she was slimmer than I imagined. Taller too, i never grew past 5' she must have been around 5'5" or 5'6", either way, still taller, around Seiko's height maybe. Nana Ryuusei, was her stage name, the name she's made an empire on, her real name only a few people outside the label know, Nana Fukaku. Daughter of a business man, of course nothing was ever a 'no' in her life, but unlike I imagined she turned out to be a very self-less and gentle person.
We met at Sadako's 7th anniversary party, also to congraulate her for her 22nd birthday which took place the day before. Many bands were there, some I admired from thier indies days, some stull in their indies days. Lead guitarist of gurugororu, a heavy visual band, Faro and I were deep in conversation about how we hated playing in people's homes, of course the broken Japanese on my part was helping but he knew a little english so he threw in an english word when he could, we ended up laughing a lot until she appeared giving him a hug. "Oh Nana, Genki (how you doing?)"
She was wearing a light-gray dress with tiny knitted flowers all over that tired into 50 small layers from the waist down, white spartan sandals, pearl and golden chain bracelets, a necklace made of what appeared to be a hundred tiny keys enterlocking, and a fuzzy feathered headpiece which also contained pearls and chains and keys that hanged down to her ears and chin, but never bothering her face. I couldn't help but feel a little excited and smile at her presence, "Hello, Genki des (I'm doing good) how rude of you, introduce me to your friend." I only understood half of wahat she said, but her shining white teeth were directed at me now and Faro began to speak, and gesture his hand at me and then back to Nana, "Hajimemashte, Ryuusei Nana Des," she bowed her head a little and continued to smile, I instinctively held out my hand and introduced myself as well, "Hajimemashte, Chara Des" She took my hand and hook gentle making a curious look on her face which told me that she still found shaking hands awkward. She said something else,but I only recognized "America", Faro looked at my face which must have been lost, he patted my head and said , "She say, that you really from America," I couldn't help but laugh and I said, "Honoto wa Nihon deska (Is this really Japan then) ?" an innocent joke that made them laugh out loud. Faro left then a member of his band, Nihl, came to look for him and Nana and I proceeded to the snack table to munch on fish as we talked in 'lost in translation' mode. "How was it in Los Angeles? I only played there once for a festival, I didn't get to really feel how it's like," I finished drinking my bland ice tea and answered her question, "Well the ,underground scene, which is waht we call indies in America, is very rush hour like. Like in the day we're working our various jobs, by sundown we're either rehearsing or passing flyers for a show that's on the next day. And th venues are all either sparred out or close together. For us, we began playing the regular rock scene, which consisted of five main venues, the Knitting factory, the Glasshouse, the Key Club, and the House of Blues in Anaheim." "The House of Blues? For the underground scene?" I laughed a little and took another drinking as she took a bite of a cheese cracker. "Well, we only got bad days, so it was really cheap, we'd sellt he tickets, we'd fill the house ourselves, between 7-12 bands a night. So we only got 3-5 songs each." "Woah, 7-12? that's an entire festival" I lagughed, and dropped it there with a summary, ''Yes, it's so hard to get more play tine, but luckily We got heard by the right person, during our 3-5 song trial for battle of the bands, and that's how we're here now," Nana continued to ask me about songs she heard of Zestubou that she admired and asked me how we wrote the lyrics since she heard that I wrote them but I wasn't very good at Japanese. "Yes, everyone asks that, it's alright though, I write everything in English then I translated them with Tomo and Seiko into exactly what they should mean. " She smiled and then began to ask me about a song called "Precious" and what it was about, "I find it very very sad, and passionate, like...it was written for a person who has gone far away," I remembered then who I wrote it about, and I took a drink of champagne from the snack bar that was nearest to me and sipped the bubbles off. She looked a little worried that she might have brought up a bad memory but I waived my hand as an okay and answered her question hastily, "It's about a guy, he...was in a band too, but he had to go far away from me, we couldn't stay together but, his absence really changed me back then." She nodded and told me that if her guy left her she would be as sad as well. "Oh you have a boyfriend? How sweet," She asked me if I had a guy, but I told her I was still looking for one. She took a drink from the stand and we began to walk around the party running into the rest of my bandmates and to my surprise Saga. "There she is!" A very drunk Seiko gave me a huge hug and pulled me towards her, "Hey, Hey Chara Tell Saga here that you're my friend, he won't believe me" We all laughed at this and I put on a serious face and jokingly did as she commanded, "How dare you doubt my dea friend Seiko Saga? Don't you know that she is my dear friend?" After this Seiko seemed to have gotten an urge for more whiskey since she made a b-line to the bar and Saga followed, but hesitated and took a look at Nana then me, "Yes?" I asked him as Tomo pulled a chair for me and Nana, as she sat down he smiled, shook his head and followed Seiko. Nothing prepared me for what happened next though, I turned to Nana whose face was directed towards the right and with a huge smile she said, "He's here," It must've been her boyfriend, we were just talking about him, I wondered, who is this charming guy she's dazzled with? Maybe he's got a friend? I mirrored her turn, gazed, but the smile quickly disappeared and my mouth just hung open as the the alternated reality I never wanted to face walked towards me. Only, it wasn't me.
"Haruka!" Nana jumped out of her chair and waved at him, I turned my head back, Tomo was stiff, his gaze turned from me, to Nana, to haruka, he leaned in clsoe to me and whispered, "Hey...I think, Haruka's coming this way,...don't...freak."
"Nana, where have you been?" His soft voice was like a swift knife being jammed into my heart, the heart that was once his, no, this is a lie. "I've been around, making new friends, meeting amazing people. Look here, it's Chara," My name, no, not my name, the pain was flowing, but I was too numb to realize I was shaking until Tomo took my hand. "Charlotte" I snapped out of the trance and was back to sitting on that chair, so close to precious. "Chara?" My name rolled off his tounge, so familiar, "Yes, from Zetsubou Nation, how can you not know them? They come from Los Angeles too, I don't know if you knew about them though since they're a little new, but they are amazing, like this song Chara told me she wrote about a guy who changed her life when he left her. It's so sad, but suhc a beautiful song see that's the type of things I want to make my new CD about liek I wwas telling you," She went on and on, as she spoke I slowed forced myself to face him, and turned my body and my head to see him. He had his lock on me, those hazel eyes, never looking away for those five seconds we shared. My eyes began to tear up, I was shaking again, all I could do was mouth to him before I couldn't bear it anymore. "Hi,"
We met at Sadako's 7th anniversary party, also to congraulate her for her 22nd birthday which took place the day before. Many bands were there, some I admired from thier indies days, some stull in their indies days. Lead guitarist of gurugororu, a heavy visual band, Faro and I were deep in conversation about how we hated playing in people's homes, of course the broken Japanese on my part was helping but he knew a little english so he threw in an english word when he could, we ended up laughing a lot until she appeared giving him a hug. "Oh Nana, Genki (how you doing?)"
She was wearing a light-gray dress with tiny knitted flowers all over that tired into 50 small layers from the waist down, white spartan sandals, pearl and golden chain bracelets, a necklace made of what appeared to be a hundred tiny keys enterlocking, and a fuzzy feathered headpiece which also contained pearls and chains and keys that hanged down to her ears and chin, but never bothering her face. I couldn't help but feel a little excited and smile at her presence, "Hello, Genki des (I'm doing good) how rude of you, introduce me to your friend." I only understood half of wahat she said, but her shining white teeth were directed at me now and Faro began to speak, and gesture his hand at me and then back to Nana, "Hajimemashte, Ryuusei Nana Des," she bowed her head a little and continued to smile, I instinctively held out my hand and introduced myself as well, "Hajimemashte, Chara Des" She took my hand and hook gentle making a curious look on her face which told me that she still found shaking hands awkward. She said something else,but I only recognized "America", Faro looked at my face which must have been lost, he patted my head and said , "She say, that you really from America," I couldn't help but laugh and I said, "Honoto wa Nihon deska (Is this really Japan then) ?" an innocent joke that made them laugh out loud. Faro left then a member of his band, Nihl, came to look for him and Nana and I proceeded to the snack table to munch on fish as we talked in 'lost in translation' mode. "How was it in Los Angeles? I only played there once for a festival, I didn't get to really feel how it's like," I finished drinking my bland ice tea and answered her question, "Well the ,underground scene, which is waht we call indies in America, is very rush hour like. Like in the day we're working our various jobs, by sundown we're either rehearsing or passing flyers for a show that's on the next day. And th venues are all either sparred out or close together. For us, we began playing the regular rock scene, which consisted of five main venues, the Knitting factory, the Glasshouse, the Key Club, and the House of Blues in Anaheim." "The House of Blues? For the underground scene?" I laughed a little and took another drinking as she took a bite of a cheese cracker. "Well, we only got bad days, so it was really cheap, we'd sellt he tickets, we'd fill the house ourselves, between 7-12 bands a night. So we only got 3-5 songs each." "Woah, 7-12? that's an entire festival" I lagughed, and dropped it there with a summary, ''Yes, it's so hard to get more play tine, but luckily We got heard by the right person, during our 3-5 song trial for battle of the bands, and that's how we're here now," Nana continued to ask me about songs she heard of Zestubou that she admired and asked me how we wrote the lyrics since she heard that I wrote them but I wasn't very good at Japanese. "Yes, everyone asks that, it's alright though, I write everything in English then I translated them with Tomo and Seiko into exactly what they should mean. " She smiled and then began to ask me about a song called "Precious" and what it was about, "I find it very very sad, and passionate, like...it was written for a person who has gone far away," I remembered then who I wrote it about, and I took a drink of champagne from the snack bar that was nearest to me and sipped the bubbles off. She looked a little worried that she might have brought up a bad memory but I waived my hand as an okay and answered her question hastily, "It's about a guy, he...was in a band too, but he had to go far away from me, we couldn't stay together but, his absence really changed me back then." She nodded and told me that if her guy left her she would be as sad as well. "Oh you have a boyfriend? How sweet," She asked me if I had a guy, but I told her I was still looking for one. She took a drink from the stand and we began to walk around the party running into the rest of my bandmates and to my surprise Saga. "There she is!" A very drunk Seiko gave me a huge hug and pulled me towards her, "Hey, Hey Chara Tell Saga here that you're my friend, he won't believe me" We all laughed at this and I put on a serious face and jokingly did as she commanded, "How dare you doubt my dea friend Seiko Saga? Don't you know that she is my dear friend?" After this Seiko seemed to have gotten an urge for more whiskey since she made a b-line to the bar and Saga followed, but hesitated and took a look at Nana then me, "Yes?" I asked him as Tomo pulled a chair for me and Nana, as she sat down he smiled, shook his head and followed Seiko. Nothing prepared me for what happened next though, I turned to Nana whose face was directed towards the right and with a huge smile she said, "He's here," It must've been her boyfriend, we were just talking about him, I wondered, who is this charming guy she's dazzled with? Maybe he's got a friend? I mirrored her turn, gazed, but the smile quickly disappeared and my mouth just hung open as the the alternated reality I never wanted to face walked towards me. Only, it wasn't me.
"Haruka!" Nana jumped out of her chair and waved at him, I turned my head back, Tomo was stiff, his gaze turned from me, to Nana, to haruka, he leaned in clsoe to me and whispered, "Hey...I think, Haruka's coming this way,...don't...freak."
"Nana, where have you been?" His soft voice was like a swift knife being jammed into my heart, the heart that was once his, no, this is a lie. "I've been around, making new friends, meeting amazing people. Look here, it's Chara," My name, no, not my name, the pain was flowing, but I was too numb to realize I was shaking until Tomo took my hand. "Charlotte" I snapped out of the trance and was back to sitting on that chair, so close to precious. "Chara?" My name rolled off his tounge, so familiar, "Yes, from Zetsubou Nation, how can you not know them? They come from Los Angeles too, I don't know if you knew about them though since they're a little new, but they are amazing, like this song Chara told me she wrote about a guy who changed her life when he left her. It's so sad, but suhc a beautiful song see that's the type of things I want to make my new CD about liek I wwas telling you," She went on and on, as she spoke I slowed forced myself to face him, and turned my body and my head to see him. He had his lock on me, those hazel eyes, never looking away for those five seconds we shared. My eyes began to tear up, I was shaking again, all I could do was mouth to him before I couldn't bear it anymore. "Hi,"
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