TRACK 5
Go with the flow – Queens of the Stone Age.
Hiyori barely had time to react before Yato began to run through the enormous garden, followed close by that guy named Daikoku. Shyly, the girl approached Yukine, who was just watching the scene calmly, like an everyday thing.
"Is… is there any problem? Does Yato owes him something?"
Yukine turned to look at her, a tad confused. He then smiled and crossed his arms behind his head, lazily entering the house. The double door was open.
"Probably his life, you know. Being Yato, you never know."
Yato also entered the house chased by Daikoku and Hiyori dared to follow them. Once in the hall, she let out a "sorry to disturb" that was barely perceptible, and began to wonder if she should take out her shoes, listening to the ruckuss the chase made. It was just then when she could heard beside her a youthful little voice. It was the same from the intercom at the gate.
"Hi hi! Why don't we know each other?"
Hiyori turned around and was very surprised about finding a girl which age was hard to guess with just one look. She was wearing a t-shirt with a panda design and a pair of jeans that ran big on her, probably because the owner seemed to be the guy trying to kill Yato. Her bright bubblegum pink hair surely made her the center of attention wherever she went, plus, she was incredibly cute. Blushing over her unpoliteness, Hiyori began to introduce herself bowing down deeply, and when she looked up again, the girl was giving her a sweet smile. After a spark in her eyes, she took her by the arm with a powerful grip and led her -dragged her, to one of the adjacent rooms, a Japanese style living room, with a kotatsu at the center, while she chatted merrily.
"My name is Kofuku, Hiyorin~! It's a pleasure meeting you! Here! Sit! Let's eat some pastries!"
Hiyori didn't know if to thank the fact she was being treated, to take off her shoes, or tell her it was completely inappropriate to give her a nickname when they had literally minutes of knowing each other's names. When she understood what had happened, she was already sitting at the nice and warm kotatsu and Kofuku was pouring cups of tea. Yukine was at the kotatsu too, lying down with the TV remote in one hand, changing channels absentmindedly.
"Kokki, honey! Leave Yatty-chan alone and come have a cup of tea!~"
"Honey". Hiyori felt really embarrassed, she just had noticed that not only Kofuku had confirmed that the man from before was her guy, but also that he was no Yakuza. The unkempt beard, a different hairdo and the clothing made hard for her to tell Daikoku was no one less than Kokki, SHRINE's impossibly skilled drummer. Hiyori felt a gaze upon her, and turned to Yukine, who turned again immediately to look back at the TV. What the hell was all this?
Yato entered the living room sprinting, and hid behind Hiyori. Daikoku followed him.
"Are you really that pathetic that you have to hide behind a schoolgirl to avoid me breaking your neck in two?"
Yato smiled to Hiyori, replying to her curious look.
"Don't worry, Hiyori, this guy looks terrifying but what you really should be careful about is that he is totally into kids."
He told her that somewhat rushed and in a whisper, but it was loud enough for Daikoku to close his huge hands into fists.
"You bastard!"
"It's nothin' but the truth! Your happiness is endless every time you look at Yukine…"
"Don't drag me into your stupid problems, dude" said Yukine, waving one hand without taking his eyes away from the TV.
Daikoku threw himself to Yato's neck and dragged him a little further, so he could shake Yato to his heart's content without bothering Hiyori.
"I'm glad to see things around here have not changed," said a polite and manly voice. The girl turned around to the living room's door, and saw an elegant gentleman with a sharp suit and a fedora flirtratiously placed over his crisp gray ponytail, and a goatee and moustache that gave him a sybarite look. Kofuku received him with a somewhat easy manner, but still showing respect, standing to ask for his coat and his hat.
"Tenjin-san! Welcome! We were expecting you!"
Daikoku dropped Yato and hurried to look for another cup of tea. Yukine turned the TV off and Yato -who had fell to the floor with a loud thump, simply arranged his clothes and retreated to a corner looking at the garden through the window.
"It's been a while, Yato!"
The guy looked at Tenjin, who just chuckled. Apparently Yato usually behaved like that with him. He thanked his tea to Daikoku and turned to look at Hiyori, with curiosity.
"Young girl, it is a pleasure to meet you." Hiyori blushed and bowed down so much she could actually see the bottom of his tea cup.
"I-it's a pleasure to meet you, sir! My name is Iki Hiyori!"
"Iki Hiyori? My name is Tenjin Michio." With a dashing movement, the man handed her a card with his name. Below the kanji in which 'Tenjn Michio' was read, were the words 'Executive Producer'. "Are you joining us today for the meeting?"
Suddenly, Hiyori didn't knew what to say. Yato spoke harshly from his corner: "She doesn't know nothing, geezer, leave her. She won't make no harm."
Tenjin looked at her, even more interested. "Oh, I see, I see. It is indeed strange that someone your age does not know about this amazing band!"
She couldn't remove her eyes from her tea, completely embarrassed. She could feel Yukine's eyes staring at her. This pose was getting out of her hands.
"I… am busy with my studies, sir."
"Oh, really? Which grade are you now?"
"It's my first year of high school, sir."
"What are you majoring into? Have you decided yet?"
The girl opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out of it. She closed it again with discomfort.
"Okay, enough of this interrogation!" Snapped Yato, "the hell do you want!?" Instead of getting offended, Tenjin smiled.
"Impatient as always, aren't we, Yato-kun?" he continued, after another brief look at Hiyori. "Very well, let me get straight to the point. Right now, I don't consider you as any asset to my company if you're not producing anything besides your record's sales."
Yato looked outside again. Money. Of course.
"With this said, I'm seeing myself in the shameful need of giving you a deadline."
Yukine sat upright. "A deadline?"
"That's right, Yukine-kun. Thanks to someone, Viina ended up sick of this band and you were left without a singer. A band without a voice is like an astronaut without oxygen. He will end up dying sooner or later."
Yato let out a loud huff. "She left b'coz she wanted! You're never going to stop thinking it's my fault, d'ya'?"
"I am not going to deny you have a very difficult personality and a very peculiar tendency to throw tantrums for absolutely no reason at all."
"This is ridiculous!" Yato left his place, jolting up. "Just settle your terms and leave! The others will pass me your memo!"
"Yatty, where are you going?" asked Kofuku, making a pouty face.
"I'll be outside, where I can't see this damn goat's face."
Tenjin didn't lose his temper. Hiyori thought that was rather admirable due the horrible attitude Yato was displaying at the time.
"Always running away, Yato-kun! Why don't you drop that act? It is rather obvious that even when you think you have total control over your life, I am actually observing closely each movement you make."
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Yato said, barely turning his face to look at him, standing right at the door.
"You did not wanted to come living under the same roof as your fellow band mates, scared of us taking your precious freedom away. I actually know exactly where are you all the time, Yato-kun. Did you really thought we were going to let you out there at your fate?"
Yato furrowed his eyebrows, and stomped out the room with loud steps. The front door opened, and he went out slamming the door. Tenjin sighed when Kofuku tried to apologize.
"My dear, worry not. I actually did wanted to talk to him, and he's at least aware of the most important part." He stood up slowly and took his coat and hat from the hangers on the wall. "Please do not take this the wrong way, in this business, ultimatums are a dynamic thing. Work hard, in three months I want to see you with a new singer, and new material to review and schedule in-studio hours." He turned to look at Daikoku, "make sure he gets his ass to rehearsals." Daikoku nodded and set himself to see Tenjin away.
"Easier said than done, but I will." The old man smiled. With a gesture with his hat, he bid farewell to Hiyori and the rest.
"I will see you later, everyone, Iki-san."
The front door closed again with a tinkling sound, and this time they did hear the cracking of the gravel of the trail under the producer's car tires. Hiyori met with Kofuku's eyes, that looked at her as knowing all the questions she wanted to make.
"Tenjin is our producer," she informed her, with a dreamy smile, "he has been from a long time. Some years ago, Kokki and the others performed at a pub in which he was at, and when I saw he liked the music I approached and we chatted a lil' bit." When she saw Hiyori still giving her a completely lost look, she noted: "I'm the band manager," and gave her a bright smile. Hiyori looked at the two people remaining at the living room.
"So… a band," she stated, even when she already knew the answer.
"And one of the best ones," scoffed Yukine, proudly.
Hiyori smiled.
The sun had already gone when Tenjin left. Daikoku didn't enter the house again. He walked to the left instead until reaching a tile porch from which a little pond garden extended forth. He took the cigar box out of his pocket and lit one skillfully. After the first cloud of smoke, he relaxed over one of the stilts.
"…the fuck are you looking at, you damn idiot?" he let out, apparently to no one.
"I f… I forgot my lighter."
Daikoku looked at Yato. The light of the little pond barely touched the young man's profile, who was holding a cigarette between his lips, sitting hunched in one of the benches under the porch. Daikoku threw him his zippo, and Yato catched it mid-air.
"Thanks, man." He lit his cigarette and threw the zippo back at Daikoku. After a somewhat brief silence, Yato spoke again. "I s'pose it's time for us to get our shit together and work, huh?"
The man brushed his hand against his hair, exasperated. "Unless you make Viina come back, I don't see how are we going to get out of this."
Yato let out a bitter laugh. "Viina wouln't come back for all the world's gold," he put out his cigarette against the floor with violent stomps "and I wouln't ask her even if my life depended on that."
"That goddamn pride you both have!" spitted Daikoku.
Yato began walking again to the inside of the house. He gazed upon the man with the corner of his eye.
"Sometimes I feel that's the only thing I have left."
Hiyori had barely realized what time it was. It wasn't until Daikoku offered her a second cup of tea that she turned to look at the living room's clock on the wall, and she stormed off, followed closely by Yato. He couldn't reach her before the end of the street. Yukine was also behind them.
"Whoa whoa whoa wait! The hell you think you're going by yourself?" let out Yato, when she finally stopped running. Hiyori was about to have a panic attack.
"I didn't even realize it was this late! They are surely worried at home!" Walking fast, Hiyori approached the station.
"Hey! Relax! They haven't even called you yet!" Yato laughed, following her much easier.
"Call me where?!"
"To… your mobile phone?" He quickly began to realize the situation, and Hiyori thought his eyes were coming off his face for the surprise. "YOU DON'T OWN ONE?!"
Pissed, Hiyori hurried up. The station was close.
"Repeat what you said previously about not being amis, please, I would love to hear that again."
"Are you always this obnoxious? I don't see the need for you to be like this."
"It's hard to know the usefulness of things when you haven't thought you need a mobile phone."
Hiyori let out a groan of exasperation, while she scanned her prepaid card on the station entrance. Surprised, she saw Yato and Yukine doing the same.
"The hell you're doing?"
"Do you seriously think we would let you around there by yourself at this hour WITHOUT A MOBILE PHONE?"
"OH GOD." Hiyori turned away, spinning on his heels.
Despite Yato's constant teasing, the road back home was a lot quicker of what she expected. When she realized, she was already at the station closer to her home. The boys stepped out of the train with her.
"Thank you for the company, it was very nice of you."
"Have a nice rest, Hiyori!" Said Yukine, "It was a pleasure to meet you!" she smiled.
"Same to you!" and she began walking. A couple seconds later she heard someone running after her.
"Hey, wait! Where do I send the messenger pigeon? In case of, you know, you wanting to see me again." Hiyori looked at Yato directly. A smug smile was spreading all over his face.
"If you keep bothering me, nowhere at all."
"Aren't you impressed?"
"About what, exactly!?"
Yato blushed.
"W… I- I have a band!"
After a few seconds of silence, Hiyori laughed. Yato looked away, totally embarrassed.
"What was that? You sound like a middle school boy!"
"Tsk! Whatever!" said Yato, rummaging at the inside of his pockets, and found one minuscule piece of paper. "Pen!" Hiyori blinked a few times before removing the inside of his portfolio. The pen was given back to her, along with the paper with something written in it. "Yo do know how to use e-mails, right?"
Hiyori gave him a venomous look.
"Of course! I'll have to make my donkey walk faster to generate more electricity, but I think I have everything under conrol."
Yato smiled.
"That's better than a messenger pigeon," he turned around to go back to Yukine, "give your donkey a carrot for me."
Hiyori looked at them getting away, with her gaze fixed on Yato's shoulder. After another few seconds, she jolted again and hurrily headed home.
"What the HELL was all that?" said Yukine, while waiting for the return train.
"What are you talking about," Yato asked.
"Man, you look like a lost puppy!" let out the blond guy, wrinkling his nose. "It's cool you ended up with this already. You thank her, you made her have a nice afternoon and you returned her home! We can all continue with our lives like if nothing happened."
They entered a wagon in the train that just arrived. Yato paid close attention to the name of that station.
"Sure."
Hiyori noticed the little piece of paper she had in her hand until several minutes later. Opening it carefully, she discovered that Yato had, indeed, written down his email there. "What does all this means?". Hiyori was thinking about using a computer from her school the next day to send him an email when, all of a sudden, she remembered that tomorrow she would probably have no school the next day. Disheartened, she folded the little paper away (was it a candy wrapper?) and saved it in her wallet while she thought what was she going to tell her parents. "Just one more corner" she thought, and she froze at the minute she turned to that corner.
The walls of her house were lit with blues and reds of the police car lights. Hiyori ran down the street, full speed.