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It felt like these days Akito was in a constant state of exasperation. Part of him regretted ever saying yes to Tsukasa (a generally terrible idea), even if it was REALLY his younger sister asking. It didn’t really matter WHO was asking, it mattered why the hell he’d said yes at all. Joining a band… and for what?
They’d annoyed him into it really. Tsukasa mostly, but his sister… well Akito could see the family resemblance. She was SIGNIFICANTLY more bearable than Tsukasa, but she had that same in your face energy. That day was still fresh in his mind.
Seeing Tsukasa with two girls in tow approaching him on the streets was… ominous. They’d waited patiently in the hodgepodge of an audience that had gathered around him as he sang, waiting for him to finish his set.
“Akito! One of my dearest friends!” that was news to him… “I know you’re quite the singer, so… if possible, would you like to join our band?”
“No.” he began packing up his equipment. Well it wasn’t… his equipment, it belonged to Ken Shiraishi, but the man usually let him borrow it. His goal was simple… surpass Rad Weekend. A goal that was starting to seem further and further out of reach. He’s performed at live shows, he’s seen what he’s up against. Ken’s daughter alone was miles ahead of him, with more connections and training and… everything.
Maybe to Tsukasa he was ‘quite the singer’, but that wouldn’t take him where he needed to go.
“W-wait!” his sister stepped forward, “We’re super serious about this, I promise! We just need a lead vocalist. Onii-chan can help teach you guitar as well!”
“Show me then… show me you’re serious.”
He regretted those words immediately. Tsukasa and his sister turned to one another with a grin. Oh god, had they been hoping for that sort of response?
“Well then, if you insist!” Tsukasa posed for flourish… oh god no, “Are you free tomorrow after school? We can put on a performance you’ll absolutely adore, I guarantee it.”
As tempting as it was to say no, he was starting to believe the guy. Tsukasa Tenma was a lot of things, but half-hearted was not one of them. He put way way too much effort into… everything. If they were actually serious, he should at least hear them out, even if his answer didn’t change.
“Fine, after school tomorrow, put on a little show for me. I’ve seen enough bands performing in live houses, I’ll know if you’re half-assing it.”
“WE WON’T LET YOU DOWN!” his sister exclaimed with a smile. The two Tenmas ran off, hopefully to prepare for tomorrow.
But there was still that last girl with him… Akito didn’t know who it was. Probably not someone who went to Kamiyama, he didn’t recognize her at all.
“Um… I know they can be a lot sometimes, but they really do mean it you know. So… thank you for being willing to hear them out. We’ll do our best to show you what we’re all about.” she gave a small bow, then ran after her bandmates.
As promised, Tsukasa dragged him out of class as soon as the day was up. They’d booked out a small studio for their practice session, and today’s would have Akito as a special visitor.
Settling into the studio, Akito took a seat in the one man audience as they set up their instruments.
“Ahem… we are POLARIS!!! Compasses love us, and you will too!”
“Never say that line again or I’m out.”
Tsukasa looked genuinely taken aback, rushing to cross something out on a little notebook before slipping it back in his pocket.
“Ahem… as I said, we’re Polaris! That’s because I’m the number one star!”
“Plus Hona-chan’s into astronomy!” Saki chimed in.
“W-We’ll knock your socks off!” Honami announced with as much conviction as uh… something without much conviction. What would that even be? Akito snapped back into focus as Honami began tapping her drumsticks together to count them in.
They played three songs, each worse than the last. Tsukasa knew how to play, but he did NOT know how to play in time with the others. Saki was better at that, but she clearly didn’t have the same level of practice as the other two. And Honami? She… was fine. She was, in Akito’s eyes, the best of the bunch. Not incredible, but good. Her playing was solid.
But he wasn’t here to analyze the QUALITY of their playing, he was here to see the passion. The devotion. When they said they were serious, did they mean it? That spark that could elevate them towards something great… yeah, they had that. He’d been fearing it all day, but if anyone was going to have that spark, it was Tsukasa.
“So, what did you think?” Saki asked with an expectant look in her eyes.
“You guys suck…” the room fell quiet, Honami looked on the verge of tears, “but… I’m in.”
“WH? But you just said-” Saki slapped a hand over her mouth to stop herself from continuing. He’d said yes, that’s all that really mattered.
“You guys said you were serious… I believe you. But you need to take practice seriously too, as will I. Didn’t know Tsukasa played guitar, but I’m willing to learn from him.”
“You know, Akito, guitarists make some of the best stars in the whole world! How could I not learn such a vital skill in the performing arts???”
He was already regretting his decision…
Tsukasa was the last one to show up for their first practice. Well… the first practice with Akito that is. He honestly wasn’t sure how considering they were coming from the same place, but maybe he’d gotten distracted. At least the other Tenma was on time, though he had a feeling that was Honami’s doing. She gave off a responsible vibe, unlike the other two.
Eventually Tsukasa burst in, guitar in hand. Both hands… “Sorry! I had to run home and grab my extra… guitar…” he noticed Akito’s own guitar.
It was one he’d gotten a bit over a year ago, when he was considering incorporating it into his performances. A hand me down from a guitarist he’d met at a live house, one of the rare people in the scene who gave him the time of day. The man had taught him the basics, and he’d been improving but… for whatever reason he just stopped. Akito had spent the previous night refamiliarizing himself with the instrument.
“Where did you get that!” Tsukasa pointed at the guitar.
“Found it in a dumpster… I know the gist of playing, so if you’re gonna teach me anything then teach me one of the songs you played yesterday.”
Tsukasa was… a frustratingly good teacher. Every time Akito would wonder if he was being too hard on the guy, he’d make some stupid pose, or scream FAR too loudly… but whatever. There were far worse people to be around.
Saki behind him seemed to be working on the same song. Today felt more like two solo sessions than a group practice, but hey that’s probably what was needed. At least for now.
“Alright, our studio time is just about up!” Saki announced, beginning to pack up her equipment. But… that wasn’t right, was it? According to the calendar invite he’d been sent, they had another hour and a half together.
“Oi, Tsukasa-senpai, you booked the event for the wrong time…”
He smirked, “Or did I… perhaps that extra time was booked for a reason?”
“Yeah yeah! We’re gonna get dinner together now, get to know you some more Akito-kun! That’s what he booked it out for!”
That little… “You tricked me… I’m out, eating dinner at home…”
The Tenmas rushed in front of him, sputtering out some cacophony of pleases and apologies. Saki’s mention of Tsukasa calling him a tsundere felt… uncalled for (but probably accurate). Saki and her stupid stupid doe eyes… were making him feel like a bad person.
He glanced back at the drummer, who gave him a bit of a pained smile. An apologetic smile that said ‘I had nothing to do with this but can you please go anyways’. Seriously? Did she really think he’d go with these two to some diner or whatever after they INTENTIONALLY misled him?
The four bandmates sat around a table at a nearby family restaurant, orders having just been placed. At this point Akito was done questioning why he was going along with these people (specifically the Tenmas, Honami felt as much along for the ride as he was).
“So, Akito-kun!” Saki pointed at him, a dramatic pose reminiscent of her brother, “Tell us about yourself! Onii-chan may know you, but we haven’t gotten the chance yet!”
“Not much to say. Got into music because of this legendary event called Rad Weekend, nobody has ever surpassed it. I intend to… someday.”
“WOAH!!! THAT’S SO COOL!!!” Saki nearly leapt across the table at him, “Have you been singing like that for a while? It’s pretty cool to perform just out on the street like that!”
“Yeah uh… I started taking it seriously during my first year of middle school.”
“Aww cool! Middle school sucked for me, I was stuck in the hospital the whole time… but still! I was able to practice with my synth sometimes, not enough but, it helped keep me going, you know?”
He did remember hearing something about an extended hospital stay from Tsukasa, it was the only reason he’d know about Saki to begin with. At the very least she APPEARED to be doing well for herself. On the surface she did, but he didn’t know the details and didn’t feel the need to pry. Instead, he turned his gaze to Honami.
“Ah um… well I just practiced the drums at home over the years.” She didn’t seem to want to provide… any other details.
“Ok but… what made you want to start a band? If you’ve been practicing over the years it must be something you planned for a while, yeah?”
“We used to have a friend who was super into bands and stuff, got me and Hona-chan all inspired!” her smile turned a bit more forced, “She uh… doesn’t really talk to us now, but we still have the passion from when we were younger! It’s been my dream for years to have a proper band, and I’m absolutely not letting anything stand in our way!”
“That’s a good attitude.” Akito gave her a nod, and began digging into the pancakes he’d ordered (one of the reasons they’d managed to convince him to come).
After they paid their bills, the Tenmas bid Akito farewell and ran off together, giddy as hell, chanting the name of the band as they ran. That just left him with Honami, a girl he still didn’t have a great read on.
“Um… Shinonome-kun?” She tapped him on the shoulder. “Thank you again. I know those two can be… a lot.”
“You can say that again.” her smile faltered… shit, “Ah, but I’m not really complaining. Tsukasa-senpai’s a lot to handle, but that friend of yours seems nice. I just don’t do well with… balls of energy like that.”
“I didn’t either when I was younger, but I met Saki and… well she grew on me, that’s just how Saki works. This band… well it’s my dream too, but it means absolutely everything to her, so thank you for giving her a chance.”
“Yeah yeah whatever…” he refused to accept any positive motivation to be a part of this. Better to be along for the ride, otherwise it’d start feeling harder to criticize the girl if she needed to improve. And she did.
“So…” Akito put on his best ‘changing the subject’ voice, “What’s the deal with that other friend you two mentioned?”
“She… well it was her and another girl, the three of us drifted apart during middle school, we didn’t visit Saki as much after that. I got lucky enough to be put in Saki’s class when she was able to attend high school again, so we’ve made amends… of sorts.”
‘Of sorts’ didn’t seem accurate from Akito’s perspective, that girl seemed to adore Honami. The two felt a bit inseparable. “Well, she seems happy. Keep uh… doing that.”
This response seemed to confuse the girl more, honestly Akito wasn’t even sure what he was trying to say. Rather than formulating his thoughts more coherently, he gave her a wave and headed home.
“Akito you’re late, what the hell happened to you?” Ena was waiting for him in the kitchen for some reason. Looking closer… alright she wasn’t waiting, just eating a snack.
“My new bandmates tricked me into eating dinner with them.”
“How? Also… bandmates? Since when you were in a band?”
He scoffed, “Since a few days ago, why do you care? Just because you’re a recluse doesn’t mean I have to be.”
“I AM NOT-” she began to stand, but stopped herself with a deep breath to calm down, “Whatever. I actually HAVE gone out, I’m in a group myself now.”
“Oh… are you now?”
“Yup, I’m in an idol group with Airi now.”
“What.”
The next week went by in a bit of a blur. Beyond confirming that yes, his sister REALLY HAD been invited to some bizarre indie idol group by her friend from middle school (her only friend really), the week wasn’t very noteworthy. Practice sessions with the band were held at the Tenma residence, and continued to focus on the members working together to improve their individual skills. Playing as a team would be… a different story.
The Tenma’s were still tiring, but having at least one other normal person with him made it more bearable. At the very least it was a nice reality check, that he wasn’t just IMAGINING their never ending well of energy and LOUD.
Every day would end about the same. Akito and Honami would leave around the same time, and walk together part of the way until they inevitably diverged paths. Unfortunately, he got the impression she wasn’t super… comfortable with him. Flashes of Ena describing his face as ‘scary’ kept running through his mind, and… he wouldn’t say this to his sister’s face, but he was starting to think she may have been right.
This time he had to say something to change that, just… simple conversation. About what though? He wasn’t sure what she liked, how she acted outside of the band… basically anything about her. Maybe he should start with something he did know.
“Hey, out of curiosity, what’s Saki like at school?”
Honami giggled to herself a bit, “Mostly the same. Other girls in our class don’t seem to get why she loves school so much, but she’d missed out on so much she’s happy to find a sort of… normalcy. Honestly, she’s calmer outside of Miya.”
Calmer? An even more excited Saki scared him… “Well, glad you’re there in her class then. Probably more fun to get that school experience with a friend.”
“Yes she… does say that.” The girl didn’t seem too happy about that. “I’m not sure it really needed to be me though.”
Her eyes widened a bit, and she turned to apologize, “S-sorry… I don’t know what I’m saying, just forget that.”
Akito raised an eyebrow at her, “I… don’t really get you, but it sounds like you’re putting yourself down for no reason. Doesn’t matter who it had to be, it matters who it was, that was you. You’re the one here helping her do this whole band thing, that’s what matters.”
She didn’t respond… “Hey uh… Honami, you seem like the kind of person who worries about all the tiny little details. Like… the kind of person the phrase ‘don’t sweat the small stuff’ was made for.”
She looked away from him, “G-Guilty…”
“This is kind of stupid advice but… don’t. You’re fine.” he gave the girl a wave and left before she had a chance to respond. An overthinker… that felt like who she was.
Their Saturday practice would be without Tsukasa, apparently he had some part time job doing temp work? Whatever the reason, he’d be absent, meaning it would mostly be Akito working on his own… he may as well have stayed home.
Still, the Tenmas had (unfortunately) had a point during that first practice, he should be trying to form a closer connection to his bandmates. Out of sync teammates meant an out of sync performance.
Saki let him in, but pretty quickly skipped back to Honami’s side. “Seriously Hona-chan, try to ignore them…”
“Ignore who?” Akito butted in.
Saki just sighed, “Some girls were giving Hona-chan weird looks, they’re being mean for no reason.”
“It’s ok Saki-chan, you don’t need to worry about it.” the girl attempted to pacify her friend, but it clearly had the opposite effect.
“Of course I’ll worry, you’re my best friend. Do you want me to talk some sense into them?”
“That sounds like a terrible idea.” Akito chimed in, “That’ll just make it worse. She’s gotta handle it herself.”
Honami did not like that suggestion, “I r-really don’t think I need to… handle anything. It’s fine, there’s no issue.”
The words of someone who was definitely facing an issue. “Don’t be stupid. Just tell them to fuck off strong enough and they will.”
Honami shrieked, “I CAN’T SAY THAT?!?!?”
“I’d love hearing Honami say fu-” Honami slapped her hand over Saki’s mouth. “YOU CAN’T EITHER!!!”
Akito considered saying it again to… well fuck with her, but she looked like she’d suffered enough. “Fine, drop the swear, but the point stands. You just gotta tell them off with enough conviction.”
Saki pried Honami’s hand off her face, “Hona-chan doesn’t have any of that though.”
“What, conviction?”
The girls nodded in sync. “Well… let’s fix that.” He set his guitar to the side, “Saki, go practice on your own. I’ll work with… this one.”
“Yeah! Teach her how to throw a punch!” Saki punched the air in front of her a few times, once again to Honami’s dismay.
“I… will not be doing that.”
“I’ll teach you just in case.”
“NO!???!?”
Saki laughed at her friend… and maybe Akito as well, then ran off to the corner to practice on her own. Honami had her own practice to go through.
“Alright fine, we’ll start with being more assertive. You see my face?” He gestured to his head, and Honami nodded to confirm she did in fact see his face, “It’s kinda scary looking, right?”
“N-No, not at all.” she blatantly lied.
“Honami, step one is to stop… that. Don’t spare my feelings, say what you actually think. Does my face look a bit scary?”
“Maybe… a bit.”
“IT SUPER DOES, BUT YOU’RE ALL NICE UNDERNEATH AREN’T YOU!!!” Saki yelled from the corner. Akito proceeded, ignoring her.
“Part of asserting yourself is appearance. Nothing you can do about how you look overall, but you can position yourself to be more intimidating. Try imitating my face a bit.”
Honami closed her eyes, and puffed out her cheeks. Akito wasn’t sure what the hell this expression was, but intimidating it was not…
“Alright that’s… not correct. Lose the cheeks, they look silly.”
“Eh?” She looked genuinely confused, “I thought you were supposed to make yourself look bigger to intimidate people?”
“Not like that. Just… keep your eyes open. Try for more of a glare.”
She did as she was told, but rather than scary she looked more like a mother upset that her child had taken an extra cookie from the jar.
This would take some work… “I uh… changed my mind. Let Saki…” he glanced over to the least intimidating blonde girl he’d ever seen in his life, “No no… she’s no good either. Bring me to scare them off. Say I’m your older brother.”
“Aren’t you the same year as me?”
“Yeah but I could’ve been born earlier! When were you born?”
“November…”
Saki shook her head, “Nope, Hona-chan’s older. Be respectful of your big sister.”
“I don’t do that to my actual sister, let alone my pretend sister.”
“Well you should,” Honami scolded, “You should treat your siblings kindly, otherwise they’ll get sad.”
“Whatever… still if you don’t want me coming, you have to work on a stern look that isn’t giving off a disappointed mother vibe.”
For once, she actually looked angry, but the puffed up cheeks ruined the image. Maybe he could just…
Akito reached out and pushed the girls cheeks in, popping them like balloons. “Freeze, don’t move your face.”
He beckoned Saki over to have a look, “Oh wow Hona-chan… that’s exactly it! Akito-kun, you're a good teacher.”
“Next time they’re giving you shit, respond with that face, ok?”
Another week was coming to a close, and according to their group chat, the plan was to finally put all their individual parts together and actually play a full song as a group. The Tenmas were already home, anxiously awaiting their bandmates. Unfortunately they’d have to wait a little longer.
Akito spotted her from across the street, sitting on some park bench alone. That didn’t… seem right. She should be heading to practice, something must have happened. Akito crossed the street to take a seat beside her.
She was crying. When he stepped to the front of the bench, she hid her face. Poorly…
“Hey.. uh…” he wasn’t the best at comforting crying people. Maybe his sister, just a little hug and not being an ass to her helped calm her down. Maybe that could work.
As carefully as he could, Akito pulled the girl into a gentle hug. She squeaked a bit as he did, more from surprise than fear, but ultimately let him pull her in.
“I dunno if you wanna talk but… there’s no rush to get going. I’m here to listen if you need.”
She giggled through the tears, “You’re a bit like my little brother really. He used to say the same sort of thing to me when I…”
She didn’t seem to want to continue that thought, and Akito didn’t feel the need to push her.
“It’s… nothing too severe. Just some mean notes, I can ignore them.”
So that paper sticking out of her bag was probably… “Show them to me, then we can throw them out like the garbage they are.”
Honami sighed and pulled out a wad of notes, more than just ‘some’. Akito counted at least 15, though judging by the handwriting it was probably only two or three people making them. Looking at them made him mad.
He balled them all up and placed them in a nearby trash can, “Never mind, I’m teaching you how to beat them up. No buts, that’ll make them leave you alone.”
Honami didn’t respond. He stayed with her for a few more minutes before leading them both to practice, though only after promising not to tell Saki about what had happened. In exchange, she’d let him teach her how to throw a punch (though she swore she’d never use the training).
For the first time in a long time, Akito sang… but he sang with others. Tsukasa and Saki may not be lead vocals, but they were good, and it felt nice to have backing. The beat of the drum felt more personal, it wasn’t just coming from a speaker, it wasn’t prerecorded, it was live and in the moment. As a group they sounded… competent. Maybe even good.
It had been a few weeks since he’d shown up here, the longer it went the more awkward it became to return. Still, eventually he wanted to go back, and now he felt like… there was something to be proud of.
“Well well well, been a while since I’ve seen you around here!” It appeared that An Shiraishi was working today, evidently a bad time to show up. He spun around to leave. “WAIT WAIT NO STAY!!!”
Akito took a begrudging seat as An took his usual order. “So guess what Akito, I found a partner. Two partners actually!”
“Nice, are they any good?”
She put on a smug grin, “Of course! You know Haruka Kiritani? Well she’s my bestie from childhood, and now that she’s out of the idol biz she’s joined me and a classmate of mine, Mizuki. We’re calling ourselves the Vivid Angels! Plus we got a guy uhhh…”
An looked a bit concerned, “Ok so… you know that Kamishiro guy?”
“An no, don’t get involved with him.”
She winked, “Too late! He’s insane but damn… he knows how to put on a show. He’s our uh… special effects guy, and DJ. Performing under his watch makes everything better, I swear I didn’t want to believe it either. Anyways, what have you been up to? Dad says you haven’t been in for a while?”
“Yeah I uhh… joined a band…”
An didn’t bother holding back her laughter, “AKITO SHINONOME??? In a BAND?!?!? That doesn’t fit your image at all, wow. But damn, nice! Who’re you with?”
“You know that loud Tenma guy from school?” her face dropped. She was unfortunately very familiar with him, “Well him and his younger sister asked me to join their band, plus a friend of his sister. I’m their lead vocalist.”
“Well damn, invite me to whenever you first perform! I’m sure you’ll do great, and Tenma-senpai… well a loud stage seems like the right place for him anyways.”
She began running off to take another table’s order, but he grabbed her wrist to stop her. “Hey uh… I have a question for you, I need some advice.”
“Shoot!”
“The drummer we have… she’s getting shit at school, I’m really not sure why, but I don’t know the best way to help out.”
“Beat them up!”
He chuckled, “Yeah I offered, but she goes to Miya so… that’s harder.”
An thought for a moment, desperately trying to smash together the zero brain cells she possessed to give any good advice. “Well you could… just sorta be there for her? That’s what I did with Mizuki, and now look at us!”
“That’s… what I’m doing, but thanks.”
He let her go continue her job at another table.
A month of practice passed. They were good now… not amazing, but more than good enough to get them out on an actual stage.
Honami’s situation didn’t seem to have improved, but without any large incidents he didn’t have much to act on, just teaching her how to throw a left hook (information he didn’t think she was absorbing).
Next came the tricky part for their band, actually performing. At a real venue.
“Alright, I know enough people in the scene that seem interested in having us. One in particular more than the others, he’s offering to let us play at a pretty reasonable quota.”
He was met with three confused faces of people who did not know what a quota was. “Basically uh… we have to sell 20 tickets ahead of time, to make it worth the venue’s time to show us. Any we don’t sell we pay out of pocket. That means 5 tickets each.”
“Easy!” announced Tsukasa, “My endless charisma will handle this task without a hitch!”
A stupid part of Akito believed him. Akito knew exactly who he’d go to. An, plus her two partners, Kamishiro… and hopefully Ken as well. That was five.
“How about you two, know anyone interested?”
“I’ll figure it out! Hona-chan too, I believe in her!”
He’d check in on them in a few days, just in case there were issues, but he was confident in them. Confident enough at least…
More concerning was Saki. She’d been sitting for a while, but he’d seen her stumbling a bit as she led them into the Tenma living room, and her face looked too red.
As he went to leave, he took Tsukasa to the side just to… share his concerns. “Yes I’ve noticed the same… I’ll make her rest as soon as you and Honami leave, she clearly needs it.”
“Just making sure… see you tomorrow I guess.”
According to the group chat the next morning, Akito’s perception had been correct, Saki had pushed herself a bit too hard recently. Nothing she couldn’t rest off, but it meant she’d be staying home from school.
As much as that was concerning for her, Akito’s mind couldn’t help but wander to Honami. She’d be in class alone today, easy pickings… but it wasn’t as though he could join her at Miya. He’d just have to hope she’d be good for the day.
School was becoming harder and harder to attend for Honami Mochizuki. Going along with the class had gained her a comfortable middle school life, but she’d always known it was fragile, and throwing away her closest friends had been too large a sacrifice. When Saki had been placed in her class… there was no way she could stay apart from that girl.
She didn’t understand why people acted like this to her, maybe she was easy prey? She’d at least had company before. Not now, not today.
There were a few girls in particular that seemed to despise her, maybe about 5? Maybe less and she was just being paranoid. They didn’t talk to her anymore, her former ‘friends’. They didn’t usually…
“Hey Honami, what happened to that other girl?”
“She’s… at home. Had a fever.”
“I see…” the girl leaned against Saki’s empty desk to talk to Honami more, “Why do you even hang out with her, she’s weird.”
“I don’t think she’s weird…”
“She keeps talking about fashion mags from the 80s like that’s normal or something… and she acts like she’s never met a person before in her life.”
“S-She just read about that stuff in the hospital. She’s trying to enjoy school because she was there for a while.”
“Yeah… it shows.”
Honami stood up… today she’d have to put into practice what she learned. Her intimidating face… she turned to face the girl with the best one she could muster. “What do you mean by that?”
The girl smiled, “It just shows cause she clearly doesn’t know how to talk to people, or act like a normal person. Seriously… why did you get all buddy buddy with that weirdo?”
Akito’s quick text at the end of the day… maybe it was too premature. He’d just asked if anyone had made any headway on selling tickets. Tsukasa apparently got all of his sold on the first day… impressive. Honami’s answer was more concerning.
H: No, I got suspended for a week.
H: I’m sorry
A: Excuse me???
He didn’t get any further responses. What the hell did that even mean?
A few minutes later he got a text from Saki with an address.
S: Akito-kun, can you go check on her, I’m worried and Onii-chan won’t let me leave bed. Plus she trusts you a lot, so she’ll prob let you in.
She didn’t need to ask him twice. He barely remembers walking to the Mochizuki residence, but… here he was. Akito gave the door a tentative knock, and some middle school boy opened the door. Her brother maybe?
“Who are you.”
“I’m uhh… one of Honami’s bandmates, I’m here to visit her.”
His vision narrowed. See, now THAT was a glare. She should take notes from this guy, “Onee-chan’s sad right now, I don’t think she wants to see you.”
“Yeah well, I’m here to make her not sad. I’ve done it before.”
“Fine…” the boy let him in, “But I swear you’re on thin ice.”
“Gotcha…” he ran off into the house.
As expected, she was shut away in her room. She also did not know he was here… had to be careful about this.
He knocked on the door, “Uh… hey, it’s me.”
“Why…”
“Can I come in?”
He heard a faint ‘yeah’, and entered. The room was dark, the only light coming from a device in the center of the room. A little ball projecting images of the stars across the walls and ceilings.
He saw her equipment in a bit of a mess in the corner, but what really caught his eye was a frame on her desk. A photo within it depicted what appeared to be a much younger Honami and Saki, along with two other girls he didn’t recognize.
Honami sat in a huddle on her bed, a huddle Akito soon found himself sitting next to. It was hard to see in the dark, but her face looked…
“Did someone fucking hit you? That’s a black eye, isn’t it.”
She nodded a bit, “But I… I hit them first so...”
“Did they deserve it?”
Once again, the girl weakly nodded, but she didn’t look too happy about it.
“I’m proud of you…” Akito was screaming with excitement on the inside, but something told him externalizing that enthusiasm might not help.
“I don’t… want to be the girl who hits people. But they were being mean to Saki-chan, and I can’t help but… think she deserved it.”
“So it wasn’t even defending yourself, it was for her? Big heart you got there.”
She chuckled, “I could say the same about you.”
Akito stretched and laid back, admiring the stars. He didn’t need to say much more, he wasn’t planning to say much of anything on the way over. This girl just… needed to be not alone.”
Fifteen minutes later, there was another knock at the door. A voice he didn’t recognize spoke through, “Um… Honami? Are you in there? Me and Shiho are um… we wanted to check on you.”
She shot to her feet in an instant and opened the door. Two girls stepped in… the two from the photo on her desk, but grown up.
“Why are you two…”
The gray haired girl stepped in, the Shiho the other had mentioned, “We heard you got into a fight at school, we got worried.”
“Honami y-your eye!!!” The other girl rushed to her side to inspect her as Shiho flicked on the lights.
“I’ll be fine Ichika-chan, I swear there’s no issue.”
Once Ichika called down a bit, the two new visitors finally noticed Akito on the bed.
“Who the hell is that? Your…” she didn’t say the word boyfriend, but her intentions were clear.
“I’m in her band, she’s like… my sister.”
“I’m not really your sister…”
“She’s like my daughter then.”
“I’m older than you by half a month…”
“B-band?” Ichika asked, “I didn’t know you were in a band.”
“Y-yes. With Saki-chan and Tsukasa-san. This is Shinonome-kun, our lead vocalist.”
Shiho picked up something from her desk, “So… are these tickets you’re trying to sell?”
“Y-yes… but that might be harder now that I’ve been suspended for a week.”
“If only you had some friends visiting right now who might be interested in seeing Honami and Saki perform.” he gave the two girls a bit of a glare. He was not above mild intimidation, even if it only seemed to be working on Ichika.
“Sure, sounds… good to me.” Shiho pocketed the ticket and pulled out a wallet.
“Um… I’d like to, but I don’t have my wallet on me.”
“I’ll spot you.” Shiho handed her another ticket from Honami’s desk, and placed some cash in its place.
From an outside perspective, Akito could feel the tension between these three. They seemed to know each other well… but they probably hadn’t talked in a while. Now seemed like a good time for them to catch up.
“Alright, I’ll leave her in your hands, put some ice on her face to help keep the swelling down. You three have fun.”
He walked out of the room to let the three girls discuss what they needed to discuss. Honami called out to him from her bed, “See you at practice tomorrow, Shinonome-kun!”
Saki managed to sell all her tickets with ease once she’d recovered from her fever, which had apparently been mild. Honami managed to get her mother to buy one ticket, and Tsukasa took on selling the last two at Kamiyama (successfully).
“They really came to visit you??? That’s amazing!!!” Honami was filling Saki in on the status of their (ex) friends.
Apparently Shiho had joined a theatre troupe at an amusement park, while Ichika had been tuning vocaloids for an online music group… whatever that meant. Regardless, the knowledge that they were coming to the performance reinvigorated the two girls, though Akito himself felt a bit of a fire too. He wanted to put on a show for them.
Though it had been a while since he’d done… a proper performance. His free time was spent practicing, either at the Tenma house or his own room. There’d be a lot of people watching, particularly people that MATTERED to him and his bandmates. Apparently Tsukasa had sold one of his tickets to Ena, so there was some extra pressure there. She wouldn’t make fun of him for a bad performance, but he still wanted to show her he knew what he was doing.
It didn’t feel like long before it was the day of the performance. They were hyping themselves up last minute, preparing however they could in their last minutes before their time on stage would begin. That mostly meant the Tenma siblings cheering to one another, assuring themselves everything would go well.
Honami didn’t look like she needed it though. From the beginning, he’d always seen her as the most prepared. The most determined, if not for herself, then for those around her.
Today would be a good show.
The atmosphere of the live house was familiar. Most of the crowd weren’t super hyped for them, a band they’d never heard of. Polaris wouldn’t knock their socks off tonight, that wasn’t the goal. Their aim was to have a good time, and get the audience to have a good time right along with them.
Familiar faces dotted the audience. Shiho stood with three girls around her age, her theatre troupe maybe? Ichika stood with three others around her age, including two he recognized from Kamiyama.
An was there, Ena was there… and a lot of strangers looking to get into some good music. Polaris started to play, the beat of the drum supporting them all the way through their performance. The beat of the drum thumping through the hearts of the audience, maybe through Akito’s as well. A thump giving him life to flow out through his voice. A supporting beat he felt like he could depend on, and one he hoped would depend on him more as well.