It was full, but there were still plenty of seats around. Everyone ordered their meals, and we sat in the middle. Mae-chan and Sora-chan were battling it out in one of their games. My little sister, Yuko-chan, and Sophia-san were idly chatting away about school. We were just normal high school girls enjoying our time with one another.
"Hm…"
I glanced over to catch eyes with someone I didn't expect to see. Those almond-like irises met with mine as she sat down a few tables away. Her mini version had a burger in her hand. This instantly brought me back to the day we saw each other at the food court. It was before Hana-chan went on her trip and we just finished getting supplies.
"Hey, I'll be right back guys."
I brought my food with me as I walked over to the table. Her gaze was like daggers as I made my way over. Thankfully, she didn't strike me dead as I sat across from Nagumi-chan.
"Hey, you two."
Nagumi-chan waved with her free hand, on the other she forced her burger in her mouth. It was beyond adorable.
"Shouldn't you go back to your friends?"
Annoyed, Okabe-san glared at me.
"I'll go back soon. I was just wondering how you two were doing."
"She's hungry, so I'm feeding her before she goes home. There's no reason to stay here… go back already."
It was apparent that she was feeling uncomfortable. It didn't help that Sophia-san would glance over here occasionally either. I did come over here to check in on them, but it seemed Okabe-san wasn't in the chatting mood. So instead, I lowered my voice.
"Hey…you asked if you could help with Taylor-sensei, right?"
Surprised, she lifted her head from her food. I could see the slight irritation in her though as she puffed out hot air and turned back to me.
"I don't care enough. Is that why you came over?"
"No, I came over to see Nagumi-chan."
I teased, poking her nose. She didn't fight back, and that's one of the charms about her. Nagumi-chan would take all the teasing I give her.
"Here's the thing, Okabe-san. You work this upcoming Sunday, don't you?"
She crossed her arms and leaned back.
"What of it?"
"Well, Taylor-sensei will be coming in around 5 PM that day. I asked her to meet me there. I really need your help."
This was the first time I was asking Okabe-san for anything. But the fact of the matter was, this might be harder without her. I planned to ask if she could help later this week. It was just a coincidence that she happened to be eating here with Nagumi-chan, though.
"…What do you need me to do?"
Confused, she tilted her head.
"I don't even know why a student would be meeting a faculty member out of school in the first place…"
"Listen, it's important. And I think it's only fair if I'm helping you out…that you'd do the same."
She was reluctant for good reason. From how I see it, Okabe-san has been through a lot, so it wouldn't be easy for her to just come to terms and accept anything I ask. But if we wanted to establish some kind of trust together, she'd have to help me just like I'm helping her.
"…Fine, don't twist my arm."
So, I went to explain what I needed her to do. I didn't say why, that was too much right now. All I asked was for her to be able to use the girl's locker room in the back for a few minutes. I told her that it was important that if anyone asked about her, she wasn't there. I'm sure she was suspicious, but strangely enough, she seemed less reluctant as I went on.
"You're doing something shady…aren't you Nakagawa-san?"
That's when a small smile formed on her face. Despite how tired she looked; it was a tad heartwarming.
"I guess you can say that. It…would mean a lot to me if you kept this between us, okay?"
This was a test I was willing to take. I know how Okabe-san is…but now I also know the reason why she acts the way she does. I…was putting my trust in her, and I hoped that she'd accept it and not do anything with it.
"You know Okabe-san, do you remember when we ran into each other? That day in September, back when I first started school?"
She angled her head to the side.
"Maybe…I think I remember."
"Well, you said, "Let's not dwell on the past anymore. Only the best of times is ahead of us."
I placed my hand on hers. She was reluctant at first, but I pierced her gaze with my eyes, to make sure we were on the same page.
"I think…right now that's as true as ever."
I turned to Nagumi-chan who seemed to have finished her burger.
"Let's not dwell on our fight. Only the best of times is ahead of us, alright?"
Using her own words against her, she smiled slightly.
"…I guess."
"Thank you. I'll see you at school, alright?"
"Yeah, whatever. Hurry up and go back to your friends, Sophia-san is staring a hole through me."
I did just that as I stood up, waved Nagumi-chan goodbye, and raced off back to everyone else.
"What the heck was that about, Madoka-san?"
The shark accused as I stood over them.
"I had to ask her a question, that's all."
"It's about time to go home, isn't it, Onee-chan?"
I looked at the clock, and it was around 7 PM. If we stayed out any later, I'm sure our moms would kill us. It is a school night and all too.
"Yeah, let's get back home."
Mae-chan raised her hand.
"Sora-chan, Sophia-san, and I all live close to here, so we'll go home together."
"Alright, the three of us will see you guys later then."
At that, Yuko-chan jumped and joined me and Hana-chan.
After we rode home, we waved Yuko-chan goodbye once we got off. In the night, Hana-chan and I held hands to warm each other up. Once we finally made it home, we entered, only to catch Mari-san sitting on the couch with her laptop in hand.
"You girls were sure out for a while…"
Mari-san complained as she laid down on the couch.
"Sorry, mom."
The little flower approached and gave her mom the biggest hug possible then rushed upstairs without another word.
"Damn it…I can't stay mad at her when she does that."
Seemed like Hana-chan had a hold on her mom. With my bags in hand, I walked over. When I looked her in the eyes as I hovered over her, she opened them and stared back.
"Where were you two?"
"Oh, we went to karaoke and then went shopping for clothes. Sorry, we were out so late."
"No…it's alright. Sorry for being such a worrywart lately."
She closed her eyes and opened them again. As if flapping them my way, I held my feelings as I asked.
"Hey…I need your help, Mari-san."
She sat up and looked me in the eye.
"Oh, what do you need?"
"Taylor-sensei…doesn't have a way to get to the concert incognito. I…was wondering if you'd be willing to drive her for us?"
The grin on her face couldn't be measured. The excitement in her was off the charts as she grinned at me.
"So, you have a plan…and I'm a part of it?"
She teased.
"Yes. Hana-chan believes you are perfect for it too. So, it's not just me asking, it's your beloved daughter too."
"Sure. I'd take her from the Red Roses to the concert."
"That's good. Ah…should I explain to mom…"
"I'll tell Ayumi that I'm picking your friend up for you. She gets off work later and won't be able to make it there any other way. Ayumi will understand."
"…Thank you for everything, Mari-san."
I brought out the wig and showed it to her.
"Ah, do you know how to put this wig on?"
"You're asking me this? Well, I guess you wouldn't know but I'm pretty savvy when it comes to things like this. Don't worry, I'll make sure your beloved Sensei is all dolled up for the big show."
"Yes! Alright, it all starts this Sunday."
Everything was coming together. Nothing could stop us now. It was only a matter of time before Sophi-san and Taylor-sensei will be free of all this. With a high-five, I raced away, leaving Mari-san giggling on the couch. Now everything was in motion, ready for the big day. As I lied in bed, I mentally reminded myself that everything had to go right.
"It'll all be okay."
I tried to convince myself as I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
"Hana-chan, are you ready to go?"
It was Sunday, the day of the concert, and I was decked out in my new clothing. I stood at the bottom of the steps, waiting for my little sister to finish up her game. The clock marked just before 3 PM, and Sophia-san already messaged me that they were on their way.
Running down the steps, all decked out in her cute outfit, Hana-chan bounced on the floor and stood upright.
"Mari-san, our friends will be here soon to pick us up. We're going to stand outside and wait for them, alright?"
"Alright, you two. Ayumi is going to be out with Mary for the day. I'll be sure to get the package there on time."
She winked. Her daughter pushed her body forwards and beamed at her.
"Thanks, mom. You…really are cool."
Hana beamed as her mom pet her on the head.
"Have fun today you two. I'm sure everything will work out. Just be careful…okay?"
With a wave, we exited the door. Soon enough, Simpson's car pulled up. Mae-chan, Sora-chan, and Sophia-san were already in the car. They all lived in the general direction. When the car rolled up next to us, Sophia-san pushed the door open.
"Alright, get in, you two."
The shark playfully demands. The flower jumped in first, aiming for the back seat with Mae-chan and Sora-chan. I sat next to Sophia-san, forcing her closer to the window of the car.
"How are you, Koda-san, Nakagawa-san?"
Simpson-san turned around. She was sporting her own fancy clothing. In trendy wear, reminding me of one of STARS signature outfits, Simpson-san took me by surprise. Her bright sea blue collared shirt and white star pattern skirt showed me that she was up to date with the idol trends. I was taken aback…by how influenced she looked right now.
"We're good, Simpson-san."
Hana-chan answered for me as I was still gawking at Simpson-san's transformation.
"Thanks for picking us up."
I finally pushed out. Simpson-san looked at me in her mirror. Those bright blue eyes pierced through me.
"No, you don't have to thank me, Nakagawa-san. When Sophia mentioned that we were going to a concert, I can't lie, I was a bit excited too."
"Yeah, I got a bunch of tickets for my birthday and wanted to go with my friends. I'm glad you could come too."
Today was finally the day. Everything had to go right if we were going to free these sisters of all this turmoil. Despite that being the main purpose of this event now…it was still a STARS concert, and I wanted to enjoy it too.
She took off, pulling out of my neighborhood. Next would be to pick up Yuko-chan, then we'd be off to the concert. The drive was expected to take around an hour, so I fully expected Sophia-san to get restless if I mess with her too much.
"I guess all we need to do is swing by and pick up Mihara-san, and we're good to go."
Simpson-san flipped her bright pink hair and turned back to me.
"Ah, you're back in your favorite spot, Nakagawa-san?"
"I figured if it worked out well last time, it should be fine today."
She giggled as she turned back to the road. Strangely enough, this will be the first time I saw Yuko-chan's house. I was excited about it. When we approached, it was fairly casual like my home as she waited outside. With a wave, Simpson-san pulled to the side.
Yuko-chan's home was modest, and it looked as though one of her family members was outside doing work on it. Briefly, she waved them goodbye as she approached the car.
"Afternoon, everyone."
She beamed as she sat in the front seat. The ghost turned around, looked at everyone, and smiled at us.
"How are you doing today, Mihara-san?"
Hana-chan asked, pushing her body out of her seat.
"I-I'm fine. Just…excited to see…STARS again."
I recalled back on the Cultural Day Festival when we all watched the STARS impersonators do their concert in the gymnasium. This time wasn't like before. Everything was live, real, one of their biggest events of the year. And we were going to use this as a platform to help our friends.
"Nakagawa-san, thank you for the tickets. I actually used to watch idols quite a lot."
"You liked idols, Simpson-san?!"
As if she struck me with an arrow, I lunged back before popping back up.
"You bet. When I first came to Japan that's all I watched. Isn't that right, Sophia?"
I nudged the shark, but in retaliation, she nudged me back.
"Regrettably, yes. Eleanor was so crazy about them she bought a bunch of t-shirts that are now hidden away in the basement."
Mae laughed as she petted my head from behind.
"You're going to get Mado-chan going, Simpson-san."
"What do you like about idols, Madoka-san?"
She asked the question that even Mae-chan avoided now. I straightened my back and confessed.
"When I was young…my dad bought me my first idol CD…"
I recalled the day when I was small. Dad was tired and needed to sleep, so he gave me a new CD. At that time, I became entranced into a world that was free and fun with no fear. That's how I feel when I listen to Idol music.
"Ever since that day, I just fell in love with their world."
"Wow, that's quite wholesome, Onee-san."
Sora-chan teased, causing me to turn around and bonk her on the head. Hana-chan bonked her two for good measure.
"Well, I hope we have a great time."
The mood wasn't as tense as I expected it to be. We were all pretty relaxed as we joked, talked about school and the like. I went on a few spiels regarding STARS, and everyone listened, to my surprise. After the long exhaustive drive, we approached a large building for the venue.
There were a bunch of people already lined up.
"Quite the crowd."
That was to be expected, this being STARS' largest event of the year. Simpson-san parked in a lot across the way, and we all stepped out. As we approached, we had to wait in line and follow a strict route that winded all the way to the front.
"A bit late to ask, but does everyone have their tickets?"
We all pulled out our tickets, showing them to Simpson-san. Sophia-san's ticket was no different than any of ours. We all shared the same section of the concert. That way we could have spots reserved for us. But that also meant that Sophia-san and Taylor-sensei would be closer than we'd like.
Our tickets were bright pink, reflecting that we were close to the stage in the PINK area of the concert. Both of the winning tickets were in the PINK section, likely a premium thing.
"Ticket please!"
A cheerful girl in the cutest outfit cried out, causing someone to walk up, hand them their ticket, and be pointed in the right direction. Our group of 7 was making it closer…and my heart began to pound now.
"Madoka-san, Hana-san!"
My heart literally leaped now as Saitou Risa-san's voice attempted to steal it. She came from a back area on the side of the ticket booth. She was likely peeking out to see if she could catch us. The mature lady bounced over and met our group, ruining her image as she did this.
"Ah…Saitou-san!"
Hana-chan bowed. She then gave her a weary smile. I bet she's thinking "Onee-chan went on a date with her?" or something of the like.
"Everyone, this is Saitou Risa-san, my stepmother's boss and the one who gave us our tickets."
Simpson-san bowed respectfully.
"Oh my, thank you for your generosity."
"So, these are your wonderful friends, Madoka-san? Let me guess who's who…"
She looked around and met eyes with each of them.
"You're Watanabe Mae, you must be Conway Sophia, the tall one over there must be Mihara Yuko, oh, and I bet the short one with the red hair is Hino Sora-san."
She was spot on. I must have mentioned them at some point in passing…but I didn't expect her to be so on the ball about it. But then I recalled that she has that memory that couldn't be mirrored. It only made the Saitou's all the scarier.
The savvy businesswoman turned to our pink-haired guardian now.
"Oh, I don't think I've met you. My name is Saitou Risa-san. I'm the boss of their mothers."
"It's nice to meet you. I'm Simpson Eleanor, Sophia's parental guardian. I know of Nakagawa-san and Koda-san's parents but not of you."
Simpson-san put her finger on her lip and questioned.
"Are you here for the show?"
"Well, I'm a sponsor here. I got a couple of backstage passes because of it."
Saitou-san bragged while Simpson-san nodded in excitement. It would seem that they hit it off well. Sophia-san put one hand on her hip as she nodded.
"My friend mentioned that you invited her family to stay at the Hamasaki Inn and Onsen. My mommy loves that place."
Saitou-san rubbed her nose.
"Yep, my family owns it."
"Holy cow, are you serious?! You must be loaded!"
Sora-chan screamed. It was rude of her, but I let it go.
"Thank you again, Saitou-san. Will you be meeting us at the concert later?"
"You know it. I have a pink spot too. We should stand together and cheer on our favorite STARS cast, Madoka-san."
That's when I felt Yuko-chan's tall body push on my shoulder.
"Ah…I'm going to…stand next to Madoka-chan!"
That was super embarrassing as if I was her toy, and nobody could play with me but her. Saitou-san smiled a tad cunningly.
"Oh, my bad. I guess I'll have to steal that spot! See you later!"
She teased with a wave goodbye. We watched as she made her way into the back, skipping the large line in front. Nervously, I turned to everyone else.
"That Saitou-san seems to have taken a liking to you, Madoka-san."
The shark was the first to point it out. I shrugged, trying to pass it off as nothing more than her imagination. Too bad Risa-san wasn't subtle at all with her feelings towards me.
"Well anyway, it's thanks to her that we even got a chance to be here."
I cleared my throat as I turned to everyone once more.
"So, let's enjoy our time here."
Simpson-san walked in front and began to speak. But before she could, her phone began to ring.
"Oh, hello? Yes…that's right…just stay where you are, and everything should work out."
I couldn't make out what she was talking about. It sounded to me that she was being deliberately vague…and that worried me.
"Alright, take care and stay vigilant…"
She hung up and turned back to us.
"Alright everyone, like Nakagawa-san said, let's have fun!"
That felt forced, but she said it with a smile on her face. Slowly, the nervousness was starting to get to me, but I had to calm down. It was nearly 4 PM, and the show was about to start. In about an hour, Taylor-sensei would start making her way here. That's when the true battle will begin.
"The STARS concert will begin in 10 minutes. I repeat the concert will begin in 10 minutes, thank you."
It was the winter months, so the night was cleaving in fast, causing the sky to darken. But that didn't mirror my determination. I was ready for this event both physically and mentally now.
"Tickets?"
I handed her mine, and I received a plastic wristband that was bright pink. It seemed that everyone received the same color as we traded our tickets, likely signifying our section.
"Oh…"
The ticketer was surprised when she received Sophia-san's. But before mentioning anything, she gave her the same plastic wristband as everyone else. From what I heard, security comes around and brings in the person who was selected a bit before the final act. Likely, she's making a note of Sophia-san, hence why she perked up like that.
"Is there something wrong, ma'am?"
Simpson-san caught wind as she put one hand on her hip.
"Oh, no! There's nothing wrong. Please, enjoy the concert."
We all breathe a sigh of relief internally I bet. I could see the ghost's grim expression though. She was so cute, wearing everything she was thinking on her face.
"Alright girls…"
Our chaperon turned around.
"Stay together, I'm in charge. No going off alone without my permission, got it?"
"Yes, Simpson-san!"
We all approached the concert's stadium together now. As we entered, the lights dimmed down, and we were brought into a world of flashy lights, glowsticks, and fantastic rhythm in an instant. The STARS cast wasn't up yet, likely a well-known artist warming up the mood before they came. As we made our way down the steps, getting closer to the stage, we passed security as we approached the PINK section. Right when we got comfortable, the STARS cast burst in, taking over the already hyped-up crowd.
"Oh my gosh! STARS is here, guys!"
I screamed, shouting as loud as I could.
"Wow, we're like right on stage!"
Mae-chan clapped, excitedly. I felt all the more guilty knowing Saitou-san was the one who got us these spots. The stage lit up in a rainbow explosion full of bright lights and power. The hyper and cheery beat caused my feet to move in pleasure. Yuko-chan stood next to me as she promised but suddenly, the rowdy middle-schooler with bright red hair pushed in front of me. She overtook the ghost spot in an instant.
"Eh, what are you doing, Sora-chan?!"
I warily cried out.
"I'm dancing with you, dummy!"
She held my hands and moved with the music. We had the room for this, so it didn't bother anyone else, so I played along with her and moved my body to the music too.
"You got moves, Onee-san!"
She teased, showing those bright teeth of hers as if she was ready to eat me alive.
"You want to battle, huh?!"
I bullied her back by taking her hands in mine and swinging her to the side. She spun like a spinning top but caught herself. With more passion now, she came back onto me, held my hips, and laughed hysterically. Together we moved to the bustle of the music.
"My goodness, you two…"
Sophia-san laughed as she moved her body to the music too. It was loud, intoxicating and before I knew it, everyone was dancing. Mae-chan held her glow sticks in the air along with Hana-chan. Yuko-chan found herself beside Sophia-san as they moved about, kicking it to the music.
When I turned to the side, I connected with Simpson-san's gaze, and she wasn't dancing…but watching me closely. That's when it hit me…My enemy wasn't going to get caught up in the mood of the music…So I smiled at her, showing my innocence. I danced harder and with vigor as Sora-chan and I got entranced by the music. I had to show her, Simpson-san, that this night wasn't anything special.
It was just a fun time with me and my friends…
...And that the battle of wits had begun…