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And here is the first little part of the Hanako & Naomi (not Miki, sorry Miki fans <3 )summer trip thing I've been promising for a while. Does anyone know where I can find some information on Naomi? P: thanks. 894 words.

::edit:: added a few more details, Naomi has medication now. And a few more little details and a bit of SoC to try and establish the relationship between the girls.

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Hanako and Naomi, summer Break. P1, Every Journey Starts.

"IZEKAWA?"

Nothing. . .

"HANAKO!"

Still nothing. . .

"Hanako! It's Naomi, the taxi is waiting for us! We're going to miss the train so you better open up this door right now little miss!" Naomi says to the implacable door, leaning with her back against it as she lets out another sigh.

"I-Idontwanttogo," Hanako says, raising her voice to be heard through the door, it sounded like she was right by it.

"I am NOT leaving my friend here all on her own, all summer Hanako, open the door, pleeeeeeease~" Naomi begs, dropping to her knees with a thud, her head banging lightly against the door as she leans against it, turning to face the source of Hanako's voice.

The thud had obviously got Hanako's attention as Naomi heard a deadbolt slide back as the door opens a crack, the half of Hanako's face not obscured by her long, purple hair peering out at Naomi.

"N-Naomi? Are you a-alright?"

Naomi springs back up onto her feet and gives her a big, reassuring grin, holding a hand out to the eye peering at her from the dim room.

"Super as always! but I don't want to be super late. The taxi driver is going to have to drive like a maniac to get us there in time as things stand anyway, please tell me that you're packed Hanako?" she says, taking half a step towards the gap in the door.

Hanako's eye darts around the corridor making sure there are no surprised before she looks back at Naomi and pulls the door back into her room. she is stood their in her usual attire, her trademark cap in her other hand as she holds the door open and allow Naomi in, clad from the neck down, this time sporting a long sleeved t-shirt under a light denim short-sleeved shirt and matching jeans with a pair of plimsolls. Naomi smiled and walked in, taking a moment to think that despite her private nature Hanako could really dress up well.

With the exception of the suitcase on the bed the room looks disturbingly unchanged from it's usual apparent bare state, the only things Naomi recognises as missing are a chess set and possibly a doll, did she have one or two?

Naomi wasn't a stranger to Hanako's room, they would often sit their quietly tapping away at a laptop or talk about page layouts. Naomi was amazed at how quickly Hanako had taken to it, she had a real flair for it, creating beautiful articles and layouts for the school paper, contrasting quite strongly with her usual demure and toned down presence.

Natsume had given Hanako a couple of her old design textbooks which Hanako had taken and worked through relentlessly, her already wonderful designs becoming that much better for her effort. Naomi had noticed she couldn't see the books on the shelves, wandering if she had packed those too. Again she found herself wandering if it was sweet that Hanako had possibly packed them, or that it was sad she had so little of her own to put in her beg.

Naomi scanned around the room again and saw the laptop charger still plugged into the wall.


"Ahaa, forgetting something?" she exclaims, pointing at the tell-tale blue light of the little transformer.

"O-oh no, thank you Naomi!" Hanako charged over to it and quickly unplugged it, wrapping the cable around the warm brick of the power supply before unzipping the suitcase and jamming it inside before something popped out of the gap in the zipper.

"Shall w-we go then?" Hanako says, mustering a smile as she adjusts her cap and hefty her case onto the floor.

"Why I thought your would never ask," Naomi replies in a singsong voice, taking Hanako's hand and leading her from her room, resisting the urge to skip as she walks along with her lopsided gait, her morning regime of anti-convulsants starting to take their toll. Instead she just grins as they walk along, happy with her little victory.

Her good mood was apparently affecting Hanako, an almost imperceptible spring in her step and a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth growing as they step out of the dorm building into the early morning sunshine together and make a quick pace to the school gate.

Naomi helps Hanako heave her bag into the Taxi's boot, the driver far to busy singing out of tune along with some pop-music on the radio and they both settle into the back seat.

"The stations please, and a little haste would be awesome too, we're a little behind schedule," Naomi asks the driver, a grunt the only response she gets, that and he stopped singing thank heavens.

"S-sorry," Hanako adds, Naomi wasn't sure if she was apologising to her or the driver.

"Don't worry Hanako, we'll make it in time, and you're here, so everything is fine," Naomi says to her, offering another 100 watt smile, getting a cute little grin back from her friend as she peeked out from under her hat.

The taxi's wheels screeched a little making both girls jump, the driver humming to himself as he picks up speed down the hill from Yamaku heading towards the city station. Both girls look at each other apprehensively as the side of the road blurs, quickly buckling in their belts.

I remember reading these on pb, still amazing.

Thanks Elcor, glad that you like my fics <3

Wait. . . someone has put my stuff up on pastebin? awesome 8D

Say hello to part 2 of Summer Break. 1409 words for your pleasure. Read, critique, enjoy and share <3

::edit:: Added some corrections as pointed out by MirageGSM, thank you ^^

Hanako and Naomi, summer Break. P2, With A Single Step.

The taxi comes to an abrupt halt just outside the station entrance; Naomi paws a few notes into the palm of the driver as he turns around.

Hanako checks her watch and gasps as she sees the time.

"N-Naomi, we m-misse. ." Hanako is cut off as a station announcement blares out of the speakers.

"This is a platform change announcement; the delayed service to Tsugarufutamata will now be departing from platform 5 in 5 minutes. Passengers are reminded to not leave. . "

Naomi let off another big smile as she looked at Hanako, jumping a little as the taxi driver dropped the cases on the pavement behind her.

"See Hanako, I told you it will be fine, now c'mon, it's a good thing we got our tickets online, the queue looks huge!" she says gesturing around to the crowd.

Hanako takes a long look around at all of the strange faces, pulling her cap down and making sure her collar is up as she slowly becomes withdrawn from the world, holding tight onto Naomi's arm and looking down at the ground between her feet.

Naomi sighs hoping that this wouldn't happen, but she had taken Hanako into town a couple of times and knew how to handle her when she got like this. She just hoped that when they got to their seats on the train she would be alright.

"Hanako, it's fine just relax okay, I need you to pull your bag and I'll bring mine, we'll get to the train together okay," She says to her calmly giving Hanako's hand a reassuring little squeeze. She reaches around awkwardly with her free arm and tilts the bag so the handle comes to rest against Hanako's hand. Thankfully she grips it, her knuckles showing white where her hand clamps around the handle so hard. Her head nods a little as she moves forward with Naomi, her gaze still firmly fixated down.

The crush of people coming and going to and from the station drive Hanako closer to Naomi, who is struggling to stay upright herself. Her meds were affecting her sense of balance quite badly today as she pushes forward, her arm straining as people bump and kick her suitcase as she drags it along behind her.

They make it to an elevator, people squeezing in behind them. The elevator quickly brings them up to an overpass which is equally flooded with a tide of flowing bodies; each in a rush to get somewhere else.

Naomi checks that she still has a hold of Hanako and with a determined grunt moves forward only to have her motion arrested by an immobile Hanako. She turns back around to look at her friend who is stood there looking down at her hand on her bag handle, the knuckles still white with the force of her grip.

“Hanako c’mon were almost there, we can relax on the Bullet Train soon, and we just have to get out of this elevator before we get squeezed in again!” Naomi says. The last part of her sentence was worthy of a wide eyed stare from Hanako, apparently venturing out to the over walk is the lesser of two evils as she marches out and leads Naomi to the elevator down to platform 5.

They manage to squeeze in behind an elderly couple, Naomi apologising profusely as another elevator takes them down to the platform. Hanako was leaning against the elevator door as it open, taking a few steps back onto the platform; her eyes shooting wide open with fright as she grabs at her bag handle for support just managing not to fall back.

Naomi giggles as she is pushed out towards Hanako by the rush of people eager to exit the elevator behind her.
They both hold onto each other reassuringly until a little space frees up around them and they look for their carriage, walking quickly up the platform, just under a minute to spare before the train pulls away.

“T-that one, I t-think Naomi!” Hanako says, pointing at the next car along, picking up her pace and dragging Naomi through the throng towards the door.

Sure enough the number matches the tickets Naomi had been clutching, flashing them quickly to the conductor as they hop aboard, he helps them get their baggage into the rack and points them in the general direction of their seats.

The girls enter the passenger part of the carriage, the cool air conditioned air and the stillness of the few seated passengers helping them both calm a little as they quietly walk down the aisle, slumping into their seats either side of a table next to one of the panoramic windows.

Naomi tugs down the window blind and smiles at Hanako giving her a thumbs up, Hanako looks a little confused but smiles back, taking her cap off and fiddles with it.

“I told you it would be fine didn’t I,” Naomi beams, drumming on the table and then looking a little sheepish as she notices someone a few seats down from them peering back to see where the noise had come from.

“T-thank you Naomi, for everything.” Hanako replies before continuing. “I-I really appreciate what you and. . And Natsume have done f-for me. It’s nice to have f-friends.” She says, addressing her cap in her hands more than she is Naomi, her mouth curling into a cute smile as she speaks.

“What do you mean Hanako? What about Lilly and that guy from our class, Hiroki. . Or Hisashi I think?” she replies, genuine interest edging each word, it was hard to get Hanako to open up and Naomi wanted to know more about her friend.

“Oh y-you mean Hisao! He and Lilly are l-lovers,” Hanako replies, a big smile spreading across her face at the mention of her friends, slowly becoming little subdued as she continues.

“Lilly was supposed t-to go home to S-scotland, b-but Hisao. . Hisao went t-to the airport after her. He had another heart attack,” Hanako paused, her smile gone again as she recounts the story Lilly had told her over the phone days ago.

“B-but Lilly heard him c-calling for her, and her s-sister was there to h-help.” She says pausing as she looks at Naomi who is almost crawling over the table with interest.

“Whaaat~! What happened? Where are they all now? How is Hisao? How is Lilly?! C’mon Hanako you can’t just leave the story there, I want a big finish!” Naomi encourages Hanako to continue enthusiastically, hanging off every word so far.

Both girls jump as a loud whistle blast goes off, the train juddering into motion as they pull away from the station, the platform and the masses of people on it being left behind as they pick up speed heading north.

“S-sorry. They’re fine, well Hisao is in h-hospital but shouldn’t be their too long. L-lilly is staying nearby with Akira. I promised that I would l-let Lilly know how the trip goes, I h-hope you don’t mind N-Naomi?” She asks.

“Hey of course not Hanako, sounds like this trip will be a nice break after your last few days though. I was thinking about us doing a blog of our trip anyway, what do you think?” Naomi says back offering a warm smile despite her body feeling heavy and tired now that she had settled into her seat, unable to make her mind up if it was the rush to the train or her pills.

“Good idea, b-but Lilly doesn’t l-like using a computer, maybe Hisao or Akira could read it to her?,” Hanako replies as she watches Naomi’s eyes slowly close despite her best efforts to stay awake. All she gets in reply before Naomi succumbs to her fatigue is a hum and a few mumbled words before her breathing relaxes into that of someone lost in the arms of Morpheus.

Hanako passes her eyes around the roomy car as she fishes out her mobile from a jacket pocket and starts tapping away at it.

<On my way now, let Lilly know that I am alright. Hope you are feeling better Hisao. Let you know when we get to Tsugarufutamata.>

She smiles at her reclined friend as she presses send on her phone, returning it to its pocket and leaning back in her seat, relaxing and letting her own eyes close as the train whisks them away north to Hokkaido.

You mixed up they're and their once...

Oh, and a train running 5 minutes late... In Japan... Not sure if I can believe that.
Hasn't happened to me once in the two months I've been here now.

Mirage_GSM wrote:You mixed up they're and their once...

Oh, and a train running 5 minutes late... In Japan... Not sure if I can believe that.
Hasn't happened to me once in the two months I've been here now.

I may be more tired than I thought, I can't find that they're / their error P:

And as punctual as Japanese rail is, they are fallible, and I've spent 35 minutes waiting for a bullet before. If you do get a delayed service whilst you're over there let me know if you get a delay receipt too

I'll have some Shizune/Lilly with a side of Fries.

Actually have a little Flashback scene in my latest fic "Beach Vacation" with an eight year old Shizune getting along with a young Lilly. If you want an idea how they might b able to communicate, google "Deaf-blind Sign Language"

Either I was in too much of a hurry this morning, or I am too tired now, because I can't find it again either...
Found a few other things, though:
-The announcement bares out of the speakers.
-It's a good thing we go the tickets online.
-Hanako hugging into Naomi's arm.
-pressing against the elevator door as it open
-an other heart attack
-her sister was their to help (I guess that was the one I meant this morning)
-returning the phone to it's pocket

And while I'm at it... Some of your senteces are a bit run-on. Not really bad, but you might keep it in mind for future chapters.

Mirage_GSM, thanks for pointing those out, swatted some of the syntax stuff in my .doc version but some escaped me as I re-read it. Also modified some of the punctuation, I think it reads a little better now.

I've made a few little alterations to part 1 and 2 of summer break, and I'm at an empasse, I have a few different ideas drafted for the next couple of parts; but I really don't know which way I want to take the story for the immediate future. It's probably going to be a few more days until I have something to put up for you guys.

thanks for reading my stuff, for your feedback and for your patience ^^

Here is part 3 for your pleasure. I'm not 100% on this tbh but I hope you all approve 1199 words. Please read, enjoy critique and share <3

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Hanako and Naomi, Summer Break P3. Do Something Every Day.

The gentle rocking of the train is punctuated suddenly by an alarm from Naomi’s pocket rousing both girls from their slumber. Naomi reluctantly fiddles with the zipper on her top, fishing out her phone and looks at the screen blearily, moving it back and forth until she focuses on it.

“Ah, nothing like a cocktail of pharmaceuticals to break up a long journey,” she says, her usual perky speech slowly reasserting itself as her mind and body run back up to speed.

Hanako half acknowledges Naomi’s statement, her own mind struggling back to consciousness. She checks her watch and stretches letting out a loud yawn, startling herself as she realises how loud it was and remembering where she was.

“N-naomi, it’s past lunch. Would y-you like something f-from the dinning carriage?” She asks, the relatively quiet environment of the train and her deep, dreamless sleep putting her in a confident enough mood to venture out on her own.

Naomi is still stretching and rubbing her face, trying to will herself awake as Hanako asks the question to her, she shakes her head.

“I had a big breakfast this morning, I’m fine thanks,” and with that she springs up and heads towards the baggage section of the carriage, turning around before she leaves and speaking up she adds “I won’t be long, just need to get the conductor to help get the bag down,” And with a wave she pops through the door.

Hanako takes a moment to collect herself and heads in the opposite direction, keeping her head down and moving swiftly down the aisle of two cars to reach the diner carriage.

It looks busier than the passenger cars, lots of men in suits reading papers and more commonly a Manga, and a couple of families, kids playing around and giggling.

The queue itself for service is quite small and Hanako finds herself being served quite quickly, picking up a couple of ready-made bento-boxes and some fizzy juice drinks, mango for Naomi, watermelon for her.

She grabs some serviettes and hashi from the little stand just past the cash register and makes her way back to her seat, a smile on her face as she strolls along the cars, looking forward to her food.

Just as she starts to worry and wonder what was taking Naomi so long she comes back through the dividing door from the baggage compartment finishing off one of her bubbly ‘thank-you~’s grinning as she sits back down, fishing her pills out of her pocket and eyeing the bento-box in front of her suspiciously.

“I said I was fine Hanako, and you didn’t have to pay for my food,” Naomi says, her voice tinged with a little frustration, picking up the chopsticks and twiddling them through her fingers.

Hanako’s exposed cheek flushes a little red as she offers Naomi the mango drink, poking some of the contents of her bento-box around before saying.

“B-but you n-need to eat regularly. M-missing a m-meal can c-cause you to h-have a seizure,” Hanako’s voice is a whisper, addressing the sushi and sashimi in he little meal.

Naomi’s mouth hangs open speechlessly just as she was about to ask Hanako about her little pearl of wisdom she continues.

“A-and I know you don’t like the w-way the pills taste, and these b-bento-boxes are d-delicious!” She adds, looking up at Naomi as she finishes her sentence, smiling as she pops an avocado nigiri into her mouth with one hand the mango drink still in her other as she offers it to her again.

Naomi is sat their quietly thinking things over. She knows that she hadn’t told Hanako much about her epilepsy apart from the fact she had it. She was on more medication than normal for people with her condition, but had been seizure free for eight months when she met Hanako.

“Hanako! Have you been googling about me?” She asks, a little mischief in her voice, adding “We’ll make an investigative journalist out of you yet,” Giving Hanako a wink as she opens up the late lunch.

Hanako’s face goes from worried, to happy to, relieved in quick succession as Naomi snaps her chopsticks and digs in, punctuating each mouthful of food with a pill and a sip from her mango juice.

They both sit quietly as they enjoy their meal, Naomi’s mind wandering off thinking about Hokkaido, about her friend about boys. Hanako finishes just after Naomi, primly wiping her face and hands after eating with a wet-wipe, something she probably picked up from Lilly.

“Naomi considers her mysterious friend for a few moments, both of them tidying the detritus from their food away and clearing the little table between them.

“So Hanako, tell me more about Lilly and Hisao?” She asks, deciding to not ask directly about Hanako herself as she does not want to pressure her into revealing anything she does not want to.

Hanako looks up and smiles widely, quickly considering where to start, her right hand coming up to her face.

“Lilly was m-my first friend s-since I came to Yamaku. My only real friend until H-hisao, a-and then you and Natsume,” Hanako fidgets with her cap a little, thinking again on what to say next.


“S-she was the f-first person who wanted to get to know m-me, a-and she was so kind and p-patient. I-I was so nervous with p-people that I didn’t speak to h-her the first t-time we met. She just talked and poured me t-tea. It was the f-first time I f-felt like a n-normal person in y-years.” Her face was a mix of emotions, her voice edged with a little regret and happiness at the same time as she recollects the beginning of one of her most meaningful friendships in her life.

“Hisao joined m-my class this year, h-he was s-sad and quiet at first. I think he was a little l-lost at first in Yamaku, b-but he started c-coming to lunch with L-lilly and I. We played chess, I w-would sometimes cook for them, and L-lilly would make the t-tea.” This time her more recent memories painted a beautiful smile on her face, her eyes fixed on no particular point as she heaved in a breath, then let out a happy sigh.

Naomi just sits and listens as Hanako continues to recount the more recent events of her friendship with Lilly and Hisao, the weekend away to Lilly’s family’s summer house in Hokkaido. Her suspicion that Lilly and Hisao were becoming close was where Hanako ran out of steam, becoming a little reserved and withdrawn from the topic, her smile slowly fading.

Naomi realises that for now the story was over, but she filed a few of her thoughts and observations away for later consideration, ever the journalist.

“Thank you for sharing that Hanako,” Naomi says, her grin beaming at her friend, “I hope that some day you talk about this trip and me the same way you talk about Lilly,” Naomi says, perhaps a little in earnest but her honesty wins an other smile and an enthusiastic nod from Hanako.

“Of course Naomi,” Hanako says, her smile returning in full force, challenging Naomi’s bright expression.

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I'm hoping to have part 4 'That Scares you' up this weekend. Thank you for your time and patience everyone

Apologies for my absence, been having a hard time finding time to write recently, I thought I would share this little piece with you though just to let you know I've not forgotten about it <3 thanks for your patience and for taking the time to read this.

Hanako and Naomi, summer Break. P4. That Scares You.(WIP)

Tsugarufutamata was relatively quiet; especially considering it was a transfer point for the seikan tunnel to Hokkaido. The girls slept and ate and finally stumble out of the station a little after sunset, the town, like most of Japan, alive with lights and people as the night begins.

“Wow” they both intone, the fluid crowds alive with excited voices, outfits, lit bizarrely from all angles by the enormous adverts, vying for the attention of what must be hundreds of people passing by.

Hanako wilts a little at the horde of people watching them pass by in droves but she doesn’t hold onto Naomi’s arm, just as she sets her face and takes a few paces towards the pavement though her phone goes off, making both girls jump and Naomi knocks her bag over.

Hanako takes a look at the caller ID on her phone and smiles, deftly flicking it open and placing it to her ear, her other hand covering her opposite ear to help block out the din of the crowd.

“H-hello Lilly, how. . . Yes we’re fine t-thank you, we’re just outside of the Hokkaido s-shinkansen station.” She speaks into the little phones microphone, probably a little too loud for Lilly’s liking despite the ambient noise of the crowd.

“OH HEY LILLY!” Naomi blurts out, cupping her hands around her mouth as she yells, drawing a few funny looks from a group dressed as some sort of neon-punks. Naomi blushes and then pokes her tongue out at them while Hanako turns back around to regard the station as she listens to Lilly talking.

Naomi regards the face of her friend as she talks on the phone, a smile, followed by surprise, and then a long, formal thank you as she finally closes her phone and slips it away in her pocket. Naomi waits a few moments for Hanako to say something but nothing comes.

“Hanako? What’s wrong? I can’t tell if someone just died of if you’ve won the lottery. . Hello? What’s up?” She says, a little concern edging into her voice.

“W-what? Oh. . Sorry,” She says calmly patter her shirt down before looking up at Naomi and smiling.

“I asked L-lilly if we could use her f-families s-summer house. Her parent have said it’s okay, s-so I thought w-we could save some m-money on the hotel and stay there a few night t-too.” Hanako seems really pleased about the revelation.

Naomi had heard second hand about the three of them heading off for a weekend, and Naomi thought it would be nice to relax in a quieter place after a few days in Sapporo, and it might help Hanako get over the bustle of the city.

“Excellent!” Naomi chimes “But I think we both need to sleep in an actual bed before we make any more plans. How about we get to the hotel first, and then devise a cunning plan?” She continues, taking Hanako’s hand in hers and waking out to join the throng of people.

Unlike the bustle of the stations, the people on the streets gave the girls and their bags room enough, and Hanako seemed a little calmer than when they first set off, looking around now and then to take in the cityscape, only averting her gaze if someone inadvertently made eye contact.

After having to back-track a little because of a missed turn the girls look up at the austere façade of their home for the next few days. The little hotel manages to look worried, surrounded by the larger buildings, a greeter smiles and waves at them as they come nearer, giving a polite bow before descending the stairs to take the girls bags.

“Welcome to the Autumn Hotel!” He cheerfully says as he springs up the steps ahead of the girls, their bags obviously not weighing down his body or spirit.
Inside the hotel is beautifully and yet modestly decorated. Simple, attractive landscapes inked onto brown walls, the beams and columns in the foyer red and black, with silhouettes of trees wrapping around them. A few tactically placed flowers and vases are all the decoration visible, giving the place a calming feeling and encouraging the girls to move forward to the receptionists desk.

Hanako wilts a little at the hoard of people

hoard -> horde

“I asked L-lilly if we could use her f-families s-summer house. Her parent have said it’s okay, s-so I thought w-we could save some m-money on the hotel and stay there a few night t-too.” Hanako seems really pleased about the revelation.

So will Lilly send her the key by email, or did they leave it unlocked?

Mirage_GSM wrote:

Hanako wilts a little at the hoard of people

hoard -> horde

Thank you <3

Mirage_GSM wrote:

“I asked L-lilly if we could use her f-families s-summer house. Her parent have said it’s okay, s-so I thought w-we could save some m-money on the hotel and stay there a few night t-too.” Hanako seems really pleased about the revelation.

So will Lilly send her the key by email, or did they leave it unlocked?

I was going to be booring and use the post, but if you can lock doors with an e-mail in Japan now (which you probably can) then why not? P:

Or be like quite a people I know and hide a spare key under a flower pot in case you lock yourself out.