Chapter Text
"What is it I'm waiting for, in this room without you -
It's just the clock's ticking, but it resonates in my sleepless heart like the sound of footsteps.
Even now I'm waiting; I stop here alone.
From where do you now see the moon we saw together on that day?"
Tatsuha was pretty certain neither Ayaka or himself was singing on tune. Which was funny because he knew they were capable of singing on tune. At least, he was pretty certain they could sing on tune. All the sake was making his memory fuzzy.
They stumbled into Ayaka's apartment, not remembering or bothering to lock the door behind them.
"My behavior made a mimicry of laughter, even when I remember your voice.
The scene of the night when we walked around together is now an orange-colored photograph."
Ayaka collapsed onto the bed, and Tatsuha tugged at her arm. "At least give me covers!" He complained.
She blinked up at him. "What happened to your shirt again?"
"You threw up on it!"
"Oh, that's right." She giggled, then got up with a groan to grab a blanket from the closet. When she made it back to the bed Tatsuha was curled up on it under her covers. "Hey!" She shoved at him.
"I'm cold." Tatsuha complained.
"At least scoot over!" When Tatsuha complied she collapsed on top of the bedding, covering herself in the extra blanket. She paused when she heard him sniffle. "Are you crying?"
"No..." Tatsuha told her, only to sniffle again.
The older girl stared at the ceiling. "It's alright if you are. I won't tell anyone."
"Why did he have to go and say that?" Tatsuha asked, his voice subdued.
Despite the sake, Ayaka caught onto his meaning fast. "Nagi?"
"I was really starting to trust him. He said and did things no one else ever has."
"...maybe he didn't mean it?"
"So why did he say it?"
"Because couples say dumb things when they argue - because we know each other well enough to know what hurts." Ayaka blinked back tears of her own.
"Are you going to break up with Nakano?"
"...I don't know. It's hard. I thought I was okay with all this sneaking around. That we trusted each other more because of it. But now..."
"Do you love him?"
"Of course I love him."
"Why?"
"I don't know. Maybe... I mean, he's sweet. He's kind to me. He's sexy. He inspires me. Look at me - going to college and learning advertising. But he introduced me to this whole new world. I didn't want to sit at home anymore. I wanted to do something with my life."
"Is that why?"
"No. It is, but it isn't. It's all that and none of that. It's... because he's him. I love him because he's him.
"That doesn't help."
"What am I supposed to be helping?"
"I think I'm in love with Nagi."
"But you're not certain?"
"I've... never felt like this before. Except - sort-of - with Ryuichi."
"But... Ryuichi's not here. He's just a picture on a wall. Nagi's here. He can talk to you. Touch you."
"And say mean things... would Ryuichi say mean things?"
She glanced over at him. "I don't know. We all say mean things sometimes, don't we?"
"I might have said something mean too." Tatsuha confessed.
"I might have jumped to conclusions." Ayaka admitted.
"Should we... call them?"
"Tomorrow. Let's call them tomorrow." Ayaka let her eyes slide close.
Something bothered Tatsuha. Something about the door. But he ignored it - letting himself drift to sleep as well.
"Geez, he's in a funk." Shuichi watched Hiro fiddle with his guitar strings.
Suguru nodded. "He's almost as bad as you can be."
"Gee, thanks." Shuichi replied dryly.
"You know, maybe I'm getting soft. But all this over 3% seems extreme. If Hiroshi wants to admit to Ayaka, then he should just do it. Maybe we'll lose fans - but I think we can afford it. Seguchi and Ukai-san are both married. That never stopped Nittle Grasper's fan from coming back for more. Maybe we'll even gain fans in the end."
"You're wrong."
"I am?" Suguru blinked.
This isn't about the band, and that's not how we should look at it. HIro's a friend. This is killing him - trying to be logical about it. He loves her, and that's all that should matter."
Suguru looked at him, then nodded. "Management won't like it. But this is our decision, right? It's their job to think up angles to keep us in the charts no matter what. If they can't do that, we can always ask Seguchi for a different management team." Suguru's smile seemed honest and innocent. It belied the deviousness of his statement.
Shuichi's eyes hardened, and he smirked. "K won't like that."
"What's another set of recording equipment? Besides, if he's really the best..." The keyboardist left the words hanging.
Shuichi's smile widened into a grin. "Agreed. HIRO!!" He turned to shout at his best friend.
Suguru winced, covering his ears with his hands. "Don't be so loud!"
Hiro glanced back, a bit surprised and confused. He paused when he saw his bandmates smile.
Shuichi winked, giving him the thumbs up. "Go for it!"
For a moment he stared at them, before understanding sunk in. Then a smile lit his face. "Thank-you!"
Only a few minutes later he swerved his bike onto the busy highway heading toward Kyoto.
The laptop screen swiveled. In retrospect, it would have been more helpful if the keyboard swiveled. However, Ryuichi leaned on the chair arm to use the touch pad that served as the mouse. He clicked on 'Start', then hovered over 'My Recent Documents". A list of ten files popped up. He dismissed the picture and video files as insignificant. that left three text files. He glanced at Reiji - who was still fast asleep.
One file was his schedule. The second was the rough draft of a letter to the Japanese movie producer she was swinging the deal with. It had to be the rough draft, because he didn't think she would leave in the part about the director being a pompous ass in the final version. Although, with Reiji, you never knew.
The third file was a list of addresses in Kyoto. He skimmed them, not spotting what he was looking for. That was when the swivel keyboard would definitely have been more use. Leaning farther over he pecked out a new address somewhere in the middle of the list. Then he saved the file and shut it down, swiveling the screen back to face his manager.
Reiji stirred, but didn't awaken.
Ryuichi sat back in his seat, glancing out the window sill with a troubled expression. On instinct, he picked up Kumagorou to hold him close. Then turned his mp3 player back on. 'Bad Luck', the screen read. He hummed briefly, before singing softly.
"If you could still wait for me to come back, with those eyes turned away,
Someday, let's recreate that bewildered kiss."
Ayaka's head was pounding. She groaned as she sat up, staring for a minute at Tatsuha, who was hugging the pillow his head was resting on.
"Geez, you did that when you were a kid." She said aloud, before deciding it hurt too much to talk. Ruffling his hair, she folded up the blanket and laid it on a chair, before going to take a shower. She was still dressed in the dress from the bar - and she remembered sitting in a gutter in it throwing up. She felt filthy and upset with herself for trying to solve her problems with drinking.
She also remembered her and Tatsuha's conversation distinctly. She almost wished she didn't. She loved Hiro. But could she honestly handle it if he denied those pictures?
She turned on the shower, ignoring how much it hurt her head. The hot water felt good, but the sound was killing her. She threw a yukata over her wet frame and exited the bathroom towel drying her hair and planning on waking Tatsuha up. That way she could dress in private while he showered.
She froze when she saw Hiro standing in the doorway of her bedroom. He was staring at Tatsuha, who was still asleep. Correction - asleep on her bed, under her covers, and not wearing a shirt. The equation looked easy.
Hiro turned to look at her, and the accusation in his eyes were clear. Her throat constricted. Words wouldn't come out. He whirled away to head back the way he came. Ayaka dropped the towel and ran after him. Her throat finally loosened. "Hiro - wait!"
Hiro turned back at the door. "I came to tell you Shu and Suguru say it's okay to tell the world I have someone special." His words were sarcastic. The tone was painful enough, the words cut deeper. "But it looks like that was premature of me."
"Hiro, no - Tatsuha and I got drunk-" Ayaka tried to explain.
"And that's supposed to make it okay?"
Ayaka shook her head furiously. "No! It was stupid, but we-"
"You what?! I can see what you did!"
"You honestly think I slept with Tatsuha??"
"Why not? He looks like Yuki."
Ayaka wasn't even aware she was moving until she cuffed him across the face. "You bastard! It's been two years since my engagement to Eiri!"
"You never forget your first love, right?" Hiro taunted.
Ayaka found herself laughing; it wasn't a pleasant sound. "You never forget..." She laughed some more. "You want to play it like that? Fine! Tell me, Nakano-san, if those pictures were of you and Shindo kissing - would you deny them?"
Hiro stared, then a blush colored his face. "Bitch." He turned to leave.
"I guess you don't have to worry about lying about not having a girlfriend, huh?" She challenged. Her reply was the door slamming shut.
Tatsuha, holding his head and looking foggy appeared in the doorway. "Ayaka - what? I thought I heard Hiroshi."
Ayaka began to laugh again. "We just broke up!" She announced. Then she collapsed to her knees, as tears began to fill her eyes. "Tatsuha - I just really messed up!"
Tatsuha stared at her, eyes wide and uncertain.
To Be Continued...