Tokyo's Calling

Chapter 2: Falling Sakura

After that Friday night at Katsumi's, Asami was making it harder for her to keep her vow. Because they had ended up in the same class, and they lived right down the hall from each other, avoiding her would be out of the picture. On top of that, Asami was as ditzy and cute as they came, so there was no way she could've walked home by herself without protection. It was only right for Katsumi to walk her home after school. So now, every aspect of her life had Asami in it somehow. And although it went against everything she believed in, she was beginning to grow accustomed to her.
It was Friday evening yet again, and Katsumi was more than ready for the city. She walked quickly, rushing Asami slightly. Although, she was making it extremely difficult to move on. Asami would stop every few feet to look at something, or speak to someone. They had almost made it out of the courtyard when the sound of music came into their range. Katsumi's heart sank as she realized where it was coming from. A group of their high school's most popular boys had come together and created a band back in their first year. And over the years they had gained massive popularity. They tried to have a concert each month, and it just so happened to be that day. Katsumi couldn't have cared less about them, but of course Asami thought otherwise. She immediately began to wander closer to the huge crowd and the stage they were gathered around. Katsumi sighed and reluctantly followed her, a feeling of dread growing inside her.
                   "Hey Katsumi, who are they?" Asami said beaming, her eyes glued to the stage.
                     As they continued to weave their way to the front of the crowed, Katsumi explained all that she knew.
                  "Well, from what I know, they call themselves Falling Sakura. Basically all the big-headed players in school come together and use their talent to pick up girls. Hinata Adachi is their drummer. He's supposedly the smartest of them all, especially when it comes to talking to girls.  Hiro Fukushima can play just about anything that makes noise, but he's a bit of a dork. That doesn't seem to stop the girls from crowding him though."  She said over the groups of screaming students.

             "And the lead singer?" Asami inquired.

              A look of disgust fell on Katsumi's face. "He's the worst of all of them. It seems like he has someone new every week. And his entire demeanor is so fake. Katsuro Izuku, a total whore."
              Asami brushed off Katsumi's harsh comments and was quickly distracted by someone else on the stage. His every move seemed to scream elegance. His hair flowed effortlessly with his motion. To Asami, he was like a loving work of art.
                 "Who's that?" Asami pointed at the stoic guitarist on the corner of the stage.
                 " That's Tashiro Ichikawa. He's mad talented at the guitar and he's super standoffish. Unlike the rest of them, I never hear him talk, and I think he's only had one girlfriend ever."
                Asami's eyes sparkled as she gazed at the quite boy. He flipped his hair gracefully as he continued to carry the song. His eyes drifted on to hers for a moment before returning to the distance. Asami blushed in amazement.
              "He's gorgeous," she said in a bit of a daze.
        Katsumi sighed. Her friend was in a lot of trouble if she thought she was gonna get involved with Tashiro, the breaker of innocent hearts. But because of Asami's personality, she knew there was nothing she could do to stop her from getting her way.
             As the final song concluded, Katsumi hoped it was almost time to leave. However, she had forgotten Falling Sakura's most iconic act. After every show, in an effort to get people to their next concert, Katsuro would go to the edge of the stage and give one lucky girl a rose. The thought of it made Katsumi sick, but all the other girls loved it, including Asami. When Kasturo began to come to the front stage, the hands of desperate girls shot up in the air. They flared around as he walked by.
            Asami simply had to get to know Tashiro, and she would do that by any means possible. So when Katsuro walked by, she said his name in a scream so loud and long that it somehow stuck out over everything else. Katsumi shook her head in embarrassment as Katsuro stopped right in front of them. He laughed a bit and smiled as he sat down at the end of the stage.
               "Alright," he laughed, "what's your name beautiful? I can't say that I've seen you before." He said in an overly charming tone.
               As Asami stepped up to the mic, Katsumi stepped back behind her. She wanted no part of his ridiculous lies.
              "My name's Asami Kishoto," she said with a smile, " I just moved here and I'm in my third year."
             " Well I'm so glad that I got to meet you. Thank you for coming." He smiled sweetly before drifting off at the sight of Katsumi.
              She rolled her eyes and tried not to stand out, which was virtually impossible. Because of her heavy chest and wildly curly hair, she differed from almost everyone around her. Plus, she was quite attractive after all.
               For a moment he got lost in her. Although she was glaring at him massively, he couldn't seem to find himself for a minute. She just seemed, different. He couldn't quite explain it, but he was completely thrown off his game, and he quickly had to regain his false charm.
               " Are you here by yourself this evening?" He questioned, trying to find out Katsumi's identity.
               "Oh no, I'm here with my friend Katsumi. She's only been here for a little too," she said while grinning.
               Katsumi shot Asami a deadly glare as she felt complete betrayal. Now there was another idiot to annoy her. She sighed as Katsuro continued.
             " That must explain why I've never seen her before.  I would have noticed her for sure." He added with an all too friendly smirk on his face.
She rolled her eyes as hard as she could and sighed once again.
            After that moment he quickly wrapped up his final words and gifted Asami her rose. Finally it was time for everyone to leave, so Katsumi gladly began making her way home. But, at the last minute Katsuro kneeled down to Asami to ask her a question.
            " Why don't you let me walk you home? I don't feel right letting beautiful girls walk the streets alone, plus my friend Tashiro and I always walk that way anyway. Would that be okay?"
          Asami's heart skipped. If she took this opportunity, she could finally meet him. There was no way she could pass up that chance, so she agreed eagerly.  Katsuro went backstage to help pack things up, but he would soon return to meet them.
           She ran over to an annoyed Katsumi and couldn't seem to stop talking. However Katsumi wasn't near as surprised as she was.
            " And he even said that Tashiro would be with him! This is the best thing that could've happened to us!" She said enthusiastically.
           Katsumi raised an eyebrow and tried not to get upset with her.
           " This is not even close to the best thing for me! Look, you do whatever you want with whoever you want, but there's no way I'd even consider speaking to Katsuro. "
           " But Katsumi! Pleeeeeeeeeease? I think he really wants to meet you." She said with a sense of desperation.
            " No way Asami. I've already wasted too much time here." Katsumi replied as she walked away steadily.
             Asami knew there was nothing she could do about Katsumi, so she contently waited for Katsuro and Tashiro to come for her.
            If things turned out well this time, then maybe her future had a fair chance too.