37: It has to be you.
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"What do you mean you moved out?" Ryuske demanded as soon as he let her in.

Hikaru replied with a quick confusing summary, "Izumi had Kiri arrested. It was the last straw, I was so freaking angry with him this time. I moved out, but my mom didn't want me to live alone, so she allowed me to move in with Kiri, after we set up a prenuptial agreement."

"Kiri?" echoed Rin. 

Hikaru couldn't remember if she'd told them her boyfriend's name. She opened her mouth and Ryuske grabbed her shoulders and said, "You can't!"

"What?" Hikaru asked, confused.

Rin said calmly, "I warned you."

"Shut up!" Ryuske told him, "This has nothing to do with that."

Hikaru looked at both of them in confusion.

"You can't get married, after putting so much work into Mirage!" Ryuske protested.

She gazed at him with shock. "Ryuske, even if I get married, I don't have to quit Mirage," she protested.

Rin added, "There's plenty of bands that last longer than marriages."

Ryuske said unhappily, "There're plenty of marriages that last longer than bands too."

Hatsuharu said practically, "If you want Mirage to last more than 20 years, you need a younger drummer."

Hikaru laughed and asked Hatsuharu, "What? You're not planning to live to a hundred and keep playing?"

Hatsuharu grinned back at her and replied, "Maybe."

Ryuske drew a deep shuddering breath and said, "It has to be you, Mirage doesn't work, I can't be in a band unless it's you guys." He sank onto one of the stools.

They stared at him uncertainly.

Ryuske said, looking at Hikaru, "You know I was in a band before?"

She nodded.

"My... friend... died," he said.

Rin and Hatsuharu nodded. Hikaru said, "I knew something bad happened, but I didn't try to find out, because I thought you'd tell me someday if you wanted to?" Uncertainly she asked, "Was it your lover?"

Ryuske shook his head and tried to explain. "He wasn't, he liked women, but I loved him anyway. He tried kissing me once though, because he knew, but it was no good. He told me he couldn't love me like I loved him, but that he loved my music more than anything."

He stopped speaking and sat with his hand over his mouth for a minute. No one spoke. 

Eventually he continued, "It was so stupid, he got into drugs with this guy the company insisted on adding. That jerk was already into them. I couldn't stop Aisha from doing it, I didn't know how, didn't say the right things, I don't know. And then, this kid, a barely teenage girl, said he'd knocked her up. And he said he couldn't remember. He thought maybe he had done it. I told him he didn't, but he didn't believe me."

Ryuske stopped again for a bit, then said bitterly, "The company published an apology on his behalf and there was this huge scandal. Aisha committed suicide. He couldn't handle it, the drugs tipped him over the edge, I don't know. When the paternity tests came back, proving it was never him, the company tried to apologize to Edge. Tried to get us to take a new guitarist. But I just screamed at them. It was because they made us add that stupid addict who got Aisha into drugs that the whole mess started. I made them promise not to publish the results of the paternity test. Aisha wouldn't have wanted a kid who was so desperate to be humiliated like that. And I swore I'd never have another band."

He looked at Hikaru and she reached out and took his hand. "But you needed a band," he said, clinging to her hand. Hikaru looked at him in confusion, but Rin nodded. 

"When we chose the name I called Kirin, our drummer, and told him. Told him I was making a new band even though I'd sworn I never would." He swallowed painfully and said, "He laughed and told me I was the only person who ever thought I shouldn't. He reminded me that Aisha loved my music best, and said it was about time, but that he couldn't join me because he's already got a band. But I told him we've already got a drummer."

Ryuske looked at Hatsuharu who nodded back at him. "It has to be you," Ryuske said looking at Hikaru again.

She nodded and said reassuringly, "Even if I do marry Kiri, I won't quit playing. But we have to have the contract to protect him from Izumi-san," she added bitterly.

Everyone stared at her and she explained the situation in more detail.

"Christ," said Rin, "I knew you'd stopped inviting us for dinner, but I thought it was because you were embarrassed about Miri-chan being all love-love with her new husband."

Ryuske said quietly, "Sorry, I knew you were unhappy, and I've tried to accommodate all the new rules you had without complaint."

Hikaru assured him he had.

--

When they actually started the practice, Ryuske stopped them immediately. "What's wrong?" he asked Hikaru anxiously.

She blushed.

Rin looked at her and started laughing.

Ryuske stared at him.

Rin said, "She moved in with her boyfriend."

Ryuske gave him a blank uncomprehending look.

Hikaru explained, painfully embarrassed, "It was our first time."

Hatsuharu laughed and said cheerfully, "She'll be fine in a couple days." Everyone stared at him in surprise. Hatsuharu shrugged and said, "I've got three grown daughters." He grinned.

Ryuske ran his hands through his hair and said, "Fine, today we'll just run through the music. Sit," he ordered, pushing a stool at her. 

--

When they finished, Hikaru called Kiri, but he was too busy to answer right away. Rin asked, "Should I take you home?"

Hikaru said, "I don't know, I was thinking maybe I'd work on packing if we're done this early."

Rin said, "I've got a couple hours to kill, let's go, I'll give you a hand for a few and visit with your mom."

She agreed and sent a message to Kiri. She received an immediate, "OK," message in return.

Ryuske asked hesitantly, "Will you need a seat tonight?"

Hikaru looked at him blankly. 

Rin elbowed her and Hatsuharu snickered as he pulled on his jacket. 

"Can you stand comfortably for four hours tonight, do you think?" Ryuske asked. 

She nodded. "I'll manage," she said and then she followed Rin out.

--

When they entered the house, Miri greeted them with surprise. "I thought you said Sunday?" she asked Hikaru. "Rin!" she exclaimed.

Rin said, "Miri! You're as cute as ever," and swooped her up to spin around.

Miri giggled happily, though she protested, "No, I'm getting fat!"

Rin laughed. "Pregnant isn't fat," he scolded as he set her gently on her feet again. "How are you Miri-chan?" he asked. "I haven't seen you since your wedding.

Miri grinned up at him and said, "I'm well. But it's not my fault you haven't seen me, you haven't visited in ages!"

He nodded and said cautiously, "Hikaru hasn't invited us since you got married. She said she's moving in with her boyfriend?"

Miri nodded and sighed. "I didn't realize," she explained unhappily, "I was so busy being happy, I didn't realize she'd stopped inviting anyone home and hadn't been playing at home. And I let Izumi make rules for her because I thought he'd realize they weren't needed when they got to know each other better."

Hikaru opened her mouth but closed it again without saying anything.

Rin looked down at Miri and patted her head softly. "If you've been that happy, I'm glad," he said gently.

Hikaru nodded.

Miri looked at her daughter and said, "But I didn't want you to be unhappy so that I could be happy."

Hikaru hugged her and said, "I know."

Miri asked them, "Why are the two of you here?"

Rin grinned down at her and said, "We finished practice early and when Hikaru said she was thinking of coming to work on packing, I decided I wanted to see you."

Hikaru said, "Kiri is working, so I thought I might as well start while Izumi isn't here."

Miri sighed and nodded.

Rin helped for about an hour, though Hikaru thought he spent most of the time teasing her mother. 

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