Mike's little brother cuddled Minako and her 5'2" self felt really secure in his six footer's long arms. Jennifer walked into her bedroom to see what was going on there and noticed the red blotch on her sheets. "Take your time kids," she kindly offered, seeing that the little Japanese had just lost her virginity and lending tacit advice to little bro to lay some major aftercare on his squeeze. He stroked her face tenderly with his righthand and kissed her every now and again. Of course, he was also silently complimenting himself for scoring another hottie and was feeling on top of the world since he had been where so many other guys had aspired to be.

When Jennifer passed outside her door, Jessica asked how Minako was doing. "She's laying in his arms right now," Jennifer said. "Was there a lot of blood?" "Not enough to be concerned about. I just hope the stains will come out in the wash," Jennifer snarked with a wicked little smile. "Want to join us Jen?" Mike asked. "Sure. I could use a good cuddle," she responded.

The Hamada household fell quiet with all the tranquil affection occurring. After a while, Minako and Mike's brother drifted in. Jessica and Jennifer got up to give Minako big hugs. "Mike took my virginity the second day I was with him," Jessica giggled. "Are you sore?" "Yeah, it kinda aches down there a little." "Don't worry, there won't be any pain after you've done it a few times," Jessica advised. "That's good," she answered with a little bit of relief. Minako thought it a little odd that Jennifer would be laying next to Jessica's boyfriend like that. Her mom Nanako was no stick in the mud, but Minako just couldn't fathom a wife with her arms around anyone other than her husband and Jessica was even apparently complcit with what Minako was seeing.

"Hey Minako, if you want to play any of my guitars, go ahead," Jessica suggested. "Really?" Minako brightened. "Go for it!" Mike echoed. "You can plug into my Marshall," Jessica permitted. "Hey Minako, do you know (X Japan's) 'Endless Rain'?" "Of course," she informed them. "Can you show it to me?" "Okay!" she grinned. She asked Mike's brother to give her the Dave Murray model Strat she had while Minako picked up the Ovation acoustic-electric and put the guitar cord in the jack and tuned it up a little. Then she began to play and sing it. Jessica focused on following the changes. It's such a magical tune, though, that by the end of it, even though Jennifer understood very little Japanese, if any, she was shedding tears at the tale of lost love. Mike pulled Jennifer closer to him while Jessica was discussing the structure of the song and reconfirming the chord voicings with Minako. "You know Minako, you should translate that into english and play it with us live, We have a little local gig coming up in a couple of days. There'll probably be only a couple dozen people there, so there won't be alot of pressure. We could rehearse it tomorrow and then destroy with it the night after that," Mike estimated. That sounded like fun to Minako, so she consented.

Mike got out of bed and pulled his cellphone out of his trousers and phoned Adrian. It took some doing, but Mike finally convinced him to have a look at some of the videos of X Japan and the tune online and then learn the piano and synth parts. Minako would email Travis her translation of it so he could work on memorizing it and synching the english version up with the Japanese created melody and arrangement. For the sake of convenience, Minako looked for online translations, found one, tweaked it so that it fit the cadence of the song better and sent it over to Travis. Adrian noticed his wife crying when they watched it on You Tube together, so that did it for him and he got a hold of Ben and the drummer to tell them to learn the song and be ready to do it by rehearsal the following day.

The next night, a Friday, Blazing Mercury gathered at a rehearsal studio and set about practicing the new addition to their set. Minako had her SG and her Marshall along with a delay pedal when she got to the studio. "Okay, here is how this will work," Mike dictated. "Minako, you take the first Hide solo. After the second chorus, Jessica and I will do a harmony section and then Minako I want you to just absolutely unload coming out of it before we go into the next verse and then I'll do a coda at the end, and we'll end it on a little cymbal roll and just let it hang there." Mike and Jessica had worked a majestic harmony part out after dinner the night before. Adrian had no idea who the Japanese girl was and wondered why she was there, but he let it ride since more poon on the stage was better for the an expectedly mostly male audience to look at. They broke everything down, talked about the timing, where different parts come in and then it was time to give it a run  through.

"Okay Travis, make the little girls cry," Mike encouraged. Adrian began the opening piano part with just Ben backing him and Travis was digging deep emotionally. When the first chorus came up and Travis sang, "all of the hate and all of the sadness," both Minako and Jessica started weeping but stil held it together instrumentally as Travis' voice filled the rehearsal studio. Minako did the first solo with Jessica harmonizing it behind her before it faded out into just the piano part and then the band came back in softly. Travis began the second chorus and tears were still streaming down the cheeks of both women. Then Mike and Jessica's harmony part was up and they executed it flawlessly before nodding to Minako to take it and she she did a melodic Akira Takasaki style tapping sequence and then a sustained note as Travis came in for the final chorus and Mike ripped off a tasteful, soaring solo on the coda. They brought the volume down and then ended it on the cymbal roll.

"Oh my God," Minako sniffled, "his singing is incredible!" she acknowledged. "Yeah, you aren't going to find too many like him," Mike admitted. "But we missed a couple of cues by a hair and there were some flubbed notes, so we gotta do it again." After the sixth take, Mike and Adrian were finally happy with the instrumental part of it  Minako stuck around to watch the rest of the rehearsal and was floored at how good they were. "They're going to let me play with them?" she questioned, as if she was dreaming. Adrian and Mike decided to use the X Japan tune to close out the main part of their set.

Saturday, the band members were disappointed that only about a dozen people showed up to their little rec hall gig, but that is the life of a new group and they heeded Mike's warning to play it like they were headlining Long Beach Arena because they never knew who was in the audience. Tony was there and he informed them that they would indeed be headlining the L.A. street fair after a lot of arm twisting. They would be given 75 minutes plus two encores if the punters demanded them. Impressing Tony thus became their focus to show that his support of them was justified. Fortunately, they destroyed. The few people in the crowd were looking at each other like, "are we really seeing this?" And yes, Jessica and Minako both cried again at Travis' vocal on "Endless Rain," as did Travis' girlfriend and Adrian's wife. They ended up playing for two hours after encores and the audience hung out during load out to take pictures with the band members and get autographs. Financially, it sucked, though, as they lost about $300 bucks on the deal.

Sunday, Mike's brother decided to finally commence Minako's formal training. Once Minako had arrived at his house that morning, he and Mike took her to Jessica's. With Mike's help, he hog tied Minako and gagged and blindfolded her. Little bro now had his own bag of bondage toys. Minako was surprised at how comfortable the ropes felt to her and even though she was stark naked, immobile and being watched by three, and soon four, other people, something inside of her was telling her to surrender to her bonds. Mike's brother inserted a vibrating buttplug in his subbie's ass and a vibrating egg into her pussy as well as attaching vibrating nipple clamps to her little teats. Then he had everybody set upon her, tickling her until she was out of breath. Next, he paddled her ten times firmly, but not overly hard, to give her butt a nice rosy sheen and to also make it a little more sensitive. Minako was gushing wetness into her gash now and initiating her slow mental fade out of reality. Little brother then pulled out a bondage candle and lit it as he turned all the vibrators on to half speed. He dripped the hot wax on to her back and thighs, making her squirm and yelp through the gag. He carried the candle down to above the sensitive back of her knees and and let the wax fall on to it, causing her to wriggle. "You like this, don't you Minako?" Mike's brother accused. She shook her head "yes." "Do you want me to stop?" She nodded her head from side to side for "no." "Good girl, Minako," he complimented. There it was again. When he said, "good girl, her next breath seemed to have a dose of morphine attached to it, separating her further from her mortal cares. "Can you please get me some ice cubes Mrs. Hamada?" little brother asked. "Right away sweety," Jennifer replied. Mike's brother continued his spattering of her skin with the hot wax.

He turned her to her side and positioned the candle over it about even with her navel and then tilted more wax on to her, the wax dripping from her side to just short of her navel before it dried up. He turned the vibrators up to full and now Minako was feeling a vivid resonance in her groin and ass and it was beginning to drive her a little crazy. He took the ice cubes from the bowl Mrs. Hamada brought for him and smeared their cold moisture on her nipples and stomach, making her giggle and twist her body. He dragged the ice cubs along her inner thighs and then circled her clit with it, allowing the cold drippings to find the hood of her clit, which made her moan. She was panting now too as the vibrators guided her closer to her climax. He rubbed a cube on her chest and then her nipples again. There was now a nice wax build up on the candle and he turned her so that she was on her back and splashed a good quantity of it on her breasts. He put the candle aside and took out a small vibrator and applied it to her clit and that was all she wrote, as she went completely bonkers with the most technicolor orgasm of her young life, one that sunk her deeper and deeper into sub space. She was at peace now, but the variety of stimulation she was feeling put the nerve endings of her body on hair trigger alert.

He rolled her on to her stomach and removed her gag and replaced it with his cock. He grabbed both sides of her head and pumped his manhood slowly in and out of her little mouth, and he could feel her moans that were the product of the various vibrators, her tongue and lips almost seeming to hum while his dick slid through and over them. He pulled out and asked her if she could deep throat. She  said she couldn't. "Do you want to learn to do that for your master?" he inquired. "Yes! she wanly gasped. "Good girl Minako!" he approved. "Relax your jaw and throat," he ordered and he forced his schlong into her throat and then quickly pulled it out, making her gag and emit a big quantity of spit. He waited for a minute for her to get her breath back and rammed it into her throat again, leading to the same reaction as before. "Are you going to work hard so that Master may rape your throat whenever he wishes?" he interrogated. "Yes," she accommodated placidly. "Yes what?" "Yes Master," she uttered and that proved to be the booster she needed to be propelled into the Andromeda galaxy. Then she had another panting episode. "Are you going to cum Minako?" "Yes Master (pant pant pant)," she rejoindered breathily. "From now on, you will ask your Master if you may cum. Failure to do so will result in severe punishment, do you understand?" "(Pant pant pant) Yes Master." "Master?' "Yes Minako?"  Ohhhhhhh God, may I cum Master?" she said in a needy way. He heard her panting increasing in frequency. "You may cum in two minutes, Minako. Master will count the time off for you." Minako's powers of concentration were severely compromised right at that moment and she writhed and and whimpered as he slowly revealed to her the dis tance between her and her orgasm. "Ohhhhh Goddddd!" she yelled, panting and gasping rapidly. "One more minute Minako. I warn you again to not cum without permission or you will be very sorry," Mike's brother growled. She was panting and gasping and almost hyperventilating as she fought to stave off her ecstasy so that she wouldn't feel the taste of his paddle. Inside of her, it felt so good, her pussy was throbbing so hard. She was almost screaming now with each breath as he counted down the last ten seconds and then he gave her the green light and the dam burst, her breathing feral and feeling such relief at being allowed to be exorcised that she had especially heavy convulsions in her pubic area, making this orgasm even hotter than its predecessor.

Mike's brother inserted his cock back into her mouth and pleasured himself with it, Minako swallowing a big glop of his precum that had accumulated on his head after he had withdrawn it earlier. Minako's comfort with the ropes binding her grew as time passed, as if they were her natural home. She felt his cock, against which her lips were drawn tightly, being jackhammered in and out of her piehole and she subconsciously resigned herself to this being her fate. He wanted to feel her throat like he did Jennifer's, Jessica's and Lizzy's, but he was going to have to endure a frustrating wait even though the training for it would further impress upon Minako her subservience to him. He was just about there, his cockhead inflating slightly and becoming more sensitive before  his fountainhead dowsed her mouth and tongue with his salty sperm and she swallowed the lot. "Good girl Minako," he said, as he patted her on the head.

Her rope time was about expired and so he flipped off the vibrators and untied her. "Are you okay Minako?' he asked. She dreamily informed him that she was. He sat against the headboard in bed and let her lay her head on his right thigh and relax and let the endorphins pass out of her system. He stroked her cheek and told her how beautiful she looked even though her body was streaked with wax. He put his righthand in hers and just let her mentally travel.

"Wow, she is really gone," Mike critiqued. Jessica, who was naked herself, raised her hand. "Yes fucktoy?" "Master, your little Asian fucktoy is very happy with the care Minako's master is exhibiting for her." "May I speak to your property?" little bro asked Mike. "Yes you may," Mike granted. "As Minako's Master, I am glad to hear Master's Mike's more experienced submissive approve of my methods of handling her," He averred. "Wow, he is really growing up!" Jessica thought to herself.

Mike was on the floor with Jessica sitting between his legs and he was lightly fondling her boobs and stroking her erect nipples while she reached back with her right arm and played with his hair. They exchanged kisses and were just enjoying the sexually charged atmosphere. Mike admired Minako's sweet little body, her adorable b cups and her alluring face. She was short legged like Jessica was, except with fuller thighs and calves. He wondered to himself if he was going to get a chance to do her like he did Jennifer. Mike stood up and removed his pants and shirt and sat back down. He lifted Jessica up and put her pussy over his beef stick. She took it in her righthand and pointed it at her opening and he dropped her moist cookie right on it, Jessica moaning as it dug its way deep into her as far as she wanted it to go. She propped her arms against his legs and undulated her hips so that his seven inch dangler was passing in and out of her slick snatch. "Oh yeah, that'll get it," Mike said, loving the sensations that Jessica clamped on his cock brought him. Her considerable knockers waved back and forth as she rocked  her hips. "Oh God Master, your cock feels so amazing," she sighed. He clasped her hips and moved them faster to also make pussy slide on his protruding peter more rapidly. so he could feel the compression that his slave's cunt exerted on it more often. She was digging it as much as he was, her nails scratching his legs as her hips pumped vertically in both directions, her vaginal muscles wanting to suck every last drop of his seed out of his nutsack.

Her pussy was full of his cock, she allowing it to reach right to the gate to her cervix while he aided her hip flexion with his hands so she could impale herself on his fleshy, stiff spike repeatedly and keep the friction it resulted in mounting. "Oh fuck yes, ohhhh," she whimpered. "Fucktoy likes her Master's cock, doesn't she?" he leered. "You're little Asian fucktoy loves her Master's cock as much as she can get it," Jessica purred, the sensations from her love channel rubbing against his cock so addictive. "Well,  get it faster!" Mike jokingly snarled, slapping her on the ass. She yelped and snapped her hips more rapidly while feeling the heat on her butt. "Oh God, oh god, oh god, oh fuckkkk!" she blurted, the friction escorting her upward toward her while she pistoned her pussy over his cock, Mike admiring her backside and the sight of her pussy burying his penis and regurgitating it. Jessica felt her breasts jiggling and her energy being used up to please her Master, wanting to make his cum explode out of his balls, her breathing indicating her peaking passion and exhaustion as she bounced on his prong, orgasming in a series of overheated and irrational proclamations before he slimed her slot.

After nearly an hour of peacefully spacing out on Mike's brother's leg, Minako awakened from her revery. "Hey baby, how are you feeling right now?" Mike's brother asked. "So at peace Master." "I'm glad to hear that," little brother said. He bent his head down and kissed her. As he gazed into her eyes, he found that he couldn't stop smiling. That's when he knew he had totally fallen in love with her, but he didn't want to tell her yet until he gauged more fully the long term prospects of this relationship. He explained to her, though, that he was going to train her to serve him. She would learn to deep throat, do the benwa balls exercises and he locked the nipple rings on to her and notified her that she would wear them the rest of summer vacation. In addition, she was no longer allowed to touch either her nipples or her pussy without his permission and must contact him anytime she even accidentally does so. Failure to confess would result in severe punishment. Finally, she would have to shave her pussy. She agreed to all of it with a very calm expression on her face.

Mike's brother added that her punishments would mainly consist of swats on her ass and performing arduous or tedious tasks for him and that there would be no striking of anywhere on her body or head otherwise and that sexually he, like his brother, wasn't into anal or any disgusting stuff and that her physical and psychological security would always be top priority. Minako loved that Mike's brother was taking control of her. That's what had been missing from her previous relationships, guys that knew how to assert themselves on her.

Now there was the matter of what to call her. Mike's brother had been endeavoring to think of  something that made some kind of sense and was hot without sounding forced. He didn't want to give her Lizzy's old nickname, "fuckpet," because doing that made it seem like he was seeing her as just another sub. He began to ask Minako about Japanese words for different english terms. "What is the word for 'slut'?" he wanted to know. "Yarase', Master. It means 'the girl who lets everyone do it with her.' This was no good for little bro because she was only going to be doing it with him. Maybe he could put together some neologism for cockslut or something. "What is the word for 'cock'?" ""Chinpo," she instructed. "Hmmm, that's no good," he thought to himself. "How about pussy?" "That is 'omanko,' Master."

Mike asked for permission to speak to his brother's slave. "What do they call a bottom in like a gay relationship?" he inquired. "Oh, that is 'neko'" she allowed. "It usually means "cat." 'So are the tops called dogs?" Mike pondered. "No, the top in a male relationship is, 'okami,' or 'wolf,' she averred. "I have no idea what a top in a lesbian relationship is," she added. "Minako, would you have any objections to me calling you 'neko'? I could also call you that in public but only we would know the true meaning," Mike's brother propounded. "I think that would be very cute, so yes, I can agree to that," she smiled. That little bit of cross-cultural folderol dispensed with, little bro announced,  "you are now 'neko' and you will refer to yourself in the third person. Anytime you use "I" or "me" you will be punished, do you understand neko?" 'Yes Master," she replied. He then said that she would use normal speech with him in public.

Mike, curious about Minako's family, alerted everyone that Monday they were going to visit her house. Minako's mom Nanako had met Mike and Kurt when they went to her house to pick Minako up and collect her gear for the gig last Saturday, but didn't really say much to her. Minako was still hiding his little brother from her. So at noon, Mike, his brother and Jessica, all guitar case handed, were in front of the Nakanoyama residence. Mike knocked and Minako answered and let them in. Nanako was there with her and the older woman wondered who the girl in the wheelchair and the other longhaired guy was. "Okaasan (mom), this is my boyfriend," she began, pointing to Mike's brother. "And this is Mike and his fiance Jessica." Mike's eyes scanned Nanako, who was barely five feet tall and had her hair bobbed, but otherwise she was built very much like Minako. Everybody took their shoes off and they headed toward the Nakanoyamas' living room. "Oh my God Mrs. Nakanoyama, your home is gorgeous!" Jessica burbled. And it was. Nanako had quite the eye for modern style interior design and the entire downstairs area looked like something from a model home. "Let's remember this Mike for when we get married," Jessica requested. "Absolutely," he echoed. Nanako, of course, was well chuffed at the compliments for her decorating choices.

"Okaasan, Jessica here is going to study medicine at university this fall. "Oh? Erai!" Nanako automatically blurted in Japanese. Minako let her know that her mom said Jessica's had a great ambition. "My mom  was a nurse, Jessica. She even worked for my dad before we came to America, she disclosed. Jessica then started throwing questions at Nanako about the medical profession,  the differences between Japanese and American physicians, etc. While in Japan a younger person asking her senior for advice and guidance is common, in America, not as much and Nanako loved the attention and validation that Jessica was giving her. Mike would crack a joke here and there or ask a leading question. Little brother, though, was bored, but he was just going to have to grin and bear it.

Once there was a lull in the conversation, Minako announced that they were going upstairs to play their guitars and just hang out. "Okay," Nanako permitted, but keep the door open," she demanded. Nanako then apologized to Jessica for their home not being "barrier free (kitted out to accommodate the physically challenged). "That's okay Mrs,. Nakanoyama, neither is Mike's!" she laughed.

The entire second floor was done Japanese style and the floors of the rooms, except for the bathrooms and hallway, were covered in tatami mats. Minako's room was beautiful. Her bed was a rice filled mattress on a dark wooden platform and her dressers were Japanese "tansu." "God, this room seems so peaceful," Jessica marveled. "I think so," Minako affirmed. Mike looked at her gear. Pretty simple set up. Her battered Gibson SG, a Tokai Les Paul copy,  an ESP Horizon and her Marshall plus a phase shifter, a wah pedal, a delay box, a noise gate and a flanger. Next to all that and against the wall was a Yamaha keyboard rig and then her study desk with a computer on it. The ESP was by a ways the newest and most expensive of her three axes, but the SG was so comfortable in her hands that it was still her go to guitar even though the ESP had the faster neck and hottest pickups. They spent the next few hours trading guitars and screwing around.

A few minutes after heading upstairs, Nanako brought up some cookies and orange juice for them, which made Mike feel like he was seven again, but it was just a hospitality gesture from Mrs. Nakanoyama. Minako then told her that she was going to play a song at the upcoming street fair in front of thousands of people. "Yeah, it could be anywhere from 5,000 to maybe as many as 50,000," Mike added. God Minako,  you're a rockstar now!" Nanako kidded, cracking everybody up. "She's an star everyday to me," Mike's brother tossed in. Jessica was surprised to hear that from him and thought to herself that, "a year ago,  he wouldn't have said something like that," a sign to her that Minako was in safe hands. Minako blushed and Nanako giggled. "Kawaii! (how cute!)" she silently enthused.

Nanako thought it was nice of Mike to want to marry a handicapped girl. The physically challenged in Japan are still pretty marginalized. For Mike, though, he wasn't engaging in some codependent rescue strategy. to get a girlfriend He really loved her and only wanted to meet her because she was already a killer guitar player.

Minako's brother Takahiro came home from hanging out with his buddies. "Hey Takkun, come here and meet my friends!" Minako encouraged. He bounded into the room and said, "hey," to everybody. "I think he's becoming a good drummer," Minako bragged. "Well, let's check it out!" Mike said and they went to the kid's room to hear him beat the skins on his Tama kit. He wasn't bad, but stll not ready for prime time. "Takkun" was a nickname that was a combination of, "Taka" and "kun," the latter a familiar diminutive used usually toward males by those older than them."Keep practicing dude and maybe we'll let you sit in with our band one day like your sister is," Mike recommended. "Right on," Takahiro retorted blandly.

Jessica told Nanako that she would like to talk with Dr. Nakanoyama since she was of the opinion that discussion could help her with how she should study. Nanako was very accommodating and told Jessica she could stay for dinner,  but that her husband usually didn't get home until after seven. Jessica was tense when she heard the door open and a male voice announce, "Tadaima! (I'm home!)." When he walked into his living room and saw Jessica, he thought, because of the wheelchair, "who is she, a prospective patient?" The introductions were made. Minako had warned Jessica that in any meeting in Japan, there is always just chitchatting beforehand because to go into  the matter at hand abruptly, as Americans tend to do, offends Japanese sensibilities.

After a few minutes of playing, "get to know me!" Jessica asked if she could hit him up about what it's like being a doctor because she intended to become one as well. Doctors in Japan are a pretty self possessed lot and rather  high handed at times, so Dr. Nakanoyama was more than willing to talk about himself, what he saw with his patients, and liberal with his advice to her. He was saying all that while puffing away the whole time on cigarettes, one of the ironic idiosyncracies of doctors in Japan. Nanako had been after him since they got married to quit.

When Jessica noticed that it was ten o'clock, she excused herself and wheeled herself home. But before she left the Nakanoyama property, Minako buttonholed her. "Jessica, I know that in America this is super uncool to ask this, but in Japan, the advice you got from my mom and dad would be considered receiving the guidance of a senior, which means you have incurred a debt you must repay," she inculcated. "So how am I supposed to repay it?" Jessica inquired. "I think if you took them to a nice dinner with your parents they would have a chance to make new friends and you could pick his brains some more," she said. "Also, if you don't study hard, he will feel that I wasted his time by making him talk to you, so please work hard," she implored. "Don't worry Minako, I will always have your back," Jessica rejoindered. "And thanks. I'll talk to my parents to honor my debt with yours." "Thank you for understanding Jessica," Minako countered, relieved.

There was a rehearsal Tuesday, afrer which they brainstormed how to put themselves out there the cheapest way possible. They wished to make a concerted effort to play during lunchtime at colleges and middle and high schools, and they would  basically have a captive audience at the latter two, so they wouldn't have to pay rental fees for the halls they chose to perform at. Unfortunately, Jessica's college schedule cashiered the idea of playing high schools, but colleges were still doable if they were local enough. They had one other show the following week at the same American Legion hall that they had played at when Mike and Jessica had their Iron Maiden cover band.

Jessica  tallked to her parents about meeting Dr. Nakanoyama's family and, that Friday, Jessica, Carl, Jennifer, Nanako and her husband all went to the high priced sushi restaurant the Hamadas liked. Carl saw this as a networking opportunity for his company and for Jessica. He was also put at ease when Mr. Nakanoyama told Carl to just cal him "Doc," a nickname with a little bit of a humorous edge to it that he was often referred to as by his Asian-American patients. Carl and the good doctor immediately began talking shop about being on opposite sides of the insurance company/healthcare provider duality with Jessica listening in intently and Jennifer and Nanako discussing their kids, their college years, married life, etc. Carl expected Dr. Nakanoyama to be a stiff, but he proved to be anything but that, especially with a few jolts of sake in him. Dr. Nakanoyama liked Jessica and her family and it  helped that Carl had a position of responsibility in a major firm. He tacitly put his hanko (an ink stick Japanese use to sign legal documents) on his daughter hanging with the younger Hamada. Nanako found Jennifer to be warm, outgoing, cute and smart and hoped to meet her again soon.

About 40 some odd people were at the Legion hall gig and the band again played as if their lives depended on it. But the highlight of it was that all the people who had been at their previous show came with their friends and, after they did their final encore, the fans wanted to be schmoozed. Even Minako was being asked for her autograph and to pose for pictures. A few of the fans took camera phone video, which the band was sure would sound like shit because they almost always do. Nanako was there to watch her daughter play her one song and it was the first  rock show she had been to since she emigrated from Japan. She was happy with the enthusiasm of the audience and was impressed by the crispness of the band's performance even with wads of tissue paper in her ears to roll off some of the volume she was subjected to. The street fair was now two weeks away and Mike, Adrian and everybody else in the group were fully jacked for it.