simple reason; I don't know. With my other stories, however, it is because I know
everything I want to do but don't know how long it will take me to do it all. In the case
of Hinata Girls, it's because I keep getting ideas for new storylines, mini-arcs, and one-
shots. I've opened up a real can of worms here; there's so many things I could do with this
story setup, and I have no idea how I'm going to fit all of it in! Ah well... I guess that
means there'll be new chapters waiting for you for a long time!
Also, I need everybody to stay hush-hush about this, but... one scene in this chapter
includes song lyrics. Those have been recently banned by FFnet rules. It's only a short
scene, though, and considering Naru is a singer I hope it's understandable in this case.
Please don't report me! Anyway, this is the longest chapter yet, so I hope you all enjoy
it!
Disclaimer: The characters in this story are the property of Ken Akamatsu, and are used
without permission. Furthermore, although the lyrics to "Egao no Mirai e" have been
translated by me personally I am not the original writer of the song. It was originally
performed by Horie Yui, and is property of her recording studio, Star Child. The translation
is probably very wrong because my Japanese sucks, so reprint and reuse them at your own
peril! Please do not sue me, I have no money.
HINATA GIRLS
Road to Stardom!
by TheArchimage
Kaolla wore an apron over her loose-fitting clothes, sweeping the sidewalk in front of
Wonderland. She was more heavily-dressed than most of the people lazily walking by on the
sidewalks, but in comparison to her native country Japanese summers were frigid so she did
not feel too hot. Every sweep of the broom kicked up a tiny cloud of dust, which would get
blown back to its original position by a strong breeze every few moments.
Su's gaze was eventually drawn to the sign by the front door. Written there was the name
"Tohru Honda", with a "One Night Only!" message hastily marked up in colored chalk. It
looked cheap, but then everything about this place was cheap including the help. Su
sighed as she propped her chin on the broom and leaned forward. "You're gonna free me,
huh Naru-san?" she said to herself, remembering what the girl had told her the day before.
"It won't be that easy. I've never been free. Not from the moment I was born..."
-Fifth Show-
The Terror of Expectation, Part 2
The lights snapped on with a loud clack, illuminating the stage as the crowd exploded in
cheers. Naru squinted slightly at the sudden light, then looked out over the audience as
her eyes adjusted. She was finally here! Now it was time for all her hard work and guts
to pay off!
"Thank you, everyone!" Naru greeted as she waved happily. "I'm so glad you all could come
to my debut!" She was answered with a familiar roar of the crowd, causing her cheeks to
redden slightly. "This is a song I wrote especially for you all, so please listen!"
With that, the music started to play. Naru listened carefully, setting the beat and pitch
carefully in her mind. She opened her mouth and let the first words out...
No. Something was wrong. The notes were all off. Her voice sounded scratchy and worn,
and her tone didn't match the music at all. She could hear the displeased murmurings of
the crowd as she allowed her voice to trail off. As the music died suddenly she put a
hand to her throat, scarcely believing what she just heard. This... that was her? That was
her best?
The crowd started to thin out, shuffling out towards the exits in the back. Disgruntled
mumbling could be heard as they turned their backs on her, their numbers dwindling by the
moment. "Wait," she pleaded. "Wait, I wasn't ready that time. I can do better... come
back! Please! I... I...!"
She awoke with a scream, sitting upright in her futon. Her covers were strewn wildly
about, a mark of her poor sleeping habits. She was breathing heavily, the nightmare still
fresh in her mind.
The door slid open forcefully as Motoko, dressed in her gakuran, forced her way into the
room. "Naru-san! Are you all right?"
"Ah, Motoko-san!" Naru said. "Y... Yes, I'm fine. Just a bad dream."
Motoko breathed a sigh of relief. "That is good. I heard you scream, and thought
something might be the matter. Um... I apologize for barging into your room so suddenly."
"No, don't apologize. It's okay." Naru looked out the window, noticing how bright it
was outside. It must have been at least ten o' clock. What was Motoko still doing here?
"But Motoko-san, shouldn't you be at school?"
Motoko smiled glumly. "I just got back from there, actually. Because I didn't show up
for detention, they've suspended me for three days." She leaned against the doorframe,
sighing. "They punished me for not being at school by not allowing me into school. That
doesn't make the slightest bit of sense, don't you agree?"
Naru laughed nervously. Should she really be so blasé about getting suspended from school?
But then, Motoko was a delinquent. School and things like that weren't much of a concern
for someone like her. She kept forgetting that about her.
Motoko continued, "Well, I should let you get back to rest. You have a big performance
tonight, after all."
The performance. Right. Naru felt her chest tighten at the sound of the word. She shook
her head, "No, I think I'll get up. I don't think I can sleep much now, anyway..."
Mintai Middle School was as far from Kentaro's element as it got, and even being near the
place caused him considerable stress. He wanted to loosen his tie, but he feared to take
his hand too far away from his wallet lest he suddenly find it missing. He had opted to
stay outside while his two hired detectives, Whatsisname and Somethingorother, searched the
premises.
Speaking of whom, it seemed their investigation was finished. They were walking toward
him, trading notes about what they had found out. Kentaro sighed, "So why have you two
dragged me to this hellhole?"
They helpfully replied, "They're saying a girl who looked a lot like Naru-san showed up
here a few days ago. She came into the place after classes let out."
Kentaro brushed a piece of imaginary dust off his suit as he gave a disgusted look at the
building. "There's no way Naru-san would hang out in this dump. You must be mistaken."
"We're not!" said the fat one. "I've just finished interviewing people... they say that the
girl identified herself as Naru. Furthermore, they say that she left with another
student... a person they call 'Samurai'."
Kentaro looked at him questionably. "What good does a nickname do us?"
The thin one opened up a notebook and skimmed through it, clearing his throat when he
found the right page. "Let's see... 'Samurai'. Real name Motoko Aoyama, formerly a drummer
for the local band 'Route 5'. Route 5 has kind of a nasty reputation in these areas... the
rumors go that they're a bunch of thugs and sadists. As for Samurai herself, she's
considered one of the most feared people in the school; no one has ever seen her lose a
fight, regardless of the odds."
Kentaro scowled deeply. "If that idiot girl has gotten herself into trouble, I'll kill her
myself. We had better hurry up and find this Aoyama, and for her sake she better not have
done anything to my star."
"That might prove difficult. It says here that Aoyama-san was recently evicted from her
apartment for failing to pay rent. Also, she won't be in school for a few days... she was
suspended for repeatedly failing to show up for detention."
"Useless," Kentaro sneered. "What good is a lead that's vanished into thin air?"
"We're as discouraged as you are, sir," the fat one said. "It isn't easy chasing after
someone that's trying to not be found..."
There was the ring of a cell phone suddenly, and the thin one answered it. Following a
brief conversation he thanked the person on the other end and hung up. "We found another
lead... a couple of days ago an unidentified girl walked onstage during a recital at Seiren
Middle School. The description sounds like our runaway idol."
Kentaro's eyes narrowed as he put a hand to his chin in thought. "First a bar, then a
middle school, and now a recital. Naru, what in the world are you doing?"
Motoko was waiting just outside Wonderland when Mitsune and Shinobu showed up. Shinobu
waved broadly to Motoko, who smiled lopsidedly as she waved back. Mitsune sighed as she
approached, "Geez, you don't have to melt like that over a wave..."
"I am not melting," Motoko protested, dropping the smile. "I was just being friendly,
that's all."
Mitsune rolled her eyes. "I'll bet. I suppose our would-be starlet is already inside."
Motoko nodded. "She said she wanted to get a feel for the stage before she went up. She
seemed a little nervous, but I trust she has her own ways to deal with that."
Mitsune grimaced. 'If she's already getting nervous, then maybe it's... well, I hope that's
not the case. It would be very bad for her if it was.'
"So, now that we're all here... how did it go? The blitz advertising rush?"
Shinobu shrunk back a little. "Um... I don't know. I tried telling people about it, but
then Kaiho-chan offered to help and ran off yelling. She gets so worked up over things
like this, so I don't know how it will all turn out." She then looked to Motoko. "And?
How about you, Motoko-san?"
Motoko grinned sheepishly. "I did a little too well. The entire club was talking about
it, and they traced it back to me. I go back next week to pick up my last paycheck."
Mitsune just sighed and said, "I warned you that that might happen..."
Motoko shrugged. "I was aware of the risk before I started. I have no regrets. While
we're on the subject, how well did your advertisement go?"
Mitsune shook her head. "I don't know... sure I talked about it at a bunch of watering
holes, but I didn't stick around at any of the places to see how well it went over."
Shinobu swallowed. "So... we've all done everything we can. The rest is up to Naru-san."
"You could say the real battle is already over," Mitsune said. "If not enough people show
up it doesn't matter how well Naru does; she'll still be toast. But what you said is
still partially true... if she does so poorly that the audience starts demanding refunds,
then all our work will have been for nothing."
Motoko gave her a harsh glare. "That's not a very funny joke! She is an idol, she has to
have at least rudimentary voice lessons. ... Right?"
Mitsune raised an eyebrow. "Have you heard her idol stuff? It's bland, tasteless mush a
third grader could sing. She got hired for her looks, not her talent. Her producer must
have not wanted to spend time and money cultivating what might not have been there to
begin with."
Motoko's jaw dropped in astonishment. "Unbelievable... then why did Naru agree to such a
reckless proposal? If something goes wrong, she'll owe the manager of this dump over a
million yen. She'll never pay off that much money waiting tables!"
Mitsune smirked. "That recklessness is part of what makes her who she is. She's got guts,
that kid."
She finished to herself, 'I just hope those guts are enough to carry her through...'
Only ten minutes to showtime. Naru peeked out at the crowd from behind the curtains,
watching as the number of heads grew larger and larger. The place was really starting to
fill up. Oddly enough, she wasn't really concerned with whether it would be enough to pay
off the performance fee. She counseled herself, 'Deep breaths, deep breaths. You've gone
out in front of crowds a hundred times before. The only thing different is that these
people aren't here just to see you. They're here to listen, to be entertained. They're
here for a musician... so you'd better deliver.'
She felt her chest tighten again, and her breaths became more shallow. She couldn't stop
shaking. This was like yesterday... no, it was far worse than yesterday. She peeked out at
the crowd, tasting metal in her mouth. Her legs were rooted to the spot, but she felt like
she wanted to run away and hide.
What the heck was wrong with her! She used to love getting up in front of the crowd... it
was one of the few parts of being an idol she actually liked! This was what she wanted,
right? This was what she'd been dreaming about, right? So why was her heart clenching up
like this? She had to calm down. She had to get herself under control somehow. If she
went out like this, how could she give the audience a good show?
How... could she give the audience a good show?
She realized with dread what her problem was. She had come this far on the assumption that
she had the talent to make it as a singer, but she had never actually tested it. What if
she was wrong? What if she had never had talent all along? Is that why Kentaro stressed
her beauty so much? Did he know that this is what would happen?
Maybe... maybe she really was no good. Maybe she had been an awful singer all along. Is
that what she would find out here, tonight? With so much on the line? She must have
sounded so arrogant, telling those girls that her band was going to be the greatest in
Japan. And now... she might not even be able to deliver?
Five minutes to showtime.
Her entire body felt cold. She trudged to her place like a machine, waiting for the cue
to go on stage. Just a few feet away, a receptive audience was awaiting the birth of a new
singing sensation. But in her heart, Naru had already decided.
'I can't do this.'
"Wow," Shinobu cried. "There's so many people here!" She stood up on tiptoe to wave to
her friend Kaiho, who waved back over the sea of people. "I'm going to have to thank
Kaiho-chan and Taishi-chan... they really helped out!"
Motoko eyed the crowd strangely. "Middle schoolers, thugs, and lounge lizards all in one
place... I'm surprised they're getting along so well."
"Probably out of respect for the people who told them about this show," Mitsune said. "I
don't know about Shinobu, but you and me have an awful lot of clout in our respective
circles."
Motoko raised an eyebrow. "I would not be too sure of that. I never asked for anyone to
look up to me."
"That doesn't mean they don't." She looked up as the lights started to dim, eliciting a
response from the crowd. "Right on time," she said. "Now, let's see what our idiot pop
star can really do."
The stage lit up in a bright light, and several audience members began clapping as a lone
figure stepped out from backstage. Naru stepped lightly to the center of the stage,
looking out timidly as her legs shuddered. A few confused murmurs emitted from the crowd,
accompanied by a few whistles. Apparently, some people thought she was cute. Naru did not
appear to have heard them; she simply continued to glance anxiously around the room.
Shinobu cringed. "Naru-san... she looks pale..."
Motoko nodded in agreement. "This is not good. Is she going to be alright?"
Mitsune made a face like she had just taken a physical blow to the stomach. "I was worried
about this," she lamented. "Whenever she went up on stage before, it was as an idol. She
wasn't expected to do much, just show up and look pretty. Her fans weren't interested in
her singing, they just wanted to see her. She could screw up royal and they'd still cheer
for her. No matter how many people were there, there was no pressure.
"But now that situation's changed. She doesn't know herself how good she is, and this
crowd sure as hell isn't going to be supportive of her just for being her. They're all
waiting for her to show them what she's made of, and she knows it. Failure is a real
possibility, and she can't shake those feelings of 'what if?'."
"Stage fright?" Motoko asked incredulously. "Naru-san?"
Mitsune had not taken her eyes off the shaking, timid girl onstage. "It's hard to believe,
isn't it?" she asked, although there was more bleakness in her tone than wonder. "The idol
that stood before thousands without breaking a sweat is scared to death of this crowd of
dozens. All because this crowd is anticipating the kind of talent she has. What Naru is
experiencing right now... is the terror of expectation."
The cheers of the crowd died down, and in their place an oppressive silence moved in. The
hand with the microphone shook uncontrollably, her legs felt like lead weights, and her head
was so light she felt like she was going to faint any moment.
'I... I can't breathe...'
Naru squeezed her eyes shut, feeling sweat form on her brow. 'They're watching me... waiting
for me. They know it... they can feel it...'
She swallowed hard and felt her knees weaken. 'They know I'm going to screw up. I know
I'm going to screw up. Everything is going to be ruined. I'll never be a singer, I'll
never have a band. I'm going to let them all down!' She gritted her teeth and shut her
eyes tight. Her throat constricted, and it felt like her cheeks were on fire. 'Dammit!
I really do suck!'
"GO FOR IT!"
Her eyes shot open as she looked out across the crowd. Who was that?
Towards the back of the room, Shinobu was yelling at the stage with her hands cupped
around her mouth. "Don't give up! This isn't the time to be afraid!"
"That's right!" Motoko shouted out next to her. "What happened to the girl that was willing
to bet everything on her talent and guts?"
"Hey!" Mitsune joined in. "What are you so scared of, anyway? This is your stage!" The
crowded murmured as they looked at the the girls, bewildered as to what was going on.
Naru came to a realization. 'They all... they're supporting me. They all have faith in me,
even if I don't have any myself. But more importantly...
'They're right,' Naru thought to herself, gripping the microphone tightly as the music
started up. 'I don't have time to be afraid. I'm standing in front of the world, ready
to show it what I'm made of... isn't that what I wanted all along? Maybe I'm not a good
singer, but I started down this road to find that out. I'll make it as far as I can with
just my talent and guts... I won't regret anything, even if it should all end on this very
stage!'
She took a deep breath, feeling her courage return to her. "Everyone!" she shouted into
the mike with a smile, killing all casual conversation. "Thank you all for coming to my
first concert ever! I'm going to give it my best, so please listen!"
And with that she began.
Su was in the middle of delivering a tray of drinks as the music started up. The minute
the first notes reached her ears, she stopped. That intro... it didn't sound like anything
from any of her albums. It didn't sound familiar at all. Did that mean... this was going
to be an original song? She looked to the stage, tense at the thought of what Naru would
reveal.
And then, she knew.
"Never giving up, you face tomorrow,
Cutting through the wind, dashing further!
Live every day with no regrets in your heart.
Do your best, and a future of smiles will be granted to you!"
Su watched the girl on stage, enraptured. This... this wasn't that bland singer from the
idol singles at all. Rather than bubblegum vocals and forgettable lyrics, this was truly
stunning; her voice rang out with steadfast hope, the rhythm bounced along with indomitable
cheer. The emotions themselves hadn't changed from her previous songs, but they were no
longer steeped in corporate sterility; the words had power and conviction behind them, and
the melody of her voice drove it all home.
The pop idol Naru could never have produced something like this, she realized. But the
person on stage wasn't Naru the pop idol. Naru the singer had been born.
"Boss!" Su shouted suddenly, putting her tray of drinks down on the counter. "I'm going on
break!"
The manager, Hayashi, shook his head. He knew exactly what she intended. "You're not going
to make it. By the time you run all the way around outside and back up, the song will be
over."
Su snickered as she slipped out of her shoes and started removing her socks. "That's why
I'm taking the shortcut."
Hayashi panicked in response, "Hey, hold on! If you break anything else...!"
"It's okay," Kaolla said, crouching down like she getting ready for the 100-meter dash.
"If that crazy girl up there brought 154 people, my debt's cancelled, right? So it doesn't
matter if I make it bigger now!" She broke into a run, heading right toward the wall just
by the entrance.
"You walk timidly on a smoky path.
You get lost, you trip..."
Su's body went horizontal just before hitting the wall, and in defiance of gravity started
running straight up it. Once she was about three meters off the ground she pushed hard
with her legs, sailing high into the air. She grabbed a hanging decoration and swung on it
like a rope, depositing herself on the scaffolding for the lights. She immediately went to
work, making minor adjustments on one of the colored lights before bounding the next one.
She leapt and swung along the tiny ledges, moving with grace, fluidity, and confidence.
"You wiped the pain on your muddy chest,
Biting down on your lips, in pain."
"Geez, slow down," she said quietly to Naru even though there wasn't a chance the singer
heard her. "I gotta have this ready by the chorus... got it!" Her work for the cameras
completed, she bounded over to the switchboard hanging on the far wall. She looked down,
not from fear of falling but idly wondering whether anyone noticed her up here. Good, they
were all too focused on Naru to notice the girl leaping along the rafters. Usually at
least one or two people would notice when she used the "shortcut", but it seemed that Naru
was so captivating none dared to look away. Naru, for her part, was swaying in time with
the beat and making small movements to accentuate the lyrics.
"Reality can be very cruel, but
A wonderful dream has lived for this long... don't let it fade away!"
As the music reached a crescendo, Su pulled a few of the switches. The lights she had been
messing with turned on and began panning back and forth at varying speeds. A rainbow of
tiny spotlights danced along the stage, lending the stage an otherworldly atmosphere. Naru,
in true showman's fashion, didn't even flinch. She was probably used to lights, sounds, and
other effects in her shows, so Su didn't think she would be bothered by them. Indeed, Naru
seemed instead to be bolstered by them, the familiarity of the lights calming her and adding
even more spring to her step. The earlier hints of nervousness had been completely dispelled.
"Never giving up, you face tomorrow,
Cutting through the wind, dashing further!"
Su snapped her fingers as she remembered something. "Oh yeah, there was that great effect
I set up for a while ago but never got to use... I wonder if the boss took it out yet. Let's
see, which switch was it...?" Her fingers danced over the switchboard as Su licked her lips
in anticipation. "I think... it's this one... no, that switch broke a while ago. Then, this
one? No, I set that one off a week ago..."
"Even with all your scars, you take flight with your tiny wings,
And head for the vast open sky. Can't you see? It's you that I love!"
"Ah, screw it!" said Su as she ran her hand down the board, flicking all the switches. The
stage exploded in multiple jets of sparks as the song finished, sending a loud boom
throughout the club and making Naru very thankful she decided not to use hairspray. The
crowd erupted in cheers and claps, and not just a few gasps of appreciation.
Naru basked in the glow of adoration while Su looked on from the top. "So she gets all the
credit, huh?" she said to herself as she sat down. "Well, that's okay. I wasn't expecting
a congratulations or anything."
She leaned back a little as she thought, 'Look at her... now she's all smiles. She must
really love singing. She seems so relaxed and free now.' She sighed as she thought to
herself, 'Free... must be nice...'
"That was so incredible!" Naru gushed. "Standing up there with everyone watching me,
getting the chance to sing to my heart's content, knowing they were cheering because they
liked my song... it was even better than I thought it would be! I loved it! And it's all
thanks to all of you!" She was backstage now, sitting in a chair with Motoko and Mitsune
standing over her. Shinobu was busy counting the money from ticket sales, and Su was
glaring at them from her seat on an orange crate in the opposite corner of the room.
Motoko agreed, "That was very impressive, Naru. If your old manager had heard you, I wager
he'd be kicking himself for letting such talent get away from him!"
Naru looked down at the ground, getting slightly red in the cheeks. "What? You really
think so?"
"Hey," Mitsune said as she nudged her in the side. "Where's this modesty coming from?
Your ego might be a little tough to deal with, but you aren't the same without it."
Naru shook her head. "It was your words of support that snapped me out of my funk... I'd
hate to think what would have happened without you guys. And don't ignore Su-chan, either!
She really outdid herself with the lights and special effects! Although I do wish she would
have warned me before trying to blow me up..."
Su hid her face from them as she defended herself, "Hey, don't get the wrong idea! Nobody
was working lights, and it offended my sense of taste to see a singer person prancing around
on stage without anything to punch it up. And don't get on my case about the pyrotechnics...
the crowd loved it, right?"
Everyone heard Shinobu gasp as she finished her tally. They all looked toward her
expectantly as Mitsune asked, "So, Shinobu? What's the take?"
Shinobu looked up from the pile slowly. Her lips were trembling, her eyes watering as she
said slowly, "... One hundred... ninety-one thousand... one hundred yen."
Naru stared straight at her, unmoving. Her gaze slid to the stacks of bills and coins on
the table as her shoulders sagged under a new, oppressive weight. "You... you've gotta be
kidding..."
Mitsune's face fell as her fist clenched. "We needed a hundred fifty-four... we got a hundred
forty-seven... Dammit! We were so close!"
Hayashi blew some cigar smoke in the air as he entered the room. He said, "Say whatever
you want... I'm a man of my word. I have every intention of following through with the
agreement."
Motoko strode up to him, fuming, and grabbed him by the collar. "You bastard!" she screamed.
"That was a rotten deal and you know it! I'm gonna-!"
Hayashi glared at her, unamused. "Let go of me and do your job properly." The owner held
up a small stack of bills and tossed it on the table. "You missed this one. Add it up."
Shinobu looked at the small stack of bills, swallowing hard. She picked them up and leafed
through them, counting them to herself. Everyone leaned in close, waiting with bated breath.
Even Su was watching her closely.
She stopped. Her hands shook. And then, Shinobu could scarcely contain her excitement as
she rattled off, "Two hundred... seven thousand... five hundred yen!"
Naru's jaw dropped. "That... that means...!"
"Like I said," the owner grumbled. "I'm a man of my word. You hear that, you little
troublemaker? She won, your debt's cancelled. That means you're fired. Pack your stuff
and get out of my club."
Su huffed as she stood up from her seat. "And not a moment too soon. Another day in that
sardine can and I'd have gone nuts. Good riddance!" And with that she briskly marched out
of the room to collect her things.
"That goes for you too," Hayashi aimed at the girls. "Get the heck out of here. If I never
see you people again it'll be too soon."
"Too bad for him," Naru whispered to Motoko as she turned her back. "I'm sure of it now...
we're going to be the greatest band in Japan! He won't be able to walk down the street
without seeing us!"
"That's very nice," Motoko replied, humoring her for the moment. "We've done our part, now
let us leave. I do not wish to spend another moment here... that Ryuji Hayashi guy pisses me
off."
With that the girls quickly made their exit, Shinobu bowing to Hayashi as she left. Mitsune
was the last to make her way to the door. She stopped in the middle of the doorway as
something occurred to her. She turned around to face Hayashi and knocked on the door to
get his attention. "Hey, old man. I didn't remember asking you to go easy on us."
Hayashi raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? I lived up to my end of the
agreement, that's all. You got what you wanted, so get out of here already. And if you
know what's good for you, you won't come back."
Mitsune smirked. "I might not look it, but I'm pretty good at math. 1300 doesn't go into
207,500 evenly. Selling tickets never should have given us a figure like that. That last
stack... we didn't earn that, did we?"
The owner puffed on his cigar, shaking his head. "Dumb girl. Just because you get them
here doesn't mean you can't make any more money from them. Part of the profit this place
makes is from selling drinks, and more customers means more people forking over their cash
for refreshments. You brought the people in, so some of that profit counted towards how
much you earned tonight."
Mitsune wasn't buying it. "You and I both know that's not how it works."
Hayashi looked at her out of the corner of his eye, not saying anything for a moment.
Finally he sighed as he turned his back. "... Guess I've got a soft spot for pretty faces
after all."
Mitsune smiled. "That girl will kick your ass if she finds out you let her off easy because
of that. Not saying she'll find out... that's just what would happen."
"I wasn't talking about Honda-san," he clarified. "This is no place a young girl. That
foreigner is brash, mean, and a financial sinkhole, but... well, you know."
Mitsune nodded. "Yeah, take care of her. I gotcha. Well, I've got to help a selfish,
nauseatingly optimistic singer finish up her band. See you around, mister."
"Yeah, yeah. Get outta here before I change my mind."
Mitsune waved once as she followed the rest of her band. Hayashi stared at the door after
her for a short while before sighing to himself. "Tohru Honda, huh...?"
Hayashi chuckled a little bit as he pulled out that morning's newspaper. He glanced over
the front page, shaking his head. In bold lettering at the top of the page was the phrase,
"Idol Goes Missing?". Immediately under this was the subheading, "Narusegawa fails to
appear at press conference". And just under that was a clear color photograph of the idol
herself, Naru Narusegawa.
He looked out the door with a knowing smile. "Don't take the music world lightly, kid. It
takes more than just talent and guts to survive out there."
The group walked along the street, the road brightly lit by the street lamps. Shinobu
sidled her way up to Naru and asked, "Naru-sempai, that song back there... did you write it
yourself?"
Naru rubbed the back of her head, embarrassed, as she responded, "Yeah, it was something I
wrote a while back... I figured no one would be impressed if I sang one of my idol songs,
and I wanted to make a good impression... sorry if it was kinda lame..."
"No! It was incredible!" Shinobu encouraged. "Hey, who were you thinking about when you
wrote it? Who's 'the person you love'?"
Naru smiled. "Of course. Myself!"
Motoko choked down a bit of bile as she glared disgustedly at Naru. "A narcissist... I had a
suspicion, but..."
"Not like that!" Naru clarified. "To be honest, it's sort of a letter to my future self.
Doing what I love and having fun doing it... that's the kind of person I wish I could be!
No matter what happens, I keep looking to that vision to keep me on track. Someday, I'll
make that dream come true, and I'll become the person I like so much. 'Wait for me... don't
give up... don't disappear'... that was the message I was trying to tell myself when I wrote
that song."
Mitsune sighed wistfully, "A dream of the future, huh? How nice... just be careful, Naru.
Dreams for the future have a nasty habit of going sour."
Naru blinked. "What do you mean by-"
"Take responsibility."
The girls stopped and looked behind them, toward the voice that had interrupted them. Su
was standing there, glowering at Naru. She was wearing a backpack, overstuffed with
clothing and with a wooden bar sticking out of the back. "Take responsibility," she
repeated.
Naru blinked. "Responsibility? For what?"
Su huffed angrily, "What do you think? I never asked you to butt in. Now I don't have a
job or a home anymore. You can't just walk away from a girl who has to live on the streets,
especially when it's your fault."
Naru waffled, "Well, I just thought..."
"Save it. I don't want to hear your excuses. I want to know what you plan to do about
this."
Mitsune blinked as she caught onto the game, smirking. "She's right, Naru. You went all
gung-ho again and made a really big problem for her. You might be safe to pursue your
band, since you live in that run-down inn free of charge, but other people aren't so lucky.
Geez, sometimes you can be really..."
"... That's right, you do have a band, don't you?" Su stepped forward with resolve,
announcing, "Then I'm forcing my way in. It's not enough to forgive you, but it's the
least you can do for all the trouble you've caused me. I won't let you say 'no'."
Motoko snickered, "Why can't you just be honest for once, Su?"
"W-What are you talking about?" Su retorted, her cheeks becoming slightly red. "I'm always
honest."
"Well, I'll be honest with you," Mitsune laughed. "I think you just made a mistake... our
singer's all excited again."
Naru beamed at Kaolla, happy tears forming in her eyes. Su blinked, startled out of her
defiant stance. She backed up slightly, looking like cornered prey. "Wh-What's that look
for?"
Naru leapt at the young girl and engaged her in a massive bear hug, causing the younger girl
to shriek. Naru laughed joyously as sher lifted Su straight off her feet and started to
spin in place. Su struggled to pull herself free to no avail, screaming, "Ah, what's with
you? Stop that! Let go! Someone get this psycho off me! I said let go!"
Motoko sighed deeply. "Where does she get all that energy...?"
Shinobu said, "Well, at least we have a new band member now. Speaking of that, Mitsune-san,
how big is this band going to get?"
Mitsune shrugged. "Who knows? I guess... I'll leave that up to our lead singer."
Just a few feet away, in the light of the street lamps, Naru was spinning no less vigorously
then before. Su hung limply in her arms, protesting, "Please... stop... gonna hurl..."
Naru bowed low, pleading, "Well, she just got kicked out of her place and she doesn't have
anywhere else to go... I figured, since you still have plenty of empty rooms..."
Grandma Hina looked from the idol singer to the foreigner, sighing deeply. She then sipped
her tea in an attempt to restore her peace of mind. This attempt failed. "Naru..." she said,
a vein on her forehead bulging despite her calm tone. "You are taking advantage of my
kindness..."
Naru Narusegawa – Lead Vocals
Kaolla Su – Synth, Set, Lights
Next time: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Turtle?