Chapter 7

The Calm Before the Storm

"Mom, Dad, I'm home~!"

Hina showed up in the living room that was connected to the kitchen. Dad was watching TV, while Mom was preparing dinner. The daughter's nose instantly caught a fragrant smell of stew being cooked.

"Welcome home, Hina!" greeted Mom as she stirred the stew. "Take a bath then eat your dinner."

"Let our kiddo relax first." Dad smiled and tapped the sofa. "Come, watch the TV with your dad."

Hina looked at the TV. "Oh, the next segment's gonna feature Shiba Inu pups!" she exclaimed. "Wait a sec', Dad~ Imma ask Onee-chan to watch with us."

Hina left the living room and went upstairs.

These past two weeks had been hectic for Hina Hikawa. She, along with her band, Pastel✽Palettes, attended hours of music lessons and intensive training. Not to mention, promotional stuff like photo shoots and teaser videos for their upcoming debut. These days, it wasn't strange for Hina to arrive home at 9 or even 10 PM.

Although Tokyo was a city with a low crime rate, the fact that a high school girl often stayed out late still worried her parents. Sayo, on the other hand, grew suspicious of her younger twin's night activities but didn't express it in front of Hina (Mom was the one who informed her of this).

When Hina asked Aya, the vocalist who also served as their de facto leader, she said maybe their practice schedule was so packed because they had to debut in just two weeks after its forming.

Tonight was an exception. No lesson or intensive training scheduled. Tomorrow their band will have their big debut, so they need to conserve energy. The clock had barely struck 7 PM, but Hina was already at home. Although prior to that, she spent a few hours roaming around Shinjuku's main street with some classmates. Her routine at the agency nowadays made her feel kinda bored.

"Onee-chan, I'm home!"

Hina opened Sayo's door and saw her older twin sitting on a bed. Sayo was so absorbed with her phone that she didn't even realize Hina's presence. Usually, she would complain if Hina barged into her room without knocking. Whatever made Sayo ignorant with her surroundings? The younger Hikawa took a pillow from the bed and sat on the floor.

Hina waited for a few moments, yet still no response. How strange...

"Onee-chan, watcha lookin' at?"

Sayo was startled. "Hina…!" She immediately closed the browser app on her phone and put the device down. "I told you not to look at people's phones like that."

Hina already caught a glimpse of her sister's screen, though. Sayo was looking at a website named "Future World Fes". It displayed photos of various bands performing live.

"Mm, Future World Fes?" asked Hina. "What's that? Some kinda rock event?"

"It's my private matter." Sayo frowned. "You have nothing to do with it, Hina."

"Nothing to do with me, huh~"

Sayo looked away. She didn't utter another word.

Hina pouted. She might be considered as rude for peeking Sayo's phone, but she was kind of desperate. Her sister was so secretive these days, that's why. She hugged Sayo's pillow and shook her head. No, a little grumpiness couldn't stop Hina from inviting her older twin to do something together.

"Hey, hey… Come with me to the living room, then!" Hina wore a bright smile. "Dad's watching that dog show you like."

"It's recording, I'll watch it later," Sayo replied, still facing away. "I'm busy right now." The girl curled her side hair with her fingers. "And you don't even like dogs, Hina."

"But you do, though, don't you?" asked Hina, though the answer was obvious. "We're twins, right? It's nice to do things together sometimes…."

Sayo scoffed. "You always want to do everything together."

Hina was startled by her sister's unpleasant tone.

"Onee-chan, I was just—"

"—Just because we were born on the same day, doesn't mean we have to be around each other all the time, does it?"

Hina's shoulders declined. She didn't mean to offend her older twin. Why would Sayo be so against the idea of them doing stuff together?

"We agreed that we wouldn't get in each other's hair like this once we started high school." Sayo got up from the bed and took her guitar from its stand. "Now go back to your room." She glanced at Hina coldly. "I have to practice."

"...Okay," said Hina weakly. "I'm sorry, Onee-chan…."

Hina closed the door behind her. The hallway that connected the bedrooms was decorated with Hikawa family photos; from when their parents were just married until Hina and Sayo got into high school. The majority of the photos were taken during the twins' infancy to elementary school days.

The turquoise-haired girl hung off a frame that displayed a photo of Sayo and her during their elementary school's sports day. It was the last photo of them while they were still on good terms. She recalled that they were facing off during the anchor leg of a relay race; Hina secured the first place while Sayo was fourth out of eight sixth-year classes.

How Hina longed for the old days. When the twins were little, they were always doing stuff together and there was no secret between them. Those were joyful days. Sayo used to smile brightly and loved to cuddle her.

The younger sister often wondered what went wrong with their relationship. They never got into a huge fight. Sayo simply just became distant for an unknown reason. They even went to different middle and high schools, which made their time together become even scarcer.

Tomorrow Hina will perform live with Pastel✽Palettes. One step closer to chase after Sayo's back. But would Sayo want to play the guitar with her, after what she said just now?

Hina shook her head. It wasn't like her to be negative like this. Yes, she must stay positive. Her relationship with Sayo would definitely return to how they used to be if she kept trying… one step at a time.

»↠ ≈ ≈ ↞«

[Kaoru Seta] Ah, the sun graces us with its majestic presence this Saturday afternoon. May your performance be as vibrant as your name, Hina.

[Kaoru Seta] Come spread your wings! For the great Shakespeare once said, "Nothing will come of nothing."

Hina sent a laughing sticker, followed by thanks. Kaoru was always going overboard with her words, but that was what made the girl interesting.

[Lisa Imai] Jeez, Kaoru. You make my simple break a leg looked like a half-assed encouragement~

Kaoru and Lisa were classmates. The three only knew one another for less than a week, yet they already went through a bunch of stupid, memorable, stuff.

Hina was about to type a reply, but her train had already reached its destination. She sent a sticker instead, put the phone to her parka's pocket, and continued her journey.

The girl arrived at the agency ten minutes later. Hina and the others were supposed to meet at the agency before they went together to the concert venue by car. Aya, Maya, as well as Eve were still on the way based on what they said in Pastel✽Palettes' chatroom. Chisato, meanwhile, didn't specify her status and only gave them a gentle reminder to arrive as soon as possible.

Speaking of... Chisato Shirasagi, the bassist of Pastel✽Palettes, had already chilled at the lounge. She was reading a magazine when Hina entered the room. The blond closed the magazine, which turned out to be Monthly Japanese Bushido, and welcomed Hina with a smile.

"Oh, Hina-chan. Good morning."

"Hey, Chisato-chan!" Hina waved her hand. She joined her bandmate on the sofa and glanced at the magazine on Chisato's lap. "Huh, I didn't know you're interested in samurai too like Eve-chan."

Chisato chuckled. "Oh, it's nothing like that." She flipped around the magazine pages and showed an article to Hina. "This interview with Eve-chan caught my eye."

"Wow, her Shinsengumi-look is boppin'~" Hina commented. "I heard she owns one set at home. She bought it from a cosplay shop, tho."

Then a sudden realization hit Hina. The guitarist already knew a bunch of stuff about her other three bandmates, but not Chisato. Maybe she had interesting stories to tell like Maya and Eve, or secretly clumsy a.k.a. Aya 2.0. Hina only knew that Chisato was an actress and attended Hanasakigawa Girls' High School.

Wait, Hanasakigawa? Wasn't that Sayo's school?

And in the end, curiosity about Sayo's life at school defeated her intention to dig deeper into Chisato's background.

"I knew you look kind of familiar." Chisato smiled. "Judging from the color of your school uniform, you and Hika—Sayo-san are twins?"

Although Hina didn't wear her uniform right now, Haneoka's uniform was popular among high schoolers because it looked stylish.

"You recognize that I'm a second-year from my blue tie and skirt?" Hina grinned. "I didn't know people from other schools are able to correctly guess which color goes to which grade."

"An old friend of mine goes there."

"Hey, so are you one of Onee-chan's victims of disciplinary action?"

"Mm, I wonder about that." Chisato giggled as she gave a vague reply. She placed the tip of her open hand to the chin and continued, "Normally, people would ask 'are two friends?' or something along those lines."

Hina laughed. "Some people say I have a bizarre way of thinking~"

The lounge's door abruptly opened, revealing the three remaining members of Pastel✽Palettes. The girls pant as if they were just running to chase or be chased by something.

"S-sorry, we're late!" Aya said between her breath.

Both Hina and Chisato raised from the sofa and approached the trio.

"You guys look like a mess!" Hina laughed. "Did a ghost chase you?"

"Did you run along the way?" Chisato asked worriedly.

"Yes, Maya-san and I were inspired by Aya-san's overwhelming bushido spirit!" Eve exclaimed.

"Ah, I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to rush you." Chisato wore an apologetic smile. She glanced at a small pantry at the corner of the room and said, "Is it alright if we drink tea before we go to the venue? I'll make some for us."

»↠ ≈ ≈ ↞«

A van, along with several other cars, marched to the entrance of the concert hall. The building was huge. Maybe nearly the size of Nippon Budokan, a venue that was considered as the holy land of aspiring musicians.

Although the performance was still hours away, a number of people had gathered in front of the building. Hina squinted her pair of green eyes. They turned out to be another idol group's fans, from the posters and banners they carried around.

"We're going to perform as the opening act for Marmalade, huh," Hina said. "They're the idol group who hosts that dog show, right?" she asked Aya who sat beside her.

"Aaa, I'm so nervous!" Aya covered her face with both hands. "To perform on the same stage as Ayumi-san…!"

"The building is rather big…" Chisato commented. "Miyagi-san, how many people will be attending the concert?"

Suzuko Miyagi, their manager who sat on the front beside the driver, turned around. "The concert hall can hold about ten thousand people, I believe."

Aya gawked. "Ten thousand?!"

A wave of surprise also came from three girls who sat behind Hina and Aya's seat.

"That's two-thirds of Budokan's capacity!" Maya said.

"Ten thousand audiences for a debut…?" Chisato said in disbelief.

"I never perform anything in front of a hundred people, let alone ten thousand…" Eve added. Her voice trembled.

"Eh? It's nowhere near Glay's two-hundred thousand attendance concert, tho?" Hina shrugged. "I read that on the Guinness World Records book."

Maya giggled. "We're just a speck of dust compared to a legendary rock band, Hina-san..."

"Please calm down, everyone." Miyagi smiled reassuringly. "You guys should be okay. The staff will play a pre-recorded voice and music."

Shortly after, Pastel✽Palettes' entourage was dropped at a secret entrance hidden from the public's eye. The hallways were bustling with staff, busy with preparations here and there.

A moment later, though, there was a strange occurrence happening before them. A girl was seen kneeling in front of a vending machine; her body bent up and arms stretched out to a space underneath the machine.

"Mmph...! Stupid a hundred yen coin!"

Both Chisato and Miyagi looked away, pretending not to see anything. The same couldn't be applied for Hina, though. She approached the girl instead.

"Hey, watcha doin' there?"

The said girl turned her head, revealing a cute woman in her early twenties. Her brunette hair was styled in a bob. She wore casual bright-colored tops combined with denim shorts.

Hina pointed at the young woman. "Wait, you're—"

"Ayumi-san?!"

"—the dog show host."

Ayumi got up right away. "That's right!" She gave a cute wink. "I'm Ayumi, the citrus peach and the center of Marmalade~"

Silence befell the group for a moment before it was broken by Aya.

"N-no way... She's the real Ayumi-san in the flesh!" Aya covered her mouth. Her eyes went all teary. "I… I've been your fan since forever!"

"Is that so?" Ayumi smiled. "It's nice to meet you—huh, aren't you guys Pastel✽Palettes, the new idol band that's going to perform during the opening act?"

"Oh my God, my upperclassman notices me!" was written all over Aya's face.

Miyagi stepped forward and politely greeted Ayumi. The manager then introduced the members of Pastel✽Palettes, along with their roles, one by one.

"Could… could I shake your hand?" asked Aya.

"I would say 'of course' in a normal circumstance…" Ayumi smiled apologetically and glanced at the vending machine. "But my hands are dirty because of all that rummaging."

"It's okay!" Aya shook her head. "I don't plan to wash my hands, after all."

Chisato giggled. "Aya-chan, you know that's unhygienic…"

Ayumi followed through with the giggle. She wiped her right hand to her tops, then offered her hand. Aya promptly shook the idol's hand in full excitement.

"Ayumi-san, there you are!" said a person from afar. "Let's go back and do another run-through."

"Okay, I'll be right there!" Ayumi replied. She turned back to Pastel✽Palettes' entourage and waved her hand. "See you on the stage, everyone!"