Disclaimer: It's on my Christmas list.
Saturday at four-thirty PM, whatever-time-zone-Domino's-in, the regional round of the Band War competition was about to start. Members from twenty-one bands swarmed around the entrance to a concert hall in a town just outside of Domino. The seats were once again sold out, and the pressure was now on. Only two bands could make it into the half-country competition, and then from there there were the Japan-wide finals, in which just four bands would play in competition for first, second, and third places.
"Move over, Rishid!" Malik shouted from a corner where he was smushed up against the wall. "I can't breathe!"
"Sorry," Rishid shouted back, moving slightly so that the younger boy could take in a bit of air, clutching his electric guitar. Ryo was next to him, fiddling with the strings of his acoustic. Isis was the only instrumentalist that hadn't given in to fiddling. Yet.
The doors to the hall opened, and the bands all found their assigned seats. Atemu, sitting between Yugi and Anzu in the very back row, grabbed Ryo's hand as he walked past.
"Remember, you're naked unless you look up into the audience and smile." Ryo blushed and ran on so as not to lose the other Crimson Love members in the thick throng of performers. Anzu noticed her boyfriend's uneasy expression.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm worried about Ryo."
"Why? He was awesome at your rehearsal the other night!"
"Oh, I'm confident in his ability, very confident in fact. It's more his health I'm concerned about, actually."
"What do you mean?"
"He looks pale- well, paler than usual I mean, and this morning when we held one last practice his voice sounded... a bit croaky."
"Maybe it's just finally getting deeper."
"Overnight? I don't think so, Anzu. He lives with Bakura, so I'm worried that he may have caught the flu from him."
Anzu squinted to see where Crimson Love was seated, watching Ryo sit down next to Malik. He didn't say anything, just stared at the stage.
"Hey, you're right. He looks... weird."
Atemu cracked a smile, then sighed. "Well, all we can do now is hope for the best."
"I guess you're right... What number are you guys, well, minus you I mean."
He nodded his understanding. "Tenth out of twenty-one. So it's a half-show wait, then we play, then another half-show wait. The only thing better is being three quarters of the way through, to get more used to the new surroundings and calm down, and also to be able to compare yourself to more previous groups. But it's a lot better than being first."
"Fair enough- Ooh, they're starting!" She held Atemu's hand as the lights dimmed and the first band set up onstage...
...and held it until it was Crimson Love's turn up. The band hastily set up their equipment, warming up in the minute-and-a-half allowed in this round. Ryo with his acoustic and Isis with her keyboard took their front positions, Mai to the right and back, Rishid to the left and back, and Malik in his never-changing position in the very back, on the drum set. They started at a signal from the judges:
When no one is there,
And nothing is seen,
Your heart is blind,
You are a machine,
But you know,
That somewhere you will find,
Someone of your kind,
That will exist,
That will be real,
That you can touch,
That you can feel-
There's something not there,
There's something amiss,
You long for that feeling,
You long for that kiss-
The kiss of truth,
The kiss of soul,
The kiss that tells you,
You're in control-
Oh-
If you find me,
If you're there,
Don't you take long,
Don't take care,
Hurry up before I'm swallowed,
By unanswered prayers-
But the choice is difficult,
At which road do I cross,
In order to be pried apart,
But still remain whole?
At the Lane of Hearts,
Or the Avenue of Truth,
Or the Drive o-of Soul-
Never worry,
Never think,
Push until you're on the brink,
Let your mind wander,
And decide with your heart.
Confused?
Find me to start-
Oh-
When mind and soul collapse to one,
You know you can't go wrong,
Feel with your love,
Touch with your heart,
And sing sweetly destiny's song-
And sing sweetly-
Destiny's-
So-ng...
As the crowd jumped to its feet and roared its approval. Rishid, Ryo, Isis and Mai formed a row in the front by joining hands and bowed while Malik thrust his drumsticks into the air in a 'V' shape. He shouted something that couldn't be heard from the seats over the wave of applause, but it made Isis and Ryo chase him around, trying to kill him with their instruments, each blushing. That gave Atemu some idea.
"I wonder what Malik shouted to make Isis and Ryo want to kill him," Yugi stated, on Atemu's left side. Atemu shrugged. He was much too nervous to care. Please, let that be good enough for the judges, please... please Kami-sama, have mercy upon us, please... Wait, what am I saying? I worship Ra! Please dear Ra-sama, have mercy upon these – no- OUR poor, beaten souls... Yes that's it...
The rest of the bands didn't worry him that much. Ryo had been nearly perfect in his performance, no matter how rattled he had looked prior to and following their show. He had kept his poise, followed all of Atemu's tricks, sang perfectly, did everything he was supposed to. Atemu actually had a hard time believing it was quiet, modest Ryo on the stage instead of Bakura. The white-haired boy's every move was more jerky, random, outgoing than the former pharaoh had ever seen him execute. He looked like a born rocker. And it was hard to miss the wide smile on his face at the end of the song. So really, as the last band set up to play, Atemu wasn't worried in the least.
Until he heard them.
They were a rock band, three guys and a girl, who was the girlfriend of the drummer. All three of the tall, strong boys wore black leather pants and green tank tops, and she wore green-painted bell bottom jeans with a black spaghetti strap shirt. They had a drummer and two electric guitarists, and the girl was their lead singer along with another guitarist. Their song was hardcore rock, so at first Atemu wasn't worried. Then he caught on to the beat, and found himself lost in the lyrics. That wasn't good.
So I say,
Try it my-y way,
Forget the thrill,
It's all the chill,
Never look down,
Always up,
You never know,
What'll erupt.
And when you think,
'Does this make sense,'
Lose your brain,
Hence,
Your inability to think,
Not able to feel,
Allow yourself the joy of the reel,
But is- it- REAL-
Will you ever be able,
To love again?
Will you ever be able,
To touch again?
Will love exist,
Ever again?
Are you guaranteed,
To last forever?
Do you know,
For sure-
Are you the player,
Or be-eing played?
What are you searching for-
The background noise came to a halt, then creeped back in on the tips of its toes into a great crescendo, as the girl belted into the microphone-
What are you-
SEARCHING- FOR-
The applause in the room rivaled that for Crimson Love as the last band, named Unseen, took their seats. Atemu caught Ryo's eye, from near the front of the seats. The boy's deer-soft eyes were huge and worried. Atemu sent a message back with his eyes, 'Don't worry.' Ryo got the message and turned back around, awaiting the judges' final word. Atemu found himself desperately wishing he could have been there for voice support, then smacked his forehead, mad at himself. You can't fix what can't be fixed, Atemu, he told himself.
"Hey," Anzu said from next to him, "Calm down. Don't kill yourself over this thing."
"But there're only two top spots... Do you realize how close this will be? This is a serious competition, and-"
"ATTENTION PLEASE! MAY I HAVE EVERYONE'S ATTENTION!" A judge stood on her chair, trying to get the audience's attention. When she figured that the dull roar in the room was the quietest she was going to get, she gave up and read the names of the winners. Let all who didn't hear suffer.
"I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE..." and so on for twenty Ra-darned minutes, until she finally just came to the Ra-darned winner.
"IN SECOND PLACE, UNSEEN!"
The crowd of one thousand roared in approval as the rock band Atemu had noticed stood and waved to their fans, ecstatic. The girl and her drummer boyfriend hugged, and the rest of the band was smiling. Atemu's stomach twisted into a secure knot as he crossed his fingers.
"AND TAKING FIRST FOR THE SECOND TIME IN THIS COMPETITION, CRIMSON LOVE!"
Atemu whooped in joy as he saw the rest of his band cheer and hug each other down below. Ryo turned and caught the shorter boy's eye, smiling broadly. 'I did it!' he mouthed excitedly. Atemu smiled and gave him an air high-five, which Ryo returned before being caught off guard as Isis practically threatened his life with one of her hugs. Atemu laughed to see the boy's face become very red, both from lack of air and blushing, as she didn't let go of him for nearly a minute, then turned to Mai.
"They did it again!" Anzu exclaimed. She hugged him tightly. "I'm so happy I could kiss you-"
He nearly gagged, and she laughed joyously.
"-But I won't. Not yet, anyway..." She smirked as he was glomped by Yugi on his other side.
"Yeah 'Temu!" Yugi let go as Atemu coughed. "Whoops.. hehe... Guess I went a little too hard, eh?"
Atemu flung an arm playfully at Yugi, stopping when he heard his name from out of nowhere, spoken in a deep rumbling voice.
"Atemu." The boy whipped around.
"KAIBA?"
"Your little albino's got some talent, you know. Maybe he should join you."
"Where did you COME from?" Anzu asked, appropriately freaked out.
"Where do you THINK I came from, Mazaki?"
"Well- Oh forget it, you're not listening anyway. You are a freak, did you know that?"
"I am well aware of your opinion of me Mazaki, and to tell the truth I don't give a- (Here Kaiba uttered a few 'rude' words that shall not be repeated in print.)."
"Kaiba..." Atemu growled.
"Save your breath, short stuff." The tall CEO walked off down an aisle, and Atemu vaguely saw him take his little brother's hand upon getting back to his seat before losing sight of him.
"That was..."
"Weird?" Anzu supplied.
He nodded. "Very."
"Atemu!" Atemu turned to see Ryo bolting towards him full-force through their back row of people, the rest of Crimson Love behind him. He threw himself into the shorter's arms, the chains attached to his pants jingling. "OH, thank you so much for helping me! I didn't mess up, not once! Thank you so much!" Atemu smiled as he was squeezed to death by the younger boy, before gently prying him away in fear for his oxygen intake.
"Oh, sorry," Ryo apologised sheepishly as his friend began to cough roughly, turning his head to the side. "I didn't mean to nearly kill you..." He didn't get a reply, as Atemu was still coughing. Anzu rubbed the boy's back until he stopped, gasping.
"Hehe... sorry 'Temu..."
"That- That's okay," he choked out before giving a few more short coughs. Ryo blushed and looked positively guilty.
Two days later after school on Monday, the whole band was gathering for a practice, songwriting session, and test session in the Mazaki basement. Atemu, Ryo, and Malik didn't change out of their Domino High uniforms, just waded through the snow to Anzu's. Atemu saw that Anzu was shivering in only her thin blazer and short uniform shirt, so he lent her his jacket.
"T-Thanks 'Temu," she mumbled appreciatively, "But you're sick, you should wear it."
"I'm fine. I wore a long-sleeved shirt under my uniform today," he replied, tugging at the sleeve of said long-sleeved shirt. He knew that Anzu was right, but he didn't like to see her unhappy. He tried not to shiver as their group turned the corner onto Anzu's street.
"Achoo!"
Anzu smirked and draped his coat back over his shoulders. "I told you so."
"It's not worth it to argue with you, is it?"
"Nope-"
"Race to Anzu's house!" Mai shouted suddenly. They all forgot their conversations and darted for Anzu's home, about a hundred yards down the road. Atemu felt a familiar soaring feeling in his stomach as it was quickly he and Anzu tearing up the snow in the front of the pack. He leapt over a puddle with ease as the distance to his girlfriend's house quickly diminished, disappearing under his legs, deftly racing over the snowy pavement. He reached the door first, Anzu coming in ten seconds later, then Jou and Honda, Otogi, Mai, Ryo, Isis, Rishid, Malik, Shizuka, and Yugi last.
"Now fair guys! I'm half your height!" the small boy panted.
"Well 'Temu's not much taller than you, and he comes in first every time," Ryo replied. Yugi stared daggers at his yami.
"Sorry, Yugi. Can't help it," Atemu joked as they all filed in the door and lined up their wet shoes by the radiator to dry, Anzu opening up the door to the Mazakis' basement.
"I'm home, Mom!" she called as they descended the steps.
"Hi honey, hi everyone!" Mrs. Mazaki shouted back. Atemu was at the back of the group, having had to take a few extra seconds to remove his multi-buckled boots.
"Atemu, how are you feeling? Will you be able to sing in the next competition round thing?"
He rubbed and cleared his throat. "I think I'll be able to sing. Jii-chan keeps telling me to stay inside, but..."
His girlfriend's mother smiled. "You kids never cease to amaze me, do you know that? Do you know exactly what you've got?"
"Actually... no. Jii-chan thinks it's probably that I got a few things at once, because first I just coughed and all that and couldn't talk, and my stomach didn't start acting up until later, so... I really have no idea!"
"Well, that works too-" Anzu appeared at Atemu's back then, putting her hands on his shoulders. He turned swiftly and smiled, seeing her face.
"Come on, Rishid is going to have a cow if you don't get down there and help him with some vocal chord writing or something like that!"
"I was just trying to get a good rep with your mom!" he exclaimed as Mrs. Mazaki laughed.
"You already have one, sweetie. You two go down now; I don't think I can pay for what a cow would cost if your friend had one."
"And Malik's a guy, too..." Atemu stated as Anzu chased him down the stairs. Mrs. Mazaki chuckled.
"Those two were meant for each other." She went to go check on cookies baking in the oven, smiling.
Uck, sappy I know... That really is a horrible attempt at a fluffy ending of a chappie, it just screams CHEEZY! Oh well...
norestar-angel, I'm glad you think so! Thanks!
Queen Insanity, yeah, it would've spoiled the end for me. . But what I did read was good! I'm glad you liked the chappie, and I'll read whatever of your stuff ya want me too, as long as I don't spoil anything for myself. I'm kinda obsessive like that... heh. I'd love to be your friend! Well, we kinda are friends already, aren't we? You're cool!
That's okay dragon shadows, it's hard to review a lot! I try to review a lot, but sometimes you just have one of those off-days, eh? Or a lot of 'em! Yeah, half my stuff is sick-fics, I mean, this WAS, once upon a time, going to be a sick-fic oneshot... see what happens to plans in this world? And he's sick AND dying in Cry of the Black Magician, and in Christmas Dreams he's gonna get sick... why do I pick on Atemu so much? That's seriously creepy... whatever. I'm glad you like it, considering I'm such a total icky sap person!
Sorry Ninqe, notes.. nope. So I guess whatever you want it to sound like, just with the dynamics and tempos I manage to convey however badly works! Yeah, that method actually works... hehe. . Yeah, poor Ryo. I LOVE YOU RYO! Ahem. Sorry 'bout that. Of COURSE I'll update soon! Are you KIDDING? Writing is all I do, I seriously come home from school, start typing up a chapter, get off for dinner, finish the chapter, post the chapter! Yep, that's my incredibly nonexistent life.