Chapter Seven

The Road Ahead

Yui was angry. Furious, in fact. Perhaps even homicidal. Her hands balled into tight fists and her face went bright red as she tried to keep herself from losing it completely.

Ritsu was just as outraged, wielding one of her drumsticks like a sword. "She hit you?" She must have repeated it at least ten times already, and the rage never left her. She let out a yell and swung her drumstick experimentally. "I should go and stick this up that girl's a-"

"Ritsu!" Mugi gasped before she could swear. "Please, decent language is to be used in the club room."

"Sorry, but I'm just so angry!" Ritsu cried, swinging again. "One of our club members has been seriously wounded by a beast from the outside world! Doesn't hat make your blood boil?"

Kita was sure that Mugi was as outraged as the others for she hadn't drunk tea for at least ten minutes. She nodded her head solemnly. "Yes, I am angry. She has been expelled though, so I think justice has been served."

"No!" Yui screamed the word and everyone turned to her in shock. She was shaking her head to and fro. "No one hits my friends and lives to tell the tale! Ritsu, lets go and teach her our own lesson!"

"Right!"

The pair marched towards the door, but Mio blocked their way with her arms outstretched.

"Sit down, you two. You'll only get expelled as well," she reminded them.

Yui turned sadly back to Kita who was amazed at the reaction her news had received.

"Does it feel better, Kitty?" Yui asked her, walking over.

Kita nodded her head. Her nose felt completely normal and looked as it always had apart from the red colour that covered it. "It feels fine Yui, really."

"Lucky thing or we would have hunted her down," Ritsu spat, slamming a fist into her open palm.

Azusa was sitting at the table with Mugi, biting small chunks off of a cake. "You know," she said through a mouthful. "Bullies only pick on others like that because they feel bad about themselves. Imagine what she's going through now, all alone without her disgusting friends."

"Are you defending her?" Yui asked quickly, Ritsu still ready for a fight.

Azusa raised her hands, shaking her head quickly. "N-no! All I'm saying is that I think she's suffering as it is, so you don't need to think that she's getting away with what she did."

"Hmm... I guess so," Yui agreed. "Still, what she did was awful. Poor Kitty."

"That's right, it was awful and it shouldn't have happened." Mio had strode over to Kita and stood beside her. "We won't let it happen again, will we? Next time we'll be there to protect her."

The band members all nodded in agreement, determined smiles filling the room.

Kita's heart fluttered. "But... why?" she asked.

Mio pat her on the shoulder kindly. "Because we're friends, remember?"

Friends. It was that word again that made Kita's insides twist and turn. How long had it been since she had had friends? Too long. Way too long. She wasn't even sure how to feel anymore, but her heart seemed to know. Inside she felt light, almost as though she could sprout a set of wings and fly. Was this joy? Acceptance? Was she beginning to believe?

"So which holiday house are we staying at, Mugi?"

Kita blinked and tuned in to the conversation between Yui and Mugi.

"I couldn't get the largest one again," she said sadly, hanging her head sadly. "I'm sorry!"

"Don't worry about it," Yui said, waving her hand through the air. "They're always massive anyway."

"Hey, come to think of it, Kita doesn't know yet, does she?" Ritsu asked, turning to look at a confused Kita.

Mio took the explanation into her own hands. "Do you like the beach, Kita?"

Kita shrugged. There weren't a great deal of things that excited her, and she hadn't been to the beach for years. "I guess so," she answered.

"At least once in the holidays during the school year we stay at one of Mugi's beach houses and spend a few days there. Do you think you would be allowed to come?"

Kita thought about the question. Mio was asking if her parents would allow her to come. How she wished she could ask them like a normal person, having the long talk of responsibilities and punishments if rules weren't followed. She swallowed the dry lump in her throat and nodded. "I think my parents would be okay with it."

"If you aren't comfortable with it, tell us," Azusa said from the table, cutting into a fresh slice of cake. "We don't want you to come just because we want you to."

Kita wasn't comfortable with the idea, of course. She couldn't swim, the beach was full of negatives such as sunburn and insects, and she hated to be away from her mother. If she didn't go though, she would be letting the band down. They were going for their musical purposes. They needed everyone.

"I'm fine with it. I'll come."

Everyone was pleased that Kita was willing to go with them. For them it was an opportunity to have fun, play music (for at least twenty minutes), and also help bring Kita out of her shell. It would all go perfectly.

"We'll let you know about the details when it gets closer," Mio assured her. She turned her attention to the other bands members and stamped a foot on the floor. "Come on guys, get up! We have music to play!"

The girls all wanted to hear Kita's song again, and she was sure that she could sing it without crying this time. Having a box of tissues close by just in case, they left her to the microphone and took their stations behind their instruments that had been tuned in for the song.

Kita felt differently when she sang the song this time. There was still the sadness attached with the memories, but she also felt glad that she was doing something for the band. She knew that they were all around her and they wouldn't let anything go wrong as well. She was ready for the tears, but they didn't come. She felt too assured with the other girls there.

The song needed some tweaking with the instruments, but Azusa said she could work on some more music sheets. They were all proud of Kita's performance which of course made her proud of herself.

They were in the rhythm of playing, so they introduced Kita to the other songs and let her play along with her acoustic guitar that she had finally brought. On more than one occasion Mugi and Mio had to hold Yui back mid-song as she lunged for the beautiful shining guitar, all too ready to cheat on Gitah as Ritsu put it.

Kita liked the music they played. It had a jumpy beat that calmed her down after singing her own mood-killing song. She loved the beats that ran through her body and became almost over-excited when she came up with her own matching rhythm on her guitar. By the end of the session she was sweaty and tired, but felt much more confident already.

But that confidence was about to be challenged.

Nodoka, still a stranger to Kita, stepped into the room as she girls ate away their exhaustion at the table. She was holding up a sheet of paper that she laid on the centre of the table for all of the girls to read.

"What's this?" Ritsu asked blandly, having expected it to be another sheet she had forgotten to fill out.

Nodoka caught the reason for her tone. "It's not late. I'm bringing it in early so you can make sure you fill it out."

"A performance already?" Yui asked, slapping a hand against the side of her face. "Seriously?"

Azusa groaned. "In front of the entire school?"

Nodoka nodded. "Of course. Some of the students are already pumped, so don't let them down."

Mio seemed to be the only one who remembered that Kita had no idea of this girl. "Kita, this is Nodoka," she said, motioning to the tall, short haired stranger.

Nodoka turned to Kita and jumped. "Oh, sorry. Yui's been mentioning you all week, but after I heard about the incident with Suuki I assumed you would be at home still. Sorry, I'm Nodoka." She extended a hand which Kita shook gently.

"Kita," she said simply, her heart plummeting that she had another person that she had to open up to.

"Nodoka here helps us keep up with all of the paper work we have to fill out, like this," Ritsu said.

Mio shot her a glare. "Us? Don't you mean you?"

Ritsu scratched the back of her neck. "Well, I guess... If you want to get technical..."

Mugi passed the sheet towards Kita with a pen. "Write your name at the bottom and sign it. That way you can play with us in the next school performance.

"Performance?" Kita repeated, swallowing loudly. "You mean as in we're performing in front of the whole school?"

Azusa reached across and pat her arm soothingly. "Don't worry, I got used to it pretty fast and I was really, really nervous."

"Just make sure you don't trip on any wires," Ritsu pointed out, smirking as Mio looked about ready to leap across the table at her.

Kita scanned the paper quickly. Things were moving so fast. She couldn't picture herself standing in front of a crowd. Every time she tried she felt sick to the stomach. Opening up was one thing, but facing stage fright in the middle of that struggle? She looked up to see all eyes on her, waiting for her to sign. They were counting on her.

"We'll be there the entire time. We won't let you make a fool of yourself," Mio said soothingly.

"Cause we're your friends, Kita," Yui reminded her again. "You can play next to me too, if you feel like it."

It made Kita feel a little better, well enough to sign her name fast before she could rethink it. She slid the paper to Mio and leaned against the desk, sapped of strength. "How long until the performance?" asked weakly.

"About one week," Nodoka said, watching at the sheet was passed from person to person. "Don't worry, you'll be alright."

One week. She had one week until her doom. She needed to speak to her mother and make sure it was alright. That way she would also have the solace she needed.

Once the paper was signed by everyone and all fates were sealed, the club packed up for the day. They all said their goodbyes, reminding Kita again that she would be alright, and then as they all headed out of the school grounds she ducked around the corner and pulled out her phone.

The hospital was always expecting her calls, and one nurse in particular was always kind to her no matter how stressful the day was. She picked up on a happy note and transferred the call to her mother's room.

"Hello?"

"Mum? It's Kita," Kita said, trying to keep her voice steady. "I need your permission for something, and your advice."

"What is it?" Her mother sounded weak but also concerned. Was Kita's fear that noticeable in her voice?

"There are two things actually," Kita said, shaking her head in confusion. "First, can I go with the band during the holidays for a practice trip on the beach?" She explained the details quickly

"Of course, Kita. Tell me again when it gets closer and we'll talk about what you need to take. What else is it?"

Kita plunged into the deep end of her worries and told her mother about the performance that was coming up. She couldn't help but speak fast even as she tried to slow her voice down. Once she was finished she was breathless.

"Oh, Kita, I'm so proud of you! Your first performance! I wish I could be there to see it..."

Kita's eyes were instantly clouded with tears and she wiped at them furiously. "Don't be silly. I'll make a fool of myself, I'm sure of it."

"Don't be like that, Kita. Those girls will take care of you."

"Really?"

"I'm sure of it."

Kita smiled and nodded her head. "I guess your right. They really do want to help me."

"You see? You're already making progress."

Kita could barely believe it, but she didn't have time to argue with that unsettled fact. She had to get home and take care of the house. She told her mother that she would visit the next day and hung up. She had a lot of preparing to do.

As Kita headed home with her mind set on nothing more than practice, she realised that Mrs Sawa was right to make her promise to open up around the girls. If she hadn't then she would never have even had the opportunity to argue with herself about someone's possible friendship. For once she felt mentally healthy.