"It was so amazing." I said to Aki as we left the theater. I pulled Aki's trench coat tightly around me, and he took his cue to wrap an arm around my shoulders to keep me warm. The night had become dark, overcast with clouds that blocked out the moon, and snow was softly falling in small flakes like glitter. "You were so amazing."

"I was just doing my thing." He said. He was always so modest when he received compliments. "But I'm glad you enjoyed it."

I noticed Aki was leading us walking in a direction that wasn't quite the correct way back to the hotel, but I let him without a word, knowing that he likely had another plan in mind. "Nagoya is nice, but I'm glad we went to Kamakura in the end."

"Oh I haven't even shown you Nagoya yet."

It was such a passing comment, I was caught off guard. "Yet?"

The walk through downtown Nagoya was peaceful, even though it was as busy as Tokyo. No one was in a hurry, they were really just enjoying the travel. The trees lining the streets were illuminated with tiny white lights, and the warm glow of the shop windows made the air feel so much warmer. The overwhelming neon lights of Tokyo were so cold and impersonal in comparison.

As we walked, Aki pointed to a shop just ahead of us, steering me toward it. He reached in front of me to press the button on the door, and it slid open just in time for him to nudge me inside. It was a small bar, long and narrow like the ones Aki and Guardian preferred. We entered into a small waiting area, and Aki put both hands on my cheeks and kissed me. "Are you cold?"

I hadn't noticed the cold until the contrast of his body heat was against me. He didn't wait for me to answer before he turned to order from the bar. As I watched, the bartender quickly poured something into two paper cups, dropped a stick of cinnamon in each one, and slid them to Aki.

"Amazake." He said as he handed me a cup. Steam was billowing from the open top, and the warmth radiated into my hands. He held his cup out. "Cheers?"

"Oh!" I tapped my cup against his. "Cheers!" I took a sip and closed my eyes, though I could feel his eyes on me the whole time. The drink was sweet and thick, and the cinnamon had already begun to steep.

"I hope you're ready for another show tonight."

Aki lead me deep into downtown, where the shops and buildings began to look a little more rough around the edges, and seemed to cater towards the people who matched them. We descended a long flight of stairs into a small, dark live house, and admittedly, I only recognized what it was because of how many I had experienced at Aki's side. We bypassed a crowd that had formed in front of the stage of younger looking people that fit into the typical stereotype of live house attendees. Coloured hair, ripped jeans, band t-shirts, flannel shirts tied around their waists.

As he pushed open a door beside the stage, Aki shouted loudly into the room, catching the attention of a few men who looked like Guardian when they were about to perform. One of them shouted back at Aki, rising from his chair and rushing toward us. He grabbed Aki's hand first, then pulled him into a one-armed hug, slapping his back repeatedly and laughing.

"Hasegawa!" He addressed Aki by name, and although I was sure we were in the presence of friends, the interaction was surprising. "Hasegawa. You can't just run away to Kamakura, or Tokyo, or where ever it is you live now, get married, and come crawling back here." His tone was amused, even though he was reprimanding Aki for his escapades.

"I see you've kept up with Guardian news." Aki half-turned and gestured toward me. "This is my wife, Natsuko."

The man pushed Aki aside and reached for my hand, launching himself into a bow before I had time to react. "Pleasure to meet you. Friends call me Wa, and this is my band, Monster. We are in the same genre as Guardian."

Aki nodded to agree with what he said. "Very loud, very heavy."

"We're about to go on." Wa continued. "You guys can watch from the side if you want to stick around."

Wa's band had two guitarists, and they were able to produce a heavier sound than Guardian, but otherwise, there were a lot of similarities. Wa screamed just like Aki, and he could also sing smoothly, but most of the songs they played while we watched were noisy. I felt like Aki was more calculated with how he wrote songs for Guardian, that made an impact but also displayed the talent of each band member.

Near the end of the set, the whole band was sweaty and out of breath, but everyone was smiling and laughing, Aki included, as we watched from the safety of the side of the stage. Wa stepped up to the microphone to address the audience. "The last song is called Flight." There was a roar from the audience. Wa laughed. "Oh, you guys remember this one. It's a pretty old one, but it's really good." He cast a glance toward us, concealed from the audience where we were watching. "Hey, Hasegawa, you remember that one, right?" Aki started to nod, and there was a confused rumble of sound from the audience. "Okay, someone get this man a mic. Come out here and scream with me, Aki."

From beside me, Aki laughed. "I knew he would do this."

He walked out onto the stage without a second thought, taking a microphone from a stage hand as if it was the most natural thing in the world for him. He had been in the business his whole life, and it was strange to think that such a foreign type of environment to me was home to him. The crowd recognized him immediately and shouted for him, completely taken by surprise by his presence.

"I didn't even invite this guy, he just showed up here tonight. What luck I have." Wa said.

The song they screamed together was short, but it was an outburst of energy like I had never seen before. The two barely moved from center stage, concentrating so much on their breath through the squeals and ultra deep sounds they were making. They were perfectly in tune with each other, and complimented each other seamlessly, just as if they had practiced together for years before.

After the song was finished, Wa grabbed Aki into a friendly hug again, looking so satisfied that he was able to share the moment with an old friend. They exchanged a few words that only they could hear. I was thankful that I had been able to witness so many sides of Aki in one night. Aki waved to the audience as he left the stage, returning to take my hand and lead me walking.

"We better get out of here before this crowd gets released."

We walked a little faster away from the live house than we had walked toward it, worried that we would be followed, and because the night had gotten deeper and colder. "I've known Wa since Guardian first started touring." Aki said. "I only just found out that he was playing tonight, and I thought it would be fun to show you Nagoya's underground."

"I've never met any of your friends outside of Guardian. It was fun. And it was fun to watch you on stage with him. You looked like you were having a lot of fun."

"I don't have any friends outside of Guardian." He was resolute in the response, but he didn't seem to mind too much. "I have people that I know, and I can have fun with them, but I'm not inviting them to my house for dinner." He started laughing at the concept of his explanation. I understood what he meant. He was good at keeping people at arm's length, but he was also good at making people like him, even if he wasn't trying to. I wondered if he had always been that way, or if it was something grieving had done to him.

"I wanted to show you this on the way back to the hotel." We rounded a street corner, and the horizon was immediately illuminated.

A short distance away, a massive tree took over the skyline, glowing with blue lights to thick I could see nothing else. A giant dark blue star sat atop it, like a beacon in the night for anyone lost or alone. As we closed in, I saw the area surrounding the tree was lined with food and drink vendors, but they left plenty of space for visitors to take photos without getting in the way. The spot looked like a scene out of a picture book, tucked into the busy city and the darkness of the night. I could see a coffee vendor, and I knew Aki would want to try it.

"Do you want anything? It's a little late, but we still have to get washed up when we get back."

"I know you're going to get that coffee, but I don't want anything, as long as I can have a sip of yours."

He smiled and nodded, that kind of expression on his face like he was about to embarrass himself. "I'm definitely going to get coffee, but I have one last gift for you." He reached to the inner pocket of his suit jacket, and pulled out a familiar looking tiny blue box. It brought me back to the first night we had spent together in our Tokyo apartment, and he had given me his own ring as a status symbol and a promise. He had more than fulfilled the promise he had made to me then.

I had put his gloves on as we walked from the live house, and he took my hands to remove them, replacing them into his coat pockets. He took the ring that he had given me when he proposed off of my ring finger, placing it on the other hand instead. Inside the box, a band inlayed with a row of white diamonds sat, and he held it so I could see it clearly while the grip he had on my hands remained.

"I saw this and I thought it was so beautiful, and it goes with your wedding band much better than the one I gave you." He was talking quickly, trying to explain himself before he lost his nerve. "So, if you still like being married to me, will you continue to be my wife?"

I couldn't help but laugh. He was making such a simple gesture as giving me a gift into something so meaningful, so thought out. I was sure I would remember the moment as well as I remembered his proposal. "Yes, Aki, I would like to continue being your wife." I took a moment to hold out my hand and admire how well the two bands matched and sat together on my finger. "You spoil me. I'm going to start to expect these types of things from you."

"What kind of rockstar boyfriend would I be if I didn't spoil you?" It was his usual line, but he seemed to come to a realization while he was speaking. "Well I guess I can't call myself boyfriend anymore, can I? It takes getting used to, even for me."

He retrieved his gloves from his pockets and slipped them back onto my hands. Somehow his hands were still warm against me. He held up his phone. "A few pictures, and we'll get back to the hotel."