The tears that are cried the most are mental. Has anyone ever said that? If they did, they're right and I cannot agree more. All I wanted was my quiet evening at home with my dinner, but we can't have nice things in Saito Azami's house of compromises can we?

This may seem like random ramblings, but I promise you it's quite relevant to my current predicament. Let me explain. First, I was convinced by Okita and Uehara to let them have dinner at my house. I know, I know. You're disappointed in me but peer pressure is a powerful thing and as you know...

I am a weak girl. Speaking in terms of this particular situation but that's not the point.

Begrudgingly, and by imaginary gunpoint I like to think to make me feel better, I showed the two girls my home and got them settled into the living room which was adjacent to the kitchen. If I was going to have them here, I didn't want to have them out of my sight.

"Saito-chan's living space is so minimalistic! But it feels really homey."

"Right? I expected something sophisticated or particularly elegant, but it still gives off a 'Saito'-like feel."

I don't know if you two are complimenting me or not but it doesn't feel like it. If you are, thank you. If not, I'm handling your food so you better change your tone. I will be adding a bit more spice to communicate my displeasure.

Today my dinner was supposed to be a comfort food I had been craving ever since I woke up in this body. Stir-fry. To be more specific, noodle stir-fry. It was a special at home treat that my father would make after exams to reward my brother and I. While it wouldn't taste the same as him making it, it would still taste good.

I wonder if they're doing alright after I died. Although I doubt it since I was hit by a train. They probably couldn't even hold a proper funeral since my body would be mangled beyond recognition.

God, that was morbid. I should stop thinking and just cook.

There were three important factors to making good noodle stir-fry, at least according to what I was taught. The noodles, vegetables and meat, and the sauce. The noodles had to be cooked to an al dente state and then cut to make them easier to stir fry later, the vegetables and meat (along with the seasonings like garlic and ginger) would be cooked and stir-fried first. The mix of vegetables we often ate at home consisted of bok choy, bell peppers, onions, carrots, and broccoli with the meats depending on the day. I had chicken so that's what I was using. Finally was the most important part of stir-fry in my opinion, the sauce. That was a secret recipe that I'm not gonna say.

Saito family members only.

As everything was finally added to the wok, a smell that sent my nostalgia abuzz drifted throughout the house, prompting Okita and Uehara to peek into the kitchen to get a better whiff.

"Ah, perfect timing you two. Get out the dishes and put them on the dining room table." I left no room for them to say no, even if it looked like they wouldn't say no.

"Which cabinet are the dishes in?"

"The one above your heads. The glasses are in the one next to it and the chopsticks are in a drawer near the sink."

I could hear the clinking of glasses and plates against each other as the two moved about, but I was focused on making sure nothing overcooked or burned in the wok. After a bit of time, the fire under the wok was turned off and I quickly navigated to the dining room table where three plates, glasses, and pairs of chopsticks were set out neatly. Nice.

With quick and practiced movements, the wok was empty and the plates were full.

"It smells so good! Saito-chan made stir-fry?"

"Mhm. I just felt in the mood for it."

"I wanna dig in already but I know I'll burn my mouth~"

"Wouldn't that be an improvement, Uehara?"

"I'm glad that I'm the bigger person in this relationship or I would've hit you already."

I left to grab the water pitcher from the fridge while the two of them argued. There wasn't much else in the house to drink other than water and I was in no mood to brew tea after handling a wok and cooking for so long.

Surprisingly, it was a peaceful dinner. While I didn't get to spend it quietly all by myself, Okita and Uehara's presence was rather comforting. Perhaps it was just the feeling of not eating alone, but the food tasted especially good this evening. It was always said that food tasted better when eaten together.

"Saito-chan, where did you learn to cook like this?" Okita had asked me, right after having a sip of her water. I had noticed that the way the two girls ate kind of went with their personalities. Okita ate quickly, although not messily, and Uehara ate slowly and savored her food a lot.

"I'm self taught. Trial and error and a couple t.v. shows." While that wasn't a lie for this Saito Azami, it was for me. My cooking skills had been taught by my dad. But the father that Azami had in this world... I would get to him and his wife in due time.

"Really? That's amazing! Could you teach me how to cook?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Okita-san doesn't know how to cook?"

"I worry for your future living conditions if you can't even cook for yourself." Uehara's comment came after she had finished all her food, the jab quite obvious. She continued to speak before Okita could retort. "Saito-san, since we've already took so much advantage of your hospitality I was hoping I could wash the dishes."

"That's alright, you two are guests after all."

"At least let me do this little thing."

"Well..." I mulled over it for a bit. I really didn't want to do the dishes. Someone was offering to do them. There weren't that many dishes either. This isn't a mean thing to do, right? "I'll be troubling you then."

"Ah, I'll help too." Okita stood up from her seat with a speed I didn't know she possessed.

"Can you even do dishes?"

"Yes. I. Can."

"That's good. It'd be a pity if I had to teach you."

These two were always bickering. Rather than enemies, they seemed like old friends. Or maybe an old married couple. I'm not sure, but they argued on their way into the kitchen as well. My plate had long been emptied and taken away.

Other than the bickering of the two houseguests and the swishing of water, I was left to my own thoughts. Right now, there was another problem I was facing at the moment. And it dealt with my vocal abilities. While Saito Azami could sing just fine, and I did have her voice, it just didn't feel or sound right. Like it had lost the passion it once had. That would make a lot of sense as I had never had an interest in music, but it was a massive problem for Azami. Her entire livelihood was built around music along with her student career at Matsuuri. I had no problem songwriting, so I could still survive on that at school, but singing needed a lot of work.

I could always drop out of Matsuuri and live a normal life away from the plot of the story, but I feel like I would be doing this Saito Azami a disservice. She had dedicated so much of her life to music and used it to build herself up from a place she was often torn down. Music was her. It just didn't feel right taking that away from her, even if I was now using her body.

Standing up from the table and moving upstairs, I took out my phone and made a phone call to Azami's manager, Kawakumi.

"Hello? Kawakumi-sensei, I hope I'm not calling you at a bad time."

"Of course not. You know that you're always welcome to call me at any time. Is something the matter?" The worry in Kawakumi's tone was leaking through the phone.

"It's just that... I feel like I've lost my touch recently. Would it be possible for me to get a vocal coach or something? I just don't feel confident right now."

There was the sound of moving paper and writing on the other side of the phone. "A vocal coach? I can arrange that. Are you sure you continue with the album with your current state? We can always push it back. We haven't made any announcements on it yet."

"No, the album can stay where it is. I'm sure I'll be back on my feet after some training."

"If you say so. Don't push yourself too hard. Remember to get proper rest. You're still a student after all."

"I'll remember that, Kawakumi-sensei. I'll be hanging up now. Good night."

"Good night. Oh, remember to close your windows! It's supposed to be raining hard tonight."

"I will. Goodbye." I hung up and gave out a sigh of relief. Kawakumi is such a reliable manager. It's a blessing to have him.

What did he say about hard rain?

I started going around and closing any windows I had left open just as he had said before something hit me. I had to send Okita and Uehara home before the storm came! I couldn't have them going back in the rain.

I came back downstairs to see the two of them back in the living room.

"I should be sending you two home before the rain comes. I've already kept you out this late."

"I almost forgot that it was going to rain today. I should be heading home." Uehara agreed, although I could hear the reluctance in her voice.

Okita pouted. "Stupid rain. But I should be getting home too. Hajime's gonna want his wallet back soon. He might be blowing up my phone as we speak."

"I'll be walking you out then." I wanted to cheer despite how calm I was on the outside. The rest of the night would be all mine to enjoy. I could watch that t.v. drama I had recently gotten addicted to.

"Thanks for dinner, Saito-chan. It was really delicious."

"Yeah. Have us over again some time!"

"You compliment me too much." I walked the two girls to the front door, almost home free when I heard it. Well, we all heard it to be exact.

The crackle of thunder and then the pattering and progressive pounding of rain. The storm had started.

And I really wanted to curse at God.