Que Sera Seramyu
by Haruka
Please refer to disclaimer and notes in part 1.
Part 5 - Closing In
Yuhka stole another look past Ryuji's shoulder. The elevator that Nao would have to use
was clearly visible from where she sat in the hotel's coffee shop, but for some reason, Nao hadn't
appeared yet.
She is going to owe me BIG, Yuhka thought grimly. I will compose a list of payback
favours that wraps around Japan twice and she will fulfill every one of them or -
"Yuhka, are you aware that you're grinding your teeth?" Ryuji said in concern.
"Yes," she replied. "I like to grind them. It's a hobby of mine."
How did I get myself into this?! Marina despaired as she watched the room service
maid's shoes move around the bed. She heard her murmur to herself over the presence of the
cart and then roll it out of the room before starting her cleaning.
"Why is this suitcase laying in the middle of the floor?" the maid wondered out loud.
"Someone may trip and hurt themselves." She gave it a firm push under the bed, frowning when
it thumped against something. She tried again, and this time it slid under smoothly.
"Strange," she muttered, and headed for the bathroom.
"Next time you shove me, kid, I'm going to spank you," Hikari warned.
"Well, don't start talking about ghosts and stuff when we're in a dark closet!" Nao told
her.
"Listen!" Hikari whispered suddenly. "There's someone humming out there! A
woman!"
"Marina?" Nao wondered.
"No, I don't think so," Hikari peeked out the door. "A maid. She took the cart out and
now she's going into the bathroom."
"Oh no!" Nao gasped. "What if she comes in here next?"
"Then I blame everything on you," Hikari retorted. "We should make a run for it while
she's in there, come on." She started to open the door wider.
"But we haven't found the script yet!" Nao tried to turn and accidentally put her foot
down on Hikari's. The older woman bit back a cry of pain, but couldn't help jerking her foot
away and stumbling, flinging her arms out to catch herself. She felt one arm connect with part of
Nao, who yelped, and the other hand grasped something she didn't recognize but automatically
tried to break her fall with it. An avalanche of anonymous junk fell onto them from the closet's
top shelf.
Hikari pushed the door open so they could see - the maid was apparently still in the
bathroom and oblivious to the chaos.
"Ouch!" Nao complained, struggling to her feet from underneath the pile. Brushing off
shopping bags, a pair of gloves, and a hat, she blinked suddenly and reached down to snatch
something from the ground. "Hikari, look! It's the script!"
A piercing scream came from the bathroom and the maid ran out. She flew past Hikari
and Nao without giving them a second glance and left the hotel room door wide open in her haste
to escape.
"I _told_ you not to make a face at her if she opened the curtain!"
Hikari and Nao exchanged looks and went over to the bathroom door. They looked inside
to see Sayuri and Momoko climbing out of the bathtub.
"Well, I didn't know you two had _that_ kind of relationship." Nao grinned.
They looked up sharply and stared. "How long have you been here?" Sayuri demanded.
"Too long," Hikari replied.
"We were already here when _you_ two clowns came in" Nao grinned, waving the script.
"Who's lacking in imagination now, Momoko?"
"Could someone help me, please?" came a plaintive voice from under the bed. "I'm
stuck!"
Ryuji put his coffee cup down and started to get up. "Well, it's been very nice, Yuhka, but I
really must be going now."
Her eyes widened. "No, you can't! I mean, so soon?"
Ryuji studied her pretty face and its expression of panic and smiled. "Okay, what's going
on?"
"Going ... on?"
"Yes," he said patiently. "I don't for a minute believe you're that interested in my
company, so there must be some other reason, and all I can think of is that you're stalling me for
some reason. What is it?"
Yuhka forced a bright smile. "I don't know what you're talking about, Ryuji." She got to
her feet and bowed. "Thank you very much for the dance lesson and for sharing coffee with me,
but I have to go."
She ran off so quickly, he was surprised she didn't leave a vapour trail.
"I'm going up to take a nap," he decided. "Maybe things will make more sense when I
wake up."
End of part 5
This fanfic is for your private reading enjoyment _only_. Do not circulate, reproduce or repost
on the internet in any form.
(
geocities.com/violintide)