The Debut

Before long, the group had perfected their songs and survived their rehearsals despite Yuki and Kyou's frequent combats. It was also decided that at each concert, both lead singers will be given the opportunity to show off their own "individual talents" by a few solo songs; Kyou will lead first with his song and Yuki will end the show with his final one...

(Kyou: "Even though we're both the lead singers, I want to sing first!!"

Yuki: "Fine."

Kyou: "No, don't argue with - eh?! What- what do you mean? Why are you giving in so easily?! But it's fine by me! Hahahaha! I understand if you want me to captivate the audience by letting me go first!"

Yuki: "Baka neko, haven't you heard that those who go last will make the more impressing effect?"

Kyou: "NO! Whaddya mean?"

Yuki: "... I have no further comments.")

Shigure was forgiven after a month and walked around both groggily and meekly for a week. Shortly after that, he was back to normal and popping around again, grating on everyone's nerves once more. The day for Jyuuni's big debut to the world arrived not long after that.

On that day, Shigure's household was in frenzy. Things were strewn everywhere; dishes with half-eaten breakfasts, clothes, shoes, instruments, lyrics, notes were thrown around ... not to mention a few certain people (*cough* Ayame *cough* Shigure*).

"I CAN'T FIND MY SNEAKER! WHERE THE HELL IS MY SNEAKER??!!"

"Aren't you wearing it?!"

"WELL DUH, YOU STUPID RABBIT! I MEANT MY LEFT SNEAKER!!!"

"Baka neko, why must you be so loud in the morning?!"

"URUSAI! CAN SOMEONE JUST FIND MY DAMN SNEAKER?!!"

"KYOU-KUN!! I forgot to tell you! I washed it! Sorry!"

"KAGURA?! What are you doing here?! GET OFF ME! AND WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU FREAKING WASH A SNEAKER??!! AND WHY JUST MY LEFT ONE?!!"

"BECAUSE I WANTED TO BE HERE FOR YOU ON SUCH AN IMPORTANT DAY! BECAUSE I WANTED TO WASH YOUR SNEAKER! BECAUSE YOUR LEFT ONE WAS THE ONLY ONE I FOUND AND IT WAS ALL BLACK!!"

"THAT'S BECAUSE THE COLOR IS BLACK!!!!!"

"ARE YOU SCREAMING AT ME?! BECAUSE IF YOU ARE, I'M CRYING NOW AND THAT'S HORRIBLE OF YOU TO MAKE A GIRL CRY!!!"

"*GASP* I'm *COUGH* crying now *GASP* because of the *WHEEZE* freakishly strong grip *COUGH* you have on me..."

"EH?! Kyou-kun! Are you okay? Oh no! Kyou-kun is all blue! He's not waking up!"

"Relax, Honda-san, Kagura will beat him back alive even if he died."

"TOHRUUUUU!!! Ne, ne, did you see my white shirt?!"

"You mean the one I just laundered?"

"No, that one doesn't have a shirt pocket."

"This one?"

"No, it's supposed to have bows."

"I don't know...did you perhaps left it back at the main house?"

"OH YEA! Thanks Tohru...I'll just get the one with the bunny logo on it!"

"NO, MOMIJI! You must listen to me! I am your costume designer and I want the shirt with bows on it! You must listen to my incredible creative genius ideas -"

"Ayame, just let the boy wear what he wants."

"...kk, Tori!! I'll listen to you!"

"Yuki, do you mind zipping this jacket for me? The zipper's stuck."

"Can't you get Ayame to do it, Haru?"

"But I want you to do it."

"*Sigh* Fine." *Zip*

"Thank you, Yuki. Do you want me to zip that for you too?"

"No, I can do it myself ... um, Haru, that isn't my jacket zipper you're reaching for."

"Oh...I guess my hand just took a wrong turn along the way."

"...go away."

"Okay. I can take the hint...but if you ever need my help..."

"Bye, Haru ...demo, don't wander too far...don't want to waste my time looking for you again."

"Yuki, you're so caring -"

"Bye, Haru."

"People! People! We have a show to run! Are my beautiful boys almost done yet??!!"

"Call us that again and you're going through the window, you stupid inu."

"*Pout* Aya, you almost done? You won't let me down, right?"

"Have I ever? You know I care too much about you to ever disappoint you."

"Oh Aya, you're all I ever need."

"Likewise, Gure honey."

"Stop that or you're both going through the window."

An hour later, the band was ready and they filed onto the bus. When they got to the concert hall, they were nauseous from both Kagura's driving and apprehension at singing in front of the whole public. Everyone hung around backstage, nerves wracked. Tohru and Shigure ran around, trying to comfort the boys even though the latter's presence was far from calming.

"Are you okay, Sohma-kun?" Tohru asked worriedly as she took notice of the pale boy massaging his temples.

"I'm fine, Honda-san," he smiled back reassuringly. "Just a little case of jitters."

"You better be fine!" Shigure flapped his arms from behind the girl. "Because if you're not, then you can't sing, and if you can't sing, then the debut will be a failure and if it's a failure then Jyuuni's whole future will be ruined, not to mention my own dreams will be crushed into - *BOOM*" The dog went soaring through the air.

"Are you okay, Kyou-kun?" Tohru inquired the cat, who was studying his lyrics intently and chewing his lip broodingly. (Ayame: "Kyoukichi-kun!! Stop that! I can't have my beautiful models be shown to the world with imperfect lips!!!" Kyou: "You're going to be pretty imperfect soon if you don't shut up!")

"I'm fine. I've been through worse. Don't worry," Kyou responded gruffly.

"ARE YOU SURE?" Shigure jumped up and down in the background. "Because if you're not -" He stopped when the cat arched his eyebrow and raised his fist at him threateningly; the dog wisely decided it'll be better if he didn't continue his lecture.

"How about you, Momiji?" Tohru smiled fondly at the small blonde boy.

He jumped up and down. "Great! Great!! It'll be sooo much fun!! You'll root for me, won't you, Tohru??? Ne, ne?? Fun! Fun! Fu -" Before Shigure could butt in again, Kyou had already grabbed the boy and was swiftly pounding his head out.

Tohru sweatdropped and moved on to the last member. "Haru-kun, how are you today?"

"Ah, thank you for caring, Honda-san," he responded in his normal courteous manners. Tohru was about to swoon when he continued in his familiar devoid way. "I'm not dead yet so I guess I'm okay." Even Shigure had no comments to add.

* * *

Ayame burst in. "Alright, alright! The show's about to start! Lemme see see my beauties! Hmmm...my dear little brother looks perfect as usual, Kyoukichi-kun looks adorable as ever (Kyou: "Stop Calling Me That!! And Whaddya Mean ADORABLE?!), Haru still as impeccable and Momiji ... *GASP* IS THAT A CHOCOLATE STAIN I SEE ON YOUR LIPS?!" The bunny grinned sheepishly as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve. *DOUBLE GASP* "NOT YOUR SLEEVE!! Oh dear, you'll be the death of me...I'm going to swoon soon! Tori, catch me!!" Hatori coughed slightly and moved discreetly away.

And then, the concert began and Jyuuni was ushered to the stage. Yuki stepped out first and the blinding white spotlight had him squinting out at the audience. But what really made him jump was the chorus of female shrieks surging around them. 'And I thought the fanclub was bad.'

Shigure smiled brightly behind stage. "Wow! I guess the photos of the band came out better than I expected. I haven't heard such loud cries ever since I made a little visit to the girls' locker room back in the old high school days."

Hatori retorted, "You're lucky the boys aren't here to hear that." Shigure flashed him a victory sign.

Outside, Kyou licked his lips nervously and walked over to his guitar. As he lifted it up, he almost dropped it again when the girls gave out a fresh bout of screams. 'Jeez, and I thought Kagura was bad.' He was beginning to regret the fact that he'll be singing first. Then, his gleaming guitar caught his eye and he smiled softly as he remembered the giver. He took a deep breath and sang. The girls roared.

Momiji was really having the time of his life. He laughed as he deftly moved his fingers over the keys. It made him feel good that he was part of something; unlike Kyou, he liked accompanying...he liked the feeling of being an integral part of the music, flowing along with the strumming guitars and the pounding drums, connecting the sounds. He looked up and winked jauntily at the audience. The girls cheered.

Haru closed his eyes and twirled the drumsticks before drumming out the notes. He let a smile reach his face, small but genuine. He loved the pulsating beats; he could let himself go in the music. For the first time, he can get lost and not care (^_~). The drums didn't judge him and even if he turned Black right there and then, it would still accommodate him. The notes were in sync with his heartbeats and he could hear the blood rushing and pounding in his veins, roaring in his ears. Man, was he getting a rush. Oblivious to him, the girls in the crowd swooned at his sexy, serious look.

As the concert drew to a close, Yuki stepped up and already the girls were clamoring to get a better look at the exquisite male. He flamed and refocused his attention to his guitar. 'Tohru, this is for you.' He closed his eyes and in the pale spotlight, his voice resonated. The girls cried.

Backstage, Jyuuni's number one fan smiled and cheered her new family on. 'Okaa-san, I knew it will be a success ... and you know what? I was right.'

* * *

All right...hehe, too lazy to make up song lyrics and too lazy to write out the whole concert...this chapter came out a little longer than expected already. I hoped you like the fic so far and please, please, please continue reviewing!!

Thanks to Carpetfibers for her comments. Yea, it's true; I don't really proofread much. Just type and post so forgive me if my thoughts seem all over the place... hehe. Also wanna thank all my reviewers so far! I have so much reviews now *cries* but I WANT MORE!! ^_^ Thanks to: Runic (my very first reviewer!!), NekoRevolution (my 2nd reviewer!!), Risa (first to put me on fav author list), Momiji (long time supporter), Wildfire (my email pal), peaches (sweet comments), Nat (another long time supporter and I love how u compare my fic to the anime!! I'm swooning from ego inflation hehe!!), Fem Scorpio (thanx for support and encouragement), Sakura (third long time supporter), BishounenChaser (sweet offer of lyrics), yaoi lover (I'm glad u like how I stuck to their personalities and I noe what u mean about their "bishy-ness" hehe), Azn ChibiSweetpea (hehe, the Kyou-lover), and mar (thanx for ur reviews! Don't worry I'll write more)!!

Thank u all and pleez continue reviewing!! Any new reviewers are also welcomed!!!! . . .. Please??

~Maeven~