Soundwaves Octaves

By Confused Panda Bear

Track 3.

Swimming had always been good for Haru's mind.

There was not much to do in fifty metres but put his thoughts in order, which was always difficult when he had the compositions of three other musicians in his ear.

He had always been good at the sport, and if not for his aversion for swim meets or any kind of competition, he may have gone far and got the recognition he deserved.

So it was a good thing Haru was multi-talented enough to find something else that he could make a living off, and because he had his music, his morning swims became the leisurely time that he wanted it to be.

And then that girl came along.

Even as he swam, he was thinking of her.

Most of the time, he could keep a lazy rhythm without breaking stride, but today he was wheeling his arms like windmills and putting the other (rather alarmed) casual patrons to shame.

As he was finishing up for the morning, Makoto appeared at the starting end pool, lending an outstretched hand.

Panting, Haru ripped off his swimming cap and hauled himself out of the water.

"What were you trying to do?" Makoto asked as his friend doubled over onto his knees. "Beat the world record for the 100m freestyle?"

Haru grabbed a towel and scrubbed it though his hair.

"I was just challenging myself," he dismissed, and before Makoto could pick holes into his explanation, made for the changing rooms with haste.

"You didn't turn up to the personal training sessions again this morning," his friend followed after him nonetheless. "Gou-chan is pissed…"

Haru couldn't help but smirk.

He said it like that was supposed to scare him.

"...You know how she gets when she's mad, it's hard to contain–"

"–Makoto, the girl is like this tall," he gestured a flattened hand at his collarbone. "I'm sure I can handle her."

In a crazy moment, his mind conjured up all the ways he'd like to handle her: of pulling her up by the hips whilst she was on all fours, or having her on top so that he could watch.

Mortified, he pushed the sordid thoughts to the back of his mind and looked to Makoto as if to check that he had not somehow heard them.

Thankfully, he was too preoccupied with his locker combination to have noticed anything unusual.

"What is your problem with her, anyway?" Makoto asked, pulling on a t-shirt. "She's nice enough."

Haru silently contemplated his answer, staring into his gym locker as if he had no intention of actually emptying it.

"She's just so…"

Distracting.

"...young."

Makoto straightened up and faced him with raised brows, in the way that he did when he did not quite understand his logic, but endeavoured to humour him anyways.

"She's very competent for her age," he spoke, rather diplomatically. "And she does have some great connections..."

Haru scoffed, "that's only because she's a Matsuoka."

"Well, it'll really help if we want to get big–"

"–why is that so important all of a sudden?"

Makoto put his hands up in defence.

"I'm just saying – I think she's doing a great job. Rei and Nagisa think so too. She really wants this to work out for us, so maybe you should, y'know...cut her some slack?"

Following Haruka's outburst, the two changed into their casual clothes in silence.

Having been friends since they were toddlers, Makoto took no offence to whenever Haruka snapped at him. He knew he did not mean it. They had plenty of disagreements in the past and they always knew when it was time to back down.

Haru slammed his locker shut, pausing as he reached for his gym bag.

"It's her voice," he finally explained.

Makoto blinked.

"Her what?"

"Her voice," Haru repeated. "It irritates me."

He strode towards the exit without further explanation, leaving baffled Makoto in his wake.

He had to jog slightly to keep up with the man who was marching off with mission on his mind.

"Her voice?" he pressed. "What do you mean?"

"It just – gets in my nerves."

"It sounds pretty normal to me…"

Makoto could see that his friend disagreed simply by the way his jaw muscles flexed under his skin.

"Well, it isn't. It grates on my ears. And she insists on talking, all the time. Every word she speaks sounds like…"

She's asking me to fuck her until she screams my name and forgets her own.

"...a dying cat."

There was a slight delay before Makoto let out a laugh and Haru looked at him with no idea what he possibly could have said that was so funny.

"Alright, alright," he conceded, finally taking his sentiments into account. "If you feel that strongly about it, let's give it a month or so and decide as a group. How about that?"

Haru shrugged disinterestedly, knowing full well he'd be outvoted on any sort of debate.

Matsuoka Gou had that way with people – her preppy enthusiasm made you believe that anything was possible.

She had captivated the four of them in their first meeting. He could tell by the way the guys were looking at her, hanging onto her every word.

They acted like school boys amidst the prettiest girl in the class and even though Gou had been oblivious of their wandering eyes and their flirty comments, it was quite possibly the first time Haru had ever felt violent towards his band mates.

When Makoto told them about their new manager – a diligent, hard working woman who would whip them back into shape – he had not expected someone like her to walk into the room.

As irritating as she was, physically, she was appealing to him.

And he was still trying to wrap his head around why that was.

There was nothing particularly show-stopping about Matsuoka Gou except that she had these big, blinking set of eyes that were a such a unique shade brown, they almost looked a fiery red in the sunlight.

He liked her body, the way she moved with confidence in her own skin. When they had first met, she had been wearing a fitted pencil dress that skimmed her curves tastefully. It was office-like, professional, and not quite as appealing as that silver dress she wore at the launch event the other week, but that outfit had just been teasing him.

Maybe, it was combination of that and her coy, coquettish voice, switching from commanding and submissive within a span of a sentence. It was her laugh; and the little gasps she made when she was impressed by something she heard, were so electrifyingly erotic even though she did not mean it to be.

And it was driving him insane.

"Oh, by the way," Makoto recalled as they were walking out of the gym. "Are you free tonight? Gou-chan arranged a little outing for us, to get to know each other more. It'll be fun?"

Haruka shook his head, not knowing why Makoto bothered to ask.

"Too much effort."

A week after the launch event, Gou was still writing thank-you notes and email apologies to the guests who were not able to meet the 'famous' Nanase Haruka, after he had left the event early due to being 'taken ill' (which was to be read as: 'stormed off without telling anyone').

She was working diligently at her computer when Kunikida Ayumu – the most junior member of the High Speed! team – poked her head through her office door.

"Matsuoka-senpai," she said, voice apologetic. "Sorry to bother you. I just wanted to let you know that the table for tonight has been booked and paid for, as you asked..."

Gou shook her head and smiled up at her welcomingly.

Despite how busy she was, Gou had all the time in the world for Ayumu-chan.

The youngster joined Matsuoka Studio's fresh out of high school but was quickly proving to a valuable employee. She was recently promoted from unpaid intern to Gou's PA slash junior media analyst and maybe she was being a little biased, but Gou saw a lot of herself in the young recruit and was keen to take her under her wing.

"Thank you," she smiled. "I hope to see you there?"

Ayumu looked taken aback by her invitation, but nodded feverishly as if Gou would change her mind in a second.

As she hurried back to her cubicle, Gou secretly hoped to herself that the girl really did enjoy working for her, and not just her family name. She was a nice person and seemed genuine enough, and god knew that Gou needed an ally in an environment that was set to see her fail.

It was no secret that everyone in the office – everyone in the company, in fact – thought that she was under-qualified for the job.

Though no one dared to say it to her face, it was always eluded to in their condescending words of advice and brought up behind closed doors in management meetings.

She tried her best to ignore it, most of the time. It had always been her personal policy not to pay attention to unconfounded criticism.

Sure, she had seen the opportunity and used her connections to get her where she needed to be, but she doubted that anyone one of them would not have done the same, given the chance.

And it really was the best chance in the world.

Three years ago, High Speed! came out of nowhere as the new, up and coming band recording one chart-topping hit after another. But as quickly as they had appeared, they were gone – and with no straightforward explanation as to why.

It had been a PR nightmare. Thousands of fans were let down when they cancelled their nationwide tour, and though her studio had been thankful for the elimination of what was rapidly becoming a massive source of competition, they too mourned the loss of what was agreed to be a unique and brilliant talent.

When Gou heard that they were getting back together and seeking a new record deal, she knew that she had to get involved.

Of course, there was some push back.

Even though she had eventually been granted permission to approach the band by her grandmother, chairwoman of their studio, the elder woman had expressed her concerns with taking on a group whose previous record label had completely cut ties with.

But Gou knew their potential. They were still young, they still had a dedicated following, and their songs were still being played on the radio with royalties rolling in even after all those years.

Whatever might have happened back then, didn't matter now. She knew with their talent and the right management, they could reach that number one spot again – and had easily convinced Tachibana Makoto that she was the one to get them there.

So, despite the protests, the outrage from her older and more experienced peers, it had never really occurred to her that she may be out of her depth.

She had always dealt with whatever life threw at her as best she should, but on top of the challenges and other people's doubts – she now had to deal with Nanase Haruka, the thorn in her side.

Taking a break from her perpetually filled inbox, Gou sat back into her chair and wondered what she had achieved from their conversation on the balcony the other week.

Though the evening had ended on a bitter note, she had taken aboard his feedback and conceded to the fact that controlling every aspect of his life wasn't going to be the way forward in achieving a harmonious partnership.

After some counselling from Chigusa (who was always an advocate of "going out and letting loose every once in a while, Gou!") she came up with the idea of arranging a fun, night off for all of them.

It was supposed to be something that wasn't to do with band activities or writing music, to prove to Nanase Haruka, and maybe herself, that she was not the uptight, controlling bitch that he made her out to be.

Sadly, he was nowhere to be found at the swanky, all-expenses-paid club in Shinjuku that she had Ayumu book for them that evening.

And because of that, she was drunk by 10pm and venting her frustrations to anyone who would lend her an ear.

"Trust me, he doesn't...hate you," Makoto attempted to console her, though the uncertainty in his tone made Gou snort into her drink.

"Well, he can't possibly like me all that much either!"

The singer cringed.

"It just...Haru's a little sensitive. It takes a little time for him to warm up to new people..." he attempted at an explanation.

The comical image of a cat version of Nanase Haruka appeared in Gou's mind, and that was when she realised that maybe she had knocked back one too many vodka shots that night.

It did not help her state, when Nagisa, Ayumu and Rei returned with another round of drinks, just as she had emptied her last one.

"Haruka-senpai?" Rei interjected. "I didn't think he'd come, anyway. Clubs aren't really his scene."

Nagisa nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, and Haru-chan doesn't drink anymore. He probably didn't want to be a drag..."

Gou accepted the fruity cocktail Nagisa handed to her, grateful for the band's encouragement.

Considering that they knew Haru better than she ever could, their words gave her a little reassurance – even though she was still convinced that the man had some sort of personal vendetta to make her life as difficult as possible.

"You should just try to get to know him more," Makoto suggested. "He'll be easier to manage once you know what he'll agree to."

And with that, Nagisa handed out shot glasses filled with clear, potent liquid, and raised his hand high for a toast.

"Come on. Let's enjoy tonight while we're here," he announced cheerily, and his party nodded and agreed. "Cheers!"

An immaterial amount of time passed before Gou found herself in the ladies bathroom, struggling to re-apply her lip gloss.

The alcohol had started to play tricks with her depth perception, and things were starting to seem closer than they actually were.

She was genuinely enjoying the company of Nagisa, Makoto and Rei, laughing hard and dancing with them as if they were old friends – but as she stared at herself in the bathroom mirror, shoulders slumped, she realised that the absence of their guitarist had still put a downer on the entire evening.

Ayumu appeared in the mirror behind her, drying her hands with paper towel.

"Matsuoka-senpai?" she said. "Are you ready to go?"

Gou nodded, and looking back at her own reflection, strained her lips into a toothy smile.

She was being ridiculous. She should not stop herself from having fun, just because Nanase Haruka was not here to witness it.

"Sure," she said, grabbing her clutch bag. "Let's go."

By now, the club was almost at full capacity and the dance floor filling with bodies jolting to the flashing strobe lights and pumping bassline.

As she walked through the crowds back to their table, Gou lost track of Ayumu when a hand grabbed at her wrist and spun her around to face its owner.

He had dark, curly hair and a hipster-ish dress sense about him, and by the way he was maintaining eye contact whilst moving his limbs to the music, indicated that all he wanted to do was dance.

She looked around for her party but saw no sight of them nearby.

Dancing was strangers was something that Matsuoka Gou did not do, but maybe someone her age should, every once in a while.

One song won't hurt, she thought to herself, though it was difficult to keep track when the DJ switched between the tracks so seamlessly.

Encouraged by her enthusiasm, her dance partner grabbed her waist and pulled her towards him, grinding his pelvis against her backside. On any another day she would have pushed him away, but the music and the alcohol she had consumed had gone to her head and made her bold.

A song she liked came on and she raised her hands above her head and rolled her hips, thinking to herself that if Nanase Haruka were to see her now, would he change his mind about what he thought of her?

Soon enough, she caught sight of Nagisa and Rei walking across the dance floor and it was time to tell her partner goodbye.

"I'm here with work colleagues," she explained, holding him by his forearms. He almost looked upset. "I have to go. Sorry."

Not long after – and with some intervention from a very sensible Makoto – she was sent home in a cab shared with Nagisa a few minutes to midnight.

At this point, Gou was lying with her forehead pressed against the passenger window, as the motion of the car was sending her head spinning.

Nagisa patted the poor girl on the head, picking up on her disappointment in having held out with a hope that Haruka would show his face at the last minute.

"I don't know why he hates me, Nagisa-kun..."

"You should just talk it out with him," the blonde encouraged. "It's no good to anyone if you both continue on like this!"

Gou swayed in her seat, her inebriation making her more susceptible to Nagisa's perhaps foolhardy advice.

"You think so?"

"Yeah! Just give it to him straight," the blonde insisted. "Haru-chan's a smart guy, but he's a bit oblivious of how the way he acts might come across to other people..."

Gou appeared sceptical, unsure of how his deliberate defiance of her could come across as anything but being an asshole.

Sensing her apprehension, Nagisa leant in close and lowered his voice.

"If all else fails – between you and me," he cupped a hand around her ear, "you're totally his type! If anything, just use your sex appeal to get him to like you!"

Gou pulled away sharply and stared, wide-eyed at Nagisa's grinning face.

She felt her cheeks flush, a peculiar feeling simmering in the pit of her stomach.

It seemed impossible that someone like Nanase Haruka could ever find her attractive; but there was something in the way that he looked at her, how he would watch her from the corner of his eye, that convinced her that there was some truth in Nagisa's words.

Gou came from a family of famous, glamorous people after all, so she knew was not so bad looking – and the guy she had met on the dancefloor earlier had certainly shown an interest in her and her 'moves'.

Before she knew it, and before she could contemplate the reason why, Nagisa had turned in for the evening and Gou was directing her taxi driver on a detour to the Nanase residence.

He answered the door in jogging bottoms and nothing else and she completely forgot what the hell she was doing at his house in the first place.

"I...um..."

Even though he appeared surprised, Haru did not say anything – wearing only a slight scowl on his face that made his striking features even more angled.

In her dumbstruck stupor, he proceeded to appraise the girl in his doorway with a leisurely pursuit and despite her own intrusion, Gou crossed her arms across her stomach, all of a sudden conscious of the figure-hugging black dress she had chosen for the occasion.

It was almost unnerving that – even though he was not touching her – his gaze, which lingered on every part of skin he could see, could be so intimate. She swore she could feel his hands all over her, reeling her in.

At last, he inclined his head in a way that commanded an explanation and finally, Gou relocated her tongue.

"Haruka-sen–"

"–Did you really go out dressed like that?" he immediately and inevitably interrupted.

Gou held back a groan.

He was so pretty and shirtless tonight.

Why, oh why, did he have to open his mouth?!

"Look, asshole–"

She prodded him hard in the chest, his uncouth comment triggering the delayed recollection of how she really felt about Nanase Haruka.

"–I came over because I wanted to sort out your attitude towards me once and for all!"

Haru rubbed the sore spot she had assaulted, the bemused expression he wore only adding fuel to the already out of control flame.

Jesus Christ.

Did this girl come over here for a fight?

"Wait a second–"

"–I'm tired of being trying polite and professional when you don't have the courtesy to be either!" she continued, the volume of her voice rising dangerously high. "In fact, you have been nothing but rude and obnoxious ever since we started working together!"

"Look, Matsuoka. It's pretty late and–"

"–The thing is, I don't know what I've done that's been so terrible?!" Gou screamed over his protests. "I'm just doing my job! And I want to help you guys as best I can! I even arranged a great night out for us all, but you don't even have the courtesy to show up. Is this because I made you see a nutritionist this week?! Because all I wanted you to do was eat something besides mackerel–!"

"–What–?"

"–I know you don't think I'm qualified enough for the job but even then, you have no right to look down on me – just because I'm not some famous-musician-person like you! I'll have you know that I am extremely good at what I do and will be even better if you just – stopped being an ass!"

Gou heard a sob come from her throat, unaware in her frustration that she had started crying.

"I – I just want you and the guys to be the best!" she wiped her cheeks. "I need you to become the number one band in Japan!"

Haruka stood, welded to the spot, unsure of what to do with the drunk, crying girl at his doorstep in the early hours of the morning.

Gou, with her face in her hands, was void of all concern. Her tiny shoulders were convulsing with her sobs and as if by reflex, he hauled her into the warmth of his arms.

Her breathing became unsteady – from her near mental breakdown or from Haruka's proximity, she could not really tell.

All she knew – all that she could register – was that he was so, so close.

Closer than she had ever thought they'd be.

Peering down the long stretch of corridor and into his empty flat, Gou came to the belated realisation that no one else was around but them.

If he wanted to, Haru could do almost anything to her.

The thought should have scared her, but all she felt was a cautious kind of curiosity.

She risked a peek up at him and felt their faces drifting close.

What would it feel like to be kissed by him, she thought. Would he put as much passion into it as he did when he glared at her?

Nervously, she ran her tongue across her lips and watched him mirror the motion, his gaze fixated on her mouth.

His head lowered ever so slightly, eyes darkening with unmistakable lust.

"Kou," he said. "Do you want to come inside?"