1 / An Omelet

It was the early hours of the morning when she left; her friends had pretended to be asleep as they watched her fix her hair and makeup, as she put on her old performing clothes, the pale pink top and the skirt with frills, leaving her ribbon behind over the futon.

Sakura knew they were awake and yet, she didn't care. She just made sure to fix herself as best as possible, made sure to look human before nodding and leaving her friends behind.

The girls made no move to stop her. They couldn't.

Saki wonders if they should have expected it. Probably. Even the shady weirdo had expected it. Probably. But this was nothing like Lily's old man, nothing like Reiko and her daughter. This was different.

Someone had found them out.

Months earlier, Franchouchou had just celebrated the new year.

Another year of being dead. Hooray.

"GOOD MORNING!"

Kotaro Tatsumi marched into the old house's dungeon, smiling from ear to ear. The girls were already seated, wondering what was in store for them today. Saki had been dreading the day ahead, but only because it meant something stupid was in the horizon. So, it was certainly surprising when their manager, hands on his hips had yelled at them to, "Get out more!" as if it was something natural for them to go and do. Being zombies made that a tad bit difficult.

"Umm...what…?" That was Junko. Sweet, shy, a little dead, Junko. To be fair, all of them were a little dead too.

"I said you need to get out more, you stupid zombies!" Kotaro yelled, inching towards them with a glare, or it looked like one. It was always hard to tell with that man's sunglasses obscuring his eyes. "People are starting to talk!"

"What people?" Sakura asked, looking incredulous.

"All the people!" Kotaro yelled back as an answer.

The pink haired zombie just blinked. "...all the people of where?"

"OF EVERYWHERE! SERIOUSLY!? DO I LOOK LIKE A CRYSTAL BALL, YOU DUMB ZOMBIE!?"

Sakura just frowned, completely ignoring Kotaro, who had his face inches away from hers. Next to her, Ai rolled her eyes while Saki sighed, rubbing her temples as she felt a headache about to come in and ruin her day, if their manager didn't ruin it first.

"Seriously, man...make sense for once in your life," Saki said. "Unless you're making shit up, explain." Kotaro moved his face away from the still frowning Sakura to look at Saki.

"People talk," he began, making the other girls, minus Tae, sigh in exasperation, "People talk...and they say Franchouchou is nowhere to be found!" The leader of said group raised an eyebrow at that.

"Okay, so what of it?"

"People talk!"

"...fuck you."

"Wait...are you saying there's rumors about us? Is that what it is?" Sakura asked him, tilting her head while their manager nodded her way, grinning and clapping as little Romero let out a bark from somewhere nearby.

"Exactly! Exactly! See, Saki, see!? Sakura gets me!"

"Only because she's too nice to deck a dumbass like you," Saki countered, glaring. Kotaro shrugged before turning to stare at the group at large.

"Rumors have been floating around that Franchouchou are nowhere to be found."

"You already said that," Ai remarked, crossing her bandaged arms over her chest and frowning.

"I WAS GETTIN' TO THAT!" Kotaro yelled before coughing into his hand and starting again. "They say you're nowhere to be found...and now, people are saying that their manager keeps them locked up! Like...like...zombies! Can you actually believe such nasty rumors?"

The girls were silent for a while, before Sakura, in a moment of absolute genius, told him, "Well, they're not exactly wrong...you do keep us locked up. I mean, we are having this conversation in a dungeon of all places."

While the other sentient zombies tried not to laugh, Kotaro screamed a lecture straight at Sakura's face, who remained as calm as a log as their manager went on and on about "dumb zombie" this and that.

/…..

Saki hadn't really thought much of it when Sakura's memories had returned fully that night during the Arpino show; she was back, she was fine and that's all that mattered.

The changes hadn't been too noticeable, either. At first.

Sure, their friend was still practically the same person. She was the same sweet ol' Sakura Minamoto Saki remembered meeting all those months back. And yet, she felt off. Not in a bad way, though, but just off. As if having her old memories and her new memories in the same head had done something to her personality.

Ai had commented on it one night, while Sakura was busy helping Tae get ready for bed.

"She's got the added baggage of her old memories now," she had said, glancing as Sakura wrestled with Tae to get the older woman's shirt off so she could put on her pajamas. "And we all know how that went. She's bound to act differently now and again. We should expect it."

And they did. Sort of.

A couple of weeks after Arpino, when Kotaro was spewing some nonsense or the other, Sakura had, as always, asked him a question of where all this talk of nonsense was going and when Kotaro began yelling at her, instead of jumping or getting scared, Sakura asked him again, reorganizing her question to see if he was willing to answer it this time instead of yelling. Sure, she would still jump if Kotaro took her by surprise but that was becoming less and less of a problem as the days went by. She rarely took the man's bait as well, preferring to sit still as he called for anyone to volunteer.

One particular day, after a rather nasty shouting match that had occurred earlier between Kotaro, Saki and Ai, Sakura had just sat in her chair during the meeting, glaring at their manager throughout.

She just glared. No questions. No nothing. The next day, Kotaro had come in and apologized for his behavior for the past few days...by yelling some more. Of course, Sakura had just sighed and the glaring had stopped. Saki did remember that knowing smile that Yugiri had sent Sakura's way, but she didn't think much of it. She and the others certainly weren't complaining that Sakura managed to get Shades in line.

And while Sakura's assertiveness was something to behold, the extra baggage that came with her human memories was still there.

Saki had hoped that the Arpino success would get her out of her funk but she was wrong.

There would be times when Sakura was feeling down and they didn't know what to do.

It had started with asking for a small break during practice, she was tired and she just needed a minute. Sometimes she would ask to leave practice early, on account that she couldn't concentrate and would probably hold everyone else back. When this happened, either Lily or Saki decided that a break was in order, which was preferable to leaving their friend alone with her misery. They couldn't do that to Sakura.

On particular bad days, at least Saki thought they were bad, Sakura would head straight to bed after practice. It didn't matter if it was six o'clock at night and the others still had energy to spare, Sakura would just lay on her futon and be out like a light in seconds. They hadn't really thought too much about it the first time it happened, that is until they saw Tae's concerned expressions, or when they woke up the next day and Tae was still there, standing over Sakura's futon, biting her hand like she had done those days when Sakura had forgotten them. Before anyone could do anything, however, Sakura was up and she immediately worried over Tae, and apologized for sleeping in and forgetting about her.

The fact that Tae had been worried at all had been enough for the others to worry too.

And then, one day, after coming back from a small meet-and-greet with fans, Sakura had just gone straight to bed without removing her makeup or changing into her pajamas. It hadn't even been noon yet. That had been enough for everyone to worry tenfold, and even the normally calm Yugiri seemed upset.

The girls had decided right then and there to do something and quickly, formulated a plan.

Kotaro had began giving them spending money a few weeks ago; the plan was to make an excuse to go outside and just walk, buy some ice cream or go to the shops, do something, anything.

So, while Lily and Yugiri (plus a worried Tae) went over to wake Sakura from her slumber, the two former idols and the former teen rebel huddled up to the side.

"What the fuck…? She was fine a few hours ago…!" Saki whispered, glaring at no one in particular. Ai gave a worried glance at Sakura before shaking her head.

"It doesn't really work that way…" she explained, "It's...complicated." Sakura had never really explained fully how her bad luck had made her life a miserable mess, but Ai had gotten the picture of it.

Wasting your social life just so you could get to the high school of your dreams and then failing would bring anyone down. Wanting to be something and failing every single time would get to a person.

"You...you don't think she still feels...like she doesn't belong in our group because of her bad luck?" Junko asked shyly; behind them, Lily had managed to finally wake Sakura, and was now currently telling her about their plans to get some ice cream and browse the shops nearby.

"Possibly," Ai replied with a nod, glancing as Sakura offered a sleepy smile to Lily, nodding. Yugiri sent a nod their way, confirming that Sakura was coming with them.

"That's bullshit!" Saki remarked, shaking her head. "Sakura should know by now that we don't care about her rotten luck!"

"That's not really the problem, though...she thinks it is…" Ai said, watching from the corner of her eye as Lily and Yugiri fixed up Sakura's makeup and messy hair, all the while Tae bit on the pink haired zombie's head, much to Sakura's nervous confusion.

"For now, let's try to lift her spirits up...it's the best we can do without making her feel like a burden." Saki just shook her head, glaring to the side while Junko offered her a small nod.

/…..

The next day, while Sakura was busy napping, Saki had taken Junko, Ai and Yugiri aside while Lily and Tae kept Sakura company.

"Okay...any ideas to get this girl out of bed?" their leader began, looking first at Ai and then at Junko and Yugiri.

"Nothing really comes to mind…" Junko replied, shaking her head.

Saki passed a hand over her hair. "Goddammit...this was much easier when she was being a moody bitch..." Despite the crud way of putting it, the girls couldn't help but agree. Sure, their efforts and a good placed slap had been unwelcome at first, but Sakura nonetheless had become whole again.

"I mean, it's not like this is any better," Ai pointed out.

"Hmm…perhaps a different kind of physical approach is required?" Yugiri wondered, making Saki raise an eyebrow at the older woman.

"Physical approach? Like what?"

"Yugiri...please," Junko began only for Yugiri to laugh and shake her head.

"I did not mean that kind of approach, Lady Junko...do not worry. I was thinking of offering Lady Sakura a massage."

"A massage?"

Yugiri nodded. "Yes. We were taught not only to offer pleasure but comfort as well…" Ai and Junko blushed at the comment while Saki placed a hand on her chin, glancing at the sleeping Sakura nearby.

"So…you're thinking she needs to relax?" Yugiri nodded.

"Certainly. Sleeping may provide relief somewhat, but it's not what Sakura needs at the moment."

"There's also the possibility it might affect her coordination if she's always tired," Ai pointed out. "The last thing we need is her feeling guilty about ruining the performances…" The former Heisei idol turned to Yugiri. "I'm sure you can make up an excuse to offer Sakura a massage, Yugiri...so, let's see if it helps." Yugiri smiled before nodding and walking off to join Lily, Tae and the snoozing Sakura.

"You thinkin' Yugiri's plan might not work?" Saki asked after the courtesan had left.

Ai shook her head. "It might...just as much as it might not...we'll just have to wait and see."

/…..

As it turned out, Yugiri's suggestion had actually worked. Somewhat.

The courtesan had found an excuse to offer her services when she had noticed Sakura stretching, quickly coming up with the excuse that she seemed tense. Their friend had been a little against it at first but after some gentle prodding from Yugiri had gladly accepted the massage with the courtesan quickly offering massages to the others as cover. The last thing they all wanted was Sakura to think they were all going out of their way for her and cause her depression to kick in the negative thoughts.

So it became a routine that Yugiri would offer a massage once every two days; she would start by asking Lily, then Junko or Ai, before ending with Sakura and Saki, everyone holding their breath when it was Sakura's turn. There were times when Sakura would gladly accept the massage, and others she would just shake her head.

But, it seemed that the massages were helping. Sakura didn't go straight to bed after practice, nor did she ask for an excuse to take a break during it.

Everyone had surely been relieved to see their friend with more energy, but Saki knew they weren't out of the woods yet.

/…..

It had been Tae that had woke everyone up; she sounded anxious, growling into the night as she moved her head from right to left trying to find something.

By the time someone had turned on the lights, they noticed exactly what was missing. Sakura. Her futon was in disarray, courtesy of Tae.

Immediately, Saki had jumped out of her futon and ran towards the attic only to come back empty-handed. Sakura wasn't there.

Tae let out a groan, sprinting on all fours towards the mansion's main entrance. The rest of Franchouchou followed as fast as they could. Before they could even reach their feral friend, they heard barking, a yelp, and things crashing as they hit the wooden floor.

When the girls finally found Tae, the feral zombie was over Sakura, the latter with makeup on, and bags scattered all over the floor, Romero barking with joy at seeing the other girls come to join them.

"Goddammit egghead...warn us next time, will ya?"

Sakura let out a nervous chuckle as she watched her hands on the sink. Currently, the girls, plus Romero, were in the mansion's kitchen. The bags that Sakura had with her neatly placed in the nearby counter.

"W-well...I did want to surprise you guys…"

"By disappearing in the middle of the night?"

"More like the early hours of the morning," Ai put in, giving Sakura a disapproving look. "You should have at least warned us...Tae was worried about you."

"Oh, Tae...I'm so sorry!" the pink haired zombie replied, turning to her friend, who hadn't let go of Sakura for the past few minutes. It was a little difficult to move around, however, but Sakura didn't have the heart to tell Tae to let go. "I...well, I didn't think she'll get so worried...I was just gone for a few hours…"

"Where did ya go, anyway?" Saki asked her, frowning. "Shades is gonna give you hell for leaving like that."

"He knows that I left, actually," Sakura explained as she began to grab a few things from the bags; eggs, fish, dried squid, a few packs of noodles and some fruit. "I went to a nearby mart...and well...I wanted to make you guys some breakfast."

"Umm...what?"

Sakura turned to her friends and smiled. "To thank you...for being so patient with me…"

Ah. Sakura had figured them out after all. So much for secrecy.

"I mean…" Ai began only for Sakura to shake her head.

"Hey, it's fine. I get it...I do miss cooking, though, so this is fine!"

A few hours later, Saki and the others were greeted with the best breakfast they had had in awhile; miso soup, white rice, some grilled squid with tamagoyaki on the side. Sakura had been so happy they had enjoyed it and told them she'll probably be cooking some more in the future.

And that's exactly what she did.

The coming days, Sakura would go out of her way to prepare meals for her bandmates (plus Kotaro). Breakfast would always be a treat, with lunch and dinner following after. Sakura would even go out of her way to make snacks for them, too, like onigiri, dango and one time she made a cake! Lily had been beyond herself with that last one.

And it seemed that cooking was truly helping Sakura take her mind off of the negatives.

Still, Saki and the others would be there for Sakura if she needed them (and help her stop Tae from eating all the food before she got to serve it).