When they got home, Hikaru and Kiri crept in quietly, and tried not to wake Tokiko. They took a long bath together, and kissed a lot.

"How did you meet Kobayashi Ryuske? How did Mirage form?" Kiri asked.

Hikaru stared at him for a minute, and saw that his pretty face was pensive. His expression reminded her a little of a kitten left out in the rain. "It was my first time playing on stage," she said after a moment.

Kiri just watched her face and waited for her to continue.

She told him, "This guy jumped up on to the stage all of a sudden and grabbed my shoulders. He shook me a little and said, 'you're not a bad musician kid, but you need to loosen up. And let the crowd loosen up. Play something sexy that embarrasses them, and make them laugh, then play the other stuff.' Then he released me and apologized, he said, 'sorry, I'm a little drunk, but I know what I'm talking about. I'm a music teacher.' And he stuffed a business card into my shirt pocket. Then, before the bouncers could reach him, he jumped down and walked calmly to the bar."

She looked at Kiri and saw that his expression had lightened a little, so she smiled. He looked back at her and asked, "And then?"

"I tried it, I played an embarrassingly explicit song, and then I played normally. The audience really did relax," she told him. "And I tried it a few other times, and it doesn't matter if you sing the words if the audience already knows the words it's the same." She paused for a moment, then said, "So I went to the address on his business card. I figured if one bit of advice could have that much effect, I could probably learn more.”

Kiri nodded.

Hikaru continued, "He answered the door, and said, 'oh, it's you. Sit here and wait, I'm with a student.' He finished the child's lesson, and just assumed that I'd obey. Which I guess I did," she said with a grin. "Afterward he asked why I'd come so long after our encounter, and I told him that I'd tried his advice and it had worked. He ordered me to play a bit, then we played together for awhile. Then the next visit he told me that we needed to try working with a drummer."

She laughed and said, "And he said there was a good one in his building and dragged me off with him to knock on doors until we found Hatsuharu's apartment. He told Hatsuharu he'd heard him practicing and asked if he could bring his drums down and practice with this kid?"

Hikaru looked at Kiri wryly, and said, "I didn't realize, but he thought I was a boy then. Anyway, Hatsuharu's wife said 'yes, take him and his drums, but don't bring the drums back!' I felt like Hatsuharu didn't really get a choice. But Ryu-sensei told him it was fine to keep his drums at his place, and he could come practice anytime Ryuske wasn't giving lessons. So we moved the drums, and Hatsuharu and I started practicing with Ryuske on a regular basis."

"So you took lessons for awhile?" Kiri asked.

Hikaru shook her head. "No, he never charged me for lessons, it was more like I was his project for some reason. After we'd been practicing together for a few weeks, he said, 'we need a bass player, I know a guy, I'll ask.' And he arranged for Rin to come play with us. That's when he found out I'm a girl. We set up to play right after school that day, Hatsuharu was off work early for some reason."

Kiri raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh?" he asked. "Showed up in your uniform?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I thought Ryu-sensei was going to die of shock. And then he panicked and had me put on a pair of pants. He said Rin wouldn't play with girls."

Kiri nodded. "Yes, he didn't before except in a very few recording sessions."

Hikaru gave him an odd look but continued, "But when Rin showed up, he knew I was a girl with one glance, and he tried to leave. But I got mad and asked why it mattered if I was a girl or a guy. That idiot told me it was because girls always decided to sleep with him and then there would inevitably be drama." She frowned in memory. "I yelled at him that I'd never sleep with such a jerk, and that the only thing that mattered was if he could even play." She looked up at Kiri, a little embarrassed, and continued, "Then I picked him up and sat him on one of the stools and handed him the amp plug."

Kiri laughed and looked at her with surprise, "You picked Rin up?"

Hikaru nodded and explained, "I was working as a night stocking clerk then, I was in pretty good shape and used to lifting heavy stuff. But Rin was still ridiculously heavy. And he's treated me like a kid and called me 'brat' ever since."

Kiri grinned at her.

She finished the story, "Anyway, after we'd all been practicing together for a few weeks, Rin said that Hatsuharu and I wouldn't learn to perform any better unless we performed for real. So Ryuske set up our first concert in the park and told us all to stop calling him Ryu-sensei all the time, though I still do sometimes. And when he told us the details, we were going to go out for food, but Hatsuharu said, 'if we're giving a concert, we need a name.' He suggested 'Moonlighting' because everyone had other jobs, but Rin said no way would he be in a group with such a sap name. And eventually 'Mirage' got suggested, and Ryuske suddenly had a song idea and ran back to his apartment instead of eating with us. When we heard it later, we all agreed on Mirage. Then a couple days later, we held our first concert. And a few weeks after, we met Ryuske's tech friend Nezumi-san and he set up our website, and our light banner."

Kiri hugged her. "Wow," he said.

Hikaru held up her water wrinkled fingers. Kiri laughed and kissed her fingertips, then climbed out. When Hikaru followed, he turned and caught her up in a towel.

They kissed a little more. But when they cuddled into bed, instead of continuing, Hikaru asked, "You've worked with Rin?"

Kiri nodded and bit his lip, but didn't add anything.

Hikaru ran her finger across his brow and down his nose to his lips. "What kind of tour will you be doing when you go to Korea?" she asked.

"Concert tour," he said quietly and he bit her finger lightly. She didn't say anything else and he said, "I'm sorry."

Hikaru hugged him tightly and asked, "Why?"

Kiri laughed unhappily and asked, "Why am I sorry? Or why didn't I tell you?"

She kissed him and they kissed for a few minutes. "I think I understand why you didn't tell me," she said after awhile.

Kiri sighed and pulled her tight against him. "It's the same reason. I'm sorry, and I didn't tell you, because I could be helping you, and I don't want to," he told her miserably. His eyes were sad again.

"It's OK," Hikaru replied reassuringly.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, and pushed him over. He laughed when she held up the condom, and gasped a moment later when she mounted him.

It was awkward at first, but she discovered his hands were telling her how he wanted her to move and it got better. When he came she grinned at him and said quietly, "You really like this."

"Yes," he admitted, and pulled her head down to his to kiss again. "But you didn't like it as much," he pointed out quietly.

Hikaru shrugged. "It's still nice," she replied.

He pulled her hips tight against him and rolled over, coming out on top of her. They kissed some more, and then she gasped and shuddered as he stiffened again inside of her. Kiri grinned at her and began to move.

They fell asleep in a sweaty tangle, still tingling with pleasant aftershocks, some time before dawn.