Osaki-san was still working on the table by the time Nana-san came home later that night, having spent the previous night with her boyfriend Shoji. Shion had made a stew for the three of them to have for dinner which earned her a grateful hug from an amazed Nana-san.

"Your cardboard boxes are inside your room." Osaki-san said as Nana-san gawked at the homemade table. "I've also given the insurance stuff to Andou-san and the water's come in so you can go take a hot bath."

Nana-san looked as though she might die from happiness. Her eyes welled up and she latched onto Osaki-san. "Thank you Nana!" Nana-san quickly disappeared into the bathroom. Shion checked on the stew for the hundredth time, feeling awkward. It felt rude to return to her room, but there wasn't anything to do out here either until Osaki-san finished her task.

Fortunately Osaki-san was just about done.

The older woman stood up stretching. "Ah~ Finally finished." She turned to Shion with a grin.

"Well, Shion-chan? Wha'dya think?"
"It's amazing, Osaki-san." She replied. "You'd never be able to tell we didn't buy it."

Osaki-san put a black cigarette in the corner of her mouth and lit it up with a smirk.

"It's nothing. I had the tools and stuff handy from a construction site nearby." She gestured to the seats by the window where the table had been set up.

"Give it a try." Shion had just sat down when Nana-san came bursting out of the bathroom absolutely glowing.

"This is fantastic Nana!" She squealed, joining Shion to sit next to her. "It fits so nicely by the window - maybe you'll become a carpenter! A female carpenter, so cool!"

Shion watched Osaki-san closely. "While it's good, I think if I did such work everyday… I probably wouldn't be able to play the guitar anymore."

Nana-san went quiet. "Oh… guitar." Then she gasped. "NeNana… Are you planning to become a professional guitarist?"

I didn't know Osaki-san was a musician.Shion thought to herself. No wonder she looked like a rock star. She probably was.

"No way!" Osaki-san laughed. "How could I think of becoming a professional guitarist when my guitar playing isn't even that good?"

"But don't you play guitar in a band?" Nana-san asked.

"Oh that." Osaki-san said. "I'm not a guitarist. Just a vocalist."

Shion stared at her in awe. So Osaki-san could play guitar andsing?

"You're a vocalist?! That's so cool!" Nana-san squealed. "So both you and Shion-chan play music?!"

Shion excused herself to get the stew ready, squeezing past Nana-san to begin scooping the stew into three bowls. No doubt Osaki-san would want beer, so she only filled two strawberry glasses with water. Nana-san didn't strike her as the beer type.

"Save those words till after you've heard me sing." Osaki-san said, accepting the bowl of stew and can of beer with a smile. Nana-san did the same and let Shion take the window seat before sliding in next to her.

"Itadakimasu." She muttered under her breath before tucking in quietly, not realising the other two were watching her.

"Shion-chan." Nana-san said brightly. "Tell us more about yourself!"

"There's… not much to tell." She mumbled, feeling her cheeks get warm. "I graduated from high school… and then I moved out."

"But what about the other things?" Nana-san persisted. "What are your family like? How long have you been playing violin? What are your other friends like?"

"My family are… normal, I guess. I've never really had friends. And the violin… I've been playing ever since I can remember." Shion stiffened as she remembered that she should have been extremely skilled by now had she not neglected practising at home due to her stepmother's complaints.

"What's that dreadful noise, dear?" Her stepmother asked loudly while Shion was practising scales in her room. Shion did her best to block out the gossip and continue with practice.

"Ah, Shion practises violin in her room for a few hours each day. She's really quite good - I enjoy listening to it; she's as good as her mother."

Her stepmother scoffed. "I thought you said her mother was a professional? She can't have sounded like this. It's horrible. I've got such a headache. She should find somewhere else to take that racket."

"But-"

"It's a health issue, dear. You know how badly I suffer from migraines."

A few moments later Otou-san knocked softly on her bedroom door and let himself in.

Shion stopped what she was doing.

"It seems that ah, your stepmother's having a rough time with her migraines at the moment." He said, avoiding her eyes. "So Shion, do you think you can keep the practices at school from now on? They have music rooms you can borrow, right?"

"No." Shion said. "It's an elementary school Otou-san. There's only the music classroom and we can only practice in there for an hour after school."

"Sorry kid." Otou-san said. "But you need to be considerate of your stepmother's health. You can always practice when she isn't home."

"She's almost always at home." Shion said. "I can't just practise for an hour a day. It's not enough!"

"Shion." Her father said her name firmly, and she knew it wasn't up for negotiation.

"Fine."

"Anyway, Shion-chan." Osaki-san piped up. "You don't need to be so formal with us you know? We're housemates after all."

"But… you're both older than me." Shion said, pushing her stew around in her bowl.

"It's only a couple of years. Being called Osaki-san makes me feel old. Call me Nana."

"I can't…"

Osaki-san didn't give in. "Come on~ It's gotta be easier for you too. Osaki-sanis such a mouthful. Try it: Nana."

Shion could feel the blood rushing to her head. "Na… na. Nana."

Nana smiled at her. "And now: Hachi."

"Ha...chi."

Beside her Hachi complained quietly but she didn't seem to be truly unhappy with the nickname. Instead she even smiled encouragingly when Shion repeated herself again, still dizzy.

"My housemates are… Nana and… Hachi."

"Atta girl." Nana said, pumping her fist in the air, triumphant. "And we'll just call you Shion too. Simple." Shion nodded.

Afterwards the focus left Shion and went to Nana instead. Hachi wanted to know about the origins of the lotus tattoo on Nana's arm.

"Isn't that a Hasu flower?" Hachi was saying. "Why a Hasu flower? Is it a religion thing?"

Nana finished another mouthful of stew and looked thoughtful. "Nope. It's a Ren flower."

"You mean Suiren?" Hachi said.

"No. Just Ren."

"A Hasu thing?" Hachi wondered.

"No." Nana repeated.

Hachi kept going. "But it should read as 'Hasu', not 'Ren'." She insisted, referring to the kanji of the flower in question.

"Oh shut up." Nana told her impatiently, finishing her meal. Shion stifled a giggle. It was nice, this atmosphere. If every day was like this one, then being around people wasn't as scary.

The doorbell rang at that moment, and Shion's stomach exploded with anxiety. So much for thinking she'd gotten a bit better. Was it that man Takagi-san again? Or maybe Hachi's friends from before? Either way she immediately felt trapped, unable to retreat to her room due to Hachi boxing her in.

Why did I take the window seat?She panicked, butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

"I wonder who it could be at a time like this." Hachi said, as Nana got up to get the door.

Outside they heard a deep voice. "Osaki-san. I've brought your baggage."

"It's Yasu!" Hachi said. "Yasu came to deliver."

"Geez," Nana said. "I never expected for him to be that fast."

But when the dark-haired woman opened the door it wasn't Takagi-san. From where she was sitting Shion couldn't quite make out who it was, but Nana was stood frozen in the doorway.

"Good evening." It wasn't the same deep voice from before. Rather it sounded more boyish, like it belonged to someone around their own age instead.

"NOBU! What the hell are you doing here!?"

The man outside the door laughed. "Ahhh! That's just great. I've been anticipating that reaction."

Hachi got up from her seat to go and see the visitor, and Shion took her opportunity to slide out of the seat and run back into her room, leaving the door slightly cracked open so she could still observe the visitor from afar.

Hachi invited him to have some of the stew that was still leftover and he eagerly accepted. As he crossed the room to sit down at the table, Shion finally saw him for the first time.

Nobu was a young man, around Nana and Hachi's age as Shion had thought. His hair was dyed blonde and was styled in spikes. He quickly shrugged off his leather jacket as he eagerly tucked into the stew, wolving down bite after bite.

"This is hella good!" He declared, a little in awe. He smiled at Hachi.

"You're gonna be a great wife one day, Nana-chan. You're called 'Nana' too, but you're so different!"

"I'm sure Shion will be pleased to hear it." Nana said, eyeing him carefully as she opened another can of beer. "She's been doing her best in the kitchen since she moved in. It's been a big help."

"Shion?" Her heart skipped a beat and she quickly hid her face from where she had been peering when he scanned the room presumably for her.

"I don't see anyone else. Is she out?"

Nana shook her head. "She's here but she's not good with strangers. I'll leave it to her whether or not she wants to come out. In any case, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Hey, I brought your luggage over!" He protested. "I travelled eight hours by car for you - you should be grateful!"

"Well, thank you for your effort." Nana's voice was full of sarcasm. "Now that you've ceased to be useful…" She grabbed his arm and dragged him back to the front door, shoving him out.

"GET YOUR ASS BACK TO INAKA!"

"Nana!" He quickly forced himself back into the entrance again and fell on his knees.

"I'm begging you! Please let me stay over - just for one night!"

"No way." Nana refused.

"But the truth is I-"

"I don't wanna hear it."

Hachi quickly intervened. "Why are you so mean to him? Isn't he your friend? Look at poor Nobu-kun."

Nobu grinned. "You can call me Nobu, Nana-chan - I'm already used to that treatment so it's not a big deal."

Hachi turned to him with her trademark smile. "We don't have anything here, but you're welcome to stay if you want to."

"Thank you~!" Nobu said. "You're such a nice girl Nana-chan."

"Well, I refuse." Nana said. "And what about Shion? He'll make her feel uncomfortable in her own home. That's not fair to her either." At the mention of herself again, Shion felt her throat tighten. The last thing she wanted was for this Nobu person to blame her if she got kicked out, or to think that she felt uncomfortable because of him.

It's not exactly untrue but it still feels rude to admit it.

"I'm sure we can introduce them. Once Shion sees he's not a bad person she'll understand. Why are you so hard on him?"

"I'm doing this for his own good!" Nana yelled. She pointed at Nobu.

"You know better Nobu. You're the successor to that Terashima Resort owned by your parents!"

He pouted. "But I want to live my life the way I want it to be."

"You don't know how lucky you are!" Nana fired back. "You have such a stable and happy future to look forward to. Why throw it all away?"

"Well, it's my choice if I want to throw it all away! And… I'm happy simply by playing my guitar!" He lowered his voice and his face suddenly became downcast. "And you singing along with it."

The mood become sour, and no one else spoke. Eventually Nana got up and pulled another cigarette out.

"Ne, Nana." Hachi began. "Whatever it is, let him stay over for the night. It's late. Okay?"

Nana said nothing.

•─────⋅雨⋅─────•

Shion had been lying in her futon, eyes shut as she tried to drift off when she heard the sound of a guitar being played in the room outside her door.

"What's this…?" She could faintly hear Nana say. "We only have one fan for today? Well, it started out like this too. One person is better than nothing."

It sounded like Nobu laughed.

"Good evening." Nana said. "We're BLAST. This is our first live in Tokyo. We'll make this a night you will never forget."

Hachi clapped her hands and then the song began.

At some point Shion had crawled out of bed and opened the door - not just a little way as she had before, but this time wide open. The sound of the guitar that Nobu played, and the sound of Nana's harsh voice singing along with no actual lyrics - just throwing in some English words every now and then - resonated deeply with her. They looked so at ease performing together, so free. It was obvious the two of them were close friends despite their argument earlier. Her heart ached at the thought of a friendship like that.

When the song ended Nana, who had been singing on top of the table, waved at her with a grin.

"What did you think, Shion?"

Hachi hurried to her side, eyes full of concern. "NeShion? Are you okay? You're crying."

She hurriedly wiped her eyes. "It's fine."

When she looked up, she met the eyes of their visitor. Nobu smiled at her.

"You must be Shion-chan! Thanks for the food!" As was her habit she quickly dropped her gaze and bowed her head. "It's nothing. I, um… I really liked the song."

He beamed at her.

Nobu began putting Nana's guitar away while Nana herself went off to have a bath. At that moment someone began pounding the door and the anxious butterflies returned to Shion's stomach.

"Coming!" Hachi chirped, upbeat from the performance.

Her mood quickly changed when it became apparent that their neighbours weren't at all happy with the late night disturbance.

"We are sincerely sorry!" Hachi bowed deeply as she listened to each neighbour complain about 'young people' and 'what time do you think is it?'.

Shion quickly got to work doing the dishes, tiredness washing over her. She'd never been around people like this for so long, it was exhausting.

"Ah, I'll help you." Nobu said, coming to join her as she scrubbed away at the dishes.

I'd rather do it on my own.

But she kept quiet, and nodded in thanks.

"You're pretty quiet, huh?" Nobu mused. "Sorry if we kept you up with our performance." He took one of the bowls and began to dry it.

"It's okay." She said, focusing on her work. "I… really enjoyed listening to both of you."

She traced the rim of one of the strawberry glasses. "Did you come to Tokyo… to play music with Nana?"

He nodded. "We just need more players. With the rhythm of the drums and the deep sound of a bass - I know we can be even better. I want to hurry up and find some new members so we can do a real concert." Then he lit up. "Do you play anything, Shion?"

She shook her head quickly. "I'm not really the… band type."

Nobu seemed disappointed. He finished drying up the stew pot with a sigh. "Maybe Nana-chan knows some people."

•─────⋅雨⋅─────•

The next morning when Shion woke she felt lighter. In the corner of the room her violin case watched her. The music from the previous night played in her head on a loop. The song was haunting her.

I want to play.

Seeing how the neighbours complained about the noise last night, she'd have to find somewhere else to go. A studio she could hire or something. She'd seen one nearby, almost by the place she was going to work at next week. It seemed like a good place to start.

With her case over one shoulder, she headed out.

•─────⋅雨⋅─────•