This is literally about to happen.
I'm about to board a plane... to Japan.
A place I've been wanting to visit for years. I can finally cross it off my bucket list! How lucky can a girl get?
How did this happen, you ask?
Well, it was at a well-known convention in Los Angeles called Anime Expo.
A good friend of mine had gotten us tickets to see Aqours, from "Love Live Sunshine!" for the Anisong World Matsuri - Japan Kawaii Live. But, that wasn't all.
That friend, he had somehow managed to snag backstage passes as well.
The show had ended, and it was pretty late at night. But, I was not about to miss my chance to see my idols in the flesh, up close! But, boy, was I nervous. My stomach was in knots, my stomach was doing somersaults, for crying out loud!
But, I promised myself that I would make the most out of this night. Be present, and just enjoy it.
Oh, and the friend that I mentioned? His name is Leo. He and I have been friends for as long as we could remember. One major thing that we have in common... we love Love Live, and Aqours! So, it was only fitting that us super-fans get this chance to go backstage.
"Ahh, dude, my hands are sweating!" I squealed to Leo.
"Yeah, mine, too," he breathed.
"There's gonna be a translator, right?"
"Of course!"
"Okay, good," I said, heaving a sigh. Leo chuckled at me as I pouted. "Hey, I can't help it if I'm nervous, alright? So, just—"
"We're here." I looked at the sign on the wall that read...
ANISONG WORLD MATSURI - JAPAN KAWAII LIVE
AQOURS
I pursed my lips, took a deep breath, and let it pass through my lips.
"Okay, I... I'm ready."
"It's now or never, Chris."
A lot of my friends call me Krys. But, my actual name is Krystal. And, I'm just one of the many fans that Aqours has, along with Leo.
"Here goes everything," I sighed, as I turned the handle on the door. I opened the door and quietly said, "Excuse me," in my best Japanese accent possible.
"Ah! Girls! Our guests have arrived!" I saw Inami Anju stand up from the couch in the dressing room. The next thing I knew, she quickly paced over to me and bowed. "It's nice to finally meet you, Kurisu-chan!" She gave me her brightest smile. I grinned and bowed.
"It's nice to finally meet all of you, Aqours!" The nine members all had impressed expressions on their faces from my Japanese. But, my nerves got to me and I immediately reverted back to English. "This is my friend, Leo. He got us tickets to your show tonight, as well as the backstage passes." The translator, Rachel, rendered my words to Japanese and the girls all gave their warmest smiles.
Inami Anju. Aida Rikako. Saito Shuka. Suwa Nanaka. Komiya Arisa. Suzuki Aina. Kobayashi Aika. Takatsuki Kanako. Furihata Ai.
These nine members of Aqours all have such amazing personalities, and that's one of the many reasons why they're loved by so many people.
"Are you sure he isn't your boyfriend, Kurisu-chan?" Ai-san teased. "The tickets for tonight must have been especially expensive, right? He must be really nice to get tickets just for the two of you!" All the girls let out a collective squeal, and I blushed like mad, as Leo looked away from me. I waved my hand dismissively.
"It's not like that at all! We've just... known each other for a long time; we're not... dating or anything, really!"
"Really?" Rikako-san drawled.
"It's the truth!" I outwardly exclaimed, in Japanese. Everyone's eyes widened at the tone of my raised voice, and I couldn't help the blush that tinted my cheeks. "Mou..." The girls giggled.
"Kurisu-chan, you're so cute!" Aina-san exclaimed, going over to hug me. "We, unfortunately, don't have much time left in America, so we'd love to get to know as much about you as possible! Right, girls?" The other eight members nodded, and Nanaka-san motioned for Leo and I to come over and sit beside her on the couch.
"I'll be counting on you for translation, Ms. Rachel," I said politely to our translator as she nodded.
"Of course."
We spent about forty minutes making small talk. I told them about all of my hobbies, besides them, of course. That I sing, play piano, and am learning Sign Language (shuwa in Japanese).
"Do you mind if we hear you sing?" Arisa-san asked eagerly, as the other girls nodded, smiling. I turned to Rachel.
"They wanna hear you sing," she translated. I immediately felt my body heat up.
"Eh?!" The girls chuckled at my reaction. "B-But, I-I haven't sung in a while..."
"Leo-kun, too! You sing, don't you?" Shuka-san asked.
"Wha— me?!" he exclaimed, pointing at himself.
"C'mon, Leo! Help me out here!" I said eagerly, clasping my hands together. "You're singing with me!" Leo pursed his lips, before letting his shoulders drop, sighing heavily.
"Alright, okay. Fine."
We decided to sing the theme for the film "Uchiage Hanabi, Shita Kara Miru ka? Yoko Kara Miru ka?" I figured that song suited Leo's voice the best. I started the song off.
Ano hi miwatashita nagisa o
Ima mo omoidasun da
Suna no ue ni kizanda kotoba
Kimi no ushiro sugata
Yorikaesu nami ga ashimoto o yogiri nanika o sarau
Yuunagi no naka higure dake ga toorisugite yuku
Patto hikatte saita
Hanabi o miteta
Kitto mada
Owaranai natsu ga
Aimai na kokoro o
Tokashite tsunaida
Kono yoru ga tsudzuite hoshikatta
We snapped our fingers along to the beat, and I looked to Leo. He nodded and sang his part of the song.
Ato nando kimi to onaji hanabi o mirareru ka na" tte
Warau kao ni nani ga dekiru darou ka
Kizutsuku koto yorokobu koto kurikaesu nami to joudou
Shousou saishuu ressha no oto
Nando demo kotoba ni shite kimi o yobu yo
Namima o erabi, mou ichido
Mou nido to
Kanashimazu ni
Sumu you ni
Hatto iki o nomeba
Kiechaisou na hikari ga
Kitto mada
Mune ni sundeita
Te o nobaseba fureta
Attakai mirai wa
Hisoka ni futari o miteita
Patto hanabi ga (patto hanabi ga)
Yoru ni saita (yoru ni saita)
Yoru ni saite (yoru ni saite)
Shizuka ni kieta (shizuka ni kieta)
Hanasanaide (hanarenaide)
Mou sukoshi dake (Mou sukoshi dake)
Mou sukoshi dake
Kono mama de
Ano hi miwatashita nagisa o
Ima mo omoidasun da
Suna no ue ni kizanda kotoba
Kimi no ushiro sugata
Patto hikatte saita
Hanabi o miteta
Kitto mada
Owaranai natsu ga
Aimai na kokoro o
Tokashite tsunaida
Kono yoru ga tsudzuite hoshikatta
I took a breath, and Leo placed his hand on my shoulder. I looked around the room, and was just surrounded by the brightest smiles.
"You're both so good!" Kanako-san squealed.
"Do the two of you go to karaoke often?" Aika-san asked. We shook our heads.
"Unlike Japan, you don't find very many karaoke places close to home."
"Hmm... well, maybe the two of you could come back with us to Japan someday!" Anju-san teased. I waved my hand dismissively.
"Plane tickets from California to Japan are extremely expensive, especially for two people!"
"Three, actually," Rachel said. "The girls are inviting me, as well. Then again, the two of you can't be unsupervised in an entirely different country." Leo's eyes widened.
"Wait, so does that mean—?"
Arisa-san pulled out three plane tickets and winked.
"If you've been listening to UraRaji, our Hibiki radio station, then you would know about the contest that we'd been holding for foreign fans." Anju-san and Aika-san smirked.
"We pulled out a random username, and guess whose name came up?" I looked that the three of them and pointed at myself. The rest of the girls giggled.
"So, then—"
"Kurisu-chan, you won the contest, so you and two other people — Leo-kun and Rachel-san — get to spend the rest of the month with Aqours!" Aika-san said. Everyone in the room applauded, and Leo and I just sat there, speechless. "Now, these tickets are scheduled for next week, seeing as you still need to enjoy the remaining days of Anime Expo."
"We'll follow the two of you on Twitter," Rikako-san said, "so we can keep in touch."
"We'll figure out a way to make it so that your messages are the first ones we see," Nanaka-san added. I nodded.
"Did that surprise you?" Ai-san giggled. Leo and I nodded.
"Leo... we're—"
"We're goin' to Japan!" he exclaimed, hugging me.