*Thud* *Thud* *Thud*
"Open the door!!!" Kana shouted as she hammered against the door.
"Open… the-" Kana, who was about to unleash another barrage of knocks against the innocent door, halted as it actually opened. Something she somehow hadn't considered in her enmity against it. Before her stood not who she wanted to see, but it was better than nothing. "Where's Akane?" she asked while she forced a smile onto her lips.
"Who are you, and why are you banging against my door like you're being chased by a bear?"
"Oh," Kana's voice was suddenly filtered through a hint of self-awareness, "I-I am Arima Kana. I didn't mean to come off that way. I just want to talk to Akane." She bowed down slightly.
"Akane isn't home," Akane's dad replied with a firm voice.
"I- Could I perhaps wait in her room?"
He sighed before he made way. "Alright, just don't break her door down."
…
So this is her room?
I've never actually been here before.
But what even is all of this stuff here?
Curious Kana picked up one of the many pieces of paper scattered all throughout Akane's room. She tried to inspect what was its deal, but still put it back down when she realized that she'd have to wait a million years to be bored enough to reach through something like that. "I knew Akane was a bit of a bore, but this takes the cake," and began looking through the rest of Akane's room. She searched for nothing in particular and didn't actually snoop through drawers and closets; she just looked at what was openly displayed, so no real harm was done — probably.
After she had thoroughly inspected the small collection of books Akane had on her shelf, Kana lay down on top of the bed and looked at her ceiling, thinking.
So this is where she was when she made her decision to quit acting…
I hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it. She told me we would act together again.
She lied to me… Why did she lie to me?
Kana's restless body shot up again, just to sit down in her office chair.
Here was probably where she sat when she told me she'd act with me… liar.
Maybe she did it because she just couldn't tell me the truth.
She knew what she did was wrong, so she just couldn't tell me.
That must be it.
Kana stood at Akane's desk. Everything in here was messy; it looked like a tornado flew around the room before she came, but her desk took the gold medal. "No… I can't be thinkin bout you like that… Akane… Maybe it was an accident," Kana murmured as she began to clean up Akane's desk herself, thoughtlessly stacking notepads atop each other and putting pens into their respective holders.
'She accidentally said we would act together and couldn't take it back afterwards…'
Once she was finally okay with the way the desk looked, a faint taint of red flushed across her face, and she shook her head before doing her best to revert it back to its original state.
I have thought about this long and hard.
The old me would've run to her house the moment she found out and kicked her door down.
The new me ran to her house after thinking for a week and then kicked her door down.
Big difference…
Kana's lips were decorated by a melancholic smile. Her hands fell to her side while she looked down at the mess she had just cleaned and uncleaned right after.
…
Kana waited for much longer than she had planned. In her hurry, she actually forgot to ask Akane's dad when Akane would be returning, and asking now would be life-threateningly awkward. Maybe this was also his way to get back at her for almost hammering down his door — making her wait indefinitely. Her afternoon was over, and the other plans she had were down the drain by the time Akane finally strolled back in.
"Finally," Kana exclaimed loudly. She lay on Akane's bed, her head dangling down one of its sides.
"Whoa, you startled me." Akane squealed, one of her hands shooting up to her heart. "What are you doing in my room?" She asked, looking right past Akane to check if everything was how she left it. "You didn't nose around, did you?" She gracefully slipped out of her coat, hanging it on the rack next to her closet.
"I waited for you. What else would I be doing?" Kana noticed Akane's gaze. "And no, I didn't look through your stuff… much," she added.
Akane sighed, then a faint smile she quickly masked again crossed her face. "Is this sarcasm? You know the real question is: 'Why are you waiting for me?'"
Akane also sat down on her bed before ultimately lying down just a moment later. The two girls weren't particularly close physically, since Akane's bed was actually quite big. There would've probably still been room for Ruby and Mem-Cho, and even then, none of them would have had to touch.
"Can't I visit my friends? I just felt like coming over… I know, by now you have probably seen my new look, but we haven't seen each other in almost a month. And as for the day we last saw each other, I'd like to forget it altogether…" Kana's expression turned thoughtful as she took a short break. "No, that's not true. I've learned a lot of things from that day."
"Yeah, I've watched your comeback… and I have also watched the playback at least thrice… I should've been there…" Akane propped her head up and took a good look at Kana's, by now not so new but for her still fresh, look. "You look good." She took a short break. "Different, but still good."
"I know," Kana blurted out bluntly. She kept her face untelling for a few more seconds before erupting into a fit of giggles and throwing her head back into the comfort of Akane's pillows. "Thanks… Really. You don't look too bad either. It's nothing a shower wouldn't fix."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Akane also lay back down, her eyes resting on her ceiling.
"Huh? What do *you* mean?" Kana asked, now a bit confused herself. "Did you look at yourself?"
Akane pulled her phone out and opened the front camera, turning painfully self-aware. Her hair was blown into every direction, hanging in ways she had never before seen it hang. Meanwhile, her forehead was glistening from dried-up sweat, and even a hint of dirt — of which she had actually no clue how it even got there — stuck to it.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner that I look like a dang scarecrow?" Akane asked while her hands combed through her hair, trying to fix the mess on her head to no avail.
"I thought you knew. What were you even up to that you come home looking like that?" Kana asked, now curious.
Akane's face fell slightly, and her hands stopped moving before resuming like nothing happened a moment later. "I visited Aqua in jail… It's just that his chances of walking free are really slim."
"Hey, it's okay." Kana saw Akane's hesitation, scooting a bit down on the bed. "I'm sure it'll all work out," she mumbled, placing her warm hand on Akane's. The moment they made contact, a small shock ran through both of their bodies. Akane's hand was way colder than Kana had expected, and Kana's hand was way warmer than Akane had thought.
"It's okay, really." Akane sighed, accepting Kana's attempt to comfort her by taking her hand and wrapping it with her own. "But I think he'd like it if you'd also visit him… To be honest, all of this is really hard on him. He still doesn't show it, but something about him feels different, I think he's finally warming up a bit… What I'm saying is: he needs us, and we should be there for him."
Akane's voice quivered slightly. This was something that hit Kana harder than she thought it would. 'She is really distraught over all this… I should probably do her this favor,' Kana thought. However, her interpretation was off. Akane's distant eyes and shaky voice were so far off it wasn't even in the same ballpark anymore. Where she thought to hear concern was fear, and where she thought to see uncertainty about Aqua's future were Akane's eyes showing deep uncertainty about her own.
"I think it wouldn't hurt to go see him," Kana whispered, now placing her second hand on top of Akane's, basically building a hand tower by now. "Though he didn't visit me either, so it would just be fair if I would show him the cold shoulder too," Kana said, her voice sounding more joyful than before, with no heat behind her words.
"Thanks," Akane muttered. Smiling as well, she pulled her hands away again, Kana doing the same and scooting back up the bed.
"You know, Akane, I lied earlier. I did have a reason why I came over. It's a favor I need, and now that I agreed to yours, you must also agree to mine… That's how it works," Kana said, nervously fumbling with the hem of her short skirt.
"I know… I was just waiting for you to admit it… Come on, out with it," Akane replied, also lying back down. The two girls were now lying parallel to each other; however, Akane had her head by the bedpost while her feet were up on her pillows — next to Kana's head. Kana was doing the exact opposite, lying in the bed the intended way, her feet next to Akane's head.
"I wanna know why you lied to me," said Kana, her voice monotone but not hostile.
Akane didn't let the accusing words get the better of her. "What do you mean by that?" she asked calmly.
"Well, you told me we would act together once I made my comeback… So tell me why I needed Miyako to tell me that you actually quit acting… I don't get it." Kana tried to contain her emotions, but she couldn't completely conceal how hurt she was by this. Her voice showed it, especially during the later half of her sentence.
Akane didn't reply while Kana also didn't try to push her into doing so. The words hung in the room for a long moment, then Akane sighed. "I knew how stressed you must have been, so I didn't want to break the news to you like that."
"That wasn't the question I wanted an answer to," Kana mumbled.
"It wasn't?"
Kana shook her head, something Akane couldn't even have seen from the way she was put. "I wanna know why you quit acting."
"Oh… I suppose I just grew sick of the industry… I just couldn't keep going like that," Akane replied, this time without needing a long break in between their sentences to collect her thoughts.
"Akane…"
"Hm?"
In not more than a moment, Kana had crawled down the bed and prostrated over Akane. Her hands, she placed mere centimeters away from Akane's shoulder, using them to dominantly prop herself up over her. "For an actress, you are a terrible liar, I hope you know that," she said, close enough so Akane could feel her breaths hit her forehead.
"Uhm- I," Akane timidly stuttered, her bravado dropping because of Kana's overwhelming and dominant proximity.
"Tell me the truth," Kana pushed, ruthlessly interrupting Akane's uncoordinated stutters.
"This is the truth," Akane retorted.
Kana lowered herself even further. From an outsider's perspective, it now looked like the two were about to kiss. "No, it is not," she whispered.
Akane's eye darted around for a moment, searching for anything; however, no matter where she tried to look, she only saw Kana's face, her body too stiff to move. Then she sighed and looked away, probably in shame. "I felt bad. I thought you'd have to quit acting because of me," she admitted.
The glaring expression in Kana's eyes vanished and was replaced by a bewildered look. This made Akane feel even weirder than before, though. She looked like she had spoken some foreign language, yet she definitely should've understood.
Kana erupted into a fit of quiet laughter as she pushed herself up and away from the intimate predicament. "Wow, you almost sound like Aqua."
"Hmmm… I Guess I do," Akane replied matter-of-factly after she let out a breath she probably held in ever since Kana had leaned down.
"Okay, then, now that I am back acting, you can come, too."
…
…
…
…
"I don't think I will."
"WHY NOT?" Kana shouted.
Akane's cheeks flushed bright red when Kana grabbed both of her hands, tightly holding them. "I-I have other things on my mind right now. I can't waste my time like that," Akane stuttered, unexpected physical contact having always been her kryptonite, and Kana liked using it ruthlessly.
"Oh, then why don't you mind filling me in on what's so important?" Kana snippily asked.
"Aqua?" Akane exclaimed, sounding indignant at the obvious question.
"Oh surely," Kana finally understood what all the scattered documents through Akane's room were for. "What are you planning on doing? Are you going to study law now…? You know Aqua wouldn't want you throwing away your passion because of him."
I know she is lying again, I just can't prove it… I see it in her eyes.
She cares for Aqua and so do I… I think. But I can't let her go through with this… She still wants to act. I just know it… This is why I can't stop now. I don't like it either, but sometimes you just have to force people into being happy. God, I wish someone would've told me sooner.
Why just does she have to be this stubborn? I know what she thinks. She thinks she'd betray not only herself but also me, Aqua, and Lala Lai.
This isn't going anywhere… I really didn't want to resort to this, but I have no other choice.
The room fell quiet, nothing but ragged breaths echoing through it. Kana let her hands fall away from Akane's wrists, leaving behind red imprints. "I really didn't think you would be that kind of person," she mumbled, sitting back and looking down into her lap.
"What do you mean?" Akane, caught off guard by the sudden shift in Kana's behavior, asked.
"Back when you visited me… The only time you visited me… You admitted to what happened to me being your fault, and you told me if I needed anything I could come to you… I suppose you didn't think I'd actually come to you with something… but it still hurts knowing these were also not more than empty words."
Akane's face fell. Kana's words actually managed to cut her really deep. Her hand, which had been on its way to rest on Kana's shoulder, limply fell down next to her side before it could reach its destination. "You're unfair," Akane mumbled, her own eyes resting in her lap now, too.
"I know…" Kana matched Akane's tone of voice. "But so are you…" The usual slickness her voice carried was completely gone. "Please… I'm begging you, I know that I'm being totally egoistic right now, but please listen to me."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"What about Lala Lai…?" Akane blurted out. "I ended my contract with them… I can't go back."
Kana's eyes turned big, hidden behind a veil of red hair. "Does that mean you…" Her words trail off."
"..."
"You know what? It doesn't matter." A big smile spread over Kana's lips as she raised her head again. "Let's look into the details of 'how' later. For now the only thing that counts is the 'that'."
"Are you sure this wouldn't be a problem?" Akane asked, also glancing back up, though still partially hiding behind her hair.
"No problem whatsoever. Miyako would tell you the same thing. I could call her right now," said Kana as she pulled her phone out, ready to demonstrate that she was serious.
"No need to, I believe you," Akane interrupted.
"Thank god," Kana sighed and showed her black screen while spamming the power button. "Because my phone is dead as a rock, and I just couldn't find your charger while I waited here."
"Oh, wait, here it is," Akane said as she pulled the charger out of the pocket of her pants.
Kana looked at her perplexed, then she grabbed it out of her hand. "Who keeps their charger in their pocket?"
"I do… Not always, but sometimes, it's really handy."
"Whatever you're saying," Kana blew Akane's beliefs off — in one ear and out the other — as she plugged her phone in.
Kana sat back down, this time in Akane's chair, though. Her body felt stiff from all the various positions she wound up in throughout the day of boredom she spent inside Akane's room. "Whaddaya say? Wanna grab something to eat and talk a bit more?" Kana asked, not even able to sit still for a minute. "Let's catch up on what happened. I have a lot to tell you."
Akane smiled faintly as Kana managed to make her completely forget about everything that's going on in her own life. "That sounds great," she said as she got up from her bed and grabbed her coat.
"You should probably get your hair fixed, though. The places I eat at usually don't serve homeless people," Kana teased, already out of Akane's room.
"Screw you," Akane laughed, no heat behind her words.
Eventually both had left the room — Akane even managed to finally get her hair mostly tamed. Their mood, which fluctuated all the way from cheerful banter over almost sexually explicit power dynamics all the way to mutual emotional manipulation, was now at a daily high. Together, they walked along the hallway, down the stairs, and out the door. Akane's room was silent now, and it remained like that for a good while before a quiet buzz disturbed it.
It was Kana's phone. Charging, she left it behind. On its display, which had turned on again, was an email displayed. It was from Miyako, containing exactly three new job offers, one more lucrative than the next.