Hopelessly Devoted To You

Chapter 7 - The Duper

"Hey, Nana, how about you take a break and have lunch with your friend," Mizukoshi suggested.

"Oh! Really?"

"Yup, I can watch over the store."

"Waaai! I'll be back later!" Hachi announced, walking out of Sarina's with her friend, Junko.

"You and your love sickness again..." Junko sighed. It didn't seem to catch Hachi's attention though. "What are you looking at?"

"Shh! They might hear us."

"Who might h-"

Before she could finish her question, Hachi pulled her behind a nearby building and peered around the corner discreetly

"What on earth are you doing...?"

"It's Mitsuki, she's with some guy," Hachi pointed out, watching the two walk down the street laughing.

"Mitsuki? Shoji's sister, right?"

"Yup, come on."

As soon as the words slipped from her mouth, she grabbed Junko's arm and pulled her along the street, following behind the pair.

"Why do we have to spy on them?"

Hachi immediately turned to her friend with a serious look on her face. "We have to make sure she's okay. He may be duping her to get into her pants."

"Right... But I think she can take care of herse-"

Just like before, she's abruptly pulled to the side by Hachi as Mitsuki and the apparent 'duper' make their way into the café.

"He must have been the one who called before she left so suddenly..." Hachi mumbled, her mind racing with ideas.

"I don't think we should be spying on them-"

"Come on."

Once again, she's pulled by the arm by Hachi, but this time, it's into the café.

After entering the small café with Shin, we both took a seat by one of the windows and ordered something small.

"So, how did you get a job so fast? You've only been in Tokyo for what- three days?"

"I just happened to bump into the owner's son- litterally," I laughed, playing around with the drink the waiter gave me.

As I went to look up at Shin, a small blur from behind him caught my attention. I quickly blinked a few times, trying to determine if something was actually there or not.

"Mitsuki? Hey, you're not spacing out on me, are you?" Shin teased, bringing me back to what I was originally going to look at- his gorgeous blue eyes.

"Sorry, I thought I saw something," I excused, laughing nervously.

When I finally got my concentration back, another blur passed by off to the side, but this time I could make out who it was.

"How long do you think we can sneak around without her noticing?" Junko asked sceptically from the plant Hachi had pulled her behind.

"She won't notice. She's too preoccupied right now."

With a sigh, Junko stopped talking- obviously not going to win against the determined Hachi.

"I wonder how long they're going to be her for..." Hachi mumbled, watching as Mitsuki leaned in to whisper something to the guy she was with.

"Hopefully not long-"

Hachi immediately put a hand over her friend's mouth as the 'duper' opened his mouth to say something.

"So, Mitsuki, maybe we should head over to your place."

In the blink of an eye, Hachi jumped out of her hiding spot and dashed towards the two.

"No, Mitsuki! Don't do it!"

As soon as Hachi left her hiding spot, Shin and I burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Hachi asked, looking totally confused.

"They knew we were following them, that's what," Junko stated as the two of us finally calmed down.

"Hachi, have a little faith will ya?" I teased, finding the situation pretty funny.

"Sorry, I just though he was trying to dupe you..." She mumbled, lowering her gaze.

Unfortunately, I couldn't help but feel that what she did was a nice gesture. She was just looking out for me and I did appreciate the concern.

"Thanks, Hachi," I added with a smile.

Her face slowly brightened up at my words. "Mhmm."

After the little incident with Hachi, the rest of our time together went by rather enjoyably. If we were ever lacking a topic to talk about, we could just resort back to music.

The two hours we had, went by relatively quickly and I could only wish for more time to spend with Shin.

"You don't mind if I give you a call once in a while, do you?" he asked once we got back to Indie's Music.

I couldn't help the grin that spread on my lips. "Of course not. I'd actually like it if you did..."

My cheeks flushed as he smiled back. "Then I'll see you later."

I nodded, but before I could turn to the store, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to my cheek. The gesture left me flustered as I made my way into the store, an amused look on Kyo's face.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" He asked, grinning.

My cheeks darkened and I nodded.

My shift felt a million times longer, my mind elsewhere. It wasn't until I went over to the Nana's apartment that I finally snapped out of it. Both of them were sitting at a table by the window- a new table.

"Like it?" Nana asked, smirking.

"Y-yeah. Did you make it? That's awesome." I asked in disbelief, looking over the new wooden table.

"Yup, all by myself," she answered proudly.

With a small chuckle, I sat at the table along with Hachi. It was a very well made table and seating area, which fit perfectly by the window. I was impressed to say the least. I had no idea she could make something like this.

"Maybe you could become a carpenter, Nana," Hachi suggested happily.

"I don't think I'll be able to play guitar anymore if I do that everyday."

"Guitar..." Hachi mumbled. "Are you planning on becoming a professional guitarist?"

"Are you kidding?" I chimed in. "Nana can't play guitar that well."

"So you're not a guitarist in a band?"

"Nope. I'm a vocalist. Not a guitarist," Nana answered after glaring at me.

"You're a vocalist?" Hachi asked in utter amazement. "That's soooo cool!"

"Save those words 'til after you've heard me sing."

"Already have," I pointed out plainly, glancing at her for a moment.

She returned my glance with a small smile, then headed over to the stove where she had started a stew. When she returned, she placed three bowls on the table- one for each of us.

"Hey Nana, that tattoo on your arm... Is it real?" Hachi asked quietly.

"Yeah..."

"I thought so!" she exclaimed, studying it more closely now. "Didn't it hurt? And I'm afraid of a piercing..."

"What's a little pain to get something you want?" Nana commented, continuing to eat like nothing's going on.

"Yeah, I guess so..."

"It's one of those things that make you feel alive. Right Chiko?"

"Mhm. No pain, no gain," I nodded.

"You have one too?" Hachi questioned, probably feeling left out. "Are you two massagists?"

"I think you mean masochists, right?" Nana pointed out with a laugh.

I joined in on her laughter for a bit, but Hachi didn't seem as amused.

"Anyways, isn't that a lotus flower?"

"Nope, it's Ren's flower," Nana corrected.

"Huh? You mean Suiren?"

"No, just Ren."

"A lotus thing?"

"No."

"But it should be read as 'lotus' not 'ren'."

"Oh shut up..."

"But I'm sure it's supposed to be 'lotus'. Stop insisting, Nana."

"Hey, stop pissing me off."

All throughout their argument, I was trying to stifle a laugh, but it was just too funny to see them fight about this kind of thing. Either way, they're both right- the kanji for 'lotus' could also be read as 'ren', but Nana also has additional reasons for calling it 'Ren's flower'."

As the two of them turned to glare at me, the doorbell rang, saving me for the moment.

"Who could it be at a time like this?" Hachi asked, getting up along with Nana. "Oh! Maybe Yasu sent your stuff."

"Geez, I didn't expect him to be that fast..." Nana mumbled as she walked over to the door.

As soon as she opened it, she froze, not saying a word.

"Good evening," the person at the door greeted happily.

The voice sounded really familiar though. Curiously, I made my way over to the door and poked my head around Nana, a smile immediately forming on my lips.

"Nobu!"

Just like I did with Nana and Yasu, I jumped at him, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Nobu! What the hell are you doing here?" Nana demanded, looking completely shocked.

"Ahh, that's just great!" he stated excitedly. "I've been anticipating that reaction! Cool!"

With a sigh, I finally released him and dragged him into the room, completely ignoring Nana's complaints. He didn't seem to mind at all that I was dragging him around, but it was probably because he knew he wouldn't get into the apartment if I didn't.

"Oh yeah, Nobu, this is Hachi... Well actually Nana, but whatever," I introduced, sitting beside him at the table.

After exchanging quick hellos, Hachi brought over some stew for Nobu.

"Wow, this is hella good," Nobu informed, turning towards Hachi. "You're gonna be a great wife one day."

"Well, thank you," Nana chimed in. "I made that stew."

"Ah, no wonder. I was thinking it tasted kinda salty."

Without a words notice, Nana whacked him over the head and took the bowl from him.

"If it's not good, then don't eat it. And I still don't know what the hell you're doing here!"

"Hey! I brought your luggage over!" he retorted, grabbing the bowl back. "I traveled eight hours by car for you! You should be grateful!"

"Thank you for your effort and now that you've done your job, get your ass back to Inaka!"

"Come on, just let me stay for one night," Nobu begged, getting down onto his knees. "The truth is I-"

"I don't wanna hear it!"

"I ran away from home," he finished, getting Nana's drink poured onto him.

"I said I didn't want to hear it!"

Right after she does, Hachi ran over with a towel and wrapped it around him in a panic. "Nana! Why are you so mean to him? I thought he was your friend."

"Yeah, I haven't seen him in forever," I chimed in.

"We don't have much, but you can stay here if you want," Hachi offered.

I could tell he was enjoying the attention from both myself and Hachi, but Nana wouldn't budge.

"Well, I refuse."

"But Nana-"

"I'm doing this for his own good!" She snapped back. "You're the successor to that resort owned by your parents."

"Well, it's my choice if I want to throw it all away! And... I'm happy simply by playing my guitar with you singing along with it..."

His comment seemed to take her by surprise- surprised that he would give it all away just to play guitar alongside her. Without a word, she turned around and sat at the table, immediately lighting a cigarette.

Noticing Nana's discomfort, Hachi moved towards her as Nobu's cell phone started ringing.

"Hello? Ah, Yasu."

Nana instantly stood up and grabbed the phone from his hand.

"Hello, Yasu? What the hell is this stupid boy doing here?" Nana demanded, pointing an accusing finger at Nobu. "Why did you let him bring my stuff?"

Sha paused for a moment to let him talk, but it didn't seem to calm her.

"No buts. What do you expect me to do? ...Huh? A tape?"

As if that's a hint, Nobu pulled out a CD player and held it out in front of Nana. Without hanging up the phone, she sat down at the table, supporting her head with her hand. "Okay, play it."

Soon enough, the sound of Nobu's guitar filled the room- the same sound of guitar that got me to start playing.

"Whoa! That's an amazing song! Did you actually write it?" Hachi exclaimed excitedly, getting a happy nod from Nobu.

Unfortunately, his smile faded as Nana stood up, a blank look across her face. Since what happened back home with Ren, I had pretty much given up on Blast's return, but a little spark of hope returned as she held up our guitars in front of us.

"Play it."

"But I was never part of it..." I mumbled.

Instead of letting me use my excuse to get out of it, she gave me a reassuring smile. It may have been a small one, but that one smile meant a lot to me. With a new found excitement, I took my guitar from her and plugged it into the amp that Nana pulled out from one of her boxes- along with Nobu of course.

Even though I figured I wasn't going to play, I had listened to the song- trying to come up with the cords that would go along with it. It has always been my dream to play with Blast and this seemed to be a very special occasion.

"Huh? We only have one fan for today?" Nana questioned as she puts on a leopard spotted jacket- Nobu's cell still in her hand. "Well... It started off like this too," she added with a smirk, making me and Nobu laugh. "One person is better than nothing."

Holding the phone in front of her mouth like a microphone, she got onto the table and crouched down in front of Hachi.

"Good evening, we're Blast, and this is our first live in Tokyo. We'll make this a night you'll never forget."

The song didn't even have any lyrics yet, but just like before, Nana crated her own on the spot- using a combination of English and Japanese.

With a dinning table as the stage, a cell phone as a microphone, and the moon as our spotlight, the three of us played our hearts out- letting the magic of Nana's voice fill the room.

FN: I was going to upload this a few days ago, but I totally forgot... sorry ^^; Thanks to everyone who reviewed or faved, I really appreciate it. Also, if anyone has any suggestions or ideas for future chapters let me know ^^