If there is a place where I feel changed, it's the stage, behind a microphone, in front of thousands of people who I don't know, yet they scream my name. Behind me, Fujisaki works his fingers on the keyboard/synth, and to my left, and everywhere else, Hiro's fingers are dancing on the electric guitar. The emotions that surge through me while I sing, can't be explained. I love what I do, and what I write is real, and sometimes unexplainable.

I wave my arm back and forth above my head, in fast motion. The music stops while I sing acapella, and the crowd sings with me. I stop singing and stick the microphone to the audience, listening to them sing my lyrics. I turn to face Hiro, a gigantic grin over my face.

I scream into the microphone, despite the silence in the auditorium.

"Spicy marmalade, jibun no mama de!"

Hiro strums the guitar once, indicating the audiences turn. I shove the mic in front of me as soon as I sing the first verse of the last chorus in the song, to hear the fans scream back:

"Sabita kusari nara hazuse!"

I almost laugh as I bring the mic back, singing the next verse. Fujisaku hits the artificial drums twice, the stage lights flash briefly.

"Vanish into the night, jidai wa maru de!"

I repeat the routine, hoping up an down in anticipation.

"Ui himeta kao de, madowaseru!" The crowd holds the last note, screaming when they run out of air. The music starts back up with a new ferocity, even though it's about to end. Hiro strikes the last cord, holding it out before the lights flash off, and Fujisaki does a super fast chromatic scale on the keys.

I stand in the darkness, letting everything sink in. The crowd is still screaming. I feel a towel at my arm. I grab it and quickly wipe my face, returning it, probably to Hiro.

"Domo!" I yell into the microphone, the lights come back on instantly. The screams intensify, I couldn't hold back my laughter this time.

"Minna! Domo arigato gozimasu ta!" I wave frantically before I take a low bow. The audience claps furiously. I stand straight, peering into the crowd. I can never see more than twenty feet, unless the spotlight scans over the people. I can see faces in the first three rows, probably the first ten if I got up to the edge of the stage, everything past that is black.

I resist the urge to pull at my shirt to get some air down onto my chest. My black leather pants are sliding against my sweaty skin.

"Thanks for coming tonight! Tokyo! Thank you!" I point in the general direction of the high stands. Screaming erupts, of course.

"We have one more song for you guys tonight." I turn to face Hiro and Fujisaki. Hiro grins at me, exchanging a pick that is stuck to his microphone stand for the one he was previously using. Fujisaki flips his bangs out of his face, smiling at me, and preparing for the next song.

"Sing it with me." I grin, facing the audience again. They cheer as I wait in silence for Fujisaki to begin.

The light tap of a symbol begins, mixed with the synthesizer to make it sound electric. My prerecorded voice sounds against the air.

"Wah ah, smashing blue." The crowd hoots and claps, before quieting down again.

"Wah, ah..." I follow into the microphone, whispering. I hear girls shrieking. The beat of the symbols is steady, and that's all in the beginning at first.

After the first verse is repeated again, a gradual incline to the song begins. A small climax, then Fujisaki is preforming on the keys, while the synth is making harmonic noises in the background. I close my eyes and bring my head back, letting the music soak me. I've gotten around to, first, tolerating Fujisaki, then to accepting him, now I really appreciate him. This sound is what I need, nothing but professional fingers hitting keys. And so I sway, feeling the music flow through me, exiting out of my fingertips. I grip the microphone, slowly bringing it to my lips.

My voice is hoarse as I sing. "Kawaita tsumori ame ga... tsuzunaku katari kakeru."

I keep myself composed as I sing the next verse, listening to the steady beat. I press my free hand to my ear unconsciously, feeling the ear piece that is quietly playing along with the song, I hear myself. I hear my voice inhale for the next line, and so do I.

After the intro, the lights blink like a spectrum, in many colors to the frantic beating of the drums. Hiro strikes the guitar, running the pick down the neck, causing an eerily wonderful sound that makes the crowd go wild.

The bass kicks in, Hiro strikes another chord, holding it and nodding his head to the drums. I already have my hands in the air, clapping my hands in time with the bass. The audience follows suit, arms also above their heads clapping.

I bring my hands down to sing again, making my voice drop a few octaves. As I sing the verse, a few girls in the front row scream, I try to keep my face serious. After I have hit the final note, and the guys backstage have made my last word echo throughout the arena, I throw my arms out and the lights flash dramatically. The drums hit, then silence. I drop my arms smiling. Then they hit again, and again, and I'm at the chorus.

"Mabushii kiseki o, irodoru smashing blue." I continue singing, my body filling with an emotion that makes it act on its own. I'm running to the right side of the stage as I sing, waving my free arm back and forth as I do so. I stop at the end, bending down slightly to sing to the fans. I stick my free arm into the crowd, one of them manages to grace their fingers against mine.

"Kieyuku tsuki wa silent!" I stood back up to sing that bit, bending over to scream "silent" into the mic, hearing Hiro's back up vocals sing it regularly, and it made a great melody.

I wave bye to them, running to the other side now. I'm hysterical as I run, feeling the emotion rock my body. A giggle escapes my lips while I sing, the audience picks up on this, and laughter as well as screams are heard. I'm out of breath by the time I reach the left side, I thrust the microphone out into the crowd to let them sing "...Twilight!"

Wah ah, smashing blue.

Before the bridge comes up, I find myself spinning center stage, spinning in ecstasy, twirling in dance... I can't help but smile, and it's cramping up my cheeks. With this song, I don't feel sorrow, although it's sad, I can't help but smile. The synth creates a beautiful melody that I can only spin to. I throw my hands in the air, keeping myself in balance. I'm laughing as I stop spinning, the auditorium is moving on it's own. Oh yeah, I'm dizzy.

By the time the bridge does come up, I'm wondering how we're almost done so quickly. I'm still center stage, forgetting for a moment that time does exist. Both my hands are clamped around the microphone as I sing into it, letting the last verse of the bridge leave my lips.

"Make it blue." I repeat the last line as the instrumental plays, I speak it. Fujisaki slowly plays up the scale, making it louder and more deliberate after each note. After the last key has been struck, the drums play again, over and over again while the stage lights blink madly to it. A lone beat is hit, I grin, punching the air with my fist as two cannons in front of the stage explodes, sending a line of sparks upward. The boom added an affect to the drums, shaking the whole building. The audience cheers, and thats all we hear until the drums hit again, twice, and I begin the chorus all over again.

Wah ah, smashing blue.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

I was going to have Shuichi speak in english to the crowd, but I wanted to keep that first part original. "Domo," if used in a certain context can mean "ready."

"Minna" means "everyone." and "Domo arigato gozaimasu ta" means "Thank you so much," or, "very much," you know :)