OK fans, here's part two of Yoshi's Diary.
It was originally going to be slightly different. For those of you who already follow my own work you probably know by now that my last computer crashed, erasing all my unposted documents from existence. Unfortunately, that included parts two and three of Yoshi's Diary, the former of which was fully completed. Fortunately, I could still remember a lot of the key jokes I used, so reconstructing them won't be nearlyas impossible as I first feared and it should be fundamentally the same as before. By the time you read this chapter, I should be hard at work on Part 3, so hang tight!
Disclaimer; Remember, neither Alex nor I own Bleach, any of the songs or bands you might recognize, or a single hint of Twilight ANYTHING. However, Alex does own the lyrics to all the Soul Reaper songs, and I own Yoshi, the rest of MyDeathYourDeath, and their lyrics.
Now enjoy the chapter!
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The next morning…
After the band woke up the next morning I broke the news that MyDeathYourDeath* could advance and- What? I forgot last night, OK? I was all tired and stuff; plus it probably wasn't best time to mention that, what with me finding out I helped a married man commit adultery and everything.
But moving on… After I told them the news they all broke out into various expressions of glee; Chester-kun and Kaylee-chan hugged each other, Rod-kun let out a "YYYEEEAAAHHH!" that would make Rodger Daltrey jealous, and Nicki swept me up in a bear hug like I was a little kid.
I think he might have bruised a few ribs, too….
Anyways, after everyone calmed down we ate breakfast and then went to close down our various jobs. You know, since we were going to be a full time band again.
By the way, it turns out I got it wrong before; Kaylee-chan was the roadie and Nicki ran a stretching class. Who knew!
Six hours later…
Man! If I knew quitting my job was going to involve so much paperwork I never would have signed up in the first place!
OK, maybe I would; I like money too much to remain unemployed for too long.
…What? I'm petty, so sue me.
On second thought, don't sue me; I like my money too much to loose it.
So wait…what was I saying before?
Eh…
Anyways, I was about halfway done with the ever growing pile of forms and such (I think they were breeding or something.) when an emergency call came in; apparently a van overturned on the highway leading here. Throwing down my pen, and since I was technically still on staff, I rushed with the other EMT's to the nearest ambulance. We tore down the highway as fast as safely possible and arrived at the site of the crash in no time flat.
When we piled out and caught sight of the scene I almost froze right then and there; battered and bruise next to the wreck of the van was Soul Reaper*! They were kneeling beside a guy who looked like he was fresh out of the Goth/Glam/Emo scene.
You know, except for the pool of blood and vomit he was laying in.
However, before I could even do anything for the man (whose name I learned was Nnoitra. Come to think of it, whatever happened to Kenpachi? I'll have to ask Kaylee-chan about that later….) Rukia grabbed my shirt and frantically asked me where Ichigo was. I looked around saw he wasn't it the immediate vicinity of the wreck. Once I pried the near hysterical lead guitarist off of me I passed her off to another of the EMT's and assured her I'd personally take care of him once I found him. This seemed to put her at ease somewhat and she allowed the EMT to lead her into the ambulance without complaint.
With that out of the way I started my admittedly brief search for Soul Reaper's* frontsman. I say brief because I found him less than a minute later when the headlights of a passing car illuminated the-very-nearly-dead-but-still-hot-Ichigo-Kurosaki as it screeched to a stop in front of him.
After getting him into an ambulance we made it back to the hospital in less time than it took us to get there in the first place. Once we arrived I headed with Nnoitra to the emergency ward. (I wanted to stay with Ichigo, as per my promise, but he was only the second most worse off and Nnoitra looked like he needed all the help he could get.) After a few hours we were finally able to bring his condition out of critical and into the green. With Nnoitra stable I went to check on the other members of Soul Reaper*. For the most part it was just some cuts and bruises, but Renji had a sling on his arm. Guess he won't be playing rhythm for a while.
With the rest of the band accounted for (and not in body bags) I went to go check on Ichigo in Intensive Care. Unfortunately there weren't any guitars on the way, so I couldn't serenade him when I got there. (And singing wasn't an option, not after that horrendous incident in a mirror store.) Not that he could properly enjoy it anyway; he was probably hopped all sorts of pain meds.
When I peeked into his room I saw that he still hadn't woken up yet; which isn't really that surprising, given what he's been through. My heart melted at the sight if him. (No, not like that! It was completely platonic, I swear!) I sighed and muttered something along the lines of "You're lucky" as I came in the rest of the way.
So I was completely surprised when he croaked out "How badly?" in reply. Guess he was more awake than I thought…
I explained to him that one of his ribs broke and pierced his lung. The poor bastard was lucky it wasn't skewered clean through.
"Where…others?" he croaked again.
OK, I'll admit I totally couldn't help but smile right now; even through all his own pain and discomfort he's still worried about the rest of his bandmates.
That Rukia chick doesn't know how lucky she is…
"They're fine," I assured him, "even Nnoitra."
Ichigo nodded in understanding, which caused a wound on his throat to start bleeding.
Idiot…
"You smashed through the windscreen at high speed," I explained as I sat down next to him and dabbed the wound. "The glass gave you many lacerations but most are in check. If you rest well they should heal up nicely without any permanent scarring."
Throughout this whole thing Ichigo just kept staring at my face, as if trying to remember where he knew it from. (Must be the pain meds.) Eventually his face morphed from one of confusion to one of annoyance and apprehension. This means he probably just remembered who I am.
Which means he probably remembers what happened last time he was in a hospital.
Which means I can totally screw with his mind right now.
He he…
The following scene went something like this…
Ichigo: *remembers me and sends me a glare with no humor in it*
Me: *giggles* Aw, scared of getting caught? I can slip some pills to the Kuchiki girl and give us good few hours till she wakes? Would that do?
Ichigo: *glares with even less humor than before*
OK, so I was being a bitch; deal with it. (I'm a Heavy Metal Rock Chick, it's like a requirement.)
I giggled again (Hey, his reactions are funny!) and told him I was joking. What can I say; I took pity on the poor guy. After I reassured him that I was serious I decided that a little subject change was in order to keep this from becoming really awkward. So I decided to tell him about someone worse off than him! (a.k.a. Nnoitra.) When I mentioned the drugs Ichigo's face noticeably darkened, and when I asked him if he noticed anything suspicious he frowned, his way of say "no" apparently.
Which begs the question; what the hell constitutes for normal in that group?
Anyways, I told him that since they wouldn't be doing a show tonight that Nnoitra was staying for more tests. You know, so we could identify and crack down on whatever the hell drug he took.
You wanna know what he said about it?
"No."
As in: he still wanted to perform.
I thought I might not have heard him wrong, but I didn't; that stupid idiot still wanted to perform in his condition!
I'm starting to wonder what I ever saw in him in the first place….
I tried to talk him out of it, even playing the doctor card, but that adorable idiot mummy just wouldn't listen! Eventually I broke down and called Stan-sama, but that ultimately didn't work. He agreed with Ichigo! (I think it's all one big conspiracy.)
I saw that Ichigo was staring expectantly at me once I finished the called, and I told him (albeit reluctantly and through gritted teeth) that Stan-sama said he could play the show.
And then he croaked out "Soul Reaper*...Never...Dies..."
Cocky, thick-headed-
The next day…
Sorry about that last entry; my pen ran out of ink.
Anyways, I'm writing now because of the huge ass stage being constructed right outside the hospital right now. Seriously, this thing is impressive! (More for the size than the design.)
More about that later. Right now I need to get ready for the concert in a few hours. Plus, I've got to take Ichigo down there to make a speech or something…
Two hours later…
Well, the speech is done, now all that's left is to rest up for the performance later.
Oh, you actually want to hear the speech? Well too bad, 'cause I ain't tellin' it to you. (Go find a bootleg online or something…)
I will tell you what my thoughts on the matter were, since that's all I feel like remembering right now.
And what I remember feeling as I lead Ichigo to the front of the stage was what could probably be summed up in the phrase "freaking annoyed". I mean seriously, did the roadies feel it absolutely necessary to tune the base guitars right now? And what was up with the fog machines, huh? I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if someone tripped over a loose wire because they couldn't see their feet due to the damn fog! That would be just what I need right now, someone else to stitch up.
It would be even worse if it was Ichigo that tripped, because right now I was the one supporting both our weights at the moment.
Fortunately, neither of up tripped (*phew!*) and once we emerged from the fog the crowed roared. I mean roared. Like, I think the scaffolding shook they were so loud.
Ichigo waved back to them and detached himself from my shoulder, swaying a bit (Idiot!) before he was handed a microphone. (Fortunately a stand was attached to it.)
He explained what had happened in the last 24 hours. When he asked if the crowd thought the performance would be cancelled, quite a few heads hung in shame.
Those heads snapped back up again when Ichigo started using a ton of hyperbole to explain how much the fans meant to him and whatnot, eliciting another round of shouts from the mob.
He apparently got caught up in the moment, spreading his arms wide in a 'messiah' pose, causing the idiotic sex-muffin fall backwards. I caught him before he hit the floor and he shouted "Soul Reaper* never dies!"
Um, OK…OW! That was my ear you motherf-
Sorry, another bad pen.
So what was I saying before? Oh yeah! Ichigo shouted in my ear! and the crowd shouted right back. He bowed (and I by default) and headed off the stage and back to hospital I'm glad to say. At least he'd be able to heal up a bit more before he completely ruins it performing tonight.
Lovable, cocksure, idiotic, son of a-
Later…
What is it with these damn pens always giving out on me? Anyways, that's not really important right now, is it? Well I suppose it is if they keep running out on me.
Regardless, I just came from a pre-show meeting with Ichigo and Stan-sama with somewhat mixed feelings.
You know what? It would probably best if I explained what I mean.
For the most part the meeting was just Stan-sama buttering Ichigo up and Ichigo waving off the accolades in a polite but backhanded way. Nothing really interesting (or at least anything pertaining to me) happened until Stan-sama turned to me and said that MyDeathYourDeath* would be opening for Soul Reaper* at the concert in hopes of giving the other band members a little more time to recover. I of course didn't think that they should be performing at all, but as usual Stan-sama ignored my objections and spouted some drivel that sounded like "As long as I get richer I don't care if Ichigo kills himself to make it happen!" to me.
I reluctantly conceded (since I knew I wasn't really going to win anyway…) and turned to leave when Ichigo grabbed my arm.
SQUEEE!
…What? I can't help how my body reacts to that boy! He's like heroin; you get a taste and you're hooked for life!
Anyways, after he took my arm (Sill squeee!) he told me "good luck" and smiled at me. I almost swooned right then and there, but all the bandages kind of ruined the bloom effect laden fantasy that stated playing in my mind. (Don't judge me!) Regardless, I tried to explain to him (I'll admit I wasn't really thinking clearly then.) that I was supposed to be the one wishing him good luck, but he just smiled and said to stop being a doctor and start being the Haevy Metul Skoolgurl I dress as.
And you know what? That actually made me feel better. Granted, I was still annoyed that Ichigo and Co. were still allowed to play at all, but that didn't seem to matter at the moment. I flushed as red as 1940's Russia and all but tore out of the room as fast as I could before embarrassing myself, possibly muttering "thanks" on the way.
So as you can see there was- Hang on, Rod-kun wants to talk about the set list we're doing for the concert in a bit. I'll have to tell you how it turns out later, eh?
Two and a half hours later…
Oh. My. God! I don't think I've ever been so exhausted in my entire freaking life from playing so much! Not even Deathfest was as grueling as this was, and that's saying something! As it is I'm barely able to hold the pen I'm writing this entry with. (Full ink this time!)
About twenty minutes after the meeting with Stan-sama and Ichigo Me, Rod-kun, Chester-kun, Kaylee-chan, and Nicki all rushed into the stage and took up our respective instruments. After a short introduction we went straight into "Fallen*" tearing through the intros Rod-kun worked up the crowd. When the intro came to a close Rod-kun started grinning maniacally. (This was always his favorite part of the song.) He exploded into the opening lyrics of "CAST OOOUUUT! STRUCK DOOOWWWN!" and the rest of us jumped into the frenetic playing.
When the solo came around I suddenly remembered the words of Ichigo's speech earlier. (And no, I'm not going to retell it here. Go find a bootleg version or something…) Looking out at the crowd it really sunk in for the first time why I do this; not for the fame or fortune (though those are nice to), but for the fans and myself. This is who we are, and this is who we'll be to our dying day. Long live Metal.
The song ended at the gathered crown screamed for more. We happily obliged and launch into one of out more progressive numbers called "Precious Cargo*" from our Two Sides* album and "Cut Deep*" from My Final Death*. After that we did a cover of a little song you might know called "Angels Don't Kill" by Children of Bodom. Oh, you do know of it? Well all the better for you then, it's a great song. Finally we closed out the set with something from The Deconstruction of Misery* called "Unholy Repentance*", thanking everyone for coming and telling them that Soul Reaper* would be out soon before we vacated the stage so the roadies could switch out some of the equipment.
As we made our way over to the buffet table I suddenly tripped on a stray cable and fell flat on my face. SEE? I told you something like this would happen! (The irony is the fog machines weren't even on right now.) As I waited for one of my band mates to offer me a hand up I noticed that they weren't there anymore. Those bitches! Leaving me wallowing in agony on the floor here… They're like freaking Ninja or something! (Which is kind of sad because I'm the Japanese one!)
However, before I could get properly mad at them I heard the sound of hands clapping coming from somewhere above me. I look up and I see Stan-sama standing over me, the rest of the band with him. Huh? When the hell did they get back? I think I'm gonna start developing a complex or something…
Anyways, after I picked myself up (Jerks…) Stan-sama started to explain that Soul Reaper* was going to be out a couple of members (Already knew that, you quack!) and we were going to have to fill in for them. Kaylee-chan and I apparently fit the roles needed, so the guys went off somewhere with Stan-sama. (Most likely they'd ditch him and make their way to the mosh pits before too long.)
After that it was about a twenty minute wait before the remaining, mobile members of Soul Reaper* limped onto the stage. Nothing else really interesting happened during that time. (Although Kaylee-chan did catch me up on everything I missed since Deathfest. Poor Kenpachi!)
Rukia was the first one to make it into the stage; her very noticeable limp elicited a sea of sympathetic "Aww!"s. After her came Grimmjow, sporting bandages over half his face, and a black eye on the other half. He raised his left hand in a classic tribute to the late Ronny James Dios, and the crowd mimicked the gesture and roared back.
Kaylee-chan and I made our way out next to a rather mixed reception; there were a few cheers, but mostly it was confused murmurs that graced our ears. Well screw you! We practiced Soul Reaper*'s stuff for hours and we're going to give you insensitive jackasses the show of your lives, whether you want to or not!
Finally, the man himself, his-royal-uber-supreme-hotness-Ichigo-Kurosaki hobbled onto the stage with a mic stand, a la King Diamond. He motioned for everyone to be quiet.
Then he launched it some big speech yada yada pain is nothing blah blah blah we will never give up *yawn* eff yeah. It was pretty much the same thing he said before. (Do I even have to mention finding a bootleg at this point?)
They he started introducing the first song, pretending like he couldn't remember what it was. After a moment he dropped the act and screamed "HOLLOOOWWW!", our cue to start playing.
You know, I've got to say right now that I've always wanted to play "Hollow*" live with the Soul Reaper* ever since I first heard them, Ichigo in particular. As such I listened to that track for hours at a time, trying to commit it to memory. (I'm not obsessed or anything…really!) So when they said that was going to be the opening song on the set list I almost couldn't contain myself.
But that's neither here nor there at the moment. I should probably focus on the rest of the concert, right?
Anyways, we played through tons of Soul Reaper's* songs (with plenty of practice on our part); "Hollow*", "I See Red*", and lots more. After about the ninth song Ichigo signaled that everyone needed a break. He turned and told the crowd that they were going to take a short break to catch their second wind, but would be back before too long.
When we were all backstage I tried to see if Ichigo was still holding up, but the cocky hunk boat just said something about never stopping and showing something to me. It took me a minute to catch on to the fact that I needed to see something important. I heard music coming from behind me and I spun around to see Rukia playing an unfamiliar riff. It dawned on me that this was for the next part of the set, so I grabbed the nearest guitar and trying to copy the diminutive death metal guitarist. After a couple failed attempts (dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!) I got the piece and Ichigo turn his attention to Kaylee-chan to explain her part in the next song.
As we made our way back on stage we were greeted with another roar of appreciation. We each took our places and waited for Ichigo to finish gulping down a crap ton of water. (Of which most was spilled down his shirt.) When he finished he went right into introducing the song.
Rukia played some really weird chord that I never heard before cutting into a pounding rhythm. I jumped in with the same rhythm and Rukia broke into a fucking crazy lead that could make Megadeth sound like "Another one bites the dust". Seriously, it was, like, the most crazy, progressive thing I've ever heard! After a minute Kaylee-chan's frenetic drumrolls and Grimmjow's thumping bassline were added to the audible assault of "Immortal*".
But you want to know what the craziest thing was? All the horseness that was in Ichigo's voice before had suddenly disappeared! I don't know what happened, but he now sounded exactly like he did at Deathfest.
After about five minutes of this ravenous prog metal beast, the song ended as Ichigo growled out the song's signature line, "FOR I…AM…IMMORTAL!". The lights snapped off and we all slumped forward in a bow and the crowd went absolutely wild! After a few minutes of appeasing the fans I was finally able to drag that boneheaded hunk basket Ichigo back to his room at the hospital. I tucked him in and told him that if he rest up properly I'd clobber him. (Which, in retrospect, was kind of counter-productive.)
So that was, in essence, the sickest concert I've ever preformed! I hope I get to do something like this again soon; playing with them was fun. It would have been nice if the guys were up there with Kaylee-cahn and I, but I could them at the front of the crowd, leading the mosh pits.
Anyways, that's about all I can write for now; my arms are still aching from the performance and it's a big day tomorrow. Apparently we're going to find out what the next trial is, so I plan on getting plenty of rest before hand. See you tomorrow Diary!
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And that, my friends, is part 2. Mandid that take long to rewrite! I hope part three doesn't give me this much trouble…
Now it's all up to Alex to post the final chapter of the story proper. (Trust me, it's crucial to the completion of part 3.)
I now hand the reigns back over to you, Sir McMullen. Give us that final chapter!
