Chapter Three

Ryuko followed the girl downstairs along with the rest, Saki slightly stumbling as they reached the living room, Kiyoshi looking reluctant and obstinate. "Are you ready to buy my silence, Kiyoshi Uesugi?" He glared at his sister through his black bangs. "I'm only doing this because you're a brat. And you won't leave me alone unless I do this!" He pulled a large frown. "How am I supposed to get you looking like Ryuichi Sakuma if you make that face?" Usagi asked, frustrated. Ryuko's eyes widened. Look like Ryu-What? She watched as Usagi walked over to the far side of the livings room and reached up to pull down on a string hanging next to the wall. The wall scroll unfolded, revealing her biological father himself in all his glory. Ryuichi stood in tight jeans and a white ruffled shirt, a microphone raised to his lips with eyes closed, singing his heart out. To Usagi Uesugi he looked like a god. She was practically drooling just looking at it. Kiyoshi rolled his eyes. "There she goes again…" He dragged a hand through his hair. "Hey, Nittle Grasper Nitwit!" He picked up drink coaster and chucked it at her. "You're not alone!"

"OW!" His elder sister gripped the back of her head and turned face him with violent eyes. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR, TWERP?"

"Go ogle Ryuichi some other time!"

"Little brat…"

"If I'm such a brat, why could you possibly want me to sing?"

She gave him evil eyes.

"I'll ignore that, twerp." She approached her brother, then looked back to the wall scroll holding Ryuichi's hot visage. "Hmmm..." She bit her lip. "What's she doing?" Himeka murmured with an arched eyebrow. "I don't know." Kuma-chan spoke up. Usagi reached down to where her brother kept his shirt tucked into his waist. He started. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Kiyoshi looked freaked out. "Well, if you're going to sing like Sakuma-san, you sure as hell are going to look like him!" She began to grab again. "Back off!" He barked. "I DID NOT agree to this lunacy!" He back away. Saki half choked on the whiskey at this hilarious scene. The kid was totally spazing out! "But you have to!" "I DON'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING OF THE SORT!" Kiyoshi was huffing. "I offered to sing. Not to look like a played-out playboy." "Blasphemer!" Usagi shouted. "You have maligned the name of the great Ryu-chan!" He rolled his eyes, dragging a hand through his hair again. "Not this…"

"Hark! Is that the sobbing of a broken-hearted legend I hear?" She put a hand up to he ear, laying on the blackmail thick. "No! Not even for that will I degrade myself…." He started to walk away. "Forget it!" The raven-haired girl pouted. Her grip was starting to slip. She needed something more. Something monumental… That's when it caught her eye. Ryuko noticed the delish look in the dissed girl's eye. The paper was hanging out of her brother's pack, a big red circle on it. Red could only mean one thing! A bad grade. Usagi grinned evilly. Now she had him! "Ah ha!" She picked it up pinching it between her fingers. "What do we have here?" Kiyoshi froze in his spot on the stairs, turning his head slightly. "Eh?" Sara leaned in, wondering what was going on in the girl's mind. "What's this?" "Huh?" The handsome youth pivoted the rest of the way around. "Oh-no!" "Oh, yes!" She flashed the bad grade to the rest of the crew.

A big fat D was plastered over the front of the paper.

"What's this?" She repeated. "The prodigious one slipping?"

"Give me that!"

"Oh I don't think so, little brother…."

"This isn't funny, Usagi! Give it to me now!"

"Oh, I will. In time." She held it to her lips. "That is…if we can reach an agreement…."

"What sort of agreement?"

"I want Ryuichi." Her tone was a serious one.

"The guy's dead."

"Then I'll take the next best thing."

"I refuse to dress like him!"

Snowflake listened to this back and forth banter for quite awhile.

It wasn't till long, that the two finally reached an agreement. Kiyoshi agreed to sing 'Sleepless Beauty' WITH the brown cowboy hat on. While Usagi promised to never pester her brother again about Ryuichi Sakuma. "Don't ever say I never do anything for you…" He muttered, turning on the professional microphone that sat in the corner of the living room, where another keyboard stood. "This piece requires two keyboardists, Ukai-san, would you take that one. I'll go get the other one up in my room." "Don't take too long!" Kiyoshi hollered up, looking annoyed. "My patience is waning." "Your patience is always waning, you spoiled brat!" She shouted, running up the stairs. He frowned, looking towards Saki Ukai. Ryuko looked at her band mate. "Are you sure you can play, Saki?" "I'll be fine!" She stared at the keyboard bleary-eyed and started to tinkle on the keys. Ryuko listened. The older girl faltered a bit.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, Ryu-baby!" She laughed. "Sake is solid!"

"Oh no…" Kuma-chan groaned.

Usagi came back barreling down the stairs with her extra keyboard across her back and a brown felt cowboy hat in the other. She was all excited. The girl started setting up the extra keyboard on the other side of the small stage, setting up and plugging in the instrument. "This is gonna be SO cool!" She chattered. "That's what she says…" Kiyoshi muttered, covering his face his hand, his ruby ring flashing. "Oh! How pretty!" Sara-chan commented, taking a look at it. He turned his hand and looked at it. "I suppose it is." Ryuko grabbed his hand and examined it. It was a large gold band situated on his right hand with an exquisitely cut ruby in the center of it. "Pretty!" She breathed. "Kuma-chan, take a look at this." She thrust the bunny over her shoulder. "Very pretty. "Kuma-chan agreed. Kiyoshi actually blushed, looking into Ryuko's dazzling green eyes. "Thanks..." "All ready!" Saki announced. "I can't believe I'm actually going to do this…." "Oh, hush up, Kyo!" She plopped the felt hat on his head roughly.

"I thought I said, I didn't want to look like Ryuichi…"

"Oh hush!" She muttered, walking up to one of the keyboards. "You're lucky I didn't make you do it all the way."

He scoffed. "Lucky she says…" He tipped the hat forward over his golden eyes.

"Quiet, twerp…"

She tapped on her own keyboard, making lovely sounds come from it. Saki Ukai added her own talents to Usagi's. The raven haired girl smiled, overjoyed to be joined with such people. "This is so dumb…" Usagi gritted her teeth. "You sound like tou-san. Cut it out!" "Hurry it up. Sake cannot wait!" Said Sake swayed and then collapsed, in a fit of laughter. "She's not fit to play." Kiyoshi announced, watching the drunken young woman. "Seguchi!" Slacker turned toward him. "Yes?" "I want you on keyboards in place of Ukai-san." His tone was authorative. "Hmm. Please do it, Slacker?" Ryuko asked. His eyes got hearts in them. He took her hand. "For you, Ryu-chan. Anything!" Slacker made his way to the keyboard Saki had been situated at and began readying himself. Usagi took her place at the other keyboard, taking over Noriko Ukai's part. She'd braided her long hair into one thick braid that was tossed over her left shoulder. For just a tiny moment, she felt as if Nittle Grasper had come back again. Slacker Seguchi looked the very image of his father Tohma, what with that black hat sat back on his head.

"What I lack is father's flair for style." He chuckled.

Had he just made a joke?

"It doesn't matter. This'll be fun!"

"If you say so…"

The rest of Snowflake stood back and watched. "Sakuma-san, you as well." Kiyoshi spoke up again.

"Me?" Ryuko's eyes widened slightly.

"Compared to my sister you probably sound better…"

"I take it you want me to sing Noriko Ukai's part…" Ryu-chan didn't like Nittle Grasper in the least, but she strangely knew the songs.

Suddenly, music started up from the button Usagi had pushed on her synthesizer. It was Nittle Grasper's Sleepless Beauty:

Kiyoshi took hold of the microphone in one hand, tapping his foot, playing extremely up to Ryuichi as he could. He moved sleekly, pivoted gracefully, keeping in beat with the song. His voice was clear as crystal, he sang with his whole soul as well as his voice and lungs. Ryuko's voice mixed with his on Noriko-san's part. Saki drunkenly watched this performance and turned her eyes to the wall scroll of Sakuma-san. Hmmm, not a bad resemblance if he were cosplaying… The black hair sweat over his forehead, shielding his sharp golden eyes, said eyes lighting with energy as he belted out another verse.

umarekawareru anata yo hitori
hohoemanaide hitomi o irodoru
nozonda sekai ga totsuzen
hai ni natte mo kiseki ni mada, meguriaeru

sotto dakishimete, kowasu you ni

Ryuko from her point of view, extra microphone in hand, watched the young man named Kiyoshi Uesugi sing. She'd heard Ryuichi Sakuma's voice and his was pretty close to it. How bizarre! His moves were all his own, from what she'd seen on Daddy's old video tapes, he didn't move like Sakuma-san did. His elder sister was also watching him, eyes lighting with pride and excitement. She was thinking the name thing Ryuko was. He sounded like Ryuichi "The God" Sakuma so much! The first time she'd heard him absently singing along to a Nittle Grasper song she would have sworn Ryuichi had been reborn. Reborn in the body of her one and only little brother Kiyoshi. Such great talent!

That talent was unfortunately going to be wasted. Her brother refused her insistence that he take a singing career into mind. She frowned and played on. He had said something about music being for losers that couldn't make it in the real world. The more she thought about this the angrier she became, her playing became erratic. Slacker Seguchi immediately noticed this. So did the rest of the crew, for Kyo stopped singing and Slacker stopped playing; they were all looking agape at Usagi. "Ummm, sorry…" she spoke softly.

Claps followed her apology.

"Bravo!" Everyone turned to see, a blonde haired amethyst eyed young woman standing in the doorway, behind her a man with reddish-brown hair and blue eyes. "Now, that's a rendition of that song I've NEVER heard." She was grinning from ear to ear. Usagi stiffened slightly. "Oh, hi onë-san!" She bowed to the elder woman. "Onë-san?" Saki slurred. "Hai! This is my elder sister, Ichigo." The woman nodded back. "And the cretin behind me is…" "Cretin?" The man murmured, sounding insulted. "Is Sho Nakano." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Nakano?" Himeka murmured. "Would you prefer bum?" "Iie…That's not even accurate, Shindou!" "Shindou?" Ryuko frowned, knowing her daddy's last name was Shindou. This was becoming weirder and weirder. "What have I told you about calling me that?" "Absolutely nothing…" Nakano grinned slyly. "Smart ass." The older woman muttered back to which the guy just grinned at.

She swatted him on the back of the head, as if as a second thought.

"ITIE!"

"Serves you right…"

Usagi rolled her eyes. "Please forgive them. They left there manners in grammar school…."

THE END