A/N: I decided to do something different and write the first part of the story in first person. It turned out rather well I think.

Your Ex-Lover is Dead by secondghost

.IV.

I was going home. A part of me was disappointed the concert was canceled, but a larger part of me was thankful because I now had the opportunity to go home and see the man I loved. It had been three months. Three long months. I couldn't believe I hadn't seen my love that long. We had a couple of arguments and even a big ass fight when I told him my tour was going to be extended but that didn't matter anymore. I was going home. I was going to see him, apologize, and we would both make up and be like how we were before.

I approached our apartment door. It was kind of late. I took two trains and a cab to get here, but it was the fastest way I could come home and see him. He might either be asleep or staying up late studying or playing video games. I hope he still isn't pissed when I see him.

I open the door and step into the threshold. Odd. I see a pair of shoes that don't belong to either him or me. But maybe he had friends over? It is Saturday night after all. As if to validate my theory, I see a pizza box on the coffee table and several beer cans on the floor. Great, he got drunk. I shake that thought off though. I didn't want to scold him. Didn't want an excuse to get pissed off again. I scan the room for a sign of his friends but there isn't anybody. Again, a little odd. But maybe his friend is sleeping in the guest room? Yes, that seemed likely.

I tiptoe to our bedroom door. It is quiet. Yes, he must be asleep. I smile at the thought of creeping up quietly to our bed, slipping in, and laying a gentle kiss on his lips. He probably won't wake up at the touch (he is a deep sleeper after all) but at least I'll be there when he wakes up in the morning. It'll be a nice surprise.

I open the door and step inside. Odd. There are clothes all over the floor. Some of the clothes seem to be his but the others…no. They look like they don't belong to him. As my eyes dart to the unfamiliar shirt, the unfamiliar pants, and the unfamiliar socks, my stomach automatically fills with dread. I look at the bed. There seem to be two lumps under the covers. One of them is him—I can see his bushy brown hair poking from the top—but the other…who the fucking hell was that?

All lateness of the night forgotten, I grab the duvet and pull it off the bed. Yes, my Taichi was on the bed, fast asleep and snoring, but next to him was another man. Another blonde man. And to complete this image of my worst nightmare, yes, they were both naked.

I scream. I scream curses, insults, and all other words and phrases that convey my horror, my anger, my complete and undeniable fucking anger. Taichi awakes and so does the other man. I immediately lunge on the other blonde. I punch him. Choke him. Pull his hair. Tell him to get the fuck out or else I will seriously kill him. Taichi tries to restrain me. He tries to grab my arms but I am too strong for him and he is too tired and drunk. The other man grabs his clothes and makes for the door, but not before I lunge on him again and punch him, this time breaking his nose. Taichi manages to restrain me this time, giving the other man time to run out to the hallway, into the living room, and out of the apartment. I am still screaming. I am kicking my legs and struggling and yelling at Taichi to let me go. To let me kill that fucking home wrecker.

Taichi is crying, begging with me to stop. As his pleas reach my ears, I turn and look at him. His eyes are drowning in tears, his face screwed with sobs. Blood is pounding in my ears. I slap him. The sound resonates throughout the apartment, cruel, cold, and final. I tell him it's over. I tell him I don't want to hear whatever fucking explanation he may be attempting to prepare. He wails, tries to hug me, tries to beg me to hear him out, but I tell myself not to listen. Tell myself not to fall for it. I walk to the threshold and begin putting on my shoes. Taichi is still begging, still begging for me to stay, sobbing about how much he loves me and how sorry he was to let something like this happen. I tell him sorry doesn't cut it. He falls to the floor and tries to hold onto my leg, but I am too fast for him. I leave. I stand outside our building and call for a cab. I spend the night at my father's place. The next morning, I call The Wolves and ask them to do me a huge favor. Later, they arrive at our apartment and begin packing and taking my stuff. Taichi tries to talk to them, tries to plead and bargain with them, but the boys won't listen. Like me, they now only see Taichi for what he really is: a cold, hard fucking cheat.

"He-is-late!" K-san exclaimed as he paced the studio.

"Chill K-san, he has like one minute," Akira said, checking his watch.

"That's not good enough," K-san said, loading his gun. "Early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable!"

"Maybe he just slept in," Yutaka suggested. "I mean, this is the first time in weeks you gave us a chance to. Maybe he got carried away."

"Thirty seconds," Akira said, keeping time.

"Come on K-san, Yamato is hardly ever late," Takashi said. "Let him off just this once."

"Who do you think I am, Metta World Peace?" K-san said, taking aim. The rest of the boys shrug and glance at each other with puzzled looks. They had no idea who or what Metta World Peace was.

"10 seconds," Akira said.

"God, I don't want to watch," Yutaka said, shielding his eyes as K-san assumed his position.

"5…4…3…2…1—"

A loud bang ended the countdown. Akira and Takashi whistled and began to clap while Yutaka peeked beneath his fingers. Yamato had just arrived. He was leaning against the open door, panting and clutching a stitch at his side. Behind him, in the hallway, on the wall, was a large, gaping hole smoking and smelling strongly of gunpowder.

"Sorry," Yamato gasped, stepping into the room. "Sorry for being late."

"You're not late Yamato, you got here on time," Akira said, showing Yamato his watch.

"He is late!" K-san said. "About time you get here, Ishida. You better not make this a habit!"

"A habit? Never," Yamato said, taking a seat. "Not unless I want you to destroy this entire building."

"Now that Yamato has finally graced us with his presence, let's begin our meeting," K-san said, using his gun as a gavel. "Now, who can tell me how many demos we recorded yesterday?"

There was a pause before Takashi answered, "One."

"Correct, one. Now, who can tell me and explain why we only managed to record one?"

"Because you're too freaking picky K-san," Akira replied.

"Correct, and also because you four were failing to cooperate. It's Tuesday boys, Tuesday! We need to get this demo to Tohma by Friday!"

"Chill K-san, that's plenty of time," Yutaka said.

"Not if we're going at this rate. You also only have two new songs. We'll be recording the other one today, but if you guys really want to give Tohma a spanking new demo with more viable content, then I say three tracks would be a much better way to go."

"Another song?" Akira whined. "Really K-san, do we look like we can just fart out songs just like that?"

"If that gets you Tohma's approval then sure, why not? But all jokes aside, you guys really need to step up and write another song. Yamato!"

"Yes?" Yamato said, inclining his head towards K-san.

"I think we all admit and accept that you're the best lyricist in this band. Tell me, did you do the assignment I gave you and manage to produce some lyrics?"

"Funny enough, I did." Yamato took out a notebook and handed it to K-san. "That's just a draft though so it's not perfect."

"I see, I see," K-san said while reading. "And you call this…'Your Ex-lover is Dead?'"

Yamato nodded.

"That sounds like a really depressing title," Akira said. "I thought we were going jazz, not emo."

"Shut up," Yamato said. Akira chuckled while K-san passed the notebook to Takashi.

"Hmm, not bad," Takashi said, handing the notebook to Akira. "Some parts just need to be smoothed over though."

"Indeed," K-san said. "Okay, this is the plan! We'll record demo number two today and tomorrow will be devoted to perfecting and adding the best dang music to Yamato's song!"

"Hold up," Yutaka said, taking Yamato's notebook and skimming through the song quickly. "I just realized something."

"And what did you realize?" K-san asked.

"If we are recording new content and, more specifically, a new album, shouldn't we have a producer already?"

"K-san is our producer," Akira said.

"Yeah, he's our manager and one of the producers. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't we have an additional producer last time? If we really are going to release a new album, we should have another person working with us. We should've had someone at the beginning actually."

"You are absolutely right," K-san said, pointing his gun at Yutaka. "But fear not. I have already secured another producer. You will meet him tomorrow."

"Wait, what?"

"Tomorrow?"

"You heard me," K-san said. "Tomorrow."

"But why tomorrow?" Yamato asked. "Why not now or at the beginning?"

"Why? Because I said so. Now enough with the chitchat. We've already wasted fifteen minutes waiting for Yamato and talking logistics. Get in there Akira and scat!"

K-san fired his gun into the recording area. Bullet holes appeared on the glass. Akira sighed, got up, and said, "Why do I always have to be first?"

"Man, I'm beat," Yutaka said, yawning outside the N.G. Building. Their day was finally over. Yutaka and Yamato were standing outside the sidewalk waiting for a cab. Akira was still inside using the bathroom while Takashi, their "band captain," was talking to K-san. "Yamato, you wanna go get a drink or something?"

"Sorry, can't," Yamato said, sending a text message.

"Mayumi?" Yutaka asked, glancing at the screen. "Man, how long have you two been dating again?"

"Six months, and we're not dating," Yamato said, flagging a cab.

"Still, six months is a long time to be messing around."

"So I've heard," Yamato said, getting into the cab. "I'll see you Yutaka."

"Bye Yamato!" Yutaka waved. A few seconds later, Akira and Takashi exited the building.

"Hey, where's Yamato?" Takashi asked Yutaka.

"He just left," Yutaka said.

"Oh, I wanted to give this to him," Takashi held up Yamato's notebook. "He forgot it back there."

"You'll have to give it to him tomorrow, he's going to Mayumi's," Yutaka said.

"Ah, okay. I'll have to give it to him in the morning before we go to work. K-san made some additional suggestions for Yamato's song and he wants Yamato to look them over."

"Just text him," Yutaka suggested. "He'll probably be back home by then."

"He's still seeing Mayumi?" Akira asked. "I thought they weren't dating."

"They aren't dating," Yutaka said. "Just fucking."

Takashi made his way up the fourteenth floor. He thought it was silly how even Yamato's building fell for the superstition surrounding the number thirteen. There was nothing scary about the number, really.

In one hand, he was carrying Yamato's notebook. The other was drumming on the walls of the elevator. He couldn't understand why K-san didn't just draw Yamato aside after recording and give him his feedback. Instead, K-san had decided to call on Takashi and tell him that as "band captain," it was his responsibility to pass on his constructive criticism to his other band mates. Takashi thought that was a load of bull—K-san never had trouble telling The Wolves what he thought about their music in front of their faces—but perhaps K-san had noticed it too, noticed how flustered and distracted Yamato was becoming during work. It was rare for Yamato to be late. Other than Takashi, Yamato was the most prompt and responsible person in the band. It was odd to see Yamato daydreaming during meetings or have him record the chorus of the same song fives times, which was what had happened yesterday. And although Yamato did do his assignment, the lyrics he had turned in were different from the work he had previously been producing. They seemed to hint at some sort of emotional anguish or disturbance, especially the title. Perhaps things really weren't going well with Mayumi? Takashi didn't know, but at least returning Yamato's notebook was a good excuse to check up on the blonde and ask what had inspired his sordid lyrics.

The elevator arrived with a ping! and Takashi walked out into the hallway. Yamato's apartment was fairly close to the elevator, so he didn't have to walk much. Takashi was about to raise his hand and knock on Yamato's door when the door next to Yamato's apartment opened and Takashi had to blink his eyes very fast several times to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.

Taichi had stepped out. He was wearing a suit and clutching a briefcase in one hand. Taichi stared blankly at Takashi for a moment, but then his face dawned in comprehension when he realized who it was. Taichi chuckled and raised his hand in a friendly salute and said, "Takashi! Wow, I almost didn't recognize you for a moment!"

Takashi's jaw dropped. "Taichi?"

"The one and only," Taichi said. "Are you here to visit Yamato?"

Takashi nodded. Taichi smiled.

"That's nice. Anyway, I'm off. I've got to get to work. See you!"

And he left. Takashi gaped after Taichi until he stepped into the elevator and the doors closed. He was so shocked, he almost forgot why he was there for a moment. Shaking his head, he rapped loudly on Yamato's door and braced himself for what was to come.

Yamato opened the door.

"Hey Takashi!" he said. "Come in!"

Takashi entered the apartment, feeling apprehensive. Yamato bustled into the kitchen while Takashi removed his shoes. He entered the kitchen and sat down at the table. Yamato smiled at him.

"Do you want breakfast? I was just making an omelet."

"Sure," Takashi said. "You know how much I like your cooking."

Yamato turned to the stove. "What do you want in it?"

"Anything, I'm not picky," Takashi replied. Yamato turned to the counter, cracking two eggs in a bowl and beating them steadily. Finally, summoning his courage, Takashi cleared his throat and spoke.

"I, er, ran into someone outside."

"Oh really?" Yamato said, stirring the eggs. "Who?"

"Uh…Taichi."

Takashi braced himself, expecting Yamato to drop the bowl of beaten eggs and start screaming, like he used to when anyone in the band accidentally said Taichi's name. But when the blonde added the eggs to the frying pan and began to add spinach, cheese, and mushrooms on top, Takashi wondered whether or not Yamato even heard him.

"Er, Yamato? Did you hear what I just said?"

"Of course I did," Yamato said, now adding salt and pepper to Takashi's omelet.

"I just saw Taichi. Right now. In the hallway. Next to your apartment." Takashi bit his lip. "What is he doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Yamato said, now adding basil. "He's living here."

"Living here? Are you serious?"

"Yeah," Yamato said, flipping the omelet to the other side. "I saw him moving his stuff in yesterday."

"Oh," Takashi said. "This is…wow…surprising…"

"Tell me about it," Yamato said, tipping Takashi's cooked omelet onto a plate. He grabbed two bowls from the cupboard and began filling them with rice. "I was pretty shocked. I thought I died and went straight to hell."

"But you're not, er, pissed about it?" Takashi asked as Yamato set the rice and omelets on the table.

"I was," Yamato said, sitting down. He grabbed a pair of chopsticks, stared at them for a moment, and sighed. "I was pretty fucking pissed off about it actually. I thought I was going crazy for a moment. But yesterday morning, while I was trying to write that song, I told myself I wasn't going to let it bother me anymore. It's been three years. Three damn years, and I've had enough of getting a heart attack every time I see him." He picked up a tidbit of rice and began to chew on it. "I mean, I'm pretty much over him, so why should I get flustered and depressed from just seeing him?"

"That's good to hear," Takashi said, beginning to eat as well. "I was worried for a moment. I thought you were going to be, well, raving raging Yamato again."

"That part of my life is over," Yamato said, helping himself to some omelet. "I have more important things to worry about. Like that song for instance."

"Yeah, here," Takashi said handing the notebook to Yamato. "K-san wrote some comments in it."

"I hope he didn't draw guns all over my notebook like last time," Yamato said, glancing at the pages.

"So how do you think Taichi ended up living here?" Takashi said. Now that he knew Yamato wouldn't get mad talking about the brunette, Takashi was eager to continue the conversation.

"How should I know?" Yamato said, reading one of K-san's comments. "Coincidence is a bitch."

"Yeah, coincidence," Takashi said. "So what are you going to do?"

"Well, first I'm going to ask K-san what he means by 'gloomy, blood flowered frivolity' and—"

"No, no, about Taichi," Takashi said impatiently.

Yamato set the notebook on the table. "I don't know. What should I do?"

"I don't know," Takashi said, taking another bite of omelet. "But you've got to admit, isn't it awkward? I know you're over him but it must feel weird to be living right next to him."

"I did think about that," Yamato said. "But really, I hardly spend time here at home anyway. If I'm not at the studio, we're on the road or at another press conference or interview or something." He paused. "Plus, I've been spending more time with Mayumi."

"But I thought you two weren't dating," Takashi said.

"We're not," Yamato said, taking a sip of water. "But, you know, I'm starting to feel a little bad. He's getting pretty clingy lately. I know I should probably tell him I don't want anything serious, but every time I try to bring up the subject, his eyes get all teary and he starts looking at me like a puppy."

Takashi laughed. "Oh Yamato. You've really dug yourself deep into that one."

"I know six months is too long to be sleeping with the same person. But, you know, he's nice. Hot too."

"I know, I've heard. Maybe he thinks the more you sleep together, the more likely it is you'll be in a relationship?"

"That's not going to happen. I've got too much going on with my life to be in a relationship right now. Especially since we're recording a new album."

"Mayumi isn't going to like that. Maybe you should just be honest with him?"

"Yeah, maybe," Yamato said, finishing his omelet. "It's just, well, hard."

"I know," Takashi said.

"So, are you seeing anyone?" Yamato asked. "I know we see each other almost everyday, but, you know, we're so busy recording we hardly have time to talk about personal stuff."

"Tell me about it," Takashi laughed. "But no, I haven't been seeing anyone. Not since Sayuri and I broke up."

"I see. Hey, but you and Sayuri still talk right?"

"Yeah, we check up on each other every once in a while."

"That's cool. I can't imagine being friends with an ex."

"Not even with Taichi?"

Yamato frowned. "Why would you say that?"

"Well," Takashi said slowly. "I just thought…since he's living next door to you now and you seem to be alright with it…maybe you two can be on…better terms?"

"It's getting late," Yamato said with a glance at the wall clock. "Takashi, help me with the dishes. And after, let's work on the song lyrics. We have to add music to it today and record it tomorrow after all."

"Okay," Takashi said, gathering up the dishes. As Yamato made his way to the kitchen, Takashi sighed. It seemed like his friend was still having issues with forgiveness.

"Not bad, not bad at all," K-san said reading Yamato's revised lyrics. "Good job, Yamato! This is top-notch work right here."

"Takashi helped," Yamato said. He took the notebook from K-san and passed it to Yutaka and Akira. "But we want to get everyone's feedback first. Make sure we're all on the same page."

"No problem, I'm sure Yutaka and Akira agree that's some good stuff," K-san said, raising his gun to the ceiling and letting it catch the light. "Besides, we don't have time for anymore lyrical revision. We need to start adding music to this song. The demo's due tomorrow!"

"And are we getting a day off tomorrow?" Akira said a little too eagerly.

"Hmmm," K-san said. "A day off? I'm not sure I foresee that."

"Aw, come on!"

"K-san, seriously! We're overworked!"

"Yeah, we're not even getting paid overtime!"

"Alright, alright, not to worry, you guys will get your precious day off. I guess I can present the demo to Tohma myself tomorrow morning. Shame he won't get to thank you four in person, though."

"Yeah, too bad," Yutaka said sarcastically.

"Okay, now that we've got all that settled, Akira, grab your guitar and—"

"Hold up," Takashi said. "K-san, aren't you forgetting something?"

"I don't know. Am I?"

"Yes, you are! You said you would introduce us to our new producer today! So where is he?"

"I thought you four would never ask," K-san said. There was a maniacal glint in his eye. "Prepare yourselves. I will be summoning him right now."

"Summoning?"

"K-san, what do you mean—"

The question was interrupted with a loud bang and a huge cloud of smoke. While The Wolves coughed and attempted to bat the smoke away with their hands, a shadow of a person had appeared by the door.

"Aw, come on K. I told you I didn't want a grand entrance."

"Wait—"

"Oh my God—"

"Is that—"

The Wolves turned to the door as the smoke cleared and there, wearing a leather jacket and jeans was Nakano Hiroshi, guitarist of the highly acclaimed Bad Luck.

"N-Nakano-sama?" Akira gasped, hardly able to breathe.

"Y-You're our producer?" Yamato stuttered.

"Looks like it," Nakano said, stepping into the room. "And you guys can call me Hiro."

He extended his hand out for a shake. The Wolves walked over to him, awkwardly.

"It's really nice to meet you," Takashi said.

"I never thought this day would come," Yutaka said, voice cracking.

"It's really nice to meet you guys too. And K!" Nakano exclaimed, stepping up to K-san and giving him a hug. "It's been a while."

"Glad to see you haven't cut your hair or lost that leather jacket," K-san said.

"So," Nakano said, glancing around the room. "K says you guys are working on a new demo right? That's cool. And I heard you guys got four days to work on it. Back in our day, Bad Luck only had two. Shuichi was always going into hysterics—"

"Ahem, we can have story time later," K-san said pointing his gun at Nakano's temple. "You are their producer, so make sure they get to producing!"

"Alright, alright, chill," Nakano said, taking a seat. "So what song are we working on today? K already sent me samples of the first two demos and they're really good. But I know you're working on one more today."

"The lyrics are in my notebook," Yamato said, pointing to it. "We're supposed to add music to it now."

There was silence as Nakano read through the lyrics in Yamato's notebook. The Wolves were staring at him in awe, unable to believe that they were in the presence of such greatness. K-san was standing in the corner, polishing his gun and ensuring it was shiny enough to show his reflection.

"Right," Nakano said in a more business-like tone. "This is a break-up song, right? So we really need some slow, heavy chords and then boom!—speed. Akira, you're the guitarist in this band right?"

"Yes," Akira said proudly.

"Do you think you can give us some tunes?"

"Can I?" Akira said eagerly. And without even complaining about being the first to go, Akira grabbed his guitar and began strumming like no tomorrow.

"Today was a good day," Yutaka said, gazing up at the setting sun.

"Yeah," Akira said, staring dreamily at a bird flying by.

"I can't believe we actually did it," Yamato said, stretching. "And we have a day off tomorrow."

"I can't believe Nakano Hiroshi is our producer," Takashi said. "I almost got a heart attack when I saw him."

"Tell me about it, this is amazing!" Yamato said, smiling.

"Hey, do you think this'll give us a chance to actually play with Bad Luck?" Akira asked. "I mean, we haven't booked any new shows yet and Hiro-san is our producer after all. Maybe we can ask him to play a show with us, we can open for them and everything."

"That would be awesome," Yutaka said. "But I don't know if they'll be up to it. Bad Luck has been on hiatus for a while. I think that's why Hiro-san decided to become a producer."

"I thought the hiatus was only until Shuichi got his relationship issues sorted out," Yamato said.

"Well, yeah, but I heard Shuichi's in New York now. Him and Yuki Eiri moved there to have a quieter life or something. I heard he's been hanging out with Sakuma Ryuichi too."

"Yutaka, you read too many gossip magazines," Takashi said. "Anyway, why don't we all go out and celebrate? Who's down for a couple of beers and some grilled meat?"

"I am!" the rest of the boys yelled. They laughed and began walking to the food district of Downtown Tokyo, where there was a good bar and grill The Wolves often frequented. They were lucky N.G. was close to the district. It allowed them to walk to the bar quickly enough so fans or paparazzi wouldn't harass them.

Yamato smiled to himself. He hadn't felt this happy or this carefree in days. He really didn't want to worry about anything else. Especially about his ex-boyfriend.

.TBC.

A/N: Review? Thanks to those who have so far. Next chapter will have more Taichi.