Friendship Crisis
Author: Anita
Fandom: Takarazuka
Characters/Pairings: Asaka Manato / Nozomi Fuuto
Genres: yuri, romance
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: adultery
Status: complete
Summary: Manato finds her best friend Fuuto in the middle of Kyoto, holding the arm of a married man. She can’t come in terms with her feelings. No matter how hard she tries, their friendship hangs in the balance.
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5
Notes: Story written for the Girl Power Week 2016, a fic event promoted by the OA Fanfics Community.
This is all fiction, all coincidences are nothing more than so. I don’t earn anything from it. Of course nothing here ever happened. Please do consider they are all characters.
Chapter 1
End of August, 2016
Even though Manato did visit Kyoto now and then, enjoying the teahouses, the good restaurants, the whole old capital atmosphere, she never really walked around the truly tourist-y areas. Why had she decided to change that today of all? If only she had taken the opposite direction and gone see the beaches in Hyogo... driving around, feeling the end-of-summer breeze make her hair dance.
Then, she wouldn't have caught sight of the tall lady in the cute fluffy dress, her wavy auburn hair swirling around as she held her companion's arm close to her. So close! Perhaps, being surrounded by foreigners freed the two to be more affectionate albeit broad daylight. They were just like two high school sweethearts celebrating their first month together.
"Aya-chan!" Manato called out, rushing toward the couple. "Wow, that's really you there," she exclaimed when they were eye to eye. "To think I'd find you here, all lovey-dove, in the middle of these many people!"
Fuuto's first reaction was to flinch and tighten her hold to the man's arm. Watching that was like a treat to Manato, who couldn't stop smiling at her discovery. Nozomi Fuuto, Yukigumi's second actress, had a date! And now attempted to either melt into the man or pretend she had the wrong person.
As if!
"And your hair got so long!" Pretending that wasn't a wig, Manato kept the amusement in her tone as she studied the other person. "Has it been that much time since we last met?" She was ready to crack more jokes when her eyes found something even more out place than the cute accessories her friend had on all over her.
That man didn't simply wear a ring. A contrast to the countless trinkets and what-nots on Fuuto, he had a single golden, solid, and thick band, with two metal tracks, one lighter but both still sparkling gold, shining from none but his ring finger. Of his left hand. Aside from that, he didn't even wear anything on his neck. His clothing screamed salary man, except for him walking around so free on a Wednesday afternoon, instead of slaving away at his cubicle.
Even though Manato managed not to gasp, her throat was so dry it hurt to voice anything. Not that her mind could muster a different question from "Why are you walking around with this man and his ring?" Not that she would.
Already too late to hide, the man moved his left hand away from sight and bowed to her. "How unexpected meeting a friend of Ayako's. I am Imai Touma. It is an honor to meet you."
And what could Manato do at that point? Dragging Fuuto was the only solution coming to mind but she wouldn't. She wasn't the overly-critical meddlesome friend. How could she point fingers at people's choices? She never wanted to be that person. Even if all her nerves screamed at her to just do it.
All her might resulted in no more than a mumbled "It was nice seeing you, Aya-chan" as she hurriedly walked out of their sight.
"Oh, she didn't even say her name..." Manato could hear the man complain in disappointment. If Fuuto answered anything, she wasn't able to get it. She didn't even try and stop for that. She just wanted to disappear from there, forget that situation before her body acted on its own.
---
Fuuto knew she needed to call Manato. And the sooner the better. But even as she reluctantly parted from Imai later that evening, she never found the gut to hear what her friend really had to say. It was almost comical that, after so much time, the first person to catch her would be one of her best friends. Some would call it lucky.
So why didn't she just ring her? She should have. She knew she should. This wasn't a question on what the correct approach was. Manato wouldn't ever out her affair. Actually, out of everyone, easygoing and friendly Manato was the most likely to accept them.
"Can you invite Maa-san for me, please?" Akira joined her hands after explaining how she had already invited the whole list she now held to Fuuto but Manato. "We haven't talked in ages but P-chan would be in cloud nine if we got her here."
The idea was to give Ootori Mayu a sort of homecoming party during her brief visit to Kansai. Now she had retired, the opportunities to gather would fall almost to zero, and they had all experienced that before to know not to waste any chances.
But really, would Manato make that much of a difference? Were the two that close? Akira and Fuuto were certainly good friends with Manato and with Mayu but were they that friendly? In addition, in those types of reunions, the more the merrier didn't work. How could a group too large really catch up when one side wouldn't be able to hear the other's conversation?
Akira didn't look too grateful to hear that reminder. "You two are fighting or something?" she inquired, hitting bull's eye like always. And Fuuto should have known Akira as well as the opposite was true not to take that bait of an excuse. Instead, Fuuto made her loneliest face and confessed, "Something. It's a little awkward between us."
Yes. Akira would never buy that. "So that's a great pretext for you to make up," she said, handing Fuuto the invitation list. "I've gone through all those. You have one job. Pass with flying colors, okay?" When Fuuto whined to that, Akira stared with daggers in her eyes. "You really want her party to have half a dozen attendees? Or better, I'll fill it with the babies who won't open their mouths not even to place a damn order. I've checked her schedule, Maa-san will be around that day. You just call and invite her." Before further complaining, Akira stomped out of sight.
Still holding the list with over more than those half a dozen confirmations, Fuuto wondered whether she could make time go back; she'd make yokasei Akira pay for every single word. Ugh! How could a kakyuusei dare to told her off?
On the other hand, if Fuuto wasn’t so sure Mayu would be jubilant when she found all those familiar faces there just for her, she would just bail the whole thing herself. Even though Manato was a sure absence, for she wouldn't be calling anyone that night or for a long time. Her cheeks still burned fearing the talk they'd have to have the moment they met again. Also, she preferred to avoid the probable scenario of Manato drinking too much wine and babbling about the time she had found Fuuto in the middle of historical Kyoto.
Exactly. Mayu wouldn't really miss that one guest. Moreover, Akira wouldn't either when for sure she'd only have eyes for Mayu. Fuuto had thought Mayu's retirement announcement would have been the final push for Akira to at last declare her feelings but almost two months later and nothing had changed. You could even say things had taken a turn for worse.
The ironic analogy with her own situation wasn't lost on Fuuto. She just pushed the thought away the second it surfaced, repeating to herself one thing had nothing to do with the other.
Every aggravation was forgotten when her cell phone vibrated with a new message, and she saw the sender's name. "Just stepped into Shin Osaka. Tell me the time and place, and I'll be there. I"
"Imai-san," she allowed herself to whisper his name.
To be continued…
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