When the time finally came to go to the TRAPNEST concert, Nana had said she'd be staying home Hachi after all, leaving Shion to go downstairs by herself when Yasu came to pick her up; Shin and Nobu already in the car. She wasn't really in the mood for a concert after all that had happened recently, but Nobu was excited to see Reira perform and at least she'd be able to hang out with her friends for the night.

The process of getting into the venue and finding their seats was the same as when she had gone to the concert in Hachi's hometown. When the lights dimmed, a silence fell over the room and she heard Nobu suck in a breath beside her. When Reira stepped out on stage, his face lit up.

The four of them were in balcony seats which meant it was going to be difficult for her to slip out if the noise got overwhelming again like last time. She was pleasantly surprised to find that with the crazy TRAPNEST fans below them, she could enjoy the music without too much trouble. Before she knew it the lights were on and the fans were filing out of the room again. Huh? It had felt like they'd only be there ten minutes. Had she zoned out that bad?

"Let's go, Shion!" Nobu said. "We have a meet and greet next!"

"Wait… what?" She had never heard that part! "I… I can't!

"I'll be with you." Nobu said. "And there's Yasu and Shin too. You won't be alone - plus you already know Ren!"

He was being unusually hasty in comforting her this time. She blamed it on him wanting to meet Reira. She nodded and followed him and the other two out into the lobby.

"Well, I'm going home." Yasu said.

They looked at him. "You're not coming with us?" Nobu asked. "But we have passes - it's a waste."

"I have to catch up on work." Yasu said.

"Come one!" Nobu said. "You should come for once."

"Sorry." The bald man smiled apologetically. "Say hi to Ren for me."

"What about Reira?" Shin said.

"Tell her 'good work' from me." he said, walking away.

•─────⋅雨⋅─────•

Takumi was the one who greeted them when they arrived. He regarded the four of them in surprise.

"Huh? Yasu isn't with you?"

"He went home." Nobu said as Takumi swung his arm around his shoulder. "He has work."

"Aw!" A familiar voice said. Shion looked to see a familiar young man walking towards them and she avoided looking at him directly. "I wanted to see him again!" Naoki's eyes then fell on her. "Shion-chan! Are you feeling okay now? I wish I could have stuck around when I took you home the other day but I had to get back before our manager realised I was gone."
"This is the girl you helped, Naoki?" When Reira approached them, Nobu squeezed Shion's hand uncomfortably tight. After all of the pining, Nobu was finally standing before his idol. Every member of TRAPNEST was now focused on Shion, thanks to Naoki's comment and her skin prickled as they stared.

Reira studied her with interest and then clapped her hands together. "You're such a cutie!" Her eyes then fell on Shion. "And you're gorgeous! Want to play with Onee-san?" she asked him sweetly.

Shion and Nobu were left goggling at her, but Shin took it in his stride.

"If you want to, but I'm expensive." he said, handing her a business card.

"Oh." Reira said, looking at Nobu. His face went red. "That one's pretty cute too. How much?"

"Ren~!" Nobu whined. "Save me!" Ren was far too busy laughing at the situation.

"Maybe I should go home." Nobu sighed. Please! Shion pleaded. Let's go home!

"C'mon, don't say that." Ren said. "Party with us! We'll drink until morning." Reira and Shin were already cheering the idea on. Nobu looked at Shion, silently checking the idea with her. She definitely wasn't comfortable with the idea, but she could see how much Nobu wanted to go. Yasu had already left, and she didn't want to walk home on her own at this time of night.

She nodded. "Okay."

•─────⋅雨⋅─────•

The hotel TRAPNEST were staying at was hosting the end-of-tour party for the band. Shion was still holding Nobu's hand when they entered with the stars of the party, hoping that maybe she could survive for the night. The party was in full-swing after two hours. Thankfully, Nobu hadn't been anywhere except the bar, downing gin tonics. Shion had sat with him, sipping on a water.

"Are you okay, Nobu?" Shin said, joining them. Reira was with him."You're drinking too much."

"I can't stay sober in this atmosphere!" Nobu said, his face red from drinking.

"What an ingenious guy!" Reira said, before disappearing into the crowd to dance.

Nobu pouted, taking another sip of his drink. "I wonder why Yasu dated that weird woman."

"Weird woman!?" Shin laughed. "What an insult~!"

Shion almost fell off her stool when she saw a shape behind Nobu secure an arm around her friend's neck.

"I can't let you say that Nobu." It was Takumi. "You're talking about our band's princess, here."

"Shion-chan!" Naoki came and took the empty seat beside her. He ordered a drink and then turned to her, his eyes falling on her glass of water.

"You aren't gonna drink anything?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I don't drink. I can't stand the taste."

He grinned and ordered another drink, pushing it towards her when it was ready. She stared at him, confused. "It's coconut liqueur." he told her. "It tastes completely different to normal alcohol - it's really sweet. Just try it."
She hesitantly brought the glass to her lips, taking a tentative sip. The liquid was sweet. Naoki was right - it didn't have the bitter alcohol aftertaste that she disliked at all. After a few more bigger sips, she felt her nerves relax a bit. "It's nice.' she said. "Also…"

He tilted his head curiously. "Also…?"

"Thank you for helping me the other day." she said. "It really helped me out."

"That guy was a creep." he said. "I wish I'd gotten there sooner."
"Me too." she said, and then she realised what she'd said. "I'm- I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that! I-!"

But he was laughing. "I know what you meant." he told her. "You really are pretty cute. I'll give you my number - you can call me if you get into any trouble in the future."

"Oh… that's not… you don't have to-" He'd already written a number on a napkin and slid it towards her. She took it, not wanting to be rude. She hoped he really did just mean to call him if she was in trouble and not because... because he was interested in her. The last thing she wanted to do was have that kind of conversation with him.

She emptied her glass, looking for the bartender. "Can I please get another one of these?"

•─────⋅雨⋅─────•

"This is so sweet." Shion sighed, taking another sip of her drink. It had been a few more hours since her first one, and Naoki had stayed sitting with her, chatting about this and that. She had no idea where Nobu or Shin were, and had she been sober she probably would have been freaking out. But she wasn't, and as far as she was concerned, she and Naoki had to have been friends at least by this point. She didn't feel nervous when she was with a friend.

Naoki stretched his arms upwards. "I wanna do something interesting~" he said. Then he perked up. "Come with me Shion-chan! I know somewhere we can go."

Having lost her ability to make sound decisions, she followed him out of the room and into the hotel lobby. He led her off into a hallway and stopped when they reached a door. He looked at her, clearly excited for whatever lay beyond it. "You ready?!"

Shion nodded and he took her hand, leading her inside.

It was an indoor swimming pool. Massive in scope with a night view of Tokyo, the water looked inviting. Away from the obnoxious lights, and loud music of the party - the still water of the pool was the total opposite; calm and serene.

"I wanna swim~" she breathed. Beside her, Naoki had already stripped to his boxers, and held his hand out to her.

"Then let's go!"

She followed suit, stripping down until she was just in her underwear. She took his hand and they stared out at the water. After he counted to three, they jumped.

"Cold!" she squealed as the water hit them. It cooled her skin that had been burning hot after spending hours in a hot room, drinking; a welcome change. A tidal wave of water swept over her head and she gasped for air, turning to stare at Naoki in disbelief. He grinned innocently, and she splashed him back. So began the splashing war. Naoki had clearly had more practice, or was just naturally talented at creating a tsunami of pool water to sweep her away from him before she could return the favour.

The effect of alcohol had subdued a bit, thanks to the cold water, and she felt more self conscious when the two of them eventually hauled themselves out of the water to sit next to each other as they dipped their feet in.

"That was fun." Naoki said.

"It was." she said, dipping her fingers in the water. She could feel his gaze on her, and she ignored the uncomfortable flurry of butterflies in her tummy, hoping she had given him the wrong idea.

"Can I ask you something?" he said.

"Yeah."

"You and that guy - Nobu? You were holding hands before - are you guys dating?"

She shook her head. "He's my best friend. I was just a bit nervous about meeting TRAPNEST. He's always been able to calm me down when I overthink things." Naoki didn't say anything after that. He seemed to be thinking.

"Can we… see each again after this?" he asked her. "It would be cool to spend more time together."

Oh boy. There it was. His eyes looked so pleading, she didn't have the heart to refuse him.

"That would be… nice." she said.

He grinned, leaning forward and planting a light kiss on her forehead. "You're so cute~!"

She gave him a small smile, not sure how to react. He'd definitely got the wrong idea.

•─────⋅雨⋅─────•

They borrowed towels from the hotel and dried themselves off before getting dressed and returning to the party. Nobu, Shin, Ren, and Takumi were by the bar - chatting as Takumi signed autographs on expensive-looking pieces of card.

"It's really impressive, Takumi." Nobu was saying. "How did you transform Ren's shitty music into something so classy and modern?"

Ren glared at him. "Sorry for writing shitty music!" He dropped an ice cube down the back of Nobu's shirt and the young man shuddered at the coldness.

"Everything relies on Ren's creations." Shin said. Takumi snickered.

"When are you gonna stop sucking up, Shin?" Nobu complained. He saw Shion and Naoki watching them and he frowned. "Why are you guys all wet?"

"Went for a swim." Naoki said brightly, wrapping his arm around Shion's shoulder. Nobu raised his eyebrow. "You guys got close pretty quick. Is he being nice to you, Shion?"

"Y-yeah." she said. "He's been really nice."

"See?" Naoki said. "Nothing to worry about here~"

"By the way Takumi," Ren said suddenly. "I want an autograph too. Someone asked me for one and I forgot."

Takumi nodded. "Sure, but do you have paper?"

"Of course not." Ren said, grabbing one of the unsigned autograph cards that Takumi had yet to sign.

"But that's for an important sponsor." Takumi complained.

"I don't care."

Takumi sighed and got his pen ready. "What's her name?"

"Hachiko!" Ren said happily.

"Ren!" Nobu interjected. "If it's for Hachi then wouldn't it be better to put her real name?"

"What's her real name again?" The guitarist asked, taking a sip of his drink.

"Hachi..?" Takumi frowned. "Sounds familiar."

"You met her last time, Takumi." Shin told him. "During the mahjong tournament. Her name is Komatsu Nana."

"Oh yeah!" Takumi said, something in him clicking. "Nana-chan." He looked back at Ren. "But I don't need to do it anymore, right?"

"Huh?" Ren said. "But she wanted one."

"When was that?" Takumi asked.

"Well, the day of the tournament."

"In that case I don't need to do it anymore." Takumi said. "We did it the next day."

The entire group went silent and stared at him in shock. Nobu had zoned out completely, and Shion left Naoki to be by her friend's side. "You okay, Nobu?" she asked him. He didn't reply.

"Oi," Ren said. "What did you do?"

Takumi looked confused. "What?"

"You're talking about my girlfriend's close friend here!" Ren said. "I know you don't have principles but this is going too far! Have some morals!"

"What's the big deal?" Takumi said. "I never forced her to do anything because she agreed. She wagged her tail to please me."

As though struck by lightning, Nobu leapt forward, grabbing Takumi by the collar. The music died down as everyone in the room turned to watch. Ren quickly dissuaded TRAPNEST's manager from getting involved. "They're just joking!" he told the manager.

Nobu was glaring at Takumi. "If you want to fight, then let's take it outside." Takumi told him quietly. "This party is dedicated to the tour staff. Don't ruin it for them."

Shion took a deep breath and stepped forward, putting a hand on Nobu's elbow.

"Nobu." her voice was pleading, and eventually he released his hold on Takumi and stepped back.

"I'm going home." He said, turning to leave. Shion was right behind him.

"You're leaving?" Takumi said. "What the hell?"

"Takumi-san." Shin said. She turned her head to see Shin throw his drink over the other man, who blinked, not quite processing what had happened. "Otsukare." Shin said, also leaving.

The three of them made their way outside the hotel, where Nobu sat on the curb, not saying anything. Shin and Shion watched him, not quite knowing what to say. Eventually Shin spoke up.

"Hey Nobu - c'mon let's go. I'm paying for the taxi."

"You can just leave if you want to go home." Nobu said, getting to his feet. "Drop Shion off at her place first though."

"Let me crash at your place~" Shin said. "Shion can too."

"Go to one of your girlfriend's places." Nobu said, scuffing his shoe on the pavement.

"I'm not in the mood." Shin said.

"Takumi is such an idiot." Shin grumbled. "Hachi's our dog - she belongs to us!"

"Don't talk about her as if she's actually a dog." Nobu said, annoyed.

"But it's still annoying!" Shin lit a cigarette. "Get her back for us Nobu! You like her, right?"

That got Shion's attention. The two of them must have seen her confusion.

"You didn't know, Shion?" Shin was surprised. "I thought it was really obvious."

"Nonsense." Nobu muttered.

"Coward." Shin said in reply.

"I can't do anything!" Nobu said, going red. "Hachi likes that guy."

"But she likes him as a fan, right?"

"In the beginning, yes, but when she met him she really fell in love with him or else she never would have accepted his advances." Nobu said.

"But it was only the following day of their meeting." Shin said. "I wonder if it will really turn into anything serious. I think she just got caught up in the heat of the moment."

"What are you talking about?" Nobu snapped. "Hachi isn't that kind of girl!"

"Um, I don't know if this is related," Shion said quietly. "But the day after the mahjong tournament Hachi was out all night, and when we saw her again she told us she'd lost her job."

"She must have been feeling bad after losing her job!" Nobu said. "And then Takumi charmed her with his words while she was vulnerable."

"I'm not so sure." Shin said. "Hachi isn't that stupid."

"It's not that she's stupid." Nobu said. "She's innocent, and she's really obedient!"

"I know that. But Nobu, you were also idolising Reira, right? You need to stop idealising women so much. You think women don't have libidos?"

"We're talking about Hachi here!" Nobu raised his voice, making Shion flinch. She'd never seen this side of him before. Nobu in love was a Nobu she didn't know. "Don't put her into the same category as those easy women that gravitate towards you!"

There was a trace of sadness on Shin's face that vanished soon after. "You know," Shin said. "I don't think the women who want to sleep with me are easy. They're just frivolous. It's because they feel lonely. Hachi as well - she might have felt lonely since she broke up with her boyfriend, right? But you're too slow so you got one-upped by Takumi."

Nobu bit his lip, falling silent.

"Anyway, even if it was started by the heat of the moment, you know Hachi… Without a doubt, she'll fall even more in love. But if it keeps going on like this, Hachi will suffer even more - I can see it. Doesn't that mean anything to you Nobu?"

Shion watched as Nobu battled with his inner conflict. "I don't want that to happen." he said finally.

•─────⋅雨⋅─────•

They ended up taking a taxi back to Shion's apartment building anyway. The conversation about Nobu's feelings continued on the ride there, but despite her desire to support her best friend, it was almost five in the morning, and Shion's eyes felt heavy. Nobu accompanied her up the stairs to her flat, saying he wanted to make sure she got home alright, but she knew the real reason when Hachi opened the door to greet them both.

"About time, Nana!" The woman froze when she realised it was Nobu and Shion. The latter slipped past Hachi, disappearing into her room after saying goodbye to Nobu. She had a feeling her best friend wanted a chance to talk to Hachi alone.

"Forgive me!" Hachi was saying. "I thought you were Nana."

"Oh, Nana isn't here? Nobu said.

"I think she's still at Ren's." Hachi said. "You can come in. I can send her a message, but we can call her if you want."

"Uh, no!" Nobu stuttered. "Nana isn't the one I wanted to talk to...but you, Hach- I mean, Nana."

She must have offered him a beer because Shion heard him refuse it hurriedly. "No thanks!" he said. "I don't need alcohol to give me the courage to talk."

"What's wrong?" Hachi asked. "Did something happen?"

Shion counted the silence that followed. Twelve seconds.

"I can't!" Nobu said, his voice muffled, probably as he covered his face. "I'll come back!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Hachi said. Shion heard as Nobu got up and headed back to the front door.

"I can't beat him anyway so it's impossible!" Nobu said. "I'm not at that level yet."

"What are you talking about? I want to help you."

"One day I swear I'll surpass him!" Nobu declared.

"Who?" Hachi wanted to know.

"Takumi." Nobu said. There was the sound of the door opening and then slamming shut. Nobu had made his intentions very clear, to Shion at least. While she felt happy that he'd had the courage to visit Hachi that night, she couldn't help but worry what a potential relationship between her two friends meant for her friendship with Nobu.

As she went to bed that night, she ignored the loneliness that had begun to snare her heart once again.

•─────⋅雨⋅─────•