9th of January, 9:00 am, Kana's house
"Come on already, we'll come too late if you keep slacking around."
Ruby is shifting enthusiastically left and right while standing in Kana's doorway.
"You told me you'd come along today, don't chicken out now."
The door to Kana's bathroom creaks open, and from it emerges the red-haired loli senpai. She gave her best to look as close to normal as possible; it probably took hours to apply all that makeup, just for one quick stroll through Tokyo.
"Could you stop nagging?"
Kana picks up her bag and walks towards Ruby; her movements are still somewhat hesitant, but she keeps walking.
"I'm already on my way, jeez."
They step out into the hallway, and Kana shuts the door to her room behind them. Two days had passed since Kana first left her room, always with Ruby by her side. Kana has now finally agreed to come along to watch Ruby's idol practice.
They open the front door, cold winter air blowing through Kana's hair. She told Ruby not to tell anyone about this; she wants to surprise Mem-Cho. Ruby thought it was a bit childish, but she also thinks that it's really cute, so she let Kana have her fun.
"You think he will maybe just go away?"
Kana, who is walking right next to Ruby, turns her head, looking at Ruby with a confused expression.
"I mean the weird guy."
Ruby adds
Kana looks ahead again, now understanding what Ruby means.
"No, it's just like bullying. If you get bullied, you need to show them that you can fight back. Not even bullies like being punched… I mean, I am not saying you should attack the guy, but you know."
Kana added the second part after realizing that Ruby could get the wrong ideas.
"I know… But what should I do then?"
Ruby, who was looking at the pavement while walking, is now looking directly at Kana, her eyes pleading.
"You of all people have to know... You've been in the industry for so long already."
"This never happened to me…"
Kana slightly raises her chin, looking at the sky while continuing to walk straight ahead on the deserted sidewalk.
"I guess nobody was ever that interested in me…"
"I'm sorry for assuming, I didn't mean to…"
Ruby lowers her gaze even more, a spike of shame rushing through her body.
"Just forget I said anything."
A moment of silence passes by while they keep walking.
"Don't say that… It never happened to me, but I can still do my best to help you."
Kana lowers her chin again, tilting her head slightly right to look at Ruby.
"But what if he decides to hurt you? He probably wouldn't hurt me, but when you're in his way…"
Ruby asks, genuine concern edged on her face.
"I don't think so. I think he wouldn't mind hurting you too… People like him are human waste."
Kana's voice drips with disgust while her face reflects what's wrong with society.
"But why is he doing this then?"
A slight warm feeling spreads through Kana's chest as she hears the innocence in Ruby's voice.
"I can only guess, but he probably thinks that you love him too."
"Why would he think something like that, I don't even know that guy."
Ruby's fingertips turn a bit cold. To her, his behavior seems more than just unreasonable.
"It's some kind of mental disorder…"
Kana replies after thinking for a while
"He was probably at one of our shows and you smiled at him, or you looked at him for a second too long while signing his merch… And now he thinks that you want him too… People like him really need to feel a woman's touch, although I wouldn't want to subject any woman on this earth to such a person."
"Poor guy."
Ruby says. Her words make Kana blush slightly. This is not the reaction she had anticipated whatsoever.
"Excuse me?"
Kana says as they enter the train station. A few people are walking alongside them, this makes Kana lower her tone just slightly.
"I mean, he's probably really miserable…"
Ruby's words make the hair on Kana's neck stand up. She angrily whips her head around and looks at Ruby while entering the train.
"NO… Stop that…"
"...Being a miserable piece of shit is no excuse for this… I was miserable too, but I never even considered doing stuff like that… Or Aqua, you know how he can be, but he also managed to stay mostly normal. You're just too kind."
"You're right. Showing sympathy would only enable him."
A few moments of awkward silence pass, the only sound is quiet voices around them, mostly keeping to themself and the sound of the train driving down the rails.
"What's he up to anyways? I mean Aqua…"
Kana says while trying to change to a different topic to lighten the mood again.
Ruby's head turns away from Kana so she can't see her face.
"I don't care about what he does anymore…"
"But why?"
"Why? Are you seriously asking me why? He drugged me when I trusted him most-"
Ruby whips around, her eyes are filled with a burning fury. She presses her finger against Kana's chest while her eyes wander around the wagon. A few people have by now started to look in their direction, so Ruby makes a small pause, trying to calm herself before continuing.
"You could've died because of his stupid plan of keeping me safe at any cost. I hate that he treats me like a little kid who can't make their own decisions. He still hasn't even apologized."
Kana, who listened to Ruby pouring her heart out, places her hand on top of Ruby's, gently holding it.
"... Just make sure that this is really what you want…"
Ruby remains like that for a moment before leaning back in her seat, looking up at the ceiling of the wagon. Her eyes flash with various emotions.
"I think he is studying for university or something like that… I haven't seen him in probably a week by now."
…
They arrive at their studio. At first, they had to practice at home. Miyako told them that a studio would be too expensive since they barely made any money. But times have changed by now; B-Komachi is gaining popularity, so Miyako finally decided to let them practice in a real studio a few months ago.
Kana and Ruby step into the building. It looks like it was built just a few years ago; it's located in the west of Shibuya, almost in Setagaya.
Kana's stomach feels weirder the further she climbs the stairs; every step adds to her anxious feeling. Ruby walks up the steps like normal, completely oblivious to the battle Kana is fighting just next to her.
Why am I feeling like this?
I decided to do this yesterday,
I can't back out now…
Calm down, Kana,
It's just Mem-Cho,
She won't judge you,
She's like your best friend,
And Miyako is more your mom than your actual mom…
But what if they pity me?
If I only see a hint of pity in their eyes, I would probably die on the spot.
I don't want your pity…
And that Keiko girl will be there too.
Ruby says that she is cute, too,
but what if she hates me,
or worse…?
Kana…
Stop looking for excuses,
fear isn't weakness,
but letting it control your life is.
What's the worst that can happen?
That they pity you?
Great,
just move on then…
They are more likely to just be nice and supportive,
So just do it.
Ruby pushes the door open and steps into the room. Kana is standing next to the door in a way she can't see into the room, and vice versa. She can hear voices in the room — Mem-Cho, Ruby, somebody else.
Ruby is looking back at her, holding the door open and waiting. Then Kana steps in. The morning sun hits her eyes straight on; it's so bright she has to shut her eyes, her thoughts cursing out whoever designed that building.
After a moment, she starts squinting, her eyes wandering through the now quiet room. Every resemblance of any conversation had stopped the second she entered the room.
The silence stretches, nobody dares to speak for some reason, not even Ruby talks. Or is she doing this intentionally?
"Hi."
Kana is the first to speak up, still not able to fully open her eyes. The sunlight hitting her face probably makes the scar 100 times more visible for anybody to examine; her body feels weird, she can't even step aside.
Why is nobody saying anything?
Is it that bad?
I thought I did a pretty good job covering it up with makeup…
Maybe it's that I'm not welcome here anymore…
Like, officially, I am no member anymore so I also have no right to be here right now.
Kana is ripped out of her thoughts by the sudden sensation of something colliding with her. The sensation feels like whatever is holding her wants to break her ribcage. When she fully opens her eyes, she sees Mem-Cho, arms wrapped around her torso and head right next to hers.
"Why didn't you tell me? I would've come to you."
Mem-Cho's voice is quiet, but her grip isn't loosening, making it hard for Kana to breathe.
"Air."
Kana manages to yelp out a single word, which makes Mem-Cho loosen her grip, still not letting go entirely.
"...Because I needed to do it like this."
Kana also wraps her arms around Mem-Cho, completely embracing the reunion.
"I understand."
Mem-Cho suddenly pulls back, their faces are just inches apart from each other as she starts to inspect Kana's scar. Kana tries to pull away, but her attempts are only half-hearted.
"...Nope-"
Mem-Cho speaks up again after a long moment of silence.
"You are definitely still just as much of a cutie as before."
She lets go of Kana's head and cuddles her once more before pulling completely away.
"It feels good to have you back…"
When she finally gets to it, Kana looks around the room, no matter who she looks at. Be it Miyako, Ruby, Mem-Cho, or even the new girl, she is not able to find a single hint of pity in any eye.
…
It is dark outside, but Akane, who has just landed back in Tokyo, coming back from her trip to Miyazaki, is determined to still visit Aqua. She was stuck in Miyazaki for the last two days; she hadn't planned for her to find the answer on her first day there, so her flight back wasn't on the same day. She initially wanted to book a new, earlier flight, but decided that she should rather think about all of this for a bit longer.
She concluded that confronting Aqua would be the best step; she could've also kept it for herself, but it feels like the new knowledge about Aqua's past life would be far more useful in direct dialogue.
She is lost in her thoughts, barely noticing the surrounding area, but after a few minutes, something starts to feel weird, she starts to pay closer attention to everything, and there it is. The same car, again, and again, and this house, she already saw it just a minute ago.
Akane realizes that no matter what she does, she seems to be stuck in some sort of loop, not allowing her to leave the area. Suddenly, she hears a familiar voice behind her. She whips around. Tsukuyomi is standing right behind her, her expression unreadable.
"Your actions would not lead to your anticipated outcome."
"You again. Why are you here this time?"
Akane tries to take a few steps towards Tsukuyomi, but quickly realises it's pointless.
"To warn you, Aqua is corrupted."
"What are you saying? I need to be there for him, especially now."
Akane tries to argue, slightly taken aback by Tsukuyomi's blunt response.
"Your conclusion is correct… Is what I would say under normal circumstances, but you are missing crucial information."
Tsukuyomi reaches behind her back, pulling out a black book that she couldn't possibly have stored there.
"Take this. I should've given it to you when we met last time, yet my fear was just too great… You must read it if you want to achieve your goals, I cannot interfere any more… Otherwise… I have already said too much. I will not be able to hold you back from making your decision, just know that if you confront him now, nothing good will come."
Tsukuyomi is gone again just as quickly as she appeared. Leaving Akane baffled, standing in the middle of the quiet sidewalk, the book tightly gripped and pressed against her chest.