Author's Notes
- Hiya! Long time no see! Hope you're all enjoying the new schoolyear, I definitely am! Let's get this new step in our lives ready with an update to Symphony of Hearts! Sorry for the long wait, and I'll try my best to update this along with my other fanfics as much as possible. Welp, let's get into it! I hope you all enjoy and I'll see you later.
Symphony of Hearts!
Chapter 6 – Crossroads of Pain
Akane Satō and Eri Taki walked down the sidewalk of the suburban Osaka neighborhood. The sun began to set and the two of them were headed home after a long day of Volleyball Club practice for the upcoming season.
"Hey, Akane…" Eri pointed at the convenience store across the street. "Isn't that Himeko…?"
"Huh?"
Akane turned to face the direction in which the brunette pointed at, only to find a boy with slicked back black hair talking to a girl with fair complexion and light brown hair. Both of them wore green aprons over gray slacks and a white button-up that was the uniform of the convenience store – Tachibana Supplies.
"And she's with Otomo-kun…" Eri said, keeping a gaze on her friends face. "Huh? You don't seem bothered?"
"Otomo-kun…" Akane growled, balling her hands into fists and narrowing her eyes.
"Oh, there you are!" Eri giggled. "Uh… you okay there, Akane?"
Mio sat down at her seat in Class 3-2, looking out the window to find the sun setting and a purple-orange aura beginning to take place in the sky. She let out a sigh, before hearing the door slide to an open and then to a close. She didn't look up at the sound, but instead stared back at her desk as the footsteps grew louder by the passing seconds.
"Mio-chan, you're still here?" a familiar voice called out to her. "I thought you would've left along with Ricchan and everyone else by now."
Mio looked up to find Sawako standing by her desk, a stack of papers in her hands.
"I told them I was going to do some extra work here in the classroom…"
"Is that so?"
"Um…no…I actually have to ask you something…"
"Oh, you do?" Sawako placed the stack of papers down on the wooden desk before walking towards Mio. "What's on your mind, Mio-chan?"
"Well…that agency you were talking to me about the other day…" Mio gulped. "And how they were interested in me…cou-could you…give me some more information about them? I'm…ju-just wondering…"
"You want to know more about the agency?" Sawako's eyes widened for a quick moment before relaxing. "Su-sure…I guess I can tell you…what exactly do you want to know, Mio-chan?"
"Everything, Sawako-sensei."
"Everything, huh? Well…they're called Kasai Records, the CEO of the company is Hirano Kasai. As you may know, Kasai Records is a subdivision of the multibillion corporation known as Frontier Group – one of northern Japan's richest and powerful business chains. Actually, I believe they're currently number one in annual revenue," Sawako cleared her throat. "But, I've warned you about the risks if you choose to join Kasai Records as one of their artists, Mio-chan. It makes it even worse considering they're owned by Frontier Group, and I really advise you not to–"
"I want to do it."
"Eh?" Sawako blinked. "EH!? Mio-chan, you can't be serious…"
"I'm definitely serious, Sawako-sensei. Don't you see how much fame I'd get if I join them? It's…it's a dream that could be mine!"
"Mio-chan, you're being…hysterical…this isn't like you!"
"But…"
"You…you should talk about this with Ricchan first, Mio-chan. She's your best friend and a fellow member of Houkago Tea Time, so I think it would be best if you–"
"We can't tell them, Sawako-sensei."
"They're your fellow bandmates, Mio-chan!"
"That doesn't mean we have to tell them!" Mio pleaded. "Sawako-sensei, please! I don't think I'll ever get another chance like this, so they'll have to understand! They'll just have to…"
"Di-did…did you think about how Ricchan would feel about this?"
"If anything…she's just going to have to let me go. She cares about me, right? We're best friends! The only thing we'd want for one another is for each one of us to be happy…" Mio shook her head. "And…th-this will make me happy…"
"But…is she going to truly be happy if you leave her?"
"Th-that…" Mio's breathing grew heavier. "I…I guess…that's something we're…going to have to find out…"
"I just want to know for sure that you're serious about this, Mio-chan…" Sawako sighed. "Did you already think about this thoroughly enough? Have you thought about the sacrifices you're going to have to make?"
"I've…thought long and hard, Sawako-sensei…" Mio shook her head. "This is all I've thought about for the past few days…"
"Well, what do you want me to do, Mio-chan?"
"I want you to…umm…call the agent and tell them that I'm interested in becoming one of their clients…"
"My connection is the same agent who tried to sign me up all those years ago," Sawako let out another sigh. "I'll be sure to contact them the next moment I can."
Sawako looked out the window.
"You should be heading on home now, Mio-chan…it's getting too late. At least walk home while there's still a sun out."
"Th-thank you…Sawako-sensei…"
Mio nodded and walked back over to her desk, where she picked up her schoolbag. She bowed towards Sawako before exiting the classroom, shutting the door behind her.
Overwhelmed with emotion, Mio slumped back against the wall and felt warm tears roll down her face. Her mind began flashing with images of her and Houkago Tea Time's moments together before alternating into memories of her and Ritsu throughout the many years of their friendship.
"Ritsu…I know you're going to…sup-support me with this…" Mio closed her eyes and sniffled. "Ple-please…"
Ritsu walked down the street with Mugi, Azusa, and Yui, clenching onto her schoolbag. In a split moment, the auburn-haired girl felt her nose itch, and before she knew it, she whipped her head back.
"Ah-choo!" Ritsu sneezed, sniffling and wiping her nose with the sleeve of her blazer.
"Aw, senpai, you got some of your snot on me! Ew!" Azusa frowned.
"Bless you, Ricchan!" Yui said with a smile.
"Yeah, bless you, Ricchan," Mugi nodded her head.
"Th-thanks…" Ritsu replied with a faint smile and runny nose. "I just got this feeling that somebody was talking about me…"
"Oh, really? I suppose that does happen, Ricchan," the blonde replied.
"Maybe it was your soulmate!" Yui exclaimed. "Isn't that right, Azunyan?"
"No-now's not the time, Yui-senpai!" Azusa's face turned red.
"Yeah…" Ritsu scratched the back of her head. "And whatever it is, I have a bad feeling about it…" Ritsu muttered as she looked away.
"And so, with just enough money now in our pockets, Hirasawa-san will be able to purchase any guitar she'd like, though not the ones that are too expensive," Kurisu-senpai proudly said as he folded his arms. "Things like an amplifier and other necessities should be ready to buy by my next paycheck."
All four of us sat in the living room of my house, gathered at a meeting for OyasUmI.
"Wow…and here I thought you would've gotten fired already…" Jun snickered. "I mean, good job senpai!"
"Eh? You should really praise me more often," Kurisu-senpai frowned. "Working for Tachibana-san's family is really hard work. I have to lift boxes and stock shelves for 800 yen an hour."
"I feel like you whine too much in order to be praised…" I sighed.
"Pfft! Not even!" he said before a ringing sounded throughout the room.
Everyone turned towards the direction of the ringing and we all found Kurisu-senpai to be the culprit. He grinned before pulling his cellphone out from his pocket, checking to see who was calling him.
"Huh? At this hour? I'll be right back," he turned to face us as he stood up from his seat. "Hello!" Kurisu-senpai's voice trailed away as he went into the other room.
"So, Ui, got any idea on what kind of guitar you want yet?" Jun asked as she leaned forward.
"Hmm…" Ui lightly tapped her chin with her index finger, staring up at the ceiling in thought. "I have no idea yet…but I know I want one in a pretty teal color. Oh! Maybe in a sort of toothpaste shade of green!"
"That's…cute…" I said under my breath.
"Calm down over there, Satoshi…" Jun sighed.
"Huh? Oh, really?" Kurisu-senpai's voice said from the other room. "That's great! I owe you, cousin!"
"What do you think that's about?" I asked the two girls before me. The two of them shrugged and I let out a sigh.
"Yes, yes! I know I still owe you…but how about we add it to my tab?" Kurisu-senpai nervously chuckled.
"Whatever it is, you know money's involved," Jun shook her head. "My bet's he lost out on another 3000 yen."
"Now, now, Jun-chan, it's not Kurisu-senpai's fault that he didn't know that there was only one calendar for a year," Ui smiled. "We all make mistakes."
Before we knew it, Kurisu-senpai came back into the room, his face lit up with excitement.
"Well, you can call me the manager of OyasUmI – cause I just got us a gig!" he grinned as he tossed a thumbs up towards us. "You can all praise me now!"
I felt my eyes widen and turned to face Ui and Jun, seeing their faces light up with happiness. They jumped out of their seats and I stood up from mine, all three of us crowding around Kurisu-senpai.
"No way! How'd you get us a gig?" Jun asked.
"I called my cousin a few days ago and asked him about any upcoming events, and since he's one of the coordinators for Marauder Fest, he found a spot just for us!" he grinned.
"Ye-yeah…no way…" I muttered, turning to face Ui.
I found my girlfriend to be speechless, with a blank expression on her face that was unreadable, but I could tell from her hysterical shaking that she was overcome with happiness – and that she was trying her best to hold back from blurting out her joy.
"Wait…" Jun held up a finger. "Marauder Fest? I've never heard anything like that around Osaka…just where is this going to be at?"
"Oh, yeah! It's back in my hometown of Black Mesa – in America!" he said.
My jaw fell to the ground and I rubbed my temple that began to throb with annoyance.
"America?" I repeated, feeling the glee slowly drain away. "As in…the United States of America?"
"Well, clearly not South America, silly Satoshi," he grinned. "Of course it's going to be in the United States!"
I faced Jun and Ui, finding their faces filled with disappointment. Ui frowned and Jun brought her palm to her forehead, letting out a deep sigh. Kurisu-senpai batted his eyes at us and quizzically titled his head to the side.
"Just how much of an idiot are you?"
"I'm not that big of an idiot!" Kurisu frowned as he walked down the sidewalk.
He continued to walk down the sidewalk before finding himself at a crossroad, staring up at the orange sky above. He let out a sigh and found a familiar raven-haired girl standing by herself on the other side of the street, visible tears rolling down her face.
The light turned green and Kurisu walked across the street, coming to a stop as he stood behind the girl. He heard sniffles coming from her and couldn't help but feel some sort of remorse for her.
"Aki-Akiyama-san?" he raised an eyebrow.
Mio turned to face him and let out a sharp gasp. He smiled at her.
"Otomo-kun?" Mio wiped her teary gray eyes.
"You're crying…why are you crying?"
"Wha-what! I was not! I just…"
"I knew something was wrong."
Symphony of Hearts!
Author's Notes
- Short chapter, but hey, it's an update! Hopefully this has all of you ready for all the drama that's to come, and a whole new arc coming along in the next chapter! I know I'm definitely excited for it hehe.
- I'll try the best I can to make sure that you all won't have to experience another hibernation for months on end! No promises, but chapter 7 should be here either next month or by the end of October. Until then, everyone! Stay beautiful, and I'll see you all later!