Chapter 58: Feeling
Rei-chan notices that Mikaze-senpai looks a bit down.
"Ai-chan, you okay? You seem under the weather."
"I'm fine. It may just be your imagination."
Kurosaki-senpai puts down the magazine he was reading and takes a look at Mikaze-senpai.
"Reiji's right. You do look down, Ai."
"You're both mistaken; I'm alright."
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It's been a long time since I've had a free day! I've been stuck with filming for the series two to three times a week, composing songs for a new album, modelling for ManAge and other magazines, hosting in variety shows, and I've recently started a voice acting job for a shounen anime series; sometimes I wonder if weekends even mean anything anymore since I work practically every day. Sigh, I know I shouldn't complain but I'm still a human being with wants and needs; sleep and having some fun is now a part of my needs.
"You guys ready?" I asked as I popped my head out from the door.
"All set and ready to go!" Syo said as he put on a hat.
"It's wonderful that we're all free today! I can't wait to have fun again in Carnival World!" Natsuki said.
"Yeah! This time, it's a clear and sunny day!" I said as we left their room.
"Let's go find Ai-chan and see if he's ready to go." Natsuki said.
Today, we're all going to Carnival World to have some fun since we're all free today! It's a miracle that we're all free on the same day and so we thought of having some fun. We looked for Mikaze-senpai and found him somewhere at the lobby; he was together with the other Quartet Night members.
"Ah, there he is!" Syo said as he spots Mikaze-senpai.
"Oh! Hey Ai, look; you're juniors are all here!" Rei-chan said as we approached them.
"Ai-chan! We're all ready to go to Carnival World. Are you ready?" Natsuki asked in a very cheerful and excited tone.
Mikaze-senpai looks at Syo and Natsuki. When he looked at me, he suddenly averted his eyes; I really feel that he's been avoiding me lately.
"...You'll have to go without me; I have work to do today."
Rei-chan gets surprised and looks at Mikaze-senpai all of a sudden.
Our smiles slowly faded away with his words; we all felt a bit disappointed that he couldn't go with us. Here I thought that we were all free for the day.
"Huh? But Ai-senpai, I thought you had no work today?" Syo asked.
"I suddenly got job offer last night and I decided to take it; it would be a wasted opportunity."
Syo turned to Natsuki and I with a disheartened smile; I guess Mikaze-senpai really won't be coming with us.
"Alright, we understand; there's nothing we can do then. We'll get you a cute souvenir when we come back. Good luck with your work today; we'll be leaving now." Natsuki then signaled Syo and I that we should go.
I felt quite disappointed deep inside; I was excited at the thought that he would join us today. Well, work is important after all; I can't blame him.
Syo looks over to me and sees my saddened face.
"Hey, don't be so down; Ai has work so we can't do anything about it. But...he could have turned it down since he promised to go out with us; maybe it was a big offer."
"Don't be so down, Ori-chan. A smile looks better on you."
I sighed and smiled. "Yeah, you guys are right. Let's just have fun today!"
"That's the spirit!"
I shouldn't sour the mood over something trivial like this. That's what I thought but somehow, I could still feel my heart ache a bit. Anyway, there's always next time.
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Kurosaki-senpai puts his arms behind his head as he lay on the sofa; he then looked over to Mikaze-senpai with a bit of seriousness on his face.
"What was that all about? That was one surprise attack you had there."
"..." Mikaze-senpai was looking down to the ground with his arms crossed.
"You lied to them, Ai-chan. We all know that you don't have any work today." Rei-chan looks at him with concern and seriousness.
Camus took a sip of his tea. "I believe that this is the first time I've heard you lie like that. I'm a bit surprised that you would turn down a request that way; you would usually outright say that you don't want to go." He placed his tea down onto the table. "Is there a reason behind your unusual behavior?"
"You've let them down, you know; especially that kid." Kurosaki-senpai turns over on the couch. He was waiting for Mikaze-senpai to say something but he didn't say anything at all; Kurosaki-senpai grew even more concerned.
Rei-chan, who was sitting on the couch opposite of Kurosaki-senpai, crossed his legs and recalled the faces of the sad hoping juniors.
"She was the saddest of them all. Sigh." He then looks at Mikaze-senpai from the side.
Mikaze-senpai was completely silent and was just staring off into space; the three grew even more concerned for him. He wasn't his usual self today at all. They decided not to talk about it anymore since he refused to speak about it at all; they just passed the time with whatever came to their mind. After some time, all of the seniors went off to do their own thing. Rei-chan decided to go and bother Tokiya-san and Otoya; he's off to cause some trouble again. Camus left to find Cecil to teach and scold him again about what it means to be an idol. Kurosaki-senpai went to his room to practice his bass skills. Mikaze-senpai on the other hand, just went back to his room and started typing on his computer.
The sound of the keyboard keys being pressed filled the room; Mikaze-senpai kept typing and typing but there was something wrong. Usually, he would just type continuously but today, he would stop typing time to time as if he didn't know what to type at all. He pursued to type further but came to a point wherein he was just not in the mood and was too distracted to continue.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath; he began thinking about what was wrong with him. Recalling the events that he has been thru since he started staying in the dorm upon Shining Saotome's request, his thoughts started to remember more and more of the times he has spent with Kaori rather than the times he has spent with everyone else; he then remembers how he treated Kaori when they went to the studio to watch the filming of the drama series.
He suddenly opens his eyes.
"That wasn't fair of me; I shouldn't have acted that way." He said softly. "I haven't been fair to her at all ever since I lost my temper on that day...I've been avoiding her...far too much..."
He got up and went out to take a walk around the premises. He just kept walking while he thought and thought about what has been happening to him; his curiosity was lit as well as something inside his chest.
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Carnival World wasn't very crowded today; I guess it's because it's a weekday. We have the day off, the weather is clear, it's not very crowded, what more can you ask for?
"Hey! Let's go on that ride!" I pointed at the roller coaster ride called "Jet Line", It was a really fast roller coaster ride with two high drops, seven loops—one part with four consecutive loops and one part with three consecutive loops before going up really high then falling at high speed.
"Are you serious?!" I dragged him and Natsuki with me to the ride. All I could remember from the ride was the loops, the high drops, and Syo screaming for his life; we got a free photo souvenir. The picture was taken during one of the high drops; you can see me smiling with my hands in the air at the front while you can see Syo screaming and hugging Natsuki out of fear. Natsuki was screaming during some parts of the ride but was way calmer than Syo.
"Ah! Let's go inside!" I pointed at the huge haunted mansion attraction.
"What?! There's no way I'm going in there!" I dragged along Syo and Natsuki once again. The haunted house was really fun too! The costumes seemed really scary and the different rooms inside were really creepy and full of surprises! Did I mention that we got lost inside because it was designed like a labyrinth?
We continued to ride rides and tried out the mini game booths. The next thing we knew was that it had turned dark; it was 8:00 pm and we all decided to go back to the dorm already. Today was totally fun and crazy!I think I rode the roller coaster about five times!
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The night sure was calm and cool; I feel refreshed after everything we've done today.
"Today was really fun!" Syo said as we walked towards the dorm.
My face glowed with a big grin; I really enjoyed today!
"We were lucky that there weren't so much people today so we got to ride on all of the rides!"
"Yeah! We also got to win prizes from the mini game booths. It was fun!"
Natsuki was really happy about that because he got to win a Piyo-chan stuff toy that was wearing a cute sailor uniform and a really cute hat from another game he won.
I was holding a medium sized stuff toy in my arms and was hugging it. I won the stuff toy from the ring toss booth; I never would have thought that I'd shoot all four rings! The stuff toy was in the shape of one of the mascots of Carnival World; it's like a bear with a nice jacket. Though I won this prize, I won't be keeping it; I'll be giving it to Mikaze-senpai.
We reached the dorm and I went with Syo and Natsuki to their dorm room so that I could give Mikaze-senpai the stuff toy before going to my room.
"Ai-senpai! We're back!" Syo said as he opened the door.
To our surprise, no one was in the room.
"Eh? Ai-senpai is not here?"
"Maybe he's still at work?" I suggested.
Natsuki looks around and notices Mikaze-senpai's computer.
"Maybe he just went out for a while? Look, his computer is still on."
"That's not like Ai-senpai at all. The computer's hot so that would mean that it's been left on for a long time; I'm going to close it for now since it would be a waste of electricity." Syo went over to the computer and tried to turn it off.
Mikaze-senpai is not acting like his usual self today; what's wrong with him? It's making me and everyone else worry a lot. I really hope that he's okay. I hugged the stuff toy in my arms tighter.
Natsuki was looking around Mikaze-senpai's things to see if he left a note or clue about where he went but he didn't find anything.
"Let's just wait for him to come back for now." He said.
"You should go back to your room and get to bed. You're probably tired already from today; you'll need energy for tomorrow since you'll be back to work. We'll message you when senpai comes back." Syo said as he finally closed senpai's computer.
"Okay."
I went over to Mikaze-senpai's desk and I was quite surprised to find a copy of my latest album; it was even one of the 100 copies that I signed before they got released. So he bought a copy...I'm feeling quite happy but I wish he'd start talking to me again...
I placed the stuff toy beside senpai's computer and wrote a little note on a piece of paper.
"We had a lot of fun today. You should go with us next time. This is for you Mikaze-senpai. –Kaori"
I folded the note in half and placed it under the stuff toy.
I thought for a moment and took the note back; I opened it and wrote at the end,
"If I did something to upset you, I'm very sorry; please forgive me."
I folded the note again and placed it back under the stuff toy.
"Goodnight Syo, Natsuki."
"Goodnight."
"Sweet dreams, Ori-chan."
I left and went straight back to my room.
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The evening was still quite young and quiet; Rei-chan was bored from staying in the room so he decided to take a walk. As he passed thru the lake side, he finds Mikaze-senpai sitting on a bench facing the lake all by himself; he approaches him.
"Ai-chan, you're out for a breather too?"
"Yes...I just needed some air."
Mikaze-senpai's voice was really sad somehow; Rei-chan became concerned. He sat beside Mikaze-senpai.
"Are you willing to talk? Whatever it is that's bothering you, it won't go away unless you talk about it or do something about it."
"Reiji, do you know about that day when Syo, Natsuki, and I went to watch the filming of the drama series that Kaori stars in?"
"Ah yes, I remember because when you guys came back, you were pretty grumpy."
"Yes, I was in a foul mood."
"Why?"
Rei-chan thought for a while.
"Don't tell me?! I'm guessing they were filming scenes where she was with her love interest in the series?"
"Yes, I got upset because of that. In fact, I didn't even stay inside the studio for too long. But what I feel bad about the most was the way I acted towards Kaori; I was so upset that I became too cold to her on that day until now. I can't bear to see or recall her disappointed face."
"You regret it very much, don't you?"
Mikaze-senpai nodded.
"Hmm, looks like jealousy got you that time."
Rei-chan then realized something.
"Wait, does that mean you've found the answer to your question from before?"
"I think about it all the time ever since you talked about it with me. I gave it much thought since then and I did find my answer after some time. You were right from the beginning; my heart agrees with what you said. I do love her. Not only because of her music, but also because of who she is. I want to be by her side, Reiji; I want to be with her."
Rei-chan smiles and pats Mikaze-senpai's head.
"That's wonderful news, Ai-chan."
"I want to make up for what I did to her though. I want to apologize for walking out on her during the filming day and for earlier today..."
"Do you have something in mind that you could do?"
"I have one suggestion in my mind but I'll be needing your help."
"No problem! I'll be more than willing to help you!"
Mikaze-senpai smiles a little and looks at the stars above. He has always seen the same stars every night but tonight, they seemed brighter than usual.
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After talking for some time with Rei-chan, Mikaze-senpai returned to his room. He saw Syo and Natsuki sleeping in their beds since it was already late; he closes the door quietly.
He notices that his computer is off and sees an unfamiliar stuff toy beside his computer; he picks it up and looks at the stuff toy's jacket.
"Carnival World?"
He then notices a folded note; he picks it up and opens it.
"We had a lot of fun today. You should go with us next time. This is for you Mikaze-senpai. If I did something to upset you, I'm very sorry; please forgive me. –Kaori"
Immediately, Mikaze-senpai took a piece of paper and wrote something on it. He folded it and passed by Kaori's room; her light was still on so she's probably still awake. He folded his note in half and thru the space beneath the door, slid the note into Kaori's room; he knocked on the door a little and left immediately.
He then realized, why didn't he just send a message to her cell phone? He starts feeling a bit embarrassed.
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Today was really fun and I feel like I've released all my stress and concerns by riding the rides; the roller coaster was really the best. I really love this bed; I can stay on this bed for days if I could.
*cough cough* I open a bottle of water and drink from it.
Though most of my concerns are gone...one remains to worry me. If I was a serene lake, he's that one little drop of rain that would create ripples that disturb the serene surface of the water. Sometimes I wonder what he thinks of me; am I stuck in a one-sided love?
*knock knock knock*
Huh? Someone's still awake this late?
I got out of my bed and as I approached my door, I saw a note on the floor.
I picked it up and opened it.
"You didn't do anything. You shouldn't apologize for something you didn't do. -Ai"
I was surprised; it was from Mikaze-senpai.
I open my door immediately to see if he was still there but when I opened the door, he was no where in sight. There was no one in the dark hallway; the only thing there was the deafening silence of the night.
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*ring ring ring*
"Hm, hello Kaori? Why are you calling at this hour? You should be resting since work will be starting again tomorrow."
"I couldn't sleep because I've noticed something about my throat; it's bothering me a bit. For the past few days, my throat has been feeling weird."
Manager-san sits up on his bed. "Your throat? What's wrong with it? Does it hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt but sometimes I find it hard to hit some notes and using my falsetto; I've been using more effort than usual in singing and it's bothering me."
"Perhaps your throat has gotten tired because of the continuous jobs you've been taking. I'll try to rearrange your schedule to be more flexible and less stressful for your throat; I'll try to give you more periods of rest. If we get more jobs on singing, I'll turn down some of them so that you won't overwork your voice. For now, just take care of your throat and rest whenever you can. Let's observe it for now and if you feel that it has gotten worse, we'll go see a doctor."
"Alright, I'll tell you if it gets worse. Goodnight, Manager-san."
"Goodnight and rest well."