And I Had You
A/N: Hello~ this is a little "complete" version of Miho and Niou's backgroun from Life's A Bird's Eye. I guess it's kinda like a side story. Then, enjoy~
English
Normal
Thoughts/non-speech
"Do it again," said a woman with shrill and cold voice, her arms crossed while she stood next to a little girl quietly sitting on the piano bench. "You still can't get it right."
The girl, without moving, eyed the woman next to her a little, then laid her hand back onto the keyboard. A beautiful, technically advanced melody rang out—
"Wrong." The woman said again. She let out a long sigh, rubbing her temples in annoyance and frustration. "That's it for today. After dinner, practice more. Serve the dinner now," she said to one of the maids as she walked into the kitchen.
The woman walked out of the girl's sight, leaving the her behind on the big bench.
The girl silently stood up and walked towards the kitchen, following the woman's footsteps. The woman soon came out, a bag in her one hand and a sunglasses to cover up her eyes.
"M-Mother? Aren't you going to eat dinner?" The girl shyly spoke, twiddling with her thumbs and looking down at her toes.
"…I have to go out." The woman said and brushed past the little girl. The girl just walked over to the kitchen table for 12 people—sat down, and started eating dinner alone.
Years passed in New York, United States; it's always been like that for Haraue Miho, who was now 14 years old.
Her mom was a famous vocalist and her so-called "dad" who visited once in couple months was a conductor for a famous orchestra. They accidentally had Miho after their first month of marriage—and everything went downhill from there.
Her mom had high expectations from her and so did her dad. She was homeschooled until she started attending high school, only to get back out again because she couldn't quiet get used to it.
Miho was always seen at home either on the piano bench or with a tutor, in her white knee-socks, a white blouse, and a checkered skirt. She was allowed 30 minutes of TV watching everyday; and one day, she came across something that changed her life forever.
She saw an African American man sitting on a grand piano. Expecting to hear some classical music, Miho couldn't be any more surprised after she started listening to music.
It was completely different from classical. It was groovy, slightly dissonant, but sounded good.
"Jazz…?" She pronounced as she saw a little banner that said "Jazz Festival."
After that, she took interest in jazz, blues, and other non-classical music. She printed out sheet music, listened to more and more of jazz songs, and composed jazz herself.
"What is this?" Her mom said one day with looks that could kill. Miho's face paled as she saw her mom holding up a staff sheet with music notes scribbled onto it. It was Miho's jazz compositions.
"…Th-That's…!" Miho stuttered.
"Jazz?" Her mom scoffed—and ripped the paper in halves in front of Miho's eyes. Miho's eyes watched as the ripped pieces fell to the floor like snow;
"NO!"
"You're going to become a classical pianist." Her mom snatched her arm and hissed; Miho just glared at her, tears brimming in her eyes, until she let her go. "Don't try anything funny. I want to hear Beethoven concerto perfected by tomorrow."
Her mom left after and Miho carefully picked up the ripped pieces of music.
'I don't want to live like this anymore…!'
She went to her room and put everything she had in a sack—a mere wallet with 5 dollars and an ID card inside. She didn't have time to pack her clothes nor food nor money. She wanted to get out of that place as quickly as possible.
She slung the sack around her shoulders, sneaked to the doorstep, and put her shoes on.
"Young miss!" The maid yelped. Miho flinched and dashed out the door with the servants and housemaids chasing after her from far away.
She ran and ran until she was completely out of their sight. Now she was on the streets of New York; she saw the servants and housemaids time to time, asking people with a picture of her. Every time, she had to hide until the area was completely clear.
She ran and hid from dawn until the midnight the day after. Miho was on the verge of passing out; she had used her 5 dollars in buying a bottle of water and McDonalds for brunch and dinner, and two small burgers wasn't enough to get her going for two whole days.
Miho just dragged her feet along the streets of New York. Then she saw one of the servants again; she quickly turned the corner with all her might and ran. She huffed and puffed, slowing down. Then she collapsed.
"Hey Michael, could you take out the trash?" A bartender said to a young boy with bushy light blue hair.
"Sure." The boy grabbed the trash bag and opened the back door. He walked over to the dumpster—and found something lying on the floor. It was dark so he couldn't tell from far away; when he went up close, he saw an Asian girl.
"Hey, are you okay?" He went over to her, knelt down, and shook her a little: no response. He looked around her sack and found nothing but an empty wallet with her first school ID that said Haraue Miho.
"So you're Japanese, huh…" He tilted her face up and concluded: she was his type. "I guess I'll look after you for now." He cradled her in his arms and carried her inside the bar.
"Who's that?" The bartender asked, yelling a little to get his voice across the bar filled with noises, music, and voices.
"I picked up a stray cat." He said and walked towards a staircase that lead to a big room that looked like someone could live in it.
There was a clean bed; he set her down on the bed and in the process he noticed callouses on her fingertips.
"Piano player, eh?"
"Mmm…" Miho groaned and opened her eyes slowly. Then she found a face, right in front of her eyes, staring at her. "AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
"Whoa, whoa, calm down…" The boy blocked his ears and said. Miho shot up and noticed that she was on a bed, with her old shirt replaced by a big, gray shirt. She covered her body with a blanket and stared frightfully into the boy in front of her eyes.
"Don't worry, I had a woman change the clothes for you."
"Y-Y-You…!"
"Don't have to thank me for saving you, Miho."
"Save me?" She blinked, a bit puzzled. The last thing she remembered was turning into a dark alley to run away from one of the servants.
"You passed out in the middle of the street. You know, it's pretty dangerous at night. New York's not the safest place you know." He yawned and sat up on the bed and also.
Then the door banged open, and a woman with blond, short hair in her late 20s walked in with a tray of food.
"OW!" The woman walked over to the boy and gave a clout to his head.
"Michael! You're not supposed to share a bed with a lady!"
"BUT IT'S MY BED!"
"STILL!" She growled at him then immediately put a sweet, gentle smile for Miho. "Hi, I'm Ariel Coleman. I'm the owner of this bar."
"I'm at a bar?"
"Yes you are. Michael picked you up after you passed out in the alley. Something would've been very wrong if he hadn't found you any sooner…"
"Oh… umm… thank you." She shyly said.
"No problem." The boy grinned at her.
"Michael, I'll have to be out for some errands now, so watch the bar and make sure the lady eats, alright?"
"Alright."
"Oh, and Miho was it? I washed your clothes after I changed your clothes for you. Don't worry, the boy didn't see anything."
"I-I see. Um… how old are you, Michael?" She carefully asked.
"I'm fourteen."
"Do you work here…?"
"Well, sort of. I'm a musician here; I play on the stage."
"Then…! Please, let me work here too! I can play instruments and sing!" Miho exclaimed. Ariel and Michael just blinked and stared at the girl.
"Well, I don't know, we could use another musician… But what about your parents? Aren't they going to be worried?" Ariel asked.
"I ran away. I'm never going back." Miho clenched her fists and grit her teeth.
"Is that so… well I won't ask until you decided to tell me, so take your time. I'll talk to you after I come back. First things first, eat; you must be hungry." Ariel gently pat Miho's head and said.
"Thank you very much."
"You're welcome, hon. Michael, better look after her!" Ariel reminded the boy as she left the room.
"You know me~"
After the woman left, Michael took the tray and set it on top of the bed.
"You're Japanese, right?"He asked in fluent Japanese.
"H-Huh? Yeah." She answered. "Um… do you go by Michael or do you have a Japanese name?"
"Oh. My Japanese name's Niou Masaharu." He said, grinning. "I'm okay being called either, I just go by Michael in this bar."
"I-I see." She nodded.
"Then, let's eat! You must be hungry." He took the tray and set it in between them.
"I-I can't move my hand…" She said and looked down at her hands which were trembling.
"Dang, you must be really tired. Don't worry, I'll feed it to you." Niou smiled. "So, which one do you want? The soup? Biscuit? Salad?"
"The soup please…" She trailed off and taking a spoonful, Niou took the soup near her mouth—and she ate. Then Miho started sniffling.
"Wah…!" Tears plopped down and she buried her face into her hands.
"There, there… " Niou just hugged her and pat her on the back.
After she calmed down they finished eating;
"Do you think you could tell me why you ran away from home?" He asked. Miho silently nodded and opened her mouth.
"My mom's a famous vocalist and my dad's a conductor… I only see my dad couple times a year and all my mom wants from me is to become a classical pianist. When she caught me playing and composing jazz she threw away all my compositions and music sheet. I've been stuck in my house for years just playing piano, so I ran away."
"Damn… you do have a good reason to run away." Niou said, frowning from feeling sorry.
"How about you? Ariel isn't your mother, right?"
"I don't have any parents. I've been like this ever since I could remember. Ariel and the bartender Jimmy are like my parents."
"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that."
"It's fine. Say… are those school-girl like clothes the only clothes you have?" He asked.
"Yeah."
"Then we'd have to go shopping!"He chirped. Not seeming to understand, Miho cocked her head a little.
"Shopping…?"
"Don't tell me you've never been shopping." Niou gasped and said. When Miho shook her head sideways, Niou gapped even more. "Okay, your mom really deprived you. You're going shopping with me to get some proper New Yorker clothes."
"Now?"
"Now." Niou looked through his wardrobe and pulled out a pair of gym shorts, a t-shirt, and a pair of flip-flops. He set them down in front of Miho. "Here, wear this for now. Come out when you're done changing." He said as he opened the door to leave the room.
Miho nodded and began changing as he closed the door. After she was done she went outside and found Niou talking to the bartender.
"Good morning," greeted the bartender Jimmy, "I'm Jimmy Coleman. Call me Jimmy." He held out a hand which Miho timidly shook.
"H-Hello, I'm Miho Haraue. Um… thank you for letting me stay last night."
"No problem. I'm glad you're okay."
"Well then, we better go now." Niou got off the seat and said. "We're going out for a while, Jimmy."
"Alright. You two be safe."
Niou walked out with Miho trailing right behind him.
"What are you falling behind for? Walk next to me." He pulled on her arm and made her walk right next to him. Miho was surprised, however; she had never imagined of walking next to someone. When she did walk in the streets with someone, it was mostly her mother, who made her walk behind her.
As they walked into the busier streets, Miho couldn't quite keep up progressing through the busy mob of people and fell behind again.
"Jeesh, you sure you lived in New York all your life?" Niou jokingly said. "If I do this, it'll be safe."Niou grabbed her hand tight and started walking again.
And there was another surprise for Miho. She never ever held hands with anybody, especially not with her mother. All she could remember was her trying to imitate a child and her mom that she saw on TV, only to have her hand be coldly swatted away by her mom.
Everything was new.
"Let's get skinny jeans, some hoodies, t-shirts, and a pair of converse." He said. Miho cocked her eyebrows again and Niou just laughed. "Well, now's the time to start learning!"
After she bought three pairs of skinny jeans, two hoodies, five t-shirts, and two pairs of converse, Niou had her changed into those. When she came out, Niou just grinned.
"Personally, I think this suits you wayyy more than those goody goody school girl clothes."
"Thank you… but this is too much. I won't be able to pay back." She said with a worried look.
"Don't worry, it's just my money. You know I'm pretty rich for a 15-year-old." He grinned. "And plus, if you start working with me, you can pay it off, right?"
"I can do that?!" Miho's eyes sparkled.
"Gotta ask Ariel but I'm 100 percent sure she'll say yes. I think she likes you so she'll let you stay. Plus, you have nowhere to go, right?" He assured her.
"Thank you!" Miho grabbed his hands and squeezed it, a big smile forming on her lips. Niou blinked in surprise;
"See? You could laugh! You look really cute when you smile." He grinned. "Smile more, alright?"
"…Okay!"
"Now then, let's go get something to eat."
The two came back to the bar. Ariel and Jimmy were talking by the counter when they opened the door.
"Ah, welcome back." Ariel smiled. "My, those clothes suit you very well!" She exclaimed as she examined Miho from head to toe.
"Of course, it is the great Michael who picked out her clothes." Niou shrugged his shoulder and said.
"U-Um… Ariel?"
"Yes?"
"Can I please work here as a musician?" She nervously said.
"Hm… on one condition."
Miho gulped.
"Play something for me, and I'll see if you're capable of working as a musician here. You said you play the piano, right? Go ahead and play with that one for me?" She asked, pointing at the grand piano on the stage at the front of the bar.
"Alright." She confidently walked up to the stage and sat down. Jimmy, Ariel, and Niou all watched her in amusement.
Miho put her hand on the piano and rang out a melody. Soon she began playing a jazz piece that was perfectly groovy and harmonious. Niou tapped his foot along the beat and Ariel and Jimmy bobbed their head along the beat.
When the piece was over, the three applauded; Miho hurriedly came down from the stage.
"S-So, was that okay? Did I pass?"
"Sure!" She said, in one-go. "I liked it very much. You have both the technique and musicality." She smiled and said. "But what piece is this?" She asked.
"I-I composed it myself…" Miho trailed off, a bit nervous.
"YOU DID!" Niou gapped. "HOLY CRAP THAT WAS AMAZING!"
"Yes. That was a very good piece." Jimmy said also.
"But you'd have to share a room with Michael… is that fine for you?"
"Yes!" Miho exclaimed. "Thank you very much! I'll work hard!"
"That's the spirit."
Months and years passed; at the first month Miho learned how to play electric guitar from Niou while she taught him how to play piano at a professional degree. She also taught him how to compose; and soon, when Miho debuted after a month being there, getting much warmer welcome from the customers, the two young musicians' names were famous on the streets of New York.
Miho and Niou got along well—in fact, too well, considering how Miho and Niou didn't have any friends other than each other.
They were always seen together no matter what.
"NIOU MASAHARU!" She yelled as she chased him around the bar, avoiding tables and chairs. "GIVE IT BACK!"
"NO WAY!" Niou just laughed and waved a piece of chocolate in between his fingers. Miho caught up little by little—and gave a final dash, tackling him onto the ground.
"Ow, ow, ow…" Niou grunted as he lifted himself up from the floor. When he opened his eyes, Miho was beneath him, already eating away the chocolate. "NOOO!"
"Bleeeh." She stuck her tongue out at him. "Hmph. You already had seven. I only had three."
"…Fine then give me something else." Niou pouted and said.
"What?"
"This." He said. He quickly brought his lips down to Miho's face and smooched a little peck onto her cheek. He then stood up and fled the scene quickly to avoid further danger.
"NIOU MASAHARU!"
"Huhuhu, it's good to be young." Ariel chuckled as the two musicians began another chase.
"Want to make a bet?" Jimmy said, leaning on the counter.
"What bet?"
"I bet that they will go out within this year."
"Aah~ Interesting. Then I say they will start dating this within this month."
"Ooh. Very bold." Jimmy chuckled.
"Miho, you want to get some Shik-Shak burger?" He asked.
"Yeah. Let's go." She smiled and grabbed her coat.
Her personality changed a lot too, thanks to Niou. Once an incredible introvert, she was now more outright and cool.
"Hey Miho?" He called the girl next to her. They were lying down on the lawn in Central Park while watching the stars.
"Yeah?"
"…Would you listen to my story?" He asked. Miho turned to face him and cocked her eyebrows.
"When did I ever not?"
"That's true." He chuckled. "Well… so… you know how I told you I don't have any parents?"
"Yup."
"You see, I do have a stepmom and a biological father. I don't know who my biological mom is, though." He said. "I didn't like my stepmom… so they both decided to just throw me away."
Miho gulped.
"So I came to the bar when I was about 10 and Ariel and Jimmy took me in. I never tried finding my real mom, though… I know she's alive, but I don't want to see a woman who abandoned me with those two."
Miho just quietly grabbed Niou's hand and squeezed it.
"Thanks for telling me." She said. "But come on, a past is a past, right? You're doing amazing right now." She smiled which Niou returned.
"Yeah," said Niou as he snuggled up underneath her neck, "thanks Miho."
Miho and Niou were sitting on the piano bench together, working on their new composition. It was about 11 in the morning, so the bar was dead quiet and empty.
Soon, melodies and laughter of the two teenagers filled the bar.
The door opened unexpectedly—
"Hm?" The two turned to look at who had entered at an off-duty hour. A woman with sophisticated clothes and a brimmed hat walked in.
"I'm sorry, it's not the business hour right now." Jimmy said nicely from behind the counter.
"…How low." The woman mumbled as she took off her hat.
"Y-You…!" Miho's face paled as she noticed a face she hasn't seen for 2 years.
"This is where you've been? Playing trash music in some hoodlums?" She said coldly. "How very low. You look pathetic right now. Come, I'm here to take you back. It's about time you enroll in Juilliard and continue pursuing piano. It's not too late."
Miho just grabbed Niou's shirt and squeezed it tight, hiding behind his body.
"I'm not going back." Miho said. "No way I'll ever go back to that god damn house." She hissed.
"You have no choice, I'm your mother."
"Shut up!" Miho yelled and the woman flinched; she has never heard Miho raise a voice against her. "After what you've done you call yourself a mother?! You're not my mom. I don't have a mom, I don't have a dad, so leave me alone!" Her voice and body were trembling, her fists clenched tight.
"Shhh… calm down, Miho, everything's going to be fine." Niou whispered into her ear as he tightly hugged her trembling body. "I'm sorry. From what I'm seeing right now, it's hard to believe that you'll make her happy."
"Please leave." Jimmy said also.
"I've heard a lot from Miho, and I think she'll be happier without you in her life." Ariel said coldly also. The woman's face turned red as she frowned, glaring at the four.
"You're off the family list. I'm disowning you." She glared at her and snarled.
"Thank you—for the first and last time." Miho said too, not losing in glaring at her. "Don't ever appear in front of my eyes again."
The so-called mother just scoffed and left, slamming shut the door behind her.
Miho slumped down onto the stage floor and Niou quickly got a hold of her.
"You okay?"
"Yeah…" She sighed. "Thanks Haru, for protecting me."
"Don't thank me. Are you really okay with this?"
"With her disowning me? Yeah." She smirked. "Actually, I don't know why I didn't request that earlier." She laughed.
"Miho, are you alright?" The couple asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you Jimmy, Ariel, for covering for me."
"No problem. You're like our daughter, stay as much as you like." They said and smiled nicely.
"Well then, let's go celebrate your freedom!" Niou stood up and said, grabbing onto Miho's hand. He walked towards the door and dragged her out. "We're going out for a bit!"
After eating a delicious meal they walked along the busy streets—when they were walking by, Miho saw Juilliard.
"Haru." She called him.
"Yeah?"
"We're 17 now. It's about time we enroll in college." She said.
"Now that you mention it, yes." He agreed.
"Let's audition for Juilliard."
"…Juilliard?" He cocked his eyebrows.
"I want to study music. Since Juilliard has contemporary music, we'll be able to study rock, jazz, blues, pop… It's only an hour away, an we could rent a two-bed apartment near or something. I want to do it. Won't you audition with me?"
"If you do it then I'll do it too." He said.
"Thank you!" She broke into a huge grin. "We'll work hard and earn more money and compose more music!"
"Yeah. Let's do our best."
It was the same month, November, when the air grew thicker and weather cooler. More and more people came to the bar to listen to the two talented young musicians play. They received tips and services for their performance, and with those they were able to expand the bar bigger.
It was about 8 o'clock—the usual time when people started coming in and Miho and Niou began setting up the stage for five 20-minute performances with 10 minute breaks in between.
'This is the day…' Niou stole a glance at Miho who was tuning the guitar. Then their eyes met. Niou blushed and turned away.
"What's wrong, Haru?"
"Nothing much." He cleared his throat and said.
In the bar, a very special person walked in, blending in with the crowd. He sat down at one of the high chairs near the stage and ordered a drink.
'Two young musicians who compose all the pieces they play… They are sure young.' The man thought, examining a girl with black long hair and a boy with bushy light-blue hair.
After the two were done tuning, they turned on the mic. The bar became dark and the stage lights shone down onto the two.
People began cheering as they began ringing out notes.
'Ingenious…!' The man gasped as he listened to their pieces, each one of them being unique and carefully thought out. 'True talent of the age… they'll grow to be great musicians one day.'
It was almost 11 o'clock when they were preparing for the last performance of the night.
"Excuse me, Mr. Niou and Ms. Haraue?" The man went up to the stage and called them.
"Yes?"
"I have a proposal for you. A couple minutes would be fine, is that okay?" He said. The two just shrugged their shoulders and came down from the stage.
The three sat at the table.
"You see, we're very interested in you two." The man began, "and would like to scout you two."
"And… from where exactly if I may ask…?"
"Juilliard." He just smiled and said.
"…WHAAAT?!" They yelped, making the man chuckle.
"I'm Jean Vansknoff, the head counselor. We've been hearing about you two and were planning to scout you soon. Annual scholarship, all four years." He said and held out a business card. "Just contact here and tell them your name and confirmation of attendance, and everything will be taken care of."
The two gapped at this man. "Th-Thank you! Thank you very much!"
"No problem. You better get to the stage, people are waiting for you."
"Yessir!"
The two dashed up to the stage and began playing—more enthusiastic than ever. After their final song, Niou grabbed the mic and yelled out: "WE'RE GOING TO JUILLIARD!"
And people's applauses filled the bar. Niou and Miho tightly hugged each other.
Miho then felt something on her cheek—it was Niou's hand. His lips descended to Miho's lips—and they met. Niou moved his lips deeply and passionately, and louder cheers and whistles and howls broke out.
Miho was confused—but she didn't hate it. In fact, her heart was beating fast.
Niou grabbed her hand and ran off the stage, getting cheers and whistles all the way until they reached the door. They headed out of the bar—just after the kiss.
"Huhuhu. 50 bucks, was it?" Ariel chuckled and said to Jimmy.
"Yeah, yeah, you win." He laughed also and shook his head. "It sure is good to be young!"
Niou and Miho just went to get some nice dessert at downtown New York. They held a warm up of coffee in their hands and walked by the roads in Central Park.
"U-Um, Haru?" She carefully called him. They were holding hands unlike before, and Niou didn't seem to be willing to let it go.
"Hm?" He looked down.
"Wh-What was that back in the bar?" She fought the blush and said. Niou dazed off—
"WAAH!" He yelped, making Miho flinch. "Th-Th-That…! Um… Ugh, I'm so uncool…" He mumbled and ruffled his hair in frustration. "Alright! I'm going to talk."
He took out a small box—and opened it in front of her.
"Miho, I can't imagine my life without you." He said with a determined face. Inside was a silver necklace with a treble clef on it. Niou took out the necklace from underneath his coat and showed the same on to her.
"I love you. Will you be my girlfriend?" He asked.
Miho just gapped at him—then broke into a huge smile, tackling him into a hug. "Yes!"
"Hey, look it's that one couple." People awed as they eyed a couple walking side-by-side. "They were recruited with annual scholarship for all four years."
Niou and Miho walked out of their class—contemporary composition. Their class for the day was over and they headed over to their apartment.
"What's for dinner today?"
"Udon and donkatsu."
"Oh yeah~"
4 years passed after they first enrolled in Juilliard. They were considered one of the tops of the school; they began getting contract proposals from record companies.
"Ah~ah! Graduation tomorrow already!" Niou sighed and said, leaning back on the couch while watching TV.
"It feels like just yesterday when we first came to school." Miho chuckled and said, sitting down next to him.
"Thanks for these last six years, Miho." Niou put an arm around her, pulled her close, and pecked her forehead.
"Thank you too, Haru." She hugged him and said.
"What do you want to do after we graduate and take the summer off?" Niou asked.
"Well we were both thinking of forming a band, right?" She answered. "We'll be an awesome band. We can compose our own music and we should recruit more members too."
"Sounds good." He kissed her—on the lips this time. After they brought themselves apart, Niou just warmly gazed into Miho's eyes. "Ugh, I can't control myself when I'm with you." He grunted and kissed her a bit more passionately.
Miho kissed back too, their breaths uniting and on beat with each other's. Then she teasingly licked the bottom of his tongue and pulled away just before he could do anything; Niou grunted from a distaste in not being able to kiss back.
"I hate it when you do that," he laughed. "We don't have class until 11 tomorrow." He slyly said and kissed her. He lifted her up in his arms, headed over to his room, and pinned her down on the bed, starting to attack the nape of her neck.
"And that means," he took his shirt off, then kissing her on her sternum this time, "I could work you all night."
"UWA! DEVIL!"
"It's already been 2 years since our band got together." Niou said. Miho and Niou were hanging around behind the curtains. "And 8 years since I knew you."
"Time flies by so quickly." She nodded and chuckled.
"Thanks Miho, for being an awesome leader and always staying by my side." Niou pulled her closer.
"Thank you too. Anything for you, Haru." She smiled and the two kissed.
"No, no, here they are again!" Someone's voice, a rather distressed but playful one, came from the door nearby. "You look away for a second and they're already sucking on each other's face!" A boy with maroon hair chewing on a bubble gum said.
Three people came up and stood in front of the two; one was that boy previously introduced, another with black curly hair, and another tan, bald one.
"We were making out but no sucking on faces." Niou laughed, planting a soft kiss on her head before letting her go. "Unless you want to see what that's really like."
"No thanks." They all said.
"Heh, get a girlfriend if you're jealous." Niou smirked and pulled Miho closer to him, pecking her cheek a little.
"Alright, it's about to start!" Marui, the maroon haired one, exclaimed, tapping his drum sticks lightly. The entire hall went dark.
"Let's go, guys." She said and they all walked up to the stage and got into their place.
Then, with Marui's drum beats and Kirihara's bass, the stage slowly grew brighter—and when the guitars and the keyboard entranced, the stage flashed in bright colors.
'This is where I belong.' Miho thought as she strummed the guitar strings. They played the intro, with the guitar and bass solo.
'I thought my life was miserable… but I had music.' Miho thought.
'I thought I had nothing… but I had music.' Niou also thought.
Miho and Niou both grabbed a mic in front of them.
'…And I had you. Thank you.'
She looked towards Niou, who was a couple feet next to her—he looked too, and they exchanged a smile before singing out their beloved music.