Disclaimer: I do not own Fushigi Yuugi and its characters. The Japanese Manga series was written and illustrated by none other than Yuu Watase
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Chapter 10
Miaka hated traffic. The eight minute drive from the promenade to Drew's house became a thirty minute drive. There was an accident on their side of the rode and police had vehicles going thru a detour. Putting on her earpiece she dialed Rafael's number who was a car behind her.
"Hello" his smooth, warm voice filtered thru the earpiece on her ear.
"Hi." She answered. "Normally it takes eight to ten minutes to get to Drew's house from the promenade." Blushing at the sound of his voice.
Laughter filtered thru the earpiece again, calming her frazzled nerves. "I think we'll be alright." He said in a an amused tone.
Smiling to herself she replied "I guess you're right. I'll pull over when we turn on the next street and we'll use the back roads to Fantasia."
"Back roads to Fantasia? That's the first time I heard that." He said amusement still present in his voice.
"Yes, originally by me. So it's copyrighted." She said. "I'll meet you at the corner.
"Ok then" he replied before cutting the call.
After signaling to make a right turn, Miaka stopped at a corner and waited for Rafael to make the turn.
When she saw his car. She rolled down her window and signaled him. He in turn acknowledged her by waving his hand.
They made it to Drew's house without incident. They both drove up the open driveway where several cars were already parked. Parking their cars. They both got out. Miaka went over to Rafael's side of the car as he got out.
"Nice ride." She said. As she assessed the car.
"Thank you for the compliment" he replied, watching her intently.
"So you have a 2012 BMW Z4 sDrive35is 335 horsepower, 332 lb-ft torque, seven speed, dual clutch, sport automatic with the M aerodynamic package and the M sport package." Miaka said.
Whistling low, Rafael said "I'm impressed. A woman who knows cars. But then I should have known that since you have 2003 e39 BMW 540i."
"Well, I have an older brother so that would explain some of it." She said. "C'mon, they're waiting and I think the sandwiches you got might save us."
"Ok then." Rafael said "shall we?"
"Yes of course." Miaka said. Leading the way to the detached garage where they had all the instruments and recording equipment.
"Hey what took you so long?" AJ asked. When he caught sight of Miaka.
"There was an accident and detours were crappy. So I took the back roads to Fantasia." Miaka explained adding "oh, by the way, let me introduce you all to Rafael Shu. I met him at the beach party."
"Hey there!" "Hi!" "Wassup!" "Hello!" "Sup!"
"Hello everyone." Rafael greeted back.
A guy with blond hair and gray colored eyes wearing a black MMA shirt and cargo pants "My name is Drew." Introducing himself. "C'mon I'll give ya a tour of the place so you can at least find the bathroom." Laughing as he said it.
"I think we should all go before you think of pushing him into the pool" a girl wearing an asymmetrical blue top over black bootleg pants with shoulder length blond hair and ice blue colored eyes said. "I'm Yui, by the way." She added
"My name is Ai." A girl with jet black hair and jet black eyes wearing a purple maxi dress said.
A girl wearing a green shirt and a black denim jumper, her eyes were blue green and her dark brown hair worn up in a ponytail. "I'm Felicity"
"And I'm AJ" a guy with dark brown hair and green eyes wearing a plaid polo shirt with dark blue denim jeans said finishing the round of introductions.
The group led by Drew, showed Rafael around the house after they were done, Rafael said "nice house. Very cozy."
"Thanks. I inherited it from grandma before she went back to London. I guess I got lucky. Three bedroom, two bath, private backyard and a pool. Drew said.
"Oh by the way, Rafael brought food in case anyone was hungry.. You know.. Peace offering" Miaka piped up as she held two bags.
A cacophony of voices and thanks came as AJ and Felicity took the bags from Miaka and hustled everybody to the table. Yui went to the kitchen and brought several cups and hot green tea.
"We can't afford to lose our voices now so no cold drinks yet!" Yui said over the din.
Miaka caught Rafael's eye and just shrugged and smiled sheepishly. Rafael's golden eyes glimmered with amusement as he smiled back, thinking it was never like this at the house. Everything was so serious, cold and quiet. While here it's noisy but there is warmth. I like this.
"Hey Yui, is Keisuke and Tetsuya coming over?" Miaka asked as she put away a sandwich for her brother and his friend to share.
"Tetsuya called earlier. They're going over to West Hollywood to secure a gig for us." Yui said "they might drop by later on."
"Where at?" AJ asked in between bites.
"House of Blues at Sunset blvd" Yui answered
Oh dang! That's a big deal!" Felicity Squealed.
"I hope we get it. So let's finish up so we can practice." Drew said.
"Uh huh. I hope we get it!" Miaka said carefully avoiding Rafael's gaze.
"So if you don't mind me asking" Rafael said after a sip from his tea "what does everyone do in the band"
"Drew and Miaka do vocals, I play the bass guitar, Yui does keyboards and the mixer depending on the song, Felicity does the drums and AJ plays acoustic guitar. But we can do some changes if needed since Drew can play keyboards and Miaka does bass anyone can do vocals depending on the song." Ai said volunteering the information.
"We just do this on the side, you know, to unwind. But if we get enough exposure then we can probably do this full time." AJ said.
"What is the name of your group?" Rafael asked
"Celestiaaleja" Felicity answered "it's Finnish for celestials."
"Felicity is part Finnish that's why." Miaka explained.
"I see. I can't wait to hear you all practice then." Rafael said. Noticing that Miaka's face started to turn pink.
"So let's go then!" Yui urged
After clearing up the dining room. The group marched to the detached garage.
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"So what's the song line up?" Felicity asked.
"We can do "Cups" first since we'll be doing it with just the cups, tables and microphones overhead." Ai suggested.
"That's right." As Yui fixed up the microphones as Drew pulled out the wooden card table from the side of the garage. "Then we can just decide what else to do after recording that song."
"So we're doing the version with four people, right? Complete with harmonies." AJ clarified as he finished setting up the recording equipment.
"Yes we are." Ai answered.
Miaka got a folding chair out for Rafael and ushered him to have a seat.
"Are you sure you're going to be ok with watching us?" She inquired
"Don't worry about me. Just pretend that I'm not here." He assured her as he took hold of her hand and gave it a light squeeze before she went to where her friends were setting up the table, cups and microphones.
Drew, AJ, Miaka and Felicity took their places and waited for Yui's cue. Intentionally seating herself where she could not see Rafael. Miaka could still feel his golden eyes on her. She took a deep breath and schooled herself to relax. A quiet hand signal from Ai indicated that they were starting.
Drew started with the cups and then all four of them started with the cups and the clapping, passing the cup they had to the person on their right without missing a beat.
Miaka started singing, her voice breaking the silence.
I got my ticket for the long way run
Two bottle of whiskey for the way
Rafael leaned back and allowed himself to be taken away by her voice
Even as Drew's voice joined hers in singing, blending with hers perfectly
And I sure would like some sweet company. And I'm leaving tomorrow, what'dya say.
Felicity started singing her lines with Miaka now lending her voice to blend with her friend's voice and the males with them humming the rhythm.
When I'm gone when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
He was entranced. Amazed. They were talented and they could actually sing while they used the cups and their hands as instruments without missing a beat.
You're gonna miss me by my hair
You're gonna miss me everywhere, oh You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
As the two male vocalists started singing. He kept his eyes on the russet haired siren.
I got my ticket for the long way run
The one with the prettiest of views
Rafael's thoughts wandered, listening intently to the lyrics which to him sounded true. He would miss miss Miaka. All logic was drowned by the voices of his soul and his heart, but this feeling, this emotion was very new to him. I shouldn't over analyze he reminded himself. It's just a song.
It's got mountains It's got rivers
It's got sights to give you shivers
But it sure would be prettier with you
The group was having fun that they just let everything loose, not minding the fact that there was a newcomer watching them. They were just into the moment.
When I'm gone when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
All you could hear were voices blending so beautifully that it was hard to not stop and listen.
You're gonna miss me by my walk
You're gonna miss me by my talk, oh
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
Then the play with hands and the cups started and with that Rafael was thoroughly impressed. Amazed at how they made it look so easy and fun. They were genuinely having fun.
When I'm gone when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me by my hair
You're gonna miss me everywhere, oh You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
Yui and Ai were smiling from ear to ear. So far so good. Everything was going well with the recording. Yui turned her eyes to look at the former emperor. She noticed that all he was looking at was Miaka, but she could not decipher what he was thinking. He has got some poker face right there. She thought.
When I'm gone when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
The harmony of their voices was perfect. none of their voices broke or went flat.
You're gonna miss me by my walk
You're gonna miss me by my talk, oh
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
A final play with the cups and the song ended. Ai turned off the record button and signaled that it was okay to talk.
"That was amazing!" Rafael said clapping his hands. His golden eyes resting warmly on Miaka.
"Oh..Uhm.. Thanks" Miaka replied flustered and turning pink as cottoncandy.
Seeing her blush, Rafael just wanted to hold her in his arms and kiss her senseless. He wanted to tell her that he would be her number one fan. that he would never leave her side. He wanted her to love him. He wished he could explain why he was feeling all these emotions without scaring her.
Yui's cellphone rang as they were setting up the instruments for the next song they were going to record.
"Hello" she answered "oh hey Tetsuya, what's going on?"
Yui was quiet for a while, listening to whatever the person on the other line was saying. Suddenly she shouted causing all activity to stop and excitedly said "are you serious?! We'll have it ready! Ok bye!"
"What happened?" A unison of voices asked.
"Tetsuya said we can get a permanent gig, if we could present at least six songs for them to listen." Yui explained
"Alright!" "Yeah!"
"Ok let's try doing covers of Thousand Years, Pumped up Kicks, Nothin on You, Moves like Jagger, Pay Phone, Smooth, Titanium, Stereo Hearts, Tonight Tonight, Unwell, Just a Dream and then figure out who would be singing what"
Wait! Wait! Wait!" That's a lot of songs we need to get licenses from especially if we release it online too" AJ said.
"wait up are we really going to do this? We need a proper recordin studio at least" Miaka said "let's not get ahead of ourselves.
"Ok if we're going to do this we got to do this right." Felicity said getting her MacBook Air from her bag. "We're looking up HFA® (2) and Songfile® (2)" her fingers deftly typing on the keys.
"Aha! Found it" as the rest of them all gathered to read what was written. Rafael took this opportunity to excuse himself, tapping AJ's shoulder to quietly signal him that he was going to the bathroom. The other nodded and went back to reading. When Rafael was out of sight, he pulled out his cellphone to make the first of several calls walking towards his car.
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A/N ok ok, the friends are involved not that much couple scenes but that will be coming pretty soon. Also I think you noticed that I like BMWs (Tetsuya was driving one on both the anime and manga.) I own one too. No offense to other makes. I'm just more familiar with BMWs
(1) The Harry Fox Agency, simply known as HFA, is a provider of rights management and collector and distributor of mechanical licenses fees on behalf of music publishers in the United States.
(2) Songfile® is an online mechanical licensing tool designed for the D.I.Y music industry market. It allows the public to search through over millions of songs and purchase licenses.
For the song that they did I used Cups (when I'm gone) that was sang in the movie Pitch Perfect by Anna Kendrick. But the version I used was the cover done by Kurt Schneider, Sam Tsui, Alex G and Kina Grannis which I keep on playing in the car (roflmao) if you haven't seen it. Here's the YouTube link:
/6y1aOg_UO_A
Sorry I don't have anyone to beta for me (yes I will keep apologizing) but I hope you enjoy the story. (Chibi mode runs and hides)
