Track 01 - BathRoom

WARNINGS: Sexual references

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All of the girls couldn't believe how nice the guys were. Normally you'd think that most celebrities were snobs and hardly say anything to anyone who wasn't famous. But as soon as Kai spoke first and asked them to sit, the girls got to see a side of the band that wasn't their on-stage persona. However as soon as Ruki started speaking to Mika ... Ai, Megumi, Kira, and Kikyo all looked at each other as Ruki flirted with her. All any of them could think was what the heck is up with her luck today? Mika was never this lucky, yet here she was talking to Ruki from the Gazette ... and by the looks of it she had forgotten about her other friends. But the girls didn't hold it against her because they would probably never get this chance to meet the guys again. Mika was riding on cloud-nine at the moment and was not really paying any attention to the looks her friends were exchanging.

"Well I-uh wanted to get as close as possible. I-I was kinda hoping you would notice me again, though that probably sounds like wishful thinking", Mika said as she too began to pick some chicken from the plate between her and Ruki, "And it's much better to be noticed in the front than in the back, especially when you aren't that tall. I guess my friends and I were lucky enough to be first row".

And what do you know? Mika was flirting right back. Ai paused from taking pre-cut pieces of sushi and looked at Megumi like, 'What is going on?'. Megumi shrugged with a little smile before returning to nibble a piece of rolled up beef from her chopsticks. Kikyo and Kira hid their smiles behind their hands before also returning to eat their udon soup. They were very proud of Mika at that moment - she was never that interested in socialising with many guy, and even when she did she tended to act like a fool. Kikyo then looked at Uruha and smiled.

"It's alright don't worry about it. You've done more than enough being great hosts just by inviting us to your after-party", Kikyo reassured him as she looked around at the other guys before turning back Uruha, "My friends and I spend a lot of time together when we're not working. That generally means raiding each other's cupboards and refrigerator. Oh my name is Kikyo - Ishikawa Kikyo".

"Hello I'm Yamasaki Megumi, but please just call me Megumi or Meg. My friends do so I won't insist on being called my full name", Megumi said in reply to Kai asking her name and she laughed after taking a bite of her sushi roll, "The only people who call my full name is when I'm in trouble, and that's my parents. By the way, I haven't had the chance to say it yet but you guys are great Live~! We've never had so much fun at a concert before".

"I'm Nakamura Kira, and yeah what Megumi said~! You guys are always so energetic and from the moment you had your first one-man concert you've just become more and more alive, ya know?" Kira said in a slightly tipsy state, after a decent mouthful of her Champaign and she laughed when Reita mentioned Kai's cooking, "Well Reita-san I'm sure Kai-san is an excellent cook but the band comes first after all. Megumi likes cooking too Kai-san~!"

Megumi flushed a light red in her cheeks and nudged Kira to shut-up. Kira being in her tipsy-state was very talkative and often just rattled on about random things. And right at that moment she was un-knowingly trying to play matchmaker with poor Megumi and Kai. Megumi looked apologetically at Kai and then lowered her head slightly to keep eating, also trying to hide her blushing face. Kira laughed and again took a sip of Champaign followed by a rolled piece of beef. Ai laughed quietly to herself while listening to her friends - they really were acting like they normally did, although they still felt like this was all a dream. When Aoi directed his attention to talking to her, she smiled and finished her piece of sushi before answering.

"That's an interesting notion, seeing what the fans think of you first-hand. I always like that approach and I think my friends and I should feel special that we're your first fans backstage, I think your style of music is fantastic - it's heavy but you also input some light rock and even some love songs. A wide variety of genres in music is always a good thing", Ai said in response to Aoi's comment and she set her chopsticks down while she kept talking, "And yes I did realise it was you in our store though it took me a few moments to actually catch on. My name is Sakura Ai, it's nice to meet you properly".

Ai finished with a nice smile and a little laugh. This was really their first official introduction yet the second time they'd spoken. This was just turning out to be the weirdest yet most interesting and exciting day of her life, and the other girl's lives for that matter. The girls were also thinking the same thing too - they hoped that they wouldn't have to leave before getting at least a group photo with the band ... and if it wasn't pushing their luck, maybe even individual photos of each of the girls with their favourite band member. While Ai was smiling at Aoi, it was Kikyo, Kira and Megumi's turn to look surprised at Ai - of course Mika was still too busy talking to Ruki only and now Ai was flirting a little with Aoi? What was going to happen next, they wondered? Rather than worry about the subject they just kept eating and talking to the guys.

* * *
In all the guys were really enjoying talking to the girls. Ruki liked how modest and shy Mika was acting, having being able to talk to the very guy who had given her so much attention during the concert and he thought she was sweet. Uruha liked talking to Kikyo especially when she mentioned she liked playing guitar; mainly acoustic. Reita was having a blast talking to Kira because she was getting just as drunk as he was, so they could just laugh about nothing together. Kai noticed how honest and grown-up Megumi was; yet it turned out she wasn't the oldest. Aoi also noticed that Ai had a genuine smile after her response to his comment. Already the group had gotten through eating their main meal, while picking from the plates that were set between them. Quite a good idea really, then they could just decide on what they preferred - of course Kai objected to Reita not eating his vegetables and the bass-player whinged about not liking them. Meanwhile Ruki laughed at Mika's comment about being short.

"Oh I wouldn't say you are short; I think delicate would be best to describe you height. Look at me for example - I am shorter than the others", he said as he set down his chopsticks and pushed his plate forward a little seeing he was finished; glancing around at the other guys he gesturing at Uruha in particular, "Even if I wear shoes and the others don't, I'm still shorter. I'm like the baby of the group without even trying - shorter and younger".

Uruha smiled and brushed his hand over the top of his hair softly - his gravity-defying hair meant he was actually about six-foot tall. Aoi, Reita and Kai were actually about the same height and in-between Uruha and Ruki, so that meant the singer was the shortest. But from the looks of the girls when they first walked in, they were not only petite but also none of them looked to be taller than Ruki. Upon hearing Ruki's statement, Reita elbowed him in the ribs.

"Hey, your one to talk, you certainly don't act like a baby. You are flirting so badly with that poor girl it's painfully obvious. You make her blush anymore she might pass-out", Reita teased and he looked at Ruki over the band on his nose, "And you may be younger than all of us but you certainly don't sound like it. You have one of the most perverted minds I've ever seen".

Aoi, Uruha and Kai almost dropped their chopsticks as they snickered to themselves after hearing what Reita said. Uruha held the back of his hand to his mouth and turned away while he laughed, also trying to swallow the mouthful of food he had. Kai picked up his glass of Apple Juice and hid behind it while he resolved to start laughing. Aoi also held the back of his hand to his mouth and leaned back in his chair while laughing. Reita just kept looking at Ruki who felt his cheeks flush red a little and the singer quickly took his glass of sake. He held up his middle finger to Reita as he took a decent mouthful. Ruki was obviously embarrassed but he wasn't going to show it. Uruha then turned back to Kikyo and smiled.

"Yoroshiku, Kikyo-san. That's a really nice name, your parents chose well. And your family name sounds really noble. So you must be big fans of ours?" he said, also pushing his plate forward from finishing and he leaned his elbows on the table, "Which of our songs do you like the most? You said you like acoustic guitar so I'm guessing you like all of the ones with acoustic guitar pieces in them".

"It's very nice to meet you Megumi-san, and if you insist I only call you that then by all means I will thank-you. What about you, any favourite songs?" Kai asked her, also shifting his plate forward to lean on the table and he then laughed, "It's just a thought but who knows, we may even invite you to watch us practice one day so you can make requests. We've never had fans watch us practice but I couldn't see the harm".

"Ah Yoroshiku, Nakamura Kira-chan~! Real nice to have a fellow drinking partner. Hai hai, I like the sound of that~! It'll be like another party with Live Music~!" Reita said excited when he over-heard Kai talk about inviting the girls to a practice session, "We're the Live music and they can be the guests~! We can invite them to a practice, ne? Come on, we don't have groupie's~!"

"Hoi Reita, I think you'd better cut down on the beers your talking rubbish. That's not a nice thing to say to these girls, calling them groupies", Aoi said and he pushed his plate aside while again leaning back in his chair, now glancing at Ai, "After all they helped us find the Dome, I think we owe them for they're kindness, ne? A nice gesture would be to let them at least see us practice once."

Uruha, Ruki, Reita and Aoi all looked at Kai. Okay it wasn't really up to Kai; more like it was up to their manager. The Gazette's manager, the owner of PS Company and in fact manager to the likes of Alice Nine and Miyavi, was very protective of the bands he produced. Not just anyone could get close to his boys and if they did, it was under some kind of supervision. Though Kai was like the mediator between the band and their manager seeing he was the bandleader ... that didn't always mean they were allowed to do whatever they wanted. Kai now glanced around at the guys and the girls sitting across from them - he didn't think there would be a problem but their manager was actually somewhere around the function room. Maybe he could just suggest it to the guy and assure him the girls would be looked after and well behaved? What's the worst that could happen?

* * *
Well the girls were now thing the same thing about the guys that the guys were thinking about them. Mika was seeing a much quieter side to Ruki compared to him performing on stage - and she liked it. Kikyo was having a blast talking to Uruha about guitars ... when she wasn't marvelling at his deep-brown eyes, of course. Kira couldn't stop giggling at Reita each time he pulled a face or made a joke about one of the other guys. Megumi never realised how parent-like Kai could be towards the other guys, especially with their food - she laughed when Kai tried to force Reita to eat his vegetables. And Ai still couldn't get over how childish and silly Aoi was, even for a guy in his late twenties - not that she was complaining, because she loved it. Meanwhile Mika laughed at Reita when he talked about Ruki not acting like a baby. However she blushed when Reita said he had the worst dirty mind. The other girls laughed when Ruki also blushed but made 'ooo'ing sounds when he held a finger up to Reita.

"Aww don't tease him like that, Reita-san. It's quite all right; I actually love the lyrics he writes. Even my mum likes them, apart from when she hears obscene words", Mika said as she tried to defend Ruki, but made herself blush even more at mentioning her mother not liking his 'language' when singing, "B-but anyway, thank-you Ruki-san for telling me I'm delicate. It's really sweet and ... I-I don't mind you flirting with me-"

Did she just says she liked Ruki flirting with her? Mika instantly wanted to bang her head on the table after what she said. All of it just came out in one big jumble of words with a few stutters as well. She couldn't have embarrassed herself anymore if she tried. Poor Mika let out a little sigh with a slightly grimaced face and Kikyo patted her back reassuringly. Then Kikyo smiled at Uruha and thought for a second about his question - what songs did she like? That was a tough one ...

"Well yeah, I guess we're big fans but I'm sure there are bigger. I don't think any of us are like some fan girls who just want you for your body, I guess", Kikyo said out of nowhere and like Mika, felt like kicking herself on the last comment but she continued, "Oh, I'd have to say my favourite songs are D.L.N, Cassis, Ray, Taion, Miseinen. I'm more of a slow song kind of person. Most of those songs have a really pretty guitar lines. At least I think they do."

Megumi listened to Kikyo name her favourite songs and nodded in agreement. She was also a slow song person but if she was in the mood, a good jam like 'Ride with the Rockers' or 'Maximum Impulse' did the trick. After all she'd had a ball during the concert that night with hearing the likes of 'Shadow' and 'Cockroach'. When Kai asked Megumi what her favourites were, she went to speak but then paused in thought - actually she had no idea what she was going to say ...

"To be really honest Kai-san, I'm the same as Kikyo. I like slow songs too but if I'm really up for it, some good heavy songs get me going. That's why I always look forward to hearing 'Discharge'," Megumi said with a laugh, now looking thoughtful again, "But now that you mention it, seeing your guys practice would be really fun~! It'll be like watching this nights concert all over again".

"Ah Reita-kun, you don't have to call me by my full name. Just call me Kira-chan. And yeah, a party sounds great~! With food and balloons and streamers - oh wait, we've already got those~!" Kira said very excitedly, now saluting her Champaign glass to Reita's idea and also tugging on the silver streamer the girls had caught at the end of the concert, "So like, do we really get to make requests for songs? Oh I so want to hear 'Filth in the Beauty' again, it's so ... filthy~!"

"Kira, shut-up you're embarrassing yourself and it's not even ten-o'clock yet. You'd better stop drinking now before you start running around like an idiot", Ai laughed at Kira as she watched her friend high-five with Reita before turning back to Aoi, "And your very welcome, I'm glad we could held ... though I must say I was the only one who did help because Megumi and Kira were too busy trying to tell you that you could cosplay yourself".

Kira and Megumi both gasped at Ai's comment - yes, Kira was still sober enough to hear what Ai just said. They both 'shh'ed at Ai and she received swats in her arm from both of them. Ai laughed and flinched when they hit her - well she was right after all but it was still funny to see their reactions. Well Kai started the whole 'letting the girls watch them practice' thing so all of the girls now stared at Kai was hopeful eyes - think puppy-dog eyes. The girls had never seen a band practice before, let alone a Major label band like the Gazette. And after watching the tour footage from the 'Nameless Liberty' DVD, they knew how funny it could get with some things going wrong and just general goofing-off. Best of all, they would probably get to hear what ever favourite song they liked - that is if Kai could persuade their manager to let them watch.

* * *
Kai kept looking around at the hopeful faces of the girls as they sat staring at him, their eyes seemed to look glassy like any moment if he said no, and they'd start crying. Even the other guys were staring at him and it really made him feel out-numbered no matter what he did. Finally he sighed and pushed himself off his chair - looks like he was roped into talking to their manager. The guys laughed as Kai walked away to find the guy before returning to talk to the girls. Ruki had seen that Mika seemed just as embarrassed as him about his personality, which he thought was really cute. He actually reached over the table and pat her hand gently that was resting on the table, which unfortunately was noticed by the other guys and Uruha nudged him with his elbow. Suddenly Ruki then noticed a quick bright flash coming from somewhere and a funny clicking sound. He glanced around wondering what it was but when he couldn't see anything, he then joined in the conversation.

"Well seeing Kai is going to talk to our manager, he obviously thinks it wouldn't be a problem to let you watch. And practice sessions can sometimes get a little boring ..." he said which made Uruha, Reita and Aoi nod in agreement as Ruki continued, "At the least you'll get to see how the stage looks without all the lighting and back-drops. I warn you though; it's not very attractive. Just imagine your seeing us practice before the opening of a concert ..."

"YATAA~! Lets have a party~! Who cares if there's no fancy lights and banners on the back wall - we're Gazette, we can turn any venue into a party zone~!" Reita cheered, now absolutely out of it and he then stood up when he noticed a couple of chefs bring in some trays of cakes, "Ne, they're bringing in some sweets~! I may not like many sweets but I see some cake with my name on it~! Does anyone want anything?"

Uruha, Ruki and Aoi laughed at Reita - they had to admit he was definitely enjoying the after-party. Give him a few beers and he was the life of the party. They also noticed the girls were laughing at his antics, which meant they had loosened up a little from when they first arrived. While Mika was laughing at Reita, Ruki watched her face as her eyes shone with happiness - he'd never noticed this about anyone else before and he really made him feel light-hearted. Ruki was determined to know more about her because he felt like that night wasn't going to be enough time. For the time being though, he just wanted to let her feel comfortable around him.

"Ah can you get me a piece of chocolate cheesecake. Oh, and with a big scoop of mint ice cream on the top. And I mean BIG~!" Aoi said and he lifted his foot up to push at Reita's backside as he walked off, "Ah you can't go wrong with chocolate and mint, I don't know why I never had it when I saw a kid. Do you want anything, Ai-chan? If you love chocolate, go for the cheesecake~!"

Ruki and Uruha snickered to themselves at the little stunt Aoi pulled on Reita - Aoi seemed to do random stuff like that a lot recently which looked funny coming from a guy who was late twenties. But who said you had to act your age all the time? Before Reita could get far away enough, Uruha quickly half stood up and raised his arm.

"Hoi, hoi, don't forget me~!! Reita get me a couple of Purin shots~! The Brandy caramel ones with the thin layer of cream on the top~!" Uruha said out-loud as he watched Reita over by the sweets trays and he frowned suddenly, "...No not those, the liquor ones~! Yeah, the ones with the Brandy in it. Geez, the next time he goes to get us some sweets, we're not letting him drink first".

"Ah let him go, he's having fun. We've just had a major concert before our next big tour so he's obviously making up for not getting to drink much for the next three months", Kai laughed as he now came back from talking to their manager and the guys looked at him patiently to see what he had to say, "Well, I told him the situation and he wasn't sure at first but he is going to let the girls watch us practice next week. He's going to have some back-stage passes made for you now ..."

Uruha, Ruki and Aoi smiled at the good news and thanked Kai in appreciation for talking to their manager. Well at least now they could look forward to an exciting practice session with their first ever mini-audience from the five girls. They'd get to see how the guys organise themselves on stage, plan how they moved around without bumping into each other, also see how Kai put together the set-lists for each concert. Uruha was actually hoping to let Kikyo watch him close-up while he played his acoustic guitar pieces. Ruki was just liking the idea in general of meeting Mika again - she'd see yet another side of him when practicing. Kai had a feeling Megumi would laugh while watching him bang on random drums to see how they sounded - god knows, the staff did. Aoi thought how fun it was going to be to have actual fans watching for a change and not just the staff. Not that the staff weren't fun to joke around with of course. And Reita ... well, they all knew what he was interested in - just having another party. Although the practice wouldn't exactly be a party, it's still be fun ... and he'd probably forget all about the 'party' idea by the morning when he was sober.

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NOTES:
1) Mika: She forgets to mention her full name to Ruki, but it's Hayashi Mika
2) Megumi: Yamasaki Megumi is only Megumi's Japanese name. She is actually half Japanese half Brittish; her mother is Japanese and her father is from England. Though Megumi and he parents all live in Japan, she also only speaks Japanese. Her english name is Meg Thompson
3) Reita's non-sweet tooth: Aparently Reita isn't very fond of sweets that much, though he may like some things

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