Spectre Love Posting Account

   Her voice came off as admonishing unto herself as Uta merely smiled. She was twenty-four now and wizened beyond her years. At least in part, due to her adventures on Ai-Ai Island. Though the usual flow of time in her world also probably helped. Tera couldn’t take all the credits as she studied Uta’s face.

   “It’s good to see you again.”

   Tera smiled. Uta’s voice was still as sweet as she remembered, her smile as shiny and sparkly as ever but it was strange. There were some changes. For one, Tera had to look up ever so slightly to meet Uta’s eyes as Uta was taller than her now.

   She was prettier, too.

   Her hair was long and luscious, a gentle brown, to her waist and her eyes were bright as jewels and red as garnets. She had filled out some, too, in her bust and hips. She was wearing a costume which was reminiscent of something Tera had seen before – in a previous life, as a part of Amasu. It was full of white and pink ruffles, a silhouette closer to a sweet pastry than clothing in Tera’s opinion.

   “It’s good to see you, too.” Tera admitted.

   She didn’t want to come on too strong but who was she kidding. Sakura Uta was at the top of her invite list for the next Super Miracle Idol Festival for a reason and even Tera couldn’t keep up her rocky facade for this excitement. Her heart – no, her whole soul – stirred to see Uta in the flesh again.

   “I’m glad to be here.” Uta said. She pinched her skirt by the unnecessarily ruffled fabric to imitate a curtsey. “So, want to show me around? Show me what’s new?”

   “Huh? But it's only been-” Tera cut herself off there. Duh.

   Ten years was a long time for a human but nothing at all for the coral sprites but she held her tongue. It was best to be lenient to a guest. So, Tera nodded her head and she offered her hand to Uta. With a grin, Uta accepted and together, the two hit the pavement.

   The hype for the ten-year special Super Miracle Idol Festival was in full swing. All kinds of people from all kinds of places and worlds filled the streets of the main platform. The Amasu statue looked over all the different denizens with a kind gaze as the scents of sweet and savoury foods filled the air and the music. There was so much music. Song and dance: it all filled the streets.

   As did the various greetings.

   No matter where they went, what corridors they went down or what paths they crossed, someone knew one or both of them. Tera was known by all: her long red hair whipped about as she tried to make herself and Uta sparse but there was no escaping the stardom. How irritating. They were constantly called too and greeted, hellos and goodbyes and “Would you like to stay for dinner?” type platitudes.

   Uta loved it. She lapped it all up, glad that her presence hadn’t faded. Not ten years later, not even a thousand years later. Tera was more curmudgeonly about it as they finally left for the outskirts but the village was no better. They stopped to say hi to Midori and the kids. They hadn’t changed a day by their standards but to Uta she could see all the things they took for granted.

   The fact the kids had gotten taller by mere millimeters, the different flowers in bloom in planters that dotted the village scape. Those kinds of things that not even Tera, the current protector of Ai-Ai Island noticed. How embarrassing. To her, a thousand things had changed. To them, it was only yesterday that she had last visited as a fourteen year old. 

   After an hour or so hoofing it through the greenery and the different paths on Ai-Ai Island, they ended up on the very cove they had met ten years prior. The sands were still refined sugar white. The ocean was still full of vibrantly coloured fish and seaweed that danced in the perpetual currents. It had, truly, become a safe haven thanks to their combined efforts at the previous Super Miracle Idol Festival. With relishment of these natural wonders, Uta beamed as she put her hand over her eyes to prevent glare as she scanned the horizons from left to right.

   “Kira-kiralala!” Uta swooned.

   Tera folded her hands in front of her. She didn’t disagree. It was beautiful to watch the water and how it sparkled. There was deep, azure waters as far as the eye could see and Tera looked it all straight on: the clouds, the breeze, the birds that flew in the sky. It was home to her but something entirely new to Uta.

   Once Uta finished taking in the sights, she turned herself ever so slightly to better face Tera. Tera blinked. Uta bore a serious expression and Tera didn’t consider it her imagination.

   “I’m so happy,” Uta said, “to be here again. I understand why the Showa Idol loved being here. There’s inspiration and imagery in every aspect of Ai-Ai Island and also… Because the people are so full of love! It’s wonderful.”

   “Mm, it is.” Tera mumbled.

   Uta blushed slightly, “I’m glad to see that the people here love you so much, Tera, you aren’t alone anymore.”

   “I’m not.” Tera complained and she puffed out her cheeks to pretend it annoyed her. “I can’t get any peace and quiet around here no more. It’s so noisy!”

   Uta laughed. Tera pursed her lips together. There was no point lying. They both knew that Tera liked the attention. To call her a goddess was too much but if she could be accepted as a daughter or a sister, well, that could make her pretty happy if she could ever be honest with herself.

   “What about you?” Tera asked in a small voice, her gaze dipped low to the sand and to Uta’s sandals. “How’re people treating you in your world?”

   “I’ve become a proper idol.” Uta said. “Not Cure Idol but Sakura Uta the Idol.”

   Tera clicked her tongue. Uta laughed again.

   “Oi, oi.” Tera complained. She tried to keep it going for old time’s sake but Uta could see straight through her.

   Uta fidgeted. She swayed where she stood, closed her eyes. She relaxed herself as something serious emanated off of her as she enjoyed the beach and all the serenity it could offer. Tera waited for Uta to be ready for wherever this conversation was about to turn.

   The sea stretched further. Its cold waves reached them. Their feet got wet as they were kissed and nuzzled by the breeze. Uta let go of the breath she was holding as she made a confession too dreary for a bright and sunshiney day like today but to be fair.

   That’s probably how that girl would want to be remembered.

   Uta stretched her arms behind her. Her fingers knotted behind her. Tera studied her carefully.

   “I did some looking into Amasu’s Showa Idol.” Uta confessed, bittersweet. “I sent a letter to her loved ones… They never stopped looking for her.”

   “Oh.” Tera made a small noise.

   Uta nodded her head, she curled a strand of her brown hair behind her ear, only for the sea breeze to untuck it mere seconds later. The scent of the sea was salty and full of heart. They had their backs to the sun. Uta’s gaze was far away, over the horizon, through time and space itself in all the cerulean glory offered by the sea and skies.

   “Yeah…” Uta agreed. “I don’t know if they believed me, they never wrote back but I hope it brought them peace to know she was loved to the very end.”

   “I’m glad.” Tera said. “Well, not glad. But you know what I mean.”

   “I do.” Uta bowed her head.

   She paused. She drew a semi-circle in the sand with the tip of her toe. She then met Tera’s gaze. Her eyes were brilliant. Sparkling. Tera’s heart thumped in her chest.

   “Tera.” Uta called her name.

   “Yeah?” Tera responded, she shivered slightly.

   “Do you love idols?” Uta asked.

   Tera clicked her tongue. She wiped her face and she felt granules of salt on her fingertips. Her brows furrowed. She didn’t know how to reply to that question but she knew what to say. If that made sense.

   “‘Course not. I hate ‘em.” Tera replied with a whinge to her voice. She tried hard to sound as big and brash as she had back then when they first met.

   Uta, meanwhile, didn’t laugh at her. She didn’t push back. Instead, her gaze merely softened.

   “Liar.” she quietly accused Tera. “I know you love me.”

   “Wrong.” Tera raised her voice.

   She didn’t mean to but she had. Thus, her voice echoed over the sand and water but Uta didn’t mind. Especially as Tera backstracked, she eased her heel into the depth of the sand and felt the warmth the grains had absorbed in their compaction. She stepped backwards, her shoulders raised to hackles as she clumsily explained herself.

   “I love you.” Tera confessed. “I love Sakura Uta. I don’t love idols. I just like you.”

   Uta’s smile only got shinier, her head got bigger. Tera pouted with a blush. This was exactly why she didn’t like idols. They got too big for their britches and were so cute it made Tera want to explode. And they were so good at singing, too, with voices that were sweet and soothing. 

   “I love you, too.” Uta replied and she ever so naturally transitioned into a song.

   A serenade just for Tera: a private performance, lyrics of love notes for her and only her. Tera closed her eyes. She let Uta’s acapella wash over her and she felt something. A tear down the arch of her cheek. She couldn’t help it. They didn’t have long. Her heart lurched at the mere inference of it, let alone the actual thoughts that swarmed like schooling fish.

   “I’ll keep coming to each and every festival Ai-Ai Island hosts, promise,” Uta told her as she finished her song, “so you’ll just have to look forward to them, m’kay?”

   “Mm.” Tera agreed through blubber that she wasn’t proud of. She couldn’t help herself. She was sobbing by now.

   Uta offered her hand. Tera accepted it but with her other hand, she had to hide her tears and embarrassment. She really was a shard of Amasu’s. She had all the best and worst qualities of that no-good, lousy, kind and caring goddess. It sucked. She slept for a thousand years to see Uta again and then she only had to live through another ten. It was really nothing, not in the grand scheme of things but that was kind of the problem.

   They didn’t even have a century at best before Uta… 

   Before Uta ended up just like the Showa Era Idol before her. 

   Uta made an exaggerated sigh. She tightened her grip on Tera’s hand and feebly, Tera unhooked her arm from over her face. She looked horrid. Splotchy and tear stained but Uta’s kindness was all encompassing.

   “C’mon,” she encouraged Tera, “cheer up, I want to see your smile. That’s the Tera I’ll always love forever.”

   Tera nodded her head. Jeez. She was being so immature. She didn’t want to be anything like Amasu but sometimes it was easier said than done. She took a breath that caused her to shudder outwards from the centre of her chest but hey. At least she stopped crying.

   “Do you promise to sing my favourite song at tonight’s performance, Sakura Uta the… uh…”

   “Reiwa Idol.” Uta completed Tera’s sentence for her.

   “Yeah, the Reiwa Idol.” Tera said. She didn’t really get the terminology for eras from the human world but she liked the feeling of it as a title on her mouth. It was almost as good as calling Uta a priestess, in all honesty.

   “Very well then, Tera, I would love to sing HiBiKi Au Uta for you.” Uta said.

   Tera smiled as Uta’s voice trailed into the opening lines of the ballad. They held hands tighter. Firmer. Then they walked the beach together. Footprints in the sand, Uta’s voice to accompany the lapping of the waves of the water. It was absolute bliss: even without the realisation that they would have to part soon.

   For one, so that Uta could get ready for her performance later and then again afterwards but until then.

   Ryan smiled shyly. She didn’t think that Bright would, Bright loves trains after all but just in case. Ryan was the older of the two, she was in charge and by far the more responsible of the two, so she had to do her best to be that kind of dependable person. It’d make their grandmother proud to know that Ryan was such a reliable young woman. It certainly made Ryan glow with pride as her familial feelings manifested perhaps quite differently from this wholesome image.

   The next bullet train arrived swiftly. They were timed to a tee, shiny and sleek with pure, white carapaces with singular, teal stripes down their sides. The trains were majestic and inviting, especially as a place to put up their feet after a day out where they had hoofed it plenty. 

   Ryan and Bright had gone on a short day trip, to get out and stretch their legs away from the school and race courses. They visited the zoo and botanical gardens in a small, nearby city and used bullet trains as their preferred transport. That, in of itself, was a treat as the metro in Tokyo had grown so mundane since coming to Tracen Academy.

   On the inside of the bullet train, they were able to curl up together in a long, narrow carriage which had a warm, yellow tinge to the decor such as the plush seats they sat in or in the paint on the walls. A neon sign rotated through various messages at the front of the carriage and there was a charging station for phones right in front of them as they got comfortable. Their hand bags went up and over their heads into the stowage flat and they got comfortable.

   “Aah, I’m so tired, I could have a nap right here.” Bright sighed contentedly as she snuggled into Ryan’s side.

   Her hand snaked into Ryan’s. Ryan had placed her own at the helm of the armrest but Bright undid the latch of her fingers so they could hold hands instead. Their fingers entangled as Bright nuzzled against the corner of Ryan’s chin and the top of her shoulder. 

   “You can be such a handful.” Ryan muttered.

   She made sure that Bright’s affections were kept in check, almost quite literally, by correcting her seatbelt. She had put it on but not to its fullest restraint. Bright pouted.

   “Umcomfortable…” Bright mumbled.

   “It’s good, it’ll keep you safe in the event of an emergency.” Ryan reminded Bright.

   Bright’s lips pursed together and her brows furrowed inwards. Her pout turned quite exaggerated with cheeks that puffed outwards, like a chipmunk and a hum which caused a vibration in her vibration. She looked so cute! So, Ryan laughed at Bright’s expense. Though, this only caused her to go red, albeit faintly.

   “You’re no fun.” Bright complained.

   “C’mon, I thought you were sleepy, here, sleep. Our station is another hour away.” Ryan said.

   “Mm, and it’d be two and a half hours via a normal train, and-” Bright paused to yawn, “and, uh, even longer if we ran.”

   “Yeah.” Ryan agreed.

   Bright got a little absent minded somewhere in that despite a promising start. Bright was a little eccentric like that. She struggled with mathematics and misremembered important dates in history, but she did enjoy memorising these kinds of things: train time tables, schedules, their top speeds and such. If only she could put that effort in her schoolwork. That would make Ryan really happy but honestly.

   Academics, and even athletics, took a back seat to the pure bliss that Ryan felt as Bright fell asleep on her shoulder. She was out like, well, a light.

   Ryan blushed. She glanced up and down the aisle. The time was roughly… A quarter past four. This was a recreational line so it wasn’t super busy compared to if it were a peak commuter train but there were people. They were scattered up and down the seats, Ryan couldn’t see most people over the headrests of the various mustard-coloured seats and if she strained her ears, she couldn’t even hear the amenities trolley. 

   That made her a little glad.

   She didn’t want to be seen right now. Her heart raced. She glanced to her left. Bright had the window seat, Ryan had the aisle. Outside, the scenery was a hale blur. Green grass, azure skies. The speed was dizzying and yet, on the inside of the bullet train, it was quiet. Slow. 

   Ryan blushed harder. She held Bright’s hand tighter. She heard Bright lick her lips in her sleep and sigh contentedly. She snored in her sleep, too, it was adorable: a quiet whinny that made her ears flick above her head as she quickly got lost in dreams of a day well spent.

   “Good girl, get some sleep.” Ryan mumbled more to herself than Bright because…

   She wasn’t being a good girl right now. Bright was so affectionate. It gave Ryan mixed signals and got things all messed up in her head. Ryan loves Bright. Bright loves Ryan. Family should love family but Ryan’s stomach knotted, she was certain that family shouldn’t love each other like that.

   Something about Bright made her so… spoilable. Pamperable. She had this easygoing and kindly atmosphere which Ryan was helpless to, whenever they were around, it was always so lovely and lackadaisical. They laughed over silly, nonsensical things and held hands. It was always so warm and gentle until Ryan felt these feelings in places other than her heart.

   Like her stomach that twisted and turned, or in her knees that knocked and her palms that sweated. In the tingle of her lips which yearned to know the taste of Bright’s lip balm that she used. It’s Neopolitan ice-cream flavoured but… What the heck does that mean? Ryan had seen her re-apply multiple times today, and then how she would check her hair in her mirror, make sure her plaits weren’t too messy and her impish, little gaze. It made Ryan weak all over.

   Strolling through the tulip fields, they passed flowers which were seemingly black as crushed velvet but actually purple when the sunlight illuminated them just right. And when they watched the mongoose in the mustelid exhibit at the zoo or when they observed the Scandinavian wolf pack at the zoo through the glass. It was almost like they were on a date.

   No one would have known.

   No one would have cared.

   The Mejiro name meant nothing in the dirt tracks that Bright and Ryan had wandered together on today’s day out. They didn’t look all that similar except for the horse ears and horse tails and even then. Would anyone have pulled them up to ask?

   Ryan held her tongue. She shouldn’t think like that. She felt sick as she could truly feel herself flying in her seat on the bullet train now. She tried to focus on something else. Anything else. 

   She forced herself to memorise the scenery outside their window until it was burnt into her mind. Where they had been, where they would be next. Ryan tried to distract herself. She could imagine it but poorly. The last train station. It had yellow stripes on white tiles. After that was the city’s outskirts and then the landscape of an unfettered meadow and then. Something new. Something old. Something blue. 

   Ryan couldn’t focus on what she thought she saw. She couldn’t keep up as they blazed a million miles per second on these effortless train tracks. She saw as grey, tiled roofs pop up in between terraced valleys and vast electrical pylons that criss-crossed the paddocks of a scattered farmland. Ryan committed it all from the length of grass to the shape of the wiry trees that were there and then gone in a blink. The dry farmscape wasn’t ugly but it wasn’t pretty, either, not when Bright was there in the corner, nestled into her side and just beneath the peripheral vision that Ryan possessed. 

   Ryan gave up. She felt a beam of harsh sunlight, the last accusation of a summer sunset, on her face, it cut through the window and avoided Bright just to turn its judgemental focus on her and cause her to grow uncomfortably warm. She unclenched her eyes, Bright came into focus. Slowly and then beautifully. She looked so divine fast asleep. Her cheeks were slightly chubby, her skin was soft and pale. Her hair is shiny and artfully untamed. She wore her Sunday best today.

   Almost as though… She knew. Today wasn’t just a holiday between the two of them but an honest to goodness date.

   Ryan scared herself with that. She was getting too lost in impossible fantasies but it couldn’t be denied. In that moment, watching through the filter of unfocused eyes, all Ryan could think was how she wanted to kiss Bright so bad. Her little Bright. Bright who was so often off with the fairies and had such a wonderful, mellow personality and smelt like ice-cream. No, no, she shouldn’t, that would be super, mega, giga bad, and yet. For all that scolding, for all that effort Ryan put into clinging to the dependable, reliable, responsible older sister type she aspired to be, Ryan couldn’t rid herself of that urge to lean in and kiss Bright.