"That's a totally cool idea. I have never given an interview before," confessed the singer.
Yuna plucked her best friend by the sleeve. "Actually, we should take care of the homework, Hikari-chan."
The black-haired girl looked over at her. "Come on. I won't do that anyway. This is much more interesting."
"Yeah, come on, Yuna-chan."
Shrugging, the taller girl said, "Fine. Then do your interview." She opened her backpack, pulled out her notebook and opened it.
"And you're really doing your homework now?" Hikari asked.
"Yes. Do you think I'm interested in what this jerk has to tell? At least, I'm not wasting my time."
Sullen, Wataru frowned, grabbed his glass and drank a sip. After putting it back, he turned to his interviewer. "Then shoot."
Giggling, she said, "I've never done that."
"Just ask me the first question that comes to mind," he advised.
"Have you always been a jerk?" Yuna asked with a grin. The other two turned to look at her with raised eyebrows. "What? The first question you said."
"Just shut up, if you have nothing constructive to say, Yuna-chan," reminded her hostess.
"Fine."
Wataru replied, "No. I was not always a jerk." Both girls looked at him and giggled. "It's only since I know this blue-haired fury."
"I'll give you a fury!" his girlfriend snarled.
Smiling broadly, the musician shrugged. "Do you see? A total beast. Be sure to include the question in your catalog."
"I can't do that." Hikari opened her text editing program and briefly formatted the document. "That would be wrong."
"What? This is funny. Your readers should also have something to laugh about," Wataru explained.
"My readers?"
He nodded. "Yes. You will surely publish it on the blog. This is my very first interview."
"Maybe that should rather make a professional," weighed the black-haired.
"Come on. I'm sure you'll do a great job, Hikari-chan." He grinned at her again, and her cheeks flushed. "You can deflower me." Her cheeks became even redder.
"Stop the perverted allusions, hentai," Yuna hissed as she wrote in her notebook.
Nervously, Hikari typed a few questions into her laptop. In between she googled for interviews to get some inspiration. Meanwhile, her interview partner drank his glass empty again and refilled it himself. The third in the group ignored the other two and focused on her homework.
"Okay. I think I'm ready," said the hostess.
"Cool."
"So, hello, Shimada-san. Thank you for the opportunity to have this interview with you."
"Hello, Hikari-chan. Thanks for the invitation. Please, call me Wataru, okay?"
Her fingers flew over the keyboard while she was writing. "With pleasure, Wataru-san." She looked at him a bit helplessly. "Shouldn't an interview have a certain course?"
"No idea," he admitted smiling. "Doesn't matter. You can arrange it later. Just ask."
"Alright." She went through her questions to pick the first one. "May I ask you a personal question?"
"Sure." Yuna squinted over.
"You wrote the song 'Sakura Sayonara' for a girl, right?" He was silent for a moment, just looking at her. Immediately she became nervous. "Wait, that was stupid. I'll ask something else."
"No. It's alright." He stroked his hair. "I didn't write it myself. That was Sakura."
Hikari typed. "Who is she?"
"She was my girlfriend."
The black-haired girl looked up. "Was? You broke up?"
"That may not be a good topic, Hikari," Yuna interjected.
"No. It's fine, Yuna-chan. Actually, I thought that this story was known among the fans." He looked at his interview partner. "She died in a car accident."
The hostess' eyes widened in shock. "Oh my God. I'm so sorry, Wataru-san."
He wondered, "You didn't know that?" She shook her head hastily. "Well, I don't exactly walk around and tell everybody."
"I'm very sorry about that."
"She was our drummer when we were still a school band," he continued. "Kaito, Mizuki, Sakura and I were members of the Rock Music Club at High School West."
"I've heard that you made music at the school. How did that happen?"
He rubbed his chin. "Kaito wanted me to join him in the Rock Music Club because there were two girls he liked. Since I was constantly playing rhythm games in my free time, I thought I might like that."
"And?"
"Holding a real guitar in my hands was something completely different. At the beginning, we just fooled around. Sakura was the only one who could play properly. She had also been teaching Mizuki."
Curious, the blue-haired girl put down her pen and listened to the others. "So Sakura taught you to play the guitar?" she heard Hikari ask.
"Not immediately. Well ... both girls were somehow into me. There were a few unsavory jealousy scenes and finally I didn't feel like Rock Music Club anymore. I wanted to play my rhythm games again and enjoy my life."
"Really?" breathed Hikari.
"Yes."
"What happened next?"
Thoughtfully, he drank his lemonade. "One day, Sakura was at my door. She played me a song that was supposed to be her confession of love. She told me she wanted to be with me and make music." Yuna remembered Wataru standing at her door and making music. A smile slipped on her lips.
The hostess dabbed her eyes. "How romantic."
He chuckled. "Yes. She knew a lot of bands and one day she played 'Right Here In My Arms'. I realized that it was the same song she had played for me, just slightly changed. I asked her to teach me the song. As we practiced together, we slowly came closer and eventually I fell in love with her as well. From then on, we were a couple." He looked at Hikari, who was staring at him tied up. "Don't you want to take some notes?"
"What? ... Oh yes ..." Blushing, she quickly typed on her keyboard.
"We met again in the Rock Music Club and decided that we all wanted to play as beginners. That's why Sakura took over the drums, as her brother Nobu also played drums, and therefore she was able to practice at home on his kit."
"Then your drummer Nobu is the brother of Sakura?" the black-haired assured herself.
"Yes. He was in the same year with me and Kaito, just in a different class."
"I understand. Did you decide on a style back then?"
Shaking his head, he declared, "No. Everyone was allowed to bring songs they liked and then we picked one out and learned to play it."
"Who sang?"
"Sakura. She was a music ace. She wanted to become a professional musician back then. While other girls were shoppers or chased after boys, she practiced on her instruments."
Hikari frowned uncomprehendingly. "But she was your girlfriend, wasn't she?"
"Well ... yes, but she was not that kind of girlfriend." He squinted at Yuna, realizing that she had been listening attentively all the time. "She just didn't have the time to commit fully to a relationship. It didn't match her personality either. She was not girly, you understand?"
"Oh yeah. I know someone like that too." Hikari grinned and squinted at her best friend, startled, however, as she noticed her attentive gaze. "Sorry."
"Huh?" The blue-haired girl blinked as if she had just awakened.
"Nothing ..." Turning back to the singer, the hostess asked, "When did you start singing?"
"A little bit while I was learning with Sakura. We often sang together, like duets. She told me early on that I would have a pretty good singing voice if I'd just train it properly."
"You really have a great voice," admitted Hikari.
"Thank you, Hikari-chan. Well, if I could afford it, I would take singing lessons to get better. So far, I'm learning from Youtube videos."
"I thought you're a natural."
"You flatter me, Hikari-chan. Do you have any other questions for me?"
She nodded frankly. "Sure. I would be interested if you have a girlfriend at the moment. And many of your fans too. Oh." The blush rose again in her face. "Oh God, what a stupid question."
The black-haired had felt so well in the course of the conversation that she had completely forgotten her nervousness. She just enjoyed talking to Wataru, but now this totally stupid question had slipped out of her mouth. Uncertain, she squinted over to him, whereupon she noticed his gaze, which somehow passed her by. Then he looked right at her.
"Um ... well ..."
"Forget the question, Wataru-san. Yuna-chan told me a few months ago that someone was there," Hikari retorted.
"Oh, did she do that?" He looked over at his girlfriend. "Do you know something that I don't know?"
"I don't know what you do all day long," the blue-haired blocked.
He looked at the hostess again. "No. I don't have a girlfriend right now."
"Really?" She exclaimed louder then she'd liked. "Incredible. You could have every girl."
The young man squinted over to the other girl and saw a look of disappointment on her face. "Well ... there is someone I like."
"For real? Does she know?" the black-haired girl asked.
"Yes, but it's complicated."
"Maybe she didn't understand." She forgot to type again because of her excitement. "Every girl would be glad to have someone like you. Well, I would definitely be."
Laughing, Wataru ran his fingers through his hair. "Oh really? I'm not that great."
"I think you're awesome," Hikari squeaked, blushing.
"You flatter me, Hikari-chan."
Nervously and quietly she laughed. "She sure is a great girl, if you like her."
"She is. She is strong and passionate. For the people who are important to her, she just does everything. She knows no fear. She is a real heroine."
"We're talking about a real girl, right? Sounds like a manga character somehow." Laxly, the smaller one gestured to her friend. "She also has a crush on manga characters."
"Shut up, Hikari," Yuna hissed and turned away insulted.
Wataru made it clear, "No. I really mean a real girl."
"Too bad she doesn't return your feelings."
He shrugged. "Who knows ... maybe someday. It's getting late. Are we taking the selfie and then take a leave?"
Slightly disappointed, Hikari grimaced. "Sure. I'll get my phone. Excuse me for a moment." She set the laptop on the table, jumped up and stormed out of the living room.
"That was really sweet of you," Yuna whispered.
"Hm?"
She looked at him. "What you've said. She likes you too."
"Who says I meant you, you fury?"
With a smile, Yuna rolled her eye and leaned over. "Who else?" she whispered to him.
"I know many girls."
"Yes, but you only love one girl." She gave him a kiss on the cheek. "And she likes you very much, too." She rubbed her nose at his and was about to kiss him when she heard Hikari's footsteps in the hall, so the blue-haired slipped back into place.
"Selfie-Time!" cheered the hostess on entering the living room.