Aikatsu/Aikatsu Stars| I Never Liked You

Chapter 11

       Aine strutted into the film studio with pride, wearing her blue sundress and white heels.
      She looked around at the other actors, all of which seemed excited and joyful, naive to Kumiko's awful management.  Aine was minorly sympathetic, however more concerned with her plan.

       Aine turned her head, as Shigeo exclaimed, "Aine! You look very beautiful, as always."
      She glared at him in the eye and turned away coldly.
      Shigeo ran over to her to wrap his arm around her waist, only for AIne to throw him off her.  "Now don't be like that, our wedding is so close!"
      "Our dear, what's an excuse to get rid of him?" Aine thought.  "Well, as I'll be apart of the Aikatsu franchise, I should seem more innocent...Wouldn't it taint my mother's show if I show you affection in public?"
       "You do have a point," Shigeo said.  He pulled out a small case from his jacket and revealed a pearl bracelet.  "Would this be inappropriate?" 
      Aine looked down at it then back up at him.  "Yes, because we're on set."  She spotted her mother a few feet away, talking to a girl with short blue hair.  "I'll talk to you later."
    Shigeo huffed and left the studio, where his eyes huffed in anger as he spotted Akari through the window of a coffee shop, sitting by Tsubasa.  

       "So those were your real designs on the show?" Akari asked.
       "Yeah, but you knew that though," Tsubasa replied.
       Akari shook her head.  "I thought your interest was sparked because of the show."
      "It definitely helped.  The show made it easy for me to start the brand for real."
      "So you must get by really well."
      "I do, and I'm planning on investing in real estate at a lakeside house."
      "Really?"
      "Well, I haven't decided yet.  I like it here in the city, but as someone who grew up in a small town, I really miss the forest."
      "I bet.  Now that I'm not living with Shigeo, I've started renting an apartment nearby.  My plan is to find a job as soon as I can because I don't have very much money."
      "Well if you want I could always help."
      "No! You already do so much for me.  I need to become more independent."
      "If you insist, but what do you plan doing for work?"
      "I'll probably work as a waitress while going to auditions."
     

      At that instance, Shigeo stormed into the coffee shop.
      Tsubasa rolled his eyes as he mumbled, "Oh great. Not you!"
      Akari took hold of his hand as she turned her head away from Shigeo.
      "So is this why you broke up with me?" Shigeo barked.
      Tsubasa leaned in towards Akari as he loudly whispered, "did you hear something?"
      Akari eyed Shigeo with a sharp glare before turning her head back to her boyfriend as she said, "Whatever you heard must not exist."
     "Very fancy of you dove, cheating on me then jumping to another rich man," Shigeo exclaimed.  A few bystanders pulled their phones out and began to record this scene.
     "You should speak for yourself, you were still with me while you got engaged with Aine Yuki.  At least I had the etiquette to break things off before running off with another boy," Akari said without expression.
     "So you admit that you ran off on me?"
     "I never denied it."
     "You are a cheater and a liar, Akari.  I took care of you, bought you presents, showed you I'm a gentleman and this is what I get?" Shigeo exclaimed, his tone rising and growing louder in a crescendo.
     "Says the man who got engaged behind my back? You're the cheater and the liar!" Akari yelled.
     "You're a full-grown man and you're picking fights with a sixteen-year-old girl.  How sad is that?" Tsubasa added.  "Oh wait, with that ugly ponytail it's hard to consider you a man."
     Akari burst into a fit of laughter.
     "Please stop embarrassing yourself, you look like a complete idiot starting these fights."
     "He already is," Akari mouthed out to Tsubasa.
     "It's quite refreshing to hear a lecture on manliness from a fashion designer.  I'll take my leave since I have so much more class than you two," Shigeo said as he flipped his ponytail and stormed out the shop.
      Akari and Tsubasa broke into hysterical laughter the moment he stepped out. 
     "Is he even real? Who talks like that!" Akari asked.
     "I'll take my leave since I have so much more class," Tsubasa said in a mocking tone as he and Akari stood up.
     "He's a walking joke," Akari said as she linked arms with her boyfriend and left the coffee shop.

       "How do they look?" Ichigo asked, nervously fiddling her fingers together.
       Naoto looked at her in astonishment; he found her beautiful.  She stood nervously raising her brows.
      "I know the bangs look a lot like before, I just thought the bangs suited me.  Are they bad?"
      "They fit you," Naoto said.
      Ichigo smiled slightly as she stepped out of the salon and into the main part of the mall.  The two walked around as Ichigo looked at various pieces of clothing.  Ichigo looked around at different clothes and took some into the fitting room.
      "This one is really embarrassing," Ichigo said through the dressing room door.
      "You probably look fine," Naoto said.
     She opened the door, revealing herself in a casual and elegant light blue tea-length dress.  "It's too cutesy, don't you think?"
     "Well look in the mirror, does it feel right on you?"
     Ichigo looked at herself in the mirror almost zoning out at her reflection.  "I like it a lot, but I'm so used to punk.  What will everyone think?"
     "It doesn't matter what everyone else thinks.  What do you think?" 
     "I really like it on me, I just feel so different."
     "Well?"
     Ichigo eyed herself head to toe.  "I'll consider."

     They went to numerous stores, where Ichigo bought herself a few pairs of outfits.  That night in their hotel room, Ichigo got dressed to go dancing.
     Naoto waited outside the bathroom, wearing a black and white suit and tie.
     Ichigo came out in a long pale pink cocktail dress paired with pearl earrings and a matching necklace.  Her hair was curled, with simple gold barrettes pinning her hair behind her ears.
    Naoto's jaw dropped as she stepped out.  His heart began to thud as she walked over to him.
    "I think the party already started. We should go before it gets crowded," Ichigo said as she linked arms with Naoto.
    "Yeah,"
    They headed down, joining the outdoor ballroom of tourists in evening gowns dancing to the band.
     "Ichigo?"
     Ichigo looked up at Naoto as they sat down at a table.
      "I think you're really beautiful,"
      Ichigo smiled and chuckled as she immediately said, "thank you."
      "And I was wondering if this--us being here could be a date."
      Ichigo's heart spun in circles as she looked at him, his hair partially spiked back.  She found him breathtakingly handsome.  "Sure."
     Ichigo and Naoto talked as they ate.  The further they got into conversation, the more Ichigo would laugh and giggle, like before.  She progressively became more relaxed around him, as if she was slowly forgetting about her "tough" persona.

    Naoto extended his hand to Ichigo on the dance floor.  Ichigo ecstatically took his hand as he pulled her in close.  Naoto spun her around numerous times, but every time he'd catch her, her heart began to pound harder.  He was very handsome, something Ichigo began noticing more as time flew later into the night.  She felt like a princess at the ball with her prince, and at that moment, everything felt in place.
   They danced until the very last song of the night, where most tourists had already gone back to their rooms.
  Naoto leaned in as he said, "There's something I think I should tell you."
  "Okay," Ichigo said with a nod as Naoto lifted her up into his arms and carried her like a princess.  Ichigo wrapped her arms behind his neck as she anticipated what was likely to come.  He carried her down to the beach and set her down.
   "The moon is really bright tonight," he said as they began walking by the beach.
   "So what was it you wanted to tell me?"
   "Well, um," Naoto looked at her, slightly intimidated by her smile.  "I really don't know how to tell you, could I show you?"
   "Yeah," Ichigo said with a shrug. 

     He held her waist close to him as his thumb played with her bottom lip. He lifted her chin ever so gently, before leaning in and softly pressing his lips to hers. Ichigo's heart accelerated. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him as he pulled her in tighter.  They've kissed numerous times before, but it was only as part of filming in their show.  This time was different, it made both their hearts pound, the world around them spin, as they shut everything out but just them.

     "I love you," he breathed out.
    "I love you too," she replied as they leaned in and shared another kiss.
    "Do you want to be my girlfriend?"
    "I'd love to."
     They pulled away and walked together, hand in hand to their hotel room, where they climbed into their separate beds across the room from each other.