Chapter V: the Crossroads

"Okay, folks. Lights out."

The policeman said the words solemnly as soon as he started his long walk along the prison's corridor on his night watch. As if his words were magical one, all the lights in the corridor started to be put off, one by one, following his movement. Soon, darkness started to fill the rows of cell in that corridor, and the policeman was nowhere to be seen.

It was absolutely silent, with no voices other than the snoring of the prisoners and a sneeze or two. As soon as something starting to get heard, the policeman would pop out of nowhere, standing in a manner of importance in front of that certain cell, and fake a cough. And nobody dares to move since.

Amidst the darkness, a pair of golden, cat-like eyes could be seen staring into the ceiling. At first it was focusing on whatever point it has been staring into, looking really serious. But then, it gradually went blank. And with a sigh, its stares turned into a bored one, as if he was tired of waiting for something uncertain.

"Hey. Fat Boy."

A voice called from under the bed of the cat-eyes' owner. It was kind of husky, and sound as if it was trying to mock the cat-eyes. But no, fear not, there was nothing ghostly about it. The owner of the cat-eyes was sleeping on a bunk bed, and the voice belongs to his inmate, who was sleeping below.

Hotaru stirred at his new nickname, given by his new friend, Chinmei, a former bank-robber (the name was supposed to be a sarcasm, as he was as skinny as chicken bones. But it does not matter, he would not get it anyway).

"Can't sleep, huh?" asked Chinmei.

"I wanna smoke…," answered Hotaru, sounding like a lost child. "But they won't let us have one, right?"

"Off course, silly," answered Chinmei coolly. "Gosh, you're so naïve, Fat Boy. If you were a girl, I definitely going to marry you."

Hotaru's eyes looked confused. "Why?"

Chinmei made this spitting-like noise. "Duh, Fat Boy! Why does everything seemed so difficult for you? Are you an idiot or something?"

"No," Hotaru answered. Everything then went silent again for a while, until Hotaru made this noisy sounds as he moved himself closer to the edge of his bunk-bed. Soon, his head could be seen hanging upside down, watching his inmate closely.

Chinmei looked as if he was going to have a heart attack.

"Do you have to do that!!?" he yelled. The policeman cough somewhere.

Chinmei then decided to sit and moved himself closer to Hotaru's hanging head. "What do you want!? If you got us into trouble, I'll kick your sorry, pitiful ass…."

"Hey, Chinmei. Do you think you'll ever get out of here?"

Chinmei made a mocking facial expression, but soon gave away his answers. "Do I think so? You don't think here, Fat Boy, you work it out. Work hard on your shift. Be nice to others. Find a good lawyer. You try, Fat Boy, you try."

He stared into another direction, looking slightly pissed. But then he return his focus back into Hotaru, and this time, his eyes had these strange, unexplainable glints on it. "How about you, Fat Boy? I mean…," the strange glints in his eyes became more obvious. "You're not guilty, are you?"

Hotaru's eyes widened. He then stared into another direction, his facial expression looked as if he was thinking hard. But then he return to Chinmei, lifted his eyebrows, and gave no answers.

Chinmei punched his own bed. "See!? This is what I don't understand about you, Fat Boy! You didn't even commit the crime!! Yet when they dragged you here and locked you up like this, you gave no reactions!"

He went silent, expecting to hear another cough from the policeman, but none came, so he decided to go on.

"Okay, maybe, they haven't found a way to prove your innocence… but still…," he continued, looking almost breathless. He then took another deep breath, and scratched his head.

"Unlike me," he said, staring into his toes. "Those stupid shoes. If only I didn't have to tie my lace at that moment… I wouldn't have to be here today."

He then lifted his head, and found Hotaru fell asleep, still in his upside-down position.

"Fat Boy!! Are you a bat or something!?"

"I'm not," Hotaru blinked his eyes open. "I was just thinking… and I think I'm going to get out of this place, soon. Yea. I'm sure of that. Just matter of time."

Chinmei's jaw dropped, his facial expression was a mixture of fear and worry. "W-what? You're… Fat Boy, this is so weird."

"Hey. Will you two shut up and go to sleep?" asked the policeman, suddenly appeared in front their cell.

xxxXXXxxx

It was half past midnight and Shiina Yuya found herself wide awake, staring into her computer screen. She was in her own bedroom, which she had inhabited since childhood, and she was hugging a bolster in shape of a gun, and wearing her favorite pink pajamas. Her smooth blonde hair was in "tired" mode.

She had been awaken by nothing, and had trouble to catch the sleep she had left behind. That is why she decided to get on the Net instead. At first she checked out her e-mails and her account in a social networking site, but there was nothing new and interesting there, so she decided to have a chat with Tora via her Messenger.

She knew well that Tora is an insomniac and would never refuse any chance to have a nice midnight chat with anybody, but minutes had passed and still no reply came (Strange. Did he find a cure already?). She was about to give up and check out another sites when suddenly, an unexpected person came up.

Musicmafia174: never seen u awake on such a l8 hour ^^

Yuya's smile grew and she gave a reply.

Blonde_huntress: Akira!! Whazup? :D

She clapped her hands excitedly and waited for a reply, which soon came.

Musicmafia174: been doing gret, u?

Blonde_huntress: gret but I cant sleep rite now, sucks ~~ wat r u doin?

Musicmafia174: been writing songs in my studio. Geez we havnt met 4 such a long time :)

Blonde_huntres: yea got lotsa things 2 tell u!! abt Kyo, the P, everytg…

Musicmafia174: so lets meet up then… 2mrw?

Yuya lifted her fingers away from her computer. She made a thinking look for a while. After making sure that her schedule for tomorrow is free, she made a positive reply.

The next day, Yuya could be seen sitting on a comfy leather couch in one of the most luxurious condominium block in the city. She was swaying her legs playfully and humming along, while checking out her surroundings.

Akira's place was a really warm, homey one. Even though it was pretty big, the furnishing was not as glamorous as she expected (come on, it's one of the most expensive condo block here!), and would definitely not going to the Ideal Home section in her magazine (he does not have any particular style in styling his place… just like everyone else's pad), but she really like it and is considering to stay for a night here (would it be a problem? There wouldn't be any paparazzi, right?).

In front of the couch, there was this thick, soft carpet with large pillows on it. A plasma TV was hung on the wall in front of her, with a low bookshelf under it (Yuya had checked it out… he read Kurt Cobain's biography, Charles Dickens' works, and manga series by Kamijyo Akamine). Akira's infamous iPod was attached to its loudspeaker, placed on top of the bookshelf. There were also some photo frames on it. On her right side, there was a balcony with a very nice night time view of the city and Tokyo Tower in the distance.

Outside the living room, there was the kitchen, where Akira had been busying himself making tea for his guest, and an alley which led to his bedroom, the toilet, and his studio. The entrance door was not far from the kitchen, and could easily be seen from the living room.

"So… how do you like my place?" asked Akira, walking out of the kitchen with two cups of tea.

"It's really nice… If I had enough savings, I'd definitely buy something like this… thanks," answered Yuya, receiving the cup Akira had handed to her.

"It's a good investment… so, what have you been doing?" Akira asked again as he placed himself comfortably on the couch.

"Nothing but becoming a bore," she answered shortly, blowing her drink softly.

"You didn't go to the office or something?" Akira asked, looking concerned.

"No… tried once, but they have found an intern to do my job while I was away, so there's not much that I can do…," she slurped her cup of tea. "How about you? You said yesterday you've been writing songs."

Akira's face gleamed with delight. "Yea! I've been trying to make some new sounds for the band…."

Suddenly both of them went quiet. The light in Akira's face disappeared, and Yuya took the cup of tea away from her lips.

Akira lifted his shoulders. "Well… um… at least if we ever got back together, I'd already have some stuffs," he said. "Even though… I had no idea if it could ever happened."

He then took a look at another direction. It seemed like he was not going to talk about it anymore, but Yuya was not going to drop the topic so easily.

"Are you still mad at Hotaru?"

Akira turned back at Yuya. "As mad as anyone can be."

Yuya felt as if a huge Swiss ball had been dropped into her stomach. She sighed. "Why?"

Akira took a deep breath. "Yuya, because of everything he had done, our life is in total mess right now… our tour got cancelled, we don't know if we could ever start it again… even Sanada just told me that one of our sponsors just backed out!"

"We used to have a really good, promising band, but right now our future is just…," he tried to find the right word to describe it. "… shaky."

He went silent again. His bright blue eyes now stares into his knee, looking so in despair. But it did not stop Yuya to voice her opinion.

"But… wouldn't it make more sense if you just learn to forgive him and figure out some ways to bail him out? If you really want the band to go on… then you'd better bail him out, so that he can continue to work with you guys…," she said.

"It's not that easy to forgive a guilty person. Let alone to bail him out just like that," Akira replied, still looking not happy.

Yuya bit her lips angrily. "I don't see why it's so hard to try to bail him out!? It's the most tangible solution you got! Kyo also said the same thing… I don't know what's…."

"Yea, you met Kyo! What did he said!?" Akira interrupted, his look changed completely at the mention of his prophet.

Yuya sighed. "Same as yours. No bail," she mumbled, while taking a sip. You being stubborn and Kyo being complicated… maybe you two should consider about marriage.

Akira gave a satisfied smile. "See! It's exactly what you should do! Even Kyo said so… he always do the right thing. Ha-ha!"

Yuya felt that maybe she should try to give the guy a kick or two, some other times.

For a few minutes, the two did nothing but to stare at each other. Yuya held her cup angrily, with her evil, I'm-going-to-kick-your-ass look in her face, while Akira had this cynical, trying-so-hard-not-to-laugh look while supporting his head with his hand, sitting very comfortably.

All of a sudden, the guy decided to pull it off. "Let's have some music!"

He then got into his feet and left the couch. At first Yuya thought that he was going to turn on his iPod, but he walked out of the living room instead. Curious, she stood up and followed him.

Akira then led her to the first door in the alley that led to his bedroom. With a smile, he opened the door and asked Yuya to come in.

She just cannot help to feel amazed as she felt the cold breeze of the room's air conditioning, and the view she met as soon as the lights were turned on. It was his recording studio, with this computer screen glowing brightly at a nearby table and all the necessary equipments for a recording process (she does not know their names and what exactly they do, but they seemed very complicated, sophisticated, and important). A guitar was placed on its stand near the table, but most importantly, exactly in the middle of the room, was this majestic-looking baby grand piano.

"So… this is where all the magic happened, isn't it?"

She made this interested, mumbling voice as she approached the beautiful thing, but as she got near, she lost all her words. The piano stood proudly, yet in some other way, it does not seem to contradict anything else in the room. In fact, they seemed to complement really well. And that smooth, slippery dark surface that tickles her palm as she touched it, and the way her face reflected in its glossy surface. Amazing!

"Play some songs!" Yuya said excitedly, clapping her hands.

Akira did not answered, instead he began to sit and try some notes. Then, the random hand-moves suddenly turned into a catchy opening of a song.

Her smile grew even wider. "Oh my God, this is so cool. Akira, of The Shiseitens, playing piano for me! In private."

"Consider it a service," Akira muttered. He then continued to play the song, which was supposed to be something classic, while Yuya watched him attentively, with her hands supporting her chin.

She really liked the look in Akira's face when he played his piano. In some more difficult parts, his facial expression seemed so serious, as if he tried hard not to make a mistake. But generally, it seemed like he really enjoyed himself when he plays, closing his eyes and banging his head slightly. There was this orgasmic feeling in it and Yuya thought that this must be the sight that had scored him tons of fan girls.

Gradually, the melody of the song had begun to change. "Oh. I know that one. You guys played it in that radio show."

"Yep, 'Ghosts'," Akira answered. "Anyway, how about this one? It's not ours, but it's really popular."

Yuya listened attentively. It was indeed familiar and she knew that some time in the past she had seen the video of the song, but she does not know the title. "Um… it's…."

"'Smells like teen spirit', Nirvana," Akira answered. "And it's Kyo's fave song. He often asked me to play it when we got nothing to do."

Eek! Him again. Duh.

"Anyway… Speaking of Kyo… he did stupid things again when I met him days ago," Yuya muttered, supporting her face with her fists.

"Hm?" Akira lifted his head. Yuya then told him about the infamous paper crown incident in that fast-food restaurant.

Akira actually had to stop playing so that he can take some time to laugh his ass off.

"Go on, keep on laughing. Go on. Veeery good," Yuya said, not even moving an inch.

"Oh God, it's hilarious. That's very stupid of you," said Akira. His laughter had started to fade a little bit, leaving these sobbing-like noises.

"Akira, if only I could stop him…," Yuya muttered, touching her forehead as if she was having a headache.

"But it makes me wonder… do you have a crush on Kyo?"

Yuya stopped all her movements. She lifted up her head slowly; Akira had stopped playing his piano, he was just sitting there, with his hands on his knees, waiting for Yuya's answer with this smile on his face. "I… what?"

Akira lifted up his shoulders. "I don't know! I just… I don't know, it's the impression that I got," he said. He then pointed at Yuya. "It's either you have a crush on Kyo… or Kyo has a crush on you."

Yuya opened her mouth widely, then she started to laugh. "A crush!? On Kyo!? Nonsense! How could I fall for… such creature!"

But the look in her face could not contradict more with what she had said. Her face looked totally confused; she started to sweat heavily, as if the air-conditioning was turned off. Her lips were trembling, as if struggling to find a word to say. And her eyes were the eyes of those who are not sure of the words they just said.

Me… a crush?

On Kyo?

Once again she shot a look at Akira. He did not say anything; he just sat there, his leg now folded, and he still had this confident smile on his face. It seemed like he had realized the look in Yuya's face, so he slowly lifted his shoulders, and said, "I don't know," still in this know-it-all smile.

Yuya quickly turned away from the guy. The music, the studio, Akira's presence, everything is now turning into a blur. Nothing was seen but the dark surroundings of her sub-conscious, and the hard pounding of her heart.

Am I? Really?

She closed her eyes and suddenly memories stroke her like a tsunami. They were played in front of her like a movie, and she could clearly see Kyo's face; when they first met. When he kissed those groupies in front of her. When he took pictures of her with his mobile phone. When he sat down with his laptop with a displeased look, shouting orders as he talked on the phone. When he puffs smokes from his cigarette. When he played his guitar on stage, with nothing to wear but this old, rugged jeans, sweating heavily. When he calmed Akira down on the night Hotaru got arrested. And more importantly, the scarlet glints in his eyes when hers accidentally met his.

She opened her eyes, and right before her heart gave an answer to her questions, someone's mobile phone rang.

"Oops, mine," Akira jumped to his feet and walked out of the room, leaving Yuya to ponder her new-found feelings.

"What do you want, bitch?" Akira's voice could be heard coming from the living room.

Yuya actually jumped at this rude remark. She then walked out of the room, still unable to believe that Akira would actually said something like that to a woman. "What's wrong, Akira?"

"It's Akari," answered Akira, lifting his iPhone away from his ear. "Hello? Nope, Yuya's here. What!? No, we didn't do anything! Stop being nosy!"

Somehow Yuya could imagine the look in Akari's face. She giggled and asked to talk to him.

"Yuya!! Oh my God, I can't believe this! What were you thinking! Oh, um… but do tell me, how's it like? Was he good? Hee-hee," these are the words that burst out of the phone.

"Akari. It's not like what you thought, silly," Yuya said, with an embarrassed smile in her face.

Akari went silent. "Oh. So… you guys didn't sleep together?"

"No, pervert!" Akira shouted.

"We're just having a laugh, nothing else," said Yuya.

"Hmm. Okay…," Akari muttered. "Laughter could led to something else, you know… Oh! Anyway! I got a great news!! Oh God… I'm so happy that I'm breathless now…."

"Let's just turned the loudspeaker on," Akira said. He took the phone away from Yuya and did some things to it, and soon, Akari's voice boomed into the air.

"Hotaru is going out of jail!!"