Chapter 1: Wishing on a dream that seems far off
Tokyo, December 2007
A Christmas tune played through the coarse PA system, by all means for a good reason, Christmas was coming, but there were still a few who remained in school, who elected to stay behind during the holiday season for a reason or another, among those was a girl, who was running down the hall with her Elizabeth on her back. She paid no heed to the music, nor the fleeting glimpse of a fellow student who happened to be there, waving or greeting. Her mind was in a turmoil, but her goal was clear, coming up to the familiar door, she unintentionally gave too much strength to it, slamming the door open. Her name was already on her lips, though she did not realise that she had nothing to say after that.
"Ritsu!"
A quick sweep around the tiny room was all she needed to conclude that her friend was not in, but she nevertheless sought to look for the missing bandmate under and behind impossible places, from inside the wardrobe to under the desk, until someone walked up to her from behind.
"Mio?" an amused voice piped up.
Mio jerked in surprise and banged her head against the bottom of the desk. Paying no heed to the minor bump on the head, Mio quickly turned to grab the girl with a wet towel over her head by the shoulders, who was apparent that the girl had just returned from a shower, and proceed to yell at her, "What are you doing? Why aren't you dressed? We got to go!"
"Ho, ho?" Ritsu grinned with a crooked smile, and easily got out of Mio's grasp. "Anxious about the 'live' concert? I know you just can't wait for it," she teased as she continued to dry her hair with a towel.
"Yes! No! And we got to go."
It would be their first 'live' performance outside the university school ground since their admission to the Japan Women's University, though Ritsu knew clearly this alone would cause the usual Mio to panic, she understood her friend well enough to know that was not the real reason. Planting her fingers over Mio's chin, Ritsu cocked the head aside, forcing the panicky girl to face the clock on the wall.
"We still have six hours, Akiyama Mio."
"I know that…" Mio meekly replied with a hint of embarrassment in her voice, followed by a swift brush of her hand at Ritsu's hand.
"I'll humour you just this once, just let me dress in peace, and we will get there early and rot before the entrance while waiting for the place to open."
Now somewhat calmed down, Mio sat quietly on the bed, staring blankly at the wall while her childhood friend changed from the casual tee and shorts, thinking how fast time had passed for them, already their first semester was gone just like that, and in days, school would be resuming again. Though the four girls had ended up in different faculties, they still met frequently for practises and of course tea, but for now, only the two of them were in the dorm, Yui's parents wanted her to stay home for the Christmas week and would meet them at the 'live' house, while Mugi disappeared somewhere, saying that she would meet them there as well. Finishing the outfit with a jacket, Ritsu picked up the keys and left the room, but in no time, returned to fetch the stoned-looking Mio.
Arriving at the car park where Ritsu's scooter was parked, Mio got on without her usual protests about the safety or her riding skills, neither did she say anything when Ritsu gently slid the helmet down her head. Hopping onto the bike herself, Ritsu found reassurance when Mio's arms automatically wrapped themselves around her waist. Patting the hands once, Ritsu turned the key, bringing the motor to a beastly growl.
The journey was relatively peaceful, at least until Ritsu brought up the topic that had been troubling Mio all day long.
"Don't worry about the scout…"
And with that, Mio roared back to life, "So it's true that a talent scout will be there?!" Mio's exaggerated reaction almost swayed the bike out of the amateur rider's control.
"It's only a rumour."
Mio calmed down a little, seeking comfort with her words. "It's only a rumour," she repeated as if to hypnotise herself into believing it. "It's not like we are good enough to be scouted anyway. Also, we should be focusing on our studies first."
A brief silence was introduced by what Mio said, it took Ritsu a while to remind herself that she was driving, and should not let her thoughts wandered about foolishly. Picking the conversation up where it stopped, Ritsu said, "Mio, do you remember our dream to play at the Budokan?"
"Of course I do, every time we play music together I'm reminded of it."
"Then… if we can get a talent agency's attention, won't that give us the boost we need? Right?"
"You can't think that way, Ritsu. Going 'pro' is a guaranteed way, but we should take things slow, what is more important is experience. And don't forget that we haven't even got the chance to play at the summer festival that Sawako-sensei brought us to last year. We still have years to go at the university, let's make that our target, Ritsu. At the end of our university life, let's play there."
"You're right, let's just play to our best," Ritsu said after a pause. As troubled as Mio was, she could tell that Ritsu was not convinced, and that she was bothered over something, just as Mio was about to ask Ritsu what was she worrying about, Ritsu soon cut in and distracted her with. "Then at least sing for us for tonight's performance."
"What? Ritsu, that's not funny, I've had enough singing to last me a lifetime. With all those eyes on me, I'm not going through that again."
"We will be facing a larger crowd sooner or later, this is the experience you need, Mio."
The discussion sank back into silence, which Ritsu took as a hint that her friend was actually considering it, but on the contrary, Mio was mulling over Ritsu's words. Something had been bothering Ritsu for a while, Mio knew it the moment she saw it, when she asked, Ritsu would usually just laugh it off as if it was nothing, but Mio knew she was lying. Though they'd known each other for a long time and seldom kept secrets from one another, Mio could not deny that university life was slowly pulling them apart. She wished she knows what was in Ritsu's mind, and decided that she ought to talk to her after the concert, or the first thing tomorrow. Trying to drown her worries away, she started humming the new song that they would be playing later; this was soon joined by Ritsu's whistle.
Mio closed her eyes and rested her head against the back of the shorter girl, though she was not that much higher than the drummer, she still had to arch her back just to lay her head down, it was not entirely comfortable, but she did not choose to sit like that for comfort. The night was fair, the traffic smooth, and the traffic light was in their favour, but the truck crossing at the intersection did not slow down or stop for them. Something bright came shining into Mio's closed eyes, then all went black.
x
Tokyo, December 2012
Had it not for the complaining arching neck, Akiyama Mio was sure she could sleep through the night napping on her office desk. Mio remained where she was with her head still on her folded arms, trying to think back to the dream she had, though she could not recall a single part of it, somehow it felt important, but it also brought along a gloomy feeling she could not shake free. Finally deciding that it was probably something not worth wasting her brain cells remembering for, she drowsily went back up to a sitting position, swinging her arms back to give herself a stretch and a hearty yawn, and almost choked herself upon realising that she was not alone in the office. Over the desk was the familiar face with short messy hair and a friendly look, whom she greeted the man sleepily, "Isshi, what time is it?"
A peek at the clock on the wall gave her the answer at the same time Isshi replied with a smile, "Almost twelve, Miss Workaholic."
"Ahh… I'm so sorry, that will be the last time, I swear," Mio said apologetically when she remembered why he was here. She was late for their date, by no means the first time either. Burying herself in work was something she had gotten custom to, but it was him who reminded her that there were more in life than just success, position and money. She quickly straightened the documents and turned off the computer, and was about to get her winter overcoat when a pair of strong hands caught her shoulders, gently guiding her back towards the windows. The hands slid down to cup her right hand, and started massaging her tiny fingers, a practice Mio got used to, but could not help getting annoyed every time he did that, placing his priority on her fingers rather than herself.
"It's snowing again," he stated in a matter-of-a-fact tone, reporting the status of the world to a girl who had lost contact with it. "And I've also bought some food along, solely based on the assumption that you overlooked the importance of dinner again."
The thought of hunger never came to her mind, and she found herself leaning against the larger body of his instead, it was comfortable and warm, and more important, she found security and assurance with it; he was someone she could depend on, someone who would not leave her. Just when she thought this could last forever, he abruptly shoved her aside.
"Forgot something," Isshi hastily explained, and ran over to switch off the lights.
Just in time for the first flare of the fireworks over the city landscape of towers and skyscrapers, whirling around to face the sight, she could not believe she'd forgotten about the fireworks, the reason he asked her out in the first place. In the distance, fireworks appeared in many shapes and colours, though they could not hear it, it was just as good as being there.
"If there's one thing I like about your office, other than the security guard who always let me in if I bribe him with some snacks, it's the terrific view it has over the city. Merry Christmas, Mio," Isshi said as he slowly moved to join her. Wrapping one arm over her waist, his other hand found his way to hold Mio's left hand. Bringing his face close to hers, he whispered into her ear, "I wish you weren't late, because this kind of screwed up my plan for the night, but I will go ahead with it anyway. Akiyama Mio, will you marry me?"
The story is being told through two timelines.
Next chapter: Mugi makes the call
