Sorry for the delay. Been busy over these past few days. I'm trying my best with regular updates but it's tough. I'm also trying my best to write the performance parts of my chapters the best that I can to hopefully give a little bit of visual as to how the songs are being played.
Also, RAMMSTEIN was amazing to see live again! (Best band EVER!)
(CHAPTER 4) ROCKER MOM
Azusa led Ashley inside her home. It was still early afternoon and Tama wouldn't be off school for a few more hours. "Just wait down here, I'll run up and grab some of my old song books and CD's." Azusa called out as she quickly went up to her room. "Alright." Ashley said while she walked towards the living room.
Ashley couldn't help but stop and admire Azusa's home. She wouldn't admit that she was jealous; however, she too wished that she could afford a home like this. The walls were decorated in band memorabilia, including several of Azusa's guitars as well as posters of her band and magazine articles featuring herself and the rest of Shadow. This wasn't her first visit, but she couldn't help but look every time she came for a visit.
She went over and sat down on the large, black leather sofa and waited for Azusa. She looked around and noticed Tama's collection of Spongebob DVD's as well as other movies that were kept neatly on a large DVD shelf. She was amazed at how neat and clean Azusa kept her home. Even for being a single parent and always busy with her career, she still found time to be a model home owner.
Azusa then came down the stairs and into the living room. She set down an old notebook and a stack of CD's. "This is all I have as far as the music goes. We didn't really record much." "That's fine." Ashley said as she opened up the notebook. She paused as soon as she looked at the first page. Everything was written in guitar tabs and Japanese. "…About that." Ashley commented. Azusa smiled and said, "I would have been amazed if you were able to read this." "Me too." Ashley remarked.
Azusa began to flip through the pages and looked through the songs. She saw all of the old classics that her and the other's used to play: Cagayake! Girls, Don't say lazy, GO! GO! MANIAC, and so many others. She read through all of the notes about their live shows and random guitar notes that were randomly thrown in. Ashley then asked, "Any ideas?" Azusa paused and then replied, "I'm not sure. Their all songs that we all loved and that we all put hard work into."
Azusa then flipped towards the back of the notebook and saw as a folded piece of paper fell out. "What's that?" Ashley asked. Azusa slowly pulled the piece of paper up and unfolded it. She looked at it and saw that it was a song she had written after Yui, Mio, Mugi, and Ritsu graduated. It was a song about how she wasn't going to let anything hold her back, a song about how she was going to live her own life and not let anyone stand in her way. It was a song that honestly gave her a step towards writing heavier music that she thought would turn her into a rebel. Now, so many years ahead of those feelings, she was writing nothing but the heavy music that she loved.
She calmly uttered out the song's title. "Watashi wa watashi no michi mo yuku." Ashley looked over and asked, "What does it mean?" Azusa paused and then said, "I'm walking my own road." She looked up at Ashley and said, "This song means a lot to me. I wrote it when I realized that I didn't want anything to hold me back from my dreams. It was something that I did completely by myself, I even played the other instrument parts myself and recorded it. I think I'm the only one who has ever heard it. It's nothing heavy, just a random pop song I wrote."
"Well there you go!" Ashley called out. "You have your song for tonight." Azusa paused and looked at the songs sheet music. "Do you think?" "Duh!" Ashley said, "You've been telling me all morning how people have been holding you back because of your career. Shove it back in their face with this song!" Azusa then sifted through the stack of CD's and found near the bottom, a disk with the songs title written in Japanese. "Do you think it's a good idea? I'm starting to rethink the whole song idea. Maybe I should just do a demonstration with some chords and maybe a solo or two." "No!" Ashley called out, "Don't back out now. This is your chance to show to all the people who doubt you that you're more than just a metal head. Show them that you mean business with this song." Azusa smiled and said, "It will be weird singing this in English you know." "So what." Ashley said, "It'll be great." Azusa sighed, "I hope so."
The phone began to ring. "Hang on a second." Azusa said softly as she got up and answered the phone. "Hello." She said. She heard Tyler on the other end and he sounded excited. "Azusa, you need to get over to the studio! We had an idea for our song My Little Angel. You need to hear it." "Can't you just tell me over the phone?" Azusa asked, "I have company over. "So bring whoever it is with you! This can't wait, so see you in 15 minutes!" Tyler then hung up the phone. "Tyler? …Tyler?" Azusa called out. She sighed and hung up the phone. "…Jeez, Specter."
"Who was it?" Ashley asked. Azusa sighed and said, "I don't suppose that you would want to go to a band meeting, would you?" Ashley raised an eyebrow and asked, "With all of Shadow?" "Yeah, they apparently have an idea for our new live show and this can't wait for some reason." "Sure." Ashley said back, "I've never seen your band behind the scenes before. It could be fun." Azusa sighed and said, "Well whatever it is obviously involves me because they want me there now." "So let's get going." Ashley said back.
Azusa led Ashley to her garage and the two got into her BMW and headed for downtown Ocean City. It was a short drive to the studio. They pulled up to the building and Azusa drove up to a metal gate. She was greeted by a security guard who instantly recognized her and let her in the private parking lot. She parked next to the other band members cars and the two got out and headed for the building.
Once inside, they were greeted by a woman who worked at the front desk, she saw Azusa and said, "Hello Azusa, the other's are waiting for you in the equipment room." Azusa nodded, "Alright, thank you." She then motioned for Ashley to follow. As they walked, Ashley asked, "The equipment room?" Azusa replied, "Yeah, it's where we keep the stage when it's disassembled and all of the props we use during the show." "Neat!" Ashley called out, "Do I get to see the flame throwers that you guys use?" Azusa shrugged, "They might be in there, either that or their already in the equipment trucks and getting ready to head to our next show."
Azusa approached the equipment room and saw they keyboard player, Banshee, standing next to the door. "Hey Nick, are the other's inside?" Nick nodded and said, "Yeah, and you better get in there fast because Tyler is getting antsy." Azusa nodded and headed for the door. As they walked in, Ashley stopped and Banshee and said, "Hi, really big fan!" And then continued inside.
Inside, Azusa saw the other band members standing around a black box with gold trim running around it. "…What in the world?" Azusa said out loud. The band instantly turned and Tyler pointed at Azusa and yelled out, "You!" "Me!" Azusa shot back. Tyler rushed over to her and continued, "Just the girl I needed." He then motioned her over to the black box and Azusa instantly noticed that it was a large coffin. "Who's dead?" Azusa asked. Tyler cracked a smile and replied, "You are! Once you're on stage that is." "Excuse me?" Azusa asked. Tyler then said, "This is for when we play My Little Angel."
Tyler then said eagerly, "You're going to be wearing these pretty wings…," Wraith walked over with a pair of white feathered angel wings that were lined with silver ribbon. He held them up and said, "Angel wings for Angel." Tyler then continued, "We play through the song like usual, but!" He called out as he motioned toward the pair of wings. "I drag you to center stage, and then I start ripping your feathers out." Tyler then pulled out a hand full of the white feathers and fake blood splashed out from where the feathers once were. Tyler continued, "It gets gruesome with red stage lighting and you acting like you're being attacked. Then for the main effect, I need to give you a fake punch and have you act like you get knocked out."
Azusa raised an eyebrow. She was about to protest but was cut off as Tyler continued, "I know what you're going to say Angel, but just hear me out!" Azusa sighed and then said, "…Go on." Tyler then motioned towards the coffin and continued, "Next! I throw you over my shoulder and put you inside this coffin." Azusa looked over as she watched Ghost and Phantom holding their arms out at the coffin like a game show host would at an amazing prize. Tyler then took her and Ashley to look at the coffin. Azusa looked inside and saw a small bar of metal holding 3 small tubes with wires coming out of them, obviously loaded pyro charges. She also saw a metal screen that looked like it could be extended and retracted to cover her.
"And this is for…?" Azusa questioned. "I'm glad you asked!" Tyler said. "If you and your friend would step back here, I'll show you." Both Azusa and Ashley stepped back and watched as Tyler called out, "Show them Ghost." Ghost nodded and walked up to a ladder. He put on a thick, black welding glove and held a large metal bucket which he took to the top of the ladder with him. Tyler then continued, "Obviously, the stage has been refitted with a platform to raise me up for this part."
Ghost got to the top of the ladder with the bucket and Tyler called out, "Hit it!" Ghost nodded and tipped the bucket. Instantly a plume of gold sparks poured from a pyro charge from within the bucket and poured over the coffin like fluttering embers. Tyler then said, "And from the bottom of the stage, fire is going to come up and surround the coffin while the sparks pour on it. And for the grand finale, we do this!" Tyler then walked over to a small detonator box and pushed down a small red button. Instantly, an ear deafening explosion erupted from one of the small pyro charges that were placed on the top of the coffin, sending out a plume of fluttering gold and crackling sparks. "Jesus!" Azusa called out as she jumped and held her ears. Ashley did the same as the second explosion went off. "BOOM!" Tyler called out as the third loud bang erupted from the coffin.
The shower of sparks stopped pouring from the bucket in Ghosts hand and the room quieted down as smoke filled the area. Tyler then turned towards Azusa and said, "So what do you think?" Azusa looked at him as she took her hands away form her ears. "I think that was way to loud." Ashley mumbled. Azusa raised an eyebrow and said, "So you want to rip apart my angel wings, make me bleed, beat me up, put me in a coffin, set it on fire, and blow me up not once, but 3 times?" Tyler simply nodded and said, "Yeah, pretty much. Also, when you come out of the coffin, you'll be changed from your usual black outfit into this." Tyler then reached into a small box and pulled out a pure, white and silver outfit. It was basically the same outfit that she already wore only not a hint of black was on it, and it was covered almost completely with light reflective, colorful sequins.
"…Really?" Azusa asked with annoyance. "Yes!" Tyler said back eagerly. It shows that you die during the performance but then your spirit lives on." Azusa looked at the outfit and sighed. "I like the outfit." Ashley said, "I think it will look good on you." Azusa looked at the rest of the band and then at Tyler. "Do you know how loud that was?" "Just hold your ears while you're in there." Azusa paused and then said, "Fine…" "Sweet!" Tyler called out, "This is why we all love you!" Azusa rolled her eyes and smiled, "Yeah, I know." Tyler then said, "Alright, we'll rehearse it all on stage before the show in Pittsburgh this weekend. I already have the crew working all the new effects into the stage so we should be good to go."
Azusa looked at her watch. She then said, "Alright, but me and Ashley need to get going, our kids are going to be home from school soon. And I have to get ready for parents night." "Alright." Tyler said, "Good luck tonight, Angel. And tell Tama that we all said hi." Azusa smiled and said, "Thanks, I will."
Azusa pulled back into her driveway. As she parked she looked at Ashley and said, "Sorry about that, the guys can get a little excited when they come up with new idea's for our shows." Ashley simply smiled and said, "Nothing to be sorry for. I had fun, and I think it's exciting that you're actually going to let Specter blow you up in that coffin." Azusa's eyebrow twitched and she thought to herself, "Why is it always me?" Ashley hopped out of Azusa's BMW and said, "Well I better be getting home. Shane will be home soon and I need to get dinner started and then get ready for tonight." As Ashley got into her own car, she turned and waved goodbye and said, "See you tonight, and don't get so worked up over this." Azusa watched as Ashley drove away. She sighed to herself. "I hope your right."
She went back inside and into her own small recording studio. She stood and looked at her guitars that were hanging on the wall. All of her guitars were B.C. Rich, and all were unique and strangely shaped. It was one of the things that turned her to B.C. Rich in the first place, their guitars were always different and not the standard Les Paul, V, or Strat shape.
She then saw one guitar which today seemed to stand out to her above all of the others in the room. It was a B.C. Rich Warlock that was colored a dark candy purple. She reached up and pulled it off of its wall mount and held it. She hadn't played this one in a while. It was one of her guitars that she bought right after she moved to the US. She had only played it in a hand full of live shows and only really used it when she was recording her first album with Shadow.
She sat down in the chair in front of the computer in her recording studio and set the guitar on her lap. She pulled a pick out of her pocket and strummed the strings only to hear a dull tone. "Out of tune." She said to herself. She quickly tuned each string until it was back in Standard tuning and sounding flawless.
She strummed a few more chords and played a few parts to some of Shadow's songs before she carried the guitar down to her living room. She leaned it against her leather sofa and then brought out a small amp that doubled as a CD player to make it easier to play along with a song. She plugged the amp in and then ran a cable from it to her Warlock. She then sat down and played a few noted and adjusted the sound until it was satisfactory.
She then put the CD of her song into her amp and began to play. It had been years since she had last played this song, but it felt like she had played it only hours before. She remembered every note and every effect she used. She even remembered every lyric as she sang along. She found herself closing her eyes and openly singing with a smile on her face. It had been so long since she played her old style of music.
She ran through the song several times as well as tried singing the lyrics in English. She would have to sing it that way because she knew that the only one who would understand the song in Japanese would be Tama.
After a while, she strummed out the final notes and finished her final run through of the song. Again, it was like clockwork. As soon as she set her guitar down and leaned it against the sofa, Tama came in through the front door after her day of school. "Mommy!" She called out happily. Azusa stood and went to greet her child. "Hey sweetie, how was school?" Tama smiled and said, "Good! We got everything set up for tonight, I told my friends that you were going to bring one of your guitars and they're all really excited!" Azusa smiled and said, "That's good. Why don't you go get changed and I'll make us some dinner before tonight, does that sound good?" Tama nodded with approval. "Alright then." Azusa said, "Do you want macaroni and cheese?" "Yep!" Tama called out as she was already heading up to her room.
It was nearly 6:30 in the evening when Azusa pulled into the parking lot of Tama's elementary school. She quickly parked and Helped Tama out of her booster seat. She then opened the back hatch of her car and pulled out a black gig bag which had her Warlock inside, and then grabbed her small amp. She quickly slung the gig bag on her back and carried her amp in her free hands and said to Tama, "Are you ready?" "Mhmm!" Tama nodded happily, "Follow me, I'll show you how to get to my class room!" Azusa smiled and said, "Alright."
As she walked towards the school, she saw several of the other parents of the children in Tama's class. They were all talking amongst themselves. Azusa felt her smile slowly fade from her face. One of the parents she saw was Brittney Edwards. Azusa did her best not to make eye contact with her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Brittney take notice of her coming, obviously seeing her guitar and amp as well. She watched as she turned to the other mothers and whisper something. She didn't know what but she watched as the others turned to face her and then laugh to themselves.
To Azusa, it was like taking a knife to the heart. She knew that these parents and most of all, Brittney didn't like her, and all because of her music. She simply sighed to herself and tried to ignore it. As she walked past, she heard Brittney call out. "Miss. Nakano, are you planning on rocking the class room?" Azusa heard the other parent's giggle to themselves and she simply replied as calmly as she could, "No, I'm just giving my job demonstration, just like the rest of you are." Brittney nodded and said sarcastically, "I see. Just try to keep the volume down, I like my hearing." The other parent's instantly started to laugh.
Tama looked over at all of the commotion and then asked, "What's everyone laughing at?" Azusa wanted to scream, words couldn't describe how much all of this was getting to her. But right now, all she could do was fake a smile and say back to Tama, "Nothing Sweetie, it's grownup stuff." Azusa then motioned Tama forward and the two went inside the school.
Inside the school was crowded with children and their parents. It was noisy and filled with the sounds of people talking and other children rushing back and forth to see their friends from class. Azusa looked down at Tama and said, "Which way do we go?" Tama instantly headed off down one of the long hallways and said, "This way!" Azusa followed her child and called out, "It's crowded so don't run, okay?"
She continued down the long hallway that was lined with classrooms and pictures hanging on the walls that the children had drawn. As she walked, she watched as some of the parent's stopped and looked at her, obviously knowing who she was and seeing a guitar on her back and an amp in hand. She would watch from the corner of her eye as they would lean in and whisper to one another, hearing a few of them say, "It's that rocker mom, you know the one who plays that heavy metal."
All she could do was push it aside and think to herself, "You're a celebrity. Maybe more to some than others, but it's something you need to ignore." She could only brush passed the people and keep walking until she heard Tama say, "Here we are." Azusa looked up and saw Tama skip into the classroom with a door that was covered in suns that the children had made out of yellow paint and their hand prints.
She walked in the classroom, already finding Tama happily talking with some of her friends as well as seeing other parent's talking. She then saw a woman approach her and say kindly, "Hello, you must be Miss. Nakano, Tama's mother. I'm her teacher Miss. Summer, it's nice to meet you." The instant thought of someone treating her like a normal person sent joy through Azusa's mind. She then quickly replied with a traditional Japanese bow, "Y-yes! I'm Azusa Nakano. It's very nice to meet you."
Miss. Summer was a tall and slender woman, looking only to be a year or two older than Azusa. She had long brown hair that was kept in a pony tail that went down to her mid back. She had a calm demeanor and her personality reminded Azusa a lot of Mugi. Miss. Summer then said, "Oh, I see you brought one of your guitars for a demonstration of your job." Azusa nodded and then asked, "Yeah, I hope that's okay? I didn't know what else to bring. I doubt that kindergarteners would be interested in seeing paperwork for booking arenas and touring schedules." Miss. Summer smiled and said, "Not at all. Tama's been telling me all week about how excited she is to watch you play for the class. I don't blame her. I'm actually a fan of your music myself."
Azusa felt another wave of acceptance flow through her. "Really?" She asked. "Well thank you. I'm glad you like our music." Miss. Summer nodded and continued, "Yes, I actually liked the heavier music when I was growing up. Mostly the heavy stuff from the 90's and up." Miss. Summer then stopped herself and said, "That amp must be heavy. Feel free to set it behind my desk until you're ready for your presentation." Azusa nodded. "Thank you."
More parent's began to come in and Miss. Summer calmly said, "I better go greet the other people coming. I'll talk with you more later." Azusa nodded as Tama's teacher waved and then went to greet the other families coming in. Azusa smiled as she set her amp and gig bag down. It felt good that someone actually treated her as a normal parent and not just like a rock star.
An hour had passed. Azusa eventually met up with Ashley and talked amongst themselves and with a few of the other parents until Miss. Summer got the rooms attention and readied everyone to explain to the children and the other parents about what their jobs were.
The order was going alphabetical. Azusa was relieved, it gave her some breathing room to get ready. She watched as the other parents explained their careers to the children, and watched as the kids would sit up with interest at the entertaining jobs and act bored at the less entertaining ones. She felt bad that the other children didn't find Ashley's job all that exciting. Both of them knew that a store clerk wasn't a dream job; but still, it helped Ashley keep food on the table.
Azusa sat nervously, tapping her fingertips together and listening as the other parent's talked. Tama sat next to her sitting quietly and watching as the other parents talked and gave demonstrations. Azusa looked over at Ashley who was sitting next to her with her son Shane at his small desk. Ashley could tell she was still nervous. She simply winked at Azusa and smiled. A small comfort.
The room clapped as another one of the parents finished talking and then heard, Miss. Summer say, "Alright, are next guest is Tama's mother, Miss. Azusa Nakano." The other parents and children clapped as she stood. Tama looked up at her mother and said, "Do your best!" And then gave her the devil horns with her fingers. Azusa smiled and did the same. She then slowly walked up to the front of the class room and said calmly. "Hello everyone, "I'm Azusa Nakano, Tama's mother, and my job is the lead guitarist for the band called Shadow."
The room was quiet until Ashley gave a quick confidence booster by calling out, "Woo!" and then clapping for the band. A few of the other parents went a long with it and clapped with her. Azusa waited for it to quiet down and for her blushing cheeks to fade before she continued, "Thank you. My job is a little different then most of the other parents here. Instead of working at just one place, I get to travel to do my work." Trying to keep it simple for the children to understand she continued, "The band goes on what we call a tour. That's where we travel to a lot of different cities and perform our music for a lot of people in different places like sports arenas and outdoor music festivals."
Azusa then went and got her gig bag and unzipped it. She then pulled out her purple Warlock and instantly heard most of the children call out, "Whoa!" in amazement. She then slung its strap over her shoulder and said, "This was one of my first guitars. I've had it for a long time now and I used it to record a lot of the songs on our CD's." She then heard Miss. Summer ask, "Miss. Nakano?" Azusa looked over and nervously asked, "Yes?" Miss. Summer continued, "Would you be able to perform a song for us?"
Azusa paused and looked up at the room of people. She could see the look of confusion of some of their faces, knowing that her style was heavy metal. She then heard Brittney say, "Just keep it appropriate, if that's even possible." Azusa looked back at Miss. Summer and said, "Sure."
She quickly plugged her amp in and then ran a cable from it to her guitar. She then said, "This is a song I wrote when I was almost done with high school. It's a song about following your dreams and doing what you want to do. It's about how if you have a dream, don't let anyone put you down and say not to follow it. It was originally in Japanese but I'll sing it in English for all of you."
Azusa turned on her amps power and quickly strummed out a chord for a quick sound check. Instantly, the children perked up with excitement. Azusa selected the version of the song that didn't contain any guitar or vocals so that she could play and sing along. She then hit the play button on the top of her amp and stood in front of the class ready to play. She said, "This song is called, I'm walking my own road."
She tightly gripped onto her black guitar pick with Shadow's band logo on it and began to strum out an upbeat riff as the song began to play. Instantly the children in the room began to cheer including Tama who was watching her mother play as she showed off a large smile on her tiny face. Azusa then sang the opening verse.
"Who… Do you wanna be?
Huh… I don't know but I'm living my own life
So… I'm gonna push and push because I lose if I pull
Yeah… Walkin' in a flexible style like a cat
Independent and alone are my virtues
Can't anybody hold me down?"
With an upbeat voice, she fluttered out several quick notes on her guitar and began to sing the chorus.
"However soon as I get hugged, I would instantly soften up
The human body is weird
No textbooks or dictionaries ever wrote anything
'bout how to overcome this, so it's hard
Azusa again played the main riff of the song as the children and even the parents began to cheer and clap as she played. Azusa quickly shot a wink at Tama as she again began to sing another verse.
"Whew… I was born 15 years ago, still got a long journey ahead.
Haa… I'm just a small girl, the sky's the limit
But… I don't wanna just look up to people all the time, I hate losing
Yeah… I'm gonna do what there is to do whatever it is I would do
Hard work and guts are my beliefs
I gotta keep moving on"
Again with cheer in her voice, Azusa quickly played a flutter of fast notes on her guitar as she began the second chorus.
"However as soon as I see Taiyaki, I would stop and pause
Snacks are great!
When they tell me to say "a~n" my mouth would automatically open"
With everyone in the class now cheering; even people who were walking the halls, now were crowded around the door watching Azusa play. Azusa hit the bridge of the song and began to play an upbeat line of notes and chords accompanied by heavy bass beat and fluttery piano. With a smile on her face, she looked out towards the room of people and again began to sing.
"I'm clumsy, that's why I'm stubborn
But I also read the atmosphere
If it's gonna make everyone happy
I would even wear cat ears!"
Azusa then hammered out several heavy chords and sang out loud.
"But why?
But why?
As soon as I get hugged, I would instantly soften up
The human body is weird
I just love that warm feeling, like basking in the sun
And I'm weak to the soft human touch"
Smiling at towards her crowd, she played a set of chords and began to sing the last verse of the song.
"Gentle feet, quiet feet, stealthy feet
Hill path, flower path, thorny path
I'm walking my own road
Care to join me?
Senior, junior, classmate
Online friend, RL friend, him and her
Everyone's walking their own road
Outta the way, outta the way!"
Azusa quickly played a line of fast and heavy palm mutes as she sang the last line of words.
"Gentle feet, quiet feet, stealthy feet
Hill path, flower path, thorny path
I'm walking my own road
Care to join me?
Senior, junior, classmate
Online friend, RL friend, him and her
Everyone's walking their own road
Outta the way, outta the way!"
With the final words sang, she quickly strummed out one last chord and ran her fingers up the neck of her guitar making the sound raise higher before she ended the song.
Almost instantly, everyone cheered for her. She felt her adrenaline level slowly decrease; however, she still gripped tightly onto her guitars neck. It had been so long since she had played for a crowd by herself. She had forgotten the feeling of all eyes and cheers being focused on her. She then watched as Tama got up from her seat and rushed up to her mother and gripped onto her waist and hugged her. "You were so cool!" Tama called out as she again gave her mother the devil horns with her tiny fingers. Azusa returned the gesture and then looked back at the room of people.
Ashley, naturally was cheering the loudest, and the rest were clapping and giving a few quick whistles. She then took notice of Brittney. She seemed to show no expression on her face, she only quietly clapped her hands together a few times before stopping and simply waiting for the noise to stop. Azusa didn't care. This was her first step towards being accepted by the other mothers and she wasn't going to let one person ruin it for her.
She finally took her guitar off of her shoulder and again bowed in the traditional Japanese fashion and said, "Thank you very much." And then went back to sit down with Tama as they watched the next parent go up.
He was the father of one of the boy's in Tama's class. He looked at the room and said, "Well, my job is going to seem even more boring after that." Instantly, he and the rest of the people in the room gave a light laugh. As he began to talk and the room had once again settled down, Azusa heard Ashley trying to get her attention. She looked over and saw both Ashley and Shane giving her the thumbs up. Again, blushing deeply, Azusa smiled and simply waved at them.
She sighed quietly to herself and finally after days of worry, allowed herself to relax. "I did it…"
If you want to hear the song Azusa sang, go to youtube and search "Azusa Nakano Character song" and look for the one titled, "Watashi wa watashi no michi mo yuku"