A/N: Woo! I completed another chapter of Selling the Drama. Took me long enough, right? Well, anyhoodles, here it is. The continuing adventures of The Dragon Lady of the Drama Club. Fear her L33T Drama skills.
Even some of the Metal Maniacs had fled in terror as Nolo ran through the maze of parked cars. Saiyaka had finally gone completely over the edge and was chasing him with an axe. She was going to chop him into little pieces.
Over a year had passed since their first meeting; Nolo was no longer an easily distracted fifteen year old boy, but an easily distracted seventeen year old boy. A surfer and some guy from the East coast had joined the Teku, and a stoic Jap had bolstered the ranks of their hated rivals, the Metal Maniacs. Karma was still doing stunt work, Tone was a bouncer at the club where Shirako deejayed, and Saiyaka was in film school at UCLA. But she had come out for a Teku/Maniac Halloween grudge match.
"Was it something I said?" Nolo asked pathetically, dodging a blow from her axe. Assorted members of the Teku were running out of her way, screaming and begging for Saiyaka to calm down, not to hurt Nolo, but she was laughing like a crazy person.
On the Maniac side, only Tork and the new guy remained, hiding behind the leader's car and watching the scene in shock. Something had snapped inside this girl's brain. She was attacking her own team, here, in public.
"Oh, c'mon, Nolo, don't you want to play with me?" she asked loudly. Her husky tone of voice was seductive, but the fireman's axe she swung around was a major turnoff.
"What a frikkin' psycho," Tork whispered in disbelief.
The new guy, Taro, agreed. "Hai. Completely insane."
They watched intently, torn as whether to risk their own necks to save this kid, or to keep their hiding place.
"This isn't our fight," Tork finally reasoned. "The Teku will take care of their own."
Taro only gasped in reply, pointing to the Teku side. Nolo had fallen, and was now backpedaling away from Saiyaka, their faces lit with an eerie blue glow from the undercarriage of Synkro. Saiyaka smiled at the younger boy, much like a lioness plays with a mouse. She shouldered the axe and hooked her left thumb into her belt loop as she took a step towards her prey.
"Don't worry, babe," she said. "I promise I'll make this quick."
"W-why are you doing this?!"
"Why?" she asked, her face perturbed. "Why?! You don't know, Nolo? You don't know why?!"
"I don't know!!"
Saiyaka grinned, raising her axe to strike, and Nolo froze.
"Are you scared, Nolo?!" she asked with savage glee, her eyes wide and bright. Nolo was crying now, and could only nod in answer. Saiyaka's grin widened.
"You shouldn't be," she said. "Smile. You're on Scare Tactics."
"…What…?"
Saiyaka snickered, bending the blade of the axe to show everyone that it was rubber before dropping the pseudo-weapon and bursting into a fit of giggles that even the treetops seemed to join her in. No; not the trees themselves, but college students from Saiyaka's film classes, hidden in the branches. A few of them climbed down, circling Nolo like sharks with their cameras and microphones.
A joke. It had all been a tasteless joke.
Relieved that no one was hurt, what few Metal Maniacs remained laughed their asses off, leaning against each other for support. Even Karma Eiss snickered quietly to herself. The new guys, Kurt and Vert, were too stunned to say anything, but Shirako clicked tongue and crossed his arms.
"Yo," he intoned. "Not cool, sis. Not cool at all."
"That's right," Tone agreed, helping his poor, shaken-up brother to his feet. "You've pulled some shit in your day, Saiyaka, but you ain't the Dragon Lady of the Drama Club no more. This behavior is unasseptable! You're off the Teku."
She shrugged, smiling. "This was getting in the way of film school anyway." She grinned leaning in close to Nolo and speaking in that same husky voice. "Was that as good for you as it was for me, babe?" She threw back her head and laughed.
"You suck, you suck, and I fucking hate you!!" Nolo screamed in a high and screechy voice. "You SUCK!!"
"Only if you take me out to dinner first," she said breathily. Nolo blinked a few times in surprise. He fumbled, tried to think of a snappy comeback, failed, pointed at Saiyaka, threw up his arms in exasperation, threw his head back and screamed, and finally walked away cursing in Spanish. Saiyaka grinned.
Tork called from across the street. "Can I get a copy of that tape?"
"You got five bucks?"
Vert shook his head. "What the heck was that about?"
Kurt shook his head. "No idea."
Shirako sighed in annoyance. "That," he said, referring to the well-executed Halloween prank, "was exactly why no one messed with Saiyaka in high school. Saiyaka is fuckin' crazy."
"I don't doubt that, Shi-Shi-chan," Kurt said, using the pet name Saiyaka had used earlier, and Shirako scowled at him.
"Yo, don't call me that! I hate that nickname. You know 'chan' is the female diminutive? She calls me that just cuz she knows it ticks me off. I swear I could strangle my sister sometimes! I could at least deal with 'Shi-kun' but NO! She has to call me Shi-Shi-chan." Shirako sighed again, cleaning off his glasses on his shirt. "I'm sorry. I'm ranting."
"It's all right, Shi-kun," Kurt said with a smile. "I don't mind."
Vert snorted. "You guys are so gay."
Pablo Steinberg was a Hunga-Rican; that is to say, his mother was Puerto Rican and his father was a Hungarian Jew. Despite his unusual heritage, or perhaps because of it, he grew up in a very warm and loving home environment. He was always very happy and friendly and kind, and so it was no wonder he was so well-liked. And so, despite his modest dwelling place, all were welcome in his home. Therefore, he always threw the best parties.
Angelic Shirako deejayed for free as a favor to Pablo, and Indiana Kurt kept him company, bringing him drinks and snacks all night and getting to know the boy. On the occasions he felt the need to dance Kurt never strayed far, and kept Shirako amused by cracking his whip and dancing with it wrapped suggestively around the shoulders of the nearest girl. The other new guy, Vert, had come as a zombie and was giving the two young men a wide berth while he scoped the party for black girls, who he had a certain affection for. Karma, in a Princess Leia costume, had managed to rope Tone into being her Han Solo. Nolo, upset and embarrassed, almost stayed home, but took on a half-hearted façade of his character from Hell Hath No Fury, Gary Ramirez.
The black makeup around his eyes itched as he moved through the people; some he knew, some he did not. It seemed Nolo was the only one not having a good time. Leaning against the outer wall of the house—the dance floor was in the backyard—Nolo looked up at the stars. He could still hear people laughing at him, and he wanted to hit someone. Maybe it was just the alcoholic haze that had settled over him. Nolo felt tired and mellow, but it could not suppress his rage.
He felt silk and fur as a hand took his and moved it to the slim waist of a girl in a kimono. He did not have to take off her kabuki mask to know it was Saiyaka. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back down again before looking at her.
"You haven't humiliated me enough tonight? You had to come back for more?"
"Nolo, I…I wanted to apologize. It was just supposed to be a prank. You know me—"
"So I'm just supposed to forgive you?" he said loudly. "Is that what you think?"
People were beginning to stare, so Saiyaka grabbed Nolo's hand and led him inside.
As many people as there were in the yard, there were almost as many in the house. The only empty room they could find, the only place for any privacy, was Pablo's bedroom.
After she locked the door, Saiyaka took her mask back off. She did look regretful, Nolo noted. They both sighed, trying to ignore the bed next to them and the tension in the air.
"I don't even know what I was thinking," she finally said. "It just sounded like so much fun to film a prank on someone. You acted when I directed, so I figured you would understand. I've always felt that you knew me pretty well, Nolo."
Nolo smiled grimly. "Better than you think."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You know what your problem is, Saiyaka?" When she did not answer, he continued. "that's exactly what you're afraid of. You keep saying, 'oh, nobody understands me, I'm so misunderstood,' but I don't think you want people to understand you. Cuz if they know how you think, they can hurt you. So you drive 'em away before they get to close so they never get a chance to reject you."
Siayaka blinked, unable to reply. What Nolo said was dead on, though she had never thought about it or admitted it to herself. He was absolutely right.
"Damn, Nolo. How come you're only this smart when you drink?"
He gently cupped her surprised, blushing face and kissed her tenderly, licking her lips and exploring her mouth. When he pulled away, Saiyaka was red and her breathing was sharp. She trembled in his arms.
"See what I mean?" he said. "Same old sarcastic responses."
Saiyaka was quiet, unable to believe what she had just done. She was used to being in control, but she had lost herself. She had not been in control of Nolo, not at all. They always seemed to bring out the worst in each other. Well, maybe not the worst…Nolo had certainly been in top form, and Saiyaka blushed at the memory. They were both such dominant personalities that it could not possibly work out between them. The split second Nolo sobered up, she felt certain he would leave and pretend the whole night had never happened. He would abandon Saiyaka and never speak to her again, and she would have no control over the situation. She would be at the mercy of the fates.
But Saiyaka was mistress of her own destiny. Tears rolling down her cheeks, she gently pulled Nolo's arm from her form and as quickly and quietly as she could, put her costume back on. At least the mask would hide her tears. Only Nolo had seen her face, so no one noticed Saiyaka Takamoto. All they saw was a disheveled girl with frazzled hair and a rumpled kimono. They had seen her leave the bedroom and could tell by her bowlegged walk that she made love to someone, though they did not hear the passionate cries over the pulsing trance techno. And though the guests at Pablo Steinberg's party could glean this information with but a glance, they did not know or care who she was.
Nolo, abandoned, told no one of what transpired between him and Saiyaka. Some weeks later, sfter Thanksgiving, Siayaka sobbingly confessed to Karma, who secretly told Tone. The two tried to mediate a meeting between the younger Pasaro and the elder Takamoto, but they had no luck. As fate would have it, Saiyaka and Nolo would not speak again for six months. The occasion?
Tone's funeral.
Karma's family owned a mortuary, and Saiyaka had always cracked morbid jokes about the bodies in their basement. But seeing her best friend in the midst of such an inconsolable grief, she behaved; Karma could not take the joke, she knew. That would defeat the purpose entirely.
Tone was never Saiyaka's favorite person, but he was a good guy, or at least…he had been. Now, he was ashes. Ashes mixed with twisted metal and crushed fiberglass. At the very least, Saiyaka thought, he had gone out doing what he loved, and in an explosion Jerry Bruckheimer would have been proud of. But Karma did not need to hear that. She needed a shoulder to cry one, someone to hold her and let her know things would be alright.
"It's going to be alright, Karma," she said tenderly, her arm around the crying girl's shoulders. "The pain will go away over time. We all know how deeply Tone loved you. That's why he would want you to be happy."
"I just miss him so much," Karma sobbed. Her eyes were wide, like a frightened child, and shining with tears. She cringed, choked, and wailed into Saiyaka's shoulder.
"I know, honey, I know…" Saiyaka held her best friend in an unsuccessful attempt to comfort her. A pair of big hands gently clasped Karma's and Saiyaka turned to see Nolo, his eyes red.
"He loved you, Karma," he said, "and you know he still does. He always will. You have to know that."
Karma sniffled. "Nolo?"
"Even now, he's watching over us. Nolo's smile was weak and sad, as if from a bittersweet memory. He sniffed and tears welled up in his eyes. "Tone loved you, Karma. You have to know that. I don't know if he ever got the chance to tell you, but he told me. He loved you, he still loves you, and he'll watch over you."
The tears were beginning to show, and his voice was getting higher, almost frantic. "He'd want you to be happy, Karma. Everything's going to be okay."
Karma's eyes were still wide, but more from shock and fear than from grief. Nolo was practically shrieking these comforting words at his brother's girlfriend. Really, he was trying to convince himself more than anything. Most of the mourners were staring at him. As Nolo came to realize this, he cleared his throat and quietly excused himself.
Still holding Karma, Saiyaka watched him longingly. Her memories of their last night together rang through her mind; how happy she had felt, how terrible. Nolo destroyed years of self-imposed exile and relieved her loneliness. And here he was, so alone and distraught.
Karma had calmed down a little bit by now. Shirako put his arm around her, and nodded with a gentle expression. "It's okay," he said to Saiyaka. "Go after him."
Saiyaka smiled weakly and turned away.
Saiyaka could hear quiet sobs as she approached the rear exit of the mortuary. She found Nolo sitting in the alley, sitting on a box marked 'FORMALDAHYDE.' There was a small puddle forming on the cracked cement where his tears fell.
"Hey."
Nolo looked slowly up the legs of the woman who stood before him, past the black skirt and blouse, and finally to her concerned face. He smiled weakly and wiped his tears on his sleeve.
"Didn't think you'd show," he said. "How…how have you been, Saiyaka?"
"Could be worse, I guess." Though she longed to do so, she made no effort to sit next to him. "You want to talk about it?"
Nolo snapped at her. "What's to talk about? You tossed me aside like an old toy."
"I…I meant about your older brother…Are you alright, Nolo? You're scaring Karma. She's worried about you."
"Yeah. Her. Not you."
"All of the Teku, Nolo!" Saiyaka sighed. "It's never easy losing someone you care about."
"I didn't lose him," he said grimly. "Tone was taken from me. He was taken before his time by that fucking Maniac's lousy driving!"
"Nolo—"
"He had his whole life ahead of him," Nolo continued, tears once more in his eyes. "He talked about settling down with Karma, starting the kind of family we never got to have. I can't even remember my parents anymore, Saiyaka, Tone and I were all each other had."
Siayaka couldn't bear to look at Nolo for fear of the rage burning in his eyes—rage mingled with pain and loss. She had the distinct impression he was going to hit her. In fact, she wished he would.
But Nolo only stood to leave.
"Tork Maddox will pay for this," he said. "He'll pay with his life. I swear it."
It was Saiyaka's turn to cry alone.
A/N: So, hopefully, that explains why some parts of my universe are the way they are. Did you see how cute Kurt and Shirako look together? Adorable! Squeeee! Oh, so cute. Who knows? Maybe I'll write a little naughty something or other for them. Might be fun.
