Uncertain Weather

July 29, 2024

Momo and Ryosuke woke up in bed together, having engaged in romantic activities the night before following the band’s first concert of the tour that had eventually turned sexual. The lovers, both of whom were devoid of clothes, awoke to the late morning sun, with Momo sitting up first and stretching her arms while arching her back. She turned to Ryosuke and shook him awake, telling him, “Get up, Ryosuke. It’s nine-thirty.”

“Hah…” Ryosuke then opened his eyes to find Momo looking down at him with a smile. He told her, “Nine-thirty…? What time do we gotta go?”

“Noon,” she replied. “We got two and a half hours before we gotta meet up and start heading to Sapporo.”

Ryosuke sat up and stretched as well. “Hmm… Ah… Well, what do you wanna do?”

“I’m not really hungry,” she replied. “Not yet at least. You know what’s one thing we haven’t tried, by the way?”

“What’s that?”

“Sex in the morning,” she replied. “We could give it a try if you want.”

“Well, we haven’t had much of a chance to wake up next to each other after a full night of sleep, so… Fuck it. If we’re gonna be on the road with each other, we might as well.” The two then began to make out in bed, slowly lying down as they locked lips.

Before they could move further, however, they both heard a loud series of knocks on the door. “Momo! Momo! I know you’re in there!” Hideki was on the other side of the door, and he did not sound happy. “We have to talk right now!”

“Oh shit,” Momo muttered as she and Ryosuke quickly got dressed. “Just a minute!”

“This is serious! We have a huge problem!”

After Momo finished getting dressed, she told Hideki from the other side of the room as she unlocked the door, “Come in. I’m decent.”

Hideki then opened it as he held photocopied screenshots in his hand, which had been flipped to its third page. “Look at this. Look at this and read it. What do you see?”

Momo looked at the screenshots as her heart sank. They were all from various forums and social media networks, all of them talking about a photo of her holding hands with Ryosuke outside of Time Clock Records. Additionally, several other photos were screenshots of Sadako’s private social media account, with a list of followers containing several accounts that regularly posted lesbian content.

Ryosuke walked over and asked, “What’s going on? What are you readi-?”

“Oh my God,” Momo said in horror as she read the contents of the screenshots. “Someone… Someone took a photo of us… And they outed Sadako-chan…”

“What the fuck?! Who?!”

“I don’t know,” Hideki replied. “I got a phone call from a newspaper asking about it yesterday. I didn’t bring it up then because you were so soon from performing live, but now I have no choice. This shit is spreading like wildfire, guys.”

Momo asked him, “What’s being done about it?!”

“Time Clock is issuing a statement denying everything and demanding that people respect your privacy,” he explained as he set the pictures down. “But this is still really bad. You know that idols really aren’t supposed to be doing this, Takahara, and yet you did it anyway.”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Ryosuke then said, getting a bit offended by what his manager had said. “Hang on a sec. Are you blaming her for this?”

“No, I’m not! I’m just pointing out the reality of it all! Years ago, there was an idol whose company forced her to shave her head and apologize on camera for having a relationship! That’s the shit we’re talking about, Sakamoto!”

Ryosuke was stunned. “What the fuck?! They did that?!”

“I’m not saying that we gotta grab the scissors and the camera,” Hideki replied. “Time Clock isn’t like that. However, there’s already talk among some executives of Takahara and Takagawa apologizing for it.”

Stunned silence from both of the lovers followed. Momo took a deep breath as she tried to process what Hideki had said. She then repeated his words a few times before suddenly yelling, angered by what had been proposed. “Apologize… Apologize… Apologize for it… For what?! Why should I be the one who apologizes?! I’m a teenage girl, Tomoe-san! I have feelings of my own, and I have my own needs and desires! I know some fans won’t be happy, but I know real fans will support me! Just because I love Ryosuke doesn’t mean I won’t be committed to my work!” She then paused and switched gears. “And on that note, why should Sadako-chan apologize for being gay?! Whag the fuck is wrong with her being gay anyway, huh?! She can’t change it! Do you realize how much of a struggle it was for her to be in the closet for so long?! That girl was fucking sobbing as she came out to us, and you’re telling me she’s gonna have to apologize for finally revealing who she really is?! Why not make the assholes who forcibly dragged her out of the closet in front of the public apologize to her?!”

When Momo was done, Hideki backed up a bit and said, “You… You’re not wrong, but…”

“But nothing! Does Sadako-chan know about this?”

“I told her,” he replied. “And she locked herself in her room afterwards.”

“Let me see her. Now!”

…

Momo knocked on the door to the hotel room that, officially, was shared between Momo, Sadako, and Ai. She said through the door, “Sadako-chan, it’s Momo. Is anyone else in there with you?”

Then, Ai opened the door, finding Momo, Ryosuke, and Hideki standing on the other side. “Sadako is in the bathroom. She’s been crying nonstop ever since Tomoe came in here and broke the news.”

Momo walked over to the bathroom door and knocked, asking, “Sadako-chan, are you in here?”

“Yes,” she replied with a whimper. “I’m here…”

Momo then opened the door to find Sadako sitting on a closed toilet, wiping her reddened eyes. “Sadako-chan…”

“I can’t believe they outed me… I worked for so long to keep that secret, and then they went and revealed it for the entire world to see!” Sadako began to cry again, with Momo hugging her in response. “Why?! I didn’t want this! I didn’t want any of this!”

“I know, I know…”

Masato ran over from down the hall, having heard from several members of A TO Z SIX that something had happened. “Guys, what’s up? Miyazaki-san and Yabusaki-san told me something bad happened. Is everything okay?”

Hideki explained to him, “Someone took a photo of Takahara and Sakamoto holding hands and leaked it online. To make matters worse, someone else found a private social media account belonging to Takagawa and outed her as gay.”

“What?! Someone outed her?!”

“I’m afraid so,” Ai nodded. “She’s not taking it too well.”

Sadako then emerged from the bathroom, still wiping away tears with a towel as Momo helped her walk out. “There, there,” she told the younger girl. “I don’t care what anyone else says. You’re our friend and our bandmate, whether you’re gay or not, and anyone that doesn’t like it can go fuck themselves.”

“Listen, listen,” Hideki then said to everyone. “Before we all panic and freak out, let’s calm down, okay? I talked to Masakage-san, and he’s not happy with the leaks. He’s putting out a statement in probably another hour or so about it, and he’s contacting lawyers to take legal action. While there are some executives that are not as accepting of all of this, ultimately, the final decision resists with him, and right now, he’s more worried about dealing with the leakers and making sure the press don’t run with this shit. Look, I don’t want to have to do any disciplinary action. Trust me, I don’t blame any of you guys personally. If I do anything, it’s because I got told to by higher-ups.” He then sat down on one of the beds of the hotel room and looked down at his feet, clearly upset. “Do you guys think I want this to happen? I don’t. I know you’re angry, Momo, and I’m sorry if I came across as being uncaring earlier. I just… I just want what’s best for you all, whether you’re Sweet Juliet or A TO Z SIX. Sadako, Momo, Ryosuke, Ai, and Masato… I want to make you all succeed.”

Momo put a hand on his shoulder and told him, “I’m sorry if it seemed like I was yelling at you, Tomoe-san. I wasn’t.”

“I figured… Look, the last thing I want is for this news to derail the tour. You guys fucking killed it out there last night for your first show on the road. I don’t want you to stop now.”

“We don’t want to, either,” Ryosuke assured him. “When we get to Sapporo, we’re gonna go out on stage and kick ass, just like we did here in Sendai.”

“You’re damn right,” Momo told her boyfriend. “If anyone in the crowd’s got a problem with us after this, they can go the Hell home. Our real fans will stay.”

As the band all huddled around Hideki, he told them, “Then I look forward to hearing what you have to offer in Sapporo.”

…

Later on, Momo and Ryosuke were boarding a train that would take the tour’s entourage to Sapporo. As they got into the car assigned to both A TO Z SIX and Sweet Juliet, they sat down in a seat all the way in the back together. Momo sighed and told her boyfriend, “Man, these last few months have been fucking crazy, huh?”

“You got that right,” he replied. “I would have never guessed when this year started that I’d be on the road as a musician, but here I am.” He then smiled and told her, “But at least I get to spend time with you during it.”

“Aww, thank you. Speaking of us… Even though it sounds like Time Clock Records is gonna deny, deny, deny, the cat’s out of the bag. Everyone in this train car knows we’re a couple.”

“To be honest, it’s not them I’m worried about.”

“Me neither.”

Then, Miyako got up from her seat and walked over to the couple. She asked them, “Hey guys, mind if I sit here for a bit?”

“Go right ahead,” Momo replied to her. “What’s up?”

As Miyako sat down, she asked the duo, “How are you guys holding up? We’ve all been worried ever since we heard the news about the online posts.”

“On a personal level, we’ll be fine. If anything, I’m more worried about Sadako-chan and you guys. The last thing I want is for some bullshit with me hurting the other members of A TO Z SIX.”

Miyako nodded. “You always looked out for us, even in our earliest days. You know, you don’t have to always stick your neck out to protect us.”

“Someone’s gotta do it. I’d rather not subject the younger members of the group to the bullshit if they don’t have to be, whether it’s with A TO Z SIX or Sweet Juliet. For now, let’s just hope Sendai goes well and no one in the crowd tries to do anything stupid.”

…

July 30, 2024

A TO Z SIX were performing on stage in Sendai, and were about halfway through their set when they finished performing a song. As everyone in the group got into their poses after finishing the accompanying dance routine, the crowd of around eleven thousand people cheered and clapped, with many of them chanting the name of Sadako, since she had been the center of the song they had finished performing. As they all caught their breath, Momo’s eyes wandered down to the front rows, where she noticed a few fans seemed to not have happy looks on their faces.

Sadako then bowed to the crowd and told them, “Thank you so much! I love performing that song for all of you, and I’m so glad we were able to squeeze it back into the set list this time around after having to drop it earlier in the year. While the rest of the group goes to change, me and Momo-senpai will take the lead for the time being with a little duet of our’s.”

While the rest of A TO Z SIX left the stage to get changed into their next outfits, Momo waved to the crowd, telling them, “Hello again, everyone!” The crowd chanted back her name with the exception of the same people she had seen before in the crowd. “Did you all enjoy the Sweet Juliet performance before we came on?” Most in the crowd replied affirmatively. “Thank you! We have a lot of music planned for later this year from Sweet Juliet, and we’re currently also planning to record new music for A TO Z SIX too! Thank you all for the warm reception for our new band. I know it’s a little different from usual, but it’s good music nonetheless.”

Then, she heard shouting from below. Through the crowd, she heard a man in the audience shout, “You betrayed us! You betrayed us!”

Trying not to pay attention to him, Momo continued. “This next one is a duet we did a while ago. It’s not a Sweet Juliet song, but if you see us play live later in the year, we might play it with them, too.”

“You can’t be taken! You belong to us! To me!”

Finally having had enough of the heckling, Momo looked down at the crowd and picked out the people shouting at her. “Listen, if you keep this up, we won’t be able to continue the show and we’ll go home.” The crowd reacted very negatively to Momo’s comment, unaware of what was going on in the front row. “We’d rather not hear from ungrateful hecklers like yourself.”

“Momo-senpai,” Sadako said to her as the crowd grew restless. “The crowd thinks you’re talking to them.”

“Huh?” Momo then looked out and realized she had accidentally angered some people among the crowd of nearly eleven thousand people. “Oh, uh… That wasn’t for you. That was aimed at some people in the front who were yelling at us. You’re fine.”

Someone else in the crowd, clearly not understanding this, yelled at her as he threw something on stage, “FUCK YOU, BITCH!”

This was followed by a second person, who had also been unhappy with Momo earlier, tossing a second object on stage as he yelled, “UNGRATEFUL BITCH!”

Momo took a deep breath and addressed both of the hecklers, saying, “Can we have security take those two out? They just threw something on stage. I think it was cans or bottles.”

Meanwhile, while security began to drag the two hecklers out, much of the crowd booed them, angry at just about everything that had taken place. Hideki, who was watching from the back, sighed and stomped his foot in frustration. “God damn it! Why did she react to that shit?! Corporate told her she needs to smile, move on, and let security handle it privately! This is fucked up! Now the crowd hates her!”

Sadako then threw up a hand signal to tell the front of house to begin the next song, telling the crowd, “Calm down, calm down, we’re gonna begin the next song. This is called Two Loves Two Lives…” As the song began, Momo and Sadako got into position. While they both sang and danced as normal, Momo’s movements were notably more muted than normal.

…

That night, Momo was sitting on a chair in the indoor pool deck of the hotel they were staying at. She had changed into a bikini and was thinking to herself about what had transpired while everyone else from both A TO Z SIX and Sweet Juliet were swimming after the concert. Ryosuke pulled himself out of the pool and onto the deck, asking Momo, “Hey, you still haven’t gone in the pool. Are you still thinking about what happened?”

“Yeah,” she replied. “That crowd tore me apart. I did nothing wrong, and yet the crowd acted like I was basically Hitler reincarnated. Those fucking hecklers were the issue.”

“I know, I know,” her boyfriend replied. “It sucks.”

“I know I’m supposed to just grin and bear it as an idol, but I couldn’t stand what those hecklers did. They called me a traitor, Ryosuke. A fucking traitor. It’s like they think they own me.”

Ryosuke comforted her with an arm wrapped along her shoulders, telling her, “Listen, fuck them, okay? You did great out there, and I’m sure most of the people were happy to see you perform.”

Momo sighed as she wiped away tears from her eyes. “Honestly, it’s making me want to just… I don’t know…”

“Do what?”

“Ryosuke,” she told him. “What I tell you next doesn’t leave us, okay?”

“Understood.”

“I’ve been thinking about leaving A TO Z SIX,” Momo confessed. “But I was afraid that if I did, I wouldn’t have a chance to make music again. Now, though… I have Sweet Juliet as a backup. Even if I left A TO Z SIX, I could keep performing.”

Ryosuke was shocked. “You want to leave? But… You said in that interview a while ago you wanted to stay while still being in the band with us.”

“That was for the cameras,” she explained. “Being an idol means you have to lie sometimes. Hell, scratch that, being any kind of singer or musician means you have to lie sometimes. Like I told you when this all began, the nonsense was starting to really drain me of energy. Sweet Juliet gave me a chance to rediscover my love of music, but I feel like I’m not dedicated enough to it if I’m in A TO Z SIX too.”

“Listen,” Ryosuke said to his girlfriend. “I understand why, but I don’t think you should leave the group yet. Personally, I would wait until Sweet Juliet is more successful before you leave the group. Also, how would Sadako feel about it? Does she know you want to leave?”

“No,” she shook her head. “I don’t have it in my heart to tell her, although I’m sure if I left, she would, too. That girl’s attached to me at the hip sometimes.”

“If you’re gonna do it, which, again, I don’t recommend yet, you need to tell her before you do it. It’s not fair to her if you leave without giving her warning.” He then kissed her on the cheek. “Look, let’s not fret about it now. Why not go into the pool with everyone else? The water’s cool and we’re all having fun. Besides, that swimsuit looks too good on you to be wasted up here.”

Momo blushed. “Oh, really now?”

“Come on in.” He then got up and jumped back into the pool, closely followed by Momo doing the same. “See? I told you it would be fun!”

As Momo emerged from below the water and opened her eyes, she said to him, “Okay, okay, yeah, you’re right.”

“Finally,” Ami said as she saw that Momo had jumped in. “You came in! We were wondering what was taking you so long!”

Miyako then asked her, “Are you feeling better, Momo-chan?”

“Yeah,” she replied as she swam over to the rest of A TO Z SIX. “Maybe a dip in the pool’s what I needed.” As she swam and played with them, the thought of leaving the group still occupied the back of her mind. While what Ryosuke said was not wrong, a part of her also felt that staying as an idol would only invite more trouble because of the fact that her relationship to Ryosuke was becoming public. Perhaps if she left, A TO Z SIX would not be bogged down by controversies tied to her.