Takumi's face is blank. His eyes are calculating. Shin's cigarette smoke permeates the stale air.
Anger can clearly be detected on Nana's face "I told you not to smoke"
"Ren's smoking,"Shin points out"but i guess it's okay cause he's your man." Nana scoffs at his reasoning "I never knew you were such a pushover" Shin mocks.
Nana stands up in indignation"Listen up, pipsqueak. Under age smoking is against the law"
"But you started smoking when you were a teenager"Nobu pipes up. Nana glares at him.
"What's with this sudden no smoking kick. It's such a drag. No one else seems to want in on it."
"Yeah, why do you need to quit?I know lot's of singers who smoke, and they-"
"It's not about that."Nana cuts in. She looks around, and then leans in, as if telling them a secret. Everyone leans in slightly, anticipating the worst "My roomate is coming back from a business trip. She doesn't like smoking."
Nobu's confused look is used by all other present band members "Hachi?"
Nana shakes her head. "No. Lilith"
The door swings open, and heels clacking against the wooden floor is audible. The door is wide open by the time Takumi looks over. A young woman stands in the doorway, appearing to be talking to herself. A dark grey tailored blazer lies perfectly on her shoulders, buttoning together, revealing a white blouse 's wearing a matching pair of flared dress pants that just barely brush the ground, covering the heels she has on. This causes her to look taller than she really is.
Her hair is a dark blonde, falling in thick, long waves to her lower back. The woman's eyes are a cold blue. She explains to her client all of the risks of completing the surgery.
"I sincerely apologize, but there seems to be an issue with some medication. Is it okay if i call you back tomorrow morning?"She feigns an issue.
The speaker replies inaudibly.
"Great, Thank you."Her voice is grateful, but her expression is blank.
She flips her hair back, revealing a black ear piece. She rapidly taps the ear piece twice.
She turns toward the table the group plays cards at "What do you want for dinner Nana?"
The woman in question raises her head as to look over Takumi "The American Naporitan stuff you made last month"
The woman, Lilith, nods in acknowledgement. She turns her back to the table. She pulls food from the freezer and cabinets. A pot of water is set to boil with noodles inside, and a burner is lit to cook the meat. Lilith sautés the meat, and then pours in homemade spaghetti sauce.
At this point, everyone is staring at the mysterious woman. Shin is in awe at her professionalism. Here she is, making dinner for a almost two whole rock bands, yet she still manages to look as composed as ever. His admiration is short lived, as Nana jabs him in the ribs with her elbows when Lilith's back is entirely turned. In response, he scowls at her.
"Nana,"Lilith scolds over her shoulder "It's not nice to do that."
Ren's jaw drops at her reaction. It's like she has eyes on the back of her head.
Nana looks down at the ground, mumbling a brief "sorry."
Lilith turns to view the group, satisfied at her apology. Shin blinks rapidly, an odd look overcoming his expression. He stares at the girl, and cocks his head to the side. A knock sounds at the door.
Lilith halts in her cooking, looking at the door in recognition "I've got it."
She unlatched the door, making the presence behind the door known.
The form drops everything in their arms, gaping at Lilith. A distinguishable sharp intake of breath can be heard from the being on the other side of the door. A squeal resounds through the apartment. Thin arms wrap around Lilith's neck, nearly choking her. The woman in pain shifts uncomfortably. The pain is in no way foreign, pain and her could even be considered old friends, but that doesn't make it any less unpleasant.
Shin snaps out of his reverie "I win" He states simply "6,000 from each of you."
This transfer's the group's attention to Shin
"No way!Come on, give me a break" Nobu cries
"He isn't kidding either. He's really done it. But we could do with less of the attitude" Takumi adds.
"Damn him. If we were playing sevens, i'd be winning." Ren says angrily
"What the hell is sevens?"Shin asks confusedly
Ren elaborates "This card game the band's really gotten into. We play every night when we're on tour."
Takumi mentally rolls his eyes bashfully "It's all Naoki's fault for bringing along a pack of cards along in the first place. I mean, this is a serious, professional tour, not some school field trip."
Nobu laughs obnoxiously loud.
Shin looks at Ren"So, this sevens game, is it fun to play?"
Takumi sneers "Seriously, you don't know?"
"What kind of life have you been living if you haven't played sevens at least once."Ren says
Nobu nods in agreement "Yeah, shin. What kind of life have you been living?"
"I think you guys should teach me how to play. I'm bored with mahjong anyway." Shin reasons
"Now way, man. I'm sick of playing sevens."
Lilith serves the food on a white plate, placing it in front of Nana.
"If any of you want to try it, serve yourself" She sniffs.
Lilith plucks the cigarette from Shin's mouth, leaning toward him."Stop smoking, kid"
Shin gulps, nodding slowly, his eyes wide. Lilith turns to Ren, who is nervously scratching the back of his neck. She removes the cigarette from his mouth as well.
"I'll be taking this." Ren is frozen."Now, hand over your cigarettes."At their blank looks, she snaps more forcefully."Now!"
Ren and Shin fumble with the packs, before handing them over to her. Lilith smiles sweetly.
"Yasu, Nana.."She states expectantly.
Nana gives in immediately. Yasu frowns at Nana's weakness, and hesitates before dropping his cigarettes in her hand.
Lilith enters her room, meanwhile, Hachiko fantasizes by herself.
The friends stare after Lilith.
"What's up with her?"Takumi questions.
Nana shrugs"Not sure. I haven't known her long. All i know is, she's foreign and she's a doctor"
"That must be why she doesn't like us smoking" Shin murmurs, mostly to himself.
The evening continues normally with screams and shrieks of laughter filling the apartment. Everyone hassles Yasu for his relationship with Reira, and Hachi grows more distant from everyone as the night goes on.
Lilith sighs, feeling a weight lift off her lungs. She sets up an outfit for tomorrow. Tomorrow is one of the few days off she has this year. She's still on call though. Sometimes, she just hates having to support her family. It's not that she doesn't love them, but it's difficult to devote all of her time to medicine, sacrificing everything familiar to her.
The outfit doesn't look right. The blacks of her articles of clothing are different shades. One, Raven, and the other, switches the blazer for a darker one, her mouth twitching upwards when she sees the final result. Now, what to do about shoes. She should go easy tomorrow. Some 4 inch boots should be acceptable.
She looks out the window, studying the clouds. It might rain tomorrow. Lilith unlocks the window, cracking it to feel the air. When she feels it, her suspicions are reassured, it will definitely rain tomorrow. Lilith digs through her closet until an umbrella is visible. Good, almost done. Now, hair and makeup has to be planned.
A gold eyes shadow might look good, with no glitter particles, of course, just shimmery. The glitter always makes such a mess. She's learned from that mistake.. Maybe a dark red matte lipstick. That sounds nice, just add a few other elements and she's ready for bed.
About half an hour later, she has planned everything, and completed her night routine. Time for sleep. Lilith slips under dark grey sheets and matching grey cover. The scent of the fabric softener makes her eyes droopy. The rhythmic beating of the fan lulls her to sleep.
3 hours later, Lilith is woken from her slumber when a loud beeping sounds through her room. She looks around groggily, fumbling to locate her pager. It's around here somewhere,got it. Lilith presses a button to silence it. She yawns, stretching and making a quiet whining sound. Time to start the day. Time for work.
Less than 30 min later, Lilith exits her room, only to be met with the faces of many guests. All of them friends of both Nanas.
The talking halts when the woman enters the space. Shin blinks rapidly.
"I'll be back at around noon"Lilith dismisses Nana's unspoken concerns.
Her heels click loudly when she walks.
"To work?"Hachi questions. She doesn't answer."Isn't that unhealthy?You need more sleep."
"You do this almost every night, Lilith" Nana says
Takumi is surprised at that revelation. She's a workaholic.
"Nana, Hachi" She warns "I know what is healthy and what is not healthy for me. You have no need to voice your concerns. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself"
The pair and everyone else present are taken aback by her seriousness.
The woman turns away from everyone, continue to walk to the door. Hachi's eyebrows furrow in concern. The door closes behind the doctor. Her heels resume clicking after she stops to calm herself. The group stares at the door until the sound fades away.
"Huh" Ren grunts."Your turn"
Shin looks up, and then takes his turn.