洋hiromi水

Hello fellow H!Oers!

 

The second lockdown in my country has motivated me to finally write down a story that has been in my head ever since... well, ever since Kaede joined Morning Musume, really.

 

This fanfiction will be about Kaede and another member that I won't call by name yet. There will be more members of Hello Project taking prominent roles, too. Similar to my last fanfiction (I posted it on here years ago), it is set in an alternative universe in which none of the members are idols. Kaede is a university student. I love it when they ask the girls questions like "If you weren't an idol, what would you do?", because their answers always give me ideas for my stories. Makes you wonder why Kaede is in university and not a police officer? Well, read the story to find out. 

 

The story takes place in Tokyo, but the university I describe is not a real one in Tokyo. I based it on Kobe University, where I studied a few years back. So the place actually exists, just not in Tokyo. 

 

Also, I'm not an English native speaker and my English has gotten a little bit rusty over the years. I do hope it's still an enjoyable read for you guys.    That's all for now. Have fun reading and leave a comment if you like!

 

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Chapter 1

The air was fresh and crisp as she stepped out of the classroom. The other students had already left, but she had stayed behind for a bit longer to talk to her professor. He had given her a B on a paper without specifying on the reasons why, and that was something she couldn’t just ignore. When she left the classroom, she stopped for a moment and looked up the sky. It was already getting dark. What time was it? Kaede checked her phone and took in a sharp breath. 4:28pm. I only have around 30 minutes until my kendo training starts. Better hurry up.

 

Her red sneakers contrasted the yellow leaves on the ground as she walked downhill quickly. Her university was spread out on the foot of a mountain in between two forests, which made for great air and a beautiful view – but also meant a lot of walking uphill and downhill in between classes. The faculty of law was on the very top of the campus, while her kendo classes were held in the sports center near the bottom. Fellow students strolling under the trees and in between buildings turned their heads as Kaede walked past them. She looked quite in a hurry with her school bag in her right hand, a big sports bag over her shoulder and an earnest impression on her face. She didn’t even notice the looks of the others anymore. Her style usually stood out amongst the law students anyways. All the other law students tended to dress very nicely, even when they were just there to attend some classes. They carried fancy leather bags, wore shiny shoes and cared a lot about their appearances in general. And while no one could claim that Kaede didn’t care about her looks, her style was more on the sporty and practical side… and made her look a little out of place in this part of the university.

 

That wasn’t something Kaede gave a lot of thought to, though. Studying law was just a way of killing time until she could take another exam to enter her actual dream job: the police. Ever since she was a kid, Kaede had felt a strong sense of justice in her everyday life. In kindergarten they even called her “omawari-san”, the words kids use for police officers, because she often helped them out in different ways. When someone had lost something, she helped them find it. When someone got bullied, she stood up for them. If friends got in a fight, she talked to them until they made up again. That in combination with her liking of sports and martial arts led to her teachers encouraging a clear path for her ever since middle school: She would graduate from high school, take the national exam and enter the police academy. The high school graduation worked out fine, but somehow, she ended up not passing the entrance exam. Twice. That setback hit her hard and she was still recovering from it. Especially since she didn’t get any feedback, so she didn’t know where the problem lied. She was a good student, she was physically strong and she had a good sense of justice, so she should have met all the requirements. But she didn’t.

 

It’s just that there are a lot more people applying for the academy than they actually take in… so the problem isn’t that I’m not fit to do it. The problem is that there are many others that are better than me. She chewed on her lower lip as these thoughts wandered through her mind. Even when she tried not to think about it, she constantly had that feeling of failure inside of her. I can’t feel that way anymore. I have to take these feelings and turn them into something useful. I will work harder. And I will not fail again.

 

At this point, she had reached the public street that runs through the campus. It had gotten so dark that the shop signs started lightning up one after another. Lost in her thoughts she suddenly noticed a sweet smell and found herself stopping in front of a sign that said “Nishiyama Wagashi”. It was a shop for traditional Japanese sweets, the ones her mom loved so much. Her mom… it’s her birthday this weekend, Kaede suddenly remembered. I gotta buy her something she likes. Wagashi would be perfect. As she looked to her left, she saw a display of different wagashi glowing in beautiful colors, dunked in the warm light coming from the shop. Kaede looked up to see if the shop was open and noticed some customers waiting in line inside it. She checked her clock. 4:39 pm. She must have been walking pretty fast because she was already more than halfway down the hill. There was enough time to pop in and buy her mom a present. Kaede slipped through the noren and opened the sliding door quite clumsily with the hand carrying her school bag. Just when she entered, someone was about to leave the shop, giving her an angry look because she blocked the door with her baggage. “Sorry, I’m sorry”, she mumbled, trying to make herself as small as physically possible.

 

As she got in line, the sweet scent of red bean paste filled her nose… and her stomach started grumbling loudly. She hadn’t even noticed how hungry she was. Well, there is no time to get food before kendo practice, so that’ll just have to wait. She looked around, hoping that no one else could hear her stomach. In front of her were two grannies in line and a young man waiting while the shop assistant was carefully taking out the sweets with a pair of small bamboo tongs. Wagashi was considered not only tasty, but it was a traditional Japanese form of art. And when looking at these colorful little confections, one could easily understand why. There were sweets shaped like flowers, fruits, leaves and other things with an amount of detail that impressed Kaede every time she saw Wagashi. It must take ages to learn how to make this. You have to cook and bake it, know everything about the ingredients and the coloring, and then you have to be skilled enough to make the pretty decorations by hand. That’s…

 

“The next customer, please!” A girly voice spoke the words loudly and clearly in Kaede’s direction. As she looked up, she noticed that the grannies were already being served and another shop assistant had come to help out. “Ah… yes!”, she answered and stepped towards the counter to look at the sweets displayed. While doing so, she accidentally bumped her bag into one of the elderly ladies standing next to her. “I’m sorry!”, she apologized quickly, but the lady only gave her a little smile. Kaede put the bags down in front of her and looked at the sweets again. After pondering for a little while, she finally ordered: “I’d like one Namagashi, one of the…” Before she could finish her order, she was interrupted by suppressed laughter coming from the other side of the counter. With a puzzled look on her face, Kaede glimpsed up and her eyes met with the brown eyes of the shop assistant. She had a big smile on her face.

 

“Um…” Kaede couldn’t help but notice the pretty face of the assistant. Her warm-colored eyes were framed by dark, straightly cut bangs. Her cheeks had a slightly pink color to them. Her long hair was tied up in a ponytail and fell over her left shoulder in shiny waves. On top of her ponytail she wore a light pink ribbon. She must be around the same age as Kaede. Maybe she studied in this university, too?

 

“You are funny”, the girl said and smiled at Kaede. Funny… as in, weird? Kaede felt her cheeks burn up. “Why?”, was all she could reply to that.

 

“Well, you came in here looking completely out of place with these huge bags of yours.” The girl’s voice sounded very cute, but her way of talking was straight forward and honest. Kaede felt kind of caught off-guard. “So you looked like someone who doesn’t buy Wagashi often”, she continued lightly, “but then you take quite some time deciding on what to get… and just when I thought you’ll probably get something very specific, you order Namagashi, the most common Wagashi of them all.” The most common Wagashi of… what? Is this girl really speaking to me like that? Isn’t she… isn’t she aware that I’m her client here? Kaede was honestly confused, and started getting a little annoyed, too. She didn’t have that much time left until her training and didn’t feel like talking much, even less after what this girl had just said.

 

“Well, and I came in here thinking that this will be a fancy sweets shop, but the rude service suggests otherwise.” Before she could even think out her answer, Kaede said these words and immediately regretted them. They sounded a lot angrier than they should have. The smile on the shop assistant’s face faded slowly, but she didn’t take her look off Kaede. And just when the girl opened her lips to reply something, Kaede’s stomach started grumbling very loudly.

 

“Uh, I’m… I’m sorry.” Kaede’s face became as red as the pretty Wagashi in front of her. What a nightmare. It’s like straight out of an Anime. Or rather, straight out of a fanfiction. She stared at the shop assistant, who stared back at her with a slightly startled look. Then, suddenly, the girl burst out laughing loudly. Her laugh was so friendly and honest, Kaede couldn’t help but join in. They ended up laughing together, and it was kind of refreshing and changed the mood completely. The grannies next to them turned their heads, wondering what these two young women might laugh about. “Okay”, the girl said, still laughing, “so one Namagashi, and what else?” Kaede chose another three types of Wagashi and watched the girl pack them very carefully. She then grabbed a Dorayaki with the bamboo tongs and wrapped them in paper with a pretty Japanese autumn design on it.

 

“Here is your Wagashi”, she said while putting a box on the counter. “And here is some dorayaki, as a little apology for my rudeness – and so that you won’t collapse of hunger under all those bags of yours.” She winked at Kaede, who immediately felt the blood rush back into her cheeks. That wink though. Wait… haven’t I seen this wink before? She looked again at the girl in front of her, almost staring at her, trying to figure out this weird déjà-vu. Why does she suddenly seem so familiar?

 

The girl noticed Kaede’s look and hesitated for a moment, then told Kaede the price. The dorayaki was obviously not included. “Oh, but wait, that isn’t necessary…”, Kaede replied, but the girl insisted and gave her another smile. Not knowing what else to do, Kaede took out her wallet, paid, thanked the girl several times and grabbed everything. “Well, have a nice evening then!” The girls’ voice sounded friendly and cute. Kaede replied the greeting and left the shop as clumsily as she had entered it. For a moment, she thought she heard a very small and suppressed giggle right behind her, but it was drowned in the voice of another customer.

 

Back on the street, Kaede took a moment to cool down. The dorayaki in her hand smelled delicious. So you won’t collapse of hunger under all those bags of yours. How can she speak so honestly, working in a fancy shop like this? As Kaede walked down the street, she recalled the girl’s little wink. And why did I suddenly feel like I know her?

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