Sometimes things don't always turn out the way you plan them to.
Takao Kinomiya was the type of guy who did things on the fly. When it came to just about everything, but "just about" isn't everything, you know? Nah, he was always consistent in one thing. Two if you count eating, but we're not going to count that.
When it came to music, Takao was always willing to do what he had to do. His friends would ask him if he studied for the exam that day, and he would just have a blank look on his face. "There was an exam today?" or something like that. But ask him about the latest rock bands and newest type of guitar, and he doesn't even need to think about it. One, two, three, hey I didn't even know they had gotten back together Takao! You're really up-to-date.
Loud, undistinguishable music was often heard from the Kinomiya household. Without any regard for neighbors or anything, windows thrown open and,
"AAAAAAAAAAAH FUC'D MAH FID'LICK RO'KKK MAAAANNNNNN"
It wasn't something very nice to hear when you were out taking your baby for a stroll. Or just in general. Really, it wasn't music. More like screaming and gibberish and the destruction of several wooden objects. Takao was the only one in the neighborhood that could actually understand the song at all. No one else had a clue.
Or maybe he just pretended to know what the lyrics were. No one bothered to question him. Not because they weren't curious (grandpa was most of all, he wasn't sure if his grandson was listening to "bad" music or not), but because he had the habit of going off on a tangent when it came to his strange music taste. And really, after a while it got boring.
So in school, Takao didn't have many friends. He had some but none that he really enjoyed talking to. The boy's favorite topic was music, and… well. Everyone else just wanted to talk about this girl who wore this bikini at that boy's party. Takao wasn't all that interested in girls (which worried grandpa deeply) anyway. Mostly he listened to music at lunch with those little ear-bud headphones while Andrew talked about one of his most recent crushes. Takao nodded his head with the beat while he listened to his music so his good friend Andrew remained none-the-wiser.
But that all changed when Takao met the Chief.
He was this tiny nerd in school that he had never noticed before. Well, can you blame him? He was so caught up in music that his head were in the clouds and the Chief was tiny and mousy. And not (noticeably) musically inclined. Meeting the chief was such a random thing too; Takao might not have met him at all if he hadn't been drawn to the school roof one afternoon.
A bunch of boys were jamming on guitars, having something of a competition. Whoever could produce the best beats was deemed the winner. When you can play the guitar, if you play well, you play well. It wasn't something questioned.
"Hey, guys! Why didn't anyone tell me there was a guitar competition? I would have brought mine!" He has a cheery tone, which contrasts with the seriousness of the situation. The boys send him sharp looks and glance at one another, almost uneasily. "But I guess I can borrow someone's. I'm so good, I don't need to be used to the guitar I use!" he boasts while placing his hands on his hips. A dramatic pose. Takao has a thing for those.
"… Takao. These guys are good."
The voice is light (almost like a falsetto) and one he doesn't really recognize. He raises a brow and smirks a little bit; this kid simply reeks of confidence. "Well, that's good then! Because I'm good too. Better, probably!" He gets some more glares thrown at him, but they bounce off of him easily (too cool for your school, don'tchaknow).
One guy throws him a bone. "Oh yeah? How long you been playing?" This is Carlos. Takao thinks that he might be Mexican, but he's not really sure. "Long enough," is Takao's retort as he eyes Carlos up. He's the one who has been winning all the battles, it seems. All the other boys are submissive to him and don't look at him, let alone look at him in the eye.
But Takao does. Either he's very, very brave or very, very stupid.
Probably the last one.
Carlos smirks and picks up his guitar, and Takao wants to laugh. It's a trashy thing; it looks like he picked it up from a garbage can. It had years, though. And Carlos had probably been practicing with it since he began playing (it had some scribbles on it too, like carlos loves the singing sharks!!!, and kai is aweshume. Whoever those people were).
"Wait, Carlos!"
It's that falsetto again. Takao turns and looks at the little nerd with an eyebrow arch. He's nervously typing away on his little laptop computer (were they even allowed to bring those to school?), but he finally closes it after a minute and stands up. And he walks right up to Carlos.
"You wouldn't want to play any more today, Carlos. You've already been playing for the past two hours! It would be bad if you damaged your hands, wouldn't it? Give it a rest!"
The kid had spunk. Takao likes him already.
Carlos takes what the little nerd said into consideration, and then nods his head. "You're right. 'Sides, me ruining my beautiful playing hands ain't worth it." He tucks his guitar back into its case glances back at Takao from over his shoulder. The other kids have scattered by this point, but they've all left their instruments behind. Takao wonders why, and for a second, he thinks they might be coming back.
But then Carlos pulls out a white bag and throws everything in. "… You play for instruments?" Takao asks, feeling a little bit angry and stunned at the same time. Why would they do something like that? "That's how we roll," was Carlos's only response before he pushes past the Chief and Takao. And in an instant, he's gone.
"… Who is…we?" Takao mutters, but then he turns his attention to the Chief. "… Hey, thanks."
The Chief shrugs his shoulders. "You didn't know the rules of Carlos's game. He'd have bothered you for days for your best instrument if you had lost, and you wouldn't have been able to play your best on someone else's piece." Takao nods his head and eyes the Chief with a bit of respect. "You're right. That wouldn't have been cool, let me tell you! … Before I forget to ask, how do you know me? You said my name before, right?" The Chief nods his head and looks up at Takao, but Takao can't see his eyes from beneath those thick bangs (…he did have eyes, right?).
"I know you. You're always in the music room, right? We're in there at the same time!"
"…" Takao blinks. "… I've never noticed you before! Weird, haha! I guess I just get so caught up in the music…" The Chief only shakes his head and holds his hands up, "Oh, don't feel bad! Not many people notice me…" Takao grins and grabs the Chief's hand and shakes it with extreme vigor. Oh, poor chief. His arm might break. But he seems to enjoy it. He doesn't have many friends, either.
"What should I call you?" Takao asks, finally letting go of the poor boy's arm (is that a bruise growing?). The Chief shakes his arm and he has this peculiar little smile on. "… Chief! The Chief. I don't like my real name so much," he says cheerfully, "and I think you're a really good guitarist, Takao!"
Takao rubs the back of his neck and flushes with pleasure. He likes compliments, he likes them a lot. "Do you play, Chief?" he asks with interest (finally! He's beginning to find people who like music!) and the Chief nods his head. "Come with me, I'll show you – er, play you some of my music!" the shorter boy says and turns. Takao follows him down the steps (watch out, wet floor!) and to the music room.
The music room isn't too far from the stairs to the roof, so they don't have to start an awkward conversation or anything. Nothing is worse than awkward small-talk. Except for maybe having to help grandpa with his sponge baths. Okay, no. That second one was a lot worse. But small-talk is definitely up there.
They walk into the room silently and Takao approaches the school guitar (it's really crappy but he loves it anyway), and the Chief walks over to a huge set of equipment that Takao has never even touched. There are knobs and discs, speakers and screens and… basically, this thing is very intimidating. And large.
The Chief pulls himself up onto a stool and pulls at some of the knobs. Takao heads on over, a little timid because if he breaks this thing he'll have to pay for it, and stands behind the Chief. "What does it do?" he asks as he cocks his head to the side. The Chief points to the discs and knobs, and begins to rattle off a list of technical terms that go flying right over Takao's head.
"And this…" he continues, and Takao has to stop him. "Chief, I gotta be honest with you. I didn't understand a single thing of that." To prove his point, he makes hand motions to show that the words have flown right over his head. The Chief laughs and shakes his head. "I guess it would be better to just show you, huh?"
He quickly begins to turn some of the knobs and the records with such expertise that Takao could only guess at how long he had been practicing at this machine. And before he can count to ten, he begins to hear it. A soft sound at first, but quickly followed up with a faster beat and. Well, to put it bluntly, it was nothing like Takao had ever heard before. And it was all made with a computer.
The Chief grins when he sees Takao's expression (cue the jaw drop and round eyes) and begins to play faster, and the techno music bounces off the walls and just swirls around them. Takao stays silent through the whole song, the boy is so mesmerized (picture a kid in a candy shop with twenty bucks). On the screens bright colors are swirling in tune to the Chief's tunes, and the room even seemed brighter. Who knew music could have such an effect?
"Wait, Chief, wait!" Takao cuts in quickly and the Chief abruptly stops his playing. "What is it, Takao?" he asks with wide eyes (not that Takao can see his eyes), "is something wrong?" Takao shakes his head no and begins to flail his arms, his face flushing with excitement and pure joy. The Chief blushes against his will, no one has ever had such a reaction to his techno music. Most people just ignore him and pay even less attention to his music.
But Takao was different. He was the type of person that truly could appreciate someone else's work and be happy for them. The Chief felt something warm bubble up into his chest, and wondered what it was (did he eat something bad? Maybe it was that chili). Takao practically flies across the room to get at the school guitar. "Oi, Chief! Let's play together, okay?"
The Chief's is silent for a moment, but just for a moment. "R-Really..?" he asks as he tilts his head to the side and studies Takao, "You want to play with me?"
"Of course! Man, that was amazing, oh my God!" Takao is beginning to go on one of his infamous tangents, but the Chief doesn't mind. He smiles and grabs his knobs again, "Then lets do this, Takao! One..two…!"
Takao grips the guitar and swings the strap over his shoulders, "Hey, hey! Give me a minute, Chief!" he laughs, "this thing is old. I don't wanna snap a string by just beginning to pound on it without warning." The Chief blushes in embarrassment and rubs the back of his head, "Heheh. I guess I just got so excited that…"
"Don't worry about it, Chief. We'll be playing together a lot for now on, yeah? So let's take it slow, and rock!"
The Chief is stunned for a second (this guy! He just knows how to find what the Chief really wants, doesn't he?) but quickly recovers. Takao… he was an interesting guy. His life was going to change. For the better.
Takao grins to himself as he tunes the guitar. Finally! Things are beginning to look up.
"You ready, chief?" Takao asks as he pulls out his favorite guitar piece. It's got a picture of a dragon on it, his favorite animal. He strums the guitar and plugs the chord into the amp. "All set!" the chief replies with a twinge of nervousness, but only a twinge.
They sounded terrible together.
But to them, it was the best thing in the world.