Hibiki poured himself a cup of warm tea for himself. The tea was already prepared by Noel ⸺ Hibiki's personal Gray Kimono. And it was done as closely as Hibiki wanted it. There is a certain sugar level that Hibiki loves, above or below that, he despises.
After taking one sip, he slowly put the cup back on his large desk. There were papers almost everywhere on the desk, but they were all ordered by alphabetic orders by Noel.
Hibiki gaze shifted to Shouta with a hint of curiosity.
"Kazehaya, have you ever heard of the Tokyo Ghouls? Has any of your family members countered one of them?"
"I've heard about them before… But, I believe that no one in my family has encountered one before, and I hope that no one will…"
[Especially Mia…] Shouta thought as his sight glided towards the window behind Hibiki.
※
Looking out from the balcony of her hotel, a girl with black hair tied as a pony tail was wondering when will his brother come back home. In the same hotel room was her idol group friends, hanging out and playing a card game. For tomorrow, they have an audition to attend to.
Before her brother left in a hurry to follow Sara Fujiwara, Mia was sitting on the family couch watching a video of her idol group's previous concert. She was alone, her mother and father were working in Tokyo's downtown.
Suddenly, her brother came dashing inside the house and went straight to his room upstairs, not saying a word to his sister.
"Brother? Why are you in a hurry?"
Mia paused her video and then walked to the foot of the stairs that lead to her brother's bedroom and the laundry room, where she could hear her brother stumbling over his stuff and falling over something hard; the floor.
As she started to walk up the stairs, only two steps from the ground floor, her brother ran past her and accidentally bumping her on her shoulder. And in the next moment⸺⸺
"⸺!!"
Hitting the ground hard, her shoulder felt a stabbing pain. She groaned, feeling the pain quickly growing and going. And with the pain subsiding, she stood up and saw her brother was gone, leaving an empty feeling inside Mia's heart.
Looking outside of the balcony, she remembered that moment like it was melted inside her mind.
"Hey, Mia. You okay?"
"Huh?"
Mia turned her head, towards the room. Rin Suzuki, a member of the Sweet Six Idol group, was standing in front of Mia, holding a cup of chocolate milk bought from a street vendor near the train station.
"Oh, Rin-chan…"
"Something wrong? Did you miss your morning ramen vendor?"
"No no… It's nothing for you to worry about"
Mia waved her hands in front of her chest. Like the little sister she was, she doesn't want any of her friends, who some were older, to worry about her. Yet, Rin was against that and she has been watching Mia since she picked her up from the Fujisawa station.
Rin crossed her arms.
"Come on, Mia. You've always been the one who's excited for auditions and is always experimenting with new dances"
Rin remembered the time when Mia first joined the group.
"We wouldn't have made it if it weren't for you! And I do have an undying debt to you. So if there's anything bothering you, just say it… I'm, we are here for you"
※
The small stage was set. The newly formed sweet six needed its last member before they debut to the big screens. What they were looking for was a cute girl that was young. And Mia Kazehaya, who had just entered junior highschool was the perfect fit.
But before that, let's look at how the other participant and then Mia performed.
The first to come up on stage was stiff because she had no time to prepare and she was surprised to be called first. And because of her stiffness, she did poorly and soon left the stage covering her red, embarrassed face.
Then came the second participant. She leaped up the stage with confident, smiling at the five members of the group who were anticipating the second participant to do good.
Their expectations were destroyed after the girl stopped singing in the middle of performing because she forgot the lyrics and started humming. Yuki Tahashi had to stop the second participant, trying not to be offensive as possible.
And after that, participant three, the four, then five. All of them did well but it wasn't what the group wanted. Participant three was excellent of performing dances but lacks the voice. Participant four and five did the same thing but even though their voices were better than participant three, they were doing an easy dance and the group wasn't impressed. Except Yume Asahi who was enjoying every second of it.
And at lass, the main character's little sister walked up to the stage. Mia had confident inside her but performing in front of people still made her shake.
Five of the judges can relate to one thing after Mia walked up to the stage. Mia's long black hair, big blue eyes that sparkled once hitting the spotlight. There were more to feel but it was obvious at this point that they have found their sixth member.
Mia performed like the five before her. Her voice was good but she sang a different genre, and she only needed minimal movement to show her purity.
After the audition, the five member of the early sweet six announced that they will send an email to the one who won, and to the one who lost they will also send them an email but filled with bad news.
※
A week after the audition, Mia Kazehaya and her brother was sitting in front of the computer screen.
"So… You got the email?"
"Emmmmmmm—Not yet…"
It was the day of the announcement. Everyone who participated was sitting patiently in their seats and waiting for an email to⸺⸺
"Ding!"
"⸺!!"
※
Now back to the present with Rin still trying to make Mia to open up to her about her problem and Mia hesitating to speak up.
"Come on, Mia… Just let it all out"
Mia eyes widened. Suddenly, a moment of her past resurfaced. It was the moment after she left her brother alone at the mini market, making him search around the neighborhood for her.
"Just let it all out"
※
The young Kazehaya Mia was walking through the dark road. She had left her brother and was now wondering aimlessly through the night streets of Kamakura alone.
Her thoughts was in a mess, couldn't stop thinking about those words she heard during school and also at home. Even when she was walking alone, those words were still audible to her.
"Hey, kid!"
Mia first thought that someone was calling someone else, but she was the only one on the streets.
"?"
Mia turned around to see who called her. The voice she heard sounded feminine, so it wasn't her brother.
"What're you doing here alone?"
The girl came out of the shadow of the unlit road. She was wearing a black jacket with her brown hair tied up from behind. She looked like she was in her early twenties.
"…"
"Hm, you're a quiet one, huh?"
The girl then sighed, lifting her hand to reach out to Mia.
"Come on, show me where you live"
Then she started moving. But suddenly, her hand was tugged by the young Mia.
"Hey! Do you want someone to escort you or⸺"
Her words were stopped by the sight of the crying child in front of her. Mia was trying to hide the tears but, after a word from the girl, she couldn't hold it anymore.
"Hey, it's okay. Just let it all out"
⸺⸺Let it all out.
※
Rin Suzuki was one of the oldest in the group. And exactly a year older than Mia Kazehaya. And for a year, Rin acted like big sister to Mia, always looking after her.
And now, on top of a balcony, the big sister was watching her little sister's eyes flooded with tears.
"I… Miss my brother"