Notes:
"Asakusa Toro Nagashi" means "Asakusa paper lantern festival", and is a festival as part of Obon at Asakusa, at the Sumida River in Tokyo.
"Hanito Café" is short for "Honey Toast Café", the famous café in Akihabara which is popular for their Honey Toast dessert.
"Hokkai Bon Odori" means "Hokkai Bon Dance" and is the festival celebrated in Sapporo for Obon. The Hokkai Bon Odori dance is to honour the dead, and to welcome homecoming ancestral spirits. Anybody can join in.
"Daimonji Festival" is shorthand for "Gozan no Okuribi Festival" and is the culmination of Obon in Kyoto, where five giant bonfires are lit on mountains around the city.
Thank you so much for all the feedback! I was very pleasantly surprised by the reviews, and while I'm not sure how to respond without spoiling anything, I was very motivated by every single one. I'm very surprised at how quickly I wrote this, even if I had great fun, so thank you again!
Chapter 3: Reunited
Fate
Saturday afternoon, August the 10th.
Fighting against the onslaught of tourists and natives on holiday flowing from beyond the ticket gates, Umi and Honoka ploughed their way through the unending waves of people in Akihabara Station's concourse step by step, side by side, suitcases in hand behind them, diverting each person as if they were pushing through with an invisible shield. They settled at the pillar nearest to the ticket barriers and stood as tall as they could, hoping to catch a glimpse of any of the seven they were looking for. Umi took out her phone and looked at the screen before looking up to make sure it matched with the station's clock; 1:03pm on both clocks. Umi noted that there was no signal on her phone, putting it back into her purse; they would have to play this by ear.
"Do you see anyone, Honoka?"
Honoka moved her right ear closer to Umi, moving a stray strand of hair out of her own face. "What?"
"Do you see anyone, Honoka? I don't know what they look like, if they look any different."
"No, I don't. Let's wait here so we have somewhere to stick to." Honoka shouted over the roar of countless different conversations, moving her hand perpendicular to her forehead in a fruitless attempt to identify people she'd only seen once in the last 11 years. The slowest four minutes of their life followed. Countless trains were delayed. Several people got stuck behind the ticket barriers after being too slow to bring their bags through. Through it all, Umi and Honoka kept anchor where they were.
Through the faceless mass of middle-aged men with short black hair, Honoka caught a glimpse of blonde hair - she was standing next to someone with...dark purple hair.
It had to be Eli and Nozomi.
Knowing she had bright hair just the same, Honoka jumped and waved in their general direction and prayed to herself that they wouldn't make an unnecessary turn in any direction, shouting their names when she knew they wouldn't be able to hear her as Umi simply waved her right arm slowly, secretly hoping she wouldn't be noticed next to the woman flailing her arms wildly and shouting. Nozomi noticed quickly and tapped Eli's shoulder, leaning in to say something to her. Eli turned her head in their general direction but didn't look directly at them; Honoka still couldn't see either of them very well through the gaps in the crowd, but she saw Eli craning her head just like Honoka was as Umi pressed down on Honoka's shoulder to prevent her jumping any more - they'd noticed them, faster than hoped. Umi sighed unheard in relief, releasing her worries into the jet stream of noise coming from all sides.
Honoka saw a raised arm craning over the crowds, pointing insistently in their direction and awkwardly moving to the side for every second person to make their way through. She couldn't see who the arm belonged to, but she had a general idea of who it might be as the arm's owner burst through a brief gap between two tourists, set down a suitcase in front of her and immediately hugged Honoka and Umi tightly.
"It's good to see you again, Nozomi." Umi said, her eyes closed, her head on Nozomi's shoulder.
Eli materialised from behind Nozomi, setting her suitcase down by Nozomi's suitcase, hugging Honoka and Umi in turn, though separately this time; her hugs were much lighter and more delicate than Nozomi's, but just as sincere. Eli moved around so that four of them stood in a tight diamond formation to the side of the pillar, making sure they would not be moved from their position.
"So", Eli said with a smile, "it's been 11 years, has it not?"
"We've asked Honoka already, Umi. Now it's your turn: what do you do for a living?" Nozomi asked, finishing a sentence Eli didn't even have to start.
Keeping her hands clasped against her stomach politely, Umi didn't miss a beat: "As expected of me, I'm assistant director and assistant manager for both my father's martial arts classes and my mother's traditional dance studio. I'm looking set to inherit them any day now as my parents are nearing retirement. Though...my dad says he'll never retire, we know he'll have to soon."
Eli and Nozomi nodded at each other in surprise, impressed by Umi's quick and concise answer.
"A fine forehand return, Umi." Nozomi quipped as Eli nodded in agreement, glancing between Umi and Nozomi quickly.
"On that subject, Nozomi, I have to ask, what does Eli do?" Umi replied, a knowing smile forming on her face. Nozomi returned this sly smile. Honoka and Eli simply looked on at Nozomi and Umi, unsure of what to say about the battle of wits taking place; they weren't sure what their goal was or where this was going, but it intrigued them as any professional sporting match would.
"Elicchi is a florist, and she keeps a very nice back garden. She runs a small flower shop in the town of Sapporo we live in."
Nozomi punctuated her sentence by kissing Eli on the cheek with blinding speed, moving quickly back to her original position to finish her power move. A brief pause followed before Honoka smiled broadly, planted her hand on Umi's shoulder and did the same to Umi, her troublemaking smile returning the moment her body moved back to its original posture. Umi swatted Honoka's hand off her shoulder a moment too late, her face clearly holding back embarrassed laughter. Eli and Nozomi looked at them for another moment before breaking down into laughter.
"You win this round, Umi." Nozomi said, rubbing her left eye with her finger, still laughing.
"I have to ask, though...what do you do, Nozomi?" Umi asked politely.
"I head one of the divisions of Mazda. It's not too interesting to most people, but the recent economic boom's made it a lot easier. We're getting interns just pouring in now thanks to the amendment on graduate programmes..."
"Ohhh, I see." Umi said, nodding her head in feigned interest. She didn't pay too much interest in politics. Nozomi read her like a book and realised she'd gone too far into economics already.
"Sorry, Umi. Sometimes I get carried away. As you might be able to tell, I got in through a graduate programme myself after I got a degree in economics at Sapporo University."
"Sapporo's a wonderful place", Eli added, holding onto Nozomi's arm and leaning into her, "We fell in love with the place, so I decided to move there for good with Nozomi. We got married there."
"Congratulations on your marriage!" Umi replied, bowing.
Eli went to say something, but interrupted herself to look past Umi and into the intensifying crowd coming from the ticket barrier.
"Hang on, I think I see Hanayo and Rin."
The four of them looked where Eli was looking; sure enough, they could see a head of orange hair and a head of long brown hair looking around frantically, trying to see through the group of tall men in front of them. They didn't seem like they knew where they were headed, and looked primed to head in a different direction entirely.
"Hang on, I'll go get them. Watch my suitcase." Umi said, shooting off into the crowd. The three of them watched as she cut through the crowd like a knife through water, her stride never breaking for even a moment. 10 seconds later, Umi brought them back with both their hands in hers with the same fierce march, the both of them following her like ducklings with their little suitcases behind them. Eli, Nozomi and Honoka shifted around and the six of them rearranged into a tight hexagon formation, suitcases in the centre like a blossom. Nozomi began the greetings by hugging them both in one armful, followed by Eli's smaller, separate hugs, then Umi and Honoka went in for a group hug before they returned to their positions.
Hanayo sighed and looked skyward, running her hands through her long hair and shaking it out before brushing her pink skirt and white shirt. "What a nightmare..."
Rin nodded in agreement, a distressed look on her face. "Our train got delayed by 16 minutes...we thought we would be early."
"Tell me about it", Eli replied, "Haneda Airport was hell on earth, and then we had to get the crowded train on top of that. Nozomi, when are you getting a private jet?"
Nozomi shrugged comically.
"How is Chiba-ken? Honoka tells me it's green where you live." Eli added.
"It's okay, I guess. I'm happy with the activity centre I work out though. There's so many things to do..." Rin replied. "I like the cafés where I live the best! There's nothing better than relaxing with some coffee after running around with a group of children. You should come to Chiba-ken some day!"
"She loves coffee." Hanayo said, summarising.
"Ah...cafés? If it's a warm feeling you want, you'd LOVE Sapporo. I run a flower shop there, but sometimes I run out to go get something from the coffee shop next door because it smells so nice."
Eli looked up dreamily, thinking of her flower shop again.
"Rin, why did you have to talk about coffee? I could really have some right now." Honoka said.
"We walked here, Honoka, stop complaining." Umi added.
"I still want coffee..."
"I do have a few bottles of water in my suitcase, if anyone wants any." Nozomi said, pre-emptively kneeling down to unzip her suitcase, though everyone politely declined. Nozomi stood back up, slightly put out.
"Honestly, Eli, I miss the cafés of Akihabara the most. There was the maid café Kotori worked at, and did you ever eat at the Honey Toast bakery?"
Eli clasped her hands over her heart in delight. "I LOVED the Honey Toast bakery." She said with wistful love in her voice. "I heard they went downhill before I moved away though."
"No, no! They're a good café!" Rin replied, quickly looking behind her for signs of Kotori, Maki or Nico. "They can make hanito like they used to!"
"Riiin...Nozomi, can I have some water, please?" Eli asked.
"I thought you'd never ask."
"Can I have some too?" Rin added.
"Me too! Get a bottle for Umi as well." Honoka said.
"Ah, could I have a bottle too, please?" Hanayo said, hoping Nozomi had enough water.
Nozomi knelt down and unzipped her suitcase halfway, taking out several half-frozen water bottles and placing them onto the ground. She then zipped the suitcase up and handed a bottle to each person, taking one for herself. For a good 10-15 seconds, the six of them stood there in silence, drinking heavily in the suffocating, stale hot air of the station.
"Thanks, Nozomi." Honoka said. The rest of them followed in turn with their own variants of "Thank you, Nozomi", in agreement with Honoka.
"Oh, but we definitely have to go to the cafés of Akihabara sometime. Maybe this week." Eli digressed to Rin, capping her bottle of water again. "Do you know when Maki, Nico or Kotori are getting here, Honoka?"
Honoka held up her phone towards Eli, pointing to the top-left corner. "Sorry, Eli, there's no signal in here. I'm not getting any messages."
Honoka looked at her phone, then at Umi.
Umi took out her phone and turned on the screen, waiting a few seconds.
"Ah...didn't you say you had coffee with Maki a few years ago? Do you still have her number?"
"Well..."
"Ah, so you're still in touch with others?" Nozomi interjected. "Why haven't you seen each other since, though? Did something happen?"
Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
Umi's blood ran cold; she knew Nozomi was capable of seeing into anybody's soul, and if Nozomi figured out what happened, there was no telling what damage that information could do. She didn't need people intruding on her feelings.
Her phone reinitialised, and Umi saw something she never thought she'd be happy to see: no signal.
"I'm sorry, Honoka. I don't have any signal either."
"Oh, here comes Maki now!" Hanayo shouted. The six of them turned around and sure enough, a bright red-haired figure with her hair in a bun was clearly visible in the crowd; it could only be Maki.
"Umi, would you do the honours?" Eli said.
Umi nodded, and ghosted through the crowds again. She could be seen waving then motioning to Maki to follow her. 20 seconds later, Umi returned bringing Maki back in her hand, her heart silently beating through her chest. Maki hugged each of them in turn and set down her suitcase in the centre of them, changing the formation to a heptagon. The seven of them took up a fair amount of space now; they were a fortress.
"Wow...you look wonderful, Maki." Hanayo said.
"Thank you, Hanayo. I have to say, you look adorable in your pink skirt too." Maki said with a warm smile.
Nozomi quickly knelt down and unzipped her suitcase again, taking out another bottle of water before zipping the suitcase back up.
"Here, Maki. I'm sure you're exhausted and dehydrated."
"Ah, thank you, Nozomi. I actually am a bit dehydrated right now." Maki accepted the bottle of water, and took a few sips before putting it back in her purse. She already had a bottle of water in her purse, but it was warm; she hoped it would cool the other bottle down.
"You wouldn't believe the crowds I had on the way here from Kyoto." she said. Everyone except Umi and Honoka groaned in agreement, recalling their own bad travel experience.
"16-minute delay, and we came here from Chiba-ken." Hanayo complained, gesturing with each word. "You think that sounds okay, but when you have to wait in a crowded train station shoulder-to-shoulder the whole time, it's bad."
Maki sighed. "What a nightmare."
Hanayo laughed. "That's what I said. But we knew it'd be like this around Obon..."
"I know it is, but it's all worth it for the Daimonji Festival. It's the best Obon festival I've seen in all of Japan."
"Better than Asakusa Toro Nagashi?" Honoka chimed in.
Maki nodded. "Better."
Honoka didn't believe it herself, and wasn't sure if anyone else did, but she accepted Maki's opinion.
"It might not be THE festival, but the Hokkai Bon Odori's definitely worth it if you're ever in Sapporo", Nozomi added, lifting a finger with flair, "As you know, it's where the Hokkai Bon Odori comes from, so it's super in touch with its roots."
"I was in Sapporo once...but it wasn't during Obon. Kind of a shame, I'm in the mood for the Hokkai Bon Odori now."
Nozomi shrugged empathetically. "For what it's worth, we have better festivals than most of the other places in the world. I went to Britain once, and their fireworks night on the 5th of November seemed kind of...plain."
"I don't really go abroad much, so I wouldn't know. I only ever fly out for the occasional medical conference, but I like to stay in Japan when I holiday."
"You're a doctor?" Nozomi asked. "Where did you go to university?"
"Kyoto University, Yoshida campus! I did all 7 years of my medical course there. I did fine but I still have nightmares about the entrance exams..."
"I know how you feel, Maki." Hanayo said. "I got a degree in English Literature from Tokyo University, and I read somewhere that Tokyo University and Kyoto University are the hardest ones to get into. I remember panicking and thinking I'd failed the entrance exam before I got in. I'm just thankful that the course itself wasn't so hard."
"Honestly, the entrance exam is the only truly worrisome part of university. Once I got into Sapporo University, I spent half my time out of campus." Nozomi chimed in nonchalantly.
"Well, I have to admit, it did get difficult in the last 3 years of the course", Maki said, "being a doctor is not easy work."
"I wish I had an easy time of university like you two...I only did English Lit, but I struggled a lot." Hanayo added.
"I dropped out two years in because I couldn't handle it." Rin said. "I'm not very good at studying a lot and keeping focused, so university isn't for me."
"Oh, hang on, I think I see Kotori!" Honoka interrupted, looking towards the silvery-brown haired figure sauntering out of the ticket gates. "Umi, can I try this time?"
Honoka departed into the recently refreshed crowd, and sidestepped awkwardly around several people before bulldozing her way through the rest to make her way to Kotori. After around a minute, Honoka burst out of the wall of businessmen with Kotori in tow, looking slightly frustrated.
"Umi. How...do...you...do...this?"
Without missing a beat, Kotori set down her suitcase and shepherded in Umi and Honoka, the two people closest to her, in for a tight hug lasting several seconds, kissing each of them on both cheeks. Eli brought her closer for her own hug, and Kotori moved around to greet each person in turn before taking her place in the octagon they'd made. Nozomi handed her a cold bottle of water proudly, which Kotori drank half of in a single go.
"Thank you, Nozomi!"
"She carries all sorts of things around with her in case someone needs anything", Eli said, laughing, "Even if they don't really need it."
"They need it." Nozomi said.
"People do need water though!" Rin said. "Staying hydrated is the most important thing to remember. Even if you don't think you're thirsty, you should drink water just in case. I work at a children's activity centre, and I often have to tell them to drink water or they'll faint in the heat."
Honoka and Hanayo uncapped their water bottles and took a gulp of water, followed by Maki.
"I drink a lot of coffee. Doesn't that help too, Rin?" Kotori said.
"If you're dehydrated, caffeine will give you a headache, Kotori..." Rin replied with a hint of worry in her voice.
"You drink coffee all the time!" Hanayo interrupted.
"I recommend water even if you've got another drink with you. Do you play sports, Kotori?" Rin continued.
"Ah, I don't, I'm sorry...I work at a café in Paris, so I don't get many chances to play sports."
"You still do kendo, right, Umi? Tell me you stay hydrated!" Rin said as she turned to Umi, the worry on her face spreading.
"I stay hydrated, Rin." Umi said, smiling warmly in an attempt to calm Rin down.
"Rin, calm down", Eli said, "I work at a flower shop, so I keep all the flowers hydrated too. I know what it's like."
"But flowers aren't people!" Rin exclaimed. "You can't force people to drink water like you do with flowers!"
"Rin, calm down! Nobody's in danger of fainting right now."
Eli smiled as Umi did, trying to calm her down for the third time.
"You're right, Eli...I guess I did get a bit worked up there. Anyway, Kotori, you said you live in Paris?! What's that like? Do you eat lots of croissants?"
"That's exactly what I asked!" Honoka shouted out as Umi put her hand to her own face, laughing.
"Sigh...I don't want to be a stereotypical French person, but they're so good with cheese and tomato...it's my breakfast half of the time." Kotori replied.
"And you make dresses. You're like the ultimate French person." Honoka chimed in.
"I am very French." Kotori agreed, nodding dramatically.
"Rin and I were actually talking about cafés earlier, Kotori." Eli said. "We talked about the cafés in Akihabara, and apparently the Hanito café is really good now."
"The Hanito café was really nice the last time I went, but I always liked maid cafés better. They always seemed friendlier and I felt like I could be myself. Akihabara's cafés are an exhausting experience compared to the way they are in France..."
"Ah, I wouldn't know. I live in Sapporo with Nozomi now. The cafés there are very calm compared to Tokyo, in our area anyway, so I know as much about Akihabara now as you do."
"They're okay where I work, though." Nozomi said, making a "so-so" gesture with her hand. "Nowhere I'd want to visit after a long day at the office."
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but does anyone else have Nico's number?" Honoka said, still receiving no signal on her phone; she was met with resounding "no" responses and headshakes.
"We tried to get hold of her number back then, believe me." Eli said.
"I'm getting worried."
"Another few trains probably arrived in the past minute." Maki replied, noting that the crowds coming out the ticket gates were hitting peak density again.
"Can anybody see her?" Hanayo was one of the shortest in the group, but valiantly attempted to find Nico anyway, struggling to see past Maki.
"She has long black hair now." Honoka said.
"She should have picked a different hairstyle." Nozomi commented, dispersing her gaze between several Japanese women with long black hair.
The eight of them fixated on the ticket barriers now like sentries out of place; Nico was the only one that had yet to arrive now, and she'd somehow managed to be the last despite Kotori having come all the way from Paris. The crowd started to thin as the last passengers from the last burst of trains flocked out of the gates. As the last batch of people exited, a lone woman could be seen walking through the ticket gates; she was walking as slowly as she possibly could, her head was facing forward, but...her eyes were focused on the ground. Long black hair, red eyes, suitcase, T-shirt, jacket with rolled-up sleeves and trousers...it had to be Nico.
"Is that Nico? What's up with her?" Maki said.
"Why is she looking down? How is she going to find us like that?" Hanayo added.
"Something's wrong." Umi said, turning to Honoka as she said so.
"I'm afraid to go over there." Honoka replied. "I thought...I thought she was okay."
"Okay?" Maki inquired. "She doesn't look okay. I'm closest. I'll get her."
Maki walked over to Nico, unobstructed by any crowds. The other seven watched as Nico looked up at Maki with a blank expression. Maki craned her head in and said a few things, gesturing insistently in their direction, then turned around and headed back, Nico in tow, eyes uncomfortably shifting between targets every second.
As soon as Nico entered range, Nozomi pulled her in and gently hugged her without saying anything, resting the side of Nico's head on her collarbone. Nico didn't seem to respond much, but halfheartedly returned Nozomi's hug anyway.
"Nico..." Eli whispered.
"I'm not in the mood for your pity, Eli."
A silence fell over the group as they wondered which one of them would ask the question they all wanted to answer for but were too afraid to ask.
Kotori broke the silence.
"Nico."
Nico turned her gaze towards Kotori, softening her gaze a little in the face of Kotori's disarming aura.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I had a long trip."
Kotori and Maki looked at each other, hoping the look they shared would provide the other with any answers.
"But...are you sure? It doesn't seem like it..."
Nico was already starting to melt; next to Hanayo and perhaps now Honoka, Kotori was one of the only people she couldn't ever bring herself to be aggressive towards. Stalling for her own answers in her mind, Nico continued looking at the ground, but shifted her gaze to the side slightly.
"Nico, please."
The silences between each sentence started to close in on the group - they started to realise just how badly Nico's life had gone.
Nozomi took matters into her own hands, her intentions meaning well.
"It's been 11 years, Nicocchi. Why did you disappear?"
Nico simply looked at Nozomi.
"I'll tell you what, Nico. If you tell us, I'll take us all out to whatever place you want in Akihabara, and I'll pay for everyone. If you want to go to more than one place, I can do that, too."
Nico looked to her side, through Eli; she felt reluctant, but...it had been so long since she had truly good food. She wasn't feeling picky; she was just hungry.
Rin and Maki looked at each other, and nodded covertly. They remembered their part well.
"Fine."
YaNIzaCw0a
Saturday mid-afternoon, February the 9th, 2013.
Pink pyjamas, hair down, TV on, Nico Yazawa lay in bed at home in her apartment at Akihabara, holding her phone above her face. She scrolled and scrolled in a fruitless attempt to generate a notification for somebody other than her posting in the µ's group chat.
"Not bad!" Eli Ayase.
Sent 14:22, January 29.
Read 16:34.
The further she scrolled up, the more she noticed she seemed to be the only one really contributing to the group chat. Every other message was her posting something in an attempt to revive the group chat, and every single time, she received a short, sometimes one-word, reply from one of the members of µ's on how humorous or exciting the post was, and...nothing more. Umi hadn't posted in two months, and Kotori hadn't posted in three.
Were they ignoring her?
Was she not valued as a friend?
She started typing out a message to the group chat on her phone, but deleted it. She wasn't much in the mood for being ignored, or even the possibility of being ignored.
She needed to focus on getting a job. For the past 2 years, Nico had spent her life drifting between low-paid customer service jobs, unsure of where she was going or what she wanted; like a ghost, she'd moved through Akihabara without being noticed. Her last job was...4, 5 months ago? She couldn't remember. The word "hikikomori" came into her mind, but she ignored it. She didn't care anymore.
So much for the dream of being a super idol. Turning off the screen on her phone, Nico remembered performing at the Third Love Live years ago; it was wonderful. Even knowing µ's was only there by invitation of the Love Live organisers to help promote the show, It was the rush of her life for the third time, and for that one day, she felt immortal again. Before that, their historic win at the second Love Live. Even before that...the beginning.
It was the life she'd been forced to leave behind by the real world, and she felt resentment for it, resentment against a world that decided what she could and couldn't do on a whim. Nico felt like she was against the world, but one person alone couldn't fight the system.
Nico lost. Her hopes and dreams were void. Nobody had messaged her in a while and she had no friends to call her own, and nothing to her name that would be of use in the real world; there was nothing left for her here now. She had to start a new life.
Scanning her room for idol merchandise to sell off to raise money for her eventual moving house, Nico turned her phone screen back on, taking one more look at the group chat she planned to leave.
Thursday evening, February the 28th, 2013.
Nico Yazawa has left the group.
Friday evening, March the 1st, 2013.
Darkness had started to fall early in the evening under a blanket of clouds, and the skies of Akihabara drew a violent shade of grey, barraging the city with a torrential downpour of rain that showed no signs of letting up. Rain this heavy was rare in March, though two young girls chose to brave the weather to find their friend under a single umbrella. In the distance, a lightning bolt sounded with muffled thunder.
"Aww, it's so cosy and dry in here. You're the best, Maki-chan." Rin said, resting her head against Maki's shoulder.
"Rin, stop that! You're only under this umbrella because I let you."
"Come on, Maki-chaaaan, don't be a spoilsport. I want her to see pictures of our graduation! I worked so hard as Student Council President!"
"Calm down, Rin! I'm sure she'll explain everything when we get to her house. I'm just glad I brought a coat..."
There were few people in sight in this part of the city now, and those without an umbrella were running to the nearest cover they could find. In the distance behind them, very faintly, the bustle of commuters coming home from work could be heard trudging home, though barely any of it was heading in their direction.
Walking into the empty plaza, Maki saw the foot of an apartment building obscured by the roof of her umbrella; she looked up, making sure to keep the both of them covered, and there it was; Nico's apartment building. Most of the lights were on, making a striking contrast with a building exterior that camouflaged itself in the stormy sky.
Shaking off her now closed umbrella as she entered the building, Maki pointed Rin towards the stairs. "We have to dry off, so let's take the stairs. It'd be rude if we were to show up soaking wet."
"Aww, fine..." Rin said as she paused to look over to the elevator before heading towards the stairwell. The artificial yellow lighting of the stairwell activated upon their entry, and they made their way up, nervous for the encounter ahead. Even as they entered the hallway, the clinical yellow lighting loomed.
Coat over her arm, Maki knocked on the door, Rin standing behind her shoulder as ordered. After a few seconds, Nico's mother opened the door with a pleasant smile. Cotaro could be seen in the background, watching something.
"Hello! You must be Nico's friends from µ's. She's told me a lot about you all. You must be Maki and Rin. I'm sorry, but Nico isn't here right now. Is there anything you'd like me to tell her?"
"Hello, Miss Yazawa." Maki said, bowing with Rin. "Tell her to contact us as soon as she can. We're looking for her right now, that's all."
"I can definitely do that." Miss Yazawa replied, beaming. "I'll be sure to tell her when I can. Will that be all?"
"Yes, thank you, Miss Yazawa, that's all!" Maki said, bowing again. Rin bowed too, seeming disappointed that Nico wasn't there.
The two of them set off down the corridor again, wondering what Nico could be doing out in this weather. The wind still howled outside, and the rain was fierce as ever; this was not weather to be outside in.
"It's so close to graduation and Nico-chan's not going to see anything. She switched off her phone, she's left the group chat, Kotori-chan's moved to somewhere else in Japan, Eli-chan and Nozomi-chan are gone too, we don't talk to Umi-chan and Honoka-chan much anymore, and nobody's going to be around to see me as the leaving Student Council President at the graduation ceremony."
Rin's characteristic speech patterns started to disappear in a state of pessimistic clarity as she looked at her reflection in the floor, and felt her eyes well up.
"Nobody's going to be around to see me, Maki-chan..."
Tears started to fall, hitting the ground audibly with each drop.
Maki put her arm around Rin's shoulder and drew her in sympathetically.
"Calm down, Rin..."
Rin suddenly burst out with a wail and she started to sob uncontrollably. Maki's eyes widened with shock, unsure of what to do; after three seconds she brought Rin in for a full consolation. Maki stood there motionless, not sure if she was doing the right thing at all, afraid of making it worse. Rin buried herself into Maki's shoulder. Maki knew how much Rin had been worrying over her exams and her graduation speech on top of all her other work as both a Student Council President and a graduating student. She knew that it didn't take much to break Rin with as much work as that pressuring her.
Saturday morning, March the 9th, 2013.
Nico watched the moving men set down the last box in the middle of the central room of her new apartment, taking a moment to look out the window; it wasn't much, but it was a change of pace. A small apartment in Shibuya was all she could afford with what she had, but with all the idol merchandise she'd sold online and all the overtime she'd worked on previous jobs she'd just about managed to save enough. Here, she could live peacefully, free of the pain her past life had caused her. It had taken her a monumental struggle to convince her family to not tell anybody where she lived now (on the condition that they visit), but she'd made it here now. A bold move, to be sure, but it was what was best for her - this was what she wanted to believe - but deep down, she knew she'd doomed herself to a future of depression, drifting between jobs and pushing away potential close friends.
A part of her doubted what she'd done, but there was no going back now. Was she heartless? Had she been hasty?
Nico suppressed the question that kept bubbling to the surface of her mind as best she could, to a limited degree of success.
Keeping her gaze firmly outside of her own apartment, Nico finally gave up and allowed her thoughts to swallow her up and become her.
"Was I reckless?"
µ's
Saturday afternoon, August the 10th, 2024.
For a moment lasting forever, µ's stood in sullen silence. Nico and Rin seemed unsure of where to look, having told their parts of the story already. The look on Nico's face had softened considerably; gone was her glare and her sour expression. She continued looking down, and for the first time, Nico felt uncomfortable being the centre of attention of µ's.
"I'm sorry, Nico." Umi said. "I should have been there for you."
Nico sighed. "No...it's my fault. I avoided you all."
"Don't be hard on yourself, Nico." Nozomi said. "We're here for you now, and as I promised, you get to pick wherever we go. So, where do you want to eat? I could eat anywhere right now."
Nico's stomach rumbled. As usual, she hadn't had breakfast, and had spent what felt like eternity making the journey - she wasn't in any position to refuse food, and she wanted food now.
"Well...could we go to the fast food place we used to go to?"
Nozomi patted Nico's shoulder and started ambling forward. "That's my Nico. Honoka, we're following you."
Honoka walked to the front of the pack with Umi and continued Nozomi's slow pace.
"Doesn't anybody want to drop off their suitcases?" Umi said, awaiting the others to exit the ticket gates.
"I've already got that covered." Maki replied as they exited the station to see a sharply dressed man with slicked-back grey and black hair standing outside a black, decently sized shuttle van, holding a sign saying "Nishikino".
Maki overtook Honoka and Umi quickly as she faced the man and bowed.
"Thank you, Sana-kun. Here, let me help you." Maki motioned to the members of µ's to hand their suitcases. One by one they set them down next to Maki, as she and Sana carried the suitcases into the back.
"Will you be taking the shuttle home, Nishikino-sama?" Sana asked, bowing reverently.
"I think we'll be heading into Akihabara, so you can go ahead and take the suitcases home. Just move them into the lobby, we'll move them when we get back. Thank you, Sana."
They bowed once more to each other, and Sana drove off towards the Nishikino residence.
"Let's go." Maki said, rejoining the pack.
"You're still a princess at heart, aren't you, Maki." Nozomi teased from behind her.
"What can I say? I like luxuries." Maki shot back, a knowing look in her face.
"Aww, you're no fun to tease anymore."
"You're a rich girl like me now, Nozomi. Welcome to the club."
The streets outside were bustling, and the nine of them had to stick close to each other to avoid getting swept away. The central Akihabara brand of walls of company logos and advertisements on the walls of the buildings was ever-present, and even the benches had no free spaces.
"I hope we can get seats at the restaurant." Hanayo murmured, shuffling behind Kotori.
Eli turned her head and did a headcount. Nine people. "Stay close, everyone. The last thing I want is one of you getting lost."
"I wonder if we're still famous here." Kotori mused.
"Not many people notice me anymore..." Honoka replied.
"I like it that way." Umi said.
The walk to the restaurant took twice as long as expected; the combination of heavy resistance from crowds, cars and having to co-ordinate nine people meant that the trip time increased to 25 minutes from what was usually 10 minutes, and was punctuated by various members of the group stopping to observe a shop they hadn't seen before, an advertisement for something they were unaware of on the big screens, a change in scenery from the last time they'd been there.
The restaurant was busy, but not too busy; the queue reached around three quarters of the way to the entrance.
"It looks a little busy in here. Are you sure we can't find somewhere else, Honoka?" Kotori said.
"I saw a McDonald's outside the station. Why couldn't we have gone there?" Rin said, almost as hungry as Nico.
"The queue went outside the door. There's no way we could have waited that long for food." Eli replied.
"Well, Nico said she wanted to come here, so here we are." Nozomi said, defending Nico's choice. "Does everyone know what they want?"
The nine of them proceeded to look at the menu above the counter with varying degrees of concentration; Eli and Hanayo kept one hand on their glasses, struggling to make out the words at the other end of the restaurant.
Eli put her hand on Rin's shoulder, determined to read the menu like the others without glasses. She squinted with increasing intensity in a desperate attempt to make the words obey her, but to no avail.
"Rin, could you read the deals menu for me? I can't read that."
Rin obeyed and read off the details with no pause or error without any changes in body language whatsoever, embarrassing Eli slightly.
"Your vision is that bad already, Eli?" Rin said with a hint of worry in her voice, eyes fixed on Eli now.
"It's only recently I've needed glasses. It's been getting harder to read things lately." Eli replied.
"You shouldn't be having these problems at your age, unless your lifestyle's changed drastically since we last met", Maki said, "I'd be more than happy to examine you if you're ever in Kyoto, maybe even this week at home."
"Ah, it's fine. I just need better glasses. Don't worry about me." Eli said, now desperate to take the heat off her, unwilling to be reminded of what lay ahead in her future.
"Anyway, I know what I want and the queue's going to be a while", Maki said, opening a new line of thought, "And I saw a Sanrio store I've never seen before, so I'm headed off to buy something. Nozomi, if I'm not back by the time you order, get the American burger meal. I'll be back."
"Wait, Maki, can I go with you? I want to go too!" Hanayo shouted over the noise of the restaurant, struggling to be seen behind Nozomi.
Maki reached into the group and pulled Hanayo out by the arm gently. "Let's go."
Fifteen minutes of casual conversation, complaints about the high volume of people in Akihabara and several glances from people in the restaurant followed. By the time Maki and Hanayo returned, Hello Kitty-branded bags in hand, there were three people in front of the group, and several more to the side, waiting for their order.
"So, what did you buy?" Eli asked over her shoulder.
Hanayo reached into her bag and brought out the corner of some pink clothes, as well as something plastic. "I got some pyjamas and some hairclips."
"Maki?"
"I'm not saying."
"Oh, really?" Eli snarked.
"I'm not telling you what I bought."
"There's the Maki I remember." Nozomi said over her shoulder, taking great pleasure in being able to tease Maki again.
"You're loving this, aren't you, Nozomi?"
"Of course I am."
Maki turned to see Honoka attempting to silently pry open the edges of her Hello Kitty bag. Without any further noise, Honoka very slowly withdrew her hands, her eyes giving Maki the best apologetic look they could muster.
"I didn't see anything, I swear, Maki."
"It's our turn to order now, pay attention." Hanayo interrupted.
Another ten minutes and a trial to find nine adjacent free spaces later, µ's was finally seated, much to the discomfort of the people in the queue hoping for a seat.
Nico finished her meal in record time; she was done before Honoka even started on her fries.
"Rin..." Nico said.
"I didn't say it earlier, but...I'm sorry. I didn't know how you felt."
Nico looked down at her tray, then smiled weakly at Rin, who had just finished her meal. Rin saw hope in her eyes.
"Hey, Rin...will you tell me how your graduation went?"
Rin put down her drink, and looked down at the table, recollecting her memories.
"Sure thing, Nico."
End of an Era
Tuesday morning, March the 5th, 2013.
The sky was a magnificent azure; white clouds dotted the sky, but there was no sign of the rain that had plagued the Tokyo skies only days ago. Cherry blossom season had started to hit its stride, and on their last day at Otonokizaka High School, Rin, Maki, and Hanayo were showered in pink blossoms by the streets of Akihabara on their last walk to school together.
"Rin-chan, are you sure you've gotten enough sleep? You look tired...were you up all night writing your graduation speech?"
Rin yawned. "I'm fine, Kayochin...I just..." She yawned again, moving the hair covering her eye to the side.
"You have to wake up now, Rin...today's graduation day and it won't look good if you're yawning on stage." Maki said.
"I'm not going to miss all this work...I hope Miho-chan knows what she's doing."
"You are tired, Rin. Hanayo, do you know anything we might be able to try?"
"I'm sorry, Maki-chan. She has to wake up on her own."
"That's fine, Hanayo. We still have the walk to school to go."
The walk didn't do much to wake Rin up; the cherry blossoms gave the streets a dream-like atmosphere that made Rin sleepy. She'd stayed up until 1am the day before to finish her graduation speech before falling asleep at her desk, against Hanayo and Maki's advice to the contrary.
At the gates to Otonokizaka, the three of them rendezvoused and exchanged greetings with Alisa Ayase, Eli's little sister, Yukiho Kousaka, Honoka's little sister, and Miho Hirose, the girl Rin had chosen as her successor as Student Council President.
"Are you ready for today, Rin-chan?" Alisa said, unaware of Rin's current state.
Rin rubbed her eyes, slow to formulate a response.
"She stayed up late to finish her speech." Maki interjected on Rin's behalf. "She's really tired, and we don't know how to wake her up."
Miho walked a full circle around Rin, hands on Rin's shoulders, searching high and low her for answers.
"Miho-chan...what are you doing?" Rin said cautiously.
"Rin-chan, did you have anything for breakfast today?"
"I had a slice of toast..."
"Rin, we were outside when you left your house. You folded up a piece of dry bread and shoved it into your mouth." Maki said. "It took you 30 seconds to eat it."
"I woke up late, Maki-chan, I'm sorry..."
"Hang on, Rin-chan! I have something!"
Yukiho reached into her bag, and pulled out a bottle of water and a bag of red bean paste mochi. "I haven't opened the water yet, so you have it. You need it more than I do."
Rin turned her head inquisitively. "Did you make this, Yukiho-chan?"
"I did, with the help of my mother!"
Rin took a sip of water, and slowly bit into a piece of mochi.
"Yukiho-chan...this is so good! Thank you so much!"
Rin hugged Yukiho in gratitude, feeling much more awake.
Rin held out the bag of mochi to everyone in offering. All of them except Hanayo politely refused, but thanked Rin anyway.
"So you've woken up, now, Rin-chan?" Miho said.
"Definitely! Now let's go, we have work to do!"
Without waiting for a reaction, Rin sprinted into the school, barrelling through the double doors; the five still standing at the gates shared glances with each other in confusion, eventually making way for hopeless laughter.
Preparations for the graduation ceremony went largely without a hitch; Miho had requested light refreshments which had been delivered before they'd even arrived, and in her hand, Rin held her graduation speech.
"Can I see your speech, Rin-chan?" Yukiho asked.
"Nope! It's going to be a surprise." Rin answered proudly.
A young student, likely first year, meekly walked up to Rin slowly, holding a small cylindrical vase containing some plants.
"Um...I never saw you in µ's, but I think you were wonderful. Uhm...thank you for everything you've done."
She handed the vase to Rin and walked away just as meekly as she'd made her entrance. Rin observed the flowers; an intricate arrangement containing healthy-looking leaves and flowers she mostly didn't recognise at all. There was no label anywhere, and the only flowers she did identify were daffodils and bluebell buds, but it was clearly a carefully thought out, beautiful arrangement.
"She must be from the ikebana club..." Mused Hanayo.
"Wait!" Rin shouted. The young girl stopped dead, statue-like for a second, before turning around to face Rin, her face a mix of hope and fear.
"Hanayo, Miho, Yukiho, come here."
Rin wrapped her arms around the girl softly, and the other three followed suit, forming a delicate group hug.
"I'm going to miss you all." Said Rin.
The four of them disengaged, and Rin proudly held her vase with an uncontrollable smile.
"Good luck. And thank you."
The young girl nodded happily and sauntered off towards her friend, waiting at the door to the hall.
Rin sighed, and looked around the hall, knowing that someday, it would all be a memory, and that she could lose Maki, Hanayo, Alisa, Yukiho and Miho just as easily as she'd lost the other 6 members of µ's.
"Miho-chan, could you take over? I'm going to go for a walk."
Miho nodded.
The noticeboards that used to have flyers for µ's concerts on them, the noticeboard she first saw a flyer for µ's, the place in the corridor where there was a suggestion box for the name of the then-untitled idol group. The windows she'd always look out of during lesson change. The quad she used to be in all the time with the rest of µ's; the bench she used to sit in, the tree she'd sometimes sit under, the place the rabbits used to play while they were still there. The rabbits never did much like Rin...
The alpaca shed. Rin never got on well with the alpacas either, but Kotori and Hanayo loved them, and the alpacas loved them too. Even the rabbits sometimes entered the barn without much problem, even if they weren't meant to...
Finally, the roof. Where she thought it started and once, where it all ended. Being here for purposes other than practice still felt wrong to her, but she had to say goodbye.
"You're here too, Rin?"
Maki was standing just outside the door, leaning against the wall and staring down through the fence before she'd turned around.
"Yeah...I'm going to miss this place..."
"Join the club, Rin. We put so many hours into this roof. It used to be our place, the one part of the school we felt truly comfortable."
"I guess...but isn't it everyone's roof? It belongs to the school."
"Sigh...you know what I mean, you dummy."
Maki walked up to the fence on the far side of the roof, away from the door, and looked down on the field. No specific memories came to mind, but she remembered everything.
The sullen mood was broken by Yukiho bursting through the door. "Rin-chan, Maki-chan, we're almost ready to start! Hurry up or we'll be late!"
The rest of Rin, Hanayo and Maki's day was a blur, barely paying attention to the events they'd made happen.
They remembered entering the hall at the front of the line, the eyes of the student hall trained on them.
Introductions, speeches, applause, the rest was lost to memory.
The time for Rin's speech finally arrived. Her legs brought her to the front of the stage, and as the spotlight illuminated her, she became very aware of the hundreds, maybe thousands of eyes watching her. For a moment, she believed she might succumb to stage fright.
From within some unseen well inside her, Rin felt strength. She'd been determined to say thank you to the school that helped her grow. She realised she wasn't alone as she saw faces she'd recognised all along in the crowd; Hanayo. Miho. Alisa and Yukiho. Rio. Ana. She breathed in.
"The graduating student address from the former student council president, Rin Hoshizora.
I can't believe it's been this long already...
It seems like only yesterday I was a first year joining an idol group because I thought it'd be fun.
I've grown so much more with you all since then, and you've all grown with me too!
Congratulations to the other upperclassmen on your graduation, too. You were with me every step of the way.
Miho, Hanayo, Maki, Alisa, Yukiho. Thank you in particular for everything.
I couldn't have made it this far if I tried without you all...
In the three years I was here, I blossomed. I found my confidence, and I shone brightly.
I hope it's the same for the rest of you, too.
It's been an amazing journey, but instead of crying because it's over, I'll smile because it happened instead!
I'll admit...I couldn't think of much else to write.
But like those before me, I have something that comes straight from the heart.
A song that represents maturity, and evolving. I hope you enjoy it too."
Rin looked and nodded at Maki, in position at the piano, and Maki's hands moved elegantly in a soft, sweet yet wistful reprisal of her own song on the piano: Love Wing Bell.
Maki let her hands flow like water across the piano for the brief intro, before the lights started to dim.
For the first time in a long while, Rin sang. Her singing voice hadn't changed; instead, it had matured with her.
Paired with Maki's soft piano playing, this growth took on elements of a more mature, hushed touch in the back of her voice, a far cry from the standard excited shout she always used to talk with, now the voice of a sweet young woman about to make her way into the real world.
It felt so natural to them - Rin and Maki had both practiced for a solid week for this performance and to their surprise, Rin's singing voice was better than it ever was - she'd improved under pressure, like a diamond.
Even with her back to Maki, Rin was without error - her graceful motions synchronised with Maki's movements across the keys, in tune as always.
Rin had been through a lot in the last month, but she knew she had to stay strong.
Last night, she'd found herself short of things to write for her speech, and so decided instead on something that represented everything she wanted to express, in a song.
Her song!
She remembered all the people that had ever helped her get where she was, and a smile bloomed on her face;
She held hope in her voice for all those watching her today, that they would one day be happy with friends like she was.
Holding out her heart for all to see and for all to learn from, Rin radiated love, filling the auditorium, sinking into the hearts of the crowd;
As graduating ex-student council president, Rin's movements slowed as she moved back to centre stage with thankful tears in her eyes...
"Love wing...love wing..."
New Idol Metric
Saturday afternoon, August the 10th, 2024.
By now, the entire table had stopped eating and was listening, rapt, to Rin's description of her graduation.
Both Rin and Nico were oblivious; although there was a noticeable silence around the table after Rin finished talking, it went unnoticed until a sniffle broke the silence, and Rin looked to her left to see all of µ's staring intently at her, to her shock.
"Rin..." Kotori said, breaking the silence.
"I remember seeing your photos on the group chat before we all left...but I never knew you were so happy back then." Umi added.
"Nico, are you okay?" Kotori said.
"I'm not crying! I'm fine!" Nico snapped back, wiping her eyes.
"I have to wonder, Umi. Have you or Honoka seen Miho since you graduated?" Rin asked.
"I haven't, no." Umi replied. "She lived on the other side of Otonokizaka like you did, so I'm not in her area."
Conversations about Miho and other old friends ensued across the table; meanwhile, Hanayo, seated next to Nico, leaned in sympathetically.
"Hey, Nico...are you doing okay?"
Nico murmured inaudibly, still wiping her eyes.
"Do you want anything else to eat?"
"No, I'm fine, thank you, Hanayo." Nico did not appear sad by any stretch now, simply tired.
"You said you don't follow idols any more. Do you want me to show you some of what's been happening in the last few years?"
"Sure."
Hanayo fished her phone out her pocket and unlocked it, immediately switching to the browser app. "Let's see...Moso Calibration, Saint Snow, Tokyo Girl's Style...ah!"
"AKB48 are still very popular. Were you ever into them, Nico?"
"I didn't really care much about AKB48." Nico replied, shaking her head.
"Ah, okay..." Hanayo paused, tapping in some more things onto her phone. "BABYMETAL are very interesting...they're heavy metal idols."
"Heavy metal idols?" Nico replied, a mystified look on her face.
"No, no, they're really popular! I've heard nothing but good things about them."
"I just don't understand how you can combine heavy metal and idols."
"They've been going for a few years now, so it does work! How about...oh! Here's one that was inspired by us! Aqours!"
Nico suddenly brightened up, sat up and reached for Hanayo's phone. "Inspired by us? Let me see, let me see!"
Hanayo moved her phone away from Nico with a disapproving look. "Now, Nico, don't try to snatch my phone. Be polite."
"Um...could I see, please?"
"Very well, Nico." Hanayo said, handing her phone gently to Nico.
"Whoa...they were way more popular than us when they started out...I'm not sure if this is an old video, but Chika reminds me so much of Honoka..."
"There were certainly a lot of Honoka comparisons when Aqours were starting out", Hanayo said, "and there were 9 of them, after all, just like us."
"Ohhh...Guilty Kiss looks interesting. They remind me of BiBi."
"If they remind you of BiBi, they could have been taking after you, Nico."
This had the effect Hanayo intended; Nico's face lit up at the idea that she could have inspired somebody to do something, that she had a legacy.
"Did you know that A-RISE is still going?"
Honoka jolted out of her conversation for a brief moment and her head jerked ever so slightly to her right to pay attention to whoever was talking about A-RISE, before quickly focusing back on her conversation.
"A-RISE?! You mean not only did they not quit, they're still going?!"
"It says they played a show here two months ago!" Nico continued, incredulous. Honoka secretly listened in on their conversation, dividing her attention between their conversation and the one she was drifting in and out of.
"A-RISE played in this city and I missed it?!" Hanayo had gotten caught up in Nico's fervour. Just like old times, the two of them getting increasingly worked up over idols and A-RISE.
It felt strange to Honoka, hearing a member of µ's talking about A-RISE that way. It didn't sound like something coming from someone who had bested A-RISE once before, and eventually gained their admiration. If only she could turn back time, and feel the thrill of facing off against A-RISE one more time...
Honoka was snapped out of her reverie by the sounds of chairs scraping against the restaurant floor, and trays clacking against the table.
"Are we leaving, Nozomi?" Honoka asked, still sitting down.
"Yep, we're leaving. We're going to go stroll around Akihabara and see what's now. Hopefully, you can show us what's happened in the last few years."
Nozomi looked over to Nico.
"But first, where do you want to go next, Nico?"
"Hmm..."
They were still learning to gel together after so many years of change, but µ's spent all day in central Akihabara. Perusals in Tower Records, a casual walk along the Sumida River, a visit to a Korean restaurant for dinner, and a aimless stroll around the city to walk off their meal.
Not many words were exchanged, and for the most part everyone talked to the people they always talked to, but it was what Honoka would consider a success; by the time Maki had called Sana for a shuttle ride back to her family home, the majority of them got in a few minutes of sleep on the journey there. Darkness was falling when they arrived.
"Maki...if you don't mind, could you show us to our rooms? And if possible, could me and Nozomi have a room with double beds?" Eli asked less than a minute after they'd entered the door. The other seven nodded in agreement without a word, taking a moment to look around before they retired to bed.
"Of course. If you don't mind, I wasn't expecting you and Nozomi to be together, so finding a room with a double bed might take a little bit longer."
"That's okay. Let me help all of you with your suitcases."
The end of the evening was a quiet affair. Most of them were interested only in going to bed, and few of them said anything bar the standard pleasantries, and the dimmed lights in the corridors of the house reflected this atmosphere. The noise on the streets outside had mostly subsided, and the tourist swarms had disappeared for the day, having checked into hotels or gone home for the day. wheeling Kotori's suitcase behind her and saying her final goodnight, Maki retired to her own room, surrounded by the silence of the mostly empty house.
It felt lonely.
That night, barring Eli and Nozomi, µ's slept in separate rooms, bathed in silence.
