Chapter Text
Kaoru Hakaze was a simple man, easy to please and with normal, acceptable interests. His main hobby consisted of scrolling through social media and stalking his favourite idols after work.
He worked as a part-time waiter, only doing morning shifts during the week, meaning his evenings and weekends were reserved for just that; decorating his room with posters of girl groups and surfers, his multiple shelves perfectly organised with magazines and collected merchandise.
Half of the room, at least. Unfortunately for him, ever since highschool, he’d been sharing an apartment with his classmate and (reluctant) friend, Koga Ogami.
Koga’s half of the room was to Kaoru the equivalent of letting a bomb go off and decorating with the debris.
The walls were covered floor to ceiling in posters of scary-looking bandmen, all dressed in black and black-adjacent colours. A guitar covered in stickers and a small amp lay in a corner, and the bed – never made, by the way, – was always covered in one way or another in magazines, music sheets, and makeup palettes.
The decoration wasn’t that different, but the colour schemes alone made it seem like night and day. A waiter and a guitarist were bound to clash heads every once in a while over decor, after all.
— — —
The bedroom door slammed open in full force, making Kaoru all but jump off of his bed.
“I’m home!” Koga announced, throwing his bag somewhere at his corner of the room, with no care for whatever was inside. He stomped across to his roommates’ half of the bedroom, throwing himself onto the bed – and earning a disapproving glare from Kaoru as he steadied his breathing.
“This better be worth the heart attack you just gave me, or I swear I’m gonna hit you over the head with your stupid guitar.”
“Not sorry. Here, read this!” Koga was grinning wider than usual as he shoved his phone in Kaoru’s face. It was open on a blogpost, and Kaoru leaned back to read it properly.
“DEADMANZ - a name that brings all the rock girls to their knees, a band quickly making a name for itself in the underground music scene, captivating audiences with their super cool punk visuals, stage presence, and terrifying vocals! A must-see, if you’re lucky enough to catch one of their shows.”
Kaoru looked up from the screen, frowning. “Sounds… Interesting, I guess. But it’s not my scene, I don’t like all of this scary scene stuff.”
“You’re such a coward.” Koga scrunched up his nose, like a dog smelling something unpleasant. “I’m being such a saint, offering you a free ticket to our show, and you’re gonna refuse ‘cause you’re too weak to rock out? Come on–” he teased, a malicious smile forming, “There’ll be cute girls in the crowd.”
“Go to your show–?” Kaoru blinked, still catching up to Koga’s rambles.
Koga wasn’t just any guitarist – DEADMANZ was his band, his most beloved project, which he would give up anything just to play with. Kaoru never paid much attention to it, as it was the exact opposite of his interests, but he knew Koga could be a real pain in the ass if he just ignored his passion outright.
(And besides – an excuse to chat up some of those beautiful, aloof, and unapproachable rocker chicks he secretly fancied? Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad…)
“So? Whatd’ya say?” Koga scooched closer, practically draping himself over Kaoru’s legs. He could make some adorable puppy eyes when he tried, if you ignored the ridiculous amount of piercings on his face and the smudged black eyeliner.
Kaoru sighed, playing it cool. “Fine. But I’m doing this for the girls. When’s your next show?”
Koga practically jumped off the bed, throwing his fists in the air victoriously. “Let’s go!!! We’re gonna be playing tonight at the livehouse downtown, so be there okay?”
“Tonight–?! Wait–!!”
Koga ran back to retrieve his bag, opening it and shuffling through it until he pulled out a slightly crumpled ticket. He rushed back and threw it in Kaoru’s lap, grinning madly.
“It’s a good number, too. Just stay further back and you’ll be fine, the crowd shouldn’t get too rowdy… Maybe.”
Kaoru blinked in confusion as Koga shoved more items into his bag and packed his guitar into its respective bag. His endless energy never failed to leave Kaoru in a daze, struggling to keep up with the guitarist.
Before running back out of the room, Koga spoke up again, “11:30, don’t be late, ladykiller. I’ll introduce you to the guys after the show. I’ve gotta go meet them now to practice and sound check, I’ll see you there!”
Kaoru watched him leave, his footsteps echoing across the small apartment as he hurriedly put his shoes on and left.
No backing down now. Not that Koga had given him any time to think, but it shouldn’t be a bad experience – maybe Koga and his band wouldn’t be as aggressive as the videos Koga showed him of bigger groups, with their screeching vocals and wild moves… Right?
— — —
Kaoru had never felt so mistaken in his life.
For starters, he stuck out like a sore thumb; his ridiculously cute cardigan was a dead giveaway in the sea of black and spiky outfits that he was anything but a regular. He did as Koga instructed and stayed back at the furthest row, barely able to see the band above a sea of girls waving their hands in confusing patterns.
The drums were so loud he felt the beat in his chest, disoriented by the loud noises and vocals – a beautiful, silky voice, that kept suddenly switching into guttural screams that made Kaoru jump in surprise.
In the sea of neon lights, he barely registered a girl was speaking to him until she tapped his shoulder, raising her voice in his ear to make herself heard.
“I haven’t seen you here before. First live?”
Kaoru nodded shyly. The girl laughed, “What are you doing here? You look like a panpi!”
“M-my friend is on stage– I don’t usually go to these shows–” Kaoru stumbled, confused by the girl’s words.
At that, she seemed to lighten up, nodding, “Aah, your friend is up there? Come over here then, you can’t see shit back here! Me and my friends have a good spot.”
She grabbed Kaoru’s hand, dragging him towards a small group of three other hardcore-looking girls a few rows ahead. Finally, the whole reason he’d come here!
Before he could strike up conversation though, a melodious voice called out from the stage, stealing everyone’s attention.
The lead singer was tall, with long black hair falling over his face, messy from the show. He was clad in black leather and leopard print, silver accessories catching the light. His smudged black lipstick and eye makeup gave him the air of a demon or a vampire, dripping black blood onstage.
“It’s been fun tonight, hasn’t it?” He called out into his microphone. The crowd roared “Yes!!!” back at him, and he seemed to smile proudly.
On black platforms he sauntered around the stage, continuing, “Think you can still handle one more song? You can do that for us, right?”
Another roar from the crowd. The drummer began lightly tapping his high-hats, perfectly timed to the vocalist’s steps.
“The moon is bright, and the air is perfect for a sacrifice… Who will we choose this time?”
He walked over to the guitarist – who Kaoru barely registered as his roommate underneath all his heavy makeup – and stroked his cheek. Koga began playing a string of notes as he continued, “Will we sacrifice our wan-chan?”
The crowd roared. The guitar and the drums began building up as the vocalist made his way back across the stage, twirling the microphone in his hand as he came to stand in front of the bassist.
He began playing too as the vocalist walked around him, speaking next to his ear, “Shall we sacrifice our Kei-kun?”
Another roar, even louder this time. The vocalist grinned, stomping back to the middle of the stage.
“Or shall we sacrifice… All of our beloved fans?!”
The crowd exploded as the lights went out and flashed red, the drums filling the room to the brim as a new song started.
Kaoru watched in wonder from his new spot as the stage came alive, the vocalist screaming into his microphone as the front row folded themselves over the barrier.
On the stage, Koga was playing with an energy he’d never seen, all but kicking everything in his path, the high pitched scream of his guitar slicing through the air.
The steady bassline led the song along, their bassist standing magnificently at the edge of the stage and locking eyes with the front row.
“It’s pretty awesome, right?” The girl from earlier shouted, snapping Kaoru out of his trance.
“It– it’s a little scary, but–” Kaoru began, but the rest of his sentence got lost as he looked back at the stage.
He watched the raven-haired singer and Koga standing back to back as they played together, his smooth voice singing about some macabre topic that Kaoru barely registered.
----
Kaoru lingered behind, leaning against a wall as the crowd exited the venue, chatting excitedly amongst themselves. He should have been more upset over the fact he didn’t get to properly chat up any girls, but somehow, Kaoru didn’t feel as annoyed as he ought to.
His mind kept going back to the raven-haired vocalist, still completely entranced by the sway of his hips and the neon bouncing off his leather clothes.
He thought back to the bassist, standing strong and elegant and as tall as his instrument, his nimble fingers moving faster than he thought possible.
And their drummer, headbanging furiously and shaking bright red hair in every direction, and his arms that must be at least double the size of Kaoru’s.
He was interrupted as Koga stepped out, looking around quickly. Once he spotted Kaoru, he waved him over, grinning. “Hey, ladykiller. Show’s over, come on!”
“Huh–?” Kaoru looked up, snapping back to attention.
“Come get your VIP treatment, idiot.” Koga held the venue door open with a shit-eating grin. A grin that very clearly said ‘You liked the show, you stupid normie.’
Kaoru awkwardly ran back and stepped out of the cold and back into the venue. He followed after Koga, who said something to the security guard and then confidently led Kaoru to a room backstage.
He opened a door covered in stickers, and it led into a lounge area. It had a little table in the middle, surrounded by two couches and a small leather seat. There were clothes and instruments scattered around the room, and most importantly, the rest of the band were sitting and chatting amongst themselves.
When Koga opened the door, they looked up, their conversation dying down.
“As promised, your VIP treatment.” Koga grinned, stepping aside to let Kaoru peek into the room.
In normal lighting and without the confusion of constant movement and the strobelights, Kaoru could get a proper look at each of the members.
Sudden realisation dawned on him, and his face went red with embarassment.
“You– you didn’t tell me they were classmates–!!!”