Kisa Koiso entered her apartment silently, after a long day of band practice. She took her shoes off and put her bag down in the corner with a sigh. Then she smiled and headed to her computer, turning it on and logging in. Almost instantly she got a message from Kazuma.

'Hey, Kenji. Finally home are ya?'

Kisa smiled. 'Kenji' was what most of her old friends call her, after her brother who'd died ten years ago. Originally, the nick name had been 'Kenji's Shadow' as the twins had done everything together, with Kenji in the lead. After the accident everyone had simply started calling her 'Kenji'.

'Hey, Kazuma. Yeah I'm home. How have you and the family been?'

'Maybe you should come down and see for yourself.'

Kisa sighed. 'You know I can't, Kazuma. I can't face them.'

Five summers ago Kisa and her friend Sakuma had been asked for help by Natsuki, a girl in her physics club. Thinking of Natsuki as a friend, she'd gladly offered her help. There was just one problem, Natsuki had made the mistake that many teens from their high school had made back then, and had mistaken Kisa's nickname for her real name, thus thought that she was actually a 'HE'. Natsuki had told her family that, 'Kenji' was her fiancé. Kisa had tried to tell Natsuki that it was a bad idea, but Natsuki had made the puppy eyes at her and she folded like a house of cards. After that there was the whole Love Machine problem and at the end, when everything was okay again, she just really wanted to get out of there. But Natsuki's family had wanted to tease them some and had said about them dating for real. By this point Kisa had had enough.

"I'm a GIRL, you idiots!" she'd shouted at them.

After that she left real quick. She didn't expect to hear from any of them again, but the day after she got home she got an email from Kazuma, and they'd been exchanging emails and texts ever since. Kisa was still feeling guilty and embarrassed that she'd lost her temper like that at everyone.

She was snapped out of her thoughts as Kazuma sent her another message.

'It's been five years. You can't hind forever.'

'I know. But I can't face them. Not yet. But hey I'm going to be in Ueda next summer for a concert.'

'Seriously? That's great, Kenji. I proud of you.'

Kisa swallowed hard. She was glad she was typing this, she wouldn't have the courage otherwise. 'I was wondering if you'd like to come?'

The reply was almost instant. 'Does Natsuki have a stupid obsession with Wabisuke? Of course I'd like to come.' Kisa smiled, then got another message. 'Can I invite some friends from school?'

Kisa smiled even brighter. Kazuma had always had a hard time making friends. 'of course. Just tell me how many tickets you need.'

'About 23, including me.'

'23?! Gees, Kazuma, I had no idea you were that popular! Are you inviting your whole class?!'

'We're doing a study on modern music in class. I think that going to your concert would really help. If you can't send the whole 23, just send what you can and we'll pay for the rest.'

Kisa sighed. She just couldn't say 'no' to him. 'I'll pull some strings with the gang and get the tickets. You just make sure everyone's there.'

'Thanks, Kenji. You're the best.' Kisa felt her heart skip a beat at that last part. 'Hey, Kenji. You remember when we first met?'

Kisa smiled. How could she forget? She'd gotten herself lost on the first night she stayed at the house and had ended up coming across Kazuma's room. Kazuma had instantly seen that 'Kenji' was a girl, and had asked her what Natsuki was playing at, trying to pass her off as a guy. Finally having someone to talk to about this, Kisa had confided to Kazuma, Natsuki's plan and how, through winning a game of 'Rock, Paper, Scissors', she'd been the one elected to go and how, evidently, Natsuki had never bothered to pay close enough attention to notice that she was a girl.

"I just know this is all going to end very badly." Kisa had said.

"I wouldn't worry," Kazuma had said in a bored but comforting tone. "Natsuki is too hung up in an older guy. All you have to worry about is Shota. Granny's not stupid enough to fall for such an obvious trick. I bet she knows that you're actually a girl but wants to see the look on Natsuki's face when she finds out."

Talking to Kazuma had helped her feel better. That night she'd gone to bed feeling a lot better. Then came the text on her phone...

Kisa smiled. 'How could I forget? You really helped me out back then.'

As she read Kazuma's next message she started to pout. She could practically hear Kazuma's laughter and teasing tone. 'With your shy and timid nature, I was really surprised when you said you'd joined a band.' Kisa was about to send a reply, when Kazuma sent another message. 'I know you're pouting, Kenji. So stop it. I have to go. Everyone's calling me for dinner.'

With that Kazuma logged off, not giving Kisa a chance to retort. She sighed. As frustrating as it was, Kazuma really did know her. But still, 23 tickets. Yikes. Kisa was not looking forward to what she'd have to do to get those tickets.

Kazuma smiled as he looked at the now blank screen of his computer. Teasing Kisa was just too much fun. He remembered the angry and embarrassed look on her face when she'd finally had enough of everyone's teasing and thinking of her as a guy. After her outburst, Kazuma had laughed at his family members and said how he was amazed that they hadn't figured it out yet. After they had all stopped asking questions that he couldn't answer and really had no right answering anyway, Kazuma had gone to look for Kisa. He'd gone to her room first, thinking she'd be there, hiding her embarrassment under the bed covers. When he got there however, all of Kisa's things were gone.

He'd gone after her. But she'd had a head start and he only just missed her as her train pulled out of the station. He'd managed to weasel her phone number and email address for OZ out of Natsuki and sent her a message. He hadn't expected her to reply so quickly. They quickly became close, even though they didn't see each other. Kisa had even taken his advice and changed her avatar in OZ to something that wasn't so silly as the Squirrel it used to be or something like the mouse avatar she had before that. She now looked like a Neko Girl, white cat ears and a cat's tail, long white hair that was tied in a braid. Her base outfit was a baggy lilac hoody, a pair of dark blue jeans and a pair of roller-blades. Kazuma had to admit she looked a lot better like that, than as the squirrel, but then that wasn't difficult.

Kazuma smiled. She was coming to Ueda, and she agreed to the 23 tickets. This was perfect.