Taking It All Too Hard

June 15, 2024

The second night, which saw no setlist changes, also went off without a hitch, at least from the perspective of the audience. In reality, the band had had monitor problems for much of the night, leading to a few small flubs that few in the crowd had noticed. As the band and the road crew packed up, Sadako complained to Momo, “That show was a fucking nightmare. Every fifteen seconds, the monitors quit on me while we were playing I Can’t Resist You No More. I thought after that song, they’d stop, but nope. During Exit Stage Left, the last fucking song in the set, it crapped out again three times, and I fucked up the ending.”

“Those monitors sucked tonight,” Momo agreed. “I don’t get it. They worked fine enough last night.”

“Hey guys,” Hideki then said as he came running over to the band. “I just got done talking to the club manager, and he apologized profusely for the monitor issues. He says they had to use a different set tonight because the other monitors from the night before were being used in another club he owns. These other monitors were older and he says he’s gonna toss them out after this weekend.”

“Please tell me we aren’t gonna use those shitty monitors for Sunday night,” Masato then asked him. “Do we have to? My parents are gonna be coming that night, and I’d rather not mess it up in front of them.”

“He assured me the other monitors will be back tomorrow, Ushiyama,” Hideki assured him. “I know you’re worried about your parents and how they’re taking all of this, but trust me, we’re gonna do our best to impress them.”

Ryosuke asked Momo , “So, uh… We didn’t get a chance to talk last night… Do you want to talk now?”

“Yeah, come on.” Momo then walked with him to a back room so they could have some privacy, and when they went into the room, Momo closed and locked the door behind her so no one else could enter. “So… You, um… You saw a lot more of me than you expected.”

“That’s saying the least of it, Momo-san,” Ryosuke pointed out. “I can safely say the only thing I’m missing now is anything under your waist.”

“I’m just glad I at least had pants on,” Momo chuckled. “So, anyway, how do you feel about it?”

“I feel bad. I feel like I invaded your privacy.”

Momo nodded. “Listen, part of it is me. I should have made sure the door was shut. It clearly wasn’t, given you were able to open it with a single knock. With that said… I noticed you staring a lot at them.”

“At what?”

“My boobs,” Momo sighed. “What else do you think I was talking about? My eyes?”

“I mean,” Ryosuke admitted somewhat nervously. “Your eyes do look nice.”

“You’re a boy, and to my knowledge, you’re straight. You were not looking at my eyes when you walked in. You were looking at these.” Momo put a hand under her chest to emphasize it to him. “To be honest… I’m not even mad or offended you saw it.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I know you, Ryosuke-kun. I know you weren’t gonna do anything to me. Besides, we had more important things to worry about than a little indecent exposure.” A part of her wanted to continue on and admit she had feelings for him, but she metaphorically bit her tongue.

Ryosuke sighed and looked around, nervous and unsure as to what to say next to her. “Um… Well…”

Momo herself was also now silent, trying to think of what to say next to keep the conversation going. “I…”

“Well, I just don’t want to make you uncomfortable, Momo-san. I care about the relationship we have, and I don’t want something like that ruining it. I care a lot about you, not just as a bandmate, but as someone I’ve known for over two years now. I can talk to you about anything, and I know you can talk to me about anything, too. You’re such a wonderful person, and the moments we share are always special to me. I love spending time with you, whether it’s with these guys or by ourselves. I don’t want to make music without you, Momo-san. It’s not fun if you’re not in it.”

Those words caused her to blush. To her, they felt like much more than a simple confession between friends. “You really mean all that?”

“I swear on my grandmother’s grave,” Ryosuke said to drive home the point. “Every word of that is true.”

The two stared at each other for a little bit, waiting for the other to make a move. Then, instead of talking, Momo decided to finally take action. She closed her eyes, leaned over, and kissed him, startling him immensely. When she split off from him, she told him, “That was… I…”

Ryosuke asked her, his eyes still wide with shock, “Why did you kiss me?”

“I-… I just… I want to be your girlfriend,” she told him, stammering out a response. “I can’t hide it any longer, okay?!”

“Girlfriend… But… But you can’t!”

“Why not?!”

“You’re an idol,” Ryosuke pointed out. “I don’t want you to get in trouble with your company, Momo-san. If the wrong people find out, you’ll be out of a job or worse!”

Begging for him to say yes, Momo asked him, “But don’t you feel the same way?! I don’t give a shit about that right now, Ryosuke! Tell me what you’d say to me if I want an idol!”

“I don’t want to see you get hurt!”

“Answer me, God damn it!”

“I’m telling you, this is a bad idea!”

Momo then screamed at him as she began to cry, “BE HONEST WITH ME!”

This caused Ryosuke to go silent. He wanted to say yes, but he feared what would happen if he did. He knew what some alleged ‘fans’ of A TO Z SIX were capable of, especially given what had happened to Momo at one of their concerts in May plus the brief online backlash when those photos of him and her walking together were leaked. His heart screamed that he loved her, but his mind was urging him to turn her down for her own safety. “I… I can’t… I don’t know…”

“Please… Answer my question…” Momo wiped away tears. “Forget about everything else. Forget the music. Forget the idols. Forget the stage. Just think about us as normal people for once. Do you love me, too?”

Momo’s look of longing as a few tears ran down her face caused him to finally break down and admit how he felt. “I want to be your boyfriend. I love you, too… But I don’t know if I can go through with this.”

“No one else has to know,” she told him as she cupped his face. “If you think I don’t know the risk I’m taking, you’re wrong. I know there’s a lot of risks, but I can’t hide this anymore.” The two then shared a second kiss, a far more mutual one than the one they had before. “If anyone asks what we talked about here, it was business. Also, I want you to walk with me alone tonight.”

“Alone?”

“Come with me.”

…

Ryosuke and Momo had said their goodbyes to the blissfully unaware band and their equally blissfully unaware manager, and instead of going out on the town that night, they headed back to Maruyama High School. No one else knew what had happened between them, and they hoped to keep it that way. As they made their way to the dorm building, Ryosuke said to her, “So this is where we part ways. I’ll see you tomor-“

“No,” she told him. “I want you to come with me.”

“…Huh?”

“I said… Come with me.” She then took his hand and led him in, buzzing herself in with her ID card before they walked up the stairs to the second floor where her dorm room was. “I want to be alone with you where no one else can see us.”

Ryosuke blushed as he began to put two and two together. “Wait a sec, we’re-?!”

“Shhhh, be quiet.” Momo then punched in the code to her dorm room and opened the door. After shutting it behind them, she asked Ryosuke, “Have you ever been in a dorm room before at the school?”

“Yeah,” he replied. “I’ve visited them a few times to meet up with friends from the Theatre Club or drop stuff off. I’ve never been in a girls’ dorm before, though.”

Momo then took a deep breath and sat down on the bed, telling him, “I want you to come here.”

Ryosuke asked her in confusion, “Why?”

She sighed at how oblivious he was being, “What do you think couples do when they’re alone?”

“Wait a minute,” he then pointed out. “We literally just confessed to each other like an hour ago, are we already-?!”

“Hang on,” Momo then said to calm him down. “Just calm down. Look, you’re a guy, alright? I’m shocked you’re being so oblivious to what I’m trying to say to you. You’d think a guy would pick up by now that a girl wants to get a little physical with him, but I guess not…”

“But like I said, we just started dating today, Momo-san!”

“I mean… I’d say we’ve been going out on dates longer than that, Ryosuke. Also, just drop the -san part at this point. We’ve kissed each other twice now. Did you seriously think those dates we went on were strictly platonic?”

“…Shit, you’re right.” Ryosuke then sighed and sat down next to Momo, getting up close and personal with her. “So, um…”

“Are you actually comfortable with this?”

“I mean, we’re moving fast, but… Now that you mention it, I don’t have that much of a problem with it…” He then took a deep breath and cleared his throat. “So, um… How do you want to start?”

“You tell me,” Momo said with a smile.

Ryosuke took this as a sign and kissed her, prompting her to wrap his arms around him tightly. As the two continued to make out, he laid her down on the bed and gently rubbed his hands up and down her back and sides. It was clear from how intense it was getting that this was something the two of them had been holding back for some time. He then split off and gently kissed her neck, eliciting some deep breaths and even moans from her. “Do you like me doing that?”

“Yes,” she told him. “Keep going. I’ll tell you when to stop.”

Ryosuke nodded and then began to experimentally massage her clothed chest. When she gave zero indication she wanted him to stop, he somewhat awkwardly continued before his motions got more gentle. Momo returned the favor by kissing him again as he continued to touch her, eventually ending up between her legs and slightly spreading them, which only excited both of them even further.

“Hang on,” Momo then said to him. “Let me sit up real quick.”

Fearing he had done something wrong, he backed off and quickly apologized. “Oh shit, my bad! I didn’t mean to-!”

“You’re fine,” she told him with a chuckle. “Let me make it a little easier for you.” She then pulled her shirt over her head and flung it onto the floor, revealing a lacy blue bra underneath. “I can’t be the only person stripping here.”

Ryosuke was at a loss for words. Momo was taking her clothes off right in front of him, something he had, admittedly, only dreamed of before. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down before taking his own shirt off, prompting Momo to then slide her skirt and socks off, which in turn prompted Ryosuke to do the same with his pants and socks, eventually leaning the two of them only wearing their underwear. “Momo, we’re almost naked at this point. Are you sure you want to go any further?”

“Your friend down there surely thinks we should,” Momo said as she turned away slightly at the sight of his underwear, blushing intensely.

Ryosuke immediately knew what she was talking about and stammered out, “But, I-… I-… It-… It’s only like that because we were making out and you started to take off your clothes in front of me! How could a guy not get hard from seeing a girl do that?!” Immediately realizing there were some guys who indeed would not react like that, he clarified, “…Okay, besides gay guys, because I know you’re gonna try to correct me on that.”

Unable to deny it, Momo replied, “…Shit, you’re right.”

“Before we go any further,” Ryosuke then asked her. “Are you sure about this? Like I said, I don’t want to put you in harm’s way. I really don’t want this to get out to anyone. I care about you, and I want you to be safe.”

“Fuck that,” Momo told him as she pressed herself against him, emphasizing her chest as she did so. “I already told you, I don’t care right now about the idol shit. I want to be with you.” To help drive the point home, Momo reached around and unclipped her bra, exposing herself completely minus her bottoms. “Now you can see them without having to barge in on me.”

Ryosuke’s face lit up a bright red as he felt her bare chest touch his body. “It’s too late to go back now, isn’t it?”

“It’s far too late.” To drive the point home one last time, Momo whispered to him, “Fuck me.”

Finally taking the initiative, Ryosuke practically jumped on top of her, prompting both of them to make out with each other once more as they slid their underwear off, becoming totally nude. Within a few minutes, the sounds of a creaking bed and moans of intense pleasure filled the dorm as Ryosuke and Momo consummated their relationship in a sexual manner a little over an hour after it had formally begun, although they way they acted indicated the two had been waiting for this moment for a long time, giving some credence to the idea that their dates prior to tonight could have been the true start of their romance.

…

While Momo and Ryosuke were busy having sex with each other, Ai, Sadako, and Masato had gone out to karaoke once again. Ai was singing yet another Genesis song, this time a lesser-known single of the band called Taking It All Too Hard. It was so obscure that she had to pull the regular song up online rather than using the regular karaoke app, meaning she sang on top of Phil Collins’s vocals. As she sang, Sadako remarked to Masato as she pulled out a flute mouthpiece, “Remind me to run to Momo-senpai’s dorm when we’re done here so I can drop this off.”

“I still can’t believe she forgot that,” Masato replied with a chuckle. “That’s a pretty big deal.”

“I mean, she’s got at least one more of these, but still.”

“Speaking of her, I wonder why she and Ryosuke-kun split off from us so early.”

“Me too,” Sadako shrugged. “Who knows? I thought for sure they’d want to come out with us, even if Momo-senpai didn’t want to sing so she could conserve her voice for tomorrow.”

“Oh well, at least we’re still having a good time. I’m sure they’re fine, Sadako.”

“Yeah…” Sadako then pulled out her phone and sent Momo a text. ‘hey where r u and ryosuke-senpai?’ She sighed as she awaited a reply, still thinking about what she had told Momo and what she knew would never happen between the two of them. She then looked up the lyrics to the song Ai had been singing, and as she read a Japanese translation of them, she began to relate to them to an extent within her mind.

After the song came to an end, Ai put the microphone down and told Masato, “Alright, man, you’re up.”

“Thanks,” he replied as he got up to sing.

“Any word from Momo or Ryosuke?”

“Nope.”

“I texted Momo-senpai,” Sadako said to Ai. “But she hasn’t replied at all.”

“I hope the two of them aren’t getting themselves into trouble,” Ai chuckled. “We aren’t big enough as rockstars yet to go too crazy.”

“By the way,” Sadako then asked Ai. “Would you mind coming over with me to drop off Momo-senpai’s flute mouthpiece?”

“Sure,” she replied. “You don’t wanna walk back to the school alone?”

“Yeah, not on a Saturday night. Normally, I’d go back with Momo-senpai, but considering she’s not here, well…”

“It’s fine,” Ai assured her. “I’ll walk you back. It’s no big deal, really.”

“Thank you so much, Ai-senpai,” Sadako replied with a bow. “I’m sorry to bother you like this.”

“No, no, not at all.”

…

A while later, Ryosuke and Momo were relaxing, both of them still naked after they had finished having sex. As Momo emerged from the shared bathroom, she told Ryosuke, “Well, that was certainly more intense than I thought it would be.”

“How so?”

As Momo crawled back into bed, she explained, “I mean… When you, well… When you do it to yourself or watch and read about it, it doesn’t feel like the real thing. There’s only so much your imagination and your own hands can do for you. Actually doing it with another person is a whole different level.”

“Agreed,” Ryosuke nodded. “That felt… Well, it felt a lot better than just my own hands, that’s for sure.”

Momo and him laughed as they cuddled each other in their arms. “Well that’s a given. It felt a little weird at the start, but by the end… Woah. I hope I didn’t leave your ear drums ringing with how loud I was at the very end there.”

“You were pretty loud,” Ryosuke admitted.

“That’s what I mean,” Momo replied. “I never got that loud when I was by myself. Believe me, I tried holding it in since the walls here aren’t super thick. We were not the first people to have sex in the dorms, and we won’t be the last. Hell, maybe one of the previous girls in this room had some fun with their boyfriend.”

“Won’t I get in trouble for being here?”

“Not if you don’t get caught when you leave,” Momo chuckled. “But for now, we can just sleep for a bit. There’s barely any adults here on the weekend.” She then gently kissed his cheek and told him, “I love you.”

Ryosuke smiled and told her, “I love you, too.”

Just a few minutes after closing their eyes, however, the door to the dorm was unlocked by the code Momo used, at which point Sadako announced her presence by saying, “Momo-senpai, me and Ai-senpai have your flute mouthpie-“

Momo and Ryosuke immediately woke up and locked eyes with Sadako, who froze up when she saw the two of them in bed together. For a few seconds that felt like hours, the three of them remained locked in place. Ai, who was right behind Sadako, then walked in as she asked her, “Sadako, what’s wro-?” When she saw Momo and Ryosuke in bed, she laughed and said, “Oh my God, did we actually walk in on them?! Whoops!”

Momo said to Sadako as she jumped out of bed to get dressed, “Oh shit, uh… Sadako-chan, hang on!”

Sadako simply closed the door, and when it shut, she turned away from the room. Ai, still amused by what she had walked in on, asked Sadako, “Wow, that was something, huh?” When she realized Sadako was not laughing, Ai got serious and asked her, “Hey, Sadako, what’s wrong?”

She did not reply to her. Instead, Sadako ran away from the room, tears falling down her face. She yelled at Ai as she ran to the stairs, “Don’t follow me!”

“Sadako! Sadako!” Ai, not able to catch her before she ran to the stairs, sighed and walked back to Momo’s dorm room. When she got back, Momo and Ryosuke had quickly finished getting dressed, with Momo having opened the door. “Sadako just ran off. She seemed really upset. What’s wrong with her?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Momo replied as she ran out of the room.

“She didn’t want me to follow her,” Ai then told Momo. “I don’t know where she went!”

“She probably went to her dorm room!”

As Momo ran off to find Sadako, Ryosuke asked Ai, “Why was Sadako upset?”

“I don’t know.” She then sighed before she humorously asked him, “So, how long have you two been a thing? I didn’t expect to see you and Momo go at it.”

Ryosuke explained, “She told me literally tonight that she’s been in love with me for a while. I guess one thing just led to another with her.”

“Well, do you love her back? You can’t just fuck and run, after all. That’s a good way to break a girl’s heart.”

“Yeah, I do. Tonight made me realize that we both have been more than friends for a while, even if we didn’t tell each other.” He then looked down the hallway and said, “I just hope Sadako’s okay.”

“Me too, man. Me too.”