As the others went to go play in the arcade, Tetsu and I stayed at the table with Masaki. He was drowning himself in a too big chocolate milkshake. We'd encouraged him to get it when Tetsu said he was covering the cost of the night. Masaki protested, saying he could afford it, but we insisted. There was no way he was paying for any of this.

He was twirling his straw slowly around in it, staring at it sadly, most likely thinking about his girlfriend. I'd never met her before. It was true, they were unusually private. We were still musicians. We'd played jazz venues a lot in the time that they'd known each other. After everything happened with me, I heard he still gigged with Nobu and Yamato-san. She'd known he was a musician, and this is what he loved. So, how could she then break his heart by using the thing that he loved to break up with him?

I tried to see the other side of it, from what little I'd heard, trying to use Tetsu's logic. But, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't see the other side of it. Maybe it was because I was a musician, too. I never wanted a "quiet life" like this girl supposedly did. It's what I ran away from when I was a teenager, in fact. Realizing this part of it... It was awful to me.

On the phone, Masaki had been talking about her like she was an obligation. Talking about how his family expected him to marry her at some point. In my opinion, that's no reason to get married. But, I only had my own experiences and opinion to go on. Who was I to judge?

"I should really call her," Masaki sighed, bringing me out of my thoughts. He was already going for his phone. "If I call her, don't tell the others, okay? They'll just get mad at me. I know Nobu sounded flippant on the phone about it, but we were trying to be mature adults. She wants one thing, and I want another. I know that. I really tried hard to see her side of it, and considered what it would mean if I went along with that. I'm still trying to see her side of it. But... I know what she wants isn't what I want." He brought his phone out of his pocket, holding it in his hands on the table. He considered it for a moment, staring at its blank screen.

My hands slid to his in the middle of the table. I held his hands, trying to show him it was okay. "I won't tell anyone. I know Nobu doesn't understand things like this. He's never had a steady girlfriend. You know that. I get why you went to him late at night, and that's okay. But... I think you should talk to your girlfriend."

Masaki nodded, still staring down at his screen.

I kept going. "But, don't back down on what you want. What you want isn't a dream anymore. It's reality. I do think that what Nobu said was true, about her disrespecting what you want. That didn't change."

I felt him grip his phone under my fingers. "It's so hard to begin to comprehend that what I want is reality, though. I still haven't fully grasped it. For her to make a decision like this before I can even handle it? It feels like the last three years meant nothing to her."

I shook my head. "I'm sure it meant a lot to her, but if you have different ideas of what you want your lives to be like, then it can't be helped."

"I suppose you're right." He sighed that heavy sigh that he'd been doing all night. "I'm glad you're here. You're more able to have an intelligent discussion. Don't tell Nobu I said that."

I smiled, even though he wasn't looking. "I won't tell him. Promise."

"I mean, he has his merits. He does know how to have a good time. But, I just don't think I'm in the mood for all of this. I'll drink later, I'll feel some kind of good. But, I don't think that'll solve my problems."

Tetsu tapped the table, trying to get our attention. "That's an excellent way of thinking about it. You do what you need to do. But, drinking isn't the answer."

"Yeah. I think that's right." He sighed again. Our hands parted. "I'm going to go call her, then. I don't know how long it'll take. I know we're in line to play laser tag at eight, so I'll pay attention to the time."

"No, we're here for you," I assured him. "If we miss it, don't feel bad."

He gave a little smile, making my eyebrows peak a bit at the sight of it. "I want to play laser tag," he said, but there was no fun in his voice. We watched him go, and Tetsu put his hand on my back, starting to rub between my shoulders. It made me lean on him, and he wrapped his arm around me.

It only took ten minutes. Masaki came back, his head hanging low, staring at the terribly patterned carpet in here. He plopped down, taking the spoon out of his milkshake and taking a lot of it into his mouth. We waited for him to say something, but he paid attention to his chocolate silently.

"Are you okay?" I asked after a while, as I watched half his milkshake disappear.

He just shook his head slowly in misery, taking another spoonful.

"I'm here for you. No matter what, I'll be here for you," I tried to assure him.

He took another spoonful out, but stared at it. He was frozen now, part of his front teeth showing in his parted lips. He took a long blink, closing his eyes for an extended period, and then opened them, still staring at his full spoon. "She told me it's officially over. She called some movers, and is moving out on Monday, because that's the soonest they can come. She said she knew it was over for a while, because I was more into my music than coding. She said... She said she was s- scared of me... I don't know what that means."

"What- scared of you? I don't understand. You'd never hurt her." My eyes were wide. It was impossible. What was there to be scared of with him? He'd never hurt a fly. He was also so relaxed, quiet. He'd always been kind to everyone.

"Not that kind of scared, I guess. She said she was scared that I'd stop having a respectable job and go to music, whatever that is." He stuck the spoon in his mouth, and held the chocolate in there, reflecting still.

"Can I say something?" Tetsu asked. He sounded bold.

Masaki nodded.

"Music is a respectable job," Tetsu finished.

"Thank you," Masaki said, taking another spoonful. He let it slip into his mouth slowly, twisting the spoon to get it all. He sighed, swallowing. "I think I was getting sick of coding, anyway. None of the projects I did ever excited me. I used to love it when I was younger, but I think I'm burnt out. There's always more to learn, and lately that part of it's been grating me. When I think about learning new stuff on bass, I get excited. I always have. I think that says something."

He didn't sound done, so I let him continue, choosing not to speak as he paused on this. He sighed again, a big one.

"I don't think I'd have stayed in coding much longer, anyway," he admitted. "Her worst nightmare would have come true, anyway. She wanted a husband with a steady job that makes pretty good money. She said that. I think that's all she was looking for. I don't think I was included in that much, if that makes sense. I know with my personality, I can be like a doormat. I kind of like that, if you can believe that. I don't like being the center of attention, and serving others makes me kind of happy. I like seeing people pleased. I think that's why I like bass so much. On stage, I'm not the center of attention, but I still play a part in making people happy. I used to think that about coding, too, but it's lost its spark. It's given me a good life, and I'm grateful. But, I can't even imagine the kind of life bass is about to give me."

"Your life is going to be incredible," Tetsu said quickly. This earned him Masaki's gaze.

"Please tell me that's true," he said. "I need to know that. I need to know it's going to be better than this, and that it's worth it."

The look Tetsu was giving him was sending chills up me. He was so determined and serious. He leaned over the table slightly, so into it. "It's the truth. I promise it is. We're so close. Just a month and a half to go. That's hardly any time to prepare for what we're about to do. If she calls you, you can tell her that. If she doesn't want you for you, then you're better off. If that's not too bold."

The smile on Masaki's face was priceless. Now who was the one who was pleased? He gave a small chuckle, surprising me. "Do you know what she said?" He asked us.

"What did she say?" I asked, all ears. He looked so happy now, but his eyes still weren't following. He was sad, of course, but maybe feeling a little better. That's all I could ask for.

"She said that if I came back, I had to have cut my hair and dyed it back to black. Can you believe it? She's so controlling that she even wants to say what kind of hair I have. What's wrong with brown hair, anyway? I don't think it's that radical. It isn't bright orange, like Nobu. Or the hot pink he once had." He gave another little laugh. "Oh, if she'd seen his hair back then? I think she would have ran for the hills."

Tetsu eyed me, and I eyed him back. We smiled at each other. "You know," he said, sneakily. "I have a hair stylist. How about we dye your hair purple?"

This made Masaki's laugh louder. It made me grin.

"Ahh," he sighed. "I don't know what I'd do without you guys. Without Lyra, everybody. She's so wrong." He gave a small laugh at the end of his words, overcome.

"She really is," I grinned at him. "Here. Let's get you another milkshake." Tetsu was already flagging down a waitress.

Masaki laughed, finally looking at us full on. His eyes were following his smile, such joy in them. He gave another chuckle, sighing in relief this time. So wonderful to hear.

"Ahh," he sighed. "I'm going to shoot Yami in the chest later in laser tag. It's going to be great. Get that anger out."

This made all of us laugh. I was so happy, seeing him finally smiling like that. He deserved it. Nobody was supposed to make him feel guilty about achieving his dream, especially not a girl he'd only known for three years. Lyra had been his family for far longer.

I jumped as his hand made contact with mine. It was cold from holding his milkshake glass. I smiled at him, and he was giving me a pondering, but content look. "And don't worry about laser tag, okay? I've got it all planned out. I play way too many military type video games to lose. I'll be your sniper, okay? We'll be a team. We're absolutely going to win."

I gasped at his plan. "Yeah," I said, my mouth open, "I can't wait."

He gripped my hand, giving me that content smile. "Thank you, Sana," he said a little quieter, his meaning clear. His true gratefulness, how much this meant to him. "Thank you for arranging this. For the Gundam, too. Thank you for talking to me. I do feel a little better."

That was the best thing I could have heard. "Anything for you," I assured him, giving his hand a squeeze, too.

What met me was such a happy, true smile.