Chapter 11 - Interview.

That afternoon, two days after the disastrous rehearsal, the band members meet again, now for an interview at Ameba Studio in Harajuku, which is a radio studio open to the public that distributes live broadcasts of its programs online. It's quite peculiar because its recording room has a glass wall facing the street where everyone passing by can see and hear the interviewees. Only 400 people will be able to watch the Gazette from outside the studio.

The Gazette have been invited to the launch of their new album Ninth, which has just gone on sale, and they will be discussing and promoting 'Ninth' live! The interview was scheduled for 6pm and the cocktail around 7pm.

At around 5:30pm, Uruha arrives with Aoi, as Aoi's apartment is the closest to the radio station, and is greeted by interviewer Minami Hanabe, a young Japanese actress with fair skin, almond eyes and short dark hair.

Ruki and Reita arrived a few minutes later, going straight to meet their friends to find out about Uruha's test results. That very day, Kai had called Ruki to tell him that he and Aoi had ended up taking Uruha to hospital after the rehearsal, that Uruha had been very angry because of the lie and that they had forced him to take the tests after all those strange events.

Still at the entrance to the radio station, they are waiting for Kai, who texted that the cab was stuck in traffic this late afternoon. Meanwhile, Minami accompanies them to a room with a sofa and on one wall there are mirrors with lights around them, tables with velvet chairs on the table, green bottles of water in the shape of amoebae, wet wipes, a printed sheet with the interview script, a sort of dressing room for the artists to touch up their make-up and fix their hair.

A few minutes after they had settled down on the sofa, Kai arrived a little flustered and nervous about the cab's delay, thinking he would be late for the interview. After the scare, he greets Minami, who offers him a drink of water to calm his nerves. Kai thanks the young woman for her kindness and gives her a dimpled smile, making Minami blush and smile back. The young woman is very charming and pleases the drummer, who seems to be attracted by her beauty and goes to join his friends on the sofa.

- Kai-kun, breaking hearts wherever he goes - Reita comments, laughing as the young girl blushes at the leader's smile. - One more for our leader's fan club.

- Reita-kun, it's not my fault they love my dimples - Kai replies to his friend as he takes a sip of water and goes over to Uruha.

- Uruha-kun, did you take the tests? Have the results come back? - Kai asks, as he hasn't heard anything since he and Aoi left him at the hospital.

- You shouldn't even be talking to Kai-san. - Uruha still looks angry - After you and Aoi-san lied and forced me to go to the hospital.

Uruha crosses his arms and frowns in disapproval at his friends' behavior, even though he doesn't like going to hospitals.

- Uruha-kun, stop being boring and tell me! - Ruki, sitting on the other side of the sofa, is already telling his friend - Is there a cure for your sluggishness?

- And have you found a cure for dwarfism? - Uruha asks the dwarf, who keeps teasing him - Yuu, aren't you going to say anything? - Ruki never misses a chance to tease me.

- The interview's about to start, I don't want you two bickering. - Aoi replies, putting an end to their teasing - You can't see each other, you have to poke each other.

- But Yuu! It's all your fault! Being an accomplice of the leader-sama Kai - Uruha replies, showing indignation at the two of them. - You know I hate going to the hospital, especially after you said I was fine.

- My fault! You're as stubborn as a stuck mule. - Kai-kun, here's the thing, the tests didn't show anything, even the electroencephalus... I don't know what it's called, but I know it's a heart scan and it didn't show any sequelae.

- That's good to know, I was worried. That's a weight off my back. - Kai sighs with relief even though Uruha continues to look disapprovingly at him - As band leader I feel responsible for each of you.

- Stuck mule! - Reita starts laughing at Aoi's comment - That's why you're slow...

Uruha wanted to attack him, who was standing next to Ruki at the other end of the sofa, but they were interrupted by the friendly Minami, who turned to Kai to tell him that the live interview was about to start, saying that they had about five minutes to get ready.

They get up and go to the mirrors to fix their hair, and a young production girl comes in with powder so that their faces don't shine during the filming.

- There'll be change, wait for me Reita-chan! - Uruha continues to fight back as she fixes her hair and dusts her face.

- I'd better wait until you think about it, I'll get tired standing up. - Reita doesn't let it go and keeps up the bullying.

- Enough! Don't you know when to stop? We're not at school or playing soccer anymore. - Aoi stands in the middle of the two, looking in the mirror, laughing as she remembers that they've known each other for so long and it still looks like they're two kids fighting - Pretend you're adults.

- Stay cool, Aoi-san! - Reita replies, looking at Aoi. "I'll deal with Uruha-kun later.

- Let's go! I'm getting nervous. - Ruki cuts off their conversation, following the interviewer and pulling Reita away from Uruha.

Then they're standing at the studio door, just waiting for the red On Air light to go on. They form their usual circle before entering the stage with Kai's war cry, and now they're ready and confident to go in for the interview and face the audience and hope that everything goes well.

(...)

The red light goes on and the door opens. This is the signal for them to enter the studio. One at a time, they settle into the chairs with a large table, where there are five microphones and some cameras positioned to record the interview, as well as a bottle of water with a straw for one of them and a sheet with the interview script. As they sit down, they look very nervous. This particular room faces the street with a huge glass window where 400 people gather in front of the studio to get a close-up view of them.

The interviewer, Minami Hanabe, begins with audio made by a radio announcer telling the story of the band with the background music 99.999, an instrumental soundtrack from the album Ninth.

Announcer: The GazettE is a Visual Kei JRock band. The band was born in 2002, they started playing in nightclubs, and with the addition of new drummer Kai, they started traveling and playing around the country. As Visual kei became known, they began to gain attention around the world.

The GazettE played their first concert abroad in Germany in 2006. They went on their first world tour in 2013! They are now in the middle of their new World Tour, three years after their last album Dogma. They've already played in North America, and now they're off to Latin America, Europe and Asia.

As soon as the announcer's vignette finishes introducing the band, Minami greets everyone very happily, and in the background, another Ninth song can be heard.

- Minna-san, Konnichiwa! - Minami starts the online broadcast, the people in front of the glass are euphoric, they are very embarrassed and wave sometimes.

- Ameba studio in Harajuku, with Special with The Gazette and their new album, Ninth. - Everyone claps to continue talking - Now in this studio are all the members of The Gazette in full force, finally the new album has been released after 3 years.

Minami asks everyone in the band to introduce themselves to the audience again.

- I'm The Gazette's guitarist, Uruha yoroshiku onegai shimasu. - Uruha bends down to speak, Minami also thanks him and claps his hands.

- I'm the drummer, Kai, yoroshiku onegai shimasu. - Kai introduces himself and they laugh at him with their arms crossed in embarrassment.

- I'm the lead singer of The Gazette, Ruki yoroshiku onegai shimasu. - Ruki is fidgeting with his hands down and moving back and forth to speak into the microphone.

- I'm the bass player, Reita Yoroshiku onegai shimasu. - Reita stands with her hands and arms outstretched near the microphone and leans in to speak, gathering her arms close to her body and bowing.

- I'm the guitarist, Aoi yoroshiku onegai shimasu. - Aoi also has her arms folded and is leaning in to speak into the microphone.

Minami thanks everyone for coming and continues the interview.

- So, there are a lot of fans in front of Ameba Studio now. How are you feeling?

Reita: I'm embarrassed. It's unusual.

Aoi: It's close, isn't it?

Ruki: It's close.

- Does this short distance make the members' hearts beat faster?

Ruki: It's because it's close, that's all.

Kai: It's close... - He laughed, he never gets that close to his fans.

Uruha: Yes. My heart is beating fast.

- Uruha-san, what did you say? - Minami asked as she couldn't understand.

- My heart is beating fast - Uruha replied, and they laughed because everyone was nervous too.

- The fans are certainly feeling the same way. - Minami completes the sentence by pointing at the crowd outside in the street.

- Congratulations! On the release of your new album, Ninth. - Minami claps his hands.

- Arigatou... for your help! - They all speak together and clap too.

Announcer: Celebrating 17 years as a band, The GazettE have come up with some big surprises. They have a new tour, new songs and a new album called NINTH. The new album was released in the first quarter in 4 versions and features 12 songs

Ruki and Reita wave to the fans as they listen to the announcer talking about the release of the album.

- The most important thing is that you're going to continue the World Tour in South America, Europe and Asia. How was the show in the USA?

Ruki: I thought it was fun, but it also had an effect on our bodies, after I shook everyone's hand my neck hurt.

Reita: Mine was throbbing too. That's why we couldn't turn our heads.

- What's the most memorable song on the album for you?

Ruki: The single FALLING.

- Then Uruha-san introduces himself to us.

Uruha: Please listen to FALLING by the Gazette.

While they wait for the music to play, they chat amongst themselves, drink water, wave to the crowd who continue to sing along to The Gazette's new song.

(...)

- We've just heard the song Falling from Ninth, The GazettE's new album. We're here at Ameba Studio in Harajuku with the band the GazettE, talking about the release of their new album, Ninth. It's a band special, I'm counting on you!

Everyone: yoroshiku onegai shimasu. - Clap your hands too.

- How is the concept of the album NINTH different from DOGMA?

Ruki: When we made DOGMA, we tried to approach it as a kind of concept art. But NINTH brings in a bit of all our latest albums because it's the ninth album. So DOGMA is part of it as one of the nine albums we created. NINTH is really here to show "this is who we are today, with all our past experiences". We just want to show how we've progressed with our experiences so far.

- What experiences do you have on overseas tours that you don't have when you perform inside Japan?

Ruki: When we play quieter songs, like ballads, audiences abroad never sit still! For example, during or after a guitar solo, the audience will often clap and cheer loudly. That never happens here. I'd say that's quite a noticeable difference.

[Uruha and Reita nod in agreement]

Uruha: Here, there's a kind of rule, even if it's not official, that you shouldn't talk during performances.

- After 17 years as a band, would you say that your attitude and the core message of your music have changed?

Ruki: Our personalities, individually, have gone through a lot of changes but, as a whole... as a band... I don't think much has changed since the beginning.

Kai: But the way we think about our music is much deeper these days, because we have more desire to make something incredible.

- What made you become musicians?

Uruha: I played guitar and listened to Luna Sea all the time.

Kai: Luna Sea was the first band I saw. At that time, music was really Visual kei for me, so that was my entry into the music industry.

Aoi: I used to watch X Japan.

- So Aoi-san introduces us!

Aoi: Please listen to NINTH ODD SMELL by the Gazette

- We've just heard the song NINTH ODD SMELL from Ninth, The Gazette's new album. We're here at Ameba Studio in Harajuku with The GazettE Band.

- How do fans react in different countries?

Uruha: It's quite different, we know that Latin American audiences always go crazy. In Asia, they respond in a similar way to Japan. The Europeans are more excited than I remember.

- What led the band to play outside Japan?

Ruki: We were invited for the first time.

Reita: I didn't even know we had fans abroad, we were a bit worried at first.

Kai: The first place we were asked to play was an anime festival. They had a stage for live music and asked us to play there. That's how we started playing abroad.

Then our song "Shiver" was used in the opening of the anime Kuroshitsuji. Some of our fans abroad discovered us because of that, that's my analysis.

- What are the band's plans abroad?

Kai: To find new challenges and new methods. So the important thing for us is to increase our reach abroad. We want to play a lot of festivals abroad. Give people a chance to hear our music. Playing more shows is the best way to communicate with people abroad.

- Then Reita-san introduces us.

Reita: Please listen to THE MORTAL by the Gazette

- We're back and we've just listened to THE MORTAL from The GazettE's new album Ninth. We're here at Ameba Studio in Harajuku with The GazettE.

- Now a question from a fan. - Minami looks at them and says - Uruha-san and Aoi-san, do you share the same hotel room to practice your solos?

Uruha: Sometimes, yes, we share rooms.

Aoi: But it depends on the split and the number of rooms available.

They all laugh, about the question asked by the fan and the answer given by them, because shame and description prevent them from telling the truth, making the answer vague and not answering the question in question.

- Regarding the tour setlist, which song do fans like the most from the old albums?

Aoi: The most requested song is still Dogma.

- Then one last song to finish off before the final farewell. - Minami smiles, looking at Kai - So Kai-san presents it to us.

Kai: Please listen to DOGMA by The Gazette.

As soon as the melody of Dogma begins, they become a little apprehensive and nervous, remembering what happened at the rehearsal. But as the song begins to be chanted by the fans who are listening and watching them, again they become involved with the melody, as soon as the song reaches its chorus the possession is activated.

At the same time, they close their eyes and remain static for a few seconds, like in a trance. When they open their eyes again, they are as black as the darkest night, but the gods are clever. As soon as they realize that they are active in them, they blink and their eyes turn the same color as if nothing had happened.

The nervousness and shyness of the owners of those bodies disappears, giving way to uninhibited and mischievous-looking people. They talk to Minami about the cocktail party after the interviews, and that they would like to give some fans a gift to spend the evening with them at the cocktail party.

This request takes the interviewer by surprise, as none of this is on the schedule, especially coming from them, who are so restricted. Just as she was about to say that it wouldn't be possible, Seth fixed his gaze on her, who stopped what she was doing in a hypnotic trance.

- As soon as the music ends, you will announce what we want, leaving no doubt as to our will - Seth said in his thick, authoritative voice, being supported by the others.

- Each of you will choose a young woman to accompany us to the cocktail party. You will ask a boy to pick up the chosen ones. The memory of this conversation will be forgotten and accepted with truth once everything has been consummated. - Seth snaps his fingers and Minami smiles back at Kai, who is smiling back at her, abusing the charm of his dimples.

As they're on a break from the music, the cameras have the audio turned off and there are only the images that are edited to be broadcast online.

- We're back! You've just heard the song DOGMA from the album of the same name, which is the most requested song and will be on the World Tour Setlist. We're here at Ameba Studio in Harajuku with the band The GazettE.

- To celebrate the release of Ninth, the members of The GazettE would like to invite five fans to join them at a cocktail party hosted by the radio station. - Minami transmits the message that was on her mind, looking at the papers there's nothing written, now it's done live, there's no editing.

- Minami-san, thank you for accepting our request. - Uruha is looking at her as she speaks - Anyone who wants to take part, just raise your right hand high and everyone will choose a companion.

- I'll ask a production boy to pick up the chosen ones. - Minami gets up and goes to the door to relay the message, a staff is already available and they fulfill her request by going outside to welcome the girls.

The crowd outside is euphoric, wondering who will be the lucky one chosen by them, there's no better gift than meeting them in person, at concerts the interaction of the meet greeting is only a few seconds long and you can't even exchange a word.

Minami comes back saying that the boy is already ready, just waiting for the chosen ones. Uruha begins by choosing a young blonde woman who is right in front of the glass. Minami asks her to go to the radio station entrance and the staff will be waiting.

The other members, also one at a time, choose random young women from the crowd, and with each choice a round of applause is heard from those present. Finally, the next member chosen from the darkness feels a connection with a young woman in the background who has a tattoo in the shape of a cross on her wrist, and she is the last to be chosen, heading towards the staff and entering the radio station with the other young women.

- That's it! That means we've already spent an hour chatting here at Harajuku Ameba Studio. That was The GazettE's "Ninth" Launch Special. Now it's time to say goodbye.

Ruki: Hi.

Reita: That's it.

- Please look at the camera and say goodbye one last time. - Ruki, Reita and Aoi wave goodbye to the people in front - I'm Minami Hanabe and this is The GazettE, Ruki-san! Uruha-san, Aoi-san, Reita-san and Kai-san! Arigatou gozaimasu!

- Arigatou! - Everyone bows and responds together.

- Everyone, Arigatou. Bye!

- Yes, goodbye - Uruha and Kai wave two hands at the end, waving goodbye to the audience watching them.