Sincerity

The crowd roars after the last note. I sigh and blink twice at my feet. I look to my right and see Yamato laughing, "See? I knew you could do it." I give him a hug.

Takashi clears his throat on the mic. "Please excuse the lovely couple here." I laugh and move over to him, hugging him too. Same with Yutaka. Akira stands from his drumming stool and hugs me.

"We're only friends, just so you know." Yamato utters to the audience, still cheering. "So no scandalous rumors please."

Friendship

After some teachers reprimanded us for performing without consent, we fixed our equipment and headed to the band room, where the Chosens were waiting for us. It's past lunch, so they should all be marked as skipping. Even Jyou is here. Taichi runs to Mimi, embracing her tightly and twirling her around while she laughs.

"Well done, Caramel!" He puts her down. "Thanks for the amazing song." I smile.

Koushiro clears his throat. "He cried." Taichi gives him an annoyed glance.

"Me and Yamato wrote it together." She says proudly, a little bounce from her feet. I pat her head.

Takeru nods. "You two should sing together more." Noted.

"It's been a long time since I heard Mimi's singing voice again." Sora clings to her arm. "It's flawless as always." Oh yeah. I remember they used to go to the karaoke place along with the other girls.

Mimi beams and turns red. "Eheh. Thanks." She scratches her head, flattered.

"Of course. She's Princess Karaoke after all. Just like old times, eh Taichi?" Jyou nudges the brunette. He nods.

"Oh, that's right! Jyou, Nagisa-senpai told me I need to prepare an introductory speech for the pre-election meeting." Taichi clasps his hands together. "Help? You're a senior, so you could share your views and opinions about this, plus I know you're smart and good with words."

"Mimi is, too." I add. She always gets perfect scores in our grammar quizzes.

"What? N-No." Mimi stammers.

"It's fine! Mimi can proofread it. Us three can gather somewhere. What do you say, Jyou?" Taichi pleads.

"Sure. I'm happy to help." He replies. "Hm, how about at Starbucks this weeked?"

"Deal."

1:42 pm, Saturday, Yagami household

Light

"Hikari-chan, Takeru-kun is here." Mom calls out. Before I could move out of the couch, Oniichan runs out his room.

"Hey, Takeru. What's up?" He leans on the door, crossing his arms. As I walk to them mom rolls her eyes at the two boys.

Takeru sweatdrops. "Good afternoon, Taichi-niisan."

I smile at Oniichan and look at Takeru. "Come inside, Takeru-kun."

Oniichan sighs, scratching his head. "Well, I should be meeting Jyoumi now." He wears his outdoor shoes. "Takeru, don't do anything funny while I'm gone. Keep the door and your phone open, Hikari. I'll be back by dinner. Bye."

"Take care!" I wave my hand to him.

Hope

We settle in the living room, Hikari prepares a bowl of chips and sour cream, our favorite dip. "So what did you think about Mimi-oneesan's song?"

"I absolutely loved it. She never fails to impress me whenever she sings." She answers.

"Yeah, and those were clever lyrics too."

"I agree. It's good that she's going to be involved in your brother's new album."

I nod. "They're getting pretty close these days."

"Yeah."

"So... I want to hear your theory of why they broke up."

"Can you promise not to be mad at anyone I mention? Even me?"

"Of course." Especially you. How could anyone be angry with you?

"Well, remember when all of us attended Yamato-niisan's winter concert last year?" She fiddles with her skirt. "When he first sang Just The Way I'm Not... The crowd was going wild, but we all knew who that song was for."

She nods. "That's right. Sora-san told us Aniki wrote a last song for her."

"A breakup song. I sort of looked into the lyrics of the song deeper."

"What did you think?" I lean forward.

"What if, what if there was a third party?" My eyes widen. That's impossible. They were very loyal to each other. "Opposites distract, we fall between the cracks, forget about each other 'til we get each other back." She repeats the words of the song. "Yamato nii-san might be conveying that Sora-san never thinks of him whenever they're apart."

"You're saying... It might be... It just might be... One-sided?"

"Never seem to please you, don't you ever let me go, I know your heart is shut." She references to the song again. "What if he sang all that because someone did please her? He's afraid that she'll let him go because that someone other than himopened her heart instead."

"Who's someone?"

"Let's be honest, Takeru-kun. Who else?"

Starbucks, Odaiba shopping district 1:57 pm

Sincerity

I order an iced caramel latte. Ah, caramel and caffeine really do belong together. When Jyou arrived I guessed his order would be a shaken, not stirred, iced tea. I guessed right. Call me a typical white girl, but I memorized my friends' favorite drinks, except for Koushiro, since he has no particular favorite. The guy just likes drinking in general. As for Jyou, he has gentle taste. He sits beside me waiting for Taichi. I'm guessing our leader would order an iced skinny mocha, he likes mocha... I guessed right again!

"Why are you smiling so much, Caramel?" He says, laying down his tray with the drink and a cinnamon roll on the table.

"It's the caffeine getting to her." Jyou shakes his head.

"It's just that I still know all of you so well." I giggle. He and Taichi share fond looks.

Jyou brings out a yellow pad and a mechanical pencil. "Shall we start?"

Hope

"Yamato-niisan probably found out Sora-neesan's feelings about my brother."

"If that's so, why did Sora-san date my brother in the first place?"

"I don't know." She puts her legs up on the couch, hugging them. "... Are you mad at me now?"

I chuckle. "Why would I be?"

"Are you mad at my brother?"

"It's not his fault. Truthfully, if I were Sora-san, it would be impossible not to fall in love with him." Ok, that sounds weird. Anyway, Taichi was there before any of us were. Especially when her parents were fighting about complicated things, and when she refused to befriend anyone.

"Are you mad at Sora-nee?"

"I wouldn't be if she'll eventually tell us why she dated Aniki instead... If your theory is correct."

"I don't think we'll ever know if my theory is wrong or right."

"Still. It does make sense though. I mean, Taichi-niisan was there first."

"..." She joins me in the floor, to sit. Hugging me, she whispers, "You're so nice, Takeru-kun." Err okay, don't look at my face because I swear it's redder than a tomato.

"Well... I'm just saying, our brothers don't deserve hate just cause they make mistakes." It's good because they actually learn from it, at least, I hope.

Reliability

"Ta-Taichi-kun!" A startled voice echoes.

Taichi looks up from the paper. "Nagisa-senpai! Wow it seems like we've been running to each other these days." Me and Mimi lock eyes. I'm pretty sure she stared at that no-whip strawberries and cream frap on her hands.

"What are you doing here?" Nagisa asks softly.

"I'm writing my speech with Jyou." The brunette replies. I step on his foot beneath the table. "Hey!" He glares at me.

Ignoring him, "How about you, Kitamura-san?" I smile sweetly. "Why are you here?"

"I just c-came to get a drink." She stutters. "I-I'll be going now, then. Bye Taichi-kun." She walks away.

"Uh... Okay, bye." He waves farewell. When she's out of sight he glares at me. "My foot still hurts, you know."

I click my tongue. "Why'd you tell her?"

"What? She's not that type of girl."

"You can't say for sure, Taichi-kun." I sigh.

Sincerity

Halfway finished, Senpai lets Taichi compose sentences. "Jyou, another term for responsibilities?" He asks.

"Duties, obligations, priorities-" The one with glasses immediately answers.

"Uh okay. That's enough." He continues to scribble, occasionally stopping to tap the pencil on the table.

Out of boredom, I hum the first tune that comes to my mind. The guys suddenly look at me. "What?"

"That's Lost in Stereo." Taichi points out.

"Yamato's first single." Jyou says.

I nod. "Yeah, I know."

They look at each other. "Gee, you sure are rubbing off each other, Caramel."

"Huh? Why? Does he wear pink now?" I ask. That could possibly be a magazine article. Though I bet pink would look disastrous on Yamato... Unless he's a girl. He'd be a pretty girl.

"What? No! I mean, yesterday when you sang, you drew his crest on his palm... And I'm assuming he did the same."

"And now you're humming his songs." Senpai says, getting the pad from Taichi's hand to review what he wrote.

I shrug. "I did buy his albums."

"All three?" Jyou adjusts his glasses. "I only have his debut one."

Hope

"Is there something wrong?" Hikari asks, after I receive a mail.

"Uh, no. My mom wants me to eat dinner at Aniki's. She's coming home at ten."

"I see. Are you leaving already?"

"Hm. Maybe later." I smile at her and go back to watching one of her favorite movies. The Notebook. She rests her head on my shoulder. I blush. Yes! Points for me.

"Hikari! I'm home!" Hikari gets up from our position to hug her brother.

"Welcome home, Oniichan!" I sigh. Guess I am leaving after all.

Reliability

After writing the speech, we finish at 5:32 pm, I walk Mimi home. "Hey, Jyou-senpai." I turn to her, she was kicking some pebbles on the pavement while walking.

I smile. "What is it?"

She shakes her head. "Nothing, really. It's just that... Everytime when it's just the two of us, I always remember the time when I purposely separated from you guys in the digiworld." She stops walking. "I'm really grateful for you coming after me, you know. I felt relieved at least someone cared about the sissy brat."

"You're not a sissy brat."

"Being friends with someone like Jyou-senpai, it feels like having a big brother." She giggles, ignoring my statement. "Always naturally there for me, always will be."

"Big brother, huh."

"Hm?" She continues walking, dragging her sandals.

"Ah, no, forget it." guess that's all I'll ever be to her.

"... J-Jyou-senpai." She stops on her tracks again, looking shocked.

"What is it?" I follow her gaze and see. "... Who's he with?"

"... I can't see her properly."

"That's definitely a female. I can't see her face though."

"And that's Italliana, the fanciest restaurant in town."

"... Wha-What should we do?"

"... Nothing." She turns away.

"What? But-"

"It's none of our business. Let's go." I hesitate before uneasily walking with her to the other direction.

Friendship

I pick up the phone. "Hey, what's up?"

"Oy, can you and Mimi perform a duet for me on monday? Nagisa-senpai said we need at least one campaign performance."

"Sure. Any song will do?"

" man."

"No problem. It's just singing. No big deal for us."

"It's just that Mimi... No. Never mind. I'll hang up now, okay? Bye." Taichi's worried for her.

"Bye." I hang up. The doorbell rings. I wonder if it's dad.

Opening the door, "Oh hey. Great timing."

She wears a troubled expression. "You're dad's not here, is he." That sounds more like a sentence than a question.

"How'd you know?" I urge for her to come in.

We sit on the couch. "I probably misunderstood, anyway." Shrugging, she looks away. "Me and Jyou-senpai saw him on the way home from writing Chi-chan's speech. With a woman."

"He takes co-workers for dinner all the time."

Her face lightens up. "Really? Thank goodness." She sighs out of relief.

"Yeah, he told me he'd come home late."

"I couldn't see the woman's face, though. She had this big red coat and a brown beret."

"Why do you even care?" I chuckle, feeling amused. "I mean, I wouldn't mind if he got himself a girlfriend..." She stares. "But he should tell me first of course, and also, the woman should introduce herself to everyone, me, Takeru and Mom-"

She blushes. "I don't know... I... I mean, don't you want your family to be together again?"

"We are together. Doesn't mean our parents have to be married."

"Well, I still want them to get together again. I don't even know why divorces exist. If it were happier the way it was before, then how come they separated in the first place?"

"..." I smile.

"Besides, even though you tell me you don't, I know deep in your heart there's no one who can replace your mother as your father's wife, even if he does remarries."

I grab a lock of her hair, twirling it using my forefinger. Sniffing it, I whisper, "You're so innocent." That's probably her charm.

Her hair smells like flowers. She tilts her head and giggles. "But I'm still right."

In a way, "You are." I pull her closer to me, giving a hug. "What's your perfume?"

"Promise you won't laugh?"

I laugh. She groans. "Okay, okay."

"I don't wear perfume."

"Liar." I position my head on her neck, faintly smelling like soap. "You smell like your the embodiment of everything floral."

"I just wear perfume on special occasions."

"I should leave." A voice says.

"Takkun." Mimi widens her eyes.

I stand up, meeting Takeru's smirk. "Mom told me to eat dinner here." He utters.

I roll my eyes. "You could've sent me a text." I walk to the kitchen.

"Yeah but if I did, I wouldn't be able to see you and Mimi-nee cuddling."

"We weren't cuddling." Mimi and I say in unison.

Takeru laughs, while Mimi turns red. "By the way Mimi, Taichi wants us to sing a duet as a performance of his campaign team."

She walks to me by the stove. "Sure. What are we singing?"

"I'll tell you later." I wink, starting to wash some carrots.

Sunday, 9:05 am

Sincerity

"Mom, I'm going out." I call out, wearing my pastel pink flats by the door.

"Huh? Where?" Mom rubs her eyes, walking out of her room in her morning robe and bunny slippers. "But it's sunday, Mimi-chan."

"I know, I know. It's a school thing. I'll be back in the afternoon, okay?" I run back to kiss her on the cheek. I guess dad's not up yet, he's been overworking these days. "Bye!"

I meet Yamato in Starbucks, we're going to Takashi's house together. Turns out that's where they practice when school's closed. I look around the café and catch him, wearing shades and a gray beanie. Right. He's without his band, so he needs to remain unnoticed if he sees anyone.

Wait a sec. What is he drinking?

"Oy, Yamato."

He looks up, pausing his sipping. "Yo."

"Is that an Iced Caramel Macchiato?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Nothing." I blush.

"I like bitter coffee, but I can't drink this stuff without caramel. Just a bit of it, though."

I shrug, my face pink. "Well, now you know why I have the nickname."

"... Wow." He takes another sip and smirks. "What a coincidence."

Friendship

"So why is it Takachi's place? Why not Yuta-kun's or Aki-tan's?"

"Woah, easy with the nicknames." You don't even call me one. "That's because Takashi doesn't live in an apartment."

"Oh my." Her mouth gapes when I point to the large gates.

"Remember when I told you I met him through Jyou?" I ring the doorbell. "He used to study becoming a doctor as well." It's good his parents are flexible enough to let him continue being in a band.

"This is such a beautiful mansion." She says. Funny how Takashi is probably just as rich as Mimi.

"He has a family of very successful doctors. That are all from the Japanese ancestry. So they kept the traditional style." A servant in a yukata leads us in, bowing, muttering, 'welcome back, Ishida-san'. In the living room, we find Takashi and all my other bandmates at leisure under a kotatsu complete with hot tea.

"Let's set up, guys." I call out.

12:35 pm

After practicing and eating the famous Miyamura household's gyoza and sashimi for lunch, Akira got too full to play drums, so we took a short ten minute break. Mimi sits by the garden in front of a small pond, outside the room.

"You're staring." Takashi says, his back leaned back.

"Huh?" I raise a brow.

"You should go to her."

"Psh. How come he always gets paired up with her?" Akira rolls his eyes. Yutaka laughs lightly.

Sincerity

Yamato takes a seat beside me on this wooden bench. "Ah, I'd love to have a house like this." I utter, stretching my arms.

"... You'd like this better than a western castle?" He asks, a little taken aback.

"Hm? Didn't Chi-chan tell you the gekomon castle was a traditional one?" At least on the outside.

"No. But Sora told me you lived in a mansion fit for a princess in America."

"Yeah... That wasn't my decision." I cup my face with both hands, my elbows on my thighs. "This place seems so relaxing and peaceful. Not intimidating, unlike big modern mansions, regardless of its beauty."

"I sorta have a weird heritage."

"What makes you say that?"

"My mother's half French, explains why me and the squirt are blonde." He runs his hand through his hair. "My dad... There's an Ishida clan back in Shimane. Our grandmother owns a similar residence there."

My eyes widen. "Wow. So how'd your parents meet? France and a Japanese clan seem so far with each other."

"They met when my mom decided to write for my dad's first TV show he produced."

"Aww." I clutch the bottom part of my dress. "Through your stories, I vaguely recalled something." I avoid his eyes. "That... My mom and dad asked me a question on my seventh birthday."

He smirks. "What is it? If you wanted to be a princess?"

I shake my head. "You might hate me."

He shrugs. "Pretty sure I won't."

"They asked me if I wanted a younger sibling." Silence. "Guess how that turned out."

"... I don't hate you for that."

"I hate me for it... When I met Takkun, I started to regret saying no to my parents. I was a little jealous of the bond you two cherish. I never got to understand how siblings are different from parents 'til I met the both of you... It gets lonely being an only child."

He frowns then his face softens. "I'm not that good of a brother... When I was a kid, I used to believe I'm important because Takeru needed me." He looks down. "I sort of used him."

"..." I didn't know that's how he felt. "If you put in Takkun's point of view, I just think he wanted to have a sense of independence. He loves you, but he wanted to stand up for himself, you know?"

He batters his eyelashes and smirks. "I feel like Takeru tells you things I don't know."

I shrug. "Girl problems, maybe."

He sits straight. "He asks you for advice when it comes to girls?"

"Sometimes. When he needs something to wear or what to give or stuff like that."

"That squirt." He shakes his head. "He asks me too, but he never takes my advice seriously."

"Hey Yama-kun," I smile. "Keep this a secret, okay?"

"Of course." I rest my head on his shoulder. "I'd rather you share these things with only me."

I lock gazes with him and giggle. "Weirdo."

2:35 pm

Courage

"Okay... Time start." My little sister presses the button. I start reciting my speech, that I memorized last night. She cuts me off, stopping the little clock.

"You sound nervous, Oniichan. Just be yourself. Pretend you're just talking to the other C.C.s." She's beginning to sound like a member of the theatre club. That's convinient.

I start speaking again.

"Don't get too relaxed. Keep your tone firm and convincing."

Take three.

"Don't sound controlling. Keep a smile on."

Take ten.

"Lower shoulders, straight back."

Take eighteen.

"Work on your pace. Remember one period is equal to one pause."

Take twenty-two.

"Slow down on the words you feel like you can't pronounce right."

Take twenty-nine.

"Try to lessen, if not completely stop your stammering."

Take thirty-five.

"Keep your emotion, don't be one of those snobby seniors who care for all the crappy teachers' approval." Oh God. This is tiring.

Monday, Mimato's english class

Sincerity

Today is going to be the third time I sing in front of a real audience. I look to my right and glance at Yamato, still looking at the bird's nest outside, his head rested on his right palm. I write random words on the back of my notebook again. Not really random. I don't frequently take notes in this class.

This is me crying that, this is the very first page, not where the storyline ends

I sigh, catching my seatmate's attention. "What's that?"

"Nothing. I scribble a lot when I'm bored."

"Yeah, I noticed that too." He eyes my notebook. I always do this in english class.

"I'm nervous."

"For later? Don't be. We practiced yesterday with the band, so it'll probably go better than you think." He leans back on his chair. "Besides, you did really good last time."

"That doesn't mean I'll do good now."

"I didn't expect you to be such a negative person."

I shrug. "Just on certain moments."

Courage

The principal calls us candidates for a run-through of the ceremony later. Mostly just consists of us polishing and delivering our speeches. I see Nagisa by the corner, mumbling words, looking serious.

"Senpai."

She snaps out. "Ah, Taichi-kun." She tucks her hair behind her ear, flustered.

"There are few grouped candidates with parties, huh." I look around, noticing students with matched shirts, reciting their speeches together. Nagisa ran by herself, an individual candidate like me.

She nods and smiles shyly. "Are you going to wear the cape later?"

"Yep. I made sure to shine my shoes, too."

She giggles. "That's right, did you see when you're going upstage later?" We start walking over to a small bulletin board.

I sigh. "How refreshing. I'm last."

"I'm fifth. It's arranged in alphabetical order."

"By the way, what's your campaign team doing for the presentation?"

"They're going to dance, a lot of them are athletes." How unexpected of Nagisa's demeanor.

"Nice. I just asked Yamato and Mimi to sing."

"Oh, yeah. You're friends with the rockstar." Huh. She doesn't seem to care. Unlike the rest of the female population.

"Yeah, he's cool."

I shrug. "I'm not into music much. I'm more into physical attentiveness. Like sports." She adjusts her glasses.

It's rare to meet a girl uninterested in Yamato. "Really? Which one?"

She looks down, her toes moving together. "... I-I didn't mean it like that." She hides behind her bangs. "I study sports."

Love

We're not even halfway through with the event, and I already feel sleepy. The fourth candidate just finished his speech, the crowd seated, clapping by instinct. I yawn as Taichi elbows me, whispering, "It's Nagisa-senpai's turn."

I reset my attention span to focus on the stage. A group of tone shaped bodies entered. They start to place themselves in an organized formation. I feel like I've seen those people somewhere. I squint. "They're varsities." Taichi whispers.

"Oh." I reply. They start to dance to Ariana Grande's 'Problem'.

Knowledge

Mimi was in awe. Her eyes sparkled, her mouth formed an 'o' and her cheeks flushed while watching the performers. Truth to be told, I'd rather watch her than the dancers. I smile and try to focus on the stage. We were seated together because of our year level, so we were three rows behind the other Chosens. I am rather amazed by the performance as well. Even though it doesn't seem fitting for Nagisa's character, to have a campaign team with proud and confident dance varsities as members. My curiousity regarding her background levels up. Could she be interested in Taichi as well?

Love

I don't know if anyone else noticed, but her legs are visibly shaking. Lips quivering. Fingers interlocked. She's nervous. I glance to Taichi on my right, who was wearing a worried face. "I-I..." Nagisa attempts to start. Her face is red, as if she forgot what she was going to say. The crowd starts to whisper. How embarassing, they say. People these days.

I can feel Taichi clench his fists. "Nagisa-senpai!" He shouts, standing up. "I'm rooting for you!" Me and all other humans in existence stare at him in disbelief, wide-eyed.

He sits, blushing furiously. Nagisa does the same. Her shaking stops. Putting on a determined face, she grips the podium mic. "I am Kitamura Nagisa. Running for Student Body President." Her voice is firm. "I know I am not known for my strong or brave personality... Even my height," the crowd chuckles. "But we all have to admit," she smirks. "I have some guts to be standing right here right now." We laugh again.

Friendship

"Here, let me." Mimi ties my mask together on my head.

She hands me my black gloves. "Thanks."

"No problem. Wait, I'll get the cape." She leaves the dressing room in search of the garment.

"You're not even dating yet and you act like you're a married couple." Takeru walks in.

"Oh, hi. Why are you here?"

He sits on the chair facing the mirror, crossing his legs. "I want to do something for this presentation." I have a bad feeling about this.

Courage

I clutch my phone and nudge Sora. "Takeru texted." She leans near to see the message. Aniki said he's okay with it. His band members are even excited. -Lil brat #1

Sora cocks a brow. "You named Takeru Lil brat #1 on your contacts?"

I grin. "Yep. It fits him doesn't it?"

She rolls her eyes. "Wait. Why number one? Who're the others?"

"Well, there's Motomiya, Willis, and those three other guys from China." I shrug.

"How did you even get their number?"

"Hikari's phone, duh."

"I'm guessing she doesn't know you snoop in her phone."

"It's not snooping if I'm protecting her."

"It just sounds like your being a siscon."

Friendship

"Stop that." I scoff to Mimi who was laughing, arms around her stomach.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She stops, putting on the widest smile.

"You look the cutest, Yamato." Takashi says.

Mimi guffaws again. I glare at my guitarist.

"Well if you ask me, Mimi-chan looks the cutest." Akira winks to her. Mimi giggles, still staring at me. I roll my eyes.

Takashi elbows me. "Here comes the intro."

"Wonder how Yutaka will pull this off." Akira crosses his arms.

Mimi looks at me quizzically. I smile. "He's the speaker of the band."

We hear a drumroll. "Here it comes." Akira whispers excitedly.

"You think you've seen the last of our kind? Prepare yourselves, for the terror, the impact, the awesomeness of," Yutaka deepens his voice. "The Warlock Wolves!"

Mimi supresses a giggle. The curtains slowly reveal our figures, Yutaka joining us, beside Takashi.

Love

"It suits them, don't you think?" I say to Taichi, who was now wearing his red cape.

"Their mock name or the wolf ears?"