A Simple Plan

Heys, it's me, Sentay. Well, I didn't get as many reviews as I'd hoped, but I still enjoyed to get them! In answer to a few questions: Kari's baggy shirt? Well, Dais has a very over active imagination. Boys…

And, thankies to the following:

Lil Gold Fishie, Lar-lar, J.P.G (Jessica Grimaldo) Ty, tania15, snowflke, Keep-onxRocking, and – my still number one fan- mima57775.

Thanks to you all! You all rock!

This chapter is dedicated to TysonFoxFlame. Dude, you so rock. Now, get working on Black Rose!

And now back to the story.

plan

chapter 3

Missions 1 and 2 were, if not fewer than my usual daily brain activity, quite simple. I had it all planned out before 5 o'clock, the time my mother wanted me home for dinner.

After watching TK and Ken play Tony Hawks Pro Skater 4, I had every intricate detail for the next day perfectly planned out.

Work, band tryouts, listen for talk of anybody moving in. The last one would be the easiest, cause in a small town like Odiaba, news travels very fast. I was surprised that I hadn't heard anything at dinner that night with my parents.

But that made finding out more about Miss Wonderful a challenge. And Daisuke Motomiya always loves a good challenge.

Besides that though, maybe a little more info on me. Yea, I guess I forgot to do an intro.

Well, if you haven't caught on just yet, my name is Daisuke Motomiya, Dai, Dais, or Davis for short. I'm 16 and will be in my 10th year next school year. My best friends are Takeru Takashi, nicknames that consist of Take, Keru, Teeks, TK, blondie, etc; and Ken Ichijouchi.

I am an only child graced to two pretty cool parents. My mom works for the local deli, so free turkey cold cuts are always found in our fridge. My dad owns a small sports equipment shop, but I still don't get discounts.

Then there's my cough sister. I know, I just said that I am an only kid, but you'd lie too if you had Jun as your sister. Anyways, I hardly ever even consider her human.

Well there you go. Now back to the more important stuff: the day of my missions 1 and 2.

At about 3 o'clock that day, I was once again free from the daily work grind and ready to put my plans into motion.

The first mission I decided to achieve was yes indeed Mission 1 (no brainer, eh?), which was Get An In On Matt's Band.

Grabbing my nonembarrasing clothes (an ancient Clash tee shirt I had jacked from Ken's closet and basically the same pants as yesterday- except that these were blue) and transforming from bored Shake Bake employee to totally kick, borderline class clown-troublemaker, I quickly grabbed my skateboard and my beloved guitar case from the storage room and wheeled my way out of the back exit.

Carefully making sure that my guitar was safely strapped and hanging around my shoulders. I semi-awkwardly made my way towards the last place I wanted to be yet the place where I was going to prove myself.

Thing is this: In Japan, a condiment is like an everyday house to Americans, right? Well, you can't have band practice in a dinky apartment, can you? Heck no.

So, Yama and his band rented out the school's gym for the summer and held during-school-year practices in the rather large shed out back behind the auditorium. And the gym was where I was heading to officially become a member of the Teenage Wolves.

Matt's band was actually not all that bad. Well, wouldn't be once I was in it. Anyways, the band consisted of the essential people: Firstly Yamato Ishida, TK's older brother (the last name thing, I know, confusing. To be explained later), the band's leader in both management and guitar.

Yamato would be quite the tricky one, mainly cause we really didn't like each other all that much. It's a looo-ong story, one that I'm sure to speak of later.

Yea, back to Matt though. He's you typical serious, tortured artist, oh-woe-is-me-I'm-moaning-all-cause-nobody-takes-my-seriousness-seriously, I'm-gonna-go-write-a-song-about-it, then-I'll-flash-my-stupidly-attractive-smile-and-make-all-the-girls-swoon-and-steal-a-cetain-someone's-love-of-their-life-and-tear-their-soul-and-heart-apart!

……

Sorry. I guess that me myself am a writer, too (no duh, Daisuke Motomiya, song writer and lady charmer at your service!), so maybe I myself, being a fellow artist and all, shouldn't hate him for that. Oh no, I should, and always would hate him for another very well known few reasons.

Dirty, rotten, backstabbing, son-of-a-

Ah, um, back to Matt's grumble grumble band. Yes, the band.

… Besides Yama there was, of course, a drummer, a bassist, and a rhythm guitarist. With them, no problemo whatsoever. Actually, they were pretty cool.

There was Koushiro, Izzy as he was so affectionately nicknamed, the band's bassist and track mixer. In fact, one look at Iz and you wouldn't ever think Koushiro and 'being in a band' in the same thought. You see, Kou didn't go to regular high school at first; he used to be enrolled in the nearby, exclusive, hoity-toity, smartsy private school.

Supposedly, from what I heard TK say about what Matt and said about what Izzy had told him, Iz decided that he wanted to be a regular, everyday teen. So, he had his parents enroll him into the local, 1,700-population Odiaba High School.

But, even though Izzy started his sophomore year as a "regular-everyday-teen", there was nothing to be done to change the fact that he was and looked like a total geek/nerd. That smartsy school had turned him in to my worst, "what if" TK nightmare, if you know what I mean.

Anyways, Geek Koushiro was befriended by Matt when (from what I heard) the red-haired one tutored the blonde one in Math (come to think of it, neither of the Ishida-Takashi brothers are very good at math). That's when Matt discovered that, in Izzy's old school, everyone was required to play and instrument.

Upon receiving the fact that Kou played the cello for, like, 6 years, Matt had the oh-so brilliant idea of forming a band. With his 4 years of independent experience with a guitar and Kou's 6 years of orchestra, Ishida was determined to get a move on towards the music career.

So, pulling a School Of Rock (you turn it to the side and, c-hello! You've got yourself a bass), Mat starting posting flyers everywhere, calling any drummer and guitar players forward.

In the end, Matt and Kou picked out two pretty damn good musicians. A guy named Jyou, whom Izzy brought in (he was a geek, too) who was surprisingly killer on rhythm (but nowhere as kick as I myself) and a dude by the name of Takuya, the drummer. He was a year older than me, a Junior the year I was a Sophie (Matt and Iz were Seniors that year, Joe was one year older than them). Takuya, I thought he was a pretty cool guy. Waaaa-ay too much sugar, though. The drums really suited him.

Anyways, back to the whole point of me carefully shredding the sidewalk that led to the High School, a guitar strapped to my back:

Joe graduated. He decided to go to Tokyo Med School and become a doctor (what a loser).

And so I was moving in for the kill, taking my perfectly placed opportunity that was totally up for grabs and prepared to blow their minds away with my wicked awsome talent and then totally be granted a spot on Odiaba's All-Star rock band. Booya.

So maybe I was a tad overconfident. You would be too if you were the Almighty Daisuke.

Yea, back to me and the band tryouts. It took, like, about 10 minutes to get to the school (you'd take 5 extra minutes too if you had a heavy electric guitar banging against your back the whole way you were skateboarding down 5 blocks), and I was all sweaty and tired, but my spirits were high and I was so ready to be inducted into the band.

Did I put enough emphasis on the word was? Well, I will now. WAS.

Many ask if I was upset about being beat to the Teenage Wolves' search for Odiaba's greatest rhythm guitarist since, well, Yamato himself (I'll have to admit that Matt is one hell of a guitarist). And you know what I tell them?

HELL YEA!

But overall, I'd have to say that I really didn't want to be in Matt's stupid band.

… who am I kidding?

Anyways, back to the band tryouts: Um, well, there weren't any. At least not when I got there.

You see, when I skidded up to the entrance of the gym, I was so sure I had this in the bag. And then I walked into the gym, my skateboard in my right hand- guitar in my left and still hanging off my shoulder slightly (ready to be played in an instant).

What I saw took every smart alleck, wisecrack, sarcastic, self-confident remark (which is quite the astonishment, cause Ken has told me that my mouth has this endless supply to these things, quite to my liking- yet sometimes disadvantage) right from my tongue. Mr. Arrogant, I'm-gonna-bite-your-head-off, gimme my fries punk, bushy-haired-bogus-big-brother-of-Ataris-hottie Tai was sitting on the amps, laughing with the all Holy Yama, holding what really looked like a guitar.

Completely shocked and confused, I stood in the open doorway, perspiring and breathing heavily, my guitar thunking to the ground as my clammy hands dropped its items.

I probably would've been able to sneak my way out, if my mouth had just been able to stay shut, and maybe-just-maybe if my hands hadn't let go of two of the heaviest things I own, causing the entire gym to echo with a crashing sound.

"Shit," was my immediate reaction. Hey, you'd react that way too if you dropped 36,000 yen electric guitar onto the slicked wood floor. If me dropping things to cause the other occupants of the gym (Iz and Takuya were in the far right corner, eating chips- Yama and coughlosarcough Tai were in the far left, where all the equipment was) to notice that another person had entered wasn't enough, then Matt hearing my voice was the icing on the cake.

"Dais? Well, well, well. If it isn't Keru's little friend."

I gritted my teeth as I bent over to pick up my fallen treasures. As I glanced over towards the sickly singsong voice of Yamato Ishida, I smiled proudly and said, "Hey. How's it going?"

I made my way across the gym, the distance between me and dumb and way dummerer seeming to triple times ten.

"I knew you'd be here. I'll bet Keru told you that I was having tryouts, eh?"

Finally face to face with the jackass of the century, I shrugged my shoulders. "What can I say? I guess I'm just willing to lend you my musical frission."

Alright, with Matt you should expect that there are no strings attached, even-though-you-and-me-are-or-were-friends-I'm-still-gonna-give-you-crap, total jerk action. So I wasn't completely crushed when he laughed in my face.

"O-kay. Whatever. Not like it matters. We've already got someone to replace Joe."

Playing stupid (which really isn't that easy when I so wanted to make them feel dumbed down), I said, "Who?" I swear that I was two seconds from chucking my board at the stupid brunette when he raised his hand in an obvious attempt to piss me off.

"That would be me, Bacon Boy."

The two boys laughed like brothers, leaving me to blush and angrily growl. "You aren't serious. Matt, you're gonna let this-this New Guy in and not me?"

He huffed, "If you were the last guitarist in the world, and I needed a band to survive, I would never come close to picking you."

"That's because you're stupid," I sneered. Some comeback, eh?

As Tai sniggered, Matt grinned spitefully. "Sorry kid. You just aren't cut out to play with the big boys."

I clenched my fists. "Kid? KID? I'm only two years younger than you! Not even! I'm 16 and you're 17! What the-"

"Exactly. You're a future Sophomore, I'm a future Senior. You're a loser, I'm not. End of story."

But you see, if this were the end of the story, then, well, I wouldn't be telling it.

"So, you're telling me that cause I'm a 'Kid' (yes, I mimicked the quotations), you won't even hear me play? That's complete and utter bullshit."

"Ain't it the truth, ain't it the truth?"

I shook my head stubbornly. "No, it isn't! Well, it is, but, but, it's not fair!"

"Cry me a river, build me a bridge, and jump off."

Scowling, I gathered my belongings and made my way to the exit. I turned around quickly and yelled back, "Just you wait Ishida! I'll get you back so bad, you-you-your hair will turn white!"

Angrily kicking the door open, I tried my best to ignore the loud laughter coming from the gym. When I got outside I threw my skateboard down and kicked it.

Which wasn't one of my brightest moves. Sometimes I let my temper get away with me (although TK would like to say otherwise; he has this crazy idea that I always let my temper rise too quickly).

My skateboard rolled across the gravel parking lot and hit a nearby car. Consequentially, Murphy's Law held true and bad just got worse. All of a sudden, when contact between the front tire and my board was made, the car alarm went off and the loud, annoying rings of the Chevy sounded throughout the lot.

"Shit! Shit shit shit!" I ran over to pick it up, hoping that the owner wouldn't run over out of nowhere with a pry bar and beat me to a bloody pulp (too many Road Rage videos from Driver's ED).

Luckily nobody did. Hurriedly restrapping my guitar to my shoulders and stepping onto my board, I pushed my way towards the sidewalk.

You know when your parents tell you to always look twice when walking in a parking lot? Well, I never thought it would pertain to skateboarding, but it does.

As I was distracted by my thoughts of a certain pain-in-my-ass, oh-so loved, blue eyed bastard, a car crept up behind me and honked real loud, scaring the shit outta me.

Yelling in fright, I spun around, ready to shake my fist angrily at the driver. But, have you even tried to spin around while on your skateboard, forgetting that your feet were still on a board with wheels? Well, it's nearly impossible. So, naturally, I fell over, elbows hitting the gravel and my guitar slipping off my shoulder and clattering onto the floor.

Of course, I was frustrated enough. So you can understand my reasons for groaning loudly and jumping up to face my to-be challenger.

My anger quickly dispersed, for I found my savior; Freakin Beauty.

Oh ho ho, was she a bella. I stood, fists instantly unclenched and jaw opened wide, staring at her gorgeous figure. She was in the driver seat of a black convertible, her brother's sunglasses on her own face. I wanted to walk over to her and rip them off, telling her that her eyes were too good to be looking through such tainted lens.

Instead, I stood there and stared. Until she honked the horn again, that is.

"HEY! GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

Flustered, I stepped aside, dragging my stuff with me. She pushed the gas slightly, pulling up enough for us to be face to face. "What the hell is wrong with you? Are you trying to get yourself killed? I- Oh my god. Daisuki?" (1)

I nearly jumped in place, my heart fluttering at the words. Did she just say-did she mean- oh my god, "Huh?"

She shook her head and clicked her tongue. "Oh Jeeze, I'm sorry. Was your name Daisuki or Daisuke?"

Kicking myself for letting my heart act before my brain, I quickly put a few words together. "Um, Dais-Dais- uh, Daisuke. Daisuki means- um, uh-"

She waved her had impatiently. "Yes, yes. I know. Sorry about that." Grinning a grin that made me want to melt into a puddle, she pushed the sunglasses up on top her head, much like her brother, and said, "What're you doing? You look like hell."

I blushed and muttered, "Bad day, don't ask."

Laughing, she pushed a button in her car that unlocked the doors. "Need a ride?"

Nodding, I picked up my dropped-too-many-times items and got in, piling it all in the back. Slamming the door shut, I turned to her and smiled. She smiled back. "Where to?"

I gave her Ken's address (for that's where Teeks, Ken and I were supposed to meet and have a victory feast of junk food and sushi). Instead of driving towards the parking lot exit, she just stared at me. I blurted, "What?"

Blinking, she sarcastically said, "Oh nothing. Just that I have no idea where that is, being that I just moved her two days ago you know."

"Oh, sorry. Um, take a left when you pull out." Wanting to bang my head against the window, but couldn't since they were rolled down, I guided her towards the street that she would take that would directly lead us to the Ichijouchi residence.

Once we were rolling, obeying the speed limit by only one mile, she turned to me and said, "I'll bet you're wondering what my name is, huh?"

"Naw, here it's custom for the women to stay as inconspicuous as possible, quite like the children. Seen and not heard."

She scoffed. "Excuse me? Well I guess you broke your own law, there buddy boy. You sure look like a child to me." Ouch.

"I was just joking."

"I know."

Oh boy did I love her even more. "So, what is your name?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Do you always pick up conspicuous strangers that you've only met once? You never know what kind of people are out there. You could be picking up a real maniac, you know? I'm talking about a real psycho. The kinda guy who'd rip your hear out and eat it for pleasure."

She laughed. "Okay there Cusack. Chill. The name's Hikari Yagami. But you can call me Kari if you want." Oh god, Hikari. The light of my life.

"What if I wanna call you something else?" Hot? Beautiful? Mine?

"Depends." She was trying to sound serious, but her grin gave her away.

"Well, how about ma bella?" (2)

"How about I kick you where it hurts?"

"Um, it's the big white one with the blue shudders."

"That's what I thought."

She pulled up and turned the key, letting the engine die. We sat there for a moment, stealing glances at each other. Finally, she turned to me and asked, "So, are you gonna get out or am I gonna have to show you how to open the door?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "If you wish it."

But I didn't give her the chance to smart alleck me any more. Quickly grabbing my things, I got out of her car and stepped out onto Ken's drive way.

So many memories were paved into that drive way. Like the time where we were 11, when we ran out of chalk and so we used Ken's Dad's paint to draw pictures on the cement. Took two years for it to wash off completely. And like the time where Ken decided to teach himself how to drive at 13. Ran the car into the garage door.

And now a new one. Me watching Hikari Yagami winking at me and pulling out of Ken's driveway, squealing the tires as she raced down the street and out of sight.

Sighing, I turned towards the house that I wished I did live at and walked up towards the entrance, all the while thinking, "Kar, ma bella. Just you wait."

tbc

(1) in case y'all didn't know, daisuki means to like a lot.

and

(2) ma bella is french for my beauty

Please review all thoughts, comments, suggestions, and so on!