Ippei's excitement was indescribable. Not only was he going to attend an actual live music event, something he never had a chance to before, he was also going to be visiting Tokyo properly, with freedom to go wherever that took his fancy.

To be more accurate, wherever that took his and Sachiko's fancy, as she was accompanying him on this Saturday trek to the metropolis.

They met up at the Tsuchiura station, Sachiko got here on her Cub while Ippei walked. The scheduled time was exactly noon, and they were going to be buying some station bento for lunch on the go.

"I want to go to Akihabara!" Sachiko immediately announced once Ippei invited her to go along. It was to be expected and absolutely understandable considering how obvious an otaku Sachiko actually was.

What Ippei did not expect was for her to bring along a huge backpack, clearly ready for acquiring merchandise. It's not often a chance to visit Tokyo comes up, so not only there's a storage space, but a huge wad of cash.

"Are you going to bring home the whole of Akihabara or something?" Ippei quipped and it made Sachiko sneer.

"Don't let me see you cry wanting to bring back something you can't. Fool." Sachiko retorted.

"We're going to Tokyo, not America."

Ippei scoffed, as he was sure he's not going to be a person easily swayed by an unnecessary purchase. It's not like they were going to be buying stuff from a land faraway. It's a one hour train ride.

They were taking the historic Ueno-Tokyo Line, as that's the direct route right into the middle of Tokyo.

The scenery didn't change much either on the way there. Chiba was denser and more populated than Tsuchiura, but didn't feel particularly different from Tsukuba or rural Saitama where Ippei had been often. Once the train crossed the Edo River properly into Tokyo though, Ippei was immediately mesmerized.

There's something magical about Tokyo. Every time Ippei visited it was an occasion, no less than this one. Even Sachiko noticed that Ippei wasn't saying much by the time they got to Arakawa river.

"It's amazing, huh, such a big city." Ippei mused, which Sachiko found pretty endearing. He's like a kid who's enchanted by something of interest.

"You look like a person visiting America for the first time." Sachiko quipped back, recalling what Ippei said, and it made him turn to look at her with disbelief.

"Ehhh?! Do I look that excited? Really?"

A slight nod, followed by a giggle, was enough of an answer.

Once they arrived. The Akihabara station itself was massive. It was so big it overwhelmed Ippei whose life never went far beyond Tsuchiura Station. Yes, each station on the way further in felt that way even on the platform itself, but once one was out and about, it was like they were on another planet.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Sachiko didn't seem fazed at all. In fact, she was so comfortable with the place she had time to turn around to check on Ippei, who looked lost even when he wasn't.

"You look like a lost child." Sachiko commented.

"It's really big, I've never been to a station like this." Ippei answered, still looking overwhelmed.

"You haven't?" Sachiko couldn't believe it.

"Maybe my dad brought me to Tokyo once or twice, but always in a car, and maybe on a school trip or two but that was never on a train and never for too long."

Sachiko gave a slight, understanding smile. The way Ippei was right now was almost adorable. He was obviously overwhelmed, but there was also a lot of curiosity in everything he was not familiar with, indeed, like a child.

So, Sachiko held out her hand for Ippei, signaling that she'd be leading him along, no matter what.

"Let's go then."

Not even out of the station, and the vibe of Akihabara was in full swing, and Ippei understood none of it. All these characters, none of it was familiar. But most people around him were normal, of course they were. Why would anyone think an average otaku, specifically the anime one, would always appear weird and unusual?

Of course, that does not mean they didn't stand out. Ippei could see from a mile away the people who came here for the same purpose as Sachiko.

In fact, the only thing that made Ippei even vaguely shudder, was the maid cafe, but not because of the location or the idea itself, but because Sachiko seemed interested.

"Ever been in one?" Sachiko turned around and asked Ippei, she was not yet showing actual intention to go in, but Ippei was already dreading it.

"Nope, but I've heard about it." Ippei replied.

"It makes sense, I guess... It's not like there's one in Tsuchiura."

Well, technically there was one, but it's not really 'Maid Cafe' in the same sense as the one they were standing next to right now. It was not really a place for high school students such as them.

Not long after, they continued on.

The buildings around Akihabara and the stores inside were not as much of a maze as it was a labyrinth. Ippei was convinced that if he wasn't following Sachiko here, he'd not be able to get out, then he'd die and no one would've found him for weeks.

If Ippei was already much overwhelmed at the train station, in this narrow corridor with a metric ton of merchandise for various interest groups, mostly of literature and figurine, he was completely overwhelmed, even more so than before, if that's even possible.

Of course, Sachiko seemed to be extremely excited, her eyes were shining brightly with every item she was noticing that she knew of.

Sachiko led Ippei into one of the chain stores, he was willing to go everywhere, because he had no choice. It was HUGE. Massive store full of anime merchandise. Some of them Ippei had seen, most not. One section he was most familiar with, surprisingly, was of Hololive, but it was not of his own accord.

"Wow, these are all cool." Sachiko mused, as she browsed the shelves.

Ippei could only look on, he had no capacity to think of anything other than observe. Sachiko was very quick about it though, surprisingly, she picked up various items and put them in the basket.

"Can't you buy these online?" Ippei asked, a bit innocently, which made Sachiko smirked knowingly.

"Yes, I can, but these are second hand so some are a bargain, and some more expensive ones are no longer available because they were pre ordered items." Sachiko explained quite well, so Ippei got it.

Ippei followed closely, and he was noticing one section of the store which he was really familiar with. The Oozora Subaru section.

Sachiko turned and smiled at Ippei, before turning back and browsing the section, picking up a few small items such as keyring and stickers, before handing it to Ippei, who looked at her perplexed.

"What?" Ippei asked.

"It's for your dad."Sachiko answered.

"What do you mean for my dad?"

"You buy it for him. They're cheap. Thank him for the tickets."

Ippei finally got it, but he was still unsure because his father had A LOT of merch already. He was wondering if his father even already had some of these items...

"Yeah but he always buys the latest merch online, do you think he'd be happy with these?" Ippei had to ask, but Sachiko nodded.

"What I've picked out are amateur made, it's not likely he'd have bought these online. They were sold only at events." Sachiko explained.

"I don't even know if he already had some of these, he bought a lot of merchandise that you haven't seen at my house..."

"Look, trust me, as an anime otaku, even if they're duplicates, he'd be over the moon. When was the last time you bought him something?"

That last statement hit Ippei quite a bit. Sachiko was absolutely right, he had not bought Mizuho anything for a really long time. With that thought, Ippei just put the items in the basket, ready to pay for it.

Once Sachiko was done shopping, it was around 4 PM, which meant there was a bit of time before the event started, which was at 7 PM. They decided they'd go for some food first in the area.

There was not much choice, they had to go into a chain restaurant, and the price was way more expensive than at home in Tsuchiura. Ippei almost cried out from the price because it was so expensive for what you got, but what can you do, really?

The train ride from the area around Akihabara to Tokyo Kinema Club took only 15 minutes. In fact, if it was not for the Summer heat, and Sachiko was not also there carrying a lot of merch she bought, it's likely that Ippei would've walked and sight see Tokyo at the same time.

They got off at Ueno, instead of Uguisudani, which was closer to the destination, because there was around 1 and a half hour left still from the scheduled time. Both Ippei and Sachiko thought it'd be a good idea to visit Ueno Park in the meantime. There were a lot of tourists and visitors, especially as the evening reached and the temperature cooled.

They did not get to see much though, because Ueno Park was huge, and the time was surprisingly short. Sachiko wanted to see the museum, but that would have to come later. Instead, they decided to walk over to the campus of Geidai. Unsurprisingly, on a Saturday, there were not many activities going on to see, and the buildings were just that, buildings.

Yet, the feeling of being there, gave Ippei goosebumps. Somehow, despite starting with this goal much later than most students would reasonably do. Ippei genuinely believed he could definitely enroll to study here.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Ippei had been studying hard for the exam from the encouragement of people around him, and his own will to achieve such a result. Getting to see the physical space was another push, for some, it might just be a location, but for Ippei, it meant much more than that.

Around 6.30 PM, both Ippei and Sachiko started walking towards the venue for the concert itself.

A short walk through the streets of old Tokyo, into the unassuming side street. None of the buildings seemed distinctive because there were so many, but at least it was not overwhelming to Ippei anymore.

Uguisudani seemed surprisingly derelict, but it was a characterful derelict. Like the Tokyo Kinema Club building itself. An incredibly retro looking venue for concerts and events.

Incredible, Ippei thought. Sachiko thought so too.

Ippei had never been to a live venue concert before, when he was younger his mother didn't allow him as the noise was too loud, and by the time he was old enough to attend there was no one to bring him. While Sachiko was just mesmerized by the space itself, it was an old building with a charming retro feel.

The entry time was approaching, but there weren't too many people there, which was a good thing because the last thing Ippei wanted was an incredibly popular venue where he had to stand for hours in order to get in.

The pair looked slightly out of place and confused, most other attendants were older, working age people, only an exceptional few were high school age. Ippei thought everyone around them, including people of similar age to them, looked so sophisticated and cool. It was merely Ippei being self-conscious though. They weren't all that different to them in the slightest.

Still, in the company of adults who looked like they had their lives together, and they were spending what little free time they had experiencing art, was cool.

The friendly looking female staff was manning the ticket table, there were also onsite tickets available, and some did buy from there, but Ippei and Sachiko already had one each so they could just show it to the attendee.

"Good evening, welcome." The staff greeted them with a wide, bright smile.

Ippei only mouthing the answer back while giving his phone to her and showing the ticket received, in his mind right now even this staff was intimidating, but only because he was in an unfamiliar space and situation. Sachiko was oblivious to this.

"Is this your first time attending?" The female staff asked as a small talk.

"Uh, yes." Ippei nodded and answered awkwardly.

Again, Ippei was being self-conscious, he was imagining how this Tokyo older sister was seeing them as a country bumpkin, despite her not really thinking about anything other than taking care of the job at hand.

After a while, the staff put an arm band on Ippei and Sachiko once the ticket was registered.

"Thank you for attending, it means a lot to us." The staff said, and then she gave a nod.

"Thank you." Ippei and Sachiko said one after another, giving a bow.

The staff thought they were too polite, but obviously out of their comfort zone so it's hardly surprising. What she didn't tell them was that she noticed something on the ticket which was pretty interesting, and it reminded her to notify the more senior staff at the event.

That's why as Ippei and Sachiko walked along the corridor towards the entry, they saw a woman quickly rushing out of one of the staff's entrances. Sachiko didn't pay much attention to her, as it was fairly normal for a hectic, big event.

However, while Ippei didn't quite clock who the older lady was for a split second, he was shook with the realization once who he actually saw registered. She was rushing, so it's not like Ippei could get a clear look, but he was sure as to who that was.

The encounter made Ippei's head spin. It was unexpected and quite shocking, yet at the same time, there's an underlying hint of curiosity and longing, for it was someone who Ippei had not seen in a decade.

"What's the matter? Who was that?" Sachiko asked, as she saw Ippei do a double take.

"That was my mom." Ippei answered, and Sachiko's eyes immediately widened.

"Ehhh?! Seriously?!"

Sachiko couldn't believe it, she had to turn and look in the same direction as he was, but the older lady had already disappeared from view.

"Do you want to go and find her?" Sachiko asked, and Ippei contemplated for a moment before shaking his head.

"I think she's busy, don't you see? I don't think it's the right time." Ippei answered.

In truth, Ippei didn't want to bother his mother for two reasons, the first was of course what he told Sachiko, but the second was the more important one.

After all those years, Ippei didn't know if his mother would want to see him.

Ippei was thinking, there's a little bit of hurt feeling as to why Kanoko didn't recognize Ippei, while he did pretty much immediately, it was only for a moment because logically, they hadn't seen each other since Ippei was 7 or 8, and they haven't kept in touch since. Especially with the circumstances around their lives being what it was, Ippei was not really sure if she'd actually be happy, sad or angry if he turned up to her workplace like this.

In fact, at this point, the only thing Ippei was thinking was that did his father get them the tickets knowing about this, or was it a complete coincidence? Ippei did check every detail about the event, just like he imagined his dad would do, and none of the names jumped out at him. So it's not out of the question, right? His father had to know, surely.

There's no point in thinking about it more, Ippei and Sachiko went into the venue proper, and waited to experience the music.

It's amazing.

It's a Jazz Fusion band, it's not really a rave event Sachiko was imagining. It was actually closer to what she was thinking listening to an opera would be. She understood none of it and only vibe to the songs.

Ippei, on the other hand, was in heaven. He was taking in every sound design detail he could and found that both the technical aspect, along with the talent of the band, was top notch. He was thinking that if the band was not doing the near dead genre such as Jazz Fusion, they'd be more famous than they were.

Only weird people listen to this music, and he was worried if Sachiko would 'get' it.

By the end of the concert, Ippei was wondering what Sachiko thought about it. They both were walking out and Ippei saw that there's no emotion, good or bad, that could be seen from her face.

"Well?" Ippei said, and it made Sachiko raise her eyebrows.

"Well what?" Sachiko asked.

"Do you like it?"

Sachiko immediately perked up with the question, and it made Ippei quite relieved seeing that.

"Hell yeah! I've never been to a live venue before. That was visceral." Sachiko replied, intensely joyous.

In fact, she might be even more cheerful than Ippei was, but it did make him quite a lot more happy about it knowing that she enjoyed it at least as much as he did.

"Interesting word you used. Visceral." Ippei noted, and it made Sachiko chuckle.

"I thought anything less would be inappropriate for the type of music. Look at the other people here, they're not exactly lowbrow." Sachiko answered, half jokingly.

"Hey now, it's not exactly high art. Jazz Fusion has been made to be more accessible with modern instruments. It's just that this band is not exactly well known so most of the attendees are serious."

At that point, the two noticed a woman standing by the entry gate, appearing to be trying to find someone.

The lady was Ippei's mom, Kanoko.

Sachiko only just got a clear look, and thought that Kanoko looked incredibly young for someone who had a late teenage son. Although it made sense because she had him relatively early.

Kanoko had to keep greetings and saying goodbye to the fans of the band who walked by her, but she remained observant of the attendees who walked out.

Ippei was thinking of a way to avoid seeing his mom, but not because of malice or anything, he genuinely didn't know if his mother wanted to see him, and he didn't even know if she'd recognize him. There's no other way around though, other than trying to walk through there as quickly as possible.

Sachiko also thought it was pretty awkward, as Ippei tried to pull her through so quickly it startled her.

"Ippei?"

That call from Kanoko as the two were about to walk through immediately froze Ippei solid. He stopped and stared at her like he'd seen a ghost.

"It really is you!" Kanoko appeared very happy and eager to see Ippei, "Uncle Tokuro told me only this morning he gave tickets to you. Damn that man, if I had known earlier I'd have prepared a better welcome."

"Mom?" Ippei couldn't say anything other than that. He was in shock.

"Come here, boy, I've missed you so much!"

Kanoko immediately went and hugged Ippei.

Despite all the years, the feeling of motherly love was still there.

"You've grown so much since the last time I saw you. I almost couldn't remember you!" Kanoko continued.

At that point, Ippei started crying.

"I missed you too, mom." Ippei said as he's wiping his joyful tears.

Kanoko looked at Ippei with clear great endearment from Sachiko's perspective, and it did make her wonder why Ippei was even hesitant.

"How's Mizuho? Still useless?"

That question from Kanoko made Ippei chuckle, because it was clear there's not really hard animosity anymore despite the straightforwardness of the wording.

"I guess." Ippei answered.

"And who's this cute little girl with you? Uncle Tokuro told me you got 2 tickets. I was not really looking forward to Mizuho bringing you here, thank god." Kanoko turned to Sachiko, who smiled at her brightly.

"I'm Sachiko Kinoshita, Ippei's friend." Sachiko answered a bit modestly, because she didn't think she'd be meeting Ippei's mother today.

"Girlfriend. She's my girlfriend." Ippei clarified, locking Sachiko's arm into his arm in a clear manner, which surprised Sachiko by how bold it was.

"Really!? She's so cute!" Kanoko immediately gushed, and it made Sachiko blushed.

Sachiko, who was now observing Ippei's mother closely, thought she was a cool, elegant looking lady. Almost making her wonder how she and Ippei's dad even matched up as they didn't seem compatible.

"Have you guys eaten anything? You've come here by train, right? I'd have driven you guys home to Ibaraki if I didn't have to debrief." Kanoko said, but Ippei waved his hand to assure her.

"It's fine, mom. We ate before we attended." Ippei answered.

"Still, at least I gotta get you to the station." Kanoko offered, but Ippei was still hesitant.

Ippei was about to decline, when Kanoko said something that made Sachiko realize how similar she and Mizuho were.

"Shit, I forgot, the carpark is even further away from here than the station. Yeah, never mind." Kanoko realized and quickly corrected herself, "Still, I gotta do something for you. It's not often we'll get to meet."

"It's alright, mom." Ippei tried to reassure Kanoko again, to no avail.

"At least you gotta meet the band. You two come here."

Kanoko started walking, and when she saw that Ippei stood still with hesitation, she pulled him by the arm, with Sachiko following closely.

They got to the staff room, and there were quite a few people lounging around, looking tired but satisfied. Ippei and Sachiko noticed that all the musicians who were performing were all there.

"Oh! Kanoko-san." The male bassist, whom Ippei remembered was named Choki, greeted first, the rest of the group followed.

"Great work today, all of you." Kanoko said with a smile.

"Kanoko-san," The keyboardist, Haruna, looked a bit curious, "I've never seen them before, are they new fans?"

"Yes, Haruna-chan. I'll make sure they come to our concert as often as possible." Kanoko laughed as she said, "Remember I told you guys once about my son? From a previous marriage?"

"Ehhhh?!"

The entire group gasped with surprise, making Ippei slightly embarrassed, but Sachiko found it amusing.

"You are Ippei-kun?" The drummer, Hideya, asked like he didn't believe it, "Did Kanoko-san invite you?"

"Actually..." Ippei was going to tell the truth, but he was interrupted.

"Yeah," Kanoko answered for him with glee, "and he even brought along his girlfriend. How cute!"'

"I'm Kinoshita, nice to meet all of you." Sachiko introduced herself with a bow, which everybody thought was adorable.

The guitarist, Hiyori, got up and walked to the kids with great curiosity. Ippei and Sachiko thought the entire band looked incredibly friendly once they were out of the stage. With how cool they were there, it was a pleasant surprise.

"Do you like the show?" Hiyori asked, and both Ippei and Sachiko nodded.

"It was really great." Ippei answered.

"I'm quite surprised a guy your age would like music like this." Hideya added, "Do you play?"

"I do, actually." Ippei replied.

"What do you play?"

"I sometimes play the electronic organ, but I'm not very good at it." Ippei answered quite a bit nervously, because he was self-conscious about his ability.

"Waaaa, Fukumi-san, your teaching abilities must've dropped." Haruna jokingly said, and it made Kanoko sneer.

"He must've been 5 then, give me a break." Kanoko retorted, which made Haruna giggled.

"Hey, Ippei-kun, I have some advice for you." Choki interjected, making Ippei curious.

"What is it, Choki-san?"

"Don't ever become a musician to make money."

The entire group laughed heartily, including Kanoko, but Ippei didn't really get it. Sachiko could only awkwardly smile.

"We do make a little profit with this little venture," Kanoko explained, "It's just that all of them are doing it for the sake of the art."

"There's no way we could pay rents with the profit though. It's just a bonus." Choki also added.

Ippei had a blast talking with the band, and it gave him an interesting insight into the actual world of music as a business.

After a short while, Ippei and Sachiko were about to excuse themselves to go home, and also to let Kanoko and the band finalize their work today, but before they left, Kanoko still had more things to say to Ippei.

"I heard from Uncle Tokuro that you want to enroll at Geidai." Kanoko brought up Ippei's goal, which surprised both him and Sachiko.

"Eh? Uncle Tokuro knew that?" Ippei wondered.

"Yeah, apparently Mizuho told him. I don't know the details."

"Yes, that's what I'm aiming for. I want to do the music environment course."

Kanoko smiled, she was very happy to confirm with her son what she heard, and she thought it was an amusing coincidence that even after all these years, Ippei would aim for something that she planted in him, directly or otherwise.

"Interesting..." Kanoko mused, "I wonder if the course has changed from when I was there."

Ippei was surprised, because he didn't know his mother graduated from Geidai, the same faculty as he wanted, even.

When the future was not set in stone, it was scary, that's something Ippei had to bear for ages. He was really glad that he finally had an idea of what lay ahead in his life. If there were any doubts before, the encouragement of Kanoko made Ippei realize he was on the right path for sure.