MiyuLace

Hi everyone!
It has been so long since I have been on these forums, and I really miss it, but lately my life has taken me in other directions and away from H!P, and I need money at the moment, so I think it would be wise for me to sell a bit of my merchandise. I love it all to death and my love for Gaki will never diminish but I think there is someone who will enjoy it more.
- I ship from 85214, USA.
- Feedback on Ebay -- Snoopyjetta, 100% positive.

- Niigaki Risa Cinderella Uchiwa
It is slightly damaged, but still perfect for hanging and being put on display.
$15 +ship (or make an offer.)


- Niigaki Risa Cinderella T-Shirt
As you can see, it is a bit wrinkled atm but I will wash/iron it if needed before shipping. Perfect condition. $35 +shipping


Risa Cinderella T-Shirt + ~18 Random Photocards + Trading Cards + Free H!P DVD $40+ship.

CDS:


- Mikan Album with Mini Photobook.
- Nanchatte Renai Limited Edition
- Ambitious! Album
- Love Machine

All CDs for $30 + Ship.

All 4 CDs + ~18 BONUS Random Photocards and Trading Cards for $30+Shipping

Thanks for looking!

^__^ Hi minna!

My Hello!Project/Jpop cover group CandiPop! will be performing at several Arizona cons (and eventually out-of-state, possibly!) and I am just curious, having never met more than three people in Arizona who are H!P fans, how many are out there that I'm unaware of!
My dream is to host/attend a Hello!Party in Arizona, but alas, I am sure only a few people would come. OTL

I would like to see how many fans there are in these nearby states so maybe I could meet some more H!P loving guests at the cons I attend and staff~!

Konnichiwa minna!

Some of you have read the prologue to my new fanfic, creatively named Naichau Kamo. If someone else has used it for a fic title, I'll gladly change it. >3<

- This first fic as of yet is told from Eri's point of view. This may change later.

- I plan to update at least twice per week, sometimes more often. I appreciate all comments, especially positive ones.

- I am accepting requests for ideas for other fics/oneshots including C-ute and Berryz fics. Just so ya know!



.:.Naichau Kamo.:.

PROLOGUE
::New Year's Day::

"HAPPY NEW YEARRR!" the girls' screams could be heard all the way down the street, half-muffled by the crackling of fireworks miles away. On the second-floor balcony, the celebration had finally truly begun. Cheerful Aika leapt into Reina's arms, nearly knocking the thin girl over as she let out a laugh. Ai blew playfully into a red noisemaker and danced in a circle; Risa was still hollering in celebration, and Sayumi -- wearing a pair of bunny ears and a glittering pink party hat -- trailed behind her, her sweet smile beaming. Jun and Lin were standing on the sidelines, shaking rattles high in the air and jumping gleefully up and down.

"It seems like 2009 just began," Sayu remarked, her eyes aimed towards Risa. Naturally being a "touchy-feely" sort of girl, she reached out and touched Risa's hand with the tips of her fingers.

Watching the other girls, Risa blinked, caught off-guard by Sayu's touch. "Doesn't it?" Risa agreed, staring out to the firework-highlighted sky for a single moment and back to the other girl's face. It was a romantic scene -- lights erupting in the sky, the balcony so dimly lit...

"All of us have spent so many years together," Sayu commented calmly, "Even Jun and Lin now! I don't think I can pick a favorite part of any year..." Her eyes flickered from one of Risa's eyes to the other.
"Yeah, I couldn't either," Risa replied, fixing her hair behind her ear. "What about you, Eri?" Surprisingly, she turned her head in my direction.

I was startled not only but Risa's voice but also by a loud automobile swerving down the street. I had been staring at the others too long to even know the topic of conversation. "Wh.. what? Sorry," I forced a laugh-- I admit I was distracted. Risa looked beautiful this New Year's Eve... which was now a New Years' Day.

She laughed at me for a moment before explaining. "Do you have a favorite moment since you've joined Morning Musume?" She smiled softly, her bangs falling close to her eyes.
I watched Sayu and a couple of our friends turn towards me, waiting for an answer. My gaze drifted over to Reina (still flirting happily with Aika) and back to Risa. My hands dropped from my chest to my sides.

That would be meeting you, Gaki-san, I wanted to say. It pulled at my heartstrings. But not here, not with everyone listening... Sayu would be crushed. Her sudden affection for Risa wasn't something she was trying to hide.

I smiled as honestly as I could. "Every moment's been the best," I said with optimism, half-lying. Everyone but Risa nodded in agreement and gave their approval before hurrying to make conversations amongst themselves. I looked to the ground and, within seconds, back up to catch Risa glancing at me. She must have picked up my hesitation, and the way I couldn't keep my eyes off of her.

Maybe I was too sensitive, but this wasn't the ideal start to a new year. There were so many fond memories I hadn't bothered to recall...

I caught Sayu taking hold of Risa's hand and pulling her over into an embrace.

But all in all, nothing here was right.


----

CHAPTER I:


I watched as Aika finished her shoot, gave the cameraman a smile and flashed a peace sign before scrambling over to me and tapping me on the shoulder. "Did I look good?!" She asked with hope showing in her eyes, like a sort of puppy. Her lavender dress sparkled in the corner of my eye. I smiled back to the younger, short-haired girl and nodded quickly. "I think that was the best I've seen you do in a photoshoot," I said in approval.

Aika's face lit up. "Thank you Kame-chan!" she said triumphantly, and she ran in the opposite direction, toward where Junjun was sitting. Aika was always a breath of fresh air to me. She was so cheerful and, at the same time, very mature for her age. In other words, a friend useful on both good and bad days. I had always felt comfortable making conversation with her. In fact, it had become easy to talk to her about some of my personal problems. I appreciated that in a friend these days. Unfortunately, her attention had been taken almost completely by Reina recently, and everyone was aware of their relationship. Reina and I had "drifted" lately, and although we didn't always get along while we had been talking, I admit missed her.

It had been what, two months, since they -- although never publicly announcing it -- had begun dating. I had become accustomed to walking through our house, taking a look around, and realizing frankly that I was quite alone. While it made me happy to see the girls so content and affectionate, it wasn't something I could appreciate much longer. Aika and Reina were together; Ai seemed to be spending lots of time with Jun lately; and now Risa and Sayu. It seemed so cliche to complain of loneliness at a time like this, and so selfish when all these girls were such good friends of mine. But I had been here so long, and the last time I'd been in a relationship...

"Niigaki-san!" I heard the cameraman yell, reading off of a piece of paper. It was her turn for a shoot. Risa replied back from the dressing room -- "Hai!" -- and came with long strides to stand in front of the white backdrop.

I observed her outfit carefully - a mid-length forest green evening dress with gold accents, beautiful rhinestones trailing down the waistline and down one side. On her neck, a glittering gold choker. Her hair was curled and tucked into a sophisticated yet sexy bun on the back of her head, her bangs pulled back and pinned. Nice and classy. I hadn't seen her wear this outfit before, and that was a shame. I glanced down at the color of my own dress. Peach-colored, pretty, but I felt that I just couldn't make a dress shine like Gaki could.

Risa ran her hands down her dress to make sure it looked perfect before the photos. Silly Gaki. . . You don't need to worry about that.

"You know the drill," Risa was told, and she nodded enthusiastically, beginning to pose like the pro she was. She first held one hand in a loose fist near her cheek and the other touched the opposite wrist. Her eyes sparkled in the bright light of the studio. I had always felt her emotions in the way she posed. I remember nearly wanting to cry after seeing one of our PVs-- Nanchatte Renai -- due to the way she used her expressions to convey the feelings in the lyrics. I'd never seen anyone else who did that. It captured me.

Soon, -- maybe too soon, -- Risa's turn was over. She thanked the cameraman and began walking away. I wondered if she would say something to me about the celebration last night. Part of me hoped she would ask me if something was wrong, but I knew she had other things to deal with. Regardless, I wanted to speak to her. I stood up and took a step toward her as she headed to the dressing room. The heel of my shoe clicked on the hardwood floor as I stepped forward.

"Gaki-san," I managed to say, surprised by the loudness of my own voice. She spun around to face me.
"Eri-chan," she responded with a smile.

I felt accomplished. "Beautiful photos, as always," I moved closer to her, though still keeping a comfortable distance, and bowed slightly in respect.

"Ah!" She laughed humbly and bowed in return. "Arigato," her voice was refreshing.

I was happy to have a word with her alone, for the first time in what seemed like weeks. Maybe it would be good to tell her what I had wanted to say the night before... Yeah, it couldn't hurt.

I began speaking in a soft voice, almost a whisper. "I meant to say, last night you asked me what my.."
"--GAKI-SAAAN!" I was interrupted by Sayu's voice coming around the corner from the dressing room.

Damn. Sayu had the best timing.

Sayu flung herself around the corner and grabbed Risa in embrace. A strap of her baby pink dress slipped down her shoulder. She quickly fixed it.

"A-ah, Sayumin," Risa chuckled, and she set her arm around the other girl's waist.
"Did you tell Eri-chan yettt?" Sayu looked excited. I felt a lump form in my throat. It couldn't be.
"N..no, I haven't yet," Risa's eyes were focused downward.
"Well, why don't you!" Sayu touched Risa's hair, pulling a strand away from her face, and grinned widely. It would have normally made me smile too.

Risa looked at Sayu for a moment with an expression that seemed to say "bad idea." I didn't doubt that Risa knew me well enough to know even my thoughts.
There was an air of awkwardness for a few seconds. It was alright: I already knew quite well what they would tell me.

I glanced down at their hands -- fingers intertwined. My throat tightened. "Are you guys really together now?" I 'guessed', showing the most collected and interested expression I could.

Sayu's expression lit up even more, and Risa smiled, although I had seen her true smile many times before, and this one couldn't compare.

"For a whole day now," said Risa softly. Sayu was still touching her hands and fussing.
"Congratulations," I said with as much meaning as I could muster. My pulse had picked up, and I felt tears teasing me behind my eyelids. I was trying my best to hide it all.

"Thanks Kame-chan!" Sayu's voice beamed with pride. "I'm sorry, though, I know you must feel lonely these days. I mean, even Jun has a love interest now, haha," she laughed as if it had been the best joke in the world.

Wow, that made me feel good. I fidgeted uneasily. Jun was actually a sweet girl, and very pretty. It wasn't much of a surprise to me she and Ai were interested in each other.
"...But anyway, I bet you there'll be someone chasing you any minute now!" Sayu winked at me, while Risa's expression was a mix of happiness and worry.
I smiled in return, and looked to Risa. They appeared to be expecting me to say something more.
"Well see.. Thank you," I said simply enough. I wanted to exit the hall before they saw me get upset. "I'll talk to you two later, go have fun, okay?"
"Ah, we will!" Sayu said gleefully.
"Ja ne," said Risa abruptly, but her expression was still of worry. Once again it seemed she'd taken note of my emotions better than Sayu had. But it seemed that much didn't matter.

I brushed past the girls and over to the room where the others had been waiting to be released for the day from the studio. I heard Sayu say something to Risa as I stepped inside, but I honestly might have blocked the words out rather than listening for their meaning. It seemed that the rest of our group had left already, done with their shoots. Even better.

I covered my face partially with my hands and stopped at the nearest wall. Of course, the point of covering my face was to hide the face I was about to cry, but judging by the reaction I got, it just made it more obvious. I realized I wasn't quite alone upon hearing someone's concerned "Eehh?" coming from across the room.

I saw Reina through the spaces in between my fingers. I sniffled quietly, ashamed that she would see me cry. It wasn't the first time, but it had been months since she'd seen me upset. Seeing me today, I was sure she'd make some joke about me.

"Eri-cha-an!" Her eyebrows were raised in surprise as she made her way over to me. "What's wrong? Tell me," she said, her tone half-worried, half-demanding, as it often was. I let out a nervous laugh and leaned against the wall behind me. Contrary to her order, I didn't see a point in explaining. It was strange enough she hadn't made a joke.

"Personal stuff," I said. I knew it sounded stupid.

She rolled her eyes at me, "I want the whole story," she said. I found myself smiling. Was I that desperate just to have someone to talk to? Usually it would be Aika, and I was surprised she hadn't been here with Reina.

"Well," I wiped a tear from my eye and took my hands away from my face. "Gaki-san and Sayumin, well, they're..."

Reina's eyes widened. "Because of that? Ah, don't be silly," she grinned, "That won't last long, I think Sayu is too emotional for Gaki," she chuckled. I laughed too, but it is a common fact that while crying, it is a lot easier to laugh at things.

"I . . I guess that could be," I said. Reina reached over and took my hand in hers comfortingly. I smiled, for real this time.

"That's right. It must be terrible, though. I know it's not an easy thing to see. You and Risa. . . A lot of us were thinking you'd never split up last year," she shrugged and pulled me away from the wall by my hand.
I nodded and wiped a tear away from my eye.
"I thought the same," my voice cracked as I spoke. It was times like these I wished I was less emotional.

Reina hugged me and swayed both of us back and forth slowly as if we were slow-dancing. To be honest, I'd never felt welcomed by Reina that way before. She always kept a cool exterior, and it was rare she let someone break that. I looked up at the dimly-lit walls of the dressing room. There were photos of former and present Hello!Project members, both official and candid. I spotted a photo of me, Reina, Sayu and Miki together the year we joined. It seemed like the years had passed so quickly. We had been friends for a very long time. No petty fight could erase the fact that Reina really seemed to care.

As of now, I really did feel a lot better.

"Come on, let's go home," she suggested, pushing me away softly while still keeping hold of my hand. "Almost everyone else has left, we'll miss out on the big dinner if they're home already!"

I blinked; "big dinner?" Ah! Reina and I shared a house with Aika, Risa, and Sayu just a few streets away. We were having the other three members over for dinner tonight, and I had nearly forgotten.

"Oh!" I shook my head in surprise, "I must have spaced it!" I blurted out, ashamed. "You're right, let's hurry, or there won't even be a noodle left," we bolted outside simultaneously, to where Sayu and Risa had been standing just minutes earlier.

---

Enjoy! I'll be updating tomorrow, hopefully, with chapter 2.