Originally, I was planning on putting out a two-chapter story about Takeru and co. going on a school graduation trip to Kyoto, like what we usually see in anime. However, after multiple times of trying I was still not satisfied with the outcome. After giving some thoughts, and due to much writer's block on this particularly arc that I had had in mind, I have decided to sadly discard it, which would have been fun since I was planning to have Takeru and Hikari trapped in a love hotel, where the walls were incredibly thin that they could hear 80% of what was happening on the other side of the wall.
To compensate for that (or not, since this chapter was written out of frustration that I couldn't get the aforementioned arc done), I'm presenting a rather experimental chapter, with live band music and pretty much nothing to do with the main plot if I am completely honest with you all. I personally find it quite fun to do this chapter, though I can understand that most readers will want me to get into more Takari moments and the unresolved Taichi-Sora-Yamato triangle. They will be presented in the next chapter, I can guarantee that.
On sidenote, is anyone watching the currently airing series, Selector Infected WIXOSS? I'm highly impressed by how an anime supposedly to be about high school girls playing a card game turns out to be very darkly entertaining and intriguing. A bit like watching Puella Magi Madoka Magica and expecting to see magical girls happily saving the days, only for it to give you a big slap in the face a few episodes in. So far, I've been slapped rather happily a few times.
On another sidenote, my condolences to all the lost souls who unfortunately sacrificed themselves on the event or the aftermath of the Tiananmen Massacre, 25 years ago. You will never be forgotten.
Chapter 22: God Knows
1st November 2006
To say that he wasn't nervous would be an understatement. After all, even though he was used to being the star player on the basketball court, this was the first time he would take a real stage and perform in front of several hundred people who wouldn't expect anything less from him.
Takaishi Takeru gulped for the umpteenth time. He had already lost count of the time he had visited the bathroom by now, and he could feel the cold sweats forming on his forehead and his back. He could see his own legs shaking in nervousness, something that he hadn't expected when he first agreed to do this. He had thought it would just be like an intense basketball game, but apparently he was wrong. This felt nothing like the sport game. If any, this felt more like riding a roller-coaster climbing up the slope as slow as a snail.
'You nervous, lil' brother?'
Yamato's voice sounded more sarcastic than sincere, and the grin on his face proved that. Takeru picked up an empty bottle nearby and tossed it towards the elder blond, who dodged it easily and then laughed at the younger blond's pathetic attempt. 'Relax,' he mused, giving Takeru a squeeze on the shoulder, 'Everyone gets nervous on the first time, but once you're on stage you'll get over it.'
'Easy for you to say,' Takeru grunted under his breath, sending his brother a death glare, 'You've been doing this for years now.'
'Go easy on kiddo here, Yamato,' came a rough voice. Takeru raised his head to spot Nanase Toshiki, the drummer of the Teenage Wolves, beaming at him. 'It's his debut show. Let him be scared for a few more minutes. He'll know what to do once he gets out there.'
'Yea, Takeru, don't overthink. This is just a gig. Nothing big, nothing different,' Shimada Ryosuke, the guitarist and vocalist of the band, join in, ruffling Takeru's hair like he was a five-year-old.
'You've been doing well in practice, so there's no reason to get nervous now,' concluded Okamoto Masayuki, the guitarist and keyboardist, who slapped the blond on the back to give him encouragement.
While Takeru appreciated their kind words, they didn't really help ease his anxiety. These were people who had played together since their last year of junior high, meaning they had three more years of experience performing on stage than he did. Who was he to compare with them when he's only agreed into doing this about a month ago, when he had finally grown sick of Yamato's constant begging? With the tension building up now and hearing the loud, euphoric cheers from the auditorium, he really regretted agreeing to serving as the rhythm guitarist to the Teenage Wolves.
'You'll get over the stage fright. We've been there. We know how that feels,' Ryosuke added. 'Just focus on playing your part, and if anything happens, we'll cover for you.'
'Thanks, Ryo,' Takeru smiled weakly, though he couldn't be sure if he really meant it. At that moment, the student worker came to inform them that it was their turn to play now. They gathered their respective instruments, greeted the band that just finished playing, and stood on the side of the backstage, ready to jump in any second.
'Now it's our turn,' Yamato announced, slapping Takeru on the head. 'Let's go.'
Takeru stared at the backs of his band members now, and clenched the neck of his electric guitar tightly. Shaking his doubt away, he proceeded to walk on stage with wobbling legs.
Hikari observed the crowd excitedly while capturing the moments of euphoria erupting in the auditorium with her camera. The crowd got louder and louder with each performing group, and with the Teenage Wolves set to be on stage soon, the audience did not look like they were content with just the one-hour duration allocated for the famed local band.
The auditorium of Odaiba Junior High wasn't particularly huge, but was spacious enough to contain at least six hundred audience members to watch a special band night. With permission from the school management board, three local bands got to stage a performance not in a live house but in the school that they all graduated from. With majority of their fans being local students, the place was perfect for them.
Yamato's band, the Teenage Wolves, was set to be the last performer of the night, and Hikari could not wait to see how Takeru would do this time. After performing for her in her birthday party, Takeru had been persuaded tirelessly by Yamato to join the band, at least on a temporary basis, since their original guitarist had moved and they needed a replacement. The Teenage Wolves also knew Takeru and the members were more than welcome for the young blond to join them. Takeru wasn't so sure at first, but with the encouragement of Hikari and his friends (along with Yamato's twenty daily text messages urging him to join) he decided to give it a try.
It meant that he had to spend more time on practice and less time with her, but in exchange he was even more considerate than ever whenever they went on dates. Hikari smiled happily to herself as she recalled Takeru's caring gestures over the past months. Tiny gestures such as brushing kisses on her face or surprising acts like taking her to her favourite café to celebrate their anniversary made her beam with much satisfaction.
'It looks like the Teenage Wolves are ready now,' Daisuke yelled in order for his friends to hear him. They were standing very close to the stage, and the cheers and screams were so loud that, as the band members stepped on stage and prepared their respective instruments, that the group could feel the floor shaking in response.
'There's Takeru!' Ken cried, pointing at the right hand side of the stage as a nervous-looking Takeru appeared shell-shocked at the sight of more than a thousand pairs of eyes focusing on him.
'He looks terrible!' Miyako screamed, though no one could hear her now when her voice was immersed in a sea of thunderous cheers. Yamato and Ryosuke waved at the crowd, which caused their fans to scream even louder.
'How's everyone doing tonight?' Ryosuke yelled into the microphone, prompting an uproar that Hikari worried if the floor would collapse. 'As you may have already known, we're introducing our new guitarist tonight, and trust me, he's a very talented one. Please welcome the younger brother of our very own Yamato, Takeru!'
Clearly unused to such kind of reception outside of the basketball court, Takeru could only nod timidly when the crowd bellowed their warm welcome to him. Daisuke was so busy laughing at Takeru's panicked state that he received a blow in the head from Iori.
Takeru bit his lips tightly and scanned the crowd fastidiously. There are a lot of familiar faces as majority of the crowd were his schoolmates, and he did not miss the fact that his fan club was holding tailor-made banners for him ("Takeru-sama we love you with all our hearts", Yamato whistled). Sighing, he turned his attention to his close friends, noting that Daisuke was getting into argument with Iori, while Miyako and Ken just looked at him with a bright grin on their faces, as if telling him to keep enjoying the most embarrassing moment of his life.
And there was Hikari, who was standing still, unlike the rest of the crowd who was jumping throughout Ryosuke's introduction. Their eyes met, and by the pale look on his face Hikari could tell he was still suffering from a severe stage fright. Noticing that she had caught Takeru's attention, Hikari raised both her thumbs and showed him a reassuring stare. There was nothing she could do now but to show him her support, and hopefully, this would be able to ease his tension somewhat.
Takeru blinked, but a smile quickly surfaced on his face. He was still scared, but somehow just seeing her smile was able to calm him down. He nodded at her, and clutched his guitar body. Turning to give Ryosuke a nod to signal that he was ready, the band quickly positioned themselves to play the first song of the night.
The steady drumming of Toshiki provided the backdrop that the members could lean on. The eighteen years old drummer kept shaking his head in accordance to his drumming, his shoulder-length red hair floating in the air freely. Each beat he created sounded like a confident attempt to take command of the group, and the members very willingly followed his lead as everyone joined in.
The original rhythm guitarist, Masayuki, ran his fingers on keyboard to add a new layer of sound to the music. With Takeru taking over the rhythm section, he could now go back to the instrument he was more familiar with. The blue-haired teenager toyed with the different effect he could use, and turned to play with the synthesizer at times when necessary. This created a new sound that the audience had not expected, and they all cheered in response to hearing something so wonderfully refreshing.
Ryosuke, the lead guitarist and joint vocalist of the Teenage Wolves, was undoubtedly the star on stage. Normally calm and soft-spoken, he was known to possess a different persona on stage. Unlike his usually reserved self, he now jumped around the stage flamboyantly from left to right and from right to left, in a true Freddie Mercury style, often provoking the audience to cheer louder as he jammed a long solo. The expression of pure joy on his face was one that fans were crazy about, and one that would startle anyone who personally knew him.
If the vocal was the head of the body, with the guitar being the arms and the drums bring the legs, then the bass would be the designated heart of the whole band. Yamato watched his leader earning a round of applause for his solo effort with a smirk. Resting his palm on the bass board, he moved his fingers steadily to adjust to Toshiki's drumbeat, while adding variation of his own to make the bass line stand out. He always enjoyed the low, harmonious sound of the bass guitar, and tonight, he was the heart that people looked up to. (*)
One such person was Takeru, who turned to look at Yamato from time to time to make sure he was catching on the rhythm correctly. While playing on the white electric guitar that he borrowed from Ryosuke, he couldn't really feel his hands for some moments, and he started to feel like his body was moving on its own without him consciously commanding it to. The loud shrill from the crowd and the bright spotlight being cast on his face made his body tremble in anxiety. If not for Yamato's constant reminding glare to keep an eye on him, Takeru wondered if he might just drop the guitar and run out of the place. The sweat over his black shirt and blue trousers appeared to be an indication of such plausible future action. A few times Takeru missed a beat or was performing faster than usual, but thankfully the other members could quickly cover for him, especially Ryosuke who played rhythm when he was singing. They also sent him words of encouragement in between songs, and Takeru could not thank them enough for looking out for him.
And of course, there was the encouraging looks his friends sent him too. Miyako and Daisuke were yelling like there was no tomorrow, while Ken and Iori, being the more mature ones of the group, focused more on his playing and cheered for him whenever their eyes met. Hikari was busy between taking pictures of him and just staring dreamily at him, but her smile was enough for the blond to keep on going until the very end.
Takeru did not forget the times when she was over at his apartment and asked him to play something for her, whether it's one of the band's songs or a tune that he learnt before. She seemed to be really fond of whatever he played, and always had a distinctly pleased look on her face as his fingers danced around the guitar board. The room would consist of nothing but his voice and the acoustic sound of the guitar, and Hikari would always give him a warm hug at the end. 'It's the effort that counts', she argued, and Takeru never thought of rebuking her on that part.
After the Teenage Wolves were done with three songs, the band members cast the backstage a knowing look before they proceeded to play the next one. A few rhythmic strumming and a roll from Toshiki started the beat, and when Ryosuke threw in a rapid guitar solo, a figure emerged from the backstage with a bright sunburst electric guitar, and the crowd erupted in cheers and whistles.
'Really,' Daisuke laughed, 'what will a Teenage Wolves concert be now without the appearance of Mimi-san?'
The not-so-secret appearance of Tachikawa Mimi only served to make the audience go crazier than they already were, but what surprised them most was that Mimi was not just singing, as she had in the past concerts. She also did not put on some pretty, fanciful dresses like she used to. Instead, the tight Gothic shorts and the black longline cami with cage back that she was wearing made her look like she was naturally part of the band with her skilled technique in strumming the power tabs for the song and her ability in singing synchronically to the melody. The chestnut-haired idol did not resemble the typical idol one saw on TV anymore; gone was that sweet, childish Mimi that everybody had come to adore. Here, standing in front of them, was someone more capricious than ever.
'I didn't know Mimi-san could play the guitar like that!' Miyako's yell echoed what many people had in mind. They had never seen Mimi perform with any instruments in her career, and it was quite astounding to know that she could 'rock like that'. The sight of her raising her voice to reach the higher vocal range earned more enthusiastic cheer from the crowd, and they were eager to see what else the teen idol had up her sleeves.
Of all the audience members, Hikari was probably the only one who was not surprised by this development. During one of her visits to the Takaishi household, she caught Mimi playing Takeru's acoustic guitar and humming a soft melody to herself. Later on, the mute girl learnt that the sixteen-year-old was actually the one who introduced this instrument to Takeru back when they were living in Rome. Hikari could only imagine the joy Mimi felt when she knew that Yamato had bought Takeru a guitar as a birthday present.
The Mimi today exerted an aura of confidence and passion that Hikari had not seen before. Was it the way she strummed each tab heavily, albeit smoothly, with all her strength? Or was it the power of her voice when the song changed key? It was clear that Mimi was enjoying herself up there with her Stratocaster guitar. It was only when Ryosuke wrapped up the final note of the song that Hikari realized the song had ended.
'Thank you all very much!' Mimi beamed and grabbed the microphone. 'I am Tachikawa Mimi, and the song you just heard is called "God Knows"!' (**)
Being popular among all teenagers, Mimi's speech earned a round of big applause from the crowd, who were all trying to get to the front to watch her more closely.
'Wow!' Mimi wiped away the sweat on her forehead, her spare hand adjusting the strip holding her guitar. 'I haven't played an electric guitar in quite a while, and man, this rocks!'
It was as if her usual self had come back to life again. Her sincere tone earned a round of supportive laughter from the crowd.
'I know some of you might be surprised that a teen idol is here to perform when this night is supposed to be for band music only,' Mimi continued, 'so let me reassure you that I'm not going to sing cheesy pop songs tonight, and that I'll only be here for two more songs before the Teenage Wolves play their last one.'
Her words received a mixed response from the crowd. Some were disappointed that she wouldn't stay for long, while some were glad that she wouldn't since they did not want her to overshadow the effort of the three bands tonight.
'So anyway, the next one is a cover of one of my favourite artist's song. I hope you'll enjoy it.'
Toshiki started the song, and Yamato and Masayuki quickly joined in to provide the solid backdrop to the song. Takeru also threw in the riff as the crowd, instantly recognizing the melody, yelled frantically in response. (***)
'Taichi, where's Hikari-chan?'
Koushiro glanced at the clock on the wall. It was rare to find the young girl missing from the apartment at this time of the day. Though truth to be told, it had been a while since he had met Hikari, and he wasn't sure what her general schedule was like nowadays.
'She's out with her friends,' Taichi replied, though his tone sounded like he didn't want to say too much about this. He picked up his glass and swallowed the whole content in one go. 'She's going to the band concert night at Odaiba Junior High.'
Sora cast Taichi a worrying glance, but the brown-haired teenager just kept staring at the TV screen that was broadcasting the J-League match between Urawa Red Diamonds and FC Tokyo. It was obvious that Taichi paid attention to nothing else when a football match was ongoing, but at the same time it was clear to his friends that he was deliberately avoiding the topic. (****)
Koushiro exchanged a glance with Sora, silently asking her if she was alright. She bit her lips, frowned, and nodded, knowing that Taichi was still not comfortable with the topic despite the fact that she had overcome it already. Still, not wanting to ruin the mood of the night, she decided to let it pass.
'I heard that Tachikawa Mimi is going to perform tonight too, right?' Sora decided to change the subject before the silence grew intense. 'Wasn't she your good friend from kindergarten?'
Koushiro grabbed three cans of soda from the fridge, and handed Taichi and Sora one each before he sat on the sofa too. 'That was more than ten years ago, Sora. She moved away and we never kept in touch. I'm just surprised to know that someone I know actually becomes a celebrity.'
'Your mother is her manager, so shouldn't it be easy for you two to rekindle your friendship?'
Koushiro puffed, almost choking on his own drink. 'Don't be silly, Sora. My mom still thinks I was a completely antisocial child back then. If she knows I actually had someone that I considered a friend, then there would be endless questions about God knows what.'
Sora flashed him an evil smirk. 'Doesn't that sound like fun? I should recommend this to Yoshie-san next time I meet her.'
'More like tirelessly embarrassing,' Koushiro concluded in a resigned manner. Ignoring Sora's glistering eyes, he turned his attention to the TV screen. FC Tokyo were trailing by 2 goals, with forty minutes left on the game. Truth to be told, even though the three were fans of FC Tokyo, they did not look like they had any chance of pulling it back. The players looked frustrated for not keeping their possession, and they were simply a level below their opponent team.
As Koushiro and Taichi complained about the team's tactics, Sora was lost in her own world of her issue again. On one hand she knew tonight was one of those nights where the three childhood friends could spend some time together and enjoy what they all liked (Jyou would join them too, if he happened to be free, which meant it was almost never going to happen). On the other hand, she desperately wanted to talk about it with Taichi. She knew he still held a grudge against a certain band member of the Teenage Wolves, and no matter what she tried to say, he just wouldn't listen. She had given up trying for some time, but since the topic was being brought up, maybe this was her chance to force him into accepting the truth?
The eighteen-year-old sighed, her body sinking into the sofa. She wasn't surprised by Hikari attending the Teenage Wolves' concert since the band was very popular in Odaiba, and since none of them had ever said anything about it to the young girl she wouldn't have known that her elder brother wasn't particularly entertained by the idea. His temper tonight showed that it wasn't just the fact that FC Tokyo looked to be on the verge of losing their fourth consecutive game that made him snap.
But what could she do? Having known Taichi for more than a decade, she knew well how stubborn Taichi was, and when he was in such state not even the football God would be able to persuade him otherwise. The only person he would listen to, ironically, turned out to be the one who was attending the concert tonight.
Yet she did not want to drag the young girl into this.
'I know this sounds lame, but give Taichi some more time. He'll be able to come to his senses at last.'
That was what Koushiro told her after they left the Yagami apartment when the game had ended. Sora could only wish that she could believe him.
Controlling her voice, Mimi showed her talent in singing songs of drastically different style. While she did not have the wild, twisted tone of Shiina Ringo, she did quite a good job in suppressing her voice in order to convey the peculiar emotions for this particular song. The way she was singing now, with a more whimsical and dryer voice, was nothing like what one would have expected from the sixteen-year-old. Even though the content of the song was rather heavy for a teenager to comprehend, she made it sound like it was a personal experience that she had gone through on her own.
The ebullient crowd soon turned quiet as they watched Mimi's performance. While Ryosuke's glamorous solo and Yamato's jumpy bass provided much entertainment for them, they couldn't quite compare with Mimi's overwhelmingly stunning performance. In what was going to be Tachikawa Mimi's most memorable live performance in her career, she had taken full control of the stage, and she showed no intention of letting it go so easily.
It was only when she took a step back from the microphone and bowed that the audience realized she had finished the song. The stunned expressions on the crowd's faces were priceless, and for a second Yamato wondered if they had picked the wrong song to perform. It was then that someone started clapping slowly, soon to be joined by the rest of the six hundred pairs of hands, that the Teenage Wolves realized they had just witnessed something completely different in their musical career.
'Thank you soooo much!' Mimi yelled, her voice breaking in excitement. The songs that she usually sang were softer and much easier to perform, but she never felt the thrill like the song she just covered. She totally enjoyed this feeling of her skin shivering in excitement, her senses lost in the sea of music that she loved. Yamato had to remind her that she still had one song to go when she just spent the whole minute observing the crowd, noting their expressions and feeling the warmth spreading in her heart.
'The next song will be the last one that I'm going to sing,' the chestnut-haired girl breathed hard, taking the time to regain her voice. 'This one is called "Angel".' (*****)
Having played a few songs now, Takeru had much better control of his adrenaline. Slowly playing out the intro line, he introduced the song to the crowd. Hikari noticed that Takeru's expression had changed too. Before this, he looked like a typical newbie who was weary of ruining the show, but by now he had gained enough confidence that he did not need the constant reminder from his bandmates to tell him what to do. The young blond could now withstand the pressure of being under the heavy scrutiny of hundreds pairs of curious eyes as he strummed out the rhythm. He looked visibly much relaxed, and even exchanged several knowing glances with his friends below the stage, particularly with Hikari whose camera had almost run out of battery due to heavy usage throughout the night.
The heavy keyboard dub and the despondent backing vocals of Yamato and Takeru brought the song to its climax. The blonds' desolate cries challenged Ryosuke to throw in a heavy solo, intensifying the whole song while being accompanied by Mimi's powerful voice. One could hear the despair in her voice, accusing the fatality and corruption of the status quo and people's indifference to making any change, yet at the same time she showed the strength of a warrior who recognized one's existential purpose and was determined to be the angel, the anti-hero, that would bring people out of this despairing climate.
Mimi was on the verge of tears as she used every bit of her strength to sing this song, but she refused to stop for a single moment. Continuing on and on, with the combined effort and support of the Teenage Wolves, she had decided to walk this path of no return. If there was anything that could stop her right now, she would embrace it and mercilessly crush it to pieces, not giving it a chance to stand still with all her might.
When her voice and the music faded, the whole auditorium became dead silent. No one dared to make a sound. All they could hear was the functioning sound of the air-conditioners and the friction between their bodies and their clothes. No one knew what to make of the situation, for all they knew was that everyone had their jaws on the ground and their eyes wide open.
Finally, someone started clapping slowly, and soon everyone joined in to give the loudest cheer of the night. Mimi was panting hard as she scanned the crowd again, taking in the joy and enthusiasm on the audience's faces. Her legs wobbled for a second, but she quickly steadied herself as she held the microphone tightly in her hands. The euphoria lingered, and she found it hard to calm herself down after this powerful display.
Letting out a long breath, she turned to scrutinize the band that had supported her throughout the three songs. Toshiki, the drummer, wiped away the sweat on his forehand. He ran his hand through his long black hair while grinning at his bandmates. Masayuki, the keyboardist and the vigilant one of the group, smiled weakly but quickly prepared himself for the last song to go. Ryosuke, getting another guitar from the backstage crew, beamed at the teen idol and gave her a thumbs-up in the process.
The chestnut-haired girl then turned to the two blonds of the group. Following the flow of the moment, she just wanted to give Takeru a big hug for his debut success, but she quickly composed herself, reminding her that doing that on stage wouldn't do any good to both her and the teenage boy given her reputation. So instead, she high-fived Yamato while giving Takeru a punch on the shoulder, sending him a triumphant wink, before bowing out of the stage at the audience's thunderous cheers.
'That was awesome!' Daisuke could never hide his excitement at anything, and even more so this time. 'Mimi-sama totally owned the stage there!'
'She totally did!' Casting their difference aside, Miyako echoed Daisuke's statement, and it was a valid one to make indeed. Surrounding them were more than six hundred people who shared the exact same thought.
'Let's give a big hand to Tachikawa Mimi!' Yamato took over the role of MC and led the crowd into cheering Mimi's name, making the teen idol come out to thank the fans again. The atmosphere was greater than anything they had experienced so far that the band decided to just go on playing. 'We'll be playing our last song of the night! This one is your favourite. Please enjoy, "Still Time"!' (******)
The heavy keyboard intro kept the euphoria of the auditorium going. The lights kept flashing between the band members, giving the audience a good look of each member. All of them looked to be more than satisfied for tonight's performance, with the wide smiles hanging on their faces. 'Still Time' was their signature ending song for all of the Teenage Wolves' concerts, and just as expected, the fans grew louder and louder as the song approached its climatic end. Takeru, Yamato, Ryosuke, Masayuki and Toshiki did not pause for a moment from the beginning to the end, building up the song to its crest before ending the night with a bang, resulting in the loudest cheer of the night.
Takeru could no longer sense anything around him, be it Yamato's delighted cheer directed at him or the backstage staff's pointer of where to leave the guitar cables. He looked at the crowd who was making various chants as the band left the stage, then looked at his friends who remained standing faithfully over the past hour. Among the encouraging thumbs-up and silly grins, he saw Hikari clutching her hands in front of her chest, staring at him intently with glints of delightful pride in her redwood-coloured eyes.
The young blond felt surreal about the whole situation. His whole body was shaking from the aftermath, from experiencing the adrenaline of playing in front of so many people and the excitement of showing the world what he was capable of doing. He had only felt like this a few times in his life before, and this topped any of the previous experiences. Vivid images of the concert, whether it was Mimi's breathtaking performance or Ryosuke waving his hand in the air to cast a shadow to his face under the bright spotlight, filled his mind, and he could still see them in front of his eyelids as if they had never ended.
'What's wrong, Takeru?' Yamato's nudge brought him back to reality as the sounds from the surrounding finally began to reach his ears. He turned to find his elder brother resting his hands on his hips, sweats all over his head, just like everyone else on stage. Being used to performing, Yamato kept a calm composure even though he also realized they had witnessed something different tonight.
'Aniki…' Takeru started, and cast one look at Hikari again before continuing, 'thank you.'
Yamato blinked, not expecting such a response from him. 'What?' he wondered out loud. 'What for?'
Takeru turned to face him again, and just smiled without saying another word.
End of Chapter 22
* The idea of the instruments corresponding to body parts is taken from the light novel series, Sayonara Piano Sonata, by Sugii Hikaru. As a bass player myself, I really entertain the idea of the bass being the heart of the band.
** 'God Knows' is the insert song from The Melancholy of Sumuziya Haruhi (2006). Arguably, the episode where this song appears is what shows Kyoto Animation was a rank above other anime production companies at that time. Mimi's appearance here is modelled on Hirano Aya, the voice actress of Sumuziya Haruhi and the vocalist of this song, in a live version of the song which you could find in youtube by typing in 'God Knows live'.
*** The song mentioned here is 'Queen of Kabukicho' (歌舞伎町の女王) by the legendary Japanese musician Shiina Ringo. Some might know her better from her time as the main vocalist for the band Tokyo Jihen, which in my mind is the musically craziest band in the 21st century right after Radiohead. The song is about women who have to sell their bodies in the Kabukichou, a red-light district in Tokyo, but who do not want pity or love from people. Shiina Ringo's music always gives me the 'wtf did I just listen to?' vibe, but in a very good way. If you like jazz rock or J-Rock, check out her work. They're awesome.
**** Urawa Red Diamonds and FC Tokyo are real football teams in Japan. In the 2006 football season, Urawa Red Diamonds won the championship.
***** 'Angel' is the OP of the anime Coppelion (2013), sung by Angela. I find the anime pretty boring, but the songs are very good.
****** 'Still Time' is the OP to Saiyuki (2003). The original manga is one of my favourite manga so far, staging a 'modern', highly hilarious, yet realistically gloomy version of China's classic literature, 'Journey to the West'. It has some of the most beautiful graphics I've seen in manga.
The band members of the Teenage Wolves are named in this particular way: their last names come from those from the characters of the anime Wake Up, Girls!, and their first names come from those of members of Tokyo Jihen.
The part about Koushiro's mother being the manager of Mimi, it was actually hinted quite some time ago when the manager's name was brought up. There seems to be different version of her name since the kanji can have different pronunciation in Japanese, so I opted for 'Yoshie'. In a way, this is my subtle apology for not giving Koushiro a bigger role in the story.
Given that it's unlikely I'll update again before 12th June, the opening day of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, allow me to offer my continuous support for the Italy National Football Team, whom despite being drawn into a very difficult group I believe they can still make it to the quarter-final and, if Fortuna permits, even to the semi-final. Brazil are undoubtedly the favourite to win the competition, but at the same time I'll cheer for Germany to emerge victorious on the final day after coming so close in the past three tournaments. I also think Japan may be able to pull out some surprising results. Most importantly, hopefully there won't be many controversial referee errors.
Reviews will be deeply appreciated! See you all next time!