Yay!!! That was histerical!! Poor Aiba, I really feel for him! Jun on the other hand....he's such a whiner. I love him!!

I can't wait to read your next story!!

Umm, maybe I'll sound dumb, but what exactly *is* an omake?

Omake (お負け but often written オマケ) means extra or bonus in Japanese. Omake often include comedy sketches where the characters behave out of character, or subtly address opinions of the fandom known to the writers. Sometimes scenes from the telly show or OVA (or manga) are humorously re-dubbed or re-written. Omake can also consist of non-canonical, and often comedic crossovers.

The idea is that I will have omake for each story of the 'Whither my love' series. Sugoi, ne? I think so!

Please bear in mind that the omake is meant to be a joke, for humour and fun. No offence is intended, and I certainly own nothing except the girls and myself.

Ah I understand now!! Yours are histerical, so I really enjoy them!! Thank you for explaining it to me!

Oooh! It's done!

I shall now wait patiently for "Life’s Colours and Sounds". Yay Oh-chan!

<3

Thank you one and all who have read this. Oh-chan's Life's Colours & Sounds are still in the editing stage. Please exercise some patience while I juggle the different facets of my life.

Dear Lady Strange,

Again I have thoroughly enjoyed this story and since sho too is my favourite I had high hopes for it. you may wonder whether my hopes are answered. the following is your answer:

Areas I think need improvement:

since i started with waht i like last time, i decided to switch the order this time.

1. repetition

i understand that the need to retell nino's story from sho's POV and i think it took a well a little over half of the story. yet, i guess it's just me since i know nino 's story, seeing it from sho's point of view isn't really as exciting as i anticipated it to be and i guess you can't help it either being given sho when compared with nino is rather dull because he is indeed more sensible. oh well, i understand again but it would help if you can condense some parts that overlap nino's and just expose the necessary parts. i really don't wanna say this, but i nearly gave up on your story half way due to the boredom (excuse me for the strong word, i'm trying to be polite but critical, feel free to criticise me) and excuse my informality. what is done is done. I just hope that in the coming stories, this will be better put , i guess?

2 longwind and use of complicated words

i can't really blame you for this, being given sho's educated, sensible side. i can't say i'm unhappy about it. technically speaking, this is not really something you need to improve at least not in this story since it serves the purpose of showing sho's character. yet, this is just a kind reminder, please refrain from doing so in aiba or ohno's story which i trust you won't as we know well enough what they are like. ahh, sho..... he is what he is, oh well~

3 arashi info

i do believe sho quit smoking.

4 sometimes the greenhouse, plant thing got a tiny bit corny but don't mind me because this story kind of calmed me down from the spicy nino story and yes, my 'hype' has calmed at last....

Areas worth multiple applauses:

1 story development

*nods* very very very important and yes you have sucessfully done so and as a reader i am content and the later chapters are marvelous where more of the ohnos are revealed and sho's shock.....wonderfully expressed. the jun couple i see have made more of an appearance here and i am glad. i can't comment on jun or aiba, not at such an early stage. i wonder how renee caroline will be........? it will be great to hear more of aiba but that's just me being greedy, yes i am worth scolding for being such a demanding reader. i only become like this when i feel treasure.

2 sho bakaness

what can i say aside from it is sensational, hilarious, excellent and every bit worth my time? i loved this part(fire ants and the helping out at the greenhouse well the first couple of chapters) the most and it shows sho most vividly.

3. sho couple

well, they no doubt suit each other but for personal lliking i like the ninomiyas. nothing wrong there but i thought i should let you know. chiaki is indeed good balance for sho. i guess sincce they are that sensible, i don;t really find them that amusing. i learnt a lot from them though nad being in love with science and i do enjoy economics to a learning and not examination level, find their conversations quite well, close adn familiar.

4 the shameless ninomiyas' moments

*blushes* well, when i read to those parts my face showed utter shock. yes s h o c k shock, stunned at their behaviour and i'm thankful i'm not in sho or chiaki's shoes at that moment. beautifully executed with wit and playfulness and what tops it is that it's seen from the sensible sho's POV, making it worth double highlighting and underlining. i understand a proper lady with a fine education should not have indecent thoughts. however, you write with control and convey what is morally correct and acceptable adn i deem your stories so far suitable for even junior high schooler to read but no younger. this is only a personal opinion.

5. omake

LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

my sincere apologies for my lack of self control and manners. *ahem*
it is the best omake yet and i can't wait for the next. the characters coming in one by one and you, dear Lady Strange, in the story..... utterly fantastic. oh... i'm running out of adjectives..... it's just...just......just.... too good. sometimes i question you, do you want your readers to die from continous intense laughter syndrome or CILS? XD i was half dead after reading your omake and wasn't even able to reach the phone for an ambulance. ahhh~ my stomach and face muscles hurt so much! thank you , oh thank you so much! even though there is CILS, laughter can actually from scientific research, no laughter is proven to extend life and bring health. so thank you very much for this good deed you have done.

6. sho's drawing (a sad sakura)

splendid. i diagnose it as one of the triggers to CILS. i almost forgot. sorry.

i have read your messege you sent me and the reply you gave me in nino's story. i thank you for both of them and for bringing us so much pleasure, moral teaching and extra general knowledge with your wonderfully delivered, presented stories. it was, is and always will be my honour and good fortune to be your reader. i have learnt much from your stories and through your interactions. i hope my English and own self will also improve. again, i give you my sincere thanks.

i wish you good health and fortune.

fare thee well

yours truely
jl2020

p s i thought you might have added some musical elements like putting in different forms of writing eg inserting letters, lyrics, songs ect.
i like to picture sho and chiaki dancing in the greenhouse in vision of their little one with the playing of sho's hoshi ni narumade.....just my imagination, heee hee

will you be putting in take me faraway in ohno's story? it might be worth considering...no? and why do i feel uncomfortable at the mentioning of Seako? now, i smell that you are up to something........dramatic?

from your reply in nino's story, i do look forward to a extra part after all five members have their story. but really, would you mind if i ask you which stage is this series currently in? have you planned out all five members' stories? it's alright if you don't tell me. it's just...as your fan *blushes*, i wonder sometimes.....please? pretty please hint a little to us?
thank you so much for your time and attention to this matter.

final point (i've been adding something time to time to this post whenever i think i have something worth mentioning), i seriously think all your stories should be maded into dramas.

Dear jl2020,

I did have a disclaimer at the beginning of Wages of Sense that this ball of yarn, like the three coming after it will have some overlap with Wit & Sarcasm. In some cases, like Colours & Sounds or Ohno's story, I condensed it to three chapters and introduced a bit of tension when our dear Riida discovers Aiba has a bit of an infatuation with Alys whom the boy always calls 'mama'. The reasoning for that sobriquet would be apparent in Aiba's story which closes the series. In other cases, like From Cover to Cover, abbreviated as Cover to Cover when I refer to it in online chats with AraShe, the overlap spans events occuring in the three stories previous to it. For instance, we see Jun's behind the scenes machinations where he cajoles manager-san to see Alys when the scandal blows up, the rehash of the plan where Sho meets Sora, et cetera.

Aiba's story, Remedy for a Broken Heart deviates from the pattern as it starts in medias res from the blow up of the Ninomiyas' scandal as it was then that he discovered his unfortunate infatuation. However, he will have the second half of the story with Renee-Caroline. The repetitions exist because I want to delve into the mindsets of the band members as the stories are their narratives. Their responses and whatnot, I feel, highlight aspects of their character, which I feel is important.

I usually talk like Sho in real life with the same vocabulary, just so that you know; and the draft posted is the expurged version. The original draft was more high-flown in language. Ask AraShe - they will tell you horror stories about Shoko's verbal rambles.

Ohno's story does cover his thoughts; and I believe he is a thoughtful person who observes more than he lets on. And that shows in his narrative. Similarly, I believe Aiba to capable of thought and reflection. Jun, however gets longwinded with his compulsive habits, but I feel that it closely approximates to his character.

Speaking as someone who quit smoking, I can say that the temptation to pick up a cigarette is always there. It's a matter of how much self-control one has to hold back. While my self-control is tightly wound, I have observed when I dine out with friends who have supposedly quit smoking that the cigarettes come back again in moments of great stress. It is an unconscious thing and the person does not realise that himself/herself. I did say I write from observation, and that this observation is true 90% of the time.

Wit & Sarcasm isn't 'spicy'; it's the Ninomiyas who are. Sho and Chiaki are more sensible - they discuss everything and try to be rational about problems. I feel he needs that sort of female. They do exist, you know, the completely rational types. I have observed a few in my time.

Ah, the Ninomiyas antics backstage at his play run is very mild. But as we can tell from the hints in epilogue of Wit & Sarcasm and the chapter in Wages of Sense where Nino shows up late for the football match, they have been engaged in acts of physical intimacy, shall we say. It would be shocking for poor Sho to overhear their conversations and whatnot, and Chiaki is right about the Ninomiyas being unsuitable for public consumption. Jun and Sora have fights and quarrels as you will see in Cover to Cover, but are very civilised in their discussions, and Jun is a constant gentleman. You will have to pick up the little things in that story. Aiba's story... Well, Renee-Caroline isn't someone we will see just yet. There will be mentions of her explicitly by name in Colours & Sounds, and she was mentioned somewhere in text of Wages of Sense but not by name. The stories overlap, and events are rehashed from the members' viewpoints. We'll see exactly where Renee-Caroline is mentioned in Sho's story when we get to Aiba's plot.

Sho's idiocy is something close to my heart. In the 10 years I've been following the band, he has been my favourite, followed by Ohno. His poor drawing skills notwithstanding, I believe him to have mellowed in age and sense.

Oh, tosh! I have had an extensive education in various subjects and languages and I do have indecent thoughts. I just do not speak of them to the wrong ears. But the Ninomiyas do go overboard, as does Aiba at one point, but that was easily censored and given a more salubrious spin.

My omakes are the product of an idle mind, I am glad they amuse. The omake for Ohno's story is indeed 'Take me faraway', but it isn't something you would expect. I cannot say anymore.

The Saeko subplot is for a sequel or so I hope. I do not mention the things I do in my plots without good reason. My plots are just that - plots. All five stories are completely planned. A typescript of Ohno's is complete but unedited. Jun's exists in a complete and finalised handwritten draft; and Aiba's needs some finetuning after a reread of the second handwritten draft. The sequel is in the planning stages, nothing more, and I do not know if I will write it.

AraShe tells me my writings should be made into dramas; and if their reaction to the probable plot of the sequel is anything to go by, that too should be a drama... But these are just wild plots, unworthy of any such accolades.

Sincerely,
Lady Strange
aka
Arashe no Shoko.

Loved this just as much as Nino's the story was full of nostalgia and made my day. The way you wrote seems natural and fits Sho entirely. I am looking forward to the next instalment in this saga. Once again thanks for you hard work. Your work really makes a change from the usual undeveloped fanfic plots :

ananya2003 - If you but the new the planning behind these writings, you would think me quite mad. I do try to keep everything linked with various occurences within a timeline. I personally find it helps me to keep my plot manageable. Thank you for your continued interest in my writing.