Saturday evening. The good news? His father had approved of his proposal. (Talking to him at 3 am was a smart move; he was only half-awake and apparently not thinking completely.) The bad news?

"What!?" Akanishi exclaimed. "You lost your voice?"

Makoto nodded sheepishly. He attempted to speak but all that came out was a squeak. "I'm sorry," he mouthed.

"I told you to rest," Akanishi said sharply. "Let me guess. You stayed up all night singing, then drank something very cold resembling a strawberry shake. Am I right?" All of them knew that Makoto has strange cravings for strawberry shake after a hard work-out.

Guiltily, Makoto nodded.

"We're doomed! Finished! There's no way we can go out there without a vocalist," Tanaka said dramatically.

'And after the hard work I went through to get my father to agree, too,' Yukifumi thought sadly.

Makoto got an "aha" look on his face. He pointed to Yukifumi and pantomimed singing into a microphone.

"You want me to sing in your place?" Yukifumi's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets.

"Please, no," Tanaka groaned. Akanishi hit him playfully.

"Don't make me do that, Makoto," Yukifumi said, backing away from the look that their vocalist got in his eyes. Makoto held up a card with the words, "You're our only hope" written on it. Then he patted Yukifumi on the shoulder.

"No! I refuse. I can't do it. I won't," Yukifumi babbled.

"Please!" Makoto pleaded with his eyes.

"We've got no other choice, though," Akanishi pointed out.

"But—"

"Shh, it's starting," Tanaka said.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Yukifumi mumbled, sinking lower in his seat. The only response he got was a pat on the head from Makoto.

Ten bands have performed and with each passing minute, Yukifumi felt more and more dejected. Not to mention deathly nervous.

"For our next contestant...Dive!" the announcer yelled exuberantly. The audience cheered.

"That's us!" Akanishi said excitedly.

"That's us," Tanaka said, surprised.

"That's us," Makoto mouthed, clapping his hands.

"Yes, that's us," Yukifumi confirmed grimly.

They set up on the stage, Yukifumi dragging the time for as long as he could. But of course, strapping on guitars and adjusting microphones would merely take a minute.

"You guys ready?" Akanishi asked.

"Yeah."

Yukifumi signaled to the judges, who nodded. He silently prayed to make it through—alive and proud. They jumped into the intro of the song (Plasmagic) until finally, it was the moment for Yukifumi to sing.

"Kiss...yawaraka na kiss

Yuutsu na machi ga kieru made," he sang quite softly and plainly. In the audience, Makoto cheered him on wordlessly. Yukifumi nodded and leaned closer to the microphone.

"Kiss...owaranai kiss

Hitomi no umi ni tokeru made," a more powerful voice sounded over his. Yukifumi's eyes popped open as he saw Ookouchi Sakuya by the judge's table with a judge's microphone in his hand. He was slowly making his way up the stage.

Yukifumi quit singing as he watched Sakuya climb up the steps, fully taking over Makoto's role. He cocked an eyebrow at Yukifumi, who smiled in return, before turning to the audience to sing for real. Yukifumi and his band mates have never played that well before. Somehow Sakuya's presence had psyched them all up.

"He's a god," Yukifumi thought dazedly, as he watched how Sakuya held the audience and judges captive with his singing. "He saved us. He saved me..."

And the song ended. The audience's cheering was deafening. Dive rushed backstage, dragging Sakuya along. Once they were hidden from the audience's view, they all started cheering and thanking Sakuya.

"Man, did you see how you entered in the middle of the song? Sakuya, you're one cool kid," Akanishi said breathlessly.

"You sure surprised us. Poor Yuki looked like he was about to faint," Tanaka laughed. Yukifumi joined in good-naturedly.

"Well, let's go watch the rest of the show," Akanishi said. "And Yuki, you have to go somewhere, right?"

"Yes, to a family dinner."

"Don't worry, we'll be sure to tell you some good news later. See ya, Yuki!" Tanaka and Akanishi walked off, leaving Yukifumi and Sakuya alone.

"Well," Yukifumi began, smiling. "You saved us all back there."

"Don't say 'saved.' It makes me sick," Sakuya said, making a face.

"All right, how about this. Ookouchi Sakuya just happened to be in the right place at the right time and knew the right song."

"Much better."

"Haha...but I think you deserve more than that." Yukifumi tilted his head to one side. "You knew the song so well. You surprised me."

"Hey, I ain't watching you guys practice for nothing. I'm practically singing the song in my sleep!"

"Then, that's good." He fell silent, thinking of his realization earlier. Ookouchi Sakuya was a god, was it? It seemed so strange now.

"Hey, you're supposed to go to a dinner, right?" Sakuya reminded him.

"Yeah, I guess...but in a little while. I don't feel like going there right now," he said, quoting Sakuya's famous line.

Sakuya gave him a sideways glance and Yukifumi laughed softly.

"Did I thank you already?" he asked.

"If I hear another 'thank you' from you, I'll...," Sakuya broke off threateningly.

"You'll what?" Yukifumi smiled, stepping closer. He felt intoxicated by the feeling of relief, excitement, and adrenaline all mixed into one strange giddy feeling that threatened to overcome him.

"Heh. I'll think of something. You didn't possibly expect me to sing for you for free, right?"

"Hm...but that's why I'm thanking you now. Consider it as my payment."

"Words mean nothing to me. On the other hand, actions do," he smiled mischievously.

"Oh, really...I await your orders, then. A free ride? Free dinner? What?" He was standing right in front of Sakuya; so close, that their toes were touching.

Sakuya ran the tip of his tongue slowly over his upper lip. "Your statements are too suggestive, prince. Do you know what you're saying?"

Yukifumi's heart pounded. He knew Ookouchi Sakuya was popular in school and that male and female alike were attracted to him. But somehow, Yukifumi knew he would never be one of them. But, now, what...? He felt confused with the varied emotions inside him. Could it be that he, too, liked...liked Ookouchi Sakuya!?

He stepped back in alarm as the thought hit him. That wasn't possible. He couldn't like someone like Ookouchi Sakuya. He swallowed hard. Something must be wrong with him. He was just drunk with success and everything.

"I got to go," he said hurriedly. "My father's waiting for me." He started to walk away when Sakuya said, "Hey, prince!" He turned, his face perfectly composed. "You can run away all you want, but remember...

I'll always catch you."

Strange words coming from a strange kid. Yukifumi found himself mulling over what Sakuya had said earlier that night.

"You can run away but I'll catch you," he repeated to himself. He was in the middle of his Noh dance. Good thing he practiced it often; he didn't even have to think. His body was moving automatically.

'I'm not running away! I've got nothing to escape from. But I have to admit, many times he has been a great help to me. And that's what confuses me more. From what I've known of him, he's pretty much a loner who cares nothing about other's business. So why, then, is he helping me? Why have we suddenly started hanging out? I don't know how it started or how it'll end. Hey, it's not that I'm complaining. I'm more grateful to him than what I've been making him think.'

The dance ended. He carefully removed his mask and bowed to his applauding relatives. When he passed his father, the latter placed a hand on his shoulder to tell him he'd done well. Yukifumi bowed to him respectfully and spent the rest of their dinner time thinking deeply.

When he got home, he found a message left for him in the answering machine. It was from Akanishi. "Yo, Yuki!" he yelled through the speaker. "We bagged 2nd place! Are we cool or what?" In the background, Yukifumi could hear someone whooping—Tanaka, probably. Yukifumi smiled. "Anyway, the cash's with Makoto. We'll split it up in school. We'll be famous, man! I can feel it!" Loud laughter. "Well, see ya, Yuki!" He hung up.

Yukifumi rewound the tape and listened to it again, relishing the feeling of exhilaration washing over him. On impulse, he called up Sakuya. Since he didn't expect him to be home at this hour, he planned to leave a message.

On the third ring, the answering machine picked up and Sakuya's recorded voice took over. "Yo. If you got something to say, say it now." Beep!

Just the kind of message he expected from him: brief but direct.

"Hey," he said to the mouthpiece. It's me, Yukifumi. You probably heard it already, but I just want to say it myself. We won 2nd place in the competition." He smiled as he said it. "And I guess we owe it to you. A part, anyway. Well...that's all. Good night." He hung up and went to bed.

Sakuya rewound the tape and listened to it again. He was sitting beside the phone, fiddling with his guitar when Yukifumi called. He felt strangely happy that he was part of their success. Happier than what he was making them think, anyway.

"Good night," came Yukifumi's serious voice through the speaker. The machine automatically stopped when the message was over.

"Good night, prince."