Track 01 - BathRoom

WARNINGS: Minor sappiness

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All of the girls didn't take long to make themselves ready to leave - all they had to do was pick up their bags and wait. All of them had their coats on ready to brave the icy air outside and they couldn't wait to feel the warmth of the heater in Kira's car. Sure the girls all had their own cars with heating but they all liked Kira's the best. Because it was a large silver SUV, it was solid and kept the heat in nicely ... thank Kira's parents for buying it for her 20th birthday. It was even left-side drive too, just like her parents drove when they're working in America. Anyway, seeing the girls were ready to leave they just huddled together and watched as the guys packed up. It was great that they could just pack up their instruments and leave but it must be hard work for the staff to clean up the whole stage. Though because of their tight schedule, the guys probably didn't have much choice. While they waited, the girls suddenly jumped when Kai cried out about his watch; Megumi placed a hand over her heart again in surprise.

"Calm down, Kai-san, I'm sure it hasn't gone far. You may have just set it down somewhere while not really noticing and you now can't remember", Megumi said standing on her tip-toes to try and see over the drums at Kai until he said it was a silver Rolex, "Rolex? A Silver Rolex? Aie, those are worth a lot of money, I can understand why you would be upset. Especially as a birthday present!"

Megumi looked genuinely anxious as she watched and heard Kai rustling around in the back. She really hoped he found it because if her calculations were correct, his mother would have spent about four and a half thousand dollars to buy it. She really thought her son deserved such sophisticated watch; Megumi really hoped to meet her one-day. When Aoi, Reita and Uruha finally came down the stairs with their stuff, Kira and Kikyo swatted Reita and Uruha right when they teased poor Ruki and Mika.

"You two should be ashamed of yourselves! Ruki isn't your vocalist and lyricist for no reason, you know. He's supposed to be sensitive to different emotions", Kira barked at Reita, holding a finger up to his face in point of order and she smirked as Aoi dragged him away, "Well you deserve that for being so mean. Come on lets leave Ruki-kun and Mika alone. We'll meet you outside Mika!"

Kira gave Mika a salute before running with Megumi after Aoi, Reita and Uruha. Kikyo first laughed and shook her head as Uruha was being dragged away too. She then gave Mika a pat on the back and ran with Ai to catch up to the guys. Mika couldn't help but blush and grumble at her friends for 'deserting' her but she did however like how Kira defended her and Ruki. Mika then turned to see Ruki coming down the stairs and she smiled at the ground after he spoke.

"Yes Kai-san probably well get upset at you if you're too late, so I won't keep you too long. And I was also happy to see you again too ... it's kind of corny, huh?" Mika said sheepishly and she felt her heart skip a beat when Ruki pulled her into a cuddle; Mika wrapped her arms around his body and snuggled into his chest, "I really am looking forward to meeting at the Tea House. I will miss you so much until then ..."

Mika smiled at first but then became a little sad that she wouldn't see him again for almost a week and a half. But she wasn't about to let his stardom and busy schedule get in the way of giving their relationship a chance. And she was seriously out to prove that she wasn't like other girls and wanted him for his popularity - just like Ruki had thought about her, there was something about him that made Mika feel safe and special. Outside in the car park, Kira, Ai, Megumi and Kikyo caught up with the guys.

"Oh my gosh, it is so cold out here! It's barely become mid afternoon yet it feels like middle of the night weather! I really shouldn't have worn my dress today", Ai whimpered as she hugged herself and rubbed her arms to keep arm while hopping from one foot to the other and breathing out steam, "Kira, can you possibly get your car started and get the heater going? So it's nice and warm when we get in?"

Kira rolled her eyes and looked at Ai like 'I told you so' - Kira had warned Ai the night before that it would be cold and she shouldn't wear a dress. But as the girls had teased her about the previous night, Ai really wanted to impress Aoi by looking nice - at least Ai's jacket with fake-fur lined. While Kira went to open her car and get the heater going, Kikyo smiled warmly at what Uruha said about Ruki and Mika.

"Wow that is really sweet of you, Uruha-san. If she really has brought out the best in Ruki-san, then that must be a good thing. Is he really that bad normally?" Kikyo asked as a joke but she got a slight kick in the shin by Megumi, which made her dodge the subject and talk about something else, "Well anyway, what will you be doing during your radio interview tonight? Will you be talking out your next single by any chance?"

Kikyo raised both eyebrows at the guys and looked questioningly from Aoi to Reita to Uruha - the girls had heard word during the week about their next single called 'Hyena'. It was to be released in the middle of their 'Decomp' Tour, which was certainly something to look forward too. Even though they knew the band personally, that wouldn't stop them from lashing out and buying both the 'Auditory' and 'Optical' versions. They couldn't wait to see how the video turned out - but if they knew the guys, it would be amazing and really well planned as usual. And they're latest single will kind of fill the void until the tour was over and they could see each other again. Mika especially would be itching for Ruki to come back because she would actually be missing his 25th birthday. But chances are Ruki wouldn't be too worried about it as much as Mika would be ... if anything he was more worried that she would get fed up with him for being so busy.

* * *
Ruki was quite surprised that Mika had taken to cuddling him so quickly because he'd half expected her to hesitate or tense up a little. But almost as soon as he'd pulled her closer, she seemed to just melt in his arms like they'd known each other for ages. Ruki was probably surprised because technically he hadn't really cuddled another girl affectionately since High School ... and Mika was actually cuddling with the object of every girls fantasy yet she didn't seem deterred at all. It had been many years since Ruki had even thought about dating again ... not since he was seventeen and his High School sweetheart left him without giving him good reason. He never fully got over her and he was still quite angry inside ... but over the years that anger just seemed to dwindle down enough that he could bottle it away inside. However that was not something he wanted to burden Mika with unless it just happened to be uncovered one day in the future. Ruki also didn't want to fully remember those hurtful events and become bitter all over again ... not now when he had Mika.

"Yeah I'm looking forward to the Tea House as well. It's really going to feel like a month rather than a week ... I hope your not upset that I suddenly told you my feelings right before we go on Tour again", Ruki said softly, feeling rather upset with himself for doing this to Mika; he moved his head a little from resting on hers and bent down just to kiss her softly, "But I will give you my cell phone number so you can also call me even if your in trouble. And if I can have yours, I will give you a call after the interview if you like?"

Ruki let Mika go and quickly took a scrap bit of paper from a side pocket of his bag along with a small pen. He wrote his cell-phone number down and then folded the paper in half, placing it in Mika's hand and folding her fingers over it. And it felt strange giving his number out to another girl because the last time was again with his last girlfriend who left. Ruki smiled warmly at her and just as he went to lean forward to kiss her, Ruki was suddenly cut short by a familiar voice yelling at him

"Ruki what are you still standing there for~! Hayaku, we have to go~! Gomen nasai Mika-chan but we have to get going or I will have to get an ear-full from our manager", Kai said hurriedly as he came scampering down the stairs with his bag over one shoulder, showing his wrist with the Rolex watch, "I've found my watch under all of my stuff; no idea how it got there either. Now come on, lets get going ..."

Ruki jumped when he heard Kai yell at them ... so much for his quiet goodbye to Mika but he knew that Kai would have found the watch eventually. He looked sadly at Mika and took her free hand, following Kai out of the main hall and back to the car park. Meanwhile, outside with the others, Kikyo had 'caught them out' about their next single. Though not really considering the news had been posted up on their official website during the week. Uruha gave a little laugh as he cradled a cigarette to his mouth.

"Well now that you've brought up the subject, I really don't know if we're supposed to be talking about our new single or not. Our radio interviews seem to just flow randomly most times", Uruha said thoughtfully before drawing back on his cigarette slowly, then blowing out smoke and laughing a little, "But we're all laughing at Ruki because he has to have his dreadlocks cut off and he's determined to be stubborn about it".

Aoi and Reita laughed with Uruha as they too took a quick puff from their cigarettes - yes it had turned into a 'smoke-break' for the guys while they waited for Ruki, Mika and Kai. For the 'Hyena' video, it had been decided that it was about time for Ruki to have his hair cut. Naturally the vocalist was showing some spunk and had been dodging the subject for at least a month now. Reita scratched his nose with his free hand.

"I must say he's being rather childish about the whole thing. I mean while you have dreadlocks it's kind of hard to wash your hair and they're starting to get really long now", Reita said while trying not to laugh and he flicked a small bit of ash from the end of his cigarette, "If they get any long he'll end up fall backwards from the weight. Besides, his hair as grown out enough that he won't need to shave his head ... so what's the big deal?"

Aoi and Uruha were now the ones laughing as Reita was quite right about Ruki's attitude - the singer seemed quite attached to his 'messy' hair. But he had been kind of neglectful in maintaining his dreadlocks because his normal hair had actually grown back quite long. It now made his hair look rather odd when it was dead straight and then with dreads attached to the ends ... try to imagine that and you will see the dilemma.

"He's had those things for two videos straight anyway, I think it's about time they went. Although I must say they were a good effect to start off with", Aoi said, trying to defend Ruki just a little but really seeing Reita and Uruha's point; enough was enough, "And speaking of which, I'm sure poor Mika-chan would like to see him with his old style back. You can only stand a certain style for so long, I reckon".

Aoi also flicked a bit of ash from his cigarette and went straight back to smoking it thoughtfully ... will you believe he thought about things better while smoking? The guys were actually standing enough away from the girls so that no smoke blew into their faces though. Anyway, it was unanimous among Aoi, Uruha and Reita that they thought Ruki needed to have the dreads cut off. They just had to strap him down and have their hair-stylist do her thing - and probably with a lot of grumbling and groaning from Ruki, they were sure. Uruha looked over his shoulder and squinted as he looked down the hallway leading back inside - they were certainly taking their time. Aoi also happened to hear Ai that she was cold and smiled to himself as she jumped up and down. He switched hands so that his cigarette with opposite to her and he stepped closer so that he could rub her back gently. Aoi was attempting to help keep Ai warm but it probably wasn't helping much - Reita and Uruha thought the same thing but heat would certainly rush to her face first.

* * *
Mika was just overwhelmed by the events of that day - she had been invited with her friends to watch the Gazette practice, then they were mentioned in a newspaper ... and now Ruki was her boyfriend? And when was the last time she had a boyfriend? Must be at least five years ago; the middle of High School, and even then the guy didn't stay with her for very long. He had only been interested in one thing but Mika didn't believe in sex before marriage, as her parents had brought her up to adhere by. She didn't see the wrong in having such beliefs and since her last boyfriend Mika hadn't even felt inclined to bother with guys. However she was rather anxious about Ruki's personality and what her parents would think - here was their respectable daughter and she was now seeing the lead singer of a rock band, who seemed to sing a lot of profanities and act out fan-services for the fans. Her father was definitely going to lock her up now ... Mika just hoped her mother wouldn't judge Ruki too quickly. Suddenly Mika's thoughts were cut short when she felt Ruki kiss her softly, resulting in her face turning red.

"U-Uh um ... n-no your, I mean it's alright. I will definitely wait for you to come back, of course! I'm not upset, I am actually really happy for the first time in ages!" Mika said a little too excitedly until she covered her mouth and watched as Ruki wrote down his number and giving it too her, "Oh my ... your personal cell phone number ... there's no way I'm giving this to anyone. Sure I will give you mine!"

Mika was feeling a little giddy at the thought of having his personal phone number - that's right, personal! It really seemed to be official now; Mika thought as she quickly took a note pad and pen from her bag. She wrote her name in a very feminine hand compared to Ruki's scribble. She then wrote her number under it before ripping the paper out and placing it in his hand just as Kai yelled at them. She was still in a half surprised state when Ruki took her hand and led her out of the Dome. Back outside, the girls were talking out the new 'Hyena' single.

"Will you play a sneak peak of one of the songs on the new single? There's no sample sound files on your website yet but have you by any chance finished recording?" Kira asked as she was trying to squeeze as much information out of the guys as possible; not exactly being a patient fan, "Of course you haven't started filming the video for the single yet but what's the theme for it? You always turn up with great themes".

Megumi and Kikyo both nudged Kira in the ribs, one either side of her - Kira just flinched and looked from Megumi to Kikyo, a look like 'what did I say?' Yes, the girls knew the guys personally now but that really wasn't an excuse to try and get free info from them before the fans could. After all, this was only their second face-to-face meeting and Mika had only become Ruki's girlfriend that afternoon. Megumi smiled around to the guys.

"Please ignore Kira, I don't think we really need to know that information well before it's even up on your website. However I really am looking forward to hearing the new songs", Megumi said with a sweet smile and a nod, playing with one of her curls again as she laughed at Uruha's comment about Ruki, "Wow does he really love his dreadlocks that much? Personally I'm not a dreadlocks fan but they do look cool in multi-shades of brown".

The girls had all agreed when they first saw Ruki's dreadlocks in the 'Regret' video and then again in 'Filth in the Beauty' that the shades of brown were a good effect. But Megumi, Ai, Kira and Kikyo did agree with the guys that he should probably have a change. Besides, if he ever got to meet Mika's parents then he'd have to at least look respectable in the hair-styling department. Kikyo giggled at Reita's comment next.

"Is he really being that childish? Gee he sounds like a kid that doesn't want his hair cut so he runs to hide or kicks up a fuss. And you have to hear about it", Kikyo said with an amused look and she then smiled at Aoi's comment; Mika thinking she'd like the change, "Yes, she actually did prefer him with the blonde spiky look or even brown with frosted blond streaks. Thought she actually doesn't mind the dreads either ..."

Mika was just the type of person to think dreadlocks looked pretty cool as long as they were looked after. Ruki were looked after but they were just getting way too long now. Of course each of the girls liked their favourite guys just they way they were. Meanwhile Ai was still rubbing her arms and jumping up and down slightly, waiting for Kira's car to heat up. She looked over at the doors that led back into the Dome.

"My gosh where are they? If Mika doesn't hurry up with her goodbyes I'm afraid we'll all freeze out here. Though I wonder if Kai-san found his watch ..." Ai said looking anxious for Kai as she crossed her arms tightly and then went back to talking to the others, "That reminds me, we still haven't got the address for the Tea House from Kai-san. Although Mika probably has Ruki's number by now so I suppose she could get it from him later".

The other girls laughed as Ai rubbed her hands together quickly and blew into them to warm them up. Kira, Megumi and Kikyo were cold too but they weren't really making a big deal about it. Kira was used to really cold weather because she came from Sapporo in Hokkaido region. But Ai had been living in Tokyo since she was born so you'd think she'd have come resilience to it by now. Anyway Ai paused when she suddenly felt a hand rubbing her back firmly - she glanced to the side and noticed it was Aoi beside her. She looked at the ground and a silly little smile came to her face ... he really was sweet. She then found herself turning towards him and smiling thankfully while he kept warming her back. Ai now found herself blushing and looking down again - she couldn't believe how lucky she was that Aoi was being so nice as to try and keep her warm. The other girls looked to each other and raised eyebrows - if popping love-hearts were real, they would be popping above Ai's head right now.

* * *
Well there was certainly an interesting conversation going on between the guys and girls - talking about the new single had suddenly turned into them bagging Ruki's hair-style. The poor vocalist was certainly open to a lot of teasing but the guys always had to tease each other ... it was just something that friends did. Reita and Uruha were laughing to themselves as they finished their cigarettes, at how they said Mika really didn't care what Ruki looked like. Well then they hoped she never saw how he looked in the morning ... or at least on his bad mornings. Grumpy attitude, very messy hair, most of the time a little bit of left-over make-up streaked across his face ... all this was usually the result of the band having drinks the night before. What can you say? Ruki just loved his Sake. Before long Kai, Ruki and Mika emerged out through the double doors. Aoi, Reita and Uruha glanced up from talking to the girls but Aoi didn't even stop rubbing Ai's back. As Kai walked up beside Megumi he held up his wrist and smiled, showing that he'd found the expensive item.

"Haa, I found it at last. It was somehow buried underneath my stuff behind the platform. I'm guessing it must have slipped down there then I took it off", Kai said with a sigh of relief, placing his hands on his hips and bending down, glad that he didn't have to tell his mother, "I'm glad I found it because I'd feel bad if the staff had to help me find it ... then if it really was gone, Kaa-san would be so upset".

Kai closed his eyes, staying in the bent over position for a moment longer - if it was one thing Kai wanted, was to not disappoint him parents; especially his mother. Uruha who was closest to Kai just patted the drummer on his back, which made Kai give a little laugh, and he stood up straight. That was his band-mates way of saying 'you can relax now' because they knew Kai got worked up about important things sometimes.

"Don't let it get to you so much Kai. You found the watch from your mother so there's nothing to worry about. If it had been lost ... then you'd best just run", Uruha tried to say in a serious tone but couldn't help feel the twitch of a smile when Reita chuckled at the ground, "Thanks a lot Reita, you just ruined it! That was supposed to sound serious but with you bloody laughing, I smiled!"

Uruha happened to have his empty cigarette packed scrunched up in his hand so he threw it had Reita as a joke - it happened to hit poor Reita right in the middle of his forehead. It didn't hit hard but Reita stopped laughing and pretended to look grumpy as he turned away. Aoi, Ruki and Kai just blinked at Uruha's little act, not expecting him to do something that random. Then Aoi looked over at Ruki, still rubbing Ai's back.

"So did you say your goodbyes, Ruki? You two were in there for who knows how long so you must have at least given her a kiss. You won't see her for at least a week", Aoi said as he stopped warming Ai so he could butt out his used cigarette in the tray against the wall over the Dome, "And did you do the typical thing? Get her phone number, agree to meet her parents, organise the wedding-"

Aoi said his last statement as he walked back to Ai, counting each thing on his fingers. When he got back to standing beside Ai and mentioned 'planning the wedding', he was cut short by a rather hard kick in the shin by Reita who was closest. Aoi grunted in his throat and bit the corner of his bottom lip, opposite his lip-ring. Uruha snorted and turned away to cover his mouth - 'nice one Reita'. Ruki just looked unamused at Aoi.

"Yes for your information, Aoi, I did kiss her. And she knows I won't get to see her in person until after Kai's radio gig so she had my cell number", Ruki said, not letting Aoi get to him as he turned to Mika and smiled warmly at her, before sharply turning his head back to Aoi, "And get away from the drivers side, Aoi. I'll be driving us to the radio station. Until you have a proper car licence, I'm never letting you drive my car again".

The other guys laughed at Aoi, remembering their interesting drive to the Dome that morning. So the girls wouldn't seem too confused about what Ruki was talking about, Kai quickly explained that Aoi only had a motorcycle licence so far. Yet he decided on driving all of them to the Dome that morning ... with much ear bashing from Ruki. Finally Kai told his band-mates to get moving and Reita smiled to the girls.

"Well, as our big fearless leader has just stated, we have to get going. You'll listen to us on the radio, won't you? The radio station should be listed on our website", Reita said as he gave Kira a big hug, then realising he may be a bit too forward and quickly let her go, looking sheepish, "Ah gomen ne Kira-chan, I hope that didn't scare you. So we'll see you all at the Tea House I hope. Should be great!"

Reita gave a little bow to Kira and walked around Ruki's car to get to the back passenger side. Kai gave Megumi a quick hug and thanked her for watching the practice. Aoi placed a hand on Ai's shoulder and gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek. As Aoi and Kai got into the back seat with Reita, Uruha also gave Kikyo a kiss on the cheek quickly before darting around to the front passenger. Ruki was last as he gently held Mika's head and gave her another kiss, then resting his forehead to hers and whispering 'I will see you soon, baby'. He suddenly felt a little embarrassed at calling her 'baby' but to him it sounded like a cute nickname for her. Finally he let her go and pulled the drivers side door open, sliding into the seat and turning on the ignition - he had to rev the engine a couple of times for a quick warm-up. Then as Ruki circled around the small car park, each of the guys reached out the windows and waved a final goodbye to the girls. The date of Kai's radio gig was really going to come up slowly ... and if the guys knew Ruki, he would probably have bitten his nails down to nothing until he could get to see Mika again.

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NOTES:
1) Ruki's dreads: Its unlikely Ruki would be that defiant about cutting the dreads off, but it's amusing to imagine

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