Soooooo…I might've lied a bit XD I'm rating this story M because of a future lemon. What can I say? I was horny…
Now that I look back I don't really like this chapter…:sigh: Although the conversation between Kougaiji and Sanzo is my favorite dialogue I've written so far, I think. The lyrics are from yours truly, so please forgive their suckiness!
In this chapter, Kougaiji gets high from – singing?!? What the heck…?
Comments and reviews welcomed and loved!!!
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Kougaiji forced his way through the growing crowd. The smell of smoke and stale sweat hung upon the air, and alcohol flowed freely among the patrons. He felt like a drink himself. Maybe later.
Letting out a growl when a particularly stubborn person refused to move, he finally made his way to the backstage door. Wrenching it open, he strode in and slammed it shut behind him. Hushi, nicknamed 'the man behind the door' and was paid to politely stop anyone who wanted to disturb the band, nodded his shaved head to him. "Rough crowd out there, huh? I've had to stop a few myself."
"Yeah." Stepping past him, Kougaiji rounded the corner and was greeted by a familiar scene.
"Give it back!"
"Ha! Make me, you stupid monkey!"
Goku lunged at Gojyo, reaching in vain for a drum stick (no, not the food) held high above the other man's head. Hakkai stood off to one side, smiling. How he managed to constantly do that with this pack of fools Kougaiji would never know.
Sanzo was there as well, leaning against a wall with a cigarette poised between his lips.
"Sanzo."
"Kougaiji."
And then he saw him.
For some reason, some unfathomable reason, Kougaiji would think about the first time he saw the other man many times in the next few days. Their eyes met in a clash of gold and lavender. The other man raised an eyebrow and smirked. He wore a tight black tank top and low, deep green baggy cargo pants. Striding over to Kougaiji, he grinned and stuck out a tan hand. "My name's Dokugakuji. I'm the band's new singer."
Kougaiji felt his hand enveloped by the other's. "I'm Kougaiji." He considered the fact that if he was gay he would be strangely attracted to this man. But he wasn't, he was quick to add to that train of thought. Gay. Or attracted. Definitely not.
Damn it.
" – very long?"
"What?"
Dokugakuji grinned. "I said, have you known the other members for very long?"
"Oh…yeah, for quite a few years now." Had it really been that long? Where had his life gone? Where did he want his life to go? He hadn't thought about this question recently. He had always assumed he would live the rest of his life under Gyokumen Koushu's spiteful wrath, searching for ways to cure his mother. But what about a future? A family? A life after this?
"Kou! HEY!"
Blinking, Kougaiji grabbed Goku's wrist, which was being waved annoyingly in his face. "Man, Kou, you totally zoned out there! C'mon, we're about to start."
"Ah, ok." Heading back to the door, he inclined his head to Hushi and forced his way back into the crowd. He knew quite a few people in the mass; he'd seen them at previous shows and occasionally when he stopped by here to get drunk. He made his careful way through the crowd, smiling and nodding at those he knew in response to their greetings, and found a spot a little ways back from the stage, noting Sanzo standing off to his left a bit (still smoking).
Dokugakuji made his way onto the stage, tipping the mike stand close to him. "Hey, everyone. Your faithful band, Epsilon, sure to rock your night! Let's get started!"
The drums crashed behind him as Goku began to outline a beat, followed closely by Gojyo and Hakkai on the bass (Hakkai would so play bass, don't lie to yourself!).
Kougaij's finger found itself unwillingly tapping to the catchy beat. He didn't recognize the song. Had Dokugakuji written it?
Then the blue haired man himself opened his mouth and began to sing sensually.
What a mess I've made, my love
You take me in your arms
You tell me it's all right
But I can see the secrets in your eyes
Kougaiji found it hard to breathe, and he suspected it was more then the jostling crowd. God, he had a nice voice. Better then nice. Beautiful.
What a mess I've made, my love
The world comes crashing in
My mind is giving in
And yet, I start to lose you
His chest felt hot and tight as he stared openly at Dokugakuji, still singing. Should he be feeling this? What was this? Did it really matter anymore…?
What a mess I've made, my love
This castle of lies is crashing down
This glass wall falls to the ground
Still, I feel safe in your arms
There's no cause for alarm
It was sort of like getting drunk without the imminent hangover. Kougaiji noted his body swaying to the beat and his thoughts begin to lose coherency. He had no idea music could do this to him.
Onstage, Goku eased up on the drums a little, and Dokugakuji pulled the mike close once again.
A web you've weaved
So complex
Around me
You disrespect
The fact that I
Knew it all along
I knew it all along
Crash. The music consumed all of his senses, made him feel like his body was on fire and his thoughts were unimportant. But was it the music or…that voice?
What a mess I've made, my love
This castle of lies is crashing down
This glass wall falls to the ground
Still, I feel safe in your arms
But there may be some cause for alarm
What a mess I've made, my love
This castle of lies is crashing down
This glass wall falls to the ground
Still, I feel safe in your arms
I think there's cause for alarm
(softer)
What a mess you've made, my love
Shattered pieces on the floor
Lies scrawled upon the door
And I'm not coming back anymore
The end of the music was equivalent to a slap across the face, bringing Kougaiji back to Earth. He stood there, panting slightly, as cheers erupted around him. It wasn't that it hadn't been pleasant. It had been. Greatly. It was the fact that he had no control, that he craved more of it even now, that confused him. When someone said "music touched my soul" is that what they meant?
"Did you hear that?" one generic girl next to him whispered to another generic girl. "That was amazing. Their new singer's got a wonderful voice."
"Yeah," the other girl whispered back. "He's pretty cute, too." And they shared a giggle.
Kougaiji turned toward the bar. Definitely time for a drink.
The red-haired man lost himself in a blur of alcohol and music. By the time Epsilon's last song was finished, his mind was fizzing with the overload on his senses and the large amount of alcohol he had consumed. He was finding it slightly hard to focus, although this didn't overly concern him. Sanzo wandered over and sat next to him, obviously waiting for the other four to finish packing up and join him. The blond man had exchanged his cigarette for a cup filled with…something. Probably had alcohol in it, whatever it was.
He smirked. "I've never seen you drunk before, Kougaiji."
Lavender eyes glared. "I'm not drunk."
"Heh. Right. Whatever you say."
"Shut up, Sanzo."
"Ah, getting defensive, first sign of guilt."
"Go die."
"Pass. So, what do you think of our singer?"
Kougaiji buried his face in his arms folded on the bar so Sanzo couldn't see his face and the expression on it. "He's pretty good. I liked it."
"It?"
"His singing, I mean."
"Just his singing? You sure? Because I saw you staring at him with that fan girl look slathered on your face." Sanzo took a sip of his drink, his face expressionless. Or was that a smirk twitching at the edge of his lips? "The one where, as Gojyo so aptly puts it, you want to jump up on stage, rip his pants off, and – "
"Hey, guys!" Kougaiji looked up in time to see Goku rush into the scene and run smack into Sanzo. The drink he held was knocked out of his hand and sprayed everywhere.
"God dammit!" spluttered Sanzo, leaping up. Kougaiji wondered how he had been going to finish that sentence. There were quite a number of things you could do to someone once their pants were off. And a number of things you could do with their pants still on, too.
Kougaiji's eye twitched as mental picture after picture paraded past his mind's eye. It was jus the alcohol talking, that's all.
"You stupid monkey!" raged Sanzo. "You got it all over me!"
"I'm sorry, Sanzo!" cried Goku. Suddenly he brightened up. "I know!" He leaned forward and ran his tongue from Sanzo's collarbone up his neck and pulled away just before he reached the other man's lips.
A long silence fell between the six of them followed.
"W-what the fuck?!?" yelled Sanzo, pushing Goku away from him. Gojyo dissolved into shaking fits of laughter and Dokugakuji coughed delicately into his hand. Hakkai smiled.
Goku pouted. "What? I was just trying to help."
Gojyo slapped Goku on the back, letting out an explosive sigh of amusment. "Good times, good times."
Dokugakuji strode over and settled gracefully into the seat next to Kougaiji (which was miraculously empty) as Sanzo mopped up the mess with paper towels produced from somewhere (he is Sanzo, after all). He grinned over at Kougaiji. "Buy me a drink?"
"Huh? Oh, sure." Hailing the bartender, Kougaiji gave the drink to Dokugakuji and picked up his own.
"So? Am I any good?"
"Uh…" God, all he could think about was the way that voice snuck under his defenses to twang a cord somewhere inside his soul. "Yeah. You'll do." The understatement of his life.
"Heh, thanks, I think. Did you like the music?"
"Yeah, it was great. Hey, uh…did you write that first song?"
Dokugakuji laughed, looking a little embarrassed. "I did. It was just something I made up in my spare time, but when Goku heard me singing it he insisted we play it. Why? You like it?"
"I do…it was my favorite."
"Really?" Was he blushing? God, he was adorable. "Heh, thanks. That really means a lot to me. My parents…didn't really approve of me having a career in singing. But I've wanted to do it forever, so I tried not to listen to what they said. Sometimes, though, their words really hurt and I honestly considered giving up at times. I'm glad I didn't. Singing up there and knowing someone liked it…" He trailed off and laughed sheepishly. "Man, that sounded cliché. Sorry."
"No, it's all right. I get what you mean."
"What about me?" demanded Goku, shoving his way in between the two. "I was awesome too, right?" Then, continuing without getting an answer, "Yeah, I'm pretty I was."
"You wish, monkey," interjected Gojyo promptly. "Those ladies had their eyes all over me."
"Yeah, whatever."
"Jealous?"
"Pfft, hell no!"
"Liar!"
"Cockroach!"
"Monkey!"
Kougaiji let out a disgusted sigh as the fighting began again. Dokugakuji glanced over and chuckled.
"You haven't got used to that yet?"
"Just because I've gotten used to it doesn't mean I have to enjoy it," Kougaiji muttered.
"Hmm. I suppose."
Kougaiji glanced over at the clock, looked back, and then glanced over again. "Shit. Is it that time already?"
"What?" said Dokugakuji. "You gotta leave?"
"Yeah, I have to go to work tomorrow."
"Ah," was the sympathetic reply. "Too bad."
"Whaaaaat?" pouted Goku, magically appearing next to them. "Kou's gotta leave?"
"Yeah. Sorry. Look, I'll leave my cell phone on if you want to call me tomorrow, ok?"
"It's not the same," muttered Goku.
"Tch," said Sanzo. "It's not like he's moving or something. You can always go visit him."
Goku's face lit up. "Hey, you're right! Yay!"
"Damn it, Sanzo. You know I hate having visitors, and besides, Goku'll eat me out of house and home."
"Not my problem now," was Sanzo's smug answer.
"Eh, damn you, Sanzo…"
"Bye, Kou!" Goku waved.
"See ya!" added Gojyo.
"Good-bye, Kougaiji," said Hakkai.
Sanzo shot him a smirk which Kougaiji accepted with a double strength glare.
"See you around, Kougaiji." Dokugakuji grinned.
"Yeah, see you." Kougaiji turned quickly and strode out the door, hiding the slight blush on his cheeks. What the hell was wrong with him? He shouldn't be feeling this…
