“No!” Sachi screamed as she watched in horror while Akari pitched forward, slammed against the wall like a rag doll and laid still. This isn’t happening, she thought as she ran toward Akari’s crumpled body, followed closely by the others. Mari had already fallen to her knees next to her and was pulling the matted hair away from Akari’s face when Sachi reached them.

“Oh, no,” Mari moaned in horror as blood began to pool under Akari’s head. Mari recoiled slightly. “No, no, no.” Mari repeated over and over, staring down at the blood on her hands from Akari’s hair in shock.

“Don’t move her!” Sachi snapped, tears rolling down her face. “Call an ambulance! Get a towel!” She put her hand lightly on Akari’s back and sighed in relief as she felt the rise and fall of her breath. Yukiko stared down in horror behind her as Sachi made sure Akari could breathe and then let the tears begin to fall. This is all my fault, she thought over and over again.

The other manager with Hiroto brought a towel and handed it to Sachi who tenderly began to wipe Akari’s face with the towel, pressing it lightly against the cut she’d opened on her hairline when she’d hit the wall.

“Don’t blame yourself, Sachi,” Hiroto said, trying to make her feel better. “She’ll be ok.”

“Who else am I supposed to blame, Hiroto?” Sachi snapped, trying to wipe the blood pooling under Akari’s face with shaking hands. “I never should have picked that song. I knew it was too difficult. I hoped if she failed quickly she’d give up and let us postpone the tour. I’m such an idiot. I should have known. I should have told her no.”

“Akari’s an adult,” Hiroto said. “She made the decision. Besides, you know how stubborn she can be. Once she gets something in her head she won’t let it go.”

“The ambulance will be here in a couple minutes!” The other manager called. “I’ll go outside to wait for them.”

“He’s right, Sachi,” Yukiko said. “You know Akari won’t accept no when she wants to have something.”

Sachi wanted to lash out. She wanted to tell everyone everything they had ever done wrong. She wanted to throw blame where she could to lessen her own guilt but she couldn’t. In the end she had approved this. She had chosen to be “in charge” of this. “You have to leave it up to me” she had told Akari and this is how it had worked out.

In her heart she knew Akari wasn’t ready. The doctor had told them she wasn’t ready. She could tell Akari was weak and saw how more unsteady she got as the song had progressed but she hadn’t stopped her. In truth she had been hypnotized by the youngest member of Kunoichi, as she always seemed to be.

Akari had been her weak spot since joining the band. She was kind and considerate, humble and cheerful but as soon as she reached the stage she became exciting, dynamic, playful, sensuous, seductive and provocative all at the same time. And all without seeming to try. She drew the eye in every room and the attention in every situation without demanding it. She was a star.

Now Sachi’s weakness had brought this. Sachi liked being in charge of the group. She liked to think by being in charge she was helping keep them safe from predatory managers and promoters who would use them up. In the end, though, hadn’t they all used Akari? Hadn’t they all simply hitched themselves to her rocket and enjoyed the ride Akari’s charisma and genius provided?

If it had been Yukiko or Mari that had gotten hurt would she have let them try two days after getting out of the hospital? No, she decided. She wouldn’t have. Why? Was it because she couldn’t say no to Akari like Yukiko maintained or was it something more sinister? Had she simply let Akari try because she was their meal ticket? “No Akari, no us.” Mari had said. Have I become just another predator in a sea of sharks? Sachi asked herself. She didn’t have a good answer. She didn’t have an honest answer.

A minute later the paramedics rushed into the room and began to work on Akari, forcing Sachi to step back shakily. Sachi stared down at her hands, Akari’s blood was drying on them already and as she closed her hands in fists the dried blood cracked and split. Akari’s blood was, literally and figuratively, on her hands. A sudden need to get away took hold of her and Sachi turned on her heel and strode away.

“Sachi?” Yukiko asked curiously as Sachi walked toward the hallway leading to the exit.

“I-I can’t,” Sachi muttered to no one and left.

The woman watched from one of the conference rooms on the second floor as Sachi stepped into the hall and vanished. She grinned mirthlessly and turned her attention back to the unconscious Akari as she was turned over carefully onto a spine board. The plan is coming together deliciously, she mused.