Superstar by
Ina-chan
First Posted Online: August 30,2004
History: A Fruity Robin Sunday Challenge, "Superstar"
words and music by Ina-chan on a Pepsi high while thinking of
cheesy lyrics for a cheesy song while listening to L'Arc En Ciel.
quick note: Even though this fic is written in
English, readers, please assume that all dialogue between the
Japanese characters are spoken in Japanese. You’ll understand
what I mean… ^_^.
0****0
/[*clap* x 8] Let’s go! [*clap* x 8]
As I’m walking by, I see your face up in the sky
Like an angel flying high
O-o-o-oh, my foolish heart stopped at that very instant
And I stumble foolishly for a dream that cannot be
‘Cause I’m so ordinary when you’re a super superstar /
0****0
The cheesy words blared loudly through the speakers,
barely heard through the roar of ecstatic screams of frenzied
teenagers. Kyou Souma didn’t bother hiding his irritation as
he tapped his toe impatiently while watching from their special
seats up front and away from the crowd. If it was bad enough
that he was wasting a perfectly good Sunday evening in a concert
of a band that he didn’t even like… he had to spend it with
that damned Yuki.
He stole a glance at his cousin, who was probably
mirroring his sentiments, despite his calmer outer demeanor.
Seeing his cousin’s appearance once again, he couldn’t help
but let out a snicker. Despite the unpleasant evening before
them, it was a comfort to know that at least Yuki was even more
miserable than him.
As
if sensing his cousin’s thoughts, the Rat met the Cat’s eye
for a few fleeting moments. Yuki’s eyes narrowed--- half in
annoyance, half in embarrassment--- before quickly averting eyes
and concentrating his attention towards the girl sitting between
them. Kyou snorted and once again, looked ahead and retreated to
the back of his mind --- where he was imagining 101 ways to put
the members of a cheesy pretty boy band out of their misery and
still make it look like an accident.
The exchange went completely unnoticed by their mutual
companion, who was watching the show with starry excitement in
her eyes. Feeling
Yuki’s gaze, Tooru turned look at him and gave him a big
smile, “This is so exciting Yuki-kun! I’ve never been to a
concert before! I’m so happy!”
Sweat beaded on the boy’s forehead as he forced his
lips to curve into a smile, before raising a hand to
conveniently cover his face as that annoying camera man panned
towards their direction to take another close-up shot of Tooru
enjoying the show. He stole another glance at the girl beside
her to mentally remind himself that the price in exchange for
this humiliation was well worth it…
Only a mere 24 hours had passed, and the events that led
to this insanity was completely unbelievable that you would
think it was something that can only happen in a shojou manga or
inside the warped imagination of a fanfiction writer, who was
known to have questionable sanity. But unfortunately for poor
Yuki Souma, this was his reality for the moment.
{24 Hours Ago…}
0****0
/ I would give anything, I would do everything
Baby, just say the word
And I will run that fa-ah-ah-ar
I would give anything, I would do everything
Just for the hope that I too can be your own
Super superstar/
0****0
“HUAAAAAAA!!!! I can’t believe that I actually
won!” There were literally stars in Tooru Honda’s eyes,
referring to the envelope containing her prize on the table in
front of them, as she set down snacks and cups of steaming tea.
“That’s really great Tooru-kun!” Shigure commented,
before shooting a mischievous grin at his younger cousin,
“It’s a good thing to know that Kyou-kun’s luck doesn’t
rub on other p----”
“SHUT UP!” Kyou growled angrily to cut off the
older man’s words, accompanied by an errant flying consolation
prize mouse pad that made a perfect landing right on his face.
Pleased that his aim sailed true, the cat leaned back on
his seat with a satisfied expression on his face.
“Sh-sh-shigure-san! Are you alright?”
It happened only a few minutes ago, and one would never
expect that doing something unusual during a regular routine can
cause a life-changing event. In Tooru Honda’s case, it was
stopping at a local CD store that was holding a promotional
street contest featuring some gaijin band when they were walking
home from school. First place was a backstage pass and after
concert dinner with the mentioned band for the winner and two of
her lucky friends.
“Hmmm…‘Influer Mauvais’,” Hatsuharu murmured
looking at the CD copy that Yuki won, “I didn’t know you
were a fan of theirs, Honda-san.”
“What kind of band is it, anyway?” Yuki asked
curiously
“If you’re talking about their musical style, it’s
kind of difficult to explain. They’re a fairly young and new
gaijin band that’s getting popular with the younger crowd
here. Despite their heavy metal sounding name, their music
actually fluctuates between pop and rock. I personally think
they’re more eye candy than real talent,” Hatsuharu
explained, his normally laid back tone strong with the
uncharacteristic authority similar to that of a professor or an
acclaimed expert in a field, that the entire room hushed in
complete silence and the other four occupants of the room stared
at him in surprise. Hatsuharu simply blinked back at them in his
usual non-chalant manner, “What?”
“A-no…” Tooru finally replied, breaking the shocked
stillness, “I actually haven’t heard of the band until this
afternoon. But I’m sure that they’re very good. It’s just
that I’ve never been to a concert, so I just got very excited
about the whole thing. On top of that, I get to meet the band
after the show too. I’ve never met a band in person either so
that makes it doubly exciting.”
“I’m sure it will be exciting. But Honda-san…”
Hatsuharu nodded in agreement before turning to the girl with a
worried look, “You’re not going out with them alone, are
you?”
“Well, they said that I can bring two friends with
me,” Tooru replied, “But the concert is already tomorrow
evening. Hana-chan skipped school today because her family had
to take the early flight for her great-grandmother’s birthday
in
Hokkaido
this morning. She won’t be back until tomorrow evening.
Uo-chan is working a shift at her part-time tomorrow as well,
and I don’t want her to take time off work without me. Kagura-san
is studying for her mid-term exams… and I don’t know who
else would be willing to come with me.”
Shigure raised and eyebrow at the comment and Yuki
immediately frowned. The two unintentionally exchanged
meaningful looks, both instantly sensing that there was
something very amiss at their little flower’s statement.
The worried look formed into a deep furrowed frown on
Hatsuharu’s forehead, “Hmmmm… I don’t think it’s a
good idea for you to go alone with this band. Apparently, they
have made a not-so-impressive reputation of themselves
overseas.”
By this time, even Kyou began sporting a similar scowl on
his face as well. Yuki instinctively reached over for the
envelope and pulled out its contents. Even the playful
expression on Shigure’s face instantly dissolved as his voice
took a more serious tone, “What is it? Drugs? Getting into
fights?
“Rumour has it,” Hatsuharu continued, “Girls can
get pregnant just talking to them.”
“WHAT!?!?” Yuki gaped at Hatsuharu in
surprise, he quickly scanned the letter that accompanied the
backstage passes
“NA!?!?” Kyou growled indignantly at the same
time
“Eh?” Tooru simply blinked cluelessly before a
puzzled frown marred her features. One can almost see the gears
turning in her head as she fell into deep thought, trying to
figure out how a woman can get pregnant by just talking to a
man.
“Look at this!!! I knew something sounded
suspicious!” Yuki added angrily as he put the letter in front
of Shigure and pointed at a section of the paper, “This
isn’t just a publicity stunt. I’m sure that they did this on
purpose!”
“Hmmm… this is definitely a predicament,” Shigure
stated calmly, uncharacteristically serious, after quickly
reading the part that Yuki pointed his attention too, “As
Tooru-kun’s temporary guardian, I definitely can’t allow her
in good conscience to go to this concert and go on a date with
these strangers without a chaperone.”
“For once, I agree with you,” Kyou grunted
reluctantly
“I’m so sorry Tooru-kun. I know you were looking forward to this,”
Shigure added, genuinely apologetic
“Ah! No! No! It’s alright! You don’t need to
apologize, Shigure-san!” Tooru quickly replied, waving her
hands cheerfully. She looked at the four men around her,
obviously deeply touched by their concern for her, “I know
you’re only looking after my well-being. I’m very
grateful…”
All four men eyed each other disdainfully at her words.
Despite what she says and her cheerful manner, they could still
sense the tiny tinge of disappointment behind her voice. After
all, it wasn’t just the fact that this was going to be the
first concert she’ll be attending, or the first time she will
be meeting a group of celebrities… this was also the first
time she won something in her life. To suddenly realize that it
was a useless prize --- it must be completely disheartening!
“I’ll go.” He mumbled so softly, that it almost
went by unheard. With his head bowed and eyes hidden behind his
bangs… it almost seemed that he wished that no one noticed.
“Did you say something, Yuki-kun?” Shigure looked at
his cousin.
Apparently,
luck wasn’t smiling down on Yuki Souma that day.
With a sigh of defeat, he lifted face and spoke with a
louder tone, but still refusing to meet anyone’s eye, “I
said I’ll go.”
“EH!?!?” Tooru
gaped, wide-eyed, turning a healthy shade of red, “Yuki-kun,
you don’t have to do that! Really, it’s fine!!”
Shigure simply turned away and started snickering,
earning an indignant glare from his younger cousin. Yuki then
turned back to the girl and forced a bright smile on his lips,
despite the dark aura circling ominously around him, “It’s
only for a few hours anyway. And since we’ll be on special
seats, there’s not much of a chance of getting into accidents.
It’ll be a shame to let an opportunity like this to go to
waste. And you never know when this band will do a concert in
Japan
again. It’ll be
fun…”
“Hnnnn,” Hatsuharu hmmmed as he eyed the Rat
through half-open lids, “How come you sound like
you’re trying hard to convince yourse---”
“IT’S GOING TO BE FUN!!!” Yuki glared at the
younger boy, sounding a little more forceful than he intended
The cat scowled, watching the whole exchange in
annoyance. It was just like that damned Yuki to make a scene,
act like some annoying prince coming to the rescue just to make
himself look good. He glanced at Tooru from the corner of his
eye and frowned even more (if that was even possible). Between
those horny gaijin freaks and Yuki? No way he’s going to leave
her alone with them like that!
“I’m going too!”
“EEHHH!?!?!?!?” Tooru stared at him as if her
eyes were ready to pop out, turning into a deeper shade of red,
“K-k-kyou-kun too?”
Upon hearing the Cat’s declaration, the Dog burst out
in laughter, doubling over painfully in complete mirth.
Hatsuharu simply blinked blankly at the orange-haired boy, not
quite following what the commotion was all about.
“Idiot,” Yuki muttered in disgust, “Don’t
volunteer to do something without knowing what you’re getting
yourself in to.”
Kyou bristled in anger at his cousin’s words. How dare
that damned Rat make it sound like he doen’t have the right to
protect Tooru as well. “Don’t tell me what to do! I already
said that I was going, so there!”
“B-but Kyou-kun…” Tooru began
“IF YOU DON’T WANT ME TO GO, JUST SAY IT!”
Kyou glowered at the girl irritably
“You volunteered by yourself, don’t make it sound
like Honda-san forced you into it,” Yuki shot back coolly at
the cat, before the girl can reply to defend herself
“Maa, maa!” Shigure finally spoke, finally regaining
his composure, “Yuki-kun, you shouldn’t be refusing help
when it is offered to you freely.
Speaking of which, I think recruiting A-ya’s help shou---”
A heavy hand fell on Shigure’s shoulder and the
novelist froze, as his cousin’s voice seemed to have caused
the air in the room to fall several degrees below freezing
temperature, “CALL HIM, YOU DIE.”
“But Yuki-kun! A-ya is the perfect person to approach
at a time like this! Don’t you want you and Tooru-kun to stand
out and shine?” The Dog whined defensively
“STANDING OUT IS THE LAST THING I WANT TO DO!”
Yuki’s icy voice boomed to terrifying proportions
But the novelist simply grinned mischievously and refused
to back down, “And I suppose you have a spare outfit in your
closet that you can appropriately wear for the occasion?”
This time, it was the Rat who literally froze as
realization hit him… before deflating in defeat at the logic
of the older man. The novelist let out a self-satisfied laugh,
“Face it Yuki-kun. Without A-ya’s help, there’s no way you
guys can pull this off. A-ya works miracles! Even a hopeless
case like Kyou-kun will be transformed convincingly!”
“HEY!” Kyou shot back in pure annoyance
Hatsuharu watched the exchange with amused interest before taking the
piece of paper from Yuki’s lifeless hand to read the letter
for himself, while Tooru continued to sweat drop speechlessly
and make sounds from her throat that seemed like a mix between a
nervous giggle and a sigh while looking at Yuki apologetically.
“OI! What’s going on?” Kyou called out
suspiciously, “Why do we need that noisy person’s help in
the first place?”
“Hmmmmm,” Hatsuharu raised an eyebrow as he read the
clause that Yuki was pointing out earlier, “It would seem that
there is a condition on who Honda-san needs to bring. It says
here that Honda-san is entitled to a backstage pass and dinner
with the band with her---“
{26 Hours and 30 minutes later…}
“---two friends,” Influer Mauvais’ manager
introduced the group to the speechless band staring at the trio,
after the concert, “Honda-san won our contest, so she and her
friends will be your dinner companions for tonight.”
“Good evening, I enjoyed watching your concert, thank
you for letting me come,” Tooru let out a shy smile before
making a polite bow, Kyou simply let out a grunt of
acknowledgement, while Yuki nodded, all the while looking ready
to bolt away like a scared deer.
Only then did the stunned band come to life, “WAAAAAAAA!!!!”
Before any of the three can make a move, the drummer
zoomed forward, knelt down and took Kyou's hand into his own to
give it a gentlemanly kiss, before speaking in semi-fluent
Japanese, "It great honour! Dining with three pretty
Japanese girls, yes?"
0****0
/They just put up that new billboard of you today
You smiling that smile, puts me on a daze
And I stood daydreaming for awhile
People think that I’m just crazy
I can’t help it ‘cause you’re
Oooooooh so pretty
So tell me
“Hold me tight oh baby”/
0****0
“So... you have, what you say... boyfriend?”
“NO!” Kyou replied indignantly as he tried his
best to keep his hands from forming into deadly fists. And it
was no easy feat! He was thankful that they were seated in the
private section of the restaurant, away from curious eyes of
strangers.
It
was so damned humiliating! To his complete horror, he found
himself sympathizing with what Yuki was probably feeling during
that time at the Cultural Festival back when they were freshmen.
But this was all for Tooru's happiness. If Yuki was willing to
sacrifice his pride for that, Kyou was willing to make the same
sacrifices... and even more! Yes! He will do absolutely anything
just for the sake of Tooru's happiness. Besides, if anything
wrong does happen, at least he wasn't too far away just in case
that guy tried something.
While
all of them were in the same room, they were separated into
three groups with various members of the band. A very suspicious
ploy that reeked "divide and conquer". If it wasn’t
for that damned publicity camera following them around from the
beginning, Kyou would have blown their cover hours ago, grabbed
Tooru by the arm and drag her away from this madness once and
for all.
Of
course, it doesn’t help that Tooru, who was currently the
center of attention of the band’s lead singer, seemed to be
enjoying herself. The lead singer had some gaijin-sounding name
that he couldn’t pronounce. But even with the unmemorable
name, he had a face that people would always remember. The
prettiness of his pretty boy face was almost criminal, and would
definitely give even Yuki a run for his money. It
was said that his smile was deadly. Just one smile, and fans,
both male and female, would willingly follow wherever Influer
Mauvais would go… well, at
least, buy their
latest CD.
And
Kyou hated to admit it, it annoyed him to hell. It was totally
pissing him off to watch Tooru get completely taken in by that
gaijin’s charms. It was one thing to see random boys make
passes at her, but it was another to see her actually responding
to it. He would have marched over and put a stop to it as well,
if it weren’t for the human octopus who decided that Kyou was
going to be his perfect dinner partner. The band’s drummer,
also known as “Poulpe” or whatever his real name was…
Everytime he had the urge to flatten him --- he would meet
Tooru's eye and she would give her a cheerful wave, bringing
back his sense of reason to keep continuing the stupid charade.
"What?
No boyfriend? That crazy! No boy with pretty girl like
you?" Poulpe gaped at the Kyou in disbelief
Kyou
ground his teeth and stole a glance at Tooru again, who on cue,
looked up and gave him a bright smile. He regained his composure
and forced a smile (that really looked more like a grimace) on
his face. Of all the members of the band who would chose to sit
with him, why did it have to be the one who can speak and
understand the most Japanese? The guy just won’t SHUT UP!
"I'm not pretty at all. Tooru and Yuki--ko are MUCH
prettier GIRLS than me."
This
was essentially true anyway. While Ayame's clothes looked a lot
more tame and conventional than usual (at Yuki's insistence), it
still didn't hide the fact that Tooru was the picture of a
sweet, innocent and radiant angel in her soft, flowing, pink
pastel, sleeveless, cocktail dress.
Yuki,
on the other hand, looked deadly and mysterious. As if he
stepped out of one of those gaijin spy movies. One would almost
be convinced that at the stroke of danger, he would simply reach
through the slit of his sexy black and red silk Mandarin dress
to pull out a small weapon carefully hidden and tied to a
slender milky thigh. And seeing him trapped between Influer
Mauvais' twin guitarists at his table, he already looked as if
he was wishing he had a weapon to brandish out.
But
there was only so much that Ayame can do for Kyou without making
him look like a drag queen. While the hair extensions and
make-up managed to soften his very male features a little bit,
and his loose dark pantsuit gave him an air of sophistication,
it still couldn't hide the athletic contours of his body... or
his fiery very unfeminine demeanor.
"They
pretty too, yes? But you, different! Feisty! I like feisty
girls!" The drummer continued with a very pleased
expression on his face, "Mother say feisty girls who are
built like ox and strong like bull are best! Good hips for
grandchildren!"
Kyou
choked, a chill suddenly running down his spine, as he instantly
moved his seat a good two meters away from his table companion.
All current urges to beat the drummer quickly dissolved away
into disgust. Nonetheless, he was half thankful that Tooru
didn't have to deal with this weirdo. There was absolutely no
way he'd want to have anything that would mean contact with...
with... THAT --- even if that contact was his fist and
the guy's pretty boy face!
0****0
/ I would give anything, I would do everything
Baby, just say the word
And I will run that fa-ah-ah-ar/
0****0
The
exchange between Kyou and his "date" went completely
unnoticed from Yuki's table. After all, he was busy
concentrating his attention on Tooru and her companion and at
the same time keep an eye on the two... very strange... young
men sitting on each side of him.
Unwittingly,
he had the same opinion as his cousin regarding his unpleasant
situation. That is, at least Tooru was not the one having to
deal with this. Several times (at least once every five
minutes), he would take a glance at her direction when she would
meet his eye and give him a reassuring smile. It was only then
that he would take an inward sigh of relief. At least the band's
lead singer, who has a strange stage name --- Aubergine or
something like that, seems to be acting like a perfect
gentleman. Plus there was that interpreter nearby to act like a
chaperone...
Though
that doesn't really help remove the sting that he felt whenever
he sees Tooru laughing at whatever the interpreter says. It was
an old habit that he hasn't quite gotten over yet, watching
Tooru when she's not looking. Seeing Tooru being happy with
someone else always pulled a twinge of selfish childish jealousy
within him. It was as if that person making her happy was taking
away a piece of Tooru from him. It made those old dark feelings
he always hated feeling as a child resurface again.
Yuki
let a small frown mar his features, not wanting where the
direction of his thoughts was headed. So he forced himself to
look away from Tooru's direction, only to freeze with a start
upon meeting two identical faces gazing at him in absolute
adoration. Here they go again… “Petit” and “Mignon”.
Yuki
almost had to bite his tongue to keep himself from bursting out
laughing when he first heard their names. True that they were
only stage names, but the names described them pretty well. The
twins were supposed to be only a year younger than them, but
they both look (and act) like they’re geeky fourteen year olds
who never saw a girl in their entire life.
From
snippets of earlier conversations, he found out that the whole
band was all family. The drummer and the lead singer were
siblings, and the twins were their cousins. The lead singer was
a year younger than the twins, while the drummer was the eldest
of the crew, being five years the twin’s senior. It was
obvious that the group was very close, though Yuki still found
it rather strange that all three older members seemed to treat
their lead singer with almost motherly-hen over protectiveness.
But
now, upon seeing that his attention was finally on them, one of
the twins held out his bread stick as if in offering, the action
immediately causing Yuki to push aside his thoughts.
"Uh...
thanks... "He sighed as he took the breadstick and started
to put it on the plate in front of him.
Both
twins instantly waved their arms, wearing identical expressions
of distress, upon seeing him discard the gift.
"No!
No! You! For eating!" Petit, the one who offered the gift,
cried out insistently
"Yes!
Eat! Eat!" Mignon agreed enthusiastically, taking a bread
stick himself and miming the action of putting it in his mouth
"Yes,
I know it's for eating. But I don't want to eat it right
now," Yuki said politely with exaggerated patience.
Obviously
not understanding his response, the boys then looked at each
other and started talking in their own language. That was pretty
much how the conversation between them has been happening the
past hour or so. They do something and watch his reaction, then
exclaim something in their limited Japanese, and when Yuki won't
do what he assumed that they wanted, they would mumble together
as if talking to each other about a new game plan.
For
some strange reason, the twins were fixated with giving him food
and making him eat. He found it rather unnerving. Not with just
the fact that they seemed to be intent on WATCHING him eat,
there was also the fact that he was sickened at the idea of
putting something in his mouth that other people touched... PLUS
there was also the disturbing coincidence that all the food that
the twins were offering him seemed to fall in the "elongated"
category.
And
thus the vicious cycle continues... Step one, they stare. Then,
they offer him a treat to watch him eat it. He refuses. They
regroup. Go back to step one.
"So...
your band's name is French and your stage names are French, but
you don't talk in French. There must be an interesting story
behind that," Yuki rambled, trying to distract them from
continuing their current activity. His stomach was already
turning at the sight of the small amount of appetizers that have
accumulated on his plate.
As
expected, the twins stopped their conversation to simply look at
him blankly, as if mesmerized... and Yuki realized, with a
silent groan that they were once again restarting the cycle. He
gave himself a quick mental kick at why he even bothered trying.
It's not that they would understand him anyway. And why the heck
were they separated when there was only one interpreter in the
first place? With a defeated sigh, he held out his hand to
humour them.
The
other twin smiled brightly at his action before he pulled out
his next gift from his coat pocket and put it on Yuki's waiting
hand, "Banana?"
Yuki
couldn't hide his disgust as he held the fruit, slightly
squished and still warm from being in the other boy's coat
jacket. Nonetheless, he still managed to graciously drop it on
his plate and wipe his hand on the napkin on his lap without
being conspicuously insulting.
"BLAH
BLAH BLAH!!!!" Mignon exclaimed as he whapped his
brother at the back of the head. One didn't need an interpreter
to figure out what he said.
"Blah
blah blah blah blah!" Petit whined defensively. He then
turned to Yuki with a genuinely apologetic look, “Apologize,
yes? Banana, no good? Yes?"
Yuki
kept his smile frozen on his face and shook his head, “No,
thank you.”
“Blah
blah blah blah,” Mignon stated in an I-told-you-so tone,
before turning to Yuki, “Soft banana no good. Hard banana yes
good, yes?”
“Uh…
sure,” Yuki replied uncertainly, having a bad feeling to where
their almost conversation was heading
“Pretty
girls like hard and long banana,” Mignon continued
“and
big banana?” Petit asked
“Yes!
Long, hard, big banana taste best, yes?”
“Like
cucumber!”
“Yes!
Yes! Like cucumber!” Mignon agreed enthusiastically before
turning back to Yuki, “You like cucumber?”
“………”
Yuki stared at the younger boys speechless, his left eyebrow
started to acquire an involuntary tick from hearing the
conversation. He was actually lost between wanting to laugh in
amusement or get sick with disgust. So he did what he would
normally do if put in an embarrassing situation like this,
“……excuse me……”
Yuki
took a quick glance at Tooru’s table as he stood up to escape,
only to feel his heart skip a beat upon seeing that the only
occupant of the table was the interpreter, nonchalantly drinking
his glass of wine. He made a quick scan in the room and felt
fear seize his entire being when he realized that Tooru and Aubergine
were no where in sight. Still trying to keep his cool, he strode
toward the interpreter and gave him his most winning smile,
“Hi.”
“Hello,”
The interpreter smiled back, giving him an appreciative look
from head to toe
Yuki
fought the urge to punch that creepy smile from the other
man’s mouth, “Do you know where my friend went?”
“Oh,
they just stepped out to have some ‘private personal time’,
you know what I mean,” The interpreter replied with a knowing
grin
The
tick on Yuki’s eyebrow evolved into a full blown eye-twitch.
0****0
/I would give anything, I would do everything
Just for the hope that I too can be your own
Super superstar/
0****0
"You
hair, you eyes so pretty! Bright like fire, yes?" Poulpe
droned on, trying very hard to spout something that sounded like
poetry with his limited Japanese
"Can't
you just SHUT UP?" Kyou growled, nursing his
impending headache. This guy was just so persistent! Kyou was
already being rude in purpose and the stupid octopus doesn’t
even get it! How dense can this guy be?
"No!
No! Is hard. You are... what you say... muse. Words spring from
here in heart. I not stop to praise pretty girl like you!"
Kyou
bristled at the comment and once again, barely managed to hold
back his clenched fist from connecting. He let out a defeated
sigh and made a silent apology to Tooru. There was just simply
no way he can go on with this charade without resorting to
violence and creating further embarrassment, “Look, before you
go on, I have to tell you something.”
“Yes?”
“I’m
really a man,” Kyou stated firmly, making a double effort to
make his voice sound deeper than usual, “I may look like a
woman on the outside right now, but in reality. I’m really a
man inside. 100% MAN. Get it?”
Poulpe
looked at him blankly, as if digesting the revelation. Then the
older man’s eyes softened sympathetically, “Yes. Get it. I
heard people of like you. Forced wearing girl clothes when
inside you not want, yes?”
Kyou
blinked at the drummer in surprise, “Yes. That’s right.”
“You
wearing girl clothes in making someone else happy, yes? But
inside, you no happy at all,” Poulpe continued empathically
“Yes,
yes, that’s exactly how it is,” The cat replied, starting to
feel relieved with the whole situation. This guy may not be too
bad after all.
“You
no worry. I understand,” Polpe said gently as he took the
younger man’s hands into his own, “You stay with me, you not
only be very pretty girl on outside, when we done, you be 100%
woman inside as well, yes?”
Kyou’s
battle aura instantly flared as he broke away from the other
man’s grasp, pulled back a mighty fist and…
“HONDA-SAN’S
MISSING!!!” Yuki yelled into his ear as his cousin grabbed
him by the collar and effortlessly dragged him to his feet,
before quickly disappearing out of the room
“WHAT!?!?!”
Kyou yelled back as the words registered in his head, the
incident with the human octopus completely forgotten. Without
another second to spare, he rushed after Yuki, leaving the other
occupants of the room staring after them in bewilderment. He
found Yuki, scanning the busy restaurant just outside the
private room entrance. He roughly grabbed Yuki’s arm to force
the other boy to face him, “WHY WEREN’T YOU WATCHING
HER?!?!”
“Well,
I didn’t see you taking a break from being touchy-feely with
your new boyfriend,” Yuki shot back sarcastically as he pulled
away and briskly walked along the corridor to continue his
search
“YOU
SHUT UP!!!” The cat yelled angrily, turning bright red in
fury, “YOU DA---”
“Shhh!”
Yuki interrupted as he suddenly paused at the hallway leading to
the washrooms, “Do you hear that?”
Kyou
frowned and concentrated on blocking out the restaurant noise to
hear what Yuki was referring to from the mentioned hallway.
There was an undeniable sound of hushed girlish giggling and
whispering. The two boys exchanged knowing looks and nodded in
agreement as they stepped toward the hallway at the same time.
“AH!
Wait! You
don’t have to...
Stop! Auber-san!”
The
distressed voice was definitely Tooru’s. Without another word,
both boys rushed in the hallway and rounded the corner, to find
them at the end of the corridor, just in front of the washroom
doors. With band’s lead singer bending over Tooru’s face,
and holding her in a very compromising position.
Indignant
rage boiled in Kyou’s chest as he rushed forward and roughly
grabbed the younger man away from the girl. The lead singer let
out a loud shriek of surprise as he suddenly found himself being
spun off-balance and unceremoniously crashing into Kyou’s body
and---
*POOF*
0****0
/ I always believed that if a person dreamed
And wished and prayed with all the heart
My
thoughts so true will go and reach you/
0****0
Yuki
was right behind Kyou when it happened. Out of instinct, and
many years of practice, Yuki reached out his hands and steadied
the falling figure before it crashed on him as well. As he held
the other person in front of him at arm’s length by the
shoulders, suddenly found himself staring down at a pair of very
surprised delicate almond shaped warm brown eyes. Finally seeing
the lead singer up close, it was only then that he realized that
the delicate effeminate features that “Aubergine”
possessed, was not because he was your typical boy-band “pretty
boy”.
“You’re
a girl,” Yuki mumbled stupidly
“Blah
blah blah,” Aubergine replied in the same tone as she rubbed
Yuki’s chest, where she found her hands accidentally placed on
her own effort to keep herself from falling
“K-Kyo-kkkkshhh!”
Tooru almost yelled at the same time, instantly covering her
mouth
It
was only then that Yuki remembered his cousin sprawled on the
floor in cat form between him and the band’s lead singer,
looking at Aubergine with as much a dumbfounded expression as a
cat’s face would allow. Without a second thought, Yuki swiftly
kicked the cat, clothes, and all through the swinging door
beside him. Kyou let out a surprised and indignant yowl before
the washroom door closed to hide him. Yuki looked back at
Aubergine nervously, and made a small sigh of relief to see that
she was still distracted by her recent discovery to notice
anything else happening around them.
Though…
“Please
stop that…” Yuki mumbled in mortification, sweat beading on
his forehead, as the younger girl’s curious hands started
poking his lean flesh. The lead singer looked at him with an
expression of wonder, before breaking into that unforgettable
smile that enslaved the hearts of the thousands of fans
following Influer Mauvais.
“BLAH
BLAH BLAH!!!” A familiar voice boomed in concern just
before the girl was ripped from Yuki’s grasp and wrapped
protectively in her big brother’s embrace, giving Yuki a
ferocious glare. It
was obvious from the older man’s expression that he witnessed
the exchange between Yuki and his sister. The secret was finally
out.
“Blahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblah!!!!!”
The girl sputtered indignantly as she struggled to get out from
her brother’s arms.
“A-ano!
It’ was my fault!” Tooru called out as she quickly rushed
forward in panic, “There was dust in my eye and Auber-san
tried to help… it was a misunderstanding!”
Aubergine
pointed at Yuki direction before hitting her brother’s
shoulders indignantly, “Blah blah blah blah blah! BLAH!!!”
The
drummer released his sister and glowered over Yuki to give him a
head to toe inspection. He grimaced before making a polite bow,
before spitting out his words like it was leaving a bad
aftertaste in his mouth, “Thank you for saving sister from
fall.”
“Uh…
sure…” Yuki replied uncertainly
“But
come close to sister again, I break face! Got it? Yes? Weird
woman dressing man freak!” The man growled angrily as he
jabbed a threatening finger in the air. Without another word, he
spun around and grabbed his little sister by the collar and
dragged her away unceremoniously like a mother cat carrying her
kitten by the scruff of the neck
“YUKI!!!”
The younger girl called out to him halfway across the room, a
big smile brightening her face, despite her precarious
predicament. She pointed to herself enthusiastically, as if
desperately trying to make him understand, “Blah blah Yasmine!
YASMINE! Okay? Yes?”
“Okay…”
Yuki nodded automatically as he gave her a small wave, not
really understanding what just happened
0****0
/Though it’ll never be
I still hope that someday you’ll notice me
And someone so ordinary
Will be your super superstar/
0****0
“The
hell! That was a girl!” Kyou blurted out the obvious in shock
as he stepped out of the washroom on cue
“That
was a surprise,” Yuki murmured in agreement
“You
mean you didn’t know that Auber-san was a girl?” Tooru
looked back and forth at the two boys, each on her opposite
side, “Didn’t Hatsuharu-san tell you?”
“………”
Tooru
sweatdropped nervously as both boys emitted a fantastic cloud of
dark auras between the two of them. The girl then let out a
nervous laugh, hoping to diffuse the tense situation, “I
can’t help feeling sorry for her… but at the same time, I
feel a little bit envious.”
“Ha?
What for?” Kyou looked down at her curiously
“She’s
the only girl in her family, so everyone is so protective of
her. She said that her brother and cousins are so strict that
they even put that ‘girl only’ clause in the contest rules
because they don’t want a guy to sneak in and make passes at
her,” Tooru explained
“So
that’s how it was,” Yuki mumbled, now feeling a little silly
about his earlier suspicions
“It’s
a tough life, but it must be nice,” Tooru continued
“Nice?
What’s so nice about being dragged away like that all the
time?” Kyou wondered aloud, as he gave the girl beside him a
strange look
“Well,
that part isn’t very nice, but still…” Tooru admitted
before her voice dropped to a dreamy tone, “It must be nice to
have someone who cares that much about you to watch over you
like that. Right? Kyou-kun? Yuki-kun?”
0****0
/ I would give anything, I would do everything
Baby, just say the word
And I will run that fa-ah-ah-ar
I would give anything, I would do everything
Just for the hope that I too can be your own
Super superstar/
0****0
Both
boys turned to look down at the girl between them in surprise
only to find their eyes accidentally meeting with identical
expressions on their faces. Suddenly feeling embarrassed, both
boys quickly looked away, red faced.
Not
noticing their uncomfortable exchange, Tooru cheerfully took
each of the boys hands in her own, “It was a lot of fun today.
Thank you for making it happen for me.”
Yuki
looked back and simply smiled back at her as he squeezed her
hand in reply. Kyou scratched the back of his head with his free
hand as he gave a small grunt of acknowledgement.
“Saaa!”
Tooru tugged her two friends’ hand and swung them almost
childishly as she pulled them to take a step forward, “Let’s
go home!”
0****0
/Oh baby, baby please
Let me be your superstar/
0****0
~OWARI~
Author’s Squawk:
DAMN! This fic went longer than I expected. But it was fun
writing it! ^_^. So thank you Ravyncat for making this awesome
challenge. I haven’t written a song… even though it’s such
a cheeseburger crap like this… in ages! Now Ina-chan is
inspired to put her more serious song writing juices to good
use!
But very special thanks to RJunkie for acting as my muse
and inspiration when I got stuck in this fic. I hope you liked
my special dedication for you. ^_^.
I know, I would love to be in THAT position… heh-heh…
Some notes: I named the band in French, initially in the
tradition of J-Rock image bands who seem to like sporting French
names. It was RJunkie’s idea to push it one more notch and
make the band’s stage names into French words that sound kinda
cool when spoken, but means the absolute silliest things.
Anywayz, “Influer
Mauvais” roughly means “Bad Influence”.
“Poulpe” is octopus. “Petit” means small and
“Mignon” is dinky. “Aubergine”
means eggplant. (I
kinda changed the names last minute too, RJunkie. ^_^.)
Ja!
Ina-chan
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