In the light of the late afternoon, Tetsu, Yami, and I made our way to Fleeting World. In a stroke of brilliance, Keitaro had suggested that we go shopping first.

"This way, we can have snacks that Sana can eat, and you both have ones you prefer, too. I think this meeting could go late into the night. I'll have dinner brought in, too. But, I want to make sure everyone is comfortable. I know we try, but I don't want to make a mistake as far as food is concerned."

He was well informed about my recent health problems. He and Tetsu had a long conversation in the morning again about my progress. My blood pressure was stable by the late morning, but I was still being monitored through lunch. The hospital wasn't taking any chances, and that told me it was more serious that I thought. It scared me, because of what we'd gone through in the past couple of days. That maybe, what Yokohara-sensei had said wasn't true after all. That maybe this was a big deal, and she was trying to downplay it like she usually did, retracting what perhaps her original intention had been to Sawai-san. It made me suspicious, and I didn't like it.

I couldn't think about that, though, as we entered Fleeting World. I held onto my food in a reusable bag as Yami argued with his mom over the phone.

"We'll be fine. Yes, I heard there's another typhoon coming tomorrow. We'll be back before then. Calm down. It's a freak occurrence, and it's not even supposed to directly hit us. Yes, I know, I'm taking precautions. Sana, this and that. I know. I know. I know." He paused. He stood in the doorway, possibly blocking the next person if there'd been anyone behind us. "Do you want to talk to him? Would that make you feel better?"

It was clear she was nagging him, but she had some real concerns. Just that morning, the show we'd been watching was interrupted by a news report about the new typhoon. Tokyo and much of the country was still recovering from the last typhoon, and here was another one less than a week later. It scared me a little, but Tetsu held me throughout the whole broadcast, making me feel secure and safe.

Yami wagged his cellphone at Tetsu, and he moved my chair off to the side of the long entry hall. My eyes scanned the ceiling, my favorite part of Fleeting World. The white birds made a rushing sound as they changed direction, a flowing ripple effect going down the whole ceiling to the edge far away. Tetsu took Yami's cellphone.

"Hello," he said a bit hurriedly, I thought. "Mmhmm. Ah, I see. Uh huh. I can see the concern. Yes."

Yami joined me in staring at the ceiling, and we both gaped like children as the birds changed to a v-shaped pattern, causing a v-shaped ripple to go down the hallway. Another formed at the end, and they collided in the middle with the sounds of millions of birds wings. How could you ever get tired of that sound? I eyed the receptionist down the hallway, wondering if she ever tired of the sound, and how she could resist watching the birds all day. What was her name again?

"We have an almost new pen of insulin. Yes, Glucagon also. There's refrigerators here, trust me I know. I've been here many times. There's a break room for the staff."

"Hello! Welcome!" The receptionist called from down the hall.

"Oh! We have to go, but trust me we will be fine. We'll be home late, but we have plenty of storm tape left. We can help you with the windows. Yami can stay with us, it's okay. There's a couch in my antiques room that he can sleep on. I have plenty of blankets, too. It'll be alright. We'll get through this storm. Sana is doing a lot better, so it won't be like last time."

Yami took the handles of my wheelchair and began taking me down the hallway as Tetsu led us, still on the phone and very distracted. He waved to the receptionist as she waved back with a big grin. "I promise we'll be home. I know negotiations can take a while, and we have to go over our contracts and sign them. Our aim to get a lot done today. But, we'll be responsible, also. Yes. Yes." He started to laugh a little, lifting my heart. "I can absolutely look at updates about the storm on my phone as it progresses. I won't lose sight of it."

We waved to the receptionist, and she was polite and quiet as Tetsu continued to speak on the phone. She steered us toward the familiar elevator.

"I'm about to enter an elevator, so I have to go now," Tetsu explained to Sawai-san. "But, I promise it'll be alright. They're saying the storm will come in the mid-morning, right? We'll be home with plenty of time. We're going to have dinner here. If Sana gets too tired, I'll bring him home no matter what. You don't have to worry about that. Negotiations can continue later on, but his health comes first." He paused a little as we waited for the elevator. He smiled, making my heart jump in happiness. "Yes, absolutely. His health comes first. Why wouldn't it?" He laughed a little with her.

As the elevator dinged, he stopped laughing, but was still smiling. "See you soon. Good-bye," he said assuringly to her. He hung up and handed the phone back to Yami, who slid it away in his pocket in a fluid a motion as he pushed me onto the elevator. All together, we stood in silence as it ascended to the seventh floor.

In the long hallway of opaque glassed rooms, tiredness descended upon me. My eyes closed briefly as we went along, trying to find our meeting room. Despite all the excitement and how important this was, my body was going to do what it wanted. But, I had no time to dwell.

A glass door banged open so hard in front of us that it almost shattered.

"AURELIA!" Came a heavily English accented voice, and flying toward us was someone I entirely didn't expect to see. Behind me, Yami stopped in his tracks so fast that I almost fell out of my chair. I gripped my armrests quickly in the sudden halt, my bag almost tumbling forward.

In front of us, the tall figure collided with Tetsu, embracing him hungrily. As they hugged, I took him in.

He had to be at least six feet tall. He was wearing a pirate patterned head covering, something like a surgeon would wear during surgery. The rest of his hair was free flowing and a dark brown, wavy, going a little past his shoulders. He was wearing a black leather jacket and baggy dark jeans. His red t-shirt matched his head covering in color. His face was all too familiar to me. Half English and half Japanese, such a unique face that you could recognize it anywhere in Japan.

"That's Davy," Yami whispered to me as Tetsu fawned over his friend loudly and Davy did the same, greeting each other after a long time. Yami couldn't believe the sight before his eyes. One of his highest level idols was standing not ten feet in front of him. He sounded like he was having a religious experience.

"Oh, and who's this?" Davy asked, turning to see us. Yami stepped backward, bringing me with him. I started to laugh, so pleased. He was reacting just as I thought he would so many years ago, going completely shy.

"Well, I- uh, I um-" Yami stuttered, suddenly afraid.

"Are you Sana?" Davy asked me in English. The sudden change in language jarred me. Unexpected. But it made sense. Davy was British, born in Yorkshire. His native language was English, just like mine. I often forgot that when watching him in interviews and on stage, even though I knew it as a fact.

"Yes, I'm Sana," I answered back in English, weird to use it after so long. "So nice to meet you. I've been a fan."

"Nice to meet you, too. I've heard so much about you." He shook my hand, further jarring me, this change in custom. "I've been reading Tetsu's blog. When I heard you're American, I wanted to meet you all the more. I'm charmed already. You're a fan of mine? I'm humbled."

Behind him, Tetsu's eyebrow was up, making me smile. He looked so pleased, watching us.

"Come, come. Why stay in this cold hallway? We have so much to talk about. Keitaro told me you haven't signed your contracts yet? Let's remedy that right away. We can't have that, can we?"

He gestured for us to follow him, and the receptionist bid us good-bye. His polite, British tones were so foreign to me now that I couldn't get over it. Had it really been that long since I'd been properly exposed to the west? Was I this inside of Japanese culture now? It was a shock.

As we rounded the corner into the room, Keitaro stood up from his seat at the long table. It was a different meeting room than we'd been in before. There were a lot of short palms in here, refreshing greenery. It soothed my heart to see them, a reminder of home. I saw a variety of snacks neatly arranged on the table behind him now as he came toward us, individually packaged cookies and crackers and things on a long black, rectangular plate. It looked expensive.

As Keitaro greeted Tetsu and I, I couldn't help but be impolitely distracted by Yami formally meeting his idol to the left of us.

"You're Yami-san, correct? I recognized you from the videos I've seen of Lyra. I've been studying. I'm very impressed. Looks like you could give me a run for my money." Davy had both of Yami's hands in his, overly familiar. He was so much taller to Yami's 5'4" frame. Yami was looking up at him with his mouth open, unable to close it. It was painfully obvious how impressed he was. He was like a little kid.

"Ye- yes, I'm Yami, the drummer of Lyra," he responded, finding himself.

"I saw you play one of our songs during one of your sets. That was a pretty hard one. You must practice a lot. Can you tell me about your techniques? You play such a variety of genres. How do you keep up with it all?" To his credit, Davy wasn't sounding overly polite. He sounded like he really meant what he was saying. He was actually impressed with Yami, which made me so happy for him, my heart over the moon for their meeting. I knew how much Yami had wished to meet him. Now, it was finally happening.

"But, that's what I wanted to ask you," Yami gasped.

Davy smiled at him. "I bet we'll have a lot to talk about. Come to the table. Let's discuss. What's your favorite kind of genre to play?"

"Oh- I..." Yami started to blush. Davy didn't let go of his hand as he led him to the table to sit.

Suddenly, I was being hugged and I came back to what I was supposed to be doing. Yami was just too adorable to take my eyes off of. I'd been totally distracted.

"How are you feeling?" Keitaro was asking me. It took me a second to come to, remembering what he was referring to.

"A little tired, but alright," I responded in time.

"Tired?" Tetsu asked. His hand immediately went to my forehead, feeling for my temperature. I watched his lips part in concern, taking in their shape. It made me smile, just a happiness filling me completely. A contentedness. Yami was nearby, meeting his idol. We were about to sign our contracts and talk about the tour finally. And somehow, I wasn't afraid of any of this. Not one bit.

"Do you want to take a nap before we begin negotiations? We have time before the others get here. The meeting won't start for about two more hours. You can sleep on the couch. It's a good one. I often come in here to nap during long nights, myself." Keitaro was giving me a similar look of concern to Tetsu's.

That honestly sounded perfect. I nodded enthusiastically. I could be rested for the meeting. It was the best idea.

"Okay," Tetsu said gently, smiling with me. His hand went through my hair, making me want to sigh in his loving touch. It only filled me with more happiness.

As he took me to the plush looking red velvet couch, my smile was unparalleled. He kissed me on the cheek, making me blush. It made me want to play, despite how I was feeling physically. Before he could help me out of my chair, I hugged him suddenly. I felt his body be taken aback for a second, and his arms followed. He hugged me so tightly, beginning to make a content and adorable sound over my shoulder, one of deep satisfaction and love.