The club was loud and dark, two things Souichi was not used to. He had never been in noisy environments, even when he was a child. The orphanage was always quiet, save for childish laughter and chatter, but it was never so loud that he could feel his eardrums throbbing. The owners had rented the company of some female vocal band, so when Souichi and Isogai arrived, they were already on the stage by the bar.

Isogai had picked him up in his van, just like he promised. Souichi didn't have any idea how to choose an outfit to wear to this club; what kind of a celebratory party was at a club? Was he supposed to wear church clothes? Was he supposed to wear exposing clothes? How the hell was he supposed to piece together an outfit meant for women?

He had called Isogai for help and the man had arrived at the house almost an hour before they were supposed to leave. Souichi wasn't a woman; how was he supposed to have a sense of feminine fashion? And Isogai hadn't arranged for Souichi to have a private stylist yet, so he didn't know what to do.

With a lot of emotional maneuvering and convincing, Isogai had successfully pieced together an outfit for Souichi to put on in the comfort of his private bathroom.

The outfit was thankfully more covering than the one he wore at the press conference; black tight shorts like the ones he wore at the contract signing, black lingerie, a black shirt, a long-sleeved red plaid jacket with a white collar, and flat black laced boots that went almost to his knees. Thank goodness they weren't heeled; his feet had started hurting a few hours ago from being elevated so much in such a short amount of time. The bra felt too loose and he had to use all of his strength to resist constantly picking at the fabric and adjusting it. Isogai had assured him just to wait another day, and that he would have a stylist tomorrow who would take his measurements. He left his hair down and Isogai gave him a black hat from the hall closet. Why was he here again?

The other members had questioned why Sandara was going with Isogai and didn't ride in the TN Entertainment van with them. Isogai had simply said that Sandara was still getting over her new member jitters and was still getting used to being around them.

Souichi sighed, elbow up on the cold countertop of the bar, hand buried in his hair. The unbearably loud music was giving him a throbbing headache. He tilted his head and lifted the small glass to his lips, downing the shot of liquor that Isogai had bought for him. It was his sixth shot out of the round that Isogai had paid for, and he wasn't feeling it at all.

"So," Isogai sat down on the stool next to him, adjusting his tie. "How are you enjoying the party?"

"I hate it." Souichi mumbled. "The music is giving me a migraine. And this drink tastes like ass. What was it again?"

"Soju." Isogai murmured, flagging down the bartender to buy a drink. "It's sweet potato liquor."

"Tastes like garbage." Souichi pushed the glass away from him. "And it's not helping; get me something stronger!"

"Souichi, you can't just get blind drunk at a party like this." Isogai said in-between giving the bartender his order. "What if there are paparazzi?"

"I don't care." Souichi buried his head in his crossed arms. "My head fucking hurts."

Isogai sighed, telling the bartender to get him an extra round of rice vodka. He gingerly lifted his hand and rubbed Souichi's back tenderly, gauging the man's reaction. He must've really been suffering if he didn't even shove him off. Isogai felt bad for making him go through this just for Kanako. He really should've weaned Souichi into the loud, fame-induced lifestyle rather than just throwing him into it.

President Ito winded his way through the crowd to get to the bar. He noticed Sandara leaning into her arms and her agent rubbing her back. Was she upset?

"Maa, Sandara," Ito sat down in the stool to Souichi's left and raised his voice over the blaring music, "you can't have fun with this attitude. Is everything alright?"

The blonde lifted his head a bit, blinking his hazel eyes a few times. Sandara looked sleepy and drained, Ito noted subconsciously. What had she been doing to become this exhausted?

"Ah, she just has a bit of a headache is all." Isogai grinned, taking off Souichi's black hat and petting his hair ever so gently.

"Well, did you buy her any alcohol? A little bit goes a long way." Ito laughed, sipping his caramel-colored drink.

Not long enough, Souichi thought to himself. Isogai's hand on his back and hair felt so comforting to him that he could feel himself wanting to fall asleep. It felt just like when the Misses used to pet his head when he would have a headache, so soft and delicate. Isogai's fingers slipped a little too close to his ear and his body jerked up.

"Okay, s-stop that!" Souichi growled, hands adjusting his hair. He had never liked anybody else touching his head with their fingers; his ears were sensitive and touching them gave him uncomfortable feelings. "No more touching me. Where's my drink?"

"Should be coming out soon, Sandara. Don't worry." Isogai assured him with a small smile as he sipped his own clear drink.

"Hey, Sandara," President Ito set down his drink and crossed his arms over the countertop. "Do you see those women over there?" He pointed towards the stage and Souichi followed his finger to where the female group was performing. There were about six or seven women, all attractive and sexy and wearing flashy clothing. They seemed very into their routine, smiles on each of their faces. "You could be just liked them if you wanted to! Very sexy, flashy, very appealing!"

What was this creep saying to him? Was he calling him sexy?

"Don't worry," Ito clapped him on the back. "I'll get you there! Okay? Okay!" Standing up, he sipped his drink and strode over to the tables where other celebrities were.

The drinks finally arrived, and Souichi practically dove right into downing them. This time, the drinks tasted a lot better to him, and he must've taken three or four shots before Isogai stopped him.

"Easy on the alcohol, Sandara." Isogai exhaled, moving the tray of shot glasses away from the swaying blonde. "We can't have you so drunk that you can't stand up."

"Shut up." Souichi mumbled, licking his lips. "I'll get as drunk as I want! Ahh, that damn headache is gone."

Isogai sighed, looking at the rest of the filled glasses on the tray. Four more shots couldn't hurt… right?

"Alright." Isogai stood and brushed off his pants. "I'm gonna go by the stage for a bit. You can drink the rest of these but that's all I'll buy you for the night. You don't have any money, so you can't buy more. If you need me, I'll be by the tables. The other members should be over there if you need anything from them. Alright?"

"Maa, why are you still here?" Souichi whined childishly. Oh yeah, he was drunk. "I got it. Go away."

"Be careful, Sandara." Isogai mumbled as he walked over to the stage. Noticing everybody else dancing to the music, he pulled the closest girl to him and began to dance with her.

Souichi grinned and looked back at the tray of shots. Leaning over the counter, he picked each glass up and downed them between pink lips. His face felt hot and his body had no feeling, but that was okay. He would much rather be feeling ecstatic than having his head pounding. He made a hazy mental note to ask Isogai what brand of alcohol it was for the future.

He spun around in the stool, eyes gazing across where Isogai was with the president and the other band members. The three members were sitting down at the table, President Ito standing behind Tetsuhiro with a tall bottle of champagne in his hands. Isogai simply leaned against the booth seat and engaged in their conversation. Everyone raised their glasses as the cork on the end of the bottle came flying off and white foam spilled everywhere. Tetsuhiro winced as the liquor dripped on his clothing.

"Ah, Sandara!" President Ito called out loudly, loud enough to be heard across the room and over the music. Souichi noticed a banner on the wall next to their table; Congratulations TNShi and Tatsumi Sandara, we pray for future success. "Come join us, Sandara!"

Shrugging, Souichi sluggishly eased himself off of the stool and adjusted his hat as he made his way over to the table.

"This is for you!" Ito grinned and held up a tall chute glass filled with champagne. "It's your party; enjoy it! You're getting exponential publicity this way. To Sandara! Cheers!" Everyone cheered and held their glasses up.

Souichi looked down at the drink in his hands. More alcohol? Don't mind if I do.

The taste wasn't that bad; it was strangely sweet and rich and he liked it. He could feel the other members' eyes on him, and that made him down the alcohol faster. He wanted to forget everything; forget this, forget them, forget this stupid plan. Forget that he was here dressed up like a girl and that anybody could figure him out at any point.

"Oh, Sandara." Isogai suddenly said, setting his drink down on the table. "Come with me. There's someone I want you to meet."

"Hah?" Souichi squinted. "Who?"

"Just come on. Here, get up."

Isogai ended up half-dragging Souichi around the corner near the entrance. Many people looked at him as they walked by; were they judging his appearance? Could they tell by looking that he wasn't a normal female?

Isogai suddenly stopped, and Souichi hadn't been paying attention. A woman in front of them turned around, grinning down at Souichi as she lifted her hand to play with his hair. What the…?

She was taller than him, with long, frizzy brown hair and a stunning face. She reminded Souichi of his friend Kim back at the orphanage; tall, yet athletically built and very assertive. She was wearing a black dress with lots of layers and black high-heeled shoes.

"You're… Souichi?" She pursed her lips, eyes scanning Souichi's body up and down.

His eyes got wide. How did she know who he was? Was this woman stalking him?

"Before you ask any questions," Isogai rubbed his hands together. "This is TNShi's stylist and my older sister, Nani."

"Nice to finally meet you, Souichi-kun~." Her voice was deep but she was very friendly. He hesitantly reached out to shake her hand. "Maa, don't be afraid of me."

"Don't worry. She's on our side." Isogai smiled down at Souichi.

"Nice to meet you." Souichi squinted at her and did his best to force a smile through his drunken haze.

Nani set her drink down on the nearest table and turned back to Souichi. Her arms were crossed and her eyes were narrowed in a way that insisted that she was analyzing him. Kneeling down, she pushed the hem of his jacket up.

"W-what are you doing?" Souichi squeaked out, feeling self-conscious.

"Woah, it's small." She exhaled. "It shouldn't be noticeable with the right panties."

Okay, this day just kept getting weirder and weirder. Why the hell was this woman staring at his genitals?

"Don't touch me." He grumbled. Who did she think she was making fun of his male pride like that?

"Woah, he really is stingy." Nani smiled at Isogai. "No worries. I'm here to help you. I'll take your measurements tomorrow in your bathroom if you'd like, and then I'll have you made some custom-fit clothing. Alright?"

Souichi nodded hesitantly, not really wanting to have anything to do with anybody. He felt dizzy; maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe he needed to sit down for a bit. Maybe he needed another drink.

"Are you alright, Souichi?" Isogai put his hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Here, I know what'll make you feel better! Look, those girls have finished their songs. How about you go over and talk to them? Hm? Come on, I'll walk you over."

"I don't wanna…" Souichi drawled drunkenly. "I wanna drink."

"Maa, Souichi-kun. You've definitely had enough to drink for one night. Come on. Make conversation with those women. They won't bite." Isogai gently ushered him by the shoulders. The females were all in a circle talking to each other, sipping champagne chutes. Souichi couldn't help but gawk at them; they really were very sexy women. Tall, lean bodies, long hair, confident faces, and gorgeous smiles.

He coughed slightly, trying to shove his drunken haze away as much as he could, and walked up to them. The tallest one, with long brown hair and small eyes, noticed him first.

"Oh! You're TNShi's new member!" She exclaimed loudly, drawing the attention of the other girls. "What was your name again?"

"Sandara." Souichi said in his high voice, biting down on his lip. He hoped they couldn't see right through him, especially in this state.

"Ohh, she's so cute!" A shorter one with lighter hair smiled and ruffled Souichi's hair. He had always been fond of women, and he could feel a smile creeping on his lips at all the attention. Kind, gentle women were the people he had grown up around, and they were the kind of people he was most comfortable being around.

"Look at her skin!" Another girl, with long dark hair pulled into a ponytail, raked her nails gently across Souichi's cheek. "It's softer than mine. Aw, that's not fair. What's your secret?"

"You have a secret?" Another one asked. "Aw, tell us! We could really use help with our skincare! Performance acne is just unsightly, and it's a pain to get rid of."

Skincare secrets? Maa… was his skin really that amazing? He just washed it in the morning and at night and when he showered. Was it that hard? Maybe it was because he was a male. No… it was scientifically impossible to be that biased. Acne could occur between both males and females until age 40 or so; mainly until feminine menopause.

"Here," The tallest girl handed him an empty chute glass and poured some champagne in it. "Have another drink." He really didn't want to, but then he really did. Lifting the chute to his lips, he downed the liquid and licked his lips proudly. The girls giggled at him, and he laughed with them. Women made him happy, and he didn't really know why, but he didn't mind in the slightest. Maybe they were just comforting to him.

"Ah," Another girl suddenly grabbed his upper arm and made him turn to look at her. "We should all take a picture! To remember the day that TNShi accepted a new female member, and one so much prettier than us at that!"

"Wh-what are you doing?" Souichi asked uncomfortably as every single girl was hoarding around him and pressing him between them.

"Come on!" The girl with the ponytail held her phone up in front of all of them and smiled at it. "Say cheese!"

Say cheese? Was this what people did when they took pictures? Save for the press conference just a mere couple of hours ago and his family photo with Kanako and Tomoe when they were children, Souichi had never had his picture taken. What were you supposed to do? Were you supposed to look natural? Were you supposed to smile and act put-together? He had no idea what he was supposed to do. Looking at the other girls and seeing how their bodies were slightly bent and they all had perfect smiles and perfect expressions, he guessed it was the second one. Clearing his throat gently, he adjusted the hem of his shirt and wrapped a careful hand around the waist of the girl to his right, turning slightly to the right and smiling.

"Cheese!"

A bright flash zapped from the phone with a soft click and Souichi was surprised he hadn't blinked. It was really bright, even more so than earlier, but he guessed it was because the club was darker than the office.

"Whoa, she's so photogenic!" One of the girls cried out as they looked at the picture. Souichi bit down on his lip. The awkwardness was unbearable. What was he supposed to say? What was he supposed to do?

"Ooh, Sandara, you have to take pictures with us again!"

"You're so adorable, look!"

Souichi nodded and frowned. There were too many people here; just simply too many. He sipped at the champagne in his hand, smacking his lips and sighing. The alcohol had definitely helped since he had gotten here; if he hadn't had a single drop, he was sure he would've gone completely insane and ripped someone's throat out.

He felt the urge to go somewhere. Was he supposed to go somewhere? He couldn't remember. Looking around, he spotted the bar and had the sudden urge to drink some more.

"Ah… I have to… go there…" He mumbled drunkenly.

"Oh, okay." One of the girls said. "Have fun!"

The walk to the bar felt odd. Why was the floor moving beneath him? Why wouldn't it listen to him and stay still? He felt weightless, as if he was floating, and it made him giggle. His lips rimmed the edge of the glass as he leaned against the bar counter.

He could dimly see Isogai's figure approaching through his blurry haze; what did that idiot want now?

"Sandara," Isogai sighed. "You're blind drunk."

"Hey…" Souichi mumbled, "I'm over legal age, I can drink if I wanna."

"How do you feel though?" He noticed Isogai's hands flocking around him as if he would fall over any second. Oh… was he falling? Was that why the floor felt like it was moving? "Are you okay?"

"Me?" Souichi grinned. "I feel good." He had never gotten drunk before, but he had to admit that he was having the most fun he had had in a while. A pink tongue peeked out shyly to gingerly rim the top of the glass, searching for more alcohol. He giggled drunkenly. A bright red blush had spread across his cheeks, and his eyes had gotten dark and lazy. Why did Isogai's body look so disproportionate? It was hysterical to Souichi, and he almost couldn't control the cackles of laughter that spewed from his mouth.

"You've had enough, Sandara." Isogai gritted his teeth, taking the glass from Souichi's limp hands and placing it on the bar counter. "How many drinks did you have? Huh?"

"Drinks." Souichi giggled. "I like… drinks…"

"Here, stand up." Isogai placed his hands on Souichi's arms and pressed him against the wall. "Stand."

"Standing is boring." Souichi mumbled. "I wanna dance."

Isogai sighed. "You need water."

"I need alcohol."

"No, Sandara, you need water. Ice water. You've had enough alcohol for this week."

"Ice water? That doesn't sound delicious."

"Sandara." Isogai knelt down to Souichi's level. "You need to sober up. I can't have you running around blind drunk when there could potentially be paparazzi roaming around."

"I'm fine. Just get me some more to drink."

"No, Sandara. You need some water. You stay right here and I'll get you some ice water. Okay? Stay here."

"Get me something to eat." Souichi mumbled when Isogai left, and the man just waved his hand behind him in response. Psh, he didn't need ice water. He needed alcohol. He hiccupped and covered his breastbone. Suddenly he didn't feel so good. "Bathroom… where's the bathroom…"

The floor would not stop moving no matter how much he told it to. Every step he took felt like he was walking up a water slide. Well, it was better than that horrible headache. Damn loud music making his head hurt. His stomach roiled as he made his way up the staircase. Oh god, he felt like he would vomit any second. His head was spinning and he felt as if he would pass out on the floor.

Leaning against the wall didn't help any either; the wall was moving just as much as the floor. Why was everything moving in this stupid building? Didn't it have any balance?

"Where's the damn bathroom in this place…"

Not having glasses felt like a huge handicap to him. He could barely read the signs on any of the doors; how was he supposed to know which one was a bathroom? What if he opened a door thinking it was a bathroom and it turned out to be a fire escape? Was he really about to vomit in a fire escape? What if he opened one of the doors and wound up in a hall closet and vomited all over other peoples' coats?

He passed by a brown door and squinted at the kanji on the sign, barely making out that it was a bathroom before shoving the door open. His feet refused to work properly and he nearly fell on the counter multiple times. Ah… he needed to get to the toilet. Toilet… where was the toilet…

He felt hands on his shoulders turning him around, and he squinted at Yamaguchi's face.

"Sandara?" Yamaguchi cocked his head. "What are you doing in here?"

"Shut up, I gotta… toilet…" Souichi mumbled drunkenly.

"Huh? Do you have to pee? But… the women's bathroom is down the hall."

Oh… he was in a male bathroom.

"Ah, right," Souichi giggled. "Female, I'm a female."

"Here, you must've drank too much. I can take you there." Yamaguchi gently pushed Souichi by his arms.

"No." Souichi shoved the man's hands off of him. "I can do it."

"You seem really drunk, Sandara. And you smell like liquor." Yamaguchi winced. "Come on, let me help."

"No, I'm fine!" Souichi struggled in the blonde's hands.

"Let's go Sandara! Come on."

"I'm fine~."

"The bathroom's down this way."

Souichi stomped and shoved him off. "Shut up! I can do it!"

"Oh… okay…" Yamaguchi raised his hands innocently. "The bathroom's that way."

Souichi nodded, stumbling towards the end of the hall. Huh? There were no doors here. Maybe it was upstairs. Was there another upstairs? There had to be another upstairs.

Turning left, he noticed more stairs at the end of the slender hallway. Aha, there was another upstairs! Hopefully the bathroom was up there. Hopefully the floor in that bathroom didn't move like the ocean. He knew he was helplessly drunk, and it was funny as anything to him. He was laughing at himself, giggling as he walked down the hall and bumped into the metallic walls. He was all over the place, and it couldn't be funnier. He could barely maneuver up the stairs, tripping over his own heavy feet.

Stepping past the last stair, he felt a cool breeze meet his hot face, and he basked in the feeling it gave him. Oh… were all bathrooms this windy?

He had gone to the rooftop, and suddenly he felt better. He felt better that he was outside, and maybe the stuffiness of being inside was making the nausea worse than it really was. The air was cool and it made him feel calm and sleepy. Stumbling over to the rooftop railing, he yawned and stretched his arms.

"Ah… I feel like… I'm gonna… hah…"

The bronze metal of the railing was cold and Souichi liked the feeling it gave him. His body had felt so hot from all that drinking that it was making him loopy. He sighed, giggling as air brushed his face.

Tetsuhiro stood up from where he was leaning over the railing, turning his head towards the sight of a helplessly drunk Sandara Tatsumi. He smirked. He knew she would get blind drunk at her first club party. He knew she would be a nuisance to everybody here. He knew she had a weak conscious with her "new member jitters". Psh, new member jitters? That was such bullshit. Not even Tetsuhiro had any new member jitters when he created the band.

But wait; why was Sandara on the rooftop? Wasn't she inside drinking with Yamaguchi and Hiroto and the singers? She really was annoying, stalking him every choice she got. No… she couldn't have known that he was up here if she was that drunk. She must've just stumbled up here by accident. Why did she leave the bar if she wanted to get drunk?

He watched her lean over the railing and laugh dumbly. Uncontrollable, that's what women were. They did whatever they pleased, whenever they pleased. Women were good at nothing except making fools of themselves.

Souichi curled his fingers on the rail and leaned over it, head hanging down. The air felt good, but suddenly he felt queasy again. What was going on with his body today? He didn't feel good, and he felt his stomach rebelling against him. He could feel something coming up as his body craned over the railing. Was he going to vomit?

He started gagging, feeling it coming. His head jerked over the railing, trying to expel whatever it was that was disagreeing with him from his body. His body curled a bit too far and his feet slipped, and he could feel a distant sense of terror as his body nearly toppled over the railing, hair flying outwards. He came back to his senses when he felt fingers curl around the back of his collar and pull him sharply backwards.

"Are you insane?!" It was Tetsuhiro's voice that invaded his ears after he was pulled from the railing. He had pulled him away from vomiting? Why? Why couldn't this asshole just leave him be and let him do what he wanted?

"What?" Souichi drawled lazily.

"What do you mean 'what'? You almost fell off the building." Tetsuhiro crossed his arms. "You need to be more careful."

"Shut up. Let me do what I want."

"No, Sandara, you signed our contract, so now we have to look after you."

"I feel really queasy…" Souichi moaned painfully, hunching over as his arms wrapped around his stomach. He needed to vomit; now.

"Well, I'm sure Isogai told you to lay off of the drinking so this exact scenario wouldn't be happening. I knew you'd do this."

"Sh-shut up!"

The gagging came back with a vengeance as his head whipped around for places for him to empty his stomach.

Tetsuhiro furrowed his eyebrows. What was this girl doing? Was she mocking him? "Are you alright?"

Souichi answered with a loud gag, nearly falling to his knees. Of course he wasn't fucking alright, he was fucking about to throw up on the rooftop of a nightclub! Was this guy a fucking idiot?

Tetsuhiro sighed and flicked his hand. "Go to the bathroom. Hurry up."

Souichi shook his head, gagging loudly in response. Why wouldn't this asshole help him get up and go to the damn toilet?

"Don't vomit on me!" Tetsuhiro barked and stepped back a little. "W-where do you need to go?" He said hesitantly, lips screwed tight. How was he supposed to know what to do with a person that was drunk like this? He had always known how to handle his alcohol and never drank too much.

"T-toilet… I need…"

The toilet was downstairs and down the right hall. He knew they wouldn't make it in time; Sandara would throw up on him on the way down the staircase. God dammit, if only this woman could learn how to control herself, they wouldn't be in this situation.

He sighed and placed his hands on his hips, looking around for places for Sandara to vomit. The potted plants on the concrete? No, that was defiling of public property. Over the railing? Over the railing…

"Here," Tetsuhiro grabbed Sandara's collar and yanked her body to the railing. "Vomit."

Ah, finally, a place where Souichi could empty his stomach. His fingers fumbled on the railing as his body lurched forward and his stomach clenched. The bile burned his throat and he gagged and coughed, regretting drinking so much alcohol. He knew he should've listened to Isogai, but he just couldn't help it. The taste was horrid; he had never vomited in his life before, not even from food poisoning or viruses. The nauseous feeling was incredibly strong, and it made him so dizzy he felt he would fall.

The smell was just as bad; Tetsuhiro's face contorted uncomfortably as he tried to hold back on emptying his own stomach. God, this woman was just disgusting from start to finish. She was rude, dirty, nosy, and everything he hated about people. He tried focusing on the cars moving down the highway in the distance to distract himself from the sound of Sandara's gagging. That alone was making him queasy, and she certainly didn't smell like a flower either.

Souichi's body crumpled to the floor once he was finished, and he sighed and ran his fingers through his tangled hair. "I feel better."

Tetsuhiro winced and retracted his hand gingerly, wiping it on his shirt with a disgusted face. He wanted a long, thorough shower once he got back to the dorms; one where he could spend an hour just cleaning his body.

"Are you done?" He asked with a grimace.

Souichi nodded. "Yeah."

Yamaguchi and Hiroto came bursting from the fire escape and ran over to Souichi. Yamaguchi sighed, seemingly relieved, and Hiroto's face was distorted with worry.

"Is everything alright?" Hiroto asked. "Sandara was missin' for a while."

"Oh," Yamaguchi pointed at Tetsuhiro. "You guys are together?"

"Shut it." Tetsuhiro growled, crossing his arms. "There's nothing between us. She had to intrude upon me standing out here for some fresh air and decided to vomit over the side of the building."

"Are ye feeling a bit better?" Hiroto asked, reaching down to pull Souichi up. The blonde clumsily got to his feet, his body still weak and his head still dizzy.

"Mm," Souichi nodded, "I feel a lot better now."

"H-hey," Yamaguchi cocked his head and curled his lips up in disgust, "You… you said you had to go to the bathroom… did you pee here? D-did you go to the bathroom up here?" Sandara giggled in response, causing Yamaguchi to cringe. Tetsuhiro was staring down at the top of a crown of blonde hair, scowling heatedly. Yamaguchi scratched his nape nervously and looked up at Hiroto. What had gone on up here?

Hiroto was curious as well, but asking Tetsuhiro what happened would only result in yelling. Finding a better option to avoid the subject, he smirked out of nowhere. "Ohya, all of the members are together at last."

Yamaguchi laughed awkwardly. "Yeah. Since we're all together, should we welcome her properly?"

"Why the hell should we do anything?" Tetsuhiro looked at them. "Do you not see what condition she is in?"

"Aw, come on Tetsuhiro! Don't be sour!"

Souichi made a noise that sounded like a whine mixed with a laugh. "Stop talking and get me some more alcohol."

"No." Tetsuhiro barked. "That's the last thing you need."

Souichi grumbled and stood up, stumbling feet carrying him over to the bench by the railing. He felt like he could fly, so why not try to?

"Hey… Sandara, where are you going?" Yamaguchi called out.

"Up your ass." He mumbled drunkenly.

"What are you doing?" Tetsuhiro asked monotonously. Hiroto and Yamaguchi whispered amongst themselves about what was going on. Why was Sandara suddenly so bubbly? Was it because she was drunk? Had Tetsuhiro done something?

Don't tell me he… made a move on her…

"Woah." Souichi's hands reached out to steady himself as he climbed on top of the bench, feet wobbly as they tried to gain balance. He was so close to the sky, so close to flying out into that gigantic, dark world out there. The lights on the horizon were gorgeous and sparkly, all of different shades of orange and pink. He wanted to be like them, wanted to be a gorgeous blinking light on the horizon. He would be free, free of these men, free of every problem in the world and he would be happy.

"Woah, she's really unique." Yamaguchi cocked his head. Hiroto laughed in response.

"I think it's about to get entertaining." Hiroto grinned.

His hands reached out as he tried to touch the dark sky. His fingers twitched as he pushed higher and higher, trying to get closer.

"Why bother to stick around?" Tetsuhiro narrowed his eyes, "Let her get herself killed. She deserves it."

"Tetsuhiro!" Yamaguchi smacked him in the chest, causing him to narrow his eyes. "Don't you dare say that about Sandara! She did nothing to you!"

"She's a nuisance."

"She's an innocent girl!"

The sky had never felt so big; was it really this enormous? "The sky is so big…" Souichi exclaimed, trying to push his hand higher. "I feel like I can really touch it."

Yamaguchi furrowed his eyebrows and looked up at the sky; was it really that close?

Souichi wasn't satisfied with being this close to the ground, so he decided to take it up a notch and step into one of the bars of the railing. He could feel himself getting higher, and higher, and closer to the stars up in the sky, swimming among a sea of electric white dots that twinkled as he passed them-

Tetsuhiro noticed Sandara's body starting to sway; was she going to fall? Oh, that would just make his fucking day. That's all he really wanted was for her to get lost. She was the biggest nuisance he had ever met, and now being in a band wasn't fun at all. It wasn't his first choice of a career, either; he had used to want to be a physics professor. He had always been rather good at science, even in elementary school. He eventually got blinded from his real dreams when he fell in love, and when his first love broke his heart, he forgot all about studying physics.

"Oh…" Yamaguchi exclaimed, eyes widening as he saw Sandara's body wavering. "Is she gonna fall?"

Souichi couldn't feel his body. Why wasn't it listening to him? He had absolutely no feeling anywhere in his body, and he just felt an overwhelming sense of exhaustion. Maa, how late was it? He was tired… was it almost bedtime? Miss Yuki hadn't come to tuck him in yet… could barely… keep… eyes open…

"Oh…"

"Oh!"

Souichi felt his legs give out as his body turned, and just like a star, he fell.

He fell, but he didn't know when he stopped. His vision was hazy, and his head felt like it was in another dimension. He could feel in the pit of his stomach that he was falling, but where was he falling? Did he fall off of the building? Did he fall back onto the concrete of the rooftop?

"Sandara!"

He had noticed the other members rushing to his side, so maybe he didn't fall off of the building. What were they doing there? Why couldn't everyone just leave him alone?

He could hear church bells; was he back at the orphanage? Was he back with Mika and Kim and the Misses? Was he back cooking breakfast and cleaning the garden statues? He wanted to sleep; he wanted to crawl into his soft, brown bed and burrow under the cotton comforter and drift away into a peaceful sleep.

He didn't remember when he lost consciousness. He had been flying in the sky when the other members started yelling at him. He didn't remember what they were saying. Were they laughing at him? Were they flying with him? He couldn't remember what they were doing, but he did distinctly remember falling on top of somebody and his body emptying the last of itself. That was when he blacked out.

"Here, you grab his arm and carry him out to the van. I've already called Sandara's agent to bring the van around to the parking garage."

"Maa, she really did drink a lot, didn't she?"

"Hm. We gotta get her home."

"Alright, I've got him. You take her with you."

"Ugh… she's surprisingly heavy."

"What did she eat?"

"Eh, I'd say about… two gallons of alcohol?"

"Woah… she's gonna be feeling this in the morning."

Slinging Sandara's unconscious body over his shoulder, he supported her with his hand at her lower back. She really was a trouble maker, huh? He hadn't known until he had seen her on the rooftop. He didn't know how much she had to drink, and he knew that it had to be a lot to make her that loopy and giggly. Hell, it had to have been a lot to make her vomit on the roof. She really needed to learn to control herself in public if she wanted to be successful.

Isogai had been more than helpful when he called him and said that Sandara had passed out. The agent had advised them to take Sandara down to the parking garage and he would bring the TN Entertainment van around to get her. He also told the members not to take off any of her clothing if in case they were worried about her body temperature. They wondered why, but they didn't question it.

For being so thin and tall, he was surprised that Sandara was so heavy. If she was such a binge drinker, how did she keep herself so fit? He noticed that her body was rather hard as well. Female bodies were usually soft and squishy, so why was hers so hard? Holding onto her arms felt like squeezing another one of the member's arms. It was stiff and toned, albeit being a lot lankier, however just like theirs. Why was her entire body toned like this?

"Oh, look! There's the van!"

"Alright, let's get her in the back seat. Do you have him?"

"Yeah, he's fine. Still unconscious, but fine."

"Maa, they're gonna regret butting heads when they wake up."

"Oh, I don't think he'll necessarily be pleased when he finds out that he locked lips with Sandara."

"Well, I don't think she will be too happy either."

Isogai met them by the exit of the parking garage like he said he would. Noticing the members coming in the distance, he hurried to open both doors to the back seat and push the seat back as far as it would go.

"How did this happen?" He asked, rushing over to their side.

"Maa, Sandara got really drunk and vomited on the roof and passed out. But don't worry, she's fine otherwise. She said she felt better once she emptied her stomach."

Isogai looked at Souichi's unconscious body as well as the one of the other member. Ah, jeez. He hoped he wouldn't need to be involved in a filed lawsuit because of this.

"I told her not to drink a lot! Ah, Christ…"

He knew exactly why Souichi let this happen to himself. One, he had never drank liquor before because he believed it was a sin and he couldn't stop himself once he'd had a small taste; two, there was so much thick tension between him and the other members that he wanted to get drunk to alleviate the pressure; and three, he had never been put in such a boisterous atmosphere before.

But where did Souichi get extra alcohol from? Isogai only bought him one round of strong shots, and surely that couldn't make him that tipsy. The first round of shots was pretty weak; he had even bought himself three or four shots of soju and hadn't felt a thing. But after that, Souichi only had the sake shots and Isogai had left him alone. Had the girls given him extra alcohol? Ah, jeez… that was the last thing he needed. He knew Souichi would really be feeling it when he woke up.

"Alright, who do you want to put in first?"

"Let's put him in first; he takes up more room."

"Alright. Here, you hold the seat back."

Being careful as to not unnecessarily injure them, Isogai managed to maneuver both Souichi and the member into the back seat of the van. He had to push up the member's long legs and fold them to get them both to fit, but that was fine.

"Okay, one of you is going to have to ride in the back with them and make sure they don't fall, and the other can ride up front with me."

"What do we do with them when we get home?"

"Eh… one of you can pull out a futon or something in the living room and we'll put them on it. You don't mind having a sleepover in the living room, do you?"

"Nah~."

"Alright, climb in then. We gotta get these two home before they wake up and slice our throats."

A/N And so comes the close of Part 1.

Each Part will be divided into four chapters, each of which I try to make somewhat equal in length.

This is all I will upload for now; gotta get Puppet and Boy In The Staircase rolling, but I wanted to finish Part 1 for you guys.

Cliffhangerssssss.

So please favorite and review c: it makes me feel good about my writing ;-;

-Brittany