WARNINGS: over-flirting, drunken behaviour
Meanwhile, inside the function room, the 'One Night Stand' after party was in full swing. In a matter of seconds, dozens of bottles of champagne and beer were cracked open and glasses spread around to every single member of staff that had been involved with the concert. The room was alive with chattering people, seated on tables with food and drinks, or standing in little groups with plates and drinks in their hands. They were profusely congratulating each other on how well the show went, or how good a job the lighting crew performed, or how alert the sound techs were with keeping equipment working and helping to change over instruments when needed. A table located against the far wall that faced the party, currently only the band were seated in a row on one side of the it, was where random staff members walked over to congratulate and shake hands with the guys on their best performance yet.
The guys accepted the praise appreciatively, feeling a lot more comfortable and sociable since they'd come off stage. It was because they had gone straight back to their dressing room after saying goodbyes to the fans, that they were able to freshen up, fix make-up again and look a bit more presentable rather than dripping with sweat. In exchange for their costumes, they had changed back to the clothes they'd arrived in, and they're spirits were instantly lifted as a result. Now they just relaxed and enjoyed the food and drink that was provided because they felt they deserved it. Aoi was on the far left end with his Asahi beer and was teasing Kai on his right who was content with an apple juice. Reita in the middle was also guzzling a bottle of Asahi and seemed to be getting just a little drunk. Ruki beside him cradled a glass of sake in one hand and busied himself with talking to Uruha who had his best friend, a Chandon champagne. Aoi, who was getting sick of teasing Kai about his drink choice, leaned forward to see past Kai and Reita.
"Hey Ruki, what took you so long getting back to the dressing room? You disappeared behind us suddenly, and then you didn't say anything when you finally did show up. Where were you? Does it have something to do with that girl in the audience?"
Reita made an annoyed sound and threw his hand in the air in an obviously slowly-getting-drunk manner.
"Oh we're not on about that again are we? That does it, he must be sick, he's never been this hung-up on one random girl in the audience. Again I ask, what is with you, Ruki? Before the concert you were normal … enough … then as the concert goes along you get weirder and weirder-er".
At first Reita appeared to be talking to the air in front of him, but upon asking Ruki what was wrong with him, he looked at the singer and swayed in his direction. Ruki thought he was going to fall on top of him, but the bass player managed to keep his balance despite being drunk. The singer just crossed his arms on the table while holding his glass ready to drink as he listened to what Reita said – did he just say 'weirder-er'?
"Reita, put that bottle down before you hurt yourself. And I haven't been acting weird; I just came to a sudden realisation … I want to find out what it is about her that I couldn't stop looking at her all night. As I said, I had no idea she'd be in the front row; that means something … so I went ahead and invited her and her friends to our party. One of our staff should be bringing them right now".
Aoi, Kai, Reita and Uruha just stared at their lead singer for a second as he casually sipped from his glass. Uruha was the one to break the stunned silence.
"You did what now? I thought you were only joking, or at least considering more realistic ways of meeting this girl … fans aren't allowed to be brought backstage, remember? And even if they were invited, how do you know they will even come? And what if our other fans find out? They'll expect to be invited backstage all the time then".
"Oh give it a rest, you weren't worried when I walked into that convenience store this afternoon, so how is this any different?"
Aoi cut in, leaning forward to look at Uruha, who now looked half anxious and half defeated as Aoi went on.
"I doubt the girls would leave once they were told they're invited to meet us face-to-face, otherwise they wouldn't have been here tonight … plus three of the girls I have met briefly already, so I say lets just see how this goes. Besides we can let Ruki flirt with his new girlfriend, and if it turns bad, then we'll say 'we told you so' …"
Ruki just looked daggers at Aoi and the older guitarist just raised both eyebrows, much as to say 'oops', before sitting back to hide behind Kai. Reita and Uruha laughed at Aoi and Kai just shook his head at him. Really they had mixed feelings about what Ruki was doing – not only risking fans finding out, but also making their manager upset. But the guys didn't have long to dwell on such concerns because suddenly Hiro, who Ruki had asked to bring the girls to the party, came through the main door and glanced around the function room. He spotted the band at their table and he briskly walked through the crowd of people to speak to Ruki. A few people watched the guy curiously, wondering why he was rushing but quickly forgot about it as they kept chatting. The guys wondered where their last minute guests were, but realised they must have been told to wait outside. Hiro leaned over the table to speak quietly to him.
"Ruki-san … you requested the five girls from the front row, are they to join you at your table?"
Ruki listened to Hiro and then looked down at the opposite edge of the table – five empty chairs were there, but not on purpose. Finally he nodded.
"Yes I want them to sit with us, we'll take responsibility for them".
Aoi, Kai, Reita and Uruha seemed to be on the same wavelength, because at hearing this they all looked at each other around Ruki – we'll take responsibility? they thought. Hiro nodded a response before turning back and just as briskly walking back the way he came. Ruki went back to casually sipping his sake as he watched Hiro, following him all the way to the door, waiting in anticipation to see his girl. In the meantime, his band mates gathered in around him to speak in hushed voices. Uruha spoke first.
"We'll take responsibility? Don't forget Ruki, this was all your idea. They are welcome to sit with us, but once our manager sees what's going on, you'll be doing the explaining".
Ruki didn't respond so Kai took this chance.
"Well, technically … they are our responsibility because they will be sitting with us, but you don't know, Uruha … this is the first time we've had fans backstage to greet us, it might actually be fun".
At this Ruki looked up at Kai was an expression of surprise, at hearing Kai say it could turn out all right, and also gratitude, for letting him even go ahead with his crazy idea. Kai gave a slight smile and sat back as he sipped his drink, and Aoi, Reita and Uruha sat back too but felt dumbfounded – before, Kai had been almost against letting Ruki invite fans to meet them, but now he was okay with it … was he really only drinking apple juice? It was then all the guys turned their attention back to the main door and they could see Hiro holding the door open and gesturing. Then, one-by-one, five surprisingly calm looking girls walked in and stood quietly together in a group, looking around curiously. Then Hiro walked around them and gestured for them to follow him, which they did without having to be asked again. The guys watched, holding their breath, as the group weaved among people dotted around the room, getting occasional glances from them before they once again returned to their talking.
The guys could not believe how blasé the staff were at noticing five strangers just walking casually through the crowded room and not drawing attention to it. Then it could be that perhaps being led by a fellow staff member made them believe that the girls were meant to be there. Ruki was most in shock … he didn't think it could have been that easy, but he knew their manager wouldn't be fooled, so Ruki would have to deal with him soon enough. As the girls got closer, they appeared to become increasingly giddy because their faces wouldn't stop grinning. When Hiro and the girls finally got to the table, he bowed and gestured for them to stay with the band and he quickly left. Ruki and Mika locked eyes immediately and her head lowered in a shy manor as her face began to feel hot. Aoi, Reita and Uruha were polite and smiled with a bow of the head – Ai, Kira and Kikyo bowed too and they tried to say hello but they're voices were gone. Kai however stood up and bowed to them even more politely with a smile and Megumi's heart skipped a beat.
"Welcome! It looks like you were able to get here without too much trouble, so please sit!"
No sooner had Kai gestured with both hands to the chairs in front of him, the girls spread out to get the seat they wanted – which of course meant being able to sit across from their favourite guy. Still feeling very nervous and without voice, they quickly sat down, each with their bags set underneath their chairs. Then Kai sat down and smiled warmly around to each of them – the girls now began to relax because he looked so friendly.
"As you might know, this is a first for us, we've never had fans backstage before. But I hope you all have a good time as much as what you had during our concert".
The girls laughed genuinely, feeling even more relaxed that Kai was talking to them. Megumi took the plunge and spoke first, but bowed her head politely first.
"It's very nice to meet you, my name is Megumi. My friends and I were a bit shocked at first when Hiro-san approached us to say we're invited to meet you because I wouldn't have thought we would be allowed. We had just been waiting for the bulk of the crowd to leave so we wouldn't get squashed trying to get out the door".
The other girls laughed shortly and nodded in agreement. Even the guys couldn't help but laugh briefly - hearing first hand from fans what it was like to be in the crowd certainly gave them perspective. And though Aoi, Kai, Ruki and Reita had been pretty comfortable with the girls sitting with them, even Uruha was starting to loosen up as he leaned forward to cross his arms on the table. Megumi continued.
"But anyway the concert was great! We still wish it was going but then you would never get to rest".
The guy's were really amused at how carefree the girls were. Maybe it was just because they'd never had fans backstage before, but they seemed to be genuinely nice and not completely hyperactive at meeting the band. Kai smiled as he listened to Megumi and thought she was a very smart and sweet person – out of the five girls he thought she must be the most sensible one. Then Kira spoke.
"Hi, I'm Kira. Oh we can't tell you how cool this is, that you've invited us to your party! And I guess you guys need a stiff drink after the concert, ne? Playing to such an energy-hungry audience must be tough".
Kira said, noticing the half empty bottle of beer in Reita's hand, but as soon as she'd said those words, she realised how stupid it sounded and instantly wished she'd kept her mouth shut. Here she had a once in a lifetime chance to meet her favourite GazettE member and she was making a fool of herself. Kira blushed and bit the corner of her bottom lip out of embarrassment. But Reita, despite being a little drunk, noticed that Kira felt embarrassed over what she said by the way she acted after it. It really made him laugh, and when Kira looked up at him, she felt butterflies tumbling over in her stomach and she found herself laughing too. Meanwhile Mika was also making a fool of herself … the poor girl couldn't look any redder in the face as she stumbled over her words to speak to Ruki.
"A-Ano … arigatou! For the flower, I mean. It was very nice of you, Ruki-san! I-I put it in my hair so it wouldn't get squashed".
She reached up and very gently touched it before continuing.
"Oh … and … for singing to me … I was really surprised but … arigatou! M-My name is Mika".
She practically blurted out her name at the last second, realising that she should have introduced herself first before talking but only just remembered. She bowed her head a little to Ruki before sitting up properly. She swallowed hard and kept her eyes on the table – the image of him singing to her kept repeating in her mind and she was too embarrassed to look at him. Ruki thought that Mika's muddled introduction was cute and he openly laughed, trying to cover his mouth with the glass of sake he was still holding. He then set his glass down and leaned forward slightly to speak to her.
"You are very welcome, Mika-chan. I was surprised to see you in the front row, let alone directly in front of me. But you were easy to spot from then on, so I thought I would sing for you. I hope I didn't embarrass you?"
Uruha leaned back to glance behind Ruki at Kai, Aoi and Reita, who also returned his look – Ruki was flirting with the poor girl! Well, maybe 'flirting' was too strong a word – rather he was doing a good job of making her blush. Well, Ruki had a smile on his face for the first time since they'd left the stage so they didn't spoil it for him. Ruki had wanted some time to find out his sudden interest in her so they let him go. Ai, Megumi, Kira and Kikyo also looked at each other when they noticed what the other guys had noticed. All they could think was where had her luck come from? She was getting so much attention from Ruki that it could actually be deliberate … if only their meeting wasn't a one-off. And by the looks of it, she'd forgotten her friends were there, but they didn't hold it against her because they'd never get the chance to meet the band again. Mika blushed and shook her head as she briefly looked at the table before looking back at Ruki.
"Oh, well no I wasn't embarrassed. Actually … I really liked the attention …"
And what was this? Mika was flirting right back. The girls were just completely dumbstruck as they tried to hide their knowing smiles. Actually they were proud of Mika because she was never that interested in socialising with many guys, and even when she did she didn't have much to say. Maybe it was her overwhelming crush on Ruki, but Mika seemed to just talk naturally with him, as if they'd known each other before … so the girls didn't spoil it for her. Just then a staff member came around to their table and without questioning why the girls were there, offered everyone some champagne. The guys already had their drinks and so declined. Ai and Kira graciously said yes, while Megumi and Mika politely refused for the time being. Kikyo also declined, and to try and make good conversation with Uruha, she explained why to him.
"It's be best for me to not have any alcohol, though it would be nice considering it's not often we can socialise with a famous band".
Kikyo said as she glanced down the line at her friends and then back to Uruha, leaning closer to talk softly.
"See Kira was the one to drive us here but if I know her, she'll have two drinks and that'll be it. I'm going to have to drive us all back to Kira's place to crash for the night. By the way, I'm Kikyo. Nice to meet you".
Kikyo seemed to be the only one not really nervous, as she just joked and talked normally to Uruha; not even worried about what she said. It even showed on her face that she was relaxed, even if she was excited to be talking to him. And Uruha was feeling even less anxious about the girls being there with them once Kikyo started talking to him. He'd half expected her to just babble on about nothing, but he found himself leaning in to hear her speak … and then he actually laughed as well. However Kira had in fact heard what she'd said and reach across Mika to lightly hit Kikyo's arm. Kikyo flinched and giggled at Kira, who stuck her tongue out and then looked away, taking a sip from her champagne glass in doing so. Megumi and Mika leaned forward and made faces as if to say 'we don't know them' before laughing at each other. Ai made an embarrassed laugh and looked apologetically at Aoi.
"Please excuse my friends. It seems they have gotten over the initial shock of meeting all of you … but I will say on behalf of all of us that we really enjoyed the concert tonight. And we're really looking forward to the 'Decomp' Tour. Looks like it's going to be big! Oh, and I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Ai."
"Well, that's good you had fun, Ai-chan, otherwise we wouldn't be doing our job. So it's great to hear that you will also be seeing us during our next Tour. That compliments us even more".
Aoi raised his beer to Ai and she reached forward with her champagne glass to cheers with him before they both took sips. Aoi had really only talked to Ai at that little convenience store for directions but he already felt like he had a head start in knowing her better. Except that the only head start he had was that she worked at a Superb-Mart with those girls named 'Kira' and 'Megumi', but it was something. So now that the whole group had loosened up, they all continued to talk to each other as a group, but Ruki only wanted to talk to Mika. He asking her about the song 'Bathroom' and what she thought the lyrics meant. Of course he knew, but he wanted to hear from Mika. Just then some plates of food were brought over and set down along the middle of the table for them to pick from. A stack to bowls and chopsticks were handed around to the whole group, and straight away they all began to take rice, pieces of pork, chicken, fish, vegetables, sushi and toppings. Uruha smiled at Kikyo as he was piling food into his bowl.
"Please forgive us if we don't act like respectable hosts. We're not used to having guests other than staff watching us eat …"
The girls laughed at him and Kikyo had to set her full bowl down before she dropped it.
"It's alright, don't worry about it. You've done more than enough being great hosts just by inviting us to your after party!"
Uruha laughed sheepishly before quickly shovelling pieces of pork into his mouth. Kai smiled apologetically at the girls.
"Uh … what Uruha means is don't take offence if any of us have appalling table manners … the staff are used to how we eat after a big concert, so it may shock you. Though in our defence, when we all get together outside of work, it's a lot more relaxed … and with a lot less indigestion".
Kai leaned forward and looked down the row at Aoi, Uruha, Reita and Ruki as they were now in the middle of filling their faces. He hoped they didn't freak the girls out so soon. But no sooner had he finished speaking the girls laughed again, realising just how hungry the guys must be after using up all their energy – they must have been waiting for that food to arrive. The girls couldn't believe how nice the guys were about warning of their eating habits, but they didn't mind. At least the guys were polite enough to tell them not to be offended. Normally you'd think that most celebrities were snobs and wouldn't give anyone the time of day who wasn't famous … but already the whole group was at ease with each other. Then Reita cleared his throat and swallowed the food still in his mouth before speaking.
"And when it is just us, Kai does most of the cookin'. Though I must admit because we're so busy with the band and stuff, he does need a little bit of prac-practice".
Reita was looking at Kira the whole time but he was actually supposed to be talking to the girls as a group. He jumped when Kai gave him a sharp jab in the ribs with his elbow. Reita chuckled and looked at him.
"Oh, I said that a-loud, sorry Kai … but he is still very good, and takes real good care of us".
Kira laughed at Reita and Kai, and then came to the drummers defence.
"Well, Reita-san, I'm sure Kai-san is an excellent cook, but the band comes first. I'm sure he has to do a lot when it comes to being bandleader, so I'm sure he tries very hard. Oh, Megumi likes cooking too, Kai-san!"
Kai gave an embarrassed laugh at hearing a compliment that he was a hard worker – this would have to be the first time he'd heard a compliment like that directly from a fan. And he even found out from Kira that Megumi liked cooking too, so that was something they could talk about later if there was time. However Megumi flushed a light red in her cheeks after what Kira said and nudged her to shut up – with Kira being in a tipsy-state she was very talkative and tried to make conversation between Kai and Megumi. Megumi smiled at Kai and then lowered her head slightly to keep eating, also trying to hide her blushing face. Kira giggled and again took a sip of champagne followed by a rolled piece of beef. Ai laughed quietly to herself while listening to her friends chatting to the guys – they were certainly being themselves despite being around a famous band … maybe they thought this was all a dream. Aoi and shook his head at Kai and Reita's little act and smiled at Ai.
"You know, between you and me, Ai-chan, I think it was a nice idea to have all of you backstage, so we can thank Ruki for that. It's always just us and the staff, so not much else is discussed apart from work, but this way we get to talk to others for a change".
When Aoi directed his attention towards her, Ai smiled and finished eating a piece of fish before speaking.
"That's an interesting notion … to see what fans think of you first-hand … but of course, if we didn't like you we wouldn't be here, I guess. So it's nice to meet you properly, instead of this afternoon".
Aoi and Ai laughed quietly together and he nodded as if to say 'you have a point'. Ai went on.
"My friends and I were saying, while waiting out there, that we feel special for being invited … and your first guests, no doubt. And we think your style of music is fantastic – it's heavy but you also input some light rock and even ballads. A wide variety of genres in music is always a good thing".
Ai finished with a nice smile and Aoi smiled back at her. This was their first official introduction, although being the second time they'd met that day, and Ai was starting to feel like Mika – she was incredibly lucky. Megumi, Kira and Kikyo sadly didn't have the advantage but it didn't bother them one bit. This was turning out to be the weirdest yet most interesting and exciting day for the girls and nothing could bring them down from that cloud they were sitting on. Megumi thought that talking to Kai face-to-face was even better than getting one of his drumsticks. And Kira was laughing so much with Reita that she liked him more and more as time went on. Kikyo liked seeing Uruha smiling so much as they talked, and being so close to him now she could see the true colour of his eyes, something she'd always wanted to see … a rich dark brown. Mika couldn't be more taken in by Ruki than if she was actually absorbed into him, which she practically was anyway. She hung on every word he said, and he was the same with her, to the point where they couldn't hear anything else the others were talking about.
Aoi was surprised at how open minded he was with Ai and he felt really comfortable to speak to her, even though he'd only briefly met her back at the convenience store. All of the guys felt comfortable really, and it was barely half an hour into their first official meeting that they had already forgotten about the repercussions if fans found out. Kai was enjoying talking to Megumi in a relaxed environment rather than on a busy street when he was most likely in a hurry anyway, and he was laughing a great deal too. Reita had been dying for a drink after the concert, but he was also trying not to look like an idiot in front of Kira, who he thought was rather cute. Uruha was also enjoying talking to Kikyo about little things, that it made him smile a lot – and talking to a pretty girl only made the situation better. Ruki was so focused on Mika you would think there was no one else around. And the fact that there were five of them and five of the girls seemed even more comforting in a strange way … like it was fate.
--
It must have been almost an hour in the party and the band was really enjoying having the girls company for a change. And the girls were thinking the same thing about them. Ruki liked how cute, sweet and shy Mika acted, and being able to finally talk to her after noticing her all night was a relief to him. And Mika was seeing a much quieter side to Ruki compared to him performing on stage – and she loved it. Uruha really liked talking to Kikyo now, more so when she mentioned she liked playing guitar, mainly acoustic. And Kikyo, when she wasn't talking, discretely admired his eyes. Reita was having a blast talking to Kira because she was getting just as drunk as he was, so it got to a point where they just laughed about anything. And Kira couldn't get over her giggles each time he pulled a weird face or made a joke about one of the other guys.
Kai noticed how honest and mature Megumi was; yet it turned out she wasn't the oldest. And Megumi never realised how parent-like Kai could be towards the other guys, especially with their food – she laughed when Kai talked about constantly having to force Reita to eat vegetables. Aoi also observed that Ai had a very pretty smile the whole time they talked, which she didn't stop smiling … not that he was complaining, she wasn't hard to look at. And Ai loved how childish and silly Aoi was when talking of things he was passionate about, especially for a guy in his late twenties – but she wasn't complaining because she liked it. Long ago the group had finished their main meal and now proceeded to pick from the plates in-between chatting. Of course, Kai objected to Reita not eating his vegetables and Reita whinged back that he didn't like them. Meanwhile Ruki laughed when Mika got onto talking about her being so short. The others tuned in when they heard him laugh.
"Mika-chan, you're not short; I would describe you as delicate. Look at me for example – I'm shorter than the others …"
Ruki pushed away the plate he had been picking from and leaned forward towards Mika, with his arms crossed on the table, and staring directly into her eyes.
"Even if I wear shoes and these guys don't, I'm still shorter. I'm like the baby of the group without even trying … shorter and younger. What I lack in height I have to make up for in other things".
At hearing that last short sentence, Aoi, Kai, Reita and Uruha either snorted or almost spat out their mouthfuls of drink – he made up for in what?! Even Ai, Megumi, Kira and Kikyo had to giggle and hold back louder laughs because they could only imagine what Ruki meant, but poor Mika looked around at everyone, confused as what was so funny. Uruha controlled his laughter and brushed a hand over the top of his hair gently – his gravity-defying hair meant he was actually about six-foot tall. Aoi, Reita and Kai were pretty much the same height so there was no competition between them. And from the looks of the girls when they first walked in, they were not only petite but also none of them looked to be taller than Ruki – Kikyo was the closest. Now that Aoi, Kai and Reita had gotten their laughing under control, Reita then elbowed Ruki in the ribs.
"Hey! You can't talk; you certainly don't act like a baby. You are flirting so badly with that poor girl it's painfully obvious. You make her blush anymore she might passsss out!"
Everyone except for Ruki and Reita were once again laughing that the pair, as Ruki stared the bass player down as much as he could – but a funny little red patch was forming on his cheeks. The girls realised just how whacked Reita must be is he was sounding words out and emphasizing others. Mika tried not to laugh for Ruki's sake but had to bite her bottom lip because Reita was too funny. The bass player stared at Ruki and held up a finger to poke the singer's nose, in a very out-of-character manner.
"And you may be younger than all of us but … you certainly don't sound like it. You, my friend, have the most perver-ert-er-ed minds I've eeever known".
Well they couldn't hold it back now – all five girls broke into fits of giggles and laughs, and Aoi, Kai and Uruha were laughing so hard they were almost about to slide off their chairs and onto the floor. That was it; Reita was out of it, especially if he couldn't even say words properly. And it was also strange that Reita would be drunk first because it was usually Uruha off the mark, but Reita provided them with good entertainment anyway. Uruha covered his mouth with one hand and turned away from the group so he could try to stop laughing. Kai was in fits of giggles as his picked up his glass of apple juice and hid behind it, also resolving to stop laughing. Aoi was like Uruha, hand over mouth and facing away, but each time he caught eyes with Ai, the both started laughing again. Reita and Ruki just kept staring each other down, Reita still pointing his finger at Ruki, and Ruki still with that red flush to his cheeks. Finally Ruki turned back to his glass of sake and proceeded to take a decent mouthful while holding his middle finger up to Reita. Mika tried to defend Ruki.
"Aww, don't tease him like that, Reita-san. It's all right; I actually love the lyrics he writes! Even kaa-san likes them, apart from when she hears obscene words …"
Then she made herself blush even more at mentioning her mother not liking his 'language' when singing.
"B-but anyway, arigatou Ruki-san, for saying I'm delicate. It's really sweet … and I-I don't mind you flirting with me-"
Ai, Megumi, Kira and Kikyo's necks almost snapped when they turned to look shocked at her – did she just say she liked Ruki flirting with her? Mika instantly wanted to bang her head on the table after what she said. All of it just came out in one big jumble of words with a few stutters as well – maybe Ruki didn't hear what she last said if it was muddled? She couldn't have embarrassed herself anymore if she tried anyway. Poor Mika let out a little sigh of defeat with a slightly grimaced face and Kikyo pat her back reassuringly. But Ruki had heard her last comment, and when everyone gradually got back into conversing, he looked at Mika over the glass he held to his lips. Mika glanced up at him sheepishly, and to her surprise, he discretely winked at her before taking another sip from his glass. She smiled warmly at him and instantly felt better … she couldn't explain it but it felt almost like he was silently telling her 'your welcome'. To try and get back into conversation, Uruha leaned back in his chair and smiled at Kikyo.
"So, which of our songs do you like the most? You mentioned before that you like acoustic guitar, so I'm guessing you might like all of our ballad pieces?"
Kikyo looked at Uruha and then thought for a second.
"Oh, I'd have to say my favourites are D.L.N, Cassis, Ray, Taion, Miseinen … I'm of a slow song kind of person. Those songs have really good guitar rifts … at least I think so anyway".
Ai, Megumi and Kira listened in to Kikyo naming her favourite songs and nodded their agreement. They were into slow songs too but a good jam like 'Ride with the Rockers' or 'Maximum Impulse' really got them going. After all they'd had a ball during the concert with hearing the likes of 'Shadow' and 'Cockroach'. Also to keep the conversation going, Kai turned to Megumi.
"Oh yes, what are your favourite songs, Megumi? Who knows, we may even be able to invite you to watch us practice one day, so you can make requests. Can't see the harm in that".
Well … that was the end of that too. As soon as Kai had finished speaking, he instantly regretted it because the girls gasped in shock and smiles of delight spread across their faces. He didn't regret saying it in the sense that he didn't want the girls to watch them practice, but rather their manager could possibly have a fit … and the fact that he appeared to be currently absent from the party would explain why the girls were able to get away with being there for so long already! A lump rose in Kai's throat … how could he promise something like that to these nice girls when their manager could quite possibly refuse up-front. But when he happened to break out of his train of thought, he realised the other guys were actually agreeing to the idea too because they were already talking excitedly about it. Reita was the loudest of course.
"Hai, hai, I like the sound of that! It'll be like a party with Live music from yours truly!"
He said with enthusiasm to the girls and they giggled at him once more.
"Hai, hai! And we're the Live band and the girls can be our audience! We can invite them to a practice ne? Come on, just one little practice, Kai? We don't have groupie's!"
And to add to the pressure on Kai, Kira started on the idea.
"Oh yeah! Seeing you guys practice would be soooo cool! Can we really make requests? Oh, I so want to hear 'Filth in the Beauty' again, it's so … filthy!"
Ai reached over Megumi and clapped a hand over Kira's mouth.
"Kira, shut up your embarrassing yourself and it's not even midnight yet. You'd better stop drinking now before you start running around like an idiot".
The table of ten had quickly turned into a zoo, with Kira and Reita doing most of the disrupting. Reita was practically hanging onto Kai's arm now and the poor drummer was trying to speak but nothing was coming out – he was too in shock. The girls were yet again laughing as Reita was trying to persuade Kai to go see their manager. Aoi reached behind Kai to slap Reita over the head and he quickly let go of Kai's arm to rub his head; clearly it appeared to hurt.
"Hoi, I think you'd better cut down on the beers, your talking rubbish! And that's not a nice thing to say to these nice ladies, calling them 'groupie's'."
He leaned on the table and nodded towards Ai and the other girls before continuing.
"You should be thanking them. After all, they helped us find the venue again; I think we owe them for their kindness, ne? A nice gesture would be to at least let them watch us practice once …"
Uruha, Ruki, Reita and Aoi all looked at Kai, who looked helplessly around at the whole group – even the girls were looking with puppy-dog eyes at him … he was stuck now. Okay, it wasn't really up to Kai, but more like it was up to their manager, but with Kai being bandleader, he was like the mediator between both parties. The GazettE's manager was very protective of the band he was looking after; not just anyone could get close to his boys and if they did, it was under some kind of supervision. And on the other hand, the band couldn't just do whatever they wanted either, without it being run by their manager first. Maybe, when their manager actually did come into the party, Kai could suggest it to him and assure him the girls would be looked after and well behaved? What's the worst that could happen? And the girls were hopeful because they'd never seen a band practice before, let alone a major label band like 'the GazettE' … that is, if Kai could talk their manager into letting them watch.
NOTES:
1) Reita drunk: From what I roughly know, Uruha is usually the one that loves his drink, but for humor sake, I chose Reita instead
2) Staff ignored the girls: I highly doubt that something like this would happen, that fans could just walk right into an after party while being led by an official looking person, but they get away with it for the sake of the story (please forgive the un-realism in this chapter)
3) Guys table manners: I'd imagine they could eat a lot with how much energy they use up when performing, so table manners would just go out the window I think ...
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