Contest Winner: Gin
The Prize: He gets to help me design Colleen's band mates
The American Band
The ride back to N-G was uncomfortably silent. Colleen sat in the passenger's seat beside K and Ryuichi sat in the back with Colleen's two band mates. The car was so silent that the light rumble of the engine seemed louder than an exploding bomb.
The band's guitarist, who had still not given a name, coughed softly. The car fell into silence again. It was unbearable.
"Let's see," Colleen reached out and pressed a few buttons on the car's CD player. A familiar voice came through the speakers. "Oh, this is your American release CD, isn't it Ryu-san?"
"Yeah. It is," Ryuichi responded. He set his serious gaze out the window. "I hate it."
"You hate it? Ryu, you're a genius. How can you hate it?" Colleen demanded.
"I hate every song I sang in America. What gave the true power to my songs was the reality that Noriko and Tohma were there to back me up. When I sang without them in America, every song I sang was trash."
Colleen had no response for that, so the car was hushed again. She stared out the window for a second before the car came screeching to a halt.
"How could you go behind my back like that? Talking Tohma into sponsoring you here in Japan and not even telling me you were even contemplating this?" K shouted, turning a cold stare on her.
"I've got a surprise for you, Dad! It's not all about you!" Colleen yelled back.
"Dad?" the guitarist blinked. "K-san?"
"Yes, yes, it's nice to see you too, Gil. I just never expected to see you and my daughter here in Japan working for Seguchi!"
"You see? This is why I didn't tell you! You wouldn't have approved of it anyway, whether I told you or not!" Colleen insisted.
"Why did you come here?" K growled. "Back in America, you had all the power of XMR behind you. Why did you give that up to come here?"
"I came here for the purpose of giving that up. I want to prove that Aoi Honou doesn't need Reiji's backing to be a success!" Colleen insisted. "You can do and say whatever you like. I'm still here and I'm not leaving. I'm going to work for Seguchi-san and prove that we have what it takes to make it on our own."
"Has it ever occurred to you that you have more ties to N-G than XMR?" K demanded.
"Yes. It has. But Seguchi-san isn't like Reiji. He'd never hire me unless I had the talent, whereas Reiji might."
"Yeah, you've got to give Tohma that much credit," Ryu laughed. "He's a cold bastard. He'd fire his closest friend if they slowed progress."
"The last thing we need is this side of you coming in on this fight," K turned to Ryuichi as he shut off the CD player.
Ryuichi blinked for a minute and then murmured, "How long have we been in the car? Weren't we just at the airport a second ago?"
"Dad, I'm addressing you now as an employee of N-G, not as my father. I work for Seguchi-san and so do you. He told you to pick me up at the airport and take me to N-G, so do your job and take me to N-G."
"I already have," K pointed up. Colleen looked up through the moon roof at the sky-scraper beside the car - the N-G sky-scraper beside the car.
"Hmph!" Colleen quickly got out of the car and slammed the door. She tossed her duffle bag over her shoulder and rushed inside.
"Man, she seems upset," the drummer remarked.
"She seems upset?" Gil queried, pointing to K, who was loading up a rifle in the driver's seat.
"Don't be scared. I just do this when I'm pissed off. Now get a move on, you two," K ordered harshly. The rest of Aoi Honou quickly gathered their things and jumped out of the car.
"You shouldn't be so hard on her," Ryuichi said softly. "You know how much she loves singing."
"I'm not really angry at her, Ryu," K confessed, sighing. "I'm angry at myself. I know I'm a busy, working father and we were separated by an entire ocean… but I should have known. I should have known she was coming. I should have known about Aoi Honou."
"You didn't even know about the band?" Ryu blinked.
"No. I knew nothing. As far as I knew, she still didn't have a clue what she wanted to do with her life," K scratched his head in frustration. "I don't even think I've ever heard Gil play the guitar or Dan strike the drum or Colleen sing."
"You never even heard Colleen sing?" Ryuichi's eyes widened.
K shook his head seriously. "I knew she liked singing. I had heard her hum a few times, perhaps sing a line or two, but never have I actually heard her sing a song."
"It's not your fault K-san," Ryu assured.
"Yes it is. I'm a terrible father to her. I neglected her so much. She must hate me, especially since I never neglected Michael the way I neglected her."
"Michael?"
"My son. He's such a little kid that you probably never met him."
"Just try not to be so hard on the girl, K. I'm sure she's just upset right now," Ryuichi smiled.
"You're probably right," K sighed before staring at the gun in his hand angrily. "Besides, I have business to attend to with Mr. Shindo…"
"You aren't going to hurt Shuichi are you?" Ryuichi asked warily.
"He skipped work for a week and a half because of a cold. You know how I react to that sort of disgraceful behavior," K flashed a slight smirk.
"Um… well I'm glad to see you're at least feeling better…" Ryuichi forced a smile.
"Go catch up with Colleen. Make her feel at home," K said.
"Mm-hm! As good as done, K-san!" Ryuichi nodded fiercely before rushing out of the car and into the building.
"I can't believe she's here," K sighed, starting up the car again.
