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?