Title: Melancholy

"Chisa! What are you doing!" Miho cried out as her sister continued to drag her across town, after convincing her to dress up nicely.

"Come on, Miho! It'll be good for you. I promise." Chisa turned back with a smile and a reassuring wink.

Somehow, that doesn't reassure her at all.

"You haven't even told me what we are going to do onee-san!"

"Oh, it's not for me, just for you."

Arriving at the front of a gigantic building, a pit of dread blossomed at the bottom of Miho's stomach.

"Hurry up! The audition is about to start!"

Miho's eyes widened in shock, "What do you mean by AUDITION?"

"What in the world possessed you to do such a thing Chisa! " Miho cried out as she was involuntarily dragged to the dressing room for all audition participants by her annoying sister.

Looking her little sister in the eye, Chisa's own orbs started to water… While her lips begun to tremble ever so slightly. "Please, Miho. Everyone is so worried… You always hole yourself up there and started singing… We thought that this audition would do you some good. So please, at least give it a shot?"

Trying her best to look everywhere but her sister's eyes, Miho proceeded to ignore her, or at least she tried to do so. As her eyes were wandering across the room, it caught the attention of one Tsuruga Ren, a famous actor acting in latest TV drama, Tsukinomori.

Miho involuntarily let out a squeak in surprise when he gave a smile in her direction before walking out with a person she assumed to be his manager. Her cheeks burned red, but somehow, she felt that he still couldn't compare to her childhood idol, Aikawa Hiroya.

Shaking out of her current train of thoughts, Miho turned her head upwards again, only to catch the puppy-dog eyes her sister was still directing towards her.

At that moment, Miho could just feel her resolve weakening by the millisecond.

"Fine! I'll do it." Shooting a slight glare towards her sister, she warned darkly. "But this had better be the last time, got it Chisa?"

"Hai!" Chisa was just glad their plan worked.

"By the way, is there any contract that comes with this audition?"

"Why? Planning on winning it already?" Chisa teased her younger sister, well aware of the few glares directed at them from the participants who heard it.

Miho grinned.

"Naturally." Her competitive spirit seemed to have been ignited by the prospect of singing in front of an audience once again.

"Well, they will offer the top two participants or so a singing contract with them, but I'm not too sure for how long though…"

"Oh." Even after her disappearance as Fancy Lala and the severing of all ties to that name, she had always wanted to re-join Lyrical Productions, regardless of how naïve that dream may look like to others around her.

In a way, Miho felt that if she ever stepped back into the entertainment industry, she at least owed them that. To the people who made the most significant impact on her during her childhood.

Taking in her sister's pensive look, Chisa sighed and prayed that this would turn out for the best. "Miho, you have to go select the song you are going to sing for the auditions now."

"Ah…? Oh! Yes!"

Miho pushed that train of thought to the back of her mind, at least for the moment. For now, she was about to sing in front of an audience as Shinohara Miho, and not Fancy Lala for the first time in her life.

The rest could wait.

"Participant number 46, please step out onto the stage."

Taking a deep breath, Miho smiled at her sister before walking out onto the stage.

Making her way to the center stage, she gazed at the panel of judges who were supposed to be judging her today. She recognized a few from the news, the director of LME, a famous vocals teacher, a producer she had briefly met when she was still Fancy Lala, and two others.

Removing the microphone from the stand, she grasped it and introduced herself as the many other participants before her had done.

"I'm Shinohara Miho, age 14. I'll be singing 'Transparence by Fancy Lala' and I hope you'll give me your guidance!" She bowed as the music started playing.

The words flew from her lips with surprising ease, with each syllable sung; Miho felt the sadness and regret she carried over the past few years subside…

Her hands begun to move to the beat of the first song she had sung, recalling the memories of a 9 year old in a 16 year old body. Performing and singing.

Takarada Lory's face initially showed a frown, but as the song progressed, his eyes started to shine with a light that usually only appeared when he found a new gem to polish.

"…No ta ite ru no ni." Breathing out the last vestiges of the song, Miho reopened her eyes and gave a deep bow to the judges before moving off stage.

What greeted her was the shocked look on Chisa's face, her arms slack at her sides and staring at her little sister in unbridled shock.

"Chisa? Are you alright?" Miho waved her hand in front of her sister's face. Grinning, she tugged on her arm, pulling her further backstage.

"That… Was really great, Miho." Chisa finally managed to regain her senses, and took a deep breath. "Where did you learn how to sing like that?"

'What I heard echoing from the balcony on those evenings couldn't even compare to what I've just heard. It's as if… It was really Fancy Lala performing in front of me again. Just like that last concert... But it couldn't be… right?'

Chisa looked at Miho, unsure what to think of her sister who suddenly seemed so unknown to her.

"Eh? Oh… You know how I collected those videos of those singers? I practiced, really hard…" Miho whispered the last part, her eyes regaining the sad sheen it always had when she was reminded of her past.

Slinging her arm over her little sister, Chisa couldn't help but rubs her knuckles across Miho's nicely arranged hair, earning a mock-enraged 'Hey' from the person in question. "Now, don't you dare to look so down, what do you say to us going out to WacDonalds for lunch?"

"Your treat?" Miho perked up, looking pleadingly at her sister.

Looking down on Miho, Chisa just sighed exasperatedly, inwardly glad that she wasn't moping around anymore. "Yeah, yeah, you brat."

Once again in the oh-so-familiar position on the swing, Miho whispered against the breeze, "Pigu, Mogu… Would you two still be proud of me?"

Her hands clenched around the chains holding up the swing. "I… I went for the auditions for LME. It was the first time since then that I actually performed in front of an audience."

She brought her trembling hands to the front of her face, "I… didn't realize it before, but I missed it so much… The sensation of performing in front of an audience… To actually give your best performance because you don't want to let them down—"

"How could I have forgotten that…?"

Tears flowed unbidden down her cheeks, its trail shimmering under the light of the setting sun.

A/N: After almost 2 years of not writing anything, I'm finally back! ...Somewhat =D

Here you go, Melancholy(Expanded) part 2 of 3. Hope this lives up to your expectation! The third part is already written and waiting to be published in my computer. So I'll be working on my Hikaru no Go fic next, as well as a sequel for this if time allows.

Same as always, please review! Suggestions or criticisms are always welcome!