Chapter Six
Mami stood at the shrine in Yoyogi Park. It was almost 1pm. She was looking around nervously. She was worried that maybe Tomomi would think she was wasting her time and wouldn't bother coming. 1Pm came and went and still no Tomomi. At quarter past, she was about to give up and call it a bad job but sure enough she saw Tomomi striding up to her with a put out look on her face.
"Sorry," said Tomomi. "A bunch of creepy middle aged men just asked me for my autograph."
"Flattering," said Mami with a sprinkle of sarcasm, which Tomomi missed.
"Hardly," said Tomomi. "They kept looking at my legs."
"Well, said Mami. "You did always have a nice pair of legs.
It wasn't a lie, Tomomi did indeed have a spectacular pair of legs.
"Oh stop it" retorted Tomomi, but a small smile flickered at the sides of her mouth.
They started walking around the grounds.
"So," began Tomomi. "What's up with Haruka?"
Mami sighed.
"It's hard to send her back to her father's knowing that they are abusing her," replied Mami eventually.
"Abuse?" asked Tomomi. "Surely not."
She found it quite hard to believe that a father would abuse his own daughter.
"I've seen the bruises," said Mami.
Tomomi sighed. They walked into a more dense clump of trees.
"I have to get her out of there Tomomi," said Mami desperately. "She can't stay there with them."
"How do you propose I help you?" asked Tomomi.
Mami took out the flyer from her pocket. She smoothed it out onto a park bench and pointed to it.
"You think this will help you get your daughter back?" asked Tomomi.
"Yes," said Mami. "I could use the money we earn to pay for a lawyer and get my daughter back. 1 million yen. I called them and asked them this morning."
"Mami..." said Tomomi ready to protest.
"Look Tomomi," said Mami in the fashion that a teacher would scold an exceptionally naughty child. "You might not want to do this, but I need your help. This is my only chance to get my daughter back. I've waited four years for just a small chance. This is it, but I can't do it alone. I need you to help me convince the others. Please?"
Tomomi thought about it for a moment. There was a note of desperation that she had never heard before. Just then a sharp pain sheared across her abdomen.
"Please?" pleaded Mami.
Tomomi nodded.
"Alright," she said. "I will help you. But it won't be as easy to convince the others."
Mami smiled at her and without warning threw her arms around her in a rib cracking hug.
"Hey!" called Tomomi. "What are you doing?"
"Thank you," said Mami.
"Yes," yes," said Tomomi snappishly trying to fight her and Mami off as though she was afraid someone would see them hugging.
Tomomi released Mami. She winced slightly as another sharp pain shot across her abdomen.
"Are you alright?" asked Mami.
Tomomi nodded, "It's nothing. Just indigestion."
"Well," began Mami. "I was going to ask you if you wanted something to eat but..."
"I guess we can have some coffee," said Tomomi.
Mami smiled at her.
"Sure," she replied.
Yuki lay in her bed. It was almost 10pm and she was exhausted. Rina was tucking her in.
"Can I have my Canta mummy?" asked Yuki.
Rina smiled and passed her a small black and blue stuffed toy that resembled a cat. Yuki grabbed it and held it close to her. Her mother leaned sideways and kissed her on the forehead.
"You should sleep well tonight," she said. "Tomorrow you have to go to school."
Yuki nodded and lay back in her sheets.
"Good night mummy," she whispered as she fell asleep.
"Good night Yuki," replied Rina.
She stood up and went over to the bedroom door. She flicked out the light, plunging the room into total darkness. Yuki stirred as she fell asleep and Rina closed the door gently. Rina crept down the stairs back to her husband who was sat on the sofa. She sat down next to him and took a swig of her tea.
"Rina," said Ota looking over at his wife.
She looked over to him and gave him a seemingly innocent smile.
"You do know that Yuki will one day find out about Scandal?" said Ota.
Rina sighed. She had a feeling this was coming.
"I know," she said. "But I'm waiting for the right time to tell her."
"I see," said Ota. "It's just I saw this this morning."
He picked up a sealed letter. In the top right hand corner was the NHK TV logo. Underneath that was the Sony Music logo.
"It's addressed to you," he said. "So I didn't open it."
Rina carefully slit the envelope open and pulled a letter. She read the letter three times before giving it to her husband. He took it from her and began to read.
'Dear Ms. Suzuki,
I am writing to you on behalf of NHK and Sony Music Japan to invite you and your band mates, Tomomi Ogawa, Haruna Ono and Mami Sasazaki; also known as SCANDAL; to our New Year's Eve One Night Only performance.
The performance date is on December 31st at Osaka-Jo Hall. The first act will begin at 7pm and will finish at 12.30am. It is required that you let you agents know at least ONE month in advance to provide you with a suitable time slot. The number for our agents is listed at the bottom of this letter.
Yours sincerely
Yuusuke Kojima,
NHK Public Relations'
And a list of phone numbers and agents followed. Ota handed Rina back the letter.
"What do you think?" he asked slowly.
Rina was silent for a moment, thinking of the best way to word her dilemma.
"I...," she began. "I don't know."
Ota nodded. He wasn't going to pressure for an answer if she doesn't want to give one.
"Wouldn't you like to play again?" he asked casually. "Just one more time?"
Rina thought about it. In her mind a movie began, 'I bring you Scandal' called the faceless Yuusuke. The girls were blasting "Haruka" and the crowd was beside itself.
"Rina!" called Ota. "Rina!"
She snapped back to reality. Ota was looking at her with a curious expression on his face.
"I'm not sure," she said. "It's been so long and so much has happened."
She was referring to Haruna's boyfriend leaving her for Tomomi on Rina's advice.
"And now we have little Yuki," she continued. "Plus, we all have our own lives now. I'm not sure if we will be prepared to give that all up for just one night."
He looked at his wife for a moment.
"I need to think about it," she said, but there was a hint of uncertainty in her voice. "I need to think about it."
She fell silent and applied herself back to the TV. Her husband stood up.
"I'm going to have a shower," he said.
"Okay," said Rina. "But please be quiet. Yuki is sleeping."
He nodded and crept upstairs towards the bathroom.
Rina waited for him to leave. She leaned across the table and picked up her gold iPhone. She opened iMessage and typed, 'Did you get a letter about New Years Eve?' and sent it to "Tomomi."
She placed her phone on the seat next to her and tried to concentrate on the time show. But her mind was waiting for a reply from Tomomi. It came, seconds later. She grabbed her phone to read, 'Yes.'
'What do you think?' replied Rina. 'I'm not sure,' came Tomomi's reply.
Rina stared at her phone for a moment. 'Me neither.' Replied Rina.
They reply took longer then before to reach her. It read, 'Sounds like fun doesn't it? And 1 million Yen payment.'
Rina stared at the message, she was unable to believe what she was reading.
'How did you know that?' she asked. 'Mami told me,' came Tomomi's reply.
Rina paused for a moment.
'Mami? How is she?' replied Rina. 'Don't ask me, why not go and ask her yourself?'
Rina chuckled. Just then she heard the sounds of her husband coming down the stairs. She quickly locked her phone and returned it back to the coffee table. She grabbed the letter and was on the pretext of reading it as her husband came to sit down.
"How's Yuki?" asked Rina trying to keep the conversation off the reunion.
"She's fast asleep," replied Ota quietly. Rina smiled and there was silence between them once more. She picked up her mug and began drinking her tea. After a moment, she began the topic of the reunion.
"I haven't seen any of them for such a long time," said Rina thoughtfully. "It'll be difficult for us to...synchronize ourselves again."
She finished her tea and replaced her mug on table.
"I'm going to bed," she announced. "Are you coming?"
"I'll just see the news," said Ota.
Rina nodded and made her way to bed. She lay awake, waiting for her husband to arrive, but sleep rolled over her before he came to bed.
It was lunchtime. The children were all tucking into their lunchboxes. Most of them were consuming sushi or other small items from their bento boxes. Rina sat at her usual table with her colleagues. Her fellow teachers around her were enjoying some lighthearted conversation. Rina had chosen to eat rather then talk. She had just taken a swig of her cola bottle when she had a sudden inspiration. She pulled out her iPhone and send a message to Tomomi. The message read, 'What's Mami's number?'
She slipped her phone into her pocket and felt it vibrate. She pulled it out to see Mami's number. She closed her iPhone and had the thought to call Mami after she had got off work. She placed her phone on the table in front of her but couldn't ignore it. The temptation to call Mami was too much. She scooped up her phone and turned to leave the room. Out in the corridor she dialed Mami's number and waited.