Miwa | Rika

小さな種 - A Small Seed

23-year-old Rika Miura had always lived alone in an apartment at Eye Escort Nishi Azabu. The only family she had was her 25-year-old cousin, Kaoru Chikafuji. It was Tuesday morning and Kaoru was invited over to Rika's place which happened most of the time because she always felt lonely. And yes, she had several acquaintances but they're always "work", "work", "work". Kaoru sat down in the living  room, watching television as usual. 'Don't you think it's about time you face facts?' he asked. Rika answered straight away. 'No, why?' She was used to that sort of question because Kaoru had always repeated it over and over again. Kaoru sighed,  always receiving the same answer from her. Rika was stirring up her cup of coffee, concentrating on the drink rather than her guest. 'It's been nearly 6 years now since your mum's--' Kaoru couldn't finished his sentence.

Rika yelled, holding onto the spoon tightly. 'I KNOW!' Then, softened her tone a little. 'I know.. so, don't remind me anymore.' She walked, silently, towards her room, bringing the coffee with her. Kaoru was shocked. She must be in a lot of stress and pain. he thought.

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21-year-old Miwa Kasai, on the other hand, lived in a luxurious triple-storey home with her close friend, 22-year-old Ami Ikeda. At that time, Ami was sitting down on the top floor, interacting with her phone. Miwa had arrived home from having breakfast outside. She passed by her friend who stood up right when she saw her. 'Where were you--' Ami paused, noticing that Miwa went straight to her room, humming. Ami sighed. 'We all love you, Miwa.' She entered her friend's gallery, looking at what Miwa had been doing all her spare time. After observing paintings of Miwa's "beloveds", Ami tried to figure out what her friend had been planning. But she couldn't. They were all paintings filled with hatred and anger. No happiness located. Ami then left the gallery.

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'Rika,' Kaoru began. 'I can't be around you every single time. I have work, Takako, and all that other stuff I need to get on with.' The door bell rang which interrupted Rika & Kaoru's conversation. Rika rushed towards the door, opening it to see 24-year-old Takako Kasai. 'Hi, Rika!' she smiled, cheerfully. Kaoru rushed over to his fiancée. 'Well, I'd better get going. Bye, Rika.' he waved and joined his fiancée. Takako gave her soon-to-be sister-in-law a hug and a kiss goodbye. 'We'll see you soon.' After giving Rika their last smiles, Takako and Kaoru then left Rika on her own.

There was almost nothing to do. TV's boring... cooking stuff's boring too. Rika thought. Besides, I'm not in the mood anyway. So, then... what now? Should I go for a walk? Mm, yeah. I should go for a walk. Actually, nah. I'm too lazy today. Actually, yeah, I'll go for that walk. Mm, nah. Walk? No walk? Walk? No Walk? Walk? Yeah, actually. Walk. Rika was that type of girl who can't come up with right decisions; she just went with what she felt like. Before going, she checked the weather app on her phone as she always do. 'Hm..' she scrolled through the forecasts. '..it's going to be raining in the afternoon; around 2:00pm, I guess. Better get my umbrella.' Currently, it was a sunny day without any clouds in the sky. Everything seemed fine. But you can't be too sure. Rika wore a strawberry-red short sleeved shirt with a black bow ribbon below the collar and a denim short skirt, sort of see-through black leggings, a pair of red bow tie high heel shoes, a black coat and to top it all off; sunglasses, an umbrella and a small, brown sling bag. Yes, being a girl is easy but being a woman is harder. Rika took one last look at the time before going; it was 11:43am.

After walking for a little while, Rika decided to eat at Torico. The food was delicious and she was used to eating alone but it's not like she preferred loneliness than having friends or family by her side. She missed them... a lot. Kaoru can join Rika but he's too busy picking out stuff for his wedding. Takako came from a rich family, which will be found out later.

Rika looked at the time on her phone. 2:17pm, it presented. Drizzles started coming down from the sky, and then, the rain came down heavily. She opened her umbrella and sheltered herself from the rain. It was time to set off. Rika walked through the streets and stopped when she saw a mother holding her daughter's hand; they made Rika miss her mother more. It was hard trying to ignore the facts. 'Rika?' Kaoru interrupted, who was under an umbrella with Takako. 'Hi..! What are you doing here?'

'Well, I just wanted to go for a walk. That's all.' Rika answered. 'What about you? Getting some wedding stuff, I suppose.'

'Haha.. yeah.'

'Alright, my turn to talk.' Takako giggled, bringing a girl next to her in front of Rika. 'Since you're going to be my cousin-in-law, I'd like you to meet my younger sister, Miwa Kasai.' Kaoru looked at the two girls who were both smiling and introducing themselves. Before, he was worried that they wouldn't get along. But now, it was far different from his expectation. Something was going to happen. 'Why don't the both of you get to know each other a little better and we'll be off to get some of our things?' Takako asked, looking at Kaoru. Everyone agreed. After the couple left, Rika invited Miwa over to her place to have a chit-chat. 'The weather's really weird, isn't it?' Miwa said. Rika agreed as she walked towards the kitchen. 'I know right, it's absolutely crazy. So, would you like something to drink?'

Miwa refused. 'Actually, let me handle this. You go have a seat, okay?' It was so nice of her; as if they were sisters. Rika sat down in the living room. 'I haven't seen you around here, are you new?'

'Oh, yeah. About that; when your cousin and my sister got together, I was in Paris.'

'Paris? That's so cool..! How lucky of you.'

'It's nothing, really. Well, to me. Have you been to Paris before?'

'Nope. I don't travel much since I don't have any family to go with. Kaoru's the only family I've got. He's been taking care of me since my mother passed on. I was only 17 at that time.'

'Poor you. But I can see how strong you were; coping that long. What happened to your mother?'

'She was poisoned. It started when me and my mother went out for lunch. I had to use the toilet for a minute or two and when I got back, a huge crowd was surrounding my mother. That was when I saw her; laying there... hopelessly... with foam coming out of her mouth. Someone had poisoned her. Until now, I still don't know who did this.'

'Did she have any enemies or anyone who'd hold a grudge against her?'

'No. Not that I can recall.'

Miwa made a cup of coffee for herself and her new friend and brought it to Rika. 'Your coffee.' It was so nice to finally have a "sister". Meanwhile, Kaoru went home and Takako was left at a rich lady's mansion. 'What?!' the lady yelled. 'You left her with that girl?! You do know what happens if she doesn't take herself in control properly, don't you? You've seen it with your own eyes, Takako! Get her before she makes any damage that stranger you left her with!' Takako ran out of the mansion and the lady giggled. 'What will you do next? I wonder, I wonder. Hm! How unlucky.' Giggling once again.

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Hai! Tsuki here again~!

What did you think of the first chapter? Well, it's not much but I bet you I'll add in more interesting things in the next chapter! I hope you enjoyed this part. Who's the "lady" that's ordering Takako to do her dirty work? And is Miwa some sort of sicko in this plan? And does Kaoru know more than Rika about all this? And will you ever stop reading this story? And would elephants start falling from the sky when you read the next chapter? And should farting rainbow kitties be legal to Japan? Who knows? See you in the next chapter.

Bai~!