Two chapters in one day.

And this is a good one! yay!

I'm so excited for more. read up, muh dears!

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Ch. 25

Iori walked to the venue the next day in the afternoon. He met up with the band members in the recording room and sat to discuss the aftermath of their song's radio debut. Mr. Big followed Iori shortly after and sat on a stool near the door. The four sat staring at the radio, as if the radio would tell them the news right then and there. And, as anticipated, the announcer spoke to the listeners.

"This is a new band from Southtown, who's front man has produced a few singles already in the bands month long existence," he said, introducing the band to the world. Iori tapped his foot in anxiety. "So, without more delay, here's The Crusader's with their first single, "Red Hands"."

As the song began to play, Iori glanced over to Mr. Big and gave him a narrowed eyed glare. "The Crusaders?" he asked his boss annoyingly. Mr. Big grinned and pled his shades down the end of his nose.

"What? Geez, Yagami, you guys were to busy to come up with a name. I had to give 'em something. It ain't half bad, kid," Mr. Big tried to assure Iori, however, Iori was completely dissatisfied.

"It's stupid. We're changing it," he snapped. Mr. Big rolled his eyes and pushed his metallic shades back up to his eyes.

The song ended and a few seconds later, the radio DJ came back on air. "Well, that was 'The Crusaders' with 'Red Hands'. Let's have a few callers now talk about their feelings towards the new hit. First caller, you're on," the announcer instructed.

Everyone was dead silent, waiting for the fate deciding response in the future of their band. The first caller began to speak; it was a young woman. Iori bit his bottom lip.

"I loved this song. My friends and I are seriously freaking out!" the caller said. Everyone in the room smiled, hearing cheering voices on the radio of their first fans. The young caller began to speak again, "Are they touring yet? I want to see pictures! I bet the singer is a total babe! I'm in love. What passion!"

A flood of more calls came through the station of positive praise and fans wanting more from the band. Iori shook his head disbelief while Mr. Big cheered and Sophia and Ki hugged one another. During the rejoicing, Mr. Big grabbed his cell phone and began dialing numbers.

"Ya, ya, it's me. Didjya hear the radio? Ya, ya, good, so you're down? Great, I'll let the kids know. Ah, one last thing, we'll make it a public announcement. Huh? Oh, anyway, ya, the bands name is changing. I dunno, the hated the name I gave them. Ya, ya, I got it. Okay. Bye," his conversation went quickly. Iori figured it's how Mr. Big always handled business calls.

"Hey, kiddos, you gotta TV spot in a week and a week to come with a new name. I'm gunna make some more calls in my office. Congrats," Mr. Big instructed as he left the room back to his office.

The gang sat together and Ki pulled out his number and began to call a number. Sophia looked at Iori and smiled.

"Ki found us a keyboardist. He said the guy wouldn't join unless we were good enough… And as you can see, we're amazing!" she squealed excitedly. Iori left her with his usually blank expression and went outside for a breather.

As he stood outside, a tall, lean boy with bleached layered hair came walking to the door. He stood for a moment looking at Iori before he spoke.

"Is this Mr. Big's?" the boy asked Iori. Iori nodded and scoped out the kid in front of him. He's voice was just maturing and his face was structured but still showed signs of still being a boy.

"And you might be?" Iori asked while taunting him.

Unmoved, the boy stared at Iori and answered, "I got a call about a band needing a keyboardist." The boy stood still glaring into Iori and spoke once more, "And who might you be?" He asked in the same tone Iori had.

Iori gave a smug grin and replied, "The bassist. Follow me."

The two figures entered the building and heading towards the recording studio in the back, the boy following Iori. Upon entering the room, Ki and Sophia greeted their friend.

"Kyo, dude, how's it going?" Ki yelled to him, giving the boy a light punch in the shoulder. Iori already knew this kid was trouble.

"Kyo, huh?" Iori asked. The boy looked up irritated at him.

"Yeah, so? What's wrong with my name?" Kyo spat out. Iori just rolled his eyes.

"Nothing, you're name means nothing to me, unless you can make it mean something," was his answer. Kyo looked at him confused while Iori shuffled through papers. At last, Iori found a piece of sheet music he wrote for 'Red Hands' and handed it to Kyo.

"You want me to play this?" Kyo asked, annoyed. Iori nodded.

"If you can't play that, you're not in the band," he said to the keyboardist. Shrugging, Kyo went to the keyboard stationed in the studio and made himself comfortable.

Turning on the electrical piano, Kyo stretched his fingers and began to play the piece in front of him. Ki and Sophia listened in awe as their friends showed off his abilities. Iori still stood with his arms crossed, letting no sign of emotion escape his face.

When Kyo was done playing the piece, he approached the group again and glared up to Iori. Uncrossing his arms, Iori stared right back into Kyo's face.

"It's perfect," was Iori's response. Ki and Sophia let out a sigh of relief as Kyo gave a confident grin of satisfaction.

"It wasn't all to hard. You were acting like it was Mozart, or something," he boasted. Iori shot him a angered look which made Kyo swallow some pride.

"It's not about the complexity, but the emotion. Don't ever get the two mixed while you're here," Iori barked back. Kyo's face didn't change, but his eyes were read as understanding. Iori added, "and I'll be playing the first quarter of that piece, then pick up the bass. It's how it will be done." Kyo squinted, but the look in Iori's eyes caused Kyo to back down and accept the deal.

"Sophia, you're in charge of the name change. Call me with ideas later. I'm going home," Iori said as he was leaving the studio room.

Sophia gave a salute and yelled, "Aye, aye sir!"

Kyo's hands were clenched and he twisted his head to Ki, who was busy playing with studio equipment. "What's that guy's deal anyway?" he asked the remaining members.

Ki shrugged, "I 'unno. He's an amazing lyrist though. This is mostly his brainchild, were just along for the ride. It's all up in that fiery head of his. Don't worry, dude, he gave us the same crap when he met us." Kyo unclenched his fists and eased a bit. If they were al getting along well now, then he shouldn't worry. However, he still wondered why he was so hostile just by hearing his name.

*

"Kasumi, today's the last final exam day, am I correct?" Mr. Todoh asked his daughter at the kitchen table. Kasumi sat quietly in her school uniform and ate some toast before she ran off to class.

"Mhm, then summer vacation, at last," she responded, her voice soft.

"Well, then you better get going. Good luck, okay sweetie?" her father said back, giving a wrinkled grin behind his bushy dark mustache.

Kasumi popped up from he chair, taking one last bite from her toast and kiss her dad on the top of his head. "Bye daddy," she said to him as she ran out the door.

It had been months since her mother died and a month since Iori left. She had so much heartbreak in a few months then some people have felt in their entire lifetime. And still, behind all the sadness and late night tears, she was able to put her best foot forward and make it through the day like any other day. And with each passing day, it became just a little bit easier to smile again.

"Hey dollface!" and familiar voice shouted to her. It was Athena, her purple locks of glossy hair bounced as she jogged over to Kasumi who was approaching the school. "You look good today!" she squealed out, making Kasumi smile.

"I feel good today," she responded to Athena, who gave a bigger smile.

"That's so good to hear! Especially since today out summer vacation starts! Yay!" Athena cheered.

Kyo and Yuki joined them and waved 'hello'. The two girls waved back and smiled.

"You look pleasant, Ka-chan," Yuki said, also complementing Kasumi's more bright appearance. Kasumi again smiled back.

"Thanks, everyone, now I feel even better! I think today will be a great day!" she giggled excitedly.

Kyo just rolled his eyes, "Girl talk, guh. Yo, dudes, what's up?" He changed his attention to the fellow boys that accompanied him daily.

Moments passed and the sea of students swarmed into the building and began taking their final exams before the summer break. Kasumi finished early, after studying hard to get herself back and the higher educational pedestal.

Class after class, students finished taking their tests and turning them in to their instructors. During lunch, Kasumi, Athena and a few other young girls sat huddled together, flipping through the newspaper. Athena rushed to look through the entertainment section to see if any stories or rumors were written about her.

"Ah, safe today, Kasumi!" she declared, still reading through the articles. Kasumi giggled. Then, Athena paused for a minute and seriously looked over an article that caught her eye. "No way…" she said under her breath.

"What is it?" Kasumi asked trying to hover over her friend. Athena pushed the paper closer to her chest so Kasumi couldn't see the article.

"Oh, nothing, just some gossip," Athena tried to say, covering herself with a lie.

"Well, if it's no biggie, can I read?" Kasumi pursued. Athena shook her head.

"There's nothing good in here today, just some crap, I'll go throw it out now," Athena, again, lied.

"What are you hiding?" Kasumi persisted, seeing now Athena was trying to keep something away from her. Then, another girl in the group grabbed the paper and began to show the other girl's the article.

"Is he really? Wow! I never thought…" stated one girl.

"Oh wow, he's so fashionable!" another girl let out.

"I heard it the other day, it was so beautiful," a third girl chimed in.

Kasumi's nerves began to creep on her and she snatched the paper out of all the girls' hands.

"Hey, Kasumi!" the first girl whined. Kasumi ignored her as she read the article that everyone was hiding.

Then, her face became pale and she dropped the paper to leave the classroom. Athena grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Kasumi, I tried…" she explained. Kasumi just looked down to Athena's hand that was holding her back and pulled her off Kasumi's arm.

"I just need to use the bathroom," Kasumi lied.

Escaping the classroom, Kasumi ran to the girl's bathroom and began to wipe away the tears that had built up in the hallway. "Damn him… Damn him for moving on so fast…" she cursed his name and wiped away the tears.

Then, by surprise, a hand tapped her shoulder. Kasumi turned, her blue hair flowing in the air as her body twisted. In front of her, was Athena, holding out her pink handkerchief. Kasumi broke down again and cried into her friend's shoulder.

"I just can't get away from him. No matter how hard I try, I still love him, Athena," Kasumi cried out. Athena patted Kasumi's head and tried hushing her.

Deep down, Athena knew that Kasumi needed to know the truth. Kyo and Yuki pleaded to have Athena keep Iori's lie a secret and not to tell Kasumi. However, seeing Kasumi so heartbroken made Athena so sick. She couldn't let this go on any longer.

"Kasumi, I can't say anything regarding Iori, but please, talk to Kyo after school today. He will tell you everything. I'm sorry, but everything will fine again, I swear. I know…" Athena said, hinting with her psychic abilities.

Kasumi looked back to Athena with her puffy eyes in confusion. Athena just shook her head.

"After school… But now, let's go back to class, okay?" Athena offered, wiping away her friend's tears with her sleeve. Kasumi was confused, but she trusted Athena, especially when it came to her psychic powers. Kasumi nodded, and followed her purple haired fried back to class.

Hours later, Athena, Yuki, Kyo and Kasumi all met up behind the school to have a talk about current events. They all sat together on the benches in the back courtyard, in a circle surrounding a tiny garden of peach flowers.

"Where to begin…" Yuki said, breaking the silence. Kyo shifted his posture, feeling awfully uncomfortable. Athena glared at the two of them, after giving them a lecture already that day about exposing the secret lie.

Kyo, sighed, then took the honor of telling her the story. "Kasumi, Iori didn't leave you because he didn't love you…" Already, the words brought tears to her eyes. Athena patted her on the back of her head. Kyo continued, "He felt because he had to." Kyo tried to look away from his friend, in order to keep his own composure.

"He left because he couldn't bare to see you hurt anymore. All the pain he's given you now would only get worse with time." Kyo took a breath and exhaled. "He loved you so much and wanted to spend the rest of his life with you, but in the end, you'd die from his curse from childbirth if you wished to carry that burden. And he said if you didn't want that, you'd be left alone because he's die sooner then supposed to." Kyo wanted to stop talking.

Kasumi's face was in shear and utter pain and terror. The idea that everything she had gone through was just a big lie. It was a sickening pain she felt.

"Ka-chan, please," Yuki began, trying to settle the situation. "He wants to protect you from the horrors apart of the Orochi curse. Understand that, Ka-chan. He'd rather see you live a long happy life with someone else who could provide for you. He knows he can't do that. Please, understand---" Yuki was soon cut off.

"You all lied to me! All of you! I'm ashamed to call you my friends! I---" As well, Kasumi was cut off to a painful slap to the cheek.

"Have you appreciated nothing? You're selfish, Todoh!" yelled Kyo, who was lowering his hand after launching an attack at his friend. "Now I know you're upset, but get over yourself! He did this so you could live! So you don't have to die! That's the ultimate sacrifice, and all you care is about us lying to you? Seriously, get a freakin' grip!" Kyo sat back down and glared at Kasumi, who was now holding her face in shock.

"Did you really have to go that far, Kyo-kun?" Yuki whispered to her boyfriend. She held his bicep close to her and looked up at him with wide eyes. Kyo sighed and eased his stance.

Finally, Athena spoke up. "Kasumi, if you want to see him, he's playing tomorrow at that venue. Go to him then, and it'll be okay. I promise," she quietly said, picking Kasumi back up to the bench.

Kasumi held herself in her arms, rocking back and forth. "W-what if he rejects me? I can't live l-like this!" she cried out in desperation.

"I promise you, Kasumi," Athena said again.

Kasumi nodded her head. She finally let out quiet sobs from all the crazy emotions she had at the moment. Athena and Yuki went to hug their friend in comfort. Kyo squatted down to her and pushed her chin up so she could stare into his warm brown eyes. Kasumi, staring at Kyo for a moment, fell off the bench and into his arms, where he hugged her tight.

"I'm sorry. We all are," he said, felling tears beginning to soak his uniform. "Now, let's go home. It's been a long day."

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Characters (c) SNk. Red Hands (c) The Dear Hunter