"I was going to let you go this evening, but you're not doing so well, are you?" Yokohara-sensei joked a little bit. The nebulizer tube was in my mouth. An unexpected problem, caused by all the excitement earlier with Keitaro. Something we forgot to be cautious of, among all of the other things.

"If it's not one thing, it's another," I said, taking it out of my mouth briefly and sticking it right back in.

"You're definitely sounding better. I'll let you rest for a bit after your treatment, and then you both can go home. I expect you back in my office in a few days. I want to see how your new medication is doing and affecting everything. Plan on being in Tokyo for a week, I'd say, and then come back regularly every month. I want to check on everything, really pay close attention."

"Sounds great," Tetsu said, leaning in over me on the bed.

"Take care. I'll give your discharge paperwork to your nurse, and you can fill it out. She'll give it to me. See you very soon! And congratulations on your mini album. I can't wait to buy it!" She said excitedly, so sincere.

"What, you? Buy it? No way," Tetsu chuckled. "Of course you get a free copy."

"Thank you. I'll treasure it." She smiled warmly, bowing to us. He bowed back to the best of his ability next to me in bed. She left us, and he wiggled closer to me.

I sighed happily. Despite my throat burning for lack of air, I was so content. We were getting out. We'd be in Tokyo for at least a week. Soon, we'd be going to Fleeting World Entertainment and diving into that universe. Things were aligning amazingly. It hadn't hit me yet, what was really happening. The gravity of it. If only this level of excitement right now caused an asthma attack, what would my full realization do? But, I couldn't think about that. Not right now. It was too amazing.

I closed my eyes and rested my cheek on Tetsu's shoulder. His sweet hand wrapped behind my back and landed on my head. It was so warm. Something about the lack of air was making my face twitch. Strange movements near my nose and in my eyebrows. Closing my eyes made these more noticeable. I'd just let the medicine work. They'd go away soon.

Gently, a song flew into the air. A melody on a breeze. One I recognized, and he'd sung to me before. One of my favorites. Akatonbo. Almost a lullaby, calming my heart. So close to me, his voice was all the more resonant, so peaceful. The way he sang, I could almost smell the fresh mountain air from the lyrics, hear the dragonfly wings. He evoked such imagery, with just the simplicity of his rising and falling tones. To my western ears, the traditional way he sang sounded almost dissonant, like it would fall and be corrupt, but it tied together beautifully, becoming something so clean and fresh, like the crispness of the new air breathing into my lungs, bringing me back to life.

He took a breath, and began singing another song. Another folk song, called Haru ga Kita, or "Spring has Come". It sounded playful, like a celebration. In my mind, the flowers in the song were waving in the wind at the Spring sun, saying hello. This was the joy his voice evoked, singing these simple words.

He finished this one, and started another. A slow one, so calm and sweet. A song called Yuyake Koyake, or "the Sunset Glow". The picture he painted was of calm Summer evenings, the sky orange and purple, a distinct smell of wheat hanging in the air, maybe. Of birds sleeping in their nests, and the large round moon coming out and shining over all. His words made me see everything, the whole story. The peacefulness of the wind, carrying the scents of Summer over the land.

Slowly, an idea was forming. He continued to sing, clearly enjoying it as much as me. These songs of childhood. I waited for him to finish, and he sighed happily, his hand rubbing my hair. By now, the idea had fully formed. How wonderful it would be.

I popped the nebulizer out of my mouth.

"Huh?" He asked, so pleased, relaxed.

"I want you to sing a medley of these songs on the mini album," I said immediately. No hesitation.

"Oh?" He smiled. I turned to him, and his eyes were almost half lidded, so in joy to sing these songs. They clearly meant a lot to him. "They're children's songs. I don't know how much people would be interested." He pushed his lips out in a purse, thinking now. It was too adorable.

"I think the beauty lies in the simplicity. I want you to showcase your traditional singing style somewhere on the mini album. I think these would be great. I'm not fooled by how simple they might seem to the lay listener. They can become complex and beautiful. Your voice can do it. Just listening to you now, I could see all of the stories. All of those colors. It will be so beautiful."

He made an amused noise, his smile so cute. His thumb went to his chin, still deep in thought.

"Besides," I continued. Did he need convincing? "Everyone already knows the words. I think that's a benefit. You can make something so familiar to them seem new. It's a way to get to know you, don't you think? They already know the songs, so they can just focus on your voice."

"So smart," he burst into a small giggle like a sneeze, almost embarrassed. "See? This is why I want you to help with the music on the album. This is an idea I'd never have had. Children's folk songs? The way you describe it, it could work. I don't know what kind of music will be on the mini album, but if we have this as a base, who knows what we can do with it. It's interesting to me also that Lyra would be involved. Their kinds of instruments with children's folk songs? How different could they become? What kinds of sounds can we make? This is intriguing."

I nodded vigorously. "I'm sure Nobu would be highly interested. He'd use Lily to play some tentative melodies, and we can all try things out together. It would be..." Just imagining it. It reminded me of old times, with the two of us in my apartment, sheet music strewn all over the floor, laying there on my belly with my sheet music notebook in front of me, a pen hanging out of my mouth, watching him try out a melody across from my kotatsu as he sat with his long legs criss-crossed. Such a warm feeling. I wanted it so much that it almost hurt.

"He can play Lily, and I can sing, and we can all think about it," Tetsu smiled so much, obviously thinking just like me. "Keitaro can come over and play the piano in my parents' living room, and we can all play together, coming up with things. Ohh... It's perfect. I'm so excited."

I put the nebulizer tube back into my mouth, nodding, smiling so much, too. He was completely right. But, first we had to get Nobu on board. He was absolutely integral to the song writing process. We could come up with original things, and our own arrangements on older songs that are known.

Tetsu's pointer finger went onto his chin, his thumb sliding back on his jaw. "But which songs? A medley, right? How many songs? How long would it be? This is so interesting. Which songs go together and can reasonably be sung one after another? It's important to choose the right themes as well, thinking about the lyrics. It's not enough for the melodies to go together, but the themes must, too. What do we want to convey? Should the whole medley have a major theme, such as mountains or the moon? Perhaps an animal? Maybe something such as, 'songs of the moon', or 'animals of Spring'? Hmmm. Ahh, Sana, you have me thinking a mile per minute." He began giggling, making my lower lip poke out in his cuteness. "And my dancing. Imagine it on stage? I wonder if they'll let us perform, or if it's strictly an audio release. If it's songs about animals, I can dance as if I am those animals. How does a dragonfly dance? Ahh, I'm so enchanted. How can I portray the wings and the quick movements of the dragonfly? Should I pick songs based on how I can dance them?"

I sighed inside, the romance of what he was saying. Imagining him dancing, singing these songs. Dressed in elaborate costumes, and his makeup. The peaceful atmosphere of the imagery.

The dragonfly dance. What a beautiful concept. Even if there were no dragonflies in the medley, we could use this idea for another song. Maybe for an original. A mixture of traditional and modern sounds. How gorgeous. The way we were bouncing ideas off each other. It made me more excited than I could say in words.

"I want to see your dragonfly dance," I breathed, taking the nebulizer out again. It wasn't wise to keep doing this, but I was too excited. I had to tell him. He looked so lovely, his face so bright and full of giddiness, coming up with these pretty things.

"Ohh," he grinned. "And you know, dragonflies dance with each other in a swirling upwards motion when they find their mate. It's a perfect idea. They already dance with each other." So warm. He was so pleased. His hand went over his heart, enjoying telling me this.

"I want to dance the dragonfly dance with you," I sighed. He was taking me away to another world. The romantic, twirling dance.

"I want to dance with you, too," he sighed with me. "We'll dance together when we get home. I'll hold you." His arms went around me, and his head rested on my neck, his sweet hair full of his warmth, so smooth and smelling of his shampoo. My eyes closed in so much happiness that I didn't have a word for it.

I took the nebulizer out of my mouth. "Let's call Nobu right now and tell him about the mini album. I can't wait any longer. I know he'll be just as excited as we are. He gets to write again. I think he's home from work now. If he doesn't have a gig with Yamato-san, as you told me he does sometimes now, then he might answer. I can't wait another minute. I want to do this as soon as possible. I want to come up with ideas, and we can get Keitaro involved, too." I made a low, eager noise. "We're in Tokyo. It's the perfect time to come up with first ideas. We're conveniently located."

"Okay," he said, so cute, high in his throat, full of joy.

I giggled a little at his cuteness. He reached out for my purse and dragged it to my bed, on top of my legs. He opened it and fished out his cellphone. It lit up, and he soon pressed in Nobu's number. It rang, but he answered so quickly, making my excitement go into fever pitch. Tetsu put him on speaker.

"Hello?" He asked, a bit nervously, I thought.

"Hi, Nobu!" I called out.

"Hi!" Tetsu sang out.

"Ohh! Hi! Is everything alright? I read the blog. It seems like you're doing alright, but I have to make sure."

"Oh, I'm perfect!" I positively chirped. "Hey, we wanted to tell you something amazing!"

"What?" He sounded amused.

"Fleeting World Entertainment is giving us a contract for a mini album! They want Lyra to write the songs, and Tetsu to sing them. Lyra will be performing them, too. Isn't that amazing? I want to write songs with you. We already have some ideas, but we want your input. It's a collaboration, just like old times." I was talking too fast, not waiting for him to speak.

"Whoa! That is amazing! But... Lyra? We don't have a drummer. Do you have someone in mind for that role? I have some friends who can fill in. If we're getting the band back together... Oh, Masaki is going to be over the moon. Can I be the one to tell him? And is Shizue coming? Fleeting World... It's just like..." He breathed out for a long time, distorting the sound on his phone.

"We're getting a second chance. Keitaro said so. It's official," I said, my cheeks hurting in my smile. Tetsu squeezed my hand.

"Keitaro said? Wow... Whoa... It's hitting me now what you're saying. I have to sit down."

"Go sit down!" Tetsu laughed.

"Yeah, I am now. Wow. I'm going to call Masaki right after this. Wow."

"As for the drummer, it's okay," I said.

"It's okay? Did you find someone? You said Keitaro, right? Is Davy filling in? That would be amazing. I can't even comprehend it. I'm going to need a drink after this to calm my nerves."

"No, no. Yami agreed to do it. He really wants to say he's sorry, and we can all meet and-"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not going to work with Yami." Said so fast. No room for interpretation.

"I- but- wait..." Confusion. We were so happy...

"We can find someone better," he said, a much softer tone. "You know we can find someone better. Someone who meshes better with us." He kept repeating that word, better.

"But..."

"Think about it, okay? I'm going to call Masaki and talk to him about this. The blog says you're in Tokyo. Are you still in Tokyo? We can talk about all of this. Even if we can't get Davy, I'm sure Keitaro know a lot of artists. Fleeting World has plenty. We can find a better drummer."

"Okay..."

Tetsu's thumb rubbed my hand, and I realized I'd clenched it so hard against his fingers. I eased my grip.

"Okay? Bye bye. I'm going to call Masaki now."

I nodded, my mouth open, but no words coming out. I blinked several times. Tetsu jumped in. "Bye bye, Nobu. Thank you."

"Bye bye," he repeated. He hung up. Tetsu put the phone in front of him, and as soon as it hit the bed, thunder and clouds rolled in behind my eyes. I lowered the empty nebulizer to my legs, and put my hands over my face. Tetsu's arms were around me, predicting what I was about to do. He knew me too well.

"It's going to be okay," he said gently, so close to my ear as he held me. "We'll convince them. It's not over. They'll see it how we do. We just need to convince them."

I nodded into his chest as he pressed me there, devastated tears rolling down my face, so the opposite of how I'd felt, as if someone flipped a switch and now it was only darkness.