Don't Say Stop Believin', Ch.9

Sawako got outside, leaned back against the building, and took a deep breath. She'd taken care of the urgent matters: getting the band into Regionals and reclaiming her role of supervisor. Now she had time to think. And there was something very important to think about.

According to Tsumugi, she had quit her job at Sakuragaoka yesterday. Had she?

Sawako forced herself to remember the day in as much detail as possible. She'd woken up late because she'd been too excited to get to sleep the night before. She'd hurried out the door without breakfast, eager to get free of her responsibilities once and for all. She'd gone straight for the principal's office. And then... then what?

Oh! The sign! There had been a "Do Not Disturb" sign on his door. She'd decided to come back later.

Sawako's memory was clearing up now. All morning, she'd kept visiting the office looking for a chance, but that sign had always been there. At noon, she'd given up -- she needed the afternoon to prepare, and besides, she was starving. The big resignation would have to wait. As for her classes (which had been afternoon-only that day), she'd spoken to the secretary, cited some kind of emergency, and gotten a substitute.

That settled it. She hadn't quit. So now the question was... why not? With the roller-coaster momentum she'd worked up, what had stopped her from just bursting in on Principal Yamada and shouting her intentions?

Sawako remembered being determined to see "the look on his face". But why? What was important about that? She didn't even know him all that well. Quitting had been her one and only goal all morning. What could have taken an even higher priority?

Well, she'd have to figure it out later. The important thing was that she hadn't quit her job, and that meant she wouldn't need to plead desperately to get it back. Small blessings.

She checked her watch. Four hours till the meetup. That should be just enough time.

With no immediate danger, Sawako could focus on the mission. Everything still hinged on Regionals. She had no intention of faltering. Her girls were going to win this -- not just to save her job, but because they deserved to.

Sawako had come up with gimmicks for them and done all she could to help on the music end. But she still had one more talent to bring into play.

As she'd requested, Tsumugi's driver was waiting at the curb. Sawako got in. "Back to where you picked us up," she said. "I've got work to do."

"Okay, listen," said Azusa. "I've hid under restaurant tables. I've peeked through windows. I've created diversions. I've listened at doorways with a teacup. I've worn full-body animal costu--"

Jun interrupted, "Are you going somewhere with this?"

"The point is, I've been involved in some pretty weak attempts at stealth. And I'm telling you that this one is the weakest. By a lot."

"Objection noted. Now come on!"

Sighing deeply, Azusa crawled underneath the cardboard box Jun had found. Her friend squeezed in with her and pulled the box down over them.

"Ow!"

"Shh!"

"It's too tight!"

"Quit shoving!"

After a minute or so, the box settled down, its inhabitants having gotten as comfortable as possible (which wasn't very). Jun popped open the eye hole she'd prepared. "Okay. Now remember, slow!"

The box began to creep forward.

Next door, in one of the warmup rooms, a short-haired girl with a guitar was scolding her bandmates. "That sucked! We've gotta do better if we're gonna win this! Back to the top!"

"Again?" the drummer complained.

"Look, this is our chance! We're not just some garage band, we're Gang of Girlz! If we're gonna show the world our skill, it starts here! From! The! Top!"

With a collective sigh, the other members took their positions. On the guitarist's signal, they launched into a loud song about beating an inadequate boyfriend with a pipe.

As they played, the door was slowly nudged open. Once the gap was wide enough, a box began to make its way into the room. Inch by inch, silent as a ninja, it crept in, unnoticed by any--

"Um, Akira?"

The guitarist practically hurled her instrument down. "You'd better have a damn good reason for stopping us, Sachi!"

"Well, it's just..." She pointed at the door.

Akira, who'd been facing the other way, turned around. Her stare grew cold as she took in the scene: the door she remembered closing was mysteriously half-open, with an upside-down box most of the way through.

The drummer scratched her head. "It's been, uh, sort of coming inside."

Akira looked closer. The box was jiggling.

"OH! Oh, I knew it!" she shouted, throwing a pick across the room. "I knew Yokohama would try to steal our music! GET 'EM!"

"Abort! Abort!" said Jun. The box flew into the air and she and Azusa ran for their lives.

A few minutes of chaos later, the girls were hiding behind a corner, gasping for breath. "I... I think we... lost them," said Azusa.

"Yeah," said Jun, peering around the corner. "They're yelling at some other band now. Probably Yokohama."

"Can I get a concession now, please?"

Jun sighed. "You were right. Investigating the competition isn't important enough to resort to cartoon methods."

"I'm looking for something a little broader. Along the lines of 'Azusa has better judgment than I do'."

"Okay. I'll let you pick the disguises."

Back and forth, back and forth, Yui's eyes swept the room as she walked. She swung her cane with the same frequency, accidentally creating the illusion of purpose. Ui followed just behind.

"Stupid dark glasses," Yui muttered.

Her sister held back a sniff. Poor thing!

"Why do blind people bother wearing these? It doesn't make a difference to them, but it does to me!"

"Not all blind people's eyes look normal," Ui explained. "They wear the glasses so other people will feel comfortable."

Yui scowled. "Well, it doesn't work! I don't feel comfortable at all!"

The younger Hirasawa was torn. She hated to see Yui upset, but at the same time, her sister was committed to her "gimmick"; Ui would do her no favours by letting her quit now. She would just have to be strong.

A tear came to her eye. Oh, Big Sister... let not my will, but yours be done...

Yui began emitting a low rumbling noise. "Rrrrrrr."

"Pardon?"

"Rrrrrrr."

Ui stared. Sometimes that was all she could do.

"Rrrrrrr. Come on." Yui lowered her head in concentration. "RRRRRRR."

"Big Sister, what are you doing?"

"Echolocation! It's too dark to see underwater, right? So whales and things use sonar to find what they're looking for!"

Ui was pretty sure you couldn't use just any sound for echolocation, but she didn't bother saying so. "Are you looking for something?"

"Someone. Rrrrrrr."

Ah, of course. "That boy you met."

"This is my big chance, Ui!" Her eyebrows took that determined slant her sister knew so well. "When we meet again here, he won't be able to deny the cosmic link between us! I'll grab him loose from that other girl and never let him go! Never ever!"

"Okay. I'll help you. What does he look like?"

Yui rolled her eyes. "I was blind when I met him, Ui."

"Of... course." Ui didn't bother reminding her that she'd seen the boy's picture before the gimmick, which was how she'd recognized him in the first place. Or that Mio could have described him. Or that for all her rumbling, she was obviously looking around now.

As Yui continued her search, she remarked, "I'm gonna try singing to him again! There's this one Beatles song about an octopus's garden! I really identify with it!"

"How come?"

She turned back, quirking an eyebrow. "Take a guess!"

"Um... because... because octopuses have lots of arms to hug with?"

"Exactly! See, you understand me, Ui! Sometimes I think you're the only one!"

Ui blushed. "I'm always here for you, Big Sister."

"Like this thing with me and him! Everybody else thinks it's weird that I'm in love!"

"Well, you have only met him once..."

"No, that's not it. They think it's weird that I'm in love with anybody! Mio was all 'Have you been watching too much Sensei and Ninomiya-kun? Stop being interesting and go practice. Bla bla bla, waah waah waah."

Ui had to laugh. It was honestly a pretty good impression of Mio.

"But not you, Ui! You get it!"

"Well, I do have an advantage. I've known you my whole life. Your other friends don't know how much you used to love playing house and reading fairy tales about handsome princes."

"But why are they so surprised? I wouldn't find it strange if they had boyfriends..."

Ui pondered. She knew the answer, of course -- she could have written a thesis on Yui's psychological profile -- but the challenge was finding the right way to explain it. "The thing is, Big Sister, you tend to be very... intense."

"You mean like power chords?"

What? "No, I mean your personality. When you get interested in something, it becomes all you can think about. Remember when you first got your guitar?"

Yui looked affectionately at the case in her left hand. "My fated meeting with Giita..."

"Right. You could hardly stop playing, even for meals. And then later, when you had those big tests, you crammed so hard you got 100% on them -- and completely forgot how to play."

"Yeah. That was embarrassing."

"So you see what I mean, right? Your mind likes to run on one track at a time. When you're with your friends in the club, there are a few usual subjects: music, school work, tea..."

"And kitty cats!"

"Hmm?" Oh, right. Azusa. "Yes, those things. You talk about them, and other subjects don't enter your mind. Your friends are used to that. But now you have a new interest."

"My fiance!"

Ui supressed the urge to rub her forehead; apparently she'd missed the proposal. "That boy, yes. From the club's point of view, you've gone from never talking about boys to never talking about anything else. That makes them think something weird must have happened."

"Wow," said Yui as she took it all in. "You're so smart, Ui!"

"I got it from you," she said, blushing.

"I'd forgotten how much we used to play house. That was fun!"

Ui hadn't forgotten, and doubted she ever would. When the Hirasawa sisters had played house, they had really played it. Games would go for days at a time. Yui always played the husband; she would come home from her job (usually company president, sometimes mecha pilot, and on the occasion of one memorable misunderstanding, Pope) and Ui would always have her imaginary dinner ready. Both sisters got a real kick out of the arrangement and would keep it going as long as Yui's attention span held out. Come to think of it, had they ever called off that last game?

"But it's still not fair," said Yui. "I shouldn't have to SIGHTED!"

"To what?"

Yui was already halfway across the room. Ui picked up the cane her sister had dropped and chased after her. Looked like the game was on.

"And as big around as your --"

Mio held up a hand. "I've heard that one before. Tell a different lie."

"Oh. So there's this rabbit, right?"

A pair of girls from another school walked up to them. "Hi! Are you competitors today?"

"What's it to ya?" asked Ritsu, to her friend's embarrassment.

"We're journalism club members. Our school is nearby, but we don't have a band here, so we're hoping to do a spotlight on another group. Would you be interested?"

Ritsu's face lit up. Publicity! "You've come to the right place, ladies. Right, Mio?"

"Er, right... but this isn't a good time..."

The drummer glared. "It is a perfect ti--"

"You want to talk to all the members, right? Our group is scattered now, but maybe you could come and see us later when we meet up."

"Good idea!" said the student. "When will that be?"

Ritsu sighed. "Two o'clock, warmup room 3. Be there or be square."

She began rolling away. Mio bowed apologetically and followed her. "What's your problem, Ritsu?"

"More like what's your malfunction! We coulda had that interview to ourselves! Stardom! Fame!"

Mio glared. "Why are you like this? Your first instinct in every situation is to twist it to your own advantage!"

"That's everybody's first instinct! Gettin' ahead doesn't just happen. You've gotta fight for it."

"You know what, Ritsu? That's Sawa-chan talk."

The drummer flinched slightly. "Well... so what? She's not wrong about everything."

"No, of course not. She's just scheming, unscrupulous, dishonest..."

"An' I suppose you're perfect?"

"I want to be!" Mio slammed her hands down on the arms of Ritsu's wheelchair. "I want to succeed and still be able to sleep at night! But you don't care about that part, do you? Right and wrong are just afterthoughts to you!"

Ritsu blanched. "C'mon, Mio..."

"No! I should have seen it when you were upset before! You weren't feeling bad because the things you'd done were wrong, you just hadn't gotten away with them!"

"It's not like --"

"I think it is! God, Ritsu, why am I friends with you? Why do I keep letting you drag me down to your level?"

Fire flashed in the drummer's eyes. "Oh, that's rich! That's billionaire rich! Why are you friends with me? More like why am I friends with a wet blanket like you? What do I get outta hangin' out with a judgmental, whiny little porcelain statue whose only selling points are up front?"

"Classy as always!"

"You know it's true! What do you contribute to this friendship, huh? You're never any fun unless somebody's forcin' you! And when you're not bein' a drag, you're having some crisis! My little problem back there? That was the only time I've ever hassled you with my issues, and I didn't even think you were listening! But you! Your breakdowns have breakdowns! I gotta hear about every little thing that makes your mental tree shed a leaf!"

Mio felt like she'd been stabbed. "Th-this isn't about me!"

"Why not? Everything else is!"

"You're just trying to avoid facing what I said! You don't care about being a good person, Ritsu! You do as little work as you can get away with, and you lie whenever the truth makes you look bad!"

"I do not!"

"Being friends with you means constantly lowering my standards. You put me in positions where I have to be like you, and I'm sick of it! Here I am at my first big music contest, and I'm wearing someone else's name tag because of you!"

"You wouldn't be here in the first place without me!"

"Yeah, that's right! I'd be in the literature club, doing honest club activities that I actually signed up for!"

Ritsu rolled her eyes. "I shouldn'ta stopped you. That sounds like your personal paradise. Nothin' but boring books and boring duty. Shoulda saved the fun for the fun people."

"And I should have saved my friendship for people who deserved it."

The drummer laughed. "Oh, bein' friends was your idea? Is that how you remember things? You wanna know the truth, Mio? Wanna know the real reason we're friends?"

"Why?"

Ritsu's lips twisted into a cruel smile. "You were always a quiet little sad-sack. Nobody wanted your weepy, neurotic butt around. We're friends because I felt sorry for you."

Mio slapped Ritsu hard across the face.

"An'... an' you know what?" the drummer added. "I still do!"

Tears pouring down her face, Mio ran away into the crowd at top speed. Ritsu scoffed and rolled herself in the other direction.

Sawako's favourite thing about West End Costume Rentals was the discount section. When an outfit was too damaged to rent out, they would sell it as a fixer-upper instead. Someone with Sawako's skill could do the repairs easily and save a bundle.

When the teacher saw what was in stock today, she actually squealed with delight. Some play at a local theatre must have just wrapped. She'd been puzzling over the best theme to use for After-School Tea Time's costumes, but this would work perfectly. Some things were always popular, especially on young girls.

Sawako picked out one for each member and a few more for spare parts, then brought them up to the counter. The manager, a middle-aged man, whistled. "Big plans today, Sawako?"

She grinned. "The biggest."

He added up the price, but then wrote down a lower number. "Ten percent off," he said. "For always being a good customer."

Sawako gave a short bow. "You're too kind." She was practical enough to know the store wouldn't give an off-the-books discount unless their markup was already higher than that, but she was flattered anyway.

As the manager packed up the outfits for her, Sawako couldn't help noticing the racks of tuxedos in back. "Can I ask for a small favour?" she said.

"Of course."

"There's a man named Tetsuo Tsukamoto who rents his suits here. I... I'd rather not go into detail, but he's up to no good. Can you stop renting to him?"

He looked at her thoughtfully. "Would that be legal, Sawako?"

"...Oh." Her face fell. "No, I suppose not. Sorry."

"No problem. Here are your purchases. Good luck!"

She thanked him and went on her way. The manager drummed his fingers on the table. He felt a bit dishonest, even though he hadn't lied, just let her draw her own conclusions.

West End reserved the right to deny service to anyone. Any sensible business did. But Tsukamoto, just like Sawako, was a good customer.

Well... maybe he wouldn't offer him a discount next time.

After an exhausting morning of spying on bands and ducking out of sight whenever "Gang of Girlz" came nearby, Azusa and Jun were taking lunch in the food court.

"The buns here aren't bad," said Azusa.

"I've had better," Jun remarked, still chewing. "There's this one legend about -- oh! Hang on."

The bassist pulled out her phone and stared at it. Her excitement quickly faded. She put it back.

"What was that about?"

"Nothing. I thought I felt it vibrate."

They resumed eating. After a few minutes, Jun took her phone out again and set it on the table, where she would glance at it every few seconds like a driver checking her mirrors.

"Are you by any chance waiting for a call, Jun?" her friend asked.

"M-maybe. I mean, I'll be fine without it. I would just feel better."

"Who are you hoping to hear from?"

Jun paused for a long moment. "My doctor," she said.

"Oh?"

"I may have bass cancer."

"I see."

"It's 93 percent fatal."

"Wow."

"I probably don't have it. But bassists need to get tested every so often. Just to be on the safe side."

"What are the symptoms?"

"Your voice gets lower, mostly."

Azusa nodded and took a sip of her drink, considering what to ask next. She was sure Jun could keep this up as long as she wanted to, but she felt like making her do it anyway, out of spite.

Just then, the phone buzzed. (Azusa vaguely remembered the ringtone as the theme from an anime... "Puri" something?) Like lightning, Jun popped the phone open and read the message inside. Her eyes went wide. With a quick "B.R.B.!" to Azusa, she dashed away.

Azusa just stared for a moment, confused. Then her eyes fell on Jun's cell phone. She had left it on the table in her rush, and there was no way Azusa could catch up with her to return it.

For a moment that felt much longer than it was, the guitarist wrestled with her conscience.

She picked up the phone. I'm just seeing where Jun went, she justified to herself. It could be important. I mean, maybe she really does have bass cancer. Best for me to know now so I can support her, right?

The message inside was from someone Jun had labeled "Fleet Admiral Mega Yamato". It read We need to talk. I'm out front.

Below the message was the last one Jun had sent to this contact. Azusa couldn't stop herself from reading on.

And as she read, all the puzzle pieces fell into place... forming a picture she wished she'd never seen.

"Hey! Hey!"

Southwest Tokyo Academy's guitarist turned around. That voice sounded familiar. But it couldn't --

"My love! We've finally found each other again!"

It was. "You're that girl from the store!"

"And from your dreams! You've been having the dreams too, right? That one with the bear was scary!"

"I... what?"

"Now we can finally get together! But first..." Yui lowered her voice conspiratorially. "Is that girl around? We'll have to ditch her!"

"What? No, she --"

"Oh good. Catch!"

"Catch wha-- aaack!" Yui had attempted to leap into his arms. The result was a haphazard pile of guitarists on the floor.

"I've waited so long!" said Yui, squeezing his midsection. "It's been so much worse than just waiting for a bus!"

"H-hold on."

"I am!" She squeezed tighter.

"No, I mean... oof!" The target of Yui's affection finally managed to get to his feet. He began trying to pull her arms apart. "You need to listen!"

"You should let him speak," Ui whispered in her sister's ear.

"He can speak while I'm holding him!" said Yui, eyes closed in bliss.

"It's just that you shouldn't assume he's --"

"I'm not assuming! He's my boyfriend, so I know his thoug-- OWW!" Yui jumped back, startled. Her cheek was red.

The boy looked down at his fingers guiltily. "I'm sorry I had to resort to that," he said.

"You pinched me!"

"You weren't listening. Look, I'm flattered by your interest in me. You seem like a very nice..." Maniac. Lunatic. Stalker. "...girl."

"And you're a nice boy too! See, it works!"

"But I have no idea who you are! You just came out of nowhere at me! Twice!"

"It was love at first sight! Don't you believe in it?"

"Uh... maybe? But I, I don't feel..."

Yui frowned. "Well, I feel it for you. Take responsibility!"

"Okay, that's enough," he said, raising a hand to block her. "I'm NOT your boyfriend."

The girl guitarist was quiet for several seconds; then she spun around and began marching away. "Regroup!" she called out to her sister. "We need a battle plan!"

"Hold on a moment, Big Sister," she replied. She made a polite bow to the Southwest Tokyo guitarist. "Pleased to meet you. I would like to formally present Yui Hirasawa from Sakuragaoka High School." She gestured to Yui. "I am her younger sister, Ui. May I ask your name?"

"Uh, Matsuo Otoko," he said, returning the bow.

"Thank you. It's been very awkward talking about you without knowing that." She turned to follow her sister.

In her high school days, Ms. Kawasumi would never have touched a cigarette. She hadn't started smoking until sometime in college. Her young adulthood had been a time of disillusionment; she'd picked up some bad habits in trying to cope. Nowadays she was in a perpetual state of half-heartedly trying to quit, and she tended to slip on days of particular stress and exhaustion.

Not to mention hangovers. Thanks again, Yamasu!

She stepped out the back door of the convention centre, since smoking, of course, wasn't allowed inside. There were a couple of other adults milling around; Kawasumi instinctively looked for an isolated spot. As she glanced back and forth, something caught her eye. By the side of the building, so far away she was almost out of sight, there was a student -- not smoking, just sitting on the curb and looking absolutely miserable.

A blonde student. In fact... wasn't that her student?

"Excuse me," she said to one of the other smokers. "Do you know if that girl is okay?"

The woman sighed. "Probably not, but she won't talk to anyone."

"How long has she been like that?"

"I don't know, but she's been there every time I've come outside. She's registered, so she's allowed to be here. I just wish someone from her band would come for her."

"They probably think she's fine," muttered Kawasumi.

"What?"

"I know that student. She doesn't talk about her problems. Whatever's wrong, I'll bet she hid it from them until she could be alone."

And this is just the place, Kawasumi reflected. Her friends and Sawako don't smoke. She didn't know I would be here.

Maybe she still shouldn't.

There was no reason in the world Kawasumi had to get herself involved. Tsumugi was on her own time. Whatever was wrong, she had family and friends who were better equipped to help than some teacher. And even if it was something she couldn't talk to them about... well, so what? How did Kawasumi expect to help? She was no psychiatrist or guidance counsellor.

She should just slip away before Tsumugi noticed her. This was none of her concern. Hell, she wouldn't even be here if Yamasu hadn't needed a ride.

But...

Maybe it was just the contrast with Tsumugi's usual perky demeanour. But in nearly a decade of teaching, Kawasumi was sure she had never seen a student in such absolute despair. If she walked away now, and no one else came to help...

Damn it all.

Kawasumi took a slow first step toward her student. She'd have to be careful not to scare her off. Suddenly, the woman she had been talking to caught her by the arm. "Hey! You'd better finish smoking that first."

"Why?"

She snuck a glance at Tsumugi and whispered, "The baby!"

Discarding her cigarette and proceeding, Kawasumi made a mental note that she hated everyone and everything.

"Boss!" said Jun, hurrying out the main entrance to where Ms. Yamasu was waiting. "I got your message!"

"And I got yours," said the teacher. "We need to talk."

"Great! WOO! Let me explain my --"

Jun stopped. Ms. Yamasu had suddenly curled up in a ball on the ground.

"Are you okay?"

"Owww," she said. "No cheering, Jun. It's very, very important."

"How come?"

The teacher struggled to her feet. "Last night, I... I developed a severe allergy to loud noises."

Jun raised an eyebrow.

"Ask again when you're older and I'll tell you something different. Now listen, did the club get through registration?"

"Yep! Target Prime came back! She got us all set up!" The bassist held up her name tag.

"Uh, that says 'Otome Kurogane'."

"Yeah! The aliases are the best part!"

"Right." Yamasu scratched her head. "And when do you actually perform?"

"Three o'clock! We picked our setlist last night. I don't think Target Prime knows yet that we switched back to Target M's songs, but she'll probably let it go. She's been all apologetic."

"Which ones will you be doing?"

"They're called 'Fluffy Fluffy Time' and 'My Love is a Stapler'. The words are kinda weird, but I like the music. The first one has this bridge section where they switch to a whole different style. Oo, and Yui's been trying these new power chords! It's like JYAA JA JA JYAA JYAA -- oh, sorry." Yamasu was on the ground in agony again.

"One... one minute," said the teacher, pulling herself up with the aid of a nearby mailbox. She closed her eyes and held very still until the screaming pain in her head had cleared. "Okay. Jun, I want you to play that back in your head. Listen to how you sounded. How enthusiastic you were."

"W-was I?"

"Very. Do you see my point now? You're having a great time in this club. You don't really want to pull some stunt and hurt them."

Jun glared. "Of course I do! That's the whole reason I joined!"

"Because this club and ours are rivals, right? Jun, I spent some time with Sawako last night. She didn't even know about this rivalry. Neither did I until you told me."

"W-what? We've always been rivals!"

"Not that I've ever heard, and this is my eighth year running the club. Know what I think? You just like being rivals with that friend of yours... Azusa, is it?"

"Shh! It's Target Zero!"

Yamasu winced; the codenames never failed to make her head hurt, which she really didn't need right now. "The point is, you're friends, you're in the same year, you're both musicians... and you joined two different clubs. To you, that makes those clubs rivals. But I'm telling you right now, it's only for you two. There is no club war at Sakuragaoka."

"But... then..."

"...there's no reason to sabotage them," Yamasu finished. "So don't."

Jun's eyes blazed. "I have to! It's all been leading up to this!"

"Yes, I see that now. I never stopped you before because I thought you were just playing around. I figured you would pull some prank eventually and that would be that. But now you're talking about sabotaging a concert -- their first big concert ever. You can't do that."

"Watch me!" The bassist spun around.

"Jun, get it through your head! No one wants you to do this!"

"Oh yeah?" Jun turned. "Get this through your head..."

She leaned over, right in front of Ms. Yamasu's ear, and screamed, "YOU'RE TOO LATE!"

The teacher's world was made up entirely of pain for the next 25 minutes or so. It was no surprise that, when she came to her senses, Jun was gone.

Reluctantly, Ms. Yamasu took out her phone. I gave the kid a chance, she thought. I owed her that much for not taking her seriously. Whatever happens now is all on her.

Matsuo was at one of the vendors' booths examining some guitar strings when he heard a now-familiar voice behind him.

"I'd like to be... under the sea... in an octopus's garden in the shade..."

He turned. "I said no."

But Yui wasn't listening. She'd stopped playing and turned to Ui. "Why would there be shade underwater?"

"Well, Big Sister..."

Matsuo took the opportunity to slip away. His only regret was not getting to hear the explanation. That was going to bug him now.

Mio sat alone at one of the lunch tables, sipping coffee and taking the occasional half-hearted bite of her food. She'd given up trying to distract herself with the various activities at Regionals. Nothing worked; nothing got Ritsu's words out of her head.

Well, she'd just have to try something else after lunch. In a couple of hours, she and Ritsu would have to play together, and that meant calming themselves down enough to --

"Hey," said a black-haired girl with a ponytail, diving into the seat opposite her. "Start talking to me and act natural."

Mio blinked. "What? Who are --"

"Act natural!"

"Um..." Mio suddenly wished she'd read that spy manga Ritsu had tried to lend her once. "S-so how are you? I, uh, haven't seen you since Yuuki's daughter got married. It must be nice to be that young, eh?"

The girl rolled her eyes. "Natural for us, not for old ladies. Okay, you can see the door. Has anyone followed me in yet?"

"N-no."

"Whew. They must not have seen me after all." She reached back and untied her ponytail. As she rearranged her hair, a few things clicked into place for Mio. A familiar voice, a certain skin tone...

...and a pair of pigtails that were now taking shape. "Azusa?"

"You didn't recognize me? Again? Why is my face so unmemorable?"

"I, uh..." Mio had no idea how to answer that. "Why were you hiding?"

"There's a gang after me. It's a long story." The junior student finished putting her familiar hairstyle back together.

"I thought you were with Jun."

"She's... taking a call," said Azusa, with an odd look that Mio couldn't place. "I thought you'd be with Ritsu."

The bassist snorted. "She's just fine by herself. I don't need her pity anyway."

"...Pity?"

"Oh, didn't you know? That's the only reason she's friends with me."

"Ah... you had a fight?"

Mio began to explain, and soon the words were pouring out. She hadn't realized how much she needed to talk to someone. Nowadays, Nodoka was her usual sounding board when she was mad at Ritsu, and they saw each other in every class, so there was never long to wait. Mio had come to depend pretty heavily on that release.

Taking it all in, Azusa nodded. "I'm sorry, Senior."

"Who does Ritsu think she is? After the way she's acted, she gets to judge me?"

Azusa looked awkward; Mio quickly realized why. "Sorry! I shouldn't make you pick sides between us. I'm just so frustrated..."

"I understand," said the junior student. "I get annoyed with Ritsu too. But..."

"But what?"

"Well, I don't want to presume..."

"It's all right. I... I could use your advice."

Azusa blushed slightly. "First of all, you know Ritsu didn't mean it about feeling sorry for you, right?"

"Really? She sounded serious to me..."

"Well, maybe at the very start. You told us how you two met, back when you were too shy to talk to anyone. But that was a long time ago. These days, if anything, she depends on your pity. You know, homework-wise."

The bassist couldn't believe that hadn't occurred to her. "Yes... she does, doesn't she?"

"And Ritsu may be more outgoing, but it's not like you don't have your own friends too. You got to know Nodoka without any help. And hey, you even have a fan club! Ritsu doesn't have a -- senior?"

Mio had turned to one side. She looked like she'd just been reminded of the time she swallowed a live cockroach.

"Sorry," said Azusa. "Bad example. The point is, Ritsu has no reason to feel sorry for you anymore. I'm sure she only said so because she was mad."

It began to occur to Mio that maybe, just maybe, she too had said some things in that fight that she wouldn't have said just any old time. "I'll... I'll think it over."

"Glad to hear it. I would never tell you what to do, senior, but it'll be a real problem if you and Ritsu can't play together."

"Well, I think I'll be okay now... but what about Ritsu? Do you think she'll forgive me?"

"Ritsu? I, uh... can't really picture her holding a grudge, senior."

Mio tried to picture it too. Then she smiled, realizing what Azusa had been too respectful to say outright: their friend just didn't have the attention span. Ritsu's head hurt when she thought about playing an instrument more complicated than the drums. She would be no better with complicated emotions.

"Thank you for this, Azusa," said Mio. Against all odds, she was really starting to feel better.

"G-glad I could help!" Blushing again, Azusa lowered her head to her chest...

...where Mio's eyes were immediately drawn to her name tag. The tag that read "Sunao Konoe."

Mio felt the weight of her own tag. It declared for the whole world to see that her name was Yashi Nagomi. It was a lie. By wearing it, she endorsed that lie. And she had no choice... because of her best friend.

The friend who had pressured her to join the light music club and forced Ms. Sawako to supervise it. Who had happily gone along with faking a disability for a month. Who had obviously never turned in their registration form, resorting instead to some asinine scheme.

The friend who had tried to bribe the student council. Made fun of all her lyrics. Tricked her into saying "yo" all the time when they were kids. Spied on her and Nodoka. Never learned to do her own homework.

And then dared -- DARED -- to say she pitied Mio.

The bassist's eyes were cold. "No," she said. "I'm not giving her a pass. Not again."

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry, Azusa. I'll play with Ritsu this time, but I can't promise anything more. She's gone too far."

"But she's your best friend."

"Well, that was a mistake! I should have chosen better! Why do you keep defending her, anyway?"

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Mio regretted them -- she had asked Azusa to share her opinions. But the junior student didn't argue. Head low, she said, "I didn't mean to upset you."

"Wait, I --"

"No, you're right. Ritsu has done some things I would never defend. Whatever decision you make, I'll support you. I... I just think there's something important you shouldn't forget."

"All right. What is it?"

That funny look was in Azusa's eyes again as she began. "I was thinking about friendship myself just now. And I remembered a saying my dad told me once: 'Character is who you are when no one else is looking'. Senior, I guarantee you that when no one's looking, Ritsu is the same person as when she's with us.

"She lies sometimes, yeah. But it's usually for the sake of the club -- and besides, she's bad at it. She can't be anyone but herself. Her feelings are always out in the open."

"But I told you, I heard her blaming herself for everything. She never told me --"

"Maybe that was a surprise to her too. Sometimes stuff builds up in your head and you don't realize it. But you know what I mean, senior. When the rest of us get mad, we sometimes hold it in to keep from being rude. Ritsu doesn't do that. When she's mad, we hear about it."

Mio frowned slightly. "I guess. But being frank doesn't make her a better person."

"No," Azusa agreed. "All it means is that she trusts us. The whole world, really, but us the most. For all the cynical things she says, Ritsu doesn't feel any actual need to guard herself. She knows we're on her side and she's on ours."

"And what if I don't want her on my side anymore?"

"All I'm saying is... don't take her for granted. This club has a long way to go and a lot to prove. We don't have so many people on our side that we can afford to lose one."

Mio sighed. "I don't know, Azusa. I'll keep thinking."

The junior student got up to go. "Good luck. I really hope you can work this out. It would be sad to see friends as close as you and Ritsu separate."

"Friendship is overrated," said Mio sulkily.

As Azusa walked away, she whispered to herself, "I wish I knew."

Matsuo saw Yui out the corner of his eye and immediately turned around. With a little luck, she might not have noticed him yet. He moved quickly, rounding as many corners as possible, and checking over his shoulder every few seconds to make sure she wasn't following.

After a couple of minutes, he stopped to catch his breath. By now he was confident that he'd lost Yui. He had wound up by the vending machines. Covering so much ground had tired him out; he decided to get a cold drink.

As he examined what the machines sold --

"That's it!" said Yui. "I know what to do now!"

Matsuo spun around. "Gah! How'd you know where I was going?"

"True love is like GPS! Beep beep!"

(Behind her, Ui mouthed the words 'She was thirsty.' Matsuo nodded.)

Yui once again pulled out her guitar. "I don't think I introduced you properly before. Giita, this is Matsuo! Matsuo, Giita! You'll be in-laws soon, so it's important to get along."

In-laws? No, before that... "What did you mean about knowing what to do?"

"I saw you choosing a drink. I should let you choose a song! Tell me your favourite and I'll play it flawlessly to prove my love!"

Matsuo was tempted. He didn't want to encourage Yui, but she was awfully good... "Okay. Can you do 'Bohemian Rhapsody'?"

"Can I? Can I?" She paused. "No. I don't know that one."

"Sure you do, Big Sister," said Ui. "It's the one that goes 'Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?' "

"Oh yeah!" Yui whipped her giita-- er, guitar into playing position. "Here we go, Matsuo! Get ready to be crushed under my tidal waves of love!"

She began playing. And it was amazing.

For the first two lines, that is. Then she stopped playing; instead, she seemed to be concentrating intensely. After a few moments, Ui said, "Then it goes, 'Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality.' "

"Oh yeah!" Yui played those next two lines. And it was amazing. Then she stopped again.

" 'Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see.' "

"I thought I wasn't supposed to."

"No, those are the next lines."

"Oh!" Yui played them. And it was amazing.

Matsuo sighed. "Look, this is silly. I have the lyrics in my bag. Wait here and I'll go get them."

"Great! Thanks!"

He walked away, but his conscience pricked him. He decided to hide around the corner and make sure Yui didn't just stand there waiting for --

"I don't think he's coming back," said Ui.

"Of course not," said Yui. "But didn't you notice that instead of just leaving, he made up a silly excuse? I'm wearing him down!"

Relieved, Matsuo completed his escape.

Ritsu had spent a productive morning fiddling with her drumsticks, looking at things, and fiddling with her drumsticks again. She looked forward to getting even more done after lunch.

"Hey! Ritsu!" The drummer turned to see Jun.

"That's Senior to you," she chided. "What's up?"

"Have you seen Azusa?"

"Not if I saw her first."

Jun stared.

"Uh, not if... if she saw... never mind. I'll work on that one. Whyja ask?"

"I was with her earlier, but then I had to... do a thing. Now I can't find her anywhere."

"Maybe she's hiding."

Jun slapped her forehead. "Of course! We're both hiding! No wonder I can't find her."

"Hidin' from what?"

"Nothing. No one. And definitely not because of industrial espionage."

Ritsu blinked. "You're in an industry?"

"Anyway, if you see Azusa, can you tell her I'm looking for her? I think she has my phone."

"Ha!" The drummer pointed at her. "How dumb can ya be?"

"Dumb?"

"She has your phone! Just call her!"

"With what?"

There was a short pause.

"Are there any payphones here?" Ritsu asked.

"Are there any anywhere?"

Another pause. "I'd offer you mine, but I'm not going to."

"I understand. Classified equipment."

"Well... forget it. You'll find her eventually."

"Yeah, I guess." Jun glanced around. "Hey, weren't you with Mio?"

The drummer glowered. "For a while. Then I remembered she sucked at not sucking."

"Really? Mio? I've never thought she --"

"Well, she DOES. She sucks the suck. She's a prissy little pain in the rear who cares more about name tags than people. Did I mention the sucking? 'Cause that's how she spends, like, 94 percent of her time."

Jun took all that in, but then shook her head. "Come on, Ri-- Senior. You're just saying that because you're mad."

"No, I'm mad because I have to say that," Ritsu contradicted. "Where'm I wrong, huh?"

"First of all, Mio isn't little."

"Oh, well..."

"She's huge."

"Okay."

"Just saying."

"You can stop now..."

"Out to HERE."

"All right already!"

Jun smiled. "And she doesn't suck. She's my idol! I'd give anything to have her skill, her looks, her personality..."

"Her personality?"

"Yeah, you know. I have to force myself to practice -- I'd always rather just slack off. Mio's not like that. She studies and works and practices because she wants to. It must be so much easier that way."

Ritsu frowned. She was tempted to tell Jun the truth -- the side of Mio that only her best friend got to see. The fact was, Mio didn't have it all that easy. She liked slacking off as much as anybody else.

What came naturally to her wasn't hard work, it was discipline and self-control. Maybe she'd been born with it; maybe her parents had taught it to her. Either way, Mio's sense of responsibility was ironclad. Given the choice, she would always choose work before play -- but it wasn't what she actually wanted. Deep inside Boring Mio, Fun Mio was always screaming to get out.

Ritsu liked Fun Mio better. She pried her out of there whenever she got the chance. But that said... Boring Mio was sorta the reason Ritsu ever got anything done, wasn't she?

The drummer looked away. "Tell me something, squirt. Do you ever get really mad at Azusa?"

"Oh yeah, sure."

"I mean really mad. Like, tie-her-up-in-her-stupid-pigtails, stuff-her-in-a-mailbox and ship-her-to-Zimbabwe-third-class mad."

Jun thought. "I dunno if we're that close. We just met this year."

"You think you'd fight more if you were closer?"

"Well, yeah. You've gotta be close to use close-range weapons."

Ritsu instructed herself not, under any circumstances, to consider that a wise observation. This was Jun, for God's sake.

As if reading her thoughts, the bassist lit up. "Hey! Were you asking me for advice there?"

"What? Please. What kinda loser would take advice from a junior?"

"You would! That's totally what you were after! Hey, want some more pearls of wisdom? Hmmm?"

Before Ritsu could react, there was a shout from across the room. "There!" someone yelled, pointing at Jun. "It's her!"

The bassist gulped. She spun on Ritsu, shouted "You never saw me!", and took off at top speed.

"'Course not," said the drummer with a smirk. "I saw you first."

Yui was standing on a table in the middle of the food court. With both hands (and still clearly straining), she held up a borrowed boom box. The speakers were blasting a vaguely familiar song.

In your eyes... Oh, I want to be that complete... I want to touch the light, the heat I see in your eyes...

Yui winked.

"No," said Matsuo.

Kawasumi came up next to where her student sat on the curb. "Hi," she said. "You, uh... don't look so good."

Tsumugi turned to her, and the teacher held back a gasp. She looked much worse than "not so good". She'd clearly been crying for hours; her eyes were bloodshot and her hair disheveled. She looked like the sun had gone out of her sky.

Kawasumi gulped. This might be more than she could handle. She'd never seen any student, much less this student, in such a state. But she was committed now... she'd just have to try.

"Ms. Kawasumi," said Tsumugi. Without standing up, she made a sad little approximation of a bow. "Are you here to see our performance?"

Oh, God forbid. "Not exactly. Listen... why don't you tell me what's wrong?"

The blonde looked down. "I appreciate the offer, but I will have to decline. This is not something I can talk about."

"Are you sure? I promise it'll stay strictly between us."

"No. I... I can't."

Plan B. "Then let me take you to someone you can talk to. It's no good just sitting here."

"I can't leave. Our stage time is --"

"Come on, Kotobuki. You're in no shape to play music right now. Your friends will understand." Besides, thought Kawasumi, who notices if the keyboard part is missing?

"They would understand," she agreed, "but only if I gave them a reason. I don't want to lie. And this..."

"Well, you can figure it out later, but right now you need help. Why don't you let me drive you home?"

Tsumugi gave a short, bitter laugh. "I would be no better off there."

"Sure you would. Your parents --"

"You don't understand. Please leave me be."

Kawasumi paused for a moment, trying to think of something that would convince her. To her surprise, it was Tsumugi herself who broke the silence.

"I do want to talk to someone," she said quietly. "More than anything. And there is someone I usually confide in... but she looks up to me. I can't tell her this."

"And your parents?"

"They would be scandalized. Father would overreact -- I don't know what he might do. And Mother... she would never look at me the same way again."

Kawasumi's experience of parents made her doubt that... but then, with rich people, who knew? "What about --"

The blonde shook her head. "There is no one I can tell. Not Sumire. Not my parents. Not my friends. Certainly not a teacher. This... this is too much..."

The blonde drew deeper into her shell. Kawasumi could barely hear the last thing she said:

"I... I'm just so ashamed..."

Kawasumi tentatively put a hand on Tsumugi's shoulder. "Ashamed of what?"

Her voice was very quiet. "I lost myself in delusion. I tried to defy everything... my role, my parents' wishes, the whole life I've lived until this moment. And all for nothing. She didn't l-- I was wrong."

"...I see." There were only a few ways that sentence might have ended, but Kawasumi vowed here and now to never wonder about it. If Tsumugi wanted to keep the details to herself, that was absolutely fine. Ideal, in fact.

But in that case... what now? The teacher looked down helplessly. This wasn't her job, dammit! She hadn't been a teenager in more than ten years. How in the world was she supposed to relate to...

Wait.

"Kotobuki," she said, "if you knew this thing you were doing was so outrageous, why did you do it anyway?"

"I had to. It was everything I wanted."

"But you knew it might not work out..."

She shook her head again. "I knew that, but I didn't believe it. I was absolutely certain this was meant to be. I could see my whole future ahead... all... all gone now..." She began sobbing quietly.

I was wrong, thought the teacher. This is one student I CAN relate to. Whether I like it or not.

Chika Kawasumi was a solitary, independent woman. She never got involved with others more than her job required. There was no one she confided in, because she never needed to. This was the life she had chosen -- the life she preferred.

But in her high school days...

"All right," she said, sitting down beside Tsumugi. "Listen up. I have a story to tell you."