WARNINGS: -none-

It was now on a quarter past seven, and the whole concert hall was now completely full with excited, chattering and giggling girls … of course with a hand-full of guys as well, but they were hard to spot. The stage wasn't highlighted by spotlights but just loomed in front of the audience, ready and waiting for the GazettE. The single balcony circling around the outside of the hall was packed and the first row of fans was almost hanging over the edge to get a better view of the stage. Just behind Ai, Kikyo, Mika, Megumi and Kira were a few girls comparing merchandise and also complimenting each other on their costumes. Megumi and Kira made discrete glances behind to see the costumes – one girl with long jet-black hair was wearing a pink and white Lolita dress with frilly bonnet, and presumably her friend, was wearing Uruha's 'Zetsu' video outfit. Even the hair was the same. Suddenly Mika let out a loud gasp.

"Oh no! Oh no, what should I do?!"

Mika said out of panic and her friends turned to look at her, wondering what was wrong. Even the girls behind them looked at their group curiously, having been startled by Mika's gasp.

"What, what, what? What's the matter?"

Kikyo asked quickly, gripping Mika's arm firmly while the others leaned in to listen.

"Where am I going to put Ruki's flower when I'm dancing? I don't want to squash it!"

Kikyo couldn't help squeezing Mika's arm out of annoyance for what she said – Ai, Megumi and Kira also made frustrated sounds. They wanted to hit her because they thought it had been something important … or rather, more important than that. Kikyo dropped her hand from Mika's arm and she, along with Megumi and Kira, turned back to watch the stage. Ai was thinking as she looked at the flower still stuck between Mika's fingers, before bending down to grab Kikyo's handbag from under her seat. While ignoring the loud 'Hey!' from Kikyo, Ai rummaged through it to try and find what she was looking for. People around them were again looking weirdly at them. Ai then pulled a hair-clip from the bag before putting it back under the seat, and Kikyo said a short 'oh' when she realised what Ai wanted.

"Mika, lean over this way, I'll clip the flower into your hair".

Ai gestured with the hair-clip and Kikyo leaned backwards as Mika did what she was told. Kira giggled, first speaking with sarcasm and then a serious tone.

"Oh yes, we simply must fix this little dilemma! Ai, you'd better hurry, the concert will probably start soon".

Ai took the flower from Mika, who couldn't help but pout even though she was going to get it back – Kikyo just rolled her eyes at how silly she was being. Ai wedged the short stem into the loop of the clip and then reached up to slide it into Mika's hair, just next to one of her pigtails so it was still visible. Ai then sat up straight and smiled, thereby showing she was finished. Megumi made an 'aww' sound.

"Wow that looks really cute! If only Ruki could see you wearing it! It's so lucky you got this from him …"

Megumi and Kira took out their cell-phones to take a photo of Ai's handy work, and Mika smiled sweetly, also angling her head so the flower was fully visible. The way Ai had woven the hair-clip into the tie of one of Mika's pigtails would make sure that it didn't move for the rest of the night until it was taken out. So no matter how much she jumped around it wouldn't come loose. Mika seemed a lot happier now as she turned back to the stage and bounced lightly on her toes. Kikyo just giggled at her.

"You are such a big kid sometimes, Mika. I'm almost embarrassed to be seen with you".

She joked and Mika looked at her in shock, until Kikyo through her arms around her neck to squeeze her tight.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Your our big kid".

The other girls laughed as Kikyo hugged the poor girl so tightly that she was waving her arms about to try and keep her balance; she was wobbling onto one foot. Kikyo was almost two inches taller than her and a bit stronger, so Mika just couldn't escape the tight cuddle. Megumi and Kira were hanging off each other as they laughed at the spectacle, while Ai was covering her mouth and trying not to laugh too hard. All of them could tell they were being stared at but they were already feeling hyped up for the concert, so they didn't care. However Mika was staring to have trouble breathing and she poked Kikyo's arms.

"Hey … Kikyo? … your choking me!"

She exclaimed in a raspy voice. Ai laughed shortly.

"Uh Kikyo, I think you should stop, she's turning bright red now. We don't want her to pass out! The concert hasn't even started yet, you don't want to carry her out of here, do you?"

Kikyo made an 'Oh!' sound before quickly letting Mika go and continuously saying apologies. Mika kept saying she was fine and placed a hand over Kikyo's mouth to shut her up. Ai, Megumi and Kira just shook their heads and smiled – those two were getting just a little over excited for no reason, and they knew it was because of the concert. It was now dangerously close to half past seven and any minute now it would begin; even the fans behind them were sounding fidgety, saying they wished it would start soon. Suddenly the lights were cut out completely and the girls instinctively pressed themselves to the railing, hearts pounding rapidly against their ribs. The crowd had erupted into screams and nothing had happened yet, until … a strange sound began to rumble from the loud speakers. The crowd gradually turned quiet as they listened.

"What … is that sound?"

Kira asked, cupping her hands behind her ears to try and discern the beating noise.

"I think it sounds like … a heart-beat?"

Megumi suggested, frowning as she stared into complete darkness in front of her. The sound was in fact a heartbeat; slowly working up to a faster beat until it came to a steady rhythm, and now 'The End' started playing over the heartbeat sound. 'The End' seemed to fade out the beating sound until only the song was playing. It made the whole audience scream louder before they began to clap and shout along to the beat of the song; Ai, Kikyo, Mika, Megumi and Kira were already one step ahead of them with clapping. It had been a strange idea to start off with a heartbeat and then 'The End' but it had certainly added suspense to the atmosphere. Then about half way through the song, it seemed to fade out again to be replaced by inconsistent heavy breathing – one was male and the other was definitely female. Mika felt her face growing hot.

"Um … you don't think that's Ruki, do you?"

Mika whispered to Kikyo as she felt the pang of jealousy. Kikyo giggled at her even though she couldn't see.

"Are you jealous Mika?"

"No! I was just wondering …"

Mika puffed her cheeks out and briefly touched the lily in her hair – I'm not jealous, she thought. So what if it was Ruki? It was only a recording. It most likely has something to do with the name of the show 'One Night Stand'. And it probably isn't him anyway, but an actor. And even if it was him, the girl couldn't be his girlfriend, right? Because there hadn't been any news about it … right? There came that jealousy pang in her chest again as now the breathing died away and was replaced again by 'The End', which seemed to have started from the beginning. This gave the girls the impression that the staff was buying time for the band – they were probably still getting ready after returning to the venue at the last minute. But they were willing to wait all night if that's what it took to see them perform.

--

Right at that very moment, five smartly dressed guys were being lead by a stage technician through a long wide hallway lined with crates, rigging, lights, bags, and whatever else the crew had dragged along with them to the concert. Numerous other staff were chanting 'Gambate!' as they passed, until they came to a black-painted double-door – a white sign reading 'Right Side Stage' was stuck to it. The technician pushed one side of the door open and stepped back to allow the band to enter one by one, where they now came face-to-face with a thick, black curtain. Judging by the screaming, chanting, clapping and music playing, they were now standing dangerously close off-stage but cleverly hidden by the curtain. The lighting in their immediate surroundings was very dim but they could still see. While the guys waited, they could clearly hear how loud it was on the floor already … the place was obviously full. More Fan-Club members had turned up than they thought.

Ruki was standing in front of the group, staring at the curtain with arms crossed and just mentally psyching himself up for what he was about to face. Aoi was just behind his left shoulder, staring at the floor and tapping a hand to his thigh in time with the beat of 'The End'. Uruha was fidgeting quite badly on Ruki's right as he would tap his toes randomly, then shake his arms at his sides, then link his fingers and stretch his arms above his head. Ruki was getting so annoyed that he was on the verge of backhanding him in the stomach, until Reita gripped Uruha's shoulders from behind and stook him gently. Reita could tell how anxious Uruha was to get out there; he was too, but he seemed to be the calmest person there … because Kai was also fidgeting a little on Reita's left. Then the technician who was standing beside them pressed a finger to his earpiece.

"Hai … the GazettE on standby. Everything is ready. 'The End' now on long play".

The guys knew what he meant by 'The End' on long play – it of course meant they were playing the song as a longer version so they were given time to take their positions. It had also been recycled from their Nameless Liberty Finale concert – that was how they came to realise why it was playing for so long. The technician paused as he listened again to his earpiece and then smiled at the group.

"Okay, we're ready to go. Make it a good one, guys … we'll see you all at the after party".

Each of the guys nodded a thankyou to the man as he left via the door they'd come through, bathing them all in the light from the hall before being plunged into mild darkness again. They were looking forward to the after party – it had been a while since they had an after party from a gig … or maybe it was just the excuse they needed to have a few well-earned drinks. Reita clapped his hands and the others turned to face him.

"Ah I can't wait to get this concert under way. With the trouble we had getting back here, I'm itching to get out there".

He rubbed his hands together vigorously and Aoi waved a hand at him.

"Is this your idea of making me feel bad again? Don't even try it, I'm antsy enough without having a smoke".

"So are we!"

Ruki and Uruha chorused in a cranky tone, then Kai laughed as he held his hands up.

"Now, now, we're about to go on stage. Save the fights for later, ne?"

Kai then gestured for them all to bend down and form their chant circle, something they just couldn't leave out before a live. He gave each of them a last-minute pep talk, encouraging energy and style like they always had, and they shouted together as a group before splitting once more. After this long, 'The End' was still playing and even now the fans didn't once stop clapping and chanting – it was then the guys knew it was time. Ruki, still being closest to the curtain, pulled it aside gingerly, only to find that the stage was darker than the curtain. However, five thin-beamed spotlights were streaming down from above to highlight five places – Kai's drums, Reita's bass, Aoi and Uruha's guitars and Ruki's microphone stand. Taking a deep breath, Ruki stepped out from behind the curtain, closely followed by Aoi, Kai, Reita and then Uruha.

They had to really trust that there wasn't anything to trip over on that stage, because the only thing they had to go by when taking their positions were those thin spotlights. Aoi reached his guitar first, but as was planned, stayed out of the beam of light while he took up his guitar. Reita got his bass next and did the same as Aoi. Kai however had done a sneaky and gone in behind the walls that hugged the platform his drums sat on, so he was hidden until he came to site in his stool … the spotlight was hovering just in front of his drum-set. Uruha was last to reach his guitar, where he picked it up and stepped away from the beam – any close and he would have been seen. In fact it was a wonder the fans hadn't seen them through the beams yet, but most likely because the light wasn't wide or bright enough. They were still chanting and clapping.

Ruki was crouching behind his platform, away from the beam, but taking one last look at the set-list. With the trouble they'd gone through to get back from having lunch, he'd forgotten some of the songs, so just a quick skim down the black and fluorescent gold page brought back his memory. He began to read them out so quickly that anyone else would think he was walking gibberish.

"Eto … Filth, Crucify, Regret, Worthless, Shadow, Bathroom, Cassis, Baretta, Cockroach, Silly God, Reila, Carry, Maximum, Saraba, Anti Pop, Hanakotoba, Anata no Tame, Discharge … Encore – Linda, Ray, Best Friends … it's going to be an interesting night. Half of this we hardly play anymore …"

--

As 'The End' was now finally coming to a finish, the five thin spotlights that highlighted the bands places slowly faded out and the stage was dark once again. The crowd screamed a bit louder. The clapping and chanting had now stopped during the last few seconds of the song but there was still no movement from the stage. The girls looked around themselves curiously, just in case the band was actually walking up the middle of the aisle, but it was pointless to look because there was no light. The concert must have started because they'd started by playing 'The End' … so where was the band they were waiting for? The atmosphere was so full of suspense that a few rows back from the front row where the girls were, another fan sounded like she was crying, saying something about 'Where are they?!' but the crowd stayed quiet. And then a mumbled voice came over the speakers … it was Ruki's voice. He was speaking slowly and quietly even though the speakers amplified it more.

"One Night Stand … a brief encounter … promiscuous …"

The whole audience burst into screams, those close by the girls could be heard calling each of the guy's names. Ai, Kikyo, Megumi and Kira couldn't help themselves – they were doing the same; Ai called for Aoi, Kikyo for Uruha, Megumi for Kai and Kira for Reita. But Mika couldn't call out Ruki's name – she'd lost her voice all of a sudden and her face felt so hot it might have been on fire. His voice and what he was saying sent chills down her spine. He now continued from the short pause he made.

"Shameless lust … boundless sexual desire … Beautiful Filth".

It was that last word that made the hall turn wild. Suddenly background music for 'Filth in the Beauty' began playing and random flashes of coloured light-beams rained down on different spots of the stage. Some were now falling upon the band and the fans spirits were instantly lifted at finally being able to see them. Kai was perched up on his drums and twirling one of his drumsticks between two fingers, grinning like mad as usual. Reita, with bass in hand, was bopping his head along to the background music, clearly having fun already. Aoi was staring out at the audience with one arm raised to the cheering crowd, guitar at the ready. Uruha was also ready with his guitar but he couldn't stay still; he was dancing around to the opening music. Ruki had both hands gripping the top of the mic stand, head bowed just in between his arms, waiting for the big entrance.

Ai, Kikyo, Mika, Megumi and Kira couldn't contain their excitement as they screamed and reached as far over the railed as possible. If it weren't for that extra few feet, they'd be able to touch the edge of the stage – heartbeats were racing at knowing just how close they were to those five amazing men up there. Despite the roar around them, none of the girls seemed to notice anything else but what was right there in front of them. Ai was mesmerised by Aoi's smile as she watched him urging the fans to scream louder. Kira just laughed at how dorky Reita looked, bobbing around beside Kai's platform. Megumi was also taken in by Kai's smile as he was now tapping away on the cymbals for the opening of the song. Kikyo couldn't look away from Uruha's dancing – in that pure white outfit it was hard not to be drawn to him. And as usual Mika was all eyes for Ruki … and those incredibly hypnotic dreadlocks she loved. Once again she was brought back to her brief encounter with him only a short time ago and an adoring smile spread across her face.

Through the whole song, the crowd didn't once quiet down – during verses waved their arms in circular motions; during choruses it was one big mosh-pit. Ruki naturally joined them by jumping too, one foot up on his platform. The girls couldn't help but laugh and jump around silly when it came to the choruses – from the very first time they heard 'Filth in the Beauty', they all thought it was an amazing song. Ai had proven that by listening to it non-stop since it's release. After feeling initially awkward at reading Ruki's lyrics, the song grew on them quickly; the music was very unique but hearing it live was even better. The guys didn't move much around the stage for the first song but it was a great starter for the concert; it got the fans going. As the song was now coming to an end, on the last few drum beats the crowd made one last big jump and came thundering back down before a wave of 'Rock On' hand gestures filled the hall. They were desperate to hear more.

Now that the stage was fully lit up, the fans could get a better look at the surroundings. Hanging up along the back wall behind Kai was a huge banner made just for this live – there was wonder about what would be done with it after that night. It had 'One Night Stand' scrawled across it in what looked like scribbled handwriting … and considering the size of the banner that was very big handwriting. The background picture behind the writing was of a women's unclothed back from the waist up and a pair of large masculine hands had reached around her from the front to grip at her back. The man was completely hidden by the women. It was a very suggestive image but it fit the title nicely. Ai, Kikyo, Mika, Megumi and Kira felt a bit embarrassed by the image on the banner but quickly dismissed it to keep watching and waiting for the next song.

--

The band didn't waste time moving on. Ruki gripped the microphone and yanked it off the stand before he jumped up onto his platform. As he raised his arms out to the side, the crowd screamed louder again and realised it was now time for the next song. Both Aoi and Uruha were now positioned behind their acoustic guitars, and after Kai tapped the cymbals to count them in, they began with the opening to Crucify Sorrow. During the acoustic opening Kikyo was marvelling at how cool it sounded. She was learning how to play guitar and she always tried to play acoustic sections of some of the GazettE songs – though her friends would sometimes tease her that she was just trying to learn Uruha's pieces. But she also practiced Aoi's solos as well, especially Cassis because his solo opening sounds so beautiful.

After the opening the crowd began to jump along to the beat. When it came to Ruki singing the 'Kankaku was yume wo fuyuu shiteru do' and 'Soshite hai ni iki tsuku no' lines, some fans swung their arms around the air in circular motions along to the beat. They did the same thing when he also sang 'So long me …'. Of course the girls knew all the right moves and joined in with the rest. Again, when it came to Aoi and Uruha doing their acoustic pieces with 'So long me' Kikyo had her eyes locked on their playing. God I wish I could get pointers from them, she kept thinking, biting her lip as her gaze now wandered up to Uruha's smiling face and she smiled brighter too. Kikyo knew how hard it was to play that fast and she admired them for being so good at it … because so far whenever she tried, it would always end up in a mess, but she kept trying anyway.

The girls couldn't help but laugh while watching the antics of each band member during the song; it was clear they were having too much fun already, and they were less than ten minutes into the show. While Ruki freely danced around the stage, his dreadlocks bounced wildly from side-to-side – they were quite long now, reaching down to below his shoulders when tied up. Reita had joined Ruki in dancing, although because he had a bass to strum, he couldn't jump around too erratically. However when Aoi and Uruha weren't playing their acoustics, they too swayed around, moving back and forth from back wall to stage edge … and each time they got close to the edge, fans screamed and reached out for them, so of course Ai and Kikyo did too. Megumi felt sorry for Kai because he couldn't move around but he had his own way of showing off for the crowd.

If it was one thing Kai knew how to do it was have fun even if he couldn't get up to do it. During the verses he was quite calm, continuing to smile brightly, sticking his tongue out from habit while playing – Megumi always thought it was cute, all the little habits he had whenever he was drumming. And then when it came to the choruses he just let go completely. His hair flew around his face with every movement and the girls agreed as one that if it were just Kai playing, he would still draw the crowd in with his energy. All too soon the second song was already finishing, and Ruki was aimlessly walked around in a big circle from one side of the stage to the other. While wiping the sweatband around his wrist across his forehead, he sighed deeply – second song and he was already raining sweat, but he wasn't about to stop now.

--

Barely ten minutes into the concert and already the GazettE had pumped out two great songs. The girls were really happy they played 'Filth in the Beauty' and 'Crucify Sorrow' first – both songs never failed to sound good live, and it really hyped up the crowd. During the short pause between songs, Ruki snatched his mic stand and shifted it over to stand beside Kai's platform – it was getting in the way and there wouldn't be time to move it during the next song. Aoi, Uruha and Reita stood silently in their places, watching and waiting for their esteemed singer to so something while Kai crossed his arms over the drum set between his knees, also watching as Ruki sauntered around the stage in front of him. Random screams, shouts and chants were echoing from all over the hall, each calling for a different member.

Ruki kept walking around in circles – seemed to be force of habit. He held up the mic to his mouth and just as he was going to speak, the fans clapped; it sounded like rain falling, it was echoing that much. But just to tease them Ruki dropped the mic again and just stood smirking at them, only earning more shouts. Finally he lifted the mic again, deciding that was enough taunting, saying 'Oh Yeah!' a few times, each getting just that little bit louder. Kai was laughing from his place, amused at how much Ruki was teasing them, as he now removed his short-sleeve jacket, revealing the sleeveless white shirt under it. Uruha, Reita and Aoi were also smiled faintly, grateful that they were given a bit of time to cool down beside their cooling fans, the breeze just able to reach their hair, causing it to want to fly away.

"Yeah Yoshiatsu!"

Ruki finally shouted louder as he came to stand directly behind his platform. This action not only startled his band mates a little but also encouraged the whole hall to cheer just as loud. Ruki laughed at them, turning his head down and with one hand on his hip – he suddenly felt embarrassed as he turned left and right to look at the other guys for some kind of help. Finally he lifted his head and spoke again.

"This is so weird … how many of you expected me to slip-up and say 'Budoukan'?"

He said as he nervously reached up to play with one of his dreadlocks. Half of the crowd seemed to laugh and clap while the other half screamed and jumped up and down. Aoi, Reita, Kai and Uruha laughed openly, not trying to hide it, as they got to see them teasing Ruki for once – who was now hands on hips and staring down at his shoes in defeat; he had that coming.

"That hurts, you have no faith in me! But we are the first event to happen here, so it is an honour. Arigatou …"

Ruki bowed his head briefly to thank the fans and they responded by clapping. Ruki got bored with standing as he now got up and crouched on his platform, elbows resting on his knees.

"But you know … on the way over here, we were discussing how the designers came to the conclusion on the name … 'Yoshiatsu' …"

Ruki let the name of the building roll off his tongue slowly, frowning in thought while he talked to the audience. Again a few clapped in response but somewhere off to Ruki's right on the stage, a certain raven-haired guitarist was shifting on the spot uneasily. Uruha, Reita and Kai were looking in Aoi's direction as they realised what Ruki was about to do … only for fun but Aoi didn't see it that way. This was now payback for being late because of him. Ruki gestured over to him.

"And … I heard something funny from Aoi-san. I heard him say to Kai-san, 'Why didn't they just call it Budoukan 2?' …"

The audience could be heard laughing very clearly, and Aoi was now doubled over in pure embarrassment and despise for Ruki that he didn't want his face to be seen. Ai, Kikyo, Mika, Megumi and Kira were all holding onto each other as they laughed, but they did feel sorry for Aoi – it was obvious Ruki was singling him out in front of the whole hall. Ruki waved to urge the audience to quiet again, which they did quickly.

"But I'm not bringing this up to embarrass Aoi-san and make fun of his joke. I'm bringing this up because … we've heard that it roughly means 'the Point or Substance of Heat' … the very centre of passion".

Ruki balled his fist tightly and held it up to show strength.

"It's a strong name … and that is why we feel honoured to be blessing 'Yoshiatsu Dome' with its first ever event. I hope we can find your 'Centre of Passion' tonight. Let's go!"

Pointing out to the audience, they erupted instantly with clapping and cheers – such a moving speech for the start of the concert; it really moved them as well. The girls all smiled adoringly at how well he spoke to the fans, Mika more so because it was done by him – he really had a talent for working the crowd, either by singing or just talking; he knew how to capture people. But now it was time for some more music and Ruki then jumped down from his platform, waving a hand above his head to urge everyone to keep cheering louder. He spun around to get Kai's attention, signalling for the next song – Regret. Aoi, Uruha and Reita made themselves ready, waiting for their cue. Kai raised the drumsticks above his head and tapped them to the right beat of the song, as Aoi and Uruha then alternated from each other's guitar pieces for the opening.

After hearing two moderately heavy songs, it was good for the fans to hear 'Regret' because it sounded lighter and it was one song that you could easily dance to. During the choruses the audience was once again a sea of waving arms, side-to-side in wide swoops and then changing from that to smaller circled in the air. And then during verses reverted to just waving their hands in small circles in front of their bodies. It was a sight to see from where the guys were on stage – they loved seeing the harmony of every single movement; it looked like not one of them was out of time to the music. Aoi and Uruha even left their positions on verses so they could walk around the stage, alternating sides at their own leisure, stopping occasionally to play for the fans nearest to them. A cluster of girls went wild, reaching far over the railing even though they were several feet away.

With Uruha and Aoi swapping sides every-so-often, Kikyo and Ai were happy to get a close-up of their favourite, though Kira wished Reita could have come wandering over as well. But she didn't show her disappointment because it dissolved quickly from having too much fun. Mika really hadn't noticed that Ruki hadn't wandered either; she was too busy smiling and watching him as usual. And again Megumi couldn't help smiling when Kai did … he never failed to light up the room. As the song was now coming to an end, Ruki was dancing around the main stage while Reita again joined in with him, swaying here and there to the beat. It was also time for Aoi and Uruha to stop teasing the fans as they ran back to their places to finish the song properly. With Ruki finished singing, it was now up to the others to take it out.

A roar of cheers and screams yet again rang over the hall as it really started to reverberate on the walls, followed by echoing sound of clapping. Aoi and Uruha deliberately strummed a few more chords to make a bit more noise, while Reita added is own rumbling bass sound. Kai whacked at the crash cymbals and beat the bass drums rapidly a few times to follow the others and the hall was now a bubble of raw noise. The fans responded by clapping, screaming, stamping their feet, whatever noise they could make, just to join in with the band. Ruki was waving his hands at the audience, urging them to go louder and louder as the guys continued to make more noise. After realising enough was enough, Ruki raised one arm and Kai stopped drumming, only to hit the crash cymbals gentler so they echoed, and Aoi, Reita and Uruha stopped playing to let their sounds fade away.

NOTES:
1) Recycled 'Nameless Liberty' stage: This is what the 'One Night Stand' stage looks like, but without the words painted across it
2) 'Yoshiatsu': I looked at a very rough translation of 'Yoshi' and 'Atsu' (I suck at making up names, gomenne) and it basically means 'Yoshi - Point or Substance' and 'Atsu - Heat'. Which to me means 'the Centre of Passion', so I think that sounds okay

Please read & review :-)