I guess this is kind of a sequel to Tattoo Stories. There's small mentions of what happened in Tattoo Stories here and there...I had fun writing that one, and I wanted to do another, but with more of the cast. Another possible excerpt from the big, fat world tour we never saw. Man, why didn't they ever show us some of that? I swear, if the Princes Ai series had been five books instead of three, there could have been some real golden development in there. Maybe even a non-rushed, non-forced plot. Oh well…


Takeshi's No Good, Very Bad Day

Chapter 1: The Day Begins...

There was a hotel in London that was an absolute marvel. It was the largest hotel in the country, with too many floors to count, snappy customer service, and a huge, grassy lot in the back that could be easily transformed into a stadium, as many famous folks over the years had. It was a landmark, the perfect place to perform.

And Hayabusa had decided long ago that his Princess Ai would have only the best. So he booked it.

It was the Princess Ai World Tour's first stop.


Talented people, Takeshi decided, Are all brats.

It wasn't a generalization. It wasn't a personal observation. It wasn't even an inaccurate statistic listed by the weather man.

It was a fact. A God-given fact.

Anyone with talent, especially the ones he was unfortunate enough to find, were spoiled, presumptuous, egotistical, pampered, indulged, accustomed to getting their way…had he mentioned that they were spoiled?

Because they really, really were.

Takeshi tried to think back; far, far, back in the day, when he'd been young (well…younger), reckless (or…more reckless), and kinda stupid (actually…yeah, the same amount of stupid), and tried hard to remember what had compelled him to first take this or any form of God-awful job under Hayabusa. There must have been a reason, right?

Because if there wasn't, then that would really, really suck.

A techie accidentally tripped over him. The poor guy got one good look at his face, and ran screaming.

Takeshi sighed.

People were too stupid to even check where their own feet were going.

Then again, maybe curling up to die in a narrow, backstage passageway wasn't such a good idea. The talent agent gave serious consideration to the idea of finding another resting spot…

…and decided that it wasn't worth the effort. He rolled over and decided to think about the upcoming schedule instead. Thinking about things like that always made him tired, and subsequently put him to sleep.

Even smack in the middle of a narrow, backstage passageway.

Someone was shaking his shoulder. Hard.

Takeshi hoped it was another techie so he could exert his wrath on the hapless shoulder-shaker without suffering consequences. He groaned when he saw it was Hiro, smirking down at him triumphantly.

"This really isn't the kind of place you should be resting in. I've been looking for you. We have a situation."

"Goody," Takeshi yawned. "I was just hankering for something else to add to my list of Happy Events."

Only straight-laced Hiro could take a comment like that with a straight face. "Indeed."

"Indeed," Takeshi mimicked back at him. "Please tell me it's not Ai."

Hiro sighed. "The Princess has found another matter to take up with you. Hurry up."

"Princess Bitch can wait," Takeshi growled. "I was having such a nice dream…"

"What kind of dream?"

"Well, Ai was dead…"

Hiro raised one eyebrow. "And?"

"And? What do you mean, and?" Takeshi asked, truly puzzled. "That was the dream." He sighed, sinking back into post-dream euphoria. "Man, it was a good dream…"

Hiro snorted, pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "Indeed."

Takeshi snorted back. "There you go again. Indeed." He stretched, and used the wall to pull himself up. "Okay. Let's get this bitch-fest over with."

Hiro pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "She's waiting for you in the hotel dining room. I suggest," His lip curled, "That you clean up before going to see her. You appearance will no doubt only give her more weapons in her arson to use against you."

Takeshi looked down at himself, and immediately realized that Hiro was right. The backstage hallway floor was coated with dust and filth, and now he was too.

"Right," He hissed. "On my way."

Hiro's sharp, Italian leather shoes tip-tapped on the floor as he turned and left Takeshi to his own devices. "How do you expect to execute Hayabusa's plan if you remain a mess like this? Get your act together."

"Thanks for the pep talk, mom," Takeshi snarled after him. The talent agent wasn't sure whether or not his coworker had heard him. Hiro had a funny habit of not dignifying snide insults with comebacks. Hiro always said he felt it simply wasn't necessary; Takeshi personally felt that Hiro just wasn't quick enough to rebound with a good one-liner.

Takeshi looked down again at his outfit. This was more damage than a simple brushing-down was going to fix…

Was there time enough to cram in a quick shower?


Okay, that was pretty short...the next chapter is a bit longer tho!