His hair still dripping wet from the shower, Kakashi was sitting at the table with Sakumo and eating lunch in silence when suddenly the doorbell rang. The two looked at each other in surprise, neither of them expected anyone. "I'll go," Kakashi said with his mouth full, got up and went to the door, chewing. Kina stood in the dirty hallway, grinning broadly, her violet eyes shining on him from below. He swallowed his bite and licked the salty fat from his lips. "Kina? What are you doing here?"

"Visiting you, what else," Kina replied and didn't even wait for an invitation, but trudged past Kakashi into the living room. "Hello, Sakumo," she greeted his father, shook his hand briefly and sat down on the empty chair without a place setting.

Kakashi, who had closed the door and followed Kina, sat down again and continued to eat.

"Kina," Sakumo said, dabbing his mouth with a napkin. "Nice to see you. How are you doing? Take something to eat."

"Thanks, I'm already full. For me, everything is good so far. And you?"

"Yes, everything is excellent." 'Oh, is that so...?', Kakashi commented in his mind. His eyebrows rose slightly, otherwise he deliberately left the subtitles on his face off. "What's boarding school life doing?" Sakumo asked interested, pushing a well-filled forkful of shepherd's pie in his mouth.

"Fortunately, it's over," Kina sighed, her head resting calmly on her hand.

"Oh yeah, you've graduated. I keep forgetting that you're a year above Kakashi. What are you planning to do now? Are you studying?"

"Yes, I'm going to King's College after the summer holidays, I'm studying medicine like Dad. But I'll stick with it and won't go into esotericism afterwards."

"Medicine? That's very impressive," Sakumo replied and Kakashi didn't miss the fact that his eyes glided to him for a moment, and he might have imagined it, but his father's look seemed a bit reproachful. Kakashi inhaled silently, chewed unnecessarily aggressively on the mashed potatoes and didn't have to wait long for Sakumo to tease, "At least you can do something with that, have something for the future."

Kina laughed. "That sounds like Kashi doesn't want to make anything of himself."

"Well," Sakumo began in a drawn-out tone, "my son really wants to study music production."

"Mh, that's awesome," Kina said and nudged her elbow against Kakashi's upper arm. He merely threw a withering sparkle over to her. "I can well imagine that with you. You always had the best taste of all of us."

Sakumo smiled falsely. "That may be, but with his brains and his grades he can do anything, could go into business or law or study medicine like you do – but he chooses the entertainment industry, the most unsafe place of all." Sakumo's opinion about Kakashi's life plans had been untouched for years, but Kakashi was a little surprised that his father spoke so openly about his dislike without alcohol in his blood. Normally, he at least had enough decency to hold back in this regard. And Kakashi knew that Sakumo hadn't drunk anything today, all the bottles in the cupboard were unchanged from yesterday.

"Do you still want to start your band?" Kina asked Kakashi.

"Huh? Who?" He had trouble holding back his anger at his father.

"Gai and you."

The mention of this name did not necessarily help him to restrain himself. "No."

"Kakashi and Gai are no longer friends," Sakumo chimed in.

"Oh?" Kina said, puzzled. "Why not?"

"Well, that's what I tried to find out. Hm? Kakashi, tell us."

'You asked ONCE, because you were finally sober enough to notice that this wanker no longer puts his fat feet in our apartment,' Kakashi thought. The fist around his fork cramped painfully. He took a deep breath, forced his hand to rest, poked around in his minced meat and said grimly, "I don't know why that has to bother any of you."

"Has something happened between you?" Kina asked with knitted eyebrows. She seemed genuinely shocked by this news. Sakumo listened attentively, didn't even eat anymore.

Kakashi looked at the two of them in turn. "What?" he riled. "Is it not allowed to reorient oneself in life? We simply developed in different directions, that's all. And why should you spend time together if you no longer have anything in common? That would be a waste of energy."

"Wow, you're serious?" Kina snapped at him and now they assessed each other, a huge thunderstorm built up between them. "You two were more twins than Gai and I could ever be, and SUDDENLY you don't have anything in common anymore? As far as I know, Gai is still into sports, rock and bloody movies, to what extent have you changed? Are you listening to disco now and watching nothing but romantic kitsch?"

"And if so, why the fuck do you care?"

"Kakashi," Sakumo said sternly. "Don't talk to her like that."

Kakashi slammed his fork on the plate, meat and mashed potatoes flew through the air, landed on the tablecloth. "For fuck's sake, finally accept that I've made better friends. Just because we used to get along well doesn't mean it has to stay that way. I'm through with him, live with it. Thank you for messing up my lunch." He got up jerkily, so that his chair tilted backwards and crashed onto the tiles. He left it lying there, stomped into his room, slammed the door behind him, pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes and let out a suppressed scream. They should simply leave him alone, was that too much to ask?!

He dug his fingernails into his scalp, pulled them down his forehead and gasped loudly. A feeling of guilt dug up his oesophagus. Actually, he didn't want to argue with Kina. She had once been his best friend, he would still call her that, and he didn't harbor any bad blood towards her. But she was his only remaining connection to Gai, and as such she posed a danger to him.

Behind him there was a soft knock. It couldn't be his father, he would never come to him after a quarrel and certainly not tentatively ask to enter. So, he swallowed his resentment and let Kina in. She closed the door behind her and looked around the room, her hands buried in the pockets of her baggy denim jacket.

Kakashi had gone to his closet and pulled out fresh clothes. "I'm sorry, Kina, I didn't mean to snub you," he said meekly and, with his back to her, pulled the T-shirt from yesterday over his head, which he had put on indiscriminately after showering.

"It's okay, Kashi." She sighed in a tone as if she wanted to create a more civilized bridge to an unpleasant topic. "Hm, nothing has changed in here. I see you're still a fan of that Baywatch girl." She giggled cheekily, Kakashi's heart tinged at this remark. "And you're still listening to the Sisters. Vision Thing is a great album, they indeed have only blasts on it."

"They can't make bad music," Kakashi replied and now got rid of his sloppy sweatpants, still without looking in Kina's direction.

"Gai loves them too, you know?"

Kakashi paused in the middle of the movement but immediately continued to pluck the tight rubber bunches from his ankles.

"Last night he was lying on the floor in his room in his underpants, playing Something Fast and smoking a joint. That's what I call dedication when he has to go to school the next morning and Dad could catch him blazing."

Kakashi just let out an "aha" and shook out his jeans to make it easier to pull them over his legs.

"Are you blazing again? Or did Sakumo's beating bear fruit on you back then?"

"He didn't beat me," Kakashi said evasively.

"I know, but my goodness, he got loud," Kina murmured with an audible smile. "You've heard him all over William. During his scolding, some junkies here have certainly decided to keep their hands off drugs."

"Maybe." Groaning, Kakashi closed his jeans, ran his fingers through his damp hair and finally turned to his room. He hadn't even noticed how Kina had crouched cross-legged on his bed. Her expression was unfathomable as she stared at Kakashi. "What?" he asked, raising his arms.

"I could ask you the same thing, Kashi." She tapped the mattress next to her, Kakashi ignored the invitation. Kina pulled a grumpy snout. "Can you now tell me what had happened?"

"Nothing, as I said," Kakashi grumbled, leaning against his closet with his arms crossed.

"But I don't believe you."

"I don't care what you believe or not, you titch."

Kina raised a middle finger, stood up, which made no impression at all with her not even 1.60m and thus only underpinned Kakashi's halfway friendly insult, and strolled through the room until she came to a stop in front of Kakashi and looked him in the face from below. She barely reached his chin and yet any normal person could get scared by the dark expression in her eyes. "You're still the same Kakashi that Gai and I used to secretly smoke with, the one we used to sneak into the Kitchen with, the one we spent the summers of our lives with. You haven't changed, not a bit. So. Why don't you talk to Gai anymore?"

Kakashi leaned forward a little to reduce the gap between their faces. "That.. is none.. of your.. fucking.. business..", he murmured and with a diabolical smile he added, "Titch."

Her eyes, which shone like amethysts, darted back and forth between his and narrowed slightly. "Yes, it is. I wanted to have fun with the two of you and not have to play the mediator between you."

"Then don't do it," Kakashi said know-it-all.

"But I obviously have to, because you don't seem to be able to get your disagreements out of the way." She focused on his left eye. "Watch out, Kashi, I'll soon get you back together."

"Save yourself the trouble."

Kina huffed. Her knobbly nose, which was all that reminded of Gai on her face, curled in a way that made Kakashi grin. "Don't laugh at me," Kina grumbled and despite the argument, Kakashi noticed that the mood between them was back to the way he knew it and actually preferred. She was a small, nagging dwarf and he loved to make her mad, because then she always behaved like an intrusive puppy that you just had to grab by the neck to ward off.

"Why not? May I not?" he asked with a frivolous smile.

It was only when she reacted—a slight retraction of her head, a twitch of her eyebrows, a brief flutter of her eyelids, and a clear darkening of her cheeks—that Kakashi realized that he had put on a tone that he otherwise only activated as Sukea or in the presence of Rin. Kina didn't know him like that, and yet he had to confess that for a split second he liked how he captured her with it. But then he remembered that this was Kina, Gai's damn twin sister, whom he had just unconsciously flirted with, and every shred of arrogance disappeared. His smile faded, he blinked and finally said, "I have to go to work now."

"Okay," Kina whispered, putting a few more inches between them. Kakashi didn't know how to interpret her voice and therefore ignored it. "Are you still at Morrisons?" she asked, obviously trying to sound neutrally.

"No, I started at the radio station Village of Sound last year during the summer holidays and have been a jockey for the evening show there for a few months."

Kina's eyes widened. "Really? That's rad."

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders indifferently but couldn't help grinning scornfully. "It's a job and is well paid, so it's a good thing."

"You bastard," Kina grumbled and shook her head exaggeratedly. "It's prime time in the evening, isn't it? They all have their radios on while eating, make themselves comfortable and stuff."

"Yeah, kinda," Kakashi mumbled, enjoying the enthusiasm she showed for his work. Finally, someone who paid tribute to him. "Mornings and evenings are the best times."

"Sick," Kina murmured. "What's the frequency?"

"69.6," Kakashi replied before he could think, and immediately regretted it. After what had just happened between them, he didn't really want her to hear him anchor, so he hastily threw in, "But you don't have to tune in just because of me. That's—"

Kina interrupted him immediately. "You're always far too modest." Kakashi frowned. He would not describe himself as 'modest', rather the opposite. Only when it came to his projects did he like to keep the expectations of others low, but only because he himself was too perfectionist to really accept praise for, in his opinion, flawed things he had created. However, his role as Sukea did not fall into this category, he never had any difficulties with that.

Well, at least that's how it had been for the past ten months. Last Friday he had been nervous about his mix, on Thursday he probably just didn't have a good day overall, but his performance weakened today as well.

First of all, he felt an unpleasant stinging in his stomach when he even came through the door of the station at half past five. The smell of stale tobacco and sweat hung in the air, reminding him of the outcome of Friday evening. He still didn't know if he was right in his assumption about Orochimaru. He and Yamato, who was sitting in booth 2 and was playing the poppest pop song in world history, talked exuberantly with each other. Neither of them gave the impression that anything strange had happened. So Kakashi had indeed just imagined everything and his body had reacted so violently to the alcohol because of the stress.

He approached, threw a devil horns and a mischievous raise of the corner of his mouth at Yamato, who grinned happily, and said, "Hello, Mister Hebikawa."

"Ah, hello Kakashi," Orochimaru sang, closing the door so that Yamato could anchor in peace, and asking Kakashi down the aisle with an arm. "How are you today?"

"Yeah, good," Kakashi replied. He cleared his throat nervously. "I wanted to talk to you about Friday." They stopped. There was no muscle moving in Orochimaru's face. "I'm sorry. I think I overreacted quite a bit. I didn't mean to push you or yell at you. You were probably right that I hadn't eaten enough that day and therefore I couldn't tolerate the alcohol."

Orochimaru nodded slowly and put on his usual smile. "Did you two still get home safely?"

"Yes, sir."

"That's good. Kakashi, it was irresponsible to get into the car in your condition. I could have driven you."

"You had been drinking, too," Kakashi said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"That's true, but I think my body is much more experienced than yours. I would have taken care of you." Again, he smiled and Kakashi hesitantly did the same. "Thank you, sir. I am very sorry. I know I made a mistake and will avoid it in the future. No more drinking and driving, I promise."

"Fabulous," Orochimaru said, putting his icy hand on Kakashi's shoulder, whose coldness he could feel despite his T-shirt, sweater and leather jacket, and setting them both in motion. "Then we would have clarified the matter and can file it away. By the way, I analyzed the numbers over the weekend and it looks very good for you. While your mix was playing, not a single listener changed the channel and I have already received a few letters from people who were enthusiastic about it. If you continue with something like this, it certainly won't be long before the first record labels contact me who want to let you work for them."

Kakashi's chest swelled. "This is insanely great news, sir. Thank you."

"For you, always. Do you have anything special planned for today?"

"No, not really," Kakashi admitted. "It could be that a friend of mine is listening for the first time, she is at home over the holidays, so I don't necessarily want to put on any show, but do my thing normally."

"Your thing is always special, Kakashi," Orochimaru said in a buttery voice. "But 'a friend', huh?" He laughed and Kakashi thought it sounded mocking. "Is she your girlfriend?"

"Uh, no, sir. She is my best friend, so to speak, we have known each other since kindergarten, grew up together. She's like a sister to me."

"That doesn't mean she can't be your girlfriend," Orochimaru said.

Kakashi smiled faintly. He didn't know what to say to something like that, especially since he wondered why he now had to think about this one evening, when Kina and he had explored each other's bodies. So, he was quite happy that they had reached the door to booth 1 and that he could finally devote himself to his work. While Orochimaru went to get a coffee in the small kitchen on their floor, Kakashi took off his jacket and sweater, because it often got much too warm in the little coop with all the technology and the light, sat down at the table and picked some songs that he wanted to play today. Perhaps his encounter with Kina had reminded him of how much he valued confident women, but he felt Joan Jett was a good choice.

Shortly before six, he got ready, quickly sipped some of the water that Orochimaru provided him every hour, and waited for his on-air signal, which came at 6 p.m. sharp. He put Sukea's rough growl on his vocal cords, turned on his microphone and purred, "Hiya, you ginchy people. My name is Sukea and you are listening to Village of Sound on 69.6 FM. Turn up, turn around, but always remember: the 69 remains. I don't know how you duckies are out there, are you wet? Are you hot? I hope so, because today I unfortunately don't have any new music for you that will heat you up further, but one particular woman still manages to do it again and again. Pamper your eardrums and bodies with I Wanna Be Your Dog by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. And don't forget the leashes, you dirty, little dogs."

The riff sounded and Kakashi immediately began to bob his head to the beat. That's what he loved about his job, he could listen to his music, share it with others at the same time and also get paid for it. He was combing through his playlist to see which title he could make the best transition to, when his gaze caught on another song by Joan Jett. Under Cherry Bomb he read, "I hate myself for loving you".

Out of nowhere, Rin appeared in his brain. Earlier on the way home, he had racked his brains as to why she hadn't answered his confession of love, but he had suppressed this question for his own sake. Actually, he didn't want any answers because any of them would be too painful. The best one would almost be that she just hadn't heard him, although he couldn't really imagine that. She had reacted to it – just not in the way he would like. He wanted her to feel the same way about him. He wanted to be loved by her. He wanted her to leave Obito and only be with him. Was that stupid? Was he naïve to think they could become a couple just because they fucked? He enjoyed every minute they spent together, wanted to be recognized by others at her side, she should introduce him to her parents as her boyfriend and future husband. Wasn't that what a relationship was all about? Passion? Affection? Yearning? So.. Why didn't she want him? Why did she fuck him, hide their affair from Obito, dare to play this game of hide-and-seek if she didn't love him? After all, if she liked to suck his cock but didn't want more from him, was he even worth more to her than his fucking cock? Or.. anyone? Although he didn't want to, his thoughts drifted off to Saturday night, to this enthusiasm about his equipment, this accompanying reduction to his genitals, the humiliation..

A knock tore him out of his resurgent disgust. He startled up and looked around. The red lamp above the door was shining, and it was quiet around him. It didn't take him a second to realize why this was the case. He hastily fiddled with the switch for his microphone, cleared his throat and said in a slightly husky voice, "Wow, I'm sorry, guys. The good Joan made me completely horny, I had to come down again." As he spoke, he casually chose one of the songs from the playlist. He skipped Joan's other songs because he didn't really like playing the same artist back-to-back, decided on Your Master is calling and then Promised Land to buy himself some time, and said, "You'll get two sweets from me for that, as a little compensation. Don't think I'll forget you. I could never do that. I also activate the lines directly so that you can tell me your wishes – of course I also try to fulfill each of them, because you know: Your wish is my command. So, call at 738285 here in Manchester. We hear each other again immediately. But now: kneel down and obey."

Again, he muted himself, but he hardly had the opportunity to breathe when the door opened. Kakashi took off his headphones to listen to Orochimaru's rant. "What kind of shit was that?! As a jockey, you can't afford to just sit around and do nothing! We lost listeners as a result. Do you know what that means for us?!"

"Yes, sir, I'm sorry, sir," Kakashi said in a submissive tone. "I was unfocused and inattentive, that won't happen again."

"I hope that for you, otherwise you don't need to show up here at all, do we understand each other?!"

"Yes, sir.."

Orochimaru slammed the door so hard that the window inside shook. He rushed off, certainly to the toilet to smoke, and in his place, Yamato opened the door, much more cautiously than his boss. "Hey, everything okay?"

Kakashi nodded and forced himself to smile.

Yamato twisted his mouth. "Wow, even my ass cheeks are fluttering," he tried to make a joke, but when Kakashi neither laughed nor grinned, he let it be. "By the way, Orochimaru rescued my jacket from the pub on Friday. I think my father would have torn my head off if it had been gone. It's from him, he bought it in the USA back then."

"Nice of him," Kakashi could only say.

"Yeaah.. I have to go home for dinner now, but I wish you a good shift, kay?"

"Thank you, Yamato, have a nice evening."

Yamato smiled at him, waved and left him alone again.

Kakashi clenched his trembling hands into fists. He knew that he deserved to be yelled at by Orochimaru like that, but that didn't mean he felt good about it. He had to banish Rin completely from his mind. She distracted him far too much. He needed that concentration. He needed this job.

To clear his head, he hurried to the toilet. He had five minutes left, which was enough to wash his face at least briefly. However, when he pushed open the door to the washrooms, he froze. Apparently, Yamato had to pee before his way home, because he was standing at the left urinal, his back to the door. And behind him was Orochimaru. He had put his hands on his employee's neck and massaged him. "Mhh, you're totally stiff, Yamato.. You need to relax more. Shall I help you with this?" With these words, the hands slid a good distance down the spine to below the rib cage. Neither of them seemed to notice Kakashi's bursting in, which he used to sneak away. Before he pulled the door silently into the lock, he heard Yamato's answer, "Uh. Yeah, maybe, sir, but I have to get started, otherwise I'll burst my bladder."

Should he interrupt what Orochimaru was doing? He didn't want to let him touch Yamato like that, but the shame inside him was greater. With a painful racing heart, Kakashi crept back to his booth. Viewed from the outside, without being personally paralyzed by shock and uncertainty, he finally understood. Orochimaru was not a strange, touchy bloke; he was a pervert, quite simply. Constant touching, these statements, all of which could be understood ambiguously, this unasked backing, especially in the bathroom. Actually, it was very clear and Kakashi really couldn't explain why he hadn't thought of it earlier. So much for he couldn't take two beers anymore, had eaten too little, had too much stress – Kakashi would bet all his belongings on the fact that there had been something in it, some drug that had made Yamato and him compliant.

With this realization, he felt like he was on a plate in the booth. Maybe he hadn't just imagined these looks from his boss after all. But he had to go through with this, at least this one show. What would happen after that, he didn't know yet. Actually, he couldn't quit, he REALLY needed this job, but he had to think about how he could avoid such a scenario on Friday in the future. Because somehow, he had the feeling that this approaching was becoming more aggressive compared to before, as if Orochimaru was gradually losing patience.

But now he had to stay focused, his buffer was over right away. He calmed down by forced breathing, gathered his emotions, stowed them in a cage deep in his chest and as soon as the song came to an end, he activated his microphone again and said, "Are you all still here?" He giggled darkly. "Are you ready? I am, for you. We're just warming up, but I can't wait to talk to you." He pressed the button for the connection. "Hi, this is Sukea. Who am I talking to?"

"Hi, my name is Lina," said a woman who Kakashi would estimate to be in her mid-forties based on the timbre of her voice. "It's my dad's birthday today and I want to give him a little treat, so I wish for Headlong by Queen. We both love this song since it came out. When I hear it, I will always think of how we dance together in the living room. This is a memory that I will keep in my heart forever. Dad? This is for you. In my eyes, you're the best dad in the world. I love you."

Now it was Sakumo who wanted to force his way into Kakashi's head, but he deliberately pushed his father aside. "This is an insanely great message, Lina. I hope you and your dad will have many more nights of dancing together in the living room."

Orochimaru, who was sitting behind the desk again, but seemed quite pissed off, gave him the signal. Kakashi nodded and was about to start the song with a few nice words, when Lina suddenly said, "Unfortunately we can't do that. He got his AIDS diagnosis yesterday. But that's exactly why I'm going to capture this song as best I can."

An ice axe rammed into Kakashi's heart. For a moment he lost himself, not knowing what to say. He as Kakashi would certainly have tried to comfort Lina, to offer her a sympathetic ear so that she could talk about her feelings about the upcoming loss, but Sukea was not like that. Sukea was seductive, isolated from reality, emotionally unapproachable. So Kakashi had to be all this. He closed his eyes. "I'm very sorry for you, Lina. But then this time is a very special one, enjoy it. Happy Birthday, Lina's dad, you have a good daughter."

The upbeat intro of the song was so incongruous that it only depressed Kakashi even more. Usually, the people here just wanted good music for the sake of music, in between there were cases like this Joana from last week, who contributed too much importance to a song, but today seemed to be a day when everything threw him off his game.

He lowered his head. Basically, he loved his father, and he didn't accuse him of not dealing with the grief for his deceased wife in a necessary picture-perfect way, but there was still too much friction between them, which inevitably raised the question in him: How would he actually feel if Sakumo was terminally ill and he knew that he would lose him soon?

A crack came from the speakers in the cabin, followed by Orochimaru's voice. "Pull yourself together, Kakashi. The song is about to end and there are still more callers waiting."

That's right, he had to pull himself together. He moistened his throat, waited for Roger Taylor to play the drums one last time, and put his alter ego in place of his personality. "Queen, these are true kings. There may be people out there in the world who think British music is bad, but then all you have to do is play Freddie Mercury for them and they'll all be silent. This man has a voice that will never exist again. Incredible. Fathers and daughters will continue to dance to their music in the living room in the future, will forget the pain of the world." He pressed the button again. "Hello, this is Sukea speaking. With what song can I take your pain away from you?" Did he just become too depressed? He laughed briefly. "Or would you rather have me inflict some on you?"

"Hello, no," said a man in a raspy voice. "That's not my taste at all, especially with another guy. Also, are you aware that AIDS is a shitdick disease? But somehow fitting. The daughter of a shitdick wishes for shitdick music."

Kakashi's features deepened. "Who am I talking to?" Subliminally, he noticed that he was losing a little of Sukea's lewd tone.

"Ken."

'Barbie's fey boyfriend?' it shot into his head and he almost laughed at this irony. "Hi, Ken. Tell me, are you calling Queen shitdick music right now after I praised them?" After a slight hesitation, he threw in a "How naughty", even if he was reluctant to do so.

There was a soft knock on the window and Orochimaru raised his arms with a distorted expression.

Kakashi didn't care much right now. He loved Queen, no one should badmouth this band in his presence. Freddie wasn't that kind of person, he just knew that.

"Their music is ok," Ken murmured, "but that doesn't change the fact that Mercury is a shitdick."

"Who says that?"

"Every blind person can see that. The way he walks around and acts."

Kakashi could argue that Freddie was a fictional character and he played a role as such, just like Kakashi did with Sukea. In truth, he wasn't like that either. But he realized that he had to be like that now. With his eyes closed, he grinned falsely to resume Sukea's character traits. "You may be right, Ken. Queen is good, but no one can deny that they are a little too colorful. Just think about the video for I Want to Break Free. Men in women's clothes, has something poofy. But you certainly didn't just call to talk to me about shitdicks, right?"

"No, certainly not, I'd prefer not to talk about that at all. Shitdicks shouldn't even have the right to live, in my eyes. They endanger our society by putting nonsense in children's heads and pulling them away from the classic family image of father, mother and child. If you give them too much leeway, it won't be long before the men all become effeminate. But it doesn't matter. I'm calling because I want a song from you: I'm a Legend Tonight by Kiss." Oh well, with their make-up and leather they weren't poofy enough.

"A good choice," Kakashi said. Again the signal from Orochimaru. "Is there a reason for it or do you simply like the song?"

"I'm going to divorce my wife," Ken replied – wasn't he also destroying the classic family image? "Besides, it's a good song."

"You're absolutely right. Ken, enjoy your night." He said it in his teasing Sukea way, intentionally making it look like a pun. Simply because he felt it right now, he threw in Bad Reputation afterwards. Maybe he wanted to give this Ken an acoustic slap in the face. Freddie Mercury and a shitdick.. Kst.

"You could have done better, Kakashi," Orochimaru commented from the speaker.

He certainly could, but then too much of Kakashi would have gone into the role – and if he mustn't comfort Lina, he mustn't insult Ken either.

Two hours later, the show was coming to an end. He had just finished with Disintegration, as a smooth end to the evening, his "afterplay", as he liked to call it, when Orochimaru spoke up again. "Kakashi, I have another caller for you."

Puzzled, Kakashi looked at the clock. Actually, he wanted to say his farewell words right away and hand over the channel to Kimimaro – they had come up with a transition today. Well, now they could forget about it. "Okay, put him through." He cleared his throat, emptied his glass to dismiss Sukea in a dignified way, and murmured, "That was The Cure, a miracle one for our fucked ears." At this time, he was allowed to speak so clearly and gladly took advantage of it. "It's now a few minutes to nine, we're all a little tired and exhausted. I'm about to snuggle up in my bed – but not to sleep, don't worry. Finally, I have one very last caller on the line." He pressed the button for the tenth time. "Hi, this is Sukea speaking. What do you have on your mind so late?"

"Hey, Sukea."

At this voice vibrating in his headphones, Kakashi started.

"I know it's late and stuff. But I still want something from you."

"May I know your name before we talk in more detail?" He knew her name, her age, the color of her eyes, the smell of her hair.. And fuck, he didn't want to talk to her like that, but he had to. The further the evening progressed, the purrier Sukea became. That's just the way it was.

"Sure. My name is Kina."

"Hey, Kina."

Kina giggled and slowly Kakashi wondered if she was teasing him like that on purpose. "I like the way you say my name."

Kakashi swallowed dryly. It was hard shitty that his glass was empty. His throat was already scratching slightly. "Yeah, do you? I can also whisper other things in your ear."

"I would very much like to hear them. Sukea.."

Kina's voice also got a very soft and at the same time hoarse tone, which made Kakashi shudder. He pushed his pelvis forward a little on the swivel chair and had trouble suppressing an aroused panting. 'She's his sister, she's his sister, she's his sister,' he repeated in his mind over and over again, making it his mantra while Sukea growled with his mouth, "Hmm, Kina.. You don't know how much I like the thought of it. What do you want to hear?" If he continued, this would no longer be safe for work – even less than it already was. And porn was forbidden to him, only Bone was allowed to do that at VoS on the night shift.

But when Kina answered, all the heat in Kakashi's crotch evaporated. Apparently, he had given her timbre far too much weight, as he realized now with her words. "I wish for Something Fast by The Sisters of Mercy. It seems to me that this is a good song to lie on the floor in your room and relax. What do you think? Sukea~?"

Kakashi couldn't believe it. Not only did she heat him up on purpose, so that he almost got a boner in the middle of a brightly lit booth, no, now she also planted an image in his brain that he had never wanted to imagine: Gai in underpants blazing on the floor on his hideous carpet. The brief emptiness that had spread through him filled with anger. His jaw began to shake, and he struggled with his words for far too long, because he wanted to cry and yell at Kina at the same time, when she said, "Hello? Sukea? Are you still there?"

"Mh, yes," Kakashi replied with a soft clearing of his throat.

"What's wrong? Did I remind you of anything?" The cunning swinging in her voice could not be overheard by Kakashi, he knew her too well for that.

"No, everything is fine." He laughed softly. "You have chosen a good song there. Our evening couldn't end more perfectly. Something Fast – just for you, titch."

With that, he turned off his microphone, started the song, hadn't even caught up with Orochimaru's okay, and pulled down the headphones. He couldn't stand it. Already in the few seconds he had heard of the intro, his eyes had filled with tears and a strange stinging had made itself noticable in his right foot. He scratched his chuck over the dirty felt carpet and only noticed in passing how the door flew open again. "KAKASHI!" thundered Orochimaru.

Kakashi blinked, inhaled even though his lungs didn't want to breathe right now, and looked up at his boss. His expression would have made the devil proud. "What kind of unprofessional shit are you pulling off here?!"

"I was just flirting with the girl, sir," Kakashi replied coldly. "That's my job."

"Your JOB is to be a jockey, but to all appearances you are not capable of it. You insulted a caller, didn't even recite your text at the end. This is not your personal grief box where you can do whatever you want, but still my fucking show, do you understand me?!"

The hatred for Gai mixed with that for Orochimaru and Kakashi himself, blinded him, made him act. He stood up, grabbed his sweater and leather jacket and hissed in Orochimaru's face, "You know what, you poofy pedo? If it's your show, then why don't you host it in the future!"

Orochimaru froze. "What did you just call me..?"

Kakashi got cold. His nostrils quivered and he breathed heavily. He hadn't really said that, had he? He hadn't really said that for fuck's sake?! He squeezed out a "I'll piss off, and you never dare to come near me again, otherwise I'll castrate you" and left the station.

Outside on the sidewalk, he stopped. Above him, the station's pink neon sign flickered.

God fucking shit. What had he done...