The Duties of a High School Guitarist

Chapter Fourteen

"Feelings aroused by the touch of someone's hand, the sound of music, the smell of a flower, a beautiful sunset, a work of art, love, laughter, hope, and faith—all work on both the unconscious and the conscious aspects of the self, and they have physiological consequences as well."—Bernie Siegel

"How's your beach trip going, Kyoko?"

Kyo blushed, just hearing him call her by first name without any honorifics was enough to send blood to her cheeks and get her heart pumping. She twirled a wet strand of ebony around a finger and looked around the room she'd claimed as her own in their condo. Through the walls she could hear Ami watching her favorite anime show and Mari fussing around in the kitchen to prepare dinner. Her older sister had returned from her relaxing time at the beach a little flushed, and her aura was so vibrant in color that Kyo had almost been blind. Whatever she'd been doing, she was very pleased and just a little bit aroused.

"Well," she looked around her room suspiciously a moment before lowering her voice, "I think Nee-chan and Fuuto-kun have finally gotten together."

"Oh?"

"Yup, things have been really heating up around here between them. I did tell you about him kissing her in public, right?"

"Did it go further than that? Behind closed doors?"

Kyo giggled, "You have no clue."

Niwa-kun whistled and she shifted on her bed to a more comfortable position. "I didn't see Himimori-san as that type…"

Honestly, neither did Kyo as she filled in the recent happenings to her boyfriend. She couldn't believe that her sister had allowed Fuuto to mark her like that, let alone give into her feelings for him. Mari had been through so much hurt and seen the worst the world had to give that Kyo worried that she would never open her heart fully again. She understood that Mari was hurt the most by their parents' death and with the fiasco in middle school, it was a miracle in itself that she was affected at all by Fuuto's teasing and taunts. As far as the dark haired teenager was concerned, Fuuto was a good guy despite his cold and uncaring demeanor. Auras don't lie about a person's feelings and thoughts. He clearly cared for Mari even if it was in a rather weird and questionable way. Their interaction with one another was always filled with a hint of tension that clearly neither one of them took to be sexual despite the colored light surrounding them. Whenever they were in the same room for long periods, their auras searched for the other and meshed together in such a way that it was beautiful to watch.

More often than not, Kyo found herself wondering if she and Niwa-kun would ever be like that. She couldn't see her own aura unless she found someone else to look for her which was highly unlikely. Yet, the colors surrounding Niwa-kun always shined the brightest when she was around, and the cold look in his eyes seemed to melt until it seared her skin. He was hiding something dark and it scared him, but she trusted him with her life no matter what secret it was that haunted him.

She laughed at his plans to tease the idol when they returned to school, but then a thought suddenly hit her. Fuuto's dedicated fans would rip her sister apart for sure when they found out that she was dating him. Fear coursed through her at the thought of the bullying starting up again after everything was beginning to die down. Maybe celebrating her sister coming out of her little box was too soon.

"Kyoko? What's wrong?"

How does he always know when I'm upset even though I haven't said anything? "I'm worried about Nee-chan. Fuuto-kun's fan club is going to slaughter her when they find out."

"It's not going to happen."

"How do you know? So many things could happen! And—"

"Kyo," his voice soothed the roaring in her ears and she stopped mid-word, hypnotized. "I understand you're worried and scared for Himimori-san, but she's not going to be alone. She'll have us and despite his physique and personality, I highly doubt Asahina will let anything happen to her."

"But—"

"You've seen it yourself, Kyo. If there's anyone who knows that guy's true intentions, it's you."

She sighed, he was right as usual. "Why do you always make me feel stupid for worrying needlessly?"

His chuckle sent shivers down her spine and he said, "It's never my intent to make you feel foolish, but I try my best to calm your fears."

Kyo smiled, the strand of hair knotting around her finger. "Yeah, you're good like that. Ne, Harue-koi, thanks."

~o~

Mari pinched the bridge of her nose for patience as both Ryou and Kai insisted in escorting her down to the limo that was taking them to the stadium. Already their need to act as bodyguards were grating on her nerves and it would only get worse as word continued to spread over the internet of Fuuto's "secret girlfriend". Sakura, one the women who had confronted her the other day, apparently had a blog and she revealed all of the day's happening in such graphic detail Mari wondered if the woman had a fucking recorder attached to her body somewhere. Of course, the cruel words they used to attack our blonde heroine were left out and all fault laid on Mari. Thankfully, no one knew her name yet but it was only a matter of time. After all, Sakura's group of followers had taken pictures and there was one of her and Fuuto during their album photo shoot on the beach. She was splattered all over the damn news and, according to Fuuto, the only reason why her name and other information hadn't been released yet was the manager's many contacts.

How long would it be until paparazzi began to stalk her and her sisters, too? She now understood completely why Fuuto had first hit the stage as Asakura Fuuto rather than using his family name, but even that one last act of privacy didn't last long.

She frowned, yanking her arm out of Ryou's hold when she suddenly remembered that she was furious with the two of them. They had a fucking bet on how long it would take her and Fuuto to get together, those assholes. And it wasn't just them either, the entire Asahina siblings (minus Ukyo-san and Masaomi-san) had taken lots as well. As it turned out, none of them won which Mari rubbed it in their faces every chance she got between furious blushing and hiding behind her hair. God, it was so embarrassing at how Fuuto decided to announce their relationship (if she could really call it that since he basically considered her an object that happened to have feelings and a ferocious personality when provoked), and boy was she livid when he directed the spotlight all on her. Definitely got her back for earlier that day in the studio, and she had to explain the entire thing in as less detail as was possible. Unfortunately, Tsubaki had already figured out most of what they were doing alone together before she even finished. He blew everything out of proportion and had Ukyo-san not silenced him with a stare then both Ami and Wataru wouldn't have looked at her in the same way again.

Ryou and Kai hadn't been much help either, both of her bandmates were on the fucking phone and filling everyone else in on the news like God damn reporters! Just what the hell? Though later, when most of the excitement had died down and Ryou had time to talk to the new couple alone, the serious conversation began.

"What are you going to do, Fuuto? You know that your fans aren't going to be happy," he said, crossing his arms and staring down at the young idol with glowing topaz.

Fuuto wasn't the least bit intimidated by the drummer and leaned casually against the balcony outside the Asahinas' floor. "Yeah, I know."

"So? What're you going to do?"

"Are you offering?"

Mari watched them talk back and forth in silence, not really interested in the conversation and swirled her drink around in its glass. Either way, they wouldn't have listened to anything she had to say other than to tell her it was all for her safety or some shit. She raised an eyebrow as Fuuto's gaze seemed to flick to her face periodically as he talked with Ryou. At first she didn't notice them and had brushed them off as him getting distracted from being bored with the topic at hand. However, she began to realize that his glances always lingered longer than it should have, as if he was making sure she was still there and alright. Was he always this aware of her or could it be that he didn't want her running off into trouble? Since, she thought bitterly, trouble was attracted to her like moths to a flame.

Ryou rubbed at his face tiredly, "How long do you think until they find out her name, Fuuto?"

The pop star shrugged and appeared unbothered by the possibility. "It was bound to happen anyway."

"What is with this noncommittal attitude, man?!" Mari jumped at the sudden rise in her friend's voice and nearly dropped her glass. "Is she nothing but a prize to flaunt around? The two of you have had this weird and strange connection since day one, but your treatment of her is cruel and abusive!"

Fuuto raised an eyebrow and turned to invite Mari to their discussion. "Am I ever hurtful to you, Mari?"

She blinked and tilted her head, "If you consider the mind games and ruthless teasing, then no. And may I remind you two sexist pigs that I can handle myself?"

As if she had found the cure for terminal cancer, the idol lifted his arm toward her in quick applause and returned his attention back to the drummer who accepted defeat coolly. She shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. If they had asked her opinion in the first place instead of arguing it out, a lot of time would have been saved. Boys, in general, were idiots.

Returning from her reminiscence session, she dove into the car head first and collapsed on the farthest seat from the door. She was totally done with their need to corral her into a two-man box and the constant presence of another person when she just wanted to be alone. Fuuto knew that she could handle herself just fine, but maybe he didn't call them off for the same reason she suspected Kyo didn't put up much of fight in her defense: They both wanted to be prepared for the worst. In the case of her sister, when the hell did their positions become reverse? Even Ami was adamant about Fuuto, her perfect prince, guarding her older sister and ensuring no evil witches carted her off. If anyone succeeded in "carting her off" then kudos to them because Mari would have to be unconscious for them to get away with it so easily.

"You guys need to fucking cool it with the overbearing bodyguard act."

Kai chuckled, immediately getting a bottle of water out from the cooler and tossed one to Ryou. "You're so cute when you pout. Does Fuuto-kun ravish—"

She launched her shoe at him with a snarl filled with enough venom to kill an adolescent. Despite the converse leaving an imprint on his cheek, Kai found a way to release a roar of laughter at the tint of rouge decorating her cheeks. Did everyone have to constantly make sexual innuendos that somehow centered around Fuuto's fucking love mark? Ryou shook his head at the two of them and waited until things calmed again before saying, "I know you can take care of yourself, but I'm worried about the reporters' safety."

"Their safety? Why?" Her brows furrowed in concentration as she began to shift around to a more comfortable position on her stomach.

Kai tossed her shoe back in the general vicinity of the blonde and rubbed at the shoe print marring his face. "As much as you pride yourself in controlling your emotions, we all know how much of a short fuse you have."

"Hey! I do not have a short temper!"

Ryou raised an eyebrow, "Uh-huh. Sure."

"Well, let us rephrase then: You used to have a nonexistent temper until you became involved with Fuuto."

"The hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means," the drummer grinned, "that you didn't come alive until Fuuto started to bother you nonstop."

There was nothing she could say to that comment and so, the blonde guitarist decided to ignore the two men with a quiet snort and take a short nap. Traffic here was outrageous at best and in consideration to his fans, Fuuto had left at the crack of dawn to prepare for their concert in Ami's honor just like he had promised. She was still surprised that he had remembered such a thing after everything that happened in the past couple of days and found a newfound respect for him. Even if he pretended to be a heartless bastard at times and always tried to make her squirm, he truly cared for friends and family. Despite the way in which he handled Ryou's hard questions, she could see that he was concerned yet had all the confidence in her abilities to take things into her own hands with little difficulty. She often found herself thinking about the pop star and noted all the changes that had come to pass with each second he was within her presence. There were times she wondered if the Fuuto who was cold and cruel ever existed in the first place, but then he would do something that got a rise out of her and she was quickly reminded of who she was dealing with. If anything, he knew how keep her on her toes and paranoid to the point of jumping at the nearest sound.

Just what was up with this weird way of thinking anyway? All her thoughts were focused on Fuuto and his stupid fans nowadays. It was becoming a never ending theme and she didn't like it. She wondered if it was only her thinking about their relationship, about him, about every little thing, and about the future ahead. Maybe she was overthinking it, but the last time she'd been in a relationship with a boy in middle school and that hadn't panned out too well. She could still remember everything about him too and it always brought an ache to her chest that instantly flowed to her hip. Her heart stuttered and she jerked away from the memories threatening to surface.

"Oi," Kai shook her shoulder impatiently. "Albino, it's time to get out."

The guy could never get near her or her sisters again and she knew without a doubt that he was being held at the farthest penitentiary possible. She was safe and that was all that mattered. She took a deep breath and raised her head to peer at the bassist in annoyance. Couldn't he see that she was trying to sleep? Then again, she was kind of grateful for his interruption.

"We're here. Ryou's getting antsy, too."

"He is pretty old to be traveling around so much," Mari said, picking herself up and shoving her foot back into her shoe.

Outside the limo and holding the door open for his two friends, Ryou snorted, "Aren't you a little young to be riding in a vehicle with adult men?"

Mari laughed as she exited and shoved him to the side. "Someone's a little testy about their age."

Swarming the fences with their cameras and phones, fans screamed out her bandmates' names as they continued to dawdle by the car. The security was having a hard time keeping them back as the group started to head inside, both Kai and Ryou smiling for the women and posing quickly with a few lucky ones before dashing inside. She shook her head at their antics and followed the men inside without sparing a glance at the harsh glares digging into her back. Without a doubt, the fans were clearly antagonistic toward her even though they had no proof she was the same girl or had a hold of her name. As she shut the door behind her, she began to mull over the thought of having to deal with harassment after returning home and knew her entire school was going to flip their shit when she stepped foot on campus. The Angel of Love must have taken her joke a little too seriously if this was going to be the consequence.

Immediately, Mari was dragged to her dressing room with four different people talking to her at once about this or that. She went along with them willingly and nodded periodically to let them know she was paying attention to their crazy woman babble. Gentle hands brushed through her hair, their fingers caressing each curl delicately as they weaved it in a beautiful masterpiece, and another hand with long fingernails took it upon herself to add a fierce sharpness to Mari's eyes. More than once she was asked to close her eyes for long periods as a brush feathered across her eyelid and mascara added volume to her lashes. She stiffened when someone grabbed her wrist to begin the task of painting her nails and only when the grip loosened did she relax her shoulders. The process in changing her into someone she wasn't normally took hours and she still had to get dressed without messing up the stylists' work. It was one of the most annoying things she had to do while preparing for any performance.

It took two stylists to pull the form fitting shirt over her head without destroying her new face and even then they had to doctor her hair again. She had infinite patience when it came to this part of being a guitarist to a famous idol and remained perfectly still as they sprayed her hair with more hairspray. Once satisfied that it was as hard as a rock, the stylists left with a final warning to not mess up their masterpiece, and Mari was finally left alone to pull the shortest, frilliest skirt she'd ever seen in her life on. The white socks that came with it reached to her mid-thigh and had swirls of color that meshed and blended together beautifully. Her abdomen was fully exposed from the long sleeved top that did little to the imagination of her figure, and she rolled her eyes in disgust at any fashion guru's need to show off her toned muscles. It was bad enough that she had to become someone not her, but to be wearing such skimpy, girly, and colorful outfits made her nauseous.

"What a face you're making," Ryou said from the doorway and making Mari jump in surprise.

She stuck her tongue at him, "Shut up, Topaz. I really hate skirts and this one is really short. I wouldn't be surprised if the entire audience couldn't see my underwear."

"It's not like you'll be at the edge of the stage anyway."

"Knowing Fuuto," she muttered with a cross of her arms, "he'll pull something off script."

"And what a sight that'll be," Ryou chuckled and slid out the door before she could retort.

Ever since the pop star had announced their weird ass relationship to everyone more or less involved, she had a sense that everything was thrown out of proportion. Maybe she was a little slow when it came to these things, but the last time she'd been this close to a boy was a long time ago and even then she hadn't known what to really expect. How was she supposed to act with each kiss, touch, and glance when in reality all her femininity had been locked away? Given that the idol was opening her Pandora box of emotions, Mari was still finding it difficult to understand what it was she was supposed to do. He treated her the same except now, it felt more possessive and a hint of protectiveness that made him gentler toward her than before. Don't misunderstand her, Fuuto was still very much an idol with a screwed up personality, but it was the tiniest things that had shifted into something new.

She sighed, very confused in her own mental ramblings and starving from skipping out on both breakfast and lunch. A large meal of snacks the staff provided was in tall order and she left her room to search for the buffet table. Her mouth watered when the sweet aroma of BBQ wafted into her nostrils and she quickly piled a plate full of it along with a side of coleslaw. Just as she was about to dig in, a throat cleared noisily above her. Mouth still gaping open in preparation to bite into her meal, she glanced up to meet bemused caramel. His eyes travelled from her face all the way down to her legs which were crossed tightly due to the ridiculously short skirt. She could feel the heat rushing to her face that she quickly willed away in annoyance. There was no reason to flush like that when he was only taking in her outfit! He'd done plenty times before, commented about the lack of morality she had in showing herself like that, and go on his merry way while she sputtered expletives behind him.

But, this time their normal conversation was different. He took the chair beside her as his throne and, without any hesitation, pulled her hand that was holding the fork to his mouth for a bite. She was so astounded by the whole entire thing that she didn't say anything at first until he made a move to grab some more from her plate. Yowling, she slapped at his hand and glared. How dare he eat her food!

"Get your own," she grumbled and scooped some BBQ onto her fork.

"But you already have a plate full," he said with a pout.

Just who the hell was he?! He has to be bipolar or something! "Yeah, and it's mine. I'm a growing girl, you know?"

He muttered something that vaguely sounded like "Don't I know it", but she couldn't be sure because he reached for her fork again. Like a ravenous beast, Mari jerked her fork into her mouth and chewed extra slow to rub it in his face. Amused rather than irked, Fuuto reached toward the table and grabbed a fork of his own. She blinked at him as he calmly ate her slaw and only when there were a few bites worth left did she finally react.

"The hell! Stop eating all my food!"

"Mmm…You don't want to share?"

"Not when you're eating all of it, no!"

"Stingy," Fuuto said around a mouthful.

She huffed but let it go since there was plenty of BBQ left for seconds and he wouldn't just give in to her demands so easily. With each bite they shared off her plate, the more intimate it became. Mari realized this as she chewed her last bite of the sweet pulled pork and decided that nothing was ever going to be the same again. As they finished in silence and she began to wipe her fingers with a napkin, Fuuto stood up from his chair and grabbed the plate without a word. She blinked as he threw it away and started to fill another smaller plate of sweets. There was no way he was making a plate for her without some kind of consequence. Even as he offered her a chocolate cupcake and sat back down again, she was still unsure that he was just giving it for free.

He raised a sardonic brow in question and indicated the cupcake with a slight tilt. "You full after all that, Mari-koi?"

"Did you do something to this?"

Fuuto placed a hand over his heart as if having taken a fatal blow. "Do you think so little of me?" Smirking, he brushed a rogue strand from her forehead and smoothed the furrow between her brows. "I could do a number of awful things to you, but you'll be expecting it now."

As he moved away, she tried to get her face from resembling a tomato as she took a bite of the treat.