Track 02 - Cassis

WARNINGS: Some coarse langage

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"Hmm? Oh, there it is~!"

Kira slowed her car down to pull up on the side of the road opposite to Reita's apartment complex. She couldn't believe her luck at being able to find it just before the snow started falling again - and it was already falling quite quickly. While sitting in her car still with the engine running, Kira looked at the piece of paper that had the directions on it - Reita had given them to her earlier that week. She'd followed them exactly how he described, and there was no other apartment building on that street with just two levels ... so it had to be the place. Double-checking there were no cars coming, she slowly drove across the road and up into the small car park. As per her notes, Reita had told her to park in the space numbered 'seven' because no one lived in that apartment so she'd get away with it.

While she drove into that space, Kira noticed the car parked in space number 'eight' was a Red Mitsubishi Lancer - Kira's heart jumped at the thought that was probably his car. It was a very fancy looking vehicle with black leather interior and the light cover of snow across the top didn't seem to falter the cars good looks either. Kira's heart was starting to thunder against her rib cage now, the closer she brought herself towards Reita's front door. Even as she got out of her car the pounding in her chest was giving her a headache - any moment now she'd be standing in Reita's apartment! The one place any Reita or Gazette fan would die to be. Once she'd retrieved her bag from the back-seat and clicked the central locking, she found herself walking stiffly towards the buildings front door - and she wasn't stiff from the icy weather.

Upon opening the front door, she felt a light gust of warmth which was very inviting, but it only made her blush worse ... and she hadn't even come face-to-face with Reita yet. In looking around Kira noticed the first floor had four apartments - one both side of her and then two across the hallway. Directly in front of her between the other two apartments was a flight of stairs leading to the second level. Kira realised she had to climb those to get to Reita's place and therefore made her way over to them. Just as she went to take the first stair, to the left of her on the wall was a head-to-waist height mirror. Out of impulse she checked that she looked nice - black boots, black pin-strip pants, white turtleneck sweater with a plain white t-shirt hidden under it, a black woollen thigh-length coat and hood, and also a long red scarf around her neck. She'd styled her brown highlighted hair into soft curls and even put on a little light make-up.

Just as Kira smacked her lips to even out a light coating of gloss on her lips, she jumped about three feet in the air as her phone started ringing and vibrating in her pocket. At first she thought it might be Reita, but the personal ring-tone wasn't his - it was Mika's. Kira yanked the phone from her pocket.

"What?!"

She barked in a hushed tone, not really meaning to sound snappy but it had startled her.

"Are you there yet?"

Kira blinked - was that Ruki's voice?

"What the hell are you doing on Mika's phone, Ruki?"

"She was wondering if you got to Reita's yet, so I decided to cheer you on if you weren't there yet".

Kira made a 'what the hell?' face to the mirror.

"God you two are alike, it's no wonder your together; you sound just like Mika".

"I'll take that as a compliment- Hey!"

The 'Hey' came out faintly as a rustling sound came over the phone.

"Sorry Kira, Ruki wouldn't give me the phone. So your haven't gotten to Reita's place yet?"

"Oh I'm in the building, but I haven't gone up to his apartment yet. I had to stop and answer my phone first, thank-you very much Ruki!"

Mika giggled on the other end.

"Well, I'll leave you alone then. And Ruki says to ask Reita about a video?"

Mika trailed off and Kira realised he must have been telling her something.

"Oh okay, it's a video recording Reita shot while on the first part of the tour. Apparently he was filming all over the place when not performing, or something ... anyway he says to get Reita to show you. I've already seen the photos that Ruki took and it looked like they had fun, so be sure to ask, okay?"

"Alright alright, I will ... can I go now?"

Kira said the last part in a hushed voice, hoping that Mika got the hint - which she did. Mika and Kira exchanged quick good-bye's so that Kira could finally climb the stairs up to the second level, while deliberately putting her phone on silent and slipping it back into her pocket. As she stepped onto the second level, she looked left and right to find number 'eight'. Walking down the hall to the right she straight away found the right door - it was then she froze in the middle of the hall between Reita's door and the apartment across from his. She could here the sound of music booming from his place; she couldn't work out what band it was because the sound was muffled but she could definitely feel the bass faintly rumbling through the floor. She smiled to herself for a moment before shaking it off and straightening her coat.

Stiffly stepping towards Reita's front door, Kira knocked firmly on it and then took half a step back to wait - she'd half expected her knock to go un-noticed. But after a few seconds more of loud music, it was suddenly turned down so Kira couldn't hear it. Then her heart began to pound faster as she heard foot-steps coming from inside until ... the door swung inwards and there he was - bare foot, black cargo pants, a black tight fitting singlet, white fingerless gloves, a couple of silver chains around his neck. Reita's blond hair just hung flat and seemed to cover his eyes slightly. What caught the breath in Kira's throat was the fact he was panting slightly and his face was flushed a light red. It felt like an eternity that Kira was staring at him but it was merely a second before Reita smiled.

"Hey, you're a little early. I was just having a work out before you arrived ... come on in".

"O-Oh, right ... sorry I didn't mean to be so early. I-It was just in case I got lost".

Reita stepped back from the door so Kira could inch her way around him and into the lounge area. Despite the fact he'd been working out (which explained the gloves) he smelt really nice - he certainly knew how to pick his cologne. Then, not wanting to be rude, she set down her bag lightly and removed her boots to leave them by the door. Once standing up right again they smiled to each other as Reita took off his gloves.

"So ... shall I give you the tour?"

"Sure, if you like!"

Kira said a little too excitedly as Reita pushed the gloves into his back pocket. They were already standing in the living area, Kira realised, which was quite spacious - on the left wall was the flat-screen TV sitting on top of a flat DVD and CD cabinet, and across from the TV in the centre of the room was his sofa which looked to flatten down into a double bed if needed. Straight across the living area there was a set of doubles glass doors that didn't open onto a veranda but did have a hip-height metal guard-rail - not quite a veranda but Kira thought it would still be nice to open them up on warm days. In front of the doors there was a mini-gym set up - a long rubber mat was different sized weight lined up along the wall, also small hand-weights right up to longs bars with the large disk weights on the ends. Kira wondered if Reita had ever put one through the floor or window by accident.

Next he walked her through to the right of the living area and over to a wide archway leading to the kitchen - it was just the perfect size for one person. It had the usual refrigerator, stove, decent bench space with plenty of cupboards. She noticed there wasn't enough room for a dinning table but she didn't care - he probably just ate his meals on the sofa, which she did at home as well when her parents were away. Next Reita walked back across the living area towards a doorway beside his big TV and opened it to show her his room. Kira oogled at how simple it was - a double-size futon bed lay on the floor against the wall; near the door they just came through, so the bed was parallel with the TV in the living area. In the far corner was a smaller TV, about twenty inches, sitting on top of a little table. On the opposite wall to them was what Kira assumed was Reita's wardrobe.

Reita laughed when Kira excitedly pointed out his custom made bass guitar holder, which held three of them - one with the firey orange and red, black edging and white plate, while the other two were jet black with the marble-look white plate. But when he asked her if she wanted to look at them Kira declined and said she'd look at them later, so he continued the tour. There wasn't much else in Reita's room apart from a silver laptop sitting on the foot of his bed plus a few 'Sex Pistols' posters randomly placed around the walls. Moving on to the en suite bathroom to the left was a fairly decent size shower that could fit maybe five people, then stretching across the room was the bench and basin with numerous hair and skin products, then finally to the right corner was of course the toilet. There was also a long mirror across the wall over the bench.

"Wow this place is great!"

"Oh it's no grand palace or anything but I don't see much point when I'm always working, you know ... tours running for months on end, I can't really keep any plants or pets so it's best this way".

"No I think it's just fine! I can understand what you mean, you'd have no time to worry about carrying for plants or animals; worry about yourself first".

Reita laughed and pushed his hands into his pockets, leaning in the bathroom doorframe.

"Yeah, although Ruki has a little dog and ... Kai used to have a cat but it had to stay with his parents, and they're all the way back in Tokushima".

"Oh I see ... how sad".

"Oh Kai keeps himself busy. We all do".

And so Reita walked Kira back out into the living area and they stood in the middle of the room, Reita's hands still in his pockets and Kira now with her arms crossed. For a moment they just stood quite, Reita not really knowing what to say and Kira not much better as she gazed around the room out of nervousness. Then Reita clapped his hands together firmly and rubbed them.

"Well uh ... would you like a drink? Can I take your coat and hang it up by the door maybe?"

"Oh! It's okay I'll hang my coat up, but I'd love a drink. What do you have?"

As Reita continued through to the kitchen Kira slipped her coat off and went to hang it up on a little hook beside the door. Once done she followed Reita and just stood in the wide archway while he was bent down into the refrigerator. Out of sheer accident Kira's eyes happen to catch sight of his butt - even in those baggy black cargo's he still had a nice ass. That 'workout' he mentioned before was certainly doing him a big favour.

"Okay I've got milk, chilled water, week old fruit juice ..."

Kira giggled as Reita looked up.

"Don't you say a word, I bought that before we went on tour and it's just slipped my mind to throw it out yet ... okay I've got those or if you want something stronger I've got wine, vodka and beer".

"Oh I'd love a beer!"

"Are you serious?"

Reita blinked at Kira; not from shock but amusement - he'd never expected her to like beer; he didn't know many girls that did. So after Kira nodded with a little smile he made a 'fair enough' expression and gripped two Asahi beer bottles between his fingers. Allowing the fridge door to close itself he rummaged in a small draw to find the bottle opener. Quickly and effortlessly he cracked the tops off the bottles, set the opener on the bench and then walked back over to hand a bottle to Kira. In holding his out to her she softly clinked her's against it.

"Cheers".

They said together before both taking a mouthful of beer. After the toast there was another short but awkward silence until Kira remembered.

"Oh I've been told to ask about a video that you took while on the tour?"

Reita thought for a second and then realised.

"Oh that! Yeah I took my video camera along and filmed some stuff along the way. Like during the trip to our first destination, on the road between places, setting up and practicing ... stuff like that. Would you like to watch it?"

"Definitely!"

Well so far so good, Kira had been at Reita's place almost half an hour already and so far managed to avoid any lengthily awkward moments. She followed Reita back over to the sofa and she sat down while he kneeled in front of the TV to set it up. In turning the TV on and pressing some kind of button on the remote it flickered onto a different screen that, from what Kira could see, listed a whole lot of videos from tour's the band had so far completed.

"See all this? This is the stuff that none of the fans get to see. While our concerts are documented by our staff and then only release a concert Finale DVD ... I do my own video recording. Behind the scene's stuff ... so every so often during a tour either I or one of the others just records something so we can look back on it after the tour and have a laugh".

"Oh wow, that's cool! I'd only heard Mika asking Ruki to take photos, but you film it too".

"Yeah, it keeps us amused between venues and performing anyway. Since we got back I found time to upload the first half of the tour onto my USB Hard Drive through my laptop. Then I can connect it to my TV and watch it all from there. Now the video camera is ready for the second half of the tour".

Then Reita got off the floor and sat down on the sofa on Kira's right, where he quickly scrolled down the list with the remote until he found a video file labelled for the 28th of November. After selecting it and leaning back against the sofa the screen flicked to black for a second and then the image of a packed and snowy road. There was light chatter in the background.

"Yeah this is Reita ... as you can see the trip is going slower than a sleeping snail, so we're stuck in traffic ... uh ... with any luck we'll be on the Highway soon".

Kira snorted and placed a hand over her mouth as she giggled - she could tell by Reita's monotone voice that he definitely was bored. Reita looked at Kira was an amused grin and nudged her arm before taking another mouthful of his beer. Kira laughed after taking a little sip of beer.

"Sorry it just sounds funny. There's this big tour going on and your already bored".

"Well on the way to your first stop there was a lot of traffic and snow so it was really dragging out".

Reita poked her side as he spoke which made Kira twist and turn different ways as she giggled. Finally she was twisting and turning so much that she over balanced and fell against Reita's shoulder. Out of giggling so much she gradually let it die down when she felt a strong arm slip around her waist, holding her firmly at his side. Kira bit her bottom lip and slowly turned her head to look over her shoulder at him - without his hair styled and all that make-up Reita still looked very attractive to her. And even though his long fringe fanned out over his eyes she could still see how much of a deep brown they were up close. Kira could hear the video playing in the background but she wasn't paying attention because she couldn't look away while Reita was staring at her, as if daring her to look away.

Then Reita sat forward so his shoulder wasn't stuck behind her back, but keeping his arm firmly around her, he leaned forward to kiss her. It wasn't soft but it wasn't a strong kiss either ... just perfect. Kira didn't dare pull away; she welcomed his kiss straight away, even their tongues met at the same time after the first little kiss. Kira brought her hand up to place gently on the back of Reita's neck while his other arm came to rest across Kira's knees, still holding his beer. Kira couldn't believe what was happening ... not that she was complaining but ... wow! Sure Reita had given her the tiniest peck on the cheek at the café before she left but she didn't want to get her hopes up too much over something so small. Yet here he was proving her very wrong - and she was enjoying it. Suddenly he stopped and pulled back but only a few centimetres, his arm still around her.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that so soon".

Kira blinked, confused; she kept her hand on the back of his neck.

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't think first that you might be interested in someone else or if you even liked me".

Kira giggled and shook her head.

"Don't be silly, I really like you! Otherwise I wouldn't have let you kiss me ..."

"... Really?"

Reita never looked so adorable as he stared at her, dumbfounded - he obviously hadn't expected her to straight out say that she did actually like him. What with the other guys teasing him over the last month about him liking Kira, he'd started to wonder if she felt the same. Well there was his answer. Kira leaned closer and placed another soft kiss to his lips, moving her hand to touch his face. When Kira pulled back to smile at him, that brought a little smile to his face as well. Then Reita leaned back against the sofa again so Kira could curl up under his arm with her legs draped over his knee. And now for practically the first time since the video started playing, they were both tuning in to it and even returned to drinking their beer. By the looks of the video it was now after their first gig and the picture was seen scanning the dark interior of a van, which was back on the road - the passengers (the band and staff) were excitedly discussing the first successful performance. Aoi had his face in the camera.

"First show ... fucking tired ... but still on a high ... now on the road again ... when we get to the next stop we'll be turning in for the night. Then tomorrow we'll be rehearsing all day ... followed by another fucking tiring show ..."

The other people in the van could be heard laughing as he continued.

"I'm personally dying for a smoke and a large coffee ... and a shower".

Kira giggled and Reita smiled as they both took another mouthful of beer.

"As you can see we were all still on a pretty big high".

"Hmm I noticed ..."

Kira then giggled when Uruha grabbed Aoi from behind and pulled him away from the camera so he could say a few words. He was still wearing his eye-defining make-up but his styled hair was a mess. Ruki was seen next to Aoi with hair just as messy and typically wearing his sunglasses even in the darkness of the van. Then the image whipped around to stare at Kai - black eye shadow was smudged a little at the corners of his eyes and he looked very tired but still laughed. After that the image seemed to fast-forward to the place they were staying at, which of course happened to be in the same area of their next performance. This time it seemed Aoi was doing the filming because Reita was in the picture with Ruki, Kai and Uruha as they were settling down in their shared room for the night. Five single futons were set out in the room in a row with the four of them already sitting down on them, while Aoi was still standing up with the camera and looking down at them.

Each of the guys looked to have already washed up and changed into clothes for sleeping, so they looked comfortable and ready for a decent sleep. Kira noticed Reita mainly, in shorts and a t-shirt - he looked kind of cute rather than a big tough-guy. Even his extremely flat hair made him look like a dork. Kira cuddled even closer against Reita while they watched and she felt Reita's arm tighten a little more around her. She certainly liked the feeling of being in his arms, and in placing a hand over his chest, she blushed and smiled to herself - being able to feel the muscle in his chest was a lot better than just looking, that's for sure. That was Kira's weakness for him - strong, but adorable under the surface.

* * *
Meanwhile a little way up town, Ai, Megumi and Kikyo were now on their way to Uruha's apartment near Mejiro Station. So far, with Kikyo driving, she'd managed to find her way onto Mejiro-Dori and was now driving out towards the station. The station would be easy to find, but when it came time to follow the detailed directions, then Kikyo could worry. Ai was sitting in the front passenger seat while Megumi was in the back, baby-sitting one of their three bags while the other two were in the boot of the car. Kikyo's car was only 1999 white Toyota Camry Solara, so it was just big enough to carry the three of them plus three over-night bags. Kikyo, Ai and Megumi were dying to see Uruha, Aoi and Kai again and to hear all about how the tour was going ... but mostly just to be around them. However Kikyo was especially excited to be seeing Uruha's place.

The girls had dressed really nicely but warmly for Uruha's get-together. Kikyo in black slacks, black knee-high boots that went over the top of her pants, a hip length white turtle-neck sweater and a white fur-trimmed coat over the top. Her brunette hair styled into the usual wavy curls. Ai wore deep blue skinny jeans, knee-high black boots also over the top of her pants, a white long-sleeve top with little v-neck, a black knitted sleeveless vest over the top and a red woollen jacket. Her hair was just simply styled with a little hair spray. Megumi was almost all in white with white pants, white snow boots with fur-trim, a red waist length turtle-neck sweater and a waist length white jacket with hood over the top. She'd styled her hair into a low ponytail that hung over her shoulder. They looked comfortable but nice.

Finally the Mejiro Station came into view and Kikyo drove past it, as she continued to follow Mejiro-Dori like her directions said. The girls couldn't believe the look of the area - it was fancy! Along both sides of the road were expensive looking homes ranging from small to large, Sakura trees at about five meter intervals, although they were bare from the Winter weather. They drove past shopping centres, tall apartment blocks, and even pricey looking cars. Ai and Megumi were staring around the area with gaping mouths - were they in the right area?

"Hey Kikyo ... are you sure this is still Mejiro-Dori?"

"Sure I'm sure! There's a street sign just over there".

Ai squinted at the sign as they drove past and sure enough, printed in Kanji was the name 'Mejiro-Dori'. Ai slouched back into her seat and puffed her cheeks out before blowing the air out - Uruha was living in an Upper-Class suburb? Kikyo chose well! Suddenly a sleek black motor circle went whizzing past the left side of the car and further on down the road. Megumi squeaked in surprise because she, being on the left side, had her forehead against the window and watching the scenery go by.

"Crazy motor-cycle drivers! They're a menace!"

Ai and Kikyo giggled at Megumi's sudden out-burst on the cyclist. Then Kikyo noticed it turning right down a side-street, which was good timing because it was actually the next street Kikyo had to take. She quickly slowed down, indicated and followed the cyclist down the same street. The street didn't look any less classy than the main road. As Kikyo slowly made her way down the street, she had to watch out for other drivers while looking for Uruha's apartment. The motorcyclist was several meters ahead and now turning left into the car park for a five-story apartment building. As Kikyo got closer to that building she suddenly slowed down and just sat in the middle of the road, much to the confusion for Ai and Megumi - they were glancing around trying to work out why she'd stopped.

"Guys ... I think that's the place. The 'Mejiro-Dori Apartment Complex'?"

Ai and Megumi looked just off to the left where Kikyo was looking - sure enough, as Kikyo's directions had said, there was a five-story grey building with a sign reading 'Mejiro-Dori Apartment Complex'. Ten space car park out the front, all in a row.

"Are you sure that's not a Hotel?"

Megumi said quietly, leaning in between the two front seats. Ai shook her head.

"Can't be, it says 'apartment' ..."

But not wanting to hold up any on coming traffic, Kikyo took a chance and turned into the little car park. The same motorcycle driver that sped past them had just wheeled his bike into a small space just for motorbikes; his helmet was still over his head. While Kikyo, Ai and Megumi were getting out of the car, Ai absentmindedly watch the cyclist; he was facing away from them - he un-buckle his leather gloves, set them on the seat of the bike and then removed his helmet. A mass of shoulder length black hair fell over his head in choppy razored strands. He shook his head lightly and then threw the gloves inside the helmet. After un-tying his black leather shoulder bag from the back of the bike, he turned around to head for the front door of the building.

"... Aoi-san?"

Ai gaped at him, recognising the spiked lip-ring instantly. The mystery cyclist, who of course happened to be Aoi, froze in mid step as he glanced at the girls and blinked, bemused. It actually took him a second to realise what was happening before he grinned.

"Hey, you made it!"

"Actually we found the place thanks to you".

Kikyo said as she opened up the boot to retrieve their bags.

"Hmm, because of me?"

"Yeah, you actually when thundering past us on the main road. Megumi said motor-cycle drivers are a menace".

Megumi spun around to glare daggers at Kikyo, who giggled and Ai laughed before looking apologetically at Aoi. He laughed too and put the helmet under his arm.

"It's okay, Ruki calls me a two-wheeled menace too. I guess I just don't notice how fast I'm going ... that's why no one trusts me with their cars. I'm too used to my bike. Anyway, we're all here so I'll show you up. He's got a nice place here ..."

Aoi continued on to the front glass doors, followed closely by Kikyo, Ai and Megumi who were now carrying their bags - Kikyo only just managed to remember clicking the central locking on her car before disappearing inside the building. The girls were staring around in awe at how neat and well kept the inside was - any other regular apartment block was just dull and gloomy. It was when Aoi stopped in front of an elevator door and pressed the call button that the girls started the questioning.

"Is this a Rich People area, by any chance?"

Megumi asked, as the elevator doors opened and the four of them stepped inside.

"Hmm ... kind of. But the place Uruha owns wasn't expensive".

"He owns his apartment?"

"Yeah, he bought it about three years ago. Like Kai and myself, he got sick of renting. So rather than buying a house, he just bought the apartment".

Ai, Kikyo and Megumi were impressed - the guys certainly knew their real-estate. So far they've found out that Kai and Aoi owned houses, Uruha owned an apartment, and adding up the facts it sounded like Ruki and Reita were the only ones to rent. The girls felt a bit sheepish - the five of them were all above twenty-two but they all still lived at home, not without paying their way of course. Suddenly a faint bell chime sounded and the elevator door opened onto the third floor. Aoi pulled his shoulder bag further up his shoulder and walked forward, again closely followed by the girls. He turned to the left and down a short distance to get to a door with the number 'Five' written across it. He knocked on the door firmly with the back of his head and waited.

"Who is it?"

A male voice could be heard from the other side of the door. Aoi looked directly into the little peephole.

"You know damn well it's me, now open the fucking door".

The girls giggled and the door opened. Kikyo could have fainted if Ai and Megumi hadn't been standing so closely behind her - there stood Uruha in a black suit with a white shirt, but he didn't wear a tie and the top few buttons were un-done, revealing a gleaming silver neck-chain. His hair was expertly styled in the usual flicked out look and he'd even accented his eyes with a little black eyeliner. He was grinning with amusement at Aoi's little outburst; Kikyo adored his smile. Aoi went through first, giving Uruha a quick handshake as he did, then Uruha turned to the girls.

"I'm glad you could make it. Come on in ..."

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NOTES:
1) Reita's workout: Aparently he does workout a bit
2) Reita's apartment: I just took a wild guess at what his place might look like, so i wouldn't quote me on it lol
3) Kai's cat: No idea if Kai or any of the other guys have animals
4) Reita's tour filming: This idea was inspired by the bonus footage from the Nameless Liberty tour
5) Love confession: I also took a rough guess at how Reita would act to liking someone. ie, stumbling over himself, etc.
6) Around Mejiro: As previously mentioned, I have never been to Japan so I don't know what certain areas look like, but for this story I just imagined this area to look kind of classy
7) The guys and real-estate: To jog your memory, I again took a rough guess at how the guys lived (either in apartment or house) - I imagined Ruki and Reita just renting an apartment, Uruha owned his apartment and Kai and Aoi owned their own house

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