The next day, they didn’t have to be so fast. So they took their time. Again they were driven to a clothes and make-up stop, to be transported in another vehicle, to drive the last kilometres in their ‘school bus’, to be dropped in front of their fans and to be led to stage.

Apparently something was wrong with the electronic equipment. “I am sorry, Takeru-sama. I am sure you’ll do fine on your own.”
“But I still need to do ten concerts!”
“I know Takeru-sama and I am sorry, but I can’t do anything about it.” Akira left the poor man alone and went to see the band and the manager. She told the case and the manager said she could do it, while the others asked if she wanted to call off for a sudden attack of nausea. At first she wanted to take on this offer, but after thinking it through she thought about singing. “But you don’t sound like Takeru!”, Yuji and Shinpei said in unison. Akira began to sing a piece and all their mouths dropped. “How? How on earth?”, they uttered. “She sounded terrific, didn’t she?”, asked the manager.

They all climbed on the stage and began their usual performance, only this time Akira really sung. All the fans went wild and everyone smiled. It was a big success. Sometimes Akira blushed, because she was shy. And all the girls would squeal over this. When the performance was over Akira kissed her palms and waved at the crowd, they all cheered loudly and when she was off stage, she blushed brightly. Shinpei saw her blushing and his heart skipped a beat. He had never seen her as a girl, before this time. He was shocked of this emotion, averted his eyes and walked on.

When in the vehicle they all celebrated. “That was awesome!”, Chiyu said.
“Really, How did you do that!”, shouted Masato.
“You were great.”, said Yuji calmly. And Shinpei only smiled. Akira blushed. “Come on you guys, I’ll get embarrassed!”
“Akira, I never knew you could be so cute!”, Chiyu exclaimed and had put his arm around her and rubbed her hair. Shinpei glared at Chiyu, but immediately averted his eyes and was shocked about his action. “I want to hug too!”, Masato shouted and he hugged Akira tightly. “Join in Yuji!”, Masato said, “Join in Shinpei.” Yuji and Shinpei looked at each other, lifted their shoulders and joined the hug. They all laughed. Akira was never this happy. She felt loved by this people, more than she felt with her parents. She got tears in her eyes and all the guys had let her go. Shinpei and Masato her cheeks: “What’s wrong? Don’t cry.” She rubbed her eyes: “Don’t get me wrong, I am very happy.” And she smiled through her tears, for she really was happy. All the guys sighed in relieve. They all patted her head. She lifted her glass and all the others pushed theirs against hers: “Kampai!”

At their new hotel, they found Takeru sitting on the couch. Everyone smiled and ran to Takeru and hugged him. Masato couldn’t wait to tell the news: “Akira sung! She sounded exactly like you! It was awesome! You had to be there for yourself!” Akira wasn’t in the room at the moment, as she had to put on a gown, because she was going with the manager to some party as his date. When she came in the room in a nice gown with a split, high heels, hair in an up do and wearing make-up, their mouths all dropped. She looked at them with a questioning face and all the guys gathered around her, circling and then they all said: “Oh my! You are lovely!” She blushed. “I’ve never seen you this ladylike!”, said Chiyu. “We all haven’t!”, Yuji exclaimed. “Previously she was just one of the guys, you know.”, said Masato. “But now that isn’t possible anymore.”, said Takeru. They all ogled her and for the first time she felt uncomfortable for it, was it because she was wearing actual girls clothes? She didn’t know. Shinpei had gone on the background and blushed. He rushed to the bathroom and stayed there until Akira left.