Author's Note: Hi there friends... I'm sick and have a cold, so I haven't been writing a whole lot. I posted this on AO3 already, but here's the 3rd chapter! It's more backstory, so if you're here for the KanoKido, feel free to skip.

Enjoy!

"That'll be $3,200, sir."

Konoha stood face-to-face with the client in the recording studio's back parking lot, making his face extra stony and stern. As much as he didn't expect himself to get jumped or attacked, considering his reputation, he needed to be extra careful: he had to come off as tough as he could, even if it was something he wasn't always good at.

The client, a bearded man dressed in a black suit with sunglasses, his hair combed and gelled like a pompadour, gestured to his shorter assistant, who quickly produced four rolls of cash from their pocket, secured in rubber bands. He handed them to Konoha, who untied the bands and counted off each $100 bill. When he recounted in his head and confirmed that this was the right amount, he stuffed the payment away in the inside of his jacket, and then rolled the heavy metal cart in the assistant's direction. It conveyed four smallish, brown cardboard boxes, stacked on top of one another. Each one carrying two jars, that each contained two fresh, cured ounces of home-grown marijuana.

The assistant opened up the four boxes meticulously and inspected the jars, before closing them back and whispering something in the bearded man's ear. He smiled, and nodded at Konoha, almost as a sort of thanks, a silent "pleasure doing business with you". He then turned around and walked away towards a shiny black limo as his assistant followed, pushing the cart in front of him. Just as they loaded the boxes into the car, Konoha decided he should head back inside of the recording studio and see how Momo was doing.

He navigated through the long, bleak hallways, decorated with framed photographs of various bands and idols smiling with their personnel in the recording booths. Just as he rounded the corner, he spotted her standing outside of a brown door, a hand on her hip and a phone in front of her eyes. "Kisaragi-san!"

Momo averted her gaze towards him and widened her round black eyes. "There you are!" she exclaimed as Konoha arrived before her. Her strawberry blond hair was gathered in a ponytail, and she was dressed in a simple graphic hoodie and skinny jeans; an odd look for her, since even he was so used to seeing her in colorful stage outfits. "I was just about to call you. Come inside, we have private access to the break room!"

They entered the room, which was cozy and spacious, decked out with soft leather couches and smooth wooden coffee tables, completed with a quiet radio, a giant plasma screen TV, and sleek mini-fridge. Konoha locked the door behind them and crashed on one of the couches, while Momo walked to the fridge and pulled out a water bottle, cold and wet from condensation. "You want a drink?" she asked him. "There's soda, if you're interested. Or perhaps a beer?" She held up a shiny brown and blue bottle of Bud Light, and stuck out her tongue, a smile playing on her lips.

"No thanks," Konoha said, tucking his hands behind his head. "Help yourself, though."

"Maybe I will..." Momo put the bottle on the end table nearby and used one hand to pull out two more. "I'll be moderate, of course," she added, when noticing Konoha's raised eyebrow. Her eyes danced over the corners and ceilings. "Do they have security cameras in here?"

Konoha briefly joined her search. "Doesn't seem like it," he noted. The walls were in fact camera-free, no small black devices in sight. "But we can never be too careful either. Do you want to find a public restroom we could go into to talk instead?" he asked.

"Isn't it a crime for boys to go into the girls bathroom?" Momo pointed out.

"Maybe we could find a gender neutral one," Konoha suggested.

"Screw it," Momo snorted, grabbing another few beers. "This isn't a crazy popular studio, kinda old and shabby. I doubt they'd want to keep an eye out for underage celebrities taking some alcohol." She glanced at all 7 beer bottles on the end table and grabbed the water bottle, unscrewing it and swallowing several gulps down her throat. "So how'd it go?" she asked, taking a spot on a couch close to Konoha's.

"Good." He pulled out one of the rolls of cash and waved it in the air for her to see. "$3,200 as promised."

"Well that's good," Momo said, taking another swig of water. "Are there any other buyers to meet up with soon? I know we still have a whole bunch of boxes left in the van."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that we do." Konoha took out his cell phone and tapped a pin in his lock screen, scrolling through an opened list of clientele. "Two more to meet up with this afternoon, and by then you'll be finished recording for most of the album, right?"

Momo nodded. "We'll be around here until 8PM."

"Good." He slipped his phone back into his pocket, running a hand through his white hair to get the bangs away from his face. "Any news from HQ?"

She laughed, as if he had just told her a funny joke. "Are we calling it the 'HQ' now? And no, Danchou didn't text me anything. I'm assuming everything's the same-old same-old. Shintaro watching anime all day, Marry reading gay manga in the shed, Kano getting stoned off his ass, Kido delivering goods, Hibiya's going to school..." She scowled. "Lucky jerk."

"Why's he lucky?" Konoha asked. "That he gets to go to school?"

"Duh!" Momo drank more water, a little trickle missing her mouth and leaking down her chin. "I hardly ever got to go to an actual school, since I had no idea how to control my stupid eyes."

"That wasn't your fault," Konoha protested kindly. "You hadn't learned yet."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean it didn't suck," Momo grumbled. "Every time I'd go, either people would pay no attention to me or pay too much attention to me. I used them once accidentally to win some art contest, and everyone stopped talking to me since they knew I didn't deserve it." Her voice was brittle and bitter.

"I doubt that's all true," Konoha replied. "I'm sure it was a lovely work."

She sighed. "It was alright, I guess. But after a while, it got tedious. People would bitch out at me about how they never won. Thank goodness the idol industry took me up after that."

"So is that how you ended up getting homeschooled?" he asked.

"Yeah..." Her eyes stared off into the distance, seeming far away. "That didn't work out much either, since my grades were so bad." She poured more water down her mouth, emptying the bottle with one big swallow. "You were in school, right?"

"Kind of." Konoha smiled thoughtfully. "I was really sickly and weak in high school, so I was put in a special education program. There were two people in the class: me and Takane. I'd be drawing in class while she'd be arguing with the teacher. It was annoying at times, since it was just the two of us and we'd always have to work together. But it was always fun too."

Momo smirked, but it wasn't smug. "Sounds like you had a great time at school."

Konoha shrugged. "I guess it wasn't so bad." He frowned. "I mean, it had its ups and downs. It was great, since I had Takane and lots of food. But the teacher wasn't so awesome." He glanced up at Momo, his pink eyes unblinking. "Did she tell you?" he asked quietly.

Her smirk had disappeared, now biting her lip nervously, as if bringing up a bad memory, or coming across a difficult topic. She remained perfectly still, her hands gripping the plastic water bottle tightly, but not tightly enough to create a crunch-like noise. "He killed you."

The silence was heavy. As if attempting to lighten the atmosphere, Konoha grinned. "August 15, just like you."

Momo exhaled slowly, as if feeling a burdensome weight on her shoulders. "Jeez, that brings up memories. I need a beer." She dropped the empty water bottle by her side and snatched one of the beer bottles she had collected from the fridge. She leaned forward towards the coffee table, and after positioning the bottom of the crown cap at the edge of the table, slammed her right hand on the bottle with a loud bang. Konoha internalized a small wince as the cap popped off smoothly. Momo put the end of the bottle to her lips and took a nice, long sip. When she noticed Konoha was still staring, she smiled at him. "Impressed?"

"I'm just surprised that you drink. I thought you were only into Marry's crop like the others. Aren't you only 16?" he asked.

"Haven't you heard that high schoolers get drunk sometimes?" she retorted gently. "Besides, we'd get arrested if either of us whipped out a joint and started toking, the staff would be able to smell it. And don't worry, it's not like I'm addicted to the drink or anything. It's just that worrying about the gang while doing idol work is kinda stressful." She held out the bottle to him. "Although it must be harder for you. You have to actually do the deal yourself! Want some?"

Konoha shook his head. "I'm alright. Just don't get too intoxicated before they call you back to the booth."

She took another drink, her eyes narrowing lightly. "I'll try my best," she said, winking.

Please let me know what you think of for this story and/or chapter by leaving a review! It's v helpful and I need lots of help. Have a nice day!