Song used: U+Ur Hand-Pink

"Hiro…"

Hiroshi Nanoko knew that tone all too well. Shuichi Shindo wanted something. Seeing as they were currently on Hiro's motorcycle, he really didn't have any choice but to listen. Then again, he would have listened anyway. That was what best friends were for after all. Now if only Shuichi's life and problems didn't revolve around Eiri…

"Yes, Shindo?" He asked as he switched lanes. If he didn't step on it, they were going to be late for practice and have to face K's wrath. The thought alone was enough to make him blanch. He actually enjoyed being alive even without Ayake.

"Yuki kinda gave me this CD…" The question was, did Yuki really give him a CD, or did he just take it from Yuki's collection? His attitude tomorrow would be the judge of that.

"And?"

"And this girl is really good! You've got to hear her! Her album's in the running for the number one spot along with our new one." Hiro knew without looking back that there were stars in Shindo's eyes based on the excitement in his voice. For him to acknowledge that anyone else besides Nittle Grasper and Bad Luck even made music meant that the girl had to be the real deal.

"What's her name and style?" He asked as he parked his bike and tucked his helmet under his arm. He raised one eye brow slightly when Shindo held up an album in front of him instead of responding.

She had a…interesting appearance. Her face was painted entirely white, but her shoulder length hair and lips were the brightest red he had ever seen. She had the bored look perfected by the way she was looking over the shown part of her shoulder with her mouth slightly opened. Her green eyes were an even bigger contrast than her hair. They seemed entirely too bright compared to the rest of her gothic appearance including the spiked collar. Maybe the red eye shadow around them made them stand out so much.

"'Don't Mess With Me' the debut album of Akiko, the bad girl of Rock. Feminine name for such a bad girl." Hiro commented as he flipped through the pictures the included small book contained. Interesting indeed. In each picture her face remained white, but her hair color and makeup changed. Each hair color was brighter and wilder than the last but always matched her lips and eyes. She had to spend a fortune in wigs.

"K! I have a request to make. Before we start practice, I want everyone to hear this girl. It'll motivate us to do our best." Shindo announced as soon as he walked into the recording area.

Suguro, K, and Sakuno looked up obviously confused. Shindo was the one that usually needed motivating, not the other way around. In typical Shindo fashion though, they did not have a chance to protest. He already had the CD in the closest player and was fast forwarding to a specific song.

"What's this all abo-" K started, but was stopped by the song's intro.

Uh uh uh uh uh uh uh oh
Uh uh uh uh uh uh uh oh
Check it out
Going out
On the late night
Looking tight
Feeling nice
It's a **** fight
I can tell
I just know
That it's going down
Tonight
At the door we don't wait cause we know them
At the bar six shots just beginning
That's when d*ck head put his hands on me
But you see

"Nice beat…" Suguro shouted tapping his foot to the rhythm.

I'm not here for your entertainment
You don't really want to mess with me tonight
Just stop and take a second
I was fine before you walked into my life
Cause you know it's over
Before it began
Keep your drink just give me the money
It's just u and ur hand tonight

Uh uh uh uh uh uh uh oh
Uh uh uh uh uh uh uh oh

"High energy. Definitely used to get the crowd riled up. Perfect opening for a concert" K added as he tapped his rifle against his shoulder.

Midnight
I'm drunk
I don't give a ****
Wanna dance
By myself
Guess you're outta luck
Don't touch
Back up
I'm not the one
Buh bye
Listen up it's just not happening
You can say what you want to your boyfriends
Just let me have my fun tonight
Aiight

I'm not here for your entertainment
You don't really want to mess with me tonight
Just stop and take a second
I was fine before you walked into my life
Cause you know it's over
Before it began
Keep your drink just give me the money
It's just you and your hand tonight

"The lyrics are really good. She really lives up to her album title!" Shindo exclaimed sidling up next to Hiro. "What do you think Hiro?" He asked, but Hiro was too focused on the song to answer.

Uh uh uh uh uh uh uh oh
Break break
Break it down

In the corner with your boys you bet 'em five bucks
You'd get the girl that just walked in but she thinks you suck
We didn't get all dressed up just for you to see
So quit spilling your drinks on me yeah

You know who you are
High fivin, talking ****, but you're going home alone arentcha?

Cause I'm not here for your entertainment
No
You don't really want to mess with me tonight
Just stop and take a second
Just stop and take a second
I was fine before you walked into my life
Cause you know it's over
Know it's over
Before it began
Keep your drink just give me the money
It's just you and your hand tonight
It's just you and your hand

I'm not here for your entertainment
No no no
You don't really want to mess with me tonight
Just stop and take a second
Just take a second
I was fine before you walked into my life
Cause you know it's over
Before it began
Keep your drink just give me the money
It's just you and your hand tonight
Yeah oh

"Her voice was so rough, but it fit perfectly with the song and her image." Hiro finally said. He would have elaborated on his point, but the sound of K releasing the safety off his gun ended all conversation.

"Listen up! She has raw talent and chances are she never had a proper voice instructor. Her style may be completely different, but she's still released this album around the same time as ours which means we'll be competing against her for the number one spot. She has the advantage of being a fresh face so people want to know what she can do, but we have the support of fans we captured with our first album. Sakuno, we need to find out when she's doing a concert around this area. If she performs well, we have a new rival." K ordered and Sakuno stood straight up.

"Right away!" He said hurrying from the room to obviously find the information that K wanted before he let his gun do the talking.

"As for you three…Shindo was right. This girl is motivating me to make you all work ten times as hard. We worked hard to reach the top, and we won't give up that spot without a fight. Right?" K asked as he took aim at each of the Bad Luck members.

"Right!" They cried in unison as they quickly moved to their respective instrument.

True to his word, K made them work harder than they ever worked before. Nothing they did was good enough. That was why the moment he entered his home after the grueling day, he flopped down on his couch and was perfectly content with never hearing the word "again"...again. With his head thrown back and eyes closed, he blindly reached out and searched for his answering machine and hit the play button.

"You have no new messages."

He never realized how annoying that automated voice was until his relationship with Ayake ended. Sure, he was the one to end it, but still...He half expected a phone call from her telling him that he was wrong and was not just her replacement for Eiri. He sighed heavily and covered his eyes with his hand out of frustration as the memory of that final argument came to his mind.

"You're just being silly. I know that I can never have Eiri, and I'm ready to move on with my life."

"Then why do you get that far off look on your face whenever you see him on television?"

"I was engaged to him at one point. It's only natural that I think of how things could have been if Shindo didn't get involved."

"Or how you always buy more than one copy of everything that has his name on it."

"I...just want to help move his career forward, and buying his material is all I can think of."

"So you can look me in my eye, and say I'm not your second choice? You can say that you actually feel something for me?"

How much dumber could he have been? He knew he was her second choice when he pursued a relationship, but she confirmed it. Did he really give her enough time to get over her loss? He slumped forward and turned on the television before he could become completely depressed or even worse call her. He never minded admitting when he was wrong, but this time she was the one at fault.

"This just in! New comer to the music industry Akiko has just arrived back in Japan to promote the international release of her album "Don't Mess With Me" and is currently preparing for a press conference. Akiko's whose birth name is currently unreleased to the press is reported as leaving her homeland Japan ten years ago due to her father's job relocation in the United States where she later began her music career as a backup singer to a nameless local band. Just this year, a talent scout heard her sing during one of the band's few songs as the lead vocalist. Akiko-"

"Yeah Yeah. I see it. We'll talk later. I want to hear the rest of the broadcast." Hiro said quickly ending the phone call from a rambling Shindo who managed to catch the breaking news as well.

He missed the rest of her background information, but he did catch the shots of the screaming crowd gathered in front of a recording studio that had recently opened. A jet black limousine pulled up behind the crowd and seven men in matching black suits rushed out from the car and began pushing the crowd back to create a path way. Two more men emerged from the car and began setting up a makeshift barrier. When they deemed everything was secure, the took their places along the newly created walkway and the main attraction finally arrived.

From the moment Hiro saw her first name brand sneaker foot step from the crowd, he knew she was going to surpass the level of interesting and move to attractive even with the makeup. Based on the way her body guards stood over a head taller than her, she was short. Her hair was that same bright red from the cover of her album but now it was hanging wildly down her back. Her skin tight black sweater and short denim skirt revealed a shape that the most men and girls in certain case were certain to drool over. Hiro would have if he was that kind of man and was in the crowd.

"Akiko! What's your real name?"

"Why are there no pictures of you circulating without make up?"

"Is red your favorite color?"

"When can we expect your first live performance?"

By the time she reached the steps of the studio, a wireless mike was waiting on her along with an older man who he couldn't exactly make out but assume was her manager.

"Quiet down all of ya, or none of ya are getting any answers outta me." She said into the microphone above the screaming cheers. It took a few moments, but eventually the crowd reached an acceptable level where she could be heard. Hiro was more interested in listening to the informal way she spoke than the actual answers to her questions. K and Sakuno always pressured them into using proper grammar and etiquette, but this Akiko girl was speaking just as she would to a friend.

"Akiko is all ya need ta kno' about my name and don't count on any photos of my real face. Just know that I'm the new bad girl in town. One week at the concert stage is when my era begins. Be there." Obviously done with any more questions, she handed the mike back to her companion and began moving back to her vehicle. On her trip though, she did stop to sign autographs take pictures with fans who eagerly reached over the barriers with their cameras.

"Now back to your regularly scheduled program."

When Akiko vanished from the screen and was replaced by some romance movie, Hiro turned the television off all together. He had something entirely better to do now with his time. He wanted to be familiar with all Akiko's songs before her concert especially if he could talk K into getting back stage passes. A woman as mysterious as this Akiko had to be worth some investigating. If she was going to be battling against them for the top spot, they could all at least get to know each other.

**Opinions anyone? Should I continue or scrap this? Akiko is modeled somewhat after Pink voice wise, but not personality since I don't actually know Pink. Her songs will be taken from various people who I will acknowledge at the beginning of each chapter a song is used if people want me to continue. If there's anything inaccurate in here, let me know. Any info that might fit a particular artist is purely unintentional, and I would appreciate it if I wasn't sued.**