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[洋hiromi水]

This is the story of a 15-year-old middle school girl who has been known for her boyish character and her short hairstyle. She likes swimming, matcha and hanging out with her friends, and she would describe herself as being quite ordinary. But when she sees that girl with the long black hair and the lonely look on her face in the hallway of her school, something in her changes.

 

*~*~*~*~*

 

Matcha Chocolate.

 

Chapter 1

 

 

„And then he gave me this necklace. Isn‘t it cute? I didn’t expect something like this at all!”
“It’s cu~te!”
“Adorable!”
“That was really nice of him!”, Haruka heard herself say, not really because she thought the story was so interesting, but because she had to say something. All of her friends were gathered around the table next to her, where her other friend telling the story sat. Apparently she had met up with a male student from the class next door the day before and it worked out well. Haruka was happy for her, but she just felt kind of tired that day, so she preferred to eat her bento quietly.

 

Her bento was really good that day, though. Her mom had put in some rice, karaage and an egg roll. For fruits, her mom had sliced up an apple into thick pieces and carved ears into it to make it look like a bunny. Haruka remembered how she traded her fruit with the sweets of other kids in elementary school because she preferred those. Now she knew that fruit is a lot healthier and she appreciated her mom’s hard work, so she ate it all up.

 

After finishing her bento, she sat back and took a deep breath. She looked around in the classroom. Her friends were still giggling next to her, and the guys were sitting near the window playing some card game. On the other side of the room, a few more girls had gathered and listened to music. The bell rang and announced that the break was over. Only one more hour, thought Haruka. One more hour and I’ll be out of here.

 

When the bell rang again, Haruka was the first one to be out of the door. It was still cool outside, but it was a warm February compared to others and the sun was shining brightly. Even some of the blossoms on the trees had already appeared. The hallways in the school were filled with laughing and talking. Haruka had her school bag in her right hand, put her left hand into her pocket and took out a pair of earphones. She put them into her ears, took her phone and chose one of her favorite songs. She summed along to the tune while walking in between all the other students. When she reached the wardrobe, changed her shoes, put on her jacket and scarf and stepped out of that huge school building, she felt her head becoming clear. The cold and fresh air filled her lungs. The slight breeze caught her blue skirt and waved it around her legs. She should have worn tights instead of the long socks after all. It’s sunny but the wind is still pretty cold.

 

Haruka reached the bus stop and waited next to the others kids. The bus seemed to have left earlier than usual, so she probably had to wait for another ten minutes before the next one would come. That gives me some time to read a few pages of One Piece, she thought, smiling. But when she opened her bag and looked for the manga, she realized it wasn’t in there. She must have left it in the classroom. She sighed and turned back to the school.

 

“Where are you going?”, her friend Maa-chan, who always took the same bus, called out to her.
“I forgot a book, I have to go get it!”
“I’m not gonna wait for you though, I’m too hungry!”
“That’s okay!”, Haruka answered, already too far away for Maa-chan to hear her. But it didn’t matter. If she hurried up, she might still be able to get the manga and reach the bus stop in time.

 

She found the manga underneath her desk. Haruka felt relief. It would have been really horrible if she had lost it somewhere. She just got to the interesting point in the chapter, but then the teacher entered and she couldn’t keep reading. Maybe she would read some more during the bus ride. As she left the classroom and closed the door behind her, something caught her attention. She looked down the hallway and saw a girl. Who is that?, she wondered. I don’t think I’ve seen her before.

 

The girl had long black hair that was falling over her shoulders in thick strings. Her facial features looked elegant, and her expression seemed like she was remembering something that had happened a long time ago. Her hands rested on the frame of the window she looked out of. Her brown bag stood next to her on the floor, and a stuffed animal decorated it on the side. She didn’t wear her skirt as short as some of the other girls did, but it reached just across her knees. The girl also wore black tights and her shoes looked expensive.

 

Haruka had never seen her before, but she must be her senpai as the ribbon around her neck is the one of the students who were one year above her. And even though all she could think of a moment ago was getting out of the building and read One Piece, she caught herself standing in front of the classroom door staring at that girl. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but something about the girl seemed lonely. Or maybe it was just the fact that she was standing in the hallway all alone after school.

 

Suddenly, their eyes met. The girl looked into her direction. Her expression changed from absent-minded to embarrassed and her cheeks turned a bit red. Haruka sucked in a sharp breath of air.

 

“Ah…”, she stuttered. “Sorry!”

 

The other girl’s expression wasn’t embarrassed anymore, but kind of confused. She grabbed her bag, turned around and hurried down the corridor. That was weird, Haruka thought. And rude of me. I shouldn’t stare at my senpais like that. She’s gonna think I’m weird. Who is she anyways? And why is she standing here all alone? She checked her clock and realized that it was already quite late. Great, she thought. Now I won’t catch the next bus, no matter how much I hurry.

 

 

 

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Hi there!

 

If you liked the beginning of the story, please tell me. I've already written a few more chapters and if you guys are interested, I'll post them here. 

I haven't been writing in ages and it's the first time for me to write a story in English, so if I made any mistakes, I'm sorry. Grammar corrections or suggestions would be very much appreciated.

I tend to switch between 3rd and 1st person in order to differentiate between happenings and the thoughts of the main character. It's one of the things I like to do and it works really well in German. I'm not so sure about English, so if it's too confusing, please tell me. 

 

This story will be mainly about Kudo Haruka, but there will be other H!P members appearing as well. None of them are idols, this story is set in an alternate universe with all of them being normal school girls. And yes, the story might turn out Yuri at some point, but I myself only have a vague idea, so I can't go into details yet. I'll just see where the story takes me. 

 

(Ex-)Members who have appeared so far:
Kudo Haruka

Sato Masaki

mysterious girl with long hair

Iikubo Haruna
Michishige Sayumi
Oda Sakura

[millie12]

....kyaaa!!!! a sayaduu fic.....    i bet the mysterious girl is rihoriho 

[beyooooonk]

Plot twist: It's not Riho, it's Mizuki

 

Good story so far!  It's great to see more SayaDuu fans!

[洋hiromi水]

I should have changed my avatar after all... 

 

But yes, it could totally be Mizuki!! 

 

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Chapter 2

 

Hey Duu! I kinda feel like hanging out today, are you in the mood? There’s this new pancake shop in Harajuku that I’d like to try out.

 

 

It was a message from her friend Haruna. Haruna was actually a university student, but she had lived near Haruka for a while and they became close friends. Haruna was five years older than her, and she liked to hang out with her because she was a lot less childish than her friends from school. Even though that was true, Haruna also had her phases when she could be as giggly and cute as a middle school girl, and that combination made her a true friend to Haruka.

 

Sure, I’ll be waiting in front of the combini at Harajuku station in an hour. See you there!

 

Almost an hour later, Haruka stood right at the spot that she promised to be at, looking at the crowds entering and leaving the station. She liked Harajuku for its fashion and its fun coffee shops and restaurants. No matter where you looked, you would find something interesting. It was even more fun together with Haruna because she was really interested in fashion. Haruka liked fashion as well, but with her short haircut and her boyish clothes, people often told her she wasn’t girly. She didn’t mind that though. That day, too, she wore a long sweater with short pants underneath, printed tights, colorful socks that were cramped around her ankle area, a pair of warm boots and a cap. While she was boyish, she still looked fashionable.

 

“I’m sorry, have you been waiting for long?” Haruna’s high-pitched voice reached Haruka before she did. She turned around and smiled at her. As always, her friend looked adorable. She showed off her long legs by wearing a high-waist skirt. She looks best in those, doesn’t she, thought Haruka.

 

“No problem, I didn’t wait for long. Do you know where the shop is?” Haruna nodded, took Haruka’s hand and led the way while talking about her day. Another thing she liked about the university student – she talked a lot, but it was always interesting.

 

Once they reached the pancake shop, they saw that it was pretty cramped. Of course it would be, since it was in one of the liveliest areas of Tokyo. They entered anyways and even found a small table for two people near the window. The shop was very cute with pink decorations and quirky English words written on the walls. Lots of girls filled the rooms and it smelled sweet and fruity.

 

After they ordered, they talked a while about Haruna’s current studies. Haruna actually studied art at university, and while specializing at manga, she also had to take other classes as well. One currently included a lecture about Buddhist forms of art, such as statues. While it seemed pretty boring, Haruna told Haruka that it was actually quite interesting. She met this girl at the lecture who was her age and was really into that kind of art, so they started talking and she told Haruna about all the interesting details there were. “Ayaka is really fun, the three of us should meet up some time!”, Haruna said. Then they found out that neither of them had been to Kamakura before, which is a well-known place near Tokyo with lots of old temples. They decided that it would be really fun to go there for a day-trip during spring break this year.

 

The girls had to wait a little longer than usual for their orders to arrive, but when they did, Haruka’s heart skipped a beat. She ordered some Matcha as it was her favorite along with banana chocolate pancakes, which looked really yummy. Haruna went for hot chocolate and strawberry vanilla pancakes instead. Both of the dishes were decorated with colorful drawings. I really love sweets after all, Haruka thought after she took the first bite of her pancake.

 

“So, what’s up with you? Anything interesting happening?”, Haruna asked while sipping her chocolate.

 

The first thing that came into Haruka’s mind was that incident at school, when she looked at the girl she didn’t know for a while. It was embarrassing.  “Nothing, really…”, she answered, but she must have blushed or something, because Haruna was suspicious immediately.

 

“There’s something, I can see it in your eyes! Why don’t you tell me?” It was impossible to ignore that cheerful smile of Haruna’s. Haruka started talking.

 

Haruna didn’t see the big deal, but found the whole story quite funny. She stopped giggling after Haruka told her about how that girl looked really lonely standing there in the hallway. “Hmm”, she mumbled, “maybe you should talk to her next time you see her. You said you haven’t met her before, right? Maybe she’s a transfer student? She might not have been able to make friends yet.”

 

“I haven’t thought about it like that. You might be right.” Haruka looked at her pancakes. The bunny that was drawn on it had already lost one ear and half of his face. “But how could I? It was so embarrassing, I’m sure she remembers my face. She won’t talk to me. She’ll think I’m weird.”

 

Haruna put her fork away and looked at her closely, her pupils turning thin. “You like that girl, don't you?”

 

Wait, what?! Haruka felt her cheeks blush. No, not only her cheeks. It felt like her whole head turned red like a tomato. She didn’t know why, but she felt exposed. All she could say was: “Huh?! What do you mean?”

 

“Well, you usually aren’t shy at all. You talk to anyone. You don’t care about what other people think. But this girl has obviously been on your mind, and you are really scared you’ll mess it up. That’s new.”

 

“It’s just because that situation was embarrassing”, Haruka answered, trying to act cool now. “I don’t want it to become even more embarrassing. I don’t really care about what she thinks, we haven't even talked yet. ”

 

That’s what she said, but Haruka still felt like her friend Haruna discovered something she herself hadn’t even realized yet. 

[millie12]

Yey!!! an upd8... haruna appeared, one more 2 go for a complete 10gen appearance .. tnx for updating, can't wait for another upd8 ~ehehe

[AmaSusE]

I like how you depict their characters so well  ... enjoyable read. Love SayaDuu stories  ...every time I read that title I get hungry for matcha chocolate. There should be more matcha flavoured stuff around here...

 

Looking forward to more 

[洋hiromi水]

Thank you for your comments!! They really make me happy

 

^

Yeah, I love the matcha flavor too, but you can barely get it around here. Can't wait to get back to Japan and eat as much as I can

 

 

Okay, new chapter! I've been updating quite fast but that's just because university hasn't started yet and I'm really enjoying writing the story. Gotta use the time as long as I have it!!

 

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Chapter 3

 

The next day of school was the same as usual. Maa-chan sat on the table next to Haruka and kept shushing at her, trying to hand her pieces of paper on which she had written funny things about the teacher. Haruka didn’t feel like it and answered with annoying looks only. Maa-chan was disappointed and grumbled something about her being boring.

 

Instead of concentrating on the math problem in front of her, all Haruka could think of was what Haruna had said the day before. She wanted to talk to that girl. But why? Because she stood there all alone? Because she hadn’t seen her before? Because she looked lonely? I simply don’t like it when people are sad, Haruka thought. Everyone should have a friend. If I see her again today, I’ll say hel-

 

“Kudo-san!” The sensei’s voice made Haruka cringe. Even more so when she noticed that the sensei was standing right next to her, looking at her empty notebook.

 

Haruka stood up and bowed her head. “I am sorry, Michishige-sensei!”, she pressed out. 

 

“And what is this?” Michishige-sensei’s finger pointed to a bunch of papers that formed a little hill right next to Haruka’s bag. Haruka blushed and couldn’t help but give Maa-chan an angry look. Her friend put her hands together in front of her face in an apologetic manner. That’s of no use right now, Haruka thought.

 

“I am sorry, Michishige-sensei. They must have fallen out of my school bag.”

 

“What’s written on them? Something about me?”

 

“If there was anything written about Michishige-sensei, it would only be about her cuteness”, Haruka lied. That was really difficult to say. Her tongue felt like it wanted to be bitten off. Not because the sensei wasn’t cute, but because it wasn’t in Haruka’s nature to say something like that. Nevertheless, it seemed to have worked.

 

Michishige-sensei’s face changed into a pleased expression. She actually smiled a bit. “Try to follow the lessons, Kudo-san. Next time I catch you, you have to do extra exercises.”

 

“Yes, Michishige-sensei!” Haruka sat back down.  That was pretty close. She had to get her thoughts together.

 

In the break after the lesson, Haruka’s friends gathered next to her table again. She only listened to them half-heartedly while eating her bento and reading a bit of One Piece. That changed the moment her friend Sakura started talking about a new member in the school’s dance team.

 

“Apparently, she’s a transfer student from the south. She’s one year above us”, Sakura said, and after getting an interested “eeeh~” from the rest of the girls, she continued. “Her family moved to Tokyo because her dad got a job here. I only had one lesson together with her after school yesterday, but she’s really good. She must have been practicing since she was a child. ”

 

“Have you talked to her?”, Haruka asked, getting surprised looks by everyone because of her sudden interest. She felt the need to explain herself and said: “Just because you seem to know so much about her...”

 

“Not really, no. She’s kinda silent and doesn’t talk to anyone. In the dressing room, she stayed in the corner. The other girls from her class have also said that she’s kinda weird.”

 

The topic changed again and Haruka finished her bento. I wonder if it’s her, she thought. The fact that the dance class was after school would also explain why she was in the hallway. The ringing school bell cut off her thoughts again. Stop worrying about that girl you don’t know, Haruka told herself. Concentrate on the upcoming English lessons instead. 

 

After school, Haruka didn’t hurry as much as she did the day before. She made sure that she put all of her belongings into her bag and walked to the wardrobe together with Maa-chan. They put on their coats and shoes and left the building. The sun couldn’t be found anywhere that day, and the sky was full of clouds. Haruka decided to stay at home in the afternoon, cuddle up on the sofa and watch some DVDs. And maybe study a bit, if she was in the mood.

 

At the bus stop, Maa-chan and she talked about the incident in Michishige-sensei’s class. Maa-chan felt really sorry, but Haruka couldn’t be seriously angry at her anyways. While her friend might be annoying at times, school would be kind of boring without her. And even if other people didn’t realize it, Maa-chan was actually pretty clever. Even though throwing pieces of paper at her in the middle of a lesson just because she didn’t pay attention to her wasn’t the most intelligent thing to do.

 

When the bus arrived and Maa-chan got in in front of Haruka, she hesitated. Did she really get all of her stuff in the classroom? What if she forgot her manga? Without further thinking, Haruka turned around and ran off.

 

“Where are you gooooooing?”, Maa-chan shouted through the bus door.

“I forgot my bento box!”, Haruka lied. “Sorry! See you tomorrow!”

 

She didn’t know why she ran back to the school building. She hated waiting for the next bus, especially in February when it was cool outside. And she was sure there was nothing in that classroom waiting for her. Nevertheless something inside of her told her to get back. She felt her heart pounding heavily as she run. In order for nothing to fall out, she pressed her school bag against her ribcage. When she entered the building, she didn’t even change her shoes, which was a horrible thing to do. She could get in serious trouble if someone saw her. But Haruka didn’t think about that either, all she thought about was getting back to her class, or rather, to that hallway. She saw the long black hair in front of her, and the slim face with the blushed cheeks. Only a few more steps, she thought. Only through that last door.

 

But when she arrived at the hallway, it was empty. No one was there. All she could see was the cloudy sky through the windows. All she could hear was her own fast-paced breath. All she could feel was that deep disappointment she couldn’t explain.

[AmaSusE]

Aaah, Usa-sensei - that really made me laugh ... I love that parallel-universe setting 

[millie12]

yey!!! an update! that fast, not that i'm complaining in fact i'm rejoicing!!! whooo!!! man, your story telling keep me reading for more.. but it's ok, it's worth the wait... so, minishige-san and o-d-a appeared... oh my, duu's conflicted

[Paramorning]

I usually hate fanfics but this one is really good?!? SayaDuu FTW

[Dalvron'20]

This is pretty good! I'm loving your characterization. Duu makes for an awesome (yuri) manga protagonist, and SayaDuu of course, is one of my favorite pairings. Thank you for sharing your fic and I'll be looking forward to every update.

[洋hiromi水]

thanks for your input! I usually write short stories in German, so I wasn't sure if my style fits fanfics in English. I'm glad you like it! 

[洋hiromi水]

Chapter 4

The next day, Haruka got up early. She didn’t eat breakfast and went off a lot earlier than usual, leaving back her surprised and worried mom. Haruka didn’t even wait for her brothers to go to the bus stop together, nor did she take her bento box with her.

 

The reason for her early leaving was the fact that she had a plan, and in order for that plan to work out, she would have to meet up with Sakura. She knew that Sakura usually arrived at school half an hour before anyone else because she liked to use the empty gym to practice some dancing. So when Haruka got off the bus near her school, she headed straight to the gym.

 

As she expected, her friend was there. She listened to music through her earphones while she was stretching in poses Haruka couldn’t even imagine to do. She’s actually really cute, Haruka thought as she was waiting to get her attention. You can see that she’s a dancer, her body is really slim, but muscular. When Sakura looked in her direction, Haruka blushed. Was she just watching her?

 

“Haruka?”, Sakura asked with a confused look on her face. She got up and took out her earphones. “What are you doing here?”

 

“I…” Haruka hadn't thought her plan through, as she didn’t know how to explain herself to Sakura. “I’m early today, so I thought I’d go see if you’re around.”

 

“Oh… okay. I’m just gonna change, then we can head up to the classroom.” Sakura smiled. “I’ll be ready in a sec.”

 

Haruka nodded and sat down to wait. She was thinking about how to talk to Sakura. Was her plan really a good idea? She didn’t see any other way, though. A picture of the girl’s dark eyes appeared in her thoughts, and how the sun shone on her face. After a few minutes Sakura came out of the wardrobe, dressed in her school uniform, carrying her school bag and her gym bag. She’s ambitious, Haruka thought. Getting up early to practice every morning. She must be really good.

 

When they slowly walked back to the main school building, the school area filled up with students. The younger ones were laughing and playing, the older ones were listening to music, talking about TV shows or about how their dates went. The atmosphere was positive, it was Friday and everyone was looking forward to their weekends. Sakura talked about a competition their dance team was going to participate in next month. Apparently, groups from several schools in Tokyo would compete against each other in idol dancing. Their school’s group decided to take on a pretty hard dance by a girl group who had specialized on formation dancing. That sounded pretty cool to Haruka.

 

“About the dance club…” Haruka tried to lead the conversation into the right direction for her plan. “I was wondering, when do you recruit new members?”

 

Sakura looked surprised. “People can basically enter all year around. It might be a bit hard to enter in the middle of the semester because we have been practicing our routines for weeks, but it’s not impossible. Why? Do you know someone who would like to join?”

 

“Actually, I would like to.” Haruka knew that this sounded very weird coming from her mouth. It wasn’t like she had never danced before, because she had, at home, to songs she liked, and also in the elementary school dance club. So she wasn’t unfamiliar with the sport, but she had kind of lost interest in it. She preferred swimming.

 

Sakura was understandably surprised. She stopped and looked straight at Haruka. “You? Really?” Her face showed that she didn’t quite know what to make of it. But when Haruka nodded again, Sakura eyes started to sparkle. “Really? That’s awesome!” She was thrilled and her excitement Haruka laugh. “Finally someone from our class is joining too! I’ve been the only one for months, it was only half as fun with mostly senpai around. I’m happy!”

 

“So you think it could work out?”, Haruka asked, relieved by Sakura’s enthusiasm.

 

“Sure! That transfer student also just joined, I don’t see why you shouldn’t be able to.” They started walking again. When they entered the building and reached the wardrobe, Sakura continued: “We actually have a training session after school today. I think it would be best if you came with me and we talked to the teacher together.”

 

“Sounds good!”, Haruka answered happily. Sakura didn’t suspect anything. She was just thrilled by the idea of having Haruka in the group, which actually made Haruka look forward to it, too. She thanked her as they went upstairs to the classroom. Even throughout the classes that day, Sakura kept smiling at Haruka. Maybe it’ll be fun, Haruka thought.

 

Of course Haruka’s main motivation to join the dance club wasn’t the fact that she wanted to get back into dancing. She hoped to meet that girl there. Her thoughts circled in her head. If I’m there regularly, there might be an opportunity to talk to her without it being weird or embarrassing. I really want to become her friend. I don’t even know why. She is so pretty and she looks so nice, and still she seems to be really shy. And no one else seems to care about her enough to talk to her.  I want to be the one to talk to her. 

 

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Next chapter will be posted soon, too!

[AmaSusE]

Sakura in a dance group covering idol formation dance ...amazing! Makes me wonder who the members of this idol group in this parallel universe are

[millie12]

Duu...That thing called "Love at first sight", and its been hitting her...'hard'.

[洋hiromi水]

^

haha it has. only that she hasn't realized it.

 

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Chapter 5

 

When the school bell rang after their last class that day, Haruka didn’t feel the relief she usually felt, even though it was Friday. Instead, her heart started pounding faster and she felt excitement and a little bit anxious. Ever since the morning she had been thinking about her plan, and she was wondering if it was a good idea to go along with it. But she wouldn’t know if she didn’t try, and it was too late now anyways. Sakura was already waiting for her in the door.

 

Maa-chan came up to her table while she was packing up her stuff. She noticed that Haruka packed up slowly. “Aren’t you going to the bus stop?” she asked.

 

“I’m actually not, I’m sorry.” Haruka saw disappointment in Maa-chan’s eyes. “I’d like to join the dance club and I’ll go ask teacher about it today.”

 

“The dance club?” Maa-chan’s expression became suspicious and a little confused. “Why are you interested in dancing all of a sudden?”

 

“I don’t know, I just feel like I wanna get back into it. I’m sorry Maa-chan. We can meet up this weekend to go see a movie, how about it?” She smiled at her friend. Haruka knew she had been neglecting her the last few days, and she felt sorry for that. She was definitely going to make it up to her.

 

“Hmmm. Okay.” Maa-chan turned around and walked towards the door. She looked back to Haruka one more time and added: “You’ve been acting weird lately.” Then she left.

 

Sakura and Haruka walked down to the gym. A few sunrays blinked through the clouds and the young blossoms on the trees looked like they were stretching towards the light to get a little bit of warmth. Most of the students had left already, only a few were staying and waited for their club activities to start. From somewhere they could hear the voices of some guys playing soccer.

 

As they entered the wardrobe of the girls’ gym, only a few other students were there. Haruka knew one of the girls and greeted her. The girl, her senpai, looked surprised, but smiled back and greeted her as well. Her name was Ayumi and she was originally from Sendai, but she moved to Tokyo a year ago. Their moms were friends, which is the reason why Haruka knew her. She didn’t know she was in the dance team, though.

 

Haruka and Sakura approached the sensei who was already in the gym doing some stretches. “Natsu-sensei, excuse me”, Sakura started to get the teacher’s attention. “We wanted to ask you something.”

 

Natsu-sensei got up and smiled at the two. “Hello Sakura. Oh, and hello Haruka. What brings you here?” When Haruka explained to her that she was thinking about joining the club, Natsu-sensei looked pleased. “That’s no problem at all. But aren’t you in the swimming club as well? It might be too much for you to do both. Our training is pretty hard, you have to be a hundred percent into it.”

 

“I think I will be fine”, Haruka said, “The swimming club only practices once a week.”

 

So it was settled. Haruka got back to the wardrobe and changed, while looking at the door regularly to see if the girl had arrived. When she was finished, she sat down and checked her clock. Only five minutes left until the training will begin, she thought. Maybe she won’t come today?

 

Right before the sensei called everyone in to get ready, the door opened and the girl appeared. Haruka’s heart skipped a beat. She was already fully dressed in her gym clothes and didn’t look up to anyone as she entered. Her long hair was put up into a bun. She put her bag with the stuffed animal – a hamster, as Haruka could see this time – into the corner of the room and joined everyone as they went inside. She didn’t notice Haruka at all, which left her a bit disappointed, but relieved at the same time.

 

When Haruka entered the gym hall as well, everyone was standing in place, listening to the teacher who talked about the upcoming competition. As Natsu-sensei saw Haruka joining the crowd, she stopped for a moment, smiled at her and then introduced her as a new addition to the club. “We’ll see how it goes for you today, Haruka. If you work hard, you might be able to join the competition together with us.”

Haruka nodded and was about to choose her place not far from that girl, when Sakura waved at her and pointed to a spot next to her which she seemed to have reserved. Happy, but also a bit sad because it was quite far from the girl, Haruka went over there.

 

As the practice started, Haruka realized that she had not been dancing for quite a while. In addition to that, Natsu-sensei was known to be a good, but quite a strict teacher. The moves they practiced were sharp and fast, so she had trouble catching up with them. It wasn’t impossible for her to do them, but she didn’t know the routine, which resulted in the problem of her not knowing the next move. Every now and then she glanced over to the girl to see how she was doing, since she was new as well. Her face had an earnest and concentrated look on it, her moves were fast and controlled. She moved in a way that made the dance seem naturally easy, even though she must have only danced the routines a few times as well. She’s good, Haruka thought. How can she be this good? It’s amazing!

 

During the rest of the practice, Haruka didn’t have much time to spare for the girl, but she had to concentrate on the dance routine. After a while, she got a few moves right and felt content, but there were still a lot left that she didn’t quite understand. In addition to that, it was a formation dance, so she couldn’t even rely on the people around her because she was supposed to the move slightly different or change places during the dance. When the class was over, Natsu-sensei came up to her.

 

“You did a good job today, Haruka”, she said. “I know it’s hard, but I think you can do it. I talked to Sakura, she said she’ll teach you. It would probably be best if you met up this weekend so that next week, we can continue the routine with everyone being ready.”

 

“Yes, sensei. Thank you.” The dance class was fun, but Haruka wasn’t really happy about having to sacrifice her weekend for it. On the other hand, she had to if she wanted to get better. But weren’t Natsu-sensei’s expectations a bit high? Did she really think she would be able to continue the routine next week? I’ll have to give my best, Haruka thought as she wiped the sweat off her face with a towel.

 

In the wardrobe, Sakura talked to Haruka about meeting up for practice, but Haruka’s thoughts were all about that girl. Was there a way she could talk to her? The girl had already changed into her school uniform and put her gym clothes into her bag. If she wanted to talk to her, it had to be fast, or otherwise she would be gone. Haruka took a deep breath and decided quickly. Before she could change her mind, she walked up to her, leaving Sakura all puzzled in the middle of the conversation. She felt her heart pounding up to her throat. It was a miracle that no one else could hear it.

 

“Hey, excuse me”, Haruka said. The girl raised her head and gave Haruka a long and intense look. Her eyes looked a bit surprised, but they were dark and beautiful. Haruka took a deep breath and kept talking before the girl would notice who she was. “You are new in the team, too, right?”

 

The girl nodded. Thin strings of her black hair hang into her face as she did so. Her cheeks were blushed from the exhaustion.

 

“I’m new too. It’s kinda hard to keep up with the routine. My friend Sakura is kind enough to meet up with me this weekend to practice a bit and show me the moves. I was wondering… would you like to join us?” Haruka very well knew that the girl didn’t need any practice. Her dancing was better than the dancing of some of the other members who had been doing the routine for much longer. Nevertheless, she saw a little bit of happiness glowing in her eyes as she asked her. She had been lonely after all.

 

“Ah… yes. Okay.” Her answer was almost whispered, but Haruka could make out a girly voice from it. She didn’t know it yet, but that voice would stay in her mind all night.

 

“Great. We will meet up here tomorrow at three in the afternoon. Let’s give our best, okay?” Haruka smiled brightly. The girl nodded again and Haruka thought she saw her lips turning into a short smile, too. Then she took her bag, greeted her and left the room.

 

Haruka was left with a feeling of extreme happiness and relief. She literally felt her blood pumping threw her body, and her red cheeks burning.  She had talked to her. She would meet her. They would practice together. It was worth it, she thought. Even if it was just for a moment, I made her smile a bit. She is even cuter when she smiles.

[millie12]

How i love the suspense that you had built up, and it almost made me held up my breath when u finally released the execution of their second interaction... I like how u made us anticipate for more...more pls..pretty pls? Ahaha, thank you once again...

[Dalvron'20]

Ooh, another chapter! Great, thank you!! I really like how you're developing the story, not rushed but not dragging either. I'm really liking the dynamic between MaSakuDu, feels pretty real. Go Kudo! Get your feelings across.

[洋hiromi水]

Chapter 6
 

Haruka got off the bus fifteen minutes before the clock hit three. That gave her enough time to get some stuff in the combini next to her school. She stood in front of the sweets corner and was thinking about what to choose. If it was her, of course she would choose something matcha related since it was her favorite flavor. But what if the girl didn’t like matcha? On the other hand, who didn’t like matcha? In the end, Haruka ended up taking some matcha flavored cookies and something to drink for the practice. She paid at the counter and as she left the store, she put the stuff into her backpack. Opening and closing her bag she didn’t look where she stepped and suddenly bumped into someone.
 

“Oh, sorry!”, Haruka said, but when she looked up, those dark and pretty eyes looked at her. They were surprised, but then their expression slowly changed into amusement. Once Haruka realized whom she had pumped into, she felt her head turning red again. Oh god. “I’m… sorry”, she stuttered, swallowed, and added: “Are you okay?”
 

The girl nodded. She really did look amused – she even smiled a little bit. She remembers me from the hallway, Haruka thought. I stared at her, and now I bumped into her. She must think I’m really weird. But for some reason, instead of being embarrassed, the girl’s smile made Haruka smile too. “I’m glad you’re okay”, she said, “I was busy putting this stuff into my bag and didn’t look.”
 

They went the rest of the way together. The wind was catching the girl’s hair and waving it over her shoulders. It showed the sharp lines of her faces and her slim neck. While Haruka glanced at her, she realized she hadn’t even asked for her name yet. “I’m Haruka, by the way. Kudo Haruka. Most of my friends call me just Haruka, or Duu. You can decide which one you like better.”
 

“My name is Sayashi Riho. Please just call me Riho.” She didn’t look up as she talked, but her voice sounded friendly. Her shyness made her even cuter. And Riho, what a pretty name! Pretty and not so common, Haruka thought. Of course she would have an elegant and cool name like that.
 

“Riho is a really cool name.” Haruka usually said what she thought. But obviously, saying that was kind of lame, and Riho didn’t answer anything to it. So Haruka tried a different way. “I’m glad you came today, too. Yesterday during the dance lesson I really had a hard time. But I noticed that you were really good. Have you been dancing a lot?”

 

They had reached the school yard and changed their way to get to the gym. “I went to the Actor’s School in Hiroshima. We had a lot of dance classes there.” Riho’s voice sounded a bit sad as she said that. She must miss Hiroshima, Haruka thought. That’s pretty far away. Maybe that’s what she was thinking about when I saw her in the hallway?

 

“Wow, so you are from Hiroshima? I have never been there, but I really like Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki.” They laughed as they reached the gym and went inside. Even though they were both a bit early, Sakura was there already, as expected. She had already started her stretches. Her ambition was amazing.

 

When Sakura noticed the two, her face lit up. She stopped stretching, walked up to them and introduced herself to Riho. She was smiling while talking to her, which relieved Haruka a bit. After she had just walked up to Riho in the middle of the conversation the day before, Sakura had been a bit annoyed by her. But when she explained that she thought inviting the new girl would be good to get to know her, Sakura eventually agreed. Seeing her all friendly with Riho today proved that Sakura was someone who could get along with anyone.

 

Haruka and Riho went back to the dressing room to change into their gym clothes. Both of them were facing the other direction as they undressed themselves. For some reason, there was a weird tension in the room, or maybe only Haruka felt that way. It’s always weird to change next to someone you don’t know, Haruka thought. I wonder if she feels the same? But I bet her body is just as pretty as her face… she probably has no need to feel embarrassed.

 

Sakura turned out to be a good teacher. She taught the routine step by step and made sure Haruka got it before she moved on. Riho had no problem following, but she looked like she really enjoyed herself. When Haruka stumbled over during one move, the three of them had a good laugh together. And at some point, it was even Riho who explained the detail of a move to Haruka. It seemed like all she needed was a little bit of a warm-up, and then her shyness gradually faded. They practiced for an hour before they took a break.

 

All of them got some water, and the girls’ eyes started to sparkle when Haruka showed them the cookies she bought. They sat down on the bench in the dressing room and shared the sweets. The music they danced to was still on, and Sakura started to sing along to it. Her voice was beautiful and it seemed like she didn’t have to try hard to hit the notes at all.

 

“Let’s go to Karaoke together someday! You sound so great!”, Haruka praised her. She didn’t know Sakura was so good.

 

“You can dance and sing”, Riho said, “you should become an idol.”

 

All three of them laughed again. Riho grabbed her second cookie and when she bit into it, her face showed the expression of complete satisfaction. It was pleasant to watch her eat, she looked so happy. Haruka was glad she chose the matcha cookies. “Do you like matcha?”, she asked.

 

 “I do”, Riho answered, ate the rest of the cookie and then added: “I really like the flavor for cookies, but I like it even more in chocolate.”

 

“Matcha chocolate is really delicious”, Sakura agreed, and all of them nodded while eating wholeheartedly.
 

After resting for about ten minutes, they got back up to keep practicing. This time, they turned on the music a bit louder and heavy beats filled the gym. The song was originally from an idol group, but it was different from the usual cute idol music. Haruka really liked that about it, and slowly, she also got to like the dance routine. Having someone shown it to her step by step really helped her remembering the moves. They practiced for another hour until their hair started sticking to their sweaty faces and their bodies felt exhausted.
 

This was fun, Haruka thought. Not only the dancing, but hanging out with Sakura and Riho, too. I’m glad I invited Riho, after all. I feel like we really could become friends.
 

 

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More SayaDuuOda love I have no idea how I came up with this trio. It just happened during the process. I guess Sakura is a natural good-friend-charakter

[洋hiromi水]

The next one is a short chapter, but then a few longer ones will follow  

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Chapter 7
 

On her way home that day, Haruka thought about Riho. Even when she had dinner with her family, and when her brothers watched One Piece together with her, she couldn’t concentrate. She was awake half of the night, and the other half she was dreaming of her. On Sunday, she met up with Maa-chan and had lots of fun, they had ice cream and went to the movies. Still, Haruka only saw that pretty girl with the long black hair, the slim face and the interesting eyes in her mind. In the evening that day, she lay in her bed, listening to some of her favorite music through ear phones, her eyes closed. The thoughts in her head went crazy.
 

What’s up with me? I feel like thinking about her is wrong. No, I feel like the way I think about her is wrong. It’s different from how I think about other people. I can’t stop it. Even when I try, she comes back, and I see her blushed cheeks and her cute smile. I hear her friendly and shy voice. And no matter what I do, that feeling stays. The feeling of wanting to meet her. I want to meet her again. I want to hang out with her and make her laugh. I want to show her Tokyo. I want her to never be lonely again. I want her to be my friend.
 

The longer Haruka thought about it, the more she wanted to meet her. She was going to meet her tomorrow, at the dance practice. The dance club practiced three times a week. But for some reason, Haruka was not satisfied with that. She needed to ask her out for lunch or something.
 

The next day in school, everything was as usual. The sun was shining through the windows on their school desks. Everyone was in a good mood, even though it was Monday. Maa-chan excitedly talked about the movie they had seen the day before and recommended it to everyone. After the last class had ended, Sakura waited for Haruka again. They walked down to the gym together. Sakura was still happy that someone from her class joined the dance club. She also kept saying that Haruka would definitely impress Natsu-sensei with how fast she had learned the routine. I sure hope so, Haruka thought. She wasn’t as confident as her friend was about her skills.
 

The dance class unfolded the same way it did last time, only that Haruka did indeed do a lot better than before the weekend. Even Natsu-sensei noticed that and looked pleased, and from what Haruka knew about the teacher, that was quite an achievement. But again, Riho had entered the gym right before the class started, so Haruka hadn’t had a chance to talk to her. She did wave at her though, and Riho gave her a little smile. After that, she didn’t seem to take notice of her, because she was really concentrated on the routine. Everyone is really ambitious, Haruka thought as she moved her body. I need to give it my best as well.
 

After the dance class, Sakura was the first one to leave because she had to meet up with someone. While Haruka changed and packed up her stuff, she thought about talking to Riho. But what should she say? Would it be weird if she just asked her to go somewhere together? Before she could decide on something, she noticed someone standing next to her.
 

“Hey”, she heard her voice. The voice she had been thinking about all weekend. In her ribcage it felt like her heart was jumping up and down from excitement. She looked up and turned to her. “I was wondering…” Riho looked a bit embarrassed, or maybe it was only her shyness. She had already changed back to her school uniform, looked down at her brown shoes and continued in a small voice: “I was wondering, would you maybe show me some cool place in Tokyo? I haven’t been out a lot here, but…”
 

“Sure!” That was fast. Maybe a little bit too fast. Riho looked surprised. “I’d love to!”, Haruka said with a smiling face. “Are you free now?”
 

“Eh, now?”
 

“Yeah! I’m kinda hungry, I could really go for some pancakes or something. I know a nice shop in Harajuku.” Haruka didn’t think about what she said. It was as if her tongue had taken over and the words just kept floating out of her mouth. She even forgot that she had promised her little brother to help him out with studying after school today. All she thought about was how happy she felt.
 

“Well… sure. Why not!” Riho looked happy, too. She put her bag over her shoulders and smiled at Haruka. Her face was still red from the exercise, and she didn’t wear her ribbon around her neck, which gave her a relaxed look. 
 

They walked across the school yard together, not to the bus stop this time, but to the next train station to get to Harajuku. Haruka was overwhelmed by the happiness she felt. She didn’t expect Riho to ask her to hang out, since she seemed like such a shy girl. Well, but the way she asked me out, it seemed like something she doesn’t do often, Haruka thought. Maybe she really enjoyed my company, too. Or maybe she keeps thinking about me, too? The way I think about her?
 

But which way is that, exactly?