From my hidden vantage point I could see the mass of people, humming brokenly with a million different voices, yet moving as if they were one body. It was nearly time. No turning back. I glanced silently at my two companions, who both returned similar unspoken thoughts in a look. We’d do this together. Just like we always done everything in the past.
After
coming back from the hospital, I’d confessed my stubbornness, and reconciled
with both Taiki and Yaten. Yaten admitted she, too, had been selfish. The
question remained, though – what was to become of Three Lights? That was when
Taiki answered it for all of us.
“We’ve
always been san Kou, and we always will be, no matter what happens to
the band.”
In the
end, we took the Alicia Young concert, one final appearance before Three Lights
took an indefinite break. And we had a bigger announcement to make.
I ran a
sweaty palm down the thigh of my black leather pants and fidgeted with the blue
beaded tank top. We had an entirely new attire for this concert, quite
evidenced from Yaten’s miniskirt and heels and Taiki’s flared-sleeve low-cut
top. I wondered if walking out on stage stark naked would be just as
nerve-wracking. It certainly felt like it.
Sure,
Alicia-san might be pissed with us for stealing all the media attention, and
doubtless there would be plenty of disappointed fangirls, but in the end it
didn’t matter what the rest of the world thought. I didn’t care, as long as she
was watching.
She was
somewhere in the crowd tonight – she’d promised to be. I couldn’t see them, but
I could imagine her yellow odango-buns floating out there among the hyped-up
fans. I knew she was there.
That was
all that mattered.
Yaten
gave a reassuring smile and Taiki nodded. One last deep breath and I gripped
the microphone. The loudspeakers gave our introduction and we ran out into the
lights to the deafening screams of the crowd.
No more
hiding from now on. It was time for the world to know the real me.
The
cheers faded into sporadic outbursts and then to silence as the fans who knew
us noticed something was different, and the rest wondered what was going on.
I raised
the mic to my lips: “Minna-san …!”
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Notes: san Kou = “the three Kous” or “the three lights”