The band members whom he had activities with as a band just a few months ago. The man who provoked Noel and got struck by him—the drummer, Yuuki, stopped right in front of Noel’s eyes. The other two, the guitarist Jun and the bassist Ryou also stopped behind him.

“Yo.”

A smile had formed on Yuuki’s lips but those eyes were clearly glaring straight at Noel.

“….What, do you want.”

Noel said and Yuuki pointed to a narrow alleyway that was nearby with his thumb.

“There’s way too many people passing through here, shall we talk somewhere else?”

Yuuki’s smile looked like a pleasant smile to anyone who just took a glimpse but it was clear that frustration and jealousy towards Noel was pouring out from within him.

Talking to them was not a wise idea. Noel knew that but he did not think they would just let him off just like that. Noel headed towards the alley way that Yuuki pointed at.

When he entered the alley way, Yuuki’s somewhat cheerful voice spoke to him from behind.

“You’ve been busy, haven’t you? Noel.”

Ignoring that voice, Noel glared at him.

“I’m asking you what business do you have with me.”

“I thought things were becoming a mess so I came over. I got worried.”

“You’ve gotten better at lying… that is your strong point, isn’t it?”

In a flash, the smile vanished from Yuuki’s face while fury showed up on Jun and Ryou’s faces. However, Yuuki smiled quickly, holding back the two behind him.

“What are you talking about. I’m an honest person so I don’t lie or anything like that. So when we disbanded, I spread what happened on the internet like that.”

Yuuki said that in an awfully unpleasant tone while smiling. While staring at how the other party was acting, Noel realized that he was calmer than he would have expected of himself.

(Somehow, this guy……)

He was worried that his own short-tempered personality would make him even more pissed off when he met Yuuki and the rest directly—to the point that he would beat them up just by looking at their faces. In order to abandon Noel, they disbanded and told everyone that the reason behind it was because of Noel. Moreover, they stole the music composition that he managed to wring out.

However, even when they were right before his eyes, Noel was calm.

“……You came over just to tell me that?”

The rumours were now something for Ichizou to handle. Was it alright for Noel to talk freely about it here. Was this the right time to use the phrase “Go through my agency” that celebrities always used? But he did not have the urge to use it at all.

Because Noel was so calm, Yuuki’s face started to show signs of irritation.

“Aren’t you the one who wants to talk about this?”

The rumours about Noel lashing out at Yuuki and the rest violently seemed to have started to cool down at this time. Both Ichizou and Eiji have said as such. However because it became like this, it was possible that Yuuki became frustrated that things did not go his way and would do something to spread even more rumours from now on.

“Is it alright? To let that rumour run freely?”

“Tch……!”
It was not alright. Without thinking, Noel balled up his hands forcefully. Yuuki finally grinned when he saw that.

“….So what the heck are you after?”

While thinking that he must not let himself get pulled in, Noel’s tone also became one of irritation. Then Yuuki spoke in a good mood, pleased at how the events turned out.

“The debt of you hitting me, now that I think about it, I haven’t paid it yet.”

“What are you talking about? You guys kicked me out of the band because of—”

While Noel was in the middle of his sentence, Yuuki took a quick step forward. The next second, a strong blow hit his cheek. Then pain spread out slowly but steadily.

“Tch….!”

A feeling he had not had for a while—the pain from being hit by others.

Something snapped and his mind went blank.
Noel got hit again and Yuuki and the other two returned to his shaky field of view. While laughing, despicable smiles appeared on the faces of the three of them but their faces stiffened slightly the moment Noel glared at them.

The rage made his head go blank and he put force into his clenched fists.

Without thinking about anything at all, Noel raised his fists. At that instant, Yuuki’s lips curled upwards on his stiffened face. Once Noel saw that, Noel put even more force into his fists. His nails dug into his hand so painfully that the pain brought rationality  back into his blank mind.

(If my hand hurts, then I probably won’t be able to play the guitar.)

That was the first thought that crossed his mind. After that, he completely came back to his senses and calmed down.

(……If I hit them, then I would become the same as before)

If he resorted to violence here then everything that he had built up until now will go down the drain. Then in the worst possible way , Noel would betray those who believed in him, had expectations of him and supported him. He hated just that.

Forgetting about the pain on his cheeks, Noel focused his attention in putting his fist down. His hand that had been clenched tightly together also slowly had its strength released from it and it relaxed.

If he hit them now, he definitely would be playing right into their hands again. When Noel looked like he was about to strike them, Yuuki was smiling. Just like the time they disbanded.

When he looked at Yuuki with those thoughts, the other party’s face contorted, feeling displeased.”

“What, you’re not gonna hit us back? You’ve became a coward.”

As Noel calmed down, Yuuki used tasteless words to taunt him. Then Ryou and Jun who were behind Yuuki stepped forward and held onto Noel’s arms.”

“If you want to become a punching bag, that’s fine by me as well……!”

A blow hit Noel’s abdomen and he crouched over. With no intention of supporting Noel’s wobbling body, Ryou and Jun released their grip.

(I definitely can’t lash out. I have to stay calm……!)

Listening to his own words, Noel focused on his eyes and closed them. He concentrated on the stars that are in the night sky that appeared in his mind

(If I let go of this star then there is absolutely no way I can come back to this place anymore……!)

Putting strength into his legs, Noel resisted falling onto the ground.

“Ahh, oh right.”

In order to make himself just a bit less angry, Noel looked down so he did not have to see his opponents’ face and he focused on the pain of the place where he had been hit.

However, even when Noel was like that, within his ears, he could hear the hushed sound of Yuuki’s seemingly delighted voice.

“That song was well received by the guests. When we performed it for the first time, the guests’ reactions really took a turn.”

“That, song….?”

At first, he did not understand. Before he could think about what the other party could mean, Noel stepped on the brakes to his own thoughts. If he thought even more than that, if he heard more of what Yuuki wanted to say, he would not be able to hold himself back.

“That song you gave us as a farewell gift before we disbanded, Noel.”

“……I don’t remember giving you guys the songs. You all stole it form me.”

“Ehh? Is that so? –Ah, I see, I see. Sorry, I remembered it wrong.”

Noel had told Ichizou and Eiji that at this moment, [The Nighthawk Star] and [VANISHING STARLIGHT] was everything to him but when such things were said to his face, he got angry after all. That song was without a doubt a song Noel composed after putting in a lot of effort.

That was.

“That’s the song I made.”

Yuuki declared the song as his own so easily. Those words that have no sense of pride rained down no Noel’s head once more.

The anger, pain and humiliation surpassed his rationality.

Only I’m being treated as a fool here, why aren’t I allowed to strike back? Why am I not returning their blows?

“You……!”

At the moment when Noel glared at Yuuki and the rest forcefully and when he curled his hands into fists.

“What are you doing?!”

A young woman’s voice rang out through the narrow alley way. From right behind Noel, a woman walked up towards him and after giving Noel a worried look, she stood right in front of him.

“Hey, what are you doing? Back off!”

Even though Noel said that, the woman continued to glare at Yuuki and the other two with no intention of moving away. Yuuki and his companions were also looking down at the woman in an annoyed manner.

“What’s with you. We just had a little dispute. Out of the way.”

Without reacting to either Noel’s or their words, the woman shot a death stare and Yuuki and the other two.

“I’ll call the police.”

“Heh, and so what if you did call them?”

Yuuki and his companions replied to the woman’s words in contempt.

Suddenly Noel had a sense who déjà vu towards the woman and he stared at her. With round spectacles and her hair in braids, the young woman gave off a plan feeling. She wore casual looking clothes which consisted of denim pants and a white knit sweater as well as an apron that had the words [FLOWER ASATO] embroidered on it.

He had a feeling that this should not be the first time they met but he could not figure where they have met.

“Alright already, move it.”

However, now he had to stop thinking about this woman and Noel pulled her arm trying to get her to step back. Despite that, the woman did not budge, facing Yuuki and the rest.

After glaring at the woman, Yuuki laughed mockingly at Noel.

“Oi, Noel, are you alright with being protected by a woman? That’s damn lame isn’t it?”

“……Who’s the one who is lame?”

The woman glared daggers at Yuuki and the other two while speaking softly with an anger filled tone.

The moment the woman spoke, Noel had that sense of familiarity again.—Her voice. He heard her voice somewhere before.

While Noel was thinking, the woman pointed her finger right at Yuuki.

“Damn bastards like you who stole other people’s songs and declared them as your own have no right to look down on this person!”

Yuuki and his companion’s faces changed when they heard that declaration. The woman continued to shoot them a death stare as she continued talking furiously.

“If you don’t get out of my sight right now, I’ll reveal that you guys are low lifers who steal other people’s songs.”

“Hah? Do you have evidence to prove that?”

The woman took out her smart phone from the pocket of her apron and operated it. Once she did so, voices mixed with background noise could be heard from the smart phone. That was the conversation between Noel and Yuuki from earlier.

[That song you gave us as a farewell gift before we disbanded, Noel.]

[…..I don’t remember giving you guys the songs. You all stole it form me.]

[Ehh? Is that so? –Ah, I see, I see. Sorry, I remembered it wrong.]

Then the playback stopped there and while putting her phone to sleep mode, she looked at Yuuki and the other two and spoke in a calm voice.

“Are you satisfied with that?”

“What are you talking about? With a conversation like that, why did you decide that I was the one who stole—”

As though to cut off the words from Yuuki whose face had become stiff, the woman spoke in a clear voice.

“Other than the conversation earlier, I have other pieces of evidence. You people got drunk and spoke without restraint, it was fun, wasn’t it.—Let’s go. There’s no need to engage with such idiots.”

It was not just Yuuki and his companions, even Noel was shocked by the woman’s actions and he was completely stunned. The woman grabbed Noel’s arm and walked in the opposite direction from where Yuuki was. However, in no time, Yuuki and his companion’s angry voices and footsteps came after them.

“Damn you, stop screwing around! Hold it!”

Noel knew that behind him, those guys were reaching their arms out for them. It seemed like the woman did not notice as she continued to walk off, furious. The moment Noel turned his head to look at the woman’s back.

“O-I oi oi, what are you guys doing? A fight-?”

A man’s voice echoed in the alley and Yuuki and his companions stopped moving.

“Areh, isn’t that Yuuki? What are you doing in this sort of place? Areh, Noel is here too? What’s really going on?”

Even though that person was in the dark, Noel knew that prickly sharp hair. Yuuki and his companions looked anxious but when they saw that person, they let their guard down. However, they did not bother to hide their displeasure.

“….Nothing at all.”

They replied as such in a foul mood, not caring about what they were trying to imply, Eiji got closer to Yuuki and his companions and spoke in a light tone.

“Could it be that you guys are getting back together? Wouldn’t that be interesting? I got to write a report about this.”

“We are not doing that. Rather than that—”

“You want to write some publicity article then? Sure. How about the live this time? When would it be good to do an interview?”

When Eiji said that, Yuuki and his companions seemed to have their attention towards him.

At that moment.

“Noel!”

Noel turned behind when he heard a soft voice calling him. From the direction opposite of where Eiji came from , Ichizou was waving at Noel.

Yuuki and his companions were deep in conversation with Eiji but he was not done talking with them yet. Noel did not move and Ichizou walked over to him and pulled his hand.

“What are you doing? Quickly! You too!”

“”Yes.””

The woman’s and Noel’s voice overlapped. Ichizou grabbed Noel’s arm and pulled it into order to drag him away. He also told the woman to follow him in a tone that did not allow her to agree or disagree and they left the narrow alleyway.

Noel turned to look behind him and Ryou and Jun were talking with Eiji. Most likely Eiji was distracting them for him. However Yuuki looked over his shoulder and glared at Noel. It seemed like his eyes were saying that he had no intention of ending things here. Noel also did not think that things would end like this. They were not done talking after all. So like this—

(Like this, doesn’t it look like ‘m running away?)

The truth was that he was running away, wasn’t he? However why was he unable to think of shaking off Ichizou who was forcefully pulling him away.

Noel did not think that Yuuki and his friends would withdraw just like that but he broke off from Yuuki’s gaze and fled together with the woman.

They reached a park that was nearby and eventually Ichizou released Noel’s arm then he turned his head and raised his voice.

“What the hell were you doing-?!”

With an ashen face and in a voice that was close to screaming, he hounded Noel for answers. Noel scowled. He knew that Ichizou was serious about this but in that situation, Noel had no other way out.

“….I wasn’t the one who was messing around. They’re the ones who came over to attack me.”

“I know that! But you shouldn’t engage them! You understand, right?!”

“Then what was I supposed to do?”

“It’s okay to run away-!”

“Hah? Run away? That kind of—”

Something like running away was not within one of Noel’s decisions. If someone picks a fight with him, he had to return it back……If he did not do that, he will not be able to protect himself. That was how it had been till now.

But what was his supposed to do now?

If someone picks a fight with him and he strikes back, he would lose everything.

“….Run……?”

He had never considered doing such a thing till now.

“? Noel?”

Seeing the stunned look on Noel’s face, Ichizou dropped his harsh expression and stared back, tilting his head.

Noel’s calm mind accepted the option of running away.

He had always equated running away with losing. But right now, “losing” was being unable to release [The Nighthawk Star].  If it was for the sake of [The Nighthawk Star], Noel’s pride was trivial. Yet, it seemed like he was still unable to throw away that little bit of pride.

“Is it really okay to run away……?”

Hearing the few words that Noel uttered, Ichizou regained his initial momentum.

“Of course it is-! That’s why in those situations I’m begging you to just run away!”

Given how desperate Ichizou sounded, it sounded more like a plea rather than something said out of anger. He was not angry because Noel did something that did not go the way he wanted. He was concerned about Noel’s safety and was desperately pleading with Noel in order to protect him.

Ichizou stared fixedly at Noel who had suddenly gone quiet.

“Noel, could it be that running away was not one of your options? Why are you so stupidly honest…..”

“You seem to be picking a lot of fights with me lately……! Do you want to go at it?”

“No, no I do not! I am not picking a fight with you!”

Despite having a terrible colour on his face because Noel was being menacing, Ichizou still got angry again. Just as how Noel was able to somewhat joke around with Ichizou, Ichizou had become somewhat used to handling Noel.

While they had such an exchange, a lacy white handkerchief unexpected entered Noel’s peripheral vision. When he looked in that direction, the woman lowered her head slightly and held out the handkerchief.

“U, um, use this…to cool down your cheek.”

Now that he had a good look, the handkerchief was wet. While he and Ichizou were arguing, she had wet it at a water tap that was nearby and came back.

Not knowing what to do at that moment, Noel turned his face away.

“….I don’t need it. It’s not that swollen.”

Not knowing how he should reject her, he spoke in a cold manner.

“Noel-! Ahh, geez, why are you so, so……!”

“Yeah. I’ll say whatever I want to say.”

Ichizou curled his hands into fists like he was in anguish and was going to say something but he sighed once and calmly smiled while pointed at Noel’s cheek.

“……It might not be that swollen but because it became red, why not accept her kind gesture? You’re a celebrity so your face is part of the package, right? You have to take care of it.”

It was truly not swollen but the pain and heat still remained. Even without looking at a mirror, he knew that it was probably red. Noel was able to accept what Ichizou said and he reluctantly returned his gaze to the woman.

“….Then, let me borrow it.”

After Noel took the handkerchief from the woman, she raised her lowered face slightly and looked at him, showing a relieved expression. Seeing that expression up close, he realised that she looked very familiar.

(I definitely seen her somewhere before……? Did she come for my Lives?”

Noel stared hard at the woman and when she noticed Noel’s gaze, she frantically bowed her head down, held her hands in front of her chest as though to protect herself and shrank back.

(……Can you not be that scared? Damn, I don’t know how to deal with women……!)

She had helped Noel once again. The first one who brought Noel out of that place was her. And then she intentionally went out of her way to wet this handkerchief to pass it to him. He wanted to express his gratitude but he was unable to say the words as though something was in his way.

Just as Noel was groping for a solution in his head as though his life depended on it, he remembered something that happened earlier. He recalled that she spoke about Yuuki and the other two plagiarising his works.

“Speaking of whi—”

At the moment Noel wanted to ask her about it, he turned his head in panic at the sound of footsteps. He thought that Yuuki and the other two had chased them all the way hear but it was just Eiji, walking over by himself.

Eiji looked at Noel’s face and smiled with a somewhat nostalgic look.

“Oh-oh, you’ve gone and done it, Noe-cchi. It’s been a while since I saw that kind of face.”

Noel lightly glared at Eiji who was laughing like he was amused. It was true that it had been a while since he was like this but it was discomforting to hear it from other people.

“Shut it, are you saying that on purpose? Where are they?”

“They went back, I suppose? There was some live performance near there so I lured them with talk about an interview and asked them to go back~”

Though he looked like the flashy type who would be quick to pick a fight, Eiji was unexpectedly good at negotiating.

“Getting an interview from those sort of people…..”

The woman spoke in an unhappy manner and Eiji grinned.

“Because it’s people like them, shouldn’t I try to get a hold of their movements? By the way, who’s that lady?—Ha, could it be……!”

Eiji slung his arm over Noel’s shoulder and,

“Noel, She’s your……?!”

Together with a small voice, Eiji lifted his pinky and Noel, seeing that, balled his hands into fists.
(T/N: Pinky means girlfriend, wife or mistress.)

“I’ll beat you up in their place.”

Hearing Noel threaten him in a soft voice, Eiji lifted his shoulders in an exaggerated manner while moving away.

Turning to look in the direction of the woman, she had slowly backed away from Noel and the rest, putting some distance between them. When she met Noel’s eyes, she lowered her head to hide her face. In the meantime, she did not stop backing up and spoke in a shaky voice.

“Um, um, I was in the middle of a delivery……Ah, it’s okay if you don’t return me my handkerchief! I’ll be going!”

“Wait.”

Noel called out to the woman who only said the things she wanted to say and spun around with her back facing them and looked like she was about to run off like she was escaping. The woman jumped, her shoulders shaking and she came to a stop when she heard him…. It was not as though he intended to scare her. He was thinking of ways to ask her without scaring her but it seemed like he did not know what was the best way to say it after all. In the end, he just directed the questions to her in a blunt manner.

“Who are you?”

Her shoulders jolted again. It was suspicious that she was acting almost like a different person when she got in the way of Yuuki and his companions.

“Why do you know about them stealing my song? What do you mean by you investigated them?”

“Noel, that’s too many questions at one go……Do you think she’s hiding something as well?”

Ichizou came over to calm Noel down but the latter continued to stare at the woman’s back, waiting for her reply.

The woman slowly turned towards their direction but just like before, she kept her head down and spoke while adjusting her round glasses.

“About that….I’m that writer’s, Marie-Marie’s friend….”

“Her friend?”

“She and I investigated the rumours about your song getting plagiarised together. That’s all.”

At the beginning of her speech, she was trembling a bit but when it came to the second half of her words, her words were precise. Then she raised her face up and stared at Noel’s face for a while from the back of her glasses before lowering her head.

“I’m sorry for doing unnecessary things. Someone would get angry at me if I don’t get back soon. Bye.”

The woman said as such and this time she ran away with her back facing them. The apron she was wearing was the apron from a flower shop nearby. Also since she said she was in the middle of a delivery, so she was probably still working. Without calling out to her again to stop her, Noel watch as that back retreated.

Thinking that even that back seemed familiar to him, only Noel tilted his head. Next to Noel was Eiji, who just shrugged while smiling.

“If it was Marie, I wouldn’t put it past her to do such a thing. Moreover, she even dragged that girl in?”

“Saying that she got dragged in……”

Eiji and Noel agreed with each other and then both nodded at each other. In the midst of that, Ichizou was mumbling something softly. Noel directed his gaze and him and looked but Ichizou did not say anything else. It seems like he was talking to himself about something that was not important.

“By the way, why are you here?”

“Why you ask? ! You hung up the call at that kind of state! I heard you say that you were heading to the station. Then when I got near to it, Nino-cchi was around as well.”

Eiji said and he threw a look in Ichizou’s direction. That would mean that Eiji and Ichizou probably did not come over together.

“I got a call from  Marie-san saying you got into trouble……”

“Ha? Why from Marie?”

“Ah….um, it seems like that girl from earlier called Marie. Then Marie-san called me, yeah!”

“What do you mean, yeah?”

“Sorry, it got a bit complicated so I became confused. Now that things are okay….?”

Ichizou face was grim as he pressed down between his brows. Noel did think it was a complicated story but that frowning face did not seem to be lying to him.

The wrinkle disappeared from the middle of Ichizou’s brows as he looked down as his watch.

“It’s almost time for use to go over. Noel, can you go?”

“If they didn’t get in my way, I would have reached the studio already……”

Noel let out a sigh and Eiji put his arm around his shoulders.

“Then, let’s go!”

“Why did it end up with you coming along with us?”

“Today, I’m going to observe the rehearsal. To tell you the truth, I have an appointment with you guys, you know? Didn’t you hear anything?”

“Ah? Is that so? But the rehearsal will only take place after the meeting ends so it would be a while before that.”

“Eh?! Ah…… Then I’ll wile away my time somewhere.”

“Just go home already.”

“Why! Even after this I still plan to advertise the event properly-“

“Then just do it.”

“If it’s Noel, it would make money. Even if you don’t say it, I’ll still do it.”

It was supposed to be a special chance for Eiji to listen to [The Nighthawk Star] in the flesh before the CD sales. Was that something that he could call money? In the first place, Noel did not feel anything when Eiji said that.

Suddenly, he looked at the handkerchief that was pressed against his cheek. The white handkerchief that had a lace trimming was embroidered with a flower and the letter M.

“What should I do with this….”

Speaking of which, he did not ask the girl for her name. Apparently, it seemed like she worked at a flower shop nearby, so it seemed like he had no choice but to go to the shop directly and return it to her.

If he remembered correctly, the flower shop’s name was [FLOWER ASATO].

When they reached the building where the studio was in, they saw Marie in front. She looked like a doll when she stood still but that image was warped when she ran over with a worried expression.

“Noel-sama!”

“What are you doing here? Ah, are you here to get information as well? Even so, it’s kinda early for that, right?”

“Yes, Even if that’s the case…….I heard from my friend who worked at the fl, flower shop that you got into a dispute with your former band members. Are you alright?”

In that case, the girl from the flower shop called Marie and then Marie called Ichizou? It seemed like Marie heard about what happened from the girl and she gazed at Noel in a worried manner.

Seeing that Marie was now in front of him, Noel talked about what was on his mind immediately,

“Your friend said that she had evidence that those guys stole my song, is that true?”

“Ye, yes…..ye, yes it is.”

Noel spoke in such a straightforward manner and Marie responded by looking around herself before giving a small nod in a troubled manner. Noel had already prepared to say something else when Ichizou frantically stopped him.

“No, Noel. It’s not good to talk about that here after all. There’s still time so let’s just go in first.”

Together with Eiji and even Marie, Noel and Ichizou stepped into the building where the studio was. Ichizou asked to borrow the smallest studio which was empty, then Noel, Ichizou, Eiji and lastly Marie entered it.

Once Ichizou closed the door, Marie continued to answer the question that Noel had asked her earlier. Her eyes which were adorned with makeup stared straight at Noel.

“After Noel-sama disbanded the band with those people, I listened to their new song. At that time, I had a feeling that that song might have been composed by you.”

“Same here. It was something that those guys could not possibly have written.”

Eiji shrugged his shoulders with an exasperated look. Marie continued to stare at Noel with a serious expression.

“There’s a lot of people other than us who felt the same way and that’s what started the rumours.”

“Is, that so…..?”

Noel shifted his gaze from Marie to Eiji and the latter nodded.

“Yeah. You seemed to be trying not to encounter them so when we met, I didn’t talk about it. I mean, when it’s about them, you get amazingly riled up. …. Would it have been better if I told you about it?”

Eiji asked feeling awkward and Noel slowly shook his head.

“No, it wouldn’t…..”

Even if he knew, it was somewhat doubtful that Noel would be able to overturn the situation on his own. Also, right after that, a chance to turn his life around came by so if he did anything, that chance would have been lost.

“Then, when I met Yamaguchi-san from SOUND AROUND by chance, I enquired him for his opinion. Because that gentleman was always even more well versed in the music than me. Yamaguchi-san also felt that it was similar to Noel-sama’s songs. Perhaps they got influenced because you all were in the same band but that’s just looking at it in a positive way.”

Marie hesitated for a while as she wanted to say her next bit but she looked up at Noel, steeling her determination.

“I do not think that those people have the ability to compose such a song.”

“They never did anything else other than that one song.”

Without hesitation, Eiji spoke directly agreeing with Marie, who nodded in return. Then she looked back at Noel again and spoke.

“If they stole Noel-sama’s song and furthermore, claimed that they’re the ones who composed it…..I can’t forgive them…..Then I kept an eye out for them and heard them saying that “We stole Noel’s song” while they were drunk….I even managed to record it.

“Did they really say it like that, clearly?”

It was not that he was doubtful. At this point in time, he also did not want to take revenge against them. It was just he wanted to correct the situation if he could. It was one of the songs that Noel composed while he was still doubtful of what he was doing after all.

 Marie kept quiet as she searched for words to reply Noel but in no time, she opened those lips that had a pretty lipstick on them, looking pained.

“……If Noel-sama wishes to listen to it, I do have the recording with me. But I believe that it would just put us in a terrible mood….”

“Then just tell us what they said with your own words……I want to make sure of what they said. If what you investigated was not what really happened, it would be troublesome.

While making a troubled expression as Noel’s words, she quickly opened her mouth to speak.

“They did not specifically say that they stole your song. But, Noel-sama, they did clearly say that they used the new song that you left before in the rehearsal studio when you all disbanded during a live event and declared that it was their own.”

Noel opened his mouth in surprise when he heard Marie’s words. The sequence of events that led to his song being stolen was just as how Marie described it.

“You….really investigated it thoroughly.”

Noel muttered, feeling thankful. For some reason, Marie shrank back.

“I a, I apologise….on my own accord, I did……”

“Work for the sake of love?”

From behind Marie who had lowered her head, feeling despondent, Eiji’s voice came over while he was smiling. Marie’s face turned red at one go and she yelled angrily at Eiji.

“What are you saying! It’s only that, as Noel-sama’s fan, I could not forgive them!”

“It’s not a bad thing, right, Noel?”

With a smile on his face, Eiji spoke and cast a glance at Noel. Why did he suddenly feel irritated at that face that looked like he was enjoying himself. In front of Eiji, Marie was staring at Noel with an expectant look. While not knowing what kind of expectations she had, Noel nodded.

“? Yeah. Well….I already know that you are my fan.”

Saying something like “you are my fan” with his own mouth made him feel somewhat uncomfortable. Unintentionally, his tone became sulky. Because of that, while still blushing, the hope in Marie’s eyes disappeared and she looked slightly disappointed. Eiji covered his mouth, his shoulders shaking. It was clear that he was trying to suppress his laughter.

“What!”
“Noel….It’s not like that……Ah, nothing, it’s nothing.”

Ichizou murmured, flabbergasted. While being glared at with a stare that demanded to know what he meant by what he said, he raised his hands as though to surrender and did not say anything beyond that.

It seemed like for the three of them, they have a different understanding of what was going on compared to Noel, so it was useless to expect an answer. Noel looked straight at Marie and returned to the topic.

“So that’s why you even when as far as dragging your friend in….”

Marie frantically shook her head and waved her arms in front of her when she heard Noel’s words.

“Sh, she’s, um, she’s also Noel’s fan so when I told her about it, she was the one who said she was willing to help.”

Marie panicked when the topic turned to be about her friend and she instantly became incoherent. Did she perhaps feel guilty about dragging her friend into this? But if her friend was willing to help, there should not be a need to feel guilty.

Before Noel could have those sorts of thoughts, Marie took a deep breath. After regaining her nerves, she put on a serious face again and cast her eyes downwards.

“I’m really sorry for doing things on my own without telling you anything, Noel-sama…..But, after that, you had to deal with your debut and you became busy….I did not want to throw cold water on you because of something like this.”

“I don’t mind, it’s fine. It’s important to me that frankly there are people out there who know that that song is made by me……”

Halfway through his words, he closed his mouth. What he wanted to say next was embarrassing so he stopped. However, if he did that, nothing would be delivered to them. These people supported him in such a way but Noel could not return anything to them. It was not fear.

Noel turned his face away from them and spoke in a mumble.

“Well, I’m….honestly….happy about it……”

The other three made surprised expressions when they heard Noel’s words but those expressions quickly disappeared.

“Your listeners would definitely know when they hear it!”

Marie stood in front of Noel and looked up at him, holding her hands together.  Her doll like beauty was adorned with a smile of a human.

“Therefore, Noel-sama, please have more confidence in yourself. [The Nighthawk Star] has already become an amazing piece of work so there’s no need for you to worry about anything!”

Listening to Marie’s words, Ichizou and Eiji also looked at Noel and smiled, nodding. Noel averted his gaze away from those words and their expressions……Something was hot within his chest and he felt like it was showing on his face as well. He wanted to believe he was not showing it on his face yet.

“……Because there’s people like you guys.”

“Eh?”

Marie, who was standing before Noel’s eyes, tilted her head as she raised her head to take glance at him, who had turned his face away. While Noel threw a sideways glance at the puzzled face, he gradually started to talk about his own feelings.

“Until now, I was unable to trust other people. I thought that there wouldn’t be anyone who wanted to know me. No….even now, there are moments where I can’t throw that mindset away……”

Somehow Noel felt uncomfortable and he lowered his face as though to hide it. He had become embarrassed as it was difficult to say things from his heart. However, if he did not say it now, he felt that he would never say it.

“I was fine with putting on a façade and lying……but I was always miserable. I had thoughts like someday I want to destroy this kind of world, that it’s okay to not lie and I could live as who I am……I don’t know when that someday would be. But—”

Noel opened his hand and grasped the palm of the other.

“……Now, I’m sure that I have the feeling that that kind of world has been destroyed.”

His clenched hand slowly opened. It was tiny but probably it felt like something like hope was present. As though to prevent it from spilling over and falling out, Noel lightly closed his hand once more.

“I could deliver a song that was created from someone pushing me on from behind while staying as who I am. It’s not possible for me to meet the mark by taking Revo’s place but there are people who support me.”

Noel raised his head and looked at Ichizou, Eiji and Marie, one after the other, them the three of them showed him their smile. As expected, he got embarrassed and turned his face away.

“I can’t beat those guys’ faces in. So I thought it would be fine if I didn’t go along with their taunting and just obediently get trashed by them……I didn’t think about something like running away. So……”

After falling into silence that even he himself felt was long, Noel said the following.

“………………Thank….you for helping me out.”

He was not used to saying words like that. Once he decided to talk, his mouth did not play it out skillfully and somehow it was said in a flat tone like a robot.

……In addition, someone who would help him did not exist around him until now. Therefore he only realized now that he was not used to saying words like that.

Ichizou who was shocked into a moment of silence, let out a delighted chuckle and with an awkward smile, spoke with a tone of amazement.

“Why would the easiest option of running away not pop up in your head….”

“Well, that’s the most difficult thing for Noel.”

Eiji said lightheartedly, patting Ichizou’s shoulders. In this case, Eiji had seen through Noel’s actions. No, rather than saying he seen through it, it was more likely that he would have done the same. It was probably because Ichizou did not understand the state of mind of the likes of Eiji and Noel, Eiji was able to notice that running away was not one of the options that Noel considered.

Ichizou probably did not understand what Eiji was talking about at all. However, he accepted that reply as it is and nodded honestly.

“I see. Well, it’s my duty to protect that kind of Noel who does unreasonable things.”

“Then my duty is to let the people of the world know about Noel’s Rock Singer way of living!”

Continuing after Ichizou, Eiji also spoke confidently. When Marie heard that, she also raised her voice, frantic.

“Then for me, my role is to deliver to others Noel-sama’s magnificence!……Well, even though it feels a bit complicated.”

Marie contributed her words forcefully but the latter half fell into an unintelligible mumble as though she was trying to gloss over it as spoke to herself.

Suddenly, Noel remembered one more person who he had to show his gratitude towards.

“Ah, right. I have to thank that girl from the flower shop as well.”

“Eh?!”

Just as she heard Noel’s words, Marie raised her voice into a high pitch. Noel was greatly startled and he looked at Marie, who had frantically clamped her own mouth, with a puzzled look.

“What, suddenly yelling like that.”

“Eh, um, that……it, it’s….nothing……”

Marie, with a somewhat pale face, shook her head. Despite being confused by that sort of reaction, Noel still looked straight at Ichizou.

“Shall we go back later? Can you stop by the shop if it’s still open?”

“I suppose —”

“Ehh?!”

Before Ichizou could reply, Marie raised her voice again. This time it was close to a shriek.

“What is it?!”

When she heard Noel’s voice, Marie suddenly came back to her senses and she covered her mouth. While in a panic, she spoke.

“No, nothing, I mean, that girl is already anxious around strangers! Then she’s also your fan, Noel-sama! If you suddenly went over, her heart is will stop!”

“I doubt her heart will stop.”

“No no, it will! That’s a 100% given! S, so, I will properly give her your thanks!”

Partly pressured by Marie who insisted as such so desperately, Noel nodded, feeling confused.

“Al, alright……—but still.”

“What’s the matter?”

A strangely relieved and tired Marie tiled her head. While recalling the flower shop girl who was Marie’s friend, he laughed while speaking to Marie.

“Da, Damn bastards….he he. Ah, right. Please tell her “Thank you” for talking back in my place.”

(T/N: Noel was recalling the time Marie’s “friend” called Yuuki and his companions damn bastards)

While saying that, Noel let out a laugh. His heart had become lighter than he thought so he ended up laughing. At that time, Noel could not do anything. He was honestly happy that that woman got back at those guys in his place.

“There’s actually girls like that. I don’t hate it.”

“T…………!”

When Noel noticed that Marie had raised her voice about something, he nonchalantly looked at her. When he saw her face, it was not just her face but even her ears and neck have become red and she was stiff. Only her mouth was opening and closing as though she wanted to say something.

“What is it?”

“N, N, Nothing?! It’s nothing at all!”

When Noel asked her, thinking that it was strange, she placed her hands on her blushing cheeks, hiding them then she smiled as though dodging the situation.

“Re, really, that girl’s foul mouth is really troubling! I’m ashamed! An, anyway, I will clearly pass your words to her, Noel-sama!”

Noel tilted his head at Marie who was blushing and acting suspiciously, putting on an awkward smile. Marie’s reactions implied that she wanted to hide something but her eyes were so desperate he decided not to delve any further into the topic.

“Alright, I’ll be counting on you.”

Noel said and Marie showed a bright and relieved expression and place her hand upon her bosom.

“Yes! Leave it to me! Well then! We’re out of time, aren’t we?”

Marie said then Ichizou checked his wristwatch and his face became a little flustered.

“Ah, you’re right! The rehearsal will be after the event meeting ends. We’ll see you two later!”

Ichizou opened the studio door and the other three stepped out as well.

“Then, see you.”

Noel said as such while looking at the other two then Eiji grinned from ear to ear while curling his hand into a fist lightly while Marie waved looking somewhat tired.

“Sure, do your best at the meeting!”

“Ye, yes, we’ll see you later……”

Noel was reluctant to sit all the way through the meeting that was happening later. However this was also for the sake of delivering his songs to the people who have expectations of him. While being rushed by Ichizou, Noel headed towards the meeting room.

As though to vent that he could not move at all in the meeting that he was present at just earlier, Noel was jumping around at the rehearsal. Looking at how Noel was from the edge of the studio, Ichizou laughed trying not to be seen by him. But.

[Ichizou, you were laughing just now, weren’t you?!]

“Wa, you found out & found out?!”

Noel’s angry voice flew over through the microphone and Ichizou’s shoulders jolted. Then he laughed.

“But your attitude is like a hundred and eighty degree turn from when you were at the meeting. You are amazingly lively during the rehearsal, Noel.”

[Shut it! Ah, right, I got too excited so I may have gone too fast just now! Sorry about that!]

It seemed like he was only taking out his anger on Ichizou when he yelled at him. Noel apologized for his mistake while being sharp causing Ichizou to laugh, then the band members and staff members joined in as well and their laughter rose up.

[What-! Don’t laugh! One more go, one more go!]

As Noel’s face became a bit red, he readjusted his grip on his microphone. At that moment, the look of his eyes was different. The band members laughed too and while doing so, played a rhythm which matched that sound.

It was just a rehearsal but his body unintentionally followed the music. He wanted to hear more of that pleasurable sound that was made by them.

Next to Ichizou were Eiji and Marie who were observing the rehearsal and they laughed at the exchange between the two as well.

“Of course it may be due to the completion of the song….but this is a pretty good atmosphere isn’t it?”

Eiji, who had been swaying his body and humming the song softly, looked around the studio and said. Marie also nodded while staring at Noel when she heard Eiji’s words.

“Yeah. Somehow, Noel-sama looks like he’s enjoying himself….This is the first time I’ve seen Noel-sama like this.”

Marie smiled softly in delight as she stared at Noel as though to burn the image of him singing into her eyes.

The two of them knew how Noel was before he met Ichizou. Ichizou was also uneasy during the period of time when they met, wondering if they would do well.  If they compared now with those periods of time, he was starting to smile.

“It would be great if things proceeded smoothly like how they are now…”

After Ichizou muttered that under his voice, Noel’s voice – not his singing voice, could be heard through the microphone. It seems like he forgot to put the microphone away when he spoke to his band members.

[Then we’ll just arrange this part like this……Ah? Rest? That’s—]

Not necessary yet, just as he planned to say that, the surroundings persuaded him otherwise. Noel was furrowing his brows but the next moment, his face relaxed and he nodded.

[….It looks like some of you are tired. Sorry. Then, let’s take a break-!]

Noel’s words rang out within the studio and with a gentle chatter, the air relaxed. Noel also let out a breath as he walked over to the others.

Ichizou handed out a bottle of water to Noel who downed half of it in one go. Then as he looked at Eiji and Marie, he spoked to them bluntly.

“How long are you guys going to loiter around here?”

“That’s the first thing you say?!”

When Eiji yelled angrily, Noel looked away from him as though there was something rotten. Where did the high tension from just earlier disappear to?

“What is it, Noel?”

“It’s nothing much. It’s just that……”

With a long silence, while holding the plastic bottle in his hands and denting it, making crumpling noises, Noel replied as though he was muttering.

“……It seems like a spoiler to show you guys this rehearsal.”

Hearing these unexpected words, not only Ichizou, Eiji and Marie all stared at Noel at a loss for words. Noel was about to drink his water again when he noticed those stares causing his hand to stop moving and he glared over at them.

“What?!”

“So you….actually have this kind of side?”

“Yes he does.”

Eiji said those words with a serious face and Marie also gave a huge nod in a somewhat delighted manner.

“What do you mean that kind of side! If you have any complaints, go back!”

“I understand. Originally, we said we would just collect information up to this point so we shall take our leave soon. Thank you very much for letting us observe this.”

After letting out a chuckle, Marie bowed her head politely.

“Well, about that, my expectations have been dialed to the max so we’ll leave the event to you, Noel!”

“….I’ll do it even without you saying.”

After Eiji stuck his fist out in Noel’s direction, Noel responded bluntly and turned his face away. Then after bumping Eiji’s fist with his own, he turned his body away….he was probably embarrassed.

(In return for Noel’s motivation, this event has to be successful.)

Even if Revo was not around, they wanted the best possible result.

Eiji and Marie bid their farewells to everyone in the studio and went back. Ichizou sent the two all the way to the front of the studio and over there, he suddenly remembered something and called Marie and stopped her.

“Marie-san, there’s something I want to talk to you about, is that alright?”

“? Yes? What is it?”

Marie tilted her head when she heard her name being called and stopped. When Eiji saw her acting like that, he softly whispered to Ichizou in a volume that Marie could not hear.

“What’s up, Nino-cchi. Could you be aiming for Marie? It’s not possible, she only has eyes for Noel.”

“You’re mistaken & mistaken.”

Eiji spoke in delight and Ichizou replied him calmly. Ichizou knew that fact very well too.

“By the way, this has nothing to do with any interview so don’t worry, I am not showing Marie-san favouritism.”

Saying the words that Eiji wanted to say before he actually did, Ichizou gently made Eiji back down.

“Oh. Then that’s fine. I’ll be going back then. Thanks for your work~”

Eiji lightly raised his hand, left Ichizou and Marie and immediately got into the elevator.

“Do you need something? Did I bungle something?”

“No no, you’re mistaken! Rather than that, it should have been me who bungled something….”

Ichizou slumped his shoulders and Marie understood the situation even less and blinked her eyes for a while.

“? Ichizou-san did?”

“Yeah….what happened earlier….I apologise for arriving so late. If you didn’t stop them, Marie-san, I’m sure Noel would really have been beaten up by them.”

The instant Ichizou mentioned the disturbance caused by Yuuki and the other two, the colour of Marie’s face turned terrible at one go and her body stiffened. However, before Ichizou could say something out of concern, Marie put on a doll-like adorable smile and tilted her head. But sweat was running down that smiling face.

“Wh, why are you telling me that….? I merely asked my friend to help me out.”

Marie barely managed to maintain her smiling face but her voice was shaking and Ichizou scratched his face as though he was having difficulty continuing his words and spoke.

“I thought it was strange that Marie-san was able to correctly grasp the place and situation that Noel was in even though you weren’t there. Also, at that time, you said over the phone to “Come over quickly” didn’t you? It wasn’t “Please go over quickly”. Also I have younger sisters and an older sister-in-law, and a so-called occupational habit….”

“Ahh-! I get it!”

As though to shut Ichizou’s mouth, Marie waved both her arms in front of Ichizou’s eyes and went towards him. Her face no longer had a smile and it was just flushed a crimson red.

“I won’t hide it anymore so please don’t say any more than that!”

Seeing how Marie was acting, Ichizou got flustered as well.

“Ah, I’m sorry! I wasn’t planning to press you any further! I won’t tell Noel about this, so please relax.”

“….I’m deeply sorry that I made you this concerned….Also I’m so embarrassed that I want to die….”

With a blushing face and a shaking body and voice, Marie looked up at Ichizou and stared at him with a desperate expression.

“No matter what, no matter what, you have to keep this from Noel-sama! If he knows about it, it will definitely be extremely awkward….!”

When she said that, her face became pale. She was that embarrassed about her real identity being found out.

While still looking at Marie acting as such, Ichizou tilted his head. It was probably the first time they saw Noel laugh in such a way out of amusement.

If it was Marie who could make Noel smile in that kind of way, he should be happy about it, right?

“I….see? But in my opinion, even if Noel knew it was you, Marie-san, he won’t pull away from you. Rather, he would be happy.”

“No!”

Those were the thoughts that came from Ichizou’s heart but Marie shook her head in such a forceful manner that one might think her head was going to fall off and she hugged her head that had a look of despair.

“I, I said such vulgar words, you know?! In front of Noel-sama! I was so angry……! Ahh! If time could turn back then I want to turn it backkkkkkkk!”

“No, I think if it’s something like that, Noel might actually feel that it’s a great thing.”

Ichizou said while smiling but this time it seemed like his words could not be delivered to Marie who was hiding her crimson red face and groaning.

*

At a corner of the studio which had few people left after the rehearsal. Noel had completely leaned his body weight against the back of the chair and as he looked up at the ceiling, a towel covering the top of his face.

“Good job, Noel.”

“Yeah-“

Ichizou’s voice came in the direction of the towel and he replied in a tired manner. Various thigs happened today and he was extremely exhausted. Perhaps it had to do with Yuuki and the other two.

(No…It’s not like I didn’t anticipate it….)

When he thought back to this point, suddenly Noel remembered the pain he felt when he got hit. There was a steady pain around his cheeks. There might be a bruise there, but he had no energy to confirm it now.

“At this rate, it’s not possible to head to the flower shop today….”

“Yeah, you’re right. It’s better to go back and rest for now……Hm? Today?”

Ichizou returned a question and Noel gave a small nod while still facing the ceiling.

“I did ask Marie to help, but in the end, isn’t it meaningless if I don’t go in person? I still have her handkerchief with me….”

“Di, didn’t she say it was alright not to return it?”

“She did say it. But what am I supposed to do even if I hold onto it? It even has initials on it.”

“E, even so…I see…”

Ichizou was stuttering. Even though the usual him would have said it will be better to return it immediately, he looked like he wanted to stop it from happening instead.

Noel shifted his towel and stared at Ichizou’s awkward expression.

“Speaking of which just now….you sure took your time when you sent Eiji and Marie off, where did you walk them all the way to?”

“Eh?! It’s nothing, I just had a bit of a chat with them.”

For some reason, Ichizou’s gaze shifted away from Noel and looked in a different direction. Suspicious.

“….Are you hiding something?”

Noel straightened up and stared hard at Ichizou and sweat started beading on the other party’s stiffened face. Then Ichizou turned back to Noel and stiffly raised his arm and held his index finger above his thumb leaving a gap between them.

“….just a bit.”

No, without saying that, Ichizou was being frank. And that frankness was one of the reasons Noel felt that he could be trusted. He wanted to get an answer out if him but the thing that Ichizou refused to say was probably some news that Noel should not know about yet……How disconcerting.

“….Geez, what are you up to. Even that Marie was acting weird—”

“I’m su, sure everyone has their own reasons.”

Noel chewed upon Ichizou’s casual words countless times in his head. While staring at the space in front of his eyes, he uttered a few words.

“….Do you think he has his own reasons too?”

The words were partly meant for himself. However, Ichizou caught the words and responded immediately.

“He?”

In the instant Ichizou returned the question, he thought about it and he guessed who Noel was referring to and looked down at him.

“Are you referring to Revo-san? That’s true, I don’t think he’s someone who would disappear for no reason.”

At first Noel though it was because he denied Revo’s existence. However, when he heard what other people thought, and thinking back about his personality, right now, Noel agreed with Ichizou’s thoughts.

“If the reason that guy disappeared is not only because of what I said, then why did he disappear out of the blue?”

After Noel said that, there was only silence left between the two of them. After the two thought for a while, Ichizou made a distant expression.

“….If we knew the reason, I wonder if we would have an easier time?”

“……Yeah.”

Noel nodded with a troubled face and in his mind, Revo’s delighted smiling face which looked like he was planning something appeared in his head. It seems like the same image appeared in Ichizou’s head which made him have such a distant look.

“….But I wonder if Yamada’s deduction is the closest to the truth?”

The distant gaze stopped and Ichizou muttered those few words.

“About him wanting me to do production? Didn’t we decide that was impossible?”

Even if there were such expectations of him, he himself did not feel he could do it. When it came to responding to the expectations of his singing, he was confident and he wanted to respond to those expectations strongly.

Noel shifted himself on the chair.

“ ….Last time, I only did things at my own pace and then get angry.”

Right before they took their break, Noel told the band members that they should rest soon. However, there was still some things that Noel wanted to confirm and his band members looked like they could still go on. But when he was told that some of the staff members were tired and he went to take a look, he could see there were indeed a few of the staff members showing signs of fatigue. The event had VANISHING STARLIGHT at its core. But if the band members and the staff are unable to be at the same pace, an error will come along. In order to prevent that, he said that it was necessary to rest.

Right now, Noel, who was in the core of all this instead of Revo, was not working on his own. He must expand his vision and look around himself.

“Noel….”

Ichizou called Noel softly. Noel heard the call and raised his head to look at the other party. Ichizou was staring at Noel with his eyes widened but unexpectedly, then smiled in a delighted manner.

“You’ve became able to nicely heed other people’s requests even if you’re angry!”

(T/N: Noel is able to reflect upon his angry feelings instead of lashing out like last time)

“Lately, you’ve been acting just like Revo (that guy), haven’t you….?”

“Ehh?!”

He thought that Ichizou was saying ridiculous things but it seems like the latter said it pretty seriously. Even so, that attitude like he was speaking to a child pissed him off…….Still, Noel also had self-realisation that he did not really listen to other people’s opinions.

“……It’s only my band members, okay.”

“You mean about listening to them? Why?”

Ichizou questioning voice was thrown over when he heard Noel mutter those words.

“If you ask why……I can’t compare to them in any way. They have experience, they’re more persuasive with their words and when it comes to their attitudes towards music, it’s obvious that they are all really serious about it…..but I’m really enjoying myself….that is well….ah-….damn!”

Noel got frustrated as his brain was not able to form the words describing his own feelings. As though wanting to speak out his own thoughts no matter what, he knocked against the side of his temple to wake his tired brain up. Then he realized that it was a peculiar feeling of embarrassment that was making it difficult for the words to come out.

While intentionally wiping his sweat with a towel to hide his mouth, Noel mumbled those words.

“So, as I was saying, ah….they are guys I, respect, and……”

“You feel like you can talk through to them easily?”

“Exactly!”

Ichizou’s words were naturally accepted and without thinking, Noel raised his voice and pointed his finger. Ichizou pushed down the finger that was suddenly jabbed his way.

“Don’t point at others.”

“Shut up.”

Did he just put up the personality used on his younger siblings? Noel was not amused at being treated like a child and he used the finger that was already stuck out to poke Ichizou’s side.

“Hey, that hurts, Noel! Don’t poke my side! Why are you so unfriendly towards me?’

Seeing that Ichizou jumped up more than he expected, Noel held the towel against his mouth while stifling his laughter.

Noel look towards the place where he was standing at earlier. At the moment, the few staff members who were left were checking the instruments and tidying up the area.

“….I never thought it will feel so good to be able to perform with people who I can respect and are aiming for the same goal.”

The feeling of elation that bubbled up from within his body got even higher each time he performed. The more that was done, the more that he flew, the closer that greedy aspiration that boiled up became conviction. This was the first time he felt this way.

“This is the first event done by the members of VaniStar. We must make it successful….but.”

Seeing that Noel’s expression had become dark, Ichizou also showed a worried expression and became deep in thought.

“The thing that happened with your former members.”

“Yeah. They might come over to cause trouble. That kind of thing is not beyond them.”

The past him reaped what he sowed? If only he did not lash out just before they disbanded. If only he handled the situation in a more amicable manner—He thought in such a way but the Noel at that time did not have other method in settling the problem.

(If, I fail…would that Sunglasses be angry?)

If he, who always had a carefree smile on his face, got angry. No, that would be fine if that’s the case. If he got disappointed or disgusted—

“Of course, we’ll keep our guard up if it should come to that. That’s my job to take care of that so that you are able to sing with no worries.”

Noel heard Ichizou’s energetic voice as he was within his dark thoughts and he looked up at the other party.

“Please don’t worry about unnecessary things and sing to your fullest. That is more important than anything else, right?”

Noel’s eyes widened when he heard such words from Ichizou. Surprised, he felt as though he had been awoken from a dream.

Various things had piled upon each other so he had forgotten. He had only just noticed that because of himself getting into the spirit of taking Revo’s place and because of the expectations on him, he held this sense of responsibility that he had to take all the jobs upon himself.

There was no need for Noel to bear all the weight. Right now, the current Noel had a lot of people around him who encouraged him more than he encouraged himself.

“Yeah.”

If Noel was to stand in front of his guests, no matter how little there were, he must focus all his attention into his singing.

There was a song he must deliver. It was for that purpose that they did whatever they did till now.

(Seems like it’s way too early for me to become a producer or what not……Once he comes back, I’m gonna break his sunglasses.)

*

13 September.

On this day, the event for VANISHING STARLIGHT’s debut was held in a CD shop within the city.  It was an event where they had optimistically pushed for without having any clear announcement. However, it seemed like news of it was passed around via the internet. Will people really gather like this, Noel was feeling somewhat uneasy.

The rehearsal, meeting and so on went smoothly and they were only left with the actual performance later. The clocked ticked and the time for the actual performance grew closer.

….There was almost an hour left before the performance.

Tap tap, the sound of a person restlessly pacing around rang out within the waiting room.

 “Geez-,you’re being damn noisy!”

Noel stood up from his chair, knocking it over and he angrily shouted at Ichizou who was walking circles around the room. Ichizou came to a complete stop and turned to look right at Noel. His face had become ashen.

“Noel, aren’t you nervous at all?! Right now, it feels like my heart is going to leap out of my mouth!”

“You’re being way too jittery!”

“Why?! We didn’t even make an announcement?! What if nobody comes….!”

 “Then come back after you confirm it with your own eyes! Your pacing around is annoying!”

With Noel’s angry yell, Ichizou clenched his fists as though he had steeled his will and turned towards the door.

“I, I understand….Then, I’ll just take a small look……”

“With that kind of expression?”

With an exaggerated expression as though he was walking towards his death, Ichizou left the waiting room with stiff movements. Finally the waiting room became quiet and Noel let out a sigh.

The door closed with a bang and Noel was alone in the room. The members of Vanishing Starlight have stepped out because this world was a rare sight for them. Very unlike Ichizou, they had plenty of time to spare. They should be coming back soon but if he walked with such flashy band members, he felt that just doing that should draw guests.

“……Isn’t that the point?”

Noel tilted his head and mumbled to himself. There was no other person to reply him.

He could only hear a buzzing sound from around the room, that being the silence of the inside.

“….crap.”

The room that only responded with the lack of sound did nothing to dispel Noel’s nervousness.

He had spoken like that to Ichizou but Noel was nervous as well. He had become calm because Ichizou was overreacting but it seems like when he was alone, he realised that he was pretty much on the edge as well.

(There’s no announcement…)

Will people really gather here? He was confident that he would be able to put up a good show for those people who heard and saw him. However, the rumours of his violent behaviour towards his former band members did spread. If there was no one, even if he sung—

Thinking to this point, Noel shook his head.

(No, even if it’s just a few of them gathered here, I will sing to the best of my ability for their sake.)

Even so, anxiety continued to haunt him.

After clenching and then releasing his hands that have grown icy, there was suddenly a knock on the door. Because he was thinking about things, he had shut down all the noise coming from around him and the sudden knock caused him to jolt. Luckily, he was alone.

He replied asking the person to come in and there was a woman’s voice coming from the direction of the door saying, “Excuse me.” Having calmed down, he found that voice familiar.

The door opened and blue and white flowers burst through. It was probably what people referred to as a flower arrangement. Slowly but steadily, the humongous basket that contained vibrant blue and white flowers came over to where Noel was. They were pretty but thanks to its massive size, the person who was holding them could not be seen and it looked as though legs were growing from the flowers.

When the flowers ended right in front of Noel, Marie’s smiling face could be seen peeking through them.

“Noel-sama! I have a delivery of flowers to show my support for you!”

Perhaps she had a hard time carrying the flowers over; once Marie placed the flower basket on the table, her shoulders dropped as she breathed out. Noel could not react promptly because of the sudden arrival of the huge bunch of flowers.

“Ok….Don’t tell me you delivered such a thing from the flower shop?”

When he said that to Marie who was straightening the flowers, her shoulders suddenly jolted and she jumped before coming to a complete standstill. However, when she turned her head towards Noel, she had a wide smile on her face.

“I got it from that girl from the flower shop. It’s a pity but she was unable to come over due to her work at the shop so I came over to deliver it. Please accept it!”

She was smiling all the way but it was somewhat stiff. Furthermore, there was something strong behind that smiling face that forcefully did not allow any further questioning.

“Ye, yeah….I’ll take it.”

Somehow, through Marie’s forcefulness, Noel did not ask anything and just nodded at the smiling woman. Once he did so, Marie’s stiff expression loosened up into a softer one.

Marie looked at Noel’s face and then she tilted her neck suddenly with a serious expression.

“Noel-sama, could you possibly be nervous?”

“No….”

Upon seeing that Marie was staring at him intensely, Noel who did not want to give in, gave up.

“Well…I suppose you’re right.”

Marie’s eyes widened in surprise and she blinked when Noel admitted his nervousness. However, quickly, she broke into a smile.

“Fu fu, it’s not possible for you not to be. However, you’ll be fine, Noel-sama. You’ll deliver the “Nighthawk Star” right?”

“Well, of course I will.”

I want to deliver the song—his decision to reach that goal was unshakeable. However, because it was unshakeable, he also had the spirit that he absolutely did not want to fail.

“Moreover, Noel-sama’s singing voice….is the kind that gets close to the hearts of the lonely and cheers them up. Please have more faith in yourself.”

“….Faith, asking something like that from….”

Even though she spoke about faith, today was the first event in which VANISHING STARLIGHT was performing in front of people. He had confidence that he could provide the performance but there were so many unknowns about what kind of reaction he would receive.”

“I really mean it, you know?”

“….That might be true for you. But I don’t know about those people who come over today.”

Noel said unhappily and Marie showed a slightly troubled smile.

“Of course it would be difficult to figure out how tens of thousands of people would react. Even so….”

Marie cast her gaze downwards, averting it away from Noel.

“………At the very least, I was like that.”

Marie placed her hand in front of her chest and raised her hand upwards. The woman’s eyes stared straight at Noel. That gaze did not have the colour of her usual enthusiasm, instead, it was filled with a quiet sorrow.

“You were like that….?”

Marie smiled with a face that looked troubled and with some hesitation, she opened her mouth.

“Please listen to what I have to say without getting angry. At….”

Marie’s words paused for a moment and after she took a glance at Noel to peer at his expression, her line of size fell to her feet.

“… At first, when I listened to your songs, I thought that….your songs were detestable……”

The last part of her words was shocking. Her shoulders, arms and so on started to shiver and without thinking, Noel raised his voice.

“He, hey….?”

Marie raised her downcast face upward forcefully. Her expression that looked like she was going to burst into tears at any moment also made Noel anxious.

“….It’s in the past! Those were words from the past! Noel-sama, right now, it won’t even escape my mind that your songs are an integral part of my life!”

It seemed like she made that tearful expression because of her guilt for saying that she hated Noel’s songs. He knows that right now the situation was different but it was slightly unpleasant to hear such words again.

“I get, I get it so calm down….”

Noel tried to pacify her but Marie shook her head as though she did not take in his words.

“It was never like that! By no means were your songs bad, Noel-sama! Rather….it was because they resonated within me too much, that’s why……I hate them.”

Marie’s voice dropped and she clasped her hands in front of her bosom. Then she cast her eyes down as though she remembered something.

“Noel-sama, when I first listened to your voice……I thought that I do not want to listen to it anymore. It hurt my heart as though something was squeezing it tightly. However, I can’t plug my ears and that day came to a standstill.”

When Marie thought back to that moment, she placed her hand over one ear as though to block it. That ear probably still had remnants of the sound from that time, even now.

“I have thought that I did not want to listen to it another time….but my feet went towards the live house….And I listened to your song while standing before you…But at that time, my chest hurt and I was attacked by feelings of restlessness.”

“Restlessness….?”

Noel asked back and Marie nodded then a smile floated upon her lips.

“I also did not know why I felt that way. But when something was making me restless, I had to listen to your songs….and I always listened to it till the very end.”

When did that happen. It seemed like Marie knew Noel for quite some time. He should remember a woman dressed as prominently as Marie but the Marie that Noel knew at that time was a writer. Was she wearing something different then compared to now?
(i.e. Noel did not remember Marie being in his audience.)

Suddenly, Noel noticed that the way she addressed herself had changed from “I” [Watakushi] to I [Watashi].

“At that time, I had a realization. That restlessness was imploring me to move forward……I had to face my family.”

“Your family….Did you have a bad relationship with them?”

Was it something that Noel, who had no family, could sympathise with? That fleeting thought crossed his mind but Marie shook her head.

“No. It’s probably….can’t be considered bad. I think I am loved and from last time, my parents raised me with expectations for me and I desperately did what I could to meet those expectations, That was the path I took for everyone to be happy.”

A child that was loved and had expectations placed on it. It was a circumstance completely opposite from his own. However, Marie’s expression was not one of happiness.

(What is it like to have parents expect something of you….I thought it might be something that would be delightful….)

It was hard to say that Marie’s face was one of delight. It was not just her expression, her voice, her behaviour and so on looked rigid as though something was wrapped around her.

“….Yes, I thought that way in the past. In other words, I did whatever my parents wanted and I never expressed my own opinions at all.”
At that point, Noel tilted his head.

“It couldn’t be that you can’t say it right?”

Because she was pressured by her parents, she could not speak her mind?

“….I just kept thinking that it would be better if I didn’t speak. If I gave my opinion on what my parents had to say, I thought that perhaps they might give up on me. For a child, being given up on was the end. That was what I thought.”

He knew that feeling. Even though he had been deserted many times over, he could not get used to it. In order not to be abandoned, it became natural for him to protect himself.

“Yeah….You’re right.”

Without thinking, Noel nodded and Marie stared directly at him. Noel became uncomfortable and he averted his gaze away from Marie and spoke back.

“And because of your parents, you frequently went for live shows huh….Ah, I don’t really mean anything, it’s not like I doubt your words.”

Noel frantically added on to his statement then Marie let out a giggle.

“Fu fu, I know. I’m not lying to you either. —Of course, my trips to the live shows are kept a secret from my parents. That was probably the first time I rebelled against them. And it was during those lives that I heard your songs, Noel-sama.”

Marie touched the flowers that she brought over. There was one flower within that arrangement that was arranged in a beautiful and balanced manner and Marie touched it with the tip of her finger before moving away from it. They were all in the same basket but only that flower was apart from the rest.

“At that time, I was alone even though I had a family.”

“Even though you have a family……? Does such a situation really exist?”

If one was a good and obedient child, would it not mean that the child was loved by their parents and they were trying to return their love. To have expectations from blood related kin and to be loved and yet it still felt lonely?

“It does.”

“….I’m not able to understand.”

Hearing Noel’s words, Marie realized she was not understood and she quietly bowed her head down as though she gave up. For only that instant, it was as though there was an invisible wall between Noel and Marie. He was not able to understand. However, he did not want Marie to continue having that despondent expression.

“….I’m not able to understand but there’s no way you’re lying.”

Even if there’s a wall between them, his words and his voice can go through. Noel said those words to the best of his ability and Marie showed a look of surprise before breaking into a delighted smile. Her voice which had been soft returned to its usual tone, the hands she gripped before her chest clasped behind her back and she stood, puffing out her chest.

“Now that I think about it, somehow I realised that I thought that I would be alone if I didn’t stick with my family. But if I continued on like this, I would be alone anyway so it would be better if I had a change of environment. It was at that time I came to that decision.—I decided to listen to your music, Noel-sama and step out from there.”

 Marie had completely returned to her usual self and she grinned broadly at Noel.

“At that time, I found what I wanted to do. Therefore, I had a fight with my parents, left my home and of course I started living on my own.”

As though remembering the anticipation she had upon coming to her decision, Marie continued speaking in an excited manner.

“Until that point, I did not have much friends and I didn’t know if it was possible for me to have a relationship with people outside of my family…..But I managed to connect with all kinds of people; I had lots of fun so I forgot all about being alone after leaving my family.”

Even if she was by herself, she did not feel lonely—Noel also felt the same feeling of being connected to someone by something that cannot be seen.

The fact that there are people who supported Noel’s spirit made him forget his loneliness.

“So you were able to cut yourself from your parents because you could connect with other people?”

As Noel thought that this must had been the case, he spoke as such. Marie then shook her head slightly, still with a smile on her face.

“It would be a lie if I said that I was not lonely.”

The answer that Noel got in response was out of his expectations and when his eyes widened, Marie’s brows tilted downwards slightly.

“As expected, the people who I really wanted to give me their support were my parents.”

“…Even if they pushed you to the breaking point, you still are able to think that way?”

As expected, he could not understand the bonds that one had with family. While Noel had that kind of thought, Marie looked straight at him.

“I was able to think like that. Thanks to you.”

“Ha? Why does that have to do with me?”

“Of course it has to do with you. Just when I was troubled about whether I should speak to my parents once more, I listened to your songs and I got a push of encouragement once more, Noel-sama!”

After speaking in a loud voice like she was making a declaration, Marie laughed at Noel in an amused manner. That laughing expression seemed to be proof that she had reached a satisfactory conclusion.

“After having a huge fight and leaving my home, I did not communicate with my parents for the time being. However somewhere in my heart, I thought that I can’t leave things like that. I wanted my parents to understand and acknowledge me properly. I wanted to them to see the work I am doing now….And tell them that it’s thanks to them that I am able to do this job.”

“Then….did you have a proper chat with them?”

When Marie heard Noel’s words, she showed a beaming smile and replied. Noel saw that smile on her face and unconsciously he let out a look of relief. It seemed like Marie did not notice but Noel glossed it over by averting his gaze.

“They accepted my thoughts right at once. I know that was not as though my parents wanted me to just do as I was told, they just wanted to let me have a good life. And I thought we could finally understand each other’s feelings. Right now, I’m actually working at my family’s flow—

Marie chatted her heart out with a calm smiling face to this point then all of a sudden, clamped her mouth shut. She covered her mouth with such force a slapping sound was made.

“? What is it?”

Noel asked Marie who frantically moved her hands away from her mouth and then smiled.

“It, it’s nothing! I bit my tongue….how embarrassing. Actually right now I’m sort of helping out in my family’s business and my relationship with my family became good!”

Even though there was a smile, the words were somewhat forced. Moreover, Noel noticed that Marie’s face became paler than before. Noel looked at Marie with a doubtful gaze but the colour to her face quickly returned and she spoke.

“I feel that this is the best relationship I had with my family till now. Even if I’m by myself, even if my family is not with me, I don’t feel lonely anymore. What I desire is surely connections such as this. However, I had to clash with my parents to come to this point of my life. I was very much terrified….”

Even with the insecurity of possibly being abandoned by her parents who had loved her very much, Marie still had the resolution to do what she wanted to do.

“Noel-sama, your singing pushed me from behind like so and gave me the courage to have that face to face talk with my parents. You are my hope. Right now and even in the future! And from now on, I will push you on like you did for me in many kinds of ways!”

Marie walked straight towards Noel and stopped a step away from him, looking up at his face with a smile.

“Therefore, if it’s you, Noel-sama, you’ll be fine! I can guarantee it!”

Marie placed her hand on her chest and made a clear statement directed at Noel. Even though she was full of confidence, the one who would be on stage later on was Noel. And yet, why was Marie the one who was being all confident like this. Noel considered how the two of them looked like right now and naturally, he let out a laugh.

“Noe, Noel-sama? Di, did I do something weird….?”

Marie tilted her head when she looked at Noel who suddenly burst out laughing. By the way, the way she referred to herself “I (Watashi)” had returned back to “I(Watakushi)”. She was putting on her show face again but because she had returned to being the usual Marie, somehow, Noel felt strangely relieved.

–Since someone who listened to my song could say such a thing, there’s surely no mistake at all.

Noel got influenced by Marie’s confidence and heat returned back to his fingertips that were cold earlier. The beating in his chest was no longer one of uneasiness but the loud cry of excitement.

When Noel stopped laughing, he looked at Marie who was standing before him. Marie’s eyes met his and seeming to notice the distance between herself and Noel, she took a step back and lowered her head in embarrassment.

“I won’t do anything to disappoint people who expect something from me. If that’s what you say then I will continue to be your hope.”

Marie suddenly raised her lowered face and smiled brightly. Before her eyes, Noel balled his hand into a fist and stuck it out. Marie showed a look of surprised and blinked when she saw Noel’s fist however she quickly smiled in delight.

“Yes!”

With a huge nod, she bumped her own fist against Noel’s. Noel firmly received the passionate feelings she had held in her fist. However.

(Such small hands……)

Surprised by the delicate fist that was different from a man’s, Noel quickly drew his hand back and faced the other way.

“….If I could give my support to Noel-sama….”

Marie mumbled to herself in a soft voice. Noel gave Marie a side long glance and he saw the lady clasping her hands, the ones that touched Noel’s, together. Suddenly Marie noticed Noel’s gaze and she waved her hands around, turning a crimson red.

“N, nothing! I didn’t say anything! Ah! It’s already this late! Then I shall excuse myself. As usual, please grace us with your wonderful voice! I shall, I shall get going~”

With her cheeks still flushed and a hand over her mouth, Marie closed the door while smiling. Was there something that made her that flustered? Noel tilted his head.

“……You’re already supporting me though.”

It was a fact but when he said it, it was a bit embarrassing even though the person to receive the words was not present. That was probably why  Marie left in such a flustered manner.

Right now, there were many people who supported and had expectations of Noel. It was possible for Noel to meet those expectations—to stake everything and sing.

A short time elapsed after Marie left and then the door opened with a creak. The other members of VANISHING STARLIGHT were peering into the waiting room through that gap.

“….Is it alright for us to come in?”

“?Of course it is. This is our waiting room after all. Besides, there was someone here just before.”

When Noel said that, the members exchanged glances with each other with somewhat amused expressions.

“It’s not that, basically, just now, the timing was a bit….you know?”

“She even stepped out with a blushing face……”

Noel frowned at the rest of them who were whispering to each other.

“What are you guys talking about?”

Exchanging strangely serious glances with each other, the members pointed in the direction of the door in unison and stared at Noel.

“”Girlfriend?””

How did things become like that. Noel did not know what to say for the moment so he was slow to give a response. His face became hot because such a misunderstanding happened.

“You got it wrong! She’s just a magazine reporter I’m acquainted with! ‘sides, she came over to deliver the flowers that’s over there.”

“”Eh~?””

“You guys got the wrong idea!”

Even though he yelled angrily at the members who were doubting him with all the joy in their heart, it had no effect on them at all. It would be far too troublesome to pursue the incident further. And Noel had something to say to his members before the event.

“That kind of thing doesn’t matter! I got something to say before the event so listen up.”

The members who were grinning saw that Noel was looking at them with a serious expression and they also directed their gazes at him.

After looking at all his members, Noel lowered his head in their direction.

“Sorry, it’s my fault that that Sunglasses isn’t here. I think it’s because I said some really shitty words to him.”

Even if that was not the reason, it was surely the trigger. With his head still lowered, Noel spoke to the rest of them.

“I think you all must be angry with me for that. But just for today, I want you all to support me. Please!”

After Noel said those words, a few seconds of silence was left handing in the room.

Among that silence, the guitarist Leda spoke.

“Eh….it’s true that Revo-san was the one spoke to me about making a band but my decision to want to group with Noel was not because Revo-san asked me to?”

“Eh?”

Noel raised his head without thinking when he heard the voice. Once he did so, he caught sight of the member’s smiling at him.

The other guitarist, Yuki also nodded in response to Leda’s words.

“Yeah, I agree. He said that if we didn’t like it, we can just go back, right?”

“Ehhh?!—No, if it’s that guy, he would say that.”

Noel raised his voice immediately but quickly calmed down. Rather that kind of action was more like something Revo would do.

Junji, who was their drummer, laughed at Noel who had accepted those statements quickly and then said.

“During our first session, because it seemed like Noel was a singer who knew what you was doing and it seemed like it would be interesting to work with you, that’s why we’re here now. I have enjoyed the music that was made.”

“Also, even if Revo-san isn’t around, Noel is leading us, right?”

Listening to the Keyboardist, Akito, a wry smile rose on Noel’s own face. If anything, it did seem that he was leading them.

“….I don’t really feel that way though.”

“Well, now’s not the time to think of such unnecessary things, you should be focusing on making the event successful, yeah?”

The bassist, Ikuo said as such as his punched Noel lightly in the shoulder.

“Yeah…you’re right.”

Noel nodded strongly and the rest gathered around a table where no one was at. There was a gap that had enough space for one person and they gestured at Noel, waving him over.

It was so awkward to gather around in a circle—There was a time when he thought like that. However, Noel, without anyone pulling him, naturally placed his arms around their shoulders.

At a distance that was close enough for their foreheads to touch, all the members exchanged glances with each other.

“At your cue, leader!”

Noel responded to those words with a smile and took in a deep breath.

“Let’s go……VANISHING STARLIGHT!”

In response to Noel’s yell, everyone, including Noel himself, yelled even more loudly.

There was nothing to worry about anymore—that brimming confidence drove Noel’s body.