Disclaimers and warnings are the same as from the first chapter. And now we start showing off a little bit of stage action, the pieces played by Grasper based off of songs by ICEMAN - in fact, the opening song is based directly off of Caution. Anyways, enjoy.

track twelve

Seven days was nothing at all in the world of a busy star. Between one blink and the next, the time passed by fast, filled with interviews and pictures and gossip. We worked until we fought, we went apart for half a day and then we were at it again. There were so many changes between us that it almost felt like we couldn't be who we once were, that the first day was just a leftover from days long lost.

But then the sixth day came and everything clicked again. We were reading each other's cues, we weren't arguing over sound because we knew without asking where the sound was going. Studio time sailed past without one fight and we were again moving close together, almost touching and doing that flirting that often had the gossip hounds panting to find out if there was a steamy affair between the three of us.

After an afternoon studio session, we laid collapsed over each other in a too wide booth while the press sat across from us and tried not to ask the most obvious question on their mind. We stole each other's drinks and Tohma wore Kumagoro for his hat – which Noriko stole from him – and I leaned back in the chair with my shirt undone and my lips far too red from lipstick. We talked and chatted and the press went away without getting the answers they really wanted. Tohma then gave Kumagoro back and we went home to prepare for the next day.

Tohma picked me up early in the morning. Knowing that it would be hot sweaty work to get everything set up properly, I wore an oversized shirt and a pair of biker shorts, my stage gear packed away in a duffle. Tohma's own gear was in a dry cleaner's bag resting on the back seat and he was relaxed in a pair of khakis and a dress shirt. We stopped at Noriko's and she came out in cutoffs and baby tee, a small suitcase in her arms. She piled into the back seat and set her suitcase on the floor and leaned forward to give us each a peck on the cheek.

I turned around in my seat to smile at her, and Tohma pulled back into traffic, driving to Wani Station. She smiled back and tugged on my headband, making me blind until I was able to fix it right.

"Did you send the keyboards ahead of us?" she asked.

Tohma nodded, turning into the fast lane. "I even had them send Ryuichi's mic stand, though I am unsure how much prep time they will allow us before the show starts."

"Why?" I asked, sitting down in my seat and chewed on Kumagoro's ear.

"To see if you have enough room to swing it around like you do, silly," Noriko replied and tugged on my headband again.

"Eww, yeah, I really don't want to break any lights. Those big ones are just not fun at all when they shatter."

"Only you would manage to throw a mic stand twenty feet in the air and hit a spotlight," Tohma said, shaking his head.

"How was I suppose to know they would be that low?"

"Mm, he's got a point."

"Surprisingly."

I lightly smacked Tohma in the arm with Kumagoro, and he laughed, glancing at me. I stuck my lower lip out at him and he shook his head looking up into his rearview mirror at Noriko. She reached down and tugged on my headband and kicked at my seat when I turned around to tug on her shirt.

"Don't make me stop the car," Tohma said. Instantly we stopped fooling around and I turned back around in my seat and set Kumagoro in my lap.

"Should we get out standby, Tohma?" Noriko asked after a few minutes of quiet. I cracked an eye open and made a face.

"No, I think we can let the music take him right before the main feature of the show."

I thought it was a good plan. I really didn't need standby when the music was all around us. I know that they used it because they want me to take things seriously but I didn't like always being serious. It was a big pain and it made me feel a little weird in the head. Not that I didn't already felt weird in the head. It just made it more so.

Snuggling back into my seat, I let them talk around me while I dozed. Makeup could erase lines and dark circles but I wanted to look as rested as I could so they didn't cake the stuff on enough so I would sneeze. Next thing I knew, we were at the station and Tohma had touched my arm to make sure I was awake. I followed them into the studio, hugging Kumagoro against me and carrying my bag.

"Wow, what a big stage," I said, a few steps behind Tohma and Noriko. "It's always fun to sing on a big stage. Not that a small stage is not fun, but it can be really better on a big stage."

"Sakuma-san!"

I looked up and spotted Shuichi standing there, looking a little lost and confused but still being nice to me. I grinned and swung my arms around, dropping my bag. He copied me, still blinking like I wasn't making sense.

"Let's knock them dead, Shuichi!"

"R-right!"

Just then Tohma was at my elbow, telling me that we have to go through a couple sound checks. I followed him, leaving my bag to be picked up later. Sound checks always were a bit annoying. No matter how hard I tried, I just never found a sound master that could adjust things to the right level. Usually Tohma oversaw the procedure, but today we were all busy with setting things up and making sure our equipment was put in the right place. I waited for Tohma and Noriko to get their gear set right and then dragged my mic stand between their two keyboard systems. I always move it around when I sing, but starting out I wanted it right in the center where it belong.

I ran through the song, not even trying to get the words out at the right air. Noriko made a face at me and I stuck my tongue out at her. Tohma called for another check and adjusted his keyboard and this time I did put a touch more volume in it. Still it wasn't at my usual levels and I knew some people had noticed it. Yet everyone told me how great it was as I stepped off the stage and accepted a bottle of water. I used a towel to wipe sweat off my face – even for a ten minute check the lights were unbelievably bright – and went to sit down for makeup and hair.

Soon Noriko and Tohma joined me in the chairs while Bad Luck was on stage running through their set. I listened to them with half an ear, my attention more on what was being held in front of my face. They were good – their act had cleaned up and no longer was the synth playing so choppy, although the kid at the board did not look familiar to me. His playing though was close to the way Tohma played, just without the flair for drama. But he looked young. Maybe he'll grow into the drama.

Makeup and hair done, I resisted the urge to touch my face, and dug out my stage clothing instead. Noriko stopped me from changing out in the open and Tohma showed up to take me to our dressing room. It was a real one too, with a huge mirror and several worn chairs and hot tea. I ignored the tea because it would strain my voice and instead changed into the tight jeans and stretched out tank top. There was a leather jacket to go with it, but I left it off for now.

Tohma pulled out a cream colored suit with a lot of lacing and pulled it on. Noriko came in and stripped, pulling on a tight leather mini-dress and spending a couple moments smoothing the lines out. We jostled for a moment while trying to find the right poses, and then broke apart to wait for the stage manager to give us our cue. Of course, I got bored fast, so I went out to see how the stage was coming along.

They had gotten all the lights up, and for now, they just left Bad Luck's stuff on the stage since they were going first. I poked around and ducked over in the shadows were the chairs people sat on in between sets were and played a little game with myself to see if I could count all the lights. I reached thirty when the stage had another flurry of activity and then the hosts appeared, talking about their show. I chewed on a nail and waited.

Shuichi and his band posed for the cameras right before a commercial break. I nodded with approval at the great use of a mic stand, although points were deducted by how close he came to hitting his own guitar player with it. Then the hosts were talking again, and the cameras moved back to Bad Luck.

They played. Oh, how did they play. He was still a little young sounding – they all were – yet he used the stage and sang like he owned it. Good voice, good timbre and his moves were evolving from poses I used to use. The song was different and he really didn't have any of the hesitation he had shown before.

By the time they were off and the show went to commercial, I was at his side holding out my sketchpad and hoping for a signature. He seemed surprised and tried to wave me off, but I was insistent that he gave me his signature. I even threw one of my rings in and my own signature. He almost looked like he was going to cave when Noriko dragged me off to the stage, complaining that I had a show to do. I didn't care; I just wanted a signature from my friend Shuichi.

Stage lights were always hot. I stood next to my mic stand and rubbed the back of my neck, letting the hosts' words fall on deaf ears. Tohma was to my right, Noriko was to my left, and off stage – if I squinted hard enough – I could see Shuichi and his band watching. Shuichi smiled and gave me a small wave, so I returned it with a peace sign and a wide grin. The stage hand counted down the seconds and then the world was filled with music.

I leaned forward and screamed, reaching high C and making the speakers whine in protest. Tohma took the whine and played a discord against it, opening the tracks to one of our rawer new pieces. Noriko picked it up, weaving in guitars and bass. Tohma build it up and I swung my stand around, leaning into the mic.

"I feel. . . so much. . . better!"

Another whine, the noise distorting and then working into the beat as Tohma played with his keyboards, and I threw myself into the music, singing in a fast, staccato rhythm. Noriko's voice a sharp contrast to mine with soft smooth whispers, and I whirled the stand around and took the mic with me as I went over to her. We sang together on my mic and I leaned forward, flirting with her, with the rest of the crew. Tohma stuck his tongue out and I went across the stage, hooking an arm around his chest and all but breathing the next line in his ear.

I pulled away and went center stage, taking the mic stand and rolled it around. We were nearing the end of the song so I hit another high C, threw my head back and slowly grind against the stand; the echoes of that C reverberating over and over back at me. Then the mic was set back into place and the silence descended as Tohma and Noriko stopped, all of us with our heads bowed as if in deep thought.

No one moved or breathed for at least thirty seconds. Then someone decided that they were live and cued the hosts who then started chatting about the top tens. I licked my lips, tasting salt and Noriko handed me her water bottle. I took a couple huge gulps and handed the bottle to Tohma who finished it off. He chucked it over to the side off stage and we shared a glance. I mouthed 'First in Heaven' and they nodded.

The cameras cut back to us and Tohma began the open notes of the song. Noriko waited for the first few bars to run pass before starting her harmony. I shook out my hair, flinging sweat away and came in at the right beat, carrying the note and jumping to the next. Our first song. We didn't actually release it until two albums in, but it was the first song we played together, only polished, refined. Now a work of art and mimicked by adoring fans every where. Not that many could actually match the various harsh pitch changes.

It was a little in the first verse when Shuichi stumbled his way on stage. Tohma and Noriko kept on playing, even though I could hear the slight hesitation in the harmonics. I glanced over and snarled the next words, Shuichi stopping his dancing to look both scared and maybe a little sad. I took my breath and listened to the music. Tohma had added a second line of harmonies and Noriko was following his lead, so I tugged Shuichi to his feet and pointed at the mic. The next verse went okay, but I found myself adjusting my voice to match his. He was still so young sounding and he couldn't keep the same staying power, but when I matched him, it sounded like we had the same voice.

The song wound up and I took off my jacket, tossing it aside and ran a hand through my hair. A fresh water bottle appeared and I took several more gulps before handing it over to Tohma. Shuichi left the stage and Noriko took the bottle from Tohma and finished it off. The hosts talked for another minute about next week's show and then they cut back to us. Another song, but this one we'd planned out in advanced. Exactly two minutes long, it was mostly Noriko and Tohma going mad with their keyboards while I pretty much ran through all the notes I could while repeating a simple autumn haiku over and over again.

"And we're clear," someone said behind the camera.

I sat down on the edge of the stage and just dripped. A moment later, Noriko was sitting next to me, also dripping. Tohma's hair was a light brown from where his hat sat as he took off his hat and fanned himself with it, his face rosy from the heat. Stage lights were hot, but nothing was hotter than a TV stage's lights. I'm not sure why, although it might be because the stage was closer to the lights inside a studio then out in a concert hall. I scrubbed my face with my arm and just slouched.

"Someone get a fan," Noriko muttered. "They can worship us by fanning us off."

"Maybe you shouldn't wear painted-on leather," I said and shook my head, feeling sweat run down the side of my face. "Next time, let's kill those lights."

"You could have taken them out with you mic stand," Tohma said, sitting next to me.

"Ha," I muttered.

The three of us just leaned together for a moment and then I spotted Shuichi. Everyone was talking excitedly – he had done a fanboy's wet dream and performed live with the legends themselves, and it wasn't a complete mess. I smiled and flashed the peace sign, telling him that he did a great job. But instead of smiling back or even pretending to smile, he collapsed and started crying.

"What's wrong with Shuichi?"

"Oh dear, I was afraid of this."

I sighed and slung my arm over Noriko's shoulders. "It seems I busted a bubble."

"But the two of you were a good match," Noriko said, chewing on a nail. "He shouldn't be ashamed that his range isn't mature yet."

"He might not see it that way," Tohma said, unlacing the front of his shirt.

"Yeah, I think I did bust his bubble hard."

I fell back and laid spread out on the edge of the stage, my legs dangling over the side. Tohma and Noriko joined me, shoulders not quite touching.

"So, regretting joining up again?"

"How come all I can think about is how easy it was three years ago?"

"I still want a fan to fan us. Preferably one coated in oil and in one of those little slave shorts."

"Call Mika. I'm sure she can talk her one brother to show up like that."

"You're going to go after him at all?"

"Wait two more years, Tohma. Two more years and then I'll make him my slave."

"Isn't he already?"

"Only in his dreams, Noriko."

The stage crew around us was standing by, a few unplugging sound equipment while the rest seemed to be arguing about something. Tohma raised his head and sighed, sitting up and poking me in the ribs. I frowned and slapped at his hand before giving in and sitting up too. Noriko grumbled as she moved, and then it took us a little longer to actually leave the stage. The crew went swarming over the stage, dismantling lights and equipment.

"I suppose we should get moving too."

"I should call my husband and find out if he taped the show."

"Where's Kumagoro?"

We went back to the dressing room and started cleaning up. I left my stage gear on and stuffed Kumagoro into my pocket. The stage left us a little ragged but still I could see some energy in the others – Tohma humming as he took off his jacket and folded it up, Noriko's fingers tapping out a rhythm on the dressing room's counter. I bounced up and threw my arms around Tohma's shoulders, bumped my forehead against his. He laughed and let me hold onto him. Noriko draped herself over my back, her arms around his waist and her hair brushing against my arms.

"What do you say we go back to the studio and do some work?" Tohma asked.

"Let's do it!"

"Sure."

We packed what we needed in a rush and headed for N-G. Working long into the night, we finally crashed and fell asleep sprawled over Tohma's office.