Two days later, Aki arrived at NG before anyone else. She had gone home after school merely to change out of her uniform and drop off her school bag before coming here. She ran into Sakano at one point and he said that the rest of the band wasn't there yet and that K was currently making phone calls to schedule the press conference that would announce her joining. He had said that she could wait in the recording studio if she wanted to and practice some songs. She half smiled and started making her way in that direction. Sakano had wondered why that was the only time she showed any hint of emotion during their conversation.
Now Aki was making her way toward the studio, but taking her time doing so. Her face was completely blank, absent of all emotion. It was a face that she had worn once before, which was during the days following her announcement that she wanted to go to America. She liked this face a lot because it allowed her to seem completely inconspicuous, despite that fact that she was being torn up inside. She was still irked by what she had seen on Sunday... No, irked wasn't the word. More like devastated. But the point was that she wasn't happy, and certainly wasn't looking forward to seeing Hiro today. She was glad that she had ballet class yesterday and used that as an excuse to skip out on rehearsal. But today, she had no excuse and could only arrive early.
"Why did you even bother Aki?" She muttered to herself as she stopped in an empty hallway. She leaned against a wall and hid her face behind her hands. "You've always known that chasing after Hiro was a lost cause. So why did you even bother if you knew you were going to end up with a broken heart in the end?" Her shoulders started to shake in dry sobs, but before any tears could come out of her eyes, she heard the sound of a piano. It was playing a familiar tune, but a sad one.
She followed her ears until she was at the recording studio. She peeked inside and saw Suguru at his synth. She took a step in and silently watched him. He was amazing, despite the fact that he was merely playing on the piano setting, with nothing else enhancing the sound. His fingers danced gracefully on the keys, each touch producing a wonderful sound that made Aki want to dance.
"Swan Lake." she said out loud when Suguru was finished. The boy looked up at her, startled.
"Aki! I didn't see you there... Wait, you know Swan Lake?" He said when he saw her.
"Yeah, that's the music for the dying swan." Aki recalled.
"How do you know that?" Fujisaki questioned.
"Well, I take ballet, so of course I know what Swan Lake is." Aki reminded him. He vaguely remembered that she hadn't come to the studio yesterday because she had a ballet class. "But what surprises me more is that you know how to play it."
"What, you think that just because I'm in a hit pop band that I don't know any classical music?" He asked with a hint of a smirk on his face.
"No, I just didn't think you'd know how to play it." She said stepping fully into the room.
"Well of course I'd know how-" He started.
"Play it again." Aki demanded. Fujisaki gave her a look. "Play it again." She repeated. The boy did as he was told while Aki quickly slipped off her shoes.
At the sound of the music, she started dancing. Her ballet teacher had taught them the dance of the dying swan a few times in class just for practice, but now every time Aki heard the music for it, she couldn't help but dance out the steps. Her arms moved fluidly, and almost gave the illusion that she had wings. Her feet touched the ground so lightly that it looked as though any moment she could take off and fly away. The smooth transition of her movements made it appear as though she could at any minute fully transform into a swan.
Finally, as the song ended, and Aki finished sitting gracefully on the ground, one leg out in front of her, the other tucked underneath, the rest of her body folded over her outstretched leg.
"That was beautiful." Suguru told her as she slowly got up and put her shoes back on.
"You were watching? You should have been playing." Aki scolded, tying her shoe.
"Well, I have the fingerings memorized. I mean, I've only been playing that song for as long as I can remember." He said matter-of-factly.
"You're a nerd, you know that right?" She said, standing up.
"Hey!" He responded, walking over to her. When he got close enough, he could see tears streaking her face. "...What's wrong?" he asked hesitantly.
"What do you mean? There's nothing wrong." She said, bowing her head and looking away from him.
"You're crying." He pointed out. He reached out to touch her face, but she backed away.
"I am not. Liar." She muttered.
"Yes you are." He said bluntly, reaching out again. She took another step back but he grabbed her arm.
"Let go!" She screamed, trying to jerk her arm away, but he held on. She glared at him, showing her face, which was moist with tears.
"Shindou-chan..." Suguru said quietly.
"So what?" She growled at him. "So what if I am crying? I have every right to. I mean it's not like my heart can take being broken easily. I mean the man I love doesn't love me back and he probably never will! I'll just have to live the rest of my life as a lonely old maid, always wondering how much better it would be if Hiro hadn't fallen in love with that vile woman!" She went off, her voice getting louder with each sentence.
"Sh-Shindou-chan. Don't you think you're overreacting a bit?" He asked timidly. She glared at him.
"Overreacting? Overreacting! No I don't think I'm overreacting! I think that my one true love doesn't love me back and- whoa!" She had begun pacing, but tripped, landing on Suguru and toppling both of them over. He had landed in a sitting position and she in his lap. She laid her head on his shoulder.
"He never will." She finished in a whisper. Fujisaki took pity on her and wrapped his arms around her.
"Shindou-chan..." He murmured as she cried onto his shoulder.
"Hoho, what do we have here?" boomed an eerily happy voice with an American accent. The two teens looked up to see K in the doorway to the studio, a smile almost splitting his face in two. Behind him stood a giddy-looking Shuichi, a smirking Hiro, and an uncomfortable looking Sakano. The teens both blushed as they quickly got up and separated themselves from each other, Aki's tears miraculously disappearing.
"It's not what you think! Suguru was only trying to... Er, well, you see... he was... um... t-trying to..." she stuttered, trying to explain what had happened without telling them about why she was crying.
"She tripped, and I tried to catch her. We both fell." Fujisaki answered truthfully.
"Then what was that 'Shindou-chan' thing all about huh?" Shuichi asked, mimicking the boy perfectly when he said "Shindou-chan".
"If you had been listening closely, you would've heard that I said it in a questioning tone. I was asking if she was okay." Suguru lied without hesitation.
"Yeah, sure Fujisaki." Hiro said, entering the room with Shuichi right behind him. "Well if you two are ready, we should start rehearsing. Aki needs to learn the music." The two teens nodded and moved to their instruments.
"Thanks Suguru-kun." Aki muttered when she passed him. He blushed slightly at how informally she addressed him.
"All right! Let's get this party started! First up! Glaring dream!" Shuichi shouted.
"Such a slow song for such a hyper boy." Everyone mumbled unison, although Shuichi didn't seem to notice.
He started singing as Fujisaki and Hiro played. After a few moments, Aki got the beat and improvised, but it sounded wonderful. Meanwhile, K and Sakano were still standing in the doorway. Sakano's expression had gone from uncomfortable to near tears as he heard Bad Luck play.
"I didn't think it was possible, but they actually sound better now." Sakano choked, taking out a handkerchief from somewhere inside his coat and wiping his eyes with it.
"Yeah, Aki adds to it somehow. It's like, before, with just Fujisaki playing the beat, it was emptier. But now that we have an actual drum set, it sounds a lot different." K agreed.
"It's not just the addition of a drum set; it's the addition of the drummer." Came a voice. The two men looked behind them to see all of Nittle Grasper. Tohma was the one who had spoken.
"Ah! Tohma-sama!" Sakano bowed quickly before he noticed the other two. "And Noriko-san and Sakuma-san." He added, half-bowing to each of them respectively.
"Gee, nice of you to notice us." Noriko said sarcastically. Sakano let out a nervous laugh.
"Who's she?" Ryuichi asked eagerly, pointing to Aki. "Is she going to join Shuichi's band?"
"That's Aki Shindou, and yes, she's going to join Shuichi's band." K answered. Ryuichi scratched his head.
"Shindou, Shindou..." He repeated. Then it hit him. "Hey! That's the same name Shuichi has! Is she his sister or something?" He asked K with enthusiasm.
"Exactly." K answered. Ryuichi grinned and ran into the studio, halting the music to glomp Aki even though she was sitting down.
"Sakuma-san!" Shuichi exclaimed. Ryuichi turned to him.
"Shuichi!" he shouted back. "I met your sister! We're friends now!"
"Friends, what? Sakuma? Ryuichi?" Aki said in halted sentences. Once she realized that it was indeed the famous Ryuichi Sakuma hugging her, she squealed and hugged him back, honored to be picked to be his friend.
During the commotion, the three men and Noriko stayed in the doorway, watching the scene.
"What do you mean it's the drummer, Tohma-sama?" Sakano asked, turning to Seguchi.
"Well, we could have just pulled anyone off the streets and told them to play drums and they could, but it's a player's personal touch that can make all the difference in sound quality. It is Aki who is making it sound better, not her drum set. Kind of like when Suguru plays my songs; even though it's the same notes, it still sounds different because it's him playing them, not me." Tohma explained. Sakano already knew that, but acted surprised all the same.
"Yup, and if me or Tohma ever tried to play one of Bad Luck's songs, it would sound different." Noriko added. Sakano paid no attention to her. She glared at him, but K put a hand on her shoulder.
"Let it go." He said. "He's only interested in what Seguchi has to say." Noriko sighed, knowing that he was right, but turned her attention back to the hug fest inside the recording studio. Ryuichi had managed to pull Aki away from the drum set over to Shuichi, with Hiro somehow being caught in during the process, and was hugging all three of them (Hiro against his will) while Suguru stayed close to a wall, trying not to be noticed.
"But they really do sound better. Well, they did until Ryuichi bounded in there." She complimented.
"Yup. It seems as though Seguchi actually knows what he's doing from time to time." K agreed.
"Tohma picked her out?" Noriko asked.
"Well, he thought that we needed a drummer, we were just lucky she came at that particular moment." K told her.
"Ah." Was all she said in response. "Ryuichi! No, don't put that in your mouth, you don't know where that's been!" She shouted suddenly when she noticed the singer chewing on one of Aki's drumsticks.
"Yes I do, it's been on the drum set!" Ryuichi said. Noriko held out her hand while giving him a stern look.
"Aww..." he pouted, handing Aki her drumstick. The girl took it and stared up at Noriko.
"N-Noriko Ukai-san?" She stuttered.
"That's me!" She said cheerily, smiling. Aki bowed.
"Oh wow, you're like, my idol! It's a great honor to meet you!" She said. Noriko smiled and patted her head.
"You're going to have some girl saying that to you one day." She told her. Aki looked up and blushed.
"You really think so?" She asked eagerly.
"Oh yeah. It's our destiny as musical goddesses!" She added cheesily. Aki laughed, but was cut off by Ryuichi glomping her.
"Noriko, you're Aki's new friend too?" The man asked her.
"You bet Ryu-chan!" Noriko assured him, giving him a thumbs up.
"Yay!" He squealed, hugging the girls.
"We really need to get some work done." Fujisaki dared to say out loud, hoping that Shuichi would be the only one to hear him. Unfortunately Ryuichi was the only one who heard him.
"Suguru-kun!" He called "Stop hiding! Come and play!" And in three seconds later, the boy had been scooped up in a hug and dragged him to the center of the room with everyone else.
K now stood alone in the doorway, Sakano and Tohma had long since wandered off somewhere, so now K was watching the scene inside the studio with amusement. Aki Shindou was joining Bad Luck. The press conference was scheduled and her contract was being written. He almost pitied her for what was going to happen to her now that she was on the verge of fame. But, she'd get used to it, so he didn't pay much attention to the thought. And so he turned and left to track down Sakano and Seguchi to make sure they weren't doing anything wrong.
OhEmJeE! Happy chapter le gasp. If you were able to read past the first part sweatdrop
One chapter left! But I'm going to have bonus chapters after the story so don't worry.