Hey, I'm back with a Nana story. This story takes place right after Ren leaves and before Nobu goes back to get Nana to reform Blast.
Disclaimer: I do not own Nana, that belongs to my manga-ka heroine, Ai Yazawa! But, I do own all characters that aren't part of the original storyline.
A long time ago, Ren left Blast and we broke up. But, then later I gained the courage to go to Tokyo and get Nana back as our singer. When I said that I didn't want to play with anyone else I really meant it. I have her to thank for it because she pushed me to do it. Thank you, Miki. This is our story. -Nobu
Nobu watched the train leave as he kneeled beside Nana and tried to sooth her with a hand on her back. She grabbed onto him and her sobs get harder as she smelled Nobu, remembering the way Ren smelled and how Nobu was so different. Her heart was shattered and she finally knew what it really meant to cry. After a while, the boys helped Nana to her feet, her knees weakened by the grief. Yasu steadied her in his strong arms and put an arm around her.
"Nobu, I'm taking Nana home I think she needs some time to herself," Yasu said to him and Nobu nodded.
"…Yeah, I think we could all use a little time…" he agreed with a weak smile. "I'll see you guys later."
Nobu walked in the opposite direction of Nana and Yasu to head to his parents' hotel where he has to spend the rest of the night working and learning what the nighttime hotel manager did. His walk seemed especially long today and the sky was so dark when everyone else around him saw it to be so much brighter. He put his hands in his pockets and thought of the pain he saw Ren in when he had walked onto that train.
"…It must have been so hard for him to look strong in front of Nana just now. Well, Ren is gone and I don't think Nana is up to working on the band right now… Blast…" The thought of Blast breaking up sent a shiver down Nobu's spine. He couldn't comprehend what his life would be like without the band that he'd been so dedicated to.
The days went by and he heard nothing from Nana. Yasu wouldn't talk about the band on his own; so Nobu didn't say anything about it either. He went on learning about the family business at the Terashima Inn, but he found it boring and grew restless.
"Nobu, can you bring some towels up to Room 10, please?" his mother called from the reception desk and he nodded.
"Sure, Mom," he replied and went into the clean linens closet while mumbling, "Why the heck am I still working here? I mean I'm out of high school now and I am definitely not going to college." He was still grumbling when he knocked on the door of the room, "Room service,' he called in lazily.
He could hear the bed moving inside as it banged against the wall and the moans of the couple inside. He rolls his eyes and knocked again, "Room service!" He heard an angry grunt and the sounds of the man stomping heavily to the door and yanked it open.
"What?!" he shouted in Nobu's face.
"You're towels, Sir," Nobu said, trying to ignore the fact that the vulgar man didn't bother to cover up before opening the door.
"Gee, thanks. Couldn't come back later, right?" he asked with a bit of a snarl.
"Hey, Man, just doing my job," Nobu replied, "Here." He held out the towels and the man snatched them from him.
"Man, could cover up, too," Nobu mumbled, just too early when the door swings back open.
"What did you say, Punk?!' he shouted, grabbing Nobu by the collar. "You skinny little thing, you should watch your mouth!"
Nobu put his hands up, "Hey, it's not my fault that you have no decency, what if my mother was the one to give you your towels?"
"Well, then I'd invite her right in!" the man laughed, striking a nerve in Nobu.
"Hey! That's my mother you're talking about that way!" He punched the man in the side of the face and then finds himself being thrown up against the hallway wall.
"Hey, what's going on here?!" Nobu's mother shrieked as she walked pass. "Nobu, are you causing problems for the guests? Oh, Sir, could you please go back into your room and put something on otherwise I need to ask you to leave?"
"Fine," with a final shove against Nobu's collar bone, which was sure to bruise, the man released him and stormed back into his room.
"Thanks, Mom," Nobu sighed, feeling his collar bone when he saw his mom's angry face.
"Come with me, Nobu," she ordered and took him by the wrist.
They enter the manager's office where his father was sitting and he promptly looks up from his papers. "Oh, no, what now, Nobu? Another piercing or did you do something worse than that?"
"He hit a guest," his mother answered, her face unchanged from the disappointment.
His father's shocked face said it all, he was pissed. "What on earth were you thinking?!"
"I- You should have heard what he was saying about Mom!" Nobu argued.
"Oh? And what did he say, Nobu? Did you instigate this?" his father interrogated.
"He opened the door naked, Dad! What if Mom had been standing there?"
"Well, she wasn't now was she? You were."
"You never listen to me! I try to defend my mother and you both act as if I've done something vile!"
"Nobu, think about the inn! What if word gets out that someone as violent as you works here? No one will want to come!" his mother scolded.
"Why are you yelling at me like this? I hate this stupid inn!"
"Hey! This 'stupid' inn puts a roof over your head and food in your stomach and the clothes on your back, Young Man!" his father shouted.
"Then I'll leave if that's the case! I don't get any support from you anyway!" Nobu stated, realizing that he slipped up and told his parents indirectly that he had a problem.
"Support? We've supported your grades and let you keep those piercing that you've destroyed your beautiful head with. Plus, we let you play with that band. It's only a waste of time that you should have grown out of by now!" his mother screeched. "I think that's plenty of support, Nobu and what do you mean that you'll leave?! Where are you going to go?"
"I don't know, but I don't care as long as I'm away from here!" Nobu shouted and stormed out of the office.
He went home and collected a duffel bag of clothes, anything else he could carry with him, and his guitar and amp. He set out on the street and wanders around for a while. He saw a restaurant and realized that he was starving and decided to go in. It was a nice little restaurant with crimson colored booths over smooth oak in front of a smooth oak table. He got seated by the window and the waitress came over.
"Hi, my name is Miki and I will be our waitress this evening. May I start you off with something to drink?" she asked politely.
Nobu stared at her. She had long hair was a fuchsia color was up in pig tails and her bangs , her natural black hair color showing from the crown of her hair line reached just below her eyebrows. Her ears were pierced like his and her face was that of a porcelain doll's. Her figure was teetering on slim and chubby, but the American style waitress uniform looked good on her, being black with white piping. Nobu stared at her and she stared back, trying to initiate some sort of staring contest to make it a little less awkward.
"Sir?" she said, waving a hand in front of Nobu's face to see if he was still mentally with her.
"Huh?" Nobu looked up, bewildered, apparently after seeing her his mind had started to drift.
"You're order?"
"R-right. I'll have a cheeseburger and diet cola," he told her, watching her pen move as she wrote it down.
"Okay, I'll be right back with your cola."
Nobu leaned back and sighed as she walked away. "I ran away," he uttered, "I actually got up and left." He looked around at the near empty diner, since it was a late hour, around ten or so. He moved his thoughts back into his mind, "Where am I going to go?" He thought hard and his face showed it. "I can't got to Nana's she'll throw me out for sure. Yasu?"
As if the very thought summoned him Nobu's phone rings, the caller ID indicated Yasu.
"Hey, Yasu, what's up," he greeted, hoping that Yasu had something cheerful to tell him.
"Nobu, it's Yasu. I'm sorry for calling so late, but I have something I need to tell you," Yasu said, hesitating a bit.
"Okay," Nobu urged.
"Blast is officially broken up," Yasu retorted bluntly and flatly.
Nobu's heart sank as a numbness set in and took over his entire body. "W-what?" he stuttered into the receiver. "No, it can't be over! We can find someone better to take Ren's place! I know that we haven't had much luck, but still, come on, Yasu!"
He was sitting up fully now, leaning over the table, his free hand pulling at his blonde hair. Yasu replied, "I'm sorry, Nobu. Nana doesn't seem to want to sing right now and I need something stable. I'm going to focus on school and you should too. It's time to move on." Yasu's tone wasn't mean, but it was reasonable. He knew that Nobu's parents weren't exactly proud of Nobu's dream profession.
"But… Yasu…" Nobu began, but was cut off.
"I am sorry, but it's already been done. Besides, you have the Terashima Inn to secure your future. Good luck, Nobu," Yasu bid and hung up.
"…The inn," Nobu mumbled.
"Here's your cola, Sir," Miki the waitress said brightly and put it down on the table for him. Her eyes caught the guitar case sitting peacefully by the window on the booth next to Nobu. "Guitar or bass?" she asked herself more than Nobu, who looked up. She obviously hadn't been listening to his conversation or had really looked at him.
"Guitar," he said sullenly.
"Really? Are you in a band?" she pondered, prodding him for information before his tone registers. She looked down, "I'm sorry, bad subject? I'll just go crawl under a rock until your order is ready."
She turned to leave when Nobu caught her wrist. The two stood in hard silence and Miki's heart skipped a beat as she looks into his sapphire eyes. Nobu twitched as he realized what he has done, "Ah, sorry," he quickly apologized.
She gave him a small bow and waved her hand, "It's fine. I'll go check on your food." He watched her stand there, a guitar pick choker dangling from her neck over a heart shaped pendant hanging from a chain with something engraved. "Um, I could check better if you let go," she admitted with a slight blush.
Nobu let go, "Sorry, again."
Miki left and stood at the pick-up window when another employee came by, "Oh, who's that? You're boyfriend?" The taller girl with dark brown hair cooed in a teasing way.
Miki blushed, "No! I don't know him at all. He's just another customer," she defended.
"Right, 'just another customer' that happens to be so freaking adorable!"
"Uh huh," Miki picked up the tray and went to Nobu's table and served him.
"Stay?" Nobu asked, looking at the empty seat across from him.
"I'm working, I'm sorry, I can't," she refused politely.
"Then I'll wait," Nobu said smoothly, sounding much cooler than usual and not really sure why.
"Uh, okay, if you want to," Miki replied, ready to turn and bolt into the kitchen so that Nobu couldn't see her blushing.
Nobu nodded and she tried to look nonchalant as she walked away a little faster than usual. He looks at the cheeseburger, "Why the heck did I do that?"
Miki sat down across from Nobu at his booth after her shift was over. Nobu's hands were shaking like a leaf and she felt maybe more than awkward than him. She twiddled her thumbs as Nobu sipped his soda.
"Running away?" she asked, breaking the deafening silence and eyeing his suitcase.
"Uh, yeah…" Nobu swallowed, choking on his soda and caught off guard by the sudden question. "I'm not sure where I'm going to go, though… Maybe I should just go home."
"How old are you?" she asked, leaning over the table.
"Uh, well, I'll be finishing up high school in a year, if I go back, anyway…" Nobu trailed off, he'd completely forgotten about school this fall.
"Really? You look much younger than that. Hm… Maybe it's your height that's throwing me off. Did you know you're kinda on the short side?" she pondered allowed.
"My height? But, I never stood up!" Nobu protested, blushing that she noticed he wasn't very tall.
"I saw you when you came in. You're cute, though. I just got out of high school last spring."
"That's cool, are you in university?" Nobu quickly asked, blushing by the fact that she thought he was cute.
Miki smirked, "Nah, Man, that's not for me. I just got the high school diploma to get a job while my band and I do what we love. Play music."
Nobu saw the brightness in her eyes when she said the word music and he enjoyed the way the word sounded when it came out of her mouth. She was studying his face and when he realized that he was staring he quickly turned away and said the first thing that came to his mind, "Sure is dark out there…" As soon as the sentence was out he felt a little surge of something going down his back as he realized how silly that sounded.
"Sure is," Miki replied, turning her attention outside, too. She had worry in her eyes, which Nobu caught before she could collect herself.
"What's wrong?" he asked with deep concern for a girl he had just met.
"Nothing, it's just, someone usually comes to pick me up, my band's drummer, but he's sick tonight and won't be able to…"
"Oh…" Nobu said, his heart sinking for some reason.
Miki chuckled, "No, no, it's not like that. He's not my boyfriend or anything, we just live together, my band and I that is. He doesn't like me walking home alone; he's like a protective older brother. He's planted these insane, horrible scenarios in my head about walking alone." Her eyes grew sad as she looked down at her hands and played with her neon blue nail polish on her fingernails.
"I could take you home," he offered, being brave again.
"That's sweet of you, um, what's your name anyway?"
"Oh, Nobu, did I never mention that?" he asked, blushing pink again. "Sorry."
"Nah, it's cool. I should have thought to ask earlier."
Nobu took out his wallet and went to the counter to pay while Miki went into the back to change into her street clothes. She bid goodnight to her bosses and co-workers before heading out with Nobu into the eerie darkness of the night.
"I live close by so we don't have to take the train," she said to him as they began their trek down the side of the road on a sidewalk that was over grown with grass.
About five minutes into the walk Nobu could see why Miki's band mate didn't want her walking alone. From the corner of his eye he could see two men watching them from the darkness behind the almost invisible guard rail. Even though she had changed out of her uniform and into a black T-shirt and old pair of jeans with army style boots with a pink hoodie he could tell they wanted to make a move on her. Nobu took her hand to her surprise and looked sternly ahead. She was glad that it was dark and that Nobu couldn't see her blushing or that he didn't have supersonic hearing because her heart was racing. Her house came into view 15 minutes later and she sighed in relief.
Two much larger men stepped out in front of Nobu and Miki just towards the end of the walk and they eyed her, then they turned to Nobu to size him up.
"I think we can take him," one grunted with a sarcastic smile.
The other cracked his knuckles and neck, "Definitely. Hey, Little Lady, how's about comin' with us?"
Miki narrowed her eyes and Nobu moved in front of her protectively, again he had no idea why. They scoffed at him and stepped forward with stupid grins on their faces. One of them took Miki's arm and the sound of quick steps came out of nowhere and with a loud smack he was hit, releasing her.
"Not a wise choice, My Friend," said a man with midnight hair that reached just over the tops of his ears and was a little longer than Nobu's.
"Hiro!" she cried in surprise and relief.
The big guy rushed onto this man's slim figure, which was definitely not a disadvantage for Hiro. He gave the big guy a sharp kick to the backs of the knees and then swiftly came to the front and winded him by kicking him in the chest. The other one had decided to go for Nobu and Hiro quickly grabbed the fist that was about to strike Nobu and kneed him in the gut.
"Leave and don't come near here again," Hiro warned the two of them, making them scamper off into the darkness. He walked over to Miki and she quickly hugged him in thanks for the rescue. Nobu turned to leave when Hiro's voice stopped him, "Who are you?"
Nobu jerked a bit and then turned to face him, "Terashima Nobuo, Sir!" He said, feeling fear and a sense that he should be very polite with him. "I was simply escorting Miki home. I'll go now."
Hiro's gaze was soft for Nobu, "Thank you, Nobuo."
As Nobu turned to leave Miki took his wrist, "Stay with us. We could use a new guitarist around here."
"Guitarist?" Hiro asked, then seeing Nobu's guitar case he smiled brightly, "We certainly could since Takashi quit yesterday to focus on his studies."
"So we can keep him? He's still in high school."
Hiro thought about it for a bit and then said, "A stray? We can take him in, but only if he promises to keep going to high school. Can you do that, Nobuo?"
Nobu was silent, stunned by the warmness that they offered him, a stranger whom they'd just met. When she waved a hand in front of his face Nobu shook his head and said, "Yeah, I'd love to and I'll definitely go to high school if that's all it is. I'm in a band again and now I even get a place to stay! Thank you, thank you! You guys have given me hope!"
Hiro smiled warmly and led Miki by the wrist into the house. The house was one story with three bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen, and living area with an old TV and a somewhat beat up couch. The walls were white underneath the random painting that decorated the walls. Splashes of color were everywhere. The lights added a nice look to the room, the bulbs weren't too dull and it wasn't too bright. There was a bookshelf standing by the wall. There was a heavy door that led into the garage. None of them had cars. There were three motorcycles to the side, but the main thing in the garage was the band's set up. The instruments looked shiny and new, except for where they were mostly played. An acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, drum set, keyboard, and microphone were spread out over an old crimson rug. On the wall of the garage, painted beautifully was the band name, Shadow Veil. The instruments faced the garage doors where there was a painting of a music hall in Tokyo in front of them. Underneath it said, That's the goal. Nobu smiled at it.
"Nobu, you'll be rooming with Hiro during your stay. The rest of the band should be home soon," Miki called to him from the door leading into the house.
"Oh, okay. Hey, I thought you said he was sick."
"Oh, Hiro? Yeah, he got better. One of those twenty-four hour things. If you don't believe me there are tons of tissues in the garbage in the kitchen. Oh, you'll need to get a job, the others won't be so cool with you eating food you didn't help pay for."
"Oh, okay. So, there are three others?" he said, looking back at the instruments as he followed her into the house.
"Huh? Oh no. Only two others, I play keyboard and sing."
"Yeah? What does Hiro play?"
"Drums."
Nobu nodded, imagining Hiro on the drums with Miki singing front and center.
"So what are the others' names?"
"Kai and Celestial are the other two members. They're brothers. Kai is older by a year, but they look so alike that you'd think they were twins!"
She pointed to one of the doors and on it was a picture of two guys joking around with big smiles. They had the same length strong coffee colored hair with dark blonde highlights, one of them had their eyes open and they were a brilliant hazel. One of them looked a little stronger than the other and just then the door's many locks, seven of them to be exact, opened and the two guys came in. They were much taller than Nobu, standing about six feet.
"No, I think she said that she'd be there tomorrow. You should check her out later, Celestial, I know she'll like you," Kai encouraged.
"…right. Whatever you say, Kai," Celestial, the smaller one answered.
"Nobu! I want you to meet Kai, he plays guitar, and Celestial, who plays bass. Guys, this is Nobu, he's going to be our new second guitarist, not that it matters which each of you play. He's our replacement for Takashi!" Miki introduced quickly before Kai could ask who we was.
"It's nice to meet you," Nobu said, sheepishly.
Kai looked a little annoyed and Celestial smiled and said, "It's nice to meet you!" Nobu returned Celestial's smile, but he couldn't shake the feeling of absolute dislike that he got from Kai. Kai didn't say anything, he simply walked into his room and shut the door.
"Well, that was rude," Miki scolded through the door.
"I'll check on him," Celestial told her and turned to speak to Nobu before he left the room, "Don't worry about him. He's just not good with meeting new people." Nobu gave a little nod as Celestial followed his brother into their room.
Inside of the boys' room Kai was sitting on his bed in the dark. Celestial flicked on the light and sat down next to him.
"Come on now, Mr. Gloom and Doom. It can't be that bad. He seems like a nice enough guy."
"That's not what I'm worried about. I don't want anyone else taking Takashi's place. I'm sure Miki made up some bogus excuse to keep from telling him the truth about why Takashi isn't in the band anymore." There was deep hurt in Kai's eyes and Celestial put a hand on his shoulder.
"Wouldn't you?"
"Wouldn't I what?"
"Make up an excuse? You can't recruit new band members if you tell them something as awful as what happened to the former one," Celestial reasoned.
"…I guess," he mumbled.
Kai came out of the room later and found Nobu settling into Hiro's room. Nobu turned, a little intimidated. "Sorry," Kai said and held out a hand.
"Um, yeah, it's okay," Nobu stammered, shaking it. Hiro smiled from the corner of the room, happy to see that Kai had come around.
"Tomorrow, we'll teach you our songs and play them for you," Hiro told him after Kai bid them good night.
"Right, okay. Hey, who writes the songs anyway?"
Hiro paused for a moment and then replied, "Takashi wrote the music and Miki writes the lyrics. Which reminds me, can you write music?"
Nobu nodded, "I did that for my old band. I can try to help write new songs."
"Good, I'm glad Miki found you, you're the perfect band replacement."
Nobu smiled to himself as he settled into his new bed, which must have belonged to Takashi. It had a soothing smell to it that put him gently to sleep once Hiro shut off the lights.
Nobu woke up the next morning to the smell of fresh bacon and eggs. The sounds of clinking dishes were nice and made him feel at home. He got up from his cozy bed and found his bag across from the bed on the dresser. Hiro opened the door and crossed the room to open the curtains. Nobu expected to see the dingy, disgusting place there had been the night before, but it was gone now. The window looked out onto the road, faded to a grayish brown with aged lines on the roads. A guardrail was up, but it was only half seen because of the overgrowth. It looked like the country and it seemed peaceful. He smile subconsciously and Hiro caught it.
"Pretty, isn't it?" Hiro said, looking out onto the road.
"Yeah," Nobu replied as he grabbed a change of clothes.
"Bathroom's free," Hiro said, seeing that Nobu was fiddling with a small bottle of shampoo and his toothbrush.
"Thanks," he said and left.
"Oh, Takashi you should meet this guy," he said and looked over at the group picture on the dresser.
Nobu walked down the hall and into the bathroom to get ready, ignoring the iciness he felt from Kai. Celestial said a nice good morning to him and Nobu responded just as warmly before going in. Miki 'dropped' a plate in front of Kai to draw his attention.
He waited for Nobu to shut the door and the water to start to run before speaking, "How long's he staying?"
"As long as he needs to," Miki said, sitting down with her own plate and patting the seat beside her for Hiro to sit. "Right?"
"Right, Kai, you're going to have to deal with him. We need the second guitarist."
"Hiro! Are you crazy? I don't want him to- Ugh, nevermind." Kai slammed his hands on the table and stormed to the door.
"Where are you going?" Celestial piped up.
"To work!" he yelled as he unlocked the door and went out with his jacket.
"…Poor Kai…" Miki sighed and looked at the bathroom door. "Maybe we shouldn't do this…"
"Give up the dream? Takashi said to just go on without him and make it happen, Miki. Don't break your promise," Hiro encouraged, putting a hand on hers.
"I know, but, honestly, even with Nobu, I don't think we'll be able to make it." Celestial looked into her eyes and then guided them with his to the words on the wall that said Believe It. She blushed and chuckled while nodding. "Thank you."
Eventually, the water stopped and Nobu came out, dressed. He looked around at the silent diners, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Miki said, pushing a plate under tinfoil towards him. "Eat, you have to job hunt and learn our songs today."
Nobu nodded and ate the meal that was really good. "Where'd you learn to cook like this?"
"Takashi and I used to love cooking together for the guys. Hey, do you want to try a song now?'
"Uh, sure," Nobu replied, eager to strum his guitar strings without his mother telling him that he had no future in music and should just learn the inn's business.
Miki sat down and handed music to Nobu and he began to play the ballad as she sang the words. Her voice was powerful like Nana's but the key was different than what Nana had done. It felt weird to play a song he hadn't written and without the sound of Nana's voice to enhance the power of the music. For a second, he thought that this wouldn't work out. But, he ignored the feeling because despite all that he thought the music was really good.
"Well, what do you think?" she asked once he put the guitar down.
"It was really good. You wrote that?"
"Yup, with some help from Takashi," she admitted. "So, what do you say we get ready to go out? We've already lost half an hour."
He left a few hours later with Miki so that she could help him around the town.
"Are you sure it's okay for you to help me like this?" Nobu asked sheepishly, feeling guilty for taking up her time.
"Yup, it's okay I don't have to work until five o'clock tonight."
"Why do you work so late? It's really not safe for you to be walking around late at night by yourself."
"Well, I do some stuff in the day time for the band while the guys are at work and the diner doesn't open until about 1 o'clock anyway so the high school kids take those shifts."
"High school kids? They can get jobs now?" Nobu asked her.
"I guess so. Hey, do you want a job at the diner? We have an opening," Miki offered to Nobu's complete surprise.
"Uh, yeah, that'd be cool. I could walk you home then."
"Then it's settled! I'll tell my boss tonight to give you the job!"
"Uh, okay…" Nobu said, scratching the back of his head with a confused look.
"What is it?" Miki looked up at him curiously.
"Why did we go out to look for a job then?"
"Oh," she blushed, "I used job hunting as an excuse… I just wanted to get to know you without being bothered by anyone. If I said we were hanging out then other people would join us."
"Well, what's wrong with that?"
"Erm, nothing. Hey, I have to go buy some guitar strings and stuff. If you don't mind hanging out that is…"
"No, that's cool," Nobu replied with a smile on his face that he couldn't explain.
"Cool! Let's go then!" Miki sang and grabbed him by the hand as she skipped off towards the subway station.
Nobu blushed at the warmth of her hand and was a little alarmed that he was. The train car was crowded and they stood close to each other. He could smell her sweet perfume and he stared down at her as she kept rambling on about things that the guys had done in the past that she found funny.
"So, Takashi jumps up and slides across the table and knocks the fork out of Kai's hand before he could eat the mold on the cake! It was hilarious! He just went flying across!" she laughed as the train pulled into the station. They passed a bookstore and Miki looked in through the window.
"What are you looking for?" Nobu asked, shying away from the glass and looking anxious.
"There's this new book that came out that I wanted to get. It's part of a series I'm reading about a band that moves to Tokyo to make it big. It's really, really good!" She scans it again. "I guess we should go in to look for it, okay?" She looked at him with a big smile and led him in.
Nobu quickly rushed behind a book case and glanced at the register. An older man was sitting there reading a magazine. He sighed in relief and looked for Miki among the many bookcases. She was holding the book she was looking for and was half skipping to the register. He caught up with her as she was paying at the register.
"Oh, there you are, Nobu, I was wondering where you went."
"Yeah, I wanted to see if they got the new issue of my favorite magazine yet," he said with a smile and a hand behind his head.
The bell on the door rang and Miki stared at the woman coming in.
"So you finally decided to show up, eh, Ms. Osaki?" the cashier complained.
"Yeah, yeah," Nana said, sounding bored and was on her way to the back when she noticed Nobu. He was tugging on Miki to go and she was talking about how pretty Nana was.
"Nobuo! Where have you been?! I've been trying to give you this CD you lent me back, but your mom said you were gone."
"Er, um, I'm just visiting some friends from high school," he lied and gestured to Miki, who blushed and then looked at Nobu with a quizzical look.
"Go with it," he mouthed to her.
"Um, yes, my name is Miki. It's nice to meet you!"
"I'm Nana, nice to meet you. You missed the last day of school so I was bored! I'm gonna make you pay for that, Nobuo!" Nana turned her attention back to Miki and said, "I don't remember you."
"Um, I met Nobu through a friend of mine who went to school with you…"
"Really, huh? Well, I guess it doesn't really matter."
"Well, I'll see you later!" Nobu said, taking Miki by the hand and leading her out the door. Miki bowed her head and said that it was nice to have met Nana as he yanked at her.
"What was that all about?" she asked, panting from the unnecessary run they had done down the block. "Who was she?"
"Her? That was just Nana. I went to high school with her."
"She seems cool. Why didn't you stay to talk?"
"No reason, I just didn't have anything to say and, um, I have to go to the bathroom. There isn't one in there so I thought we really needed to leave!" Nobu replied with a bright smile and he looked around at the stores, pretending to look for a bathroom. "Oh, there's one in the market." He ran inside, leaving Miki staring after him on the sidewalk. "Oh no, she probably thinks I'm really weird!" he told himself as he sat on the floor of one of the stalls.
There was a knock on the men's room door and Nobu peeked at it. "Nobu?" Miki called. "Are you okay?"
"Uh, yeah! I'll be out in a minute!" he called back to her. "Geez, she followed me?" he thought washing his hands for no reason and came out.
Miki was looking at the meat section and Nobu stood behind her. "How do you feel about chicken for dinner tonight?" she asked him, looking at the package of meat.
"Chicken? We only had breakfast," he looked at his watch, "Five hours ago…"
"Yeah, we should have some lunch now, actually," she said turning to him. She looked up into his eyes to make sure she was listening and he froze as she put her hand in his. With her free hand she waved in front of him. "Nobu, did you hear me?"
"What?"
"I said we should go have lunch," she repeated. "Are you okay? Really, who was that girl in the bookstore?" She smirked, "An old girlfriend, maybe?"
Nobu's hairs stood on end on the back of his neck. "No!" he exasperated. "Uh, let's go get lunch!" He led her out of the store and to the café down the block.
They were seated quickly and ordered. "Great… I ran from Nana and now she definitely knows that something's up! …Not only her… Miki is suspicious now," he thought as he looked out over the short fence that separated the café from the sidewalk.
"You know, you can trust me, right? I mean, yeah, I met you yesterday, but, "she laughed, "Never mind, that's kind of crazy. It's none of my business."
Nobu watched her fidget and it was true, they hadn't known each other for more than a day, but there was just something there that told him that he could trust her. He decided to change the subject. "So, tell me about Takashi."
Miki seemed to choke a little bit on her iced tea and she looked up at him with shocked eyes. "Uh, okay."
"You don't have to talk about him. It's just that it sounded like everyone really loves him. Was he an old boyfriend?" As he said the last sentence his heart strings tugged a little.
"An old boyfriend? Yeah, he was about two years ago," she said with a smile that told Nobu that she was remembering something nice.
He looked down at his hands. "Okay, Demon Lord, stop. Ah! Hopeless romantics never get anywhere! Every girl I meet I end up falling for! Like the woman at the candy store and the sample girl at the supermarket. What's wrong with me?! Oh, right, the Demon Lord's curse…" Then he remembered Miki must have been waiting or talking or something. He looked up.
She was sitting there, playing with her straw. She found his eyes again. "It's over between Takashi and me." Her eyes were full of sorrow, but she smiled glumly.
"Why? What happened?"
She stirred. "Hm, no, I shouldn't unload things like this on people I don't really know… Sorry, shouldn't have even said we were together."
They sat in an awkward silence, "Nana was the singer of the band I was in."
"So you were in another band then."
"Yeah, we were a band called "Blast". Our bassist, Nana's boyfriend quit and that was the end of us. Like yours the band wanted to make it big and go to Tokyo. But, with Nana's spirit kind of crushed that's it."
"Says who?" Miki asked, crossing her arms. "You can put Blast back together. All you need is a new bassist."
Nobu chuckled, "No, you can't replace Ren. He was one of a kind."
"One of a kind. Takashi was one of a kind, too. You have the opportunity to show Ren what he's missing and what he gave up. A band is a family and you can't break up the family just like that. Some drift away, but they can always be brought back if you really try. Maybe you can get Ren back and Nana will be happy and you guys can do it."
"I don't know, Nana's kind of stubborn…"
"Do you want it to be over?" she asked him, looking into his face for the truth.
"Of course I don't want it to be over! But, it can't be helped!"
"You're going to just give up? You can't do that," Miki argued, looking at the hurt she saw in his eyes she took his hands on top of the table in hers. "Look, I'm sorry it's not my place to say that…"
"No, it's okay. Do I get to hear about Takashi?"
Miki smiled, "Yes." She paused, collecting herself. "I met Takashi in Junior High and we got along really well. Kai, Celestial, Hiro, Takashi, and I formed Crimson Garden together in our first year of middle school. It was great we really thought we would make it big one day because we were getting gigs like crazy to all of the kids' parties. He was Kai's best friend and Hiro was like a big brother to him. In our last year of middle school we got together. Hiro was shocked and went into overprotective older brother mode like always. Eventually, we got his blessing. It was bliss being with him. But, in our first year of high school Takashi got sick and ended up dying. We thought it would be the end of us, too. We all just lived together, trying to see if we could really try again to be a band and not just friends. Then, I brought you home Nobu. Before I'd left for work we had been discussing it… again. Kai was against it, but Hiro and Celestial finally thought it was time to try again. You were like a blessing to me."
Nobu blushed at being called a blessing and took a moment to think about it as the food arrived. Anko waited to say more and they picked at their food a little bit. "If I'm a blessing then what exactly makes me one? Because I play guitar?" he asked sheepishly.
"You must have the power to change things, Nobu. You turned our seemingly hopeless situation around." She took a bite of her pasta.
"If I'm Crimson Garden's blessing why are you insisting I go back to try to reform Blast?"
"Honestly, I've heard of Blast. I've seen you guys perform before and you were awesome. I thought I'd recognized you from somewhere and when you said that you were in Blast I knew that you guys were the band that would really make it. Crimson Garden is too broken to go anywhere. Kai really doesn't like the idea and if he goes so will Celestial. I was selfish when I asked you to join the band. I thought that if I could get someone to agree then it would change Kai's mind. But, it only made him angrier."
Nobu looked at her. "So, does this mean I'm fired?"
"No, you've been let go to put your talents where it would benefit more," she said with a smile.
He looked at Miki with sincere and amazed eyes.
I returned home to the Terashima Inn to collect my things and go to Tokyo to find Nana. Yasu had told me that she had left by the time I got to talk to him. I knew that the road ahead wouldn't be easy or if Nana would even listen to me or if Yasu would put away his law book and pick up his drum sticks instead. I never even told Miki that I was going to go after Blast and get back together. But, something told me that, that night that I left she knew where I was going. I never saw her or anyone from Crimson Garden again. I suppose in the end they did break up. Sometimes I go to that diner where we first met just to see if she'd show up. She hasn't yet and she probably won't. Too bad. I never even got to tell her that in the end she was my blessing.
Hi, I really hope that you enjoyed reading this story because I enjoyed writing it for all of you. Please read and review. No flames, please. ~Hatori's Snowdrop Princess