One! Two! Three! Four! (Narcissus and PhoenixIllusion)
 

Akio moved his hand down the neck of Tetsuya's guitar, working his fingers a little awkwardly; it had been a long time since he'd tried playing a bass guitar, and he'd never been very good. All he could do were a few beginners' songs and he could hear the little imperfections bleeding into the music, making it sound just a little off. But it was more enjoyable than he'd expected. It had been a long time since he'd had anything to do with music that wasn't intensely focused on marketability.

The music also made the large studio seem a little bit less empty. He was almost a full half hour early for rehearsal, which was unusual; Akio was normally being yelled at for being late and holding everyone up. He never seemed to be able to make it anywhere on time. But for some reason today it seemed like the rehearsal was never going to start. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that this was his first practice no longer as a member of Lucid. The new band's name hadn't been finalized yet, but he was fairly sure they weren't going to keep either of the old bands' names.

It felt strange to be touching Tetsuya's instrument without him standing behind Akio, giving him impatient pointers--"backseat playing", basically. It was extremely annoying, which was why Akio had stopped touching the thing in the first place. Now that it was back in his hands, he wondered if the new bass player would want to use this guitar or if he'd brought his own. Tetsuya's was still here, but he was fairly sure that was because everyone was still a little uncertain about how this was going to work.

He stopped playing and gazed around at the empty studio. Everything had suddenly become so uncertain. Even though he knew it was irrational, Lucid's new band mates (as he couldn't help thinking of them) made him furious. He knew that it was Tetsuya's fault that this was happening, at least to Lucid, but the new men who would be joining him and Ryo, Lucid's drummer, seemed like invaders to him.

"Kaaaaammmiiigooooo~!"

"Auuugh, what?"

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there ye-"

"NO, we are NOT starting this today. Shut up." The brunette in the back seat pouted as the blonde in the front pulled the van up to the building. The brunette bounded out as Kamigo locked up the vehicle and then opened the trunk. He pulled out a bass guitar case and threw it at the brunette, who shrieked in terror and scrambled to catch it. Once safely in his hand, he frowned at the blonde. "Hey! Leave Kojiyo alone!"

"Why do you name your items?"

"Shut up!" Once their things were gathered, they headed up to the studio, or at least they were until Kamigo ran into the manager, letting the brunette go on ahead. Mietsu grinned, happily bounding towards the studio and barging in without a second thought.

"Oooh! Big place~!" He didn't seem to notice Akio, the bassist for the now dissolved NORA instead plopping down on a swivel chair and spinning about while staring at the ceiling. Mietsu then took out Kojiyo, humming lightly as he began tuning the guitar, totally oblivious.

His face was easy on the eyes, for sure, long hair tied back loosely at the base of his neck and lightly tanned skin, pale blue eyes so pale they almost looked like a blind man's eyes, and very, VERY attractive looking lips. He was thin and almost scrawny, baggy shirt hanging of his frame, but somehow made him adorable despite his height, above average.

Akio gave a start when the door was loudly thrown open and a figure began approaching from the doorway. He seemed utterly oblivious to Akio's presence, which gave the vocalist ample opportunity to drink in his features. He recognized Mietsu from NORA immediately; he was the one people called "the good looking one", and seeing him now Akio could understand why.

It wasn't as though he had never seen Mietsu before, but this was the first time they had been so close, and Akio was shocked when his stomach suddenly flipped. He felt his entire body jolt, the way it did when he missed a step on a staircase and nearly fell, or had one of those dreams where he was falling, only to jerk awake. It was such a visceral reaction! Usually Akio was fairly level-headed, particularly when it came to physical attraction; he never really got swept away by his emotions. The only exception had ever been Tetsuya, and it had happened the moment they met. It had never occurred to him to think that it was even possible to feel that way with anyone else.

Mietsu was clearly planning on using his own guitar, so Akio set Tetsuya's down out of the way.

"This is your first time practicing here?" Akio asked, partly just to let the other man know he was there. His anger was still smoldering inside, but he was surprised to find that he was a little intimidated by Meitsu's energy. He had that same quality that Tetsuya did, too, of sweeping into a room and filling it completely. It was a quality Akio had never had. He had good stage presence, but even in public interviews people seemed surprised and disappointed with Akio's lack of charisma.

Mietsu looked up, blinking in vague surprise before a smile spread upon those pretty lips of his. "Huh? Oh, yeah! Really cool studio, ours was smaller, mostly cause big rooms scared the crap out of Katsu." He paused at the mention of the old NORA drummer, who had been recently admitted into the hospital for treatment. He shook his head and brightened up again.

"But yeah! I really like this place! You're Akio, right? The guy who called us 'rookie brats trying to get attention'?" He didn't seem bothered by it, though, almost as if the insult was simply a comment to him. "I always wanted to meet you, you looked really fun to poke." And then the bassist stood, walked over and... Poked Akio on the cheek. Mietsu gave something that sounded suspiciously like a giggle and backed away, finishing his tuning and strumming a brief chord.

He then noticed the other bass guitar. "Heeey, isn't that Tetsuya's? I never thought he had a hair-trigger temper, but he's kinda a dick anyway, so I guess not. Oh, hey, is that Ryo guy coming? Katsu's always been a fan, he'd kill to get an autograph!" Bouncing from one subject to the next, he seemed oblivious to the fact that he insulted Tetsuya so flippantly.

Akio could barely follow the hurricane of Mietsu's words; every time he tried to answer it seemed the young man had already forgotten the subject he was discussing in lieu of something else. In a way he was glad, though. He didn't know much about NORA, and Katsu in particular was a mystery to him--he'd read somewhere that the drummer was some kind of junkie or something, but tabloid rumors were rarely true and he doubted Mietsu would appreciate questioning along those lines.

When Mietsu mentioned Akio's comment Akio stiffened defensively, and was surprised when the bassist didn't become more hostile. More surprising still was Mietsu's sudden movement, and then his sudden closeness, and the lurching jolt Akio felt in his chest when he touched him. He flushed, partly in anger and humiliation, and partly because...well, he didn't really know. All he knew was that this was so familiar, this being swept away in someone else's tide...

But any pleasantness was washed away when he heard Mietsu's comment about Tetsuya.

"He isn't a dick!" Akio protested, heat rising to his face again. Even as the words left his mouth he knew that they weren't true, though; Tetsuya was selfish, sometimes even cruel...his arrest had been strangely unsurprising even to Akio. Still, who did Mietsu think he was, coming in here and insulting him like that? He was suddenly glad that he wouldn't have to see Mietsu using Tetsuya's guitar.

"At least he isn't rude and irritating," he found himself saying before he could think to reign his words in, "although I can see why you wouldn't like him, he's a far better bass player."

"If you call robotic and coldly perfect with no personality better, yeah. Oh, when's Ryo coming again? I reaaallly wanna get his autograph for Katsu! Man, he's blow a gasket... Kamigo's always saying that Katsu is creepy with it but I think its fun, he's like a lil' girl with a crush when it comes to him, but Okami is always being a jerk and teasing him about it, I always thought he was just jealous, though. Maybe the underdog'll come through in the end, eh? He's always with Katsu ALL the time, kinda silly but cute, and do you have anything to eat here cause I'm hungry. Oh, wait, I got pocky! Want some? Its straaaaaawberry~!" Once again, flippant disregard of insults and onwards with whatever the subject he wanted to speak. One had to wonder if he wasn't doing it on purpose.

He reached into his guitar case's pocket and pulled out a large box of strawberry pocky, opening it and taking one before holding the box out in offering to the vocalist. However, if Akio looked to his face, he would be feeling a whole lot more confusing feelings, because between Mietsu's lips the pocky rolled, brief flashes of tongue as he sucked the cream off the thin stick, clearly practiced as he wasn't using his other hand to hold the said treat.

(Unconsciously sexy birdy? YESSUMS.)

((Hawwwwwt! ^_^))

Another rapid-fire stream of thoughts, and again Akio was being swept away. In a way it would have made him less angry if Mietsu had responded with anger and fiery insults, but his blatant disregard of Akio's frustration was maddening. Maybe a part of him had been hoping for an excuse to fight, an outlet to drain his rage and resentment against the member of NORA.

But somehow he found himself reaching out to take one of the sugary snacks, even though he wasn't really hungry. In fact, he didn't really like sweets all that much, but he crunched on the pockey anywa. It really was just like with Tetsuya...feeling angry but also confused, finding the anger surprisingly easy to skim over with the rhythm of the other's strange enthusiasm...he felt himself beginning to surrender, despite his desperate attempts to stop himself. Akio glanced around the studio, just to give his eyes an excuse to break from Mietsu's magnetism.

"Ryo is usually a little early," he said as he munched on the pockey, still avoiding the other man's gaze. "He should be here soon." He couldn't remember if Ryo had ever said anything about Katsu, but he found himself saying, "He'll probably be glad to know that. He likes Katsu too."

Akio paused before adding, "He...um, he likes Ryo's work? Or is it...?" He let his voice trail off, assuming Mietsu would know what he meant without him having to explicitly use the word "fanboy". It seemed insulting, and it didn't occur to him until it was too late that he'd missed a prime opportunity to take a dig at one of NORA's members. Somehow, though, he doubted Mietsu would have cared even if he had.

"He fell for his work, yeah. He first heard a song ya'll made on the radio and fell for the beats, then he kinda fell for Ryo, but don't say that, kay? Its a kinda secret everyone knows but Katsu likes to think its all deeply hidden and what not." He giggled again and strummed a tune on his bass. "Really? I never knew that. Heh, Okami won't be happy if he finds out, though. He REALLY likes Katsu, and hates Ryo like woah! You're really different from what I heard, I thought you'd be more angry and gloomy, do you know how to play more than the bass? I tried drums but I can't do it, I like all the finger movements, especially for the piano!"

...Someone really needed to shut him up, if only for the fact that he managed to skillfully use his tongue to keep the pocky in his mouth while he spoke, and it was hard to concentrate watching that. Fortunately, the door burst open again and an irritated blonde stalked in. He stopped and assessed the situation before rolling his hazel eyes. "Seducing people already, Etsu?"

"Seducing?"

Kamigo ignored the bassist's inquiry and looked at Akio, lip upturning slightly. "So you're Akio. Hm. Thought you'd be taller."

"Comming from the dude who's like, 5'7. What what do you mean about seducing?"

"Shut up! So yeah, we already know each other so whatever."

"Technically they only know our stage names, told'em nothing about our real names-" He was silenced by a hard whap on the head, in which the bassist began to whimper while the guitarist stalked over to an empty chair, dropping his guitar case by his side as he sat.

"How long till the session starts?" Despite his slightly less than average height, Kamigo was filled out with lean muscle, pale skin marred only by the black phoenix tattoo crawling up his right arm, visible due to the fact he was wearing a black wife beater. There had also been rumors about him being an underground fighter, and by the way he glared, it didn't seem far from the truth.

Akio could barely keep up with the barrage of casual insults that were being hurled his way. Angry and gloomy? Where had Mietsu heard that? Was it some sort of tabloid gossip, or had someone really told him that? He had been a "celebrity" for over a year now and really should have had thicker skin to such statements, but they still stung for some reason.

"I don't even really know how to play the bass," he admitted, but that was all he had time to say before the second round came hurtling his way. Akio was relieved when Kamigo first entered, glad to have someone else in the room so the two of them weren't alone together anymore, but the comment about seduction made his insides flutter with panic. Was it so obvious? But they were just standing there! Talking, just talking!

And then the blow about his height--what was it with these people? At first he wanted to snap something back, but watching the exchange between the two of them made the words dry on his tongue. It was obvious by their bickering how close they really were, or at least it seemed that way to Akio. He was shocked by the stab of envy that he felt watching them. He considered himself friends with his band mates, but aside from Tetsuya there was never much intimacy between them. When they were together, there never seemed to be any doubt in anyone's mind that they were there for work.

"Ryo's usually early, he should be here soon," Akio found himself repeating, and inwardly he cursed the drummer. Why wasn't he here already? Why did Akio have to stand here answering for him? his mouth felt numb from the pockey and he stepped back, sinking to the ground with his back against the wall. He was already exhausted by his new band mates.

"Do you guys know what we're supposed to be practicing today?" he asked, making his voice as strong and to the point as he could manage. He didn't want either of them to know that he was intimidated by them. "I haven't heard anything about what kind of songs we're going to be doing." He paused. "Do you guys write your own songs?"

"Well, supposedly we're gonna try playing each other's songs to see how well we adapt. After that... Dunno."

"OH! I know! Katsu always writes the lyrics and stuff for us, even the music! He's a musical genius-!"

"And you're not?"

"Only instrumentally. I can't write for crap. My high school writing class? Barely passed. But Katsu, he's amazing! Like, that song, Paradise Lies, I was just stringing random notes cause I was bored and he made an entire song just listening to it! So, that's why after today, he'll listen to what we did and come up with something. Did you do your own lyrics?" Mietsu asked, eyes bright and for once staying on subject. Kamigo rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, Katsu's are better anyway. And when that Ryo dude gets here, I'm getting his autograph for our sick-boy."

"NO FAIR! I called it fiiirst!"

Akio couldn't help hanging on the converstaion; he would never have admitted it, but "Paradise Lies" was his favorite NORA song. Not that he listened to too much of their music, but that song at least had...meant something. It had made Akio a little jealous, actually; Lucid Light's music was almost exclusively soulless, factory-pumped marketing gimicks.

"We don't do our own," he said, in response to Mietsu's question. "Someone from the label does that, we just write the music."

As the two of them argued, the door to the studio slid open and Akio jumped to his feet when he caught sight of Ryo's tall, familiar figure stepping inside. Finally! he wanted to scream.

Ryo was clutching a Starbucks cup in one hand, looking very tired and a little hungover, yawning as he entered the room. His thick black hair was tussled as always, as though he had just rolled out of bed and happened to find himself with flawless, messily attractive hair. Akio still didn't know if he styled it that way or if it was real. When he caught sight of the three of them, and particularly Akio, he froze, his narrow, jade-green eyes widening slightly.

"Am I late?" he pulled his phone out, checking the clock. "I thought we were meeting at eleven!"

"We are," Akio replied, glancing at his own phone. They still had a couple minutes; everyone was actually early. But even Akio couldn't remember the last time he'd been earlier than Ryo to a practice. "You're right on time. We were just talking about what we're going to practice."

Kamigo and Mietsu blinked, looking at Ryo for a moment before they seemed to remember what they had been arguing about previously. Kamigo pulled out an album, one of Lucid Light's first, and was about to speak when Mietsu snatched it out of his hand and ran over.

"Ah! Ryo! Can I get your autograph!? Katsu is a fan!" He asked cheerily, holding out the album as Kamigo cursed at him. He even pulled out a sharpie from his pocket, grinning. Kamigo sighed and went back to his seat, grumbling curses under his breath all the while.

(Shooort. -_-; )

Ryo blinked at Mietsu before giving him a surprised smile. "Yeah, sure," he said, taking a sip of his coffee and signing the cover. "This album sucks, though." He looked up at Akio darkly. "All our albums suck. Tetsuya should've gotten arrested a lot sooner."

Akio felt his face flush and he glared back at Ryo angrily. The traitor! It wasn't as though Akio was one hundred percent happy with their music, but he wouldn't say it sucked. Especially not in front of Mietsu and Kamigo, having known them for less than a minute! And even though he knew that Ryo had been joking about the last part, he knew that a part of him had been serious too.

"How's Katsu doing, anyway?" Ryo asked, looking between Mietsu and Kamigo. "What's in there for, again? I heard somewhere he was in rehab or something."

That one Akio could let go, partly because he was curious too. He didn't know if Katsu was permanently out of NORA or if they were planning on bringing him into the new group as well.

Kamigo suddenly looked murderous. "Rehab!? Fucking media, the hell he's a junkie, the hell do they think he is, Paris Hilton!?" Mietsu sighed lightly, waving a hand as if to disregard both parties. "His heart is deteriorating, they need to find a donor or else he'll... Well, die. And its not easy, especially since he's O type and his body's immune system is one of those over reactive types." Wow, five minutes in and the ex-Nora members were already in the negative. Kamigo especially, judging by is ever darkening glare and venomous looks to anything that caught his vaguest ire.

Mietsu wasn't a ball of sunshine, either, taking back the album and tossing it into his bag, playing a few chords at random as he waited. The silence was tense and depressing, but Mietsu wasn't even bothering to lift it this time. "...So, when do we start?" He asked, eyes hidden by his bangs.

Akio jumped when Kamigo suddenly exploded, but Ryo just raised his eyebrows in surprise. Their eyes met, and Akio shot him an icy glare.

Nice.

But Ryo stepped up to the drums as though oblivious to the chilling atmosphere, taking another sip before tossing his coffee cup into the trash. "We should go see him when he's up to visitors, then." He turned to Akio. "Introduce ourselves, you know? Let him know we're not trying to replace him or anything."

Akio winced. A lot of people found Ryo charming because of his bluntness and honesty, but Akio wasn't one of them; "socially retarded" was how he would characterize the drummer. Perhaps Mietsu and Kamigo didn't share his opinion, but he had been hoping the subject of replacement wouldn't come up at all today. A part of him was still holding out hope that this was only temporary, and that things would go back to normal soon.

"Yeah," Akio said, "that's a good idea. Um, why don't we do something that Lucid Light and NORA haven't done before?"

Kamigo was still glowering, but Mietsu brightened up regardless. "Oooh! Lets play a song by-"

"No, we're not gonna play Skillet."

"But-!"

"No. Not Skillet, Coheed and Combria, or Rammenstein. Or whatever else you like to listen to." Mietsu pouted for a few seconds before bouncing up out of his seat. "Oh, oh, lets play Wild Night Alley! I mean, we need to play each other's songs right?" Kamigo stared blankly at Mietsu before sighing. "I'd say yes, but its too complicated for THEM to learn right now." Was that a challenge? By the way Kamigo's eyes glanced at Akio, yes it was. The tempo for that song changed quickly and often, and no vocalist could keep up without a few tries... Unless that vocalist was Okami, who always seemed to be spot on with the vocals in his damnably sexy singing. Some swore he was a woman, the way he could change pitch so fast and smoothly.

Regardless, Kamigo grabbed two small song books from his bag and tossed it to Ryo and Akio. "Page 23." Wild Night Alley was another favorite of the media, often called one of NORA's best, and some wonder how the song had come about.

"Heeey, Kamigo~! Should one of us show how the vocals work? Pretty sure Ryo can do the drums easy 'nough." Kamigo rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll get up there. You're lucky I know how to sing and play at the same time, UNLIKE SOMEONE." Mietsu made a sound of mock pain, hand clutching his heart and falling over.

"Complicated? Fuck that!" Ryo complained, catching the song book that Kamigo threw at him. "Let's do something easy! What about 'Starlight'? We could all do 'Starlight' in our sleep! Tell 'em, Akio!"

"No, they're right, we should do 'Wild Night Alley'." Akio met Kamigo's gaze with an icy glare before he turned his attention to his own song book. Again he felt a stab of irritation toward the drummer; he'd heard Ryo play this song before, more than once. Kamigo was right. He wasn't going to have any problem keeping up with the members of NORA--Akio was the one in trouble. He had never tried singing 'Wild Night Alley' because it was a little intimidating, not only because of the structure of the song but because Okami had such an amazing voice. Even Tetsuya thought so.

But he wasn't about to back down in front of these two.

"I'm pretty sure I can handle it," Akio added as he moved into position, being careful to avoid Mietsu's eyes. He was already nervous enough; he didn't feel like singing at all today, and his intense awareness of Kamigo and Mietsu (especially the latter) was only making it worse. Akio didn't mind singing in front of a lot people, where there was a strange and wonderful sense of anonymity, but doing it in front of just a handful of strangers still tended to give him horrible stage fright.

And suddenly he could hear Tetsuya murmuring softly in his ear: "C'mon, Aki, I wanna hear your voice..."

"Let's go," he said firmly, looking to the NORA members to start them off, trying to suppress the color he could feel rising to his cheeks. Tetsuya had never said it like that during practice...

"Goddammit," Ryo muttered behind him, drawing his drumsticks and tossing the song book aside. "Fine. But we're doing 'Starlight' next."

Mietsu giggled, strumming a few notes to check if Kojiyo was tuned again before standing up, Kamigo muttering something under his breath as he put on the guitar. Mietsu stared at Akio for a few moments, raising a brow at his sudden rise in color, but shrugged when it was apparent they should start.

Kamigo started it off first, then Mietsu joined in. Mietsu seemed to look every different, eyes half lidded and a half smile on his face, looking a lot calmer than how he usually was. Kamigo was different as well, putting energy he lacked earlier(when not angry) into playing, both making music that seemed to fill the studio completely.

Mietsu looked up when it was time for Akio to sing, looking expectant.

A shiver ran through Akio's body when the music suddenly started, swelling and spreading through the studio like a heavy fog, enveloping everything. He heard Ryo stagger slightly, trying to adjust his playing to the two new members', but after a few seconds the drum beat evened out, picking up speed and power like an accelerating train.

Akio wished that it was the same for him; he was trying to follow their playing in his book, but his strange awareness of Mietsu only grew stronger when he heard him begin to play. A lot of people overlooked bass, didn't seem to realize what an expressive instrument the bass guitar was, but listening to his playing Akio felt like he could hear a piece of Mietsu reaching out to him through the music.

He almost missed his quieu. Akio fumbled with the song book for a second, nearly dropping it, but somehow managed to keep his place. And yet as he began to sing he could feel his voice failing him, falling just short of those higher notes and trembling slightly when he should have been more forceful:

"Wild Fight,
Strays break the night
Howling in the silence
The blood spills tonight

Dead Night,
That world without light
Lost between illusions of civilization
What's the point of their true sight..."

He squeezed his eyes shut, so frustrated and humiliated that he couldn't bear ctaching even a glimpse of his bandmates. He poured himself deeper into the words, and finally he felt as though his singing was coming a little more naturally, his voice evening out. He was starting to get that feeling of being alive that only really seemed to come when he was singing:

"Break it down
The jungle
Moon's watching us tonight
Watching us fight
To live another darkness

Lost in the world cold as steel
I have to up the ante
And suddenly there's apathy
Why can't I feel whats real
When lies and truth finally part
In the Wild Night Alley

Survive,
Its all another game of hunt
Search for real existence
Survive,
No one left to look back again
Just me howling in silence

Moon Light,
She saw the life
The broken laugh eternity
Hungry eyes burning in light

Lack Sight
To see the right
But who cares
It breaks tonight

Strays howling in the silence..."

When the song ended he was a little short of breath, and sweat was clinging to his forehead. He knew he hadn't sung it like Okami would have, but he thought that he had brought something of himself to the song...maybe.

((Lyrics provided by PhoenixIllusion. Thanks Phoenix!))

Since his part had ended earlier than the others, Mietsu was the first to clap. Well, it wasn't like Kamigo was going to clap anyway, but regardless, Mietsu grinned. "That was great!"

"No it wasn't. He totally fucked up the beginning."

"Its his first time, Kamigo~ And he made up for it at the end~!"

"Eh. Okami is still better." Mietsu stuck his tongue out at Kamigo, but looked back at Akio. "It was really good! Next time you'll probably do it even better!" He laughed, poking the vocalist's side before turning to Ryo. "Do you have the song book for Starlight? I wanna see what I'm playing before I do."

"Same here. Although if its what i remember, it probably sucks."

"Kaaammiiii!"

"Meh." Clearly Kamigo was going to be antagonistic the whole time.

Akio felt about an inch tall after Kamigo's criticism, even though he knew that he probably shouldn't take it personally. He seemed like the kind of person who was always in a bad mood, but in a weird way Akio seemed to crave those people's approval more than anyone else's.

But what shook him more than anything was Mietsu's reaction; Akio was fairly sure he was just trying to be nice, yet that made it even worse considering what Akio had said about Mietsu's bass playing. And the poking didn't help. Why did Mietsu keep touching him? No wonder Akio kept getting so flustered!

"Uhh..." Ryo was saying, glancing around the studio. "Akio, you got any song books? Do we even have song books?"

"Oh. Yeah." Akio had to dig through his bag to find them. The entire rehearsal was going so differently than he had expected; he'd thought that they would end up doing a Lucid Light song first, if anything, and had even meant to have the song books out and ready. If he hadn't gotten caught up with Mietsu before practice, he probably would have.

"Here," he said, tossing one to Kamigo and one Mietsu, though he was sure to keep a little distance between himself and the latter.

"You won't even need 'em!" Ryo assured the two of them with confidence. "Let's go!"

Kamigo scanned the song and raised a brow. "...This is it?"

"...Looks like something we would've learned in sixth grade."

"In sixth grade you knew how to play thirteen instruments, you don't count." Casual insults aside, they prepared themselves to start playing, looking to Ryo to start them off.

(Wth I'm sorry this is absolute shit post augh Kinda everywhere atm.)

((haha no worries dude. Feel free to skip around with time if you wanna, btw.))

"Hey!" Ryo yelled, thrusting a stick at Kamigo with a mock scowl. "Don't badmouth our song! I bought my first place 'cause of this baby!" He turned his gaze to Akio, grinning. "Ready?"

"Yeah." Akio could hardly believe his eyes. Was Ryo actually having fun? This was miserable! There had to have been something besides coffee in that Starbucks cup.

Ryo started up, and Akio hit his cue without any trouble this time, settling into the same boring rhythm he'd been repeating for over a year now, trying to not let his mind grow numb.

Or perhaps not so boring. As soon as Mietsu came in, the music... Shifted. The notes were where they needed to be and they followed the score, yes, but a big part of NORA as a whole was the fact that each performance was never the same as the last, imperfection blended perfectly, like what a band was- A bunch of individuals working together.

When Kamigo entered as well, the music gained a slightly harsher quality, but it went well with the energy Mietsu's bass gave. When the song was done, Kamigo yawned loudly, almost as if making a show of how bored he was. Mietsu laughed. "That was fun! Anything else, or do we start recording for Katsu now?"

(SKIP TO HOSPITAL WITH ALL RECORDINGS IN PLACE PLEAAAASSSSEEE)

"I hate hospitals," Ryo muttered under his breath.

"Well, it was your idea to come here," Akio replied, staring down the hallways as they strode past. He was a little bewildered; he'd never been to this hospital before. Actually, his experiences with hospitals were few and far between, and he found the building's layout almost impossible to understand. How was anyone supposed to find anything in here?

"Hey, I didn't say I don't want to be here, I just wish here wasn't a hospital. Back at the sudio, maybe, I could've shown him a thing or two. Or maybe a good curry place..."

Akio glanced up and down the hospital corridor. "So which room is Katsu's?"