Track One

"I'm so psyched to go see the Bad Luck concert!"

My friend Miyuki laughed at my excitement. "You just saw Shuichi!"

I giggled. "I know, but because he's so busy with Bad Luck, I can't seem to see him anymore." I shrugged, then smiled. "Oh well. If you don't like it, then you can stay home with Arlene." I said, referring to her little sister.

She gave me "the look," which made me laugh. "Of course I'll come with you, Tukiyo."

"Good. That's what I like to hear!" I grabbed my car keys from my dresser and went outside, Miyuki following me. "I wonder if they're at the studio?"

I heard Miyuki's sigh behind me. "You are obsessed with Shuichi!"

I laughed. "Yep!"

"Tukiyo..." she laughed, unable to keep a straight face any longer. "Are you going to invite him out to eat?"

"Probably. You want me to invite Hiro, too?" I grinned at her, knowing she'd hurt me for what I was going to say. "I know how much you like him."

She wacked me on the back of the head. "Shut up!"

I cranked up my car and sped off, toward the N-G Pro Studios. My Bad Luck CD Shuichi had given me blared loudly out of my open windows. The air was filled with the never-released CD. It wasn't due to be released until October, 2 months from now. Shuichi had given me the CD as an early, early Christmas present, and I absolutely adored it.

We pulled up into the studio parking lot and I parked in the front. Shuichi met Miyuki and me at the door, excited to see us.

"Tuki! You came to see me!" he said happily. "Are you guys coming to our concert tomorrow night?"

I nodded. "Yep, I sure am! Miyu is coming too, I think."

"Yes, I'm coming." Miyuki said, squeezing my shoulder with irritation. "You should know that by now."

"Okay. I'm just giving you a hard time." I smiled at her. She rolled her eyes, cracking a small smile, then pushed me gently into Shuichi, who caught me. He hugged me tightly to him.

"Come on, Tuki! Let's go sing a song!" he said. I laughed following his lead.

Shuichi Shindou is my best friend. We grew up together, living next door to each other our whole lives. He's a year older than I am so we went to school together as well. When he started the band, though... I got used to it.

"Hey, Tukiyo! What's up?" Hiroshi Nakano greeted us, putting his guitar down and coming to give us a hug. "Miyuki, I'm surprised you came."

"W-why do you say that?" she stammered, laughing nervously. She definitely can NOT hide a crush very well. She cleared her throat. "I usually come every time Tukiyo comes."

"Except last time!" Shuichi piped up cheerfully. "And the time before that, and the time before that..."

Hiro laughed. "Yeah, you haven't come the last couple of times. We've been worried." he smiled at her. I glanced at her face and could barely contain my laughter. She looked dazed.

"Miyu, snap out of it!" I whispered. "It's obvious..."

She blushed almost immediately. "Sorry. I've been working a lot. I'm not a bum like Tuki here."

"Hey, I'm not a bum," I protested. "I work."

"Only when you come here! You sing duets with Shuichi," she replied. "That's about it."

"Hey, I help their songs become hits! I advertise their new albums." I nodded to emphasize it. "Yep."

Shuichi laughed and put an arm around my shoulders. "Yes!"

"So, what are we working on today?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Well, we're going over the songs for tomorrow," Hiro answered. "I'm guessing you're coming, right, Tuki?"

"You bet! Anything to see my itty widdle Shu-Shu sing his heart out!" I teased. Shuichi laughed.

"You're singing too, right?" Hiro said, catching me off guard. "Or has Shuichi not said anything about it?"

"Haven't heard anything." I replied.

"Shuichi, did you even call her?" Hiro said.

He chuckled sheepishly. "Well, that's funny, cause I was gonna call her today..."

"Shuichi!" Hiro and I said at the same time. Miyuki was too busy laughing. "You really need to think about these things."

"So what do you say?" Shuichi asked me.

"Sure, I guess. Just... I don't know what I'm singing."

"Well find something," Hiro said quickly. "At least we have somebody to depend on."

"We can depend on Nittle Grasper!" Shuichi protested.

"Not Ryuichi! I mean..." Hiro looked at me for help in his lie. I laughed. "Yeah. We don't know if Nittle Grasper is going to show up."

"THEY WILL!" Shuichi insisted. "I talked to Ryuichi not too long ago!"

"Like when?" Hiro asked.

Shuichi frowned. "Earlier today."

I laughed. "Okay, guys. Whether Ryuichi Sakuma shows up or not, we have to continue the show."

"Ooh, look who's running the show now boys," said an unfamiliar voice from the doorway. "A very, very cute little lady."

I blushed in spite of myself. "You're very flattering, sir."

He smiled at me, putting his gun down and walking our way. He winked at Miyuki. "Hey, I'm Bad Luck's manager, K."

I nodded. "Awesome. I'm Shuichi's best friend, Tukiyo." I pointed to Miyuki. "And that's Miyuki."

K nodded and looked at Miyuki. "Hello."

"Hey, if you don't mind me asking... where are you from?" I asked K.

He grinned. "I'm from the United States.

"So you're American."

"Yeah."

"Cool!" I said, grinning.

He gave me a funny look. "Aren't you?"

"Aren't I what?"

"Aren't you American, too?"

"My parents are– I'm not. I was born and raised her. 100% Japanese," I answered. I noticed Miyuki had busied herself talking to Hiro. "A lot of people ask me that because I can speak English, too."

"Interesting," he mused. "Cane you also sing in English?"

"Of course I can," I said. "I can sing in English, Japanese, French, and Russian. My parents wanted me multilingual."

"You're an interesting person," he said. "Beautiful. Smart. Talented."

My face felt like it was flaming. He was a flirt! "Um, K?"

"Yes?"

"Gather up your boys. We're going out to eat."