(CHAPTER 2) OFF THE STAGE
It was already noon by the time Azusa and the rest of the band arrived in their home town. Azusa now lived near Ocean City Maryland; far from her old life back in Japan. She didn't care, she wanted to stay as far away from her old life and memories as she could.
The band went and grabbed their luggage from baggage claim and then left. At the entrance to the airport, Azusa took Tama's hand and then they all said their good byes before they parted ways. "Great show guys." Phantom called out before he headed for his car. Ghost then added, "Yeah, see you all at practice on Thursday." "Yep." Banshee added before everyone left.
Specter and Azusa stood and watched as the rest of the band left. "Well," he said, "have a good week you two. If you wanna do something this week, just call." "Thank you Tyler." Azusa said as she pulled her car keys out of her small purse. Tyler nodded and headed off. "Take care Tama." He said. "Have a good week at school." "Thank you, I will." She replied happily.
Azusa looked down at Tama and said, "Ready to get home?" Tama simply nodded. Azusa led her daughter through the parking lot and to their car. Thanks to her bands success, Azusa was able to afford a very nice vehicle. She now drove a jet black BMW X6. She opened the back hatch and quickly packed hers and Tama's suitcases and then opened the side door and helped Tama into her booster seat. She buckled her in and then got in the drivers seat.
Azusa sighed as she pulled out onto the road. It had been a long week. Their last show was one of their larger ones with a crowd size of well over 30,000 people. Another successful sold out arena. She looked ahead at the skyline of Ocean City as the afternoon sky began to creep in. She looked in the rear view mirror and saw Tama looking out the window. She called back, "Hey, after school tomorrow, how about we go for a walk on the beach? Just you and me." Instantly, Tama's bright blue eyes lit up. She loved the ocean more than anything. "Can we really?" She asked. "Sure." Azusa told her. "We can even go to that seashell shop that you like so much." Again, Tama was filled with joy. "I can't wait!"
Azusa smiled as she pulled off of the highway and onto the road that lead towards their neighborhood. It was a short drive through a wooded area that lead towards the bay. The area was dotted with nice homes and small parks. Along the way was a rest stop with a small drive in restaurant that was simply called Dean's. Azusa called back, "How about some ice cream before we go home?" Once again, Tama's eyes lit up and she instantly called out, "Can I get a peanut butter milkshake?" Azusa smiled and said, "Sure! And I think I'll get one of those to."
Azusa pulled into the small ice cream shop and parked. She then helped Tama out of her booster seat and carried her over to the ordering window. As she walked with her daughter she could instantly tell that all of the eyes were on her. She ignored it. The attention was something that she only wanted on stage, off stage she just wanted to be treated normally.
She stood in line with Tama in her arms and all around she could hear everyone whispering about her. "Look! It's Angel!" She heard one say. "She's apparently pretty off the wall on stage." Another said. She tried to ignore it. All she wanted was to just enjoy some free time with her daughter.
"Next please." The girl working at the counter said. She then saw who her next customer was and tried to hide her gasp of surprise. "Angel…" She uttered quietly to herself. Azusa made a light smile and took notice of the Shadow wristband that the girl was wearing. Azusa calmly said, "Two small peanut butter shakes please." The girl working the counter quickly tried to refocus and said, "Sure! Coming right up."
The girl quickly typed in the order on the cash register and gave Azusa her total. As she reached in her small purse for her money she heard the girl say, "I know you must get this a lot and if not it's fine but, can you please sign this for me?" Azusa watched as the girl reached into her pocket and pull out a small piece of paper. Azusa made a light smile and calmly said, "Sure." She quickly took one of the pens from the counter and wrote her stage name, "Fallen Angel Azusa". The girl took the piece of paper and locked her eyes onto the signature. "Thank you so much!" She called out happily. "It's fine." Azusa said.
The girl, who was still on cloud nine felt another of the workers tapping her on the shoulder, "Hey, the shakes are up." He said. The girl shook her trance and instantly took them and handed them to Azusa. "Here you are. She said with a shaky voice that was full of excitement. I hope you enjoy them." "We will." Azusa told her. She then handed one of the shakes to Tama and said, "Tell her thank you." Tama smiled and chirped happily, "Thank you!"
Azusa walked with Tama around to the side of the small drive in and took a seat on one of the benches. She set Tama down next to her and the two sat and enjoyed their shakes. Azusa had no sooner taken her first sip when she heard a familiar, cold voice call out, "Oh, hello Ms. Nakano." She recognized the low, sarcastic tone. She instantly set her milkshake down on her lap and looked up to find one of the people in this world who she couldn't stand.
Brittney Edwards was the mother of one of the children in Tama's class. She was head of the PTA, involved in nearly every school activity and was strongly against any form of violence and most of all, she was against the heavy metal world. Azusa slowly looked up at her and replied softly, "Hello Mrs. Edwards." Brittney continued, "I was just on my way through and thought I would pick up a few treats for the family when I saw you and Tama sitting here." Azusa nodded and said, "We were on our way home from the airport. We thought it would be nice to get a milkshake."
Brittney raised an eyebrow and replied sarcastically, "From one of your… performances?" "Yes." Azusa said sternly. "We had a sold out show at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver last night." Brittney raised an eyebrow. "I see." She then looked at Tama who was enjoying her milkshake and not paying attention to the conversation, "And where was Tama during the show?" Azusa again sternly replied, "She was with me and the rest of the band. She watches the show from the side stage area with the rest of the crew." Brittney instantly said back, "You know that Tama is in her critical years? She can be easily influenced at that age and your style of… music that you play, probably isn't the best for her young mind. You wouldn't want her going down the wrong path in her future now, would you?" She then smirked and said, "Then again, any good parent would already know that."
Azusa roughly set her milkshake down at her side on the bench and stood up. Tama instantly gasped in shock and watched as her mother stood face to face with Brittney. "How dare you?" Azusa snapped. "You can hate my music all you want but you will not tell me that I'm a bad parent!" Azusa's hands were clenched into fists as she felt her anger rise. "You have no right to call me a bad parent. I've raised Tama by myself since she was 3, you have no idea what we've both had to go through! And don't you ever say that my music will lead her down the wrong path, she's been around it her whole life and she's growing up to be a fine young lady!"
Tama suddenly felt fear fill her. The yelling scared her; and more over, the yelling was coming from her mother. Tama felt her tiny hands begin to shake and she felt her grip loosen on her milkshake and watched as it fell to the ground and spilled all over the pavement. Instantly, tears welled up in Tama's eyes and she ran back towards the car.
Azusa heard Tama's milkshake fall and heard her tiny footsteps running away as she then realized what she had done. "Tama! Wait!" Azusa called out. "Hmph!" Brittney scoffed. "Is that the good parenting you that were just telling me about?" Azusa frowned at Brittney. She didn't even reply; she simply turned away and ran after her daughter.
"Tama!" Azusa called out as she ran towards her car. "Tama, where are you?" Azusa stopped and looked around and then heard the soft cries coming from the side of her vehicle. She found Tama facing away from her, crouched down and hugging her knees. Azusa sighed and walked towards her daughter. "Tama, I'm so sorry. Mommy didn't mean to yell like that." Azusa knew how much yelling scared Tama, and she couldn't believe that she had acted like that around her. She hated herself for it; all because of one woman who hated the fact that she was a rock star.
Tama timidly uttered out while she wiped her tears away, "I don't like it when you yell." The words stabbed Azusa in the heart. "I know sweetheart, and I'm really sorry." Azusa knelt down behind Tama and wrapped her arms around her daughter. Tama sighed and then said, "Why do people get mad at your music?" Azusa paused. There were so many reason's why people hated metal. The only answer she could give her was, "Some people just don't understand our music like you and I do."
Azusa helped Tama stand and then said calmly, "I made you drop your shake, didn't I? Do you want me to get you another one?" Tama shook her head. "No." "Are you sure?" Azusa asked. "I just want to go home." Tama said quietly. "Alright."
Azusa helped Tama into her booster seat and then drove off. The ride home was quiet. Azusa would occasionally look in the rear view mirror and see Tama looking out the window. She had a rare look of sadness in her face. Tama was always happy, and it wasn't to often that she was unhappy.
Azusa forced a smile and called back, "Hey, why don't we watch cartoons when we get home? We can watch all of your favorites." Tama looked up and quietly replied, "No thanks." Azusa was surprised, Tama would never turn down her favorite cartoons. "Really?" She asked, "Are you sure? We can watch anyone you want." "No thank you." Tama said softly as she went back to looking out of the window.
Azusa couldn't help but feel terrible, all because of the one person who she absolutely couldn't stand, the one person that drove her over the edge so much that she allowed herself to snap in front of her daughter. She knew that yelling was something that she couldn't do around Tama but she allowed her anger to push through. She hated herself for it.
She turned onto her street and pulled up towards her large home that sat right on the Isle of Wight Bay that overlooked the skyline of Ocean City, Maryland. Her home was large but nothing to over the top. It was a two floored home with large duel panoramic windows that shone into the living room. The yard was neatly kept with a curved driveway that led to a duel car garage as well as a decent sized backyard that overlooked the large bay and had neatly kept arrangements of flowers that surrounded a patio with sets of white patio furniture.
She pulled in the garage and parked. After helping Tama out of her booster seat, she pulled out both of their suitcases. "Hey Tama, are you hungry?" She looked up to hear Tama's answer and noticed that she had already gone inside. Azusa sighed sadly. She just wanted Tama to know that she was sorry and that she wouldn't yell like that around her anymore.
She wheeled the two suitcases inside the house and closed the basement door. She looked around and assumed that Tama had already gone upstairs. She wheeled the two suitcases to her room and unpacked. All of Tama's clothes she laid out and sorted them for the laundry. She then opened her bag and pulled out her dirty clothes as well as her stage costume. She took the long, black ribbons that dangled from her detached sleeves and set them aside. They weren't able to be washed with the rest of the outfit. She laid her stage clothes out and sorted them with her other black clothes for her own laundry.
She would ordinarily wait until morning to start her house work but tonight she needed to take her mind off of things. She went back down into the basement and started her laundry and then went back upstairs to see if she needed to go grocery shopping after Tama went to school. As she was looking through the pantry, she heard Tama's tiny footsteps and turned to see her walking towards the living room.
"Hey." Azusa said calmly. Tama stopped and looked up at her mother, "What do you want me to make you for lunch tomorrow?" Tama paused and uttered out, "Can I have a peanut butter sandwich?" "Of course." Azusa walked up to Tama and knelt down in front of her. She calmly said, "I'll even pack you some of those fruit snacks that you like so much." "Okay." Tama mumbled. Azusa sighed and then said, "Mommy is really sorry for scaring you earlier." Azusa held her arms out and Tama slowly walked towards her and felt her mother hugging her. Azusa felt her voice tremble. She took in a sharp breath and said, "I know things haven't been easy for us because of what daddy did but that's all gone now. Me and you have our new life where no one will be mean to us like that ever again." Tama silently nodded her head as Azusa embraced her. "We have our new life now, and we have the rest of the band to protect us. Everything is okay now."
Tama uttered out, "I'm sorry that I ran off today." Don't be." Azusa told her calmly. "It was my fault for yelling; and I'm going to make it up to you." Tama looked up at her mother as she continued, "At our next show, I want you to help out the guitar crew." Tama's eyes widened. "Do I get to help with your guitars too?" Azusa nodded, "Yep, I want you to help me switch guitars for different songs. Do you think you can do that?" Tama nodded. "Yes! I can. I know which guitar you use for each song too!" "Oh really?" Azusa said with a grin, "So if I told you I needed a guitar for when I play the song "Nightfall" which one would you give me?" With a smile Tama replied, "The guitar that's in Drop D tuning!" Azusa laughed and hugged her child. "Okay," She said, "You're hired."
A few hours had passed since Azusa had apologized to Tama. It was now dark out and Azusa was sitting on the patio behind her home and looking at the skyline of Ocean City as it glowed with countless flickering lights that reflected off of the bay. She was sitting up with one of her newer guitars resting in her lap. It was a B.C. Rich Virgin that was painted onyx black with color changing beveled edges that when held in the light would morph color between purple, gold, and copper. She had just finished putting new heavy gage strings on it and was now putting it in tune.
She quickly ran through the scales on the strings and adjusted the tuning knobs to the correct sound. Once her new guitar was in tune she pulled it up to playing position and began to strum a few heavy chords. Her tune went from solid heavy riffs to faster guitar solo's that she had wrote. All were played at a very fast pace but at the moment lacked their full luster due to the fact that her guitar wasn't hooked into an amp.
As she went into another solo, she paused when she heard her cell phone ringing. She set her guitar pick down and looked at her phone. Her eye's widened when she saw the name pop up on the screen. "Mio." She uttered.
Azusa picked up the phone and answered in Japanese. "Mio." She said calmly. "I haven't heard from you in almost 2 years." Mio replied in her usual calm tone. "I know. I've missed you since you left, we all have." Azusa paused with a light smile as she gripped her new guitar, "How is everyone?" "Their all doing well," Mio told her, "Mugi finished college not to long ago, Ritsu's been working for a recording studio, and even Yui's managed to get her life moving." "What is Yui doing now?" Azusa asked. She would admit that even she was surprised that Yui actually found a career. "What does she do now?" Azusa asked. Mio replied, "She writes and composes children's songs." Azusa sighed and thought to herself, "So she still hasn't changed much." She laughed and then asked, "How about you? I know you write articles for rock magazines, is that still going well for you?"
Mio replied, "Yes, it's great, I get to meet a lot of the new bands and the more popular ones. We've been doing articles for a lot of heavier bands lately." Azusa replied, "Well if you ever need to get a hold of people in bands, let me know. I know most of them." Mio replied, "That's why I'm calling." "It is?" Azusa asked. "Yes." Mio continued, "I was calling to ask if I could do an article on Shadow. You guys have really grown in popularity over the past few years. I know other magazines have already interviewed you guys but now your music is starting to get very popular in Japan. I know you all have a show coming up this weekend at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh. I was planning on flying in and watching your show and then talking with you all afterwards. That and I've never had a chance to see you play live in Shadow, I've only seen clips online."
"Sure!" Azusa said back, "That would be great. I haven't seen you in so long, and Tama will want to see you too." "How is Tama." Mio asked. "I know that when you left Japan she was only 3, I don't know if she even remembers me." Azusa sat back in her chair and again found herself looking at the skyline of Ocean City. "She's growing up so fast…"
Azusa found herself talking with Mio for a while and eventually lost track of time. By the time they had finished talking, it was nearly 11:30 at night. When the two finally said their good byes, Azusa went back inside her home and set her new guitar on one of the guitar stands that was in her living room. She then shut out all of her downstairs lights and went upstairs to get ready for bed. As she went down the hall towards her bedroom, she stopped to check on Tama. She peeked inside her room and found her daughter fast asleep with her stuffed kitten. She smiled and quietly closed her door.
She then went into her own room and changed into her pajamas and flopped down into her large bed. She looked around, her walls were decorated with several of her bands framed posters and several of her guitars which hung on wall hangers. She slowly covered herself up and set her alarm before turning her lights out and trying to sleep. As she lay in the darkness she couldn't help but notice her mind wander about so many things. Ranging from upcoming concerts, housework that needed to be done, and more important things like Mio coming to see her and Tama's upcoming week at school. Most of her nights were like this. Her mind racing with constant thoughts until finally she felt herself drifting off to sleep.