Yokohama reminded me of a little bit of Kamakura and a little bit of Tokyo at the same time. It had the atmosphere of big city life, but at a slower pace than what was offered in the big cities. I found myself staring out the hotel window into the inlet bay, flanked by a Ferris wheel so large that on the 12th floor of the hotel, I still had to lean forward into the window to look up at the top. The sun was setting slowly in the distance, throwing orange highlights into the water of the bay. High rises made of metal and glass erupted from the ground, looking dangerously close to each other from my vantage point.

"That's Cosmo Clock." Aki said from behind me, shrugging his black jean jacket over his shoulders. "Let's go see."

We were greeted stepping out of the elevator into the lobby by Kota's shout of our names from across the room. He stood among the rest of Guardian, himself and Hiro holding guitar cases, and Fuji with a round case in each hand. Kota held up his hand, occupied by his phone. "I was just about to call you. We're going out to play."

"Do you have an amp? I didn't bring my mic to the hotel. I have my guitar though." Aki replied to his excitement.

"Acoustic. Think you can keep up without a mic?"

I could tell by the change in Aki's face that he took it as a challenge rather than an invitation. "I can keep up. What's the set?"

Hiro and Fuji had begun to travel outside, and Kota looked over his shoulder as he started walking to follow them. "We'll decide song by song. See how long we can go before security tells us to move along."

The band picked a spot to set up at the edge of the water, and we had strolled slowly from the hotel, giving the sun a chance to fully set. I let Aki guide me with the hold he had on my hand as we walked, casting my gaze around me to take in the sights, paying no attention to where we travelled. I was mesmerized by the brightness of the night in the Yokohama inlet bay, the neon lights polluting the skyline. I thought that if we had been in Tokyo, the area would have been flooded with people gathering, attracted like moths to the beauty of the contrast against the night, and while it was bustling, it wasn't Tokyo. Kota and Hiro left their guitar cases open facing the boardwalk, their large acoustic instruments hanging across their bodies, looking almost too large for them to manage. I recalled Aki's guitar was also just acoustic, and he played it sitting down, with it draped over his lap.

Kota pointed to his guitar case, laughing. "We'll see if anyone drops some coins in there."

Fuji had a simple hand drum setup that consisted of just two small round drums on tripods. He tested the tuning by tapping them around the perimeters with his fingers. "You don't think we'll be recognized out here like this?"

"Nah. If anyone recognizes the songs they'll probably just think we're a cover band."

Aki clapped his hands over his head, walking a tight circle in the space they left him. "I need to warm up my scream, so let's start heavy. Which song?"

I watched them fall into effortless sync with each other, as they exchanged glances at first to keep pace and time, and only a few bars into the first song, I could feel their energy had merged into one force. They were respectful of each other, of the volume of Aki's voice against their music, but he was loud and projected easily. By the end of the first song, a small crowd had gathered, and I could tell that the majority of them knew they were watching the real Guardian perform right there on the boardwalk, in the middle of Yokohama. Backed by the water, the neon lights, the Ferris wheel, they didn't need a stage, and they didn't need fans. I could see how much they enjoyed playing together, just with each other's company. I watched Aki's expression as he sang freely, without a microphone tethering him to a certain spot. I could see simple and pure joy on his face, and I knew he was thinking about only the moment he was in, and the happiness it brought him.

They played four songs and decided to end the show, worried that the crowd they ended up gathering would draw too much attention. They quickly put their instruments away in the cases, and bow to the crowd, taking a moment to shake hands with the fans closest to them. It was over as quickly as the thought to begin had been formed. Once the crowd had cleared, they started to walk in the direction of the hotel, but Aki grabbed my hand and held back.

"You guys go ahead." He called to the three. "We're going to go on the Ferris wheel."

"I feel like you have an ulterior motive for this." I said to Aki as we settled ourselves in the car. Aki took a seat first, bracing himself in the corner made by the wall of the car and the seat back, and held both my hands to steady me as the car's sway came to a stop.

"So what if I do?" He laughed as I sat beside him, leaning back against his body. I didn't answer him, and he was silent for a moment, looking out the window. "Natsu, does this life really make you happy?"

I straightened to look at him. "Of course I'm happy. Why are you asking?"

"This tour, this new label. Guardian is only going to get bigger." He sounded as if he was issuing a warning. "I have a lot of freedom right now, but I feel like the reins are about to get tighter on us as we get more famous. That means the same for you, because you come with me everywhere. I just want you to know, so that you can be aware of your happiness, and if there ever comes a time where you question how happy you are, I want you to stop everything and focus on that."

"Are you also still happy with this life?"

He smiled, looking down and nodding as if he was afraid to admit his feelings. "I've been doing this a long time, and over time I've experienced it scaling a lot. Every year, we become more successful." He looked at me hard, but his smile didn't fade. He was speaking with something in the back of his mind. "I live for this. This is all I have, and it's all I've ever had. I don't know a life where something other than making music and performing it has brought me so much happiness."

"I've never been this happy before." I said. "I told you my story, you know. I've never had so many people love me unconditionally the way you do, and the way Guardian does."

He shifted to face me, seeming alarmed. "The rest of Guardian doesn't love you the way I do, just to be clear."

I laughed, waving my hand in dismissal. "Aki, that's not what I meant."

"They actually might love you the way I do, I have no idea. But only I have permission." His fake seriousness dissolved into laughter as well, as he relaxed back into the seat. "But seriously, if you ever do start asking yourself if this all really makes you happy anymore, tell me."

I nodded in response, but I wasn't quite ready to match his seriousness. "You sound like a Yakuza boss right now."

"Natsu!" He laughed hard, covering his mouth with his hand. "Don't say things like that around someone as tattooed as I am." He wound his arm around my shoulders. "We're almost at the top."