Yasu blinked awake in the soft morning light, his hand instinctively reaching for the nightstand where his cigarettes used to be. His fingers found nothing but an empty surface, and he sighed, remembering he quit. He sat up in the soft bed in this remarkably feminine room and realised where he was. He turned back to look at Nanami, who was still asleep beside him. Her bare back faced them, and he felt the urge to kiss her shoulders and kiss down the arch of her back. 

He looked away, sighing as he rubbed his face with his hands. He needed to snap out of it. He moved to get out of bed, the weight on the mattress shifting, waking Nanami up. 

"You're going now?" she asked, her voice groggy.

He hesitated, glancing towards the window where the sun was just beginning to climb the sky. If he didn't leave now, he'd be late for work, but after hearing her voice, he did not want to leave.  Sliding back in bed, he shook his head. "No," he said quietly, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "I'm off today."

Without another word, he slid back under the covers and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer. Nanami remained still; his bare skin against her felt great. His hands followed the curve of her body from her shoulders all the way down. She felt his hand between her legs, and she hummed, turning over to her back, letting his fingers slide up.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Nanami dropped a heavy stack of newly bought textbooks onto the table in front of Shin with a loud thud. He stared at them, wide-eyed and horrified, as though she had just dumped a pile of live snakes in front of him. 

"You can't be serious" Shin asked.

But she was serious, she took out a pile of empty notebooks and pens from her band and placed them on the kitchen table. Shin put away the magazine he was reading; she seemingly came back from a round of shopping and went crazy. 

"These are your new best friends," she replied; her voice was sinister, sending chills down his back. "You're going to graduate high school by fire or by force."

"Wait—what?" Shin's jaw dropped. "You can't be serious, Nanami!"

"Dead serious," she shot back, crossing her arms over her chest. "You can't keep putting this off. You're smart enough, and you're capable. We're going to study together whenever I get back from uni, and you're going to take the exam next year." If she didn't put her foot down now, he would keep putting it off. Shin did not have a formal education, but she was sure he could achieve the impossible. She knew she couldn't put him in school without his parents permission, so she had to do the next best thing. 

"But... I'm not even enrolled in school," he protested, his eyes darting back and forth between her and the intimidating stack of textbooks. "And I haven't exactly been, you know, studying."

"Which is why we're going to start now," she insisted. "I'll tutor you myself. You can learn from me, and we'll make it work."

Shin sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. He did not want to do this. But if she insisted, what could he do? "You're really not gonna let this go, are you?"

"Nope," she popped the end of her sentence, and then she searched her bag again and brought out a lollipop and gave it to him as if to ease the impact of her announcement. 

"Fine," he said. "I'll give it a shot." He took the lollipop with a sigh and she beamed in delight. 

"That's the spirit," she ruffled his hair before sitting down next to him. "Now, let's see what you remember from math class."

Just as they were about to dive into the first book, Nanami's phone buzzed on the table. She glanced at the screen and saw Julie's name flashing across it. "Hang on," she said, picking up the call.  "Hey, Julie! It's been a while."

"Nanami, hey!" Julie's voice was bright and cheerful on the other end. "How've you been? I heard about the breakup, and... well, I just wanted to check up on you."

Nanami's heart softened at the concern in Julie's voice. "I'm fine, don't worry about me," she replied. She was more than fine, she had screamed her voice hoarse the last three nights, which meant something, right? "Thanks for reaching out. I'll be okay."

"Good to hear," Julie said, sounding relieved. "I know things have been rough lately, but I wanted to tell you something that'll cheer you up, it's a shame I'm not around at the moment or I would have stopped by."

"Oh?" Nanami said, a hint of curiosity creeping into her voice. "What's that?"

"Our producer's been asking about you," Julie explained. "He was impressed when you performed with us and wanted to know if you might be interested in signing with the label."

Nanami's jaw dropped. "You're joking."

"I'm serious!" Julie laughed. "He thinks you've got potential, Nanami. He asked me to talk to you first and see if you'd be open to discussing it."

If she would consider? Hell yes! She needed the money! Yet taking his offer immediately wasn't good practice. 

"I need some time to think about it."

"Of course," Julie said in understanding. "Take all the time you need. Just know that the door's open, and we'd love to have you."

"Thanks, Julie," a content smile formed on Nanami's lips. One door closes, another opens. "I'll definitely think about it."

As she hung up the phone, she caught Shin's gaze. "Does it sound wide to get the same label as your ex?"

"What do you know? You're just a kid!" 

He looked at her and sighed as if to say 'my sister is too naive'. "At least wait a while, I have a feeling more people will give you a call. "

"Huh? Why?"

"You forget you've been on the news for the past week, hiding here hasn't changed shit. You should probably check your spam." 

She furrowed her brows and opened her phone, going to her emails. "Holy shit." She gasped. One door closes and fifty open up. 

"Also, are you free next week?" Shin asked rummaging his pockets. 

"What could I possibly be doing? I'm free" Nanami said as she scrolled through her emails with stars in her eyes, she was definitely not paying attention. 

"That's good, it's on Saturday so I figured you'd be free." 

She finally looked up, "free for what?"

He brought out four tickets. "We're going to a trap nest concert." 

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Nanami couldn't deny it; Trapnest had great music.

She was beginning to wonder why she didn't listen to them more often. Standing next to Shin, dressed especially risqué today, she felt a little out of place yet in her element at the same time. Despite arriving with Yasu, they hadn't talked much and he left right after the concert. Since Shin was the one to invite her, she stuck close to him.

"Are you a polar bear? Why are you always wearing fur? It's July," Shin commented, eyeing her outfit with mild disbelief.

Nanami glanced down at the fur shawl draped around her arms and hummed in contentment, clearly in a good mood. "I look quite beautiful, don't I?" she mused, twirling slightly so the dress shimmered. "This dress is so old, too."

The dark blue sleeveless minidress sparkled beautifully under the dim lighting, perfectly complementing her flawless finger waves that had taken her hours to complete. She was practically glowing, and she knew it.

Shin eyed her warily before reaching out for a drink being carried around by a waiter. But he paused, feeling Nanami's deadly glare on him.

"...By chance, do you serve lemonade?" he asked, slightly defeated. The waiter, understanding the situation, kindly found something suitable for someone his age.

Nanami smirked, satisfied with Shin's choice of lemonade. Then she turned to Nobu, noticing how many glasses he'd already chugged down.

"Are you okay, Nobu-san? You're drinking too much," Shin said as his glass of lemonade arrived.

"I can't stay sober in this atmosphere!" Nobu replied with a groan, and Nanami chuckled. It was just a club; the atmosphere was part of the fun, after all.

"Oh my~ What an ingenious guy~" Reira, Trapnest's lead singer, teased as she floated by. She was undeniably pretty, with a strikingly short fringe and long curly hair that framed her petite figure. The skinniest jeans Nanami had ever seen clung to her perfectly.

"Don't tease him too much, or he might explode," Nanami said with a laugh. Reira smiled mischievously before rushing off to join her bandmates.

"I wonder why Yasu-san dated that weird woman," Nobu muttered, relieved as Reira left.

Shin burst out laughing, while Nanami merely blinked. "They dated?"

"Yeah, of course," Nobu replied nonchalantly.

'Of course???' Nanami's eye twitched in disbelief. Yasu's dating history was starting to feel too extensive. What the hell?

As the night carried on, Takumi began signing autographs. Nanami paid him no mind; the music was far more important to her. This was the first time she'd met all of Trapnest in such an intimate setting. The last time had been more distant, less personal.

Unexpectedly, Naoki was the only one who wanted to dance, and he was good at it. Nanami was surprised, but it was a welcome change of pace. Shin, observing her from the side, considered ordering a drink himself, but remembering the punishment he'd likely face, he quickly decided against it.

"By the way, Takumi, I want an autograph too!" Ren called out suddenly.

Takumi looked up. "Fine. What's her name?"

"Hachikou!" Ren replied enthusiastically.

Nobu, however, was confused. "Shouldn't you use her full name?"

Ren blinked, his mind completely blank. "Uh... What's her full name again?"

"Komatsu Nana," Shin interjected with a sigh, swirling his lemonade in his glass.

Takumi paused for a moment. "Oh! Nana-chan! But I don't need to do anything more, right?"

"Huh? But she wanted one." Ren replied. 

"When was that?"

"The day of the tournament." 

Takumi placed a cigarette in his mouth, pulling out a lighter. "In that case, I don't need to do it anymore; we did it the next day." 

Silence crept up, and everyone merely stared at Takumi, who seemed not to notice. Noaki came back with Nanami in his arms. "Two mojitos!" he ordered. Nanami felt warm and dizzy, definitely dehydrated, but she wasn't oblivious to the strange vibe of the group.

"What's wrong?" she asked, not really directing the question to anyone in particular.

"You're talking about my girlfriend's close friend here!" Ren snapped at Takumi, his voice tense.

Takumi seemed slightly taken aback but remained calm. "She agreed. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal?" Ren shot back, his frustration bubbling.

"I never forced her to do anything," Takumi added coldly, brushing off Ren's anger as if it was nothing.

Nanami glanced over at Nobu, who looked furious, while Shin stood there, his expression filled with a quiet frustration.

Before she could process the situation fully, Nobu shot up from his seat and grabbed Takumi by the collar, drawing everyone's attention immediately.

"If you want to fight, let's take it outside. This party is dedicated to our tour staff; don't ruin it," Takumi said coldly, his words chilling the air. Nanami frowned. Whatever had just happened, Nobu was clearly enraged. But instead of escalating it further, Nobu let go of Takumi, turned around, and promptly stormed off.

Takumi, looking slightly surprised that Nobu had walked away, straightened his collar. Nanami then noticed Shin walk over to Takumi, pick up his glass, and dump the drink on him, not a word spoken.

Nanami didn't know whether she should be trying to stop Shin or just let things unfold, but Shin took her hand and began to drag her out.

"Shin—" she tried to protest, "Stop, what's going on? Shin!"

He halted, turning to face her. She could see the frustration beneath his otherwise calm exterior, though it was clear he was trying to maintain control. The first thing he did was apologise.

"I'm sorry I dragged you out without considering what you wanted. Did you want to stay?" he asked quietly.

"Um, not anymore," she responded, offering him a faint smile.

He gave her a bittersweet smile in return, one that saddened her more than she'd care to admit.

"What happened?" she asked, genuinely concerned now.

"That bastard!" Nobu suddenly yelled, slamming his fists against a nearby brick wall.

Shin let go of Nanami's hand, slipping his hands back into his pockets. "He was bragging about sleeping with Hachi," he explained, his tone calmer but still carrying a heavy weight.

"Are you for real?" Nanami asked in disbelief, her voice rising.

Shin nodded as they continued walking. Nobu walked ahead, clearly distressed, his emotions weighing heavily on him.

Nanami felt irritated—no, more than irritated. How could Takumi just casually say something like that? As if it didn't matter at all.

"You did good, Shin. I'm glad you stepped in since I wasn't there," Nanami said, surprising Shin with her praise.

He turned to look at her, eyes wide. He hadn't expected her to say that. "Maybe we should take the fight outside next time," she added mischievously.

Shin's eyes widened even more in shock before he burst into laughter. "You? Fight? You couldn't fight a chicken," he teased.

She flushed, realizing he was right, but felt that chickens were objectively more terrifying than Takumi. "Hey, chickens are scary," she muttered, looking forward again. Nobu had kept walking ahead, his posture still tense. Nanami wondered how much it must've hurt Nobu to hear Takumi's careless words.

They followed Nobu all the way to the river. When he finally sat down by the bank, she stopped, standing there because there was no way she was getting her dress dirty for a man like Takumi.

"You guys go home," Nobu mumbled, his face lowered so they couldn't see his eyes.

"Yeah, let's go home. I'm cold," Nanami said, visibly shivering. Nobu looked up at her. She was wearing heels, barely any clothing, and standing by a freezing river in the middle of the night.

"Leave without me," Nobu repeated.

"Not possible. I need someone to carry my shoes upstairs," Nanami said shamelessly, making Shin chuckle.

"Carry them yourself!" Nobu retorted.

"I don't want to!" she shot back.

Shin sighed, shaking his head. "The way you're arguing over nothing is crazy," he muttered. Then, turning to Nobu, he asked, "Nobu, you like Hachiko, don't you?"

Nobu's face flushed immediately, turning bright red. "Nonsense!" he denied, but it was clear he was lying.

"Pussy," Nanami spat with a teasing grin.

"It's not like I have a chance!" Nobu shouted, frustrated, his emotions spilling over. "She likes that guy!" 

"And I like Michael Jackson, so?" Nanami countered without missing a beat.

Nobu tried to stifle his laughter, but it escaped in short bursts. "To be fair, Michael Jackson is handsome," he said between giggles.

"Exactly! So stop with the bullshit. If you don't tell Hachi and she ends up with that long-haired bastard, I'll never forgive you," Nanami said seriously.

"Easy for you to say!" Nobu grumbled. "You're not exactly the best at relationship advice anyway. You're like an emotional virgin."

Nanami's eye twitched with irritation. Her lips curled upward with a sinister grin as she raised her leg and kicked him fiercely with her stilettos. Nobu screamed and tumbled into the water with a splash.

Shin merely glanced at Nobu, now struggling to get out of the freezing river, and shuffled a few steps away from Nanami, clearly not wanting to be her next target.

"Are you crazy?!" Nobu screamed as he finally pulled himself out of the water.

Nanami squatted down to his level, her grin gone as she stared him down. "I am a very crazy bitch, and if you don't come clean with Hachi in the next week, I might actually stab you in your sleep and bury your body by the river so you can become fertiliser."

"..." Nobu stared at her, stunned into silence.

"..." Shin, too, was at a loss for words.

Scary.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Nanami stared at her phone, scrolling through all the emails, carefully noting down the agencies that had contacted her. But only one left her at a complete loss for words. She wondered if he was laughing at her right now. Did he even know that this email had been sent to her? 

Without wasting any more of her time, she pressed "delete" and decided not to acknowledge him any more than she absolutely had to.