Notes: Umm . . . I just decided while I was writing this that Sozou and Sano's mom were divorced when Sozou died. Ignore anything I said contrary to that in earlier parts. It has to be like that for the timeline I want to work.
Thanks to all the lovely people who answered my cries of desperation and reviewed. It made my week, to be honest. And sorry this chapter took so long, I didn't want to post it until I was done with the next one, but I've hit a snag about twenty pages in, so I decided to just post this. Hope you enjoy!
Once gain, any mistakes you find in this are mine- I have no beta, so what you get is the result of me rereading what I write a while after I write it. If you see any blatant errors, let me know and I'll try to get them fixed.
Warnings: Swearing, eventual Yaoi, AU (if you couldn't tell)
Disclaimers: See First part
Ragz to Richez
Part Four
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Ragz to richez or so they say
Ya gotta keep pushing for the fortune and fame
It's all a gamble
When it's just a game
Ya treat it like a capital crime
Everybody's doing their time
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Sanosuke walked into his first class Monday morning, brain racing, trying to convince himself that Saturday had not been a dream. They had actually been signed. Virgin Touch had actually signed a contract with Dark Records and had a manager. It really had all happened, and Sanosuke knew it. But it still didn't seem real.
The brunette sat down in his seat in the back of the class and noticed something rather strange. The entire class was staring at him. The girl in front of him, who had never even looked his way all year, had actually turned around in her seat, and was intent on watching him.
Self-conscious now, Sanosuke ran a hand through his hair, wondering if he'd forgotten to brush it, not that it really would have made that much of a difference.
"Uh, what's going on?" Sanosuke asked the girl in front of him, hoping to get an answer.
The girl, a fellow senior by the name of Kyla, blushed red and looked around, almost as if she didn't think Sanosuke was talking to her. Now Sanosuke was very confused. Kyla had never given him the time of day and now she was blushing because he'd asked her a question. Something very odd was going on.
When no one else answered, Kyla looked at him. "Me?"
Sanosuke nodded slowly, wondering if her brain had perhaps melted. "Yeah, you. Why the hell is everyone staring at me?"
Kyla looked ashamed for a moment, but did answer Sanosuke's question. "There's a rumor going around school that your band got signed. Is that true? Did you and Tsukioka really get signed?"
He knew he had a look of surprise on his face, but Sanosuke couldn't help it. He, Katsuhiro and Glenn hadn't told anyone yet about them getting signed yet aside from their family. And Sanosuke knew his family didn't really give a shit about what he did and if he made it big or not. So who had started the rumor?
"Where the hell did you hear that from?"
"Does it matter?" Kyla asked sharply, her somewhat bitchy personality starting to come back through. "Is it true?"
Sanosuke glared at her, suddenly remembering why he didn't really mind that she didn't talk to him. "Yeah, we got signed. But we didn't tell anyone. So who the hell is spreading the rumor?" He demanded.
Kyla didn't answer, she just squealed in delight. "Oh my God! That's so cool! Who signed you guys?" She asked, excitement coming back to the front.
Still glaring, Sanosuke tried to think of a way to get this girl to answer his questions. She was a little too enthusiastic for his liking and all he wanted was to get some answers.
"If you tell me who started the rumors, I'll tell you who we signed with," he finally answered, hoping she would finally answer his question. Luckily, she was extremely curious and immediately supplied all the information she had.
"I don't know his name; he's some sophomore whose older brother was playing at that opening on Saturday. From what I heard, his brother came home bitching about how some band got signed instead of him. Apparently the sophomore recognized your band's name and put two and two together." Kyla leaned forward, eager to get her reward. "So, who signed you?"
Sanosuke signed and ran his hand through his hair again. "Dark Records."
The girl's eyes widened and she opened her mouth, wanting to find out more. Unfortunately for her, the bell rang signaling the beginning of class and she was forced to turn around in her seat.
Silently, Sanosuke thanked the bell's perfect timing and wished he had some aspirin for his pounding headache.
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The rest of the day was no better for either Sanosuke or Katsuhiro. Everywhere they went they were followed by stares and whispers. Apparently the rumor had spread throughout the entire school and whether people believed it or not didn't seem to matter. It seemed like everyone wanted to get a peak at the up-and-coming musicians.
For Katsuhiro the strangest moment came when he walked into his advanced chemistry class. His teacher, a man by the name of Mr. Palmer, was one of the most intelligent people most of his students had ever met. Yet at the same time he was also almost completely ignorant of pop culture. He'd freely admitted many times that the only television show he watched was Jeopardy and he'd never even heard of the infamous band Faces of Evil.
So, when Katsuhiro walked into Mr. Palmer's class, he was hoping to have a normal class period without any mention of Dark Records or Virgin Touch. He thought they'd just continue working on more organic chemistry and for once he was actually looking forward to puzzling out the ridiculously long formulas.
What he was not expecting was for his teacher, his normal, down to earth, somewhat socially retarded teacher, to stop class and ask him for an autograph. Katsuhiro was dumbstruck, but he really had no choice but to do as he was asked. After all, how could he refuse the man who held his grade within his hands? He couldn't; the same way he couldn't then turn down the begging of his classmates.
The only thing the poor bassist could think as he signed his name over and over again was that he hoped it wouldn't be like this everywhere he went from now on.
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When Sanosuke finally got home that day his head was pounding and his ears ringing. All day he'd been stared at, whispered about, and yelled at. It was driving him nuts and he just wanted to come home and relax.
He knew that dream was shot as soon as he walked into the living room and saw his step-father sitting on the couch, staring at the television, another beer in his hand.
"Where do you think yer going?" Kamishimoemon growled out as Sanosuke stepped in front of the television.
His son sighed and continued on his way into the kitchen. "I'm getting myself some aspirin. My head's killing me."
Kamishimoemon nodded and took another drink of his beer. He wasn't going to say anything to Sanosuke about a headache; he'd dealt with plenty of pretty bad ones in his life.
Slightly suspicious of the fact that his father wasn't yelling at him, Sanosuke opened the cabinet where they kept the medicine and began rifling around, looking for something to dull the pain in his head. After five minutes of pillaging, Sanosuke had found enough cold medicine to open his own pharmacy, but no pain killers. Desperate to stop the ringing in his head, Sanosuke turned back to cabinet, searching for some pill he had overlooked.
The only thing he found was his little sister's Midol.
Now, under normal circumstances, Sanosuke would never even think about taking PMS medication. But these were not normal circumstances. His head felt like it was going to split in two and he was pretty sure there was some sort of little imp in his brain pounding against the walls of his skull. In short, he was just desperate enough to take the medicine.
Grabbing two of the pills and a glass from the next cabinet over, Sanosuke headed over to the sink and began to fill up his glass.
"Hey, next time ya go to the store ya need to pick up some pain killers," he told his father, hoping his father would remain quiet. Unfortunately, his luck had run out.
"Get it your damn self," snapped Kamishimoemon as he took a swig of his beer again. "You don't pick up Uki and Outa from school, I don't do yer shopping."
Sanosuke tried to count to ten but only got to three before he exploded at his father.
"Did you not fucking listen to me the other night? I don't have a fucking car and you won't let me anywhere near the keys for yours! You trashed my car, remember? The only reason I can get to school and back is because of Katsu. And I'm not gonna ask him to pick up my kid siblings because you're too much of a lazy ass to bother with 'em yerself!" Sanosuke yelled at his step-father as he slammed down the glass, almost breaking it.
Kamishimoemon opened his mouth to shout back, but his angry step-son cut him off before he could even begin.
"Don't even fucking start yelling at me," the teenager warned his voice full of undisguised hatred. "I'm out of here as soon as I can get the money. So if I just don't come home one day, don't worry about it."
His step-father watched Sanosuke stalk off with a little bit of a smile on his face. He heard the boy's bedroom door slam shut and he briefly wondered if he should tell his step-son about the note that had been on his door-the one telling him he had a meeting on Wednesday with a man named Chou. He smiled to himself and took another long drink of his beer. He'd let Sanosuke go uninformed. After all, why did he have to take responsibility for an 18 year old who wasn't his?
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Chou waited anxiously in the car, not feeling very comfortable at all where he was parked. It wasn't that he was afraid, it wasn't that at all. It was more the fact that he knew on the other side of the fence were hundreds of convicted murders, rapists, con-men and thieves, all itching to escape their confinement.
What made him even more nervous was that he was waiting for one of those very men.
Getting impatient now, Chou glanced at the clock for what felt like the fiftieth time. Barely a minute had passed.
Feeling like an idiot, he sat in the car for five more minutes, tapping his fingers against the wheel in an angry tattoo. Just as he was about to look down at the clock again, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye.
Holding his breath, Chou watched the man as he exited the prison. His hair was a little longer, his face a little thinner, but it was definitely the man he was waiting for.
Some part of him couldn't help but smile.
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At three forty-five on Wednesday afternoon, Sanosuke sat in his room, playing on his guitar. The spiky-haired teenager was in a melancholy mood, as the anniversary of his father's death was fast approaching. In less than a week it would be the ten year anniversary of his father's death and Sanosuke was having a hard time accepting it. And it wasn't because he wanted his father to see him make it in the music business, although that would have been nice. It was because he was beginning to forget things about his father, not that he would admit it to anyone. He still remembered his father's voice, for example, but some of the other things were starting to fade. Like he couldn't remember quite what color his eyes had been or how tall he was. And, as much as it pained Sanosuke to admit this even to himself, his father's face was beginning to get a little fuzzy. And it had only been ten years. Sanosuke was afraid of how much he'd forget by the time twenty or even fifteen years rolled around.
A knock at the door distracted him from his depressing thoughts, and he stopped playing as he called out "Come in. "
He was more than a little surprised when his younger sister stuck her head through the door. He didn't have any problems with Uki, but they didn't really talk that often. And it was even rarer for her to venture into his room.
The fifteen year old looked even more surprised to see him. "Sano, what are you doing here? Did your meeting get canceled?"
Sanosuke blinked and set down his guitar, getting the feeling that he was going to get even angrier with Kamishimoemon. "What meeting are you talking about?"
"The meeting for your band. Some guy named Chou called Monday after you left for school. He said that your band had a meeting with him and some guitarists today." Her brown eyes looked at her brother in confusion. "Didn't you get my note?"
Her brother shook his head, hand clenched into a fist at his side, trying not to lose his temper. "No, I didn't. Where exactly did you put this note, Uki?"
"Right here," she said as she tapped the door. "I taped it to your door, because I figured you'd see it for sure that way. You mean you seriously didn't get it?"
"Do you really think I'd be here right now if I had?" Sanosuke snapped back, flinching inwardly when he saw his sister visibly cringe. He sighed and stood, running a hand through his hair. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you, Uki. I'm just a little pissed off right now. I have a feeling your dad took the note. He hasn't been too happy with me lately and I can see him doing something like this just to fuck with my chances."
Uki nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it does seem like something stupidly childish. I can see him doing it." Sanosuke had to suppress a smile. He loved how Uki could be so much like him at times.
With a sigh, Sanosuke glanced over at his clock. "What exactly did Chou say when he called?"
Uki titled her head to the side and leaned against the doorframe. "Let me think for a minute. He said. . ." She paused; trying to remember. "Actually, Sano, I don't remember exactly what he said. Sorry. But if you hang on a minute, I was doing my homework when he called and I jotted it down there before I wrote your note. I'll go and get it, kay?"
She didn't wait for her brother's response before she hurried off.
Sanosuke watched her go with a small smile, then looked over at the clock. He just hoped he had time to make an appearance at the meeting. He really didn't want to start things off on the wrong foot.
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"Is he always late like this?" Chou Sawagejou snapped as he looked at his watch. It was going on four-thirty and there was still no sign of the Virgin Touch's singer. He was starting to get a little angry.
Katsuhiro answered for Sanosuke since he wasn't there to speak for himself. "When it comes to the band, never. In other aspects of his life, all the time." The brunette stretched his arms before continuing. "He and his step-dad aren't really getting along right now, though. My money is on him having a problem with Kamishimoemon."
The blonde blinked. "What was that name?"
On the other side of the room Glenn started to snicker, but he stopped when Chou shot a look over his way.
"Kamishimoemon," said Katsuhiro slowly. "Why? Need it spelled out or something?"
Chou bristled at the bassist's tone. "No, I don't." He looked at his watch once more. "Even though your singer isn't here, we need to get on with the meeting. Is that all right with all of you?" He asked, looking between the three men in the room. They all nodded, wanting to get down to business.
The blonde man smiled back. "Good. Now, if you remember, on Saturday night I said if you wanted a contract with my company, you were going to have to accept that you needed a new guitarist, because frankly, your singer sucks at it." On the other side of the room, Glenn snickered his agreement and got an angry glare in return from Katsuhiro.
"What?" Asked the Aussie. "It's true, he does suck."
Katsuhiro didn't say anything; he just turned back to Chou. "Yes, we remember, why? Is that what this whole meeting is about? The new guitarist?"
"Yes and no. I was thinking about it, and I decided you guys need a back-up guitarist as well, to give your songs a little more depth. So I went searching and I came across a guy I think would fit your band perfectly." He gestured towards the blonde man sitting to his left. "Virgin Touch, I'd like you to meet Leland Dirnt, your new second guitarist."
The Nordic looking man smiled and brushed some loose blonde hair from in front of his face. "Nice to meet you guys. I'm looking forward to working with you," he said with a smile.
Katsuhiro blinked and half-heartedly returned the smile. "Yeah, same back at ya." He looked slightly uncomfortable for a moment and glanced briefly over at Chou. "Look, don't this the wrong way or anything. I mean, I'm sure you're a great guitarist, but shouldn't be have a choice in who our new band mates are? It is our band, after all."
Personally, Leland agreed with the bassist. But apparently, Chou did not as he shook his head, scowling at the question.
"When you signed with me, I told you I would have control over who joined your band as the guitarist. You signed with me knowing this was how it was going to go, so don't start arguing with me over it now."
On the other side of the room, Glenn coughed into his hand discretely. The two Asians broke off their unofficial starting contest and turned to look at him.
"What?" Snapped Chou.
The blonde smiled his sweetest, most innocent smile. "Actually, if I remember right, in the contract it said that you had the right to choose a guitarist. So technically, that means we should be able to listen to and approve one."
If looks could kill, Glenn would have died instantly.
While Chou was glaring, Katsuhiro burst out laughing. "Glenn, I think that's the first time your night classes have ever come in useful," he gasped out between laughs.
"What classes?" Asked Leland, curious.
"Pre-law."
Leland had to hide his smile because he had a feeling Chou would kill someone if he saw it. The blonde already looked as though he would strangle the next person to speak. In fact, when the blonde himself spoke it came out almost as a hiss.
"Fine, then," he snapped shortly. "You can approve of ONE of them. Who is it going to be? Leland or the lead guitarist?" When he didn't get an answer right away, Chou grew redder. "Well? We really don't have all day, you know."
Figuring it probably wasn't really a good idea to anger their manager any more for the time being, Katsuhiro stole a glance over at Glenn. Did they want to use this opportunity on the blonde Leland, knowing that if they did, they would have no say when it came to their lead guitarist?
"I say we listen to him," spoke up Glenn, gesturing to the blonde Leland. "Hey, don't look at me like that, I have a reason for it, you know."
Katsuhiro crossed his arms over his chest. "Explain."
The drummer sighed, knowing far too well the expression on Katsuhiro's face. It was his 'you-being-stupid-and-we-both-know-it' face that he normally reserved for Sanosuke. This meant he was already convinced that he was right and that it would take a hell of a lot of effort on his part for him to change Katsuhiro's mind.
"First of all, stop looking at me like that- I'm not Sanosuke."
The bassist smiled faintly at that and reluctantly uncrossed his arms. Glenn took that to be a good sign.
"Thank you. Now that you're not looking at me like an idiot, maybe I can explain myself." When Katsuhiro didn't interrupt, he went ahead. "Look, if we listen to this guy here, we'll get a feel for how Chou sees us and our music. We know he's going to be the back-up, which means that the lead will more than likely be even better. And if we like him, it probably means we'll like the lead, too."
Katsuhiro nodded, seeing the logic behind it all. But there was still far too much uncertainty in it for him and he told the Aussie as much. "But what happens if we listen to Leland over there and like him, but absolutely hate the lead, which we'll have no control over. I don't know about you, but I'd rather have my back-up guitarist suck than my lead."
The two band mates started at each other for close to a minute before Chou got bored and interrupted them loudly.
"Enough with the bickering," he snapped, looking down at his watch. "We've already wasted enough time as it is. You have until the count of five to make your decision."
Neither said anything, they just continued to stare. Chou started to count.
"One."
The staring contest continued.
"Two."
Leland heard the sounds of the secretary speaking in the next room and she didn't sound too happy.
"Three."
Chou too, turned his head to look at the door, hearing the noise coming from the smaller waiting room.
"Four-"
He didn't quite finish the word as the door opened, revealing and slightly flushed, definitely late, Sanosuke Sagara. Behind him stood Chou's secretary, arms placed unhappily at her hips.
"I'm sorry about this, sir. I told him he couldn't come in, that you were in the middle of a meeting, but he pushed his way past me."
Chou waved her off, both relieved and annoyed to see the singer. "Don't worry about it, Kamatari. He's supposed to be here."
The woman glanced at the clock on her desk and then back at her boss. "But I though the meeting started at four. . ."
Once more Chou waved off her concerns. "It did. He's just late," he explained, glaring at the culprit. Sanosuke didn't seem to mind a bit, he just grinned back happily. Still not totally convinced, Kamatari closed the door and went back to her desk, leaving the musicians alone with the blonde.
It was Katsuhiro who spoke first. "Where the hell were you?" He asked, sounding more amused than annoyed.
For a moment a look of anger crossed Sanosuke's face, but it was gone in a flash. "I didn't know about the meeting until ten to four."
"I called your house myself," Chou practically growled out. He didn't like liars or people who were constantly late. Sometimes he wondered why he even did what he did.
Sanosuke glared right back at the blonde. "Yeah, I know you did. And my little sister put the note on my door. Unfortunately my alcoholic step dad and I aren't getting along too well at the moment and he took the note off of my door before I could see it."
"Oh," was all Chou could think of to say, choosing to ignore the 'I-told-you-so' look he was getting from Katsu. "But what the hell took you so long to get here? It's almost quarter to five."
The singer sighed and flopped down into the vacant chair next to Katsuhiro's. "I had to take the bus because Kamishimoemon trashed my car a couple of months back and I haven't had the money to get a new one."
Still not knowing what to say, Chou decided to change the subject, bringing Sanosuke up to date on the decision he and his band mates had before them.
The singer nodded, understanding what was going on and what was needed. "Okay, I get it." He looked around the room, frowning as he noticed something that didn't seem to sit right with him. "Where is the guitarist, anyways? Shouldn't he be here?"
For a moment, Chou looked startled, but it was only for a moment. "He just got back into town after a long vacation so he's got some stuff he needs to take care of."
Once more the brunette nodded and looked around the room. "And how soon can we get started?"
"As soon as we take care of this stuff here. I've got a studio double ready to step in as your guitarist so you can start rehearsals. I just need you guys to make a decision." He looked at his watch impatiently, not having to feign his impatience. He was really starting to get sick of the 'Let's-Question-Chou' game.
So he was more than happy when Sanosuke nodded his consent and turned to Leland. "Show us what you got. Then let's get started."
Katsuhiro made a strange noise at his friend's words and took a step closer to him, obviously intending to try and change his mind. That was something Chou would not allow in under any circumstances and he himself was getting ready to defend the singer's decision when Sanosuke himself did exactly that.
"Katsu, don't even think about it," he warned, knowing exactly what his longtime friend was thinking.
"But, Sano, do you realize what you just did?! You gave him complete control over the decision of who is going to be our lead guitarist! The guy could end up playing worse than you, and there won't be anything we can do about it!"
If the thought bothered the singer, he didn't show it.
"Yeah, I know, Katsu. But you know something? I don't really care. I just want to get this damn thing started and I don't want to waste a bunch of fucking time trying to figure all this shit out. Chou's our manager, and if we sink he's going down with us. So unless he's looking to pull a kamikaze with his career, I don't think we have much to worry about."
Even Chou could see that the bassist wasn't finished yet, so he decided to step in.
"All right, now that you idiots have finally made a decision, we can get down to business." He turned to Leland, who was still sitting in his chair, an idiotic smile in place. "Leland, you have your guitar in the studio, right?"
The blonde nodded, smile still in place. "Umm-hmm. Want me to go and get it?"
Chou shook his head, and then turned back to the members or Virgin Touch. "Here's what's gonna happen. You're going to follow me to the studio, where Leland over there is going to play for you. Once you figure out that yes, he is good and welcome him into the band, the four of you will start rehearsing. You'll have rehearsals everyday for the next month or so, and then we'll start getting your name out and start setting up shows. You'll also have various meetings thrown in during that time with publicists, stylists and people like that to help polish your image."
They all blinked, pleasantly surprised by this business like side of Chou.
"Sounds good," said Glenn, with a nod of his head, even though he was wondering if he should be offended by the 'polish your image' comment. "But when is this other guitarist gonna show up? We are going to have rehearsal time with him, right?"
"Of course you will," Chou reassured the Aussie. "He should be at rehearsals next week or the week after. Like I said, he's been . . .out of town for a while and he needs to take care of some things. Now let's get going, we've already wasted enough time."
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Katsuhiro hated to admit it, Leland was good. Very good. They'd just spent close to three hours rehearsing and he couldn't have been happier with how the guitarist's sound blended in with the band. He just couldn't tell Chou that. After all, he couldn't give the man the satisfaction of being right, now could he?
"Oh, man, I'm starving," whined Sanosuke from behind the bassist.
"I think we all are," added in Leland, also from behind. "What do you guys say we go get something to eat?" He paused for a moment, suddenly wondering if he'd overstepped the boundaries. After all, he had just joined the band a few hours earlier. It might be a bit too soon to be suggesting group activities.
As a matter of fact, there was no reason for him to worry.
"I'm willing," said Glenn.
Katsuhiro stopped walking and turned around to face the others. "Me too." He looked over at Sanosuke, waiting to see if he was going to join them or not. "Sano?"
The brunette didn't quite meet his eyes across the parking lot. "Yeah, I'd like to go. Only problem is . .. I kinda don't have a ride. Or money."
His best friend had to physically stop himself from rolling his eyes. "And since when exactly, has that been a problem? You know I'll give you a ride and pay for your dinner."
Sanosuke looked up, smiling. "You sure?"
This time Katsuhiro really couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes. "Don't I always, Sano?" That being said he turned to Leland and Glenn. "So, Leland, where do you want to go?"
The blonde smiled widely. "Actually, could you call me Nick, please?"
The others blinked, not quite sure where this was coming from.
"Nick? What the hell is that?" Asked Sanosuke bluntly.
The blonde smiled once more. "Actually, it's my nickname. So, if you could please use it, I'd be grateful."
Once more the three blinked and shared glances, a little confused. "Yeah, sure. No problem," said Katsuhiro finally as his stomach growled again. "So, Nick, where do you want to eat?"
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In his office, Chou finished his call and hung up the phone before grabbing his cell phone and dialing a number that had become quite familiar in the past few days. On the second ring, a voice he knew almost too well picked up.
Hello?
"Hey, it's me, Chou.'
The man on the other end of the line sighed. What do you want?
"I know I told you that you could have a couple of days off before you came in, but I really need you to come in Saturday."
Why?
"Rehearsal and then afterwards there's a meeting set up with a stylist. You need to be there."
The man was silent for a long moment. What time?
"Rehearsal starts at nine-thirty and goes until two, two-thirty. The meeting with the stylist will be right after that."
I'll be there, but I will be late. I have a meeting with my parole officer at nine. There was another moment of silence before he spoke up again. Did you tell them about me?
Chou smirked, even though he knew the other man couldn't see it. "No. I figured I'd let you surprise them. After all, you need some entertainment after being in prison seven years."
He could almost hear the smirk when the man spoke. I see. Saturday should be interesting, then.
He hung up before Chou could reply.
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Normally, Sanosuke hated mornings. He'd always been a night owl and he hated getting up before eleven am, whether it was the weekend or not. Even after years of dragging himself out of bed for school each morning at ten after seven (the tardy bell rang at seven-thirty five), he still hated it.
Which is why his younger sister was staring at him with such a shocked look on her face Saturday morning as he looked through the cupboard for some cereal, humming quietly to himself.
Uki looked at the clock on the oven once more to make sure that no, she was not hallucinating, before she looked back to the still singing Sanosuke.
"What are you doing?"
The brunette looked over his shoulder and smiled. "Hey, kiddo. I'm looking for some breakfast. Want some?" He asked, holding out a box of cereal.
"No thanks," replied his sister with a shake of her head. "That box is stale, I think. But, Sano, seriously, what are you doing?"
"I told you. I'm looking for some breakfast. Why?" He turned back to the cupboard, rooting around in the back for something edible.
"Because it's Saturday morning and you were up before me." It was a well known fact in the Higashidani household that Uki was the only one who knew what Saturday morning looked like.
"How do you know that?" He asked as he pulled a box of cereal out once more. Seeing that it too, was open, he shoved it back in the cupboard and continued searching.
"You're dressed and your hair is wet; I literally just got up."
Sanosuke shrugged and grabbed a pop tart from the cupboard, popping it into the microwave. "Did I wake you up?"
"No, but Sano you do realize that you just put a pop tart in the microwave without taking off the wrapper, right?"
The brunette's eyes widened and he quickly turned and grabbed the said pop tart, burning his fingers on the hot wrapper. "Damnit, I guess I must be still sleeping. Thanks, Uki."
She shrugged her shoulders and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "No biggie. But why are you up so early? Were you just hungry?"
The singer laughed and opened his breakfast. "Naw, I would still be sleeping if I was hungry. I've got a meeting with Chou at nine."
"You do realize that it's seven-thirty, don't you?"
"Yeah, yeah. But I really don't want to be late, today."
Uki blinked and wondered where her brother had gone. "Huh? You don't want to be late? Why not?"
"After rehearsal today we have a meeting with a stylist."
Somehow Uki had the idea that Sanosuke was lying. He'd owned the same clothes for years; there was no reason for him to get all excited about a stylist.
"And?" She prodded.
He smiled again and shoved the rest of the Pop Tart in his mouth. "And we're finally meeting our guitarist." His smile grew wider. "Plus, we're getting our signing bonus."
Suddenly it all made sense to Uki.
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By eleven o'clock, they were all starting to get anxious. Yes, Chou had explained to the band that while their mysterious guitarist would be showing up, but he had an appointment he couldn't get out of at nine and so would be running a little late. But even Chou was starting to get antsy-if only because the rehearsal was turning out to be a waste without a guitarist. Since he'd figured the meeting with the probation officer wouldn't take more than forty-five minutes (if that) he hadn't bothered calling in the studio guitarist they'd been using all week. After over an hour of listening to the same song (minus the lead guitar, of course), Chou was beginning to think he'd made a mistake. Sure, he thought the guitarist he'd picked out was a perfect fit for Virgin Touch, but the more he thought about it, the more unsure he was of his choice. Not because of the man's ability, but because of his circumstances. He'd been behind bars for seven years and during that time he'd lost basically all contact with the world and his old life. There was next to nothing to stop him from leaving the country-there was really no reason at all for him to stay.
The blonde was in the middle of cursing his own stupidity when the door of the studio opened behind him. He turned, expecting the see the smiling Kamatari, only to find himself staring in the golden eyes of one of the most infamous guitarists in history.
The first time the world heard of Hajime Saitou, he was nothing more than the eighteen year old guitarist of Rideau du sang(1), yet another band with big hopes. He wasn't even the most popular band member (that honor went to Okita, the slightly psychotic lead singer), but he wasn't without his own fans. Much to the surprise of many people, Rideau quickly emerged as one of the best new bands, right up there with Faces of Evil. The two had a friendly rivalry that never quite got the meaning of the word friendly. And between the two guitarists it was nothing short of a war. Of course, that just made the bands more popular. For a long time no one could tell which band was better, but then, finally, Rideau du sang began to pull ahead.
Obviously, that's when it all began to fall apart. It was a well known fact that the members of the band didn't always get along, but one day something snapped and suddenly Hajime Saitou was no longer a welcome part of the group. He was still Rideau's guitarist (mainly because they knew any replacement would be less skilled than Saitou), but none of his band mates would even look at him, much less speak to him. The rumors flew as everyone tried to figure out exactly what had changed. But no one in the band spoke about it, and so no one learned a thing. People were just starting to get used to the band's new makeup when the news of the fire broke. Three of Rideau's four members were dead- they'd been having a brainstorming session at Okita's when the place caught fire, trapping them all inside.
It almost seemed natural when the suspicion fell on Saitou. After all, he hadn't exactly been getting along with the group and he was the only band member left alive, even though he was supposed to have been with the other's that night. But for reasons he couldn't, or wouldn't, explain, he wasn't there and he refused to give an alibi. And while the investigation was never able to pin anything on him, it did bring about two major changes for the musician. First of all, it gave birth to his new reputation, that of a dangerous, vindictive killer. And secondly, it dragged all his old skeletons out of the closet where they'd been quietly gathering dust. Suddenly, people who'd passed off his earlier misbehaviors as youthful indiscretions decided they wanted to prosecute him, one man in particular.
Apparently, one night when they'd had a little too much to drink, the members of Rideau du sang stumbled across a man trying to force himself onto his girlfriend. Saitou especially took offense and he pulled the man away, then proceeded to beat the crap out of him. Somehow during the scuffle Saitou's sunglasses managed to get broken and before he left he "exchanged" them with those of the other man. And four years after the fact, the man had brought the musician to court, hoping to get his revenge while the iron was still hot. And he did. On the charges of assault and theft, he was sentenced to ten years in prison. Everyone knew that it was unfair, but no one did anything about it. So Hajime Saitou, the famous guitarist, went to prison. The press had tried to keep in contact with him, but he'd wanted nothing to do with them and refused all interviews, effectively cutting off all contact to the outside world. He was now known to the world as hermit and the press had long ago stopped trying to keep in touch with him. That was the only reason they didn't know he'd been released from jail three years early for good behavior. One of the only people that knew this outside of the prison just happened to be Chou Sawagejou, who also happened to have been one of the band's roadies and the only person who had kept in contact with Saitou.
Which was the reason he was now standing in the studio, willing to become the new guitarist for Virgin Touch, whether the rest of the band wanted him to or not.
"Where the fuck were you?" Snapped Chou, any satisfaction he would have felt in seeing his old friend chased away by his annoyance. (2)
Saitou didn't seem to notice, or if he did he didn't seem to care. "The meeting ran late."
Chou raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. "Two hours late?"
The only response from Saitou was a smirk. A smirk which Chou did not really find all that amusing and he said as much.
"I was in jail for seven years," responded the golden eyed man, smirk still in place. "Like you said, I need to have a little fun."
Chou glared but found himself almost unable to keep the smirk off his face. "Yeah, but not when I've been waiting two hours for you."
Saitou shrugged again and tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear. "I stopped by the storage unit to see about getting my vehicles back."
That, Chou understood. It was a well know fact that Saitou loved motorcycles and he was actually surprised the man had waited this long after his release before he saw about getting them back.
"I see. How'd the meetin' go?"
"Fine."
"And the special circumstances of your parole?"
"They don't see a problem with it as long as I check in with the local police when I get there." He was speaking of the deal Chou had worked out with his parole officer in order to allow him to leave the state with the band.
Chou nodded to himself, pleased to have it all straightened out. "Good. Now that yer here, have a listen to them and then we'll get you introduced."
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Sanosuke was in the middle of laughing at something Glenn had said as the stepped out of the studio and into the conference room twenty minutes later. Of course, the laughter fell way from his lips when he saw who was already there with Chou. He knew that smirking face, he knew that high-ponytail and he knew those golden eyes. The only thing he didn't know is why he was sitting and the table and not in some jail cell.
The two men smirked when they saw the reactions of the band. For the most part, they looked shocked and a little frightened. And then there was Sanosuke, who looked a little puzzled but for the most part he just looked excited.
Still smiling, Chou stood from his chair. "I know this morning wasn't exactly like I said it would be, but now we can finally get down to business." His smile widened as he looked at the man still calmly sitting to his left. "So, here we go. Virgin Touch, I'd like you to meet your new guitarist, Hajime Saitou." He smirked a little. "Try to be nice to him; he's been in jail for the last seven years."
A huge grin spread across Sanosuke's face. "Are you serious? Are you fucking serious?"
Chou looked slightly offended. "Of course I'm serious. Do you really think I would joke about something like this?"
"Besides, he's blonde. He's not intelligent enough to think up something like that all by himself," spoke up Saitou for the first time. Chou quickly glared over at him, but the guitarist took no notice as he stood. "Like Chou said, I'm going to be your guitarist. I already listened to you a bit earlier so I'd prefer to not waste any more time and to get down to business."
With that he walked past the stunned group and into the studio.
The others shared a confused look before they looked to Chou for an explanation of exactly what was going on. The blonde smiled once again, enjoying the feeling of being the only one to know what was gong on.
"Since he was late this morning, you guys won't have time for a lunch break if you want to get any rehearsal time in. So you're going to rehearse until about three and immediately afterwards you're going to have the meeting with the stylist." Seeing the reactions of the musicians (especially Sanosuke), Chou held up a hand. "Calm the fuck down. You'll get some lunch while the stylist's dealing with you. Now go! We're not wasting the whole damn day."
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By the time three pm rolled around, Sanosuke was frustrated, pleased, and very, very hungry. He was pleased because he absolutely loved their new guitarist, frustrated because the guitarist also happened to be one of the biggest assholes he'd ever met, and hungry. . . Well, he was hungry because he hadn't had anything to eat since about eight am.
And so, since he was in a less than good mood, he was not really all that enthused about meeting with the stylist. He'd never been one for fashion and he really wasn't looking forward to having some gay man (or worse, some bubbly fashion model) tell him what clothes to wear and how to style his hair. All he really wanted, in fact, was a nice greasy pizza or maybe some real Mexican.
Next to him, Katsuhiro looked just as unhappy, except that Sanosuke had a feeling it had to do more with the guitarist walking ahead of them. He'd been in a sour mood since the moment Chou had introduced Saitou as their new guitarist and it had only gotten worse when it became obvious that they had. . . conflicting personalities..
"Katsu, stop glaring at the ground. It didn't do a damn thing to you."
His long-haired friend smiled a bit. "Not yet it hasn't, but it's just waiting to trip me. I just know it."
Sanosuke rolled his eyes at that. "Uh-huh. Whatever you say, Kats. I'd be more concerned about this fucking stylist if I were you. But I'm not, since God decided to take pity on me like that, so you go ahead and keep watching the carpet. OW!" He exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head. "What the fuck was that for?"
"Stop trying to be funny- you're not smart enough." Katsuhiro smirked and looked over at the drummer who was walking on Sanosuke's other side. "It's almost as bad was when Glenn tries to sing."
"Hey! Why are you bringing me into this? I wasn't even doing anything!" Glenn protested.
"C'mon, you know it's just cause we love you," said Sanosuke, once again smiling, wrapping an arm around the blonde's shoulders.
Glenn rolled his eyes and pushed Sanosuke's arm away. "Thanks, mate, but I feel loved enough. Now go get yourself some food before your stomach decides to eat you." With that he pushed Sanosuke towards the open door of the conference room.
Sanosuke didn't need to be told twice. He smiled back at his friends, then sprinted into the conference room, eyes falling on the large sandwich that sat on the table. He grabbed a section before falling into a nearby chair. He was happily munching away before he looked around the room for the stylist.
He didn't see him right away. His eyes were drawn instead to the racks of clothing that had been brought into the room and he swallowed nervously as he noticed all the leather that was there. Then his eyes fell across the man who was browsing through the racks, looking over at one of the musicians every now and then before going back to his clothing. Sanosuke assumed he was the stylist, but he couldn't be sure.
Once everyone was in the room and had enough food to last them for at least a little bit, Chou shut the door and sat down himself near the head of the table. "Saitou, you already know all this but these others guys are newbies so I'm gonna have to explain the whole deal. So just bear with me and try not to be too sarcastic, okay?" He seemed to take the lack of a response as a yes and continued right on talking while Sanosuke wondered if the only time Saitou spoke was to insult someone.
"Since you guys are a band and not just a duo or something like that, we're going to set up each one of you with a persona and a style. Each of you will become something different and you will follow this persona at all times."
Seeing Nick's (4) raised hand, Chou paused for a moment to let him speak.
"What happens if we aren't anything like our persona?"
This time it was the stylist who spoke. "It doesn't matter. You stay in character and pretend to be who you say you are." He smiled, white teeth flashing in his deeply tanned face. "I take it you boys didn't know you'd have to act, did you?" He shrugged, still smiling. "Don't worry about, you'll learn. My name is Tae Espinoza and I am Virgin Touch's stylist. That means it will be me giving you guys the once over before press conferences. I'll also be the one that decides what you wear on stage and for any album shoots which may come up."
He moved to stand near the clothing racks and the eyes of everyone in the room followed him, taking in his highlighted brown hair and impeccable dress. "Now, the basics first. Today I am going to give you each a persona and some clothing that goes with it. Since you'll be expected to assume these personas permanently, like Chou over there already mentioned, you'll be getting two distinctly different types of clothing. The first will be for everyday where, when you're just out and about doing your things. For most of you, you'll be wearing jeans a lot of the time. Of course, they won't be the same type of jeans, but we'll get to that later." He smiled again, obviously excited about what he was talking about. "The other type of clothing you'll be getting is more. . . Formal, if you will. This clothing will be mainly for concerts, photo shoots and press conferences. Don't worry if at first you don't feel completely comfortable in the clothes, it's only natural. But eventually, you'll grow into the style and you'll eventually start modifying it and making it your own." Tae laughed then and moved away from the clothes he had been fingering. "Now, I need you all to do me a big favor. I need you take your shirts off."
Sanosuke blinked, not sure he had heard that right. "Huh?" He managed to get out between his bites of sandwich. "You want us to do what?"
The stylist rolled his eyes and put his hands on his hips. "I need you to take your shirts off," he said as if it were as clear as day.
Four of the five band members still didn't understand.
"Uhh... Why, exactly?" asked Glenn, not really wanting to take his shirt off in front of a man he was pretty sure played for the other team. "I think we're all pretty comfortable as is, thanks."
Now Tae was beginning to look annoyed. "Don't worry, I don't really like blondes. I need you to take your shirts off so I can see how good of shape you're in. Because if you're out of shape, there are certain shirts here that would definitely not look good." He rolled his eyes once more and folded his arms across his chest. "Now will you follow Saitou's example and take your shirts off?"
Sanosuke looked to the side and saw that yes, in fact; Saitou had already taken his shirt off and was being examined by Tae. Not wanting to seem immature or childish, Sanosuke quickly did the same, shivering a little as the air conditioning hit his bare skin. Around him, the others did the same.
Tae obviously liked what he saw because he didn't stop smiling. "Perfect. You guys are all in really good shape, so I don't have to worry about giving you some of the more. . .immodest stuff. You guys can put your shirts back on if you want." They all took him up on his suggestion, Glenn a little more quickly than the others.
"Now that we're done with all the boring stuff, we can get started on the fun stuff," explained Tae as he headed back to the racks. "For Virgin Touch, we decided to go with a more of a visual rock style." He laughed at the alarmed looks on Sanosuke and Katsuhiro's faces. "Don't worry, it isn't anything near as drastic as the bands in Japan. But it is something new over here and since three of you are of Asian descent, we decided to go with it. So all of your styles will have a touch of the visual style behind them. Take Katsuhiro for an example. We decided to cast you as the smart, calm one of the band. So, you're going to be wearing dress pants most of the time with nicer shirts. However, the shirts are a little old-fashioned, think the seventeen hundreds if you will. And for on stage, you'll have a lot of flowing shirts and leather pants, mixed in with some vests. Most of your clothes will be in the classic black and white with some other dark, jeweled colors thrown in as well." He turned to the racks and grabbed a couple of hangers before handing them to Katsuhiro. "I want you to try this on before you leave so I can see what size to get you and how it looks on you, kay?"
"Yeah, sure," mumbled the bassist, looking down at the clothes in his arms with something akin to fear on his face.
Apparently Tae didn't see it because he passed right away onto Saitou. "We thought about maybe trying to change your image, Saitou, but we decided it would be an uphill battle since people already definitely have an idea about you. So we're going to make you the 'dangerous' one of the bunch. You'll be dressed in a lot of tight jeans with vests and shirts that show off your tattoo." Sanosuke blinked at the last comment. He hadn't noticed a tattoo when Saitou had been shirtless earlier, but then again, he hadn't really been looking for one either. "For the concerts we'll be going with the jeans and some leather from time to time, along with some more vests. Of course, if you don't feel like wearing a shirt, you can always go without." Tae winked at Saitou, but didn't hand him any clothes as he had done with Katsuhiro.
Sanosuke smiled as he watched Glenn fidget in his seat before sighing in relief as he was told he was to be the band's 'sweetheart.' But as Sanosuke watched Tae tell Nick about what his wardrobe would consist of as the 'playboy,' he felt himself beginning to get nervous. He had a bad feeling about what clothes he was going to get stuck with, he could just imagine something horrible and pink.
But when Tae lifted a shirt off the rack that Sanosuke could see through, he knew he was in trouble.
"That's for me?" Sanosuke asked, knowing he probably sounded a little nervous, but not really caring.
From where he sat just across the table, Katsuhiro smirked. "Aww, the poor little baby sounds scared. Does he need his big drunken step-dad to protect him?"
Sanosuke threw a tomato from his plate at the bassist. "Ha ha ha. Laugh all you want, Katsu. But at least you got a persona you can actually pull off. It looks like I'm supposed to be some sort of slut!"
Tae cleared his throat, drawing the singer's attention to him. "Actually, that's not it. As the singer, we need you to really stand out and to really grab everyone's attention. So you get to become the 'wild one'."
"Sorry, but I don't exactly see how wearing a see-through shirt is going to make people think I'm wild."
"I was getting to that, thank you very much. Like I said, you're the wild child. The one people expect to get arrested for drunk driving or be caught having sex with a prostitute in his car. You're the one that does things in excess, and that includes showing off your sex appeal. So that's why you're going to be wearing a lot of mesh, a lot of leather and a lot of tight jeans with holes in all the right places." Tae must have noticed the nervous look on Sanosuke's face, because he sighed and put the mesh shirt back on the rack. "Look, Sanosuke, I understand that you're probably a little bit nervous. But you have the body to pull it off and if you want this band to work, you need to do this. Besides, it's not like I'll put you in something you don't look good in. Now, will you wear the damn clothing or not?"
Sanosuke nodded and the man's smile came back full force. "Wonderful! Now that we've gotten the clothes out of the way we can start on your hair. . ."
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Fin du chaiptre
(1) Yes, the s is not capitalized for a reason. The band's name is French, so we're going by the French way of capitalizing letters.
(2) Don't forget, Chou hates people who are late
(3) I'm making myself drool here.
(4) Since Nick is his nickname, this is how I'm going to be referring to Leland from now on.