A/N Sorry for the delay! AP's and finals all seem to disagree with joy!
Chapter 3: Party Night
Disclaimer: I own neither Gundam Wing nor EDEN by To Destination. They belong to talented people in Japan.
'How in the.....how did I get up here?' Heero thought dazedly, 'I remember falling asleep on the couch and then, what?'
Shelving that mystery in the back of his head for now, Heero rose silently from his bed and left his room to head downstairs for breakfast. He could smell coffee already, which meant he wasn't the first one up, another odd occurrence to add this morning's "Weird Shit" list. The chill in the Nevada morning caused him to shiver as the wind seeped in through his threadbare green tank top. His bare feet made no sound as he walked down to the kitchen, emblazoned in the red light of the new dawn.
All the others were already in the kitchen, sitting around the round table in the usual formation. Duo next to Heero's space, which was surrounded by Wufei who was next to Trowa and Quatre. Heero looked over the group sitting around, drinking the coffee he smelled, and obviously in the vestiges of exhaustion, emblazoned in the new day's crimson light.
"Did you just get back?" Heero asked abruptly, wondering how in the bloody hells they were all down before him and at seven am no less!
The others spun quickly, not having even heard him come in.
"Jesus, Heero!" Duo panted, "Next time, make some sound when you walk!"
"That was sound." Heero replied tersely, "you just didn't hear it. Anywhere else, that would of gotten me killed."
"Aw, man!" Duo complained, "no morbidity in the morning!" 'What the Hell does that mean!?' he thought, watching Heero shift, uncomfortable under their scrutiny.
"Maa maa," Quatre said, waving his hands to placate them, "Heero, come have breakfast."
Heero slid into his place next to Duo, hands in his lap. 'How could I let that slip!?' Heero berated himself internally, 'what kind of monster am I? Inflicting my taint on them?'
Trowa looked appraisingly at the Wing pilot, sensing his inner battle. 'Would of gotten him killed?' Trowa thought silently, 'what does he mean?'
"Morbidity?" Wufei questioned, "a big word for you Maxwell. Know what it means?" A pointed look.
"Course I do Wu-man! It means no depressing stuff!" Duo challenged back, silently thanking Wufei for lightening the mood, even if it was insulting his intelligence.
"Hey guys," Quatre began, cutting into the heating dialogue. "I got an invitation to a party of one of Winner Corporations chief financial backers asking that we attend their party tonight, all of us."
"A party!?" Duo cried out, "sweet!"
Heero and WuFei paled. 'Not more great, big, old people!'
"A party?" Trowa asked, grimacing, "Where?"
"It's going to be held by the Miyamoto family, in honor of their daughters sixteenth birthday and coming of age ceremony." Quatre replied, "It should be fun. They've hired a band to play for them as a surprise for their daughter, Kiyoshi."
"Kiyoshi, ka?" Heero murmured, "delicate name."
Duo blinked, "How can a name be delicate?"
"It can."
"But-"
Suddenly the obnoxious and always badly timed ringing of the phone, back from its trip to the pearly gates, rang. Loudly. In Duo's ear.
Duo glared at the phone, promising death and pain. If it could have run away, it would have been long gone.
Quatre sighed, going to pick up the call. Pressing the receive button, the anxious face of a beautiful Asian woman appeared on the other side.
"Quatre-san!" The woman cried. "Yokatta!"
Quatre blinked at her, not having a clue what she just said. "What?"
"I'm sorry." The woman blushed, "It's just that crisis has struck!"
"Why? What is it Mrs. Miyamoto! What's wrong!?" Quatre exclaimed, worried. "The band for my daughters party can't come! The singer was struck down with pneumonia!"
"That's awful!" Quatre empathized, grateful it wasn't serious.
"Do you know of any bands we can get for tonight?" Miyamoto-san asked, face hopeful.
Quatre looked to the side, abashed. "I-"
"I know of one." Heero cut in.
"Heero?" Quatre gasped.
"You do?" Miyamoto-san asked, turning her attention to the small Japanese boy.
"Yes." Heero said promptly. "I will get them."
"Thank you so much! You are a wonderful, wonderful boy!" Miyamoto-san sighed, "how nice to see such responsibility in one so young..."
The others strangled chuckles. All of them were eighteen and nineteen, not 'boys' by far.
"I am no boy." Heero said sharply. "I dishonor me with such an innuendo."
Mrs. Miyamoto gasped softly, seeing the strength and beauty of this man. Yes, man. "I apologize."
"I accept."
"Will you marry my daughter?"
"I-what!?" Heero gaped.
"You're beautiful and strong, perfect for her."
'Why you...' Duo growled internally.
"No." Heero said blankly. "I have no interest in marriage to her."
"Oh well." Miyamoto-san said, "It was worth a try."
"What time?" Heero asked.
"What?"
"What time do you want the band there?"
"Around eight."
"Ryoukai." Heero answered, and cut the connection. He immediately began to dial a new number, face set.
"Uh, Heero?" Duo asked, "where do you plan to get a band?"
"From a place I hope has not moved too far past me."
Duo face faulted. He wanted an answer, not a new mystery!
The connection went through and a sleepy and pissed looking man with flaming orange hair answered the phone. Heero picked up the receiver, cutting off the vid transmission and the other side of the conversation.
"Tasuki. I need your help." Heero started, in Japanese. The others stared at the one sided conversation.
"Aa."
Silence.
"Naruhodo."
Silence.
"Aahh...yokatta no da."
Silence.
"Aa! Arigatou Tasuki-kun! Hiro-kun!"
Silence. Wait, was that a smile?
"Aa. Hachi da na."
Silence. That was definitely a smile...
"Aa, ja na!"
A click.
"They'll be there at eight."
The others stared. Heero shrugged and turned to dial another number.
"Ohayo gozaimasu, Kenkaku desu."
Silence again.
"Aa. Tasukete kure na?"
Silence. This was getting annoying.
"Aa. Are wa ii desu."
Silence. I'm going to kill him.
"Arigatou. Ja mata."
A click.
"It's all ready." Heero said calmly, as though nothing had ever occurred.
Duo twitched. 'I'll omae your korosu!'
Duo hated suits.
They were tight. They were formal. And they were itchy!!!
Duo fidgeted besides the other pilots, clearly discomfited by the ease and joy Quatre wore his tan suit with. WuFei had nearly the same suit as he himself did, except green, not black.
As for Trowa, he wore the blue suit like he wore everything else.
With his ankles showing due to his impressive height.
Duo looked at Heero with angered jealousy.
And then there was Heero...
Heero, due to his small stature, was unable to find a suit on such short notice that failed to swallow him. As such, he wore loose black silk pants and a deep sapphire blue Chinese style silk shirt with black embroidery and the designs of dragons snaking across his chest. He looked like a god descended.
Duo pouted. He could look but not touch and on top of that he had to wear this bloody, stupid suit!
"Duo!" Quatre whispered sharply, "stop that!"
"What?" Duo asked innocently.
Quatre sighed. "Stand still."
They stood in the foyer of the Miyamoto mansion. A large, white stone mansion that their whole house could fit in and invite its friends to take up the miles of halls and rooms that made up the massive palace.
The door opened, revealing a butler in full formal attire.
"Masters Winner, Maxwell, Chang, Barton and Yuy I presume." The butler asked stiffly, looking down at the young men.
"Yes. Thank you." Quatre said, drawing up to his full height and towering over the butler. "Please, show us to Mrs. Miyamoto."
"Right away sirs." The butler said, looking as if leading them was as pleasant as swallowing snakes doing the swords dance.
Quatre winked at the other pilots and led them into the large house following the butler.
They passed through hallways lined with oriental carpets and works of art from the world over. Quatre loved coming to this place since he was small, with his father, because there was never an absence of new and interesting things to see. Pulled out of their awe by the arrival at the door, the boys stood in line as the butler pushed open the heavy white doors.
The waves of sound washed over them as they entered the room. Eyes blinded by the bright lights. Mind dazzled by the monumentous stage set up in the room, being gazed at in awe by a beautiful young girl in a white kimono, hair bound up in the fashion of a woman.
"Miss Miyamoto!" Quatre cried out as the other boys watched his progress across the floor as the older version of Miss Miyamoto came hand in hand with the male version across the floor toward Heero. They hit at the same time.
"Miss Miyamoto! You look fabulous!" Quatre cried. Trowa narrowed his eyes.
"Heero-kun! Thank you so much for setting up this band for us!" Mrs. Miyamoto gushed, clasping Heero's hands in hers.
"Yes, a well organized man came and set up these lights and the stage and timed it all for the band." Mr. Miyamoto commented. "We thank you."
"It was nothing." Heero muttered.
"Nothing!?" Duo exclaimed, wrapping an arm around the stoic boy, "You have some major connections!"
"Hn."
"Guys! You have to meet Miss Kiyoshi!" Quatre said, walking quickly over with a laughing Japanese girl that fulfilled the 'beauty' category and raised it to the nth power squared!
Kiyoshi stopped before the men and gracefully bowed her elegant head, slender body and porcelain fine features offset by white kimono and silky black hair that was elegantly tied up. "It is my pleasure to meet you sirs. My name is Miyamoto Kiyoshi, I thank you for coming here tonight."
Duo stared. She was not as beautiful as Heero. "Duo Maxwell." He said shortly.
"You honour me." Kiyoshi bowed to Duo, which he grudgingly returned, however slightly.
Trowa looked on, eyes narrowed. Then sighed and half smiled at the girl. "Trowa. Trowa Barton."
"My honour sir. You are with my dear friend, you are dear to me as well." Kiyoshi said, hiding a smile at the jealousy she had detected.
Heero stared back at her and bowed to her, a full bow, head just above hers. "Ore no namae wa Yuy Heero. Hagimemashite."
Kiyoshi bowed lower. "Dou yoroushiku kudasai, Yuy-san."
Duo glanced at Trowa. "Did that just fly over your head?" He whispered. Trowa nodded, looking comically befuddled.
WuFei looked on in awe, a goddess with the beauty of Meiran! Here! Before his very eyes! "My name is Chang WuFei," Wufei bowed to her, "you honor me."
Kiyoshi hid a blush. "You honor me with you recognition."
Her parents smiled knowingly.
Suddenly, the lights on the stage flashed. The pilots looked around, noticing the multitude of people that had amassed while they were talking.
"Ladies and gentlemen! In honor of the coming of age of Miyamoto Kiyoshi, we have selected a band to sing for us! They will be coming on in just five minutes! Please give them your attention as they have flown here from Japan just this morning for tonight!"
The crowd clapped its approval.
"That the one you got for them?" Duo asked to Heero. Then he noticed one flaw in his questioning. Heero was gone.
Noticing Duo's anxious looks, Quatre placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's ok. Heero just went to talk to Mrs. Miyamoto. He'll be back."
Duo sighed, conquest plans dashed by his targets talent at slipping away. "Alright." He said and stalked off to find the buffet.
Suddenly, the lights on the stage flashed once before turning to darkness. The lights in the hall blackened out with them. Suddenly left in darkness, the revelers spun to look at the stage.
The stage was cloaked in darkness, the dim outlines of two people barely visible through the dark setting.
Entrancement fell over the crowd and the first descending notes of the melody whispered through the room.
Kiyoshi gasped, 'It couldn't be...'
The music swelled to a crescendo and red light filtered into the dark stage, illuminating a red haired man caressing the keys of a keyboard, his amber eyes intense in the bloody light. On the opposite side of the stage, a man stood, holding a black guitar with red steel strings. His long brown hair blew about his body in an unseen wind, ice blue eyes froze all who caught his gaze.
Out of the intense atmosphere, a pure voice rang through the room from a singer hidden in the dark recesses of the stage. Pain laced the smooth tone that could not be defined as tenor nor alto, but a godly sound from far above.
Nureta hitomi no oku aoi tsuki wa shizuka ni kobore ochite yuku (Deep inside eyes overflowing with tears, the blue moon falls to pieces..
The singers voice broke in remembered sorrow as the electric guitar took over, its screaming presence providing haven for the hidden angel.
Azayaka na sekai wa oto mo naku shizuka ni yami ni kiete yuku (Without a sound, the brilliant world vanishes in darkness)
The singer walked forward, leather clad legs just visible in the light surrounding the other members. Stopping, his voice continued, rising with a hopeful tone to the sorrowful rote.
byou yomi no naka kake meguru yami no naka o soshite arata naru toki o mukae ima ... (Running around in the dark during the countdown A new time will arrive, now)
The drum beats swelled out from the keyboards electronica as the instrumentalists swayed into the music. The singer cut off as a contrast of gentle notes flowed from the stage.
Suddenly the music rushed back at full blast as the lights flashed up to reveal the singer. Brown hair tipped in black flowed around porcelain fine features as a open black silk shirt flowed around his slender form. Twin swords held at his sides caught the light and cast an eerie glow on the leather pants worn by the gifted singer, pants that looked like they had been poured on by a divine hand.
The singers head flashed up as deep Prussian blue eyes flashed in the light.
'Heero!?' The Gundam boys thoughts united in their shock. But, they were returned to catatonic wonder as Heero opened his mouth to sweetly scream the next words.
kizutsuita kuroi tsubasa tsuki no akari ni terasarete utsukushiku maiagare
(Injured black wings glimmer beautifully As they soar in the light of the moon) shinkou no kuchidzuke ga ima kokoro no oku ni nagare komu soshite yume no naka e ... (Now, the crimson kiss has found its way into my heart, And will soon flow into my dream...)
Heero's arms flew up above his head as he cast his eyes heavenward, singing his soul out to the stars as the guitar once more offered respite to the heaving singer.
chinmoku no sora kiete yuku senritsu no MERODII ni ima inori o komete (The silent sky dissapears into the wavering melody Now, put everything into prayers)
Heero's voice calmed once more as his arms fell to his side, eyes still cast up.
The gentle notes once more broke the revere and were themselves broken by the harsh strains of music from the soul as the seemingly possessed singer flung his arms down, lunging forward toward the crowd, intense blue eyes flashing as his soul screamed into the microphone, embodied by gentle voice that contradicted his expression, holding the crowd enthralled. tozasareta yume no tsuzuki sagashi mo tomete itsumademo aruki tsuzukeru (I'll keep on walking forever, Looking for the rest of my closed dream... ) kizutsuita kuroi tsubasa tsuki no akari ni terasarete utsukushiku maiagare (Injured black wings glimmer beautifully As they soar in the light of the moon)
Heero dropped his arms to his sides, eyes gazing out of fallen bangs, a soul seeking redemption singing words that softly killed.
shinkou no kuchi zukega ima kokoro no oku ni nagare komu soshite yume no naka e ... (Now, the crimson kiss has found its way into my heart, And will soon flow into my dream... )
As Heero's voice faded out the lights dimmed once more leaving the stage in darkness.
"Heero...." Duo whispered.
"I've never seen such a singer..." Quatre whispered, enthralled.
Trowa nodded, too stunned for words.
WuFei stood with Kiyoshi as they both stared in anticipation at the stage as the band began to introduce themselves.
The red light once more filtered onto the stage. The red haired man created a storm of fire around himself as he leapt forward to right center stage. Whipping out a metal fan, the man screamed out a command and increased the fire's intensity.
"Ore wa Tasuki!" He roared.
Blue light filtered onto left center stage as the brown haired guitarist stepped forward. Beckoning forward a wall of ice, the intense man said softly.
"Ore wa Hiro."
But he was not the Gundam Pilots Heero, no, their Heero was the singer.
Duo held his breath as he awaited the singers arrival.
A flash of twin blades and the ice wall shattered as the fire blew to the breeze. Landing in a crouch between the two, the singer crossed his blades before his chest.
Speaking out with a faint accent, "I am Kenkaku and we are The Forsaken!"
Their name flashed in fiery letters above the band as they faded back into darkness, their job now complete.
"I knew it." Kiyoshi murmured, "I knew from the first note."
Duo spun to her, "Knew what?"
"That this was the lost band, 'The Forsaken'. They were the number one band in Japan, easily selling millions of records. But, then they disappeared and no one knew where they went or where they had come from." Kiyoshi said solemnly before breaking into a smile. "But to have them at my party has got to be the greatest thing I've ever experienced!" Kiyoshi rushed off to jabber with her friends about the awesomeness of the experience.
"How?" Duo muttered, "how could we not know?"
"Heero...I mean, Kenkaku, is no easy nut to crack." Trowa said quietly. "But I wonder what stopped them and..." Quatre began.
"How a Gundam trainee was a bands lead singer." Duo finished.
"Kenkaku-kun?" Tasuki said softly, "you gonna be okay?"
Heero smiled gently at his fiery friend. "Aa."
Hiro placed a comforting arm on Heero's shoulders. "You have to face them and tell them the truth."
Heero/Kenkaku's head sprung up, shock in his eyes. "Tell them?" He squawked, "I couldn't!!"
"You must." Hiro said firmly, "They must know the truth about J."
TBC.....
In
Chapter 4: Japan Ho!
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