The next few days kept the residents of Room 707 very busy. Nana began disappearing in the afternoons to go back to the studio with Nobu and Shinichi - the new bassist.

On the night Shion hurt her ankle Nobu had helped her back home and assisted her with getting up the many flights of stairs which was torturous. Afterwards Nana had returned with Hachi and Shinichi in tow, proudly telling Nobu they'd found one hell of a bassist. Nana and Hachi had been horrified when Nobu informed them of the incident with Shion. They'd been adamant that from that point forth Shion was not to take late night walks alone.

Shinichi claimed to be a year younger than Shion, but she knew everyone suspected him to be much younger. She had yet to introduce herself to him as she'd gone to bed long before they returned, but she was eagerly filled in the next morning by Hachi before she left for work. Nobu had also announced that morning that he'd found a place to rent now that he could share the costs with their new band member and he thanked Shion and her housemates for their hospitality.

"If you need any help, feel free to call me." Nobu had told Shion, casting a worried look at her strapped up ankle. Shion had gone very quiet, touched by his concern before she nodded and muttered a quick, "Thank you."

Her first dilemma had been the fact that she was due to start working at the record shop that day, but in her current state she had no idea how she was going to get there. She couldn't possibly afford a taxi and it was too far to walk. Just when she was resigning herself to the idea that she'd have to call up the owner and tell him about her accident, a car pulled up to the front of the complex where she was lingering by the door.

Two people got out of the car and Shion recognised them as Junko and Kyousuke - Hachi's friends who had come with her the day she'd moved in. Were they here to see Hachi? It seemed peculiar given that they almost definitely knew her work hours. So then why?

"Shion-chan?" Junko said, smiling warmly. "Nana told us you'd gotten yourself in a bit of trouble and needed a lift to work."

Blood rushed to her cheeks. "Oh, well I suppose. But I couldn't possibly impose…"

Kyousuke shook his head. "It's no problem. We're going that way anyway. This is a minor detour."

Shion wasn't convinced. "But still…"

Junko gestured for her to get in the car. "If it really makes you uncomfortable we'll help you find the nearest bus stop for the future. But it's your first day at work today, right? It wouldn't make a good impression to be late. Let's go."

There was no room for Shion to argue and rendered speechless she made her way to the car, where she wobbled dangerously as she fiddled around with opening the car door while holding her crutches. Luckily, Kyousuke quickly lent her his shoulder to lean on as she lowered herself into the seat.

The nearest bus stop as it turned out, was at the stop of the road right in front of the park where she'd been harrassed. The walk there would still be tough on her, but it was still much more favourable to relying on Hachi's friends to drive her every day while she recovered. She made a mental note to get them a gift in thanks of their kindness.

Junko was very interested in how their living arrangements were going so far.

"I only ever know what Nana tells me and she can be quite eccentric. Of course she's told me all about the band but she avoids talking about her own situation whenever she can."

Shion smiled weakly. "Hachi is very kind. It's very comfortable to live with her. Nana-san probably wouldn't admit it but she likes living with Hachi too."

Kyousuke chuckled. "Hachi, huh? Sounds like she's fitting right in. You don't need to worry, Junko."

Junko rubbed her brow with a sigh. "She's just so helpless. If she's left alone for a minute suddenly she's gone and gotten herself into a mess." She then turned to face Shion. "Keep an eye out on her for me, okay? I'll give you my number so call me if anything comes up."

Shion nodded solemnly. "I will."

Kyousuke parked outside the store and Junko got out to help Shion. Afterwards Shion thanked them both profusely, and the two just smiled. "Good luck, Shion-chan."

•─────⋅雨⋅─────•

"Huh? Shion?!" The moment she'd awkwardly entered the store she was greeted by none other than Nobu, who was standing behind the counter with the owner Yoshida-san who Shion had met earlier the previous week.

"Nobu?" She was equally as puzzled. Was Nobu the other part-timer the manager had mentioned would be starting with her?

"You know each other?" Yoshida-san sounded pleased. "That makes this much easier. I've already briefed Nobu-kun here about your duties so he can fill you in. Although," he added. "It might be best if you just tend to the counter, Shion. Take care of yourself now." He said it kindly but she still apologised for inconveniencing him with her injury.

"There's nothing to apologise for," he told her. "These things sometimes just happen."

He smiled at her kindly, "Feel free to put some music on while you're here. Think of it as an extra duty." With that he disappeared upstairs, leaving the two of them to take care of things in the shop.

Once Nobu had shown her the ropes, he made a point of grabbing a stool for her to sit on behind the counter. "Don't push yourself too hard. Tell me if you need anything." He said with a smile.

He got to work sorting through a new pile of records that needed putting away. It was still morning and it didn't seem as though they'd be seeing any customers soon which put Shion at ease for the moment while she mentally prepared herself for a role in customer service. She'd been so desperate to get a job that she hadn't really considered the social aspect of it. It was a relatively small store so assuming there were only ever two or three customers at a time, hopefully things would be okay.

"Want to choose some music?" Her train of thought was interrupted by Nobu who regarded her with a grin and gestured behind him to all of the records. "You've got the pick of the whole shop."

She bit her lip feeling embarrassed. "You'd better pick. I'm uh, not really that up to date on my music."

He watched her questioningly. "What do you usually listen to?"

Blood rushed to her cheeks.

"Taki Rentarou… Mozart… Beethoven… Hadyn… Chopin… and others."

Nobu didn't look as discouraged as she thought he would. He pressed her again. "There's nothing wrong with enjoying classical music. What about modern music?"

Shion said nothing.

"No one?" Nobu sounded surprised. "The Sex Pistols? Queen? What about The Beatles?"

"Who are The Beatles?"

Nobu went pale for a moment but he quickly recovered with a determined grin. "No worries! All I need to do is educate you! When I'm finished you'll be more knowledgeable than Nana - how's that?"

She nodded, not sure where this was going. He turned his back on her and started flipping through records until he found the one he was looking and tugged it out carefully. Setting it up on the record player the room filled with music.

Love, love, love

Love, love, love

Love, love, love

There's nothing you can do that can't be done

Nothing you can sing that can't be sung

Nothing you can say, but you can learn how to play the game

It's easy

Nothing you can make that can't be made

No one you can save that can't be saved

Nothing you can do, but you can learn how to be you in time

It's easy

All you need is love

All you need is love

All you need is love, love

Love is all you need.

Shion could just about understand all of the English lyrics from her time in school. Surprisingly the lyrics were repetitive and easy to learn.

Nobu smiled triumphantly. "Good right? John Lennon said the lyrics were purposefully simple so that people all over the world could learn them easily without needing to know English." He seemed so excited to be able to share this piece of trivia that Shion couldn't help smiling too.

"It's a good song. I like it."
More songs continued to play and Nobu hummed along to them all while he went back to work. Admittedly, Shion kept finding her eyes wandering back to him. He'd puff out his cheeks when he couldn't find the right place for a record, or he'd admire the cover art of records he was interested in. They were co-workers now - this was her job. The idea that she'd be spending that job working with Nobu wasn't an unpleasant idea at all. There was something about his presence that put her at ease; she felt safe. It was a nice feeling to have. Would it be bad to hope he also enjoyed her company? She'd never really had friends until now or the anxiety that came with them.

After an hour they received their first customer.

"Irasshaimase." Shion greeted them politely as they came to the counter. It was a middle schooler by the looks of it, and as it was well past the time for first period it was obvious he was playing truant. Well, whatever. It wasn't any of her business.

"How can I help you?" She asked.

"I'm trying to find a song I heard on the radio this morning." He told her flatly.

She was immediately stumped. "Do you… perhaps know the artist?"

"No."

Then how am I supposed to help?She wanted to retort.

Instead she kept probing him with questions.

"What radio station was it?"

"FM Japan."

She looked for Nobu helplessly and luckily he'd been watching the exchange and jumped in to offer his help.

"Do you remember any lyrics from the song?" He asked. "Can you remember the genre or anything about the vocalists?"

"It was… a girl." The boy said after a while, slightly disgruntled. "She had a really nice voice. Like an angel. And there was this one line 'Travel to the moon'."

"So it's an English artist?" Shion asked.

The boy shook his head. "Most of its in Japanese. I just can't remember the lyrics."

Nobu was deep in thought and Shion thought he maybe seemed a little more solemn after hearing the lyrics. Eventually he began flicking through records until he found the right one. He swapped it over with the Beatles record that was still playing in the background, and then a song began to play.

Travel to the moon

Kimi wa nemuri, yume wo toku

While you sleep, a dream untangles.

Dare mo inai, hoshi no hikari

There's no one else here, while we play with the starlight

Ayatsuri nagara

There's no one else here, while we play with the starlight

Tsuyoku naru tame,

The two of us together can definitely get back

Wasureta egao

Kitto futari nara, torimodosu

the smile we forgot and become strong again.

The boy slammed his hands on the counter. "This is it! Who's the one singing?"

Nobu's face was unreadable when he turned to answer the question.

"Reira. This is a song by TRAPNEST."

"TRAPNEST?" The boy repeated. "Aren't they the ones on tour right now?"

Nobu nodded. "Yeah, they are." He carefully stopped the music and slipped the record back into its packaging. A few moments later Shion was figuring out the trick to the register and processing their first transaction of the day.

Success!

"That was amazing, Nobu." She said after the boy had left. "How did you know what to look for based off those clues?"

Nobu shrugged sheepishly. "Lucky guess?"

"TRAPNEST." Shion mused. "I feel like I've heard of them."

"Could it be from Hachi?" Nobu suggested. "She does have a huge poster of them in her room."

"That's it!" She said. "Hachi was going on and on about her favourite… uhh, who was it? Takashi?"

"Takumi." He said. "The bassist."

"Will you be educating me about them in the future?" She asked.

He grinned but she felt like his heart wasn't quite in it. "Of course. One day."

•─────⋅雨⋅─────•

They were both dismissed a few hours after lunchtime and Shion's stomach was growling.

Nobu laughed. "Hungry? Wanna grab something to eat?"

Shion jumped at the chance. "It's my treat - to pay you back for helping me with my ankle."

Maybe her determination to repay his kindness showed because he didn't protest.

"There's a diner nearby we could go." Nobu suggested. "It shouldn't be too far for you on crutches."

A promise of eating food with a friend cheered her up considerably and she felt as though she was glowing.

"Let's go then!" She smiled.

Another familiar face was there to greet them at the diner - quite literally. If her memory was right, this was Shoji - Hachi's boyfriend.

"Shoji-san." She felt like it would be rude not to acknowledge she knew him even if they hadn't really spoken before. She was worried he wouldn't remember who she was but judging by his face he did.

"Shion-chan. Is… Nana with you?"

She shook her head. "It's just Nobu and myself. Are you maybe… expecting her?"

"No way! I told her not to visit me during work hours. I was just worried she'd told everyone where I worked. Anyway, I'll show you to your seats."

Without another word he led them to a small booth; helping Shion sit down and prop her crutches against the table, and left them to look over the menus.

"That's Hachi's boyfriend?" Nobu asked.

Shion nodded. "I don't know much about him. I just saw him briefly when Hachi moved in. She says he's kind and reliable."

He didn't meet her eyes. "Right."

A waitress soon came to serve them. "Can I take your order?"

She was a dainty girl with short curly hair. It wasn't a complete exaggeration to say she looked like a doll with her refined features. Everything about her seemed delicate and cute.

"I'd like an omurice, please." Shion said, feeling quite out of place next to such a beautiful girl.

"A large burger." Nobu said.

"Anything else?"

They confirmed with each other before shaking their heads. "That's it."

"Very well." She disappeared.

Shion tapped on the table nervously. Eventually Nobu smiled to reassure her.

"What did you think of work today?"

"It didn't feel like work at all," she told him honestly. "The shop is relaxing. It feels safe."

"That's good." He paused before he continued. "So what's the deal with you and the violin?"

She stiffened. "The violin?"

He held his hands up in surrender. "You don't need to tell me if it makes you uncomfortable but… you seemed really torn up about it the other day."

It did make her uncomfortable. But there was another part of her that wanted to tell him everything - her whole sob story from beginning to end. Maybe not today though.

"I've been playing ever since I can remember but when my father remarried his wife complained constantly about my playing. My school didn't have a practice room and I felt too self-conscious by that point so I stopped practising altogether. The other day was just… me coming to terms with the reality of suddenly beginning to play again and being terrible at it."

"You'll recover quickly." Nobu said. "You've just got to get your body used to playing again and then it will all come back. Don't let yourself be too discouraged by it."

"I know. Thank you."

"Still… what a harsh thing for your stepmother to do. Is that why you moved out?"

"Sort of." She shrugged. "It's a little more complicated than that. I'll tell you about it one day."

He smiled apologetically. "Of course. No pressure."

The doll-like waitress returned with their food and they tucked in eagerly.

"How are things going with the new bassist?" She asked. "He's living with you too, right?"

Nobu nodded. "Shin's strange. He dyed his hair blue almost immediately after we accepted him, but he's got a lot of ambition and he's a good kid. You should come by the studio this week to meet him. Nana and Hachi will take the bus with you. You can hear us play together - it'll be fun."

"Yeah. I might take you up on that." She'd been meaning to go to the studio for her own session anyway. She wasn't going to let a rotten ankle stop her.

"Our next session is tomorrow afternoon - I'll let Hachi know the plans." Nobu grinned. "You'll be blown away by BLAST now. All we need now is a drummer!"

•─────⋅雨⋅─────•