Track 2: The Set-up
Ichigo groaned and slapped himself in the forehead. "Ok...For the last time, when you pluck the string, remember to hold down your finger on the fret- I mean...that little rectangle on the neck."
Rukia nodded and held a finger down on the thickest string on the third fret. Her other hand held a black pick which hovered closer to the string. When it did, miraculously, Rukia did not let go of the fret. A deep note played and she squealed excitedly.
"Yay!" Ichigo said sarcastically. "It only took three and a half hours!" He lay back on his bed and sighed.
"Shut up! I had never even seen a guitar until today! This is the best I can do!"
"Well if you want to make it big, then you have to learn quicker, other wise it will take a whole year until you learn a riff."
"What's a riff?"
"Oh for fucks sake!!" Ichigo slammed his head into the wall and then grunted when the pain started. Rukia handed him an ice pack which she had been using for her nose earlier. Ichigo took it reluctantly and held it against his head. "Can I play for a while? You haven't let go of it since I gave it to you about three hours ago." Rukia handed him the guitar and lay back on the bed.
"One day...I'll be a great guitarist like Kirk Hammet..." Rukia stared off into space.
"Wait! How the hell did you know about him?! I never even told you!" Ichigo tilted his head in confusion.
"I did some research while you were gone. Impressed." Rukia folded her arms and smiled confidently.
"No. You can't even play smoke on the water!" Before Rukia could ask the question, Ichigo played the simple riff and grinned. Rukia stared at him as he had just turned water into wine.
"Wow!" Rukia clapped. It made Ichigo feel amazing, when really, he had done nothing. "Teach me!"
"What?! I just taught you for ages! I just want to play solo for a while!" Ichigo's face went red. He felt childish, arguing over the guitar like two kids over a video game. He sighed and gave in.
Lesson two begins...
AN HOUR LATER
Ichigo collapsed to the floor and cried. "Why is it so hard?!" He wiped the tears from his eyes and stared at Rukia. "Would tab help?" Rukia opened her mouth and Ichigo cursed. "Okay, I'll ask again, would writing this out help you?" Rukia nodded uncertainly and Ichigo walked over to his computer and typed frenziedly. After a few seconds, he stepped away and showed her the screen.
Tablature was scrawled all over and Rukia stared at it. "Is that the top one or the bottom?"
"Top string is on the bottom." Ichigo replied, while considering bashing his head against the wall again.
He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.
How long is this going to take?
He must have been dreaming. He heard the song played perfectly on the first try. Ichigo's eyes shot open wide and he stared at Rukia. "Play that again!" Rukia did so, and again played flawlessly. "Is it possible that you learn ten times better when you read tab?"
Rukia shrugged.
"Okay...play this then." Ichigo put in a search for a different song, scrolling down the tab until he came to a complicated solo. Rukia just looked at it with a blank stare for a minuted and then down at the guitar. She then slowly played the first two bars before speeding up completely. Her fingers danced along the neck and tapped feverishly. She played it without stuffing up once and played the whole thing.
Ichigo's jaw dropped. "What the hell?! I can't even play the solo from 'one' and you just did it perfectly!! I've been playing guitar two years more than n you and...and...you beat me..." Ichigo sulked. "You're already Kirk Hammet..." Ichigo rose slowly to his feet and took a deep breath. For a moment, he looked calm and reserved, until...
"DAMMIT!" Ichigo roared in a deep and demonic voice. Rukia froze.
"Whoa! Did you hear yourself just then?!"
"Well I'm pissed off! I've been-" Ichigo was interrupted.
"No, no! When you yelled then...it sounded like a death growl!"
"Really?" Ichigo's face lit up like a match.
"Try it again!" Rukia insisted.
"I can't...I think I need to be angry..." Ichigo placed a finger on his chin as he thought. Rukia rolled her eyes and played another complicated solo. Ichigo clenched his fists and unleashed another guttural scream.
"You know, if you can do vocals, and I can play guitar...we could really start a band!!" Rukia's eyes sparkled with a child-like hope.
"We can't...A metal band has at least four members..." Both looked at their own feet and frowned. For a while, their hope had been shattered until...
THE NEXT DAY
A large poster was hung over the front fence to the Kurosaki clinic. It read: 'Band members wanted, auditions today.' A pentagram was painted as the dots on the two 'i' in the word auditions. It written with runny, red paint which resulted in a message which appeared to be written in blood.
Rukia smiled triumphantly at her friend. Ichigo stared at the poster in awe.
"Wow. That actually looks good, which is surprising considering how bad you usually are at art- oof!" Ichigo was slapped roughly across the cheek and he felt tears well in the corner of his eye.
"Now we wait!" Rukia watched cars drive past silently.
"I was thinking..." Ichigo interrupted her simple game. "Maybe you should have written 'BYO drums, bass, synth etc.'"
"BYO?" Rukia turned to him with a confused frown.
"Bring your own. I mean we only have a guitar...unless..." Ichigo never finished the sentence, instead running inside.
Inside Yuzu was folding laundry. She screamed when Ichigo crept up on her, panting heavily.
"Yuzu!! I need some more money!!"
"Why? You already borrowed so much only yester-"
"Shut up for a second!" Ichigo snapped rudely. "I need a drum kit...for school." He added quickly. "The kid who was going to buy them, he was mugged in an alley, so he can't buy them now, so I said I would!" He yelled frantically.
Yuzu tilted her head and frowned, but still handed him the key to the safe. Ichigo giggled like a schoolgirl and ran off again.
Ichigo returned to the music shop at the mall, again with a full wallet, but now with a huge bulky friend with him. Chad looked around dazedly and sighed.
"You still haven't explained why you brought me." Chad muttered.
"I need you to carry something for me." Ichigo replied, handing a bass guitar to him. He then handed the giant brute a large box containing a keyboard. He shoved Chad to the counter and paid for the items, much more calmly than before. As Chad walked off, instructed to go to Ichigo's house, the orange haired boy remained behind.
"You got drums?" Ichigo asked casually.
"Uh, yeah!" The cashier waved a hand to the entire wall lined with them.
"Good, you got little kiddies kits...but I'm looking for something...bigger."
"You mean double bass and all the extras? We have them too."
"Perfect! I'll take it!" Ichigo rubbed his hands in anticipation.
"Where are you getting all the money for this from kid? Do you deal drugs or something?" The cashier asked, concerned.
"No, I've just saved for a long time." Ichigo answered quickly. "Now, where are those drums?" Ichigo was led to another room where the huge drum kit was assembled. Ichigo grinned broadly and handed a large pile of cash to the man. "I'll take them!"
*****
HALF AN HOUR LATER
Rukia sat in the gutter, head in her hands. No-one had arrived yet.
"Grrrraaaaaagggghhh!!" An extended growl carried on from the distance. Rukia looked in the direction of the sound and noticed a truck driving quickly down the road with an orange haired maniac hanging out the window roaring like a demon.
"Ichigo? What is he doing?!"
The truck rolled to a stop and Ichigo rolled out of the cabin and ran to the trailer. He and three other men unloaded a massive fourteen piece drum kit. A few minutes later, Chad jogged up to them and unloaded a bass and a keyboard.
"Bring on the auditions!" Ichigo shouted.
"Yeah, when they decide to come! We haven't had anyone arrive for an hour now!" Rukia sulked.
"It doesn't happen right away. Sometimes you have to wait...and waiting will be fine, because we have all this!" Ichigo waved a hand to the new equipment.
"Ichigo, how could you possibly afford this? How much did all this cost?!"
"Oh, a few bucks...not too much." Ichigo shoved the issue aside. Now come on! Let's try it all out!"
Suddenly, a loud yell from inside startled them both.
"What?! What do you mean our bank accounts are all empty?!" It was Yuzu.
Rukia glared at Ichigo who had turned whiter than a sheet.
"Ichigo!! Where are you?!" Yuzu roared.
"Hide me!!" Ichigo looked around frenziedly and dived into a hedge garden on the neighbours lawn.
Well, manga-loving metalheads...I hope you are enjoying this story. Please review, I'm sure you have something to say.
