Suggested changes: {before : after}
Please turn off the custom quoting. I've changed the ones I caught to
the regular versions in this file.
On 02/14/2005 06:38 PM, DB Sommer said:
Writer's forward: This one came about as a result of seeing the first
four episodes of MB at Otakon last year. Having only seen 4 eps, I might
be contradicting some canon here, but I haven't been able to find
anything to contradict this, so here we go.
The manga and the anime have quite a few differences anyway.
I remember the epiphany. It was on a Wednesday between noon and one. I
was eating lunch at the weekly get together with four of my oldest
friends from when we were in high school. It was a ritual we developed
to keep in touch with one another after we graduated and moved on in our
lives. Sixteen years and I missed it maybe a total of four times, one of
them when Miki was born. We were as regular as clockwork. It was as
though the years had never happened and we were in high school selves
once again. Over lunch we'd talk about many things. How our lives were
going. Our marriages. Raising children. Sex. Anything. No subject was
forbidden, that was how open we were. No guys allowed either. Not ever.
That was the one unbreakable rule. It was so we wouldn't have to worry
about putting on airs and looking good for them. This was a time for us
to just be ourselves.
Miyabi was talking about some guy she was dating. She was going into
great detail about him being a major hunk, and confessed to us she was
having great sex with him. When I asked if she was going to marry him,
Miyabi laughed and said it was nothing romantic, and that the two of
them were just { : '}fuck buddies.'
Jin and I first met in high school on a double date. It was the typical
story. A friend of mine and a friend of his were dating. When they
talked about us, (including the fact we were both not dating anyone)
they thought we'd be perfect together. So with the best of intentions
they set us up to meet one another and go out with them. I didn't have
my hopes up. My dating life up to that point had been limited and,
frankly, disastrous. Still, I wanted to please my friend whose
intentions were noble, if not terribly bright. So I smiled and pretended
like I was looking forward to it. I figured it was only one evening, and
if things went poorly with my date, it was only a one time thing, and I
wouldn't have to feel guilty if I refused to go out a second time. It
wasn't like he had asked me out or something. It was just a favor we
were doing for someone else.
In the anime, the four parents knew each other from college tennis club.
I don't recall any indication of any of them meeting earlier. I also
don't recall if they kept in touch after college.
Since neither of us wanted the night to end so soon, we took a detour
through a park, trying to remain together as long as we could. I
wouldn't call what we shared romantic. Friendly was the word. Very
friendly. I actually stayed out past my curfew, but I didn't really
care. Here was a guy I was relaxed with and whose company I enjoyed. In
one night I had more fun with him than with {every other guy : all the other guys} put
together. He was worth a little hassle from my parents.
We decided on a romantic cruise. That would give us the time and
isolation we needed to reconcile. We moved quickly, taking off at the
end of the month. We maintained a solid wall of togetherness in front of
Miki until then. Actually, it was quite easy, since she was the common
ground we shared at the moment, while at the same time we were
frightened at the new truth that had intruded into our lives. But we
maintained the facade for her sake.
I am pretty sure it was a trip to Hawaii.
During dinner we were seated at a table with another married couple the
same age as us: Youji and Chiyako Matsura. Being naturally outgoing, Jin
and I struck up a conversation with them. They both turned out to be
just as friendly and sociable as us. We were quickly talking with each
other as though we were lifelong friends.
I've usually seen Matsuura rather than Matsura.
They had been friends in college. Why each married the opposite corner
of their four-way relationship has never been clear to me.
Reluctantly we called it a night, with a promise to meet each other in
the morning. The mood had definitely changed between Jin and I, as we
started to relax and enjoy the {journey : vacation : trip}, rather than trying to force the
issue of romance between us.
Not wanting to trouble my husband, who was in deep conversation with
Chiyako, I held out the bottle of lotion in offering to {Yuji : Youji} and asked
him if he would reach those hard to get places on me. There was
eagerness in his eye that I hadn't seen in Jin's for years, if ever.
While it should have made me uneasy, instead it only excited me. Youji
seemed to come to his senses as he reluctantly asked Jin for permission
to lotion me up. Jin just gave a dismissive wave, as though it was the
most trivial thing in the world and he would just as soon not have been
troubled by it. Chiyako interrupted though, by telling her husband it
would be all right if Jin was allowed to do the same to her. Youji
laughed and said it was fine trade off. Now Jin seemed attentive and
eager as he grabbed a bottle of lotion and Chiyako happily rolled over
for him.
I can't imagine what Chiyako and I must have looked like, being touched
in such a familiar manner by men other than our husbands, while the men
in question watched, no less. Had something like this happened in our
neighborhood, it would have been borderline scandalous. Instead, I
didn't care. There was something about being in the presence of Youji
that made me throw all my concerns to the wind. Slowly, insidiously, the
rest of the world was ceasing to matter, and it was only Youji who I
could focus on.
Borderline?
I no longer cared about Jin's refusal to come along. In fact, with
Chiyako choosing to remain behind, I was looking forward to having some
time alone with Youji. We went together to the opposite side of the ship
to peer over the railing. Many others had gathered there was well to
watch the dolphins leap acrobatically through the ocean as they traveled
alongside the ship. The number of people made things a bit crowded, so
Youji and I had to squeeze into a space that was enough room for about
one and a half people. Our bodies rubbed up against one another, oiled
flesh on {: oiled} flesh, and a tingle shot down my spine. My physical reaction
was evident through my small bikini. I blushed at the response my body
was having to Youji's presence. I only hoped he didn't notice. It would
have been embarrassing.
"Chiyako
might
find
us ," I got out between kisses. I didn't care if
Jin discovered what was about to happen. It was over between us now, no
matter what. I couldn't be married to him, knowing what a man like Youji
could be like.
Are those elipsis in the first sentence?
How were we going to explain what happened to Miki?
It took her a fairly long time to accept the divorces and remarriages.
Her conflicted feelings about Yuu were the main focus of the story.