She felt so good in his arms. He cradled her like a newborn baby, supporting her neck with one of his gentle hands and holding her body with the other, never allowing her to even slip from his grasp; that was the last thing in the world he would do. Her voice spoke to him so peacefully every time she made a single sound and made him wonder how he could have ever lived without her. She was the reason he was where he was in this day and age. Without her, he would have nothing. At first she had been reluctant, lashing out at him with her voice when he did something wrong. But now, after years of being together, she was more tolerant and giddy. Even when he messed up, at this time she responded with something beautiful, as beautiful as she herself was. He tickled her sensitive parts with his strong but caring fingers now, hearing her voice call out to him in pleasure as he did what she liked best. Nothing was more soothing to Athrun Zala at this time. He could hear her voice calling out to him, telling him to go on and keep doing what he was. Athrun was more than happy to oblige-
"Athrun...?" Athrun blinked and turned his head to his left. Kira stretched his arms high above his head in the seat beside him and fought back a fierce yawn that only came out as a whimper. "What time is it...?" his brother-in-law asked sleepily.
Athrun glanced at his wristwatch and said, "Seven-thirty," finally releasing his grip on his guitar and taking his fingers away from her strings.
Kira shook his head to get the cobwebs out of his sleep driven brain. "How long have you been up?"
"About an hour," Athrun answered quickly, slipping his bass back into its case that was safely placed in the aisle between the rows of seats. The private jet they were on only had about twenty seats, so it was relatively small, but there was enough room on board to move around comfortably. Any convenience that could have been taken into affect had been imported into the jet's interior. Companies would do anything to get the endorsement of the most successful band in the world. "The others have been up for about twenty minutes. Yzak's in the bathroom, Nicol and Dearka are getting breakfast. I've just been sitting here for a while, waiting for you to wake up."
"Great," Kira said, slowly getting to his feet. "Think I'll get something to eat, then."
"Hey, what time is it back home right now?" Athrun asked, tucking his legs under the seat to allow Kira access to the aisle.
"Uh...about eleven at night, I think," Kira said, going over the calculations in his mind. "Why...you gonna call her?"
"Yeah, I figure I should. It's been about a week since I talked to her."
"She been busy?" Kira asked, referring to his sister.
"Yeah, pretty much. It gets that way when you're half a world apart."
As Athrun took out his cell-phone and headed back towards the plane's tail, Kira ventured forward a compartment and found Dearka, Nicol, and Mwu munching hungrily on helpings of sausage, bacon, and scrambled eggs, downing them all with boiling hot coffee. Kira helped himself to a link of smoked sausage and sat down beside his musical counterparts.
"D'you just wake up, Kira?" Mwu asked.
"Yeah...Athrun woke me up. What's been goin' on?"
"Nothin' much," Dearka said casually. "Just protests."
"Protests?" Both Dearka and Mwu gestured with their thumbs in a distracted sort of matter, not even bothering to leave their food. Kira turned to the small monitor just in front of the pilot's cockpit where an image was already playing across the screen. Wobbling over on sleepy legs, Kira squinted to get a clear view of what the television was playing. It showed the city of New York. LaGuardia Airport to be precise, where their plane was due to land later that morning. And there was a small group of people standing by one of the terminal gates holding signs and shouting something that Kira didn't recognize.
He was able to make out the voice of the calm reporter beside the protestors. "Here at LaGuardia International Airport, swarms of people are awaiting the arrival of the most successful rock band of the last five years, Iron Fist. Many of them are here to welcome them with open arms, fans of the group have already begun to dot the areas closest to the runway where the private jet is scheduled to land at approximately nine fifteen this morning. But there are also people here who are trying to get another message across to the band. One of anger and discontent over one of their songs on their newest album. The song titled Rock of Ages has garnered criticism in America, especially in the southern states over the material the song is about, fire and tearing down a building with the power of music. While many have dismissed the song as just plain fun, others have maintained that the song is meant for an entirely different purpose, one of violence and arson."
The screen panned to another location where a man was speaking before a crowd of gatherers. "The song is preaching to our young people that setting fire to buildings is okay...that music is a liable excuse to destroy things...!"
"Over the past few weeks several incidents have been reported of arson in several states and some offenders have cited the song as the reason for their rampage. Now, the band and its record company has released an official statement saying quote, 'We are completely astounded by the impact the song has had, but do not believe that it is deliberately responsible for the incidents," end quote. But as you can see people still are concerned over the impact of the song and are lining the terminal gate waiting for the band to arrive. Reporting live from LaGuardia International..."
"Pfft," Kira mumbled to himself, scoffing down another helping of sausage and bacon. "I can't believe their going after us because of that."
"Now you know how we feel," Mwu said. "I've had to deal with this all week. Label's been sued by four different parties claiming liabilities against you guys and the song. Bunch of morons looking for closure if you ask me. The only reason I didn't tell you guys is I didn't want to distract you from your gigs."
"Forget it," Dearka said before Kira could respond. "Like you said all those people are all a bunch of morons who don't have anything better to do as it is. Just forget about and let's look forward to what we've got later. America's waiting for us."
"Yeah, at least there's that," Kira agreed, gulping down some coffee. "Thank god we don't have to deal with this every day."
Twenty minutes later, at the rear of the plane, Yzak wandered out of the bathroom wiping his face clean with a rag and ran his sweaty palms through his silver hair. He spotted Nicol sitting by himself in one of the seats towards the rear and said, "Nicol have you eaten yet?"
"Yeah, I already ate," Nicol answered quietly.
"You need anything?"
"No I'm fine, thanks." Yzak shrugged his shoulders and headed towards the front of the plane where his breakfast awaited.
Nicol put his arms behind his head and casually crossed his legs. He glanced out the sun-filled window near him and could make out the skyline of New York City just a few miles away, the skyscrapers jutting into the atmosphere majestically. As he glanced at the metropolis gleaming brightly below him, the twenty-four year old let his mind wander back to another place even more beautiful to him than this; his home in the PLANTs where his parents and family waited. His father was a major political figure in the PLANTs and his mother worked as a lawyer in the high courts. Both of them had rather had Nicol gone into classical music rather than rock, but even after he'd joined the group they had supported him one hundred percent, which was all Nicol asked from them during his time with the band.
The other individual included in that group waiting for him to return, even more so than his parents, was his fiance of six months, Krystal. No one outside of the band, management, and his family knew about the engagement, which was exactly how Nicol wanted it. He was a private person in real life when he wasn't on the road with the band. Sure, he loved the interaction of being a music star, but like the performances, he liked to hang around the back, away from the spotlight that Kira, Yzak, and Athrun got. When he wasn't touring, he spent much of his time at home, with his family. It was hard for him to avoid the spotlight even when he was at home, but that was what he needed Krystal for. She was a very successful public relations director for a major corporation in the PLANTs and she had the business psyche needed to keep the public away at times when Nicol desperately needed time away from the glow of the spotlight. They had started seeing each other just after the end of the group's first tour five years earlier, when they had been introduced to one another at a party thrown by Nicol's own parents. She was three years his senior, but regardless of that Nicol had been captivated by her stunning beauty ever since that day. They'd been seeing each other for three years before Nicol finally got up the nerve to get on his knees and pop the question. To his surprise, Krystal had said no, but not in the way that it may have been perceived. It was just as the group was heading back to Orb to record the new album and Krystal didn't want to rush into marriage like that. Nicol had to admit that he didn't want to rush either, so it was mutually agreed that they would wait until the tour was finished before they held the ceremony. But still, even now as the plane began its slow decent towards LaGuardia, Nicol couldn't help but take her picture out of his wallet and look upon her beautiful face. She normally wore hazel rimmed glasses, but in the photo they were absent, so Nicol could see the brown eyes that held just as much joy and heart-felt love as the warm smile she displayed smartly and professionally. Her red hair, tied in a pony-tail that went to her slender shoulders, gleamed brightly back at him. Nicol couldn't wait to get this tour over with and get back to her. Somewhere up there, he knew she couldn't wait either.
As the group began to get their stuff together to exit the plane, Dearka asked, "Hey, you never told us who we're touring with this time?"
"Oh, yeah, I forgot...uh...you're with...Next Generation...and...Coaltown's your opening act for the rest of the tour up until we hit Orb." Mwu could just about hear the breath leave the five guys behind him when they heard him say it, but Mwu barely took any notice. "Something the matter?"
"Nope," Kira said, following him towards the door which now was swinging open. He could hear the fans outside already starting to scream. He squinted his eyes in the bright sunlight as he gingerly stepped onto the stairs. "Just thinking how wild this tour's gonna be!"
"Alright, hold it there...and...say cheese...!"
Flashbulbs went off in multiple choruses as the band tried their best not to fidget or blink amongst the fray of bright lights. It had been like this all day. Nonstop media attention in the United States' most populated city and media capital. At least now they were able to sit down after being shuffled from one location to the next by reporters and photographers who wanted just a single glimpse or word from them. Though the press conference wasn't something they delighted in, the quintet knew that if they wanted to maintain their current image they would have to talk to the media at some point. Now was the time.
"Question in the back, guys," Mwu announced, acting as field marshal in the media frenzy.
"Question for the entire band. How has this tour differed from the ones you've done in the past?"
"Not much really," Athrun said quickly.
"Yeah, they're all a lot of fun and as always our fans show up, so that's really the best part, but this time there's a whole new crop we've managed to recruit out there. Otherwise, there's not much difference between tours, no..." Kira finished.
"Over on the right."
"For the entire band, this will be your fourth tour in America, can you say anything in particular that you enjoy about coming here on tour?"
"The energy here is unbelievable compared to the rest of the world," Nicol answered honestly. "I mean, look right here the only other place we get this much attention is when we're back home in Orb. Otherwise there's no comparison."
"Up front here."
"Kira, can you talk about the controversy that's unfolded over one of your newer songs on the new album. Rock of Ages, I believe it's called."
Kira sighed visibly and deeply before stating, "I really can't understand what the controversy is really all about. I mean, everybody's saying that the songs passing subliminal messages through the lyrics, I believe that's what all the fuss is about...but really we had no intention of even thinking of doing that. Athrun and Yzak can back me up on that..."
"Yeah, all the song's about is having a good time partying and listen to rock," Yzak clarified.
"When you listen to it a couple of times you realize that the fire mentioned in there is actually a metaphor for the heat and intensity that burns within the spirit when you hear rock music," Athrun added. "That's what we were shooting for and we were just shocked when the reports reached us that stuff like this was happening."
"So you claim no responsibility for the actions of individuals who have committed the arson and the other crimes?"
"None whatsoever," Kira said simply. The others nodded their heads in agreement.
"Next question," Mwu commanded like a five-star general, his voice calm and coordinated. "Second from the left, guys."
"I'm sure you gentlemen have heard all the acclaim the new group Next Generation's been receiving lately and the comparisons to yourselves they are entreating. What are your responses to the critics who've been stating recently that the group is capable of being as great as you?"
Kira smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "I'd say that's cool. I'm fine with it."
"Just the fact that someone's actually being compared to us is compliments enough," Dearka joked, getting a laugh from many of the reporters and photographers.
"Yeah...well if that's what they want to say, we'll let 'em say it. Besides, we'll be on tour with them for the next few months as it is, so we'll let you make your own judgments at the shows," Athrun said.
"They're a very talented and gifted group and it wouldn't surprise me at all if they did surpass us in popularity at some point," Kira said.
"Two more, guys. Back right corner."
"As was stated before, there have been several incidents involving arson where the culprits claimed that your lyrics caused them to perpetrate the acts...as well as several lawsuits filed against you and your label...what are your responses to that...?"
Kira paused. He turned towards Mwu and whispered, "Are we allowed to..."
"Uh, at this time the label has disallowed any of their representatives to comment on the recent matters so neither myself or the group is able to answer that question at this time," Mwu announced smartly. "Last question, middle row, second to left."
"Is there anything you'd like your fans in the Atlantic Federation to know as you head out on tour this week?"
Kira smiled. "Sit back and enjoy the show."