Kana's final show was a total disaster. Her mistakes became worse and worse as the act went on, even affecting Ruby and Mem-Cho at some point, too. Midway through the performance, the fans also began to pick up on this; some started to boo them out, which led to Kana's act slipping even further. Most fans, though, tried to ignore it and just enjoy the last moments of the new B-Komachi as a trio before they would split up forever.
26th of December, 1:00 am, Tokyo,
All members of B-Komachi sat in Miyako's car as she drove through the mostly empty streets of Tokyo. There was barely any noise on the outside, yet on the inside of the vehicle, it was even quieter, quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Kana was submerged within her own world with her hat drawn down all the way to her eyes, cloaking them in shadows even darker than the rest of the car's interior.
If he really wasn't there. Why did he promise me that he'd come then? I can understand if he wouldn't want to see me perform, I really can. But lying to me? Just be up front about it, Aqua, you know that I can take it. It's not like this would've been the first time someone told me... But lying to me is low, even for your standards... Well, maybe he was there, and I just didn't see him. I mean, there were quite a lot of people there after all, far more than usual. Were they really all there to see my final performance… Nahhh, I'm imagining things.
Aqua just didn't wave his glowsticks enough, and therefore, it couldn't have possibly found him; that's all there is to it. He didn't stand out enough. I'll definitely tell him off for his half-hearted efforts, embarrassing. Still, what if something happened to him? Maybe I should call him later, just to make sure he is okay.
Both Mem-Cho, from the passenger seat, and Ruby, from the other backseat, looked at Kana's still appearance with a puzzled expression; neither of them dared to say a word to her. "Why do both of you look at me like I'm an alien? I know my performance wasn't the best, but you two should already be used to that so where's the problem? You should be happy, you've finally managed to get rid of me," Kana said after she finally noticed the gazes of the others placed upon her. Her voice was barely louder than the hushed radio, yet it carried a venom inside of it.
"Kana-" Ruby began to speak as she reached her hand out towards Kana.
"I KNOW, AND I AM SORRY..." Kana shouted loud enough for Ruby to quickly retract her hand, and Miyako to almost crash into the next best pole; she only managed to regain control of the steering wheel at the last second. Kana turned a bit red upon realizing. "I'm sorry... for screaming. Could you just drop it, please? I will take the blame online, I will apologize on my own account and save you the hassle, I already know how it is."
The car fell silent again as Kana leaned her head against the cold window to her left. Right on queue with that, rain began to fall from the sky and quietly trickled against the glass panel. Kana's gaze wandered over the massive buildings and bright light, which rushed past them without really registering any of it.
What if he really wasn't there… I searched nonstop, looked at every face at least twice. Hell, I can even still remember some of them. Maybe I should ask Ruby or Mem. Maybe they saw him, this could ease my mind, probably… But what if they haven't seen him either? That would only make everything worse; that would basically confirm me. Damn you, Aqua. You asshole could've at least sent me a message. "Hey, yeah, I don't want to come." That would've been totally sufficient. But no, nothing at all. Are you really that socially unaware?
Ruby, in need of any kind of support, silently looked around the car. Yet, Mem-Cho, as well as Miyako, obviously, had their eyes straight ahead, fixated on the wet road ahead. Ruby was the only one who had noticed that Kana was even more off than usual. Soft rustling could be heard as Ruby readjusted her position and shifted slightly to her left, closer to Kana. Once close enough, she placed her head on Kana's shoulder, without saying a word just yet, just silently letting Kana know that she isn't alone.
"Kana, you might've graduated from B-Komachi now," she said after a while of Kana accepting her closeness. "But we are still friends, I don't care about getting hate online, I only want the three of us to have lots of fun…"
Kana stayed silent.
"But you look like you hadn't had any fun the entire time, I just don't understand why." Ruby took a short break. "I mean this should be a happy day, a new chapter in your life begins today. You want to tell me what's wrong?"
Mem-Cho, who turned around upon hearing Ruby's words, nodded her head enthusiastically. "She's right Kana, you don't have to take any blame for this, you aren't on your own anymore."
Kana continued to stay silent, completely unable to express her thoughts and emotions, much less put them into words.
Please just be safe, Aqua...
26th of December, 2:00 am, Miura city
Aqua and Akane walked down the poorly lit streets of Miura City in silence. Akane was slightly ahead of Aqua, silently leading the way while she herself didn't know what would be around the next corner.
It's 2 in the morning, and we are stuck in a random city without trains, driving, or a place to stay… That's just great. Well, at least I got Aqua out of there. Now I will just need to make sure we find a place to stay. That's so hard… All hotels will be booked out for the night. We can't go to a manga cafe either, there are basically none in Miura, and the ones that are will be filled with people who could recognize Aqua or me. Same for Kobinis, they are safe and warm, but if someone were to recognize us, it could get awkward for Aqua. We need something more secluded…
"Aqua," Akane finally said after nearly an hour of silence, her voice hoarse from this. "We need a place to stay, at least until the first trains back to Tokyo drive again." Aqua remained silent, yet he stopped walking, signaling to Akane that he was at least listening to her. "Let's go look for something," Akane said as she grabbed his hand, leading the way faster than before. "I will not let you regret your decision," she added under her breath.
They didn't need to search long; just a few minutes later, they found a dark park. Cozy is different, but it was certainly better than exhausting themself further by walking around in the cold. Even though the bench was mostly shielded from the wind by surrounding trees and hedges, the conditions were still brutal. The cold winter air, combined with the bench still being damp from the earlier rain, made Akane shiver as she sat down on it. Akane edged closer to Aqua as goosebumps had begun to form on her thighs. She was holding his cold hands inside her own, shielding them as best as she could while she placed her head against his shoulder, savoring a bit of his warmth.
It was still over two whole hours until the trains would start driving again.
"What now, Akane? This was perhaps my only chance at this." The raspiness within Aqua's voice startled Akane; she was just calming down and hadn't expected Aqua to speak any time soon.
"I got a few ideas, but none of them are really a full concept," Akane admitted after a short while." It's just... anything is better than losing you."
"What do you mean?" Aqua stuttered with a hint of sudden hostility in his voice. "No it's not. If Ruby or anyone else is hurt because of this, then I… then," Aqua's words trailed off into silence as he realized his utter loss of control.
"That's not what I meant Aqua," Akane quickly explained, "Of course that would be bad, but this way we get the chance to save everyone, including you."
"If I just had died, none of this would be necessary," Aqua quietly protested, "All of you would not need to worry or fear anything anymore…"
Akane lifted her head from his shoulder to look into his eyes. "I'm sorry, I should've been more prepared… Fuck" Akane muttered as she let go of Aqua's hands and buried her face deep within her own hands. "It's just so much all of a sudden… I promise you, I will come up with something, just please don't die before I can."
He's right, I ruined his plan and endangered what's most important to him. I don't know how he feels right now, but he can't be too well. But what about me… Damn it, I also almost lost him just now, can't he show at least a bit of empathy towards this? Is he really th- Akane was ripped out of her thoughts as she felt Aqua's hand on her shoulder. His eyes gazed at her with a depth that Akane can't even begin to understand. Then he spoke, his voice quiet.
"Akane, I am scared."
The surroundings fell completely quiet as if Aqua's words had created another dimension in which sound doesn't exist. After what felt like hours, the quiet ambience sounds returned. Small tears pecked at the corners of Akane's eyes, but she quickly blinked them away. Yet, her mouth stayed shut, completely unable to form a response.
"Forget I said anything," Aqua murmured after he had looked at Akane's face for a while.
"No, I-" Akane began, but quickly fell quiet again, "Alright," she mumbled while she lowered her gaze away from Aqua's face.
…
The silence between them stretched, and both just sat a few centimeters apart as they grew colder and colder. The sudden sound of Aqua's clothing rustling surprised Akane. "You must be cold," he whispered as he wrapped his left arm around Akane's shoulders. Akane hesitated for a moment, but then she leaned into his embrace, savoring his touch. "Aqua... I love you." She whispered as she pressed her head against his torso. Aqua didn't acknowledge her confession, yet he also didn't pull away from her body. He knew that pulling away would not only hurt her but also make both of them freeze a whole lot over the next two hours. Akane snuggled even closer as she wrapped her arms around him, her numb hands barely even feeling the fabric of his clothes beneath them.
…
I really almost killed myself earlier; I would've left all of them behind. But maybe it would've been good like that… It would've guaranteed Ruby's safety.
Aqua shook his head slightly.
No, what am I thinking? It wouldn't even have done that; there could still have been things that threatened Ruby. There are so many things, things I did not think about before. I was egoistic and dumb. We will find another solution, a solution where nobody will be hurt afterwards, another way of saving Ruby… Sarina, a way where I can be with her...
Aqua smirked softly.
I am still selfish.