CHAPTER 9

New Winding Road

Uranohoshi High School,
Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture,
March 2

Practice was over half an hour ago but Mari didn't want to go home just yet. It was not home that she knew anymore. Home, for what she understood, was sanctuary. A place to hide from the trials and tribulations of the world. A place where you couldn't wait to go when you were away. As of late, Awashima Hotel didn't give her that vibe anymore.

Home, for Mari, was Aqours. And her friends were her family.

Sitting alone in the club room, enjoying the sunset through the classroom window, Mari watched the news about Yon*Machi botched concert on her phone. The news clip showed the damage was not extensive but all the crucial equipment – speakers, musical instruments, lighting – were torn apart. The concert had to be cancelled. Fans – most of them teenage girls - were bummed-out as their hope to see their favorite teen idols was crushed. Yet despite the misfortune, they expressed high hope to see Yon*Machi on their next show, which would be held indoor at Yokohama Arena.

"Hey," Kanan entered the room with her bags hanging on her shoulder. "What are you doing here at this hour, alone? Don't you have somebody to take care of at home?"

Mari threw a dirty look at Kanan. "I'm not in the mood for that, Kanan."

"Sorry," Kanan dragged a chair and sat next to Mari. "What are you watching?"

"The Yon*Machi incident," Mari shared her phone with her BFF. "Have you been following this?"

"Somewhat. Boy bands don't amuse me. I don't think they're that appealing."

"I just noticed, this freak accident destroyed the equipment but nobody was hurt. What kind of natural disaster ruins the entire set of a concert but leaves everyone unhurt?"

"I don't know," Kanan looked at Mari funny. "What are you saying? You don't think this is a natural disaster?"

"I don't know," Mari shrugged. "Maybe it's something, maybe it's nothing. I'm just saying."

"Don't worry about things that are not our concern," Kanan said. "Think about what lies ahead of us. We have a big show, and we have worked hard to reach it. It's only a few more weeks. So let's turn out mind and our heart to Love Live Finals. And don't forget to rest. It's getting late, so let's go home."

"Let me stay here for a little while," Mari leaned back on her chair instead. "I'm not in a hurry to go home yet."

Kanan understood what Mari had been going through. She went back sitting next to Mari. "I used to think you're the luckiest. You live in a hotel. You don't have to worry about your future. You've got everything laid out for you. All you have to do is to enjoy life. I still don't know where I'll go after high school, and I only have a month left."

"You know why I'm lucky? Because I have you. Because I have Aqours. Because I get to sing and dance with my friends, because it is what makes me happy. It is what makes me forget about the big Awashima Hotel that I can't call my home, about the school and the future and the marriage that is not my choice." Mari closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. "I envy you, Kanan. You don't know where to go after school, and that's a good thing, because you get to decide where you go. Your life is yours. The new winding road in front of you may be scary and treacherous, but it's yours to take. Mine is flat and straight and paved, but somebody else takes me through it. I don't get to decide when, where, or how fast."

Kanan didn't answer. They both sat in awkward silence, until Mari started humming a slow, heart-rending tune. She kept on for a while, then started putting on sad lyrics on the melody:

Dakara minna genki de mata aeru you ni
Kitto aitai omoi wa tsunagaru kara ne
Ah! Sore made wa ippai ganbatte miyou ka
Itsuka katari aeru hi made hitori de
Tsuyoku watashi ga mou ichido yume o miru
Mabushii hikari sagashi motometeru
Mae o muite atarashii basho e to arukidasu
Kono michi wa doko e tsudzukun darou?

"Yeah, well, we can't have everything we want," Kanan finally broke the eerie silence. "You wanna trade place with me, just for one day?"

"Ha ha, no!" Mari chuckled. "Because once I get out of this life, I don't want to come back. And you, you will not like this life, so we're going to fight…"

"Fight? Fight about what?" suddenly Dia appeared. "Why aren't you guys at home?"

"Why are you not home?" Mari retorted. "What are you doing here?"

"I forgot something," Dia swung by the other 3rd-grader and rummaged the drawer on the main desk. But she was too distracted to continue what she was doing in the first place. "What fighting? What are you guys talking about?"

"We're talking about how we are not satisfied with our lives, and yet others are green with envy for what we wish we didn't have," Kanan leaned on Mari's shoulder. "Perhaps, I think, if we switch places just for one day, we can have a better perspective of how lucky we actually are. But Mari thinks nobody would possibly want to live her life. And that's when the 'fight' part came up."

"Are you talking about Mari's arranged marriage?" Dia said.

"Part of it," Mari threw her gaze out of the window, at the school yard, which had already been enveloped by darkness. "To think about we are living in the 21st century…"

"But maybe there's a silver lining to it," Dia said. "Have you met the guy? Your future husband?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kanan blurted. "Are you saying Mari just suck it up and do it?!"

"I'm not suggesting anything!" Dia grimaced. "I'm just thinking, arranged marriage is wrong, but what if the guy is the right guy for you? Then everything ends up fine."

"Two wrongs don't make it right, Dia," Mari said. "I'm going to spend the rest of my life with a man, so I should be the one that makes decision. My parents shouldn't do it for me."

"Sucks, I know," Dia dragged another chair and sandwiched Mari between her and Kanan. "I can tell because I was once in the same situation as yours."

Kanan and Mari tossed a quizzical look at Dia. "You? Arranged marriage? Why didn't you tell us?"

"I don't like to talk about it," Dia exhaled long and hard. "My family owns quite a fortune, and my parents would leave it to me, if I married a guy from Kurosawa's business partner. They were looking at a union between the two families that would strengthen their business ventures. But seriously, I don't want any part of it. I just left the house and took Ruby with me."

"Kinda what I'm feeling right now," Mari sighed.

"Well, running does sound like a good idea," Kanan added. "But how far can you run?"

"I'll figure it out when I get there. But one thing I'm certain: I can run longer if I'm with my friends."

"So what are we saying here?" Dia surmised. "Is this what we decide? Are we really doing it?"

"We need to think about it," Kanan replied. "One wrong step and we're all screwed. Mari's family will tighten their grips on her, and we're going to see each other again forever. So let's sleep it off and talk again tomorrow with fresh minds."

The 3rd-graders were so engrossed in the conversation that they failed to notice Chika coming into the classroom. She, too, had left a few articles in the club room and had return to collect them. She overheard Kanan, Dia, and Mari talking about wrong steps, but she assumed they were talking about the dance moves for their competition.

"Kanan-chan? Dia-chan? Mari-chan? What are you doing here this late?" Chika muttered.

"Uh… nothing," Dia quickly rummaged the drawer of the main table and grabbed a few things. "We're just… well, I left some things behind. I got them now."

"Yeah, we're just… leaving," Kanan quickly followed Dia. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"I'm going as well," Mari quickly followed Kanan. "Goodnight, Chika."

"Guys, guys, wait a minute," Chika felt something was out of the ordinary. "Is there something you want to share with the rest of the team? Is it about the dance?"

"Dance?" Kanan, Dia, and Mari looked at each other. "No, no, dance is perfect. Nothing wrong with dance."

"Well, then, is there something I can help? We're a team, so if there is something bothering you, we need to discuss it as a team."

"There's nothing wrong with anything, Chika-chan," Mari flashed a forced smile. "We're just talking about… you know, Yon*Machi incident." She showed Chika her phone, which still had pictures of Yon*Machi's damaged equipment. "What a tragedy it was."

"Yes, a tragedy," Kanan and Dia awkwardly concurred with Mari.

"Oh, sure, it was," Chika smiled, but somehow she knew the 3rd-graders were hiding something.

"Well, it's getting late. I'll see you tomorrow." Mari smiled and winked at Chika, then rushed out of the classroom, followed by Kanan and Dia.

Chika accepted the fact that the 3rd-graders were distant from the rest of Aqours. They joined Aqours at a later time, when the 1st and 2nd grade students had established Aqours. They would soon graduate, and had to think about the next step in their lives, while the rest of Aqours didn't have to, at least for one more year. And they performed together in an idol group that was disbanded.

But they were Aqours now, and Chika wanted them to be in the same boat with everybody. To think that the 3rd graders kept something from the rest of the group added stress to Hanamaru's boy problem and Riko's stalker problem. She could confront them, but she was afraid that her brusqueness would put strain between the 3rd grader and the rest of the team. That would spell doom to everything they worked so hard for.

Chika left the club room massaging her temple, which felt double the size than when she first came in.