Concert Night
“This is exciting!”
Rika and Yuki stepped off the train along with dozens of other people that were going to the same show.
“I know right? It’s been a while since I’ve been, I’m almost a little nervous.”
“Nervous?”
“I know, it’s kind of silly. I kind of get nervous in crowds like this.”
“Well, at least you’re not super short.”
“I didn’t think about that.”
“Will it be hard to see you think?”
“I don’t think so, at least not from where we’ll be.”
“Oh, where are our seats?”
“You’ll see.”
Rika smirked.
Yuki looked at her suspiciously.
“You’ve been so secretive about this whole thing.”
“Sorry, I think it just works better as a surprise. Trust me.”
“Alright... “
They approached the entrance and found Kiko and Hidetake. Kiko was hopping and waving.
“Hello!”
“Let’s head in!”
Hidetake, Kiko, and Yuki turned to get in line for entering the venue.
“Hold on!”
Rika took four cards fixed on lanyards out of her bag.
“We’re going in a different way.”
“Woah.”
Yuki studied the pass, it designated their entrance to the backstage area. The artist’s name seemed somewhat familiar, but she wasn’t completely sure who they were.
“Let’s go!”
The four of them made their way to a side entrance of the concert hall. They were greeted by a single guard who ushered them in as he saw the passes.
“This is so cool!”
Staff members walked back and forth completing last minute preparations.
“Are we the only non-staff back here?”
Rika nodded.
“They don’t usually have backstage passes, but because they’re clients they made an exception for us.”
“Now I feel super important!”
Kiko clapped and hopped in excitement.
Hidetake nodded in agreement.
“This is super awesome.”
Rika looked at her phone, suddenly a roar could be heard from the crowd in the other room.
“Show time!”
They were escorted by stage staff to seats located on the side of the stage. And, the music began.
Yuki didn’t recognize the musicians, but she recognized the intro of the song. And a large smile spread across Yuki’s face.
“I know this song!”
Rika smiled as she saw Yuki’s reaction.
“This is the theme from my favorite show!”
She clapped and turned to Rika.
“Now I know why you kept it a secret! How did you know?”
Rika giggled and shrugged.
“I saw you watching the show a couple times... And your phone case.”
Yuki blushed as she remembered her admittedly embarrassing phone case.
“I... forget I have it.”
“I like it, it’s really cute. It suits you.”
Yuki hugged Rika, and then settled into her arms.
“Thank you.”
Rika kissed Yuki’s cheek.
“Of course.”
Just then, they both heard sighs. And both noticed Hidetake and Kiko were staring at them.
“You two are so cute.”
Hidetake nodded.
“The cuteness might stop my heart.”
Kiko turned and hugged him.
“I’d say I’ll save you, but mine may stop also.”
Rika and Yuki aw’d.
“You two are super cute also.”
Kiko and Hidetake both blushed in response. And, Kiko quickly attempted to draw the focus away from them.
“Anyway, we should probably pay attention to the show!”
“Right!”
Yuki and the rest of them focused their attention back towards the stage.
Yuki sang every word along with the band. And cheered while sitting in Rika’s embrace.
The four clapped and cheered at the end of each song, mesmerized by the show.
“They’re so good!”
Kiko clapped as she spoke.
“Even the way they dress is cool!”
Each member of the band had unique outfits and decorated instruments.
Rika nodded in agreement, impressed by their client’s talent.
“They’re good showmen also.”
Throughout the concert they took time to solo and talk to the crowd, even taking a selfie video at the end.
The singer finally closed the show and they bowed and took their leave, stage right.
“They’re coming this way!”
“Well they’re going to say hello to us.”
“I’m so nervous!”
Rika laughed at Yuki’s reactions.
“They’re just regular people.”
“Talented people, I’m almost not worthy!”
“This is our job you know.”
Yuki took a deep breath and relaxed her shoulders, then smiled.
“Right, I forgot.”
“Here they are.”
Rika tapped Yuki’s shoulder, indicating her to sit up so they could stand to greet them.
“Hello!”
The lead singer was the first to reach them. She had blue hair, an extremely avant-garde outfit, and a bubbly personality not unlike Kiko’s.
“I’m Mary, nice to meet you all!”
Rika bowed.
“Nice to see you again, thank you for inviting us.”
Mary smiled and waved her hands.
“Think nothing of it, anything for old friends!”
To that point Yuki had been star struck and hadn’t known what to say, but at hearing Mary and Rika were old friends she tilted her head and tugged on Rika’s shirt.
“You know each other?”
Mary looked at her and nodded excitedly.
“Yes, we went to high school together!”
Rika was blushing, and seemed slightly uncomfortable.
“You should have told me before, that’s so cool! Also, I’m Futaba Yuki, it’s very nice to meet you.”
Mary smiled.
“It’s very nice to meet you Yuki. You work with Rika?”
Yuki nodded.
“I’m sort of new, but yes I do.”
Mary looked at Kiko and Hidetake.
“We’ve met before.”
Kiko was still mildly start struck, but quickly turned to professional mode.
“It’s been some time, but nice to see you again Mary.”
Hidetake only nodded, he was completely star struck.
Mary smiled at the four and motioned to the backstage area.
“Would you like to join me in my dressing room?”
The four of them followed her to a room that had a card with her name taped to it.
They all sat on sofas and chairs, looking around at the posters from old performances held at the venue.
“This is super cool!”
Kiko giggled with excitement.
Mary smiled at all their reactions.
“What do you all want to drink?”
They all said in tandem.
“Beer!”
Mary clapped and stood up.
“I’ll go find some! Be right back.”
She quickly left the dressing room closing the door behind her.
Yuki looked at Rika, she still looked slightly uncomfortable.
“What’s wrong?”
A bead of sweat formed on Rika’s brow.
“I didn’t think she would bring up high school... The band.”
Yuki giggled a little.
“You don’t want me to know you have musical talent?”
Rika blushed again.
“I don’t really... It was just sort of a clique we had. We tried to be edgy, wearing black and all that.”
“Adolescence syndrome?”
Rika sighed in embarrassment.
“Yes. It’s so embarrassing to think about in retrospect. Especially, because she then remembers me like that.”
“I’m sure it’s not that big of a deal.”
Rika was still blushing.
“Probably not.”
Rika also had another reason for being uncomfortable, more than she thought she would be. She truly hadn’t expected their past to come up.
/I’m not sure how to bring it up. Especially now./
Just then Mary returned with a member of the staff, bringing in five cans of beer for each of them.
“Sorry that took so long!”
“Not at all!”
Kiko graciously accepted the can.
“We’ve just been checking out the posters.”
“Oh! They’re super cool right?”
“Totally. Have you two been checking them out also?”
Kiko had noticed their conversation, it seemed something was happening, but she didn’t know what. She did know however she would have to steer the conversation a little.
Rika snapped out of her deep thought.
“They’re really awesome, it must be really cool playing here.”
Mary nodded excitedly.
“There are so many people I look up to that have played here, it’s actually sort of intimidating.”
“Intimidating?”
Yuki thought she had looked so comfortable on the stage, the last emotion she expected her to feel was intimidation.
“Yeah... It’s silly I guess, but sometimes it feels larger than life. Like, I still remember playing in garages with the band during winter, it would almost be too cold to play guitar. Going from that... I never thought we’d be here.”
Yuki remembered how Rika had mentioned she was just like them.
“That sounds amazing.”
Mary smiled.
“Yeah, it can get pretty surreal, even now. But, it means that much more to me that the fans got us here when the band and I play.”
Yuki’s twin tails bobbed with her excitement.
“That’s so exciting to hear! You guys are so good, it’s no wonder you have so many fans.”
Mary blushed a little.
“Thank you.”
“It’s also really cool that you do the theme for ****’s anime!”
Mary’s eyes lit up with excitement.
“I almost died when we were chosen to perform it!”
Yuki clapped
“It’s actually my favorite show!”
“Same here! I’ve been a fan of the series since it was a light novel.”
“Me too!”
“I love it also!”
Mary and Yuki’s attention turned to Hidetake, who had been silent till that moment.
He was blushing yet invested in his announcement.
“I own all the novels and BR discs. Also a poster and body pillow of the MC. She is my 2D wife!”
Kiko patted him on the head, trying to cool him down after his proclamation of love.
“And I’m your 3D wife you goof, calm down there.”
“You two are married?”
Kiko smiled.
“Yes we are.”
Mary then looked a Yuki and Rika, clearly trying to understand the rest of the dynamic.
Kiko noticed this and quickly thought of the easiest solution, also one that would answer a question if hers.
“It’s a double date night for all of us.”
Mary immediately blushed.
“I- I see.”
Kiko immediately got her answer.
Mary quickly regained her composure.
“That’s very romantic, I hope the show didn’t disappoint!”
Yuki cut in.
“It was amazing, you all were really great tonight.”
Mary kept up an untelling smile.
“Thank you very much.”
There was a brief moment of silence, in which Kiko could see Mary was thinking of what she should do.
At that point the atmosphere had changed completely to utter discomfort.
Suddenly Mary clapped her hands together.
“I just realized we actually have a photo shoot soon, I’m sorry.”
Kiko was the first to answer.
“That’s completely alright! You probably need use of the dressing room right?”
Mary frowned.
“I’m sorry, I do.”
“We actually need to go anyways! Right guys?”
Kiko looked at Rika and Yuki, both had caught on to what she was doing.
“Yeah sorry, thanks again for the tickets. Good luck!”
Mary nodded.
“Anytime Rika.”
She then looked at Yuki.
“It was very nice to meet you Yuki.”
“You too Mary, good luck!”
“Thank you. Goodnight everyone.”
The four stood up and filed out of the dressing room, making their way to the exit. Rika breathed a sigh of relief as they stepped out into the night air.
