Rie After Story: Desire
a Tomoya/Rie fanwork

"Next up is the all-girl group form Hikarizaka, The Angels of Japan!"

As the audience roared, I quickly turned to the five girls gathered nearby. "You all ready?"

They all took a deep breath which broke into giggles at the sight of their simultaneous efforts. "As ready as we'll ever be, Nii-san," Amane replied, acting as the unofficial spokesman for the group.

"Then go get 'em," I said with a smile, lifting up my hand. As the girls passed by I gave each of them a high-five before stopping my girl just long enough to give her a peck on the forehead. "For what it's worth, I'm proud of you."

"Thank you, Tomoya," Rie blushed as she reluctantly released my hand to follow the others onto the main stage.

From the side of the stage, just out of sight of the audience, I watched as Rie and the girls took their places at the marker set on the stage for the contestants. We had come to Tokyo for 'Rising Stars', where we hoped to win a contract for the group. I was anxious but not too worried; after all, the girls had breezed through the first two rounds, singing 'Look in my Eyes' at the first elimination round and 'Maybe' for the second. For the third, Rie really wanted to sing something inspirational, so I found 'Whoever You Are' by the Chantels, which didn't surprise me considering how attuned the girls seemed to be to the works from the older doo-wop group.

I tried to settle my nerves as I watched Amane take the lead microphone; for this performance Rie had wanted to change the lead singer to show the judges the group's flexibility, which had caused concern among the other girls as well as myself. In the end, Rie was in charge, and Amane was found to have the best voice for the song, and the proverbial die was cast.

"You're not the normal lead singer, are you?" one of the judges asked, a woman I thought I recognized as an 'idol' from a few years ago.

"N-No, ma'am," Amane replied as she gestured to Rie, who stood next to her. "Rie-chan is our official lead singer."

"So why are you front-and-center this time?" another judge asked, a man who was clearly not Japanese if his pale skin color was any clue; his usage of the Japanese language was impressive, though, even if he did have a bit of an accent.

"We…decided that Amane's voice would be the best one for the song we'll be performing, sir," Rie replied, almost apologetically.

"Hm." A grunt was the only reply he gave in response to her explanation. I'd heard that he was a judge from a similar talent show from England and could be hard to impress. "Well, good luck, then."

"Thank you very much," Rie said as she briefly and gently rubbed Amane's back with her fingertips before taking hold of her own microphone with both hands. She then nodded to someone at the other end of the stage, and the music began to play.

Their microphones went to their mouths, and:
Whoever you are, wherever you may be,
There's someone who really loves you,
Please wait and see, whoever you are.
Whoever you are (whoever you are),
Whoever you are (Whoever you are)…

I wasn't as big of a fan of 'Whoever You Are' as I was the other songs that the girls had sung – 'Maybe' in particular and for obvious reasons – but Amane still did an amazing job of bringing out the feelings of the song, the encouragement.

Dry those tears, there's no need for crying.
I'm sure your lover will soon come to find you
Whoever you are, whoever you are.

Apparently the audience thought more highly of the tune than I did, because they were on their feet and cheering pretty much the whole length of the Angels' performance, and it took nearly a full minute for them to calm down after the song was done.

"Well, it seems you have a bit of a following," the English judge remarked in what sounded like a dry tone as he looked over his shoulder at the audience, drawing a round of chuckles. He then turned to the other three judges. "Your thoughts?"

"I really liked it," the former idol immediately replied. "While I'm not sure that the song was the best choice for a final round…Sugisaka-san, was it?"

"Yes, ma'am," our temporary lead singer replied, still sounding a bit winded.

"Your delivery was top-notch, Sugisaka-san. It really felt like you felt what you were singing. Did you? Did you really mean what you were singing?"

Amane turned to the other girls, who all smiled and nodded. "We all did, ma'am," she replied, smiling as well.

"I liked it as well," another judge said. He sounded familiar, but I couldn't place his face; maybe he was a voice actor? I really needed to get more familiar with the big names if I was going to be the manager of Rie's group. "I thought your voice was a perfect fit for this particular song, and I look forward to hearing you sing lead for other songs as well."

"Thank you, sir," Amane replied, her face positively glowing.

He shifted his gaze to Rie. "Understand that I'm not knocking your singing voice; it's quite lovely."

"I understand, sir," Rie giggled. "Thank you very much."

The third judge sat with her arms cross and a somewhat stern expression. "Honestly, I'm not sure what to think of this. I'm used to cookie-cutter J-Pop groups coming through here and singing what sounds like the same songs, but…" she waved a hand at my girls. "…Five Japanese girls singing songs from American music history?" She looked at the other judges. "Didn't we have a group singing stuff like this win last time?"

"The Lords of Doo-Wop, yes," the Englishman replied.

The stern judge waved a hand at the girls again. "Does Japan really need more of this…style?"

I watched as my Angels shifted uncomfortably and felt my blood start to boil.

"Okay Toni, I think you've made your point," he replied in a tone as stern as her expression as he held up a hand. He then turned a serious gaze on Rie's group. "Well, while I would have to agree that this particular song choice may not have been the best for this level of competition, as a whole I have been very impressed with what I have seen from the five of you. I have been pleased to watch you grow as performers, and I can't imagine that it's easy to not only learn a foreign language, but to sing in said language, and for that, all of you are to be commended."

"Thank you, sir," my girls replied in unison as the audience cheered and my anger subsided.

"And if you don't win this," he continued, a smile starting to spread, "I'd still like to give you a chance by signing you on my own personal label."

I had to resist the urge to join the girls on stage as they held each other and squealed.

"Now, it's my understanding that your manager is…Okazaki Tomoya-san?"

My blood froze, an interesting contrast to my earlier reaction.

"Yes, sir," Rie replied.

"Is he here with you?"

My feet refused to move as the girls waved me over, but I somehow managed to join them on the stage.

"Well well well…" the Englishman mused when he saw me. "You're the manager for The Lords of Doo-Wop, aren't you?"

"Y-Yes, sir," I managed to reply through fried nerves as Reiko held her microphone toward me.

"I must say; I'm impressed with your work with that group, as well as this one," he said with a grin; he seemed to be enjoying my discomfort.

"Y-Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

"Your groups seem to have a gift for this musical style; I would suggest that you encourage them to write some songs of their own, make the doo-wop style truly their own."

I glanced at the Angels before replying. "I'll k-keep that in mind, sir."

We left that stage to the sounds of cheering, and I thought I saw the English judge wink at me just before the curtain obscured him from my view.

We were all more than a little nervous as we waited backstage while the votes were being counted. Though the judges decided who advanced through the early rounds, the final winner would be decided by an electronic vote by the members of the audience, those in attendance and at home.

I stood a short distance away as the girls talked amongst themselves in anxious tones. While I wanted to go over and reassure them, I had no idea what to say to them other than 'You did your best'. I hadn't been their manager for very long, so maybe I hadn't learned the skills needed to help worried clients. I took a minute to think about how far they'd come in such a short amount of time, though.

As planned, the Theater Club and the Chorus Club worked on several musicals for the rest of what would be Furukawa's last year at Hikarizaka. I smiled as I remembered the looks of amazement and pride on her parents' faces as they watched her perform a musical based on a dream she'd told me about. Every girl in the Chorus Club had volunteered to provide the hauntingly beautiful choral tones that accompanied the snowy landscape that had been the setting for the play. Meanwhile, Kawahara and his group had started looking into ways to make money off their voices and found out about a talent show that would give them the opportunity to be heard and possibly signed on as a professional group. With Kotomi-chan's financial support (and the permission of all of the boys' parents) they made their way to the finals, ultimately winning a contract with a Japanese music producer as 'The Lords of Doo-Wop'. Once word got back to the school, Reiko and Amane got fired up and managed to convince the other girls to try it as well. I had graduated by the time the next round had started, so I took on the job of being their manager.

My musings were interrupted by a young-looking man hurrying up to the assembled performers. "The judges will be announcing the winner soon," he informed us. "Please stay together as you go out to the stage."

The girls looked at me worriedly, Rie in particular, so I lifted my hand as I gave all of them a smile that would hopefully communicate my faith in them. As they left, however, one of them broke away to grab me by the hand. "P-Please come with us, Tomoya-san," Nao nearly begged as she tugged on my arm. "You've done so much for us; you should be out there as well."

"I-… Fine," I sighed as I allowed myself to be dragged out to the stage with the girls. "But they might have to have me leave the stage."

My resignation faded, however, as Rie took my other hand with a shy smile. "Thank you, Tomoya," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Eventually we were placed in our groups on the stage, and I looked around at the Angels of Japan's competition: a dance team from Kyoto, a soloist from Nankoku, and a stage magician group from Kanazawa. All of them had been impressive, so I wasn't sure how the Angels' efforts would compare.

The energy level spiked as the announcer came onto the stage with a microphone and a small envelope. "Ladies and gentlemen, the votes are in and we have a winner."

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly as I gave Rie's hand a gentle squeeze.

"And the winner of the 2005 Rising Stars competition is…" He gave all of the performers a sly grin as he pulled a small slip from an envelope. "The Angels of Japan!"

The Angels immediately started screaming. "OH MY GOD, RIE!" Amane cried as she held her best friend. "WE DID IT! WE DID IT!" Everything was chaos, with Rie and the others jumping excitedly as the other performers came over to congratulate them and the audience roared.

I smiled and stepped back quietly to give the girls their space; they had worked hard and had been through a lot of stressful practices, so I wanted them to enjoy their time in the spotlight. As I backed away I came into contact with something behind me and looked over my shoulder to see that I'd accidentally bumped one of the curtains; fortunately, it looked like I hadn't caused any damage or anything, so I-

"TOMOYA!"

I snapped my gaze back in time to see all of the Angels hurrying toward me, their faces nearly glowing. "What are you doing back here?!" Amane giggled.

"What do you mean?" I shouted over the din.

I saw Rie's mouth move, but I couldn't make out what she was saying.

"She's saying you need to get up here with us!" Reiko told me. "We can't party without you!"

"I-… Fine," I sighed in a repeat of an earlier conversation before allowing myself to be dragged up to the front of the stage, where the girls resumed bouncing around in celebration, holding each other as well as me.

Helping the girls win felt good.

"That was intense," Amane gasped as she and the others caught their breath in the dressing room.

"That was so exciting!" Kana exclaimed; it was interesting to hear her so animate, considering how reserved she typically was. "I thought my heart was going to burst out there."

"Mine, too," Nao agreed before lifting her shaking cup of tea to her mouth.

A knock sounded at the door, and I got up to open it. "Who is-?" I gasped at the faces just outside the door. "Yukio?!"

The lead singer for 'The Lords of Doo-Wop' smiled at me, with the other members of his group behind him. "Hey, Boss T," he greeted, using the nickname that he and the other members had come up with. "We heard about the girls' win and beelined it straight from our concert to congratulate them!"

I quickly checked my watch; their performance would have been over about half an hour ago. "Wow, I didn't realize the time." I leaned back just far enough to address the Angels. "You girls up for some company?"

"The boys?" Reiko chirped, having apparently heard the familiar voice. "Any time!"

I smiled and stepped back as I opened the door to let my other doo-wop group enter. Yukio and I exchanged fist-bumps as he entered, followed by Kenshi, Arata, and, finally, Hanzo.

A pleasant surprise followed the bass into the room. "Hello, Tomoya-kun."

"Kotomi-chan…" I greeted with a warm smile, and we briefly exchanged a hug.

Before I could say any more, however, an excited Rie latched onto my childhood friend. "Onee-chan! Onee-chan!"

"H-Hello, Rie-chan," Kotomi greeted awkwardly; some things never changed. "I-It is good to see you as well."

"Come sit with us!" my girl chirped as she tugged her former senior over to a couch. "Oh my gosh!"

Things eventually calmed down, and Yukio raised his cup toward his female counterpart. "Congratulations, Angels; may you all find success and happiness in your upcoming career."

"Hear, hear!" Hanzo bellowed, causing many of us to flinch. "Oh…sorry."

"It is all right, Hanzo-kun," Kotomi said reassuringly as she patted his arm. "One of the many things I appreciate about you is your enthusiasm."

"But if you could dial back the enthusiasm a notch, I'd be grateful," Reiko quipped with a lift of her cup, drawing a blush from the giant bass and chuckles from the rest of us.

I took a sip of my tea as I watched the Angels of Japan and The Lords of Doo-Wop talk amongst themselves as the members of the former worked on recovering from an exciting performance. I smiled to myself as I noticed that Reiko was making efforts to engage Arata in conversation; while I couldn't hear what she was trying to talk with him about, I could see that the female baritone was quite outgoing while the male baritone was more reserved. I chuckled quietly as I also saw Kenshi trying to chat up Kana and Nao; the most outgoing guy and the two shyest girls. Nao must have caught me watching because she gave me a shy smile and a small wave, the latter of which I returned.

My observations were interrupted by another knock at the door. "I'm sorry, sir, but we'll need you to clear out soon," the gentleman on the other side told me. "Our cleaning crews need to get started. I can ask them to start with the other prep rooms, which will give you about another fifteen minutes, but…" he shrugged with an apologetic look.

"I understand," I replied giving him an easy smile and a slight bow. "I apologize for any inconvenience we've caused."

The gentleman smiled and bowed quickly before heading down the hall, and I closed the door and turned to the others. "We need to pack up," I told everyone present. "The house needs to clean up, and we'll be in their way in about fifteen."

"Got it chief," Reiko replied as she popped up from her seat. "Let's clean up as much as we can to thank the cleaning crew for their hard work."

We spent the next few minutes tidying up the place before heading out the door and down the hallway toward the side entrance to the building. "Hey, we should hang out at the hotel," Yukio suggested as we stepped out into the chilly night air; fall was definitely letting us know that it wouldn't be around much longer. "We're staying at the same hotel, right?"

"Ah! That is true!" Kotomi confirmed as she snuggled her man's arm, and I felt a pang of protectiveness, but nowhere near as bad as when the two of them had first gotten together. "Oh, but I have work tomorrow, so I cannot…'hang out'…for very long. In fact, my limousine will be picking me up at 2200."

"Aw, that's too bad," Rie lamented as she snuggled into my arm, helping chase away more of my lingering jealousy. "We haven't been able to talk in a while."

"We must exchange phone numbers, then," Kotomi declared. "Let us do so once we are at our destination."

Several of my partners exchanged grins with me at Kotomi's choice of words; she had relaxed considerably since dating Hanzo, but she could still bowl us over with her education every so often. None of us meant any harm with our smiles; if anything, we felt more self-conscious of our limited vocabularies compared to hers. "Sounds like a plan," I offered lamely, feeling the need to say something.

We chatted quietly for the rest of our trip to the hotel; well, as quietly as the Tokyo nightlife would allow. We arrived at the hotel and made our way over to the elevators and piled in; Kotomi had paid for rooms on the top floor, enough for each of the groups plus one for me. That she gave me a room to myself was humbling, to say the least.

"Keep the time in mind," I warned everyone, temporarily shifting to my role as 'manager'. "Drink water, get enough sleep, and I'll see you in the morning." I then smiled and nodded awkwardly to the sounds of 'Got it, Chief!' and 'Got it, Boss T!' from the Angels and the Lords respectively. "All right; have a good night."

"W-Won't you join us, Tomoya?" Nao offered. "We're going to have food delivered and talk in the boys' room."

I opened my mouth but paused; I always enjoyed spending time with my friends, but the day had been pretty exciting. "Not this time, but thanks; after all this, I really need some quiet time."

"Cool, boss," Yukio said as he patted me on the shoulder. "See you in the morning, then."

I waved as the others entered the room reserved for the guys. One of them stayed behind, of course. "Feeling a little overwhelmed, Tomoya?" Rie asked as she wrapped her arms around my middle.

"Yeah," I sighed as I carefully rested my arms on her narrow shoulders before pulling her head to my chest. "Too much excitement for this Okazaki."

I heard a muffled giggle before I felt her gently push away from me to look up into my eyes. "Thank you for all you've done for us."

"Hey, you girls – well, and guys – did all the work yourselves," I said, tapping her on the nose. "I just got you there."

"That's my point, you big silly," she giggled as she snuggled into me again. "If you hadn't worked as hard as you did, we wouldn't have been able to do this in the first place."

She had a point, and I admitted as such. "I'm just glad I could help."

She giggled before pushing away yet again, and I recognized the look in her eyes as she looked up at me again, and I lowered my head, our eyes closing as our lips came together. I heard her whimper, and her tongue pushed at my lips, so I opened my mouth just enough for us to briefly caress each others' mouths.

Her cheeks were pinked when she pulled away, and the world around us faded as we gazed into each others' eyes, just as we had at the picnic what seemed like a lifetime ago. "I love you so much, Tomoya," she whimpered, tears starting to form.

"I love you too, Rie," I murmured, feeling that familiar yet still-glorious tightness in my chest.

"I…I really want to make love with you," she breathed, her eyes half-lidded and her lips slightly parted; we'd talked about sex a few times during the course of our relationship and had agreed to honor my standard of 'not before marriage'. That didn't stop us from declaring our desire at times, though.

"Thank you," I replied, using our agreed-upon acknowledgment. "I'd like that as well."

She gave a happy sigh, her eyes opening fully again as she hopped up onto her tiptoes to give me a peck on the lips. "Good night, my love."

"Good night, Rie." I was nowhere near as poetic as my singer-girlfriend, but I did my best. "I'll dream about you."

As she hurried to her room, squealing happily all the way, I chuckled to myself as I unlocked my room and headed in for a good night's sleep.