Tick…Tick…

Mmm…Naptime felt nice while it lasted, but I needed to get up anyway. I had a few touch ups to do. My face was probably a smeared mess. I am not the prettiest sleeper. I turned on my front camera on my phone and found a text from Kasanoda. Oh, look. He's on his way. That's nice. But then, my conscious brain kicked in. Shit! He's at the door, isn't he?

"Ritsu?" I yelled cautiously.

"Hi, Rei," he yelled back, the door muffling his voice, "Can I come in?"

"Hold on!" I sprinted into my bathroom in record times to assess the damage. Not nearly as bad as I thought. Nothing a Q-tip and some makeup remover won't fix. I'm just glad I didn't walk out of the salon with fake eyelashes, too. A strip of them would've been on my cheek for sure. I quickly got redressed and took one last look in the mirror. There you are, Rei. If you wouldn't have slept so damn long, you'd have more time to check yourself out. However, we're on a time crunch and Kasanoda's at the door. I should probably let him in. God only knows what the neighbors would think. I threw the door open and let him in, "Sorry. I had a busy afternoon and kind of clocked out for a while."

"That's…" Kasanoda looked away, his cheeks flush, "Um…"

Oh, God. This again? "I'm a girl, Kasanoda. I'm sorry that this is news to you, but it's true."

"But," he turned back toward me, getting a better view, "You're so…"

"Yeah," I knew this was coming, "I do look a little dif…"

"Cute," Kasanoda gasped, hardly able to stand still, "Not that you weren't before! It's just that this is kind of different, you know? And it's not like when we see each other at school or at the ramen shop, you're not, but…"

"Kasanoda," I put my hands on his shoulders, doing whatever I could to stabilize him, "Relax. We've had this conversation. I'm still me. No matter how different I look, I'm still me. I'm still who you see at school. I'm still who you see at the ramen shop. Now, what's my name?"

"Rei…?" he gave me a look, poking at my face, "I think?"

"You're adorable when you get all twitchy," I giggled, only making things worse on him, "Come on. Let's go."

"Ok," Kasanoda shook off the initial shock and followed me into the elevator, "Hey, Rei?"

"What?" I leaned against the back wall.

"Do you think…" I could see it all over his face. He's struggling. Go on, Kasanoda. There's something on your mind. Spit it out, "Never mind."

"No," I wasn't letting him get off that easy, "What is it?"

"Nothing," Kasanoda grumbled, "Don't worry about it."

"Alright." I've pushed his buttons enough tonight. And we haven't even got there yet. When we made it to the lobby, Kasanoda held the door for me and I jumped on the back of his bike. In hindsight, the leather skirt might not have been a good idea. Oh, well. Hindsight's 20-20, I guess. Kasanoda threw his leg over and I wrapped my arms around his waist. We've done this a time or two before. It was the only time I could hug him and not make his nose bleed.

We pulled into a back alley and parked the bike, sneaking in through the back door of the club. Why did I have the feeling we didn't have tickets? Or was this the entrance? Kasanoda took me down a set of dimly lit stairs where people were already starting to funnel. This way to the show, then? Alright. I knew a few clubs in New York that were like this. It was usually for the local bands, but I'll take it. Maybe these guys were local, too. I looked over the crowd pooling at the bottom of the stairs. And my stomach dropped.

"Oh, fuck…"

"Rei?" Kasanoda's radar went up, "Are you ok? You look like you're about to throw up."

"There's a chance we could be watched tonight," I hid my face in his shoulder.

"What do you mean?"

"Roy and Yumi are here," I grumbled into his arm.

"I…" Kasanoda picked my head up, "I have no idea who the hell that is. Care to fill me in?"

"Roy's my driver," I explained, making sure to keep my voice down, "My very overbearing, pain in my ass driver. He's like a babysitter from hell."

"Then, we'll just avoid him," he promised, "We're going to be mixed into the crowd anyway, Rei. We'll be fine. It's not like he can sniff you out from a mile away."

"You'd be surprised," I cringed, "When he found me at the airport when I first got here, I swear he was going to pee on me to mark his territory. Like I said. Babysitter from hell."

"Why don't you just get rid of him?" Kasanoda asked, giving the guy at the door our tickets.

"He was a direct hire from my dad. And Daddy's word is law where I'm from. If I were to fire Roy, I'd have Daddy on my ass and that is not pretty. I might have him wrapped around my little finger, but he's scary when he has to say no to me."

"Should I be afraid of the guy?" he chuckled nervously.

"Only if you have eyes on his daughter," I teased, "If not, you have nothing to worry about."

"So…" Kasanoda's face fell, "What you're saying is that he holds his little girl on a pedestal."

"Oh, fuck yeah," I nodded, "Big time. The view's nice, but the fear of falling eats away at you. But Daddy also knows and respects my boundaries."

"So," he wondered, "If, say, someone was to hypothetically talk you into a tattoo, that someone would probably be on his shit list?"

"Not exactly," I giggled, "Because that hypothetical one didn't talk me into shit. This was a tattoo I've been wanting to get for a while now. You had nothing to do with it. You just happen to know the guy that'd do it."

"Ok," Kasanoda relaxed, "One less thing to worry about."

"You have nothing to worry about," I assured, "It's not like you have designs on me or that Daddy's going to come to Japan any time soon. He's too busy."

"Yeah…" he looked down at his feet, "I guess not."

A flash of light zapped the eyes of the crowd before everything went dark. But then, a loud roar of distorted guitar blared through the speakers. Looks like it's time for the show to start. I'm guessing you guys are the…Oh, holy fuck, you guys are pretty…Alright. I'm into it already. I didn't know what to think when we got here. Or even when Kasanoda asked me to come with him. But there's something to be said for the ambience at a loud rock concert in a basement in some club in Shinjuku. I'm here for it.

"Hey, Rei," Kasanoda pulled me into his shoulder, "You don't have to worry about your driver finding us. Look."

"What am I seeing?" I looked over toward Roy and Yumi. I'll give him this. Roy had taste. Yumi was a pretty woman. And I'm sure her insides match her outsides. No wonder he gushed about her.

"He can't take his eyes off her," he pointed out, "He's smitten."

I've never seen Roy so happy. Usually, he's a bundle of sunshine anyway, much to my own dismay, but this was different. This was genuine happiness. He had the same glint in his eye that Daddy would get when he'd look at Mama, "It's sweet, don't you think?"

"Really?" Kasanoda gave me a look. I really should turn this into a drinking game. One would think Kasanoda would have his guard up a little more around me by now, "You're…into that sort of thing?"

"I'm human," I rolled my eyes, "I didn't have my emotions beaten out of me. What can I say? Seeing my parents together made me a romantic. But look at those two, Ritsu. They're genuinely happy. They look like they honestly enjoy each other's company and that no one else around them matters. If I said I never wanted something like that, I'd be lying. Roy may drive me nuts, but even he deserves that much. Hopefully, Yumi can keep him distracted long enough that he doesn't see us."

"Tell you what," he wrapped his arms around my shoulders, pulling me closer to his chest, "I didn't bring you here to tail your driver. You're the only person here that I know, so maybe it's just you and me here."

"Us and them," I nodded toward the stage, "These guys are really good."

"One of my favorites."

"Are they signed yet?" I wondered.

Kasanoda let out a loud round of laughter, "Oh, Rei…You haven't been here long, have you?"

"What?"

"These guys have been signed for a while now," he filled me in, "They're pretty popular."

"Sue me for not being familiarized with the culture yet," I grumbled, "Just know that if I go down, I'm dragging you with me."

"Incriminating me already?" Kasanoda jabbed, "I don't think so."

Then, the room went silent. And only a whisper echoed, "Reila…"

"What?" I perked up.

"No," Kasanoda stopped me as the music went on, "It's actually the song. It's really heart wrenching if you listen to the words. There are different versions of what it means, but some say it's about a girl the lead singer knew and loved named Reila, but she ended up dying. And how he'd give anything to bring her back. And how he keeps looking at the door, hoping she'd come home."

"Oh…" my heart shattered, the song hitting even closer to home. Don't you do it, Rei. Don't you fucking dare. But it was too late. I could already feel tears rolling down my cheeks. I knew exactly what that felt like, hoping that the one they loved would be ok. That she would come walking back through that door like nothing happened. That everything would go back to the way it was. But deep down, we knew they weren't coming back. And it hurt. So damn bad…

"Rei?" Kasanoda looked down at me, realizing what was going on, "Shit! What happened? What do I do?"

"No," I settled him, wiping my eyes, "I'm good. You don't have to do anything. Just got a little swept up in it. That's all. The story hit close to home, you know?"

"You want to get out of here?"

"No," I shook my head, "How much longer are they going to play?"

"They'll usually close the show with Reila," he hugged me a little tighter, "So, closing remarks and we'll be out."

"Ok," I could live with that. Wow…A couple tears and Kasanoda freaks. Good to know.

When we walked out of the venue, the night air cooled my face. That felt nice and was sorely needed. After the brief crying fit, nothing could bring me back down to earth like a nice breeze. Something about the night air here felt familiar. Like home. I'm definitely not complaining. I missed the mean streets of New York, but this was an ok substitute for a while.

"So?" Kasanoda asked, "All in all? What'd you think?"

"My crying aside," I reported, happy as a clam, "That was fucking awesome! Can we go again?"

"Maybe next weekend," he reined me in, giggling to himself, "Depending on who's playing. But not tonight. Is that ok?"

"I guess," I pouted, "Is there no one else playing tonight?"

"No one worth seeing," Kasanoda figured, "Are you hungry?"

"Starving," I hadn't noticed until he said something. My stomach had been grumbling since I woke up from my nap. I meant to eat something before we left, but I rushed out the door, "I feel like I haven't eaten anything all day."

"Now," he shoved his finger in my face. And if he doesn't want it bitten off, he'll get it the fuck out of my face, "I know that's bullshit. Because I made sure to feed you this morning."

"And I ate while I was out this afternoon," I assured, "I just have a bitch of a metabolism."

"Alright," Kasanoda let it go, "In that case…"

"Rei?" Shit.

"Put your head down," I demanded.

"Rei?"

"Why?" Kasanoda gave me a look.

"Rei!" Flailing arms went up.

"Just put your fucking head down!" I snapped.

"It is!" Dammit…Busted, "Hi, Rei!"

"Hi, Roy," I grumbled, already annoyed.

"Yumi," Roy introduced, "This is Reila. She's the one that talked me into asking you out last night."

"The girl you're taking care of?" She assumed, only pissing me off more. Excuse me?

"That's right!" He's lucky I left my knife at home. Or it'd be in his ribs, "And who's your friend, Rei?"

"Not your business." He doesn't know how to take a hint, does he?"

"Come on, Rei," Roy awed, "Don't be like that."

"Fine," I gathered my thoughts and calmed myself down, "This is Ritsu. He and I were just leaving."

"Well," Roy asked, "Are you going home?"

"Eventually."

"I was just about to feed her," Kasanoda stepped in, taking Roy off my hands. Good. He was getting to be exhausting and I didn't have that energy in me.

"If you guys are going to get food," Roy suggested, "We should go together! Would that be ok with you, Yumi?"

"Sounds like fun," she smiled sweetly, "The more, the merrier, right?"

"No," I put my foot down, "We were just going to get some soba and call it a night."

"Oh," Roy sounded so bummed, "Ok. I mean, we could just meet back at your…"

"No," I cut him off.

"Fine," he threw in the towel, "Then, I guess we should be going. I'll see you tomorrow, Rei!"

"Bye…" Good fucking riddance. It was bad enough I had to deal with him during the week. I sure as hell didn't want to deal with him while I was hanging out with Kasanoda. Fuck that.

"Hey," Kasanoda slipped his hand in mine, "Are we really just going for soba?"

"No," I shook my head, "I don't want soba. I wanted to get Roy off my dick."

"He seems like a piece of work," he empathized, "Because you had to go through that, go ahead. Anywhere you want."

"Anywhere that's got pancakes the size of my head."

"Deal."

After I finished stuffing my face with pancakes (and possibly intimidating Kasanoda a little bit), we jumped back on the bike and I laid my head in his shoulder blades. Honestly, I could probably fall asleep comfortably right here with no problems. Everything was good. Tonight was fun, with the exception of me getting weepy and Roy showing up out of nowhere. But tomorrow, I think I'm laying low. No one comes over. I don't leave the house. That sounded downright heavenly. We pulled up to the curb in front of my building and got off Kasanoda's bike.

"So…" Kasanoda wondered, "Is this the last we'll see of each other until Monday?"

"Probably," I figured, "For what it's worth, though, it's been a good weekend. Thank you, Kasanoda."

"Any time," he smiled a bit, "Good night, Rei."

"You…" I stopped him, "You wouldn't want to come up…Would you?"

"Would that be ok?"

"I don't mind."

A/N: Reila Ann, you little minx. What are you planning? Is it weird that I kind of want to see these two sit and play a game of Scrabble? I don't know why, but I do. I kind of want to play Scrabble, too. But here nor there. I'm sure you're wondering why I picked for Rei and Kasanoda to go see the Gazette. Other than the fact that I love the Gazette. Because! Fun fact: I named her Reila because of the Gazette. If I'm to ever have a baby and it's a girl, I'm naming her Reila. I don't care if the father says no, her name is going to be Reila. There is no negotiation. Here nor there.

But can I just say how fucking adorable those two are? I want them to be best friends. Maybe that's what'll happen next week. I'll declare them best friends. Or Rei will push Kasanoda out her bedroom window. It's not like he'd hurt himself. His pride more than anything. He'd just fall onto the fire escape. It's not like he's never been there before. But it's been fun and I'll see you next chapter! xx