TITLE: Stay with meRATING: PG
FANDOM: Morning Musume. [j-pop]
PEOPLE: Risa Niigaki, Ai Takahashi
CHAPTERS: 1, drabble
SHORT SUMMARY: Ai Takahashi reflects on the stress of being a leader.
VISUAL?: Yes
FLASHBACK, 2001 - 2 WEEKS AFTER JOINING MORNING MUSUME.
"Niigaki-san, I'm so glad you came over!" Ai cheered, clutching onto her bandmate's arm, "Come! Let me show you this really cool place!" Before Risa knew it, she was being dragged out of her new friend's apartment and down the stairs, across the street, and breathless, she exclaimed, "W-where are we going?!?! Should the other Gokkies know?!"
Ai laughed, clutching tighter so that she wouldn't lose Risa, "I'll show them too next time. For now, you're my guest and I'm very happy you came to see me!"
Risa fought off a light blush for a moment; then began playing with one of her braids using her free hand, "By the way, you can call me Gaki-san, you know.."
"Oh," Ai stopped in her tracks and faced her friend, "In that case, you can call me Ai-chan."
"Ai-chan..?" Risa was seemingly confused. They had only met two weeks ago and started training for Morning Musume. not too long afterwards, yet...
Risa was a bit puzzled, but eventually she gave in, "Okay, Ai-chan."
They crossed one last street before finding themselves in an open park with three children running around and two mothers watching over them. It wasn't a huge park, but Risa figured it managed for it's size. Most of all, it didn't seem as popular, and the playground was very worn down. "Is this the place you were talking about?" Risa asks, scratching her head, 'Ai-chan is a strange one.'
Ai giggled, "Yeah! Ever since we came to Tokyo, I often came by this place and thought. It reminds me of back home in Fukui, so I feel very comfortable here."
"It's a little old, don't you think?"
"The park may be old, but the feeling of happiness here isn't." Ai replies, holding onto Risa's hand, "I'll show you around!"
END FLASHBACK
She didn't want to be found that night, not by her mother, not by her friends -- she wanted to be alone. At least, that's what she kept telling herself. The hectic life of being a celebrity and keeping up that smile wasn't difficult for her, but once in a while she needed a little break from it. There were many things that bothered her about being leader; and perhaps now she understood why the job was so fit for Yuko Nakazawa. It all came so suddenly, that June of 2007. And before she knew it, she was the leader, the head, the face of Hello! Project's cash cow. She knew it wasn't going to be easy, but it had been all too difficult to find something to keep her spirits up instead of sulking around; the past leaders all took their job seriously - way seriously - so seriously that some even went into quitting.
She never wanted that.
In order to keep her peace, in order to get some quiet time, she decides to stowaway one evening to an less popular park not too far away from her apartment; a park only visited by children and young mothers. A place not suitable for fans to come and maul her. A place not suitable for tabloids to start writing rumors about her. Ai was reluctant to bring her cell phone along. Much less anything else that resembled contact with anyone else.
Ai Takahashi collected her thoughts, walking across the playground. She watched the fringe of her skirt dancing lightly with the wind, and kept her eyes focused on the ground.
'There is still so much to do,' She thinks, sighing lightly. 'What will become of my leadership?'
Was it alright to think alone like this?
'My free day is over and again tomorrow, I wake up to face all of the girls again.' She closes her eyes and remembers that she has to keep her temper with Koharu, make sure Junjun and Linlin are being taught properly, make sure Reina isn't trying to overthrow her (she smiles a bit when she thinks of this), and hope that Kamei doesn't eat all the free donuts on accident...
She imagined how it felt to be Abe Natsumi during the time of sixteen members.
How crazy would that have been?
Didn't Abe Natsumi have some sort of escape for herself, too?
Ai's thoughts kept shuffling through with Tsunku, Morning Musume.'s new single, the jacket shoot at 9AM, keeping the girls in check, meeting with people, taking care of Morning Musume.'s image, polishing up the pieces that Miki and Mari left for her to pick up..... will the next single sell well? Worry starts to seep into her mind; she can feel herself shaken up by the pressure. And it isn't even twice as much as Nacchi's work! No matter how many the member count, the work will always be difficult...
"Ah, I found you."
Ai's heart jump as her eyes shoot open in shock. The familiar voice felt like some sort of sweet wake-up call, however...
"You didn't bring your cell phone with you, did you? Ai-chan."
She turns to see the sub-leader, standing before her eyes, dressed in something less fashionable so she wouldn't be noticed -- Niigaki Risa. Her smile seems to be brighter than any of the dim lights of the park. "You... knew?" Ai looked to the ground for support, a little nervous.
"You don't remember?" Risa approaches her, taking her leader's hand, "You told me about this place when we first joined Morning Musume."
Ai chuckled, "I guess I forgot." Her eyes rose to meet Risa's, "But what brings you here, Gaki-san?"
"I got worried about you," She laughs, "I wanted to hang out a little tonight but you didn't answer your phone."
Why is her laugh so calming to the soul?
"Oh... I'm sorry."
"It's alright. I'm here now, aren't I? I just hope I'm not bothering you."
And unconsciously; Ai answers, "No, absolutely not."
Risa then offers up another smile, "Good, because I want to be here with you."
"You want to be here with me when I'm thinking? I'm a silent thinker, Gaki-san. Isn't it almost pointless, then, to hang out like this?" Ai swings their linked hands back and forth playfully as she turns to face the manmade lake bordering the park.
"That doesn't necessarily mean we have to be talking." Risa replies, touching her hair nervously with her free hand. 'Gaki-san's bad habit," Ai faces her friend as she watches Risa play with her hair, "It's so cute."
"Eh?"
"N-nothing." Ai looks away quickly, but pulls closer to Risa, "You came out here, I was thinking, and then I forgot what I was thinking about so suddenly."
"That's good!" Risa chimes, "That's very good!"
"It's good not to think?" Ai raises and eyebrow, resting her head on Risa's shoulder. "Yes. For you, it is. I don't want you to think too difficultly about anything, or else you'll second-guess yourself."
Why is it that Risa had already known?
"When Ai-chan begins to doubt herself, she can always come to her fellow Gokkie for piece of mind."
The rest of the night didn't need anymore words. Ai could feel the tears forming from her eyes -- she hadn't felt this much support in a long time. Her mother gave her the most support she needed (besides the fans) but support from a fellow groupmate? That was a difficult bond to come by. After all, they were the last of their generation to keep going.
"Stay with me." Ai whispered, holding her friend closer. She held onto Risa tighter than any time they ever spent together. This is what she needed, this is what her escape could be. If every leader had some sort of happiness, this would be her happiness. This is what would help her motivation, this is what would help her to keep going forward. This warmth, so powerful it brought her to her knees, all from someone as simple as a groupmate, and maybe even more than that.
'How can I stand here and not be moved by you, Risa?'
Holding Ai in her arms, Risa remembers.
FLASHBACK, CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS
"I like this park. You're right, Ai-chan. It's quiet and nice for good thinking." Risa leaned against the railing of the playground, her eyes still wandering around. Ai was odd, but she did know how to pick her favorite things to do. Even if they were a little weird. "I'm so glad you like it. I don't think any of my other friends would." Ai replied, leaning next to her.
Risa laughed, "I admit it's a bit weird, but I really do like it."
"Will you stay with me, Gaki-san?" Ai asked ever-so-bluntly, "We'll be on a really long journey together."
"Can I even say no?" Ai hit her friend playfully, "I'm serious, Risa!"
"Okay, okay." Risa giggled, "I promise to stay with you, and you'll stay with me too, right?"
"Then we'll stay together, as Gokkies. We'll stay with Konkon and Mako too." Ai added, joining in Risa's laughter. "Can't forget them! They're Gokkies too!"
END FLASHBACK
And holds her as close as their bodies could physically touch. 'You told me to stay with you, silly. Of course I'm going to stay.' Risa smiled inwardly to herself, resting her head lightly on Ai's soft mess of hair.
FLASHBACK, 2001 - 2 WEEKS AFTER JOINING MORNING MUSUME.
"Niigaki-san, I'm so glad you came over!" Ai cheered, clutching onto her bandmate's arm, "Come! Let me show you this really cool place!" Before Risa knew it, she was being dragged out of her new friend's apartment and down the stairs, across the street, and breathless, she exclaimed, "W-where are we going?!?! Should the other Gokkies know?!"
Ai laughed, clutching tighter so that she wouldn't lose Risa, "I'll show them too next time. For now, you're my guest and I'm very happy you came to see me!"
Risa fought off a light blush for a moment; then began playing with one of her braids using her free hand, "By the way, you can call me Gaki-san, you know.."
"Oh," Ai stopped in her tracks and faced her friend, "In that case, you can call me Ai-chan."
"Ai-chan..?" Risa was seemingly confused. They had only met two weeks ago and started training for Morning Musume. not too long afterwards, yet...
Risa was a bit puzzled, but eventually she gave in, "Okay, Ai-chan."
They crossed one last street before finding themselves in an open park with three children running around and two mothers watching over them. It wasn't a huge park, but Risa figured it managed for it's size. Most of all, it didn't seem as popular, and the playground was very worn down. "Is this the place you were talking about?" Risa asks, scratching her head, 'Ai-chan is a strange one.'
Ai giggled, "Yeah! Ever since we came to Tokyo, I often came by this place and thought. It reminds me of back home in Fukui, so I feel very comfortable here."
"It's a little old, don't you think?"
"The park may be old, but the feeling of happiness here isn't." Ai replies, holding onto Risa's hand, "I'll show you around!"
END FLASHBACK
She didn't want to be found that night, not by her mother, not by her friends -- she wanted to be alone. At least, that's what she kept telling herself. The hectic life of being a celebrity and keeping up that smile wasn't difficult for her, but once in a while she needed a little break from it. There were many things that bothered her about being leader; and perhaps now she understood why the job was so fit for Yuko Nakazawa. It all came so suddenly, that June of 2007. And before she knew it, she was the leader, the head, the face of Hello! Project's cash cow. She knew it wasn't going to be easy, but it had been all too difficult to find something to keep her spirits up instead of sulking around; the past leaders all took their job seriously - way seriously - so seriously that some even went into quitting.
She never wanted that.
In order to keep her peace, in order to get some quiet time, she decides to stowaway one evening to an less popular park not too far away from her apartment; a park only visited by children and young mothers. A place not suitable for fans to come and maul her. A place not suitable for tabloids to start writing rumors about her. Ai was reluctant to bring her cell phone along. Much less anything else that resembled contact with anyone else.
Ai Takahashi collected her thoughts, walking across the playground. She watched the fringe of her skirt dancing lightly with the wind, and kept her eyes focused on the ground.
'There is still so much to do,' She thinks, sighing lightly. 'What will become of my leadership?'
Was it alright to think alone like this?
'My free day is over and again tomorrow, I wake up to face all of the girls again.' She closes her eyes and remembers that she has to keep her temper with Koharu, make sure Junjun and Linlin are being taught properly, make sure Reina isn't trying to overthrow her (she smiles a bit when she thinks of this), and hope that Kamei doesn't eat all the free donuts on accident...
She imagined how it felt to be Abe Natsumi during the time of sixteen members.
How crazy would that have been?
Didn't Abe Natsumi have some sort of escape for herself, too?
Ai's thoughts kept shuffling through with Tsunku, Morning Musume.'s new single, the jacket shoot at 9AM, keeping the girls in check, meeting with people, taking care of Morning Musume.'s image, polishing up the pieces that Miki and Mari left for her to pick up..... will the next single sell well? Worry starts to seep into her mind; she can feel herself shaken up by the pressure. And it isn't even twice as much as Nacchi's work! No matter how many the member count, the work will always be difficult...
"Ah, I found you."
Ai's heart jump as her eyes shoot open in shock. The familiar voice felt like some sort of sweet wake-up call, however...
"You didn't bring your cell phone with you, did you? Ai-chan."
She turns to see the sub-leader, standing before her eyes, dressed in something less fashionable so she wouldn't be noticed -- Niigaki Risa. Her smile seems to be brighter than any of the dim lights of the park. "You... knew?" Ai looked to the ground for support, a little nervous.
"You don't remember?" Risa approaches her, taking her leader's hand, "You told me about this place when we first joined Morning Musume."
Ai chuckled, "I guess I forgot." Her eyes rose to meet Risa's, "But what brings you here, Gaki-san?"
"I got worried about you," She laughs, "I wanted to hang out a little tonight but you didn't answer your phone."
Why is her laugh so calming to the soul?
"Oh... I'm sorry."
"It's alright. I'm here now, aren't I? I just hope I'm not bothering you."
And unconsciously; Ai answers, "No, absolutely not."
Risa then offers up another smile, "Good, because I want to be here with you."
"You want to be here with me when I'm thinking? I'm a silent thinker, Gaki-san. Isn't it almost pointless, then, to hang out like this?" Ai swings their linked hands back and forth playfully as she turns to face the manmade lake bordering the park.
"That doesn't necessarily mean we have to be talking." Risa replies, touching her hair nervously with her free hand. 'Gaki-san's bad habit," Ai faces her friend as she watches Risa play with her hair, "It's so cute."
"Eh?"
"N-nothing." Ai looks away quickly, but pulls closer to Risa, "You came out here, I was thinking, and then I forgot what I was thinking about so suddenly."
"That's good!" Risa chimes, "That's very good!"
"It's good not to think?" Ai raises and eyebrow, resting her head on Risa's shoulder. "Yes. For you, it is. I don't want you to think too difficultly about anything, or else you'll second-guess yourself."
Why is it that Risa had already known?
"When Ai-chan begins to doubt herself, she can always come to her fellow Gokkie for piece of mind."
The rest of the night didn't need anymore words. Ai could feel the tears forming from her eyes -- she hadn't felt this much support in a long time. Her mother gave her the most support she needed (besides the fans) but support from a fellow groupmate? That was a difficult bond to come by. After all, they were the last of their generation to keep going.
"Stay with me." Ai whispered, holding her friend closer. She held onto Risa tighter than any time they ever spent together. This is what she needed, this is what her escape could be. If every leader had some sort of happiness, this would be her happiness. This is what would help her motivation, this is what would help her to keep going forward. This warmth, so powerful it brought her to her knees, all from someone as simple as a groupmate, and maybe even more than that.
'How can I stand here and not be moved by you, Risa?'
Holding Ai in her arms, Risa remembers.
FLASHBACK, CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS
"I like this park. You're right, Ai-chan. It's quiet and nice for good thinking." Risa leaned against the railing of the playground, her eyes still wandering around. Ai was odd, but she did know how to pick her favorite things to do. Even if they were a little weird. "I'm so glad you like it. I don't think any of my other friends would." Ai replied, leaning next to her.
Risa laughed, "I admit it's a bit weird, but I really do like it."
"Will you stay with me, Gaki-san?" Ai asked ever-so-bluntly, "We'll be on a really long journey together."
"Can I even say no?" Ai hit her friend playfully, "I'm serious, Risa!"
"Okay, okay." Risa giggled, "I promise to stay with you, and you'll stay with me too, right?"
"Then we'll stay together, as Gokkies. We'll stay with Konkon and Mako too." Ai added, joining in Risa's laughter. "Can't forget them! They're Gokkies too!"
END FLASHBACK
And holds her as close as their bodies could physically touch. 'You told me to stay with you, silly. Of course I'm going to stay.' Risa smiled inwardly to herself, resting her head lightly on Ai's soft mess of hair.
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