DISCLAIMER: Kamikaze Girls belongs to Novala Takemoto, the author of the original story.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: It has been about a year since I last saw the movie, so I have forgotten many names and such, and I might have gotten movie facts wrong. I'm pretty sure there are some out of characterization as well. For that, I am sorry. For information on the movie and background J-Pop culture, go here: http://www.kamikazegirls.net/news.html
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
A Gang of Two
By Erin Griffin
Hey Momoko, I remember what it was like, riding around this town with the gang. I wasn't more than a geek in contacts and a fake leather jacket then. I pretended I was so tough, but you knew when we met that it was all just words. I think that's why I wanted us to be friends so much, because I didn't have to pretend for you, even though I still did. We are so different, yet we get along pretty well when we weren't pretending. I know you don't hate people as much as you say you do, and I know I'm not as rough around the edges as I'd like to be. But that's okay with me. Is that okay with you? I remember that fool of a man that I was in love with, how he'd married Akimi. I rememberd being so angry, not just because I liked him, but because it went against the girl power theme of the gang. The one person I'd looked up to had betrayed us all in the end.
Hey Momoko, I remember when we were there at the railroad tracks and I had been summoned to a suicide mission. I remember how you were there for me that day. When you showed up on that moped in your lace and pink dress, I wondered if you were braindead. You had a lot of courage, standing up to a biker gang like that, knowing we were outnumbered. Their gang was small, but our gang of two was much smaller. I wanted to go to you when you were hit. I wanted to protect you just like I had in the Baby The Stars Shine Bright store (even though you weren't in danger then), but my hands were held down and I was forced to watch them hurt you. I hated that the most about that day, being helpless and weak.
Then something happened. One of the gang members dirtied your dress. I've never seen you so angry, nor have I seen anyone more beautiful. I watched in awe as you took on four of them, sometimes at once with that war cry of yours. I promise to run away from you if one of your dresses ever got ripped. When asked who you were, you told a lie. My lie. Though you didn't believe the story when it was told to you, you made it real, and they believed you to be the offspring of a biker legend.
When, after they let us go, I called you 'Princess' and helped you on the bike behind me, and though my face was cut, I smiled. I liked the feel of you behind me on the bike as we rode around town, me wearing the jacket you embroidered for me. The fact that the messege on it meant nothing me me anymore wasn't lost on me. I remembered the looks I got of respect after the rumor spread that the biker princess has come to take over. It all mirrored the life I had wanted when I first joined Akimi's gang. I remember how we had speant the rest of the summer that way, and I never had been happier.
Hey Momoko, remember when you told me I was beautiful when I was in love? I wonder how beautiful you would find me after you learn that I am in love with you. When you fought to free me from the gang's punishment, you brought out a loyalty that I never could have shown the gang. I would have done anything for you. When I told you that I needed to ride alone, it wasn't because I didn't want to be around you anymore. It was because I wanted you near me too much. When I faced the fact that you could never feel this way for me, I had to pull away. I heard through your grandmother that after you accepted a job, you and your father moved to Tokyo not long after school had started.
Hey Momoko, I remember when I saw you at Baby The Stars Shine bright through the window. You had your head down with the bonnet on, looking so sweet as the milk tea color of your hair. You were deep into your work, embroidering light blue flowers from the look of it. Suddenly you looked up, sensing me watching you, and you stood up. You were quick in getting outside, standing before me and suddenly having nothing to say.
"How are you?" I asked. You shrugged.
"I've been working. I'm busy," is all you say to me after a little while.
The implied 'go away' isn't lost on me, especially after you looked back inside at your boss. I didn't want you to get in trouble for me, so I said, "Then I will leave, No use getting in trouble with your boss over me." I put my hands in my pockets and turned away, not sure what else to say than, "Bye Momoko."
"I'm finished in an hour," you called after me, making me stop walking for a minute. "I'm going to need a ride." I turned back to look at you. There was a small, hopeful look on your face. I smiled and bowed in your direction.
"I'll be back in an hour with your chariot, princess," I said, watching as you smiled back at me. I turned again towards one of the Yanki stores, willing the time to speed faster so that I could take you home.
The End