Track 01 - BathRoom

WARNINGS: Minor sexual references

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Well, Ai was right - the main hall had looked even more spectacular when empty. As the girls walked through the seats, some staff glanced up and looked at them. When they recognised them as 'Gazette's guests', they went back to work. There was no sign of the guys yet, which Kira was curious about - she'd expected them to arrive well before the girls got there. Ah well, maybe they were running late again. Mika and Ai were now messing around near the seats in the back; weaving in and out towards the front, and Mika squealed as Ai chased her. They'd never been in a large concert hall when it was empty so they were having fun. Kira just stood in the middle of the aisle and looked around while Kikyo and Megumi had taken off to find the bathroom. Mika and Ai suddenly came bolting up the middle of the aisle from the direction of the stage, almost bumping into Kira who was admiring the interior of the hall. She glanced at them just in time to jump back and let them pass.

"Stop it, you two kids~! Geez Ai, the way your acting, you wouldn't think you're the oldest of our group~!"

Kira said and smacked them both as Mika and Ai ran past her towards the exit. They both ran out through the double-door exit and recognised where they were - it was the foyer that they'd walked through the night of the concert. As Mika and Ai looked around at how quiet and empty it was, Kira came up behind them and grabbed their shoulders. Ai jumped a little but Mika almost screamed as she yelped and then quickly covered her mouth.

"Alright, alright, we'll calm down. I've just never seen in an huge empty venue before, I feel like shouting to see it it echoes", Ai laughed as she looked up and the roof of the foyer and then frowned, "Hey ... do you hear that? It's coming from inside the main hall. It's the opening to 'Filth in the Beauty' ..."

Kira and Mika looked at Ai as she now looked at them - the guys had arrived~! Never mind poor Kikyo and Megumi ... Kira, Ai and Mika all tripped over each other as they went screaming back into the hall. And right there in front o them on the stage, each of the guys were already up and practicing. None of the girls had really noticed until now when they first walked in but the stage was already set-up for them. Kira suddenly stopped running at the middle of the aisle and Mika ran right into her back. Ai ran into Mika and almost knocked them all over. Kira had stopped suddenly when she noticed how cool Reita looked - she recognised the outfit. Suddenly Kikyo and Megumi came out of nowhere and ran to stand in their exact seats from the concert last week.

"Hey where did you two come from, you took forever in the bathroom~!" Mika said as she looked around wondering where the hell Megumi and Kikyo had came from before running to join them, "We got bored and started playing around but then came running back in when we heard the music".

"Sorry, Kikyo wanted to use the bathroom plus I wanted to check my hair", Megumi said honestly as she scrunched her curls to make sure they stayed curly, "A last minute check-up to see if we looked good".

Mika just looked at Megumi and Kikyo like 'Are you serious?' before shrugging it off and smiling up at the stage. She noticed they weren't jumping around because it was only practice so she just bobbed her head along to the music. Kira was still staring at Reita until Ai pushed her towards their seat and then crossed her arms over the railing - she could now happily watch Aoi playing, Kira was still watching Reita, Mika was all goo-goo eyes for Ruki, Megumi smiled as she watched Kai bashing away at the drums while Kikyo was admiring how different Uruha looked with flat hair. Suddenly she tilted her head.

"You know. Ruki is really cute without make-Ow!"

Kikyo felt a firm punch in the side of her arm from a jealous Mika. Kikyo punched her back and Mika stuck her tongue out in return. Megumi was now bobbing her head to the music as well, and Kira was tapping the railing as she was now focusing on the song. Ai wished she'd brought her digi-cam to take photos of them practicing but she thought it probably wasn't a good idea - considering fans weren't meant to know they were even there. This was probably the first time they'd ever seen Gazette look so calm while playing - the girls were used to seeing Aoi and Uruha throwing themselves around, Reita and Kai getting the crowd roaring with 'Ride with the Rockers' and of course Ruki squirting his water-bottle at the audience. Megumi was practically leaning across Mika to see Kai - he was almost completely hidden from where she was standing.

"Hey Mika can we swap, I can't see Kai~! The stupid symbols are hiding his face", she whinged, clinging to Mika's arm, "You can easily see Ruki cause he's in the front and-"

"Okay okay, move over here, yeesh~!"

Mika waved both hands to make Megumi stop whining before switching seats with Megumi. Megumi was happy now she could see Kai, Kikyo was now tapping her foot to the beat and paying attention to Uruha's guitar, Kira now noticed that Reita didn't have his nose-band and she thought it looked strange. Ai was watching Aoi's guitar until she glanced at Mika who was practically leaning over the railing towards Ruki. She leaned behind Kira and Megumi ti whisper to Mika that she looked like an obsessed fan-girl. Mika got scared when Ai said that - she looked at Ai, and frowned. She started to look around the hall for a second, but then put her attention back to the stage, occasionally looking around to the other members of the band every once and while. Megumi looked over at Mika and sighed.

"Yep ... she's a fan girl. We've lost her," Megumi teased and lightly shoved a blushing Mika.

* * *
The start of the background music to 'Filth in the Beauty' must have done something, because as Aoi, Uruha, Reita and Kai started, they noticed three girls come running into the concert hall. From far away they had no idea who the girls were but when they suddenly skidded to a halt at the front of the stage, they recognised them as Kira, Ai and Mika. Reita, Aoi and Ruki in particular smiled at the three, then Kai and Uruha smiled when Megumi and Kikyo came running in next. They just continued to keep playing as the girls quickly ran to their seats and stood to watch.

Okay it was only a practice but seeing as Kira had mentioned wanting to hear 'Filth in the Beauty' again, Ruki took the microphone from it's stand and looked around at the others. They all knew what he wanted to do; a little something special for the girls. In the middle of the song just after Aoi and Uruha's duet, Ruki led them all into circular head-banging yet again, with Kai doing it his own way so he could keep an eye on the drums. Ruki happened to swing his head so much that the tie holding his dreadlocks up snapped and they all spilled over his head. Finally as the song was coming to a finish and the last score was played out, Ruki stood up straight and pushed the mic back into its stand.

"Oh yeah, Yoshiatsu, you've been a wonderful audience ..." he joked into the mic as he waved out over the empty hall, "Aishiteru ... Thank-you and good-night ..."

The other guys laughed as Ruki stepped back from the mic and bowed to the 'audience' before standing up straight and smiling at the girls. Reita held a thumbs up while Aoi and Uruha waved. Kai left his drums and jumped down onto the main stage to approach the edge of the extended stage. Aoi, Reita and Uruha replaced their guitars on the stands before also moving to the front of the stage. Ruki went to join them but froze when he realised his dreadlocks were still a mess. He stopped and quickly took a spare tie from jacket pocket, roughly tied his dreads back up and then ran to catch up with the others.

"Ahem ... ah sorry I had to tie my hair back up. I apologise for that little stunt I just did", Ruki said, trying to act cool about the head-banging, "I got a bit excited; I thought I'd make the practice a bit more interesting..."

"You got excited alright. It was almost like you were having an on-stage org-"

Reita tried to finish his sentence but he was promptly cut off when Ruki slipped a hand across Reita's mouth to shut him up. Kai, Aoi and Uruha laughed at them because they knew what Reita was trying to say - and Ruki probably wanted to protect Mika's ears more than anything. He knew where that comment was going and wanted to save himself the embarrassment in front of Mika. Reita nodded, agreeing to shut-up and then all of the guys jumped off the stage to greet the girls.

"Well it looks like you had no trouble getting in, we made sure the guards knew who you were. Hope he didn't scare you too much, he's grumpy sometimes", Aoi said smiling at girls, at Ai in particular, "And plus security can be kind of tight around us. Especially since we've gotten really big over the last few months".

"Ever since our 'Nameless Liberty' Final, do be exact. Even as we were heading towards the stage, fans were grabbing at us from all directions", Uruha said as he made grabbing-hand gestures in front of himself with a laugh before turning to the girls, "But anyway, it just shows how much our fans look-up to us ... that's the best thing any band can really hope for is the best audience".

It was true; the Gazette had become increasingly popular at an alarming rate over the last few months. The more they toured, the more fans rushed to buy tickets - generally selling out at most places within the day. The guys really hoped that with their growing popularity, they'd still have time to themselves and at least try to be normal when not working. And, maybe this was why they'd come to know the girls ... it was fates way of telling them that everything would be okay. However the first thing they'd have to worry about was making sure the girls didn't get ridiculed for being around the guys ... fans were protective of their favourite bands, and chances are there would be those few who would let their jealousy show. But they'd take things one step at a time - for now the guys just wanted to take it easy and make new friends.

* * *
The girls were really enjoying just listening to the Gazette practice 'Filth in the Beauty' without having to really exert themselves. Each of the girls noticed how even when they weren't jumping around the stage, they could still make the music sound great. However when the guys started their circular head banging, Ai and Kira were the first ones to laugh, then Kikyo and Megumi followed. However Mika just stared in surprise at the sudden change in mood; she then laughed a little as Ruki's dreads fell out everywhere. Megumi couldn't help but stare at Ruki's head - it looked like an octopus was on his head. Kikyo hide her mouth as she smiled, and laughed. Ai and Kira giggled to themselves when Ruki thanked the 'audience'. When he bowed, Ai, Kira, Mika, Megumi and Kikyo all clapped and whistled to make up for lake of fans. When he again stood up, all of the girls looked at Mika and waited for her to say something first.

"Go on say something, you're the one that likes him", Kira said, giving Mika a nudge in the shoulder, "And from what all of us have seen, he seems to have a thing for you too".

"I know, I know ..." Mika said as she blushed red, and waved at Ruki in particular. She didn't want to get her hopes up but Mika was having the feeling that Ruki was acting strangely towards her ...

Megumi was more likely waving to Kai, Kira gave a thumbs up back to Reita, Kikyo waved and gave a big smile and Ai waved pretty much at Aoi. The girls liked how they were dressed this morning - fancy but comfortable. Though they half expected them to be completely dressed-up, but none of them seemed to be wearing any make-up as Kikyo had noticed about Ruki. When Ruki mentioned about getting over-excited in the practice, everyone waited for Mika to say something to Ruki.

"It's ok~! You looked like you were having fun anyway," Mika said innocently with a nice smile, "We were all surprised when you started head banging though, but it was funny to watch".

Kira put her face behind her jacket as she started to laugh at Reita's comment. Megumi was quick to join. It took Ai a moment to realise what he was trying to say before she smiled and put her head down. Kikyo was smiling too. Mika was looking at them like they had nine heads - she didn't know why they were laughing. However they stopped laughing when Aoi mentioned the security.

"Nope, we didn't have a lot of trouble getting inside. But yes, the guard outside is kind of tall, and scary ... and he was rude", Ai replied to Aoi, understanding why he'd said the guard was grumpy sometimes, "But we just showed our passes and he let us through with a little glare ... we kind of made faces behind his back too".

She smiled sheepishly at Aoi as the girls filled out of the seats and ducked underneath the railing to stand in front of the guys. Kikyo just looked at Uruha as talked about the 'Nameless Liberty' Final and how much it shot up their popularity. She nodded in agreement and so did Megumi, how was overwhelmed from reading so many good reviews on the concert. Kira and Mika were listening to how genuine Uruha felt about their fans; like they were everything to the band. Ai smiled as she listened and then glanced up when Kikyo spoke.

"I think it's great that you admire your fans so much. A band isn't a band without fans ... it's just a shame that some only like your looks", Kikyo commented, crossing her arms with a look of un-ease, "Fans who only like you for your image don't deserve to be fans. But my friends and I have been following your music for years".

"That's right, practically from the moment you started I think ... thought we sometimes could never get to the live houses to see you perform", Megumi said thoughtfully, holding a finger to her chin before glancing at Mika, "And out of all of us, I think Mika has most of your original CDs and concert DVDs ... except 'Cockayne Soup'."

Mika blushed and looked at the ground when Kira said she had almost every item from the GazettE there ever was - now she sounded like a totally obsessed fan. Okay, Mika did have most of their stuff, but a couple of the CDs were all downloaded songs. When the girls first met, Ai, Megumi, Kikyo, Kira and Mika all organised their GazettE stuff to see who was missing what ... then it turned into a CD and DVD copying frenzy; mostly courtesy of Mika. And of course the only thing all of them were missing was 'Cockayne Soup' ... maybe they could get a copy from one of the guys? ... Maybe?

* * *
Aoi, Reita, Kai and Uruha also laughed along with the girls when Mika innocently said she didn't mind how Ruki acted. But Ruki just looked at the floor and scratched his nose out of embarrassment - well Mika hadn't realised what they were laughing at so it wasn't all bad. Aoi then laughed when Ai described the security guard - tall and rude ... yeah that sounded about right. The guys knew how grumpy the guard could be, even though he was never grumpy or rude with them. Aoi, Uruha and Reita laughed when Ai also mentioned making faces behind his back. Ruki and Kai just smiled - never before had they heard of anyone pulling faces behind the guards back, but it was still funny. However they all stopped laughing when Kikyo talked about some fans only liking their image.

"Yeah ... I must say that's something that really gets to us. I mean I highly doubt we're the only band that fans only like image-wise", Uruha agreed, crossing his arms and jerking his head to flip a strand of hair from his eyes, "But unfortunately that is something we just can't help ... I just really hope those fans turn around and realise our music for what it is and not just our image".

The other guys just looked at him after what they heard Uruha say and stood up straight too. That was the most moving speech they had ever heard him say because it was always a common issue. And usually it was Ruki doing the sentimental speeches during Lives. Aoi stepped over to Uruha and patted his shoulder.

"That was nice, man. Yeah, you should say that to the fans at our next live", Aoi said with a smile as Uruha looked at him, "After all you don't talk to the audience much".

Aoi laughed and ducked as Uruha pretended to try and hit him over the head. Yeah, Uruha didn't say much during Lives but he had no need too - he was often teased that just the fans seeing his thighs would always get the fans attention. Kai got between Aoi and Uruha to stop them from 'play fighting' but Reita was no help and kept egging them on to 'fight'. Ruki just took one step back and looked at the other guys like they had three heads before looking apologetically at the girls. But when Megumi talked about Mika having the most originals of the GazettE merchandise, he perked up and looked at Mika.

"Wow, do you really have all of our CDs and stuff? Geez, you're talking about, what ... four years of collecting. And it doesn't surprise me you don't have 'Cockayne Soup'," Ruki said with a little laugh and he scratched the back of his neck, "That was out of prints years ago; our manager owns the original copy ... say, maybe we could get a copy of it for all of you. Then you'll have everything, right?"

"Geez, Ruki, don't promise the world yet~! We're already pushing our luck just inviting them backstage and THEN to a practice", Reita butt in after getting sick of teasing Aoi and Uruha, "I hate to sound rude to the girls but I'm just saying let things go one at a time. We can maybe ask the old man for a copy once he's convinced the girls aren't here to falter our practice".

"Speaking of faltering practice, how about we do just that. I don't think he'd like it if he walks in and finds us slacking off. He didn't book out the dome just for us to do nothing", Kai said, sounding like a nagging parent as he proceeded to push Aoi and Uruha towards the stairs back up to the stage, "So, minna-san, you wanted to request songs? What would you like to hear next?"

Kai smiled at the girls as he too jogged up the stairs. Reita stomped up two steps at a time followed by Ruki. Aoi and Uruha were already back with their guitars and fiddling with different settings. As Kai pounced up into his platform a couple of staff members behind his drum-kit stood up and said something un-audible from where the girls were. Kai just nodded and pointed to something down on the ground before sitting down. Reita tightened one of the strings on his bass before giving it a good strum; nodding in satisfaction when it sounded right. Ruki just stood behind his microphone stand, one foot up on his platform and arms crossed over the top of the stand. He looked down at Mika while he waited for the girls to decide on what they wanted to hear.

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NOTES:
1) No make-up: It may be a bit surprising at first, but each of the guys do actually look quite attractive without their make-up
2) Security: With the bands increasing popularity, security measures are getting more and more extreme. Notice how the audience are getting further and further away from the stage. Compare the bands very first concert to their most current one ... you get the picture
3) Image: This is common. It's a shame that a few fans admire the bands image more than the music
4) Gazette Merchandise: Most of their stuff you can still get but things like 'Cockayne Soup' CD and their first photo-book are quite rare

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