[Episode 22791] [Episode 22791]The Shooting Star Inn was Tomobiki's only ryokan, or Japanese-style inn. Before the Onis came -- "and sanity left" as some natives of the town added whenever they spoke of times before Lum, there were several others. But after several bouts of major property damage, insurance going through the roof and the like, the Star Inn's competition dried up. In fact, the owner of the Inn, a retired policeman named Tomohisa Kai, had himself been contemplating selling out when the Second Tag Race went down.
Now, he was glad he didn't. Things in Tomobiki had calmed down a LOT in the last several months and business was perking up. Why, just today, a stream of twelve lovely young women from all across Japan had come in, renting rooms for a full week. When asked why they were here in lieu of attending school, they often answered with, "I came to see the man I love."
Well, that definitely excluded that Moroboshi boy. Perhaps the Mendou boy, too; if they had come to see that fellow, they'd be given guest quarters at the clan's spacious estate in the west end of town.
So who was it...?
"AH-CHOO!!!!"
"Bless you!! Are you alright?!"
Chie Matsuoka sniffs back the loosened mucus in her sinuses, then rubs her nostrils before gazing on the girl who just stepped out of the room next door. "Yeah, I'm cool!" she grunts, then coughs before giving the taller girl with the hairband a knowing wink. "Looks like I caught whatever's running through the town lately. See all the cold masks?"
"Couldn't avoid seeing them, I guess," Akira Endou smiles, quickly noting the other girl's Kyushu accent. "Where're you from?"
"Fukuoka. You?"
"Nagasaki. What brings you to Tomobiki?" Akira asks as Chie locks up her room, then follows the violinist to the elevator.
"Here to see an old schoolmate of mine. What about you?"
Akira's eyes widen, then a knowing grin crosses her face. "Ditto!" she points to herself, then gives Chie a look. "So what's his name?!"
"Gioo Shigoozei."
Silence.
"Excuse me?!" Akira stops, her eyes wide with disbelief.
"This is very good."
"Arigatou, Nanase-san," Manami Sugihara coughs, politely covering her mouth, then she gives Yuu Nanase an apologetic look. Both girls now relax in the small coffee shop located next to the Shooting Star Inn. Glancing around, the Takamatsu native is quick to see all the sick masks covering the faces of many of the people there. Just her luck; the instant she got to Tomobiki, she picked up a flu bug now making the rounds.
Yuu hands her back the small book Manami used to write her poems in. "I noticed the name 'Gioo' written there, Sugihara-san," the Hiroshima native muses. "Is that Gioo Shigoozei you're talking about?"
"Eh?!" Manami perks, her eyes going wide. "Um, y-yes, it is!" she sputters, then her eyes narrow as she gives the redhead a curious look. "You're from Hiroshima..." she whispers, then gasps. "You met Gioo-kun when you were in the first year of middle school, right?!"
"Hai, but just for a month," Yuu smiles, then shudders as an itchy feeling tickles her nose. "He was th-...! Th-...! AH-CHOO!!!!"
Manami ducks the sneeze, then giggles. Yuu quickly grabs a napkin, then wipes her nose down before turning to the counter. "Oba-san, could I have one of those masks, please?" she holds up a hand.
Manami gapes, then falls over laughing...
"So Honoka-chan met Darling just after Darling left Sendai, ne?!"
"Hai!" Honoka Sawatari nods, she now sitting on the bed. It had been sheer luck for these two to bump into each other before they even got into Tomobiki; she and Emiru Nagakura had met on the train coming down from Toohoku and Hokkaido the previous day. "Anxious to see him?"
"Hai, Emiryun just can't WAIT to see Darling!!" the Sendai native gushes as she hugs her stuffed canary, Pikko-chan, close to her. She then gives Honoka a guarded look. "Honoka-chan feels the same way...?"
"You bet," the Sapporo native nods, glancing over at her nightstand. Sitting there is an old school exercise notebook, its pages yellowed with age. MY DIARY is written in the owner's column. "I've a promise to keep."
Emiru glances at the notebook, then nods. "Emiryun can understand that," she grins, then reaches into her pocket before drawing out a deck of Tarot cards. "Here, Emiryun'll do Honoka-chan's Tarot!"
"I...!" Honoka blinks, then grins. "Oh, alrigh-...! AH-CHOO!!!!"
Emiru yelps as Honoka's sneeze nearly blows out the window of her inn room. "Honoka-chan, daijoubu?!" the Sendai native gives her a close look.
"Ugh!!" the Sapporo native grunts, rubbing her nose...
"Personally, I should've suspected that Gioo-kun would've met people other than myself while he and his family were on their travels," Wakana Ayasaki muses, then sips her tea. She and Rurika Yamamoto had gone to a tea house located close to the Tomobiki Ginza, some distance from the Shooting Star Hotel. "He did speak of the four girls he knew of before his family moved to Kyoto and we met. Was it the same for you, Yamamoto-san?"
"Pretty much so," Rurika sighs, glad she had saved up enough money from her part-time job so that she could enjoy this week-long trip to see Gioo. "You're the one who wound up in the storage room every time your granddad wanted to punish you, right?" she points at the Kyoto native.
Wakana blinks, surprised that Gioo had told the Nagoya native THAT, then she nods. "H-hai. I...! Gomen nasai, but I really don't like to speak of those times anymore," she lowers her tea cup.
"Daijoubu, daijoubu!" Rurika waves the other girl down. "I mean, he really was nice when he talked about you and the others, least as far as I can remember. I wonder if they're here, too. Isn't it a coincidence...?"
"That it is. And yes, I know Adachi-san, Nagakura-san, Sawatari-san and Morii-san are here. I saw the names on the hotel register."
Rurika hums, then nods before a sharp sneeze catches her by surprise. "Oh, damn...!!" she mutters, reaching for a napkin. "Sorry..."
"I saw you at the national track meet on TV two weeks ago," Asuka Hoshino gushes as she walks back to the hotel from the corner store with Kaho Morii, bags full of snacks and cup ramen in hand. "I can't believe I didn't remember your name then! Gioo-kun did tell me about you!"
"I just can't believe he was able to meet all those people after he left Osaka," the sprinter grins as they turn up the driveway leading to the Shooting Star's front gate. "But then again, why should I be so surprised? Gioo-chan was friendly with everyone he met! Was it the same for you?!"
"Hai, hai...! Are?!" Asuka blinks as two women step through the doors, both chatting away. Gazing at the tall one with the hairband, she stops, then snaps her fingers, pointing at her. "Akira Endou!!"
"Eh?!" Akira stops, staring at her questioner, then her eyes focus on Asuka's companion. "Wait a minute...! You're...?!"
"Kaho Morii and Asuka Hoshino, I presume," the ponytailed raven-haired girl beside Akira chuckles, crossing her arms.
"Yeah, that's...!" Kaho stops herself, then glances at Chie. "Hey, who are you, anyway?! How'd you know who Asuka-chan was...?"
"'Cause I'm the end of the line, so to speak," Chie winks, then coughs for a bit before continuing. "Before he and his family moved back to Tokyo, he spent time in Fukuoka. That's when I met him."
"Uso!!" Asuka gapes.
"Well, isn't this crazy?!" Akira smirks...
"You must look forward to seeing Gioo-kun again, ne, Adachi-san."
"Please, Hosaka-san," Taeko Adachi blushes. "Call me Taeko."
"Miyuki," the Kanagawa native returns, then glances out the window of her hotel room. The two had bumped into each other at the train station, Miyuki quickly recognizing the Aomori native by the teddy bear head-embossed barrettes tying her hair down in twin small ponytails. "So do you think the others Gioo-kun met might also be here?!"
"Lots of girls' names on the register, so I saw," Taeko blushes, then shudders as a sneeze comes on. "Excuse me for a mo-...! AH-CHOO!!!"
"Ah!!" Miyuki jumps back surprisedly, then chuckles. "Maybe we should've posponed this for another time! There seems to be a real bad flu bug running around the place!! Did you see all the people with masks?!"
"Looked like a doctor's convention to me!" Taeko giggles, then rises, moving to head out. "Well, if we bump into the others, let's hope it doesn't get too bad! Who know what Gioo-chan'll think of us then, ne?!"
"Hai, that's true! I'll see you later, Taeko-san."
"Ja ne," the Aomori native walks out, then heads down to her room. Once inside, she closes and locks the door, then shudders before a wave of gentle warmth surges through her before coagulating in her lower abdomen. "Damn, feel so warm..." she unbuckles her jeans, then lets them drop to the floor before her nose twitches on smelling something. "Oooh..."
A hand instantly slips into her panties as the other hand starts to unbutton her shirt. "Gioo...! It's been so long..." Taeko moans as she staggers to her bed, then lays down as her shirt is completely undone. A flick of her finger unsnaps her bra, then her free hand seeks out a breast. "So long that I've waited for you, my love..." she closes her eyes...
Now, we...
(Posted Tue, 14 Jan 2003 09:33)
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