Que Sera Seramyu
by Haruka
Please refer to disclaimer and notes in part 1.
Part 9 Decision
Nao forced a smile in Hikari's direction, rubbing her bruised knee. Usually, a smile for the
sexy actress would come naturally, but knowing she was watching her make an idiot of herself was
worse than anything that had happened so far. "Sure, I'm okay," she said.
"Really?" Yuhka asked, concern in her voice. "You seem awfully nervous."
"Nervous?" Nao repeated nervously.
"Either that or you've come down with an acute case of the Clumsies," Hikari told her
mischievously. "Dancers like yourself aren't usually so klutzy."
"Maybe they slipped something into my food, huh?" Nao joked.
Tae gave her a strange look. "We don't _have_ any food yet, Nao."
"Oh. Right. Ha ha." Was it just her or did the temperature of the restaurant just go up
about fifty degrees? She picked up a napkin to place in her lap, and it was only after the bread
basket fell into her lap that she realized she'd grabbed the corner of the tablecloth instead of a
napkin.
Nao's face burned as she looked around the table at the astonished faces of her friends.
Only Ryuji didn't look surprised.
I can't go on like this, I'm already a mental case, she thought. I've got to get that diary
_back_.
"What do you think was wrong with Nao?" Rei asked Hikari as the two friends strolled to
the hotel lounge for an after-dinner drink. "She was a wreck."
"Yeah, she was acting strangely, wasn't she?" Hikari said thoughtfully.
"Ryuji, too, only all his strangeness was onstage."
Hikari laughed. "Now _that_ was funny! You'd almost think he didn't know his lines as
well as he claimed he did."
Rei snickered. "Well, whoever believed him in the first place? He'd better get it
together, though, or the director will pop those veins in his neck for certain."
"Yep, right after he pops Ryuji's head like a grape."
They took a seat and put in their order. "Back to Nao for a moment," Rei said, "do you
have any idea what's up with her?"
"Not really," Hikari said truthfully. After their successful, if somewhat crowded, raid on
Ryuji's room, she figured Nao should have been strutting at having been proven right at
rehearsal.
"Maybe she and Yuhka had a fight?" Rei suggested.
"They showed up wearing matching outfits - I don't think so," Hikari answered.
"Anyway, aren't they just friends? A fight wouldn't freak Nao out _that_ much, and they know
they'd just make up soon."
"I heard Yuhka was getting special dance instructions from Ryuji just so she could spend
time with him. Think there's any truth to that?"
"Pffft, no!" Hikari said scornfully. "She had other reasons for that."
Rei looked at her in surprise, then suspicion. "You know more than you're telling me,
Hi-chan. Spill it or get this drink in your lap."
"What do you _mean_ you want to go back to Ryuji's room?!" Yuhka gasped. Nao
covered her mouth.
"Sssh! You want the whole hotel to hear you?" she asked. "I just need you to keep him
distracted long enough to - "
"No. No way. Not a chance. Never again," Yuhka said firmly.
"Why not?" Nao asked in surprise.
"Because he and everyone else thinks I have a crush on him! If we're seen alone together
again, it'll only emphasize that!" Yuhka studied Nao curiously. "Why do you want to go back
there, anyway? You already got the script."
"I ... can't tell you," Nao said. "Just trust me, it's important."
"Well, I'm sorry, but you're on your own this time." Yuhka patted Nao's cheek. "Good
luck," she said, and went back to her own room. Nao watched her go with a sigh. Maybe it was
just as well she do it by herself, she thought. If Yuhka were to find the diary first, she might be
tempted to look in it.
"Okay, here I go," she said resolutely, and headed for Ryuji's room.
This fanfic is for your private reading enjoyment _only_. Do not circulate, reproduce or repost
on the internet in any form.
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