Part 2 is here…

A bit different – be warned…lol.

Racing…

“Kame-hame-ha!!!!”

What the hell?

A pair of groggy eyelids slowly pull themselves apart. Eyes returned to focus and settle on the still playing television which was currently showing a familiar anime.

Where...am I?...oh yeah…Lin-chan’s apartment…

Her mind returned to the events of the previous evening, the tears that the younger girl had shed; the warmth of Lin’s hand as she held it. Her eyes finally travelled to the bed that she had just lifted her head from. Her had was empty. So was the bed.

Ai jumped up with a start, knocking over the chair she had been sitting in.

I shouldn’t have done that…

She placed her hand on her back as she fell forward onto the bed. Her face squeezed together in pain.

Dammit… I should not have fallen asleep in that chair…

Ai forced herself to stand once again and ran to the bathroom.

She’s not in here… Oh no…

Her eyes instinctively scanned the apartment, even though there weren’t any places to hide. She leaped to the table and snatched her phone out of the bag she had placed there the night before, not caring that the contents of her bag now lay sprawled across the table. The phone rang. Finally someone answered.

*“Moshi Moshi.”

“Risa…she’s gone!” Tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

*“Ai-chan?...wait…who’s gone?”

“Lin-chan!...Dammit…I shouldn’t have fallen asleep!”

*“Ai-chan…” Ai wasn’t listening.

“What if something happens to her?!”

*“Ai-chan!” Still nothing.

“I’ll never forgive myself if she gets hurt!” Tears fell freely now.

*“Takahashi Ai! Baka! Shut up!” Ai gasped at the sub-leader’s tone. “Ai…calm down. I’ll call the others. We’ll meet at my place ok?”

“Ok Gaki-san… Risa…thank you.” Ai’s mind was finally working rationally again.

*”Ai-chan… I’m your best friend. Don’t thank me. Let’s find your Linko.”

Ai blushed, even though she knew the other girl couldn’t see her.

“Ok. See you in a bit.” Ai closed the phone, shoved the fallen stuff into her bag, and ran out the door.

*******

Ai wandered the streets on her way to the sub-leader’s apartment. Her eyes flitted from place to place, person to person, looking for the short brown hair of the younger girl she had grown close to during the more than two years they had known each other. With every face that went by that wasn’t Lin’s, Ai’s panic began to reassert itself.

*CRACK*

Rain began to pour from the darkened sky. She hadn’t noticed the clouds before. She knew it was cliché, but she felt that the weather was mirroring her own feelings. The thunder continued to echo off the tall buildings on either side of her. Despite the rain, Ai continued to search the faces of the crowd. She set off across a small park. She didn’t know what led her to take the shortcut to Risa’s, rather than her normal route following the streets. The park, because of the rain, was empty. No one noticed the young woman’s brisk pace across the grass or that the drenched woman was the current leader of Morning Musume.

“AHHHHHHHHH!!!” A scream reached the Musume-Leader’s ears. Normally she would have avoided the source of such commotion, but on this day the normally dense leader noticed that the scream was one of utter despair. Not to mention that the voice was somewhat familiar, and in her panicked state she wanted to latch on to any hope of finding Lin. She heard the scream a few more times, drawing closer each time, until she finally laid eyes on the source.

Oh my…Lin-chan…

The younger girl was hardly recognizable. Completely drenched from the rain, her short brown hair was plastered to her face and neck and her normally loose clothing now clung to her small frame. Her one-piece was ringed in mud and the hem now fell in ribbons around her bruised legs. She appeared to have taken several hard falls since her escape from her own apartment. She still hadn’t realized someone had found her, that is, until Ai walked up to her. Ai noticed the girl’s visible flinch and that her tear filled eyes looked at everything other than her, as if looking for a way to escape. Fortunately Ai reached the Lin before the younger girl’s mind could work out an escape strategy. Her arms wrapped around Lin, pulling her into a tight hug.

“Lin-chan, please…let me take you home…”

The girl struggled in Ai’s arms.

“LET ME GO!!!” She tried to force her way out of Ai’s surprisingly strong arms. Punching and slapping at the older girl’s torso.

“Lin-chan… I don’t care how much you fight. I’m not letting you go.” Ai’s voice remained calm despite the tears that ran down her face, mingling with the heavenly tears that fell from the sky. Lin continued to try to escape Ai’s grasp.

“LET ME GO…LET ME BE ALONE…SEEMS TO BE MY DESTINY IN THIS LIFE!” she screamed as she resumed her assault on the older girl. Ai’s feelings finally reached her vocal chords.

“DAMMIT LIN!... *sigh*… don’t you realize that you are not alone! … You have the eight of us in Morning Musume, I meant it when I said that we are family. *sigh* But above that…you have me…” The final words were barely audible, but Lin’s assault faltered before stopping altogether.

“…Take me home…” Lin still refused to look at the older girl.

Ai wrapped her arm around the shivering girl’s shoulder as she began to lead her out of the inundated park.

******

After reaching Lin’s apartment, in an effort to combat the shivers both girls we suffering from, Ai led the younger girl to the bathroom - cranking up the hand shower’s temperature and using the warm water to clean the mud from Lin’s bruised legs. After cleaning the girl as best as she could, Ai pulled the one piece that was still stuck to Lin’s small frame over the younger girl’s head.

Try not to blush…now is not the time Ai.

Fortunately her body listened to her… however the other girl still refused to look her in the eye.

She’s standing here in her underwear…yet she doesn’t care…is she that far gone?

Ai, again, pulled the younger girl into her embrace.

“Lin-chan…please look at me… “

The girl no longer cried. She didn’t do anything, just looked through her… as if she didn’t exist.

“Lin-chan…please look at me… you aren’t alone. I’m here…as long as I am here you’ll never be alone anymore.” Finally, Lin’s eyes settled on her face.

“You say that now… All of you will leave me too… you can’t promise that…”

Her voice dripped with venom. Her face contorted in grief. Ai was…grateful… that she finally elicited a response out of the younger girl.

“Lin-chan…I’m not going anywhere….”

I care for you too much…

“Why do you keep saying that?! Why do you act like you care…”

*SLAP*

“Stop saying that!! I told you we were family two years ago…but feelings changed…”

Lin looked at the older girl, her hand resting on the reddened cheek Ai has slapped. A look of bewilderment replaced the pain that had previously contorted her face.

“I’m sorry Lin-chan…you don’t seem to realize how much it hurts me to see you like this… I know I could never understand the pain you are going through … I’m just asking you to let me be your support…”

“…I’m cold…”

Ai turned the water off. She ran to the closet and grabbed a change of clothes for the younger girl. She helped her change.

“Ai…you can borrow some of my clothes…” Ai returned to the closet and chose a second pair of clothes and returned to the bathroom to change.

“Ai-chan…” Lin mumbled. Ai spun around, her shirt not yet on. Lin walked over to her and wrapped Ai in a tight embrace, nestling her damp head into Ai’s chest. Ai blushed slightly at the contact.

Stupid blushing fool… you just helped her change… stop blushing!

“You promise Ai-chan?” Lin questioned as she lifted her head to look the other girl in the eyes.

“Hmm….of course. I promise to be by your side for as long as this world allows…it’s all I can do. I don’t want to make exaggerated promises that I have no power to keep – you deserve truth.”

I can’t say it… why can’t I tell…

Her thoughts were interrupted by a quick, light pressure on her lips.

Did she....kiss me?

As inner Ai danced for joy, outer Ai remained stunned.

“Ai…thank you.”

“For what Lin-chan?”

“For being my support – for always being there – for loving me despite all my problems…” As Lin said this, she placed her lips on Ai’s cheek.

“How’d you know?”

Lin pulled back a bit and smiled wearily as Ai mumbled this. Her smile would have been larger…but this day took all of her energy.

“I didn’t… but I hoped.” She again placed her lips on Ai’s. This time Ai reciprocated.

“Please stay with me…” Lin said as she pulled back from Ai.

“Of course …” Ai’s heart raced for the second time that day. This time, however, worry did not drive that rate hike, but love.

Lin led Ai to the bed and welcomed her under the covers. Ai fell asleep in Lin’s arms.

Meanwhile…Ai’s cell phone continued to buzz from all the unread messages from the members she had forgotten. Lin picked up the phone, which sat in Ai’s bag that had fallen next to the bed. She opened the phone, typed in a few words and closed the phone with a smile before nestling into Ai’s shoulder.

Gaki-san. We’re Ok. Ai-chan is sleeping. Today wore her out. Thank you for being such a great family.