Chapter 7 – The New Girl
The morning school bell of Sumire High rang as the instructor of class 3-A came in to greet her homeroom class. She announced a new transferred student. The class gazed at the new girl as she introduced herself, "Hi, my name is Yumi Takamura. I'm sixteen and I'm from Kyoto. I like reading and listening to music. Currently, my favorite novelist is Eiri Yuki and favorite band is Bad Luck. I'm glad to be here and I hope that you will all accept me for who I am."
"Thank you, Miss Takamura. Please take a seat on the last row, the fourth seat next to the window." The instructor asked her student to settle down as she started to review the assignment from the previous week.
Yumi nodded and walked to her assigned seat as she noticed the pianist of the favorite band was sitting in the same row one seat before her. She greeted him with a warm smile and he returned it with another smile. She was surprised to see him here; there were so many things that she wanted to ask him about the band and about Shuichi when he collapsed yesterday.
'Man, this is so awkward!" Suguru thought to himself while his hands covered up half of his face. 'This couldn't be just another coincident could it? Yesterday at Tokyo Disney and now here at school; what should I do about this? Should I tell Shuichi?'
Lunch break came and Yumi took her opportunity and asked Suguru if he minded to show her around school. He couldn't refuse a new fellow classmate, so he agreed pleasantly and showed her around. During the tour, she asked him questions about his band and his pink haired friend. She learned that Suguru practiced everyday after school let out. She was amazed on how he was a full time student and a full time musician as well. Yet, she was most interested with the vocalist of his band. She didn't have a chance to ask him or see how he was doing after his friends took him home yesterday. Her curiosity took the best of her as they headed back to class and she spoke his name, "Fujisaki-san."
"Yes." He replied.
"Do you mind if I come with you to NG after school?" She asked nervously knowing that she was being bold.
The question startled Suguru, he wasn't sure if that was a good idea, but he was definitely certain that it would trouble Shuichi and it would complicate thing for Hiro. Then again, she may be the girl from Shuichi's dream. 'What should I do?' He asked in silence.
"Please? I'm not gonna take no for an answer." She turned around to face him. They were about the same height so she met his eyes instantly.
Suguru saw her determination and couldn't refuse but to let her join him. After school, he and Yumi were picked up by his limousine driver at the front of the school. Yumi was surprised again to find that Suguru was loaded. Why would he go to a public school if he was rich? She kept the question to herself and figured that there will be a time and place for that question someday. Her main focus now was Shuichi Shindo, she wanted to meet him again and she wanted to know more about him.
They arrived at NG in about half an hour, Suguru and Yumi got out of the limo and walked straight into the studio to meet Shuichi and Hiro.
Hiro saw them approached the studio through the glass wall and thought to himself, "The girl from yesterday.'
Suguru opened the second set of doors and led Yumi into the recording room. She greeted Hiro who was still looking at her. "Good afternoon."
"Likewise." Hiro greeted her back. "This is a surprise. I didn't' expect to meet you here."
"You got that right." Suguru mocked. "This is so freaky. We just met her yesterday at the park and today she showed up in my school and in my class!"
"Yeah, I guess it's just my luck." Yumi happily said as she looked around to see if she could find Shuichi. She was sure that she would meet him here with the rest of his band members. "Actually, I was going to ask Tatsuha if he could help me find Shindo-san. I was worried about him yesterday, how is he doing? I hope everything is okay with him. Is he here today?" She asked politely.
Hiro pointed to the corner of the room where Yumi found a pile of newspapers unevenly spread out and looked somewhat like a banana shape on the floor.
"Do you mean that he's underneath that pile of papers?" She asked.
"Yup!" Hiro replied. "He's sleeping. He's been very tired lately, but he should wait up any minute now."
"How cute?" Yumi exclaimed with excitement. "He's so adorable! Do you think that he'll mind if I sit by his side and watch him while he's sleeping?" She asked the two friends.
"No, I don't suppose so." Suguru replied.
"No, I think that he'll be glad to see a beauty like you when he wakes up." Hiro added.
"Really?" She sparked up cheerfully and seated herself next to Shuichi admiring his charms.
While Yumi was occupied with Shuichi, Suguru rolled his eyes from Yumi to Hiro. "What do you make of this situation?" He asked Hiro in a low tone of voice.
"I don't know." Hiro replied back in the same manners. "She looks like him, younger, but very much the same in appearance."
"Yeah, and do you remember yesterday when Shuichi was screaming; he yelled out the name Yumi, right?" Suguru asked.
"Yeah."
"Her name is Yumi."
"No way!"
"Yes, way! Yumi Takamura."
"Could she be the one from Shuichi's dream then? If she's the one, then what about Eiri Yuki?" Hiro questioned.
"This is so creepy. Eiri Yuki, Tatsuha Uesugi and Yumi Takamura all have the same face. They must run some kind a genetic DNA replication lab." Suguru shook his head.
"I admit that this is a bit out of the ordinary, but maybe this is the way that it was meant to be."
Shuichi started to turn around as his eye lids pulled away; he jumped up immediately. "Hiro, help!"
"You're just so cute!" Yumi laughed. "Did I startle you again?"
"Huh?"
Yumi sweet laugh calmed down the overreacted Shuichi as he dropped to his feet. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to surprise you." She said. "Why is it that you're always in shock every time that you see me? Like yesterday, when you fainted and called out my name. I got so worried."
"I did?" Shuichi asked. He didn't remember that part. "I'm sorry, but I don't even know your name." He said while intensively looking at her. 'She look exactly like Yuki, same hair and eyes, but she a lady while Yuki a man. Is she the one that I was supposed to look for?'
His answer gave her a little shock, but somehow she knew that it couldn't be her. It must the name of his lover. Yumi was a common name given to girls meaning beautiful. He must have a very beautiful girlfriend that he was thinking about, but the way that he called out her name sounded so painful.
"I'm sorry. My name is Yumi Takamura." She introduced herself and started telling Shuichi why she came to see him and his band. Tatsuha had brought her and a couple of her friends from Kyoto to see Ryuichi's concert at Zap Tokyo two months ago, and since then she had been a big fan. She asked Shuichi, Hiro and Suguru if she could come by to listen to them practice after school let out. She loved their music especially Shuichi's singing voice. "I love to hear you sing, Shindo-san. Your voice reached out and touched me; it filled my heart with tears and laughter at the same time."
'Reach out and touch… That's it! I can reach out to Yuki.' The idea came to Shuichi instantly as he heard those words. 'He must have some feelings for me. He couldn't be a cold person; a cold hearted person could not kiss like he did.'
"Yeah, I have no problem with a pretty girl being around the studio." Hiro replied in Shuichi's silence.
"Same here." Suguru agreed. "And you can call us by our first name. Drop all the formality, okay?" He added.
She smiled and looked at Shuichi who hadn't given her an answer yet. She wanted an answer from him, the one the she was most interested in.
Shuichi shook away from his thought and replied, "Oh, yes, I don't mind having another friend around." He smiled and Yumi's golden eyes sparkled with joy.
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Another two weeks passed, the band had been practicing as usually, K and Mr. Sakano were planning to release their first single album in three months. During this period, the band was to come up with at least ten new songs. Hiro and Suguru were humming tunes and trying new arrangement while Shuichi was writing lyrics for their music. Yumi had been coming around every other day. She brought them bake sweet every time she came by.
"Shuichi…. Shuichi…" Yumi called to the preoccupied writer, "Shuichi!"
"O… Yumi." He replied looking up from the table where he was writing the lyrics for their new songs.
"Would you like some more cookies?" She asked him with a wide smile on her face. She was just too pretty to resist.
"Sure, I'll have another one." He opened his hand and spread his fingers out as she dropped the cookie into his palm.
"Shuichi, may I ask you something?"
"Uh-huh." He replied while chewing the teddy bear shaped cookie.
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
'What? This is bold of her.' He thought.
"Like someone you like, I mean like a lover." Yumi noticed that Shuichi didn't have anyone around him that she would describe to be his lover. Yet she often noticed that Shuichi wandered off and get lost in his train of thoughts; he seemed to be very sad from time to time, too.
Shuichi's eye brows wrinkled up and he looked away to the glass wall where Hiro and Suguru were tuning their instruments. As much as he wanted to say that he had someone, he couldn't because Yuki was not his to claim. "No, I don't have anyone at the moment, but I do have someone that I like."
"Oh, really?" She sounded a bit disappointed, but still put on a smile and continued the conversation, "She must be very pretty, isn't she?"
"Yeah, the two of you look exactly alike." He said straightforwardly without realizing that it."
"What?" Yumi didn't understand. What did Shuichi meant by that statement? Could it be her that he was trying to point out? Yumi wanted to tell him that she liked him; she liked him from the first time that she saw him on stage at Zap Tokyo. And the moment that he called out her name, even though it was not meant for her, it still took her heart away. She wanted to chance it, right now, and tell him how she felt, "Shuichi… I…"
"Hallo!" Ryuichi and Mr. Bear peeked into the studio's doors. They interfered before Yumi was able to finish what she was about to say. They walked up to Shuichi and gave him a big hug. "Shuichi, play with me…"
"Ryuichi, you're squeezing…me…again." Shuichi choked out the word slowly and regained his breathing as Ryuichi let go.
Shuichi was glad that Ryuichi came in when he did. He was a bit uncomfortable with the presence of Yumi around and her questioning him about Yuki. Every time he looked at her, she only reminded him about the lover he couldn't seduce.
"Shuichi!" Ryuichi said with his eyes all misty. "Do you hate me now? Why wouldn't you play with me? You're always busy with writing and then you go wander off all by yourself after practices."
"I just need some time alone to concentrate on my lyrics." Shuichi responded to his violet eyed friend. His response was true to some extend, but not all true due to his bafflement with Yuki and Yumi.
"Okay, Shuichi we're ready to practice the new song." Hiro said through the intercom.
"Shuichi sparkles! I wanna hear your new song!" Ryuichi said cheerfully and forgot what he was all upset about a moment ago.
Yumi stood there observing the two men, there was something unusually about the way the Ryuichi acted toward Shuichi, but she couldn't map it. Anyway, the band was about to practice their newest song that they had just composed in the last two week.
Shuichi had finished writing the lyrics to their newest song and he wrote it with Yuki in mind. He held strong feeling for Yuki and still believed that Yuki was the person he was destined to be with. He didn't know how to deliver the song to Yuki, but he hoped for a miracle to somehow bring it to his beloved. Tonight, Bad Luck will put all their effort together to practice the song for the first time. Hiro and Suguru played their instruments while Shuichi sang. He sang with contentment as he delivered his lyrics word by word.
At this moment, Touma happened to walk by the studio and surprising found Yumi standing in front of the glass wall listening to the band. "I've heard that you moved to the neighborhood, but I didn't expect to see you here."
"Good evening, Seguchi-san. I've been around for two weeks now. You've must been very busy with work and practices that you didn't notice." She replied.
Touma answered with a nod.
"Yeah, she's been all over my Shuichi! And he won't play with me anymore!" Ryuichi pouted.
Touma shook his head while smiling at the crying vocalist. He stood there along with Ryuichi and Yumi listening to the new song. The song was gentle and soothing; he liked it. By the time Touma noticed the words to the lyrics he stared at the purple eyed boy who wrote them. He had heard these lyrics before, from somewhere and sometime very long ago. He couldn't recall when or where he heard them as he gripped onto Ryuichi's shirt tightly and made ripping noises from it.
"Touma!" Ryuichi cried.
Yumi turned her head over and asked with concern, "Are you okay?"
He stared at her. She reminded him of someone important; someone that he had oath to care for and protect. Memories the he buried away were coming back to him. "K, may I have a copy of this song?" Touma asked and K gave him a copy of the just recorded CD. He took the disc and left the studio.
The recording for the day was done. "Great job!" K shot a few rounds into the ceiling. "Go home and rest for the night. Tomorrow, we'll start fresh. I'd booked us another gig to promote our publicity, so you need all the rest that you can get." K smirked proudly.
"What do you have planned this time?" Mr. Sakano asked.
"Live performance on Hit Stage tomorrow night." K replied.
"Tomorrow!" The crew all exclaimed at once and sighed. It was typical of K to announce such an important in event just a day notice.
"Wow! Everyone will be able to see you sing on television. That's wonderful, isn't?" Yumi asked Shuichi.
"Yeah! I wanna sing too." Ryuichi added.
"YES! We'll be sparkling!" Shuichi cried holding onto Ryuichi's hands and danced around like two little boys.
"Okay, this is great!" Mr. Sakano exclaimed with joy in his eyes. "Okay, guys you heard the man, so rest up and more practice tomorrow."