It felt just it did before. The drumsticks in her hand, the sound resonating from the drums... She could almost hear the music accompanying Aurora's bass guitar. Aki made the beat and Aurora made the melody. Everyone in the jazz band had known the two as "the magic pair". In fact, the teacher would give them duets to perform on occasion when concerts were scheduled.
Aki closed her eyes as she played, almost hearing Aurora's guitar right next to her. It felt that if she opened her eyes, she'd see her American friend sitting next to her. As the memory of the pair became more and more vibrant in Aki's mind, the guitar grew louder and louder. In fact, if she didn't know any better, she'd think that Aurora really was sitting next her, that she really was playing her guitar.
Aki opened her eyes and nearly dropped her sticks at what she saw. There was Hiro, not sitting, but standing, playing his guitar right next to her. She glanced around the room and saw Fujisaki behind his keyboard, playing a melody that accompanied Hiro's guitar perfectly. The only thing that was missing was Shuichi's voice. Of course he wasn't going to sing because it was a song made up on the spot, and it wasn't as if he needed to perform this time.
Eventually, the song ended and the three were applauded by the others in the room.
"That was great little sister!" Shuichi exclaimed.
"It seems you do know your shit." K commented.
"Absolutely wonderful!" Sakano shouted, near tears.
"I'd have to agree with you on that." came a voice. Everyone looked at the door to see Tohma Seguchi. "It seems I was correct on assuming what the missing element Bad Luck needed was, eh?"
"M-mr. president!" Sakano said in surprise, bowing. Aki's ears perked up at what Sakano had said.
"President? As in Tohma Seguchi? As in the Tohma Seguchi? As in the keyboardist for Nittle Grasper?" Aki asked.
"That would be me." Tohma answered, smiling. "You are Shindou-san's younger sister, correct?"
"U-um, yes..." Aki stuttered, amazed that such a famous man was standing before her and that he knew who she was.
"Yes, I thought so. Mr. Sakano mentioned you last night when we were out for dinner." He cast a glance at the bespectacled man who was blushing. "And anyway, I can see you have talent like your brother. Not the same kind of talent, but it's just as great. Not to mention it's exactly the kind of talent I was looking for."
Aki stared at him, slightly confused at Tohma's wording. "Um... okay?"
"That's great." Suguru said. Everyone looked at him. "Better it be Shindou-chan than some crazy fangirl who can barely keep a beat." It was then that it hit Aki.
"Wait, you actually want me to join Bad Luck?" she asked Tohma.
"Of course. The band needed a drummer, and it seems as though we found the right person for the job on the first try." He answered. There was a moment of silence before Aki started shivering.
"Ha! Take THAT Hiroshi Nakano!" She shouted suddenly, pointing at the guitarist. Everyone but Hiro looked shocked at the outburst. Hiro merely blinked.
"Congratulations Aki." was all he said before taking off his guitar and walking out of the room.
"Hiro..." Shuichi breathed before following his friend. The others watched him leave.
"Well there goes half the band. They probably won't be back either." K sighed. "I think I'll go then. I have press conference to schedule anyway."
"Press conference?" Sakano asked.
"Well yeah. We need to announce our new member, don't we?" K answered, jerking his thumb in Aki's direction before leaving.
"Ah right!" Sakano said, following K out of the studio.
"I'm afraid I must go too." Tohma said. "I have to rehearse with Nittle Grasper today and I need to track down Ryuichi. Suguru, I trust you can, er, tidy up this mess you made?" He said with an ever-so-slightly sadistic smile before leaving as well. Fujisaki sighed.
"Yes sir." he grumbled. He then commenced in re-organizing the chairs that had been strewn about the room.
"Uh, here let me help." Aki said, assisting him in gathering the chairs and papers of sheet music that were cluttering the floor.
"You really don't have to." Suguru told her.
"Yes I do. I mean, it is my fault after all, and also you helped me find my brother's place last night." Aki replied.
"How is it your fault?" Suguru questioned.
"Well, you threw a fit because Tohma suggested that the band needed a new member and I am that new member." She answered.
"That's not your fault, it's Seguchi-san's." Suguru pointed out. Aki thought about for a moment.
"Eh, I guess you're right. But still, you helped me last night. I owe you." she said. He nodded. "By the way, what were you doing anyway, just walking around?"
"Yeah, pretty much." He said.
"Why?"
"Because my life sucks."
"Why would you say that?"
"Because it does." he sighed. "Shindou-chan, you must understand. My whole family is in on the music business. I mean, Seguchi-san is my cousin and he's famous, now here I am, growing as popular if not more than him. My parents are loaded with cash, for different reasons, but still loaded, and the kids in my family are taught to play the piano at a very young age."
"Oh yeah, that sounds so hard." Aki said sarcastically.
"I'm serious! It's very frustrating. My parents are real rich stiffs that don't let me do a whole lot, not that I have much to do anyway. Also, I'm the only one in this band who does any work; a lot of it I have to do at home on top of my schoolwork. I take walks to relieve stress and as much as I would like to take them in the daytime, I get spotted too easily. And not just by my fans, but Seguchi-san's as well."
"Ouch." Aki muttered.
"And you'll know what it's like soon enough." he added.
"Yeah, I guess so..." She hadn't thought about that. That being famous isn't all fun and games; you also have to deal with crazed fans, paparazzi, and, at her age, school on top of it all.
She stacked the sheet music and placed it on a table. "Well, looks like we're done."
"Yup, seems so. I guess we're free for the day then."
"Yeah." An awkward silence fell between them as they walked out of the room. Suguru took a breath.
"Hey, you want to do something?" he asked, his cheeks pinking slightly. Aki looked at him.
"Sure. What else do I have to do?" She answered. Fujisaki smiled. They then left the building together, going somewhere where he wouldn't be noticed.
MEANWHILE!
"Hiro?" Shuichi found his friend sitting on the stairs in the stairwell, playing an air-guitar.
"Mm?" he responded, not looking at the pink-haired man.
"You don't want Aki to join, do you?" He asked, sitting down next to the guitarist, watching his fingers.
"It's not what I want. If Seguchi says she should join, then she should join."
"Hiro, I know how you feel. I felt the same way when Fujisaki joined."
"Yeah, but Fujisaki doesn't love you." Shuichi nodded, not taking his eyes off his friend's fingers. "I want new world..." He sung in English. Hiro cast him a side glance. His friend was now singing the rest of the song softly next to him while Hiro fingered the notes.
The two just sat there, playing the song that had made them famous in the first place. Of course, anyone passing by would only hear Shuichi singing, but to the pair, the song was playing full out, the original, the one they had done before even Fujisaki had created a new mix of it. They both closed their eyes and saw the crowd of fans below them, screaming for more, screaming for them. Shuichi Shindou and Hiroshi Nakano. And it was then, as Hiro strummed his silent, invisible guitar with his best friend in the world sitting next to him, singing their song, that he remembered why they had both started the band. It was their love of music and their friendship, not their lust for individual fame. What did it matter who joined their band? So long as the music was good, and that Bad Luck was theirs, nothing else mattered. They had each other, and they had their music and that was all that counted.
THE NEXT DAY!
"Hey Aki, good see you again!" a girl cried out, running up to the Shindou girl. She was a short girl with light-colored hair. Not Eiri Yuki light, but it was lighter than a normal Japanese girl's hair. She was listening to an MP3 player that she turned down as she approached.
"Oh hi Aru-chan! I didn't even recognize you. Your glasses are gone." Aki replied.
"Yeah, I got contacts. Your hair is different."
"Hm? Oh yeah. My friends in America made me dye my bangs blue. But I must say I like it."
"Yeah, it looks good on you." Aru-chan complimented.
"Thanks. Now come on, we have a mission."
"Right."
Aki had called the girl the night before to arrange for them to spend the day spying on Hiro and Ayaka. Aki had heard from (as in threatened to perform voodoo on) Shuichi that Hiro was spending the whole day with his girlfriend and that they had a whole schedule planned out. Aki had extracted said schedule from her older brother and recruited her friend for a day of spying and attempts to break the couple up.
"So, where are we off to first?" Aru-chan asked.
"Well, they were going to meet at Le Cafe for lunch at 1:00 pm." Aki said.
"It's 12:50 now." Aru-chan said, checking her watch.
"Right. Then let's go." The two took off. They arrived at Le cafe 20 minutes later, both wearing berets, long coats, and dark glasses. They found Hiro and Ayaka easily as the two were seated outside and in front, and sat at the table nearest them. The other two had already been served and Hiro was currently feeding his girlfriend a forkful of salad. Aki glared at them from behind her menu.
"Can I help you?" came a voice. The girls looked up to see the waiter.
"Don't order anything too big." Aki hissed at her friend.
"I know, I know." Aru-chan whispered back. They both ordered the cheapest things on the menu and the waiter left. Aki's attention immediately shifted back to the couple. Hiro was again feeding Ayaka another bite of salad. Oh how Aki wished she was Ayaka at that moment.
"Dammit." She mumbled.
"What is it?" Aru-chan asked, glancing over her shoulder. She noticed the two and felt her own insides twisting in jealousy. She herself was a Hiro fangirl.
"Here you are." The waiter said, returning with their food.
"Thanks" The girls said in unison, not taking their eyes off of the couple. They kept watching the two, and when Hiro grabbed Ayaka's hand and started gently stroking the top of it with his thumb on top of their table so that the girls could see, Aki stabbed her fork into a crouton in her salad with just a little more force than what wound be needed to split the table.
A few minutes later, the couple had gotten out of their seats and left. Aki and Aru-chan waited for the pair to pass their table before hopping out of their seats to tail them without even thinking about the bill.
They followed the two across town to a miniature golf course. They followed them in and around the course. They stared with envy at Hiro "helping" Ayaka with her swing by standing behind her and swinging the club with her. By the time Ayaka and Hiro had finished, it was 4:00 and Aki and Aru-chan were at the seventeenth hole. They dropped their clubs and followed them around town to a movie theater.
The movie was the most boring thing in the world to Aki, and apparently that's how it was to Ayaka and Hiro as well because they spent the whole time making out. As Aki and Aru-chan watched from two rows back, they felt disgusted at the behavior but also incredibly jealous of Ayaka.
"This is gross and unfair." Aki mumbled somewhere in the middle of the movie. She reached into the popcorn bag and took out a handful. When she didn't shove it in her mouth, Aru-chan began to wonder.
"You're not going to..." she whispered.
"Oh yes." Aki assured her. Aru-chan grinned.
"Lemme help." She offered, taking a handful herself.
"On the count of three."
"One... two..."
"Three!" they said in unison, and launched their handfuls. They hit their target dead on, and the couple looked behind them. Aki and Aru-chan gave their full attention to the screen and slowly took sips of their sodas. Hiro and Ayaka looked around but found no one suspicious looking. When they turned their attention back to the screen, Aki and Aru-chan broke into silent giggles. They stopped when they noticed Hiro picking popcorn kernels out of Ayaka's hair and popping them into his mouth. It wasn't long until they were sucking face again.
After what felt like too long, the movie was over and Hiro and Ayaka were at a fancy restaurant for dinner. This time, however, Aki and Aru-chan didn't order anything. Not only were neither of them hungry, but nothing on the menu was within their budget for the moment. They didn't even have enough money between them to split a side order. But even if they had had enough money, they wouldn't have ordered anything. By now, Hiro and Ayaka were being so lovey dovey, that it was impossible for the two to take their eyes off of them.
They had been holding hands and giggling at each other's pathetic attempts at humor all day, but now they had settled into staring into each other's eyes, Hiro's lips mouthing sweet words to his girlfriend that Aki had dreamed of hearing from him her whole life. The jealousy was driving her mad and she wanted so desperately to be in Ayaka's place.
Now the two were leaning into each other across the table, slowing inching toward on another. Aru-chan didn't seem as irked by it as Aki did, even though she was staring at the couple as well. But when their lips connected, Aki couldn't hold it in any longer.
"I'm sorry Aru-chan. I have to go." She said quietly, getting up from the table and leaving.
"Aki!" Aru-chan called out, but it was too late. She sighed and cast a cold glare at Ayaka before leaving herself.
MOMENTS LATER!
Aki stood in the doorway to her house, leaning against the frame and crying silently. She had always known that chasing after Hiro was a lost cause and that she would most likely never be his girlfriend, and while she had seen them sucking face in the movie theater, this kiss he shared with Ayaka hurt more than anything. In the theater, it was dark and Aki couldn't see Hiro's face. In the restaurant she could see his face perfectly and the obvious how he enjoyed it. It was then that it had really set in that he would never love her like how he loved Ayaka.
"Dammit." Aki muttered, slamming her fist on the door frame before sliding down to her knees, sobbing.
I bet all you Hiro fangirls love me, now, don'tcha:D