The lights of the stage were dark; only the flashlights of the stage crew making last minute adjustments disturbed the blackness. We took our position in the center of the stage, Sachi to my right, Rei to my left. Hana, Hiroto's former assistant, now his replacement, bustled about, making last minute checks before giving each of us a hug of encouragement.
I closed my eyes, letting myself ride the building wave of chanting coming from the audience that echoed through Madison Square Garden. My heart was pounding and I grabbed Sachi's hand for a moment. She squeezed back reassuringly and I felt my heartbeat race in a whole different way in response. Sachi made it all ok. Sachi made my world bright, even here in the dark Sachi's radiance shone through. Everything was, finally, going to be ok.
"Are you ready, Rei?" I asked quietly to the girl standing on my other side.
"I'm so scared I might pee myself," Rei whispered back. I giggled and squeezed her hand as well.
"Me, too," I answered. "But let's do this!" Rei nodded and smiled hesitantly. I closed my eyes once more, feeling the thunderous applause grow even louder. I took a deep breath to steady myself. I opened my eyes as the curtain rose and the lights exploded on the stage. The six of us stepped forward and the crowd went wild.
"Hello New York!" Koemi sang; a huge grin on her face as she stood next to her sister for the first time in her career.
"We know you've waited patiently for us and we can't thank you enough!" Mari enthused. The energy in the venue was palpable, a living, breathing thing filling the air with anticipation.
"We apologize it took so long to get to you! How are you?" Yukiko asked as we moved to our positions for the first number. The crowd screamed in response, 20,000 throats calling to us as one.
"We hope you can forgive us for making you wait!" Sachi said, waving at the crowd enthusiastically. Again the screams echoed through the hall.
"I'm so nervous! But I hope you'll take care of us! We promise we will do our best!" Rei sang, bowing to the audience with tears in her eyes. The noise of the crowd was building to a crescendo.
"Now, let's get this started!" I called to thunderous applause.
"We are Kunoichi!" All six of us sang as one as the music exploded from behind us.