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hoshigomi · 5 years ago

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2019 in Takarazuka!

This was my first year of living full time in Japan, and so I got to see more Takarazuka than I would EVER have anticipated would be possible to me. I feel really lucky. Here are my thoughts on this year- I didn’t limit any category to one answer because I wanted to give my respects to everything that caught my heart this year. It gets a little long, but feel free to give it a read!

Favorite Grand Theater musical: My favorite Grand Theatre Musical was Beside the Foggy Elbe, but it was ALSO God of Stars. These shows could not BE more different. Elbe was my favorite show in the way that Yukigumi’s Gaisenmon was one of my favorite shows last year and in the way that Hoshiai is some people’s favorite show. It’s my favorite show maybe EVER in that I cried during every single one of the [redacted #] performances I got to see. I’m not usually a fan of Heavy Serious Show, but this one may be my top favorite show of all time. (Feel free to read my review here- I can not BEGIN to hash out my feelings for this show in this tiny space!) I have literally never seen a show more perfectly suited for the people performing it than God of Stars was to Hoshigumi. It was stomach-ache funny and heart-ache touching and one of the most respectful, brilliant, plays-to-their-strengths, META taidan shows I have EVER seen- for every taidansha, and the upcoming top combi. God of Stars is overflowing with love and humor, and that’s exactly the kind of show that grabs my heart and refuses to let go. Special honors for 2019 go to Soragumi’s Oceans 11 because I love the hell out of that show and Makaze’s Danny, Susshii’s Saul, Seiko’s Queen Diana, Madoka’s Tess, Moeko’s Livingston, and Kazuki Sora’s Linus were specifically my favorite portrayals of those characters that I have ever seen.

Favorite revue: Hands down, the Grand Theatre run of Estrellas. Estrellas felt more like a rock concert than a revue to me at first, and then I learned to put in words that it felt very Chiegumi in a way that I LOVED. This revue flowed like none other, and I have really special personal ties to it as well, it having been Kai’s last revue in Takarazuka. I wanted to list standout numbers, but is it really a “standout number” if I can list like 12? There was so much CONTRAST and so many OPPORTUNITIES and so much, again, LOVE in the whole thing!! The chuuzume? Playful! The white number? Sincere! I cried every time! The pop star medley? OOF! BACK? INCREDIBLE! Starlight Parade? Beautiful! Estrellas was the best revue of the year and this is a category in which I don’t personally believe there was any competition. That said, I want to give special honors to Eclair Brillant for showing a side of Beni’s Hoshigumi that we never really got to see in revues (plus that bolero, which might be the best standalone NUMBER in Takarazuka this year, and the kuroenbi which again, blended personality with crisp blacks and whites and was a MASTERFUL passing of the torch), and Krung Thep which I loved a lot, despite having to see it with a weird flip flopped cast (F for Reiko :( ) Even though I only saw that one once some moments (the boxing number, Sakura generally just kicking ass, the chuzuume, Miya and Tamaki’s duedan) really stuck with me. Music Revolution used Pachelbel’s’ Canon and Neon Outfits in a way that I would never have thought would work, but did, and also featured an INCREDIBLY beautiful taidan number despite it being like, no one’s taidan.

Favorite small theater musical: HONESTLY, against ALL ODDS, Kamatari. I didn’t expect to even LIKE Kamatari, but between the HAUNTING score, the performances by Beni, Airi, Hanagata Hikaru, Seocchi, Kuracchi, and Mikkii SPECIFICALLY, the BEAUTIFUL set, and the touching and volatile relationships between the characters, I was HOOKED. It didn’t need a complicated plot- the character relationships drove everything, and I thought it was absolutely masterful. This one slid under a lot of people’s radars- please give it a look for yourself if you can! Special honors to Mozart, which I don’t think I have to explain, Diamond as Big as the Ritz for looking fun as HELL though I admit I DIDN’T GET TO SEE IT, On The 20th Century (unfortunately forever lost to time but featuring two of the most professional, brilliant lead performances I have ever seen), and On The Town, for being a faithful, loving take on a classic piece of musical theatre that I would have gladly seen more times than I got to.

Favorite numbers: (In no real order)

L’Operap and Bim Bam Boum from Mozart.

石を割って咲く桜 from Mibugishiden, because those voices give me CHILLS.

The Gift and Bolero, (Eclair Brillant’s sexy, sexy chuuzume and INSANE artsy number, respectively.)

Some Other Time from On the Town.

Pop Star/Hoshi Ni Negaiwo/Starlight Parade/Championne/星サギの歌 in Estrellas.

Beer Matsuri (prologue) in Beside The Foggy Elbe.

The title song from God of Stars.

愛した日々に偽りは無い from Oceans 11

We Need Love and Adventure In The Life from Casanova straight up slaps.

I haven’t seen Aquavitae but boy the theme song is catchy.

Favorite lead otokoyaku role: Beni in Beside The Foggy Elbe. I woulda given her the award for God of Stars but her Karl was TRANSFORMATIVE and HEART wrenching. It’s always nice to see someone break out of their comfort zone (or in Beni’s case, the zone that she really just gets the most credit for THRIVING IN), and do something new. Karl shocked me in all the right ways. Beni playing vulnerable? Oof. Special honor to Coto as Mozart because what the fuck how is anyone that talented, Makaze as Danny Ocean (because duh), Tamaki Ryou as Gabey in On the Town because boy does she nail earnest lovesickness, Daimon as Oscar Jaffee (for MUCH the same reason as I loved Beni as Karl), and Daimon as Yoshimura Kanichirou (which yeah I did have to look up his name but boy THAT was also a TRANSFORMATIVE role!)

Favorite lead musumeyaku role: Before me I have two envelopes and one says “Maaya Kiho as Lily Garland” and the other says “Kisaki Airi as Eileen”, and when I open the envelopes they both say “winner.” Maaya Kiho is probably straight up the most talented person in all of Takarazuka right now and I AM prepared to stand by that claim. Lily is very much the lead role in 20th Century, This was a beyond Broadway caliber performance and I would love nothing more than for her to reprise her role everywhere and anywhere. Airi’s Eileen was maybe one of the best musumeyaku roles I’ve ever seen, and she knocked it out of the park with humor, gravitas, earnesty, vulnerability, and skill that comes with being a musumeyaku with That Much Experience under your belt and That Juicy of a role to work with. Special shoutouts to: also Maaya as Christine in Phantom, if that counts as 2019.

Favorite supporting otokoyaku role: Wow, this one is a three way tie. Shocker. One of my greatest regrets though one I can’t really change is that I never got to see Mikkii as Mercutio in RetJ. The good news is that her performance as Fune no Esaka in Kamatari had EXACTLY the same kind of UNHINGED, POWERFUL, DANGEROUS energy that I love about her Mercutio. If you know me you know I can NOT get enough of Tenju Mitsuki onstage, and this role was a BIG, BIG validation of my obsession. Also a MASSIVE role for her. Asami Jun was DISTRESSINGLY NASTY and impressive as Saitou Hajime in Mibugishiden. If she was onstage, it was HARD if not impossible to look away from her. In 2020 I want nothing more than for Aasa to continue clawing her way up the ladder- she’s one of the ones who’s working to earn everything she’s got, and BOY, does she deserve all of it and more. Tobias, lovingly, lovingly, lovingly brought to life by Nanami Hiroki in her final Takarazuka role was an angel, a (quiet) voice of reason on a stage full of fools in Elbe. She didn’t have much stage time, but she imbued every second she did have with everything that got her where she is today. While he wasn’t an attention grabbing character, the subtle work she did with him was beautiful, stable, and warm. (And what a send off.) I was also impressed by and want to shoutout to: Seo Yuria as Nicholas in God of Stars, Hanagata Hikaru as Soga no Iruka (also Kamatari), AKATSUKI CHISEI as Chip in On the Town, Kazuki Sora as Linus in Oceans 11, and Amato Kanon as Johnny in Elbe, who didn’t do a whole lot besides yell, and still made my shoulders SHAKE with laughter every time she ran on.

Favorite supporting musumeyaku role: Hands down, mother fucking Shirayuki Sachika as Hildy in On The Town. Excuse my language but what a brilliant performance, hooooooly shit. BIG bonus shoutouts to: Junya Chitose as Diana in Oceans 11, Shirotae Natsu as Louise Bollinger in Algiers, and Kozakura Honoka (voice of an ANGEL, does THE MOST character work, BEAUTIFUL NUANCED FULL REALIZED stage presence, IN THE MOMENT ALIVE choices) as Aloysia in Mozart.

Favorite up-and-comer (and/or shinko performance if you saw any):

Amato Kanon

and

Amato Kanon

My favorite shinko performance was the God of Stars shinko, led by: Amato Kanon, and my favorite 2020 shinko performance is the Hoshigumi RetJ shinko that I am assuming will also be led by Amato Kanon as Romeo.

Kanon aside, if you like dancers, I urge you to look at Ruri Hanaka in literally anything. Also, if you see any pictures of Yukigumi 105th Tsukise You, please send them to me.

Best Ensemble: Hoshigumi just like in general. I know I say this all the time, but my love for them came from this. Without fail, this troupe turns out ensemble show after ensemble show, and even the things that AREN’T ensemble shows become them because of how every actress milks their background opportunities for all they’re worth. I could write ESSAYS on the shit I’ve seen go on in the backgrounds of their scenes. I could write NOVELS, and I would be doing it for my own pleasure. No matter how you feel about WHAT they do, I think you’d be hard pressed to deny that they’re a very particular sort of group with a really high, warm, messy but intense type of energy about them. It works for me. They dealt with a lot this year, from their top being VOICELESS on a big taidan raku, to a top combi taidan, to a weather canceled top combi maeraku, and carried themselves through it all with grace and love and smiles and intentional positivity. I adore everything they are and everything they mean to me. This troupe got me through a lot this year, and I consider it such a privilege to be so enamored with every one of them.

Someone you gained a new interest in: This year I kept a planner where I had an entire page dedicated to every day this year and on January 2nd I have a little drawing of Yuunagi Ryou’s background sailor outfit from Elbe and the note “I definitely have a crush on her.” Now, 12 months, 3 reijou, 2 ochakai, and two embarrassing half conversations later, I sometimes look at her and go like “oh that one sure is mine now, huh.” She’s lovely. Watching her onstage is a type of fun and intrigue and ??? that I’ve never had with anyone else. I like her scratchy Showa voice. I like when she dances with her floppy hair. I like that she draws herself as a sheep on all her stuff. I like her half smirk and freckles. I think she’s neat. Thanks, Shimo, for making losing My One True Takarazuka Love a little easier on my heart and eyes. To 2020 and beyond. <3

Someone you did a 360 on: MAISORA HITOMI! I have to admit that I was not only not excited for her to transfer over, but also kind of angry when she was announced as Coto’s partner. And then I saw her in God of Stars. And I still wasn’t SOLD. I appreciated what they did with her and Coto, and that they were given chances (and some SAPPY meta lines about building a new future together), but I didn’t GET it. (Though BOY is she a beautiful dancer.) And then the Mozart rehearsal footage started rolling in, and the interviews started rolling in, and she was having FUN and coming into her own and adjusting beautifully, and what surprised me most, really PLAYING with her new partner and troupe. And then I SAW MOZART and I was sold. I saw shonichi and I was a teary bleary MESS by well before their duet dance, and in their duet dance I saw FRIENDS, and I saw two people who were LOVING working with each other. I saw two people having fun. Long story short, her role as Constanze was INCREDIBLE and compelling and it’s INSANE when you realize how YOUNG she is. I can’t WAIT to see where she goes from here. I’ve realized that I wasn’t fair to her at first. I adore her now. In my house? We love and respect Maisora Hitomi. Oh, also Seo Yuria who I’ve realized over the past 12 months that I would not only die for, but also kill for if the need should arise.

Personal biggest headline: Kai taidanned this year. There’s no possible world in which that WOULDN’T BE my biggest headline. They could swap all the tops and make a TMS kid a top musumeyaku and this would still be my big news.. Kai was the person who caught my heart six days into knowing what Takarazuka was and she was just. So perfect to me and for me. The entire experience of getting to be her fan, even for a short time, was a dream. Nothing about it ever felt hard or scary or stressful, and the people I met through her are some of my favorite people in the world to this day. It was a whirlwind of a run and a taidan experience and though I would do it all again if I could in a heartbeat, what we, and what she has now, is beyond I think any of our wildest dreams. I still feel so lucky about her every single day. Runners up include like Beni losing her voice completely during Estrellas senshuuraku (can’t wait for THAT to air on Skystage) and Hoshigumi losing maeraku for Beni/Airi/Mao/Renta/Riran taidan to Typhoon Hagbis (which also evacuated me from my apartment.) They could not catch a BREAK this year.

Favorite (???) random memory or happening:

Aasa Trending on Twitter just because she’s hot.

I don’t LOVE it but the transfers, from Hitoko to Aichan to SEIRA HITOMI??? to Shidou to Ayaki Hikari were all pretty fuckin’ weird.

Shiiran kissing Kai on Star Talk.

Everything Kai did post-taidan.

The time I saw God of Stars and Beni broke so bad she made Airi almost cry trying to stop herself from laughing and then Coto lost it and they got off track two distinct times before Hanagata Hikaru had to step in and start the scene over.

Getting called back at a certain someone’s ochakai because I was so nervous I walked away without shaking her hand.

Kanon’s first shinko lead (mic issues and restarted show and all) left me with a hope for the future and a warmth in my heart that I have never felt before.

Looking at @zukadiary at intermission of Kamatari and realizing that whatever summary was on Takawiki up until that day for that show was WILDLY off, and having to look it up to figure out what the fuck we actually just watched, because it sure wasn’t what I anticipated.

Most looking forward to: Anastasia, which I spoke into existence, and also Hoshigumi’s Romeo et Juliette which you can NOT convince me isn’t going to be Hoshigumi’s second GT.

#takarazuka #tkz #hoshigumi #ill tag them because theyre uh a LOT of this.

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zuka-themed-username · 6 years ago

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z-t-review: My Fair Lady (National Tour 2018 w/ Asaka Manato)

After a bit of a delay I’m back with the rest of my reviews from my vacation! Two days after I saw Elisabeth I headed down to Oita in Kyushu to see the final performance of Asaka Manato’s first post-taidan show, My Fair Lady. I am absolutely obsessed with this show/film*, so even if Maa-sama wasn’t in it I think I would have still tried to see it. As my Japanese is not that great I was curious to see if I could determine how they would make Eliza’s Japanese sound different. Would she use Saga dialect, as that’s her hometown? Or some other dialect? Frankly I’m still not sure, but as with my other review I’ll be outlining my experience in randomly ordered bullet points. Let me know if you have any info on what specific dialect might have been spoken!

*Apparently it was performed in the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater in 1963, with a male Henry Higgins! I didn’t think they’d allow that lol XD

- Maa-sama played Eliza very girlish. The previous time I saw her perform she was the stalwart Russian guy from Land of the Gods, so this was a welcome change, and there didn’t appear to be any discomfort from playing a female role. At times she leaned a bit toward the dumb side, but in a humorous way that played well with the audience. I forget that, given the age of the actresses playing the character in most productions, that Eliza is supposed to be 19-24-ish (it has moved toward older in newer productions I have seen) so I was glad to see a cheery approach, and it allowed for a stronger shift in maturity in the second act.

- I was curious how Maa-sama’s voice would sound - and it was great! Better than the videos online! She could hit all of the notes, though she sounded a tad tired on the highest ones. Not really strained per se, but as if she had been doing dozens of performances in an unfamiliar register, which, of course it was lol. It’s clear that she was really pushing for lower notes in Takarazuka and almost seemingly faked the strain on the ‘higher’ ones (in comparison now not really high at all). I say seemingly faked because she already sounds great in a higher register after such a short time. She has no doubt worked incredibly hard with a vocal coach, and I’m so happy she was able to perform these songs so soon and so well after her graduation.

- One small change however was the final section of “I Could Have Danced All Night”. The final note was shortened in length, though I don’t wholly disagree with just making it shorter in all productions. It’s a tad unrealistic for someone to be singing in an operatic register at 3AM regardless, but to hold that final note for what, four measures? Beyond unrealistic XD.

- Speaking of voices, everyone sounded incredible! Absolutely fantastic singing from everyone. Honestly, the maid/butler choir was distractingly good. This is mainly because

- Only the songs were amplified? They clearly had two audio settings - one to lightly boost the spoken scenes and another to really bump the music and singing. It was great.

- Speaking of which the orchestra was on stage, split in two and elevated on either side, about a full story up. They sounded wonderful; the bass really popped and if I didn’t see them I almost would assume it was recorded.

- The sets and costumes were quite nice, though they were often carbon copies of the 1964 film. No complaints, but I’m always down for new interpretations in design.

- Some notes on translation:

* For the uncultured accent, “hi” became “shi”. Thus Professor Henry Higgins was Professor Henry Shiggins and I never not found that funny. It also made for a cool stage trick with a lamp. It had a real flame that if you made “shi” sounds into it the flame would not flicker, but if you made “hi” sounds it would. There was then a kotowaza or phrase of some sort that alliterated on the “hi” sound, which of course led to a wonderful gag of Maa-sama nearly passing out trying to get the flame to flicker on “shi” instead. She eventually just blew it out and her look of pride and then embarrassment read from 10 miles away and was fantastically hilarious. In those moments she built instant empathy for Eliza.

* I’ve not explained the plot of the show at all (apologies) but there are some set phrases that Higgins attempts to drill into Eliza using a xylophone. One of which in English is “how kind of you to let me come”. In Japanese it was “something arigato gozaimasu” and the way Eliza said it, “arigato goseimes” had the audience rolling. She would not drop it - Higgins was borderline screaming “goZAiMASU!” to her response of “go..seiMES!”. No doubt was leaning into it as it was senshuuraku and I was dying. This led to a gag where Higgins shows her cards - a 5 (”go”), a rhino (”sai” but he flipped it to “zai”), and a trout (”masu”). Eliza proudly looks at them and goes, “Go! Zai! Sakana!” And the woman next to me in kimono legitimately guffawed. The audience was all in and I loved it.

* One of my favorite songs “Show Me”, starts in English with a very clipped, “Words words words I’m so sick of words!” But “words” in Japanese is “kotoba” so Maa-sama had to cram “kotoba kotoba kotoba” into the same short rhythm and it was a tad clunky. But the energy was still strong and upset so no qualms there.

* I’m not a fan of Higgins in general (small wonder in 2018) but I did feel for the (wonderful) actor Terawaki Yasufumi when “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face” started, as that music is ~so~ specific to those syllables the translation simply did not flow well. Again, acting saved the day, and I’d rather a fully translated show then “here’s some random English line and then we’ll explain it with the following lyrics” setup that some Zuka songs have.

- Any moment for dancing was always blown out into full intense segments for the ensemble and it was fabulous. Eliza’s father’s crew was having a blast and I wished they had more time to just trash about on stage. A+

- Also A+, the Ambassador’s Ball was gorgeous, Maa-sama looked ~amazing~. Similarly the Ascot Gavotte cracked me up but the audience did not find “Come on Dover, move your bloomin’ arse!” as funny as I did. Ah well. When Eliza doesn’t stop sharing shocking family gossip though is a universally hilarious moment and Maa-sama’s expressions are priceless. I hoped they filmed it so I can gif the hell out of it.

- As I haven’t really gotten into the plot or characterizations here I don’t want to go on a full analysis on the interpretation of Eliza/Higgins in this story, but I did find that, unlike more recent Western productions which tries to give Eliza as much agency as the plot allows and tends to diminish Higgins, the relationship here between Higgins and Eliza was a bit more romantically-leaning. In the final curtain call Maa-sama and Terawaki Yasufumi who played Higgins did like a fake proposal and lots of “you first, no you go, no, let’s go arm in arm with a head leaning on a shoulder” dealios. It was cute, and audience members were as close to “aww”-ing as they could. It’s not my favorite interpretation, but I think this is the closest I will ever be to experiencing the 1964 film live, which is cool in and of itself. As I listened to the curtain call speech where Maa-sama mentioned how this show helped her post-graduation from Takarazuka, I thought of Sagiri’s first post-taidan show, Woman of the Year, and I realized that both shows have very polite spins on traditional female characters. With her next show after her concert being Sister Act it looks like she’ll continue to kick ass in theater like Sagiri, so I look forward to catching her in more productions in the future.

Next review is either Castle of the White Heron or Thunderbolt Fantasy/Killer Rouge from Taiwan! Stay tuned!

#takarazuka #OG show #oh that's weird to type #screw it soragumi anyway #soragumi #asaka manato #my fair lady

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takarazuka-rpf · 8 years ago

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ITEIWAY 1

Disclaimer: This is an RPF (Real Person Fiction) meaning anything written here does not reflect the events in real life.

Chigi:

It's been 3 months since their taidan show and slowly Chigi is getting used to this new life. No more script readings, no more singing lessons, no more rehearsals and no more spending day-to-day with the Yukigumi kids. She had just recently moved back to her hometown where she has a temporary job of giving acting/singing lessons to kids from the middle school she went to. The children (as well as the teachers) are thrilled to have her, but of course they would be, this used to be the top star of Takarazuka!

Chigi is honoured to have the job of introducing the world of entertainment to the next generation. But the most important reason for accepting this job is to gain some time in figuring out how she wants to move forward now: an ordinary life or to carry on in the entertainment business?

On one hand she wants to dance and sing like she always have and loved but on the other, she wants something she's always longed for - a family. A family of her own whom she can love and cherish and share the rest of her life with. However, in this family life, she does not see any room for camera crews, spending nights in hotels to attend varieties shows or to miss family occasions for filming purposes. She still have lots to think about but not too much time as the contract offer she’s received for an up-coming movie ends in a few months. The agency tells her that this could be her big debut into television and it'll be a great idea to accept it. Decisions, decisions.

In these 3 months, she's being in contact with the other OGs but every conversation had been about congratulating her and what an awesome top star she had been etc etc. She hasn't yet had the chance of getting into any deeper conversations about how to handle post-taka life yet. However, she needn't to worry much about that as her schedule is still full with reunions and meet-ups with a lunch coming up with Mattsu soon who is visiting from the UK. That lunch she's particularly looking forward to as there are certain subjects she'd like to talk about, subjects Mattsu has dealt with. Anyway, that's still in a few days’ time. Now all she wants to do is to continue with this quite, uneventful life she has and is currently content with.

Chigi falls back onto her sofa and turns on the TV in her living room. Immediately, she sees the face of a woman she's too familiar with - Sakihi Miyu. Her heart skips a beat.

Miyu:

Miyu has never felt so lonely in her whole life. Sitting in the hotel room by herself alone with her thoughts is something she does a lot these days. She has become the treasure of her agency with endless TV show contracts and commercial offers with lots of money rolling in. Don’t get her wrong, she doesn't mind it, in fact she thoroughly enjoys the new life she has now. She’s learnt so many more things and had the chance to meet people whom she admired ever since she was a child. Every day is busy and that's the only problem. She doesn't have the chance or time to catch up with family and old friends, friends with whom she grew up with in Takarazuka. She misses them so, so much. Macchi, Reiko, Daimon and of course, Her.

Currently she has 2 phones, one for work and one for her personal life. Her work phone is always alive and buzzing with emails and text messages from directors and her agency wanting her to be in their next projects. It seems like the TV industry saw something in her looks and personality that would make her popular amongst the public. And they were right. She is HUGE. Eventhough her fanclub from her Takarazuka days has disbanded, it seems like a new one has formed to follow her now. Miyu is super grateful for this, she can’t believe what the world has offered her and how it keeps on being kind to her. All she can do to repay this is to give the best she can offer into her future projects. She is determined to work hard to not disappoint her fans.

*Knock knock* Miyu stands up from the corner of her bed and opens her hotel room door.

‘Miyu! My beautiful, talented Miyu!’ It’s her loud, boisterous personal assistant, MoMo, assigned to her by her agency. ‘How are we feeling today? Good?’

‘Not bad but-‘

‘Wonderful! We will be going in 5 so put on your coat and I’ll knock again later. See ya,’ her personal assistant then left the room and closed the door behind her. Before, her assistant interrupted her, Miyu wanted to say that she wasn't feeling too well today, probably due to the late-night filming sessions lately in the chilly evenings which made her come down with a cold. Miyu sighs and goes to fetch both of her phones from the desk. When she picked them up, she heard something drop to the floor. It was a snow keyring she got a while ago when she went to the funfair with the rest of Yukigumi. She picks it up and holds it close to her chest, trying to suppress the bittersweet memories emerging in her mind now.

Flashback:

(Chigi POV) Their final showing of Hoshiai Hitoyo has ended, Chigi and her Yukigumi kids has decided to go to the local funfair to celebrate. They had all arrived together in one coach however for some reason right now there is only her and Miyu in the crowd of people. ‘Where did they go?’ Chigi said under her breath. ‘I’m not sure,’ came a reply from Miyu. Seems like Miyu had heard her. ‘Come on let’s go and find them’, and almost immediately Chigi started to walk through the crowd. Chigi didn't want any of her fans to spot her, especially with Miyu, just in case rumours start amongst the fans. ‘Chigi wait for me-,’ Chigi had been walking too fast so Miyu has been bumping into by passers trying to catch up with her. Chigi let out a sigh and grabbed the hand of the woman behind and continued walking.

(Miyu POV) Chigi’s hand was warm and soft around Miyu’s. This brings back memories in Miyu’s mind of Sports Day 2014 when Chigi also held her hand tightly before their big entrance. A sense of comfort and familiarity flowed through Miyu which made her lose concentration of the world around her. So when Chigi suddenly stopped, Miyu walked into Chigi’s back.

(Chigi POV) ‘There you guys are!’ Where the hell did you guys go?’ Chigi had spotted the rest of Yukigumi next to a candy floss stand while eating candy floss. ‘Well, here. We craved some candy floss.’ Said Saki. ‘All of you?’ asked Chigi unbelievingly, ‘yes?’ said Saki unconvincingly. ‘Well, you could have at least told us,’ says Chigi, ‘Miyu and I were searching for you guys for a while now.’

‘Well we thought you and Miyu may have wanted to spend some time together by yourselves,’ said Saki pointing to their still connected hands. Giggles came from the rest of Yukigumi standing before them. Chigi and Miyu both looked down and saw their intertwined fingers then immediately jumped away from each other. They shared a shy and awkward look and Chigi cleared her throat and said, ‘Anyway, it’s getting late, I think we should probably go now.’ A few groans and noises of protest were heard and then Hitoko said, ‘One last ride pleaaaase, with all of us’. With the rest of Yukigumi agreeing and looking with pleading eyes at Chigi, Chigi said with a sigh, ‘fine alright, one last ride then.’

‘Yeah!’

‘Hooray!’

‘Chigi is the best!’

‘So which one do you all wanna go on?’

‘That one!’ They said in unison while pointing to the Ferris wheel. Chigi with her woman’s intuition sensed Yukigumi was planning something and she didn't like it. Having said that, Chigi and the rest of yukigumi made their way to the queue with Miyu and Chigi being at the front. A couple of minutes later, they were next up.

‘Alright next 2,’ said the operator. ‘Ehhhh, want do you mean? Only 2 people can go on there at one time?!’ Asked Chigi with a confused and shocked face. ‘Of course, well the sign does says Couple’s Wheel’. Chigi turned around to read the sign but noticed that the rest of yukigumi, who were originally behind them, had mysteriously disappeared leaving just Miyu and herself. So that’s why they were so insistent with her and Miyu at the front! ‘Damn it! I’m gunna ki-‘

‘Well you going or not?’ Asked the operator slightly annoyed now that they’re holding up the queue. Before she can respond, she felt a hand around hers pulling her towards a pod.

‘Sorry for this disruption, we’ll get in,’ said Miyu. Chigi said nothing and stared disbelievingly into the back of Miyu’s head and followed her into the pod.

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