Minori looked around her apartment one last time, making sure that she hadn't left anything behind or anything that would become a mess by the time she was back in fifteen weeks.

She ran through the list in her mind. Toilet cover was down; all her electrical appliances that weren't going with her were unplugged; all perishable foods had been either consumed or thrown out. She double-checked all the taps to make sure that they weren't leaking and were tightly shut, and her windows were closed.

Finally she was satisfied that nothing was going to spontaneously explode or rot in her home while she was gone, and picked up her suitcase to leave. Locking the door (and checking three times that it was shut properly), she kept her keys in her pocket and sighed as she made her way to the studio. The tour bus that was taking them from Tokyo to Aomori would pick them up at the studio. From Aomori, they were going to fly to Hokkaido, then down to Kagoshima, where the bus would take them back to Tokyo.

She had to fight to keep her expression still on the subway, as opposed to maniacally grinning in excitement at the thought of exploring Japan. She'd never gone much further than Kyoto or Tokyo because she hadn't had the time or money, and she couldn't wait to see the rest of Japan. They were going through all the major cities, with a few R&R spots at the more interesting and scenic locations to allow the crew to unwind.

She picked at a loose thread on her backpack as she swayed slightly in rhythm to the song she was listening to. It was still pretty early and she wondered if she would have time to pick up a snack for the road.


"Minori-chan!" Kumiko cried, draping herself over Minori's back. "Aren't you excited! I'm so excited!"

Minori grabbed at Kumiko and shifted her weight so she could piggyback the other girl.

"Good morning to you too," she said, smiling as she craned her neck back to look at the other girl.

Kumiko hugged Minori closer. "You're really lucky your first tour is with Fuwa Sho! His tour bus is the best and we're travelling all over Japan! I've never been on a tour this big either," she exclaimed.

Minori bent her knees slightly to allow Kumiko to put her feet back on the ground. "I guess someone is excited," she said teasingly. "How much coffee have you had?" she asked. Kumiko was almost vibrating.

Kumiko put her finger on her lip as she considered it. "Hmm…" she said thoughtfully. "I had one at home when I woke up, and then I picked up another one at the convenience store down the road…"

Minori gasped and grabbed the paper cup out of Kumiko's hand. "Is this your second or third?!" she said. Thankfully, it still seemed half full. "For God's sake Kumiko," she scolded. "What on earth possessed you to drink so much? We're spending two hours on the bus today! You could have had a nap there."

Kumiko bounced on the balls of her feet. "Well, I had the coffee at home because I usually do, and I had this one because I just realized that we won't be back here for almost four months, Minori! I miss this coffee!"

Minori rolled her eyes. "No more for you, Kumiko!" she declared, taking a sip herself.

Seiichi walked up to the two of them, clearly still half asleep as he rolled his suitcase over Minori's foot. "Ow!" she exclaimed, yanking it out of the way.

"Seiichi, what time did you sleep last night? It's like nine in the morning, you don't even look this bad when we have to be at the studio at seven!"

He yawned. "Sorry, I just got really caught up reading this great book about colonialism in India and how its effects continue to affect Indian politics and culture today."

Akira came up behind Seiichi and slapped him on the back, placing his forearm against the nape of his neck and leaning. "Sounds boring Seiichi, better stop talking about it or you'll make even Kumiko fall asleep."

Hanae and Aiko skipped up together next, holding hands while dragging their matching suitcases behind them. "Good morning guys," they said together.

Minori turned around to smile at them. They weren't the best of friends still, but ever since the pizza party a few nights ago they'd come to some sort of an understanding, and they could chat and make small talk whenever necessary.

Shoko walked up briskly. "Good, all of you are here. The others are outside waiting. The buses are here," she said shortly, before she walked off.

Minori stared after her, wide-eyed. She'd never seen the usually (outwardly) relaxed Shoko looking so flustered and stressed out. The tour must really be taking a toll on her.

"Welp, looks like it's time to go!" Kumiko exclaimed, grabbing her suitcase. She linked arms with Minori and all but dragged her out to the carpark, where a massive bus with Fuwa Sho's face on it waited for them.

"Good God, what a tacky design," she muttered under her breath, cringing.

Seiichi snorted with laughter. "You get used to it," he assured her. "At least the inside will be nicer than the outside, and we don't have to look at it."

She brightened up. "That's true," she chirped.

"Look, it's Sho-kun!" Aiko exclaimed, tugging on Hanae's hand and waving exuberantly with the other.

Sho grumpily walked up to them. "What are you so happy for so early in the morning?" he grumbled.

Minori was confused for a moment before she remembered that this really was early for him – he usually only showed up around ten at the earliest. He was carrying what looked like an expensive designer backpack, although there was a man behind him wheeling two large suitcases up to them.

The two girls separated and each took one of Sho's arms. "Sho-kun, don't be like that!" Aiko said, pouting.

"Yeah, we're just happy to see you!" Hanae chimed in, resting her chin on his shoulder.

He huffed, but accepted their platitudes. "Whatever, let's check out this bus," he said, shrugging them off to step through the narrow entrance. The two girls shrugged and followed him.

The bus was a large double-decker bus, with the bottom reserved for the backup performers and the top for Sho and Shoko. The stairs leading to the top deck were right behind the driver's seat, and that was where Sho immediately disappeared to.

Behind the stairs was a small seating area with a sink, minifridge and microwave oven, and behind that was the 'bedroom' area. There were nine beds, stacked in threes, and each came with a pillow and a neatly folded comforter at the foot of the bed. There was a light and a ceiling light in each, and a power socket. Blinds on each bunk made it possible to get some privacy while sleeping. It looked like a mini capsule hotel.

Behind the beds was another small sitting area, with plush seats and, in the corner, a small room that housed a toilet and a sink.

The two girls ran towards the bedding area and took two bunks, one on top of the other, giggling at each other as they dumped their bags before Aiko joined Hanae in hers.

The others followed suit, Minori claiming one of the top bunks as her own since it seemed that everyone else was too lazy to actually climb into their beds any time they wanted to have a nap.

Shoko stepped into the bus and smiled at the backup performers – those she could see, anyway. Half of them had already gotten into their bunks, with the blinds pulled down. "We have about a three hour drive ahead of us. Once we're there, we have to do sound checks and rehearse for tomorrow's concert, so if you want to take a nap, you'd better do it now!" Having settled everything she needed to for the time being, she was a lot more relaxed and after delivering her instructions, she went upstairs to the space she shared with Sho.

Unsurprisingly, he was already fast asleep in his bunk. The top deck was very similar in layout to the bottom, except that since there were only two of them, instead of nine cramped little bunk beds there were two larger capsule-like bunks on either side of the bus, and instead of bench-style seats at the back, there were two plush reclining seats.

Shoko shook her head as she walked past the beds to the reclining seats at the back, pulling his blinds down as she went. The boy truly was insufferable in the mornings, but she supposed it was an improvement that he'd shown up on time today – in the past, he had been known to sleep through his morning appointments and delay everything because of course they couldn't leave without their star.

She sat down and opened her laptop to clear some administrative work; being Sho's agent was never easy, especially not now that he'd decided to become more involved in his career and actually seemed to have goals other than just singing at concerts and making girls all over Japan swoon.

One of her tasks was coordinating everyone on the tour since while they were constantly on the move it would be difficult for the HR team back in Tokyo to do all that, and she noticed that Minori had requested a day off in Kyoto. It was their first R&R and the HR team had planned a day tour for the crew, but since Minori was from Kyoto it didn't really make sense for her to go on the guided tour, plus she'd written that she wanted to visit her mother.

Shoko approved Minori's absence, and wondered if she could persuade Minori to bring Sho along. While it wasn't really any of her business what her charge did with his personal time and how he handled his family affairs, she couldn't help but feel that it was a pity that Sho didn't get along well with his parents.


"Okay we're here!" the bus driver yelled as the bus lurched to a stop. The crew filed out of the bus, Hanae and Aiko leaning against each other and blinking sleepily as they had just woken up and crawled out of their bunk.

Shoko descended the bus, holding a still half-asleep Sho by his collar as she all but dragged him down and out of the bus.

"I'm going to get us checked in, and then you have half an hour to freshen up or whatever before we're going to get lunch and go to the stadium," Shoko explained. She left Sho with them, still stumbling about dazedly as she walked into the inn.

The bus driver opened the baggage compartment in the bottom of the bus and allowed them to take their luggage, before closing it and driving off… somewhere.

Naoki and Akira snickered quietly as they watched Sho almost fall off the curb and onto the road. "Wow, he really is useless in the mornings," Naoki whispered.

Akira laughed out loud this time. "Morning?! It's past one in the afternoon. I'm surprised that even he is still having trouble this late in the day."

"Fuwa-san, come on…" Minori sighed. "Let's get you some coffee."

Still basically asleep, he draped himself over her and let her drag him down to the convenience store.

"Why are you so tired anyway?" she asked as she pressed the button on the coffee machine to get it to dispense into the paper cup.

He mumbled something unintelligible as he took the cup from her when she held it out for him.

She rolled her eyes as she dragged him to the cashier and paid for his coffee.

He sipped at the warm drink as they made their way back to the others, and finally seemed to perk up a little. "I was writing a song," he explained. "Didn't get much sleep last night."

Minori sighed as she took her room key from Kumiko. "Well, I'll see you later anyway." She grabbed her luggage and joined the rest of the backup dancers inside the lobby. She was rooming with Kumiko, Hanae and Aiko were sharing another room, and Hiroichi and Akari another. The three remaining dancers were sharing a larger room. Sho, of course, had a deluxe suite.

"I hope he doesn't go back to sleep," Seiichi said, eyeing Sho. "It'll be a hassle if he disappears. We have to practice the whole set before the performance tomorrow night."

Aiko and Hanae seemed unbothered. "Sho's not that unreliable! It'll be fine."

Naoki hummed. "We'll see."


Yay I'm back! (It seems I'm only able to write when there's something else I'm procrastinating, like studying for finals) I've kind of gotten a feel for what I want to do with the story now, and I hope yall like what I have up my sleeve! This chapter seems a little choppy because I'm not sure how to set up for what I have planned, but hopefully it wasn't too bad. As always, I love hearing what you think.