@Dalvron'16> Thank you for your review! I'm glad you liked the last chapter! Well, things are, for sure, going to escalate from now on!
@mitchel0420> Thank you for review! Well, we all know that Maachan is a genius and she fears nothing, so, beware Riho and Ayumi!
Here is chapter 6! Enjoy!
UNREQUITED
Chapter 6 : Allies
It was finally lunch time. Ayumi was glad to be able to take a break. Rehearsals were quite challenging this morning and her bad mood was not helping her at all. Fortunately, she didn’t have to repeat dance steps with Riho. At least, she could act coolly and ignore the other girl as much as she wanted to. It was her little revenge for her rude behavior earlier.
Sure, Riho was sleeping at that time but Ayumi couldn’t help but feel upset. She definitely couldn’t compete with Mizuki and it hurt her a lot on a near daily basis.
As she came back to the dance room, she passed by Riho and saw that she was peacefully sleeping on a yoga mat. She couldn’t help but find her cute, indeed. She secretly hoped that Haruna got back quickly to take a pic of her sleeping beauty.
“AYUMIN!!!”
No doubt, it was Masaki’s voice. Startled and before she could turn around, Ayumi felt the girl jumping with all her strength on her back. Not ready and taken aback, Ayumi felt her knees giving up under the weight and she fell head first on the person actually sleeping below: Riho.
Ayumi tried her best to absorb the shock but Masaki put all her weight and locked her arms in such a way that she couldn’t stop from falling.
Falling heavily on Riho’s chest, Ayumi’s lips found the ace’s ones by chance. The kiss was sudden and rough but Ayumi still fully enjoyed it.
When she opened her eyes, she found that Riho was keeping hers tightly closed and seemed quite knocked out. Oddly, she didn’t felt Masaki weight on her back anymore. The perky brat already ran away.
“SATO!!! YOU’RE GONNA PAY FOR THIS!!!” Ayumi shouted with anger. She was short of breath, her heart was pounding so badly in her chest that it hurt and her face was literally in fire.
Ayumi ran to Masaki who was trying to leave the room. She managed to grab her wrist but Sakura intervened.
“GET OUT OF HERE ODA!” Ayumi cried. She was not only ready to kick Masaki’s ass but Sakura’s one too.
“Ishida-san, please calm down. Sato-san didn’t intend to…” Sakura stated on a soft yet firm tone, full of conviction.
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!”
“Absolutely not and please calm down. You’re gonna wake Sayashi-san…”
“I fell on Sayashi-san because Sato jumped on my back! How could she still be sleeping after that?!”
“It was an accident Ishida-san…”
“Yeah, of course! It’s so obvious! You’re really laughing in my face!”
“Absolutely not!”
“Both of you, you can be sure you’ll pay for this!” Ayumi threatened with clenched teeth.
“Don’t look at us so harshly Ishida-san, you’re scary! And look at you, you’re so red, you could light up this entire room!” Sakura teased with her usual giggle.
“Oda…”
Sakura left the room arm-in-arm with Masaki. She was displaying her usual enigmatic smile. Masaki stuck out her tongue to Ayumi who looked at them with her fists clenched at her side.
She then ran to where Riho was still resting. The ace was now curled up in a ball, her face well hidden inside the hood of her sweatshirt. Ayumi kneeled down to her side.
“Sayashi-san, I’m so sorry! Are you ok?” The older girl asked quite panicked with a voice full of concern.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry Ayumi-chan…” Riho answered in a low voice.
Ayumi kept a hand on Riho’s shoulder. She wanted to see her loved one’s face to be sure she was fine but Riho never turned back to her and stayed quiet. Feeling bad and guilty, Ayumi decided to leave the room. She never noticed that Haruka was there too and witnessed everything.
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-In the corridors-
“Did you really not intend to make Ishida-san fall, Sato-san?” Sakura asked, still amused by Ayumi’s exaggerated anger.
“Of course I did want to make her fall on Yassan! It’s been years since Ayumin is in love with Yassan and unable to make a move! She’s such a klutz! I have no other choice but to help her!” Masaki answered on an annoyed tone.
“How kind of you!” Sakura exclaimed with a sweet smile.
“It’s not out of kindness Oda-chan, I’m irritated! I can’t bear stalled situation!” Masaki confessed with a pout.
“The reason doesn’t really matter Sato-san. You acted kindly and that counts.” Sakura noticed while smiling brightly to her close friend.
“Yeah! You’re so right!” Masaki stated with conviction.
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-Dressing room B-
Ayumi went back to her dressing room without turning back in an attempt to cool down and clear her mind. She was feeling a mix of guilt, sadness, anger, joy and happiness. She could have sworn she was going crazy. She hoped she would be alone but it was unfortunately not the case. It was definitely a horrible day.
“So…Bocchi is a good kisser?”
“I…Ikuta-san, what…what are you doing here?!” Ayumi cried, startled.
“Just taking a break and I’m Haruna’s pillow today…” Erina answered while pointing the older jukky member peacefully sleeping in her lap.
“You’re really cute together!” Ayumi stated with her usual frank and bright smile.
“Don’t try to evade the issue Ayumi, I know you, y’know…so, is Bocchi good at kissing?”
“I never kissed Sayashi-san…” Ayumi lied the best she could. She couldn’t manage to look her Suberizu buddy in the eyes.
“Don’t lie to me, there’s always witness for these kinds of situations and you know it…”
“If you’re talking about Maachan…”
“No, Sato is not reliable…I’m talking about Duu, for example, or Oda-chan…”
“Fine…fine! Well, I just fell on Sayashi-san because Maachan jumped on my back while I was not paying attention…” Ayumi confessed on an annoyed tone and began to pout.
“…And you kissed her!” Erina stated enthusiastically with a big smile on her face.
“It was an accident!” Ayumi answered on an indignant tone. She was now blushing heavily.
“It doesn’t matter, what counts is the result. It’s your chance Ayumi! You must carry on your efforts! I’m sure it’ll pay! Sayashi has always hesitated between you and Mizuki. IT’S.YOUR.CHANCE.NOW!” Erina continued, totally fired up.
“I…I really don’t know what you’re talking about!” The shorter girl answered while leaving the room hurriedly. She was now pissed off.
Unfortunately, she bumped on Riho while going in the corridor.
“Sayashi-san! I’m sorry…” Ayumi exclaimed nervously. She was totally red and seemed quite panicked.
“It’s ok Ayumi-chan, It’s my fault.” The ace answered on an embarrassed yet reassuring tone. She was unable to look the other girl in the eyes but managed to smile sweetly.
“Excuse-me…”
With these few words, Ayumi left and Riho stayed standing there. She clearly noticed that her dance partner seemed uncomfortable and upset. She decided to help her. She had to do it. After all, it was part of her New Year resolutions.
***
The afternoon was thankfully quieter. Each member was concentrated on her task, mastering placing and new steps.
Ayumi decided to stay focused on work and not think about the taste of Riho’s lips or how it felt so soft and comfortable to be lied on her, to stay peacefully in her arms. She hardly even looked at her during these rehearsals. On the contrary, she often felt Riho’s sight on her.
Finally, the dance instructor called for a break. It was near 4.30 pm and everybody was glad to get the opportunity to eat something. Snacks were already waiting for them.
Ayumi was one of the last to leave the room. She was not in the hurry to be with the others. She feared they might talk about what happened during lunchtime, again. She heard quite a ruckus coming from the corridor and decided to go take a look.
“TANASATAN!!! You finally came!!!” Masaki shouted while hugging tightly Reina.
“Easy Sato! You’re gonna strangle me if you continue…” Reina asked with authority.
“Sorry Tanasatan but I’m sooo happy to see you! I have a lot of things to tell you~” Masaki teased with a bright smile.
“Oh…Ya know I love gossips~!” The Rokky member stated with a mischievous grin.
“Well it’s not gossip Tanasatan! It’s true, it happened!” Masaki announced while stamping in Reina’s arms.
“And so…what happened?” Reina asked curiously.
“Ayumin kissed Yassan!”
“Oh my gosh!!! You’re kiddin’ me, right?! It’s not true…” The youngest rokky member exclaimed, totally shocked.
“It’s the very truth Tanasatan! I saw it and Oda-chan saw it too!” Masaki pleaded honestly.
“Yes and she seemed quite eager and pleased to do it!” Sakura added while giggling sarcastically.
“No way!!! It finally happened! Oh gosh, I always thought it would never happen with these two, always so serious and so awkward…”
“It was an accident!” Ayumi cut her senpai off to state the truth.
“It’s ok Ishida…Everybody know you’re quite fond of Sayashi since the very beginning and it’s mutual…I’m proud of you kids! You finally found the courage to take the first step!” Reina answered calmly with a reassuring smile.
“But it was really an accident…” Riho tried shyly to clear the misunderstanding while standing beside her dance partner. When Ayumi noticed who was at her right side, she instantly blushed.
“So..after spending the night with her, you freely kiss her here Riho-chan?!” Mizuki exclaimed on a fake outraged tone.
“WHAT?!” Everybody exclaimed with wide eyes.
“No Fuku-chan, I swear it was an…”
“I don’t want to hear anything else from you!” Mizuki cut Riho off and left the corridor hurriedly.
“We did nothing wrong!” Ayumi exclaimed, totally red and outraged. She didn’t think the situation could be any worse.
“Sure you did nothing wrong kids! It’s life and you’re becoming adults, so, it’s quite normal after all…” Reina explained casually but on a reassuring tone.
“Woooh…Ayumi-chan, I totally respect you!” Haruka confessed frankly.
“But as I tell you, we did nothing wrong!!!” Ayumi tried again to clear the misunderstanding while hiding her crimson face with her hands.
“Ayumi-chan, Dance Sensei is calling for you! Follow me!” Haruna shouted to her generation mate while taking her wrist and bringing her back to the dance room.
“Oy~ Bocchi! Come here please!” Erina asked to Riho with her usual cold tone.
“I already told you to not call me that way!” The ace grumbled, offended.
“Shut up and get your ass here!” Erina scolded while taking her generation mate by the arm. She then took her forcibly to the dance room.
TO BE CONTINUED