Disclaimer: You've heard it how many times by now? I don't think you need to hear it again. But Tsunami Bomb and their song are not mine. They are a real band and that is their song, if you've heard it.
FOT: Hello! After so long of editing this and trying to figure out what was wrong, I gave up and threw in the towel. It is good enough.
Hitomi: So, why make this chapter a rush kind of thing? Cuz I mean, you know that's what left you to be unsatisfied with it.
FOT: I know, but it's easy to answer! 1) internet was on the fritz for a while. This was why the library was handy, but not entirely since we can't upload anything:short tantrum: 2) School is causing superboredom, and is leaving me little time. Thankfully part of this chapter was written in script format and in sketch form, so it was easy to put together. 3) Gotta find a job.
Hitomi: Oh, makes sense.
FOT: So yes. I don't like this chapter, no matter which way I look at it. I tried to make it fit and make it satisfactory, but school sorta got in the way and so did my reading habit and some life things that I'm sure you don't' want to hear about. But this took longer than expected to post due to my internet connection being on the fritz.
And……As for the question of intermissions they were a filling in of space due to writer's block or lack of being able to post (in other words my way of saying "Ack! I don't know what to do! I don't know what to do! I don't have time! I have time but no ideas! WHICH IS IT?" in a nice way)
And ryuu-takahashi: Yes, Masochistic-uke-yamato is to drool over…hahahaha!
So anyway, here is chapter 8.
('text') is thought.
Chapter 8
Yamato wasn't sure what he was planning to do as he lied in Yanni's room, watching whatever she was watching on her small television. It was an Independent movie; that much he could tell, but as to what it pertained to, he didn't care. There was a gig coming up in two weeks and Sonia was going to leave Japan on Thursday, which was in two days. It was late, and he could hear Lu and Als in the room across the hall doing whatever they were doing.
"Might as well use the phone," he muttered, receiving a questioning look from Yanni.
He stood up and walked toward the door, soon getting an extended arm with Yanni.
"Yamatoooo, where are you going?"
"I have to use the phone. I have to call a friend of mine. Um, do you have paper and a pen by any chance?"
"What color? I went to the art store and met your weird twin!" she chimed.
"My twin? Wait, you went out on your own!"
Yanni let him go in order to retrieve a purple pin from the pouch of one of her bears. Rushing to Yamato, not answering his previous question.
"Here's the pen," she sing-songed.
He walked out the room, finding a panting Lu leaning against the opposite door. He tried to cross back inside the room, but Lu shut the door before he could even manage getting his heel inside.
"You look good enough to eat, or fuck, or both," he muttered, pulling down Yamato's collar and tenderly sucking his neck, biting it in the process.
Yamato held his growl as much as he could as Lu pulled him in closer and tighter. But he couldn't stop himself when he blurted out for Lu to go fuck himself. At that cry, Lu backhanded him, making the youth hit the wall, nearly falling. He looked up noting that Als had come out of the room, only covered by an open plaid shirt.
"Lu, baby, leave that guy alone for tonight. You're mine tonight, don't you remember? Play with him tomorrow. Come on, let's play some more."
She entered the room again, Lu following right after. Yamato merely stood there, dumbfounded by what had happened. He quickly regained his senses and walked to the living room to grab the cordless from its cradle, walking to the kitchen right after. He opened the refrigerator finding a bowl full of grapes.
"Might as well, I don't want to pass out," he muttered, taking the bowl out and sitting at the table while he dialed Isis's cell-phone. She quickly answered, which was a first for him.
"Hello?" she asked.
"Isis, hey. It's Yamato."
"Ohh! Matty-Boy! What's up?"
"You talk to Sonia, right? Tai's friend?"
"My friend, too. Yes I do. Why? You want a date with her? No can do!"
Mat couldn't help but laugh. But somehow to him, he sounded too hollow. He cleared his throat as he chewed on another grape.
"No, I don't want a date, but I want to talk to her. Do you have her number by any chance?"
"Sure, but why would I give it to you when she's right here. You want to talk to her now?"
"Yes, please."
He waited while the phone was passed. He was able to hear the confusion before Sonia actually answered, given that Isis was also most likely confused as to why he wanted to talk to her.
"Hello?" Sonia nearly said in sing-song fashion.
"Hi. Um, Sonia, it's Yamato. Um, I want to talk to you again. Do you have a free day tomorrow or are you leaving tomorrow?"
"Um, actually, I double checked the tickets and I'm leaving on Friday, not Thursday after all. But if you want to talk tomorrow, I am free. But you have school tomorrow. And your education is very, very, very important."
Yamato nearly choked on one of the grapes as it passed down the wrong pipe.
"You okay?" Sonia asked, sincerely concerned. "You're not choking over what I said, right?"
"No," he coughed out. "Food, wrong pipe. But um, I'll skip class tomorrow. Just meet me in Isis' house or something tomorrow morning. We'll go talk somewhere quiet."
He could hear Isis in the background, clearly aware of what they were talking about. "You guys can stay at my house. Just don't do anything freaky. My mom leaves for work at five in the morning."
"That's good," he said. "I'm usually at the campus an hour before classes actually begin."
"QUE!" Sonia piped out. "Isis, he's at school an hour before it starts?"
"I told you he was the drill sergeant from hell," Isis laughed. "Even for practice. For a gig, he's ready two hours before any of us."
"Como lo hace?"
"I can't understand Spanish," Yamato harshly stated. "Well, I got to go. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Alright. Buenas Noches, Yamato."
"What?"
"I said, good night."
"Oh. Oyasuminasai."
(123!)
Tai walked toward Sora, who had been joining him for lunch since the beginning of the semester. As much as they had all changed, she almost changed the most. She had let her hair grow long and had it braided. They sat on the roof of the building, enjoying the heat the sun provided in the premature cold weather they were having.
"So," Sora started. "I heard something went wrong at the lounge gig this past weekend."
"If by wrong you mean a surprise visit gone wrong, then yeah," he muttered, taking a bite of the food his mother had nearly threw on him on her way to work. "But it was nothing big, I mean, I met Kari's new boyfriend and I swear, he is damned hot. Even when he plays, which is awesome."
"Hotter than Yamato, or not as?"
Tai cast her a short surprised look. "Um, I think they're about the same. But Hojo doesn't have that feel of music like Mat has, you know? He plays well, but he's missing the…What is it?"
"Unity," a new voice piped up.
Sora and Tai turned, catching Whitman walking up to them.
"Hello, Whitman," Sora said. "What are you doing up here?"
"My break buddy didn't come today, so I decided to see how the campus looks from up here. It's quiet up here. I wonder why he doesn't come up here?"
She stood at the railing, looking out at the track field, and seeing some of the students eating their lunch on the bleachers. Taichi just stared at her. No other teachers went up here, unless they were looking to discipline the "delinquents" that would manage to convince other students to skip class. But even the delinquents would avoid being on campus if they were going to skip class, usually.
"It's such a nice day, why would anyone want to stay inside?" she said, lifting her head to the sky. "Oh well. Some people just can't appreciate what nature has to offer."
Sora laughed lightly, unsure if it was meant to be a joke or a serious line. "Anyway, who is your break buddy?"
"Hm? Oh, it's the one you're talking about. He's always in my classroom, even when he's not supposed to be. I think he just wants the company just as much as he doesn't want it at all. He's a nice paradox. Although he tries to hide it through a silent protest, he is very bright. You can just see it in his writing. And, from what you two have been talking about, it is so among other things."
Tai just smiled at this. At least someone else was catching something about Yamato, even if others weren't.
"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself to you," she said, looking at Taichi. "I'm Mrs. Whitman. Sora was one of my students last year. And you are?"
"Yagami, Taichi. A friend, really," Tai said before Whitman could assume that he and Sora were an item.
"So, what about Yamato having 'unity'? I mean, I don't think you've heard Hojo or Yamato play, Whitman."
Whitman turned again, facing the two youths sitting patiently on the floor. She lowered herself and put her hands in prayer form on her lips.
"I guess what I meant was that he has a way of putting things together and showing his voice in them. It takes a tremendous amount of skill to be able to put your voice into anything to the point that someone else can feel what you are feeling. He is able to do that. It's unity. But it's different from putting your soul into it. That would have it become harmonious, and it would develop an entirely different meaning."
Tai looked up like she was insane. "Somehow, I understood what you said, but I still don't get what you're trying to say about Hojo."
"If I do the breakdown, you will get lost in the meaning," she laughed. She stood and started her walk toward the door. "Well, I might as well go to the teacher's lounge and see what little gossip they are able to give. Boring, really, when they have nothing better to do than gossip about their students. Well, good-bye."
(123)
Yamato panted, waiting outside Isis's door until he managed to catch his breath. The run from where Lu tried to grab him straight to his friend's house had taken a toll. He barely escaped getting beaten, yet again. ('He's just a horny bastard right now. Never going to hurt me, my ass. Wait, he did that already. Okay.')
He managed to compose himself enough to enter as though he had just ran past the campus to avoid seeing a hayaoki. Before he even knocked, the door opened, a half-asleep Isis meeting him. She waved a good morning yawn before walking past him. Sonia was sitting on the floor, watching whatever morning show was on, or at least whichever had caught her attention.
"You know," she started, shutting off the television, "I'm sick of that box. It's not as interesting as I thought it would have been. Must be from those foreign films I saw or something. I don't know."
Yamato just stared at her, unsure of what to say, or what would be the appropriate response. He didn't stay in that position long as he took off his shoes, deciding to stay quiet than to offend her. She seemed like the kind to be short tempered and did not want to trigger that, especially after the little gig incident and the incident at the school.
"So, what do you want something for breakfast?"
"Oh, it's okay. I already ate," he said, completely ignoring the fact that his meal was a bowl of grapes the night before.
"Too bad. I was going to make something out of whatever was edible. Well, I'll just wait for lunch then. Okay, so what was it you wanted to talk about?"
Yamato sat down on the floor, quietly taking out his notebook. Sonia took her place in front of him, looking forward to talking to him again, oddly enough.
"Um, I sorta forgot."
She looked at his confused look for a few seconds before breathing in deeply, commenting on how small her own brain was getting and how much more quickly his was deteriorating.
"You're an idiot. You call saying you want to chat, then you don't and now you say you forgot."
"It's not that! It's….It's just hard to word," he said, looking at the floor below his crossed legs. He really wanted to ask for her advice on what to do about his current situation, but he just couldn't bring himself to even speak of it. He was terrified if she went to the police that his family would get hurt. "Look, I'm stuck in this ditch."
"Yeah, I got that. So what are you going to do about it? I can't do anything about it, no one really can unless we know why you're in there."
"That's part of the reason I'm in there," he said, instantly wishing he hadn't. "I mean, there are consequences for what I say or do."
"Like losing your friends and boyfriend, except your band," she quickly matter-of-factly stated. "I'm guessing that's because you have a very close bond with your band mates?"
He let out a half-smile. "Not really a close bond. Isis would have most likely killed me had I left. And it's something that I just can't let go of. I mean, we want to be famous, at least Isis, Tom, and Jubi do."
"But you don't, right? Hey, that's okay. Every person has their own dream."
"Yeah, and we discussed that. We'll go as far as we're able to."
"Soo desu. But these consequences are worse than losing your friends and family in the sense that….?"
He shifted a little, unsure of what his reply could or was going to be. Maybe just dropping the bomb would be better than letting it hang, wouldn't it be? She never gave him the chance.
"Look. If it's that important, tell someone you know well. Someone you know that can help you. I can only do so much before my limit is reached. If I lived here, it would be a different story. Everything would be different."
"Yeah, half the city and those around it would be in trouble."
She wasted no time in smacking him nonchalantly.
"Looks like you forgot all I told you the other day," she said, quickly reaching around to start grabbing her hair, which had been bugging her, in a high pony-tail. "I have no idea what the hell kind of point you are trying to make or what you want to talk about for that matter, but I'm not going to give you the chance to confuse me! Great, I just confused myself."
Yamato looked up this time, praying for forgiveness.
"I need your help in getting Tai to forget about me, to just move on," he said, receiving a pre-disposed death glare.
"We already had that conversation. So why bring it up again?"
"The reason being that the next decision I make is going to hurt him more than those I already made. If he's away from me and if he forgets about me, it might not be as bad."
"'might not' being the keywords in your sentence." Her expression loosened, bringing in a small smile of realization. "But I can't do that. Once you've made an impact on someone's life, you can't make them forget you. Even if that impact was a bad one, you can't make a person forget another. Especially one that loved you. But it can bring in hate, which is sort of ironic."
"Any advice on how to turn him down a little less harshly?"
"The truth, maybe? But I remember you telling me you still love him."
"We already had that conversation."
She laughed. "True, but now to continue it."
(123!)
Tai was finally walking out of campus, having decided to talk to his teacher about a college. 'I should be doing something for my future, even if the present is turning out like shit,' he had muttered to himself in class. It didn't take him that long to see Isis and Sonia at the main gate. He didn't really want to pass them. He just wanted to go home and sleep, of course after he did his homework. But there was no way of getting around it, really. He finally caved and walked up to them, waving in the process. They waved back just as quickly.
"Tai, there's a gig in two weeks if you want to go," Isis piped up. "In fact, you're on the guest list. The owner is allowing for each band to chose five people to enter free of charge. They even chose specific bands! Ours was one of them! Eight bands and only three got chosen! Isn't it fun? You are one of the lucky five. And so is Takeru, of course."
"Wait, if there were five for each band, then how did you split it?"
"Yama got more tickets than the rest of us. He said he needed an extra ticket or two. I have no one to invite, since my mom's working that night, so I gave it to you. He doesn't know. Jubi doesn't have anyone to invite, so she gave it to him. Tom asked his girlfriend, new girlfriend. So, Yamato got three tickets. Not cool. I don't know who else he invited, other than Takeru."
She handed him the ticket, casually adding that the door cost was ten dollars. They each went their own ways, surprisingly. Sonia only gave him a farewell wave, not saying anything for her own reasons.
Once Tai arrived home, he noted Hikari already working on her homework, along with…..
"Hojo, what are you doing here?" he asked, trying his hardest not to stare.
"Oh, I'm helping Hikari study for her math quiz. She's been having some trouble with the quadratic formula. I keep telling her it's easy as pie and the most fun formula in mathematics, but she keeps saying otherwise."
Tai just nodded, not understanding what he found so easy about math, or entertaining for that matter.
"I'll leave you guys to it."
He quickly disappeared from the room.
"Told you math would make him go away," Hikari laughed once her brother was out of the room.
Tai merely lied on his bed, looking at the roof of the bed above him. He followed Sonia's advice. He kept saying little hellos to Yamato, even though the blonde ignored him, except that day he gave him only bit of memorabilia he had form the camp. He was starting to doubt that Yamato even wanted a basic friendship with him.
"He doesn't love me," he told his pillow as he turned around. "I don't know if he ever did. What if he just said that stuff? What if he never meant it in the first place? Damn him for making me think these kinds of things. Stupid Yamato. Oh yeah, homework."
(123!)
It was the day before the gig. The talk he had with Sonia had helped very little, especially when she nearly choked him after he said that it was useless to speak with her since she was practically a cave-woman. He was kidding of course, but he couldn't help himself. But it was then that he had made up his mind on what had to be done. It was the only way to protect his family and friends. And to finally make Tai forget about him. He was just glad that Tai reminded him about the kid he had helped at camp.
Yamato's thoughts were disturbed when Isis threw a towel in his face.
"What the hell?" he snapped, throwing the towel back at her.
"Wake up. We're demanding we play Tsunami Bomb."
"Who is?"
"Jubi and I," she chimed, starting to play a song by Tsunami Bomb on her bass, followed by Jubilee. "It'll be fun. Liven up the place. I say a cover."
"No covers," Yamato piped out.
"Why not?"
Yamato sat down on the couch, guitar on his lap, a serious look on his face. "Because covers are usually played by bands that have nothing else to play and they make it appear as though we can't play or write anything on our own. Covers are just technically the next horrible step. The original is obviously going to be the most remembered. Even if a famous band plays a cover, it will lead to their ultimate destruction, haven't you learned that?"
Isis looked at him with confusion on her eyes. Tom and Jubi looked at him with a similar expression. Isis then sat down next to Yamato, wrapping an arm around his shoulders before pulling him in a play-strangle. "That's the biggest load of crap I ever heard. Take it back! We've heard covers that surpassed the original track before!"
Yamato laughed, agreeing to play a song by Tsunami Bomb. This was most likely the last time he'd play with his friends and he wanted it to be lively. Of course what he was planning wasn't really bright, but it would suit what he wanted to accomplish.
He had given an extra ticket he had to Whitman, inviting her to see him play. She was more than happy to accept and promised she'd be there to see him play. He expected she'd understand what he was going to do, the main reason why he invited her. If anyone could catch it, it was Whitman.
Yanni didn't know. But he went to buy her a fairy doll to add to her collection. Now was the time he wanted to spend with his band mates. He promised himself he'd meet his father later on. He had to practically beg his band mates to go to practice earlier so that he could accomplish all he had to today. Luckily he overheard Lu and Als talking about dinner that night. Now he could go to his father's home, drop off the ticket for Takeru and then give Hikari the extra one. If he had given it to Yanni, it would have been suspicious.
He climbed the final flight of stairs leading to the apartment he had shared with his father, still remembering the apartment number. He knocked five times before his father opened, yawning lightly, obviously tired from work.
"Yamato? What are you doing here? You never came by before, come on inside."
Yamato stepped in, but kept his distance. "Hey, dad. I'm not staying long. I just came by to drop off Takeru's ticket for a gig I'm having tomorrow."
"Oh? Well, why don't you stay for dinner? I know it won't be much, being tv dinners, but it's something."
"I'd stay, but I have some stuff to do. I wanted to invite you and mom, but I know you're most likely going to be busy and mom had been busy."
His father nodded lightly, getting the feeling that Yamato wanted to avoid him. Yamato only gave him the ticket, wrapping his arms around him to give him a tight hug. His father slowly wrapped his own arms around his son.
"I love you, dad."
Yamato left the apartment building before his father questioned him. He moved as quickly as he could toward Tai's apartment, knocking enough to grasp Hikari's attention. She quickly walked outside to meet him before Tai could ask who it was.
"What's up?" she asked him.
"I just came by to give you a ticket to tomorrow's gig. Takeru most likely told you about it. I want you to go. I don't know if you're brother's going, though. The door price is ten dollars."
"I'll tell Tai about it. He's been out of it and by the look of it, you've been thinking."
Yamato only smiled nervously. Hikari was one of the few people that could notice. But rather than to continue being uncomfortable, he pulled the scarf he had around his neck down a bit, hoping it would calm his nerves.
"You're making it seem as though me thinking is a bad thing. I came to a conclusion recently and I just hope it's a good one."
"We all care Yama. Don't worry, I'll go, even if I have to nail Tai inside our home, I'll go."
"You do what you have to."
With that, Yamato left the brunette behind, deciding to return to his father's apartment to have his last meal with his father.
(123!)
Yamato sat outside the house strumming his guitar as practice for the performance he had been looking forward to. He had been sitting there for three hours, even with the knowledge that his band would come later to pick him up and then be off to the lounge. He finished the final three measures of the new song he had written out of spite for what had been happening. He smiled to himself. It would show everything. Anyone that figured it out would be lucky and he knew Whitman would understand it.
"It's going to be perfect," he said, not knowing that someone was behind him.
"What is?"
Yamato felt his blood freeze when he heard Lu's voice. He had been acting worse since his night with Als. But Yamato and Yanni both acted like neither noticed.
"The gig," Mat said, looking forward with no expression on his face but the terror evident in his eyes. "All my friends are going to be there. And Yanni. I'm looking forward to seeing her reaction to the music. She hasn't heard us play."
"I was thinking, you should really change your style for this gig. You should have a new look. You should wear some skintight black pants, tight see through tank top and a trench coat. That would be perfect. Show that great figure of yours. You should also start to play something a bit more hardcore, like black metal."
Mat didn't let his look change as he kept glancing at the gate, hoping for the band to show up with the van. But he couldn't help thinking it over. He reviewed his wardrobe for the night: One of the long sleeve shirts he had grown fond of, a dark blue scarf around his neck to hide the bruises, faded blue jeans torn at the ends, and brown converse. What was wrong with dressing the way they wanted?
('It's not like we're going to play at a fancy restaurant or anything. It's just a lounge.')
Taking him away from the friends and family he truly loved was enough to nearly break him, but trying to take control of the band he was in? That was ludicrous. It wasn't just him, but it was three other people! That was Bullshit!
"What's wrong with my clothes and the band?" he asked, not losing the passiveness he had. "It's not like we chose the style we wanted, it's what we're all interested in. It's just what we did without thinking. If one wants to change, that's fine, but changing us all? That's near impossible."
"NEAR Impossible. That doesn't mean it can't be done. By the way, that chick is on the phone," Lu said, handing him the cordless.
Mat waited until he felt Lu was inside before he turned around and saw the door shut. He sighed heavily before lifting the phone to his ear.
"Moshi Moshi?" he said, sounding angry, relieved, and exhausted.
"Yo, Yamato, what the hell was that about? Dude, that guy is insane."
"I agree, Jubilee."
"Dude, call me Jubi or Lee, not Jubilee!" the guitarist said as Mat laughed lightly. "Hey, we're going to pick up Tommy boy. He's misplaced his drumsticks again, so we're going to help him search. We'll be over to pick you up in thirty minutes. Is it cool?"
"No, actually it's not, but take your time."
"Dude, what's wrong? You usually just say 'Sure, but tell Tom I'm going to kick his ass if he doesn't find 'em in time!' You've been . . .. Hold on a sec," Jubi said. Mat soon heard "Yeah, yeah, yeah! I'm coming! Don't get your balls in a twist!" before she came back and told him they'd be by "In ten at the max" before hanging up. He put the phone down, never taking his eyes off the gate.
('So, they'll be by in about ten minutes? Seems like an eternity. I really hope that I'm doing the right thing. I mean, I hope I can go through with this. I had to let go of Taichi to keep him safe, I had to move out of my dad's house, I had to tell TK to keep away, and I had to lose contact with my friends to keep everyone safe. I was lucky to keep playing with my band mates. Five months like this? Forget it! Thank you for the lectures, Witman and Sonia! I just hope you guys can forgive me. I hope I'm making the right decision.')
His heart started to beat faster at the thought of being able to hold Tai without fear, if only one more time. He didn't like that Tai had still been keeping contact closer than he would have liked, but at least he got a reminder of what he was like. The confidence he had before, and the happiness he had. At least he'd be able to get that back soon. But how was a different question. It would probably be years before he was able to get it back, but he didn't care. All that mattered right now was getting his plan over with.
He caught himself starting to smile when a figure started to appear in his head. She was dressed like a fairy, then a doll, then as what she would be like when she figured out. Yanni.
('Bastard! I remembered everything except Yanni. I'd run, but I can't. I wonder how she'll deal with this. She had protected me and helped me. How can I help her? I made up my mind already. If I knew where I could run, or even if I could…I can't. It would only harm my family. It would harm everyone I care about. I'm sorry, Yanni. I know you can take care of yourself. You took care of me.')
He laughed a sarcastic laugh and looked at his watch. It was almost time. He stood up and walked to the house, ready to place the phone back on the receiver. He opened the door and saw Yanni dressed in a Flapper outfit. But she also had a parasol closed in front of her as she walked down the stairs with character, well whatever character was with that costume she had. She gave a small smile to Mat and spoke with an accent.
"Well, my. Don't you look just handsome today? What's the occasion, doll?"
"I came to take you to hear music," he replied, holding out his hand for her to take and continue walking down the stairs. "Do you want to come in the van with me?"
She gave him a confused look as he set the phone on the hook. Lu soon came in and wrapped his arms around Mat's waist. When Mat stiffened, he grabbed a hold of both his arms and crossed them in front of him, holding him firmly as he sucked on his earlobe. Mat struggled against him, making Lu's grip tighten.
"That is not proper behavior for gentlemen to do before a lady," she said. Yanni then smacked Lu's hands with her parasol, making Lu instantly let go of Mat. "Or at all."
"YEOW!" Lu yelled as Mat ran out the door slamming it behind him, Yanni walking behind him. Lu glared at the girl as she walked out of the door, shutting it. He held his hands firmly together, seeing as they both were hit with the hard metal of the parasol. "You little brat!"
Als ran down the stairs with her make-up half done. "What's going on!"
"That little. . . she hit me with her damned umbrella!"
Als couldn't hold in her laughter when she saw the marks on his hands. They were small compared to what he's done to Yamato and he complained about it? She nearly doubled over with laughter.
"Shut up, Alice!"
(123!)
Yamato spotted the Van as soon as he was outside the door. He picked up his amp and asked Yanni to pick up his guitar. He rushed to the Van as soon as he saw it, put his things inside and sat down next to Tom, their drummer, on the floor of the van. He asked Yanni to sit next to him on the "car," which made everyone look at him oddly.
"Um, Yamato," Jubilee started. "Why are you talking to her like that? I'm sure she's not stupid."
"She's not. She's really smart, but today she's. . .well, I think she's an Flapper from the 1920's."
"Ah!" Isis said. "That movie Sonia made me to see. What was it called? With the girl that killed that one guy and the guns with the music scenes and jazz? I don't remember, but she's not close to that one at all. Especially with the parasol."
"Leave her alone. I had to get her away from some guy."
"The psycho!" Isis and Jubilee said simultaneously. "They all are."
Jubilee drove the van out onto the street toward the lounge. She hired the volume on the radio as their favorite song started to come out. Isis, Jubilee, and Tom started to sing along (Tom and Isis making it seem like they were playing the song. Jubilee couldn't since she was the driver) as Mat started to see Yanni begin to get scared. ('Weird, she loved this song before,') he thought. He thought for a second, then leaned close to her ear.
"They're from another country. This music is different from yours, I understand, but they don't know this. The show we are going to see, it has a lot of this genre of music. It's music for us to express ourselves, sorta like Mozart and Beethoven. Or like Fitzgerald's novels."
She looked at him and she started to calm down. ('He catches on quick') she thought
Soon, they were at the lounge. It was an hour before their set and Lu's car was right behind theirs. Yamato regretted doing so, but he asked Yanni to go inside with Lu and Als. He walked with Jubilee and Isis inside to meet up with the other bands that were playing and see the new people.
Upon seeing the lounge, and how crowded it was, he was grateful it was huge. He looked around the crowd and spotted a few of his friends. As he made a mental note to thank them for showing up, even though he had been distant, he didn't notice the strawberry-haired girl only feet away from him.
"Ya-Ma-To!" Mimi yelled, running up to him, surprising the hell out of him, as she flung her arms around his neck, and that's when he noticed she was drunk. "I missssed youuu! Neva leve 'aichi ugh-an, kay?"
He pulled her arms down and put them at her sides, holding her so she wouldn't fall over, which she seemed like she was about to do every second she swayed. "Okay. How much have you had and why?"
She pulled up a hand and started to put down two fingers at a time, swaying in the process. "Iznat alat. And It's FUN!"
She threw her arms up at yelling "Fun" and nearly fell backwards. Yamato wrapped his arms around her waist to keep her from falling as she started to list what she drank.
"You're able to remember all that, but you don't remember how to speak properly?"
"'t coms w'th tal'nt 'weeth'rt. Youu l'k a wittle whyter. Ahhhhh, th'rs Tai!"
He noticed a figure start to run their way. Mimi was the first to turn around and lean on him.
"Tai! Ma bez frend!" Mimi yelled, clearly about to pass out.
"Tai," Yamato said passively. "How have you been?"
"Okay, I guess," Tai replied, holding Mimi up the best he could. "Babysitting her tonight. She found out her boyfriend, well ex-boyfriend now, was cheating on her right after he said he loved her. He broke up with her the next day. Nice way to show it, huh?"
Yamato looked away at that sentence. He threw an arm behind his back before he turned his gaze back to Tai. "Um, yeah. Listen, Tai, I. . ."
Someone grabbed a hold of his shoulder. He turned around and saw Jubilee smiling at him. "Mat, come on! We're on in ten. Stupid band that was supposed to play isn't showing up, we gotta play in their place. Isn't that gonna be fun?"
"As long as we don't have to play their songs."
"Exactly. For a damned 'respected band' they sure know how not to call ahead of time and say 'Hey, we're so cheap we can't make it.' Oh! Hey, Taichi."
"Hi, Jubi," Tai said, trying his best to keep Mimi from falling. When her weight pulled them both down, he only had a few seconds to grab her to avoid hitting her head on the floor. When he looked up, Jubi and Mat were gone. "That was close, right Mimi? Mimi?"
She had fallen asleep. He thought for a second. She was staying at her cousin's home, which was close by, and he had hitched a ride with Hojo and Kari. Kari owed him a favor. ('Fuck it! I'll take her home and be back in time to see Yamato's performance.')
(123!)
Yanni was sitting on one of the seats near the stage with Lu next to her. Als, with her hair almost a crimson color, was in front of her. She would rather be in her room playing with Hitomi than to be around these two while nothing could go wrong, but luckily she brought her to the performance. She tapped the self-made pocket of her dress, making sure the fairy hadn't fallen out. Glad that she hadn't, she turned her attention to the stage, continuously making "Wow"s so that Lu wouldn't notice her or pay attention since she was so "easily" distracted.
She looked at Mat, who was fidgeting on the stage with the equipment, constantly tuning his guitar. He looked at his band members, who each nodded once they were ready. He checked his scarf before he started to play the riff that got everyone started in the mosh-pit. He shot a look behind him when Tom began his drum solo too early in the song. Jubi merely looked at Isis, who turned around and nearly attacked Tom. Jubilee had to shout she was going to make her wear a dress on midnight on the coldest night of the year without nylons to make her stop. Jubilee followed Tom's lead, followed by Mat, then Isis. Mat was soon drowned into the music as his voice vibrated through the moshing crowd, with some safely away from the "hardcore" moshers, merely dancing to the rhythm. He started to liven up and get into the music he loved to play. He paid no attention to the crowd around him or the fact that Tom kept trying to speed up the tempo or the fact that he knew Lu and Als were burrowing lust filled holes into him.
The song finished and they began another that everyone knew as "That Song!" Mat was so drowned into the music, he didn't notice when Tai joined Ken in the pit. Mat merely saw the images he had seen when he and Jubilee had written the song: A kind of rebirth of a place that had been destroyed. But the lyrics she had written left it entirely encoded that he didn't even understand the metaphors she had, much like his own recent poetry and song lyrics.
TK entered the Lounge next with a group of friends he had made that year and nearly joined in the pit when Tai fell out, dizzy with distortion.
"Whoa! Tai, are you okay?" he asked, laughing in the process.
"No mommy, I don't want to go on the merry-go-round again. It was too fast."
When the song was finished, Mat scanned the crowd and noted TK sitting with his friends, except Koushiro. He knew that Koushiro and Jou had high expectations from everyone else. Koushiro was expected to go to a world-renowned university. Jou, on the other hand, was going to a medical university close to the area. They were most likely so engrossed in schoolwork that they forgot about the gig.
He saw Taichi sitting far from the others, Mimi no longer near him, and with a slightly pale skin color. Their eyes locked, but Mat didn't see Lu following his gaze. Yanni, on the other hand, caught this and spotted the five people sitting in front of Tai. They were all girls, except one boy. She took note that he was holding the hand of one of the girls, so the only other option was the teenager behind him.
Mat's eyes moved again and this time caught a hold of Lu. He caught him trying to find Tai. And he begged that Yanni did something to stop it, anything, much like she distracted him at that house. Whether or not she did, he didn't know, since Isis caught a hold of him once their song was over.
She covered the mike, and whispered "'No Good Very Bad Day' By Tsunami Bomb. Let's play it, you sing."
"Get Jubi to sing it! I don't know the lyrics much. And tell Tom no showing off! He does and I'll chop his fingers off."
Isis did so and she started up the bass. Jubilee continued and Mat followed. Jubilee moved to the mike and began.
"Why is it me? This not my day
I burnt myself with coffee and my brand new doggie ran away.
How can it be? I can't not believe
I don't have any money and I have to pay the bills today.
I wish that I could run away.
"Myself esteem is low, At losing I'm a pro
But there is one thing that I know
It'd all be good if I could just stay home
"What should I do?
He told me "I Hate You!"
I don't know where to live next year and my guitar won't stay in tune
Where should I go? I am so all alone
I broke my new computer and nobody calls me on the phone
I wish I weren't so accident-prone
Myself esteem is low. At losing I'm a pro
But there is one thing that I know
It'd all be good if I could just stay home
Myself esteem is low. At losing I'm a pro
But there is one thing that I know
It'd all be good if I could just stay home
Myself esteem is low. At losing I'm a pro
But there is one thing that I know
It'd all be good if I could just stay home."
The crowd cheered and applauded their performance with a great amount of enthusiasm. After another few songs, they noted they were close to overplaying their set. Yamato looked at Taichi again before glaring at Lu, who mouthed "These guys really suck." Lu shot him a possessive look, as though he were telling Mat he was just a plaything that can be easily discarded. But his look was nothing in comparison to the one Als was shooting. Whitman's words soon filled his mind as he dug further into Lu's metal eyeballs. ('"You have a very promising future, so please don't let anything stop you." Yeah, it's promising, all right. I can't wait to see the fireworks.')
Mat turned to Isis and Jubilee. "Okay, you guys. There's one more song I want to play, but it's more acoustic than anything. Tom! Tom can you come up with a drum beat to match in ten seconds?"
"Matty-Boy, I can do it in five as long as it sounds good!"
"Which means we're out," Jubi said, looping an arm around Isis as she unplugged her guitar. "C'mon sweetie, we're sitting now."
"Sidelines means pixi stixs."
"Good. Let's do it," he said walking up to the microphone. "Alright everyone. This is our last song."
Mat began to play a slow even riff that would have made many guitar legends proud. It was haunting, but Tom slowly found a beat that would stick. Soon Mat began to sing just as hauntingly as he was playing.
"Hello last breathe, to you I say hello,
It seems the end is near,
I saw her face look like the ghost,
She's just as scared of you,
I know there were more, but I'm the last,
She'll deliver you straight to hell.
Where did the sun go today?
The moon never smiled,
It hurts to say the truth,
It pains to hear your joy,
It pains but more to hear him cry,
So I'd love to see you die.
Look what it is you've done to us,
The ones that should protect.
You've done nothing but break our souls.
With what she saw,
How did she survive?
My smile, my joy, my laugh, my life,
I lost it all to you.
Can I just have life back?
Control, control, that's all you live for,
Why don't you just die?
Not her, not you, not me,
I read the letters of the past.
The pain, the pain, its all that's there,
You should have let them go.
It could have been more humane,
But that's just not your style.
You simply love the pain.
I wished for death, but it meant you,
Now I take the wish back."
Mat strum the last few cords, barely noticing that Tom had stopped in the middle of the song. The room wasn't murmuring with shock, unable to decode the words, since there had been so many messages as such before, but they applauded with just as much enthusiasm as before. Few in the room were really left in ill thought, Whitman being one of them.
Mat sent dagger eyes to Lu as soon as he opened his eyes, hoping that he had seen the message no one else had. Yanni looked as though she understood what was going on, what exactly was being planned, and was terrified, judging from her wide, wild eyes. She shook her head, then stood.
"I must travel to the ladies room and prepare for the next act. I will return when I am set and well."
She walked away from the table, unnoticed, and was about to walk past Tai. She stopped and stared at Lu's direction, making sure his attention wasn't on her. She knelt next to Tai and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't look at me," she whispered. "Your boyfriend's in trouble. You'll have to help him soon, but let him come to you. Stay with hope and remember that a shower at seven will save you the trouble of waking up early as hell. Keep an eye out for him. He's mad, he's sad, he's irritated, he's stubborn, and he knows not what he does. He won't tell you what has happened, but you have to be patient with him. Let him speak when he is ready, no sooner, no later. If you force him to, he will never learn to trust again. But if you make him wait, he will never say it at all."
With that she stood and walked to outside of the lounge. She gripped her parasol and was about to throw it to the floor in rage, but she held it over her head for a few seconds, then stopped. Grabbing the handle, the put the tip on the floor and sat on the closest bench, setting her head on her hands. She sighed heavily and thought for a second. She was out of character for the first time in years. Even when she was out of character, she was still in character, oddly enough.
('A character within a character. That's exactly how it was done for so long. Who am I tonight? Some dame? No. I'm never me, so am I me now, or will I be when Lu's stopped his game? Or will it be once I've fulfilled the promise to Onii-san?') She lifted her head and took the fairy out of her pocket, holding her firmly in front of her face.
"The idiot! He ruined everything, Hitomi!" she yelled. "He was almost out! But that song. Lu must understand if I do. He doesn't have a one track mind, but Yamato. . . the fool! He's going to be claimed, now, and a month from today . . . he might as well be dead now. But that is what he wanted wasn't it? The song said it all. He wants to die, now. Oh, why couldn't he see that Lu and Als were bluffing about harming his family? Lu would never . . . well, he would, but it's not him. Als is the one. He wouldn't…not to someone that young. He's going to make it look like suicide, just like Mark, oh poor Mark. Als will make him do it. She has before. How do I stop it? How do I keep Mat from having the next grave in my box?"
She set Hitomi on her lap and thought. She'd been gone for four minutes. Two more to think and get back. She was outside, so she could easily just forget it all and run away . . . "That's it!" she yelled, triumphantly as she strolled back inside.
(123!)
Yamato was in the van with his band members, drinking whatever was closest to him. His mind continuously nagged at him with every swing of his liquor, reminding him of what was going to happen.
Jubi had enough when she ripped the bottle out of his hands before he could continue and aim for another one.
"What the fuck did you do that for!" he yelled.
"Don't you fucking cuss at me, Mr. Secretiveoutofnowhere!" she yelled back. "What's up with you? You've been acting way too strange. And that song. . . my god. If the dead could walk, they would have been running in circles. I mean, Tom stopped playing and you know how big his head is, so full of himself."
"Hey!" Tom broke in, nearly dropping his soda in the process. "I'm not full of myself."
"I don't even want to know how the audience reacted, if they were listening at all. Yamato, what's compelled you to write such a song?"
Isis caught Mat's gaze, much like Jubi had, but added her bits. "Yes, you'll get your beer bottle back after you tell us, since that's what you've been looking at all this time, damned alcoholic."
Yamato's gaze drifted to Jubi's eyes. She was as serious as he was, but he had a much more relaxed expression on his. He figured he'd give her a quick summary and exclude the real reason for the song, even if she wouldn't believe it.
"Fine. When Tai left, some guy came up to me and pulled some crap out of his ass. Ya know, put me in a hole, basically. Something sorta happened and I cheated on Tai." ('More like I was forced into doing so and was raped in the process.') "I felt fucked up, but I didn't want to do it. The retarded angel on my right shoulder wouldn't stop nagging at me, so I broke it off with Taichi." ('More or less hoping to keep him safe. But the asshole wouldn't stay away.') "Now I feel shitty since I hurt him really bad and I loved him so much. So I wrote some of that in the song in spite of that. Now can I please have my beer back before I aim for the Heineken?" he asked with a smile.
"Is that guy the one that was sitting front row center? I mean, I saw Tai give a wicked scared look, song must have hit home. But that guy was really digging his eyes into you like it was going to get you to stop playing."
('Yes! It was him! Get him in jail! Get him locked up for life!') "I answered your question before, Jubilee. Now may I please have my drink like you promised?"
"Sure," Jubi said as she dumped the contents out the window, getting the Heineken before Mat could reach for it, before returning the beer bottle back. "First of all, a cheater is always a cheater, no matter how much you try to look around it. Second, I don't know what compelled you to cheat on Tai and I'm pissed off about it, I'm not going to lie. Third, you made a promise to Tai and I intend to keep it for you, since you're too ignorant to do it yourself at the moment."
"They say ignorance is bliss," Yamato said before he started to the door, ready to get out. He didn't notice when Isis had wrapped her arms around him.
"C'mon, Yamato," Isis said, pulling him along. "It's early. Let's have some fun."
('Yeah, I plan to enjoy myself before the rest of the night's events unfold. Oh well. Last meal, last day, last everything. Fun.')
"Okay," he said, opening the door and pulling at Jubi's hair. "See you inside. Oh, yeah. Tom, where's your girlfriend?"
"I don't know," he said. "Somewhere inside. She's acting stupid. We had a little fight and she went psycho."
Yamato laughed lightly, getting out and walking toward the Lounge, Isis in tow. Isis grabbed Yamato's arm like a lifeline, dragging him to dance with her. Even if he felt like he was dancing with two left feet, he managed, enjoying himself in the process, hoping to see his other friends one last time. He had made up his mind. He would see it through and would enjoy his last day. It had been a good run, right? He knew it was over. And so it would be.
(1234!)
After Talk:
Hitomi: Hello and welcome to after talk. Today we discuss the use of imagery and in why authors won't LET MUSES GIVE SPOILERS!
FOT: Because they are useless.
Hitomi: But you should have let me write that in!
FOT: No. You're as big a pain as they come! AND why the hell are you going to give the readers a spoiler?
Hitomi: entertainment purposes? I mean, school and over-reading sorta lackens a persons creativity.
FOT:attacks Hitomi, attempting to squeeze life out of muse: DILO OTRA VEZ! I dare you! You try studying for a psycho teacher, deciding what you want to major in, and hardly updating any stories because hardly anyone reads them and reviews them or because you have lack of time to write and edit or that you're getting writer's block, while the muse gives you more ideas, which in turn causes you to get more writer's block! It's hard!
Other Authors: WE KNOW!
Hitomi: I get it, I get it, now stop choking me!
Taichi: That was interesting.
Yamato: Yeah. College really does make a person moody.
FOT: SHUSHIT! Anyway, thank you guys for the reviews. I don't like pushing myself to write when I don't feel like it or have lack of ideas (and I don't recommend doing so unless you want a headache), but for you guys, what the hey! I'll do it, but it comes at a price (much longer editing, re-reading and editing). And I'll make one of you guys cry! I'll do it before the fic is over! Well, here we have translations and some clarifications with Hitomi!
Hitomi: Let's see (holds out coin) heads, espanol, tails, nihongo.
FOT: Yes, she's literally flipping a coin!
Hitomi: It's tails!
1. Oyasuminasai: Good Night
2. hayaoki: Early Bird
3. Soo desu: That's right/I agree
4. Moshi Moshi: Hello (when answering the phone)
5. Onii-san: older brother.
Spanish:
1. QUE: What?
2. Como lo hace: How does he/she do it?
3. Buenas Noches: Good Night
Historical:
Flapper: The flapper was what "modern" women were called in the 1920's. Actually, the flappers were sorta like liberated women. They wore lose clothes that showed their body form, and had their hair cut in a bob style. The movie "Chicago" shows some of this and could give you an idea of the bob style. Fitzgerald, for those of you that didn't know, wrote about the great depression, the jazz age, and on the flapper.
Well, do review and hope you enjoyed this. I liked writing it, though I wasn't satisfied (there's something missing!)