.
We stepped inside a theather in Harajuku, and picked a movie together.
I wasn't too difficult when it came to movies, and we picked a romantic
comedy. I forgot the name already, but it's of not much importance. We
sat in the middle of the theater room, and the screen was at a
reasonable distance for me to see. I let my coat behind me and relaxed
in my seat, waiting for the movie to start.
"You're going to be okay here?" he asked
"Yeah, don't worry about it."
I closed my eyes while waiting for the movie to start. Was I getting
sleepy? The seats were quite comfortable, actually. I could as well
sleep here if I wasn't careful, but it would be most impolite of me to
do so, especially after I insisted on going to the theater like he
originally planned. Might as well relax a bit before the movie begins.
* * *
I slept.
During the whole movie.
I can't believe it!
I opened my eyes only to be greeted by the credits rolling and people
starting to idly chat about the movie they just saw and leave. I then
heard a chuckle next to me.
"Slept well?"
I jumped a little in my seat and looked at my right, to see Ogata
fixating me.
"I...did I just...?"
"Yeah, you slept during the whole movie. Looks like you were quite tired."
I blushed red. How can I be more embarrassed!?
"Oh my. I-I'm sorry Ogata-kun! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! It was
just so comfortable here, and I was feeling a bit tired from the walk
earlier and the takiyakis I ate and..."
I wanted to find more excuses, but I was running out of ideas.
fortunately, he interrupted me before I could make an even worse fool of
myself.
"Don't worry about it. Watching your cute face sleeping for about one
hour and a half was much more interesting than the movie." he grinned.
Even though it calmed me down, that remark didn't stop me from blushing
even more.
Karen, is it what you were talking about?
* * *
We left the theater soon enough. It was still snowing gently outside. I
put my sunglasses back on, and held on Ogata's arm again as we walked. I
guess we must have looked like boyfriend and girlfriend here. It was
strange, I was going out with this guy I barely knew, and yet, I wasn't
feeling anything special for him. Shizuka kind of convinced me it was
perfectly normal. It's true that with all the novels and manga I read, I
tend to believe in other ways a love-love relationship should develop.
"Let's see. I think I know the perfect thing to do to wake you up."
"Heh?" I was starting to wonder where he was going to lead me.
"You'll see soon enough."
I don't know if that's the kind of thing he said to every girl he led
somewhere he didn't want her to know, but for me, it was a little
frightening. How was I supposed to guess where we were going considering
I could only rely on what he could tell me? That idiot.
He led me through some streets, and it took me a while to realize we
were back in Shibuya. However, not exactly on the right streets for a
girl to wander in alone. I was accompanied, mind you, but it didn't
change anything to the fact I was starting to wonder where we were headed.
"Ogata-kun... These are love hotels, right?" I asked in a weak voice.
Oh my god, if it's what I think it was, Shizuka was right. But I wasn't
prepared!
"This is just a shortcut. I never get to this point on a first date,
don't you worry." he replied. Could I really trust him though? Why did I
accept this date anyways!?
After a few more hundred meters, we came back to Shibuya's main
streets, which I was a little bit more familiar with.
"Where are we going exactly?" I dared ask. I was still a bit confused,
and looked down at my feet as I walked with him, letting him guide my
steps through the streets.
"We're going to do some karaoke."
The words struck me. My eyes lit up behind my glasses.
"Karaoke?" I asked, just to make sure I had well heard the magic word.
"Yep. Is that a problem for you? You can't read the lyrics on the screen?"
"Nevermind that, I absolutely love karaoke!"
And with that, I held on his arm to drag him. Where? I didn't know
where was the nearest karaoke, but I wanted to prove my point.
* * *
I let him rent a karaoke room for two hours. That was standard practice
here, and two hours were enough for two people. There was my chance to
shine!
I ordered a orange juice and he took a soda. We weren't of age to drink
alcohol anyways, and I didn't think he was one of those who liked to
break laws and all.
"So you like karaoke that much?"
"You bet, Shizuka, Karen and I often go do some after school. When
Karen doesn't have club activities." I explained, while sitting down
next to him. I looked down at myself, just to check if I was still good
looking. I know it might feel stupid, but I was just like that, always
scared that something would be horribly wrong with my appearance, when I
was so nervous. The fact that you couldn't see well contributed to my
insecurity on such matters.
"Since when do you know Sakazaki, if I may ask?" I was puzzled. Why did
he care for her while he had me? My jealousy kicked in.
"Oh, for a few years. We met when I was in middle school, actually it's
been something like three years. Yes, three years. Why are you asking?"
I tried to not show it, but I was feeling a bit jealous that he'd be
thinking of Karen in such a moment. Maybe my tone got a little bitter
without me realizing it.
"Just out of curiosity. It'd not like I know her that much." You
weren't very convincing Ogata, you know that?
I let that slip when he grabbed the karaoke remote, and started looking
at the songs available.
"Anything you'd like?" he asked me.
Tough choice here, I need to think of something he'd like too without
being selfish. I took the karaoke index in my hands while he was
browsing through the songs on the screen of the machine. There was
always a book with a list of the songs and a way to select and find them
on screen, so you could search for songs in the book while someone else
was singing.
Now what to choose... Shizuka told me to make sure my date would be
enjoying himself. Let's pick something nice and popular to begin with.
"What about 'Can you celebrate'?" I suggested.
"That's a good start."
Namie Amuro's best song in my opinion would be this one. I was still a
kid when it first got released. But even after all those years, I can
still say I enjoy it a lot. It brings back fond memories of fun with
Aoi. We spent a lot of holidays together.
"Where is the microphone?" I asked, searching for it with my eyes.
"Here." he grabbed it at the other end of the table and handed it to me.
"Thanks, Ogata-kun." I replied with a smile, and stood up, ready to
show him how good I can be at singing.
I closed my eyes, and told him to start the music. I was facing him,
determined to show him I knew the song by heart and didn't need to look
at the screen.
I started singing while holding the microphone in front of my mouth.
'Can you celebrate?' wasn't a very difficult song too. The lyrics came
simply to me while the tune played in the background. I was so used to
them, I could easily reproduce Namie Amuro's singing vibes by closing my
eyes and picturing myself on stage singing like this. Call it a little
girl's dream if you like, I didn't care. This was my little hidden
fantasy which fueled my love for singing.
The song soon came to an end, and I handed him the microphone. Our
hands brushed, making me blush a little. I went to sit down on the couch
and watched him sing a rock song from Kinya Kotani. I was a bit
surprised at first I must admit: the song was very difficult to sing. He
had some trouble going over the fastest parts, but overall he was doing
good.
While he sang, I looked for a song to sing next in the karaoke index.
Hmmm, something nice and fitting winter? I knew what to select now.
I took the microphone back when he finished, our hands brushing again,
and slowly went over to the front of him, my back turned to the machine.
"Chiisana shiaaaawase o... Daiji ni atatameeeeeteta... Nee..."
As usual, the song flew through me without effort. I opened my eyes to
look at him as I sung. The lyrics were pretty romantic actually, and it
didn't occur to me until later that maybe, I didn't pick the best song
for this kind of loveless date.
As I was finished, I smiled at him, and went to sat down again, handing
him the microphone for his turn.
However, the handling of the microphone didn't go as smoothly as I had
planned. My arm actually hit something, and before I could pull back, I
realized it was his drink, which was now spillong on the table.
"Aah!" I pulled my hand away. I didn't see the glass on the table!
He had pulled his legs away in reflex. I wasn't sure if he got some on
his pants or not, given the color, so I asked.
"Did some got spilled on you?" I asked urgently.
"Uh, just a little..."
"I have a handkerchief, I'll take care of that!"
I looked around quickly for my handbag, as if there was some kind of
emergency. Well, not really, actually, if you don't take into account my
level of embarassment at that moment. I wanted to fix my mistake quickly.
I grabbed the bag and rummaged through it, trying to find the
handkerchief. In panic, my hand grabbed something else, and I extracted
it from the bag, only to be treated by the view of a plastic wrap around
something that looked like a ring... Wait, it wasn't that.
"My, Suzumiya, you're quite the bold one, aren't you?"
he teased, pointing at the condom I held in my hand just now. My heart
skipped a beat.
Shizuka, you're so dead tonight. So dead.
* * *
"Domou arigatou gozaimashita!" the lady at the counter thanked us for
our visit to the Karaoke as we left.
I didn't even nod at her, I was busy apologizing to Ogata for the Nth
time already.
"I'm so sorry!"
I quickly told him back there that it was Shizuka who put this in there
without me knowing, that I didn't want to do such things just yet, that
I wasn't like that... Shizuka, you'll pay, very dearly. Just you wait.
"It's okay, at least you had a handkerchief in your bag." he told me
with a chuckle. I could tell he was making fun of me.
Oh well.
"Shall I accompany you home? It's getting late."
I was planning to call for Shizuka to pick me up, but since he offered,
how could I refuse?
"Alright, but you just make sure I'm on the right train this time. I'll
call Shizuka. She'll pick me up at the station, okay?"
"Fine with me. I already know you're a big girl, with what you're
carrying in your bag."
Was he planning to make me die of embarrassment?
The sky was dark by now, and I kept my sunglasses in one of the pockets
of my coat. There was a little snow here and there on the streets, but
it didn't really bother me much. It actually helped me by contrasting
well with the people walking on it.
* * *
The trip back to Nakanobu was pretty uneventful and I met back with
Shizuka at the station. I smiled at Ogata and bowed a little. Even
though I protested at first, he boarded the same train as I, to make
sure I didn't miss my station.
"Thanks for taking care of me today."
"It was pretty fun. I guess we'll see each other at school next year."
he grinned, and waved at both of us before departing.
I waited until he was well out of earsight before speaking with Shizuka.
"You, miss, will pay dearly now." I said in a mockingly menacing tone.
"Oh, you found the condom, heh? I thought it might come into handy, but
forgot to tell you about it."
She was lying.
I swayed my cane dangerously in her direction as she was teasing me.
You don't mock Ayako Suzumiya like that!
"I could have died of embarrassment back there! Do you imagine what he
must have thought of me!?" I snarled back at her. Shizuka was a friend,
a very good one, and even if sometimes I was kind of angry at her, I was
never angry enough to stop considering her a friend. I usually calm down
fast.
She laughed and did her best to avoid my cane.
"Ayako-chan, Ayako-chan, I'm positive he didn't think of you less. You
were just cautious by having that in your bag, y'know."
She was right, but that was not the point.
"Mou! I'll tell Karen!"
"I'm sure she'll find that funny too."
I honestly doubted that.
"MOU! Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!"
I need melonpan, now.
* * *
To be continued.
Author's notes:
This chapter is a little special since it was basically released without
the usual retooling by Dave Watson. Being French, I sometimes do a lot
of syntax and style mistakes despite considering myself fluent in
English. I apologize about this, and hope that Dave will have time to
look and retool this chapter soon. You'll then find an updated version
of the website.
Sadly, the website isn't available yet in English: Alice who does the
layout of my websites has been much preoccupied with RL events, and I
was waiting for her to switch the site from Dotclear 1 to 2 and make a
new layout for that occasion.
To make it up, I present you with a fanart of Ayako made by pony:
http://blindspot.teri-chan.net/fr/images/ayakopony.jpeg
I hope you're enjoying reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it.
Comments are always welcome, so don't hesitate to mail me at : axel at
teri-chan dot net.
Waiting for your mails :)
Axel Terizaki
by Axel Terizaki <axel at teri-chan dot net.>
MSN: axelterizaki@hotmail.com - ICQ: 81441376
Chapter 3 : My first time.
* * *
I didn't like Shibuya that much, to be frank. Even if being a teenage
schoolgirl in Japan should have automatically made me a pilgrim of that
particular district of Tokyo, reportedly one of the busiest districts in
the world, I had to say I was absolutely not into it.
Girls, or to be more precise, 'kogals', were flowing past us in a daze
of jewelry and stylish clothes. I was always attracted to shiny things
ever since I was little. Obviously, I should have become like those
girls when I grew up, but I just wasn't into it. There was just
something wrong with them, that I couldn't exactly put my finger on.
Maybe it was the whole exuberance of their appearance, their thirst of
fashion to the point where some girls would sell their bodies for
expansive handbags, or their tendency to dress up in unthinkable
outfits... And yet, I couldn't help but admire them, for the way they
lived their lives to their fullest, without worry. It was pretty rare to
see a sad kogal sitting around, but I had seen some screaming hissy fits
at their boyfriends before. All I saw passing by were happy girls with
their friends shopping, issueing a phone call or chatting excitedly. Sad
kogals don't exist, or they're called goths. Which is worse? Good question.
That, along with the loud music and the bright lights everywhere which
made all the girls shine even more would have surely given me a headache.
And yet, here I was, being dragged by Shizuka around the shops inside
the Shibuya 109 building, on a Saturday afternoon. The Shibuya 109
building was actually a heaven for women to shop at. Clothes,
accessories, and beauty products were mainstream here. In other words,
Shibuya was to girls and kogals what Akihabara was to otakus and
computer maniacs. Both were scary, honest.
Shizuka knew I didn't like it when it was too crowded, with my fear of
being lost by myself, but she absolutely insisted that I buy some
clothes for my first date.
Yes, a date.
Yes, with Ogata.
No, Karen didn't know...
"Ayako-chan, I think I spotted Karen over there!"
...yet.
"Ah, nevermind, she just had the same hairstyle." Shizuka said quickly
afterwards, her tone shifting from excited to mild disappointment in a
second.
Phew!
What's with all these people sporting the same hairstyle as Karen?!
If Karen ever heard about what I was going to do tomorrow, I'd
certainly have her on my tail all day long spying on me and Ogata. Karen
is a great friend, she always helped me out, but she was sometimes a
little bit overprotective. No wonder she got along well with my mother.
She seemed to dislike Ogata much, but she refused so far to tell me why
she was like this with him.
"Ayako-chan! Over there, look!"
Shizuka was much more excited than I was about going on a date it
seems. I must admit I never thought about the possibility of a guy
asking me out before. I mean, no guy approached me before, compared to
Shizuka who went to at least a few dates, to my knowledge. Oh of course,
I fantasized about dates sometimes, I read manga you know! But the
reality never quite catches with how fiction works.
"Wouldn't this dress look cute on you?"
I took out my new monocular from under my coat, and placed it over my
left eye to look at the dress Shizuka was pointing at from afar, behind
the window of a shop.
"The black shirt and skirt outfit over there?" I asked while searching
for what she wanted to show me.
"That's dark blue, Ayako-chan."
"Oh, whatever."
I looked at it more closely by approaching a little. I guess I wouldn't
look bad at all in that. The collar of the shirt was looking pretty cute
too.
"Shall we enter and try it on? It does look cheap too. Ah and you'll
need fantasy stockings too. Maybe something with leaves... Yes, yes, I
can already picture that! Let's go inside!"
And she dragged me, again.
Did I say anything about accepting to try the outfit on?
* * *
"Come on, Ayako! Are you done yet? I'm dying to see it!"
I was adjusting the skirt and shirt a bit in the mirror of the dressing
cabin before pushing the curtains away to show myself to Shizuka.
"Well, I guess it does fit."
She looked up and down at me and approached me slowly. She placed her
hands at my hips and sides, apparently trying to see if it fitted me as
well as I was saying it was.
There was, however, something terribly wrong with my outfit.
"I think this skirt is way, way too short." I argued.
"Aw, Ayako, girls show flesh around nowadays. Don't tell me you don't
watch TV."
I shrugged a little, and kept on arguing. TV was definitely not a good
example to follow, especially our TV.
"Shizuka-chan, I appreciate your kindness but this is simply too short
for me." I looked down. "Look at it, it barely covers my thighs!"
I heard her sigh, and looked up at her. She started looking around a
little. I wondered what she was searching for.
"You know," I explained. "I can't see if people look at me, so I don't
like, you know, to stand out that much."
She smiled at me, and placed her hands on my shoulders.
"But Ayako, standing out is part of seduction. You HAVE to stand out
for your date to notice you among the crowd."
I blushed a little. She was right. I nodded my head in agreement, as
there was nothing much I could say to this, frankly. I still felt bad
about this skirt, even with stockings on, there was no way it wouldn't
show flesh.
"Just have a little faith in yourself, and in me too. Trust me and you
won't be disappointed. I guess we can try a longer skirt."
It was my turn to smile now.
"Thanks, Shizuka-chan."
We started looking around for another skirt already. Every time Shizuka
saw something of interest, she usually showed it to me for a closer
inspection. I'm not difficult with clothes really, but I do have my
standards.
We eventually picked something good, that matched both my and Shizuka's
tastes. I came out of the changing cabin again, the skirt going down to
just above my knees, which was plain perfect.
"Looks good, really good. You'll need stockings now. You can't walk
around with those bare legs in winter!"
I frowned. I thought we were done, and she added more to the shopping list!
"Shizuka-chan, I already have some stockings at home. They'll do fine."
"Ssh, you can't go out with just plain stockings, I saw some nice ones
while you were changing." I felt her hands adjusting the skirt and shirt
some more.
Normally I wouldn't allow this kind of intimacy with someone, I guess
no one would, but Shizuka had always been someone I trusted much, along
with Karen. I watched as she was taking her time making the shirt look
absolutely right. These were the kind of things I couldn't do by myself
anyways.
"Great, you look good in that. Ogata-kun will love it."
"You know, I'm not sure I..."
"And now, on for some stockings! Change back quickly!" she said with a
nod, interrupting me. Looks like I won't be able to fight her back.
I nodded in defeat, and went back to the dressing cabin to put my
clothes back on.
* * *
I kept nodding when she showed me some stockings she wanted me to wear.
I must admit I was quite excited at the prospect of going on a date.
Yes, my first date in sixteen years of age. Don't laugh.
It's something I always wanted, something I often read about in girly
manga and novels. But on the other hand, it was so sudden, I wasn't
prepared, and it wasn't like I was in love with Ogata. The guy actually
scared me a little, especially with what Karen told me about him.
"What do you think of those?"
Shizuka snapped me out of my thoughts by showing me a pair of fantasy
stockings with leaves printed on them.
"Hmmmm."
I took them in my hand to look at them more closely. I guess they
looked okay. Frankly I wasn't going to be difficult, I just wanted to go
home now that I bought a new outfit.
"If we add this to your outfit, you'll really look cute. Tomorrow
morning I want you at my place at nine o'clock. At which hour are you
supposed to meet Ogata, and where?"
"Uh, two in the afternoon, in front of Hachiko."
She nodded and grinned at me, almost wolfishly.
"Ayako-chan, tomorrow you're going to become a woman."
Now I was scared.
"Y-Y-You don't mean..."
"Yes."
I gulped. She couldn't possibly think I'd...?
"Tomorrow," she continued. "I'm going to work on your hands, face and
hair a little, there's no way Ogata will resist you."
I blinked, twice.
"Shizuka-chan, I'm not sure. I mean, it's just a date, ne? I don't feel
anything for Ogata."
"Listen Ayako-chan, there is something a girl absolutely needs to be,
at all times: Beautiful, cute, and charming. Regardless of what you feel
for the other person, a girl absolutely needs to look good in any
situation."
I nodded at the lecture she gave me. I admit she was right, when I
thought about it.
"Good, now let's take you home. Tomorrow is going to be a good day, for
sure!"
I sure hoped so.
* * *
Shizuka accompanied me home, and I ate dinner with Miyuki and my
parents. It was uneventful and for a good reason: I didn't say anything
about tomorrow's date to my family. There was a 120 percent chance
Miyuki would want to forbid me of going alone with a guy I barely knew,
and an equal chance my parents would interrogate me for hours before and
after the date.
I went back to my room after a relaxing warm bath, and turned on my CD
player to listen to a album disc I bought not so long ago. I looked at
the books I was planning on reading sooner or later on my desk, but
there wasn't anything appealing to me right now. I guess I just wasn't
in the mood. I might be stupid, but tomorrow feels like something big
for me, it was rather intimidating, almost frightening even.
"...Futari ni God bless..."
I sometimes sang quietly along with the songs I was listening to. I
often fantasized about being on stage singing like that, in front of
people I liked, giving them a good time. Call it a little girl's dream
if you like. I know I won't ever be able to become successful in this
area of business anyways due to my poor eyesight.
I sat on my bed and laid down there to think a little while the music
played quietly in my room.
What was I scared about after all? It was just a date, right?
But it was my first... What would I do if he got bored with me? What
about if he took me someplace where I couldn't see things? What if he
took me to a love hotel!? Aaah, this was all making me crazy!
I guess I'd better find something to read and go to sleep.
* * *
The next day, I arrived at Shizuka's place, dressed in what we bought
the day before, along with a coat I bought not so long ago. I opened the
front gate, and rang her doorbell.
The sky wasn't very sunny, but as long as it didn't rain, it was fine
with me. I preferred it that way actually. It was easier for me to see
outside.
"Ah, it's you!" she said as she opened the door, and dragged me inside.
I climbed the stairs to her room after taking off my shoes. There, I
discovered a chair in the middle of the room, apparently waiting for me.
"You sit down there, Ayako-chan, I'll take care of the rest."
"Heh?"
"But first, you take off your clothes." she said in a commanding tone.
What was she thinking?
"S-Shizuka-chan!"
"Hehe, just kidding. Just sit there." she said, patting the chair to
invite me on.
As I sat on it, she covered my upper body with a towel, and went to a
drawer of her dresser.
"I've prepared a handbag I'm going to lend you. You'll find everything
you'll need inside. Handkerchief, mirror, perfume, gloss, a foldable
comb, some lipstick, about a thousand yen just in case, and a picture of
us and Karen. Of course, the thousand yen, should you use them, are
called 'come back', y'know? Oh and give me your phone, I'll put it inside."
I did hand her my phone, and blinked.
"A picture of us? Why?"
"So you can show off how much you value friendship. It's very important
to show that despite your handicap, you've got friends and a life, you see?"
She had a point, even if it was pretty obvious to me, it wouldn't for
other people. I found this quite weird though.
"Don't you find this a little bit too much?"
"What, the picture?" she asked.
"Yeah."
I felt like I didn't need it, like it was some kind of insult to my pride.
"Fine, fine, I'll take it out then."
"Alright, so, what's first?" I tried to show some enthusiasm.
"Well, obviously, we're going to depilate your eyebrows a little first."
Obviously!?
"Eh?"
"This is going to hurt a bit, but bear with it."
I closed my eyes and took a deep sigh.
"Don't worry, I've done this before." she said while she apparently
took something in her hand, from what I could hear.
I endured patiently as Shizuka started to work on me. After all, it was
something she'll have to do in the future for her work. I winced and
moaned a little in pain from time to time though, it wasn't very pleasant.
"Don't be such a crybaby, Ayako-chan. Your nails will come sooner or
later, and believe me, that'll hurt."
"S-Shizuka-chan!" I asked, unsure of her intentions now.
"Nope, this time I'm not kidding." I could sense the hint of a grin
from her voice. She must be enjoying this immensely.
Once finished, she took a mirror and gave it to me. I pulled the mirror
close to me to see better.
"They're quite thin now. It looks good." I commented, blinking twice.
"Desho desho? You need to suffer to get beautiful." I guess she was
right, even though I didn't want to pass by the suffering part much.
She took the mirror away, and I closed my eyes again, resting there on
the seat she prepared for me. It's not like I could do much else anyways.
"Next, I'm going to apply a revitalizing lotion. That will feel good."
she explained. "Your face needs it, it'll give you a much fresher look."
I smiled a little, and heard her apply something on her hands.
"Okay, here I come."
I then felt hands press onto my skin, applying a lotion on my face. It
felt fresh indeed, and Shizuka's hands were soft and warm. She was
making sure it got applied everywhere on my face and chin.
"Hmmmm..." I let out, enjoying the touch greatly. It lasted a few
minutes before Shizuka took her hands away from me.
"I'm going to wash my hands in the bathroom, wait a bit."
"Okay."
I let the lotion dry on my skin while Shizuka was away. This allowed me
a bit of thinking to myself again. I was going on a date! I should be
happy, right? Yet, for some reason, I felt restless. This was all beyond
my control, and I absolutely didn't like that.
"I'm back!" I heard Shizuka announce as she came back into the room. I
still had my eyes closed.
"Looks good. While it dries I'm going to file your nails properly and
work on your hands. Ogata must absolutely feel how soft and smooth those
delicate hands of yours are when he holds them, right?"
"Holding hands?" I asked, a bit surprised and actually shy about the
idea of holding hands with a guy like this.
"During a date, you hold hands, that's a rule."
"Okay, okay."
I waited patiently and chatted a bit with Shizuka while she was doing
my nails.
"So you didn't tell anything to Karen heh?" Shizuka asked first.
"She doesn't seem to like Ogata much, I think they went out together
before and it didn't work out." I explained.
"Hmmm, maybe there's something more to it."
"She said she found out he had lots of girl names in his cellphone
address book. She managed to get a hold of his phone and take a look
inside."
This actually made Shizuka laugh.
"Karen is after the pure, innocent type then. It's not exactly common
these days."
"R-Really?" how could I tell her now that it's what I was looking for,
in a boy? She'd make fun of me too.
"Even I have lots of guys in my phone's address book. I don't call them
anymore though, but it's a good thing to know exactly who might be
calling you, before deciding to answer or not, you know?"
That's actually clever, from a seductress' point of view.
"She's quite possessive I th...aah!" I moaned in pain a little as
Shizuka was filing my nails and hurt me a little.
"Ah sorry, sorry." she apologized, and kept on working on me.
"It's okay." I tried to reassure her "I'm fine, it just briefly hurt,
that's all."
She hmmed softly and apologized again. I could sense she was trying to
be more careful with it.
"Shizuka-chan... You know it's going to be my first date, right? Do you
have, you know, any tips?" I asked, a bit shyly.
She laughed again a bit at that, which made me feel like I was asking a
stupid question.
"What, don't tell me you need dating tips after having spent so much
time on my copy of Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side?"
H-Hey!
"Mou! You know what I mean!"
As if I had played that game a lot. I only did get one ending and
stopped playing it afterwards.
"I'm joking, I'm joking, don't panic."
Shizuka always had that recomforting tone and touch right after she
joked with me, or when she saw I was a little uneasy. It immediately
made me feel relaxed.
"Just act naturally, watch out for your date enjoying himself, and make
sure you're happy yourself. There's no use going on a date unwillingly."
Of course, she said 'watch out', and surely realized I couldn't do that
well. She corrected herself shortly after.
"I mean, try to check if he's enjoying himself during the date and make
sure there is as little distance as possible between you and him."
I nodded, trying to fully understand her words.
"And most of all, embarrassing remarks are not allowed!"
"Heeeh?" I admit I didn't understand well what she meant. Shizuka
giggled at my reaction.
"I mean, try not to make a fool of yourself by saying something stupid.
Weight your words. Some guys try to put a lot of efforts into what to
say to a girl, so it's pretty normal we do the same, or he'll think of
you in a bad way." she explained. That made sense.
She stopped what she was doing, and took some other tools from her tray.
"I hope Karen is spending a good time with her family." Shizuka said
softly while she was now painting my nails.
"Hm. She promised she'll bring back pictures from her trip to the
United States."
"She's lucky to be able to go abroad once in a while. I'd like to see
Europe for example one day! Germany, France, Italia, Spain!"
I giggled a bit. Shizuka always had big plans for everything. What's
worse, she often managed to make them possible to accomplish. I couldn't
say the same for mine. Do I have at least plans for the future?
I admit Europe wouldn't be a bad destination for a trip though. Maybe
she could smuggle me in her luggage when she goes there?
* * *
My ordeal was finished about one hour later.
"Okay, all done!"
Shizuka just finished applying some dark blue lipstick on me. She said
it'd actually make me look a little older.
I lifted my hand to my face to touch my cheek. It was so soft and
smooth now! I had a hard time believing it.
"Wow."
"Good, isn't it? Here, take the mirror."
She handed me a handheld mirror of hers, and I got it close to my face
to see better. The problem is that this way I couldn't see all of my
face, but I got the idea anyways.
"I really look good." I whispered, and inspected my hands and nails
next, they were colored of what looked like pink to me.
"Alright."
She helped me off the chair, and I looked down at myself. I didn't feel
like I was myself today, but the feeling was fresh and exciting, as if I
could do anything I ever wanted now.
"Hmmm. We forgot jewelry yesterday. I'll lend you some earrings and a
headband."
"O-Okay."
I looked her way as she rummaged through a drawer. She soon came back
to me with a set of small discreet earrings and a headband. She attached
the earring to my left ear and then my right one.
"They're light blue. They'll contrast well with your dark hair without
being obvious at first glance."
I nodded. I must admit questions about appearance completely slipped
from my mind these past few years. I then felt her place the headband on
my head.
"And some light blue here too, it's perfect!"
I sure hoped so. Part of me didn't want to disappoint my date, and
another one wanted to run away from him. I'm sure that if Karen were
there, she would have gladly helped that second part of me.
* * *
The sky was low, but it wasn't raining at all. Not yet anyways. Shizuka
was accompanying me to the rendez-vous point.
"I feel weird." I said to her as we got off the train at the Shibuya
station.
"Excited? Nervous?" she asked back.
"Yes, exactly."
"That's the spirit. I was trembling all over the first time too. It's
even worse at the love hotel!"
I facefaulted.
"Shizuka! You're making it worse!"
She laughed at me now.
"Just kidding, I'm trying to make you relax, can't you see?"
"Mou..."
"What an idiot I am, of course you don't see." she slapped her forehead
a little as if to correct herself. "Sorry."
"It's okay, don't worry." I replied reassuringly.
We walked together for a bit, with me waving my cane around in front of
us. As we exited the station, I placed my sunglasses on my eyes.
"Looks like he's here already." she pointed her finger in the direction
of Hachiko, and as I tried to focus, I could see someone there indeed,
in dark clothing with something white underneath. Most probably a sweater.
"Come on, let's get closer!"
And she dragged me over to him. He offered a little wave of his hand as
he saw us approach.
"Well well, did I get two for the price of one?" he asked, making me
immediately blush. Of course Shizuka laughed. It's hard to imagine her
getting embarrassed.
"Oh no, no. I'm just accompanying Ayako here. She couldn't have come
here all by herself. I'm handing her to you now."
There was a slight pause.
"If Suzumiya wasn't using a cane and sunglasses, you could pass as
sisters, you know?" he remarked.
"I'd better leave you two lovebirds, you've got work." she joked, and
waved her hand as she left us two alone.
Work?
"Well then," he started "Do you need my arm or something?" he asked,
politely. I guess he was just asking because of my handicap and not as
an excuse to get a feel of my chest against his arm.
"I'll be fine following you, I can see a little." I smiled.
From a love-love point of view, it wasn't the smartest move to do when
I think back about it, but I wasn't feeling at ease at the moment anyways.
"Fine, we'll go to that arcade nearby then, for starters." he suggested.
An arcade? I haven't been to that kind of place in ages.
* * *
Shizuka gave me some money, but I had prepared some as well of course,
and I was surely going to use it very soon.
We walked down the stairs to an underground arcade room. There were
quite some people here, but less than what I had expected when he
suggested the idea of playing video games in Shibuya. I looked around a
bit curiously, at the screens and the games displayed here. Rhythm
games, fighting games, shooting...
"I'm good at some of these, wanna see?" he asked me. Looks like he
wants to show off. He headed for a shooting game, placed some money
inside, and picked up the toy gun on the game station.
"Uh, well, it's not like I can really appreciate your skill you know."
I said a little embarrassingly. I guess he didn't think there was no
point at making me watch him play a shooting game. Did he think I was
going to see the screen in front of him well? Was he kidding me? I hoped
the date wouldn't be like that all day!
"Heh, I guess you're right, didn't think about your eyesight." he
semi-apologized. "Now that I put money in, mind if I play at least a
game?" he asked. I guess it would have been quite rude from me to
refuse. I was too nice I think.
"It's okay, you can play." I replied with a smile as sweet as I could
master.
I looked at his screen while he played and shot at some monsters. He
was rather good I think, since I was seeing the shapes disappear one
after another when the screen turned momentarily white everytime he shot
at something. I then took a look at him, a bit tired of watching the
screen flicker over and over.
He was in a good pose, concentrated, holding the gun in front of him
with both hands. He wasn't trying to show off, I think. He seemed to
concentrate on what he was doing. If it was showing off, he would have
probably tried to play single-handed, while chatting with me. God I
hated that kind of guys.
He eventually lost to some big evil tentacle monster from what I
understood, and he put down the gun back in place.
"Well, do you want a game where we can get closer to the screen?" he asked.
I looked around at the different game machines in front of each other,
running some kind of fighting game.
"Hmm, I don't know." I said, honestly. I wasn't too much into video
games, even if I did enjoy myself sometimes when Shizuka lent me her
game system at home with a few games.
"What about rhythm games? You know of DDR and ParaPara Paradise, right?"
Of course, I played them often when I was younger with Shizuka, Karen
and Aoi. These games were a bit outdated, but you could easily find some
working ones in a few arcade shops I heard.
"I know them yes, I used to play some with Karen and Shizuka." I said.
"This arcade has a room with some of these, wanna try? I guess you can
see the arrows moving on the screen at least, right?"
I nodded at this. Looks like he's starting to get it. It made me smile.
"Sure, let's try."
We went to a backroom, and there was still a unused DDR machine, along
with some other games with different musical instruments there. I knew
that kind of game had been popular for a while back then.
I let my cane and my handbag on the side of the DDR machine and climbed
on the dance panels without efforts. I felt Ogata's hand apparently
wanting to guide me, but he quickly saw I could do it myself. Come on,
how difficult it is to take a step on a panel just centimeters off the
ground?
"Are you good at it?" he asked me.
I shrugged a little.
"So-so. Don't worry about me, I can see the arrows when the background
is dark enough."
"Okay."
It felt like he asked that out of politeness, but then again, maybe I
was just too suspicious.
And we danced on the game's music. I must admit I was a little bit
rusty. I was about fourteen when I played it last. But it's like riding
a bike, you can't forget about it that easily.
I wasn't doing too good, and scored a few Bs and Cs during most songs.
I was about to go reach for my handbag to put some more coins into the
machine, but when I came back, Ogata stopped me.
"I did put some credits for you already, let's keep on dancing a little
more."
"Oh."
I smiled a little at his gesture, and climbed back on the dance
platform for another set of three songs. This time I insisted that he
chose the songs though.
* * *
After a few more songs, I gently signaled I was growing tired of it.
Sure it was fun, but I guess he noticed I wasn't too good at it and
wanted to do something else. We came back into the main room, and that's
when I felt his hand on mine.
So that's a guy's hand. Rough, big, warm...
He led me to a set of arcade games arranged in versus mode. You can't
see your opponent there, but you know he or she, is in front of you.
"You should see better if you sit directly in front of it, right?" he
told me, while motioning for a seat in front of one game.
"Huh, right." I said, with a nod, and sat down, while he went to his
own machine in front of me. I looked at the controls, it seemed like a
fighting game. I wasn't too comfortable with those. Shizuka or Karen
always beat the crap out of me. I considered this a guy's game anyways.
I selected my character, trying to pick the strongest one. I guess I
must looked stupid looking at the screen up close like that, and I tried
to hide my embarrassment by concentrating on the game about to start.
My character was a big guy named Maxima. Ogata used a female character
which I forgot the name already. All i remember was that she was looking
like one of those idols you see in magazines. You know, the kind of girl
who had her brains in her chest.
The battle started.
I started hitting the buttons randomly and making a few awkwards moves.
My character was slow, while his was apparently light as a feather. It
took me a few seconds to get used to the controls. The game was fairly
easy for me to follow, the graphics weren't much detailed and colorful,
it allowed me to concentrate on the characters in the front, clearly
noticeable from the rest of the background.
Kick, punch, chop, block... Once more now...
Mou! Ogata was not really making this easy for me! I wasn't sure if he
was taking it seriously or not, but I ended up losing twice in a row. He
didn't make any of those spectular moves you see in TV ads for those
games, but he just beat me anyway. Seeing that I wasn't doing well, he
stood up after the third battle, and went to me.
"Well, shall we go elsewhere now?" he asked, without making any
comments about my poor ability at playing video games. I nodded anyways
and stood up, taking my cane in hand and following him closely.
I thought I had just made myself a fool by playing these games badly
with him. I guessed it was common for girls my age to know how to play
these. There seemed to be a fair share of girls there, even though the
population of the place was mainly male, by a rough guess.
* * *
As we went out of the game center, I suddenly felt the coldness of
December again on my skin. But more importantly, there was wetness on my
skin. Rain?
I looked at my hands closely, and saw a little bit of snow here and
there. It wasn't falling too heavily, though. As I was inspecting my
hands, I heard a whisper in my ear.
"Shall we go eat something?"
It was a simple question, but the sheer power of the whisper in my
sensitive ears made me jump a little. Yes, that's my weak point. Sadly,
Shizuka knows.
"Ah uhm. Well, sure."
I put my sunglasses on to see better outside. Even though the sky was
low and the sun wasn't shining at all over us, it was still pretty
difficult for me to see well.
And yet, one week ago I wasn't wearing those at all. Now that they sit
on my nose and ears, I feel much better outside during daytime. I was
obviously against the idea at first, but you know how it is: parents
push you to do it, friends push you to do it, something in your mind
pushes you to do it, and next thing you know, you're suddenly wearing
sunglasses even when no sun is seen outside.
The thing was, as soon as I had tried them, I was much less tiring my
eyes outside, and it was just adding comfort to my everyday life. I was
still afraid people would question why a schoolgirl would be wearing
sunglasses, but I guess that my cane helped them understand what they
were for.
I let Ogata lead me again through the streets of Shibuya. We walked a
little bit, my shoes clicking on the sidewalk. I stood silent the whole
time, looking in front of me through my sunglasses.
"I see you're moving pretty swiftly, for someone not seeing well."
"Well, I see a little, the cane is just here to tell people to pay
attention."
He hummed a little at this.
"Are you like this since birth?"
I heard this question so many times before, and I always had the best
answer to it.
"Yeah. It's better than losing my eyesight in an accident or something.
Since I don't know how normal people see, I don't feel like I'm lacking
something. I don't know what I'm losing, and that's my strength."
I heard him chuckle, but I kept my eyes in front of me as we walked.
This wasn't supposed to be funny, Ogata.
"At least you try to see what's good in this. That's something to be
quite proud of."
As we crossed a street in direction of the Harajuku district, my nose
picked a smell. A very very nice smell.
"Taiyaki!" I let out, looking around to try to find who was selling some.
"Taiyaki...?" Ogata said too. As he saw me looking around, he seemed to
be searching as well.
"Come with me." I then felt him take my arm gently and lead me further
up the street. Ah, the smell was getting stronger...
My addiction to melonpan and taiyaki was actually legendary among my
family and friends. Some said it would lead me to my end one day. Don't ask.
* * *
Soon enough, we were sitting on a bench together, a bag of hot taiyaki
in my arms, and one of those delicious fish-shaped cakes in my hand. I
was chewing on the head of the fish rather hungrily.
"If I knew you were this hungry, we would have gone to a café right
away." he told me.
I didn't really care. I finished munching on one of the taiyaki, and
fished another out of the bag. That's all that mattered to me for now.
"Hmmm, I just love those. Do you want one?" I asked him.
"Sure."
I handed him one and kept munching on mine, watching the snow drop
before us. The warmth of the cake, filled with sweet custard was enough
to make me forget about the cold.
"Do you see well when there is snow all around the place?" he asked me,
out of the blue. The question did surprise me at first, but I found it
nice of him that he asked. Was he that concerned about me?
"Well." I said between bites. "Snow is white, and the sunlight blinds
me already, so it just adds to the miscomfort."
"That's why you use sunglasses." he noted. Smart one.
"Right. That's not perfect, but it helps a lot in making it less
painful to see. When I didn't have sunglasses before, I was always
blinking my eyes, because I couldn't keep them open long enough in the
light. I was only seeing a picture or so every second, so I had to be
extra careful."
"Hmmmmmm." he seemed to listen, and care, at least. Well, I hoped he
was genuinely concerned. That would be mean of him if he wasn't.
He went silent after this, allowing me to finish my taiyaki in peace.
After I finished my second cake, I started to wonder when we were about
to leave.
"So, what are we doing next?" I asked, curious.
"I initially planned for a movie, but I didn't take your eyesight into
account."
It was a first for me. I didn't know if I should have felt insulted
that he only thought of it now, or grateful that he cared about it. I
mean, if he only thought of it just now, did he really prepare anything
at all for our date? It's my first! He could respect that, at least!
My answer was surely going to surprise him anyways.
"I actually can go to the theater, the screen is big enough. I just
need to be in the first rows of seats."
I understand though that people might think I couldn't see well in the
theater given the distance from the screen to the seats, but honestly,
as long as it's not a subtitled foreign movie, I can enjoy it pretty
well too.
"Then let's go." he said while standing up, brushing some snow off his
lap, and I did the same to follow him, my bag of taiyakis in hand. I was
feeling a little tired, and a movie would surely help me relax a little.
* * *
There was a lot of people around the theater at this time of the day,
and I ended up holding Ogata's arm close to me to follow him, my cane
in hand. The handy thing about this cane when there is a lot of people
around, is that it can disperse people easily. A little wave here and
there, and people make room for me to go through.
We stepped inside a theather in Harajuku, and picked a movie together.
I wasn't too difficult when it came to movies, and we picked a romantic
comedy. I forgot the name already, but it's of not much importance. We
sat in the middle of the theater room, and the screen was at a
reasonable distance for me to see. I let my coat behind me and relaxed
in my seat, waiting for the movie to start.
"You're going to be okay here?" he asked
"Yeah, don't worry about it."
I closed my eyes while waiting for the movie to start. Was I getting
sleepy? The seats were quite comfortable, actually. I could as well
sleep here if I wasn't careful, but it would be most impolite of me to
do so, especially after I insisted on going to the theater like he
originally planned. Might as well relax a bit before the movie begins.
* * *
I slept.
During the whole movie.
I can't believe it!
I opened my eyes only to be greeted by the credits rolling and people
starting to idly chat about the movie they just saw and leave. I then
heard a chuckle next to me.
"Slept well?"
I jumped a little in my seat and looked at my right, to see Ogata
fixating me.
"I...did I just...?"
"Yeah, you slept during the whole movie. Looks like you were quite tired."
I blushed red. How can I be more embarrassed!?
"Oh my. I-I'm sorry Ogata-kun! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! It was
just so comfortable here, and I was feeling a bit tired from the walk
earlier and the takiyakis I ate and..."
I wanted to find more excuses, but I was running out of ideas.
fortunately, he interrupted me before I could make an even worse fool of
myself.
"Don't worry about it. Watching your cute face sleeping for about one
hour and a half was much more interesting than the movie." he grinned.
Even though it calmed me down, that remark didn't stop me from blushing
even more.
Karen, is it what you were talking about?
* * *
We left the theater soon enough. It was still snowing gently outside. I
put my sunglasses back on, and held on Ogata's arm again as we walked. I
guess we must have looked like boyfriend and girlfriend here. It was
strange, I was going out with this guy I barely knew, and yet, I wasn't
feeling anything special for him. Shizuka kind of convinced me it was
perfectly normal. It's true that with all the novels and manga I read, I
tend to believe in other ways a love-love relationship should develop.
"Let's see. I think I know the perfect thing to do to wake you up."
"Heh?" I was starting to wonder where he was going to lead me.
"You'll see soon enough."
I don't know if that's the kind of thing he said to every girl he led
somewhere he didn't want her to know, but for me, it was a little
frightening. How was I supposed to guess where we were going considering
I could only rely on what he could tell me? That idiot.
He led me through some streets, and it took me a while to realize we
were back in Shibuya. However, not exactly on the right streets for a
girl to wander in alone. I was accompanied, mind you, but it didn't
change anything to the fact I was starting to wonder where we were headed.
"Ogata-kun... These are love hotels, right?" I asked in a weak voice.
Oh my god, if it's what I think it was, Shizuka was right. But I wasn't
prepared!
"This is just a shortcut. I never get to this point on a first date,
don't you worry." he replied. Could I really trust him though? Why did I
accept this date anyways!?
After a few more hundred meters, we came back to Shibuya's main
streets, which I was a little bit more familiar with.
"Where are we going exactly?" I dared ask. I was still a bit confused,
and looked down at my feet as I walked with him, letting him guide my
steps through the streets.
"We're going to do some karaoke."
The words struck me. My eyes lit up behind my glasses.
"Karaoke?" I asked, just to make sure I had well heard the magic word.
"Yep. Is that a problem for you? You can't read the lyrics on the screen?"
"Nevermind that, I absolutely love karaoke!"
And with that, I held on his arm to drag him. Where? I didn't know
where was the nearest karaoke, but I wanted to prove my point.
* * *
I let him rent a karaoke room for two hours. That was standard practice
here, and two hours were enough for two people. There was my chance to
shine!
I ordered a orange juice and he took a soda. We weren't of age to drink
alcohol anyways, and I didn't think he was one of those who liked to
break laws and all.
"So you like karaoke that much?"
"You bet, Shizuka, Karen and I often go do some after school. When
Karen doesn't have club activities." I explained, while sitting down
next to him. I looked down at myself, just to check if I was still good
looking. I know it might feel stupid, but I was just like that, always
scared that something would be horribly wrong with my appearance, when I
was so nervous. The fact that you couldn't see well contributed to my
insecurity on such matters.
"Since when do you know Sakazaki, if I may ask?" I was puzzled. Why did
he care for her while he had me? My jealousy kicked in.
"Oh, for a few years. We met when I was in middle school, actually it's
been something like three years. Yes, three years. Why are you asking?"
I tried to not show it, but I was feeling a bit jealous that he'd be
thinking of Karen in such a moment. Maybe my tone got a little bitter
without me realizing it.
"Just out of curiosity. It'd not like I know her that much." You
weren't very convincing Ogata, you know that?
I let that slip when he grabbed the karaoke remote, and started looking
at the songs available.
"Anything you'd like?" he asked me.
Tough choice here, I need to think of something he'd like too without
being selfish. I took the karaoke index in my hands while he was
browsing through the songs on the screen of the machine. There was
always a book with a list of the songs and a way to select and find them
on screen, so you could search for songs in the book while someone else
was singing.
Now what to choose... Shizuka told me to make sure my date would be
enjoying himself. Let's pick something nice and popular to begin with.
"What about 'Can you celebrate'?" I suggested.
"That's a good start."
Namie Amuro's best song in my opinion would be this one. I was still a
kid when it first got released. But even after all those years, I can
still say I enjoy it a lot. It brings back fond memories of fun with
Aoi. We spent a lot of holidays together.
"Where is the microphone?" I asked, searching for it with my eyes.
"Here." he grabbed it at the other end of the table and handed it to me.
"Thanks, Ogata-kun." I replied with a smile, and stood up, ready to
show him how good I can be at singing.
I closed my eyes, and told him to start the music. I was facing him,
determined to show him I knew the song by heart and didn't need to look
at the screen.
I started singing while holding the microphone in front of my mouth.
'Can you celebrate?' wasn't a very difficult song too. The lyrics came
simply to me while the tune played in the background. I was so used to
them, I could easily reproduce Namie Amuro's singing vibes by closing my
eyes and picturing myself on stage singing like this. Call it a little
girl's dream if you like, I didn't care. This was my little hidden
fantasy which fueled my love for singing.
The song soon came to an end, and I handed him the microphone. Our
hands brushed, making me blush a little. I went to sit down on the couch
and watched him sing a rock song from Kinya Kotani. I was a bit
surprised at first I must admit: the song was very difficult to sing. He
had some trouble going over the fastest parts, but overall he was doing
good.
While he sang, I looked for a song to sing next in the karaoke index.
Hmmm, something nice and fitting winter? I knew what to select now.
I took the microphone back when he finished, our hands brushing again,
and slowly went over to the front of him, my back turned to the machine.
"Chiisana shiaaaawase o... Daiji ni atatameeeeeteta... Nee..."
As usual, the song flew through me without effort. I opened my eyes to
look at him as I sung. The lyrics were pretty romantic actually, and it
didn't occur to me until later that maybe, I didn't pick the best song
for this kind of loveless date.
As I was finished, I smiled at him, and went to sat down again, handing
him the microphone for his turn.
However, the handling of the microphone didn't go as smoothly as I had
planned. My arm actually hit something, and before I could pull back, I
realized it was his drink, which was now spillong on the table.
"Aah!" I pulled my hand away. I didn't see the glass on the table!
He had pulled his legs away in reflex. I wasn't sure if he got some on
his pants or not, given the color, so I asked.
"Did some got spilled on you?" I asked urgently.
"Uh, just a little..."
"I have a handkerchief, I'll take care of that!"
I looked around quickly for my handbag, as if there was some kind of
emergency. Well, not really, actually, if you don't take into account my
level of embarassment at that moment. I wanted to fix my mistake quickly.
I grabbed the bag and rummaged through it, trying to find the
handkerchief. In panic, my hand grabbed something else, and I extracted
it from the bag, only to be treated by the view of a plastic wrap around
something that looked like a ring... Wait, it wasn't that.
"My, Suzumiya, you're quite the bold one, aren't you?"
he teased, pointing at the condom I held in my hand just now. My heart
skipped a beat.
Shizuka, you're so dead tonight. So dead.
* * *
"Domou arigatou gozaimashita!" the lady at the counter thanked us for
our visit to the Karaoke as we left.
I didn't even nod at her, I was busy apologizing to Ogata for the Nth
time already.
"I'm so sorry!"
I quickly told him back there that it was Shizuka who put this in there
without me knowing, that I didn't want to do such things just yet, that
I wasn't like that... Shizuka, you'll pay, very dearly. Just you wait.
"It's okay, at least you had a handkerchief in your bag." he told me
with a chuckle. I could tell he was making fun of me.
Oh well.
"Shall I accompany you home? It's getting late."
I was planning to call for Shizuka to pick me up, but since he offered,
how could I refuse?
"Alright, but you just make sure I'm on the right train this time. I'll
call Shizuka. She'll pick me up at the station, okay?"
"Fine with me. I already know you're a big girl, with what you're
carrying in your bag."
Was he planning to make me die of embarrassment?
The sky was dark by now, and I kept my sunglasses in one of the pockets
of my coat. There was a little snow here and there on the streets, but
it didn't really bother me much. It actually helped me by contrasting
well with the people walking on it.
* * *
The trip back to Nakanobu was pretty uneventful and I met back with
Shizuka at the station. I smiled at Ogata and bowed a little. Even
though I protested at first, he boarded the same train as I, to make
sure I didn't miss my station.
"Thanks for taking care of me today."
"It was pretty fun. I guess we'll see each other at school next year."
he grinned, and waved at both of us before departing.
I waited until he was well out of earsight before speaking with Shizuka.
"You, miss, will pay dearly now." I said in a mockingly menacing tone.
"Oh, you found the condom, heh? I thought it might come into handy, but
forgot to tell you about it."
She was lying.
I swayed my cane dangerously in her direction as she was teasing me.
You don't mock Ayako Suzumiya like that!
"I could have died of embarrassment back there! Do you imagine what he
must have thought of me!?" I snarled back at her. Shizuka was a friend,
a very good one, and even if sometimes I was kind of angry at her, I was
never angry enough to stop considering her a friend. I usually calm down
fast.
She laughed and did her best to avoid my cane.
"Ayako-chan, Ayako-chan, I'm positive he didn't think of you less. You
were just cautious by having that in your bag, y'know."
She was right, but that was not the point.
"Mou! I'll tell Karen!"
"I'm sure she'll find that funny too."
I honestly doubted that.
"MOU! Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!"
I need melonpan, now.
* * *
To be continued.
Author's notes:
This chapter is a little special since it was basically released without
the usual retooling by Dave Watson. Being French, I sometimes do a lot
of syntax and style mistakes despite considering myself fluent in
English. I apologize about this, and hope that Dave will have time to
look and retool this chapter soon. You'll then find an updated version
of the website.
Sadly, the website isn't available yet in English: Alice who does the
layout of my websites has been much preoccupied with RL events, and I
was waiting for her to switch the site from Dotclear 1 to 2 and make a
new layout for that occasion.
To make it up, I present you with a fanart of Ayako made by pony:
http://blindspot.teri-chan.net/fr/images/ayakopony.jpeg
I hope you're enjoying reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it.
Comments are always welcome, so don't hesitate to mail me at : axel at
teri-chan dot net.
Waiting for your mails :)
Axel Terizaki